While the past few James Bond films have received mixed reviews, seemingly everyone is in agreement that Daniel Craig is a pretty badass edition of the legendary character.
And perhaps that is why it is so exciting that the new Spectre trailer looks so promising. Check it out below.
It goes pretty much without saying at this point that Google+ hasn’t quite evolved into what Google had probably hoped it would have when they launched the site back in 2011. And now, a little more than four years after the initial launch date (there was an invite-only structure for a number of months before), it appears that the company might be making some moves to scale back that operation.
Via Social Media Biz
As reported by Tech Crunch, a number of functionalities and features are being disconnected from the site. In a few months, you’ll no longer need a Google+ profile to comment on Youtube videos (congratulations, trolls), and Google Photos is being phased out of the site as well.
Google+ will continue on though, with a closer focus on “becoming a place where people engage around their shared interests, with the content and people who inspire them,” as according to Google VP of Streams, Photos, and Sharing, Bradley Horowitz. This likely means a renewed focus on Google+ Collections and Hangouts.
Via: Source
The man has had somewhat of a magic touch these past few years, as recently returned Twitter interim CEO Jack Dorsey is in line for another pay day courtesy of his mobile payments device and app, Square.
Via Business Insider
As of this writing, not much in known about the offering, as it was filed confidentially. This leaves investors guessing as to the exact value of the company, and how many shares will be available.
However, the mobile payments company, which provides business owners with a straight forward, customer-friendly system to accept credit and debit cards via a smart phone and tablet app, and card-swiping tool (as seen in the picture), processed over $30 billion in payments last year. So if and when it does become publicly traded, investors will certainly be clamoring for a piece of the action.
Via: Source
They say hindsight is 20/20, but this is a true case study in a tragically missed opportunity.
Those of us old enough to remember actually going to a video rental store, like a Blockbuster, usually remember it quite nostalgically, and even fondly. But of course, as we all know, the far more convenient video-on-demand method, as well as Netflix and other subscription services, have now all but completely replaced brick-and-mortar video rental stores (Red Box seems to be doing fine though?).
Nature reclaiming an empty store. (Via Reddit)
But it appears that Blockbuster had a chance to avoid its present fate; as it could have acquired Netflix all the way back in 2000, for only $50 million. To put that in perspective, Netflix is now worth between $28 and $30 BILLION, depending on who you ask, and where the market sits that day. Good God. If you’re having a bad day, we genuinely hope this revelation makes you feel at least a little bit better. Because, yikes.
As recounted in a story originally appearing on Business Insider, the two CEOs, John Antioco (now formerly) of Blockbuster, and Reed Hastings of Netflix, came together all the way back in 2000 and attempted to negotiate the deal. Why Mr. Hastings was looking to sell at that point is not noted, but whenever there is a $50 million dollar pay day attached to a deal, can you really blame a guy for trying to make it? Of course, now that Netflix is worth literally multiple billions of dollars more than that, it looks like a dumb move, but back in 2000, the internet was much less prevalent, and cable TV was much more powerful.
In 2000, Blockbuster viewed Netflix as a small, niche company; which indeed they were. And perhaps, even a merger might not have been enough to keep Blockbuster afloat in the face of rapid technological changes, but it certainly could have helped. What do you think? Was this an oversight by Blockbuster back in the day? Or was the world so different that you can’t even really blame them for not seeing what Netflix would become?
Via: Source
Making a root beer float with a solid 5.9% alcohol rating had never crossed our minds before. Until recently, that is.
And that thought crossed our minds precisely because a product that we also never would have thought up (but wish we had) now finally exists: root beer beer. That second beer isn’t a typo, dear reader, this beer actually tastes exactly like a really good root beer (not some diet A & W crap), and packs in about 6% percent alcohol. Indeed, using a combination of spices, and likely some sort of gypsy magic, a brewery in Illinois has created a lager that tastes exactly like root beer.
That’s the stuff.
‘Not Your Father’s Root Beer’, made by Illinois based Small Town Brewery, is officially taking the country by storm. It’s such a hit in fact, that the company totaled over $7 million in sales last year, putting them in the top 30 for craft breweries in terms of revenue. And anecdotally at least, we can honestly say that stores are having a hard time keeping this stuff on the shelves.
Definitely keep an eye out for this stuff next time you’re picking up a six pack, even if they are so sugary you can only drink like, 3, tops.
Via: Source
Photos have been sweeping the internet the past day or so which show what is reported to be ‘mutant daisies’ near Fukushima in Japan, the site of a nuclear reactor meltdown about four years ago.
