Apple Said to Be Using Tokenization Technology to Secure Mobile Payments Service
Apple may be integrating tokenization technology in its forthcoming mobile payments solution, reports Bank Innovation. Citing sources close to the matter, the report notes that the company will look to utilize token technology to address security and fraud concerns as integrates the service with the iPhone 6 and iWatch.
Financial institutions — card issuers and networks — prefer token technology because it replaces primary account numbers, those 16-digit card numbers on the front of credit and debit cards. Instead, the tokenization technology uses complex codes that are easily transmittable over the air and between devices, but that are used only once, so even if they are intercepted, are of no use to fraudsters.
An Apple patent discussing token technology has also been discovered, as the application was granted last month and filed for in 2009. In its example, Apple discusses a token system as a method for two devices to communicate sensitive data with disposable, one-time use codes.
EasyPay mobile payments concept by Ricardo Del Toro
The report also once again discusses the NFC capabilities in the iPhone 6 and iWatch, stating that chip-maker NXP will be rolling out NFC chips to the iWatch and the iPhone 6. Apple Stores and Apple retail partners are also said to be gearing up to utilize NFC technology, as a number of retail locations will be using the NFC-enabled Verifone MX 915 terminal.
Prior reports have stated that Apple’s payment service will be supported by a number of credit card companies including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. The company is also said to be partnering with a number of retailers for the service, including Walgreens, CVS, Nordstrom, and more.
Apple is expected to announce its mobile payments solution at this Tuesday’s media event, which will likely be shown off alongside the iPhone 6 and iWatch.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Microsoft MSN homepage reborn as a blend of news portal and online desktop
Visit the MSN portal right now and you’ll get a straightforward news site. It’s informative, but it’s busy, inflexible and doesn’t give you easy access to Microsoft services — a bit odd when it’s frequently your initial homepage on a shiny new Windows PC. Thankfully, Microsoft is aware that it needs to shake things up a bit if it wants to keep you coming back. It just launched a preview of a redesigned MSN that it hopes will not only be easier to browse, but should serve as a kind of web-based desktop that lets you accomplish many of your daily tasks. Read on to see what I mean.
Let’s start with the obvious: the new MSN looks a lot like Windows, and that’s not just because Microsoft is fond of brand synergy. The layout is both less cluttered and lets you personalize what you see; if you’re fond of cars but not entertainment gossip, you can easily add, remove and shuffle the appropriate sections. The company has teamed up with a whole host of content providers for different categories, including the New York Times, Conde Nast and, yes, our parent company AOL.
However, the real centerpiece is the much stronger emphasis on services that turns MSN into more of a hub than a starting point. The top of the site centers on a “Services Stripe” that lets you hover over icons to check your Outlook email, check Bing Maps or even take a quick glimpse at OneNote projects, if you use it. If you thrive in Microsoft’s cloud, you may stick around for quite a while. You’ll also find utilities like shopping lists, a symptom checker and a 3D body explorer. Moreover, a lot of your personalized content will sync across platforms. Microsoft plans to launch Android and iOS versions of previously Windows-only apps like Food & Drink and Sports — if you add a recipe or a favorite football team on the MSN website, you’ll also see it on your phone or tablet no matter what OS you’re using.
You can check out the preview today, although the old site will hang around for an unspecified amount of time. Microsoft hasn’t said when it hopes to roll out the site to the public at large, but the Android and iOS apps should arrive with the next few months.
Dana Wollman contributed to this report.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Source: MSN Preview
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Google Glass can tell if you’re stressed out
It’s not always easy to tell when your stress levels are through the roof, and you may not always want to break out a heart rate sensor just to find out when it’s time to relax. You might not have to, if researchers at Georgia Tech and MIT have their way; they’ve developed BioGlass, an Android app that uses Google Glass to determine how frazzled you are. The software measures your heart and breathing rates by checking for tiny movements picked up by Glass’ accelerometer, gyroscope and front-facing camera. In theory, you’d only have to wear the smart eyepiece to know when it’s time to calm down.
