Racial Profiling Charges Renew Questions About Counterterrorism Program

My Washington bureau colleagues Mike Schmidt and Eric Lichtblau wrote a revealing story Sunday on the accusations by more than 30 Transportation Security Administration officers at Boston’s Logan International Airport that a program intended to detect terrorists has instead degenerated into racial and ethnic profiling.

It’s an interesting exhibit for one question we are raising through The Agenda series, which looks at some big issues facing the country during the presidential campaign: Is all of the bulked-up counterterrorism machinery built after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks still crucial to protecting Americans from Al Qaeda and other violent extremists, or is it time to rethink and scale back?

Underlying the bad-news T.S.A. story is a piece of remarkable good news: There aren’t very many terrorists trying to mount attacks in the United States, and the police and intelligence net strung across the country detects most of those who contemplate violence long before they are able to do so. This has been evident for years and is widely discussed by rank-and-file investigators.

But the understandably aggressive approach to any hint of another 9/11, including laws that increased the power of government to pursue possible leads, sometimes has unintended consequences. Last year, Colin Moynihan and I wrote about a Texas anarchist-activist named Scott Crow whom the F.B.I. had tracked for years, justifying the surveillance in part on the grounds that Mr. Crow might be plotting violence. Agents sat in S.U.V.s outside his Austin house for days on end, writing reports on the unremarkable comings and goings of Mr. Crow, his roommates and guests. They tracked his e-mail and phone calls, planted a video camera across from his home and combed through his trash but found nothing incriminating.

Such intrusive conduct on the part of government agencies is clearly part of the fallout from 9/11, which made many Americans more willing to put up with aggressive policing if it could prevent the next attack. But today, with an army of investigators assigned to hunt for terrorists, and few terrorists to be found, minority air travelers passing through Boston and activists like Mr. Crow arguably have become collateral damage.

• Racial Profiling Rife at Airport, U.S. Officers Say

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Things you never knew about the iPhone

Thanks to the testimony of top Apple executives this week, we know more about how the iPhone came to be. However, the revelation of these details means that even if Apple ends up winning this case, it’s still lost something: a little bit of mystery.

A stream of Apple executives and employees called as witnesses in the Samsung trial this week has forced them to give up some interesting bits of information that the famously secretive company would no doubt like to be kept private. Much of what we’ve heard has to do with Apple’s vaunted product design and development process. But we’ve also gotten some concrete detail about how the iPhone, in particular, came to fruition.

Here’s some of the most interesting facts learned this week about the iPhone.

Before deciding to build the iPhone and iPad, Apple considered other product categories, including “crazy stuff” like a car or a camera. (Wired)The iPhone was code-named “Project Purple.”When Scott Forstall, SVP of iOS software, started hiring what would become the iPhone team, he was told by Steve Jobs he couldn’t bring in anyone from outside Apple. (AllThingsD)Once the team was in place, they took over a floor in a building at Apple HQ, added extra security, and hung a Fight Club poster outside. As in, don’t talk about Project Purple. (CNET)Even as the iPhone’s popularity has soared, Apple has continued to lavish more millions on campaigns advertising the device. It spent $97.5 million in 2008 on iPhone ads in the U.S., $149.6 million in 2009, and $173.3 million in 2010. It spent almost that much, $149.5 million, on iPad ads in 2010. (AllThingsD)Because it lost a bid to keep a customer survey secret, we know more about iPhone owners’ buying habits. Like that they are a cautious bunch: 78 percent of them buy a case for their device. (WSJ)

The revelation of details like this show us that even if Apple ends up winning this case, it’s still lost something: mystery. Everything about the way Apple conducts itself as a business makes clear that it absolutely hates giving up this kind of information outside of a very small group within the company. As innocuous as these details may seem to some, Apple’s ability to keep its product development process under wraps is part of what adds to the company’s aura of success. Apple doesn’t want the competition — and especially its customers — to know what goes on behind the curtain.

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What I Have Learned About Developing and Earning From Android Apps

While my app downloads and sales are chugging along nicely now, I started out in a boat that many Android developers are likely in: perpetual development. I had been working on my grand idea for months but still wasn't ready to release. What did I do to get on the market? I started a second app. Three days later I had an app on the market and was amazed at the number of downloads. Some things I've learned along the way:

Getting onto the market quickly is good
Google's Developer Console has great tools that you should use.
You need to have your apps in the right app markets to maximize your exposure
People are willing to pay for apps.
Have multiple streams of income, rather than waiting on one vendor.

