News & Analysis
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The race to a “smart” television is over. Xbox won
Microsoft’s vision for television’s future looks a lot like the future of personal computers. The company today revealed the Xbox One, a combination Windows device, videogame console, and set-top box meant to inject Xbox — and Microsoft — into everything you might use a television for, whether it’s watching a football game, video-conferencing with family, playing games, or browsing... -
In biggest pan-industry push since SOPA, tech leaders get set for March for Innovation
Tomorrow, a consortium of tech-industry and political groups led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Partnership for a New American Economy will launch its March for Innovation, two days of virtual activism intended to help pass comprehensive immigration reform that is favorable to tech industry concerns. The social media-led push taking place on Wednesday May 22 and Thursday May…
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The importance of grit, rules, and discipline
I know a girl who, despite a flimsy record of personal achievement, has made a living out of being optimistic. People are so desperate to hear feel-good messages they pay her money to be told, “You’re special and you can do it!” Of course, this girl isn’t alone. The entire self improvement industry and what appears to be half of... -
In Oklahoma’s time of crisis, Sparkrelief is working to unify relief efforts
Monday afternoon a tornado ripped through Oklahoma claiming at least 24 lives and displacing thousands. One very modest non-profit organization assisting in relief efforts is Sparkrelief, which provides a unified information portal that aggregates data such as availability of food, water, shelter and medical treatment on a map during times of crisis. Sparkrelief’s founder Eli Hayes got the idea in 2010... -
Memo to this year’s YC class: It’s damn hard to build an enterprise company
Among VCs and entrepreneurs like myself, there’s a lot of talk about the recent pivot from consumer startups to enterprise software. It seems that many young founders have now decided they’d rather start the next Box, not the next Facebook. The shift to enterprise is a bit of the “tail wagging the dog.” The poor short-term performance of a few consumer IPOs like... -
What are the effects of RelayRides’ New York cease and desist?
Last week, the car-sharing marketplace RelayRides got hit with a cease and desist letter from the New York State Department of Financial Services for allegedly violating insurance law and false advertising. RelayRides, which lets car owners rent out their vehicles to strangers instead of letting their cars go unused, has suspended its service in the state indefinitely. The company says... -
Finally, a Lumia-like device unbound by Windows Phone
Who would have thought that the first Lumia-like device worth buying would be built by someone other than Nokia? The product line, which now includes both high-end and mid-range devices built on two different versions of the Windows Phone operating system, is known for its playful design, solid hardware and build quality, and stubborn commitment to the mobile-operating-system-that-couldn’t. Now,... -
How a Valley veteran found happiness and opportunity building tech in Mexico
When veteran entrepreneur Andy Kieffer tired of the Silicon Valley rat race, he didn’t move to Portland, Austin, San Diego, or any other family-friendly, up-and-coming startup ecosystem. He and his wife packed their home and their two small kids and moved to the last place anyone ever expected, Guadalajara, Mexico, with designs on building one from scratch. This was five... -
Yes, the Valley can be vacuous – but it’s more complicated than the New Yorker would have us believe
George Packer has a long story in this week’s New Yorker about Silicon Valley’s newfound zeal for politics. (The piece is so far available online only to subscribers.) In the wide-ranging piece, which is well worth a read, Packer examines the Valley’s libertarian streak, its historically uneasy, and at times disinterested, relationship with government, and the rise of the advocacy…
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The case against Shinichi Mochizuki as bitcoin’s “dance away genius”
Theodor (“Ted”) Holm Nelson, the man credited with conjuring the term “hypertext,” once told Wired magazine that four maxims have guided his life. “Most people are fools, most authority is malignant, God does not exist, and everything is wrong.” Nelson, an academic (he teaches a class at the University of California at Santa Cruz) is known for grand... -
Swipely raises another $12m from tiny Rhode Island
Payment processing company Swipely is announcing a $12 million series B today. That’s a nice chunk of change for any company, but it’s particularly nice for one based in the not-so-techy-hot-bed of Rhode Island. For investor Josh Kopelman, the underdog location is part of what made the deal attractive…at least to him. The round was lead by Shasta Ventures, with... -
Is influencer marketing over? Here’s another pivot, this time from Wahooly
For a hot minute there, it felt like “influencers,” loosely defined as anyone with a respectable number of Twitter followers, were the future of marketing. Thanks to the democratizing ways of the Web, anyone with a Twitter handle suddenly has a voice and an audience. We saw how quickly bad behavior by companies (ahem, airlines, cable companies) spread through social... -
ServiceMax’s SaaS platform could make training technicians and replacing software a thing of the past
America has more than 5 million field service workers that maintain, repair, and replace the equipment we count on each and every day. The vast majority of these employees rely on paper, carbon copies, and clipboards to manage their field operations. ServiceMax is changing this with its mobile field service management platform that has helped its more than 200... -
You are your data: The scary future of the quantified self movement
Few if any consumers who fell behind on their credit card payments in the early 2000s thought that half a decade later employers would use their credit report to determine their job worthiness. Few avid social media users must have realized that insurance companies, the IRS, law enforcement, and credit agencies would soon use their their data to investigate fraud,... -
The new Flickr: Biggr, Spectaculr, Wherevr
Flickr received significant updates today, with the Yahoo-owned (and killed) property announcing that it will offer users 1 terabyte of free storage, enable full-resolution sharing across its website and applications, and release new applications for Android smartphones and tablets. The photo-sharing service is maybe, finally relevant again — or that’s what Yahoo hopes, anyway. The rise of mobile...
