T-Mobile commits to Passpoint automatic Wi-Fi access

Of the nation's four biggest wireless carriers, only T-Mobile USA has revealed plans to deploy Passpoint, a technology that would allow wireless users to automatically access Wi-Fi hotspots from carriers' 3G and 4G cellular networks.

Certification of Passpoint on network gear and end-user devices, such as smartphones and tablets, begins in June, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance, which coordinated development of Passpoint, based on the Hotstop 2.0 specification, over the past two years.
When a carrier commits to Passpoint-certified devices and gear, its users will be able to seamlessly access Wi-Fi hotspots without a setup process or password, as long as the hotspots are also certified and permit access. Having Passpoint capability could drastically reduce the end-user cost of browsing and streaming video by using free or low-cost Wi-Fi instead of paying for data service plans over 3G or 4G cellular networks, analysts said.
Once multiple carriers use Passpoint globally, or even within the U.S., a smartphone or tablet user could easily roam on to more Wi-Fi hotspots than with a single cellular carrier. If T-Mobile adds the Passpoint capability in the U.S., it's possible that T-Mobile customers would gain access only to hotspots that T-Mobile controls or has set up for partnerships to use.

Mobile device users want streamlined access to hotspots like those that Passpoint would offer, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance. A poll of 1,001 U.S. tablet and smartphone users found that 70% would switch cellular providers if it meant they could access seamless Wi-Fi connections. The poll, sponsored by the alliance and released Tuesday, also found that 72% of those users would pay more for automatic Wi-Fi connections.
A T-Mobile spokesman said once the Passpoint certification process starts, "we expect that our Connection Manager on our devices will leverage Passpoint as an authentication mechanism." T-Mobile has been a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance board and has helped develop Passpoint since 2009, she said.
The other three major U.S. carriers, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, didn't rule out adopting Passpoint eventually, but refused to elaborate on their plans when asked by Computerworld. All three already have capabilities in most, if not all, of the phones they sell to find nearby Wi-Fi hotspots, with the ability to automatically connect after the first time a password is used.
Even though equipment providers such as Ruckus Wireless are expected to show support for Passpoint technology at CTIA this week in New Orleans, analysts said there's not much incentive for a wide number of carriers to move ahead with the technology right away, nor are there many devices that support it.
Passpoint is "pretty much a future dream at this point," said Jack Gold, an analyst at J.Gold Associates. "It's unlikely there will be universal networks that you can roam against. There are probably no phones out there right now that do this ... I don't think it can happen quickly."
Gold noted it took years for roaming between carriers to occur over cellular networks.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/050812-t-mobile-commits-to-passpoint-automatic-259057.html?page=2

Mastercard, Credit Cards for Mobile Payments???

IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau) — PaidPiper, a startup that will debut at the CTIA Wireless show this week, is developing a mobile money transfer system suited to developed economies where the credit-card infrastructure is dominant.
Money transfers via mobile phone are common in many developing countries where traditional banking and credit cards are scarce. PaidPiper, based in San Francisco, is putting credit-card numbers at the center of its payment system, which is due to become available this summer. It says these can be easier both to give and to spend than gift cards or virtual coupons. The company is using APIs (application programming interfaces) from MasterCard WorldWide, which the company is making available to third parties to develop new uses for credit-card infrastructure.
With PaidPiper, retailers and brands will be able to give consumers incentives by issuing unique MasterCard numbers on the spot, either in person or via the mobile network. Consumers will also be able to ask the companies for incentives, which a vendor can deliver in exchange for a consumer action such as filling out a survey, said Atif Hussein, PaidPiper's CEO. He introduced the concept at Mobile Web and Apps World, a side conference held in New Orleans on Monday, the day before CTIA begins.
PaidPiper is a SaaS (software-as-a-service) provider of customer-relationship management, Hussein said. The startup used MasterCard's MoneySend API to develop its own API, which it will use as the basis of a service that third parties can offer under their own brands.
PaidPiper will demonstrate its system with an app of its own making, called, Ok'd, which it expects to have available free for Apple iOS in the middle of this summer. The opening screen of the app has an "Ask" and a "Give" button. As an example of how it would work, Hussein said a shopper who saw a videogame he liked in a store could take out his phone, tap the "Ask" button, and ask for $10 as an incentive to buy the game.
If the maker of the game participated in PaidPiper's service, it could then ask the consumer to fill out a survey in exchange for the $10. After the buyer filled it out, the game maker would use PaidPiper to have a credit-card number issued to him. That number would simply show up on the consumer's phone, and if he wanted to buy anything in the future, either online or in a store, he would give the number or show it to a clerk who would type it in.

