Windows Phone 8.1 will reportedly add notification center, Siri-like rival

The forthcoming Windows Phone 8.1 update may prove that 8.1 is Microsoft's lucky number, as it's reportedly adding a notification center and Siri-like personal assistant to its mobile devices.

The Windows Phone 8.1 notification center will be revealed through a swipe-from-the-top gesture, according to unnamed Microsoft sources cited by The Verge.

Quick settings can be accessed with a short swipe down, while the most recent notifications are listed with a longer swipe in the same direction.

This matches how the Android notification center works and it's a combination of Apple's iOS 7 notification center and command center.

'Contra' to band together a Siri clone:

Even faster than changing settings through the new notification center may be asking the Windows 8.1 personal assistant to do it for you. Microsoft has been testing out its "Contra" technology for a number of months, according to the same report, with the intention of launching a rival to Google Now and Apple's Siri.

It's said to be able to anticipate appointments and map out the time it'll take you to get there according to data that it reads in a non-Scroogled way.

Other Windows Phone 8.1 tweaks:

Windows Phone 8.1 is likely to have notification center and Siri-like voice interaction as its main highlights, but there are several other tweaks that should please Windows Phone owners.The volume controls are said to be split into categories. A phone's ringtone volume can be independent of its media playback volume, for example.Bing Smart Search is expected to hit Windows Phone 8.1 just as hard as it did Windows 8.1.

Enterprise users will also benefit from added VPN support, and those who enjoy playing music and video on small devices may be listening to songs and watching videos through Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps taken from Xbox One.

Windows Phone 8.1 at Build 2014:

The notification center, Contra personal assistant and the other minor tweaks to Windows Phone 8.1 are said to be in internal beta testing right now.Moving forward, Microsoft is reportedly working to unveil all of these new features at its Build 2014 developer conference.
That means Windows Phone users will have to wait until April of next year to find out how their smartphones will get retooled and retiled with these much-needed features.

By: Wasim On 22:55

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Case Study: Everything Is A Remix, And So Is The iPhone

Apple gets more than its fair share of stick for supposedly not being innovative enough these days, but that wasn’t what everyone was saying when the iphone was first announced in 2007. Offering what, at the time, was the holy grail of mobile telecommunications in something the size of a smartphone, the iPhone was a truly revolutionary device.

Or was it?

Filmmaker Kirby Ferguson has been running an ‘Everything is a Remix’ series for a while and the artist has released a new case study based on the iPhone in which he looks into whether the device was truly a huge leap or simply a remix of devices and technologies that were either already available, or being worked on by other technology companies.

Ferguson points to the multi-touch technology that Apple claims to have created, pointing out that it was already being developed by more than one company independently of what Apple was working to create. While happy to give Apple credit for coming up with a device that was then copied en-masse by an industry desperately trying to play catch-up, Ferguson then turns his attention to the release of iOS 7 – a software update that was arguably heavily influenced by things like Windows Phone and the iPhone’s main competition, Android.

The gist of Ferguson’s argument is obviously that everything is eventually remixed and that nothing truly new is ever created, which not only sounds like a depressing notions to us, but also one that kind of misses the point somewhat. Still, the guy knows how to make a good video and if you’ve a spare ten minutes, some of his work is well worth the time to watch. Especially this iPhone-flavored one.

Apple famously announced the iPhone back in 2007 and the competition has spend the six years since doing its best to catch up with the Cupertino firm. With a smartphone market that has ballooned in the last six years, Apple could perhaps be given the credit for giving us the options that we have today.

By: Wasim On 21:36

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This Specialized Pocket Pouch Claims To Make Your Smartphone Untrackable

Privacy will always remain a major concern among mobile device owners, and with more and more apps seemingly requiring your location in order to function properly, it can be disconcerting to consider just how readily we give offer this information up. With theories of NSA tracking smartphone owners also serving as an unnerving afterthought, it stands to reason that some might wish to take action and thanks to the Scottevest Blackout Pocket, you can apparently stop yourself from being GPS pinpointed.

The pouch claims to protect privacy instantly when your device is placed inside of it. It consists of a Faraday cage within the lining, and is designed in such a way as to appear as though it’s a pencil case.

If you had the Scottevest Blackout Pocket inside one of your jacket pockets, you could, theoretically, place your device in one pocket if you wish to stay online, and another – the Blackout Pocket – if you wish to fall under the radar.

As sinister as the allegations of NSA tracking may be, however, going to such lengths to go offline would seem more than a little extreme, particularly when there’s always the trusty, or so we thought, airplane mode readily available.

The Scottevest arrives in three different strengths, all of which are designed to cater to different levels of privacy. Again, purchasing one of these does suggest slight paranoia, but with RFID-blocking material in the lining keeping you detached from a world and a generation that is now always-on, some folks will doubtlessly find some use for it.

The Level 1 pocket is ideal for general RFID-enabled items, such as credit cards and digital passports, and for $15, claims to prevent any unscrupulous individual from slyly grabbing your details.

The Level 2 Blackout Pocket, which is designed for the smartphone owner, brigs both RFID blocking, GPS and cellular data protection. So if you want to keep your mobile device from being tracked and traced, this $30 option would seem the one for you.

The enigmatic Level 3 Blackout Pocket costs $80, and is only available to those in law enforcement, government, and "specialist organizations." Naturally, details over at the Scottevest site are scarce, but with details on what it blocks out being kept a closely-guarded secret, it’s little wonder that consumers are worried enough to be considering these rather over-zealous products in the first place.

By: Wasim On 01:37

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