TC Roundup: Technology's next 25 years belong to the world, not the US

Technology's next 25 years belong to the world, not the US: Apple's earnings announcement last week contained a glaring anomaly for a western technology company. The company disclosed that 22 per cent of its history-making $74.6bn in quarterly sales came from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. But business leaders around the world should pay more attention to the interview that Jack Ma, Alibaba's executive chairman, gave to Charlie Rose at Davos. (Financial Times)

China to ban online impersonation accounts, enforce real-name registration: China will ban from March 1 internet accounts that impersonate people or organizations, and enforce the requirement that people use real names when registering accounts online, its internet watchdog said on Wednesday.

China has repeatedly made attempts to require internet users to register for online accounts using their real names, although with mixed success. (Reuters)

Google blocked 524M 'bad ads' in 2014, up 50% from 2013: Google has released its annual "bad advertising" report, revealing a sharp increase in the number of miscreant advertisements it removed in 2014.

Indeed, the Internet giant says that it disabled "more than 524 million bad ads" last year, banning 214,000 advertisers in the process. Looking at 2013's numbers, Google revealed that it removed 350 million bad ads that year, though it banned more than 270,000 advertisers. (Venture Beat)

Chinese retailers play poker in empty malls as shoppers go online: Hunched over the counter of his tiny, gadget filled stall in Beijing's vast Hailong Electronics City, Wang Ning bemoans a week without a single sale.

"It's dying," says Wang, shaking his head as he looks out at abandoned stores and torn promotional posters in what was once the busiest market in the Zhongguancun district, known as China's silicon valley. "There are more sales staff than customers around here. Everyone buys online now."(Bloomberg)

How to rent the Apple Watch before buying it: Consumers who are on the fence about buying the Apple Watch will be able to take it for a test drive, so to speak, before deciding whether or not it's worth the investment.

The gadget rental start-up called Lumoid plans to rent Apple Watches as part of its wearable rental program for consumers, said, Aarthi Ramamurthy, the company's founder and CEO. (CNBC)