Category Archives: News

EMDUG November 2012 User Group Meeting Recording

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For those who missed it, here is the November 2012 EMDUG online meeting recording. In this latest recording we talk about: how to research, evaluate and purchase apps; Denise Ruttan from Oregon State University Extension and Experiment Station Communications shares her Android experiences; Jeff Hino discusses his new Apple iPad Mini; and we review some apps (see list below).

This latest meeting was also an interesting experiment in mobile technology use. We used an app called Reflector (previously Reflection) which works with Apple’s Airplay technology to mirror an iPhone screen (including the video feed from the onboard iPhone camera) to a Macbook laptop’s screen, which in turn shared it’s screen through Adobe Connect. If you watch the recording you can see what we’re talking about. The frame rate is kind of slow and choppy because of the technological hoops we were jumping through, but you can still see what we were doing.

Planet of the Apps

Here are the apps we reviewed:

 

New Blog Look – New Responsive Theme

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Hey EMDUG followers, as you’ve probably noticed, our blog has a new look. This new WordPress theme is a responsive design developed by OSU Central Web Services. It reformats itself to fit the size of the screen you are viewing it on, whether it be a desktop, tablet or smart phone. If you are using a desktop computer, you can see the blog automatically reformat itself by making your browser window smaller, similar to a mobile device screen size.

With more and more people accessing the web via a variety of devices with varying screen sizes, it’s important to start thinking in terms of responsive design when setting up new websites and producing content with mobile device users in mind.

So we figured we should practice what we preach! Let us know what you think of the new look.

Apple Announces iPad Mini and New iPad 4

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Apple iPad MiniApple has come out with a smaller iPad called the iPad Mini. It has a 7.9 inch screen, is lighter and thinner than a regular iPad. The base wi-fi only model will have 16GB capacity and priced at $329. Shipments start November 4 of this year, with the wi-fi+cellular models shipping in mid-November.

Apple has also upgraded the 3rd generation iPad with a faster processor and the same controversial Lightning connector as the iPhone 5 and are calling it the iPad with Retina display.

If you are in the market for an iPad, you now have three basic models to choose from.

Find Your Lost or Stolen iPhone/iPad With Find My Phone App

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Apple's Find My Phone app
Apple’s Find My Phone app

If you haven’t activated Apple’s free Find My Phone app on your iOS device, DO IT NOW! Though it’s not totally guaranteed you’ll get your mobile device back, the chances can be pretty good, such as what happened recently to a man who had his iPad stolen by a flight attendant and was able to recover it using the app.

If you’d like to protect your iOS device, follow these instructions: How to use Find my iPhone to track down a lost or stolen iPad.

NOTE: The Find My Phone app not only works on iOS devices, but on Apple iMacs and laptops too!

Tablet market heats up – Amazon announces new tablets

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Amazon has introduced an 8.9-Inch and 7-Inch Kindle Fire HD priced at $299 and $199 respectively. They’ve also updated their Kindle Fire and lowered it’s price to $159. The new tablets will be available this November and are seen as direct competition to Apple’s iPad.

With rumors Apple will announce a smaller version of their popular iPad next week on September 12, the competition for the tablet market is heating up rapidly.

How The New Amazon Kindle Fire HD Compares To Apple iPad

iOS and Android devices being adopted faster than any other consumer technology in history

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Mobile device infographic
Infographic from Flickr by espinr

Mobile app analytics company, Flurry, has released a report saying that iOS and Android mobile devices are being adopted:

  • 10X faster than PCs in the 80s
  • 2X faster than the Internet Boom of the 90s
  • 3X faster than the recent adoption of social media

As we look and this explosive rate of adoption, Extension needs to be looking at how to connect with all these people using mobile devices by designing our websites with responsive design and mobile in mind, creating mobile apps and making sure our content is optimized for a smaller format (information is smaller chunks, etc.).

If you are not yet a mobile user, now is the time to find out what all the hoopla is all about!

Time Magazine – 10 Ways Your Phone Is Changing The World

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Time Magazine - The Wireless IssueTime Magazine – The Wireless Issue, details 10 Ways Mobile Technology Is Changing Our World:

1. Elections Will Never Be The Same

2. Doing Good By Texting

3. Bye-Bye, Wallets

4. The Phone Knows All

5. Your Life Is Fully Mobile

6. The Grid Is Winning

7. A Camera Goes Anywhere

8. Toys Get Unplugged

9. Gadgets Go To Class

10. Disease Can’t Hide

Read about the TIME Mobility Poll.

New iPhone, iPad Mini and More Rumors

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Apple iPhone 5 mock-up by DavidMartynHunt
Apple iPhone 5 mock-up from DavidMartynHunt

Thinking of buying and Apple iPhone or iPad? Well, you just might want to hold off for just a little bit more.

There are indications a new iPhone and a possible new iPad Mini will be announced soon. Apple will be rolling out iOS 6 on Sept. 12, 2012, so the chances of these rumors being true are fairly high.

All this speculation has lifted Apple stock to an all-time high, raising Apple’s value to $624 Billion, making it the world’s highest, ever.

As an owner of iPhone 3GS, I’m looking forward to a new updated phone. As for the iPad Mini, I’ll have to wait and see. I’m not sure a smaller iPad would work for me. But then again, a lower price point might entice me.

~ Victor Villegas