technology

The Politics Of Bitcoin Mixing Services

"The emergence of services that mingle bitcoin for the purpose of returning bitcoin not associated with the original input address has had a somewhat spotty history. Also called bitcoin laundries, these web-based services charge bitcoin holders a nominal fee to receive different bitcoins than the ones initially transferred. The largest such service operating today is the Blockchain.info mixing service which has a maximum transaction size of 250 bitcoins and a 0.5% transaction fee. Other services include BitLaundry and The Bitcoin Laundry operated by Mike Gogulski." Continue reading →

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3D Printer Company Aims to Block Printing of Guns

"A Danish 3D printer company has developed an algorithm that would prevent independent 3D printer owners from being able to print gun part files, adding fuel to the demonization and censorship campaign already being waged against the incredible technology’s powerful potential. According to Create it REAL’s CEO Jeremie Pierre Gay, his company’s line of 3D printers will be sold with the software already loaded that will block files recognized as gun part components before they’re printed – so far namely those needed to assemble the Liberator or Defense Distributed’s lower receiver." Continue reading →

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State Department bureau spent $630,000 on Facebook ‘likes’

"State Department officials spent $630,000 to get more Facebook 'likes,' prompting employees to complain to a government watchdog that the bureau was 'buying fans' in social media, the agency's inspector general says. The department's Bureau of International Information Programs spent the money to increase its 'likes' count between 2011 and March 2013. Despite the surge in likes, the IG said the effort failed to reach the bureau's target audience, which is largely older and more influential than the people liking its pages. Only about 2 percent of fans actually engage with the pages by liking, sharing or commenting." Continue reading →

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Dell’s Cash Overseas Is Needed at Home, But U.S. Taxes Loom Large

"Advisers working on Dell Inc.'s $24.4 billion buyout are trying to solve a problem: how to use the computer maker's foreign cash without paying a $2.6 billion U.S. tax bill. That could be the cost levied to use the money held in foreign subsidiaries. The efforts highlight a current bind of corporate America: While U.S. companies are holding more cash than ever, the tangle of U.S. tax policies and corporate cash-preservation strategies means much of it isn't readily available for some of the most important corporate decisions, such as returning cash to shareholders or mergers and acquisitions." Continue reading →

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French competition watchdog raids Apple stores

"French competition authorities last week raided several stores of US tech giant Apple following a complaint by failed local firm eBizcuss of unfair trade practices, officials said Tuesday. Officials from the Autorite de la Concurrance confirmed the raids but did not say where they took place and how many outlets were affected. Apple did not comment. The Les Echos financial daily said the the investigators wanted to probe Apple’s relations with its distributors. The firm has been accused of favouring its own stores with the supply of new devices." Continue reading →

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EBay’s double tax base prompts calls for investigation

"Britain and Germany may have missed out on a combined $1 billion in sales tax since online marketplace eBay picked a tiny Luxembourg office as its base for EU sales, a shift that lawmakers say should now be investigated. EBay, which is headquartered in San Jose, California, moved into Europe in 1999 when it established eBay International in Berne. Switzerland's low income tax regime for foreign companies was highly beneficial for the auction site. The Swiss base also meant, initially, that the company didn't have to charge EU customers VAT. But in 2003, Brussels changed the rules." Continue reading →

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Thin Wire – Hawala

"With the ingenious method of hawala, money moved time zones and continents via a single communication between two hawaladars or thadekars (hawala agents): a promise that the cash had been deposited on one end, and thus could be withdrawn from the other. So long as cash trades at either end were relatively balanced, the system worked—so well that hawala remained the mainstay of monetary trade in more than 50 countries until the early 20th century. Fast-forward a few hundred years, and hawala has a less celebrated reputation. But for families in developing countries supported by diaspora relatives, hawala is a lifeline." Continue reading →

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19-Year-Old Commits Suicide After Sheriff Posts Bullying Facebook Message

"The Latah County Sheriff's Office in Idaho had posted a photo of 19-year-old Pullman, Wash., resident Andrew Cain alongside a message saying, 'We have decided that Andrew Cain is no longer the Wanted Person of the Week… he is the Wanted Person of the Month of June. Congratulations!.' A few days later, Cain took his own life. Whitman County Coroner Pete Martin said that Cain had suffered from depression 'and a number of problems.' The Latah County Sheriff's Office told HuffPost there were three warrants out for Cain: one for driving without privileges and one for possession of a controlled substance, while unable to say what the third warrant was for." Continue reading →

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Chinese investors go crazy for Bitcoin

"A BTC craze is sweeping China, as hundreds start to invest and trade large amounts of the virtual currency Bitcoin. The craze has given birth to a huge industrial chain, covering trading, mining, chip production and mining-machine assembly. Bitcoin transactions are secured by servers called bitcoin miners but based on the huge surge in demand for the currency, Bitcoin mining machines are in short supply. According to Tencent, there are two Chinese mining teams capable of processing large amounts of Bitcoin transactions. Figures show that China now boasts the most number of BTC nodes, which help control the computing power of the Bitcoin netweek, at 85,220." Continue reading →

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Chinese spacecraft completes space-docking mission

"The successful manoeuvre was China’s first ever such test, the report said, and it marks a step towards China’s goal of building a permanent manned space station by 2020. China first sent a human into space only in 2003 and its capabilities still lag behind the US and Russia. But its programme is highly ambitious and includes plans to land a man on the moon. Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a symbol of its rising global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party’s success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation." Continue reading →

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