2013年8月1日 星期四
美「剝光豬式」監控 總統平民全遭殃
全球網民被剝光豬！英國《衛報》前日披露斯諾登提供的機密，迷你倉庫揭示美國國家安全局(NSA)利用監控系統「XKeyscore」，盡窺「幾乎一切網絡活動」，包括電郵、瀏覽歷史、網絡搜尋甚至facebook(fb)等社交媒體的聊天紀錄等，亦證實了斯諾登此前所言，上至美國總統、聯邦法官，下至網民，都被監控。500伺服器盯中俄等150地 《衛報》在網站上載32張標有「高度機密」字樣的簡報投影片，其中4張因「披露國安局具體任務細節」而以全黑畫面屏蔽，其餘內容則是當局訓練內部人員使用XKeyscore的指引。當中指出，美國在全球有超過500個伺服器，覆蓋俄羅斯、中國、委內瑞拉以至美國盟友等多達150個地點。 與美國其他已曝光監控系統不同，XKeyscore可將幾乎所有網上活動編入索引以供搜尋，換言之，分析員可輸入電郵地址進行監控，有時甚至不需電郵地址，只要輸入目標人物姓名、電話號碼、IP地址、關鍵儲存、語言或瀏覽器類別，即可鎖定特定人物，監控「經過美國或以美國為終端的通訊」。分析員亦可輸入fb帳戶的名稱及搜索範圍，查看用戶聊天紀錄。每日蒐20億份資料 投影片顯示，分析員不必經法庭或上級審核，只須填寫簡單的網上問卷，就可將特定人士列入監察名單。2007年國安局報告顯示，XKeyscore已蒐集8,500億次通話和1,500億個互聯網紀錄，每日截取並儲存10億至20億份資料。由於系統不斷收集情報，故一般資料只會儲存3至5天，元數據則會儲存30天。 國安局高層前日在國會聽證會上承認，當分析員鎖定目標人物，就可查看他本人、他曾致電的人及這些人的來電紀錄。這種「三級跳」式搜查方法，意味無數民眾私隱隨時被侵犯，只要目標人物曾致電40人，政府就有權查看250萬人的電話紀錄。局方早已承認去年搜索電話資料庫300次，按此推論，數百萬乃至上千萬人的數據已遭查閱。 ■路透社/綜合外電消息/《衛報》新蒲崗迷你倉
Citi to open Israel accelerator for financial start ups
Source: Globes, Tel Aviv, IsraelAug.新蒲崗迷你倉 01--Citi today announced that it is establishing its first accelerator in Israel for start ups in the financial technology sector. The program is designed for newly established start ups. The accelerator will be headed by Ornit Schneur and will operate in Citi's Technology Innovation Center in Israel headed by Lyron Wahrmann.The accelerator program will last four months. During the program start ups will have access to Citi's activities and know-how and will get to meet senior executives worldwide. The first program will begin towards the end of 2013 and candidate companies have several more weeks left to apply.Citi said that it would not restrict the relevant areas that the companies could operate in and that applicants could come from any area in finance technology. Citi is planning to amini storagecept 5-10 companies in the opening course. The model will not include any equity stake by Citi in the start ups.The accelerator opens as the financial world undergoes a major shake up with the introduction of products and services once only available through bank clerks and tellers but that can now be accessed online.Schneur said, "The aim of the accelerator is to help start up companies examine ideas and mentor with Citi, get immediate feedback and allow them to develop excellent products."Citi's Technology Innovation Center in Israel develops algorithmic trading platforms, (mobile) eTrading solutions, distributed risk engines, and more.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Globes (Tel Aviv, Israel) Visit the Globes (Tel Aviv, Israel) at .globes.co.il/serveen/globes/nodeview.asp?fid=942 Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage
平台戰略與海爾
王珍海爾為什麼要做平台？張瑞敏思路的演變很清晰：要讓每個員工的作用充分發揮出來，迷你倉所以推行"人單酬合一"，即員工創造的用戶價值和其得到的回報相對應。這讓海爾的淨利潤增長快于收入增長，現金流改善、資金周轉只有負十天。但是，海爾的收入沒有出現大幅增長，原因在於顛覆性創新還不夠。如何突破呢？要搭建平台，通過交互用戶，發現真正的潛在需求；同時，吸引全球的高端資源，來加以滿足，實現"自動交互、自我增值"，生生不息地產生顛覆性的創新，成為海爾永續經營的動力。所以，企業要變為平台，聚合用戶需求和滿足它的資源；員工以"自主經營體"為單位，實現人單合一；員工與平台之間的互動關係是"按單聚散"，圍繞"單"（用戶）不僅形成內部的自主經營體，還要整合外部資源、形成"利益共同體"。在張瑞敏眼裡，能整合資源的，就是平台。以此推斷，海爾集團是平台；海爾集團下面兩個上市公司青島海爾和海爾電器各自是白色家電製造平台、虛實網融合平台；青島海爾下面淨水洗衣機研發也形成了一個平台。所以說，平台是可以有多個層次的。那麼，在平台戰略研究專家、麻省理工大學斯隆管理學院教授邁克爾·A.庫斯瑪諾（Michael A.Cusumano）看來，平台的定義是什麼呢？經過對微軟、穀歌、豐田等公司多年研究的體會，庫斯瑪諾2002年寫了一本書《平台領導力》；2010年又寫了《耐力致勝》。在《耐力致勝》一書中，他認為有六大耐力原則：平台，而不僅僅是產品；服務，不僅僅是產品或平台；能力，不僅僅是策略；拉，不僅僅是推；範圍，不僅僅是規模；靈活，不僅僅是效率。"海爾好像已經預知了這六大原則。"7月28日他在"2013海爾商業模式創新全球論壇"上演講時說，要獲得持久力，一定要建立自己的能力，不僅是大規模製造的能力，還要有一個組織實施戰略的能力。海爾的"自主經營體"，就是組織和實施的能力。庫斯瑪諾還重申他對"平台"的定義：首先要有被�多公司文件倉用的基礎技術或者產品（也可以是服務）；其次要將�多參與方（市場參與者）匯聚于一個共同目的；三是通過更多用戶、更多補充的產品和服務使其價值以幾何級增長。比如，Facebook或中國的QQ。用戶和朋友在平台可以分享音樂、圖片、信息，可以吸引廣告商。