Facebook and Instagram test a ‘do not disturb’ feature

Instagram and Facebook are both testing Do Not Disturb features, TechCrunch reports, meaning users could soon have more control over when they receive notifications from either app. WhatsApp Beta and Matt Navarra first spotted the features. Some Enga...

Apple’s digital wellness features don’t go far enough

Apple's digital wellness initiative might be well intended, but it doesn't go far enough to combat screen addiction. Sure, the announcement of grouped notifications to reduce lock-screen clutter (and some anxiety) drew rapturous applause from the dev...

Apple at odds with Indian regulators over anti-spam app

In a classic case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, Apple's refusal to approve the Indian government's anti-spam iPhone app is causing uproar on both sides. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has been pushing unsuccessfully...

Spotify is testing a ‘driving mode’ for fewer distractions

Now that we've all got streaming, on-demand music in the car with our phones, it's hard not to want to fiddle with our playlists while driving. Obviously, messing with your device on the road is as bad as texting, though. As reported on The Verge, Sp...

Good Times knows when you’re concentrating, sets your phone to ‘do not disturb’

Good Times

There's a reason we cover technology instead of create it. When we see a pair of Necomimi ears we see a opportunity to embarrass a poor intern. (Thanks for being a good sport Daniel!) Ruggero Scorcioni, on the other hand, sees a way to automatically control AT&T's Call Management system. At the company's mobile hackathon in January, he was presented with a pair of the brainwave-tracking novelties and immediately cracked it open to gain access to its precious torrents of data. The project he whipped up, Good Times, feeds readings from the cat-eared electrode to an Arduino, which then interacts with the Call Management and M2M APIs. When a significant amount of brain activity is detected, indicating that you're concentrating on something, calls are rerouted. Instead of distracting you from the task at hand, would-be interlopers simply receive a message that "this is not a good time to call please try again later."

The version Scorcioni brought to AT&T's Foundry showcase this morning, in New York City, was a little more sophisticated. The Arduino was gone and the motorized ears were replaced with a MindWave from NeuroSky. The EEG monitor communicated directly with a computer running an application that triggered the do not disturb setting through the API. For now there's a static threshold for activity, which led to quite frequent fluctuation in availability. Future versions should be trainable -- making it possible for the app to recognize what serious concentration looks like for different people. For now it's just a proof of concept. For one, brain wave monitors are hardly unintrusive, but it's a glimpse at what's possible with powerful APIs and a little creativity. Check out the gallery below.

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Apple acknowledges Do Not Disturb bug, says it will magically fix itself on January 8th

Apple acknowledges Do Not Disturb bug, says it will magically fix itself on January 7th

Well, it's no "you're holding it wrong," but we can't say we're 100 percent satisfied with Apple's response to the recent discovery of a bug affecting iOS's Do Not Disturb feature. Starting January first, ringers failed to turn back on after the predetermined silent period. Today Cupertino seemed to acknowledge the existence of the flaw but, rather than offer a patch, it simply told customers to be patient:

"Do Not Disturb scheduling feature will resume normal functionality after January 7, 2013. Before this date, you should manually turn the Do Not Disturb feature on or off."

Understandably, it'll probably take longer than five days to find the offending code, whip up a fix, test it and roll it out to users. Still, a thorough explanation is always appreciated and the iOS faithful have already been patient enough.

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Via: CNET

Source: Apple

iOS Do Not Disturb bug gives some users the gift of silence on New Year’s Day (update: horribly timed video)

iOS Do Not Disturb bug gives some users the gift of silence on New Year's Day

If you're running iOS 6, your smartphone, media player or tablet may be taking a bit longer than usual to shake that post-party hangover. Users are reporting that the latest Apple OS' Do Not Disturb feature remains engaged even after its scheduled period has ended, with the misstep linked to January 1st. As you can see in the screenshot above, the feature fails to flip off automatically, as confirmed by the crescent icon beside the current time -- adjusting the date does seem to offer a temporary fix. When enabled, Do Not Disturb flips the device to silent mode, so you'll need to keep an eye on the screen in order to catch phone calls, text messages and other notifications. The tool does not disable alarms set through the native Clock app, however.

There doesn't appear to be an official fix available, but if you're experiencing this issue, you can cancel that last-minute Genius Bar appointment -- Apple reps aren't likely to have a solution just yet. And, if you've been trying to reach an iPhone owner without success, expect a call back only once they've had a chance to check their device. New Year's bugs seem to be an annual tradition at Apple -- the alarm is a frequent target, and while this is the first year for an extended DND, the feature just launched in late 2012 with iOS 6.

[Thanks, Martyn]

Update: So, apparently Apple didn't get the memo. Cupertino's latest iPhone 5 ad, titled "Dream" and embedded after the break, transports you to the wonderful world of Do Not Disturb. Venus and Serena Williams are playing ping-pong and everything is white. So fun. And when was the ad first released? Just this morning. Didn't you get the notification?

Continue reading iOS Do Not Disturb bug gives some users the gift of silence on New Year's Day (update: horribly timed video)

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iOS 6 offers Do Not Disturb feature, adds more Zs to your slumber

Apple

Ever get annoyed when your sleep is interrupted by a call or message coming into your phone? As we were hoping, iOS 6 is getting the badly needed Do Not Disturb feature we first saw in Mountain Lion last month. The idea is simple: when activated, push notifications will be automatically muted and the screen won't light up. A whitelist option will be available so you won't miss important callers; you can also set up the feature so that if a person calls you more than once, the phone will allow the call to come through. This is an exciting option for anyone who is tired of waking up to a notification only to find out it's their turn in Draw Something.

Check out our full coverage of WWDC 2012 at our event hub!

iOS 6 offers Do Not Disturb feature, adds more Zs to your slumber originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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