File photo (REUTERS/Rick Wilking)
As if anyone needed yet another reason to take a selfie, but Amazon is giving us one anyway. The online retail giant has filed a patent application for a payment system that lets you purchase goods with your smiling face. Amazon's rationale for moving in this direction seems to be based on all the flaws and hassles associated with more typical passwords.
The company knows many of its customers are using password apps, which can leave a mobile device vulnerable if stolen, and it cites the hassle of having to turn away from your friends when entering a password is necessary -- because that's a huge hassle. Amazon's patent application suggests that the biometrically-based system would use a mobile device's front-facing camera to capture an image to verify identity and finalize the purchase.
Future iterations of the system could also utilize 3D image detection by way of infrared or thermals sensors. Being the trendsetter that it is, if Amazon presses forward with this plan, it's likely we'll be paying with selfies elsewhere, like at the gas station, grocery store, and the coffee shop, places where we always tend to look our best…
Great news for console gamers: Microsoft has announced that Xbox Live will soon let Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC owners play against each other online. The cross-platform play will begin between Xbox and PC owners battling it out in Rocket League, with more titles sure to follow soon. When Xbox'ers will be able to do battle with PS4 players remains to be seen, as Sony still has to do some work on its end to make that possible.
In other words, Microsoft just threw down the gauntlet, now it's time to see if Sony's got the stones to step up and play. Regardless, simply allowing PC gamers to go head-to-head with the console-faithful is sure to cause a ruckus in the gaming community, and we'll be sure to be there to watch all the ruckus go down.
Finally today: Digital Trends' Caleb Denison is on his way to Vizio headquarters for what we expect will be a big reveal on a suite of new products from the number 2 TV maker in the U.S.
With LG, Samsung, and Sony about to unleash their 2016 product lines, what might Vizio have in store? Well, if we know Vizio, there will likely be some impressively high performance TVs at difficult-to-believe prices. Stay tuned.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.