It’s 10pm, do you know where your data is?
There is an interesting article from Andy Baio over at Wired that looks at how easy it has become to give total strangers a window into our lives. With the advent of OAuth, people can easily sign up for new services and apps by relying on their Facebook and Google profiles. Instead of filling out a lot of forms and trying to remember a new password, you can just rely on these companies to handle … Continue Reading
Jay-Z and Beyonce sidestep the paparazzi with a Tumblr for baby Blue Ivy Carter
It’s an empire state of mind. The world’s most famous musical couple has turned to New York’s Tumblr as the blogging platform of choice for showcasing the first photos of their new baby girl, Blue Ivy Carter.
Tumblr, founded by Manhattan’s David Karp, has defined itself as the best service for bloggers who want to showcase their creativity, especially through photos.
On their Tumblr, Jay-Z and Beyonce are clearly trying to nip the paparazzi in … Continue Reading
Along with CIA takedown, information compromised at Dept. of Homeland Security in Anonymous attack
The pace of attacks by cyber vigilantes seems to be increasing in 2012. Yesterday news broke that the website of the CIA was down, an attack for which Anonymous claimed responsibility. Today CNN is reporting that attacks also hit government agencies in Mexico and Alabama, and that “information was compromised” at Alabama’s Department of Homeland Security.
In a release, Alabama Department of Homeland Security Director Spencer Collier said that his agency was conducting a forensic … Continue Reading
DEMO leaves Boulder, hits Boston, Chicago, LA, Austin, Singapore and more (photos)
As part of our mission to find the most exciting, disruptive tech for this season’s DEMO, we recently stopped off in Boulder, Colorado to check out the coolest startups in the region. Below are some photos from the meetup we had there.
Then we flew back to SF on Thursday, where we invited some exciting new companies to pitch at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, and found several we expect to invite to launch at … Continue Reading
GamesBeat weekly roundup: DICE Summit news and more
Here’s some of the stories that ran only on GamesBeat this week. We’re running more stories exclusively on the GamesBeat section of VentureBeat now, particularly when the stories are mainly of interest to game readers. The broader interest stories are running on VentureBeat as well. And please visit the GamesBeat section to catch up on game news. We’re ramping up our game coverage, so you’ll find more and more news at GamesBeat.
Here’s some of … Continue Reading
Instagram makes mobile photo-sharing more hip with filters, enhancements
Mobile photo-sharing service Instagram updated its application today with a new filter, enhancement feature, and a makeover to its user interface.
Instagram lets you take a photo with your iPhone and layer it with different filters for that extra hip look. You can then connect it to your social networks and share it with the Instagram community. Now, the company is introducing a new, sleeker interface that’s easier to navigate. The updates include a new … Continue Reading
Crowdtilt launches to group fund anything (and it means anything)
Crowdtilt, a new group-funding site backed by startup incubator Y Combinator, has launched today to help you fund anything. The site lets you group fund any project or goal you can come up with, from trips across the country to buying a wedding gift.
“Essentially, we’ve taken our favorite elements of crowdfunding platforms and provided them for groups of friends instead” Crowdtilt chief executive and co-founder James Beshara told VentureBeat in an email.
Crowdtilt’s focus … Continue Reading
Here’s what we REALLY thought about this week’s news (video)
Skyrim is awesome; Pinterest users need to calm the hell down; and Facebook users need to stay away from the gun cabinet.
In this week’s episode of VB Weekly, the VentureBeat writing staff takes a front seat, with a range of our editors and reporter spouting off about the stories they found most interesting.
This week, we’re talking about:
Steve Jobs’ FBI file
the crazy coming features for hit game Skyrim
Facebook’s all-new lightbox for
CIA website down, Anonymous says it’s responsible
Anonymous bullhorn @YourAnonNews is claiming that the hacktivist group has taken down the Central Intelligence Agency‘s website.
“CIA TANGO DOWN: https://www.cia.gov/ #Anonymous,” a person behind @YourAnonNews tweeted.
The attack took place roughly around 12:10 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, and the website is still down an hour later.
Anonymous traditionally has “F*ck FBI Friday,” in which it attempts to take down or release information about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Last week, the group released … Continue Reading
Prepare for MacBook Pros that look like MacBook Airs
After sticking with a fairly consistent unibody MacBook Pro design for some time, Apple may be gearing up to bring design elements from its popular MacBook Air line into its more powerful models later this year.
The company is preparing a “top-to-bottom revamp” of the MacBook Pro lineup that will result in thinner unibody cases and solid-state hard drives and the loss of optical disk drives, sources tell AppleInsider.
