Apple Releases iOS 8.1.2, It Will Anger Users

Without any warning Apple AAPL -1.88% has today released iOS 8.1.2 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users running iOS 8. But it isn’t the long awaited raft of bug fixes needed for users affected by the ongoing problems with iOS 8.

Instead the release “addresses a problem where ringtones purchases through the iTunes Store may have been removed from your device.” Apple notes a dedicated url – itunes.com/restore-tones – has been setup for recovering those ringtones.

Apple does also state that iOS 8.1.2 has “bug fixes” but the URL it provides has no information on the release at the time of writing and Apple always calls out more significant bug fixes in its main release notes. Furthermore iOS 8.1.2 comes in at a paltry 28.2MB (this may differ slightly from device-to-device) making it a minor point release.

img_4657-e1418147922186Read more – iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus vs iPhone 5S And iPhone 5: Should You Upgrade?

As such iOS 8.1.2 isn’t the major fix users still plagued by ongoing iOS 8 problems have been hoping for. iOS 8.1.1 released in November fixed bugs for many users, but swathes of users remain affected by issues ranging from crippled WiFi (a main support thread for this is now over 93 pages long), Bluetooth bugs stopping connection to headsets and car kits and chronic battery drain. In this context Apple’s decision to address a ringtones bug first will no doubt cause anger, regardless of whether it is low hanging fruit.

iOS 8.2 To The Rescue, Eventually
Hopes were raised when Apple seeded ‘iOS 8.2 (Beta 1)’ in the iOS Dev Center at the same time that it releases iOS 8.1.1. The main new feature listed for this is the addition of the ‘WatchKit’ API for the Apple Watch, but the more significant version number suggests it should be a more wide-ranging update. The problem is iOS 8.2 is not expected to be released before spring 2015.
iOS 8 vs Android 5.0 Lollipop
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Gordon KellyAndroid 5.0 Lollipop brings welcome guest and multi-user modes
Android 5.0 Lollipop brings welcome guest and multi-user modes
iOS 8 has had a troubled start to life with undoubted highs and lows (including pulling the iOS 8.0.1 update completely), but there is no doubt that once Apple eventually eliminates the core bugs it is the most exciting and open version of iOS to date with the launch of Apple Pay, HealthKit, far better integration between apps and the introduction of third party keyboards.

Read more – iOS 8: The Best Keyboard Replacements
That said the common complaint across Apple Support Forums is far more basic. It comes from affected users who want better communication from Apple about how and when the current bugs in iOS 8 will be addressed. The company’s silence prior to surprise release of iOS 8.1.2 and the fact is focuses on a ringtone glitch when some are struggling with the core usability of their devices is only likely to stoke this frustration.

As always my advice to affected users is to download the update and share their experiences, but for those currently without problems I’d suggest holding fire until the wider reaction is known.

Users will be prompted to update to iOS 8.1.2 automatically over the next 24/48 hours, but if you would like to manually check for the update go to: Settings>General>Software Update. As always, you must have at least 50% battery capacity before it will install.

 

6 easy ways to manage holiday stress

by Kristina Dupre–

Image provided by Getty Images (Kraevski)

The holidays can bring on a great deal of stress, resulting in restlessness, lack of motivation, poor concentration, irritability and feelings of being overwhelmed. Use these simple techniques for maintaining focus and balance.

The holidays can bring on a great deal of stress, resulting in restlessness, lack of motivation, poor concentration, irritability and feelings of being overwhelmed.

This kind of stress is common, but can be managed with perspective and practice.

Use these simple grounding techniques and changes in thought patterns to help maintain focus and balance.

1. Maintain realistic expectations

This time of year is filled with expectations of the imagined holiday experience. First, it is wise to check with loved ones as to what they expect from you. For example, they may love the opportunity to skip the carol singing or the church play this year. You will never know unless you ask.

2. Be honest and communicate

Negotiate what you need, clearly and simply. If it would be helpful to shop online during the lunch hour, ask your supervisor if that is allowed. If you need to leave early a couple of days, ask in advance. Nothing increases stress like needing to be at a school party at 2:00, with a department meeting scheduled at the same time. As soon as you know your schedule, communicate it with you team. This may lead to a more cooperative atmosphere.

