App of the Day

Today’s Apps of the day is a little aestheticentric ( yes, we made that word up, and yes, we’re using it from now on) but, for some people,  pretty goshdarnit useful..

Drumroll?

We’re talking NAILS ladies ( & gentlemen!), specifically the OPI App. It’s pretty nice technology with a clean interface, and serves it’s purpose remarkably well. The purpose being making choosing your next nail color purchase easier, obviously. Because that debacle is a hard one, y’all.

Using this app you can try out hundreds of OPI’s nail colors before you buy, adjusting skin tone and nail length to suit your own , as well as marking shades as favorites and of course, keep up with all the important OPI news. Because that’s a thing.

Pretty nails for everyone!!

More light greens by ballekarina is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

New iPhone announcment September 9?

Behold! The future is getting closer!!

(Duh)

According to sauces in the know, specifically John Paczkowski from Re/code,  Apple will hold a special media event regarding the iPhone 6 on, wait for it, wait we already told you in the title, September 9th! That’s only like, 34 days, 6 hours and 4 minutes away! Who just got shivers!?

The rumors are still holding strong that the new iPhone will come in 2 sizes, most likely 4.7 and 5.5 inches respectively, that they will both retain the fingerprint sensor, run on new and improved A8 processors and feature sapphire displays.

Traditionally, the new iPhone is released to the public the next Friday after they are announced, so if Apple continues on that theme, some of us will be able to hold the new iPhone 6 in our hot little hands come Friday, September 19. Lucky Us!

And THEN we can use that awesome piece of technology ( we hope)  to track the next piece of Apple newness – the iWatch, rumored to be announced in October! Yay!

Exciting tool revealed in iOS 8 Beta 5 released today!

This morning, Apple released the Beta 5 update to iOS 8 as well as OS X 10.10 Yosemite Developer preview 5 to developers. Aside from being good news indicating that things appear to be moving along relatively smoothly with the new iOS, there is something we think is particularly exciting being reported about the updates in iOS 8 Beta 5.

What’s so exciting iPhone Antidote? Well, kids, Healthkit now includes the addition of Spirometry.

Uh…. wha?

Spirometry! Apart from being an excellent word to say, (c’mon, say it aloud, you know it’ll make you feel good..) spirometry is the most common of the pulmonary function tests measuring lung function. It’s an important tool used for generating pneumotachographs, which are helpful in assessing conditions such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

We hate ALL those stupid things, so spirometry is a tool we’re excited to hear will be included in iOS 8.

The Health app was also updated with new icons for Body data, Data Exporting, and a new option for showing Medical ID on Emergency Lock screen. Those things are cool too, we guess.

Image from page 569 of “The science and practice of medicine” (1866) by Internet Book Archive Images is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Facebook freeing the internet in Zambia

Some feel good news in the tech world today!

Internet.org, an organization founded in part by Facebook, has just launched an app allowing limited free internet to people in Zambia who are connected to the Airtel phone company.

In the interest of keeping a a channel of information open to those who would otherwise not be able to access it, Internet.org provides some basic internet to those for whom the data costs would otherwise be prohibitive.

Websites now accessible for free include AccuWeather, Wikipedia, job search sites as well as health information websites. Facebook is obviously included as well, making sure they get their daily dose of social networking and scrolling past other people’s politics and pictures of babies. All jokes aside, as much as people in western countries may go through their anti-social networking phases, there are those who would argue that social networking is pretty important as a free service to those who can’t afford it.

The service works as a standalone App on Android phones as well as being accessed through internet.org on iOS or the basic ‘feature’ phones that are popular in Zambia. If those using the app click outside one of the 13 predetermined services on the App, they will get a warning about data charges that apply.

What’s exciting is that according to those at Internet.org, Zambia currently only has about 15% internet penetration. With a population of 15 Million, the gift of free internet is a great one.

What’s greater is that the App is planned to spread to other countries in the future, making the world a little more connected. Time to find some new Zambian friends on Facebook?

SKype free group messaging coming soon to iOS

Good news iOS folk! Last month, Skype began offering a group video calling feature to Windows Tablets! Them first!? Unfairses! Well, not really, because Skype is owned by Microsoft…

Up to 10 people can get in on this free group calling, which is great, obviously, for families, friends who are on different continents, long distance group relationships, etc. Get a stand for the tablet and it becomes room calling, except there’s 10 different rooms in your room. Did anyone say party?

Anyways. Skype has just announced that the group video calling feature will be coming to ALL mobile platforms, for FREE, in the next to near future. Which means iOS most likely, although it was not specified. Also not specified was the date, although people (who say that they’re) in the know say that this will happen before the year is out.

10 rooms within a room parties for ALL!

You now need Facebook Messenger app to message!

As of this week, you will no longer be able to use the messaging feature in the Mobile Facebook App. Instead, as Facebook announced yesterday, it’s more than 200 million wordlwide users will need to use the separate Facebook messenger App on their mobile devices.

