Climatology App Review I – Just another weather app

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On 10 July Microsoft released its latest brainchild to the app market, Climatology. I took a big sigh of relief and thought to myself ‘It is about time’. Microsoft’s research team has decided to put all their long and hard work into an app so everyone can be aware of Climatology. This is at least what I thought when I first installed the app. I had recently watched the award winning ‘Chasing Ice’ documentary and hoped that this type of footage and information would be made available. All the information about our climate and global warming awareness would be at my fingertips I thought. I was wrong.

You open the app and it really does not have much to it. There is a spread out world map with colours ranging from blue to red on a grid. This is from -5 degrees which is the lowest to 51 degrees which is the highest. You can select any point on the map and it will show you the temperature as well as which months of the year. On the bottom are three different climate icons you can look for. There is a temperature gauge to show you the average temperature in that region; rain drops to show you the average number of days of rain in a month, and the sun to show you the average percentage of sunshine per day.



That pretty much sums it up and I am needless to say slightly disappointed. I would have thought that if you were going to create an app to show the Climatology of our world that you would use this to your benefit. This could be such an extraordinary platform to create global awareness. There is no point in trying to debate global warming anymore as we can see its effects daily and if not then you are either blind, ignorant or both.

How great would it be if this app could give you useful guides on how to save power and how to cut down on carbon emissions. You could even go as far as adding links to websites or research and really give people a reason to want to keep this app open for more than 10 minutes. It takes so long to scroll to a particular area and for it to load the map, users will get frustrated in no time. I would have loved the option of a search bar on the top to type in the name of a destination.



The Climatology app feels like it does not deserve the hype because it was not made to create awareness but to be a great way to plan events such as holidays and weddings. You can now feel confident in making plans for the future as you can see what the weather might be doing on that day. It is a climate based app so it deserves the name but then it is not much different from other weather apps out there and anyone who has used them can tell you how bad they are at predicting the weather forecast. This app needs a lot more work.

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Duolingo App Review III – It works extremely well

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I have been using the Duolingo app for three weeks now and know how to say more in Spanish than I ever thought was possible. The best part is that I do not sound like a complete idiot and my pronunciation is not too shabby at all. It is as easy as creating an account and advancing step by step through the language skills system. You progress through the different levels from basic language to tense and verb phrases. It can all be done at your own pace which makes it even better.

The true testament to this apps success is how extremely fun it is and how learning eventually feels like you are playing a game. In essence you actually are playing a game. You get three hearts to start with on each level. Each time you answer a question incorrectly, you lose a heart. If you get the answer wrong four times then you need to repeat the level.

Duolingo is a highly motivational app as it allows you to earn points that can be spent on making your own character owl look really cool. You can even get your friends to join you on your quest for knowledge and end up making really great challenges to help you learn. Making the learning experience fun and interactive whether on your own or in a group.

It is designed to teach you from the basics in the beginning to the more advanced in the end. No being thrown in the deep end and forced to swim. The lessons start with basics like male/female and move on to food and phrases. Once the easy part is over you move on to sentence structure and more challenging tasks. What I personally enjoyed was that it not only asked you to translate from Spanish to English but from English to Spanish as well. This really helped me grasp the language as I was now forced to write in it, not just merely guess the words.

My favourite and hands down best attribute to this app is the daily reminders that I receive reminding me of the winning streak I am on and why I should continue with my awesome progress. There is just no beating cheap compliments and a good nudge to keep you motivated. It is either you feel this way or extreme amounts of guilt for having ignored the message.

Duolingo is an entirely free application that can be downloaded onto your smartphone or ipad. It is structured in the best way that I have seen a language course layout. I am a walking and Spanish talking testament to how good this app works. I now feel confident and am determine to follow my three week not one day missed streak of language success. This app will continue to grow into an even more popular sensation once it adds more languages. Duolingo is the best language platform out there and everyone should be using it.

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Panic Button App Review III – The accidental distress call

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I want to laugh so hard at the fact that I actually predicted what I am about to write about. In my first review I stated that I could see something going wrong with the Amnesty International Panic Button App. I stated that we have all made accidental pocket dials so it is only a matter of time until an accidental distress signal is sent. Low and behold that is how my poor parents were shocked this fine Monday morning.

