Technology: What Geeks are talking about from TechCrunch

Honeyfund launches app to crowdfund your honeymoon
 A lot of people live with the idea that life is about experiences rather than things. A firm subscriber of that philosophy is Honeyfund — a company whose new Honeyfund app helps newlyweds bankroll their honeymoon, rather than stocking their house with half a dozen different bread makers. Read More

Why startups can’t disrupt the mortgage industry
 Home loans are the Holy Grail of online lending. They come with high loan balances, steady returns and hefty fees. There also is a healthy liquid market for the securitized loans, and the debt is asset backed, which reduces risk and opens up the investor pool. On top of that, “establishment” mortgage lenders are not leading the pack with innovation, which means there is a lot of… Read More

FirstBuild launches Pique, a faster cold brew coffee maker for the home
 GE’s gadget invention partner FirstBuild is launching a cold brew coffee maker for the home called Pique. Coffee has turned from daily routine into somewhat of an art form in the last few years with drip makers, French press, single-serve cups, pour-over and an endless supply of the latest hi-tech machines that will whip up any bean-flavored concoction to your liking. Note most of… Read More

Alphabet slides 5% after missing earnings expectations on revenue of $20.3B
 For a split second, Alphabet was the most valuable company in the world. Not so much any more, however, with the company’s market cap continuing to slide after it reported its first-quarter earnings. Relatively speaking, shares of Alphabet are only down around 5% in extended trading. But for a company worth more than $500 billion, that’s erasing tens of billions of dollars in… Read More

Microsoft’s Q3 misses with EPS of $0.62, revenue in line at $22.1B
 Microsoft today announced earnings for its third financial quarter of 2016. The company reported non-GAAP revenue of $22.1 billion for the last quarter and $0.62 of adjusted earnings per share (EPS) and $0.47 GAAP EPS. Wall Street expected Microsoft to report an EPS of $0.64 on revenue of just under $22.1 billion. Microsoft’s own guidance for the quarter was for revenue to be… Read More

Beepi lets you buy, sell and now lease a car with an app
 There are lots of apps that help you research prices for buying or selling a car, and they’ll even hook you up with a dealership when you’re ready to buy. But Beepi lets you buy and sell used cars in 16 metro areas in nine states without using a dealership — or a test drive — at all. “Every company starts with a group of entrepreneurs who think something is true… Read More

Amazon rolls out colorful $70 Fire tablets with double the storage of its $50 tablet
 Amazon made waves last year when it introduced a $50 Fire tablet that was actually a fairly decent device for the price. Today, the company is rolling out a middle-of-road option for those who want a bit more storage, but who still aren’t interested in paying for the higher-end Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets, at $150 and $230, respectively. The earlier $50 Fire tablet offered 8 GB… Read More

Here are some great improvements that should be in iOS 10
 Let’s be honest, most concept videos suck. They show you an imaginary device that looks nothing like the final product and defy the laws of physics. But some software concept videos tick all the right boxes, like this one from MacStories. Federico Viticci and Sam Beckett teamed up to create the following iOS 10 concept video. It’s a beautified wish list for the upcoming release of iOS. Read More

Sean Parker relaunches Airtime, a video chat room for watching – together
 Social networks make us lonely, and messaging feels transactional. There’s still no vibrant, real-time place to hang out with friends online. That’s why four years after Sean Parker’s chat roulette website Airtime fell flat, he’s reviving it as a mobile chat room where friends can share photos, music, and videos that they all experience simultaneously. Launching on iOS… Read More

Acer’s Xplova X5 biking computer has a built-in camera that records when the rider’s heart rate increases
 The latest version of the Acer-owned Xplova biking computer brings a few cool new tricks to the table. Chief among them, is the inclusion of the of a wide-screen on-board camera that offers up a little bit of GoPro-style recording to the table. Far and away the coolest bit here is the ability to set different recording triggers, so the Xplova X5 doesn’t record every single second of a… Read More

Acer shows off a rugged new Chromebook for work and a whole bunch of new notebooks
 Acer hit the stage a small event in the shadow of Manhattan’s One World Trade to show off some notebooks, notebooks and also some notebooks. Oh, and one more thing: notebooks, notebooks, and notebooks (also there were some notebooks). The star notebook amongst the notebooky notebooks is the company’s latest take on the Chromebook — the straightforwardly-named Chromebook 14… Read More

