Tag Archives: app

Hack May Have Allowed Pizza Buyers to Eat For Free



Dominos Pizza logoIf there’s one connection that was inevitable to happen it would be the joy of home-delivered pizza being paired with the convenience that only the internet can provide. First, it became possible to order pizza direct from a restaurant’s website without having to even place a phone call. And now it’s even easier to purchase a pie online using mobile apps on a smartphone or tablet. While pizza makers have been quick to embrace new technologies, Dominos Pizza might be a little gun shy to jump on the next bandwagon.

Earlier this week, a UK security consultant named Paul Price blogged about an order he’d place with Domino’s using the pizza chain’s Android app. Price was curious to understand more about how the app worked. Using the skills he’d developed as a consultant, he was able to access the app’s source code and watch what it did while processing his order. He was surprised to find that the app was actually handling his payment locally, on his device, as opposed to sending the information to the Domino’s server. By implementing a relatively simple hack, Price was able to circumvent the payment system by sending a signal back to the Domino’s site indicating that his order was paid for when in fact, no payment information was given.

This effectively gave Price the ability to order potentially unlimited amounts of pizza for free! Price contacted the store he’d ordered from and they confirmed that his pizza was baking and would soon be on its way. But honesty got the best of the man, and when his pizza arrived, he informed the delivery driver of the hack, and he paid in cash for the total cost of the order.

Domino’s has since closed the hole in its app that allowed for this exploit. But it did so quite some time after Price alerted the restaurant to his findings. There’s no telling how many others might’ve also discovered the hack and enjoyed free pizzas because of it.


Feverprints App Hopes to Provide Better Understanding of Body Temperatures



Feverprints logoMedical science has long accepted that 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average body temperature for human beings. This standard is often used to determine if a patient’s body temperature is too high or too low. But not everyone’s body temperature is the same. This can cause problems when physicians are trying to treat their patients. Boston Childrens Hospital is hoping to gain some real insight into the world’s average body temperatures with its new Feverprints mobile app.

Feverprints is pretty straightforward. Upon installation and acceptance of the app’s terms and conditions, the app will then send a notification every time it wants you to take your temperature. This can be done the old-fashioned way with a standard thermometer or with a wireless smart thermometer paired with the user’s mobile device. Feverprints then collects individual users’ information and anonymously aggregates it along with other Feverprints reporters. Along with body temperature, the Feverprints app may also collect data on your movement, physical condition, and medication usage, depending on how much you’d like to share with the app.

Feverprints is currently available as a free download from the iOS App Store. There’s no mention of porting the app to other platforms at this time.

 


Latitude Tour App at CES



Latitude Tour AppScott Ertz interviews Brody Horton of Latitude Tours. Latitude Tours is an app available for both Android and iOS that currently offers audio tours for New York, London and Paris.

The example given is that you arrive as a tourist in Paris. Once you are ready to take audio tours in Paris, you pay $15 dollars which gives you 24 hours’ worth of access to all of the Paris audio tour content.

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App Review: Thyme for iOS



Thyme logoCooking meals at home used to be a way of life for most Americans. But over time, we’ve become more accustomed to dining out or ordering in. Having food prepared outside of the home is nice, but that food is often more expensive and less healthy than home-cooked fair. And for those of us who are trying to rely less on carryout and more on our own kitchens, there are a variety of apps that aid in the process. One such app is called Thyme and I’ve been using it for awhile.

Thyme bills itself as “the smart kitchen timer app.” And that’s a pretty accurate description. The app is very straightforward and dead simple to use. Upon loading, Thyme gives you a familiar-looking graphic that mirrors the layout of a typical stove, with four circles on top that represent burners and one larger circle at the bottom that represents an oven.

Thyme app

Thyme suggests that you “tap a plate” to set a timer. Doing so brings up a screen that allows you to set that specific timer. Pick the time you need by dragging a finger around the edge of the timer circle.

Thyme app

Thyme begins counting down on that specific timer. Repeat the process for as many other items as you need to time. Here’s what Thyme looks like when one burner and the oven are being timed simultaneously:

Thyme app

When a timer is completed, Thyme will send a push notification including an audible alarm sound. If you have the app open when a timer expires, it looks like this:

Thyme app

Keep in mind that if you have your iOS device’s volume turned off, you won’t hear the alarm when it sounds. So, make sure the device hasn’t been switched to silent before starting a timer.

Thyme isn’t packed with features but it’s a fine little app for what it does. Thyme is available for $0.99 on the App Store but it does occasionally turn up as a free download. Check this app out if you’re in need of a comprehensive kitchen timer.


App Review: aTimeLogger 2 for iOS



aTimeLogger2 logoAs a freelancer, time tracking is essential to the work I do. I’m always looking for ways to improve that tracking, so I’ve been trying out different apps lately to help with the task. One of this apps is called aTimeLogger 2. There are some previous versions of aTimeLogger for other platforms. But aTimeLogger 2 is only currently available for iOS and I’ve used it exclusively on my iPad Mini. The app sells for $2.99 in the App Store but I was able to pick it up for free during a special promotional period.

aTimeLogger 2 is pretty straight forward when adding a task. The app opens with a screen that allows you to select from different task categories. aTimeLogger 2 is designed to keep track of EVERYTHING you might do in the course of a day; working, eating, exercising, sleeping, etc. I’m only interested in using the app for work projects, so I selected the Work option from the menu below.

aTimeLogger2 screen

This automatically added a new task at the top of the screen with a new timer that had already started rolling.

aTimeLogger2 screen

 

Tapping the task takes me to a screen that allows me to add some details to the task. The “Type” section was already set to Work, as I selected that on the previous screen. If I wanted to change it to something else, I could do that here. The “My plan” feature has something to do with combining different tasks into a plan. This feature seemed confusing and since I really didn’t need it, I didn’t try to figure it out. I did however use the “Comment” field as a way to give my tasks unique names that made them easier to identify.

aTimeLogger2 screen

This screen also keeps track of any time I’ve added to the task so far and it also has a delete button for removing the task completely from the app.

