As expected, Microsoft hit go on a number of layoffs today, letting 2,100 people go, including 747 people in the Seattle-Redmond area, where the company is headquartered. The firings come as a second wave of the layoffs that were previously announced. Out of 18,000 expected cuts, 13,000 were pulled off nearly immediately. Today’s 2,100 brings the total number to just over 15,000,… Read More
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Meta — which recently presented at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2014 — today began to ship the final version of its Meta 1 Developer Kit (which includes the AR glasses). The 1,500 members of the company’s Pioneer Developer Program will be the lucky (and patient) recipients of the glasses and the accompanying SDK. I say patient, because this shipment is the culmination of… Read More
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Osmo, the gaming device from former Googlers that combines real world play and the iPad, is now shipping after receiving $2 million in pre-orders, including those from over 2,000 schools. The company is also announcing this morning a new platform that will allow anyone to design games for Osmo. At launch, this lets parents, teachers, and others customize Osmo’s word game with their… Read More
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Offering a different spin on anonymous mobile chatting, Seattle-based Reveal Chat is debuting an app today that lets its users share more with the other party as they become more comfortable with the person they’ve connected with on the other end of the screen. Founded by a pair of ex-Amazonians, the startup is backed by a number of high-profile investors, including former Facebook… Read More
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Enterprise social network Convo has finally brought chat from its desktop and web apps to mobile. Today, the company is rolling out a new version of its app for iOS and Android that significantly changes its look while bringing real-time chat to its users when they aren’t sitting at their desks. Read More
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Twilio, the San Francisco-based company that currently works with around half a million developers to integrate text messaging, voice and VoIP services into their apps by way of a set of simple APIs, is today adding a new feature into its artillery that taps into some of the most popular uses for smartphones today. It is launching MMS picture messaging. Twilio MMS will work on all standard… Read More
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The App Store has often been criticized for limiting discoverability, but Apple has armed developers with new promotional tools with the release of iOS 8 that should help them get their stuff in front of more potential customers. App Previews are short videos that devs can use to show their software in action, which occupy the first slot in the screenshot section of an app description, and… Read More
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Anki Drive, the slot-car racing game for the mobile era, is finally launching on Android and dropping in price just in time for the holiday shopping season. Sometime in October, Anki Drive shed its iOS exclusivity and will launch on Android and work with select Android phones. Available today, the Starter Kit now costs just $149.99 from Anki.com, and it will be available at Amazon, Apple… Read More
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Apple has a new patent application (via AppleInsider) that describes incorporating bone conduction tech into its EarPods, as well as packing them with sensors for better noise cancellation.
The sensors include accelerometers to detect vibration in a wearer’s skull while they’re talking, and is able to then identify speech and filter out other ambient noises that classify as non-vocal. Read More
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UK music ticketing startup Dice, launching today in London on iOS and Android, is looking to tear up the traditional ticket buying process by ripping out booking fees and sending the middleman up in virtual smoke. The KLF would surely be proud.