Yesterday saw the introduction — after many leaks and rumors — of the Nintendo Switch, the company’s next game console. It isn’t due to arrive until March of next year, which is infinitely frustrating because it looks amazing for several reasons, not all of them obvious. Here’s why I’m more excited about the Switch than for any Nintendo product in a long time. Read More
How do you make things funny in virtual reality? That’s the question CollegeHumor is exploring with 1600 in 360°, a new video series depicting some of the, um, highlights of U.S. presidential history.
Apparently, Google approached IAC-owned CollegeHumor about creating 360-degree content for YouTube and for its DayDream VR platform. Sam Reich, president at CollegeHumor’s… Read More
Another city, another Airbnb lawsuit. Airbnb sued the city of New York, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Mayor Bill de Blasio today over legislation that would make it illegal to advertise accommodations that can’t legally be rented out for less than 30 days. The bill was passed in June and signed into law by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier today. New York housing law… Read More
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff took the stage at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing today to talk about diversity and equality. This comes just weeks after Salesforce brought on board Tony Prophet, its first-ever Chief Equality Officer. Equality, Benioff said, has to be something that Salesforce stands for, just like it stands for growth, innovation, new ideas and creating new… Read More
Virtual, augmented and mixed reality have a competition problem. But while most AR/VR companies will tell you how much better they are than their nearest direct competitor, they’re picking the wrong fight. The main event isn’t between the major companies; there are far bigger and scarier competitors out there: Status quo is AR/VR’s biggest competitor. Read More
At its core, Zwift is indoor cycling software. But layered on top of its functionality is a community that in the two years the company has been operating has grown in both scale and shear strength. At an event at Rapha’s cycling in SF, I found myself surrounded by core users proudly flaunting their team names and meeting, often not for the first time. Even Barry Bonds showed up to… Read More
The future of prosthetics is fast arriving, with 3D-printed construction, advanced materials and embedded sensors replacing the unadorned wood and plastic of yore. But like the rest of the future, it’s not equally distributed. In order to bridge the gap for users who can’t afford or get at these fancy new prostheses, researchers propose smartening up dumb prosthetics with… Read More
Do you make the hardest of things, hardware? We want you to compete in our Hardware Alley, our premier startup competition at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. You will have the chance to show your amazing products to representatives from major retailers, VCs, and other notables and you’ll climb far above the usual CES noise.
Hardware Battlefield is part of TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield… Read More
No mainstream electronics manufacture is making more interesting, innovative and downright bizarre products than Lenovo. Between its contorting efforts under the Yoga banner and the modular handsets being produced by Motorola, the Chinese company is taking the sort of form factor risks we rarely see outside of hardware startups.
Nowhere is this better embodied than in the $499 Yoga Book. If… Read More
This week, Tesla made a major announcement about the availability of its self-driving tech, Apple revealed when its next MacBooks are going to be announced, and we reviewed Google’s new Pixel XL. These are the top stories to catch you up on this crazy week in tech. Read More
Having a heated argument while discussing the presidential elections with friends? Good news: Alexa can now fact check the 2016 campaign, answering questions about the candidate’s claims right on the spot. This includes statements made by Clinton and Trump, as well as other candidates and politicians whose comments have been checked. This fact-checking is being made possible by way of… Read More
Teddy bear dogs, singing children, and your deepest personal opinions are what you should be sharing on Facebook Live, according to Facebook’s new ad campaign for its mobile broadcasting feature. Instead of poising itself for web celebrities like YouTube Live or citizen journalists like Periscope, these commercials show Facebook Live wants to be the camera for the common man. Click or… Read More
Facebook will soon display more graphic content including violence and nudity that would normally violate its policies as long as the imagery is newsworthy or important enough.
Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s VP of global policy writes “Our intent is to allow more images and stories without posing safety risks or showing graphic images to minors and others who do not want to see… Read More
A group of Japanese scientists from Kyushu University has successfully turned mouse skin cells into baby mice without the use of egg cells. The technology skips over the usual method of fertilizing egg cells with sperm and instead uses a method to grow the cells with the necessary chromosomal pairs needed for life to begin. This is the first time something like this has ever been achieved… Read More
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), the University of South Alabama, and Singapore University of Technology and Design have successfully injected malicious code into a computer which, in turn, added invisible commands to a file containing a 3D model of a drone propeller. When they printed the model and attached it to the drone, the propeller broke upon take-off. This… Read More
A new iMessage app from the music-focused social network SoundShare will now let you share entire tracks with your friends over text messaging. Of course, there are already a number of ways to text friends your favorite music, thanks to the launch of the iMessage App Store. Apple Music has a built-in iMessage app, for example, and Pandora also rolled out one of its own earlier this month. Read More
A billion-dollar industry is taking off, and we are excited that it has the potential to transform the lives of disabled people. But whatever the promise of this amazing tech, the industry has to move quickly to understand the needs and abilities of a full range of people and make sure it can offer a great experience for every possible user. Read More
Facebook wants you to know Live broadcasting isn’t just for celebrities. Facebook has bought a new series of US and UK TV, web, billboard, bus, and baggage claim ads that suggest you go Live when you see something cool, want to show off a talent, or just have something important to say. The campaign could further accelerate the growth of Live, which has seen the number of people… Read More
Looks like DJI may beat GoPro’s ship date yet. After nearly a week of delay due to unspecified manufacturing reasons, the company’s eagerly anticipated folding photography drone looks to finally be heading out to early purchasers.
Three days after chalking the MIA Mavic Pro’s delay up to “amazingly strong global demand,” the company’s Global Director of… Read More
The board of Hampton Creek has hired one of the Big Four accounting firms to investigate claims in a Bloomberg story that the San Francisco-based vegan food company executed on a campaign to buy back mass quantities of its eggless mayo product, Just Mayo. A source familiar with the situation says the board was unaware of the alleged scheme until contacted by Bloomberg’s reporters… Read More
