Internet telephony giant Skype may well have a significant security issue on its hands, TechCrunch has learned.
Someone claims to have reverse-engineered the proprietary encryption protocols Skype has put in place to prevent developers from building their own Skype desktop clients or Web-based services based on the company’s in-house technology. If this checks out, this basically means the walls… → Read More
As we’re postponing The Europas Awards for tech companies in Europe until after the Summer (sign up here to get news on that) we’re instead holding an event we’re calling “TechCrunch Summer Pitch Battle”.
It is on July 14 in London, 6.30pm at the new co-working space for startups, TechHub, Ground Floor, 76-80 City Rd, right by Old Street tube station.
Here’s how it will work: → Read More
Do you remember a time when rocking an Android phone was all you needed for serious geek cred? Do you long for those days and all the fame that you garnered?
Well — pre-supposing you already own a Nexus One — you’ll be pleased to know that said phone can now run not just the geek’s choice of phone OS, but also the geek’s choice of PC OS: Linux. → Read More
Look at your pants right now. No, really, look at them. If you’re anything at all like me (and if you are, you have my condolences), you’re probably rocking a ratty-yet-comfortable pair of jeans. Now, if your phone is looking as crummy as your pants, and you happen to fall into the center of that Venn diagram up there, then you’re in luck — American Eagle has got just the promotion for… → Read More
And we get yet another batch of 3D-enabled gadgets – this time from Sony. The company today announced three new Cyber-shot cameras, two of which feature the 3D sweep panorama function the cameras from the NEX series now also have (the function allows you to sweep the camera from side to side to capture a high-speed burst of 100 frames, which are then automatically stitched together). → Read More
There’s good news for venture fundraising this morning. Following the recessionary drought of fundraising for venture funds in 2009, the amount raised has increased by 13 percent in the first quarter of 2010, with 72 funds raising $7.5 billion according to Dow Jones LP Source. For the same period last year, 68 funds raised $6.6 billion. Of course, this year’s raise is still half of what venture… → Read More
In a small Hamburg court room, something special has happened – at least when it comes to the legal parameters of people search applications on the web.
The ligitator, a young woman, sued 123people. Specifically its German web property 123people.de, which has recently been sold to Pages Jaunes Groupe, for showing a photo of herself on its landing page. The court, however, declared the defendant… → Read More
The9, a Chinese online game developer, has made an undisclosed minority equity investment in Aurora Feint, the company behind OpenFeint, a social gaming network for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
The news comes a couple of months after The9 announced that it had acquired a majority interest in US-based Red 5 Studios for a total of approx. $20 million. → Read More
I’m dismayed to see journalists continue to be punished, even fired, for expressing their opinions on the things they cover. Yesterday CNN terminated Octavia Nasr over a tweet praising a late Hezbollah leader. Last month Helen Thomas was forced to resign over statements about Israel. Last year the Washington Post put restraints on journalists from expressing opinions on social networks “that could… → Read More
A couple of weeks ago, the first trailer for the upcoming Facebook movie, The Social Network, hit the Web. Well lo and behold, a couple of hours ago the second trailer was released (embedded below). Remember, you saw it here first 
The apocalyptic score remains, and the audio cuts from the movie you hear in the teaser are largely the same as in the first trailer, but this time conversations are… → Read More
Doodle doot do do doot! SMB sidewalk is SMB on the sidewalk Solar Impulse, the solar-powered airplane, tries to fly 24 hours M.I.A.’s Maya album rails against YouTube, Google, & the iPhone (& the Government, of course) You too can make a book-lamp out of a book and a lamp Life in a Day: The crowd-sourced documentary about your life on Planet Earth, as produced by Ridley Scott → Read More
If you’ve watched television at all over the past two months, you’ve likely seen the trailer for Inception, the new film by Christopher Nolan. The trailer is great, and the film looks like it could be even better. In it, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a special agent whose job it is to construct dreams in order to lure people inside and take their ideas — a tactic they call “inception”.
“An idea… → Read More
It may seem strange to review a beanbag chair, but as I discovered, there are bean bag chairs, and then there are bean bag chairs. The Sumo Lounge Sway Couple definitely falls into the latter category, and could make most people rethink what a beanbag chair can be. The end result is a really comfortable chair that’s constructed with modern materials, and is a quality product that is ideal for a… → Read More
For all the grief Google gets for not understanding social networks, people often forget that it owns a pretty big one, Orkut. While Orkut is much smaller than Facebook worldwide, it does dominate in at least two large countries: Brazil and India. But that soon may change.
