Josh Ortiz

The iPhone has grown in popularity over the years mainly because of the apps that have been created for it. Most of the available applications are designed either to entertain or educate, and so it really is up to you to determine what you are looking for. There are plenty of apps to choose from. Some are free or come with a small charge. My favorite app would have to be Words With Friends, and it's one of the most addictive games on smartphones today. That's the game that Alec Baldwin refused to stop playing as he waited for his American Airlines flight to take off a few weeks ago: he refused to stop playing so they threw him off the plane!

intoxicheck™ takes guesswork out of judging impairment

Innocorp, Ltd's new iPhone app, intoxicheck™, leads users through a simple set of before and after reaction, judgment and memory challenges so drivers clearly see how impaired they are in an effort to stop drinking and driving. Because it works on a smartphone, users have convenient access to the new iPhone app anywhere.

Excessive alcohol consumption makes both driving and walking unsafe. In 2005, the Injury Prevention reported that New Year's Day is deadly for pedestrians. From 1986 to 2002, 410 pedestrians were killed on New Year's Day. Fifty-eight per cent of those killed had high blood-alcohol concentrations, to say nothing of passengers and motorists killed by drinking and driving.

Shoppers are more comfortable making online purchases from their home computers than from their smartphones: laptop shoppers also buy different products than smartphone shoppers.

TechBargains.com, a leading deal curation website for electronic products, released its 2011 Holiday Mobile Shopping Survey, revealing that while the number of mobile shoppers is increasing dramatically, they are using their mobile devices to research products more than they use them to make purchases. Shoppers are comfortable making purchases from their home computers, but are more hesitant using their tablets and mobile phones to buy online.

The survey found that 58 per cent of shoppers have made purchases via their mobile phone as compared to 94 per cent who have made purchases via laptops and 75 per cent via tablets. For those who shop with their phone, 79 per cent use it to research products, 73 per cent to browse stores and 77 per cent to compare prices. 

Canadians' dependency on smartphones is high with 85 per cent saying they are attached to their devices. The number is expected to grow as more and more functions migrate to the mobile devices. 

Canadians predict faster network speeds, smaller laptops and purchases over their wireless device in 2012 and beyond, according to a new survey commissioned by Rogers Communications. The survey finds that most Canadian smartphone or tablet users feel technology will improve their lives in the future.

There are high expectations for technology in 2012, with young men being the most optimistic that the power of technology will improve their lives. The poll was conducted by Vision Critical in December 2011 among more than 1,000 adult Canadian smartphone or tablet users. This survey is the first of the Rogers Innovation Report, a regular survey commissioned by Rogers to explore Canadians' habits and views on technological innovations.

Almost half of Canadians plan to shop online for Boxing Day sales this year.

eCoupons.ca survey shows Canadians searching for Boxing Day Deals throughout December

Millions of Canadians will click on Cyber Boxing Day on December 26 with close to half of online Canadians planning to shop online for Boxing Day sales according to a new survey performed for eCoupons.ca. Interest in online Boxing Day sales grew steadily from December 4 to Christmas Day and peaked between December 26 and  December 31. Eight per cent planned to wait until January 2012.

1. Millions of RIM BlackBerry Users Lose Service

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/12/tech/mobile/blackberry-outage/index.html

2. Software glitch costs UK tax office millions in lost revenue
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/software-glitch-costs-tax-office-millions-in-lost-revenue-2200152.html

3. Amazon's cloud collapses 
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/04/22/amazon.cloud.mashable/

4. Hacker attacks Sony Playstation Network account holders
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/04/26/playstation.network.hack/index.html

5. Citigroup customers' information breached
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43389964/ns/technology_and_science-the_new_york_times#.Tt0YP_JVmQo

6. Pentagon details major cyberattack 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14157975

7. Computer glitch sets 450 highly dangerous prisoners free
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1391454/Computer-glitch-led-450-highly-dangerous-inmates-released-California-prisons.html#ixzz1fgxFkFN8

8. Mercedes-Benz cars recalls 137,000 SUVs
http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/05/autos/mercedes_m-class_recall/index.htm

9. More than 400,000 UK organ donation details stored incorrectly
http://www.itpro.co.uk/630274/over-400-000-organ-donation-details-stored-incorrectly

10. Bug allows HP printers to be remotely hacked 
http://www.scmagazineus.com/bug-allows-hp-printers-to-be-remotely-hacked-set-on-fire/article/217784/

WebLayers' automated, cross platform governance framework improves software quality, helping organizations to ensure against damaging software glitches, reduce costs, and speed the development and deployment of applications from the cloud to the handset. Learn more at www.weblayers.com.

Speeds like these are nowhere in sight for consumers, but advertisers still tout them.

Reprinted with permission from Condo.ca

A US-based consumer advocate that specializes in broadband issues warns that consumers may be disappointed to find that “not all 4G Internet connections are created equal and none currently live up to the marketing hype.” Broadband Expert CEO, Rob Webber, commenting on the need for the alert, said that carriers that advertise 4G Internet services use several different technologies, and consumers may not be aware that they could be signing up to a completely different technology depending on which carrier they choose. More importantly, the high speeds advertised are in all cases theoretical: actual, real-world speeds achieved are mere fractions of these.

For example, while Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile all market 4G services, three different technologies are behind these 4G networks, all of which have differing theoretical (and real world) top speeds.

FatWallet, the online shopping resource, names the Top 25 Black Friday Deals and Steals of 2011. FatWallet's deal hunters search the internet 365 days a year to find the best deals, coupons and store offers available and present them each day on FatWallet's Today’s Best Deals and Deals by Category pages.

Said David Varble, FatWallet Tech Expert, “The best Black Friday deals would preferably be the lowest prices we’ve seen, but shoppers can find a comparable selection of items online as well as in-store.”

This top 25 list was chosen from more than 15,000 retail ad items found in FatWallet’s 2011 Black Friday Deal Finder.

With Nightingale, author David Farland purposefully crafted a storyline that would make use of the technology and thanks to a new type of publisher, East India Press, Farland was able to produce a work in which music and art fit the story and speak to the intended audience.

The story is about a young man who wants to be the world's greatest guitarist and venerates the music of Joe Satriani. The 45-minute album created by the head of the American Composer's Guild, James Guymon, sounds like it could have been produced by Satriani, in the style of Pink Floyd, bringing the music in line with the story. The enhanced ebook also contains video interviews with the author, as well as photographs of the setting the story takes place in.

eVoice app’s new VoIP features allow users to:

• Reduce cell phone minute usage (and bills) when making and receiving calls over a data connection using WiFi or a 3G/4G network
• Answer every call appropriately with the ability to see caller ID and the extensions dialed on your incoming calls
• Easily connect with important contacts with eVoice’s unique Intercom feature
• Choose the way calls are placed or received with an easy “on” “off” VoIP calling feature