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How Louis CK And The Hare Krishnas Can Make You A Better Entrepreneur With This One Trick
Feb 09, 7:00AM
Louis CK is the high priest of understanding our culture. I watch him every day. I watch the same routine over and over. I can spend hours breaking down every line of his routines. I watch him before I give talks because I get to borrow his confidence. I used to watch him before dates. I even watch him before I hang out with my kids.How To Keep Your Team And Make Your Startup Acquisition Succeed
Feb 09, 5:00AM
I caught up with Segerstrale to get his thoughts on how to manage acquisitions and make them successful. There are many facets of an acquisition, but Segerstrale focuses on the individual people involved and the often-overlooked things that can keep a team from leaving after an acquisition.Aol Gives Us Our Full 401K Matching Back, Calls "Babies" Comment A Mistake
Feb 09, 2:59AM
Aol has backtracked on a controversial decision to delay employee 401K matching until the end of the year, a decision that could potentially cost employees like myself thousands of dollars. Thank you. Aol announced the change by sending out a company-wide memo earlier today. Note: Somehow TechCrunch only gets a hold of the positive memos.CrunchWeek: Microsoft's New Leader, Twitter's Stock Tumble, And The Secrets Behind Secret
Feb 08, 11:00PM
It's that time of week for an episode of CrunchWeek, the show that brings a few TechCrunch writers together to chat about the most fascinating stories of the past seven days in tech
Book Review: In "Different," Finding Better Ways To Build Brands In A Noisy (And Boring) World
Feb 08, 10:00PM
Some books age well, and "Different" is no exception. First published in paperback two years ago, the book is a lurid text that seems more applicable to startups today than during its actual publication. Youngme Moon delivers a stark assessment on the current state of product strategy and marketing.Confessions Of A Flappy Bird Addict
Feb 08, 9:13PM
Just a quick game. It only takes a second. I, I need to beat my high score. That stupid bird. DAMMIT! Ok this time I'll do better. DAMMIT! Alright the ad distracted me. F*CKKKK! I was doing so good. NOOOooo!One Year Later, Unlocking Your Phone Is Still A Crime
Feb 08, 8:00PM
A year ago a ruling went into effect by the Librarian of Congress that made it a crime to unlock your cellphone (changing the settings on the phone to be able to be used on a different phone carrier). When that ruling went into effect, there was public outcry across the technology community that such a basic technology was now illegal to use.Flappy Bird Developer Says He's Taking The Hit Game Down Tomorrow
Feb 08, 7:38PM
The developer of the popular mobile game Flappy Bird just declared that he's taking the game down tomorrow. Dong Nguyen, an indie game developer based in Hanoi, Vietnam, tweeted, "I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore." He then elaborated, "It is not anything related to legal issues. I just cannot keep it anymore."Tell SF's City Government Where The Google Buses Should Be
Feb 08, 7:24PM
Now that the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency has approved a pilot program to oversee tech commuter buses from the peninsula, they’re asking for feedback from the community. A few weeks ago, the board of the SFMTA approved a program where tech companies like Apple, Google and Facebook would have to pay $1 for every stop they made. This week, the agency just opened up a page here where San Francisco residents can offer input on where buses should stop. Should they be centralized at one place or distributed throughout a neighborhood? Should certain stops be prohibited because the buses are causing too many congestion issues? Whoever you are — whether you a San Francisco-based tech worker that commutes down to Mountain View or Menlo Park or someone who feels their rents are disproportionately impacted by an influx of Silicon Valley-based workers or a bicyclist that has to get around these buses — you should participate. There are also two hearings on February 10 on South Van Ness Avenue and February 22 at Mission High School by Dolores Park. Why? Because San Francisco city policy does actually get decided sometimes by whoever can pack a hearing room with the most people. (Really.) Even though the city’s supervisors and MTA board members are trying to represent the best long-term interests of people living here, they are human too and can be psychologically affected by people yelling at them in a room. There will be neighborhood organizations and local advocacy groups that will be rallying to eliminate or move stops. So if you really care about this issue, please have your say too.Gillmor Gang Live 02.08.14 (TCTV)
Feb 08, 6:07PM
Gillmor Gang - Robert Scoble, Kevin Marks, Keith Teare, and Steve Gillmor. Live recording session today was interrupted by bad weather. Find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/GillmorGangOne Silicon Valley, Under Libertarian Hero Senator Rand Paul
Feb 08, 3:00PM
