Top 5 iPhone Apps for 2014 - Part II

This article will deal with the 5 I-phone apps that we think are the best in 2014. Before entering in the topic, let's start with a small history of the brand.

I-Phones' history begins in 2007 thanks to Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. Indeed this is the year during which a lot of people heard about I-Phones for the first time. The first I-phone was launched and commercialised in 2007 by Apple Inc all around the world. Following their success, Steve Jobs and his team started launching a new I-phone each year and now we can count eight of them launched in eight years (cf. picture 6 of them):

• 2007: I-phone Edge or 2G
• 2008: I-phone 3G
• 2009: I-phone 3Gs
• 2010: I-phone 4
• 2011: I-phone 4s
• 2012: I-phone 5
• Recently in 2013: Iphone 5s and 5c
• And 2014: I-Phone 6 (coming soon)

What makes this brand really different from the others are the widgets, the unique shape and the design of the Smartphone which improves each year.

As a real social media agency, Apple's mobile phones are always full of new grindings of the operating system IOS. As you can see in this picture, the more the brand creates phones, the more the phones become thinner, easy to use and to carry.

Apple's products are nowadays one of the most, if not the most,  wanted products in the world and to better show why, we decided to build a list of the 5 best apps that the brand has in 2014.

1.  The first app will be "Yahoo finance", ideal for those who like dealing with figures and being in touch with the market and stock prices evolution. This app is easy to use, it shows all you need to know about the current activity and doesn't cost a single amount of money. 

2.  The second application that we chose is "Carousel by Dropbox". Also a free application, it is for those who have a creative spirit but also for those who only like improving the quality of their images before posting them on a social network for example. Easy to use, this application saves, uploads your pictures in order for you to better manage them and easily share them with who you want. 

3.  For the third category, we chose to put two applications that we think really work together. These are the must have for those who are abroad: "Citymapper and Viber"

• "Citymapper": Abroad or not, this is the free app to have for both those who have a good sense of orientation and those who don't. It enables you to plan your day and offers you different ways to get to the place where you want to go at anytime of the day.
• "Viber" is one of the best way to save money when you are abroad. To use this app you need two things; tell the others to download it and have a Wi-Fi access. Then text or make all the calls you want all around the world without paying

     

4.  The fifth app we chose is also a really good one: "Dragon Dictation". Free, this app is good for all those who sometimes feel lazy when it comes to writing. With "Dragon Dictation", record what you want to say and let the app write everything down for you and all this with the correct grammar. The next step for you will be to share it with who you want.

But be careful, always double check just to avoid any bad surprise. 

     

5.  The last application that we found interesting is the "Monument Valley" game which costs only £2.49. Apparently this game looks like a lot of others where we always have to save or help someone to achieve its goals. But this one has something different which relies on the design of the game. This can be really interesting for those who like stuffs related to architecture as it enables to travel around different places full of incredible sets. It is really worthy to try it. 

Regarding us, these are the best applications to have and as you could read, most of them are free and are useful for our everyday life. 

Read More

Top 5 iPhone apps for 2014 - Part I

If you were asked to list your favourite iPhone apps, the likely contenders would be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and a host of other social networks and shopping apps. 

But there are thousands of great apps in Apple's App Store that deserve a mention, partly because you may not have heard of them before, and because they do something either unique or incredibly useful.

So here are the top 5 iPhone apps for 2014 that you should download:

1.      Cloak

This is an app I'm sure Jason Bourne and James Bond would have found handy out in the field.

Cloak is an app that pulls together all the locational data from the likes of Instagram and FourSquare so you can see where (on an actual map) all your social 'friends' are.

Cloak markets itself by saying: “Avoid exes, co-workers, that guy who likes to stop and chat – anyone you'd rather not run into”.

Now whilst this app may sound highly unsociable, in a world where our every move is now documented on social media, some balance does help.

2.      Steam

Steam helps avid gamers combine the worlds of social and video games within one platform. Already hugely popular on desktops, this mobile version opens up the iOS smartphone to over 2,000 games that can be bought or played for free within it.

The app encourages in-platform and even in-game chatting between the gamers, suggesting they can meet new people and discuss even form clans, and as mobile app development goes, this app is up there as one of the most impressive.

