Twitter CEO Dick Costolo Will Take The Stage At Disrupt SF

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo wears many hats. Not only is he helping lead Twitter into its possible future as a public company, Costolo is a master at improv from his days as a professional comedian, and is a serial entrepreneurs who has sold companies to Google (Feedburner) and others. Which is why we are thrilled to announce that Costolo will join us for a discussion at Disrupt SF.

As Twitter heads down a path towards an eventual IPO, Costolo has been steering the company towards profitability via new ad products, with Twitter potentially hitting $1 billion in ad revenue in the coming year. Beyond supercharging the financials, Costolo has a unique approach to managing his fleet of over one thousand employees, and creating a distinct culture at a company that has been growing by leaps and bounds.

We're excited to have Costolo take the stage along with other notable CEOs like Marc Benioff, Marissa Mayer, and Jeff Weiner. Much has changed for both Costolo and Twitter since hespoke at TC50 in 2009.

Disrupt SF takes over The San Francisco Design Concourse from September 7 to 11. Tickets are currently on sale here. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, opportunities can be found here.

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Dick Costolo
Twitter, CEO

Since October 2010, Dick has been the Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, where he is responsible for the growth and management of the overall business. Previously, as Twitter's Chief Operating Officer, he oversaw monetization and day to day operations.

Before joining Twitter, Dick was co-founder and CEO of FeedBurner, a digital content syndication platform that was acquired by Google in 2007. While at Google, Dick was Group Product Manager on the Ads team responsible for social media ads.

Previously, Dick lived and worked in Chicago, where he founded and ran two digital media companies: SpyOnIt, a web page monitoring service, and Burning Door Networked Media, a web design and development consulting company. Dick was also an improv performer with the acclaimed Annoyance Theater.

He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Computer Science. He is @dickc on Twitter.

[image Scott Beale / Laughing Squid]

U.S. To Russia: We Won't Kill Or Torture Snowden

The CrunchGov Essential is a scannable roundup of technology's influence on the day's big issues. Below a feature post, we present the most thoughtful, outrageous, and inspiring stories told through the web's best content. Sign up for the morning newsletter here.

The U.S. has pledged not to seek the death penalty for NSA-whistleblower Edward Snowden. To persuade the Minister of Justice to give up Snowden, it appears that Eric Holder had to ironically assure Russian authorities that it will respect human rights.

"The United States would not seek the death penalty for Mr. Snowden should he return to the United States," he wrote. "We believe these assurances eliminate these asserted grounds for Mr. Snowden's claim that he should be treated as a refugee or granted asylum, temporary or otherwise."

For good measure, he wrote that "Mr. Snowden will not be tortured. Torture is unlawful in the United States."

Snowden is currently holed up in Moscow Airport, seeking asylum from the United States.

U.S. State Department employees tell me that the NSA spying affair is seriously harming their ability to negotiate human rights issues with authoritarian governments around the world. Apparently, the perception of hypocrisy does not put the U.S. in a compelling position.

The Essential: Anti-NSA Debate In Congress, Manning Trial Closes, Navy's Kinect Sexual Assault Solution, FOD for Obamacare

Anti-NSA Debate [TechCrunch]

-Watch Congress debate whether the NSA's dragnet spying operation should be defunded

Manning Trial Closes [TechCrunch]

Creepy having armed MPs in camo patrolling behind each row of reporters & looking over shoulders as we take notes on Manning trial today

-
Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) July 25, 2013

-The trial of Wikileaks Source Pfc. Bradley Manning ended yesterday
-Prosecutors argued that Manning leaked information out of lust for fame
-Manning faces life in prison for "aiding the enemy"

Using Kinect To Stop Sexual Assaults [Verge]

-The military awarded a contract to build a video game anti-rape simulator
-"The system will not use pre-programmed branching scenarios to determine the responses for the avatar. It will instead animate a human agent using a [Kinect] interface"

Funny Or Die Is Making A Pro-Obama Care Video [Mother Jones]

-Viral sketch comedy startup, Funny or Die, met with celebrities at the White House to design a pro-Obamacare video, aimed at getting young people to sign up for insurance.

