Category Archives: Software

Apps

Credit Card Processing, There’s An App For That

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The introduction of the Smartphone has greatly increased the quality of access to many of our lives and no where has this point rang truer than in the world of small business. With the introduction of the various card processing systems for Smartphones such as Square and ROAMpay. The average small business owner now has the opportunity to accept credit card transaction and potentially widely increase their sales growth.

What Does This Mean for the Average Entrepreneur?

Obtaining a merchant account has not always been a easy task and for those just starting out in the open market the ability to offer alternative forms of payment, beside just cash transactions, can make all the difference. Whether the business be retail, culinary, artistic or other. Having an attachment for one’ s Smartphone (or in some cases iPad) for credit card processing alleviates the hassle of bulky point of sale terminals and worst yet, the old fashion “knuckle buster” manual imprinters. All in all presenting their customers with a smooth and convenient shopping experience which often results in repeat business.

Caring For Your Business By Caring For Your Smartphone

Having a Smartphone as a small business owner is a “no brainer” whether it be for credit card processing or simple day-to-day activities. Therefore, the protection and maintenance of such a vital tool is paramount. At iFixYouri, you can rest assured that if your Smartphone happened to be involved in an accident, be it water damage, a cracked screen or simple battery replacement issues, you are certainly in good hands. Because, when it comes to nurturing your business there’s no sense in faulty equipment stunting its growth.

Apps

Orlando By iPhone: The Best iPhone Apps for The Theme Parks

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Orlando by iPhone - Best iPhone AppsIt’s become a standard catchphrase: “I’m going to Disney World!” Well, are you? Or Universal, or Sea World, or many of the other peripheral parks in the Orlando metro area? If that’s the case, you may want to load up on some useful iPhone apps for the Orlando theme parks. These apps will do everything from give you wait times, to reserving dinner, to finding nearby parking.

Below we’ve listed our favorite iPhone apps for Orlando. And hey, if you’re in the area, stop by iFixYouri Orlando if anything happens to your phone.

Walt Disney World iPhone Apps

These iPhone apps are exclusively for the Walt Disney World Resort.

My Disney Experience – Free

This is one of the official WDW and free iPhone apps made available by Disney, which allow you to explore the resort. From the app site:

An official App from Disney! Featuring Walt Disney World® maps, official Disney Parks-provided wait times, FASTPASS® return times, and the ability to view menus and book dining reservations, manage and share itineraries with family and friends, find details about nearby Disney Characters, attractions, entertainment, park hours and schedules, and more!

Disney Mobile Magic – Free

This is an official app for visiting the Walt Disney World parks. It uses the GPS in your iPhone to locate character appearances, attractions, restaurants and shows. It also checks wait and FASTPASS return times.

Disney World Wait Times – Free

This gives you information on all the ride wait times for all 4 Disney World parks. The times for each park displayed on the same screen, and you can both see recent times submitted for each ride, or submit them yourself for other users. Photos and descriptions are available.

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort App – Free

Part of the vacation experience at Walt Disney World revolves around the hotels, which are some of the finest you’ll find anywhere, and not just on the Disney grounds. Two of these hotels, the Swan and the Dolphin, are run externally from Disney – however, they have some great iPhone apps you can use to browse the 17 different restaurants, bars, and lounges in the resort. Also available: a separate app solely for the restaurants, which have won Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence, the Four Diamond Award as designated by AAA, the Top 500 Restaurants in Florida by Florida Trend Magazine and Critic’s Choice for Best Restaurant Overall -Orlando Sentinel, as examples. Separate restaurant app also available, for making reservations and reading menus. Look for both iPhone apps if you are staying here.

Disney World Dining – $1.99 (VersaEdge Software LLC)

In order to decide which of the 160 restaurants you’re going to dine at at WDW, download the popular Disney World Dining app includes full menus, and can locate the restaurants closest to your location, in addition to one-touch dialing for the Disney dining reservations number.

Walt Disney World Park Hours $0.99 (Minneware)

Opening times for Disney World can vary from park to park, and based on time of year, or even special events. Thankfully, the Walt Disney World Park Hours app includes frequently updated information on opening and closing times, in addition to daily event schedules for shows and parades. This Disney World app covers the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and the water parks.

