Mark Zuckerberg has posted a new video of his homemade Jarvis AI assistant in action. The Facebook CEO detailed his progress with this project in a longer text post on Monday, but Tuesday’s video gives a better idea of how it actually works for Zuckerberg, his wife Priscilla Chan and their child, Max. The platform looks like a fairly capable voice-powered command center for the home in… Read More
Prisma, the app that popularized style transfer to apply art-esque filters to photos and videos after launching this summer, is finally attempting to turn itself into more than just a cool tool. In a big update being released today for its iOS and Android apps it’s adding it’s own social stream with a focus on location-based sharing. Read More
If you’ve ever used transit directions from any app, you’ll know that sometimes their estimates of how long a trip can take will be wildly inaccurate. That’s true for Transit, too – one of the best transit apps available, but Transit at least wants to do something about it, using crowdsourced data from its users to provide more accurate real-time info about how long… Read More
LaunchDarkly originally launched to nail a big pain point for developers that has been a luxury at larger companies for a while — soft-launching features and new code for a small set of users seamlessly and being able to quickly roll them back.
But since the company launched and last raised $2.6 million in June, CEO Edith Harbaugh and the team have found a new audience for that: the… Read More
Instagram is launching its answer to Snapchat geofilters, offering a way to spice up your photos and videos with Stickers that display basic location names, time, weather, and emoji. There’s also limited-time seasonal graphics like Christmas trees and Hanukkah menorahs, and a holiday candy cane paint brush.
Instagram is also launching Story saving for downloading your last 24-hours of… Read More
Global automaker supply leader Magna International is teaming up with LiDAR-maker Innoviz to help fill out its sensor fusion picture for self-driving vehicles, the companies announced Tuesday. The addition of Innoviz’s LiDAR sensor means Magna’s suite now includes carmakers, ultrasonic and RADAR fusion sensing capabilities, which essentially covers the range of available sensing… Read More
Nintendo is doing something interesting with its next console, the Switch, which is targeting a March 2017 release window. The Switch will be able to operate as a mobile game device, using its built-in 720p display, but it can also work as a home console when docked to a device that connects to your TV at home. New details have emerged based on developer hardware that suggest the Switch could… Read More
Nintendo’s investors haven’t been happy with the performance of the new iPhone game, “Super Mario Run,” which has led to falling share prices over concerns with the game’s payment model. However, the game has still eked out a respectable share of downloads and revenue, according to new data from app intelligence firm App Annie. Looking back at the game’s… Read More
There’s probably something to be said for skipping CES altogether – or at the very least, saving your big news for another week. After all, there’s no better week of the year to get completely buried beneath an avalanche of product announcements. HTC’s apparently not waiting long, however. The Taiwanese hardware maker is apparently planning to announce something big… Read More
The Electronic Frontier Foundation – a group of tech pioneers trying to keep the Internet open and free – have published an open letter to tech companies pleading them to prepare for an era of increased Internet surveillance and censorship. The EFF is citing statements by Trump and his advisors regarding Internet control, net neutrality, and freedom of speech and the press.
They… Read More
You’re no doubt familiar with the correlation between snoozing and losing. The law seems to be in full effect for Amazon’s wildly popular Echo offerings in these final few days ahead of the holidays. The Alexa-hosting connected home line looks is pretty much out of stock across the board through Amazon’s site – the Echo, the Echo Dot and Tap are all listed as being back… Read More
The U.S. Navy is testing a team of drone boats to protect harbors here and abroad. The boats, which are basically autonomous versions of the Rigid Hull Inflatable, are connected to a AI routing system called CARACaS. In original 2014 tests the boats worked separately to protect ships in a harbor and the new routing system now allows them to swarm as a team to surround and neutralize threats.… Read More
First Round Capital has become known for many things in its 12-year-history, like the high marks it receives from founders; the smart content it produces; and the newer annual, “state of startups” reports it publishes. The early-stage venture firm also reliably puts together one of the more memorable video cards every December, one that it uses to showcase all of the founders to… Read More
Bill McGlashan, who oversees TPG Growth — the growth investing platform of the global firm TPG — is reportedly fundraising right now for a $2 billion vehicle called Rise that will seek both financial and social returns. He tells Dealbook the fund was inspired by bets TPG Growth has already made, including in a cellphone tower company in Myanmar called Apollo Towers that helped… Read More
Facebook today is rolling out a new program that will place messages at the top of your News Feed which prompt users to discuss and share moments that are happening in the world, including the holidays, as well as other historical and cultural moments. You may have already seen these large, colorful cards at the top of your News Feed wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving or reminding you not to… Read More
There are few reasons why TechCrunch Disrupt (sign up here to get news about the next one) is so effective for startups. The combination of breaking news on stage and brand new companies in the Battlefield competition draws in the media and investors. And investors can easily walk a curated hall of new startups in Startup Alley, knowing that we have worked hard to bring the best and the brightest. Read More
Google.org is donating $30 million to non-profits this holiday so that they can buy any tech and related services that they need including hardware, software, training and IT maintenance or repair services. Earlier this month, reports leaked that Google had donated money earmarked for employees’ Christmas gifts to charity instead this year. It’s true that the company made… Read More
The holidays are upon us and I’m holding another micro-meetup as part of the NYSG at Houston Hall on December 21 at 7pm. This is another meet and greet event for networking and some light pitching/drinking so come on out with your demo and your pitch memorized. These are very informal events that I like to hold to keep talking to folks in the NYC tech world so consider it a nice… Read More
It took BlackBerry a long time to get to this point, and it may take them a while to get out. But while the Canadian corporation’s most recent earnings still have plenty of bleak spots, there’s enough of a change here to make investors hopeful as the company goes full bore into a long-awaited transition to a software/services/branding operation.
The company posted earnings this… Read More
If you have an iPad, you have a very capable external display for your computer using Duet Display, and now you can also experience Apple’s new Touch Bar without having to pick up a new computer. It’s not the same as having one built in to your computer, but it is a good way to play with Touch Bar functionality and see how it works with your existing workflow in Apple’s… Read More