Why do I suggest getting to market early? No, it's not to "beat the competition". There may be a dozen apps doing something similar to yours but you can still carve out a good space for yourself. I suggest getting to market quickly because having a real app visible to the world can be a great motivator to keep you going. Releasing my first app helped kick me into high gear.

The tools in Google's Developer Console can greatly help you decide what to do next. I didn't know that the version of my app specifically made for Android 1.5 was actually being used mostly on Android 2.x devices. Hmm, maybe Android 1.5 isn't worth as much effort as I thought. In addition, I've found several rare bugs due to crash reports in the Developer Console.

At first, my app was just in the main Android Market. I didn't realize how much exposure I was missing until I started looking into other Android app markets. I branched out, and now about half of my income comes from sources outside of the main Android Market. Some app stores have brought in a lot of downloads and income, and others were a complete waste of time. However, the valuable ones have been really worth it.

I found that people are indeed willing to pay money for a premium app. I waited just two weeks after releasing my free app to get a paid version out, and I immediately saw sales. I think even just having an ad-free version would generate a healthy amount of sales.

As an added benefit, the payment from paid app sales came to me long before my first payment for ad revenue. For that reason, I recommend having several streams of income. All ad vendors take a while to pay up, but some take longer than others. I like Admob and MobFox for getting your income quickly. By having both paid app sales as well as more than one ad vendor, you can help create a more regular flow of income.

How do you share ad time between two different vendors? MobFox has a feature called eCPMControl which ensures that if they don't have high-paying ads that the ad traffic goes to Admob (through their other feature, "backfill").

What would I do if I was starting over again? I would release my first app sooner. I would set my ads up from the beginning to go to MobFox, using their backfill feature to send unfilled ad requests to Admob. After that I would do things just as I did, creating an ad-free premium version and releasing to several different Android app markets.

Then sit back and enjoy earning revenue from your Android apps!

About ProjectJourneyman:
I help people earn income from Android apps. Check my blog for reviews of Android app stores as well as ad vendors to earn money from.

For more resources, go to the Android Income Toolbox

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More About Android Application Development

With the recent introduction of android application development, companies offering software consulting services have shifted gears to support this latest technology that is the first of its kind as a open source mobile platform. Android is defined as a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and application programming interfaces that are necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language. In android application development developers are free to take advantage of the device hardware, access location information, and run background services. This is the biggest advantage of using open source software.

The android application development market is the fastest growing market in mobile technology with majority of its developers being young people under the age of 34. This growth is attributed to the fact that android phones are available in any cell phone network and which makes them accessible to many subscribers. Android applications can be distributed for a fee, free of charge, or monetized with advertising. They are usually based on GPS and Wifi, SMS and Email, usage of Google maps, browser and contacts, and multimedia.

Software consulting firms are now providing support for the android platform so as to stay up to date with the latest technologies. These consulting firms have observed that the increase in android application development is considered to be directly proportional to the increase in user population since the more the number of users the more the demand for android applications. Software firms have thus invested in acquiring skilled developers who are proficient in mobile applications.

The android market has the highest percentage of applications from third-party developers. However these apps have to ask for permission before accessing certain features such as reading and writing to users' memory cards and accessing users' address books.

Mobile application developers use the android software development kit and the android native development kit for android application development. Most of the android developers have good experience in mobile applications and this has greatly contributed to their success. Software consulting firms are committed to testing and learning new technologies and teaming up with interested clients to develop their applications. These firms will as a norm carry out a feasibility study before any project is initiated, and followed by project management which is carried out in phases. When implementation is completed and the client is satisfied the project is then terminated. Consultations on hardware and software can also be done separately.

For more information about android application development please move on http://www.newagemicro.com/

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Facts About the Android Tablet

The Android is a relatively new operating system which was designed for mobile devices such as cell phones, tablet computers, and netbooks. The Android OS is developed and designed by Google and is based upon GNU and Linux Kernel software. Statistics point out that the android tablet OS is ranked second among all smartphone OS handsets in North America.

