How to Secure the Notes App on iOS 9.3

iOS Update – Features Like Night Shift

A preview of the upcoming iOS update had been announced by Apple recently. Included in the forthcoming iOS 9.3 update, Apple has been adding features like Night Shift which it states would help you to fall asleep easily in spite of staring at the screen after sunset.

Apple is attempting in helping users to get better rest at night with Night Shift which is a setting that tends to change the colours on the screen at night. Researchers are of the belief that the blue light produced by LED screens tends to stop the production of melatonin, the hormones which informs our brain to sleep. Changing from bright white and blue undertones to warmer colours is considered to be easier on the eyes enabling the body to fall asleep naturally.

Other features comprise of enabling multiple users accounts on an individual iPad, CarPlay improvements together with the ability to password protect personal musings in the Notes app can be located in the update. With the option to protect a note, probably comprising of details of bank account number, health information of perhaps a daily diary, it feels like it should have been in the Notes app from the beginning.

Secure Note in the Notes App

Though it is not so, Apple intends fixing the same. Users need to be aware that in order to lock a note they would have to be using the developer or public beta preview of iOS 9.3. One could learn more on the risks of running a beta version of an iOS on their device and where to sign if one intends to do so, by visiting the beta page of Apple. Those already on iOS 9.3 or planning to do so, the following needs to be done in order to secure a note in the Notes app:

• At first, begin by selecting a note, if one would like to lock down using a password of Touch ID 
• Tap on the share button towards the upper-right hand area 
• Opt for Password Protect Note from the list of options

Presently available as Developer Preview

Should it be the first time of selecting this option, the password would be needed and a hint to the password. Observe the warning below the password unit.User would be unable to access any secured notes on non-iOS 9.3 or Mac OS S 10.11.4, also in beta devices. If one prefers to use Touch ID in addition to a password, the switch should be left in the `On’ position.

On the other hand, one could set up or change the Notes password by introducing the Setting app on the iOS device and go to Notes > Password Protection. Here you could also change the password for your Notes, if desired. Using the password set, the next time the Password Protect Note is selected from the share menu, the note would be placed behind your password and you will be able to identify which notes seem to be protected while viewing the list of notes in your account due to a lock icon seen below the title.

Presently the iOS 9.3 is made available as a developer preview which means that it is not fully completed. No information has been provided about its arrival on the iPhone or iPad, though Apple naturally releases a preview only a few months prior to the final version.

iOS 9.2 Update Targets Apple Music Improvements, Bug Fixes

Apple has released a new software update for all its devices ranging from iPhone, iPad to iPod touch. This software update brings some great features and removal of a number of bugs, which has undermined the ultimate use of the Apple devices. This iOS 9.2 update majorly concentrates on bringing some incredible improvement to Apple Music and Apple News as well as other minor changes and improvements in variety of OS features. Apple users can easily download this update by going to their Setting followed by clicking on General and giving a click on Software Update.

Improvements made to Apple Music

A number of users had complained about the inability to create new playlists and other small glitches in the Apple Music in the past. Now Apple has brought some considerable improvements to its Apple Music with this software update. Users can now create new playlist when adding a song to the playlist. Recently changes playlist will now list at the top when adding new songs to the playlists. Download indicator will be placed to next to each song in the My Music and Playlist to show which songs have been downloaded recently. Users can download albums and playlist from their iCloud Music Library just by tapping on the iCloud download button.

New features brought in this update

A new Top Stories is integrated in the News section to keep the users up to date with all important news. Mail Drop features is brought in Mail, which will help in sending large attachments with ease. iBooks get the support for 3D touch and listening to an audiobook while browsing or reading other books. iPhone gets support for the USB Camera adapter which will allow users to import photos and videos with ease and simplicity.

Improvement in Accessibility

VoiceOver issues when using Camera face detection, issues related with Guided Access when trying to end phone calls and speech rate of Speak Screen were fixed in this update. Apple has improved the functionality for the Switch Control users while using the 3D Touch feature. Apple has brought the Siri support for Arabic language for the users residing in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

Other smaller software updates released for Apple device ecosystem

Apple has also released some smaller but commendable updates for its Apple Watch, Apple TV and Mac OS X operating system. The Apple Watch will be updated to latest watchOS 2.0, which brings new improved language support along with a number of bug fixes. Apple TV users can find the software update in the Setting channel. The tvOS 9.1 updates bring the support for the Apple’s Remote app, which will transform any iPhone or iPad as a remote for controlling Apple TV.

The OS X10.11.2 update focuses on bringing better stability, compatibility as well as security for the Mac and Macbook devices. This update brings minor bug fixes along with the improvement in the Wi-Fi, Handoff and Airdrop reliability of the Mac devices.

Apple Clarifies How Wi-Fi Assist Works in Wake of Claims it Eats through Your Data

Apple’s Latest Mobile Operating System – W-Fi Assist

A new page has been created by Apple’s website clarifying that iOS 9’s Wi-Fi Assist should not show a substantial drain on data allowances. Presented by Apple, in the latest mobile operating system in mid-September, Wi-Fi Assist is one of the efforts to keep Internet connection alive when Wi-Fi coverage seems to be poor.

By default, the feature tends to switch to a cellar connection when it senses weak Wi-Fi signal. The company has explained the ins and outs of the feature wherein it claims that it should affect the data usage by a minimum percentage.

The new feature had been introduced in iPhone software update iOS 9 and is developed to switch the handset connection from Wi-Fi to cellular data automatically, when in a range of poor connection.

Some users had complained that they were being tricked into using more of the data allowance than they had expected when the feature was automatically turned on and the new software had been downloaded. In some of the phone contracts since the data allowances can be low as 500MB or 1GB, having activated the feature technically, would result in higher bills for the users.