它們向用戶免費提供平台，用戶越多，可以收更多廣告費；更多軟件開發者，來開發軟件，使平台更有價值；CNN等內容商加入，平台價值越來越大。"平台戰正在進行"，庫斯瑪諾說，從門戶網站、智能手機操作系統、數字內容、社交媒體、視頻遊戲、企業軟件、小額支付到數字家庭，都存在平台戰。像數字家庭領域，軟件、硬件和家電製造商都有參與，微軟、蘋果、索尼、三星、惠普、英特爾、思科、松下、海爾等都參加了美國數字家庭聯盟。從冰箱到車庫門開�器，都可以通過互聯網和WiFi進行連接、共享信息。誰來引導數字家庭？是微軟，還是松下、海爾，或是美國建築協會聯盟？現在還沒有答案。庫斯瑪諾向《第一財經日報》記者表示，數字家庭或者智能家庭的平台領導者，一般是產品製造者或者軟件商，微軟、蘋果、惠普、穀歌、索尼都有資格搭建平台。當然，它們沒有生產白色家電，所以，海爾成為智能家電平台領導者也是有可能的。庫斯瑪諾建議，有一些平台中國企業沒必要再去開發，如電腦軟件、手機操作系統。中國企業開發自己的平台，最好結合中國用戶需求的特點，提出很好的解決方案，像節水、節電。中國企業一旦獲得突破，還可以幫助別的國家。如，海爾在洗衣機更少用水或循環用水上，已聯合消費者、設計師打造了一個平台，這個平台對水資源緊缺的國家也有意義。"平台戰略的實施要分不同階段，海爾現在已經形成內部的開發平台，洗衣機、冰箱都基於同一個研發平台，開發不同的配置。"庫斯瑪諾認為，海爾要形成真正的平台，首先要開放系統、建立模塊化的結構，其他廠商才能依托海爾的平台開發不同產品。當然，在應用和服務方面，海爾也可以實施平台戰略。存倉
Wisconsin Judicial Commission gets a new leader
Source: Milwaukee Journal SentinelAug.迷你倉出租 01--MADISON -- The state agency that investigates judges for ethics violations is getting a new director at a time when a case against one state Supreme Court justice is stalled.Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Jeremiah Van Hecke on Aug. 28 will take over as executive director of the state Judicial Commission, the commission announced Thursday. He will replace Jim Alexander, who has headed the agency since 1990.The appointment comes as the commission waits to see how the Supreme Court responds to the ethics case it filed against Justice David Prosser for putting his hands on the neck of Justice Ann Walsh Bradley during a June 2011 argument. Prosser says he briefly put his hands on Bradley's neck when he put them out in defense when Bradley charged at him and that he did not violate any ethics rules. Bradley denies that she charged Prosser.Bradley and three other justices have recused themselves from the case, and Prosser has said he will not participate in it. That leaves just two members of the court on the case -- Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Justice N. Patrick Crooks -- but ordinarily at least four justices are needed to take action in a case.Some argue there are ways the case could proceed; others say it is dead.The commission also must decide what to do with a complaint that儲存倉Justice Michael Gableman violated ethics rules by receiving legal services from Michael Best & Friedrich that he did not pay for and then acting on cases the firm worked on. The legal services were provided during a prior ethics investigation of Gableman over a campaign ad. The Supreme Court split 3-3 in that case on whether Gableman violated ethics rules.The commission has not said whether it would pursue the complaint.The commission consists of nine members -- five appointed by the governor and four appointed by the Supreme Court. Gov. Scott Walker's appointees became a majority of the commission last year.Walker made some of the appointments at the behest of John Gard, a voucher schools lobbyist who is a former Assembly speaker and worked for Prosser when Prosser was in the Legislature. Gard told an aide to Walker that he had found people for the commission who were "fiercely conservative" and "will never wimp out."Alexander, 67, said Thursday he was not asked to leave."At some point in your career, you have to say it's time to retire and that's what happened," he said.Alexander makes about $82,000 a year, and Van Hecke will make the same amount.Twitter: twitter.com/patrickdmarleyCopyright: ___ (c)2013 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at .jsonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉沙田
阿里構建“安全”的流量體系 微博成最大的淘寶客
