Subject: Technology Sector

• Squeezing Money from Corpses in Irvine

  That companies which use magical accounting practices to rewrite history to fatten the bank accounts of their executives would try to squeeze money from corpses isn't really too surprising, but it is still disgusting. And it's happening in Irvine. The Wall Street Journal reports that dozens of companies used the collapse of prices in the stock market following the 9/11 attack as an opportunity to shovel more money into the troughs of their executives via the backdating of stock options. (The

  March 7, 2007

• Dude, you're ruining your career

  Does anyone recognize "Chad" from his Alltel wireless' recent spate of lame serialized commercials? He plays this sort of blond self-important dickhead behind a kiosk in the mall. His rivals, a wimpy bag of nerds representing the other wireless carriers, are always conspiring to make him stop offering his superior Aryan "My circle" cellular plan, to which he pompously stares at them with his lake-blue eyes and ridicules their love of Dungeons and Dragons. Well, you know what, "Chad"? You work a

  May 25, 2007

• Weirdest Thing EVER!

  We're flipping through this morning's Los Angeles Times, waiting for Who Killed the Electric Car? director Chris Paine to call. He does, and we have a nice chat, as he's still flying high from a well-received Los Angeles Film Festival screening two nights previous. After hanging up, we go to the Weekly HQ's posh kitchen, heat up leftover chicken and vegan pasta lunch and bring it back to our desk, where we notice that the whole time we'd been talking with Paine, the paper had been open to page C

  June 26, 2006

• Overheard in the Courthouse

  "But I thought the cops couldn't hear me talk on Nextel." --Twentysomething criminal defendant, who ridiculously believed police couldn't monitor his Nextel walkie-talkie "chirp" communications, to his annoyed lawyer in an Orange County courthouse hallway, Sept. 7, 2007.

  September 8, 2007

• Anarchy in the 401k: Sex Pistols Regroup for Guitar Hero and London Shows

  September 25, 2007

• CANCELED: Velvet Revolver in Irvine

  Friday's VR show at the Verizon Wireless (Irvine Meadows) Amphitheater has been canceled due to ongoing fire-related health concerns. The show, with Alice in Chains and Sparta, was to be band's final U.S. gig before stops in Japan and Australia. A Live Nation rep said the show has been *tentatively* rescheduled for December 12 at the Gibson Amphitheater, meaning a trek up to Universal City for O.C. fans of Scott Weiland, Slash, and Co.

  October 25, 2007

• XM Merges With Sirius

  Earlier today, the Justice Department approved Sirius Satellite Radio's proposed $4.59 billion (!) aquisition of satellite old-schooler XM Satellite Radio. This decision created one single US satellite radio provider. In response to questions fearing a monopoly, the Justice Dept. said " the combined company won't be able to raise prices profitably because of competition from such forms of audio entertainment as broadcast radio and MP3 players." Read the rest of the article here.

  March 24, 2008

• Victory Through Tote Bags

  October 31, 2002

• The See & Sprout Project

  If your shiny new camera has permanently replaced your dust-collecting old digital  point-and-shoots, consider donating them to a  good cause while simultaneously supporting the arts. Founded by Stacie Krajchir, along with tsunami orphans from Thailand, the See and Sprout Project is an international creative collective that brings cameras to Third World regions, puts on children's photography workshops, then, with the help of Hewlett-Packard, hosts the results in a traveling exhibition

  December 1, 2008

• Telcom Critics Could Have Issues With Obama Pick

  A telecommunications executive today resigned from his director's seat at Newport Beach-based Mindspeed Technologies to work at the White House as Barack Obama's director of presidential personnel.Obama can thus expect heavy scrutiny from net-neutrality advocates fearful of Donald H. Gips' closeness to power. Neutrality proponents, who include Google, warn that telecom companies are heavily lobbying U.S. politicians to impose a tiered service model at the expense of other companies and the gener

  January 16, 2009

• Incoming: MX Live Fest with Alejandra Guzman and Aleks Syntek

  Even if you're still trying to figure out last night's Lost season premiere, perhaps you can take some solace in the announcement of this Latin rock show, MX Live Fest at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on March 21. The bill includes  headliner Alejandra Guzman (pictured, Google image searching her name gave me some...interesting results), Aleks Syntek, Moenia, Moderatto, Fobia, the Kumbia All Starz and more, with comedian Adal Ramones serving as MC.Tickets are on sale tomorrow (Fri

  January 22, 2009

• Alleged Fraud Within Irvine City Limits Keeps SEC, Whistleblower Busy

  Two corporations doing business in Irvine that are the subjects of a noteworthy/notorious whistleblower's fraud investigations have now apparently drawn the attention of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The SEC is reviewing whether James Peterson, CEO of Irvine-based defense industry computer chip maker Microsemi Corp., misled investors when he denied making up his college degrees, reports Bloomberg. The same consumer group that outed Peterson now says it is cluing in the SEC to alleg

  February 2, 2009

• Incoming: No Doubt Returns to Orange County! Eventually.

