U.S. Business

The commercial spaceflight company Virgin Galactic announced this week that it is hiring two veteran pilots to bring space tourists to new heights above Earth.

The new hires include retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Massuci and former NASA space shuttle commander Frederick Sturckow, who will work out of the company's Mojave, Calif., location to conduct flight training and testing with the suborbital SpaceShipTwo and its mothership, WhiteKnightTwo.

Nokia has officially confirmed the existence of the Nokia Lumia 928, launching a teaser site for the new smartphone.

The phone is shown taking a picture of a low-light backlit setting, showing off one of the camera features of the new model. The page is on Nokia's U.S. website, which leads many to believe that the 928 is going to be a Verizon exclusive. The Nokia Catwalk and Nokia EOS will likely fill the international demand for a new Nokia handset.

The original, first generation Apple iPhone that was released in the summer of 2007 will officially be categorized as "obsolete" by the tech giant beginning on June 11.

Most consumers have likely discarded these now ancient iPhones in favor of updated versions or completely different smartphones, so the move likely affects very few people. After all, unless hardly used, most of those first gen devices likely already exhausted their batteries, which were designed only to have a lifespan of about two years.

So what does "obsolete" status actually mean? It means that once June 11th comes around, consumers with the device will not be able to have their device serviced at an Apple store. However, AppleCare and third-party authorized service centers will still help out users with the so-called vintage devices.

I'll always remember fondly my first trip to Las Vegas on my 21st birthday in 1997. The remnants of old Vegas were still intact and I remember traveling down Las Vegas Boulevard to see the historic Las Vegas Sands before it met its end to the wrecking ball. Vegas then, and still today, has a way of making people feeling special by throwing free or deeply discounted things at their patrons in return for a nice chunk of your disposable income. Free drinks flow freely and, on my first visit to Sin City, cigarette girls would gladly give you a free pack of smokes or a nicely rolled cigar if you flagged them down and asked for one.

Cleveland's Horseshoe Casino, of course, now has been in operation for a year on the shores of Lake Erie. I, along with three of my siblings, are big players at the establishment, earning the recognition of as Diamond players which basically means we gamble more than our fair share downtown and at the newly refurbished Thistledown where my father worked for over four decades. I know the gambling industry well as I was born into it.

That is why I was shocked, saddened, and disappointed by the policy of Rock Ohio Gaming regarding their table games comps and left appalled by their response when I questioned them about their actions.

I had played a wide array of games and slots earlier this week and asked the pit boss for a comp for a meal. I dropped a substantial amount of money on the night, and I figured a nice meal "on the house" after a good nights play. The pit boss gladly said yes and wrote out a $20 comp for a meal. I was a satisfied customer despite my misfortune on my gambling adventure.

My satisfaction turned to disgust when I logged on to my Total Rewards account the following day. Instead of being comped, the money had been taking out of my Rewards Credits balance, which is a completely separate entity. What is worse, this exact same scenario had happened to me last year and I had already aired my grievances as it is disingenuous to tell someone they had been rewarded for their play when they had not. I immediately fired off an email to customer support that read.

This is the second time this has happened to me and I am beyond annoyed. After playing at your casino for about 3 hours, I asked a blackjack casino pit boss if I could have a comp for a meal. He said, "of course". I was a pleased customer despite losing a good sum of money that night. Upon logging into my account today, I noticed that instead of this being comped, it was taken out of my rewards credits. I play a lot. I hardly ask for anything but when I lose as much as I did that night (some not even on my card as some pitbosses hadn't swiped me in throughout the day) I want a little something back from your establishment. That this has happened again to me, it seems that you are tricking your guests and that really rubs me the wrong way. To say I am upset is an understatement. This policy has to change. You have to be more forthcoming with your patrons. I feel I deserve an apology and to be compensated on my Rewards Credits balance.

Their customer relations person obviously doesn't live by the adage that the customer is always right, which I was, and wrote back this curt email response and didn't offer the apology that I was thought I was due, saying:

Hello Eugene,

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be of service to you.

We checked your play from that day and spoke with the Pit Boss that issued you the comp and based on your play you only had Reward Credits available. Meaning you didn't game enough to earn a complimentary buffet or comp meal. So therefore the comp issued was taken from your Reward Credits. As a one time courtesy I will add the 2000 Reward Credits back to your account. In the future when asking for a comp make sure you specify to the Pit Boss if you don't want to use your Reward Credits. They will be able to advise if you qualify for a comped meal at that time or if you will only have Reward Credits available. We certainly apologize for any confusion you had on the comping process.

Respectfully,

(Name Redacted)
Total Service Specialist
Horseshoe Cleveland

Microsoft is rumored to be making some announcements about its Surface tablets in June, including a new 7-inch model and tweaks to the existing models (Surface RT and Surface Pro).

Microsoft is holding its Build developer conference at the end of the month, so it would make sense for the announcements to be made then.

A report from DigiTimes also reveals that Microsoft is being a little less aggressive in terms of quantity of tablets built, because they only sold 1.5 million first generation tablets. So, Microsoft will start with that many of the second generation models to see how they sell, and then go from there. According to DigiTime's supply chain sources, Microsoft has ordered components for 1 to 1.5 million units of the new tablets.

The latest rumors suggest that the second generation Surface tablets will be available in sizes ranging from 7 to 9 inches. The first generation featured larger 10.6-inch devices.

On Wednesday, T-Mobile announced that it had completed its merger with MetroPCS and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday using the ticker symbol "TMUS."

John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile USA, said in a press release:

"The combination of T-Mobile and MetroPCS creates an even stronger disruptive force in the U.S. wireless market. Together, as America's Un-carrier, we'll continue our legacy of marketplace innovation by tearing up the old playbook and rewriting the rules of wireless to benefit consumers."

It's safe to say that after CEO Thorsten Heins remarks this week, BlackBerry isn't likely to release a follow-up to its PlayBook tablet. Heins believes that tablets reign in the computing world will soon be coming to an end, as users shift to doing more through their smartphones.

At a Milken Institute conference on Monday, Heins forecasts that smartphones will become users' main source of computer power in the next five years. He says that people will simply plug whatever display, keyboard, or other accessory into their smartphone to do their work, and for many, a smartphone will be all they need.

He added:

“I doubt whether there’s a tablet a few years from now. You can just connect it to a big screen, and off you go.”

On Thursday, T-Mobile announced the latest Windows smartphone to be added to its line-up, the Nokia Lumia 521.

Exclusive to T-Mobile, the Nokia Lumia 521 will make its debut during HSN's bi-annual Innovation Weekend on HSN, HSN.com and HSN Mobile. For this special event, the Windows 8 powered smartphone will be bundled with a car charger and screen protector for $149.95 with free shipping and handling. A flex pay option will also be available.

After its debut on HSN, the Nokia Lumia 521 will be available for purchase at Microsoft Retail Stores and Walmart on May 11. It will be priced at $149 at Microsoft Retail Stores, and at Walmart it will be available with the retailers exclusive T-Mobile no contract $30 per month unlimited web and text plan.

The Nokia Lumia 521 will also be coming to T-Mobile stores and retail channels soon. More details on this availability will be made available soon.

The Geeksphone Firefox OS smartphones sold out on Tuesday, but the manufacturers of the phone confirm that the stock was limited to just 1,000 handsets. Nevertheless, the unexpectedly high demand for the dev-friendly hardware brought the online store to its knees as supplies of the Keon and Peak phones, which start at $119 unlocked, quickly ran out within hours.

Geeksphone actually has enough supply to meet demand, but the company, which is only 20 strong, doesn't have enough manpower to actually fulfill orders in bulk.

Geeksphone started out with 10,000 units, but "many" have been set aside for use by Mozilla employes and the maker's partners.

These are the first smartphones to hit the market that run on the new Firefox OS, a web-centric platform that relies heavily on HTML5.

Tesla Motor's dealership problems are continuing, with the electric car company's founder, Elon Musk, confirming that the Virginia DMV has denied the brand a dealer licenses in the state.

Musk posted on Twitter:

“Not all good news. Virginia DMV Commissioner just denied Tesla a dealer license, despite Hearing Officer being in favor.”

Tesla's application for the dealer license had been opposed by the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association, echoing similar complaints by dealership groups in Texas who argue that the electric vehicle company should not be permitted to sell its cars directly to the public. Instead, they ould like the same independent dealership network that is already in place to be kept.

The decision to deny Tesla a dealers license in Virginia came even as the Virginia DMV Hearing Office recommended that they be granted license. Having decided that "Tesla has presented additional and persuasive evidence that there is no dealer, independent of Tesla, that would be available in the community or trade area" that could sell the Model S and other cars under the franchise model in a way in keeping with public interest, the Hearing Officer wrote: "I further find that the operation of a Tesla owned dealership would be in the public interest."

Virginia's DMV Commissioner, however, was unconvinced and overruled the Hearing Officer and rejected the request.