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Jessica Roy

shameless rumormongering

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Rumor Roundup: Betabeat Becomes a Bunch of Glassholes, Prince Harry Hails a Hailo and Zuck Celebrates a Bday

Glasshole Missed Connection Betabeat finally had the distinct pleasure of trying the dorky looking face computer we love to mock so much at a party last night at Meetup HQ. We (only slightly drunkenly) approached a tall white dude donning Google Glass and timidly asked if we might be able to try it on. When we slipped on the device (in slate!), the display was incredibly blurry–not due to our eyesight, but because Glass specifically calibrates to the wearer’s eye. It was hard as hell to see, but the voice commands worked almost seamlessly, impressive since we were at a loud party.

The device’s functionality is fairly limited: you can take a picture, record video and get directions to and from places. It also has the added benefit of making you look like a complete dork while somehow also attracting swaths of attractive ladies to get up real close to your face. Read More

Visiting Dignitaries

Mr. Mason

For His Next Act, Ousted Groupon CEO Andrew Mason Will Release an Album of ‘Motivational Business Music’

Typically, when CEOs are ousted from the businesses they founded, they go “spend more time” with their families, take up a hobby like yachting or move immediately on to the next company they can try not to drive into the ground. Not so for former Groupon CEO Andrew Mason, who was fired earlier this year. Though he’s going to join Y Combinator as an advisor, Mr. Mason has another trick up his sleeve: dropping an album, of course. Read More

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The Pitch Season 2, Episode Nine: Edge/Admitted.ly – College Admissions 2.0

Jessica Brondo, Founder & CEO of Edge/Admitted.ly, is on a mission to make her company the new face of college admissions. Having raised her own SAT score 430 points, Ms. Brondo was bit by the test prep bug and went on to develop her own proprietary curriculum. The Edge is taking that curriculum online and into public schools nationwide. Ms. Brondo aims to bridge the socioeconomic gap by leveraging technology, particularly videos, to make test prep accessible and affordable for all high school students. Admitted.ly is the company’s newest product focusing on college admissions counseling. It analyzes a student’s data to determine their chances for being admitted to U.S. universities and offers recommendations based on each student’s history of how to boost their “admittability” score. Read More

startup rundown

JT-iPad_Mocks-LOGIN

Startup News: JackThreads Gets an iPad App, SoundCloud Opens a NYC Office and BitPay Expands

JackThreads Gets an iPads App Purveyor of men’s clothes and accessories JackThreads is attempting to seal up its lucrative mobile market. The company, described as ‘urbo-hipster’ by TechCrunch, is currently generating about 40 percent of revenue via its iPhone app. CEO Ben Lerer revealed how he was excited to “Roll out this beast to our guys.” Not sure if “beast” correctly describes a collection of blazers and jackets, but we wish them luck. Read More

It's All About the Bitcoins

Mr. Karpeles (Photo: Twitter)

Warrant Reveals Homeland Security Seized Mt. Gox’s Dwolla Account for ‘Unlicensed Money Transmitting’

Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security shut down Bitcoin trading platform Mt. Gox’s ability to accept or send transfers using Dwolla, a mobile payment service. A representative from Dwolla told Betabeat that the DHS had sent them a “seizure warrant” for the account, but declined to provide further detail. Now, in the warrantobtained by Ars Technica, the reason for the seizure has been revealed: DHS believes Mt. Gox is operating an “unlicensed money transmitting business.” Read More

XX in Tech

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To Hug or Not to Hug? Hacker News Commenters Unsure of How to Interact With Real Live Human Ladies

It’s simply a part of life: sometimes, when you emerge from the depths of the Internet to refill your Star Trek mug with Stumptown coffee, you accidentally encounter a real live girl. You know, that genre of human being that has boobs and always keeps a copy of Lean In on her desk. Your heart might skip a few beats as you’re forced to pass by her, dreading having to interact with someone outside of your favorite IRC channel. A wave of relief hits you as she keeps her eyes glued to the floor and doesn’t acknowledge you: you’re safe. For now. Read More