Business & Tech
IPhones, Yard Sales and the Grafton Flea Market
Even yard sales may now accept credit cards, thanks to iPhones.
With the open for the season and yard sales popping up around town, some people may now also accept credit cards rather than requiring cash only.
And all because of iPhones.
Some companies that make accessories that allow small businesses to take credit card using an iPhone so far are VeriFone, Mophie, and Square. Each one uses a secure encryption scheme and none saves the credit card numbers on the iPhone, reducing the possibility of having your credit card number stolen by hackers. These credit card vendors allow smaller businesses that could not afford to take credit cards to be able to offer this choice to consumers now.
Find out what's happening in Graftonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Apple MacBook Pro that was released on Feb. 24 is the first computer available so far to the public with Thunderbolt. Intel Thunderbolt is a blazing 10Gbps (gigabits per second) connection for storage and display peripherals. With that speed, you can transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds (an average HD video is 10-20GB, gigabytes, which are 8 times bigger than a gigabit), or a year of continuous MP3 music in about 10 minutes.
The technology uses the existing DisplayPort and PCI Express protocols which allow you to have multiple uses for a single port. The cable length limit right now (since the cable is made out of two copper wires) is a little over 9 feet. When Intel was asked if Thunderbolt would replace USB 3.0, they said that it would be an “adjacent” technology, not a replacement technology.
Find out what's happening in Graftonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Japanese earthquake and tsunami that happened last month has had a negative impact on their economy and the overall life of the Japanese people. With the nuclear reactors being the country’s biggest source of power, it is affecting some of the factories that supply some of the top electronic companies (including the iPad and iPhone’s battery, screen and storage components).
Without production restarting again soon to pre-tsunami levels, the inventory of electronic parts coming out of Japan could run out by the middle of April. Some manufacturing companies have said they have companies lined up to fill in until they can resume building the parts at their Japanese factories.
The AT&T-t-mobile merger is waiting to be approved by the FCC and Department of Justice (AT&T has agreed to buy the number 4 U.S. wireless carrier for $39 billion from Germany’s Deutsche Telekom). Some people are asking: What does this mean to me?
Q. Will I have to get a new phone to keep my service under the new AT&T- t-mobile?
A. When the FCC and Justice Department approve the deal, AT&T will likely migrate t-mobile customers using 3G phones onto the AT&T network with free or low-cost phones that will work on the at&t network, though there may be a small activation fee. The good news is that t-mobile phones on the older edge network will not need to upgrade to work on the at&t network.
Q. What will this mean for AT&T mobile broadband service?
A. There is a chance that service could improve in quality and service area, including in rural communities, areas without landline-based broadband, and in your car as you travel around.
Q. Will t-mobile customers get access to some of the bundled services of AT&T (phone, TV, internet)?
A. Of course, provided that they live in an area that is not too rural or that does not have fixed-line access to services.
Q. What does the merger mean for the expansion of so called 4G LTE services?
A. The merger will increase the amount of towers they install with the planned implementation of towers enabling them to offer it to 95% of the U.S. households.
Q. What about the effect on Sprint and the rest of the smaller mobile operators?
A. That answer is unclear right now, but lawmakers already are asking questions about whether an AT&T-t-mobile deal would be good for the consumer and for the competition among wireless companies. Big telecom mergers are not unprecedented; Cingular bought AT&T in 2006 (and continued to use the more-recognizable AT&T name), and Sprint bought Nextel at the end 2004.
The three apps that go along with the credit card readers so you start accepting payments over your phone.