Apple owes $626 million As Result of Losing Patent Story

Apple to pay $626 million in damages after finding that iMessage, FaceTime and other Apple software infringed on another company’s patents. Anytime Apple loses anything you scratch your head.Apple has since revised its iMessage, FaceTime and VPN software so that it avoids anything covered by VirnetX’s patents.

The Home Depot Hiring More Than 80,000 for Spring

The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, is hiring more than 80,000 associates nationwide to ensure its nearly 2,000 stores are staffed and ready for the company’s busiest selling season.

“There’s no better time to join our team than spring, whether you’re a college student, recent grad or a veteran hoping to build a career, a retiree who wants a fun job, or anyone who simply enjoys home improvement,” said Tim Crow, executive vice president—Human Resources.

Opportunities include sales, operations and cashier positions across all departments, from the lumber aisle to the Pro desk to outside garden.

Store Merchandising Execution Teams are seeking new associates to set product merchandising displays, help maintain store appearance, and keep products customer-ready.

The Home Depot’s 75 distribution facilities also are seeking new associates, from Rapid Distribution Centers that replenish stores to the company’s three new Direct Fulfillment Centers that fulfill customers’ online orders.

Applications must be submitted online at The Home Depot’s careers site, http://www.careers.homedepot.com.

The time Home Depot associates accrue during their seasonal assignments applies to eligibility for benefits if they transition to a permanent position. The Home Depot offers part-time and full-time permanent hourly associates profit sharing, tuition assistance, 401k and a discounted stock purchase plan.

Quick Facts

• The Home Depot’s “Success Sharing” profit sharing program has paid out $1.5 billion in bonus checks to hourly associates since it began in 2006.
• The Home Depot has granted associates more than $124 million in tuition reimbursement over the past 10 years.
• More than 70 percent of Home Depot store managers started as hourly associates.
  More than half of Home Depot’s seasonal hires transitioned to permanent positions last year.

Lotto Battle

Someone has already claimed the jackpot. Brandy Milliner of Los Angeles County has even filed a lawsuit against the the California Lottery alleging a conspiracy.

The winning SuperLotto Plus ticket was sold on August 8 at a 7-Eleven in Chatsworth, California. Milliner said he bought that ticket, mailed it in as proof, then received a letter congratulating him and said he’d have his check in couple months. Instead of becoming California’s newest millionaire, Milliner said lotto officials told him in January that the ticket was “too damaged to be reconstructed,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Facebook network site’s users are closing in on $3.5 trillion in squandered productivity.

Facebook’s users spend an aggregate of 10.5 billion minutes per day on the platform (excluding mobile), according to the company’s 2012 IPO filings. And engagement — based on the number of monthly users who visit the site daily — is even higher today.

Assuming that users spend about the same amount of time today, that means people all over the world have spent a collective 55 million years on Facebook since the beginning of 2009.