Apple Watch battery

So we’re pretty excited about the Apple Watch.

We know there are a lot of people out there who aren’t- people who dislike Apple for the sake of disliking Apple, people who don’t like to wear watches, people who have really fat wrists…

But we’re excited. The one thing, however, that was rather glossed over in the Special Media Event where it was announced was battery power. Specifically, how long the battery will stay powered.

There have been rumors that this is one reason for the (some say) delayed release date of early(ish) 2015 instead of the predicted release date of 4th quarter 2014. The little Apple Oompa Loompa’s have apparently been working around the clock to try and increase the battery length of the Apple watch past one day’s use, which it seems to be at currently.

In comparison with other brands of smart watch, the Apple watch seems to be a fierce competitor, however when we’re talking specifically about battery length, not so much. Although it’s not too bad – the other watches range from less than one day ( Hi Moto 360) to one day, to 7 days ( Hi Pebble Steel).

These two things obviously interact- with more processing power and capabilities comes less battery life. If Apple is unable to increase the battery life on the Apple Watch, and it does indeed need to be plugged in overnight, every night, will that sway those in the market for the next new & big thing? The newest Apple wearable tech no less?

Hey, maybe it’ll be a Jony Ive Christmas Miracle and they’ll figure out completely wireless charging in time for the release! And then, in twenty years, our children will ask us why we sometimes call starting to charge something ‘plugging it in’.

Just like some kids these days don’t know why we say ‘roll down/up’ the window’. Isn’t that WEIRD?

*We’re sorry, that was mean

Facebook messenger to process payments?

SiliconValley have reported on some sneaky investigative work by Stanford computer science student Andrew Aude. He has discovered that Facebook messenger is now set up to process financial transactions between users.

The feature will function in a similar way to how we currently use the app to send photos with the added security of an in-app pin code. The  cards used can be added within the app or can be the card users already have on file with FaceBook ( i.e. for ads) The cards available currently are only Debit cards, it seems because they cost lower fees for transferring funds and are generally easier for customers to use.

There is no clue as of yet if Facebook will charge a fee for processing transections or if they will offer the feature for free (at least to begin with). There has been some recent backlash to the separation of the the FaceBook Mobile app and the FaceBook Messenger Mobile App that they may be seeking to rectify with a free service such as this. This will also allow them to compete in a whole new arena of peer-to-peer payments with companies such as Venmo and Square.

The guy deciding all of this is David Marcus, the new head of Messenger AND formerly the president of PayPal.We seem some kind of link there… Building up a payements processing feature within messenger could also build the acceptance as FB processing financial transactions, which could prove helpful, as Facebook is also working on a ‘Buy’ button for making eCommerce purchases straight from the News Feed.

Can you see yourself using FB to transfer funds to your Facebook friends or to process other financial transactions?

The NFL bans players from wearing Beats headphones!

The NFL has signed a new deal with Bose, which means no NFL player will be allowed to bear Beats headphones anywhere around TV Cameras- during training camps, practice and game day (before, during and 90 minutes after play)

You might remember last year both Colin Kaepernick and Richard Sherman had ads running with Beats, using them to tune out the crowd before a game.

This comes amid rumors that the Clippers will be banned from wearing Beats as well (or using anything Apple.)

Let’s hope that that Colin Kaepernick is still able to focus without his beats. We don’t mind so much is Sherman is distracted, because GO 49ERS!

App Of The Week! Party Edition!

Just in time for the Saturday night, we have our App of the week. Were you guys thinking that this weekend was the perfect weekend for doing an Hour of Power? Yeah?

Excellent.

For those who are unsure of what an Hour of Power (Power Hour) is, excellent. It’s one shot of beer every minute for an hour and it looks like you’ve just found your Saturday evening activity. (Or Sunday morning – look at you!)

You’ll need Ali Spagnola’s Power Album: Party Hour Playlist Maker. It uses your own music, cutting the songs down to 1 minute each and giving you the option to add sound effects for when you have to drink.

It will also connect you to others doing exactly the same thing as you are (for Cyber Power Hour High Five’s obviously), tweet out your power hour party photos, and give you access to Ali Spagnola’s own personal power hour mix.

It’s $1.99 from the App store. Worth it. Happy weekend!

Special iPad Apple Event announced! Details here!

According to those master secret finder-outers Re/Code new Apple event is coming, this time focusing on the iPad. On Thursday October 17th, Tim Cook will suit up and get ready to (allegedly) announce updated iPads, as well as the likelihood of new Retina iMacs and the official public release of OS X Yosemite.

