Monday, 31 December 2012
iPhone and iPad theft blamed for increase in NYC crime rate
New York City mayer Michael Bloomberg, during his Friday morning radio address, seems to have laid the blame for a slight elevation in the crime rate on Apple's doorstep. More precisely, on the pilfering of iPhones and iPads. Michael M. Grynbaum of the New York Times quotes Marc La Vorgna, the mayor?s press secretary, as saying:
?If you just took away the jump in Apple, we?d be down for the year.?
Bloomberg advised listeners to keep their valuable Apple devices more secret and more safe.
?Put it in a pocket in sort of a more body-fitting, tighter clothes, that you can feel if it was ? if somebody put their hand in your pocket, not just an outside coat pocket.?
The sum of iOS device larceny resulted in a 3.3% rise in the major crime rate, all told. No word yet on whether or not Dick Wolf is working on a Law & Order: Special iPhone Unit for the 2013 season.
I had my car window smashed and my MacBook Pro and iPad stolen, among other things, in suburban Montreal, so electronics theft is by no means limited to New York or the city. I usually keep my iPhone in my inside pants pocket, and my iPad mini in my inside, zipped up, jacket pocket.
Anyone else had any iOS devices stolen, or have any tips to share on keeping them secret and keeping them safe?
Source: New York Times
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Angry Birds Rio catapults into webOS App Catalog
After having been available for iOS and Android for around a couple of weeks, Angry Birds Rio, the latest edition of the casual gaming megahit, has finally reached webOS as well.
Angry Birds Rio has two episodes that contain over 60 new levels at the moment, but episodic updates are promised to arrive throughout this year. Let's not forget that Angry Birds Rio brings the biggest change to the franchise yet -- you no longer aim for little green pigs. This time, in fact, your anger is directed at monkeys who are to blame for holding other fowl hostage in cages.
Buy Angry Birds Rio for webOS for $1.99 from the webOS App Catalog
Angry Birds Rio catapults into webOS App Catalog originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Black Galaxy Note 2 spotted, reportedly coming in early 2013
Rumors of new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 colors are nothing new, and nothing particularly surprising, given the diverse palette of Galaxy S3 colors now available. Since the phone's launch, though, many have to been hankering for a Galaxy Note 2 in classic black. If the latest rumors are to be believed, that's exactly what'll be coming in early 2013.
Swiss blog AndroidSlash has today come across a high-res press render of a Note 2 in black. And, well, it's a Galaxy Note 2. In black. Interesting to note is that the black Note 2 seems to retain its faux-metal texture, whereas the black Galaxy S3 lost this effect in favor of glossy plastic finish.
There's speculation that this, and other Note 2 color variants, will be shown at Mobile World Congress in February. But remember Samsung's also going to be at CES in just over a week, so there's a chance we might see the Note 2's new coat of paint sooner than expected. Lucky for you we'll be reporting live from both shows in the new year.
Anyone want to place bets on when the inevitable berry pink version will appear?
Source: AndroidSlash; via: SamMobile
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ITC Judge recommends Samsung post 88 percent value bond, import bans in Apple patent case
If you're keeping track of the multiple, and let's face it, tiresome Samsung / Apple patent debacle, a document that just turned up at the ITC might spell more trouble for the Korean manufacturer. It's a publicly redacted version of Judge Pender's recommendations, and pertains to the October ruling that deemed Samsung borrowed four of Cupertino's designs. The most iconic being design patent D618,678 (that which you see above). The others include multi-touch patent 7,479,949 (which was tentatively invalidated) along with two other patents (RE41,922 and 7,912,501) relating to graphic display elements and audio hardware detection. If the recommendations are adopted -- and FOSS Patents suggests this is entirely possible -- Samsung could face a US import ban after a 60 day presidential review, an order prohibiting "significant" sales of infringing products in America along with a posting a bond for 88 percent of the entered value of mobile phones (plus 32.5 percent for media players and 37.6 percent for tablets) that include the breaching design features. Pender has, however, reportedly cleared several Samsung "designarounds" which, if implemented to satisfaction, would mean the tech giant could continue trading. For now though, the recommendations are awaiting the Commission's review.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung
Via: FOSS Patents
Source: ITC (Doc ID 500118)
First Firefox 6 build next week, Firefox 7 by May, and aurora channel introduced
Along with the faster 6-week release cadence, Firefox's new Chrome-like release channels have also been given names and anticipated update frequencies. The most notable change is the introduction of a new alpha channel -- which is analogous to Chrome Canary -- that will be called 'aurora' and will update nightly. Aurora will be where fixes and features are tested, and either approved for Beta, or backed out to Central. Aurora will have a new icon, too.
