Author: pekandesigns

 Xiaomi’s bezel-less Mi Mix smartphone grabbed a huge amount of attention when it launched last October. Now the Chinese phone maker is getting more opportunistic with the follow-up version, which it plans to unveil at an event in Beijing one day before Apple’s iPhone launch. The timing is perfect for Xiaomi. Its last device was […]

 It is looking like a new era is coming for ICOs, at least those in China for now. In the U.S., the SEC has issued official warnings around the risks of ICOs, also known as token sales, but the Chinese government looks set to beat it to implementing regulation around the rapidly growing fundraising option. […]

 China is streets ahead when it comes to digital payments. The latest leap is facial recognition technology that allows a customer to pay by literally flashing a smile. Alibaba’s Ant Financial affiliate launched the ‘smile to pay’ service in Hangzhou, the location of the company’s global HQ, where it is being trialled with KFC. As […]

 In the past year, New York has reached a tipping point as consumer-facing startups proliferate and similarly Los Angeles is gaining notice with the success of Snap and Dollar Shave Club among others. Read More Source: New feed

 The benefits of Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods more or less went live this week, with price cuts out the wazoo as well as a bunch of Amazon Echo devices available for sale in stores. With this massive move into grocery chains and the obvious branding play, as well as tangential benefits like […]

 Tim Cook was among the top tech leaders who sat down with Trump ahead of inauguration in hopes of helping shape the new president’s tech policy. But like many of those who held a glimmer of hope for some post-election softening of campaign rhetoric, Apple’s CEO has found more than a few reasons to push […]

 Goodhart’s Law, as phrased by Mary Strathern: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” Honored more in the breach than the observance, alas. Our algorithmic world has turned so many measures into targets, and by doing so ruined them. Let’s talk about just one example: let’s talk about books. […]

 Habito, a London startup that is bringing the entire mortgage process online, has raised £18.5 million in Series B funding. Atomico, the European VC firm founded by Skype’s Niklas Zennström, led the round. Read More Source: New feed

 Record-setting astronaut Peggy Whitson is coming back from space as the cumulative record holder for longest time spent floating up among the stars and you can watch the live stream of her touching down to Earth tonight. The de-orbiting burn will start around 5 pm Pacific, with the landing taking place at 6:22 pm Pacific […]

 Twitter is making some minor changes to its terms of service (ToS) for users outside of the U.S. this October and a lot of people are rather upset about them. What seems to be the trigger here is that these “new” terms are going into effect for the rest of the world on October 2nd and […]