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.
App Updates for iOS 8 – Make Sure You Have Them
We are just a day away from the release of iOS 8 and the developer community is hard at work in preparation for it. App Update for iOS 8 are already starting in the App Store and it is a trend that will continue over the next few weeks as developers check and double-check their apps against the latest release. A PSA for all of you: Make sure you check the App Store for updates early and often. Chances are virtually every app on your iPhone or iPad will get some sort of update in the next few weeks. Developers
The post App Updates for iOS 8 – Make Sure You Have Them appeared first on AlliOSNews.
T-Mobile confirms it will upgrade 'Test Drive' iPhones to iOS 8
US carrier T-Mobile is still running its “Test Drive” promotion, which offers to send a no-obligation iPhone 5s and a week’s worth of access to non-customers to help them evaluate if they want to switch networks. On Monday, the carrier acknowledged that it will be upgrading the “test drive” iPhones to iOS 8 beginning just days after its debut on September 17. The company also said it will eventually move to the iPhone 6 as its default model for the “test drive” promotion, pending sufficient availability.
UN Bringing Child Rights Into the Digital Age
Participants at Day of Discussion consider child rights in the digital age
In 1989 the United Nations passed an important human rights treaty. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was ratified by all countries in the world except Somalia, Southern Sudan and — believe it or not — the United States.*
Rights and protections
And even though this document was written before kids started using the Internet, it spells out protections and rights of freedom of expression and access to media for children around the world. Some have defined the rights as the 3 P’s: protection, provision and participation. But, as several attendees pointed out, the UN has mostly focused on protection (see Anne Collier’s analysis).
Living document and day of discussion
In 1989 the United Nations passed an important human rights treaty. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was ratified by all countries in the world except Somalia, Southern Sudan and — believe it or not — the United States.*
Rights and protections
And even though this document was written before kids started using the Internet, it spells out protections and rights of freedom of expression and access to media for children around the world. Some have defined the rights as the 3 P’s: protection, provision and participation. But, as several attendees pointed out, the UN has mostly focused on protection (see Anne Collier’s analysis).
Living document and day of discussion
Just because the UNCRC predates the commercial Internet, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be applied to the digital age, just as the more than 200-year-old American Bill of Rights has been interpreted to guarantee freedom of expression and privacy rights for Internet users in America.
The UNCRC is a living document, subject to modern interpretation. But, just in case there is any doubt about its application to the digital world, the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child, an 18-member international body that monitors the implementation of the convention, convened a “general day of discussion on digital media and children’s rights” at the UN’s sprawling Palace of Nations complex in Geneva.
My ConnectSafely.org co-director Anne Collier and I participated in that meeting, along with about 300 other attendees representing governments, non-governmental organizations (non-profits) and human rights groups from around the world.
After a brief introductory plenary session, attendees divided into two working groups. One focused on children’s equal and safe access to digital media and ICT (information and communication technology) and the other on children’s empowerment and engagement through digital media.
After several hours of discussion, rapporteurs from both groups summarized the discussions and made some recommendations to be considered by the Committee.
The recommendations — summarized below — were divided into four categories: empowerment, access, digital literacies and safety.
Empowerment
Empowerment of all children should be founded on a balanced approach between protection and participation where children are the drivers of a safe and participatory digital world.
Give children digital literacy and promote digital citizenship.
All stakeholders need to understand their responsibilities with the respect to the rights of children in digital media.
Different stakeholders need to play different roles: States, parents, families, teachers, civil society, NGOs, private and public sectors and children themselves.
Any approach to limit the risks of harm that children face in their digital lives should be balanced against the enjoyment of other rights, including the freedom of expression, right to participation and right to association.
Accessibility
Ensure equal access to digital media and ICT by technology infrastructure ensuring free or low-cost access that is targeted for different groups of children, particularly girls, children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups of children.
Digital literacy
Provide digital education to all children, parents, teachers and all those working with and for children and ensure it’s good quality.
Include online education methods in school programs including children with disabilities.
