Pirate Bay Founder Convicted on Hacking Charges

Gottfrid Svartholm Wikipedia CC

The founder of the file-sharing site Pirate Bay was found guilty today in Denmark on hacking charges unrelated to the web site.

Swedish national Gottfrid Svartholm was found guilty of hacking into servers belonging to the U.S. technology firm CSC after being partially acquitted of other hacking charges in Sweden.

In the Danish case, Svartholm and a 21-year-old Danish accomplice were accused of hacking CSC’s servers in April 2012 and remaining inside for four months, stealing and altering data during the breach, according to prosecutors.

As evidence, authorities offered documents belonging to CSC that were found on Svartholm’s computer as well as IRC logs between two parties using the handles “Advanced Persistent Terrorist Threat” and “My Evil Twin” discussing the security of CSC’s systems. Prosecutors asserted that “My Evil Twin” was Svartholm and his Danish accomplice was the other party.

But the Danish defendant, who has not been identified and has refused to cooperate with authorities by giving them the encryption key for his computer, testified that he had met “My Evil Twin” in person and it was not Svartholm.

The defense team argued that Svartholm was framed. They said he did not commit the crimes, but that his computer had been hijacked by someone who used it as a proxy to break into CSC’s servers.

Prosecutors argued this was impossible.

Noted Tor developer and security expert Jacob Appelbaum testified on behalf of the defense that it was possibile, and Svartholm’s legal team produced an antivirus scan of his computer showing that 545 threats had been found on it, some of which were capable of providing a hacker with remote control of the computer.

At least two jurors determined that the remote hacking defense couldn’t be ruled out, so voted to acquit Svartholm, according to TorrentFreak.

“There were so many leads pointing toward the fact that my client’s computer was in fact remotely controlled,” Svartholm’s attorney Luise Høj, told WIRED. “That was a point that the court accepted.”

She says he was convicted because authorities claimed that in an encrypted partition they found on his computer that contained the stolen CSC files “there was also personal information about my client, and due to that argument and a couple of other arguments prosecutors said even thought it was likely the computer was remotely controlled, there was other information that pointed toward my client.”

Asked what evidence she provided, beyond the antivirus scan, that someone actually had hijacked Svartholm’s computer to use it to hack CSC, Høj told WIRED that she provided none.

“I only needed to reach the point where there was reasonable doubt about it,” she says. “It wasn’t in my interest to find out if it was in fact remotely controlled or not. I just have to prove to the court that it was in fact a possibility. Because the police so categorically said this is not a possibility, it actually made my argument a bit easier [because] then I could say to the jury for sure that’s not true.”

Svartholm was previously convicted in 2009 on separate charges for operating the illicit file-sharing service where pirated movies and other material was traded. He was sentenced to one year in prison in that case.

With regard to the separate case in Sweden, Svartholm was charged with hacking into Nordea Bank to siphon money and into an IT company called Logica, a contractor for the Swedish tax authority. He was found guilty of hacking Logica, but was acquitted on the bank hacking charges. He was sentenced to two years in prison on that case, while an accomplice was given probation.

Svartholm is scheduled to be sentenced on the Denmark case tomorrow.

Nintendo’s New Health Device Listens to You Sleep

Slide from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s presentation to investors on Thursday detailing its new “Quality of Life” health device. Nintendo

Nintendo’s first entry into the “quality of life” business, which it plans to release by early 2016, is a device that tracks a user’s level of fatigue by monitoring sleep.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata detailed the device at a meeting for investors in Tokyo on Thursday, following the release of the company’s second-quarter financial report.

“There is no argument that whether or not we have sound sleep or not significantly affects our health,” Iwata said, “and many of us recognize through our daily lives that accumulated fatigue makes it difficult to maintain good health.”

“Fatigue and sleep are themes that are rather hard to visualize in more objective ways. At Nintendo, we believe that if we could visualize them, there would be great potential for many people,” he said.

There are plenty of products on the market already that track one’s sleeping patterns, like Fitbit, or smartphone apps, and specialty devices. Nintendo’s goal is to simplify the process and put a fun Nintendo spin on it.

Slide from Satoru Iwata’s presentation showing how the “QOL Sensor” device, cloud servers, Nintendo’s existing game platforms and other devices will interact. Nintendo

Nintendo’s stated plan is to make continuous use of the device as frictionless as possible. As Iwata said in January, it’s a “non-wearable” device that doesn’t need to be put on the body to function. Nintendo said it will partner with Resmed, an American maker of sleep-tracking devices for sleep apnea patients, to create the sensor itself.

The device, he said, would start tracking a user’s sleep automatically, without them having to press a button or otherwise engage the machine as they get into or out of bed. “Not everyone has a clear head when they get into or out of bed. Whether we have to operate a device or not when we get into and out of bed significantly changes our ability to continue,” Iwata said.

