When we first decided to crown one town America's Most Socially Networked City, our money was on Palo Alto. As home to the headquarters of Facebook, Palo Alto might as well be called Zuckerburgh. But the title instead goes to Washington D.C., a city where staying connected can get out the vote, and virtual handshakes help shape our nation.

We started by calculating the number of Facebook and LinkedIn users per capita, followed by overall Twitter usage (NetProspex). Then we looked at traffic generated by the major social networks, including Myspace, Friendster, Reddit, and Digg (analyzed by ad network Chitika). Finally, after factoring in the percentage of households that check out chat rooms and blogs (SimplyMap), we had the results you see below. Go ahead, tell a friend.

Most socially networked
1 Washington, DC A+
2 Atlanta, GA A+
3 Denver, CO A+
4 Minneapolis, MN A+
5 Seattle, WA A+
6 San Francisco, CA A
7 Orlando, FL A
8 Austin, TX A
9 Boston, MA A
10 Salt Lake City, UT A-

11 Cincinnati, OH A-
12 Raleigh, NC A-
13 Burlington, VT A-
14 Portland, OR B+
15 Madison, WI B+
16 Dallas, TX B+
17 Portland, ME B
18 Sacramento, CA B
19 Aurora, CO B
20 Boise, ID B
21 Charlotte, NC B
22 Wilmington, DE B
23 Oakland, CA B
24 St. Louis, MO B
25 Las Vegas, NV B
26 Columbus, OH B
27 San Diego, CA B
28 San Jose, CA B
29 St. Paul, MN B-
30 Plano, TX B-
31 Tampa, FL B-
32 Nashville, TN B-
33 Los Angeles, CA B-
34 Phoenix, AZ B-
35 Newark, NJ B-
36 Miami, FL B-
37 Norfolk, VA C+
38 Richmond, VA C+
39 Chicago, IL C+
40 Durham, NC C+
41 Colorado Springs, CO C+
42 Des Moines, IA C+
43 Jersey City, NJ C+
44 Indianapolis, IN C+
45 Milwaukee, WI C+
46 Fargo, ND C+
47 Columbia, SC C+
48 Houston, TX C+
49 Philadelphia, PA C+
50 Birmingham, AL C+
51 Cleveland, OH C+
52 Kansas City, MO C
53 New York, NY C
54 Greensboro, NC C
55 Reno, NV C
56 Manchester, NH C
57 Providence, RI C
58 Baltimore, MD C
59 Little Rock, AR C
60 Louisville, KY C
61 Sioux Falls, SD C-
62 Omaha, NE C-
63 Pittsburgh, PA C-
64 Baton Rouge, LA C-
65 Lexington, KY C
66 Wichita, KS C-
67 Anchorage, AK C-
68 Lincoln, NE C-
69 Cheyenne, WY D+
70 New Orleans, LA D+
71 Tucson, AZ D+
72 Buffalo, NY D+
73 Honolulu, HI D+
74 Santa Ana, CA D+
75 Charleston, WV D+
76 Oklahoma City, OK D+
77 Virginia Beach, VA D+
78 Winston-Salem, NC D+
79 Tulsa, OK D+
80 Albuquerque, NM D
81 Fort Worth, TX D
82 San Antonio, TX D
83 Jackson, MS D
84 Chesapeake, VA D
85 Jacksonville, FL D
86 Riverside, CA D
87 Memphis, TN D-
88 St. Petersburg, FL D-
89 Toledo, OH D-
90 Corpus Christi, TX D-

Least socially networked
91 Billings, MT D-
92 Fort Wayne, IN D-
93 Bridgeport, CT D-
94 Detroit, MI D-
95 Fresno, CA F
96 Bakersfield, CA F
97 Lubbock, TX F
98 Stockton, CA F
99 Laredo, TX F
100 El Paso, TX F

source

In a move that will surely keep the Mac and iPhone maker on top of the digital music and software application industry, Apple is preparing its first iTunes Store redesign in nearly three years. In late 2009, Apple launched a new iTunes Store that traded in a blue-themed, convoluted store for a much simpler, white-themed store that provides a great focus on the storeÂ’s downloadable content.

The redesign of the iTunes Store that runs on both the iTunes application for the Mac and the PC is a top priority for Apple. The work on the redesign comes soon after the launch of new services in the United States such as the Spotify music streaming service and the growing popularity of AmazonÂ’s online music store. Apple dominates the majority of the digital music market, and it will continue to bet on an in-application download store and not an online store found only in a web browser.