Consumers can also download the Ok'd app and issue card numbers themselves. For example, a parent could give a teen-ager a specific sum of money on the fly, from her mobile phone to the child's, and could even restrict where that money could be spent, according to Hussein. PaidPiper can do this by "geofencing" the use of the card to a specific area, such as one store or all locations of a given retail chain, he said. Alternatively, a consumer could scan the barcode of a product in a store and ask someone else -- a parent or a boss -- for a number to pay for it.
PaidPiper can also be used to give incentives in person, from phone to phone, which is ideal for small businesses, the company said. Rather than having to follow up an in-store encounter with a later contact via e-mail, a merchant can reward the customer immediately, PaidPiper said.
Though the idea of typing in long credit-card numbers may seem cumbersome, PaidPiper's service takes advantage of a massive infrastructure that is already ubiquitous in most advanced economies. For example, MasterCard has 1.7 billion cards in use today, issued by 22,000 different banks, and MasterCard is accepted at 33 million locations around the world, said David Butler, MasterCard's vice president and open API product manager.
The PaidPiper system is ready to become more streamlined for in-store use when NFC (near-field computing) becomes more widely available in phones and point-of-sale systems, Hussein said.

http://www.cio.com/

Health Note: Miracle Solutions for Dry Skin #1

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ATM PIN Numbers: Easier to Steal than You Think

I've always thought that losing one's ATM card was an inconvenience, but not a likely source of pain, since even a bad guy who finds it wouldn’t have much luck guessing the PIN. Oops. Not true, it turns out, according to researchers at the Computer Laboratory of University of Cambridge.

They found that the odds of cracking a lost card's four-digit pin are just under 10 percent if you've been foolish enough to select "a really dumb pin," they said. If you've been smarter, the odds decrease to about 1 in 18.
Because my checking account was compromised recently, I'm very aware of scams and hacks that might lead to another painful incident, so this one got my attention.
The very worst PIN you can pick is one of the most common: your birthday. If you do, and your lost wallet contains your driver's license -- and whose doesn't -- you're in trouble. "The lesson for cardholders is to never use one's date of birth as a PIN. The lesson for card-issuing banks is to implement a denied PIN list, which several large banks still fail to do," said the researchers. Another very common dumb PIN is a simple number sequence, like 1234, which also should be banned, they said, but often isn't.
The researchers noted that different banks have different standards covering PINs they'll accept. They found, for example, that Bank of America and Wells Fargo let customers choose "1234" as a PIN, while Citibank does not. Similarly in England, the venerable Loyd's bank and The Co-Op Bank allowed the dumb pin, while others would not.
ATMs aren't the only place that PINs play a security role. Four-digit codes are also used on keypads used to unlock doors, smartphones and voice mail accounts.
In 2009, some 32 million passwords were stolen from an online gaming site called RockYou and then made public. Those passwords, plus a smaller database of iPhone log-ins and an online survey of some 1,100 Web users form the basis of the University of Cambridge research paper.
The survey found about one-third of the people interviewed who have more than one ATM-accessible account use the same PIN. And 53 percent share their PIN number with someone else, usually a family member.
It also revealed that people aren't very imaginative when it comes to choosing their PIN:  29% used their own birth date, 26% the birth date of a partner or family member, and 25% an important life event like an anniversary or graduation. If someone, say a teenager who wants to supplement his or her allowance with a quick trip to your bank account, manages to get your ATM card, it wouldn't take a huge amount of brain power to guess that you've used one of those important dates as a PIN.
Ultimately, the best defense is really up to the banks, the researchers conclude. We'd all be safer if users were simply given a complex code and not allowed to select their own PINs. Of course, a lot of us would have trouble remembering those random numbers and would do really dumb stuff like writing them on the back of the ATM card or on a slip of paper in our wallet.

