Security experts say Burr-Feinstein draft encryption bill is flawed and dangerous
The Senate's Draft Encryption Bill Is ‘Ludicrous, Dangerous, Technically Illiterate’ — As Apple battled the FBI for the last two months over the agency's demands that Apple help crack its own encryp...
John Chen says BlackBerry will release two mid-range Android smartphones this year, one of them with physical keyboard, admits Priv was too expensive
BlackBerry switches focus back on mid-range smartphone market — BlackBerry has switched its focus back to the mid-range smartphone market …
Google releases stable version of Android Studio 2.0, which includes Instant Run, new emulator, Cloud Test Lab integration, and more
Android Studio 2.0 — Android Studio 2.0 is the fastest way to build high quality, performant apps for the Android platform, including phones and tablets …
In a letter to the court, DoJ says it still needs Apple's help to crack iPhone in Brooklyn case
The government still wants Apple to help it crack an iPhone in New York — Although the Justice Department withdrew its request for Apple to help it hack into an iPhone used …
Yahoo Gives Bidders Another Week, Moving Deadline to April 18
Yahoo has moved the deadline for its bids out another week to April 18, according to sources close to the situation and the blabby bankers they talk to. — The process to sell Yahoo has been churning...
Facebook updates policy to let publishers post and tag paid-for content on verified pages
Facebook drops branded content restrictions for publishers — Facebook is letting publishers and other verified pages distribute branded-content for free, but it's unclear whether its labeling system...
BMW leads $11.7M Series A in RideCell, launches car-sharing service ReachNow in Seattle in partnership with the startup
BMW just jumped into the U.S. car-sharing biz, with the help of YC alum RideCell — BMW just launched a new car-sharing service called ReachNow that will enable Seattle residents …
WordPress.com enables HTTPS with Let's Encrypt for new hosted sites with custom domains, will soon expand support to 1M+ sites currently using custom domains
HTTPS Everywhere: Encryption for All WordPress.com Sites — Today we are excited to announce free HTTPS for all custom domains hosted on WordPress.com.
FCC chairman seeks new regulations to increase competition in the market for “special access” broadband for businesses
How banks, hospitals and universities buy broadband could soon see big changes — Every time you swipe your credit card at a store, withdraw money from an ATM …
White House proposes legislation to create $3.1B revolving fund for upgrading outdated federal IT systems
White House offers details on $3.1B IT modernization plan — The White House has proposed legislation to create a $3.1 billion revolving fund for upgrading outdated federal IT systems.
Twitter appoints Pepsi CFO Hugh Johnston and LastMinute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox to its board, replacing Peter Currie and Peter Chernin
Peter Kafka / Re/code :
How tech companies are using poets, novelists, playwrights, and TV writers to engineer the personalities of AI virtual assistants
SAN FRANCISCO — Until recently, Robyn Ewing was a writer in Hollywood, developing TV scripts and pitching pilots to film studios.
City report: 26% of San Francisco homes on Airbnb violate city's 90 day annual limit on unhosted rentals; most hosts have yet to register
Carolyn Said / San Francisco Chronicle :
Japan government to test system this summer allowing foreign tourists to verify identity and make purchases using only fingerprints
The Japan News :
Uber to pay up to $25M to settle SF, LA lawsuit over driver background checks; $10M to be paid within 60 days, $15M to be waived if settlement terms are met
Jessica Floum / San Francisco Chronicle :
Researchers show how variations in the way the same face emoji is depicted on different platforms can lead to miscommunication
Investigating the Potential for Miscommunication Using Emoji — Hey emoji users: Did you know that when you send your friend on your Nexus, they might see on their iPhone? Tweets: @ia Tweets: i...
Amazon names Andy Jassy CEO of Amazon Web Services, Jeff Wilke CEO of Worldwide Consumer; Jeff Bezos remains CEO of entire company
“This year, Amazon became the fastest company ever … Rachel Nielsen / Seattle Business Journal : Amazon gives CEO titles to cloud, consumer chiefs Eugene Kim / Business Insider : Amazon promotes the t...
Samsung making aggressive play for emerging markets by lowering prices, adding high-end features to its low and mid tier phones
Jonathan Cheng / Wall Street Journal :
Researchers: hard-to-detect malicious Firefox add-ons can hijack very popular add-ons like NoScript and Firebug to execute malicious code and steal data
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica :
Facebook will announce chatbot and live chat APIs at F8
TechCrunch :
Publishers of 1200+ newspapers send cease and desist letter to makers of Brave browser, claiming its plan to block and replace ads is illegal
or else Rob Thubron / TechSpot : Publishers call Brave's ad-blocking browser “blatantly illegal” in cease and desist letter JC Torres / SlashGear : Newspapers cry foul over Brave browser's ad scheme
Open Whisper Systems' Signal Desktop messaging system now available to all, no longer invite-only
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch :
X.ai, maker of a virtual assistant that you CC to schedule meetings, raises $23M Series B, sources say at a valuation of around $100M
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch :
AI-powered law for startups
Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better. We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts. Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho CRM Plus in 2025: A year of thoughtful CX improvements
2025 marked 11 years of building a customer experience platform designed to support organizations as customer expectations, channels …
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data
Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.