Google Hangouts has been on the way out for quite a while now. In 2018, Google insisted that the communication tool would be disbanded in favor of Google Meet, the video conferencing tool, and a Google Chat, the messaging platform. However, whether it be the pandemic or the lack of a reasonable replacement, Hangouts has stuck around for nearly two years after its death sentence. Now, it seems Google is finally pulling the trigger, with plans to eventually scrap Hangouts in favor of Google Chat and Google Meet sometime next year....

— Google Seed (@GoogleSeed) April 22, 2014 Before I could initiate a poll it appears the seed cat is already out of the bag and this is not a seed bombing effort after all as Google Seed replied to another twitter follower sharing Google’s vision to micro-fund all the entrepreneurs around the globe. — Google Seed (@GoogleSeed) April 22, 2014 Coincidentally, I’ll be in San Francisco this week crowning the hottest SF startup at our event on April 24th as we continue to watch this story unfold....

The argument, which stems from proposed legislation that would see Google need to pay news outlets for their stories, has been a source of ire for the search giant since its creation last month. In its open letter, Google stated that the result of the legislation could potentially be data privacy issues for Australian internet users, as well as less relevant search results. Australia’s Proposed Legislation The legislation proposed by Australia, known as the News Media Bargaining Code, seeks to, as it puts it, ‘level the playing field’ between Google and news outlets....

Cybercriminals are performing a fraudulent practice called SIM-swapping – within which a person’s phone number is switched to a new device. Several telecoms carriers are now embroiled in lawsuits brought by victims who feel they were not sufficiently protected. Shielding yourself from SIM-Swapping involves limiting the personal information you put on social media and using tech like password managers and authenticator apps. Crypto-Thieves Move on to Smaller Fish Reporting in The Wall Street Journal details how one individual who invested their life savings in Bitcoin had their accounts emptied overnight, losing $80,000 or more in cryptocurrency value....

In the most recent episode of the Reply All – a new podcast all about the Internet – the hosts looked at the back-end infrastructure of websites, keeping a particular focus on the recent release of Kim Kardashian’s now-infamous pictures in Paper Magazine [NSFW]. The systems administrator for Paper Magazine was in charge of making sure that the website was fully capable of handling all of the expected traffic prior to the release of the photos- and, luckily, it held up....

“We’re making fanfiction as easy – and feature rich – as blogging,” explains Jacquelyn Abromitis, who owns an online education company and can’t pass up a good Glee or Good Wife episode. Fanfic.me’s WordPress plugin will bring fans together around TV shows, movies, and books. They can write and read fanfiction, embed pictures and videos, and share posts on their social networks. Abromitis sees fanfiction writers as an underserved market, stuck in the era of text-only – mostly on Fanfiction....

HomeTrackR provides information about a home’s history, helping homebuyers to make a more informed decision about what may be the biggest purchase of their lives. Their Home History Reports provide detailed data in major categories, spanning from permits pulled and contractors who did the work, to inspection histories and calamity damage. We spoke with Rich Estes, Founder of HomeTrackR, who told us about his “aha” moment when he knew that there must be a better way....

However, how is the famous company using these innovations to improve an industry on the cusp of resurgence – the comic book industry? The Rising Profits of the Comics Industry Comics, seen as an adolescent hobby, have made waves with increased sales and new stories engaging readers all over again. As The Washington Post reports, unit sales of comics have reached their highest levels since 1997. Examining retailer purchases are tracked by those looking to keep an eye on the growth of comics, with the amount of purchased comics books illustrating the rising demand that readers have....

In fact, pairing the fitness tracker with smartwatch will give you access to increased insights, more challenges and additional features. You will even be able to get access to a supportive community. But did you ever wonder how your fitness tracker syncs with the smartwatch? How It Works First of all, let’s figure out how the fitness tracker counts your steps. Usually most of the fitness trackers come along with built-in gyroscopes and accelerometers....

We cobbled together some off-the-shelf solutions along with open-source content to bring our minimum viable product to market quickly. We drove around town pitching our product to physicians, naively confident that we knew from the patient’s perspective what would work well, having each had first-hand experiences with family members living with a chronic condition. At the time, I frequently recited the tall tale attributed to Henry Ford: that if you asked people what they wanted, they would have said, “faster horses....

