Bill Gurley of Benchmark, on Tech Valuations, Uber, Apple

Benchmark's Bill Gurley on Tech Valuations -

Benchmark's General Partner Bill Gurley speaks about the state of valuations in technology. He speaks with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on Studio 1.0. (Source: Bloomberg 10Dec2014--see more videos below.) Bill Gurley - Wikipedia: "Bill Gurley (born May 10, 1966) is a general partner at Benchmark, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm in Menlo Park, California. He is listed consistently on the Forbes Midas List and is considered one of “technology’s top dealmakers."


Benchmark's General Partner and early Uber investor Bill Gurley speaks about the car-booking app's potential to disrupt the rental car industry.


Benchmark's General Partner Bill Gurley speaks about competition between Apple, Amazon, Google and Twitter. He speaks with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on Studio 1.0.


Benchmark's General Partner and early Uber investor Bill Gurley compares Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

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Tech, Robotics, Ebola (video)

Ebola: Tech and Robotics Are Helping FightVirus: Video - Bloomberg:
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The Naked Future” Author Patrick Tucker discusses the use of tech to fight Ebola. He speaks on “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg 10/27)

Google announces PwC as latest Apps for Work and Google Cloud Platform partner | 9to5Google: "Google announced on Tuesday that professional services company PwC is the latest business to adopt the Apps for Work suite and Google Cloud Platform. The news comes less than one day after Google tabbed Squarespace and WordPress as two other new Google for Work partners, greatly expanding its business portfolio as competition increases."

FTC says AT&T misled customers with unlimited data - The Washington Post: "AT&T is being sued by the government over allegations it misled millions of smartphone customers about its unlimited data plans. The Federal Trade Commission says AT&T failed to adequately disclose to customers that it would reduce data speeds if they went over a certain amount of data use in a billing cycle. The practice, known as throttling, slows down things like web browsing, GPS navigation or watching streaming videos...."


ABC News
Apple CEO Tim Cook Happy With New Apple Pay Service
Wall Street Journal
Speaking at the WSJD Live Global Technology Conference, Mr. Cook said the number of ... An email sent to Google PR wasn't immediately answered.
Alibaba Eyes Payments Tie-Up With Apple - Wall Street Journal


Computerworld
2 drug chains disable Apple Pay, as a rival makes plans
Boston Globe
NEW YORK — Apple Pay, the Silicon Valley giant's highly anticipated mobile wallet, has been available for only one week but already may be inciting ...
Some US retailers shun Apple Pay, eye rival payments system - Reuters
4 Perils Of Apple Pay - Forbes
As CVS and Rite Aid disable Apple Pay, does the digital wallet have a rocky road ahead? - Washington Post (blog)


Wall Street Journal
Hacking Trail Leads to Russia, Experts Say
Wall Street Journal
China, the object of recent U.S. allegations of cyberspying, may hack more often, U.S. officials and researchers say. But Russia hacks better. 'I worry a lot more about the Russians' than China, America's top spy, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper ...


CNN
Apple thinks iPad photography is here to stay
CNN
(CNN) -- It's the most controversial issue since people started filming videos in portrait mode. Should tablets be used as cameras? Whipping out a tablet to take a photo is a practice that, like it or not, is going mainstream. Once primarily the domain of dads who ...


Bloomberg
Apple Pay Faces Challenge as CVS, Rite Aid Reject System
Bloomberg
Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s mobile payment technology ran into a roadblock a week after its introduction as CVS Health Corp. (CVS) and Rite Aid Corp. (RAD), part of a consortium developing a competing system, disabled Apple Pay in their drugstores. CVS and Rite ...


CNET
YouTube chief 'optimistic' site will launch music service 'soon'
CNET
Susan Wojcicki dodges a question about YouTube's expected music subscription product, saying at the Recode mobile conference that her company is "working on it." by Shara Tibken. , Richard Nieva. , and Joan E. Solsman. October 27, 2014 9:02 PM PDT.


Wired
Amazon's $39 Fire TV Stick makes us wonder why you'd buy a $100 Fire TV player
Fox News
If you're an Amazon Prime subscriber looking for a stick-style streaming media player, you now have a new option: The Amazon Fire TV Stick, a $39 player that's priced between Google's $35 Chromecast and Roku's $50 Streaming Stick. And if you're a new ...

Is Uber going to crash into Google?
Fortune
During the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference last summer, I spent some time chatting with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick about who might make a ...

Amazon to bring 1000 jobs to Illinois, open first warehouse in Chicago area
Amazon is announcing plans to open its first warehouse and several other facilities in the ...

Google Fit: An effortless, comprehensive view of your fitness.
When it comes to improving our fitness, every little effort counts. That's why we've created Google Fit – a fitness app that helps you to start tracking your ...

Apple Watch Battery Needs to be Recharged Daily, Apple CEO Confirms
Tim Cook offered a bit more info on the Apple Watch's battery during a recent interview, but you might not like his answer. ... MobileWearable Technology ... color displays or the larger ecosystems offered by Apple andGoogle. ... coming to its Windows Phone app and products that support Microsoft's…

Google Fit app released to track all your moves
Google announced it back at Google I/O 2014 in June, and built in support for it into Android 5.0 Lollipop in August, but it's now finally here, it being ...