Miscellaneous Funny:

Blink three times if you're being held against your will guys. RT @katetaylornyt: The Weiner volunteers at the forum. http://t.co/T8ve5Jlf0q

-
Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) July 25, 2013

It's Time To #DisruptEurope - Submit Your Battlefield Applications For Berlin Now

TechCrunch Disrupt Europe will be TechCrunch's major international conference this October. Featuring global startups, influential speakers, VIP guests and breaking news, you will not want to miss out. But, if you are a new startup that wants to launch in front of TechCrunch's writers on the Battlefield stage: We want to make sure you have filled out your Startup Battlefield application. Do it now. The deadline is approaching July 31, and the clock is ticking.

In addition to onstage panel sessions and fireside chats, Disrupt will feature Startup Battlefield and Startup Alley to the Arena Berlin venue.

Startup Battlefield competitors pitch their companies live and onstage to innovators, investors and influencers in the tech community. TechCrunch identifies emerging companies to demo and compete for a prize of 40,000 ($50,000) and the coveted Disrupt Cup, won previously by Mint.com, Yammer, Fitbit, and Dropbox. Companies can apply to enter Startup Battlefield now, and the deadline has been extended to July 31.

The Startup Battlefield will select 30 brand new startups to launch on stage in front of a panel of top VCs and other founders, coverage on TechCrunch and the winner gets the 40,000 prize. We review applications on a rolling basis, so it's to your advantage to submit as soon as you can.

Due to strong demand, it's unlikely that we will review applications more than once, so please don't submit a draft application before you are ready.

All submissions are confidential unless otherwise permitted by applicants on the application form. PowerPoint slides and video demos are optional but highly encouraged. We reserve the right not to review applications without video demos based on application volume.

Startup Alley offers another way for early-stage companies to gain exposure with a setup that encourages both exhibiting and networking, and provides high visibility. Roughly 100 startups comprise Startup Alley with around 50 new companies demoing on Monday and 50 demoing on Tuesday. Startup Alley companies will have the opportunity to sign up for one on one conversations with the editorial staff of TechCrunch, also known as Office Hours.

Additional speakers and agenda details will be announced between now and the show - find all the latest information on the Disrupt Europe website.

Extra Early Bird tickets are available for a limited time. Click here to purchase before they sell out.

Our sponsors help make Disrupt happen. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact our sponsorship team here sponsors @ techcrunch.com

Media inquiries by can be directed to John Nolan on john.nolan @ teamaol.com

Ballmer Admits What We All Knew: Microsoft Built Far Too Many Surfaces

At an internal meeting, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted that the company overproduced the Surface RT tablet, leading to its recent $150 per unit price cut. As quoted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Ballmer plainly explained that the company "built a few more devices than [it] could sell."

But we already knew that.

In its most recent quarterly earnings release, Microsoft took a $900 million charge relating to the Surface RT tablet line, essentially admitting that the inventory that it has on hand was not worth its previous internal valuation; you can't cut the market price of a product that you have in a warehouse and not lower its value on your books. The write down cost Microsoft $0.07 per share. It missed expectations for the quarter.

Microsoft has been on a mission to clear Surface RT inventory for some time. As I wrote earlier this year, through a combination of giveaways and discounts, Microsoft was moving to liquidate what appeared to be mountainous superfluous unit volume of its ARM-based Windows tablet hybrid.

At that time, Microsoft released a bland statement, saying that the offers and handouts were in "response" to the "positive reaction" Surface had enjoyed since launch. That felt a bit backwards: If response had been so strong, why give away a single device or discount? Wouldn't organic demand be sufficient? Well, as it turns out, reaction hasn't been overly positive, so the entire argument was logically moot.

Ballmer said something else during the meeting that is a non-surprise: Microsoft is not selling as many Windows devices as it would like. We knew that, too. The figures released quarterly that describe the PC market are brutal - and dropping. Even Apple is suffering from declining Mac sales in the face of nearly insurmountable headwinds that it helped to create with its leadership of post-PC product categories.

Next-generation Surface devices are being designed and tested. I suspect that Microsoft learned its lesson regarding production volume: Prove product-market fit first, and then kick the afterburners.

Top Image Credit: BUILDWindows

A Week With The Sync Burn, A Battery-Powered Fitness Band

Fitness bands are a dime a dozen these days. Everyone has one, it seems, from audio manufacturers like Jawbone to upstarts like Fitbit and Basis. Now the EB Sports Group, a company that makes fitness devices under a number of brands including Everlast and Men's Health. I've historically been wary of "no name" bands like this one - bands that are created to cash in on a trend rather than from an effort to create a software/hardware ecosystem, but I'll give this unit a pass for a few reasons.