Consumer Tech Radar

By Bill Snyder

5 Ways to Dress for Success on a Budget

For young professionals, dressing appropriately for work can be just as important as showing up at meetings on time or making project deadlines. With a professional wardrobe, you can help battle negative stereotypes associated with Generations X and Y and show the higher-ups that you’re serious about your career, says Hallie Crawford, a career coach based in Atlanta. "You want to let people know that, despite your age and lack of formal professional experience, you care about your job and take it seriously," she says. But how can you afford a wardrobe for the office on an entry- or mid-level salary? Here are five expert tips on how to stock up on work essentials that are professional, stylish and budget-friendly:

1. Take Stock of What You Already Own

Before buying anything new, browse your closet for basic pieces that you already have, says Barbara Mesecke, vice-president and general merchandise manager for Sears’ Ready-to-Wear division. A few items she recommends you check for: a black dress, a blazer, a pair of trousers and several colored button-down shirts.

Kathryn Finney, founder and editor of the style blog The Budget Fashionista, recommends assessing your wardrobe on a cost-per-wear basis to help you gauge which clothes are worth your investment. “If you have a brown dress that you wear to work three times a month, then you’ll probably want to buy more similar items because it’s something you obviously like and wear often,” she says.

2. Keep Your Work Wardrobe Classic

With their timelessness and versatility, several key items will help you get the most value out of your attire. For men, a solid navy or gray suit goes great with a variety of shirt and tie combinations, says Melissa Merrit, a customer relationship and personal styling director for Nordstrom.

Women need a pair of trousers, a single-breasted one- or two-button blazer and a pencil skirt that hits mid-knee, says Alia Ahmed-Yahia, chief style director for LOFT. You don’t need all three to be the same color, she says, but if you go that route, pick a classic shade like black or charcoal gray so you can wear them together or separately.

You don’t have to shop at expensive boutiques for work clothes. You can find all of these essentials at reasonable prices. For example, a woman’s suit jacket at Bloomingdale’s retailed for $277 in mid September, but I found a similar single-breasted blazer at Macy’s for just $100, more than 60% cheaper.

You can buy suits off the rack at stores such as Men’s Wearhouse for considerably lower prices than those that are custom-made or designer brands. For example, a lightweight wool suit by Armani at Bluefly.com, an online designer fashion store, was on sale for $1,285 in mid September. But at Jos. A. Bank, a retail store that specializes in menswear, I found a similar suit on sale for $208.

3. Know When It’s Worth Spending a Little Extra

If you decide to splurge and buy a higher-quality item or two for your new office wardrobe, focus on the things you’ll be using every day, Finney says. For example, if you use a tote bag to carry your laptop to and from work, going for a higher-quality bag that will last makes sense.

Spend any extra cash on pieces that are classic rather than trendy, says Yujin Wood, co-owner and editor of WorkChic.com. A few items worth the splurge may be a sturdy, structured handbag or briefcase, a business suit, a watch and a trench coat.

For these kinds of purchases, consider registering for private-sale shopping sites, such as BeyondTheRack.com, Gilt.com, Ideeli.com or RueLaLa.com. All offer deeply discounted deals for a limited time only on designer clothes, shoes and accessories. For example, in mid September, I found a wool cardigan by 3.1 Phillip Lim that was marked down to $139 (originally $339) on Gilt, and a vinyl tote bag by London Fog on sale for $70 (originally $150) on Ideeli. The trick with these sites is to log-on and make your purchases right when the sales are posted, as many deals tend to sell out within a couple of hours (see What You Need to Know About Private Sales).

4. Shop at Outlet Malls and Discount Retailers

You can also snag some higher-quality clothing, such as suit separates, coats and shoes, at marked-down prices by shopping at outlet malls. Many high-end clothing stores that a younger worker with a limited budget might not be able to afford, such as Neiman Marcus, Tahari and Theory, offer outlet locations.

