Parents hit with stalking order after spying on daughter’s phone, computer

Forced to take legal action against her own parents, a college student obtained an order of protection after discovering invasive electronic monitoring.

Covered by ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday, an Ohio college student named Aubrey Ireland was recently granted a civil stalking order against her parents due to their overprotective behavior that included installing monitoring software on her electronics. According to AZ Central, the monitoring software on her smartphone would provide them with details about incoming and outgoing calls and a keylogger installed on the laptop could potentially keep track of things like instant message chat history, websites visited and login information to social networks like Facebook. In addition, Aubrey allegedly had to connect with her parents over Skype and leave the video stream constantly running to allow them to watch her sleep all night in the bedroom.

While attending the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Aubrey’s parents would allegedly travel approximately 600 miles from their home in Kansas to visit their daughter unannounced as well as meet with her department head at the school.

After her parents allegedly accused her of promiscuous behavior and drug use, they began talking about having her committed against her will to get treatment for “mental issues” as well as her other behavior.

At this point, the dean’s list student met with school officials and decided to take legal action against her parents. After hearing the arguments on both sides, Ohio Common Pleas Court Judge Jody Luebbers ruled in Aubrey’s favor and told the parents that they were the problem in the relationship. According to the stipulations within the order, parents David and Julie Ireland must stay a minimum of 500 feet away from Aubrey until September 23, 2013. In addition, the school has hired security guards to help keep Aubrey’s parents away from her musical theater performances. Both parents could face criminal charges if they attempt to violate the protection order.

When asked about the actions of her parents, the 21-year-old stated “They basically thought that they were paying for my college tuition and living expenses that they could tell me what to do, who to hang out with, basically control all of my daily life.” Regarding acquiring the stalking order, she continued “I never wanted this to happen, that’s the last thing I wanted. But I wasn’t in control of my life anymore. I knew they were holding me back emotionally, mentally and professionally. And that it got to the point where that was basically my last option.”

Aubrey claims that her parents have been diagnosed with codependency personality disorder. That’s a condition where a person attempts to live through someone else by attempting to control their actions and protect their well-being. In regards to the relationship between a parent and child, it’s also commonly called helicopter parenting.

However, her parents claim that she lied to the judge about their actions and they are attempting to get a refund from the school for the $66,000 spent on her college education. Aubrey’s parents have stopped paying for her tuition, but Aubrey has obtained a full scholarship from the school to finish out her senior year and complete her college education. 

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/parents-stalking-order-spying-on-daughter/

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Launch This Year spurs developers to get apps out the door in 2013

If you're an amateur app developer hoping to develop the Next Big Thing, but need a helping hand to keep you on schedule, Launch This Year gives you the tools you need to make it happen in 2013.

It’s the New Year, so it’s time to start committing to those New Year’s resolutions. While many of us may be trying to stay healthier with the help of, say, RunKeeper and FitBit, a few more might want to try their hand at creating the first great app of 2013. But before you give up by mid-February, a new website called Launch This Year promises to keep you on the right track to greatness.

Launch This Year is the newest initiative by Ooomf, a young startup focused on app discovery and development. Opening today, the site gives members a personalized step-by-step guide for getting their dream iOS app off the ground.

With more than 700,000 apps in the App Store and 35 billion downloads to date, the iron is more than hot for the striking.

“We started to notice a lot of people who’ve maybe never made an app before,” said Launch This Year founder Mikael Cho. “So we said hey, let’s help enable this next generation of creators who want to do something on mobile, and let’s start it right on January 1. So if somebody’s making a resolution to make a mobile app this year, we can help them achieve that.”

The site breaks down the process into goals and milestones, offering tools along the way to make sticking with the development process easier. Steps like creating the app’s landing page, devising its organization structure, and even submitting it to the App Store are all outlined in a way that’s accessible and less of a daunting headache, while the Launch This Year team develops a close relationship with their clients by coaching them through the work of getting the app ready and worthy of a few million downloads.

Launch This Year has the backing of reputable entrepreneur networks as Startup Weekend, Tech Stars, and the Application Developers Alliance, which have supported the initiative from the start. With the hope of expanding to other platforms, the site could very well do for mobile creators what Codecademies like Code Year have done for the programming at large.

Currently in private beta, users will need an invite code to access the toolset the site offers. Just type in “digitaltrends” at the Launch This Year site and get started on that app.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/launch-this-year-helping-you-keep-that-new-years-resolution-of-launching-the-best-app-ever/

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New iPhone 5 app takes hands free 360-degree video

An app released this month causes Apple's iPhone 5 to automatically spin 360 degrees while recording video.

