Apple’s products have faced issues at launch, causing many to take up arms. After the iPhone 4’s antenna problem, the iPhone 4S’ yellow screen tint, it now seems that the iPhone 5 has also followed suite with its own unique problem.

Flare is a normal outcome when the sun (or any other strong light source) is plead just at the edge of the frame. Normally, the flare matches the color of the light source, often adding good aesthetics to the image. However, the iPhone 5’s camera adds not only a purple cast, but also blows out all details in most of the affected area. Apple’s simple answer to the ugly hardware-based problem is to “turn it slightly away from the light.” 

Apple has now officially acknowledged that the purple cast can occur in some cases, and in short, said that “you are holding the camera wrong.” While flaring in any photographic equipment is normal, most lenses are designed to account for color shifts. Sapphire Crystal, as outlined at the Apple Keynote, is extremely durable and scratch resistant. It would also seem that it is most probably causing the purple flare.

Exactly one year ago, Oct., 5 2011, Apple’s co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Today, Apple’s homepage is replaced by a video eulogy and a public letter to employees from current Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Steve Jobs, The Name Is Enough To Define Itself & Now The World Lost This Name. A Man With An Innovative & Visionary Skills & Today I Dedicate My Regards To Him. You Always Will Be Our Inspiration & Will Live Forever In Our Hearts.

“One of the greatest gifts Steve gave to the world is Apple. No company has ever inspired such creativity or set such high standards for itself. Our values originated from Steve and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

Apple, Intel and McGraw Hill representatives and other technology and publishing heavy hitters are working with Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski and Education Secretary Arne Duncan discussion to figure out effective ways to introduce digital technology into the emerging classroom.


Tablets Offer Savings for Schools

According to the FCC, the U.S. spends about $7 billion per year on textbooks, but many of them are seven to ten years out of date. Advocates believe using tablets instead will save money and improve learning. The FCC based its $3 billion cost savings estimate on the assumption that today’s tablet cost of $250 each will drop to $150 as schools buy tablets in bulk, hardware gets cheaper and technology advances.

Based on these parameters, the future savings would result in saving $60 per student, which considering there are more than 49 million students in public schools equates to nearly $3 billion in savings nearly half the price of traditional textbooks today. Still, how can a price reduction of $100 in tablets only result in a $60 savings? Other factors besides the fixed price of the tablets account for the difference.


Do Tablets Really Improve Learning?

The program, which replaced worn textbooks with interactive, digital versions with video, graphics and built-in quizzes that invited students to participate and give instant feedback, spurred positive comments that students using the iPad version were “more motivated, attentive, and engaged” than those with the paper algebra books.

A small but growing number of researchers are uncovering evidence that readers are better able to remember what they read in printed books long-term when compared to materials read via an electronic screen, raising questions about tablets in the classroom. Students using digital versions of the unfamiliar material had to read the same information several times to gain the same level of knowledge as print readers. Students reading printed books seemed to more fully digest and understand the material. Tablets’ success in replacing text books will also come down to educational apps. Between them, Apple and Google offer over a millions apps, and educators will be challenged to curate the best and most appropriate for schools.


An Inevitability

Tablets are here and will come to classrooms, either through parents who can afford them or by school districts who take the plunge. A joint report by McKinsey and the GSMA predict the m-Education market could be worth $70 billion globally by 2020 and predicts demand for m-education devices, like smartphones and tablets, may be worth another $32 billion by the same timeframe.

Educators can point to many positives of digital books. Tablets can easily update information and assignments, high-resolution audio and video illustrate and reinforce concepts, and with online assignments, students gain the ability to interact with the material they’re learning.

Apple has come a long way since Steve Jobs introduced the first Mac nearly thirty years ago. The company’s products have evolved by inventing new devices and reinventing its old ones.

Pinterest on Friday released an update to its Android app on Google Play store. The update shows tall images bigger, and includes new boards that show where a pin has been repinned, simplifies pining content from external sites, and adds a number of fixes.

