Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker is doing a year-end presentation on the state of the web at Stanford tonight.
We have the slides of her presentation here.
As usual, it's a must read for anyone in the industry, or anyone with interest in technology.
This update to Meeker's deck has new data, and new slides covering digital payments, education, and healthcare. There is also a new section on big data.
Enjoy!
Warning: There are spoilers ahead.
Now that "The Walking Dead" is done until February, where are we supposed to get our fix of the Governor, his creepy head aquarium collection, and the slowly-descending-into-madness Rick?
We've gathered a few things we've learned from deleted scenes, DVDs, "The Talking Dead," the in depth show on following "The Walking Dead," and AMC spanning the entire series.
Find out the deal with Shane's shaggy look last night, creator Robert Kirkman's favorite part of the prison, and what two original characters have never been seen on screen together until yesterday.
If you need to get your fix of Rick, Carl, Daryl and the Woodbury lot, this should help a little.
Imagine spending a night in a luxury hotel, nestled under silky high-thread count linens while looking out your window and enjoying the views as sharks, dolphins and schools of colorful fish swim by.
It's not a Sci-Fi fantasy or a Jules Verne novel. It's a real hotel that you'll be able to visit in just a few short years.
Located 40 feet under the sea in a lagoon off the coast of Fiji, the Poseidon Undersea Resort will be "the world's first seafloor resort,"according to the hotel website.
The resort will have 25 suites, a spa, restaurant, bar, gym, dive shop, and even a conference room that doubles as a wedding chapel.
The resort was conceived and developed by L. Bruce Jones, the president of U.S. Submarines, Inc. To build the Poseidon, Jones will employ the same technology used to build tourist submarines, which are "statistically the world's safest form of transportation,"according to the website.
Each suite will be a module with plexiglass windows that can be detached for maintenance and safety.
A one-week stay at Poseidon will cost $30,000 per couple. The resort claims that it will take two years to build once they have raised enough funds, according to the Daily Mail.
Poseidon has released a cool preview video showing renderings of the resort. Here's what the Poseidon Undersea Resort will look like.
Each year, the world's newest skyscrapers are pitted against each other for the Emporis Skyscraper Award.
Chosen for its aesthetic and functional design by the team of editors from the construction project database, the winner of this year's renowned prize was none other than 8 Spruce Street in New York City.
Also known as New York by Gehry and The Beekman, 8 Spruce Street was designed by Frank Gehry and completed in 2011.
It is the first skyscraper by the renowned architect, and won over the Emporis jury with its undulating stainless steel exterior.
"8 Spruce Street stands out even in Manhattan's already remarkable skyline," the Emporis jury said of its choice, culled from 220 skyscrapers completed in 2011. "It is a major new architectural landmark for New York."
It is not the only of Manhattan's famous buildings to win the award — the Hearst Tower won in 2006 as well as the Sofitel New York Hotel back in 2000.
Small businesses will put Americans back to work.
That's what Eric Schurenberg, editor-in-chief at Inc. magazine, told us. That's also why he decided to come up with his own list of the top small businesses that are creating the most jobs right now.
"The Inc. 500 list has been around since the early 80's," Schurenberg said. "So why not recognize this other component of what small businesses contribute to the economy?"
The 100 companies on Schurenberg's Hire Power Awards list have created more than 73,000 jobs between 2008 and 2011 and 92 percent of the CEOs from these companies are planning on hiring more employees next year.
"All of these small businesses seem to be run by people who are focused on growth," Schurenberg told us. "They're hungry entrepreneurs. They aren't only computer programmers or MBA graduates. They were blue-collared people. That's one of the most inspiring things."
Al Ruffalo, CEO of RuffaloCODY (#3), told Inc. that when his company hires someone, they "want to make sure there’s a career for them, not just a job. There’s a moral sense of doing whatever I can to protect people.”
The top industries hiring right now are health, business products and services, food & beverage, government services and financial services. Furthermore, the states hiring the most are California, Illinois, Virginia, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
According to Inc.'s database — which they shared with us — here are the top 19 small businesses creating the most jobs right now.