This isn’t the first time we’ve … Continue Reading
How sites like MegaUpload make millions from pirated video
This story originally appeared on CNET and is republished with permission.
For the scope of this article, I am leaving all of the commentary on SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, and such aside for others much more well-versed than I to discuss.
A lot of people have been asking me the same question lately: Just how do file-sharing sites like MegaUpload — recently taken down by an international collection of law enforcement — make hundreds of millions … Continue Reading
TaskRabbit gets fruitful, mulitplies with new open API
Local-labor locating service TaskRabbit is opening up its tools and network to developers with a new API (application programming interface), the company announced on its blog Friday. This will allow third-party developers to integrate TaskRabbit features directly into their own apps and web sites.
With TaskRabbit, you can hire someone local (called a “Rabbit”) to run errands or do small bits of random work for you, including grocery shopping, data entry, and transporting all kinds … Continue Reading
Shopping site Sneakpeeq raises $2.67M
Social daily deals and shopping website Sneakpeeq announced Friday is has raised $2.67 million in funding.
Sneakpeeq is attempting to replicate the shopping experience you’d have in a physical store. What type of experience? Well, think about walking into a fancy shop, picking an item off the shelf, turning it over, and checking the price tag. Sneakpeeq recreates that by, for example, making you click a “peeq” button to see a price rather than blatantly … Continue Reading
Mobilizing the masses: How Facebook can transform its mobile risk into success
Among the many compelling sections of Facebook’s landmark S-1 filing last week—which included Zuck’s “The Hacker Way” founder’s letter, its $1 billion in profits last year and of course, the money spent on private jets—one area really stood out among the numbers and hyperbole. The risk, and of course on the flip side, massive opportunity, that mobile represents to the future of Facebook.
In an admission that surprised many, Facebook revealed that while its monthly … Continue Reading
Ninja Gaiden’s creator Itagaki pleads for game designers to create titles that change lives
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Tomonobu Itagaki was at the top of his game. The legendary Japanese game design leader of Team Ninja, known for his sunglasses and leather pants, was making top-selling games in the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden fighting series.
Itagaki left Tecmo-Koei, the owner of Team Ninja, in mid-2008 and got into a bitter lawsuit with his former company over royalties. It was a wrenching separation, and Itagaki … Continue Reading
For the first time, Apple’s iOS generates more web traffic than Mac OS X
iPhones and iPads now account for more web traffic than Macs, according to a study by ad network Chitika.
Chitika measured the percentage of its ad impressions that were delivered to iOS devices and the percentage going to OS X devices. According to the firm, iOS has been steadily gaining ground since August, 2011, while OS X has lost 25 percent of its market share since September.
As of February, 2011, the iOS market share … Continue Reading
Apples to oranges: Google and Amazon are too timid to copy Apple’s retail success
There is a strange duality in the world of brick and mortar tech stores today. In the last four years CompUSA, Borders, and Circuit City all went out of business. Many expect Best Buy to follow in the near future. At the same time, Apple has opened over 300 retail outlets worldwide. And recent reports indicate that Microsoft, Amazon, and Google plan to follow Apple’s lead.
The new Google store, which Bloomberg reported on yesterday, … Continue Reading
Call of Duty Elite: It’s not a douche move — Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg
Eric Hirshberg, chief executive of Activision Publishing, talked about the role that creative people should play in making decisions about running a video game business. Too often, he said, creative people leave it to the business experts. But creative people shouldn’t sell themselves short, as Hirshberg learned in the last 18 months running the division that includes Call of Duty franchise.
With the launch of the latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Activision Blizzard … Continue Reading
Iran ‘celebrates’ 1979 revolution anniversary by blocking encrypted websites
Most modern governments celebrate the anniversary of a national revolution day by making it an official holiday where people routinely get off work, eat food that probably isn’t healthy, and spend quality time with family and friends.
If you live in Iran, however, the government celebrates by blocking access to all websites using the “HTTPS” protocol, which includes sites from Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and basically any banking web service. Essentially, this means the internet is … Continue Reading
Tesla’s new Model X is the electric car of your dreams
Electric car maker Tesla unveiled its latest electric vehicle last night, the Model X, a cross-over that offers more space than the company’s Model S sedan and original sporty Roadster.
For those waiting for a semi-affordable electric car that offers plenty of space, power, and versatility, the Model X looks to be the best option yet.
Like other cross-over vehicles, the Model X sits somewhere between a sedan and a SUV. But Tesla couldn’t help … Continue Reading
