Online invoicing service WePay releases iPhone app

Online invoicing service WePay releases iPhone app -

WePay is an online payments startup with a different mission -- allowing small businesses to send invoices and collect payments. The company has announced the availability of a free iOS app to give WePay customers the ability to invoice clients and charge their credit cards from virtually anywhere.

WePay is different from other payment services such as Square and PayPal in that there's no card swiping involved -- credit card numbers are entered manually. WePay was previously targeted more at online collection and management of payments, with support for e-commerce, custom invoicing, donations, and event registration and ticketing.

With the new app, the company is hoping to attract businesses like contractors and designers who want to create and send professional invoices while on-site, and then accept credit card payment immediately from clients.

The company charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, and customers can accept all major credit cards.

Online invoicing service WePay releases iPhone app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:00:00 EST.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Meet Rep. Mark Takano, the frosh congressman who Vines

Meet Rep. Mark Takano, the frosh congressman who Vines - California Democratic Rep. Mark Takano uses Twitter's new video service to record himself submitting his first piece of legislation and YouTube to broadcast his first floor speech. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Kick a Soccket soccer ball, power an LED lamp

Kick a Soccket soccer ball, power an LED lamp - Get a kick out of eco-friendly power. Kick the Soccket energy-gathering soccer ball around for a while and it can power a lamp.

(Via CNET News.com.)

You Don't Want Super-High-Speed Internet, Says Time Warner Cable

You Don't Want Super-High-Speed Internet, Says Time Warner Cable - Time Warner Cable chief technology officer Irene Esteves says you don't really want the gigabit speeds offered by Google Fiber and other high-speed providers.

(Via Wired Top Stories.)

After being hacked, Apple pushes out Java update to patch security hole

After being hacked, Apple pushes out Java update to patch security hole - Just hours after Apple announced that it too was victim to a wide-ranging malware attack, the company released a new version of Java for OS X to plug a hole in the software that can be exploited to install malware onto an affected machine.

(Via AppleInsider.)

Square launches iPad-driven 'Business in a Box' hardware for $299

Square launches iPad-driven 'Business in a Box' hardware for $299 - Mobile payment processing company Square announced on Wednesday its new "Business in a Box" ? a product meant to serve as a full point-of-sale system for physical retailers, allowing them to accept payments and perform analytics on their businesses from one device.

(Via AppleInsider.)

Video Analysis of the Russian Meteor

Video Analysis of the Russian Meteor - What can you learn from videos of the meteor that exploded over Russia? Wired Science blogger Rhett Allain shows you how to determine the meteor's speed and trajectory using its shadow.

(Via Wired Top Stories.)

Kickstarter launches iPhone app

Kickstarter launches iPhone app -

Back in the old days (before today), people had to launch a web browser to check out the latest crowd-funded projects being touted on Kickstarter. All of that changed today, as the company has released its free Kickstarter iPhone app.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Staples to start selling Apple products

Staples to start selling Apple products -

US office supply chain Staples will soon sell Apple products. Though there has been no official press release from the company yet, several Staples employees, including Strategic Accounts coordinator Erin LaFlamme broke the news on Twitter.

Staples employs more than 50,000 people world wide and has more than 2,200 stores in 26 countries. The announcement today presumably means that the only new Staples locals selling Apple products will be in the US. There's no word yet on what exact Apple products will be sold in Staples, although several news sites are speculating that consumers will be able to buy Apple's entire Mac lineup in addition to iOS devices.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Why Almost Everyone in Russia Has a Dash Cam

Why Almost Everyone in Russia Has a Dash Cam - How is it possible that a dozen different motorists around the Russian city of Chelyabinsk were able to capture video of a massive meteor flying through the sky? Because almost everyone in Russia has a dash-mounted video camera in their car.

(Via Wired Top Stories.)

Mikey Digital Review

Mikey Digital Review -

There's a reason that — on many people's devices — Apple's Voice Memos app lives in a folder called "Unused" way back on your last home screen. Despite its many talents, the reality is that the mono mic in your iPhone or iPad just isn't that great at capturing audio. Blue's Mikey Digital brings high-quality portable recording to your pocket, via a 2.9-ounce stereo microphone.

