Steve Wozniak, Chris Hughes share tales with Coconut Grove audience

Co-founders from two of Silicon Valley’s most innovative companies gave a South Florida audience a glimpse into the early days of developing the technology that would reshape the world.

Steve Wozniak, of Apple, and Chris Hughes, of Facebook, were back-to-back speakers for the three-day Americas Business Council’s Continuity Forum that wrapped up Wednesday at the Ritz-Carlton in Coconut Grove.

The conference brought together innovators, activists, and thought leaders in entrepreneurship and philanthropy and also showcased 32 emerging social entrepreneurial ventures from around the Americas.

On Wednesday afternoon, both men relayed plenty of stories.

As a teenager, Wozniak used to hole up in his bedroom on the weekends, designing a computer on paper.

And he made a game of it — every weekend he would try to make a machine that would work just as well or better but cost a little less than the last design.

That engineering mentality to build things more efficiently as well as the desire to learn never left him, he told the audience. “I would buy my college books on a Friday and be halfway through before the first class on Monday.”

Then he met Steve Jobs, and began working with him on a variety of projects. “Steve Jobs was a hippie with no money. I was an engineer with no money. We had to think creatively. I designed projects for fun, and he would figure out how to make money,” Wozniak recalled as he told how he invented the Apple I and Apple II that started it all and the company’s ups and downs through the years. He called the iPhone the greatest product ever.

As one of the Facebook co-founders that lived in the famous Harvard dorm room, Chris Hughes said the movie The Social Network got a lot of things wrong.

“Our dorm wasn’t like a luxury condo, there was no sex in the bathroom, as far as I know. An alcohol-fueled hackathon, while it looked like a lot of fun, didn’t happen.”

Hughes told the real story of Facebook and described his roommate Mark Zuckerberg as “highly analytical and very skeptical of conventional wisdom.” What the movie did get right, Hughes told the crowd: “Facebook is the defining example of American ingenuity and entrepreneurship of the 21st century.” And at the core: “There’s a new universal respect for the entrepreneur.”

Hughes, now owner and publisher of The New Republic, also talked about his current passion: How to use mobile and social technologies to support serious long-form journalism into the 21st century.

“Conventional wisdom says this kind of journalism isn’t sustainable. Cynics say the golden age of journalism has past,” said Hughes.

Yet, over the past six months Hughes said it is the long, in-depth New Republic stories that have gone viral.

“Folks are reading just as much news today, if not more. ... We have an opportunity to deliver it across a limitless number of devices. [These trends] all come together to suggest … we are entering a true golden age of journalism.”

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Metrorail worker who was struck and killed by train identified

George Andrews, a Miami-Dade Transit employee who was killed Monday near Earlington Heights station when a moving train struck him, was walking on the tracks after parking his train on a side track because it had been malfunctioning, the director of MDT, Ysela Llort, said Tuesday.

“He had a train that was not functioning correctly and central control told him to park the train in what we call a pocket, north of Earlington Heights. He then was walking back to the station and was 30 yards from the station.”

Llort declined to give further details saying the case is still under police investigation. Miami-Dade police detectives, who are investigating the incident, said they will not provide all details until the investigation is completed.

Jeffrey Mitchell, vice president of the Transport Workers Union Local 291, which represents Metrorail operators, said walking on the track after parking a disabled train is normal procedure for MDT. What is unclear, he added, is why the train hit Andrews while he walked on the track.

A train operator who parks a train on a side track and then begins to walk on the track must advise his position to central control and technicians there must warn all trains, said Mitchell.

"The problem is that the trains are not like cars," said Mitchell. "The operator of the train that hit him may have seen him on the track, and may have applied the brakes immediately, but the train does not stop immediately."

Llort's explanation of the incident departs from the original explanation released by county police.

“According to investigators, the decedent, a Miami-Dade County Transit employee, was working on the Metrorail tracks when he was struck by the moving train. He died on the scene,” the police statement said Monday.

According to Llort, Andrews was operating a Green Line train between Dadeland South station and Palmetto station when the tragedy occurred.

Llort said Andrews was a highly valued employee of MDT. He was 47 and would have turned 48 on Friday. His family could not be reached Tuesday.

“He was a very beloved family member, and very well thought of by the transit family,” said Llort. “This is a tragedy to the transit family and we are in mourning.

