• Whip the llama’s ass with this Javascript WinAmp emulator

    Whip the llama’s ass with this Javascript WinAmp emulator

    If you were an early Internet kid you’ll recall a little app called WinAmp that was, in short, the best MP3 player ever made ever. The little program looked like skeuomorphic stereo receiver with a full range of equalizer sliders and included an important MP3 that explained WinAmp’s primary mission: whipping the llama’s ass. A…

  • Facebook’s plan to build community with hiring and $10M in grants

    Facebook’s plan to build community with hiring and $10M in grants

    Facebook will award up to $1 million to five community leaders and $50,000 to 100 more to fund their ideas for how to strengthen people’s online and offline connections. Facebook will also hire double the number of engineers currently working on safety-related causes in its London office. These were a few of the big announcements…

  • Toyota invests $69M in Japanese Uber rival backed by the taxi industry

    Toyota invests $69M in Japanese Uber rival backed by the taxi industry

    This week isn’t turning out to be great one for Uber in Japan. Two of its investors — Didi and SoftBank — are teaming up to launch a rival service, while one of its existing competitors has just landed a big cash infusion and highly influential backer after Toyota backed JapanTaxi. The auto giant said it…

  • Facebook confirms test of a downvote button for flagging comments

    Facebook confirms test of a downvote button for flagging comments

    How can Facebook promote meaningful interaction between users? By letting them downvote inappropriate comments to hide them. Facebook is now testing a downvote button on a limited set of public Page post comment reels, the company confirms to TechCrunch. But what Facebook does with signals about problematic comments could raise new questions about censorship, and…

  • WhatsApp has launched person-to-person payments into beta in India

    WhatsApp has launched person-to-person payments into beta in India

    WhatsApp has begun testing a new payments feature in India that will allow people to send money to other WhatsApp users, excluding merchant accounts. The feature is currently in beta, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans, but hasn’t been publicly announced because it’s not widely available at this time. The company has been  working…

  • Snapchat starts selling $10+ captionable AR masks for events

    Snapchat starts selling $10+ captionable AR masks for events

    By combining augmented reality with your customizable captions, Snapchat hopes you’ll share more from birthdays and weddings while earning it a little money. Today Snapchat launches Custom Lenses, expanding its 2016–launched on-demand geofilter program so you can make temporary, geofenced AR effects that people can add to their Snaps at a special event. The Create-Your-Own-Lens…

  • Facebook Messenger’s ‘Your Emoji’ status tells friends what’s up

    Facebook Messenger’s ‘Your Emoji’ status tells friends what’s up

    Want to let friends know you’re trying to party, hit the gym, focus on work or grab a drink? That’s the idea behind a powerful new feature Facebook Messenger is testing called Your Emoji. Akin to offline meetup app Down to Lunch, it lets you overlay a chosen emoji on your Messenger profile pic for…