Author name: Jenny Nicole

Events & Deals

Care For Your Yourself to Take Care of Your Mom

/

Mother’s Day is upon us and time for frantic gift planning and party planning is in order because you just remembered what day it is. Don’t worry, you’re no the only one. Alot of us are so swamped with school or university or work that it completely crosses our kind when Mother’s Day is and what it means, especially when finals are closeby. So what do you do for mom, who’s always trying to look out for you, always worries where you are and always trying to keep you safe? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could make life easier for her? Would you love that, with the lush of a button, all of her worries are gone? Well you’re at the right place. But it’s comes at a price! Your own! Now, first understand that your mother is worrying about you 24/7 and it is with the best of intentions that she wants to keep you safe. She does not mean harms and only loves. Now, after you’ve recognized this, you have to look at yourself and see how you can help in that. You can begin by giving them the gift of XNSPY. XNSPY XNSPY is an all that allows the user to monitor activity of a desired device. The activity includes messages, calls, live location fees, location log, app usage and much more. It is compatible with any Android and iOS device. Now what would wonder how it would help your mother? Well remember how mom calls every few minutes when you’re out, and always to ask where you are and when you’ll get home? Well she won’t have to worry about them anymore, since a live location fees will be available on her phone that keeps updating your position, so she knows where you are always. Besides that when you might not be available and she needs you in an emergency, she can immediately contact you and know where you are. If you intend to get her XNSPY for a mischievous younger sibling, you can have the ability to view their messages, coming in and out. Besides messages, you may be able to view call logs and app usage, and we know how Snapchat and Kik play a roll in mischievous behaviour. The gallery viewing option might just be the trick in keeping them in check, but remind your mom and yourself of natural teenager behaviour! There is a line where you have to draw for them but remember that you have a line too. Let them explore themselves with as much as freedom as they can  and use XNSPY and merely a supervising agent. Just swoop in when you think they need protection or guidance. Help your mom keep their behaviour in check so that she doesnt have a hard time in managing your little brother sister (as she might have had with you). So make her breakfast in bed, rub her feet and shoulders, get her XNSPY and Huber her a day to relax and enjoy herself, because she only gets this chance only one time a year!

Child Control

Are Your Children Unruly to The Point of Ruling You?

/

Your children should always have the confidence to speak up when they need to and to feel empowered. They should be encouraged to be assertive and to face discouragements with a positive outlook. But when is confidence too much? When do they start expecting instead of deserving? Confident, empowered children have a strong outlook, so they indulge in hobbies and work that they are proud of. This is an empowered child. However a child who expects becomes dependant, demanding and will never be happy with what they have. These children cannot function on their in the real life and face failures with frustration. What do you do when you have children who have a strong sense of entitlement? Consider the following points if your child has become a belligerent ghoul: 1.      Provide for their needs instead of their wants Buying gifts or spoiling your child may be a good feeling, to see your child happy all the time. But spoiling them will create entitled little monsters. Create and assert limits. There is nothing inherently wrong with giving gifts to your child, but they will develop an unhealthy habit of expecting gifts and they will start demanding things you might not be able to give them. Practice moderation. 2.     Never Let Them Talk Down To You Letting children speak about you in a derogatory manner, having them disrespect you in front of others and even cursing at you should NEVER be allowed and they should NEVER be allowed to get away with. These types of children suffer from low self esteem or poor relations with others. Be assertive and never let them talk back to you. 3.     Do Not Fix Their Problems All the Time Do not interfere if they are stuck in a frustrating position. Don’t give them an easy way out. Frustration makes way to maturity. Kids will find themselves constantly finding you to for their problems and this will stop their growth. This will also make them boss you around and will manipulate you. BUT this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t help them at all! Moderation moderation moderation! 4.     Don’t Be Afraid of Being Unpopular If they demand something that is still feasible but you might not be able to provide for it, it should not be a burden on you to say no. Sometimes saying what they don’t want to hear, even if it is completely reasonable you sometimes can and should say no, even if they don’t like it.  This will establish humble-ness in them. Not getting things even if they are totally reasonable and achievable is an unfortunate part of life. It is better to have them learn these lessons early on than for them to experience it in the real world, when it actually has repercussions and when they won’t be able to handle what they’ve went through because they have never learnt how to. Keep your children’s feet firmly planted onto the ground. A head in the air is a head full of air.