Amazon just launched a crowdsourced publishing program
The Verge
Amazon's new publishing program, dubbed Kindle Scout, launched today on the company's ...

OneDrive delivers unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 subscribers
OneDrive Blog

Google Inbox beta users selling invites on Ebay for up to $300
Cbc
Google Inbox beta users selling invites on Ebay for up to $300. by Lauren O'Neil ...

Amazon buys Rooftop Media to grow digital content
CNBC.com
Amazon is buying online comedy service Rooftop Media, as the company pursues its ambition of building ... 

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Uber Opens Up API to Developers (video)

Uber Opening Up API to Developers with Launch Partners: Video - Bloomberg:
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Uber SVP for Business Emil Michael discusses Uber opening up API to developers with multiple launch partners. He speaks with Emily Chang on “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg Aug20)

Cheap Windows laptops: One area they can't compete with Chromebooks | ZDNet: ""The affordability and easy maintenance of Chromebooks clinched the deal – we could buy three Chromebooks for the price of a single desktop computer and the district’s small IT team wouldn’t have to struggle to keep up with the repairs and updates on aging PCs.”"

The Microsoft Store: A wretched hive of scams and fake apps | ZDNet: "And remember, Microsoft also gets a cut from every sale made."

How Microsoft will ride Android hardware to save Windows Phone - CNET: "Specifically, Microsoft has tweaked its Windows Phone 8.1 software so that hardware makers can lean on the hardware and reference designs they're already using to build devices for Android-based phones in order to build a Windows Phone device."

Amazon Preps a Challenge to Google's Ad Business - WSJ: "Retailer Developing Ad Sales Program in a Challenge to Google and Microsoft"

BBC News - NSA and GCHQ agents 'leak Tor bugs', alleges developer: "...British and American intelligence agents attempting to hack the "dark web" are being deliberately undermined by colleagues, it has been alleged. Spies from both countries have been working on finding flaws in Tor, a popular way of anonymously accessing "hidden" sites. But the team behind Tor says other spies are tipping them off, allowing them to quickly fix any vulnerabilities...By fixing these flaws, the project can protect users' anonymity..."

Delivery Start-Ups Are Back Like It’s 1999 - NYTimes.com: "Of course, the couriers still need to be paid. “The complicated part is not getting customers, it’s getting the product to the customers"...."

The Ivy League, Mental Illness, and the Meaning of Life - The Atlantic: "William Deresiewicz explains how an elite education can lead to a cycle of grandiosity and depression. "

Google Buys Product-Design Company Gecko for X Projects - Bloomberg: "Gecko, which is based in Los Gatos, California, will join Google’s X lab, the startup said on its website. The company helps design products for clients including Hewlett-Packard Co., furniture maker Herman Miller Inc. and wearable-device provider Fitbit Inc., according to its website."

Execution of U.S. journalist reveals the changing business of war coverage | Reuters: "... On the evening newscasts at the major U.S. networks ABC, NBC and CBS, the number of minutes dedicated to overseas coverage is less than half of what it was in the late 1980s, Pew reported. But a new crop of smaller and less resourced news outlets, such as GlobalPost, Vice Media and BuzzFeed, are stepping into the breach and reporting from conflict regions. There has also been an influx of freelance journalists who can now report with a smart phone or hand-held camera and post their stories online, all without the backing of an established media organization...."

I will not be returning to Ferguson | Ryan L. Schuessler: "...We should all be ashamed, and I cannot do it anymore. I am thankful for my gracious editors who understand that."

British man sentenced to nearly three years in prison for movie piracy | Ars Technica: "Authorities caught Fast and Furious 6 uploader via his profile on a dating site."

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Smartphones, Ultra Cheap, Ultra Chic

source: Statista

Ultra Cheap Mobile Phones Will Upset The Industry Apple Cart - Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) | Seeking Alpha: "...The pressure from lower priced phones is having its effect already. IDC reports that while over 300 million smartphones were sold in Q2, a 25% rise over 2013, both Apple and Samsung lost market share in the period. Worse for both in some respects, Bloomberg reported that China Mobile has slashed subsidies for higher priced devices. Samsung had already seen its profits suffer a decline as its smartphone shipments stuttered and average selling prices fell in the second quarter causing a 10% drop in revenues and a profit drop. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to calculate what happens to Apple profits if its volumes drop 10% and its prices drop 10% in parallel..."

Lenovo Takes On Apple, Samsung in Smartphones - WSJ: "Chinese Firm's Net Climbs 23% Amid Strength in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America"

Uber car service twists sharing economy into ‘sucker’s economy’ - Therese Poletti's Tech Tales - MarketWatch: "According to Gawker’s ValleyWag , some customers in San Francisco paid the equivalent of a flight to the East Coast to take the Uber car service after the city’s big music festival Outside Lands, in Golden Gate Park. Some customers tweeted they were charged from $290 to as much as $470 to go from Golden Gate Park to other destinations in the city...."

