Apple Pay Holdout Target Launches New In-App Mobile Payments System

Target today launched its own payments platform, allowing customers to pay for purchases using a new Wallet feature in the dedicated Target app available on iOS and Android devices.

Target’s Wallet feature lets customers pay with their Target REDcard and get Cartwheel discounts and benefits all in one phone scan during checkout.

To use the feature, Target customers need to add a Target REDcard to the Wallet in the Target app. REDcard is Target’s store-branded credit card, which offers customers discounts on purchases.

When checking out, Target customers will need to open up the Target app, tap on Wallet, scan coupon barcodes and then scan the wallet barcode to make a purchase.

Target’s payments service is a barcode-based system, similar to Walmart’s dedicated Walmart Pay option, which uses QR codes. While Walmart Pay supports any major credit, debit, pre-paid or Walmart gift card, Target’s Wallet appears to be limited to its own RED cards.

Target claims that its new Wallet feature is up to four times faster than other payment types when checking out.

“Wallet in the Target app makes checkout easier and faster than ever,” said Mike McNamara, Target’s chief information and digital officer. “Guests are going to love the convenience of having payment, Cartwheel offers, Weekly Ad coupons and GiftCards all in one place with Wallet.”

Target, like Walmart, is one of the few remaining major companies that have opted not to adopt Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payments service. As a result, Apple Pay is not available in Target stores, but it can be used in the Target app when making online purchases. Target is also a founding member of the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), a now defunct consortium of retailers that planned to launch a payment platform called CurrentC to compete with Apple Pay.

CurrentC has been delayed indefinitely, and many MCX members like Best Buy and Rite-Aid have begun accepting Apple Pay.

Earlier this year, Target said it had “no plans” to add support for Apple Pay.

Related Roundup: Apple PayTag: Target
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Fisker unveils self-driving shuttle built for smart cities

Believe it or not, Fisker isn’t just focused on upscale electric cars. The automaker has teamed up with China’s Hakim Unique Group on the Orbit, a self-driving electric shuttle tailor-made for smart cities. There aren’t many details, but it’s clearly taking advantage of its driverless nature: the boxy design maximizes passenger space, and there’s a huge digital display that tells commuters when the shuttle departs and what its next stop will be. You wouldn’t have to twiddle your thumbs wondering whether or not you’ll make it on time.

And unlike Fisker’s projects to date, you won’t be waiting forever to see an Orbit on the road. The company expects to deliver its first shuttles by the end of 2018. They’ll initially be used as part of a Hakim Unique-implemented smart city. There’s no mention of where this city would be, let alone when it will expand elsewhere. However, Hakim has a global reach, and it’s safe to presume that Fisker doesn’t want to confine its autonomous tech to one country. The biggest challenge is likely to be finding cities and transportation outfits that are willing to incorporate self-driving shuttles — that requires both the right legal framework and companies that are willing to take a chance on a robotic fleet.

Via: Autoblog

Source: Fisker (PDF)

Import your Instagram contacts to Facebook Messenger

Facebook started testing a way to cross-post Instagram Stories to your Facebook timeline this past September, and finally released the feature to everyone in early October. You can also launch Instagram directly from the Facebook app, making for an even more integrated experience across the two apps. As initially reported by TechCrunch, Facebook is now testing a feature to import and sync your Instagram contacts with Messenger.

As confirmed in an email from an Instagram spokesperson, it’s super easy to connect your two accounts, and completely opt-in. Simply launch Facebook Messenger, tap on the People tab and then hit “Connect to Instagram.” You’ll then tap a button to connect to your Instagram account, which will find all your mutual Messenger contacts from the photo-sharing service. The app will offer the option to start conversations with those people, or you can skip it and just get back into Messenger proper.

Allowing the more than 700 million people who use Instagram (as of last April) easy access to Messenger is a no brainer for Facebook, as it continues to bring it’s two hot social properties together on your phone.

Via: TechCrunch

FCC will help New York investigate fake net neutrality comments

To say the FCC has been reluctant to look into the millions of fake comments supporting its decision to kill net neutrality would be an understatement. The Commission did nothing to tackle the issue for months, and repeatedly stonewalled New York state’s investigation. At last, though, there might be some progress. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has revealed that the FCC Inspector General’s office has “reversed course” and intends to cooperate with the state’s inquiry. Just what that cooperation entails isn’t clear, but it beats the virtual silence until now.