The most interesting aspect of the Burn is its 1-year battery life. As a regular Fitbit user, I would kill for a device with a fully readable screen that can last longer than two weeks, let alone 365 days. The device is basically a digital watch and is about the size of the Pebble smart watch. The button on the top right controls the readout - you can tag workouts, see your hourly energy expenditure, and see exercise history. The lower right button activates the sync features which, in turn, activates a low energy Bluetooth transmitter.

There is a central button on the bottom of the watch that doubles as a read-out control and heart rate monitor. You can scroll through calories burned, steps taken, and miles walked. If you press and hold the button, however, the watch measures your heart rate. This, in turn, helps estimate calories burned. It's a wonky system and you have to press fairly hard with your thumb to get a reading but - and this is important - it works 99% of the time and helps conserve the battery.

The Burn is a product of trade-offs. It is a unique product - a quick visit to Alibaba didn't turn up any similar, unbadged watches - and I'm pleased with the battery life and simplicity of use. To really get the most out of the device, however, you can sync it with an app called MapMyFitness, a free app (with a $29.99/hear training add-on that comes free with the watch for six months) that tracks your runs. By syncing with the app you can simply add your daily walks to the MapMyFitness database. You essentially get a screen like this:

Obviously this isn't much better than any similar pedometer product but the heartrate monitor built in puts it on par with more expensive devices, like the Basis, and the lower-priced, $99 Withings Pulse. At $130, however, I'm hard pressed to recommend this over, say, a Fitbit Flex or the Pulse. Because of the odd choice to support only MapMyFitness, a popular but not particularly well-integrated piece of software, and the weird method for actually measuring the heart rate, the watch could end up being more trouble than its worth.

I used this primarily as a pedometer, checking my heartrate rarely during the day. To sit there and press and hold a thumb on the sensor is unfortunately too distracting while, say, taking or a walk or going to the gym. I far preferred the Basis' always-on sensor or even the Fitbit's overall passivity.

In terms of styling the Burn looks like any other sports watch with a nice red and black color scheme. The screen is a bit dark and unreadable at acute angles but I always enjoyed being able to read my steps taken with a simple direct glance at the watch, something almost none of the other fitness devices offer.

What's the bottom line? If you're a fan of MapMyFitness, this could be a solid addition to your regimen. If you're a fan of a more developed ecosystem I'd recommend the Basis, Nike+, or Fitbit over this device. It's a clever, nicely built sport-watch/fitness band but it just doesn't have the depth of data and support afforded by other devices.

Apigee Launches Purchase-To-Payment API Platform

Apigee has a new platform for customers to manage API-driven business efforts that extends from purchase-to-payment of digital assets. The service is meant for organizations, such as telecommunications providers, that sell services delivered through an API.

Apigee has designed the platform so a customer can get help with pricing, notifications set-up and limits that tell when a number of products have been sold. It comes with an administration platform and developer platform for billing. Licensed on a yearly basis, the platform is available both in the cloud and on-premise.

The communication through the API monetization platform is two-way. For example, telecommunications customers have often had to send email notifications when there was a change to a rate plan for one of its digital services. With the new platform, the service is automated so a customer can set up notifications for the developer subscribing to the plan.

The issue extends to the finance department with API providers historically collecting money by invoice from developers. With the platform integration, a bill gets automatically sent to the customer with real-time credits and deductions to the developer's account without having to invoice.

In the overall market, there are companies that are digital native and those that do not have the background with APIs. Apigee is trying to serve both markets. They are offering easier API integration for the more seasoned customers and the expertise to show how the service can be offered and managed for the clients newer to the ways of the API economy.

APIs are becoming part of the mainstream business world. Until most recently, APIs have primarily been viewed as a way to connect apps. But they are increasingly used as a gateway for customers to sell services. This is evident in how they are getting baked deeper into enterprise systems. Intel acquired Mashery for $180 million this spring to offer the API platform to serve as a way to connect back-end systems to the cloud.

In essence Apigee is offering its customers a deeper way to automate the selling process and subsequent management of a customer's digital assets. That's something we can expect to see more often as APIs move deeper into the mainstream business world.

Disclosure: Apigee's Sam Ramji needed a place to stay while here in Portland this week for OSCON so he bunked at our house.

