Author: pekandesigns

 As the times change, the security community needs to adapt. We live in an imperfect world, as Alex Stamos, Chief Information Security Officer of Facebook pointed out in his recent BlackHat 2017 keynote address. Instead of trying to punish each other, hackers and innovators need to work closely to ensure a higher order. Other security […]

 Bay Area startup Ripcord just scored a $40 million Series B, following its successful launch earlier this year. By all accounts, the company has apparently hit the ground running with its decidedly unsexy goal of using robots to digitize paper records for large corporations and organizations. According to CEO Alex Fielding, Ripcord already has a […]

 Erik Finman made headlines earlier this summer for becoming a bitcoin millionaire at the tender age of 18. He now tells TechCrunch he’s working on a project with NASA to launch a mini satellite into space with the recordings of regular folks, tech leaders and top artists — including pop idol Taylor Swift. The launch […]

 In June, Microsoft introduced a completely revamped version of its Skype app, designed with a heavier focus on media-sharing, and other social expression tools, like emoji, reactions, and even a Snapchat-like stories feature. Now that new experience is rolling out to desktop users, but in a more limited fashion, Microsoft announced this morning. The new […]

 Amazon wants to make its virtual assistant Alexa available on more devices, instead of just its own hardware. To that end, the company today is broadly opening up access to developer tools that will allow commercial device makers to build products powered by Alexa. With the launch of the Alexa Voice Service Device SDK toolset, companies […]

 Google is launching a new feature for Google Maps for Android and mobile search today: question and answers. I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise when I tell you that this feature allows you to ask questions about a place and answer other users’ inquiries and indeed, it’s that straightforward. Starting now, when you […]

 Donald Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, a group made up of business leaders from various industries, has reportedly disbanded. CNBC says the group has agreed to terminate as a whole, which is distinct from what’s occurring with Trumps’ manufacturing council, where leaders are leaving one-by-one, including 3M and Campbell’s Soup CEOs who left earlier today. […]

 ARKit is one of the biggest changes in iOS 11. Under the hood, Apple is about to transform the iPhone into a very capable augmented reality device. Felix Lapalme‏ has been looking at assets in the Maps app package to find out if the company is going to leverage augmented reality for turn-by-turn directions. On July […]

 Remember back in May, when Google announced plans to let people make free phone calls through the Google Home? That feature is rolling out starting today (alas, only for folks in US/Canada). Say something like “Ok Google, call the nearest sandwich shop” and it’ll connect the dots and help you get your grub. Or, if […]

 General admission tickets are now available. We would love to see you at the show. ICOs and cryptocurrency are rapidly changing venture capital and we are bringing some of the top minds and companies to the stage to talk about how it all affects startups. Naval Ravikant and Vitalik Buterin will chat about Ethereum’s quest […]