#google mobile payments

[luiscagreen]

Advantages Of Mobile Payment Systems For Retailers And Consumers

[tecdisha]

When Trust Becomes a Trap: How Hackers Are Using Microsoft and Apple to Steal from You

The rising sophistication of cybercriminals, coupled with the advancements in AI, has turned trusted tech giants like Microsoft and Apple into tools for digital deception. In a world where people place unwavering confidence in these brands, hackers have found new ways to exploit this trust, leading to alarming security risks. As AI continues to blur the line between what's real and fake, the threat landscape becomes more treacherous, putting everyday users at greater risk.

[wandertrixxtarr]

THE EVOLUTION OF MOBILE PAYMENTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON TRADITIONAL BANKING

The introduction of smartphones fundamentally transformed the landscape of mobile payments, It was the rise of smartphones and app-based ecosystems that truly revolutionized how people manage their finances and make transactions. Consumers could simply tap their phone on a payment terminal, using apps like Apple pay, Samsung pay, or Google wallet. In-app payments became popular with companies…

[goodguygadgets]

Google Play to discontinue Globe Telecom Mobile Billing

Important update for Globe Telecom users: Google Play will no longer support mobile billing after September 2024. Learn how to update your payment method today. #GooglePlay #GlobePH #GoodGuyGadgets #LetsTalkTech

Google Play users were advised that Globe Telecom mobile billing payments have been discontinued. Starting this month, Globe Telecom will no longer be available as a payment option for Google Play purchases. This change impacts anyone using Globe’s mobile billing for app purchases or subscriptions. Google Play announces Globe Telecom mobile billing will end by September 2024. Users are urged to…

[cardentist]

hey, so people need to be aware that youtube is now (randomly) holding basic features for ransom (such as being able to pin comments under your own videos) in exchange for Your State ID/Drivers License, or a 30 Second Video Of Your Face.

not to pull a "think of the children," but No Actually. I've been making videos as a hobby since 2015 (and I've had my channel since middle school), I was a minor when I started and I'm not sure I would have understood the kind of damage something a seemingly simple as a video of your face can do.

this is a Massive breach of privacy and over-reach on google's part No Matter What, but if they're going to randomly demand a state ID or license then they absolutely should not allow minors to be creators.

google having a stockpile of identifying information on teenagers is bad enough, but the Alternative of recording your face and handing it over to be filed away is Alarming considering it opens the gates for minors who Aren't old enough to have a license.

and yes, there is a third option, but it's intentionally obtuse. a long wait period (2 months), with no guarantee of access (unlike, say, the convenience of using your phone's cameras for either of the other two), with absolutely No elaboration on what the criteria is or how it's being measured.

it's the same psychological effect that mobile games rely on. offer a slow, unreliable solution with no payment to make the Paid instant gratification look more appealing (the "payment" in this case being You. you are the product being offered).

and it's Particularly a system that (I think intentionally) disadvantages people who don't treat their channels like a job. hobbyists or niche creators who don't create regularly enough or aren't popular enough to meet whatever Vague criteria needs to be met to pass.

markiplier would have no problem passing, your little brother might not be able to. and while Mark's name is already out there there's no reason why your little brother's should be too.

something like pinned comments may seem simple, you don't technically Need it. but it's a feature that's been available for years. most people don't look at descriptions anymore. so when there's relevant information that needs to be delivered then the pinned comment is usually the go to.

for my little channel that information is about the niche series I create for. guides on how to get into the series, sources on where to find the content At All (and reliably so). for other creators it can be used for things Much More Important.

Moreover, if we let them get away with cutting away "small" features and selling it back to you for the price of your privacy, then they Will creep further. they Will take more.

Note: I have an update to this post here: [Link]

[robpegoraro]

Weekly output: Lifeline explainer, TikTok trends, Google kills Google Pay

BARCELONA–Hola desde MWC! I’m here for my 10th time to cover the giant tech event formerly known as Mobile World Congress. I’m here through Thursday morning, which the past nine years of covering MWC have taught me will be barely enough time to take in the show and probably not enough time for Barcelona tourism. Before I left, I wrote an extra post for Patreon readers sharing my notes on two…

[livemintvideos]

