tagged w/ Apps
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In yet another Smartphone-related push to increase the intensity of the global police state, a “new” company, CrimePush, has released a smartphone app that will allow individuals greater ability to report “crimes” in real time.
The CrimePush app, which is now available on iTunes, is being touted as “the latest in mobile technology to provide urban populations with fast, discrete, and intelligent safety assistance.” This follows on the heels of similar Big Brother apps such as PatriotApp, which merged phones with American security and law enforcement agencies via the Internet, allowing for one-touch reporting of suspicious activities that could be perceived as threats to the Homeland.
Essentially, after the free app is downloaded, one need only access the app in order to record and report a crime to police. As Anushay Hossein of Forbes describes, “A package of information including the location of the crime, photo, video, audio, and text description of the crime are sent to authorities immediately. The application also allows for users to report crime anonymously so that they may continue with their busy lives knowing that with a push of a button, police will know and have everything to pursue the criminal.”
CrimePush co-founder, Eman Pahlevani, explains the alleged importance of the app a bit further by saying:
There are often situations when calling the police is not an option. There are other times when inconvenience or fear of reprisal prevents one from reporting an incident. Featuring the ability to take a photo, record video and audio, and provide a description of the incident, citizens can now be assured that their phone has the capability to alert family, friends, and the authorities at the push of a button, should a threat arise.
Pahlevani continues,
Often people are witnesses to crimes, such as sexual assault and robbery, but do not take the time or effort to call the police. There are other times when personal security is at stake and there is no discreet method of alert.”
While it is likely that CrimePush will receive glowing endorsements from the corporate media, law enforcement, and various trend-oriented communities (particularly those in large cities), one must pause for a moment to examine both the effectiveness of the technology, as well as its true purpose.
For instance, one must wonder if this app is any more effective at reporting true crimes (meaning violent crimes such as robbery, sexual assault, physical violence, etc.) than the technology already available. Anyone with a smartphone already has the capability to take video and audio recordings and depict incidents in text format. The only thing CrimePush does is allow that information to be sent to police faster.
However, consider for a second what this would involve. If one were to witness a sexual assault taking place, would one then whip out their smartphone and begin taking video/audio of the incident in order to send that information to police if one was afraid of being attacked themselves? Wouldn’t the act of videotaping and recording a crime thus make the individual doing the recording a likely target as well?
Not only that, but it is highly unlikely that an individual who is prone to simply ignore a violent crime taking place due to the inconvenience of the situation, will now reverse the content of their character, stick around and record the crime (which they could have done before), and then send that information on to police. Indeed, the lack of concern that the average person has for the well-being of their fellow citizen cannot be changed by virtue of a ridiculous smartphone app.
But, one might ask, what about situations in which one’s own safety is an issue?
Likewise, the idea that this new app would be useful in any practical fashion where one is in danger is comical to say the least.
Imagine for a second that you are being held up by your average run of the mill street thug. He has a gun (or knife, your choice) and is demanding your money, your car, or that you come with him. Immediately, you spring into action by whipping out your Smartphone and accessing your CrimePush app. Of course, this is presuming he hasn’t already taken your phone and that he won’t do so once you produce it.
But, for the sake of argument, let’s say you still have your phone, which you now have to begin typing on or using some other method to send your crime report to the police. You now notice the look of surprise and anger on the criminal’s face at the fact that you are using your phone during the course of being assaulted (or robbed, again your choice) so, in order to diffuse the situation and assuage his concern, you cleverly respond by saying, “It’s cool. I’m just sending a text. I’m totally not calling the police.” The police then arrive shortly thereafter and save the day. The puzzled criminal is then lead away in handcuffs wondering what could have possibly gone wrong.
Somehow, I’m just not buying that CrimePush will work this way.
However, the area in which CrimePush may be effective is in that of non-violent crimes, drug crimes, “suspicious activity,” political protest, and “subversive speech” etc. – all areas where police and other government agencies have been quite adept at pursuing, prosecuting, and convicting for many years without the aid of smartphone apps.
