Super angels Angel investors Paul Graham and Dave McClure announced Friday the launch of 25 Incubators, the first-ever intensive program dedicated entirely to teaching ex-entrepreneurs and investors the art of training the next wave of startups. Think of it as an incubator for incubators. The first Silicon Valley session for 25 Incubators, which commences in mid-June and carries on for two months, will host founders from up to 25 incubators to learn the ins and outs of incubating startups. All incubators participating in the 25 Incubators program will receive $200,000 to invest in their startups. “While the seed funding is nice, the real value is the advice, mentoring, and connections provided by 25 Incubators,” said Graham. The “25” in the new organization’s name is an homage to both the “Y” in Y Combinator, since its the 25th letter, and to the “500” in 500 startups because they’re both multiples of five. Take New York City, for example. Happy April Fools Day.
Spaghetti tree hoax Photograph of a woman harvesting spaghetti in the BBC programme Broadcast[edit] Panorama cameraman Charles de Jaeger dreamed up the story after remembering how teachers at his school in Austria teased his classmates for being so stupid that if they were told that spaghetti grew on trees, they would believe it. The report was made more believable through its voiceover by respected broadcaster Richard Dimbleby. At the time, seven million of the 15.8 million homes in Britain had television sets.[4] An estimated eight million people watched the programme on 1 April and hundreds phoned in the following day to question the authenticity of the story or ask for more information about spaghetti cultivation and how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. Similar hoaxes[edit] In the 1939 Soviet novel The Adventures of Captain Vrungel, a similar gag is present when the crew is arrested by Mussolini's forces. See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit]
Virgle: The Adventure For thousands of years, the human race has spread out across the Earth, scaling mountains and plying the oceans, planting crops and building highways, raising skyscrapers and atmospheric CO2 levels, and observing, with tremendous and unflagging enthusiasm, the Biblical injunction to be fruitful and multiply across our world's every last nook, cranny and subdivision. An invitation. Earth has issues, and it's time humanity got started on a Plan B. So, starting in 2014, Virgin founder Richard Branson and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be leading hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history: Project Virgle, the first permanent human colony on Mars. The question is, do you want to join us? Ever yearned to journey to the stars?
Facebook To Launch ‘Relationships’ At f8, Teams With Zynga To Spur Romance Through Gaming Later this month Facebook is holding its f8 conference, where it will be launching a slew of new features (we’ve already broken the news on quite a few of them). Tonight, the company has written a blog post announcing what is perhaps the most ambitious and creepy of them all: Facebook is looking to get into the dating game, and it’s turning to Zynga for help. The gist of the new product? Dubbed ‘Relationships’, Facebook is going to soon offer a section of the site dedicated to helping users meet potential romantic partners. In the post, Facebook says that it will look at the profiles of your previous boyfriends/girlfriends to determine the personality traits you’re attracted to most, and that it will also use advanced photographic analysis to figure out your preferred facial structure and body type. The site appears to be broken up into three sections: at the top is a section for ‘Flirts’, which displays the Facebook friends you’ve been interacting with most. The 6.8 Project
Toshiba Spectacle: The World's First and Only 3D Monocle | us.toshiba.com Enhance your Entertainment Ready to take movies and games to the next level? Imagine being right in the middle of an action movie scene, or right on the basketball court during the playoffs! With the Spectacle, you’ll experience one-eyed 3D so real, you’d think you were using both eyes! Groundbreaking Technology and Design Infusing advanced 3D technology into such a small device wasn’t easy. Express Yourself Accessorize your Spectacle and enhance your 3D experience! Handy Strap in Chain Link Provides a sleek, industrial look and added security for your Spectacle. Designer Lenses Lenses are available in two additional colors: Roaring R3D and B3Dtime Blue Spec-Pouch The convienent Spec-Pouch makes it easy to take your Spectacle just about anywhere! Important Consumer Notice: Refrain from using two Toshiba Spectacle 3D devices simultaneously in each eyeball. Ready to Buy?
Spotify Announces US Launch; Closing European Service To Fund It I’ve been more skeptical than most about Spotify’s promise to launch in the US, but it looks like Europe’s favourite music service is ready to make good on all of its hype. We’re hearing from multiple sources today that deals are finally in place with major US record labels and the company’s Valley investors are ready to provide the additional cash needed to pay for costly music licenses. Absent any last minute hiccups, the company’s US service is ready to go live as early as next week. The catch? In an email to be sent later today to every one of the company’s 1m+ European users (we have a leaked draft, courtesy of a very disgruntled European staffer), Ek explains the move as a logical part of the company’s expansion. “We understand that many of you — particularly those who have paid for subscriptions — will be surprised and disappointed by this announcement. It’s a pretty amazing email. Less shy of being quoted on the record was Sean Parker, one of the company’s first US investors.