Exclusive: Japan to vet bidders in Toshiba chip sale for national security risks – sources | Reuters – I could understand that Japan probably doesn’t want China dicking them around on the Toshiba chip sale. China would happy interfere with the Toshiba chip sale, because of the pathological hatred Chinese authoritarian nationalism holds for Japan. Also the Toshiba chip sale would aid in ‘Made in China 2025’. China could try and mess up the Toshiba chip sale like they have been doing with the Lotte chaebol of Korea and have done in the past with rare earth metals
Business
Beijing industry minister says no discrimination against foreign companies | SCMP – empirical evidence would tend to suggest otherwise
‘Superstar Firms’ May Have Shrunk Workers’ Share of Income | NY Times – is this analogous to rent seeking and monopolistic power?
BBC Radio 4 – PM, British Airways to cut legroom on planes – WTF – part of marketing is clear differentiation from budge airline experiences beyond the price premium that you pay. I guess IAG airline British Airways doesn’t buy into that concept. So glad I got rid of my BA loyalty card years ago.
Economics
Faulty Towers: Understanding the impact of overseas corruption on the London property market – Transparency International UK – so basically if you’re from a high corruption country Transparency International is tarring you with the same brush. This needs to be a bit more nuanced
Brexit hole at the heart of British budget – POLITICO – Brexit as a term apparently now polls badly….
How to
Unwind by Sync Project – look at the site on your phone, it accesses your heart rate presumably via the touch sensor??? and plays music to help you unwind based on the data
Ideas
“Adulting School” teaches millennials grown-up skills like hanging a picture, fitting a sheet, and networking — Quartz – Some interesting stuff in here, some of the subjects remind me of night classes. The demographics points are good though
Innovation
Doppler Labs sues Bose for allegedly stealing augmented audio tech – Business Insider – new category of active hearing products
Cathay Pacific rethinks in-flight meals with on-demand catering trial on long haul services | SCMP – really interesting change in process
Luxury
Report: LVMH to Launch Multi-Brand E-Commerce Site | News & Analysis | BoF – going after Yoox | Net a Porter and department stores
Media
Online Affiliate Marketing – ASA | CAP – making video blogs relations with brand clear by for instance having ad in the title
Q&A: Nicholas Thompson looks to push Wired into the future by returning to radical roots – Columbia Journalism Review – glad its happening. Wired has lost its mojo over the past number of years. Now if they could revamp their typographic design as well that would be mint.
Online
Flickr Adds ‘Similarity Search’ to Help You Discover Visually Similar Photos | Peta Pixel – bloody handy for mood boards and presentations
Retailing
Urban Outfitters’ CEO says the US retail bubble is bursting, just like housing in 2008 | Quartz – time to think about shorting Gap, Arcadia, Sports Direct etc
Security
WikiLeaks Releases CIA Hacking Tools – Schneier on Security – this won’t end well. Next level hacking has been democratised. The toolkits will provide a learning experience for other states and building blocks for criminal hackers. More on security here.
University of Twente | Electronic energy meters’ false readings almost six times higher than actual energy consumption | University of Twente – Enschede – which also explains why energy vendors love smart meters. It also will call into question the likely decisions made by smart networks and smart cities
Software
A brief history of blockchain | HBR – nice technical 101
Technology
Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up | Charged – damning indictment on the current state of the Mac. I haven’t got there but the butterfly keyboard is a piece of shit.