  Full tour dates have finally been announced for archetypal OC success stories No Doubt's tour with Paramore--we've known for a while that they were going on tour at some point and the first date would be May 3 at the Bamboozle Festival in NJ, but now we've got the whole sched, and the three month-ish tour will close out with two dates at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine--where they had a mini-reunion during the encore of one of Gwen Stefani's solo shows back in June 2007--on July 31 a

  February 25, 2009

• Incoming: Def Leppard, Poison and Cheap Trick at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

  Let's get let's get let's get rocked. Def Leppard, Poison (pictured, duh) and Cheap Trick are coming to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on August 30. Tickets are on sale 11 a.m. this Saturday, March 7. No word on prices yet, or if the arsenal of Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels skanks will be anywhere near the premises.

  March 3, 2009

• OCBJ is Up on Henry Nicholas, Down on Angels, Cary Bren

  Orange County Business Journal has some enlightening items in this week's issue, although you have to hunt for most of them. That, of course, is not the case with "OC Insider," the weekly column by executive editor Rick Reiff, a seasoned pro who knows to start off with his most newsworthy stuff: The ankle monitor is off, he's finalizing his divorce and his first trial isn't scheduled until February. You don't expect hyperactive Henry Nicholas to sit still, do you?I'd link you to the rest if I

  March 31, 2009

• NKOTB!!!!!!!!!!!

  The recently reunited New Kids on the Block are coming to Irvine. The question is, are you ready?The group plays July 10 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and tickets go on sale Saturday, which means interested parties should probably start lining up asap. Now, I could go on and take all sorts of cheap shots at NKOTB. But I won't. I'd like to think I'm above that, even though I'm sure I could come up with a good one.But I sure as hell would like to know who in 2009 is going to this and how in the

  April 14, 2009

• Rascal Flatts; Jessica Simpson

  March 12, 2009

• Inspired

  January 15, 2009

• Totally Wired

  September 4, 2008

• Encouragement

  March 13, 2008

• Blue-Doo

  January 10, 2008

• Ain't He a Pisser?

  July 1, 1999

• Internet Appleiance

  August 19, 1999

• Extreme Projectiles

  Sounds of the Underground Summer 2007 Tour

  August 2, 2007

• Indie Vs. Major: Who's Got the Flavor

  Urban music in 2006 was typified by what it wasnt as much as what it was

  December 28, 2006

• WEENIES!

  May 26, 2005

• A Dichondras Dream

  November 25, 2004

• Henry Nicholas, Superhero

  July 1, 2004

• God Rules!

  October 16, 2003

• Haiku-O-Rama!

  May 30, 2002

• Lo-Cal Local Chips

  April 18, 2002

• Browser Beware

  March 2, 2000

• No Dial Tone

  September 9, 1999

• Non-Windows Users of the World, Unite!

  February 11, 1999

• Incoming: Snoop Dogg, Slightly Stoopid and Stephen Marley at Verizon in July

  Conventional wisdom says that smoking pot makes you lazy, but here comes Snoop Dogg, back up in our area this coming July, just a little more than six months after his day-after-Christmas 2008 Glass House show. (That our Ryan Ritchie reviewed here.) The industrious young(ish) man will be coming to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on July 11, along with Slightly Stoopid and Stephen Marley. The whole shebang is called, wait for it, the "Blazed & Confused Tour."Tickets are on sale at 10 a.m. this

  April 27, 2009

• KROQ Weenie Roast lineup announced

  The 2009 version of KROQ's annual summer blowout, the Weenie Roast y Fiesta, is hitting the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater May 16. That's like less than two weeks away, so get on it. Bands include Weezer (who still don't have or bassist Matt Sharp back in the band, even though everyone knows they should), Kings of Leon, Jimmy Eat World, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rancid, Silversun Pickups, the Airborne Toxic Event, Cage the Elephant and White Lies on the main stage and Hollywood Undead, Asher Roth, Anberli

  May 5, 2009

• Another Day, Another Cell Tower Rejected

  Joshua Peters / LunchboxUnlimitedThe proposed Woodbridge (Irvine) cell-tower mentioned in the opening to the cell-madness story in the latest Weekly has, unsurprisingly, been canned. As our story noted, residents were skeptical when T-Mobile presented its plan in an informational meeting on April 29 at the Woodbridge Village Association. A day after the meeting, T-Mobile zoning and governmental affairs manager Joe Thompson told me he didn't think the cell tower in Springacre Park would ever be b

  May 7, 2009

• Cell Phone Towers Make Waves, Angry OC Residents Cry Cancer

  May 7, 2009

• KROQ's Weenie Roast

  May 14, 2009

• Is That a Cell Tower Near Your Playground or Are You Happy to See Me?