3. Don’t take it personally

Stress can arise when we ruminate about the “unfairness” of working when others are absent. If you feel any negative emotion because you’ve perhaps chosen to work on a day that coworkers have opted to take off, then you are taking the situation personally. Keep perspective. The workload is temporary. You can make a different plan next year. Come January, you’ll be grateful to have your team of employees working in unison again.

4. Work like a hound dog

Have you ever seen hound dogs on a hunt? They are all business, noses down and tails up. They have no time for water cooler chit chat or a social lunch break. The hound dog has a wonderful quality of compartmentalizing work and play. If you can hone the skills of maintaining a high level of focus and concentration during the work hours, it may help you accomplish more with the negotiated schedule you and your supervisor agreed upon.

If distracting thoughts arise, roll your head around and take a few long, deep breaths. Think “fill up, hold it, let it go” as you take slow deep breaths. This will help you refocus on the task at hand.

5. Maintain a drink limit

Excessive alcohol consumption may increase during the weeks leading up to the holidays with the occasional party on a “school night.” Set your limit and stick to it. Excess alcohol consumption can potentially impact concentration level, energy level, physical wellbeing and frustration tolerance.

6. Be true to yourself

Spend some time thinking about the holiday you would most enjoy. Does it include a simple schedule or do you like the nonstop hustle and bustle? Do you even like fruitcake? Are you tired of cooking the extravagant meal or do you truly enjoy the process?

Whatever your idea is for the holidays, do that!

Your experience is up to you and holiday time may be a great avenue to practice setting personal boundaries by declining some invitations. You can say ‘no’ and people will still value you.

Kristina Dupre is a licensed professional counselor with extensive experience working with diverse populations in private and group settings within corporate, educational and behavioral/mental health organizations. Her passion is teaching others simple, effective ways to understand and manage stress. Her stress management workshops are designed to engage audience participation through hands-on activities to maximize engagement and learning retention.

 

Well Seasoned: Helps Us Appreciate The Joys Of Life And View The Aging Process Differently

Well Seasoned: Savoring Life’s Lessons (Inspire on Purpose) perfectly chronicles the seasons of life through the inspiring prose and the lens of photographer and writer, Rebecca Webb Wilson. When Rebecca’s parents gave her a gift of a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye years earlier, they had no idea it would lead to a lifetime of travel and a yearning to capture the perfection of nature and diverse cultures of people in faraway lands.

For Rebecca, it all began as a young woman when she used her camera to photograph hawks along the expressway in her hometown of Memphis. While her first job as a flight attendant for PanAm cultivated a love of travel, it was her innate gratitude for the unexpected joys revealed in nature’s seasons that fostered her love of photography. Sprinkled with thoughtful quotes and tidbits of poetry, Well Seasoned is about the people that touch our lives, for a moment or forever, and pairs nature’s seasons with the seasons of life allowing readers to view the aging process differently and discover their own ‘Aha’ moments within its pages.

The author’s unconventional and uplifting philosophy, paired with vibrant, full-color images of places, nature and people, easily transports readers to magical locations around the globe, sharing her journey as she climbs Mount Kilimanjaro and the Swiss Alps part of the Haute Route, or taking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Encouraged to reflect on our own memories, we Rethink, Remember, Renew.

Rebecca attended law school at the University of Memphis and served several years as an Assistant United States Attorney. She founded a youth leadership program in Memphis called Bridge Builders, which to date has had 21,000 participants from surrounding public, private, and parochial schools. Named one of Memphis Woman Magazine’s ’50 Women Who Make a Difference,’ she also received the Legends Award from the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis in 2010.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Rebecca serves as a member of its Board of Trust and also serves on the board of directors of Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation. She lives in Memphis with her husband and they share their time between two sons, two daughters, and nine grandchildren. For more information on this accomplished photographer, author and dedicated humanitarian, visit: www.hawkeyenature.com

 

Here Is What ’60 Minutes’ Didn’t Tell You About The Billionaire Who Is Trying To Disrupt Cancer Care

CBS CBS -2.69%’ fabled newsmagazine show “60 Minutes” just spent 12 minutes showing viewers everything there is to love about Patrick Soon-Shiong, the doctor who is the richest man in L.A. and, actually, the richest physician in the world.

As I wrote in a Forbes cover story in September, Soon-Shiong is rolling out a series of companies that represent a $1 billion-plus effort to fight cancer in new ways. This includes buying DNA sequencers to unravel the DNA of cancer patients, not in a clinical trial but as standard practice, at an unprecedented scale. (Really, read that story, which I worked on for months, before you read this one, for which I had hours.)