But while sexual assault, robbery, and murder will not likely be prevented or even successfully prosecuted by technologies such as CrimePush, crimes like drug use obviously will. Ironically, those individuals committing “crimes” which are non-violent and victimless in nature provide much less of a perceived threat in the minds of those witnessing the “crime.” It is for this reason that they are more likely to be taped and reported than an individual who is committing a real act of violence.
But, as we all know, reports to police will not be limited to criminals, violent or not. Individuals carrying weapons for self-defense are at a special risk for becoming targets of apps like CrimePush. After all, city dwellers in many areas have been trained to be generally terrified of weapons . . . at least when they are not attached to police in black stormtrooper uniforms.
Indeed, in a period where virtually every behavior can now be considered a crime, Constitutionally protected rights like free speech may even be reported to “authorities,” as apps like CrimePush become more popular amid a climate of programmed paranoia and a "See Something, Say Something" culture.
“Racist” speech or “homophobic” speech may be classified as “bullying,” the new trendy term used by a society which has been trained to be terrified of standing up for itself. Likewise for “threatening” speech which can simply be considered threatening because of the tone of voice.
Given the unbelievable levels of brainwashing experienced by Americans every day, it is highly possible that situations could occur where innocent people are reported to police simply for having a point of view that is considered outside the mainstream. A passerby, for instance, may hear a father lecturing another parent as to why their child should not be vaccinated, and why he does not vaccinate his own child. Given the right passerby, the right cop, or the right social worker, one could easily see how the ever-expanding powers of the State could then be called in via agencies like CPS to remove the child from the home.
(more @ link)
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/02/push-toward-snitch-culture-new-app.htmlIn yet another Smartphone-related push to increase the intensity of the global police... more
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The iPad technology is growing in popularity and effectiveness, and it is no different
among the medical community. There are an incredible amount of apps that allow students, teachers, and health professionals to teach and learn anatomy and more. The FDA has even approved a mobile tool that allows radiologists to view, disagnose, and approve treatment plans on the go.
link: http://www.onlineradiologyschools.org/20-apps-all-radiologists-should-have-on-their-
ipads.htmlThe iPad technology is growing in popularity and effectiveness, and it is no different... more
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The Android Market and Apple App Store are locked in constant battle for the hearts and
minds of mobile device users. Although Apple still holds a lead in the total number of app
offerings, its dominance looks to be diminishing. But fear not, Apple fan boys: Team iOS
still holds an overwhelming lead in terms of app purchase revenue.
link:http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/12/ios-revenues-vs-android/The Android Market and Apple App Store are locked in constant battle for the hearts... more
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In a sexual health initiative, Beijing authorities are giving away free condoms to its citizens via a custom-made iPhone app called FreeCondom...In a sexual health initiative, Beijing authorities are giving away free condoms to its... more
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Source: http://snd.sc/vxQC4B
HIP HOP SLOWS DOWN AND GROWS UP by Carol Sigman Online Music Watchdog:
Never before in the history of Hip Hop, or it's culture has there been a single rap record created that allows today's hip hop heads, as well as non hip hop heads alike to take there partner by the hand and slow drag to thehttp://snd.sc/vxQC4B record,That's right I said “slow drag!” Wow, remember that form of dancing in the blue light basement parties in Brooklyn back in the 70's and 80's? Well unlike the current records that have been released over the years by artist such as Drake and Lil Wayne to respectfully name a few, I discovered an online joint that took me back to my younger years of pot smoking, class skipping ,and basement slow dragging parties all in one and it wasn't a traditional songster or even a singer for that matter this joint was, get this, performed by an artist known internationally as Gangster rapper! according to some of the online Google results I got when I started looking into this song I heard Sunday October 30th
I was in the kitchen of my small Brooklyn apartment when my 17 year old son asked if he could use our shared computer, like most of the time I said sure, no problem, I'd say about 20 minutes past when I noticed my son in the living room with the head phones on and his eyes closed nodding his head to this record, I panicked a little bit because my son is generally a very hyper teen music listener, and I usually hear small amounts of change jingling in his pockets or see him lip syncing and bouncing around to what ever he's listening too, but not that day. I walked up to him, pulled the headphones off one ear and asked him flat out, “alright Jamal, what girl got you listening to grown folks music?”
