Anyone can use Navy iPhone app

The Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling Series released an iPhone app in April to let sailors and civilians access its library of exercises, workout routines and meal planning.

As of the end of May, the app had been downloaded nearly 5,500 times.Though it hasn’t been out long, feedback from sailors has been overwhelmingly positive, said Lisa Sexauer, program manager for fitness, sports and deployed forces support at Navy Installations Command. It is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars by users in the iTunes App Store.

“They like the food choice features and the fact that there are videos so they can refine their own movement efficiencies,” she said.The videos, like the entire app, can be accessed without cellphone service or an active Internet connection once the almost one-gigabyte app is downloaded to the iPhone. That means that the entire workout is available any time, anywhere, even aboard a ship — because most ships have limited Internet access and no cellphone service while at sea.

“The app is actually housed on the device. When you head to the gym, by selecting your parameters, your entire workout is available to you,” Sexauer said.Parameters include fitness level, duration of exercise, equipment that is available and stage.

The fitness levels relate to both overall health and familiarity with NOFFS exercises; Sexauer suggested that everyone begin with Level 1.Within each level are four stages, labeled A through D. Each level has an increased number of sets and repetitions.

The exercises, which take into account how much room is available for fitness on different kinds of vessels from subs to aircraft carriers, are in line with the Navy’s 21st Century Sailor and Marine wellness initiative, Sexauer said.

One key to the app is ensuring no injury during the exercises. Videos, detailed descriptions and still photos show sailors how to correctly perform each exercise.

This article comes from: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20120618/LIFESTYLE/306180007/Anyone-can-use-Navy-iPhone-app

Apple In China: iPad OK’d, China Mobile Takes iPhone

Could Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, be getting a new jolt from the burgeoning China market, its second largest?
 

Chances are the Cupertino, Calif.-based company will be able to start selling more products as early as next month, when it starts its fourth fiscal quarter.
Besides boosting revenue and profits from China, where Apple CEO Timothy Cook visited in March, the approvals could dramatically boost the company's prospects in China, where middle-class incomes are spurring consumer purchases. Market researchers say Samsung Electronics (Seoul: 5930) holds about 25 percent of Chinese smartphone sales while Apple's share is only around 7 percent.

The approvals could also assist Apple shares, which have fallen 14 percent from their all-time high of $644 set on April 10. At midday Monday, they were at $554.42, down $10.47. 

China's Telecommunications Equipment Certification Center said the new iPad is compatible with China Unicom's (NYSE: CHU) 3G wireless services. The approval removes the last obstacle to selling the products.

Apple sold 11.8 million iPads last quarter, bringing cumulative sales to about 55 million.The China regulatory approval came around the same time the same agency approved the acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), the No. 1 search engine. Google closed the $12.5 billion acquisition of the Motorola Android smartphone maker on May 22.

China Unicom had been Apple's exclusive iPhone seller until recently, when the company added China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE: CHL), the No. 3 carrier.Last quarter, China accounted for $7.9 billion of Apple's overall revenue, or 20 percent of the total. "We had an incredible quarter in China," Cook said, when he discussed results with investors.

But Apple's primary contractor, Foxconn, a unit of Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industries (Taipei: 2317), couldn't meet initial consumer demand: Before the Year of the Dragon began in late January, consumers rioted over iPhone shortages in Shanghai.Cook visited Apple retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai during his tour, his first as Apple CEO.

Besides boosting Apple sales, analysts believe the company sells the iPhone 4S at a higher margin than in the U.S. Apple's overall gross margin, or sales less costs of revenue, rose to a record 47.1 percent last quarter from only 41.4 percent a year earlier.

For earnings, that could also add more to Apple's bottom line. Jefferies analyst Peter Misek estimates Apple will report third-quarter net income around $9.38 billion, or $10.02 a share, compared with $7.3 billion, or $7.89 a year ago.

Meanwhile, Misek and other analysts expect Apple to refresh the iPhone 4S before long with a successor, an iPhone 5 or whatever monicker Apple decides, which will be an improved product with better displays and features, a higher retail price and resulting higher margins.

This article comes from:http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/348472/20120604/apple-china-ipad-iphone-4s-unicom-mobile.htm

New NASA App 2.0 Released For iPhone, iPod Touch

NASA released an updated version of the free NASA App for iPhone and iPod touch on Monday. The NASA App 2.0 includes several new features and a completely redesigned user interface that improves the way people can explore and experience NASA content on their mobile devices.