I mentioned the problem I felt this app would face would be with the slide unlock function on the android phones of today. I decided to go to the Post Office this morning and put my phone into a pouch on my wallet. Upon arriving home I got a phone call from my mom ‘Are you in trouble?’. I respond ‘No why? Did you get a bad feeling?’. She informs me that her, my dad and boyfriend all received a distress signal.

I began to apologise profusely for the false alarm and proceed to let everyone know that I am in fact alive and okay. At no point had I opened my wallet or touched my phone so the concern I had in the beginning with the slide action happened to be true. Somehow the touch sensitive screen rubbed against my wallets fabric and opened the app and pushed buttons. As crazy as this sounds to have occurred so perfectly, it did.

There is no reason to believe it will not happen again. I was tempted to uninstall this app and told my parents this after apologising profusely for giving them such a massive fright. They made a very wise point and said that if it did anything it just proved that the app works. They were sent my location as well so they knew where I would have been. It even went as far as contacting my boyfriend on Viber as his text would not go through.

The advise that I would give however is that the app has to be opened with a passkey, just to prevent the touch screen from doing its own thing. It causes quite the scare when the panic button is activated by accident. By adding a simple pass key of even two numbers it could prevent this from happening.

Amnesty International’s App is still a brilliant idea and has been tested to work, even if it was not intentional. Luckily I had told my contacts that they were on the list so they were fully aware of what was going on. Well done to Amnesty International, this is a great way to notify the ones you love that you are in trouble. It is essential that this becomes a must on everyone’s phone and that they really consider the passkey option. This simple adjustment would make things run a lot smoother especially when our phones are so smart that they do their own thing.

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Slingshot App Review III – Tried, tested and failed.

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I can at least say that by the time I write this review I have truly given this app the benefit of the doubt. Instead of it being a tool for me to communicate with friends through image sharing, it has become a beeping pain in my behind. There is just nothing to it that defines it as anything special except that you cannot view an image till you send one back.

This app is not meant for the world, it is designed for a demographic. That would be teenagers who spend their waking lives sharing selfies and pictures all day long. By no means is there anything wrong with that but then don’t give the impression that it is meant for everyone. Because ‘everyone’ does not have all day to send pictures as we are too busy working to earn money to pay bills.

I know I went on to mention that the apparent concept behind this is quite clever in that it forces people to provide content instead of just view content, this is rubbish. Facebook is a business and so they will say whatever they have to in order to create a craze and make people feel like they are experiencing something different. Snapchat works better and has more features so sorry Facebook but you lose.

Have you not seen the multiple videos out there trying to inspire us to live our lives and not just sit on our phones disconnected from human interaction. Facebook is used for one of three things. First is for those who feel the need to fuel their arrogance all day looking their best and making out as if their lives are perfect. No one is perfect or looks good and feels good all day, if you do then you are a robot. Secondly it makes other people feel worse about themselves because they scroll through the newsfeed all day and compare themselves to others. Thirdly and lastly is the worst Facebook user, those who use it as a diary and status updates go off every 15min. Enough said.

When it comes to the Slingshot app, it should be taken with as much as the grain of salt with which we take Facebook. From a human interaction perspective Snapchat blows Slingshot out the water just on the basis that there is a chat feature. Slingshot is a really dumb idea and no one but pre-teens and teens would enjoy this craze. If not them then people who have too much time. You can say that I am pessimistic but perhaps I just prefer the old school way of just sending someone I care about a personal message or making a phone call.

Slingshot is going to be forgotten just like every app Facebook tried before. Let those like Snapchat and other popular apps do what they do best, work well. Do not waste your time and download it, rather use another platform. They tried to do something clever but I just don’t see it working that well. It is time to uninstall.

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Duolingo App Review II – Fun Language Learning

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I have been so excited to give another report on Duolingo that I am tempted to recite my cheap Spanish phrases but I think have tortured my household enough. Never in my life have I ever enjoyed learning a new language so much. I decided to start with Spanish based on advice from friends. They say it is the easiest way to ease into other languages when you are done. So I click on start and begin my first lesson.

Not even two minutes and I have completed Basic 1 Lesson 1. Wow can it really be that easy? Yes it can. I think what makes this app so great for learning is that it is designed with such a clever way of teaching the language. You can get a question where there are four pictures and you have to select which is the boy in Spanish. There are chances for you to easily guess the translation or have to type it out which is a bit more challenging. It even includes sentence structure and a fun way to practise by repeating phrases into the microphone.

