Visa to Launch Tokenization in Europe in Mid-April for Mobile Payments [iOS Blog]
Visa announced on Tuesday that it will be rolling out tokenization in Europe, an essential technology that allows for secure and convenient contactless payments using various technologies (via The Next Web). The tokenization service will be available to financial institutions in mid-April and helps pave the way for the launch of Apple Pay in Europe.
“This is an exciting time to be in the payment industry. We believe that 2015 will be the year that mobile payments will be in the hands of consumers across Europe,” said Sandra Alzetta, Executive Director, Core Products for Visa Europe. “Tokenisation is one of the most important technologies to emerge in digital payments and has the potential to start a whole new chapter in the kinds of products that are developed.”
Visa, MasterCard and American Express were among the credit card companies that launched tokenization in the United States ahead of the launch of Apple Pay last October. The technology replaces your credit card information with a randomized series of numbers during payment authorization to secure your account details when you tap your smartphone on a contactless payment terminal.
Apple Pay remains limited to the United States, although an international expansion could start with Canada as early as March. The NFC-based mobile payments service requires an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, and will also be compatible with the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5 when paired with an Apple Watch.
Windows 10 will make more languages look beautiful with new text shaping engine
Microsoft has created a new shaping engine for text that it says will help Windows 10 display more languages correctly. The details of the new Universal Shaping Engine have now been published for font developers to access so that their creations look right when used on Windows 10.
Apple reportedly entices processor engineers away from Samsung
Apple has reportedly been successful in luring away a number of employees away from Samsung. Many of these hires are apparently technicians and engineers coming from Samsung’s chip division. Apple is also reportedly giving these new employees increased independence, according to The Korea Times:
“Those former Samsung workers are given greater independence to proceed with their tasks. Apple prefers to use Samsung’s chip experts because they are very diligent, mission-oriented and are prepared to acquire new knowledge,” said another official.
Apple has a history of hiring chip experts away from Samsung, snapping up AMD veteran Jim Mergard from the company in late 2012. In addition to chips, Apple is also said to be trying to hire battery experts from Samsung, possibly for work on the rumored Apple Car.
Source: The Korea Times
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Google launches new YouTube app for kids
YouTube (and the internet in general) can be quite the daunting place for parents to have their kids roaming free on. Google has released a new YouTube app, specifically developed for younger audiences. It’s a new portal for parents to have their children learn about various topics and discover exciting resources.
As one would imagine, the app is designed to make it easier for younger web surfers to check out the massive catalogue of videos tailored to children, whether they be hunting Pocoyo or the latest episode of Sesame Street’s The Furchester Hotel. There’s also no requirement to type and search as navigation sports big bold icons and images, allowing those who haven’t quite yet learned how to read and write to find new content.
Since it’s tailored for children, parents have access to a variety of settings to choose what their young ones can watch. Browse categories or search for videos in particular interest to your family. Then you have the smaller features like an app timer, sound settings, and more to really customise the experience for your child. It’s a neat concept from Google we’re sure many will appreciate.
The app is available on the App Store so go grab it.
- Free – Download Now
Source: Google
Toyota says it won’t offer CarPlay in the U.S. any time soon
Toyota’s national manager for Toyota’s advanced technology communications, John Hanson, has confirmed that the Japanese manufacturer will not be adding CarPlay integration to its US vehicles. Rather than Apple’s interface — or Google’s Android Auto — Toyota will stick with its own Entune system for now. That’s according to a statement given to the New York Times:
“We may all eventually wind up there, but right now we prefer to use our in-house proprietary platforms for those kinds of functions.”
Toyota is still listed as a “committed partner” for CarPlay and “remains in talks”. Based on the wording, it’s possible the company could change its mind in the future, or even offer CarPlay on vehicles outside the U.S.
Either way, if CarPlay and Android Auto prove to be compelling features for consumers, Toyota might have to stop playing wait-and-see, and start playing catchup.
Interesting gamble.
ORIGIN officially reveals its OMEGA living room gaming PCs starting at $999
Gaming PC maker ORIGIN teased us at CES 2015 about their upcoming OMEGA line, but today it made it official. This new Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs are designed to give hardcore PC gamers a way to play from their couch on a big screen living room television.
Marvel Mighty Heroes will soon bring superhero co-op fighting action to iPhone and iPad
Fans of Marvel’s superheroes will soon have yet another mobile game to check out that pits their biggest characters against one another. Today, DeNA and Marvel Entertainment revealed that Marvel Mighty Heroes is coming soon to the iPhone and iPad. The free-to-play brawler will feature online co-op for up to four players in a game that has a cartoon-theme art style.
Marvel and DeNA stated:
Marvel Mighty Heroes lets players choose their favorite Marvel comic book characters, including Iron Man, Groot, Captain America, Star-Lord, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Spider-Man, and dozens of their allies and nemeses. Players will build a dream-team of Super Heroes and Super Villains, each utilizing different skills and special abilities to clobber, shoot, smash, and blast their way to victory. Multiplayer in Marvel Mighty Heroes will give players a chance to test their skills against competitors and earn a spot on the leaderboard or combine forces with friends to save the universe one battle at a time.
People who pre-register at the game’s official website can also vote to see if either Hulk or Rocket Raccoon will be a special free character for its launch. Mobile gamers can already check out the fighting game Marvel Contest of Champions, which launched in December via publisher Kabam. That same company will also release a Marvel-themed mobile role-playing game sometime in the fall of 2015.
Source: Marvel Mighty Heroes
Sketchable for Windows gets new features, interface changes with latest update
Developer Silicon Benders has updated Sketchable, their drawing app for Windows 8.1, to version 2.20. The update overhauls several parts of the user interface, while also adding a number of useful new features, such as a three-fingered gesture for undo and redo.
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