DAPULSE TECHNOLOGY

Cellphones are so expensive these days that one little accident can be

devastating. We rely on them for everything from messaging, to social media

interactions, audio, and video calls, and recording personal information. You

should consider phone insurance if the monthly cost is significantly lower

than the price to replace your phone. If you don't have insurance or the

$600-$800 to spend on a new phone, you do have options.

Repair Your Phone Yourself

If your issue is simple such as a shattered screen or a broken camera, it is

likely you can repair it yourself. Most manufacturers make it easy for you to

be able to open your phone. It's important to note, if you try to fix your

phone, your warranty may be void, and it will also be harder to sell in the

future.

Reference: iFixit

Trade-in/Sell Your Broken Phone

Getting a replacement phone will cost you a decent amount of money. Even

though your phone is broken, you can still shave money off of a new phone. If

your phone is easily fixable, but you don't want to go through the trouble,

many re-sale companies will pay you up to $200.

Find A Repair Place

Depending on the severity of the damage, a local phone repair shop can fix

your phone, tablet, or other devices in less than an hour. Most broken cell

phone screens cost as little as $100 to replace. Many repair shops offer

mobile services where they will come to your work or anywhere so you can

continue with your daily life. They can fix practically any damage to your

phone including a missing volume button, cracked screen, or technical problem.

Reference: Puls Technologies

Extracting Data

When a cellphone breaks or is damaged, you are probably worried about

recovering your data. Data recovery can get information even from destroyed

devices. There are several smartphone recovery software programs created to

help you do just that. A data recovery program can extract data from broken

phones and backup files. Just turn your device on 'Trust' and download the

desired software. Scan the device and restore or save the data to your desktop

or laptop computer. If you aren't computer savvy, you can hire a 3-rd party

service to do it for you. Many reputable data recovery businesses have a

mobile recovery division that specializes in recovering important information

from physically damaged and logically damaged mobile devices and their storage

media.

Reference: Utah Data Recovery

Make sure to check out our “Technology Archive” to stay up-to-date with

technology news and updates!

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Sony is jumping on the nostalgia bandwagon by releasing the ‘PlayStation Classic,’ A mini version of the original console preloaded with 20 classic titles.

The classic is 45% smaller than the original version, but it’ll come with 2 controllers. Preloaded games will include ‘Final Fantasy VII,’ ‘Tekken 3.’ and ‘Ridge Racer Type 4,’ But more games are expected to be announced at a later date.

Sony is following the likes of Nintendo and Sega which have also released retro versions of their original consoles.

The PlayStation Classic launches on December 3, 2018, and is expected to cost $99.99

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Apple’s special announcement events are always highly anticipated. Slews of leaks and predictions about the next products and updates hitting Apple stores and retailers all over the world are either confirmed or sent packing for the next round of rumors.

Regardless, the crown jewel of the event is CEO Tim Cook’s keynote address, generally about the most significant product launches and enhancements. The crowd—and, of course, the internet— waits with baited breath to see what he has to say after the opening film kicks off the festivities.

This year, Cook had a little trick up his sleeve, sending what appeared to be a DM into the Twittersphere less than eight minutes before the keynote was scheduled to start.

Useful to remember that even the best companies are run by humans, we all scramble sometimes.

Tim Cook tweet (meant to be DM) ~8 minutes before the Apple Keynote kicks off: pic.twitter.com/NBsgBBoSNq

— Ryan Delk (@delk) September 12, 2018

Was Cook referring to a new next-generation Apple product? Maybe an iOS update that would change the world? In actuality, the subject of the “accidental” tweet Cook sent was referring to the clicker for his presentation, the technological foil of this year’s keynote film.

Produced in-house by Apple, the three-minute opening is beautifully shot, sprawling, epic and rips a page right out of Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible playbook, sans helicopter.

Zooming into Apple’s expansive Cupertino headquarters, we see that there are less than three minutes to showtime. We are also introduced to the hero, Alison, who begins a full-on sprint with a metal suitcase under her arm.

Making her way through the cavernous HQ, she’s on a mission that may, in fact, turn out to be impossible were it not for her fortitude, athleticism and the help of a few Apple gadgets.

At certain points in the film, it looks like straight-up parkour as Alison frantically makes her way from the far end of campus to the Steve Jobs theater. Of course, in true Mission Impossible style, there are a few quick, funny asides, including a cameo by Apple’s vp of technology Kevin Lynch, who teleports himself from the cafe (not quite a technology Apple has launched yet, but who knows?).

