Starbucks switches to Square for payments, invests $25 million and will support Pay with Square

While Square's mobile payment processing platform has already picked up some major players in retail to go along with more than a million small businesses, its biggest shot in the arm to date is a new partnership with Starbucks. The chain will use Square to process credit card payments in nearly 7,000 US locations along with investing $25 million in the company, while Starbucks president, chairman and CEO Howard Shulz is joining its Board of Directors. Also notable for Square is that this fall Starbucks will be pushing features like its Pay with Square app that lets customers pay via iOS and Android apps, as well as the Square Directory of local businesses. In a letter, Square CEO Jack Dorsey pushed the platform as a way enhance local businesses and communities, but we'll see how friendly your local coffeeshop employees are when a familiar green logo shares their payment processor.

[Source: Engadget]

Would You Wear an Internet-Connected T-Shirt?

T-shirts are great outerwear, especially in the summer. But they’re just so, you know, analog. That may change, though. Ballantine’s, the brand behind the tattoo-based “Human API,” has a new idea it calls “T-Shirt OS.”  The concept: A T-shirt with an ultrathin LED screen that’s connected to the Internet (via your smartphone) and can display tweets, your Intstagram feed and even take photos. Though the technology to do all this is available, it’s not clear whether consumers want such an item. Hence the video above, which is a sort of trial balloon for the concept. If you like what Ballantine’s is proposing, then visit the brand’s Facebook Page.  

[Source: Mashable]

Google adds real time traffic data in maps to 130 new U.S. cities, expands global coverage, too

Real time traffic information is a real day saver, and todays news from Google brings the service to a further 130 U.S. cities within Google Maps. 

These smaller cities such as Kalamazoo, Michigan and Portland, Maine, will now benefit from traffic information and estimated travel times around the arterial routes within the cities. Hit the source link below for more information on which cities have been added.

The United States isn't the only place to see expanded coverage either. Panama City, San Jose (Costa Rica) and Bogota all join in for the first time too. Additionally, the coverage is being expanded throughout parts of Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Good work, Google.

[Source: Android Central]

Google interactive doodle highlights Olympics hoop dreams

Google is trying hard to get its users into the Olympic Games.

After yesterday's hurdles challenge, the Web giant is tapping our hoop dreams with another interactive doodle that allows users to take the rock to the hole for Olympic gold. Using the space bar (or even the left-click button), would-be Dream Teamers try to shoot as many free throws as possible in 24 seconds.

Oddly, while the hurdles doodle demanded users to use two hands, the basketball doodle requires only two clicks with one hand to shoot a basket. But the trick is that the time between those two clicks determines the distance of the shot -- the longer time between clicks, the farther the ball will travel. That comes in handy has the free-throw line gradually moves away from the basket.

Performances are judged from one to three stars and can be shared on Google+.

As with tradition dating back to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Google highlights a different event each day of the Games. In addition to the hurdles, sports already featured this year are archery, diving, fencing, rings, field hockey, table tennis, shot put, pole vault, synchronized swimming, and javelin.

However, unlike other doodles, this one doesn't appear to link to information about the event because it also uses the left-click button to operate the virtual athlete. For those you too busy working on your free throw to type in the associated search terms, the first of the men's basketball quarterfinals games begins at 6 a.m. PT Wednesday.

[Source: cnet]

Plextor M5 Pro bulges SSD envelope with 94K IOPS and 540MB/s

Plextor's newly launched M5 Pro is angling to be the top dot on the SATA III SSD spec charts -- and looks like it will mostly succeed. The Marvell Monet controller lets the unit hit a continuous 540 MB/s read and 450 MB/s write speeds for the larger models, as well as a hefty 94,000 read and 86,000 write IOPS. Those figures would put it ahead of or alongside most of its competitors except in steady write speeds, but Plextor claims that hustle is not the model's only trick. It also makes use of "True Speed" tech to minimize performance drops with age, uses 128-bit error correction to eliminate data inaccuracy and offers 256-bit full-drive encryption. The 128GB, 256GB or 512GB drives will be available mid-August for prices that have yet to be determined, but it's likely to be well north of its budget namesake, the M5S. You'll find the full PR after the break.

[Source: Engadget]

Kantar On Smartphones: Samsung 45% Of Euro Sales; Apple Gained Only In UK, US; RIM Holds On In France

We have seen reports from Strategy Analytics, IDC and Canalys detailing how many smartphones that handset makers shipped in the last quarter (the takeaway: Android is still on top, with Samsung the chief benefactor); today, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, WPP’s market analytics business, has released its rolling monthly update on how that translates into on-the-ground sales in some of the biggest markets in the world. The results give more weight to Samsung’s current domination; and underscore how important it is for Apple to “wow” the market next month with the launch of a new handset.