Tech Leaders Band Together American business leaders in the tech industry, however, are strongly opposed to the move. Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), also offering a statement regarding the Trump administration’s announcement to end the DACA program. Hundreds of CEOs Sign Open Letter Several hundred CEOs, in fact, have signed on open letter on the issue, calling for Trump to reconsider while highlighting the economic benefits of the program: […] The time has come for a bipartisan solution that fixes our broken immigration system, defines a pathway for dreamers to earn a place in our society and addresses our nation’s labor shortage....

The answer to the question “How should you deal with setbacks?” seems easy. Especially for entrepreneurs, setbacks are a part of life. You pick yourself up, learn, and move on. But that’s only half the picture. That’s what you do. But how should you feel? And how do you make sure you don’t feel discouraged, like a failure, frustrated, even if you’re learning and moving on? This question belongs to the realm of psychology, where researchers study how human beings cope with pain, stress, and setbacks....

Since its inception more than a decade ago, social media has had a significant impact on the way we live our lives, and “likes” have been a big part of that transformation. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok all subscribe to this means of displaying support for posts, and to many “likes” feel like the entire point of social media in the first place. Now though, with Facebook and Instagram giving users the option to do away with “likes” in their entirety, it might be time to consider the mental health ramifications of quantifying our every interaction online....

The origin story of the Cord Taco A little over a year ago, I was dining on tacos with a friend at a Mexican restaurant in LA called Loteria. Later that day, Heather Lipner asked if I could design something to organize tech cables for an interior design content piece she was working on for Refinery 29. The next morning, in a lucid but dreamy state, inspiration poured in my Los Angeles surroundings and the Cord Taco was quickly born....

HP is not looking to disappoint this year, with some serious improvements to its Spectre x360 ultrabook catching the eye at CES 2020. Check out our overview of the new-look Spectre x360 15 below, plus a round up of everything else HP is showing off this year. More on this – see our guide to the Best HP Laptops For one, the new model gets rid of the massive bezels — much like the Spectre x360 13 announced last year — leading to a 90% screen-to-body ratio and cutting down substantially on the overall size of the laptop....

After a long week of speakers and workshops, we’ve compiled a vast array of advice and tips from serial entrepreneurs, marketers, and investors around the Detroit area. Take a look at what they had to say below: Rebranding Detroit As the largest city to declare bankruptcy, Detroit was in a hole a few years ago. But now that entrepreneurs are taking up the mantle, the city is beginning to reemerge as a potential powerhouse for innovation....

Cloud Security Alliance is on the job: Their Internet of Things (IoT) Working Group has just release the first-ever research report on connected vehicle security. In addition to outlining almost 20 different attack vectors and their impact on a driver or vehicle, the report offers plenty of recommendations for how to best secure a connected vehicle in an environment full of them. The report is just out today. Here are the highlights....

These startups spent their 12 weeks at Incubation Station focusing on funding, team building, mentorship, and building connections within the CPG industry. A powerful, integrated hub dedicated to matching young companies with the resources they need for success, Incubation Station selected their Track 2 startups from over 100 applicants from across the country. The companies looking to inspire additional funding for growth are: Austin Eastciders – Austin Eastciders make old-style cider using vintage bittersweet apple varieties to produce ciders that are drier, smoother, and more complex than many modern hard ciders....

Iris Mobile provides a solution that allows rich media messages to be delivered perfectly to any mobile device running on any operating system, and on any wireless carrier. Their product enables brands to send interactive messages containing pictures, videos, coupons, promotions, extended text and web links, and to track campaign analytics for consumer behavior. Their customers include IKEA, Cartier, Pink, Avenue and Kellogg’s. Illinois Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and OCA Ventures also participated in the investment....

Even though not everyone may be sold on focusing on gender diversity and other social justice issues, giving these issues focus in business can also mean gaining much more than a clear conscience. The Profits of Social Justice In a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, it was found that despite the apparent economic benefits, many corporations are lacking in gender diversity. Despite work to bring awareness to gender inequality in business, the numbers for women in leading company positions were lacking....