Nerdly News Curated from Interesting Sites
Google Home is quietly gaining support for a number of the features announced at I/O earlier this summer that bring the company’s home assistant more on-par with the older and wiser Amazon Echo. Last week, the company began rolling out hands-free calling and Spotify free support for the device. Over the weekend, Google Home gained support for bluetooth audio playback as well. Previously… Read More
Despite countless attempts and millions in venture capital, the calendar, one of the most ubiquitous work tools, has remained largely unchanged for as long as I can remember. Rather than overwrite the calendar in an effort to make it obsolete, Ahryun Moon and Jasper Sone, co-founders of GoodTime, are putting the calendar front and center — embracing it as a means of understanding… Read More
The latest version of Android is officially here, and it’s called Android Oreo, as most people suspected. Google made the interesting decision to reveal the final name and consumer launch details of Android 8.0 coincidentally with the arrival of the solar eclipse over NYC, which is where it held its launch livestream today. Google has traditionally used sweet treats for the names of… Read More
Google officially launched Android Oreo. today. To be honest, it’s probably one of the least exciting operating system releases in recent memory. While the team did plenty of work on the backend, Android Oreo only includes a few noteworthy user interface updates. The highlight of this release is probably the new Notification Dots — and that sums things up pretty well. Read More
The newest version of Android (Oreo, officially) doesn’t bring a ton of new stuff to the mobile operating system, but it does overhaul something near and dear to most smartphone user’s hearts: Emoji. Google has done away with its ‘blob’ style smileys in favor of more traditional-looking (I guess?) smileys, and emoji that in general look more recognizable when compared… Read More
Facebook is giving its “Safety Check” feature a permanent home in its app and on the desktop, the company announced today. The feature, which lets you check to see whether friends and family are safe following a crisis, will now have its own dedicated button in the app’s navigation menu and will be available via the Facebook website on the desktop. The change comes following… Read More
Google just announced Android Oreo and it packs a handful of new features. Some are at the system level that speeds up the system and extends the battery life while others are features that will change the way users interact with their phone. A lot of these features should be familiar to iPhone and iPad owners. Normally Apple is the one accused of copying Android, but for Android Oreo,… Read More
Apple just dropped a brand new beta for iOS 11. And you know that iOS 11 is going to be your favorite major iOS update of the year, as there’s only one per year. The company has been testing iOS 11 for a couple of months already. Don’t forget that the beta program is primarily targeted at developers working on app updates. Read More
Markforged, a 3D printer manufacturer based in Boston, has just announced two new models – the X3 and the X5. Both of these printers are designed to create carbon-fiber infused objects using a standard filament printing system and both can produce items that can replace or are stronger than steel objects. Both printers have auto-leveling and scanning systems to ensure each printed object… Read More
We’ve reached peak eclipse. It’s coming in just a few hours and is all anyone is talking about (online and IRL). But there’s one thing we’ve been hearing a lot of – which is that taking a photograph of the eclipse with your iPhone could fry the camera. Well, it’s not true. We checked with Apple and confirmed that it will not damage the iPhone’s camera… Read More
The Multimodal Autonomous Drone (S-MAD) is a fixed-wing drone that has a few bird-like tricks up its sleeve. You can, for example, fly it like a glider through a room or open space but when it approaches a flat surface the drone quickly changes configuration and lands flat with its little spiky teeth digging in to keep it from falling. In short, this is one of the scariest robotic behaviors… Read More
The arrival of a new Android version isn’t nearly as rare as a total solar eclipse, but Google’s hoping the solar system will share the spotlight as it takes the wraps off of its latest mobile operating system. Among other things, Android O will likely be getting an official release date and alphabetic dessert name, with “Oreo” looking like the top contender. So, how… Read More
There are plenty of CEOs-turned-investors, but few investors get quite as involved in their portfolio companies as Fritz Lanman.
Lanman is currently the executive chairman and cofounder Verst, Doppler Labs, and recently took over the CEO position at ClassPass, where he was an investor and executive chairman.
Lucky for all of us, Lanman will be joining us on stage at TC Disrupt SF in September. Read More
Say you have a ’57 Chevy. Sky blue and white. It’s a beauty. But it sits in your garage most of the year. That’s where DriveShare comes in. Backed by Haggerty, the collectible car insurance company, this peer-to-peer rental service lets owners rent their classic and exotic rides. The idea has been done before. Peer-to-peer car rental is not new. There’s Getaround, Turo… Read More
The VW Microbus is about as iconic as they come in the world of automobiles, and the I.D. Buzz is the electric, modern incarnation of that van Volkswagen introduced as a concept back in January. In June, the automaker surprised many by announcing the I.D. Buzz would eventually become a production vehicle, instead of just another concept destined to fade away in the mists of time. Now,… Read More
Intel might be sticking to the familiar Kaby Lake architecture for the eight generation of its Core chips, but the its internal testing looks pretty promising as far as performance goes. The company says the chips are capable of a 40-percent increase over their predecessors — and even more notable for those finally ready to upgrade an old system: about double the performance of a five… Read More
eMoov, one of a number of online real estate agents fighting it out in the U.K., has picked up £9 million in new backing. The round was led by consumer investment group JXC Ventures, with participation from existing investors Episode 1 VC, Maxfield Capital, Spire and Startive Ventures. Read More
Capital Float, which claims to be the largest online lending platform in India, announced today that it has raised a $45 million Series C led by Ribbit Capital. Returning investors SAIF Partners, Sequoia India and Creation Investments also participated. Read More
Fintech startup N26 is getting more and more customers. The company reported 300,000 customers back in March. It now has 500,000 customers across Europe.
More importantly, growth seems to be accelerating as the startup announced that it was adding a thousand customers every day back in March. Now, around 1,500 customers sign up every day.
“More than 60 percent of our growth is still… Read More
Microsoft just pulled the trigger on Xbox One X pre-orders, offering up the souped up version of its console for $499. Unveiled back at E3 in June after a year’s worth of teasers, the latest Xbox One features more memory and improved processing designed for 4K playback. The company is also using its platform at the Gamecom conference in Cologne, Germany to debut a limited edition version… Read More