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.
Carrot Is A Productivity And Social Motivation App With A Sense Of Humor
Aug 15, 4:59AM
There are plenty of productivity and self-motivation apps on the market, but Hong Kong-based startup Innopage wanted to create one with a sense of whimsy. iOS app Carrot's interface only allows you to fill-in a simple template and people have used the Mad Libs-like format to set goal and reward sets (called "carrots") that are silly ("I am going to wake up at 6:30AM and reward myself with going back to sleep at 6:45AM") and serious ("If I run 4.5km tonight then I will treat myself to a big breakfast tomorrow"). Encouragement is crowdsourced from Carrot's other users and your Facebook friends.Ad-Free Social Platform App.net Raises Another $2.5M From Andreessen Horowitz
Aug 15, 1:46AM
App.net, the social platform created in response to the ad-driven consumer social networks (specifically Twitter), just announced that it has raised $2.5 million in new funding. The announcement came as part of a longer blog post celebrating the project's one-year anniversary. The post implies that Andreessen Horowitz was the sole investor in the new funding, and when I emailed founder and CEO Dalton Caldwell to check, he confirmed that's the case.Fashion GPS, The Platform For Organizing Fashion Week, Looks To Serve Event Planning Industry More Broadly
Aug 15, 12:19AM
Fashion GPS, the creator of a number of iOS apps and web services for coordinating the logistics of fashion week, has released a new app targeting the broader world of special events planning called Events GPS. Although the company will continue to develop its fashion apps, it is also looking to expand to ticketing management by the first quarter of 2014 as it moves to become a more comprehensive event resource.Tipbit Email App Surfaces Related Information From Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Dropbox And Calendars
Aug 14, 10:40PM
Tipbit is a smart mobile email inbox launching in the next few weeks that surfaces social networks, calendars and documents related to the topic or person who is the subject of the correspondence. In a phone call yesterday, CEO Gordon Mangione said the service is designed to integrate with calendars and email clients. With permissions, it queries Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and will also ping Dropbox if you have an account. More services will be added in the future. For now, the focus is on the major providers for purposes of robustness.Twilio Snags Skype's Former Head Of Engineering As Their Own
Aug 14, 10:19PM
Twilio, a company that helps developers build voice calling and SMS functionality into their apps, just hired up one of the people who helped make Skype huge. Tomorrow morning, Twilio will announce that Skype's former Head Of Engineering, Ott Kaukver, is their new VP of Engineering. I usually tend to stay away from all of this "X hired Y" stuff because… well, I dont care — but strategically, this one is pretty interesting.How ZEFR Brings Content ID To Content Creators, Media Companies… And Now Brands
Aug 14, 10:00PM
Over the past several years, Los Angeles-based startup ZEFR has made a name for itself by working with content creators to make money off their videos on YouTube. Founded as Movieclips.com, the startup began by licensing short movie clips, distributing them, and monetizing them on its own site. It wasn't until it was able to put them on YouTube, though, that it started to really hit it big.This Week On The TechCrunch Droidcast: Weird Samsung Phones, Weirder HTC Ads, And Lengthy Android Love Letters
Aug 14, 9:47PM
It's late afternoon on a Wednesday, and you know what that means (bonus points if you didn't cheat by looking at the headline)! That's right: It's time for another edition of the TechCrunch Droidcast featuring myself and hirsute wunderkind Darrell Etherington. But this time we've roped in a special guest to join the fun.How Much Cory Booker Trounced His Opponents, In 3 Graphs
Aug 14, 9:35PM
Newark Mayor and Silicon Valley white knight Cory Booker trounced his competitors in last night's primary election. He raked in four times as many votes as his closest Democratic competitor, Congressman Rush Holt, and more than 100,000 people turned out to vote just for him, compared to the last non-presidential race in 2006.Flipboard Updates iOS App With GIF Support
Aug 14, 9:11PM
Nary a soul on the internet can resist a good GIF, but Flipboard browsers on iOS devices have been deprived until now. Today Flipboard has hooked up iOS users with GIF support, a feature Android users have long enjoyed.Valve's Former Steam Guru Jason Holtman Lands At Microsoft To Spearhead Its PC Gaming Efforts
Aug 14, 8:35PM
Microsoft confirmed today that it has hired Jason Holtman to help lead its PC gaming efforts. Holtman left Valve in February for unknown reasons. As Neowin reported, he was known in that role for his work on Steam, the exceedingly popular PC game sale and delivery platform. Microsoft has a similar effort, Games for Windows, that is generally regarded as lesser than Steam by gamers. By hiring Holtman Microsoft could be signaling that it isn't willing to allow Steam and its corporate parent Valve hegemony over the PC gaming market. That would make sense, as the PC gaming market is heavily concentrated on the Windows platform, which is Microsoft territory.A16Z's Scott Weiss, Box, Zendesk And Nebula To Talk About Winning In The Enterprise At Disrupt SF
Aug 14, 7:09PM
Enterprise is sexier than ever. As Andreessen Horowitz partner Scott Weiss aptly predicted in his brilliant guest post titled "30 New Franchises," there is an unprecedented opportunity to create new multi-billion-dollar enterprise franchises despite incumbents throwing massive amounts of money to acquire these franchises. Weiss' post created such an engaging conversation around the future of enterprise software that we decided to build a panel at Disrupt SF around the thesis, featuring Weiss himself, Box CEO and founder Aaron Levie, Zendesk CEO and founder Mikkel Svane, and Chris Kemp, the CEO of Nebula.Online Textbook Rental Firm Chegg Files For $150 Million IPO
Aug 14, 7:06PM
Online textbook rental company Chegg today filed for a $150 million initial public offering. Its proposed ticker symbol is CHGG. The company had revenue of $149 million in 2010, $172 million in 2011 and $213 million in 2012. In the first half of 2013, Chegg had revenue of $117 million. That compares favorably to its first half 2012 revenue of $92 million. So, Chegg is growing its topline at a material, if modest pace. If we take its first-half 2013 revenue, double it, and contrast that to its full-year 2012 revenue, Chegg will have grown its net revenue by just under 10 percent.Founder Stories: Serial Entrepreneur Steven Kirsch On Building A Remote Engineering Team
Aug 14, 7:00PM
We spend a lot of time on Founder Stories talking about hiring and culture largely because there is no secret sauce or fail-proof way that guarantees success. My guest this week is a serial entrepreneur who attributes the success of his current company, OneID, to creating a culture that attracts the best hires. Steven Kirsch, whose past startup successes include Mouse Systems, FrameMaker and Infoseek, says that "people are very hard to change" and admits that he has made many of the same mistakes at all of the companies he has led over the years. This is why, according to Kirsch, hiring the right people who have complementary skills is important.Amazon's Silk Web Browser Gets A Whole New Look
Aug 14, 6:50PM
Amazon's Silk web browser, which comes built into Kindle Fire devices, has received its first major upgrade since September 2012, the company announced today. Though there have been steady under-the-hood improvements over time, this is the first release since last fall to introduce consumer-facing changes to the way the browser looks and behaves, including a new tutorial, redesigned tabs, better browser controls, simpler navigation options, and easier access to Silk's Reading View feature.Yes, Gmail Users Have Some Privacy. Here's What You Can Expect
Aug 14, 6:34PM
Google is in hot water after its lawyers were caught claiming that Gmail users have “no reasonable” expectations of privacy. The short answer is that yes, Gmail users do have some expectation of privacy and there have been no major privacy policy changes in the past year. But, since the press is freaking out, let us review what kind of privacy users can–and cannot–expect. Short Legal Background That Tells You Nothing About Your Privacy Expectations In a class-action lawsuit, Google is seeking to dismiss charges that it illegally mines users data. The search giant cites an antiquated 1979 Supreme Court decision, Smith v. Maryland, to cover its digital behind in a technical catch-all strategy to avoid any legal culpability. The language of the decision may freak you out: “Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter, people who use web-based email today cannot be surprised if their emails are processed by the recipient’s [e-mail provider] in the course of delivery. Indeed, ‘a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties.’ But, in practice, Google has a vested interest in respecting at least some privacy. Here’s what you can expect. Google Robots Scan Content And Serve You Ads If you’ve been sending out a lot of wedding invitations, there’s a good chance you’ve been seeing advertisements for event planners, dress makers, and couples therapy and–for the truly prepared–divorce lawyers. Google automatically scans the content of email to optimize its ad targeting. According to Google, no human can actually read the content of your messages. Google Can Share Your Data Across Services, Such As Maps and Docs Google’s new Director Of Engineering, futurist Ray Kurzweil, told me that he wants to build a search engine that knows what users want before they do. In order to give you up-to-date traffic directions on your commute, shopping recommendations, and tailored search answers, it’s helpful to know where you live, where you visit, and what you’ve searched for in the past. Unless you’re an avid Kanye West fan, the term “north west” probably refers to an actual region of the world. So, last year, Google adopted a major change to its privacy policy that allowed cross-reference data across all of the services, from Maps to Docs. This is the subject of the class-action lawsuit.Made In Space, Makers Of The Only 3D Printer In Orbit, Answer Some Pressing Questions About Manufacturing And Yoda
