Google Mobile Phone Service coming to Hawaii?

While it’s not in Hawaii yet, bringing more choices to Hawaii is always a good thing for consumers.

Hawaii regulators have granted permission to a subsidiary of Google Inc. to provide its new wireless phone service in Hawaii as part of a nationwide plan, according to a public filing this week.

Source: Google gets approval to offer mobile phone service in Hawaii – Pacific Business News

Using your  Apple Watch while driving could get you a ticket.

Better check local laws that dictate how you can use electronic devices while driving.

Macesin was hit with a $120 fine for violating the Quebec Highway Safety Code, which states “no person may, while driving a road vehicle, use a hand-held device that includes a telephone function.”

Source: Man ticketed for using Apple Watch while driving | New and Used Car Reviews, Research & Automotive-Industry News & LeftLaneNews

Store all your photos online, free, with Google

We live in a digital photo world, snapping hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures per month. You can safely back them all up, for free. Nice job, Google!

With Google Photos, you can now backup and store unlimited, high-quality photos and videos, for free. We maintain the original resolution up to 16MP for photos, and 1080p high-definition for videos, and store compressed versions of the photos and videos in beautiful, print-quality resolution.

Source: Official Google Blog: Picture this: A fresh approach to Photos

Crash an iPHone with just a text message

From the just-to-weird-to-be-true-department:

A new bug has been discovered in the Messages app, allowing a string of characters sent to a person via iMessage or SMS to crash an iPhone and cause the Messages app to crash after being opened.

Source: New iOS Bug Crashing iPhones Simply by Receiving a Text Message [Includes Fix] – Mac Rumors

This may be the next car that drives you around town

A world of self-driving cars is right around the corner and I couldn’t be more excited. Google’s car is going to start driving itself on public streets and it will have a “safety driver” aboard to take over if anything goes wrong.

Each prototype’s speed is capped at a neighborhood-friendly 25mph, and during this next phase of our project we’ll have safety drivers aboard with a removable steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal that allow them to take over driving if needed.

Source: Official Google Blog: Green lights for our self-driving vehicle prototypes

If you use the Starbucks app to buy coffee, read this and change your password ASAP!

Hackers are breaking into Starbucks accounts with weak passwords and then reloading their gift cards with your money. The solution is to create a “hard” password. Do it right now.

Fraudsters have figured out how to break into Starbucks accounts and drain your bank account or credit card. Customers tell CNNMoney they’re furious Starbucks isn’t taking this more seriously.

Source: Hackers are draining bank accounts via the Starbucks app – May. 13, 2015

Why you should drop your Android and switch to iPhone

People ask me all the time about what kind of phone they should get. Almost without exception, my immediate response is “Get an iPhone” for the simple reason that unless you want to massively geek-out with your phone on a regular basis, the iPhone, simply, works.

I feel even stronger about my anti-Android feelings. iPhones don’t do anything crazy; they just work. And it is that distinction that makes them the best phones to have.

Source: Switching to iPhone from Android – Business Insider

iPhone 6S features leaked

Here’s what’s said to be coming:.

  1. Force Touch
  2. Camera upgrade (12mp)
  3. Additional microphone for noise cancellation.
  4. Faster CPU & more memory
  5. Improved Touch ID
  6. Improved durability

Will you get one?

Force Touch is what will likely prove to be the key selling point of the 6S models. Having introduced it on the Apple Watch and 13-inch MacBook Pro it makes perfect sense for Apple to extend this to the iPhone (and eventually the iPad).

Source: Massive iPhone 6S Leak Reveals 11 New Features

Now you can recall that bad tweet, sort of.

You typed in your tweet, hit the send button, and immediately has the “oh Sh*t” moment when you realized it was malformed, whether it’s a typo, bad link, or worse, something you wish you didn’t say.

Tweetdeck is going to give you a second chance on this now by confirming you actually want to send the Tweet you’re about to send.  While it’s not quite the “count to 10” rule, at least you can think/review/contemplate before you commit your public statement.

TweetDeck added a safety net today, giving users the option to require a confirmation step before sending a tweet.

Source: TweetDeck Adds Tweet Confirmation To Help Prevent Social Media Misfires

Nasdaq is experimenting with Bitcoin technology

We’ve just seen the beginning of applying the technology developed by Bitcoin. If indeed NASDAQ has a successful implementation, the implications will be far and wide.

The blockchain ledger is seen by some in the financial industry as the most compelling aspect of bitcoin because it can be used beyond merely buying and selling goods or services with a new currency.

Source: A Bitcoin Technology Gets Nasdaq Test – WSJ