If you already have the messenger app installed, nothing will change. If you try to use the messaging function in the main Facebook app once the full change comes into effect, it will link you to the messenger app instead of the inbox.

Those of you who do not have the standalone Messenger App installed, either go ahead and install it (it’s free, so that’s a come up, right?) or say goodbye to all those lovely, animated Facebook conversations! And to those silly hooligans Pusheen, Meep, Biscuit and Beast. Now that’s a sad day! (If you don’t know who they are, well, you’re already missing out. Maybe.)

Apple TV now comes with these new stations

As of this morning Apple TV now includes a bunch more content !Hooray! Fox Now and CNBC now feature as part of the Apple TV line up, and FX now (including the Simpsons catalog) will be coming soon to an Apple TV near you!

To access Fox Now and CNBC you will need a cable subscription to unlock the content, however some videos and episodes will be available without this.

CNBC will show live broadcasts as well as previously aired content. With Fox Now, you will be able to access such wonderful shows as American Idol and Glee. Wait. We mean such wonderful shows as Family Guy. Yeah. That sounds better.  

So… Have you guys heard about the bird? The bird is the word. ( If you don’t get the reference – quick! To your Apple TV! Family Guy! )

Emjoi your FACE!

Everyone loves the glee Emoji’s bring us young and young at heart, but now, someone has gone a step further by doing that thing where you go I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT and created an App where you can make an Emoji out of your FACE. Or yo mama’s face.

Created by San Francisco based App developer Tom Smith, Imojiapp has the ability to turn any face into a sticker that can then be used as an Emoji in iMessages.

Simply download the app (free from the App Store), sign up with your email address, agree to the terms and conditions ( Duh) and you’re off face creating!

Here is the favorite so far at the iPhone Antidote offices. Meet Papa Nu Guinea Pig as an Emoji.

Deals of the Day!

Today’s deal of the day proudly brought to you by Groupon! You guys should totally jump on a couple of the stellar accessory deals they have on sale right now.

For instance:

The BassBoomz 2.0 Portable Bluetooth Speaker. for $29.99

The QFX 2.1-Channel NFC Bluetooth Speaker System with FM Radio and USB/SD Port for $34.99

The Aduro 3-Piece Camera Lens Kit for iPhones for just $11.99

The Aduro U-Snap Wireless Selfie Remote Photo Clicker with Tripod for only $14.99

And last but not least, and our favorite of today’s deals – is The Roku Streaming Stick with 2 Months Free of Hulu Plus for a miserly $49.99. Although it’s competitor to Apple TV and we do prefer the latter, the price of Roku with the addition of 2 months free Hulu plus is a great deal.

Merry Friday!

Image courtesy of Webdesigner Depot – http://www.webdesignerdepot.com

OS X Yosemite Available on Beta today!

OS X Yosemite is Apple’s new update to their Mac operating system, and as per usual it will be released in the Fall of this year. What is not as per usual is that this year, Apple will be giving the public the opportunity to be a part of the OS X Beta program and try out Yosemite before the Fall. 

That’s right Kiddies! All that exciting stuff we talked about here, will be available at some of your very lovely fingertips as of… um.. when was that again…. oh yeah…today!

This is the first time a major version of OS X will be available to you guys, members of the public, before it’s actually released, so a lot of people are awfully excited.

So here’s the deal –  Beta means that the software is working, but needs some more testing before it’s formal release. It could just be in need of some polishing, or it could need a little more than that. There will most definitely be bugs and although almost all of the features will be there, some of them will not have full or even some functionality.  The idea behind releasing it to the public is basicallly to give us a sneak peak, make us feel special, and then use us as free testers so we can tell Apple any of the glitches that we encounter. Then, they fix all the problems, and OS X Yosemite is PERFECT come release day.

The number of people that are being accepted to take part in the Beta program is limited to 1 Million. To sign up and be 1 in 1 million, go to the OS X Beta sign up page  and follow the steps. It’s really easy. You will need a valid Apple ID and you will, of course, have to agree to the terms and conditions. (Duh.) Oh, and it’s free.

You will be able to find out automatically if you’ve been accepted as one of the million. Go! Go now! And…. congratulations!

Now here’s the slammer. We are part of the Beta program, but as such, we cannot talk about anything we see there that’s awesome and not yet publicly disclosed unless the person we’re talking to is part of the program also. So.. uh, you guys? Go join. But make sure if you do, you actually test it. We want Yosemite to be as good as it can be, so, therefore, we want the testers to be as good as they can be.

Yay for Yosemite! Oh! And also? Talking of slammers reminds us, Happy Tequila Day! Our tip for all of you over 21’ers out there today ( drinking responsibly of course) – if you’re doing shots of tequila, try orange and cinnamon instead of lemon and salt. You’re welcome.