“I’m incredibly encouraged to say that we are on the path,” Soon-Shiong told 60 Minutes’ Sanjay Gupta. “And the technology to actually do all these things is not just hypothetical.”

Many experts in the cancer field would wholeheartedly agree. And Soon-Shiong, with his vast wealth and business sense could play an outsize role in making that happen. But there are caveats to his story that Gupta and 60 Minutes ignored, and they’re worth listing here.

This is all part of a for-profit company
60 Minutes just skates past saying that it talked to Soon-Shiong at “his company.” That makes it sound a bit like Soon-Shiong is a dispassionate scientist.

He’s actually a CEO who wants to convince investors to buy his shares. His net worth has been rising – it’s currently $13.3 billion, $2.3 billion more than the figure 60 Minutes used — precisely because the value of his companies has been going up as more investors come in. In September we valued his umbrella company, NantWorks, at $7.7 billion.

Last Thursday, Soon-Shiong said at the Forbes Healthcare Summit that he plans an initial public offering for one of his companies, NantHealth, sometime in 2015. He also said that he plans to put a lot of his NantHealth shares into a charitable trust for funding research against cancer.

But as an entrepreneur planning an IPO, he has every reason to want to talk up his project. His investors, including BlackRock BLK -0.21%, Verizon, Celgene CELG +3.5%, and Blackberry, would expect no less.

Many of Soon-Shiong’s “radical” ideas are conventional

When Soon-Shiong says: “A cancer is not what people think, cells growing. Cancer is actually the inability of the cells to die,” Sanjay Gupta seems surprised. The same thing happens when Soon-Shiong says that cancers should be treated based on their genetic mutations, not where they are in the body.

This idea isn’t some out-there statement; it’s basically conventional wisdom. Earlier this year I talked to a cancer patient who had select genes in her bowel tumor sequenced – and as a result took a lung cancer drug that made it shrink away.
Everyone is looking to use DNA sequencing to better pick cancer drugs. And in some ways, Soon-Shiong is an odd person to pick as a spokesperson for this, because he’s just getting started. When I visited him in August, the DNA sequencers he bought from Illumina of San Diego were still in boxes. During Gupta’s October visit, they were being run through their paces – not being used on patients. Soon-Shiong’s cancer-gene-analysis factory is just getting started. But it is also true that he is planning to implement these efforts on a scale that few else are.

He’s not doing it alone

One of the most dramatic moments in the “60 Minutes” piece comes from a patient named David Roy, a pancreatic cancer patient who, we’re told, got into a clinical trial using the drug Abraxane, which Soon-Shiong invented and which helped make his fortune, thanks to having sat on a plane with the doctor years ago.

Now Roy is in a trial of a new drug, which uses the immune system to attack tumors. And Soon-Shiong waxes eloquent about the potential of such treatments. Something the story doesn’t emphasize strongly enough: of all the amazing areas of cancer therapy that Soon-Shiong is working in, he is not working in the immune-derived cancer treatments that are currently showing amazing results.

He can be misleading

Sometimes Soon-Shiong makes statements that can be, at best, misleading. For instance, last year at our annual Healthcare Summit he stated that NantHealth could analyze a genome in 47 seconds, compared to 11 weeks at other genomics centers.

This statement turned out to be problematic. It came from the company’s ability to use supercomputers to analyze many genomes at once and, on average, it completed one every 47 seconds. But that’s a little like expecting McDonald’s to give you 800 Happy Meals the moment you pull up to the drive-through because McDonald’s serves 800 burgers a second worldwide.

But the number still sticks around – it’s prominently displayed on NantHealth’s website. Some of Soon-Shiong’s claims make it into peer-reviewed journals, but many of them don’t. It can be hard to know which parts are true and which aren’t.

I think cancer patients and investors alike should be aware of those caveats. But let me say something else: I looked long and hard at Soon-Shiong’s efforts, and I came away optimistic that something real might come out of them. He really does have some amazing computer scientists on his payroll. And he really can move genetic data around very, very fast. Those are real advantages, and it could be enough for him to build an important company around. But we should be careful with myth-making. None of this will happen overnight.

