Adidas Wilson's Blog, page 80
September 18, 2017
Google debuts Tez, a mobile payments app for India that uses Audio QR to transfer money
After several weeks of speculation and leaked details, today Google officially unveiled its first big foray into mobile payments in Asia. The Android and search giant has launched Tez, a free mobile wallet in India that will let users link up their phones to their bank accounts to pay for goods securely in physical stores and online, and for person-to-person money transfers with a new twist: Audio QR, which uses ultrasonic sounds to let you exchange money, bypassing any need for NFC.
“Send money home to your family, split a dinner bill with friends, or pay the neighbourhood chaiwala. Make all payments big or small, directly from your bank account with Tez, Google’s new digital payment app for India,” Google notes in its information portal about the new app.
Tez is Google’s play to replace cash transactions and become a more central part of how people pay for things, using their mobile to do so. But it’s also a chance for the company to push out some new technologies — like audio QR (AQR), which lets users transfer money by letting their phones speak to each other with sounds — to see how it can make that process more frictionless, and therefore more attractive to use than cash itself. More on AQR below.
Tez is launching today on iOS and Android in the country and will see Google linking up with several major banks in the country by way of UPI (Unified Payments Interface) — a payment standard and system backed by the government in its push to bring more integrated banking services into a very fragmented market. There will also be phones coming to the market from Lava, Micromax, Nokia and Panasonic with Tez preloaded, the company said.
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Google debuts Tez, a mobile payments app for India that uses Audio QR to transfer money
Justice League Will Feature Two Green Lanterns
2011’s Green Lantern is one of the most notorious superhero flops of the modern era. Originally conceived as Warner Bros.’ equivalent of Iron Man, the movie was intended to launch a DC cinematic universe. Unfortunately, it was rubbish from top to bottom and was hated by critics and shunned by fans.
Nowadays, Warner Bros. would probably prefer you pretend it didn’t happen, which is easy, as it’s a monumentally forgettable movie. Because of this, the studio has been rather coy about the Green Lantern Corps’ place in the DCEU, but now it’s being rumored that Justice League will reintroduce us to the emerald crusaders in style.
This comes courtesy of Heroic Hollywood and The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzales, who said the following (on his Inside Fanboy Periscope):
“In Justice League, there will be not one Green Lantern, but two Green Lanterns. Let’s see if it sticks and they keep them in or if they cut it out.”
Based on what we know of the already announced Green Lantern Corps (scheduled for summer 2020), a pair of Lanterns turning up in Justice League would make a good amount of sense. Word is that we’ll be seeing all the significant Green Lanterns from Earth in Corps, namely Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart and Guy Gardner. Given the central position that they occupy in DC Comics and a number of excellent storylines that revolve around them, it’d seem like a no-brainer for DC to get its wheels spinning early and re-introduce audiences to the idea of the Corps.
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At this point, it’s reasonable to think that at least Hal Jordan will appear in Justice League. After all, Geoff Johns is producing the DCEU movies and, as comic fans know all too well, Johns adores Hal Jordan above all other superheroes (for better or worse). But who could the second Lantern be? I’d say it’s a toss-up between Rayner and Stewart – with Stewart probably a smidge more likely.
Chalk that up as speculation for now, but one way or another, all will be revealed when Justice League opens on November 17th.
Source:
http://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/see-two-green-lanterns-justice-league/
September 15, 2017
September 14, 2017
Spotify launches an iMessage app for texting songs to friends
Spotify has quietly launched its own iMessage application that let you text songs to friends with just a few taps. The new app hasn’t been officially announced, but appears to be similar in functionality to Spotify’s Messenger app, which went live earlier this spring as one of Messenger’s new chat extensions.
As with the Messenger bot, the new iMessage app also lets you quickly search across Spotify’s full catalog for a track you want to share, then tap a button to paste a preview of that song into your chat session. This preview includes an album image, song title, and artist information.
But in the iMessage app’s case, the image is much larger than on Messenger, and there’s no “play” button. Instead, a small Spotify logo at the top left is what indicates that what you’ve sent is a song.
The recipient then taps the image which launches a new window, overlaid on top of the chat session. From here they can play the provided 30-second clip, or tap the “Play on Spotify” button below to hear the full track, if you’re a subscriber. (We also noticed that once it knows you’re a paying Spotify user, the option to stream a clip goes away and you’re just directed to the Spotify app to stream.)
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Spotify launches an iMessage app for texting songs to friends
Jamie Foxx Preparing To Play Mike Tyson in New Motion Picture
Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx is preparing to play former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in a biopic of the controversial boxer.
The 49-year-old actor – who previously won an Academy Award for his portrayal of music star Ray Charles – has agreed a deal to star as the New York-born icon, whose career was blighted by numerous controversies.
A source said: ”Jamie went to a couple of sessions with his trainer in the gym for this movie. ‘He looked quite good throwing a few jabs and crosses against the pads. But when he tried a bit of sparring, he didn’t fare so well. ‘He took a couple of hooks and walked out. He knows if he wants to play Iron Mike then he needs to improve that side of his game.”
