(More details are available to Premium-level members via archival search on our website, or through our new archival site, detailed later in this issue.)

Pattern Recognition

The first big idea behind SNS is the Power of Pattern Recognition: it is how we do our work and what has led to our cumulative 94.5% predictive accuracy rate since 1995. We've developed a deep (and proven) understanding of this science and laid it out for members as we've progressed. Those following this thread likely have a world-class edge in their abilities to see what is true both today and tomorrow.

This leads to a separate benefit we work to share with members: not just providing "the fish," but also learning together how to fish. As a group, longtime SNS members are probably the most adept at both seeing the world clearly in the present and at foreseeing outcomes. It's difficult to describe or "sell" this in words, but it is exactly what we are best at doing, and what dedicated members learn as we go.

My guess is that this "unnamed" benefit is, as Visa says, priceless.

Where has its practice taken us? Well, here, for example

Critical Technology Advances

Software

The Internet Assistant

            Before there was a Siri, we laid out detailed descriptions of the IA, and its central importance as a software category, starting in 1997 and continuing today. According to its then-CEO Mike McCue, that work inspired TellMe Networks (now part of Microsoft), and we have worked with Nuance and others in this category to accelerate its development.

There is every indication, with a new wave of offerings this year from Viv Labs, Microsoft (Cortana in Windows 10), the new Siri in Apple iOS 9, and the stealth-launching (Sound) Hound, that this category is nearing the importance and dominance we suggested in our original descriptions. The cross-platform move for Cortana by Microsoft and for Google Now suggests that the CEOs recognize the IA as not just a killer app, but also as the killer category that will dominate all search and services.

Earth II

SNS spent years evangelizing the concept design of the ultimate browser, which we called Earth II, demonstrating the need and importance of creating a real-time planetary background overlaid with millions of selectable data layers. For several years, we sponsored the www.earth.to website for this purpose.

This work led directly to the Microsoft TerraServer project, then to Google Earth, and then to NASA's WorldWind open-source work, which has now seeded a large number of related platforms and applications. First among these is found at Collaborate.org, which is built on WorldWind, features 2.2 million data layers supplied by NGOs and universities, and supports hundreds of sensor types. SNS member Kevin Montgomery is CEO, and SNS currently runs two portals on the site, at www.collaborate.org.

SNS member Patrick Hogan of NASA, who has been kind enough to honor the lineage from earth.to, has taken WorldWind worldwide, recruiting applications teams from governments and universities. A particular success has been the Europa Challenge, now in its third year; you can read more about it here:

https://eurochallenge.como.polimi.it/projects2015

(Reference: "SNS: The Year of the Global Computer," January 20, 1998.)

Hardware

The CarryAlong Computer

In 1997, we also described a new device category we called the CarryAlong, with strict dimensions and ergonomic advantages, predicting that it would become the best-selling, and largest, computer type of all time. Today it's history, led by the iPad, even as the CA further segments along the lines of age and consumer vs. producer, with phablets on one end and CA twofers like the Intel 2 in 1 models and the Microsoft Surface Pro series on the other.

(Reference: "SNS: The Next Minitel," January 20, 2000.)

Project Inkwell and the "Spark" Computer

Seven years' work with our global SNS Project Inkwell Consortium led to the award-winning, SNS / IDEO-designed educational concept computer called "Spark," which looks remarkably like an Apple Mini Pad with a separable keyboard 10 years before its creation.

Here is an Inkwell slide show of Consortium members from the IDEO site

www.flickr.com/photos/projectinkwell/show/

And here is the Spark, winner of the 2007 Index Award:

Best practices for increasing success in technology adoption for K-12 schools were captured in the Inkwell AORTA Manifesto, which was then adopted by the White House in its ConnectED vision for K-12 schools.

(Reference: "SNS: Microsoft Unleashed: Products and Future Markets," March 4, 1998.)

PRP Chips

Pattern Recognition Processors, laid out two years ago in SNS, are just now showing up in their first design iterations. With DARPA and IBM now declared via the amazing TrueNorth Chip, we expect to see new additions from the top designers at Qualcomm, Intel, and elsewhere. Members read about the most radical change in chip design since Von Neumann, in SNS.

(Reference: "SNS: The Most Important Chip Not Yet Invented," February 14, 2013.)

Spherical Memory

It hasn't been built yet, but the US Navy and several tech firms have given it a start. We published the first design more than 10 years ago. When it's made, the medium will look like a crystalline golf ball and carry at least 5 petabytes of storage.

(Reference: "SNS: Wireless Portals," May 25, 1999.)

The Pattern-Based Computer

We're going to ask our CTO Design Challenge participants to create the first-ever PBC, and to report out their final designs onstage, during FiRe 2015. So, there isn't one of these yet, but there will be in October.

Hardware and Software

Wall Computing

We are really excited about the first SNS Wall Computer, recently announced by Microsoft. This is a great integration of hardware and software. Go to "Upgrades" to see the whole story.

A New Economics

Since the old theories uniformly failed to pass the most basic tests of a good theory (being testable, making accurate predictions), we had to find new ones. They include:

Hyperstructural Economics

Back in the late 1990s, we realized that we could predict corporate and technology outcomes through the linkage of components in major devices, such as personal computers (and today, smartphones). In short, it turns out that the structure of the economy in the tech industry often mirrors the structure of the BOM (bill of materials)  in platform devices.