Child Monitoring

Don’t Let the Fate of the Furious Decide Your Own Child’s Fate

/

The latest installment to the very popular Fast And Furious series has just been released and car enthusiasts along with fans of the series are ecstatic. This movie was a quintessential version to the series because of the mystery revolving around the ‘fate’ of the series, since the late Paul Walker suddenly and tragically passed away, was shrouded in mystery. People weren’t sure that they were going to see another movie. But rest assured, they got what they wanted with more possible sequels to come.  The series has set and broken numerous records and has been a cornerstone for car enthusiasts to go back to. The film series has perhaps influenced and created an entire generation of car enthusiasts, who spend huge amounts of money to buy, upgrade and race cars. Although it has harbored much talent, The Fast and the Furious has also inspired some very dangerous and illegal street racing. Street-racing that can very well lead to dangerous accidents, arrests, involvement in crowds that you wouldn’t to be involved with and much more.  And this sort of culture usually attracts the teenager who thinks that having cool cars racing is the way to be successful and cool.  We all know that kid who had a shoddy car and he’d try to get into street races. We all knew how much trouble he’d get into Fast And Furious Checks Your child may very well be one of those kids. It isn’t impossible for someone to be interested in cars enough to be involved in racing and you should be aware if your child is. Here are a few checks you should have to see if your child has a little too much interest in cars: · Check If They’re Interested In Cars at All The obvious first step is checking to see if your child is interested in cars or racing or even the Fast and the Furious series at all. You can casually ask them a model of a car when you’re driving or just ask them. It isn’t any harm to be interested in this culture but you’re looking for a pattern here. · Check Where They Spend Their Time After School This should be a no brainer for any parent, but if you’re worried about your child falling into this culture, the last thing you want is your child hanging out some shady looking garage owned by a ‘friend’s cousin’ after school. The thing with garages and racing is that they’re very often connected to gangs and letting your child hanging out there might be joining this gang without even knowing it. Watch for their behavior and talk to them. You can harbor their interests in a much safer way and have them achieve the same passion for cars as they would with in illegal street-racing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with The Fast and The Furious but you should parent up when your child takes negative influence from any hobby they might take interest in.

Child Sexual Exploitation Facts
Infographic

Online Child Sexual Exploitation Facts & Stats

/

Every year, millions of children are sexually abused all around the world. Our society is being plagued and this has to stop once and for all! As members of this society, it’s our responsibility to be protective of the children around us. But it’s just getting dangerous for our kids to go to school or even play in the park because of the stalkers and pedophiles lurking around them through both their real and digital space. It’s not just the duty of parents to protect their kids against any sort of physical exploitation, but we as a society needs to make it happen. Report child sexual crimes, because it’s your duty! The proliferation of child sexual abuse and crimes pose a long-run threat to our society, but what’s even worse than the abuse is not reporting the crime to the authorities. You, as the protector of your kids, should always be aware of what your kids are up to. From their online friends to apps and games that they play, to places and real-world friends that they have, you need to know all of that; because you are their guardian! Using monitoring tools on their mobile devices could tell you a lot about what your kids are going through or who they are into. With XNSPY, you can help your child and provide them the assistance without having to nudge them for any of it.  

