May 2013
6 posts
2 tags
A fun Bitcoin statistic
17.6 petaflops: Computing power of Titan, the world’s top supercomputer
162 petaflops: Combined computing power of all 500 of the world’s most powerful supercomputers
1,085 petaflops: Current computing power of the computers linked together in Bitcoin’s network
(Yes I know petaflops aren’t really a good measure of Bitcoin hashpower and that the new custom ASIC miners...
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I bought my first (tiny fraction of a) bitcoin
I’ve been tracking and occasionally writing about bitcoin for a year, but I’d never actually bought or tried to spend one. Clearly, I wasn’t going to make it out of a weekend at Bitcoin 2013 without changing that.
People here are evangelical about the cyber currency and get really, really excited about showing newbies how easy it is to take the first step away from Ben Bernanke’s printing...
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Well played, Netflix
So last night, I hop on Seamless to order dinner, and spot this new option …
Sneaky tie-in. I’m geekily impressed. -Stacy
Why Design Matters: If Snow Fall Were Published in...
pilhofer:
I am in beautiful Bergen, Norway, this week for the Nordic Media Festival. I gave a talk this morning on digital storytelling and, of course, everyone wanted to talk about Snow Fall.
As part of the presentation — and to drive home my point about design — I mocked up what Snow Fall might have been had our brilliant design, graphics and video teams not taken this project on.
Since a...
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How to turn Bitcoin code into a Ben Bernanke...
Earlier this week I caught wind of a BitcoinTalk thread about coded messages in Bitcoin’s blockchain. How does that even work? I wondered.
Many hours of technical geekery later, I had my head around the basics. For those who want to play along at home, here’s how you can de-code the messages hackers and pranksters have intentionally hidden in the Bitcoin chain. For my working test, I used...
February 2013
2 posts
2 tags
Groupon's 2-for-1 deal
— From our smallbiz reporter pal Jose Pagliery, reacting to the news that Groupon CEO Andrew Mason has been fired.
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The coolest Yahoo rap you've ever heard
Earnings season can get a bit tedious for reporters, who end up staying late (at least on the east coast!) to field after-the-closing-bell conference calls that run for about an hour.
So we take the laughs where we can get them! Last week’s earnings amusement came courtesy of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who joked about the lame hold music before the call (she didn’t realize her mic was...
January 2013
13 posts
1 tag
BlackBerry Z10 hits eBay
Ok, journos, fess up: Who put their launch-event freebie Z10 phone on eBay?
Also, holy hell, this thing is up past $800. Say this for BlackBerry fans: They’re loyal. -Stacy
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Apple's no good very bad RECORD SHATTERING quarter
Apple reported sales of $55 billion for its fourth-quarter, and a profit of $13 billion.
That’s THIRTEEN BILLION. $13,078,000,000, to be more precise. It’s the second-highest quarterly profit in U.S. history.
As Tim Cook pointed out on Apple’s conference call, the company sold 10 iOS devices per second last quarter.
So, you’d think Wall Street would be like this:
...
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“It’s like watching a person crawl out on thin ice to rescue someone flailing in...”
– A tech analyst CNNMoney pinged for comment, who requested anonymity, in response to rumors that Microsoft will take a significant stake in Dell.
Style: The Running of the Balls →
washingtonpoststyle:
It’s inauguration weekend, which means there are a thousand balls to attend. These balls are tedious, so Monica and Dan decided to make a competition out of going to them, in the style of “The Amazing Race.” They will be live-tweeting their contest — @MonicaHesse, @MrDanZak — using the…
The Post is working waaaay harder than us on today’s festivities.
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Sometimes Chartbeat baffles us
Our Chartbeat software shows us what keywords are driving traffic to our stories. Sometimes it makes us worry about what the hell people are out there searching for. And what malware got into Google’s search servers. Atari bankruptcy = “nearly nude driver dwi”? Suuure. -Stacy
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“Star Fleet away teams have had these for a long time.”
– Reader response to our story on Node’s crazy sensor gizmo.
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What happens when the newsroom email crashes
CNNMoney’s tweet volume is gonna hit an all-time high if this lasts for another hour. -Stacy
3 tags
Google wants you to know it did not kill a...
This Street View photo caused some Twitter doubletakes: Had Google’s Street View car run over a donkey?
Happy news! The donkey is fine. Google Maps product manager Kei Kawai leapt on the potential PR nightmare and offered photographic evidence: The donkey was playing possum. His cheekily titled blog post “Never ass-ume” tells the tale.
(We invite your conspiracy theories in...
From Laurie: For entrepreneurs →
milesofsquares:
To be an entrepreneur. To be told “no” on a regular basis. To fight an uphill battle, to fall constantly. I always joke with entrepreneurs I interview - I’d never want to step into their shoes. Entrepreneurship is tough. There is constant failure. Some of the greatest rewards come with the…
We can't wait till Deadspin hacks this →
2 tags
“Using only their wits, an extensive list of control systems related search...”
– From a Department of Homeland Security report about how vulnerable America’s power, water and nuclear systems are to attack. Our question: Paper clip!?
