A controversial Facebook effort to expand Internet access in India that has come under withering criticism from tech activists. “Free Basics,” formerly known as Internet.org, offers a free, stripped-down version of the Internet to consumers who cannot afford a broadband connection or smartphone data plan. The service provides information on health, travel, jobs and local… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Mobile Computing
Your next phone screen could be made of sapphire
Discussion: New screens for smartphones and tablets could be made from manufactured sapphire. Sapphire is the second hardest material on the plant (second only to diamond), and would make the screens on tablets and smartphones about three times stronger than they are now. The cost to manufacture a sapphire screen is about $30 a piece, compared with glass that only… Read more »
Hands-off with the Samsung Galaxy S IV
Discussion: The new Samsung Galazxy S IV’s technology is new and exciting in the smartphone world. The no-touch features, such as Air Gesture, allow users to toggle form screen to screen, or up and down, without having to actually touch the screen. The phone will read your eyes, gestures and movements in order to perform basic functions. … Read more »
Want to complain about text spam? There’s an app for that
Discussion: As receiving spam text messages on personal cell phones has become a real problem, and reporting that spam an even bigger problem, the Android app PrivacyStar has come up with a free solution. PrivacyStar, in addition to its existing features only accessible to its subscribers, just added a free-to-use feature which will help users… Read more »
SoftBank buying 70% stake in Sprint
Discussion: Sprint Nextel has agreed to sell a majority of the company to Japenese tech giant, SoftBank. The deal may allow Sprint to compete more successfully with competitors like AT&T and Verizon, and avoid bankruptcy. Sprint is undergoing an expensive, and late, transition to 4G-LTE, and has been losing contracted customers since it announced that… Read more »
Your smartphone will (eventually) be hacked
Discussion: Security experts have warned for years that our smartphones are do for a major cyber attack. Smartphones are virtually unprotected by antivirus software, and yet they hold lots of valuable information just waiting to be accessed by outside users. One of the reasons that this hack hasn’t happened yet is that cyber attackers are… Read more »
Mobile devices offer ‘seductive’ fantasy
Discussion: Could our connected mobile devices hurt our ability to form personal relationships? Professor Sherry Turkle says yes. Because our mobile devices are always on and always on us, as a culture we never get any solitude. Solitude nurtures relationships because it allows us to reflect on our relationships and form real attachments. The devices promote… Read more »
Cable companies to expand free Wi-Fi
Discussion: Cable companies are going to begin to allow subscribers to use free Wi-Fi hotspots if they travel outside of their home network area. The companies are working on ways to store users credentials so that they will be immediately logged on, thus making it extremely easy to use. The companies believe that Wi-Fi is… Read more »
US town’s police ban pedestrians texting and walking
Discussion: A town in New Jersey has recently instituted a ban on walking and texting at the same time. In the town, there have been more than 20 accidents since the beginning of 2012 caused by pedestrians not watching where they were walking, and in just six weeks they have fined 117 texters. Those that… Read more »
Intel wants to plug a smartphone into your brain
Discussion: Intel recently released a paper on mobile computing that stated that connected devices, such as smartphones, will inevitably begin to interface with the human brain. Before this can happen, there are a few technological advancements that need to be made. The first is a lag-free operating system that anyone can use intuitively to preform any computing task…. Read more »
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