Posts Tagged ‘iPod’
Steve Jobs has died
February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011
FBI releases their first iPhone app
The FBI released its first app for Apple’s iPhone on Friday, called Child ID.
The app can store photos and information on a child, such as height, weight, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, hair and eye color and whether or not they have pierced ears.
“Using a special tab on the app, you can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks” in case a child goes missing or in other emergencies, the FBI said in announcing the app’s release.
Parents and guardians of a child can also call 911 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children from within the app. Child ID also has a list of safety tips for parents and a checklist of things to do if an emergency arises.
The phone can store multiple entries for multiple children, but filing out information about a child doesn’t automatically send it to the FBI. Everything entered using the app stays on a parent’s device running Apple’s iOS software – which includes the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.
The only time the information is shared with law enforcement is when a user emails an entry on a child to police or the FBI.
There is a flaw or two in the software. The concept is in the right part of our social lives.
It’s worth considering for all geeky parents – though I guess the iOS devices are now mainstream enough, I can leave off the geeky part.
appBlaster lets you kill the aliens hiding in your home
Last month we reported on the Aurasma augmented reality (AR) app, and compared it to the special sunglasses in the John Carpenter movie They Live, that let their wearers see the aliens secretly living amongst us. Well, the new appBlaster iPhone accessory is much, much more reminiscent of that film. It’s essentially a toy gun, that your iPhone mounts on top of. Running the free Alien Attack AR game, the phone will proceed to show you the virtual otherwise-invisible aliens that are all around you, overlaid on real-time video of your your real-life surroundings. You then use the gun to shoot the little goobers before they nab you.
Unlike some AR apps, Alien Attack appears not to recognize real-life objects, so aliens won’t come through doorways or sit on chairs, for instance. The aliens do maintain their orientation to actual objects, however, so if you swing the gun back and forth, the aliens will stay where they are within the room instead of swinging with the gun. They can even come at you from behind, which the game’s radar function will warn you about…
The whole thing is a bit like the Ghost Gun, a Hasbro toy from the 70s that five or six readers might remember. It projected an image of a ghost on the walls of a darkened room, which flared-jeans-wearing youngsters then “shot” at by using the gun’s trigger to poke holes in a film within the gun, that the image of the ghost was printed upon … OK, I said it was a bit like it.
If you’ve previously managed to alter your own relationship to reality with your chemicals of choice — I can envision some of you enjoying a truly memorable gaming experience with this device.
Indian head listening to iPod
Measuring roughly 500 x 250 meters, this land formation in Canada provides one of the biggest images you’ll likely see of someone listening to their iPod.
TV Priest: the only person he was having sex with was his cousin!
Yes, he has an app available through iTunes
A well-known San Bernardino priest with a large television ministry will take a leave of absence in the wake of the public disclosure of an affair with a school-system administrator in Northern California…
Father Mike Manning, a popular TV minister and technology pioneer who developed sermon applications for smart phones, will step down “to take some time to reflect on what he’s gone through and why it happened and to look at that in the context of his priesthood to get himself oriented so he can go forward positively,” said John Andrews, director of communications for the Diocese of San Bernardino. “Whenever a situation of sin with a priest happens that’s often what is recommended or decided…”
Manning has acknowledged a sexual relationship with Nancy Kotowski, the Monterey County superintendent of schools, which is an elected position. Kotowski is described on Manning’s Wordnet Production’s website as “Father Mike’s own cousin” and the author of a currently sold-out tract called “Dealing with Teenagers.” Published reports have clarified that Kotowski is a second cousin…
“The reality is I was living two lives: one as a priest who was vowed to celibacy and another life as a sexually active man in our sexual intimacy,” Manning wrote to Kotowski, according to the San Bernardino SUN. “We’ve been such good friends, and there’s a deep love we have for each other,” he wrote in another excerpt. “The sexuality was secondary. It’s very hard when you care for someone, but I love my priesthood more. I admit the fact of my sinfulness. I’ve done wrong. That’s why I’ve stopped.”
Manning’s program, “The Word in the World,” is seen weekly on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, reaching more than 200,000 households, according to Manning’s website. His programs are also broadcast on Catholic TV networks in the U.S. and on the American Forces Network. Manning has been hosting and producing religious programming since 1972.
His books and booklets include “Life Full of Surprises,” “Questions and Answers for Today’s Catholics,” “Why Do Catholics Leave the Church?” and an autobiography, “On Camera and Off…”
Uh-huh.
An iPod watch project explodes online
A project that began with an iPod Nano and an experimental wristwatch design has quickly exploded online, receiving over $540,000 in funding through Kickstarter, a Web site that helps people find support for projects.
The project was created by the Chicago-based design firm Minimal, which wants to take the iPod Nano, Apple’s latest tiny multitouch iPod, and incorporate it into a wristwatch. Those who pledge $25 to the project will receive a Nano-holding watch kit when it is produced.