My son replied this ain't your grown folks music ma, this is our grown folks music
[referring to his age group]
So I asked him to start the record over, and he did, and I asked him, “Jamal,is this dude rapping to this music” and he said “yeah ma” I asked him who the rapper was and he said “Scarecrow”, I said “who?” and he said “his name is Hector but sometimes people call him Scarecrow”. I asked my son to burn me a copy of the song on a CD for my car and he did. Monday I called off from work to catch up on my house cleaning and get ready for trick or treaters, and take some me time, later that morning I Googled “Hector Scarecrow” and saw 423,000 hits for an Atlanta producer named Lord Hector Diono, and the song I was listening to was a joint called
“I Don't Know The Plan”. I saw it on soundcloud.com, but at the time I couldn't download this song my folder, it was streaming only and after that I started searching the web, I located him on facebook, linkedin, myspace, and a host of other sites all over the internet, so I sent him a private request on facebook. I asked Hector if it would be okay with him if I blogged my story about how I heard the first rap slow jam ever made and it was his song, and he sent me his phone number to discuss my request since I don't work for him, in short we spoke for about 15 minutes and to my surprise Hector sounds like a Caribbean gigolo on the phone {smiles} he said to me, “sure darling I don't see why not” WOW.. he sounded so good to me but enough of that, he even fixed it online where I'd be able to download this song for free after I explained to him that I couldn't download it because of the player settings and he fixed it just for me! Carol from Brooklyn! Hector told me that if I was going to blog him to be sure I spelled his name right and announce that it will be on iTunes on Saturday November 12 and to download his free Android app from https://market.android.com he didn't know I had found that info on the internet already I was going to write that anyway (smiles)
Thank you Lord Hector Diono for giving Hip Hop a reason to hold their lady every now and again. Carol Sigman from Brooklyn!Source: http://snd.sc/vxQC4B
HIP HOP SLOWS DOWN AND GROWS UP by Carol Sigman... more
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GiveMeApps opened its doors last month and managed to snag 130 developers and over 10,000,000 page views in its first month. The new app store touted as an "App Mall" supports iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Web OS, Windows Phone 7, Symbian and Facebook apps. Developers can include their apps in their comprehensive and easily searchable App Directory via links from existing app stores, or upload and sell their apps directly for 100% download revenue, something no other app store currently offers.
Additionally, Developers can create their own profiles which GiveMeApps calls "Store Fronts". There, developers can provide links to their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all other social media accounts, embed their RSS/Blog/Newsfeeds directly on the site, showcase all of their products in a catalog-like fashion, upload their own free ads, and even embed and display all of their product demo videos from YouTube or any other video site. This conveniently allows users to visit "developer stores" and browse through their material and services on their smartphone, tablet or desktop as if they were in an actual store, letting developers do business and showcase their goods from one location.
App lovers can download apps, rate and review apps, create their own profiles, play on-site single and multi-player games, participate in forum discussions, search for jobs and employment opportunities, contact developers directly, troubleshoot device problems, take part in daily polls and enter to win lots of prizes through frequent giveaways. There is also a daily app recommendation by platform type called "Today's App".
Account creation is free and anyone can log in using Facebook and Twitter. The site has both a Desktop and Mobile component with all features available to both.
http://givemeapps.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=28:new-app-store-promises-support-for-all-phones-tablets-and-lots-of-services&Itemid=524GiveMeApps opened its doors last month and managed to snag 130 developers and over... more
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Recently an app called "Phone Story" was pulled by Apple because it exposed the horrendous working conditions at Foxconn's factory in China. Sign this petition to help put an end to all this:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/end-apples-labor-abuse/Recently an app called "Phone Story" was pulled by Apple because it exposed... more
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Technology has created a way to bring our love of reading right to our finger tips, without the hassle of hauling around heavy books. These are 25 amazing apps for the iPhone and iPad
that include book and news readers, tools to help you study, and even apps so you can enjoy
reading during a commute or during your down time.
