Google is continuing its push to get more Americans registered to vote ahead of the upcoming presidential elections by expanding its voter information guides in Google Search to Spanish. While the company was already providing web searchers with details on how to get registered and how to vote, based on your current location, those guides were only triggered by searches for English phrases… Read More
You’ve likely seen the headlines about consumer frustration with the transition to EMV payment cards in the U.S., most of which centers around how long the payments take versus good old-fashioned swiping. Those of us living in countries where EMV has been a fixture for a while might just shrug at this, but not Square: It’s focused on cutting transaction times to alleviate… Read More
If you’re at all interested in retro gaming, you’ve probably come across 8Bitdo, the company that makes throwback Bluetooth controllers inspired by classics like the SNES and NES. Now, it’s paying homage to another classic, the Apple II. The company’s new Kickstarter project seeks funding for a game controller called the AP40, featuring a full load-out of buttons,… Read More
Microsoft has already expressed some interest on bringing Office to the car, and it sounds like it’ll continue to do that work with Renault-Nissan via a new tie-up between the two companies. The newly formed strategic partnership will see Microsoft help the automaker develop more connectivity services, particularly through the use of Azure cloud services. What does the partnership… Read More
Uber is adding its own gift cards to the list of ways you can pay for the service. The ride-hailing startup has debuted physical cards that will go on sale in 35,000 retail locations across the U.S. over the next few weeks, including stores like Walmart, Target and CVS. The company will also be selling them directly from Uber.com, and the gift cards can be redeemed in the Uber mobile app.… Read More
You no longer need an always-on PC or any other network-attached hardware in order to use Plex’s media player. The popular service, which allows you to watch TV and movies from your own collection, including those you’ve recorded via an attached digital antenna, is making itself more accessible to mainstream users via a new online option, called Plex Cloud. Instead of installing… Read More
Lego’s Star Wars series is actually everywhere in my office, so I’m happy new sets from Rogue One: A Star Wars story are set to launch on September 30. I got the chance to check out one of those sets ahead of launch, and built the U-Wing, a ship new to the Star Wars universe featured in the film. The U-Wing’s official designation is the UT-60D, and it’s made by… Read More
At its Ignite conference today, Microsoft announced that it is making its Edge browser more secure in enterprise environments.
As Microsoft explained during a press conference ahead of the event, the so-called Windows Defender Application Guard insulates Windows 10 from untrusted browser sessions by running it in a container that is bound directly to the hardware. Microsoft argues that… Read More
Crowdsourcing live traffic data has been one of Waze’s key competitive advantages in navigation software for a while, but Germany’s HERE might give it a run for its money with new services that pull traffic info from cars on the road. The data gathered by Here’s upcoming traffic services, which it’s set to debut during the first half of 2017, will take info from… Read More
Microsoft’s Ignite conference is bringing 23,000 IT professionals to Atlanta, Georgia this week and the company is using this opportunity to talk about how it plans to bring more intelligence to its tools and platforms. As companies gather more and more data, Microsoft argues, it’s becoming imperative that the tools these companies use also become smarter. This means bringing… Read More
Confirming earlier leaks, Roku this morning unveiled a refreshed and rebranded line of streaming media players, with the intent of plugging every hole in the market. Instead of numbering the Roku devices as before, the new streamers use names like “Express” for the entry-level devices up to “Ultra” for the high-end player, and focus on consumers’ particular… Read More
Estify, a company that’s developed a new tool for auto repair businesses to better gauge the cost of its services for insurance claims, has raised $6.3 million in new financing.
It’s a way for car repair businesses to get payouts from insurers faster and better service customers.
And, at least until autonomous vehicles are a reality, it’s a service that’s becoming… Read More
Microsoft and Adobe today announced a major partnership that will see Adobe deliver its cloud services on Microsoft Azure and that will make Adobe the preferred marketing service for Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Enterprise CRM solution. Microsoft says Adobe will now make Azure its “preferred cloud platform” for its three main services: the Adobe Marketing Cloud, Creative Cloud… Read More
Microsoft loves to talk about how we are now living in a “cloud first, mobile first” world, but in this world, there is still plenty of room left for Windows Server. Today, at its Ignite conference in Atlanta, the company announced that Windows Server 2016 will be available for purchase on October 1 and will then ship in mid-October. That’s pretty much in line with… Read More
ColorTV is an SDK for marketers and developers to analyze the shows you watch and provide content recommendations within the same vein. Raising $1.5 million in seed funding from Foxconn earlier this year in July, ColorTV is set to support Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Chromecast today. It might be surprising to some, but broadcast advertisers more or less guess which ads to… Read More
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is set to deliver a keynote address at the 67th annual International Astronautical Congress tomorrow, where he’ll outline his plan for interplanetary colonization beginning with Mars. As a bit of a teaser, Musk posted a couple of images from the inaugural firing of the Raptor interplanetary engine, which is designed for use with Space’s Mars Colonial… Read More
Canvas Ventures, a Portola Valley, Ca.-based early-stage venture firm, is this morning announcing that it has closed a second fund with $300 million. That’s a meaningful step up from the $175 million debut effort of the firm, which was cofounded in 2013 by former Morgenthaler Ventures partners Gary Little, Rebecca Lynn and Gary Morgenthaler. One likely reason is Ben Nasarin, a… Read More
FreshDirect, a popular online grocery service on the East Coast, is arming itself with $189 million in additional funding. The round was led by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with W Capital and AARP Innovation Fund investing as well. The new capital will be used to help FreshDirect build up its “manufacturing capacity” and “open up some new geographies,” according… Read More
Google has been focusing for years on finding better ways to track and measure ads as we switch from one device to another to consume media like TV, music or written articles like this one. And now, to coincide with Ad Week in New York this week, Google is revealing its latest moves in that effort: over the next few months the company will expand Brand Lift from measuring online video… Read More
Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company, may be about to get into bicycles. Bike sharing, to be precise. The company, which is in the process of finalizing its acquisition of Uber’s business unit in China, today revealed that it has invested in bike-sharing startup Ofo. Read More
