Linked List: August 12, 2015

Wednesday, 12 August 2015

Philadelphia Asks Comcast Why It’s Not Treating Its Hometown as Well as Other Cities ★

Chris Morran, writing for The Consumerist:

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philly City Council has drafted a pair of letters to Comcast addressing the shortcomings of service in the city and what the company plans to do if it wants to keep operating here.

In April, the city released the results of a long-delayed customer service survey undertaken as part of the franchise-renewal process. For the most part, the results were not flattering for Comcast.

Not only did customers complaint about bad service, long wait times, and questionable billing practices, but the report found that Philadelphians were paying more for their service than customers in other markets.

My internet service was out all afternoon today. Comcastic.

Apple Pay, Google Wallet Now Accepted at Rite Aid ★

Speaking of CurrentC, one of their members has changed course:

Apple Pay and Google Wallet are once again welcome at Rite Aid stores.

The pharmacy chain announced on Tuesday that all of its almost 4,600 stores in the US will start accepting mobile payments as of August 15, including Apple Pay and Google Wallet. Further, the company will also accept Google’s upcoming Android Pay. Rite Aid added that its stores will also support tap and pay credit and debit cards.

I saw a bunch of headlines today describing CurrentC as a rival to Apple Pay, but that’s not right. Apple Pay isn’t exclusive — part of its appeal to retailers is that it works with the same NFC terminals that work with Google Wallet and whatever else. Retailers that work with Apple Pay aren’t locking out other platforms.

CurrentC May Not Launch Until Next Year ★

Jason Del Rey, reporting for Recode:

CurrentC, the payments app being created by a consortium of big retailers known as MCX, may not launch widely this year as originally planned, MCX CEO Brian Mooney told Re/code in an interview on Tuesday. The company will begin a public pilot of its app in Columbus, Ohio, in a few weeks and will not rush a wider rollout if the product is not ready, he said.

“This is a long game,” Mooney said. “Certainly going faster is always better — that’s not necessarily a debatable point. But we’re going to do it right.”

Where by “we’re going to do it right”, he means “we are doing it all wrong”.

Bubble Cloud Widget Plus ★

Jen Karner, writing for Android Central:

Convenience is the name of the game when it comes to smartwatches, but at times getting to the app you need quickly can be a hassle in Android Wear. Bubble Cloud Widgets Plus Wear is a launcher that brings you gorgeous icons for all of your apps within swiping range. You’ve also got tons of options, and choices to personalize how everything looks and behaves.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out below.

I feel like I have seen this before. Can’t quite put my finger on it.