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Apple acquires and shuts down the Swell podcasting app

Jul29
by on July 29, 2014 at 7:27 pm
Posted In: Around the Web

Apple has confirmed its acquisition of Concept.io, the company behind the Swell talk radio app, as noted by 9to5Mac. Word of the deal leaked out earlier this week in reports from Recode and The Wall Street Journal. The Journal reporter Daisuke Wakabayashi tweeted out confirmation after receiving Apple’s boilerplate statement for small acquisitions.       The Swell website notes that the service is no longer available, and the app has been pulled from the App Store. Swell was a delightful app that used learning algorithms to serve up podcasts and talk radio. While it’s sad to see the app go, hopefully Apple…

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Evernote integrates with FastPencil so you can publish your notes as a book

Jul29
by on July 29, 2014 at 6:15 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web

You know that incoherent jumble of notes you’ve been quietly working on in Evernote? Well, now it’s even easier to publish it as a book, through a new integration with self-publishing platform FastPencil. Once you’ve imported to FastPencil, you can share your work with others to get editing feedback. When you’re ready to publish, the service helps you publish on the Kindle and iBook stores or send it off to a printer for a hard copy. FastPencil claims that you can go through the whole process in “just a few clicks.” Now you have one less excuse for procrastinating on that half-written novel you’ve…

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How most startups mess up their marketing

Jul29
by on July 29, 2014 at 5:56 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Entrepreneur, Social Media

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Katie Burke is the Director of Media & Analyst Relations at HubSpot. Recently, a startup called Pressfarm launched, promising to provide the names, emails, and Twitter accounts for journalists so that entrepreneurs could get outstanding coverage for their business. There’s just one major problem with this business proposition: the hardest part of getting press for your startup isn’t getting reporter’s contact information at all. In fact, many reporters in the startup world provide emails in their Twitter bios. Those who don’t can often be found with a quick Google search, or better yet via an intro through a mutual connection. Spamming…

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EA announces a $5 gaming subscription for the Xbox One

Jul29
by on July 29, 2014 at 5:27 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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EA today announced EA Access, an upcoming subscription service for the Xbox One that will feature free games, early trials and discounts on digital purchases. The subscription will cost $4.99 a month (or $29.99 a year) and is launching in limited beta today, with a full Xbox One rollout coming “soon.” During the beta, the complete versions of FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2 and Battlefield 4 are available to play. EA plans to add additional titles, which will go in a section called “The Vault.” EA Access members will get a chance to try out new games, such as Madden…

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WordPress.com gets a fixed toolbar in the Post Editor, a revamped Media Library and better playlists

Jul29
by on July 29, 2014 at 4:41 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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If you run a blog directly through WordPress.com, rather than a self-hosted site using the free software from WordPress.org, you’ll soon have access to an upgraded dashboard and set of editing tools. The most notable addition is a fixed toolbar for the Post Editor. Now, instead of scrolling to the top of the page to add a link, the toolbar will remain visible above your work. For bloggers that frequently write long-form essays and articles, this should streamline the formatting process on WordPress significantly. The updated WordPress.com dashboard also comes with a revamped Media Library. It features a new grid view…

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