Too busy working to forge a startup from the ground up to think about a costume for Halloween? No worries, TechCrunch has your back. Here are six timely last-minute ideas for the tech obsessed. Read More
What happens when you tell two smart computers to talk to each other in secret and task another AI with breaking that conversation? You get one of the coolest experiments in cryptography I’ve seen in a while.
In short, Google Brain researchers have discovered that the AI, when properly tasked, create oddly inhuman cryptographic schemes and that they’re better at encrypting than… Read More
The game-changing nature of virtualization in the server world has led many in IT to assume it would automatically translate to networking. The idea inspired the network functions virtualization architecture that has gripped some circles of the industry with great exuberance. But success in one domain does not ensure success in another. Read More
A new app called Needed, now officially launching, wants to upgrade your mobile shopping list. Instead of turning to a simple note-taking app or to-do list, Needed aims to help you save on groceries by automatically searching for deals and sales that match the items on your list. The idea is to help you shop smarter locally, however – Needed doesn’t focus on online stores, or… Read More
People love a Greek tragedy. Icarus has flown too close to the sun and tumbled to Earth. Apple has forgotten its core users and been eclipsed by Microsoft. The Touch Bar is a compromise between adding a touch screen on a MacBook and ignoring touch entirely. These narratives are easy to sketch because they sell better to readers than moderated, honest inspection of sentiment and behavior. If… Read More
A seismic shift in privacy policy by messaging app WhatsApp this summer, when it said it would begin sharing user data with parent company Facebook including for ad targeting, has now attracted the attention of European’s data protection watchdog group, the Article 29 Working Party. Read More
Gfycat, the startup that recently raised a whopping $10 million for its user-generated content platform that lets you creating silent, looping animations and videos, has now launched its first mobile app. Designed for iMessage, Gfycat lets you search for, send and create your own “Gfycat Loops,” which you can also augment with your own emojis and captions. There are already a number… Read More
The new Surface Book got lost in the shuffle this week. Understandably so. It did, after all, get third billing at Microsoft’s own event in New York this week, owing to the flashiness of the Surface Studio and Windows 10 Creators Update and all of the 3D content creation that brought with it. And then, of course, Apple happened. But Microsoft’s not one to give up the spotlight for… Read More
The entry-level MacBook Pro is a strange sort of beast. It’s at once aspirational and transitional, a lowest financial rung into the company’s top tier of devices that carriers the form factor and many of the hardware improvements of this latest generation, while leaving behind its most eagerly anticipated feature. And really, the device didn’t get much more than a passing… Read More
The Apple Watch Nike+ is loud in every way a watch can be loud. It’s got a brightly colored perforated neon band, matched perfectly by a custom face that tries to motivate wearers with quick Nike-esque slogans like “Are We Running Today?” The Apple Watch Nike+ begs to be noticed. The moment I popped it on and entered society, eyes were immediately drawn to the bright… Read More
PlayStation Vue, Sony’s streaming TV service aimed at cord cutters, just got more useful. The company announced the service will now run on Android TV, and will arrive on both Mac and Windows PCs in the near future. What that means for those considering ditching their cable or satellite TV subscriptions, is that there’s now more ways to access PlayStation Vue without the need for… Read More
Amazon announced today it’s bringing a version of its Prime membership program to customers in China, which will include free, cross-border shipping from the Amazon Global Store as well as no minimum free domestic shipping, the company says. The service, which will compete with local rivals like Alibaba and JD.com, will cost 388 yuan ($57.23) per year after the first year, a… Read More
Renowned iPhone hacker turned entrepreneur George Hotz (aka geohot) has cancelled his autonomous driving startup’s first official product, the Comma One aftermarket add-on that would’ve allowed certain cars to gain Autopilot-like highway driving assistance abilities. Hotz announced the news on the Comma.ai official Twitter account, noting that the decision to cancel was made after… Read More
Tesla is having a special event Friday at 5:30 PM PT, and the company is streaming the show live on its website. You can definitely expect to see a brand new solar roof product, as well as Powerwall 2.0, since Elon Musk himself has said those are the focus of the launch. Solar roof plus Powerwall 2.0 launch event will be webcast live on https://t.co/46TXqRrsdr at 5:30pm PDT tomorrow —… Read More
Halloween is just around the corner and if there was one horror-themed phenomenon this year, it was Netflix’s nostalgia-driven Stranger Things. Google has now teamed up with Netflix to bring a Stranger Things sticker pack to the latest version of its Allo messaging app. It’s also hosting a Stranger Things scavenger hunt in New York today (Oct. 28). The update isn’t just… Read More
Facebook is overhauling its in-app camera to embrace the next era of augmented reality visual communication pioneered by Snapchat. The new features include Snapchat-style animated selfie masks, overlaid graphics, and geofilters; Prisma-esque fine art-themed style transfer filters; and some innovative new “reactive” filters that respond to your body’s movements. What Facebook… Read More
More reasons to be miserable about the UK’s vote to leave the European Union: Apple has hiked the pound sterling price of Macs, old and new, by as much as 25 per cent to take account of currency fluctuations in the wake of the June referendum vote. Thanks #Brexit. Read More
Lazada, under Alibaba’s stewardship, is in advanced talks with Redmart, a Singapore-based grocery delivery service, to make a major investment or acquire the company outright, three sources with knowledge of the deal told TechCrunch. Once a deal is agreed, it could be completed as early as next week, one source said. Read More
Meal replacement powder maker Soylent has halted sales of its main product as part of an investigation into why some customers have been getting sick after eating its products. Read More