Pinterest's update to its Android app comes shortly after the company updated its iOS app, adding support for the latest iPhone 5 and new features such as support for pinning directly from the camera or Photo library on the iPad. The company had released its iPad and Android apps in August this year, alongside an updated v2.0 for the iPhone. Pinterest also opened up its service to the public, after keeping it as 'invite-only' for a while.

It’s been one year since the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and the company’s new leader Tim Cook has been endlessly compared to the former CEO. There’s no denying that Jobs revolutionized the tech industry and truly impacted the way we communicate and connect with others, but on the anniversary of his death, Apple experts are urging people to stop comparing Cook with his former boss.

“The company has changed, but that is inevitable,” said Robert X. Cringely, a veteran tech journalist and author of Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition.

“I do think it’s wrong that people keep asking, ‘What would happen if Steve were still alive?’” said Jim Dalrymple, editor in chief at The Loop. “Tim Cook is not Steve and he doesn’t try to be. He is his own man and he’ll run Apple the way he thinks is best. Steve chose Tim to succeed him as CEO, so clearly he had confidence in his abilities to run the company.” Dalrymple added that the company has made great strides in the past year, all under Cook’s guidance.

The social networking giant has now crossed 1 billion active monthly users. This makes Facebook the first social network to cross the 10-figure mark, indicating that one out of every seven individuals on the planet is using the service.

Facebook had 955 million monthly active users, 543 million of which accessed the site via mobile, and 552 million daily active users on average as of June 2012. Facebook released a factsheet during the announcement which reveals a number of interesting statistics.

An infographic by staffing solutions company KForce found that Dallas has more potential tech staffers than any other city. Rounding out the top 10 respectively, is Washington, D.C., Chicago,, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, Detroit and Seattle.

Web and mobile application developers, as well as project managers, are the most in-demand tech jobs right now, according to KForce’s research. Average salary for these jobs — in the top 10 markets for tech job seekers — was also revealed, with mobile app developers making the most. Salaries top out in Houston was the top city, where mobile app developers make about $133,000 a year. Next on the list is San Francisco, where such professionals earn an average salary of $116,000.

Apple is expected to unveil their sixth generation iPhone, called the iPhone 5, on September 12. But that's not the only device making the rounds on the rumour mills all over the Internet.

The value of Apple’s brand increased by 129% in the past year, from about $33 billion in 2011 to $76 billion this year, according to Interbrand’s 2012 global brand rankings. This year-over-year increase  the most of any company on the list — was enough to help Apple go from being the eighth most-valuable brand in the world to the second most-valuable brand, only behind Coca-Cola.
In the process, Apple passed several other big tech companies in brand value, including IBM, Google and Microsoft, the last of which actually saw its brand value decline slightly year-over-year.

“Despite Steve Jobs’ passing, consumers’ emotional connection to the Apple brand remains stronger than ever – this was made clear just recently with the launch of iPhone 5,” Interbrand noted in its report. “Even in the face of increasing competition from rivals Google and Samsung, the company continues to demonstrate its commitment to protecting the Apple brand and its intellectual property.”
In particular, Interbrand highlights the hugely successful launches of the most recent iPhone and iPad, and the company’s record financial earnings as contributing to Apple’s increasing brand value. In fact, Apple became the most valuable company by market cap in history earlier this year.

Design trends are influenced by both form and function, but also bow to limitations of existing technology. When we look back at flat-screen TVs compared to LCDs, then further to the bulky cathode ray tube. The new technology is aimed at revolutionizing both displays (i.e. TV or smartphone screens) and lighting. OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, but since the light-producing technology is lightweight and can be applied to bendable surfaces, the term is often used to reference to flexible displays.

The Basics

OLED is a series of organic films that, when activated with electricity, will emit light. Early work with OLED was done on glass — for example, the current line of Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones use OLED in the display, sandwiched between layers of glass. In addition to glass, these organic cells can be coated onto plastic or foil, creating a display that is flexible — it can bend without cracking or breaking.

The light is powered with a low voltage current, below 14 volts, and is incredibly thin — 1.8 millimeters. OLED can be used in a personal device like a phone, or be applied to a large surface such as a wall — it won’t add bulk and won’t heat up the surface.


