NAOMI LYNCH
Special to The Leader
INTRO
It was yet another exciting week in the technological world – get the scoop below!
Apple/iOS
Apple Replaces ‘Single of the Week’ feature
According to http://www.TechnoBuffalo.com, Apple has expanded its popular Single of the Week feature to a Free on iTunes section which includes a variety of free singles, movies and episodes to download for the sweet cost of zero dollars. Free on iTunes is a U.S. exclusive for now but, knowing Apple, this feature will probably be rolled out to the rest of the world before the year’s end. Not really into music or movies? The company still offers its Free App of the Week, so snag it while it is still available!
‘Be My Eyes’ iOS app helps you get your good samaritan on
Are you an avid volunteer with the blood of a thousand Girl Scouts burning in your veins? Good! I have just the app for that — Be My Eyes. An iOS exclusive, this app connects blind people who are in need of a pair of eyes to seeing people who can be their eyes. “If a blind person needs help identifying something — say, the ‘sell by’ date on a carton of milk — they can start up a live audio-visual connection and aim the iPhone’s camera at the object they need help with, ” said Joel Mathis from http://www.MacWorld.com. From there, they can connect with the person with sight who will help them out. This is a pretty awesome way to get involved from the comfort of your bed!
iWatch has poor battery life
You might want to rethink investing your refund check money into Apple’s iWatch; the specs were released, and they look dismal.“Sometimes people forget that even though Apple was the company to bring us the JesusPhone, it doesn’t mean they too don’t have to abide by basic science laws,” said Xavier Harding from http://www.iDigitalTimes.com. With standard app usage, the watch will last up to 3.5 hours, while heavy usage will only garner you 2.5 hours. If you only use the iWatch for fitness related things, you’re looking at a maximum of four hours. You’re better off holding on to the G-Shock watch from your childhood.
Trivia Crack
Trivia Crack hits 100M downloads
The latest viral game, Trivia Crack, has hit 100 million downloads. The game, created by Argentine company Etermax, pits you against friends or random opponents to see who has the best knowledge in six different categories ranging from art to sports. “The Question Factory [the ability for users to upload a question to the game] is what shot Trivia Crack to the top of the charts when it was added to the U.S. version in December,” said Emma Hinchliffe of USA Today. Fun fact: the game inspired a TV show in Argentina! Sweet!
New translation tool keeps Twitter ahead of the curve
Our favorite little blue bird, Twitter, has dropped something new into our nest — the ability to translate tweets in forty different languages. Say what? The social media platform has teamed up with Bing Translator to help you figure out what is going on, on the other side of the world, when you should be sleeping before your 8 a.m. the next morning. Don’t get too excited, though, “Twitter warned that translations may sometimes be of low quality,” reports the Deccan Chronicle. Unfortunately, these features are only for iOS and Android Tweetdeck applications and iOS’s browser function. There is no word on when this will be available for other devices or platforms.
Blackberry
BlackBerry demands net neutrality; the world keeps spinning
The smartphone world’s ugly stepchild, Blackberry, has returned once more to rear its ugly head at competitors Apple and Android. “All wireless broadband customers must have the ability to access any lawful applications and content they choose, and applications/content providers must be prohibited from discriminating based on the customer’s mobile operating system,” said John S. Chen, the CEO of Blackberry. In layman’s terms, Chen is asking Apple to make apps for his phones, too, so Blackberry will not go out of business! “Developers choose which platforms to put their apps on based on their own resources and on market demand,” said Michael Crider from http://www.AndroidPolice.com. There is no market demand for Blackberry, who used to be the titan of the smartphone world. Chen is right to call Android and Apple “a two-tiered wireless broadband ecosystem.” You gotta give something for the bottom of the food chain to feed off of, right? John Chen, stop hating. You probably use an iPhone, anyway.
Snapchat
Snapchat introduces discover feature and removes your ‘Best Friends’
In Snapchat’s bid to become more than a nude-filled messaging app, the company introduced a Discover feature, where you can access short videos from a variety of news networks, ranging from CNN to the Food Network. Seriously, what’s an app collection without National Geographic showing animals mauling each other? While bringing in the new, Snapchat kicked out the ‘best friends’ feature — y’know, the feature that allows you to see who you snap the most during class. Denizens of the Snapchat world were outraged and brought their ire to Twitter. According to Snapchat’s CEO, Evan Speigel, it will be back eventually “in a new form,” ABC News reports.