How UPI works for NRIs | Now NRIs Can Set Up UPI | Mint Primer | Mint

On 10 January, India’s retail payments umbrella body The National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) issued a circular that paved the way for wider adoption of homegrown payments platform UPI. So far, only Indian phone numbers were allowed on UPI, leaving out non-resident bank accounts linked to their phone numbers abroad. In the first phase, phone numbers from 10 countries including Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the UK have been allowed to be used on UPI.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

An Epic antitrust loss for Google

A jury just found Google guilty on all counts of antitrust violations stemming from its dispute with Epic, maker of Fortnite, which brought a variety of claims related to how Google runs its app marketplace. This is huge:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/11/technology/epic-games-google-antitrust-ruling.html

The mobile app store world is a duopoly run by Google and Apple. Both use a variety of tactics to prevent their customers from installing third party app stores, which funnels all app makers into their own app stores. Those app stores cream an eye-popping 30% off every purchase made in an app.

This is a shocking amount to charge for payment processing. The payments sector is incredibly monopolized and notorious for its price-gouging – and its standard (wildly inflated) rate is 2-5%:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/04/owning-the-libs/#swiper-no-swiping

Now, in theory, Epic doesn't have to sell in Google Play, the official Android app store. Unlike Apple's iOS, Android permit both sideloading (installing an app directly without using an app store) and configuring your device to use a different app store. In practice, Google uses a variety of anticompetitive tricks to prevent these app stores from springing up and to dissuade Android users from sideloading. Proving that Google's actions – like paying Activision $360m as part of "Project Hug" (no, really!) – were intended to prevent new app storesfrom springing up was a big lift for Epic. But they managed it, in large part thanks to Google's own internal communications, wherein executives admitted that this was exactly why Project Hug existed. This is part of a pattern with Big Tech antitrust: many of the charges are theoretically very hard to make stick, but because the companies put their evil plans in writing (think of the fraudulent crypto exchange FTX, whose top execs all conferred in a groupchat called "Wirefraud"), Big Tech keeps losing in court:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/03/big-tech-cant-stop-telling-on-itself/

Now, I do like to dunk on Big Tech for this kind of thing, because it's objectively funny and because the companies make so many unforced errors. But in an important sense, this kind of written record is impossible to avoid. Any large institution can only make and enact policy through administrative systems, and those systems leave behind a paper-trail: memos, meeting minutes, etc. Yes, we all know that quote from The Wire: "Is you taking notes on a fucking criminal conspiracy?" But inevitably, any ambitious conspiracy can only exist if someone is taking notes.

What's more, any large conspiracy involving lots of parties will inevitably produce leaks. Think of this as the corollary to the idea that the moon landing can't be a hoax, because there's no way 400,000 co-conspirators could keep the secret. Big Tech's conspiracies required hundreds or even thousands of collaborators to keep their mouths shut, and eventually someone blabs:

https://www.science.org/content/article/fake-moon-landing-you-d-need-400000-conspirators

This is part of a wave of antitrust cases being brought against the tech giants. As Matt Stoller writes, the guilty-on-all-counts jury verdict will leak into current and future actions. Remember, Google spent much of this year in court fighting the DoJ, who argued that the company bribed Apple not to make a competing search engine, paying tens of billions every year to keep a competitor from emerging. Now that a jury has convinced Google of doing that to prevent alternative app stores from emerging, claims that it used these pay-for-delay tactics in other sectros get a lot more credible:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/boom-google-loses-antitrust-case

On that note: what about Apple? Epic brought a very similar case against Apple and lost. Both Apple and Epic are appealing that case to the Supreme Court, and now that Google has been convicted in a similar case, it might prompt the Supremes to weigh in and resolve the seeming inconsistencies in the interpretation of federal law.

This is a key moment in the long project to wrest antitrust away from the pro-monopoly side, who spent decades "training" judges to produce verdicts that run counter to the plain language of America's antitrust law:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/13/post-bork-era/#manne-down

There's 40 years' worth of bad precedent to overturn. The good news is that we've got the law on our side. Literally, the wording of the laws and the records of the Congressional debate leading to their passage, all militate towards the (incredibly obvious) conclusion that the purpose of anti-monopoly law is to fight monopoly, not defend it:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

It's amazing to realize that we got into this monopoly quagmire because judges just literally refused to enforce the law. That's what makes one part of the jury verdict against Google so exciting: the jury found that Google's insistence that Play Store sellers use its payment processor was an act of illegal tying. Today, "tying" is an obscure legal theory, but few doctrines would be more useful in disenshittifying the internet. A company is guilty of illegal tying when it forces you to use unrelated products or services as a condition of using the product you actually want. The abandonment of tying led to a host of horribles, from printer companies forcing you to buy ink at $10,000/gallon to Livenation forcing venues to sell tickets through its Ticketmaster subsidiary.

