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Evasi0n By The Numbers: 2 Days In, Cydia Usage Jumps To Over 4M Devices, Jailbreak Website Sees 5M Uniques
Feb 06, 7:19PM
You would be forgiven if you thought jailbreaking was dead. There hadn't been a good, untethered jailbreak for iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 running the current version of the iOS operating system for some time. But this week's launch of the new "evasi0n" jailbreak demonstrates the pent up demand in the jailbreak community for a new release. Immediately upon its debut, traffic to evasi0n.com flared, and the jailbreak app store Cydia became nearly unusable due to the huge influx of users.Dropbox Unveils Sync API For Mobile Developers, Allows Apps To Work With Cloud-Based Files As If They Were Local
Feb 06, 6:59PM
Dropbox is unveiling a brand new API for developers today that should give mobile app makers an excellent new tool to work with. The Dropbox Sync API allows apps for iOS and Android to treat files stored on a user's Dropbox account as if they were local, managing syncing, caching, offline access and tracking changes easily so that developers only have to worry about building an app, and not the storage and management of the files users create with said software.Next-Gen Xbox Protection Rumor Raises The Question Of Always-On DRM
Feb 06, 6:40PM
According to an Edge report, the rumored next Xbox will have a game registration system that will prevent the 50GB Blu-ray titles from being resold on the secondary market. The Edge writes: Sources with first-hand experience of Microsoft's next generation console have told us that although the next Xbox will be absolutely committed to online functionality, games will still be made available to purchase in physical form. Next Xbox games will be manufactured on 50GB-capacity Blu-ray discs, Microsoft having conceded defeat to Sony following its ill-fated backing of the HD-DVD format. It is believed that games purchased on disc will ship with activation codes, and will have no value beyond the initial user. I am at once skeptical that this is true – it sounds wildly far-fetched to me, even given the horrible decisions made by CE makers in the past – but it also points to a focus on a networked console with loads of storage space more akin to a Steam box than an optical disk player. My problem with this rumor is that it makes no economic sense for Microsoft. It immediately alienates buyers, game resellers, and even game rental outfits. While there are instances where you must license a game in order to play online, always-on DRM that negates the value of optical media sounds ridiculous and has been proven again and again to be unworkable. This story could have come from a grumpy developer who used a feature made available by Microsoft for next-gen console developers but it sounds less like a possibility than an alternative, terrible future. And yet… if you had told the 2001 version of myself that in a little over a decade I’d download all of my music and never buy a paper book again I’d have laughed you out of the Internet cafe. It makes perfect sense for Microsoft to focus its efforts on downloadable gaming. Optical media is an obvious attack vector for console pirates and although the DRM will be hacked in the end, this gives Microsoft a head start against piracy for newer games. I can definitely see a day when I will no longer want or need a stack of game disc cases near my television set – but I’m loath to believe Microsoft (or at least its gaming division) would do something so ham-handed. We are entering a fascinating stage in gaming. With consoles likeTwitter Redesigns Its Search Experience For iOS, Android And Mobile Web To Help You Find Relevant Tweets And People
Feb 06, 6:19PM
Twitter has announced a much-needed update to its search product today, which will be available on all mobile devices: iOS, Android and mobile web. The company boasts that the update will help you find relevant tweets, trends and people to follow in a single stream. This is very similar to the experience that we’re starting to see make its way to the website. The update allows you to search from anywhere in the app instead of having to tap over to discover. Until now, “Interactions” has been an option for reviewing the connected tab, which displays all of your replies. This is now a default feature. These changes are designed to engage people more on Twitter, whether they’re heavy sharers or not. In the past, the company has said that you don’t have to tweet to use Twitter. That’s partially true, but if people find things that interest them, they’ll engage a little bit more. Whether it’s a reply or an idea of something to say themselves during an event like the Super Bowl, discovery is something that Twitter needs to incrementally get better at to make it a full social network. Twitter says it wants each tab to have a “single stream of content,” which is of course easier to read. These changes do the trick. Here’s a full rundown of what has changed: Discover: Now all the content in Discover — Tweets, Activity, Trends and suggestions of accounts to follow — appears in a single stream, on both iPhone and Android. You can also dive into Activity and Trends from new previews at the top of the Discover tab. Search: Search results now surface the most relevant mix of Tweets, photos, and accounts, all in one stream (similar to the stream in Discover). We've also added a new search button to Twitter for iPhone, letting you search from anywhere within the app. (This button was already available in the Android and iPad apps.) Look for the magnifying glass icon next to the button you use to compose a Tweet. Connect: To provide a simpler experience in the Connect tab, the default view is now Interactions, which shows you new followers, retweets and mentions. If you prefer to view only your mentions in Connect, you can adjust the default in settings – find the "Connect tab" option and select "Mentions only". Links: Click a URL in a Tweet toCharting The iTunes Store's Path To 25 Billion Songs Sold, 40 Billion Apps Downloaded And Beyond
