Nerdly News Curated from Interesting Sites
“It’s a way to give people a chance to have fun, maybe win, maybe learn something new.” That’s how former Vine co-founder Rus Yusupov describes his new trivia game show app HQ, which feels like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire meets Facebook Live. At 3pm and 9pm Eastern, thousands of people open up HQ’s iOS app and play along as excitable host Scott Rogowsky… Read More
Dropbox has a Plus account for those people who want extra storage and it has a business account for those who want extra features, but what it’s lacked until now was a product for sole proprietors and very small businesses who wanted some advanced features, but couldn’t justify upgrading to Business. Today, the company announced a new account level called Dropbox Professional… Read More
After a few years of sticking with essentially the same design, Google Calendar on the web is getting a makeover today. That means a fresh new color palette and a design in line with Google’s Material Design scheme, but also — and more importantly — a responsive layout that smartly adjusts your calendar to the size of your browser window. This update isn’t just about… Read More
Hard to believe that TechCrunch’s first Startup Battlefield Australia is just one month away. The Sydney event on Nov. 16 at ATP’s Locomotive Workshop will present a tremendous day of programming and an epic competition to find the best early-stage startup across Australia and New Zealand. TechCrunch and our partner, Elevacao, are very pleased to announce the agenda for the big… Read More
Amazon today announced it’s improving one of Alexa’s most-used features: lists. The company is expanding both the Shopping list and To-Do list functionality to allow Alexa device owners to create their own lists for any purpose – beyond just things they need to pick up at the store, for example, or their everyday tasks. Instead, Alexa will now allow users to name their own… Read More
Star Wars’ cinematic universe tale focused on young Han Solo has a name, and we found out thanks to director Ron Howard, who announced it using a placard in a video shared on Twitter. The name, in case you were wondering, is “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” It follows the “A Star Wars Story” model set by Rogue One, the first spin-out movie set in the Star Wars universe… Read More
The foldable smartphone has been strange sort of white whale for the mobile industry. You could fill a Raiders of the Lost Ark-sized warehouse will all of the attempts to bring the technology to the market. At the very least, ZTE’s new Axon M has one key advantage over many of its predecessors: it’s actually going on sale. And it’s coming to the US, no less.
It’s… Read More
SelfMade brings professional photo editing to your phone — yes, literally. The startup, which is announcing that it has raised $11 million in funding, was founded by CEO Brian Schechter and CTO Zach Lloyd. Schechter was previously co-founder at IAC-acquired dating startup HowAboutWe, and he points to HowAboutWe as the starting point for his interest in photo editing. After all, he… Read More
StockX, the “stock market of things” that originally started with high-end sneakers and expanded into handbags and watches, is now adding support for streetwear.
Supreme gear is live now in the app, with BAPE, Kith and Off-White coming soon. Over 3,000 Supreme products are already live on the platform. Anyone who creates an account can list an item to sell, and everything is… Read More
Amazon and Garmin have teamed up to bring the wisdom and subservient attitude of Alexa to a car near you. The Garmin Speak is an Echo Dot-like device that sits in the dash of your car and brings the full range of Alexa skills into the car. What’s more, the Garmin Speak integrates Alexa services through the car stereo, meaning you can listen to music, audiobooks, news and weather through… Read More
While there’s a larger debate swirling around Twitter’s problems with abuse and harassment, the business side of the business is still chugging along. Today, the company is unveiling a new ad format called the Video Website Card, which it describes as ” a creative format that combines the power of video with the ability to drive users back to a site to learn more or take… Read More
Allset has raised $5 million in Series A funding led by Greycroft. The startup’s goal is to eliminate most of the wait time that comes with eating out. You make a reservation through the Allset smartphone app, and when you do, you also order your food and pay for the meal. Ideally, that means you should get your food within five minutes of arriving at the restaurant, and you should be… Read More
In the earliest days of the Surface, it was hard to shake the notion that the line was something of a reference design for Windows 8. Things have evolved quite a bit. The line has grown to include two convertible tablets, a pair of laptops, a 28-inch all-in-one and a high-tech whiteboard, while the devices themselves have become some of the most capable and compelling in their respective spaces. Read More
Google’s changes to the Pixel cameras are mostly on the software side, but they gain some excellent additional abilities, including a new Portrait mode, as well as optical image stabilization to compliment Google’s digital anti-shake for photos and video. Google spent a lot of time during its presentation crowing about the Pixel 2 (and Pixel 2 XL, since their cameras are the… Read More
Announced roughly this time last year, Creators Update was Microsoft’s attempt to capture the creative types who have long been considered a core part of the Mac ecosystem’s userbase. The update brought simple 3D content creation tools to Windows 10 and additional gaming functionality, among other things. The new Fall Creators Update, which is set to roll out to all users today,… Read More
It’s well past time to put to rest any doubt surrounding Microsoft’s hardware ambitions. Over the past few years, the company has transformed the Surface line from boutique proof of concept to one of the more innovative and forward-looking PC brands on the market. The Surface Book is one of the best examples of the line — Microsoft took the wraps off the Surface Book 2… Read More
Google’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have a number of strengths to recommend them, but what makes them really unique is that they offer two versions of phone that finally, for Android, will provide everything anyone really needs in a smartphone. Other device makers have realized that different sizes appeal to different customers, but Google’s Pixel lineup offers a true choice, instead of… Read More
Here’s a surprise: Google’s Pixel 2 phones include a custom system-on-a-chip (SoC) that’s optimized for image processing — but it currently just sits there, doing nothing. Google says it’ll turn this chip on in the coming weeks as a developer option in the preview of Android Oreo 8.1. Read More
Once upon a time, Microsoft had a whole line of gaming hardware under the Sidewinder brand, and while they never really put a dent in Razer or Logitech, they put out some decent mice (the X3 “might serve as a good introduction to multiple DPI settings for your mom or dad,” I wrote in 2010). I’m glad to see they’re returning to that advanced-mousing heritage with the… Read More
Google’s latest Daydream View build is by no means a major departure from the previous iteration. While it’s sturdier, more thought-out and a bit more expensive, it encapsulates much of the same features of the headset from last year. This View looks almost identical to its previous iteration but the changes to its build materials are substantial and give the device a feeling that… Read More