CourseCast of the Week

Episode 207 5/31/2011

Title/Description: New Ways of Paying and Other Tech Headlines

Welcome to Course Technology's Coursecast of the week, Episode 207, for May 31st, 2011. I'm Ken Baldauf keeping you up to date with this week's technology headlines.

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…and now, the news!

Today's headline story:

New Ways of Paying

Gauging from this week's news stories, change is in the air for payment systems. Google unveiled its mobile payment system named Google Wallet. The software will run on Google Android handsets and allow users to tap their phone on a pad at checkout counters to pay for merchandise. Google Wallet can store credit cards, offer discounts, link to loyalty rewards, and eventually even hold tickets and keys. Shortly after Google's announcement, PayPal filed a lawsuit against Google for stealing its electronic wallet trade secrets. Meanwhile, a joint venture between Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Wells Fargo will soon allow many bank customers to transfer funds to others through email and mobile phones. If the new service, called clearXchange, is well received, it's likely to put PayPal out of business. The young tech company, Square, made its mark in the commerce industry when it introduced software and a card reader that allows anyone to process credit card purchases on a smart phone. Now Square is taking the next step with iPad software that replaces a cash register. Square's new point-of-sale iPad software manages inventory, automates checkout, and creates digital receipts. Customers either pay by swiping a credit card or transfer payment information from their smart phone. The smart phone software named Card Case allows customers to pay by simply saying their name. The wireless connection between the smart phone and iPad take care of the rest.

• Google Wallet Could Transform Mobile Payments [NewsFactor]
• PayPal Says Google Wallet Steals Trade Secrets [NewsFactor]
• Banks Offer Cash Transfers to Cell Number, E-Mail [NewsFactor]
• Square Releases iPad-Based Cash Register [NewsFactor]
• Square Will Let Shoppers Say Their Names to Pay [NYTimes]

News Briefs

• According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, Computer Science grads receive more job offers than any other students. Accounting came in second, economics third and engineering fourth. Another study conducted by Georgetown University found that students with degrees in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Science and Business Systems Networking, and Telecommunications have the highest earning potential.
  IT Grads In Demand [nextgov]
  New Study Tells Students the Worth of Their Majors [NewsFactor]
• Investment Firm President David Einhorn has called for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to step down. He believes that Ballmer is stuck in the past and has allowed Microsoft to lag behind competitors like Apple and Google. Still Ballmer is unlikely to go while he has the support of Microsoft's Chairman of the Board, Bill Gates.
  Investment Firm Pres. Calls on Microsoft to Boot Ballmer [Ecommerce Times]
• Microsoft unveiled the latest version of its Windows Phone 7 OS nicknamed Mango. The update includes 500 new features and a social network focus. Analysts view the update optimistically and predict that Microsoft will become a stronger player in the mobile arena in coming years.
  Mango Phone 7 Update Enhances User Experience [NewsFactor]
  Don't Count MS Out in Smartphones: Mango Is a Contender [NewsFactor]
• Computer networking giant Cisco Systems is being sued for aggressively marketing and customizing its products for use by the Chinese government to spy on and persecute dissidents. Cisco rejected the allegations.
  Cisco Sued for Helping with China's Golden Shield Project [NewsFactor]
• Google and Citibank each invested another $55 million in the Alta Wind Energy Center wind farm in California's Tehachapi Mountains. The investment will assist Google in powering its energy-hungry server farms and data centers in an environmentally sensitive manner.
  Google and Citibank Each Throw $55M to the Wind [NewsFactor]
• It's time once again for the Group of Eight most powerful countries to meet in France to discuss issues of global concern. The G8 will meet with Internet entrepreneurs to discuss issues of Internet regulation. With social networks fueling violence in the Middle East, world leaders are weighing their responsibilities for controlling and monitoring Internet traffic.
  Activists Warn G-8 Against Web Restrictions [newsFactor]
  Underpinnings of the Internet Shift [NYTimes]
  Google, Facebook warn on Internet rules at e-G8 [Reuters]
• A San Francisco company has released software called BlueStack that allows Android Apps to run on Windows PCs.
  BlueStacks Will Run Android Apps on Windows PCs [NewsFactor]
• Lady Gaga brought down Amazon servers. Or rather, her latest album sales did. Amazon ran a special one day sale on the digital download of Lady Gaga's latest album, and its servers were unable to keep up with the huge demand.
  Lady Gaga Sale Stalls Amazon Servers [NYTimes]
• Hackers have been busy making news this week. Lockhead Martin was the target of a "sophisticated and tenacious" hacking attack which the company says it was able to fend off. Lockhead Martin is the nation's largest military contractor and holds a significant amount of data tied to national security. The company says that it is stepping up its security measures.
  Lockheed says thwarted "tenacious" cyber attack [Reuters]
  Lockheed Strengthens Network Security After Hacker Attack [NYTimes]
• Hackers broke into the PBS network and posted a fake news story claiming that famed rapper Tupac Shakur was alive and living in New Zealand. The group, which identified itself as Lulz Boat, also stole and posted information including passwords for the news organization's MySQL database, station passwords, Frontline logins, and a map of the organization's internal network.
  Hackers Post Phony Tupac Shakur Story on PBS Site [NYTimes]
• And, in what is becoming old news, Sony was hacked yet again. This time at Sony Erickson in Canada. The company warns that customers’ private data may have been compromised.
  Sony Reports Another Online Security Breach [NewsFactor]
• Mac computers are under attack by a new scareware variant that bypasses the Mac's usual security measures. Users are tricked into purchasing antivirus software unwittingly giving scammers their credit card information. Scareware such as this has been around for years but has only recently targeted Macs.
  New Mac Malware Variant Doesn't Need an Admin's OK [newsFactor]
• And in the Bizarre Story of the Week, Mark Zuckerberg made a curious post to his Facebook News Feed. Zuckerberg posted that he had "just killed a pig and a goat." When questioned about his statement by Fortune Magazine, he explained that he only eats meat from animals that he has killed himself. Zuckerberg believes that people should take responsibility for what they eat.
  Meat-Killer Zuckerberg Says Users Get Over Privacy Fears [NewsFactor]

That's it for this week's Coursecast.

This week's shout out goes to the students studying law at Woodstock Academy in Woodstock, Connecticut. Thanks for making CourseCasts part of your law and tech education. Email me with your comments and suggestions for the show at coursecasts@gmail.com. Until next time, have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!