Once the so-called “QOL sensor” receives the data, it will be sent to Nintendo’s cloud servers and analyzed, then automatically sent out to the user’s smartphone, tablet, Nintendo gaming system or other device, where they will be able to examine the data. The software will then give the user concrete advice as to how they might improve their level of fatigue, such as exercising more or eating healthier foods.

“With Nintendo’s know-how of hospitality as well as of making people want to continue, we will encourage people to enjoy using it every day,” Iwata said.

Nintendo did not give a name to the device nor did it actually show the device itself during the presentation, and did not give any updates as to when it plans to release it into the market. In January, Iwata said that it would be released during the company’s next fiscal year, which begins April 2015 and ends in March 2016.

Digital Innovation and the Future of Storytelling: A New Golden Age?

Capt Kodak/Flickr

The media world was taken by surprise when HBO — and subsequently CBS — announced they will allow consumers to bypass traditional pay TV distributors to access entertainment content directly via the Internet. This move was seen as both validation of and a direct challenge to Netflix, whose rapid growth has dramatically changed the way consumers experience entertainment content.

How far we’ve come. Sixty years ago broadcast television was a game-changing technological platform that provided a unique opportunity for creative talent to experiment with new forms of storytelling. And, the programming that emerged became a part of our cultural fabric — with families gathering around the living room TV set to experience stories that were later shared in hallway and telephone conversations by kids and adults throughout the nation.

Today, this era of broadcast television is remembered with nostalgia as a Golden Age. Yet, we at SapientNitro believe that today’s “digital, always-on” world is a new Golden Age that once again presents a unique opportunity to pioneer new forms of storytelling. While technology is creating opportunities to change the way stories get created, experienced and shared, the story itself has been and always will be what connects us.

For instance, while HBO battles for market share by expanding the means by which it connects with consumers, they and many of their competitors will continue to change the way we consume stories — as Netflix has done by negotiating the simultaneous release of new films in both theaters and streaming with the latest installment of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and with a four-picture deal with Adam Sandler. Still, these moves are only the tip of the iceberg of what is possible to harness the power of digital technology to enhance the way we create, experience and share stories.

Consumers now dominate the content creation process — with more new content posted in one month on YouTube than was created by the three major television networks in the past 60 years. The challenge for storytellers is to figure out how best to tap into this content to tell stories and engage consumers in the process of storytelling.

Non-linear and cross media, or trans media, story forms are another area being explored. The video game industry is in the lead here with extensive experience allowing audiences to choose their path through creative content — and also by extending the story beyond the game to feature films and other media.

Virtual reality is another tool that can transform the way we experience stories. The possibilities of Oculus Rift and Google Glass are just now being explored — but the potential to enable someone who may otherwise never have the chance to experience the World Series or a Beyoncé concert or tour the Louvre as if they were there — is extraordinary.

And finally, the impact of mobile technology to change the way we experience the world around us is already well established but still in its early days. Mobile is already transforming the way people experience sporting events and shop at retail — but so much more is possible. And, mobile is also emerging as a second screen to complement the consumption of content on another device.

This is the opportunity we all have in front of us: to redefine storytelling for an always-on world. It is a new Golden Age with an ever-changing set of disruptive technologies that offer creative talent the opportunity to try new things and figure out what works.

Looking ahead, the winning brands will be those who are best able to harness the power of these technologies to create and share stories that strengthen the connection with their audiences.

I had the opportunity to interview boundary-breaking actor, director, screenwriter and producer Kevin Spacey at our recent SapientNitro Idea Exchange in New York, where we spoke about the relationship between content and platforms:

Fiat Is Selling Ferrari. What’s the Worst That Could Happen?

Ferrari is being sold by parent company Fiat. We’re kind of worried about what happens next. Ferrari

After 45 years as part of Fiat, Ferrari is striking out on its own. Fiat Chrysler announced yesterday it will spin off the famous brand, offering 10 percent of outstanding shares to the public and reserving the rest for current shareholders.

Fiat Chrysler shareholders certainly approved of the deal, with FCAU shares rising more than 12 percent yesterday following the announcement, but brand aficionados (including us) are concerned about what could happen to a publicly traded Ferrari.

We don’t have any information yet on who might plunk down the cash for a piece of one of the most famous companies on the planet, but to be honest, we’re kind of worried. Ferrari’s been doing great things under the Fiat umbrella, and new ownership could take things in a very different direction. There are a number of potential outcomes that we can think of, including some that are … a little farfetched. Regardless, here are the six worst things that could happen to an independent Ferrari.

Introducing the New Ferrari SUV

In recent years, Ferrari has been very successful, with models like the 458 Italia and the all-wheel-drive FF particularly well received. Part of its strategy has been to value exclusivity and scarcity over volume, so it’s been selling just 7,000 cars a year or so—keeping supply well short of meeting demand. That strategy led to tension with Fiat head honcho Sergio Marchionne, and it might not fly at all when the new bosses come in.

