As developers for tablets and smartphones we like to keep abreast of the latest mobile technology developments . This is a daily digest of mobile development and related technology news gathered from the BBC, the New York Times, New Scientist and the Globe and Mail to name a few. We scour the web for articles concerning, iPhone, iPad and android development, iOS and android operating systems as well as general articles on advances in mobile technology. We hope you find this useful and that it helps to keep you up to date with the latest technology developments.
Apple announces ban on n-hexane, benzene for its products
Thanks to the work of activists in raising awareness of the potential risks of some chemicals used in the production process of its products, Apple has announced that it is now restricting suppliers from using n-hexane and benzene in the final assembly process, even though the company’s own investigation showed there was no direct danger of contamination for Apple workers. Because of the potential effects, the chemicals (used mostly for cleaning) are no longer permitted.
Lenovo posts 23% jump in profit
The world’s biggest maker of personal computers, Lenovo, sees a 23% jump in net profit as laptop sales outperform industry average.
'Doubtfire Face' Aims To Raise Awareness For Suicide Prevention
Since the tragic news of Robin Williams’ suicide broke, fans have shown an outpouring of support by sharing their favorite memories, films, quotes and stand-up bits.
But advocates have been careful to also open up a dialogue about depression — which the comedian had talked candidly about — and ways in which people who are facing mental illness can seek help.
To help make the taboo topic more accessible, a group launched the “Doubtfire Face for Suicide Prevention” initiative.
The group is inviting advocates to recreate a sidesplitting scene from “Mrs. Doubtfire.” It’s the moment when Robin Williams’ character — who plays a man dressing up as a female nanny — is at risk of being discovered. To protect his identity, he quickly slams his face into a cake so it appears as though the nanny is just wearing a cleansing mask.
“She” then belts out a signature “Hello!”
The premise is to encourage supporters to welcome suicide prevention.
Once participants upload a video (using shaving cream, whipped cream — really anything) they are then tasked with nominating someone else to get involved, using the hashtags #DoubtfireFace #SayHelloToSuicidePrevention and #RobinWilliams.
Post by Chris Kaminski.
Post by Gina Scotti.
The goal is to raise awareness for the little-talked about figures.
In the United States, a person dies by suicide every 13.7 minutes and it claims more than 38,000 lives each year, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).
It also hopes to raise $500,000 for the organization.
“We have to do more to prevent such tragic deaths through greater awareness of mental health issues, warning signs, effective interventions and treatment,” AFSP said in a statement following Williams’ death. “Suicide is preventable and we all have a role to play to end the tragedy of suicide.”
Learn more about the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and how you can donate to the “Doubtfire Face” initiative here.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Super-fast net: F1's new frontier
How super-fast broadband is driving F1 success
New iPhone 6 part leaks include front panel, buttons, SIM tray
Luxury customization outfit Feld & Volk has published new photos of a collection of alleged iPhone 6 parts. The most prominent depict a front panel, offering a closer glimpse at cables, attachments, and edges. The edges are visibly rounded, presumably meant to blend seamlessly with the phone’s back panel.
Anonymous Threatens To Release Name Of Officer In Ferguson Police Shooting
The hacker group Anonymous claims it has the name of the Ferguson, Missouri, police officer involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager over the weekend.
But in a rare display of caution, the group said Wednesday it is waiting to release the officer’s name until it can be confirmed.
“We have the name of the shooter,” the group tweeted. “We just can’t verify. We need to either talk to witnesses or get a second leak source.”
One member of Anonymous told HuffPost the hacker group wanted “to be absolutely positive it is correct.”
“There have been instances in the past where anons have released erroneous dox,” the Anonymous member “katanon” said in an interview via online chat room, referring to the hacker slang of exposing a person’s true identity online.
Ferguson teenager Michael Brown, 18, was shot and killed Saturday by a police officer while walking with a friend from a convenience store. Police say Brown hit the officer and tried to steal his gun, but Brown’s friend, who witnessed the shooting, has told reporters the officer ordered them onto the sidewalk and threatened Brown with his weapon.
The shooting has sparked several days of contentious protests in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb with a mostly black population and a mostly white police force. Officers have fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowds, and some protesters looted local stores.
