Apple seeds OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 6 Build 14A329f to developers.
Most of the known bugs from the previous builds have been addressed. It has been stable enough to be used as the main OS on my MacBook Pro.
Random Pick: iTransfer Pro
I often need to upload files from my iPhone or iPad directly to the web server. I have been using iTransfer (ad-supported version) for quite some times. I purchased iTransfer Pro considering how much I have been using the free/ad-supported version; the $3.99 price tag is worth it. iTransfer Pro is both iPhone and iPad optimized.
iTransfer Pro supports:
- FTP/FTPS/SFTP
- Network Drives
- Dropbox
- Box
- SkyDrive
- GoogleDrive
Kodak Picture Kiosk with a Save File Symbol
Compact Flash card slot; check!
SD card slot; check!
xD card slot; check!
SmartMedia card slot ……. (Does anyone remember that?); check!
USB port; check!
CD/DVD slot; check!
Um, Isn’t it the “Save File” symbol?
None of the photos I took using my current cameras at theirs native resolutions can fit in a Floppy disk anymore.
Amazon Local Register Secure Card Reader
I received the Amazon Local Register Secure Card Reader late Friday, August 15, 2014. The iPhone app for Amazon Local Register still needs a lot of work; it is sluggish and awkward to use. Amazon will definitely fix these issues.
Amazon loves using all cardboard packaging for its own products; environmentally friendly I supposed.
Amazon’s card reader is much larger than its Square counterpart. I find it slightly difficult to install on an iPhone 5s with the case from Apple.
Amazon Local Register
I would definitely use Amazon Local Register instead of Square because Amazon is charging 1.75% processing fee per swipe until January 1, 2016; compared to Square’s standard 2.75% processing fee. Starting January 1, 2014 the processing fee per swipe is lower than Square’s; unless Square would match it.
When I signed up for Amazon Local Register, I had to create a new Amazon Accounts because my current account is already associated with Amazon Payments. According to Amazon representative, I needed to register new account as a security precaution.
Amazon representative also told me that Amazon Local Register Secure Card Reader can be purchased using any accounts. The $10 processing fee will be refunded to the Amazon Local Register account regardless of which account used to purchase the Amazon Local Register Secure Card Reader.
Currently Square are giving Square Card Reader for free. Square will be offering EMV compatible card reader soon. The current Amazon Local Register Secure Card Reader does not seems to be EMV compatible.
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Accept credit and debit cards with your mobile phone or tablet.
- 1.75% processing fee per swipe until January 1, 2016
1.75% introductory rate applies only to card swipe transactions processed through the Amazon Payments account used to sign up for Amazon Local Register. Accounts that sign up after October 31, 2014 are subject to the standard rate for swiped transactions of 2.5%. Manually keyed card transactions are subject to the standard rate of 2.75%. Beginning on January 1, 2016, standard rates will apply to all transactions. - Amazon Local Register Secure Card Reader is sold for $10
Amazon will refund $10 in processing fee.
Amazon Local Register Secure Card Reader has been tested for compatibilities with the following devices:
- iPad
- iPad Mini
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone 5
- iPhone 5c
- iPhone 4s
- iPhone 4
- Kindle Fire HD and HDX 7″
- Kindle Fire HD and HDX 8.9″
- Samsung Galaxy S3
- Samsung Galaxy S4
- Samsung Galaxy S5
Curiously, Amazon Fire Phone is not on the list.
Amazon Local Register App requires iOS 7 or later, Kindle Fire OS, and Android.
Inside Synology DS710+
My colleague was having trouble with one of the two drives on his Synology DS710+ for quite some times. The troubled drive was finally replaced but not before we cleaned it off. To do that, I took the unit apart.
This unit actually has a VGA port, but we never plugged any monitor to it.
Firefox 32.0 Beta 5
Firefox 32.0 Beta 5 is now available for download.
The latest build of Adobe Flash Player 15 Beta from August 6, 2014 is also available.