Monthly Archives: March 2014

Facebook-WhatsApp Deal Haunted by Past Web Merger Flops

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“Facebook Inc. (FB) investors who pushed the company’s shares to a record after it unveiled the $19 billion deal for WhatsApp Inc. would be well served to remember — every Internet takeover of more than $10 billion has flopped.  Last week’s proposed purchase would be the biggest Web acquisition in more than a decade and only the fifth ever to top that threshold. That puts it in the same category as AOL’s merger with Time Warner and Terra Network SA’s takeover of Lycos, which later resulted in multibillion-dollar writedowns.  The history of large Internet deals is littered with buyers who paid lofty valuations for targets only to see their value erased.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-28/facebook-whatsapp-deal-haunted-by-past-web-merger-flops.html

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Are giant bubbles the key to beating Beijing’s pollution?

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“As Asia struggle with an ever increasing pollution problem, one firm believes a project that sounds like the plot of a sci-fi film could bring relief.  Orproject, a London design agency, wants to build a park enclosed in a giant ‘bubble’ – and says school playgrounds could be enclosed in smaller versions of the clean air system.  The park would contain a large botanical garden, and be completely sealed from the outside world, with perfectly clean air being pumped into it.  Electricity for the project can be generated by solar cells integrated into the canopy surface, and the heating and cooling of the air is done through a ground source heat exchange system.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2569782/Are-giant-bubbles-key-beating-Beijings-pollution-firm-says-structures-protect-residents.html

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Google ‘Donates’ Millions For San Francisco Kids’ City Bus Fares

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“San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced Thursday that Google has donated almost $7 million to the city so that low-income children can have free rides on city buses for two years. The move comes as the Mountain View, Calif.-based tech giant’s luxury buses have become a symbol of stratification in the Bay Area.  Lee’s office touted the $6.8 million gift as ‘one of the largest private contributions towards direct City services in San Francisco history.’ San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu said ‘it’s good to see Google support the next generation of Muni riders.'”

http://nation.time.com/2014/02/27/google-bus-controversy-san-francisco-donation-youth-city-buses/

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Transformation of North San Jose into urban tech hub under way

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“City officials envision thousands of new housing units, millions of square feet of new office and research spaces and additional retail, restaurants and recreation spaces — all served by BART and light rail.  After nearly 10 years of planning and preparation, the first steps of the transformation of 5,000 acres in North San Jose are coming into view. The city’s economic development staff estimates that $2.8 billion worth of new projects are underway there or about to start.  To encourage more projects and corporate expansions in North San Jose, city officials have slashed development fees, cut red tape for developers and are allowing higher density than was previously permitted.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_24872622/transformation-north-san-jose-into-urban-tech-hub

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Nvidia’s new Santa Clara campus could rival Apple’s ‘spaceship’

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“The building, designed by renowned architecture firm Gensler, will be located ‘directly across the street’ from Nvidia’s current headquarters in Santa Clara, California.  Other Silicon Valley mainstays have also revealed ambitious design plans in recent years. Apple hopes to complete a new campus by 2015. The building, commonly referred to as the ‘spaceship’ thanks to its odd design, will supplement Apple’s existing presence in Cupertino, California. Facebook has also detailed plans to expand its Menlo Park HQ with a building designed by Frank Gehry. Meanwhile, expansion is the last thing on the mind of longtime Nvidia competitor AMD, which hopes to sell its Austin, Texas campus.”

http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/20/4010140/nvidia-new-campus-could-rival-apple-spaceship-in-scope

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Nvidia About To Steal The Cryptocurrency Mining Crown From AMD

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“As we learned from my introduction to the GTX 750 Ti, first-generation Maxwell cards exhibit a 35% peak performance boost per core and twice the performance per watt. They also blow Kepler hashrates out of the water. Based on what I’m seeing with the 750 Ti, Nvidia is poised to embarrass AMD in the performance-per-watt race — and that’s a substantial factor when you’re paying the inflated energy bills caused by mining.  Nvidia didn’t breathe a word of Maxwell’s seriously improved hashing ability in their marketing copy or press briefings, but Tom’s Hardware discovered it, and I’ve been able to replicate their findings with multiple 750 Ti cards from both Nvidia and PNY.”

http://cryptologs.com/nvidia-is-about-to-steal-the-cryptocurrency-mining-crown-from-amd/

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New bitcoin billing platform rolled out to marijuana dispensaries

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“Solpower Corporation, symbol (OTCPink: SOCR) announced that it has started to roll out the beta version of its new billing platform to medical marijuana dispensaries with very positive results. The system allows individuals to purchase bitcoin, virtual currency using Solpower’s proprietary bitcoin server, and use those bitcoin to pay for healthcare products like medical marijuana without telltale information appearing on their bank statements or credit card bills.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140220-909588.html

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Central Bank of Jordan Blocks Financial Companies from Bitcoin

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“It was the Central Bank of Jordan’s (CBJ) turn to issue a digital currency warning this week, advising the public of the risks associated with the use of the financial tools, and blocking financial companies from engaging in bitcoin business.  The Bank’s executive director of its payment services department, Maha Bahu, told The Jordan Times that the Kingdom’s banks, financial companies, payment processors and currency exchangers had also received a circular ‘prohibiting them from dealing with virtual currencies, particularly in bitcoins’.  She said the CBJ had been ‘following the issue of bitcoin very closely over the past two months’.”

http://www.coindesk.com/central-bank-jordan-blocks-financial-companies-bitcoin/

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Despite central bank warnings, Bitcoin gains toehold in Middle East

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“‘The system is based on the concept of proof of work,’ explained David al-Achkar, a Lebanese entrepreneur and active member of the regional Bitcoin community.  In December 2013 the Lebanese Central Bank issued an official warning regarding Bitcoin. ‘Transactions conducted with Bitcoins facilitate money laundering and the financing of terrorism,’ said a circular issued by the Central Bank. Regionally, the limited Bitcoin economy appears to serve more mundane purposes.  Earlier this month Dubai-based restaurant The Pizza Guys began accepting Bitcoin payments. Over the past 10 days, The Pizza Guys has processed seven Bitcoin transactions.”

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2014/Feb-24/248247-despite-warnings-bitcoin-gains-toehold-in-region.ashx

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Hong Kong’s first bitcoin shop opens in Sai Ying Pun

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“The 400 sq ft shop in Sai Ying Pun, in Hong Kong Island’s Western district, is the brainchild of Asia Nexgen Bitcoin Exchange.  ‘The biggest issue people have right now is buying the bitcoin. People have to put money in, trade it through an exchange online,’ which takes time, said Lo Ken-bon, the co-founder and chief executive of Asia Nexgen.  ‘Now, you walk into the store, hand over your cash and send the bitcoin to your digital wallet.’  Bitcoin enthusiasts will be asked to provide an identity card and proof of address, to comply with Customs and Excise rules on money laundering.  A trio of start-ups are racing to install the city’s first bitcoin automated teller machine.”

http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1433555/hong-kongs-first-bitcoin-shop-open-week-sai-ying-pun

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