blogger better: 2017-08-27

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Funding your bliss: mindfulness startups scale up

The connected life is not necessarily the good life. Too often, it seems like we are squandering our time checking devices, losing touch with fellow humans and cultivating bad habits in the pursuit of instant gratification. If only an app could fix that. Welcome to the world of mindfulness and wellness apps. Read More

http://ift.tt/2wtiIaL Funding your bliss: mindfulness startups scale up http://ift.tt/2gzA2oR

In the intervening years since those storms, the nation has been continually pummeled by “historic” climatological events. While the country has been taking this beating from Mother Nature, the conversation in statehouses, city halls and Washington has been bogged down in a discussion about climate change. What causes it, what to do about it, and whose fault it is that… Read More

http://ift.tt/2wta3oS After Harvey, ignore the climate debate and focus on building better, more efficient cities http://ift.tt/2gsKbjK

Startups rise and startups fall. 2017 has seen some prominent startups go under. What follows are 10 of the best-funded companies to close in the first nine months of 2017. Ultimately not all is lost. Experience is gained and lessons are learned. But as companies fall, more jump up in the spirit of entrepreneurship. Read More

http://ift.tt/2gswaCt 10 of the most-funded startups to fail in 2017 http://ift.tt/2ey4dfB

Understanding Roku’s IPO and its growing platform revenues

In a pleasant Friday surprise, Roku dropped its S-1 document today, detailing its financial performance and corporate strategy. The filing indicates that the company intends to raise $100 million in its debut. The figure is a widely-recognized placeholder number. The company could raise more or less in its IPO. Follow Crunchbase News on Twitter & Facebook As a private company,… Read More

http://ift.tt/2sv1VyP Understanding Roku’s IPO and its growing platform revenues http://ift.tt/2gqDNcH

It sounds like America’s favorite $400 juice machine will be no longer. “After selling over a million Produce Packs, we must let you know that we are suspending the sale of the Juicero Press and Produce Packs immediately,” reads the company blog post. Juicero will also be giving people money back. “For the next 90 days, we are offering refunds for your purchase of… Read More

http://ift.tt/1RNiLhq RIP Juicero, the $400 venture-backed juice machine http://ift.tt/2eqo1Oh

Twitter bots – robots that interact with humans – have a long history. The Twitter API is fairly easy to use (I made a bot that plays Zork with a friend two years ago) and there is little protection against creating new accounts automatically. This ease of use used to be great for programmers but now Twitter has a huge bot problem. Bots have expanded beyond the traditional tactics.… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2wYB84K Twitter has a big bot problem John Biggs http://ift.tt/2gx4akW
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Designed for iPhone 8, Weather Atlas is a great replacement for your stock weather app

{rss:content:encoded} Designed for iPhone 8, Weather Atlas is a great replacement for your stock weather app http://ift.tt/2wpiocY http://ift.tt/2vR5UHD September 01, 2017 at 06:32PM

There’s no shortage of weather apps on the market, but you may have noticed that few of them are actually all that good. That’s where a new entry called Weather Atlas, from the developer behind the popular productivity app Launch Center Pro, comes in. This newly launched weather application aims to be a better alternative to the stock weather app, offering a more modern take on… Read More

Google’s Search app on iOS gets a Twitter-like Trends feature, faster Instant Answers

{rss:content:encoded} Google’s Search app on iOS gets a Twitter-like Trends feature, faster Instant Answers http://ift.tt/2wpmfH8 http://ift.tt/2vRaSnS September 01, 2017 at 04:52PM

Google’s search app on iOS is adding a Trending Searches feature, similar to Twitter or Facebook’s Trends, with an update that rolled out later in the day on Thursday. According to the app’s added “What’s New” text on the App Store, Google will now show you searches that are “trending around you” when you tap into the search box to start a search. Read More

Ahoy, mateys! A Columbus company called Ahoy.ai aims to schedule yer deck swabbing sessions with just one arrrrrmail or Slack. Ahoy is the brainchild of Jesse Rowe and Alex Ogorek. Rowe is a senior at OSU and this is his first company. He has raised $14,000 from a small fund in Ohio and is looking to expand his idea. “Majority of our competitors still involve back and forth… Read More

http://ift.tt/2tmNX2X Ahoy.ai is a robot that can plan your schedule in Slack http://ift.tt/2wXWj74

Tinder has hit number 1 in the App Store’s top grossing category for the very first time. Claiming top spot in the App Store likely has to do with the global launch of Tinder Gold, which lets users see who has liked them without swiping at all, among other premium features. Tinder’s initial foray into monetization came in 2015 with the launch of Tinder Plus, which lets users… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2tXSidY Tinder hits top grossing app in the App Store on heels of Tinder Gold launch Jordan Crook http://ift.tt/2wpnd6o
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Tinder has hit number 1 in the App Store’s top grossing category for the very first time. Claiming top spot in the App Store likely has to do with the global launch of Tinder Gold, which lets users see who has liked them without swiping at all, among other premium features. Tinder’s initial foray into monetization came in 2015 with the launch of Tinder Plus, which lets users… Read More

http://ift.tt/2tXSidY Tinder hits top grossing app in the App Store on heels of Tinder Gold launch http://ift.tt/2wpnd6o