Social Media Depressed Teenager
Parenting, Social Media

How Yoga Can Benefit the Social Media Depressed Teenager

/

The teenage life is perhaps the most confusing time in one’s life, what with all these bizarre changes happening almost suddenly, a teenager cannot help but be reactive to situations. Situations that might not seem much to you or me, but to a hormonal adolescent, it means the world. The situations they face every day leads to anxiety and other forms of reactive emotions, which causes stress not just for them, but for everyone around them. The stress isn’t however from parents, or school, it is majorly from other teenagers.  Young adults have this need to prove themselves, to conform themselves to fit in or stand out, just to impress the cool kids or just to get someone special’s attention. What they don’t realize is that the pressure they’re putting themselves through is enormous and is totally unnecessary. With the advent of social media and a need for an online presence, the anxiety has grown tenfold. You might have heard of the term ‘Facebook Depression’. What this entails is basically a sort of depression that results from not receiving attention even after putting in time online. The Solution to Anxiety and Depression Yoga. Yoga is perhaps the best way to relieve stress and to let go of tedious situations. The appeal of Yoga might be lost on teenagers since it is often associated with older people or anyone with a lot of free time (which high school or college students might not have). But this perception is totally wrong. Anyone with ten minutes can a day can perform Yoga and benefit for years. Benefits Yoga regularly clears up the mind and increases focus and concentration. Teens will find that they will can concentrate better in class. They will have a better appreciation for their body. They will find that they are at peaceful state of mind most of the time, and this will reduce any negative tendencies they might against others. This exercise will benefit bullies and the bullied as well, because any anger or fear they have might ‘sizzle’ out and they will have a mutual understanding with one and the other. Physically, they have an enhanced flexibility and coordination. Their mindfulness of their own bodies leads to acceptance of anybody issues they might have and will be more accepting to anyone else facing the same issues they might have had. And any issues you yourself might have had might not even be there anymore. It will cultivate gratitude for what their body is capable of and any tendency to be critical of one’s self might be let go. What might seem like a simple 10 minutes leads to several changes in the mind and body that the average teenager faces. Any need of validation from the online world might seem worthless or unnecessary. Talk to your child if they feel burdened by social media or any online issue. They’re young and confused, any tools to help them feel better or to get them through the day will in turn benefit you.  

Driverless Cars Are Using Grand Theft Auto
NEWS

Driverless Cars Are Using Grand Theft Auto V for Testing

/

The artificial intelligence used in driverless cars needs a several simulations of scenarios to efficiently run without any accidents or hazards. And unfortunately, there are only so many hours in a day where there is enough traffic on the road to create conditions for a proper simulation (contrary to what  people in Los Angeles believe) and it’s not enough for testing of self-automated cars. Engineers at Waymo Inc. and other companies have found a way around this problem by using Rockstar Inc’s latest installment to the series; Grand Theft Auto V. Driverless cars are equipped with lasers, sensors and cameras alike, but when the software running behind this hardware isn’t learning constantly, it could fall behind. Crazy situations such as cargo falling off a truck on the freeway or animals running onto the road need to be tested so that any unforeseen incident is avoided. “Just relying on data from the roads is not practical”, said Davide Bacchet, the head of a simulation effort names Nio that aims to bring forth an autonomous electric car to the US market by 2020. Learning through video games is not new, since a controlled environment leads to more accurate results. With GTA V, you get as close to reality as possible. Researchers use algorithms from GTA V with slight adjustments to test for self-driving cars, since the established world in GTA V has 250+ types of vehicles, 1000+ artificially intelligent people and animals, traffic lights, an entire road system with 14 weather conditions, these conditions could test the artificial intelligence of self-driving cars to be near perfect.  The streets of Los Santos do have their glitches and sometimes they get wonky, but the fact of the matter is that is perhaps the richest and closest to real environment you can collect data from. Waymo uses these simulations to produce situations for every possible combination imaginable. Different speed, different traffic levels, reversed lanes, problems that might not even happen in real motoring, but Engineers at Waymo still can put this information to use. If for some reason in real life a person has to interfere for a self-driving car because a mistake was made, the exact same situation can be played out in GTA V and information can be gathered from the simulation to fix any bugs. The real challenge for artificial intelligence learning from simulations is to get as good as humans at driving. For all the mistakes we may make in traffic, we underestimate how good at driving we really are.  The real aim of any self-driving company is to get as good as humans, and the reason GTA V is used because people in the video game (pedestrians and drivers) replicate what real life humans would do. Sure not perfectly, but we can’t accurate results for cars possibly running over people at full speeds from real life, now can we? Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Institute said that simulations should “be an acceptable equivalent to real world testing”. We’ve reached an age of artificial intelligence learning from another artificial intelligence, which means a more accurate world.