The existing project doesn’t do more than record data, but future software could do a lot more. You could get instructions on stress-relieving breathing exercises, for example, or even queue up soothing songs at the very moment you need them. Glass also isn’t strictly necessary, if you’d rather not wear a $1,500 headset that occasionally causes stress. Any wearable with the right sensors would do the trick. The biggest challenge is getting an accurate reading while you’re moving. BioGlass currently requires that you stand still, but the hope is that it will eventually warn you when you’re literally hopping mad. If all goes well, you may always know when it’s time to chill out — and hopefully avoid a ton of health problems.
[Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Wearables, Science, Google
Source: BioGlass
.CPlase_panel display:none;
False Alarm: Crane notice at Google wasn’t for Android L lawn statue
We Android fans are particularly excited when a new build of Android is about to be released, not only because there is going to be new, fantastical software, but also because there’s going to be a new lawn statue at Google HQ. So when a notice for impending crane work went up at Google HQ (see above), we naturally assumed they might be bringing in the new Android L lawn statue. While the event in itself might not be the most exciting, it’s what the lawn statue is going to be ‘made of’ that is the exciting part – is it going to be Lemon Meringue Pie as many pundits are suggesting?
As it turns out, the Android L lawn statue wasn’t brought in and only some rearrangement of the existing lawn statues was done. Check out the pictures below to see if you can spot the differences:
Before
After
You could definitely make the case that they are making space for the Android L lawn statue, but we’ll have to go back to speculating what the “L” in “Android L” is for a little while longer. Hopefully though, it won’t be much of a wait.
What do you think about Android L and what its real name will be? Let us know your opinion.
Source: Google+, MobileSyrup via Android Police
//<![CDATA[
ord = window.ord || Math.floor(Math.random()*1E16);
document.write('‘);
//]]>
The post False Alarm: Crane notice at Google wasn’t for Android L lawn statue appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
How would you change Sony’s VAIO Fit 15?
Welcome to How Would You Change, where we ask you to join our forum and talk about what you’d change about a product that has been out on the market for a while. This week, it’s Sony’s VAIO Fit 15. When we reviewed it, the general consensus was that the unit kicked off back-to-school season on a strong note. Sony’s commitment to not scrimping on specs by including high-res screens and backlit keyboards earned high praise, and in fact the overall experience was generally better. In the demerits column was simply the fact that the battery life could have been longer and some wonky build quality issues. The question, therefore, is did your experience mirror ours? Use your indoor voice, please.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/07/sony-vaio-fit-15-review-2013/
(BU http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/14/sony-xperia-sp-review/)
Filed under: Laptops
Source: Engadget Product Forums
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Sprint boosts rural LTE coverage by teaming up with regional carriers
Your Sprint phone might start performing better than usual in certain rural areas, thanks to the new LTE roaming deals the company just closed with 15 regional carriers. These partnerships fall under the Now Network’s rural roaming program, which allow you to tap into the regional carriers’ mobile internet connections when you happen to wander into their territories. The program’s meant to aid the carrier in competing against Verizon and AT&T, as its current coverage areas are usually confined to urban locations. Even getting unlimited everything for $60 wouldn’t be enough to convert people who travel a lot, you know — or to entice old customers who suffered from extensive service disruption to come back. There are 27 regional carriers in the list from 27 states at the moment (Sprint partnered up with the first 12 in June), including the new ones listed after the break.
