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New Case from Fotodiox Promises to Remove Purple Lens Flare on iPhone

Of all iPhone 5’s shortcomings, one of them may actually be a benefit to another company. This shortcoming comes by way of the iPhone 5’s camera with its purple lens flare problem. Fotodiox, based in Illinois, has just developed a new iPhone 5 case that promises to “greatly reduce...

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SilentSense Phone Security

Posted by jthompson | Posted in Consumer Electronics | Posted on 07-10-2013

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If you are an avid Apple user, then you probably know that the iPhone 5s features a new way to secure your phone. Instead of having to type in a passcode, the iPhone now has a touch ID sensor, which allows you to scan your fingerprint, and use that as a secure way to access your phone. Like you would expect, many other phone companies are following suit and creating their own versions of apples touch ID sensor, but some researchers are taking a different approach to this idea.

Cheng Bo and his colleagues, Lan Zhang and Xiang-Yang Li at the Illinois Institute of Technology have been working on their own version of the touch sensor ID that they call “SilentSense.” In it’s initial testing this system identified it’s owner correctly with a staggering 99% accuracy when used on an andriod phone. Instead of storing the owners fingerprint data, the SilentSense stores specific things like the size of the owners fingertip, how much pressure they put on the phone, and even the owners cellphone habits including the way they walk while holding their phone.

Although the iPhone 5s’s fingerprint scanner is pretty impressive, the ideas that it is spawning are even more unique and practical. Bo’s SilentSensor is truly a smart machine, it’s ability to learn who it’s owner is with such incredible accuracy will definitely give iphone’s touch ID sensor a run for it’s money. I am very excited to see what other advancements are coming up with this innovative technology.

iOS 7 Update Precaution

Posted by jthompson | Posted in Consumer Electronics | Posted on 25-09-2013

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With Apple brand new iOS7 update finally here, there are a few things that need to be addressed before we all rush to download the new update. Precautions must me taken. I’m not saying your phone will explode or anything of the sort, but if you would rather not spend hours and hours asking all of your friends for their contact information, it would be wise to know what steps you should take before you jump into the new update

To all the Apple mobile device users reading this, we are all aware of the issues with the iOS6 software that we dealt with. While they all not be completely detrimental to how we worked our devices, they were still enough of a bother that it made some of us less than excited. Some of these issues was loss of contacts and other various information. The answer to this loss of information is simple; Back up your data. Make sure all of your contacts, music, photos, etc. are backed up via iCloud, just in the event that the new update should wipe these documents and other files clean.head first. Nothing wrong with being too prepared!

There is nothing wrong with taking extra measures to make sure your data doesn’t get erased. Losing all of your photos and music can be extremely annoying. I speak from experience! Just make sure you back up  all your information before diving into the new update today. Better to be safe than sorry!

iPhone 5 Finger scanner

Posted by jthompson | Posted in Consumer Electronics | Posted on 20-09-2013

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 With the release of the new iPhone 5, there has been quite the amount of buzz circulating around a certain feature of the new phone. As many of us have seen in the spy movies, finger scanners just give off that “cool” vibe when it comes to security. It has also always given a more secure feeling to most people that either like their privacy or business associates with important information regarding their work. But how secure is it really?

There have been quite a few scary concerns recently regarding the new security feature. Some have even been worried that thieves may even go to extremes to unlock a phone cut a finger off. Apple has made sure to address even this extreme of an issue and has stated that the finger has to be “alive and attached” to the body still. Extreme but not unheard of. But even with this level of security, it still something that consumers are concerned about. Apple as gone on to elaborate that pass codes will still be a reigning factor in security, but will be more used as a failsafe.

Now that the iPhone 5s and 5c are here now, the implications and overall effectiveness of this feature will now be able to really be put to the test. The idea has been tinkered with for a while now, but is now viewed by some to be the start of a new revolution in security measures. Now that a large scale company such as Apple has “opened the floodgates”, so to speak, I feel it’s safe to say that we should all be expecting the competitive market to take notice and fall suit. Personally, I wouldn’t mind feeling like James Bond every time I pulled my phone out.

 

The Apple iMessage Fiasco

Posted by jthompson | Posted in Consumer Electronics | Posted on 17-09-2013

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By: Michael Luciano

How many times have you been in the middle of an extremely important text or getting ready to send the ending of your crazy night to your friend, only to find out that it never went through. Well you are not alone. There have been many iMessage users who have been having issues with texts not sending. But what exactly is causing the problem with the iMessage program? What is the solution to the problem should it ever be fixed?

This problem has been completely consistent with one key factor; it is only happening with iPhone owners. That being said, the issue has finally been diagnosed. It appears that the reason behind the texting issue, is the when an iPhone user switches to a non Apple phone without switching off the iMessage, Apple is still under the impression that the user is still using an iPhone. This leads to the text sending to the number that is still associated with the iMessage service that was not turned off. The problem is something that Apple has been dealing with on multiple accounts, but have come up with a few solutions for it.

The main solution Apple has been suggesting, along with a few other carrier providers, is to un-register the phone via the users Apple profile page. There have been a few other solutions brought up, but this appears to be the main solution to go to. It was stated that Apple has been notified by a few carriers already about the issue but has stated that they show no interest in funding any type of research that could get rid of the problem altogether. While it may not be the biggest deal, it is still an inconvenience that Apple should put a bit more interest in, in my opinion.