blogger better: 2017-12-31

Saturday, January 6, 2018

CTRL+T podcast: As long as it tastes like chicken, folds my clothes for cheap and doesn’t run me over

Wait, what? Yeah, this week a company called SuperMeat announced that it raised $3 million to create chicken in a lab. It requires real chicken cells, Petrie dishes probably and some patience. The benefits for fake (fake real?) chicken are numerous, not the least of which it’s better for the environment. But we wonder how it will taste. Like chicken? Like fake chicken? In the lead-up to… Read More

http://ift.tt/2CGKl1e CTRL+T podcast: As long as it tastes like chicken, folds my clothes for cheap and doesn’t run me over http://ift.tt/2D0rizf

The light and dark of AI-powered smartphones

{rss:content:encoded} The light and dark of AI-powered smartphones http://ift.tt/2Egwo9Z http://ift.tt/2wtKwxa January 06, 2018 at 05:00PM

As more smartphones get on device AI processing powers it could support a new range of advanced consumer features. But what kind of value exchange might be required for mobile users to tap into these touted ‘AI smarts’? Read More

Member of group that used Grindr to find and assault gay men gets 15 years

{rss:content:encoded} Member of group that used Grindr to find and assault gay men gets 15 years http://ift.tt/2Edf06n http://ift.tt/2yV0D3r January 06, 2018 at 02:00AM

The first sentence has been handed down in a case centered on the use of Grindr as a platform from which to perpetrate hate crimes. Nigel Garrett was given 15 years yesterday after pleading guilty to a list of crimes including assault, carjacking, and use of firearms, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported. Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2yV0D3r Member of group that used Grindr to find and assault gay men gets 15 years Devin Coldewey http://ift.tt/2Edf06n
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Tech companies working with augmented reality and virtual reality technologies raised more than $3 billion in venture funding in 2017. This data comes from analytics firm Digi-Capital and suggests that while the buzz surrounding the AR/VR space has tapered off, the sheer amount of cash getting pumped into the industry is continuing to surge. Read More

http://ift.tt/2kQnBDG AR/VR startups raised $3 billion last year led by a few industry juggernauts http://ift.tt/2CZraA2

African tech in 2017 was about the normalization of market events mostly absent even a decade ago. There were acquisitions, multiple investment rounds, lots of expansion, big strategic partnerships and some surprise failures. Africa is fast becoming home to a dynamic tech sector. Here’s a snapshot of the news that shaped that transition over the last year. Read More

http://ift.tt/2quIBGb A look back at the year that the Sub-Saharan African startup scene found its stride http://ift.tt/2CLHNCA

App revenue climbed 35 percent to $60 billion in 2017

{rss:content:encoded} App revenue climbed 35 percent to $60 billion in 2017 http://ift.tt/2CwSGnt http://ift.tt/2CZMZ2o January 05, 2018 at 06:49PM

Global app revenue climbed 35 percent in 2017 to reach nearly $60 billion, according to a new report today from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower, which measured paid apps, subscriptions, and in-app purchases across both Apple’s App Store and Google Play. However, Apple is the one pulling n the most revenue, the report found – at nearly double that of Google Play. Specifically,… Read More

Insurtech was one of the big VC bets of 2017, and that looks set to continue into the new year as startups spot gaps in the insurance market. Continuing this trend is Dinghy, a new startup that offers “flexible” insurance for freelance professionals, all delivered and managed through a mobile app. Read More

http://ift.tt/2CLiCA8 Dinghy picks up backing from Balderton for its flexible freelancer insurance http://ift.tt/2CDdwVN

This bot unrolls Twitter threads and turns them into readable blog posts

For as much as its users love to hate on their platform of choice, Twitter occasionally really comes through with a deep dive on a hot topic that provides actual, meaningful insight. Such an event is almost enough to remind us why we all fritter our lives away on there to begin with. Remember when we used to blog? Like, we issued thoughts in sentences and paragraphs instead of a series of… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2wlpyg6 This bot unrolls Twitter threads and turns them into readable blog posts Taylor Hatmaker http://ift.tt/2CBcz09
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Apple in good cheer over a billion-dollar Christmas and New Year’s on the App Store

{rss:content:encoded} Apple in good cheer over a billion-dollar Christmas and New Year’s on the App Store http://ift.tt/2lYhaiK http://ift.tt/2kaVFZL January 04, 2018 at 11:47PM

The week after Christmas is a lazy one, but the App Store was working overtime. Apple triumphantly announced today that the late holiday season brought in more than a billion dollars in purchases on its mobile marketplace. Read More

