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There’s always been a few annoying little issues left to be addressed on Netflix Instant viewing. I mean, you can’t get 1080p, there’s not 5.1 sound, and most importantly, there’s no subtitles. As someone who has family members with hearing disabilities, I’ve been keenly aware that Netflix has been lacking in that regard. There’s good news though, Netflix has been working on that particular issue, and just started rolling it out to the public.

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Many people describe CloudMade’s OpenStreetMap project as “Wikipedia for maps,” and they aren’t far off. The project allows anyone to add and edit map data around the globe, and the project is now a viable open and free source of mapping data for third party developers.

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Yesterday afternoon, we received a tip via Twitter that a ragtag bunch of Slovenian hackers were on their way to TechCrunch headquarters for an unscheduled meet-and-greet. We really didn’t know what to expect, but I grabbed a Flip camera to document this monumental event in Slovenian/Silicon Valley diplomatic relations. In the video below, you’ll hear about the arduous journey of these Slovenian hackers, which included a stint in Compton and, later, being escorted by security out of both Facebook and Google.

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The ash cloud over Europe is proving a nightmare and a boon for some startups. It’s certainly a nightmare for startup teams traveling to events, like GeeknRolla on Tuesday. (And on that note, please now follow @GeeknRolla where we will sharing information on the event and helping you get to London). But if you are in London tomorrow (Sunday) you have a rare opportunity, and it’s thanks to the ash from Iceland.

First Round Capital, are one of the lead/premier early-stage VC funds in the US. One of their managing partners, Chris Fralic (@chrisFRC) is stuck in London because of the volcanic ash’s effect on the airlines. So he’s planning to host one of First Round’s famous “Office Hours” events. This is when anyone/everyone is welcome to pop over and meet and chat with him (usually entrepreneurs wanting to pitch). This will be the Volcano Office Hours. Read the rest of this entry »

Some miscellany during the weekend, it’s too nice to be blogging today, but I’m home sick so here we are:

• Iowa Gubernatorial candidate Rod Roberts gave a great interview on Iowa Press.
• Why is Westboro Baptist “Church” exempt from paying taxes?
• The economy really isn’t turning around.
• We need to learn how to disagree.
• Are Christian blogs boring?
• Together for the Gospel 2010 video sessions
• A decent explanation to an objection (death before The Fall) I’ve had with old earth creationism, I’m still not convinced, but it’s the best one I’ve seen.
• Can TMI destroy your faith?
• Obedience is our new currency.
• Arizona to allow concealed weapons without a permit – the third state to do so.
• Icelandic volcano eruption disrupting European air travel.
• What little respect I had left for President Bill Clinton is now officially gone.
• The left’s hypocrisy in their reaction to the tea parties.
• Some think that Obama’s nuke summit was not only delusional, but dangerously so.

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Do you live at the heart of the sun? Maybe under an active volcano? Or under water? Then you need an ioSafe 500GB super duper drive. These monsters, if you recall, can take quite a beating, surviving backhoes, fire, and water.

So what can you guys get? How about one of two 500GB ioSafe hard drives. How do you win? Glad you asked! Read the rest of this entry »

TechCrunch reader and former Mark Zuckerberg Exeter classmate Nate Chastain noticed our post the other day about Zuckerberg continuing to code at Facebook. He pointed out a web page that Mark created in 2001 when he was 16 or so, and we found a couple of other pages with his name on it, too. See here (click on the Kirtland Society link on the left), here and here for examples.

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Venture capital funding picked up in the first quarter to $4.7 billion, from the year ago period, according to both Dow Jones VentureSource and the MoneyTree Report (PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association). Dow Jones says venture funding rose 12% from $4.2 billion in Q1 2009 (the number of deals jumped to 597 from 522), while MoneyTree noted a 38% increase to $3.4 billion (the number of deals rose to 681 from 635). Although deals were up versus the first quarter of 2009, they were down from the fourth quarter– Dow Jones logged $6.9 billion for Q4 2009 and MoneyTree recorded $5.2 billion.

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Can you live on virtual currency? The founder of Dibspace, Dominic Canterbury, says yes. Canterbury is trying to prove that he can live his life (from rent, to food, to the clothes on his back) with just virtual currency for an entire year. This is of course a huge publicity ploy for his online marketplace but it got my attention.

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