On December 3rd, 1992 in the little town of Newbury, Berkshire, a UK programmer sent his best mate a few lines of greeting using a unique new technique called Short Messaging Service. The programmer, Neil Papworth, was a test engineer for the Sema Group, and sent the message via PC to the phone of Richard Jarvis, a Vodafone employee. The message was “Merry Christmas.” Vodafone intended the service as a fun and easy way to communicate internally.
That obviously wasn’t the case. ...
The First Six Months Developing For The Computer On My FaceComments Off
Being one of the first cyborgs in the world has meant that I have been privy to a unique set of bizarre experiences. Experiences that lead to some early observations and theories about the future of Google Glass and wearable technology. |
50M Matches Strong, Hot Mobile Dating App Tinder Is Ready To Go Global, And Move Beyond FlirtingComments Off
While it’s still too early to make any pronouncements, it’s looking more and more like Tinder could buck the trend. Created by Hatch Labs — an LA-based startup backed by IAC, the same Barry Diller-led digital media giant that owns Match.com and OKCupid — Tinder has grown like a weed since it launched in October. |
Google Now’s “Topics” Page Returns And Shows You How Much Google Knows About You, But It Only Works On AndroidComments Off
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Ask A VC: Index Ventures’ Danny Rimer On The Future Of Ecommerce And MoreComments Off
Rimer, who has led the firm’s investments in Etsy, Nastygal and many others, also talked to us about the future of ecommerce and how the industry is changing for startups. |
Microsoft And Google Bury The Hatchet To Work On A Windows Phone YouTube App With AdsComments Off
Well, after a bit of back and forth (and a conciliatory update), it seems the two companies have finally come to an agreement. Microsoft and YouTube released a statement today affirming that the two companies will work together on crafting yet another YouTube app for Windows Phone that doesn’t fly in the face of Google’s and YouTube’s rules. |
Editor’s note: Jon Gottfried is a Developer Evangelist at Twilio, co-founder of the Hacker Union, and a StartupBus Conductor. 
Digital dating is nothing to scoff at; it’s a big business, and it’s changed a lot of lives — mostly for the better. Yet, while dating has seen enormous progress during the Digital Era, there’s still a lot garbage out there, and the space is still mostly dominated by a handful of old names. A gaggle of dating sites and apps have appeared over the past five years, but few have had real staying power, and many have gone the way of the dinosaur.
A few weeks ago, Google briefly made a “Google Now” topics page available on the web and then took it down again. The page showed a list of topics Google believed you were interested in, based on your search history. Now this feature is back, but it’s a bit different from the leaked page. A few days ago, it seems, the company quietly (re-)launched this feature with the latest Google Now update. The leaked page was also visible on the desktop, but it looks like Google has plugged this hole the cards are now only available on Android – and only by going through Google Now’s research cards.
On this week’s Ask A VC episode, Index Ventures partner Danny Rimer joined us in the studio. Rimer has been in the venture industry for over 11 years so he had plenty to share on how VC has changed, and the differences in the venture world in Europe and the U.S.
Once a upon a time, Microsoft saw fit to put together a YouTube app for Windows Phone and it was actually pretty great — it let users download videos straight from the app and there was nary an ad to be found. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Google wasn’t too pleased: after all, the features that made the app so appealing didn’t exactly jibe with YouTube’s terms of service, and the search giant demanded the offending app be removed.