(Reference: "SNS: Hyperstructural Economics," November 12, 2003.)

Flow Economics

While virtually all economists have been using balance sheets to figure out the world, we decided that they were almost completely fraudulent, and therefore essentially useless. Instead, we started looking at flows, since flows cannot be faked. The result: a new theory for understanding global economics, based entirely on flows rather than on financial reports.

The result: SNS is the only publication in the world to have correctly (and publicly) predicted both the Global Financial Collapse and the Oil Price Collapse, which are the two most important economic events of our lifetime.

(Reference: "SNS: Rewriting Economics: It's All in the Flow," November 5, 2011.)

Currency Wars

After predicting the yen / dollar ratio accurately for over a decade thanks entirely to currency manipulations by the Bank of Japan we saw this pattern move through South Korea and over to China. With China's scale and much more aggressive interventions in the currency markets, we became the first to apply this term to modern national fiscal policy. Today, everyone in the world (except the US, having just backed out) practices this dangerous game, and SNS members are fully aware of its evolution and risks.

(Reference: "SNS: Ten Predictions for 2004," February 3, 2003.)

InfoMercantilism

SNS was the first to recognize this national business model, and to name it. Today the term is catching on, even as China turns the model into a global trade-based weapon, manufacturing trade deficits for each of its chosen trading partners in turn except Japan, the model's inventor. Our new version name for this category, intended for easy use: "InfoMerc."

Members following our learning curve on this issue now have a deep understanding of exactly what is driving the leaders in Asian economic growth: Japan, South Korea, (Taiwan, to a lesser degree) and China.

(Reference: "SNS: The Next Assistant", August 22, 2013.)

Crown Jewels Intellectual Property Theft

SNS was the first to recognize the role of this practice in driving InfoMerc nations. This moved CJIP theft from a nuisance-like hazard to a national security threat. As this became better understood, we created the INVNT/IP Global Consortium and its Global Network, with the sole purpose of reducing CJIP theft. Members knew about this from the beginning, but the rest of the world had to wait for the time it took us to bring it to the attention of the global media (where it broke, among other places, on Bloomberg TV and in Bloomberg Businessweek), and in briefing global leaders, including the White House, CIA, NSA, State Department, Commerce Department, USTR, FBI, GCHQ, MI5, MI6, Cabinet Minister's Office, House of Lords, Australian PM's office, and others.

For more information, see "INVNT/IP" below.

(Reference: "SNS: How IP Drives the Global Economy," January 17, 2012.)

Breaking Scientific Boundaries

Genetics

Equilibrium Genetics

This theory, yet to be conclusively proven (but with an increasing amount of evidence now being published regularly), proposes an information equilibrium between DNA (and RNA) and the outside world, in which cross-signaling can lead to long-term changes in the structure of nucleic acids. SNS member Craig Venter, when briefed, has acknowledged its potential truth.

(References: "SNS: The Role of IP in the World," April 23, 2008; and for predecessor theory Multiple Input Genetics, "SNS: Making Waves," October 4, 2007.)

Physics

Resonance Theory

This theory, created in 1979-1980 and later published in SNS, proposes that all physical laws are derived from the properties of otherwise-empty space. It provides the "missing link" between String Theory, which it supports, and foundational physics, by describing the "stuff" that is vibrating. First submitted for publication to Physical Review (and rejected) in 1980, before String Theory existed, today it offers a path forward. David Bohm liked it well enough to ask for more, before his death.

(References: "SNS: The Real World," March 10, 1998 [earliest mention] and, for a complete description, "SNS: Resonance Theory," July 28, 2011.)

Medicine

Nutritional Microanalysis

This new field of medicine, created in SNS, is rapidly gaining adherents from experts in adjacent areas of practice. It is based on the need to understand all human inputs on a biochemical basis, in order to connect their intake with health and disease knowledge bases. Leroy Hood, founder and president of the Institute for Systems Biology (and now a member of our Nutritional Microanalysis advisory board) has said that this work "will revolutionize medicine." He should know.

(Reference: "SNS: The Trends Driving FiRe X: Part I," May 3, 2012.)

If successfully applying Pattern Recognition science to a diverse range of fields, and achieving outsized rewards, is the intellectual history of SNS, there is a different story we've created over the last 20 years based on how we've learned to share these discoveries.

And while we continue to work on improving our core publication, we've added additional branches to our efforts; all have their own audiences and products.

Events

Future in Review: The FiRe Conference

Members are well aware of our flagship conference the one the Economist calls "the best technology conference in the world" FiRe, or Future in Review, now in its 13th year, scheduled for this October at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah. We'll send out a special issue describing FiRe 2015, but I'll mention that the theme for this year is "The Power of Patterns." FiRe opens with a description by the builder's of SNS member Elon Musk's Hyperloop and goes straight into imaging biological patterns, neuromorphic chip design, a new biology-based programming language, and designing the first Pattern-Based Computer.

FiRe 2009: Mark Anderson (L) with guest Elon Musk                               (Photo: Tim Tadder)

FiRe 2014: Mark with guest Michael Dell                                                 (Photo: Dan Lamont)

It's going to be great, and members can see a preview of it here:

www.futureinreview.com

We work hard to make sure there is nothing even close to FiRe in the rest of the world.

