News & Analysis
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The ad game is rigged against online publishers, but sovrn thinks it can be the answer
There are 1 billion websites in the world, sovrn CEO Walter Knapp tells me enthusiastically. Eighty percent of those are inactive. Of the remaining 200 million sites, half are “porn or hate” and not suitable for advertising. Which leaves 100 million websites and tens of millions of publishers, all battling each other for attention and ad dollars. Those one hundred... -
UberX allegedly hired a convicted felon with a 20-year rap sheet. So much for those improved background checks
Travis Kalanick’s day may be about to get a whole lot worse. NBC4 LA is currently running a promo for their 11 pm news show which includes a segment on Uber that looks like it’s out of “To Catch a Predator.” “Your mother warned you not to do it,” the husky-voiced narrator intones ominously. “But a popular app lets... -
Mobile showdown: Revealing the drugs of choice and other insights into the interests of iOS and Android users
With mobile now the dominant computing platform, the platform war between iOS and Android remains a central battleground. Android may have won the masses, thanks in part to its ubiquity and availability on low-cost devices, but Apple appears to be winning the premium consumers. The question is, how accurate are these broad generalizations and how much more granular... -
Techtopus wage supression suit settled: Terms secret for now
The wage collusion case that suppressed the earnings of millions of engineers working at numerous technology companies has ended with a settlement. The defendants and the remaining plaintiffs — Google, Apple, Intel, and Adobe — announced the settlement today. From our initial report on the suit: The secret wage-theft agreements between Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, Intuit, and Pixar... -
NY Attorney General tells Pando: Current hotel laws were made with Airbnb in mind
There’s a tech storm a-brewin’ in New York. Earlier this week, the New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman submitted an affidavit claiming that, according to an unofficial count, two-thirds of New York City’s Airbnb listings are illegal. This was meant to bolster his subpoena for Airbnb’s records. Airbnb’s response maintained that Scheiderman’s request is out of line and that... -
Code.org keeps up its Sisyphean struggle to bring coding to American schools
Big news on the coding education front today. Non-profit Code.org, which is backed by tens of millions of dollars from tech heavyweights like Reid Hoffman and John Doerr, is introducing programming classes to 30 K-12 districts across the United States. These include three of the top ten biggest districts in the country, as well as districts for urban... -
3D printed sex toys is a craze we’re going to have to start preparing ourselves for
For a week in December 2012, a store popped up in New York called 3DEA. For $250 men could get a 3D scan of their manhood, which would be sent to the New York Toy Collective who would then create a truly one-of-a-kind sex toy. A Christmas gift for the lady that really does have it all… It... -
Brazil ratifies an online bill of rights, but it’s not a perfect solution
Brazil’s Senate has unanimously passed a bill that promises to protect its citizens’ privacy and guarantee equal access to the Internet. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ratified the bill and presented it during a conference about the Internet’s future in Sao Paolo earlier this morning. The bill will require that Internet companies respect Brazilian rules for how its citizens’ data is handled... -
The Linux Foundation joins forces with Google, Facebook, and others to prevent the next Heartbleed
Some of the world’s largest technology companies are finally addressing the problems that led to the Heartbleed bug, a small coding error that made two-thirds of the Internet insecure. A new group called the Core Infrastructure Initiative is meant to “fund open source projects that are in the critical path for core computing functions” and has support from Google,... -
Medicare data reveals geographic and economic inequalities
Earlier this month the federal government released a giant trove of data enumerating precisely where Medicare funds were spent in 2012. Since then, there have been many revelations about where and how this government funding is being put to use. One report highlighted how only 100 doctors in the country received $610 million of the funding. Another looked... -
Facebook announces “FB Newswire” to help steal journalists from Twitter
There’s an old aphorism that says, “Twitter is where news breaks, Facebook is where news goes.” The implication is that, for a truly real-time newsgathering experience there’s no substitute for the immersive, instantaneous nature of Twitter. The problem we’ve seen with Twitter, however, is that it’s too fast. During breaking news events, like Hurricane Sandy and the Boston Marathon bombing, Twitter often becomes a... -
Let’s kill “net neutrality”
The specter haunting the idea of a free Internet takes many forms. Sometimes it looks like Comcast. Sometimes it looks like the lobbyists for various telecom companies. Other times it looks like a pedantic argument about terms like “free Internet” or “net neutrality” or “fucked.” So maybe it’s time to stop using those terms and figure out... -
Amazon ships household items to the masses with Amazon Prime Pantry
Amazon has continued its efforts to become a grocery store with the announcement of Amazon Prime Pantry, a service that allows Amazon Prime customers to pay just $6 for the shipping of up to 45 pounds of dry goods like cereal and crackers, or common household items like laundry detergent, cat litter, and body wash. The service differs from Amazon’s... -
Match gets swipey, borrows from Tinder for new iOS app design
Match.com is about to get a major facelift. But in a sign of the times, it’s not the online dating company’s Web product that is getting the attention, but rather its mobile app, where 50 percent of all engagement already takes place. Match launched Version 3.0 of its iOS app today with the intention of bringing its user... -
Breaking bAd bAd: Steven Tyler’s daughter wants to kill this Bay Area band
Christian Zamora has had a weird week. On Monday, the 30-year old San Francisco bar manager and local musician received a cease and desist letter from lawyers representing Chelsea Tyler, the 25-year old daughter of well-lipped Aerosmith crooner Steven Tyler, giving him 48-hours to remove all traces of his band bAd bAd from the Internet. Tyler’s legal beef was...
