Life & Technology

Spoke with Wendy Kingston on Nine News about a new trend that involves software that can be loaded onto your mobile phone, which not only means people to follow you remotely, but also allows them to listen in on your conversations.

While I agree that this type of software is a little over the top and unnecessary, it is out there, so it isn’t going away any time soon. Sellers of the product will say it is ideal for parents who worry about their teens, but as discussed on the news, it also can be used in ways for which it wasn’t intended – either a stalker or over protective partner.

Now, before people get all agitated by these intrusive programs, don’t get too upset by it because all is not as it seems. First of all, somebody has to download it onto your phone in order for it to work. This is quite a hard thing to do. Most of us have a pin number that people would need to access your mobile, so there’s your first barrier to averting unwanted attention.

Second, even if by some small miracle they do download it to your phone, it won’t be long before you find out. If you start getting texts and calls from your partner asking why you are at a particular location, or asking about the contents of a text, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out you must have something loaded on your phone giving away this information.

Third, if you are even a little suspicious that something has been downloaded, check through your menu looking for unfamiliar programs. If you find one, uninstall it, and perhaps ask a few questions of those near and dear to you if they know how the software founds its way onto the handset.

Finally, in a worst case scenario, you can wind your phone back to the original settings. This will uninstall all the applications and programs you have put onto the mobile since you’ve had it, but it will also clear the phone of unwanted software.

 

Leila and Cam decided to have a Dance Off with Ubisoft’s Just Dance video game for the Wii. As you will see by the clip, Cam was a bit hesitant in the beginning, but seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly. In fact, on points, he won against Leila, but I think she had the better moves.

Just Dance is one of a number of games that have taken off over the past 12 months that involves people getting up from the couch and being interactive. Critics of gaming believe that some games not only turn your mind to mush, but also makes kids lazy. Just Dance is trying to address that issue, too. Although critics haven’t raved about it (they think the graphics are not that great and it’s a bit simple), it is doing the job it was designed to do.

And, while it’s true that some kids do like their gaming and can spend too much time on the consoles, games like Just Dance, Wii Fit and Wii Sports shows that some sectors of the industry are creating a lot of fun for both kids and parents.

Overall, I think we will see a lot more get-up-and-go with games, especially since both the Xbox and PS3 are getting motion controllers in the very near future. This will mean mainstream games like like FIFA and some first-person shooters will encourage more physical activity for those, that in the past, have been accused of being lounge lizards.

Spoke briefly about Fraud Week and how Aussies were scammed out of the best part of $70 million last year – let’s try and make it a lot less this year by being more aware and using common sense. If somebody is offering you a deal that is too good to be true, there is a high probability that it is.

Had a few calls this morning on varied subjects. George was looking at buying an iPhone or a Nokia, but had heard that there could be reception problems with the iPhone. I use an iPhone and have never had an issues in that regard, but I suggest you get your current phone and put it next to an iPhone and check out how many reception bars each has as a gauge.

Max asked if there was a way to clean your DVD player similar to a VHS recorder. I think the best way would be to go into your local DVD reseller to do it for you. You can also buy off-the-shelf cleaners, but the laser in the DVD player can be more sensitive than the rollers of a VHS player. The down side is, if you use the store’s service, it could be pricey.

Brendan is thinking of buying a new laptop. He currently has the best of both worlds with a PC and iMac at home. He brought up an interesting point in that he has no security software on his Mac because he’s never been targetted. First, I would suggest he get some sort of security software, but there is a reason why he hasn’t been on the virus hit list – so far. When these selfish, lazy spammers develop netbots, malware, etc, they make them for the platform that gives them the most chances of getting hits – and as we know, the biggest selling computers are PCs. However, recently, this has begun to change, and we are seeing more scams aimed at Apple products, so Mac-lovers beware!

Finally, Caesar questioned me about the iPad, and what it’s true functionality would be. It will be capable of printing, but it really it’s a multimedia device as opposed to a PC. You will be able to do interactive things with it, but is missing a DVD drive and it is not seen by Apple as a replacement for your desktop or laptop. It will be coming out in about April, but be aware that some of the big players – HP, Toshiba and Lenovo – will be bringing out similar devices in the near future because they don’t want Apple to get the advantage it had when the iPhone came out. Watch this space!