Wi-Fi Assist A Source of Debate

The new support page read - `with Wi-Fi Assist, you can stay connected to the Internet even if you have a poor Wi-Fi connection. For example, if you’re using Safari with a poor Wi-Fi connect and a webpage doesn’t load, Wi-Fi Assist will activate and automatically switch to cellular so that the webpage continues to load.

You can use Wi-Fi Assist with most apps like Safari, Apple Music, Mail, Maps and more’. Wi-Fi Assist has become a source of debate after some users expressed concern with the feature which utilises mobile data – cellular data with their knowledge. This was a matter of concern for the users whose mobile plan permits only a small amount of data like 1GB per month while others have admired the feature stating that the feature’s mobile data usage tends to be small and comes handy in area where the Wi-Fi signal tends to be poor.

Apple has explained when and how the features tend to work in About Wi-Fi Assist page recently updated stating that-

• The feature would not switch to cellular if your data roaming and so you won’t have to pay additional charges if you are out of the normal coverage area
• Wi-Fi Assist only works with apps running in the foreground and won’t download content from aps in the background
• The feature does not go into effect with certain third party apps which stream audio or video and will not download large file attachments.

Cellular Data Icon in Status Bar – iOS Device

One will get to know when Wi-Fi Assist has been activated since one will observe the cellular data icon in the status bar on the iOS device.

Apple has informed on its webpage that since one stays connected to the Internet over cellular when they have poor Wi-Fi connection, they could use more cellular data and for most users, this should only be a small percentage higher than the earlier usage.

How to Switch From Android to iOS (and Vice Versa)

It is very hard to subdue to urge to buy the new iPhone 6s or the new range of Nexus Smartphones. Both of them come loaded with some exciting specs and happen to offer a premium end experience to the end users. Both Android and iOS platform now offer high quality handsets with impressive features; build quality and great experience to the users. Here are some smart ways to make your transition either to the iOS or Android platform without losing your data.

Switch From Android To iOS

Apple has made it easier to migrate the data from the Android device to the iOS platform by launching the ‘Move to iOS’ android app. This app makes it extremely easier and simpler to facilitate the move to the iOS without much difficulty.

Step 1: Download the app

Download the Move To iOS app on your Android phone from the Google Play Store. Now take your iPhone out of the box and initiate the iPhone setup process. It should be noted that this app will work with IPhones which had not be set up earlier. IN case you had already setup your iPhone then perform a factory reset and use this app to migrate data from your android phone.

Step 2: Follow the instructions

Once the IPhone setup is initiated, you will find a “Hello screeen” and a number of prompts will follow it. Follow these instructions carefully to perform a glitch free and safe migration of data to the iPhone. You will soon be greeted with Apps and Data screen where you will find ‘Move Data from Android’ at the bottom of the list of options, select it.

Now on your Android phone fire up ‘Move to iOS app’. Agree to its terms and conditions then you will see ‘Find Your Code’ screen. This ten-digit code will be generated from the iPhone device after you select the ‘Move Data from Android’ option. Enter the code in your Android phone and begin the transfer process.

Step 3: Transfer the data

Transfer of data from Android to iPhone will require a sound W-Fo connectivity and depending on the amount of data, the time span will be determined. A huge amount of photos and entertainment files like audios and videos will mean more time while fewer data will transfer in just few seconds.

Switch from iOS to Android

There is no app available to make the transition from the iOS to Android phone but using the Google account you can make a simple and more efficient transition to Android. Android makes use of the Google account for keeping contact and calendars, sync your iPhone with a Google account by going to the Setting, Mail, Conatacts, Calendars and finally Add Account. Now just enter your Google ID and it will simply sync all your calendar and contacts data within few seconds.

Messages: Use service of iSMS2droid for transferring text messages to the Android phone.

Photos: Download Google Photos app and sign in with your Google account, turn on ‘Back up and sync’ and it will take a while to sync all the photos. Once done you can view photos from Google account on to your Android device.

Apple Releases iOS 8.3 with 300 New Emoji

iOS 8.3 Software Update of 300 New Emoji

Apple has recently released new software update iOS 8.3for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, with the addition of over 300 new emoji characters together with a redesigned keyboard which means the emoji like the face, hands and bodies character for the first time, are in a range of six skin tone. The new keyboard features a scrolling UI to accommodate the variety of emoji available in the update. On tapping the desired emoji and holding down will provide the skin tone options.

Apple at first had unveiled the new emoji which was created in partnership with Unicode Consortium last in February and the skin tones are considered to have been modelled on the Fitzpatricks scale which is a recognized standard used by several dermatologists.

Unicode had stated last November that `people all over the world want to have emoji which reflect more human diversity especially for skin tone and the Unicode emoji characters for people and body part are meant to be generic yet following the precedents set by the original Japanese carrier images, they are often shown with a light skin tone instead of a more generic appearance like yellow/orange colour or a silhouette’.

EE’s WiFi Calling Features

The emoji which had been developed for use in Japanese SMS messages have become immensely popular for sending text, tweets as well as other messages with colourful icons that tend to depict a range of emotions, animals and food. Additional 32 new country flag emoji characters have also been included in the emoji range of collection.

Moreover, the latest update also provides iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 5s and 5c users to utilise EE’s WiFi Calling features which was broadcasted recently and once activated, the feature uses a WiFi connection to push voice calls as well as text to a user’s phone to evade weak or no mobile reception in the workplace, home or on the underground.

It has been informed by Apple that iOS 8.3 has improved performance for app launch as well as sensitivity, fixes issues with WiFi, Bluetooth and rotation and orientation. Besides this there is additional language and another new feature, country support for Siri in English - New Zealand, India, Danish - Denmark, Dutch – Netherlands, Portuguese – Brazil, Russian – Russia, Swedish – Sweden, Thai – Thailand and Turkish – Turkey. Besides this there is additional dictation language in Arabic – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Hebrew – Israel.

Redesigned Emoji Keyboard

The interesting feature of update is the redesigned emoji keyboard wherein one can select from the 300 new characters with several new skin tone option and the diversity in the earlier emoji keyboard version was lacking since there was only an Asian man wearing a gua pi mao cap and an Indian with a turban though there were no black people portrayed.

