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More iTV rumors: Apple could strike major streaming deal with Epix
April 27, 2012 6:02 PM
Meghan Kelly
Apple may be in talks with movie channel EPIX about the ever-rumored Apple television, which co-founder Steve Jobs alluded to prior to his death.
According to Reuters’ sources, Apple started meeting with EPIX earlier in the year to discuss a …
Tap it out: Foursquare for BlackBerry updated with NFC support
April 27, 2012 4:27 PM
Jennifer Van Grove
Check-in service Foursquare is helping its BlackBerry fans bridge the cross-platform communication gap, enabling them to exchange tips, lists, venues, and profiles with friends by way of near field communication support in the newest version of its BlackBerry app.
Friday, …
Yahoo points finger at Facebook, claims new patents are “tainted”
April 27, 2012 4:00 PM
Jennifer Van Grove
Today, social networking giant Facebook found itself once again on the defensive. Litigious cross-town rival Yahoo has filed new claims against the soon-to-IPO company, asserting that Facebook’s patents are “tainted.”
“Today Yahoo! filed additional claims against Facebook in U.S. District …
DreamIt Ventures’ NYC accelerator announces new class, moves into Fab’s old office
April 27, 2012 1:51 PM
Ben Popper
A big part of the tech boom in New York has been the arrival of several accelerators and incubators which are minting new classes of top tier startups. Today, in a presentation at Google Ventures in Manhattan, DreamIt Ventures announced …
Apple kills Android app discovery tool in Chomp
April 27, 2012 1:12 PM
Meghan Kelly
Apple has killed off recently acquired social application discovery tool Chomp’s Android feature. The tool, which helps people discover new apps, was previously directing people to interesting Android apps in Google Play.
Chomp was acquired by Apple in February this …
HP ‘Slate 8′ tablet with Windows 8 leaks to the web
April 27, 2012 1:03 PM
Sean Ludwig
An upcoming Hewlett-Packard tablet called the “Slate 8″ that runs Windows 8 and is thinner than the newest iPad has leaked to the web — one of many leaks we’re sure to see as Windows 8′s launch gets closer.
Windows …
GamesBeat Weekly Roundup
April 27, 2012 12:44 PM
Jasmine Maleficent Rea
If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best games stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.
Dine and dash: TGI Friday’s lets customers pay their tabs on iPhone and Android
April 27, 2012 12:01 PM
Jennifer Van Grove
Giving new meaning to the phrase “dine and dash,” feel-good restaurant chain TGI Friday’s has released an application for iPhone and Android that lets diners pay their tab right from their mobile device.
The application, called “Friday’s,” lets customers start …
Sharp reports largest-ever loss of $4.67 billion
Citing low sales from its flat-panel TV business, Sharp announced a loss of $4.7 billion during the 2011 fiscal year – the largest net loss in the company’s history.
Sharp expects things will get worse before they get better, and …
Twitter releases eight case studies for developers to digest
April 27, 2012 11:50 AM
Jolie O'Dell
The handy devs down at Twitter have just released some case studies into the wild. These eight case studies delve into the best practices of companies and products using the Twitter APIs.
Zappos, Etsy, Pocket Gems, Reuters, ESPN, Esri, Tiny …
TicketLeap becomes first ticketing startup with reserved seating options (updated)
April 27, 2012 11:40 AM
Sean Ludwig
Ticking startup TicketLeap has become the first ticketing startup to add a reserved seating feature and the ability to create custom seating charts, the company announced today.
While Ticketmaster has offered the ability to do this for event organizers and …
Check out the world’s longest invoice: $8.5M and counting
April 27, 2012 11:32 AM
Jolie O'Dell
Freelancing has its upsides: flexible hours, working from wherever, calling the shots, and generally doing it for yourself. But there’s one major downside that almost no freelancer has escaped: the deadbeat client who refuses to pay an invoice.
That abhorrent …
Cinemagram, an app for creating and sharing animated GIFs, adds 1 million users in six weeks
April 27, 2012 10:49 AM
Ben Popper
The animated GIF is one of the few native art forms on the web, a delightful micro-movie which has spawned countless memes. Cinemagram combines the stylish filters and simple sharing of Instagram with a app that allows users to turn …
Google Zerg rush attacks your search results with this fun Starcraft-inspired easter egg
April 27, 2012 10:32 AM
Rob LeFebvre
Quick, get your trigger finger ready. Head over to Google.com and type “zerg rush” (without the quotes) into the search field. Clicking on the search icon or hitting return on your keyboard will cause the Google logo to drop tons …
Non-gamers, here’s why you should care about games
Guest Post
As an early investor in social gaming, I’m often speaking on panels to audiences of gamers, investors, and game company execs. At one such event — the Future of Media conference hosted by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business — the …
Big Fish Games CEO hands reins back to founder Paul Thelen
April 27, 2012 9:47 AM
Dean Takahashi
Jeremy Lewis is stepping down as chief executive of casual game company Big Fish Games. Company founder Paul Thelen, who had previously served as chairman and chief strategy officer, will replace him.
Lewis (pictured above) did not offer a reason …
Why one company is making all its employees learn how to code
Guest Post
The most successful companies are ones that are never satisfied with the status quo. They are too busy looking for ways to improve their products, personnel, and experience for their customers.
There are many approaches a company can take to …
Google’s millions at work: the YouTube founders are going on a hiring/acquiring spree
April 27, 2012 9:02 AM
Jolie O'Dell
Chad Hurley and Steve Chen (pictured), founders of YouTube, have just received a cash infusion for their new company, AVOS.
The funding is the duo’s first institutional round, and it was led by (no surprise) Google Ventures and NEA, with …
Intuit to buy SMB marketing software player Demandforce for $423.5M
April 27, 2012 8:04 AM
Sean Ludwig
Business-software giant Intuit has agreed to acquire small-business marketing software firm Demandforce for $423.5 million in cash, the companies announced today.
Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks, TurboTax, and Quicken, will add Demandforce’s software-as-a-service offerings to its line up to make …