Ensure training in social behavior online — social literacy.
Safety
Ensure awareness-raising for children and adults of all the risks and harms.
Provide training for law enforcement and others working with children.
Ensure legal and self-regulating mechanisms to guarantee safety on the Internet.
Develop technological solutions for prevention and protection.
Ensure availability of assistance and support, including child-friendly complaint mechanisms, helplines and compassion for victims.
Children should play a key role in protecting themselves and their peers against harm.
My takeaways
I was gratified to see that the Committee and fellow working group members were sensitive to the importance of rights as well as protection and that there was a general agreement that online access and free expression are critical rights. I was also pleased about the recommendation that children be empowered to “play a key role in protecting themselves and their peers” along with the concept that “children are the drivers of a safe and participatory digital world.”
As other attendees pointed out, the discussions were a bit vague on specifics and how these rights might be implemented and there was no consensus on how the vast cultural, political and legal differences between countries should apply to these rights. For example, there are several countries that filter the Internet for all users — not just children. And even in the United States and Western Europe, it is common for schools to block social media, which I interpret not only as vehicles for free expression, but also freedom of association as guaranteed in the UNCRC. Another limitation of both the UNCRC and the day of discussion was the lack of differentiation by age. The UNCRC defines “child” as people under 18, but as any parent knows, there is a vast difference between toddlers and teenagers and any discussion of rights and protections needs to take these differences into consideration.
*As per the United States — even though we haven’t ratified the Convention (scroll down in this document from Amnesty International for the why), freedom of speech and assembly are guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and there is nothing in the Constitution that says these rights are applicable only to adults. Still, the U.S. has a longstanding tradition of giving parents control over their children and giving schools “in loco parentis” controls while children are at school. While no one would question a parent’s right and responsibility to supervise their children and protect them from harm, there are families in the U.S. and elsewhere where parents are interpreting those rights in an arbitrary manner. I worry about LGBT youth whose parents are not supportive of young people who are exploring religious or political views that might differ from their parents’ beliefs.
Next steps
The recommendations of these working groups will be studied by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child and then passed on to member states. Some, I suspect, will embrace them while others are likely to ignore them. Most, I’m pretty sure, will interpret them according to local laws and customs, which means that — even if adopted — not all of these recommendations will be implemented. Still, it’s an important step toward updating the interpretation of the UNCRC so that rights that are guaranteed offline are also applied online.
Facebook Forcing Drag Queens Out of the Closet
Drag queen Sister Roma had been using Facebook for over six years when she was blocked from her account this week until she agreed to change her settings to reflect her legal name, Michael Williams. In a reported effort to enforce safety rules that insist that all users indicate their legal name, Facebook may have put Roma, and potentially thousands of other drag performers, at risk while inadvertently igniting a firestorm that is sweeping across the LGBT community.
Photo by Jose A. Guzman Colon
Many performers use fictitious names to develop their identity and brand. Facebook provides these personalities a platform to communicate and share their latest happenings and news. When asked about the matter in an interview, a representative from Facebook indicated that the use of a fan page was one viable manner in which individuals could use their stage name on the platform, but that safety dictated that all people pages be linked to legal names. However, for drag queens, the distinction between the characters we play and the people we are in our daily life can be fluid.
Such is the case for the feisty Sister Roma, a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a nonprofit organization that is known to advocate for and support the LGBT community. While Roma may be Michael by birth, she has developed longstanding friendships through the years that go beyond simply posting events on her Facebook wall. Stripping Roma of her stage name in effect ripped her painted face right off and exposed Michael’s privacy while it devalued Roma’s relationships. Roma’s response to this move was to go on the offensive, whipping up a Twitter hashtag war cry, #MyNameIsRoma, and letting out an impassioned battle call in an interview, declaring, “I detest the idea of having a fan page. I’m not fucking Britney Spears. I have friends, not fans.” Her calls did not go unanswered: Drag queens and members of the LGBT community around the world have begun rallying behind Roma and her sisters, spreading the news of Facebook’s move against drag artists, including through achange.org petition urging the company to do away with the hurtful policy.
