In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news:

  • McClatchy reorganization hits interactive group in Raleigh
  • New rules are official for unlocking your cellphone
  • Cree offers way to “warm” LEDs
  • ​Top execs skipping Obama meeting
  • Tesla’s profit falls

The details:

  • McClatchy Interactive Changes

McClatchy Interactive, which is based in Raleigh, is being folded into the rest of the company, which publishes 29 newspapers, including The News & Observer.

Notes the Sacramento Bee, a McClatchy newspaper: “[T]he company’s McClatchy Interactive division, based in Raleigh, N.C., will be integrated into other company operations. It comes 20 years after McClatchy bought the News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh, one of the pioneers in digital media.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article9789290.html#storylink=cpy

 

  • New Rules for Unlocking Cell Phones

Gigaom has the details on how consumers can unlock their cellphones.

“New rules governing U.S. wireless carriers went into full effect on Wednesday, although many carriers had been following the guidelines for nearly a year,” the website reports. 

“There’s a lot of consumer-friendly policies included in the consumer code, including new ground rules for unlocking your smartphone or tablet.”

Read more at:

  • Warmer LEDs from LED

Cree has upgraded its “SmartCast” system to help buyers of its bulbs adjust the “warmness” or “color temperature” of LED bulbs.

Reports Forbes: “[Cree] has effectively upgraded SmartCast to include color temperature control along with dimming control. With the new control, users can switch from 3000K (a measure of color temperature) to 5000K in 500K increments by pushing a button.”

Read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkanellos/2015/02/12/warm-or-cold-cree-expands-lighting-control-palette-with-temperature-control/

  • Execs to Skip Obama Meeting

Several top technology executives will not be attending President Obama’s cybersecurity summit in Silicon Valley on Friday, reports Bloomberg. 

“Facebook Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, and Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt were all invited but won’t attend the public conference at Stanford University, according to the companies,” Bloomberg reported. “Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook is planning to show to the event, where Obama is scheduled to give the keynote speech and have a private lunch with a select group of attendees.”

 

  • Tesla 4Q Profit Falls

Tesla Motors ended 2014 on a sour note, with production hiccups and a bungled launch in China, but the electric car maker is confident it can significantly grow sales this year as it launches a new SUV.

Tesla’s fourth-quarter loss widened because of the impact of the strong dollar on its profits from overseas sales and a delay in shipments of its new all-wheel-drive Model S sedan.

The Palo Alto, California, company said it held back shipments of its new all-wheel-drive version of the Model S sedan — which was launched in November — to make sure it would meet customers’ expectations. While it was able to make up production later in the quarter, it was unable to ship around 1,400 vehicles in December.

Deliveries to customers in the fourth quarter totaled 9,834, up from 6,892 a year ago.

The strong dollar also had a negative impact, but CEO Elon Musk said he’s reluctant to raise the price of the Model S, which starts at $71,000, to boost margins.

“It’s not a cheap car. For the vast majority of our customers it’s the most expensive car they’ve ever bought,” Musk told analysts on a conference call late Wednesday.

Tesla currently makes one car, the Model S. Its Model X SUV is scheduled to go on sale this fall, while the Model 3, a $35,000 car, is expected to go on sale in 2017.