Apple has now added several more relationship as well as gadget related emojis, for instance there are now same sex relationship emojis such as families with two mothers and two fathers while some of the gadget emojis tend to have been added inclusive of a representation of the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch.

Besides flags there are also options for sports and Apple is striving hard to strengthen iOS 8s’ reliability since the company is preparing to move its focus to the next model - iOS 9 which will probably be unveiled in June.

Microsoft Plans To Bring Siri Competitor Cortana To iOS Devices

Microsoft to put Cortana on Machine

Microsoft is now making its way towards advanced version of its competitor, Apple’s Siri researching from an artificial intelligence project known as `Einstein’. The company is running its personal assistant – Cortana on its Windows phone for around a year and would be putting the new version on the desktop with the forthcoming Window 10 somewhere this autumn which would be available as a stand-alone app that could be used on phones and tablets and powered by Apple’s Inc.’s – AAPL.O, iOS and Google Inc.’s GOOG.O Android, according to users familiar with the project.

Eric Horvitz, managing director of Microsoft Research and part of the Einstein project, in an interview at the company’s Redmond, Washington headquarters, stated that `this kind of technology that can read and understand email will play a central role in the next roll out of Cortana which they are working on for the fall time frame’. Microsoft and Horvitz refrained from disclosing any plans to take Cortana beyond Windows. The idea of putting Cortana on machine with software from rivals like Google and Apple together with the Einstein project is not reported. The name Cortana is an artificial intelligence character in a video game series known as `Halo’.

`Artificial Intelligence’ Concept 

The `artificial intelligence’ concept is broad and computers and mobile phones for instance have already shown skill with spoken language scrutinizing through emails for data. Microsoft is of the belief that its work on search, speech recognition and machine learning will enable it to transform its digital assistant into the first intelligent agent which would be what user would require.

Siri by comparison is advertised as responding to request. Google’s mobile app that does not have Siri or Cortana has been offering limited predictive information cards depending on what the user intends to know. Earlier, Microsoft had made attempts in creating digital assistants without much success and Microsoft Bob which was released in 1995 which was intended to make the use of the computer easy did not come up with the desired results. Similarly the Office Assistant which was nicknamed `Clippy’ met with the same fate, a few years thereafter.

Cortana - Supportive Service

Horvitz had commented that `they are defining the competitive landscape, of who could provide the most supportive service that make life easier, keep track of things, that complement human memory in a way that could help them get things done. A monitor which stands outside his door known as `The Assistant’, showing a woman’s face which can converse with visitors has access to Horvitz’s calendar and can also book meetings.

`Lifebrowser’ runs on his desktop, which is a program that has the potential of storing everything from appointments to photos and utilises machine learning in order to identify important moments while a keyword search for his university professor could instantly provide photos as well as video from their last meeting. Cortana has the capability of telling a mobile phone user when he ought to leave for the airport several days after it has read the email and the user’s intention of planning a flight. Moreover it can automatically check the status of flights and determine where the phone is located using GPS as well as check the condition of the traffic.

How to Transfer Any Media File to Your iOS Device

Waltr – New Mac App - Softorino

More progress and headway in technology has given rise to the use of Mac app Waltr wherein the user can now transfer any form of video or music file to an iOS device without the use of another iOS app. Waltr is a new Mac app from Softorino whichhas been designed for easy upload and conversion of any music or video file to an iPad or an iPhone format for the purpose of native playback that supports a large options of media file forms.

 This includes MP3, MP4, AVI, WMA, CUE, M4R, M4V, AAC, FLAC, ALAC, KUV and much more. It also lends support to file type which is not usually compatible with iOS4 and includes AVI, MKV, FLAC and CUE and these could be played in native Movie as well as Music apps on iOS. Operating Waltr is easy and simple.

On closing iTunes the user could plug on to the iPhone or iPad in a Mac and then open the Waltr app where the iOS device along with its storage space which is available is portrayed at the top of the app wherein files could be dragged over to the blank space in the app to be transferred to the iOS device. As soon as the file is dragged and placed in the Waltr app, the upload gets started most of which is very quick, probably a few seconds.

App - Possibility of Transferring any Form of Video/Audio File

When the file has been transferred to the iPad or the iPhone, it can be accessed in the native Music or Movies app on the device. The overall Waltr process is quite simpler than converting through a separate app and then again uploading through iTunes.

Waltr is an amazing app with the possibility of transferring any form of video or audio file irrespective of its format to an iOS device having playback of the file in Apple’s Video and Music apps when compared to similar apps which may need the installation of a companion iOS app on a device, it has limitation to access of files within the app – and limiting access to features in some cases like AirPlay.

Result of Technique Used – No Quality Loss

On completing the download of the app, the user is then asked to disable iTunes’ automatic sync feature and once done the only thing needed is to get connected to the iOS device to Mac through USB. Thereafter, the drag and drop approach is taken by Waltr in order to transfer the content to the iPhone of iPad and on dropping a file, irrespective of its format, the Waltr app makes the file compatible with iOS and then uploads the same to the device.

Assurance has been provided by the marketing manager, Josh Brown, that the results of the technique used by the company, is no quality loss. Waltr is now made available as an online download for OA X 10.9 or new with a free trial of 14 days and thereafter it will prompt the user to purchase a license for an amount of $29.99. Users of Windows could sign up for an opportunity to take part in the beta of Waltr for Windows.

ADAM iOS-Connected Asthma Monitor

The Automated Device for Asthma Management 

The wearable Automated Device for Asthma Management or ADAM by Health Care Originals, as shown to AppleInsider at CES can count coughs as well as measure respiration, wheeze and heart rate. To undermine effective symptoms monitoring and medication which would lead to poor health condition, a device has been proposed which could continuously monitor asthma symptoms especially coughing which is the most common symptom in asthma patients.