Ferrari’s focus on amazing sports cars has served it well to this point. But once it needs to stand on its own, answering directly to shareholders, it may not be able to keep its laser-like focus. It could follow the example of Porsche, which has had tremendous success recently by cranking up volume and moving away from its heritage, with sporty cars that are also practical for getting around. Last year, it sold nearly twice as many Cayenne SUVs as sports cars. Lamborghini and Bentley are bending to market demands too, offering SUVs (without big volume expansions).

But no SUV, no matter how sexy—and Lambo’s Urus is admittedly gorgeous—would look right with the prancing horse on the side.

We really don’t want to see Ferrari try its own version of the Porsche Macan SUV. Porsche

The Newest Division of Toyota

Then there’s the possibility that Ferrari gets snatched up by another automaker, like Porsche’s move on Volkswagen a few years back. We can think of a few companies without luxury brands that might be interested in Ferrari, though a hostile takeover is a long-shot. The Ferrari family will still own some 10 percent of the company. Another 80 percent will stay with current Fiat-Chrysler shareholders, including large chunks owned by Fiat’s founding family, the Agnellis, as well as Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Goodbye Formula One

Then there’s Ferrari’s legendary Formula One team, which, despite historic glory, hasn’t won a Constructors’ Championship since 2008 and hasn’t fielded a Drivers’ Champion since 2007. Reports suggest Ferrari generates nearly $400 million in yearly revenue from its Formula One team between race winnings, sponsors, and merchandising, and it’s the only team that has competed in every year of F1, going back to the 1950s. The thought of Ferrari leaving Formula One is unthinkable—unless it decides it’s not worth staying in.

Ferrari only started selling cars to finance its racing teams, but priorities have since flipped. For a profit-minded company, why bother racing if it loses money? Ferrari’s brand is as strong as it’s ever been and we can see getting rid of the F1 team and all the drama and distraction that goes with it as something a profit-minded activist investor like Carl Icahn might insist on.

We don’t want to see Ferrari abandon F1. Ferrari

Hello NASCAR!

After he was pushed out of the company last month, Ferrari Chairman Luca de Montezemalo said Ferrari was now an “American” company (it didn’t sound like a compliment). What do American car companies do? Why, compete in NASCAR, of course. Dodge dropped out of the sport following the 2012 season, so that leaves a spot open for the Prancing Horse. It would definitely appeal to the American heartland and could cement Ferrari’s place as an American motorsports icon.

AMERICA! Okay, probably not.

Lame Hybrids

Right now, Ferrari cars are lumped in with Fiats when it comes to meeting America’s exacting CAFE fuel economy standards, which demand that a company’s cars yield 34.1 mpg by 2016, and 54.5 mpg by 2025. Standing on its own, without smaller vehicles to offset the terrible fuel economy of cars like the 458 Italia (15 mpg) and the California (16 mpg), Ferrari might have to sell some hybrids. And not brain-meltingly fast hybrids like the LaFerrari supercar. Boring hybrids. Like the Prius. Shudder.

RIP Ferrari

Of course, the absolute worst case scenario is that Ferrari goes under. It’s hard out there for a carmaker, and without deep pockets bankrolling expensive research and development, it’s possible a global recession and some mismanagement could send the company into bankruptcy.

While it’s surely likely that in such a scenario someone would come along to snap up the company, especially at a fire sale price, it would nevertheless be a tragic end to such a storied firm. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Don’t Give Up Hope

We don’t actually think any of these are going to happen (though Ferrari joining NASCAR would be epic, if questionable). Ferrari’s leadership will most likely be mindful of the company’s heritage, especially with Pierro Ferrari, Enzo’s only living son, still involved as vice chairman.

“It is an iconic and venerable brand that can and should exist on its own,” says Ferrari enthusiast, Shark Tank star, and LaFerrari owner Robert Herjavec. “Ferrari inherently understand the philosophy of creating desire and by nature that is limited,” regardless of a need to make a profit.

We look forward to seeing what’s next from Maranello, though we’ll have our fingers crossed.

What are your worst-case scenarios for an independent Ferrari? Could this actually mark the dawn of a new, glorious era for the company? Let us know in the comments section.

The Best Thing About Microsoft’s Health Tracker Is That It’s Cross-Platform

Microsoft’s new Band works with its cross-platform tracking app Health. Microsoft

With Apple Health and Google Fit offering a centralized fitness and wellness-tracking platform for iOS and Android users, did anyone really expect Microsoft to sit quietly and leave its mobile OS lacking?

Of course not: Microsoft has been working on a health tracking platform of its own. It’s called Microsoft Health, and there’s a wearable called Microsoft Band to go along with it. Both are available starting today in Microsoft retail stores and online starting today for $200.

