Updated Automatic Smart Driving Monitor
Posted: May 19, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android Auto, Apple Pay, Apple Watch, Automatic, Banks, Car data, Credit Unions, Driving expenses, Home Depot, ODB2, Pebble, Trader Joe's Leave a commentAutomatic has rolled out its second generation smart driving monitor. The gadget plugs into the ODB2 port on your car….and by ‘your car,’ that’s all cars built since 1996. Cnet.com says the new gadget not only gives you driving data and tracks mileage and fault codes, but works as an app store for cars, with 20 apps available right now. A couple apps pull data so you can easily generate mileage reports for expense reporting, and another to split the cost of carpooling. It now works with Apple Watch and Pebble, with Android Auto integration in the works. Best of all, the second generation model is priced like the 1st at $99.95.
Apple Pay…after an initial splash last fall, has been pretty well operating under…or maybe even off the radar. 9to5mac.com reports that Apple just signed 34 new banks and credit unions, and now there are nearly 300 institutions using it. Trader Joe’s just announced in the last few days that they are starting to activate it in some stores, and Home Depot is moving towards most stores accepting it by the end of the year…although Home Depot says they play to accept as wide a variety of payment systems as possible. If you have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus and haven’t used it, here’s a tip: when you hold the phone near the terminal, don’t touch the fingerprint image on the screen, touch the home button…and touch, don’t PRESS the home button…pressing will activate Siri instead of authorizing the payment!
New Force Touch Macbook Pro and iMac Out This Week
Posted: May 18, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android Auto, Apple, Car Play, DEC, Force Touch, Google, IBM, iMac, Mac, Macbook Pro, Self Driving Cars, Windows Leave a commentWednesday looks to be the day that Apple drops new 15 inch Macbook Pros and 27 inch iMacs with Force Touch baked in to the track pads. 9to5mac.com says that otherwise, the update will be a minor one, with upgrades to the CPU and graphics processors.
In a story from tech crunch.com penned by the CEO of Zuora, the present car industry is compared to the early PC industry of the mid 80’s. The auto makers are cast as being as clueless as giant IBM was at that time, and Digital Equipment…remember them…even more out of touch. IBM went on to be clobbered as the platform…like Windows or Mac…became much more important to consumers than the brand itself. With Gartner predicting that there will be 250 million connected cars on the road by 2020, the platform makers, like Google with Android Auto and Apple with Car Play, may become far more important that the actual brand of cars…causing a gigantic shakeup in the auto industry.
‘Googlemobiles’ Will Be On The Loose This Summer
Posted: May 15, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Free Shipping, Google, Mountain View, Prime, Self Driving, Third party merchants, Walmart 1 CommentDon’t look now…but look later! ‘Googlemobiles’ will be hitting the public pavement in Mountain View this summer. Yes, according to the official google blog, self-driving Google cars will be tooling around…albeit with a safety driver aboard, and limited to 25 miles per hour. Google notes that 94% of crashes are caused by human error. The second generation Google cars still look like a VW Beetle that’s been hit with an ugly stick, but there’s plenty of time to get the styling right later after self driving is perfected.
Amazon may be working on making its Prime membership more valuable to members. Cnet.com reports that they have been reaching out to third party merchants, looking into letting them shop goods directly to customers, instead of drop shipping the goods to Amazon first. This would make a lot more goods in on the free two day shipping, and also expand the selection of goods available to you that way. It’s likely that the reports that Walmart is going to test free 3 day shipping this summer for a $50 annual fee is pushing Amazon to sweeten their Prime membership, which is $100.
Getting Rid of Those Pesky ‘Selfie’ Reflections in Photos Shot Through Glass
Posted: May 14, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Camera, Glass, Peephole, Peeple, Reflections, Selfie, Smartphone Leave a commentJust about everyone has grabbed a shot from their smartphone through a window, or with a window behind your subject, and there’s that unwanted reflection of you holding your phone reflected in the background, or even partly obscuring the subject of your picture. According to geek.com, a team at MIT has come up with an algorithm that removes those reflections from your shots! It’s in the initial stages, but should be a boon once it’s perfected.
There have already been a couple of cameras that replace your peep hole in your front door, but now there’s a Kickstarter called Peeple…with two ‘e’s,’ that goes beyond that. Techcrunch.com says it activates when someone knocks, and shoots a video, then sends you a mobile notification. The gadget easily attaches to the inside of your peep hole, and is removable, so even renters can use it. Since it sleeps until there’s a knock, the battery should be good for 6 months.
