SquareHub emerges with high-profile backers and a goal to connect families

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Dave Cotter is a divorced father of three girls — a busy guy who struggles to keep up with his family’s hectic schedule. “My ex wife and I were just looking for a better way to stay coordinated,” says Cotter, a well known entrepreneur who previously served as a general manager at Amazon.com. From that personal… Read More…

The significance of Amazon’s Appstore launch in China

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Amazon launched its app store in China last weekend, becoming the first Western company to offer both free and paid Android apps to consumers in the world’s largest smartphone market. Google Play, which is also available in China, carries only free content. The app store’s establishment came as a surprise to many, as China was noticeably absent from the Amazon… Read More…

Panna brings celeb chefs into home kitchens with digital tutorials, raises $1.35M

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From cooking shows to cooking competitions, it’s no secret we like watching chefs at work — it’s nearly as exciting as the dish itself. Maybe it’s something about the live action of it all, a sort of performance art of ladles and cast iron. Maybe we just like to feel like there’s visual evidence the… Read More…

The Geek’s Guide to International Travel

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On my recent vacation to Europe, I traveled without folded maps, paper guidebooks and journals, or physical backup copies of my passport, rail pass and other critical documents. Instead, I relied only on my smartphone – even though it was disconnected from cellular voice and data service for the full ten days. Think of it as the… Read More…

Microsoft’s Start button revival: Will this help or hurt Windows 8′s chances?

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Microsoft does plan to bring back the Start button on the traditional desktop in an upcoming Windows 8 update, but clicking on it won’t open a familiar popup Start Menu on the screen, according to a new report from Tom Warren on The Verge this morning. Instead, the site reports, clicking the button will take… Read More…

Missing Google Reader? Bing updates News app with RSS support, offline reading

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Those of you still pissed that Google Reader is going away may like the latest updates to Bing’s News App for Windows 8. Microsoft today announced several updates across its Bing Apps from News to Sports to Maps. Bing News now offers support for RSS feeds as well as offline reading. You’re also able to keep tabs… Read More…

Microsoft to developers: Here’s $100 to make a Windows 8 app

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Is this really enough to entice developers to consider Microsoft? Looking to jumpstart its Windows 8 app ecosystem for the desktop, tablet and smartphone markets, Microsoft has kicked off a new program in which it will pay $100 (in a virtual Visa card) for each app developers build between now and June 30th. As part… Read More…

Bing Fund backs mobile app Sonar to help people discover who is hanging out nearby

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Do you want to know who is hanging around you at the coffee shop, airport or bar? A new mobile app called Sonar, which today is announcing funding from Microsoft’s Bing Fund, taps into individual’s social networks to identify who is lurking nearby. Of course, Sonar probably wouldn’t like the term “lurking,” given the privacy… Read More…

Seattle super angels sink cash in shopping app Zoomingo

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Some of Seattle’s top angel investors are tossing their support behind Zoomingo, the mobile shopping application developed by serial entrepreneur Shirish Nadkarni. Investing in the new round are former Facebook general counsel Rudy Gadre, former Smilebox CEO Andrew Wright and former Twango CEO Serena Glover. Total funding in Zoomingo, which raised $1.3 million from Benaroya… Read More…