Llort said she had ordered that every employee receives counseling if desired.

Andrews began working as bus operator trainee on Nov. 23, 1987, said Llort. Then he became a Metrorail operator full time in the summer of 2003.

Metrorail has two routes, the Green Line from Dadeland South to Palmetto station and the Orange Line from Dadeland South to Miami International Airport (MIA).

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Husband busted in teach slay

The husband of a woman found dead inside their Staten Island home last summer was charged yesterday with her murder, cops said yesterday.

Both suspect Jonathan Crupi, 30, and victim Simeonette Mapes-Crupi, 29, were teachers at the same Brooklyn high school.

He was collared at his mother’s Brooklyn home, where he had been staying since the July 5 slaying.

“I was shocked when police called this morning — because they said it was my son-in-law,” said the victim’s mom, Theresa Mapes. “I really didn’t want it to be him.

“They were madly in love, but toward the end, they had a few arguments,” she added.

Jonathan Crupi

“We started to suspect him a few weeks later because he just stopped calling us.”

Mapes-Crupi was found with 15 stab wounds in the couple’s ransacked condo.

“The allegations are unfounded,” said Crupi’s lawyer, Mario Gallucci.

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No touch screen? Stick with Windows 7

Q. I recently had to replace my 9-year-old Windows XP computer, and am having trouble adapting to Windows 7.

What are the advantages, if any, for me to upgrade to Windows 8, which I’ve read has touch-screen capability and works with other equipment besides desktop computers? Since I don’t have a touch screen, I’m wondering if there is any point in upgrading.

Peter Robinson Chaska, Minn.

Different versions of Windows 8 are being offered on PCs, tablet computers and smartphones. But in every case the new operating system is primarily aimed at people who are using touch-sensitive screens.

So unless you’re planning to buy a touch-screen device in connection with upgrading to Windows 8, you’re probably better off continuing to use Windows 7. By most accounts, using the touch-screen-oriented Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard is more difficult than using previous Windows versions with a mouse and keyboard.

In addition, if you find the changes in Windows 7 to be challenging, I suspect you won’t enjoy the more radical changes embodied in Windows 8 (i.e., much different start screen.)

I’m not saying you should never upgrade to Windows 8; just let Microsoft deal with some of these usability issues first.Q. I disagree with your warning to never click the unsubscribe link to put a stop to spam emails. Totally inundated with spam, I began unsubscribing and cut my spam down from more than 50 a day to one or two.

Some spam senders were more difficult to shake than others. I threatened a nonexistent Florida corporation that I would go to their state attorney general’s office, but never heard from them again. I gave a dental company a taste of their own medicine until they finally stopped sending me email. Others just took me off their lists pronto. It has been well worth the effort.

Deborah Gray Mitchell North Miami

Your strategy will work with legitimate companies and with spammers who can be located and threatened with legal action.

Unfortunately, most spam producers are neither legitimate nor traceable. When you respond to their emails, you confirm that yours is a working email address, and therefore fair game.

At the same time, you’ve essentially challenged some spammers to a duel, a risky business because they know your email address. Make sure you have a strong email password to prevent tampering.

Congratulations on your success, but I can’t recommend your approach to others.

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South Florida disaster team heads north to help after Sandy

The 52 colorful quilts were neatly folded into a red duffel bag and hand-carried to New York City on Monday, where a local fire department will distribute them to victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The gifts from the East Sunrise Quilters Guild were brought north by nurse and educator Debra Hauss-DeJesse, one of 42 members of the South Florida Disaster Medical Assistance Team who left from airports in the region for two-week deployments in the Northeast.

Read the full story at  Sun-Sentinel.com.

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One Direction on What They Look for in a Girl

Ellen DeGeneres is holding her biggest outdoor concert ever with British pop sensation One Direction on Thursday, and we have an advance clip.

RELATED: One Direction Plays Catch with Super Bowl Champ

During the sit-down portion, the boys answer the crucial questions: Which members are single and what do they look for in a girl?

"I like someone that's cute. Someone I can have a laugh with. And I also like people that are American. And you all qualify," said Niall Horan, 19, sending the crowd of teenage girls into frenzy.