Stick It To The Military-Industrial Ink Complex By 3D Printing Your Own Printer Cartridges

This has to be one of the most uniquely disruptive uses of 3D printing I've seen: an ink refill company has successfully 3D-printed a Kodak ink cartridge, refilled it, and printed with it. Using a Makerbot Replicator 2 and some PLA, the company created an exact replica of the Kodak cartridge casing and stuck in an ink bladder of their own devising, thereby creating a sort of Frankenstein's monster of ink delivery.

To be clear the company, InkFactory, is fooling no one here. The ability to print an outer casing for an inkjet printer cartridge is fairly limited and is useful only if you have a nice supply of bladders or you break your cartridge. This holds doubly true for cartridges with chips and delivery systems built-in. Until we can make high-resolution, soft prints using a 3D printer, there is no real way to make an entire cartridge on a home printer and there is almost no way to replace the cartridges that have proprietary circuitry built in.

That said, the ease with which they replicated the casing and placed their own ink in is heartening. The fact that you can now measure, design, and build a proprietary object should strike fear in the hearts of ink merchants everywhere and there are plenty of people out there who would, in a fairly unscrupulous manner, supply the proper ink bladders to home makers who simply want the nozzle and ink container and will make their own PLA or ABS cartridges.

As a proof of concept it's great. It's a perfect storm of righteous indignation - ink refillers stick it to public enemy #1, ink salesmen, by using the tools of mass production. If Marx had a tech blog, he'd be all over this. It's a cute, if sensational, way to get the word out about ink replacement and I'm sure it will send someone at what's left of Kodak scrambling to type up a cease and desist letter.

via 3DPrintingIndustry

Hey San Francisco, Your Rep. Pelosi Saved The NSA Phone Metadata Program

Congress almost cut off funds for an NSA spying program, until San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi stepped in to save it. Rep. Pelosi, of California's 12th district, worked to kill the Amash amendment to the 2014 Defense Appropriations Bill. Amash's amendment would have defunded the NSA's domestic phone record program, which collects metadata on every call placed in the United States.

It almost passed, failing by a narrow 205 to 217 margin. It now appears that it could have passed, but Rep. Pelosi worked behind the scenes to convince a number of Democrats to vote against the amendment.

According to Foreign Policy, a Democratic aide told the publication that "Pelosi had meetings and made a plea to vote against the amendment," the effect of which was greater than briefings with General Alexander, head of the NSA. Pelosi recently took fire at a liberal gathering for her defense of NSA surveillance programs.

The aide went on to say that "Pelosi had a big effect on more middle-of-the road hawkish Democrats who didn't want to be identified with a bunch of lefties" who were in favor of gutting the funding for a program that the NSA claims is key to its ability to preserve the national defense.

It's not a surprise that a Democrat is in favor of the NSA's surveillance activities; the Amash amendment managed to split Congress, but not along normal party lines. Both Democrats and Republicans voted for and against the amendment. However, Rep. Pelosi's district makes her vote and lobbying efforts curious: She is the direct representative of San Francisco, which contains inside of it large swaths of the technology industry and its denizens. The tech industry has, on average in my estimation, tilted negative regarding the NSA's pervasive data-collection practices.

It isn't right to think that an elected official must at every turn vote on issues based on the temperature of their district. But in this case, Rep. Pelosi's active efforts to stamp out support for an amendment that had a chance at enacting real reform - which I suspect would be quite popular in her district - is somewhat hard to grok.

Rep. Pelosi is my Representative in Congress, and I voted for her in the last election. That in mind, I must register material complaint with her recent actions.

There is irony in that the elected official that represents the location where Twitter is headquartered is in favor of the NSA's intra-United States data collection activities. Twitter, of course, became famous for its lack of cooperation with the NSA.

Here's Rep. Pelosi's district:

As TechCrunch recently noted, and this is something to take heart in, support for the Amash amendment was by definition bipartisan, and stronger than expected. Functional reform could be possible. One month ago it certainly did not feel that way.

Top Image Credit: idleformat

Google+ adds real-time search and hashtags

Google is rolling out an update for its Google+ social network that includes the addition of real-time search and improved hashtag support. The announcement came today in the form of a video with Google's engineering SVP Vic Gundotra introducing the new features himself. Both features aim to make Google+ more easily searchable and to make the results more timely and relevant.