The Nightly (mozilla-central) channel will remain unchanged in name and frequency, but it will gain a new 'nightly icon.' The Beta (mozilla-beta) channel will remain as-is, with new builds rolling out weekly. The Release (mozilla-release) channel will also remain as-is, with security and stability updates coming every 6 to 12 weeks.
It should be noted that the names (including 'aurora') are not necessarily final, but it's unlikely that they'll change. We're also awaiting the arrival of the new 'channel switching' technology, which should arrive in the next few days -- in time for the release of Firefox 6 aurora!
First Firefox 6 build next week, Firefox 7 by May, and aurora channel introduced originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apps of the Week: BBC iPlayer, Bloons TD 5, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP and more!
It's Saturday, and that means it's time for the Android Central app picks. We've got another smattering of random apps, games and utilities for your enjoyment here this week. This is our last roundup of app picks for 2012, but fear not, we're coming back stronger than ever in 2013 with more apps for you to check out. See how we did wrapping up 2012 after the break.
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Sunday, 30 December 2012
13 Technologies You Won?t See in 2013
James Bond In 'Skyfall': Top 10 Moments Of 2012
The world's greatest spy had his biggest year ever, and we were there for all of it.
By Kevin P. Sullivan
Daniel Craig in "Skyfall"
Photo: MGM
Hands-on with Jolla's Sailfish OS (video)
We recently had the chance to spend time with David Greaves and Vesa-Matti Hartikainen of Jolla and take Sailfish OS for a spin. As you might recall, this open source mobile OS builds upon Mer (a fork of MeeGo that includes Qt) and uses the Nemo framework with a custom UI. Like any decent Linux-based OS, it supports both ARM and x86 devices. The company is also behind the Sailfish SDK which is in the process of being finalized but is still open to developer feedback (the source code is available). After seeing Jolla's various demo videos and noting some UI similarities with MeeGo (swipes) and, strangely, with BB10 (peek gestures), we were eager to experience Sailfish OS for ourselves.
If you're wondering why the mobile OS is usually shown running on Nokia's N950 developer handset, that's because Jolla employs many ex-MeeGo engineers, so the OMAP-based phone was a natural fit. We were first given a walkthrough of Sailfish OS, then allowed to play with it. Many apps are still being worked on and some are still off-limits (we got in trouble for launching the camera), but what we saw was pretty solid. Take a look at the gallery below, then hit the break for our hands-on video and first impressions.
Continue reading Hands-on with Jolla's Sailfish OS (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Nokia
6 Best iPhone Apps of 2012
1. Pocket
Use Pocket when you see an interesting article, video or recipe but don't currently have time to read or view it. Simply press Pocket's convenient bookmarklet and, voil�, the content saves on your computer, tablet and smartphone. Easily revisit it anytime. It works with browsers and more than 300 other apps. Price: FREE
Click here to view this gallery.
An iPhone without apps would be like a zebra without its stripes ? plain and boring. As we all know by now, the ability to download and run third-party apps is the x-factor for mobile devices, particularly smartphones.
SEE ALSO: 5 Best iPad Apps of 2012
Getting great new apps, many of which are free, makes your phone feel new and exciting. Scroll through the gallery above to view our picks for the top six iPhone apps of 2012.
Share your picks for the year's top apps in the comments below.
Image via Flickr, yum9me
More About: apple, apps, features, iphone, Tech, Year End 2012
Does Everyone Want to Go over Cliff?
In today's chapter of "The Fiscal Cliff," Senate Leaders Reid and McConnell are working behind the scenes to craft a deal to meet Monday's midnight deadline. Yesterday, President Obama met with congressional leaders, for the first time in six weeks, and urged the Senate to reach a deal over the weekend. If they failed to reach a deal, Obama warned, he would press them to put his original proposal before the Congress for an up or down vote.
Obama's original offer called for around $1.6 Trillion in new taxes, directed most of the new revenue to new spending, and trimmed the deficit by a paltry $400 Billion over 10 years. That's roughly, at most, a 1% cut in projected federal spending. During the "talks" on the "cliff," Obama had floated some possible concessions to reduce the tax hike and increase the spending cuts, but those appear to be off the table.
