Counterstrike gamer’s Twitch live stream crashed by SWAT team in remarkable video August 28, 2014 The stranger side of Amazon's recent acquisition, Twitch: a professional gamer’s live streaming session was crashed by a SWAT team, a surreal event captured in a remarkable YouTube video. Jordan Mathewson, who games under the alias “Kootra”, found himself the unfortunate victim of a prank known in the gaming community as “swatting”. According [...]
Snapchat now fundraising with a $10bn valuation August 27, 2014 Ephemeral photo messaging app Snapchat is reportedly in the process of raising a new round of investment valuing the mobile messaging app at $10bn (£6bn), far above Facebook’s $3bn takeover offer last year. According to the Wall Street Journal, prolific Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer is said to have invested [...]
Uber dives into fast food delivery business with UberFRESH trial August 27, 2014 Not satisfied with providing taxi rides or delivering groceries Uber is trying its hand at the fast food delivery business, with a new service called UberFRESH. The taxi app claims it will be able to deliver food from local restaurants in 10 minutes or less. Unfortunately for Uber-loving Brits this service will only be available [...]
Snapchat valued at $10 billion with new investment as monthly users reach 100m August 27, 2014 Evan Spiegel, the 24-year-old founder of Snapchat, must finally feel some vindication in his decision to turn down Facebook’s hefty $3bn (£1.8bn) offer for the hugely popular app last year. Snapchat is in the process of raising a new round of investment valuing the mobile messaging app at $10bn (£6bn), the Wall Street Journal reports, [...]
Lawmaker who voted to clamp down on Uber arrested for drink-driving August 26, 2014 In a delicious twist of irony, a California state senator was arrested on Saturday for driving under the influence of alcohol only hours after voting for legislation that would subject the taxi app service Uber to a host of burdensome regulations. Ben Hueso was spotted driving the wrong way down a one way street at [...]
Uber launches same-day grocery delivery with no minimum spend August 21, 2014 Uber is branching out from app based taxi hire to same-day grocery delivery services. The pilot programme launched in Washington DC will last just a few weeks but could be extended if proves to be popular. “The more you love it, the more likely it will last,” the company said. The Corner Store service is [...]
Uber’s battle against taxi industry and regulators steps up a gear with Obama adviser on board August 20, 2014 In Uber’s relentless battle against regulators and the taxi industry around the world, a political strategist was considered a crucial element for negotiating roadblocks in the disruptive taxi service’s plans for world domination. Now the search is over, and Uber has no doubt spent a pretty penny of its billions of dollars of investment (which [...]
German ban on Uber car hire overturned August 18, 2014 Germany’s administrative court yesterday overturned a ban on taxi and mini-cab hire app Uber. The ban was imposed by the Berlin State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs, which claimed the app could endanger customers as it allowed unverified drivers to pick up customers. Uber argued it provided competition which drove up standards.
Uber ban suspended: Berlin court upholds opposition to taxi app prohibition August 18, 2014 Uber has received some welcome news from Berlin's Administrative Court. Last week, the Berlin State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs said Uber risked passenger safety through the use of “unverified drivers in unlicensed vehicles” and consequently banned the popular taxi app. The company had been threatened with fines of up to €25,000 for each [...]
Berlin bans Uber citing passenger safety rules August 14, 2014 THE BATTLE between smartphone car service Uber and city regulators heated up yesterday after the German capital turned against the San Francisco startup and banned the mini cab app on safety grounds. In a press release, the Berlin State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs said Uber risked passenger safety through the use of “unverified [...]