android programming

Attention Android fans, Google has just launched a Google Analytics App for Android-enabled mobile phones.
The Google Analytics App for Android is a mobile app that delivers essential analytics data to you anytime, anywhere. In a meeting and need traffic or sales figures quickly? No more having to wait until you can access your desktop PC to see important stats – with the Analytics App, they are all now at your fingertips.

You can see real time statistics, customizable dashboards and intelligence reports directly on your phone with the Google Analytics App. It allows you to access the same accounts and profiles you see when you open Analytics from a desktop browser, but the reports are delivered in an optimized format for your phone.

The following *swipe through* reports are available:

Real-Time: See the number of visitors you currently have and a list of the pages (for websites) or screens (for apps) that are currently popular.

Dashboard: Monitor the KPIs and user metrics you care about the most. By default, you’ll see your Daily Unique Visitors and your Goal Conversion Rate, but you can customize the dashboard to change which reports, metrics, or segments you see.

Automatic and Customized Alerts: Google Analytics detects statistical anomalies in your data and can send you an alert when something unusual happens. See automatic alerts, or customize your settings to send alerts based on your own benchmarks.

The Google Analytics app is available from here and currently has an average user rating of 4 stars, based on over 400 reviews to date.

Android may be the most popular mobile operating system on the planet, but now it is also the system most targeted by malware.

In fact, malware targeting Google’s Android platform increased nearly six-fold in the third quarter this year — from 30,000 malicious and potentially dangerous apps in June to almost 175,000 in September, a report  released Oct. 22 by Trend Micro has found. The fact that only 20 percent of Android device owners use a security app does not help.

“It’s actually no surprise that we see such a huge increase in mobile malware,” says Trend Micro CTO Raimund Genes. “Android is the dominant Smartphone platform with an amazing success story. The digital underground reads the statistics and analysts reports as well, and they figured out way to make money with mobile malware. And unlike your computer, getting information from your phone also reveals your location, the phone numbers you have called – and more – all stuff which could be sold.”
The most common way to release malware on Android Smartphones is through fake versions of legitimate apps. The number of aggressive mobile adware also has skyrocketed.
“Though most adware is designed to collect user information, a fine line exists between collecting data for simple advertising and violating one’s privacy,” the report states.

“We also identified several adware that pose serious privacy-related threats. Apps that access your call history without informing you via an end-user license agreement (EULA) or their user interface (UI) constitute malicious behavior from a security perspective and are detected.”
The report also identifies the top spam-sending countries in the world. Saudi Arabia tops the list at 21 percent, with India taking the second slot at eight percent. Turkey and the United States tied for third with eight percent, followed by Peru at four percent and Brazil at three percent.

More key data:

• Dangerous zero-day exploits targeting Java and Internet Explorer (IE) were found. The IE vulnerability was used in an advanced persistent threat campaign.
• ZeroAccess malware, often on peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing sites, was the top infector in the computing public this quarter. The old DOWNAD/ Conficker worm was a close second.
• PayPal attracted the most phishermen while Linkedin was the top Blackhole Exploit Kit target.
• Corporations and governments remain viable APT targets. Lurid and Nitro APT campaign improvements were also noted.
• Social media threats and privacy concerns continue — Only 50 percent of Facebook users check their privacy settings every two to three months.

Nearly eight percent of Google’s Andorid apps fail to protect bank account and social media logins, a new study has found.

Of the 13,500 Android apps tested by scientists from two German universities, 1,074 did not employ standard scrambling systems, resulting in “man-in-the-middle” attacks which reveals data that passes back and forth when devices communicate with websites.
One app can even be tricked into allowing an attacker to re-direct a request to transfer funds without the app user’s knowledge.

The most popular apps in Google’s Play store were tested by scientists from the security group at the University of Leibniz in Hanover and the computer science department at the Philipps University of Marburg. Some of the apps tested had been downloaded millions of times.
The researchers created a phony Wi-Fi hotspost using an attack tool to scrutinize data the apps sent through that route.

This enabled the researchers to:

• Snag login information for online bank accounts, e-mail services, social media sites and corporate networks.
• Either halt security programs altogether or dupe them into classifying secure apps as infected.
• Include computer code in the data stream to force apps to obey particular commands.

The researchers also performed a survey to determine if users are able to determine when they are at risk.
“About half of the participants could not judge the security state of a browser session correctly,” the researchers wrote. “Most importantly, research is needed to study which counter-measures offer the right combination of usability for developers and users, security benefits and economic incentives to be deployed on a large scale.”
Google has yet to comment on the findings.