Internet-savvy Tea Party activists have shoved the once small-government fringes of the Republican party into the spotlight, with Libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul a leading figure. At the State of the Net Conference, I spoke with this new leader in the Republican party, asking about what life would be like for innovators if he and his small-government brethren continue their rise to power. I kept it deliberately philosophical to understand how Paul will view issues in the future. Here are a few take-aways. Science Funding, If You Can Find It “The real explosion of the Internet was the lack of control,” argues Paul, in response to my question about if the Internet’s origins in military labs proves that government is essential to American innovation. Paul maintains that we shouldn’t overestimate the need for government to support Silicon Valley. But, he’s a fan of federal-funded science and technology, just so long as it doesn’t add to the country’s trillion-dollar-sized debt. “I’d rather spend the money on R&D if there’s not a marketplace for that,” he says. Paul is admirably consistent here; scientists freaked out over one of his early budget proposals to slash R&D funding, but calmed down after he brokered a deal with Democrats that would slightly increase funds for higher education and research (by finding other programs to cut, of course). Civil Liberties Galore And No Killing Of Hackers Paul infamously said that whistleblower Edward Snowden and intelligence director James Clapper should share the same jail cell (Clapper for lying to Congress). I pressed Paul on how he would treat information activists. “There do have to be some rules and there are some problems with disclosing secrets and people could die,” he warns. But, security hawks “are calling for the death penalty” for Edward Snowden, “and I think that’s inappropriate.” Paul wouldn’t commit to what punishment people like Snowden should receive. He is, however, suing the federal government to stop the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Internet and phone data. It’s no shocker that under Libertarian leadership, national defense would be dramatically cut back and civil liberties would take center stage. Allowing Companies To Do Good, Stockholders Be Damned Paul thinks that Silicon Valley should have more leeway to invest in socially beneficial products. “There is a sense, particularly in young people, they still want to make money, they want to do things that are successful, but they’re socially conscious.” Paul says he’s supportive of legislation toIn 3.5 Years, Most Africans Will Have Smartphones
Feb 08, 2:00PM
I reckon it's time to check in on one of my bolder predictions. Some 18 months ago, I wrote "In Five Years, Most Africans Will Have Smartphones." Let's get this out of the way: most of the smart money thinks I'm wrong by at least three years. Worldwide, according to Gartner, smartphone sales exceeded feature phone sales in 2013, for the first time -- but Africa remains a different story.India's MakeMyTrip Acquires EasyToBook In A Push To Grow Online Hotel Bookings
Feb 08, 1:17PM
Indian travel booking site, MakeMyTrip, has acquired EasyToBook, an Amsterdam-based hotel booking portal, for around $5 million. With this acquisition, MakeMyTrip is hoping to increase its proportion of revenue earned through online hotel bookings, and also target inbound customers traveling to Asia. “With the ETB acquisition, we are expanding our presence beyond South East Asia,” MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra told me. “One of our key company objectives is to continue growing the share of the hotels and packages business in our overall revenue mix,” he added. MakeMyTrip is among the early online businesses in India. It became the poster child for the country’s growing Internet population after raising $70 million in a Nasdaq public offering in August 2010. Since then, MakeMyTrip has experienced a roller coaster ride. In year ending March 2013, it even posted loss of $1.9 million. The company has been pushing to go beyond just online travel, and even explore markets outside India. In 2011 for instance, MakeMyTrip acquired Singapore-based Luxury Tours & Travels and picked 19.9% stake in travel search engine Ixigo.com. In November of that year, it also bought Delhi-based MyGuesthouse Accommodations for $1 million. As this Businessweek story highlighted, the Indian online businesses are facing challenges in growing the base of people who actually transact online. MakeMyTrip’s biggest challenge will be to not only grow its business in India by acquiring new customers, but also identify opportunities to expand beyond the country. “We have been open to inorganic growth and acqua-hiring. Other than niche travel tech firms and specialist travel firms, we also look for opportunities in ‘supplier disintermediation’,” Kalra said.Sony Looks To The Past To Move Forward
Feb 08, 7:00AM