侯繼勇阿里集團與新浪微博大婚之後，自存倉終於共同踏出了第一步。8月1日，新浪微博與淘寶網攜手發佈三項產品與服務，一是雙平台賬戶互通，降低了用戶註冊登錄的成本；二是淘寶商品信息在微博中解析為CARD形式，信息展現更豐富；三是針對淘寶賣家的微博淘寶版推出。今年4月29日，阿里以5.86億美元入股新浪微博時雙方還有另一協定：戰略合作後，阿里預計將在未來三年內給新浪微博帶來大約3.8億美元的營銷和社會化電子商務的收入。關於此次合作，新浪與淘寶均未透露具體的利潤分成模式。淘寶網產品平台事業部總經理諸寅嘉接受《21世紀經濟報道》記者採訪時表示，微博此次收益包括在三年3.8億美元的收入之中。最大的淘寶客賬號互通是指淘寶上的賣家可以通過新浪微博登錄淘寶網，也可以通過淘寶登錄新浪微博，完成跨平台操作。賬戶互通之後，微博用戶可以直接登錄淘寶平台完成購買、支付等環節；淘寶系下的任一賬戶如支付寶、阿里旺旺等，亦可登錄微博平台瀏覽、發佈信息。跨平台操作可以減少在兩個平台登錄切換的成本，讓購物和信息分享更為方便快捷。CARD形式解析是微博針對淘寶商品鏈接進行的特殊解析，而不對京東、蘇寧等其他網站的商品鏈接進行解析。在CARD上將聚合淘寶商品的多種信息，包括價格、店鋪信譽以及受歡迎程度等，給用戶提供參考。這種特殊形式大幅提高了信息展示效率，用戶可以方便地瞭解到最關鍵的商品和商戶信息，從而省去了部分搜索環節，如果對商品感興趣，用戶點擊CARD裡面的"去購買"按鈕即可進行購買，簡化了購物環節。微博淘寶版在旺鋪後台添加了微博模塊，幫助賣家對旺鋪賬戶和微博賬戶進行一站式操作，展現出明顯的工具價值，提高管理效率。在方案設計中，粉絲專屬優惠管理等等，還將成為新的放大化的CRM管理的手段。而特殊的微博標識、名片卡、鏈接解析與CARD展現形式等等，也意在提升點擊率，進而提高轉化率。在這個合作中，微博的角色類似淘寶聯盟中的淘寶客。阿里集團旗下阿里媽媽官網顯示，淘寶聯盟提供2億淘寶商品庫，合作網站可作為這些商品的廣告媒體。2012年，淘寶聯盟的分成規模達30億元。三年3.8億美元，微博就是最大的淘寶客。而且與美麗說、蘑菇街或其他淘寶客相比，新浪微博是內部流量，更易于迷你倉新蒲崗安全、規範方面進行規則設計。/安全的內部流量攜手微博打造跨平台電商，只是阿里的目的之一，另一目的則在於打造新的流量入口。在傳統PC互聯網之外，正在形成另外兩類入口，一是移動互聯網入口，二是社交網絡入口。阿里集團正搶在上市之前，多方位布局這兩類入口。新浪提供的數據顯示，新浪微博有76.5%的用戶通過移動終端登錄，增強了淘寶在移動互聯網入口方面的力量。除了投資新浪微博外，今年5月10日，阿里集團2.94億美元投資高德，持有高德約28%的股份。為了布局移動端，TAB三巨頭展開了激烈角逐。消息人士透露，在阿里與高德簽定協議前，李彥宏找到高德CEO成從武，表示願意收購高德，價格由高德方面出。在社交化方面，阿里集團通過三種模式植入社會化基因：一是內部生長，此前阿里集團推出了湖畔、來往等社交型APP，阿里集團還將推出一淘火眼、聲音導購等產品；二是PC端移動化，比如手機淘寶、手機支付寶；三是通過並購，此前阿里集團投資了美團網、陌陌、丁丁網、蝦米網等產品。市場傳言，阿里集團還將投資友盟、墨跡天氣、我查查等產品。阿里集團試圖打造一個自己的流量體系，這個流量體系涵蓋PC互聯網、移動互聯網、社交網絡等各個領域。阿里集團在PC互聯網時代，其王者地位已經無可撼動，在移動互聯網、社交網絡方面則需加強布局。淘寶、天貓需要打造其站外流量體系，對此流量體系，阿里集團有自己的標準，就是安全、可控。與微信等外部流量相比，微博、高德等流量屬於"阿里系"流量，符合安全、可控的標準。鑒於此，封殺微信勢成必然。阿里發聲明稱，已暫時停止與微信相關的應用在服務市場的訂購。聲明中指出：一些賣家利用微信營銷應用騷擾用戶，嚴重影響消費者的感受，甚至有一些賣家利用應用將整個交易過程引導出淘寶的安全支付體系，讓消費者面臨潛在的交易風險。淘寶一直有個賣家開發服務平台，允許第三方開發者通過收費方式為賣家提供工具軟件、網店服務和資訊教程等賣家增值服務。工具包括訪問統計分析、營銷分析、移動管理等多個軟件，在微信迅速發展後，也產生一批幫賣家在微信上做營銷的賬號，比如"微信逛"和"口袋通"等。對於阿里來說，來自微信的流量不符合"安全、可控的標準"，這是與微博親近、與微信斷交的真正邏輯。迷你倉出租
Some still waiting for IRS to send tax refunds
Source: The Miami HeraldAug.self storage 01--When Dinorah Carballosa filed her income tax return electronically in early March, she planned to use her refund of just over $1,500 to repair her car and pay for dental care. Nearly five months later, the 66-year-old widow from Miami hasn't received her money."I'm desperate," said Carballosa, who supplements her Social Security income by working part-time in her daughter's drugstore. "I depend on it penny by penny. It might seem that $1,500 is nothing, but to me right now it's a lot."The only information she's gotten from the Internal Revenue Service: It's "still in process."Tax preparers say a number of clients who filed their returns on time have been waiting months for refunds this year. Ramped-up identity theft checks have caused a spike in delayed refunds, according to an independent taxpayer advocacy group. IRS staff cuts and furloughs have also contributed to delays -- and long wait times to get help -- according to the union that represents IRS employees, although the federal tax agency denies that budget cuts have impacted service. In addition, tax season started late this year, after Congress passed a last-minute bill changing a number of tax rules on Jan. 1.The IRS processed 587,000 fewer returns and issued 1.44 million fewer refunds as of May 10, compared to the same time last year, although it's unclear to what extent delays account for the drop.Nicolas Villageliu, Carballosa's accountant, said more than 20 of his clients have faced unusually long delays getting refunds. IRS representatives told one client there was no problem with his return and they couldn't explain the hold-up, he said."The system is not working right," said Villageliu, whose practice is based in Miami. "They're