Tune in to The Ellen DeGeneres Show November 15 for the full interview and concert. The band's sophomore studio album Take Me Home is available now.

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In Syria’s crossfire

JERUSALEM — An Israeli tank scored “direct hits” yesterday on a Syrian army vehicle after a mortar shell landed on Israeli-held territory, the military said, in the first direct confrontation between the countries since the Syrian uprising broke out.

Israel has tried to avoid getting sucked into the bloody Syrian conflict, but has grown worried as mortar shells landed in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights in recent days.

Israeli military officials say they believe the mortar fire is only spillover from fighting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army and rebels, but are exploring whether the cross-border fire is intentional.

AP

BLAST FRONTIER: Shells fired by President Bashar al-Assad’s army explode in the Syrian village of Bariqa yesterday near the border with Israel’s Golan Heights.

“We will not allow our borders to be violated or our citizens to be fired upon,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday in a speech.

The civil war also shook Turkey yesterday after a Syrian jet bombed a rebel-held area near the border three times, killing more than a dozen in the town of Ras al-Ayn, a Turkish official said. Nearly 70 people were brought into Turkey for treatment, and eight more died there.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara had formally protested the bombings, state-run TRT TV reported.

In yesterday’s Israeli strike, the military said its tanks targeted the “source of fire” in Syria after the mortar shell landed in Tel Hazeka, an open area of the Golan Heights.

Israeli military officials said an army vehicle carrying “Syrian mobile artillery” was hit. There was no immediate word on Syrian casualties.

A number of shells have landed in the Golan over the past week. Israel responded for the first time on Sunday, firing a “warning shot” into Syria.

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Noven’s niche: The Miami company is key producer of transdermal patches

At the Noven Pharmaceuticals plant in southwest Miami, scientists and technicians use highly specialized machinery to blend prescription medications and adhesives to make layered transdermal patches that release precise quantities of drugs over time after being applied to a patient’s skin.

Noven, a subsidiary of Japan’s Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical, has about 700 employees nationwide and ranks as a relatively small player among pharma giants. Nonetheless, the company, a leading research and development center for medicinal patches, produces a line of specialty pharmaceuticals and is the U.S. market leader in sales of estrogen patches for women.

“By industry standards, Noven is a small company,” said Jeffrey F. Eisenberg, Noven’s Miami-based president and CEO. “But we have a line of specialized products that competes successfully in the U.S. and overseas. We are experts in developing transdermal patches and produce other pharmaceutical products.”

In one key market — estrogen patches for women — Noven holds about a 68 percent share, he added. And the company has a robust research and development department in Miami at work on a variety of new drugs.

Medications may be delivered to patients orally, via injection or through transdermal patches, which can administer drugs slowly over an extended period of time. While Noven makes products other than medicinal patches, it devotes an important share of resources to transdermal patch technology.

“We have a talented group of scientists who are at the forefront of this specialty,” Eisenberg said. “We have M.D.s, PhDs in biology and chemistry and chemical engineers who specialize in pressure-sensitive adhesives and polymer chemistry.”

Noven has won more than 30 U.S. and 100 international patents and is developing several new drugs. The company recently announced it is making progress on studies to evaluate a new, amphetamine-based transdermal patch for treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. Currently, there is no such patch approved for use with ADHD, the company said.

Noven also has applied to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for approval of a new oral, non-hormonal medication to treat menopausal hot flashes.

Making patches is a complex process that requires the design and development of an ideal combination of drug, adhesive and backing, Eisenberg said. Patches must be formulated so that they will deliver a safe and effective dose of medication over a period of time and adhere to the skin as required.

At the Noven patch facility, which has the capacity for making 500 million patches per year, active drug compounds are mixed with custom adhesives in large, specialized kettles. The mix of drug and adhesive is then applied to sheets of release liner material under very precise tolerances. Noven removes a blending solvent from the compound and applies the backing material, making a three-layer patch. Laminate rolls subsequently are sent to punching, pouching and packing machines (Patches are punched into different sizes.). All of this occurs under strict quality control procedures and is not open to the public.

Noven was founded in 1987 by Steven Sablotsky, a chemical engineer, who had worked for another pharmaceutical firm and was an expert in transdermal patches. Noven went public in 1988 and operated as a publicly-traded company until it was taken over in 2009 by Hisamitsu, a Japanese pharmaceutical company that also manufactures and markets transdermal patches. (Salonpas, an over-the-counter analgesic patch widely advertised in South Florida, is made by Hisamitsu.)

