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.
Elon Musk Shows Off His Crazy Iron Man-Inspired 3D Modeling Setup
Sep 06, 1:34AM
Elon Musk, the world's busiest rich dude/mad scientist, has just posted a video showing off the Iron Man-inspired 3D modeling software he tweeted about last week. Because people don't compare him to Tony Stark enough, right?How To Get In On The New York Fashion Week Action, Techie Style
Sep 06, 12:53AM
It's baaaack. New York Fashion Week, that is. And if you're a user of the Internet, it's pretty hard to miss this season. As Women's Wear Daily put it, ramped-up social media and live streaming have led Fashion Week to become a veritable "digital spectator sport." In the last few years, tech has begun to carve out an increasingly large presence at Fashion Week, and this year marks an unprecedented degree of involvement from both tech companies and designers. In 2009, Alexander McQueen live streamed his Spring/Summer 2010 show through SHOWstudio. Then came Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani, and Dolce & Gabbana for Fall/Winter 2010. Today, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week has a live stream trained in on all of its shows. Gone are the days of dressing in all black and pretending to be a PR assistant to get into the tents.Hardware Is Eating The World
Sep 06, 12:19AM
It's clear more than ever that hardware is in vogue. The rise of crowdfunding coincided with the shrinking of processors and sensors. It's never been easier to create a smart device. And on Wednesday, September 11, hardware companies will fill the halls of The Concourse at San Francisco Design Center for Disrupt SF. The atmosphere takes on a distinctly science fair vibe, with drones flying around, LEDs flashing, 3D printers churning out models of TC East Coast Editor John Biggs' head.Rotten Tomatoes Founder Positions New Site To Be "Google News For Movies"
Sep 05, 11:33PM
Rotten Tomatoes founder Senh Duong has redesigned his new site, Movies With Butter, to be the "Google News for movies." Movies With Butter originally launched with more of a Digg/Reddit strategy, allowing users to vote which stories would be on the homepage, but Duong says it didn't work because the site couldn't gain enough users to vote on the stories.NSA Subverts Most Encryption, Works With Tech Organizations For Back-Door Access, Report Says
Sep 05, 10:54PM
The National Security Agency’s most wanted man and newly minted Russian resident, Edward Snowden, has revealed new details about the ability of intelligence agencies to crack supposedly secret communications. “The National Security Agency is winning its long-running secret war on encryption, using supercomputers, technical trickery, court orders and behind-the-scenes persuasion to undermine the major tools protecting the privacy of everyday communications in the Internet age, according to newly disclosed documents,” reports the New York Times. According to the documents, the NSA “has circumvented or cracked much of the encryption” algorithms and technologies used to keep banking, email, commerce, and data transfers secret. Here are the essentials of the story: For at least three years, British and American spy agencies worked to gain back-door access to major Internet companies, including Google, Yahoo, Facebook, And Microsoft. “By 2012, GCHQ [Government Communications Headquarters] had developed ‘new access opportunities’ into Google's systems, according to the document” (Google has repeatedly denied that the NSA gets any special access). According to Snowden, the NSA spends roughly $250 million to weaken international encryption standards and products so that they can be cracked by the NSA. In one instance, a fatal security flaw discovered by Microsoft engineers in 2007 was first “pushed” on an international standards group by the NSA. There is a tight inner circle of intelligence officials around the world who have full access to the cracking technologies. “The full extent of the N.S.A.'s decoding capabilities is known only to a limited group of top analysts from the so-called Five Eyes: the N.S.A. and its counterparts in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.” The NSA argues that decrypting messages from the likes of Syria and al-Qaeda leaders are essential for national security. According to the story, authorities asked the Times not to publish the article. The Times withheld some information for security purposes, but (obviously) went ahead with the piece. As we’ve written about before, the NSA tried a similar strategy in the 1990 with a hardware product that would permit backdoor access to cell phones, the failed “Clipper Chip.” Apparently, the NSA found a new way to gain back-door access. “They went and did it anyway without telling anyone," cryptographer Paul Kocher told The Times. Snowden still says that “strong” encryption can’t be decoded by the NSA. “Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on.” So apparently, there areGet Your Friends, Co-Workers Out Of "Password Remembering Hell" With Matrix-Backed Mitro
Sep 05, 10:27PM
