Monday, September 30, 2024 | | | Welcome to TC PM! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Today we have a handful of stories, including everything you need to know about VPNs (and we even show you how to build one). We also dig into why SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is grounded, and we found the tech angle to Oasis's upcoming tour. Enjoy! | | | Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch | 🔐VPN corner: What is a VPN beyond being a way to watch reality TV from other countries? TechCrunch's security team offers "a skeptic's guide to VPNs," diving into what VPNs really are, what people should look out for, and how folks can make a VPN for themselves in as little as 15 minutes. Read more 🛰️Grounded again: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is grounded again; the problem that occurred marks the third time in three months that the rocket has experienced an issue. Past groundings haven't been long, but if this one is, it could hold up space missions scheduled for next month. Read more 📲Swipe down for more: Apple's latest software update, iOS 18, brings changes to the Control Center that allow third-party developers to create controls for their own apps. We've got a list of 18 apps taking advantage of the change that are worth checking out. Read more. | | | 🎸Don't look back in anger: The band Oasis announced a few months ago that the Gallagher brothers put aside their differences, getting back together, and going on tour. But because this newsletter comes from TechCrunch, you know there's a tech angle: The band is now taking on Ticketmaster and not using its dynamic pricing for its U.S. shows. Read more 🚀Expanding EVTOLs: Beta Technologies today released a vertical take off and landing vehicle (EVTOL) that carries passengers. EVTOLs fascinate me because they seem like moonshot tech that's not actually that far off. Read more 👀Keeping a close eye: Today, Germany's Federal Cartel Office confirmed that Microsoft is now subject to a special abuse control regime in Germany, which means the German government will have more access to the company for at least the next five years. Read more 📖AI reading help: Ello is an AI reading companion that helps kids who are struggling with reading fix mistakes. The company is now rolling out a new feature, "Storytime," which lets kids create their own stories to read out loud. Read more 🛻Cybertruck cruise control: Have you seen a cybertruck in the wild yet? You truly can't miss them. The next time you see one, though, it may be driving itself. Certain users have started getting access to Tesla's supervised self-driving tech. Read more 🤨Reddit rethinks moderator controls: Reddit announced today that community moderators will have to submit a request to change their communities between private and public, and between safe and unsafe for work. Read more | | | Image Credits: Christina Sinkevich | | | 🌬️Helping HVAC contractors: Airship is building point-of-sale tools for HVAC contractors. The company is emerging from stealth today with $4 million in pre-seed funding with plans to launch to the public later this year. Read more 💵Cash for code: Qodo, formerly known as CodiumAI, just raised a fresh $40 million in funding. The company helps people generate code but differentiates itself by helping those same users test the code, too. Read more 🎮Video game AI: Series, the company behind full-stack AI video game generator Rho Engine, raised a $28 million Series A round. The company is led by Pany Haritatos, who has had multiple successful exits in the video game space already. Read more | | | 🙏Tech testament: Organized religion is one of the oldest traditions humankind has kept going. Today, technology is changing people's relationships with their religion. The team at Rest of World has a beautiful digital package out today about how, and how quickly, things are changing. Read more 💰Son invests in OpenAI: While the news regarding OpenAI's blockbuster funding round hasn't dropped yet, we keep getting fun nuggets about the deal. The Information reports that SoftBank cut a huge check into this round. We are so back, baby. Read more | | | Featured jobs from Crunchboard | | | Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. | | | Update your preferences here at any time | | Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 110 5th St,San Francisco,CA | | | | |
