technology

Online sales tax overwhelmingly passes cloture vote

"The Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states the mechanism to start collecting taxes for online sales, overwhelmingly passed a Senate cloture vote Monday night, circumventing regular order and drawing concern from a minority of Senators. Seventy four Senators voted in favor of the motion, while 20 dissented. Many of those represent states that, like New Hampshire, do not have a state sales tax and argue the passage of this bill will be consequential for their small businesses. One consequence cited was the states’ potential power to collect sales tax on financial transactions done online, specifically on Americans' 401(k) accounts." Continue reading →

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The 10 Best Jobs in America

"10. Computer Systems Analyst; Salary: $77,740. 9. Physical Therapist; Salary: $76,310. 8. Optometrist; Salary: $94,990. 7. Occupational Therapist; Salary: $72,320. 6. Dental Hygienist; Salary: $68,250. 5. Financial Planner; Salary: $64,750. 4. Audiologist; Salary: $66,660. 3. Software Engineer; Salary: $90,530. 2. Biomedical Engineer; Salary: $81,540. 1. Actuary; Salary: $87,650" Continue reading →

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Guy Spent $11,000 On A Coding ‘Bootcamp’ And Doubled His Salary

"These intensive training programs are not cheap — charging $10,000 to $15,000 for programs running nine to 12 weeks — and they're highly selective, typically only admitting 10 to 20 percent of applicants. And they're called boot camps for a reason. Students can expect to work 80 to 100 hours a week, mostly writing code in teams under the guidance of experienced software developers. One San Francisco school called App Academy doesn't charge tuition. Instead, it asks for a 15 percent cut of the student's first-year salary. Graduates who can't find jobs don't have to pay, but so far nearly all of them have." Continue reading →

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Detlev Schlichter: Could Bitcoin be the money of the future?

"The crypto-currency Bitcoin is still merely a speck on the global monetary landscape. It is young, experimental, and for all we know, it may ultimately fail to break into the monetary mainstream. However, on a conceptual level I am willing to call it a work of genius and arguably the most exciting development in the field of money for more than 130 years. Let’s say since the start of the Classical Gold Standard in 1879. Does this sound like hyperbole? Well, let me explain." Continue reading →

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Japanese police ask ISPs to block Tor

"Japanese citizens who want to use Tor for whistleblowing or simply to stay invisible don't have to worry quite yet about the agency's desire to crack down on Web freedom. One industry insider told The Mainichi that 'Communication privacy is our lifeline. We won't be able to accept such a request,' and with any luck, an industry backlash could force the agency to look at more sensible ways to combat cybercrime and piracy -- or they could simply go back to chasing cats." Continue reading →

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Are We Really “Going Dark”? — The DEA and Apple’s iMessage

"'Apple iMessage users should be aware that regardless of what they heard last week, their messages can be easily obtained by law enforcement pursuant to a warrant under the Electronic Communication Act [ECPA],' said Alan Butler, an in-house attorney with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). 'Even though the messages are encrypted by the phone company as they are sent by iMessage, Apple can decrypt messages and hand them over to law enforcement with a warrant!'" Continue reading →

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Cop at Suspicionless Checkpoint Starts Barking Orders, But Then Flees from Camera

"Border agents have no authority to interfere in interstate conmerce and delay a load travelling between states. Nor do they have a right to demand someone step out of the vehicle, show their ID, or interrupt their 10 hour sleeping period with no probable cause. A second officer with a drug sniffing dog comes snooping around the truck but the first officer says 'he has a camera' and the drug dog cop backs off immediately also. Apparently these power-starved jackboot lunatics have an aversion to cameras for some strange reason." Continue reading →

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Gene wars: the last-ditch battle over who owns the rights to our DNA

"US biotechnology giant Myriad Genetics is demanding that the US supreme court back the patents it has taken out on the BRAC genes. The company believes it should be the only producer of tests to detect mutations in these genes, a business it has carried out in the United States for more than a decade. On the other side, a group of activists, represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, argues that it is fundamentally absurd and immoral to claim ownership of humanity’s shared genetic heritage and demands that the court ban patents." Continue reading →

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Google CEO Schmidt calls for end to private drone use

"'It’s probable that robotics becomes a significant component of nation state warfare,' he said. 'I’m not going to pass judgment on whether armies should exist, but I would prefer to not spread and democratise the ability to fight war to every single human being. 'It’s got to be regulated. You just can’t imagine that British people would allow this sort of thing, and I can’t imagine American people would allow this sort of thing. It’s one thing for governments, who have some legitimacy in what they’re doing, but have other people doing it … It’s not going to happen.'" Continue reading →

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E-commerce in China: The Alibaba phenomenon

"On its way to becoming the world’s biggest economy, China is passing another landmark. Its e-commerce market is overtaking America’s. And one giant firm dominates the market: Alibaba, by some measures already the world’s largest e-commerce company. Last year two of Alibaba’s portals together handled 1.1 trillion yuan ($170 billion) in sales, more than eBay and Amazon combined. Yet despite such extraordinary success, many people outside China have barely noticed the rise of this privately held behemoth. That is about to change. Soon, the firm is expected to announce details of its initial public offering (IPO)." Continue reading →

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