Muse - The Brain Sensing Headband

Lets talk about futuristic.  IntraXon's Muse headband can actually read your brain, but lets not get too excited, it is only able to read brain activity.  Still, this kind of technology is something out of the future, with brain activity usually monitored by large machines.  Now IntraXon has made a headband which can help you monitor your brain activity when you are meditating or doing mind games.  The headband is said to be helpful when trying to reduce stress, with the user being able to monitor themselves throughout the day.  The Muse headband can also connect with your iOS device to allow the viewing of all the recorded data and to help keep you on the right track.  What I will say is this little piece of tech has changed the way we see our brain. 

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iPad Air - Made to inspire

I recently whatched this video made by Apple, introducing the iPad Air to the world, and I was inspired not only by the advances in technology, but by the philosophy that Apple employees.  Like the products Apple produces, the video represents simple yet elegant, something I have always regarded as Apple's forte.  The iPad Air is no different.  Like many of Apple's Products before it, the iPad Air embodies the massive advances in technology that have occured over the last few years.  Coupled with its simple design and elegence, the iPad Air is the latest of Apple's success.  Lets hope Apple can continue to produce the advanced yet simple tools that makes everyone's life that little bit easier.  

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Adobe - You need to get it together

The past couple of months has seen Adobe post some emergency fixes, for its well know Flash Player, but still Adobe doesn't get the message.  Various vulnerabilities keep coming to light and Adobe's response is to post a quick emergency fix and wait for the next problem to arrise.  Along with Flash Player, Adobe's Reader is also riddled with vulnerabilities and since 2007 the amount of vulnerabilities that effect these products have been increasing.  It comes as a surprise then that Adobe still hasn't gotten their act together to try and fix these problems, with their only response being, sweeping the issues under the rug.  The serious problem is the fact that these vulnerabilities are affecting all operating systems from Windows, to Mac, to Linux with none of them immune to the security risk.  While this is a serious issue for all operating system users, Adobe seems contend to sit back and continue as it is.  Along with the Adobe Flash and Reader vulnerabilities are security issues with Java, ActiveX and Quicktime player.  What do you think??  Is Adobe addressing the security issues present within their products, or are they waiting for someone to take advantage of the vulnerabilities before doing anything about them. 

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Apple Finally fixes Major Security Flaw

Apple has finally released a patch for the Mac operating system that fixes a Major security flaw, which allowed hackers to intercept data and secure access such as email and Facebook.  The security flaw which was present on both osx and iOS systems, was rumoured to be present for over a month.  In the past week Apple released a small patch for iOS which fixed the problem, but until today there was no fix for the osx system.  Finally Apple has got their act together and have fixed a problem which never should of happened in the firstplace.  Apple will not comment on how it came to know about the security flaw, or whether the flaw had been exploit.  After the disappointment and problems with the Maverick operating system, Apple needs to get its head back in the game. 

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iBooks for Mac - What a flop

When I heard that iBooks was coming for Mac, I was thrilled.  Yes there are other eBook readers for Mac, but they don't have the simplistic design that Apple has.  So when I heard that Apple was giving Mavericks away for free I was even more exited.  Little did I know that getting Mavericks for free wasn't a plus and that iBooks was full of bugs that hadn't been resolved.  So I updated my Mac and there was iBooks in my dock waiting to be opened.  So I opened it.  That's when everything went to shit.  Now I have thousands of eBooks and when I went to import them, iBooks froze and then stopped working.  Turns out that iBooks isn't able to handle importing a large amount of books, a bug that Apple is yet to resolve.  If you are thinking of going to Mavericks to get iBooks, don't.  Wait for an updated and stabler version before you make the transition.  Don't make the same mistake I did.  If you want an eBook reader that is stable and reliable, use Calibre while you wait for iBooks.

