Apple Pay: the

complete review

OUT-OF-PATIENCE
INVESTORS SELL
OFF AMAZON

64
ZUCKERBERG SPEAKS CHINESE,
BEIJING STUDENTS CHEER

Apple Pay makes payments

quick and convenient

48
Aaron Sorkin casts
Christian Bale for
innovative new Steve Jobs
motion picture

38 12
RETAIL SKIRMISH BLOCKS APPLE PAY AT CHECKOUT LINE 06
THE TOP 20 US CITIES FOR TECH STARTUP FUNDING 28
GOOGLE EXEC SETS RECORDS WITH LEAP FROM NEAR-SPACE 76
HOW TO PICK A COLLEGE? DATA CRUNCHERS HOPE TO HELP 98
USER GROWTH, OUTLOOK HIT TWITTER STOCK AFTER-HOURS 110
APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAYS APPLE PAY A SUCCESS 126
FTC SAYS AT&T MISLED CUSTOMERS OVER UNLIMITED DATA 132

72
iTunes Review 82
Top 10 songs 116
Top 10 albums 118
Top 10 Music videos 120
Top 10 TV Shows 122
Top 10 books 124
Top 10 apps

RETAIL SKIRMISH
BLOCKS APPLE PAY AT
CHECKOUT LINE

Plan on paying in stores with your shiny new

iPhone 6? Not so fast.
Retailer resistance to Apple Pay had been
expected because Apple hasnt offered
incentives to install pricey point-of-sale
terminals and train staff on its new mobile
payment system. But the decision to not
accept Apple Pay by retailers that already have
contactless terminals in the checkout line is a
skirmish rooted in competition.
Big merchants like McDonalds, Macys and
Foot Locker are all accepting Apple Pay. But a
consortium of retailers called Merchant Customer

Exchange plans to offer a rival mobile payment

system next year which could direct debit
customers checking accounts, instead of using
a credit card. It also will be designed to track
customer buying patterns to be able to offer
targeted promotions. In the meantime, some of
the groups biggest members, like CVS, 7-Eleven,
Best Buy and Wal-Mart, are nixing so-called NFC
payments even though they already have the
point-of-sale technology in stores. Other retailers
that arent part of MCX, like Starbucks and Taco
Bell, are opting to develop their own mobile
payment services, and so arent taking Apple Pay
either. Queries into Merchant Customer Exchange
were not returned.
Retailers (that are part of Merchant Customer
Exchange) are certainly going to give it a go on their
own, they spent the last few years and money
developing this, said eMarketer analyst Bryan
Yeager. Ultimately if theres enough consumer
demand for it in the long run, maybe they will
accept Apple Pay, but theyre very much intent on
trying to make a go at their own mobile wallet.
Although nascent, the appetite for mobile
payment is growing. Mobile commerce is expected
to total $305.7 billion in 2014, up 15.7 percent
from the prior year, according to eMarketer.
Apple Pay launched Oct. 20. On Monday,
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the new mobile
payment system had over 1 million activations
in the first three days after it became
available, and is now more widely used than
any competing payment system. He called the
dispute with retailers a skirmish.
Weve got a lot of merchants to sign up, a lot
more banks to sign up and we have the whole
rest of the world, he said at the WSJD Live
Conference in Laguna Beach, California. So were
just getting started.
Ben Heyman, 20, lives in Indianapolis and has
used Apple Pay twice at McDonalds with no
problem, once he figured out how close to hold

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his phone to the reader. Hes originally from

England, where contactless payment is more
common, so hed like to see it in wider use here.
If it was in every shop I would use it
everywhere, he said.
By next October, retailers will be required to
have point-of-sale terminals that work with
the new EMV chip-and-pin security standard
for credit cards. Those terminals usually also
have the near-field communication capability
to work with Apple Pay, Google Wallet and
Softcard systems, but they arent automatically
enabled to work with NFC. Is it really in retailers
interest to block customers from using mobile
wallet services other than their own?
Blocking mobile payments providers will
deprive consumers of their preferred method
of payment, said Jason Oxman, CEO of the
Electronic Transactions Association, a trade
organization for the payment-processing
industry. With more than 300 million mobile
devices and more than one billion credit and
debit cards in American consumers pockets, the
future ubiquity of mobile payments is certain.
Mallory Duncan, general counsel of retail
lobbying group The National Retail Federation,
defends retailers choice.
It is easy to second guess why a specific retailer
chooses one technology or another, or what
payments they will or will not accept, but you
can be sure that the bottom line consideration
is what is best for their company and their
consumer, he said.
Travis Wacker, 25, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
has used Apple Pay at Whole Foods, where he
is a customer service supervisor.
Id prefer to be able to use it at all retailers,
but its not like make or break for me, he said.
Im still going to shop at stores that dont let
me use Apple Pay. I dont have an issue with
swiping a card.

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Christian Bale has been confirmed as the

titular lead in Sonys upcoming Steve Jobs
movie, which already boasts a script from
Aaron Sorkin and the directing talents of
Danny Boyle. While Matt Damon, Bradley
Cooper, Ben Affleck, and Leonard DiCaprio
were among a host of seasoned actors
considered for the role, Bales casting sheds
further light on what was already expected
to be an innovative blockbuster.

Think differently: Sorkins

inventive screenplay
Sorkins outstanding pedigree makes him
an ideal candidate to write a movie about
Apples charismatic co-founder and former
CEO. Sorkin has already encountered success
on similar terrain: The Social Network, which
portrays the founding of Facebook and the
tempestuous relations between its creators,
earned Golden Globes for Best Motion
Picture Drama, and Best Screenplay.
The movie lost out to The Kings Speech
for Best Picture, but Sorkin still bagged the
award for Best Adapted Screenplay. His
upcoming Steve Jobs project, so far untitled
and without a confirmed release date,
is expected to expand upon this former
success, with the noted writer stating
that the film will feature the rapid paced
dialogue so notable in The Social Network
and The West Wing, in addition to a more
experimental approach to form to push the
project beyond whats expected from the
traditional biopic.

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Sorkin is keeping his hand close to his

chest regarding the movies specifics, but
has revealed plans to utilize an innovative
real-time approach to the script. As he
stated at the Tribeca Film Festival: "Its not
a biopic." Initial plans suggest that the
movie will unconventionally contain only
three long scenes, each set backstage during
one of Jobs infamously enigmatic product
launches, with Sorkin confirming that there
"isnt a scene or frame that hes not in, and
theres a tremendous amount of language
its an extremely difficult part."
The writer has been exhaustive in his search
for the perfect actor to bring the role to life
and rise to the task set by so challenging a
concept. Hes now plainly found his perfect
Steve Jobs: "We needed the best actor on
the board in a certain age range, and that's
Chris Bale."

