Just one week after Apple Pay went into operation on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, national drug store chains CVS and Rite Aid have turned off their near-field communication terminals to block its use.
This action also blocked Google Wallet, which the two chains had been supporting for several months along with other forms of contactless payment systems. It’s also touched off a grassroots effort by users of Apple iOS, Android, Windows Phone and mobile devices to boycott the merchants.
The stores apparently blocked the payment options in favor of a proprietary system that allows the chains to avoid paying transaction processing charges to from credit card companies.
Microsoft announced in an Oct. 27 blog post that the company has begun rolling out unlimited OneDrive cloud storage to Office 365 Home, Personal and University plans.
This move may help quell the endless round of one-upmanship in the price war waged by cloud storage providers. OneDrive also represents a pillar of Microsoft’s strategy of providing “one” cloud service platform that spans a user’s work and personal lives, while keeping IT administrators happy.
Microsoft is testing a version of Windows Server that runs on CPUs based on chip designs from ARM. According to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft is considering whether to bring this ARM version of Windows to the market.
Currently, the company’s Windows Server operating system requires an x86 processor from AMD or long-time ally Intel. Already, both Windows Phone and Windows RT, a tablet-optimized version of Windows 8.x, run on ARM processors.
The Federal Communication Commission has served notice that intends to fine TerraCom and YourTel America up to $10 million for not properly securing information for 305,000 consumers.
According to the FCC, the carriers claimed they secured user information, but an investigation found that from September 2012 to April 2013, basic security measures were not in place and customers’ personal information was stored on publicly accessible Internet servers.
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