While Health and Fit are locked into their corresponding operating system silos, Microsoft hopes to ford digital and hardware divides by making Health and its hardware constituent the Microsoft Band cross-platform. This is a smart move for a company whose mobile OS still only retains a four percent marketshare in the U.S. By packing the wearable with a handful of unique features like UV monitoring and guided workouts, the device could attract health-focused folks who might not otherwise go for a Microsoft product, and thus introduce them to the company’s ecosystem just as the iPod did for Apple back in the early 2000′s (“If you like the features and quality of this product, why not get even more by switching to a Windows Phone device?”). It’s a long shot, but perhaps one of the best chances in years Microsoft has of luring people into its mobile world.

Microsoft Health functions as you’d expect. The service collects data from your smartwatch, smartphone, or activity tracker, and can help you monitor your sleep quality, which of your exercises burn the most calories, and how much recovery time your body needs after training. It uses this data to provide suggestions that can better help you meet your fitness goals. Health is cloud-based, with big names like MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, and Jawbone Up on board as initial launch partners.

The Microsoft Band fitness tracker, the company’s inaugural device in this space, resembles the Samsung Gear Fit or Garmin Vivofit in that it features a slim, full-color touchscreen display. It tracks the usuals—steps, sleep quality, and calories burned—as well as performing 24-hour heart rate monitoring and GPS tracking. The Band tracker also delivers smartphone notifications to your wrist, so you can get email, text, phone call, and calendar alerts. For Windows Phone users, it offers access to Cortana. It also has timer and alarm features.

The band has two abilities that set it apart from existing activity trackers, at least for now: Through partner apps, it can offer guided workouts, which seems like an incredibly useful application for a wearable. It can calculate the current UV index when you’re outdoors, helping you discern whether or not you should be wearing sunscreen.

If you’re not already overcome by fitness-tracking fatigue, Microsoft’s offerings, while coming a little late to the game, do sound promising. The software side aims to be more than just a storage container of pretty graphs.

Pirate Bay Founder Convicted on Hacking Charges

Gottfrid Svartholm Wikipedia CC

The founder of the file-sharing site Pirate Bay was found guilty today in Denmark on hacking charges unrelated to the web site.

Swedish national Gottfrid Svartholm was found guilty of hacking into servers belonging to the U.S. technology firm CSC after being partially acquitted of other hacking charges in Sweden.

In the Danish case, Svartholm and a 21-year-old Danish accomplice were accused of hacking CSC’s servers in April 2012 and remaining inside for four months, stealing and altering data during the breach, according to prosecutors.

As evidence, authorities offered documents belonging to CSC that were found on Svartholm’s computer as well as IRC logs between two parties using the handles “Advanced Persistent Terrorist Threat” and “My Evil Twin” discussing the security of CSC’s systems. Prosecutors asserted that “My Evil Twin” was Svartholm and his Danish accomplice was the other party.

But the Danish defendant, who has not been identified and has refused to cooperate with authorities by giving them the encryption key for his computer, testified that he had met “My Evil Twin” in person and it was not Svartholm.

The defense team argued that Svartholm was framed. They said he did not commit the crimes, but that his computer had been hijacked by someone who used it as a proxy to break into CSC’s servers.

Prosecutors argued this was impossible.

Noted Tor developer and security expert Jacob Appelbaum testified on behalf of the defense that it was possibile, and Svartholm’s legal team produced an antivirus scan of his computer showing that 545 threats had been found on it, some of which were capable of providing a hacker with remote control of the computer.

At least two jurors determined that the remote hacking defense couldn’t be ruled out, so voted to acquit Svartholm, according to TorrentFreak.

“There were so many leads pointing toward the fact that my client’s computer was in fact remotely controlled,” Svartholm’s attorney Luise Høj, told WIRED. “That was a point that the court accepted.”

She says he was convicted because authorities claimed that in an encrypted partition they found on his computer that contained the stolen CSC files “there was also personal information about my client, and due to that argument and a couple of other arguments prosecutors said even thought it was likely the computer was remotely controlled, there was other information that pointed toward my client.”

Asked what evidence she provided, beyond the antivirus scan, that someone actually had hijacked Svartholm’s computer to use it to hack CSC, Høj told WIRED that she provided none.

“I only needed to reach the point where there was reasonable doubt about it,” she says. “It wasn’t in my interest to find out if it was in fact remotely controlled or not. I just have to prove to the court that it was in fact a possibility. Because the police so categorically said this is not a possibility, it actually made my argument a bit easier [because] then I could say to the jury for sure that’s not true.”

Svartholm was previously convicted in 2009 on separate charges for operating the illicit file-sharing service where pirated movies and other material was traded. He was sentenced to one year in prison in that case.