Learning from mistakes:

Kutchers Jobs
In the short time since Steve Jobs death in
2011, the world has already been treated to
a filmic treatment of his life, though not a
particularly memorable one. In 2013, Ashton
Kutcher produced Jobs, taking the lead role
for himself. The film tanked at the box office,
making only $6.7 million across America and
drawing notable criticism from both critics
and associates of Jobs.
Currently pegged with a meagre 27% on
Rotten Tomatoes, Jobs was widely viewed as
failing to properly engage with the character

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Image: Matt Sayles

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of Steve Jobs, which one would expect to

be the central focus of such a picture. Sandy
Cohen noted that the movie evidently strove
to be a biopic, but "instead of offering insight
into the man, its a chronology of Apple and
the advent of personal computers this
film might have been "The History of Apple
Computers"." Cohen described Kutcher as
portraying Jobs convincingly enough such
muted praise aptly characterized the general
critical consensus on Kutchers performance.
The film also drew criticism from Steve
Wozniak, Apple co-founder and Jobs'
close friend. Wozniak admitted that he
was "turned off by the Jobs script" and
ultimately turned down an offer to consult
on the movie after reading it. Stating
that "the personalities were very wrong",
Wozniak concluded that despite Kutchers
commitment to the role, he seemed to have
failed to grasp Steve Jobs' personality.
Despite allegedly spending hundreds of
hours intensely studying tapes of Jobs to
accurately replicate his distinctive hunched
walk and idiosyncratic mannerisms, the
final result was a character that looked and
sounded a lot like Steve Jobs, but which
failed to adequately portray his subtleties as
a person. Similarly, the script fundamentally
failed to engage with the mans life in any
kind of penetrating manner. Ultimately, Jobs
was an uninspired movie that seemed more
like a made-for-TV project than a blockbuster
in its own right.

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Sorkin goes deeper

Sorkins plans for long, dialogue-heavy
scenes in real time, and his promise that the
upcoming feature will not simply be a biopic,
seems to move his movie far away from
Kutchers formulaic offering. Watching Sorkin
speak about the project during interviews,
its immediately clear how deeply the writer
is looking into the character of Steve Jobs.
"Hes a fascinating guy part hero, part
antihero", Sorkin states. Evidently drawn to
these contradictory images of the divisive
businessman, Sorkin seems to be offering
a considered angle of Jobs' notoriously
controversial character: "I've been able to
meet these people who revere him in spite
of the fact he made all of them cry at one
point or another, but he made all of them
better at what they were doing."
Sorkins treatment of Mark Zuckerburg in
The Social Network portrayed a similarly
conflicted character, and his evident
satisfaction over once again getting his
teeth into such compelling material points
is sign enough that the new movie will
offer a substantially more piercing insight
into the character than Kutchers attempt.
Sorkin has also received the backing of
Wozniak, who has agreed to work as a
consultant for the film.
It was in fact this decision which further
prompted Wozniak to decline involvement in
Jobs, leading Kutcher to petulantly complain
that it was his commitment to Sorkins movie
that led Wozniak to criticize his own biopic.

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Wozniak responded by stating that he was

easy to get hold of, and would have been
open to further conversation that Kutcher
failed to take advantage of.
Whatever the case, Sorkins access to
Wozniak provides valuable credibility for
his movie, as well as giving the writer
an unsurpassable resource to help him
construct his characters and narrative. That's
just one more reason to look forward to the
upcoming picture.

Christian Bale the perfect choice

Of course, Christian Bale brings a whole new
type of credibility to the film. Famous for
straddling the line of involvement between
cult art house productions and studio
blockbusters, Bale possesses a proven track
record of outstanding work. Sorkin has
confessed that Bale was so perfect for the
role that he didnt even have to audition.
Bales experience and proven talent make
Kutcher pale in comparison, and suggests
a perfect fit for Sorkins inventive and
searching exploration of Steve Jobs. The
actor has justly earned a reputation for going
to incredible lengths to capture a character,
famously consuming nothing but one apple
a day plus coffee to drop a staggering 121
pounds for The Machinist, before quickly
pilling on 60 pounds of muscle to play the
caped crusader in Batman Begins.
Kutcher reportedly attempted to employ
similar method acting for his portrayal of
Jobs, but was hospitalized after committing
Image: Kevin Scanlon

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to his strict fruitarian diet. Whatever

approach Bale chooses to take, its sure to
result in a memorable performance, and
his implied dedication to the role seems to
offer a perfect complement to Sorkins razorsharp writing and Danny Boyles enthralling
directorial imagination.

A movie worth waiting for

Media speculation over the casting of Jobs
has served to ramp up expectations for
Sorkins film, and the announcement of
Bales addition to an already strong team will
do nothing to stem industry anticipation.
A movie about Steve Jobs might sound
interesting, but its a hard sell to turn his
life into a compelling reason for cinema
gooers to flock to it in droves. Acting chops
aside, Bale has a loyal fan base perhaps only
outdone in size by that of Johnny Depp,
so his presence is certain to draw in some
otherwise uninterested crowds.
But even leaving aside the promise of
increased attendance, the choice is a savvy
move by Sorkin. Bales casting adds the
talents of an A-list actor to those of an
industry-leading writer and pioneering
director. The upcoming film promises to
move beyond what you know about Steve
Jobs, and offer something that youve never
seen before.
by Benjamin Kerry & Gavin Lenaghan

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THE TOP 20 US CITIES FOR

TECH STARTUP FUNDING

When you think of tech startups, you probably

think Northern California. Companies there
receive the largest share of funding from venture
capitalists, but there are several other notable
pockets around the country.
In the first nine months of the year, venture
capitalists poured $24 billion into tech startups
around the country. About half of that funding
went to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, according
to the National Venture Capital Association.
Here are the top 20 metropolitan areas receiving
such funding through Sept. 30, ranked by funding
amount. The figures include tech startups for
software, business services, networking and
telecom, but exclude some categories such as
biotech, energy, medical devices and retail.

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1. San Francisco, $9.32 billion, 506 deals

2. San Jose, California (Silicon Valley), $3.78
billion, 237 deals
3. New York, $3.05 billion, 272 deals
4. Boston, $1.05 billion, 158 deals
5. Los Angeles-Long Beach, California (Silicon
Beach), $768 million, 105 deals

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6. Oakland, California, $510 million, 41 deals

7. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington, $471
million, 56 deals
8. Provo-Orem, Utah, $462 million, nine deals
9. Washington D.C., $456 million, 77 deals
10. Chicago, $402 million, 57 deals

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11. Austin-San Marcos, Texas, $315 million, 58 deals

12. Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah, $275 million, 16 deals
13. Denver, $240 million, 26 deals
14. Atlanta, $233 million, 32 deals
15. Orange County, California, $212 million, 46 deals

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16. San Diego, $140 million, 31 deals

17. Phoenix, $136 million, 12 deals
18. Dallas, $132 million, 21 deals
19. Philadelphia, $125 million, 32 deals
20. Pittsburgh, $124 million, 35 deals

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ZUCKERBERG SPEAKS CHINESE,

BEIJING STUDENTS CHEER

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China may ban Facebook, but not its co-founder

Mark Zuckerberg. The young billionaire delighted
an audience of students at a prestigious Beijing
university this week with a 30-minute chat in his
recently learned Mandarin Chinese.