Search capabilities were introduced to Google+ when it launched publicly last month and now with the addition of real-time search, results update automatically. In the video, the demo shows that just after your first search of a particular term, the results will ask whether you wish to update as new relevant results occur. Once you update, the results list will begin to automatically update. It also appears that you can pause this feature.

The improved hashtag support makes it easy for you to make a term in your status update searchable. By placing a hashtag in front of a word, it automatically turns that word into a link after you share the status update. When other users click on that link, it takes them to the search results page for that word.

Not everyone will get access to the features immediately, but be on the lookout as they are being rolled out starting today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beFP0REw3DM

Windows 7 overtakes XP – finally

Most dominant desktop OS, says web traffic abacus

Windows 7 has, finally, become the world's most popular desktop operating system.

It overtook Windows XP in the first ten days of October with a 40.18 per cent share of the market, according to statistics gathered by Statcounter. At the latest measurement, 38.66 per cent of desktop computers in use online are powered by XP while Vista limps in on 11.21 per cent.

XP became the most popular operating system by quantity in 2003 after being released in 2001. Windows 7 adoption has been quick since it hit the shelves in 2009.

What's obvious from the Statcounter charts is the fact that Win 7 has grown at the expense of XP and Vista.

Still, with Mac OS X only commanding 7.27 per cent of the market, it's not surprising that Microsoft is retaining customers rather than luring new ones. Linux, on the desktop, has all but flatlined.

The dramatic moment Win 7 beat XP into second place. Credit: pingdom.com

Microsoft reported in September that it had sold 450 million Windows 7 licenses, and suggested that Windows 7 PCs now outnumbered XP ones without stating any back-up figures. This external beancount from Statcounter suggests that Redmond truly has passed the tipping point.

Statcounter measures traffic to websites - approximately three million of them - and records the operating systems that visits come from, so their counts only measure computers that are connected to the internet. It can't be proved that the web visiting figures exactly correlate to the physical installed base of desktop operating systems, but it is a handy indicator to have.

Meanwhile in the land of mobile device operating systems, SymbianOS held 29.5 per cent, iOS held 23.18 per cent, Android held 21.63 per cent and BlackBerry OS held 9.52 per cent, according to Statcounter.

Concept a flying washing machine 2050

The future - when all will be able to fly. Flying machines, flying people, flying animals, and so on. And even a flying washing machine. Where do without them. It is concept washing machine in 2050. This washing machine will not only fly in the air, it does not even require any water. The concept is called Orbit, and it will be a sphere that levitates inside the ring, using superconductivity magnets, cooled with liquid nitrogen. The author of the design is Elia Ahovi. Since all this is doing is in the air, the scope (which is located inside clothing) will be able to erase very efficiently and without the slightest noise, complete silence. Meanwhile, streams of carbon dioxide inside the sphere will be cryogenically clean clothes without water and detergent. Machine will be operated through an interactive interface.

For such a design can be applauded, but the only thing that can prevent future use of such machines is the fact that in 2050 we'll probably have to wear disposable suits that are just going to change daily. Or they will be treated independently. But if this is the wrong idea, then we will wait for a washing machine. Wait is only 28 years old, have a chance to survive. Designer Elie Ahovi

Wallmount Washing Machine
Technology in future
Smart power supply
Technology gadgets
New technology devices

yanko

Compact turntable concept

This concept is not DJs, but only for music lovers. The player is made in a minimalist design, and also combines the old and the latest technology - it can broadcast the audio on the playback device via DLNA technology and Airplay.

Designer K r s Benedek

Concept media player
Future of apple tv
Twist phone
Future music devices

Google Axes Shopper Price-Comparison Apps For iOS And Android To Focus On Google Shopping

It looks like Google is starting to cut back on some of its less successful mobile apps. Earlier today, we reported that the Google+ Local app has disappeared from the App Store a few weeks ahead of its planned shutdown, and now, the company has announced that it is going to shut down the standalone Google Shopper app for iOS and Android on August 30.

Given how much online shopping has moved to mobile, that's a bit of an odd move, but Google says it wants to focus on Google Shopping and Google Search "to create a better, more consistent shopping experience across all devices." Over the last few months, Google says it introduced "360-degree product imagery, Shortlists and more relevant reviews" on Google Shopping, and it will put its resources into improving this service going forward.

Shopper, which launched in early 2010, allows users to check online and local prices by scanning cover art and barcodes, as well as through Google's standard text and voice searches. The last iOS version only has a 3-star rating, though it looks like the Android version was reasonably popular, with over 34,000 ratings for a 4.2 star average.

