New York City's MTA Will Support Apple Pay Starting Early Summer

New Yorker’s will soon be able to use your iPhone as your MetroCard. During Apple’s Q2 earnings call, Tim Cook revealed that New York City's transit system would support Apple Pay in early summer. He didn't say just which services and routes would be covered, but the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's tap-to-pay OMNY system is supposed to launch May 31st with coverage on the 4, 5 and 6 subway lines as well as Staten Island buses.

The MTA will only support tapping on a per-ride basis until the feature is available across the entire subway and bus systems in late 2020, so you'll still have to pull out a MetroCard if you use routes that aren't covered. 

Apple Announces October 30 Event Taking Place At The Brooklyn Academy Of Music

Apple has announced its October media event. It will be held Tuesday, October 30, 10 AM ET at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Howard Gilman Opera House. 

The press invite says “There’s more in the making.” Almost certain to be introduced are new iPad Pros, an updated iMac, and refreshed MacBooks. Less certain is a new Mac mini.

What’s insetting is instead of being held in the Steve Jobs Theater on its own “spaceship campus,” Apple is holding the event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance. Apples last iPad event was held in Chicago, so Apple could be branching out. Thoughts ?

Apple plans to live stream the event. Go to https://www.apple.com/apple-events/ for details.

New York Law Could Allow Police Officers To Checks For Distracted Driving With A “Textalyzer”

New York drivers could soon be subjected to on the spot analysis of their mobile phones to determine whether they were distracted by their devices in the run-up to accidents. That is if a proposed law passes the state legislature. The bill would give police officers the authority to use what they are calling a "textalyzers" to determine whether a phone was being used in the moments before an accident occurred. Those who refuse the search would face immediate suspension of their driving license. Given that, it isn't clear exactly how the devices would determine if a phone was in use. One method may be to analyze the contents of the SIM card, though that would not show how the device was used, that is, whether the driver was looking at it or using it through a hands-free system.What do you think of this law ? Seems a little extreme to me.  

The Best Buy Theater Is Now The PlayStation Theater

Sony has announced that The Best Buy Theater, Times Square's concert and events venue has been renamed to PlayStation Theater. The new name comes as the venue celebrates its 10th anniversary and as part of a partnership that will see rebranding of all the theater's interior and exterior signage. Additionally, it'll lead to live performances being shown on the PlayStation Network. "PlayStation Theater is an exceptionally exciting initiative, allowing us to marry our tremendous brand momentum with an amazing venue right in the heart of Times Square," said John Koller, Vice President, Marketing at PlayStation.  "We believe the PlayStation brand should be deeply integrated with large cultural events, and this partnership provides that opportunity.  We are looking forward to exploring significant cultural moments at PlayStation Theater." What do you think of the change ? Are you excited to see some future performances on the PlayStation Network ? 

Microsoft Holding A Windows 10 Briefing on October 6th

Microsoft is hosting a media briefing featuring new Windows 10 devices on October 6th in New York City. The briefing begins and 10AM ET. Microsoft isn’t giving specifics, but they promises Windows 10 hardware, so we might get a closer look at products like the Surface Hub, a product we recently learned will start shipping to customers on January 1st, 2016. The Hub is priced between $7,000 and $20,000. Plus, there's always the Surface tablet, Lumia smartphones, Xbox One, PC devices and maybe even HoloLens. What do you think will be shown off at the briefing ?

Microsoft Opening A New Store In NYC This Fall

Microsoft is getting ready to open a flagship retail store this Fall on New York's Fifth Avenue. Microsoft Extended Experts Team member Gokan Ozcifci tweeted the image below, which show the storefront at 677 5th Ave with a sign that says "Microsoft Store Coming Fall 2015".The company has 100 outlets in the US, Puerto Rico and Canada though most of those are those Microsoft-branded store within a store sections you see at Best Buy and Staples. This will be its first flagship location, just blocks from one of Apple's iconic stores in New York City. Looks like Microsoft is pushing stores. Are they trying to compete with Apple with stores ? What do you think ? Will this Microsoft store make a difference ? 

Apple To Renovate Iconic Fifth Avenue Apple Store

Apple's iconic Fifth Avenue store in New York City will soon close for renovations and temporarily relocate to the soon to be closed FAO Schwarz toy store. FAO Schwarz is the most famous and oldest toy store in the United States, is set to vacate its building in July 2015 due to the rising cost of rent. The storefront is located just a short distance away from the current Apple Store at 58th Street and Fifth Avenue. Apple reportedly plans to renovate about 20 existing retail stores in the United States to accommodate for increased foot traffic, with many stores set to double in size. 

iPhone Theft Has Dropped Due To The Activation Lock

After Apple added an Activation Lock feature to its devices, iPhone theft has dropped 25% in New York and 40% in San Francisco. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half following the Activation Lock introduction, which debuted alongside iOS 7 in September 2013. A similar report in June 2014 determined that Activation Lock helped decrease iPhone robberies by 38% in San Francisco, 24% in London and 19% in New York in just 6 months after Apple released the feature. Available on iOS 7 or later, Activation Lock is a smartphone kill switch feature that gets turned on by default when you set up Find My iPhone on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. The feature makes it harder for anyone to use or sell your device if it’s ever lost or stolen by requiring your Apple ID and password before anyone can turn off Find My iPhone on your device, sign out of iCloud or erase and reactivate your device.

Amazon Launches 1 Hour Delivery Service

Amazon has announced a new fast shipping option called Prime Now. Available for subscribers based in Manhattan, New York with other cities to follow in 2015. Prime Now offers 1 hour delivery on thousands for items. Amazon says Prime Now is aimed at helping you secure essentials that you might need the service also offers 1 hour shipping on a variety of things. In order to use Prime Now, you need to download the Prime Now app from iTunes or Google Play and enter your address. From there, just choose the item you want and it will be delivered to you in 1 hour or less. There is an $8 fee tied to Prime Now, while 2 hour delivery is free.

Could ZombiU 2 Be Coming Soon ?

If an Amazon France listing is to be believed then we could see ZombiU 2 in Ocotober 2015. The listing  claims the game would be set in New York, when the original game took place in London. What's interesting about the listing is the distributor. Bandai Namco is down on the page but, as far as we know, Ubisoft still owns the rights to the property. A deal could have been made between the 2 companies, But at this time it is not unknown. What do you think of this rumor ? Where you a fan of ZombiU ? Would you buy ZombiU 2 ?