The Annual SNS Predictions Dinner in New York

Now in our ninth year, we look forward again to holding a remarkable evening of great food and drink, lots of networking time, a guest interview subject, and the release of our predictions for the coming year. Historically held in the Waldorf Astoria, this has been a recurring high point in December for new and returning core members.

  www.stratnews.com/events/predictions-dinner/  

SNS Predictions West

This year, we added a new program, with Oracle's assistance. CEO Mark Hurd was kind enough to join me at the Golden Gate Yacht Club in February for a really fun interview, update, and discussion with SF and Valley executives. This new event is here to stay on the SNS calendar.

            Mark Anderson, Mark Hurd (center), and the America's Cup

The SNS FiRe / PCI Speaker Series

This four-part winter speakers' series is run in partnership with the new Park City Institute. Managed by Sharon Anderson Morris and hosted by PCI Executive Director Teri Orr, it features past and current FiRe speakers in a perfect setting at Eccles Theater, and has seen sellouts every night. We look forward to our third year of this great new way to help PCI as it grows, and to share great people and their ideas.

All of these evenings are filmed, and later offered to audiences of the larger SNS membership, and then to the public.

2013: Sharon Anderson Morris interviews Mark for the first event in the PCI series

SNS FiReFilms

FiReFilms was begun as an offshoot of FiRe, as we realized that our efforts to change the world via political means were not having the impact we wanted. By finding and promoting films that focus on the use of technology to improve the human condition, Sharon Anderson Morris has quickly turned this effort from a cool idea into a discrete global operation that comprises screening clubs, memberships, and online (and sometimes in-person) interactions with directors, actors, and producers.

In alliance now with the Sundance and Carmel international film festivals, FiReFilms continues to grow in reach and ambition and shows every indication that it will indeed provide the mindshare and excitement that our speakers, and their ideas, deserve.

In the next month, members will learn of a new dimension to this great project which will further accelerate its growth and reach, and thereby our ability to help everyone involved.

www.futureinreview.com/firefilms/

Publishing

The SNS Global Report on Technology and the Global Economy

Bill Gates calls it his "favorite read." You're reading it now, so we hope you do, too.

That first June 1995 newsletter was three paragraphs long. It had no header, no graphics, no copyright notice. We kept it in ASCII print for years, after a visit to eastern Germany revealed subscribers who were still stuck with PC AT computers and no way to render fancy graphics. We decided that we wanted our ideas to be the focus, rather than the pretty stuff around them, in honor of our global audience.

Next week, members will see our latest (but not the last) addition to the SNS look and feel, as we work to focus the inside content and bring a new aesthetic to the Global Report, now averaging 35-40 pages each week.

Best-selling author Brent Schlender, then a Fortune editor, once said that SNS was his magazine's prime source for story material. We're still working hard to stay ahead of the pack.

www.stratnews.com.

SNS Interactive News (iNews)

Thanks to staff member Scott Schramke, this digest of SNS members and FiRe speakers making the news goes out at least twice a week to about 100k technology leaders around the world. We've tagged it "News About Leaders, For Leaders," and we actually patented the process behind it, which allows all recipients to see the photo, bio, and related stories on any given subject, and SNS Premium members to communicate directly with these leaders.

We think it's another way of not only building community coherence, but also for getting good things done.

www.snsinews.com

The INVNT/IP Pulse

Also thanks to Scott, and INVNT/IP editor Vanda Randall, this three-part weekly publication focuses on state-sponsored theft of crown jewel intellectual property. Not only is there nothing like it, but four years of work has also led to the database behind it, the most extensive non-classified listing of such thefts, by country and year. More on this below ---

Pattern Publishing

We are proud to announce a new medium in our publishing world: e-books. Yeah, it took a while. But the best things do ---

Which is why we're even prouder to announce the first e-book, coming out during this coming quarter. Written by longtime SNS Asia Letter Editor Scott Foster, "Stealth Japan: The Dramatic and Quiet - Success of the World's First InfoMerc Economy" is the book the world needs to read, right now, as Wall Street , the City of London, and every central banker are confused about Japan's business model and success.

Stealth Japan explains Japan's triumph in achieving its own and not the West's economic goals, with greater result than anyone has imagined.

With three more books in the pipeline, and a few more starting to show up on deck, we look forward to publishing books that are true and revelational, finding the same large-scale differences we seek in creating the Global Report, but in much deeper dives.

We'll be making a Special Purchase Offer to SNS members for Stealth Japan shortly, through our own store, and it will also be available through Amazon and other online bookstores.

SNS Initiatives

In addition to SNS Project Inkwell and Nutritional Microanalysis, we have created a number of initiatives that are ongoing, and which we've chosen for their importance.

Among these are:

INVNT/IP

Standing for "Inventing Nations vs. Nation-sponsored Theft of Intellectual Property," this organization is a global consortium composed of technology corporations, including Google, and Cabinet-level policymakers in the US, the UK, and Australia. (We are working to add the EU next.)

