Jacob Hall, Editor-in-Chief of TapSauce | MEDIA | 07.08.2011 @ 11:45 am
Last week, we warned you that Paypal was out to destroy your wallet by 2015. Some of you may have laughed, some of you may have shaken your heads, some of you may have gently patted and reassured your wallet that it was and always will be safe. However, Paypal made its next step in making good on that death threat by purchasing mobile payment company Zong for $240 million yesterday. Zong allows you to enter your phone number in lieu of credit card information for an online transaction, adding the charges to your regular phone bill. If your wallet isn’t whimpering by now, it will be after you take a look at these fancy charts, which showcase just how close we are to a world where your cell phone is used for all financial transactions. Of course, no one is telling us what will happen if cash money goes bye-bye and you drop your smartphone in the toilet and you really, really need milk, so this talk of a paperless future may be slightly premature.
There exists a mounting kit that allows you to attach a DSLR lens to your iPhone. This bears repeating: there exists a mounting kit that allows you to attach a DSLR lens to your iPhone.
The Governors Highway Safety Association (or the GHSA, for those of you in a hurry) have released a report claiming that 25% of all traffic accidents can be blamed on a driver being distracted by his phone and/or gadget of choice . Although talking on the phone has caused more than its fair share of fender benders, the real troublemaker here is texting, leading the organization to suggest banning it when you’re behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. The number of accidents caused by the driver fumbling with his iPhone DSLR attachment is unknown. Between this and that whole “your phone is giving you brain cancer” thing, perhaps we should swear off this technology and retreat into simpler times. Nah.
The Gregory Brothers, of “Autotune the News” fame, have teamed up with app developer Khush to gift the world with the Songify app, which will transform your spoken words into music through the power of autotune. The app is customizable and comes with a selection of different beats, meaning that you can create a variety of irritating songs based on inside jokes to annoy your buddies.
If you’ve ever sat in a Taco Bell, sadly chewed on your bean burrito and thought “Huh, I really wish this restaurant chain had free WiFi and a specialized online TV network that will allow me to download free music and partake in social media interactions”, today is your lucky day.
As of this week, one percent of all web browsing is done on the iPad. That may not sound too impressive, but remember that it’s a device that’s only been around for a few years and is competing with every smartphone, every desktop and every laptop. Whoa…one percent!
Zynga, the company behind online phenomenons/time wasters like FarmVille and CityVille, is about to become a publicly traded company. The IPO is expected to raise one billion dollars (that’s nine zeroes) for the company, which is already worth ten billion (that’s technically ten zeroes, because of the 10). Whether or not stockholders will be gifted with especially fruitful farms in currently unknown.
Are you prone to uploading photographs of you passed out and drunk in a pile of cocaine to your Facebook account? Do you regularly make anti-Semitic comments on your Twitter feed? Are you just a jerk in your online interactions? Watch out: many companies are now putting possible hires through social media background checks.