Obama's basic compromise is, "I won the election; vote for my plan. QED." Of course, were Congress to come up with an alternative proposal, Obama would no doubt consider it. But his position has seemed to harden to a big tax hike to fund new stimulus spending, almost no spending cuts, and very few changes to entitlements.
Obama is in a strong negotiating position because the media will aggressively blame the GOP for whatever happens if they fail to reach a deal. His position is even stronger, though, because it is becoming increasingly clear that going over the "cliff," albeit temporarily, is in everyone's interest. After the "cliff," the tax issue becomes much simpler for both parties. Democrats can champion a real tax cut for the middle class and Republicans won't have to vote to raise taxes on any income group.
The tax provisions could pass relatively quickly after we pass the "cliff," and the spending debate can be rolled into the looming battle to lift the debt ceiling. That will be a much bigger battle.
The challenge the GOP has faced in these "talks" is that the tax issue has received far more attention than the question of government spending. On the issue of spending, the GOP is far more aligned with the public than the Democrats. Without the tax diversion, they will have more leverage to get real spending cuts in exchange for a debt ceiling hike.
'Promised Land': The Reviews Are In!
Matt Damon and John Krasinski's collaboration doesn't really have critics universally impressed.
By Kara Warner
Matt Damon in "Promised Land"
Photo: Scott Green
How to find places on the map and get turn-by-turn directions using Siri
Complete guide to Siri commands for maps and turn-by-turn navigation
Siri isn't only your digital assistant, it can be your digital co-pilot as well, helping you find where to go, how to get there, and what you can do along the way. That includes local businesses, points of interest, and complete voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation. And when you're done, if you ask nicely, Siri will even show you the way home.
- How to find places with Siri
- How to find local restaurants and businesses with Siri
- How to get turn-by-turn navigation with Siri
- How to find your way home with Siri
- How to use Flyover and view 3D maps with Siri
How to find places with Siri
If you're looking for a local business or point of interest, just ask Siri.
- Hold down the Home button to activate Siri.
- Ask Siri to find the location you'd like to go to. For example: "Where is Starbucks?"
- If there are multiple matches, Siri will show you a list and ask you to pick one. Tap on the location you want.
How to find local businesses with Siri
You don't have to know the exact name of ar business to find it with Siri. You can also search based on category.
- Hold down the Home button to activate Siri.
- Tell Siri what type of business or restaurant you want to find or the specific name. For example, "Find the Pod Drop in Rochester, MI."
- Siri will now show you a list of places that match the type of business you're asking about. Tap on the one you want directions to.
- You'll be taken to the Maps app. Tap on the green car to the left of the business name.
- Choose the route you'd like to take and then tap Start in the upper right hand corner.
- Voice navigation will begin so you can start your trip to the destination.
How to get turn-by-turn navigation with Siri
- Hold down the Home button to activate Siri.
- Ask Siri to find the location you'd like to go to. For example: "Where is Starbucks?"
- If there are multiple matches, Siri will show you a list and ask you to pick one. Tap on the location you want.
- Tap on the green car icon to the left of the location name.
- If there are multiple routes, tap on the one you want.
- Tap on the blue Start button in the upper right hand corner to begin.
- Follow the voice directions and map prompts to your location.
How to find your way home with Siri
Siri also makes it easy to return home from any unfamiliar place you might have visited (or in the event you get lost).
Before Siri can do this, you'll need to make sure that you have your home address programmed into your contact card and that you've got it linked up with Siri.
- Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.
- Tell Siri to take you home. For example, "Take me home" or "How do I get home?"
- If there are multiple routes, tap on the one you want.
- Tap on the blue Start button in the upper right hand corner to begin.
- Follow the voice directions and map prompts to get home.
How to view famous landmarks with Siri
- Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.
- Ask Siri about the place you'd like to see. For example: "Show me a map of the Sears Tower."
- Tap on the map widget Siri brings up to launch the Maps app.
- Tap on 3D in the bottom left hand corner of the Maps app.
- Tap on the page curl in the bottom right to bring up the options screen.
- Tap on Satellite. Close the page curl again to return to the regular map.
- Pan and zoom around the map and enjoy.
How to get more help with Siri
If you still need help with setting up or using Siri with your iPhone Contacts, or any other Siri feature, head on over to our Siri Forum and ask away!
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