The claim that forcing drag queens to broadcast their true identities to the entire world is somehow a safety measure falls on deaf ears in a community that is made up of individuals from all walks of life who have endured attacks for their mere existence for as long as they can remember. Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people — and drag queens can often belong to more than one of these groups — know full well the difficulty that comes with coming out to the people with whom they are closest. For that reason many drag queens, while leading fulfilling lives both on- and offstage, have not let family members or employers in on the news of their alternate personae, as it’s a deeply personal and hard conversation to have — sometimes more difficult than coming out the first time. Coming out as a drag queen has led to more than a few broken families, lost employment, and strained friendships. This is why, while cultivating relationships with individuals online using their stage name, not all queens are fully comfortable with letting certain family and friends into their world of drag. Facebook’s policy forces these queens to either choose between maintaining a social-media presence and risking losing their online support system and carefully balanced identities.
Only months ago Facebook was applauded for planning to provide non-binary gender options to users. In addition, profiles are awash with fictitious names and identities, which is why many are questioning the motive behind what seems like a targeted and specific attack on drag queens by Facebook. There is some whispering that the move has nothing to do with safety but is merely a means of making more cash, as fan pages are places where personalities can pay great money to advertise and sponsor their posts. Whatever the reason, the practice is coming across as a bigoted attack on a group of passionate users who have made Facebook their social home for years. It smacks of bullying and feels like yet another form of harassment toward the LGBT community.
Apple joins data-security industry group ahead of Apple Pay debut
Apple is now a member of a non-profit trade association made up of mostly financial institutions, cellular carriers and software and hardware developers devoted to improving security in applications, transactions, data and cryptography. The group, GlobalPlatform says its objective is to “create a standardized infrastructure that accelerates the deployment” of secure software and data, “protecting them from physical or software attacks.” Most of Apple’s carrier and financial partners in Apple Pay are also members.
Scots vote sparks 10m Facebook hits
Social media giant Facebook has seen 10 million interactions concerning the Scottish independence referendum in a five-week period.
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Build your Martian dream home
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Tech firms want 'digital ministers'
An influential group of major technology firms is calling on the UK to appoint “digital ministers” in every government department.
Apple likely using six-core GPU in A8 SoC for iPhone 6, reports say
An analysis of the claims of Apple and leaked benchmarks with regards to the graphics performance and technologies in the new A8 chip that powers the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus indicates that Apple has likely moved to a new PowerVR GPU. The most likely candidate is the six-core PowerVR Series6XT GX6650 made by Imagination. Apple is also likely using a revised version of the Cyclone architecture, first used in the A7, to manage graphics processing.
Alibaba Raises IPO Price Range
NEW YORK (AP) — Alibaba now plans to raise up to $25.03 billion in its upcoming IPO, making what was expected to be the biggest stock market debut even bigger.
The Chinese e-commerce company said it still plans to sell 368.1 million shares, but at $66 to $68 apiece, according to a regulatory filing, instead of its previously set range of $60 to $66 apiece. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has emerged as a hot commodity because of its e-commerce bazaar, a shopping magnet for businesses and consumers alike as China’s economy steadily grows. The company’s network of sites includes Taobao, Tmall, and AliExpress, as well as Alibaba.
Most of Alibaba’s 279 million active buyers visit the sites at least once a month on smartphones and other mobile devices, making the company attractive to investors as computing shifts away from laptop and desktop machines.
Investors have been salivating over the trifecta of growth that Alibaba offers: “There are very few companies that are this big, grow this fast, and are this profitable,” said Wedbush analyst Gil Luria. He initiated coverage on the company with a 12-month price target of $80.
The company’s revenue in its latest quarter ended June 30 surged 46 percent from last year to $2.54 billion while its earnings climbed 60 percent to nearly $1.2 billion, after subtracting a one-time gain and certain other items.
