Hi there!
Here's the latest feed from TechCrunch.
Add feeds@feed2email.net to your contact list to make sure you receive all your emails
Make sure to visit feed2email.net to get more feeds sent to your inbox.
To find out which feeds you are subscribed to, or to get further help, just reply to this email.
The Highlight Startups From FounderFuel's Summer 2013 Cohort Demo Day
Jul 12, 3:17AM
Montreal-based accelerator FounderFuel held its Demo Day for its Summer 2013 cohort of startups today, and the nine companies taking part all offered pretty impressive pitches. Three companies stood out from the crowd, however, and earned my pick for highlights of the show. Some are familiar names who have made big changes and expanded their vision, and some are newcomers going after markets where the opportunity and timing are just right. The Transit App The Transit App, presented by co-founder Sam Vermette, got a big boost when Apple ditched transit directions from its iOS default maps app. But it’s gone beyond just filling a gap left behind by the Mac maker, and now offers some of the most accurate real-time transit data available. When you boot up the app, it instantly shows you the nearest transit spots and also the expected times before a bus or train will arrive at each. Vernette said that that’s how their app differentiates itself from others, and from transit features built into things like Google Maps, since The Transit App was built from the ground up with the commuter at the forefront. But the big picture that The Transit App painted wasn’t about helping commuters find their way around on a daily basis; it was about informing the future of urban development. 80 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, Vermette said, and that’s only growing. Cities are struggling to cope as-is, and will be looking for ways to build out their infrastructure in better and better ways. They’ll need data for that, and data is exactly what The Transit App is collecting. They currently gather around 400,000 daily data points, which help identify issues like underserved areas, average wait times, the most popular routes and unnecessary stops. In exchange for their participation and data sharing, The Transit App can help cities build better public transportation that truly meets the needs of urban residents. And that kind of help should be very valuable indeed. Swift Identity Over the past year, big companies like Twitter and Facebook have introduced two-factor authentication, which pairs a traditional online password with a unique, randomly generated code supplied by a second device, which can now be a mobile app tied to a specific smartphone. The need for this has essentially been driven by security breaches, which are becoming all too common. Swift Identity co-founder Rob Masse explainedVine For Android Gets Homescreen Shortcut For Instant Video Recording Plus iOS Features
Jul 12, 12:26AM
Vine has brought its Android app up to speed with the iOS counterpart, adding revining, camera tools, channels and more, along with one more update that the iOS doesn’t have– a capture widget. The little homescreen widget immediately boots up the Vine video recording screen so you don’t miss the beginning of those sudden, sharable moments. The green video icon on the Android home screen lets user bypass the Vine homescreen feed that the app’s normal icon opens. This new addition could give Vine an edge when pitted against Instagram, which requires multiple taps to open the app and switch to video before you can start recording a mini-movie. This shortcut will likely remain exclusively available to Android users, since iOS doesn’t support the home screen customization. All other revisions to the app were released for iOS last week. These include revining for showing your followers Vines shot by someone else, 15 new channels for exploring different categories of Vines, and protected posts for those private moments. There’s the new camera tools from Vine for iOS too, like a grid for lining up shots, the ghost silhouette for keeping stop-motion shots steady, and the ability to delete and reshoot your last clip. While Vine and Instagram want to keep the publishing flow as short and quick as possible, their latest updates show a big effort to please power users. The Vine for Android update should be available now or shortly from Google Play, and you can also get these features minus the capture widget on iOS.Star Wars Fans Take To San Francisco's Streets Thanks To Nerdist Industries' Course Of The Force
Jul 12, 12:26AM
