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Google’s .new shortcut now works with sites like Spotify and Microsoft
Last year, Google introduced .new shortcuts that made it easier to create a new Google Doc, Sheet, Slide, Site or Form -- simply enter the file type you wish to create into your browser and tack .new onto the end. Last week, Google brought the feature to Calendar, and now it's expanding it to other sites like Spotify. Soon, any company or organization will be able to register a .new domain to help their users start tasks faster.
Target's registers suffered a nationwide outage
Target can't quite escape its technical woes, apparently. The retail giant's registers suffered a roughly two-hour nationwide outage in mid-day on June 15th, preventing customers from making purchases (including in self-checkout lines) right before Father's Day. The company has only described it as an "internal technology issue," but stressed that an early review indicated this wasn't the result of a data breach or other "security-related issue." Customer wasn't compromised "at any time," Target added.
FAA: No, you won't need to pay someone to register your drone
You may not like the idea of having to register your drone to fly it in the US, but you likely won't need to pay someone to handle the paperwork. The Federal Aviation Administration is telling would-be flyers to think twice before signing up with any company that promises to register your drone for a fee. You can "probably" do it yourself whenever the program kicks in, the FAA says, and the process won't be much different than registering products with their manufacturers. In short, anyone asking for your money right now is an opportunist -- they're hoping that your aversion to filling out forms overcomes your rational side.
Amazon will ditch its daily local deals on December 18 (update: Register too)
If you're the sort of person who really likes getting $50 of seafood for $25, your day just got a little more depressing. Amazon just announced that it would stop selling those sorts of daily deals from both its AmazonLocal site and its corresponding app on December 18th. Don't worry if you've loaded already up your calendar with days-long real estate courses and cheap car washes — any vouchers you already have, or buy before the deadline, will remain valid. Update: That's not all for the local services pullback, as Amazon also revealed it's shutting down the Local Register app that competed with the likes of Square and PayPal to process payments for small businesses. As of the 30th it is no longer accepting new customers, and the service will fully shut down on February 1st.
Square's cash register app now handles your purchases worldwide
Square's Register app has done a lot to drag stores' payment systems into the modern era, but only in the US -- venture elsewhere and you've usually had to pay at a conventional (and often very limited) terminal. That might not hold true for much longer, since Square has just released a version of Register that works worldwide. The Android and iOS software now handles sales in 130 currencies, and communicates in French, Japanese and Spanish; if a tapas bar in Madrid wants to give you a digital receipt or ask for feedback, it can. It'll take a while for companies around the world to start using Register, but don't be surprised if you see it in action the next time you go on vacation.
Square's new cash register will take Bitcoin, Apple Pay and much more
Every now and again, a conspiracy theorist will tell us that the illuminati will abandon national currencies in favor of a single, worldwide form of payment. Given the myriad ways that we currently use to empty our bank account, we're not sure how a single, all-purpose payment system would be a bad thing. That's why Square is hoping to aid our plight by building a new cash register that'll accept as many new-fangled forms of payment as possible, including Bitcoin and Apple Pay. In an interview with CBC, CEO Jack Dorsey said that he hopes Square's new hardware will take "any form of payment that comes across the counter," before mentioning the cryptocurrency and Apple's new commerce platform by name. When asked if he was concerned about Apple taking his business, the executive responded that since the iPhone maker isn't building a terminal (i.e. a cash register), there's no threat to Square's immediate future. There's no word on when exactly this new swiss army knife of buying will start appearing in small businesses across the country, but we doubt it'll be long before you can buy coffee with Bitcoin without having to use a third-party exchange.
Square introduces 'Pickup' for simple online purchases
Since its inception in 2009, that little white payment dongle has snuck into small businesses everywhere, making plastic a less costly proposition for the little guy. Today, it's taking another step toward small business ubiquity with "Pickup," which, fittingly, is a service that enables customers to purchase goods online for pickup in stores at the time of their choosing. The service gives sellers a free online market place and, as with its other products, the barrier to entry is nearly non-existent; the service is free to setup and the fee per purchase is 2.75 percent until July 1st, at which point it will go up to a standard 8 percent. Jack Dorsey's other baby is also enabling offline purchasing via its Register app for those gasp-inducing moments when the internet goes dead; a welcome addition for anyone who's ever had their dreams of an artisan cupcake crushed by faulty WiFi.
Square's updated Register apps tout simpler interfaces, make it easy to tip
Both stores and their customers want to handle payments as quickly as possible, and Square has just updated its Register apps for Android and iOS to accommodate that need for retail speed. The new versions share a simpler, quicker interface that's designed around the typical flow of real-world transactions. They also seamlessly integrate tips -- guests can now reward their servers without interrupting the payment process. You likely won't need to download one of the updated apps for yourself, but you'll likely appreciate the time they save during your next lunch break.
