Month: February 2023
Best Wi-Fi Extenders of 2023: Top Picks Tested and Compared – CNET
Does your home Wi-Fi network need an extra room’s worth of coverage? A Wi-Fi range signal booster might be just what you need, and we’ve tested a lot of them so you don’t have to.
Does your home Wi-Fi network need an extra room’s worth of coverage? A Wi-Fi range signal booster might be just what you need, and we’ve tested a lot of them so you don’t have to.
Daily Crunch: Remote workspace platform Gable raises $12M Series A
Hello, friends, and welcome to Daily Crunch, bringing you the most important startup, tech and venture capital news in a single package.
Daily Crunch: Remote workspace platform Gable raises $12M Series A by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch
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TikTok just can’t dodge the watchful eyes of the watchmen: Earlier this year, Taylor reported that a string of universities banned TikTok from devices. Last week, Paul reported that the European Commission threw the kibosh on having TikTok on work devices, and today, Amanda reported that Canada followed suit for its government devices. The bans are coming down over concerns that China-based TikTok can be used to spy on its users.
The TechCrunch Top 3
Raise the roof: Continuing to work remotely in 2023 remains a hotly contested issue in today’s workplaces. What if we told you that Gable can give your company better remote working options? Still with us? Okay, Haje writes about how Gable raised $12 million to not only show your remote employees a nearby workplace, but also show them if any of their colleagues are there so they can connect.
The world in the palm of your hand: Reporting from Mobile World Congress, Brian sat down with OnePlus’ COO Kinder Liu to discuss the company’s first foldable phone.
Closing the feedback loop: Engaged customers are where your company can get some of its best ideas for new products. Cycle snagged $6 million to help companies collect all of that customer feedback for a more streamlined product management process, Romain writes.
Startups and VC
Bain Capital Ventures is doubling down on what works, literally, Natasha M reports. The venture firm, one of Bain’s 11 financial divisions, has raised $1.9 billion across two funds, one for seed for growth-stage startups that hovers around $1.4 billion, and one for later-stage opportunities that closed around a third of that, at $493 million.
Devin reports that the FTC, fresh off announcing a whole new division taking on “snake oil” in tech, has sent another shot across the bows of the overeager industry with a sassy warning to “keep your AI claims in check.”
And we have five more for you:
A job well done, Kyle: Bonusly is a startup aiming to help employees get recognized for quality work, and it just told TechCrunch it raised $18.9 million, writes Kyle. He deserves a bonus for an article well written.
DTCtR: Christine asks, Want to go from direct-to-consumer to retail? This startup has a platform for that.
Yeah, you can do that: Entitle raises $15 million seed round to modernize permissions management, Frederic reports.
Who markets the marketeers: Emily Kramer and Kathleen Estreich started a VC firm to scale what “founders are starving for,” Natasha M reports.
A high-flying startup: Astroscale closes new funding to grow in-orbit servicing and orbital debris cleanup tech, Aria reports.
Active learning is the future of generative AI: Here’s how to leverage it
Image Credits: Andriy Onufriyenko (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
The generative AI models that have made headlines and memes in recent months weren’t cooked up in someone’s garage or basement.
“Only well-funded institutions with access to a massive amount of GPU power are capable of building these models,” says Encord co-founder Eric Landau, who recommends using the iterative process of active learning to “leapfrog the AI production gap and build models capable of running in the wild more quickly.”
In a TC+ post aimed at ML team managers, he shares tactics for leveraging active learning and addresses the perennial buy-versus-build dilemma.
Three more from the TC+ team:
A show of force: With 5 activists in the mix, Salesforce will report earnings Wednesday, reports Ron.
Buy now, profit later: How much progress is Klarna making toward profitability? wonders Alex.
A legal influence: Nicholas Saady explores key legal issues for influencers and brands (and how to deal with them).
TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
As you can see from our stories today, Brian has been writing a lot about new phones lately. In this particular article, he spoke with Nothing’s Carl Pei about the company’s expansion strategy and its upcoming Phone (2) and how it will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 series.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is really going all in on this artificial intelligence thing for Bing. Frederic reports that the software giant brings the new Bing to Windows 11 while also launching Phone Link for iOS.
And we have five more for you:
Give me fiverr: Fiverr now has a white-glove offering to help businesses hire project managers, Kyle writes.
