10 Apps That Make the Best Use of iOS 8

iOS 8 has been touted as Apple's biggest overhaul to the operating system since its launch.

However, unlike iOS 7, which had a significantly different look and feel than its predecessors, many of iOS 8's biggest changes are not immediately noticeable after downloading the update.

See also: iOS 8 Review: Widgets, Keyboards and Notifications Make a Good OS Great

That's because some of the most radical differences— like third-party keyboards, extensions and other features designed to give third-party developers more flexibility — are reliant on individual developers to take advantage of the features and optimize each app for the new tools.

Though developers have only just begun to roll out iOS 8-optimized updates to the App Store, here's a first look at some of the apps that are putting the newest version of iOS to good use. But before you go ahead and download the new software, make sure to back everything up first.

1Password

The “holy grail” of password managers that 1Password maker AgileBits teased earlier this year has arrived. The app's iOS 8 version touts an extension that allows users to fill in login credentials directly from Safari as well as some third-party apps. 1Password also takes advantage of Apple's Touch ID so users can unlock their password vault with a single tap.
The updated app is completely free with some premium features available for in-app purchase; existing users who paid for the previous version automatically get these when they update.

Box

Box’s extension allows you to easily share content between the app and other productivity apps like iWork’s suite of apps. For example, you can start in the Box app, choose a document, open it in a text editing app, and make all the changes you wish. The same goes for photos and other file types and all changes can be synced within Box.

Evernote

Evernote wasted no time in taking advantage of iOS 8. Its latest app has an extension that can be enabled in Safari for saving photos, documents and web pages as notes. It also comes with a widget that allows users to quickly create notes from within the notification center. Additionally, premium users can use Apple’s Touch ID on password protected accounts.

Pocket

One of the original “read it later” apps, Pocket now has a Safari extension so iOS users no longer have to rely on the cumbersome bookmarklet to send articles to their accounts. And when you’re using Pocket itself, you can share what you’re reading to other apps like Twitter or Evernote with one touch. The app also takes advantage of iOS’ handoff features so you can easily switch between iOS devices (and eventually OS X) without losing your place.

Instapaper

Similarly, Instapaper has gotten its own extension in iOS 8 that allows users to save content to their account s from within any app. The new app also has a 'Today' extension that displays a list of everything you’ve saved that day within the notification center on your device.

Mint

Mint.com’s personal finance app got an extra layer of security in its iOS 8 update with support for Apple Touch ID. The app already used 128-bit encryption but users no whale the additional option of using Touch ID in place of a passcode.

OmniFocus 2

The productivity app that combines to-do lists with daily task management has two new extensions in iOS. OmniFocus 2 now has a widget in the today section of the notification center in iOS that highlights daily tasks and to-dos as well as a sharing extension that enables users to share content from the web and other apps with OmniFocus.

Pinterest

Pinterest is putting extensions to smart use for the benefit of power-pinners everywhere. Anyone who has the Pinterest app can enable the extension in Chrome or Safari by adding Pinterest in the "more" menu. This allows you to pin anything while browsing, whether it be a photo, article, recipe or video.

Yahoo Weather

Yahoo Weather just gave us even more reason to open it every morning. The iOS 8-ready app now includes an animated widget for the “today” view in iOS' notification center. The main app features the same animations, which uses images of your location from Flickr’s photo library as well was weather-specific illustrations like rain, snow or fog.

LastPass

LastPass has gotten a major update complete with its own Safari extension and Touch ID functionality. Third party apps can also integrate the extension into their own apps for more streamlined logins. The app is free but certain features, including Touch ID, the Safari extension and offline access, are only available to the app’s premium users.



Original post: http://mashable.com/2014/09/18/apps-for-ios-8/

LG G3 Review and Giveaway

Most of us want more or less the same things out of a smartphone: It has to be fast; the screen has to be nice and crisp; the camera should be decent, and its software shouldn’t be terrible. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

 

Then again, how can phone makers give us this while still offering exceptional devices? All too often, standout features disappoint — be it HTC’s UltraPixel camera or Samsung’s fingerprint reader. With the G3, LG tackles this by offering simplicity. It promises minimum gimmicks, and maximum utility and style. Or, as LG would have us believe, “simple is the new smart.”