Walt Disney World Maps Box Set – $1.99 (UPinPoint LLC)

The bestselling Walt Disney World Maps app contains full-size maps for the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and other Disney theme parks in Orlando, not to mention the resorts and smaller Disney attractions. Each map allows you to search for individual rides or attractions and prioritize your must-visit list. It also has GPS locators, to help you figure out where you are in the maze of a Disney park.

Universal Studios Orlando iPhone Apps

These iPhone apps are exclusively for the Universal Orlando parks.

Universal Guide –  $1.99

This official Universal Studios iPhone app gives you access to in-depth attraction and facilities information for both Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. It also lets you set up alerts to notify you when a ride’s wait time goes below a specific time making it easier for you to get the most out of your day at the parks.

Universal Orlando Wait Times – Free

Similar in function to the Disney Wait Times app, this gives you the ride wait times for Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. All times for each park displayed on the same screen, and you can also see recent times submitted for each ride. There are photos and descriptions of rides, and you can even submit a ride wait time if you’re in the park, and see rides nearest to your GPS location with compass direction to them

 Theme Park Nerd Guide – Universal Orlando – $1.99

From the site:

• View your location on a map.

• Display rides, attractions and facilities nearby.

• Get intelligent, sat-nav like directions to any ride, attraction or facility.

• Create an itinerary for your day with the inbuilt day planner.

• Sort your itinerary by category.

• Search through items.

• Filter items by category.

• View photos of rides, attractions and facilities.

• View detailed ride descriptions, histories and specifications.

• View the height restrictions for rides.

• See what facilities a ride has, such as on-ride photos or property storage.

• Use the location based features even if you don’t have a GPS capable device with ‘manual locations’ mode.

• Receive automatic wireless updates, bringing you the latest park info seamlessly.

Sea World iPhone Apps

Sea World Mobile App – Free

From the Site:

  • True GPS navigation with highlighted paths to your destination
  • Interactive park map with search. Find nearest restroom, places to eat, ATM, and more
  • Real-time updates on wait times for rides, plus height restrictions
  • Displays next show times for all shows
  • Basic park info, calendar with operating hours, weather, and driving directions
  • In-app camera lets you take photos without leaving the app (iPhone only)
  • Learn more about our animals, conservation status, and locations where you can connect with them
  • Car finder feature lets you find your car when you leave the park (iPhone only)

Miscellaneous Orlando Attractions and Features iPhone Apps

Official Guide to LEGOLAND Florida – Free (Merlin Entertainment)

For those of us who have been to the big parks a hundred times, here’s a cool theme park that may be off your radar. This app gives a general overview of the theme park’s attractions and events, along with a detailed, virtual map, lists of special offers, a car locator, games and in-park activities.

Height Requirements for Orlando Theme Park Rides – $0.99 (OBA Ventures)

Travelling with the little ones? Now you can get height requirements for rides at Orlando theme parks in advance. This app gives you requirements for rides at Disney, SeaWorld and Universal.

parkIN’ – Free

Parking in Orlando can be a nightmare. Fortunately for us, the City of Orlando has created an app that offers detailed information for downtown Orlando parking garages, including hours of operation, price and number of spots available. It also gives real-time traffic views, satellite and map views, and photos of the various garages.

Orlando Essential Guide – $2.99

For visitors who want to see more of Orlando than just the parks, this app delivers 264 detailed entries and shows you not only to the most popular must-see places but also hidden gems most visitors never know about. Complete with images, maps, and events calendar.

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Enjoy these great iPhone apps during your stay, and let us know in the comments what you think of them. And say hi to Mickey for us.

Apps

5 Great iPhone Apps for South Florida

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5 Great Apps for South Florida

Living in South Florida, as some of us here at iFixYouri.com do, is a pretty easy lifestyle when compared to the rest of the country. The beaches, the great year-round weather, and the convenience of shops and malls makes areas such as Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami international travel destinations. Furthermore, iPhone usage is high in the South Florida area, and it only makes sense for people to use apps that are useful in their daily lives. So, if you live in Florida, or are planning on visiting, here are some of the top iPhone apps for life in the Sunshine State.

New Times (Miami or Broward/Palm Beach) – New Times is a long-running publication that has articles and features on the hot spots and new events in the area.

App features include:

– Broward Palm Beach New Times’ award-winning events and concert calendar, searchable by date, artist, neighborhood, venue or genre.

