Back in March, we reported on Visa’s partnership with DeviceFidelity to bring mobile payments to the average cell phone user using embedded near-field communications (NFC) payment technology into SD cards.

Most recently, the team created In2Pay, a new iPhone case that forgoes some of the complications for phones that do not have SD cards.

Much like many other third-party external battery cases, In2Pay connects through the iPhone’s dock connector, providing a powered interface for the SD card. Once synched with the payment app from Apple’s App Store, the device acts as a reliable mobile credit card for retailers equipped with no-swipe payment capabilities.

Error-free burning in OS X 10.6

While Time Machine has simplified the process of backing up your Mac's hard drive, some of us still like to occasionally make backups on physical media, such as a CD or DVD, which we can store somewhere offsite. However, as MacOSXHints.com reader idoadam points out, burning your user folder straight to disk will cause an error in 10.6. But there is an easy solution, and the reason for the error is instructive:
When I was still using OS X 10.4, I used to back up my home folder to a CD-RW or a DVD-RW by dragging it to the inserted disc's icon; this worked without a hitch. However, after I upgraded to OS X 10.6, trying to burn a disc this way always failed. I'd get the error message could not open the data fork of (-43), resulting in an unusable disc.

The file causing the error turned out to be ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.sidebarlists.plist. It appears that the Finder modifies this file while burning the disc. The solution was simple: lock that file (open Get Info for it, then put a check next to Locked in the Info window) before burning. Just be sure to unlock it when you're finished.

OS X 10.6 issues this error message because it does not copy files to the burn folder before burning the disc; if the original file is still in use (as com.apple.sidebarlists.plist apparently is) while the burn is happening, you get an error. You'll get a similar error if you delete a file from its original location before the disc is finished burning, or if you don't have permission to access those files. So it's useful to keep this hint in mind whenever you're burning a disc.

Bugs & Fixes: A surprise inside a portable drive

Recently, someone I know called me with a serious problem with his Western Digital My Passport portable external drive. The drive, which was only a month old and had worked perfectly until the fateful day, failed to show up anywhere in any Mac software. It did not mount in the Finder. It did not show up in Disk Utility or other third-party repair utilities. As far as the Mac was concerned, the drive did not exist. This meant there was no way to repair the drive or otherwise attempt to recover data.
As some data on the drive had not been backed up (isn’t this always the case?), we tried to brainstorm a solution. Given the drive’s failure to appear in any Mac software, I speculated that the drive’s contents might in fact be 100-percent intact. The root cause of the symptom, according to my theory, was a failure of the drive’s USB port.

Assuming I was correct, I came up with what seemed to be a viable solution: Open up the unit’s plastic case and remove the connection from the SATA port on the drive to the USB port on the case. Next, connect the drive’s SATA port to a Newer Technology USB Universal Drive Adapter. This would bypass the drive case’s supposedly faulty USB hardware. We could then connect the drive to a Mac and (at last!) access the drive’s contents.

It took some time (and a phone call to Western Digital) to find out how to open the case, but we eventually succeeded. Unfortunately, this is where the road ended. We were never able to give the Drive Adapter a try. Why? Because there was no SATA interface to be found. What happened to it? Western Digital had eliminated the SATA interface from these latest Passport drives. Instead, the USB port is directly soldered to the drive itself, a proprietary change designed to conserve space inside the case.

As an aside, this change also means that you cannot remove the drive and use it to upgrade the drive in a laptop computer, as had reportedly been done with older WD Passport drives.

Given that most people will never confront this problem, I don’t consider the SATA limitation to be a deal-breaker. Still, it’s something to consider if you are in the market for a new portable drive.

Police Scanner 2 gets iOS 4 update for background streaming

Juicy Development has released an update to Police Scanner 2, its emergency radio streaming app that lets you listen to police, fire, and EMS activities around the world. Version 2.2 ads iOS 4 capabilities like background streaming and high-resolution image capability.
Police Scanner 2 lets you stream from more than 2,300 live national and international EMS streams. It harnesses the iPhone's GPS function to help you find streams near your location, letting you stay on top of emergency reports in your area. You can also share streams with friends via Facebook or Twitter, and submit local alerts that show up under the listing for that area. As more cities provide compatible EMS streams, the Police Scanner 2 database is automatically updated, with the stream added instantly.

This latest update brings Police Scanner 2 in line with other iOS 4-optimized apps, letting you listen to your live stream while accessing other apps and displaying high resolution images on the iPhone 4's Retina Display.

Police Scanner 2 sells for $5 and is compatible with iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 3.1 or later.