In our latest Bulldog wrapup of the latest technology news:

  • Lyft lifts off with new look, light-up beacons
  • Apple Pay expands to charities, Samsung Pay to offer rewards
  • South Korea to test self-driving car in real traffic
  • UK approves the extradition of an alleged hacker to US

The details:

  • Lyft lifts off with new look, light-up beacons

Ride-hailing service Lyft, the underdog rival to Uber, is getting rid of its iconic pink moustache logo and replacing it with something more useful — beacons.

The light-up beacons, which Lyft calls “amps,” will be on the dashboard of Lyft drivers’ cars beginning Jan. 1 in New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Beacons can communicate with people’s smartphones using Bluetooth technology. In retail stores, this means guiding you to a certain shoe display, for example.

With Lyft, it means having your driver’s beacon light up a specific color once he or she is near. You can have your phone light up in that same color, too, then hold it up so the driver can see you.

Lyft says this will make it easier and safer for drivers and riders to find each other. This can be especially helpful at night, or in crowded areas where multiple people might be hailing a ride.

San Francisco-based says it won’t use the beacons for ads, though the passenger-facing side might be devoted to sponsored campaigns, such as a beer company warning against drinking and driving.

Lyft’s first symbol was a giant, bright pink, fuzzy moustache attached to the front of drivers’ cars. But it soon became cumbersome (it could get quite dirty, for example), and maybe a little too whimsical for a company working to expand. Next came the “glowstache,” a compact, pink, glowing plastic moustache. The amp, while still bright pink, is a clean, oval shape.

Lyft held a retirement party for the ‘stache, said Melissa Waters, vice president of marketing. But the pink stays.

“It’s loud, proud, quirky, fun,” she said. In upcoming TV ads, Lyft paints itself as just that, in deep contrast to a menacing, slick ride-hailing company called “Ride Corp.”

  • Apple Pay expands to charities, Samsung Pay to offer rewards

Apple is making it easier for people to give to charities by expanding its Apple Pay payments service to nonprofits.

Apple Pay is mostly known for enabling purchases at retail stores with the tap of an iPhone, although the service can also be used for online transactions on apps and websites. Apple had limited this to buying goods and services — until now.

The American Red Cross, United Way and 18 other nonprofits will accept Apple Pay starting Monday. Others are coming soon.

Apple Pay can speed transactions because people don’t have to re-enter card and contact information, though people need to enable the service first. Apple says that websites and apps accepting Apple Pay report seeing twice as many people complete transactions, compared with other payment methods.

Separately, Samsung says a payment service on its phones, Samsung Pay, will start offering points for each transaction, regardless of the amount spent. They will be redeemable for gift cards and Samsung products.

Americans are just starting to warm up to mobile payment services such as Apple Payand Samsung Pay. One of the chief hurdles is the fact that for in-store transactions, it’s not that difficult to pull out a plastic card to pay. And many merchants still do not accept such mobile payments. Although usage is growing, mobile payments are still a small portion of overall sales.

  • South Korea to test self-driving car in real traffic

Self-driving cars soon will hit the road in South Korea as the country seeks to overtake other nations that have sped ahead with automated driving technology.

Seoul National University professor Seo Seung-woo says a self-driving car developed by his team will start roaming Seoul streets early next year thanks to a revised law that took effect Tuesday.

His team has been testing automated driving inside the university’s campus with a Hyundai Genesis sedan outfitted with sensors and cameras. The vehicle drove more than 10,000 kilometers without incident in the past two years but could not leave the campus because of regulations.

The new law allows automated cars to travel public roads around the country. Eight self-driving cars, including those of Seo’s team, are registered with the country’s transport ministry and have been test driving in limited conditions.

Seo unveiled two upgraded self-driving vehicles that can navigate narrow streets and identify road signs and traffic lights. One of them will be tested in traffic after it is certified by the government.

  • UK approves the extradition of an alleged hacker to US

Britain has approved the extradition of an alleged computer hacker who is accused of snatching data from the U.S. Defense Department, the U.S. Army and the FBI.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has authorized the extradition of 31-year-old Lauri Love, who faces 99 years in prison if found guilty on cyber-hacking charges for allegedly compromising networks between October 2012 and October 2013 and stealing data. He has 14 days to appeal the decision.

Love, who has Asperger’s syndrome, told the Daily Mail in an interview published Tuesday that the decision was a “kick in the gut.” He says he doesn’t “think much of my future life prospects.”

Love’s father, the Rev Alexander Love, says “all we are asking for is British justice for a British citizen.”