– Access to Broward Palm Beach New Times’ daily blogs for up-to-the-minute news on Broward politics, music, food and arts.

– Last night’s concert and nightlife reviews. See what you missed–and find out what you don’t want to miss tonight.

– Hundreds of event and concert listings every day, with Editors’ Picks of the best things going on in Broward.

– Broward’ most comprehensive restaurant listings, searchable by cuisine type and neighborhood, with reviews by Broward Palm Beach New Times’ award-winning writers.

– Slideshows of Broward nightlife, concerts and events from Broward’s best party photographers.

– Access to Voice Daily Deals for savings and great deals in Broward.

Duffy's Sports Grill app
Duffy’s MVP Members can login via app.

Duffy’s MVP – Beloved South Florida burger joint and sports bar Duffy’s has a fantastic app for locating your nearest Duffy’s, the menu, and it even has a login for Duffy’s MVP members, which allows you to track your Duffy’s points in order to get free stuff. If you live in the Palm Beach, Broward, or Dade County area and you’re a burger lover, this one is a must-have.

Yachting Weather – Most people in Florida are avid boaters or fishers. This app allows you  to receive precise sea weather predictions in a 3-day rythm – or with an update to “Yachting Weather PRO”- in a 5-day rythm.You receive the seaweather predictions according to your current GEO location which is either found by GPS, a single click on the map tool or by manual input. Whether you are on a sailing boat, a motor yacht or doing other water sport activities, with the numerous options you can configure “Yachting Weather” exactly on your needs. Available free or pro version.

Hurricane TrackerHurricane Tracker –  Complete tracking maps, everything from the NHC, exhaustive invest (Tropical Wave) info, NOAA Weather Radio, forecaster Audio/Video updates, real time feed (as it’s happening) & detailed Push Alerts for: New storms, TS/Hurricane warnings & other changes. Storm history, checklists, over 65 images & animated maps and much more. Essential during hurricane season.

Ultimate College Football – Who in South Florida isn’t college football crazy? Between alumni of the Florida Gators, the Florida State Seminoles, the Miami Hurricanes, and recent upstarts like USF, UCF, and FAU, the conversation of your team during football season is not far off. Know your stats like a pro with this great app for stats, schedules, and much more.

Apps, Tablets

Microsoft Mobile Office Applications for iOS and Android

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The much-awaited iOS and Android version of Microsoft Office suite may be around the corner. Online reports speculate that the productivity suite may be available on the iOS and Android mobile platforms in the next year.

There may be some strings attached to this though, since it is generally presumed that the iOS and Android apps of the Office suite may not be fully functional, without having to subscribe to Microsoft’s own Office 365 cloud service.

Microsoft Mobile Office Applications

From a Verge report citing unnamed sources, the yet to be released Office apps may only provide their users with the option to view their Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents. Each user may have to subscribe to the Microsoft Office 365 service, in order to edit his or her documents on the go.

Though the Verge report did not state or include a price for the subscription, a Microsoft Office Home Premium product’s 365 subscription generally costs $99.99 per annum for five user licenses. The mobile version of the subscription may, however, not cost as much as this.

App Release Date

According to the Verge report, the iOS version of Microsoft Office may be released towards the end of February or in early March 2013, while the Android version may be released in the month of May 2013.

The first date correlates with some earlier online reports on the release of the mobile Office apps. This includes a Czech Republic Microsoft product manager revealing a release date of March 2013 for the apps, and a published photo by The Daily, supposedly claiming to be a photograph of the mobile Office application running on an iPad, both of which were refuted and/or denied by Microsoft.

Mobile Office Launch

There were some predictions, too, that Microsoft would launch a mobile Office product at its SharePoint conference in Las Vegas, based on the assumption that Microsoft may want to position its mobile Office app as an enterprise product.

Presently Android and iOS users may use Microsoft OneNote app for note-taking but will have to rely on other third party apps like QuickOffice and Documents To Go, to read and edit their Office documents.

As great as apps are for our day-today operations, having a smartphone or other device that is out of commission due to unforeseen accidents such as a cracked screen or water damage may render such a tool useless. If your device is in need of repair, seeking out a professional such as iFixYouri can be a solid recourse.