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SF’s short term rentals legislation could be a win for the arts
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California Senate kills cellphone “kill switch” bill
California State Senators today voted down a proposed anti-theft kill switch requirement for cellphones sold in the state. The bill, intended to protect owners’ information in the event of cellphone theft, needed two more votes to pass the 40 member body.
[Source: New York Times]
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The ad game is rigged against online publishers, but sovrn thinks it can be the answer
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Third-party researchers discover malicious Bitcoin mining within Android apps
Anti-malware firm Lookout published in its blog results of research that uncovered Bitcoin mining software hidden in six wallpaper apps in the Google Play marketplace. Google responded by quickly removing the apps. In March a similar research revealed two apps with millions of downloads were covertly mining Dogecoin and Litecoin.
[Source: Ars Technica]
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UberX allegedly hired a convicted felon with a 20-year rap sheet. So much for those improved background checks
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Lost Warhol works recovered from Amiga 1000 floppy disks
Eighteen digital artworks created by Andy Warhol in 1985 on an Amiga 1000 have been recovered through a painstaking and delicate reverse-engineering process. The existence of the works was deduced by “self-confessed Andy Warhol fanatic and artist” Cory Arcangel after watching a Youtube video capturing Warhol at the launch event of Commodore’s Amiga. Arcangel enlisted the help of Carnegie Mellon’s computer club and the Andy Warhol Museum in his 2 year quest to recover the images.
[Source: BBC]
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Mobile showdown: Revealing the drugs of choice and other insights into the interests of iOS and Android users
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Vice reporter released from Ukrainian militia
Simon Ostrovsky, a journalist working for Vice who was held captive by a Ukrainian militia, has been released. Vice says he is currently in “good health.” [Source: Vice News]
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Square announces plans to open Manhattan office
Payments company Square has announced it is going to open an East Coast headquarters in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. New York State’s Empire State Development is reportedly helping with this, by offering the company $5 million in tax credits to help aid the expansion. [Source: BetaBeat]
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Techtopus wage supression suit settled: Terms secret for now
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NY Attorney General tells Pando: Current hotel laws were made with Airbnb in mind
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Ondot lands $18M investment
Ondot, a company that makes a white label solution for mobile control of credit cards, has raised an $18 million round of funding. The company says it has already partnered with four major credit card processors. [Source: TechCrunch]
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Google’s social networking head steps down
Vic Gundotra, who worked as Google’s head of social networking, has left the company. His successor will be David Besbris, who served as a VP of engineering at Google+. [Source: Reuters]
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Code.org keeps up its Sisyphean struggle to bring coding to American schools
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Domino’s to launch iPad app
Next Monday Domino’s is going to launch an iPad app allowing people to order pizza’s with their Apple tablet devices. One new feature on the app will be a “3D pizza builder” that uses OpenGL to better visualize the final product. [Source: TechCrunch]
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3D printed sex toys is a craze we’re going to have to start preparing ourselves for
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Brazil ratifies an online bill of rights, but it’s not a perfect solution
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The Linux Foundation joins forces with Google, Facebook, and others to prevent the next Heartbleed
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Facebook acquires Moves
Moves, a fitness-tracking app that measured its users’ activity with the iPhone’s built-in motion sensors, today announced that it has been acquired by Facebook. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. [Source: Moves]
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Medicare data reveals geographic and economic inequalities
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Taco Bell to launch a “fast-casual” taco restaurant
The people behind Taco Bell are working on a new, more upscale project called U.S. Taco Co. and Urban Taproom. The menu will include “10 premium tacos, thick-cut fries, and shakes,” as well as craft beers and wines. [Source: Nation's Restaurant News]
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ShopKeep POS raises $25M Series C
Point-of-sale software maker ShopKeep POS has closed a $25 million Series C round of funding. Thayer Street Partners led the investment. [Source: TechCrunch]
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Comcast is more expensive than Time Warner
With Comcast attempting to acquire fellow cable company Time Warner, the two companies are now being scrutinized to see what sort of service the two combined would offer. According to both companies quarterly earnings, which were just released, Comcast’s average monthly bill is more than $10 more expensive than Time Warner’s. [Source: Quartz]
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Facebook announces “FB Newswire” to help steal journalists from Twitter
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Synack raises $7.5M Series A
Computer security startup Synack has raised a $7.5 million round of funding. Kleiner Perkins led the round, with participation from Google Ventures, Greylock Partners, Allegis Capital, and others. [Source: Re/code]