The sole purpose of INVNT/IP is to reduce state-sponsored theft of crown jewel IP. Having discovered, described, and named the national business models of Japan, South Korea, and now China, we recognized that, at China's scale, serious and lasting damage would be done to the global economy if the country's current practices were left unchallenged and unchanged.

While we don't advertise our other members, or our tactics, we encourage companies to join in this intense effort on the part of inventors, innovation-based companies, and inventing nations. Those interested should contact mark@stratnews.com.

We have just concluded a research project which will, in a truncated version, soon be available to SNS members.

www.invntip.com

Global Rescue System (GRS)

In response to the work and success of Julia Ormond's FiRe interview on the work of her ASSET organization, we stepped forward with a proposal for a Global Rescue System for the victims of human trafficking. With the active support and participation of Andrew Wallis, CEO and founder of Unseen, and Hugh Bradlow, CTO and Head of Innovation of Telstra, this long-term project is headed for a UK pilot test of the technology behind a universal smartphone system any victim could use to safely send for help.

Summary: By bringing Pattern Recognition techniques to a wide range of fields, all under the theme of how technology drives the global economy, we have been able to make dramatic progress in original discoveries and predictive accuracy. The support of our membership has not only been critical in enabling this work, but has also continually expanded the number of leaders who have benefited both from this information.

We know that it remains for us to do a better job of describing and sharing the underlying processes that have moved this work from art to science, and we think many members will be interested in improving their own pattern-recognition radar using these lessons and tools.

Also new to members this week:

The SNS Store and Archive

Welcome to the new SNS Store! After months of work by Scott Schramke and Sally Anderson, we have a new way for anyone to find and purchase single or bundled issues, with more offerings to come. Want to read the first description of the SNS Spherical Memory device, based on crystalline holographic storage, written years ago and just now becoming technically possible? Or see Larry Smarr's very first publication which was published here in SNS leading to the field now called "The Quantified Self"? Or dive into the detailed first description of the new Pattern Recognition Processor chips, almost certain to lead the way into nonVon Neumann computers?

Every SNS issue, back (currently) to 2008, is listed here by topic, focus channel, date, and even popularity, and all are searchable by any subject:

https://store.stratnews.com/

This part of our site is open to the public, so while members are benefiting from weekly issues, you can now send colleagues to our site for everything from a back issue to a series on IP theft, an SNS subscription, or soon an e-book on Japan.

The SNS Executive Club

Oops, we aren't ready to announce this one yet. Next month, for sure. But, since the patterns behind CEO personalities are the top drivers of corporate performance, we are betting you would like to hear our inside views of the world's technology leaders, no?

The Team

If there is a truly amazing aspect to the SNS Story at 20 years, it is that so much has been accomplished by so few. We are by nature a virtual company, and while the core team is small, the extended group of those who have made all of this happen is large, and global.

Here is a partial list of key players who have helped to create SNS over the last two decades. If we've left you out, please forgive us, because our success is that there are a lot of you:

SNS Staff

Mark Anderson, Founder and CEO, Strategic News Service; and Chair, Future in Review Conference Corp.

Sharon Anderson Morris, Director, SNS Programs and FiRe Events, Strategic News Service; and Managing Director, FiReFilms

Sally Anderson, Editor-in-Chief and Production Manager for Strategic News Service, FiRe Events, and FiReFilms

Evan Anderson, Director of Marketing and Research, Strategic News Service

Berit Anderson, Media Consultant and, as of this month, Co-Founder and CEO of Scout Media, Inc.

Jenny Lee, Director of Social Media, Strategic News Service

David Morris, Business Development, Strategic News Service

Scott Schramke, IT Director, Strategic News Service

Ginger Tolman, Executive Assistant to Sharon Anderson Morris, Programs Director, Strategic News Service

FiRe Advisory Board

Don Budinger, Chair and Founding Director, The Rodel Foundations

Ty Carlson, Senior Manager, Digital Products Group, Amazon

Russell Daggatt, General Partner, Denny Hill Capital

Cynthia Figge, Co-Founder and COO, CSRHUB and EKOS International

Scott Foster, Partner, TAP Japan; and Alliance Partner, Translink

Glen Hiemstra, Founder and CEO, Futurist.com

William H. Janeway, Senior Advisor, Warburg Pincus (New York & Cambridge, UK)

Dan Lynch, Chair, Lynch Enterprises

Nathan McDonald, President, Keiretsu Forum Northwest

Matt McIlwain, Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group

Gregory Ness, VP Marketing, CloudVelox

John Petote, Angel Investor

Michael Pfeffer, President and CEO, Ibis Networks

Gary Roshak, Vice President, Products, Kymeta

Paul Shoemaker, Executive Connector, Social Venture Partners

Rolf Skoglund, Co-Founder, ThinkOut, and Co-Founder and Chair, Startupfactory (Stockholm)

Larry Smarr, Founding Director, Calit2, UC San Diego/UC Irvine and the Qualcomm Institute

Steve Waite, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Graphene Stakeholders Assoc.

