Descending Mt. Gox

Descending Mt. Gox
Number	2178
Broadcast Date	February 25, 2014
Episode Length	35:06
Hosts	Tom Merritt
Guests	Roger Chang

Roger Chang joins me to dig into the Mt. Gox Bitcoin mess, have some further thoughts on Comcast-Netflix and look at a new language! Also, do selfies cause lice?

Guest

• Roger Chang, @jollyroger

Headlines

• Mt. Gox goes offline

Ars Technica and really the whole tech journalism sphere are reporting on Mt. Gox going offline. The site has been replaced by a message that transactions are closed for the time being for the protection of users. A joint statement from other Bitcoin exchanges accuses Mt. Gox of being a bad actor and promises make botching more secure and easy to use for customers. A leaked set of slides purports to show Mt. Gox plans to name a new CEO and possibly sell the company to new investors and relaunch under the name Gox. The domain name Gox.com is owned by MT. Gox’s CEO and the record was updated Feb. 24th.

• Apple releases OS X patch for SSL security bug

TechCrunch reports Apple has released their OS X patch for security bug that meant all data secured in SSL was susceptible to man in the middle attacks from nearby hackers. The bug was patched for iOS this weekend. Anyone running OS X 10.9 is urged to update the OS as soon as possible. The patch also adds audio-only capability to FaceTime on the desktop.

• Blackberry announces a Foxconn-made phone called the Z3

TechCrunch has the new BlackBerry announcements including the much-rumored Foxconn-made phone called the Z3. The touchscreen smartphone has a 5-inch qHD display, 1.2GHz dual core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage and an internal FM radio! The Z3 will launch in Indonesia first. BlackBerry also announced a 3.5-inch phone with a QWERTY keyboard called the Q20.

• T-Mobile adds 1.6 million subscribers in Q4

But they lost $20 million or 3 cents a share on revenue of $6.83 billion. All those snotty ads cost money. Still they only added 61,000 subscribers a year ago so the expensive ads did seem to work.

• Tivo founders launch QPlay device
• Motorola plans to release new smartwatch this year and new version of Moto X in ‘late summer’
• Freescale Intros Tiny ARM-Based MCU for Internet of Things
• Are selfies causing the spread of head lice?

News From You

• New security flaw opens iPhone, iPads to covert keylogging

Seems Ars Technica noted the security team at FireEye developed a proof-of-concept app that could run in the background of a mobile device and log your keystrokes. FireEye originally posted that they successfully got such an app through Apple’s app store but that post has been removed. The defense for now is to be careful what apps you install, and only allow apps you trust to run in the background.

Submitted by: pete_C

• Stephen Elop to lead Microsoft’s hardware division just as soon as he’s back

Stephen Elop becoming head of Microsoft’s Devices and Studios group, once Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s handset division is completed. Devices and Services makes the Xbox and the Surface among other things. The Nokia handset business will fall under that division as well. Julie Larson-Green, who currently heads Devices & Services, will become “Chief Experience Officer” of the “My Life & Work” team as soon as Elop joins.

Submitted by: sewell2

• Google sets roadblocks to stop distracted driver legislation

Submitted by: Roger Chang

Discussion

• mtgox.com
• Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, shuts down
• Joint Statement Regarding MtGox
• MtGox Situation: Crisis Strategy Draft
• winkdex.com
• “This could be the end of Bitcoin”: leak shows massive theft at Mt. Gox, price falls below $500 amid pleas for calm
• Transaction Malleability
• Motives, Disclosures & Suspicions: Mt. Gox Update

Links

• This episode on dailytechnewsshow.com
• Support DTNS on Patreon
• DTNS subreddit

Preceded by: "Samsung has a Fit"

Descending Mt. Gox

Followed by: "Set Sail for Google Island"