Google argues that users can still find all of the information from Google Shopper through its search app on mobile and by visiting google.com/shopping.

Despite today's announcement, the company is also teasing some new shopping products for mobile. "We look forward to sharing some great things we have coming on mobile for the holidays," Google Shopping VP Sameer Samat writes in today's blog post. Those new features, though, will likely be part of Google's existing apps and won't come in the form of a standalone app.

Inside Tesla's Supercharger Partner Program: The Costs And Commitments Of Electrifying Road Transport

Tesla is building a nationwide network of Supercharger stations in the U.S. to help give its growing fleet of consumer vehicles the juice they need to conquer the nation's highways, and now we at TechCrunch have an inside look at how they're approaching partners to help them expand. Tesla's footing the bill for the Supercharger spots, asking only for time and access from partners with parking lots, and promising the keys to the future in return.

For "prospective hosts" of Tesla Superchargers, the ask isn't too steep: Tesla covers all costs, upfront and ongoing associated with installing supercharger stations, according to the documents obtained by TechCrunch. That covers maintenance, as well as power costs, with Tesla optionally offering to install a dedicated meter just for the charging station alone, from which the bill will go directly to Tesla itself.

The cost for Tesla is between $100,000 and $175,000 depending on the station, and a lot of those come from the permanent modifications needed at the site to support the Supercharger itself. It's more expensive than putting in a charger for a standard electric car, like a Nissan Leaf for instance, but the Supercharger can deliver around five times the power of those stations in the same amount of time, and is more demanding in terms of infrastructure changes as a result.

A property owner doesn't have to stake any monetary commitment, but it does have to offer up between four or five spaces on average, plus around 200 to 600 square feet for Superchargers and equipment. Most agreements involve four "dedicated" stations, designed such that only Tesla owners can use them (prevents a driver arriving and not being able to find a spot), as well as between four and six additional stations that can accommodate both normal cars and provide supercharging for Teslas. This doesn't need to be prime real estate either, though Tesla does stipulate it be well-lit, and close to existing power infrastructure if possible.

Partners are asked to commit to the program for a minimum of five years, with an option to expand, and most agreements range from five to ten years. The length of the commitment required reflects the large cost of the initial install. In exchange, Tesla is selling essentially the image benefits associated with its brand; partners get the mystique and influence of being a Tesla location, attracting its drivers to their on-site businesses, yes, but also offering up press and social media profile bumps. Plus, for companies with environmental sustainability programs and priorities, the brand association benefits are obviously attractive, too.

The Tesla docs also show a high rate of usage at its stations, with some installations seeing as many as 17 sessions per day during their peak usage periods, a fact which it can use to convince partners that the space provided will result in more traffic to their stores and businesses. Installation of the Supercharger requires between 12 and 20 weeks to complete, but only between two and four of those actually take place on-site, with the rest consisting of paperwork, business arrangements and obtaining local permits and approvals.

If Tesla's footing the entire bill, it might seem like a no-brainer to get a Supercharger installed at your roadside business, but there is a significant cost involved in terms of construction time and space committed, so it's understandable that the electric car company has to make its case through these pitch documents. For us, they provide an interesting look at what's required from all parties involved to help pave the way for the future of electric transport.

PadGadget Daily App Deal – 10 iPad Apps on Sale

For today's Daily Deal we've found 10 great apps to add to your iPad collection. We have 1 productivity / entertainment apps and 9 game apps in today's bundle.

We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we'll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 80% off, a couple are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.

Game Apps

1. Osmos for iPad - This insanely popular and mesmerizing iPad game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That's a savings of 80% off the apps' normal price of $4.99.
2. Puerto Rico HD - This board game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99.
3. Republique (

   

   
   ) - This stunning action game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $2.99 instead of $4.99. This app weighs in at 918 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
4. Riptide GP2 (

   

   
   ) - This jet skiing game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99.
5. San Juan (

   

   
   ) - This strategy game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $1.99.
6. Sid Meier's Pirates! for iPad - This fun iPad game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $2.99 instead of $4.99. This app weighs in at 436 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
7. Tortilla Soup Surfer (

   

   
   ) - This wacky surfing game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
8. Word Ring (

   

   
   ) - This popular word game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $2.99.
9. Worms3 (

   

   
   ) - This fun multiplayer sequel has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That's a savings of 80% off the apps' normal price of $4.99.

