Author Archive: henry

Apple announced on Thursday of last week that it will be making its CareKit available via the open source community at GitHub.

This is one of two other frameworks by Apple that is designed to help Healthcare professionals. The purpose behind it is to provide tools to create applications and gives users an increased role in the management of health care. It will allow people to monitor medications and symptoms in order to share that information with their healthcare practitioner in order to improve their overall health.

At this time, four applications utilize this framework. The first of those is one that tracks pregnancy for those expecting, log activity, and locate information about what new moms can expect throughout their pregnancy. Glow Baby follows up on this and permits new mothers to maintain and track schedules for feeding and the growth of their infant.

One Drop, a management app for diabetes allows its users to logs food, glucose, activity, and meds. It also lets the monitoring of blood glucose through the use of Bluetooth. Finally, Iodine’s Start is a management symbol that monitors depression to help identify which medications are effective for patients and further allows for the use of a daily log to identify side-effects.

The hope is that the focus on health care will change the way people view and use apps. It is hoped that this will impact the way apps towards health care are developed. It provides the basic tools needed to create apps for this sector and is felt to be a stepping stone towards more digital friendly apps.

PayPal has chosen to reduce the amount of operating systems it will support for mobile devices. The two that will remain will be iOS and Android, however, apps for Blackberry, Windows and Fire OS from Amazon. These changes will be effective the 30th of June.

This is not an uncommon occurrence when relating to Blackberry and Windows but was surprising to see a company such as PayPal no longer offer an app for Android as it operates on multiple tablets such as Kindle and amazons Fire phone. There has been little mentioned by PayPal for an explanation other than to say it was a difficult choice to make and no longer support these devices. The explanation was posted on the company’s blog and suggested that investments in resources are made to create the best possible customer experience.

PayPal was fast to note that while some users would be left without an app to access, users still will be able to access the mobile website to manage account transactions and management. Additional options include Blackberry users being able to carry out peer-to-peer money payments using BBM, whereas Window uses have the ability to enable the PayPal add-on in order to send payments instantly from its email app.

PayPal’s Lambert stated “We remain committed to partnering with mobile device providers, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers,” PayPal seems to be focused on putting a larger emphasis on the two remaining apps in the hopes it will permit the company to find new ways to be innovative in their enhancements towards mobile experiences.

Apple is getting ready to take its Siri software to new heights in the coming months ahead as it continues to work towards adding it for use in the home via Amazon Echo. It is also reportedly looking to offer Siri to third-party applications and allow for developers to gain access to the voice assisted app.

The recent report states that this is a long-term project and creating a development kit will be the one to hit the market first. It is anticipated this could occur in June of this year and with I being right around the corner, anticipation is high. There are a number of companies who have has access to Siri already, one of those being Yelp, but his was only accomplished after special deals entered into with Apple.

This development has been active for some time, well before Echo became a reality. It is speculated that Siri home will have the ability to turn on/off appliances, and other household tasks. It is further anticipated that this will further become available in Mac app as well, however, this will be later in the year.

If Siri is to be competitive in the home market, it will be competing with some serious completion such as Amazon’s Alexa. Google also announced recently it intends to enter this market via Google Assistant. The advantage of Siri is it is multi-lingual and that is a huge advantage over the others and could allow it to gain a larger market share while the others play catch up.

Any updates to this story will be reported as they become available. The anticipation is high so updates are expected in the coming weeks.

At the end of 2016, devices powered by Android will have the capability to use an API trust on the Project Abacus from Google. This news came at the suggestion of Google’s Dan Kaufman, their ATAP director.

The API is in constant running motion in the background and focuses on the removal of passwords. It operates using customer smartphones to verify locations, patterns in typing as well at patterns in voice. It then creates a trust score that is used as an authenticity of the user in order to permit the unlocking of their devices.

It is expected that Google will approach multiple finical organizations to test this service and if testing goes well, then the API will be released to Android devices by the end of the year. The main issue for many is a lack of trust towards Google in general, who is known for a poor history of things once released. It tends to cause aggravation for customers and institutions and this will be the barrio Google will face going forward.

The main problem is the development of a solid biometric such as a fingerprint scan or one that scans the retina, which both are generally difficult to collect. There are multiple Biometrics that allow for easy collection of information but the more information they collect, the increase for failure also increases. If they fail, standby systems for passwords must be in place and this is where things get more complex. On a positive note, it could also be a more efficient and consistent method as well for accessing secure sites.