Alibaba has been meeting with potential investors over the past week, and demand spurred the increase. Alibaba is expected to be priced late Thursday and start trading Friday under the ticker ‘BABA’ on the NYSE.
The fundraising target eclipses the $16 billion Facebook raised in 2012, the most for a technology IPO. It also would top the all-time IPO fundraising record of $22.1 billion set by the Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. in 2010, according to the research firm Dealogic.
These Are The Best Universities For Electronic Music
Each year, we’re bombarded with rankings of schools that are all about the books. But this year, thanks to the folks at Thump, Vice’s online video channel devoted to electronic music and culture, we now have a ranking of schools that are all about that bass.
That’s right, there’s a list of the best universities for electronic music.
The list included schools from across the United States, as well as two Canadian universities. In compiling its ranking list, Thump examined factors like local club life, regional festival access, electronic production choices at the schools of music, on-campus activities and dance music-specific course offerings.
The overall winner, the University of Southern California, combines books and beat-making in its Thornton School of Music course on electronic dance music. “We are constantly reevaluating our classes to keep up with the times,” Thornton’s dean, Robert Cutietta, told campus paper the Daily Trojan when the course was announced in 2013. “I am very excited to be part of a music school that is so nimble and quick to adapt to the times and reinvent itself in response to changes in our art form.”
For a full explanation of the ranking system — and more information on each school’s electronic music culture — take a look at Thump’s breakdown, here. The highest-ranked schools are listed below.
Not-yet-released iPhone 6, 6 Plus spotted in public in China, Vietnam
Photos from websites in China and Vietnam show what are claimed to be completed iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units, even though the products are only officially shipping on Friday. In Vietnam, the devices are said to have been spotted in a Red River restaurant by an Associated Press reporter. To gauge their authenticity, the reporter tested apps like Messages and Siri. Chinese images of the phones stem from people on MacX’s forums.
Adorable Photos Of Dogs Help Animal Rescue Group Recover After Devastating Fire
These selfies that are helping an animal rescue organization are anything but selfish.
On Thursday, Manchester Dogs’ Home — an organization in Manchester, England, that rescues and cares for thousands of dogs each year — caught on fire, according to BBC News. While 160 dogs were rescued from the blaze, about 60 were killed, the Manchester Evening News reported.
Joe Farrar, 25, of Wythenshawe, Manchester, decided to help the organization by launching a social media campaign, called #DogSelfie, in which dog owners share selfies with their dogs, alongside their donation to the animal shelter. The campaign has generated quite a buzz, as thousands of people submitted #DogSelfies and donated to the cause.
Post by Dog selfie for Manchester dogs home.
“I saw the news about the fire and my heart sank,” Farrar told HuffPost in an online message. “I thought to myself, ‘How can I get more people to donate?’ #Dogselfie happened and it was amazing.”
Post by Dog selfie for Manchester dogs home.
After seeing the success of social media campaigns like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Farrar said he wanted to summon the generosity of the Internet to help the animal organization.
“I am always willing to help a worthy cause,” he said.
To donate to the Manchester Dogs’ Home, click here.
h/t Buzzfeed
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Australian Startup Sets Style Standard for Wearable Tech
While the wearable tech world has welcomed several watches, bracelets, rings and more – including the latest Apple Watch – the actual wearable-ness of each of these futuristic-looking devices has been questionable – at least for those who are more reserved about showing off their geek side.
A new Australian tech startup called Linou, however, is aiming to achieve what larger companies have not in making tech fashion both functional and appealing, while also forgoing the use of plastics and other harmful materials.
Linou introduced its first two natural wearable devices on Kickstarter this week: the Wood Tech Watch and the Notification Necklace. Both pieces feature a sleek organic wooden design with a built-in notification system that connects with the wearer’s iPhone or Android to allow them to set a custom color and vibration alert for app notifications, messages, and phone reminders.
Linou’s devices are subtle and simplistic, available in black ebony timber, bamboo, sandalwood and walnut. The products’ notification features, however, lend them a distinctive edge that allows users to customize the colors of their updates to reflect their mood or coordinate with their outfit.
