Senin, 01 Agustus 2011

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$8 Million Dollar iPad 2 Incorporates Dinosaur Bones, Diamonds and Gold

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:02 AM PDT

What gadget would you buy if you had an extra $8 million dollars to spend on? Making it easier for you to decide, British luxury designer Stuart Hughes has put up his newest and most unique creation so far; a diamond studded, mostly-gold iPad 2 encrusted with shards of real dinosaur bones. The device is up for sale on the designer’s website for 5 million pounds (8 million dollars).

The gadget is dubbed the “Gold History Edition” and is “undoubtedly world's most unique gadget” of our time. And this is a limited edition of only two units to be made. Those who can afford it, and also want it, should therefore grab it before it disappears. Hughes, and his wife Katherine, create and sell exclusive iPhones, laptops, plasma TVs and other gadgets with mind-blowing price tags.

The gadget’s rear section features 2 kilograms of 24-carat gold and the front frame is made from Ammolite, the oldest rock in the world (over 75 million years old). As if that wasn’t enough unique, sections of a 65-million-year-old T-Rex dinosaur thigh bone were splintered and shaved into the Ammolite.

The rear portion is made of about 2 kilograms of 24 ct gold with the Apple logo made out of 53 12.5 cts ‘I’F’ Flawless encrusted diamonds. The finishing touches have been given by a single 8.5 ct diamond seated in a platinum base surrounded by 12 outer diamonds, which serves as the Home button. So, if you have all the toys you can ever think of and are still looking for more, this is probably the little gadget for you.

iPads aren't the only thing this Hughes fellow has pimped beyond belief. He's done everything from iPhones to Blackberrys to pianos. As for his customers, I would want to imagine they're pretty well off.

Anyone willing to drop 8 million bucks on an iPad has to have a serious bank roll. That's quite a commitment, and I can't help but wonder what kind of warranty this guy offers, clearly the Apple one is done for after mods like this. And we though the Chinese guy who created a hand-made iPad from computer parts was a genius!

Top 3 Geeky Ways To Make Best Use Of Technology To Pay Online Using A Credit Card

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 03:16 AM PDT

Paypal is passé. Square is for squares.  There's been a huge spike in the number of start-ups selling cool new ways for consumers to pay online. Many are pioneering new ways to get rid of credit cards altogether and allow us to just wave our smartphones at the till (NFC supported by mobile phone providers) or login on our phones to pay with selected retailers (TabbedOut).

But we like our plastic and our purses. And we like shopping online. So here are three of our favorite new geeky ways to pay online without ditching those credit cards.

1. Jumio NetSwipe

Top of the list is NetSwipe: the smartest way to pay we've seen in an age. Just put your credit card up to a camera on a smartphones, laptops or desktops PC and it reads the information on the card in seconds. Just as with entering the information by hand, cardholders need to add their three-digit CSV to complete a payment but just the scanning process significantly reduces opportunity for fraud.

Most online fraud is CNP (card-not-present) so there's huge opportunity to cut out the fraud issues that blighted Paypal in its early years and, so far, the scanning seems sophisticated enough to handle the possibility that fraudsters will attempt to fake cards to pay for free.

"Our scanning technology is very good, it can easily detect the material of the card, it can see if the letters are embossed, or if it's made from metal, or if it's a photo," Daniel Mattes, who founded Jumio, says.

How to Use Jumio NetSwipe and Pay via Webcam [Video]

2. Dwolla

Dwolla recently hit $1 million in daily transactions even though it only launched in December. Dwolla's simple idea is just to link payments to social networking sites to allow people to pay friends and co-workers more easily than ever.

Users can link up their existing debit and credit cards in a way that CEO and co-founder Ben Milne says is set to be the online equivalent of paying cash.

"When you talk about cash, it's not represented in the marketplace electronically. If you're paying with a phone or on a website, what is the cash equivalent? There is more money moving through system through cash than credit. It's an underserved market and it's massive," he said.

3. Card.io

Another credit card scanner, Card.io also uses cameras for quick mobile payments. It will be a race between this and NetSwipe to get consumers engaged and using the scanning technology to pay online.

Currently, iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) developers accepted into card.io's private beta are working on integrating the technology into their own Apple apps and the company looks set to integrate with a number of events and deals sites rather than becoming a household name in its own right.

"For now, I think our biggest differentiator and value-add is as a technology company, and that's what we do best," says Co-founder Mike Mettler. "We haven't considered moving into the financial services realm directly, but it could be a place we look to partner in the future."

Guest Author: This is a guest article from Choose, a UK consumer site that covers personal finance including full reviews of deals like Tesco Clubcard and tools to compare specific deals such as cash back credit cards.

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