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a social experiment regarding how many acronyms an audience can endure before passing out. Each week we dive into the world of venture capital, looking to understand exactly what’s going on behind the money. This week Katie Roof, Matthew Lynley, and myself — Alex! — were joined by Samuel Angus, a partner on the corporate team of Fenwick and… Read More

http://ift.tt/2m6li35 Equity podcast: The Uber saga, delayed IPOs and just what is an ICO? http://ift.tt/2iN5sJq

Twitch’s new extensions let streamers customize their channel, make money from Amazon sales

Twitch today is introducing a suite of tools called Twitch Extensions that will allow its streamers to customize their channel pages with interactive features, including polls, leaderboards, tickers, schedules, overlays, and even virtual pets, among other things. Beyond simply personalizing their channel to make it more engaging to fans, the extensions in some cases will help streamers… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2xBh7y0 Twitch’s new extensions let streamers customize their channel, make money from Amazon sales Sarah Perez http://ift.tt/2iLLfne
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Lan Xuezhao has spent the last few months pulling together $136 million for her new machine intelligence-focused venture capital fund, Basis Set Ventures. I met Xuezhao for tea on a park bench in Potrero Hill earlier this week to chat about her strategy for the fund. Read More

http://ift.tt/2ethw12 Basis Set Ventures gets real to get to the heart of AI startups http://ift.tt/2vvevVn

Facebook’s latest push into video is now live. On Thursday, the new Watch tab popped up for U.S. users as the feature begins its proper roll-out. The Watch tab sits in some premium Facebook real estate, just under the News Feed and Messenger buttons on the main desktop navigation menu. On mobile, the feature hangs out at the bottom of the navigation bar where users can launch it with… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2wfrOFb Facebook’s new Watch video hub rolls out to U.S. users Taylor Hatmaker http://ift.tt/2wlQ7nX
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Microsoft’s mobile game streaming app Mixer Create is launching out of beta testing today on iOS and Android, allowing gamers to broadcast the games they’re playing right from their phone. This feature works on Android with all games, but is more limited on iOS. On iPhone, select games that have enabled Apple’s ReplayKit functionality will work, the company notes. That… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2groKD8 Microsoft’s new Mixer Create app lets you live stream games from your phone Sarah Perez http://ift.tt/2eHLXgF
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With technology and curious minds, several founders not only built great products and companies, they created the foundation for a strong and resilient technology sector that has been an economic driver and job creator in a country looking for stable footing. Read More

http://ift.tt/2wlwzQq Egyptian technology startups stand on the shoulders of giants http://ift.tt/2wMnml1

Microsoft’s new Mixer Create app lets you live stream games from your phone

{rss:content:encoded} Microsoft’s new Mixer Create app lets you live stream games from your phone http://ift.tt/2eHLXgF http://ift.tt/2groKD8 August 31, 2017 at 07:28PM

dApps, or decentralized apps, are open-source applications built on top of a blockchain. But here’s the thing – users usually can’t interact with these dApps unless they have tokens issued by these projects. For example, both Augur, a decentralized prediction market and REXMLS, a free global listing network for real estate, require tokens to interact with. But if you… Read More

http://ift.tt/2rRc1eD Dharma wants to let anyone borrow a small amount of cryptocurrency http://ift.tt/2xPTMrS

Instagram Stories, its Snapchat clone now used by daily more people than Snapchat itself, is coming to the web. Initially, the feature will allow desktop and mobile web users to view Stories posted by their friends and others they follow. But it in the months ahead, the web version will allow you to post to Stories, too. Instagram Stories has been only one of an array of attacks on rival… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2xPLqAt Instagram Stories are coming to the web Sarah Perez http://ift.tt/2wkK42E
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Half a decade after it was founded, website building platform Strikingly finally decided its time to raise a Series A. The Y Combinator alum announced that it closed a $6 million round from investors including CAS Holding, Infinity Venture Partners, Innovation Works, former Y Combinator partner Kevin Hale and TEEC. Strikingly also recently launched an app that lets users build and publish… Read More

http://ift.tt/2grOYWl Five years after its launch, website building platform Strikingly raises $6M Series A http://ift.tt/2wl91uW

SanDisk’s 400GB microSD card is an Android phone’s best friend

{rss:content:encoded} SanDisk’s 400GB microSD card is an Android phone’s best friend http://ift.tt/2wLWJg6 http://ift.tt/2vIenxz August 31, 2017 at 05:05PM

SanDisk has a new record-breaking microSD coming to market, which will deliver so much storage you might be at a loss as to what to do with it all. The new 400GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card is the world’s highest capacity card of its type, and is ideally suited for use in Android smartphones that feature an expansion slot. Android’s most recent versions allow you to adopt… Read More