Trion officially reveals Trove: Endless adventures through endless worlds
Even with its recent "regroup and reorganize" strategy, there's no doubt that Trion Worlds is an ambitious company that enjoys having its fingers in many pies. But what about that yummy voxel Minecraft pie? So tempting... so trendy... so full of antioxidants. Well, Trion's baking one of those up too, and it's called Trove. So what is Trove, exactly? It's something radically different for Trion, though it's plainly drawing upon lessons learned from the studio's other titles. Trove is a multiplayer universe of worlds where creation, destruction, and adventure go hand-in-hand. It's a sandbox, an RPG, a toolset, a public space, a private space, a free-to-play experience, and according to CEO Scott Hartsman, a passion. We spoke with Hartsman to get a handle on what Trove will bring to MMOs and how it's looking to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack. So take one last look at the cute bug above and prepare yourself for an endless adventure through endless worlds.
Trion starts the Trove teasing
Trion Worlds made news earlier this week by registering several domains with the word "Trove" in them. While the studio made no announcement regarding new games in development, most speculation centered firmly on Trove being Trion's next big project. Today we've received another little tidbit on the topic via Trion's official and brand-new Trove Twitter account. Posting under the name TroveGame, Trion asked simply, "Where will you go?" It's not much in terms of information, but the Twitter username at least confirms that Trove is a game. The profile information says only, "Something new from Trion Worlds." Stay tuned.
Trion Worlds registers Trove domains
Trion Worlds looks to be up to something new, as the studio has snapped up several domain registrations with the word "Trove" in them. TroveGame.com and PlayTrove.com are but two of the many domains secured by CEO Scott Hartsman as of late. There are also several regional domains in the list, including those for Germany, Canada, and the UK. As of the writing of this post, none of the domains link to a working website. Could this be a new title from Trion or an expansion to one of its other games? Whatever the case may be, we'll be keeping a close eye on this situation. [Thanks to WNxArcticwolf for the tip!]
Square's new Register app turns the iPad into a full-on point of sale terminal
Square continues to add functionality to its mobile payment platform, and the latest addition is its new Register app for iPad. The refresh brings a sleeker interface and greater Card Case integration along with analytics to break down sales by transaction type and chronology to track your business' performance. Additionally, you can set up custom permissions to limit employee access, create customer loyalty programs and there's an improved inventory system feature as well. Naturally, it still relies on Square's trusty card reader for swiping cards and charges 2.75 percent per transaction using Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express. Small businessmen, your payment chariot awaits, so check out a video of the new Square Register in action after the break.
Square Register and Card Case hands-on
It looks like Square's little headphone jack-connected credit card reader has some company. The mobile payment startup introduced two new additions to its unique stable of payment options in San Francisco this morning that do away with credit cards, paper receipts, and even the bantam reader itself (to some degree). First up is the Square Register, an app that allows merchants to accept payments by way of the card reader or through a card-less (no, it's not NFC) tab -- like, "put it on my tab" -- system, and uses Google-style analytics to keep track of payments, receipts, and trends. The second announcement, the Square Card Case, is a virtual wallet that holds a series of "cards," each relating to a participating outlet, that let you put your purchases on the aforementioned tab. Each shop has its own virtual credit card, and enables shoppers to make and track purchases with a single click of a button. We got a chance to give the setup a try, and it's just about as simple as Square would have you believe. To get started, you make a regular, Square-enabled purchase at a participating store, at which point a text-message receipt is sent to your phone that prompts you to install Card Case -- we skipped this step, as this was just a demo. Once set up, we were introduced to the Card Case, holding cards for the participating stores -- only 50 spots in five cities, for now -- and an "Explore Places" button that offers access to a directory of participating outlets. We selected a nearby cupcake stand, clicked "open tab" and picked our poison: a miniature red velvet cupcake, in this case. The merchant picked our name from a list of open tabs, charged the tiny treat to our card, and a receipt was promptly pushed our way. After the transaction was complete, we went back to the cupcake card in the Card Case, and there was the receipt. All in all it was a painless process, but, then, so is whipping out a real wallet to make a purchase. The new Square setup is available now at 50 different establishments in New York, LA, Saint Louis, San Francisco, and DC, and the company says it will curate the list of participating stores, much like Apple does apps.