3.      Secret

Secret is a very new app only released at the end of April this year. It is essentially a platform for tech geniuses in Silicone Valley to vent frustrations about their bosses and the companies they work for.

Some humorous anonymous statuses make this a fun app to both vent and wallow in the frustrations of others.

4.      Here & Then from the Newspaper Archive

One for the avid reader (or perhaps extremely bored commuter). This app showcases newspaper articles for the user to read from over the past 200 years, as well as images and archaic adverts.

The app lets you read what happened on this day in history over a century ago as it was reported at the time, all delivered from the British Newspaper Archive.

5.      Live Football on TV

This app is brilliant for the busy football fan. Instead of spending a frantic half hour scouring through the TV Times or the Sky TV schedules looking for when you team is on which channel, this app tells you every game that is on TV throughout the year.

The app then integrates itself with your iPhone's calendar, and you can upload all the matches you must watch. The app also integrates with Sky+, and within the app you can tell your Sky box at home to record any match if you are out and about. 

So there you have it. All of these free apps are well worth a download and could be really useful, whether you are looking to avoid co-workers on your lunch break, play hundreds of games on your phone, schedule your TV watching schedule or read newspaper clippings from 1845.

Read More

The Heartbleed Bug: what is it and how to protect yourself

The Heartbleed bug was one of the most major IT security threats to have emerged in recent times and it caught many large organisations and companies, not to mention consumers, off guard. Described as ‘the biggest internet security threat the world has ever seen’ the Heartbleed virus allowed hackers to snatch credit card numbers, bank details, passwords and other valuable data. However, it is almost impossible for companies or site owners to check whether information has been stolen, so there are fears that hackers will hold onto the information before exploiting it.

Huge websites including Mumsnet fell prey to the bug, and online shoppers were warned to change their passwords to reduce the risk of becoming victims. Mumsnet urged all of its 1.2 million users to change their passwords, but the security of its users who use the same password for sites such as banking and shopping is under threat.

The Heartbleed bug is a vulnerability in the OpenSSL certificate software which is used mainly to protect banking and credit card details. The weakness leaves the software vulnerable and lets anyone on the web read the memory of systems protected by the software. Under normal circumstances the SSL/TLS encryption is secure - SSL/TLS provides communication security and privacy over the Internet for many different applications, but Heartbleed open up a computer's memory for anyone to read - meaning that secret keys used to encrypt traffic, the names and passwords of the users and the content are all up for grabs, allowing hackers to steal data from service providers and users and impersonate both online.

Although a massive breach of internet security, there are a number of things you can do tighten up your site following Heartbleed. License management company License Dashboard advise the following:

• Make sure that you understand the risks of the Heartbleed bug. If your website server contains sensitive information then you need to update to at least OpenSSL version 1.0.1g to try to combat any breaches in security.
• Stay on top of your software. Software asset management can help you to gain an overall visibility of which versions of programmes you are running - meaning that at a glance you can see where you have potential weak links (where software is running on an old version). The latest versions of software stand the best chance of being robust enough to withstand attacks. If you are unsure which machines in your business may be at risk, a SAM programme can pinpoint exactly which machines have an older version of software and could save you money on upgrades by ensuring you only purchase the correct number of upgrades needed.
• Know which sites you use or run are affected - this means that you will be aware of which sites you need to change passwords on or update Open SSL.
• Inform your customers to change their passwords - but only after you have fixed the fixed the flaw in the security systems.
• Advise your customers to avoid using the same password on a number of different sites. Ask them to make their passwords complex password by using a mixture of upper and lowercase letters combined with numbers and to change them regularly.
• Offer an additional authentication service to visitors, such as a letters from a memorable word or text message authorisation.
• Implement checks for vulnerability in Open SSL and build this into your vulnerability management program. This can be done by using a number of scanning products and scripts.
• Review your network flow data and IDS logs. Since the flaws in OpenSSL have been present since March 2012, you may want to monitor incoming SSL sessions for odd activity.
• Review your emergency response plans and make sure that you are prepared for any emergency patching. Make sure you keep the site users up to date with what you have repaired and what is still at risk.
• Use time-sensitive two-factor authentication, as the information stolen will be useless by the time hackers want to use it. Reassure your customers by letting them know about this.
• Watch out for where you decide to place your trust in the future. Heartbleed broke down the security of the internet as a whole, and this may not be the last bug that has the ability to do this. Be on your guard when implementing IT security systems - there are always people looking for way to break down and disarm these systems, so keep yourself up to date with software developments, news and tests for new systems.