Jean Wooldridge, Principal, St. Cloud Communications, Research Affiliate, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

SNS Ambassadors

Ambassador for Angel Investing John Petote

Ambassador for Asia Research Scott Foster, Partner, TAP Japan; and Alliance Partner, Translink

Ambassador for Cloud Computing Gregory Ness, Vice President of Marketing, CloudVelox

Ambassador for Communications Simon Hackett, Board Member, Australian National Broadband Network Co.; and Past Founder, Internode

Ambassador for Documentary Films Geralyn Dreyfous, Co-Founder/Director-at-Large, Impact Partners; and Founder, Utah Film Center

Ambassador for Economics William H. Janeway, Senior Advisor, Warburg Pincus (New York & Cambridge, UK)

Ambassador for Education David Engle, Director of US Operations, SNS Project Inkwell; and Superintendent, Port Townsend Public School District

Ambassador for Ocean Health Roger Payne, Founder and President, Ocean Alliance (Vermont and New Zealand)

Ambassador for Pure Science Larry Smarr, Founding Director, Calit2, UC San Diego/UC Irvine and the Qualcomm Institute

Ambassador for Science Fiction David Brin, Physicist and Author

Ambassador for Wireless Research Chetan Sharma, President, Chetan Sharma Consulting

Other Awards:

2014 World-Changing Documentary Michael Rossato-Bennett, Director, Alive Inside

2014 "Above and Beyond" Award Hugh Bradlow, CTO and Head of Innovation, Telstra

2014 Pioneer in Global Change Larry Smarr, Founding Director, Calit2, UC San Diego/UC Irvine and the Qualcomm Institute

2014 "Creating New International Innovators" Award Guy Groff (fmr.) Associate VP, Professional Management and Career Development, Thunderbird School of Global Management

_______

2013 Company of the Year Graphene Technologies (CEO, Jon Myers)

2013 CEO of the Year Leroy Hood, President, Institute for Systems Biology

2013 Entrepreneur of the Year Kevin Montgomery, CEO, Collaborate.org

2013 Philanthropist of the Year Paul Shoemaker, Executive Connector, Social Venture Partners

_______

2012 Company of the Year Nuance Communications

2012 CEO of the Year Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm

2012 Entrepreneur of the Year Colin Angle, CEO, iRobot

2012 Philanthropist of the Year Don Budinger, Chairman and Founding Director, The Rodel Foundations

2009 Entrepreneur of the Year Elon Musk, CEO and CTO, SpaceX; CEO and Product Architect, Tesla Motors; and Chair, SolarCity

In retrospect, the idea seems quite simple: find what is true, select the best, and use it to shape a better future.

We certainly work to find these "great ideas," share them, and promote them. Our assumption is that by doing this, in science and technology, in finance and economics, our members will prosper. We are fully aware that we have to prove ourselves, every week, in providing this value. As one of our advisory board members put the distinction between SNS and many other competing firms, on this 20th anniversary:

"You're still here."

For this, we know, we have you, our SNS members, to thank.

Your comments are always welcome.

Sincerely,

Mark R. Anderson

CEO
Strategic News Service LLC            Tel.: 360-378-3431
P.O. Box 1969                                  Fax: 360-378-7041
Friday Harbor, WA 98250 USA       Email: mark@stratnews.com

To arrange for a speech or consultation by Mark Anderson on subjects in technology and economics, or to schedule a strategic review of your company, email mark@stratnews.com.

We also welcome your thoughts about topics you would like to suggest for future coverage in the SNS Global Report.

   "We're not at all surprised by the FSB's findings. We spend a fortune each year protecting Trunki's intellectual property rights and it is well known that we're taking our latest copyright battle to the Supreme Court. It is a scandal that responsible and dynamic small businesses across the country are forced to invest so much money and time to fight frauds and copycats, distracting us from growing our businesses, employing more people and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs. The law needs to be clarified and simplified to encourage innovation, not stifle it." Rob Law, CEO of UK startup Trunki, on fighting Chinese copies of his inventions; quoted in the Telegraph.

   "It doesn't look as if Penn State initially detected this attack itself it was actually notified by the FBI. That's usually a sign that the attack is part of a larger campaign that has been detected. It's very rare that a group is going to target one particular institution. Usually, they will target an entire industry or a network looking for intellectual property. If they're going after Engineering at Penn State, odds are it's part of a larger campaign targeting similar departments and groups in higher education." Ken Westin, senior security analyst at Tripwire, an Oregon-based cybersecurity company, describing the work of a Chinese hacking group behind one of two known attacks at the university; quoted in eCampus News.

   " --- well-funded and highly skilled cybercriminalsin search of sensitive information and intellectual property." Eric Barron, president of Penn State, describing the group's activities; ibid.

   "This legislation will make it even easier for foreign firms to commit international intellectual property theft, which already costs U.S. businesses a staggering $300 billion annually. Chinese firms commit about 70 percent of those violations. So it's no surprise that Chinese companies are openly pushing for weaker U.S. patent protections. ZTE a Chinese telecommunications company that Congress previously flagged as a 'security threat to the United States' has even joined a coalition of groups lobbying in favor of the patent bill." From Congress' "The Hill" blog.

   "Valuations have also been on the up. The Shanghai Composite now trades at an average of 19.7 times current year earnings, its highest since January 2008, while Shenzhen stocks have risen to 44.5 times p/e. The ChiNext, a tech-heavy start-up board, is up to a giddy 84 times. The rally in the domestic markets is unbelievable. The valuations are just not justified by fundamentals. It's definitely a bubble in the making." Irene Chow, China analyst at Bank Julius Baer; on FT.com.