Siri attempts to guide our hero in the right direction, but the signature lake in the middle of campus is a shortcut and in the way. It’s not a problem, though, as Alison sprints through the water. As she enters the theater, the briefcase slides out of her hands into a waiting elevator. After catching up with it, her badge doesn’t work to open the door backstage—yet Lynch appears via teleport and saves the day.

It’s a good payoff as Cook, who himself is a pretty decent actor, calmly approaches the case to reveal the needed clicker, leaving Alison out of breath and filled with disbelief that she went through all of that for one of the simplest pieces of tech around.

After watching, it’s easy to get the joke since the “Where’s the clicker?” gag has been done plenty of times before. But what’s neat about the film is that it provides a sneak peek into the monstrous Apple campus, a place that most won’t see in person.

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Apple has announced its next generation of iPhones, and one of them is by far the biggest iPhone yet. The two new models are called the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. They look almost identical to their predecessor, but there are two immediate differences: for one, they’re both available in gold, unlike last year; and more importantly, the XS Max is huge. It’s not just the biggest iPhone ever, it’s one of the biggest phones out there, period.

In addition to the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple also announced a lower-cost model that splits the difference in size, called the iPhone XR. You can read more about that in our other article — we’re going to focus on Apple’s two new flagships, the XS and XS Max, below.

As with other -S years, this year’s iPhones are mostly defined by spec upgrades. That includes a display with better dynamic range, wider stereo sound from the speakers, and speed increases to Face ID. Water resistance has been improved on both models. And the processor is getting a big boost as well, using Apple’s newly unveiled A12 Bionic processor, a six-core chip that’s among the first in the industry to use a 7nm process. Tim Cook called the devices “by far the most advanced iPhone we have ever created.”

But the real news this year is the introduction of the “Max” model, which has a huge 6.5-inch screen. That’s far bigger than the iPhone 8 Plus (5.5 inches) and bigger even than the Galaxy Note 9 (6.4 inches). It’s not as though Apple is jumping into unprecedented territory here, but it is leaping into a size class that, even in a world of large phones, is still considered fairly large. It’s an admission that large phones will continue to rule. And while it may have taken Apple a bit too long to catch on in years past, it’s happily jumping into the six-plus-inch fray as phones get ever larger.

Because the iPhone XS and XS Max have a wider screen ratio than the traditional iPhone, neither phone will be quite as big as it sounds. The iPhone XS, for instance, which has the same 5.8-inch screen size as the iPhone X, is actually smaller than the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus. The XS Max is definitively larger than the other iPhones that came before it, but keep in mind that its extra screen size will come more from height than from additional width. That means it shouldn’t be much harder to hold than any Plus-sized iPhone.

Apple also says that the XS and XS Max feature an all-new camera system, though the specs seem largely the same on a high level. The wide angle and telephoto rear cameras both still have 12-megapixel sensors with optical image stabilization; but the wide-angle camera now uses a new sensor with larger pixels, and the telephoto includes a wider aperture, so both cameras should do better in low light. The selfie camera on the front is supposed to be faster as well, but aperture and megapixel count haven’t changed.

The bigger upgrade may be to the way these cameras take photos. Apple is introducing a new method called “Smart HDR” that sounds very similar to what Google does with the Pixel — it takes many photos and stitches them together into one properly captured image. That’s not altogether different than the HDR methods that Apple has used in the past, but this year’s sounds like it’s just doing more of all that. Which, if it works, is great. And for Google, it definitely works.

Apple is also adding more options to its cameras’ portrait mode, which automatically isolates a subject and blurs out the background. You can now fine-tune those photos, even more, adjusting exactly how blurred the background is, which could let you make the effect a bit subtler.

There’s another new feature that many people won’t notice, but could be make-or-break for buyers in some countries: dual SIM support. Both phones will support the use of two phone numbers and data plans, using a single physical SIM card and Apple’s integrated e-SIM. That means carriers will need to add support for the e-SIM in order for this to work (and many ha...

Apple has officially announced the iPhone XR, a new model that features a notched 6.1-inch LCD display and Apple’s Face ID system, similar to last year’s iPhone X. The new iPhone XR is a pretty significant upgrade for Apple, making the iPhone X’s design and features standard across the company’s latest line of phones. Apple is calling the 6.1-inch screen a “Liquid Retina” display, which offers a 1792 x 828 resolution at 326 PPI.

That said, while the XR may look like a larger iPhone XS, there are a few compromises — the frame is aluminum, not stainless steel. There is IP67 water and dust protection, instead of the improved IP68 rating on the iPhone XS, and the screen is LCD, not OLED. There’s also no 3D Touch — instead, Apple is offering a new Haptic touch system, that offers similar feedback to the buttonless MacBook Pro trackpad.