Soon-Shiong may be a genius, but geniuses can be catastrophically wrong. That’s why we demand proof. When it comes to Soon-Shiong’s new efforts, we’re still waiting.

 

Kid Inventors Come Up With Creative Environmental Solutions

by Annie Pilon –

The De-Waster 5000 is a helicopter that scoops plastic out of landfills and the ocean then uses a flamethrower to melt the trash into beds for homeless people. It’s not a real product. But it is a creative prototype that was thought up by a 10-year-old as part of the Global Childrens’ Designathon.

The event took place on Nov. 15 in five cities around the world, and encouraged children to spend the day designing solutions to improve food, waste, or mobility issues in their hometowns.

Emer Beamer is the founder of Unexpect, a Dutch agency that teaches design concepts to kids with the goal of tackling global challenges. She explained the philosophy behind the event to Fast Company:

“Often schools are teaching kids things they might never need to know again, and we’re not teaching them how to be creative, or design, or how to hack new technologies or deal with unexpected situations. A lot of people are aware that we really need to change education, but they don’t know how. This is one method that could inspire people. It’s basically design thinking, adapted for children.”

As proven by the De-Waster 5000, kids often come up with creative and outrageous solutions to problems that adults wouldn’t think of. While some of these solutions may not actually be feasible, they definitely demonstrate some out-of-the-box thinking other innovators should be paying close attention to.

At the same time, other suggestions from these youthful innovators may have a much more practical application. Take the suggestion of some students in Amsterdam for a robotic trashcan that sorts out recyclable materials and alerts the garbage truck when it’s full.

While the fanciful suggestions of these young creative thinkers may never become reality, the concept of creative problem solving should be familiar to entrepreneurs. It’s the same kind of creative problem solving they use everyday to develop new products and new services and to put new technologies to creative use.

So an educational approach that stresses more creative problem solving also encourages an entrepreneurial outlook. It’s an approach that could and should lead to more entrepreneurship — or at least, to a more entrepreneurial way of  facing challenges in the future no matter what the size of your company.

 

Insights From Google About How Small Businesses Can Improve Sales

by Anita Campbell

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We’re used to thinking about Google as a search engine. And of course, we also think of Google for products such as Google Apps for Work, and the AdWords advertising platform.

But when was the last time you thought of Google as a source of shopper insights and behaviors? And as a resource to help you sell more?

These insights from Google are the subject of an interview I conducted recently with Sebastien Missoffe, Director of SMB Sales at Google.

He says there’s a wealth of information you can learn from Google tools (free ones, at that).

Beyond the tools, there are some key trends about how shopping behavior has changed in recent years. Understanding and leveraging these trends is one key to more successful selling in a small business.

According to Missoffe, it’s important to think about the Web as a place where shopping never sleeps.

Missoffe, who’s been with Google nine years and was with L’Oreal before that, says that shoppers are savvier and more informed today. They are also more connected online than ever before. “Shopping just doesn’t stop once the shops are closed,” Missoffe said.

“One thing we are seeing is that one third of all the searches related to shopping happen between 10 pm and 4 am,” said Missoffe.

And night owls are not just window shopping. People are buying in the middle of the night, too. “Roughly one in seven orders happens between 10 pm and 4 am,” he added.

People are also shopping well past Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The image above (from a Google Holiday Shopper Research study) shows which days were peak shopping days last year.  The days in red saw the most shopping online. The days in green saw the most shopping in store premises.

Use Google Trends to Identify What Shoppers Want

Google Trends is a free service and “hidden gem” for small business sellers, says Missoffe. “Whenever we bring it to the attention of small business sellers, the first question is ‘are you sure it’s free?’,” he added.

What you can do with Google Trends is, first, search for your brand name and product names to see when and where people are searching.

Even if your brand is not yet well-known enough to show up in Google Trends, Missoffe suggests looking for the search terms relevant to your business. You can see which terms, including related terms, shoppers are searching for, what country or region they are from, what days they search, and other insights. Learning that can tell you what kinds of search terms to use in your website copy, in your AdWords ads, in email messages, and other selling activities.

 

How to Design Social Media Images for Brand Recognition

Are you posting images across social networks?

Do you use them to extend your brand recognition?

The way logos, fonts and colors work together in social media images is an important part of gaining brand attention.

In this article you’ll discover how to make your social profiles and visual content align to reinforce your brand and catch your audience’s eye.

Find tips for branding your social media images.

