Recall announced for all 440k Nest smoke detectors due to previously-disclosed safety issue with wave-to-dismiss feature
Nest recalling 440,000 smoke alarms for safety risk — NEW YORK — Nest Labs is recalling 440,000 smoke alarms to fix a feature that could prevent the alarm from sounding immediately.
Apple confirms WWDC 2014 keynote to be held Monday, June 2nd at 10 AM PT; new hardware likely
This morning, Apple revealed the schedule for next month's Worldwide Developers Conference. To start things off, an Apple keynote will be held from 10AM to 12PM on Monday, June 2nd at Moscone West.
Spotify reaches 10M paid subscribers, launches in Brazil next week, still isn't profitable
Streams of Tears: Why Spotify Can't Make Money — Daniel Ek has devoted most of his waking moments over the past few years to evangelizing about the glories of streaming music. He's well suited to t...
eBay Advises Users To Change Passwords Following Cyberattack, “Large Number” Of Users Affected
Following an odd blog post which appeared overnight and then was quickly taken down which alerted eBay users to reset their passwords, eBay has now published its official statement informing …
Dubai police to use Google Glass to fine traffic violators and track wanted vehicles
Dubai Police to use Google Glass — Device can be used to fine motorists and track wanted vehicles, says senior official — Dubai: Dubai Police will soon use Google Glass to issue fines to errant mo...
While working for the NSA, Snowden led a “Crypto Party” to teach 20 neighbors about encryption
Snowden's First Move Against the NSA Was a Party in Hawaii — It was December 11, 2012, and in a small art space behind a furniture store in Honolulu, NSA contractor Edward Snowden …
Facebook Adds Shazam-Style Audio Recognition To Help You Automatically Tag Posts With TV Shows And Songs
Facebook has a new weapon in the battle against Twitter to host lucrative conversations about media. A Shazam-esque opt-in feature coming to the iOS and Android status composer …
External Storage, Real Names and More Coming with Xbox One System Update in June
With the next system update coming in June, we're thrilled to announce two of your most-requested features will be here soon: external storage support and real names for identifying your friends.
Oculus VR and Palmer Luckey being sued by CTO's former employer (update)
Oculus VR and co-founder Palmer Luckey are being sued by Zenimax Media and id Software, the former employer of Oculus VR chief technical officer John Carmack. The suit claims that John Carmack, while...
Google plans international acquisitions worth up to $30B, it tells SEC
Google passed on a potential acquisition of a non-U.S. company worth up to $5 billion, it said — Google plans to spend $20 billion to $30 billion of its of its accumulated international profits to f...
HBO shows are now streaming on Amazon Instant Video
‘True Blood,’ ‘Six Feet Under,’ and more — As promised, a number of HBO shows are now available to stream through Amazon Prime Instant Video. Starting today, you'll be able to stream the complete r...
Patent reform dies in Senate as Leahy pulls plug on key bill
A closely watched patent reform bill failed on Wednesday as Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that he lacked the bipartisan support to push the bill forwa...
Airbnb Agrees to Give New York Anonymized User Data
Airbnb, which has already taken down 2,000 accommodation listings in New York from “bad actors,” agreed to warn all new and old hosts in the state that they may be breaking hotel laws. — It was part...
Wealth Management Startup FutureAdvisor Raises $15.5 Million
Looking to bring top-flight wealth management services to the middle class, FutureAdvisor has raised $15.5 million in fresh capital. — The round was led by new investor Canvas with participation fro...
Google Beats Apple in List of World's Most Valuable Brands
Google, Apple, IBM and Microsoft are the companies that rank the highest in terms of brand value, according to a new study commissioned by WPP and conducted by Millward Brown. McDonald's is the only ...
Anonymous app Secret launches on Android and expands worldwide
International users will no longer have to wait to get their hands on buzzy anonymous confession app Secret, as the company announced Wednesday that the app is now available to download worldwide on b...
U.S. utility's control system was hacked, says Homeland Security
(Reuters) - A sophisticated hacking group recently attacked a U.S. public utility and compromised its control system network, but there was no evidence that the utility's operations were affected, acc...
WhatsApp to grow footprint eightfold with new office in downtown Mountain View
WhatsApp, Facebook Inc.'s $19 billion baby, just signed a major long-term lease in downtown Mountain View that will expand its footprint 700 percent — hinting at the five-year-old instant messaging co...
BlackBerry launches Project Ion to join the internet of things
BlackBerry is launching a series of projects called Project Ion for the internet of things with the idea of using its experience in building secure, connected devices to connect sensors, cars and anyt...
