Thiel

Seven Takeaways from Marc Andreessen's Interview With Peter Thiel

The eBay acquisition of PayPal was famously drawn-out and, in fact, took five separate negotiations to finally complete. .... "In June 2002, there was this eBay convention in Anaheim. We managed to get a booth there even though they weren’t that friendly to us at the time, so we sent 30 people down to the convention. And we handed out all these PayPal T-shirts. They saw all their power sellers wearing PayPal T-shirts, and at that point, they decided to buy the company.” ......... how Musk crashed his uninsured million-dollar sportscar with Thiel in the passenger seat on the way to a venture capital meeting

http://a16z.com/2014/10/17/a16z-podcast-the-definite-optimism-of-peter-thiel/

Thiel is a big picture person. He has a stellar track record. And he paints in broad strokes.

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Things, Stuff

The Sectors Where the Internet of Things Really Matters

The Internet of Things is emerging as the third wave in the development of the internet. While the fixed internet that grew up in the 1990s connected 1 billion users via PCs, and the mobile internet of the 2000s connected 2 billion users via smartphones (on its way to 6 billion), the IoT is expected to connect 28 billion “things” to the internet by 2020, ranging from wearable devices such as smartwatches to automobiles, appliances, and industrial equipment. ..... five key verticals where the IoT will be tested first: Connected Wearable Devices, Connected Cars, Connected Homes, Connected Cities, and the Industrial Internet........ Within the vast Industrials sector, the IoT represents a structural change akin to the industrial revolution.

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Security Key

Security key: key to security?

A Physical Key to Your Google Account

Virtually Speaking

Mark Zuckerberg buying Oculus has laid news emphasis on virtual reality, hardly a new thing. The scale of the discussion has changed irreversibly.

Bringing Burning Man to the masses through virtual reality, now that's a thought.

Drones for a few hundred dollars. Virtual reality headgear for a few hundred dollars. "Don't underestimate the power of the common man!"



The Quest to Put More Reality in Virtual Reality

After the initial unfamiliarity wore off, chatting with Rosedale and Karpf in virtual space was much the same as it would have been in real space. ..... The impressive 3-D headset being developed by startup Oculus VR, acquired by Facebook in March for $2 billion, has spurred new work on virtual-reality hardware by startups and established companies such as Sony ...... hanging out in virtual space will become a new form of mass-market entertainment. ..... Second Life .. “We did our best and got to a million people and made half a billion dollars [in revenue] or something” ..... Rosedale still logs into Second Life from time to time (his avatar is younger and slimmer than he is, with a muscled torso). So do about 1 million other people each month, and Linden Lab remains profitable. But hanging out in a free-form virtual world didn’t become mainstream, as its founders had hoped. ........ people donning Oculus headsets to dip into quick social interactions or strange environments. ...... virtual worlds will open up a new era of human existence ..... the freedom to explore and experiment inside a virtual world generates a “social force,” creating positive interactions between people that are impossible in everyday life–much like the Burning Man festival he attends each year ...... When I met Rosedale in that virtual club, his avatar’s eyes sometimes darted wildly to the side because of glitches with the face-tracking technology. ...... popular enthusiasm about virtual worlds is surging again thanks to Oculus ...... Rift goggles, due by 2016 .. All are expected to retail for only hundreds of dollars. .... “Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures”

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Energy Is The Biggest Security Issue

If Washington DC sends out the right signals, looks like defense companies do respond and start reallocating their resources.

Does Lockheed Martin Really Have a Breakthrough Fusion Machine?

Nuclear fusion could produce far more energy, far more cleanly, than the fission reactions at the heart of today’s nuclear power plants. ..... If successful, the program could produce a reactor that might fit in a tractor-trailer and produce 100 megawatts of power ...... with research partners Lockheed could develop a competed prototype within five years and a commercial application within a decade. The company is even talking about how fusion reactors could one day power ships and planes.

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Clean And Expensive

There is a tipping point in the Climate Change debate where clean energy starts competing in price with dirty energy.

Why Solar Is Much More Costly Than Wind or Hydro

no surprise that if environmental costs are considered, renewables—particularly wind power—are a far better bargain than coal power. But it might surprise many that according to a new such analysis, solar power lags far behind wind and even hydroelectric power in its economic impact, at least in the European Union. ........ the economic costs of climate change, pollution, and resource depletion as well as the current capital and operating costs of the power plants ....... a metric ton of emitted carbon dioxide costs around €43 ($55). ...... many of world’s solar panels are manufactured in China, where electricity is very carbon-intensive ...... new coal and natural gas plants in the E.U. have levelized costs of just over €50 ($64) (in 2012 euros) per megawatt-hour (assuming they are running at maximum capacity); onshore wind is around €80 ($102) per megawatt-hour; utility scale solar PV is about €100 ($127); nuclear power is around €90 ($115); and hydropower is as cheap as €10.

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New York To DC In An Hour

Makes total sense. Boston to NYC to Philly to Baltimore to DC totally deserves this. So it would not matter where you worked and where you live. It would take the Northeast economy to a whole new level. The whole of Northeast would become one mega city.

Maglev Train Seen Making Washington-to-Baltimore Trip at 311 MPH

a $10 billion Japanese magnetic-levitation train line to the 40-mile (64 kilometer) Washington-Baltimore corridor for 15-minute trips ..... Japan is looking for an overseas customer for maglev technology as the country works toward opening its first line in 2027. ...... Maglev trains rely on magnetic power to float the cars above the ground, eliminating the friction of steel tracks. The trains start off running on wheels, the same as used on F-15 fighter jets, until they’re going fast enough for the magnets to kick in and create lift. ..... A Washington-Baltimore starter line eventually may be extended to New York, putting the biggest U.S. city within reach of the capital in 60 minutes by train ..... proposed line could carry about 9.2 million passengers a year

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