The PlayStation. The Walkman. The Trinitron. The transistor radio. All icons in Sony’s storied history from an era when the Japanese giants still roamed the earth. The Sony of today is not like the Sony of yesterday. For every memorable blockbuster, there’s an infamous flub: The late embrace of MP3, losing its hold on the digital imaging market and of course, failing to attract adoption to Betamax, UMD, MemoryStick, and endless other formats and systems. The Sony of today is a bloated industrial machine barely holding together. It’s worn out and slowed to a crawl. The once innovative company now follows instead of leads. It’s playing catch-up instead of breaking new ground. But things are changing. The Sony of tomorrow is looking leaner than ever. It doesn’t look like the Sony of old with total market dominance, but for the first time in ages, Sony is becoming a competitor. Sony’s harsh reaction to bloat is not the exception throughout the electronics world. HP is being crushed under its own weight. Samsung makes everything from semiconductors to home appliances to 50 ton war machines. Dell is shedding employees as it streamlines the only thing you get from a brand name PC these days – service. During the 1980s, after the launch of the Walkman and Trinitron, the market crashed. Sony was in crisis. But it weathered the storm, and as most companies that survive global recessions, emerged stronger than ever. Co-founder Akio Morita took the reins in 1989 and set about to diversify Sony’s business, likely as a shelter against future crashes. It was under Morita that Sony’s brand took a hit. New SKUs flooded the market as Sony grew. His venture into producing movies stumbled for a few years. The Sony name no longer held the same cachet it once did. Sony grew during these years, but not in a way that set it up for future dominance. Sir Howard Stringer took over the company in 2005. He was the first foreigner to take over the Japanese company. Attempting to tighten the belt of the bulging company, he cut 9,000 jobs under his tenure. When Kazuo Hirai succeeded Stringer in 2012, Sony’s brand was in tatters. Once holding over 20 percent of the digital imaging market, it had slipped to around 5%. Mobile was the future and at that time Sony was not correctly positioned in the market. Their eventsYou'd Be Surprised By What Really Motivates Users
Feb 08, 5:00AM
Earlier this month, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone unveiled his mysterious startup Jelly. The question-and-answer app was met with a mix of criticism and head scratching. Tech-watchers asked if the world really needed another Q&A service. Skeptics questioned how it would compete with existing solutions and pointed to the rocky history of previous products like Mahalo Answers, Formspring, and Aardvark.Here's A First Look At Mike Judge's Hilarious Take On Silicon Valley
Feb 08, 1:00AM
Here it is. Mike Judge's long-awaited and irreverent take on the tech scene in Silicon Valley -- creatively titled Silicon Valley -- debuts April 6 on HBO. And we've got your first look at the show's trailer, which debuts on the premium cable channel this weekend.Apple CEO Tim Cook Says iPhone Expansion Plans Include 50 More Carriers This Quarter
Feb 08, 12:31AM
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained his views on topics ranging from smartphones to cash return to shareholders. To understand how Apple will make decisions in the future, it’s important to parse his words and thoughts. Briefly below we’ll look at the financial and the strategic comments made by the technology executive. Strategic As has been recently pointed out by ZDNet’s Ed Bott, Apple generates more than half its revenue from the iPhone line of smartphones. No other product group at Apple breaks the 20 percent mark. Given that reality, Apple’s work to expand the carrier base that it can sell iPhones into is key for the company. According to Cook, Apple will pick up 50 new carriers globally this quarter alone. That’s nearly breakneck pace. For the company, the Chinese market is a key growth opportunity. Apple is working with China Mobile to drive adoption of its iconic iOS smartphones in the country. Still, according to Cook, “even with adding China Mobile, we still only present our products to two-thirds of the subscribers in the world.” Next, the PC. Cook claims that Apple is still investing heavily in its Mac line of PCs. Said the CEO: “we haven’t given up on the Mac. A lot of people are throwing in the towel right now on the PC. We’re still spending an enormous amount on really great talent and people on the Macs of the future. And we have some really cool things coming out there. Because we believe as people walk away from the PC, it becomes clear that the Mac is what you want if you want a PC.” So post-PC? Perhaps not yet. Financial Apple is more than open to potential acquisition deals that top the billion-dollar mark, its CEO TIm Cook disclosed. While rival firms, such as Google, have been using extra cash to reel in firms for sums in the 10-figure range, Apple has sat out. Ironically, almost, given that it has the most cash of any technology firm. Despite its lack of participation in this particular dance, Cook said that his firm has “zero” issue spending more than a billion dollars on a smaller company, provided that the deal is “in the best interest of Apple in the long-term.” With cash reserves north of the $100 billion mark, Apple could afford a grip of such deals. Google recently purchasedAsk A VC: Storm Ventures' Jason Lemkin On Inbound Vs. Outbound Enterprise Sales
Feb 07, 11:30PM
In this week's episode of Ask A VC, Storm Ventures' managing director Jason Lemkin joined us in the studio to talk about enterprise, sales models and more.
