BITCOIN

Central Planning

Central banking is nothing but Soviet-central planning applied to money. #bitcoin – Erik Voorhees

Network Difficulty

Bitcoin Network Difficulty Growth Slows Significantly: from +40%/month in January to less than +15%/month – Tuur Demeester

Bitlicense

Thank you brucefenton for having the courage to call BenLawsky the corrupt, violent liar that he is: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2bqa4o/friends_its_time_to_face_the_realities_of_the/

– Roger Ver

ALTCOINS

Ether

Future of capital allocation: Ethereum raises $750,000 in 2 hours from private parties all over the world – https://blockchain.info/address/36PrZ1KHYMpqSyAQXSG8VwbUiq2EogxLo2 – Erik Voorhees

Almost $5 milllion raised in the first 5 days – Lee Banfield

Ethereum huge: persistent state, permissionless flexibility to create own Nakamoto-consensus apps. No opnn on price of ether. Ethereum has vast potential, whereas Bitcoin won’t ever do anything well beyond implementing a currency – Nick Szabo

Ethereum refund policy if stuff doesn’t launch, “We will send you one picture of our boat for every 1000$ you sent.”- Jeremy Ross

Ecuador’s Kleptocurrency

Prediction: before the government even finishes its currency, Bitcoin will be ubiquitous in Ecuador http://panampost.com/belen-marty/2014/07/23/top-down-digital-currency-coming-to-ecuador-with-competition-banned/– Erik Voorhees

EQUITIES

IBM

Watson, IBM’s (IBM:US) artificial intelligence computing platform, is changing the way we compute. From its roots as a robotic contestant on Jeopardy, the machine-learning marvel is now being positioned as a tool for doctors, businesspeople, and scientists worldwide–one that can answer any question posed to it in natural English.

IBM’s future arguably depends on Watson’s success. The company’s hardware sales have been falling for the past few years, and this computer system has been their most notable growth area. In January, IBM invested $1 billion in a massive expansion of Watson’s ecosystem.

Earlier this month, IBM announced a $3 billion R&D investment in computer hardware that mimics the human brain – Neal Ungerleider

Intuitive Surgical

The surgical capacity of robots is impressive, to say the least, witness the instruments carried by the « Da Vinci », a flagship robot produced by the US company Intuitive Surgical (ISRG).

Growth observed in the surgical robot market is noteworthy. According to a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal, under the title “The Pros and Cons of Robotic Surgery,” some 1000 surgical operations were performed worldwide in 2000 with assistance of robots. The figure for 2011 was 360,000 and 450,000 for 2102. For the consultants Wintergreen Research, these machines already generate a worldwide turnover of 3.2 billion $US, a figure that should rise to 19.96 billion $US by 2019 – Paris Tech Review

COMPANIES / PROJECTS

OpenBazaar

We aren’t setting up a marketplace. We are creating a platform that let’s anyone create their own marketplace in a decentralized network. We aren’t charging for use and don’t have plans to make money on this.

Late August beta is the plan, and we need testers. It will stay open source. – CC_EF_JTF

Open Name System

Open Name System is user handles, domains, decentralized DNS all on the blockchain, full DNS backwards-compatible – Beautyon

THE SINGULARITY

Telepresence Robots

Telepresence robots make it possible for people with disabilities to visit museums – Jon Kelvey

3D Food Printers

3D printing is finally starting to evolve as a technology. Just several years ago, only the largest corporations had access to the benefits of 3D printers. Then came along the consumer level 3D printers which allowed just about anyone to own and operate one in their home. Now, within the past couple years, we have begun to see the emergence of 3D food printers – printers that can print out actual meals

3D Systems has a line of printers called ChefJet which are able to print out small to large edible objects. These printers are mostly targeted toward professional pastry chefs, and bakeries, but being priced starting at under $5,000, surely several amateurs will be using these as well.

Another company, Natural Machines has created a 3D printer, called the Foodini, that is capable of printing out entire meals. You feed this machine with raw/uncooked foods and it prints objects in any design you would like – Eddie Krassenstein

Jaunt VR – Live Action Virtual Reality

With Jaunt™ cinematic VR, you will feel transported directly into the middle of the action. Look anywhere. See everything. Jaunt will let you travel to far away places, experience breathtaking natural vistas, sit front row at your favorite concert and courtside at the game – all from your living room.

Their camera films real world footage from everything surrounding it, and their software stitches those clips together to create a seamless experience. The wrap-around film capture means that you’re able to swivel in any direction to maintain that feeling of “actually being there.”

Forget the simulated world of virtual reality video games. The real VR disruption is coming from live action. Do you want courtside seats for the Lakers? Looking to get inside the White House press room? Have you been on stage with your favorite band lately? It’s not a matter of if, but of “HOLY CRAP it’s already here!!

So what does it all mean?

It means watching the next FIFA World Cup from the field with a better view than the coaches.

It means accepting that Oscar right alongside Leo DiCaprio, whenever it is he decides to win one.

It means keeping your pajamas on, because JauntVR is saving you a front row seat at anything they can get their cameras to.

Before the week, I would have never believed that today, someone could actually sit sideline at a professional game. I don’t think I’ve quite recovered from the haze of appreciation for that experience.

VR enthusiasts have been saying for years, “Won’t it be cool when…” Well that when is now, and that now is more amazing than this VR enthusiast could have imagined. Sooner than you think, your jaw too will tumble to the floor – inside the immersion of a live action VR experience – Aaron Frank

Jaunt is a total sensory experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The creative community is going to blow our minds with this technology over the coming years – Peter Gotcher, Chairman of Dolby

The confluence of various tech trends have positioned us at a point where it may become possible to truly create the experience of being in another location. Jaunt is leading the charge here – Babak Parviz, Creator of Google Glass

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