having hardships, some people who are sick or a member of their family needs help. It hurts the economy, too."Gabriel Rodriguez, an accountant at Advantage Income Tax Service in Miami, estimates that 1,000 of the approximately 6,000 clients his firm assisted this year have waited three to six months for a refund, largely due to identity theft concerns. Some clients with identity theft cases are still waiting for refunds from last year, he said."It sucks for the individual taxpayer, because they count on this money for their life," said Rodriguez, whose company primarily serves low-income clients. The delays have also hurt the firm, which draws most of its fees from the refund checks, he said.Bottlenecks extend to higher income brackets, as well."We've been experiencing tremendous delays," said Scott Berger, tax principal at Kaufman Rossin & Co, one of South Florida's largest accounting firms. He said at least a dozen clients have been waiting up to four months for refunds."I can't tell you if it's the identity theft, I can't tell you if it's the IRS furloughs. Every time I try to reach the IRS there's such a backlog on the phone," he said. "There's a tremendous slam throughout the whole system."The holdups have affected business, Berger said."It's created additional work for our clients that we may or may not get paid for," he said. "It also adds to credibility issues, because now they're asking, 'Is it something that you did? Did you make mistakes?' "The IRS sharply intensified efforts to fight identity theft and refund fraud this year, including substantially increasing the number and types of filters used to catch potential fraud before refunds are issued. The agency now uses dozens of identity theft screens to detect false returns. The IRS doesn't disclose what it looks for, but red flags include being a first-time filer, an unusual bump in the refund amount and an unexpected W-2 form, according to Dustin Stamper, director in Grant Thornton's national tax office in Washington, D.C.These new filters "ensnare far too many legitimate filers," according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent branch of the IRS. In its report to Congress in June, the group raised "serious concerns about the currency and effectiveness" of the filters. Using these screens, the IRS marked 356 percent more returns as "unpostable" -- meaning a delay of about six weeks in processing -- through May 9, as compared to the same period last year, according to the report. Nearly 90 percent of these flagged returns were eventually found to be legitimate.Delays only affected a minority of taxpayers, with nine out o迷你倉 10 receiving refunds within three weeks, according to IRS spokesperson Julianne Fisher Breitbeil."There's a careful balance here to make sure tax returns are processed to people who are rightfully owed their money with preventing as many of these fraudulent refunds from going through the system as we can," she said.The agency suspended or rejected 4.6 million "suspicious" returns in 2013, said IRS Principal Deputy Commissioner Danny Werfel, speaking at a nationwide tax forum in Dallas on Tuesday.In 2012, the agency prevented $20 billion in refunds from going to fraudulent returns, compared with $14 billion in 2011.Congressman John Mica, R-Winter Park, said the IRS should do more to both ensure timely refunds and address fraud."IRS failures to address identity theft are evidently hurting taxpayers on two fronts -- holding up legitimate returns and still paying thousands and thousands more in fraudulent