JackThreads Gets an iPads App

SoundCloud Drifts to NY The orange-and-white audio platform announced the opening of offices in New York this week, declaring that they find the city "similar to Berlin" in that it’s "not trying to replicate what’s going on in The Valley." SoundCloud has also taken on Dan Gerber, the former National Director of Strategic Partnerships at Pandora, in order to look after brand revenues following his work at The Grammys. No word if he’ll organize Taylor Swift-style digs at rivals Spotify and Songza.

Aereo Reveals New Pricing Structure Controversial live TV streaming company Aereo unveiled a new payment plan for customers that allows access to most features for as little as $8 an hour. The purveyors of tiny antennas said the pricing plan "requires no long-term commitment and eliminates the previous annual and day plans," referring to it as "streamlined." The move is accompanied by a commitment to offer full service amenities free for the first month commencing May 15. Aereo's CEO stated that, "We looked at our data and it was clear, consumers want a more simple approach to pricing," mentioning nothing about undercutting the network giants they’ve so angered.

SideTour Adds BlackJack Wiz Experience maestros SideTour let slip that one of their own employees, a veteran card counter and Blackjack player, has started offering tours of his own. The staff member, Brian Cotlove, "spent six years making a career playing blackjack in casinos around the world." Perhaps a trip to Atlantic City is in order for the SideTour team?

BitPay Expands The BitCoin world’s PayPal has grown with the inclusion of Bitcoin core-developer Jeff Garzik and CFO Bryan Krohn. As BitCoin prepares to be used in up to 50,000 stores, the payment site says that Mr. Garzik’s new position will "allow him to work full-time on Bitcoin, BitPay, and related open-source projects to benefit the Bitcoin community."

Fiverr Hires Former Cuban Council Co-Founder Following the buzz around Google’s acquisition of legendary design firm Cuban Council, it can now be revealed that co-founder Michael Schmidt has made the move to Fiverr, the online services marketplace. Schmidt, who was responsible for Evernote, Bad Religion and the Rdio app, amongst other things, will now be their new front end architect, building and managing the Fiverr design team.

Pheed Launches Android App Feisty young social media upstart Pheed, used by the likes of Miley Cyrus, continues to vie for the big leagues with the launch of an Android app. The site, which is essentially a mashup of every other social media, believes it will "double in size over the next couple of months due to the new Android market," according to CEO O.D. Kobo.

(Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Public Domain Photographs, Via Wikimedia Commons)

The crooner Bing Crosby might've been a total dick, but it turns out he was a pretty smart angel investor. Guess the Biebs isn't so special, after all! [New Yorker]

"They became a virtual criminal flash mob, going from machine to machine, drawing as much money as they could, before these accounts were shut down." Don't look now but someone lived out your wildest ATM-related dreams. [The Verge]

If you're going to I/O, keep your eyes peeled for all the sensors tracking air quality, noise levels and lord knows what else. [TechCrunch]

Square's TOS was recently updated to add that you can't sell "firearms, firearm parts or hardware, and ammunition; or... weapons and other devices designed to cause physical injury" using the service. Guess you're gonna have to start bringing duffle bags full of cash to the gun show again. [CNN Money]

Aereo launches in Atlanta June 17. [Aereo]

Hot Bostonites enjoying Aereo. (Photo: Facebook)

Aereo, the online service that lets users livestream local channels, announced today that it will be rolling out service to Boston, its second major metropolitan area. Starting May 15, customers in the Massachusetts area who have pre-registered for the free service will start receiving their invites to try it out. On May 30, membership will available to all 4.5 million people in the Boston area.

Nearly 30 channels will be available for streaming, including the city’s network affiliates, specialty channels (i.e. PBS Kids, The Country Network) and some Spanish-language networks. The Boston market extends beyond Massachusetts and includes parts of New Hampshire and Vermont. Aereo has been staffing up in Boston and has several engineering job openings listed on its Career page.

