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.
Age of Empires Castle Siege Gets Stability Updates
Age of Empires Castle Siege for Windows and Windows Phone has been updated overnight with a healthy update that brings some functional improvements as well as some stability to the universal Windows Game. The update, which is free and available now in the Windows Phone Store, brings improved network connectivity for fewer time out issues, fixes some crash issues and a good list of game play improvements. As I put in my review last week of the game, Age of Empires Castle Siege is a fantastically well done game that stays true to the AoE name. Age of Empires: Castle
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VIDEO: Can technology plug NHS funding gap?
The NHS is under pressure to close a huge projected funding gap – Dominic Hughes reports on how the NHS has addressed this in West Yorkshire.
Tetra Lockscreen for Windows Phone Launched
Yesterday there were a slew of Microsoft Garage apps that were launched for Windows Phone that bring new games and utilities to the platform. If you aren’t familiar with it, Microsoft Garage is an internal program at Microsoft where people can develop apps in their free time and Microsoft will select some of the top apps and put them into the Windows Phone Store. One of those apps yesterday was Tetra Lockscreen. Tetra Lockscreen for Windows Phone brings a new level of functionality to your Lockscreen and makes it where you can interact with your Lockscreen to get various pieces
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Apple found not guilty of infringing on expired GPNE patents
Non-practicing entity GPNE, which had tried to sue Apple over alleged infringement of expired pager-related 3G wireless patents, has come away completely empty-handed after a jury exonerated Apple of all charges. The firm, which has attempted to sue or sued most other big-name tech firms over the same or similar patents, had sought $94 million in damages (which Apple had referred to as an “attempt to extort money” from the iPhone maker), but was awarded nothing.
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Muscle Trigger Points app tries to help diagnose etiology of muscle pain
An app to help doctors identify muscle trigger points on patients.
The post Muscle Trigger Points app tries to help diagnose etiology of muscle pain appeared first on iMedicalApps.
Five Keys to Entrepreneurial Success
Forming your first startup is not a task for the faint at heart. You think you have every piece of information and every problem solved, but once you decide to make the jump into entrepreneurship and things go awry, your true drive and ambition will either shine or fade into the background. The decision to step into entrepreneurship should be well calculated. According to The U.S. Small Business Administration, approximately 543,000 new businesses get started each month, with a third of those failing in the first two years and 60% finding they’re doomed by their fourth year in business.
Being an entrepreneur has high risks and high rewards. Stepping out into the world of entrepreneurship is something that can be extremely daunting and risky, so understanding how to be successful is imperative. Whether you’re a founder or co-founder, these five keys to entrepreneurial success will help you launch and grow your new venture.
Mistakes happen, embrace them.
Almost every entrepreneur has had their fair share of mistakes when it comes to being at the helm of a company. Whether they drop clients because they’re frustrating, only to later regret it, or try to perfect the process early on within their own organization when they should be focusing on the bigger picture, it’s nearly impossible to get it right every single time. What’s important is that you’re able to learn from mistakes and use them to your advantage when you can. When you embrace missteps, you put yourself in the position to be able to grow and move forward.
Work with those who will challenge you.
This is one of the most important mantras an entrepreneur should have, not only in business but also in their personal lives. When you first start your own company, it’s important to surround yourself with people who really push and drive you to step up your game. If you work with those who don’t, it’ll eventually rub off on you. Working with people who are equally as passionate and driven as you will do nothing but set you up for success.
When choosing business partners and mentors, don’t just pick your best friend, pick someone who is going to push you, challenge you, and make you a better entrepreneur. With a partner like that, you’re less likely to lose the drive and ambition you started with.
Be smart about where you invest.
If you gained experience in the corporate world before you took the entrepreneurial leap, you know what it’s like to have access to tools and budgets that you don’t necessarily have when it comes to starting your own company. It can be a big culture shock when you can no longer afford the pricey but effective software programs or outrageous advertising budget you became accustomed to. Instead, you’ll have to get creative, such as using free or budget-friendly software before you’re at a point where you can start scaling your business. Find the tools you simply cannot live without and prioritize them. Invest when you’re financially ready and not a moment sooner.
Get out of your comfort zone and network
Getting out of your comfort zone is one of the most important things you can do as an entrepreneur. In fact, when starting your first business, referrals will go a long way. Networking is one of the most important aspects of an entrepreneurship because the connections you make will determine the strength of your network and ultimately could determine the success of your company. Going to events where the only goal in mind is to be pushing cards, shaking hands and making meaningful contacts is now part of your job. Understanding the value behind networking and doing a good job of it will take you far. Think about possible connections you have that need to be fostered and use them to your advantage.