DID HE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE BAN?

He made no explicit mention of Chinas ban
on the social media giant, but an indirect
reference to it drew laughter during the
question-and-answer session Wednesday
at Tsinghua University. Zuckerberg, whose
company has long sought to enter China,
noted Facebook already helps some Chinese
companies in foreign markets, citing computer
maker Lenovos ads on Facebook in India.
Speaking of China, I have a more difficult
question for Mark, which I hope will not get
me fired. What are Facebooks plans in China?
asked the forum facilitator and Facebook
employee Wei Xiaoliang, to the laughter and
applause from the audience.
We are already in China, Zuckerberg said in
Chinese, to more laughter. We help Chinese
companies gain customers abroad, he said.
We want to help the rest of the world
connect to China.

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Image: HO

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WHY WAS ZUCKERBERG IN CHINA?

Zuckerberg may be hoping to lay the
groundwork for an eventual entry into China,
but he visited Beijing this week as a newly
appointed member of the advisory board for
Tsinghua University School of Economics and
Management and met with the universitys
president on Tuesday.
Both he and the university posted clips of
his Wednesday session, which was open to
questions from students for the last 8 minutes.
Facebook has been banned in China since
2009. Beijing promotes Internet use for
business and education but bans material
deemed subversive and blocks access to
foreign news and social media websites that
authorities believe could stoke social unrest.

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SO, HOWS HIS CHINESE?

Zuckerbergs Chinese pronunciation was far
from fluent, and some native speakers called
it a challenge to understand. He sometimes
struggled with certain words and tones, and
needed help in understanding questions in
Chinese. But he was able to express himself well
and maintain an intelligible conversation for a
half hour. The students responded with warm
cheers for his effort and laughter at his humor.
Zuckerberg married Chinese-American Priscilla
Chan in 2012, and set himself the goal of
learning Mandarin in 2010. He said Wednesday
that he wanted to learn the language partly
because his wifes grandmother only speaks
Chinese. He recalled informing the grandmother
of the marriage plans.
Priscilla and I decided to get married, so I told
her grandmother in Chinese, and she was very
surprised, Zuckerberg said.

WHAT ELSE DID HE SAY?

Zuckerberg said several things apparently
aimed at endearing himself to the Chinese
audience. He said China is a great country and
hopes that learning the language will help
him learn its culture. The Chinese language
is difficult, and I speak English, but I like
challenges, Zuckerberg said.
When asked about his favorite food, he cited
Beijing hutong snacks sold by street-side
vendors in the capital, and Peking duck,
Beijings signature dish of duck meat served
with sauce and rolled up in a crepe.

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Image: HO

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HOW WAS HE RECEIVED?

Tsinghua students gave Zuckerberg a warm
reception. On social media, many microbloggers
noted the irony that Zuckerbergs famous
creation is blocked in China.
Designer David Wang, in an interview in
downtown Beijing, said he would be happy if
Facebook was allowed across the so-called Great
Firewall of China. Because now we have to use
software to jump the wall if we want to access
Facebook, he said.
Li Qin, a computer programmer from the eastern
city of Hangzhou, said on a microblog that she
could barely understand Zuckerbergs Chinese.
It was a challenge for Chinese listening
comprehension. But even though Facebook
cannot enter the Chinese market, Mark is still
making a fighting effort to learn, she said. It was
quite a funny scenario.

Image: Udit Kulshrestha

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Why it really does transform

mobile payments
We're so used to hearing that the latest Apple
product or service launch "transforms" its
category, and we aren't necessarily referring
to the language used in the Cupertino firm's
own press releases - the wider media are
more than good enough themselves at that
particular hyperbole. It would be easy to think
that Apple's latest innovation - Apple Pay surely can't live up to the hype of doing the
same for mobile payments. However, if you
did, you'd be wrong.
Sure, a lot of bold claims have been made for
a solution that is supposed to make mobile
payments easier and quicker than ever.
Apple itself has described the service as "a
new category of service that will transform
mobile payments with an easy, secure and
private way to pay", while the Wall Street
Journal has said that it "changes the way we
look at our phones, not to mention wallets full
of credit cards and bits of paper."

The essential details of Apple Pay

So, what actually is Apple Pay, beyond the
obvious? Well, there are three elements
that make up this ambitious payment
system - a near field communication (NFC)
antenna, a dedicated chip that Apple refers
to as the Secure Element and the by-now
familiar Touch ID fingerprint authentication
technology that debuted on last year's
iPhone 5s.

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Now, that technology features on both the

iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, either of
which will be required if you would like to
take advantage of Apple Pay for both in-store
and in-app purchases. However, owners of
the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 are also
able to use it, albeit solely within apps. The
Californian tech giant has added that even
the upcoming Apple Watch will incorporate

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Apple Pay, which will also enable its use

by owners of the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s and
"unapologetically plastic" iPhone 5c.
As Apple Pay was first announced as part of
the same September 9 keynote that debuted
the Apple Watch, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus,
it's understandable that it may have passed
you by slightly at the time. Nonetheless,

Image: iMore

Apple unveiled many details about the

payments system even back then, such as that
credit and debit cards from the three biggest
payment networks - American Express,
MasterCard and Visa - are supported.
Apple also listed many of the leading retailers
that would support Apple Pay, including
Disney Store, Bloomingdale's, Macy's,

McDonald's, Subway, Walgreens and Staples

- as well as the Cupertino firm's own 258 U.S.
retail stores. In a subsequent press release
that confirmed October 20 as the date from
which Apple Pay would become operational in
the U.S., it was also revealed that 500 more
banks from across the country had thrown
their weight behind the system.

