PayPal’s One Touch wants to power your in-app mobile purchases
It’s a pretty common thing to see in an online store: pay with PayPal — but what about on mobile devices? Well, the eBay-owned company is working on that. The company just announced PayPal One Touch, a new system that (as the name implies) hopes to make paying of items in mobile apps a one-touch affair. The feature isn’t an app itself, but rather a service that can be embedded in other apps. Users will log into their PayPal account one time, and subsequently be able to pay for products in supported apps with a single click.
If One Touch sounds familiar, that’s because it is: Braintree, a company acquired by PayPal last year, runs a similar service called Venmo Touch — though its reach isn’t very wide. Braintree says Venmo Touch isn’t going away, but that consumers will have a choice over which payment platform to use. That said, consumers are far more familiar with the PayPal brand. The company didn’t say when One Touch would launch, but developers can already sign up for the beta.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet
Source: Braintree
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Google search trends highlight America’s digital divide
While the rest of us were out frolicking in the sun, The New York Times‘ Upshot blog spent the early part of the summer sussing out which counties in the United States were the easiest and hardest to live in. After a little extra prompting from Google’s chief economist, editor David Leonhardt and the Upshot team used Google Correlate to dig into what these groups on either side of the digital divide were searching for online. Some terms — the like “Oprah” and “Super Bowl” – are searched for by just about everyone. As you might’ve guessed, though, those search terms ultimately diverge… pretty wildly.
In the so-called easiest locales (which scored best when it came to education, median household income, unemployment rate, disability rate, life expectancy and obesity) the terms that correlate most strongly with easy living locations include “elph,” “jogger” and “nb-4l”. Apparently those who live in well-to-do areas had plenty of questions about Canon digital cameras. And the top three search terms for those living in harder areas? “Free diabetic,” “antichrist” and “38 revolver”. The list speaks to a dramatic difference in what people concern themselves with when their life circumstances skew in one direction or another. It doesn’t take long to notice certain trends popping up, either — technological tidbits pepper the rest of the easy life list, while religious references figure prominently in its rougher counterpart. These particular rabbit holes run deeper than you might think, so it’s definitely worth checking out the full Times piece for more.
Source: NYT Upshot
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Parallels Desktop 10 with OS X Yosemite and iCloud Drive Support Launches for Existing Customers
Parallels today announced the launch of Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac, the latest version of the company’s software for running alternate operating systems like Windows in virtual environments on the Mac. The new version is available today as an upgrade for existing customers, and it will launch on August 26 for new customers.
Parallels Desktop 10 offers a bevy of new features and enhancements, including OS X Yosemite support, iCloud Drive and iPhoto Library support and battery life and performance speed optimizations. The main new features of Desktop 10 include:
– Mac OS X Yosemite integration, iPhone calling integration, iCloud Drive and iPhoto Library support
– Now with one click users can select from a number of choices to optimize their virtual machine based on what their primary usage is: productivity, games, design or development.
– The new Parallels Control Center is a one-stop-shop for managing Parallels Desktop; it allows users to manage all their virtual machines and configuration settings from a single place.
– Users can share files, text or web pages from Windows using Internet accounts configured on their Mac such as Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, Flickr; or send them via email, AirDrop and Messages.
– Users can drag and drop files to Mac OS X virtual machines.
– Users can now open Windows documents up to 48 percent faster.
– Battery life is now extended by up to 30 percent, giving people additional work time when they need it most.
Upgrade pricing for users of Parallels Desktop 8 or 9 is $49.99, while standard retail pricing is set at $79.99 for regular users and $39.99 for students. Parallels Desktop 10 customers also receive a free three-month subscription to Parallels Access that allows Windows and Mac users to use their machines from their iPads.
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Selfie cameras that look like perfume bottles are going to be a thing
It’s no secret that girls in China are obsessed with taking selfies, but there’s also a local trend of slapping a Chanel perfume bottle case onto their phones. No, we don’t understand, either. Nevertheless, Sony is seizing this opportunity by releasing a new Cyber-shot camera that not only looks like a perfume bottle, but its big lens — encased in a clear brick with a gold accent — can also be flipped around to suit your needs. While it seems that Sony’s seeded this bizarre device to several Chinese female influencers and models, they’re remaining tight-lipped about the specs, but all will be revealed in China on August 22nd.
Via: G 4 Games
Source: Sony, Digi-wo (Sina Weibo)
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New Lego Minecraft sets turn minifig Steve into a farmer and a miner
Those old Lego Minecraft sets are cute, but the construction toy company’s finally gearing up to release new ones that look much more like standard Lego sets — and yes, they come with mini figures. Lego fans on the Eurobricks forum have recently spotted images of two of the six sets to be available later this year. Pictured above is The Farm, which features a standard player farm with Steve, a sheep, a skeleton, a jack-o-lantern-like brick and fake vegetables, because, well, it’s a farm. The other one’s called The Cave (see after the break) where Steve’s equipped with a pickaxe, is buddies with a zombie and is scarily missing a hard hat despite that TNT brick looming behind him.
Both sets were listed for £20 to £25 on the London-based Hamleys Toy Shop website for a very short time, along with their descriptions, which you can read below. If you’re wondering what else is in store for the collection, the other pieces’ names should give you an idea: they’re called Creative Box, The Ender Dragon, The First Night and The Mine.