Ferguson police initially said they would release the name of the officer involved in the shooting, but changed course on Tuesday, citing online threats made against the officer and the police department.
Meanwhile, Anonymous has tried using its hacking skills to pressure the police to release the officer’s name. On Tuesday, the hackers posted online the home address and phone number of St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, as well as a photo of his house.
A Twitter account belonging to Anonymous tweeted: “Jon Belmar, if you don’t release the officer’s name, we’re releasing your daughter’s info. You have one hour.” The group, however, did not appear to follow through on the threat.
On Sunday, the hackers posted a YouTube video in which a computer-generated voice demanded that Missouri’s congressional representatives introduce legislation to “set strict national standards for police conduct and misbehavior.”
The video warned that if police disrupted the protesters, the hackers would publicly release the emails and personal information of the police department and “take every Web-based asset of your department and government offline.”
A cyber attack by Anonymous brought down the city’s email system Sunday night, and Ferguson’s mayor asked the city’s IT department to take down all personal information from its website, according to the local TV station KMOV. On Wednesday, a reporter for the station tweeted that the city’s email system and website were working again.
The Anonymous member “katanon” told HuffPost the group’s main goal was to bring more attention to the shooting.
“Personally, I would like nationwide protests and the issue to not be swept under the rug yet again,” the member said. “‘Just another dead black kid’ is getting very, very old.”
Anonymous has joined previous protests triggered by allegations of police brutality. In 2011, the group hacked myBart.org, a website for San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit riders, and leaked personal information of users. The attack was in retaliation for a decision by BART to cut off underground cellphone service to shut down a protest against police violence.
Gabriella Coleman, a professor of anthropology at McGill University who studies Anonymous, said the group had largely been quiet over the past year.
“Anonymous has been on hiatus,” said Coleman, author of the forthcoming book Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: the Many Faces of Anonymous.
But Coleman said the group’s involvement in the Ferguson protests may signal the hacker collective is back — “at least for awhile.”
“They’ve gotten so much attention,” she said, “and that emboldens them.”
10 Surprising Part-Time Work-From-Home Jobs
There are a lot of reasons to work part-time, and even more reasons to work from home. What do you get when you combine the two? A pretty great way to work. And for people with special circumstances, like stay-at-home parents, retirees, people with disabilities, graduate students, caregivers, military spouses, and many others, part-time work-from-home jobs offer a chance to stay professionally active while attending to the needs of others or themselves.
Recently, my company analyzed thousands of part-time work-from-home jobs posted over the last year to determine which career fields offered the most opportunities to work this way. Based on the top 10 career categories with these jobs, we’ve found some pretty interesting and surprising jobs that can be done from home while working fewer hours.
Here are 10 surprising part-time work-from-home jobs.
Search Engine Evaluator (Computer & IT)
For people with a broad interest in popular culture, this part-time work-from-home job requires you to search the internet and rate search results and content, in order to help clients make search results more relevant. If you really enjoy surfing the web, this is a fantastic part-time job option.
Study Interviewer (Medical & Health)
Organizations need telephone interviewers to help them conduct national, longitudinal studies related to a variety of health issues like tobacco use, weight loss, and others. Interpersonal and communication skills are a must, and previous experience in medical studies certainly helps.
Nanny Placement Coordinator (Customer Service)
There are lots of organizations that help families find caregivers like babysitters, nannies, and elder care professionals. In this part-time work-from-home job, people call candidate references, coordinate schedules, follow up on nanny placements, write job descriptions, and even interview and hire candidates.
Nursing Adjunct Faculty (Education & Training)
RNs who enjoy teaching will find a number of adjunct faculty positions for online courses. Don’t let the “online” part fool you — the requirements for these roles are very high. Candidates must have at least five years of clinical experience and their RN license, and a doctoral degree is preferred.
User Interface (UI) Designer (Web & Software Dev)
Often thought of as full-time roles, part-time at-home jobs do exist for experienced web and mobile application designers. Typical requirements include several years experience designing web application interfaces and a strong understanding of usability principles.