returns at billions of dollars of costs to taxpayers," said Mica, a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform who will lead a hearing on fraud related to identity theft on Friday. "Victims of identity theft can't get the refunds or their credit restored, sometimes for years."Once identity theft is detected, the IRS has set a benchmark of six months for resolving cases, and it more than doubled the number of staff dedicated to identity theft issues to 3,000 between 2011 and 2012. Yet the agency still takes six months to a year to resolve most cases, based on data from fiscal year 2012, which is "simply not acceptable for the hundreds of thousands of victims, and almost guarantees that these victims will be caught up in IRS processes for a second filing season," according to the National Taxpayer Advocate's report."Identity theft has been a complex problem for the IRS, and we've made a number of attempts to quicken the response time, such as adding staff and training people, but each case stands on its own," said Florida IRS spokesman Michael Dobzinski.Spending cuts and furloughs have pushed back refund processing times, according to the National Treasury Employees Union. The agency's budget was slashed by nearly $1 billion in two years, including more than $600 million from sequestration, which took effect in March. In the most recent tax season, the IRS had 8,000 fewer employees than two years ago, even as the number of returns increased."It is abundantly clear that budget cuts -- including those from sequestration -- have had and continue to have serious detrimental impacts on timely service to taxpayers, including matters dealing with identity theft and expected refunds," union president Colleen M. Kelley said in a statement.In response to the budget crunch, IRS froze hiring and has implemented three furlough days, starting this summer, with another scheduled for late August."Those are days when taxpayers could not seek assistance and IRS employees had to put aside critical work," Kelley said.The IRS denied that budget cuts have held up refund processing or other services."I don't know of any delays that are being caused as a result of budget cuts or sequestration," Dobzkinski said.Taxpayers calling the IRS hotline for help are facing longer wait times, and there are now fewer local Taxpayer Assistance Centers -- more than 40 percent of which now have only one or two staff members -- according to the National Taxpayer Advocate's report. The agency failed to answer nearly 30 percent of customer service calls between October and late May, the report noted.When Congress passed a bill changing numerous tax rules on Jan. 1, the IRS started processing returns about two weeks later than usual, and it didn't accept certain returns until March 4. In addition, a glitch in software some taxpayers used to prepare their returns delayed refunds up to four weeks. The glitch affected about 660,000 people claiming education tax credits last February.Last year, Carballosa's refund arrived within a week. The IRS has offered no explanation about why this year's check is in limbo, she said. Carballosa tried calling the agency's taxpayer hotline three times but hung up after waiting on hold for more than an hour at a time."I'm so upset. I feel powerless," she said. "It's as if I don't exist."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Miami Herald Visit The Miami Herald at .miamiherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services文件倉
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)