Have fun, find what you’re passionate about, and don’t settle!
We’ve probably all seen others who settle because they’re not brave enough to take the leap of faith into entrepreneurship. We say they’re playing it safe but really what’s happening is that they are denying their own happiness and giving up the opportunity to have fun and live their passion. In short, they’re settling.
The amount of fun you have following your passion will be a determining factor in how much you excel at your new venture. Suddenly, working sixty to eighty hours a week isn’t so difficult when you’re doing it while exploring your passion.
Steve Jobs said it best during a conversation with Pixar CEO John Lassete: “In your life you only get to do so many things and right now we’ve chosen to do this, so let’s make it great.” Settling isn’t something that should even be in your vocabulary as an entrepreneur. We only get one life, so use it, follow your passion and whatever your passion is, go for it.
ProtoHack, the only code-free hackathon. ProtoHack exists to show non-coders that they too can create something amazing from nothing. ProtoHack aims to empower the non-technical entrepreneur with the tools, knowledge and community to help you bring your idea to life and communicate it visually through prototyping. Learn more about ProtoHack by visiting our website, then sign up for our free event coming to New York City on November 15.
Printer Turns Photos Into 3-D Objects So Blind People Can Hold Onto Treasured Memories
Glance at an old photograph, and all of a sudden the memories come rushing back: The ski trip you took with your family as a child; the first time you rode a bike without training wheels; a beloved grandparent, perhaps.
Simple, right? Not for the blind, who are unable to “see” the photo in question. That’s the issue Pirate3D, a 3-D printer manufacturing company, aims to address with their “Touchable Memories” experiment.
In a video released last week, the company explored the power of recreating photos for the blind with a 3-D printer, extruding them in plastic so they, too, could have a tangible means to relive treasured memories. The video follows five seeing-impaired individuals as they recall memories which one woman, Daniela, describes as “almost like dreams, like a gust of wind — there and it’s gone.”
The emotional impact of the 3-D photographs cannot be overstated, as each of the individuals clearly, vividly relives each particular memory as they explore the plastic models.
“There were very long silences while we saw emotions wash over their faces as if they were being transported in time, but Daniela was perhaps who stands out the most,” project lead Fred Bosch told FastCompany of the experiment. “She chose a memory that not only brought her back to her childhood and the ski holiday she spent with her family, but also reminded her of intimate details that she had forgotten, like the wool cap she was wearing at the time and the crunch of the snow beneath her boots.”
WATCH the ‘Touchable Memories’ video, above.
H/T Bored Panda
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Utah State University Defends Response To Vile Threat To Feminist Speaker
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Facing faculty concerns about guns on the campus of Utah State University, the school’s president is responding to accusations that the institution acted irresponsibly after a threat against feminist speaker Anita Sarkeesian.
President Stan Albrecht said USU immediately started working with police and communicating with Sarkeesian’s staff after receiving the email threatening a mass shooting. In a letter to faculty and students, Albrecht said USU had to follow a state law prohibiting universities from taking away concealed weapons from valid permit holders, but he expressed concern about a new push from state lawmakers to allow open carrying of weapons on campus.
The president’s statements came in response to a letter signed by about 200 faculty and students saying guns on campus pose a threat to free speech.
“There are a lot of us that aren’t happy to teach at a university that allows guns on campus,” said English professor Jennifer Sinor, one of two instructors who wrote the letter last week. While Albrecht said he was proud of how the university handled the Sarkeesian threat, Sinor said one other nationally known speaker has expressed security concerns about a speech scheduled for next spring.
Sarkeesian canceled her talk on women and video games last week, calling it mindboggling that guns would be allowed despite the threat. She did not immediately return messages seeking comment Wednesday.
The university has said it determined the threat wasn’t credible and called its security measures adequate, but Albrecht said allowing the open carry of guns on campus would be bad.
“This action would have chilling implications for us, making it more difficult to attract outside speakers to our university, to hire and retain faculty, and to ensure a comfortable academic environment for our students,” Albrecht wrote.
Utah is one of seven states that allow concealed carry on college campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but it is the only state that has a separate law prohibiting universities from not allowing concealed weapons at events. Republican Utah lawmaker Curt Oda of Clearfield said the law also allows people to carry guns openly on campus.