Amazon launches credit-card processor for businesses
The Desert Sun
Businesses must buy Amazon's card reader for $10 and download the free mobile app from the Amazon app store, the Apple app store or Google Play ...
How Mobile Payment Providers Can Beat Back Amazon - Forbes


CNN
Why did Yahoo post photos of Ferguson cop?
Atlanta Journal Constitution
We know some details about Wilson, but Yahoo News made the curious decision Saturday to post a Facebook photo it claims is Wilson receiving a ...


USA TODAY
Amazon looks to gain liftoff for drone delivery testing
USA TODAY
Amazon is going on the offensive as it seeks federal approval to test its ... of thetechnology, said Ben Gielow, general counsel for the Association for ...


The Guardian
Amazon's Russell Grandinetti: Kindle champ takes on the books trade
The Guardian
But in less than six months, Amazon's mood has soured. ... "Books compete against mobile games, television, movies, Facebook, blogs, ... Apple, Google and Microsoft are all looking to compete in the ebook market. ... Technology.


SFGate
Facebook offers Zambia free Internet access
SFGate
Count Google as one of them. The Mountain View search giant is testing technology that uses balloons that float 12 miles above the Earth's surface to ...


Gigjets
5 myths: Facebook's message app
Omaha World-Herald
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook's recent effort to force people to adopt its standalone mobile messaging app has privacy-concerned users up in arms.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Takes Ice Bucket Challenge, Puts Dr. Dre in the Spotlight
Mashable
The celebrity and business world has been swept up in taking the ALS ice bucket challenge, and the latest entrant in the star-packed list of challenge ...


Reuters
Look, no hands! Test driving a Google car
Reuters
It's actually high praise for the car in question: Google Inc.'s driverless car. ... Googlepublicly disclosed its driverless car program in 2010, though it began the previous year. ... his mission is to perfect the technology, after which the business model will fall into place. .... 

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End of the Week Tech Wrap (videos)

[167] End of the Week Tech Wrapup via BoomBustRT:
Tech Wrapup via BoombustRT:
Erin Ade sits down with Edward Harrison to talk about Uber moving into Asia, the Apple-IBM deal, and Amazon’s mobile wallet application. (July 24)

Can Apple Optimism Spread Through Tech Industry?: Video - Bloomberg:
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July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Howard Ward, chief investment officer of growth equities at Gamco, examines the state of the tech industry and what looks like a slow comeback for old tech companies. He speaks on “Bloomberg Surveillance.”

Qualcomm Raising Fiscal 2014 EPS Guidance: Video - Bloomberg:
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July 23 (Bloomberg) –- S&P Capital IQ Senior Head of Tech Equity Research Scott Kessler discusses Qualcomm and tech earnings with Julie Hyman on “Street Smart”. (Source: Bloomberg)

More Tech NEWS:

Computerworld
Amazon's Bruising Week
InformationWeek
Amazon spent heavily to develop the Fire TV and Fire Phone during the ... Apple, Google, and Microsoft are seasoned veterans and masters at what ...


TheChronicleHerald.ca
Microsoft's Nadella: More Than Talk
InformationWeek
Microsoft Office For iPad Vs. iWork Vs. Google ... They say talk is cheap, but that's not necessarily true if you're Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Microsoft ...


Firstpost
Apple will 'set the world on fire' with iPhone 6 sales
Computerworld
Computerworld - Apple will "set the world on fire" with "unbelievably massive" sales of the next iPhone, analysts said this week. "As well as they did ...


Times of India
Apple Acquires BookLamp, the 'Pandora for Books'
PC Magazine
Apple has confirmed earlier reports that it has acquired BookLamp, ... to $15 million, is designed to allow the company to "beat Amazon at its own game. ... of Idaho onFacebook (and still indicating they're employees of the company), .... Master Google Drive; Hot Tech Gear for Staying Cool This Summer.


IBNLive
Facebook extends closing of WhatsApp acquisition by a year
IBNLive
New Delhi: Social networking giant Facebook has extended by a year the closing of its landmark $19 billion deal to acquire instant messaging app ...


NDTV
Amazon's Spending Spree Raises Margin Concerns
NDTV
Amazon's shares fell 12 percent to $314.76 in early trading on Friday, ... Amazon is engaged in "a massive ecosystem war" with Apple Inc, Google ... also faces competition from Microsoft's Azure cloud service - hurt Amazon's ... For the latest technology news and reviews, like us on Facebook or follow us ...


CRN
Microsoft's latest earnings totally explain its mega-layoffs
Chicago Daily Herald
Microsoft said it will eliminate as many as 18,000 jobs, the largest round of ... Microsoftchief executive Satya Nadella may not have addressed the ... coming late to the party while Apple and Google collected the glory -- and ... Doing so gives Microsoft a different set of competitors, namely Amazon.com ...


Chron.com
Amazon,Visa drive Dow to a loss
Philly.com
NEW YORK - Investors got some bad news about the American shopper on Friday, driving down stocks and sending the Dow Jones industrial average ...


eWeek
Google Faces Renewed Focus by EU in Antitrust Case
eWeek
The EU probe had been sought by Google competitors, including Microsoft, Expedia and British search services company Foundem. The pending ...

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