India looks like it is about to fall to Facebook. In May, 2010, Facebook attracted 18 million unique visitors in India… → Read More
Some people like to put tattoos on their body, others like to put Coveroos on their phones. Coveroo puts a custom engraving on the back of your mobile phone or case. The company just closed a Series B funding, led by Rembrandt Venture Partners. Consor Capital and CEO Karl Jacob also put in some money.
About 18 months ago, Coveroo rose from the ashes of Wallop, a defunct social networking site… → Read More
While the airplane has historically been a break from the rat race, a place where you sit, drink complimentary drinks, and stare out the window, at some point we must bow to progress. Airlines around the US are racing to equip their fleets with WiFi (though few flyers are availing themselves of the service), but Cathay Pacific seems to be outdoing them all at a stroke.
In-flight GSM calling and … → Read More
Comparison shopping site NexTag has acquired product recommendation research engine Wize. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Launched in 2006, Wize lets consumers search for reviews on electronics, home goods, video games, health products and more. It searches shopping sites with user reviews, such as Amazon and BestBuy, as well as expert reviews from traditional product review… → Read More
IMAX, the company that makes really big movie screens and projectors to match, is winning the movie wars. The company hit earnings of $115 million this quarter, up 37% since last year. Avatar gave them a huge boost last quarter but grosses are still up especially with 3D movies like Toy Story 3 and Iron Man 2 bringing in the audiences. → Read More
When I saw this picture, I thought there must be some kind of really clever thing going on, or a custom made flat LED strip, or a… no. It’s a tiny CFL lamp stuck in a book which has had many of its pages cut out. I was kind of hoping for more, but to be honest, simple can be good sometimes as well. Full instructions here. Bonus points for using light-related book titles &mdash… → Read More
We’re hearing that Facebook and Malaysian payments company MOL Global will be holding a press conference shortly to announce a significant new partnership around gaming and payments in Asia. MOL, you may recall, was in the news when it acquired Friendster earlier this year.
The press conference is being held in Kuala Lumpur and will begin shortly, we’re told. Update: Press release below: → Read More
Oh man. I want these so bad. I want them more than the Wings and the X-Wings combined. I don’t often gush about fashion, but I just think these are unbelievably cool. Also, they are associated with Han Solo, who is one of my personal heroes (the others being Carl Sagan and Captain America). Available this fall, likely for way too much money. [via High Snobiety, Fashionably Geek, and The… → Read More
Now this is exciting. If you visit Top Gear’s Web site, you’ll notice a story about the record-breaking Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. Look closer, though, and you’ll find a not-too-subtle hint that the guys from the best show on TV (well, that and Louie on FX) are somehow involved. → Read More
This is a guest post by Franz Enzenhofer (Xing), the SEO manager for tupalo.com. He’s an SEO expert who’s previously worked with Bwin.com, the Austrian Press Agency, 123people.com, tripwolf.com, dealhamster.com. He believes startups should absolutely link to their competition, and benefit from it. Here’s why.
Crisis! Oh great, the financial crisis is just behind us and we are already in the next… → Read More
And now Nasa hates the Jabulani. Wonderful. I suppose Nasa has nothing better to do now that it has less money than your little sister has in her piggy bank. The former space agency says that the ball becomes “unpredictable” at speeds greater than 44 mph, and that the high altitude that many of the games were played only exacerbates the problem. → Read More
Yesterday, in a small Hamburg court room, something special happened – at least when it comes to the legal parameters of people search applications on the web.
The ligitator, a young woman, sued 123people. Specifically its German web property 123people.de, which has recently been sold to Pages Jaunes Groupe, for showing a photo of herself on its landing page. The court, however, declared the… → Read More
Just in time to make the HM3 I wore obsolete, MB&F has just announced the HM4 Thunderbolt, a unique “aviation-inspired” piece that is just about the coolest thing ever. → Read More
The idea of kitting out an iPhone with such a huge lens is at once whimsical and potentially useful, but people shouldn’t get carried away. A lens might be a fun accessory, but remember what we learned about optics and sensors. Every image, no matter what lens is on there, will have to pass through the iPhone’s significantly lower-quality lens eventually, and ends up hitting a microscopic sensor… → Read More
The wait is finally over: episode two of TechCrunch TV’s new show OMG/JK is here. What’s that? You have no idea what this nonsensical jumble of letters means? Can’t blame you — we didn’t do a proper introduction last week, though the first thrilling episode is still available in its entirety right here.
For those of you who are just joining the party, OMG/JK features TechCrunch writer MG… → Read More
Firefox personas, if you didn’t know, allow you to theme the browser without munging up the placement of buttons or other browser elements. It was originally an extension, but Mozilla baked the features of the Personas extension directly into version 3.6 of the browser. Neat, except that updates to the personas feature were then tied irrevocably to browser updates. And Mozilla has a few… → Read More
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