The identified symptoms can then be stored and retrieved later by the patient or the physician for reference, indicating the level of asthma control. It is a unique iOS connected medical device which is focused in providing the users with a solution in managing their asthma condition.Measuring vital signs together with other biological reading, the ADAM is capable of predicting as well as logging asthma attack and also recommends behaviour changes.

In other words it will be featuring inhaler detection with alerts and alert forwards together with symptom tracking as well as trending treatment plans. It is proposed to be launched during the second quarter this year, though the price has not been disclosed yet. ADAM users could also have the facility of receiving medication reminders and the device has potential of HIPAA compliant data storage.

Focused on Preventing Complication with Asthma

The device has been focused on preventing complications with asthma which could tend to get serious if not detected in time. Timely treatment could save a lot of time and trouble to the victim. The ADAM sensor has been designed with its own iOS connected application and HealthKit support is also on its way for the smart wearable accessory.

The ADAM comprises of a consumer electronic mobile platform that runs a custom application which acquires an audio signal from external user worn microphone which is connected to the device analog to digital converter or a microphone input.

To determine the absence or presence of cough sounds, the signal is processed where symptoms are tallied and raw audio waveforms are recorded, making easy access for later review by a physician. Symptoms detection algorithm depends on standard speech recognition as well as machine learning paradigms, consisting of an audio feature extraction step with a Hidden Markov Model - HMM, based Viterbi decoder which has been trained on a huge database with audio examples on various subject. Performance of recognizer is shown in terms of sensitivity as well as the rate of false alarm determined in a cross validation test.

Personal Asthma Monitoring Device 

Mobile technology has made much progress so much so that the hardware needs of personal asthma monitoring devices have been created in existing consumer electronics platforms. Due to the broad install base together with software development kit –SDK, Apple’s iOS device have been the chosen platform, specifically, the 4G iPod.

The present approach is based on proven technology and method in the field of speech recognition, keyword as well as key audio effect detection, content based audio analysis and machine learning, like the other audio systems for cough monitoring which have been reported in literature.

Here the cough detection algorithm presented, processes the audio date in two ways where in the initial stage, the incoming stream of digital audio samples tend to get rearranged in fixed length frames from which set of audio features are computed and the sequence of feature vectors are then passed to HMM Viterbi decoder.

How to Manage Your iCloud Storage and Backups

iCloud Backup – Feature Designed in iOS

Apple is aware that device backups tend to be useful when the process is regular and automatic; hence the feature is designed in iOS and managed by iCloud. Prior to iCloud, the prevailing backup method in iOS device was connected to a computer and synced to iTunes and as the other cloud services and streaming music became more prevalent, the need of syncing iPhone or iPad with iTunes became obsolete.

 iCloud is a better option than syncing with iTunes since it occurs automatically when a device is charging or connected to a Wi-Fi network. The iCloud backup comprises of information regarding the content that has been purchased and not the purchased content and when it is restored from an iCloud backup, the purchased content gets automatically downloaded from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store or App Store.

However some forms of contents do not get downloaded automatically in all countries and purchases done previously may not be available if, they tend to be refunded or are not available in the store.

Warns Users when iCloud Storage Full

The iOS device tends to warn the users whenever their iCloud storage gets full though managing iCloud storage could be a little different. Guidance is provided in managing the device from getting backed up regularly; manage iCloud storage, setting apps together with how to make the most of the current space without the need of upgrading to an expensive plan. iCloud being a primarily cloud service, one can manage storage setting on an iOS device or Mac and these options may not be available on iCloud.com.

One can navigate to the Setting app on an iOS device by scrolling down and tapping on the iCloud section. Next is the iCloud account which is associated with the device, with options for Family sharing available storage and what services can be presently synced to the iCloud account. With the use of toggle switches, one can opt to stop syncing Contacts, Calendars, Reminders etc. if other service is in use such as Exchange. To handle the iCloud space or upgrading to new plan, one can tap on the Storage heading.

Option to Delete Old Backups

Total storage is referred to the total iCloud space one has currently subscribed and if the storage available is less than 10 GB one would have difficulty in backing up the services. Apple had recently reduced the price of high capacity iCloud storage plan and to upgrade one can tap on the Change Storage plan option.

The plans are billed now on monthly basis instead of annually as earlier and the 200GB plan is appropriate if keen on having enough space to backup most of the content on the device. For the option to use iCloud Drive for increased number of documents or large content of photos, one could choose 500GB or 1TB.

The option to downgrade at any point of time is also provided if not intending in using the total storage amount. If one has upgraded recently, the iPhone or iPad, multiple iPhone or iPad backups tend to appear in iCloud’s list of backups and viewing these setting would indicate which backup file correlates to the device by showing `this iPad’ or `this iPhone’.

The user has the option to delete old backups of earlier devices to accommodate space while keeping the latest iPhone or iPad backups safe.

Mozilla’s New Version of Firefox for iOS

Mozilla is finally launching a version of Firefox and is trying browser foothold on iOS which is the operating system that powers Apple’s iPhones and iPads. According to Twitter accounts from many at the meeting, Vice President, Johnathan Nightingale of Firefox at Mozilla informed the Mozilla community members at the non-profit organizations’ Mozlandia event in Portland, about the idea.

 Lukas Blakk, Mozilla Release Manager stated that they need to be where their users were and hence they are going to get Firefox on iOS, probably relating an account of Nightingale’s speech in a tweet that TechCrunch spotted. Mozilla’s Manager of data science, Matthew Ruttley had added his comments in his tweet stating that `Firefox for iOS! Let’s do it’, while other community members of Mozilla chimed in with their accounts with regards to the news at the event quoting Nightingale as well as Mozilla President Li Gong.

This could be a move in changing the strategic direction for Mozilla one among many as the non-profit organization attempts of new system to retain its influence in the face of challenges comprising of the mounting popularity of Google’s Chrome browser with Firefox’s light presence in the smartphone as well as tablet market wherein users tend to spend more and more of their computing activities.