Capabilities of OLED
Philips did a collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas for a show in Paris. The outfits of the band members were integrated with OLED light panels, controlled remotely to display lighting sequences orchestrated with the set list.

It’s not only rock stars that find good use for OLED. The military is also an early adopter, using microdisplays made by eMagin for training. Microdisplays are 1×1 inches or smaller and used in a wireless headset so the user sees a 2D or 3D interface that changes as they look left to right. The headsets are fairly lightweight and therefore easily portable. eMagin is beginning to apply the same technology for gaming, in which wearing the headsets would replace looking at a screen. Another place OLEDs replace screens is for veterinarians, who could be on-site giving an ultrasound to cattle or sheep — viewing the ultrasound on a headset is much handier than looking over at a screen.


What Consumers Can Get Excited About
As a light source, OLED promises to be not only a lighter and thinner option, but also transparent. This means your car roof could be a window, letting in sunlight during the day, and at night, the same surface could turn into a light that comes on when the door is ajar. On a glass storefront, a lighted sign could display a sale, but would be transparent when turned off.
Car tail lights could also be replaced with OLED, allowing them to emit the same brightness with less bulk, so industrial designers of cars could make better use of the space or just provide consumers with a bigger trunk. At a recent conference, the Philips team used OLED-lighted nametags powered by batteries.

 

The Facebook Messenger app has been updated to support the iPhone 5, new iPod touch and iOS 6. The app brings with it the swipe left feature that is found on the Android version of the app. The feature has been available on Android from September 20, 2012. Users can also pin the people they message the most on the top of the chat list making navigation easier in the chat menu. Other additions to the update include added speed and reliability. The conversation view of the app has also seen a tweak and you now have chat bubbles in your conversations.

The Android version of the Facebook Messenger app still has one advantage over iOS. In Android, your SMS messages from common contacts can be integrated with the app. This feature isn’t available in the iOS version yet. iOS users can download the free app here. Android users can take a look at the app here.

Getting help from Facebook may get a little easier now that the social network debuted its redesigned Help Center.

The center’s homepage now features six major topics: “Learn the Privacy Basics,” “See What’s New on Facebook,” “Report an Issue,” “Learn More About Timeline,” “Review Our Safety Resources” and “Discover Games and Apps.” Facebook says it personalizes these topics based on how a person interacts with the site. For instance, if users aren’t logged on, they may see information on how to create an account or tips for resetting their password.

Facebook also highlighted a list of popular questions and Pages that users can like to keep posted on tips and feature announcements. The homepage boasts new navigation designed to make it easier for users to browse faster. In addition to the Help Center changes, Facebook rolled out Support Dashboard to all of its users. The tool, which originally launched in April, helps users track the progress of reports they make about photos and profiles.


After reporting content via the report links, users can view the dashboard under “Account Settings.” There, they can check out when Facebook reviews a report, what action was taken and why. The social network will also send users a notification when the status of their report changes.

Google just made life easier for you with a newly added keyword search feature for Gmail attachments.

Previously, the popular email client only allowed search within text files, but now users can search within files from several leading programs, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Powerpoint and more. This comes just a few months after the company announced that personal emails will turn up in your search results.

Several other popular email clients — Yahoo and Outlook included — have had this feature for years. To try this out for yourself, simply add “has:attachment” to the beginning of any keyword query. Limiting the search to a specific file type involves adding “filename:(file type)” to the search term.

Social networks and mobile apps have changed the way we meet people, date and maintain intimacy in our relationships. There are dating apps for us to meet local singles and social networks apps built for pairs to connect privately. The web is also influencing the way we flirt, according to the Tagged State of Flirting Survey conducted in mid-September.

Almost 32% of respondents say they have flirted with 1 to 10 people online. Nearly 21% of survey participants say they have met more than 100 individuals on the web. Flirting takes many forms online. If someone is consistently commenting on your status updates and pictures or is frequently tweeting you back, take it as a sign of interest.

One-third of the survey participants believe online flirting is “fun and harmless.” Another third of respondents believe sending a flirty Facebook message, suggestive Tweet or fun email is the easiest way to get the ball rolling on romance by making his or her interest known. If someone is sending you private messages or following you on many social networks, they might just be a fan.