“There is no restriction on open carry,” Oda said, though “we encourage people to carry it discreetly as much as possible.”
In the wake of other campus shootings in the U.S., Sinor said Utah’s existing concealed-weapon rule already has a chilling effect on professors who scale back on challenging topics to avoid controversy, which ultimately limits what students learn.
“They’re the ones that lose,” she said. Sinor said she’s previously had a plainclothes police officer posted outside her classroom after one creative writing student violently threatened another in journal entries.
She argued Wednesday for what she called a middle path, with some prohibitions on guns in residence halls, in classrooms and at large events.
What Minecraft Is Teaching Your Kids About Money
BY CHRIS TAYLOR
NEW YORK Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:13pm EDT
(Reuters) – If your kids are chattering non-stop about things like emeralds, pickaxes and creepers, you may have a unique opportunity to turn a video game addiction into a life lesson about money.
Minecraft, a video game phenomenon with over 100 million users, is such a hot property that Microsoft Corp recently forked out $2.5 billion for its maker, Mojang AB.
Players build their own worlds via game systems, smartphones, tablets and computers using virtual Lego-like pieces. And as opposed to the shoot-’em-up video games that kids usually gravitate toward, this game teaches them about money.
It is “about barter, about value, about how to protect your stuff,” says Hank Mulvihill, a financial adviser in Richardson, Texas.
“Kids are learning about money on a lot of different levels in Minecraft,” says Joel Levin, co-founder of Manhattan-based TeacherGaming, a firm that works with educators to use video games as teaching tools.
“There are basic currencies, like emeralds that you dig up and can trade with villagers,” Levin explains. “There are exchange rates, because certain items are worth more than others. Then players have to think about whether to spend money right away, or save it and get something more rewarding later on. These are analogous to the financial decisions people are making in the real world all the time.”
And that is just if you are playing the game on your own. If you are online with multiple players, the financial issues become much more complex.
“At that point, players are setting up actual economies,” Levin says. “On a particular server, they may decide that diamonds are the currency of choice. Or some kids start playing the role of a bank, offering loans and charging interest.”
Levin is aware of instances where teachers introduce a rare item into the game that kids can’t obtain on their own, and then watch them react to the scarcity. “It’s supply and demand in action,” he says.
HOW TO START FROM NOTHING
Of course, most parents only experience Minecraft by peering over their kids’ shoulders and trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
So in case you were wondering, here are a few of Minecraft’s key financial lessons:
When starting out in the world of Minecraft, “nobody tells you anything, no instructions,” says 19-year-old Harvey Mulvihill, son of Hank, who plays along with his two brothers. “You are a stranger in a strange land, and you have to figure out how to gain resources.”
Indeed, Minecraft is a so-called “sandbox” game, in which players roam a virtual world with very few limitations. In that way, it is a riff on the traditional American archetype of the Horatio Alger story – starting from nothing and somehow making a huge success of yourself.
Players have to gain skills and then leverage those skills to develop a better world for themselves.
HOW TO PROTECT WHAT YOU HAVE
As in life, very bad things happen all the time in Minecraft – death, robbery, physical attacks and disasters of all stripes. As a result, players have to protect themselves against a number of terrible futures.
For example: travel light. “It is never a good idea to carry your valuables on your person,” advises 17-year-old Patrick Mulvihill. “Once you die your things are dropped on the spot of death. Valuables should be kept in chests in safe, well-lit places.”
But it is not just death players have to insure themselves against. That is because some people in this virtual world – known as “griefers,” according to Patrick – go online solely to steal and break other people’s things.
HOW TO MAKE THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS
Life is all about who you know, and Minecraft is no different. Connecting with the right people can make your virtual life a whole lot easier.
“If I was starting from scratch and didn’t know any coding, I could be digging for emeralds forever,” says Dan Short, associate professor of environmental science at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, who has written an academic paper on Minecraft.
“But if you are on a server with other kids, the server owner can basically give you as many emeralds as you need. They’re like little monarchs.”
The moral of the story? Your network counts, and you should develop it as much as possible.
HOW TO MONETIZE YOUR SKILLS
Once you become talented at something, you could find yourself in serious demand. Fifteen-year-old Sean Mulvihill plays with his buddies Jackson, Oscar and Wyatt. “Jackson is known for being the best builder, and others pay him to build them a house,” Sean says.