- Bluegrass Cellular, serving Kentucky
- Blue Wireless, serving New York and Pennsylvania
- Pine Belt Wireless, serving Alabama
- Pioneer Cellular, serving Oklahoma and Kansas
- Public Service Wireless, serving Alabama and Georgia
- Syringa Wireless, serving Idaho
- Rural Independent Network Alliance (RINA) members and their partners:
– STRATA Networks, serving Utah, Wyoming and Colorado
– Silver Star Wireless, serving Wyoming and Idaho
– All West Wireless Inc., serving Wyoming and Utah
– NNTC, serving Colorado
– Snake River Personal Communications Service, serving Oregon
– CTC Telecom Inc., serving Idaho
– South Central Communications Inc., serving Utah
– Custer Telephone Wireless, serving Idaho
– Breakaway Wireless, serving Utah
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Samsung posts infographic of the Samsung Gear family
Samsung looks like they are in a very ‘infographic’ mood. After posting an infographic of the Galaxy Note series over the years, Samsung has come out with another infographic of the Samsung Gear family, showing its full range of wearable devices, from the aging – but still supported – Galaxy Gear, the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Gear Fit, Gear Live, right through to the brand-new Gear S announced just before IFA 2014. Check out the infographic below; be sure to click the thumbnail to view the full sized image:
It’s clear that Samsung is fully committed to the wearable craze, particularly with their efforts to update their seemingly abandoned Galaxy Gear with Tizen, their operating system baby. In fact, apart from the Gear Live smartwatch which runs Android Wear, all of Samsung’s Gear devices run on Tizen; it’s no wonder that Google has been annoyed at Samsung for investing far more effort into creating Tizen wearables rather than Android Wear wearables. Only time will tell whether Samsung has the better strategy or not, but with the influx of Android Wear smartwatches released at IFA 2014, it’s hard to imagine even Samsung triumphing in this space.
What do you think about this infographic of the Samsung Gear family? What are your thoughts on Samsung’s wearables? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.
Source: Samsung Tomorrow
//<![CDATA[
ord = window.ord || Math.floor(Math.random()*1E16);
document.write('‘);
//]]>
The post Samsung posts infographic of the Samsung Gear family appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
T-Mobile sues Huawei for stealing parts from its phone testing robots
Cellular providers and phone makers don’t always have the best relationships, but things are getting particularly sour between T-Mobile USA and Huawei. The UnCarrier is suing Huawei for trying not just to copy its phone testing robot technology, but to steal it. The phone maker’s staffers reportedly took illegal photos of the testing gear, and then swiped components; they even tried to break in when banned from the premises. T-Mobile insists that it spent “tens of millions” of dollars to switch to other phones as part of the breaches, and that Huawei may have earned “hundreds of millions” in ill-gotten profit.
You would expect many companies to fight such allegations tooth and nail, but Huawei isn’t. It agrees that there’s at least some merit to claims that its workers were “acting inappropriately,” and notes that the employees involved were fired. While it’s planning to protect itself in court, it “respects” T-Mobile’s right to sue over the thefts and plans to cooperate. Those kind words probably aren’t going to placate Magenta’s lawyers, but they suggest that the two telecom giants won’t be fighting to the bitter end.
Filed under: Cellphones, Robots, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile
Via: TmoNews
Source: Seattle Times
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Watch MIT’s Atlas humanoid robot drag a metal pillar like it’s nothing
We’re interrupting your regularly scheduled programming full of cute, service robots to bring you the latest update on Boston Dynamics’ terrifying humanoid machine: Atlas. A group of MIT researchers have been working to refine their Atlas unit’s capabilities since 2013 for DARPA’s Robotics Challenge. The result? They’ve managed to program the machine to carry objects of different weights in each hand, making it more effective for real-life applications, like construction or clearing debris during times of disaster. You’ll see what we’re talking about when you watch the video below, showing Atlas lugging an aluminum pillar with one hand.
Via: IEEE, TechCrunch
Source: MIT DRC
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Robin Williams gets the World of Warcraft tribute gamers asked for
Blizzard promised gamers a tribute to the late, great Robin Williams in one of his favorite titles, World of Warcraft, and it looks like the studio has been quick to act on its word. Just days after Wowhead found hidden character code paying homage to the actor, that persona is live in the game. If you’re in the Warlords of Draenor expansion’s beta, you can visit an island with a familiar-looking lamp; rub it and a genie pops out flaunting his “infinite cosmic power,” directly referencing Williams’ beloved role in Aladdin.
That’ s not the only nod to Williams’ legacy, either. You’ll also find a broken egg with machinery inside (an allusion to Mork and Mindy), and there may be subtler odes to both Mrs. Doubtfire and Toys. The in-game memorial won’t be available to everyone until Draenor officially launches on November 13th, but you can get a peek at it right now through the video below.
[Image credit: Haldhur, Wowhead]
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Washington Post
Source: Wowhead, WoW Insider
.CPlase_panel display:none;
AIVAnet 