People of Earth, dreamers of the universe and possible alien organisms of the beyond: you can swim like Scrooge McDuck in a Swiss bank vault in real life. Like, literally swim in money. This is incredible. A bank safe swimming pool filled with 8 million Swiss coins is being auctioned off to the highest bidder who wants to fulfill every person’s childhood (and adult) dream of swimming in money.
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Remember Scrooge McDuck and how he swims and dives in a sea of coins in his safe? Well, that could be you, if you’ve got enough cash to buy this bank deposit safe, which comes complete with 8 million Swiss five-cent coins.
Built in 1912, the steel and brass safe is currently located in Basel, Switzerland. The actual room itself is up for grabs, along with all 1619 safe deposit boxes, and as a bonus of sorts, it will come with coins that weigh fifteen tons for your ogling and swimming pleasure.
“This is the original bank safe from the former “Schweizer Volksbank” and known to be one of the finest Swiss piece of craftwork in the early 20th Century. It is in very good shape and still usable as a bank deposit safe.”
When (or if) someone buys it, the entire safe, along with its contents, will be moved and installed anywhere in the world. Neat-o.
This gives new meaning to the phrases “drowning in riches” and “neck-deep in money.”
[via Luxury Launches via Geekologie]
I remember the saying from my grandparents, “a penny saved is a penny earned”. Well, the effects of inflation were probably not as pronounced back in the day, and a dollar could travel a whole lot further, too. Still, it is never too late to start saving up for a rainy day, and getting your young one started right from his or her early years is a good habit to inculcate. Perhaps you might need a push in the right direction with the correct modernized tool to keep up with the times, and Thinkgeek has got your back with the cleverly named $69.99 Porkfolio, a Wi-Fi enabled smart piggy bank.
Instead of coming in the form of a traditional porcelain porker that requires a hammer to open without letting you know on just how much money you have saved inside, the Porkfolio is a whole lot smarter than its ancestors. After all, most things with Internet connectivity tend to be on the brighter side, and the Porkfolio is one of them. It will be able to keep track of the existing balance, while letting you set financial goals as long as it remains connected. There is also a built-in accelerator that helps detect movement and/or theft, while it delivers positive reinforcement for savings as its nose will light up like Rudolph each time a U.S. coin is inserted. The Porkfolio has a maximum storage space of $100 worth of quarters, and is powered by a couple of AA batteries.
[ Porkfolio Wink-Enabled Piggy Bank makes saving money high tech copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
This R2-D2 bank is your new astromech savings and loan unit. R2 will help you save your money. Plus, he’ll talk your ear off each time you drop in some coins with his usual bleeps and whirrs – which in this case translates into, “You are one step closer to affording that new life-sized Stormtrooper toy, Master”.
As far as I’m concerned, this little droid beats any federal stimulus package. He measures 7 1/2″ high x 5 1/10″ wide x 4″ deep, and uses 3 LR44 batteries, which are included so you don’t have to spend any of your hard-earned change to get him beeping.
The sound quality seems pretty much on the money. The R2-D2 bank will cost you $21.99(USD) from ThinkGeek. Think of it as a long term investment as R2 will help you save way more than that. Is there anything this droid can’t do? 3PO seems so useless. You never hear about him helping anyone, unless they need some language translated or a lesson in etiquette.
Sometimes, one needs a catalyst to get going or started on a particular activity. When it comes to spending money, I am quite sure that most folks do not have any qualms in doing so, and are pretty good at it to boot. However, saving money is another issue altogether that some people find it difficult to do. Why not encourage yourself (as well as the little ones in your home) with the $20.99 Space Invaders Bank? Each time you drop a quarter into the Space Invaders Bank, it will play out retro sounds from the classic arcade game, as long as the pair of AA batteries residing within still have an adequate amount of juice, that is.
Do bear in mind that this is an officially-licensed Space Invaders merchandise, so you do not have to feel ashamed that you have picked up some sort of bootlegged household device. This is one way of saving the earth instead of shooting down aliens – the more money you save, the more you will spend time thinking about maximizing your existing financial resources, which could translate to taking on a greener lifestyle. If you have long been on the lookout for a positive reinforcement tool to save, you would not go wrong with the Space Invaders Bank.
