Earlier this year, Google launched a new section to its Transparency Report that highlighted the use of HTTPS to encrypt connections between its users’ devices and its servers. At the time, the report only showed data for Google Drive, Finance, Gmail, Maps, News and the company’s advertising products. Today, Google added data for YouTube and Google Calendar as well. For YouTube,… Read More
Google today rolled out a new feature for Android users designed to keep their accounts more secure: notifications about newly added devices. That is, when a new device is added to your Google account, you’ll receive a push notification on your current Android device about the security event. The notification will ask, “Did you just sign in?” If the activity appears… Read More
Front end folks and back end folks just can’t get together. The back end folks are always like “Node.js” and the front end folks are like “Node what?” and then there’s a fight and someone gets the hose and it just turns into a big mess. BrightWork, a TechStars Chicago company, has a solution. Founded by former Twilio engineer Josh Carter and Nike developer… Read More
Apple just released the fourth beta for the next iteration of iOS, tvOS, macOS and watchOS. In particular, there’s a groundbreaking addition in this release. The company has updated or redesigned over a hundred emoji. Read More
Let’s be honest — Apple Maps has had a rough start. Four years later, the company is still working hard on improving its location app with more data and features. Many people still prefer Google Maps over Apple Maps, but it’s clear that Apple is in this game for the long haul. Read More
Samsung’s all set to steal the smartphone spotlight tomorrow at its big Unpacked event, but LG’s kicking August off with an important announcement of its own. The electronics giant will attempt to send a shock to its struggling mobile device wing with the launch of the V20, a new flagship that will be the first handset to ship with Android 7.0. LG’s still keeping plenty… Read More
Hot on the heels of Trump’s not officially sanctioned Reddit AMA, the GOP nominee’s chief rivals are taking a break from the campaign trail to answer some questions to Q&A site, Quora. The Democratic presidential and vice presidential nominees are both veteran question answerers with the service. Hillary Clinton racked up the most views in Quora history during a session back… Read More
Brave Software, the new web browser company co-founded by former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding for the continued development of its open source browser that blocks online ads and other trackers. Unlike traditional web browsers where ad-blocking takes place via a third-party add-on or extension, Brave’s browser has this technology built in, claiming… Read More
Tech startups have become synonymous with urban areas that offer better access to talent, resources and infrastructure. But rural areas are also home to startups. This may surprise those who have moved away from rural areas. Population loss is a real issue for rural America. Some states have introduced tax incentives to fight back; others are turning to technology to counter the trend. Read More
Chariot, the commuter shuttle company that can transport up to 14 people at a time, just launched a new service for people who work in San Francisco’s residential neighborhoods and may need to get back to a BART stop or Caltrain station at night. “Now, we’re going to be able to serve a whole new swath of customers,” Chariot CEO Ali Vahabzadeh told me, like firefighters… Read More
Pokévision, and other popular third-party tracking apps that helped Pokémon Go players discover which Pokémon were nearby and see their location on a map, have been shut down. The move follows comments from Niantic’s CEO John Hanke last week, where he referred to the use of such sites as cheating, and hinted that the company was poised to take action against them. Read More
A fortnight after offering news that it will be using Apple’s ReasearchKit to conduct arthritis research, drug giant GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it will be teaming with Verily, the Alphabet-owned LLC formerly known as Google Life Sciences, to create Galvani Bioelectronics. The jointly owned venture (55-percent GSK, 45-percent Verily) will work to explore bioelectronic medicine,… Read More
Technology Crossover Ventures, the VC that has backed the likes of Facebook, Spotify, LinkedIn, WorldRemit and Zillow as well as more nascent investments, has closed a fund that will see the company taking many more bets in the near future. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that it has now closed TCV IX, a $2.5 billion fund that it plans to use for growth-stage investments. “We… Read More
Hard to believe, but the Olympics are less than a week away, and all of that training you’ve been doing, sitting on the couch watching various sporting events, is finally about to pay off. And Google would like to help facilitate the realization of those long standing goals. Like pretty much every other company in the world, the search giant is working an angle for the Rio events.… Read More
I get the chance to test out quite a bit of first-generation consumer gadgets. And while a few are great, the majority just aren’t able to meet the high threshold of quality that Apple has (for better or worse) subconsciously instilled in all of us.
So it’s always a nice surprise to find a hardware startup that can build a product that just looks good and does what it… Read More
Panaray. Panaromic and array. Made by Bose, the $3,700 optional Panaray audio system puts 34 tiny speakers around the Cadillac CT6’s cabin with the goal of creating an immersive soundstage. This is more than creating a surround sound system. It’s about creating an environment of sound. And it works. Read More
Hot off the heels of its acquisition of Yahoo last week for $4.8 billion, today Verizon announced another huge purchase: it’s buying Fleetmatics, a telematics company based out of Dublin, Ireland, for $2.4 billion in cash, to build out the products that it offers to enterprises in the areas of logistics and workforces that are on the move. The deal will make Fleetmatics a part… Read More
U.S. companies needing to transfer personal data of European customers across the Atlantic can now sign up to a new framework to govern such data transfers, with the so-called EU-US Privacy Shield up and running from today. Read More
The impacts of the U.K.’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union will undoubtedly be playing out for years and years to come. But here’s one short term effect: the HTC Vive VR headset is now £70 more expensive — rising from its original pricing of £689 to £759 (+ P&P) from today. Read More
Video advertising platform Teads has raised a further $47 million in debt financing. Providing the capital are a bank syndicate made up of BNPP, Bank of China, HSBC, Banque Palatine, and BPI. Read More