The event will be held at Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium.

The updated iPad Air and iPad Retina Mini are both said to come with better A8 processors (the same as in the iPhone 6), an upgraded camera, and Touch ID. There is talk that the iPad Air will also be available in the Gold color we’re familiar with from the recent iPhone incarnations.

And, finally, while their on their ‘big things’ roll, there are rumors that Apple will also announce a new 12.9-inch iPad, expected to launch the 2nd quarter in 2015.

Exciting!

New Apple Activation Lock Tool

Have you purchased an iPhone from eBay or Craigslist and discovered that it’s locked to the previous owner? And then you can’t get in touch with them for whatever reason or they’re too busy to unlock it and now you have a really nice looking paperweight that cost you way more than a paperweight should?

Yeah. it happens.

Activation lock was brought in with iOS 7 and has shown to have decreased device theft (specifically iPhone theft) which is fantastic. If it is locked to a user, anyone who doesn’t know the Apple ID and password will not be able to use or wipe the phone. Great – unless you’ve paid for a used phone and discover it’s locked.

But! Good news! Apple has now come out with an Activation Lock Status Tool that lets anyone check to see if a device is locked to someone else using either it’s IMEI number or Serial number.

The IMEI and serial numbers can be found through Settings > General > About to see your device’s serial number and IMEI. You can also find the serial number for your iPad and iPod touch engraved on the back case, near the bottom.

If the device does turn out to be locked, the tool will then give you instructions on how it can be unlocked. This will always mean getting back in touch with the owner. The good thing here though is that you can request the IMEI or Serial number of a device before it’s purchased to make sure it’s unlocked, or giving you opportunity to request that it be unlocked before you buy it.

Check it out here: https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

Jony Ive speaks!

The shy genius himself, Jony Ive, Senior Vice president of Design for Apple, is the subject of a in-depth profile by Vogue, titled ‘A Rare Look at Design Genius Jony Ive: The Man Behind the Apple Watch’.

Mr Ive’s time at Apple has been prolific and he has been behind many of their signature products, however he is notoriously media shy, only appearing in video’s to show off his work at Apple events. Most recently, he has been working on the Apple Watch, their first foray into wearable tech that created a buzz at their September media event and which will be released early next year.

Check out the full article here. It makes for an interesting Thursday evening read.

Deals of the week wednesday!

How to sync your iBooks onto your iPad

Lesson time! Obviously books are a lot easier (if only because it’s more natural) to read on your iPad instead of your computer. Here’s how to sync your books from your computer to your iPad.

Connect your iPad through usb to your computer.

If it’s the first time you’re connecting your iPad to your computer, both devices wil ask if the other is trustworthy. You should say yes, unless you have sneaky suspicions, of course.

iTunes on your computer should open automatically, but if it doesn’t, you can open it yourself (look at what a big strong adult you are)

Once open, click on the button ‘iPad’ or the name of the iPad in the top right corner.

At the top of the window that opens, it will give you a range of options – summary info, apps, music movies, TV shows Podcast, iTunes U ( everyone should look into iTunes U btw), and finally, books.

( Hot tip – you can sync all these things between your devices using the same method)

Click on books.

Select the ‘sync books’ check box, then choose to ‘sync all books’ or ‘selected books’ (which you can pick from below.)

There are 4 stages of syncing – it should take about 5 minutes ( depending on how much data you’re syncing of course.)

You can also sync your Audiobooks here.

Now you have all that lovely reading material on both! We recommend Shantaram, ‘Is everyone hanging out without me’ by Mindy and Mr Mercedes by Stephen King.

Just try not to do the ‘ol lying on your back reading with your iPad held above you until it falls on your face injury, k? K.

In Paris Oui Oui? Go check out the Apple Watch!

In Paris? Because you’re lucky like that? Colette, a Parisian fashion boutique is currently prominently displaying the Apple Watch in it’s Rue Saint-Honore Location! So go check it out, Oui? ( Gosh we love saying Oui.)

This is apparently in preparation for a special event Apple has planned with Colette tomorrow, with the suggestion that the Apple Watch will indeed be a highlight of the event.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to see it, know that you are one of very few people in the world to do so. Apple has said that they plan to release the wearable device in early 2015, with some suggesting that it might be the later part of early 2015.

Plenty of time to decide which one you’re going to get, and which band you’re going to pair it with!  And to practice your watch -looking at face. So people can say Ooh La La! Tres Jolie!

Oui Oui!