Foraging Guide Writer (Writing)
Foraging is just one example of the many surprising topics we’ve seen advertised for part-time work-from-home writers. Other topic areas include generalized anxiety, conspiracy theories, Downton Abbey, global conflicts, good news, endurance sports, and automotive journalism.
Language Interpreter (Inbound Call)
What happens when a doctor is treating a patient who speaks a language other than his own? Medical interpreters help out! These part-time work-from-home jobs require a professional voice and bilingual abilities in English and another language like Samoan, Portuguese Creole, Cambodian, and many others. Interpreters help with industries like insurance, healthcare, and finance.
Gaming Support Representative (Call Center)
Call center jobs are fairly common in the work-from-home sphere, but gaming support is an interesting twist. These professionals provide user support for gaming platforms by offering customer service and troubleshooting over the phone.
Virtual Physical Education Teacher (Teaching)
Online public and private educational institutions need teachers from all subjects, including physical education, to offer students virtual instructional sessions. The responsibilities of this job are much the same as an in-school phys ed teacher: plan lessons and activities, monitor student progress, report grades, and even manage virtual student clubs.
Hotel Sales & Catering Tester (Sales)
Not your typical sales job, this part-time at-home role requires people to test other catering and sales managers for their ability to sell products and services. For people with previous hotel sales and catering experience who are looking for supplemental income, this is a surprising way to utilize those skills in a remote job.
The next time you find yourself considering a part-time job, don’t assume you’re limited to the typical or traditional part-time jobs you’ve heard of before. With a little bit of searching, you can uncover really surprising jobs that will allow you to work from home in an interesting role.
4-Year-Old Is Heartbroken By The Idea That Deleting Photos Means They're Gone For Good
Forever is a pretty incredible concept when you’re young. Forever is longer than anything you remember, longer than you’ve been around, longer than your parents have been around — and quite frankly, you can’t imagine a world before them.
So 4-year-old Cadence’s heartbreak at learning exactly what “deleting” something means — that the photo of her Uncle Dave is probably now gone forever — seems pretty adorably appropriate.
Four-year-old problems might just be the new “first world problems.”
YouTubers Do Kim Kardashian (The Game)
We’re super excited to introduce the first episode of our series looking at trending apps and mobile games. For our inaugural episode, we would like to take a look at Kim Kardashian: Hollywood with YouTubers Brock Baker, Jacks Films, Olga Kay and Bart Baker.
Having said this, let’s get the ball rolling shall we?
You’ll most definitely want to check out Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. Whether it’s to make fun of it as Olga pointed out or to watch dollar bills drop from under Kim’s skirt as Bart pointed out. It’ll certainly be entertaining all around.
The game which was launched June of this year by Glu Games Inc. has undoubtedly received a lot of attention. So much attention, in fact, that it has been estimated that the game will make $200m by the end of the year.
It’s something of a phenomenon for sure.
Will you be purchasing the game?
What game should we play and review next? Let us know!
Xbox gets Tomb Raider as exclusive
Microsoft reveals Rise of the Tomb Raider will be an exclusive for its Xbox platform despite Sony’s PlayStation consoles enjoying stronger sales.
South Korea's Only Astronaut Just Quit Her Job
Yi So-yeon, South Korea’s first and only astronaut, just quit her job.
The 36-year-old engineer cited personal reasons in her resignation letter to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, according to media reports in Korea.
Yi, who has been on a leave of absence to pursue an MBA in the U.S., became the first Korean in space in 2008 when she rode on a Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station. She spent 11 days on the ISS and then spent the next four years working for the institute before deciding to pursue the degree.
In the wake of Yi’s resignation, South Koreans are questioning the government’s decision to spend millions in taxpayer money on the astronaut, The Korean Herald reported. The institute reportedly spent more than $25 million to send her into space.
Yi herself faced criticism last year for her decision to pursue her MBA. She defended her decision at that time by saying her goal was to advance Korean space technology, adding, “It was a decision I made after realizing that I can’t live the rest of my life talking about what I did in space for 11 days.”
Are Women Really Suffering from 'Tinderella Syndrome'?