Aereo’s expansion further solidifies the company’s bullish plans, despite facing lawsuits from the networks it carries. Earlier this month, a Second Circuit appeals court ruled in favor of the company, which thwarted a request from broadcasters for a preliminary injunction and allows Aereo to continue operating. That decision riled up News Corp. COO Chase Carey who threatened to move Fox to pay cable if courts continue to rule in Aereo's favor.

Say what? (Mr. Carey via www.123people.ca)

What's the best way to respond when a court ruling doesn't go in your favor? Public histrionics, judging by statements from News Corp. COO Chase Carey.

Last week, the Second Circuit appeals court upheld a decision denying broadcasters their motion for a preliminary injunction against Aereo, the Barry Diller-backed startup that lets users live-stream broadcast TV. The plaintiffs in the case are a cohort of powerful media companies, including NBC, CBS, Disney and, yes, News Corp, whose COO Chase Carey is not taking the decision lying down.

At an industry conference in Las Vegas today, Mr. Carey told audience members that he's considering switching Fox from a free, over-the-air broadcast station into a pay cable one if the courts won't protect his company, reports Variety.

“If we can’t have our rights properly protected through legal and governmental solutions, we will pursue business solution. One solution would be to take the network and make it a subscription service. We’re not going to sit idly by and let people steal our content.”

The rights in question are hefty "retransmission fees" for carrying networking programming. The plaintiffs argue Aereo needs to pay for the right to show their content, Aereo argues the individual antennas assigned to each user means its that its streaming service doesn't count as a "public broadcast."

How seriously should "New Girl" obsessives (will they/won't they, amiright?) take this threat? "You can probably file this under 'sword-rattling aimed at regulators' more than 'things Fox actually intends to do,'" says AllThingsD's Peter Kafka.

To back up that thesis, News Corp. already had a passionate press release plea to interested overseers drafted. The full text below:

STATEMENT FROM NEWS CORPORATION PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER CHASE CAREY REGARDING BROADCAST TELEVISION AND AEREO

NEW YORK, NY – April 8, 2013 – “News Corporation has a long-standing commitment to the broadcast television business, and to delivering the highest-quality entertainment, sports and news programming to our viewers on a localized basis.  We are committed to broadcasting under a business model where programmers receive fair compensation from parties that want to redistribute our product while continuing to make our product available for free to individual consumers that want to access our signal.

“We believe that Aereo is pirating our broadcast signal.  We will continue to aggressively pursue our rights in the courts, as well as pursue all relevant political avenues, and we believe we will prevail.

“That said, we won’t just sit idle and allow our content to be actively stolen. It is clear that the broadcast business needs a dual revenue stream from both ad and subscription to be viable. We simply cannot provide the type of quality sports, news, and entertainment content that we do from an ad supported only business model.  We have no choice but to develop business solutions that ensure we continue to remain in the driver’s seat of our own destiny.  One option could be converting the FOX broadcast network to a pay channel, which we would do in collaboration with both our content partners and affiliates.”

UPDATE: It looks like News Corp. isn't the only party given to grand pronouncements. Aereo spokesperson Virginia Lam emailed Betabeat the following statement, declaring that "Having a television antenna is every American's right.":

“Aereo has invented a simple, convenient way for consumers to utilize an antenna to access free-to-air broadcast television, bringing television access into the modern era for millions of consumers. It's disappointing to hear that Fox believes that consumers should not be permitted to use  an antenna to access free-to-air broadcast television. Over 50 million Americans today access television via an antenna. When broadcasters asked Congress for a free license to digitally broadcast on the public's airwaves, they did so with the promise that they would broadcast in the public interest and convenience, and that they would remain free-to-air. Having a television antenna is every American's right."

For more information about Aereo, check out our feature from last May. 