[ Space Invaders Bank does its bit to encourage saving money copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
I have very strong memory of the first video game I ever played. I don’t remember exactly what year it was, but I remember being very young and going to a pizza place with my dad for lunch and they had a arcade table game of Pac-Man. I can remember seeing several other table style arcade games in restaurants in the 80s, but I never remember seeing one that was Space Invaders.
In fact, the only Space Invaders I remember from the 80s was on the Atari. At any rate, an awesome retro gaming piggy bank has turned up that is based on Space Invaders. Rather than looking like on the vertical arcade machines were used to from the 80s, and that we’ve seen turned into banks before, this one it’s like one of those console tables.
The bank is made by Takara Tomy and you can actually play Space Invaders on the tiny little LCD screen on top of the bank. The device can hold up to 80 coins and the LCD will show you how much money you’ve saved. Power comes from three AA batteries. You can order one of these for yourself in the UK for £34.95.
The Leading Exchange in a Business Getting Attention
CEO Mark Karpeles, along with Marketing Officer, Gonzague Gay-Bouchery, is running a company in the Shibuya area of Tokyo that has gained quite a lot of attention recently. That company, Mt.Gox, handles more than 60% of all Bitcoin trading volume worldwide and has assumed leadership in the space of this decentralized, alternative currency.
This, the leading exchange in a business opportunity that now features investment funds and that is attracting venture capital investment in both related companies and in Bitcoins themselves, with investors reportedly including Andreessen Horowitz and the Winklevoss twins.
Perhaps because of its size and leadership in the space, Mt.Gox has become the face of Bitcoins – and it has received the most scrutiny. Most governments, notably the US government, have taken a skeptical approach with Bitcoins and it seems as though Mt.Gox is one of the main targets so far. The US government has already taken action, recently freezing a US-based account operated by Mutum Sigillum LLC, a subsidiary of Mt.Gox, ostensibly due to compliance issues.
But Mark and Gonzague said they would not – and could not – comment on any issues related to the US government. And they said they are not bothered by what’s going on there.
This, the world’s leading Bitcoin marketplace, is a place of passion for what the currency means for the future of international business. Despite some recent inconveniences, they are confident about the future of Bitcoins and their future role in the global economy and I had the opportunity to hear it first-hand from these 2 leaders in the space.
Mt.Gox’s View on Bitcoins
First of all, they said, Bitcoins will not replace currency as it exists now. BUT, it could inspire the future of currencies. Today, some feel that currencies are stuck in a terrestrial, local mindset. US dollars, Euros, Japanese Yen – these are currencies used around the world but their supply, policies, etc. are dictated and controlled by the central banks or regulating bodies in their home domestic markets.
“Holders of these currencies are at the mercy of the system,” Gonzague explained, “your relative wealth in the world is tied to the economic well-being of your home currency. A bank can restrict or even control what you are doing. PayPal can restrict what you are doing. Maybe the credit card company will limit the amount that you can use on your card. Or, like a lot of us in the digital age, you don’t have a local telephone line or address, which can negatively impact your status with financial institutions.
“Bitcoins allow you to have wealth outside of the traditional parameters, have flexibility and ultimately have control over your finances. Wealth becomes truly global, it becomes transparent, and it becomes unencumbered by the restrictions – and exorbitant fees – imposed by the current financial industry.”
A “Decentralized Crypto-Currency”
Bitcoins, have been called a “decentralized crypto-currency” and both parts of that label are critical to why, its promoters feel, it is the model of the future of money.
Decentralized – There is no dispute that international travelers and business people have a real need for ease of access, and liquidity of funds as they operate across borders. But the current framework, according to Mark and Gonzague, is not truly global and is not efficient. Currently, during traveling, or when transferring money to clients overseas, people and businesses are levied with fees and taxes and have to wait up to several days to wire money or to receive wired money. Money transfers are subjected to a higher degree of regulation and scrutiny then are transactions made domestically.
Bitcoins, for the first time, offer an international currency, for international travelers and business people – a decentralized currency that is equally valuable and easy to use among anyone, anywhere, across borders or not.
