Apple and Google Collaborate on Contact Tracing App →

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I’m happy that both these amazing companies, that dominate the smartphone world, are finally collaborating for the great good of humanity but much bigger questions loom. Without a doubt, I’m happy that Apple is taking a lead in this project with their concerns for privacy as I hope that they will champion in protecting us more so than what we have seen from other corporations. You can find both Apple and Google’s Press Releases here with their images below on how the app will work. Privacy is the biggest issue here and really does seem like a big brother way of tracing but is there a better solution? If you want to read further into the technical documentation, click here!

Apple and Google will be launching a comprehensive solution that includes application programming interfaces (APIs) and operating system-level technology to assist in enabling contact tracing. Given the urgent need, the plan is to implement this solution in two steps while maintaining strong protections around user privacy

Techcrunch put it best in summary:

There is zero use of location data, which includes users who report positive. This tool is not about where affected people are but instead whether they have been around other people.

If you haven’t been able to stop by Google’s COVID-19 Community Mobility Papers, that’s something to definitely check out!

Fast Charge Your New iPhone X/8/8 Plus

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South Park PvP on iOS

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Download South Park: Phone Destroyer™ by Ubisoft now on the App Store available on iOS.

From South Park Digital Studios comes a real-time battle game like nothing you’ve ever experienced before! Take on Cartman, Kenny, Stan and Kyle in all out mobile mayhem!

South Park: Phone Destroyer brings you iconic South Park characters, action packed real-time strategy, exploding PvP battles, trademark South Park humor and collectible cards in a perfect mix that’s spicier than Cartman’s chili con carne …

LogTen Pro X Cadet →

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A wonderful and fantastic update for all my pilot friends out there logging their hours in flight! Still the best in the business and love Noah and the company. (this is not a paid or endorsed advertisement. I just love their software and support)

My biggest takeaway from this, besides the obvious Nightmode, would be that if you are just getting into aviation, truth is, the initial 40 hour limit for trial was a little on the lighter side. Now, with 'Cadet,' you get to log up to 250 hours which would put you at the tail end of your commercial rating. Great stuff!

  • Automatic 'Night Mode'

  • Mobile roster importing with integrated Roster Buster access

  • Completely overhauled 'Reports'

  • 'Recent items' listings

  • and a 600% increase in free time for students (to 250 hours Total Time)

iPhone 7 Plus' Camera Kills the Competition →

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Today the iPhone 7 Plus became way better at capturing the most important thing in our lives: the people we love. If you haven't already, be sure to download iOS 10.1 (Settings > General > Software Update) and give it a shot. You'll be capturing stunning portraits in no time.

Impressive and indeed, game-changing.

Losing Bookmark Icons and Getting Them Back on iOS

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For those using iOS devices and find that their icons / bookmarks disappear or end up looking like targets on your home screen, the solution below works.

A more simple method is to swich to bold text and then back to normal text in - general - accessibility section of settings. Your phone will do a partial restart but only takes a few seconds. This causes the system to do a screen refresh similar to the language change method but a lot quicker.

by ctethompson via Apple Discussions

Another technique is to change out your language setting. I went from English to English (UK) and I got them back! Some other have used Japanese or Deutsch but getting back to English (US) could be difficult if you don't remember where the setting was or read that language. Good luck and happy swiping.

Love Instagram? Frame it with Layout

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Finally a true app from Instagram themselves to out do any other grid / layout app on the iOS App Store. And don't worry Android, you'll get yours too sometime soon.

When you open Layout, we automatically show you previews of custom layouts as you choose photos from your camera roll. To make it easier to find the photos you want, we’ve also added a Faces option that shows you all the photos in your camera roll that feature people.

New grid / layout features.  Layout

New grid / layout features.  Layout

The "Without" [You] App

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Being without my family or my wife stinks. Plain and simple. I love the job, but it's really bad when you have a crew of slam clickers (those who go to the hotel and don't do dinner or sightsee) and you find yourself at the hotel playing Clash of Clans for hours.

Here comes a beautiful app appropriately named "Without" by Mr. Jeremy that brought the amount of buttons pushed from 17 down to two! Awesome idea, amazing app. Check it out and share it with your loved one.

Fragmentation and Instagram's Hyperlapse

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There's a reason for the sanity developers posses in releasing an app on iOS first. Take Instagram's latest.

Hyperlapse from Instagram features built-in stabilization technology that lets you create moving, handheld time lapses that result in a cinematic look, quality and feel—a feat that has previously only been possible with expensive equipment.

If a developer were to design an app for iOS, they have a choice of supporting only a few select devices. In this case, Hyperlapse was created to be compatible with a 2-year old device (iPhone 5) and up running iOS 7. Simple as that. You can bet that with the adoption rate that 90%, that users with at least an iPhone 5 will be downloading or have the ability to try out this fantastic app. Wired has even compared the app to a "$15,000 video setup in your hand."

From a developer standpoint, that's a huge audience! Think about it!

Now comes in Android. There isn't an app yet and here's why... in bold: FRAGMENTATION.

android fragmentation

The article from Open Signal clearly highlights the flaws and the obstacles that developers have when creating apps for Android. From different flavors of Android, to various hardware and sensor kits, screen sizes and adoption rates / operating system update delays from manufacturers, it's not the ideal launch vehicle. Hell, it even took Instagram a two years before they released their Android app and only after more than 30 million people join via iOS.

If you've been following me, I've been an Android 4.4 user since my Samsung Galaxy S5 trial and am still not satisfied with the experience. I've even lost precious moments due to the camera locking up or phone not responding. It's just a mess especially with all of Samsung's included bloatware on top of AT&T's mesh of products. I can't wait until November 15 for when I can go back to iOS. Of course, when September 9, comes around, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm pre-ordering the iPhone 6 on T-Mobile.

For now, enjoy the sample video of Instagram's Hyperlapse or better yet, go out there and make your own! You can also follow me on Instagram: elijahnicolas

Play This: "Mountain" -- a Mountain Simulator

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I'm dead serious. If you watched Her, you'll be familiar with the creator of Mountain. In his first official game, David O'Reilly sets the bar for something different -- a Mountain Simulator! Not quite a game, but more like a screensaver that's somewhat interactive, it's quite awesome. Available on iOS, Mac, Windows and Linux, it's either $0.99 on iOS or $1.00 depending on how much you want to donate. And yes, it's running in the background as I type this post. Featuring: - no controls - automatic save - audio on/off switch - time movies forward - things grow and things die - nature expresses itself - ~50 hours of gameplay - once generated, you cannot be regenerated