The cloud was the center of the tech universe this week with IBM’s Pulse 2014 event. According to Erich Clementi, SVP of Global Technology Services at IBM, his company has identified three vital areas as the focus of its cloud development going forward, naming data the new natural resource. “Those companies that can succeed at exploiting data for business advantage will be the winners in the market,” Clementi noted.

Highlighting our live coverage of IBM Pulse, in our Best of theCUBE series this week, Features Editor Ryan Cox’s favorite #techathlete Inhi Cho Suh talked about context and agile computing in real-time as the things that really have her excited for 2014 and beyond.

In continuation of the cloud’s market opportunities, the home automation market is becoming fragmented, and our Senior Managing Editor Kristen Nicole Martin discusses how the cloud is crucial to the Smart Home, and how data storage and point-of-access interfacing will be huge opportunities in the home automation space.

See all of this week’s top stories below.

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IBM attacks growing cloud market with aggressive expansion of cloud services

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IBM kicked off Pulse 2014 with a list of announcements of new services for its worldwide cloud designed to meet the needs of three important constituencies: business leaders, developers, and IT. Its strategy for taking leadership into the growing public cloud arena is to create a compelling overall environment, based on open standards, that makes standardizing on the IBM cloud an automated task. IBM is investing $1.2 billion this year to expand its cloud network worldwide, including construction of 15 new data centers, bringing its total to 40.

Context computing : Inhi Cho Suh is excited about real-time Big Data

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What’s got Inhi Cho Suh’s attention? Real-time and context computing. Big Data is about enabling everyone. It’s about the democratization of data, giving all the ability to insights and not require you to have a Ph.D or to be a data scientist just to understand the data. Suh sums up her goals in Big Data as such: shifting towards agile analytics that offer continuous and actionable insight — in the middle of a process, in real-time, in context. Analysis as such is the middle of a process that allows you to see actionable data every step of the way. Suh sees the biggest current areas of adoption as data monetization and privacy, with more companies being proactive about privacy.

Samsung Galaxy S5 vs iPhone 5s vs Nexus 5

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Samsung has just unveiled its Galaxy S5, and so now in good ol’ SiliconANGLE fashion, let’s take a look and see how the latest must-have shiny gadget compares with some of the other top-of-the-range devices out there. Will the Galaxy S5′s new security and health tracking features make it a must-have for Android lovers, or will its bulkier size prove to be too much for them to handle?

Coinbase, Blockchain.info and others: ‘MtGox is insolvent’

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Earlier this week, embattled and ailing MtGox suddenly halted all trading on their exchange. Not long after, questions began to circulate about the potential insolvency of MtGox and the future of the company. What happened next was a mad update of confirming reports, here is where MtGox stands and the missing $500MM.

Arizona Anti Gay Law #SB1062 In Full Rage Debate – WTF

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People were shocked that Arizona was considering the anti gay law #SB1062. We created a Crowd Chat to bring in the public conversation for an “on the record” forum. In the world of sports Arizona is the home of many big money games in all sports. The NFL and MLB all are kicking back. The NFL is looking to relocate the SuperBowl to anywhere but Arizona. The NFL on Wednesday morning began investigating the possibility of moving next season’s Super Bowl from the Phoenix area.

Smart home market needs partnerships to manage niche gadgets : The Staples + Zonoff story

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The home automation market is becoming a fragmented one, what with all the smart gadgets hitting store shelves and Kickstarter campaigns launched daily. The cloud is vital to the success of the home automation market, serving as data storage and a point of access for homeowners. The cloud is where humans will interface with machines, spurring creative interactions that take place in a virtual setting. The winners in home automation will have a thoughtfully designed interface that truly connects with consumers. Such attention to the user experience is something to promote in one’s own business, and to seek in potential partners.

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