Facebook today is beginning to test integrating ads into its mobile messaging app’s user interface. The company says it will launch what it characterizes as a “very small test” in Australia and Thailand, which will allow businesses to place an ad on the Messenger home screen. These fairly prominent card-style ads include image thumbnails accompanied by text and a link. Read More
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Instagram put a dent in Snapchat by placing its own version of Snapchat Stories atop its feed, and now Facebook is doing the same. Today Facebook launched Facebook Stories in Ireland on iOS and Android, with plans to bring it to more countries in the coming months. The feature lets you share ephemeral photos and videos in a slideshow that disappears 24 hours later. The little circles to… Read More
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Match is rolling out a new feature that will help its dating app customers see who they’ve crossed paths with in the real world, and say “hi” if they’re interested in chatting. The opt-in feature called “Missed Connections” takes advantage of location-based services on the users’ phones, but is designed in a way to ensure user privacy, Match says.… Read More
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When Cisco bought AppDynamics last night for $3.7 billion, it was initially a bit of a shocker, partly because of the timing, just days before the startup was scheduled to IPO. While the acquisition was clearly part of a longer term strategy by Cisco to shift focus from its hardware business to one based more on cloud software, at its core, the deal was a pure data play. Data has taken… Read More
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The next version of Apple Watch’s software will let you talk to Siri via your smartwatch in order to interact with third-party applications, according to new developer documentation from Apple released on Tuesday. This will let you do things like order an Uber, send a message through a chat application, make a payment, and more. The feature is one of a handful of enhancements expected… Read More
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Commercial drone tech venture PrecisionHawk has a new CEO—again. Red Hat Inc. cofounder Bob Young, who has served as PrecisionHawk’s CEO since July 2015, is handing over the reins to another veteran of enterprise software, Michael Chasen, a cofounder and former CEO of education tech giant Blackboard Inc. Verizon Ventures, an investment arm of TechCrunch’s parent company… Read More
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Applications management company AppDynamics was just wrapping up the final touches on its initial public offering when it learned that Cisco was interested in discussing a potential deal. Preliminary talks were abandoned in November, but the discussion just picked up again last week. The deal was announced today and the IPO was slated to price tomorrow. Although many companies seek… Read More
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Cisco said today that it would acquire AppDynamics, which helps companies monitor application performance, for a whopping $3.7 billion. And now, it would seem that AppDynamics’ long-awaited IPO (this week!) has been called off in favor of a giant acquisition. It isn’t Cisco’s first major acquisition in recent memory — in fact, the company has been quite active —… Read More
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The Bolt is designed to be approachable and at least a little familiar at first, even though it’s actually a very different kind of car under the hood, thanks to its 60 kWh battery and electric motor. Chevrolet knows that a lot of its owners will be first-time EV buyers, and that there’s a learning curve when you’re coming from a long history of driving gas-powered cars. Bolt… Read More
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Livestream is getting closer to allowing live video created on its platform to get broadcast anywhere online. Specifically, the company announced that premium and enterprise customers will be able to simulcast to non-Livestream video services that support RTMP. That means a publisher could simultaneously show a live video on YouTube, Periscope, Twitch and elsewhere. CEO Jesse Hertzberg… Read More
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