Aug 14, 6:34PM
This week we learned that NASA was sending its own 3D printer into space to support the astronauts on the International Space Station. But NASA didn't build the printer. Instead they farmed it out to a company called Made In Space, a startup focused on making a solid, space-ready 3D printer that can survive the vast darkness of the cosmos.Facebook's Star Manager Peter Deng Becomes Instagram Director Of Product To "Do Fewer Things Better"
Aug 14, 6:30PM
Peter Deng built Facebook Chat, Groups, and Messenger as its Product Management Director for the last six years. Now he's going to execute the vision of Instagram's founders as its new Director Of Product. "I'm not trying to come in and make changes," Deng says. "Kevin and Mike have a great thing going. How can we move faster and build more beautiful products? That's what I'm coming here to do."Apple Shares Hit $500 Again, Representing A Massive $100 Billion Market Cap Gain In 48 Days
Aug 14, 6:24PM
Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) are currently up 2.79 percent to $503.25 a share in the wake of Carl Icahn’s lobbying efforts on Twitter. Yet, the stock performance of the past two days shouldn’t diminish the overall performance over the past two months. In less than two months, Apple has indeed gained $100 billion in market capitalization. On June 27 of this year, shares closed at $393.78, roughly back to their December 2011 level. Today’s price represents a 27.8 percent increase in just 48 days. The last time shares were trading above $500 was on January 23. It proves once again that AAPL still suffers from a lot of volatility and uncertainty. Even though net profit is still declining, Apple reported good numbers for its Q3 2013 fiscal quarter. After multiple mixed quarters, the company managed to beat the analysts’ expectations. Retrospectively, the market reaction to Q1 and Q2 numbers was certainly too harsh when you compare it to the actual numbers. Apple still has more than $145 billion in cash and a comfortable market position. iPhone sales are still growing 20 percent year over year. Moreover, Apple started a huge $100 billion share buyback program last year, and investors are starting to see the effects. As a result, earnings per share has mechanically increased over time. Investor Carl Icahn revealed yesterday that he was lobbying to accelerate the share buyback program. It drove the stock up 4 percent in just minutes, proving that investors are confident that Apple shares are a good component in their portfolios. When it comes to products, back in April, Apple’s growth prospects were gloomy — the magical period of double-digit growth for both sales and profit was over. Yet, the analysts' expectations led to distortion. For years, they were setting the bar too high for units and market share, and too low for profit and sales. Now that analysts are more accurate, the perception of Apple is changing at the same time. While the company didn’t release any new product after WWDC (aside from the updated MacBook Air), the keynote was received very well by commentators. The star of the show was iOS 7. It proved that Apple was still ready to make radical changes to its core products without fearing backlash. In other words, Apple is still innovating. But customers are now more likely than ever to buy old iPhone models — Apple needs to contract theGoogle Search Gets More Personal, Now Lets You Find Your Flight Info, Reservations, Photos And More
Aug 14, 6:00PM
Google today announced a number of search features that make it easier for you to find your own personal information through Google Search. The search engine can now find information about your upcoming flights ("Is my flight on time?"), hotel or OpenTable reservations, package delivery information ("When will my package arrive?"), your purchases and what's on your calendar. Just like on Google+, you can also now use the regular Google search to find your own photos through queries like "Show me my photos of beaches."Microsoft Acknowledges Outlook.com, Messenger, SkyDrive Outages
Aug 14, 5:34PM
Having a hard time accessing your SkyDrive files or your email on Outlook.com? You are not alone, and Microsoft says that it is working on the issue. The latest from Microsoft's Live.com status board (remember Live.com?) is simple: Outlook.com, SkyDrive, and the 'People' services are all on the rocks at the moment. Some, such as ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, are not impacted by the issue. My account, for whatever it is worth, is also working.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