   "The threat that we face is ever-evolving. We understand that there is this persistent risk out there. We take this very seriously. We need the United States Congress to come out of the Dark Ages and actually join us here in the 21st century to make sure that we have the kinds of defenses that are necessary to protect a modern computer system." Josh Earnest, White House press secretary; quoted in the New York Times.

   "China has been focused on exporting for the past 20 years, and I think in the next 10-20 years China should be focusing on importing. China should learn to buy, China should spend the money, China should buy a lot of its things globally. And I think that American small business, American-branded products, should use the Internet and go to China." Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, who has made all of his money to date by exporting Chinese goods (many illegal copies) to the US; at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York, in the Waldorf Astoria, now a Chinese-owned hotel; quoted on msnbc.com.

» The Naikon Advanced Persistent Threat Group

According to FireEye, this China-based APT cyber attack group has been working inside government and defense networks throughout the ASEAN countries for at least the last five years. Phishing seems to be the main tool, using cute little things like this:

Source: bluecoat.com

» Wall Computing Arrives!

The New Microsoft Surface Hub

SNS first introduced the concept of the Wall Computer in 2008. Here is some of that text, from "SNS: Beyond Touch Computing" (December 3, 2008):

Like everyone else, it just needs to get beyond the Gee Whiz display stuff and get into the Gee Whiz data overlays and real computation. It's only a couple more (significant) steps down the technology roadmap.

I've spent this much effort on the subject because I see this as a new future path for computing. We shouldn't be using Table Computers to order drinks at Harrah's, or to find bars near the Sheraton. We should be building "Wall Computers" for every one of the F1000.

Who wouldn't want one? And then, 100?

Microsoft is already rumored to be working on 4 x 6-foot displays. If the company can get past the size, the multi-touch display and file management bits, and think about innovative tasks that the computer can do in realtime for teams at the Wall, then it will have opened up a new category of computing, a new way of using machines, and a new way of working together.

I think Wall Computing is the future.

And in our 2012 issue "SNS: Device Battles, IP Wars," we added this:

That future got a lot closer this week, when Microsoft announced the purchase of the firm Perceptive Pixel, which specializes in large multi-touch displays capable of supporting multi-threaded computing.

Apparently, someone was listening. In fact, here's a quote from the new website on the Hub:

"Unlock the power of the group with Microsoft Surface Hub, a powerful team collaboration device designed to advance the way people work together naturally. --- The ink on Microsoft Surface Hub is so fluid and responsive that it feels just like a pen on paper and it lets two people ink at the same time. --- Advanced touch capabilities recognize up to 100 touch points with precision, allowing multiple people to interact with the screen simultaneously."

Here is a picture of the first Wall Computer, the Surface Hub, unveiled at a January Windows 10 event, and now with pricing and distribution details just announced this week:

                                                                                                                                Photo: Microsoft

We have to give 100 out of 100 points to the New Microsoft. This not only gets the Coolness Factor Award, but it's also priced right and appears to properly anticipate boardroom and conference room requirements into the future, including advances in flat company management and increased CxO interactive planning.

Well done, Redmondians; we are impressed.

In order to further impress our members, we're including the tech specs here:

HUB TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Now, Satya, Mike Angiulo, and Jeff Han, I have only two last requests:

Can I have one? No, better make that five.

Please bring one over to FiRe 2015 this October, so we can show everyone?

How exciting.

» Will HSBC Move Its HQ from London to China?

This is an easy one. It's' already got the corruption down (just convicted and fined); all it has to do now is find a new home.

The answer is Yes.

RE: "SNS: Pattern Recognition: AI for the Next IA"

Mark,

It's ridiculous how good your stuff is, Mark, no butt-kissing intended.

I'm publishing a book in August, one small thread of it is tech's role in solving big social challenges. It's mostly about the power each of us has in helping change the world. If there is any constructive role it could play in an SNS newsletter or some other way, just say the word

<www.amazon.com/Cant-Not-Do-Compelling-Changes/dp/1119131596/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429810416&sr=8-1&keywords=can%27t+not+do+and+shoemaker>

Paul Shoemaker

[Executive Connector

Social Venture Partners
Seattle]

Paul,

We'd be happy to take a look. Given the good you've done worldwide, there is no doubt something we can do here together.

Thank you for thinking of us.

Sincerely,

Mark Anderson

Subject: The new Forbes

Mark,

It's not blatant. But more careful about describing Chinese views on the subject than other stories.

<www.forbes.com/sites/donaldkirk/2015/05/30/war-cloouds-over-south-china-sea-as-u-s-declares-right-to-waters-and-u-s-warship-arrives-at-syubic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+forbes/
MPop+(Forbes.com:+Most+popular+stories)>

Bill Lohse

[Founder, Pivot Conferences

Ziff Brothers

NYC]

Bill,

As soon as I start seeing language about how others should interpret Russian or Chinese land (or sea) grabs, I get hives.

Such behavior is neither relative nor should it be ignored; if anything, Neville Chamberlain taught the world that lesson just before WWII.