Feb 06, 6:11PM
Apple today announced a new sales milestone for its iTunes digital music store, with 25 billion songs sold. The news follows an announcement made earlier this month that the App Store has had over 40 billion app downloads since its founding. For the iTunes music store, the new record comes just shy of its 10 year anniversary, but for the App Store, the growth has been quicker, with the larger number accumulated over approximately four and a half years.Fred Wilson, Ken Lerer And Ben Lerer To Speak At TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2013
Feb 06, 6:06PM
We're proud of the fact that some of the tech scene's most innovative thinkers and problem solvers are going to be speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC this year, and are happy to be making our first speaker announcement today. We're also psyched to host NYC Startup Battlefield for the fourth year in a row. So hurry up and submit here if you're working on something great and would like to launch onstage or join our hackathon. Seriously, you could be the next GroupMe or Yammer or even Open Garden.Foundation: Jawbone's Founder Hosain Rahman On How to Build Meaningful Hardware Prototypes
Feb 06, 5:25PM
In this episode of my Foundation video series, I talk with Jawbone CEO and Founder Hosain Rahman. Hosain and I discuss the entrepreneurial environment at Stanford in the 1990's, The Jetsons as design inspiration, and how his meeting with Steve Jobs shaped the future of Jawbone's first product designs.Google Brings 38 Additional Ski Resorts To Google Maps
Feb 06, 5:24PM
A while ago, Google took its Street View cameras to the slopes and started documenting ski runs at a few select resorts. Today, Google is expanding its mapping options for skiers by adding 38 new run and lifts maps to Google Maps, including its apps for Android and iPhone. These include well-known ski resorts like Squaw Valley, Big Sky and Whistler Blackcomb.iPads (Thanks To The Mini) Were 1 In 6 'PCs' Shipped, Tablets One-Third, And Windows RT Didn't Even Break 1M: Canalys
Feb 06, 5:17PM
The PC market is fast shifting into a touchscreen world, and Apple is leading the charge. Some new numbers from the analysts at Canalys note that in Q4 of 2012, one in every three PCs shipped was a tablet, that Apple's iPad accounted for about half of them, or one in every six of PCs. By combining PC and tablet figures -- a logical thing to do, given that many are substituting tablet purchases and usage for PC purchases and usage -- Canalys figures that worldwide PC shipments are actually on the rise -- up by 12% to 134 million units. That's in contrast to figures from Gartner, which in January noted that Q4 PC shipments were down by 5% on last year -- without factoring in tablets.Zynga COO David Ko Emphasizes "Discipline" For Future Acquisitions
Feb 06, 5:12PM
A year ago, fresh off raising $1 billion from an IPO and the $180 million acquisition of red-hot gaming company OMGPOP, Zynga’s Mark Pincus did an interview with talk of doing “a few” OMGPOP-sized deals in the next few years. But after a tough transition year and a more than 75 percent decline in the company’s share price, Zynga is speaking much more conservatively about its approach to acquisitions. Zynga had $1.65 billion in cash, short-term and long-term investments at the end of last year, representing one of the larger warchests in the gaming industry for acquisitions. “We’re going to be very disciplined in our approach and in making the right decisions,” said COO David Ko in an interview yesterday. He pointed out three pieces of criteria Zynga is looking at with respect to potential deals: 1) Would an acquisition help to accelerate the company’s existing franchises? 2) Would it help increase profitability? 3) Will it support Zynga’s network of players? “All of these things have to come together,” he said. “If they don’t fit in with this criteria, then we’re not likely to move on them. That’s part of the discipline that helped us cross Q4. We were projected to cut between $15 to 20 million, but we exceeded that and came in at $25 million. We want to make sure that we continue that discipline.” Zynga hasn’t done anything of a size that’s comparable to the OMGPOP deal in the last year. It acquired November Software and A Bit Lucky for midcore developer talent, but these were much smaller deals. But Ko said that the company’s corporate development team had been active in talking to different developers though. It’s common for the bigger gaming companies to have on-and-off conversations with potential targets for years. Ko previously oversaw Zynga’s mobile efforts as “chief mobile officer” before he “leveled up” to the chief operating officer position after EA veteran John Schappert abruptly left. (Yes, CEO Mark Pincus actually used that “leveling up” language on the earnings call yesterday.) On that front, Zynga now sees about a quarter of its players come from mobile platforms. Twenty-one percent of its bookings now come from mobile devices, up from 8 percent the year before. He declined to say how revenue per user on Android and iOS compares to Facebook though. Zynga’s most popular mobile game Words With Friends, which is probably the most activelyThe Teeny, Tiny Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter Is Available For Pre-Order
Feb 06, 4:58PM
A few weeks ago the Crazyflie Nano captured our collective imaginations by winging its way around an open plan office and looking like a cross between a hummingbird and the robotic butterfly that steals things in Dora the Explorer. The tiny quadrotor robot is now available for pre-order for $173 for the multi-sensor version and $143 for a basic version with position sensors. The product should ship in April.Founder Stories: Okta's Todd McKinnon On What It Means To Be CEO And Employee Zero
Feb 06, 4:45PM
Recently, I spoke with Todd McKinnon, Co-Founder and CEO of Okta, who shared his experience starting the more than 120 employee identity management service. Todd explains that the first thing he learned was how to be CEO of a self-started company.Real-Time On-Topic Chat Platform Menshn Closes After Co-Founders' Working Relationship Sours
