DTNS 2178 – Descending Mt. Gox

Roger Chang joins me to dig into the Mt. Gox Bitcoin mess, have some further thoughts on Comcast-Netflix and look at a new language! Also, do selfies cause lice?

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Show Notes

Today’s guest: Roger Chang, TV and web video producer

Headlines

Mt. Gox goes offline: Ars Technica and really the whole tech journalism sphere are reporting on Mt. Gox going offline. The site has been replaced by a message that transactions are closed for the time being for the protection of users. A joint statement from other Bitcoin exchanges accuses Mt. Gox of being a bad actor and promises make botching more secure and easy to use for customers. A leaked set of slides purports to show Mt. Gox plans to name a new CEO and possibly sell the company to new investors and relaunch under the name Gox. The domain name Gox.com is owned by MT. Gox’s CEO and the record was updated Feb. 24th.

Apple releases OS X patch for SSL security bug: TechCrunch reports Apple has released their OS X patch for security bug that meant all data secured in SSL was susceptible to man in the middle attacks from nearby hackers. The bug was patched for iOS this weekend. Anyone running OS X 10.9 is urged to update the OS as soon as possible. The patch also adds audio-only capability to FaceTime on the desktop.

Blackberry announces a Foxconn-made phone called the Z3: TechCrunch has the new BlackBerry announcements including the much-rumored Foxconn-made phone called the Z3. The touchscreen smartphone has a 5-inch qHD display, 1.2GHz dual core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage and an internal FM radio! The Z3 will launch in Indonesia first. BlackBerry also announced a 3.5-inch phone with a QWERTY keyboard called the Q20.

T-Mobile adds 1.6 million subscribers in Q4: But they lost $20 million or 3 cents a share on revenue of $6.83 billion. All those snotty ads cost money. Still they only added 61,000 subscribers a year ago so the expensive ads did seem to work.

Tivo founders launch QPlay device

Motorola took to Twitter to announce the company is working on a watch to come out this year and promise a new version of Moto X coming late summer

Freescale Semiconductor introduced an ARM-baed micro controller unit smaller than a golf ball dimple for use in embedded devices that make up the Internet of Things.

Ewwww….

News From You

pete_C posted a ZDNet story to the SubReddit that got some up votes. Seems Ars Technica noted the security team at FireEye developed a proof-of-concept app that could run in the background of a mobile device and log your keystrokes. FireEye originally posted that they successfully got such an app through Apple’s app store but that post has been removed. The defense for now is to be careful what apps you install, and only allow apps you trust to run in the background.

and sewell2 submitted the Ars Technica article on Stephen Elop becoming head of Microsoft’s Devices and Studios group, once Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s handset division is completed. Devices and Services makes the Xbox and the Surface among other things. The Nokia handset business will fall under that division as well. Julie Larson-Green, who currently heads Devices & Services, will become “Chief Experience Officer” of the “My Life & Work” team as soon as Elop joins.

News from Roger: Google sets roadblocks to stop distracted driver legislation

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/25/us-google-glass-lobbying-idUSBREA1O0P920140225

Discussion Section Links: Mt Gox Has Fallen

https://www.mtgox.com/

http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/02/mt-gox-once-the-worlds-largest-bitcoin-exchange-shuts-down/

http://blog.coinbase.com/post/77766809700/joint-statement-regarding-mtgox

http://www.scribd.com/doc/209050732/MtGox-Situation-Crisis-Strategy-Draft

http://winkdex.com/#/

http://gigaom.com/2014/02/24/this-could-be-the-end-of-bitcoin-leak-shows-massive-theft-at-mt-gox-price-falls-below-500-amid-pleas-for-calm/

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Transaction_Malleability

https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/felten/understanding-bitcoins-transaction-malleability-problem/

http://two-bit-idiot.tumblr.com/post/77817993185/motives-disclosures-suspicions-mt-gox-update