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Two more Cuban dissidents allege abuse by former prison official now living in Miami

Two more Cuban dissidents have alleged that they were abused personally or on the orders of a former Villa Clara provincial prison chief Crescencio Marino Rivero, who now lives in Miami.

Rivero, 71, and his wife Juana Ferrer, both former officers in Cuba’s Interior Ministry and members of the ruling Communist Party, appear to have obtained their U.S. visas and residency without revealing their activities on behalf of the Cuban government.

Wilfredo Allen, one of the two Miami lawyers who referred the allegations against Rivero to U.S. prosecutors two weeks ago, has asked for the start of deportation procedures against the couple. Rivero has denied committing any abuses.

Arturo Conde Zamora said he was 12 or 13 years old and was being held in a reformatory when Rivero hit him with a stick two or three times on his back and legs. Rivero was in charge of the lockup in the Villa Clara village of Maleza.

“He beat me with a stick and then threw me into a cell,” Conde, now 47, told El Nuevo Herald by telephone from his home in the Villa Clara town of Placetas. “He tied me up with a rope and left me in a tapiada” – a cell with a solid steel door instead of bars.

Rivero has been identified as provincial head of youth reformatories and reeducation programs in the 1980s before he was promoted to head Villa Clara’s overall prison system.

Conde said he was sent to a reformatory for chronic school skipping, and was beaten by Rivero and two or three reformatory “re-educators” in 1981 or 1982 because he had fought with one of the other 100 or so youths in the Maleza lockup.

A decade later, Conde added, he was serving a new prison term in the maximum security Alambrada de Manacas prison in Villa Clara when Rivero turned up there following a clash between prisoners and guards.

“Not even 30 minutes later, they brought in dogs to attack the prisoners.” Conde was bitten on the thigh, he said.

Another Placetas dissident, Jorge Luis García Pérez, known as Antunez, said he never saw Rivero personally abuse prisoners. “Officers of that rank don’t have to,” he said, because they can order guards to abuse the inmates.

Antunez alleged that on Feb. 19, 1991, while serving a 5 ½-year sentence for “enemy propaganda” at the La Pendiente prison in Villa Clara, he was taken to see Rivero for his refusal to wear prison uniforms — a type of protest used by many political prisoners.

“Look, you black counterrevolutionary, we’re not going to allow that here,” Antunez, who is black, quoted Rivero as telling him.

Rivero told the guards “take him to the cell and if he takes off his clothes, bust his head,” the dissident added in a phone interview with El Nuevo Herald. Antunez said he did try to take off his clothes and got such a beating that he remembers the exact date.

Antunez and Conde’s allegations, and similar previous accusations against Rivero by three other dissidents, could not be independently confirmed. Rivero did not return an El Nuevo Herald call to his phone last week, and his daughter said he would not speak to the newspaper because his previous comments to other journalists were “distorted.”

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Paula blabbed about Benghazi probe

Top lawmakers are demanding that former CIA boss David Petraeus still testify before Congress about the fatal attack in Libya — as his alleged mistress reportedly revealed details of the agency’s investigation into the incident.

Paula Broadwell, whose relationship with Petraeus forced him to resign Friday, spoke on Oct. 26 at the University of Denver. When asked about the Sept. 11 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, she said the building served as a prison for Libyan militiamen.

“They think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get these prisoners back,” she said, according to the Daily Beast Web site.

The CIA denied there was a secret holding cell.

Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Rooney, a GOPFlorida and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he “still expects General Petraeus to testify regarding the attacks in Benghazi.”

And Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) added, “I would not rule out General Petraeus being called to testify. That still could happen at some point in time.”The joint House and Senate Intelligence Committee hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Petraeus was set to testify, but is now not scheduled to appear.

The attack killed four Americans, including US Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Democrats and Republicans alike were furious yesterday there was no oversight of the FBI probe that exposed Petraeus’ affair.

“We received no advanced notice. It was like a lightning bolt,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

New York Rep. Peter King (R-LI) , head of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he suspected a White House cover-up.

“It just doesn’t add up,” he saidLong Island .

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