 

[Source: To read the full article visit Tech Crunch]

Could Birmingham Become ‘Britain’s Berlin’ For Tech?

Rolling into Birmingham on a train from London you’ll see what looks like a couple of derelict car parks and the odd flash of graffiti on the side of some disused building. Indeed, for this observer at least, Birmingham was almost reminiscent of Berlin, with its many concrete buildings and 60s architecture. On looks alone, it’s not hard to see how it gave birth to the bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.

But though the impression of a city that’s a little rough around the edges can work from some angles, the place has plenty to suggest it’s not quite ‘poor but sexy’ as Berlin has been described, especially when you realise the derelict building is earmarked with signage for development, and the carpark has the word “Temporary” on it.

[Source: To read the full article visit Tech Crunch]

Tweeting Truck Lands on Mars

Overcoming its “seven minutes of terror” — and winning the hearts of geeks worldwide — the 2,000 lb. NASA Curiosity Rover landed on Mars at 1:39am, early Monday morning EST.  “We’re on Mars again,” said the exhilirated NASA chief, Charles Bolden. “It’s just absolutely incredible. It doesn’t get any better than this.”  Much of the Twittersphere agreed with him — especially as the Curiosity Rover’s official account was live-tweeting the whole landing, writing in what you might well call the voice of the Internet. 

[Source: To read the full article visit Mashable]

New construction at Apple's North Carolina data center

Photos courtesy of Wired reveal that Apple's new "tactical" data center at its Maiden, North Carolina facility is well on its way to completion. Captured with the help of a decidedly low-tech airplane -- a 1949 Piper PA-11 Cub Special, if you must know -- the shots feature what appear to be the facade of the $1.9 million, 21,000 square-foot structure that was outed last month. The images also show glimpses of a second 20-megawatt photovoltaic array and what may be the foundations of the complex's planned 4.8-megawatt biofuel cell plant, which will convert biogas into electricity. With Apple's upcoming Reno project getting the rubber stamp of approval, it doesn't seem like the company will run out of construction projects any time soon. Click on through to the source link for the full set of pictures and analysis.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple v. Samsung: Meet Apple's next 7 witnesses

After its first real break, court is back in session later today in the case between Apple and Samsung.

The trial is currently in its testimony phase, as both sides break out a string of witnesses. So far that's included testimony from Apple's Christopher Stringer, one of the designers of the iPhone, the iPad, and numerous other Apple products. And just before the break it was Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, who is slated to the stand once again this morning.

There are six others testifying after Schiller, though you might not know all of them. Here's a quick primer of who they are, and why Apple's using them.

[Source: cnet - Read the full story]

Maily: The App That Introduces Email to Your 4-Year-Old

Raphael Halberthal and Tom Galle know your kids are more tech savvy than you, so they think your kids should be able to use tech for something most adults find common practice — communication. That’s why Halberthal and Galle designed an email client tailor-made for toddlers, not grown-ups.

The kid-friendly, iPad app, Maily, includes several of the same features of normal “adult” email hubs like Outlook or Sparrow. Kids can send and receive messages, have access to a contact list and see notifications of new emails. Since it’s targeted toward a younger demographic (mainly ages 4 to 9), Maily has a very visual feel — bright colors, options to add stamps and stickers to messages, or use markers to draw pictures in the email. It also lets kids handwrite words instead of typing using a pencil icon. It even incorporates a camera tool so kids can take pictures and add them directly into the message.

Maily co-creator Halberthal tells Mashable he and Galle were inspired to develop an children’s email system when realizing kids used tablet devices to play games and watch video, but seldom were able to reach out and connect with others using those same devices. Since email services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail require those who register to at least be 12 years of age, Halberthal adds, there was a need for kids to safely participate in a daily activity.

“It’s the same way when we were young we would give the drawings we made to Grandma to keep on the fridge,” Halberthal says. “But now, kids will just email them to Grandma.”

Though many would argue giving email access to a kid opens up a plethora of safety concerns, Maily offers a secure network. Parents receive their own Maily account with a dashboard to monitor activity. Kids can only send and receive messages from parent-approved contacts, parents can choose to be copied on all sent and received messages, and parents can decide to read messages before they are sent out or delivered to their kids.

[Source: Mashable - Read the full story]