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How to Master Email Encryption

Hannah — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:10:50 +0000

Keep your personal data safe by taking the time to encrypt your emails.

With the government threatening to do all kinds of things to the internet, and stories about email and phone hacking surfacing all over the world, there’s never been a better time to start protecting your online privacy. Email encryption is one way of keeping your personal data safe. Encryption services or third-party software encrypt emails by making them unreadable to anyone other than the intended recipient. When you encrypt your email, you have a public key (usually a mixture of numbers and letters) that others can use to send you encrypted email, and a private key, which you then use to decode the email. When sending encrypted email to someone else, you need to know their public key in order to keep the email secure. You can either get this from them personally, or find it by searching the online key servers. Encrypted email isn’t widely used outside of sensitive situations - such as political or business dealings - however, it can help protect your personal and financial information from prying eyes. Below are some of the tools you can use to encrypt your email and protect your personal privacy. Hushmail Hushmail is a stand-alone email service that enables users to send and receive encrypted emails through their Hushmail address. If you are new to the concept of encryption or aren’t very tech-savvy, Hushmail does all the leg work for you: once you’ve set up a Hushmail account, all you have to do is remember your passphrase. Enigmail (Thunderbird) Enigmail is a plug-in for Mozilla’s Thunderbird email application. Once you’ve downloaded the extension, create your public and private keys, and a passphrase. You can also generate a revocation certificate, which invalidates your public key in the event that your private key is compromised. Gmail Encrypt (Firefox) The Gmail Encrypt extension for Firefox only works with Gmail accounts, and you need to install Greasemonkey before you can use it. Once installed, the extension works in a similar way to Enigmail: you create public and private keys, as well as your own passphrase to access the Gmail Encrypt service. GPG (Apple Mail) This open-source plugin for Apple Mail encrypts, signs and verifies emails sent and received through the Apple Mail client. The plugin is compatible with Lion and has an integrated update mechanism, which means you automatically receive GPG updates using Apple’s software update system. GnuPG and PGP GnuPG and PGP are two types of software you can download onto your hard drive. After installing the software on your computer, you can use it to create keys and encrypt messages sent through certain email clients. Email encryption only works with the computer on which you have installed the encryption software, add-on or plug-in. If someone sends you an encrypted message through Gmail and you try to read it on your phone or another device, you won’t be able to decode it. Although it’s not impossible to decode an encrypted email, using this service will help secure your personal information. To make your email encryption as fool-proof as possible, always check the recipient’s public key before sending - if you get the key wrong, the information inside the email could end up in the wrong hands. Some encryption services don’t encrypt the subject line so include sensitive information only in the body of the email. hannah@zeropaid.com

Discover Great Apps With Appsfire

Jon Kaykin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:43:53 +0000

Appsfire provides many tools for you to discover and share the greatest apps out there. With 500,000 apps in the app store and 300,000 in the Android Market , it can get kind of crowded. Everyday new apps are released but it's impossible for anyone to keep up. So how do you discover and share the best apps? Say hello to Appsfire, a community driven app discovery network. Appsfire provides tools and streams for users to be able to discover those gems. On their website they feature VIP's; these are people, as they call them, who are "the most influential and expert iPhone users around." Another feature on the site is something they call AppMixes, which is basically aggregated combinations of apps that have a common topic or functionality, for example: 11 Vital Mobile Apps for Entrepreneurs (source). Out of all the features, my favorite is AppTrends. This tool allows users to see the most trending apps according to Facebook (measured by the likes, comments and shares) or Twitter (measured by the amount of tweets). Using social media to discover app trends is brilliant. These aforementioned features are great for app discovery but in order to get the most out of what Appsfire has to offer, I recommend downloading the app. Here are the ways you can discover and share the best apps with Appsfire: FRIENDS Want to know what your friends use on their iPhone? Super easy with Appsfire: find out what your friends are using or loving or even removing. DEALS Save Money! Be the first to know when great apps go on sale, or even go free. LOCAL Check out the apps that are useful in your city or country. If you’re traveling, discover apps to help you navigate your surroundings. VIP’S Come and check the app that tech celebrities, bloggers and other app experts recommend HOT APPS Discover the apps that are being talked about on Twitter & Facebook, or soaring through the App Store rankings. APP MIXES We’re constantly scanning the web to find the best apps by topics created by the best publications. Looking for the best apps for photography, music, or cooking app? We’ve got that. SEARCH We enhance the search experience by including app mixes, so you can browse through apps which real people have identified as being high-quality. APPS FOR YOU Appsfire delivers you recommendations based on your personal tastes by analyzing the apps you have on your iPhone.* As you can see, Appsfire has figured out a great way to help users discover the best apps. With a nice design, clean functionality and a price tag of FREE, I recommend downloading it for iPhone/ iPad or Android. What are your opinions on Appsfire? Jon@zeropaid.com | @jkaykin