With regard to the separate case in Sweden, Svartholm was charged with hacking into Nordea Bank to siphon money and into an IT company called Logica, a contractor for the Swedish tax authority. He was found guilty of hacking Logica, but was acquitted on the bank hacking charges. He was sentenced to two years in prison on that case, while an accomplice was given probation.

Svartholm is scheduled to be sentenced on the Denmark case tomorrow.

Nintendo’s New Health Device Listens to You Sleep

Slide from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s presentation to investors on Thursday detailing its new “Quality of Life” health device. Nintendo

Nintendo’s first entry into the “quality of life” business, which it plans to release by early 2016, is a device that tracks a user’s level of fatigue by monitoring sleep.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata detailed the device at a meeting for investors in Tokyo on Thursday, following the release of the company’s second-quarter financial report.

“There is no argument that whether or not we have sound sleep or not significantly affects our health,” Iwata said, “and many of us recognize through our daily lives that accumulated fatigue makes it difficult to maintain good health.”

“Fatigue and sleep are themes that are rather hard to visualize in more objective ways. At Nintendo, we believe that if we could visualize them, there would be great potential for many people,” he said.

There are plenty of products on the market already that track one’s sleeping patterns, like Fitbit, or smartphone apps, and specialty devices. Nintendo’s goal is to simplify the process and put a fun Nintendo spin on it.

Slide from Satoru Iwata’s presentation showing how the “QOL Sensor” device, cloud servers, Nintendo’s existing game platforms and other devices will interact. Nintendo

Nintendo’s stated plan is to make continuous use of the device as frictionless as possible. As Iwata said in January, it’s a “non-wearable” device that doesn’t need to be put on the body to function. Nintendo said it will partner with Resmed, an American maker of sleep-tracking devices for sleep apnea patients, to create the sensor itself.

The device, he said, would start tracking a user’s sleep automatically, without them having to press a button or otherwise engage the machine as they get into or out of bed. “Not everyone has a clear head when they get into or out of bed. Whether we have to operate a device or not when we get into and out of bed significantly changes our ability to continue,” Iwata said.

Once the so-called “QOL sensor” receives the data, it will be sent to Nintendo’s cloud servers and analyzed, then automatically sent out to the user’s smartphone, tablet, Nintendo gaming system or other device, where they will be able to examine the data. The software will then give the user concrete advice as to how they might improve their level of fatigue, such as exercising more or eating healthier foods.

“With Nintendo’s know-how of hospitality as well as of making people want to continue, we will encourage people to enjoy using it every day,” Iwata said.

Nintendo did not give a name to the device nor did it actually show the device itself during the presentation, and did not give any updates as to when it plans to release it into the market. In January, Iwata said that it would be released during the company’s next fiscal year, which begins April 2015 and ends in March 2016.

Digital Innovation and the Future of Storytelling: A New Golden Age?

Capt Kodak/Flickr

The media world was taken by surprise when HBO — and subsequently CBS — announced they will allow consumers to bypass traditional pay TV distributors to access entertainment content directly via the Internet. This move was seen as both validation of and a direct challenge to Netflix, whose rapid growth has dramatically changed the way consumers experience entertainment content.

How far we’ve come. Sixty years ago broadcast television was a game-changing technological platform that provided a unique opportunity for creative talent to experiment with new forms of storytelling. And, the programming that emerged became a part of our cultural fabric — with families gathering around the living room TV set to experience stories that were later shared in hallway and telephone conversations by kids and adults throughout the nation.

Today, this era of broadcast television is remembered with nostalgia as a Golden Age. Yet, we at SapientNitro believe that today’s “digital, always-on” world is a new Golden Age that once again presents a unique opportunity to pioneer new forms of storytelling. While technology is creating opportunities to change the way stories get created, experienced and shared, the story itself has been and always will be what connects us.

For instance, while HBO battles for market share by expanding the means by which it connects with consumers, they and many of their competitors will continue to change the way we consume stories — as Netflix has done by negotiating the simultaneous release of new films in both theaters and streaming with the latest installment of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and with a four-picture deal with Adam Sandler. Still, these moves are only the tip of the iceberg of what is possible to harness the power of digital technology to enhance the way we create, experience and share stories.

Consumers now dominate the content creation process — with more new content posted in one month on YouTube than was created by the three major television networks in the past 60 years. The challenge for storytellers is to figure out how best to tap into this content to tell stories and engage consumers in the process of storytelling.

Non-linear and cross media, or trans media, story forms are another area being explored. The video game industry is in the lead here with extensive experience allowing audiences to choose their path through creative content — and also by extending the story beyond the game to feature films and other media.

Virtual reality is another tool that can transform the way we experience stories. The possibilities of Oculus Rift and Google Glass are just now being explored — but the potential to enable someone who may otherwise never have the chance to experience the World Series or a Beyoncé concert or tour the Louvre as if they were there — is extraordinary.

