Japan’s top smartphone messaging app, Line, which reaches about a third of that country’s mobile phone users, just announced the release of Line Kids (link via Google Translate), for children aged six and younger. Line Kids is currently available only in Japan, and developer NHN Japan (an affiliate of South Korea-based NHN Corporation) says it does not currently have plans to release it outside of the country. But, as Kim-Mai Cutler noted in a November profile of Line, the app has th...
Is The FBI Dumb, Evil, Or Just Incompetent?Comments Off
But some of those providers have no interest in spying on their users. The FBI is not amused. “A government task force is preparing legislation that would pressure companies such as Facebook and Google to enable law enforcement officials to intercept online communications as they occur,” according to the Washington Post, by fining them increasing sums until they build government-accessible back doors into their systems. Which invites the titular question of this post. |
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. |
Your government is worried. The world is “going dark.” Once upon a time, telephones were the only way to talk to someone far away, and the authorities could wiretap any phone they wanted. Nowadays, though, suspects might be communicating via Facebook, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Skype, Viber. 
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.