At TechCrunch, we have a host of passwords for Twitter, Dropbox and so on that get shared amongst the staff. But inevitably, there’s always a scramble when a new employee signs up and doesn’t have access to the account. Or when someone just plain forgets their passwords. Enter Mitro, which is a company from several former Googlers that is trying to attack the problem of password sharing for the families, friends and the enterprise. It’s an extension that works with a web browser to save passwords and help people log into sites automatically. “Passwords are breeding like rabbits and no one takes security of these things seriously,” said Mitro co-founder and CEO Vijay Pandurangan. Founded by three former Google engineers, New York-based Mitro is backed by $1.2 million in seed funding from Google Ventures and Matrix Partners. Right now, it works with Chrome, but Firefox and Android are in beta. The company is also working on versions for iOS and Safari too. In Mitro, you can set up teams of people that you share passwords with. When you or they visit a password-protected destination that you’ve shared a log-in for, the browser extension will kick in and ask you if you want to sign in using Mitro. That way, you don’t ever have to remember a password when you get there. For Mitro users, their passwords get encrypted through keys that are stored on Mitro’s servers. When a person first creates an account, Mitro generates a public and private key. The private key is encrypted using a passphrase key, and then both the public key and encrypted private key are stored on Mitro’s servers. When passwords are shared with other team members, the service also generates new public and private keys for those users as well. A team’s private key is encrypted for each member, so only that individual can decrypt it. Mitro also tracks devices, so if a user logs in from a new device that the server doesn’t recognize, it will send an e-mail verification. The company also supports two-factor authentication if users want an extra layer of security where they’ll need both a password and a temporary code generated by their phone. For those who are less concerned about security, there’s also a “Remember Me” option for the browser extension, so that people don’t have to keep typing in their Mitro passwords. The service is totally freeBislr's Autopilot Is A Drag-And-Drop Feature For Building Cross-Platform Marketing Campaigns
Sep 05, 10:20PM
Bislr has launched an app for its platform called Autopilot, that simplifies the process of creating and maintaining complex channel marketing efforts.
SaaS providers and the growing list of companies that use subscription services increasingly use multiple channels such as email, the web and social media for their marketing campaigns. This is fundamental to engage and use different platforms to nurture leads and build a presence that the customer recognizes. But running these kinds of campaigns takes time and they can get expensive. Nor are traditional marketing automation platforms designed as drag-and-drop environments.
Braintree Is On The Block, Had Acquisition Talks With Square And PayPal
Sep 05, 9:58PM
Chicago-based payments gateway Braintree is currently shopping itself around to potential acquirers, TechCrunch has learned. The company has been on the block for some time, having previously tried to work out a deal with Google which fell through. More recently, it had been in acquisition talks with Square, which also fell through, possibly because Braintree is asking for too high a valuation. Talks with PayPal, however, may still be ongoing, we've heard.The Data Visualization Technology That Makes The America's Cup Accessible To The Rest Of Us
Sep 05, 8:19PM
The experience of watching televised sporting events has evolved dramatically in recent years, with data visualization technology making it much easier for spectators at home to understand what's really going on. Innovations such as the yellow "first down" line in televised football, the pitch and strike zone visualizations in televised baseball, and NASCAR's racecar tracker have changed the way we all watch sports -- and it turns out that one man, tech industry veteran Stan Honey, has led the development of them all. He's kind of a big deal. Today, Honey is working on his most difficult project yet: Making the elite America's Cup sailing race taking place this month in San Francisco understandable, accessible and enjoyable to the masses. It's a project to which Honey is uniquely suited, since in addition to being an Emmy-winning television technologist, he's an award-winning sailor whose accolades include winning the Jules Verne trophy for circumnavigating the world in 48 days.With 100K Titles In Tow, Oyster Brings Netflix To Book Lovers With New All-You-Can-Read Subscription Service
Sep 05, 7:30PM
While the pace has slowed of late, thanks to Kindles, Nooks, iPads and the steady advance of mobile technology, the eBook market (and the demand for all manners of digital content) has grown steadily over the past few years. According to the LA Times, the total revenue generated from eBook sales in the U.S. topped $3 billion in 2012, a 44 percent increase from 2011. Meanwhile, across the pond, eBook sales quietly turned in a record year, with sales leaping 134 percent last year.Evomail's Gesture-Based Email App Arrives On Android
Sep 05, 7:24PM
Evomail, one of the many newer startups trying to rethink the email inbox for mobile, has now arrived on Android. Originally designed as a Gmail client for iPad, the service seemed inspired by a number of well-known apps and email clients, including now Google-owned Sparrow, as well as Dropbox-acquired Mailbox, which popularized the use of gestures as a way to interact with your email.Insurance Zebra Launches A Kayak For Auto Insurance
Sep 05, 7:22PM
