The battle of the dating apps...Tinder sues Bumble!

Match Group, the company that holds a large portfolio of dating services, such as Tinder, Match.com, OkCupid, PlentyOfFish, to name a few, and was in talks last year to purchase the dating service Bumble. Match is still looking to acquire the service, but it’s going about it in an unconventional way: by suing it for patent infringement.

On Friday, Match filed a lawsuit that accuses Bumble of infringing on a pair of patents held by Tinder: one called “Matching Process System and Method,” in which users swipe cards and mutually select one another, as well as “Display Screen or Portion Thereof With a Graphical User Interface of a Mobile Device,” which it describes as an “ornamental aspect” of Tinder’s App. The lawsuit also points to similarities between each companies’ apps, and Bumble’s descriptions of “swiping” run afoul of Tinder’s registered trademarks.

In a statement to The Verge, a Match spokesperson said that the company has “invested significant resources and creative expertise in the development” in its products, and was working to enforce its property rights.

Last November, TechCrunch reported that Bumble had turned down the $450 million offer, but that talks were still ongoing, which could leverage for Match to encourage Bumble to join its portfolio: accept the buyout, and the lawsuit goes away.

Sure, Alec Baldwin and Missy Elliott can ask Alexa to have a dance party. But soon you may be able to tell Alexa to start your car.

By now you have seen the commercial below, which shows Amazon's Echo basic features. But did you know that more advanced features are coming soon? Ford announced Wednesday at CES 2017 that its newer vehicles will work alongside Amazon's popular Echo smart speaker and its voice assistant Alexa.

The move will allow select Ford owners to make voice requests via the Echo such as "Alexa, ask MyFord Mobile to start my car," provided they're within earshot of the smart home device.
Other capabilities include the ability to turn off the car, lock or unlock the doors and check a vehicle's battery power level. The technology could also be useful for those who want to loan a car to a friend without handing over a key. A car owner could ask its Echo to unlock and start the car, even if its miles away.

The partnership will come this month to three existing electric Fords - the Fusion Electric, Fusion Energi and C-MAX Energi - as a free upgrade to its built-in Sync 3 tech platform. Ford will roll it out the upgrade to more vehicles later in the year.

Eventually, Ford drivers will be able to make Alexa requests from directly within the car. For example, a driver could ask the technology to play an audio book or turn off their smart lights at home.

In addition to an Amazon Echo, eligible Ford owners will have to pair an Android device to Amazon's Alexa app. Meanwhile, iOS users are required to connect to the car with a physical cord. Drivers can tap the existing voice recognition button on their steering wheel to speak to Alexa.

By embracing voice commands, Ford intends to make it easier for drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. The effort comes as motor vehicle fatalities spiked in 2015. Experts believe distracted driving is a key contributing factor.

It's Magic - send a text and get anything you want!

It's one of the latest additions to the service economy, similar to Alfred, WunWun or Instacart. But it's trying to one-up them all.

Customers can request literally any (legal) item or service by texting "Magic" to 408-217-1721 (no app download required). All communication is over text, and payments are processed by Stripe.

"Our premise is basically, if there's something you want, there's a way to get it to you," said Magic co-founder Mike Chen. "The only barrier is time and money."

The startup has helped people pick out outfits and order them online, find legal help and get Indian food delivered. (They don't do any deliveries themselves -- everything is outsourced).

In just three days, Magic has added over 1,000 customers to its database and fulfilled over 1,700 requests.

Magic wasn't intended to launch so soon, and some have reported glitches. Chen and his co-founders - Ben Godlove, David Merriman, Nic Novak and Michael Rubin - were working on a different app in Y Combinator's current batch of startups. Magic grew out of that business, and the founders let a few friends test it out.

But for users, there are no price guarantees. Because Magic piggybacks on services available in your locale, those living outside major cities will likely pay a pretty penny.

Other similar startups have chosen to scale at a very careful pace. (WunWun, for instance, has been around for 16 months and only services three markets). Magic, meanwhile, accepts customers from the entire US - those in major cities like New York and San Francisco have been the most frequent.
But so far, Magic's happiest customers have been those living on the outskirts of cities, since up until now, few startups have catered to their needs.

NEWS FLASH: Facebook is watching (and tracking) your every move!

Facebook is currently developing a new app that keeps track of a Facebook user's location, and reports that information to friends when they're nearby. The app is set to be released in mid-March, and will run even when it isn't open on users' phones. For example, Facebook user Shirley may get a notification that says Bob is around the corner - even if neither of them happens to be using the app at that time.

Is it finally to that point where Facebook is stepping over the line into the category of cyber stocking?

Source: Mashable