March 30, 2016
This week, two amateur astronomers released footage of an impact event on Jupiter. The separate observations, one in Austria and one in Ireland, show a brief, small flash of light…
Sure, why not? FBI agrees to unlock iPhone for Arkansas prosecutor
The FBI, which just a few days ago was attempting to convince the country of its helplessness in the face of encrypted iPhones, has generously offered its assistance in unlocking…
‘Ryan’s Law’ proposed to allow you to cancel Comcast online with one click
Today in local news, Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Gatto has introduced a bill that would allow Californians to cancel their Internet or cable services online with ‘one click’. The bill, which…
As a former patent examiner, I recognize that the patent system, in its purest form, should protect and incentivize innovation through a limited-term contract, offering exclusive monopoly rights covering a…
Dyson’s new purifier fan purportedly tackles the problem of home air quality
“Fresh air” is a concept most often associated with the “great outdoors”. Dyson is looking to make your home nature fresh by ridding it of indoor pollutants with the Pure…
Here’s what happened at Microsoft’s Build keynote
[tc_aol_on code=”519616235″] We’ve been at Microsoft’s Build conference all day, getting up close and personal with the latest and greatest from Microsoft. With announcements about Xbox, Cortana, Windows 10, new…
Teardown of Oculus Rift finds good design that’s somehow relatively easy to repair
When a new category of gadget appears, it’s understandable when the vanguard devices aren’t the most well designed, or are resistant to disassembly and repair. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to…
Sat-nav? More like stab-nav: RedZone routes you around the shady part of town
Most mapping companies are pretty good at getting you from point A to point B. They usually optimize for the quickest or shortest route, but rarely take into account the…
Scientists create living ‘insect-computer hybrid’ with user-adjustable speed and gait
“Nature’s ready-made robot platforms.” That’s how a new paper from researchers at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University describe insects — it’s excellent shorthand for the level of “playing god” we have…
Citizen scientists, you can now DIY your own DNA analysis with Bento Lab
Want to know if you have the “athlete gene” or if you’re actually related to the weirdos who claim you as a family member? Get your collection tubes ready, citizen…
Branch.co raises $9.2 million to bring financial services where banks don’t go
San Francisco-based Branch International, or Branch.co, raised $9.2 million to bring digital financial services to mobile phone users in Sub-Saharan Africa. Andreessen Horowitz led the Series A round. Branch’s free-to-download…
Quora’s first acquisition is Arab Spring instigator’s Q&A site Parlio
“Ex-con” isn’t normally something you find on a founder’s resume. But Google employee Wael Ghonim went to jail for sparking the Egyptian Revolution. Now he might be wearing some golden…
Imgur’s Sarah Schaaf on building online communities
[tc_aol_on code=”519615517″] This week on Bullish, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the queen of Imgur, a.k.a. Sarah Schaaf, head of community at Imgur. We talked about IRL…
Is Tony Fadell In Nest’s Way?
In an article in The Information, Fadell said that he didn’t think Dropcam cofounder and CEO Greg Duffy had “earned” the right to report to him directly. Fadell also explained away an exodus of Dropcam staffers by suggesting…
It’s easy to get caught up in the new, cool thing aspect of transportation tech and apps, but there’s some real social benefit and freedom to be found here. Take,…
Microsoft is bringing bots to Skype — and everywhere else
Microsoft’s recently launched, A.I.-powered bot Tay may have embarrassed the company when Twitter users taught the machine how to be racist, but Microsoft hasn’t given up on the future of…
In case you thought the recently and abruptly terminated fracas in San Bernardino was an isolated incident, the ACLU has put together a handy map of cases around the country…
Launching a new service, fragrance subscription provider Scentbird feathers its nest with $2.8 million
Scentbird, the subscription-based service for perfumes and colognes, has added another $2.8 million in venture funding to its $1 million seed round as it launches a new service that expands…
On a recent episode of our podcast we spoke about the VR industry with Matt Hartman, director of seed investments at Betaworks. When evaluating VR companies, Hartman looks for whether…
Startup studio Expa has today announced the close of a $100 million fund that will go toward both Expa Studios and Expa Labs, a new incubator. Investors in the fund…
The power of the cloud is a bit fuzzy to most of us, but Microsoft wants to improve that by giving developers a series of API tools it has dubbed…
Apple launches Safari Technology Preview, a new browser aimed at web developers
Apple today announced it’s expanding its efforts in the area of web development, with the launch of a new version of its Safari web browser, designed specifically for developers. Called Safari…
Microsoft introduces the Desktop App Converter for bringing Win32 apps to the Windows Store
In an announcement met by hoots and hollers from the developers at Build, Microsoft introduced the ‘Centennial’ desktop app converter. With this, developers can convert their Win32 and .NET apps…
Dating app Boompi lets women invite friends to eavesdrop and comment on private messages
Boompi starts off by following the now well-trodden Tinder-esque location-based dating path. But here’s the clincher: Women on the app can invite friends to eavesdrop and secretly comment on their…
Microsoft extends its Windows Hello login security features to apps and the web
Being able to log in to an app with the help of the fingerprint scanner is quickly becoming a standard feature on mobile. But while Windows PCs and laptops have long…
Microsoft’s Cortana personal assistant competes against the likes of Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and the unnamed mystery voice behind Google Now. It’s part of a new wave of services that…
Microsoft now lets you turn any Xbox One into a development kit
The Xbox One is about to become a far more interesting (and accessible) platform for indie game developers — and regular users will soon be able to use their console…
Microsoft is bringing the Bash shell to Windows 10
Here is an announcement from Microsoft Build you probably didn’t see coming: Microsoft today announced that it is bringing the GNU project’s Bash shell to Windows. Bash (Bourne Again SHell) has…
Microsoft is bringing improved pen support to Windows 10
Windows 10 and early versions of Windows have long supported pen input. For the most part, though, that support was relegated to specific apps. As the company announced at its Build developers conference…