If you’re not into trading currencies and commodities (who isn’t?), you may not know much about eToro. We first covered them in 2007 when they launched with the somewhat dubious goal of making commodities trading “fun.” But since then they’ve come a long way: users have traded over $100 billion on eToro to date and the company has raised over $10 million in capital. What’s not fun about that?
But… → Read More
Facebook has often been criticised in the UK for not having a child safety ‘panic button’ and while a few media outlets are reporting today that it has launched one, the reality is somewhat different. What Facebook is launching is a tailor-made marketing application and campaign for a government body which till now had no presence at all on the social network. That’s quite a different thing… → Read More
If you follow Jobs-related news closely (and I have reason to believe that you do, dear reader) then you might have chuckled with cruel mirth at that man’s recent comparison of Blu-ray to “one of the high end audio formats that appeared as the successor to the CD.” Those with extensive SACD collections will consider that a compliment, but the other 99.9% of us felt the sting. The music industry… → Read More
Amazon’s looking to hook ‘em while they’re young. The online retailer has launched a program for college students — appropriately called Amazon Students — that offers a free one-year subscription to its premium Amazon Prime service, which normally runs $79 a year. The program also promises exclusive deals and promotions. To join, you’ll need to have an .edu email address and be enrolled in… → Read More
Spain now have a star on their shirt. I’m not exaggerating when I say that my limbs were numb and my mouth was dry during yesterday’s World Cup final. I was truly a hot mess. Moving on… It’s now time for all publications to run their World Cup retrospectives, and since we barely qualify as a publication it’s time for ours. Well, mine; nobody else on staff could name a single player from… → Read More
Facebook is steadily converting partners like Zynga away from their home grown payment product to Facebook Credits. And to date there’s just one alternative for users who want to complete offers like getting a Netflix subscribtion in exchange for Farmville credits, or whatever – Trialpay. Offerpal, one of the largest offer providers, is responding to that decision. With layoffs.
In an open letter… → Read More
As the great race to become America’s favorite source of full-length TV and movie streams gets underway, two of the favorites in that race are Hulu and Netflix. Hulu has a fairly large headstart. It is the No. 2 video site in the U.S after YouTube, and serves more than 1 billion videos a month. Meanwhile, Netflix, which is constantly adding to its catalog of streaming movies, only just broke… → Read More
Want a Kindle? Let me suggest that you head over to Amazon and pick up the refurb model for only $109. That’s right, $109 for a refurbished Kindle 2. That’s a $30 price cut from the previous level. This lower price should kill any doubt that a new Kindle isn’t in the works. [Amazon via Kindle Review] → Read More
This morning Google officially unveiled App Inventor for Android, giving non-developer Android users the ability to build their own applications using a visual, puzzle-like interface. I’ve been playing around with the tool all morning (more on that soon), and noticed that one set of Components allows users to seamlessly integrate Twitter functionality. As far as I can tell this is the only… → Read More
No worries, guys, because Microsoft is “hardcore” about tablets. Well, “hardcore” about Windows 7-based slate computers. So said Steve Ballmer at its Worldwide Partners Conference in Seattle. Microsoft says that its big strength here is that it consumers will have a wide variety of choice when it comes to buying a Windows-based tablet. That’s opposed, of course, to a certain other company’s tablet… → Read More
Man, its been a long time since we’ve had an episode of Good news, Bad news around these parts. You know what that means?
IT’S GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS TIME!
The Good News: After a few months of radio silence, Droid Eris owners might have an update to look forward to!
The Bad News: …. → Read More
Spotify has been released for Linux. As of today, a Penguin-friendly version of the streaming music service is available as a preview, although we still don’t seem any closer to the much-rumored U.S. launch.
According to an official blog post, the Linux version was built by developers at the company “during hack days and late nights”, and shares most of the same features as the Windows and Mac OS… → Read More
Popular stream reader TweetDeck turned two on July 4th, and founder Iain Dodsworth just put up a post giving an update on the company’s progress. Tweetdeck now employs 15 people and recently raised more than $3 million in a series B round, led by betaworks. The company’s product started out as a Twitter client, but now supports multiple streams, including Facebook, Foursquare, Google Buzz… → Read More
No, this aircraft most certainly isn’t as green as the Solar Impulse, but that doesn’t mean it’s not pretty amazing. It’s called, quite modestly, Taranis. It costs around $214 million, and it’s pretty much the pinnacle of stealth flight. → Read More
I get the feeling that AT&T hates me. That’s okay, I’m not too fond of them either. But despite that, they’re usually still pretty good about getting back to me about certain questions I have. That’s why I’m confused as to why I’m not hearing a peep about the 3G MicroCells they’re apparently giving away for free to some customers.
