payments
CurrentC is Totally Going to Launch Eventually, Seriously
MCX announced that they are pushing back the launch of CurrentC:
As MCX has said many times, the mobile payments space is just beginning to take shape – it is early in a long game. MCX’s owner-members remain committed to our future.
They're not wrong that the mobile payments world is still
In Defense of the Algorithmic Timeline
First it was Facebook, then it was Twitter, and just within the past week or two, it was Instagram. Social networks are abandoning the traditional chronological timeline, and it's rubbing some people the wrong way. There are tons of people who are intent on maintaining the unmodified "chron" where the oldest
watch
How to Understand the Apple Watch
I think the tech world is suffering from what I'm going to call smartphone syndrome. The smartphone is the most important technological achievement of the past 20 years, and there is little doubt it will continue to thrive for the foreseeable future. The movement was kicked off in 2007 with the iPhone (don&
watch
Apple Watch is Putting Watch Makers on Notice
Fossil is having a tough time of it lately, and they blame Fitbit and Apple Watch for the trouble:
“In addition to that, I think especially in watches — we attribute this really to all of the press and PR and excitement around wearables — there seems to be somewhat of a lack of interest in watches
review
Television Time Review
Television Time is an app that allows you to keep track of your television shows in a simple, elegant way, and it is the best TV trading app I have ever used. It achieves this status by being remarkably easy to use, having a particular killer feature that I haven't seen anywhere else,
watch
Why Does Apple Not Have an Activity Website?
Pardon the busy design, but why doesn't a website like this exist? Is it Apple's obsession with privacy and not wanting your health data ever touching the cloud? Does it have something to do with a bigger plan in the future? Maybe it's just a lack of interest entirely.
podcast
Bite Size Tech #45: Shoddy Video Game Reporting
I discus The Golden Era of Video Game Console Sales is Over and why it is an example of shoddy reporting that uses flat-out incorrect statistics to attempt to verify a narrative the tech press is desperate to prove over and over again.
watch
Why A 20-40% Thinner Apple Watch is Not in the Cards for 2016
There was a report last month that the next version of the Apple Watch is coming out in a few months and will be 20-40% thinner than the original model. In a world where tech gets thinner every couple years, this seems like a rather pedestrian prediction, but I think it's going
goodie
Wallpaper Weekend: Beme Wallpapers
Beme is a unique social app that aims to take the vanity out of social media. There are no filters, no editing, and doesn't let you experience things through your phone screen. It's an interesting idea, and one that I'm just starting to take a look at, but I
Now is the Time for Apple Pay to Strike in the US
The switch to EMV in the United States sure has been a mess, hasn't it? Whether you're a customer or a merchant, the conversion has likely been expensive at worst, inconvenient at best, and confusing all the way through.
The conversion for merchants has been less than smooth. A study by
BirchTree Now Has an Official Twitter Account
A little programming note today.
Those who have followed the site for a long time know that I tweet all new posts to my personal @mattbirchler Twitter account. But because that is my personal account, you get more than just BirchTree posts and maybe some people don't want that.
So for those of
music
Spotify is Worthless If You Own Music
Paul Thurrott1 wrote a piece yesterday about how woefully inadequate Spotify is for people like him who want to bring their personal music collection with them.
Spotify, alas, does not provide this feature. I’m actually quite surprised by this, given how popular it is, and initially assumed I was missing something. But no: Spotify
podcast
Bite Size Tech is Back! Ep. 44: Future Full of Screens
I did the unthinkable yesterday and finally recorded a new episode of Bite Size Tech. This week’s topic is everyone’s apparent obsession with determining if the iPad can replace your laptop. I was gone for a while so I let the episode run a little over the 10 minute mark. I hope you
Links
Dropbox's Project Infinite's iOS-ification of the Desktop
There was a lot of excitement last week when Dropbox unveiled their latest addition, which they're calling Project Infinite.
Project Infinite will enable users to seamlessly and securely access all their Dropbox files from the desktop, regardless of how much space they have available on their hard drives. Everything in the company’s
Sony's Q4 2015 Financial Results
Sony announced their Q4 2015 earnings this week and the company had a pretty decent year. Their revenue was down 1.3%, but their operating income skyrocketed 329%. I'm not sure how Sony judges success internally, but having much higher profits on slightly lowered revenue seems pretty good. You can dig into Sony&
Game
The Video Game Landscape in 2016
The Entertainment Software Association released its annual "Essential Facts" report about the demographics of the video game industry. You can dig into the entire report if you'd like, but here are some of the most interesting findings:
48% of US households have a dedicated gaming device
That's a pretty
goodie
Wallpaper Weekend: Quiet Night (smartphone)
This week's wallpaper is for those of you who want a simple, dark background for your phone. There is only one variant, and as always, it's in 4K so you won't be able to find a phone display out there it looks bad on.
Enjoy!