Sal McCloskey — Two Takes contributions

Three billionaires from China’s property and Internet industries are forming an online shopping venture to challenge Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as it heads toward what may be the biggest initial offering in the US. Wanda, China’s biggest commercial land developer, is joining with Tencent and Baidu t

Well, I know what I’m doing this weekend. Amazon launched its new slate of five new original television pilots today for users to watch and comment on before the company decides which ones it wants to turn into full seasons of content. The pilots include “The Cosmopolitans,” a show about American ex

Ybrain, a Korean startup that makes wearables for Alzheimer’s patients, announced today that it has raised $3.5 million in Series A funding led by Stonebridge Capital, bringing its total raised so far to $4.2 million. Co-founder Seungyeon Kim said that the money will be used for clinical trials and

Intel has built a tiny 3G modem designed for the massive numbers of small devices that will be part of the Internet of things. The chip maker on Aug. 26 launched the XMM 6255, which officials called the world’s smallest standalone 3G modem. They hope it will become the wireless solution for ma

Word on the street had it that Verizon was working on the Motorola Luge, where this particular smartphone would continue to remain ahead of the curve by sporting LTE connectivity, while having its crosshairs targeted at Verizon’s range of prepaid customers. Well, it seems that a Verizon display card

For the past eight years, a CableCARD and a TiVo DVR have gone hand in hand. No more! Within the next few weeks, the limited edition TiVo Roamio OTA DVR will be available from select Best Buy stores for an initial price of $49. That’s $150 cheaper than the existing base model TiVo Roamio, and

Researchers have had success growing organs in controlled lab environments, but repeating that feat inside a complex, messy animal body? That’s more than a little tricky. However, researchers at the University of Edinburgh have managed that daunting feat for the first time. They’ve grown

Can you remember the last time you logged into PlayStation Home? Neither can anybody in Japan, apparently. According to a statement released on the Japanese website, the 3D social space will permanently close in March of next year. Sony didn’t give a reason for the shuttering, but it’s n

Folks living in the U.S. would know by now that when it comes to testing out drones, there are just very few areas that have been designated for such testing to occur. The rules, however, are a whole lot more relaxed elsewhere, such as in India as the world’s second most populous country looks set [

Snapchat has earned the favor of the coveted teen demographic, but can it turn engagement into money? The Wall Street Journal reports that the startup is in talks to launch Snapchat Discovery, a service that would partner with media companies and brands to serve video content and ads. Sources told t

Make way for more content coming to Pinterest: today the platform is adding Vevo music videos, which you can search for, share, and watch on Pinterest itself, on your own Pinboards, those of your friends’ or on Vevo’s. The companies are not disclosing the financial terms of the deal, a spokesperon f

You know those high-speed cameras used to film mesmerizing ultra slo-mo videos? They’re downright slow compared to this one developed by researchers from The University of Tokyo and Keio University in Japan. The 12-man science team has just revealed an extremely speedy camera that can take pic

This might raise a few chuckles over at BlackBerry. Recently both companies took swings at each other in a bid to call out each other’s claims on security offered by their mobile devices. BlackBerry describes itself as a market leader in security and boasts many certifications from government agenci

3D printing can make an action figure copy of your body and face, but the hair usually ends up looking like a Lego minifig wig. The mad scientists at Disney Research just solved that, with an algorithm so powerful it can trace your hair’s shape and color with ultra-realism. The research team a

We already heard that Sony would be hosting its usual press event during IFA early next month, but today we get official confirmation with screenshots of press invites making their way online. As previously reported, the event is scheduled for September 3rd and the invite seems to hint at device ann

Timex just added a new entry to its Ironman line of GPS watches, ‘cept it’s not just any ole timepiece this time — it’s a 3G-connected smartwatch that doesn’t even need to pair up with a phone. The company calls it the Ironman One GPS+, and while it may have features co

Don’t plan on making a cellphone call on a plane any time soon. Though the Federal Communications Commission is in the process of allowing expanded use of phones while up in the air, the Department of Transportation plans to stop fliers from fully taking advantage of that, according to The Wal

On Sunday, Leafly—a “Yelp for weed” that lets marijuana users compare and review different strains of cannabis, as well as locate doctors and dispensaries—will become the first cannabis company to run an ad in the New York Times, the site announced in a press release Saturday. The announ