Mr. Allen is signing...a lease?? (Photo: Flickr)

We're another day closer to the fabled Facebook phone release so images are leaking out of what the supposed Android-based OS is going to look like. Hint: it's blue! [CNET]

Say hi to your newest your coworker, Silicon Valley. It's Paul Allen! The Microsoft cofounder is opening a new investment office under the Vulcan Capital name. [PEHub]

A Federal Court ruled yesterday that one simply can not resell their iTunes-purchased songs thus endangering the future of music site ReDigi.com. But it’s not all bad news. This is probably the most press ReDigi has ever received! [AllThingsD]

Allan Kay, computer pioneer and the man who coined the phrase “The best way to predict the future is to invent it,” is the subject of a lengthy profile. [TIME]

Fresh off Aereo’s win in appeals court yesterday (where judges denied TV networks their request for an injunction), CEO Chet Kanojia is predicting that broadcasters will take the issue to Congress. [The Verge]

IAC chairman Barry Diller. (David Shankbone)

Aereo, the New York City-based service that lets cordcutters live-stream network TV online, has been making broadcasters feel litigious ever since IAC led a $20.5 million Series A in the startup last February. The group of 17 broadcasters suing Aereo argue that the individual antennas Aereo assigns each user are an illegal loophole to avoid paying networks costly retransmission rights--and that Aereo is guilty of copyright violation of their content.

This January, Aereo raised $38 million more, which should help cover its considerable legal fees. But the TV incumbents haven't found much support in the courts.

Today, the Second Circuit appeals court ruled in favor of Aereo, denying broadcasters their request for a preliminary injunction and upholding the decision made Federal District Court last summer. That vote of support is well-timed to Aereo's recent major marketing push--expanding service 29 new counties across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

CEO and founder Chet Kanojia got the inspiration for Aereo by looking at the 2009 Supreme Court case, which ruled that Cablevision was within its rights to move its DVR systems to the cloud. The court of appeals referenced that decision in their ruling today:

 “We conclude that Aereo’s transmissions of unique copies of broadcast television programs created at its users’ requests and transmitted while the programs are still airing on broadcast television are not ‘public performances’ of the Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works under Cablevision. As such, Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they are likely to prevail on the merits on this claim in their copyright infringement action. Nor have they demonstrated serious questions as to the merits and a balance of hardships that tips decidedly in their favor. We therefore affirm the order of the district court denying the Plaintiffs’ motion.”

But as AllThingsD notes, today's decision just means that Aereo can continue operating while the trial is underway, it's not a legal all-clear.

It is worth noting the dissenting opinion from District Court Judge Denny Chin, who doesn’t buy the Cablevision argument at all: “The system is a Rube Goldberg-like
contrivance, over-engineered in an attempt to avoid the reach of the Copyright Act and to take advantage of a perceived loophole in the law.”

Sounds like someone in chambers has a Google Reader full of tech blogs!

Photo: Filmon.TV

It wouldn't be the end to another week in tech without another copyright lawsuit. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Aereo board member and IAC chairman Barry Diller is once again taking FilmOn CEO Alki David to court, this time for trademark infringement.

You'll remember that the two previously met in court when Mr. Diller sued Mr. David for violating his publicity rights and implying a false endorsement when Mr. David created barrydriller.com and aereokiller.com. Then last month Mr. David countersued, saying that he had originally used the term “Aero” in his company long before Aereo was on the market, and that in fact Aereo were the ones doing the infringing.

Well now Aereo is suing again, claiming that FilmOn, "have devised a scheme to launch what they claim is a competing business called 'Aero.'"

As the Hollywood Reporter mentions, the lawsuit claims that Mr. David said he'd been using "Hauppauge WinTV-Aero-M" in the marketplace before Aereo, but prior to the filing of his lawsuit last month, neither "defendants nor their licensor had previously utilized the term 'Aero' separate and apart from the 'Hauppauge WinTV-Aero-M' name."

The very mature Mr. David claims he'd ”been using the name Aero well ahead of Baboon or whatever they called themselves before."

Although both companies could eventually be the subject of a Supreme Court case over the constitutionality of online live streaming, we think it'd be much more entertaining if they could just continue publicly slinging insults at each other.

