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Groupon rolls out nationwide POS system for restaurants based on Apple’s iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

A better headline for this story would be "Apple's iPad puts the cash register to shame" or something along those lines. Groupon, a popular deals web site, today announced an interesting initiative to put iPad-based point-of-sale (POS) terminal system called Breadcrumb in restaurants across the United States.

Basically a sales, order management and reporting system for restaurants, bars and cafes, Breadcrumb is based entirely around the iPad and it puts last-century cash register to shame. The system was designed by a start-up founded by Seth Harris, which Groupon acquired back in May...

Apple, Samsung, Google and others meet with UN for patent licensing pow-wow

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Apple, Google, Samsung and others meet today - not in a courtroom but in neutral Switzerland. The discussion, moderated by the UN's International Telecommunications Union, focuses on whether the key principal of patent licensing is preventing products from coming to market.

The talks follow Apple and Samsung high-profile patent dispute and the EU investigating whether a number of companies are abusing the patent guidelines...

Motorola pulls all Android phones and tablets from Germany following patent rulings

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Handset maker Motorola Mobility, a Google subsidiary, has pulled all of its phones and tablets from the German market, following unfavorable rulings over patents. This has got to be a huge blow as the search Goliath has been struggling to return Motorola to profitability after it had acquired the ailing cell phone company for $12.5 billion, gaining a treasure trove of 17,000 mobile technology patents. Motorola reported an operating loss of $233 million during the second quarter so you could imagine that any disruption in sales is not going to look good in its next earnings report...

Microsoft (again) mentions Office for iOS and Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 10, 2012

We've been receiving vague hints that Microsoft, which is currently busy for the big Windows 8 launch scheduled for October 26, is also working on bringing the Office suite to the iPad. Today, a new report quotes a Microsoft executive as confirming that the software giant is in fact hard at work developing a native Microsoft Office suite for both iOS and Android. The software should hit the two mobile platforms "sometime after March 2013"...

First Windows 8 ads leak ahead of October 26 release

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

As Microsoft gears up to launch Windows 8 later this month, arguably the most important software release in Redmond's history, first television commercials have surfaced, revealing how the company will communicate the benefits of its first touch-focused operating system to the general public.

Windows 8 has a new tile-based interface consistent with the Metro design language, can run both legacy apps and those optimized for the touch interface, includes a digital store akin to the Mac App Store, features a unified kernel and scales up from the tiniest to the biggest screens and much more.

True to its form, Microsoft plans to offer Windows 8 in a bunch of flavors, including ARM and x86-based tablet versions, Windows Phone 8 for smartphones and standard desktop and server versions. Three more ads are right below the fold...

MLB says it’s seen impressive Passbook adoption thus far

Cody Lee ∙ October 10, 2012

When Apple unveiled its new Passbook app this summer, the tech world, for the most part, wasn't sure what to make of it. It seemed like a good idea on paper, but would companies, and more importantly users, take advantage of it?

Fast forward to today, three weeks after the public release of iOS 6, and we haven't quite seen the adoption we were hoping for. However, it does appear that the companies that have added Passbook support are seeing positive results...

Developers say Apple knew about Maps issues months ahead of launch

Cody Lee ∙ October 10, 2012

With all of the criticism and complaints Apple has received over its new Maps application in iOS 6, you have to wonder, how did it not know that it had all of these issues? Isn't that what the three month beta testing period was for?

Well apparently, Apple was aware of the problems. A number of developers have come forward this week saying they submitted several bug reports to the company regarding Maps issues in the months leading up to its launch...

SuperRope climbs its way up my list of top games

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

The best part of all everlasting iOS games is quick, addicting fun. In addition, easy controls and a lovable list of protagonists are always part of the equation. The Doodle Jumps and Cut the Ropes of the world all have a quick learning curve and endless fun with a little bit of complication.

The newest edition to the clan was launched around a year ago, but was updated earlier this month and has yet to hit primetime. Perhaps, let me be the first to introduce you to SuperRope, the hot new game, that isn't quite new, or hot. Yet...

T-Mobile tells employees to stop using the iPhone name to drive sales

Cody Lee ∙ October 10, 2012

After being snubbed by Apple as an iPhone partner for several years, T-Mobile finally decided to take matters into its own hands. It started updating its network to be more compatible with the handset, and launched a nationwide "bring your own device" campaign to attract unlocked iPhone users.

The marketing has caused quite the buzz in the media, but only time will tell if it resonates with consumers. Unfortunately, T-Mobile may not get to find out. According to a new report, the carrier has sent out an internal memo indicating that it can no longer use the iPhone to drive sales...

Aluminum backing said to be the blame for iPhone 5 supply constraints

Cody Lee ∙ October 10, 2012

It's been almost three weeks since the iPhone 5 went on sale here in the US, and it's practically impossible to find the handset. Apple's website still shows shipping time estimates of 3-4 weeks, and both Verizon and AT&T show the phone won't be available until November.

On the surface, it seems that Apple is once again a victim of its own success: it simply can't make iPhones fast enough to meet demand. But apparently there's more to it than that. Word is that the phone's aluminum backing has been a major factor in the supply constraints...

Hide the Newsstand app using StifleStand for Windows

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated March 12, 2018

Yesterday we showed you how to hide the maligned Newsstand app using StifleStand — a new Mac app from developer, Filippo Bigarella.

What makes StifleStand special is that it doesn't require a jailbreak in order to use it, which means that it even works with the new iPhone 5. No doubt, hundreds of users who despise Newsstand flocked to the app, but Windows users were sadly left in the cold...that is, until now.

As promised by Bigarella, and as noted by iOS blog ModMyi, a Windows version of StifleStand has been created, and it is now available for download. Check inside for a brief video demonstration of StifleStand for Windows, along with the download link.

How to stop Verizon and AT&T from sharing your user data with advertisers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 29, 2017

New iPhone owners on the nation's largest LTE network might be interested to know that the carrier gives its customers 30 days to opt-out of participating in a user data sharing program with advertisers.

The program tracks smartphone users, recording things like location data (though it's anonymized), age, dining habits and other demographics, and shares them with advertisers for targeted marketing...