The Most Popular Apps In The US Right Now

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-popular-apps-in-the-us-2014-6

With over 1.2 million apps in the Apple App Store and more than 1 million in Android's Google Play Store, apps are more popular than ever — but which ones are people using the most?

Internet-analytics company comScore just released the 15 most popular apps used in April in the U.S., for iOS and Android, and there are few surprises.

You can see the full list of rankings below.

Facebook is in the lead, reaching 74.1% of smartphone users, meaning 74.1% of people with smartphones used the app in April. Twitter clocked in with 20.4%, suggesting that only one in five smartphone users Tweet while nearly three of every four smartphone users surf Facebook. 

YouTube leapfrogged Google Search for third place, coming in at nearly 50%.

Google Play and Apple Maps are, unsurprisingly, included in the rankings. Both are preinstalled on many Android devices and Apple phones. Smartphone users still prefer Google Maps to Apple Maps, however, though Android and Apple consumer can still choose between the two — both are available for both platforms.

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Someone Created A Program That Can Disable Google Glass From Recording You (GOOG)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-stop-glass-wearers-from-recording-you-2014-6

Now that Google is selling Google Glass to anyone who wants to shell out $1,500 to buy one, there could be an increase in backlash from people creeped out by the device.

So privacy advocate Julian Oliver, member of a group called "Stop The Cyborgs," came up with a clever new way to stop Glass from doing things like secretly recording video without permission.

He's published a simple computer program that can detect when Glass is being used and stop it from connecting to a network. That in turn means that Glass can't access cloud servers and apps.

Oliver tells Wired's Andy Greenberg:

"To say ‘I don’t want to be filmed’ at a restaurant, at a party, or playing with your kids is perfectly OK. But how do you do that when you don’t even know if a device is recording? ... This steps up the game. It’s taking a jammer-like approach."

The program isn't a commercially available product, so using it would require a bit of tech skill. It would need to be installed on something like inexpensive Raspberry Pi computer that has been hooked up with a USB network antenna. Once installed, the program searches for the unique network address that Google Glass uses and, when detected, refuses to allow Glass to connect.

While anyone can post signs declaring a Glass-free zone, this uses technology to enforce the policy.

Oliver tells Wired that he's working on an even more aggressive version, one that can move around with you, disconnecting Glass from any network. The legality of that is questionable, Oliver admits, and he plans to warn people to use it only "in extreme circumstances.” 

SEE ALSO: The 20 Most Valuable Enterprise Tech Companies In The World

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Intel Wants to Make Your Office Entirely Cable-Free By 2016

Source: http://gizmodo.com/intel-wants-to-make-your-office-entirely-cable-free-by-1585879520

A rat's nest of cables at the back of a desk is truly the sign of the gadget-obsessed. But Intel plans to end all that, and soon: it wants your desk—hell, your entire digital life—to be completely wireless by 2016.

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Cree's New 3-Step LED Bulb Brightens Better Than You're Used To

Source: http://gizmodo.com/cree-turns-on-its-new-three-step-led-bulb-1585550336

The last luminary holdout in your house, that lamp with the three-step socket, can finally join the 21st century. Cree just announced a new 3-Way LED bulb to provide just the right amount of light, no matter the occasion.

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DuckDuckGo is going to be one of the default search engines available in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, ac

Source: http://lifehacker.com/duckduckgo-is-going-to-be-one-of-the-default-search-eng-1585622421

DuckDuckGo is going to be one of the default search engines available in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, according to iPhonehacks.com. The operating systems are still in beta, so things could change, but it's an exciting prospect for people who prefer the privacy-focused search engine.

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