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Retailers' growing relationship with Passbook
Apple's Passbook has had a rocky road. When it was first introduced in iOS 6, it seemed like an excellent idea. You could store all of your loyalty cards, tickets, and other mobile payment items all in one place. But in practice, Passbook hasn't been all that helpful. Not many retailers' loyalty programs are included in the app, and getting information in there is harder than it has to be most of the time. But Apple isn't giving up, and neither are retailers. GigaOm has a few good examples of how certain retailers are using the app. Gift cards are now a big deal within the app, and CashStar (which sells digital gift cards for big brands) says one third of its cards are opened on a smartphone, usually an iPhone. The app is also easier to use, as more companies build an actual workflow into it. And customers are not only learning how Passbook can help them, but they're growing accustomed to the idea of digital gift cards and currency. Passbook is still around in the upcoming iOS 7, though it's only gotten a new icon and a barcode scanner (which itself might help with ease of use). The dream of keeping all of those loyalty cards, gift cards, and ticket stubs on your phone instead of in that drawer at home is still alive, and hopefully someday Apple will make it happen with Passbook.
Aion gives Pando Media Booster the boot [Updated]
If you've never heard of Pando Media Booster before, then you probably haven't downloaded one of several free-to-play games. It's meant to improve download speeds and speed in streaming clients, but in practical terms it's frequently cited as a resource hog that cripples performance on many computers. Aion was one of the many games that used the program following its transition to free-to-play, complete with the usual complaints, but as of now, the game can be played without the booster. As of this afternoon, the game can be downloaded directly from the master NCsoft launcher without using any third-party workarounds. If you had already downloaded and installed the game, you can feel free to safely shut down and uninstall Pando Media Booster without any impact on your gameplay. Considering the horror stories that have periodically circled around the program, Aion players will likely be happy to learn it's no longer associated with the game. [Update: NCsoft has contact us to clarify that the removal of Pando Media Booster from Aion is only temporary: "We temporarily removed Pando Media Booster so that we can test a variety of server-side adjustments regarding download completion rates and further refine the service we provide our players. We will bring Pando Media Booster back once we've optimized our service to provide the best download rates possible." Sorry for the confusion!]
Switched On: When apps meet traps
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. They've gone by many names -- "programs," "executables" and "applications" -- and the development of technologies such as HTML5 calls their nature into question. But the explosion of apps that have set the mobile device market alight over the past several years have been around for almost as long as digital computing has. Disagree with that statement whilst chatting with those who took early programming classes, and you may be staring down a punch card to the face. In terms of consumer technology, though, apps have migrated from PCs to video game consoles (where they've been long burnt into ROMs) to smartphones and tablets, and now -- perhaps -- back to televisions proper. One thing we've learned over the course of that history is that companies will rarely refuse an opportunity to turn a successful "purpose-built device" into an app platform given enough marketplace success.
Google flexes biceps, flicks Android remote kill switch for the first time
We knew Google had the power to remotely remove Android apps -- Microsoft and Apple have backdoors into their mobile operating systems, too -- but it's always a little disconcerting to see a kill switch used. Such is the case today, as we've just heard Google unleashed the hounds this week, siccing bits and bytes of remote deletion power on a pair of "practically useless" but still Terms of Service-infringing apps. Curiously enough, Google admits that most who'd downloaded these programs had deleted them already, and that this "exercise" of the remote application removal feature was merely a cleanup operation. Google says users will get a notification beamed to their phone if an app is removed, however -- so as Big Brother as that all sounds, at least the company's being nice and transparent about the whole matter, eh? Update: To be clear, the developers of the offending apps had already removed them from the Android Market, so this was technically a cleanup. The only question is why Google would go out of its way to mop up an app that absolutely no one would miss. [Thanks, Matt]
Wayfaring through New Eden with EveMap
EVE Online has an active community of 3rd party developers who release free tools for the benefit of other players. While tools like EVEmon, used to plan skill training, and EVE Fitting Tool, used to experiment with ship fittings, are widely used by players, there are a number of other great programs out there that have gotten less attention. One of those out-of-game tools is EveMap, created by Paul van Santen -- otherwise known as "AcriQuo." The galaxy of New Eden has over 5000 solar systems, and plotting safe routes or simply some optimal wayfaring can be a bit involved. When in-game, you can pull up an interactive map to help navigate, but it takes up the entire client window while active. Some players prefer to view their maps off-screen, and there are some 2D options available to help in this regard, but until recently, going 2D was the only option players had. That's all changed with EveMap, which is a fully-functional 3D map of the EVE universe, with myriad display options and filters. The beauty of the program is that it literally displays all of EVE's systems without being confined to the client. The system requirements to run it are minimal: Java Runtime Environment version 1.5 or higher, and an OpenGL-capable graphics card. EveMap has been well-received on the official EVE Online forums. If having another way to navigate in EVE sounds good to you, why not fire up EveMap and see how useful it can be?
Anti Keylogger Shield may offer some protection for your account
Hackers are getting more and more brazen lately, hiding various trojans and keyloggers not only in random forum links, but in ad banners and even in electronic devices. Even common sense avoidance of suspicious links and websites doesn't always seem to work anymore. Luckily, there are other tools you can use, such as the Noscript extension for the Firefox browser. Lifehacker reported on a new one yesterday as well: Anti Keylogger Shield for Windows. This freeware program purports to work not by blocking installation of keyloggers, but by preventing them from logging your keys once installed. Lifehacker tested it by loading a keylogger and reported that it seemed to work, at least in that case, as the keylogger's log file was completely empty. Of course, you probably shouldn't just install this program and go off clicking strange links willy nilly, but it does look like it could be one more line of defense in the ever escalating battle to protect your computer and your account from those who would steal it. Plus, it's free, so that's even better. [Thanks for the forward, DrDiesel!]
First "Googlephone" ends up being Samsung's Ultra Edition 13.8 (Z720)
Contrary to previous beliefs, it looks like neither Orange nor HTC will have a part in producing the first "Googlephone," and instead it seems that Samsung is slipping in the back door to steal the limelight. When the Ultra Edition 13.8 (formerly known as the Z720) got official a few days back, we noticed the relatively unexpected suite of Google apps swarming the mobile's innards, and aside from the handset not exactly abiding by the Opera agreement that is supposedly falling into place, it seems a good fit for the first Google-infused mobile. Of course, the programs that come loaded are all available as free downloads on supported handsets, but it seems the European-bound 13.8 will be numero uno in what's likely to be quite a lengthy list of Googled mobiles.
UK's Channel 4 launches PC-based video on demand service
While major networks have started rebroadcasting episodes of their hit shows online, it looks like the UK's Channel 4 is taking the lucrative approach to offering up shows on the internet by launching its (PC only) 4oD video on demand service. Sure, remembering to set your precious DVR to capture those oh-so-priceless episodes of your SO's favorite shows is the ideal scenario, but Channel 4 is apparently hoping that your forgetful nature (and lackluster work firewall) will bring you over to its site in search of satisfaction. Inking a deal with PACT, the trade body of the independent production companies, the company will be splitting a currently undisclosed amount of the profits, but will be offering up commercial-free (at least initially) rebroadcasts of the past 30 days of programming. Additionally, "over 1,000 hours" of archived material will be available for download, and users will also be graced with "two free shows" per week just for stopping by. Episodes will run £0.99 ($1.96), where they can be viewed for two days, after which the file will "automatically delete itself" (until hackers figure out a way to save them, that is), while "films" will demand £1.99 ($3.93).[Via Digital Lifestyles]
