Silicon Valley is as much about creating legends as it is about changing reality. Where else could a guy get turned down for a job and then, five years later, sell his company to the people that turned him down for US$19bn? I’m talking, of course, about
Author: Alistair Fairweather
I often wonder if certain captains of industries are entirely disconnected from reality. It’s the only thing that can explain the breathtaking gall of Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub, who complained publicly that new regulations would cost his company R1bn in 2015, threatening to sue as a result
I have been trawling through Google and Facebook for an hour, looking for an angle of attack. Finally I stumble on to a service where people share maps of their jogging routes. The online alias matches my target’s, and I already know it’s her home
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. It’s the phrase that’s launched a thousand editorials, most of them decrying the manifest evils of the insatiable 1%. But a large part of this increased inequality is driven not by greed or manipulation, but by technology
Biological viruses are among the most rapidly evolving organisms on our planet. The same is true of computer viruses, except that malevolent human organisations are driving this evolution, not natural selection. The most recent strains of these digital pathogens are evidence that virus
For many technophiles, 2013 was a slightly disappointing year. Sure, there were one or two groundbreaking launches (such as Google Glass), but for the most part it was a year of consolidation rather than raw innovation. This year is likely to be more exciting as several waves of long-awaited
I don’t know my Internet banking password. I don’t know my Facebook password either, or my Web e-mail password. I couldn’t even tell you the first three letters. And no, I don’t have them written down in a book or saved on my phone. Since two months ago, I only have two passwords to remember: the one
Unmanned drones don’t have a very good reputation. They’re usually associated with assassinating terrorist leaders or spying on celebrities. But that may change when they start delivering birthday presents. Jeff Bezos, the irrepressible founder and chief executive of Amazon.com
It’s a familiar story: a young computer nerd creates a new online service that attracts nearly a million customers in a couple of years and has earned tens of millions of dollars. Except that the service in this case – Silk Road – was not only secret, it was also illegal. Started in early 2011, Silk Road was designed as a marketplace
When Roy Amara was president of The Institute for the Future, he famously remarked: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” Looking at the current crop of start-ups now hitting their stride, it’s safe to say online