Photo: Dorm Room Fund

Because Angel Investors Can Live In Dorms Too The New York tech scene can never have too many venture capitalists, but sometimes it can be difficult for student entrepreneurs to bridge the age gap between themselves and their investors. Enter the Dorm Room Fund, an investment team started by firm First Round Capital, which is run and composed entirely of students. With $500,000 provided by First Round, the student members of the Dorm Room Fund can choose which student projects to invest in, as well as who will be accepted to be a board member of the investment team when other members graduate. After last year's debut in Philadelphia, the Dorm Room Fund is expanding to New York, and will be accepting applications to its board from Columbia, NYU, Princeton, and Cornell's tech campus until March 11, and has already begun accepting applications for student startups seeking investment at these schools.

Warby Parker Gets Another Round of Funding With Google Glass on everyone's mind, the news of online eyewear distributor Warby Parker's new funding successes was a little swept under the rug. But Monday's announcement of new investments from American Express and J. Crew chief executive Millard S. Drexler is just another sign that the New York startup, which lets you "try on" glasses online, could be a serious challenger to the physical eyewear market. Wonder who might want to partner with them? (Hint: we already mentioned them.)

Once Again, Please Stop Paying For Cable If you're a twenty something New Yorker, chances are that somewhere along the way to your $12oo-a-month Bushwick apartment you sacrificed paying for cable. Well you can stop pirating all your favorite shows, because Aereo announced on Monday that it's expanding its live video streaming service beyond the five boroughs to more than 19 million people in the surrounding New York metropolitan area. The cloud/DVR's access area will now encompass 29 counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York. The company will also be rolling out a new multi-million dollar ad campaign in the New York area, highlighted by the tagline, “Live TV. Online. No Cable Required.” Although only 30 channels are provided now, the company hopes to rapidly expand in the near future.

This Definitely Isn't Your Childhood Summer QAmp Although its not always the flashiest part of a tech company, the quality assurance (QA) section is necessary for any tech company wishing to release a quality, glitch-free product. And to that end, SummerQAmp, an education initiative started by a number of companies, will return this summer to provide students with internship opportunities at tech companies across the country in the field of quality assurance. The QA department is often viewed as just a place for product testing, but SummerQAmp aims to change that. Of course, no matter how you spin it, an internship consisting of continuously opening and closing an app doesn't exactly sound like a dream vaca.

Aggregation Just Got Even More Ridiculous With Movie App "Clinch" If you've never heard of Clinch, the movie making app, which was released last year, creates films using a users' video and combining it with multiple sources such as other users', media. Well now Clinch will be updating their app this Monday with a new user interface that focuses on integrating videos and photos from Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sources, as well as improving upon its proprietary algorithms for creating spliced videos. Because people don't already hate when their writing is aggregated, so why not start doing the same with videos as well?

Bloomberg Wants All Our Children To Be Nerds New York mayor Michael Bloomberg sure has been on a tech tear recently. Last week he announced his Made in NYC campaign to help New York tech startups, and on Monday he revealed that 20 New York high schools and middle schools will receive “comprehensive computer science and software engineering curriculum” as part of the city's new Software Engineering Pilot (SEP) program. The program will begin with 1,000 students and expand to 3,500 students by 2016, though it remains to be seen whether this program will finally unify the jocks and geeks on the high school popularity spectrum.

The Bronx And Staten Island Are Some Of Klutziest Cities In America In another sign that Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens are the only boroughs worth living in New York, consumer electronic trade-in site Gazelle recently announced the ten klutziest cities in America, and the Bronx came in at fourth and Staten Island placed ninth. The numbers, based on the percentage of electronic devices the site received from each city that were either cracked, dented or water-damaged, found that Tallahassee, Florida was the worst offender in the U.S., followed by New Orleans (in fact, the South dominated the list with six of the ten spots.) As it comes to no one's surprise, the site receives plenty of broken phones, and has decided to run a "Broken Phone Stories" contest in order to discover the best broken phone story in the country.

This is a guest post from Gary Sharma (aka “The Guy with the Red Tie”), founder and CEO of GarysGuide and proud owner of a whole bunch of black suits, white shirts and, at last count, over 40 red ties. You can reach him at gary [at] garysguide.com.

