The iPhone’s camera app can now read QR codes
Remember when QR codes were the next big thing? In the U.S. you used to be able to find them on billboards, business cards — you name it. They were supposed to change the way we use our [...]
Snap acquires Placed to prove geofilters drive store visits
If Snapchat’s growth remains slow, it must maximize how much it can charge per ad by demonstrating they inspire purchases and physical store foot traffic. Snap confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s acquired location-based analytics and ad measurement startup [...]
Deep analysis of police body cam footage shows pattern of microaggressions towards black people
Police body cameras don’t just record shootouts and other crises — they’re on all day every day, providing unprecedented detail of officers’ interactions with the public. If you can handle that volume of data, that is. Researchers at [...]
Clustree grabs $7.9 million for its AI-powered recruitment service
French startup Clustree just raised a $7.9 million Series A round (€7 million) from Creandum with Idinvest Partners and Alven Capital also participating. Clustree leverages machine learning to help both good employees who feel stuck in their jobs [...]
Uber hires Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei to solve its leadership problems
In a bid to heal its fractured company culture, Uber has hired Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei as its new SVP of leadership and strategy. According to the company’s announcement, Frei will report to CEO Travis Kalanick, [...]
Facebook is broken
The problem is this: Facebook has become a feedback loop which can and does, despite its best intentions, become a vicious spiral. At Facebook’s scale, behavioral targeting doesn’t just reflect our behavior, it actually influences it. Over time, [...]
Toyota’s flying car project takes a tentative test flight
Toyota is working on developing flying cars, with the aim of having a single driver vehicle ready to fly in time for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The idea is that a small flying car will be [...]
How Google could fire up its smart home play
When it was unveiled at last year’s I/O, Home felt like little more than Google’s attempt to cash in on the Echo’s success. And the intervening year hasn’t done a lot to dispel that notion. The company announced [...]
The Z Grills Elite 900 is an all-in one cookout workhorse that’s easy to use
It’s just about time for BBQ season regardless of where you happen to be in North America, which means grilling time, too. The Z Grills Elite 900 is a new smoker/BBQ/general purpose cooker option that combines a lot [...]