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No, USV did not get a 5000% return on Tumblr
Earlier today, Crain’s cited a PrivCo report stating that Union Square Ventures got a 5000% return on its Tumblr investment. It also said that employees #31 through #178 received $371,000 apiece. But in a comment on a Hacker News post, Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson calls the numbers “total garbage.” [Source: Hacker News via ShortFormBlog]
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Nutella will not shut down fan's "Nutella Day"
Earlier today, there were reports that Ferrero, the makers of the delicious chocolate hazelnut spread Nutella, sent a cease-and-desist order to one of its biggest fans because she had the audacity to throw a World Nutella Day event. The company, realizing it’s usually not a good idea to sue your biggest fans, has now worked out an arrangement where World Nutella Day can exist without threat of litigation. [Source: Techdirt]
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Video proof Snapchat doesn't delete photos
A YouTube user named Nick Keck uploaded a video of himself locating supposedly “deleted” Snapchat photos sent to him. Did he need sophisticated software or hacking skills? Nope, just an app called iFile and a smartphone. [Source: Nick Keck via Motherboard]
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Times makes developer take down Snow Fall replica
Developer and Scrollkit founder Cody Brown created a “replica” of Snow Fall along with a video to show other news organizations how making something like it perhaps isn’t as difficult as it looks. The New York Times wasn’t pleased, sending a cease-and-desist letter followed by (and this is the ridiculous part) a second letter asking that Brown remove the following phrase from his website: “The NYT spent hundreads of hours hand-coding ‘Snow Fall.; We made a replica in an hour.” [Source: Cody Brown]
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PopExpert raises $2 million for its video teaching marketplace
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The race to a "smart" television is over. Xbox won
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March for Innovation: What you need to know
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Former Yahoo exec joins the Tribune company
Shashi Seth, a former top product executive at Yahoo, has joined the Tribune Company as president of digital ventures. He will be based in Silicon Valley and report to CEO Peter Liguori. [Source: AllThingsD]
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Airbnb host fined $2,400
New York City officials originally asked Nigel Warren to pay $7,000 for violating a law that makes it illegal for New York residents to rent out their properties for less than 29 days. A judge dismissed building and zoning code violations, and so lowered the fine to $2,400. [Source: CNET]
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WedPics raises $1.1 million
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based social network specializes in photo sharing for wedding pictures. Participants in the funding round include former Redhat CEO Bob Young and Reverbnation co-founder Jed Carlson. [Source: The Next Web]
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The importance of grit, rules, and discipline
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CharityBuzz auctions chance to pitch to your favorite VC
Weeks after a massively successful auction for a cup of coffee with Tim Cook, Charity Buzz is now aiming right at the heart of Silicon Valley. Up for auction is the chance for people to pitch their favorite VC, with a VC all-stars lineup including like Tim Draper. [Source: VentureBeat]
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Amprius has developed a battery that lasts 25% longer
Venture-backed Amprius revealed today that it has developed a battery for smartphones and tablets that can hold a charge for 25% longer than any other battery out there. The company will be providing the new batteries to unnamed smartphone and tablet OEMs. [Source: GigaOm]
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In Oklahoma’s time of crisis, Sparkrelief is working to unify relief efforts
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Internet Archive nabs $1M donation
The Internet Archive is working on a project to collect and index all broadcasts since the beginning of television. To help with this, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation have donated $1 million. [Source: paidContent]
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XBox 360 games are not compatible with XBox One
Today marks the reveal of Microsoft’s latest gaming console, the XBox One. At the unveiling, Microsoft disclosed that due to a different chip architecture the One won’t have native compatibility with XBox 360 games. [Source: CNET]
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Jamba Juice and PayPal unroll “order ahead” feature
PayPal and Jamba Juice are expanding their partnership with a new mobile feature. Now customers can place orders on their phones and pay with PayPal ahead of pickup. [Source: AllThingsD]
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France Telecom to invest 30 and 50 million euros in Dailymotion
France Telecom has disclosed its plans to invest up to 50 million euros in its video-sharing website Dailymotion. While rumors of Yahoo buying a stake in the company persist, France Tel claims “the door is not closed.” [Source: Reuters]
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Best Buy reports another quarterly loss
Best Buy has reported its quarterly earnings, showing another revenue loss. Online sales, however, have improved. [Source: AllThingsD]
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It's damn hard to build an enterprise company
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Intel taps former Apple and Palm executive for new devices unit
After news that Intel is spearheading a new devices unit, word has come that the unit will be led by Mike Bell. Bell, who’s been working at Intel’s mobile chip business, has also worked at both Apple and Palm. [Source: AllThingsD]
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“The U.S. court system is currently structured in such a way that it’s currently difficult to get the protections a technology company needs, because the cycle is very long.”
— Apple CEO Tim Cook, on the United States' intellectual property protection environment
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Sprint raises its Clearwire bid
Sprint has raised its bid for Clearwire 14% at the very last minute, in the hopes of getting the shareholders’ approval. After news of the upped bid, Clearwater decided to postpone the stockholder meeting until May 30. [Source: GigaOm]
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Change.org raises $15M in additional funding
Online petitioning platform Change.org has scored $15 million in new funding. This latest round was led by Omidyar Network. [Source: VentureBeat]
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Apple’s brand value is still on top
Despite its stocks taking a huge hit over the last few months, Apple’s brand value continues to dominate. According to an analysis by MarketingWeek, Apple is still the world’s number one brand, and its brand value has increased year-over-year. [Source: BGR]