“We are not Americans, French or Japanese,” explained Gonzague, “we are Earthlings. This is the first means for people to carry ‘value’ around the world, and it is the first chance for one ‘currency’ to be used anywhere – for example, 2 people, 1 in Paris, 1 in New Zealand – they can work together as if they are next door, making payments to each other, without fees, instantaneously, and with a common currency that both can use just as easily.”
Crypto-currency – Bitcoins have several technical advantages over other forms of currency. They are completely digital but they rely on cryptography (encrypting and decrypting as required steps for validity) and are virtually impossible to steal or counterfeit. One of the security fears of Bitcoins has been so-called “double-spend” where you pay someone in Bitcoins, retrieve it back and spend it again.
“Impossible.” Mark explains, quite convincingly. “The level of robustness of the cryptography used with Bitcoins is so great that it is almost impossible to have the amount of CPU to even try it. My estimates are that it would take 64 times more power than all of the CPU required to “mine” all 21 million Bitcoins.”
Another aspect of the cryptography that makes Bitcoins ultimately more secure and safe to use is something called a ‘block chain’ – a sort of transaction ledger. All transactions between holders of a Bitcoin are logged, proving the transfer of Bitcoins in payments between 2 parties and making it virtually impossible to steal. Within the block chain, the recipient of a Bitcoin, by virtue of how they are set up, would be logged, so the payer of a Bitcoin gets absolute proof of the payment recipient and the exact time when a transaction is made.
Add to these points a 3rd feature: Finite Supply and Inherent Value (like gold). Bitcoins take effort to be created (or “mined”) requiring massive computing power, and the volume at which they can be mined is strictly controlled through an algorithm, and ultimately, the absolute volume of Bitcoins is limited to 21 million. Also, Bitcoins are considered by many to be a better inherent asset than gold – unlike gold, there are no storage requirements, no insurance, no physical burdens, etc.
The combination of the 3 – Decentralized, Cryptography, Inherent Value – make Bitcoins arguably more reliable, more convenient, more transparent, and potentially more valuable for an increasingly globalized world.
Mark summed it up: “Who says that in a global economy, with communication happening instantaneously, with information available instantaneously, with people making decisions with implications straddling borders and jurisdictions, that my payment options should be limited to a currency tied to one arbitrary political territory of the world, whose monetary policy is in the interests of that territory, and whose currency can be printed or withheld at will without an intrinsic value behind it other than the faith I have in that lone government?”
Not surprisingly, currently there is no agreement by any government regarding what exactly Bitcoins are and how they should be handled. But it is a given that governments are not going to give up their control over monetary supply or financial transactions easily and general acceptance of Bitcoins, if it happens at all, will be a bottoms-up process.
What About Japan?
Which brings us to Mt.Gox’s status in Japan and its future. They have been in discussion with the Japanese authorities – the Financial Services Agency (FSA) – for 1 and 1/2 years about the business and how it should be regulated. And as an example of how difficult it is to accurately peg what Bitcoins are, the Japanese authorities, to date, say that Mt.Gox does not need a financial license. “There are 3 kinds of licenses for financial activities in Japan and what we do is actually not covered by any of them, so at the moment, the FSA says we are outside of their jurisdiction. There has been discussion about trying to fit us under one of the licenses or to make a new license for our business, but it is not clear where it is going to go at this point.”
To date, the vast majority of the company’s business has been outside of Japan, which is likely why there hasn’t been much concern by the Japanese authorities – yet. But this may change if interest in Bitcoins in Japan starts to grow as it has in Europe and the Americas.
Some More Background…
Some people think that Bitcoins are a Japanese invention and that Mt.Gox is a natural outcropping of that. But while the inventor of Bitcoins signed the registration documents as Satoshi Nakamoto, this was almost certainly an assumed name and even the Mt.Gox guys are not sure who exactly this person was. For Mark and Mt.Gox, their role came via a connection through another venture business.