Note: AT&T offers a single budget Android phone, the “Avail,” through its GoPhone prepaid service—and for that phone, of course, you can access your Gmail through the pre-installed Gmail app.

1. Using a built-in email client

Even the most basic of cell phones can be typically programmed to check an email account, including Gmail.
So, how can you tell if your phone has its own email client?
Check the manual that came with your phone, or dig around its menus. If you come across an “Email” option, you’re in luck. If not, don’t worry; just skip to the next section.
Now, how do you set up your phone to check your Gmail? That depends on the make and model of your phone, of course.
In general, you’ll need to enter a few settings that’ll direct your phone to Google’s Gmail servers, and you’ll need your Gmail username and password handy.
You’ll also need to pick a method—or, technically speaking, a “protocol”—for your phone to grab your Gmail messages. Your two choices are “POP,” short for “Post Office Protocol,” and “IMAP,” or “Internet Message Access Protocol.”
What’s the difference between POP and IMAP?
In practical terms, any changes you make to your phone’s email inbox using IMAP will be synced to your online Gmail account. For example, if you read a message on your phone and move it to your “All Mail” folder, that same message will be marked as “read” and moved to “All Mail” in your Gmail account on the web.
The POP protocol, on the other hand, only “fetches” copies of your messages from the Gmail server. If you move or delete a message on your phone, it won’t be moved or deleted in Gmail on the web. (You can, if you wish, set Gmail to delete or archive all email messages fetched via POP, or mark all fetched messages as “read”.)
OK then, why would you ever pick POP over IMAP, given all of POP’s limitations? Well, if your phone doesn’t support IMAP, you may be forced to go with POP—and indeed, there are plenty of bare-bones phones out there that only have POP configuration settings.
For more specifics on the settings you’ll need to tweak on your phone and in Gmail, visit this handy Gmail support page, then click either “I want to enable IMAP” or “I want to enable POP” to get started.

2. Using a mobile browser

Can’t find an email client on your phone? Or does the prospect of setting up your mobile email client sound a little too daunting?
If so, here’s an easier way: just use your phone’s web browser.
Once you launch your mobile browser, visit this web address: m.google.com/mail.
(You can also visit this page on your desktop browser and click the “Send to phone” button to send the link to your phone via text message.)
You should zap instantly to the mobile web version of Gmail, the look of which will vary considerably depending on the capabilities of your phone’s browser.
If you have a older prepaid cell phone, for example, don’t be surprised if you end up with a pared-down, text-only version of Gmail.
But even the all-text Gmail will still let you check your inbox, open and reply to messages, or archive messages you’ve already read. As you do, your changes will be synced with Gmail on your desktop browser.
Not bad—and indeed, the overall look and feel of mobile Gmail may top the bare-bones email clients on many budget phones.
That said, you’ll need an Internet connection—and therefore, a wireless signal—to access Gmail on your mobile browser. No Internet, no Gmail, nor will you be able to review the messages you’ve previously received.
Hope that helps, Elia. Still have questions? Post ‘em in the comments below.

Bonus tip

You won’t need a lot of wireless data to check your Gmail on the web, but you will need some sort of data plan on your budget and/or prepaid phone.
Most standard and prepaid carriers offer service bundles that include unlimited mobile web access, or you might opt for an inexpensive bucket of monthly data.
If you’re not signed up for a specific data plan, beware: your carrier might charge you for data on a per-kilobyte basis, and that can get expensive in a hurry.

We have all had our own unique horror stories when it comes to professional development.  From a one size fits all approach, to unqualified presenters that lack passion, to leaving a session or entire day for that matter with no applicable ideas and strategies to implement into practice - poor professional development has left many scars.  Another glaring void has been the availability of quality opportunities to learn about the latest Web 2.0 tools or innovative pedagogical techniques that have begun to take hold in small pockets across the country.   Up unto recently many of the best hands-on, authentic learning opportunities for educators were restricted to large conference events that were out of the financial reach for many to take advantage of.  These reasons in combination with a few others served as a catalyst for the Edscape Conference.


This past Saturday marked the third year that a conference was held at my school.  The first year it was called TSETC and was subsequently re-branded and refined into the current event.  Regardless of the event name the ultimate goal has remained steadfast - to provide relevant, meaningful, and applicable learning opportunities that will inspire participants to break out of their comfort zones and innovate now.  We have taken what we think are some of the most effective and desirable components of a quality professional development experience and rolled it into one action packed day typically reserved for mainstream events.

