Girl Talk (real name Gregg Gillis) is one of a few musicians that have turned to payments startup Gumroad for album and track sales. Rapper David Banner is using the platform to raise $2 million from his fans. Assuming at least some of those people are interested in a payments platform that is easier to use than PayPal this could be a big move for Gumroad.
[Source: The Verge]
Reports are now beginning to come in about user experience with Google Glass. One user found that the wearable device was too creepy and made those around him feel uncomfortable. [Source: BGR]
“As an entrepreneur, you have to rely on luck. Honestly, being an entrepreneur, in my opinion, is 95 percent luck; four percent knowing when to recognize it; and one percent hard work. I mean, that’s the equation.”
Electric car company Better Place is reportedly planning to file for bankruptcy in the next few days. According to Fortune, over the last seven months the company has seen two CEOs come and go. [Source: Fortune]
UK network EE has confirmed that the HTC First — also known as the Facebook Phone — will not be available in the United Kingdom. According to Forbes this is so that Facebook can increase the customization experience of its Home screen before it gets released across the pond. [Source: Forbes]
Erply, a startup that makes iPad-oriented and cloud-based software for retailers, has raised $2.15 million Series B. Funding was led by Redpoint Ventures. [Source: TechCrunch]
Yahoo has entered into the bidding storm for video streaming site Hulu. According to AllThingsD, other possible contenders placing bids for the company include DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, and Guggenheim Digital. [Source: AllThingsD]
According to a French firm that specializes in camera optics, the camera inside Samsung’s Galaxy S4 smartphone outperforms the iPhone 5 and Nokia’s Lumia 920. The iPhone 5, however, is better than Samsung for video. [Source: BGR]
Amazon today launched a service aimed toward developers called App Engagement Reports. The reports are aimed to help developers track app performance and revenue. [Source: TechCrunch]
In 2011, cloud-based human resources software company SuccessFactors was acquired by German software giant SAP. Today it’s been announced that SuccessFactor’s CEO Lars Dalgaard is leaving his post to become an investor. [Source: AllThingsD]
Microsoft debuted some ads this week for its tablets that weren’t too kind to Apple’s iPad. Now Apple defenders are complaining about the misperceptions being put forth in the ads. [Source: CNNMoney]
Whose Twitter has the SEA hacked this time? British broadcaster ITV’s new Twitter feed has reportedly been compromised. The company now claims the account has been re-secured. [Source: Reuters]
Foursquare announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Gnip, giving them access to all its data. The company says, however, that Gnip will only be getting the raw information (location, time, date), and that no personal information will be shared. [Source: VentureBeat]
Intellectual Ventures announced today a patent licensing agreement with Salesforce.com. The agreement, which IV’s first agreement in cloud computing, gives Salesforce access to 40,000 of IV’s patents and patent applications. [Source: GeekWire]
HP has announced that John McMullen will be retiring from his treasurer role after 32 years with the company. Replacing him is Jim Murren, a former senior VP and general manager in the Enterprise services business. [Source: AllThingsD]
Nest, the automated “smart” thermostat makers, have just unveiled an app for Google Glass. The app allows you to change the temperature with your voice, as well as tell the app when you plan on coming home. [Source: VentureBeat]
Facebook’s former global head of brand design Paul Adams has joined the team at Intercom as head of product design. Intercom is a startup that tracks customer interactions for businesses and uses the data to make more personalized messages. [Source: TechCrunch]
The Xbox One, the latest videogame console — if you can call it that — from Microsoft, will allow users to play games and assume control from their friends (to help with a difficult level, say) via Skype, Polygon reports. The report also states that Xbox One will talk back to users, becoming more and more like Siri or Google Now.
[Source: Polygon]
Verizon has launched a “Verizon Cloud” application on the iPhone, AppleInsider reports. The service costs between $2.99 and $9.99 per month, and is essentially an iCloud replacement that uses Verizon’s servers instead of Apple’s.