The next phase of this comes when the judge decides on the penalty. Epic doesn't want cash damages – it wants the judge to order Google to fulfill its promise of "an open, competitive Android ecosystem for all users and industry participants." They've asked the judge to order Google to facilitate third-party app stores, and to separate app stores from payment processors. As Stoller puts it, they want to "crush Google’s control over Android":

https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/epic-v-google-trial-verdict-a-win-for-all-developers

Google has sworn to appeal, surprising no one. The Times's expert says that they will have a tough time winning, given how clear the verdict was. Whatever this means for Google and Android, it means a lot for a future free from monopolies.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/12/im-feeling-lucky/#hugger-mugger

[hauntedrph]

Welcome to HAUNTEDRPH.

This is a side blog for commission purpose. Although I will often gives things away with no charge by taking requests which will be noted if I am open or not.

To make this short. i’m in a tight spot grocery wise and medication. I am still jobless because of my GBS recovery which leaves me disabled for the time being and im only getting paid once a month.

As for the price at this time everything is pay what you want.

I take payment through PayPal which can be found here . l and preferably before I start working on your commission.

I can do:

Dash icon

Post banner

Mobile header

Self promotion. 2-4 panels.

Promotion for you and a friend ;

( free of charge if they use the same background )

Mood board / aesthetic board

Playlist + graphic

Wont do at this time:

Icon border

Icons

Theme

Theme background

Custom psd

Google document

Carrd

Request open: not at this time.

Commission: open.

Example can be found on the blog.

So if you’re interested in potentially helping me out or comissions me feel free to reach out, thank you! It would be a pleasure to work with you in the near future.

[arnethmyndraavn]

*Otomate Mobile* Valentine's Day and White Day Messages + Boris Illustration

Download the messages & images HERE

The download contains a Valentine's day and White day message for each of the following characters: * Ace * Boris * Gray * Hannibal * Joker * Nightmare

The messages contain some formatting elements since they display as emails in the app. ###name### refers to the name you set for yourself in the app.

The download also contains a limited illustration of Boris which looks to be the right size for a phone wallpaper.

Content was obtained from the Otomate Mobile App If you like this content please consider buying it on the official app. You'll need a JP google account but the payment method can be from a different region.

[888-fr]

Advice asking Anon here, I’d love to know about how to garner interest :)

It’s kinda difficult to figure out how to get people interested in preorders. I have pinged gasp before, but even with bumps and waiting nearly a month, I’ve only ever gotten around 3 people interested 😔. I’m not sure how to engage with the community in a way that lets people be aware of my skins, but doesn’t annoy/puts it in their face?

I don’t believe I’m overcharging uma’s (500 for an accent and 750 for a skin), but I’m not sure if there’s something I’m just missing. Maybe I just need more experience with these things ^^’

I can't help too much with garnering interest, but here's a few things I've found help with getting preorders when people are looking at your thread. I'm saying this from experience both as a skinmaker and a skin purchaser:

Always have a good preview of your skin available in the post you ping! This can be on a dragon, or on a colored base. I tend not to use the default grey background or mannequins; it simply is not good for showing off a skin's colors. Make sure lines and shadows are applied and that there is a valid way of previewing the skin if it's not on site. Purchasers like to know what the skin will look like when it's on site - not in your drawing program.

2. Hands-off ways to preorder skins are a good way to go. I don't know if this is true for everyone, but I hate posting on forums to ask for a slot and I hate having to send payment CRs with my name to ask for a slot even more! I find that setting up a google sheets where people can write their own names down is much less stressful for everyone. People can't always access sheets especially on mobile, but it's a nice option to have. (Please make sure you are safe when you do this; it's not a good option if you've been harassed by people wreaking mischief on editable sheets in the past.)

3. If it doesn't work, try again! You can always mention a previous skin you're still printing at the end of a GASP ping for a new skin. Just make sure you're still primarily advertising your new skin.

