Gadgetory

there's a new way to pay for your java I'm Bridget Carey and this is your cnet update the partnership between starbucks and square has blossomed and now customers can use the square wallet app to pay at 7,000 starbucks stores by showing the cashier your phone screen and i know what you're thinking doesn't starbucks already have its own app for payments well here's the difference the starbucks app is like a virtual gift card you have to keep filling and you get rewards the more you use it to pay the cashier scans the barcode on your screen to deduct from the balance now if you want to pay at starbucks with square wallet you pre-program it with your credit card info and when you pay the cashier scans a QR code on your screen to Bill you I just tried it out at the starbucks near us and the QR code wouldn't scan so the cashier had to manually enter in a code and I was holding up the line it wasn't worth the time when I could have just handed over my credit card maybe it'll be faster as they learn the new system but Starbucks could do so much more with square wallet other small businesses that use it let you pay without ever needing to ski in your phone screen you just tell the cashier your name your face pops up on their register screen when you are nearby and they just wireless still charge your account Starbucks is holding back from that feature it's a glorious day for Pinterest users because now you can finally create a private board to collect ideas for things that you don't want the whole world to see like if you're planning a surprise party or trying to collect gift ideas you can keep it to yourself or just share it with specific people amazon has uncorked its wine store for some states but ordering wine will cost you ten dollars and shipping fees there's no free shipping for prime customers to prevent underage purchases all shipments require an adult signature at delivery and you can't send the wine to a p.o box or names on a locker and the Star Wars angry birds game is now available for several platforms where the Rebel Alliance birds take on Darth Vader the Dark Lord of the pigs hurricane sandy left thousands of people in need of shelter so the do-it-yourself room rental site air B&B became a resource for people looking for a place to stay hundreds of Airbnb users are offering rent free rooms for anyone who has been affected by the storm and New York City is working with the service to connect people who need shelter it's great when you see technology making it easier to help people in need that's your tech news update for today you can find links to all of today's stories on the blog sina com / update from our studios in New York I'm Bridget Carey you