When one of my favorite radio stations, WCCO in Minneapolis, called me to discuss the ‘Tinderella Syndrome’ and wanted my take if women weren’t able to approach and meet men offline because of their addiction to Tinder and mobile dating apps, I thought the concept made no sense to me at all.
In an article on the Daily Mail, it mentions that Psychologist Emma Kenny believes that online dating breeds impatience and insecurity. Are singles really insecure because they’re dating online? I don’t think so. I know some women might feel badly offline that they aren’t meeting anyone, and they are taking matters into their own digital hands by creating online dating profiles and swiping right and left on Tinder with the hopes of connecting with someone to meet IRL.
Here are the reasons I don’t believe in the ‘Tinderella Syndrome.’
1. Mobile apps make it easier to connect with people close by. Let’s face it. We’re all busy people juggling work, social calendars and family commitments. Those who are interested in meeting someone close by can easily log onto Tinder by signing up through Facebook, posting six photos, and can take the time to view a profile instead of just swiping right or left to give a digital thumbs up or down on a profile. If the profile indicates they’re really looking to meet someone for a relationship, they can start chatting instantly if it’s a mutual match.
2. Almost 35 percent of married couples met online. A study from the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that about one-third of marriages were as a result of online.
3. A Pew Research study shows that 59 percent of Americans think that online dating is a good way to meet people. With over half of Americans thinking online dating is the way to go, remember that most singles are using mobile dating apps, which speed up the process.
4. Mobile dating apps and online dating sites help those who are shy communicate with potential dates. It’s my opinion that using dating apps and dating sites only helps those who are too shy to approach someone in a bar to say hello. By chatting online, I think self-esteem can be improved and communicating skills with potential dates will also become easier. The key is to take your relationship from online to offline and meet IRL.
5. Online dating stigma is pretty much gone. It’s a matter of time that the stigma for Tinder or mobile dating apps for hookups will also diminish. Already we are seeing many relationships of couples who’ve found love on Tinder.
If you’re worried that Tinder doesn’t result in meeting in person, if your mutual match isn’t communicating with you or interested in meeting, just move on. Tinder reports they are seeing 10 million matches a day and 850 million swipes per day. With all of that activity, it’s pretty easy to figure out who’s playing the game and who will want to meet. If their profile is rather empty and they only say, “hey,” it’s probably not going to become a meaningful relationship.
In my conversation with John Hines from WCCO – CBS Radio, I told him that Tinder is known to have a membership base of mostly 18-34 year olds and many aren’t looking for a serious relationship and are hooking up. But some are truly looking for a new digital outlet to find a date or love. Tinder fills that need.
Yes, Tinder is like a game and it asks you to keep playing instead of suggesting that you meet in person. There will always be those who love the digital ego boost of flirting online, with or without Tinder. However, there will always be those who truly are looking for a connection. Tinder makes it easy to connect. It’s up to you to decide if the relationship is ready to move offline.
If you truly believe you can’t meet someone offline because you’d rather chat online, think about how your life was before the days of Tinder. Were you able to have conversations with interesting people at a party? Did you find offline chemistry before or ever smile at someone at a coffee shop? Online dating is just one way to engage with healthy communications. A combination of online and offline dating will indeed help you find someone compatible to date.
As time goes on, we will see that more and more singles in their 40s and up will also be using Tinder, due to the ease of creating a profile and the flexibility of connecting on the fly with singles in their geographic area. I have a feeling, they’re also meeting people offline as well.
Do you believe in the ‘Tinderella Syndrome?’
Julie Spira is an online dating expert and was an early adopter of Internet dating and is the founder of CyberDatingExpert.com. Julie helps single women and men find love on the Internet, on Tinder, and other mobile dating apps. For more dating advice, follow @JulieSpira on Twitter and sign up for the free Cyber-Dating Expert Weekly Flirt.
New Express Clutch Will Charge Your Phone, Change Your Life
Wearable technology is in, and major retailers are catching on.
Express is the latest to hop on board with the “smart” trend, introducing an accessory that is sure to be a game-charger…ahem, game-changer.
Called the “Portable Charger Clutch,” this new accessory literally lives up to its name. It charges your smart phone (iPhone or Android) by using a USB device and a mini-charger that remain inside a “pouch” within the clutch. There’s enough juice to fully charge your phone twice.