100% Apple: How the Tech Giant is Both the 99% and the 1%

Liviu Oprescu — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:46:38 +0000

Despite a wave of populist anger at corporate profits and income inequality, Apple has managed massive success without angering the masses.

This week Apple announced its 1Q12 earnings, which can best be described as staggering. The Cupertino giant hauled in an unprecedented $13.1 billion in profit on $46.3 billion in sales. Bigger still, is the roughly $100 billion stack of cash which the company sits on - that’s around $300 for every man woman and child in the country. All these astronomical figures add up to make Apple the single most valuable corporation on the planet. Whether it’s on NPR, New York Times, or even Fox News, it’s impossible to escape the current fierce spate of anti-economic-inequality populism. The left is beginning to make higher taxation on the super rich its raison d'être. Even the right may not be far behind, as evidenced by primary voter discomfort with Romney’s disproportionately low tax disclosure. The Occupy movement has already sliced the world in two; the 99% vs. the 1%. So the question is, where does Apple fit into this “us vs. them” reality? If we look at the company in purely economic terms, Apple is the 1% of the 1%. Apple rakes in huge profits. Apple is super rich. Apple pays low taxes. According to economist Martin Sullivan, “by taking advantage of lax U.S. and foreign tax laws, Apple has been able to book a large share of its foreign profits in low-tax jurisdictions and greatly reduce its tax liability in the United States”. Apple leverages every possible advantage from manufacturing in China, to well-oiled distribution – not unlike what any other capitalist would do, be it an investment banker, or a factory owner. However, if we look at Apple in terms of socio-political identity, the answer gets a bit murky. Apple is somehow shielded from this populist economic sentiment by some sort of aura. When ExxonMobil was raking in record profits, the country started boosting Home Depot’s earnings through pitchfork and torch purchases. Rather than criticize Apple’s less flattering practices, the company is extolled for its ingenuity and its brilliant late founder, as was the case in president Obama’s State of the Union address the very week Apple released its earnings. When it comes to the toys people adore, the ends seem to justify the means. Stranger still, many of the Occupiers who rail against economic inequality and corporate greed are Apple customers, and are precisely the company’s target market; the educated ones, the crazy ones, the creative ones, the ones who challenge the status quo, the ones who Think Different. (Full disclosure: I don’t own a single share of Apple stock, but I’m typing this on a new MacBook Pro, with notes compiled on an iPhone 4S.) The question then becomes, how is it possible that the most valuable company in the world and the shining example of the creative/destructive powers of capitalism is also one that is embraced by the very same masses protesting the creative/destructive powers of capitalism? It is an absurd scenario, as absurd as a devout Buddhist who creates irresistible products, as absurd as the many seemingly irreconcilable truths of which Steve Jobs is comprised. The answer may lie in the idea that corporations are people. While the Supreme Court ruling is utterly stupid, Apple somehow perfectly embodies and makes it work. This shielding aura is that of Steve Jobs himself, and that of his renowned reality distortion field. Apple products strike at the core of our perceived and desired identity, rather than our utilitarian needs. We understand them as an extension of ourselves, and simultaneously an extension of Jobs. They don’t really come from cold prison-like industrial super factories in China, but rather from Steve’s warm hands. Yes, Apple Inc. is a person, and one who we deeply admire, and love, and hesitate to criticize even when he doesn’t always do what’s in our best interest. And like every other person, Apple Inc. is a complex totality made up of both the 99% and the 1%. But if Steve Jobs is gone, how can this aura and personhood still exist? Marketing. Really great marketing. liviu@zeropaid.com | @LivOprescu