Plus, two of the major outlet companies in the U.S., Premium Outlets, which boasts daily deals of up to 65% off, and Tanger Outlets, which touts a “guilt-free shopping experience” because of their low prices, offer VIP shopping clubs. Members receive exclusive online coupons that take an additional percentage off sale items.

Among the downsides to outlet shopping, however, is that you’re limited to what’s available at that time, says Sarah Lahey, co-author of the “Born to Shop” travel guide series. Also, “[there are] no special orders, no tailoring and often no returns. So it’s important to buy wisely.”

You can also try shopping at discount retailers, such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. I worked at the former for a year while in college to earn some extra cash and to feed my growing shopping addiction (two words: employee discount). While I did score some stylishly cheap finds -- several of which are still in regular rotation in my closet more than a decade later -- many items in the store were either out-of-season, irregular or slightly damaged. Take that into consideration before stocking your entire work wardrobe at these types of retailers. You may end up spending the cash you saved having to alter or repair problem clothing.

5. You'll Find Great Deals Shopping Online

If you don’t feel up to fighting the crowds at the mall or outlet, you can also find bargains on the Web. “Online clothing stores like Asos.com and ModCloth.com offer the latest trends, as well as classic styles, for men and women at reasonable prices,” says Wood. But keep in mind: With online purchases, you can’t try the clothes on. And exchanging or returning items may have to work around the mail’s schedule, unless you can take care of any issues in person at a brick-and-mortar store.

To do some comparison shopping before clicking the “buy” button, Wood suggests visiting sites, such as ShopStyle.com and MyShoes.com, that allow users to search through a wide selection of brands and prices for specific clothing or accessories, even drilling down to color and size. For example, when I typed in a search for “men’s blue dress shirt” at ShopStyle, a range of options showed up in the results -- from a Prada classic blue striped spread-collar shirt for $310 at Bluefly.com to a Club Room blue stripe French-cuff shirt for $50 at Macy’s.

By Andrea N. Browne, Channel Editor

iphone - android - windows phone challenge

http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-takes-iphone-android-windows-phone-challenge-video-114257129.html

A new campaign from Microsoft repeats what many reviewers have noted about Windows Phone: It's comparable or better than its iPhone and Android-based competitors.

The effort, which rolled out on Thursday morning via Windows Phone's Facebook Page, shows Microsoft evangelist Ben "The PC Guy" Rudolph who bets consumers $100 that Windows Phone is faster than their phone.

[More from Mashable: Gorillaz in the Midst: Converse Offers Exclusive Free Download of New Song]

The challenge, which is sure to provoke online debate, involves activities like posting pictures to Facebook and finding music. The push, which also includes the Twitter-friendly hashtag #SmokedByWindowsPhone, comes as Windows Phone's market share hovers around 2%, according to Canalys. That's particularly frustrating to Microsoft because, unlike past attempts at mobile operating systems, Windows Phone 7, released last fall, has actually gotten glowing reviews.

Mashable editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff also raved about Windows 7 last November, calling it a "good -- possibly great -- mobile platform." However, the platform has a lot to overcome, including Microsoft's reputation for so-so, me-too products (like its Zune MP3 player) and, perhaps more cripplingly, the lack of dedicated apps for the OS.

[More from Mashable: 10 Staggering Facts Behind Apple’s Foxconn Factory]

Thus the new campaign, which should be familiar to those of us old enough to remember the Pepsi Challenge ads, which are clearly evoked. Microsoft, however, has tried the comparison technique before without a great deal of success. Most notably, in 2009 with a series of ads called "Laptop Hunters" that demonstrated Windows-based laptops' value over comparable models from Apple. That campaign didn't dent Mac sales in the least.

Similarly, Motorola's attempt to take on Apple's iPad with a 2011 Super Bowl ad was unsuccessful. It remains to be seen whether Samsung will get traction by comparing its Galaxy S II with Apple's iPhone 4S in its 2012 Super Bowl ad.