News & Analysis
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Join us in LA for PandoMonthly with Lightspeed’s Jeremy Liew
Our last PandoMonthly of the year is a first for us: The guest is an import from a different city. Lightspeed’s Jeremy Liew lives and (mostly) works in San Francisco but he’ll sit down with us for our final PandoMonthly LA of the year on Tuesday December 16. In the past, we’ve always featured these interviews in the cities where the subjects live. But as I was thinking about important LA investors to feature for our last slot, it… -
Boost VC startups to get 300 BTC ($112K today) of follow-on funding from Draper Associates
Boost VC and its founder, Adam Draper, have been vocal proponents of bitcoin for some time now. After dedicating half of every startup accelerator class to bitcoin ventures for the last two years, Boost recently decided to go “all in,” with an announcement that its upcoming Tribe 5, which begins in Q1, would be 100 percent bitcoin. The goal is to accelerate 100 bitcoin companies by 2017. As if this weren’t enough commitment to the crypto-cause, Boost and… -
Here’s an app that adds “b*tch” to common messages, because it’s Friday
Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul has released an application that allows its users to send messages like “Yo, b*tch” or “NOPE, B*TCH!” and other profane aphorisms based loosely on Paul’s character from the hit show. The censorship isn’t my own — I’m pretty sure Pando doesn’t have a policy against using the word “bitch” when warranted — but is instead part of the app, which is, to be honest, a bit of a bummer. B*tch. [Source: The Verge] -
Zuckerberg’s complaint about Apple prices is funny and fair — but entirely beside the point
“A frustration I have is that a lot of people increasingly seem to equate an advertising business model with somehow being out of alignment with your customers. I think it’s the most ridiculous concept. What, you think because you’re paying Apple that you’re somehow in alignment with them? If you were in alignment with them, then they’d make their products a lot cheaper!” That’s Mark Zuckerberg, arguing in a new TIME feature story, against Apple’s claim that advertising-driven companies aren’t… -
Class-action suit against Apple might not have any plaintiffs
The class-action suit brought against Apple because of the company’s digital rights management software included with its iPod products might not have any plaintiffs. Apple’s lawyers claim that the two plaintiffs who brought the suit both purchased their iPods after the class period ended. Whoops. [Source: The New York Times] -
Somebody put Bebe in the corner: Retailer confirms credit card data breach
Bebe has confirmed earlier reports that its stores in the United States suffered a data breach related to customers’ credit card information. The fashion retailer claims that credit cards used to purchase goods from its website, mobile application, or international stores were not affected. It’s not clear how many consumers have been affected by the breach. Bebe says the attack took place between November 8 and November 26 and only affected shoppers in the US, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.… -
The Nation’s Betsy Reed named as the Intercept’s new editor-in-chief
The Nation’s executive editor, Betsy Reed, will become the Intercept’s new editor-in-chief on January 5. She replaces John Cook, the site’s outbound editor who is returning to Gawker at the end of the year, and is expected to help steer the publication further away from its well-covered problems. The Intercept has also hired investigative reporter Ken Silverstein and other “equally significant new hires.” [Source: The Intercept] -
On-demand as a service: Meet Dispatch, the answer to Uber-envy for any service-oriented enterprise
On-demand economy (aka, instant gratification economy) startups like Uber, Postmates, Instacart, MyTime, and Homejoy have quite literally put services ranging from transportation to food delivery to home repair in the palm of our hands. Whether you believe we’ve reached peak laziness, or write these services off as solutions for the 1 percent, the reality is that any business not moving toward this new paradigm instantly feels outdated and inconvenient. Believe it or not, your local plumbing company would most likely… -
The New Republic’s Chris Hughes in 2013: “We are not the next big trend in Silicon Valley.”
The New Republic published its first issue one hundred years ago last month — but it only took 24 hours for the magazine to be completely gutted. Yesterday, owner Chris Hughes and new CEO Guy Vidra announced a revamp of the New Republic brand, saying the magazine must get with the times and morph into a “digital media company.” That meant relocating from Washington, DC to Manhattan, and firing top editor Franklin Foer and literary editor Leon Wieseltier, who’d been writing for the magazine… -
Rovio lays off 110 workers
Rovio has laid off 110 workers — roughly 14 percent of its workforce — and shuttered its game development studio in Tampere. The layoffs were originally announced in October and are the result of the Angry Birds series’ declining popularity with consumers. [Source: Wired UK] -
US District Judge: Banks can sue Target for data breach
Banks will be allowed to sue Target for costs incurred as a result of the data breach that compromised the credit card information of 40 million consumers, a United States district judge has ruled. The cost of replacing affected credit cards alone is estimated to be $400 million. [Source: Ars Technica] -
Basically everybody who’s anybody just resigned from the New Republic
In the wake of Chris Hughes’ relocation of the New Republic to New York, and his replacement of top editor Franklin Foer, over two dozen editors have resigned from the magazine, including Ryan Lizza, Anne Applebaum, and Jonathan Chait. [Source: Ryan Lizza on Twitter] -
Surprise! UK court defends NSA and GCHQ surveillance and data-sharing
The United Kingdom’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal has decided that the collection of information by the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) intelligence agency, and its ability to get data from the National Security Agency, do not represent a human rights violation. The decision was issued in response to a complaint from Privacy International, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and others, about the surveillance and data-sharing programs revealed as the result of Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing in 2013. GCHQ is able to legally gather… -
Sony hack exposes Social Security numbers of 47,000 workers
The hackers who attacked Sony Pictures have leaked the Social Security numbers, home addresses, and salary information of some 47,000 current and former employees or contractors, the most high-profile of whom is actor Sylvester Stallone. [Source: The Wall Street Journal] -
Sen. Ron Wyden tells the FBI to stop forcing backdoors into tech products
Sen. Ron Wyden has introduced a bill meant to prevent federal agencies from forcing technology companies to build “backdoors” into their products. The move puts Wyden at odds with James Comey, the leader of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who has argued for increased access to consumer electronic devices to assist the bureau’s efforts to investigate criminals and terrorists. “Strong encryption and sound computer security is the best way to keep Americans’ data safe from hackers and foreign threats,”…