How these progresses forward will be seen in the months ahead. It will not be known until large scale testing and the collection of data from that testing has been verified and analyzed.

Betsafe, a subsidiary software developer of gambling group “Betsson AB”, announced today they’ve released what they are calling the first “Live, real money, roulette gambling application”. Players located only in Sweden at this point may play real money roulette through their Apple TV. Placing bets are accomplished via a touch sensitive remote accessed via a companion iPhone application.

One interesting aspect of this application that has yet to bee seen in any other platform is that players who have friends with an iPhone can have they play live roulette simultaneously. This is accomplished by inviting up to five friends to come over & play roulette. All players sync their phones to the Apple TV, upon which new table game boards are displayed on the television. Essentially this app allows for you to have a casino roulette experience in the comfort of your lounge. Betsson has made claim to what could become a new subsidiary online market for gamblers.

At this particular time, this application is only available on the Swedish based Apple store, Betsson CEO Ulrik Bengtsson has said openly that this new form of gambling will be making its roll out to new markets in the future, currently, it depends on permission from local authorities as well as Apple. Bengtsson is taking a huge risk with this new app, going as far as to make the claim that this application will “Most likely set the standard for the entire gambling industry coming forward”. Polls from industry analysts have shown that this statement might be more drawn out then needed and that even though this app proves to be revolutionary, it won’t take over the market anytime soon.

Swedish gamblers can now check out this application on their Apple Store. Bear in mind that to play any roulette games listed on this app, a player account will need to be provided to the casino. Revolutionary experiences await whoever does create that player account, though.

Facebook announced last week that it intended to begin to add end-to-end encryption to its Whatsapp app to add extra privacy protection to users. The one issue is that it may also be a feature that is viewed as attractive by those who participate in spamming.

While it is well documented that encryption protection is excellent as a safeguard measure against those looking to steal data, it also serves to as a block towards data protectors and its ability to detect activity deemed malicious. Yet it is clear that for advocates, this is a win for those wanting added privacy, however, do not expect the spam to be eliminated and possibly, could become worse. The issue with Whatsapp is its limited control of spam but the new upgrade will make it harder to detect malware with links that are malicious.

The last several years has seen most carries make it harder for spamming to be carried out and the result has had them looking towards other pastures. Spamming services such as MMS, RCS and SMS have seen people moving to the likes of Whatsapp and it is a growing problem. Not only is there a cost savings involved, the targets are easier to locate.

The service simply is friendly to these types of things as it lets them validate numbers in order to check if a WhatsApp account is in place. It allows them to upload a large range of numbers and then send out bulk messaging. As the proposed encryption end-to-end acts to prevents systems from detecting this and alerting to a spam message, it also struggles to guard against malware and hijacking.

How WhatsApp end-to-end encryption will progress is yet to be seen but will be closely monitored, that is a safe bet to suggest. How it will effect users over time is anyone’s guess and only time will tell.

iPhone users have always had the disadvantage of not being able to make use of memory cards. However, with the latest devices that use the Lightening cable, you will be able to choose from a massive variety of external devices that have a Lightening plug as well as USB, which can be connected to Windows or Mac PC’s.

These devices can be plugged into your iPhone, allowing you transfer media devices, files, and contacts to your storage device. These external devices come with apps that provide various features and options that become available once the device is connected to your phone.

Leaf iBridge

The Leaf iBridge has one of the best designs we’ve seen. Created with a U shape, users will be able to plug in the device with just about any cover and not have the entire device sticking out beneath the phone. Instead, the biggest part of the device will be curled around to the back of the phone.

These devices range up to 256GB but are available in many smaller sizes. Users will not require any cables to use the iBridge as it has both a Lightening Jack and USB2.0. Once plugged into your iPhone or iPad, the device will automatically open its app and provide sync option that can either be done automatically or users can choose items that need to be saved to the device.

Users can also use the device to watch movies that have been transferred from a PC or Mac. Users will be able to access the camera straight from the device, allowing you to save picture and videos straight to the iBridge. This is a feature well worth using for devices that have lower storage capacity, especially when you use the 4K video option or create some amazing slow motion videos.

The Leaf iBridge is one of the most popular options that provide all the best features of an external device. The iBridge has become widely popular and will be available at most retailers that offer Apple Accessories. As mentioned above, prices will vary depending on storage size.

