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9 ways virtual reality will affect the startup scene

Jun27
by on June 27, 2014 at 7:45 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Design & Dev, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Insider, startup, YEC, yec.co, Young Entrepreneur Council

VR
It sounds like science fiction, but virtual reality technology is taking off. Not even the sky’s the limit for imagining what could be done with this technology. Just ask Google I/O 2014 attendees and their cardboard VR systems. With applications ranging across the board, the potential for startups to capitalize is huge. With this in mind, I asked 12 entrepreneurs from YEC the following question: Facebook recently acquired Oculus VR. Practically speaking, how do you think that virtual reality technology will affect the startup space in the next five years? Here are the responses: 1. Induce a VC Feeding Frenzy In 2007, Facebook began allowing third-party developers to…

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Google Hangouts video calls no longer require a Chrome plugin

Jun27
by on June 27, 2014 at 7:38 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, Product Updates

Google Hangouts video calls will soon be just a tad simpler in Chrome. In a Google+ post, software engineer Victoria Kirst announced that in Chrome you’ll no longer need to download and install a plugin. “Just click to start the Hangout, allow Hangouts to use your camera and microphone, and you’ll be good to go,” she said. The update should be available now for users of the Chrome Dev and Canary channels; the public Chome release should follow “over the next few weeks,” according to Kirst. It’s a small improvement, but one that should make Hangouts just a little easier to use…

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Google+ wants to paint your face with your favorite World Cup team in the knockout round

Jun27
by on June 27, 2014 at 7:13 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, Insider

Wow, that soccer thing is still going? Well, ok then. As an American with almost zero knowledge about the most popular sport in the world, it can be a little hard to get excited. But the United States advanced to the next round, so I’m ready to support my country’s team and Google+ has a fun way to do it. Beginning today you can upload a photo of yourself and up to four friends to Google+ and the service will paint your faces with any team in the knockout round. Just upload your photo and tag it with your team…

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US government publishes its first ever NSA transparency report via Tumblr

Jun27
by on June 27, 2014 at 6:46 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

US-POLITICS-INAUGURATION-WHITE HOUSE
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) released a document today giving some crucial insights into the National Security Agency’s widespread surveillance operations in 2013. The transparency report, published via Tumblr, lists the number of National Security Letters, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders, and use of the FISA Business Records provision over the 12-month period. The report lists 1,767 FISA orders, 178 applications for business records – of which 423 “selectors” were queried under the NSA’s telephony metadata program – and 19,212 National Security Letters. Richard Salgado, Director of Law Enforcement and Information Security at Google, said the…

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Facebook Home is quiet, but not quite dead

Jun27
by on June 27, 2014 at 6:18 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider

0627_facebookhome
According to an article from the New York Times, the original Facebook Home team responsible for the launcher software for Android devices has broken up. Facebook Home launched with huge plans to change the way you see the social network and then eventually just fizzled out. In fact a phone, the HTC First was launched as a Facebook phone and like the software, it didn’t really catch on. However, while the original team has disbanded, that doesn’t mean no one is working on the launcher or that it is dead. Facebook told TNW, “There is a team working on Home.” The app…

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