4. Advertise yourself. Put your skins in your signature with a shop link so people can find you! Find a community that likes your work. G1 collectors and UMA buyers tend to be the same people. If there's any Discord chats you can join about these, start advertising yourself in there. Use socialization to your advantage.

[avtvmnalvibes]

Fallin’ For Ya

A/N: Hi y’all!! This is my first fic I’m posting to tumblr. I have my AO3 account in my bio, and you can find all my previous fics + this one posted there. Shoutout to @dopp-likes-yanderes because one of the asks on their blog inspired this fic this past May, and it’s been sitting half finished in my google docs account from now until today. Thank you for giving me your blessing to post this!! Also note that I’m on mobile so if anything is formatted really weird that’s the culprit. Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!!

CW: female!reader, biblical references, Philip being a Puritan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philip Wittebane was seething.

His day had started out as it normally did these days. Go to the market, limp about, look pathetic in hopes of finding some abominable creature to trick into being his sacrifice. It had taken a turn for the worse however when the brother’s of that disappointment Blue Fang had shown up and demanded both payment and information, taking his journal and taunting him. He kept up the act, inwardly calculating whether they could be reasoned with or tricked, or whether or not he could kill them without repercussions, when he had been saved by a foolhardy young witch who was oddly eager to accompany him. Her knowledge of the Collector made her easier prey then he ever could have hoped for, and he had decided that things were finally coming up Wittebane, when suddenly.

“…and this is my Aunt uh….Dirtrude and uh-“

“(Y/N) will do just fine, Luzura.”

He felt something creep up his spine, both pleasant and unpleasant, turned his gaze slightly to the side, and felt his mouth fall open.

Caleb was laughing from beyond the grave, he knew it. In fact, if he didn’t know any better, he would say that Caleb had orchestrated this, some supernatural, eternal, annoying older brother ability to push him to his limits. Because there, in front of him, stood the most gorgeous creature he had ever seen in his life. Pure temptation, the likes of which he had only heard in sermons and in his brother’s voice when he talked about her.

Hence the seething.

He listened to ‘Luzura’ chatter on about something about crabs, or toe-gres, or something else of little consequence compared to the emotions he was trying to keep at bay. He was NOT like Caleb. Caleb had been weak, he had succumbed to temptation, fornication, and witchcraft. Philip was a good, God-fearing man, who would take a HUMAN wife, thank-you-very-much and be fruitful with HER.

His internal rant was broken up by a shriek, and he came to as someone crashed into his back. Hands clutched onto his chest and back, perfume filling the air, and he pushed down the sharp, breath-catching arousal that came with the feeling. He turned around sharply, gripping her waist with aggression, hard enough to bruise, and was stopped short before he could react in any way shape or form.

Her kerchief, the one that had been tied round her head, had slipped in her fall, and had revealed her ears.

Her round ears.

He finally allowed the attraction that he had been fighting back to flood his body, and he felt his blood coursing through his veins, warming him and turning his brain foggy as he stared at the woman, the human woman in front of him. The very sensations he had been attempting to drown out just seconds ago were allowed back. The feel of her body, warm beneath his, the scent of her. He had never been so aroused in his entire life, and all he could do was internally crow to his brother, to beyond the grave.

“See? I can only be tempted by a human woman! You who so quickly gave into a mistress of Satan, a follower of the Devil, but not me!”

His focus was returned by the sound of her voice, her face so close to his that he could feel her breath across his face and neck.

“Oh, Mr. Wittebane, are you alright? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you like that, I-“

“Don’t trouble yourself for one second Miss (Y/N), I assure you, I am not in the least bit angry.”

She seemed taken aback at this, and tilted her head to the side.

“….You’re not?”

He grinned, giddier than he ever had as a boy, and wound his arms tighter around her waist, pulling her close to him and delighting in the way her face flushed and breath quickened.

“On the contrary! My dear Miss (Y/N), I have but one question; why didn’t you tell me that you too were human?”

She paled, one hand darting up to cover her ear, and he found that he quite preferred her flustered to frightened.

“I’m terribly sorry for deceiving you Mr. Wittebane but, well…you know better than anyone how hard it can be for a human on the Boiling Isles. Besides, we didn’t know whether you would take kindly to another human…so we elected that it was best to hide it.”