“Linou represents my take on what wearable tech should be,” said founder Christopher Magick.
With a background as a design creative in both the fashion and tech startup industries for more than 15 years, Magick has long been aware of a shortage of fashionable, sustainable tech pieces on the market and created Linou as a solution. In merging organic materials with a sophisticated design, he believes he has created a product that people will be excited to wear.
“The term ‘wearable tech’ has been used to describe devices that, for the most part, I would never consider wearing,” he said. “Linou represents . . . a new standard for balancing functionality with beauty as well as sustainability.”
Both pieces will be sold exclusively on Kickstarter through October 13th. The Wood Tech Watch is available for a discounted price of $199 AUD and the Notification Necklace is being retailed for discounted price of $99 AUD.
Facebook 'Name Change' Policy Disproportionately Affecting LGBT Community (UPDATE)
What happens when a culture interweaves a social media outlet into virtually every part of the human experience — and then that platform makes a dramatic change? That’s one of the questions on many people’s minds with what is being referred to as a “name change” policy on social media giant Facebook.
Several days ago, a large percentage of individuals operating personal profiles on Facebook under pseudonyms, stage names, or any name not matching their legal name received this message when logging onto their Facebook accounts:
While this policy implementation, which is reportedly not new but seems to have been rarely enforced before now, is affecting a wide-range of people (both queer and not), a specific portion of the lesbian, gay, biseuxal and transgender (LGBT) community are facing an entirely new set of challenges as a result: performers, entertainers and drag queens. With this policy in effect, it is virtually impossible to find an entertainer — or anyone who self-identifies with a name that isn’t legally documented — on Facebook unless that individual operates a separate fan page.
“The focus of my work is activism and charity,” prominent Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence member Sister Roma told The Huffington Post. “I share photos and promote my events, but mostly I use my personal profile page to to raise awareness about civil rights issues, especially as they pertain to the LGBT community… I do this work as Sister Roma and that is how the Facebook community knows me and who they look for to get news about these issues and events. If you ask anyone what my name is, in or out of drag, they will tell you it’s Roma. No one knows Michael Williams.”
Sister Roma is currently working with openly gay San Francisco politician David Campos to organize a face-to-face meeting with Facebook. In the meantime, Roma has scheduled a protest called #MyNameIs at the Facebook headquarters in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 11 a.m.
“If people want to use an alternative name on Facebook, they have several different options available to them, including providing an alias under their name on their profile, or creating a Page specifically for that alternative persona,” a representative of Facebook told The Huffington Post. “As part of our overall standards, we ask that people who use Facebook provide their real name on their profile.”
However, queer performers aren’t the only individuals affected by the Facebook “name change” policy. New York drag performer and artist Untitled Queen, who was forced to change her name this week, told The Huffington Post, “I feel this is a larger security issue for transgender people who are often unable to secure legal proof of their name changes, as well as those that need protection from stalkers or other aggressors.” Campos echoed this statement on his Facebook, claiming “…the ability to self-identify is a matter of health and safety. Not allowing drag performers, transgender people and other members of our community to go by their chosen names can result in violence, stalking, violations of privacy and repercussions at work.”
Additionally, other individuals operating under pseudonyms, like writer James St. James, are also faced with finding a way to navigate this unique set of challenges. “I’m a writer. James St James is the name I am known by,” St. James told The Huffington Post. “I’ve spent the past thirty years building that name as a brand, and they took that away from me just like that?… It’s remarkably tone deaf, especially coming from a company that just recently gave us 58 gender options.”
With the majority of this forced “name change” occurring over the past week, the end result remains unclear. However, Sister Roma seems hopeful that those affected will be able to achieve a positive outcome.
“I don’t think Facebook hates drag queens or is targeting gay people,” Sister Roma continued. “I hope that we can meet with Facebook for an open dialogue with the community this affects directly. I’m hopeful this policy will be revisited and a compromise will be found.”
