Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin "Get together?" The subject line of the e-mail was like every other come-on that hit Jan Koum's in-box in the spring of 2012. He was pounded daily by investors who wanted a piece of his company, WhatsApp. Hatched on his birthday, Feb. 24, 2009, WhatsApp was emerging as a global phenomenon. Some 90 million people were using it to text and send photos for free. No social utility had ever grown as fast. Facebook had only 60 million by its third birthday. And at the time close to half of WhatsApp users were returning daily. Koum looked at the e-mail sender: Mark Zuckerberg. Now, that was a first. The Facebook founder had been using WhatsApp and wanted him over for dinner. Koum stalled, then finally wrote back saying he was traveling soon and dealing with server issues. Zuckerberg suggested they meet before Koum left. Koum forwarded the reply to his cofounder, Brian Acton, and his sole venture backer, Jim Goetz, a partner at … [Read more...] about Inside The Facebook-WhatsApp Megadeal: The Courtship, The Secret Meetings, The $19 Billion Poker Game
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Every Essential Tool You Need To Set Up A Fully-Stocked Home Bar, According To Bartenders
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin If you regularly host holiday gatherings, dinner parties or after-work happy hours, chances are you’re often mixing up drinks for guests. And if these events are a regular occurrence at your home, it might be time to learn how to set up your own bar. Building a home bar might seem like a complicated and potentially expensive undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be. We spoke to bartenders from all around the country, and they explained that you really just need a few essential tools and ingredients to whip up professional-quality cocktails at home. Your local watering hole might feature rows upon rows of different spirits to choose from, but bartenders recommend sticking to the basics for your home bar. “Tequila, bourbon, vermouth, angostura bitters and soda water are always at my home bar,” says Micky Mullins, bar manager at The Bower in New Orleans. “The real secret is most of these ingredients play well with one another. … [Read more...] about Every Essential Tool You Need To Set Up A Fully-Stocked Home Bar, According To Bartenders
San Francisco Tries To Slow Down Waymo And Cruise Robotaxi Expansion. Should They Go Elsewhere?
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In the world of self-driving, the strong leaders are now Google/Alphabet’s Waymo, and GM’s Cruise. Both are headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, and both have thus been keen to deploy in the city of San Francisco itself. No wonder, it’s their hometown. Driving it is a challenge but an important one to handle. On the other hand, it doesn’t snow, though it faces fog. It’s a city that already has many people who don’t own cars, and it was the birthplace of ride-hail, first with the now-defunct Sidecar, then Lyft and Uber. It makes a lot of sense that they both want to be there. Even so, the city of San Francisco and it’s agencies have not been too happy with the pilot deployments of these companies and recently wrote letters hoping to slow them down. This article examines the conflict between the companies and their city, considering not just the particular points of contention, but also what sort of relationship makes … [Read more...] about San Francisco Tries To Slow Down Waymo And Cruise Robotaxi Expansion. Should They Go Elsewhere?