All the major mobile platform companies, including Apple, are working on solutions for “contactless payments” and digital wallets — the use of a phone as a credit card. Google’s Android supports NFC, or near-field communication. Google Wallet enables payments from phones.
Everyone has been waiting for Apple to catch up. The company has a pile of patents that reference a mobile digital wallet service called “iWallet.”
An analyst this week predicted something shocking: Instead of (or in addition to) adding NFC to future iPhones, Apple will use Bluetooth 4.0 for iWallet, a story first reported on Cult of Mac by John Brownlee.
One stunning fact about this prediction is that the wireless hardware has already been deployed at scale. Every major product Apple has shipped in the past year, including the iPhone and iPad, supports Bluetooth 4.0.
All Apple needs to do to make iWallet a reality is ship an app.
Another stunning fact is that Bluetooth 4.0 has a range of over 160 feet. That means participating retail stores can function like Apple Stores — without cash registers. The point of sale can be anywhere in the store. Restaurant diners can pay from the table — without the waiter being involved.
Remember when people used to say that the iPad was a “content consumption device” useless for real “content creation”?
It’s a weird thing to say about a gadget offering a gazillion content-creation apps, but people said it. People still say it.
Pundits and writers say the iPad sucks for “real work” in general and writing in particular. I have come to believe the opposite: To me, the iPad is the best writing tool I’ve ever used.
We all know that Steve Jobs acquired Pixar in 1986. The studio released it’s first mega hit, Toy Story, in 1995, continuing on to win award after award with fantastic storytelling and groundbreaking computer animation techniques. A creative studio like Pixar needs a creative workplace environment, no? Andrew Gordon tells the story of one such secret place in the Pixar compound in an animated (natch) YouTube video.
Yeah it’s the set of apps we love to hate—Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac. I know, it’s all be downhill since Word 6.0, but still MS Office is the standard for sending and receiving files. Myself, I’ve always liked Excel and I taught myself how to use Pivot Tables, but it wasn’t fun or easy. When I told other people “Oh, just use a Pivot Table and you can do all of that…” their response was “That’s too hard to learn, I’ll do it the way I’ve been doing it…”
Wow.
So how would you like to tap into all the features of MS Office 2011? Really learn it inside and out? Now you can with today’s deal—Microsoft Office for Mac Video Training Bundle for only $79! That’s almost a 60% discount off the usual $196!
According to Foss Patents, Apple filed a motion for an immediate US ban of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 yesterday. This comes in the wake of Monday’s Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling that was partially in favor of Apple.
If Apple’s motion succeeds, there will then be a US ban in place against three major Android device makers. Last December, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) banned specific HTC products based on an Apple patent and this past Friday, the ITC banned some Motorola devices based on a Microsoft patent. Seems like litigation is the new weapon of choice in this war of supremacy.
Sega finally made a Sonic game that works well on iOS.
It’s been nearly two years since Sonic The Hedgehog: Episode I made its debut on consoles, and Sony has finally managed to deliver a sequel. Thankfully, it was worth the wait — and it leads this week’s roundup of must-have iOS games.
We’ve also got Bejeweled for the iPad, a Doodle Jump knockoff that’s even better than the original, a monkey that flies an airplane, and more.
There are currently two movies about Steve Jobs in the works. The one we’re most excited for is based off Walter Isaacson’s official biography and is being made by Sony in conjunction with Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. An indie film dubbed jOBS and starring Ashton Kutcher as Jobs is also underway. More information about the second film has been released.
The Macquarium has been around for decades, starting as a project to make use of old compact Mac cases. Subsequent iterations have seen many different variations – beige Performas, G3 iMacs, G4 Cubes, etc.. But this latest iteration is unique, and probably has the best structural integrity of them all.
Steve Shaw recently created his Macquarium from a PowerMac G5 case (mislabeled as a Mac Pro in the video), elbow grease and some powertools. He did a nice job, bright and airy. I love the Apple logo in the rear and overall industrial look. And the totem head.
Next up we need a Siamese fighting fish in a Mac Mini…
VA app to give healthcare resources to caregivers of injured veterans
The iPad is already a big hit with the healthcare industry. A new pilot project being run by Veterans Affairs Department could encourage the iPad to be used as a longterm home care solution as well. As part of the agency’s Family Caregivers program, the VA will deploy 1,000 iPads to family members of veterans suffering from injuries and disorders associated with military deployments after 9/11.
The VA program was created to help disabled veterans remain at home with loved ones providing personal care. It already provides a range of important resources for caregivers including a monthly stipend, travel expenses for care-related activities, health-related training, counseling services, and respite care.
Symantec Mobile Management integrates with the company's other enterprise tools
May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.
Symantec has long and solid track record in delivering enterprise systems. The company’s full lineup of enterprise solutions are practically a one-stop shopping list for IT departments offering everything from virus and malware tools right through every IT task (deployment, Mac/Windows workstation management, help desk operations, even inventory). As you’d expect, Symantec Mobile Management integrates quite nicely with other Symantec enterprise tools creating a streamlined single source IT infrastructure.
Even as a standalone product, however, Symantec Mobile Management is an attractive offering. It has a powerful focus security and includes secure file management features. It’s also extremely scalable and makes almost every IT/mobile management processes as hand-off and automatic as possible. Even device enrollment is simple and designed to be accomplished by end users with little or no input from IT. That makes it particularly attractive to larger enterprise organizations.
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