Geek-focused digital media company Nerdist Industries did something kind of amazing in the lead up to last year's Comic-Con International — it staged a relay race called the Course of the Force, where fans carried a lightsaber along the California coast to raise money for the Make a Wish foundation. The company (now owned by Legendary Entertainment) brought the event back this year, and it swung through San Francisco yesterday. You can see footage from the run and my interviews with a few of the participants in the video above — not only was I struck by the awesomeness of some of the costumes (seriously, if you are any kind of science fiction geek, watch for the cross between Iron Man and C-3PO) but also by the diversity of the runners — in terms of age, gender, home city, and more.Vonage Co-Founder And VoIP Pioneer Jeff Pulver's Next Call: Zula, A WhatsApp For Business
Jul 11, 10:27PM
Today, whether it be via Skype or Gmail, making phone calls over the web has become part of our daily routine. While the name may not ring any bells for younger generations, Jeff Pulver is one of the pioneers of that very technology we take for granted. A co-founder of Vonage, one of the biggest and earliest VoIP companies around, Pulver is a self-described futurist, serial entrepreneur and long-time evangelist for VoIP technologies. But lately he's been largely absent from the space he helped create.Vine Is Coming To Windows Phone 8 As Nokia Looks To Attract More Big-Name Apps
Jul 11, 8:24PM
Perhaps the most understated announcement at Nokia’s Lumia 1020 release event today was the promise of Vine for Windows Phone 8 within the year. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announced onstage from Pier 92 in New York City that apps from CNN, Vyclone, Yelp, Foursquare, Path, Flipboard, and Hipstamatic would all become available in the near future. The partnership with Vine, however, went unspoken except in the press release. Twitter confirmed to us that Vine will be coming to Windows Phone 8, but would not share further details about when this is happening or what will differentiate it from the iPhone version, which has been around since January. Others had taken notice of this hole in Windows Phone 8′s app offerings, among them the third-party Vine app 6Sec, which developed a private beta version for Windows Phone 8 users in June. Nokia could have played this up more today, and they undoubtedly will in the coming months. Hipstamatic’s Oggl PRO, their application for the Lumia 1020, will work beautifully with the phone’s 41-megapixel camera, but it’s no Instagram in terms of traction. The addition of Vine could be a step toward convincing higher profile apps to join the Windows Phone 8 roster. An Instagram partnership, however, would seem unlikely as both Vine and Hipstamatic are direct competitors. “That disparity between our platform and other platforms that folks write about is going away,” Nokia Global Vice President and General Manager Bryan Biniak said in a small presentation this afternoon. According to Biniak, the partnerships with video and photo apps like Vyclone, Hipstamatic, and Flipboard resulted from developing the Lumia 1020 into a photographic powerhouse. For visually oriented apps, providing a great raw image is incredibly motivating. And it probably is. Biniak himself acknowledged that once developers see other well-known names invest in a partnership with Nokia, others are likely to follow. Vine is certainly a step in the right direction, and it seems they’ll be pushing to corner bigger apps in the coming year, perhaps even beyond the photo realm.Trulia Now Allows You To Find And Promote Real Estate Agents
Jul 11, 8:08PM
Trulia, the online marketplace for buying and selling homes, has added a service that allows users to search specifically for real estate agents by location, name and company. The search engine returns a list of local agents with pictures, recommendations and other information. This new update comes after Trulia announced a program to partner with such real estate companies as RE/MAX and Realty ONE Group. These companies provide rosters of agents to Trulia, but each profile depends on the individual agent to create and update. This addition is supposed to provide a comprehensive platform for both users and companies instead of depending solely on personal recommendations. Trulia spokesperson Korina Buhler tells me that, according to company surveys, more than half of the site’s users are looking to find an agent when they visit Trulia. She says the Find an Agent search is also meant to help users research agents, because 66 percent of buyers only interview one agent before choosing, according to statistics from the National Association of Realtors. Competitors Zillow and Redfin also have agent reviews and listings, but Trulia representatives said they are working on making their directory more detailed than others. Agent profiles are concentrated on building an online reputation, with sections for user recommendations, previous selling history, questions and available properties. Other tech developments we’ve seen from Trulia this year include Trulia Suggest, a personalized real estate recommendation engine, and a redesigned iPad app. The Find an Agent search is also available on Trulia’s mobile app and the mobile web.Report: Skype And Microsoft Handed Over Calls And Emails To NSA