Top 5 New Year’s Eve Apps for the iPhone

Jared Moya — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:28:34 +0000

A suggested mix of apps to have on hand to make sure you have a fun and safe time ringing in the New Year.

It's almost time to ring in the New Year and many of you already have plans to officially welcome 2012. Amidst all the hoopla it's important that you remember to be prepared to make sure your evening is both fun and safe. In the age of apps, Apple's iPhone in particular, there are a number of apps available to make sure your New Year's Eve celebrations go off without a hitch. From watching the ball drop to finding a taxi, I've gathered an assortment of five of the top New Year's Eve apps for the iPhone.

Times Square Official New Year’s Eve Ball App

Follow the festivities in New York’s Times Square as they unfold live. Sports a webcam and livestream coverage of the event as well as a handy countdown timer.

Upload a pic of your family, friends, and you for possible placement on Toshiba Vision in the heart of Times Square for the world to see.

Price: FREE

iBartender

IBartender is a handy app to have around, especially if you’re entertaining “thirsty” guests. Punch in what drinks you have on hand and iBartender will come up with a list of what you can make.

Search drinks by name or ingredient(s), view lists of many of the most popular mixed drinks, cocktails, and shots, or shake your iPhone and iBartender will pick a random drink for you to make.

Price: $0.99

BAC Alcohol Calculator

BAC Alcohol Calculator is an absolutely must-have app for anybody planning on getting behind the wheel this New Year’s Eve, or for the curious who want to keep tabs on their sober driver.

The app is easy-to-use, and allows you to keep track of somebody’s BAC by simply dragging and dropping a type of drink from a list onto a timeline below it.

You can edit drinks by alcohol volume and glass size for added accuracy.

Price: FREE

Social Interlock

Social Interlock is another must-have iPhone app for New Year’s Eve. It requires users to pass simple motor skill tests before they can access their Facebook, MySpace (it’s still around?), or Twitter accounts.

Social Interlock is a great way to make sure you don’t post any compromising pics taken while under the influence for the world to see. The developer says that for the best results the official apps for these sites should be removed from your phone to limit your ability to bypass the sobriety check. Also see: Drunk Dial NO!

Price: $0.99

Taxi Mojo

Taxi Mojo is a hassle-free Taxi Finder app for iPhone that simplifies the hassle of hailing a cab (if u can even find one on NYE).

You can use Taxi Mojo to place an order for a taxi cab pickup, and track it live as it makes its way towards you! In a hurry? You can add a “bounty” (cash bonus) for an even faster pickup if the cab driver makes it to your location within a 10 min deadline. The bounty is paid to the driver for bumping you up the list of his priorities. The only downside is taht it’s not available in every city (list here), but if it is the sheer convenience makes it worthy of mention.

Price: FREE

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May these apps make sure your night is fun and safe.

And "Happy New Year" to all!

Stay tuned.

jared@zeropaid.com | @jaredmoya

Top 5 Thanksgiving Apps for the iPhone

Jared Moya — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:11:25 +0000

A recommended mix of apps for shopping, games, cocktails, cooking, and sports entertainment to use during the Thanksgiving holiday season.

It's about that time of year when family and friends gather around the table to celebrate and be thankful for what they have. Thanksgiving brings us together and gives us a chance to spend some quality time with those we care about, and with the magic of smartphones like the iPhone we can make sure that time is spent wisely. As Apple likes to frequently reminds us, "there's an app for that," and there are indeeed a number of apps that will come in handy during this holiday season. I've rounded up a collection of five apps for Thanksgiving that wil make sure you have everything covered inside the kitchen and out.

