Binance Talking to Facebook About Libra Listing, Becoming Node: Reports - CoinDesk

According to reports in the crypto press Thursday, cryptocurrency exchange Binance is talking to Facebook about getting involved in the social media giant’s upcoming Libra project.

Finance Magnates says it spoke to Binance at the FinTech Junction event in Israel on Thursday, with the exchange’s CSO, Gin Chao, saying that early discussions have taken place with Facebook over a possible future listing of the libra token.

Chao said that as libra will be on a private blockchain initially, it won’t need external liquidity. However, Facebook may ultimately desire a secondary market, he said, adding:

“Currencies benefit from a secondary market, so it would be in their best interest to want to be listed.”

In another report from CryptoPotato, which also spoke to Chao at the Tel Aviv event, he further suggested that Binance may support the Libra blockchain by acting as a permissioned node that validates transactions.

Facebook has said that it will eventually have 100 nodes and has already named firms like Visa, Uber, eBay and Lyft as having already committed to the role (at the princely sum of roughly $10 million apiece).

Chao said that Binance is “definitely considering” the option, although a final decision is yet to be made.

Speaking generally about the Libra project, which was unveiled in mid-June, he said:

“It’s a good thing, for sure. Any time a company with the weight, size, resources, and impact of Facebook gets involved, it validates both blockchain and [cryptocurrencies]. So whether or not Libra becomes incredibly successful, it’s already a good thing.”

Binance image via Shutterstock

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2019-06-28 10:00:00Z
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Jony Ive's Apple exit has been a 'long time in the making' after he was only turning up to the office twice a week - INSIDER

• Apple announced Thursday that its longtime design chief, Jony Ive, would be leaving the company at the end of the year.
• While the news came as a shock to many, a new report from Bloomberg reveals that his departure has been a "long time in the making."
• In a report from Apple reporter Mark Gurman, Bloomberg said Ive had disengaged from his role and was only in the office twice a week.
• Ive is going on to set up his own design company, called LoveFrom, which will count Apple among its clients.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple announced the resignation of its famed design chief Jony Ive on Thursday after his near-30-year tenure at the company.

The news of came as a shock to many including analysts who described Ive as "irreplaceable" and said his departure would "leave a hole" in the company. On hearing the news, Apple's stock dropped -0.87%, wiping out $8 billion of Apple's market cap.

But Ive's departure had been a long time in the making, according to Business Insider's Troy Wolverton who said that there have been "rumblings for years" that he could leave after he shifted focus from the day-to-day business of designing Apple's products.

A new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that Ive had been "shedding responsibilities" since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2015 and he came into Apple's headquarters as little as twice a week.

Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that many of Ive's meetings moved to San Francisco, where he lives and has an office and studio set up, to avoid him having to make the one hour commute to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. Other meetings were reportedly held at the homes of his employees or at hotels.

"This has been a long time in the making," one person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, who wished to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to discuss Ive's resignation. "He's been at Apple over 25 years, and it's a really taxing job."

Steve Jobs.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Ive is considered to be the mastermind behind Apple's biggest products, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPod. He joined the company when it was on the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990s and help turn it into the trillion-dollar company that it is today.

He was also a close confidant of Steve Jobs, Apple's late cofounder and former CEO, and reported directly to him.

"Most of the greatest debates at Apple happened between those two as they walked together," Matt Rogers, cofounder of Nest Labs who worked on iPhone and iPod software from 2007 to 2010, told Bloomberg.

Jobs and Ive would lunch together regularly and walk around Apple's headquarters making design decisions together, according to Bloomberg. When Jobs died in 2011, Ive became the most important person at the company, it added.

But his intense stint at Apple had reportedly begun to wear him down. "It's been an extremely tense 25 years for him at Apple and there's a time for everyone to slow down," the person who wished to remain anonymous told Bloomberg.

Ive is now going on to set up his own design company, called LoveFrom. Apple will be one of his new clients.

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2019-06-28 10:16:33Z
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Certain dog food linked to serious form of canine heart disease - WPVI-TV

The FDA is warning dog owners about a link between certain dog food brands and a serious form of canine heart disease.