Jul 11, 7:36PM
The Guardian revealed more top-secret documents alleging that both Skype and Microsoft cooperated with U.S. spy agencies to give away the content of email and video chats. Though it’s unclear whether the collection of this data was indiscriminate or targeted at specific subjects, the language of the documents indicate that the NSA may not have needed an individual warrant for each request. “Collaborative teamwork was the key to the successful addition of another provider to the Prism system,” the documents read. “This success is the result of the FBI working for many months with Microsoft to get this tasking and collection solution established.” The NSA reportedly had access to pre-encrypted data, “For Prism collection against Hotmail, Live, and Outlook.com emails will be unaffected because Prism collects this data prior to encryption.” The agents were also quite happy with Skype’s wiretap call quality, “Feedback indicated that a collected Skype call was very clear and the metadata looked complete.” Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, but Skype was reportedly cooperating with federal agencies before the acquisition. Most disturbingly, one document indicated that the agencies do not need a special request to get information, saying that the relationship with the tech company “means that analysts will no longer have to make a special request to SSO [Special Source Operation] for this – a process step that many analysts may not have known about”. NSA leaker Edward Snowden called the SSO the “crown jewel” of the NSA monitoring apparatus. Of course, Microsoft, Skype, and the Director of National Intelligence issued their own legalese-filled defense of the program. Rather than forcing readers to shift through their responses, just randomly string these 4 plug-and-play elements together and you’ll get the gist: 1. [We care about users] 2. [We respect privacy] 3. [It's legal] 4. [We love the constitution, promise] Another day, a smaller 4th Amendment. Image Credit: Bryce DurbinDeveloper Hacks His Microwave Into The Microwave Of The Future
Jul 11, 7:30PM
Tired of your dumb old microwave that just shoots friggin' radio waves at food to cook it? Stupid thing probably can't even play animated GIFs. In what is perhaps the coolest hack I've seen in ages, a developer has modded his microwave to add stuff that a microwave of the present should probably already have. Voice commands! Barcodes that pre-set cooking times! A SELF SETTING CLOCK.Tattoo Hero Wants To Bring Tattoo-Seekers And Artists Together For Beautiful Results
Jul 11, 7:29PM
One of the startups showing their stuff at Montreal's International Startup Festival this year is Tattoo Hero, an Ottawa-based startup building a portal on the web to help connect those looking for tattoos with the artists who can make them. The startup is taking an age-old dilemma, which is normally handled almost exclusively via word-of-mouth, and putting it online with a marketplace and community that gives tattoo artists everything they need to run their business, including SaaS front and back-end tools.Pac-12 Revamps Network Websites Around Unique Sports Events To Connect More Fans
Jul 11, 6:49PM
The Pac-12 network released a beta version of its new website that is centered around unique event pages for 3,600 events across all Pac-12 schools and sports. Unfortunately for fans, though, the new site won't include making much premium content, like football games, available via the web or Pac-12 apps.SaleMove Wants To Make Selling Big-Ticket Items On The Web More Personal
Jul 11, 6:35PM
You and I might buy a pair of socks online without a second thought, but buying a car? Or a pricey bit of jewelry? The process becomes much trickier as the price of a product increases, and it isn't long before canned descriptions and stock photos just don't cut it anymore. That's where a New York-based startup called SaleMove comes in. Instead of leaving potential buyers alone with a website, the team is working on improving the process of online personal sales.Actian Launches New Platforms For "The Age Of Data"
Jul 11, 6:08PM
Actian is pulling together the pieces of acquisitions it made earlier this year with the launch of Actian Big Data Cloud Platform and ParAccel Big Data Analytics platforms. The Actian Data Cloud Platform, developed with technology from the company's Pervasive Software acquisition, is a network of connectors designed to integrate data from on-premise systems. Mike Hoskins, CTO of Actian, says the company has enhanced the platform with a new level of security. But the emphasis is on what the company describes as "invisible integration."Nokia, Please Keep Going
Jul 11, 6:01PM