Heartbleed may have been a disaster and caused many problems in the IT world for both businesses and consumers, but there are a few lessons to be learnt from this experience. If your site has been affected then it provides the perfect excuse to upgrade site security and ensure that the secret keys on the site are the working at the height of their security strength.

Read More

Top 6 Gadgets that Help with Education

Children in today’s world are exposed to more technology than ever before and they know how to use it better than their parents. And do you know the place where children experience technology more than ever? Schools. Their schools are filled with the newest gadgets and innovations to help them with learning and skill building. Computers and the internet are a part of every aspect of life today and will continue as your children mature so the exposure to these kind of technologies will help them be competitive in college and the job market.

1. Amazon Kindle

While some would recommend the iPad, the Kindle has more capabilities that pertain to school rather than entertainment. The Amazon Kindle is cheaper than the iPad by about $100 and it has a longer battery life than the iPad, which your student is going to need for those long study sessions. Children’s bookbags have become so heavy with books that they must carry on their backs and up stairs all day long. It gives them low energy along with back and shoulder problems. The Kindle can hold all of their textbooks all while weighing less than the iPad. In addition, the Kindle has a dual screen and anti-glare features so that your kids can take it anywhere and do a multitude of at once.

2. LeapPad Ultra

If your little student is a bit too young to be reading textbooks and surfing the Internet, think about getting them the LeapPad Ultra as their first exposure to educational technology. Who knows, maybe this can be the start to a career in technology, such as with a New Orleans web design company! Basically a toddler’s Kindle, the LeapPad Ultra has a number of features that make it a favorite among children and adults. It has a high-resolution screen that kids love to watch and Wi-Fi available with kid safe Internet sites. The LeapPad Ultra also has a huge library of fun and educational games, apps, puzzles and music. The best part though is that the Ultra is kid-proof as it is wrapped in rubber and can stand your little’s one rough treatment.

3. Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

For the OCD student that likes to write down everything the professor says and spends hours going over notes, the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen is the perfect gift to help them never miss a thing. With 2 GB of memory, the Smartpen remembers everything your student writes and everything that is said at the time the student is writing. The pen can even transcribe notes on a Mac or PC for maximum sharing capabilities. All these features in a pen no bigger than a Sharpie make for an excellent tool for education.

4. Brita Portable Filtered Water Bottle

Kids spend their days in school running around to classes, sneaking snacks wherever they can and trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible. In order to avoid the mid-afternoon slump and hunger pains, however, make sure your child goes to school with plenty of water. With a Brita Portable Water Bottle, your student can fill up and filter water from anywhere such as bathroom sinks and water fountains while still maintaining hygiene. Keeping students hydrated with water is key to helping fighting lethargy and childhood obesity.

5. Smartphone

10 years ago, seeing a 10 year old with a cellphone was considered ridiculous, but now that more parents than ever are in the work field, they need a steady way to stay in touch with their children. Now most pre-adolescent kids have smartphones, but you can make sure that your child is using it for education as well. Make sure the safety features for the phone are kid-friendly in terms of Wi-Fi and that GPS is on at all times. In addition, give your student an Otterbox for their smartphone. Otterboxes are waterproof, smash proof cases that will help keep your child’s smartphone alive.

6. Noise-Cancelling Headphones

For many students and adults alike, trying to do things like read or study can be difficult if you are easily distracted. Unfortunately, some kids don’t have quiet places to do their schoolwork so be sure to get them some noise cancelling headphones. They allow students to be fully absorbed in their schoolwork and the rhythm helps them to stay on track as well. Music is also a great relaxation technique for stressed students, so let kids listen to their music before and after school as a way to decompress the day.

This post was written by M.G. Bachemin, a marketing specialist and content creator for Online Optimism.