Mozilla’s Mission

Mozilla’s mission, a decade ago was to overtake the dominance of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and the top priority now is to bring an openness to the present to what the organisation envisages as the `jails’ of iOS and Android. Junior, a browser for iOS was showed by Mozilla in 2012 but the outcome of it did not bear much result and then in 2013, Mozilla decided that it would not build Firefox for iOS due to objections to the limits that Apple had placed on third party browsers.

The presence on smartphones as well as tablets is vital for Mozilla’s effort in remaining relevant in the present computing world and Firefox seems to be a significant presence on the Web and in charting standards which make the Web a viable competitor to Android, iOS, Windows and OS X though its share is dropping. As per figures from analytics firm StatCounter, Firefox has dropped to 11.6 percent of usage as a share of desktop and mobile browsing while on tablets and smartphones, its share of usage in November was around 0.5 percent.

Improvement for Third Party Browser Developers

Mozilla has diversified out to mobile with versions of Firefox for Google’s Android OS together with its own Firefox OS for lower end smartphones though Firefox for iOS is different which is due to the fact that Apple does not allow other browser engine on its mobile OS on the contrary third party browsers like Google’s Chrome together with Opera’s Coast, utilise Apple supplied engine.

As for Mozilla it is important since it undercuts the organization’s mission to use Firefox to encourage the use of open Web technologies rather than technologies locked to a single company’s computing platform. However, Apple has made improvement in conditions for third party browser developers wherein the browser engine supplies faster running of Web based JavaScript programs which mean that the third party browsers can be a better match to Safari’s own performance on iOS.

How To Make The Most Of Apple's Healthkit In iOS 8 With Compatible Apps

HealthKit Tracked Nutrition/Calories Burned/Activity/Biometric Readings

Before the debut of Apple’s HealthKit in iOS 8, individuals managed their fitness data through multiple apps, third party cloud services and web tools wherein some of the platforms such as Fitbit incorporated calorie counting as well as tracked activity into a universal solution, though it fragmented and worked with the company’s hardware.

HealthKit together with the Health app enabled users to track nutrition, calories burned, activity as well as took biometric readings through various apps which could be seen in one place. It has the potential of being used as a wellness and fitness tool with data on diet, exercise, activity and sleep from different sources together with serious medical tool to manage and monitor chronic conditions.

It could be considered as a dynamic platform which works behind the scenes providing a personalized experience to iPhone user, utilising the data from iPhone’s M7 or M8 sensor, enabling the user to view the health data in a single app. Being a medical tool, the HealthKit provides great values and can aggregate data from a various app or connected medical devices such as glucose meter or blood pressure cuff and consumer oriented fitness devices.

Platform More of Data Store on iPhone

Moreover it also provides the potential to automate the recording of medical metrics and if one is using connected devices, it maintains the accuracy of the data since it goes straight from the device to the associated app on the iPhone and to the HealthKit. Another possibility is that if your physician’s office tends to use electronic records system, which supports HealthKit, the data automatically is entered in the medical records.

The platform is more than a data store on the iPhone and apps can use the information from it or write information into it. There are some apps that do both though there are others which only retrieve data or input data.

The actual processing of the HealthKit data like comparing calories eaten together with the number of it burned through the course of the day or obtaining data from a fitness tracker or other devices, compiling information and then sending to the doctor is done by the third party app which sends the information to and retrieve it from HealthKit.

Medical ID Feature to Record Medical Information 

The Health app is pre-installed on the iPhone 4s or the latest running iOS 8 and helps to view all HealthKit data from all HealthKit compatible app. Besides this it also enables the user to manually edit data and includes a dashboard to visualize the data. It also includes a Medical ID feature which enables the user to record essential medical information, medications, conditions, allergies as well as emergency contacts.

The person has the option of choosing to have a Medical ID available from the phone’s lock screen in an emergency when unable to provide the same which can be accessed on tapping the Emergency button when prompted to enter a passcode and also enable the iPhone to make 911 calls when it is locked.
HealthKit is built to respect user privacy in part with permissions model which enables user to see what apps can access the data and has also barred developers from selling HealthKit information to data brokers for any purpose besides medical research, and in such a case, the data should be made anonymous.

Apple’s iOS 8 – Download Free Bing App

Apple has made provision with the release of the iOS 8, an opportunity of enabling app developers to create extensions for apps. With this extension the user can share content from anywhere, with the capabilities of adding editing tools to the Photos app together with an update to the Bing app and translate websites directly in mobile Safari.

To download the free Bing app from the App Store, all that needs to be done, is to follow the given instructions: Install the app and once the app is installed, launch Safari and then tap on the share button, swipe left on the bottom row of icons and proceed to `More’.

Thereafter slide the switch next to `Bing Translate’ to `on position and tap `Done’. Google’s Chrome app installed on iPhone prior to the iOS8 was for the purpose of translating websites. With this extension users can visit website of any foreign site and tap on the share button and then on the new Bing Translate icon which will provide the user within seconds, the translated page in the native language.

The app by default uses the same language the iOS device has been set to use but the same can be adjusted by launching the desired Bing app.

The Bing Translator

Though users have been debating that Google Chrome tends to be a better browser, iPhone users seems to be loyal to Safari and the one features which gives Chrome advantage is its ability to recognize the language of any given page, with an option to translate it to a native language.

 Safari on the other hand does not work overtime with any options for translating services. On the contrary there is now an extension which can easily be added to Safari’s share sheet for the translations which is the same as the one that was demonstrated by Apple at the WWDC’14 recently – `The Bing Translator’.

It would have been an excellent option for Microsoft and Apple to come up with a deal in incorporating Big Translator directly into Safari, which seems doubtful and hence this extension is the only best option presently.