The iPhone XR features Apple’s latest A12 Bionic processor, just like the iPhone XS and XS Max — which Apple says offers improved speeds and performance over last year’s model, particularly for Apple’s “Neural Engine” AI processing.

Despite its larger size, the iPhone XR features only a single rear camera, similar to the iPhone 8. The camera is a single 12-megapixel wide-angle camera — the same wide-angle camera as the XS. The single-camera does offer portrait mode, combining hardware and software to create the blurred background effect.

As for the front-facing camera, it’s gotten an upgrade to Apple’s TrueDepth system from the iPhone XS, with a 7-megapixel sensor that allows for Face ID as well as features like portrait mode selfies, Animoji, and Memoji. It’s the same improved system as featured on the XS, with faster Face ID unlocking.

On the battery life front, Apple is promising up to an hour and a half longer battery than the iPhone 8 Plus. The XR also will come in a variety of colors, with black, white, blue, coral, yellow, and red options available for the widest selection of chromatic choice since the iPhone 5C.

But while the iPhone XR may feel like a less flashy version of the iPhone XS, it does come at a significant advantage: a much lower price. The iPhone XR starts at $749 for a 64GB model, with 128GB and 256GB models also available. Preorders will start on October 19th for the XR, which will ship a week later on October 26th.

Click to view slideshow.

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Apple is unveiling its Apple Watch Series 4 line of smartwatches today. It’s the first major design overhaul of the Watch since its debut more than three years ago, and the changes are immediately obvious. The Watch’s screen now goes nearly edge to edge, thanks to a larger display with rounded edges. There are now two new sizes, 40mm and 44mm, and the larger display, which is 30 percent bigger, lets watchOS 5 show more information through Apple’s built-in app complications. Apple is also overhauling the hardware inside its Apple Watch, including a new built-in EKG scanner.

Apple is using a new dual-core 64-bit S4 processor, custom designed by the company’s silicon team to improve performance. Apple claims performance will be two times better than previous models. Other hardware improvements include an updated accelerometer and gyroscope.

This new hardware allows Apple Watch Series 4 to detect falls and automatically trigger a call to emergency services if you’re immobile for a minute after the fall. Apple Watch Series 4 will also screen heart rhythm for irregularities that appear to be atrial fibrillation, but the real new feature is the ability to take an electrocardiogram (EKG). Apple’s latest Watch will be the first EKG product offered over the counter directly to consumers, and you simply open an app and put your finger on the digital crown to trigger the EKG.

Apple has received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US to allow its Watch to be used as a medical device.

Apple has also updated every part of the watchOS UI so it’s redesigned to take advantage of the bigger display and show more information in apps like photos, maps, and calendar. There’s even a new watch face with eight complications, and other faces that interact with the display. While the display is larger, the overall volume is less than the Series 3 model, and it’s thinner than the previous generation, too.

The digital crown has been overhauled so it now includes haptic feedback, and the LTE red dot indicator is now a ring. Apple has also improved the speaker on the Apple Watch Series 4 so it’s now louder thanks to a redesign. The rear of the watch is now black ceramic with sapphire crystal.

While this is clearly a major redesign of the Apple Watch, Apple has not changed the battery life of the device. It will remain at up to 18 hours of battery life per day, which in regular practice should last for two days of average use.

All existing bands will work on the Apple Watch Series 4, and there are new stainless and gold stainless finishes available. Apple will make the Apple Watch Series 4 available to pre-order on Friday, and it will ship on September 21st, priced from $399 for the GPS version and $499 for the GPS + LTE models. Apple is also continuing to sell the Apple Watch Series 3 priced from $279.

Click to view slideshow.

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Instagram just released a layout update to its beta test group.

The very obvious change which is sure to cause a backlash from the Instagram community is the placement of the ‘profile’ and ‘messages’ icon which were replaced with each other on the app.

For now getting to your messages will now be a simple click on the main action bar at the bottom of the screen.

Click to view slideshow.

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Click to view slideshow.

A aquatic jetpack designed by Archie O’Brien

“I want this to be something so cool that you’re wearing it when you’re not even using it,” O’Brien said. “You feel like James Bond.”

O’Brien has created a aquatic jetpack; The CUDA jetpack was made using a 3D printer and took several months. The creation, for a final year project in his product design class at the U.K’s Loughborough University. He plans to sell the aquatic jetpack for around $6,000.

