iOS 6 now active on over 60% of iPhones

Apple’s latest operating system version, iOS 6, has already made its way to over 60% of iPhones.

The new update has also made its way to roughly 45% of iPads and just below 40% of iPods since its release on September 19th.

The statistics, tracked by Chitika data analytics, reflects data gathered on September 30, so the totals are surely even higher today. Chitika claims that the reasons for the higher version fragmentation on the iPad and iPod as opposed to the iPhone is that certain versions of the iPod touch can’t go past iOS 4, and the lack of incentives offered by carriers to encourage upgrades.

Overall, having to concentrate on only a handful of devices allows Apple to ensure quick rollout of its OS versions, and is far and away better than what Google can offer on Android.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Oregon man uses homemade 8-iPhone panoramic camera to document scooter journey across US

Oregon resident Gabriel Paez has just completed a 10-day scooter journey across the US, which he documented with a homemade panoramic camera comprising eight iPhones. A ninth was strapped to his wrist to control the camera.

Gabriel Paez combined his love for panoramic photography and Apple’s iPhone to create a Street View-style camera which he’s used to capture a 10-day journey across North America on a Vespa called Pucho.

The Oregon resident created his 360-degree camera using eight of the Apple-made handsets, strapping a ninth to his wrist which acted as the controller for his homemade head-based photographic contraption.

Paez also wrote the software to control his camera, an exercise which he described as “challenging.” He intends to write a post about how he made his special device once he gets back to his home on the west coast.

Paez left Seaside, Oregon on September 21, heading for Portland, Maine with occasional forays into Canada along the way. He arrived in the east coast town on Tuesday, with plans to end his journey Wednesday morning with a drive to the beach alongside riders from the local scooter club.

On his website, Paez says he plans to use the fruits of his labor for a stage show he’s been working on, though there’s no word as to when this might take place.

Alternatively, perhaps he could offer his Street View-style work to Apple, who might be interested in using it to enhance its much-criticized Maps app, although Paez would have to ride a few more miles on Pucho to get all of the states covered….

[MAKE via PetaPixel] [Images: Gabriel Paez]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Google Maps + Google Earth = Google iOS 6 app

Google will reportedly combine Google Maps and Google Earth in its forthcoming app for Apple iPhones and iPads -- but you may have to wait a while to get it.

Apple iPhone users, rejoice! Google is building a new Google Maps app for iOS 6 that will reportedly combine the features of the old app with the whiz-bangery of Google Earth, according to a report from The New York Times. The only downside: It’s still a long way off.

Apparently, Apple blind-sided Google when it decided to drop Google Maps from iOS 6. The Verge and The New York Times report that, according to anonymous sources, Apple’s contract to use Google’s navigation app still had a year of life left when Cupertino told Mountain View that it would no longer need its mapping services. Because of this, Google had not yet begun to build out a new version of Google Maps — which is the reason the company does not have a new Google Maps pending with Apple now.

Apple’s reported decision to drop Google Maps is said to have come before Apple’s 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 11, when the company unveiled iOS 6 and its new Maps App. Google responded by holding its own Google Maps event ahead of WWDC, on June 6, which showcased some of its new 3D mapping technology — a feature that is expected to make its way into the new Google Maps.

The reason everyone cares so much about a new Google Maps is, of course, because Apple’s new Maps app is packed full of inaccuracies, strangely distorted landscapes, and lacks public transit information. Apple has already corrected some of these failings, and promises that it will get better over time.

In the end, this will all work itself out. And even now, it’s not that bad. Apple Maps, sub-par in some respects though it may be, works perfectly well for many users. In China, at least, it’s apparently far better than Google Maps ever was. The turn-by-turn navigation is quite useful. And 3D view — while entirely impractical for finding where you need to go — is at least fun to look at while bored. That’s something, right?

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Must-Have iPhone Apps For Tech Junkies

There are so many apps for your iPhones. Sometimes finding the best applications for your cellular device can be the hardest. Here’s some apps to impress your friends with your tech-savvy taste. They have high user ratings, and can be found in your iPhone App store.

Instagram

Instagram has been around for a while, but it has gained a significant amount of popularity since it’s been released. If you have an interest in photography, you may want to download this app.

Instagram allows the user to be turned into an “iphonographer” (the slang term being used by iPhone users). You can use various filters on images, similar to the filters in Photoshop (but much easier to figure out). This app is perfect if any activity, whether you are documenting your trip at an amusement park or just documenting nature. You can even meet other photo-junkies and connect with your friends too.

Another great feature of Instagram is that it has a similar feature to Twitter. It uses hash-tags to tag the photos like Twitter also uses (#TooCool). It even connects with your Facebook and Twitter account which enables you to upload them for friends to see. Did we mention it’s even free to use Instagram?

Price Check by Amazon

Price Check by Amazon is a handy app if you are looking to get the best deal on the latest products on the market. The Price Check app contains a bar code scanner feature to take with you on the go. The apps allows you to scan an item at any store to compare prices through Amazon. This can save you some serious cash in the long-run if you use the application as much as possible. It’s another free app too. Don’t forget to encourage your friends to download it. That way they can save on purchases too!

Flashlight

Flashlight is the perfect app for a reliable light source. It turns your iPhone camera flash feature into a light source in case you are walking in the dark or looking for something lost in a crevice. I find the app most helpful when I’m jogging at dusk. I turn the app on so cars can see the bright light from my phone.

