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PayPal and GoFundMe cut off donations to militia detaining migrants
Crowdfunding and payment companies are no strangers to cutting off access to organizations that violate their policies, but their latest move could be more contentious than usual. PayPal and GoFundMe have confirmed to BuzzFeed News that they've shut down fundraising campaigns for the United Constitutional Patriots, a right-wing militia group in New Mexico that has been detaining migrants at the border with Mexico despite doubts about its legal authority. The sites claim that UCP has violated their policies barring support for hate or violence, in one case allegedly using funds to buy guns.
‘ToeJam & Earl’ is more Diet Coke than fine wine
When I was young -- and I mean young, around six or seven -- my extended family would get together at my grandmother's house nearly every Sunday. And often on those days, for at least an hour or two, my cousin and I would play on her Sega Mega Drive (aka Genesis) together. Our go-to game was ToeJam & Earl, I think mostly because we needn't fight over one controller and it was co-operative, rather than competitive. Though my memories of the game are fond, the sequels released over the following decade completely passed me by. That's why I've had my eye on ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove -- an homage to the '90s classic that secured initial funding on Kickstarter in 2015. As it turns out, though, some memories are better being just that.
Crowdfunded Nanoloop synth doesn't need a Game Boy to make beats
Nanoloop has been a cornerstone of chiptune music for years, but using one has meant either owning a Game Boy or making do with a mobile app. You won't have to make those compromises for much longer. Developer Oliver Wittchow and crew are crowdfunding a dedicated, handheld version of the music-generating wunderkind. You'll still have a gamepad-like interface, four-channel synth and 4x4 matrix sequencer, just in a form factor that frees up your other gadgets.
Meizu says its port-free Zero phone was a failed marketing stunt
You may recall that a little over a month ago, Meizu launched a crowdfunding campaign for its futuristic "Zero" port-free smartphone, but at $1,299 a piece (plus that single $2,999 "Exclusive Pioneering Unit"), it comes as no surprise that the overly-ambitious Indiegogo project failed with just 29 backers. Despite the existence of working units, there's no word on the Zero's future at this moment, but in response to a related thread on Meizu's official forum, founder and CEO Jack Wong gave a surprisingly upfront -- if not a little disheartening -- one-liner. "This crowdfunding project was just the marketing team messing about," Wong said, "the holeless phone is just a development project from the R&D department, we never intended to mass-produce this project."
My other life as a Kickstarter scammer
I have the process down to a tee. I start by browsing Kickstarter, looking for projects with active campaigns. There's no specific selection criteria. Perhaps I find one that's just gone live, or one coming to the end of its fundraising window. I reach out with a message, explain who I am and invite the project contact to book in an interview. On the call, I feign interest, ask the right kind of questions and promise a write-up on Engadget in the near future. I leave it a day or two and reach out again, saying I've heard great things from others about a specialist that can increase a project's exposure for a daily fee. A highly unethical move for a journalist, but I set to profit from it, so what do I care? The Engadget article never materializes, of course, because this person isn't me.
Meizu crowdfunds its port-free smartphone on Indiegogo
There's a lot of talk right now about how much is too much for a smartphone in these increasingly tight times. Meizu is hoping that there's enough folks out there with fat wallets to justify splashing out on the Zero, its "holeless smartphone." The company won't just sell you one, however, and has instead slapped the device onto Indiegogo for users to pre-order. The price? $1,299.
GoFundMe launches campaign for government workers hit by shutdown
People have frequently used GoFundMe to lend a helping hand to others in need of some help, but the site itself is getting involved in light of the US government shutdown. The company has teamed up with Deepak Chopra to launch a donation campaign for government workers who've been furloughed or are being forced to work without pay. The initiative will donate contributors' money to "several" non-profits providing relief, including #ChefsForFeds (providing food) and the National Diaper Bank Network. More organizations will come onboard as the campaign continues, GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon said.
The Pix Backpack is a wearable screen for the hypebeast generation
We've seen a couple of attempts at marrying screens with attire to create endlessly customizable fashion, but so far none have actually made it to market. At first glance, the Pix Backpack looks like another one of these intriguing accessories that never escapes the concept stage. The Kickstarter pitch promises a backpack with a retro-aesthetic display you manipulate using -- you guessed it -- a mobile app. The app features a library of images, animations, widgets and even games that populate the low-res color screen, or you can make your own pixel art through a simple editor. The Pix Backpack isn't just a quirky idea destined for the halls of vaporware, though.
Lumen claims a 'single breath' can help you lose weight
Last August Lumen raised nearly two million dollars on Indiegogo for its metabolism tracking device, and now at CES it's ready to show the final consumer product. The plan behind Lumen is that owners will breath einto it multiple times a day, let it measure their changing metabolism -- via carbon dioxide readings -- and (in theory) have a better handle on what workouts or meals work best for them to burn fat. We didn't go mouth-on with the $300 vape-like device, but it's small and pocketable enough to be carried so someone can use it as intended.