The Competition

The G3 is LG’s flagship smartphone. Every smartphone maker has one. Let’s run through its peers — but instead of looking at the raw numbers, I’ll note what is each phone’s claim to fame. They’re all powerful and fast, so what makes each different?

• Samsung Galaxy S5: It’s waterproof, has a replaceable battery, and a fingerprint sesnor. The LG G3 doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor (it has something better, as you’ll see in a moment), nor is it waterproof. You can replace the battery though. 
• Sony Xperia Z2: Another waterproof phone, with an all-glass build and a 20.7-megapixel camera with a large sensor. Unlike the LG G3, the Z2 does not have a laser-assisted autofocus feature.
• HTC One M8: Sets itself apart mainly in the industrial design department, with HTC’s premium looks. Has an “Ultrapixel” camera that’s purported to do well in low-light situations. No user replaceable battery.

The LG G3 In a Nutshell

  The LG G3 has a couple of standout features, so let’s start with those: Its 5.5-inch display clocks in at an impressive 1440 by 2500 pixels, which yields a pixel density of 534 PPI. That’s pretty crazy. The other standout feature is its camera focus system, which relies on a laser beam. That’s right, lasers! The future is here.

  The next thing you’ll notice about the G3 is its unorthodox button layout: Rather than having the power and volume button on the sides or top of the device, LG placed them on the phone’s curved back. It sounds like an odd spot, but it’s actually great. You can easily reach the volume and power buttons, no matter which hand you hold the phone with. Because of this layout, you’ll be touching the phone’s back quite a bit. It’s made of plastic, but it feels quite good in the hand. The G3 doesn’t have a dedicated camera button — but it does offer a quick way to launch the camera when the screen is off, as you’ll see in the camera section below

Apart from these features, the LG G3′s hardware specifications are standard Android flagship, circa mid-2014: Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a MicroSD card slot, 13 megapixel camera, Adreno 330 GPU, and Snapdragon 801 chipset. The front-facing camera lets you take those all-important selfies at 2.1 megapixels. It has an IR blaster which lets you use the device as a remote control, and a user-replaceable 3000mAh battery that easily lasts through a day of heavy use. Sadly, it isn’t waterproof.There’s a speaker at the back side of the phone, and it’s reasonably loud — but it’s still definitely a smartphone speaker. There’s only so much you can do with a tiny speaker. Its connection is a standard Micro-USB, unlike the Galaxy S5 which uses the newer and wider USB 3.0 connector.

Knock Knock, Who’s There?

With so many Android flagship phones touting virtually identical hardware, phone makers try to distinguish themselves on the software front: Take the common and important problem of keeping unwanted people out of your phone.

This is one area where LG’s ingenuity trumps Samsung’s heavy-handedness: Samsung, desperate to go head-to-head with Apple, shipped the Galaxy S5 with a clunky and terrible fingerprint sensor that fails more often than it works. LG looked at this and went a totally different route: Rather than adding on one more sensor, why not solve the problem with software?
That’s where its Knock Code comes in. One of the G3′s most celebrated features, Knock Code divides the phone’s capacious screen into four quadrants. With the screen off, tap out a code only you know (top-right, bottom-right, bottom-right), and the phone unlocks. Your code can be up to eight knocks long, and when it works, it’s very cool.
In practice, the G3′s Knock Code works considerably more reliably than the Galaxy S5′s fingerprint sensor — but it isn’t perfect. As the phone rattled around in my pocket, the screen would register random taps. I would then take the phone out to use it, only to be confronted with a screen that says I must now enter my backup PIN code due to too many failed attempts to unlock the screen with Knock Code.

Camera and Focus

The LG G3′s camera is very good. It uses optical image stabilization, so images are usually blur-free. And it focuses fast — the laser-assisted focus truly delivers. There are multiple focus areas you can tap on to very quickly (and accurately) change the focus, and there’s face recognition, too.

One thing the G3 does particularly well which I hadn’t seen mentioned elsewhere, including LG’s own promotional materials, is take panoramas. The camera’s panorama feature produces images that are virtually free of stitching lines and other artifacts, and is fast and easy to use.

Bottom Line

I often use a phone for an entire month when I review it. My own personal test is: Would I keep this phone? Do I feel a slight twinge putting it back into its box, to await a lucky winner? In this case, yes, and yes. This one’s a keeper.

