Hasta La Gadget!

After a short hiatus, during which most of TechCrunch’s Europe-based writers packed their laptops and took off for San Francisco (for Disrupt 2013), the TechCrunch Europe Podcast is back to chew over a few choice nuggets of regional tech news.

On the slate this week, Paris getting its own supersized incubator: aka 1000startups — a massive startup factory that’s backed by Free CEO Xavier Niel. Our own resident Frenchman, Romain Dillet, is on hand to comment, albeit he’s not entirely convinced of the merits of this très grandes model…

Also taking up air-time this week, retail giant Tesco’s Amazon-style move into own-brand tablets with Hudl – as a way to expand the reach of other digital services it’s been trying to sell to shoppers, along with their Tesco Basics’ baked beans.

We also touch on Finnish startup Valkee’s winter-blues targeting headset, which takes the form of a pair of light-emitting headphones. Does it work? Who knows. Might we feel like shining light deep into our ear canals, during a long, dark Scandinavian winter? Frankly, who wouldn’t.

Join host John Biggs, plus TC’s Natasha Lomas, Steve O’Hear and Romain Dillet to discuss all these topics, along with an aside on the finer points of European irony. Background sound effects courtesy of the most fastidious money-counter in Montenegro.

We invite you to enjoy our (quasi-)weekly podcast every Thursday.

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Intro music by Espanto.

As popular as Rovio’s Angry Birds has been, there are a number of other mobile games that have sucked nearly as much time away from people’s lives as much as that title. ZeptoLab’s Cut the Rope is one of those titles and the developer is announcing a sequel, Cut the Rope 2, will be arriving on mobile devices this holiday season. (more…)

Cut The Rope 2 Headed To Mobile Devices This Holiday Season original content from Ubergizmo.

Despite the stunning failure of their recent protest at a Ke$ha concert, the Westboro Baptist Church is at it again, announcing its intentions to picket the next performance of The Voice judge Blake Shelton on October 3 in Kansas City.

In characteristic fashion, the Westboro Baptist Church has been furiously tweeting accusations and slurs at Shelton, accompanied by the declaration, “We know BS when we see it!”

According to WBC’s logic, Shelton’s divorce from his first wife Kaynette Williams and subsequent marriage to Miranda Lambert makes him “a vulgar adulterer,” which is why gay marriage is now legal in some states.

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More on Westboro Baptist Church

When Zac Vawter lost his leg in a motorcycle accident a few years ago, he thought he’d never walk like a normal person again. But today, the 32-year-old software engineer can climb stairs, wiggle his toes and stroll through parks. The only difference is that one of his legs is a mind-controlled robot.

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These babies are living the dream.

Watching Vines of babies on continuous loop is basically the best thing you could be doing right now…

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