Give me your best interconnected web: Flipboard now has a Mastodon integration among other Fediverse offerings, Sarah reports.
Give me a game fix: Lorenzo entered the world of gamers trying to fix a video game “taken over” by hackers, and what results is a delightful read.
Give me a spot south of the border: Mexico’s president confirms that Tesla’s next factory will be in that country. Kirsten has more.
Give me a hot minute: Mike writes that 6G is coming, just not yet.
Daily Crunch: Remote workspace platform Gable raises $12M Series A by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch
FDA official behind Alzheimer’s drug scandal steps down
Investigations alleged Billy Dunn had inappropriately close relationship with drug maker.
Enlarge (credit: Getty | Congressional Quarterly)
The Food and Drug Administration official who allegedly had an inappropriately cozy relationship with the maker of the controversial Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, is stepping down from his role, effective immediately, according to numerous media reports.
Billy Dunn, head of the FDA’s neuroscience office, has been with the agency for around 18 years, during which he was involved in several high-profile drug approvals. But he gained notoriety in the wake of the shocking 2021 approval of Aduhelm, a drug has not been shown to be effective against Alzheimer’s and carries risks of serious brain swelling.
In 2020, the FDA’s independent advisory committee voted nearly unanimously that the agency should not approve the drug (11 of 12 committee members voted against, with one voting “uncertain”). Yet, the approval went through anyway, and Aduhelm’s maker, Biogen, went on to set the exorbitant price of $56,000 for a year’s worth of treatment. Outside researchers called the approval “disgraceful,” three advisory members resigned in protest, and Medicare Part B premiums rose by record amounts to accommodate covering the pricey drug for Alzheimer’s patients desperate for new treatments.
Best Video Doorbell Cameras of 2023 – CNET
We’ve tested the best doorbell cameras of 2023. From Arlo to Ring and Wyze, these are the best video doorbells on the market, no matter your needs.
We’ve tested the best doorbell cameras of 2023. From Arlo to Ring and Wyze, these are the best video doorbells on the market, no matter your needs.
FTX Ex-Engineering Chief Nishad Singh Pleads Guilty To Criminal Charges
FTX ex-engineering head Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to criminal charges in New York on Tuesday, becoming the latest member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s former leadership team to agree to a deal. CNBC reports: The six charges against Singh include conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. FTX spiraled into bankruptcy in November after the crypto exchange, founded by Bankman-Fried, couldn’t meet customers’ withdrawal demands.
“Today’s guilty plea underscores once again that the crimes at FTX were vast in scope and consequence,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “They rocked our financial markets with a multibillion dollar fraud. And they corrupted our politics with tens of millions of dollars in illegal straw campaign contributions. These crimes demand swift and certain justice and that is exactly what we are seeking in the Southern District of New York.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission both filed related civil complaints against Singh on Tuesday. The SEC said in a release that Singh is cooperating with the agency’s ongoing investigation, and he has separately agreed to settle with the CFTC. Two of the criminal charges against Singh are related to wire fraud and another is conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
FTX ex-engineering head Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to criminal charges in New York on Tuesday, becoming the latest member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s former leadership team to agree to a deal. CNBC reports: The six charges against Singh include conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. FTX spiraled into bankruptcy in November after the crypto exchange, founded by Bankman-Fried, couldn’t meet customers’ withdrawal demands.
“Today’s guilty plea underscores once again that the crimes at FTX were vast in scope and consequence,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “They rocked our financial markets with a multibillion dollar fraud. And they corrupted our politics with tens of millions of dollars in illegal straw campaign contributions. These crimes demand swift and certain justice and that is exactly what we are seeking in the Southern District of New York.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission both filed related civil complaints against Singh on Tuesday. The SEC said in a release that Singh is cooperating with the agency’s ongoing investigation, and he has separately agreed to settle with the CFTC. Two of the criminal charges against Singh are related to wire fraud and another is conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Verizon Is Adding a New Fee to Some of Its Older Unlimited Plans – CNET
The nation’s largest carrier really wants to push people to its latest unlimited plans.
The nation’s largest carrier really wants to push people to its latest unlimited plans.
Breaks taken during psych experiments lower participants’ moods
The lowered mood could throw off the results of studies with rest breaks.
