crowdfunding
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Atari VCS backers should get their consoles 'very soon'
More than two years and multiple delays after its original announcement, the Atari VCS is finally making its way to people who helped crowdfund the console. In an update over on Medium, Atari says it's putting the "finishing touches" on the first batch of production VCS units. It also shared photos from the factory floor to prove manufacturing has been coming along.
Crowdfunded dongle brings wireless Android Auto to more cars
A crowdfunded project aims to add wireless Android Auto to many cars through a USB dongle.
Suikoden spiritual successor 'Eiyuden Chronicle' hits crowdfunding goal
Suikoden spiritual successor Eiyuden Chronicle is well on its way to raising $1 million, at which point developer Rabbit & Bear has said it will also release the game on consoles.
The first Atari VCS units should be ready by mid-June
The first production Atari VCS units are leaving the factory in mid-June, or close to two years after the crowdfunded project began.
You can try crowdfunded space sim 'Star Citizen' for free right now
Will Star Citizen ever be finished?
Synthspace recreates the physical presence of a modular synth in VR
Synthspace gives you the physicality of a modular synth in VR, just without the over-the-top costs.
Kickstarter may cut up to 45 percent of its workforce
Kickstarter is preparing to lay off up to 45 percent of its staff as the COVID-19 pandemic hurts its crowdfunding business.
Patreon lays off 13 percent of its workforce
Patreon has laid off 30 employees or 13 percent of its workforce due to the “economic uncertainty” brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Kickstarter's live project count is down 35 percent from last year
Crowdfunding is taking a serious blow, with Kickstarter seeing a 35 percent drop in new projects. Layoffs are also expected.
MOD's latest effects pedal makes advanced sounds more accessible
MOD Devices might just make powerful effects pedals available to a much wider range of musicians. It's running a crowdfunding campaign for the Dwarf, a pedal that promises the kind of flexibility you'd expect from a much more expensive device. It's really more of a platform than an old-school stomp box. You can load open source plugins (including demanding ones like pitch shifting), synths, virtual instruments and MIDI utilities, and its high power lets it closely model more demanding analog circuits and polyphonic synths. Crucially, you don't need to connect to a laptop to take advantage of it. You can store up to 750 pedals or plugins and create patches using just the on-device controls.
Kickstarter employees vote to unionize
More tech company workers are unionizing in an attempt to improve their bargaining power. A group of 85 Kickstarter employees have voted to unionize, aligning themselves with a branch of the Office and Professional Employees International Union in New York. The staffers will use their collective bargaining power to push for equal pay, more inclusive hiring, greater transparency from management and more of a say in decisions.
What happened to the doughnut-shaped Olly speaker?
A few years back, CES attendees went mad for Olly, a doughnut-shaped speaker with a voice assistant that adapted to your personality. It was a refreshing change to the seemingly infinite hardware packing Alexa and Google Assistant, and visitors were charmed by its ability to stand up and spin around a circular stand. Olly's creator, a London-based startup called Emotech, offered two prototypes at the show -- one that was excitable and spoke quickly and another that seemed a little more placid -- to demonstrate how Olly would mimic its owners. As TechCrunch reported, the company wanted to start its initial production run later that year.
The toothbrush that cleans your mouth in 10 seconds is finally ready
French company FasTeesH has been tweaking the design of its full-coverage electric toothbrush since it was crowdfunded to the tune of $165,000 in 2018. Now, the Y-Brush is ready for its mainstream debut. Shipments of the Y-Brush started rolling out just before CES 2020 in January (pre-orders have been open since July 2018).
JBL says its solar-powered headphones deliver 'unlimited' listening
Wireless headphones are perpetually hamstrung by their batteries. They only last a few hours on a charge, and you're sapping energy from the electrical grid every time you top them up. JBL believes it has an alternative, though, and it's asking for your help to make it a reality. The Harman brand is crowdfunding Reflect Eternal over-ear headphones whose solar power theoretically gives you "virtually unlimited" listening.
The crowdfunded cult of Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer wouldn't exist in her current form without Patreon. That's not to say Amanda Palmer the person would dematerialize if Patreon didn't exist, but Amanda Palmer the artist would be a completely different beast. As it stands, Palmer is an independent musician churning out music videos, new songs, complete albums, blazingly honest social media diaries and bits of international activism on the daily. She's constantly online, sharing her life as a touring artist, mother, wife and modern human with more than 1 million people on Twitter alone. She responds to a shocking number of tweets. All of this is funded through Patreon. Every month, more than 15,000 individuals send some of their money to Palmer, in amounts ranging from $1 to $1,000. She takes that cash and turns it into art, bypassing restrictive corporate contracts and pop-obsessed music labels. Palmer fled the traditional system in 2010, after years of fighting for creative control over her solo albums and those of her debut band, The Dresden Dolls. So, sure, it's fair to say Amanda Palmer wouldn't exist in her current form without Patreon. It's also true that Patreon wouldn't exist without Amanda Palmer.
Thousands of 'Coolest' Kickstarter backers will only receive $20
Five years later, it's time to put a pin in the saga of "Coolest," the all-in-one entertainment system/cooler that broke crowdfunding records on Kickstarter in 2014. The Oregonian reports that in 2017 the Portland-based company and its founder Ryan Grepper reached a settlement with the Oregon DOJ that included a provision to send just $20 to backers outside the state who never received their promised hardware. In a message that blames the Trump administration's tariffs on products made in China, Coolest has finally admitted the remaining 20,000 or so backers (out of 60,000) will never receive their coolers -- a statement that comes after it was selling off coolers in a "cyber week" sale at prices of just $100 a few days ago.
Orba is a tiny instrument that you shake, tap and twist
Artiphon first made a splash back in 2013 when it started showing off a rather rough prototype of a device that would eventually become the Instrument 1. By the time it hit Kickstarter in 2015 it had undergone a serious facelift. In its final version it was sleek and futuristic, with an almost minimal design. Now that company is back with it's second product, the Orba, and it takes many of the core concepts of the Instrument 1 to their logical extremes.
Kickstarter wants projects to be more transparent about their budget
Crowdfunding is great in theory, but many projects fail to meet their fundraising goals, end up asking for more money or fall apart entirely. In an attempt to help creators avoid those fates, Kickstarter is launching a new tool called Project Budget.
Migrating eagles flew to Iran and racked up huge roaming bills
Russian scientists were forced to launch a crowdfunding campaign after endangered Steppe Eagles ran up a huge data roaming bill. Equipped with SMS transmitters, they left from Southern Russia and Kazakhstan, but some went a lot farther afield than expected. One particular eagle called Min accumulated a pile of location data messages when it was off the grid in Kazakhstan. Then, it unexpectedly flew to Iran and sent them all off at 49 rubles ($.77) each, using up the team's entire tracking budget.
Crowdfunding is better than Netflix for YouTube's creep queen
One day six months ago, Christine McConnell picked up the phone and learned that her Netflix show, The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell, wouldn't be renewed. The production company called with the news, citing an email it had received from Netflix. McConnell had been floating in limbo since her first season wrapped and aired around Halloween last year, unsure if she'd get another chance at streaming stardom.