I have seen firsthand the impact that Edscape has had on my staff and the new ideas that have been readily implemented immediately after the event.  We specifically seek out a keynote that will not only resonate with a diverse audience, but also inspire participants to take action.  Vicki Davis shattered every expectation we had with her remarkable presentation and has set the bar very high for next year.  The over 50 concurrent sessions focused more on the "how"as opposed to the "why" to integrate tools and innovative pedagogical techniques.  It is one thing for me to share my opinion as it could tend to be a bit biased, but the voices of others provide a powerful, unbiased perspective.  Below are some of the reflections and thoughts on Edscape that have begun to surface

• Edscape Conference 2012 by Gretel DeRuiter

• Edscape: My Choice, My PD by Tony Sinanis

• Edscape Reflection: It's More Than Just the Tools by David Britten

• Vicki Davis Edscape Keynote by Sandy Kendell

• The Edscape Conference by Michele Haiken

• A Look Back at Edscape by Brad Currie

• Edscape Conference October 13, 2012 by Jen Slingland

• Edscape 2012 by Meredith Martin 

• Edscape Reflection by Jennifer Orr

• My Edscape Journey by Brian Nichols

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Luckily, there’s a new feature in iOS 5 for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that lets you set up your own custom, time-saving keyboard shortcuts—perfect for spelling out exactly what you mean, without having to type all those letters.
Here’s what you do:

1. On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, tap Settings, General, then Keyboard.
2. Scroll down to the Shortcuts section, then tap “Add New Shortcut.”
3. In the blank next to “Phrase,” type in “You there?” Then, in the Shortcut section, tap in the letters “u” and “t.”
4. Tap the “Save” button. All done!

Now, let’s give our new shortcut a try. Go to Messages, compose a new message, and tap “ut.” A bubble should appear right above the text, with our new “You there?” shortcut. Press the space bar or a punctuation mark to accept.

Note: Most of these tips also apply to the iPad and iPod Touch.

1. Turn on caps lock
Sending a text message or an email IN ALL CAPS is usually considered yelling—but hey, sometimes yelling is called for, right? And even if you’re not in a yelling mood, you might need something ASAP, or maybe you’re just LOL.
Here’s the trick to turning on caps lock on the iPhone; just double-tap the shift key. When the key turns blue, the caps lock is on; tap it again to turn caps lock off.

2. Turn off auto-correct
Had enough of those little pop-up bubbles that correct your misspellings, abbreviations, proper names, or anything else you don’t want corrected? You can always tap the bubble to dismiss it, or you can simply deactivate the iPhone’s auto-correct feature altogether.
To do so, tap Settings, General, Keyboard, then switch “Auto-Correction” to off. (And if you find you miss auto-correct after awhile, don’t worry—just turn it back on.)
While you’re at it, you can also keep the iPhone from capitalizing the first word of each new sentence by switching off “Auto-Capitalization,” or have it quit checking your spelling by turning off the “Check Spelling” setting.

3. “Long-press” your way to an em dash, a bullet, a “curly” quote, or an ellipsis
Can’t find your favorite symbol on the iPhone keypad? Maybe it’s just hidden. Tapping and holding a specific key (or a “long-press,” as it’s often called) will sometimes reveal a series of additional keys.
For example, while typing the body of a message, you can find the em dash (“—”) by jumping to the symbols keyboard (press the “.?123″ key) and pressing and holding the dash key; with a second or so, the pop-up “-” will expand with more options, including an em dash, a mid-size dash, and a bullet. Slide your fingertip up to the button you want, then release. Presto!
Press and hold the period, and you’ll get a pop-up for an ellipsis (“…”). Tap and hold the exclamation or question marks for their inverted versions (“¡” and “¿”). And for a variety of “curly” quotes, tap and hold the quote key. Keep long-pressing other keys, and you’ll find even more options.

4. Add a “.com,” “.net,” “.org,” or other dot-somethings
When you’re tapping an Internet or email address into the iPhone’s browser or the “To:” line of an email message, you don’t have to type in “.com,” “.net,” or “.org” every time. Instead, just tap and hold the period key (or the “.com” key when you’re using the web browser), and a pop-up will appear with all manner of dot-somethings.

