Category: Tech news

 What will the city of the future look like? We’re starting to see new technologies capable of helping future urban populations share more resources, reduce costs and communicate in new ways and BMW’s MINI would like to be at the forefront of this movement. That’s why MINI says it teamed up with HAX, an existing hardware accelerator within SOSV (formerly SOS Ventures), to build… Read More

 Along with Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley is the only credible alternative in the Democratic party to Hillary Clinton. In contrast with Sanders, however, the relatively youthful O’Malley is really focused on reinventing innovation in America and fusing it with a 21st century social justice. Read More

 Twitter is making an update to its recently released polling feature; instead of a default 24-hour timeframe, poll lengths can range from five minutes to seven days. Launched in October, the company also touted the success of polls, announcing that 1.7 billion votes have been cast so far.  The revelation comes as Twitter shares sink to a  record low, with investors expressing concern… Read More

 According to the United Nations, the earth will house an estimated 9.7 billion people by 2050. Consequently, more food will need to be produced over the next four decades than has been produced over the last 10,000 years. And with more than 99.7 percent of global food coming from land, and most of the arable land already accounted for, increasing yields per surface area is essential. Read More

 Spotify does a great job at helping users find music they’ll, thanks to features like its popular “Discover Weekly” playlist filled with personalized recommendations, and sections that point you to trending tracks and new releases. But over the years, it’s moved away from its earlier emphasis on music discovery through your social network, which leaves room for other… Read More

 The 9th Annual Crunchies are almost upon us. On February 8, people from some of the best and brightest startups around will descend upon San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House to take part in an event that’s best described as the Oscars of startups and technology. Read More

 As many noted when Apple released its beta version of iOS earlier this week, one of the mobile operating system’s newest features, a nighttime reading mode with reduced blue light emissions, looked awfully familiar. The ability to adjust the screen brightness on iOS devices is something software maker F.lux has been developing for years. Its technology, which even briefly worked on… Read More

 Another day, another series of Silicon Valley e-commerce explosions: Gilt Groupe just sold for a fraction of its valuation (and its capital raised) and One Kings Lane is reportedly the next to die. Previously it was Fab.com being sold for nothing after severely underperforming — ah, Fab, the first billion-dollar retail “unicorn” born with crossed eyes and a trick knee. Read More

 Promo codes are coming to Google Play! Android developers will finally be able to market their applications, as well as distribute copies of paid apps for free, and more, by way of promo codes – a feature Apple has supported for years. Thanks to a new option spotted in the Google Play Developer Console, it appears that app makers will now be able to distribute codes for both apps and… Read More

 Call it the Fidelity effect. According to a new MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, there appears to have been a chill in late-stage funding in the fourth quarter of last year, while investors continued stuffing money into seed- and early-stage investments. According to PWC and NVCA data, investors poured $375 million in 52 seed deals… Read More

 If it’s been a long time since you’ve rock and rolled and it’s been a long lonely time since you did the stroll, it might be time to model some old-fashioned microphones on your iOS device. An app, MicSwap, makes it easy to do just that. Two musicians, Gary Levitt and Rob Behnke, created the app to offer microphone modeling for mobile devices. It can mimic famous mics –… Read More

 Anyone who has a credit card has probably experienced some sort of fraud over the last few years. I personally have had it happen several times and I am by no means unique. Today IBM purchased IRIS Analytics, a firm that helps banks detect fraudulent use of credit cards using machine intelligence. The company has been considering a product like this for some time, Bob Griffin, general manager… Read More

 Estimote, a beacon company whose small, wireless sensors and accompanying software provide indoor location technology to some of the largest retailers as well as 65 percent of the Fortune 100, has now closed on $10.7 million in Series A funding. The round will help the business scale to meet the needs of its current customer base, around half of which is retail, as well as fund R&D… Read More

 What ended up being my favorite episode of CES 2016 was watching someone experience Las Vegas on their own terms.
An avid gamer named @hardlyeverwrong was posting some frustration online about his hotel — the Luxor — that was preventing him from using his own PS4 in his hotel room. Below is his guide to bypassing the hotel television to use your own PS4 the next time you are in town Read More

 Last week, 190 French startups came to Las Vegas for CES. Everywhere around Vegas, people were talking in French, as if French entrepreneurs were trying to take over the city. And France’s Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs Emmanuel Macron was also there, trying to make a point about French startups. Read More