"British scientists on Tuesday reported they had harnessed the power of urine and were able to charge a mobile phone with enough electricity to send texts and surf the Internet. The team grew bacteria on carbon fibre anodes and placed them inside ceramic cylinders. The bacteria broke down chemicals in urine passed through the cylinders, building up a small amount of electrical charge which was stored on a capacitor." Continue reading →
"In a groundbreaking procedure, US researchers used a 3D printer to create a custom, life-saving implant for a baby boy, according to a Live Science report." Continue reading →
"Yes, the Internet Archive. The outfit that so diligently records our web history also runs its own bank — The Internet Archive Federal Credit Union, or IAFCU, based out of New Brunswick, New Jersey. And when Hockenhull needed somewhere to turn, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle gave him the means to keep his company alive. Since then, the IAFCU has taken on a half-dozen Bitcoin businesses, such as BitBox, giving them a critical link to the U.S. financial system. The Internet Archive’s role as the backer of one of the country’s most Bitcoin-friendly financial institutions is a bit of an unlikely tale." Continue reading →
"'There are few things scarier than the threat of the government turning off your [portfolio] business and that possibility 100 percent exists with bitcoin,' said Matthew Witheiler, principal at Flybridge Capital Partners, and one of the four investor panelists at the pitch event. 'The bitcoin companies that win will be the ones that play by the rules.' Andrew Chang, a partner at Liberty City Ventures, a VC firm that has created a dedicated bitcoin startup fund, said he is looking for startups that approach their business 'not necessarily as tech startups would approach it, but as financial institutions would.'" Continue reading →
"Senior officials in Washington have made it known they will not stand for rule changes that narrowly target the activities of some of the nation's fastest growing multinationals. The OECD plan has been billed as the biggest opportunity to overhaul international tax rules since a framework for bilateral tax treaties was first established after the first world war. In the case of Google, in 2011 French tax officials demanded €1.7bn (£1.47bn) in back taxes. Google settled the case, agreeing to paying €60m. The French president, François Hollande, said it was 'a model for effective partnership and is a pointer to the future in the global digital economy.'" Continue reading →
"'It took the nations of the Eurozone ten years or so to deploy the Euro, and that was introducing an entirely new currency,' he says. 'We’re trying to do the same thing with bitcoin. We’re trying to roll out a currency from scratch. And as the experience with the Euro showed, it takes an incredible amount of time to change over POS systems and cash registers, to train end of line merchant workers with this new payment system.' Garzik believes that this is just the start. If his vision comes true, then maybe bitcoin could be as big as the Euro. Only, you know, without centralized banking and dysfunctional national economies gumming up the works." Continue reading →
"This has been a common historical pattern in the rise of totalitarian States, which have often sought to incorporate large business concerns into their network of power. Indeed, the very notion of 'public-private partnerships' in this sector readily brings to mind the worst aspects of fascist economic systems that have historically existed. The actions of US companies that have cooperated in the NSA’s mass surveillance operations calls into question the 'private' status of these companies. In many ways these companies have acted as an extension of the US government, providing information illegally, in exchange for privileges and intelligence." Continue reading →
"When President Obama inked his name to the executive order on July 6, he authorized Homeland Security to take control of the country’s wired and wireless communications — including the Internet — in instances of emergency. The signing was accompanied with little to no acknowledgment outside of the White House, but initial reports on the order quickly caused the public to speak out over what some equated to creating an Oval Office kill switch for the Web. Now the Obama administration is addressing those complaints by calling the Executive Order a necessary implement for America’s national security." Continue reading →
"US President Barack Obama moved Friday to free up more broadcast spectrum used by federal agencies to help meet the surging demand from smartphones and other mobile devices. A White House order calls for a federal team to evaluate ways for agencies to give up or share spectrum for mobile broadband operators. Mignon Clyburn, acting chair of the Federal Communications Commission, said the new effort 'will enable us to meet the challenge of unleashing spectrum for commercial use while also ensuring more efficient use of spectrum.'" Continue reading →
"The ministry said that, from Monday, its 1,500 staff are no longer allowed to bring smartphones into their offices without installing the app, called 'Mobile Management Device'. Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters that the app, which restricts the use of cameras and audio recording, prevents leaks through smartphones and stops outsiders from hacking into the devices of defence ministry officials. About 70 percent of South Korea’s 50 million people have smartphones — the world’s highest penetration rate." Continue reading →