Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is living at least a few years out ahead of anyone reading this post – the founding executive told an audience in Rome (via Verge) today that he hopes to demonstrate his home’s artificial intelligence system, which controls things like air conditioning, lighting and more based on things like face and voice recognition.
Zuckerberg’s computerized… Read More
On September 7 at 10 AM, Tim Cook will walk on stage and start the most anticipated tech press conference of the year — the introduction of the new iPhone. In New York, two hours later and right around the time Apple’s conference ends, Sony will also introduce the PlayStation 4 ‘Neo’. These two companies will be fighting for your attention in a sort of press… Read More
Google just took a big step in tying together your computing world, with full integration of its Google Cast capability directly into its Chrome browser. This is a step up from the Cast extension it has offered for the past two years, which allowed users to broadcast content from their Chrome browser to Cast-enabled devices like the Chromecast. Now, you don’t even have to download any… Read More
The FBI warned states to check the security of their election systems after hackers stole voter data from one state election board earlier this summer and attempted to access another this month. The attacks were revealed in an FBI bulletin sent to the agency’s private industry partners and obtained by Yahoo News. One state’s election board was compromised in June, according to… Read More
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration put new rules into effect today regulating the commercial use of small, unmanned aircraft systems, or drones. The rules apply to drones that weigh up to 55 pounds and that are being used for business purposes, whether that’s scientific research, education, media, or inspection and surveying of land, traffic, prisons, stadiums or anything else.… Read More
Google is kicking off registration for its first-ever festival aimed at celebrating indie games on Android. The company is now taking sign-ups for those who want to attend the Google Play Indie Games Festival in San Francisco, and it’s announcing the exhibitor line-up. This includes 30 games, half of which have yet to be released to the general public, or are still in a limited beta.… Read More
Recently, T-Mobile came under fire for its new One plan. For those of you unaware, T-Mobile’s original One plan gave you unlimited on-device data, but only 480p resolution was covered for video. On top of that, mobile hotspot features would cost you considerably more. Being somewhat committed towards hearing customer complaints, T-Mobile revised the plan(s) today to reflect that. The… Read More
It’s happening! On Friday, September 9th from 4-6 p.m, Greylock Partners will join TechCrunch in hosting Include Office Hours. Apply now. Unlike previous sessions, the upcoming office hours are solely focused on teams with at least one female founder. To sweeten the deal, teams that are selected for office hours will also be invited to an exclusive Women in Tech(Crunch) event, also… Read More
Apple just sent out invites for a press conference on Wednesday, September 7. The company will most likely unveil the next iPhone. The invite doesn’t say much. Apple usually likes to give hints — but this time, it just says “See you on the 7th.” The event will be held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. This large venue has already been used for the… Read More
On Monday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan met with Pope Francis, as part of Zuckerberg’s trip of Italy, announced following the devastating earthquake that hit the country last week, killing hundreds. After discussing the importance of connecting people in the world without internet access, Zuckerberg presented the Pope with a drone – but, alas, not a… Read More
A Polish company, In Utero 3D, is doing something really sweet. They’re printing 3D models of babies in the womb so blind mothers can feel their children before they’re born and experience the same joy sighted mothers have when viewing ultrasounds. Their project, called Waiting Without Barriers, is based in northern Poland but is available in Europe. For 1PLN or 1 Euro they will… Read More
Sony announced an update to the curious-looking FES Watch with a new design. The FES Watch U features an e-ink display and pairs with your phone. But the surprising part is that the band is also a flexible e-ink display, opening a brand new world of design possibilities — what an exciting time to be alive. Sony is using the FES brand name for this watch as the company wants to emphasize… Read More
Los Angeles startup GOAT (incorporated as 1661 Inc.) has raised $5 million in new venture funding to grow its mobile-only marketplace for used and collectible sneakers. The GOAT app features everything from Adidas’ Yeezys to Nike’s Jordans and Flyknits, in men’s or women’s sizes, new and used condition. Instead of operating like an open marketplace such as E-bay, letgo… Read More
The Brazilian Airbnb for pet-sitting, DogHero, has raised $3.1 million in financing as pet care spending in Brazil starts to take bigger and bigger bites out of consumers’ wallets.
Brazil already accounts for $8.16 billion in global spending for pets, according to Brazilian pet care association Abinpet. And the country’s pet-owners are beginning to open their wallets for more… Read More
Roku’s popular media players will be getting a refresh later this fall, according to a new report, as well as a rebranding which will see the device models renamed from those sporting numerical characters (e.g. Roku 1, Roku 2, Roku 3, Roku 4) to names like “Premiere,” “Ultra,” “Express,” and others. It appears that select devices will also receive… Read More
The Oracle versus Google verdict set a positive precedent for the future of the API economy, but will it last? What is at stake if the decision is reversed? While on the surface Oracle versus Google might seem like a battle for profit between two tech giants, the implications are much more significant. This is a battle for interoperability and the merit-based making of entire markets. Read More
HBO has what looks like an expansive new epic TV series on the way, only this time it’s swapping fantasy, swords and castles for androids, AI and western duds. Westworld is a new sci-fi series coming to the cable network beginning in October, based on the Michael Crichton film from 1973. In the original, a high-tech theme park with western, medieval and ancient Roman-themed sections… Read More
Square is turning point-of-sale companies that at one time could’ve been considered enemies into allies, with two new partnerships with Vend and TouchBistro. Square will now offer Vend and TouchBistro‘s restaurant, retail and other business owner clients full access to Square’s platform, including its hardware, payments infrastructure and financial service offerings (like… Read More
Since 2013, the human wrist has served as the company’s primary domain. That year Fitbit offered up the Flex, a simple wearable designed to keep track of activity and sleep. A year later, it launched the Charge, a more sophisticated take on the space that introduced more advanced connected features like mobile notifications.
The Charge has since become the company’s best-selling… Read More
Fitbit is kicking the week off right with a slew of announcements that affect a large number wearable company’s offerings. The biggest updates are coming to the company’s best selling lines, the Charge and Flex, both of which are getting sequels. The Charge 2 brings a larger display to the manufacturer’s most popular offering, along with a more modular design that makes… Read More