A team at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA, completely rebuilt the NASA App for iPhone and iPod touch. It now has a fast and intuitive interface for the approximately 4.7 million people who've downloaded it so far. Other new features of NASA App 2.0 include weather forecasts in the spacecraft sighting opportunities section; maps, information and links to all of the NASA visitor centers; a section about NASA's programs, as well as the ability to print, save and access favorite items, and bookmark images. The NASA App 2.0 requires iOS 5.0 or later.

"This is our first major redesign of the NASA App for iPhone since our initial release in 2009," said Jerry Colen, NASA App project manager at Ames. "We are really excited about this release and think users are going to love the new interface and features."

All of the NASA Apps for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android showcase a wealth of NASA content, including thousands of images, videos on-demand, live streaming of NASA Television, the agency's Third Rock online radio station, mission and launch information, featured content, stories and breaking news. Users also can find sighting opportunities for the International Space Station and track the position of the orbiting laboratory. App users also easily can share NASA content with their friends and followers on Facebook, Twitter or via email. In total, the apps have been downloaded by more than 8.8 million people.

This article comes from:http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=e3eb9bc7-a7c6-490e-b074-2e9c04c2ebee

Kroll Ontrack claims data recovery ‘breakthrough’ for Apple

Claiming a ‘breakthrough’ with the new technique, Kroll Ontrack says it has developed specialised tools and the “unique ability” to recover data that is logically inaccessible on the Apple device’s permanent storage, and which addresses common logical failures leading to data loss and deleted files, corrupt software, misplaced passwords and OS upgrade issues.

“Apple devices are well known for their ease of use, amazing high quality graphics, high tech innovation and transport mobility, and as a result, we see more critical data being stored on these devices and a greater sense of urgency to recover this data in the event of data loss,” said Troy Hegr, technology manager at Kroll Ontrack. “Kroll Ontrack can successfully address any and all Apple data recovery situations, ensuring users have access to the data they want and need.”
“Consistent with the widespread adoption of Apple devices are an increasing array of backup options -- whether it be the cloud or backup software.

 However, when individuals go to reach for their backup, it may not be up to date, accessible or good,” Hegr said, adding that, as a result, Kroll Ontrack had seen a “350 percent increase in personal Apple device recovery requests in the past 12 months.”

According to Hegr, the most requested data to be recovered from Apple devices are photos/videos and contacts followed by notes and text messages. In addition to the increase in personal device activity, Hegr says Kroll Ontrack has also recovered over 1.1 petabytes of data from Apple devices in the past 12 months, a 16 percent increase over the prior 12 months.

This article comes from:http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/market/54933-kroll-ontrack-claims-data-recovery-breakthrough-for-apple

Apple speaks up in Siri 'false advertising' lawsuit

Apple is hoping to dismiss a set of class-action lawsuits accusing it of falsely advertising Siri.

The initial lawsuit was filed in March by a iPhone 4S owner who claimed the iPhone 4S's voice activated assistant feature doesn't work as advertised. A second lawsuit accuses the company of misrepresenting the iPhone 4S's voice assistant feature in its advertising campaign.

Apple claims that the case should be dismissed because the plaintiffs have not specified that the claims about Siri led them to purchase the device. Apple says: "When [plaintiffs] were exposed to the purportedly misleading advertisements, which ones they found material, how and why they were false, or which they relied upon in purchasing their iPhones."

Apple also notes that the plaintiffs didn't provide "the requisite pre-suit notice of an alleged breach of warranty" and: "Tellingly, although Plaintiffs claim they became dissatisfied with Siri's performance "soon after" purchasing their iPhones, they made no attempt to avail themselves of Apple's 30-day return policy or one-year warranty - which remains in effect."

You can read Apple's complete response to the lawsuit, at Electronista.
The second complaint, which was filed by California resident David Jones stated that: "Through its nationwide multimedia marketing campaign, Apple disseminates false and deceptive representations regarding the functionality of the Siri feature."

"Defendant's misrepresentations regarding the Siri Feature are misleading, false, reasonably likely to deceive and have deceived Plaintiff and members of the putative Class," says that complaint.

"Soon after purchasing his iPhone 4S, Plaintiff [Jones] discovered that the Siri Function did not work as advertised. For example, Plaintiff would ask Siri for directions to a certain location, or to pinpoint a business, and Siri either would not understand what the Plaintiff askes, or, after a long wait, provided the wrong answer," reads the complaint.

When Apple announced Siri with the iPhone 4S it was clear that the service is still in beta. As the company says on the marketing page for the service, "Siri is currently in beta and we'll continue to improve it over time".

