Category: Tech news

 There’s a general sense in Silicon Valley that many unicorn companies will not live up to their billion dollar status. According to Morrison & Foerster, more than half of the highly valued startups will still be private in 2016, while 7 percent of those will fail. Read More

 Quick hit here, comrades: Microsoft released a new Windows 10 Mobile version today, build 10586. Now, this new edition is for subscribers of the Windows Insider program in the ‘Fast’ ring, so it’s not for everyone. At the same time, any new build is welcome in the mobile Windows world. So, what is new? Improved communications for one. According to Microsoft’s Nerd… Read More

 On the hunt for that special something for your best girlfriend, gal pal or that special lady in your life? Here are a few gems for them (or you). From stylish chargers to swank bags to carry your stuff, these chic items are sure to bring digital joy in the new year. Read More

 Pinterest has built plenty of its technology on open source projects, so of course it wants to open its projects up to the developer community, as well. So the company has built a committee at Pinterest dedicated to making its tools available to the open source community when it thinks they are ready. Enter Pinterest’s open source committee, a team of engineers that got together two… Read More

 That’s it. It just does. If Instagram wants to be where we capture and share our most treasured moments, it needs to help us protect them. The easiest way to do this is offer the option to turn on two-factor authentication or some similar security feature. Let users add a phone number, and when they successfully log in with their password, text a temporary code they must then enter to… Read More

 Vine is a never-ending series of inside jokes. Every day, some weird video or audio clip becomes the trend and everyone races to make their own remix. Now you can play along without any extra editing tools with Vine’s new audio remix button. Just tap the three-dot more button below any Vine, hit “Make an audio remix”, and you can then shoot or upload a video with the… Read More

 We get it. You’re busy building a robot that can eat human food. That’s why we’ve extended the deadline for applications for TechCrunch’s Hardware Battlefield for a few more days. Submit your application by November 23 at 9pm PT to compete for free demo space at the Consumer Electronics Show, $50,000 prize and the Metal Man trophy. For those of you following along at… Read More

 Next week we kick off the holiday season with Thanksgiving, which is the perfect excuse to gather and nosh with family or friends. But it can be time-consuming and anxiety-inducing for those doing the cooking. If you don’t have a ton of time or are just feeling a bit intimidated by it all, Din might have just the solution for you — as long as you live in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Read More

 Does the world need yet another subscription-based video streaming service? The Smithsonian seems to think so, having now rolled out its own over-the-top service aimed at cord cutters called Smithsonian Earth. Initially available on the web, on Apple TV and Roku platforms, the new $3.99 per month service will deliver ad-free nature and wildlife programming to subscribers in HD and Ultra HD… Read More

 The long-burning debate concerning encryption, its impact on both consumer privacy and the government’s ability to protect its citizens is back with a vengeance. The dialogue appeared to be dwindling after the White House said it would not require companies to breach the security of their products to provide the government with information. The Paris terror attack has thrust encryption… Read More

 PlanGrid, the company that digitized the construction industry, announced today that it has landed a $40 million investment. Tenaya Capital led the round. Additional investors include Sequoia, Founders Fund, YC Continuity and Northgate. Today’s investment brings the total to over $58 million. PlanGrid CEO Tracy Young says they took the money, even though most of the Series A remains in… Read More

 Facebook’s on a quest to absorb the Internet, and now it looks like it could invade crowdfunding. Today the company released a new Fundraiser product that allows nonprofits to set up a campaign page, show off a video explaining their goal, collect cash, and let people share News Feed posts with buttons so their friends can instantly contribute without clicking to a new page. As is… Read More

 In space no one can hear you tick.
In the movie Alien, futuristic alien butt-kicker Sigourney Weaver AKA Ripley wore a futuristic-looking chronograph. This piece, the Seiko 7A28-7000, was one of the first watches with a quartz chronograph movement and featured a unique pusher design with buttons that stuck straight up on either end of a large metallic bar on the side of the case. Originally… Read More

 Today, the world woke up to a profile of sorts from the London Evening Standard. The profile was about Tinder CEO Sean Rad. And it was, well, special. Where to start? First, let’s get the serious stuff out of the way. Rad’s parent company Match recently filed to go public. So the company is in a quiet period, right? Sure. Unless you’re Rad. Read More

 VCs have been watching with great interest as mutual funds mark down the value of some of their privately held, illiquid investments, including shares of Dropbox, Zenefits, and Snapchat. Turns out the SEC is watching, too. A new Wall Street Journal report says the agency “has been asking more questions of large fund firms about how they value startups and whether their process ensures… Read More