Mood-enhancing Auri light packs Alexa smart home control
Wellness-oriented smart lights and scent diffusers have been around for a while. They don't always play nicely with modern smart homes, though, and Ling Technology aims to address that. It's crowdfunding a smart light, Auri, that aims to improve your "mental wellbeing" while integrating with other connected devices. Like you'd expect, it combines colored lighting and sound (through a 36W speaker) in a bid to help you sleep, sharpen your focus or otherwise alter your mood. However, it also makes healthy use of Alexa -- you can play your own music and control the rest of your smart home. You won't need a separate smart speaker for those moments when you aren't looking to calm down.
Indiegogo 'guaranteed shipping' will ensure refunds if campaigns fail
Indiegogo plans to start offering "guaranteed shipping" on some crowdfunding campaigns through a pilot program starting in 2019. Creators who choose to partake in the pilot will promise to users that their product will be delivered. If they fail to fulfill that promise, supporters will get their money back.
The Gemini PDA's follow-up is a clamshell communicator phone
Planet Computers' Gemini could serve as a phone if you really wanted, but it was ultimately a PDA first and foremost. It's keenly aware of that limitation, however -- the company has launched a crowdfunding project for the Cosmo Communicator, another clamshell QWERTY keyboard device that's intended to serve as a phone, not just a pocketable productivity machine. You'll still find a 6-inch display and camera on the inside, but the outside now includes a 2-inch screen, a 24-megapixel camera and a two-orientation microphone and speaker combo. You can take a call without answering blindly, and snap photos beyond selfies. It's closer to a hybrid phone like Nokia's E90 Communicator than PDAs like Psion's lineup.
Kickstarter hands Drip crowdfunding platform over to XOXO founders
Drip, Kickstarter's subscriber-based crowdfunding platform designed to compete with Patreon, is shutting down in its current form after launching just one year earlier. It will continue operating for a year before it is transformed into an entirely new project headed up by the team behind XOXO, a festival for independent artists and creators.
The crowdfunded Moto Mod keyboard is dead
More than a few companies tried burying bad news during yesterday's Apple keynote. The latest to come to light is a tough blow for fans of physical keyboards: Livermorium announced that it's ending work on its Moto Mod keyboard. In an update on its IndieGogo page, the company writes that it can't scrounge up any interest in selling the accessory, largely due to the Moto Z being "extremely unpopular in most places."
FTC investigates $700,000 crowdfunding campaign for fraud
The FTC hasn't publicly investigated crowdfunding fraud outside of one case, but that doesn't mean it's inactive. The Verge has learned that the Commission is investigating Doug Monahan's crowdfunding campaigns for the iBackPack, a smart backpack that included a mobile hotspot, battery pack and connectors. Monahan raised over $700,000 between Indiegogo and Kickstarter in 2015 and 2016, but hasn't shipped the backpack in question. Supporters only ever received pre-release accessories, and the Kickstarter campaign's last news update was in March 2017.
'Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night' delayed until 2019
Things were looking rosy for the upcoming release of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night -- the game had even gotten as far as a private beta demo. But, citing similar reasons to its previous delay, the team at ArtPlay has announced it'll be held back again, this time until somewhere in 2019.
This USB-C dongle adds Bluetooth audio to the Nintendo Switch
Want another option for using wireless headphones with your Nintendo Switch? Maybe take a look at the Kickstarter for Genki, then. It's a $39 USB-C Bluetooth dongle for Nintendo's hybrid console. You can pair two headsets to it, if you'd like, and apparently the whole setup shouldn't add much too lag (40ms) between what you see on screen and what you hear like a traditional Bluetooth audio signal would. One downside, however, is that the Genki draws power from the Switch itself, which means if your battery goes low on a flight, you can't recharge the system and use the dongle simultaneously.
'Chasm' brings its Metroidvania action home July 31st
Coming in just four years after its initially projected release date, 2D action-RPG Chasm has a July 31st release date. Five years ago its Kickstarter closed with $191,897 pledged towards the creation of this Metroidvania-style game with procedurally generated levels. Now, early access backers on Steam will get access on the 16th, while gamer-come-latelys can buy in at the end of the month for $20 on PC, PS4 or Vita.
Bose puts crowdfunded 'sleepbuds' on sale for $250
Last year, Bose took to Indiegogo to gauge people's interest on an experimental device: a pair of noise-masking wireless earbuds designed to help you sleep. That experiment was a success, and the "sleepbuds" sold out within six days on the crowdfunding platform, so now the audio giant is making them available for purchase. These sleepbuds were designed to fit snugly -- they're apparently Bose's smallest products yet --allowing you to drift off to sleep without the feeling that there's something in your ears. In addition to blocking noise, they come with 10 pre-loaded white noise tracks that mimic snoring, the sound of gentle waves, dogs, traffic and wind turbines, among other things. What they don't do, however, is stream music.
Patreon promises a simple solution for selling merch
If you've ever supported a Patreon campaign with merch on offer, you know how painful delivering that merch can be for everyone involved. The creator may have to suffer through hours of mailing goods, and the shipping costs can be as much of a hassle if you aren't willing to pay a stiff premium. Patreon might just tackle that problem. It just acquired the community-building company Kit, and the two are promising a "simple" solution that lets creators sell merch without doing most of the hard work. In theory, they don't have to do much more than design the products.