1. TGI Black Friday

Black Friday is just four days away, and even less in cases like Target that have promised to open at Midnight Thanksgiving day. With the TGI Black Friday app you cant get your shopping strategy down before you leave the house and save yourself the hassle of having to lug around shopping ads and checkoff lists. The TGI Black Friday app lets you search 10,000 Black Friday deals across stores and categories, create a shopping list to checkoff as you go, and even share deals with family and friends via Facebook and Twitter. Price: FREE

2. Pocket Cocktails

Cocktails are bound to flow during the Thanksgiving season, and sometimes it can be tricky to satisfy everyone. It gives people a chance to be creative and make drinks they wouldn't normally have or just to satisfy the palate of a discerning guest. With Pocket Cocktails you can search through over 500 drinks by category and decide what to make. Just in time for Thanksgiving it has a new Holiday Recipes section that includes: Candy Cane Martini, Berry Christmas, Scroogedriver, North Pole Kiss, Turkey Punch and many more. Price: $0.99

3. Chow

What's more important than a cooking and recipe app? Chow is an excellent iPhone app for Thanksgiving because it will help remove a lot of the stress that comes with preparing the important meal. Chow puts together nine of the easiest and tastiest traditional Thanksgiving recipes, and lists a clear, follow-along game plan for bringing them to the dinner table. .You pick which dishes you want to cook, and Chow gives you a step-by-step timeline that guides you through what to do during the entire Thanksgiving day. The menu is pretty straightforward: Here's your Thanksgiving menu: Roasted Turkey, Apple and Sage Stuffing, Turkey Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Sauteed Green Beans, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin Pie, Brandy-Apple Punch Price: FREE

4. Ultimate Charades

You'll need some entertainment for before, and perhaps afters, the Thanksgiving meal, and what better way to pass the time than with the game of Charades? The Ultimate Charades app is different from the other because it allows you to fully customize the suggested words phrases. You can add, edit or delete all the suggestions in each category. Categories include: Movies, TV Shows, Songs, Celebrities, Animals, Occupations, Objects, and Famous Phrases. Price: $2.99

5. Fox Sports Mobile

Thanksgiving is also a time when sports reign, and football fans in particular gather around the TV and watch the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys play what is arguably America's True favorite national pastime. This year the games are all worth watching, for finally both the Cowboys and Lions are looking pretty decent. The long-sputtering Detroit Lions are at 7-3, facing the undefeated Green Bay Packers (10-0). The Cowboys face the revved up Miami Dolphins that have now won 3 in a row after losing 7 straight to start the season. And if that wasn't enough we get a third game where for the first time ever brothers face off as head coaches of opposing NFL football teams. The San Fransisco 49ers and Jim Harbaugh (9-1) take on John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens (7-3) in an evening game that is sure to please. With the Fox Sports Mobile app for the iPhone you can follow al of the NFL games and more. IF you want to watch the games, but can't for whatever reason, we do havce several guides here at ZeroPaid to help you out: How to Watch NFL Games Online For Free, and How to Watch NFL Games on the iPhone, iPad for Free. Price: FREE ______ What iPhone apps would you also recommend for the Thanksgiving holidays? Stay tuned jared@zeropaid.com

Apple’s iTunes Match Goes Live with iTunes Update

Jared Moya — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:25:45 +0000

Long-awaited iCloud update allows users to access their music library from anytime, anywhere; for $24.99 per year iTunes matches and adds songs in your library to iCloud, uploading only those songs not available.