link:http://librarysciencedegree.org/25-awesome-iphone-and-ipad-apps-for-book-lovers/Technology has created a way to bring our love of reading right to our finger tips,... more
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Investment legend Roger McNamee says mobile has already killed search. Smartphone users hardly use search. Is Google no longer the gatekeeper to the web, business, the world? Will Google+ put them back in the money? Does today’s ‘Facebook for business’ launch roll the dice once again?Investment legend Roger McNamee says mobile has already killed search. Smartphone... more
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jwag57
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7 months ago
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Science is often an essential part of your education and degree, but it doesn't have to be boring. Science can also be fun through the help of these amazing iPad apps.You'lllearn while being entertained.
link:http://www.asdegree.org/20-incredibly-entertaining-ipad-apps-for-science-nuts/Science is often an essential part of your education and degree, but it doesn't... more
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jwag57
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added this
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7 months ago
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Wow, I can’t believe that it’s been four whole years since we started dating. It only seems like yesterday when your camera only had 2 megapixels and you still had your cute baby fat which I was really attracted to. You were such a simpler girlfriend back then, so much nicer, you used to be so attentive to my needs, God I miss those days. Over the years you’ve changed. You started working out, tanning, getting your hair colored and even started yoga even though you said you hated it. You’ve started dressing different now that you’re so svelte and it seems you hardly even notice me anymore since you’ve become so “Hollywood”. I’ve just become “that guy who carries me around”, and that really hurts because I have a name damnit.
I remember when you used to weigh 135 grams. Yes I said it, I know you don’t want anyone to know how big you used to be, but since our relationship is going downhill, I’m going to air out all of our dirty laundry right here, right now! I used to lovingly lug you around in my pocket, and trust me it wasn’t easy back then, but sacrifice is how relationships work. I loved you, and you loved me and nothing else mattered. But now you have competition with that new sexy Android slut, and even though I would never look at her in a lustful way, your jealousy is getting the best of you. I understand if you’re looking for a way out of what we have, but let me tell you, you’re making a huge mistake. She’s sexy yes, but you are my true love! True, I may have held her a couple of times and commented on her gigantic screen, but none of that matters. You’re way hotter than her. I don’t care if you enlarged your screens, got lasik surgery for better sight, increased your knowledge with those fancy French and pottery classes you’ve been taking. I don’t care that you’ve lost 3.5 mm from your waist, I used to adore those cute love handles. Remember how I would grab on to those babies? Smacking that ass, your loud ringtones going off, and how hot your battery charger used to get when I was all up in … sorry … I’m losing focus, but you know what I mean.
I hope this letter reaches you well, and I really do hope that you’ve found your true happiness out there wherever it may be. But just know that there’s a guy out there that still really cares about you regardless of what you look like, because he knows the real you and I don't even care that you've gained 2 grams over the years. A guy who will always be there for you if you ever choose to return, and still smiles when he thinks about the fun times we used to have in the car with Shazam.
Happy BirthdayWow, I can’t believe that it’s been four whole years since we started... more
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Day 3 of Shama Kabani blog, top social media expert, shares the events, ideas and how business opportunity is now part of the landscape in post-revolution EgyptDay 3 of Shama Kabani blog, top social media expert, shares the events, ideas and how... more
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They look like apps but they’re really stealth development tools which give your customers the ability to build themselves their own app for your serviceThey look like apps but they’re really stealth development tools which give your... more
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Steve Harvey has come out with his very own app called Ask Steve. So you know NBucketTV had to do a video review on this app. Please repost this video on Facebook and twitter.Steve Harvey has come out with his very own app called Ask Steve. So you know... more
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JK Rowling saw all this coming, said the man who had just shown me a newspaper where the photos moved and talked, straight out of Harry Potter.
And yes, the application which Autonomy's Mike Lynch had demonstrated to make that happen was magical. But what I'm still not quite clear about is whether Aurasma is, as he claims, the idea that makes augmented reality go mainstream.