And finally, the impact of mobile technology to change the way we experience the world around us is already well established but still in its early days. Mobile is already transforming the way people experience sporting events and shop at retail — but so much more is possible. And, mobile is also emerging as a second screen to complement the consumption of content on another device.

This is the opportunity we all have in front of us: to redefine storytelling for an always-on world. It is a new Golden Age with an ever-changing set of disruptive technologies that offer creative talent the opportunity to try new things and figure out what works.

Looking ahead, the winning brands will be those who are best able to harness the power of these technologies to create and share stories that strengthen the connection with their audiences.

I had the opportunity to interview boundary-breaking actor, director, screenwriter and producer Kevin Spacey at our recent SapientNitro Idea Exchange in New York, where we spoke about the relationship between content and platforms:

Fiat Is Selling Ferrari. What’s the Worst That Could Happen?

Ferrari is being sold by parent company Fiat. We’re kind of worried about what happens next. Ferrari

After 45 years as part of Fiat, Ferrari is striking out on its own. Fiat Chrysler announced yesterday it will spin off the famous brand, offering 10 percent of outstanding shares to the public and reserving the rest for current shareholders.

Fiat Chrysler shareholders certainly approved of the deal, with FCAU shares rising more than 12 percent yesterday following the announcement, but brand aficionados (including us) are concerned about what could happen to a publicly traded Ferrari.

We don’t have any information yet on who might plunk down the cash for a piece of one of the most famous companies on the planet, but to be honest, we’re kind of worried. Ferrari’s been doing great things under the Fiat umbrella, and new ownership could take things in a very different direction. There are a number of potential outcomes that we can think of, including some that are … a little farfetched. Regardless, here are the six worst things that could happen to an independent Ferrari.

Introducing the New Ferrari SUV

In recent years, Ferrari has been very successful, with models like the 458 Italia and the all-wheel-drive FF particularly well received. Part of its strategy has been to value exclusivity and scarcity over volume, so it’s been selling just 7,000 cars a year or so—keeping supply well short of meeting demand. That strategy led to tension with Fiat head honcho Sergio Marchionne, and it might not fly at all when the new bosses come in.

Ferrari’s focus on amazing sports cars has served it well to this point. But once it needs to stand on its own, answering directly to shareholders, it may not be able to keep its laser-like focus. It could follow the example of Porsche, which has had tremendous success recently by cranking up volume and moving away from its heritage, with sporty cars that are also practical for getting around. Last year, it sold nearly twice as many Cayenne SUVs as sports cars. Lamborghini and Bentley are bending to market demands too, offering SUVs (without big volume expansions).

But no SUV, no matter how sexy—and Lambo’s Urus is admittedly gorgeous—would look right with the prancing horse on the side.

We really don’t want to see Ferrari try its own version of the Porsche Macan SUV. Porsche

The Newest Division of Toyota

Then there’s the possibility that Ferrari gets snatched up by another automaker, like Porsche’s move on Volkswagen a few years back. We can think of a few companies without luxury brands that might be interested in Ferrari, though a hostile takeover is a long-shot. The Ferrari family will still own some 10 percent of the company. Another 80 percent will stay with current Fiat-Chrysler shareholders, including large chunks owned by Fiat’s founding family, the Agnellis, as well as Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Goodbye Formula One

Then there’s Ferrari’s legendary Formula One team, which, despite historic glory, hasn’t won a Constructors’ Championship since 2008 and hasn’t fielded a Drivers’ Champion since 2007. Reports suggest Ferrari generates nearly $400 million in yearly revenue from its Formula One team between race winnings, sponsors, and merchandising, and it’s the only team that has competed in every year of F1, going back to the 1950s. The thought of Ferrari leaving Formula One is unthinkable—unless it decides it’s not worth staying in.

Ferrari only started selling cars to finance its racing teams, but priorities have since flipped. For a profit-minded company, why bother racing if it loses money? Ferrari’s brand is as strong as it’s ever been and we can see getting rid of the F1 team and all the drama and distraction that goes with it as something a profit-minded activist investor like Carl Icahn might insist on.

We don’t want to see Ferrari abandon F1. Ferrari

Hello NASCAR!

After he was pushed out of the company last month, Ferrari Chairman Luca de Montezemalo said Ferrari was now an “American” company (it didn’t sound like a compliment). What do American car companies do? Why, compete in NASCAR, of course. Dodge dropped out of the sport following the 2012 season, so that leaves a spot open for the Prancing Horse. It would definitely appeal to the American heartland and could cement Ferrari’s place as an American motorsports icon.

AMERICA! Okay, probably not.