The new design is said to be even simpler and more user-friendly than the current design. Apple is working on ways to enhance the speed and efficiency of finding new content, such as songs, videos, and applications. The cornerstone element of AppleÂ’s new iTunes Store is interactivity. As Apple vaguely explained to a number of music labels and entertainment partners, Apple is looking to make the iTunes Store a much more engaging experience. Read on for moreÂ…

While the iTunes App Store is an incredibly and unprecedentedly popular service, many users have complained about how difficult it sometimes is to find new and exciting software for their iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches. Apple is likely working on a more interactive way of locating iOS device software to solve these concerns. The interactivity that Apple wants within the digital store is something Apple could only likely pull off by housing the store within a full-fledged application, not a pure web browser experience.



It is unknown whether this new iTunes Store will launch alongside an entirely new version of the iTunes application for Mac and PC. iTunes 9 brought the current iTunes Store design with it, but Apple could theoretically launch the 2012 store redesign within a small iTunes 10-point update. The new iTunes Store interactivity features are said to be for the iTunes Music, Movies, TV Show, and App Store sections, but may very well spread to the iBookstore.

The iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore experiences on the iPad mostly mirror the experience of these stores on the Mac, so we will likely see major updates to the iOS versions of Apple’s multimedia stores in the future as well. These iOS device enhancements will likely not launch simultaneously with the Mac and PC iTunes Store changes. Apple is developing the new iTunes Store alongside OS X Mountain Lion, so we may get our first glimpse of the new iTunes Store this summer. A launch this fall—the season that Apple historically rolls out new music products— seems more likely, though.

Source

:ohnoes::ohnoes:

Ubuntu for Android | Ubuntu



Android won :drakehah:

From the makers of iOS-controlled iHelicopter (and its souped up cousin aptly named the Cobra) comes a new iOS-friendly toy that will have you revved up for some cool stunts. Tapping the accelerometer sensor, the Stunt Car Racer uses your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch as the steering wheel. A free app works with the RF transmitter dongle (plugs in the headphone jack) that uses radio waves to communicate with your race car at up to 20 meters, and up to three people can race each other in the same area because it supports three different frequency bands. The vendor boasts the robust structure that lets you make “crazy stunts.”

We will not take it for granted until we get our hands on the Stunt Car Racer, of course. If the iHelicopter thing is anything to go by, the Stunt Car Racer will not disappointconstruction quality-wise. Interested? The Stunt Car Racer is available now in exchange for $49.95, and the company is spoiling buyers with free shipping to any destination in the world.

The Stunt Car Racer features

Model: M-Racer Speed King
Car Size: 11.0 x 7.0 x 2.7 cm
Package Dimension: 21.0 x 6.0 x 28.5 cm
Battery: 100mAh Li-Polymer
Movement: Left/Right Rotation, Forward/Back
Control Range: 20 meter
- 3 Channel Band Selection (A/B/C)
- Gyro Tilt Control
- Suitable for all iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch models

Charge Time
- Transmitter: 60 minutes
- Race Car: 60 minutes

Playing Time
- Transmitter: 60 minutes
- Race Car: 15 minutes

Package Contents
- Stunt Car Racer (100% Assembled)
- RF Transmitter
- USB Charger Cable
- Instruction Manual


:agreement6::agreement6:

Google didn't exactly offer much fanfare for this new feature -- as far as we can tell, it still hasn't been officially announced. With the latest update to the Maps app, Mountain View delivered an extra level of functionality to the all but forgotten Latitude. Now check check-ins earn you points which are tallied and used to rank Google+ users on a global leaderboard, just like on Foursquare. Not everyone is seeing the feature just yet, and it only appears to reveal itself after you check-in somewhere. In fact, we still haven't found a way to pull up the leaderboard without first registering our location. You can see the rather sparse help page at the more coverage link and sound off in the comments if you're seeing your name ranked alongside your favorite Engadget editors and Leo Laporte.

Android World (translated)

Google quietly launches Latitude Leaderboards, threatens Foursquare under its breath -- Engadget

The fear of being without a phone is so prevalent it now has a clinical name, nomophobia, and the numbers of those afflicted is rising.

The study, commissioned by authentication-firm SecurEnvoy, found that 66 percent of the 1,000 people interviewed worry about being without a phone, up from just over 50 percent four years ago.

The news is not surprising, considering the increasing dependence on mobile gadgets for everything from GPS directions, weather reports, and social media to banking, texting, and games. A mobile device is a conduit not only to information, but to community, relationships and self-expression, and being without it causes anxiety and feelings of loss in many users.

Devices have become such constant companions that researchers from Chicago University's Booth Business School, analyzing the urges of 205 adults based on their priorities, found social networking is more addicting than other addictive behaviors like smoking and drinking.

