Entrepreneurship

Encryption and Privacy: Goodbye Copyright Laws

"Kim Dotcom really is his name these days. He had it legally changed. The federal government shut down his enormously profitable file-sharing business in 2011. It won’t shut down his latest version of file-sharing. His new company, Mega, offers 100% encryption. His company can’t crack it. The U.S. government can’t crack it — not at a price it can afford, anyway. So people can post movies, songs, or anything else on his site. You get 50 megabytes of free storage to start out. His lawyers can now say this: 'Our company will cooperate with the governments of the world. But, sorry, we have no idea what people are putting into their accounts.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEncryption and Privacy: Goodbye Copyright Laws

Encryption and Privacy: Goodbye Copyright Laws

"Kim Dotcom really is his name these days. He had it legally changed. The federal government shut down his enormously profitable file-sharing business in 2011. It won’t shut down his latest version of file-sharing. His new company, Mega, offers 100% encryption. His company can’t crack it. The U.S. government can’t crack it — not at a price it can afford, anyway. So people can post movies, songs, or anything else on his site. You get 50 megabytes of free storage to start out. His lawyers can now say this: 'Our company will cooperate with the governments of the world. But, sorry, we have no idea what people are putting into their accounts.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEncryption and Privacy: Goodbye Copyright Laws

How to Be a YouTube Star and Beat Justin Timberlake in the Charts

"I released my first musical thing (called YouTube Tour) in 2007 I think it was, and it made a couple hundred bucks. Then in 2008 they introduced the YouTube partnership program and I was one of the first partners. Back then I made maybe $300 a month. Then it slowly rose, and at the same time my first album came out in October 2009, so with the money from that plus YouTube I moved out in March 2010 to a place with my best friend and we paid £600 each on rent so it wasn’t too bad. Typically I make around £3500 a month from YouTube (I’m on a network so they can sell the ad space higher) and at least £10,000 a month from music and merch sales." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to Be a YouTube Star and Beat Justin Timberlake in the Charts

Jim Rogers shares insights on his book Street Smarts

"Jim Rogers of Rogers International Commodities Index (RICI) joins Open Currency Update with Kurt Wallace. While logging miles on his exercise bike, Jim discusses his ground up approach to investing and why he recommends investors learn philosophy and history. He also shares about a changing global environment toward Asia and why he sees New York City as a third world city. Rogers talks about his chapter ‘Creative Destruction’ and he explains the importance of how a robust immigration system directly effects the state of a society’s economy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Rogers shares insights on his book Street Smarts

Bitcoins gain traction in Argentina

"Enter the bitcoin? The virtual currency is emerging as the latest inflation refuge – and Bloomberg reports that TradeHill, a US-based bitcoin exchange, is now planning to open an office in Argentina where demand is fastest in the region. Bitcoins are absolutely not words on everybody’s lips here and many people have no clue about how to use them. But a quick squint at the website of MercadoLibre – a kind of ebay – reveals that you can buy plenty of things, from motorbikes to apartments to an anti-slip spray for bathtubs, and pay with bitcoins. Argentina’s two centuries’ history of currency turbulence, has wired a need for financial smarts into the national DNA." Continue reading →

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Local credit union tries on being banker to the pot industry

"One of Seattle’s oldest credit unions has stepped up to serve the pot industry—and inadvertently test the limits of state versus federal authority as the state attempts to create an above-board recreational marijuana industry. Other banks and credit unions have uniformly rejected pot-related businesses, because marijuana is on the federal list of illegal drugs, and a bank that handles marijuana revenue could look like a money launderer. On the other hand, it is a business opportunity. Verity's interpretation of the banking rules does push the boundaries a bit, and highlights the tension between state and federal laws." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLocal credit union tries on being banker to the pot industry

In Venezuela, Almost-Free Gas Comes at a High Cost

"Premium gasoline in Venezuela costs 5.8 U.S. cents a gallon, using the official exchange rate. Every day thousands of taxis, buses and motorcycles freshly loaded with gasoline head into Colombia from Venezuela. Once in Colombia, the fuel is siphoned off by freelancers known as pimpineros who pay them about $2 a gallon and resell the gasoline or diesel to Colombians for a few cents more. Under 14 years of rule by the late President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela kept gasoline prices frozen even as rising government spending spurred robust overall inflation. He made himself enormously popular but damaged long-term prospects for Venezuela's economy." Continue reading →

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Meet the Bitcoin Millionaires

"Many Bitcoin tycoons are devoting themselves to expanding the currency’s reach. Yifu Guo was a digital media student at New York University when he began mining some of the first coins, occasionally cashing in a few to help pay his rent. After he recognized Bitcoin’s potential, he quit school and founded a company called Avalon, which sells hardware built solely for the purpose of mining Bitcoins. Tony Gallippi is CEO of BitPay, a payment processor he co-founded in 2011 that enables online merchants to accept Bitcoins. He says he includes Bitcoins in his investment portfolio along with stocks, bonds, and real estate." Continue reading →

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Extra! Extra! New daily papers arrive as Myanmar lifts press monopoly

"Privately owned daily newspapers hit Myanmar’s streets for the first time in decades on Monday under new freedoms that represent a revolution for a media shackled under military rule. Four Burmese-language titles — The Voice, The Golden Fresh Land, The Union and The Standard Time — made the transition from weekly as new rules came into effect that swept away state media’s long monopoly on daily printing. The country’s military rulers seized control of private daily papers in 1964, according to veteran journalist Thiha Saw of Open News weekly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExtra! Extra! New daily papers arrive as Myanmar lifts press monopoly