“By this time next year, I’m planning on having the production model,” he said. “I’ll be going around doing promo videos around the world. I plan to get sponsored by GoPro and Red Bull… The idea is to be able to produce this one, get enough funding to reinvest it into the company, and try and make a much cheaper model. That’s almost working it like Tesla did, with something that really grabs people’s attention, and then bringing that price down to something people can afford more.”

THE PATH TO GET HERE

O’Brien’s journey to the potential Elon Musk of the watersport propulsion world began when he saw a promotional video for the SEABOB, a handheld aqua scooter that’s half jet-ski and half one of those foam floats they used to give the kids at school who couldn’t swim properly. He liked what he saw — at least, with the exception of its $17,000 price tag.

Fortunately, O’Brien had just found out about 3D printing, and the idea occurred to him that, if he couldn’t afford a SEABOB, he might just be able to build his own.

“I was so surprised to find that there really wasn’t anything like this that you could wear on your back.”

He began poring over research papers like “Numerical Analysis of a Waterjet Propulsion System,” cover to cover. He hooked up with 3D Hubs, a manufacturing platform that provides affordable and fast 3D printing, CNC machining and injection-molding services. He studied the design of high-end cars made by Lamborghini, Mclaren, and Aston Martin, which he wanted his product to resemble aesthetically.

Things were progressing nicely until a friend gave him a copy of Daniel Wilson’s 2007 non-fiction book Where’s My Jetpack: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived. Suddenly the project parameters changed. Handheld devices were out. Underwater jetpacks were in.

“I’ve always wanted to fly, and I just thought that if you can make the experience hands-free it’s a lot better for many reasons,” O’Brien said. “I was so surprised to find that there really wasn’t anything like this that you could wear on your back.”

“Think of it like an airplane. If it’s not moving you can’t turn. It kind of feels like you’re a little underwater airplane.”

The final CUDA is almost exclusively 3D printed, with the exception of the battery and electronics. Because he wasn’t able to get permission to test it in public spaces, he’s so far put it through its paces in private swimming pools — although he hopes this will change in the future.

He hasn’t yet been able to decisively measure a top speed, either, due to the lack of a speedometer and limited testing space. It’s definitely faster than regular swimming, though. “Oh yeah,” he assured us. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” It needs to go fast because it won’t steer properly unless you’re going quickly. “I’m still learning how to use it,” he admitted. “It seems that the faster you go the easier it is to turn. Think of it like an airplane. If it’s not moving you can’t turn. It kind of feels like you’re a little underwater airplane.”

The commercial version will be even faster, he explained, since the current prototype doesn’t have the more powerful battery pack he’s hoping to add. “It would have taken me an extra week and I didn’t have a week to do it,” he said.

THE LEADER IN WATERSPORTS PROPULSION

Archie O’Brien has big plans for his product. As noted, he’s currently targeting Q2 2019 for the first CUDA production models. It won’t stop there, though. This is just product one of a larger water sports brand.

“I’ve got man...

A chain of California shopping centers is sharing its license plate reader data with a well-known U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contractor, giving that agency the ability to track license plate numbers it captures in near real-time.

A report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation revealed that real estate group Irvine Company shares that data with Vigilant Solutions, a private surveillance tech company that sells automated license plate recognition (ALPR) equipment to law enforcement and government agencies. Irvine Company owns nearly 50 shopping centers across California with locations in Irvine, La Jolla, Newport Beach, Redwood City, San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. ICE finalized its contract with Vigilant Solutions in January of this year.

EFF investigative researcher Dave Maass discovered Irvine Company’s data-sharing activities in a page detailing its ALPR policy, a disclosure required by California law. Ironically, while Irvine Company’s ALPR usage and privacy policy does describe its own practice of deleting the license data it collects once transmitted, it admits that it does in fact transmit all of it straight to Vigilant Solutions, which has no such qualms.

As Vigilant describes, the key offering in its “advanced suite” of license reading tech is unfettered access to a massive trove of license plate data:

A hallmark of Vigilant’s solution, the ability for agencies to share real-time data nationwide amongst over 1,000 agencies and tap into our exclusive commercial LPR database of over 5 billion vehicle detections, sets our platform apart.

Irvine Company is only one example of this kind of data sharing, but it illustrates the ubiquity of the kind of privately owned modern surveillance technology at the fingertips of anyone willing to pay for it. While we’re likely to see more state-level legal challenges to license plate tracking technology, for now the powerful pairing of license plate numbers and location data is mostly fair game for anyone who wants to make money off collecting and aggregating it.

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