Meyer Sound Wires Eatery For Custom Noise Control


Via the San Francisco Chronicle: Restaurants are modernizing their interiors with online booking features and touch-screen ordering options, but one restaurant in California is remodeling a more subtle part of the dining experience--noise. Comal, a Mexican restaurant in Berkeley, is wired with a high-tech noise control system made by Meyer Sound, featuring equipment that's usually found in concert halls and recording studios. Art on the walls hide noise dampeners, and an army of microphones all around the restaurant pick up noise in the room as patrons bite down on their burritos. Depending on how busy (or buzzy) he wants his restaurant to feel, owner and ex-band manager John Paluska lets the sound back into the restaurant, controlling the system with his iPad.

Internet Crime Report Records $485 Million Lost To Scams In 2011


The Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3 as the group is also known, has released its annual Internet Crime Report for 2011. The center received 314,246 complaints during the year, adding up to an estimated $485 million in losses for the year. The most commonly reported scams were FBI-related, in which victims would encounter criminals posing as the FBI. Romance scams on dating forums and chat rooms, in which "scammers use poetry, flowers and other gifts to reel in victims, while declaring 'undying love,'" accounted for about $50 million in known losses over the year (about $5,700 every hour). Identity theft, auto auction frauds (in which criminals posted sale ads for vehicles that they did not own) and loan intimidation schemes (particularly nefarious because criminals provided accurate personal details of their victims like their social security number or bank account number) were also major culprits.

Yahoo's CEO Saga Sees Thompson Out, Levinsohn In

Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has now left his post, in a dramatic and speedy switch after the company had seemed to drag its heels in dealing with Thompson's falsified résumé. According to AllThingsD Thompson will say he's leaving for "personal reasons." His replacement comes from inside Yahoo's ranks, having recently headed its American unit and being a senior executive at Fox before that. As part of the closure of the Thompson affair, new board member Fred Amoroso--involved in inestigating Thompson--will be promoted to being chairman of the board.

Update: As reported by the Wall Street Journal, prior to resigning Scott Thompson disclosed to the board of directors of Yahoo that he has very recently been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This explains the "personal" nature of his resignation, although details are still scarce.