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Microsoft pushing Windows 8.1 to phones

So along with releasing Windows 8.1 to PCs around the globe, Microsoft confirmed at the 2014 World Mobile Conference that Windows 8.1 would be rolled out to phones running the Window's operating system.  They claim that Windows 8.1 will lower the cost of phones, getting rid of the requirement of phones having to have external buttons.  I'm a bit sceptical of that, but that's Microsoft for you.  Along with announcing the roll out of Windows 8.1, Microsoft also annouced nine new phone partners, including such names as LG and Lenovo.  Nokia, which accounted for the majority of Windows phones sold last year, and which Microsoft is in the process of aquiring, helped cement the Windows operating system as the third option behind iOS and Android.  Microsoft's nine new partnerships could help with this momentumn.  Or could it.  Already we see that Android and iOS have the majority of users, while Windows has a very small marketshare.  Lets face it, people don't want windows on their phones.  With the amount of resistants to Windows 8 and the new 8.1, you would think Microsoft would get the hint.  Make something better. 

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Just out - Whatsapp announces voice call feature

Co-Founder and CEO, Jan Koum announces the release of the voice call feature at the 2014 Mobile World Congress Source: AFP

Well I just published a post about Facebook's aquisition of Whatsapp, but the latest news in regards to the up and coming messenger is the fact that it will now offer voice calls.  That's right voice calls.  Whatsapp CEO Jan Koum announced at the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that Whatsapp would be adding the voice call feature to the app.  This move will result in further revenue disappearing from the world's largest telcom companies pockets.  This major move by Whatsapp will result in further popularity to the app, getting it closer to the 1 billlion users mark.  Lets hope that the voice call option fits seemlessly into the design of the app, and that Jan Koum hasn't overreached in his latest endevour.  The voice option will be released first on Google's Android and Apple's iOS systems and will later be released on Windows and Blackberry systems later in the year. 

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Facebook pays 19B for Whatsapp

Well if you haven't heard by now that Facebook has bought Whatsapp, then here is the latest on that front.  Facebook has bought Whatsapp for an amazing 19B dollars, with this being divided up into 12B in Facebook shares, 4B in cold hard cash and 3B in RSU for employee retention.  Now even though Whatsapp has been bought out by Facebook, it will continue to operate as an independent company from Facebook.  Along with this, the WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum will join Facebook’s board.  Now Whatsapp is trending toward connecting 1 billion people, with approximately 1 million more users joining Whatsapp per day.  That's a lot of people.  While still not as many users as Facebook Messenger, the increase in users may change this in the near future.  With only 32 engineers employed at Whatsapp, this once small app has revolutionised the way people communicate.  Let's hope Whatsapp continues its amazing growth over the coming months.  

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Samsung's Gear 2 - Is it just a gadget?

I released a post earlier today about the release of Samsung's new Gear 2 and Gear Neo.  I then had a closer look at the new design and specs and some things didn't really fit.   To be honest I could see some pointless additions and problems of the Gear 2.  Firstly, the new position of the camera on the Gear 2 is not exactly ideal.  when you're wearing it on your wrist is it for taking pictures of other people or yourself.  Are you going to be standing on the train taking selfies of yourself using your watch?  To be completely honest what is the point of even adding a camera?  If I want to take a picture I would just take out my smartphone, which has a better camera anyway.  The Gear 2's camera is only 2MP, it seems kind of pointless to have a camera in a watch in the first place.  Secondly what is the point of having and IR blaster for controlling your TV?  It seems that Samsung just wanted to add useless additions to the watch without actually thinking why you would use that feature.  I really can't see myself sitting on the couch using my watch to control the TV.  So is Samsung trying to create a useful tool that you can use everyday, or are they making a gadget which we will play with for a little while before moving onto something else??  You tell me. 

