Top 5 smart phone habits you should avoid

1. Not setting a password Setting a password on your phone is the first line of defense so that only you can access the important data on your phone. Your phone contains valuable information you want to keep safe: contacts, appointments, files, social network sites, passwords… if this information falls into the wrong hands, a password will help keep all of your sensitive data private.

 2. Using public Wi-Fi The recent explosion of free, public Wi-Fi has been an enormous boon for smart phone users. Since these free access points are available at restaurants, hotels, airports, bookstores, and even retail outlets, you are rarely more than a short trip away from access to a network. The same features that make free Wi-Fi hotspots desirable for consumers make them desirable for hackers, therefore, freedom comes at a price.

3. Shopping online through browser Like desktop browsers, mobile browsers are susceptible to attack by Trojan viruses. People use plug-ins to protect their online shopping when using PCs. However, there are no plug-ins for mobile smart phones.

4. Clicking on links in text messages Sending messages designed to trick the recipients into clicking on a deceptive link was once reserved for fake but real-looking email scams trying to fool users into visiting malicious sites on their PC, but scammers have realized there are far fewer protections on smart phones, and no small number of potential victims.

5. Making phone calls while charging Using a cell phone while charging is dangerous due to increased radiation and potential for explosion or electrocution.

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11 Failed Apple Products We Bet You Didn’t Know About!

Apple might be the largest tech company in the world with fantastic products like the iPhones, iPods, iPads, Macbooks and a legacy left behind by the great Steve Jobs. Given the company’s recent history, it almost sounds like everything that Apple touches turns gold!

You’ll be surprised to know that Apple has had its fair share of product failures. Right from its Macintosh computers to attempts at making Video game consoles, Apple has learnt things the hard way in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Here’s a look at all the failed Apple products, many of which were developed under the leadership of Jobs.

1) Apple Pippin (1995-1996)

 Yes, Apple actually tried its hands at building a gaming console to take on the powerhouses Sony Playstation, Nintendo and Sega (Xbox was yet to enter the scene). Retailing at $600, the Pippin was supposed to sell over 300,000 units in the first year. Apple burnt and crashed with estimates between 12,000 to 42,000 units.

2) Apple QuickTake (1994-1997)

 Apple QuickTake was one of the first digital cameras available. It costed around $750 and took photos at a fantastic 640×480 resolution (awesome at that time). It was jointly made by Kodak (Kodak’s self-branded digital camera had been in the market for over a year). With stiff competition from photography/ camera brands like Kodak, Fuji Film, Canon and Nikon, QuickTake didn’t last long. Wonder what would’ve happened if Apple had actually stuck on.

3) Apple III (1980-1981)

 

Apple II was the computer that built Apple. After the astounding success of Apple II, the company moved on to Apple III, which seemed like an obvious transition.
Except, this machine like its predecessors was not designed by Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak. Also design was given a lot more importance than logic.

A very buggy machine with major design flaws, the Apple III overheated very quickly. This product cost Apple very dearly to a point that Apple II having been in the market for long was still outselling Apple III comfortably.

4) Apple Lisa (1983-1985)

  Designed by Apple in the 80’s, the Lisa was introduced at almost $10,000 which as way too expensive for the product. Named after Steve Jobs daughter, this product flopped almost instantly.

5) Apple Newton (1993-1998)

Behold, Apple’s first attempt at creating the “iPad”. Okay, not an iPad but a tablet- PDA hybrid with handwriting recognition. Its size, poor battery life and hard to read screen ensured that the device flopped. Apple got back into the game with the iPad in 2010 and we all know how good it is.

 

Behold, Apple’s first attempt at creating the “iPad”. Okay, not an iPad but a tablet- PDA hybrid with handwriting recognition. Its size, poor battery life and hard to read screen ensured that the device flopped. Apple got back into the game with the iPad in 2010 and we all know how good it is.

6) Macintosh TV (1993)

 

Macintosh TV was an attempt to combine computers with television sets. It was essentially a computer with a TV screen attached, with no integration between the two. You could either watch the TV or use the computer. At a price of $2,000 it was a bit too expensive to succeed.

7) Macintosh Portable (1989-1991)

 A product that weighed 16 lbs. and was 4” thick should not be called Portable. Besides this, the device wouldn’t even turn on when plugged thanks to its battery design. This was Apple’s first attempt at portable computers and luckily they’ve come a very very long way since then. Yes, the Macbook series is amazing and has set a bench mark in portable laptops.

8) Apple ‘Hockey Puck’ Mouse (1998-2000)

  

This mouse which looked like a hocky puck was small in size and its awkward shape made it difficult to use. The puck failed to score any goals.

9) Apple eMate (1997-1998)

 The eMate, a hybrid between a laptop computer and a PDA wasn’t particularly a bad product. As it was sold only to educational institutions, its reach was severely restricted and was pulled out of the market within a year.

10) 20th Anniversary Macintosh (1996-1997)

 As the name suggests this product also known as TAM was introduced to celebrate the 20th Birthday of Apple. It wasn’t a bad machine as much as a very average one and it was priced at close to $ 8,000. On the bright side, it was one of the first products to be designed by Jony Ive who is now the Chief Design Officer at Apple and the man behind iPod, iPad, iPhone, Macbooks etc.

 11) The U2 iPod (2004)

 

The special edition U2 iPod was priced at $50 more than the regular/ identical white model of the iPod. Apparently the black color and signatures of the band was not enough to boost sales of this iPod. All that glitters ain’t no gold!

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How to Track Your Lost or Stolen Android Phone

 

Your smartphone is a bit of everything. You have all your photos, important documents and friend’s contact list on it. Losing one or having it stolen is the worst nightmare one shall have. Taking that into perspective, we have narrowed down few steps one should carry in case his/her smartphone gets lost.

How to Track Your Lost or Stolen Android Phone

STEP 1:

First and foremost thing after buying a smartphone is to write down the IMEI number of your phone. Every smartphone has a unique IMEI number (International Mobile Equipment Identity Number). A dual SIM phone will have 2 IMEI number. It will be printed on the back of your device. If you are unable to find the number, you have to launch your phone app and dial the number *#06#. This will give you the IMEI number of your phone. Store this number in a safe place so that it helps you in locating your phone when it is lost. Another way of finding an IMEI number is by logging into google dashboard account.

If your phone gets lost, you can file a Police complaint by dialing 100. You have to provide IMEI number of your phone while filing a police complaint and then your service provider (NTC/NCell) uses this IMEI number to track your phone.

How IMEI tracking works?

Your Network provider will blacklist the given IMEI number and when the thief inserts a new SIM on that phone, the BTS (Tower) will receive the details of the new SIM inserted. From that details of the new SIM, you will know the thief’s name and all the details.

STEP 2:

Download Google’s Android Device Manager (Link). If you lose your phone, you can just visit www.google.com/android/devicemanager website and locate it with your Google account. Using this, you can find it on a map, ring it, lock it, or remotely erase it. This service will be the best option for most Android users.

 STEP 3:

Turn on Photos sync on Google photos or use DropBox. Syncing your camera photos can be a good idea. A clever idea indeed, if it works. The suspected thief can use your camera and click some selfies or photos and you can view their photos from your google plus account.

STEP 4:

Inform your friends and family of the theft. It’s possible that the thief may try to impersonate you through social media or via SMS.

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