Meanwhile, Sean is seen as “by far, the best farmer,” he notes modestly. As a result, other players come to him with business propositions, like supplying him with seed, equipment and gold in order to tend their farms and divvy up the profits.
This principle of monetizing your Minecraft skills applies in the real world, too, notes Short. Some have become so talented at the game and charismatic with their audiences – with handles like TheBajanCanadian, Sky Does Minecraft and Lewis & Simon – that they run their own insanely popular channels on Google Inc’s YouTube.
“They get followers on YouTube, they host games and then kids sometimes pay a premium for the chance to play with them and be in their videos,” Short says. “They must be making serious bank. That might be the biggest financial lesson of all.”
(Editing by Lauren Young, Beth Pinsker and G Crosse)
This 'Star Wars' Recut Lets You Watch The Prequel Trilogy In Under Three Hours
“Star Wars VII” isn’t out until December of next year, but you might as well get started on your marathons now. Yet rather than watch the much-derided prequel trilogy, we’ve got a solution: “Star Wars Episode I” through “Episode III” in only two hours and 40 minutes. The recut, “Turn to the Dark Side — Episode 3.1,” includes the most compelling aspects of the three films with plot pieces removed to create a stronger focus on the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. Essentially, as the video description says, it’s all the good action with a lot less Jar Jar Binks.
Double Digit, who created the new video, told HuffPost Entertainment that as a huge “Star Wars” fan, they wanted to find a way to make the films “more of a swashbuckling space opera with less exposition and satellite characters.” The filmmaker, who is a graphic designer by trade, heard about Topher Grace’s famous 85-minute “Star Wars” prequel recut and was inspired to make their own.
An original version of “Turn to the Dark Side” was posted online back in May, but due to fair use issues, the video was taken down within 48 hours by Vimeo. This ended up proving beneficial, since Double Digit took viewer comments into consideration to re-edit the video. Finally, Double Digit uploaded a new and improved recut, which Vimeo decided not to flag, with even more action and a more coherent plot than the previous version. The creator told us that the most keen viewers will be able to figure out Double Digit’s identity if they watch the video closely. Check out the recut above.
H/T The Playlist
Can Tinder Light A Fire In India?
BY ANKITA RAO, OZY
The writer, Ankita Rao, is an Indian-American journalist currently based anywhere from the villages of Orissa to the streets of Mumbai.
There are gods on Tinder.
Not Adonis-like gym buffs with quotes about success and protein shakes. No, I’m talking profile photos of Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Buddha — even the avatar Venkateswara, who, to be honest, I would rather associate with my grandparents and not a dating app.
That was the first thing I reported home to my friends after fiddling around with my iPhone one day in an auto rickshaw this spring, just weeks after moving to India to kick-start a freelance journalism career. Half curious, and half bored, I wanted to check out how the New Delhi scene fared in comparison to Washington, D.C. — and Tinder was an easy window into the madness. Luckily, I didn’t have too much stake in the outcome: I had just moved across the world with little safety net, so finding true love was not top priority. And as a Tinder-match would later say to me, “Let’s be honest, neither of us are using the app to find our soul mate.”
Guys in India have no problem chatting for weeks about your education, family background and personality quirks.
As it turns out, India, a mobile-savvy country with the largest growing population of young people in the world, should be a great place for an app like Tinder (a company spokesperson tells me India’s a top “emerging market” priority). In case you don’t know already, Tinder is a departure from the long-winded dating profile questions that pepper Match and OkCupid — and don’t forget Shaadi.com, India’s top matrimonial site. Its ruthless efficiency allows users to choose dates based on a few Facebook photos and a short bio. Doesn’t seem that alien for a country where courtship can start with either arranged marriages or drunken hookups.
A couple of weekends taught me one single, universal straight-guy truth when it comes to putting your best e-face forward. Pro tip: You either need a photo with a tiger OR of you doing some kind of extreme action adventure sport. You must appear to be as much like a Bollywood hero as possible. (Personally, I really would rather see someone tame real beasts, like Bombay trains during rush hour — talk about hot.)
But when you look a little closer, and start actually chatting with people, you find a surprising shyness. Unlike in America, guys in India largely have no problem chatting for weeks about your education, family background and personality quirks, or posing multiple questions even if you don’t reply. They don’t always play it cool — relishing philosophical quotes and gooey smiley faces.