One of the appealing features of iOS 8 is that it has provided Safari with the capabilities of supporting extensions which means, third party developers now can add required features to one of the most popular web browsers of the world.

Bing Nifty Widget – Trending Stories & Image

This could be advantageous to the users since they can add updated functions which can make their browsing on the web more convenient on their iPhone as well as the iPads.

A new feature which can be added to mobile Safari with the iOS 8 extensions is the capabilities of translating any web page into English which by default, Safari does not have the translate feature.

Hence iOS 8 users need to depend on Google Chrome for this function though one can translate any web page in Safari with the extension which is offered by Microsoft’s Bing Search app. Besides, Bing also comes with a Nifty Widget which does not translate languages, but offers trending stories and image of the day. All support and guidance has been provided on `how to add widgets on iOS 8’, at the site.

Apple’s Patent – Next Generation iOS Remote App System

Apple’s patent published recently reveals a next generation iOS remote app system which will be capable of translating the Apple TV’s UI to smaller format iPhone and iPad screens at the time of streaming back the external content such as movie from some of the same devices.

Apple’s patent application, as filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for `Browsing remote content using a native user interface’, specifies what amounts to advanced Apple TV remote control app which interprets media content as well as semantic information in reproducing graphical user interface native to an iPhone or iPad display.

The patent application for next generation remote app was first filed for in March 2013 with credits to Nickolas James Paulson, Thomas Alsina and Lucas C. Newman as its inventors. The proposed iteration, unlike the Current Remote app of Apple, that employs a bespoke UI tailored especially for iPhone or iPad would size down dramatically, an Apple TV’s GUI based on semantic cues that may be sent to the client device from an Apple TV source or a Mac running iTunes.

This method enables a much enhanced user experience which moves beyond the prevailing digital reproduction of remote control hardware.

Full TV Interface/Icon Matrix

The app for instance can display a full TV interface or an icon matrix, remotely, which includes media description, ratings, posters purchasing options etc.

Moreover code for interpreting semantics boards which are sent by the host device can be kept on client board iPhone or the programming could be tapped from an off-sit server like iCloud. With semantics translation kept in the cloud, enables greater flexibility with older devices which are not usually supported by modern app.

Possibilities of two embodiments have been outlined by Apple for remote app, one of which is active and the other passive. The active version enables users to interact with an Apple TV or any other host device in real time such as any selections that are made on the iOS device tend to reflect immediately on the larger television screen.

Active/Passive Operation 

The document deals with active mode but a mention has been made of passive operation whereby a client device stores up user input and pushes the date to the host device when prompted to do so. For instance passive mode enables one user to browse through a host’s media catalog without disturbing other users.

One important feature is that it involves content collected to augment media that is played or streamed by the host Apple TV like a user starting a movie through the iOS device and then leaves the remote app to search for trivia on the web. Whatever information is gathered outside the remote control app can be sent to the host device for display irrespective of it being an overlay, other means of presentation or a sidebar.

Besides the operational enhancements, Apple has also been aware of the client devices that can be paired with an Apple TV through proximity sensor technology with support for iBeacon. With Apple TV software, the updated version 6.1 that had been launched in March, the set top streamer can scan for compatible devices through Bluetooth.

Apple’s new updated iOS 8

With the disruption of the key features of the updated iOS on thousands of iPhone, Apple recently issued a follow-on version of the software in order to put things right and the new updated iOS 8.0.2 is now made available to the consumers.

Apple’s public image has been affected on the discovery that the iPhone 6 Plus can be bent, though it will now take some time to improve upon it. The company has stated that iOS 8.0.2 can fix issues that affected iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users downloading iOS 8.0.1 as well as includes improvements and fixes bugs originally in iOS 8.0.1.

The company also extended its apology for inconveniencing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who were affected by the bug in iOS 8.0.1. The effect of the bug was overwhelming wherein on downloading iOS 8.0.1, users starting reporting that their iPhones were not capable of connecting to a cellular network in order to make calls. Besides this, the Touch ID fingerprint sensors on certain devices were not working and the people had problems in unlocking their phones.

iOS 8 Compatible with any Version of iPhone 4S

Apple acted quickly by putting a stop to the update of 8.0.1 stating that they were investigating on the issue of the problem with an assurance that 8.0.2 would soon be ready in the next few days and also issued a workaround for those users who had lost cell service or the use of the Touch ID feature.

According to the company, the problem only affected less than 40,000 iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices when the latest models had only arrived recently and according to Apple, the first weekend of sales had reached 10 million of the devices which had been made available to consumers two days earlier bringing in a number of new features and fixes.

The iOS 8 is compatible with any version of iPhone 4S or later and the fifth generation iPod Touch and any iPad which has been released from the second generation while some features like Apple Pay seem to be specific to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Other changes are that the latest software tackles long standing issues with iOS’ notification system, the iCloud services and its tie-ins with Apple’s desktop OS X software.

Aim to Improve `Reliability’ of `Reaching’ Feature

Moreover it also extends into the home and health automation space with a suite of new `Kit’ apps together with developer tools. The company’s goal was to fix the bug which prevented developers in launching HealthKit app for iOS 8, in the app store as well as another bug which prevented users from uploading photos and videos from Safari.

 The update was set with the aim to improve reliability of the reaching feature on the latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus where the `reaching’ enables the user with the ease of operating the large phone with one hand.

The update was also done to correct issues like the third party keyboards, third party app access to Photo library together with ringtones not being restored from iCloud as well as the issues caused with cellular services.

iOS 8.0.1 has also set to handle the issue which had caused unexpected cellular data usage when the devices of Apple had received text messages and to provide improved support of `Ask to Buy’, for in-app purchases for Family Sharing.

Coin – Connected Device for Credit/Debit/Membership/Loyalty Cards

Coin is a connected device which has the capabilities to hold and behave like the card such as the debit, credit, gift, loyalty and membership cards and instead of carrying several cards, users can now carry one Coin. The manufacturers of Coin, which is a Bluetooth enable connected card have designed it, to help users to store magnetic stripe information for various credit as well as debit cards on one device, have recently announced the delay of its launch till next year, though they would start sending out 10,000 beta units to pre-order customers very soon.

