I was in a place where the only thing constraining me in virtual reality was my couch potato bod and a crippling realization that footage of me using it would live forever on the web. This is life with the Virtuix Omni, a $699 device that allows you to walk through virtual realit … | Continue reading
There is a looming crisis in information security that will necessitate that businesses change how they manage their security efforts. While there will always be new attacks and methodologies with which to contend, it’s the growing shortage of skilled cybersecurity resources that … | Continue reading
The Gillmor Gang — Dan Farber, Frank Radice, Keith Teare, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor. Recorded live Saturday, March 5, 2016. The Gang goes full tilt boogie on the Republican race to the bottom with Trump in the driver seat. In the real time race, Twitter has the nomination lo … | Continue reading
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe just signed into law the “Fantasy Contests Act,” which is a legal framework for fantasy sports providers that operate in the state. The bill, which was approved by the Virginia legislator a few weeks ago, makes Virginia the first state in the nat … | Continue reading
Music listeners are cheapskates. Few will pay Spotify or Apple $10 a month even to stream almost every song ever. Meanwhile, radio services Pandora hardly scrape by on the meager ad rates after they pay out royalties. So if Pandora wants to resuscitate the battered corpse of Rdio … | Continue reading
SQL Server, Microsoft’s flagship relational database product, is now available on Linux in the form of an early private preview, with a full launch planned for mid-2017. Until now, SQL Server was strictly a Windows product, but as Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s executive vice preside … | Continue reading
In a world suffering from app overload, the Y Combinator-backed startup Prompt introduces a different way to interact with services, make purchases, or even control “Internet of Things” devices – all by way of text-based interface. The application, which can be used via SMS, Slac … | Continue reading
Google never “got” social. For all the resources thrown at it, Google+ just never quite felt human. But luckily Google just hired the guy behind 4Chan — a site that epitomized the good, the bad, and the ugly of humanity on the Internet. Chris Poole (screen name: MOOT) started 4Ch … | Continue reading
Google Photos, the service that allows you to back up, organize and search across all your photos and videos, has just rolled out a notable update on iOS. The iPhone and iPad application now supports Live Photos, the animated photo format introduced with iOS 9 and the newer iPhon … | Continue reading
There’s a new body-tracking workout outfit that looks to compete with the likes of Athos and other workout-tracking sensors that’s launching on Kickstarter today. Enflux, a Y Combinator-backed company, is starting a Kickstarter today for its sensor-laden workout outfit (that can … | Continue reading
President Obama’s recent announcement of the creation of the Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP) made waves across government and tech audiences, as it proposed a $19 billion budget to bulk up cybersecurity across the U.S. government and the private sector. While the announ … | Continue reading
Mobile marketing company Tune is releasing a new report, where 24.6 percent of survey respondents said that they’d downloaded an ad-blocking app or browser.The company says it surveyed nearly 4,000 smartphone owners in the United States and Europe, and it found that adoption is g … | Continue reading
Agency Geek has launched a new online service that purports to algorithmically match service agencies with prospective clients (basically they have a search tool for small businesses to find the proper representation). Read More | Continue reading
Ryan Leslie gave every fan his phone number. It’s (915) 600-6978. But instead of a million unwanted phone calls, it’s making him money and giving him deeper intelligence about his listeners than anyone in the music business.That’s why A16z’s Ben Horowitz, Betaworks, and more inve … | Continue reading
Lyft is now allowing third-party developers to build on its platform, starting with Facebook Messenger today.Uber opened its API to third-party developers more than 18 months ago, announcing a partner integration with Facebook Messenger in December, which allowed Messenger users … | Continue reading
The Federal Communications Commission announced today that it has reached an agreement with Verizon Wireless.The FCC says it’s been investigating Verizon’s use of Unique Identifier Headers (more commonly known as “supercookies,” which serve as a permanent identifier that tracks u … | Continue reading
You can now sign up for Project Fi, Google’s first foray into offering its own cell phone service, without an invite. The service, which launched ten months ago, was an invite-only project until now — though getting an invite wasn’t all that hard. Starting today, anybody in the U … | Continue reading
Within the next month, a pair of the most highly hyped VR headsets are getting ready to launch. The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are both expensive, powerful pieces of hardware that will likely see adoption among gamers and evangelists of the platform but are not necessarily systems … | Continue reading
UpLabs is a community-powered marketplace that lets designers and developers share ready-to-ship UI resources — like login boxes and payment forms — to build apps and sites.Originally from France, founders Matt Aussaguel and Guillemette Dejean moved to the U.S. after finding thei … | Continue reading
Skype announced today further integrations into Microsoft’s suite of online tools, with news that access to the communications app is now available while working in Office Online and OneDrive. This is an expansion of the earlier announcement from this past October, which then int … | Continue reading
Confirming reports from earlier this year, which spoke of a forthcoming revamp of the Facebook Messenger application for Android devices, Facebook today began rolling out a new, Material Design-styled version of Messenger on Android to all users worldwide. The updated application … | Continue reading
Gross? Well, that gross idea just pulled in a $4 million Series A round from AccellFoods, existing investor Collaborative Fund and a bunch of angels including Nas and Tim Ferris. The team behind the creepy crawlies as food company previously raised $1.6 million, adding up to $5.6 … | Continue reading
This year, more money will be spent on political ads – $11.4 billion – than ever before. According to Borrell Associates around $1 billion of that will be spent on digital media, and half of that on social media. Compare that digital media spend to the $22.25 million spent in 200 … | Continue reading