Apple is shaking up the music industry once again, finally launching the highly anticipated iTunes Match service with the latest version of iTunes, version 10.5.1. ITunes Match allows users to store their entire music library in the cloud - iCloud - and listen to their music anytime, anywhere. For $24.99 per year users can stream their music on any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC - whenever you want and wherever you are. How it works is that iTunes Match scans your music library, determines what music you own, and then adds it to iCloud for you to stream. ITunes Match will only upload those songs not available in iTunes. "Once your music is in iCloud, you can stream and store it to any of your devices," said Apple in a press release. "Even better, all the music iTunes matches plays back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality." ICloud went live early last month with iTunes version 10.5, and Apple promised iTunes Match would be available sometime "later," but before the month's end. That deadline came and went, and iTunes Match was limited to extended developer testing until today. What makes iTunes Match so remarkable is that it will legitimize illegally downloaded music. The service can't determine what music has or has not been legally purchased. So for those of you out there sitting on 400GB+ MP3 treasure troves, record labels might just have finally found a way to get money from your after all. The only limit to this, however is that iTunes Match has a 25,000 song limit for music not purchased in iTunes so you might have to pick winners and losers as far as what music you want to have in the cloud. Google launched a similar Cloud-based music streaming service back in April with Google Music. Though free, Google Music requires users to upload all of their music with a 20,000 song maximum. For those with slow Internet connections it could be weeks or months before you were through. If that's not a concern you could always bypass the single account 20,000 song maximum by setting up several different gMail and Google Music accounts. You could, for example have one dedicated solely to house music, and another to hip hop. I have two: one for Beatles and guitar-themed tunes, and another for House and Electronica. To get started with iTunes Match, first download and install iTunes version 10.5.1. Next, open the iTunes Store and select "iTunes Match: from the right-hand sidebar. Once there, select the "Subscribe for $24.99" tab. What do you think about iTunes Match? Do you plan on subscribing? Stay tuned. jared@zeroapid.com

SoundShare: A Private Social Music Network for the iPhone

Jared Moya — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:32:50 +0000

Newsfeed tells others what your lisetning to; post mesages about favorite tracks on Facebook and Twitter; and see what songs are popular around the world.

The beauty of music is it's inherent social component, the way it's able to transcend cultural differences and unite people under a shared appreciation of sounds and rythym. With music fans now connected in ways hitherto unimaginable, it only makes sense that they'd want to be able to use the opportunity to share and discover new songs with family and friends. SoundShare is a new Social Music Network available on the iPhone that makes that possible. Sites like Turntable.fm are great for discovering new music, and it does have an app of its own, but the userbase is comprised mainly of strangers. SoundShare is only made up of people you know, or at least kinda know. "SoundShare app allows you to share your music experience with your friends just by listening to your songs," notes the developer. "With a built-in Player, you can listen and share every song while using Safari or any other app. SoundShare also has it's own Social Network, so you don't have to worry about posting on Facebook/Twitter every song you listen, though, if you want, you're just one tap away." . What's really neat about the app is that it's similar to Twitter in that you have a newsfeed of people you choose to follow. Looking for some new music? Scroll through and take a look at what others are listening to. You can post comments on and "like" tracks just like on Facebook, and even post what your favorite songs to both of the social networking sites. Still stumped for new music? You can see what songs are trending around the world. Soundshare has a built-in music player and can run in the background while you use other apps. Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com SoundShare (iTunes)

Top 5 Camera Apps for the iPhone

Jared Moya — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:51:33 +0000

A rundown of five of the best camera apps available for Apple's iPhone.

These days there really is no excuse to be a bad photographer, especially for Apple iPhone users. IPhones are increasingly sporting cameras that give standard handheld digital models a run for their money. Helping matters are the creation of apps that are able turn otherwise boring and stale snapshots into stunning photographic works of art. Now there's quite a few camera apps available in the iTunes app store, amd so sorting through all the clutter can take quite a bit of time. There are camera apps for fun and pleasure while there are also camera apps for important family moments. Some of them have filters to choose from to make your pictures seem more interesting while others can turn your surroundings into a 360-degree panoramic picture. Some are instant. Some are for vacation. Some are clean. Some are for art. One thing they do all have in common, however is that they will make your pictures look like you're a seasoned photographer. Here's a list of what I consider to be the top five camera apps of the bunch.

