The Apple Beat: Is Apple TV ready for primetime?

 

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

A new voice-control interface powered by Siri would be a killer feature, specially for an Apple TV priced in the US $149 range. But Apple will need to step up its game to make the device a true platform. So, aside from iTunes movies and TV shows on demand, we can expect the advent of iOS apps and games to come to Apple TV.

In a few days, we will know what Apple plans on revealing as it takes over the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The September 9 event is guaranteed to involve the next generation iPhone as well as iOS 9 and possibly some considerable Apple Watch and watchOS 2.0 news, since it has been a year since we first saw Apple’s wearable.

Rumors are getting frenzied right now, as they always do before a huge Apple Event. Since, there haven’t been any significant leaks or spoilers as to what we will see (smartphone case prototypes don’t count), blogs and even established news agencies are scrambling by playing guessing games and giving time to any rumour that seems to make sense (like new colours for Apple Watch Sport straps... ).

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BlackBerry acquires Good to expand presence in cross-platform enterprise and government mobile device management solutions

BlackBerry CEO John Chen:"“By acquiring Good, BlackBerry will better solve one of the biggest struggles for CIOs today, especially those in regulated industries: securely managing devices across any platform."

BlackBerry has provided the world’s most secure mobility solutions for more than two decades, and has earned more than 70 government certifications and approvals, greater than any other mobile vendor. 

BlackBerry just acquired Good Technology which is a mobile device management (MDM) solutions provider Good makes products for managing and securing mobile devices in a business environment, it's strenghts are catering to cross-platform devices, 60 per cent of which are iOS. BlackBerry, which is bolstering its enterprise and government secure mobile solutions offering can integrate Good's technology into its already expansive solution arsenal.

"BlackBerry and Good are part of a very competitive market that’s constantly evolving. But, this move brings together complementary capabilities from both companies to create the most comprehensive secure mobile platform in the market," a BlackBerry spokesperson said. BlackBerry acquired Good for $425 million in cash.

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The Millennium Falcon drone is real and will be on sale tomorrow

The Millennium Falcon Drone in action #ForceFriday #theforceawakens

A video posted by Gadjo Sevilla (@gadjos) on Sep 3, 2015 at 6:08am PDT

Star Wars fans will be able to fly their own Millenium Falcon thanks to a quadcopter made by Air Hogs. Going on sale at midnight in time for Force Awakens toys onslaught for "Force Friday". The Falcon was demoed together with a remote control X-Wing Fighter during a pre FanExpo event as part of the global unboxing of Star Wars merchandise going on sale.

Made of lightweight foam and with four propellers, the Millenium Falcon has a range of 200 feet, it seems highly maneuverable. Pricing is expected to be CAD $125.00

New PayPal.me personal link helps people get paid back

PayPal launched the new PayPal.Me: your personal link to getting paid back. PayPal.Me removes the stress behind IOUs and makes collecting money from your friend, coworker or a group of people hassle-free. It is the future of collecting money for your kid’s soccer team or getting paid back for dinner with your friends.

A recent Money Habits Study reveals that nearly one in three Canadians have lost a friend or relationship over unpaid IOUs. On an average, Canadians are owed $462 (CAD), and globally people are owed over $51 billion (US) in unpaid small debts noted the study.

 

PayPal me simplifies the payment process by giving the payer an image link and they can enter the amount they want to pay in a small box. This is an easier way to request payment because small debts do add up.