Lame Hybrids

Right now, Ferrari cars are lumped in with Fiats when it comes to meeting America’s exacting CAFE fuel economy standards, which demand that a company’s cars yield 34.1 mpg by 2016, and 54.5 mpg by 2025. Standing on its own, without smaller vehicles to offset the terrible fuel economy of cars like the 458 Italia (15 mpg) and the California (16 mpg), Ferrari might have to sell some hybrids. And not brain-meltingly fast hybrids like the LaFerrari supercar. Boring hybrids. Like the Prius. Shudder.

RIP Ferrari

Of course, the absolute worst case scenario is that Ferrari goes under. It’s hard out there for a carmaker, and without deep pockets bankrolling expensive research and development, it’s possible a global recession and some mismanagement could send the company into bankruptcy.

While it’s surely likely that in such a scenario someone would come along to snap up the company, especially at a fire sale price, it would nevertheless be a tragic end to such a storied firm. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Don’t Give Up Hope

We don’t actually think any of these are going to happen (though Ferrari joining NASCAR would be epic, if questionable). Ferrari’s leadership will most likely be mindful of the company’s heritage, especially with Pierro Ferrari, Enzo’s only living son, still involved as vice chairman.

“It is an iconic and venerable brand that can and should exist on its own,” says Ferrari enthusiast, Shark Tank star, and LaFerrari owner Robert Herjavec. “Ferrari inherently understand the philosophy of creating desire and by nature that is limited,” regardless of a need to make a profit.

We look forward to seeing what’s next from Maranello, though we’ll have our fingers crossed.

What are your worst-case scenarios for an independent Ferrari? Could this actually mark the dawn of a new, glorious era for the company? Let us know in the comments section.

The Best Thing About Microsoft’s Health Platform Is That It’s Not Microsoft-Only

Microsoft’s new Band works with its cross-platform tracking app Health. Microsoft

With Apple Health and Google Fit offering a centralized fitness and wellness-tracking platform for iOS and Android users, did anyone really expect Microsoft to sit quietly and leave its mobile OS lacking?

Of course not: Microsoft has been working on a health tracking platform of its own. It’s called Microsoft Health, and there’s a wearable called Microsoft Band to go along with it. Both are available starting today available in Microsoft retail stores and online starting today for $200. You can’t buy on online yet.

While Health and Fit are locked into their corresponding operating system silos, Microsoft hopes to ford digital and hardware divides by making Health and its hardware constituent the Microsoft Band cross-platform. This is a smart move for a company whose mobile OS still only retains a four percent marketshare in the U.S. By packing the wearable with a handful of unique features like UV monitoring and guided workouts, the device could attract health-focused folks who might not otherwise go for a Microsoft product, and thus introduce them to the company’s ecosystem just as the iPod did for Apple back in the early 2000′s (“If you like the features and quality of this product, why not get even more by switching to a Windows Phone device?”). It’s a long shot, but perhaps one of the best chances in years Microsoft has of luring people into its mobile world.

Microsoft Health functions as you’d expect. The service collects data from your smartwatch, smartphone, or activity tracker, and can help you monitor your sleep quality, which of your exercises burn the most calories, and how much recovery time your body needs after training. It uses this data to provide suggestions that can better help you meet your fitness goals. Health is cloud-based, with big names like MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, and Jawbone Up on board as initial launch partners.

The Microsoft Band fitness tracker, the company’s inaugural device in this space, resembles the Samsung Gear Fit or Garmin Vivofit in that it features a slim, full-color touchscreen display. It tracks the usuals—steps, sleep quality, and calories burned—as well as performing 24-hour heart rate monitoring and GPS tracking. The Band tracker also delivers smartphone notifications to your wrist, so you can get email, text, phone call, and calendar alerts. For Windows Phone users, it offers access to Cortana. It also has timer and alarm features.

The band has two abilities that set it apart from existing activity trackers, at least for now: Through partner apps, it can offer guided workouts, which seems like an incredibly useful application for a wearable. It can calculate the current UV index when you’re outdoors, helping you discern whether or not you should be wearing sunscreen.

If you’re not already overcome by fitness-tracking fatigue, Microsoft’s offerings, while coming a little late to the game, do sound promising. The software side aims to be more than just a storage container of pretty graphs.

This App Uses Your Neighbors’ Phones to Find Your Lost Pet

Pawscout

Over 10 million pets are lost each year, and sadly only one in 10 are ever recovered. This is 2014. We can do better.

A new company called Pawscout thinks so, too. Rather than building on traditional pet-locating methods like microchipping, it’s created a separate connected pet ID tag that tracks your pet’s location by creating a mesh network of smartphones.

“How people find pets is still a community problem,” Pawscout founder Andrea Chavez told WIRED. “If you don’t have a community, the whole thing falls down.”

Pawscout aims to create this community first by getting its tag onto pets. The tag costs $30 and will be available for pre-order through its website today, and will ship in February. At that price, it’s something you can actually see being sold at Petco and other places where pet owners shop.

