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Recently, there have been a lot of passcode exploits, especially on the iPhone and Samsun Galaxy. On the iPhone, it can allow the attacker to access their way into the Phone app, letting them place calls, see/edit contacts, and access photos via the "assign new picture" option. On the Samsung Galaxy, the attacker can flash whatever was open before the phone was locked for a second. This is enough time to launch an app, which can be repeatedly downloaded and completely unlock your phone. The article suggests the user of the phone should download the Apple's Find my iPhone app or Prey, which can track the location of your smartphone if it is ever lost or stolen. This, they say is the best protection for your personal information stored on your phone. These passcode exploits can let one worry and doubt how much protection the lock screen actually provides. The truth is they are no more secure than any other password or PIN, which means they can eventually be cracked. However, it is still suggested to always lock your screen, just in case it is robbed by someone who does not know anything about getting around locked screens. Many companies are aware of the issues and is releasing new techniques, like the iOS 6.1.3. Hopefully, with time, these password problems will not be an issue anymore.

Something very odd has occurred in the world of the Apple products. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook has issued an APOLOGY towards the people unhappy about the "Maps" app in the new IOS 6. He posted an open letter to IOS 6 users in the morning of September 28 apologizing for the lack of polish on the final product and desperately offers alternative map apps from other competitors too. Apple has made a big mistake kicking out Google Maps from their software and adding their own incomplete Maps app. Deleting such a top-of-the-line maping software means that they have something even better in store for the Apple fan boys. Sadly this isn't true. The Maps in IOS 6 is truly horrible. It's time for Apple to smarten up.

In the recent weeks, it seems to be the societal trend to chastise Apple Inc. for their mistakes, the most recent of them being their native iOS 6 'Maps' application. Earlier in the week, CEO Tim Cook published a letter on the Apple website apologizing for the poor quality of the app, saying that "At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment." However, this is not a first for Apple admitting their mistakes and apologizing; one example is in June of 2012, Bob Mansfield (SVP) expressed remorse for Apple's withdrawal of the EPEAT rating system, which ensured the company met an eco-friendly standard. They later recanted their actions and went back on to the rating system. Many people attribute Apple's recent downfall to the shift of power from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook. Apple has also come to fire for their general decreasing of employees per Apple store to increase profitability, their standalone podcast app and ultimately the widely regarded inadequate 'Siri', supposedly improved in iOS6. This relates to the tag 'eLifestyle' because when Apple limits the users experience by introducing faulty software and refuses to adress things because of pride, evidently the customers suffer. This relates to 'Environment' because of Apple's debacle with the EPEAT, and society's increasing desire for products that are eco-friendly, and Apple's supposed "higher environmental standards" that they operate under. Legally, Apple has actively been taking and giving lawsuits over the past years, including Samsung and Adobe (a lawsuit directly following Steve Jobs' choice to abandon flash on iOS devices.) From an economics standpoint, Apple seems to be making all the wrong choices, being that they abandon things that work (e.g. Google Maps, third-party podcast apps, EPEAT) and tries to 'reinvent the wheel' and many people argue that without the direction o

Facebook acquired Instagram for one billion dollars. Instagram for Android is currently the third most popular free app on Google Play and the most popular app that isn't made by Google. The app came out on October 2010, and seven months later they reached 4 million downloads.

This new app that is available for iPhone's or iPad's lets you take pics in one-bit quality, this give it the affect of your pics being "back in time". I find this article very interesting because its a very advanced app.

This article is about an iPhone app the lets you take 1-Bit pictures. Nowadays, new models of cameras are rapidly coming out to the market with higher resolutions after the other.  Isn't just nice to just sit down, relax, take 1-Bit pictures and reminisce the past? You betcha! This app is available for a cheap price of $0.99.

I like this article because it shows how our cultures and technology is evolving. It shows how they made new tv's that can act as computers. On this new tv it has apps. You can access the internet on it. You can access social networks such as facebook, and you can check friends profiles, update your profile and many more. You can also watch videos on youtube on the youtube app that will be out in a few days. It will be easier than going to a desktop or a laptop.

On cell phones they have maps. They are creating a new one that shows the many stores that are in New York, and where they are specifically located. Another feature is by touching the stores name it show tweets from each store that promote their sales. They will be charging people to have these privileges. This relates to the course because it shows how technology is evolving.