Apps

LocalScope And Other iOS Apps For Your Local Search

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Since the dawn of the smartphone, our world has become smaller and considerably more accessible. Through the aid of local search apps, getting a bearing on one’s location and what of interest may surround them is as easy as a simple click. It almost makes you wonder, how did we survive prior to such a convenience?

While browsing through a list of iOS apps, I came across a local search tool called LocalScope. Though a lot of people already use Google Maps (which is now available for iOS) for their local search, and the Apple Map (powered by Yelp), after reviewing LocalScope (review available below) however, I decided to also search for some other apps that may help you in finding what you want, near your location.

Apps For Your Local Search

Unfortunately, the Android version of these apps is currently unavailable.

AirYell

A free app that provides you with a listing and green car icons you can use to get turn-by-turn directions.

AirYell is like a personal Yellow Pages, where you can add a search term or speak it out, to get a list of results for your area. You may also get some listings too by touching some of the icons at the bottom of the app interface. AirYell provides some information about its listings and maps to view their locations, and it also provides turn-by-turn navigation features with voice.

Where To?

An app with an appealing interface and lots of categories (cost – $2.99).

From the Where To? interface, you may choose a common search item which will then be displayed in a list, on a map or through augmented reality (this will cost you an additional 99 cents). Where To? has a massive list of alphabetized services you can quickly get to. The augmented reality feature in the app allows you to see all the places that are in some specific directions within your area, though the extra you may have to pay to use the feature may be a turn-off.

LocalScope

An app that uses social data from popular social networks, along with GPS, to provide you with some information and details about what is near your location.  You may search through a lot of social networks and other reference sites with it (cost $1.99).

With LocalScope, you will get some listings, photos, tweets, history, and a lot more through the Search or Discover buttons in its app interface. It is a great choice for finding what you want and discovering other new places too.

To enjoy these apps properly, you’ll need a GPS that is working. Unfortunately, it is one of the features that seems to fail for many iPhone users. If you are experiencing this problem or any other technical issue, you can send your phone to professional repair specialists at iFixYouri.

News, Software

The Litigation Triagle Between Apple, Samsung and HTC

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Apple has been ordered by a California court to produce an uncensored report on the recent HTC patent agreement because Samsung Electronics says there is relevancy with it’s argument with Apple.

The Legal Fight Continues

As ordered by the Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal, the viewing of this document will only be available by those attorneys involved in the patent lawsuit.

Earlier, HTC made an agreement to make available the Patent License and Settlement Agreement with Apple (PLSA). This was providing that certain payment terms were not disclosed. They also wanted the document to be marked as “Highly Confidential- Attorneys’ Eyes Only”.

The terms of compensations that HTC wishes to censor are said to be sensitive to the competition.

Although the settlement terms were not made public, Apple and HTC have settled their disputes over their patent. During the 10-year agreement, both sides will license all patents from the other.

Because Samsung believes that their dispute includes some of the patents included in the Apple/HTC settlement, they have asked that Apple be required to produce a copy of the HTC agreement. Samsung believes that Apple’s agreement to license patents in HTC agreement will poke holes in the theory that irreparable harm has been done.

Further Court Hearings

There is a court hearing scheduled for December in order to make a decision concerning Apple’s request for a permanent ruling on the sale of certain phones by Samsung. They believe that financially, the agreement supports the debate that paying royalties is preferred over a permanent ruling.

There have been innumerable third parties in this case that have not been allowed to censor their the financial portions of their licensing agreements and HTC should be no different. This is especially true because the protective order has been followed and the integrity of the outside counsel that is representing Samsung has been recognized.

Samsung and Apple’s Current Position

Samsung has obtained the agreements of the court where compelling further depositions from three experts at Apple were concerned. Apple also requested two more depositions if the request by Samsung was granted.

Luckily, we as the consumers of these great products have only to worry about their usage and making sure accidents don’t render them inoperable. If your smartphone is in need of repair due to a cracked screen, water damage or any other issue, the experts at iFixyouri can help.

Apps, News

10 Weirdest iPhone Apps

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10 Weirdest iPhone Apps

Everyone has heard of the Facebook app, the Angry Birds app, and the GPS app. There are thousands if not millions of iPhone apps. As a matter of fact, new apps are being released almost on a daily basis. These apps are meant to make your life easier; however, there are some iPhone apps that are outright weird.