Deformed daisies photographed near Fukushima (Via Twitter)
Pretty weird stuff if we do say so ourselves. Brings to mind the 3-eyed fish from many classic Simpsons episodes.
Six nuclear power reactors melted down at Fukushima in 2011, following a massive tsunami. And these daisy photos sadly help illustrate how devastating that meltdown was.
Via: Source
Who needs the wild west when we all have the internet, right?
The latest addition to stories that could truly only occur in 2015, the website Ashley Madison has been hacked, with the culprits threatening to disclose the identities of every user on the site.
Why would that be so bad, you ask? Well, you’re a good person if you thought that. Ashley Madison is Tinder for married people; a website and app set up exclusively for people to coordinate affairs.
The fact that Ashley Madison provided a subtle, neat way for these people to…well, do what they wanted to do, the site has become incredibly popular in recent years, boasting close to 40 million active users this year.
However, the secure platform that made the site so popular in the first place, has come up short in relation to this most recent attack by hackers. We will have updates on this story as it develops.
Via: Source
Amid increasing signals from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen that the first US interest rate hike in 9 years may be coming down the pipeline this year (as analysts have been predicting), it appears that those statements are having an effect on commodity prices, sending those markets sharply downward Monday morning.
Gold was down as markets opened on Monday morning.
The connection between the information coming out of the Fed and the price drop on commodities is a pretty obvious one. Higher borrowing costs make investing in commodities like gold less appealing because they don’t offer pay interest, or offer returns like assets, including equities or bonds.
Also, any interest rate increase on the dollar would increase the demand for the currency, likely continuing the capital outflow from metals, other commodities, or emerging market investments. As of this writing, the Bloomberg Intelligence Global Senior Gold Valuation Peers Index had dipped as much as 8.4% during trading.
Via: Source
In what appears to be one of the more obscure (i.e. awesome) investments in an already stellar investment and entrepreneurial career, Yuri Millman, an early investor in, or co-founder of companies like Uber, Air Bnb, Facebook, Twitter, and a number of other billion-dollar-valued tech companies, will be turning his attentions to the skies above.
“Are you there ET? It’s us, humans.”
Indeed, Mr. Millman was a scientist before he was an investor and tech entrepreneur, and it now appears as if he will finally be getting the chance to meld his passion for science with his incredibly successful business career.
His new, $100 million project is entitled Breakthrough Initiatives, and was announced just today at the Royal Society in London. The project has a number of other prominent names attached to it, including Stephen Hawking himself. The program will coordinate two of the most powerful telescopes man has ever produced, the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, and the Parkes Telescope in New South Wales, Australia.
The program will survey the closest 100 million stars to our own sun, and will also extend beyond the reaches of the Milky Way, looking for conditions that are suitable for life. To help aggregate and analyze the massive amount of information these telescopes will help to collect, the program will tap the innovative SETI@home program, a computer program distributed by Berkeley in California, which will allow some 9 million people to use their home computing power to help push the project forward.
Indeed; an absolute ton of cash, and some of the best minds of a generation are all coalescing now in the name of one of the most important questions to ever face our species; Are we alone?
‘Follow the money’ is about as good a piece of advice as any to follow when you are trying to figure something out. Trying to figure out what, you ask? Trying to figure out ANYTHING, really. If you want a logical explanation for why something is the way that it is, simply follow the trail of who’s making money off of it the best that you can.
And in that line of thought, we present to you our annual Open Championship weekend preview, as seen through the eyes of the some of the most logical sports fans out there; the gamblers. Let’s take a look at some of the odds on a few of the top contenders.
Via: theopen.com
Jordan Spieth: The 21 year old phenom actually leads the field in terms of betting odds. A number of strong performances already this year, and a reputation for being consistent and calm beyond his age have earned this golfer a solid 9/2 odds rating to win the Open, making him the favorite heading into the weekend.
But, according to oddsmakers, there are a number of other strong contenders as well.
Dustin Johnson: Johnson forced Spieth into a playoff hole at the U.S. Open, the last major tournament leading up to the current Open Championship. This shows that he’s in excellent form, feeling confident, and ready to contend for the title at major tournaments. He sits at 11/1 odds to bring home the championship trophy.
Another contender is Justin Rose, who already has a number of top three finishes this year, including at the Zurich Classic in April. He sits at 18/1 odds currently, while other well known golfers like Adam Scott and Tiger Woods sit at more than 20 to 1 odds to come out on top.
Either way, the challenging links golf found at the legendary St. Andrews courses in Scotland is unlike anything stateside, and is always worth a viewing for sports fans of all sorts. Who do you think will come out on top this year?
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