Apple looks to have come to the end of the road in a long running legal saga involving allegations of an e-books price inflating conspiracy. Read More | Continue reading
Augmented reality and virtual reality have been the subject of a lot of hype from proponents who advocate its inevitability as a mainstream platform. With over $1.1 billion invested in the space in the last two months according to Digi-Capital, it seems that the growing class of … | Continue reading
We’re now a year into the White House’s TechHire initiative to help more Americans qualify for better, higher-paying tech jobs regardless of their pedigree. The verdict so far? TechHire has seen solid traction, but evaluating this effort through a short-term lens misses the point … | Continue reading
A couple of years ago The Duke Of York in England launched his Pitch@Palace events which have become a regular, and respected fixture in the London startup scene. Today, for the first time ever, anyone will be able to watch their Startup Pitch event being broadcast live from St J … | Continue reading
Apple has shut down what appears to have been the first, fully-functional ransomware targeting Mac computers. This particular form of cyber threat involves malware that encrypts the data on your personal computer so you can no longer access it. Afterwards, the hackers request tha … | Continue reading
People are trying to steal your credentials or trick you into giving them important information. They are exploiting unpatched operating systems, locating security holes in applications and hacking into unprotected hardware. You’re not paranoid, you’re told. Hackers, con artists … | Continue reading
In its eighth year, Startup Turkey, a gathering of 600, is one of the country’s premier startup events. Read More | Continue reading
Hooch, which just launched in LA, is a subscription-based app that gives its members one cocktail a day for just $9.99 per month. Yes, we’re being serious. For less than the price of one cocktail, you can get one free drink each day at your choice of dozens of bars around New Yor … | Continue reading
Staff Finder, the European on-demand marketplace for temporary staffing, has closed a funding round led by One Peak Partners and Goldman Sachs Private Capital. Terms of the investment isn’t being disclosed, however sources tell TechCrunch that the round is in the region of €20 mi … | Continue reading
SoundCloud — the audio streaming startup approaching 200 million users whose catalogue is based around user-generated content — has struggled with mounting losses and label licensing, while it plans new monetizing features. Now, it has hired an exec to tackle those challenges hea … | Continue reading
In any conversation I have about London’s fintech space, property crowdfunding platform Property Parter is almost certain to come up. The startup which lets you invest from as little as £50 in residential property — or the so-called the ‘buy to let’ market, as it’s called here in … | Continue reading
Spanish banking giant BBVA has made another M&A play as it looks for a bigger role in the next generation of financial services: today the company has announced the acquisition of Holvi, an online-only bank for entrepreneurs and SMBs based out of Finland. (“Holvi” means “vault” i … | Continue reading
Last week following volatility in global stock markets, I had the opportunity to check in with Tom Tunguz to discuss macro-economics and the public markets and explore the wider implications of their effects on early stage startups. Read More | Continue reading
Lavabit, the former encrypted email provider that shut down its service in 2013 after the FBI demanded its encryption keys, has filed an amicus brief in support of Apple in its legal battle with the agency. Read More | Continue reading
When a market turns, everyone get socked to a certain degree. At our upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt conference, we’ll be sitting down with three pros on the front lines of a suddenly slowing tech economy to find out how they’re dealing with such circumstances — and, in some cases, t … | Continue reading
Ray Tomlinson, one of the men who pioneered email, has passed away at the age of 74, according to reports in Australia. Read More | Continue reading
GetLinks, a Bangkok-based startup focused on helping tech companies find and hire top talent, has closed a $500,000 seed round. Read More | Continue reading
There is a rising tide of concern in the U.S. This concern has always been front and center in Silicon Valley. It centers around the shortage of skilled IT workers and the threats modern technology poses to today’s blue-collar workers and those without a STEM degree. Read More | Continue reading
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering (and one of its most popular WWDC presenters) says the FBI’s demands on the company will make all iOS users more vulnerable to malicious attacks in an opinion piece for the Washington Post. Read More | Continue reading
Cybercrime is an enormous problem — a nemesis of the federal government, America’s biggest corporations and tens of millions of individuals. But there is now legitimate hope that a big piece of the cybercrime problem can eventually be solved. Read More | Continue reading
It’s being predicted that by the end of this year, mobile payment transactions in the U.S. will grow 210 percent. Despite this impressive gain, it turns out that not everyone is taking advantage of mobile payments. Why aren’t more people enjoying the convenience and ease of mobil … | Continue reading
A year ago, the design-focused software firm Autodesk announced it would stop selling its standalone perpetual licenses of its desktop software, and early last month, it began implementing that switch, a move that will be complete by mid-year, when the company’s older products wi … | Continue reading
The lifetime of the computer has been marked by an ongoing struggle to communicate with the machine. When two human conversational participants come from different languages, true communication only occurs when one can learn to speak in the language of the other. At the beginning … | Continue reading
Good companies will always get funded. If that’s your company, it’s important to make sure you have the resources to keep it alive long enough to get funded. Murmurs of a looming downturn in venture capital are pressuring more companies to preemptively begin fundraising, whether … | Continue reading
The Internet of Things and the Internet might seem inextricably linked, but, increasingly, there are questions centered around how IoT devices should work with one another — and what happens when the Internet connection goes down? Read More | Continue reading