But when they finally do ask to meet up, it’s often in this almost-apologetic way. Like this guy Vikas, who after an entire two months of questioning asked: “I don’t mean to be forward, but would you like to talk on the phone, and if we are compatible, meet up for coffee?” Unfortunately, I was four states away by the time he drummed up that valiant courage.
I went on my first Tinder date a few months later when I moved to an apartment in one of Mumbai’s hip and wonderful neighborhoods facing the sea. Sahil, a pleasant looking actor-slash-social worker, was heading from Australia to Brazil via his original hometown of Mumbai, and looked normal, adventurous and scruffy. My basic criteria for a good date.
We met at an outdoor café in the afternoon and nearly melted into our coconut waters while sharing travel stories and life plans. With the oppressive humidity, there was no question of playing posh and dressing up, but it wouldn’t have been necessary — like me, Sahil was capable of moving across the world with just a backpack, and we could’ve easily met at a drum circle in the park. The only drawback was that he was headed to Rio the next day, so we exchanged contact info and went our separate ways.
Over the next few months, I introduced Tinder to a few of my Indian-born friends, some of whom had heard of the service but didn’t think it was useful in their careful balance of light-hearted dating and matrimonial goals. The women were very hesitant in letting the interactions get to real life — understandable given the harassment and teasing issues — but relented when they saw the pure comedy and drama at my fingertips.
Before long, all three of the girls — of drastically varied backgrounds and temperaments — staying with me in Mumbai had gone on at least one Tinder date, and almost always had a better time than they thought they would. We all had very different taste in men — from clean-shaven family guys to lost musician types — and Tinder seemed to deliver, as long as we carefully filtered out people saying things like “wru 2nyte” and “wassup, i really like your beautiful curlz.”
While I quickly tired of persistent, get-no-hint messages, I learned not to generalize men too badly in a country as diverse as India.
And the anonymity also gave us plenty of creative license of our own.
“Boy, you put the ‘bomb’ in Bombay,” a male friend wrote to one of my matches, and then proceeded to shamelessly comment on his deltoids on my behalf.
“Do you like eggplant? Because your body’s baingin (that’s the Hindi word for eggplant),” I wrote to one of his matches in revenge. To our surprise, the previously shy girl actually responded and fueled the conversation.
In the next few months I went on a couple more dates, with a New Yorker with striking green eyes who I’m still in touch with (yeah, I came all the way to India to meet a New Yorker); another with a consultant-type who talked almost exclusively about the World Cup for the entire span of our three-hour happy hour. I chatted with a musician who gave me the lowdown on all of India’s music festivals and nightlife, and connected with a fellow Indian-American who seemed to be the male version of me.
And while I quickly tired of persistent, get-no-hint messages, I learned not to generalize men too badly in a country as unimaginably diverse as India. Here you can travel from one state to another and suddenly not be able to speak the language or stomach the spicy food. One city might be full of macho dudes raised on lassi and patriarchy, while the next is full of awesome artists and hippies who will let you split the bill. From the gods to the god-complexes, Tinder here is always a surprise, and once in a while those surprises are good.
These days — as I board trains and jeeps to work all over the country — the experiment has come mostly to an end, and I’m preferring real life to the app world. Even so, I’ll take Tinder over some aunties hankering to plan my marriage. You can’t swipe left to get rid of them.
Six Reasons to Share Your Mobile Location
As mobile phone usage becomes increasingly prolific, the number of location-based mobile applications has skyrocketed. The Pew Research Center reports that nearly half of adult smartphone owners use location-based services on their mobile devices — not only for getting directions, but also to access a variety of information and stay connected with conversations.
More and more mobile phone apps leverage your location to deliver personalized information to you in real-time. Here are some general app categories that make it easier for you to go about your daily life by knowing where you are:
1. Weather
A leading app in this category, Yahoo!’s weather app is one of the most popular apps to more users than even the iPhone’s native weather app; and Apple gave it a design award. All mobile weather apps base their information on where you are, so that you don’t have to go through the process of typing the location you’re interested in learning about.
2. Shopping
Location-based shopping apps are known for delivering timely and hottest sales offers to consumers who are out there shopping. Find&Save, for example, brings you latest sales and promotions based on which shopping mall or retail store you are at. Shopkick and Apple’s iBeacon technology use micro-location signals to track your presence within a store and give you coupons, rewards and credits (or more information) about specific products that you scan. The number of retail outlets who provide real-time information based on user location doubled in just one year and is expected to continue growing.