The FDA investigated more than 500 reports of the life-threatening disease, canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and its possible link to certain kinds of dog food.

The FDA identified these dog food brands as the top-three most frequently reported DCM cases:

• Taste of the Wild

The FDA also said dry food formulations have by far the most reported cases of DCM.

DCM was most frequently seen in Golden Retrievers, followed by mixed breeds and Labrador Retrievers.

The FDA report hasn't concluded how certain diets may be associated with DCM in some dogs.

Click here to read the FDA report.

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2019-06-28 09:02:08Z
CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vNmFiYy5jb20vcGV0cy1hbmltYWxzL2NlcnRhaW4tZG9nLWZvb2QtbGlua2VkLXRvLXNlcmlvdXMtZm9ybS1vZi1jYW5pbmUtaGVhcnQtZGlzZWFzZS81MzY4OTQ2L9IBamh0dHBzOi8vNmFiYy5jb20vYW1wL3BldHMtYW5pbWFscy9jZXJ0YWluLWRvZy1mb29kLWxpbmtlZC10by1zZXJpb3VzLWZvcm0tb2YtY2FuaW5lLWhlYXJ0LWRpc2Vhc2UvNTM2ODk0Ni8

Jony Ive's departure reveals new details of Apple's car and TV plans - AppleInsider

  As current and former Apple staff discuss Jony Ive's departure, new details are emerging about the company's previously secret work on a self-driving car, a television —and just what happened when Ive famously one-upped Scott Forstall.

Apple's Jony Ive

Jony Ive is famous for designing countless Apple products that have been worldwide successes. Now that he's leaving, however, Apple staff are also revealing details of his projects that were never released. They include hardware such as the origins of Apple's Project Titan car, the secret Apple TV set and politics such as how Ive snuck in to replace Scott Forstall as head of Apple's Human Interface team.

Forstall was the senior vice president of iOS Software and was ousted following problems at the launch of Apple Maps. It was known that Ive replaced Forstall, putting him in charge of both software and hardware design, but it wasn't known how swiftly that change was made.

According to The Information, in 2012, Ive joined a regular meeting of Apple's Human Interface team, previously overseen by Forstall, just prior to Forstall's departure.

One of the designers present asked where Forstall was, and it was Ive who answered.

"Scott isn't with us anymore," he reportedly said from the back of the room.

Following that meeting, Ive took direct charge and immediately brought that team over to see Apple's industrial design studio. According to The Information's source who was there, the team got to see a prototype of the Apple Watch three years before it was released. They also got to see an Apple television set.

"It was super-minimal," says the source. "Just a piece of glass with nice details."

Apple never released that television set, and so far it also hasn't released the much-rumored self-driving car. However, other sources speaking to The Information have revealed how Ive approached the idea.

Mockup of an Apple electric car (based on a Tesla)

Reportedly, Ive was so involved in the original design of an Apple car that he made a prototype model out of leather and wood specifically to show CEO Tim Cook. The most visibly notable feature of the model was that Ive insisted it should not have a steering wheel.

Instead, the car was to be predominantly voice-controlled. And for his demonstration to Cook, Ive hired an actress to perform as Siri, responding to voice commands.

It's not known how that prototype was received or how close Apple's car plans hew to it, but the company did at least temporarily table the initiative. While Project Titan continues to this day under hardware engineer Bob Mansfield, Apple is not as chasing a full-functioning vehicle as aggressively as it was in 2015.

Ive was more clearly successful with his design work on Apple Park, the new campus that he and Steve Jobs had pushed for — but which Ive now reportedly rarely works in. According to Bloomberg sources, Ive began backing away from day-to-day business shortly after Apple Watch launched in 2015.

Instead of Apple Park, Ive has been working out of the a studio in San Francisco that he has now made the base of his new LoveFrom business. The Information reports that he has been working there for some years.

"It felt special to get invited to his private studio," said a source who has not been there but whose colleagues had.

Nonetheless, enough people do visit the studio in San Francisco's Pacific Heights region that neighbors have reportedly complained. .