  The LG G3 is a superb phone — one of the best Android smartphones on the market today.

 Original Post: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/lg-g3-review-and-giveaway/

Larry Page wants a Google 2.0 that will build cities and airports, report says

The world's got problems and the Google CEO is searching for solutions

 

As if self-driving cars, balloon-carried internet, or the eradication of death weren't ambitious enough projects, Google CEO Larry Page has apparently been working behind the scenes to set up even bolder tasks for his company. The Information reports that Page started up a Google 2.0 project inside the company a year ago to look at the big challenges facing humanity and the ways Google can overcome them. Among the grand-scale plans discussed were Page's desire to build a more efficient airport as well as a model city. To progress these ideas to fruition, the Google chief has also apparently proposed a second research and development lab, called Google Y, to focus on even longer-term programs that the current Google X, which looks to support future technology and is headed up by his close ally Sergey Brin.

None of these ambitions seem to be taking commercial considerations into account, at least not at their outset. More realistic and near-term goals have also been under discussion during Google 2.0 meetings, including Page's determination that location tracking should be precise "down to the inches." That would allow people to identify those around them discreetly, as well as providing information to store owners that can help customize what you're presented with as you walk through a shop. Also, just as Apple is doing with Touch ID on the iPhone, Page wants to see some form of biometric security — potentially provided by the sensors embedded in smartwatches — replacing the traditional (and traditionally insecure) written password. It's hardly a surprise to see Google thinking about the future, but the ambition illustrated in this report is strikingly grand and all-encompassing, even for a company as vast as the one Larry Page controls.

Original post: http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/18/6375233/larry-page-wants-a-google-2-0-that-will-build-cities-and-airports

 

Leaked Windows 9 screenshots reveal early version of Cortana for PC

Microsoft is busy preparing the release of its “Windows Technical Preview,” but thanks to leaked screenshots and videos we’re getting an early look at some of the features the company is working on. Alongside virtual desktops, a new Start menu, and a Notification Center, Microsoft is also bringing its Cortana digital assistant to what will likely become Windows 9. German site WinFuture has published a series of screenshots showing a very early version of Cortana in the Windows Technical Preview.

It appears reminders with location, time, and people information are supported in the Technical Preview, although the interface is clearly early. It’s likely that Microsoft will seek to combine the Cortana for Windows functionality with its new search button that has been placed on the taskbar. We understand that Cortana functionality will not be fully functional in the Windows Technical Preview as Microsoft is still working on its implementation. Microsoft is planning to update the Technical Preview regularly, so Cortana will likely debut later once it’s ready to test fully.

Original post: http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/15/6152245/windows-9-cortana-screenshots-feature

Apple expands data encryption under iOS 8, making handover to cops moot

Apple has updated its privacy policy as part of the rollout of iOS 8, announcing that devices with the latest version of the operating system installed can no longer be accessed by the company itself.

Previously, as we reported in May 2014, if law enforcement came to Apple with a seized device and a valid warrant, it was able to access a substantial portion of the data already on an iPad or iPhone. But under the latest version of iOS, even that will be impossible.

"On devices running iOS 8, your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders is placed under the protection of your passcode," the company wrote on its website Wednesday evening. "Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

Apple did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.

In an open letter also published Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook took a direct swipe at Google, its primary mobile competitor.

"Our business model is very straightforward: We sell great products. We don’t build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers," he wrote. "We don’t ‘monetize’ the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don’t read your email or your messages to get information to market to you. Our software and services are designed to make our devices better. Plain and simple."

Data Protection FTW!

The specific technical changes seem to be outlined in a new 43-page document entitled "iOS Security Guide September 2014," the company’s perfunctory list of changes for each new version of iOS. The previous version of this document, dated February 2014, referred to the company’s hardware-based proprietary file and keychain protection mechanism called Data Protection, which uses 256-bit AES key and then encrypts every new file created.

Previously, Apple only mentioned one specific company-made app—Mail—that was protected using this system, while noting that "third-party apps installed on iOS 7 or later receive this protection automatically."

Now, however, that section of the September 2014 document specifically refers to Messages, Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and Photos, which suggests that Apple has significantly expanded what data on the phone is encrypted.