The app is free and will be sure to light up your night. Your friends will likely be impressed as well because the light is super bright. Be sure to not shine it directly into someone’s eyes.

MapMyRun

MapMyRun is perfect for getting into shape. You won’t ever lose track of how far you ran, or how long it took your anymore. This app uses the GPS feature in your phone to document everywhere you are running. It even allows you to sync up with your friends trails so you can compete on how fast each of you ran your course. The app is free, so download it and share it with your fitness friends.

Author Bio: Working in an information technology field, Patricia Goldbum loves to try the latest gadgets on the market. She is constantly trying out new apps. She brings a lot of her knowledge into her business practice. She recently purchased product ID labels to protect her business’s assets.

Source : techtalkafrica[dot]com

Apple and Foxconn Make Progress on Working Conditions at Factories

Image credit: ABC News

Are things getting better for the Chinese workers who assemble iPads and iPhones for Apple?  Back in March, the Fair Labor Association released a report on the poor conditions at Apple’s Foxconn supplier. The organization gave a long list of recommendations to Apple and Foxconn, and both Apple and Foxconn agreed to follow them.

Today, five months later, the FLA says that that Foxconn has completed 280 action items on time or ahead of schedule.

“Our verification shows that the necessary changes, including immediate health and safety measures, have been made,” Auret van Heerden, president and CEO of the Fair Labor Association, said in a statement. “We are satisfied that Apple has done its due diligence thus far to hold Foxconn accountable for complying with the action plan, including the commitment to reform its internship program.”

Apple and Foxconn made a number of physical changes in the last few months to improve worker safety, including more testing of equipment and changes to prevent repetitive stress injuries. A detailed report of the improvements is posted on the FLA site.

Foxconn also took steps to improve working hours, but it still has not reached the final goal. By July 1, 2013, Foxconn has promised to reduce worker hours to the legal limit of 49 hours per week and stabilize pay. Foxconn has already reduced the workload to under 60 hours per week.

“The next phase of improvements will be challenging for Foxconn because they involve major changes in the working environment that will inevitably cause uncertainty and anxiety among workers,” van Heerden said. Making changes to the working hours are among the 76 remaining action items that Foxconn has to accomplish before next July.

Apple was reported to have become history’s most valuable company Monday, though the numbers did not account for inflation.  It has sold approximately 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPads in the last three months of last year.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Don’t trust that text: How the iPhone SMS spoof works

A hacker claims to have found an SMS trick to which iPhones are particularly vulnerable, but how does it work, and why can't Apple stop it?

Late Friday, a blog focused on iOS security research claimed to have found a severe security flaw in iOS. It’s not a way to install malware or otherwise run destructive code, but it is an effective way to create fraudulent text messages that could be used in phishing schemes. While any phone that uses SMS text messaging is vulnerable, UI aspects of the iPhone make it a particularly tempting target. Since then, Apple has claimed the vulnerability lies in SMS technology, not iOS, and that it has no way of fixing it. So how does such a gaping hole in SMS security work?

As pod2g’s security blog explains, the vulnerability originates in the Protocol Description Unit system that’s used to transmit text messages. When you create an SMS message on your phone and hit the Send button, your phone translates the message into PDU terms, tosses it across the network to its recipient, and the phone at the other end catches the bundle of PDU code and translates it into whatever display format the recipient phone uses. But if you’re handy with raw code, you can bypass all the technology that UI designers have worked so hard to make nice and instead create a message in raw PDU text format.

That’s where shenanigans can begin. Just by typing a few words into a text string, a nasty spammer can change the User Data Header in the PDU code, and make it appear to the recipient that the text is coming from their beloved “Mother,” “The FBI,” “Messengers From Space,” or any other recipient they choose to specify. So you could get a message from “Mom” asking you to “Please log into this bank site so we can pay for your Uncle’s kidney surgery” or some other piece of  phishing trickery. Even more maliciously, someone who knew the name of your trusted contacts could send, for example, a message that appears to be from your buddy Dave claiming to have had an affair with your house-pet, driving you into a jealous frenzy for nothing but their own amusement. More seriously, courts have used SMS messages as evidence, so this scam could be used to falsely prove that someone violated a restraining order, or is engaged in criminal conspiracy.

The iPhone is especially vulnerable because of its SMS user interface. In a typically Jobsian pursuit of cleanliness, the iPhone doesn’t display the phone number of whoever sent you a message, only the name of the sender. So if “Uncle Jed” is texting you from a phone number in Kazakhistan, there’s no way to tell that you’re getting messages from a suspicious number. Obviously, the iPhone isn’t the only phone to keep those ugly integers tucked away in the pursuit of elegance, but it’s by far the most prominent, and therefore the one with the most to lose if its interface gets regarded as a security risk.

Apple has dealt with phishing vulnerabilities on the iPhone before, as well as phishing scams built around the Apple ID. Unfortunately, this vulnerability is inherent to the SMS protocol, making it much harder to unilateraly fix it. Seth Bromberger, a security consultant at NCI Security, suggests that the iPhone should display an originating number but it’s hard to imagine Apple cluttering up its clean lines with the kind of numeral strings that we all stopped remembering the day we got a built-in contacts list. For now, Apple has issued a statement telling users to be careful, and mentioning that hey, by the way, if you and all your friends just used iPhones exclusively then you would automatically be texting with the iMessage system, where these problems can’t happen. So perhaps the solution to this iPhone vulnerability is to buy an iPhone for all the people who might text you. Everybody wins. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com