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Apple Pay prioritizes the utmost

security
Apple has already been at pains to emphasize
that Apple Pay is not merely about speeding
up the process of paying for goods, at the
expense of security. The company's senior
vice president of Internet Software and
Services, Eddy Cue, described security and
privacy as being "at the core of Apple Pay",
adding that those using it in a store would at
no stage of the process be making their name,
credit card number or security code visible to
the cashier, meaning less scope for fraud.
Nor was Apple savvy to the payment histories
of those using Apple Pay, Cue asserted, and in
the event of the customer's iPhone being lost,
the swift suspension of payments from that
device was possible with Find My iPhone. The
assignment, encryption and secure storage
of a unique Device Account Number in the

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iPhone or Watch's Secure Element prevents

the user's actual card numbers being stored
on their device or Apple's servers.
All of these characteristics help to make
Apple Pay a truly formidable prospect from
a security point of view, and this is without
touching on the sheer convenience of using
it. Apple describes Apple Pay as enabling
customers to "start making payments with the
touch of a finger", and it pretty much is that
simple. In-store shoppers, for example, just
need to hold their iPhone near the contactless
reader at the same time as keeping a finger
on Touch ID.
Setting up Apple Pay in the first place is
naturally a little more complicated than
that, but not too much so. As long as you
have one of the aforementioned devices
running iOS 8.1 or later, together with Touch
ID or passcode on your iGadget, as well as
an iCloud account, a supported card from a
participating bank and the United States as
your selected region, you'll be ready to go
from the moment you add a credit or debit
card to Passbook.

The media already approves

The early verdicts on Apple Pay from the
media are, it has to be said, pretty good albeit with a few reservations, as one may
expect with a system like this that remains in
its relative infancy. The Wall Street Journal's
Geoffrey A. Fowler, for instance, declared
that "You no longer have to be a geek to pay
for something with your phone", adding:

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"Shortly after Apple switched it on, I walked

to McDonald's without my wallet and bought
McNuggets with a wave of my iPhone. It was
so easy, the cashier didn't even notice."
Fowler said that Apple Pay was the first
service of its type that he trusted "to be
secure and consistently easy - fundamentals
to taking a digital wallet mainstream." He
pronounced Apple Pay "our best hope yet
to put overstuffed wallets on a digital diet",
despite drawbacks in this early stage of its
existence such as an insufficient number of
supporting retailers.
The independent tech news site Re/code
was another to run the rule over Apple Pay,
conducting what it called a "bi-coastal team
test" to determine how it fared for shopping
on both U.S. coasts. The four members of
the team purchased a wide range of items "from electronics to food to makeup" - via the
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, coming to the
conclusion that "Apple Pay worked smoothly
and quickly in all but a very few instances."

One more thing...

Yes, before we leave you, we're choosing
to evoke the spirit of Steve Jobs in bringing
you something else interesting about Apple
Pay - the fact that it can be tricked to be used
outside the United States, despite these
shores being the only market where it is
presently designed to work.
The revelation emerged via a video recently
posted by blog site TechSmartt, showing
precisely how the system can be set up for

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Image: Ted Soqui

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use by those outside the U.S. - and judging

by responses to the video by users claiming
to be from the likes of the Netherlands,
Australia and United Arab Emirates, it
actually works. Indeed, the person posting
the video was Canadian.
The clever workaround is made possible by
Apple's use of existing available NFC-based
tap-to-pay systems, rather than its own
wireless standard. The Canadian user behind
the video pulled off the surprising procedure
by using a U.S. credit card, navigating to the
iOS Settings screen, tapping the General tab
and making the United States the phone's
selected region.
He then set up Apple Pay, adding his card
number, expiration date and security code,
before heading to one of the many Canadian
stores with an NFC terminal to test whether
it worked. Sure enough, it did, Apple's new
payments system enabling his purchase
of soda from a vending machine that
incorporated NFC technology.
Will those outside the U.S. who are eager
to give Apple Pay a go be forever restricted
to seizing on a loophole like this one? Not
necessarily so, if reports are to be believed,
despite Apple having not made any comment
in this direction thus far. Visa Europe's chief
digital officer, Steve Perry, recently told the
Financial Times that it was "working closely
with Apple and with our member banks to
bring this new service to market in Europe."

Image: iMore

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Apple Pay... truly worth the fuss

Is Apple Pay the complete package just
yet? As you might imagine at this formative
stage, it isn't - but the potential that it
has already shown in its short period of
availability tells us everything that we need
to know. Almost all of the signs point to
Apple Pay being another surefire winner
for the Californian firm - another example
of its ability to take a technology that it did
not invent and make it truly palatable to the
smartphone-wielding masses.
One can only imagine, then, just how good
Apple Pay will be when its few present
disadvantages soon become a thing of the
past. Brace yourself for a true new era of
hassle-free and swift mobile payments!
by Benjamin Kerry & Gavin Lenaghan

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OUT-OF-PATIENCE INVESTORS
SELL OFF AMAZON

Amazon has long acted like an ideal customer

on its own website: a freewheeling big spender
with no worries about balancing a checkbook.
Investors confident in founder and CEO Jeff
Bezos invest-and-expand strategy flooded
into the stock as the company revolutionized
shopping, upended the book industry and took
on the cloud - even though its vast range of
initiatives ate up all the companys profits.
After all, when Amazon.com filed for its IPO 17
years ago, it was very clear: the company would
post losses for the foreseeable future while
it invested in the business to drive bigger and
bigger sales. Stockholders seemed to like playing
Bezos long game: shares more than quadrupled
between 2010 and 2014 to over $400 apiece.
Lately, theyve lost a little patience.
After the Seattle company on Thursday
reported a huge third-quarter loss and issued a
disappointing holiday forecast, the stock sold off
by nearly 10 percent. Its now lost 28 percent of
its value since the beginning of the year, closing
at $287.06 Friday.

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Daniel Morgan, a Synovus Trust portfolio

manager, invests in Amazon. He has no current
plans to sell, but he knows Wall Street investors
and analysts tend to have very little patience;
they dont really want to hear a long-term story.
What they want are answers. Particularly when
theres now another e-commerce powerhouse
to invest in: Chinese e-commerce player Alibaba,
which went public in September in a $25 billion
initial public offering, the largest ever.
Frankly, we believe its impossible to predict
Amazons profitability during this prolonged
`investment cycle, but profit metrics are clearly
moving in the wrong direction and its a fair
question to ask, does Amazon have too many `balls
in the air? said Wells Fargo analyst Matt Nemer.
Ive been wondering, and I think a lot of
investors have this question as well, in terms of
when things dont go as anticipated in some of
the bigger projects where theres not a revenue
stream... whats the process for determining
whether to plow ahead or turn back capital
and redeploy it in other areas? Stifel Nicolaus
analyst Scott Devitt pressed on Amazons
earnings call Thursday night.
CFO Tom Szkutak defended the companys
strategy but admitted Amazon needs to pickand-choose its projects.
We certainly have been in several years now
of what I will call in investment mode, he said
on the call. Theres still lots of opportunity in
front of us but we know that we have to be very
selective about which opportunities we pursue.
For years, Amazons strategy has been spending
the money it makes to grow and expand into
new areas. It launched a smartphone, the Fire,
this summer and has been offering a set-top
video-streaming device, a streaming video
service and several tablets and e-book readers.
The company has also been investing in services
for its $99-a-year loyalty program, Prime. It has
added a grocery delivery services and music

67

68

streaming for Prime members as well as offering

original TV shows such as the critically acclaimed
Transparent starring Jeffrey Tambor.
But all of those initiatives cost money and time
to develop. And not all of them have been hits.
The companys splashy launch of its Fire phone
was quickly followed by mediocre reviews and
a steep price cut to entice buyers. Amazon
said it took a charge of $170 million related to
inventory evaluation and supplier commitment
costs for the Fire, although it did not give
further details. Amazon has about $83 million of
Fire phone inventory at the end of the quarter.
So investors are increasingly signaling that
Amazon needs to work harder at turning a profit.
The market was looking for more in terms of
revenue and operating income and the fourthquarter outlook, said Morningstar analyst R.J.
Hottovy. Its going to be a competitive landscape
for retailers this holiday season and retailers will
compete aggressively for consumers.

