Tag Archives: Al Gore

iPod Hardware Designer Tony Fadell Now Building A Thermostat


Tony Fadell designed the hardware for the iPod and he was the head of the iPod and iPhone division before he left his VP post to spend more time with his wife and kids. His family spent a year in Paris and then moved back to the U.S. While in Paris, Fadell decided what he wanted to do next: build a new high-tech thermostat.
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Al Gore: Steve Jobs Is The Kind Of Guy That Comes Once Every 250 Years


When the former United States Vice President Al Gore took the stage at the AsiaD conference, he gave his opinion on Steve Jobs. As an Apple board member, Gore was able to spend a lot of time with Jobs. “There’s no one like Steve,” said Gore. “He’s the kind of guy that comes along once every 250 years. He was totally unique. So obviously his death is a terrible loss for the entire world. And we’ll all miss him. But his legacy lives on.”
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Keith Olbermann Joins Al Gore’s Current TV


Keith Olbermann revealed in a phone conference call today that he is joining Al Gore’s Current TV. Olbermann will host an hour-long newscast five nights a week at Current and will be the “Chief News Officer” there. “Nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news produced independently of corporate interference,” said Olbermann. Olbermann is also getting Current TV equity out of the deal. [Gawker]

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GreenRoad Raises $10 Million From Al Gore’s Generation Investment


GreenRoad has a device that starts each day with a green light. If the driver swerves a lot or has to brake hard, then the light turns yellow. If the driving gets worse, then the light turns red. The device uses a GPS chip, accelerometer, a CPU, and has Google Maps built in. GreenRoad has raised a total of of $40 million from Virgin Green Fund, Balderton Capital, Benchmark Capital, and DAG Ventures. Today the company has raised $10 million from Generation Investment, owned by Al Gore and David Blood (former CEO of Goldman Sachs asset management). [TechCrunch]

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Apple Board Preparing To Find Replacement Of Eric Schmidt

On August 3, Eric Schmidt stepped down from the Apple Inc. Board of Directors due to conflicts of interest. This Tuesday Apple’s Board of Directors will be meeting to discuss some of the possible replacements of Schmidt.  Schmidt had been an Apple Board member for about 3 years.

Some of the other board members include Intuit Chairman Bill Campbell, Avon Products CEO Andrea Jung, former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, Chrysler finance chief Jerome York, J. Crew CEO Millard Drexler, and Genentech Chairman Arthur Levinson.

It would not surprise me if Apple appoints someone highly involved in the Internet application or cloud computing space considering that Schmidt’s company is one of the best in that sector.

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Current TV Welcomes Home Laura Ling and Euna Lee

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On March 17, Current TV reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling were detained for their investigative reporting in North Korea.  A couple of days ago, former President Bill Clinton visited North Korea to discuss diplomacy with the country’s leader Kim Jong-il.  Clinton was there for a 20 hours visit and came back with the two detainees.

This humanitarian mission put former Vice President Al Gore and Clinton back to work together again.  Current TV was co-founded by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt.  President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton requested Bill Clinton to take on the mission.

This was the first time that Jong-il met with someone from the West since he had a stroke one year ago.  The release of the two Current TV reporters was a sign of North Korea’s “humanitarian and peace-loving policy” as reported by the Korean Central News Agency.

Clinton apologized for the behavior of the two detainees and expressed the current President’s gratitude.  The visit to North Korea came at a tense time as the country is ramping up a nuclear plan.

The President left at about 8:30AM local North Korean time on a private plane to L.A. with the journalists yesterday.  The women were sentenced with 12 years of hard labor for illegally entering the country at the time of their arrest.  The two women were doing a report on women and human trafficking.

When Hillary Clinton decided to take on the mission, she suggested sending several candidates to North Korea to lobby for the release of the two women.  Bill Clinton emerged as the preferred choice by the North Korean people and the government.  Clinton agreed to make the trip as long as the Obama administration did not object.  Mrs. Clinton is currently touring in Africa.

About two weeks ago, The North Korean Foreign Ministry disapproved of Mrs. Clinton’s remarks when she discussed their nuclear program.  The Ministry called her “a funny lady” and said that “sometimes she looks like a primary-school girl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping.”

Euna Lee is a U.S. citizen that was born in South Korea.  And Laura Ling is the younger sister of Lisa Ling, who is a correspondent for CNN, Oprah, and National Geographic Explorer.

This was truly one of the most epic news stories I’ve written about and further proves how diplomacy can create freedom.
current-overjoyed

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iZumi Bio and Kyoto University Partner To Exchange Pluripotent Stem Cells

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iZumi Bio is a biotechnology company that focuses on cellular reprogramming and stem cell research. iZumi is based in the Bay Area of California and started in 2007 with backing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers along with Highland Capital Partners. Now the company has signed an agreement with Kyoto University’s Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CIRA). CIRA will exchange part of their pluripotent stem cell lines with iZumi as part of the agreement. iZumi and CIRA will then determine which methods of cell lines are appropriate for drug screening and development.

Pluripotent stem cells tend to be embryonic which is different from adult stem cells. Inducing embryonic stem cells to perform certain functions is crucial for the advancement of stem cell research as a whole, but anti-abortion activists believes that this is a violation of human life. Induced pluripotent stem cells are made from adult stem cells, but have embryonic pluripotent characteristics so this would enable researchers to further conduct studies while avoiding ethical issues with anti-abortionists.

“The partnership between these two leading organizations is a critical step in furthering this research and turning stem cell research into therapeutic realities sooner,” stated former Vice President and Kleiner Perkins partner Al Gore.

[via Biz Times]

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