Productivity and Entertainment Apps

1. Dr. Panda's Supermarket (

   

   
   ) - This educational kids app has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $1.99.

Also be sure to check out our previous Daily Deal to find more great savings.

= Indicates app is Universal and will run on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

We use our PadGadget Apps Tracker to constantly monitor the App Store to find the biggest price changes on iPad apps. Our editorial team goes through the data, picks the best deals on the most interesting apps and then brings them to you on a regular basis. All app prices are checked at the time of posting but prices are subject to change without notice. When developers put their apps on sale it's usually for a very limited time, often 24 hours or less, so be sure to check pricing on iTunes before making a purchase.

PadGadget Daily App Deal – 8 iPad Apps on Sale

For today's Daily Deal we've found 8 great apps to add to your iPad collection. We have 4 productivity / entertainment apps and 4 game apps in today's bundle.

We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we'll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 75% off, several are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.

Game Apps

1. Ring Run Circus (

   

   
   ) - This top rated puzzle game has a 5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
2. Royal Envoy 2 HD (Premium) - This popular strategy game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $1.99.
3. Snake '97 (

   

   
   ) - This retro game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
4. Tesla's Electric Mist (

   

   
   ) - This very popular puzzle game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.

Productivity and Entertainment Apps

1. Blur - Create Custom Wallpapers (

   

   
   ) - This iPad wallpaper app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
2. NOAA Storm Center (

   

   
   ) - This handy weather app has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $3.99.
3. Pilo1:An Interactive Children's Story Book3D Animation-Puzzle Game (

   

   
   ) - This educational kids app has a 5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99.
4. Pocket Yoga (

   

   
   ) - This very popular yoga app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $2.99.

Also be sure to check out yesterday's Daily Deal to find more great savings.

= Indicates app is Universal and will run on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

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M&A head of Google is replaced by Don Harrison- An opening of new late stage of investment group

According to the Reuters, Google is going to make major moves in its merger and acquisition group. It is planning to replace David Lawee with Don Harrison- a high ranking lawyer at Google. Reuters have reached to Google to ask out about the news:
Google Inc is going to replace its head of in-house merger and acquisition group with one of the renowned lawyer. Also Google is thinking to establish a new late stage investment group which will be headed by Corporate and Development Chief, Mr. David Lawee, according to the news shared by Reuters.Don Harrison who is a high rank lawyer at Google will be replacing Lawee as a head of Internet Search Company's M & A team.

The above mentioned move will be quite interesting as Google is already at the early stage arm known as Google Ventures. Google venture is cracking away investments in smaller teams with some great and big ideas.

Google has lots of money to manipulate its growth and it can also offer hands for help to other late stage companies for making rapid growth.

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SumUp announcement of partnership with Taxi.de mobile app

SumUp is the Berlin based mobile payment company which has opened business backed up by $20 million. SumUp has recently announced nationwide partnership with the mobile app, entitled as Taxi.de- a German taxi hailing app. Paylevel last month has signed up a contract with Berlin Taxi association for trailing its technology and same step is copied by the SumUp.
Taxi.de has not break out numbers of users, yet on Google Play it has reached to 5000 to 10000 downloads in just a month and it is also offering at iTunes for iOS devices.The affiliation among Taxi.de and SumUp is exclusive and it must see that its mobile payment card readers utilized by the taxi drivers all across Germany. It is expecting that taxi drivers will widely accept this app and use the card readers for payment receiving via SumUp.

Taxi.de is in fact not a first taxi related partnership of SumUp. SumUp has claimed that it has already entered in partnership with various regional and local taxi associations of Germany. Moreover, it has claimed that in Berlin it has reached more than 300 taxi companies.

Taxi.de drivers will be bestowed with SumUp card reader free of cost, by paying the 2.75% per transaction fees (on mobile card reader system there will be no monthly charges and other fees).

SumUp card readers will accept payments via debit card, Visa and MasterCard. The Taxi.de driver is equipped with SumUp app so that walk in passengers can pay off through app. This payment feature will be enabled in Taxi.de app by January 2013.

Alex von Brandenstein, the CEO of Taxi.de has talked up about the payment system of SumUp and he has talked about "unimpeachable security credentials" for the reason of partnering with this particular m payment startup.

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