Image: David McNew

69

70

Synovus Morgan said that although the

companys Fire phone and other initiatives have
not been instant successes, hes still optimistic
about Amazon Web Services, Amazons rapidly
growing cloud computing platform. The
company does not break out Amazon Web
Services growth specifically, but Szkutak said
usage growth was 90 percent in the quarter. IDC
estimates Amazon Web Services had revenue of
$695.8 million in 2013.
The hope is that Amazon Web Services is
going to continue to take off and become what
Amazon believes it to be, he said.

Image: Ted S. Warren

71

#01 Facebook Messenger

By Facebook, Inc.
Category: Social Networking
Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#02 Spider-Man Unlimited

By Gameloft
Category: Games
Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c,
iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#03 Yik Yak

By Yik Yak, LLC
Category: Social Networking
Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#04 Amazing Thief

By Ketchapp
Category: Games
Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#05 Bicolor
By 1Button SARL
Category: Games
Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#06 Instagram
By Instagram, Inc.
Category: Photo & Video
Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#07 Free Music Download

By Alfadevs
Category: Music
Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#08 TwoDots
By Betaworks One
Category: Games
Requires iOS 6.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#09 Facebook
By Facebook, Inc.
Category: Social Networking
Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

iOS
72

#10 Snapchat
By Snapchat, Inc.
Category: Photo & Video
Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad 2, iPad (3rd gen), iPad (4th gen),
iPad mini, iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina display, iPod touch (4th gen), and iPod touch
(5th gen). This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#01 OS X Yosemite
By Apple
Category: Utilities
Compatibility: OS X 10.6.8 or later

#02 Kindle
By AMZN Mobile LLC
Category: Reference
Compatibility: OS X 10.6 or later

#03 Memory Clean

By FIPLAB Ltd
Category: Utilities
Compatibility: OS X 10.7.4 or later, 64-bit processor

#04 Xcode
By Apple
Category: Developer Tools
Compatibility: OS X 10.8.4 or later

#05 Microsoft Remote Desktop

By Microsoft Corporation
Category: Business
Compatibility: OS X 10.7 or later, 64-bit processor

#06 Microsoft OneNote

By Microsoft Corporation
Category: Productivity
Compatibility: OS X 10.9 or later

#07 Extreme Landings

By RORTOS SRL
Category: Games
Compatibility: OS X 10.6.6 or later

#08 The Unarchiver

By Dag Agren
Category: Utilities
Compatibility: OS X 10.6.0 or later

#09 Evernote
By Evernote
Category: Productivity
Compatibility: OS X 10.6.6 or later

#10 Wunderlist: To-Do List & Tasks

By 6 Wunderkinder
Category: Productivity
Compatibility: OS X 10.8 or later, 64-bit processor

Mac OS X
73

#01 Five Nights at Freddys

By Scott Cawthon
Category: Games / Price: $2.99
Requires iOS 5.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#02 Minecraft Pocket Edition

By Mojang
Category: Games / Price: $6.99
Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#03 Goblin Sword

By Eleftherios Christodoulatos
Category: Games / Price: $0.99
Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#04 Sleep Cycle alarm clock

By Northcube AB
Category: Health & Fitness / Price: $0.99
Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#05 Afterlight
By Simon Filip
Category: Photo & Video / Price: $0.99
Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#06 Heads Up!

By Warner Bros.
Category: Games / Price: $0.99
Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#07 7 Minute Workout Challenge

By Fitness Guide Inc
Category: Health & Fitness / Price: $1.99
Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#08 Videoshop - Video Editor

By Joseph Riquelme
Category: Photo & Video / Price: $1.99
Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#09 Geometry Dash

By RobTop Games AB
Category: Games / Price: $1.99
Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

iOS
74

#10 RopenFly 4
By Robert Szeleney
Category: Games / Price: $0.99
Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

#01 OS X Server
By Apple
Category: Utilities / Price: $19.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.9.5 or later

#02 Disk Doctor

By FIPLAB Ltd
Category: Utilities / Price: $2.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.7.3 or later, 64-bit processor

#03 GarageBand
By Apple
Category: Music / Price: $4.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.9 or later

#04 FaceTime
By Apple
Category: Social Networking / Price: $0.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.6.6 or later

#05 1Password
By AgileBits Inc.
Category: Productivity / Price: $34.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.8.4 or later, 64-bit processor

#06 Duplicate Detective

By FIPLAB Ltd
Category: Utilities / Price: $1.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.7 or later, 64-bit processor

#07 BetterSnapTool
By Andreas Hegenberg
Category: Productivity / Price: $1.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.6 or later, 64-bit processor

#08 Airmail 2.0

By Bloop S.R.L.
Category: Utilities / Price: $9.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.8 or later, 64-bit processor

#09 Logic Pro X

By Apple
Category: Music / Price: $199.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.8.4 or later, 64-bit processor

#10 Pixelmator
By Pixelmator Team
Category: Graphics & Design / Price: $29.99
Compatibility: OS X 10.9.1 or later, 64-bit processor

Mac OS X
75

GOOGLE EXEC SETS RECORDS

WITH LEAP FROM NEAR-SPACE

Google executive Alan Eustace broke the sound

barrier and set several skydiving records over
the southern New Mexico desert early Friday
after taking a big leap from the edge of space.
Eustaces supersonic jump was part of a project
by Paragon Space Development Corp. and its
Stratospheric Explorer team, which has been
working secretly for years to develop a selfcontained commercial spacesuit that would
allow people to explore some 20 miles above
the Earths surface.
Fridays success marked a major step forward in
that effort, company officials said.
This has opened up endless possibilities for
humans to explore previously seldom visited
parts of our stratosphere, Grant Anderson,
Paragon president and CEO, said in a statement.