We…we? Oh! Right. He’d been so enraptured that he’d forgotten that they had company. He looked over to their other traveling companions and found that they had reassured themselves of her well-being when he had caught her and had begun to amble ahead, moving slowly so as not to leave them behind.

“I understand Miss (Y/N). You’re quite right of course; I know the trials a human on the Boiling Isles faces all too well. I must confess to being a tad offended that you could think me hostile towards other humans, however the logical side of me understands your caution and finds it prudent.”

She turned her face up to him, her chin resting on his chest as she faced him fully, and he felt something within his chest clench. Dear God…

“Your forgiveness is deeply appreciated Mr. Wittebane.”

“Philip. Please.”

He spoke before he could stop himself, words spilling over his lips, which he clamped shut before any more of the contents of his heart and mind could be revealed.

He saw a flush rise up her cheeks, and felt one of his own creep up to match, heart pounding desperately in his chest she had to have felt it given her proximity.

“Alright Mr.- Philip. Then you must call me (Y/N). No ‘Miss’ in front of it. Just (Y/N).”

He grabbed her hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles and lingering, savoring the moment as if it was the last meal he would ever receive.

“(Y/N)….it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

She exhaled shakily, eyes wide and lips parted, and Philip Wittebane swore he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. Like Adam before Eve, he had never felt such an assured sense of belonging to someone in his whole life.

“Hey, are you guys alright back there? You’ve been standing still for like, 10 minutes.”

He turned his head to look behind him, and saw Luzura staring at them with an expression of concern on her face, Dirtrude next to her still scribbling away in her little notebook and muttering something about ‘Deadwardian Balustrades’.

“We’re just fine Luz,”

(Y/N) called out, and he took a great deal of satisfaction in the breathiness of her voice.

That satisfaction was quickly replaced by disappointment and annoyance as she left his hold and his arms, though he was reassured slightly by her catching his arm as she walked past, holding onto the sleeve of his coat as they walked side by side.

“So…Philip. How much longer until we get to where we’re headed?”

Luzura’s voice piped up. For a moment Philip prepared to create the transportation circle of glyphs, body several steps ahead of him, when suddenly, he did what he was best at; he thought. And in this brief moment of thought, his mind stalling his body before he could move to scratch a single glyph into the dirt beneath his feet, he came up with a plan. It was a little rushed admittedly, and less a full fledged plan as much as it was a little subterfuge that he would use to shape the rest of the events that followed into the result he desired, but still. When the result would be marrying the woman he was increasingly sure was the yoke mate that William Whately had described in his sermon The Bride Bush, how could he resist enacting it?

“Oh dear! The time we spent lingering back there has cost us. I’m afraid we won’t make it before nightfall.”

Everyone’s faces morphed into varying degrees of horror and dismay.

“But it’s not safe to travel during the night! And we’re too far from Bonesborrough to head back now!”

Dirtrude’s voice was shrill with panic, eyes darting around as if she could see imaginary creatures swooping in and carrying them off as they attempted to travel safely. Perfect.

“Thankfully, I’ve explored these stretches of woods many times before. I know a safe place to spend the night nearby. I often find I’d rather risk the cruelty of nature as opposed to that of the townspeople.”

The whole party looked at him in pity, and he felt a thrill as (Y/N) laid her other hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention to her as she gazed up at him.

“How far away is this place?”

“Not far. A little ways behind us, but not enough that we shan’t reach it before the sun sets, and not so out of the way that it will inconvenience us when we get our start tomorrow.”

(Y/N) looked around at her companions, conferring silently with them until she nodded and turned her attention back to him.

“Lead the way then Philip.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philip wrote in his journal, his work illuminated by the fire they had set for warmth. His description of (Y/N) was coming along nicely, her temperament and mannerisms unfolding easily beneath his pen.

He looked over to his side, and saw her face illuminated by the fire, resting and peaceful.

“Soon neither of us shall have to worry about any danger the Boiling Isles have to offer.”

He muttered, as he began a few detailed sketches of her. Her as she lay beside him now, her blushing as she looked up at him, her face broken out into a smile.

“Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”

Never before had the meaning of the Word of God seemed so clear to him. William Whately’s words rang through his head once again, his teachings on the virtues necessary for marriage striking a chord beyond the academic and theological interest he had once observed the sermon with.

“We’ll find our way home (Y/N), don’t fret. Once I’ve rid this world of evil, I’ll be able to take you home to Gravesfield and marry you.”

