Xbox Music ditches free desktop streaming on December 1st

<b>If you're hooked on Xbox Music's free desktop-based listening, you're going to have make some backup plans very shortly. </b><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32w3PSbna-1ne003kREVkxVt2m69wgqfY5zcALureBjgZxN_PtM1CVK5r9F_yzGwO8RlW73HYXCU2gpSQiFTLBrnUCKt-pe2x9eRVBAcXEf4gMljG6hCV0gPWZaIIPjcLNuhkNVeMNuHN/s1600/Xbox-Music-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32w3PSbna-1ne003kREVkxVt2m69wgqfY5zcALureBjgZxN_PtM1CVK5r9F_yzGwO8RlW73HYXCU2gpSQiFTLBrnUCKt-pe2x9eRVBAcXEf4gMljG6hCV0gPWZaIIPjcLNuhkNVeMNuHN/s1600/Xbox-Music-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="Xbox Music ditches free desktop streaming on December 1st" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xbox Music ditches free desktop streaming on December 1st</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <div> Microsoft has announced that it's dropping the no-cost web and Windows streaming option as of December 1st; after that, you'll have to pay for a Music Pass if you want all-you-can-eat tunes beyond the 30-day trial period. </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> The company claims that it's refocusing Xbox Music to make it the "ultimate music purchase and subscription service," although it's not elaborating on what that entails. Suffice it to say that Microsoft has a lot of competition in the free music space. Its main rival, Spotify, has over 30 million free users worldwide on a wider range of platforms -- it wouldn't be easy for Microsoft to challenge that lead using the free tier you know today.</div> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div>

Xbox Music ditches free desktop streaming on December 1st

If you're hooked on Xbox Music's free desktop-based listening, you're going to have make some backup plans very shortly.  Xbo...

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Some Bank of America customers double-charged with Apple Pay

<b>Some Bank of America customers have been double-charged for purchases made with Apple Pay, the payment system Apple launched on Monday.</b><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-S2mMd1KsRAyOvEgNaSc-AJSn7WOZ_cb0xtfIzFxl-7uIqLkCkKBcP5YjuFNSc5CI82D5zL_T8dfn3DVfIj_-Xl7iOglvLwW5A6L1BpVVsfrvI8bY-L3oWY1Sv1-VzUNOus7d3MJMdyi/s1600/Apple-Pay-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-S2mMd1KsRAyOvEgNaSc-AJSn7WOZ_cb0xtfIzFxl-7uIqLkCkKBcP5YjuFNSc5CI82D5zL_T8dfn3DVfIj_-Xl7iOglvLwW5A6L1BpVVsfrvI8bY-L3oWY1Sv1-VzUNOus7d3MJMdyi/s1600/Apple-Pay-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="Some Bank of America customers double-charged with Apple Pay" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some Bank of America customers double-charged with Apple Pay</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> Roughly 1,000 transactions made with Apple Pay were logged twice in customer accounts, said Tara Burke, a spokeswoman with Bank of America, which is one of the largest U.S. banks and was an Apple Pay launch partner.<br /> <br /> “We apologize for the inconvenience and are correcting the problem,” said Burke.<br /> <br /> The duplicate transactions should be removed by the end of Wednesday.<br /> <br /> Apple Pay utilizes a secure chip inside Apple’s new iPhone 6 that enables the phone to emulate an NFC (near field communications) payment card. When the Apple Pay app is loaded with a customer’s credit or debit card, payments can be made at NFC terminals by bringing the phone close to the terminal.<br /> <br /> The system is being positioned as easier and more secure than current payment cards because the card number is not passed to the retailer’s terminal. Instead, a substitute number called a token is offered to the merchant, which sends it on to the card issuer for approval.<br /> <br /> The token can only be used once, so if it’s stolen it should prove useless to cyberattackers. It’s tied to the actual card number deeper in the financial services network, further away from the retailer terminals that have been the target of so much hacking recently.<br /> <br /> Apple Pay is compatible with existing NFC payment terminals, which can be found in around 200,000 shops and taxis across the U.S.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div>

Some Bank of America customers double-charged with Apple Pay

Some Bank of America customers have been double-charged for purchases made with Apple Pay, the payment system Apple launched on Monday. S...

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It costs $50 to plug an Xbox One Kinect into your PC