This article is about NYC launching a better map app for tourist. The new app is going to be a big improvement so that tourist can find specific stores better. 

When the iOS is jailbroken, there is an app, "iSleepWell", that will temporarily shut you phone down. It helps save battery life, block notifications, incoming messages, calls, etc. This app is very convenient to have if you are an especially busy person. It is a fair app to buy, at 99cent download. When in the middle of a good conversation, just starting a movie, or even going to sleep, all you have to do is flip the phone to face down and it will temporarily shut down the phone. 

This article is about how you can now plug a zapper onto an i-pod,i-phone or i-pad and it can become a remote for your TV. I think this is a good thing for people to buy because then you can easily control your tv with your apple device. As well, there is a less chance of it breaking. Furthermore its not very expensive and I believe it is good for apple users. 

It's actually surprising  how you can download such an app on your iphone, ipad, or ipod. You can actually have your control over your home entertainment. Long time ago, you had to get up and actually click a switch to change the channels, but now it's like better than a remote, and easier.  It's good that this app is free, that way many people would be interested in getting this app, and actually using it. 

This article is about google coming out with their own version of an app like siri called Google "assistant". I'm sure many companies are trying to find a way to compete with apple. Siri was just the next big thing that helped apple stay on top. Now companies like google are trying to compete and bring out their own version of this most loved app. Google says that unlike  siri, this app is more about accomplishing real-life goals, and less about returning search results. Google says 2012 is the year of "assistant".

Microsoft has finally released the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the successor to the Developer Preview they released a few months ago. In this version, Xbox Live support has been added, along with the Windows Store opening for business, which lets users download new Metro apps... but not Desktop apps. Also, the Start Button has been moved to this slide-out panel to the right of the screen. I think Microsoft is taking a huge misstep with Windows 8 in terms of it's UI. They should either have all desktop or all Metro UI. Having used Windows 8, switching between the two is just weird because of how incredibly different both interfaces are. And don't even get me started with the freakin' ARM version not letting you sideload apps! And- and- and-... I'll stop complaining now.

IPhone users should be aware of the fact that some apps automatically take everything from your photo Library. When you download an app it will ask you for your current location, you do not want to hit yes because it will take all your photos. This is the third Security Flaw that Apple Developers have to deal with. To keep away from having your entire photo library copied be careful as to what app you download and refrain from hitting "use current location" and messages asking for "access to location information in photos and videos" by avoiding this your privacy will remain private. 

This article gives the real reason why the very popular app "Flappy Bird" was taken down. The creator of the game, Dong Nguyen, took down the game because of its addictiveness. For this reason, he was convinced to remove it. This app is not coming back. Dong's intention was to make this game for playing when you are relaxed. Unfortunately, this game turned out making everybody angry and caused many people to scream their heads off. Also, he received treats from Nintendo, because of the use of Nintendo's pipes and character. Dong said in an interview "my life is not as comfortable as before". Also, the app caused sleep deprivation for him. Many people still have the game on their smartphone and play the very addictive rage inducing game.

apple adding a 64-bit chip in their new iphone 5s and 5c instead of a 32-bit chip that was added to the old iphones in my opinion is better and makes apps and the phone run faster. everything in the phone now runs smoother then ever, apps won't just shut off on you when it cant handle it and you can run 64-bit games now to like blade 3, which won't work on the old iphones or ipods that have 32-bit chips. This will also make the camera on the phone run faster and the new futures added to the camera app will run smoother now. My opinion on adding the 64-bit chip is that is a great improvement to the phone and the phone will work way more better.

A new app for android users shows that a 90 minute sleep cycle can ensure you that you wake up energized, and a 90Night makes it simpler for you to get this sleep bu letting you choose the best time to wake up. This free app asks you to put the time you want to fall asleep and accordingly on the screen gives you different timings based on a 90-minute cycle. In the app's settings, you can also add the amount of time it usually takes for you to fall asleep that 90Night can take that into account when giving you timings. Overall, it is a much easier process than setting an alarm for yourself. The app also works the other way around as you can set the time you want to wake up and 90Night will give you options of what time you should go to bed.

Instrapaper lets you save online articles to your Instrapaper account and sync them to various devises, of which you can read them later. (mobile diigo?) Recently, the iPhone/iPad app got a 'humongaulous' update that touches and improves every way you interact with the app. "Navigation, reading experience, Search, Browsing-all tweaked for the more gooder."  At it's current priced however, i would not download this app.