He blew gently on the ink to dry it, observing her likeness fondly as he turned to gaze upon the real thing. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Sweet dreams my love.”

[spot-the-antisemitism]

I think this might be me not being American so not getting it but what does MPOC stand for? I googled and I don't think you mean Mobile Payments on Commercial Off-The-Shelf

Dear anon,

Medieval People of Color

she claimed Jews are white and hung out with a person who was a self hating black woman who fetishized indigenous and asian women

she has long since deleted her tumblr but she claimed that the her totally real romani grandmother survived the holocaust because white jews saved her and unlike them they were political dissidents who never experienced racism once even in NAZI GERMANY

her grandmother is actually Egyptian but she could help playing the "as a romani person Jews are white" card

put her on the pile threw away her gimmick to hate Jews pile

yours

Cecil

[mariacallous]

Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, had always worried that his company’s victory last year in a multimillion-dollar legal battle against Google’s app store monopoly wouldn’t be enough to open up competition. Even if Google could no longer keep alternative marketplaces out of Android, phone manufacturers could make them harder to access. In a US lawsuit filed in San Francisco today, that’s exactly what Epic alleges Google has conspired with Samsung to do.

Some newer Samsung phones have required settings changes to install apps from the web such as Epic’s app marketplace, according to Epic, which also develops Fortnite and Rocket Racing. The requirement became effective by default in July, and Epic launched its app store in August. Samsung claims the feature it calls Auto Blocker protects against “applications from unauthorized sources” and “malicious activity.” But it extends the installation process from 15 steps to 21, Epic alleges. The company says that it has found in the past that the greater the number of hurdles, the fewer people complete the process.

“It is not about reasonable measures to protect users against malware,” Sweeney told reporters in a briefing ahead of the lawsuit filing. “It's about obstruction of competition.”

“Contrary to Epic Game's assertions, Samsung actively fosters market competition, enhances consumer choice, and conducts its operations fairly,” said a Samsung spokesperson in a statement. “The features integrated into our devices are designed in accordance with Samsung’s core principles of security, privacy, and user control, and we remain fully committed to safeguarding users' personal data. Users have the choice to disable Auto Blocker at any time. We plan to vigorously contest Epic Game's baseless claims.”

Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

The litigation builds on an effort Epic launched in 2020 to deliver more choice to mobile users and boost its own bottom line. While downloading apps any which way from just about any source is generally easy on desktops and laptops, Apple and Google have used warnings and varying policy and technical curbs to keep users downloading from the iOS App Store and Google Play, which deliver enormous profits to the tech giants by virtue of sales commissions they collect.

Epic, through a lawsuit, won a minor concession from Apple that is still being fought over; penalties against Google are expected from a judge soon.

In the press conference, Sweeney acknowledged that Epic doesn’t have clear evidence that Google and Samsung collaborated to roll out Auto Blocker. But emails and notes presented by Epic during its jury trial against Google last year showed how the search company regularly engaged in discussions with Samsung aimed at limiting competition. Google denied those accusations.

Early this month, Sweeney reached out to two senior Samsung executives to ask them to rethink the approach with Auto Blocker and allow for a smoother process to download legitimate software. Sweeney said a resolution couldn’t be reached that benefitted all developers, prompting the lawsuit. “We are going to continue to fight until there is a level playing field,” he says. He added that it “sucks” to sue Samsung, which has promoted Epic’s offerings in the past.

Epic has notched over 10 million installations of its mobile app store, short of a goal to reach 100 million by the end of the year, Sweeney says. He believes Auto Blocker and other new impediments, as he views them, have hurt Epic’s ability to gain traction. And his focus on fighting Apple and Google is costing Epic significant sums, with no end in sight to the litigation. “The benefits only come in the future, when the obstructions have truly been eliminated,” he says.

[robpegoraro]

This month's smartphone snafu: wayward Google Wallet behavior

Yet another time when Reddit has proved itself as a valuable source of shared-experience tech support.

Three weekends ago, my phone did something weird when I tried using it to pay for a few farmers-market purchases: nothing. The Google Wallet app functioned like usual when I opened it and picked the credit card I use for everyday spending, but then tapping the phone to the NFC reader on a merchant’s credit-card terminal yielded no response. Since all my cards have NFC built-in and since I had my…