Read More

Tips to Learn 3D Animation Quickly

Willing to learn 3D animation and find a lucrative job in the field? If yes, then the following post offers some important tips to learn 3D animation quickly and easily. Read on...

With the emergence of new technologies, the role of three dimensional graphics and animation has increased. As a result, there is no dearth of lucrative animation jobs. 3D animations and graphics find application in gaming, cartoon and movie industry depending on the different types of software used. This software may be programmed to design various living creatures or non-living creatures like buildings, and vehicles.

Steps to find a career in animation

It is mostly seen that the novice 3D animation and graphic students struggle to easily learn the basic concepts of animation. Here we discuss simple steps to learn 3D animation in a much easier and effective manner:

• Focus on a Particular Discipline

In order to perform well in a particular discipline, it is important to practice it by working with various assets available online for free. For instance, for a candidate willing to become an animator, the right approach to learn it is to download some character rigs that are available online for free to start practicing animation. 

• Take note of your learning experience at every stage

It is beneficial to keep a record of what you are learning. Making notes on what you are learning every day. At the end of every week, take a look at all the notes to see your learning progress. This exercise helps you to know the areas covered by you and what remains to be done. Preparing notes acts as your roadmap to excellent learning.

• Build your network

For learning more about the new things in animation industry, establishing a strong network of like-minded professionals plays a crucial role in finding an animation job of your choice. Expanding network has become much easier with the dozens of available online forums like Facebook, Meetups, Twitter and LinkedIn. Such social networking sites offer a great advantage of finding and interacting with people with interest in the same profession.

• Get and give feedback

The above discussed method to build network not only helps in discussions on common topics, sharing techniques and making work strategies, but also a useful way of exchanging ideas and giving feedbacks. Novice artists can find it helpful to take feedback on their work before putting it on display. Giving and taking feedback on your work is a useful method to learn more and improve on your weak areas.

• Focus on setting and meeting your goals

To achieve success in your endeavors to learn and perform well in animation industry, it is crucial to set a schedule and meet your defined goals. At the starting level of your learning, achieving even smaller goals such as completing your craft within the scheduled time gives a boost to your learning process. This motivates you to stick to your daily schedule and learn every day.

• Avoid any distractions

It is important to understand that any distraction from your learning and work is not right for your progress. So, while learning stay focused and try to avoid any distractions like television, emails and phone call.

• Seek out for a mentor

To learn and gain knowledge in the field, find a mentor who can make a difference in your learning experience in your discipline. An experienced artists or animator can have much more to teach you than just the theoretical knowledge.

Animation is an exciting, rewarding and a highly liberating career path. Pursuing a career in animation is a fun, provided you remain focused, creative and skilled!

Read More

Best Digital Marketing Strategies for 2014

In this contemporary world, internet use becomes more and more prevalent with each passing day. In recognizing this reality, many business owners are interested in learning what types of digital strategies they need to implement in order to accomplish all of their professional goals in 2014. While there are a variety of different internet marketing techniques that can help businesses experience continual growth and expansion, the following three can be particularly helpful:

1. App Development.

These days, more and more businesses are developing their own apps, and for good reason. Apps give businesses an opportunity to become an integral feature of their consumer's electronic device. With an app, business owners can provide customers with information regarding new products, sales, and any other data that is relevant to the goods and services it is attempting to advertise. If your business wants to excel in the world of app development during 2014, the key will likely be the implementation of a mobile app development strategy. These days, more people are purchasing mobile phones than personal computers, a fact which makes the development of mobile apps seem both practical and important.

2. Web Design.

Although web design has grown common and prevalent enough to now constitute a career, its relevance and importance has not yet grown old. In fact, web design may be more important now than in previous eras given the steady increase in internet use. In order to ensure that your business maintains an edge over its competitors in 2014, it is important that you pay attention to each component of your website. There are many, and some of them include your font, background, content, functionality, and use of widgets. Generally, it is a good idea for business owners to seek assistance from professional web designers when working on its site. Doing so can help ensure that you have an aesthetically appealing and functional site capable of catching and keeping the attention of prospective clients.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

The use of effective search engine optimization techniques is one of the best digital strategies your business can use in 2014. Although broadly defined, search engine optimization is basically a process that involves the implementation of specific strategies that will help a website, blog, or video reach the top of the search engine results pages. There are a variety of SEO strategies your business can employ to accomplish this purpose, and some of them include the creation of great content, anchor text, internal linking, external linking, social media optimization (SMO), and online reputation management (ORM).

