The things that caught our eye this month…
America’s most valuable start up
Founded in 2011 by Irish brothers John and Patrick Collison, Stripe helps businesses around the world process online payments. Its whopping $95 billion valuation made the news this month, landing it way ahead of even Elon Musk’s SpaceX . Stripe might have slipped your radar as it offers services to businesses, not consumers, but as a payment gateway mastermind its success reminds us that ecommerce has no intention of slowing down…
The Quantum Internet
We are arriving into a new age where the quantum internet can ensure secure data transmission, suggest recent experiments. Quantum communication relies on the laws of quantum physics, making it not just difficult, but impossible, to intercept.
‘Chips are everything’ – global shortage reaches crisis point
Remember when Apple delayed the release of the iPhone 12 due to a shortage in computer chips last year? Well, it appears this crisis is coming to its head. And that’s before OVH ordered 30,000 new CPUs for the rebuild of the data centre which burnt down the other week! Expect prices – cars, computers, phones, games – to rise, with industries struggling to get factories up and running after pandemic closures.
Digital-only Trading Cards
NFT technology saw Twitter’s first ever tweet by its founder Jack Dorsey – “just setting up my twttr”- selling for $2.9m online. The Non-Fungible Tokens are used for unique trades, be it for online art, music, domain names, or anything else digitalised. Unlike fungible currencies like Bitcoin, each NFT is one-of-a-kind digital asset. Perhaps you want to take your Pokemon trading online?
The fish-tank hack
Speaking of hacking, this month a Casino was hacked through a smart fish-tank thermometer. So what can we take from this? (Not fish)… Check the security on your Internet of Things devices – that’s your Alexa, smart hoover, security camera, you name it. They’re not always as smart as you might think.
Goats on Zoom
Following on from last month’s Snap Camera add-on to make video calls more exciting, for those less technically minded why not just hire a goat for 5 minutes to join your Zoom call? Cronkshaw Fold Farm lets you hire them for 5 mins. Not a fan of goats? Hilly Ridge Alpacas in Wattisham let you have an alpaca join.