The android OS will have many major advantages, such as Flash capabilities. While it is true that the internet itself is trying to limit its content which relies on Flash, the android OS is built on the idea of an open platform allowing anybody to add, or remove, whatever plugins they feel like. Unlike with Apple where all applications, programs, and addons are created by them and a user can only get just those programs. Apple's OS is quite intolerant of third party applications, the exact opposite is true of the android tablet OS which allows anybody to share with everyone what they have developed, even just for this reason alone, the android tablet is already better than the competition.

The android is also less restrictive about hardware and ports. Most android tablets come with USB ports and that alone is already a massive advantage to other tablet PCs as one would be able to use flash drives, keyboards, and all sorts of devices which plug into a USB port.

One slight drawback is that the android OS comes in different versions which have some slight differences among them. But this problem is easily fixed as all one needs to do is upgrade to the latest version of the OS. Another drawback is that it may appear a bit daunting or intimidating to those who are not used to working with computers. Although to those who are used to it, this should actually come as an advantage as they are able to fully see just how powerful the android tablet OS is and can be.

While the android OS is not as stylish as its main rival and the fact that there are so many versions of it that may act to confuse the average user, it still has all the benefits of being more flexible and available on a variety of different devices. Its customizability is way ahead of its time and is its best feature. One who invests in an android tablet is sure to see that their money was definitely very well spent.

To find out more about the Android tablet visit us.

Also check out our blog about the Android tablet for more facts.

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No Other Faceoff! We Just Say It Is About Android Vs Android!

With the entrance of Nexus One based on the Android platform, people's interest in this operating system has been growing. And even the question arises; can Android dethrone other smartphone platform? The market analysts are trying to compare it with other smartphones in the context of Android application developers' choice.

While some people like to express that iPhone's ingenuity will keep it the most relevant, other put across that the clear advantage of Android OS is that it is fully multitasked, supports multiple home screen or desktops, has an interactive desktop, supports widgets, supports Adobe Flash, etc. Above all, the Open Source nature of Android really helps developers while working on.

According to AppStoreHQ's Research, 1412 developers as per their database have published apps for both iOS and for Android; that ends up breaking down to 15% of Android developers and 3% of iOS developers.

It seems that Android OS too is evolving rapidly just like the iPhone. In the last three months, we have seen that Google updated its Android operating system, introducing Android 2.2, aka FroYo while Apple shot back by making its latest mobile operating system, iOS 4, available which was formerly called iPhone OS 4.0.

Android may challenge Apple and other smartphone software makers, be it Microsoft (MSFT), Research In Motion (RIM), Palm (HPQ), and Symbian, the world's most popular mobile-operating system. But, this time we would not focus on if Android is gaining over other smartphone platform.

It is agreed that the Android is one of the most talked-about and hotly debated operating systems on the block these days. But the question is how it measures up in the arena of public opinion? As the technology has been accelerating quickly over these months the Android devices seem to be competing nicely with themselves. Every Android device that came to the market so far, each has been making a significant media splash at its launch. And mostly in the public eye, is there one Android to rule them all?

Then, which Android device is wining? The social media junkies are saying about a few Android devices, including the Droid X, the HTC Evo, and the HTC Incredible. Chatterscope, Tweets Analysis tool of LEWIS, a global public relations consultancy, collected 13,303 tweets about the Droid X, 976 about HTC's Evo, and 427 tweets about the HTC Droid Incredible. It clearly proves that the Droid X, since after its launch in the month of July 20010, saw the lion's share of buzz in terms of volume.

Let's come to an application to parse Twitter data about these three Android phones. It is The Archivist, which looks at users, links, keywords and tweet volume over a period of time. Their research analysis shows that the HTC Incredible lags in terms of overall mentions - possibly because the Incredible launched at the end of April of this year; on the other hand the Evo and Droid X, which debuted June 4 and July 15, respectively, haven't quite cooled yet in terms of media mentions and general public interest.

The Droid X is showing a predictable peak around its launch date, but mentions have sharply declined, perhaps signaling a dropping-off in consumer interest. Then again, the Evo's sustained buzz signals good things for that device. Overall, during a 12-day period, the Archivist picked up 63,329 tweets about the Evo, 43,025 about the Droid X, and just 6,466 about the Incredible.

Now more and more Android "super phones" roll out with each passing month, so let's wait to know which phones are catching interest of the users!

For more information on Android Development and Outsourcing Android Applications.

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