Enlarge (credit: Klaus Vedfelt)
An unfortunate feature of science is that two experiments that are ostensibly looking at the same thing can produce different results. Often, the different results are greeted unhelpfully as the experimenters—and sometimes even the entire field—are accused of being garbage. A more helpful response is to consider whether the experiments, while looking at the same thing, might not be identical. And, if they’re not, whether the differences between them might tell us something.
A new study in Nature Human Behavior describes a subtle way some psychology experiments could differ: if they include breaks to let their participants avoid tiring out. Enforced breaks can cause people’s moods to drop and continue dropping if the break drags on. And, since mood affects behavior in a variety of other psychological tests, this has the potential to have a complicating influence on a huge range of studies.
Waiting is the hardest part
The work began with an incredibly simple finding. Most studies operate under the assumption that a participant’s mood remains relatively stable throughout an experiment. But the researchers here asked participants to rate their mood at the start and end of experiments—and thus at the start and end of breaks between the experiments. The researchers noticed that the mood went down pretty consistently over the course of the break. After a roughly 10-minute break, people assessed their mood as more than 20 percent lower than when the break started.
Twitter’s decentralized alternative Bluesky arrives as an invite-only iOS app
Image: Bluesky
Bluesky, the decentralized project that originated within Twitter, has arrived on the Apple App Store as an invite-only social network, as first reported by TechCrunch. The listing also gives us one of our very first glimpses at the app, which closely resembles Twitter, down to the timeline and profile pages.
The project’s backed by Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, and has been working on an app powered by its open-source social protocol for months now, called the Authenticated Transport Protocol, or “AT Protocol” for short. Bluesky describes it as a “federated social network” where separate networks exist within a single hub.
According to Bluesky, AT Protocol is built based on four main ideals: account portability, algorithmic, performance, and interoperability. This framework is supposed to allow you to easily transfer your account data to another Bluesky provider, as well as give you more control over what you see on a network, among other things.
While Bluesky initially made the app available in a private beta for developers in October, it appears the company’s willing to expand the test just a bit more now that it’s on the App Store. The website doesn’t offer any details about when the app could become available to the general public, or how many testers are allowed to use the app, but it lets users join a waitlist for access.
The project’s origins within Twitter raised concerns about what would become of Bluesky following Elon Musk’s takeover, as it relied on the social network for funding. However, last year, Bluesky spun off as a separate company, noting that “independence is important to the success of the project” and added Dorsey to its board.
Judging by the screenshots posted on the App Store and the ones included in TechCrunch’s article as part of a hands-on experience, Bluesky looks promising so far, featuring separate tabs for home, search, and notifications, in addition to a Twitter-like “repost” ability. We don’t know when (or if) Bluesky will come to Android, but I sure hope it does. With more Twitter alternatives, like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Hive gaining traction, it almost feels like the golden age of social networks again.
Image: Bluesky
Bluesky, the decentralized project that originated within Twitter, has arrived on the Apple App Store as an invite-only social network, as first reported by TechCrunch. The listing also gives us one of our very first glimpses at the app, which closely resembles Twitter, down to the timeline and profile pages.
The project’s backed by Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, and has been working on an app powered by its open-source social protocol for months now, called the Authenticated Transport Protocol, or “AT Protocol” for short. Bluesky describes it as a “federated social network” where separate networks exist within a single hub.
According to Bluesky, AT Protocol is built based on four main ideals: account portability, algorithmic, performance, and interoperability. This framework is supposed to allow you to easily transfer your account data to another Bluesky provider, as well as give you more control over what you see on a network, among other things.
While Bluesky initially made the app available in a private beta for developers in October, it appears the company’s willing to expand the test just a bit more now that it’s on the App Store. The website doesn’t offer any details about when the app could become available to the general public, or how many testers are allowed to use the app, but it lets users join a waitlist for access.
The project’s origins within Twitter raised concerns about what would become of Bluesky following Elon Musk’s takeover, as it relied on the social network for funding. However, last year, Bluesky spun off as a separate company, noting that “independence is important to the success of the project” and added Dorsey to its board.
Judging by the screenshots posted on the App Store and the ones included in TechCrunch’s article as part of a hands-on experience, Bluesky looks promising so far, featuring separate tabs for home, search, and notifications, in addition to a Twitter-like “repost” ability. We don’t know when (or if) Bluesky will come to Android, but I sure hope it does. With more Twitter alternatives, like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Hive gaining traction, it almost feels like the golden age of social networks again.