1. Instagram

Probably the most popular iPhone camer app of them all. Instagram as over 10 million users, is free, and simple to use. Instagram allows users to take stunning photographs with the the help of an array of filters and tilt-shift blur effects. Features:

Custom designed filters and borders such as XPro-II, Earlybird, Rise, Amaro, Hudson, Lomo-fi, Sutro, Toaster, Brannan, Inkwell, Walden, Hefe, Nashville, 1977, and others.
Linear and Radial Tilt-Shift blur effects for extra depth of field.

It allows for instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Foursquare, and Posterous. Price: FREE 2. Camera+ The Camera+ app boasts of the ability to turn the iPhone's standrad camera lens into a high-quality SLR(single lens reflexive) lens. It'll help you shoot the best photos with your iPhone that you possibly can. Camera+ comes packed with several useful features that your standard camera app doesn’t include, and wil make sure your pics will improve the instant you start using Camera+. Features:

Exposure and focus control.
Photo flashlight.
Digital zoom.
Shooting modes.
FX effects.
Clarity transformation.

Share your pcis on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. Price: $0.99

3. Big Lens

Big Lens is another camera app that claims to turn your iPhone into a professional SLR camera. You can snap a picture and then edit it by setting the aperture, changing periphery blur levels, or adjusting background light to create various effects. I like Big Lens'smart focus and background adjustment tools. You can focus on an object in the foreground, for example, and then blur or darken what's behind it. This can make for some amazing photos, several of which are shown in the demo video below. Features:

Smart Focus System.
Aperture Control.
Filter Effects.
Instant Focus/Blur Tool.
Before & After Preview.

Share your pics via e-mail, Facebook, Picasa or Dropbox Price: $0.99

4. 360 Panorama

360 Panorama is a camera app for the iPhone that should be standard issue for everyone. It's one of those fun apps that you'll always find a use for. From stunning vistas to a crowded room you're able to capture it all. Simply pan the camera and watch as the 360 Panorama app stitches the images together to form a seamless picture of the world around you. You can instantly share your panorama via email, Twitter, or Facebook $0.99

5. Hipstamatic

The Hipstamatic is camera app for the iPhone that brings back the old time look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras of days past. With the swipe of the finger you change your lens, flash, or film type. Each combination adds a unique touch to your picture. It comes standard with four different lens, three film and flash types. There are five other 'Hipstapaks" available for 99 cents each that include various combinations that recreate other old toy cameras. Features:

Swap lenses, flashes, and films for hundreds of different effects.
Order real analog prints delivered to your door, right from the app.

Instantly share your prints to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr. Price: $1.99 . What are some of your favorite camera apps for the iPhone? Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com

Top 10 Free Apps for the New iPhone 4S

Jared Moya — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:07:35 +0000

A collection of ten of the better free apps around for new iPhone 4S owners looking to get the most from their new Apple device.

It's been a little over 3 days now since Apple launched the new iPhone 4S, and according to the company it's already sold more than 4 million units. “iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,” said a company spokesperson in a press release. “iPhone 4S is a hit with customers around the world, and together with iOS 5 and iCloud, is the best iPhone ever.” With so many iPhone 4S units sold, many are ostensibly first-time Apple iPhone buyers, and it's worth taking the time to make a list of some of the more useful apps available. For those whom the iPhone 4S is just an upgrade the list is still a useful reminder of what's out there.

1. Facebook

Inclusion of the Facebook app goes without saying right? With more than 800 million active users on the social networking platform worldwide it's safe to say you're among them.

2. Turntable.fm

This free app that I've discussed before allows users to take advantage of Turntable.fm: The social music-streaming site that lets people play and listen to songs with friends and others. If you haven’t checked it out yet, Turntable.fm gives music fans an opportunity to become a DJ for a day or to simply sit back and listen to others play.

3. Twitter

Twitter may already be built into iOS5, but the formal Twitter app is also something you want to have installed. It offers additional features like the ability to monitor your Twitter stream in real-time, and to enable notifications to see your most recent "@ mentions."

4. Pulse News

If you read the news at all you'll love Pulse News. Pulse takes your favorite websites and transforms them into a colorful and interactive mosaic. Tap on an article to see a clean and elegant view of the news story. Save stories for reading later across all platforms or sync them with Instapaper, Read it Later and Evernote. You can also share articles via Facebook, Twitter, and even eMail with the a few taps.

