To those who have been waiting, Instagram is coming to Android soon according to the developer. Apparently they are testing the beta version now: http://mashable.com/2012/03/11/instagram-for-android/
Android and Malware?
While I havent had any problems, apparently others are. The best way to avoid problems with apps on Android and even Apple? Do research on the app before download. See what the user comments are. You dont need to do more than a few minutes of research to find if the app is bad or not but it can save you. That alone should prevent pretty much every type of app problem.
Here is an article that discusses the issue
Want to know what the best malware app are:
Free Animated .gif maker
Remember in the mid 1990s when animated GIFs were ‘the thing’ to have on your website? You couldnt go to a site without seeing something moving, like a dancing baby. Well you can still make those gifs as there are many sites online that allow you to create them for free. Do a google search and you will find many. Here is one such example:
Want to know what video games your kids are playing?
Microsoft’s xbox releases information each week about which video games are the most popular when playing in their online environment. I thought it was interesting to see what games are the most popular. You might notice some commonalities between all the games. Most are war or sports games. This tells us that players enjoy the action in those two genres. Now if we could just take the features from these games and put them into education games…..Here is the list:
LIVE Activity for week of February 27
Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s)
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Call of Duty: Black Ops FIFA 12 Battlefield 3 Halo: Reach Modern Warfare 2 Skyrim Gears of War 3 NBA 2K12 GTA IV FIFA Street Demo Mass Effect 3 Demo Madden NFL 12 Forza Motorsport 4 NHL12 Saints Row: The Third Halo 3 Mass Effect 2 SSX Demo NBA 2K11 source: http://majornelson.com/ |
Neilson’s Annual Survey of Video Game Use
Neilson’s latest report shows the latest trends in video game use. Here are some of the stats:
- Over half of households (56 percent) own at least one current generation gaming console as of January 2012, up from 50 percent last year
- There is increasing overlap and competition in the mobile / handheld / tablet gaming space: 66 percent of households with kids age 6-12 that own a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP also have an Apple iOS device
- Android4Fun gaming peaks among adults 25-34 while iPhone gaming is distributed more evenly across age segments
- Gamers increasingly play across multiple screens: 24 percent play on two or more of a console, a PC or a mobile / tablet device, up from 17 percent in 2009
- 65 percent of consoles are located in the living room; Nintendo Wii leads (75 percent) but Kinect for Microsoft Xbox 360 is helping to shift that platform toward communal spaces
– survey conducted among a general population sample of n=3,000 in the United States, October 2011.
Source: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/the-latest-trends-in-us-video-gaming/
iPad 3 Thoughts and Rumors that didn’t pan out
Thoughts on the device:
Can be a significant upgrade for folks or it might just be minor. I believe the only major upgrade here is 4G. The faster speeds are well worth the upgrade. However, many of the other features are not going to be noticed by the average user. They dont really care if the machine is quad core or can display graphics at 1080p. In fact, I think the iPad 2’s graphics for movies are pretty good. Overall, I see this as an OK upgrade for the iPad. Some users will benefit and others with iPad 2 will not really need to upgrade. I personally am upgrading from iPad 1 to iPad 3. I will not be getting the 4G iPad though. $30 for 2GB of memory from verizon? Thats a rip off. $30 for unlimited data would be a much better selling point. The funny thing is that I probably would not use 2GB, its just the idea that I need to monitor my data use that holds me back.
So with the release of the iPad 3, there were several rumors that didn’t pan out.
Siri support – Cannot figure out why SIRI is not included on this iPad. Can anyone explain? They have voice support with no SIRI. Is Apple dropping SIRI? This just kind of boggles my mind. I think this would have been a big selling point for this iPad.
IO6 – Ok, I didnt really expect this. This will be released with iPhone 5 in the summer/fall 12. I am also sure this new iPad will easily handle the upgrade with its quad core. This could also possibly give this iPad SIRI maybe? Who knows.
Kindle Fire competitor – I really thought Apple was going to compete with the Fire and create a 7 inch device. However, I think keeping the iPad 2 at a discounted price and keeping it in store could create a competitor but I doubt iPad 2 is still in production.
Camera – While they did upgrade the camera to the same camera in iPhone 4S, they dropped the MP to 5? Not sure why the iPad doesnt have an 8 MP camera but I did think this was kind of weird. Do I care? No, I will probably never use my iPad for a picture, but more MP is always better.
Apple iPad 3 event: The latest
Updates from Apple Event:
Features of new iPad:
Available March 16th. Pre orders start today
$499 for 16 GB – 4G it’s $629
10 hrs of battery life – 9 on 4G
Can act as hotspot – up to phone service
4G LTE – Verizon and ATT
Voice dictation but no SIRI
HD 1080p video recording
iSight camera – 5mp
Quad core processor
Improved retina/resolution – 2048 x 1536 pixels – better than 1080p HD
1:22: new ipad announced
1:10: 1080p movies now available on iTunes – its a new Apple TV that supports 1080p – $99 – can be ordered now
12:55: People are reporting tablets up on the podium
12:50: Event starts in 10 mins
With the Apple event tomorrow (1pm EST), I am going to post the current latest rumors. I will update this post tomorrow as the event unfolds. Current rumors from today:
iPad 3 may be in stores this weekend
iPad 3 may be going on sale March 16th
Current rumors about the iPad that are floating around the net:
Quad core
4G LTE
Slightly bigger than iPad 2
Siri support
Better camera
IOS 6
1080 Screen
May cost more than iPad 2
May have several versions, one to compete with Kindle at 7 inches
Computer Interface Design: MIT 595
Learn Adobe Photoshop techniques (Beginner to advanced) while simultaneously learning the principles of human-computer interaction. This course will focus on designing visually pleasing interfaces for PC, tablet, and mobile devices. You will learn the theories behind interface design and learn how to apply them in various settings through Adobe Photoshop.
Summer Session 1
Tues/Thurs 5-8pm
App Inventor Beta now available from MIT
Well it looks like MIT has officially made App Inventor available for Android based phones!
Here is the link: http://appinventor.mit.edu/
I have yet to try it out to see how it compares to the older version.
DARPAs Robot
Always cool to see what new technology DARPA is working on. Here is a link to the website
“The Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) program is creating manipulators with a high degree of autonomy capable of serving multiple military purposes across a wide variety of application domains. Current robotic manipulation systems save lives and reduce casualties, but are limited when adapting to multiple mission environments and need burdensome human interaction and lengthy time durations for completing tasks.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeABMoYJGEU]