Year: 2018

How to turn your son’s or daughter’s iPhone into a kid tracker

Dan Uff July 28, 2018 2

While the iPhone has been extremely popular with teens and adults, it has also been a popular device for kids too. Not only for its "Cool Factor", but with the way it is easy to use and understand.

Most people do not know that adults can use the "Find My iPhone" option as a way to help keep track of your kids by 1) Becoming a member of iCloud, and 2) Enabling Find my iPhone on the actual device that your kid is carrying.

Here's how:

1. First, you have to make sure that the device has a name, so you can identify it when you go in to Find My iPhone.

Go onto the device itself.
Go to General > About.
Tap the NAME option.
Give the iPhone a name (such as Jimmy's iPhone).
Back out of that area until you're at the main Settings Menu.

2. Enable "Find my iPhone"

Make sure you're logged into your iCloud account.
Tap your iCloud username (from the SETTINGS menu).
Tap iCloud.
Scroll down until you see the "Find My iPhone" option.
Select it.
Enable the "Find My iPhone" choice in that menu.
Back out of that until you get to the main SETTINGS menu.
Exit Settings.
Now go to http://www.icloud.com
Do it on a Desktop Mac or by using the Find My iPhone app for iOS.
Enter your username and password.
Now select the "Radar" icon.

You should be able to see the newly configured iOS device's name on the Map. Go here eveytime you wish to find the device.

New Apple Patient shows off new radical iPhone camera design

CompuScoop Staff July 28, 2018 1

“The iPhone camera, versatile as it is, remains significantly restricted when compared to devices such as DSLRs which are designed to accept interchangeable lenses,” Paul Monckton writes for Forbes. “More adventurous photographers have for many years turned to add-on lenses such as those from Olloclip and Moment as a way of supplementing the iPhone’s capabilities with wide-angle, telephoto, macro and even fisheye options. However, these lenses bring with them an inevitable reduction in image quality.”

“Now, a recently granted patent reveals how Apple could dramatically improve the quality of add-on lenses by incorporating specialized supporting hardware within the iPhone itself,” Monckton writes. “US Patent No. 10,031,312 describes a ‘small format camera system for mobile devices’ which can detect when an external lens is being used and automatically apply adjustments and corrections to mitigate any quality-reducing factors.”

“The external lens could be detected either directly with specially designed sensors or by inspecting captured images for tell-tale distortions. The clever part, however, is how the then makes adjustments to optimize image quality,” Monckton writes. “This is achieved in several ways, including mechanically altering the position of the phone’s built-in lens in one or more axes to ensure perfect alignment, as well as through image processing after taking the photo.”

Read more in the full article here.

Disney gets green light from Shareholders to purchase Fox Assets

CompuScoop Staff July 27, 2018 1

[CNBC.com]: Chief executive officer and chairman of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger walks on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) before ringing the opening bell, November 27, 2017 in New York City.

Twenty-First Century Fox and Walt Disney Company shareholders have approved a deal to allow Disney to purchase the majority of Fox's assets.

The shareholders' meetings, which were held on Friday morning, were among the final steps in approving the mega merger. This approval covers Fox's entertainment assets, including 39 percent of Sky. The fate of the rest of Sky is still up in the air as Fox entertains bids from other parties, including Comcast.

Disney is offering $71.3 billion in cash and stock for the acquisition, which will include Fox's film and television studios, as well as partial ownership of Sky TV, India's Star and Hulu. Fox selected the Disney offer above Comcast's $65 billion bid.

Disney won U.S. antitrust approval on June 27, on the condition that it would sell Fox's 22 sports regional networks. However, it still needs nods from international governments including the European Union and China.

Note: CNBC parent company NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast.

Apple hits new all-time high, while other tech stocks tank (including Facebook)

CompuScoop Staff July 27, 2018 2

Apple withstood the tech plunge Thursday, holding tight to its all-time highs even as Facebook drags the sector lower,” Sara Salinas reports for CNBC. “Shares of Apple were essentially flat in midday trading, down a fraction of 1 percent. Earlier in the day, the stock reached a new high of $195.96.”

“Meanwhile, Facebook is on pace for its worst day ever after its second-quarter earnings report. Amazon, which reports earnings after the bell Thursday, fell nearly 2 percent. Twitter fell almost 4 percent after a shot from President Donald Trump, and Microsoft fell roughly 1 percent,” Salinas reports. “By noon ET the S&P tech sector was down 1.5 percent.”

“Apple reports its quarterly earnings next week, as it nudges closer to $1 trillion market value,” Salinas reports. “The stock is up 15 percent on the year and more than 25 percent in the last 12 months.”

Read more in the full article here.