Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Matt Galligan, CEO of CrashCorp, a company working on a product called SimpleGeo providing “location as a service” as well as an Augmented Reality SDK for app developers. (We covered their founding here.) As such, Galligan clearly has a stake in the AR game, but he was genuinely surprised by the revelation of the AR element to the Yelp app update yesterday. You can follow Matt on Twitter here.
Yelp has had no shortage of hullabaloo surrounding the most recent improvement to its iPhone app. Rightfully so, it added an Augmented Reality view for its restaurant reviews. Using the AR view, users of the Yelp app can pan around using their camera, and see information overlaid, presumably, on top of the restaurant of their query, garnering review information. While this functionality is certainly useful, and nothing short of excellent eye candy, could there be a thorn with this rose? → Read More
You can always use a few more shelves in your life, right? And this one is not only original and cool-looking, but (dare I say it) flexible as well. Because it’s rubber! I’m such a card!
It is nice-looking, though, that’s no joke. And you can rearrange the pegs, so it really is flexible. Sorry, you haven’t stopped laughing yet from that first paragraph? It’s okay, I’ll wait! → Read More
Ta-da! I like to think of myself as a Mega Man II fan, but clearly i’m mistaken. I’m a Mega Man II poseur. The real fans spend 500 days linking 63,608 tiny rings together to make a pixel-perfect wall-hanging of all the major characters and items in the game. That’s not Metal Man’s best look, though. → Read More
A poster showing the rumored Canon 7D, along with some specs, has entered the rumor arena, and it looks totally legit to me. I would guess, from the name and specs (18MP, 8FPS, 100% VF coverage), that this is a direct competitor with Nikon’s D300s, priced well above a 50D but far below a 5D mk II. Say $1899 MSRP, just off the top of my head? → Read More
Microsoft’s ad blitz for Bing is still going strong, and it’s starting to hone in on a new target: your wallet. Bing’s latest TV ad, which aired for the first time last night, is focused on Bing Cashback, the program that allows users to save money when they purchase items found using Bing search. Cashback has been around for a while, most people probably had never even heard of the program until now. This is the first time Microsoft has ever aired an ad for Cashback, and you can be sure that it’s going to strike a chord with plenty of viewers. → Read More
It’s sort of a shame that the Azeroth we all know and love will be going away with World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the game’s next expansion. To that end, one brave soul has taken it upon herself to collect desktop wallpaper-sized images of the old game world. → Read More
I’ve got good news and bad news, Nikon-lovers.
The good news is that the D300s is available now and looks great.
The bad news is the movie mode still features major jelly-motion, and the autofocus is comically slow. We already got a taste of the HD movies with these official productions, but as we noted then, they avoided certain camera movements which embarrass the camera somewhat. Not now! → Read More
The MGM Grand at Foxwoods is trying to make its foray into iPhone app store with the upcoming launch of a branded-iPhone app that aims to be one of the first casino branded-applications in the app store.
The casino says that the app will have a variety of MGM Grand at Foxwoods’-themed games which will asll use play money. I’m assuming these games will be a take on the standard casino activities-blackjack, slots, roulette etc. The game will simulate all the sights and sounds of an actual casino, trying to immerse users in the environment of the casino at Foxwoods. The app will also have a “resort experience” feature, which gives users the in-depth property tours, with the ability for users to visit Foxwoods hotel rooms, restaurants, retail shops, spas and more. You can also book spa appointments and read how-to guides on best strategies for various table games at the casino. → Read More
So this is a weird thing. It’s kind of like an electronic camp counselor and it’s called Swinxs. Kids wear RFID bracelets and then the box tells you to do stuff like run around and play hide and seek. You check in with the box by moving your RFID band near the box.
There are 25 games so far, most of which involve running around and then coming back to the box for further instructions. Parents can also make their own games including, presumably, my Dad’s old favorites, Go to the Store and Get Me Some Beer and This Is What You Get When You Spill Paint in the Garage. → Read More
Internet King and America’s news editor Matt Drudge is freaking out right now, complete with his trademark scare quotes. (I swear, you could probably write a thesis about how Drudge influences the American media.) There’s a bill that’s currently floating around the U.S. Senate that would, in times of emergency, put the Internet, in a sense, in control of the White House. And then the government will make you eat fruits and vegetables! Tyranny! → Read More
We are overwhelmed with the 168 responses to our “It’s A Meme! Get Photoshop Warmed Up And Win A Bing Tshirt” post where we asked you, the readers, to come up with a better photoshop hack job than Microsoft was able to do on their own marketing material.