I can confidently say that you will be kept entertained for hours. Before you know it you have learnt Spanish, French, German, Italian or Portuguese. I am by no means a natural linguist and so it is not like I take easily to learning new languages. The unique concept to this course is that each course is broken up into sub categories that are easy to follow when done sequentially. You use the information used before to help understand the new information. Each category has about 3 levels that you need to complete.

Every time you get a question correct or incorrect you have a buzzer go off that sounds like it comes from a TV Game Show. You have three hearts to start off with and each time you get a question incorrect you lose a heart. There is a progress bar above it that shows how far you are through the level. The sad owl and its adorable face pop up if you do not advance. Once completing a category you have a small brain test at the end that you can do over again whenever you like. It compresses the information for you to test yourself and get some practice.

Besides it being extremely useful, entertaining, fun and at times frustrating this app is the Best! The feature I love the most is that each day I get a message that reminds me that I am on a winning streak and should continue. The guilt of ignoring this message is too much to stand so you end up doing a level or two. It is so much fun you cannot help but want to. If you are looking for a relaxed way to learn a new language that does not feel like a drag then this is the app that you need in your life.

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Udacity App Review II – Not the best MOOC available

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I was born with a natural thirst for knowledge and have spent as much time as I can on consistently developing myself and learning new things. I know that I am most certainly not a minority and that there are many, who like myself, do not have enough time or finance to get another degree. The great thing about living in this day and age is that information is at our fingertips. There are so many different online qualifications you have to choose from.

Information is the one thing that has become more freely available. I have registered for my fair share of online courses before so I decided to give the Udacity app a try. I wanted to see if it was any better or worse than the ones out there already.

Udacity is what is referred to as a MOOC, this is the name given to any online institution that offers a study course to large groups. There are no admission requirements for such institutions and the student is getting a free certification. It is this factor that draws people into an app such as Udacity. It is designed in such a way that you can do the course at your own pace which is very important when we live such busy lives.

As impersonal as it may seem, there is actually a better level of feeling more involved with such courses. The lecturer is often available to answer questions or assist when possible. You do not feel as overwhelmed as what you would in a lecture hall of two hundred students. It does require however that you are self disciplined and motivated to work on your own. You can do anything from a beginners course to advanced and in a variety of different fields.

Once complete with your course you get what is known as a Statement Of Achievement which is a verified certificate. These can really boost your resume when looking for jobs in specific industries. It should be noted that these are considered a course experience when using the free version. When they say free it is limited to only certain available free courses. You can pay anything from $100 plus a month to buy access to a course, this in turn forces you to finish the course faster to avoid having to pay even more. In my opinion it is taking away from doing it at your own pace as now you rush to save money and understand less of the course work.

The Udacity app is growing in success each day and attracting more and more people. There are features I wish were available such as the ability to download the videos and watch them offline. The speed control would be great as well. Other than these tiny little issues, it is overall a pleasure to use and I really enjoy what I am learning. I just wish that when something said it was free that every part of it was. Some more categories of courses would be great as well.

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Panic Button App Review II – The right app for those in dangerous environments

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The Panic Button App released by Amnesty International has a far greater purpose than just helping us out in a bind. The inspiration behind this idea was that there were far too many situations where human activists where being kidnapped, falsely arrested or abducted. Amnesty International had no way of getting in touch with these people without a mountain of paperwork and officials to answer to. In many countries the authorities have jacked up their surveillance efforts in order to capture and torture these human rights groups at meetings or protests.

On a daily basis people’s lives are being unnecessarily put in jeopardy because of their belief systems or need to protect others who don’t have a voice. It is for this reason that the creation of this app was vital. This occurs every day in so many different countries that we are kept oblivious to. It was not solely designed for activists but for anyone who is exposed to dangerous environments daily. This could be a journalist, lawyer or anyone living in an oppressive regime.

The first few hours of someone being falsely attacked, imprisoned or kidnapped is vital and that is common knowledge by now. This app is disguised as a calculator on your smart phone and when you tap the button five times or the power button, a call for help is sent. You select your three contacts and it is advised that you ensure your contacts are reliable and aware of being on your help list.