Tapping the Save button in the upper right-hand corner took me back to the main aTimeLogger 2 screen. I added an additional task just to show that the app allows you to keep track of multiple projects at the same time.

aTimeLogger2 screen

Note: While you can keep track of multiple tasks as shown above, aTimeLogger 2 can only one run timer at a time. I think this is by design, since the app breaks everything down into task categories and the assumption is you probably won’t be doing more than one task at a time.

From here, you can pause tasks and restart them again as needed. This is crucial for the type of work I do, as projects are not always done in a single block of time or on a single day. This is really all I used the app for, and for the most part, it did this well. However, I did notice sometimes that the timer would jump ahead in time when adding details to the Comment fields of tasks. It was easy enough to fix this when it was caught right away. But it was confusing at first, as I noticed some tasks had already logged more minutes (sometimes even hours) than I could’ve possibly used since adding the task to aTimeLogger 2. Once I figured out it was doing this, I just had to tap on the timer and reset it with the “Now” button. Fortunately, this problem only seemed to appear when initially setting up a task. This problem never arose when adding more time to an existing task.

At the end of a tracking period, aTimeLogger 2 will allow you to export all of your tracking data to a CSV or HTML file. Again, all I wanted the app to do was track my time in the Work category. But because it’s designed to track all of your time, there’s no way to remove that pesky “Other” category from the export results.

aTimeLogger2 screen

aTimeLogger 2 has settings and feature beyond what I used it for. For example, you can connect it to Twitter if you’d like the app to tweet when you’ve started/completed a task. You can also change the theme of the app if you’d like it to look different from the default layout (which was perfectly fine for me).

I used aTimeLogger 2 for one month’s worth of task tracking. And while the app is OK, I have trouble recommending it, mainly due to the timer issue I mentioned above. But, if you don’t mind a little babysitting when you first add tasks to the app, or if you’re super interested in timing EVERYTHING you do in the course of a day, aTimeLogger 2 might work well for you.


BASE Sends Photos to Pictures



British Inventors ProjectGNC’s Gadget Show Live coverage kicks off with two concept product ideas entered into the British Inventors’ Project. First up is Kristina Parkes’s BASE which “enables new forms of connection between distanced people, creating a tangible channel of communication through a system utilising flexible displays and remote app-based transmission.”

BASE Shelf

In plain English, you send photos from your smartphone using an app to Polaroid-style flexible displays in a friend’s or relative’s home. It’s a neat idea that builds on the impact of Instagram to keep family and friends together, and the display shelf concept shows BASE as attractive and functional. The video below demonstrates the concept well.

 


Todoist Celebrates Version 10 of its iOS App with iPhone and Apple Watch Giveaway



Todoist LogoOver the last year or so, it became pretty obvious to me that I needed to step up my game in terms of personal productivity. Like a lot of people, I read David Allen’s Getting Things Done and figured I’d try and implement that methodology to the best of my abilities. I looked for apps that would help me in this pursuit and I tried out a few different ones. The app I found that I like the best is Todoist, a to-do list and task management system that runs on most platforms.

This week, Todoist announced it would be releasing version 10 of its iOS app:

Since late last year, our team of developers and designers have been busy studying the intricacies of just how our community adds and manages tasks on-the-go. Armed with these insights, they got to work crafting several powerful new features, each designed to make staying productive an effortless experience. We believe that this is the most intuitive task manager for iOS– one that will continue to help people like you achieve truly amazing things.

Here’s a rundown of some of the features found in the latest version of Todoist:

Intelligent input: Type important task information like due dates, labels, and priorities directly into the task field on your iOS device. The intelligent in-line adding will recognize, highlight and immediately sort out and properly categorize all the details for you.

Quick add: There are two new ways to quickly add tasks to your Todoist projects. Add tasks to any list by simply clicking the red circle in any task view or project. Any items you add with this quick add option will instantly appear at the bottom of your list/project. You can also use your index finger and thumb to pull two tasks apart– this action lets you quickly add one or multiple items right then and there.

Start and end dates: Todoist will be able to handle extreme due dates, no matter how eccentric they get. For example, you could create a task to “run two miles with Carrie every thursday at 6am starting April 2nd and ending October 12th.” The scheduling possibilities are endless.

Expandable/collapsable list views: This feature makes it easier to manage and visualize complex projects. Now, you’ll be able to indent and reorder tasks and sub-projects by simply using the “long press” tap action and moving the task to its correct place. Hide less imperative tasks to get a full overview of your project by collapsing sub-tasks and sub-projects.

Multi-task editing: Increase efficiency by editing two or more to-dos at the same time. Need to change all the dates in your marathon project? No problem– just select all the items that need to be modified and tap on the calendar icon to select a new date.

This new version of Todoist also offers a variety of themes so you can customize the app’s appearance to fit your own personal style. Also, Todoist is running a giveaway contest in connection with the release of this app update. Lucky winners will receive either an iPhone 6 or an Apple Watch. You need to be a Todoist in order to win. Follow the link at the top of this article for more information on how to enter the contest.