Many startups have already created purses that will charge your phone, (like the emPOWERED, the Everpurse or this Cuyana tote) but the items are far more expensive. Express is one of first major retailers to offer a clutch that will resonate with a wider array of consumers, making the purse less of a luxury item and more of an affordable must-have.
Available in black, red and leopard, the smaller size will retail for anywhere from $59.90 to $69.90, while larger clutches will set you back $89.90 to $99.90.
To get even more bang for your buck, we’d also recommend keeping the clutch in your daytime backpack, briefcase or tote so your phone is fully charged when you’re on the go. Check out the photos below:
Oregon Man Claims Apple Store Employee Handed Him Receipt With Anti-Gay Message
An Oregon man is crying foul after a local Apple Store employee allegedly handed him a receipt printed with an anti-gay slur in place of an email address.
The Oregonian reports that Adam Catanzarite, who self-identifies as queer, was handed the receipt after he purchased a set of $29 earpods from the Pioneer Place Apple Store in Portland on July 8.
A photo of the receipt, which Catanzarite posted on both Facebook and Imgur, shows “f@g.com” printed in the space normally reserved for customer emails.
Post by Adam Gregory Catanzarite.
A spokeswoman for Apple told The Oregonian that the company is aware of the incident, but did not comment further, according to the report.
Earlier this year, a transgender woman filed a complaint against Bistro 18 hookah bar in Washington, D.C., after she and eight friends (including four women and two gay men) allegedly received a receipt with “gay bitches” written on it.
In 2013, a server at a Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Kansas was shocked to find that customers had left behind an anti-gay message on their bill in lieu of a tip.
Two months later, a lesbian waitress at Gallop Asian Bistro in New Jersey was let go from her job after a purportedly homophobic note she received from a family criticizing her “lifestyle” and denying her a tip turned out to be a hoax.
Michael J Fox charity turns to tech
The Michael J Fox Foundation and Intel have teamed up to equip Parkinson’s patients with wearable sensors to help monitor the disease.
AT&T offers $200 off 4G iPads with Next upgrades to iPhone 5s and 5c
AT&T has begun a new promotion aimed at people on Next upgrade plans. If a subscriber buys an iPhone 5s or 5c, the carrier is offering $200 off a cellular-equipped iPad. That brings the price of a 16GB cellular Retina Mini down to $329, and an equivalent Air to $429. There are other stipulations as well however, namely that an iPad has to be activated under a two-year wireless agreement on a Mobile Share Value plan or a standalone data plan.
Soon We'll All Be Having Sex With Robots, Maybe: Scientist
If you take selfies now, you could be boning robots later.
That’s the message, basically, of researcher Stowe Boyd of GigaOM Research, who was quoted in a recent report by Pew Research on the role robotics and Artificial Intelligence will play in our future daily lives. The report is more concerned with whether robots are going to steal our jobs, but what’s a report on robots without at least one mention of some hot android action?
“Robotic sex partners will become commonplace, although the source of scorn and division, the way that critics today bemoan selfies as an indicator of all that’s wrong with the world.”
Translation: Future society might judge our digital love, but it won’t be able to stop us from doing it.
Are we SURE that hand is human…
Assuming — and desperately hoping — that the report’s assertion that “the penetration of AI and robotics will be close to 100% in many areas” isn’t referring to sex (100 percent is a LOT), Boyd’s is the only mention of bot boinking in the report.
But Boyd is far from the only one envisioning an automatedly amorous future. Indeed, people are already getting it on with machines. And even those who haven’t yet gone in for a robot handjob or blowjob say they would. A recent poll found that one in five people in the United Kingdom would have sex with a robot if they got the chance.
(Hat tip: PandoDaily)
The Real Reason Facebook Is Forcing You To Download Messenger
A little over a year ago, Facebook launched Facebook Home, software designed to take over some smartphones completely. It was a huge flop, but the message was clear: Facebook was on a mission to dominate the time you spend on your phone.