So, finally, Nokia has stopped teasing its flagship Lumia 1020 and let us event goers get some long awaited hands-on time with the thing. It's definitely not your run-of-the-mill Windows Phone, but is that camera-centric kookiness enough to make the Lumia 1020 worth that $299 price tag? The jury's still out on that one, but so far the 1020 definitely seems like a Windows Phone worth your consideration.Pebble Sold 275K Units Through Kickstarter And Pre-Orders, Tops 1M Watch Apps Downloaded
Jul 11, 6:00PM
Smartwatch startup Pebble revealed today for the first time that it has received 190,000 pre-orders for its wearable computing accessory through its own web store following the tremendously successful Kickstarter campaign it ran last year. That means it amassed around 275,000 pre-orders total for the smartwatch, which is impressive early traction for a device that didn't have a proven market in place to sell into.Time Is Running Out For Extra Early Bird Disrupt SF Tickets
Jul 11, 5:59PM
The early bird, as they say, gets the worm. You, on the other hand, are not a bird. So you can get TC Disrupt SF Early Bird Tickets for far less than you will be able to at the door or even three days from now. But you do not get the worm. Our events team is pulling down our early bird tickets on the 15th and it would behoove you to act quickly. The tickets now cost $1,795 and will put you in front of the Valley’s luminaries including Marissa Mayer, Marc Benioff, Jeff Weiner, and Doug Leone. This is the premier startup conference of the year and we work hard to make it amazing for you. You can purchase tickets here. If you’re still lean – I mean Ramen and futon lean – you can attend by taking part in our 24-hour hackathon where you can meet some of the smartest people in SF. Tickets to this all night event will be open when we get closer to the event. Our sponsors help make Disrupt happen. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact our sponsorship team here sponsors@techcrunch.com.Most Unproductive Congress Ever Could Kill Immigration Reform
Jul 11, 5:47PM
It's looking less likely that high-skilled immigration reform will pass soon, if at all. Comprehensive immigration reform is currently sliced up into several smaller bills, waiting for the long, drawn-out deliberative process in the House of Representatives to stitch them together in a bi-partisan-friendly way. But given that 2013 is set to break the record as being the most unproductive year for Congress in history, renewed fighting between Republicans and Democrats could kill any hope that the technology sector will get its immigration reform wishes.Task List App Maker Any.Do Joins The Smart Calendaring Race With New "Cal" App
Jul 11, 5:46PM
Any.DO, makers of a smart task app for mobile, is today launching its next creation out of private beta. The company's new Cal app for iPhone is now available and is designed to integrate with the task app, as well as sync with other mobile calendaring services, including Google, iCloud and Exchange.Snapguide Now Lets Users Request How-To Guides From Each Other, Another Step To Build Out Its Platform Of Microapps
Jul 11, 5:13PM
Snapguide -- the how-to app now that capitalizes on the ubiquity of smartphones and tablets in our lives to encourage us to create guides for everything from cooking to crafting and eyelash curling -- is today releasing an update that it hopes will spur users to become more interactive with the service, even if they themselves lack the motivation to create guides themselves. A new iOS update (for iPhone and iPad) will let users start making requests for new guides, along with new interface updates that will help them better navigate the content that is already there.Automation Startup IFTTT's New iPhone App Is Beautiful, Simple, But Still Limited
Jul 11, 4:59PM
IFTTT, the web services automation startup backed by $8.5 million from NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, and others, is now available as a mobile app for iPhone. Like the web version of IFTTT, the app allows you to create and edit tasks (in IFTTT lingo, "recipes") that allow you to kick off actions based on other activities. For example, if it's raining, then text me, or save my Gmail attachments to Dropbox. But by its mobile nature, the new app can also now tap into iOS native applications like your iOS Contacts, Photos and Reminders.Student Teams From The UK, Portugal And Austria Win Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2013 And $50K Each
Jul 11, 4:24PM
Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2013 student technology competition in St. Petersburg Russia just ended with a high-energy awards gala hosted by Dr. Who's Matt Smith. This year, Microsoft awarded three main prizes of $50,000 each to the winners in the World Citizenship, Games and Innovation categories, which were won by teams from the UK, Portugal and Austria.If 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.
To stop all future emails from feed2email.net you can reply to this email with STOP in the subject line. Thanks