Austin-based Insurance Zebra, as the name implies, isn't exactly tackling the sexiest industry, but it's definitely one that's trying to help the everyday, mainstream consumer. The startup's goal is to be the Kayak for auto insurance, so to speak, as it aggregates quotes to allow consumers to find their best options. But the company is doing something differently than others in this space - it's letting consumers shop anonymously, while also seeing how their answers to the Insurance Zebra's Q&A change their rate quotes in real-time.How Social+Capital Is Building The Next Generation Of Entrepreneurs In Residence
Sep 05, 7:05PM
Chamath Palihapitiya has been commonly referred to as the unconventional VC. And he's been open about his ambitions to turn his fund, The Social+Capital Partnership, into a vehicle that backs ideas and startups that are changing the way we live, diagnose, learn and more. So it's no surprise that Palihapitiya and his team are taking a more unorthodox approach to the entrepreneur in residence program in the VC ecosystem.What Is The Future Of VC? Find Out At Disrupt SF
Sep 05, 6:52PM
Many compare the process of picking a partner at a VC firm (or an angel) to back your idea to the process of getting married. You better be ready to be comfortable in the trenches with this person, because the startup journey is a roller coaster.Uber Strikes Back Against The Competition By Offering Free uberX Rides In New Lyft Markets
Sep 05, 6:12PM
Just last week, ride-sharing startup Lyft announced that it was entering three new cities, launching in Indianapolis, St. Paul, and Atlanta ahead of the holiday weekend. Well, local incumbent Uber isn't going to take that lying down. The company has launched its low-cost uberX service in three new markets, and will be giving free rides to users for the rest of the month.Foursquare Automates Process Of Becoming A 'Superuser'
Sep 05, 6:05PM
It's become clear in recent years that Foursquare's real strength is its database of more than 55 million places. Foursquare's database API serves as the "location layer" for many other apps, from big names like Instagram to small up-and-comers. Today, Foursquare is announcing an update that should streamline the process of keeping that information organized and up to date: It is automating the process of becoming a "superuser" with the ability to edit the location database.Chrome's Native-Like Packaged Apps Come Out Of Dev Preview And Head To The Desktop, Now Called "Chrome Apps"
Sep 05, 5:26PM
Google officially launched its Chrome Apps today, a “new” breed of native/web app hybrid for Chrome OS and Windows that isn’t actually all that new. Google’s Chrome offered so-called packaged apps for quite a while now and today’s “launch” is, for the most part, about bringing these packaged apps out of the developer niche and to consumers. Chrome Apps are essentially installable web apps that get additional privileges to access some native hardware features. They allow developers to run their web apps outside of the browser and without the usual Chrome user interface. They also make it easier for developers to make their apps available offline and to access local storage, as well as connected devices and cameras over USB and Bluetooth. Just like Chrome itself, these apps update themselves and just like Chrome extensions, they are automatically synced between your machines. Here is a short video that explains how these packaged apps Chrome Apps work: On Windows, these apps don’t integrate into the start menu or the task bar. Instead — and this has also been available for quite a while — Chrome adds its own Start menu-like button to the taskbar, which looks quite similar to the Chrome OS app launcher. On the Mac, the app launcher is still behind a flag on the stable version of Chrome, but Google says it will launch both on Apple’s desktop platform and on Linux soon. To celebrate today’s launch, Google added a special section for packaged apps to its Chrome Web Store. The "For your desktop" collection features the likes of Wunderlist (which launched its packaged app in July), Pocket and former Disrupt Battlefield winner Uberconference.Rapt.fm Launches In Beta To Enable Live Rap Battles To Happen Anytime, Anywhere
Sep 05, 5:16PM
We first met Detroit-based startup Rapt.fm back in November 2012, when we were swinging through town for the TechCrunch Northern Meetups. It's safe to say that Erik Torenberg was the first startup CEO I'd ever met whose demo included a freestyle rap. And the product, though then still in an early private alpha version, was very cool as well -- a website that lets people all over the world engage in live rap battles in front of an online audience. Since then, a lot of growth has happened over at Rapt.fm, and yesterday evening the startup finally opened up to launch in public beta.Parse Fleshes Out Mobile Backend Service With Analytics, Background Jobs, And Web Parity
Sep 05, 5:05PM
Today at Parse's first Developer Day conference, Parse announced five new features: background jobs for running JavaScript tasks, a big partnership with game engine Unity, better ways to manage images and user sessions, and improved web support that brings it to parity with its mobile app offering. "Man, I wish I had Parse back then," Mark Zuckerberg said on stage about launching Facebook in 2004.Google Brings Its Card-Style Layout To Drive For iOS
Sep 05, 4:41PM
Google uses its card-style layout across the majority of its mobile apps, but until now, the Google Drive app for iOS had lagged behind. Today, however, Google is launching a new version of Drive for iPhone and iPad that brings this new design to the app, as well as a number of smaller upgrades that make using the service on mobile a bit easier.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
