News Byte

Jumio Receives Undisclosed Investment From Citi Ventures

Jumio, which uses a Webcam to verify identity or scan credit cards, raised $25.5 million in March. The second round was led by Andreessen Horowitz. Today, Jumio announced that it topped off that round with an undisclosed sum from Citi Ventures. To date, the company has raised $35.4 million.

It’s Time to Make a Fool of Yourself Catching Popcorn With Your Mouth

If this one doesn’t make you giggle, you’re a Scrooge.
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Eye-Tracking Study Shows Users Perceive Google+ and Facebook Virtually Identically

According to an eye-tracking study, users of Google+ and Facebook look at the layout of the homepages of the two sites in virtually identical fashion.
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Jumio Sees New Online Payments Opportunity Through the Webcam Lens

Jumio, a payments company backed by Eduardo Saverin, is finally unveiling its product: Netswipe turns an off-the-shelf webcam into a credit card reader.
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Xbox Kinect: Just How Controlling Can a Body Be?

Xbox Kinect does well with games involving more natural gestures and motions, but its games using objects, like a bowling ball, need more work, says Katie.
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With Video Chatting, It’s a Small World After All

Video chatting, helpful as it may be for keeping in touch, can be intimidating. Katie goes into the basics.
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Stop Licking Your Monitor

Holiday e-cards are everywhere this time of year, but digital agency Rosetta is putting a spin on its version through a mix of Flash animation, facial-recognition technology and motion detection. Its “Snowday” card is a snowflake-catching game, and if you have a webcam attached to your computer, you can play by simply sticking your tongue out and grabbing ’em.

New Netbook Offers Long Battery Life and Room to Type

Walter S. Mossberg reviews Toshiba’s new netbook, which aims to solve some common netbook issues.
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OS X 10.5.8 Kills Bugs Dead

Apple on Wednesday released OS X 10.5.8, the latest point release to Mac OS X Leopard, even as Amazon takes pre-orders for its next iteration–Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6). 10.5.8 is largely a maintenance update, though it does patch a number of security vulnerabilities (18 to be exact), some of them fairly old.
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Easy Way to Log In Face Time

Logitech Vid aims to help non-techies who simply want to use their Webcams to see someone while they’re talking, without any fancy features.
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