Barclays will support Apple Pay in the UK, eventually

When Apple Pay was first announced for the UK, one bank was noticeably absent from its list of launch partners: Barclays. It was a strange omission, given it’s one of the most popular in Britain and Apple Pay already supports its cards in the US. Today, the payments service is going live in the UK and Barclays has some good news for its customers — its debit and credit cards will, eventually, support Apple Pay too. There’s no time frame just yet, but it’s at least confirmation that it hasn’t abandoned the platform altogether.

Barclays isn’t the only one missing today’s launch — HSBC appears to have pulled back at the last minute. The bank was included in Apple’s initial announcement, but is now mysteriously absent from its directory of participating banks. Unsurprisingly, some of its customers have been asking for clarification online, and HSBC has confirmed that it won’t support Apple Pay until later this month. If you’re struggling to keep track, here are the banks that are actually ready to support the service in the UK today: American Express, NatWest, Nationwide, MBNA, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank.

@CianH Hi Cian, we’ll be launching Apple Pay later in July. When we go live we’ll let you know. ^BA

– HSBC UK Help (@HSBC_UK_Help) July 14, 2015

[Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]

Filed under: Misc

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UK might ban social media to combat the specter of ISIS

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s administration is considering legislation that would ban the use of encrypted apps like Facebook Messenger, Snapchat and iMessage unless the services included government-accessible backdoors. It’s called the Investigatory Powers Bill (and more accurately nicknamed the “Snooper’s Charter”). The bill, which was first put forward in 2012 before being tabled in the face of overwhelming criticism, would also reportedly require ISPs to keep records online browsing, social media activity, email and voice messages and SMS texts for one year.

“In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people which even in extremes, with a signed warrant from the Home Secretary personally, that we cannot read?” Cameron stated in January. “My answer to that question is no we must not. If I am prime minister, I will make sure it is a comprehensive piece of legislation that makes sure we do not allow terrorists safe spaces to communicate with each other.” And in doing so the British government will further erode the freedoms of all citizens — all in the name of “security” — just as both Canada and Australia have.

[Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images]

Filed under: Internet

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Source: Huffington Post

Real Virtuality shows us what multiplayer VR might look like

2016 is shaping up to be the year the world gets virtual — with immersive head-mounted displays coming from the likes of Facebook, Sony, HTC (and Valve) and Microsoft–but so far we’ve mostly seen individual, tethered, seated experiences. Can’t we do better? The minds behind Real Virtuality think so: they’ve made a full-scale, motion-captured virtual reality platform with multi-user support.

Imagine it — you’re walking through an ancient Egyptian tomb, and you spot a small artifact on the ground. You bend over and pick it up, carrying it in your left hand. Further down the hall you encounter a fellow archaeologist examine a sarcophagus, but they can’t see it in the dim light. You hand them your torch, and now they can see everything. That’s exactly what you can do with two players in Real Virtuality, using your real hands, arms and feet. Check it out, it looks awesome:

Sadly, it’s not something that’s likely to come to your living room. Real Virtuality uses a large-scale, infrared motion-capture system that requires a 1:1 physical recreation of a digital space. Think of it as an elaborate set dressing for your imagination, kind of like Project Holodeck. Still, it’s enthralling to watch players reach out and grab things as naturally as they wood in real life — or play catch with a lit torch. It’s almost enough to make me wish Disney was updating DisneyQuest, not closing it.

Filed under: Cameras, Misc

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Via: Road to VR

Source: Artanim

Toyota takes orders for its hydrogen-fueled Mirai on July 20th

If you’re fortunate enough to live in one of the California burgs where Toyota will deliver the Mirai this October, you now know just when and where you can pull the trigger. Toyota says that it’ll start taking American requests for the hydrogen fuel cell car through its website on July 20th. And we mean only through the website — dealers will “explore” the $57,000 sale with you and hand over the keys if you commit, but you can’t simply walk in and get a vehicle. It’s just as well. The automaker only expects to sell 3,000 Mirais in the US by the end of 2017, so you’d be hard-pressed to get one if you had to compete with the same people test-driving Camrys and Priuses.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: Autoblog

Source: Toyota

How to join NASA’s festivities as New Horizons flies by Pluto

In a few hours, at 7:49 AM Eastern time, the New Horizons probe will fly 7,750 miles above the surface of Pluto, something no other spacecraft has accomplished before. Unfortunately, we can’t fly with the probe as it swoops in on the dwarf planet, but we can celebrate with NASA when it happens. The agency will hold a live webcast for the event starting at 7:30AM, which you can watch in the video below the fold. After the countdown to the flyby, NASA will unveil one of the closest photos of Pluto humanity has ever taken between 8 and 9AM.

Take note that the spacecraft will get a full view of the planet’s heart-shaped region during its trip, so it will likely capture the first clear photo of that crater, as well. In addition, New Horizons is expected to beam back lots of data that will help us get to know Pluto a lot better. It’s already managed to gather enough info to confirm that the planet is 1,473 miles in diameter, for instance, proving that it’s larger than previous estimates. You can see its size in the image above compared to its biggest moon, Charon.

Google, by the way, has launched a new Doodle that shows in a simple animated sequence how the flyby is supposed to go — just visit google.com to watch it. But if you need something more substantial, NASA’s Eye app for Mac and PC can show you a simulation of the flight, including a view that lets you see through the eyes of the probe. We’ll keep you updated on the spacecraft’s momentous flight, so make sure to check back later.

[Image credit: NASA-JHUAPL-SWRI]

Filed under: Science

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Via: Space

Source: NASA (Pluto Time), NASA’s Eyes, NASA (Pluto’s size)