As the dependency increases, however, so does the fear and other emotional dynamics associated with constant connectivity. For example, a buzzing smartphone text announcing "Having dinner at fab bistro," provides a real-time awareness of alternate happenings and increases FOMO, or the fear of missing out, leading to personal discontent that life isn't as Facebook-fabulous as it should be.

The prevalence and immediacy of mobile gadgets with apps for Twitter, Facebook and other social media exacerbates FOMO. To go or not to go -- that is the dilemma at the heart of this digital-induced crisis of confidence, illustrating the power and self-perpetuating nature of FOMO to stay on top of what everyone else is doing, sometimes to the point of social exhaustion.

Both nomophobia and FOMO underscore how mobile connections are the new ties that bind people together and reflect why they are so highly valued in the digital age.

The U.K. study also discovered that slightly more women suffer from the nomophobia than men, and the highest incidence of nomophobia is among the younger 18- to 24-year-olds, with 77 percent, showing nomophobia isn't going anyway anytime soon.

Source

I did it.

Ok, about a month ago I made a topic about "Reverse Tethering" to use smartphones for cheap or free calls. There were some good answers, but most of them involved paying a fee (albeit a small fee, it was still a fee and hassle)


thankfully I continued my quest and basically found the missing ingredient to get 100% Free Calls of Wi-Fi both sending AND receving.





What You Need

1 Android Phone (This is the phone you will bring back to life using VoIP)

1 Prepaid/Working Phone Line (Doesnt matter how cheap, you can grab like a $10-$20 phone. nokia or whatever, as long as it has a working number, make sure it has like 10 mins JUST TO BE SAFE)

1 Google Voice Account + Number

Sipdroid App for your Android Phone

Google Voice App On Your Android Phone*

*Having your phone synced with Google Voice app wont hurt, I dont know if this is nessicary, but my phone was already synced with GoogleVoice and made this process alot easier.




What you do.

1.

Buy prepaid phone, activate. yada yada, if you have any phone with an working/active number, you good, Move to next step

2.

Get Google Voice account and link your working phone line to account. Do this by logging into Google Voice and clicking the cog/wheel at the upper right and click "Voice Settings"


Under the "Phones" tab set up your prepaid phone number to be the Forwarding number. Google will call or txt your working line to confirm and link.

I know you can make calls from your computer for free using Gmail/computer mic, but without doing this you wont be able to make calls over your deadphone over Wi-Fi. I believe you need to do this because when you make an out call, Google has to call a number first then the VOIP takes over

Also, in this menu, click the box over Google Chat, this will allow you to receive calls over your dead phone later.




3




Download Sipdroid to your mobile phone using Android Market. Just search the market for sipdroid, click and install.

Install sipdroid (free in market)

HERES A MUCH CLEARER INSTRUCTION SET ON LINKING YOUR PHONE TO SIPDROID


Free VoIP Calling Using Google Voice + Sipdroid - Android Forums

Ok, I basically used the same password for pbxes and GVoice. Since my GVoice and Phone were already synced, when i ran sipdroid on the phone, my email was already in the box i just had to type my password in again. I clicked ok and waiting for about a minute, it ALMOST looked like my phone froze but then it came back.


I went back to GVoice to tinker with the call settings to make sure i could receive calls

Voice Settings > "Calls" Tab

Then when back to the sipdroid app on my phone and placed a call. Again since GVoice is synced with my phone, ALL my GVoice contacts were in sipdroid, NOICE!!!


IT WORKS.



Ok, keep in mind, its NOT perfect, I made a few calls just now and one of my friends said it was laggy on his end. But i guess not enough to ruin the convo. On my end it seemed lag-free all times, its just the voice volume seemed low, ill have to mess with it more to see if its the connection or just my handset.

Also was running um some "downloading programs" in the background of my computer so that could have been it as well.

Ok, I know there's easier and/or more elegant solutions for VoIP but keep in mind I didnt have to pay a dime for any of this. I even got the prepaid phone for free and other solutions like Skype or even GrooveIP cost money.

So try it out and let me kno what you think, you can have sipdriod on your phone and as long as your phone is connected to Wi-Fi, you can make and receive free calls. If you're not on Wi-Fi, you can still have Google Voice hold all your calls* and texts in your inbox so you know what you missed when you get back online.


OR

You can use the Prepaid phone you bought for emergency/must make calls and save your minutes for less important calls and use sipdroid when you get back online


*GMail keeps your Call Log History. You can use GoogleVoice to hold and play ALL your Voicemails

You can view your outbound and inbound phone call history, in addition to voicemails received if you're a Google Voice, user right from Gmail.

To view your call history:

From the Chat list, click Call phone.
Click the clock icon next to the dial pad icon.