3. Maps
The development of mapping apps has transformed the way we transport from one location to another. It’s now almost impossible to get lost, even if you’re in the middle of a city you’ve never been before (well, unless you are literally in the middle of nowhere with no signal to your phone). Mapping apps like Google Maps, help you plan your trip on vacation and even avoid traffic on your daily commute. Furthermore, you are able to find out where the closest gas station is, or the local favorites on your road trip.
4. Breaking News
Apps like Banjo are such valuable resources for finding out what is happening in a particular location that even journalists rely on them. The best thing about these apps is that they are available to everybody. You can see if there’s any breaking news in your neighborhood through geo-tagged posts by the community who has information to share.
5. Photos
Most if not all of the photo apps ask for location permission so they can tag locations to your photos and albums. Journaling apps like Day One or Heyday make it almost effortless to create a documentation or diary as they automatically capture all the locations you have been. You will find it incredibly fun to look at where you have been a year from now.
6. Transit
When it comes to using public transit, location-based apps have enormous convenience to offer. An example is the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, serving the Boston area. On its app page, MBTA provides a whole set of options you can browse through and download. One allows you to find the subway or train station that’s closest to your current location. Another lets you signal the transit police if you see a suspicious package, and still another will tell you when the next train or bus will depart from where you are.
The social-mobile-local intersection, or “So-Lo-Mo,” is increasingly integrated into the background of everything we use our mobile devices for. As SocialMediaBiz comments, “Within a couple of years, geo-location capabilities will simply be baked into our everyday on-the-go lives.” Using these apps will only make your life that much easier.
Photo by lzf, iStock Photo
I Tried the Next Level in Wearable Tech
Wearable Tech is probably one of the hottest phrases out right now. Companies on both the fashion and tech side are racing to get into the game, each entrant hoping that it has the ticket to mass consumer adoption. Microsoft just announced this week that it will introduce a product shortly, and even the mighty LVMH has said that one of its luxury brands will is now planning the release of a wearable tech item. While I definitely know that this phenomenon will somehow deeply penetrate our culture and contribute to an even more disruptive, leaderful era where neo-humans are able to jump talk buildings in a single leap (or at least may answer that darn email more quickly, finally!), I think it’s very early in the process. This means it’s anyone’s game. I think it will mean more than a watch and more than glasses, at least as we first see them now. But it’s also about how individuals will actually feelabout these products and how/if they will truly elevate their lifestyle and at what price point. Recently I was asked to host what might be the first ever Wearable Tech Fashion Event that took place during a hot Wearables & Tech Conference in the Metro DC area. Naturally I got to peep some of the items close up while backstage, test out what even much of what would be seen for the first time by the public, and here’s what I think.
Without giving props to companies that aren’t yet paying me for endorsement, lol, I won’t mention specific names but here’s the skinny, overall. Yes, most all the biggies were pulled for this show, so you can imagine the companies. All the products work flawlessly; a testament to developers and engineers today. I’m not sure what I would do, say while skiing in Mageve with my bluetooth enabled, slick ski goggles; but it’s nice to know that they exist, right? Off the slopes, some of the competitors to Google Glass seem to be taking a slimmer, darker, hipper vibe; which made me feel less imposing and geeky when trying them on. I have to say that the watches seem almost interchangeable at this point, and I couldn’t help but thinking while I put them on my wrist that they were designed by males with males in mind. More variety, please — oh except for a particular item that had a rubber, curved vibe as its band. Thank goodness for a little more edge. Though I didn’t try them on, there were also actual clothes that had technology built into them and wearable items that monitored one’s sleep patterns and wellness levels.
But here’s what I think might actually end of being a surprise winner. Wearable tech that you don’t know is wearable tech. I tested out a few necklaces and cuffs that actually have all the biometric fanfare hidden. Though a bit chunky, these items are intriguing. I felt kinda Wonder Woman-ish rockin’ a few of these pieces before they went onto the models. I also think hidden wearable tech is bound to take the TMZ-ification of our culture to the next level.
Keep your eye on this arena, because it’s one of the most intriguing and sexy around right now. Different demographics will most likely gravitate to different items and, overall, we’ll all see uses and scenarios of which developers never even dreamed. It’s a brave, new, leaderful world. See for yourself…
26 Percent Of Young Women Report That They Have Been Stalked Online
If you look at mild forms of online harassment these days (like name-calling), you’ll find that young men and women actually suffer at roughly similar rates. But don’t for a second let that fool you into thinking the Internet is an equal playing field for men and women alike.