New Samsung Chips for the Internet of Things
Posted: May 13, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Artik, Border exception rule, Intel, Internet of things, laptop, Samsung, Search, Smartphones, Supreme Court Leave a commentSamsung has unveiled a new family of chips designed for the internet of things. Cnet.com says The Artik line has 3 versions, ranging from 10 bucks to 100 dollars, and can be expected to power trackers, drones, smart hubs, and more. Intel has new tiny processors coming by the end of the year, so Samsung is getting a head start by rolling out their line now. The chip family uses the same tech as Samsung uses in their smartphone processors.
Basing a decision on a Supreme Court ruling that smartphones taken by police from an arrested individual can’t be searched without a warrant, a federal district court judge has ruled that this extends to laptops going through customs, putting a crimp on the ‘border exception rule’ that has allowed authorities to seize and search items at the border or at airports. According to Arstechnica.com, the decision points out that a laptop contains much more private information than a mere container or even a briefcase.
What to Expect in the Next iPhone
Posted: May 12, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AOL, Apple, Dial up, Engadget, Huffington Post, iPhone, iPhone 6S, Techcrunch, Verizon Leave a commentUpdated 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch iPhones will start production in August, according to macrumors.com, citing generally reliable KGI Securities. Expect the A9 processor powered phone to sport a 12 megapixel camera, 2 gigs of RAM, Force Touch like the Apple Watch, and an additional Rose Gold color choice. KGI says not to expect a smaller 4 inch iPhone this year.
Verizon has bought AOL for 4.4 billion in cold, hard cash. Thenextweb.com reports that the present CEO will run AOL as a wholly owned subsidiary of the carrier. Only time will tell what changes might come to sites like The Huffington Post, Engadget, and Techcrunch. AOL still has over 2 million paying, DIAL UP customers, too…bet you never guessed there could still be that many people not using broadband!
Patent App- Amazon Drones May Stalk You With Delivery
Posted: May 8, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Drone, FAA, Mobile Games, Nintendo, Smartphone, Stalking, Theme parks, Universal Leave a commentWith the range limited by battery power, Amazon is working overtime, trying to develop their drone delivery system. Thenextweb.com reports that FAA rules may not be in place for something to work in the next couple years, but meanwhile, Amazon is pressing ahead. One patent just granted lets them get data from a smartphone to determine the best place to deliver your item…in other words, that Amazon drone will stalk you until you get that item!
A little late to the mobile party, but Nintendo’s first smartphone game should be out by late this year. Macrumors.com says they expect to release 5 games by late 2017. Nintendo claims none are ports of existing franchises, but are all tailored for the smaller screen experience. Earlier, the company announced a partnership with Universal for Nintendo characters to be used in a theme park.
FAA Drone Study May Bring Good News For Amazon
Posted: May 6, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple Pay, CurrentC, Drones, FAA, Google, Home Depot, Paypal Leave a commentThe Federal Aviation Administration is beginning a study regarding drone flights beyond the pilot’s line of sight. Both Amazon and Google have clamored for this, and the Europeans are already getting ready for it. Geekwire.com notes that the present FAA policy-just set in February- limits drones to the pilot’s line of sight.
Home Depot is upgrading its point of sale equipment, and working towards accepting Apple Pay at all of its 2000 stores. Bloomberg.com says that would make the chain the largest retailer to accept Apple Pay. Home Depot doesn’t yet have an agreement with Apple, but already accepts PayPal, and is looking at including other kinds of mobile payment, too. This would presumably include CurrentC, the still developing pay system from the Merchant Customer Exchange.
New Technology Recaptures Phone Energy and Extends Battery Life
Posted: May 5, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Battery life, Bluetooth, Cellular, Dropbox, iOS, Kickstarter, Microsoft Office, Nikola Labs, Recycle RF, wi-fi Leave a commentOne of the most ingenious gadgets ever is in the pipeline. Nikola Labs has cooked up an iPhone 6 case that harvests electricity from the cellular, wi-fi, and Bluetooth transmitters in your phone. According to techcrunch.com, they will launch a Kickstarter by the end of the month for $99, and have a case out by September. Nikola claims they can recycle enough RF energy to give you 30% more battery life! The tech can be used in other devices that have little RF transmitters like smartwatches and tablets.
Dropbox is going to drop an update for iOS in the next few weeks that will let you create Microsoft Office files from scratch online…not just edit them. Engadget.com reports that it will also bring commenting functionality. No word on when an Android release is coming, but you can bet it’s in the pipeline, too.
clarkreid 
Recent Comments