The company’s recent controversial move to force iPhone and Android owners who want to keep chatting with their friends to download Facebook Messenger, its three-year-old standalone messaging app, is evidence it’s still trying to hog your time. And if it can’t take over your entire phone, it is going to bombard you with different apps until the effect is more or less the same.
Facebook says it’s forcing people to move to Messenger because the app is faster and has more features. But the real reason is that the company wants to protect itself by diversifying its offerings. Simply put, Facebook doesn’t want to end up like another Myspace, all but abandoned for the next big thing.
“Imagine a future where the News Feed becomes less important to people,” said Nate Elliott, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, a research company. “They don’t want people to stop using Messenger just because they stop going to the News Feed. And that’s the risk they run if it’s all bundled together.”
It’s a strategy Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and CEO, has alluded to in recent months. Earlier this year, the company announced Creative Labs, a unit dedicated to creating new apps that “support the diverse ways people want to connect and share.”
“So what we’re doing with Creative Labs is basically unbundling the big blue app,” Zuckerberg told The New York Times’ Farhad Manjoo in an interview in April.
“I think on mobile, people want different things,” he said. “In mobile there’s a big premium on creating single-purpose first-class experiences.”
Facebook’s unbundling of Messenger fits with a series of moves the company has made over the past couple of years.
In 2012, it spent $1 billion to buy Instagram. That seemed like a pretty big number until February, when Facebook announced it would buy the popular messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion. Since then it has also bought Moves, a fitness-tracking app, and Oculus VR, a company that makes virtual reality technology.
For many of the companies it bought in the past, Facebook incorporated their technology into existing products and/or shuttered the services. But Instagram, WhatsApp, Moves and Oculus will continue to live on their own (though it’s unlikely they’ll be immune from Facebook’s influence).
It’s probably what Facebook would have done with Snapchat, the hugely popular ephemeral messaging app, if Snapchat hadn’t reportedly spurned a $3 billion offer from the company last fall.
So if (or when) you get tired of scrolling through pictures of your friends’ kids on the News Feed, you’ll log into Facebook less — but you’ll likely still use Facebook, because you’ll use Messenger and WhatsApp to communicate, Instagram to share photos, Moves to track how far you’ve walked, and any other app Facebook buys or designs in the future.
“Having individual apps that fill a wide range of needs, no matter how different those needs, can help Facebook dominate the mobile experience,” said Elliott. “They want to offer a response to every possible mobile moment. Putting each of their tools into a separate app will insulate them should users lose interest in any one of the things Facebook offers.”
And because Facebook is a giant advertising company, the more you use its apps, the more it knows about you.
“Facebook is in the business of selling advertising, so the more touchpoints they have with their users across various apps and services, the more advertising revenue they stand to generate,” said Gene Dolgin, a senior manager at Endeavour Partners, a consulting firm.
The strategy seems to be working for Facebook — four of the five top downloaded Android and iPhone apps in June, according to App Annie, an apps analytics company, are Facebook-owned, or will soon be Facebook-owned: Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram. (The WhatsApp acquisition isn’t yet completed, according to a Facebook spokesperson.)
Not all of Facebook’s attempts to diversify, or “unbundle,” have been successful, however. Facebook discontinued its Snapchat clone, Poke, and its Instagram rival, Camera, after they failed to catch on. Neither Slingshot, another attempt at an app with disappearing pictures, nor Paper, an app that mixes updates from your friends with news, have been hits with Facebookers.
But for now, people don’t seem to be getting tired of tapping the blue icon and thumbing through the News Feed. The company reported that in the second quarter of the year, daily active users on mobile had increased 39 percent.
Man Reacts Through Text To Discovering His Brother Is Gay On Reddit
This warms our cold hearts.
When Reddit user thecly provided his brother with his username so that he could see a discussion he was engaged in on the social networking and news site, he forgot that he had also posted in the “gaybros” subreddit. As a result, thecly was outed to his brother.
But we’re happy to report that he couldn’t have handled the news better.
Thecly’s little brother also reportedly added, “He’s a pretty nice guy and I love him to death, ain’t nothin gonna change that. ”
Nothing like unconditional love and family support.
(h/t The Gaily Grind & Instinct)
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