So, as y’all know, SXSW (or, as I like to call it, Sundance for Geeks) is now just two weeks away. That's right, people: Time to start planning how you gonna be partying it up and taking Austin by storm! :) To make your life easier (the better to gorge on all those mouth-watering Nuclear Tacos and drool-inducing Salt Lick BBQs) I’ve put together The ULTIMATE Guide to SXSW Interactive 2012 Parties (185 and counting)! And of course, it comes with my special commentary and notes to help you make sense of all the madness. You’re welcome.

Now, of course, as any SXSW veteran can attest, the seemingly endless parade of parties, panels and people can quickly become overwhelming. So to make your life even easier, I’ve compiled a list of the 16 most-awesome-must-attend-unmissable parties that are bound to give all your friends at home a giant pile of FOMO!

Yes, I’ll be at SXSW, attending every last one of those panels ‘n parties (or well, as many as humanly possible, even for me). So if you’re interested in sponsoring my Red Tie for SXSW and putting your company logo on there, you’d best hurry up and give me a holler at gary [at] garysguide.com.

And now, without further ado, ladies ‘n gentleman, the 16 SXSW parties you really, really, reaaalllly don’t wanna miss ... ;)

CafePress SXSW Shindig
County Line BBQ and libations will abound as CafePress celebrates the launch of MyInstaCard. Participants get an exclusive T-shirt as a collector's item.
Friday (Mar. 8), 4 p.m. @ Bourbon Girl, 212 E. 6th Street

SXSW Food & Tech Cocktails
Serving up authentic Oaxacan appetizers and cocktails throughout the evening.
Friday (Mar. 8), 4:30 p.m. @ El Naranjo, 85 Rainey Street

SXspredfast Bash
Three floors of bars, networking with the biggest brands in social, bowling and a special guest DJ!
Friday (Mar. 8), 6 p.m. @ Speakeasy, 412 Congress Avenue

4th Annual Ignite Social Media Party
Tasty BBQ sandwiches, drinks, two floors, one big party--kick back downstairs or chill on the rooftop deck of Molotov!
Friday (Mar. 8), 7 p.m. @ Molotov, 719 W. 6th Street

#FEED Powered By Twitter
Five nighttime parties, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (DJ set), interactive social media art exhibits, juice cleanses, spinning, and yoga on the rooftop!
Friday (Mar. 8) to Tuesday (Mar. 12) 7 p.m. @ AMOA Arthouse @ Jones Center, 700 Congress Avenue

Carnival Fun at #ConduitCorner!
Free beer and delectable fair fare from L.A.’s famous WickedKitchen, plus carnival games, a charity dunking booth, a celebrity balloon wrangler and more!
Friday (Mar. 8) to Wednesday (Mar. 13) @ Conduit Corner, E. 7th Street and N. Congress Avenue

Beauty Bar X 2013
Free manicures + open bar (mimosas, bellinis & custom cocktails) + scrumptious light fare + tech-luxe gift bags. Whats not to like?!
Saturday (Mar. 9), 10 a.m. @ Vince Young Steakhouse, 301 San Jacinto Blvd

Salesforce Rooftop VIP Party
Memorable experiences including developer events, happy hours and a VIP party Saturday night featuring live entertainment.
Saturday (Mar. 9), 6 p.m. @ Salesforce Lounge, 5th & Brazos

Made In NY & American Express VIP Cocktails & Conversation
Join friends from American Express, NY Tech Meetup, Made In NY and others for a lively cocktail party following the days’ sessions.
Saturday (Mar. 9), 6 p.m. @ AMOA Arthouse @ Jones Center, 700 Congress Avenue

Wall Street Journal Pool Party!
The Wall Street Journal invites you to hang out pool side! Featuring live music by CC Adcock, Denny Freeman and Will Sexton. (By Invite Only)
Sunday (Mar. 10), 3 p.m. @ Ashton Austin, 101 Colorado Street

Open Bar with Aereo
Drinks and demos and find out why Aereo is the coolest thing to happen to television since the remote.
Sunday (Mar. 10), 4 p.m. @ Old School Bar & Grill, 401 E. 6th Street

Open Web SXSW Pool Party
Pool party-inspired bites, DJ Johnny Bravo, door prizes. Plus one lucky attendee will win a five-day, four-night resort package to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!
Sunday (Mar. 10), 5 p.m.