Schneiderman and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also joined the 28 Senators calling on the FCC to delay the net neutrality vote until it can conduct a review of the comments. It’s “unacceptable” that theFCC is planning to scrap net neutrality based on “corrupted” comments and an alleged denial of service attack, Rosenworcel said.

While this is a positive sign, we wouldn’t count on the FCC providing as much help as New York would like, let alone acting on the investigation or delaying the vote until that investigation is over. Chairman Ajit Pai has made it clear that he intends to gut net neutrality regardless of public objections, and it’s doubtful that he’ll have a change of heart even if it’s clear that most authentic comments reject his plans.

Source: New York Attorney General

‘Mega Man 11’ will arrive on consoles and PC in late 2018

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the original Mega Man, which came out for NES on December 17th, 1987. In a stream celebrating the milestone, Capcom had a couple announcements — most importantly, that Mega Man 11 will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC in late 2018. But Capcom had another surprise in store for long-time fans: All eight games in the notoriously difficult-to-find Mega Man X series will come to leading platforms.

Get equipped with Mega Man 11, coming to Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC in Late 2018! Watch the #MegaMan30 livestream at https://t.co/qn8POJ2KIj! pic.twitter.com/wpz3x4rybj

— Mega Man (@MegaMan) December 4, 2017

As the trailer above shows, Mega Man 11 is leaving the 8-bit retro styling found in Mega Man 9 and 10 for smoother updated graphics akin to the newer Super Mario Bros games. The 30th anniversary stream didn’t reveal much else about the new title, but a few veterans of the Mega Man X team chimed in to reminisce. Check in at 1:18:30 to see Capcom producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya and others chat about their experiences making games in the famed series.

It’ll be great to see Mega Man return to a Nintendo system, and that’s not all the Switch is getting. Two Mega Man Legacy Collections are headed to the console in 2018: The first includes Mega Man 1 through 6, while the second will have Mega Man 7 through 10 plus DLC for the last two games in the series.

It’s time to switch things up. Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 are coming to Nintendo Switch in 2018! Tune in at https://t.co/qn8POJ2KIj for more! #MegaMan30 pic.twitter.com/WRQTTiULuW

— Mega Man (@MegaMan) December 4, 2017

Source: Capcom Unity (Twitch)

Target’s app pairs coupons with its credit card for faster checkouts

Target has been expanding its digital offerings lately with a host of new tech. For example, you can use Google Assistant to get same-day delivery from the retailer and grab groceries from its Prime Pantry competitor called Restock. Now Target shoppers can get ready to pay via Target’s new digital Wallet, newly introduced in the company’s mobile app. With Wallet, you can checkout using your Target REDcard and use coupons via the retailer’s Cartwheel program all at once.

Target claims that checkout will be up to four times faster than any other payment type (they timed it) and that Wallet will offer weekly coupons you can combine with the 5 percent discount available via your REDcard line of credit. Soon, you’ll even be able to store and use Target gift cards via Wallet, too. You can download or update your own Target app for iOS or Android right now to get the new feature.

Source: Target

Apple Pay Cash money transfers are available in the US

Apple had to rush-release iOS 11.2 to tackle a nasty date-sensitive bug, leaving hopeful Apple Pay Cash users twiddling their thumbs. Thankfully, you haven’t had to wait too long — Apple’s money transfer service is rolling out in the US. As promised, you can add a virtual Apple Pay Cash card to iOS’ Wallet app and send Venmo-style payments through your iMessage chats. If you owe a friend for pizza, you don’t have to download a separate app or hit the ATM to settle your debt.

The feature doesn’t appear to be immediately available to all iOS 11.2 users, so don’t panic if it isn’t available right away. And there’s no word on Apple Pay Cash availability outside the US, so you’ll have to settle for alternatives in the near future.

It’s been a long road for Apple Pay Cash: it was originally expected to launch alongside iOS 11 in September, but was pushed to a fall debut — and clearly a late fall debut at that. Still, it’s potentially significant. It gives Apple a counterpart to Google Wallet’s peer-to-peer incarnation, of course, but it also serves as a way to keep people in the company’s ecosystem. If you know that you can easily send cash to your iPhone-toting friends, both sides of the exchange may be more likely to stick with iPhones going forward.