<b>What's stopping you from creating the first killer Kinect 2.0 hack? Well, now that Microsoft's released the do-all sensor's SDK to the public for free you don't have many more excuses.</b><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X-GkaUJA8Fg6UjxouJlBHRnAHUdtLPHzKC_gOll-VOACmzaG4LnwrR0MmLn3KpvJugv-x16PS_H_hz2KydH5eC6Whfy7_XJixCtnQ_BfZn75b9MEF7x4E-FBOSivQS2_o2IvfngkiCXG/s1600/Xbox-One-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X-GkaUJA8Fg6UjxouJlBHRnAHUdtLPHzKC_gOll-VOACmzaG4LnwrR0MmLn3KpvJugv-x16PS_H_hz2KydH5eC6Whfy7_XJixCtnQ_BfZn75b9MEF7x4E-FBOSivQS2_o2IvfngkiCXG/s1600/Xbox-One-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="It costs $50 to plug an Xbox One Kinect into your PC" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It costs $50 to plug an Xbox One Kinect into your PC</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <div> The software development kit is available without any fees and what's more, you can now put any finished apps up for sale on the Windows Store as well. Just like that! To help developers along even further, Redmond is releasing an adapter that makes the Xbox One Kinect play nicely with a Windows 8 PC. Meaning, they won't have to use a hack to create a hack (or buy a redundant Windows Kinect). The $50 USB 3.0 dongle not only brings price parity between the two previously separate cameras, but it'sanother instance of Microsoft reversing a previous hardline policy to better suit its customers too. Now, get out there and get cracking -- the hardware giant already has a head start on you.<br /> <br /> Update: Developer Ubi Interactive, known for large-screen gesture control installations, has posted a trio of brief, new videos demoing some fresh uses for the Kinect 2.0. We've embedded them below.</div> </div> <div> <br /></div>

It costs $50 to plug an Xbox One Kinect into your PC

What's stopping you from creating the first killer Kinect 2.0 hack? Well, now that Microsoft's released the do-all sensor's SDK ...

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Apple iPad Air 2: What we expect for the release date, specs and price of the next iPad

<h2 style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: blue;">Apple iPad Air 2: What we expect for the release date, specs and price of the next iPad</span></h2> <b>Now that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are real products, speculation about Apple's other overdue devices are getting more traction in the rumor mill.</b><div> <b><br /></b>A refresh to the Apple iPad is expected before the arrival of the gift-giving holiday seasons, along with some new Mac computers, and an updated iPad Air and iPad Mini are on the short list of predictions.</div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGD9HktZZtyA6gLSoQ3inFgD74tl1rik38_FnvTYSeVF_THp2gwy51ADlcQhR_QsVl4v1gbzEikSq5mdn-7VuQJCbcpxzuwgwidsuQwLnAJT-TRsCD8JKx2FK7ECumYfOScvmUZRkGapz/s1600/ipad-2-air-02-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGD9HktZZtyA6gLSoQ3inFgD74tl1rik38_FnvTYSeVF_THp2gwy51ADlcQhR_QsVl4v1gbzEikSq5mdn-7VuQJCbcpxzuwgwidsuQwLnAJT-TRsCD8JKx2FK7ECumYfOScvmUZRkGapz/s1600/ipad-2-air-02-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple iPad Air 2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> The Cupertino, Calif., company hasn't revealed details of when an announcement for the next generation of iPads will happen, but lately there have been hints at an October release date. Apple has a consistent history of refreshing its tablet line-up during the fall, so the presumption of an October date falls in line with the company's MO.</div> <div> <br />At this point, nothing is for certain, but there are a few safe bets on what we can expect to see. The upcoming iPads will run iOS 8 and Apple is expected to add a Touch ID sensor, an A8 processor, and possibly NFC capabilities, all of which can be found on the new iPhones. However, more details on new features remain purely speculative.</div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycbAKhyphenhyphen6iupzMhl34GJdGKzLRyHSjGpjXPDYY7pjS5iDUYjgXpqLCzJeMFQoC6Xl9PNicUYc37lRfNJjia328o8CGIaDlkh9TxFMk7NNa0SOL_vZOg8aL8hf4Z6saHbd94N6oJrfez21S/s1600/ipad-2-air-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="alt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycbAKhyphenhyphen6iupzMhl34GJdGKzLRyHSjGpjXPDYY7pjS5iDUYjgXpqLCzJeMFQoC6Xl9PNicUYc37lRfNJjia328o8CGIaDlkh9TxFMk7NNa0SOL_vZOg8aL8hf4Z6saHbd94N6oJrfez21S/s1600/ipad-2-air-tech24h.blogspot.com.jpg" title="" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are rumors about a 12.9-inch iPad</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> On the iPhones, Apple doubled the available capacity at the top two price points (64GB and 128GB for the price of last year's 32GB and 64GB models, respectively). Currently, for the 64GB and 128GB models, the Apple iPad Air is priced at $699 and $799, respectively. If Apple replicates its game plan, that would make those prices could drop to $599 and $699. It would be a welcome sight, since anexpandable storage option is highly unlikely, but it's unclear if we'll get that.<br /><br />There are dubious rumors surrounding the announcement of a super-sized 12.9-inch Apple iPad, however, the gossip points towards a 2015 release. Extra large tablets haven't exactly caught on, with Toshiba and Samsung being two of the most recent manufacturers to attempt to tackle the task, but Apple's strong following might catch on to the flailing trend.</div>

Apple iPad Air 2: What we expect for the release date, specs and price of the next iPad

Apple iPad Air 2: What we expect for the release date, specs and price of the next iPad Now that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are real products...

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