ie8 fix

Spotify: Growing like mad, yet so far to go

AUSTIN, Texas -- It's not a bluegrass jam on the legendary Austin City Limits stage, but for Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, it nonetheless will be a heady moment.

When Ek sits for a fireside chat at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival here later today, the Swedish-born, aspiring music industry mogul will be able to share some fresh bragging rights: Spotify has signed another 1 million subscribers since December, bringing the total to 6 million and cementing its position as the fastest-growing digital music company ever -- second in reach only to Internet radio company Pandora. A company … Read more

Leap Motion controllers to ship in mid-May for $80

Leap Motion, which has developed an innovative motion-control system that's accurate to the hundredth of a millimeter, said today that it will begin shipping its controller on May 13.

The controller, which gives users the ability to control what's on their computers with touch-free pinch-to-zoom gestures, will sell for $80 -- though customers who have already pre-ordered it will pay $70 -- and will ship to pre-order customers on May 13, and be available to everyone else on May 19.

The device will be available in the U.S. only through Leap Motion's Web site, and at … Read more

Fabric + algorithm: The fit geek's quest for a suit that fits

Buying men's suits online sounds risky, but a few fit geeks think they can get the right fit better than anyone else.

Two cousins with Las Vegas fashion industry ties, Mo Melwani and Vishaal Melwani, have teamed up with former space geek Raj Sareen to launch Sareen's new tech fit algorithm. Their site sells men's business wear and are aiming for the customers who don't like to shop, so a better fit means less returns and more repeat business. The technology, powered by Sareen's startup Styku, helps consumers find their correct clothing size online with … Read more

More drivers come to UberX in San Francisco

Uber's UberX service, which uses hybrid cars and charges customers less for trips than in traditional cars, is getting a boost, the company has announced.

Uber will be partnering with more drivers in San Francisco through its UberX service, according to a company blog post yesterday. The hybrid cars meet California's requirements for driving, as well as Uber's screening tests to ensure they're fit to handle service, the company said.

UberX was unveiled in July as an invite-only service for San Francisco. At that time, the company said that it couldn't offer it to everyone … Read more

Here's the 3D-printing institute in Obama's State of the Union

A little over a year ago, 3D printing was a funky new technology that you might find at modestly sized booths in the basement level of the Las Vegas Convention Center at CES. Tonight, President Obama mentioned it in the same breath as Apple and Intel during his State of the Union address, while talking about ways to create new jobs and manufacturing in the United States. Here's the passage from the transcript:

After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from … Read more

Snapchat Android beta goes live, then self-destructs

The long-awaited update for a Snapchat video-messaging app for Android was available briefly last night.

Snapchat announced last night that it would allow people to download its private beta Android application. However, the application was only made available for a few hours and can no longer be downloaded from the company's site. Those who were able to access the program needed to force their Android handsets to install non-market apps.

Snapchat currently offers an Android and iOS application. However, the program only allows for the sharing of photos. The Snapchat update for Android lets people send video clips to … Read more

Samsung's Open Innovation Center seeks startup juice

Samsung yesterday announced the launch of a new Open Innovation Center in Silicon Valley with an aim of connecting the conglomerate with the latest and greatest software ideas.

David Eun, Samsung Electronics executive vice president and leader of the Open Innovation Center, announced its opening yesterday at the D: Dive Into Media event. He told All Things Digital's Kara Swisher that while the company's hardware efforts are going well, the Open Innovation Center is designed to deliver a "thoughtful integration" of hardware with software.

According to Eun, the Open Innovation Center is based on four ideas:… Read more

Uber strikes key deal with California regulators

Uber, the on-demand driving service, has temporarily resolved an issue it's been facing with California, the company announced yesterday.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates some driving services in the state, last year issued citations and fines against Internet-based Uber for allegedly operating a "charter-party carrier" service that failed to include insurance coverage and enrollment of its hired drivers in a substance abuse program. CPUC also argued that Uber failed to provide evidence of workers' compensation insurance.

Two other driving services, Lyft and SideCar, were also included in the citation, which fined all three companies $… Read more

OpenTable gobbles up Foodspotting for $10 million

OpenTable, a company that provides online restaurant reservations, has acquired Foodspotting, a site and apps that let users post photos of the food dishes they encounter at eateries.

The companies announced the deal today, saying that OpenTable will pay approximately $10 million in cash to acquire Foodspotting. The acquisition comes after Foodspotting inked a deal with the restaurant-reservations company to share user photos of food dishes in OpenTable listings. OpenTable didn't say what its plans are for Foodspotting, but it did say the photos are a "taste" of what to expect.

Still, Foodspotting users won't lose … Read more

Amiigo fitness bracelet knows what exercise you're doing

We've seen fitness trackers before, but here's one with impressive smarts. The Amiigo can automatically identify more than 100 activities with custom algorithms.

Amiigo is a waterproof bracelet and shoe clip that not only counts how many bicep curls or golf swings you do, but monitors your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, skin temperature, activity level, and the number of calories burned, according to the gadget's crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.

Sensors and machine-learning algorithms identify the exercise you're performing, and store the data in the device before uploading it to your mobile device. The tech can discriminate between running on the treadmill, for instance, and exercising on an elliptical machine. … Read more