Iyaz Akhtar is back today and we’ll talk about the launch of Apple Pay, how it works in the real world, and what we bought with it.
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Show Notes
Today’s guest: Iyaz Akhtar, senior associate editor CNET, podcasting on The GFQ Network
Headlines
iOS8.1 came out today which brings back the camera roll, enables handoffs of text and phone calls to OSX Yosemite and enables Apple Pay. The payment system is set up in the Passbook settings and does not store credit card info but creates tokens that are used to identify the phone’s owner. Near-field Communication is used to transfer the token to a credit card terminal that then conducts the transaction entirely with the bank. Personal information is not stored on the phone. 220,000 locations in the US can now accept Apple Pay as well as many apps.
Android Police reports that a forthcoming update for the Gmail app in Android 5.0 Lollipop, will be able to handle email accounts from other providers like Yahoo and Outlook. Users will be able to swipe the screen between accounts or choose them from a dropdown menu once setup. The accounts will still be separate from the user’s Google account so no forwarding or Pop access setup will be necessary.
The Verge’s sources confirm a Forbes report that Microsoft will launch its own wearable fitness band within the next few weeks. In fact sources say it will be stocked in time for sale during the holidays. While it will tell time the device will focus on fitness tracking things like steps, heart rate, and calories burned. It will also supposedly support Windows Phone iOS and Android.
Gigaom reports that Spotify has announced a family plan option, offering up to four extra accounts at a 50% discount. The accounts are under one billing statement, but each family member gets their own Spotify account, so no more confusing muddling of your listening history, recommendations and playlists. Existing accounts can be linked under the new plan. Spotify says the new feature will roll out globally over the coming weeks. “Family” could mean co-workers, roommates and/or chatrealmers, right? When you listen, you’re family!
The BBC reports 40,000 esports fans filled Seoul’s World Cup stadium to watch the 2014 League of Legends World Championship this weekend between the Star Horn Royal Club from China and Samsung White..Thousands more around the world filled up movie theaters to watch the match. For the record Samsung White beat the Star Horn Royal Club to win one million dollars.
News From You
KAPT_Kipper passed along the Gigaom report that IBM is reportedly paying a company Global Foundries 1.5 Billion dollars, but NOT to acquire them. Instead Global Foundries would take over IBM’s commercial chip-making unit, which had been losing up to $1.5 a year. IBM missed sales and profit expectations for the most recent quarter and earned a profit of $3.68 per share, which was 14 percent below the $4.32 that had been expected.
metalfreak submitted the slashdot posting that OS X Yosemite sends a lot of data back to Apple and there does not seem to be a way to shut it off. A GitHub repository says it “provides a corpus of network communications automatically sent to Apple by OSX Yosemite.” Among the info sent is when the user selects “About this Mac” and search terms entered in Safari, no matter what search engine is selected as default. It’s unclear if all privacy options were selected in the OS and what the network communication might be used for.
evilninja01 tipped us off to a stopthecap.com posting claiming South Korea is about to get 10 Gbps broadband. Digital Trends reports Sk Broadband was set to unveil the service at the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference today. The service could transfer 1 GB of data on0.8 seconds. Of course there’s no word when the service will actually be available to customers. Bell Labs showed off 10 Gbps over copper wire in July. South Korea has an average Internet connection speed of 24.6Mbps, ahead of No. 2 Hong Kong with 15.7 Mbps. No wonder they’re so good at esports.
Erniev23 flagged us to a Guardian report that The Twelfth Doctor has a new mission: teach children to code. A new “Doctor Who” online game debuts Wednesday October 22nd on the CBBC website, and includes voice narration by Peter Capaldi, who portrays the current incarnation on television. The free web game is aimed at children 6-12, using puzzles based on programming concepts to help The Doctor rebuild a Dalek.
And another quick note from Metalfreak. Looks like the ChromeOS devs have changed their mind on EXT2/3/4 file support. NetworkingWorld reports the team changed its mind and plans to re-enable ext2/3/4 support in Files.app immediately. They say “It will come back, just like it was before, and we’re working to get it into the next stable channel release.”
Discussion Links: Apple Pay in the Wild
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2014/10/20/apple-pay/17612285/
http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/20/ios-8-1-apple-pay-icloud-photo-library-continuity/
Pick of the Day: Raspberry Pi w/ XMBC
I know I’m a little late on this, but I’m just catching up on the podcasts this week. I wouldn’t normally dredge up stories mentioned six days ago. However, I’ve been in search of the best HTPC solution for almost a decade. I’ve tried and owned everything, Roku, Apple TV, Google TV, Chromecast, and of course simply hooking my PC up to my TV. The BEST solution though came in unlikely package, it was a Raspberry Pi with XMBC. Obviously a PC is the best solution, but computers are big, loud, hot, and expensive and when it comes to the UI it can be a bit clunky. The Raspberry Pi w/ XMBC (RaspBMC is the official name) gives you all the power and ports you need in an affordable package. I’ve got a Panasonic Viera smart TV’s in the house, so you simply hook the Pi to the TV via HDMI, and it automatically integrates with the TV remote. It’s a little long winded but this video goes into all the details:
This is my first time writing in, but I just had to share this solution because I never hear it mentioned and it’s so incredibly brilliant. You can run 1080p video, with all the features of XMBC, all from an affordable Raspberry Pi that has such a tiny footprint. Hope you find this as interesting as I did.
Plug of the week: Exterminite!
DTNS artist in residence Len Peralta has a new comic out that’s burning up the charts on Amazon. It’s called Exterminite about a company that can go into your dreams and exterminate your nightmares. Check it out!
Tuesday’s guest: Patrick Beja, podcasteur extraordinaire