Techbuddy

Apple has confirmed to The Verge that some iPad Pro models come slightly bent out of the box due to a manufacturing process. According to Apple, it shouldn’t impact your iPad in any way. But if you buy a new iPad Pro, please make sure that it’s not bent in case you want to exchange […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Spotify has settled the $1.6 billion lawsuit filed by music publisher Wixen Music Publishing in December 2017. The publisher, which represented artists like Tom Petty, Missy Elliot, Stevie Nicks and Neil Young, alleged copyright infringement – saying that Spotify was using tens of thousands of songs without a proper license. The financial terms of the settlement were […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

In 2006, the world’s Aibos began a slow march toward death. After seven years, Sony discontinued the line, citing disappointing sales. The company only managed to move around 150,000 in that time frame. By 2014, the electronics giant ended customer support altogether, leaving the remaining Aibos without support for the aging, electronic bodies. The promise […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Knowledge base is one of the departments where Alexa has lagged Assistant. After all, it’s pretty tough to compete with Google when comes to a sheer breadth of knowledge. Wolfram Alpha is a pretty good place to start. The answer engine offers a wide cross section of curated data, with a heavy focus on math […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Last month, we broke the news that Corel was buying Parallels, a pioneer in virtualization, to expand its footprint in the world of business software. Now that deal is official: today Canada-based Corel confirmed that it has acquired the company. Now products like CorelDraw and productivity apps like WordPerfect will sit alongside Parallels Desktop for Mac, Parallels […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

The Justice Department has unsealed a damning indictment that links an aggressive campaign to hack into U.S. tech and industry giants to spies working for the Chinese government. The indictment, out Thursday, accuses China’s main intelligence agency — the Ministry of State Security — of hacking into dozens of tech companies and government departments, largely […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Mystery drone operator/s have grounded flights at the UK’s second largest airport, disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of people hoping to get away over the festive period. The BBC reports that Gatwick Airport’s runway has been shut since Wednesday night on safety grounds, after drones were spotted being flown repeatedly over the […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

A fourth Thor film may never happen (contracts and Infinity Stones depending), but the leads of the wonderfully bent Ragnarok are back to save a different beloved franchise. The first trailer for Men in Black International reunites Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as Agents H & M (the discount department store jokes write themselves), two […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Apple will allow iOS users to gift in-app purchases, not just paid apps, according to a change to the company’s App Store Review Guidelines spotted this week. This means developers may soon have the tools to allow users to purchase virtual goods or even subscriptions through their app, which can then be gifted to others. […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

After attempting to access his own voice history per GDPR rules, an Alexa user in Germany suddenly found he was able to listen to some 1,700 voice recording from a stranger via a link sent by Amazon. The company is chalking the security snafu up to human error. “This was an unfortunate case of human […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Autodesk announced this morning that it intends to buy construction software platform, BuildingConnected for $275 million (net of the startup’s cash on hand). It comes on the heels of the company’s PlanGrid purchase for $875 million just last month. With BuildingConnected, the company gets a network of 700,000 construction-related professionals that help real estate companies […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Twitter and Facebook announced this morning they’ve removed a combined total of 30 accounts that were working to spread misinformation in Bangladesh, ten days before the country’s general elections. According to Facebook, the company removed nine Facebook Pages and six Facebook accounts that were engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” Twitter said it removed 15 accounts that […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Klaus Michael Vogelberg Contributor Share on Twitter Klaus Michael Vogelberg is the chief technology officer of Sage, a UK-based accounting software firm. A recent New York Times investigation into how smartphone-resident apps collect location data exposes why it’s important for industry to admit that the ethics of individuals who code and commercialize technology is as important […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

The fintech company has raised the funds from DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, March Capital Partners, Coatue Management and Ribbit Capital. from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Boosted has scored some serious cash as it looks to move beyond the world of electric skateboards to conquer new forms of personal transportation. The startup announced today that it has closed a $60 million round of Series B funding co-led by Khosla Ventures and iNovia Capital. Stanford’s StartX and Bay Meadows also participated in the round. […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

After a long year fighting underage use of its products, Juul Labs has today struck a deal with Altria Group, the owners of Philip Morris USA and makers of Marlboro cigarettes. The deal values Juul at $38 billion, according to Bloomberg, and injects the company with a fresh $12.8 billion in exchange for a 35 […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Uber Advanced Technologies Group has officially resumed on-road testing of its self-driving vehicles in Pittsburgh, nine months after the company halted its entire autonomous vehicle operation after one of its vehicles struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. The relaunch follows the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation decision to authorize Uber ATG […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

California startup Fair.com is aiming to turn the car market on its head by providing price-friendly, easy options for people to lease vehicles instead of buying them, and today it’s taking the latest, big step in that ambition. It has raised a huge Series B funding round of $385 million led by Softbank, with participation from […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