New lawsuit accuses Google of AdSense fraud
The lawsuit seeks class action status and could expose more of the internal workings of how Google manages AdSense if allowed to proceed. — Google — A lawsuit filed Tuesday against Google accuses ...
Pro-Privacy Blackphone Pulls $30M Into Silent Circle
Encrypted comms firm Silent Circle has just announced a new funding round which it says has been fueled by demand in the privacy-focused smartphone, Blackphone, the security hardened Android handset i...
Govt officials say NSA routinely spies on other countries to advance US economic interests
Fine Line Seen in U.S. Spying on Companies — WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency has never said what it was seeking when it invaded the computers of Petrobras, Brazil's huge national oil compa...
Google Plans Low-Cost, High Quality Wi-Fi Networks For Small- And Medium-Sized Businesses, Report Says
Google is apparently planning to offers subsidized, commercial-grade Wi-Fi hardware to small and medium-sized businesses, The Information reports, alongside software to help greatly improve …
Yelp will start letting users upload 3-12 second videos in early June
Yelp Is Adding A New Video Feature To Its Reviews — Yelp is adding a new video feature to its app that will let users upload short clips in the same way that they would upload photos.
Google tells SEC it could serve ads to thermostats, cars, refrigerators, and other devices
Google Predicts Ads in Odd Spots Like Thermostats — Advertising may be coming to your thermostat and lots of other strange places, courtesy of Google. — In a December letter to the Securities …
Marc Andreessen: Obama's meetings with tech execs over spying were for show, producing no progress
Marc Andreessen: Tech companies are still fuming over the NSA — Marc Andreessen at The Washington Post. (Cecilia Kang / The Washington Post) — Almost a year after he released …
New lawsuit accuses Google of AdSense fraud
The lawsuit seeks class action status and could expose more of the internal workings of how Google manages AdSense if allowed to proceed. — Google — A lawsuit filed Tuesday against Google accuses ...
How D-Wave began selling its quantum computer amid skepticism it was really a classical one
The Age of Quantum Computing Has (Almost) Arrived — Google owns a — lot of computers—perhaps a million servers stitched together into the fastest, most powerful artificial intelligence on the plan...
California approves rules for testing self-driving cars in California
On Tuesday, the California DMV officially approved rules to allow the testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads. The rules will take effect September 16, 2014. — The move had been a long time ...
Darkcoin, which offers greater anonymity than bitcoin, rises tenfold in value in only a month
Darkcoin, the Shadowy Cousin of Bitcoin, Is Booming — Someone out there likes anonymous money. — In only a month, the little-known bitcoin alternative known as Darkcoin has rocketed nearly tenfold...
Google probably considers MetaFilter a haven for comment spam, despite best-in-industry moderation
On the Future of MetaFilter — Peak ads, MetaFilter's Google Problems, and the need to scale back. — MetaFilter is the little weblog that could, established in 1999 as one of the first community bl...
Netflix launching in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg this year
Netflix to launch in six European countries this year — (Reuters) - Netflix Inc will launch its online movie and TV subscription service later this year in France, Germany and four other European co...
Ex-Beats, Spotify Execs Debut Soundtrack Your Brand To Stream Spotify In Public Venues
Spotify today dominates the market for music streaming services for consumers. Now a new startup, started by Spotify's ex-head of business development Andreas Liffgarden and co-founder of Beats Music...
Fab to Cut Another 80 to 90 Jobs, a Third of Global Staff
E-commerce company Fab is announcing another round of job cuts tomorrow, laying off between 80 and 90 employees to trim costs as it shifts resources to focus more on designing and developing products ...
New York's Top Lawyer Is Getting His Hands On AirBNB's Records
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has scored a major victory in his quest to investigate AirBNB hosts who are breaking state law. Schneiderman and the roomsharing startup issued a joint sta...
Pinterest Rolls Out A New “Business Insights” API To Select Marketing Technology Companies
Fresh off the heels of another massive $200 million funding round which values the company at $5 billion, Pinterest is preparing to announce a new initiative that will allow businesses to gain …
Local Services Marketplace Thumbtack Raises $30 Million
Thumbtack, a marketplace that connects local professionals with clients, has raised a $30 million Series C round from Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management, TechCrunch has learned. — The start...
Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine Face Royalties Claim From Beats Headphones Co-Founder (Exclusive)
Steven Lamar is upset over an alleged breach on the 2006 deal he worked out with Dre and Iovine. — Dr. Dre, left, and Jimmy Iovine — As the rumored marriage between Apple Computers …
Context Relevant lands $21M, looks to bring ‘big data’ to Wall Street
Context Relevant CEO Stephen Purpura can't tell you the Wall Street firms that are buying up his company's predictive analytics software. Too much money is at stake. That's because the big data offe...