PCMike 33 How Mobile Pay Works and Why You Should Use it Now!

You may be on the fence about using mobile pay with your smartphone, but consider this: Mobile pay is safer, can be used in more places now than ever, and can save you money.

Still, you probably have a ton of questions about how mobile pay actually works – like what’s the difference between Apple Pay, the new Samsung Pay, and Starbucks Mobile Order & Pay.

That’s why the PC Mike podcast is happy to bring you one of the industry’s top experts: Silvio Tavares, president and CEO, The CardLinx Association, a nonprofit working to educate all about various forms of electronic payment and loyalty programs. CardLinx recently sponsored a report called “Mobile Wallets 101.”

Tavares and PC Mike Wendland talk about how mobile pay is in the process of changing forever the way goods and services are bought and sold in the U.S. They also discuss, among other things:

• Why mobile pay services are safer than traditional credit cards
• How mobile pay services like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay work
• How retailers like Starbucks use their own mobile pay services – and customers can save money
• How banks are allowing customers to use mobile pay
• What happens if you lose your phone set to work with mobile pay
• Where mobile pay can be used today
• Why mobile pay suddenly seems to be so hot now
• How mobile pay will change in the next 12-24 months

Plus, Mike has the latest on Apple’s new El Capitan operating system, news that Twitter will soon let you use more than 140 characters and a strange case in Australia where the “unfriending” of someone was judged to be bullying. We also have your Apps of the Week and, of course, the Thingamajig of the Week, all on episode 33 of the PC Mike podcast!

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Show Notes for Episode #33 Oct. 2, 2015 of the PC Mike podcast:

Tech News of the Week: Update to OS X, Slow Apple Watch, Longer Tweets, Facebook Unfriending

Apple’s Latest OS X Update Released:  Apple has released its latest update for the OS X operating system. The update is called El Capitan. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”2:57″]

Apple Watch Not Fast Enough: The latest report from the Apple Watch experts at Wristly.co says Apple Watch just isn’t fast enough – yet. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”6:43″]

Is Facebook Unfriending Bullying?: Officials in Australia have ruled that unfriending someone can be considered an act of bullying. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”9:29″]

Twitter Expanding How Much You Can Type: You can only type up to 140 characters on a Tweet. That’s going to change.  (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”11:07″]

Thingamajig of the Week: Cool Bluetooth Headsets

Paul Ulreich, Verizon’s Uber User, joins the show to talk about some cool Bluetooth stereo headsets. [spp-timestamp time=”13:08″]

Ulreich mentions the following headsets:

• LG Tone Pro Bluetooth Stereo Headset: http://www.verizonwireless.com/accessories/lg-tone-pro-bluetooth-stereo-headset-red/#?color=Red
• Bose Soundlink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones: http://www.verizonwireless.com/accessories/bose-soundlink-around-ear-wireless-headphones-ii-black/#?color=White
• Beats Studio Wireless Over-Ear Headphone: http://www.verizonwireless.com/accessories/beats-studio-wireless-over-ear-headphone-matte-black/#?color=Red

This podcast is brought to you by Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network. 

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Verizon has been a long-time supporter of domestic violence awareness through its HopeLine from Verizon program. 

Domestic violence is a national problem that impacts our communities, neighbors, coworkers, friends and family members. Verizon believes its network and technologies – and the community at large – can be part of the solution.

HopeLine provides ways for individuals to take action against domestic violence by donating no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories in any condition from any service provider. Verizon turns these resources into support for domestic violence organizations and programs nationwide. Simply drop off any unused device, battery, charger or accessory in any condition, from any wireless carrier, in a HopeLine box at any Verizon retail location. 

Verizon’s goal is to collect 1 million phones by the end of 2015. Do your part and bring a no-longer-used device to a Verizon store during October. 

Together, we can prevent, educate and empower. Visit http://www.verizon.com/about/responsibility/hopeline for more information. 

Visit Roadtreking.com/vzw for stories about how technology can enhance and improve your life.

Apps of the Week: Apps to Remind You When It’s Time to Take Your Pills

From vitamins and dietary supplements to life-saving medications, chances are most of us are regularly taking pills of some sort. [spp-timestamp time=”17:45″]

Managing them doesn’t have to be a big job, though, thanks to a growing number of apps developed to help.

A new report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare says the three most popular are:

Medisafe Meds & Pill Reminder sends reminders for medications, vitamins and supplements. You can also set up Medisafe for other people in your family, have it set to remind you when it’s time to refill, and if you travel, Medisafe adjusts for the proper time zone. The app is free for iOS and Android.

Dosecast can also be set to send reminders on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. You can sync Dosecast with your other devices so that you’re sure to get your reminders when you need it. Also, you can see how many pills you have left and when it will be time to refill. The app is free and available for iOS and Android with in-app purchases to expand capabilities.

Medicinelist+ also allows you to set up a schedule for your medications and enter notes such as why you take it and any other extra instructions you need to remember. Medicinelist+ also allows you to track medicine use and receive your own records via email. It also can keep track of your basic medial info and vitals. Medicinelist+ is free for iOS and Android.

Interview: Silvio Tavares, CEO and President, The CardLinx Association

Silvio Tavares, CEO and president, The CardLinx Association, joins the PC Mike podcast to tell you everything you need to know about mobile pay. [spp-timestamp time=”22:22″]

More information about The CardLinx Association can be found at: http://cardlinx.org/

To download the report Mobile Wallets 101 (sponsored by CardLinx), check out: http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/whitepapers/mobile-wallets-101/ (email signup required)

Online Learning – Free Trial for PC Mike Listeners

I get asked a lot about finding online courses for learning how to use photography software such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom CC, which are both on my recently updated list of tech gear. I talk about how I benefited from taking online courses as well as a special deal available only to PC Mike Techcast listeners at pcmike.com/lynda, where you can even try it free for 10 days and see if online learning works as well for you as it has for me. By the way, they have more than 3,300 courses to pick from – including more than 100,000 video tutorials – in subjects ranging from photography, video and audio to graphic design and web development. With Lynda, you can get:

– Unlimited access to all 3,314 courses – more than 100,000 video tutorials
– Learn new software and stay up to date

Listeners of the PC Mike podcast can get a free 10-day trial. Try any course. Start your trial now and see what you can learn. Just go to https://pcmike.com/lynda to get the free 10 day trial.

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We Need Your Help!

As we begin a new podcast like this, it’s very important to get a bunch of reviews to be able to show well in the iTunes listings. So if you can, I’d sure appreciate it if you’d subscribe and leave me your rating and review.

Here’s how:

First, open up the iTunes app on your computer or mobile device. Click on Podcasts on top
> From the iTunes Podcasts page, use the “Search Store” field up at the top right corner of the page. Type in PC Mike Techcast under the Podcasts category.
> Click on the logo image of the PC Mike Techcast on the search return page
> From there, you can:

1) Subscribe

2) Choose and Click on a star (1-5) that reflects your rating. Five stars means you really like it, one star not so much.

3) Leave a written review.

Thanks to all for the kind reviews we’ve received so far. I read and appreciate every review! If you haven’t left a review please do so. I will be so grateful!

And remember, you can appear in future episodes. Ask a question or voice your comments by clicking the Leave Voicemail tab on the right side of this page here at pcmike.com. You can then use the microphone on your computer to record your question.

Thank you!

 

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