'Devastating' protocol flaw could paralyze Bitcoin system Computer scientists say they've identified a fundamental flaw in the Bitcoin electronic currency system that could eventually stunt its development unless developers change the way users are rewarded for their participation. With about 7.5 million Bitcoins in circulation, the highly decentralized system relies on public-key cryptography and a peer-to-peer network to record who is the rightful owner of each individual piece of currency. When Alice wants to pay Bob 50 coins, she signs the transaction with her private key and broadcasts the details to other nodes. As the currency grows into maturity and an ancillary scheme that allows Bitcoins to be created out of thin air is phased out, the verification of other transactions will be Bitcoin's sole reward scheme. With each participant rewarded only for verifying a proposed transaction, there will be little incentive for participants to broadcast transactions to others.
Infographic: Media Consolidation – The Illusion of Choice How much choice does the mainstream US media really offer? Family financial blogger Frugal Dad has created this infographic that lays out the extent of media consolidation in the US, where just six media giants control 90% of all TV, news, radio and film. Protocol of Bitcoin The Bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer payment network that operates on a cryptographic protocol. Users send bitcoins, the unit of currency, by broadcasting digitally signed messages to the network using Bitcoin wallet software. Transactions are recorded into a distributed public database known as the block chain, with consensus achieved by a proof-of-work system called "mining". The block chain is distributed internationally using peer-to-peer filesharing technology similar to BitTorrent. The protocol was designed in 2008 and released in 2009 as open source software by "Satoshi Nakamoto", the pseudonym of the original developer or group of developers. The network timestamps transactions by including them in blocks that form an ongoing chain called the block chain. The network itself requires minimal structure to share transactions. Transactions[edit] A bitcoin is defined by a sequence of digitally signed transactions that began with its creation as a block reward. Bitcoin addresses[edit]
The real Wall Street occupation is online - Ideas@Innovations Protestors at Occupy Wall Street's media area coordinate news updates on laptop computers. (John Minchillo - AP) The Occupy Wall Street movement, now that it has broadened in scope beyond the financial district of Manhattan to attain a truly national — even global — scale has the potential to lay the groundwork for a new generation of start-ups capable of reshaping the financial system in radically new ways. These tech start-ups, while officially unaffiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, are nonetheless responding to the unmet needs of these protesters, individuals who feel abandoned by the current financial system. The breakout company of the Occupy Wall Street movement thus far has been Palo Alto-based WePay, a start-up largely unknown until the protest movement began September 17. It was the Wikileaks imbroglio, in fact, which indirectly helped to crystalize the notion that citizens can take action against financial intermediaries and win. The connectivity revolution
Ron Paul: the Only Candidate to Condemn Racial Profiling at CNN Debate Nov 23, 2011 Ron Paul was the only Republican candidate at the CNN debate to point out that racial profiling is wrong. Fear mongering and sabre rattling were on full display as Republican presidential candidates bickered about national security at last night’s CNN debate. Yes, there were warnings about evil Iran wanting to destroy Israel, rumblings over shady Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, loads of discussion about securing our borders from scary Mexicans and even a little mention of AIDS aid to Africa, which Rick Santorum callously equated not with human goodness, but national security. “The work that we’ve done in stabilizing that area, while humanitarian in nature, was absolutely essential for our national security,” he said, because “Africa was a country on the brink.” In the midst of all these topics came another controversial issue, the TSA, and how to improve it. Long a target for right-wing ire, the TSA catches a lot of flack for intrusive pat downs and extraneous searches.
About | The (BoP) Project Blog Welcome. So, what is this all about? For the past two and a half years, I have been traveling throughout East Africa sharing stories of social entrepreneurs, enterprises, technologies and innovations at the Base of the Economic Pyramid (BoP). The (BoP) Project seeks to reveal the potential behind the veil of poverty in developing economies, through the lens of social entrepreneurs, enterprises, innovations and technologies. It’s been a long journey, to say the least. As with all good things, The (BoP) Project is constantly growing, shaping, and morphing into something better. Roots of The (BoP) Project; Established in 2010, The (BoP) Project set out to accurately and insightfully document stories redefining the development field and generating significant buzz among a new generation of donors, investors, students and concerned global citizens. The (BoP) Story: Four billion people on this planet live in relative poverty. Characteristics of the BoP Significant unmet needs. The Curator:
Following a 1,000,000% Gain, a Slow-Motion Crash (^DJI, ABX, NEM) No, there's not the slightest touch of hyperbole to that headline. Rather, it's the completely accurate, if exceedingly brief, tale of Bitcoin's short life. Far from dead, however, the digital currency continues to hold promise, and its trajectory bears more than a passing glance. When I first wrote about Bitcoin in June, it had recently gone parabolic, first crossing the $1 mark, and then rapidly shooting up to the $9 range (if you don't know a Bitcoin from a Malaysian ringgit, see my previous article). The ascent, however, was still in the middle innings. Not two weeks later, the Bitcoin was trading at more than $30, having appreciated 10,000-fold since dollar-denominated trading began in 2010. Then, of course, the inevitable occurred. Was a bubble phenomenon in the cards for Bitcoin from the get-go? But what about the long-term prospects? Of course, price stability is the real key to Bitcoin's future, and here, even Andresen was surprised by the magnitude of the recent run-up.
Farmers markets double, local food sales to hit $7 billion, USDA says Locally produced foods could pull in $7 billion this year, according to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture report. Whether sold directly to consumers through farmers markets, roadside stands or middlemen such as supermarkets or restaurants, the market for food grown nearby is growing fast. The industry hit $4.8 billion in sales in 2008, according to the report. Sales made straight from farms to buyers doubled in two decades to $1.2 billion from $650 million in the 1990s, according to the report. The surge may coincide with increasing interest in healthful eating and artisan cooking, trends that have encouraged major companies such as Burger King and Domino’s Pizza to focus on fresh ingredients. The USDA found that more than 80% of local food producers are small farms making less than $50,000 in gross annual sales. Demand is strongest in metropolitan areas, especially in the Northeast and on the West Coast. Domino's launches a line of artisan pizzas -- Tifany Hsu
Bitcoin infographic How a Bitcoin transaction works Bob, an online merchant, decides to begin accepting bitcoins as payment. Alice, a buyer, has bitcoins and wants to purchase merchandise from Bob. Bob and Alice both have Bitcoin "wallets" on their computers Wallets are files that provide access to multiple Bitcoin addresses. An address is a string of letters and numbers such as LGULMwZEPkjEPeCH438ekjlybLCWropN Each address has its own balance of bitcoins. -Bob creates a new Bitcoin address for Alice to send her payment to. -Alice tells her Bitcoin client that shed like to transfer the purchase amount to Bob’s address. Private key Public Key -Alice's wallet holds the private key for each of her addresses. -Anyone on the network can now use the public key to verify that the transaction request is actually coming from the legitimate account owner. -Gari Garth and Glenn are Bitcoin miners. -The computers bundle the transactions of the past 10 minutes into a new “transaction block” Nonces The root of all evil???
Top US foreclosure law firm threw Halloween party where staff dressed as homeless, foreclosed-upon Americans From a NYT opinion piece by Joe Nocera, "What the Costumes Reveal"— On Friday, the law firm of Steven J. Baum threw a Halloween party. The firm, which is located near Buffalo, is what is commonly referred to as a “foreclosure mill” firm, meaning it represents banks and mortgage servicers as they attempt to foreclose on homeowners and evict them from their homes. I'm not one to incite illegal activity, but christ, guys: if there were ever a house that deserved T-P-ing on Halloween? Read the rest, and see all the photos, here.