Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Saturday roundup of articles for you

Apple Mac Pro: 9 Ways It Wows

http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/executive-insights-and-innovation/apple-mac-pro-9-ways-it-wows/d/d-id/1113174




Apple's 12-Core Mac Pro On Sale Dec. 19, Starting at $2,999

http://www.eweek.com/pc-hardware/apples-12-core-mac-pro-on-sale-dec.-19-starting-at-2999.html




Apple's dark tower Mac Pro ship date quickly slips to February 2014

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244893/Apple_s_dark_tower_Mac_Pro_ship_date_quickly_slips_to_February_2014




In public, Apple’s rivals in the smartphone market have tried to downplay the technological advances Apple introduced in the iPhone 5s. But it turns out that one breakthrough -- Apple's speedy, 64-bit A7 microprocessor -- has set off a panic inside its competitors.

http://blog.hubspot.com/uattr/qualcomm-apple-64-bit-chip-hit-us-in-gut




11 iPhone Apps You'd Have To Take From My Cold, Dead Hands

http://www.businessinsider.com/important-iphone-apps-2013-12




Getting a 27-year-old Mac Plus onto the web

http://www.tuaw.com/2013/12/16/getting-a-27-year-old-mac-plus-onto-the-web/




Apple signals end to OS X Snow Leopard support
Declines to patch Safari 5.1, surest sign that it's given 10.6 the support boot

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244852/Apple_signals_end_to_OS_X_Snow_Leopard_support




Yes, Someone Can Spy On You Using Your Own MacBook Webcam

That's because it's possible for hackers or even the federal government to bypass the security feature in the iSight camera, researchers at Johns Hopkins University say.

So what can you do to protect yourself? Stick a piece of tape on your camera. Seriously.

http://www.businessinsider.com/macbook-webcam-spy-hack-2013-12




You Should Never, Ever Leave Your Webcam Uncovered When You Aren't Using It

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/12/19/webcam_security_never_leave_it_uncovered_if_you_aren_t_using_it.html




The Incredibly Clever Way Thieves Stole 40 Million Credit Cards From Target Customers

The hackers went through the physical checkout systems inside every Target store. That's nearly 2,000 stores

The hack focused on Target's point-of-sale, or POS system. As shoppers swiped or punched in their numbers on the checkout keypad, the hackers copied every single number, according to Brian Krebs, whose tech security blog has broken scoop after scoop on password hacking.

The thieves now have 40 million blank cards with correct numbers and PINs, and can withdraw cash from ATMs at their leisure.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2013/12/19/target_credit_card_hackers.html




Here's What To Do If You Shopped At Target After Its Black Friday Data Breach

A list of five things you must do to protect yourself from credit card rip-off.

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-do-if-you-shopped-at-target-since-black-friday-2013-12




On some level, you have to admire what Facebook has done here. It spent years making itself a free and easy place for business to market themselves or sell actual products. Then, as soon as these businesses grew addicted to Facebook's users, Facebook began charging for access to them.

http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-screwed-lots-of-retailers-2013-12




Why Owning an Inexpensive Kindle Could Cost You Hundreds

Survey indicates Kindle users spend $443 more annually than regular Amazon members

http://business.time.com/2013/12/15/why-owning-an-inexpensive-kindle-could-cost-you-hundreds/




Bitcoin - A Primer from the Chicago Federal Reserve
Good background mixed together with horrible propaganda

This article gets into the technical details of bitcoin more than other articles I've seen.

Bitcoin solves the two challenges of controlling the creation of a unit of digital currency and avoiding its duplication at once. Validation is difficult to do, and those who do it are rewarded for doing so by being allowed to create new bitcoins in a controlled way.

The bitcoin protocol provides an elegant solution to the problem of creating a digital currency-i.e., how to regulate its issue, defeat counterfeiting and double-spending, and ensure that it can be conveyed safely-without relying on a single authority.

once created, the bitcoin has no value other than in exchange, contrary to a gold coin.

Bitcoin is free of the power of the state, but it is also outside the protection of the state. How likely is bitcoin to remain so if it gains wide acceptance and the incentives to hijack it grow accordingly?

http://www.chicagofed.org/digital_assets/publications/chicago_fed_letter/2013/cfldecember2013_317.pdf




Investors may not want bitcoin to be a real currency

If bitcoins were treated as a real currency, gains would have to be taxed at regular income tax rates, which could get as high as 39.6% for the wealthiest bitcoin users.  In contrast, if bitcoins are treated as an asset-similar to the way they will be treated in Norway-they could potentially be taxed at the much lower long-term capital gains rate of 20% for investors in the top tax bracket.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/investors-may-not-want-bitcoin-to-be-a-real-currency-2013-12-17




Why Bitcoin Will Never Be A Currency — In Two Charts

What Bitcoin really needs is a central bank to stabilize its value. When the demand for Bitcoin goes up, they need to print more to keep it from skyrocketing. That is, they need to decide whether they want Bitcoin to be a Ponzi scheme for techno-libertarians or an actual medium of exchange. See, the technology of Bitcoin really is revolutionary, and the currency of Bitcoin is holding it back. In other words, Bitcoin really could have use as a payments system if it had a stable value. But it doesn't, so it's just a dotcom stock.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-bitcoin-will-never-be-a-currency--in-two-charts-2013-12




Big Bitcoin Law Suit Between Mt. Gox and CoinLab

If you think that keeping the world's most popular Bitcoin exchange up and running is easy, think again.

If the Bitcoin community seems remarkably calm about Mt. Gox's problems, that's because they've been through rough patches with the exchange before.

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/09/mt-gox/

http://www.inc.com/eric-markowitz/a-bitcoin-lawsuit-shakes-the-industry.html




The Definitive History Of Bitcoin

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-14/definitive-history-bitcoin

http://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/the-definitive-history-of-bitcoin-infographic.jpg