There are tons of photography apps out there, but none are quite like this. Cycloramic, a 99-cent app available in Apple’s App Store, transforms the iPhone 5 into spinning camera.

The app allows Apple’s iPhone 5 to rotate in a full 360-degree circle while recording video. Cycloramic, which launched earlier this month, enables the device to vibrate in such a way that forces it to spin in a circle. To use the app, simply place your iPhone 5 upright on a smooth flat surface. Press the middle of the screen, and Cycloramic will count down from three before it starts to rotate the phone.

You can also adjust the app’s settings to switch between the front-facing camera and the rear camera, and you can make it spin twice instead of just once. When your iPhone 5 has returned to a stationary mode, you can view the video in your camera roll.

“Gathered around a dinner tablet, in a bar, in a club, at home, at a conference table, or at a historical monument? Cycloramic allows you to capture the moment (handsfree) in a unique and fun way whilst making you and your phone the talk of the event,” the app’s description on its Facebook page reads.

Cycloramic is currently ranked as number one in the App Store’s photo and video category for top paid apps. The application’s Facebook page has 277 “Likes” and is littered with comments from users.

The Los Angeles Times posted a video showcasing exactly what the app can do. The resulting footage was a 47-second bit of a slow 360-degree pan around a conference room in the newspaper’s offices. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak seemed impressed by the app, as he posted a video recorded using the cylindrical filming application himself.

For only 99 cents, Cycloramic certainly seems like a welcome addition to the Apple App Store. While it might not be the most innovative application and you might not find yourself using it everyday, it’ll save you the trouble of walking around in a circle to snag those hard to get That 70’s Show shots. 

Check out the video below to see a video of the Apple Store taken using Cycloramic. 

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/iphone-5-app-360-degree-video/

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Samsung's Tizen smartphone reportedly coming next year

Tizen's release draws ever closer (credit: Tizen Talk)

Back in May, the first images of Samsung's Tizen smartphone prototype were released, though little else about the phone was divulged.

Samsung did manage to reveal a few scant specifications, including the phone's 1.2GHz dual-core ARM processor and 4.3-inch HD display, but there wasn't much else about the Linux-based OS to show off at the time.

Then in September, rumblings of Samsung readying a Tizen Galaxy for release made the rounds, with sources claiming the device would be coming in the "near future."

It's been a few months, but it appears Samsung is still on track to release the first Tizen phone in the coming year thanks to its partnership with Japanese carrier NTT Docomo.

Another new OS?

According to Daily Yomiuri, Samsung's Tizen smartphone would launch in Japan first under Docomo (the only Japanese carrier without iPhone), with other countries expected to get the device around the same time.

Regardless of where the Tizen phone first launches, it will find itself in an uphill battle against the likes of Android and iOS, two operating systems Samsung counts as Tizen's chief competition.

Analytics firm Garnter reported Android held 72.4 percent of the smartphone market through the third quarter of 2012, with iOS holding onto just over 13 percent, there's little room for a little fish to make a big splash.

The recent launch of Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 and the upcoming release of Research in Motion's BlackBerry 10 will also provide some stiff competition for the untested OS.

TechRadar has reached out to Samsung, and will update this story when and if they respond.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/samsungs-tizen-smartphone-reportedly-coming-next-year-1121966

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Life and Tiles of a Windows 8 Convert: My Windows Phone honeymoon ends

As Andrew continues his mission to go all in on Windows and Microsoft products and completely convert his digital life, his love affair with Windows Phone 8 and the Nokia Lumia 920 begins to fall apart.

Well, the honeymoon is over. The last time you heard from me, my relationship with the Lumia 920 and Windows Phone 8 was in its infancy, untainted by the painful reality that we truly are stuck together – for better or worse. We were newlyweds, dancing the night away and taking long walks on the proverbial beach. But now we have had time to live together, I’m beginning to notice its flaws. Some of WP8’s quirks are beginning to make me question the practicality of our arrangement. When this whole thing started, I assumed I was ready to make the switch from iOS to WP8, but as the days wear on it is quite obvious that Microsoft’s mostly great operating system still needs some work. And the most pressing to-do list item should be a notification center. Where the hell is it!?

WP8 uses toast notifications to alert the user of missed calls, new texts, etc. The problem is that without a way to store these notifications, they are lost after a brief appearance at the top of your screen. If you happen to be away from your phone when a toast pops then it may be gone forever, and that’s no good. The number of missed notifications for any particular app is shown on its Live Tile – assuming you’ve even made a Live Tile for that app – but even this half-assed workaround is imperfect. Once an app is opened, the number of notifications is erased from the associated Live Tile, even if you don’t deal with or read any of them.