As SNS members know, China appears to have just taken controlling ownership interest in Forbes.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Mark Anderson

Subject: SoundHound

Mark,

Just bumped into this demo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1ONXea0mXg

From this company:

www.soundhound.com/

This company is new to me. Given your strong interest in the voice recognition space, I thought you'd enjoy taking a look at it if it is also new to you.

If this thing works in the real world even nearly as well as this, it's a potential game changer in "effortless" (for the human) voice-based data input. Perhaps more importantly, it shows impressive context-based understanding of the specification of the data query in each case.

In 2007 Steve Jobs showed the world the astonishing impact of a generational leap in the technology around the use of a fingertip as a touchscreen input device. The concept was old. The execution by Apple in the iPhone was transformational - they solved the "fat finger" issue that had driven everyone before them to (crappy) stylus based solutions. 

SoundHound might just be at the cusp of a similar high-impact shift in the capacity to use human voice as an industrial, context-sensitive, high speed, high accuracy input device. I hope so! There will always be challenges with accent and localisation, but still - these guys could be on to something.

That demo is such a leap compared to the voice input in cars today - that being a great example of a location where this level of improvement will do a great deal of good. The one thing my Model S here in Australia still has not got right - not even once - is figuring out what I am trying to tell it when I try use the voice input function. I blame my Australian accent. 

Cheers,

Simon Hackett

[Past Founder, Internode

Board Member, Australian National Broadband Network Co.

Adelaide, Australia]

Simon,

As we now both know:

1. SoundHound is the company, and the name of the product which, a bit like Shazam, matches pieces of melody with the original song. Not that interesting in and of itself. But,

2. The not-yet-released product from SoundHound, called simply "Hound," is (at least in demo land) truly amazing.

I would encourage everyone reading this to try the demo. If it is even close to reality, Cortana and Siri and Google Now are all in trouble.

Lastly, I'll also note that longtime SNS member and FiRe speaker Kamran Elahian is co-founder and Chair of SoundHound, so we'll do what we can about getting him to FiRe with the new team.

Wowwww.

Mark Anderson

Mark,

I am all for voice recognition, but think we lack one key piece of hardware -- we need the microphone that is equivalent to earphones (that is, something that hears us, but does not require us to speak loud enough that others may hear).

I am now old enough to need a "hearing aid" for high tones, and am impressed with the little buds in my ears that I can hear, even when playing voice or music loud to me, that others can not.

I think we need an equivalent microphone. Something I could speak to, and it would recognize my unique voice, but without my speaking "out loud."

I am still offended by people shouting into their cell phones in a public space. (Old fogey, I know...). Until we can do voice input "discreetly," I think the use of voice will be limited for all these wonderful purposes that your guest columnist cites.

Rollie Cole

[Author, Wholesale Economic Development

Austin, TX]

Rollie,

You are describing the largest problem in the Internet Assistant world. While people on the consumer side seem to find it generally okay to step aside and talk to their phone, clearly this is not the same in enterprise settings.

On the other hand, almost everyone uses a phone for work.

The problem in both markets, in my view, is that, just as people lose their attention on the road when driving and talking on the phone, the same brain fart happens in restaurants and even, sometimes, at work.

The human brain seems incapable of being two places at once, so it moves to the world of being on the phone. Voices get raised, and manners forgotten.

Somehow, this will have to get worked out.

Classes with Miss Manners?

Mark Anderson

Subject: China's mainland market vs. Hong Kong's

Mark,

Wow. Very few factors are black & white in the stock market, but the huge divergence between the same company stocks in China's mainland market versus that of Hong Kong's will definitely trigger an ugly event for the mainland market especially when one also observes the retail investor percentage divergence between the two.

< www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/653a7ce6-0a6b-11e5-82e4-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=traffic/partner/
feed_headline/us_yahoo/auddev,traffic/partner/feed_headline/us_yahoo/auddev#axzz3c7JRvoA3>

The U.S. had their 1920's stock market crash disaster, so perhaps China will experience the same in the 2020's??!

John Petote

[Angel Investor and

SNS Ambassador for Angel Investing

Santa Barbara, CA]

Mark,

Great issue!

Locally we have an AI firm, Conversica, that serves a variety of verticals through deepening the user experience but also significantly by monitoring performance of transactions that come from the inbound sales leads.

At home we call them the babysitter tattletale because the relationship sets up profound expectations for consumers, and acute deliverable expectations for managers but leaves the individuals facilitating the transaction with imperfect tools.

However, that makes it all the more fascinating when taking your perspective into light. They might be a fun group for you to chat with. May I share your article in an invitation to connect?

Jared Keller is the leading TAG contact for Conversica. Fascinating young developer. Very keenly engaged and interested in growing.

Meg Weber

[Executive Director

Technology Alliance Group for Northwest Washington (TAG)

www.tagnw.org]

Meg,

Thank you for the heads-up, and I'd be delighted to talk with Jared.

And very glad you liked our AI for IA issue.

Mark Anderson

Subject: RE: The Second Front?

Mark,

Recommend that you read this one, too.

<www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/us/chinese-hackers-may-be-behind-anthem-premera-attacks.html>

I can provide more detail, but the USG still can't "shoot straight."

Regarding quote from unnamed official in article saying it's amazing that China didn't do this before.

How about "it's amazing that the USG can't figure out how to lock the front door to the house"!