5. Spotify

The Spotify music streaming service launched back in July, and has slowly risen in the ranks of popularity thanks to the fact that it allows users to stream music for free on-demand. The free version is ad-supported, but can be upgraded for as little as $4.99 a month to remove them.

6. Instagram

Instagrams is the Cadillac of camera apps for the iPhone. It turns even mediocre pictures into dazzling masterpieces. With it you can transform everyday moments into works of art you'll want to share with friends and family, and you can with the click of a button in the app.

7. Google+

Google+ is, of course, the latest addition to the social networking world, and has been working overtime to eventually replace Facebook. One of its more attractive features is that it "makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler." Unlike the Facebook mobile app, the Google+ mobile app allows you to choose with whom you wish to share a status update, post, or pic.

8. Dropbox

Dropbox is a essential free app for your iPhone 4S because it allows you to save and sync documents and files to all of your devices - computer, iPad, and iPhone. You can also use the the service (free for up to 2GB) to share files with family and friends.

9. Kindle

Why to buy books, newspaper, or magazines to read from Amazon's Kindle Store to read without having to fork over $79 bucks to buy a Kindle reader? Then the free Kindle app is for you. The Kindle app gives you access to over 1,000,000 books in the Kindle Store plus over 100 newspapers and magazines. You can customize your reading experience by choosing the background color, font size, and either portrait or landscape format. Amazon Whispersync also remembers your last page read so you can pick up your book where you last left off.

10.Netflix

Alright, so the app may be free, but the Netflix service behind it is not. Still, what makes it so cool and worthy of mention here is the fact taht you can stream TV shows and movies directly from Netflix to your new Apple iPhone 4S! The Netflix iPhone app lets you stream content to your iPhone over Wi-Fi or 3G, meaning that no matter where you are, you'll be entertained. . What are some of your favorite apps for the new iPhone 4S? Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com

Apple Launches iTunes 10.5 with iCloud

Jared Moya — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:53:55 +0000

Stores music, documents and photos on Apple's servers and lets people access them wirelessly on Apple devices; iTunes Match expected in coming weeks.

Just as promised Apple launched iCloud earlier this morning with its latest version of iTunes, version 10.5. What iCloud does is stores your music, photos, apps, contacts, calendars, documents and more, syncing the data across all your devices (Apple and PC). When content changes on one device, all your other devices are updated automatically and wirelessly over W-Fi or 3G. I've already mentioned free music streaming services for Apple devices as well as how to watch your favorite NFL games for free, but iCloud, and the soon-to-be-added iTunes Match will certainly expand your entertainment opportunities. “iCloud is the easiest way to manage your content, because iCloud does it all for you and goes far beyond anything available today,” said Apple when announcing the launch of the service earlier this month. “You don't have to think about syncing your devices, because it happens automatically, and it is free.” What iCloud is is this: Purchase a song or an album on iTunes and it appears on all your devices. When you buy a track with your iPhone it'll appear in iTunes the next time you use your iPad, and vice versa. It stores your purchase history so you can download and play previously purchased iTunes content, including music and TV shows. Still to launch is iTunes Match. Promised to debut sometime "later this month" (US only), the service will cost $24.99 per year, but will amazingly allow users to access stored music not purchased on iTunes. That means your vaunted music library acquired by ripping MP3s from CDs, or from illegal downloading, will be accessible on iTunes iCloud whenever you want and wherever you are, without syncing. The way iTunes Match works is like this: Here’s how it works: It scans your music library to determine which songs are available in the iTunes Store, and automatically adds them to your iCloud library for you to listen to anytime, anywhere, on any device! Music is streamed from iCloud at a 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality. Using iCloud with a PC requires Windows Vista or Windows 7; Outlook 2010 or 2007 is recommended for accessing contacts and calendars. However, at the moment iCloud doesn't appear to be working on PCs just yet. To get started with Apple's iCloud downlaod iTunes version 10.5. Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com