Scott Wilson, founder of Minimal, said his company had been astonished by the response to the idea.
“It just seems to keep on going,” Mr. Wilson said, referring to the number of pledges received since the project idea was posted online two weeks ago. “I had expectations that we would get $15,000 in funding from Kickstarter, but by the second day of sales we had quickly passed that.”
Fred Benenson, an employee at Kickstarter, said on Twitter Thursday that the project was the first on Kickstarter to top $500,000 in funding…
The TikTok design created by Minimal turns the Nano into a watch by letting you snap it into a wrist dock. The LunaTik, a more expensive design, is meant to be more permanent. It is made of aluminum and holds the Nano in place with screws.
Mr. Wilson said he decided to finance the project through Kickstarter to ensure that his designers had more input on the final product.
“I’m most excited about using this platform to give creative control to the designers and experiment with the product without having to enter a complicated corporate deal to produce it,” Mr. Wilson said. “It seems to be working; there’s nothing more validating than someone putting a credit card down to buy something.”
We’re starting to offer Giftmas suggestions to our readers, this week. This is the first of several.
I was a more than reasonably successful salesman when I was working at it – in fields as wide-ranging as sporting goods to tech goodies. This is one of those products I would have loved to sell to retailers. Its attractive design adds more functionality to an already successful product. Piece of cake.
Apple trademarks ‘There’s an app for that’
Last year, Apple filed for a trademark on its buzz-worthy phrase, “There’s an app for that,” which was used in a commercial for the iPhone.
Last week, the trademark was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The trademark award was reported by TUAW, The Unofficial Apple Weblog.
As writer Brian X. Chen of Wired.com noted on Monday, the phrase has become an easy joke whenever mobile phones are discussed, and a hearty crutch for tech writers writing about a new application for the iPhone or other smart phones.
As he notes, the trademark won’t stop that…
The slogan has been used by Apple to hammer home what the company feels is a major advantages over its smart-phone rivals. The Apple App Store has more than 250,000 apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod — more than any competitor.
Yup. I haven’t an iPhone or iPod; but, I love my iPad. I’m happy enough with the couple dozen apps I have on it – half of which I use on a daily basis – that I only check into the Apple App Store about once a month to see if there’s anything new to tempt me.
Of course, since I’m not a gamer a significant portion of what’s new ain’t going to be tempting, anyway.
Sex guide published as audio book [finally]
Too shy to read the Kama Sutra on the train during rush hour? Just take out your headphones.
The ancient sex guide dating back 1,600 years has been published as an audio book for the first time in its long history in what its British-based publisher described as a “perfect meeting of ancient history and modernity.”
“Now there’s no need to feel embarrassed by reading a copy of this wonderful and important book in public — simply download it on to your mp3 player and liven up your commute to work,” said Simon Petherick, managing director of Beautiful Books.
“Some may also consider using the audio book as a step-by-step manual for improving bedroom techniques, without the need to stop and start with constant reference to a book.”
The Kama Sutra, narrated by a British actress, is based on ancient Indian philosophies and was first translated into English in the 19th century. It contains advice on relationships and one of its chapters describes 64 types of sexual acts.
Sounds like the suggestion for improving bedroom techniques would best be achieved with a wireless headset, eh?
How one magazine plans to offer a digital alternative
As they display in the video, the concept isn’t limited to any single device or style of device. I know from the several regular IPTV productions we watch on the living room TV set – and several more which only interest me; so, I tend to watch them on my monitor in the study – the devil is in the details of how many formats are worth supporting?
I remember the cyber screams of anguish as DLTV’s offering progressed through a couple generations of growth – to the move of 95% of the talent over to Revision3 – as support was dropped for niche formats which garnered a very small number of eyeballs.
How much time and money do you want to dedicate to offering everyone’s favorite format? I’m perfectly capable of handling it in reverse – as should be any geek. If I find something interesting – one time or ongoing – if I can download and record it, I usually can convert it to stream up to our AppleTV and into the HDTV. Or into iTunes or Quicktime and onto my desktop monitor.
Bishops say you should give up your iPod for Lent
Does this mean Steve Jobs is the AntiChrist?
British church leaders are encouraging people to give up their iPods for Lent, instead of more traditional vices such as chocolate, to help save the planet.
The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, and the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, are among those calling for a carbon fast for Lent — a period ahead of Easter which Christians traditionally consider a time of penance and reflection — which begins on Wednesday.
As well as spending a day without using technology such as mobile phones or iPods, the 46 daily suggestions also include eating by candlelight, cutting meat and vegetables thinner so they cook faster and flushing the toilet less often.
Why not give up silly, medieval superstitions and make decisions about ethics and the environment a year round activity?
