Have you ever heard of chat fiction apps? If not, then you’re probably not a teenager. These digital book alternatives, which are presented as text messages, have been dominating the app charts for the past few months. The format may seem a little strange for people who are used to paperback books, but at least young people are reading. These are the popular ones. Hooked Hooked is the… Read More
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is taking a leave of absence, Verizon closes on its $4.5 billion acquisition of Yahoo and Marissa Mayer is leaving the company, Tim Cook discusses more of Apple’s car plans and Amazon launches Prime Reload. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
Since the earliest days of the commercial web, there was a Faustian bargain struck between users and content publishers: Users got free access to online content in exchange for tolerating ads sold by the very same publishers delivering the latest words, images, and videos. And, by and large, it’s a bargain that’s worked out well for digital advertisers. According to data published… Read More
Microsoft today announced that it is joining the Cloud Foundry Foundation, the non-profit behind the open source Cloud Foundry platform-as-a-service project that’s currently in use by about half of the Fortune 500 companies. Microsoft is joining at the Gold Member tier where it joins the likes of Google (which joined last December and also hired the foundation’s former… Read More
Within a few minutes, I’ve got one hand grasped gingerly on the zipper. The other is holding the bag’s handle in place. I unzip it slowly, as if performing surgery. There’s none of the pressure of a real life battlefield, but the potential humiliation of having to start all over again in front of the film crew is enough motivation to it right this time. RE2… Read More
It may seem strange to see a headline with “FCC” in it that doesn’t concern net neutrality. But the Commission has a wide variety of responsibilities, among which is promoting and enabling tech that empowers people with disabilities to take advantage of the internet and its many services. Several companies creating such tech just got accolades from the FCC today. Read More
For the last 10 years, news feeds have been the main way — the mainstream user interface — to discover interesting and relevant digital content. Today, news feeds, from Facebook and Twitter to LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest, are surfacing the interesting news and moments from your social network and favorite sources. This is about to change. Read More
Instead, Kalanick told employees, the company will be run by his direct reports. Meanwhile, owing to the results of a probe led by former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder — who was hired to look into allegations of harassment, bullying, and discrimination at the company — some of Kalanick’s responsibilities will be shared or given outright to other senior executives when he… Read More
At least one Uber board member didn’t seem to get the memo about sex discrimination and the changes Uber is trying to make from within. In an audio taping of the company all-hands meeting today about sex discrimination, board member David Bonderman said adding more women to the board meant more talking. Yes, he really said that! Board member Arianna Huffington can be heard at 6:40… Read More
Freada and Mitch Kapor broke rank with typical investor silence in the face of scandals at their portfolio companies by publicly criticizing Uber in February, saying it was “toxic” and had “a culture plagued by disrespect, exclusionary cliques, lack of diversity, and tolerance for bullying and harassment of every form.” But today, the couple who invested in Uber starting… Read More
There are few feelings worse than returning to the spot you locked up your bike after a fun evening and seeing nothing. As a San Francisco cyclist, I’ve had my stomach sink more than once at that discouraging sight. Bikeep, a startup founded in Estonia, is looking to bring its connected locking tech to the States to address the bike theft epidemic. This morning at San Francisco’s… Read More
Any technology that only works in English neglects 75% of the world. That problem is especially severe for Facebook with its global userbase. Yet most languages are being left out by the advances in artificial intelligence centered around natural language processing led by researchers in the U.S. and China. But today marks a milestone for AI accessibility. Facebook Messenger’s… Read More
Chicago-based Snapsheet has raised $12 million to streamline the process after car accidents. The company has built a mobile application that surveys the vehicle damage and serves as a virtual appraiser. The latest round of funding is led by Tola Capital and comes just months after a $20 million Series C. “Snapsheet’s virtual claims platform streamlines and simplifies the… Read More
I’m in Columbus this week and I thought we could have a quick meetup in advance of Disrupt SF in September. We’ll be meeting on Thursday at 5pm at the Wolf’s Ridge Tap Room. You can RSVP here. There is limited space so please pick up a ticket early. We’ll have a quick pitch-off in preparation for Disrupt SF and 10 companies will have 90 seconds to pitch and then have a… Read More
Last month we noted that Instagram was testing a new feature called “archive”, which lets users hide any of their posts from anyone else – either permanently or indefinitely. Today this will roll out to everyone on Instagram, meaning you can start hiding photos today. You can archive any photo or video on your profile by tapping the “…” three-dots button in… Read More
According to horological legend the first luxury watch made of steel – the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak caused great consternation when it launched in 1972. Up until then there were timekeepers – small, cheap watches like Timex and Seiko – and expensive pieces that you handed out at retirements from brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe. To build a luxury watch in steel was an… Read More
I recently sat down with Logitech to talk about the wired and wireless versions of the Circle 2: a modular home surveillance camera with four different mounts that change where and how you’d use the camera. The modular approach stems from four different mounts: the first is a glass window mount, so you can see outdoors without glare. Second is the plug mount, ensuring you’ll… Read More
Former Attorney General Eric Holder and his law partner Tammy Albarrán announced some highly anticipated recommendations based on an internal harassment probe to employees in an all-hands meeting this morning. The board agreed, after several hours on Sunday to adopt all 10 recommendations given by law firm Covington & Burling LLP, where Holder and Albarrán are partners. You can read… Read More
Dropbox might have gotten its start in the consumer market, but over the past several years it’s made huge steps toward getting enterprise users comfortable with using its products. It’s managed to sign up more than 200,000 Dropbox Business users, who need more advanced controls over how their employees can access and share sensitive files and information on the cloud storage… Read More
Most people don’t have to think very hard about going to see the latest movie in the theater, but for millions, things aren’t that simple. If you’re hearing or vision impaired, getting the apparatus to provide you with amplified sound or scene descriptions can be a pain, if they’re even available. Actiview is a startup aiming to make accessibility in movie-going as… Read More
