Square now accepts offline credit card payments

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I’m sure many of you by now are familiar with Square. It’s a service that allows businesses or even individuals to accept payment by credit card using a little dongle attached to the headphone jack of their smartphone or tablet. This type of service relies on the ability to securely transmit card information either through an Internet connection or data connection like 3G, 4G or LTE. But what happens when there’s no connection available? Read more…at CanoeTech Blog.

Latest iPhone first weekend sales blast through 10 million

IMG_7033EDMONTON, AB, Sep 22, 2014/ Troy Media/ – After record-breaking pre-orders and massive line-ups world-wide, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models – which launched on September 19 – broke first weekend record sales by topping the 10 million mark. This milestone is one million more than the then record-breaking nine million iPhone 5S and 5C handsets sold on their first weekend release set under a year ago.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin. While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible.”  READ MORE at Troy Media

Time to dump your old iPhone?

EDMONTON, AB, Sep 9, 2014/ Troy Media/ – The closer we move to the introduction of the iPhone 6, and its many expected variations, you are probably asking yourself if it is time to dump your current iPhone.

In fact, there are a growing number of iPhones on offer on the resale market. According to eBay Canada there was a significant jump in the number of listings offering the iPhone 5 leading up to last year’s announcement of the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S models, compared to the same period a month prior.  Read full article at TROY MEDIA

Square mobile payment system gets invoicing

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Strolling through Old Strathcona last Saturday during Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue Art Walk 2014 I noticed something different this year.  More vendors were accepting payment by credit card – VISA, MasterCard, American Express – many through the magic of this micro-payment system called Square. It’s changed the way small businesses do their transactions. And now here in Canada, they’ve taken it one step farther with the introduction of invoices allowing complete secure payment transactions when not dealing face-to-face.

Invoicing is certainly a logical extension to the Square payment system with many potential benefits. In fact, people like Kat Doell, an emerging artist and illustrator finds Square payments handy, particularly for high ticket items welcome its extended functionality.

“I haven’t used the invoices yet, but all the new options look perfect for small business,” says Doell.

Read more…At CANOE TECH BLOG

Win a Griffin Merchant Case + Square Reader for iPhone 5/5s/SE

 

griffinmerchcaseIf you’re keen on accepting credit cards for your business, garage sale or what have you and use an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S/SE, accessory maker Griffin Technology and mobile payment company Square have teamed up to offer a protective case and Square Reader in one nice little low-cost bundle.

Griffin Merchant Case + Square Reader is a case/reader combo specifically designed for merchants on the go.  It protects your iPhone from accidental drops, with a slot that allows you to store your Square point-of-sale reader in the back and easily carry it around.

 

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Retail Collective offers interactive in person shopping experience

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Some things like books, gadgets, and auto parts are great to buy on-line – it’s convenient, quick, and almost always automated. On the other hand, things like clothing, shoes, and other items that require personalized fitting or are very touchy-feely are best bought in person. But the in-store experience often lacks the ease at which an on-line transaction can be completed.

Read more…At Canoe Tech Blog

Dragons bite hard on FixMeStick virus removal

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It can be pretty tough to pry any amount of money from the pockets of the five dragons on a good day, let alone walk away with a deal worth a half-million dollars. But that’s what Montreal’s Marty Algire & Corey Velan; co-founders of FixMeStick did on CBC’s Dragons’ Den this past Wednesday.

Read more…At Canoe Tech Blog

CES 2014: Scanadu Scout world’s first Medical Tricorder is The Real McCoy

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When you hear the word Tricorder, there’s only one thing that comes to mind – Star Trek. The beeping sounds are accompanied by a visual of Dr. Leonard McCoy, aka “Bones” hovering over a patient with what looks like a school kid’s grade 5 electronics project.

Read more… AT CANOE TECH BLOG

Apple shatters App Store numbers yet again

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EDMONTON, AB, Jan 7, 2014/ Troy Media/ – With International CES 2014 about to kickoff, Apple jump-started this highly tech infused week by announcing some record app numbers in a number of categories, including downloads, dollars spent and monies paid to app developers.

According to Apple, December was the App Store’s most successful month in its short five-and-a-half-year history, with close to three billion downloads, And not all of them were freebies, as is reflected in the over $10 billion spent at the app store during all of 2013.

Apple, of course, showed its appreciation to those of us who dug deep into our pockets. “We’d like to thank our customers for making 2013 the best year ever for the App Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The lineup of apps for the holiday season was astonishing and we look forward to seeing what developers create in 2014.”   READ FULL ARTICLE at TROY MEDIA

Forget “the box.” Think another dimension to access your creativity

silicontlesEDMONTON, AB, Dec 7, 2013/ Troy Media/ – Life can be pretty hectic. We often find ourselves running 18+ hours a day, and being electronically connected doesn’t make it any easier. So sometimes, when we are looking for a new idea, a solution to a challenging dilemma or maybe just have a desire to unlock one of life’s mysteries that’s been dogging us for eons, we tend to return to where we started, to the familiar and the comfortable, stuck in our current reality.

We think we’re starting fresh, perhaps with a clean sheet of paper. We might do some mind-mapping, a little brainstorming, throwing ideas around, capturing thoughts on coloured sticky pads. Maybe we resort to contorting pipe cleaners or squeezing the life out of stuffed toys to spark creativity or desperately hit up Google for some inspiration. It works, but only sometimes. It becomes our vicious cycle, being stuck on the same track, the same treadmill. But there’s hope.

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