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Tech News & Commentary
Harold calling in via the App asked: ” Hey guys I was wondering, have you heard of the SS Launcher? it’s a neat little launcher for Android that has a quite a few options that you don’t normally see in other launchers. And also, I was wondering what are your comments on Ubuntu’s new mobile OS.”
SS Launcher is interesting, it starts out as a Windows Phone interface clone, but it’s so customizable that you can pretty much turn it into anything.
SS Launcher gives you the ability to resize icons and make them look like Windows active tiles, though they’re not active, but you can also replace them and just have plain text, swiping left and right lets you access other screens that are also customizable, so you can have an app drawer screen, a contacts screen, or other things, all looking almost as if you had opened an app. It’s definitely a different launcher, though it might not appeal to a huge percentage of Android users.
As for Ubuntu, it looks very cool, it looks like they put some thought into it, and it also looks somewhat confused as to what it wants to be. Ubuntu’s big thing is: “this is not a phone! don’t be silly! this is a desktop computer!,” they want you to plug in your phone to a cradle and suddenly you have a function desktop-lite on a big monitor with access to a keyboard and mouse. Admittedly that sounds cool, just as cool as it sounded when Motorola did it on the Atrix, and so far we haven’t seen anyone who uses that feature on the Atrix.
Ubuntu is also using an entirely different language for apps, it doesn’t seem to be compatible with Android apps, or anything else, which will force developers to make entirely new apps for a platform that will likely have fewer users than anyone else, even they claim to have the “fastest evolving” app ecosystem… you can declare that all apps have to be green and call it an “evolution,” evolving is not the same as growing.
The other big concern with Ubuntu Mobile is, have you used Ubuntu? As far as Linux distributions go, it’s pretty user friendly, but it still assumes a lot more technical knowledge than Windows or Mac OS X, there’s a good chance this phone OS will be the same… great low level access, super flexible for techy people, and hard to decipher for others.
We pretty much have to wait and see how polished it is, but they’re competing against huge companies, with big staffs and budgets… the open source community is big and all, but this project may not go anywhere.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Consumer Reports Feature With Donna Tapellini
Standalone e-book readers are plummeting in sales; only a third as many Americans will buy one this year as did in 2011, according to industry projections. But it may not be time to stick a fork in them just yet, says Consumer Reports. Senior Editor Donna Tapellini is here to tell us why you should still consider buying an e-book reader.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.
• Listener Richard in Atlanta recommends: Sandisk Memory Zone, FREE
- “Sandisk Memory Zone. its free from the android market. what the app does is back your information or entire phone to an sd card, cloud, dropbox, box, google drive, sugaysync, skydrive, even Facebook. I don’t know who would want to back up to FB. Its a great app. is you need to reset your phone, you can do that now and restore from this back up. the app can even back up every day, week month, whatever you want.”
• Walterio recommends: Runkeeper, FREE
- “Walterios favorite app of the week is a fitness app called “RUNKEEPER”, this app allows you to keep track of your progress while you run, walk, hike, and cycle your way to your fitness goal. It acts as a GPS tracking system and has a built in trainer which sets your goals for the week. You can show your progress to your facebook friends and maybe even challenge them. You can set personal goals or you can choose one from the options provided. You can also set your device for a gym type of setting which includes the treadmill, stationary bike, the elliptical, and the row machine. And if you all are asking yourself the same question that Walter was asking himself which is, “is this app on Android or iPhone?” I am pleased to say “YES this app is available for both… you can even look up your progress by logging into runkeeper.com or thru your facebook account. It’s FREE!”
• Walter recommends: Dubbler, FREE
- “I cannot get enough of Dubbler. Being a social media junkie with an incessant need to perform, I love this app. It is so easy…record up to 60 seconds of your voice, add a filter or background, and share with the world your thoughts, songs, jokes, or upload a photo and give it a voice caption. Take that Instagram! By using the Hashtag metadata tag, you can easily search for specific topics or stay on top of the trends. Don`t have the confidence to put your voice out there on the interweb? Use one of the 12 filters to change your voice to a robot, a cat, or even Dub Vader (breath heavily). I am enjoying this while it lasts, at some point , I believe, there will be one easy to use Super -App that will combine all of the features of Dubbler, Vine, and Instagram. Until then, I will be using them all.”
- — Walter
• Chris recommends:Oldify 2, FREE
- “To change things up a little bit, I decided I’d highlight a time waster this week.
Oldify 2
- is a free app that will take your picture and well… make you old. It’s quite funny. It does a good job with making the image look real. After you snap a picture or use one from your camera roll, you align some markers with your eyes and the corners of your mouth. The app does the rest. I tried it out on myself and got a pretty interesting result. We’ll have the picture posted on this weekend’s show page at Into Tomottow dot com. Now I just have to hold on to that picture for about 40 years to see how accurate it is. Oldify 2 is free in the iTunes App Store.” — Chris
Chris, Oldified.