10 Weirdest iPhone Apps

Some iPhone apps are (for lack of a better word) weird. To some people these apps might be weird but to others, the apps are actually helpful. Listed below are some of the weirdest iPhone Apps.

1) iBeer app. The iBeer app fills up your phone with a video of a bubbling pint of your favorite lager or ale. Tip it to one side and watch as it drains as if you were taking a sip.

2) Colored fire. Everyone wants to be able to whip out a lighter for concerts, but with your phone you can one-up them with the Multicolor Concert Liter, projecting a picture of flame in gold, red, purple, and blue.

3) A comedy soundtrack. The Rimshot and Crickets app adds punctuation to your best (or worst) joke whenever it is necessary to act the part of a stand-up comedian. If your humor is under-appreciated, you might need this app.

4) A running clock. Without a doubt one of the most simplistic ways to kill time, the free Hold On! app challenges you to hold on to a button on your screen…for as long as you can. Break your own high score whenever you get bored enough.

5) Steam calligraphy. The iSteam app looks impressive enough on the surface that it is hard to resist playing with it. Just like you had just taken a shower, the app covers your phone in virtual steam that you can draw in or blow away. The app even includes the sound of your finger squeaking on the glass as you trace letters.

6) A sound check. The Annoy-A-Teen app sends out a high-frequency pitch that cannot be heard by older ears. Put it on around kids, however, and they will be sure to hear the screech.

7) Protection against yourself. The Drunk Dialer app prevents intoxicated phone owners from calling their friends or family after they have had a bit too much to drink, necessitating that the phone must be held with steady hands or the call will cut out.

8) Toilet humor. The iFart app does exactly what it sounds like. This app boasts a library of sounds that can provide plenty of entertainment for those with panache for low-brow humor.

9) A hearty fire. Using the iBlackout app whenever you are in the middle of a dark room and the flashlight just won’t cut it. You can get a roaring fire or a disco ball for your choice of illumination.

10) Cats and clocks. The Cat Photo Clock Light allows you to find the time and see an adorable picture of our feline friends all in one place.

It goes without saying that you if you accidentally damage your iPhone, ifixyouri.com specialists can fix it for you.

Apps, News

Top Six iPhone News Apps

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iPhone News Apps

With so many iPhone news apps readily available at the tips of our fingers it is easy to become overwhelmed when trying to choose the best app for you.  People no longer stop in at the local gas station or grocery store to purchase a newspaper; they visit the paper’s website or download their app to stay up to date with current events and what is happening in the world around them.

Top iphone News Apps

Since there are very many news apps out there, we are going to break it down for you and take a look at the Top 6 iPhone news apps and what they provide the avid news reader.

1.  AP Mobile

  •  The Associated Press mobile edition
  •  Free to download
  •  Provides national news
  •  Syncs with your local news and weather
  •  Push notifications for breaking news
  •  Ability to customize the news you view on your homepage

2.  The New York Times

  •  Provides current events for New York and surrounds areas
  •  Reports on a variety of issues
  •  Allows user to save news articles for up to seven days
  •  User friendly interface
  •  Sharing options include text, Twitter, and email

3.  NPR News for iPhone

  •  National Republic Radio is free to download
  •  Provides hourly newscast
  •  Stream live and archived episodes of popular NPR shows
  •  Includes print articles

4.  Fluent News Reader

  • Free to download
  • Compiles news from top news organizations
  • User can customize what news is viewed on their homepage
  • Wide news coverage

5.  CNN Mobile

  • Video news content
  • Includes clips from CNN shows and news reports
  • Surf user generated content
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Local news and weather

6.  MSNBC News

  • Free to download
  • Timely and relevant breaking news
  • Push notifications
  • Video segments from Today, NBC Nightly News, and other NBC News

More information and user reviews for these apps can be found in the Apple App store by tapping the icon on your iPhone or through iTunes on your personal computer.

While finding the right news app for you can be confusing and time consuming, with a little research an iPhone user can find the right app in a few minutes.  Apple has tailor made an app for every user looking for news on their iPhone. Whether you are looking for national, breaking, or local news and weather, there is an app for you.

Although iPhones are meant to last for a long time, the inevitable might happen and your iPhones gets damaged. If that happens, you should send it to the technicians at ifixyouri.com and let them fix it for you.