Jim Wolbarsht

[President and CEO

DEFCON Inc.

McLean, VA]

P.s. I know that you know, better than anyone, what's been going on in China cyber-wise.

And I know that you get massive amounts of incoming data daily. But you may not have seen this article in today's Washington Post which points to a second, non-economic front related to this activity.

https://wapo.st/1RQbTlX

In a series of hacks, China appears to be building a database on Americans for potential espionage purposes.

With best regards,

Jim

Jim,

I couldn't believe this stupid meme about "why China didn't steal these IDs before." Since the NSA undoubtedly has the ability, far beyond China's, to steal every ID in China, and then use this to phish Chinese firms in order to steal their crown jewel IP

Well, by this logic, we should encourage them to do it, right?

There is no lack of stupidity in the world of security pundits.

Mark Anderson

Mark [and Scott Foster],

Force source code out of "western companies whose success depends on quarterly reports."

Say what??!!

China's new antics are akin to complete desperation at this point. Why do my instincts tell me that this latest attempt to steal U.S, technology represents the peak of their efforts? I'm guessing that their attempts to write sophisticated software using whatever technology they stole so far must be a complete failure.

We should agree to their demands and then give them a modified version of the software that actually results in massive destruction of their corporate/national networks. Now that would be cool.

I think China has now over-played their hand. Interesting to see what happens next...

China may try to force US firms to give up code

Beijing is planning a series of regulations designed to force tech firms to give up their secrets in exchange for doing business in China.

Read more: www.cnbc.com/id/102734535

John Petote

Subject: Re: CNBC - China may try to force US firms to give up code

Mark [and John],

To continue -

In a sense, tech companies have created their own problem in China. Roughly half of Chinese exports are produced by foreign companies with operations in China and the tech sector is above average in this regard. What to do about it?

For starters, since Chinese wages are no longer competitive, starting moving assembly out of China to Southeast Asia, India, or perhaps even America. Having drained their own country of jobs and sent a lot of their design work overseas as well, perhaps they might bring some back.

And perhaps the U.S. government might help them - like any Asian government would. Maybe reallocate a trillion dollars from wars with no strategy and no victory required to the domestic economy. Maybe launch some big projects like Tech City Detroit or American Designed and Built Superspeed Train.

Most of our politicians don't have what it takes to do this (the idiots we've got now would never have built the interstate highway system or gone to the moon), but Silicon Valley and GE do.

And, as you say, try to be a little clever. Give them our obsolete source code - after bugging it to the eyeballs.

It is a war.

Scott Foster

[Partner, TAP Japan;

Alliance Partner, Translink; and

SNS Ambassador for Asia Research

Tokyo]

John and Scott,

And then we move straight into Baidu cheating and getting caught, in the most embarrassing of ways:

Baidu disqualified from AI test

Chinese search engine Baidu's unexpected victory in AI test has been cancelled after it emerged that it broke the contest's rules.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33005728

Subject: Another topic for you to share at FiRe

Mark,

There is a very energetic competition underway to transform Internet connectivity globally:

<www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3118142/SpaceX-prepares-build-internet-SPACE-Elon-Musk-files-proposal-test-vast-fleet-satellites-provide-cheap-global-web-coverage.html>

Larry Smarr

[Founding Director

Calit2 (UCSD / UC Irvine and the Qualcomm Institute)

La Jolla, CA]

Larry,

It appears that Elon, Google, and others feel like Teledesic's lessons were a thing of the past.

While Bill Gates and Craig McCaw were hoping to put up something like a thousand satellites, we now have Elon apparently planning on four thousand.

OK, he owns SpaceX. And yes, satellites are much smaller than they used to be, and therefore less expensive on both fronts. And alright, he also owns his own satellite company, just dropped into downtown Bellevue, Washington.

Well, and then, he is Elon.

OK, maybe he can pull it off.

Mark Anderson

Please visit www.stratnews.com/insideSNS for:

• "In Case You Missed It": Recent headlines relating to SNS members
• FiRe videos
• SNS event photo galleries
• SNS iNews
• The SNS blog, "A Bright Fire"
• The SNS Media page
• SNS FiReFilms
• Subscription rates and permissions
• About SNS and About the Publisher

Register now for FiRe 2015, our 13th annual Future in Review conference:

October 6-9, 2015 / Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley

Park City, Utah

www.futureinreview.com

With great appreciation for our SNS Global Platinum Partner

Our SNS Global Gold Partner

And our SNS Computing and Communications Channel Partners,

Nuance and Telstra

Thank you to our FiRe Bronze Partner, Deloitte

SCI, our FiRe Academic Partner

and The Rodel Foundations,

our returning FiRe/Thunderbird Internship Sponsor

» Where's Mark?

* On October 69, Mark will be hosting the Future in Review 2015 Conference, at the beautiful Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley in Park City, Utah; registration is at www.futureinreview.com.

In between times, he will be wondering whether, when you put in two new cross fences, the grass really knows that the sheep can't get in, or do the sheep know they have to eat faster before they get to the other side?

 "Strategic News Service," "SNS," "Future in Review," "FiRe," "INVNT/IP," and "SNS Project Inkwell" are all registered service marks of Strategic News Service LLC.

ISSN 1093-8494