by Ivey McDaniel| Arts and Entertainment Editor
iPhone users got a pleasant surprise this week when Apple launched their newest software update iOS 6. When I found out, I couldn’t help but think this was Apple’s way of neutralizing the bad rep the iPhone 5 is getting? I mean, did you see that Droid commercial? I thought this one was suppose to have holographs. Time travel? No? Just a bigger screen? Steve Jobs is probably looking down on us, shedding million dollar tears. The fact that Apple comes out with a new phone every two years makes buying one almost unreasonable. What’s the point of making a significant financial investment, when the product is going to be obsolete in a short period of time? Maybe my attitude stems from jealousy, because if I ever get an iPhone 5, it’ll probably be when they’re shooting them out of t-shirt cannons at sports games because the 6th generation is coming out. So, with much convincing from my 4S peers, I downloaded the software.
iOs 6 does’t cost you anything, just about 20 minutes of your time, if you trust you aren’t giving Apple the “okay” to turn you into a human sacrifice by agreeing to the “Terms and Conditions”.
Youtube I noticed when I went for my daily “Gangnam Style” view, was that the Youtube app was missing. Now, there’s a new free app to download for your video viewing pleasure. The app has a lot of glitches. Multiple times when I attempted to watch a video a “general error” message was displayed. The app’s layout strongly resembles the Youtube web site, with a homepage that displays popular videos and subscriptions’ uploads. But, viewers beware, there’s no “delete history” feature. So, last night, I found myself explaining to my sister why I was watching a Romanian subtitled video of a cat giving another CPR with Sarah McLachlin karaoke playing in the background.
Passbooks Be the pretentious tech geek at Starbucks when the barista scans your phone to tap into your gift card balance. Passbooks allow you to access boarding passes, tickets, store gift cards, and coupons on you phone without carrying around cards and paperwork.
Maps “Google maps is the best. True dat, double true.” Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell will be disappointed to know the Google maps is now gone, replaced by just “Maps”, Apple’s rendition of the popular navigation site. However, I won’t be missing the app, because this new one has some pretty awesome features that include turn by turn navigation, live traffic updates, 3D view, and drop pin, a neat little feature that allows you to drag a “pin” to a location on the map. The app will automatically recognize the address and allows you to send it to friends or bookmark it.
Siri I have had a love hate relationship with Siri. I’d ask her to call me “Freedom Sanchez” and she’d tell me I had no contacts under that name. I would ask her to search on safari “the constitution” and she’d type in “the constipation”. So, I fired her. I turned her off and forgot about my troublesome secretary. But, I might have to have a call back. Siri now has the ability to open apps, post status updates, and can read movie reviews.
Do not disturb This is a new feature under settings that doesn’t allow incoming calls, text messages, and emails during certain parts of the day. This could be especially useful during the school because I tend to get distracted by messages.
Messages The Emoji gods have spoken. Let’s just say I was a little more than extatic when I found out the update brought new Emojis. To join the ranks are a plethora of cat graphics (YES!), new emotions, and lifelike animals.
Panoramic pictures Okay, I have to admit this is pretty cool. Panoramic pictures allow you to take a, well, really wide picture. While you capture the scene, you’re instructed to move you camera slowly in a circle. I seriously don’t know when I’ll use this, or how the pictures will look when you upload them to Facebook or Instagram.