4th Annual Wiley SXSW Author Party
Three hours of free food and drinks in appreciation of amazing authors and supportive readers.
Sunday (Mar. 10), 7 p.m. @ Hangar Lounge, 318 Colorado Street

SXSW Party Hosted by MoPub, Metamarkets, & Prolific Interactive
DJ Duo AndrewAndrew spinning on their iPads, Franklin BBQ, great cocktails and a raffle! Transit from the convention center provided on an Austin Trolley.
Sunday (Mar. 10), 8 p.m. @ Icenhaeurs, 83 Rainey Street

Mashable MashBash
A bowling alley, breathtaking rooftop view of Austin, internationally renowned DJ Mick Boogie, plenty of fun surprises and more!
Sunday (Mar. 10), 9 p.m. @ Speakeasy, 412 Congress Avenue

Rovio (Angry Birds) Pool Party
There will be music and BBQ! And no doubt the Mighty Eagle will be there. Rovio may be showcasing something new at the event! (By Invite Only)
Monday (Mar. 11), 6 p.m. @ Ashton Austin, 101 Colorado Street

And finally, don't forget - What Happens At SXSW... Is Gonna Be All Over Twitter ;)

Killer Diller. (Photo: flickr.com/techcrunch, by Dave Getzschman)

Hey, look: It's some actual news out of CES, which has absolutely nothing to do with Evernote-integrated refrigerators! New York-based, Barry Diller-backed TV-streaming service Aereo has been teasing an expansion for some time now, and in a speech today from CEO Chet Kanojia, the company made its move.

The service will roll out to 22 new cities, including Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C, starting in the late spring. Aereo will continue its "Try for Free" program in each of the cities, so would-be cord-cutters can get a taste, but it'll be invitation-only at first. 

To fund this attempt at world conquest, the company also announced it's closed a $38 million Series B led by IAC and Highland Capital. Get money, ya'll. Previous investors including FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital, High Line Venture Partners and "select individuals" also threw invested. The round was actually oversubscribed, Mr. Kanojia told Betabeat by phone from CES. Aereo was aiming for $30 million, but when financiers came clamoring, he said, "Alright." The additional capital will be used to build up infrastructure, marketing and cover some considerable legal bills. "We decided that we were gonna go into expansion mode and it came together very very quickly."

The cities were chosen based on population density, how many households get over-the-air broadcasts, and the age of the population. Age is a factor, he noted, because the majority of Aereo's customers tend to be 35 and under. "It's a great fit for their lifestyle," he enthused. "This is not your dad’s cable TV." Customers "use it as it fits their life."

Expansion plans were also related to proximity to Aereo's homebase. The headcount has doubled since our feature about Aereo in May, but it's still a small team, so they wanted to be able to, "knock off as much ground cover as we can in a two hour flight," adding, "L.A. has never been a TV town." Cities that get the service include: Boston, Miami, Austin, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Cleveland, Kansas City, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, Birmingham, Providence, and Madison, WI.

All told, that new ground covers 97 million new potential customers. If you look at the younger demographic in those market, it could mean 30 million people, said Mr. Kanojia. Although he declined to disclose subscriber numbers, he did say usage numbers--the metric Aereo focuses on--is "extremely strong."

Of course, this depends on Aereo clearing all its present legal hurdles. Sure, they managed to avoid a preliminary injunction, but broadcasters are far from done fighting. We asked Mr. Kanojia whether her expected more lawsuits from local affiliates in new cities? "I don’t know who can sue us or not," he said with characteristic nonchalance. "Frankly I'm not too worried or focused on that." After all, if you start "obsessing" over every incumbent, that hardly leaves time for convincing people to cut the cord.

This post has been updated to include our interview with Mr. Kanojia.