Headquarters: Leesburg, VA
CEO: Sharon Virts Mozer
Jobs created (3 years): 767
Number of employees (2012): 816
Revenue (2011): $33.8 million
What they do: Provides business process outsourcing for federal agencies
Source: Inc.
Headquarters: Lafayette, La.
CEO: Richard Zuschla
Jobs created (3 years): 773
Number of employees (2012): 3,129
Revenue (2011): $380.6 million
What they do: Provides emergency and non-emergency ambulance and medical services.
Source: Inc.
Headquarters: Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
CEO: Said Hilal
Jobs created (3 years): 782
Number of employees (2012): 1,956
Revenue (2011): $250-$500 million
What they do: Makes medical devices for surgical applications.
Source: Inc.
With less than 30 days to go until the deadline to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff, conservative House Republicans are taking their cues from Grover Norquist, the anti-tax crusader behind the GOP's "no new taxes pledge."
Over the past two years, Norquist has become a household name, gaining notoriety for his role in shaping the Republican anti-tax dogma that rejects any additional revenues for the federal government.
But there is more to Norquist than his tax pledge. The 56-year-old activist has a surprisingly backstory that makes him one of the most fascinating — and enigmatic — characters in Washington.
That's what Norquist told The Daily Show's Samantha Bee in an early 2012 interview.
"Yes, the entire federal government is paralyzed because of a document written by a 12-year-old in 1968," Bee remarked.
Norquist said he got the idea because he thought the Republican Party could rebrand itself as the party that wouldn't raise taxes.
Norquist wrote about the experience in the Washington Post in 2009:
I worked on the Nixon campaign in 1968. I filed "Get Out the Vote" cards. This is how old I am: These were 3-by-5 cards with addresses and people's names on them. Four years later, in '72, I worked on a big fundraiser for Nixon in Boston. I was one of the guys who helped staff it, as a volunteer, and they said, "Oh, you're not going to be able to go because your hair's too long." I always had long hair and thought that Janis Joplin was the high point of Western civilization. I never saw any conflict in that and being for liberty. I always thought they were sort of the same thing. The [Nixon] party people backed off, but that was a brief hiccup in my participation in American politics.
Norquist tweeted about the pair's history together after their appearance on "Meet the Press" last Sunday:
"Jim Cramer on Meet the Press--great fun.We worked at Harvard Crimson together many years ago. He looks great. (Leans a tad left, but.)"
Week 13 was a huge for a few teams at the edge of the NFL playoff picture.
Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Seattle all got big wins to keep the upper hand in the wild card race, while division leaders Chicago and Baltimore both lost in disappointing fashion.
As a result our top 10 shuffled significantly.
Once again, here's how we came up with them.
We took our rankings from last week and moved teams up and down based on the following criteria:
Record: 11-1
Biggest thing we learned this week: Now the fun begins for this team. They play New England, Indianapolis (twice), and Minnesota in a brutal last month of the season.
Record: 11-1
Biggest thing we learned this week: The defense is quietly consistent. They're now in the top five in scoring defense.
Record: 9-3
Biggest thing we learned this week: Aaron Hernandez is the main benefactor of Rob Gronkowski's injury. He was thrown to 13 times on Sunday.
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The prestigious Art Basel Miami Beach show starts on Friday, and supercar maker Bugatti will be on the scene with what it calls the "fastest artwork ever."
To take an already beautiful Veyron Grand Sport and give it some credit as a piece of art, Bugatti teamed up with Bernar Venet, a French conceptual artist whose work makes clear his love for math and science.
The result is a nerdy, beautiful Bugatti.
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With indoor space at a premium, New Yorkers love spending time outdoors at rooftops and gardens—and the winter is no exception.
The editors at Zagat have rounded up a list of the 8 best rooftops and gardens for winter in New York City.
From quaint covered gardens in the West Village to glass-enclosed rooftops in Midtown, restaurants and bars around the city have converted their outdoor spaces into cozy winter havens.
So what if it's not technically on a rooftop? This new bar in the Time Warner Center offers great views over the treetops of Central Park, so it feels like you're up high.
Nibble on some Mediterranean-inspired small plates while looking out at the bustling scene below.
