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In a conference call, and blog post, MCX tried to answer a variety of questions and offered information. Highlights are below: There are no fines for merchants who decide to stop working with MCX, but those who do so are doing so exclusively. Right now MCX is sticking with QR codes, but could switch later…

Cyborg! These are masks that come with a pocket for a smartphone to level up your look. Download a free companion app for your iOS or Android phone, and your smartphone becomes a roving eye. They look creepy and amazing, and they run about US $45, with a small charge for shipping to get it…

Remember That Old Saying that Pictures Are Worth 1,000 Words? Perhaps the best advantage to using a slideshow is the ability to add images to your presentation. Keynote offers a simple way to add images, but even better, it has tools for making simple adjustments and even edits. First, there are built in slide templates…

Twitpic closing down on Oct 25 Twitpic originally said it would close on September 25, but delayed when the possibility of a buyer for the company came into play. In the end, a deal couldn't be reached with any buyer, so Twitpic is packing up and going home. The company said on its blog, We…

Episode #93   People are always asking me where they should buy a Mac and my answer is almost always the same: The Apple Store. I recommend it to friends, family, and readers wholeheartedly knowing full well you’ll pay SRP (Suggest Retail Price) for pretty much anything you buy there. Apple Store But if you…

Firstly, I assume “hiatus” means that Macworld/iWorld is gone. That said, I'm hoping it might be reborn with another name or in another location. It's telling, after all, that IDG World Expo used the word “hiatus” in the first place. Hiatus is a far cry from “cancelled” or “shutting down,” or “closing.” That's spilt milk…

Apple adds egg freezing to employee benefits Apple, along with Facebook, are the first to big-name companies offering to cover the procedure, according to NBC News. Collecting and freezing enough eggs — about 20 — typically involves two doctor visits totaling $10,000 each. Freezing the eggs isn't a guarantee that the woman will later be…

We received this statement from Paul Kent: We are announcing today that Macworld/iWorld is going on hiatus, and will not be taking place as planned in 2015. Our MacIT event, the world's premiere event for deploying Apple in the enterprise, will continue next year with details to be announced in the coming weeks. Since 1985,…

DigiTimes says, based on supply chain reports, that Microsoft is planning to cancel the Surface Pro 3 tablet. Cited were poor expected sales, “unlikely to surpass one millon units,” and Microsoft's unaggressive pursuit of a next-generation model. Here's what I'm thinking about all that. _________________ Rumors are rumors. When it comes to Apple, it's always…

Mr. Icahn is calling for a tender offer to “accelerate and increase the magnitude of share repurchases.” His own estimates put Apple's shares at $203 in fiscal 2017. Apple already has a stock repurchase program in place, and Mr. Icahn has pushed for a more agressive program in the past. “We believe Apple remains dramatically…

Surprise! In a statement given to The Wall Street Journal, Apple said, “We are focused on preserving jobs in Arizona following GTAT’s surprising decision and we will continue to work with state and local officials as we consider our next steps.” Details concerning GTAT's bankruptcy and larger business situation are few and far between. The…

GTAT's CEO has headaches beyond bankruptcy Mr. Gutierrez sold the shares for US$160,000, and has sold about 700,000 shares since February totaling $10 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Executives selling shares isn't suspicious in and of itself, but the timing of these sales is raising some eyebrows. GTAT's stock was sitting over $17…

Episode #92   The Parrot AR Drone is a high-tech, ultra lightweight, remote-controlled quadricopter (helicopter with four rotors). Now an RC quadricopter is pretty cool, but one that streams HD video from its camera to your iPad, iPhone, or Android device in real time, could be very, very cool. I’ve dreamed about owning for one…

Apple could take GTAT's sapphire furnaces Apple financed the furnaces GTAT has been using to manufacture synthetic sapphire glass, and Apple also happens to own the factory where the sapphire is being made. The sapphire furnaces are collateral for the pre-payments Apple made to GTAT, and already has licenses for some of the manufacturer's intellectual…

Plastc wants to be your all-in-one creditcard Plastc is like Coin in many ways, but with some noticeable improvements. Instead of holding up to eight cards, Plastc holds 20. Both have e-ink screens, but Plastc's can display reward card barcodes. Coin has a non-replaceable two-year battery, but Plastc ships with a 30-day rechargeable battery and…

iWorm malware spreads through pirated software, so don't steal apps Once installed, iWorm can use infected Macs to launch denial of service attacks on Internet-based servers, or steal data from victim's computers. The malware was using Reddit posts filled with server IP addresses to tell infected Macs where to look for instructions, but the subreddit…

You can access this super useful page at http://supportprofile.apple.com, and all you have to do is log in using your Apple ID, and any hardware you've registered using that Apple ID will appear as if by magic. You can manage this page by adding or removing hardware, and that's basically anything Apple has sold in…

First up, you'll want to know how to enable these. Keep in mind that enabling everything possible in Notification Center will likely give you carpal tunnel, so try to be selective. Let's start with the completely free apps. There's the Vice app, which lists top stories in the “Today” view. Also totally free are Yahoo!…

Apple adds donation page to iTunes for Breast Cancer Awareness Month Apple described City of Hope as “a global leader in the fight against cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases.” The organization has been involved in ground breaking research around the world. Just as it did with iTunes Store donations for Typhoon Hiayan and Hurricane…

Samsung says the Note 4's gap between the display and body is a feature, not a flaw After seeing the demand for Apple's 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung is hoping for similar success when it expands Galaxy Note 4 sales beyond South Korea, but may have some trouble thanks to complaints from customers about a…

Laurene Powell Jobs Source: NewSchools Venture Fund Forbes publishes an annual list of the rich, both in the U.S. and globally. Monday's list was for Americans. Microsoft founder Bill Gates once again topped the list at $81.2 billion, well ahead of the Wizard of Omaha, Warren Buffet, who came in at $67.8 billion. Larry Ellison…

There is a new social network that has exploded into the internet's awareness recently, and that network is called Ello. Built by seven people based in Boulder, Colorado, Ello is an ad-free social network that is currently invite-only. What makes it different from the social networks out there now is that the people behind it…

880,000 creditcards stolen in Viator data breach Viator issued a statement saying, On September 2, we were informed by our payment card service provider that unauthorized charges occurred on a number of our customers' credit cards. We have hired forensic experts, notified law enforcement and we have been working diligently and comprehensively to investigate the…

Wave Hoax Ad Designed to Look Like an Apple Ad Most people reading an article like mine will know you can't microwave a phone of any sort, and that Apple didn't announce any such technology as “Wave.” Remember, however, that the vast majority of people don't read Apple-centric or tech-centric websites. Being technically savvy is…