Via: The Verge

Source: Apple

Long-awaited indie ‘Gorogoa’ arrives on iOS and PC December 14th

Suffice to say that fans have been eagerly awaiting Jason Roberts’ gorgeous indie game Gorogoa for awhile. It’s racked up years of awards, from Best Visual Design at Indiecade 2012 where the title debuted, to being the top pick at Good Game Club 2013 to nabbing financial assistance from Indie Fund in 2014. After years of delays and refinements, Gorogoa is finally getting released on PC and iOS on December 14th.

For the uninitiated, Gorogoa has players rearrange grids of lavishly hand-drawn panels to solve puzzles. The fantastic art is such a focal point that the game’s creator Roberts pushed back the game’s release to re-draw earlier parts after his skill had improved, a perfectionism that partially caused delays. You can pick up the well-polished Gorogoa on Steam or GOG for $15 or iOS for $5.

Source: Gorogoa Trailer (YouTube)

Instagram warns you if posts show harm to animals or nature

Protecting wildlife and sensitive natural areas is hard enough as it is, and it’s not helping that every brain-dead tourist wants to post a selfie with a koala bear or dolphin. Starting today, Instagram is making it harder to find such content. If you search hashtags associated with images that could harm wildlife or the environment, it will post a warning before letting you proceed.

“I think it’s important for the community right now to be more aware,” Instagram’s Emily Cain told National Geographic. “We’re trying to do our part to educate them.”

At the same time, selfies taken in newly Instagram-popular spots, like Bonneville Salt Flats and Yellowstone National Park, can ravage their sensitive environments. That forces officials to either shut down the spots or make them more tourist-friendly, destroying their original character.

Now, if you search on several hundred terms, the app will throw a flag saying “Protect Wildlife on Instagram,” adding that “you are searching for a hashtag that may be associated with posts that encourage harmful behavior to animals or the environment.” Only then can you see posts, learn more or cancel the operation.

The decision followed an investigation by National Geographic and World Animal Protection into wildlife tourism. The investigators discovered that animals were being captured illegally from rain forests and kept in cages, then trotted out for selfies with tourists ignorant of their plight.

If someone’s behavior is interrupted, hopefully they’ll think, maybe there’s something more here, or maybe I shouldn’t just automatically like something or forward something or repost something if Instagram is saying to me there’s a problem with this photo.

The warning will pop up for hundreds of hashtags, both in English and the languages of Thailand, Indonesia and other nations where selfie wildlife tourism is rampant. Instagram isn’t saying which terms will trigger the flags, though, as it wants users to discover them on their own.

World Animal Protection’s Cassandra Koenen points out that the animals people most want to pet or hold, like koala’s and sloths, really don’t like being handled. And the problem is made worse because tourists are terrible at determining which attractions treat animals poorly.

Though Instagram’s gesture doesn’t seem like it’ll be much of a deterrent, Koenen believes that it will stop folks that don’t mean harm and just don’t know better. “If someone’s behavior is interrupted, hopefully they’ll think, maybe there’s something more here, or maybe I shouldn’t just automatically like something or forward something or repost something if Instagram is saying to me there’s a problem with this photo,” she said.

Source: Instagram

Apple’s New Raleigh Store Opens This Weekend

Apple is opening a new store at the Crabtree Valley shopping mall in Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend, as part of its efforts to modernize its chain of nearly 500 retail locations around the world.

Apple’s upcoming store at Crabtree Valley via Will Sigmon
The new store will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, December 9, likely at 8:00 a.m. local time, according to Slice podcast co-host Will Sigmon.

Apple is moving into approximately 9,000 square feet of space, nearly double the size of its current store at Crabtree, which opened in June 2006. The new location will be next to Sephora on the second level.

The new store will feature Apple’s latest retail design, which typically includes large glass doors, sequoia wood tables and shelves, a large video screen for Today at Apple sessions, and light boxes spanning the length of the ceiling.

All of Apple’s stores opened since September 2015 have been based on the updated aesthetic. Apple has also renovated or relocated around 50 existing stores around the world as part of the modernization of its retail chain.

Apple has one other store in The Triangle at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham, along with two stores in Charlotte and one in Greensboro.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
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