Conclusion

If your business is serious about expanding its online presence and sphere of influence in 2014, utilizing proven digital strategies will be the key to its success. By attending to the three techniques listed above, your business will likely witness the increased conversion rates and expanding customer base that you want. Good luck!

Read More

Analysis of Competitive Intelligence Tools and Data Sources

The ability to use big data for your business in order to upkeep with the competition is something that is very crucial especially in a competitive world of digital marketing. Understanding the course of progress of your business marketing strategies will help you define more accurate steps in order to target results. Being able to know what drives businesses to profitability in the digital world of marketing will give you a better market positioning and you have wide sources of information and options to consider using competitive intelligence tools and data sources.

Key points of competitive intelligence

Online marketers are leveraging over the benefits and advantages of competitive intelligence. In essence, the process involves the analysis and gathering of important data sources in order to build your databanks regarding vital information concerning your products, customer behavior and preferences and understanding your competitors. By distributing the data intelligence that you have gathered you will be able to foster better competitive marketing strategies beyond the guess work. Your objective is to use data sources to maximize your business and competitive intelligence to produce profitable results.  

The competitive intelligence tools to optimize business data sources

Search engine optimization Atlanta drives most business towards a more competitive environment by providing better understanding regarding the external business environment of an organization. With the use of competitive intelligence tools it is easy to drive your business towards competence in all your business decision making. You can derive better data sources and convert them into business intelligence with the help of internet marketing Atlanta that can improve your metric conversions and lead generation for better return of business profits. 

There are data mining tools that can give your business better competence to become at par with you competitors. Using the tools, you can extract better advantages in building your digital marketing structures and you can enjoy these following benefits from mining data sources for your business:

1. Broaden your competitive intelligence and translate data metrics as useful information to understand your website statistics

2. Business competitiveness at par with your competitors. 

3. Ability to define marketing strategies and gain better search results positioning 

4. Develop a more engaging business environment that helps you to connect better to your customers. 

5. Using competitive intelligence tools you can give your business a better advantage by collecting raw data that will help you define which important issues in your digital marketing strategies that you need to address as a priority with the following considerations:

• Your target market

• Ability of structuring a more responsive website design and development plan

• Finding the most reliable SEO services company to deliver targeted results based on your gathered data sources.  

• Analytic ability to use metrics and how to make them help your business convert better.

There are various aspects of competitive intelligence that can help drive business towards better marketing positioning. The key aspects of your businesses that the competitive intelligence tools can have a significant impact include:

1. Identifying your current competitors

2. Profiling your competitors and understanding their own digital marketing strategies and why it seems to be productive.

3. The key marketing strategies that competitors employ in order to gain better advantage to your business.

4. Using analytical metrics that can be a big source of mining data regarding their web marketing tactics and SEO strategies in promoting their products and services.

5. Discovering more innovative technology that can drive your own business towards better competitiveness and productive digital marketing strategies.

Optimizing SEO with competitive intelligence tools and data sources

Search engine optimization remains to be a vital aspect of all digital marketing strategies. You can optimize your business performance in the digital world using metrics and data sources that will enable you to use business intelligent information that can help your business respond with better competence to meet your customers’ needs and attain a better market positioning by targeting better search engine results page for your website. 

One of the very useful competitive intelligence tools that you can use in digital marketing is the analytics tools that can optimize your search engine marketing efforts. Analytics tools can be a big data source for your business by giving you different metrics to help define a more appropriate digital marketing response based on the current marketing trends and industry demands. Using web analytics, you can easily foster better competitive search engine optimization strategies that can improve both your onsite and offsite website competitive intelligence.

Not only will you be able to identify which marketing tactics are relevant to your business needs but you will also understand what SEO approach you are doing wrong with the help of competitive intelligence tools. The data sources that you can mine from competitive intelligence tools can offer you several search engine optimization campaign enhancements such as the following:

A. Onsite optimization with competitive intelligence

• Enhance your URL structure by comparing yours against that of your competitors.

