Its been some time (decades?) since I had anything positive to say about Microsoft. Nadella in a few short weeks is setting the tone and direction that will change the company.  The iPad app delivered on a non Microsft OS this week was a big deal.  Now this mobile-first, cloud-first world statement is a sharp right turn away from a Microsoft centric world. Satya Nadella email to employees on tuning our organization | Microsoft News Center Today marks the start of another big week for Microsoft as we gear up for the Build conference in San Francisco. We continue to … Continue reading “mobile-first, cloud-first world” | finally a new Microsoft

This is a fascinating ruling on the Bitcoin argument as a currency.  The US IRS has noted that Bitcoins are not fungible, which is one of the features of cash.  Each Bitcoin is unique which also implies unique tax treatment.  Whereas cash can be together in bills or in an account and it doesn’t matter which one is spent first. This doesn’t stop it being used as a payment medium, but it is not the same as cash. Bitcoin Tax Ruling Credit Slips The IRS ruled that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are property, not currency.  This means that they … Continue reading IRS determines Bitcoin is property not currency

George Colwell – Leveraging Real Time Data Insights Comments from this session: Types of data for Banks: legacy premium content social media deep web PFM – whether presented to clients or not, client data must be aggregated and understood at that level Premium data – commercial services object is one single view of data representing best view of client data insight: sense & respond predict and act the better the data the better at prediction embedding the predictive capability at the business process level real time scoring example in a payment fraud startup location time of day etc decreases chance … Continue reading George Colwell – Leveraging Real Time Data Insights | SAP Banking day #sapbankingday

A smart report on Bitcoin from Jonathan Shieber at Goldman Sachs.  A well researched report that involves interviews with some very smart people, and comes to what I believe is the correct conclusion.  Smart technology with promise, but never a currency.  Worth the read for those with rose coloured bitcoin glasses. All about Bitcoin: So what is it? The short answer is that Bitcoin with a capital “B” is a peer-to-peer network that allows for the proof and transfer of ownership without the need for a trusted third party. The unit of that network is bitcoin with a little “b”. … Continue reading All about Bitcoin | report from Jonathan Shieber from Goldman Sachs rightly separates the technology from the currency

Pew have come out with their regular every 5 year survey of internet denizens and this time on their view of digital life in 2025.  It’s a bit choppy leaving readers to form their own view.  15 theses are hardly a theses.  However there are some fascinating snapshots and provocative thoughts as well as the usual summaries of todays headlines framed as the future. What I still found missing here are more mundane things such as same day shopping delivery or hyper-local 3D printing shops to produce your manufactured gizmo of choice. However here three of my favourites from people … Continue reading Thoughts on the ‘post normal world’ and more | Digital Life in 2025 | Pew

The US payment industry is like Nero watching Rome burn.  Just as they show signs of getting it together following the Target data breach, they are still debating retaining the ability to sign a card chit as an option to requiring a pin.  PIN is considered an option by these folks. MasterCard, Visa form group to push for better card security They can also require – depending on the issuer – that users enter a personal identification number, or PIN, to make purchases, adding an extra layer of security. Continue reading US payments folks still cannot embrace EMV and PIN