Daily Bits

apple

iPad Users: Are You Spreading the Flu Virus?

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Touch-screen technology is something to marvel at, and indeed, judging by the more than warm welcome given by consumers to the iPad and other touch-screen devices.  What you may not be aware of, however, is that the iPad – and other similar gadgets – may be one of the worst things you can handle during flu season.

You don’t need half a brain to see the connection – touch-screen equal fingers (which are likely rife with germs).  Add to that the idea that people let other individuals use their touch-screen devices, and it is very easy to see how all sorts of bacteria and viruses can be spread.  It’s much like touching a door handle at a public place.

The Journal of Applied Microbiology recently released the findings of a study which took a look at glass surfaces – such as the screen of the iPad – and how they transmit pathogens to the human skin (read: your fingers).  Unsurprisingly, the risks are quite high.  What I found a bit surprising is the fact that the risk of transmitting pathogens, including the flu virus, is much higher in touch-screen devices than other everyday things we touch (this includes elevator buttons and the toilet handle in the men’s room!).

With the flu virus spreading around like crazy, it’s but sensible to make sure that your iPad, iPhone, and whatever other touch-screen device you have is sterilized, don’t you think? Here’s one way by which you can do this.

If anything, your friends and family members will thank you for making sure your device is clean. Personally, if I owned an iPad, I just would sterilize it every time someone else touched it. Better yet, I’d avoid having someone else touch it!

Apple Goes After “Sexting”

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I think I first heard of the term “sexting” from the kids at Glee (yeah, cat’s out of the bag, I used to watch the show).  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what sexting means (sexually explicit text messaging, in case you aren’t sure), and the guys at Apple are going out of their way to make sure that users who shouldn’t be sexting will not be able to do so – in the future.  (Something to think about: who is to determine who shouldn’t be engaging in a certain activity?)

The news is that Apple has just been granted a patent that can block sexually explicit messages – both at the sending and receiving stages.  The patent was originally filed back in 2008 but was only granted now.  This move is not really surprising as Apple has always taken a stand against sexually explicit material.  Remember that the Apple Store already has a ban on sexually explicit applications.  Steve Jobs himself has spoken out about this stand, and says that it is unlikely to change in the future:

You know, there’s a porn store for Android. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go — so we’re not going to go there.

Here’s an abstract of the patent:

Systems, devices, and methods are provided for enabling a user to control the content of text-based messages sent to or received from an administered device. In some embodiments, a message will be blocked (incoming or outgoing) if the message includes forbidden content. In other embodiments, the objectionable content is removed from the message prior to transmission or as part of the receiving process. The content of such a message is controlled by filtering the message based on defined criteria. The criteria may be defined according to a parental control application. These techniques also may be used, in accordance with instructional embodiments, to require the administered devices to include certain text in messages. These embodiments might, for example, require that a certain number of Spanish words per day be included in e-mails for a child learning Spanish.

I find the clause about other applications particularly interesting, don’t you?  If ever this technology finds its way to the market, there will certainly be a lot of takers, I think.

Turn Your iPod Touch into a Phone with Line2

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An iPod Touch is an iPhone without the phone. Yeah, I know – that explanation is crystal clear, isn’t it? But, you have to admit that it is what the iPod Touch is! It can do practically what the iPhone can do, except for the “real” phone line part. The best thing about the Touch is that it burns a much smaller hole in your pocket than its mobile phone counterpart!

For people who justify their iPhone purchase with the line “I need a real phone,” they might just have reason to regret burning so much cash on it. (I highly doubt that this will stop hardcore Apple fans, though.) So anyway, there’s this new app for iPod Touch which will turn the mp3 player into a full blown mobile phone.

For as little as $1, you can get the application called Line 2 and pretend that your iPod Touch is an iPhone use your iPod Touch as an iPhone. The app is developed by Toktumi and is actually an iPhone app but of course will work on the iPod Touch. Line2 is practically a duplicate of the calling interface of the iPhone, making the whole experience more realistic.

The original idea behind it is to provide a second line (hence the name, duh) for the iPhone, making some serious savings for the user. It works both via 3G and Wi-Fi – you can see the huge potential for this. As you are probably thinking now, Apple is not going to be very happy with Toktumi anytime soon. I bet users will be ecstatic though.

CopyTrans: The Easy Way to Back Your iPod Up

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Everyone loves just how easy it is to transfer songs to Apple iPods. Whichever kind of iPod you are using, the interface that iTunes offers is so simple and intuitive that even the most technologically challenged people I know do not have many problems filling their iPods up with music, images, and videos.

The reverse process – transferring files from an iPod to the computer – is a whole new story, though. I still remember when I got my first iPod (it was the black and red U2 one). I had no inkling about this “issue.” Needless to say, I got frustrated in the beginning.

Today, though, this is not really a problem anymore. With a single click, you can easily back your iPod up and make sure that its contents are accessible on your computer as well. CopyTrans is a piece of software that can do this for you without you wanting to tear your hair out.

There are two modes – Smart Backup and Manual Backup. The first one is highly recommended for beginners. You simply click a button and you can make sure that your iTunes will have everything that your iPod has. It is the perfect choice if you just bought a new laptop (or you reformatted your hard drive) and your iTunes library is empty. It is also an easy way to “fix” your iTunes library if it is missing some songs that are in your iPod. No thinking necessary – just click and CopyTrans will do it for you! The Manual Backup mode is great for more advanced users who want more control over which files to transfer to the computer.

However way you want it, CopyTrans can do it for you. No more fussing about how to get those tracks from the iPod onto the computer! Oh, and yes, the newest version is compatible with the new iOS. For a mere $19.99, you get the convenience that you’ve always wanted. I want a copy myself!