UPDATE: According to Roma’s Facebook page, after a discussion with Roma and Campos, the social media company has agreed to meet and discuss the “name change” policy on Wednesday, September 17:
Post by Michael Williams.
OS X Yosemite Public Beta 3 Released
OS X Yosemite Public Beta 3 has been released by Apple today along with the latest developer version for those in the Developer Program. The update is available to everyone who is already in the beta program as an update through the App Store. What is exactly addressed in OS X Yosemite Public Beta 3 is somewhat of a mystery as these things tend to be will Apple. I can say in the testing that I’ve been doing with it so far this evening here in London, it feels much faster in Safari and Mail seems a bit more stable.
The post OS X Yosemite Public Beta 3 Released appeared first on AlliOSNews.
Time's Running Out On The Net Neutrality Comment Period
Today is the last day to tell regulators how you feel about net neutrality, or the idea that all Internet traffic should be treated equally.
The Federal Communications Commission has received 3 million comments since the agency began debating the issue in April, an FCC spokeswoman said Monday. That’s more than double the amount of public input the agency received after Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
About half of the net neutrality comments have arrived in the past week, following a major online protest Wednesday.
Protest organizers want the FCC to create strong rules that put greater oversight on Internet providers to ensure they don’t discriminate against certain web content. Several major websites — including Netflix, Reddit, Tumblr, Etsy, The Nation and Boing Boing — showed their support by embedding a special code on their sites to show a “loading” icon.
Activists said the icon symbolized how Internet traffic could be slowed down if the FCC allows Internet providers such as Verizon to charge companies for access to an Internet “fast lane,” thereby slowing service for companies that don’t pay.
The code gave visitors a way to submit comments supporting net neutrality to the FCC and to elected officials. Fight for the Future, a nonprofit that helped organize Wednesday’s protest, said in a blog post that the protest generated an additional 777,364 comments to the FCC.
If Internet providers are allowed to charge web companies for faster service, it would lead to higher costs being passed on to consumers and could prevent startups from competing with larger companies that can afford to pay for faster service, advocates say.
Internet providers have opposed greater oversight, arguing that it would deter them from further investing in their broadband networks. They’ve been supported by many Republicans in Congress.
The surge in comments to the FCC was also driven by a viral video on net neutrality this summer by late-night comedian John Oliver, which caused the FCC’s website to briefly crash.
The FCC is expected to decide on its proposal by the end of the year. A court decision in January threw out the FCC’s previous net neutrality rules, forcing the agency to come up with new ones.
Tesla Shareholders Suddenly Realize They May Have Gone Too Far
Elon Musk tried to warn you.
Tesla’s share price fell about 9 percent on Monday after Morgan Stanley declared that the recent frenzied lust for the electric-car maker’s stock had gotten juuuuust a bit ridiculous. Musk, Tesla’s founder, made a similar observation a couple of weeks ago that people forgot about almost immediately.
Since the end of 2012, Tesla’s stock has gone from about $33 to about $290. That’s a gain of 745 percent. Even with today’s drubbing, the stock price is still pretty darn high:
Morgan Stanley thinks Tesla will eventually go to $320, notes The Wall Street Journal’s Steve Russolillo. But the bank’s analyst thinks maybe everybody should stop shoveling their faces with it and take some time to digest.
Musk said basically as much earlier this month, on the occasion of the company announcing a tax-friendly deal to open a battery factory in Nevada. “I think our stock price is kind of high right now to be totally honest,” Musk said.
CEOs don’t typically talk down their stock price, and Tesla’s fell about 3 percent the next day. But it promptly bounced back to a new high last week. Tesla fans have shrugged off a few pieces of bad news lately, in fact, including mixed reviews of the company’s expensive cars. Investors mostly seem convinced Tesla and Musk can do no wrong. Something tells me one little Morgan Stanley note isn’t going to shake that belief for long.
Thanks for reading our digest. Opinions in the articles above are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Digital Workshed ltd.