Today In Dystopian War Robots That Will Harvest Us For Our Organs…
Feb 07, 11:00PM
A merry TIDWRTWHUFOO to you and yours! This week’s installment brings you some DIY, some dangerous, and some fun. Can you guess which is which? Probably not, because all of these robots will eventually eat your eyes like lychee jellies. First up we have this autonomous Ardiuno robot that looks fairly harmless. Created by a cool Redditor, the robot can go around objects using a very basic bit of logic and some sensors. The code for the robot is right here and the video is unique in that the robot’s creator expresses heartfelt joy at his creation and he is not screaming in terror as the robot mauls his couch. Then we have this autonomous boat that can map hard-to-access rivers and lakes and features an on-board laser scanner and autonomous quad-copter that can get a bird’s eye view. These robots can get into places humans can’t and, more importantly, a fleet of them coupled with an army of robotic sharks with laser teeth can terrorize most of San Diego (the wet parts). Created by Uninova in Portugal, the product hopes to make river mapping far more efficient… and deadly. Finally we have the UK’s Taranis, a search and destroy drone that is really and truly dangerous. Writes TheTreeLaws: The Taranis, taking its namesake after a Celtic god of thunder, has a wing span of about 9 meters, is 11-meter long and weighs in at 8 tons. It’s a “semi-autonomous” drone which is designed to execute intercontinental flights alongside lethal aerial and ground strikes which has cost around £185 million with funding from the UK Ministry of Defence alongside companies such as Rolls Royce and General Electric (of which BAE Systems is a subsidiary). To paraphrase that great old song, “Boom boom boom let’s go back to my room and hide from this grey-skinned helldemon from above!”Firefox's Chrome-Like Australis Redesign Arrives In Aurora Release Channel
Feb 07, 10:56PM
This has been a long time in the making, but after almost three months of testing in the highly experimental Firefox Nightly release channel, Firefox’s new Australis user interface has now found its way into the pre-beta Aurora channel. The new user interface, which the company has been working on for a long time, gives the browser a more Chrome-like look. As in Chrome, the settings and options are now behind the same kind of drawer menu next to the URL bar as in Google’s browser and rounded tabs at the top of the screen. These similarities with Chrome is likely the first thing users will notice. Indeed, if you quickly switch back and forth between the two, you’ll likely get confused about which one is which. The team also completely redesigned the menu too, and added a large number of customization options that aren’t available in most other browsers. While Firefox was always pretty customizable, this new version makes it far easier to discover these customization options and use them. Just click on ‘customize’ in the menu and drag and drop menu items around to improve your user experience. If you always want to have the developer tools accessible in the URL bar, for example, that’s now easy to do. As Mozilla’s VP of Firefox engineering Jonathan Nightingale told me last year, the idea behind the redesign was to give users a browser that is simpler to use, with a cleaner and more intuitive design. As you open more tabs, for example, those that aren’t in the foreground fade into the background “to make it faster for you to find and focus on the tab you want.” Now that Australis is part of Firefox’s regular release channels, it will slowly find its way into the beta and stable channels, too. It’s unclear when exactly this will happen. Mozilla often holds back features from graduating to the next channel until it feels they are ready for a wider release, and this new user interface will surely spark some interesting discussions among Firefox’s users. As part of today’s update, Mozilla is also launching Firefox Accounts, which will offer access to the latest update of Firefox Sync and other tools. While Mozilla has long offered users a way to sync their bookmarks, add-ons, passwords and open tabs across machines, it never offered users an easy way to just sign up and sign in to access allIf 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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