This is the second year that Celsius has popped up at Bryant Park during the holiday season. Grab a seat on the second floor bar, order a hot beverage, and watch the ice skaters and shoppers below.
Located on the top floor of a Herald Square office building, Gaonnuri has great views of the Manhattan skyline. Enjoy those views while dining on high-end Korean fare and a strong martini.
Johnny Depp is rumored to have bought a lavish 20,000-square-foot mansion in Nashville for $17.5 million, according to The Real Estalker, a celebrity real estate gossip blog.
This tidbit comes from one of The Real Estalker's anonymous sources. There are no property records or contracts to show it's a done deal.
But the house was so wild that we couldn't resist taking a peek inside.
It has four bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and sits on nearly 48 acres of land.
Depp bought another mansion earlier this year in Hollywood for his ex, Vanessa Paradis. That beauty cost him $4.4 million.
This beautiful Italian Renaissance-style mansion on San Francisco's Billionaire's Row is finally, finally in contract, according to Curbed.
The home, which offers incredible views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the entire bay from almost every room, has been on market since 2006. It was first listed for $55 million.
There's no word yet on how much the home sold for or who bought it, but the house was priced chopped four times and was last listed for $34 million, according to Curbed.
It has eight bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms, as well as a library, music room, winding driveway and clay tennis court.
The house is just down the block from one of Larry Ellison's abodes.
Source: Curbed
Source: Curbed
The holiday season is here. Fresh off a few months of huge product launches Apple is ready to stuff your stockings.
However, there are a lot of variations for each gadget. Storage. Memory. Screen size. Carrier. You name it.
We picked the optimal configuration for each Apple gadget.
The iPad mini is now Apple's best tablet. The smaller size makes it much more convenient for taking it wherever you go.
We chose the Wi-Fi-only version because there really aren't many places where you can't access Internet. If you can't wait to look something up, just use your smartphone.
Before you buy read out full review of the iPad mini.
Price:$429
The iPhone 5 is the best smartphone on the market.
It's fast, light, and sleek.
We suggest the 32GB version because 16GB isn't enough if you have a lot of photos or apps. We also recommend Verizon because it has the largest LTE network.
Price:$299 with a two year contract, $729 unlocked
Apple's 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro is a champion. It's powerful, has a gorgeous high-quality screen, and is slimmer and lighter than previous versions.
We recommend the 2.3GHz quad core version with 256GB flash storage. We suggest you opt to increase the RAM for an extra $200 because you can never have enough RAM.
Price:$2,399
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College football players may not get paid, but they do receive lucrative scholarships and stipends.
And if you're on a successful team, you get something even better — a bowl gift package.
All 35 bowls give players and coaches gift packages that can include everything from iPad Mini's to hair dryers.
According to the SportsBusiness Journal, the NCAA allows the bowls to distribute up to $550 in gifts to 125 participants per school.
The SportsBusiness Journal put together a list of all of the items that will be given away to those teams this year, and we've compiled a list of the most common and interesting gifts.
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University Of Geneva Professor and cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Daphne Bavelier gave a fascinating TED talk this summer in Lausanne on her research on brain science and video games.
People automatically assume that video games, particularly action-filled shooting games, have a negative effect on the mind. Dr. Bavelier's lab actually puts those assumptions to the test.
She found that those who play action games (in moderation!) react faster and can focus better. The research has fascinating implications for how we can improve and train our brains, learn, and rehabilitate people.
The full 18 minute video is available here and at the end of the slides.
We've broken out Dr. Bavelier's key points below.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show airs tonight.
The fashion show is the event of the year, and models work out and diet for weeks in advance of the show. Each model has about three people assigned to her: a hairdresser, make-up artist and assistant.
When the show taped a month ago, pictures taken from backstage began to leak.
See how Victoria's Secret models get ready for the big event.
We've been looking at a lot of Wall Street predictions and forecasts for 2013, and one big theme is standing out: Go foreign!
Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley are all saying that 2013 will be a year in which companies with BRICS/China/Foreign Exposure will outperform.
This is a sharp reversal to 2012, when the US economy was the envy of the world, and everyone wanted stocks that were mostly focused domestically.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch's equity strategy team writes: "The most foreign-exposed stocks are now trading at the steepest discount to their pure domestic counterparts that we have seen in the last decade."