[Source: AppleInsider]
Intel may have scored its biggest win in the mobile sector with rumors indicating that its next-gen Atom chip, Clover Trail, will be featured in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 tablet. If true, the company would have beaten out rival NVidia’s Tegra chip and Samsung’s own Exynos processor. [Source: VentureBeat]
The exodus of senior talent from VMWare continues, with two executives joining Redpoint Ventures as entrepreneurs in residence (EIR). The latest defectors are Chief Technology Officer – SaaS and Application Services Javier Soltero and Sr. Director R&D Kevin Henrikson. [Source: TechCrunch]
There’s a bidding war going on around Hulu. Four parties have submitted bids including Former News Corp president Peter Chernin, Guggenheim Digital Media, DirecTV, and Time Warner Cable. Despite rumors that Yahoo may have been interested, the company’s recent $1.1 billion Tumblr acquisition likely takes it out of the mix. The only known valuation is Chernin’s bid of $500 million plus an assumption of Hulu’s existing debt. [Source: Bloomberg]
You are your data: The scary future of the quantified self movement
The new Flickr: Biggr, Spectaculr, Wherevr
Yahoo didn’t buy Tumblr. They bought Tumblr’s market position
Google closes Checkout, pushing thousands of merchants into Braintree’s arms
Pass the pipe: Gawker’s “Crackstarter” is skeezy but potentially significant
Sorry, NYC, Tumblr selling to Yahoo was not the “win” we needed
On the outskirts of the Maker Faire
Why Yahoo’s track record with acquisitions isn’t relevant to Tumblr
Writers should be paid
Don’t confuse Google’s ubiquity for openness
NextGuide Web launches. Can it possibly be a discovery powerhouse?
Minbox: The way file-sharing should work
Former MySpace and NASA security exec raises $700k, launches Prevoty to defend websites against malicious user code
Yahoo buys Tumblr and Mayer “promises not to screw it up” like past deals
Forget armchair activism, new app Buycott helps people shop with a conscience
PopExpert raises $2 million for its video teaching marketplace
The race to a “smart” television is over. Xbox won
In biggest pan-industry push since SOPA, tech leaders get set for March for Innovation
The importance of grit, rules, and discipline
In Oklahoma’s time of crisis, Sparkrelief is working to unify relief efforts
Memo to this year’s YC class: It’s damn hard to build an enterprise company
What are the effects of RelayRides’ New York cease and desist?
Finally, a Lumia-like device unbound by Windows Phone
How a Valley veteran found happiness and opportunity building tech in Mexico
Yes, the Valley can be vacuous – but it’s more complicated than the New Yorker would have us believe
The case against Shinichi Mochizuki as bitcoin’s “dance away genius”
Swipely raises another $12m from tiny Rhode Island
Is influencer marketing over? Here’s another pivot, this time from Wahooly
ServiceMax’s SaaS platform could make training technicians and replacing software a thing of the past
Reid Hoffman and Joi Ito’s H2 comes out of stealth
Forty more tickets on sale for our John Doerr PandoMonthly! (And a new venue…)
Too small to fail: The partnership-driven nature of fintech startups
Jaron Lanier: Information doesn’t want to be free, and ads are screwed
Data, heart, virality, and leadership: Five tips for today’s entrepreneurial journey
YouTube network Fullscreen adds NBCUniversal and HBO veteran Tim Mohn as new SVP of Engineering
Totsy burns through $34 million, lays off its 83 employees, selling assets
Why people are ignoring Windows 8′s new interface and using the “traditional” desktop instead
Eat Club hits the road to feed hungry office workers
A new iOS game looks to kickstart neuroscience education
Bill Gross’ UberMedia launches UberAds, using social and location data to better target on mobile
Skyhigh Networks raises $20M to control unauthorized cloud programs used in the enterprise
“If you’re building specifically for mobile, you’re in the past”
Scanadu asks Indiegogo users to test its “tricorder,” but don’t call it a pre-order
John Doerr doesn’t think Google Glass is like the Segway
John Doerr on the great entrepreneurs of the last half-century
John Doerr: “The tech industry is doing a good job in politics”
John Doerr still sees a future in cleantech
John Doerr: Microsoft might be the “fifth horseman”
HP versus the headwinds, part 17
Silicon Beach: The Selena Gomez of SoCal’s tech industry
Watch out USA, Canada’s coming: A Google Hangout on immigration reform
Skillz rides skill-based real money gaming to pass 1M downloads in its first two weeks
The bible belt’s “porn problem”: Religious cities watch as much porn as non-religious cities
Pixel Press turns your child-like doodles into videogames
Fandium raises $1.25 million for sports app that blends storytelling with betting
Has content discovery reached its logical end?
YC alum’s new service Loom aims to be photo management for the mobile world
Appboy expands to help Android developers avoid heartbreak
Zippy Picovico attempts to take on Animoto from the mountains of Nepal
JustFab acquires The Fab Shoes in search of European domination, approaches $250M revenue rate
Rallyverse, a platform that helps brands spread authentic content, releases API
Original “growth hacker” Sean Ellis’ Qualaroo hacks the marketing conversion funnel
Nextdoor: “We stopped everything we were doing and trained every engineer on mobile”