#1: Create Complementary Profiles and Covers

Consistency is a key part of recognition and success. Use your company’s traditional logo or a variation of its design for each of your social profile pictures to maintain online brand recognition.

Even if you tweak your logo, your audience should still be able to recognize you immediately.

Havaianas experiments with fonts in their Facebook designs.

In the example above you can see how lululemon athletica has adapted a version of its standard red logo to match its cover image on Facebook and Twitter.

The harmony between your profile and cover photos is anchored by graphic elementssuch as color, text and imagery. Choose a cover photo that complements your profile image—you can use existing marketing materials or create your own.

If you create a custom cover image and want to be sure the colors match your profile picture, use a color picker tool to extract the color hex code. A hex code is a six-digit code that represents an exact color recognized universally by HTML and CSS.

When you know your hex code(s), you can use the same colors in your designs over and over again—without variation or guesswork—for a consistent look.

#2: Use Watermarks Consistently

If you’re going to include a logo or other icon with your images, create guidelines addressing size and placement. Inconsistent logo sizes or random placement can appear sloppy.

In the picture below you can see that the H&M logo is the same size and in the same place on each photo. That consistency plays a part in their overall brand recognition.

Logo placed consistently on H&M Facebook catalog.

A quick tip: Never place your logo flush with the edge of your photo. Instead, leave some space (padding) around it to make it look more intentional.

#3: Choose Fonts and Colors for Effect

Fonts, colors and images are the primary visual elements that determine how people perceive your brand on social media. Different goals require different choices for each element.

Fonts range from bold and loud to thin and delicate. Where does your company persona fit on this spectrum?

While you should limit yourself to two or three main fonts for the majority of your marketing, you can occasionally afford to break that rule on social media.

Havaianas uses creative fonts in Facebook updates to match the theme of their prints and reflect the company’s fun, playful identity.

When branding across social media, consistency is key.

When choosing colors (and images) for your visual updates, consider what kinds of feelings you want to evoke.

For example, are you promoting a contest? Use bright, cheerful colors. Are you posting a staff update? Take a well-lit portrait and include it in a design with your brand colors.

Benefit Cosmetics uses feminine imagery and a consistent color palette.

Beauty brand Benefit Cosmetics does a good job of reflecting their feminine identity on Instagram. Note the pink and white palette, simple imagery and use of a playful script font.

#4: Design Reusable Templates

Each social network has its own optimized image dimensions. It can be time-consuming to create individual images for each network every time you want to share visual content. Even creating a single image to share across all platforms can take more time than you’d like.

Create image templates that match each social network’s requirements.

The easiest way to cut down your design time and maintain consistency is to create templates for the types of posts you share regularly. Don’t restrict yourself to one or two types of templates—make several to accommodate a variety of content. Here are some ideas:

Weekly inspirational quotes

• Industry tips
• Event posts
• Milestones
• Contests

In the example below San Pellegrino posted a sequence of 10 tips on Instagram. Their simple template made the tips easy to create and instantly recognizable to their audience.

Make your life easier by creating templates for different design types.

#5: Let the Image Do the Talking

Up to 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, so it’s no surprise that people respond well to great design.

Using pictures as the focus of your updates is a great opportunity to get creative. When you design your visual content, rely less on words. Let colors, images and backgrounds take on the burden of conveying your message.

In the picture below notice how the compelling background image and Twitter icon grab your attention first and work cleverly with the more subtle text call to action.

Use icons to replace text in your designs.

When you have the perfect picture, sometimes you don’t need to use text overlays at all.

Capture your audience’s attention using clever images.

Ben and Jerry’s used fewer than 10 words in their updates and let their product pictures do the talking.

Over to You

With over two billion people active on social media every day, improving how you use visual assets is a powerful way to drive more people to your business.

Use consistent fonts and colors and your existing branding to extend your recognition beyond the usual places. No matter where you post, make sure your audience can recognize you immediately.

Make the most of your visual assets and enjoy creating beautiful designs. The social media race is on, and design is your express ticket to the finish line.

Tags: anna guerrero, create image, create visual content, design element, design shareable image, design visual content, social media image, visual content, visual content design

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Anna Guerrero

Anna is the editor of the Canva Design School, which empowers people to learn about design. You can find her work published in magazines, online publications and marketing-savvy blogs. Other posts by Anna Guerrero »