This chart shows how companies with foreign exposure have dramatically undeperformed the rest.
In other words, it's time to buy stocks with foreign exposure, as the uptrend resumes.
In a recent report, BAML's team offered a list of 50 stocks with the highest foreign sales exposure -- stocks that should outperform if global growth exceeds U.S. growth.
We've ranked the stocks from least to most exposure to foreign sales. (All YTD returns from The Street)
Ticker: RDC
Sector: Energy
YTD: +2.93 percent
% Foreign Sales: 71 percent
Rowan provides global offshore contract drilling services and specializes in jack-up rigs, light the one pictured to the right.
Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Ticker: WU
Sector: Information Technology
YTD: -30.94 percent
% Foreign Sales: 71 percent
Western Union facilitates person-to-person money transfers, offers money orders, and provides a variety of other payment services.
Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Ticker: LLTC
Sector: Information Technology
YTD: +10.52 percent
% Foreign Sales: 71 percent
Linear Technology designs, manufactures, and markets an extensive line of high performance integrated circuits.
Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
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New York City resident Calvin Seibert's geometric sandcastles have exploded onto the internet, thanks to a Reddit post.
Soon after, his pictures began popping up at The Huffington Post, The Daily Mail, and The Smithsonian Magazine online, among many others. Since then, Seibert says he has had over 160,000 page views in the past week alone on his Flickr album.
The sandcastle aficionado is an artist's assistant interested in architecture, who only recently began taking pictures of his Jones Beach creations and posting them online. He says his influences include buildings by Aldo Rossi, Gottfried Bohm, and of course Frank Gehry.
"Seeing them all together has made me want to expand the variety of shapes and styles," Seibert told Business Insider in an email. "The dream of course is to take a whole summer off and spend every day at the beach."
Iran today claimed to have captured another U.S. drone. Whether or not that's accurate remains to be seen, but what is true is that the ScanEagle drone was originally designed to help fisherman look for fish. It's low cost, portable, long-endurance, and very effective for maritime surveillance.
Able to fly over 20 hours on about one gallon of fuel, the ScanEagle is a key reconnaissance tool for U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf.
When Business Insider was aboard the USS Ponce off the coast of Iran in September for the international mine clearing exercises, the ship deployed a ScanEagle each morning and allowed us to document the process.
If Iran's claims today are true and it did capture a ScanEagle, it might be most interested in its new cameras and video system that allow the drone to relay what it sees in vivid detail.
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The latest findings from NASA's Mars rover, Opportunity, were recently presented at the 45th annual Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, California.
Opportunity was launched in 2003 and is coming up on its ninth anniversary.
"Almost nine years into a mission planned to last for three months, Opportunity is fit and ready for driving, robotic-arm operations and communication with Earth," said the mission's deputy project scientist, Diana Blaney, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a statement from NASA.
Right now Opportunity is studying an area of great interest called Matijevic Hill which may hold clay minerals. These minerals form under non-acidic wet conditions which may also be able to sustain life. Researchers are now ready to start more detailed work to determine if there really is clay in this area.
With the global population at more than 7 billion people and growing by the second, we thought we'd take another look at what the world could look like in the coming years.
Though most of us won't be around to see it, the United Nations has projected that our incredible population growth will level off at around 10 billion people by the year 2100.
Already, at 7 billion, we are experiencing severe poverty, hunger, a shortage of resources, increased urbanization and climate change issues.
Will we be doomed by 2100, or can we make it work? Since we've only got one planet (so far), let's hope for the latter.
Increased urbanization will be one of the main ways the planet will sustain 10 billion people. There will be a lot of new cities, and mega-cities (cities with a population of over 20 million) will become more common.
Possible candidates for mega-city status include: Beijing, Delhi, Jakarta, Mexico City, Mumbai, São Paulo, and Shanghai.
Right now, there are over 7,000 languages spoken. But lesser used languages will fall by the wayside, while English will become the most used form of communication around the world.
That will be a huge increase, up from 7.6 percent in 2010.
The burden on the youth to carry the old will be greater than ever.
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