The Cave
Venture into The Cave on a dangerous quest for vital resources! Wield the iron pickaxe to dig and battle against hostile zombie and spider mobs. Blast out valuable ores and minerals with the TNT and combine the flowing water and lava to create precious obsidian! When you’re done battling and mining, restore your energy levels with the chest of bread. Proceed with caution! Rebuild the set for more LEGO Minecraft creations! Includes 2 minifigures with assorted accessories: Steve and a zombie, plus a spider
The Farm
Yield renewable resources with The Farm! You’ll need food to survive, so fence in the livestock and channel the flowing water to nurture the crops. Harvest pumpkins, wheat, sugar cane and carrots. Use the crafting table to create a pumpkin helmet or jack-o-lantern. But watch out for the skeleton with his bow and arrow after nightfall! Rebuild the set for more LEGO Minecraft creations or combine with 21115 The First Night and other sets in the series for an even bigger Minecraft adventure! Includes a Steve minifigure with an accessory, plus a skeleton, cow and a sheep.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Geek, The Brick Fan
Source: Eurobricks
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ASUS smartwatch teased in invite to IFA 2014 announcement event
We’ve heard rumours that ASUS is preparing a smartwatch for announcement at IFA 2014, but now it has been all but confirmed. The teaser seen above shows the very shadowy outline of what can only be the ASUS smartwatch as well as telling us to save the date, September 3rd. The teaser is rounded out by a quote from Lebanese poet, Khalil Gibran, who says “Time has been transformed, and we have changed,” presumably referring to ASUS’ new direction with wearables as well as the time keeping properties of a smartwatch.
Something #Incredible is going to happen at #IFA2014, see you there! pic.twitter.com/1Dr2zAo06I
— ASUS (@ASUS) August 19, 2014
Running Android Wear, the only additional information we can glean from the teaser is that the ASUS smartwatch will be a slightly form factor to the other Android Wear wearables launched this year. Not quite square, but not quite round, it looks like it will be of plastic construction. Despite this, ASUS has done amazing things with ‘cheap’ materials in the past, so we can’t wait to see the device when September 3rd rolls by.
Are you interested in what the ASUS smartwatch has to offer? Let us know your thoughts on it in the comments below.
Source: ASUS via Droid-life
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The post ASUS smartwatch teased in invite to IFA 2014 announcement event appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
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Navy drone plays well with manned aircraft, caps it with a carrier landing
The unmanned X-47B drone has proven itself carrier-capable, but can it fit into normal flight operations? The Navy aimed to find out recently in some joint maneuvers alongside an F/A-18 Super Hornet aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The X-47B model was tweaked with faster tailhook retraction and new software so that it could be parked more quickly after flights. It then flew carrier patterns along with an F/A-18, including a catapult launch, eight-minute flight, tailhook landing, taxiing and parking. As shown in the video below, crews were able to get the X-47B out of the way quickly after touchdown, letting the manned Super Hornet land shortly afterwards. It’ll soon perform night-flying tests and other maneuvers, toward the Navy’s ultimate goal of a Skynet-ish sounding UCLASS (unmanned carrier launched airborne surveillance and strike system).
Filed under: Transportation
Via: DoD Buzz
Source: US Navy
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Snapchat’s bringing disappearing news to your vanishing selfie stream
Snapchat might be the go-to app for firing off self-destructing selfies, but there’s still one little issue CEO Evan Spiegel doesn’t seem to have locked up yet: how is it actually going to make money? In-app purchases? Location-centric stories? The Wall Street Journal just offered up an unsurprising possibility with a bit of a twist — the startup is apparently gearing up to launch a service called Snapchat Discovery that’ll bring ads and news to its users.
Yeah, really. Running ads seem like a no-brainer, but disappearing news is a curious twist on the original, dead-simple Snapchat formula. The Journal reports that the startup has been in talks with at least 12 content providers (including the Daily Mail’s Mail Online, for all your trashy gossip needs) to deliver articles and video news to the service, which could launch as soon as this November. If all this seems awfully unlike the Snapchat we know, well, that’s probably the point.
The app launched three years ago and was almost immediately derided — accurately or not — as a tool for scurrilous sexting. Along the way, though, Snapchat’s userbase continued to swell beyond the ranks of the young and bored to the point where even parents of original users were jumping on it. How does a startup keep growing when its core audience starts changing this dramatically? By doing exactly what Snapchat is reportedly doing now: giving us all other reasons to use it. Whether or not this crazy plan actually works is a totally different story, but we may not have to wait long to see how it all pans out.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Engadget Live Boston is this Friday!
Our third Engadget Live event of 2014 hits Boston this Friday, August 22nd. At 7PM on the dot, we’ll transform Royale into a scene that even Stefon would consider worthy of being Boston’s hottest club. Tap your way through the gallery below to find out what you can expect when you come out to our free event.
Ready to party with us? Get your free tickets right here. We’ll make our way to Los Angeles on October 3rd for one more Engadget Live event before we switch gears towards Engadget Expand. That’s our free event taking place November 7th and 8th at the Javits Center in New York City. Find out more about Expand and get your free tickets right here.
Filed under: Announcements
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Twitter is officially putting tweets from strangers in your timeline
You know how Twitter started inserting others’ favorites and follows into your timeline? As it turns out, it’s not an experiment — it’s official policy. We now know that the social network recently updated its timeline explanation to confirm that it’s adding tweets from strangers, new accounts to follow and other “popular” content to your feed. Like you might have suspected, the company is trying to make your stream “even more relevant and interesting” by showing you material you might not otherwise have seen.
It’s reassuring that Twitter isn’t simply broadcasting everything you do. However, as Quartz notes, it still represents a big change to the way the service behaves. Outside of ads, the timeline has always focused on showing you the latest content from people you meant to follow. Now, it’s a more Facebook-like experience where the company chooses a bit of what you see in an attempt to get more active users and boost its ad revenue. You shouldn’t miss out on any of the action, but you may have to wade through some clutter (and become some of the clutter) to get what you want.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Quartz
Source: Twitter
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AIVAnet 