After grounding its fleet of autonomous vehicles for nine months and overhauling its systems, Uber’s driverless cars are back on the road. By KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2RescBM via IFTTT

One of the biggest providers of domain names and web hosting in Europe is changing hands today. One.com, which has around 1.5 million customers mainly across the north of the region, has been sold by private equity firm Accel-KKR to Cinven, another PE player that focuses on investments in Europe. Terms of the deal are […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Gamelearn, which develops video games to deliver corporate training, has scored $5 million in Series A funding. Participating in the new financing round is previous backer Kibo Ventures, along with Oak3Capital, All Iron Ventures, UL Invest, and Inveready. The Madrid-based startup says that will use the new capital to boost the company’s production of “serious […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Naspers, the South African investment giant, is back at it again in India! Days after backing educational startup Byju’s by leading a $540 million investment, it has led a $1 billion investment in food delivery company Swiggy. The new round sees Chinese internet and Naspers ally Tencent join the party, alongside fellow new investors Hillhouse Capital […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Grab, Southeast Asia’s top ride-hailing company, has hit a roadblock in its efforts to improve its mapping and routing service after running into trouble with OpenStreetMap, the world’s largest collaborative mapping community, through a series of blundering edits in Thailand. Grab, which gobbled up Uber’s local business in exchange for an equity swap earlier this […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

The digital revolution has spawned ‘challenger’ banks that operate entirely online, with no high street presence. That phenomenon has taken off in Europe — particularly the UK — but over in Hong Kong, one of the world’s key financial hubs, the digital-only push is coming to the insurance industry. Bowtie, a Hong Kong-based digital insurer, just […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

There’s worrying news from China’s online media world as ByteDance, the $75 billion company behind popular video app TikTok is taking a news site to court for alleged defamation after it published a story about ByteDance’s fake news problem in India. U.S. tech firms have come to rely on media to help uncover issues, but Chinese […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

For years, Facebook gave many large technology companies special access to users’ information. Here’s how it worked. By JENNIFER VALENTINO-DeVRIES from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2rOjXxW via IFTTT

In a new blog post, Facebook VP of Product Partnerships Ime Archibong addressed the company’s latest user privacy controversy. The rebuttal is the second round of Facebook’s push back against Tuesday’s report by the New York Times detailing some of Facebook’s special partnerships and extensive data sharing with major tech players. In the new post, […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Lawmakers and others criticized the social network after a New York Times report revealed Facebook gave its partners extensive access to user data. By MICHAEL LaFORGIA, NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and GABRIEL J.X. DANCE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2Lrl1B0 via IFTTT

In the city, we're constantly saturated with the radio waves from ten or twenty different routers, cell towers, and other wireless infrastructure. But in rural communities there might only be one internet connection for a whole village. LibreRouter is a hardware and software project that looks to let those communities build their own modern, robust mesh networks to make the most of their limited connectivity. from TechCrunch via IFTTT

After leaving Elon Musk’s big Boring Company test tunnel reveal Tuesday night, TechCrunch stumbled upon a gem that only the interwebs can provide. And because farting Teslas and an “entirely new system of transport,” just wasn’t enough for the last 24-hour Elon Musk news cycle, TechCrunch is sharing what it found. To be clear, this […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

If you’re concerned about what you eat, there’s a good chance you’ve looked at the food in the supermarket, or in your fridge, and wondered where it actually comes from. Now urban farming incubator Square Roots is introducing a new way for you to check full history of the produce that you’re about to purchase. […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Lawmakers are again unhappy with Facebook after the latest big story again portraying Facebook’s failure to protect the private data of its users. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the company had special relationships with a handful of major tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft and Spotify. The report alleges that Facebook allowed those partners forms […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

It was several years ago, at a tech conference in Laguna Beach, Ca., that the venture capitalist Bill Gurley issued one of what would become repeated warnings that startups were staying private too long. Comparing companies that refuse to go public to undergrads whose college careers extend several years past the point that they should, […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Real action to protect privacy hinges on big institutions, to the point that small, individual measures pale in comparison. But there are still ways to act. By ALAN HENRY from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2EERHGv via IFTTT

One of Tesla’s big selling points is the company’s ability to wirelessly push software updates to its electric vehicles. It’s what allows these vehicles to improve over time long after they’ve been purchased by customers. This week, one of those improvements was to deliver a few Easter eggs — as promised by CEO Elon Musk […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

WhatsApp is making group calls easier with a change to the way its mobile app works. Before, users would have to start a 1:1 video call, then add participants – there wasn’t an option to begin a group call at once, the company says. Now, the design has been updated so you can start group […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

