Jan 25

Malware exists everywhere. It exists even to attack your Android phone. It’s even been seen in the Android Market at one point or another. But how big is this issue? Lookout, a company specializing in software for mobile security released a new app called Mobile Threat Tracker that allows Android smartphone users to see the location of every malware incident happening around the globe.

Lookout’s app shows streak upon streak strike with the three-dimensional spinning globe. The attacks displayed are shown close to real time as the date and time is displayed at the bottom of the screen. It gives us a good representation of how phones are becoming ideal targets for malware creators on a daily basis. Lookout also included information of the top three threats for that day and spyware vs. malware percentages.

With all this talk about the threats of malware, it looks like the ideal time to start installing a security app for your Android smartphone. Lookout might just be your solution.

Jan 23

More and more people are adopting smartphones in order to become fully connected to the world through their mobile device. Companies are also making moves to connect with employees by giving them smartphones and developing mobile applications as a way to increase employee engagement. At first glance, it is great to be able to access your work email 24/7, but this continuous feeling of being plugged in can also be draining. In fact, a new study from the University of Worcester has found that the feeling of being constantly connected without the ability to freely disconnect induces stress.

Companies, like Volkswagen, are now starting to react. The German automaker’s employees all use blackberries, and the company has decided to limit the email server to only be activated during business hours. This means that employees are free from constant communication with work once they leave the office. Roger Cohen, a reporter for The New York Times is one of the many who think that this is a smart move. Cohen says people often fall subject to a, “contemporary state of anxiety in which focus on any activity is interrupted by the irresistible urge to check email or texts.”

Remaining plugged in arguably increases employee productivity, but it is important to also address its potential downfalls. In the future, more and more companies will surely address this issue. As an intern, I have yet to feel the 24/7 pressure of having your phone connected to work. However, I have witnessed the poor effects this connection can have. For example, I have experienced many vacations when a family member gets their relaxation time derailed by incoming messages that blow up their smart phone. It is important that employees can be reached in the case of a work emergency while away from the office. On the other hand, I also think that employees deserve to have a feeling disconnect when they leave the office, if they so chose, especially during vacations. I would guess that Volkswagen employees appreciate this move and that the company is well on its way to having great employee satisfaction.

 

 

Mar 24

“Starbucks now offers the nation’s largest mobile payment network,” said vice president of Starbucks, Brady Brewer. In January, Starbucks launched a new iPhone and Blackberry app called Starbucks Card Mobile that revolutionizes the way we buy coffee. Customers are now able to pay for their order via mobile phone by holding up the app’s barcode to the register’s scanner. This application was tested in September and was discovered to be the fastest and most efficient way for customers to pay, understandably. The past financial quarter was the best performing in the 40-year history of the company, according to Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO. The Starbucks Card app accounts for 22% of all transactions, says Schultz. Schultz also noted that Schultz the Starbucks brand is number one on Facebook, over 20 million fans, and is also a top brand on Twitter and Foursquare.

Many other businesses will most likely follow in Starbucks’ footsteps and create mobile applications for their stores. The app allows for more efficient work on the employees part and allows for a better time efficiency for customers. By allowing customers to use the app, they place their order, scan their phone and receive their coffee. No more rummaging for credit cards or bill and coins, which is a godsend for many. This application will take the business world by storm and be implemented in many businesses

If you would have asked me when I was 10 years old, I would never have dreamed that we would be where we are today regarding technology. It is amazing everything that we have experienced. the iPad, iPhone, wireless computers and applications that do pretty much everything. I remember getting a Gameboy and thinking it was the smallest/coolest thing I had ever seen. Now, we can play games on phones, keep in mind, the phones are half the size of a Gameboy. I am eager to see what kind of technology we will have as I grow up.

Feb 17

Apple announced on Tuesday its new guidelines to App Store for publishers. Applications will be working the same for users, it is the rules for publishers where the changes have been made. There are many apps available that charge subscriptions fees; either weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, and annually; therefore these companies (who have created the apps) are consistently making money off of their content. Since creating the platforms (iPhone, iPad, and the iTouch) in which all the information is communicated on, Apple decided that it should be getting a piece of the funds being made by these companies, I mean after all these companies would have subscribers if is wasn’t for Apple…right? The new policy follows these guidelines, as long as users are purchasing the apps from the App Store, Apple will be taking the 30% cut of the purchases being made to the from subscription applications.

image provided by: zedomax.com

The publishers of the content driven apps are 100% free to make the subscription to their applications available on their own site, and this is where Apple cannot take a cut from the information.  However, according to Apples new app policy, unless a users sign up for the app on the publisher’s site, publishers cannot provide in-app links for customers sign up outside of the App Store. Therefore these companies would have to get users to go directly to their site to avoid losing some of their profits to Apple. Many of the people who currently run these apps are worried they won’t be able to survive, and are also unsure as what Apple will do in the future…who’s to say the won’t try taking a bigger cut from profits made by theses content driven subscription applications.  Has this

It is hard to figure out who do side with on this matter, to me it make sense that Apple would be taking a cut, because without having the technology created by them none of the companies would be able to be gaining profits. Although if you are thinking about it from the perspective of the app creators, who are building content for readers to have daily, weekly or monthly, publishers are the ones creating the content for readers to subscribe in the first place. Maybe you’ll think a little differently next time you are purchasing one of your apps for the App Store or directly from the publisher.

Feb 9

During Super Bowl 45, I saw a Chase Bank commercial that made me just about freak out. Now, Chase Bank has a mobile application for depositing checks! While I immediately Google searched this topic for more information, I quickly found out that mashable.com published an article about this topic in early July. While the article was published quite a long time ago, I had never heard of this application prior to watching the commercial during the Super Bowl.

I’m shocked that this is even possible. I used to be a bank teller and this article has my mind racing with questions about said Chase application. How do banks uncover the fraudulent checks that are sent in by the iPhone app? Snapping a picture of the front and back of a check on a phone couldn’t possibly allow someone to detect the necessary red flags that one could with the naked eye. What do you do with the check after you take a picture of it and send it on its way; throw it out? Although it would most likely be  impossible for someone else to find the check and try to cash it with ease, it would still leave me with a bit of uncertainty.

All bank questions aside, what is the world coming to? We can now deposit checks without leaving home? What if banks no longer existed because you could do all your banking via the Internet, ATMs and mobile applications. When I was a bank teller, the only kind of human interaction most older people ever experienced was their weekly trip to the bank. Many would get dressed up just to go to the bank every week, and yes, there were plenty of older people that actually “needed” to go to the bank every week.

I can only imagine what kind of things our phones can do for us in the future. Soon there’s going to be an app for just about everything.