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Samsung Gear 2 and Gear Neo

Well, just the other day Samsung released that they would be bring out a Gear 2 and a Gear Neo onto the the market.  For those who don't know the Samsung Gear is a watch like device that came out late last year.  Now in early 2014 Samsung has decided to bring out two new models of the watch, with noticeable improvements over the last one.  The first thing that is different with the Gear 2 and the Gear Neo is the fact that both are water resistant up to 3 Feet.  This now allow people to go swimming with the watch on without having to worry about breaking it.  Just don't try diving with it.  The second improvement is the variety of health features that Samsung has included such as step counter, heart rate monitor and sleep pattern monitor.  These new watches are geared towards health and fitness.  The third improvement is the increase battery life.  The new watches report a 2 to 3 day battery life, while the old watches only had a 25 hour battery life.  The fourth improvement to the Gear 2 and the Gear Neo is the addition of an IR blaster to control your TV and your set top box, with the Gear 2 also sporting a 2MP camera and 720p video.  The fifth and most interesting improvement is the use of the operating system Tizen and not Android anymore by both the Gear 2 and Gear Neo.  Now that's a slap in the face for Google.  The sixth improvement, which is a small improvement, is the ability of both the Gear 2 and the Gear Neo to change the watch strap, something you couldn't do with the Gear.  Now Samsung is yet to release the official pricing of the Gear 2 and the Gear Neo, but with less functionality than the Gear 2, the Gear Neo is said to have a reduced price tag.  So who is looking forward to the new watches from Samsung??  And would you buy one???

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Windows 8.1, Not much better than Windows 8

For those of you out there that have gone to Windows 8 or have bough a PC with Windows 8 you would have found a number of flaws with the operating system.  Along with that I just feel plain sorry for you.  I know when I first used Windows 8 there were a lot of little things that just didn't make sense, or were over complicated and not really user friendly.  The question I had to ask, was why would I upgrade from Windows 7?
Now along come Windows 8.1, with a promised improvement over the flaws in Windows 8.  They lied.  Windows 8.1 has only some minor changes to functionality, with a faster boot up time and the ability to now boot to the desktop directly and avoid the tiled home screen.  This is just confusing thought.  If I wanted to boot to a desktop I would use Windows 7.  So, Microsoft has taken a step backwards in their goal to great an operating system that is "multi platformed" and has instead decided to go back to how windows has been for the last 15 years.  Sorry Microsoft, but really???  How many of you out there like Windows 8 or Windows 8.1???

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Flappy Birds Bye Bye

Well by now everyone must know that Flappy Birds, the widely popular and extremely addictive indie game is no longer on the app store or on Google Play.  Shortly after its rise to fame, developer Dong Nguyen removed the game from both platforms.  The question on probably everyone's mind is why??  Flappy Bird topped the charts in early 2014 but due to some negative feedback including accusations that elements in his work were too similar to some in the “Super Mario Bros” Dong Nguyen tweeted he would be removing the game.  Well that's that isn't it.  Flappy Bird is gone and in its wake is a bunch of similar games.  But lets be honest, there wasn't anything particularly special about Flappy Birds.  Its design was rudimentary and its graphics were okay, but that's how it works, some apps can just go viral.  For one thing, Flappy Birds set the trend for the latest string of indie games. 

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iTunes Radio, Good or Bad?

What to say about iTunes Radio.  When it first popped up on my phone I was in the car pairing my music with the car's entertainment system.  I saw the button 'Radio' and went to click on it, but unfortunately it wasn't coming up.  It turned out that I needed internet to access iTunes Radio, not headphones as an aerial, but internet.  My first reaction was annoyance, because I have an iPod nano 5th gen, which means I can plug in a pair of headphones and listed to my local radio station.  Well when I finally got to a place with internet I had a look at iTunes Radio properly, and to be honest I'm not sure if I like it or not.  Lets be honest, you can now listen to radio for free by genera, on the go, but only if you have internet.  Yeah that's a bit of a problem.  Sorry to those people who don't have cellular data.  All in all it is a beautiful edition to iTunes design wise, but has Apple run out of ideas for iTunes or did they honestly think iTunes Radio was the way to go???  I don't know.  What do you think??

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Welcome to the blog

Hello, Welcome to New Tech Critic's blog.  At New Tech Critic it is all about looking at new technology and whether it has been a success, or a complete failure.  This is one person's opinion so it would be great to hear from all of you out there as to what you think.  New Tech Critic will be looking at some of the latest news on the tech front in the coming weeks, from Apple's iTunes Radio (Which I have a bone to pick with), to the sale of Whatsapp to Facebook. 

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