The Coin card which is a credit card sized black plastic rectangle with an LCD screen, is priced at $100. It comprises of a programmable magnetic stripe which can be swiped through any standard card reader at a retail store etc.: and up to eight cards with magnetic stripe could be saved on the Coin card on-board memory and then by pressing small button switches between cards, it displays the currently opted card, an embedded e-ink screen, thus enabling users with less cards to carry in their purses or wallets.

Attached to an Android/iOS

Users could set up their Coin cards by swiping all their valid cards in a free Coin supplied card reader which can be attached to an Android or iOS smartphone, with a photo of each card for verification purpose and then loaded into the Coin card through a Bluetooth Low Energy – BLE, wireless connection. Individual Coin card could be paired to the Android or iOS device, resulting that if the Coin card is beyond the Bluetooth Low Energy range, which is around 150 feet, it would stop functioning.

The Coin’s screen can display the credit or debit card brand, namely American Express, MasterCard, Discover or Visaas applicable, its last 4 digits of the card number together with its date of expiry. The Coin could also be set up as a stand-alone device to enable it to work without a nearby smartphone though with less security.Around 1,000 customers have already been issued pre-production Coin units, and in lieu of the full launch, the company would be expanding it to another 10,000 and backers should be receiving emails enabling them to claim their beta device very soon.

Coin’s Announcement – Applause/Scepticism 

Coin’s announcement drew a lot of applause as well as scepticism with the possibilities of increased convenience being apparent though some pointed out the probable security implications which included the chances of financial harm that thieves could do to people swiping a single Coin instead of being forced to try for a loaded wallet.

Others criticized Coin for its lack of support for emerging chip and signature standard which had started developing with U.S card issuers. Kanishk Parashar, Coin CEO had stated that the company is yet to start the possibility of the addition of a chip and is focussed on launching its first version. He also informed CNET, that once they were through with the first shipment of Coins, they would be in a better position with enough resources to perform an R & D project.

Apple’s iOS – Spyware Proof Mobile Operating System

Apple has come out as the spyware proof mobile operating system in a test which had been conducted by surveillance software and hardware vendor.According to recent reports from Gamma Group, FinSpy spyware with the capabilities of hacking its way into a BlackBerry, an Android and older versions of Windows Phone was unable to hack an iOS unless the device has been tampered. FinSpy is the surveillance software which is marketed by Lench IT Solutions PLC along with UK based branch Gamma International Ltd in Andover, England as well as a German based branch Gamma International GmbH in Munich.

The spyware is marketed through law enforcement channels and Gamma International being a subsidiary of the Gamma Group, specializes in monitoring and surveillance inclusive of equipment, training services and software.This software can be installed on targeted computers to exploit security lapses in update procedures on unsuspected software.

Details have been leaked from the Gamma Group that a piece of its spyware FinSpy had been used to find out if various mobile platform could hold back snooping attempts made on phone calls, contacts as well as other data, wherein in the document envisaged by Washington Post and considered by Cult of Mac, FinSpy is said to be designed to help Law Enforcement and the Intelligence Agencies to monitor remotely, tablet and mobile phones devices.

FinSpy Capable of Full Access 

The software suite is marketed in Arabic, English, German, Portuguese, French and Russian, all across the globe at trade shows, offering intelligence support, ISS training as well as products to law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

It has the capabilities of taking control of target computers as well as capture encrypted data and communication with the use of enhanced remote deployment methods which can be installed on target computers and FinSpy can obtain full access to all phone calls, address book, text messages as well as microphone through silent phone calls.

Moreover it also has the potential to trace a device anddetermine its location. FinSpy has gained a lot of reputation since it is being used by law enforcement and government agencies as a powerful though a controversial tool for snooping into mobile devices and hence the ranking of iOS in the Gamma Group’s document from April, is a possible Apple security.

FinSpy Possible only Through Jailbreak

From the major mobile platforms cited in the document all were susceptible to FinSpy and the spyware was capable to access its way into Android of all versions, BlackBerry, Symbian as well as Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5, though Windows Phone 8 is not supported so far by the software.

As per Gamma team, the iOS version 4.3 x, 5 x, 6 x, and 7.0 x seemed to be vulnerable to FinSpy which was possible only through jailbreak and as per their observations and explanation, it states that the iOS target can only be installed if it is jailbroken devices.

Generally, Apple’s security are considerable tight especially in the mobile world, though not impregnable and researchers at Georgia Tech have reportedly made a way to hack an iOS device according to Wired source, through one caveat, wherein a USB can be connected to a hacked computer

Apple’s Server Side Data Swipe

Apple has sent email informing all its registered developers that the company will be performing a server side data swipe onall CloudKit public as well as private data based stores on Monday, July 7th for iOS 8beta and OS X Yosemite.

This is inclusive of iCloud Photo Library, iCloud Drive and Mail Drop which are the three affected services. Apple has warned developers that this could happen with the release of the first iOS beta which is not uncommon for wipes to occur on several occasions during iOS and OS X beta cycles.

Files affected from Mail Drop and iCloud Drive will not get transferred across automatically at the time of release of the next beta seed while photos and videos will automatically be restored since they are not deleted from local storage which means that all videos and photos stored in the iCloud Photo Library will get wiped but they will remain on the iOS 8device from where they originated and will automatically upload again after the data resetting.

 iCloud Drive will then have to be capable to re-enable through the Setup Assistant after upgrading where all Mail Drop attachment will be deleted following the wipe and need to be sent again.

Wipe Ahead of iOS 8 Beta 3

The new seed of iOS 8and OS X Yosemite is likely to follow this data wipe as operating systems of these news seeds are already due. If this data wipe is not unusual, it does comes at an interesting point of time with suggestions that are not surprising and iOS 8 beta 3 as well as the third party OS X Yosemite Developer Preview could be somewhere round the corner.