One of the submissions will win a Bing tshirt and sticker. I originally said the winner would be selected by our summer interns, but we want to turn this into a poll. We’ve selected the six we like best, but you can write in your own as well. → Read More
Are you a privacy-minded person living in the Netherlands with at least $82,000 USD to spare? If so, quantum cryptography can be your’s today, thanks to a new partnership between Siemens and id Quantique! Siemes has a bunch of dark fiber it’s willing to sell to you for use with your shiny new id Quantique Cerberis quantum key distribution system.
As you all know, quantum cryptography key distribution uses light over fiber optic cables. In order to ensure that the key exchange occurs securely, you need dedicated fiber. And if, somehow, someone manages to peek in on your key exchange, the quantum properties of photons ensures that you’ll know about, since the very act of observing quantum events changes their outcomes. → Read More
Yeah, I don’t know why they made an another iPhone app either. It seems, after noticing B&R style clocks on the HTC Hero, that there is a real fetish for interface designers over these things. That’s the only way I can explain it. → Read More
Twitter is used for a lot of things these days, but this has to be one of my favorites. A 28-year-old guy named Justin has set up a Twitter account simply to tweet out random things his elderly father says. The title of the feed: “Shit My Dad Says.”
Apparently, I’m a bit slow stumbling upon this; even though it was only started at the beginning of August, Justin’s account for his 73-year-old father’s sayings already has over 150,000 followers. But I don’t care, it needs to be pointed out again how awesome this idea is. → Read More
When Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones set out to build the biggest, most elaborate, most expensive stadium in all the land, a ridiculously large video screen was, of course, on the list of things to purchase. The problem, however, is that the screen is so big and hangs so low to the ground — just 90 feet above the playing surface — that punts are going to be hitting the bottom of it all… season… long. → Read More
As a startup in the sports sphere, Citizen Sports has a simple, but annoying problem: They’re not ESPN. And it’s simply hard to compete with the name that has basically become synonymous with sports. Yahoo might be able to do it because, well, they’re Yahoo, but for a startup, it can be frustrating when, on many levels, you’re beating your competitors in innovation, but still trailing by so much.
That’s the basic gist I got after a meeting with Citizen Sports’ Jeffrey Ma and Brian Mead. The fact is that they are doing some innovative stuff in the space, but still getting overshadowed, and that means it can be hard to make meaningful money. For example, their fantasy sports options are hugely popular thanks to their Facebook app (Ma thinks they have a shot at being the overall number 3 fantasy option behind Yahoo and ESPN in the business), but this hasn’t translated into the types of ad deals that ESPN sees because they are able to leverage their television network, and Yahoo can leverage all its other properties. → Read More
We know with the economy the way it is, it’s tough to justify spending money on those luxury items that you want. And we want to help you out. That’s why we’ve teamed up with the Bing-loving people at The Watchery to bring you the chance to a very nice Movado dress watch, just for giving us a shout out on Twitter. Don’t worry, ladies: you can win a women’s model if we pick you. → Read More
• We’re running a special event consisting of an afternoon series of talks, pitches and discussions on September 24th in London, followed by a networking party in the evening. To find out more and promote your company on TechCrunch via sponsorship of this event please contact Petra Johansson on petra@twistedtree.co.uk. More details will be announced very soon. As always if you want to be the first to hear about upcoming TechCrunch Europe events, sign up to our events announcement list. • Also, on 2nd September TechCrunch Europe will be supporting the UKTI pitching training session in London. We need some more startups who’d like to learn how to pitch their company in 3 minutes. This event is free, because we just want you to get better at pitching your company. Shucks. Again, contact Petra Johansson on petra@twistedtree.co.uk for details. → Read More
If you think a waterproof remote control is a good idea, then you’re either clumsy, have kids, or you own a pool and around the pool there’s at least one TV and when people come over, they’re like “Holy smokes, you have an outdoor TV? By your pool, no less?!!” Oh, and you should probably live in Japan because that’s where these waterproof universal remotes from Sony will be available at first. → Read More