Mikey Digital plugs into the 30-pin connector on your device, and works with nearly any app that can capture audio. Of course, late-model iOS devices feature Apple's new Lightning connector. Blue assures us that there is a Lightning version coming down the pipe soon, but in the meantime, the existing Mikey Digital works just fine with Apple's $29 Lightning to 30-pin Adapter.

(Via Mac|Life all.)

Inkling takes on Amazon, Apple with new e-book publishing tool

Inkling takes on Amazon, Apple with new e-book publishing tool - The startup, founded by a former Apple executive, also has allowed users to search via Google within titles made using its technology. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Turn your iPhone into a Peter Frampton-style talkbox

Turn your iPhone into a Peter Frampton-style talkbox - Forget autotune, the talkbox is where it's at for making robot noises with your mouth. The Wee-Wow turns your iPhone into a talkbox, complete with tubing. [Read more]<

(Via CNET News.com.)

Skype 6.2 arrives for Windows, Mac

Skype 6.2 arrives for Windows, Mac - Microsoft's Skype division releases new updates for Windows and Mac users, including support for "eGifting" of Skype credits.

(Via CNET News.com.)

Astronaut records song from space with Barenaked Ladies

Astronaut records song from space with Barenaked Ladies - The universe's first space-to-Earth musical collaboration takes place with an astronaut on the ISS, the Barenaked Ladies, and a choir.

(Via CNET News.com.)

Using your iPad mini as a phone

Using your iPad mini as a phone -

iMore's Rene Ritchie has written an interesting post about a trend I've heard mentioned a few times before: using your iPad mini as an actual phone. During his trip to Macworld/iWorld 2013, Ritchie wanted to save battery charge on his iPhone, so when he needed to check his itinerary or make a quick phone call, he pulled out the iPad mini and used Skype or browsed around the internet. And at the end of what Ritchie says was a 19-hour trip, his iPad mini was still chugging right along, with more than 30 percent battery left.

As I said, I've heard a few people talk about doing this before. The iPad mini is a powerful device, and while it is larger than a standard iPhone, the size allows you to carry it around in just one hand and use it like its smaller iOS predecessor. The larger screen provides a nice wide-open feel, however, which can be very nice for games, and can make even productivity apps feel cleaner. As Ritchie says, combine the iPad mini with a headset and make a call on Skype, and you've just got a larger-than-usual iPhone.

So far, we've seen plenty of rumors about a bigger iPhone model, but no actual news from Apple just yet. Still, experiences like this, along with the fact that other smartphone companies have seen success with larger phone models, point to the possibility that there's a sizable demand for a larger iPhone out there.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Box offering 25 GB for free in promotion

Box offering 25 GB for free in promotion -

Filesharing service Box is offering up 25 GB of free cloud storage in a new promotion (supposedly for "Gameday," but it seems to still be in effect anyway). To qualify, you must be a new customer on a free plan, or just sign up for a new account with a new email address. The deal is also for non-commercial use only, and because it's free, there's a file-size cap of 250 MB that you'll have to duck in under.

But even with those catches, who couldn't use some extra storage, right? Box's deal is as up for as long as they leave it up, so definitely jump on it soon if you're interested.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Four ways to connect your instrument to GarageBand

Four ways to connect your instrument to GarageBand -

Apple’s (AAPL) GarageBand ($14.99) is a versatile, and cheap, recording program that lets you record song ideas and demo tapes on your Mac. Today I’m going to look at various USB options to plug your instrument into GarageBand. Fortunately, there are a lot of different devices out there that will let you perform this task. That said, I’m going to focus on a cross section of these input devices, not the entire spectrum. While I’m going to use guitars as a frequent reference point since that’s the instrument I play, any of these input devices should work on instruments that have a 1/4″ output.

(Via TheAppleBlog.)