The app uses Autonomy's high-powered search technology - hitherto just aimed at commercial clients - to link all sorts of things it sees through a smartphones camera to other objects.
So point your phones camera at a poster for the movie Thor - and it will suddenly start playing a trailer.
Hover over the masthead of The Times or The Sun or the Daily Telegraph - and the words start to jump around, before merging into some video.
And show your camera the London Underground symbol and a cartoon starts to play with an athletics commentary, promoting the Tube as the way to get to the London Olympics.
Constructed reality
This is not working via barcodes or NFC technology but through visual recognition. Aurasma is building up a bank of images which it recognises, and sees as a cue to play the video or animate the graphic. It works not just with images on a page but with buildings, landscapes, and soon, we're promised, with people.
Mike Lynch says two advances in the last few years have made this possible. On the device side, the power of the devices is staggeringly unbelievable, and then equally amazing on the algorithm side there've been some very clever mathematical shortcuts discovered which lighten the computational load.
And what's really clever is that Aurasma allows anyone who downloads the app to create their own augmented reality content.
So you choose the image you want to augment, link it to another image or video, and upload what Autonomy calls an Aura to its servers. I tried this, putting a photo of my dog on the front page of the Financial Times, and video of myself on the front of Television Centre. Enormously pleasing, although you might struggle to see the point.
And there's the question - what's this for? Autonomy has never had a consumer product before, and it shows in the way the app is presented.
Once you've got the hang of it, cutting through the jargon of Auras, Happenings and Anywheres - the different classes of objects you create - then it is impressive. But while it does a whole lot more than other augmented reality apps, it still looks like something you might try out a couple of times, then forget.
But the primary audience is not consumers but companies. Aurasma is a free, open platform on which, according to Mike Lynch, all sorts of businesses will build all kinds of applications.
Talking heads
You're standing at a bus-stop, the adverts come to life, you're looking at menu, you can see the food, instruction manuals can show you how to put the Ikea table together.
Already, newspapers are talking about turning display adverts into video ads - which can earn them more. And movie studios are planning sightseeing tours where you see parts of a film played out in the real world.
Its a vision of a future where images, not words, become the building blocks by which we search the world and understand our surroundings.
But however keen businesses might be to exploit this technology, they will still need consumers to take an interest. Just because something is possible, it doesn't mean that we will want it.
For all its fabulous technology, has Autonomy really looked inside the minds of mobile consumers? And if it did, might it find that we don't want to walk down the streets pointing our smartphone cameras at everything around us?JK Rowling saw all this coming, said the man who had just shown me a newspaper where... more
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pdy
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9 months ago
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ast year I started working for a company here in San Francisco that writes apps for the iPhone and Android. Specifically there’s one app that’s their big seller and I’m going to tell you about HearPlanet today. It’s a cool little app that replaces those guidebooks you would need to use when you travel around and it does a very good job of it.ast year I started working for a company here in San Francisco that writes apps for... more
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Many of you have been asking for updates on Jelixa and her music. Well, she now has a new Android App that you can download to your Android Phone. You can download photos, ringtones, videos, and more. Just click the link below and it will take you right to the app: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.wda.ssd.bca_64_8410
If you haven't heard jelixa's music yet, you can click on the link below and it will take you to Jango Radio right to Jelixa's songs. So enjoy the Android App, also Jelixa's music on Jango Radio....be sure to leave your comments and let us know what you think about the Android App and Jelixa's music.
Link to Jelixa's Music on Jango:
http://www.jango.com/music/Jelixa
Personal Website Link:
http://www.jelixapopartist.comMany of you have been asking for updates on Jelixa and her music. Well, she now has a... more
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A new project between Google and the Pacific Institute will help you find public drinking fountains in a jiff using your smart phone. The duo is building a new app for Android-powered phones that crowd-sources the locations of fountains in an effort to combat bottled water consumption
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gleick/detail?entry_id=87700A new project between Google and the Pacific Institute will help you find public... more
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