76

77

The technology that has gone into developing

the balloon, the spacesuit and the other systems
that were used in Fridays launch will be used to
advance commercial spaceflight, namely efforts
by Arizona-based World View Enterprises to take
paying tourists up in a high-altitude balloon and
luxury capsule starting in late 2016.
As more people head into the stratosphere,
the spacesuits could be adapted for emergency
rescues or other scientific endeavors, officials said.
After nearly three years of intense planning,
development and training, Eustace began his
ascent via a high-altitude, helium-filled balloon just
as the sun was rising. It took more than two hours
to hit an altitude of 135,890 feet, from which he
separated himself from the balloon and started
plummeting back to Earth.
Wearing his specially designed spacesuit, Eustace
hit a top velocity of 822 mph during a freefall that
lasted 4 1/2 minutes.
Jim Hayhurst, director of competition at the United
States Parachute Association, was the jumps
official observer. He said Eustace deployed a
drogue parachute that gave him incredible stability
and control despite the massive Mach 1.23 speed
reached during the freefall.
Eustace didnt feel it when he broke the sound
barrier, but the ground crew certainly heard the
resulting sonic boom, Hayhurst said.
He just said it was a fabulous view. He was
thrilled, Hayhurst said of his conversation with
Eustace after he landed.

78

Image: Paragon Space Development

79

The supersonic skydive happened with little

fanfare, out of the media spotlight, unlike the
2012 attempt by daredevil Felix Baumgartner and
the Red Bull Stratos team. Baumgartner, who was
taken aloft in a capsule with the help of millions
of dollars in sponsorships, had set the previous
altitude record by jumping from 128,100 feet.
Watching Eustace and his team prepare was
historic, said Hayhurst, likening the scene to what
it must have been like to watch Ryan Airlines
Corp. build the Spirit of St. Louis in the late 1920s.
This was a bunch of quiet engineers doing the
job, he said. This is a scientific endeavor. This is
a stepping stone to space.

80

81

Trailer

Movies
&

TV Shows

82

Rotten Tomatoes

92

How To Train Your

Dragon 2
The second chapter in the epic computeranimated How To Train Your Dragon trilogy
finds Hiccup and his friends as young adults.
On their discovery of a secret ice cave with
wild dragons and a mysterious Dragon Rider,
Hiccup and Toothless end up battling to save
the future of men and dragons.

Five Facts:
1. The films are loosely based on Cressida
Cowells book series of the same name.

by Dean Deblois
Genre: Kids & Family
Released: 2014
Price: $19.99

1374 Ratings

2. The latest movie takes place five years

after the last one.
3. It is written and directed by Dean DeBlois.
4. Starring voice actors include Jay Baruchel,
Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrara
and Jonah Hill.
5. The movie has grossed $614,979,349
worldwide.

83

Interviews with Gerard Butler, Kit Harrington,

Craig Ferguson and Djimon Honsou

84

85

Stonehearst Asylum
This Brad Anderson-directed thriller, based
on an Edgar Allan Poe short story, centers
on the experiences of young doctor Edward
Newgate (Jim Sturgess), who having arrived
at Stonehearst Asylum in search of an
apprenticeship, soon develops an obsession
with a medical patient by the name of Eliza
Graves, as played by Kate Beckinsale.

Five Facts:
1. The movie was previously known as
Eliza Graves.
2. It is based on the Poe short story The
System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.
3. Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley and David
Thewlis also star.
4. Filming began in Bulgaria on June 21,
2013.
5. The films music was scored by John
Debney.

by Brad Anderson
Genre: Thriller
Released: 2014
Price: $14.99

66 Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes

54

86

Trailer

87

Movie Clip - Patients

88

89

Under Pressure

Music
90

Under Pressure
(Deluxe Version)
Logic
The Maryland rapper and member of the
RattPack makes his studio album debut
with this release, also his first project with
Def Jam Recordings. It has been described
by one critic as feeling like a feature film
about Logics life, and benefits from the
production talents of No I.D., 6ix, DJ Dahi, S1
and M-Phazes, among others.

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Released: Oct 21, 2014
15 Songs
Price: $9.99

3663 Ratings

Five Facts:
1. Logic is the stage name of Sir Robert
Bryson Hall II.
2. He has released four official mixtapes,
including the critically acclaimed Young
Sinatra: Welcome to Forever.
3. That mixtape was downloaded over
100,000 times on DatPiff in less than a day.
4. This deluxe edition of the album includes
guest verses from Childish Gambino and
Big Sean.
5. The official album artwork was painted
by Brooklyn-based artist Sam Spratt.

91

92

Interview with Logic

93

Thats Christmas
To Me
Pentatonix
The five vocalists making up the Arlington,
Texas a cappella band Pentatonix - sometimes
abbreviated as PTX - have already sold more
than 500,000 records since winning the third
season of The Sing-Off on NBC in 2011. Now,
its time for the first PTX Christmas album,
named after a song written by the group.

Five Facts:
1. The members of PTX are Scott Hoying,
Mitch Grassi, Kirstie Maldonado, Avi Kaplan
and Kevin Olusola.
2. Maldonado, Grassi and Hoying grew up
together as friends at Martin High School in
Arlington, Texas.

Genre: Pop
Released: Oct 21, 2014
11 Songs
Price: $7.99

459 Ratings

3. The group met the day before the

auditions for The Sing-Offs third season
began.
4. The band is named after the pentatonic
scale, a musical scale or mode with five
notes per octave.
5. Influences on the group range from pop,
electro and dubstep to hip hop, reggae and
classical music.

White Winter Hymnal

94

95

Interview with Pentatonix

96

97

98

HOW TO PICK A COLLEGE?

DATA CRUNCHERS HOPE TO HELP

For many high school seniors, fall means

deciding where to apply for college and maybe
visiting a guidance counselor. Data crunchers
hope to help.
The popularity of social media sites and
advancements in the ability to analyze the vast
amounts of data we put online give members
of the class of 2015 more tools than ever to
help chart their next step, even if finding the
right college is an inexact science.

99

The professional networking site LinkedIn has

just come out with its University Finder, which
identifies which colleges are popular with which
companies. Parchment.com pools student data to
predict an individuals college admission prospects.
Theres even a dating service-like site for higher
education: Admitted.ly pairs students with colleges
based on such as factors as body piercings and
whether applicants go to church.
These sites are joining the game of college
rankings, which has some education experts
excited and other rolling their eyes.
For many families and students, the admissions
process is very opaque, said Matthew Pittinsky,
co-founder of the education technology giant
Blackboard and chief executive officer of
Parchment. And whats happing now is that they
(students) are beginning to share data with each
other ... to bring transparency to the process.
Lloyd Thacker, head of the Education Conservancy
and a critic of college rankings, has another take:
These sites are one more way to profit from senioryear angst and encourage group-think.
Technology has no inner logic, he said. Just
because its there, doesnt mean we should use it.
Picking a college is nothing like it once was. In
1980, there were 3,150 colleges and universities,
according to the Department of Education, and a
primary factor for many students was location.
Now, there are close to 4,700 schools, many of
which go out of their way to attract out-of-state
students because of the money they bring. Many
schools might seem more selective than they really
are, and students worried about getting turned
down apply to lots of schools as a way to hedge
their bets.