Yes, in a survey released Wednesday, the Pew Research Center did find 50 percent of young men and 51 percent of young women — “young” being defined here as aged 18 to 24 — say they have been called offensive names online. And men were more likely to report being “harassed” online than women, by 44 percent to 37 percent.
But Pew also found that young women face vastly higher rates of online harassment in two of its most intense, dangerous and emotionally disruptive forms: sexual harassment and stalking.
Twenty-six percent of young women told Pew that they have been stalked online (compared to 7 percent of young men), and 25 percent of women reported that they have been sexually harassed (compared to 13 percent of young men).
Both young men and young women deal with vastly higher rates of online harassment than Internet users as a whole. (Source: Pew Research)
The stalking numbers, at least, are in line with some other statistics about stalking: Just a few years ago, The National Center For Victims Of Crime found that about 25 percent of women become victims of stalking at some point in their lifetime.
And the survey results might not even tell the full story about just how much worse online harassment is for women than for men. Slate’s Amanda Hess argued that the survey did not do a great job defining words like “harassment” and “stalking.”
When asked to elaborate on their experiences, poll respondents had widely differing views of what constituted harassment, but all of those responses were given equal weight, Hess noted. For example, one anonymous poll respondent considered being labelled racist a form of harassment, and the survey gave that anecdote the same weight as a rape threat.
“Is being called a rape apologist the same as being threatened with rape?” Hess asked. “No, but it’s all harassment here.”
One thing we do know is that women take harassment more seriously than men. Thirty-eight percent of women reported that their harassment was “extremely or very upsetting,” while only 17 percent of harassed men felt the same. This is perhaps another clue that women are facing more extreme harassment than men.
For the survey, Pew asked 2,849 people over the Internet about their personal experiences with online harassment. The survey was conducted between May 30 and June 30 of this year.
Google's New 'Inbox' App Actually Makes Email Fun Again
Google released a new email app on Wednesday that it hopes will make your mountains of email a bit more manageable — and maybe even fun.
The app, which Google calls Inbox, supposedly organizes and highlights details of messages. In a blog about the release, Google emphasized that it’s not a Gmail replacement but rather a rethinking of email itself. Here’s the promotional video:
So what’s different about Inbox? For one, your email is displayed more like a Facebook newsfeed, so that you can easily swipe and scroll your way through dozens of messages quickly. Here’s what it looks like:
Inbox formats your flight information and reservation confirmations into a scrollable list.
As you can see, Inbox also pulls out information that it thinks will be relevant to you, so that you can see more about an email without actually clicking and reading.
Before you’ve even opened an email, Inbox pulls up the email’s photos, as well as other relevant information, like flight times, phone numbers, business hours and event addresses.
If you want to focus on one type of message, such as recent purchases or reservations, Inbox allows you to do that easily too. Google also has added a snooze button that helps you set a reminder to read a certain email later.
Inbox works for Android, iPhone and Google Chrome but is only available to a limited number of people for now. The network will expand using an invite system, but you can email Google at inbox@google.com to request access.
When All Smartphones Became The Same
Let’s face it, today’s array of smartphone choices have little to do with variety.
As the mobile phone platform evolves, we are seeing less and less “new” features, and more of rehashed or Gen 2 add-ons. The smartphone development cycle has for the moment plateaued, and it is evident in the number of phones with overlapping feature sets.
We have watched as phones got smaller, and then bigger, and them smaller again. Right now with the iPhone 6 Plus and the Galaxy S5, we have once again seen phones grow to the size of a small tablet. Once we got used to phone size, we began to focus on features; functionality that affects how we use our devices. We saw the emergence of “apps”, which were nothing more than a renaming of small utility programs meant to enhance our phone use-ability without sucking up too much space or battery life.
Physically, we have seen new materials being used, for better (flexible Gorilla Glass to prevent cracked screens) or for worse (thin-walled aluminum for housings, which looks cool, but obviously not meant to handle bending loads). Battery life has increased, but has been countered by software and hardware that require more power.
As developers come to a point of convergence, all smartphones have begun to look and work the same. The only differences are in minor user interface enhancements, reminiscent of when laptop companies began including their own proprietary user interfaces on top of Windows, just to make their product seem more “custom”.
