London buses now accept NFC contactless payments, if you have the magic logo

Transport for London has emailed customers to announce the activation of NFC contactless payments on the city's fleet of 8,500 buses, despite any hiccups on the tube. From today, anyone who swipes a debit, credit, or charge card with the logo shown after the break should theoretically be allowed onboard for the same single fare as a traditional Oyster Card user. That's £1.35 instead of the £2.30 cash fare. The logo can also be found on Orange's Quick Tap-enabled Galaxy S III, but the official email makes no explicit mention of any smartphones being compatible. If you have the guts to swipe your GS III over the reader and test it, please let us know if it works (and it's probably better to try it discreetly, in case it doesn't). Customers are also being advised to avoid swiping wallets which contain two potential payment methods -- such as an NFC card and an RFID-based Oyster Card -- so they can control which card gets billed.

[Source: Engadget]

Google updates Currents app, adds breaking news, quick Edition browsing and more

No matter where you fall on the print vs digital divide, there's no contesting the appeal of an easy-to-read magazine-like layout. Which is why Google's Currentsapp has plenty of charm for publishers looking for an auto-formatting solution.Released a little over a year ago and updated to version 2.0 just today (Android-only), the platform now features a bevy of improvements, now adding in an Edition sidebar for quick browsing access based on genres, the ability to swipe vertically for in-Edition scrolling and horizontally to navigate to other "titles," a custom filter for highlighting sections of interest, a starring system for saving news of note, a Google News-curated breaking news section and, lastly, a new catalog design. If you're tiring of Flipboard or just feel you need a change from contentious redesigns, go ahead and download it at the source below.

[Source: Engadget]

TweetDeck for the web and Chrome gains ability to embed tweets, not much else

TweetDeck today announced a new feature that may not nab it any design or productivity awards, but, still, it'll surely be appreciated by some power users of the Twitter-owned client. And while the ability to embed tweets isn't exactly novel at this point (Twitter's had it for many months), it's still nice to now have the option present on both the web and Chrome versions of the application -- which, in turn, should make it easier to insert select snippets from the Blue Bird social network into your personal website or blog. Besides the "Embed this Tweet," TweetDeck didn't make any other additions, though the service did make it clear that it spends "a lot of time improving TweetDeck for a large consumption of Tweets, as this is one of the core uses of the product." Onto the next one then.

[Source: Engadget]

Pinterest quietly sneaks in support for Twitter Cards

Oh, the mild drama between social networks. Just as Instagram nixed its in-depth URL integration with Twitter about a week ago, now it's Pinterest getting involved -- however, the latter is taking a slightly different route. Thanks to Twitter user Kelly Lieberman, who initially spotted the changes, we have now learned that Pinterest has turned on support for Twitter Cards, allowing folks on the microblogging service to get a slightly better look at links coming from its own, pinboard-style network. Essentially, this means you can now get a preview within Twitter of what your friends are pinning -- you know, things like what type of grub they're craving or pics of insanely cute dogs.

[Source: Engadget]

Facebook privacy overhaul grants better controls for permissions, apps, photos and more

Voting for changes may never be the same on Facebook, but it sure seems as if the company is taking your privacy more seriously than perhaps it has in the past. In a move that signals bold changes on behalf of the user, Facebook has published two posts today outlining a litany of both user and developer tweaks that enable greater control over content. Today's updates include Privacy Shortcuts, an easier-to-use Activity Log, and a new Request and Removal tool for managing multiple photos you're tagged in; it's also adding "new in-product education that makes key concepts around controlling your sharing clearer, such as in-context reminders about how stuff you hide from timeline may still appear in news feed, search, and other places."

[Source: Engadget]

Blackberry 10 SDK reveals tight Evernote integration

The Blackberry 10 gold SDK release has revealed an interesting tidbit for Evernote partakers: the memory-prodding app seems to be tightly enmeshed with RIM's upcoming OS. It's one of the so-called Notebook options listed under the "App Integration" heading, which let you organize "actionable and non-actionable items into separate folders or topics." Evernote is listed as one of those options, and will let you sync up and access your account with Blackberry 10 devices, according to the documentation. That app is already available across all other major platforms, letting you organize documents with audio, video, photos, websites and, um, text -- then sync everything up in the cloud. Considering Evernote's recent foray into the business side of things, having the app built-in might be a nice pitch to RIM's core userbase when the new OS is finally launched.

