Sunday, October 6, 2024

Image Credits: Plumerai

Good morning! I'm Karyne Levy, TechCrunch's deputy managing editor, and I'm subbing in for Anthony this week.

My house is decidedly a Google Home. I have a Nest Hub in every room; a Nest doorbell to alert me when a delivery lands on my doorstep; and a Nest Thermostat that's been learning my heating and cooling habits for years.

With all this "security" around, it's hard to remember that the devices themselves can be cause for alarm. As Brian Heater writes, "Remote server requirements introduce their own security/privacy concerns. Even more issues arise when Ring's parent Amazon and law enforcement enter the picture."

Brian chatted with iPod creator Tony Fadell about the new company he's backing, Plumerai, which developed a way for cameras to perform tasks like people detection and familiar face identification, without needing to send data to a remote server. It will be incorporating its tech into Chamberlain Group's cameras, starting with an outdoor cam.

Keep reading to see what else TechCrunch is covering this weekend.

Weekend news and opinion

Image Credits: Getty Images/iMrSquid

Call me on my dumbphone: If you're yearning for that Luddite life but still want to be connected, Paul Sawers offers a list of five feature phones that can still use WhatsApp — and even a few other apps, like Facebook Lite — but don't have all the bells and whistles (and price tags!) of smartphones. Read more

Squarespace embraces AI: Anthony might be on vacation, but he still had time to catch up with Squarespace CPO Paul Gubbay. They discussed the company's broader AI strategy and how the technology is being implemented across its website-generating tools. "It's about making sure that the thing that gets pre-created … feels bespoke," Gubbay said. Read more

VCs under 30: I love a good list, and Dominic-Madori Davis' list of New York's top VCs under 30 does not disappoint. They're at big firms, like Female Founders Fund, and at smaller ones, like Chai Capital. They're working in areas like growth, consumer, and health. And they're helping to shape the future of venture capitalism in New York City. Read more

What else we're reading

📘 DirecTV recently reached an agreement to buy Dish Network, Sling TV, and the rest of EchoStar's TV business (EchoStar is Dish's parent company). If the deal goes through, the new business would serve roughly 19 million customers. The Verge provides a timeline of the events leading up to this very significant merger. Read more

📗 Wired reports that, over the last few years, the military has ramped up its use of a popular form factor that anyone with an Xbox or PlayStation will recognize. Troops are using controllers that resemble those that come with popular video game systems to control various advanced weapons systems. Read more