There are two very strong winning factors to this app, the lesser being it is less than 1Mb so does not require much memory space being used. The best element however being that of when your distress message is sent, so is your phone’s geo-location. It updates every five minutes with your location until the battery dies.

A downfall to this though is that you may only get the chance to send one emergency signal. Most attackers would know that you take the persons personal belongings and destroy them. This is unless they feel the need to contact someone to discuss ransom. In my country cellphone theft happens every second and these thieves know to turn off the phone and destroy the sim card. This is petty crime but if they think this way, who can say that the authorities who attack activists would not know this.

Amnesty International can be commended on really using technology to advance the safety of those who are trying to do the right thing. There is no doubt in my mind that so many more lives will be saved for this app being made. It is an asset to anyone who works in a dangerous environment no matter what that may be. For myself living in a country with a very high crime rate and kidnappings on the rise, this app is essential. The design is clever and well hidden and even if you only get to send one distress signal, it is one you would have not had before.

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Duolingo App Review – The fun way to learn language

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I do not consider myself much of a linguist and that is surely not for lack of trying. I have on more than one occasion attempted the Pimsleur Language Guides or found myself buying phrase books only for them to collect dust on my bookshelves. My best friend, who is a linguist, spent hours torturing me with language CD’s in her car on the way out to a party. So far I can say only one sentence in 5 languages. Great help that does for when I actually need to say something it will be ‘Hi my name is’ or ‘Where is the bathroom?’.

I was a bit reluctant to now have to attempt another language learning programme. Duolingo is an application for your phone that you can sync to an account you create with them to track your progress. You can learn English, Spanish, French, Italian, German or Portuguese. The course is designed to be fun and let me tell you that from someone with my language history, this app is Awesome! The course work is designed in such a way that each phase you do only takes a few minutes at most.

I decided to tackle Spanish and found myself really entertained and absorbed for about 20 minutes just trying to get past phase 1. You get little hearts that accumulate at the top for each question you get right. If you do not get enough then you do not advance. The course has a really incredible layout with such stunning graphics.

Phase 1 takes you through pictures where you select the correct words, every click on the answer will say the word out in that language. You can also have an opportunity to translate the sentence and it all is really easy. There is a section where you select the missing word from multiple choice answers or translate the sentence. If you do not get enough hearts then a very sad owl tells you that you did not make it.

By simply just scrolling through the course material you will be so excited to see how they have laid everything out. The course starts with basics and divides all the material into such interesting sub categories. If you feel you know the work there is even an option to take a shortcut and advance to the level that is best suited to your language experience.

I am now for the first time really excited to learn a new language and not feel like a complete moron repeating phrases over and over again. Duolingo is designed with such great imagery and an extremely fun way of learning. It has now become a game to advance to the next level in each language and I am so entertained doing it.

This app should be commended for making such a useful way of learning and for making it so much easier to understand. I look forward to the hours of fun I am about to have learning a language that seemed so difficult before.

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Udacity App Review – Online education just got better

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I could not have been happier when I heard that Udacity became available for android. Now I have access to courses at my fingertips wherever I go, could it get better? Udacity is an app that is a testament to online learning and definitely one of the forerunners. This app is there for anyone who has a thirst for knowledge no matter what your interests may be.

I would especially consider forcing kids about to go to college to do some of their courses and get a taste for what they are in for.

You create an account and then read through the different courses available until you stumble across one that peaks your interest. You can find a detailed description of the course materials and the lecturer. The course material is also made up of videos of lectures and course material. Once you have made your choice, it is as easy as simply starting your course.

A huge benefit is that you can do these courses at your own pace and time. No stressful deadlines or teachers breathing down your necks. This is great as you can take your time and really ensure you grasp the course material. You choose the time in your day, whether you have 15min or an hour, it is all your choice. There is no age limit or credit restriction, the world of knowledge is available to you for a more affordable price than some of your other options.

The concept was that this style of learning would appeal to your more ambitious students who are self disciplined. Your options are endless, from how to design an app to the beginner basics of psychology. Your thirst for knowledge can be satisfied right in the palm of your hand. You even get a verified certificate upon completion that you can attach when applying for jobs to show you have the required skills. Udacity allows you to do the courses on a beginner, intermediate or advanced level.

The courses are more affordable than a college education would be. They even offer you the option of earning credits towards your fees. What a great way to motivate the world into learning without restrictions.