When it comes to shift workers communicating with each other in the workplace when they are not face-to-face, gone are the days of cork announcement boards. Now, the messaging app is the medium, and today one of the startups tackling that opportunity in a unique way has raised a round of funding to get to […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

M&A activity was brisk in the enterprise market this year with 10 high-profile deals totaling almost $88 billion. Companies were opening up their wallets and pouring money into mega acquisitions. It’s worth noting that the $88 billion figure doesn’t include Dell paying investors over $23 billion for VMware tracking stock to take the company public […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Pinterest may follow Lyft and Uber to the public markets in the first half of 2019. from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Snapchat is looking to increase user engagement with the app with the launch of a new feature called Lens Challenges. Users can opt to participate in the challenges by creating a snap with a Lens that’s themed to a particular song, dance, holiday, event, and more, the company explains. For example, one of the first […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Renewable energy is the future, but at present no one is tracking just who's got solar panels on their roof, in their back yard, or a shared neighborhood installation. Fortunately, solar panels generally work best when exposed to the light. That makes them easy to spot, and count, from orbit — which is just what the DeepSolar project is doing. from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Coinbase acquired Earn.com for at least $120 million back in April. And the company now plans to transform Earn.com into Coinbase Earn, a website with educational content to learn more about cryptocurrencies. Users who complete those classes will earn tokens. Coinbase bought Earn.com partly so that it could appoint Earn.com co-founder and CEO Balaji Srinivasan […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

If there was a word that dominated startup and tech news coverage this year, it was SoftBank. The Japanese telecom conglomerate’s Vision Fund pushed out a prodigious amount of capital this year — quite literally billions of dollars — into companies as diverse as a molecular manufacturer (Zymergen) and a robotic pizza delivery business (Zume Pizza). […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Jim Rutenberg reflects on the convergence of technology with media, and how that has changed his consumption habits and coverage. (Warning: iPhone addiction ahead.) By JIM RUTENBERG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2Cnebtj via IFTTT

Microsoft today announced a new Office app that’s now available to Windows Insiders and that will soon roll out to all Windows 10 users. The new Office app will replace the existing My Office app (yeah, those names…). While the existing app was mostly about managing Office 365 subscriptions, the new app provides significantly more […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Say what you will about MoviePass (and there’s plenty to be said), the company doesn’t give up. The theater ticket subscription service’s production wing has dried the ink on a three picture deal with John McClane himself, Bruce Willis. Deadline, which first broke the news, notes that Willis has a long standing relationship with Randall […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

TechCrunch is working on a new project to help you build a better company. We’re looking for the great service providers in the startup world: the lawyers, accountants, recruiters, human resource managers, project managers and other experts you need to help you succeed. We’re putting together detailed lists of experts based on recommendations from our […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

Facebook users might have already moved on to the company’s next notable outrage, but the company is still answering for its privacy missteps from earlier this year. Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine filed a lawsuit against Facebook on Wednesday, alleging that the company has not fulfilled its responsibility to protect user data. Racine’s office […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

It was a first step by a state attorney general to punish Facebook for privacy violations. By SHEERA FRENKEL from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2A5yVEA via IFTTT

Cloud Spanner, Google’s globally distributed relational database service, is getting a bit more distributed today with the launch of a new region and new ways to set up multi-region configurations. The service is also getting a new feature that gives developers deeper insights into their most resource-consuming queries. With this update, Google is adding to […] from TechCrunch via IFTTT

By CADE METZ via NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2UT2nqb

     In the wake of the 2016 election, Instagram — known as the home of preening influencers, artfully arranged grain bowls and Icelandic vacation photos — somehow escaped much of the scrutiny of other social networks. But two new reports suggest that may have been a mistake. The reports, conducted by independent groups and released by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday, concluded that Instagram — which is owned by Facebook — became a favored tool of Russian internet trolls after the 2016 election.        2016 के चुनाव के बाद, इंस्टाग्राम - प्रजनन करने वाले प्रभावकों के घर के रूप में जाना जाता है, कलात्मक रूप से अनाज के कटोरे और आइसलैंडिक अवकाश तस्वीरें व्यवस्थित करता है - किसी भी तरह से अन्य सामाजिक नेटवर्क की जांच से बच निकला। लेकिन दो नई रिपोर्टों से पता चलता है कि एक गलती हो सकती है। स्वतंत्र समूहों द्वारा आयोजित रिपोर्ट और सोमवार को सीनेट इंटेलिजेंस कमेटी द्वारा जारी की गई, ने निष्कर्ष निकाला कि इंस्टाग्राम - जो फेसबुक के स्वामित्व में है - 2016 के चुनाव के

By MIKE ISAAC and SHEERA FRENKEL via NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2DDbHtB