Clemency board grants full pardon to wrongfully convicted man

TALLAHASSEE -- After a wrongful murder conviction that put him behind bars for 27 years, William Michael Dillon received formal forgiveness from the state Thursday.Dillon, who was awarded a $1.3 million settlement by the state in March, stood before Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet and recounted how far his life has come since he was released from a maximum security prison...

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Facebook, Google tell the government to stop granting patents for abstract ideas

Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG) and six other tech companies have petitioned the courts to begin rejecting lawsuits that are based on patents for vague concepts rather than specific applications, TechCrunch reported. The agreement, which was cosigned by Zynga (ZNGA), Dell (DELL), Intuit (INTU), Homeaway (AWAY), Rackspace (RAX), and Red Hat (RHT), notes the only thing these abstract patents do is increase...

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Adorable Tots: Celebs and their Cute Kids!

Jack Osbourne & Lisa Stelly Jack Osbourne and wife Lisa Stelly recently introduced their eight-month-old daughter Pearl to St. Nick for the very first time."What a doll," Lisa wrote on her blog alongside the adorable snap. "She wasn't totally stoked on him but she managed to squeeze out a smirk for the camera." ...

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Shuffle Board

Yahoo!’s board is getting a full Loeb-otomy.Activist investor Dan Loeb completed his boardroom overhaul yesterday with the appointment of a fourth Yahoo! director. PayPal co-founder Max Levchin was named to the board, while two holdouts from the old guard, Brad Smith and David Kenney, will depart.The changes come seven months after Loeb, the head of New...

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Wynwood co-working center funded by Knight Foundation, angel investors

The LAB Miami announced Thursday it will open a 10,000-square-foot co-working center in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and local angel investors are investing $650,000.As Miami’s startup community continues to grow, The LAB Miami said its “work-learn campus” will offer an in-house mentor network that will include investors and...

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‘Jewish Spirituality’ lecture series to start Dec. 16

Temple Israel of Greater Miami will kick off its Jewish Spirituality Series on Sunday with Rabbi Arthur Green, who was named one of the "top 50 rabbis in America for 2012," by Newsweek Magazine.Green will speak on the topic, "Spirituality for a New Era."A highly respected scholar, teacher and expert in the field of contemporary Jewish spirituality, Green is rector of Hebrew...

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New Flickr iPhone app to compete with Instagram and Twitter with 16 filters

Hot on the heels of its email redesign, Yahoo (YHOO) announced on Wednesday that it has completely redesigned the Flickr iPhone app. The new app borrows heavily from Instagram and focuses on what makes Flickr special: photos and communities. Yahoo’s new Flickr app also includes 16 filters with their own fancy names to go head-on with Instagram and Twitter’s recently updated app that...

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Barbara Walters Names Most Fascinating Person of 2012

Who topped the list this year?Tonight, Barbara Walters crowned General David Petraeus as her Most Fascinating person of 2012."David Petraeus was not chosen this year for his war record or his exemplary service to his country," said Walters. "This is about military honor, colliding with sex and lies in the digital age."The former head of the CIA stepped down in November after an extramarital affair...

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Schmidt: Apple lags

Google’s Android is extending its lead over Apple in the mobile-software market at a rate that compares with Microsoft’s expansion in desktop software in the 1990s, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said. Android snared 72 percent of the market in the third quarter, while Apple had 14 percent, according to research by Gartner. ...

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Lennar to borrow $1.7 billion from Chinese bank

Miami-based Lennar Corp. has gotten approval on $1.7 billion in loans from China Development Bank to fund the development and construction of two major projects in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the transaction.The contract, set to close by Dec. 31 subject to various conditions, would mark the first U.S. loan by the big state-owned Chinese bank. One condition...

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