It was a missed Twitter mention that first had me riled up about WP8’s lack of a notification center. Under normal circumstances, I would have shrugged it off. Social media has never been a huge passion of mine. However, this particular mention was special. After leading a presentation on a tech journalist I admire, I decided to express my admiration of his work via Twitter. As luck would have it, I received a reply, but due to my Lumia’s pathetic grasp of notifications, didn’t find out until much later. Since I missed the toast notification and had no Twitter Live Tile, I was never notified of the mention. It may seem trivial, but that Twitter exchange was a big deal to me and my Lumia let me down!  

That wasn’t the only problem, either. A few days ago, my editor at DT attempted to contact me about a pressing matter and I missed the toast. There were no icons at the top of the screen to alert me and nothing on the lockscreen. There was a small number “1” on the Live Tile way down at the bottom of my homescreen, but I had no reason to scroll down there. My editor was annoyed; I was annoyed; and I knew exactly who to blame.

Microsoft uses the angle of “updates at a glance” a lot when promoting WP8, but has no system to back that claim up. Microsoft claims it “ran out of time” to include a notification center, but Windows Phone has been on the market for two years now and has gone through two major OS updates. If Steve Ballmer and company had time to include a “Kids Corner” why couldn’t they add one of the most essential aspects of a smartphone, especially considering both of WP8′s competitors, Android and iOS, have already implemented it.

My issues don’t end with notifications. Another side to WP8’s puzzling absence of important information is the icons up top that display the time, battery level, connectivity status, and ringer mode. By default only the time is consistently shown, while the other icons require a downward swipe. I understand the logic. Hiding extraneous information keeps things looking clean and helps Microsoft capitalize on screen real estate, but there needs to be an option to turn the hiding off. Only official apps support the downward swipe too, meaning third party apps (including Nokia’s) are incapable of showing the time, battery life, or connectivity. This oversight needs to be addressed and soon. Get it together, Microsoft. Seriously. You’re failing Smartphone 101.

Stay tuned next Monday for the next edition of Life and Tiles, when Andrew begins his dive into Windows 8 and the Lenovo Yoga 13. To catch up, read the entire Life and Tiles of a Windows 8 Convert series.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/life-and-tiles-of-a-windows-8-convert-3-the-honeymoon-is-over/

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Happy New Year 2013 and thank you for all the support

The New Year is just around the corner and, as we say goodbye to year 2012, we cannot help but have a look back at all the work we've done.

Thanks to you, our readers, it's been a successful year for us at GSMArena.com. This year you pushed our website up in the list of the Top 400 websites globally (currently at the 389th spot), according to the independent internet statistics Alexa.com. We cannot thank you enough for that.

Overall, this year we churned out more than 1650 news articles, more than 2230 blog posts and a total of 167 reviews.

Our blog has been on the rise, coming up in leaps and bounds in the past 12 months. Our coverage there included regular tech news in all sorts of fields but, most importantly, we've been spicing it up with exclusive features and articles, which you seem to like a lot (such as our regular phone unboxings and battery tests).

We kept expanding our presence on Facebook, already closing in on 300,000 likes (a nearly three-fold increase this year alone).

Our phone reviewing routine saw some changes too. We made the Sunlight legibility test a part of our review routine. We also started doing even more reviews of US-only phones in an effort to be even more helpful to our US friends. Most recently we started our series of articles dedicated to helping you set up your newly purchased smartphone. Android went first, but iOS fans should expect to get the same treatment in the first days of the New Year.

The new year will hopefully be off to a good start too with two of the major industry events just around the corner. In 2013 we will have our second live coverage from the Consumer Electronics Show in the US (starting January 8) and a couple of months later, we'll traditionally report live from the Mobile World Congress (starting February 25).

Once again, thank you so much for your incredible support in 2012, we have some great plans for 2013 and we hope you will stick around to see what we will be up to.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, we wish you peace, prosperity and happiness. Cheers!

Image source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/happy_new_year_2013_and_thank_you_for_all_the_support-news-5268.php

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Samsung Galaxy Note II sales in Korea top 1 million units

Samsung has achieved yet another sales milestone for its Galaxy Note II phablet. After reaching 5 million units sold only two months after its launch, Samsung has also reportedly shifted 1 million devices in Korea alone.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II has achieved the sales milestone three times quicker than its predecessor. Furthermore, given its solid popularity, the second generation of the device is expected to hit the 10 million sales mark worldwide in the next couple of months.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note_ii_sales_in_korea_top_1_million_units_-news-5267.php

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