Mark started another company in Japan called Tibanne which is a hosting and domain management business. Mark actually built a Bitcoin client in order to accept payments by Bitcoin for his hosting business. Through this, Mark met Jeb McCaleb, founder of Mt.Gox. McCaleb had started the company as an online card trading exchange called “Magic The Gathering Online eXchange” – hence the name, Mt.Gox. But when he built the Bitcoin exchange, it soon became the majority of the business.
And eventually, in a classic entrepreneurial “I liked it so much I bought the company” moment, Tibanne acquired 88% of Mt.Gox and it became a subsidiary of Tibanne. McCaleb moved on to other ventures and Mt.Gox went on to become the #1 exchange in the business.
So What Does the Future Hold?
There are countless threats to the business, but in Mark’s view, countless ways for the business model to put its stamp on world business and the future of money and economics.
“Bitcoins have hit a certain critical mass of recognition, even if general acceptance is still sometime in the future. And we’re seeing the inevitable challenges and pushback felt in any new business model and leading edge opportunity. But if we can continue to explain the advantages of Bitcoins while providing a safe and robust service, we’ll be in a position to help reach the next important step forward toward a truly transparent, global world economy.”
It has the makings of a film — but the fallout from one of the world’s most sophisticated ATM heists is very real. The New York Times is reporting that a massive team of criminals worked in concert in order to grab some $45 million in a matter of hours over the course of two operations. The sheer scope of the project is hard to wrap one’s mind around, involving trained personnel positioned in over two dozen countries.
Earlier today, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn “unsealed an indictment charging eight members of the New York crew, offering a glimpse into what the authorities said was one of the most sophisticated and effective cybercrime attacks ever uncovered.” In essence, the hackers were able to infiltrate various credit card processing companies and raise withdrawal limits on prepaid accounts — from there, cashing crews hit thousands of ATMs, socking away millions in the process. Hit up the source link for the full read; it’s a wild one, for sure.
Filed under: Internet
Source: The New York Times
ATMs and I don’t have the best of relationships. I once had my card eaten by the machine and I had to wait the whole night before their technician came to help me out. I’ve also been cheated out of a couple of bills and touched a wad of chewed-up gum someone stuck at the bottom of the money slot. Not that the last one is the machine’s fault, but, well, it happened because I was using it, anyway.
I’m sure a lot of people could use more timely assistance when they run into trouble with an ATM. The good news is the banks have heard our pleas – at least, one has, anyway – and they plan on rolling out live video chat to their ATMs soon.
The Bank of America has announced that a new ATM feature called “Teller Assist.” This will allow users to contact and direct their queries to a live remote teller via video chat. Katy Knox, who is the head of Bank of America’s retail banking division, explained: “This technology gives customers easy, convenient access to ATM banking services with the added option of having a personal interaction and the support of a teller available at the push of a button.”
The new service will initially be launched in Boston, Massachusetts. The good news is that Bank of America plans to roll out the service to the most of its 16,300 ATMs throughout the year.
“As safe as a bank” might not be a phrase that you would want to use anytime soon, especially after you hear of thieves who managed to tunnel their way into a bank in Berlin earlier in the week. According to police who investigated the scene, this particularly sophisticated tunnel would have more or less taken months to burrow out with the help and assistance of heavy machinery, but the strange thing was, not one person noticed until, well, it was too late.
The entire tunnel measured nearly 45 meters in length, where heavy machinery was used to drill through concrete wall before the thieves painstakingly dug through sand and dirt. In fact, the underground tunnel was stabilized with beams and supports, where it began from a rented garage at a parking lot and went all the way to the bank. The loss is still being calculated by the loss by police, who are also doing their best to search for DNA and fingerprints.
Now, what does this have to do with Ubergizmo? Well, I am quite sure that they must have had quite a fair share of gizmos and gadgets that would make even Batman envious. Heck, this whole idea is starting to sound a whole lot like how Bane managed to burrow his way to right under Batman’s secret armory, even though Lucius Fox has already declared that it is “off the books”. This just goes to show that nothing is impossible, and were the thieves inspired by Bane? More like driven by greed. Just what kind of gizmos do you think that they had on hand?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Skype Makes It Easier To Find Free Calls Using Click To Call, Nike Launches Its Nike+ API Developer Site, 
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