Since the introduction of Microsoft HoloLens, the world’s first fully self-contained holographic computer in January 2015, Microsoft has continued to propel the Mixed Reality revolution.
Now, the complement of Windows MR partners have kicked off the 2017 holiday buying season by celebrating the availability of pre-orders for Windows Mixed Reality headsets at Microsoft stores and Microsoft.com.’
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A new “Pop-in” shop at eight Nordstrom department stores across the national electronic gridiron creates a “Tron-like” shopping environment where you are the human pulse of energy tracing the silicon paths of a circuit board between different product displays and placements, each containing some very nifty gizmos for your home tech portfolio.
As Nordstrom […]
Having more than made the grade in enterprise, cloud computing, office productivity, and gaming software, Microsoft has learned some important lessons about go-to-market hardware as well as code.
Meet the company’s newest graduate. The new Surface Laptop computer warrants a closer examination by students who want more power than a tablet but at a price point […]
Will a world of mobile as well as at-home gamers make The Switch, Nintendo’s newest, “Transformers-like” device that can shape-shift into a handheld, mobile player or dock out at your big screen home port, the power play of your gaming experience, both on couch and away?
Thus far. the market has answered that question very positively. […]
According to Pythagoras, the number 3, which he called a triad, is the noblest of all digits. Everything in the universe has a three-part structure, he stated, and every problem in the universe can be reduced diagrammatically to a triangle and the number three.
In developing great software, version 3.0 also holds special significance. It represents a kind of […]
When Sir Tim Berners-Lee drafted a proposal in 1989 for a different kind of computer network that he named the World Wide Web (not the runner-up name which was “Mesh”), he became a “founding father” on a scale that would surpass even Broadway’s Alexander “Hamilton.”
Could he have envisioned how his brainchild would transform the worlds […]
Can Seattle’s industrious lead on the basepaths of Internet technology spell an offline advantage for the stalwart Mariners each time they take the field in the 2016 major league season?
We’re not talking the FitBit, Nike Fuelband or Jawbone. Neither will the Apple Watch or Android Gear make an appearance at home plate anytime this year. They are all […]
IID Launches Rapid Insight, Tool to Simultaneously Search Multiple Sources in One Place for Cyberthreat Indicators
Fortune 100 companies and government agencies already using Rapid Insight to gather contextual information about threats.
IID, the source for clear cyberthreat intelligence, today announced the launch of a new threat indicator research tool, Rapid […]
Amazon has issued a robust response to criticism leveled in a NY Times article citing management insensitivity and a deficit in leadership training. Countering the claims was none other than CEO Jeff Bezos plus the voices of a plethora of Amazon employees.
Ironically, Amazon elevates its employee Leadership Principles as inspirational and suitable for wall hanging.
Windows 10 is available to users in 190 countries as a free upgrade or with new PCs and tablets. Touted as the most secure Windows ever, the new OS is delivered as a service and kept automatically up-to-date with innovations and security updates. Innovations such as Cortana, an Xbox app and Microsoft Edge are all in the package.
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Oct 12 2017
Give Yourself a Higher Pay Grade
Paperless Billing, Cardless Cash Create Easier Ways to Pay
With all of the payment options competing for a share of your electronic wallet these days, it’s easy to feel your pay grade, or “how to pay” grade, slipping under a steep learning curve. Android Pay. Apple Pay. Samsung Pay. Amazon Pay. PayPal. Venmo. Mint.
Two Seattle-based offerings are seeking to build on the positive relationships they have established with their customers with payment services that are super simple and designed to win consumer trust along with their transactions.
HomeStreet Bank has announced a Cardless Cash feature that allows customers to securely withdraw money from an ATM using only their smartphone. Designed to increase convenience and prevent card skimming, customers can use the HomeStreet Bank mobile app (iPhone | Android) to withdraw cash from participating ATMs. As a user, you simply tap the Cardless Cash button in the HomeStreet Bank mobile app and select the amount. A ‘QR’ code appears on the HomeStreet Bank ATM. Your smart phone scans the QR code and dispenses the cash. There is no need to carry an ATM or debit card to use the machine.
“Cardless Cash is the next evolution of mobile banking,” said Mark Mason, CEO and President of Seattle-HQ’d HomeStreet Bank. “As one of the first banks to offer the service, our customers are reaping the benefits of added convenience and security.”
Seattle’s doxo has rapidly grown to become the leader in consumer-friendly, one-stop online and mobile bill paying convenience, having just surpassed the 30,000 mark of payable billers within its network—more than any other bill paying service nationwide.
“Passing 30,000 payable billers is an important milestone for the company, especially after we surpassed two million users in May,” commented doxo CEO and Co-Founder Steve Shivers. “The most compelling service we provide to our users is the ability to pay all of their bills from a single, secure, mobile-friendly account. We’ve also developed unique and proprietary systems necessary to map the entire billing industry—an industry that represents over 50% of all consumer household spending.”
doxo allows payers to use any combination of credit, debit and bank cads and accounts to pay their bills. There is no need for a stored-value account.
The award-winning doxo mobile app lets you organize, manage and track all your payable accounts in one place. doxo also includes a bevy of money management features letting you link your email accounts for easy organizing and archiving in the program. You can also take snapshots of your receipts and upload them to your very own virtual file cabinet on doxo. A convenience fee can apply to some credit card transactions.
A doxo Speed Bump
Since doxo uses its 2.5 million members to crowdsource where they pay their bills, the company has sometimes encountered confusion when municipal utilities discover their name and logo on the doxo Website for bill pay purposes without knowing it. Such a speed bump is the virtual equivalent of having a product go viral and annoying the seller.
“We allow companies to claim their business profile and add their own FAQs and other content. They can then monitor everything on their own dashboard. They can even launch their own eBilllng program if they are like the 60% of service providers who cannot be paid online via desktop or mobile.” — doxo CEO Steve Shivers
Recurring payments make up over 50% of a household budget in these United States. Is it any wonder that Jeff Bezos is an investor in the company?
Among the major pay platforms, Apple was inclined to delay the debut of Apple Pay inside of its iMessage app, originally scheduled for the release of iOS 11, until later this Fall. The big, and pretty obvious, difference between Android Pay and Apple Pay is that Apple’s service cannot be used on Android phones or watches; it is only available on iPhones and Apple Watch devices. Otherwise, it works much in the same way that Google’s service does, as both use NFC hardware to pay for items at POS terminals. Samsung Pay is available on a number of recent Samsung-based smartphones, along with its Gear S2 and Gear S3 smartwatches. The biggest difference is that Samsung Pay, in addition to supporting NFC-based terminals, can also use Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology.
The race between banks, credit unions, mobile platforms and paperless, electronic bill paying services, as well as P2P friend and family money swapping services, will likely be won not by the swift, nor even by thrift, but by the trustworthiness of the partner in the transaction.
Once again, Seattle is pointing to the easiest way to pay! [24×7]