Feb 06, 4:07PM
Twitter-esque real-time chat platform, Menshn, is to close after around half a year after the co-founders' working relationship soured. The platform launched back in June, initially aimed at capitalizing on the U.S. election -- with its basic premise being to serve people who want to have a real-time online conversation that stays on topic.The Raspberry Pi Is About To Get An Eye
Feb 06, 4:05PM
In a blog post on the RP website, Liz Upton is showing off the new Raspberry Pi video camera, a tiny, single-lens unit that weighs "naff all" and will cost $25 when it is released this year.Social Commenting Platform Livefyre Raises $15M To Scale Mobile Experiences, Moderating Features And More
Feb 06, 4:00PM
Social commenting platform Livefyre has raised $15 million in funding led by U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) and included existing investors Greycroft Partners, Cue Ball, HillsVen Group, and ff Venture Capital. This brings the startup's total funding to $21 million.WishPop For iPad Brings Gift Wish Lists And Thank You Cards To Kids, Helps Grown-Ups Know What To Buy
Feb 06, 3:58PM
WishPop, an iPad application designed to help children, parents, and other family members better manage gift lists and thank you notes, is launching today on the Apple App Store. The app sends kids into a world where they can browse through a kid-friendly catalog of toys and games, add items to their wish list, share messages with contacts their parents approve, and play educational games in order to earn "wish points" which can then be translated into real-world rewards.Pebble Addresses Early iOS Bluetooth, Android Fragmentation Issues, And Battery Issues
Feb 06, 3:23PM
Pebble, the smart watch that set the world on fire with its Kickstarter project, is already encountering a few growing pains as its device begins to trickle out to the earliest backers. Chief among those issues is a problem that sees iOS notifications for email turn off whenever an iPhone or iPod touch has its Bluetooth connection interrupted. Problems are also cropping up around different Android OEMs and the stock email apps they use not necessarily being compatible with Pebble, iOS caller ID issues and differing support for various Android ROMs, among others.Join Us For Our First TechCrunch Pitch-Off Party On February 12 In New York
Feb 06, 3:16PM
Young (kind of), NY-based TechCrunch team seeking approximately 800 tech-enthused attendees for the next TechCrunch meetup, where entrepreneurs will participate in a 60-second pitch-off competition, vying for a spot in our Disrupt NY conference. If that sounds like you (and I know it does), get ready for a night of booze, tech talk, pitches, and some good old-fashioned fun. We've been doing these meetups for a little over a year, traveling the country to bring together tech communities in various cities across America, but we're bringing it back home with our second NY-based meetup.German Square Competitor, SumUp, Partners With Odd Job Software Platform To Tap Into Pool Of 10,000 Repair People
Feb 06, 3:12PM
For the myriad European mobile card reader startups taking advantage of Square's continued absence in the region, the race to build out their businesses continues. The latest step for Berlin-based mobile payment startup SumUp is a partnership with app maker blue:solution software, developer of the TopReparatur platform which is used by 10,000 artisans and repair people across Germany.Aviary Continues To Solidify Its Position As The Go-To Photo Editing Solution With Photobucket Partnership
Feb 06, 3:00PM
Photo editing focused company Aviary has had the best six months ever in the tech space, snatching partnership deals with companies like Yahoo! and Flickr and most recently Twitter. What is becoming apparent is that there is an absolute need for a solid photo editing experience in many apps, and Aviary’s tools are there to serve the need. That’s a really good place to be in. It’s much more than just “filters.” Today, Photobucket announced a partnership with Aviary to bring those tools to its users, which have uploaded over 10 billion photos. If you remember, Photobucket is the company that parted ways with Twitter as it set out to do its own photo service along with Aviary. Additionally, Aviary announced a new CEO in late December, Tobias Peggs, and the company doesn’t seem to be missing a beat. It says it currently has over 2,500 partners, 25 million-plus monthly users and 2 billion edited photos. In a blog post, this is how Aviary described the partnership with Photobucket, as far as which tools it would be integrating: Photobucket turned to Aviary to provide robust and consistent cross-platform photo editing capabilities for its users. We carefully design our SDKs to be native to each platform we offer — iOS, Android, Windows Phone, HTML5 — so the product is strong, the deployment is simple, and users get a seamless and intuitive photo editing experience no matter where they are. Today, you'll find Aviary on Photobucket's website, and soon, on its iOS and Android apps. Its previous CEO, Avi Muchnick, told me in December that the company is trying very hard to “democratize creativity.” Aviary’s new CEO sat down with us to speak about how the transition is going and how the Photobucket deal came about: TC: How have you settled into your new role, was the transition pretty seamless? Tobias Peggs: The transition seems to have gone very well. I’ve known co-founders Avi and Iz for a while, and we’ve always enjoyed thinking through business issues or product problems together – so that helps a lot. Plus they had put a fantastic team together in NYC, which made things even easier for me when I joined. And, of course, Aviary has got tremendous momentum right now – crazy growth, big-name partner announcements, etc. So my job has really been to transition in and simply try to help everyone in the companyIf at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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