2 tags
December 2012
7 posts
1 tag
The fiscal cliff explained in GIFs
So, apparently Congress isn’t voting on the fiscal cliff tonight. Which means we’re going over.
Uh oh! So what happens then?
Our colleague Jeanne Sahadi has a slightly more nuanced take. -Stacy
5 tags
How Apple calculates Tim Cook's salary
Tim Cook took home a cool $4.2 million this year, according to a regulatory filing Apple submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
Compared to the $1 annual salary Steve Jobs used to make, Cook would seem to be doing pretty well for himself. But Apple claims Cook is woefully underpaid.
Cook’s annual salary was boosted to $1.4 million this past year, and he earned all...
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The scariest 'gift' from our seasonal PR haul
Tech journalists get a mountain of boxes in December filled with holiday tchotchkes and gizmos. We held a vote and officially named this the weirdest:
Everyone who walked past did a doubletake. This just screams ‘Mapquest,’ right? Right? -Stacy
2 tags
When a startup pitches its new app for a story
newscatgif:
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Smalera: Color color, without color →
Oh Color. Here was our launch day coverge: http://cnnmoneytech.tumblr.com/post/4065687380/image-gaping-void-ms-paint-ok-now-its
smalera:
I got caught up thinking about the hype around the Color launch and re-read a bunch of launch-day stories (ie, most likely embargo’ed in exchange for access), just for kicks. These are the stories and lines that stuck out at me, posted without further, er,...
November 2012
5 posts
4 tags
Turning on Do Not Track in Google Chrome
The promise of Do Not Track was supposed to be that with a simple push of the button, ad networks will no longer be able to track your online behavior.
Not only is Do Not Track the opposite of simple, it also does absolutely nothing.
To illustrate, here’s how Do Not Track was implemented in Google Chrome — the world’s most-used browser, according to some studies.
Step 1: Click...
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Here's where Wi-Fi meets Communism →
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An alternate version of my '4 Internet giants'...
The part of tech conferences that’s the most fun is the random conversations and riffing that happens at meals and in other gathering spots.
Last night, I had a story to finish writing but didn’t want to miss Sir Richard Thompson’s guitar gig. So I parked myself at a table with my laptop and typed amid the rocking. Curious about what I was banging away on, a few of those nearby...
5 tags
CNN newcomer unaware of Apple fetish
October 2012
8 posts
1 tag
Your one MUST HAVE hurricane link: The Interwebs... →
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In honor of Color, we bring you this Monty Python...
Email from Color finance vice president Andrew Urushima, as reported by VentureBeat: “Last week, the Board and major shareholders voted to wind down the company.” Spokespeople from Color and its biggest investor: “Color is not shutting down.” It’s the Schrödinger’s cat of startups. Also, we totally called this way back on launch day. -Stacy
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Hawaii County Election Woes Getting State,... →
Our CNN Tech colleague John Sutter is heading up an awesome new CNN project: Change the List. Check our their new Tumblr and follow along.
cnnchangethelist:
Another local story with a mention of this project. Thanks, Sherry!
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Bravo: Silicon Valley - The Drinking Game
Bravo just unleashed a trailer for “Start-Ups: Silicon Valley,” to which there’s only one sane reaction: DRINKING GAME. We’re crowdsourcing the rules; tweet us your suggestions @cnnmoneytech. Here’s a start …
Take a sip when:
Someone refers to programmers as “rock stars”
Someone carries an iPad in one arm and a floofy little dog in the other
...
3 tags
Mars Rover checks into Foursquare -- from Mars
OK that is officially the coolest Foursquare check-in ever, edging past NASA’s Space Station check-ins. Next question: Does Mars have any good bars or restaurants Curiosity can snag check-in discounts at? -Stacy
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“Verizon appreciates your business. Even if it is accidental.”
– Comment from reader Angryman1 on our story about a nasty iPhone bug that’s causing major data overages.
September 2012
8 posts
2 tags
4 tags
I take back everything bad I've ever said about...
Sometimes I have had not nice things to say about RIM and their Blackberry products. After seeing this video, I’ve decided to take it all back. Why should any company spend time developing a mobile operating system when instead they can create an incredibly high-production music video, singing about their developer support to the tune of an REO Speedwagon song?
Your move, Tim Cook. -...
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This should exist: Apple iTorch upgrade plan
photo by p.Gordon
We’re upgrading a bunch of gizmos to iOS 6 today, including some (ancient! antique!) iPhone 3 GS phones.
“When did Apple become the patron saint of backward compatibility?” I asked Dave. I mean, they’re still selling and supporting the two-generations-old iPhone 4. My impression had always been that Steve Jobs would have loved to push a button...
5 tags
August 2012
9 posts
2 tags
Gchat analysis: Stalking Woz
David: may be worth pinging Steve Wozniak.
Erin: is there even an email available for him?
David: he has a PR firm: Wozniak@****************.com
Erin: hahahaha, worth a shot
David: also try: *****@woz.org
Erin: you know so much on how to reach the woz!
David : nothing! I'm not a stalker! shut up!
Erin: hahaha, we can call it being a "journalist"
David: precisely