Mapbox, the Softbank-backed developer of mapping applications that competes with Google Maps TomTom and Here, has acquired the intellectual property and developers behind MapZen’s Valhalla project in a bid to strengthen its navigation toolkits. The acquisition, made as Mapzen was winding down, brings the Valhalla development team in-house for a bargain price that Mapbox chief executive… Read More

http://ift.tt/2CHReCY Mapbox adds makes another acquisition to bolster its navigation toolkits http://ift.tt/2lU5o92

Buying event tickets online isn’t a great experience. Sites like Ticketmaster are the default, but are difficult to use and expensive. A startup called Lea wants to offer a more modern experience by combining event search, discovery, seat selection and payment all in a single application that works right in Facebook Messenger. Yes, that’s right – Lea is a chatbot. And while… Read More

http://ift.tt/2xRNQid Lea’s live event assistant for Messenger makes buying tickets easier http://ift.tt/2CrSbLL

Lea’s live event assistant for Messenger makes buying tickets easier

{rss:content:encoded} Lea’s live event assistant for Messenger makes buying tickets easier http://ift.tt/2CrSbLL http://ift.tt/2xRNQid January 04, 2018 at 07:44PM

Buying event tickets online isn’t a great experience. Sites like Ticketmaster are the default, but are difficult to use and expensive. A startup called Lea wants to offer a more modern experience by combining event search, discovery, seat selection and payment all in a single application that works right in Facebook Messenger. Yes, that’s right – Lea is a chatbot. And while… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2xRNQid Lea’s live event assistant for Messenger makes buying tickets easier Sarah Perez http://ift.tt/2CrSbLL
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Venture capitalists have been trying to make money from the higher education market for years. It’s a rich target for the clutch of investor that pride themselves (in their better moments) on investing in companies that can improve society, and that work to fix broken systems, and a new startup Frank is the latest attempt to make a lasting change in the industry. At this point no one… Read More

http://ift.tt/2rhSdDO Investors are pouring money into Frank, a TurboTax for student loan applications http://ift.tt/2Co6UqJ

Healthcare in America is a mess with no quick solutions and many people aren’t getting the help they need. Created to bridge mental and physical healthcare, New York City-based Quartet Health wants to make life better for patients with a platform that allows providers to collaborate on treatment plans. Currently available in six U.S. markets, Quartet announced today that it has raised… Read More

http://ift.tt/2CGjapW Quartet raises $40M Series C to help healthcare providers collaborate on patient care http://ift.tt/2qnmaCZ

RagTagd reinvents the lost and found

Each day, kids go to school and lose things. But RagTagd, a Sydney-based company, is looking to fix that. RagTagd is a service that provides ultra-simple RFID tags in kids’ school uniforms and sensor-equipped bins to schools so that lost property can be tracked. When a kid’s lost jumper ends up in a bin at their school, the second it hits the bin a text is sent to the… Read More

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J RagTagd reinvents the lost and found http://ift.tt/2CQvOR5

Mark Zuckerberg is arguably the public face of the internet we never chose, but also the one we deserve based on the time we all spend using Facebook products. At some point, Facebook became so big that Zuckerberg’s personal challenges became news. And this year’s personal challenge is not personal at all — it’s all about work. In 2017, Zuckerberg wanted to meet and… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2gonnnK Mark Zuckerberg’s personal challenge is all about fixing Facebook before it implodes Romain Dillet http://ift.tt/2E7e4A5
via IFTTT

Mark Zuckerberg is arguably the public face of the internet we never chose, but also the one we deserve based on the time we all spend using Facebook products. At some point, Facebook became so big that Zuckerberg’s personal challenges became news. And this year’s personal challenge is not personal at all — it’s all about work. In 2017, Zuckerberg wanted to meet and… Read More

http://ift.tt/2gonnnK Mark Zuckerberg’s personal challenge is all about fixing Facebook before it implodes http://ift.tt/2E7e4A5

Nintendo Switch is the fastest-selling video game console ever in the U.S.

{rss:content:encoded} Nintendo Switch is the fastest-selling video game console ever in the U.S. http://ift.tt/2EY3kVV http://ift.tt/2E3YOE4 January 04, 2018 at 03:39PM

Nintendo has managed to sell so many of its Nintendo Switch console that it’s become not only its own fastest-selling console, but also the fastest selling in the U.S. ever, beating the record set by the Wii back during its launch. The Switch has sold over 4.8 million units in its first 10 months of availability, which beats out the Wii’s 4 million sold during the same initial… Read More