Apple Wouldn’t Risk Its Cool Over an Ad Gimmick, Would It?
I know some will call this evil, while others will say it’s genius. It only depends on which part of the fence you are and how much is at stake.
What I hope will happen is that once this will get implemented (and I’d say it will get implemented quite soon), is that some sort of control on the quality of the advertising will be in place. And not a centralized one, but rather a crowdsourced solution (maybe something like the ads on Facebook (?))
Apple has invested in research to develop what it calls an “enforcement routine” that makes people watch ads they may not want to watch. Its distinctive feature is a design that doesn’t simply invite a user to pay attention to an ad — it also compels attention. The technology can freeze the device until the user clicks a button or answers a test question to demonstrate that he or she has dutifully noticed the commercial message. Because this technology would be embedded in the innermost core of the device, the ads could appear on the screen at any time, no matter what one is doing.
6 More Apps To Help You Focus
A list of 6 other apps you might find useful in case you are one of those that have realized they need tools to fight the lack of focus and you also believe that deadlines are the best motivators.
Lacking Focus?
Are you having problems when you must focus on your current tasks? Are you tempted to just flip through the windows on your desktop and look for something to save you? Are you tempted to check what’s going on on Facebook or Twitter instead of working on your goals?
If you are a Mac user, you may find the following two free applications quite useful then.
Isolator ☞
Isolator is an application that can hide all windows from your desktop. No more email clients, no more Twitter clients or websites. The minute you’ve started Isolator, it is only you and the current application until you finish your job.
Freedom ☞
Freedom is an application that takes a radical approach: it cuts your internet for a predefined period. The only way you can get back online before the defined timer expires is by rebooting the machine. And that’s a bit of a hassle, so maybe you’ll just focus on what you have to complete.
Awesome Minimal Mac Desktop via suzannexie via minimalmac via abuhafsa
And a nice Tumblr to follow: minimalmac ☞
Simplest iPhone Tethering
This is said to be the easiest way for enabling tethering on the iPhone. The solution is not updated for the version 3.1 and I couldn’t find Orange Ro in the list of carriers though.
iTunes Ate My Apps ... and How I Got 'em Back
I have waited a couple of days before upgrading iTunes and the iPhone OS, just to make sure that there will be no such ‘accidents’.
Loopt Does NOT Work in the Background
The news about the Loopt iPhone app have got a lot of attention. But as I’ve discovered later, there is a serious mistake in it. So, to set things straight:
Loopt iPhone app does NOT work in the background. The solution is using server-to-server communication between AT&T and Loopt (basically Loopt gets the location data directly from AT&T).
Android Market Is Getting A Facelift
As you already know I’m a bit (well, probably a bit more) of an iPhone fan and that’s the reason I’m spending so much time reviewing the tons of apps available in the AppStore.
Anyways, keeping an eye on the competitor market is always a smart thing to do. And I’m reading that the Android Market is getting ready for the new Android release:
I’m pleased to let you know about several updates to Android Market.
If you are coming from the AppStore, do not expect much. But if you’ve been on the Android Market I bet you’ve been begging for these new features.
Yet Another Voice App in the App Store, but Not Google Voice
After Toktumi’s iPhone app has been approved in the AppStore, it is now the time for another VOIP app coming from Vonage.
According to the reports:
Details at this point are still lacking: we have no idea when it will actually release, nor do we know how much it’ll cost for all you Vonage-faithful out there.
It looks like Google’s Voice app is the only one remaining out on a limb.
If you love your iPhone, make sure you are not missing any of the app reviews and categories covered in the iPhone apps for geeks series.
A Google Voice Alternative iPhone App
In case you are in US and got interested in the whole buzz around Apple, Google and the FCC about the Google Voice app, then you might be interested to hear that a sort of Google Voice alternative iPhone app has been released in the AppStore.
The powerful service (n.b. offered by Toktumi) allows business employees to assign two phone numbers to their iPhone: one that they can give to family and friends, and another that can be given to business contacts, with features that allow for call filtering and a professional-grade voicemail system.