When the report first broke over the weekend, I immediately… → Read More
Just a quick PSA for the development-minded folks in the audience: following up on the “tech preview” release of the Windows Phone 7 development tools back in March, Microsoft has just pushed things into Beta mode. So, what does that mean? To most people, not a whole lot. To developers, it means it’s time to start developing WP7 games and apps without having to worry quite as… → Read More
With just about everyone else in the smartphone world churning out handset after handset, RIM has been relatively quiet lately. They’re not trying to hide the reason, though: they’re working hard on BlackBerry OS 6.0, and they want people to know it. They’ve just released a second preview video of their brand new operating system, and this one is just oh, oh so much better than… → Read More
Yesterday, I broke down Apple’s minute-long FaceTime commercial for iPhone 4, noting how it seemed almost as if Don Draper from the hit AMC show Mad Men had created it. Now Apple has four other 30-second spots for the iPhone 4 that it has just put into rotation on national television. And yes, they’re all about FaceTime too.
The four spots are titled, “Smile,” “Meet Her,” “Haircut,” and “Big… → Read More
Late last week, mobile communication services provider fring released an updated iPhone app that enabled iPhone 4 owners to engage in unrestricted 2-way video calling over Wi-Fi or 3G internet with other iPhone, Android or Symbian devices. This garnered a lot of attention, mainly because Apple’s native FaceTime application works only over Wi-Fi and between iPhone users.
Hours after its release… → Read More
I’ve always believed that computers, in a general sense, are not a panacea for developing nations. By slapping a laptop down on the desk of every student in Africa or Brazil you’re doing little more than forcing that kid to learn to type and then offering him or her the opportunity to look at porn. Without proper supervision and education, the Internet and, to some extent, computing itself is a… → Read More
EcoMotors announced today a $23.5 million series B funding round from Khosla Ventures and Bill Gates that the company will use to build and test its eco-friendly engine, known as an Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder (OPOC) engine.
EcoMotors makes engines that run on diesel or gasoline but have greater power density, weigh less and produce lower carbon emissions than conventional engines. OPOC… → Read More
THQ is excited about the Nintendo 3DS, but not because it may open up new gameplay possibilities. Heavens no. THQ is excited about the Nintendo 3DS because it will help forestall the effects of piracy, at least for a little while. You know what else would discourage piracy? Creating good games. Just an idea. → Read More
This is a guest post by Richard Leyland, an entrepreneur and writer with a particular focus on the future of work. Richard is also the founder of WorkSnug, the location-based service for mobile workers.
Last year I founded a tech company in the augmented reality space. We’re doing pretty well. What began as me, an idea and a laptop is now a company with five people, plus a small army of… → Read More
The blogosphere has been abuzz with word that Google may be developing a social network after Digg CEO Kevin Rose tweeted a few weeks ago that he’d heard a “huge rumor” that Google was planning to launch a Facebook competitor called “Google Me.” Adam D’Angelo, founder of Q&A service Quora, then claimed on his own that this is a real project for Google. And Google CEO Eric Schmidt … → Read More
Viola Private Equity, an Israeli buyout and growth capital technology fund, is injecting $17 million into Adsmarket, a global performance-based advertising network based in Tel Aviv.
An affiliate of Viola Group, an investment consortium with nearly $2 billion under management, the PE fund will hold 21% of Adsmarket’s shares, valuing the company at $80 million pre-money. → Read More
Have an iPad laying around after its novelty wore off? I completely understand. Let me suggest you install an SNES emulator that works nicely with a Wii Remote. Sounds fun, right? It only takes a few minutes to jailbreak the iPad and install the apps anyway. Click through for the instructional video. → Read More
Apple might have some amazing marketing for the iPhone 4 and it thinks that it can sweep the phone’s antenna reception issues under the rug, but Consumer Reports isn’t buying it. And it is recommending that consumers don’t buy the phone either.
After testing three different phones by its own engineers in its “radio frequency isolation chamber” (it sounds like something out of the 1950s, and the… → Read More
Gaming is 3D’s only hope in reaching mainstream adaption. Hollywood has yet to put out any 3D movie that sells besides Avatar and that title alone is not going to cut it. However, even without a wide range of content, Ubisoft feels that most households will have a 3D TV by 2013 anyway. I’m doubtful. → Read More
Samsung was the first big company to warn us about some of the dangers associated with 3D technology, and now Sony has added its two cents. That said, the new guidelines, issued in an updated Terms of Service, aren’t as alarmist as you may think. The gist is that some people may experience discomfort when viewing simulated 3D images, so if you find yourself feeling uncomfortable watching said… → Read More
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