Instagram has an unlaunched “Portrait” feature hidden inside

 Eager to one-up Snapchat, Instagram appears to be preparing to expand its collection of shutter modes beyond options like Boomerang and Superzoom. Buried within Instagram’s Android Application Package (APK) is an icon for a Portrait shutter for the Stories camera. This could potentially let people shoot stylized portraits with bokeh effect-blurred backgrounds or other lighting… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Volkswagen’s latest I.D. concept EV is a stunner self-driving sport sedan

 Volkswagen has revealed its latest I.D. concept vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland: The I.D. Vizzion, which is a lot less sleepy than all those ‘Zs’ might suggest. The Vizzion is by far my favorite of the I.D. line in terms of pure design, with sporty lines on a roomy but sleek sedan that packs all-wheel pure electric drive, an estimated range of around 413 miles… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Google Search comes to iMessage

 Google Search is now available within iMessage. In an effort to more deeply integrate Google’s search engine on iOS devices, the company announced today that its Search app for iOS has added an iMessage extension, allowing iPhone and iPad users to search the web, then quickly add those search results to their iMessage conversations. The extension itself is clearly inspired by… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

European Union plans to tax tech giants on local revenue

 After months of speculation, France’s economy minister Bruno Le Maire announced in an interview with the JDD that Europe’s new tax model for tech giants is happening. The plan will be unveiled in the next few weeks. Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook have all faced different issues when it comes to tax optimizations. They’ve been routing their revenue through Ireland,… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Notes from Shenzhen — the next Greater Bay Area

 I just walked into Shenzhen, and boy, is my mind boggled. Let me just get all my knee-jerk chorus-line reactions out of the way, before we get to the weird stuff: yes, this place is amazing. Yes, the scores of shiny new skyscrapers look like something out of science fiction. Yes, the electronics markets are colossal hives of sensory overload, buzzing nonstop with small-scale high-tech… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

ICOs delivered at least 3.5x more capital to blockchain startups than VC since 2017

 Recently, we found that, for 2018, the amount of money being raised by blockchain and blockchain-adjacent companies via traditional VC rounds is on pace to surpass 2017’s highs. But despite more than $900 million in recorded venture funding in 2017, and more than $375 million in known venture funding for the first two months of 2018 so far, traditional VC rounds — convertible… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Snapchat is stuck in the uncanny valley of AR glasses

 “Timing”, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said cryptically when asked what the greatest threat was for Snap Inc. “I think the big risks are always the really big product ideas that we’re investing in that are just hard to get right” he told the Goldman Sachs conference two weeks ago. The statements got lost amongst flashier quotes. He defended the Snapchat redesign… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

WTF is CFIUS?

 For many in the open source community, code and technology are meant to be free, shared with all of humanity in the pursuit of a better present and future. That is not how governments see it though. In their minds, technology is a strategic asset that provides a competitive advantage against other countries. These assets lead to wealth, to jobs, and ultimately, to domestic tranquillity.
The U.S. Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

YouTube removes ads from InfoWars’ Alex Jones channel but says it has no plans to delete it

 As YouTube continues in its efforts to crack down harder on content that violates its terms of usage and promotes offensive and/or misleading content, it’s found itself in the fake news crossfire this weekend.
After a video and some advertisers were removed from YouTube channels controlled by Alex Jones, the far-right commentator best known for hosting the video show InfoWars, Jones… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch