Alondo

Apps on your iPhone and iPad Home Screen – That’s So 2012

If you have always wanted to figure out a way to show your background on your iPhone or iPad, I have a method that has worked well for me over the last year, or so. The better part, it can be done in only a couple easy steps and doesn’t require any scary stuff like jailbreaking.

Firstly, you need to move all but one of your icons off of the main homepage. In this instance, I left the Google Search app. This app isn’t critical, but if you intend for it to stay on the dock, I would plan for that app to be used here.

Now that you have the screen relatively clear, hold your finger on the app icon until it starts wiggling, then drag it to the dock at the bottom. Press the home button so that the icons stop wiggling an d you will notice that nothing from page 2 moved back to page 1.

If you want to get real fancy, move the app from the dock onto another page and have a completely cleaned up home screen. Remember, this works on both iPhones and iPads. Have fun!

What…No Reed Richards “Graying at the Temples” Look Yet? (Superman Turns 75)

Wow, Supes, you sure look good for a guy that is celebrating his semisesquicentennial anniversary. You sure look younger than…well…every other 75-year-old.

It was 75 years ago that the Man of Steel leaped from the minds of Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster. The two (and their heirs) have fought a bitter battle for the ownership and rights of their creation. Of course, things might have gone much differently if Superman had been created in the form of a bald, telepathic villain as imagined in one of their alternate versions of the character.

A new movie adaptation of Superman is coming to the big screen this summer, and DC has revamped the character (along with others) in their universe reboot, but many of us will have a fondness for the Christopher Reeve flicks and the comic book stories that made him truly iconic (especially his death at the hands of Doomsday – a story that garnered widespread media attention).

In the meantime, there are quite a few homages, little known facts, rankings of his greatest adventures, and parodies to help celebrate his date of origination in style. So put on your Underoos and join in on the fun.

When Real Gaming Meets the Real World – Game Characters in Real Settings

TMNT in Real Life

Like most 35+ year olds, there is a special place in our hearts for the Super NES. It took the best 8-bit home gaming system of the day and injected steroids into it, giving us near arcade-quality gameplay in homes everywhere. By the end of its life, it was a true powerhouse of graphics and audio capability that Sega just couldn’t quite beat. Just the availability of Mortal Kombat II in a living room was an amazing feat!

Well, it’s time to take nostalgia to level 42 with these sets of images by Glauber Tanaka and Victor Sauron. If only these images were screen caps from remakes of these games with the realistic backgrounds! The concept is refreshing and makes you want to break out an emulator just to relive the memories. I have definitely given new considerations to getting a certain item in the near future. Some of their other images are listed after the break, for your perusal.

Continue reading “When Real Gaming Meets the Real World – Game Characters in Real Settings”

Because You Don’t Need to Read Email from the Grave

Google Doodle from Day of the Dead 2012

In a move that will probably make those squeemish about their privacy happy, Google has morbidly announced their afterlife data management called the Inactive Account Manager.

The tool, which is available on your Google Account settings page, will let you determine exactly what to do with all your data in the event you don’t log in for a determined period of time (3 months, 6 months, 9 months, or 1 year). You will have the option to either allow Google to delete all of your data in one fell swoop or transfer ownership of your digital footprint over to a trusted relative, confidante, or total stranger.

The services indicated to take advantage of this transfer/deletion tool are +1s; Blogger; Contacts and Circles; Drive; Gmail; Google+ Profiles, Pages and Streams; Picasa Web Albums; Google Voice and YouTube.

For those of you out there who might panic that Google will inadvertently delete all your data because you won a one year, all expenses paid trip around the world, you can set the tool so that it will notify you before it does anything.

Might I suggest that you don’t use your Gmail address for the message?

For Your Eyes Only (and the IRS?)

In a blog post by Nathan Freed Wessler, a staff attorney at the ACLU, it looks like Big Brother Government feels they have the right to read your emails without a warrant. How serious is this? Probably pretty serious, since it flies in the face of the Fourth Amendment (as confirmed by the 6th Circuit Appeals Court) and a portion of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The the exclusions are email that has been opened but left on a server more than 180 days (considered to be abandoned) and email that is unopened. These two specific instances do not require a warrant. In the golden days of POP3 email delivery, where a user was expected to download every message, some of this made sense (except the unopened email part). However, in these days of remote mail access and nearly endless on-line data storage, it doesn’t.

This being said, Mr. Wessler admits that the documents don’t explicitly indicate that the IRS can bypass the constitutional requirements for probable cause and judicially sanctioned warrants. Conversely, they don’t say that the IRS can’t either. Before the 6th Circuit Appeals Court’s findings, the IRS’ own Search Warrant Handbook indicated the following:

“the Fourth Amendment does not protect communications held in electronic storage, such as email messages stored on a server, because internet users do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such communications.”

Folks can say what they want about the ACLU, mostly because of their continued work to maintain the separation between church and state, but I am personally thankful that they are helping to uphold our guaranteed rights.

Make Your Own Magazine (Well Sort Of)

Flipboard, the now infamous RSS and personal news aggregator has upgraded to version 2.0 of its software. Now, it is always a gamble when moving to version 2.0 of any software that has a strong following, especially considering that it might alienate the die hard or remove the features that users love the most. However, Flipboard looks to have gotten it right.

One of the complaints of many folks was the inability to share a craftily comprised collection of poignant or timely news sources. That concern has been taken care of via the ability of users to share their culled sources as a personal magazine. This means that if your have a group of horticulturists who have the same affinity for bug neutralizing fertilizers as you do, you could simply share out your news sources to those folks via the magazine feature.

Another feature that was added was the ability for individuals to quickly bookmark stories and sources that showed up in suggested feeds and news stories that originated through recommendations and suggestions via the Flipboard aggregator.

I know that I had quite a few uses for a feature like this when I would see interesting stories show up on the technology feed of Flipboard. I would have no way to add a new up-and-coming technology blog that wasn’t quite on my radar.

There are some other new features, like the ability to quickly add content to your Flipboard via the bookmarklet tool, integration with Etsy, a new content search, and some navigation logistics in the ribbon area.

The newest versions are out for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. There was no immediate indication of Android application changes or release dates.

Press 1 to Speak with a Representative about an Exciting New Opportunity…

We have all been there, picking up the phone after a long day of work, only to find that some swindler or politically-oriented campaign has decided to interrupt your evening with an attempt to get your time, money, or vote. It is the quintessential definition of annoying.

Like 220 million other Americans, you join the Do Not Call registry, but the slimy characters still seem to slip through. Their ability to circumvent the established safeguards can bring on stages of ire that can only be assuaged through anger management.
Continue reading “Press 1 to Speak with a Representative about an Exciting New Opportunity…”

What Do You Mean “I Look Like a Pile of Bouncing Rubber Tires When I Run”?

When we run, we all feel like we look like leopards, but in actuality it is probably more akin to the internet meme. That being said, most of us probably look like disheveled heaps of bouncing mass because we were never taught how to run right. Of course, that puts the onus on us all to find out how to actually do that. Well here comes the internet to help, saving you the time and expense of a running coach (for now).

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It’s Running Season, So Let’s Get Serious About These 5K’s (but not too serious)

Over the next few months, there is an expectation that a number of folks will be hitching their wagons to at least one 5K (3.2 mile) run. So, if it’s your first, how do you prepare?

Well, luckily your friends at Active.com have put together a quick How-To on preparing for your first race day. It includes those basic “duh” tips that can help make your race day a success. And let’s not forget that the race is only part of the experience, a 5K can eat up a good portion of your day when you consider preparation, execution, and celebration.

Currently, though, a great trend has been developing: Fun 5Ks! Continue reading “It’s Running Season, So Let’s Get Serious About These 5K’s (but not too serious)”

If You Weren’t Convinced that the OUYA was Formidable, Consider the Emulator Possibilities

The story of the OUYA has been the amazing story of a little, hand-held game system with Kickstarter backing that might have enough clout to topple the big boys. Their concept is to bring the ubiquitous Android programming platform to a dedicated game system. The other advantages are its HD output and incredibly low $99 price tag (orders are supposed to start shipping tomorrow).

Well, a talented emulator developer, Robert Broglia, has announced, via OUYAForum, that he will be focusing his efforts on the device. The advantage is obvious, in that the wealth of nostalgic games will immediately expand the library right out of the gate.

Personally, I had only given the device a passing glance as a “cute trinket” that wouldn’t take up much space in an entertainment console, but this announcement, as well as the possibility of the thousands of other Android games that could be used on this device, got me thinking. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if the device steals some of the “mini game” business from the XBox 360 and PS3 platforms.