PushBullet is a new computer and mobile app that allows notifications and other files to be transported from any device on the same account. The app comes with many features out of the box, such as the ability to share files between phones and computers with the click of a button, or having notifications on every device you own. The software is fairly new but it is being updated constantly and always changing. It can also be incorporated into stocks, or packages being delivered. I feel that this new app will solve many of the problems of software being seamless throughout devices. Windows media play, and other programs have tried the same thing and failed. I believe PushBullet can fix all of these problems.

This article mentions the fact that Twitter now plans to update its mobile applications to introduce filters for photos allowing people to share altered images without having to use another source such as Instagram. Since most phones come with high-resolution cameras and many of the Twitter users use their phones this will be an easy way for people to edit and upload their photos. Especially with people or famous celebrities that use Instagram then share them on Twitter where more people follow them it will be easier and faster to just use Twitter for it all. This new idea has been hastened when Facebook bought Instagram. Twitter was thinking of buying a different photo service or application but when weighing out the cost they decided to just build their own filters. Twitter is also exploring the ability to upload and edit videos without using a third-party application like YouTube. This article has a lot to do with economics and the battle between two companies trying to get people to use their site and apps and not the other. In this case Twitter is really trying to become the most popular and important social networking site where people will be able to do anything on and it will be instant. They are changing what they once were to try to morph into Facebook because of the increasing popularity of Instagram and the fact that Facebook bought it.  I think personally that Twitter is making a good decision about the filter but i don't think twitter should add their own video player because it would change twitter and its purpose of being instant statements and pictures. YouTube is good at what they do and twitter should stay out of it. However with the whole idea of adding filters to Twitter you get the benefits of Instagram with the benefits of Twitter which might just keep them on top of Instagram.

Following Facebook's purchase of Instagram for almost $1 Billion in April 2012, it seems appropriate that Twitter would integrate something similar into their users' experience. 'Inside sources' say that Twitter is working on a photo-filter system that will be integrated directly in the site and mobile apps that hopes to bypass third-party services (such as Instagram.) While Instagram is a social network that focuses on social images with limited text, Twitter is renowned for its 140 character text-based updates with occasional images. An advantage of Twitter's supposed photo filtering system would be that there would most likely be a website equivalent to the mobile app, a problem that has plagued Instagram users who want a PC experience. As of now, there have been no official confirmations by Twitter, but the idea of a Twitter-exclusive photo sharing system seems interesting; although the market is currently saturated by Instagram, which can export images to other social networks, including Twitter. Legally, Facebook and Instagram may be able to take action against Twitter, depending on how similar their filtering system will be. This relates to eLifestyle and ICS20 because as social network users, we are always searching for ways to monetize our networks to one cohesive experience; another photo-sharing application seems arbitrary when there is already a capable system (Instagram.)

A few days ago i had posted a link that was talking about how a lot of people had started leaving instagram since facebook bought it, but now it seems it's doing the opposite. For the first time ever, instagram is at the top of the iOS free apps catalog. The article even states that people are starting to join instagram because of all the hype. IT seems that they want to see what instagram is about and if it's really as amazing as people claim it to be. In my opinion, i think the hype for instagram will eventually die down and be another one of those 'used to be apps' like temple run.

This article talks about new apps in apple called Magic Reader Flips. This app is used to turn pages without using your hands. By nodding your head, pages can be turned. You just turn your head left or right and MagicReader will move to the next or to previous page. Once it detects your face, you can move your face to change the pages. This app was was created for people who didn't want to flip pages with dirty hands. however it is only used on PDFs documents. This relates to our course because this app represents how much our technology has improved since the past and how much we are dependent on it because every app is becoming famous and is used to make our lives easier. This is kind of sad because we are too dependent on technology that we have hard time living without them and we use those technology to do such a simple tasks such as flipping pages. 

This article is about the Magic Reader, it is like an iPad but it responds to your head movement rather than the touch from your finger. The pro of this is that you wouldn't need to touch the screen and get it all dirty and greasy like what would happen on the iPad if you were reading on eReader. The Magic Reader takes one second to scan and recognize your face and every time you would nod the page will turn wherever you would nod your head towards. I think that it is convenient but after a while I think that I would get annoyed after constantly nodding your head instead of simply sliding your finger gently.