[Source: Engadget]

Logitech intros two Mac accessories: the Easy-Switch Keyboard and an external trackpad

After unveiling a handful of accessories designed for Windows 8, it's clear Logitech had some catching up to do on the Mac side. The company just announced two things, the Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard and the Rechargeable Trackpad for Mac, and they're both more or less Apple-friendly versions of items that were announced for Windows back in October. Starting with the keyboard, it's basically the same as the Illuminated Bluetooth K810 keyboard, in that you can pair it with up to three Bluetooth-enabled devices and switch from one to the other by pressing a button. As the name suggests, it's also backlit, with sensors that turn on the lights when your hands are hovering, and lower the brightness when backlighting isn't necessary. The truth is, the K810 does all of this too and can pair with devices running any OS; it just has Windows 8-specific hotkeys, which you wouldn't need if you were a Mac user.

[Source: Engadget]

Sky refreshes mobile app, lets you remotely download on-demand content to your Sky Box

Sky is ensuring that you'll have some TV to binge on once all of that turkey's been polished off. It's updated the Sky+ app to include on-demand listings, letting you set programs to download to your Sky Box remotely. That way, if you're trapped upstairs, you can tee-up a half-day's worth of Game Of Thrones to make leaving the TV room worth your while. That said, if you just want to watch the shows while you're pretending to shoot the breeze with your relatives, there's always Sky Go.

Update: Sky has added that remote downloading only currently works while at home (presumably on the same network), but it's planning to add a roaming functionality at a later date.

[Source: Engadget]

Nokia Lumia 620, 820 and 920 made official for China, go up for pre-order

While Nokia's Lumia 920T has already been unveiled for China Mobile, the company isn't content to leave its Windows Phone 8 lineup to one device on one carrier. The company has just introduced Chinese versions of the Lumia 620, 820 and a regular 920, all of which are on pre-sale today at respective contract-free prices of ¥1,999 ($320), ¥3,499 ($560) and ¥4,599 ($736). We haven't yet seen specific release dates mentioned, although all three versions on show carry HSPA+ 3G for China Unicom. The strategy won't enthrall those who want every Lumia available on every network; it's nonetheless good to know that HTC's Chinese roster will have plenty of company.

[Source: Engadget]

Acer outs C710-2605 Chromebook, 500GB HDD, 4GB RAM, 100GB Google Drive for two years

When we tried out Acer's C7 Chromebook, we liked the price, but some aspects of the build let it down. Now, the firm's updated the line with a new model -- the C710-2605. This time the price goes up to $299, but for your money you get twice the RAM (4GB) a bigger hard drive (500GB) as well as an improved battery (now 5,000 mAh). The form factor remains the same -- at 11.6 inches -- along with the same 1,366 x 768 display and 1.10GHz Celeron chip as before. Other features include WiFi in a/b/g and n flavours, a built in webcam, three USB ports, HDMI, VGA and Ethernet LAN. Of course, Chrome OS was designed for the cloud, so you'll get 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years thrown into the deal as well. Surprised by the stealth release? So were we, but the good news is, it looks like you can pick one up right away for the afore mentioned asking price, just head on over to the source.

[Source: Engadget]

Linux 3.7 arrives with broader ARM support, optionally signed kernel code

If you're the sort of Linux user who won't even wait for a packaged distribution to update, you'll be happy to hear that Linux 3.7 has hit the servers. The updated foundation puts ARM chips on a footing much closer to that of their x86 counterparts: the code now supports a true multi-platform model that will load on multiple ARM designs. It's also the first instance of Linux to natively support 64-bit memory for newer ARM-based hardware. No matter what circuitry you're running, there's also a big boost to security by allowing signed kernel modules that will only accept approved code, even if a curious user gains root access. There are many (many, many) more tweaks and tune-ups in store, so those who like to push their OS limits can check release details from Linus Torvalds and developers at the source links.

[Source: Engadget]

Flickr for iOS gets a major overhaul

Just like Marissa Mayer promised, Yahoo has revamped its Flickr app for iOS to bring it back in line with the oh-so-social modern era. Whereas the Android app was updated back in August, the iPhone version has had only minor improvements over the last few years and was starting to look seriously dusty compared to the competition. In terms of individual features, the new app doesn't do much that various other third-party apps can't do already, but it does bunch them all into one polished package that is happy to work across multiple networks. In addition to Flickr, for instance, you can readily share your snaps with Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. You might also dig the camera app, which separates exposure and focus points to give you more creative control over your images -- and yes, there are the obligatory filters too. The app is live on the App Store right now.

[Source: Engadget]