Retina-ready Mac apps appear — but don’t get your hopes up for Retina MacBooks yet

June 8, 2012 6:36 AM Devindra Hardawar

The latest update to FolderWatch, a Mac app that automatically synchronizes your files across different locations, lists “Retina Graphics” as one of its new features — fueling rumors surrounding Apple’s upcoming MacBooks.

FolderWatch was chosen by Apple as a staff …

Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 could spawn a generation of games with awesome graphics

June 8, 2012 6:00 AM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

Editor's Pick

Epic Games is formally announcing its Unreal Engine 4 technology today after the close of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the game industry’s big trade show.

Word about the new engine, which is the foundation for the next decade of …

How a 1-man cat-drawing startup won a Mark Cuban investment

June 8, 2012 5:00 AM John Koetsier

John Koetsier

Editor's Pick

Of all the craziest things for Mark Cuban to invest in, a one-man startup consisting of a horrible dancer who sits at his kitchen table drawing kindergarten-style pictures of cats must be at the top of the list. But Cuban …

Microsoft isn’t leading the ‘Do Not Track’ revolution, it’s hurting it

June 7, 2012 8:27 PM Tom Cheredar

Tom Cheredar

Editor's Pick

Microsoft is certainly doing a good job of painting itself as a consumer advocate in regards to the new “Do Not Track” browser option, but its unyielding stance might be doing more harm than good.

The DNT feature allows people …

Funding daily: Let someone else run your social media marketing

June 7, 2012 5:30 PM Sarah Mitroff

Sarah Mitroff

Hope it’s summery and warm where you are, funding news readers. The weather in San Francisco is lovely, if you ignore the dark wall of fog creeping slowly towards the VentureBeat office. The outlook is definitely sunny for these companies! …

It’s time to change all the passwords!

June 7, 2012 5:28 PM Christopher Peri

Christopher Peri

Sigh.

First LinkedIn’s passwords were was hacked, then eHarmony’s. Today we found out passwords from Last.fm’s may also have been stolen.

Odds are pretty good there are more compromised site that we just don’t know about yet. So guess what …

Facebook store goes live, with apps for iOS, Android, and Facebook

June 7, 2012 5:20 PM Jolie O'Dell

Jolie O'Dell

Facebook’s very own app store has just launched, and it’s a thing of beauty.

We told y’all this was coming early last month. Basically, it’s a directory for apps of all kinds — not just Facebook apps — on many …

Facebook steps up security on mobile

June 7, 2012 4:42 PM Jennifer Van Grove

Jennifer Van Grove

A LinkedIn breach that compromised 6.5 million passwords spiraled into a security frenzy this week when Last.fm and eHarmony also suffered from password hacking attacks. Facebook, so far in the clear, has today gone on the offensive with improved mobile …

Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls is one of the best games of E3 (in-depth preview)

June 7, 2012 4:00 PM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

One of the best games of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo is Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls.

Sony unveiled the game at its E3 press conference on Monday, but it also showed an extended demonstration behind closed doors. We got …

VentureBeat is looking for an intern — it could be you

June 7, 2012 3:26 PM Sarah Mitroff

Sarah Mitroff

Update 6/21/2012: We’ve found our intern. We’ll next be looking for interns in December, for an internship that will start in January.

Does your heart beat to the Silicon Valley drum? Do you love tech business news? Do you have …

Frustrated iOS developers might be starting a union

June 7, 2012 1:06 PM Sean Ludwig

Sean Ludwig

The presence of a new site called App Developer Union suggests a group of frustrated iOS developers is campaigning to create to a union for app makers.

The group claims it is fed up with blatant cloning of applications in …

RIM kills off its cheapest BlackBerry PlayBook

June 7, 2012 12:38 PM Jolie O'Dell

Jolie O'Dell

The 16GB PlayBook is soon to be no more.

Research In Motion reps have let customers know that the pared-down version of the BlackBerry maker’s tablet is no longer being manufactured and will only be sold until supplies run out.…

Facebook’s feature-phone chat app has 40M downloads, zero revenue

June 7, 2012 12:33 PM Matt Marshall

Matt Marshall

Editor's Pick

Investors have hammered Facebook’s stock price lately, selling it on growing fears about its ability to make money on mobile.

For more concerns about Facebook’s mobile prospects, consider the fate of its chat application on feature phones — those non-smartphones …

Forget the check-in, SCVNGR one-ups Foursquare with big raise for mobile payment app

June 7, 2012 12:26 PM Jennifer Van Grove

Jennifer Van Grove

Check-in schmeck-in. Leveling up in status, Boston-based SCVNGR has picked up $12 million in funding as part of a two-part, extra-large fund raise to help its one-year-old, burgeoning mobile payment service LevelUp become a leader in the space.

SCVNGR, which …

Google brings 20 genius teens to its campus for annual Science Fair

June 7, 2012 12:03 PM Jolie O'Dell

Jolie O'Dell

Google’s 2012 Science Fair is well underway today, with 15 finalist teams being brought to the search giant’s campus in Mountain View, Calif., for the summer experience of their lives.

Fifteen teams, with members ranging between 13 and 19 years …

Apple diving into China with new stores, could add Baidu to iOS

June 7, 2012 11:49 AM Meghan Kelly

Meghan Kelly

Apple is strengthening its push into the Chinese market, and with that may come the iOS integration of China’s largest search engine Baidu.

Bloomberg‘s sources say Apple is going to announce that Baidu, China’s largest search engine, is a new …

DIY shoe service Shoes of Prey steps it up with $3M investment

June 7, 2012 11:25 AM Sarah Mitroff

Sarah Mitroff

Editor's Pick

Gals, rejoice — we’ve got a new way to buy shoes. Shoes of Prey lets you customize your shoe from the sole up with leather, sequins, suede, glitter, silk, or cotton. If you’re feeling more exotic, you can slap some …