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2019-06-28 08:36:00Z
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Certain dog food linked to serious form of canine heart disease - WPVI-TV

The FDA is warning dog owners about a link between certain dog food brands and a serious form of canine heart disease.

The FDA investigated more than 500 reports of the life-threatening disease, canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and its possible link to certain kinds of dog food.

The FDA identified these dog food brands as the top-three most frequently reported DCM cases:

• Taste of the Wild

The FDA also said dry food formulations have by far the most reported cases of DCM.

DCM was most frequently seen in Golden Retrievers, followed by mixed breeds and Labrador Retrievers.

The FDA report hasn't concluded how certain diets may be associated with DCM in some dogs.

Click here to read the FDA report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://6abc.com/pets-animals/certain-dog-food-linked-to-serious-form-of-canine-heart-disease/5368946/

2019-06-28 08:54:27Z
CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vNmFiYy5jb20vcGV0cy1hbmltYWxzL2NlcnRhaW4tZG9nLWZvb2QtbGlua2VkLXRvLXNlcmlvdXMtZm9ybS1vZi1jYW5pbmUtaGVhcnQtZGlzZWFzZS81MzY4OTQ2L9IBamh0dHBzOi8vNmFiYy5jb20vYW1wL3BldHMtYW5pbWFscy9jZXJ0YWluLWRvZy1mb29kLWxpbmtlZC10by1zZXJpb3VzLWZvcm0tb2YtY2FuaW5lLWhlYXJ0LWRpc2Vhc2UvNTM2ODk0Ni8

Apple designer, Jony Ive to quit Apple Inc and start own firm - Mint

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2019-06-28 07:48:36Z
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Reservations for Taco Bell's hotel sell out in 2 minutes - CNBC

Guest room at The Bell, A Taco Bell Hotel & Resort

Courtesy Taco Bell

If you're a Taco Bell super fan looking to stay at the Mexican fast food chain's limited-time hotel, you're already too late.

All available rooms were snatched up just two minutes into taking reservations. And with that, the Yum Brands unit proved once again how much its customers love Taco Bell.

The chain started taking reservations at 1 p.m. ET Thursday for the roughly 70 rooms at its Palm Springs hotel.

Less than a minute after bookings went live, the website was already overwhelmed by the demand. Some users attempting to book a room received a message saying the website was experiencing "higher than normal traffic" and to "keep your crossed fingers on that refresh button."

"Taco Bell fans are truly one of a kind and today was one of the best expressions of that fandom yet," Taco Bell's Chief Global Brand Officer Marisa Thalberg said in a statement.

Rooms started at $169 per night, with no minimum required stay. The Bell, which is taking over the V Palm Springs Hotel, will open its doors August 8 and close August 12.

Taco Bell anticipated high demand for its hotel. The chain's U.S. president, Julie Felss Masino, said that only one employee from a company-owned store will win a coveted room as part of a customer service contest.

"We're really trying to make it a fan experience," Masino said in an interview last week.

Guests can look forward to tasting Taco Bell's take on V Palm Springs' restaurant menu, created by Rene Pisciotti, the same product developer who invented Nacho Fries. Among the potential menu options: a grilled chicken Caesar salad that includes croutons crafted out of Mexican rice and chicken marinated in the Nacho Fries' spices. Traditional Taco Bell favorites will also be available.

The Bell will also feature a gift shop with exclusive Taco Bell-themed apparel and an on-site salon with Taco Bell-inspired nail art and hair styling services. To round out the experience, hotel guests can expect performances from up-and-coming musicians, feature-length movie showings, and a lounge inspired by Mountain Dew Baja Blast.

Taco Bell has a history of connecting with its customers through off-beat experiences. Fans can get married in a Taco Bell-themed ceremony for $600 at its Las Vegas Cantina flagship location. As of May, Taco Bell has registered over 165 couples. The brand has also teamed up with fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 to sell clothes featuring its logo and imagery.

Mike Kelly, co-founder and CEO of State of Mind Partners, said a branded hotel wouldn't be right for every fast food chain. But it fits for Taco Bell, he said.

"I think there are certain brands that sort of have this fanbase, and they also have these crazy branded products," Kelly said.

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2019-06-27 17:57:22Z
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