A Chevy with a Cadillac emblem is still just a Chevy inside.
The change in smartphone design and function will come when companies decide how to change the paradigm of smartphone use. The washing machine/dryer industry saw a huge change with the introduction of front-loading designs — designs which had been the staple for industrial machines for years. Will smartphone designers look to alternate or adjacent industries for new ideas? Maybe this will spawn new concepts that are yet to be developed.
Smartphones in their current embodiment had tapped out the “basic pocket phone” concept to the point where they all look and feel the same, save for a few minor differences. Companies are “stuck” in the current design paradigm, with nothing really new and innovative in sight. Perhaps it will require a new player in the smartphone OS market, aside from Apple or Google, to bring about a changes.
Maybe a new phone from Maytag might not be such a bad idea? You never know…
Apple Pay bugs cause problems with card images, overcharging
Although the service appears to be working in general, some banks supporting Apple Pay are encountering some early technical problems. One issue is that in some cases, the correct card designs aren’t being displayed in Passbook. Affected cards will show generic logos for their associated institutions, and possibly lack descriptions as well, which can make numbers the only way to distinguish between them when a person has multiple cards from the same firm. Sources claim that a fix for the bug is already underway.
Who Continues Your Life Online When You Die?
If you are reading this on the internet right now, you are also likely documenting your life through accounts like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Your thoughts and pictures and recordings on these platforms create an intimate digital record of who you are, where you have been, who your friends and business associates are, that is far more nuanced and revealing than any diary could ever be. Plus, you are paying bills online, receiving your 401K statements online, trading stocks on ETrade, and using your PayPal account to make purchases.
Moreover, if you have a blog, domain name or an online store, your livelihood may be locked up in your computer. Have you thought about what you would want to happen to your online accounts and assets when you die? As more of our lives are lived in the virtual world, it is imperative that you make plans for what will happen with your online accounts upon your incapacity or death.
Planning for digital assets will ensure your privacy is protected, preserve your personal history, and make things easier for your personal representative and family.
Each online service has its own rules for who can access your accounts. For example, Google services and applications are subject to the Terms of Use agreement between the company and the user and those rights are not extended to family members and heirs. This is perfect planning if you don’t want anyone to read your private emails. But, there is likely valuable information in your Gmail account like billing notices and financial communications that you want your personal representative to be able to access and Google’s policy could pose a problem.
Some states are addressing these technological issues with legislation that makes it easier to manage accounts after death or incapacity. For example, Delaware recently became the eighth state to pass a law that governs how digital assets are treated when a person dies or becomes incapacitated. In the most comprehensive law of its kind, digital assets in Delaware will be treated the same as personal assets upon a person’s death or incapacity. The companies holding the digital assets are required to grant access and control to the personal representative of the estate. This law will be powerful for those who are settling estates in Delaware, and undoubtedly other states will be passing and updating legislation relating to digital assets in the coming years. However, even without a comprehensive law, there are ways to protect your digital assets in an estate plan.
If you would like to control who can manage your digital assets after your incapacity or death, you can work with an estate planner to create specific estate planning authorizations. For example, in California where I practice, I have been including in client documents a provision that a trustee is authorized to access digital accounts and digital devices. I also draft an Assignment of Digital Assets to include with their estate planning documents — which assigns digital accounts, domain names, software, computers, tablets, smartphones, into their trust. I advise clients to think about what they want to do with their digital assets and create a separate letter that details how you want each item or account handled.
It is also wise to keep an updated list of all accounts and passwords so that your personal representative can easily access your accounts. This list should also include passwords for your debit card, house alarm, smartphone, and computer; and answers to security questions (mother’s maiden name, favorite movie, city born). It would be helpful to your personal representative if you included a list of automatic payments and when they are debited to your account. Obviously, this is sensitive information, so you will have to decide what you are most comfortable with. There are online services that allow you to save all of your passwords and name trusted individuals to access them if you are not able. Knowing your passwords will be priceless to someone who has to step into your shoes if you become disabled or when you die.
The digital world brings with it new considerations and the time to include this into your estate plan is now.
Alexandra Smyser is an Associate Attorney at the Law Offices of Donald P. Schweitzer in Pasadena, Ca. She handles all areas of Estate Planning including trusts, wills, probates, general and limited conservatorships, and special needs trusts. For more information on estate planning contact Ms. Smyser at (626) 683-8113 or visit here.
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