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Alexa can now pay for gas at Exxon and Mobil pumps
The option's available at more than 11,500 stations across the US.
Alexa will help pay for your gas at ExxonMobil pumps
It could soon be decidedly easier to fill up if you're driving a gas-powered car. ExxonMobil and Fiserv have teamed up on an Alexa skill that will pay for gas at Exxon and Mobil stations across the US. Once you tell Alexa in your car or phone to "pay for gas," the voice assistant will confirm both the station and pump number -- do that and it'll both activate the pump and use Amazon Pay to cover your purchase. You won't have to leave your car alone when all you want is a quick top-up.
Cops put a stop to Amazon's 30-cent 'Mrs. Maisel' gas promo
Promotions for streaming shows have been known to backfire, but Amazon might not be complaining too loudly about this incident. Santa Monica police made Amazon suspend a one-day Marvelous Mrs. Maisel promotion that charged people 30 cents for gas at a station to reflect prices in 1959 (when the show is set) due to sheer demand. Apparently, the traffic snarls from lined up cars were so severe that law enforcement had no choice but to shut it down.
Apple will spend $4 million to renovate Chicago's North/Halsted triangle
Technically, I've now moved away from Chicago and am living in Los Angeles, but that doesn't mean I'm not still following the brand new Apple store being built at the intersection of North and Halsted in Chicago -- not only is that my old stomping grounds (I used to be a manager at that Borders), but hearing about and seeing the old place makes me a little nostalgic for that toddlin' town I left only a month and a half or so ago. And there's good news for Chicagoans just south of that Clybourne Corridor neighborhood. Apple will be spending a cool $4 million to redevelop the entire triangle, including that dirty old Red Line station sitting there as well (you can't tell, but the pic above is the old gas station that used to be there, with the train station in the background. In exchange (c'mon, this is Chicago, you didn't think they'd be doing it for free, did you?), Apple gets first naming rights for the station ("iStop" jumps to mind), as well as the chance at advertising in there for 10 years to come, with four more five-year options. But even with those conditions, this is actually great news for that whole area -- it's been on the cusp of getting really busy (it's just a city block north of the old derelict Cabrini Green neighborhood) for a while now, and an Apple store with a brand new El stop certainly won't hurt. I'll have to make sure and take a trip back -- they're saying the triangular store could be open as soon as Fall 2010. There's an excellent Italian place just under the Brown line track across from the Steppenwolf just north on Halsted, too. Ah, memories.
New Apple Store at North and Clybourne in Chicago
My current city of Chicago isn't really suffering for Apple Stores -- the one on Michigan Avenue kind of makes up for any other missed areas around here, as it's the nicest and biggest one I've seen (but then again, I haven't been to the ones in New York near Mr. Rose). But it's good to hear that we're going to be getting another store, this one a little bit outside the Loop, on the city's northside. State Street and the theater area, you might think, would be a little more fitting for the next big retail center, but no: apparently the burgeoning retail area between a gutted Cabrini Green and Lincoln Park is the place to be. Coincidentally, I used to work as a manager at the North Halsted Borders there -- served cafe sandwiches to John Malkovitch and found a book for Kurtwood "Clarence Boddicker" Smith, both visiting from Steppenwolf down the street.But perhaps I'm getting too personal -- just color me excited to have a new Apple Store even closer to where I live now (near Clark and Diversey). The new store is set to open on the empty lot that used to be taken up by a gas station between North and Clybourn (right across from the Red Line stop) and would have about 15,000 square feet in the "long-term location." No word from Crain's yet, though, over when the store would open or even when ground might be broken. Still, all of the development guys seem happy -- they'll probably get in there as fast as they can.
Eyeballs-on PumpTop TV
We're still not quite sure whether to file Westinghouse Digital's PumpTop TV network under "because there were a few square inches of advertising-free modern life left" or "because Western civilization demands the right to watch TV absolutely anywhere," but either way we thought it fitting to remind our US readers that these things will start becoming more ubiquitous in major cities this year. The technology isn't new but, much like bell-bottoms, seems to keep coming back unexpectedly despite antipathy from the sane.%Gallery-13246%
Chicago Shell stations trialing biometric payment systems
Simply swiping one's credit / debit card at the pump is probably sufficient for the bulk of us, but for certain Shell customers in Chicago, paying for gasoline is getting even quicker. Ten stations in the Windy City are trialing biometric payment systems -- crafted by California-based Pay By Touch, which has units in a variety of other stores already -- that enable customers to scan their fingerprints, fill up and cruise off. The machines are purportedly linked directly to checking or credit card accounts, which customers initiate at the store or online. Unfortunately, we've no idea if Shell plans on expanding this to other locales after the pilot program has concluded, but Chris Susse, Shell's manager of global refueling innovations (nice title, eh?) did note that he hoped the initiative would increase customer loyalty at the very least.
