From today more than 250,000 shops across the UK, including Boots, Marks & Spencer, Wagamama and Waitrose will start accepting Apple Pay (The Telegraph). The iPhone and Apple Watch payment method can also be used to make contactless payments on all TfL services in London. It is only compatible with certain banks and certain cards, with more being added later this year.
2. Moneypenny could be Facebook's new virtual assistant
The social network is reportedly working on a virtual assistant (The Information via The Next Web). But unlike Siri and Google's virtual assistant, Facebook's helper will be an actual human. Moneypenny, the project's codename, will apparently be available via the Facebook Messenger app and let users to ask real people for help with research and shopping.
3. Pluto is bigger than we thought
The former planet has a diameter of about 1,473 miles, some 50 miles wider than previously predicted (Reuters). The change in size makes Pluto definitively bigger than Eris, another dwarf planet at the outer reaches of the Solar System. Measuring Pluto's size from distance had been difficult due to its atmosphere, but with New Horizons now less than one million miles away, we can finally be sure.
4. Saudi supercomputer enters top ten
The Shaheen II, located at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, is the first supercomputer based in the Middle East to enter the world's top ten list, debuting at number seven (BBC). China's Tianhe-2 kept its position as the most powerful supercomputer in the world in the latest rankings.
5. Facebook wants Adobe to kill Flash
Alex Stamos, Facebook’s new chief security officer, has taken to Twitter to say Adobe should end Flash once and for all (Business Insider). "It is time for Adobe to announce the end-of-life date for Flash and to ask the browsers to set killbits on the same day," he wrote. His comments come after the recent Hacking Team attack revealed a number of new Flash vulnerabilities.
6. Samsung working on a smartphone fat sensor
A new patent describes a method for measuring body fat using four sensors installed in or on top of a smartphone (VentureBeat). The four sensors work together to measure impedance levels from contact with the human body. In an illustration a human hand is shown gripping the phone-based sensors. Such information could one day be used to provide more data to health and fitness apps.
7. 'Very British Problems' Twitter feed gets TV show
The popular account, which details the stereotyped daily pains of being British, is being turned into three hour-long TV episodes for Channel 4 (British Comedy Guide). The show will feature "comedians and some of Britain's best-loved famous faces" talking about how ruddy awkward it is to be British. Blimey. James Corden, Ruth Jones, Vic Reeves, Jonathan Ross and Johny Vegas are all apparently lined up to appear.
8. Land Rover recalls 65,000 vehicles after software bug
The bug allowed other people to unlock car doors without a driver knowing, the firm said (BBC). All Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles sold between 2013 and now are affected. Thieves are reportedly able to use a handheld device to unlock and start cars with keyless ignition systems. Land Rover has placed adverts in newspapers to make people aware of the recall.
9. Ellen Pao not behind AMA firing, says former CEO
Former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong has accused the site's co-founder Alexis Ohanian of instigating the firing of popular employee Victoria Taylor, an event that led to the backlash that eventually saw interim CEO Ellen Pao resign (Engadget). Writing on Reddit, Wong said Ohanian "didn't like Victoria's role, and decided to fire her" but let Pao take the heat.
10. Teens react to encyclopedias
Wikipedia and the wider internet may have spelled the end for encyclopedias, but you might still expect teenagers to have a basic grasp of what these dusty old books were used for (YouTube). Apparently not. As one American 16-year-old puts it, they're like "dictionaries...for different stuff".
Source: wired.co.uk
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