MoviePass failed so cinema can live

In the blink of an eye, MoviePass went from being one of the hottest startups to a textbook example of how not to run a company. Its $9.95-a-month plan, which let you see one movie per day, launched last year, followed by explosive growth. But MovieP... https://ift.tt/2OQC1BT Devindra Hardawar August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM

A homeowner’s guide to living on Mars

If you had to live the rest of your life on Mars, what would you miss the most? Figuring out how we could we be comfortable living on the red planet is a challenge but with increasing discussion about how to send people to Mars with the ultimate aim of colonizing the planet, how to replace the sensation of the sunshine on your face or the grass beneath your feet is prescient one. Luckily there is no shortage of expertise. On May 16, 2018, I organized a workshop at the University of Bristol in collaboration with local artists Ella Good…

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https://ift.tt/2APzFAp The Conversation August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

Here’s Twitter’s position on Alex Jones (and hate-peddling anti-truthers) — hint: It’s a fudge

The number of tech platforms taking action against Alex Jones, the far right InfoWars conspiracy theorist and hate speech preacher, has been rising in recent weeks — with bans or partial bans including from Google, Apple and Facebook. However, as we noted earlier, Twitter is not among them. Although it has banned known hate peddlers […] https://ift.tt/2vnfWmG Natasha Lomas August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM

West Virginia to roll out blockchain-powered voting app – but there’s a caveat

West Virginia is preparing to roll out a voting app in the upcoming mid-term elections that will be powered by blockchain tech, but there’s a catch. In March 2018, West Virginia piloted a scheme to allow their overseas military personnel to vote in state elections from their smartphone. The scheme implemented a solution developed by Boston-based startup Voatz, which uses facial recognition software to verify the voter, and store the anonymized votes on blockchain. Naturally, the geographical location of the voter – in this case, soldiers – is of little importance. As long as they can be verified as a…

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https://ift.tt/2APzCVf Matthew Beedham August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

Even Financial raises $18.8 million Series A from GreatPoint Ventures, Goldman Sachs and others

Even Financial, a fintech startup that connects the disparate entities of the financial services industry, recently raised a $18.8 million Series A round led by GreatPoint Ventures with participation from Goldman Sachs, Canaan Partners, F-Prime Capital, Lerer Hippeau and others. The close of its Series A comes on the heels of a $3 million investment […] https://ift.tt/2vtimzW Megan Rose Dickey August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM

Cloudflare Stream makes it easy (and cheap) for developers to work with video

Cloudflare has announced the general availability of Cloudflare Stream, its streaming video service, almost one year after it first launched in a limited beta. In a nutshell, Cloudflare Stream makes it easy for developers to insert video into their websites and applications without having to deal with existing players — like Vimeo, Facebook, and YouTube. Previously, if a developer wanted to roll their own video platform, they’d have to build an entire infrastructure capable of handling encoding, content delivery, and playback. This is no small task, and can explain why there are so few video startups, despite the massive popularity…

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https://ift.tt/2APzxkp Matthew Hughes August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

As Uber Gives up on Self-Driving Trucks, Kodiak Jumps In

The startup wants to become the go-to source for the tech to make trucks drive themselves. https://ift.tt/2OQsIlB Jack Stewart August 07, 2018 at 09:02AM

Moto Z3 Play Review: Unlocked and Loaded

Motorola goes all-in on Mods and glass with its new Moto Z3 phones. Our full WIRED review. https://ift.tt/2APztkF Jeffrey Van Camp August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

How Much Power Does It Take to Fly in a Real-Life Jet Suit?

To hover a human over the ground, you need some serious engineering—and the momentum principle. https://ift.tt/2OQt7ED Rhett Allain August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

Buick Marketplace adds in-dash fuel payments for Exxon

General Motors is giving customers in the US the ability to pay for gas at Exxon and Mobil stations from within their infotainment systems, and it's starting with Buick vehicles. Today, the automaker is rolling out a Marketplace update for Buicks tha... https://ift.tt/2ANQvzx Mariella Moon August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM

Video of exploding drone surfaces after attempted attack on Venezuelan president

With drones getting cheaper and more readily available, it was only a matter of time until they were involved in a high-profile attack – something that might’ve happened in Venezuela. A video posted on Twitter by Nick Waters appears to show a drone with an IED attached exploding near Venezuelan President Maduro. And then this video came out, showing a drone exploding in mid-air. 5/8 pic.twitter.com/9Fcmw5CxIQ — Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) August 7, 2018 This took place on the 4th August, when President Maduro of Venezuela gave a speech in Caracas, celebrating the 81st anniversary of the National Guard. However, Maduro…

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https://ift.tt/2OObMfv Cara Curtis August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

Women founders get less funding than men but make double the revenue

As a woman, sexism isn’t new to me. I’ve encountered many casual sexist jokes and witnessed the infamous gender pay gap that looms over our heads. But, what’s new to me is that sexism even exists in the progressive world of entrepreneurship. A recent study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Mass Challenger, a network of startup accelerators, found that when women applied for investment, they received less funding compared to the average male founder, but made double the revenue. The study examined 350 companies over five years, and it revealed the average female-founded startup received $935,000 in funding. That’s less…

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https://ift.tt/2APzo0l Cara Curtis August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

Tokyo Olympics will use facial recognition to bolster security

It's official: the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will use facial recognition as a security measure, confirming a 2017 report that the organizing committee was considering its use. You don't have to worry about your privacy as a spectator, since it will only be... https://ift.tt/2OQsmeL Mariella Moon August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM

Evolute debuts enterprise container migration and management platform

Evolute, a 3-year old startup out of Mountain View, officially launched the Evolute platform today with the goal of helping large organizations migrate applications to containers and manage those containers at scale. Evolute founder and CEO Kristopher Francisco says he wants to give all Fortune 500 companies access to the same technology that big companies […] https://ift.tt/2ANQlbp Ron Miller August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM

Europe takes another stab at standardizing phone chargers

The European Union has been trying for nearly a decade to get smartphone manufacturers to voluntarily agree to a common mobile phone charger. That apparently hasn't worked out so well, so the EU Commission may now take more forcible action, according... https://ift.tt/2OQsvij Steve Dent August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM

The Genetics (and Ethics) of Making Humans Fit for Mars

We could make people less stinky, more resistant to radiation, even less dependent on food and oxygen. But would the new creature be human? https://ift.tt/2APzcOF Jason Pontin August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

Scale API Wants Self-Driving Cars to Share Data

If data-labeling companies like Scale API have to re-do the same kind of work for multiple autonomous driving companies, the really important stuff—the weird edge cases—might get missed. https://ift.tt/2OQssD9 Aarian Marshall August 07, 2018 at 09:01AM

New unicorn Klook raises $200M to expand its travel activities platform worldwide

Klook, a Hong Kong-based startup developing a travel activities platform, has pulled in $200 million in new capital to fuel a major expansion into the U.S. and Europe. A spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the round values the company at more than $1 billion, although the company didn’t provide an exact figure. Klook sets out […] https://ift.tt/2AOmdNg Jon Russell August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM

This is how Dutch police knows you’re buying drugs online

When I visited the dark web for the first time some years ago — for a story I was working on, not to treat myself to some crack cocaine — I remember users constantly reassuring each other how truly anonymous it was. “The FBI does not have a prayer of a chance of finding out who is who,” was how someone put it in one of Bitcoin‘s forums in June 2013. A misconception, of course. While it’s true that the owners of Bitcoin addresses are supposed to be anonymous, the transactions are public for everyone to see. So once you know…

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https://ift.tt/2OObHbH Anouk Vleugels August 07, 2018 at 09:00AM