• Improve your competitive intelligence by improving your website design and development and consider the website design enhancements used by your competitors.

• Reinforce your data sources using analytics in order to understand your competitor’s traffic sources and what keywords are working best for their organic traffic on search.

• Review your page title and meta tags if you are using the most productive keywords on search.

• SEO integration to your web design and development strategies.

B. Offsite Optimization with competitive intelligence

• Data mining regarding your competitor’s link building campaigns

• Optimizing your SEO results using local listings where you competitors tend to obtain organic traffic and higher search results.

• Social media marketing engagements and defining how your competitors promote their social media brand marketing campaign and how to reinforce yours.

Last parting words

Competitive intelligence tools and data sources can boost the overall digital marketing performance of your website. By using the obtainable metrics, data and information from analytics tool it can likewise enhance your search engine optimization campaigns that can drive your business with better competence to thrive in a very competitive digital marketing environment.

Read More

How to Make Money as a Gaming App Developer

Just about everybody has some kind of gaming app for their Smartphone or Tablet. Gaming apps continually top the list for most profitable apps. In a July 2013 article, the Business Insider estimated that Candy Crush alone made $633,000 a day. Many of these gaming apps are absolutely free, yet app developers continue to make huge profits year after year. How do they do it?

There are a variety of different methods that game makers utilize to maximize their gaming app profits. These methods are some of the most powerful ways to make money in the mobile market, and can be adapted to just about any other kind of apps. These methods include: upselling, in-app purchases, ads, cost per install, and even sponsorship.

Upselling

Upselling is the process of limiting access to certain game features until the user pays for them. Many gaming apps offer paid "HD" versions of apps or paid "full" versions that include features you can't get from the free versions. Certain areas of the game may be blocked from access or certain gaming methods unavailable. This tactic satisfies players who just want a free game, but creates profit potential for the cunning app developer.

In-app Purchases

In-app purchases are one of the most powerful ways to make money as a gaming app developer. It actually has the potential to create an infinite cash loop for the developer. Basically, players have the option to pay money to get more lives, gold coins, or other essential gaming items. A good example of this method involves Candy Crush. Players can either wait 20 minutes per life to get new lives, or pay a small fee to get lives immediately.

Ads

Ads are another powerful app profit method. Not necessarily running ads in your game (which many people do), but paying for banner ads for your game. It may seem strange to pay to advertise a free product, but it is worth it if you target the right audience. Lets say a developer has a role playing game app with a potential infinite profit loop method of payment for more experience points. Advertising this free app on popular role playing gaming websites can attract players that may not have spotted the game and can potentially hook them in on the payment loop.

Cost Per Install

Cost per install or CPI is one of the newest gaming app profit method. Basically, you pay a third-party to promote your app and host it. They promote the game, bring in money from advertising and other gaming methods, and spread the word of your game. They make a certain amount of money each time the game is installed. You will also make money each time your game is installed. You will make a little less than the third-party, but they will be doing most of the hard work promoting and hosting your game, so it's a fair trade off.

There are a few things you should avoid if you want to make a profit as a game app developer. Never set the premium pay-per-download option as the default. That will drive away users who think the game costs too much. You should also create a marketing plan before building your app, create platform appropriate customization, avoid in-game advertisement, and create a game that is fun to play.

Read More

Apps Development: A Very Good Career Opportunity?

America is disappearing underneath an ever-growing heap of iPads, iPhones, and Androids. Newer, faster, prettier mobile devices hit the market every day as the world's appetite (no pun intended) for more and better mobile technology grows. In turn, the apps development industry has taken off like a rocket in order to supply the ever-increasing demand for more and more apps. If you're considering a career switch, apps development might be a smart industry to sink your teeth into – but even apps development comes with its risks. Pros include job growth and diverse opportunities, but would-be developers might want to weigh the cons of security challenges and competition as well.

