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It's good to be the king, and when it comes to mobile payments, Apple executive Eddy Cue is the lord of the manor after spearheading Apple Pay. Our Tuesday Morning Report follows Cue around Santa Monica presumably spending corporate cash, while AT&T Mobile Share Value customers get another data bump, and Wi-Fi issues continue for OS X Yosemite users.
News Crew Goes on Apple Pay Shopping Spree with Eddy Cue
AppleInsider reported Monday that Apple senior vice-president of Internet software and services Eddy Cue recently went on an Apple Pay-fueled shopping spree ahead of the holiday season for the benefit of a television audience in Los Angeles.
From buying a snack at Panera Bread to purchasing an iPad at an Apple retail store, Cue spent his way around town using nothing more than a gold iPhone 6 Plus, all in front of the cameras of a KTLA 5 news crew that gleefully documented the proceedings in Santa Monica. Along the way, Cue helped newscaster Rich DeMuro pick up sunglasses at Bloomingdale's and two dolls from the movie Frozen at the Disney Store as early Christmas gifts. (Hope his family wasn't watching!)
The roughly two-and-a-half minute segment of KTLA's The Tech Report didn't reveal anything we didn't already know about Apple Pay, but showed audiences what to expect from the experience, such as the need to sign for purchases above a certain amount, a security holdover from the era of plastic debit and credit cards.
OS X Yosemite Wi-Fi Issues Persist After 10.10.1 Update
MacRumors today reported that Monday's public release of the OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 update doesn't appear to have completely squashed Wi-Fi connectivity issues experienced by early adopters. A growing number of Mac users posting to Apple's support forums continue to complain about "significantly slow" connections, while others are unable to connect at all.
The reported issues don't appear to have a common hardware denominator, with MacRumors forum members claiming the latest iMac with 5K Retina Display model is also affected, even with the latest Time Capsule unit. The only temporary relief found thus far seems to come from switching connections to 2.4GHz, running routers in "Access Point" mode, or using a script to restart Yosemite's Wi-Fi Monitor.
AT&T Bumps 10GB Mobile Share Value Customers to 15GB
AT&T announced Monday that Mobile Share Value customers on the carrier's 10GB data plan will now have the option to bump that amount to 15G — but that generous offer will only be available for a short time. Starting today, new or existing Mobile Share Value customers can select 15GB for the same price ($100 per month, plus device fees) as 10GB by visiting the AT&T website or using the company's official mobile app. Although the promotional offer is for a limited time, the actual data bump will remain on accounts that claim it, at least until any changes are made in the future. AT&T is also offering a 30GB plan for only $30 per month more for a limited time.
Guardians Hits iTunes Early
Talk about a stealth release! Marvel's hit sci-fi/action/comedy Guardians of the Galaxy has been one of the year's biggest theatrical hits, but it wasn't supposed to arrive in a consumer-ownable format for a few more weeks. That changed, however, with today's early release of the movie on iTunes. There's no need to wait — if you're one of the movie's millions of fans and can't get enough talking raccoon action, you can download and watch the HD version now for $19.99. If you want to hold out for the DVD, Blu-Ray, of digital SD version, however, you'll have to wait until December 9.
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