Legendary director Martin Scorsese is reportedly keen to helm the project, while Mike has also given Jamie a helping hand with his preparations.
The insider told The Sun newspaper: ”Mike knows it is Jamie’s dream to play him and they have talked about gym work and how he could put him through his paces.
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”The only thing is that if they go sparring and Mike connects, Jamie may never make any movie again.”
MIke, 51, is still the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history.
Some of his career controversies included failed marriage to actress Robin Givens, a 1992 rape conviction, and being temporarily banned from the sport in 1997 after the infamous rematch with Evander Holyfield – where Tyson was disqualified in the third round after biting off a piece of Holyfield’s ear.
Looking forward to the new movie, Mike recently admitted: ”A lot of people aren’t going to like the things I’ve done in my life.”
Source:
http://www.boxingscene.com/jamie-foxx-preparing-play-mike-tyson-new-motion-picture–120435
Disney’s Mulan Remake Begins Shooting This January
Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan is reportedly set to begin production early next year and filming locations have been revealed. The news comes after it was announced that the live-action remake was getting pushed back to a 2019 release date as opposed to the original November 2018 release date. Many have attributed the delay to a lack of casting announcements, but that is unverified at the moment. The Disney D23 Expo announced casting for the live-action Aladdin and many assumed that some information would have been announced for Mulan at D23, but the only thing that was confirmed was that the movie had been pushed back.
While Mulan seems to have taken a backseat lately, a new report suggests that production is due to start soon. Omega Underground reports that production is set to start in late January of 2018 and that shooting will take place in China, New Zealand, and Australia. The news will surely be comforting to Mulan fans as this means that the movie is in full swing. A new release date is expected to be announced soon along with a cast announcement.
Now that the production is scheduled to start, a casting announcement should come down very soon. The live-action remake came under fire last fall when rumors suggested Disney was seeking a white male for the lead character instead of using a Chinese actor. But Disney soon debunked the rumor and revealed that the cast, or at least the main roles, will be filled by Chinese actors. Director Niko Caro revealed that the story will be a “muscular piece of girly martial arts extravaganza in China,” which definitely sounds promising, but that bit of information was announced back in March of this year. In addition, Caro also mentioned that she and her 9-year old daughter will take martial arts lessons together to prepare for the project.
Omega Underground also reports that production has put out a casting call looking for a Chinese actress who can speak both Mandarin and English in late 2016, which echoes the idea that Caro put out about the Mulan cast being culturally authentic by having Chinese actors in the movie. Original Mulanvoice actress, Ming-Na Wen, has expressed interest in acting in the movie, but nothing has been officially confirmed by Disney or Wen at this point in time.
Source:
http://movieweb.com/mulan-movie-2019-disney-live-action-production-start-date/
Daimler’s electric short-haul city trucks are coming to the U.S.
Daimler’s Fuso eCanter trucks, which are fully electric and have a range of 60 miles per charge, are making their way to the U.S. for the first time (via Reuters) for customers in New York City. Daimler’s announcement of the move for its Mitsubishi Fuso trucking unit comes at the same time as Elon Musk has set the reveal of Tesla’s all-electric semi truck for October 26.
The eCanter can handle a payload of over 10,000 lbs, and seats up to three in the cabin. It’s designed for hauling goods within cities with a large physical footprint, though it lacks the longer range of long-haul vehicles. Tesla’s semi truck is reportedly going to offer between 200 and 300 miles of range on a single charge, which would make it more suitable for medium-length trucking runs between cities.
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Both are still far under their diesel-powered equivalents in terms of driving range, but in a city setting the Fuso makes a lot of sense when you facto in fuel cost and potential maintenance savings, and Daimler offers it in various configurations with more or less range and battery capacity depending on how much cargo area a customer is willing to give up.
The eCanter already has a Japanese customer by way of Seven-Eleven, which is set to put 25 of the trucks into operation in the country.
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Daimler’s electric short-haul city trucks are coming to the U.S.
Selena Gomez Reveals Actress Pal Francia Raisa Donated Her Kidney to Her
Now that’s a friend! Selena Gomez took to Instagram early Thursday to give her fans a health update and share some shocking news.
The 25-year-old actress and musician revealed that she recently underwent a kidney transplant due to her Lupus, explaining why she’s stepped back slightly from her career in recent months.
“I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of,” she wrote. “So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health.”
Gomez also revealed that her longtime pal, actress Francia Raisa, is the one who donated her kidney.
“There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa,” she captioned the pic of her and Raisa, 29, side-by-side holding hands in hospital beds. “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.”
The Disney alum also assured her fans they’d be let in even more in the coming months, writing, “I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you. Until then I want to publicly thank my family and incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery.”
Photo: Instagram
Gomez also shared separate photos of her post-transplant scars.
The advocate and activist ended her message with some information on Lupus, writing, “Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made. For more information regarding Lupus please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org/.”
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