RichardDevaul
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Google reportedly paid Andy Rubin $90 million after misconduct probe
Android co-founder Andy Rubin left Google in 2014 and while it seemed at the time that he left on his own accord and that the split was amicable, reports surfaced last year that depicted a different situation. The Information, citing multiple sources, said that Rubin's departure was due to an investigation into an inappropriate relationship he had with a subordinate, a woman who later filed a complaint against Rubin with Google's HR department. While details of those claims and Rubin's exit were sparse, the New York Times now reports that Rubin was paid $90 million on his way out, despite the company finding the woman's claims credible.
Google's mysterious 'Solve for X' launching today? (video)
Google's X Lab is the search giant's top-secret facility even its own employees didn't know about. It's believed to be working on driverless cars, internet connected appliances and Majel: a Star Trek-inspired rebuttal to Siri. It's also apparently behind the Solve for X website, which hints at a TED-style public-presentation site featuring the great and the good talking about "redefining problems into challenges." The video (embedded below) and the site's background seem to agree, given one of the big box-outs reads "What is a Solve for X talk." Richard DeVaul (a member of the "[X] Rapid Evaluation team") mentioned on his Google+ page that the videos would be launching at some point today. Presumably we can expect to see innovative new solutions on dealing with Climate Change, new Cancer Treatments and awkward silence if anyone mentions a Canadian super-soldier program.
Apple's new Senior Prototype Engineer to work on wearable computing
More news from the HR department, as Apple's hiring is extending beyond the Googleplex raid noted earlier. The company's new Senior Prototype Engineer, Richard W. DeVaul, has a Ph.D. in Media Arts & Sciences from MIT. The cool part, Computerworld notes, is that DeVaul has experience in wearable technologies. He's the co-founder of AWare Technologies, and his dissertation was on a project called "The Memory Glasses," a wearable memory aid that required minimal attention from the user. The only wearable technology that Apple has produced is the Nike+ iPod kit. When stuck inside a sneaker (or attached to the laces), it feeds information to an app running on an iPod or iPhone regarding a jogger's speed, distance, calories burned and so on. While serious runners have questioned its accuracy, it has motivated a number of otherwise couch-bound geeks to hit the street. As Computerworld points out, Apple has patented a large number of wearable fitness devices lately. Perhaps it's these that DeVaul will be working with, though we imagine that such a brilliant engineer will have his own ideas. In either case, we're looking forward to what comes of this new collaboration. [Via MacRumors]