You can do some free courses and track your progress as you go. The videos auto-forwards once you have completed each one without you having to open them one at a time. There are many discussions you can join to communicate with others who are also taking advantage of this great learning experience.

The only downside that I can seem to point out is the fact that the app does not have an offline function. This would be really helpful for those situations when you do not have Wifi access. Not the end of the world though as most coffee shops these days have free Wifi anyway. So all you have to do is take a seat, have a cup of coffee and learn something you did not know before.

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Slingshot App Review – So disappointed

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Well I know I must probably stand as a minority when it comes to disliking this app as the exceeding popularity grows daily.Slingshot is pretty much the same concept as Snapchat and is just as simple to use with only one real function, to capture images.

You take a picture and send it to a friend. Here is the catch, your friend is only able to view the picture once they ‘sling’ a picture back to you. You can upload pictures from your gallery or one that you take on the spot, it is your choice. The idea is fun if you are looking for a game to play with your friends. There are just unfortunately far too many varieties of apps on the market that do the same thing built in.



The true genius behind this app is the way they have taken advantage of human curiosity. As human beings you cannot have someone send you a blank picture that you cannot see and not keep wondering what it looks like. They must have spent more time and money developing on the brain science instead of the app itself.

Our need to know now becomes a pain in our side for those who are too busy to be sending images back and forth. The developers know however that not knowing will just drive us insane until we see succumb and capture an image so we can see what we were sent.

I do believe there are people who would enjoy this app and have enough time to get really interesting with it, oh wait, that is not possible. The app has not got any photo editing tools or added features of any kind. So if want to send an edited picture you need to use a different app and then share it. In my opinion this defeats the point as people LOVE to edit and play around with their photos. It just seems like far too much effort when I can just send my friends pictures over Whatsapp, Line or Facebook as I have always done.

I tried to download this app about a week ago but it was not available in my country until about two days ago. What a really big disappointment, I really expected more than what I have encountered from this app thus far. The developers justify not adding any extra tools to ensure it runs faster. In my opinion if I have nothing to do all day but send pictures to my friends, time is not really my concern or how fast it works.

Maybe in time I will find a better use for this app but for now I am too busy enjoying my life instead of spamming it with others. I do tend to prefer apps that are more practical but I can think of at least five that are more practical than this with the same functions. Instagram already owns the photo market so Slingshot should just quit while they are behind as there is no chance for decent competition here.

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Panic Button App Review – The new way of saving lives

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The app was designed by Amnesty International in the hope to be able to better assist human rights defenders in cases of emergency or distress. The hope being to help their colleagues or even journalists in dangerous situations when it is most needed. The first few hours from abduction or arrest are the most crucial and this app allows their colleagues to be found.

It goes without saying that this app is a must for anyone who owns a mobile phone, which is everyone in our technology driven age. You never really think you need such an app until something happens and you wished you did. The increase in crime and kidnappings has forced us to think smart about how to get out of bad situations.

The app itself is easy to download and install. When opened for the first time you immediately begin your set up. It starts with identifying the three people who you would call out to in the case of an emergency. It is advised to ensure they are aware of you having this app and what to do when receiving the distress signal. Once adding in the contacts you can now begin to test to make sure that all the signals work correctly on the phone. The panic button can be pushed either on the screen or by the power button on the side.

The app is designed in such a clever way that once you have completed the setup it automatically disguises itself as a calculator on your phone menu. This ensures that even in the worst case scenario where your attacker takes your phone away from you, there will be no sign of you having sent a distress call.

What happens is that when you repetitively tap on the calculator buttons or power button, your distress signal is sent immediately to your contacts. This is in the form of a text message that is sent to the three contacts given when you set up the app. You can even go as far as to add in what you want the message to say or perhaps specific code words you have shared with your contacts. The message will also give your GPS co-ordinates of the last place recorded which is extremely handy in a bad situation.

The only flaw in design is not with the app itself but with android phones in general that are touch sensitive. I know that I cannot be the only one in the world who has made a few pocket dial calls by having my phone in my pocket or handbag. With most android phones and the slide lock this is not easy to avoid. It will only be a matter of time until you start hearing some stories about people getting false distress signals.

Overall this panic button app is a genius idea and will surely save many lives, especially for those who work in dangerous environments. The design concept is simple and easy to use without any added unnecessary features. You can have that chance to call for help when you really need it.

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