This Humming bird feeds on your data

Mighty impressed by Google's ability to pull up just the information you need, just when you want it.

I have been playing around with the new Google app on my phone for some time now and I am quite used to getting info on the cards which pop up from the bottom of the screen around the time I need them. Like when I am on my way to office or back home a card pops up telling me the approximate time I'll reach my destination. In the morning it pulls up the weather info. But this time I was in for a surprise. I fired the app to check my wife's flight status and before I could even tap the search bar to type in the flight number, this card pulls up informing that the flight is on time!

How on earth is that possible?

Is Google reading my mind?

It took me a while to figure out how Google pulled up that flight status. A couple of days ago my wife had mailed me her itinerary. That's where it got the info. Google probably eve-dropped into my mail, read it, analyzed it and accurately predicted that I might check out the flight status a few hours before departure and that's how I got the info. It is really cool to have the information you need readily available just when you want it.

In the process of figuring out how Google pulls up information I realized Google might know more about myself then I do. On several occasions many of us have shared personal information like bank and card details, itineraries, health reports etc. over mail. Most of our contacts lists are with Google. Most of our online activities are linked with Google account. Google keeps hovering over these sources of information, draws and stores them like a humming bird hovering over a flower drawing nectar. No wonder they code named their new search algorithm “Hummingbird”.

7 days with iOS 7

Ever since Apple announced iOS7 at the WWDC 2013 it has drawn flank for its departure from skeumorphic design to a childish looking flat and colorful design interface. The design does seem a bit childish but definitely not primitive as some of the critics feel.

I held myself from diving straight into trying out the first few betas. But with beta 5 out just weeks ahead of the actual launch I decided to take the plunge.

After 7 days with the new iOS, I feel it does not deserve the criticism it received. Here is my favorite feature of the new iOS - the Control Center. 

This feature was long over due. I don't understand what took them so long to work on this one. Thankfully it's here. 

An upward swipe from the bottom of the screen brings up the control center. It provides quick access to frequently used controls.

Switches

The top most part of the Control Center contains toggle switches for Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb and Orientation Lock.

Now if you are reading a really long and interesting article in Safari and do not want to be disturbed by calls and texts, all you have to do is swipe up, tap Do Not Disturb switch, swipe down. You are back to your article in less then 2 seconds! 

Same is the case with switching on or off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb and Orientation Lock. 2 swipes and a tap is all it takes.

The quick access to Orientation Lock is God send, it saves you those annoying moments when the screen keeps rotating when you do not want it to specially when you are feeling lazy and laying down.

Brightness

Adjusting the screen brightness is just as simple. Swipe up, adjust  the slider and swipe down.

Music Player

Accessing the music player just got simpler and faster. Swipe up and you have access to most of the functions to your favorite media player. You can view the name and length of the current track, play the next or previous track and control the volume of the track. 

Apps

The bottom of the Control Center contains shortcut to a built-in torch, Clock, Calculator and Camera. 

The built-in torch is an  indispensable feature added to iOS7. This one happens to be my favorite one. All you have to do is swipe up, tap the torch button, there you have light. Tap again to switch it off. 

Pull it up anytime

The best part about the Control Center is that you can pull it up not only from your home screen and from within apps, you can pull it up even from the lock screen without unlocking the device. 

So now finding your seat in the theater gets a lot easier, just pull out your iPhone, hit the home button, swipe up and tap the torch button. Give the usher a break. 

You no longer have to dig into your phone to find the calculator to calculate the price of a gadget worth ₹5499 on sale for discount of 13% at the mall.  It's just a matter of 2 taps and a swipe.

You do not even have to bother about your iPhone contents being fiddled with after you have asked someone to click your pictures. The Control Center gives full access to the camera app sans access to the pictures clicked earlier. When you exit the camera it returns to the lock screen.

PS: The features discussed here are specific for iPhone 4s. These features may work differently on other iDevices and/or may have additional features.