Category: Tech news

 Imgur is Internet dude paradise. The underhyped image sharing and commenting community has 150 million active users and saw 900 billion page views in 2015. Thanks to silly GIFs, science experiments, cute cats, and crazy inside jokes, Imgur has become the #1 web destination for millenial men according to comScore. Now it’s time to turn the adoration of that army of guys into a real… Read More

 The space propulsion company Accion Systems has announced that they will officially start taking orders for their micro-propulsion systems designed for CubeSats and other small satellites. The company is selling miniature electrospray ion engines that generates thrust by accelerating charged particles to very high speeds. Accion’s engine, about the size of a small coin, uses 480… Read More

 Today, The Dallas Business Journal is reporting that ModoPayments completed a $2 Million funding round by a group of individual angels that includes Tim Keith, John Beletic, and Jay Kassing among others.
We first reported on ModoPayments way back in 2011 but a lot has changed since those salad days for the Richardson, TX startup. Read More

 Uber is officially profitable in the U.S., Uber CEO Travis Kalanick told Canadian publication BetaKit earlier this week. H/t to Fortune for peeling out the buried news in that story, which was titled “Travis Kalanick Speaks Out: Uber’s CEO On Risk, Regulation, and Women in Tech.” Here’s the key chunk, straight out of the horse’s mouth: “We’re profitable… Read More

 A leaked document Facebook sent to some of its biggest advertisers reveals that Facebook will launch ads within Messenger in Q2 2016. The document, obtained by TechCrunch but kept private to protect its verified source, says businesses will be able to send ads as messages to people who previously initiated a chat thread with that company. To prepare, the document recommends that businesses… Read More

 David Perry thinks the secret to agricultural challenges like drought resistance might lie in the bacteria that live in a bunch of grass on the beach. That’s just one example that Indigo, a company that analyzes the microbiomes of plants to produce seed coatings that impart various attributes, is looking into as a way to combat difficult conditions for various crops. Indigo is… Read More

 Talent plus capital. Whether you’re building a company, a city or a national economy, these are the raw materials that make it possible to do things that others can’t. Silicon Valley is the world’s most magical mixing chamber for these two simple ingredients, home to the most exciting, creative and valuable companies on the planet. Every city in the U.S. — and around… Read More

 Consumers may have been slow to adopt smart home technology, but that’s not the case for Barbie. At the recent New York Toy Fair, Mattel unveiled a newly upgraded – and now tech-enabled – Dreamhouse for its iconic doll. The house lets kids control its various elements – from the lights to the elevator to other appliances – and even the music! – using… Read More

 The better the videos are on Facebook, the more people will watch and the more lucrative video ads Facebook can show. So today it’s giving video makers more metrics that will teach them what works and what doesn’t. Facebook Page insights will now show the total minutes spent watching each of their videos, and the number of times people watched a video up to the 10-second mark,… Read More

 Given the extent to which I cover dating apps, you may be surprised to know that I’m not much of a digital dater. In fact, I’ve only ever had monogamous, exclusive relationships with people I’ve met offline, with one booty call exception. Shout out to the man I now refer to as “Tinder Tim.” I met my current girlfriend at a BBQ, and the one before that through… Read More

 Apple is issuing an updated version of iOS 9.2.1 for users that update their iPhones via iTunes only. This update will restore phones ‘bricked’ or disabled by Error 53 and will prevent future iPhones that have had their home button (or the cable) replaced by third party repair centers from being disabled. Read More

 Until today, you needed a Google+ account to use Google Play Games, Google’s online gaming service for bringing online multiplayer gaming, video recordings and social features like profiles and leaderboards to Android games. Today, Google is launching an update to Play Games, however, that removes this requirement. All you need to sign up now is a regular Google account and instead of… Read More

 The plan to turn unused NYC phonebooths into free digital hubs for local neighborhoods continues as Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced the second phase of the city’s LinkNYC program — with the unveiling of new, slightly generic tablets at the city’s newly installed hotspots.
LinkNYC demonstrated the android-powered tablet for the press yesterday, taking advantage of a… Read More

 If you’re the kind of person who likes to talk to businesses on Twitter, the company is rolling out some new options to improve those interactions. First, businesses can now add a “send a private message” button to their tweets. So you might start a conversation with a business via public tweets, but at a certain point they can ask you to move to direct messaging with just… Read More

 Facebook just launched a new site full of resources for non-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations looking to raise awareness about their causes and money for them. The site details things like how to set up a Facebook page, enhance that page and analyze engagement, create posts and create a campaign strategy. The site also features success stories of non-profits… Read More