Hewlett-Packard is splitting in two
This is half business news and half tech news. Hewlett-Packard is splitting into two companies. One will be called HP Inc., for personal computers and printing products. The second company will be Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, focused on technology infrastructure such as servers, networking, storage, etc. The official release hit the press on Monday.
Snapchat hacked (translation: don’t put nude photos on your phone. Ever.)
The breaking news today is that hackers have gotten into Snapchat photos and now have access to at least 100,000—including some underage nude photos. How’d the hackers do it? They used a third-party Snapchat client app and have been collecting photos and video files for years. Even worse, the images were downloaded by a group of people from a chat forum who claim they’re creating a searchable database so folks can view them by Snapchat username. Business Insider has a few more details if you’re interested, but please, just don’t take naughty photos with your phone. It’s just not a good idea! (Image: C2 Technology)
FB’s Messenger app going to offer payments
Need to pay off a bet you made with your friend? Well, Facebook has you covered. Screenshots hit the web this week of a Facebook Messenger feature that will let friends send money to each other. Apparently it’s as easy as sending a photo—you add debit card info into Messenger. The screenshots don’t offer any clue as to how FB is going to make any money off this, but time will tell. So far, Facebook has no comment.
Forget Coin, check out this all-in-one credit card
Despite what I consider an annoying name, Plastc—yet another product name with missing vowels—looks pretty awesome. Last year I told you about Coin, a digital credit card that would store the information from eight credit cards. It looked great….but it still hasn’t shipped out to those who preordered. In the meantime, the folks at Plastc have come up with a better mouse trap. Plastc looks WAY better than Coin. It’s exactly the same size and weight as a regular credit card (and it’s even a bit flexible), it’ll store up to 20 cards, and here’s the extra cool thing: it has an E-ink screen so you can actually SEE which credit card you’re using (and the store clerk can see your signature and even a photo of you). The bad news? It costs $155 on preorder (although they do have a referral program where you can save $20, apparently). Sexy-looking technology always costs a premium, doesn’t it? Their website has a video of it in action, and if you preorder you could have one by summer of 2015.
Apple Pay coming soon—rumor has it, REALLY soon
A new rumor has Apple Pay coming with iOS 8.1, coming on October 20. This means that iPhone 6 owners can pay for things without hauling out their credit cards—all they have to do is tap their phones onto special payment terminals. My question is, how many terminals are there out there to use? Guess those of us iPhone folks will find out sooner, rather than later.
Age-Prediction software has some hilarious results using celeb photos
This week a website called Future Self, by mapping your face now, promised to show you what you’ll look like in 20 years. Even more, you can also interact with the vestige of your future self and ask questions about what your future might hold (the answers are not customized, but are based on likely trends). What I thought was hilarious was when Gizmodo used photos of famous stars from 20 years ago to see how closely the Future Self image matched actual photos from today. Morgan Freeman ends up looking rather like ET, Steve Buscemi looks…well…not like himself, and Haley Joel Osment appears to have gotten into some kind of forehead disfiguring accident. Check it out if you want a chuckle.
Transformers for yard tools
To me this is a major innovation in yard tool tech: Troy-Bilt is introducing a modular engine called the Flex that can “snap” onto different bases – so you buy the base engine, and then the mower-attachment…or the snow blower one (I do live in Wisconsin), or the power washer one—it’s totally like Transformers for yard tools! (Honestly, why didn’t someone think of this before?) The new equipment goes on sale at Lowes in March 2015. Gizmodo got to try the system, so check out their take on it if you’re interested.
Cool Windows 10 features Microsoft didn’t talk about
Last week since I featured a post about iOS 8 features you might not know about, I feel like it’s only fair to share Lifehacker’s list of the coolest Windows 10 features not really talked about at the reveal event.
Tesla event last night: new features, new models
Elon Musk’s big Tesla event last night at the Hawthorne airport in Los Angeles has the both the car press and the tech press all abuzz over the new Model D. The D is basically an S, but with all-wheel-drive and it’ll go 0-60 in only 3.2 seconds. Plus, it’s going to have a lot new uber-cool “auto-pilot” features that really wow. Specifically:
• Drivers will be able to get out of the car in their driveways and watch it park itself in the garage. When drivers are ready to leave, the car will able to drive itself up, with the car’s temperature and stereo system set to the driver’s preferences.
• The car reads speed-limit signs and adjusts the car to the speed on the sign.
• The new system will move the car over a lane when the driver uses the turn signal.
Those at the party got to test drive the car, and SlashGear posted a video of the auto-pilot features in action, if you want to check it out.