5. Create keyboard shortcuts
If you’ve updated your iPhone with the latest system software, you can create keyboard shortcuts that will replace a few letters with full words or even entire phrases—perfect for, say, quickly tapping “ut” for “You there?” or even “myadd” for your home address.

So, annoyed that your good-as-new iPhone already looks obsolete next to the just-announced iPhone 5 and its jumbo-sized touchscreen?
Well, good news: your old iPhone is about to get a fresh coat of paint.

Besides the iPhone 5 and its snazzy four-inch display, Apple has another trick up its sleeves: a brand-new version of “iOS,” the software that powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Besides the iPhone 5 and its snazzy four-inch display, Apple has another trick up its sleeves: a brand-new version of “iOS,” the software that powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Slated to arrive on September 19, iOS version 6 (or “iOS 6″ for short) packs in a slew of must-have features, including a revamped Maps application, easier Photo Stream and Facebook sharing, on-the-go FaceTime calling, and a long-overdue “do not disturb” mode.
(And yes, your iPhone will alert you when the “over-the-air” update is ready to download.)
Best of all, you don’t need an iPhone 5 (which is set to go on sale September 21, by the way) to take advantage of the goodies in iOS 6.
Indeed, most of the new iOS 6 features will work on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, and even the three-year-old iPhone 3GS, not to mention last year’s iPod Touch and the two most recent iPads. (Yep, lots of confusing makes and models, I know…)
I’ll have in-depth coverage and tips on many of the new iOS 6 features in the days and weeks ahead. In the meantime, though, let’s take a quick tour of the highlights, starting with…

1. New and improved Maps app with turn-by-turn driving directions

Apple has rebuilt the iPhone’s Maps app from the ground up, adding nifty new features like eye-popping 3D “flyovers” of major metropolitan areas, smoother map scrolling, and real-time traffic alerts.
Best of all, through, the native Maps app is finally getting true, turn-by-turn navigation complete with spoken directions, just like on the latest Android phones.
The catch? Turn-by-turn directions and 3D “flyovers” will only work on last year’s iPhone 4S and the new iPhone, not the iPhone 4, 3GS or any other prior iPhone models.
Update: Hate the new iOS 6 Maps app? You’re not the only one, and even Apple has apologized for its patchy, glitchy map data. Luckily, there is a way to get Google Maps back on your iPhone.

2. A full-screen version of the Safari web browser

Want web pages on your iPhone to fill the entire display? With iOS 6 on board, you’ll be able to tap a new “full screen” icon when you’re holding your iPhone in a “landscape” orientation. Nice.

3. A “do not disturb” mode for calls, notifications and alerts

Want a little peace and quiet? A new “do not disturb” mode will shush all those insistent beeps, ring tones, banners and other alerts from the iPhone’s Notification Center, perfect for keeping your iPhone quiet at the movies or while you’re trying to get some shut-eye.
You’ll also be able to set the “do not disturb” mode to turn itself off and on automatically at certain times of the day, as well as designate specific contacts who will always be able to get through, no matter what.

4. Photo Stream sharing

Want to show off the latest snapshots in your iPhone’s Photo Stream? The latest version of iOS makes it much easier to share Photo Stream pictures with fellow iPhone and iPad users: just tap the photos you want to share and choose some names in your contact book.
You’ll also be able to share Photo Stream photos over the web, or comment on the Photo Stream images that your pals have shared with you.

5. Vastly-improved Facebook sharing

Annoyed that you can’t post your latest snapshots to Facebook without opening the Facebook app or composing an email? Well, thanks to iOS 6, you’ll be able to post photos directly from the iPhone’s camera application or your photo albums.
You’ll also be able to sync the profile photos and personal info of your Facebook pals with the iPhone’s contact book, as well as add Facebook birthdays and other events to the calendar.

6. Decline calls with a text message

Android phone users have long had the ability to decline a call and send a text message to the caller at the same time—and now iPhone users will have the same nifty feature, plus the option of getting a reminder after turning down a call.

7. FaceTime over cellular data

Until now, FaceTime video chat on the iPhone and iPad has been restricted to Wi-Fi only. Starting with the release of the new iOS software, however, you’ll be able to make FaceTime calls over cellular 3G and 4G data networks on the new iPhone, the iPhone 4S, and the new iPad.
Unfortunately, owners of the iPhone 4 or earlier iPhones will still be stuck with Wi-Fi when it comes to FaceTime.
Also, don’t forget that mobile data isn’t free, and that some carriers (such as AT&T) may demand you switch to a new plan before making mobile FaceTime calls.