PROS

Job Growth

These days, everyone is talking about the recession. Jobs are few and far between and wages are low. Meanwhile, the cost of living increases mercilessly. Apps development, however, has been one of the lucky industries which has more or less side-stepped the national dip in employment. The apps development industry cranks out billions of dollars on an annual basis. The best place to head for to seize upon job growth is California, sunny home to tech heavyweights like Apple and Google. Even Washington, which boasts residents like Microsoft and Amazon, comes in at about a quarter of California's annual app-based profits.

Diverse Opportunities

There are apps for absolutely everything. Stupid apps, cerebral apps; novelty apps, functional apps; consumer apps, commercial apps. Whatever you're interested in, there's an app niche for you. That means that instead of being shoehorned into an area you have little to no personal investment in, you have the opportunity to work on subjects you know and love. You may even be able to pioneer a new niche. Trends to look out for in 2014 include messaging, educational, and enterprise apps.

CONS

Security Challenges

In this case, we don't mean job security – we mean the security of the actual apps themselves. Because app development is such a comparatively new field, apps are particularly vulnerable to security defects, which presents a considerable challenge for programmers. Jack Mannino, head of the Mobile Security Project, cautions, “ There is constantly really sensitive stuff going through these applications,” referring to data like email addresses and bank account information. That means that app development can be a lengthy and laborious undertaking. “You have to build and test — for feature functionality and also security,” says Mannino. To make matters more complicated, app developers have to consider the fact that their apps might be connected with unsecured devices, or running with other apps that lack security measures.

Competition

Because app development is such a hot industry, it attracts countless tech-savvy hopefuls into its fold – and while big business means plenty of customers, it also means plenty of competition. There are thousands upon thousands of apps to struggle against in virtually every niche, which means developers' chances of attaining Angry Birds-grade fame are slim in a sheer numbers game.

Read More

iPad Freeware Applications and Games Abound

If you have purchased an iPad, undoubtedly one of the first things you have done is visit the App Store and downloaded some of the cool available apps that exist for it.

There are already over 275,000 apps in the App Store designed specifically for the iPad, apps that take advantage of the large screen and that allow you to do everything from playing games to working on spreadsheets to planning meals to writing the great American novel.

A great deal of the apps available for the iPad are absolutely free. However, this has also led to certain misconceptions. Let's examine some of these.

First of all, when you download applications and games from the App Store, you needn't worry about such things as Trojan horses or spyware (this is especially important if you come from a PC environment). Apple keeps a tight lid on the applications that appear in the App Store and runs a gauntlet of checks and other safeguards to ensure they are 100% safe to run and use.

Unlike the free applications known as shareware which you may have run on a desktop computer, the free apps for the iPad are not crippled and do not work for only a couple of days.

With shareware, if you don't pay, you cannot continue to use the software, but the free apps on the App Store are not like that. Some of them generate revenue for their creators due to the inclusion of non-intrusive advertising, while others are scaled-down versions of the full apps. Others are temporarily offered for free for promotional purposes.

Another misconception is that the free apps on the App Store are of little value, and that is why they are offered for free. All of the apps on the App Store are rated by the users, and you can be sure that if they offer little of value, they will not get a good rating. Besides, it costs nothing to download an app and try it.

Certainly, there are some substandard applications available on the App Store, but if you're diligent in searching and reading the app descriptions, you can find some absolute gems at little or no cost. You just need to read the descriptions and the user reviews carefully.

It is fortunate that there are diligent and good-hearted software programmers out there who are willing to share their hard work with users at little or no cost or for the revenues that they make through advertising. Without them, the iPad would not exist, or at least not in its present, incredibly useful form.

What else can you do for free on the iPad? You can take complete courses from universities and other schools by accessing the world's largest catalog of free education in iTunes U. You can download a free podcast app for one-touch access to thousands of audio and video podcasts on every conceivable topic. You can view over 1.5 million books on the iBookstore, many of them free. Or you can download such free apps for the iPad as Find My iPhone, which can help you locate your lost iPad even when you lack access to a computer.

Before you purchase an app for your iPad, you might want to check out the free applications to see what is available. With a little research, you can save a lot of money on applications and games. If you like the free version, then you'll know that the full version is worth the money and you will have no qualms about purchasing it.

The iPad has continued to gain in popularity with the buying public because they recognize it as a worthy investment that allows them to have fun and get things done in the home, office and everywhere else.

Read More