Much of the subsequent language in the two documents is nearly identical in both versions:

By setting up a device passcode, the user automatically enables Data Protection. iOS supports four-digit and arbitrary-length alphanumeric passcodes. In addition to unlocking the device, a passcode provides entropy for certain encryption keys. This means an attacker in possession of a device can’t get access to data in specific protection classes without the passcode.
The passcode is entangled with the device’s UID, so brute-force attempts must be performed on the device under attack. A large iteration count is used to make each attempt slower. The iteration count is calibrated so that one attempt takes approximately 80 milliseconds. This means it would take more than 51⁄2 years to try all combinations of a six-character alphanumeric passcode with lowercase letters and numbers.

There are a few other privacy-minded changes as well.

The September 2014 document also notes that iOS 8 includes an "Always-on VPN" feature, which "eliminates the need for users to turn on VPN to enable protection when connecting to Wi-Fi networks."

It also mentions that when an iOS 8 device is not associated with a Wi-Fi network, and the processor is asleep, the device uses a randomized Media Access Control address.

"Because a device’s MAC address now changes when it’s not connected to a network, it can’t be used to persistently track a device by passive observers of Wi-Fi traffic," the document also states.

Finally, Apple also highlighted a new secure addition in Mail.

"Mail leverages certificates for authenticated and encrypted Mail by supporting S/MIME, which, as of iOS 8, permits per-message S/MIME, so S/MIME users can choose to always sign and encrypt by default, or selectively control how individual messages are protected," Apple wrote.

Original Post: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/apple-expands-data-encryption-under-ios-8-making-handover-to-cops-moot/

 

Apple Quietly Discontinued The iPod Classic

The iPod Classic quietly passed. It was 12 years old.

If you didn’t notice its death, don’t feel too bad. Apple didn’t make an announcement. It simply pulled the product from its website, while the world gawked at the Apple Watch and the fact that U2 is still around.

Go to the iPod section of the Apple site now, and you’ll see only three options:

While I couldn’t find the iPod Classic for purchase anywhere on the Apple site, I could find an iPod feedback page, where I left a parting remark.

By the time of its passing, the iPod Classic could hold an ungodly 160 GB worth of music, or 40,000 songs. You can't get that kind of storage any more, at least not in an Apple device.
Presumably, Apple killed the iPod Classic because its new generation of iPhones offers as many as 128 GB of storage. I’m no math major, but I’m pretty sure 128 is less than 160. If you want to stick with what's left of the iPod line, you’ll get 64 GB or less. That is, like, not nearly as much.
Apple introduced the original iPod in October 2001. At that time, it only had 5 GB of storage, enough for roughly 1,000 songs. Or, to put that in 2001 terms, HOLY CRAP THIS THING CAN HOLD 1,000 SONGS!?

Naturally, some people on the Internet were sad about the iPod Classic's demise.:

Every generation must watch its music-listening device of choice become obsolete. For some, it was the turntable. For others, the cassette player. Presumably people once really dug the phonograph? But for a generation of us, it will always be the iPod Classic.

 

Original post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/ipod-classic_n_5804986.html?utm_hp_ref=technology

DisplayPort 1.3 to support 5K displays, multiple 4K monitors

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) on Monday announced the DisplayPort 1.3 standard. The new standard, which will replace the existing 1.2a standard, will support 5K displays at a resolution of up to 5,120 x 2,880 (equivalent to 14.7-megapixels) across a single cable. 4K monitors, we hardly even knew you.

DisplayPort 1.3 will offer up to 32.4Gbps of single-link bandwidth split across four pipes (25.92Gbps when you factor in overhead). That is nearly twice as much as competitor HDMI 2.0 is capable of and 50 percent faster than the existing DisplayPort standard.

The HDMI competitor isn’t just for 5K monitors, however. VESA said it will also be able to drive multiple monitors through a single connection using DisplayPort's Multi-Stream feature. For example, one could run two 4K monitors – each with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 when using VESA Coordinated Video Timing.

As 9to5Mac points out, the timing of the announcement couldn’t be better as 4K monitors continue to come down in price. What’s more, multiple 5K monitors are just around the corner.

Original post: http://www.techspot.com/news/58078-displayport-13-to-support-5k-displays-multiple-4k-monitors.html