The PlayBook hardware rules but the software still needs work. The Video Chat app is a perfect example of this. The hardware is all there, with a front and back HD camera, but the app itself lacks the features needed for it to really be useful. There are five main features that need to be implemented in order for the PlayBook Video Chat app to actually work like you need it to. Here they are:
1. See when contacts are online/offline: A tablet isn’t something that’s “always on”. In fact, the tablet is off a lot of the time. Especially because it requires a WiFi connection. Since you never know when your contacts are online or offline, calling your contacts is really hit or miss. There must be a way for RIM to implement an “Online/Offline” mode for contacts, so that I won’t waste my time calling people who aren’t there. Continue reading ’5 Features Needed for the PlayBook Video Chat App to Really “Work”’
This is probably one of the most confusing parties you’ll go to at NXNE, but it’s still pretty cool. BlackBerry (RIM), will be at the NXNE festival hosting a party where they’ll be giving away tickets to another, completely separate festival. If I were NXNE, I’d be happy to have RIM sponsoring parties but it would also hurt my feelers to know they’re promoting someone else’s festival at the same time. So if you’re in Toronto, head over to the BlackBerry presents: Osheaga 2011 party at The Garrison. Here are the details:
When: Friday, June 17th. Doors open 8PM and show at 9PM. Where: The Garrison. 1197 Dundas St. W. Why: You could win free tickets to Osheaga 2011 and there’s some other bands we’ve never heard of.
There’s also a surprise guest. Please, please, please, please, please don’t let it be Will.i.am. PLEASE!
NXNE is currently going down and there’s a BlackBerry and iPhone app available to keep track of the festival. For the Americans out there, NXNE is the Canadian version of SXSW. It’s a lot smaller than the American SXSW but it’s gaining more and more momentum over the years. Also, it’s a great opportunity to check out some great Canadian bands like Fucked Up. With the NXNE 2011 BlackBerry app, you can get listings and events based on categories such as Music, Interactive and Film. You can also check live Tweets that mention #nxne and customize your schedule. The app was developed by the stealthy developers over at The Mobile Cartel, who seem to be working on some cool stuff under the radar.
To download the NXNE 2011 app, simply point your BlackBerry browser to nxne.com/apps/bb/.
An iOS developer, Daniel Amitay, recently released iPhone passcode data revealed by his Big Brother Camera Security application. The free app uses code to record common user passcodes, and because the BBCS app’s passcode screen is identical to the iPhone passcode screen, it’s highly possible users will enter the same passcode for both. What he found was that the vast majority of users used very simple passcodes such as “1234″, “0000″ and “1111″. All told, Amitay discovered that 15% of the over 200,000 passcodes captured by his app were represented by just ten different passcodes. Therefore, anyone who steals an iPhone, has a 15% chance of breaking into it with just 10 password tries.
Now compare this to the BlackBerry and it’s full QWERTY keyboard passwords. The possible permutations of passcodes that you could come up with are so vast it’s not even worth trying. Now, there are still some out there who will use basic passwords such as “BNM$ ENTER” because it’s fast to use, but for the most part BlackBerry passwords are probably pretty diverse. Even the way the keyboard is designed means you probably won’t use “1234″ as your password because it’s not as easy to remember when surrounded by letters and symbols. What’s probably more common on a BlackBerry is a name or simple word such as “password”. Still, we’re happy to be using a device that at least gives you the option for a complex and secure password. Four digit passwords are simple to break simply by their nature of only being 4 digits.
The British Ministry of Defence has created a series of PSA ads to warn military personnel about the dangers of social media and exposing your whereabouts. The above video shows a couple girls checking in to a nightclub which ends up being metaphorically filled with terrorists. Sure, it’s possible that some sort of sleeper cell is potentially living in the UK and stalking foursquare profiles for the moment to strike. Yes, it is conceivable that a few of these people exist. But this is so typical of the defense industry’s approach to making us afraid to bulk up budgets. Don’t be scared, they just want your money. Another clip after the jump that warns of the dangers of Facebook. Continue reading ‘The British Ministry of Defence Warns Foursquare Will Make You Dance With Terrorists’
We haven’t mentioned Gym Technik on BBCool for some time now but since summer is upon us, we thought we would mention the latest updates to the app. Gym Technik is a great app for monitoring your workouts and getting the most out of your fitness routine. In the latest version of the app, new features include:
Streamlined user interface navigation
Improved account setup and management
Fix to exercise order discrepancy between web and BlackBerry app
Fix to workout edit function on the BlackBerry app
Better visual scaling of the body stats graph improving visibility of smaller fluctuations
New “Getting Started” guides
“Workouts” will appear as the app name, rather than “Gym Technik”
