Tech News

• Quora Investor Peter Thiel: “The Samwers Are Never Going To Clone Quora,”
  There's been a lot of armchair valuation punditry across the Valley this week. As the Facebook IPO looms, our intricately entwined ecosystem of startups and investors seeks to benefit from the domino effect of a population feeling flush with cash. This is the picture that the WSJ painted in its Quora funding announcement yesterday, headline: "Forme […]
• Disney Video Launches In Beta, Bringing Kid-Friendly Clips And Trailers To All Your Devices
  There's a new product that just came out of Disney Labs -- a video portal for clips, movie trailers, and even a collection of curated YouTube videos, all designed to be watched online or on any of your mobile devices. The new Disney Video site, located at video.disney.com, combines the best of Disney past and present, with a whole lot of content that mi […]
• Positionly Raises $300,000 For Search Engine Ranking From Point Nine, Others
  Search engine ranking startup Positionly has secured $300,000 seed funding from Berlin-based led by seed VC Point Nine Capital and joined by Angels Mariusz Gralewski and Michal Skrzynski. […]
• Palantir Technologies Nabs $56M In New Funding, SEC Filing Shows
  Palantir Technologies, the big data analysis company founded in 2004 by a team of ex-PayPal employees including Peter Thiel, has raised $56 million in new funding, according to a document filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This is by no means Palantir's first go-round with venture capital investors. This is the company's 7th r […]
• Sleepover Time! All-Night Hackathon Precedes Facebook IPO At Headquarters
  Carrying on in the esteemed tradition of Facebook hackathons, there will be an all-nighter at the company's Menlo Park headquarters that culminates with CEO Mark Zuckerberg ringing in the NASDAQ bell ahead of the company's much, much, much anticipated IPO. There is an internal event page for the big day that has about a thousand Facebook employees […]
• How Personal Capital Wants To Bring Money Management Into The Internet Age [TCTV]
  Personal Capital, which launched last year, provides a suite of software aimed at helping people manage all their personal finances -- no matter where they are -- through one central suite of web and mobile apps. Earlier this month Personal Captial was named "Best In Show" at the FinovateSpring, a conference in San Francisco focused on all things f […]
• Why The Internet Doesn’t Make Us Care More About Politics
  American politics used to be fun: frequent political carnivals in the 19th century would mix parties, parades, and political speeches in an endless stream of local civic life. As a result, America had an astonishingly high turnout, between 70-90%, in presidential and local elections. Yet, the Internet has never quite captured the emotional gravity of real-li […]
• It’s Time For A Larger iPhone
  The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Apple is currently ordering larger screens for the next iPhone. With the usual nonsense, the WSJ cited people familiar with the matter and stated these screens measure at least 4-inches diagonally. Production is set to begin next month, they say. The Journal better be right, though. A 3.5-inch screen is just […]
• More Google+ In Gmail: Improved Circle Integration, Circle Search and Quick Access To Contact Details
  The folks over at Google just love their Google+ social network and more and more Google+ features have been creeping into Gmail lately as well. Today, Google is bringing even more of Google+ to its email client. With today's update, Google is especially focusing on adding a deeper integration with Google+ circles. You will now, for example, see profile […]
• Bitly Kinda Says It’s Not Raising $20M, But Sorta Hints That It Is
  Is link shortener Bitly raising $20 million in new funding? The Verge says it is. In response to my email, a company spokesperson denied The Verge's story, but in vague enough terms that it could probably turn around and announce a new round in the next few weeks or months. Here's what the spokesperson told me: […]