Google Calendar has been popular ever since the first Android devices became available. Users had the ability to plan out their day, create reminders, set birthday reminders, and to just keep track of your day as you go.

However, many who use the feature have realized that life doesn’t always allow you to get to things you need to or really want to. Something like a flat tire on the way to a meeting or friends unexpectedly coming over when you have exercise planned could have a bit of an adverse effect on your goals.

The latest version of the Google Calendar lets you take back the control as the app how has the option to change things around when the unforeseen events happen. The app will actually plan your day for you, allowing you to get to everything needed. This means you no longer need to move things around, try to plan out your day, especially when you don’t have time. Users will be able to delay events no matter what happens. The app will automatically adjust your day and allow you to fit in as much as possibly still. If you missed the meeting completely, the app will remove it and place other things in its place, which also goes for cancellations.

With these features and those that have been offered with the app from the beginning, you will find yourself getting a lot more done as the app with move things up. For example, if a meeting get canceled and you have an hour open, the app will fill in that time with another small event that you had to remember, such as sending an important email or making a doctor’s appointment.

Users will find a lot more can get done with simple reminders that suggest things when you do not consider them. Taking time for a quick workout or requesting that the app moves it up for you has never been easier. The app lets you set your schedule as to how often you would like to work out and how long. The app finds the time for these goals, which will be suggested, but can be changed as well.

Apple has made a split screen view feature available for iOS 9 on iPad Mini 4, iPAd Air 2, as well as the new iPad Pro. The function takes multi-tasking to the next level by allowing users to use 2 apps at the same time. This means you can search, while writing, share while on social media, look up addresses while planning a holiday, and so much more.

The feature has become huge for all users of the devices mentioned above, but Chrome is definitely a favourite. Many people use Google Chrome on all their devices as it offers various features, fast browsing, and options that provide multi-tasking abilities.

Users will be able to use the feature on the smaller iPad’s, but it was actually meant for the 12.9 inch iPad Pro version. The screen is much bigger, making the multi-tasking option more usable and featureful.

Users will be able to use this option with just about any app. It simply splits the screen into 2 and provides 2 screens where different apps can be used. Here are a few useful features that can be taken advantage of that you might not have considered.

Music while Navigating

With the split screen option, users can open a navigational app such as Google Maps while splitting it with iTunes. Not only will you be able to see where you need to go, but the option to change songs will be shown as well without changing apps.

Holiday Planning

We’ve all forgotten something while going on a trip. The iPad Pro split feature will allow you to split your planner or notes with your browser or any other app where you need to get information from. This will allow you to copy and paste between apps, create shopping lists, and much more, which having all the required info on the screen while doing so.

Skype and Plan

Millions of people around the world use Skype to communicate with friends, family, or business. Many times the conversation includes something you need to remember, which is easy as Skype can be split with the Reminders app, Notes, or any other apps you might prefer. You can also split Skype with media or your browser to instantly share files, links, and much more.

The TouchID feature has been available since 2014 with the first release of the iPhone 6. The feature allows you to instantly sign into your phone by holding your finger on the home button. Users will find the feature is easy to use and highly secure.

Users are able to program more than one fingerprint on their devices that allow you to unlock the phone with different fingers for different grips or to allow other trusted users to unlock your phone. The feature basically automatically puts in your password, but should you need to open with a code, you can just swipe to the left as usual.

Many users are unaware that the feature can be used with individual apps as well. The feature allows you to program your iTunes password this way, meaning you do not have to enter your password each time you download an app. Simply hold your finger on the home button and it will enter the password for you.

Many of us prefer passwords on certain apps such as email, cloud accounts, chats, and much more. However, these passwords are not always safe as others might see you enter the code without you knowing, which is why the TouchID is so useful. The feature unlocks the app within a second and others will never know what the actual password is.

DropBox

DropBox is one of the most popular online storage apps that can be accessed by your mobile device or PC. This allows you to store contacts, media files, and just about anything else and still have access to it even if your device goes missing or has been replaced. The app also works well with the TouchID feature, which will automatically input the password created for your account.

PayPal

PayPal is an online banking service that allows you to purchases various items and services online, meaning it needs to be secure and kept safe. The TouchID works brilliantly with this app as well, which once again enters your password for you when the home button is touched. Users will still be able to enter the password manually, but as an added security feature, the TouchID provides your password in a hidden manner no matter where you are.