100

Image: Justin Sullivan

101

Halle Lukasiewicz, 18, said she remembers

the day Northwestern University, a private
research university in Illinois and her top
choice, began emailing acceptance letters. A
chatroom devoted to Northwestern hopefuls
on a site called College Confidential was
buzzing. Kids were posting their grades and
test scores and whether they had gotten in.
Lukasiewicz, an occasional lurker on the site,
found she could not look away even though
her mom begged her to stop.
My heart was racing, she said.
Finally, an email slid across her phone:
accepted. Now a Northwestern freshman
studying radio, television and film, Lukasiewicz
said shes not sure the site added much value

102

other than to stress her out. She credits her

parents, a good guidance counselor and a
company called AcceptU with helping her
find the appropriate school and prepare an
attractive application.
You cant assess whether someones going
to get in based on numbers, she said. Its
not just luck, but everyones different. There
are very, very capable students who dont
get into top colleges, and no one really
knows why. It just happens ... But I think its
extremely important for students not to get
fazed by other people on the Internet telling
them theyre not going to get in.

103

Among the new sites is LinkedIns University

Finder, which pulls data from its 313 million
profiles to find out which schools and degrees
translate into jobs at certain companies.
For example, if you want to study computer
science and work at a company like IBM
someday, LinkedIn says the majority of its
members who fit that criteria went to North
Carolina State or the University of Texas at
Austin, Both are near IBM research facilities.
Parchment, a company that handles electronic
student transcripts, uses a technique called
crowdsourcing. Students finalizing the college
selection process agree to share with the site
such information as their grades, which schools
accepted them and where they chose to go.
That information helps to predict another
students chances of getting in to a certain
school. The site can suggest other schools
and say whether most students preferred one
college over another.

104

105

Other sites, such as StatFuse, predict admission

chances based entirely on data released by 1,200
popular universities. Factors include average
grades and test scores of student accepted.
The College Board, the same outfit that runs the
SAT exam, says it runs nearly 2 million unique
searches a month on its site, which takes into
account grades and test scores but also can
consider desired location, size, diversity and
financial aid needs.
While popular, these online search tools have
their limitations.
LinkedIns University Finder is limited to
professionals who bother to set up an account with
the networking site and who complete a profile. It
also works on the honor system because LinkedIn
doesnt verify a persons credentials.

106

107

Parchment, StatFuse and other predictor sites

cant take into account a great application
essay or interview, which can matter more at
some schools than others. Parchment includes
a confidence rating with its predictions to
indicate schools that more heavily weigh these
factors in the application process.
Sean Logan, director of college counseling at
Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts,
says he understands the attraction of a search
engine or online chat room, especially at high
schools where there might be one guidance
counselor for as many as 1,000 students.
But in the end, he said, getting into college
can be a frustrating process that isnt always
predictable, even for the best students.
Its part science, he said. And part art.

108

USER GROWTH,
OUTLOOK HIT TWITTER
STOCK AFTER-HOURS

110

111

112

Twitters third-quarter revenue outpaced

expectations, but investors concerned about user
growth and holiday-quarter revenue clipped the
companys stock price late Monday (27).
The San Francisco-based company has been
trying to increase its user base amid concerns that
it doesnt hold mass appeal in the way that the
much-larger Facebook does. Its user base grew 23
percent to 284 million monthly active users in the
three months that ended in September, which
Forrester Research analyst Nate Elliott said was
better than nothing.
Its hard to be ecstatic about those numbers
when its still a user base under 300 million
people, Elliott said. Its a social property less
than a quarter (of the) size of Facebook.
To appeal to more people, Twitter has tried to
make it easier to sign up for and use its service,
and it got a boost this summer from promoting
itself as a place to follow the World Cup. In July,
its stock spiked 30 percent on the day it reported
better-than-expected results and a 24 percent
increase in its monthly user base.
This time, though, the growth apparently
wasnt enough. Coupled with lackluster revenue
guidance for the current period, shares fell 8
percent in extended trading.
To attract more users - and to get them to stay
on Twitter longer, the companys main tasks are
innovation and giving people new reasons to
come back every day, said Elliott.

113

Recent changes, such as an update on what

user profiles look like, shows Twitter is moving
in the right direction. But, Elliott pointed out,
the basic experience on Twitter is identical to
the basic experience on Twitter 9 years ago.
Facebook, even with some notable missteps,
has been able to stay ahead by regularly shifting
its look and feel to get more people to join its
site and stick around longer once they do.
Facebook dwarfs Twitter when it comes to users
as well as advertising revenue. According to
research firm eMarketer, Twitter accounted for
half a percent of worldwide digital ad revenue in
2013. This is expected to increase to just under
1 percent this year, as digital ad spending grows
to $140.7 billion. In comparison, Facebook is
expected to increase its share of the market
from 5.8 percent in 2013 to 8 percent this year,
according to eMarketer.

114

Twitter Inc. posted a loss of $175 million, or

29 cents per share, in the latest quarter. That
compares with a loss of $64.6 million, or 48
cents per share, a year earlier when it was still a
private company. Adjusted earnings were 1 cent
a share, matching expectations.
Revenue more than doubled to $361 million and
beat the $351.5 million expected by analysts,
according to FactSet. More than 85 percent of
Twitters total ad revenue came from mobile
advertising, and about 80 percent of the its
monthly users accessed it on mobile devices.
Twitter went public last November at a price of
$26 per share. The stock peaked in December at
$74.73 and then declined sharply. On Monday, it
closed at $48.56, then fell 7.9 percent to $44.77
after the results came out.