Aeria Games announces Golden Age
A new contender in the field of MMO real-time strategy titles has appeared: Golden Age. If you're all about constructing castles, building up armies, and clashing in epic battles, Aeria Games is hoping that this title will sate your bloodlust. As players commit warfare against each other and computer-controlled enemies, Golden Age allows bystanders to participate as well. Players can vote for their favorite army when a battle convenes, and the army with the most votes gets bonus soldiers for the fight. When not fighting, players will build up their fortresses using over 20 types of structures and also talk to inhabitants of the town to see whether any of them has a quest for you to do. Aeria Games promises that the browser-based Golden Age will be free-to-play and will be released with both English and Spanish translations. You can check out the teaser site and register for the beta now. We give you permission -- just finish your vegetables first.
OnLive offering one year free membership to pre-registrants
Smart move by OnLive today. The controversial streaming game service is offering to waive the $14.95 monthly access fee for a full year (originally it was 3 months) for anyone who enthusiastically pre-registered early -- many of you we suspect. It's even tossing in a coupon for a free game when you register for the offer. The only catch seems to be the credit card required to complete registration as proof that you're over 18. If you didn't pre-register then tough luck, no offer for you. But at least you can take comfort in knowing that a small army of gamers will be taking the service to task unencumbered by membership fees. In other words, we'll know right quickly if OnLive can live up to its "ultra high-performance" streaming gameplay on entry-level PCs and Macs. [Thanks, Michael M.]
The OC Register on the BlizzCon debacle
WoW Insider's own Mike Schramm recently talked with Tamara Chuang from the Orange County Register about the trials and tribulations of the recent BlizzCon ticket sales for an article she wrote concerning the debacle. Mike is in some good company, with executive editor of GameSpy.com David Kosak also contributing to the analysis of Blizzard's failure. Yesterday, Mike wrote an in-depth account of the problems we all faced obtaining tickets to the event.The OC Register article makes a good point noting that some major events, such as the World Series, have had ticketing problems in the past. However, it is also pointed out that other sites such as NBCOlympics.com still stay up even under the pressure of lots of traffic.With Mike Morhaime's apology late last night, and his offering up 3,000 additional tickets via a lottery, it will be interesting to see what this does to appease the fans in the long run. It is good to see that this issue is getting some wider coverage outside of the game and fan sites. While bad press isn't exactly good, it usually leads to things being better the next time around.
Apple posts seminar for Integrating Active Directory
Recently, Apple posted a new online seminar (linked from enterprise Apple Store pages) entitled "Best Practices for Integrating Mac OS X into Active Directory." This seminar will show registered participants how to deploy machines running OS X into existing Active Directory setups.Apple lists several things that are shown in the online seminar, some of which include: Integrating an Active Directory environment into Mac OS X Using the Active Directory plug-in in Mac OS X Configuring home directories (includes how to do this with mobile users) You can watch this free online seminar by going to Apple's seminar website and registering. You will then be able to stream the video using QuickTime Player, or download an iPod-compatible file.
Heroic gamer gets well, discharged from hospital
Remember that British gamer Adam Mapleson who was shot breaking up a robbery at a train station last week? Well, he was discharged from the hospital, according to The Register, and has returned home after a week of treatment. The security firm that employed the lady who was being robbed, Loomis, is offering a £25,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the thieves that shot Adam. You can see some rough drawings of the suspects here.The story also points to an online Get Well card set up by the folks who frequent the Pure Pwnage forums. If you want to leave Adam a message, your best bet for him to receive it would be to post there.
Ten more reasons to get a Mac
It may be hard to believe but not everyone who reads TUAW owns a Mac (shocking, I know). Lots of our readers are Windows users making their first tentative steps towards computing nirvana and we here at TUAW want to help. Today's ten reasons to get a Mac come from that bastion of tech journalism, the Register. Some of the points made are very good (fast wake up from sleep, target disk mode) and others are just silly, however, it is both entertaining and informative for someone on the fence.
2006 was "the year of PSP"
It appears that more media sources are praising the PSP's surprisingly good year, filled with high-quality games, and maturing media capabilities. UK tech website, The Register, spoke about the PSP's success in 2006. They note that although the PS3 came nowhere close to as successful as they thought, the PSP has been performing quite handidly: "But with the PSP, Sony has outstripped Microsoft and its Xbox considerably."Of course, while the PSP platform grew in 2006, it's far more exciting to look towards 2007, where the machine may finally tap into its wide capabilities: "To say that Sony PSP sales would sell over half the numbers of the iPod was bold, but it has turned out to be bang on with around 20 million devices now sold since last March when they were launched. During 2007 the PSP will come into its own, we said, and there are big signs that it is doing just that, although it will need the Sony launch of an online film service for the PSP and the promised interaction with the PS3 to make the success spectacular."
