iOS 8.1: What you need to know

More than a week has passed since Apple released its update to iOS 8 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Apple seems to have fixed some of the problems that emerged after last month in iOS 8.0. iOS 8.1 problems are a big issues with some iPhone and iPad users ranging from bad Bluetooth to apps to random reboots. It has also been a growing trend of users saying that iOS 8.1 has made battery life drop. The iPhone’s history of bad battery has been known to decrease after months of heavy usage. Even though the new iPhone 6 and 6 plus battery life is supposed to be better than recent iPhones. This may be the biggest trending problem of the new update but there are still other problems that continue to be known by users.

 Landscape issues where the iPhone 6 would get stuck in landscape mode after moving from portrait mode has been cleaned up from iOS 8.0.2 but there still persist some issues that need to be cleaned up with it. Reloading the app sometimes fixes this glitch but I have heard of some users having to even restart the phone to make the problem go away. iMessenger has also had some bug issues. I read that one user had a group thread split into separate threads on its own. Alerts from iMessage have also been malfunctioning saying that a message was not received even though the person received the message due to their response. I would not download the new update until Apple fixes the bugs on iOS 8.1. So what should you iPhone users do in the meantime? Search the web for temporary fixes. Apple will continue to take up your already none expandable space on your phones to continue to fix ongoing problems. Here is a link to help with temporary bug fixes.

Tablets being a workplace standard

In the last 5 years, tablets have been one of the most growing and innovative technology devices. Tablets have killed the netbook market and are fast transforming the traditional PC and laptop. Consumers now are choosing tablets over laptops because some tablets can offer the same features while costing less money. Tablets are lightweight, portable, fast start up, easy web browsing and for loading presentations. Companies are now requesting tablets to be a workplace standard. Nine in ten IT managers worldwide said tablets are either a part of their workplace or currently being evaluated. The 68% of those in the UK already offer the devices. Android takes the top spot for supplied tablet operating systems in the UK with 69% of organizations supplying android tablets to workers. Tablets allow workers to be more flexible in their line of work. Many people now prefer to use tablets than PCs and smartphones for small task such as shopping. In the UK more than half of technology managers believe tablets have increased employee productivity by 20% through increasing their flexibility. This includes another 59% claiming tablets have fully met the requirements they had expected. There are companies in the US that have an employee’s BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy to allow flexibility in their workplace. Most companies have not started supplying their employees with tablets like the UK. This could be due to the concern of data security. Company’s security can still be hacked through portable devices. As there is a solution to everything, I believe security won’t continue to be an issue for companies to allow employees to BYOD. Tablets are not needed in the workplace but they do make like a little easier when completing task and not having to sit at a desk to do all of your work. 

More about tablets being a workplace standard.

Why you should get a tablet?

Cloud Storage and Security.

Cloud storage is a service model in which data is upheld, managed and backed up to a remote location for user access through a network (usually the internet). Cloud storage has become really popular in the last few years and it looks to be a big part of the future moving forward. When I think of cloud storage I think of Dropbox, Google Drive and Apple’s iCloud. These are the most popular cloud storage's that people use today. They are similar in providing users the ability to store data including media on their sites for later access. They also have automatic back-up capabilities for smartphones. When we talk about data over the internet, security always has to be at the front lawn ready to stop hackers.

                Security for cloud storage is definitely one of the major concerns that companies are trying to approach. Clients aren't likely to entrust companies with their data without a guarantee that they’ll be able to access this information at any time and without anyone being able to gain access to it. Yes user authentication (username and password) practices can only give them authorization to their accounts but is data at the remote storage systems vulnerable. Data security risks could include insecure file sharing, data leaks, hackers, data seizure by government, lack of file control, unknown location of servers and even cloud employee data snooping. There could be a lot of loop holes for cloud storage but I believe companies will continue to come up with solutions to make it more secure.

                I use cloud storage a lot particularly Dropbox and Google Drive. I haven’t had any data retrieval or security issues so far during my experiences. Cloud computing is becoming really big and widely used. It will be a big part of storage technology moving on in the future.

I recommend both Dropbox and Google drive for the convenience of storing data online. 

Cloud storage definition: http://searchcloudstorage.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-storage

Chimpanzee's Culture.

In this week’s blog I tuned to Science Friday radio show online. The Friday segment that I listen to was about researchers observing wild chimpanzees in a rain forest. Chimps are widely considered as the most cultural animals in the wild.  In 1960 chimpanzees were seen using a long stick to fish for termites. They must have an adaptive culture in order to survive in the wild and they continue to adapt very well as a group. A study last month in nature showed that chimps can be violent just like humans and kill each other. It has been observed that their violence is not cultural in their groups. Chimp’s violence is more than likely due to psychological behavior. Chimpanzees do have the ability to learn socially from each other.

The chimps that were being monitored lived in a rain forest where water was trapped in small holes. To retrieve water they usually use leaves as sponges to get the water out of these holes to drink. The researchers reporting used a statistical model to show that chimps that saw another chimp use a new water drinking tool were 15 times more likely to adopt the new tool themselves. These things are done naturally by the chimps. When a chimp comes up with a new tool the concept spreads throughout their group. A higher end chimp is more likely to lead other chimps to new tools and techniques. Chimpanzee’s instincts and techniques can be better observed from watching them in the wild then capturing them.

Science Friday!

Science Friday is broadcast on many radio shows on Fridays from 2-4 p.m. Eastern Time. Science Friday can be listened to online and they also have an app available for phones. I recommend you all to tune in on a Friday for news and entertaining stories about science.