Swarm now lets users check in without sharing their location
 Swarm, the gamified check-in app from Foursquare, has today launched a new feature that will let users check in to locations without sharing that location with their group of friends. The company is calling these private check-ins ‘off-the-grid check-ins’ and users will be able to activate them through a toggle in the check-in portion of the app. Foursquare originally launched Swarm… Read More

Facebook’s News Feed is changing again to prioritize sites you actually read
 Facebook says it learned that the actions people take on Facebook — liking, clicking, commenting or sharing a post — don’t always tells the whole story of what is most meaningful to them, so just when you were starting to get used to the way Facebook shows your News Feed, it’s time for another shake-up. Read More

TaskRabbit announces plan to increase hiring of black employees
 TaskRabbit announced a detailed plan to improve the diversity of its workforce today. The plan is part of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Tech 2020 initiative, which aims to increase black representation and inclusion throughout the tech industry. TaskRabbit’s plan is focused on increasing diversity on its workforce and retaining its black employees. The company is currently 11… Read More

Android N Developer Preview expands beyond Google’s own devices, hits Sony’s Xperia Z3
 Google and Sony today announced that the Android N Developer Preview is now available on Sony’s Xperia Z3. This marks the first time the next version of Android — which is currently available in its second beta — is available outside of Google’s own phones and the 4G Android One from General Mobile, which also runs stock Android. Sony isn’t typically all that… Read More

Hands on with the Acer Chromebook 14 for Work and Aspire S 13
 Yes, there were some new fitness devices, a phone, and a gaming desktop (complete with its own giant piece of luggage), but the real news at Acer’s One World Trade Center-adjacent press conference (aside from some notably stunning views of lower Manhattan) was notebooks. And notebooks and notebooks. Hard to say precisely which device was top dog here, but seeing as how we kicked things… Read More

Plastiq lets you pay any bill with your credit or debit card just by snapping a photo
 A new iPhone application launching today called Plastiq lets you pay any bill with your credit or debit card just by snapping a photo. The goal with the app is to offer something designed for mobile, that’s also more convenient than using a bank’s online bill pay feature. And more importantly, it allows bills to be paid with plastic – hence the name – as opposed to… Read More

Gillmor Gang LIVE 04.21.16
 Gillmor Gang – Dan Farber, Frank Radice, Keith Teare, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor. LIVE recording session today at 11amPT/2pmET. Gillmor Gang LIVE chatroom during live show recording Gillmor Gang on Facebook HERE Read More

In Europe, Ford will read the speed limit signs, prevent your speeding
 One for those of us with a lead foot: Ford is rolling out a new Speed Limiter feature. The car uses a camera to read the speed limit signs before giving you a heads up if your velocity is making you a police-magnet. For now, the technology is only being rolled out on the company’s European line of cars, but that market is a particularly good match: There are more than 35,000 speed… Read More

Stealthy startup Preempt Security scores $8 million Series A
 Preempt Security, a startup still in stealth, came out of hiding today enough to announce an $8 million Series A round. Beyond that we know only a limited amount about what makes them worth such an investment. The round was led by General Catalyst with participation from Mickey Boodaei and Rakesh Loonkar, the founders of Trusteer, and Paul Sagan, the former CEO of Akamai Technologies.… Read More

UK spy agencies systematically amass data on innocent people, legal challenge reveals
 Privacy campaign group Privacy International says documents it has obtained through a legal challenge to the UK security agencies data-harvesting practices illustrate the extent to which spies have systematically and secretly amassed a cache of data on UK citizens for the past 15 years — regardless of whether a particular individual is suspected of a crime. Read More

MemSQL raises $36M Series C round for its in-memory database platform
 In-memory database platform MemSQL today announced that it has raised a $36 million Series C funding round. The round was led by new investors REV and Caffeinated Capital and existing investors Accel Partners, Khosla Ventures, Data Collective, IA Ventures and First Round Capital also participated. MemSQL, which graduated from Y Combinator back in 2011, is plays in the same real-time big… Read More

HotelTonight expands its in-app concierge service, Aces, to 30+ cities
 Last summer we reviewed Aces, the in-app concierge service from HotelTonight. And while we enjoyed using the service, our main gripe was that it was limited to just five cities, and even there it was only limited to select users. But today that changes, as HotelTonight has announced they are rolling out Aces to anyone who books a hotel with a total room cost over $200 in over 30 cities… Read More