• Marly recommends: Shipmate, FREE
- “Information about cruiships, packing lists, e-cards, and it’s free for Android and iPhone and for every cruise company.” — Marly
• Dave recommends: Warmly, $1.99
- “Anything that helps us to wake up in a nice, mellow way is a good thing. A friend told me about using this App and loves it. It’s costs $1.99 in the Google Play store — so if that doesn’t give you a headache, you might like it. Warmly’s slogan is “A friendlier way to start your day” and uses ambient, gentle sounds (like a coffee percolator) to wake you gently from your slumber and will even check the weather report and wake you with appropriate weather sounds that match the day you have to look forward too! (So I guess thunder if it’s raining??). The App Developer says it helps you to “Get a great night’s sleep and wake up ready to do awesome things!” Oh puleeze! :-)” — Dave
What are your favorite Apps? Let us know at 800-899-INTO and we’ll feature them in this segment!
Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details
Guest Segment:
Anishiya Taneja, Vice President of Implementation – PlanetSoho
Comments from our COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway!!!
Valorie From: Pembroke Pines, FL Listens: on the radio. Reason for wanting to travel: I would love the opportunity!
Michelle in Aiken, SC heard about the Giveaway and listens on the “Into Tomorrow” web site… Watches ITTV every week on my Galaxy S3 wherever I may be. In answer to how we can improve the show, she says to “Move it to South Carolina”. Reason for wanting to travel: “I would love to go experience all that you do and spend some quality time with Mr.Dave Graveline”.
Jonathan lives in Boca Raton, FL and doesn’t think we can improve the show. Reason for wanting to travel: He says: “I love tech, and have never been to IFA”
Richard from Lexington, Kentucky Listens: on 1250 am. Reason for wanting to travel: to see new technology first and to visit berlin.
You may enter ONCE a week … AND … when you call-in, using our FREE APP or 1-800-899-INTO (4696) and we can HEAR you … we will BONUS you with yet another entry!!! Good luck!!!
Cindy in Santa Clara, California asked: “I’m looking for the least expensive tool that I can use to get wireless from my home. I want it wireless without any package deal that comes with cable TV, telephone and all that. I just want the cheapest way I can get wireless in my home.”
It depends on what you mean by “get wireless,” if you already have a wired connection you may only need to get a wireless access point or router, if you don’t have any connection at all, you have more options.
Comcast advertises internet only services for your area starting at $20/month and AT&T offers similar plans starting at $14.95/month. That will at least get you online, but it might not get you wireless, for that you will need the same devices we told you about earlier.
A wireless router can cost anywhere upwards of $20 to several hundred, but if you don’t even have wireless internet at home yet, you will probably be just fine with one of the cheaper choices.
You can also look into tethering services from cell phone service providers but it will be more expensive than cable or DSL and will likely have lower data caps and speeds.
Be very careful of those low cost deals from CONcast and AT&T, however. They are very frequently limited-time “introductory prices” that will run out in 90 days or so, and the price will sharply increase.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Al in Bangor, Maine listening to WOSH Online asked: “I just bought a tablet and I’m not sure if you need to have virus protection on a tablet. I assume you do. Wondering if you could give me an idea of what’s available. It’s an Android tablet.”
Up to now, you generally don’t have to bother with virus protection … tablets and smartphones are not built the way computers are, apps are sandboxed and cannot interact with other apps, so you won’t get a virus that will spread and infect your system, what you can get is a malicious app that will try to steal some of your information.
Even that has gotten harder these days, since all new mobile operating systems will ask you to confirm that you’re ok with the app accessing your contacts, or emails, or pictures, or whatever it wants to access, but it’s still the biggest threat.
Just make sure that whatever app you download is reputable, read reviews if you’re not sure, and try not download anything that looks too spammy, but a full virus scanner is pretty pointless on a system where threats are going to be app by app, and not system wide. If an app got through your app store’s filters and tries to do any harm, that sole app will be the culprit, it won’t be able to modify system files or infect others.
There is one big exception, if your tablet is rooted, that’s a different ballgame, each apps may be able to request root access and change anything and everything they want. If that’s the case be a lot more careful, but unless you’ve rooted your tablet, each app will be living in it’s tiny little world, unaware of anything else around it, and that makes antiviruses much less necessary or useful.
One good barometer of how important tablet antivirus apps are is whether or not you hear anyone who is not part of a security software company talking about them. When no one except for those wanting to sell you something say that you need it? That’s always a good sign that you can pass.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
eton: FRX3 – Hand Turbine AM/FM/Weather Alert Radio
Covington Creations: Earbud yo-yo — Now with Dave’s face on them! — A clever solution to tangled earbuds.
iolo: Copies of: Drive Scrubber – Erase data so it can NEVER be recovered.
SoundMatters: foxl – Pocket Sized portable Bluetooth Loudspeaker.
V Moda Headphones: a variety of styles of the DJ Inspired, Hollywood Designed Headphones