Kindle ad takes on iPad head-on

Kindle ad takes on iPad head-on -

Amazon's latest Kindle Fire HD commercial takes a swipe at Apple's iPad by claiming the less expensive Fire HD is as good as the iPad. The ad compares the screens on the two devices and points out they both have stunning HD displays. Amazon concludes that the Fire HD is so good that the only place people will notice a difference is their wallet.

On paper, though, it's a different story. The iPad edges out the Kindle HD with a 9.7-inch display that has a pixel density of 264 ppi. The Kindle Fire is smaller at 8.9-inches and has a lower pixel density of 254 ppi.

[Via AppleInsider]

Kindle ad takes on iPad head-on originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

How to use an old Mac as an AirPlay device

How to use an old Mac as an AirPlay device - If you would like to set up an AirPlay device for playing music, you can do so without purchasing any new hardware. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Hands-on: Flint's mobile payment app

Hands-on: Flint's mobile payment app - Flint is taking on the bigger players in the mobile payment market, pushing out a product for credit card payments that doesn't rely on a card reader like Square or other competitors. Instead, the app uses image recognition algorithms to read the numbers off of a card's face and process a transaction that way ...

(Via MacNN | The Macintosh News Network.)

Super Bowl does Wi-Fi on a massive scale

Super Bowl does Wi-Fi on a massive scale - The Wi-Fi network at the Superdome in New Orleans has been structured to handle a stunning 30,000 simultaneous connections during the big game. Rogue access points need not apply. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Weekend promises a stellar shot of the moon

Weekend promises a stellar shot of the moon - Gaze at the moon this weekend to see some marvelous views of major craters. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Starfish shows off prototype of smartwatch at Macworld/iWorld 2013

Starfish shows off prototype of smartwatch at Macworld/iWorld 2013 -

One of the more anticipated "products" at Macworld/iWorld 2013 was the Starfish smart watch: an iPhone and Android-compatible watch that eventually will be capable of receiving incoming calls, texts, email, stock market updates and more -- or so the vendor claims. Does that sound familiar?

Mentions of the Starfish watch first emerged last fall with an ad in iPhone Life. Pocketables detailed the initial accounts of the watch, billed as a device that would mirror your iOS device onto the tiny watch. The prototype that I saw today didn't do that much; it just accepts incoming calls. But, it was hooked up to an Android and an iOS device.

Check out the video of the prototype in action. CEO Jason Buzi said that the Kickstarter, initially planned for last fall, will start in a couple of weeks. Eventually the product is planned to cost $169.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

CBS Bans SodaStream Ad From Super Bowl

CBS Bans SodaStream Ad From Super Bowl -

Will Burns, writing for Forbes:

CBS banned SodaStream’s Super Bowl spot because, apparently, it was too much of a direct hit to two of its biggest sponsors, Coke and Pepsi.

Please pause and read that sentence again.

(Via Daring Fireball.)

Rage Software demos EasyWeb at Macworld: a modern replacement for iWeb

Rage Software demos EasyWeb at Macworld: a modern replacement for iWeb -

Apple's abandonment of iWeb has left a lot of would-be web admins unhappy. If you had a pre-Mac App Store copy of the app on DVD, you can still install it and even design sites, but some of the previous functionality and MobileMe iWeb publishing is gone. Rage Software is demoing EasyWeb at Macworld/iWorld 2013, an easy website design and publishing app that may be a worthy successor to iWeb.

Megan Lavey-Heaton and I took a look at a pre-release version of the app, which provides design flexibility that wasn't available in iWeb. Users can start with predesigned themes (a number of designers are working on themes for EasyWeb) or a blank slate.

While iWeb was stuck with one-level horizontal menus, EasyWeb users can choose from vertical or horizontal menus complete with drop-downs. There are a number of widgets built into the app for functionality like adding Google AdSense ads, Vimeo or YouTube movies, PayPal payments or social media (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Pinterest, etc...) links.

At this time, there's no word on the cost of the app or when it will be available. The company will be offering a MobileMe-like hosting service at US$99 per year to enable one-click publishing of sites, but alternative/BYO hosting isn't going to be in version 1 of the product.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)