The wipe has come a day ahead of the rumoured launch date of iOS 8 beta 3 and also the probable date of the third Yosemite Developer Preview. Apple normally seeds early version of its iOS beta operating system on two weeks intervals which tends to move on to three week intervals late for the testing period where OS X new versions have also followed on the similar update pattern during the past as well. iOS 8 as well as OS X Yosemite are expected to be released in the fall to the public after a long beta testing period.

Both Beta Updates to be Released Soon

Apple’s second betas of iOS 8and Yosemite came two weeks after the software was first provided to developers during the Worldwide Developers Conference and since the updates were seeded, it’s been three weeks.

Though it is not official, there is usually an interval of two week each for beta release. We are now approaching the 3 week mark with iOS 8 beta 3 and the second OS X Yosemite Preview being available since June 17 and probably the beta updates for both would be released soon.

The wipe would probably be a further proof that Apple plans to release iOS 8 beta 3 on July 8th a day following the reset of databases. Since Apple often releases new iOS betas once every few weeks hence a Tuesday release would be making sense and the iOS 8 together with the OS X Yosemite would be released to the public, probably pre-installed on the next generation new Macs and iPhone 6.

DoAT, the iOS app help you to post Google+

You have an iPhone, you read something really interesting on your phone and want to share it on Google+. But, alas, you do not have a way to do it. Fret not, there is something interesting out there and it is called DoAT. Pronounced Do@, this wonderful application allows you to share and post on Google+ on your iPhone.

The latest application from the iPhone stable, supports sharing of content from within this app to Google+. Now you may ponder as how this is possible, as sharing from within one app to Google+ has always been impossible. DoAT uses the mobile version of Google+ for enabling this sharing. This is how you go about it.
When you are browsing on your iPhone using the app and find any page which you feel is very interesting and would want to share it on Google+, all you need to do is hit the G+ icon and a new web browser will open within the DoAT application. What happens next is the surprising part. The name of the page you are planning to share along with a link will automatically be inserted. It will also notify that the sharing is happening from your iPhone via the DoAT. That’s smart marketing, especially when you are introducing a new app in the market. In fact, the social area of DoAT now includes Google+ as well, apart from Facebook.

Let me tell you that this app is not something I can call very legitimate, as it uses a bit of trickery to go around Google+ and with very good reason. This is because Google has not released an API for accessing Google+ and that is exactly the reason DoAT goes around and uses the mobile version to get its work done. This app blends social websites and information portals, thereby picking a category that most matches your phrase or key word as you enter it.

A new app is always a great asset, no matter what value it brings along. Every app will find users and more so when it is connected to Google+, which has around 20 million users worldwide, a number not easy to ignore. All said, two big companies in tech world will not approve of such a bridge so easily, especially coming in the wake of some fierce battling in the tech skies of late, and if you think you want to buy it from the apple app store, then this might take more time than anticipated. There are of course different app stores from where you can pick this up.

How to Play YouTube Videos in the Background on iOS

YouTube is becoming a massive web portal which leads you to get any video or audio over the internet. It is supposed to be the world largest website that provides you millions of videos that you can easily watch over the various devices you have. You can view any video that is present over the youtube.com and it’s totally free of cost. You can run the videos on your device and you can perform various tasks while you were on the work. These things were only possible in the desktop computer only; but in case of mobile devices you should play videos only if you’re using that in the foreground only. YouTube mobile app doesn’t support playing of videos in the background of the mobile. Suppose if you’re switching to any other application, then the app will pause the video in the mobile device.


But you can perform this trick in your mobile too. In this post, you can easily learn how to easily play YouTube videos in the background of the mobile which let you to perform various tasks on your mobile device.

In order to play the YouTube video on your mobile, you need only two things. The first one is Safari browser and next one is YouTube mobile application on your mobile.

Just open the safari browser on your iOS device and also open the YouTube on your device; play your favorite videos on the YouTube website and hear it on the device. Now tap home button in your device to go to the Home screen of the device; then switch to another application. Then you can notice that your video has been stopped playing. Now open the control panel by swiping the bottom screen of your device. Tap the play button in the control panel and you can see the video has been playing on the device. Now you can swipe to any application in your device; now you can see the video is playing on the device. You can perform various applications while the audio streams in the background of the device.

Suppose your device is not upgraded to iOS 7, then you can use the same technique to hear the audio while performing other tasks. Instead of swiping the bottom screen to open the control panel, you can simply open the control panel by double tapping the home button and press the play button to play the video in the background of the screen.

Siri an IOS application keeps your data for 2 years!

iOS voice assistant Sire has been in a mini-controversy from yesterday, users and American media who wish to know the duration of data retention. This night, the answer came from Apple. If you are using an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad with Siri, the built-in the latest versions of iOS voice assistant, then it allows Apple to keep your demands, actions and history for a period of two years. Specifically, these data are sent to servers of the Apple giant, and are stored.

Following an article published yesterday by Wired, citing concerns about the private data of users of Siri, Apple responded to the newspaper, allowing him to disclose this information. In yesterday's article, Wired activists raised issues about the criticality of privacy, lack of transparency annoyed Apple on its policies. In the aftermath, the newspaper said, Apple spokesman, Tracy Muller, called them to explain them more. This is their explanation: When using Siri, the data is sent to Apple's servers for analysis. A random number is associated with the user - no connection with the name or Apple ID.

After six months, the saved query - including voice - saw its number erased. It continues to exist, associated with new requests sent, but no longer appears on the dated more than six months of data. These "anonymous" data is then stored again for an additional 18 months, says Wired. Siri FAQ clearly lacks transparency. While Apple states that if Siri is disabled, all data is deleted immediately, and this information is available in the Siri settings but it is iniufficient, according to advocates of privacy.