You can even connect your phone's dialer to sipdroid but I tried and it was buggy so i just go to the sipdroid app when i want to make a call



I have been contract free since July 2010, and now with this I virtually dont have to use ANY prepaid minutes now.

Make sure to configure the options in sipdroid, Google Voice, and your Android's Call Settings to make and receive calls in the way you prefer.



*Comment if you used this or any type of VoIP before. Or if you have any other solutions or solutions for Mac/Apple users



:smug:

Over at BGR amongst other sources, they have posted pics of some apparent upcoming changes to iOS 5.1

A better camera lock screen and other languages in Siri, like Japanese, French and German have been popping up.







SOURCE: http://www.bgr.com/2012/02/17/ios-5-...nius+Report%29

SamsungÂ’s new GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) offers optimal multimedia experiences in life

February 13, 2012

Samsung expands the GALAXY Tab range with GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) powered by the AndroidTM 4.0 and a 1GHz dual core processor

Prague, February 13, 2012 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today introduced its first line-up of tablets for 2012 with the launch of the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0), expanding the choice of tablets to customers. Light and portable, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) is the ideal personal on-the-go device, available in 3G and WiFi versions. Starting from UK, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) will be launched in global market from March.

“Two years ago, Samsung GALAXY Tab began to offer customers more possibilities on the go. Since then, Samsung has actively enhanced our tablet line-up with several tablets in different sizes,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “The new GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) will provide people with delighted multimedia experience and allow efficient communication.”

SamsungÂ’s first Android 4.0 Tablet

SamsungÂ’s first Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)-powered tablet offers a variety of new and improved Android OS features. An upgraded Android Market enables access to more than 400,000 applications which can be enjoyed across phones or tablets. Furthermore, a more intuitive user interface includes the ability to swipe-control applications as well as a wholly redesigned app gallery for easier sharing of content. The new OSÂ’s vastly faster performance and response times across multiple applications is further enhanced by HSPA＋ 21Mbps or WiFi connectivity.

Additionally, Android 4.0 includes a selection of embedded Google applications that enables users to quickly launch sites and applications that they use frequently; meanwhile, the innovative Face Unlock feature unlocks the tablet through unique facial recognition software.

A complete experience with enriched multimedia content

The GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) offers users easy multimedia access, playback and sharing experiences with Samsung Hub services. SamsungÂ’s Music Hub provides a full music store solution with access to over 17 million tracks. Additionally, the Readers Hub provides the user with access to over 2.3 million e-books, 3,500 magazines and over 2,000 newspapers in 51 languages, while the Game Hub instantly connects users to the latest game titles. Samsung is also introducing the Video Hub, which offers over 1,000 film titles for purchase or rent, and provides reviews, trailers and recommendations for easier content selection using the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0).

Complementing the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)Â’s multimedia offering is SamsungÂ’s upgraded Touchwiz user interface that features Hub widgets for one-step access to usersÂ’ content in Hubs; the device also presents S Suggest, a new service offering recommendations of apps suited to usersÂ’ tastes directly on a home screen.

The GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)Â’s superb multimedia experience is further boosted by SamsungÂ’s AllShare Play, a new content-sharing service available for the first time on any Samsung mobile device. AllShare Play allows users to play or live-stream their multimedia content on their GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) from PCs, other Samsung smart devices as well as third-party web storages. Users can also easily transfer content to other devices or directly to web services.

Better Communication Capabilities

Connecting socially has never been easier with GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)Â’s built-in powerful communication capabilities.With the voice call capability, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) can be used just as easily as a phone, affording users the handy convenience of a second device in case they misplace their primary phone. It also lets users to spontaneously arrange multi-party video calls via Google＋ hangouts, as well as engage in group chats or micro-communities to collectively chat or share content. In addition, ChatON, SamsungÂ’s cross-platform communication service, connects all phone users of any platform into a single community. ChatON uses phone numbers instead of ID and passwords, and provides easy instant messaging and group chatting in various formats—images, video, voice, contacts—to make messaging simple and intuitive.

Samsung Mobile Press

Apple already asked the European Telecommunications Standards Institute for more transparency on FRAND licensing, and now it's seeking a full-blown intervention.

Motorola Mobility claims it received a letter on Friday from the European Commission advising there has been a complaint against it from Apple. The letter also stated that Cupertino wants the Commission to enforce the firm's standards-essential patents that breach agreed FRAND commitments.

This latest development comes just one day after a German court awarded Apple an injunction against Motorola's implementation of slide-to-unlock on smartphones, as well as an ongoing saga of similar disputes with the firm. It's also just days after the European Commission approved Google's acquisition of the handset maker, based on beliefs that it "does not itself raise competition issues."

Apple asks EU regulators to step in on Motorola patent dispute -- Engadget