Screenshot: Pawscout

It’s also trying to develop this community via a free mobile app. Here, pet owners can create a profile of their dog or cat with key information including breed, personality traits, and whether it has any health or behavioral issues, or medicinal needs. The app will be able to tell you how close your pet is within a 250 foot Bluetooth range. If you’re out at the dog park, or tying your mutt up outside a cafe, you can set up a virtual leash that alerts you if they get outside a preset perimeter.

But it’s when you put the app in lost mode that the full utility of Pawscout comes out. Chavez says they spent a tremendous amount of time and effort perfecting the platform so that it tracks real time data and relays it meaningfully and simply. In lost mode, anyone who has the app and comes within 250 feet of your pet can be notified that your pet is lost. Through mesh networking, your pet’s location is updated and relayed to you.

Unfortunately, as with all mesh networking schemes, there’s a bit of a chicken and egg problem. When everyone is using this, there will be a lovely network covering the globe (or at least your neighborhood) so that whenever a pet escapes, it can be located, retrieved, and reunited with its owner. But until a critical mass start using the app, the benefits of Pawscout are minimal to nonexistent.

Luckily you don’t need to purchase a tag, or even own a pet, to help out. If you want to help pet-owning friends, family, or neighbors in the future, you can download the app, too. App users can elect to be notified if a lost pet wanders into their 250 foot detection bubble, at which point they’ll get the lost pet’s owner’s contact information. You can also choose to have your phone act passively as a node in the network, allowing the pet owner another chance for a phone to pick up their pet’s tag and relay its location. Either way, just by downloading the app, you could end up helping someone find their missing four-legged friend.

The Pawscout tag itself is powered by a standard watch battery that should last a year, and the app will warn you before the battery dies. The back of the device can also be patterned or engraved, like a normal pet tag. It attaches to a collar, or you can buy a separate flush mount so the tag lies flat against your pet’s neck instead of dangling.

Pawscout, when it goes on sale in early 2015, will be partnering with the ASPCA so that its technology can get into the hands of more new pet owners. You can preorder today, and it ships in February.

The Invention of the Equals Sign

Seth Goodman/Flickr/CC

The use of ‘=’ to mean ‘equals’ is one of those minor advances in mathematics that we take for granted. It’s so small that we don’t really think about it. But Joseph Mazur, the author of Enlightening Symbols A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers , has thought about ‘=’ as well as the other symbols with which we pepper our calculations. Mazur has this to say on the history of the equals sign:

The ideas of algebra brought on the symbols, not the other way around. Robert Recorde had written the words “is equal to” almost two hundred times in his book Whetstone of Witte (1557) before noticing that he could easily “avoid the tedious repetition” of those three words by designing the symbol = to represent them. The initial incentive was the need to abbreviate, but once the equal symbol was in place, something else took over. The concise character of the symbol came with an unintended benefit: it enabled an unadorned picture in the brain that could facilitate comprehension.

In other words, how we represent mathematical ideas affects how we think about them. So the timeline below is not just interesting, but perhaps shows how we have changed our very thoughts about mathematics over time:

Wikipedia timeline

Tim Cook Tells the World ‘I’m Proud to Be Gay’

Apple CEO Tim Cook at WWDC 2013. Photo: Alex Washburn/WIRED

Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken a major step toward breaking what many call “the glass closet,” openly admitting in a new personal essay that he’s “proud to be gay.”

In the essay published Thursday by Businessweek , Cook acknowledges that while he’s open about his sexuality with friends and colleagues and has never denied it publicly, he hasn’t acknowledged it publicly until now. “So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,” Cook writes.

This public acknowledgement makes Cook the first openly gay CEO on the Fortune 500 list. He says that until now, he’s preferred to let Apple’s products and services speak for themselves and maintain a modicum of privacy. And yet, he’s come to realize that as one of the most powerful businessmen in the world, he can also be an important role model to other people who are struggling with their sexuality.

“I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others,” he writes. “So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.”

Cook has been widely reported to be gay for some time now. Earlier this year, Out magazine named Cook one of the most powerful gay men in America. This summer, Cook marched in San Francisco’s gay pride parade. And just this week, he called on Alabama leaders to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people in his home state.

Cook’s decision to now speak publicly about his sexuality—difficult as he says it was—is a strong signal to other gay business leaders that they have nothing to hide. In fact, Cook writes, being a gay man has given him many of the skills he needs to be an effective leader. “It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry,” Cook writes. “It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.”

At the same time, Cook urges other members of the business community not to define gay leaders by their sexuality. “Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one’s sexuality, race, or gender,” he writes. “I’m an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things.”

Cook concludes his missive with a nod to great civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, whose photographs sit in his office. “I don’t pretend that writing this puts me in their league,” he writes. “All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.”