TechHampshire.com

NASHUA – Fred Kocher can see the TV advertisements now: two large letter Es zooming in from opposite sides of the screen, coming together in the middle to represent the two factors he believes are key to the state’s success: education and economy.
“We need to keep building strong ties between business and education,” he said Thursday, speaking to members of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce. “Education is the key to our economy, and the two need to merge more than ever before.”
Kocher, president of the state High Technology Council, was part of a panel of speakers, which also included University System of New Hampshire interim Chancellor Todd Leach, who is president of Granite State College, and Nashua School District Superintendent Mark Conrad.

NASHUA – It’s the Nashua technology world’s version of man bites dog: Brian Susnock, of Desktek, issuing a press release to praise the incumbent telephone company.
“These people have really put some intelligence behind the design of the network,” said Susnock concerning FairPoint Communications, which he said has made it possible for his firm to upgrade broadband networks to the school systems in Jaffrey-Rindge and the northern New Hampshire town of Groveton.
Susnock, founder and CEO of the small networking company located in Nashua’s Technology Park, came to attention in the late 1990s for taking Verizon to federal court, claiming that it squashed competitors like Desktek by illegally blocking access to high-speed fiber networks.

MANCHESTER – Entrepreneurs developing new products often face an uphill battle explaining value to customers, but the learning curve doesn’t get much steeper than when you’re working with Bitcoin, the digital sort-of currency that has drawn fascination, uncertainty and derision since it exploded on the scene this winter.
“First there’s wrapping your head around the technology … then there’s wrapping your head around what this means for the future of payments and financial institutions,” said Zach Harvey, of Manchester, one-third of the firm Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures, which is about to unveil the first ATM that can turn paper money into Bitcoins. “But once you realize how powerful it is, it makes other technology feel ancient. We want to give you the tools for a new financial world that may not need currency the way we need it today.”
Harvey and his brother Josh brought their guitar store to the U.S., because their native Israel had too much regulation. They have dual citizenship.
They were drawn to New Hampshire by the ideals of the Free State Project, which has embraced Bitcoin because it’s free of government control.