“Following the increasing power of online media, Internet media and industry management has lagged far behind the quick changes that have come with its development. In particular [we] face the rapid growth of social networking and instant communication tools, like Weike and WeChat, which disseminate information rapidly, have a large influence and broad coverage, and have a strong ability to mobilize society,” the explanation in part reads.
The statement goes on to add “how [we] strengthen the legal system and public opinion guidance, guarantee the orderly spread of information online, national security, and social stability, has already become a real and prominent problem.”
“I’ve always said to my kids, ‘You have to like what you see in the mirror and you shouldn’t worry about what other people say,” said Mr. Bloomberg, returning to a favorite topic during an appearance this morning on his weekly WOR radio show with John Gambling
“Yes, you have to be nice and polite and there’s a common sense and a sensitivity. You don’t insult people and that sort of thing. But you’ve gotta do what you think is right … And in the end, I’ve always believed that is a formula for success,” he continued. “People say, ‘Oh, you know, you’re wealthy now, you have the luxury of saying things that you want to say.’ Um, how do you think I got wealthy? I really believe that.”
Steve Jobs springs to mind as someone who succeeded thinking the same way.
Steve Ballmer admits he was part of the problem at Microsoft
“Maybe I’m an emblem of an old era, and I have to move on,” the 57-year-old Mr. Ballmer says, pausing as his eyes well up. “As much as I love everything about what I’m doing,” he says, “the best way for Microsoft to enter a new era is a new leader who will accelerate change.”
Ballmer was not forced out according to the report.
The board’s beef was speed. The directors “didn’t push Steve to step down,” says Mr. Thompson, a longtime technology executive who heads the board’s CEO-search committee, “but we were pushing him damn hard to go faster.”
Investors, too, were pushing for transformation. “At this critical juncture, Wall Street wants new blood to bring fundamental change,” says Brent Thill, a longtime Microsoft analyst at UBS AG. “Steve was a phenomenal leader who racked up profits and market share in the commercial business, but the new CEO must innovate in areas Steve missed—phone, tablet, Internet services, even wearables.”
Ballmer was convinced that he had to change the company culture.
Qi Lu, an executive vice president, submitted a 56-page report on applications and services. Mr. Ballmer sent it back, insisting on just three pages—part of a new mandate to encourage the simplicity needed for collaboration. Mr. Lu says he retorted: “But you always want the data and detail!”
Mr. Ballmer says he started to realize he had trained managers to see the trees, not the forest, and that many weren’t going to take his new mandates to heart.
“At the end of the day, we need to break a pattern,” he says. “Face it: I’m a pattern.”
Ballmer decided to step down.
At the board’s June meeting in Bellevue, Wash., Mr. Ballmer says he told the directors: “While I would like to stay here a few more years, it doesn’t make sense for me to start the transformation and for someone else to come in during the middle.”
Yahoo to join Google in encrypting traffic between data centers
·jenxi
index
Google has already moved to get this in place, so it’s not surprising that Yahoo is following suit. The good news is that Microsoft seems to have plans to encrypt traffic between its data centers too. The race for privacy is on.
The announcement today comes in the wake of Google making similar moves (which began last year). Google began encrypting the traffic between its data centers after the exposure of a joint NSA-GCHQ program known as MUSCULAR, which outlined a system in which it spliced itself into communications between the company’s servers to gather data on surveillance subjects. The MUSCULAR project also targeted Yahoo directly, as shown in government documents obtained by Edward Snowden and exposed by The Washington Post.
For me, it was a chance to extend a conversation I’ve been having when I travel to universities and great research companies. How can we harvest additional brainpower to tackle the problems of the poor? What are the problems that are being ignored and need attention? How do we encourage people who are making great progress? The WIRED audience was a great group to continue that dialogue. They’ve already got a bias toward technology and innovation. Could I convince them to channel some of that capacity for the poor?
But in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, released to shareholders last month, Icahn disclosed that his stake has grown to 4.7 million shares, which, as of yesterday’s closing price, would be worth $2.5 billion.
Then again, he did say that it was not personal when he demanded Apple for a share buyback.