115

116

Shake It Off

Taylor Swift

All About That Bass

Meghan Trainor

Gonna Know We Were Here

Jason Aldean

Bang Bang

Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj

Sun Daze

Florida Georgia Line

Here We Go

Alex & Sierra

Rather Be feat. Jess Glynne

Clean Bandit

Burnin It Down

Jason Aldean

Habits (Stay High)

Tove Lo

Chandelier

Sia

117

118

Partners

Barbra Streisand

Sundown Heaven Town

(Deluxe Edition)

Tim McGraw

RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG.

for KING & COUNTRY

Anything Goes

Florida Georgia Line

Bulletproof Picasso

Train

The Cowboy Rides Away:

Live From AT&T Stadium

George Strait

World On Fire (feat. Myles Kennedy &

The Conspirators)

Slash

Old Boots, New Dirt

Jason Aldean

Title - EP

Meghan Trainor

Guardians of the Galaxy:

Awesome Mix, Vol. 1
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Various Artists

119

120

Shake It Off

Taylor Swift

All About That Bass

Meghan Trainor

Bang Bang
(feat. Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj)

Jessie J

Break Free (feat. Zedd)

Ariana Grande

Somethin Bad
(with Carrie Underwood)

Miranda Lambert

Chandelier (Directors Cut)

Sia

Happy (from Despicable Me 2)

Pharrell Williams

Meanwhile Back At Mamas

(Directors Cut) [feat. Faith Hill]

Tim McGraw

This Is How We Do

Katy Perry

Burnin It Down

Jason Aldean

121

122

Black Widower

Sons of Anarchy, Season 7

Toil and Till

Sons of Anarchy, Season 7

There Will Be Bloodwork

The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Season 6

The Guy Who Starts a Fight

Americas Next Top Model, Season 21

Listen

Doctor Who, Season 8

Loved Ones

The Strain, Season 1

Top 3 Compete

MasterChef, Season 5

Smells Like King Spirit

Witches of East End, Season 2

Winner Chosen

MasterChef, Season 5

Boxed In

Dallas, Season 3

123

124

Edge of Eternity

Ken Follett

Personal

Lee Child

Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn

The Maze Runner

James Dashner

Mean Streak

Sandra Brown

If I Stay

Gayle Forman

Outlander

Diana Gabaldon

Captivated By You

Sylvia Day

An Invisible Thread

Laura Schroff

The Alchemist
10th Anniversary Edition

Paulo Coelho

125

APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAYS

APPLE PAY A SUCCESS

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apples new

mobile payment system had over 1 million
activations in the first three days after it
became available, and is now more widely
used than any competing payment system.
Were already No. 1. Were more than
the total of the other guys, Cook boasted
Monday during a tech industry conference,
and weve only been at it a week. He said
Visa and MasterCard officials have told Apple
that the Apple Pay system is already seeing
more use than similar contactless methods
of paying for purchases.
While Apple has partnered with major banks
and large retail chains including Macys
Inc., Walgreen Co. and McDonalds Corp.,
critics have noted that its not accepted by a
number of other large chains. Among them
are the drugstore chains CVS Caremark Corp.
and Rite Aid Corp., which belong to a retail
coalition working on a rival system.
Cook also said he plans to talk with Jack
Ma, executive chairman of the Chinese
e-commerce giant Alibaba, later this week
about a possible partnership, although he
offered no details. Ma told the same audience
earlier Monday that he would be very
interested in teaming with Apple to bring
Apple Pay to China.

126

Image: Lucy Nicholson

127

Ma and Cook spoke during separate

appearances on an outdoor stage on the
opening night of a three-day tech conference
organized by The Wall Street Journal.
Responding to questions, Cook also said he
expects Apples iPhone will continue to be the
companys biggest-selling product, contributing
the majority of Apples revenue and profit, for
the next few years. But he boasted that sales of
Apples Mac computers are growing faster than
the overall personal computer industry, which
has struggled in recent years.
He also touted the upcoming release of an
Apple smartwatch and dropped broad hints
about Apples work on a new television product,
which has been rumored for years.
Todays televisions havent advanced much
technologically in the last 30 years, Cook said.
So I think theres a lot to be done here.
Cook didnt offer specifics, but he said, Its
an area where Im optimistic that there is
something great that can be done in the space.

128

129

Apple started operating its new digital payments

service last week, offering it only in the United
States to start, and only for users of its newest
models of iPhones and iPads. The company has
touted the privacy and security features of its
service, which uses a sophisticated encryption
system to let users charge purchases on credit
card accounts without having to show their card
or account number.
Repeating a favorite dig at competitors such as
Google and Facebook, Cook said Apple doesnt
collect user data or purchase information. We
dont want to know what you buy. Were not Big
Brother; well leave that to other people.
Speaking earlier, Ma said he is looking for a
variety of U.S. partners for Alibaba Group, the
Chinese firm that held a record stock market
debut on Wall Street earlier this year. Ma said
he is visiting Hollywood film studios this week
to discuss potential deals, because China will
be the largest movie market in the world in the
next 10 or 15 years.
Alibaba operates several Internet services,
including retail sites, online payments and
streaming video. Ma said Alibaba is also helping
U.S. food producers, including cherry farmers
from Washington state and fishermen from
Alaska, sell their harvests in China.

130

131

132

FTC SAYS AT&T

MISLED CUSTOMERS
OVER UNLIMITED DATA

AT&T is being sued by the government over

allegations it misled millions of smartphone
customers who were promised unlimited
data but had their Internet speeds cut by the
company - slowing their ability to open web
pages or watch streaming video.
The Federal Trade Commission filed its
complaint Tuesday against AT&T Mobility Inc.,
charging that the telecom company failed
to adequately disclose to customers that it
would reduce data speeds if they went over
a certain amount of data use in a billing cycle.
The practice, known as throttling, slowed web
browsing, GPS navigation or streaming videos.
According to the complaint, at least 3.5
million consumers have been affected. Some
customers, the agency said, had data speeds
slowed by nearly 90 percent.
If you make a promise about unlimited
service, we expect you to fulfill those
promises, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said
as she announced the lawsuit.

133

Ramirez said AT&T stopped offering unlimited

data plans in 2010 to new customers. In 2011,
she said the company began throttling existing
customers with unlimited data plans.
AT&T denied misleading its customers.
We have been completely transparent with
customers since the very beginning, Wayne
Watts, senior executive vice president and
general counsel for AT&T, said in a statement.
We informed all unlimited data-plan customers
via bill notices and a national press release
that resulted in nearly 2,000 news stories, well
before the program was implemented.
In a July 2011 news release, AT&T said demand
for mobile data has exploded. To help address
network congestion, the company said it
was taking steps that might reduce data speed
for a small group of smartphone users with
unlimited plans - those who use lots of data,
putting them in the top 5 percent of heaviest
users in a billing period.

134

Image: Andrew Harrer

135

136

Ramirez said the disclosures AT&T made to its

customers were inadequate. She also said the
throttling program AT&T began in 2011 had nothing
to do with any type of network congestion.
The FTC said AT&T documents show that the
company received thousands of complaints about
the slow data speeds.
Maurice Turner, of Anaheim, California, complained
about a half-dozen times when he started noticing
sharply slower speeds loading Google searches or
GPS maps. Some apps would simply crash on him.
Its really unfair to have my speed cut down
like that, Turner said in an interview. Its
unreasonable that only people with unlimited
plans are being punished for using the service the
way AT&T advertised it.
Turner says he wants the company to honor
the original contract for unlimited data service.
Other frustrated customers have cut ties with
the company and canceled their contracts. AT&T
charged those people early termination fees,
according to the FTC complaint - fees that typically
total hundreds of dollars.

137

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