  What are you doing here?UPDATED WITH COMMENT FROM THE CITY...Weekly editor Ted Kissell encountered more than the usual wet heads, skinned knees and freckled faces scooting into his neighborhood Harbour View Elementary School in Huntington Beach this morning. He also ran into parents pissed off not about grades, ineffective teachers or stale bake sale items (this time), but a cell-phone tower.Indeed, folks are so hung up over T-Mobile USA's faux-tree tower--which is not the one shown here but is

  April 23, 2009

• With Arms Wide Open (Again)

  A recently reunited Creed is performing Sept. 30 at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Insert your own joke here. The show was actually announced back in April, but now it's totally official and all that.Staind opens. Tickets go on sale Saturday, June 27, at 10 a.m. through Live Nation.

  June 24, 2009

• Bigger PR Nightmare: Henry Nicholas III or OC Register?

  FishBowlLA.com connects the dots today between indicted Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas III, the Orange County Register's parent company and the "PR guy" for both of them: Sitrick & Co. does PR for Freedom Communications, Inc.Mike Sitrick is also the PR guy for Dr. Henry Nicholas III, the former Broadcom exec facing multiple federal criminal charges in connection with alleged stock options fraud and drug offenses in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. The Orange County Register is owned b

  July 6, 2009

• Slideshow: Saturday's No Doubt, Paramore, the Sounds Concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

  Andrew Youssef​It's No Doubt Central around here. Amanda Parsons threw up the setlist from Friday's show, and here are Andrew Youssef's pictures Gwen, Tony, Tom and Adrian-filled from Saturday's way beyond sold-out gig (he couldn't even stay past three songs, poor guy). Coming up: John Gilhooley's doubtlessly dazzling shots from Sunday night at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, and a review of Tuesday night's final Irvine show, with supporting act Katy Perry stepping in for Paramore. (The Sounds

  August 3, 2009

• A Laptop for Every Kid in Fullerton--or Else!

  Friends For Fullerton's Future--which "supports candidates and causes that promote intelligent, responsible and accountable government in Fullerton and Orange County"--have their bloomers in a bunch over what they perceive to be "extortion" perpetrated by the Fullerton School District.The district is apparently telling parents to buy a $1,500 Apple laptop for each of their enrolled children or face having that student sent to a "lesser" school. As proof, Friends has posted the YouTube above th

  June 3, 2009

• Dave Matthews Band; Switchfoot

  September 10, 2009

• Go Fest 2009

  October 1, 2009

• Judge Allows Scary-To-Parents HB Cell Tower Suit To Continue

  ​Back in April, we brought you a heartwarming tale of civic involvement, governmental responsiveness and corporate accountability that's just the kind of thing we all thought we'd see more of in Barack Obama's America 2.0.We're talking about the case of Huntington Beach's Harbour View Elementary School, where T-Mobile sought to build a cell-phone tower disguised as a tree. The city council had given T-Mobile the OK without alerting most of the school's parents -- including, full disclosure, We

  October 12, 2009

• Anaheim Ducks Owner, Broadcom Co-founder Samueli May Be Prison Bound

  Wikipedia.org Henry Samueli's next uniform may be an orange jumpsuit.The Anaheim Ducks owner, Irvine's Broadcom Corp. co-founder and UC Irvine Henry Samueli School of Engineering namesake may be prison bound. Orange County Register reports a federal court today dismissed an appeal by the billionaire, who had sought to overturn a judge's rejection of a plea bargain that would have kept him out of prison. He now faces up to five years in prison at his yet-to-be scheduled se

  September 24, 2009

• No Doubt Sues Activision Over Band Hero Avatars

  ​No band likes to be turned into a "virtual karaoke circus act." But that's exactly what No Doubt's manager Jim Guerinot is saying about the band's disapproval about having their likenesses placed in Band Hero, the latest abomination of button-pushing musicianship created by Activision. Yesterday, the band slapped the video game company with a lawsuit claiming that the way their images were used was done unlawfully and without permission. According to the Associated Press, No Doubt o

  November 5, 2009