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Google Quietly Unveils Soon to be Released Physical Google Wallet Card

News broke that Google’s Help section had a new, discreet addition: the announcement of the Google Wallet Card. The site slyly kept the announcement subtle, but it certainly did not take long to be noticed. Google says that devices that are running Android 2.3.3 will soon be able to use an actual payment card with the Google Wallet app.

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First Day Hands-On Review and Impressions with the iPad Mini

Like so many others today, we received a visit from the Apple fairy. She left us a shiny new iPad Mini in our mailbox. But unlike many others, we are writing up our first impressions for you, our readers. Here is our review, and first impressions, of the iPad Mini and, of course, the mini iPad Smart Cover or, as we call it, the ‘magic cover’.

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Why the Newly Improved Google Voice Search App Beats Siri Hands Down (and You Can Use it on Your iPhone!)

For those of you who are fed up with Siri’s lack of understanding you when ask to do a search, then the Google Voice Search app may be just what you need. When you ask Google Voice Search where the nearest taco shops around you are, unlike Siri, which will likely come back with a list of the nearest tackle shops, the Google Voice Search app will deliver your request with consistent precision.

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Apple Ousts iOS Chief Scot Forstall Over Personality Clashes, Refusing to Sign iOS Maps Apology Letter

Apple has reportedly ousted iOS chief Scott Forstall for refusing to sign the apology letter released after the iOS Maps mess. The announcement of his departure came as a shock to not only the public, but even to several Apple insiders, who were informed of Forstall’s departure mere minutes prior to the official press release.

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Google Rolls Out Backpack Cam for New Google Street View Trekker

Google is going beyond Google Street View and rolling out the backpack cam operated Google Street View Trekker, a wilderness cam that offers a wilderness view of all the corners of the world that Google Street View has previously left untouched, namely woods views and forest views. The backpack cams can be carried by hikers and campers who are on foot and already headed to spots where cars and planes cannot easily go and Google is starting with the Grand Canyon.

How to Block or Otherwise Thwart or Deal with Spam Phone Calls on Your Land Line and Mobile Phone
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How to Block or Otherwise Thwart or Deal with Spam Phone Calls on Your Land Line and Mobile Phone

Yesterday we featured an article on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) contest challenging anyone from the public to come up with a way to beat spam phone calls. The reason for expanding their efforts, says the FTC, is because complaints about spam phone calls, or, “robocalls,” more than doubled in April of 2012, from their last high in October 2010 . So what should we do to avoid these nuisance calls until our unknown hero steps forward with the answer?

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Smell Something Fishy? It Could be the Chat Perf – the First Smell-o-Vision Accessory for the iPhone

If you’ve ever felt that your iPhone experience would be enhanced if you could only smell scents that go along with your browsing experience, then the Chef Perf iPhone app may be right up your alley. The app, developed by Japanese company Chaku Perfume, smells via an attached scent delivery device that contains an atomizer, also being referred to as a “smell tank.”

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Amazon’s Kindle Readers to See Credits After Antitrust Lawsuit Settlement with Apple, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Hachette, Pearson, Penguin and Simon and Schuster

This weekend Amazon sent an alert to all of their Kindle customers, informing them of a recent antitrust lawsuit settlement over ebook pricing (some people are calling this a ‘class action’ lawsuit, but it was actually an antitrust suit filed by the government). The settlement is expected to be approved sometime in February 2013, at which time those who have purchased Kindle books can expect to see an estimated credit of $0.30 to $1.32 per each eligible Kindle book that they purchased.

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iPhone 5’s iOS 6 Automatically Opts You In to Being Tracked by Advertisers by Default – Here’s How to Turn it Off

Perhaps iOS 6’s Mapplegate was simply meant to be a great distraction from the fact that Apple is now covertly tracking users through IFA (or IDFA) tracking technology with the iOS 6 update. While Apple had disabled the tracking of iPhone users by advertisers by disallowing app developers from using the data from Apple devices through the unique serial number permanently assigned to each device, it seems that iOS 6 has brought tracking back.

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Google Slapped for Continuing to Collect Personal Data from Safari

Google is again blaming technical glitches for violating privacy policies and collecting personal data, this time from those using Apple’s Safari web browser. Google has agreed to pay the Federal Trade Commission $22.5 million – the largest amount that the FTC has ever fined – because they sneakily undermined the privacy settings of millions of Safari users by using computer code to trick Safari into granting Google access to user activity through cookies.

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Apple Announces New iPod Lineup with Brand New iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle

Today Apple announced their new iPod lineup full of upgrades and the usual array of bright bubblegum colors. The iPod Touch is revised with the same anodized aluminum that is used in the MacBook. The colors come in black, silver, turquoise, neon green and pink. This is the lightest iPod Touch to date, and comes with a detachable wrist loop as an easy way to keep your iPod Touch close, without having to actually carry it.

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Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore Author Robin Sloane Releases App Fish: a Tap Essay for the iPhone

An app as an essay, that is what is behind Robin Sloane’s, author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hours Bookstore, app, Fish: a Tap Essay. It doesn’t do anything like allow you to play games or find friends. It is simply an essay with some thoughts on the Internet, and the way that we treat and view online content.

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Google, Facebook and Twitter Join Forces to Fight New Child Privacy Efforts

The Obama administration is proposing to strengthen child privacy laws, and Internet giants Facebook, Twitter and Google are not happy. According to the three websites, the proposed law changes will interfere with their user’s ability to tweet, share information on the Web, and to “like” Facebook posts. They also say that these changes hamper free speech.

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Google Comes to iOS 6 Map Users’ Rescue with New Mobile Mapping for Mobile Browsers Including Safari

Google Street View is back for iOS 6 users. It seems that Google is the knight in shining armor to the whole Mapplegate fiasco that has left scores of iOS 6 users frustrated with the quality of Apple maps. The victory is small, but at this point, iOS 6 users will take any scrap thrown their way.

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Rumors Leak of Apple’s New Tiny Micro Mini iPad, is it Really That Small?

The tech world has been abuzz over rumors that Apple is gearing up to release the tiny mini iPad, so far having been dubbed the “iPad Mini.” Speculations based on various “unnamed insiders” and forecasts from technology experts have offered some insight into what we can expect.