COMPUTER TIPS

      


This is going to piss a lot of people off, but I�ll just say it: The first version of Android copied RIM�s BlackBerry operating system, but then Apple launched the iPhone, so Google decided to throw away everything they were working on and copy iOS instead. On the flip side, we�ve seen several Android features get ported to iOS over the past few years, most notably �Notification Center�. Moral of the story: Good ideas are good ideas, and at the end of the day it�s about who provides a better implementation of said ideas that wins the war.
That background was needed so we can present you with today�s news: Samsung just announced �Samsung Wallet�. It looks exactly like Apple�s Passbook service. It even has the same functions. It�s so laughably similar that we�re kind of ashamed to call ourselves Samsung fans now, but such is life.
What is Wallet/Passbook all about? Instead of having an app for your favorite coffee place that stores your loyalty points, an app for your gym that tracks how often you go, and an app for your local supermarket that offers you coupons for your favorite box of cereal, you instead make one app that stores all the different information from those other apps in one centralized place.
Why do this? Have you ever wanted to show something to someone and then proceeded to look like an ass because you spent a good minute or two just flipping through homescreens, trying to find the icon for that game/service/app you just download?
Passbook, excuse me, Samsung Wallet, aims to fix that. Will companies actually use Samsung�s Wallet? Hell, Apple is having trouble getting companies to use Passbook, do you think companies care about supporting Samsung phones?