This article comes from:http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/mobile-phone/3358165/apple-speaks-up-in-siri-false-advertising-lawsuit

RAM upgrade considerations for iMac systems

When it comes to memory upgrades, Apple's CTO offerings for its Mac systems are options I recommend people avoid, not because of any quality issues, but because of the ludicrously high prices Apple charges for the upgrades. For instance, Apple ships its iMac systems with a standard 4GB RAM, but if you want the optional 8GB or 16GB RAM upgrades, you will pay $200 or $600, respectively.
These prices are more than four times the cost of most other similarly sized and specced RAM upgrade options, which are just as compatible with your iMac as Apple's RAM. While some might assume Apple's memory upgrades are somehow special because of the price, the truth is the memory is no different than that supplied by any other manufacturer, and provided the specifications are the same, a cheaper third-party RAM module should work just fine in your system, and save you an immense amount of cash.
For instance, in looking at the $200 Apple charges for an 8GB upgrade to its iMac systems, you can purchase a similar and compatible 8GB upgrade of Mushkin memory from NewEgg for $45. If you don't like Mushkin, then you can find similar specced RAM from other manufacturers for a similar price. The difference gets even more drastic with the 16GB upgrade, which from Apple will cost you a whopping $600, but if you use a third party, the RAM upgrade will cost you around $100.
Not only does Apple charge a premium for RAM (far more than it does for other CTO components like hard drives and GPU options), but it also does not offer all RAM options its systems are capable of. In its MacBook Pro lineup Apple offers a maximum of 8GB RAM, even though the systems can take up to 16GB. Likewise, Apple's iMac systems are also advertised and sold short of their true RAM capabilities. Starting in mid-2010, Apple's iMac systems support up to 32GB of RAM, even though Apple claims the systems can only be upgraded to half that amount.
It is unclear why Apple claims these lower capabilities of its systems. Perhaps it is simply a matter of testing done on Apple's part, but if you have one of the newer iMac systems (starting in mid-2010), then even though Apple claims you can only put up to 16GB in the systems, you can install 32GB if you wish to maximize the capability of your new system, and do so relatively cheaply.
Recently, Mac upgrade manufacturer and peripheral distributor Other World Computing released a new 32GB RAM upgrade module for iMac systems, which should be compatible with mid-2010 or later iMac systems. The upgrade is priced at $349, and as such is more than $250 less than the price Apple charges for its 16GB upgrade.
OWC's RAM upgrade is a solid option for iMac users to consider, but even it does not beat the available options out there. A quick search shows that if desired, you can get a similar 32GB RAM upgrade from G.SKILL for $100 less than OWC's upgrade.
As with any servicing to a computer system, the idea of upgrading the computer's memory may sound like a technical procedure; however, memory upgrades on Mac systems are one of the few user-serviceable options for which Apple provides detailed instructions. Upgrades simply require you shut off the system, open a latch or remove part of the case, and then swap out the old memory modules for the new ones. Then close the case and start the system -- the process is easier and less painful than even hard-drive upgrades.
The only extra step that I recommend everyone do following a RAM upgrade is to thoroughly test it, which can be done using third-party utilities like Rember, or with using Apple's built-in hardware tests.
This article comes from:http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57436185-263/ram-upgrade-considerations-for-imac-systems/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

Wozniak calls for open Apple hardware and software

 
Ever since Steve Jobs convinced his friend Steve Wozniak in 1976 to sell the Apple I board as a product instead of give it away, Apple has been a company with a closed platform. The original Macintosh had anti-tampering screws, Apple refuses to license its desktop OS, and the iOS platform is famously locked down. After backing off on his promotion of openness in recent years, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is again calling on the company to open up.
While giving a talk in Sydney, Wozniak said that Apple could continue to develop the innovative end-to-end solutions it has been famous for while giving developers more access. Specifically, Woz argued that providing a programming interface on the iPad would allow the creation of great new technologies that currently only exist at the fringes of the jailbreak community.
Steve Jobs was the driving force behind Apple’s integrated approach. He believed that to create an “insanely great” product, you need to control the whole widget. It was only in Steve Jobs’ absence in the early 90s that Apple dabbled in licensing its MacOS software. Perhaps Jobs’ passing in October of last year made it easier for Wozniak to renew his calls for openness.
Wozniak pointed to Apple’s tech rivals Google and Facebook, which run open platforms that give developers plenty of access. Apple makes it difficult to even access data without being completely plugged into its hardware and software ecosystem. While Woz is still an experimenter and engineer at heart, he was careful to clarify his feeling that openness should not be allowed to negatively affect the quality of the product.
So the question is, could Apple open up its hardware and software while still creating the cohesive products that saved the company a decade ago? Even if it’s possible, Steve Jobs might have infused too much of his DNA in the company’s leadership for anyone to risk it.
This article comes from:http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/wozniak-calls-for-open-apple-hardware-and-software-20120515/