A TECHNICAL

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Washington and Beijing have been accusing each other of  hacking and other cybersecurity violations, raising concerns that U.S. firms selling network or computer equipment in China could be caught in the crossfire. But U.S. technology firm Dell, which is the largest  vendor of computer servers in China, says its business there hasn’t been hurt. Motorcyclists ride past ‘Unit 61398′, a secretive Chinese military unit, in the outskirts of Shanghai in February. The unit is believed to be behind a series of hacking attacks, a U.S. computer security company said.   REUTERS “We don’t see any impact on our business,” said Amit Midha, who heads Dell’s Asia Pacific operations. “We feel that this is something that is going to get worked through over time between the two countries.” Dell also sells PCs and storage products in China, as well as software and other technology services. The tensions over cybe...

A screenshot of Introbiz.com, run by CNYK Technology. How can a social network that no one has ever heard of suddenly be valued at more than $6 billion? That’s what is happening with the one-time penny stock, Cynk Technology, which is up more than 100-fold since mid-June, bringing its market capitalization to more than $6 billion on Thursday. Yet the self-proclaimed social network has  no revenue, no product, no assets and one employee. If it’s true that there’s a sucker is born every minute, then many of them trade on the penny-stock market. As The Wall Street Journal  wrote this week , the world of penny stocks is “a historical haven for con men and hustlers that the FBI says is ‘rife with fraud.’” Cynk’s various securities filings from 2012 to 2013 read like a satirical article from The Onion. Let us count the red flags: – The company’s business plan is vague and poorly written , containing gems like: “Instead of paying for a lunch that neither party wa...

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban The Irish data privacy watchdog said it will take a broader look at  Facebook   FB   +2.26% ’s research practices.   Bloomberg Facebook’s psychological experiment on users’ emotions could cause more headaches for the social networking giant. The Irish data privacy watchdog said it will take a broader look at Facebook’s research practices, including previous research activity, to review the company’s use of personal user information, after a paper published in June  showed how Facebook manipulated  the news feeds of nearly 700,000 users to see the effect on people’s emotions. “We will be examining more closely the uses that Facebook is making of personal data for research purposes,” Billy Hawkes, the data protection commissioner for Ireland, told the Journal. Like several large American tech companies, Facebook’s European headquarters are in Dublin. Irish and U.K. data-protection...

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban The Uber effect continues to spread throughout the startup world. Cover , a mobile payments startup focused on restaurants, is the latest newly funded startup touting itself as the Uber-for-something. The company, which said Thursday it has raised $5.5 million in funding, aims to recreate the experience of taxi-hailing app Uber by allowing patrons to pay for their meals without ever seeing a check or swiping a credit card. Users simply alert the waiter they are using the Cover app to pay and then walk away at the end of the meal — even the tip is automated. Cover integrates its software into existing restaurant cash registers through a tablet computer, like the Apple iPad, said Andrew Cove, a co-founder. He said the company makes money on the difference between what restaurants pay it in transaction fees and what Cover pays to credit card processors. The company is working to bulk up its list of ...

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban The ball bounces over the goal line past Italy’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as Costa Rica’s Bryan Ruiz scores his side’s first goal.   Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO – Several small technology companies are looking to the World Cup to give their businesses a major boost. While official sponsors like  Sony   6758.TO   -0.83%  have their names plastered around event sites, these small firms are quietly providing services and devices needed for soccer’s largest event. One of the biggest winners so far is GoalControl GmbH, a small German company that won the contract to provide goal-line technology during the World Cup. GoalControl, a 40-person outfit from western Germany and a subsidiary of a plastics and rubber inspection company, uses a number of cameras to track the ball within a centimeter to tell whether it crosses the goal line. The aim is to eliminate errors by referees that ha...

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Data scientist—a new occupation that blends business savvy, mathematical wizardry and computer know-how—is data analytics’ career of the moment. Currently boasting superstar status in the corporate world, these number crunchers find hidden insights in large, complex sets of data that don't typically mesh. While demand for data scientists is growing across many industries, some businesses are going all out to shore up their data militia. Anyone looking for a career in data science may want to consider these four industries in particular—they’re hiring. Agriculture Relying on sensors in farm machinery, in soil and on planes flown over fields, precision agriculture is an emerging practice in which growing crops is directed by data covering everything from soil conditions to weather patterns to commodity pricing. “Precision agriculture helps you optimize yield and avoid major mistakes,” says Daniel Castro, direct...

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has added a new function to its mobile shopping and payment applications that allows people to check the authenticity of drugs by scanning the packages with smartphone cameras. REUTERS China’s pharmaceutical market is growing , but so is the potential market for fake or substandard drugs. This week, the state-run  Xinhua news agency reported  that China’s drug administration has warned consumers about fake cancer drugs being sold online. Alibaba’s Tmall shopping site hosts storefronts for major Chinese drugstore chains, but one of the challenges of selling drugs online is lack of trust. The new feature, available on Alibaba’s Mobile Taobao shopping app and the Alipay Wallet payment app, could address consumers’ – and Beijing’s – concerns about the authenticity and safety of drugs sold by online retailers. Using the same feature, consumers can also scan the pac...

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer (Associated Press) Was it just two old colleagues having a late-night chat or a prelude to more serious business down the road? Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer and AOL CEO Tim Armstrong talked over drinks into the wee hours Thursday night at the Sun Valley resort, as most other attendees of the Allen & Co. gathering of media and technology moguls sauntered off to bed. The tête-à-tête could be nothing more than former Google executives catching up. Sun Valley isn’t all about deal-making, after all. Much of it is just corporate titans schmoozing and kicking back. But the Mayer-Armstrong meeting drew attention, because of the ongoing speculation from analysts that Yahoo and AOL would make a smart pairing. Colin Gillis, an analyst at BCG Partners,  said in May , for example that an AOL purchase would bolster Yahoo’s revenue and expand its audience in areas such as online vi...

Quoting from the site  CNN Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban (CNN)  -- Did your last vacation include a visit to a masterpiece of human creative genius? Or to an area of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance? If so, you may have visited a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List, perhaps the most prestigious preservation list in the world. The newest sites include Saudi Arabia's Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah; the Erbil Citadel, a fortified settlement in the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq; Japan's Tomioka Silk Mill; the Van Nellefabriek (Van Nelle Factory) in the Netherlands; an initial section of the Silk Roads known as the Routes Network of Tian-Shan Corridor (crossing through Kyrgyzstan, China and Kazakhstan); and the ancient West Bank village of Battir. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is naming cultural and natural treasures to the organization's prestigious  World Heritage List  during its meetings through June 25 in Qatar...

Quoting from the site  CNN Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban (CNN)  -- More than a week into the tournament, diehard World Cup fans are losing sleep and falling down on their jobs as they yell at their TV and computer screens. For those who haven't caught football fever, the enthusiasm and the sport may leave them befuddled. But behind the World Cup there are stories that can speak to everyone. 1.   It's a family affair When Germany and Ghana face off Saturday, two brothers will as well. For Jerome Boateng, Germany defender, the match will be especially loaded. He'll be playing against not just his half-brother, Ghana's midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, but also their father's home country -- a place he's never even visited, according to FIFA. The brothers have reportedly ceased contact during the World Cup to keep their heads in the game. But will they hug on the field? And who will family members, if they're sit...