Parents Beware
Child Monitoring, Parental Monitoring

Parents Beware: Apps Your Teen is using to Deceive You

/

There are several apps on the Appstore and Google Play Store that do not advertise what their true purpose of use is. This trend of ‘second uses’ has been seeing a steady increase in the past few years. These apps will appear on the Appstore as Calculator apps or an app to manage your audio, but once opened and a special action triggered, they will reveal an app that is used to hide explicit images and videos. Because of the deceptive nature of these apps, it is difficult to find them and even more difficult report them or delete them from your teenger’s phone, because you could just be deleting a normal calculator app. To help parents out, we have listed a few apps with their exact names on the Appstore and the Playstore, so the next time you catch a glimpse of your teen’s phone, you can take the necessary action. 1. Audio Manager Let the innocent nature of the name of this app not deceive you, it really has nothing to do with managing your audio or mp3. files or controlling the volume on your smartphone. It does, however have to do everything with hiding nude photos and videos, or anything you wouldn’t want anyone else to see. It even works to hide other apps. When you touch the Audio Manager app, a lock screen shows up asking for a password, and once opened it reveals It’ hidden contents. 2. Calculator This app poses the same deceptive nature as the previous one. Once opened, it will still show a calculator but if a button is pressed within this app, inappropriate pictures and media can easily be hidden. A key way of hiding inappropriate material from parents. The same app was involved in a huge Colorado high school sexting ring that was managed by the football team. They kept it well hidden from parents and teachers alike. 3. Vaulty This app stores sensitive media from prying eyes. Once opened, it will ask for a password and if the wrong password is entered, a picture of the person trying to enter the app will be taken without their knowledge. An app with a password is evidence enough that your child is hiding something from you. 4. Snapchat Now we’re sure you’ve heard of Snapchat, an app that allows you to take, send and receive pictures for a limited amount of time before it disappears. What most parents aren’t aware of is that fact that Snapchat media can be easily saved without the person even being aware of this. There are several other supporting apps that aid in this process. Snapchat isn’t just for cute filters, it is mainly to share explicit pictures. Because of its nature, many people find apps to save pictures and these people share them on porn websites for revenue. 5. Kik Messenger Kik is perhaps the biggest culprit out of all of these apps. Kik is basically a messenger app. What most people aren’t aware of is the fact that it is completely anonymous, users can message anyone, unsolicited. Kik does not offer any parental controls and there isn’t a real way of identifying user’s true identity, making it very easy for predators to prey of minors. What Parents Can Do About Dangerous Apps: XNSPY XNSPY will allow you to track all of the apps your child downloads on their phones, as well as tracking activity on apps like Kik, Whatsapp, Snapchat etc.

Galaxy S8 Review
NEWS, Tech

Samsung Galaxy S8 Review

/

The Samsung Galaxy came at a crucial time for Samsung, after the last flagship saw its demise in smoke and flames. The Samsung Galaxy S8 came with huge expectations and carried the reputation of the company, a true make or break of moment for the company. But did the S8 make it or break it? You be the judge of that, but all we can say is that the S8 holds all the bearings to revive the company. The rumors and leaks preceding the phone were unlike any other. Most of the rumors were proved to be true, but what the rumors didn’t entail is how the phone could be a contender to be the best smartphone in 2017. Features of the Galaxy S8 The one thing that most people will purchase the Galaxy S8 for and the one thing Samsung advertised the most is the majestic looking infinity screen.  It had become very clear from the rumors that this ‘Infinity Screen’ will be a main focus of the S8. Because of this screen, the S8 does not feature mechanical keys for the home button, the back and the recent button. These will all be features as software buttons. Samsung Galaxy S8 Camera The camera on the S8 hasn’t seen much improvement over the still brilliant camera of the S7 even though promises were made that the camera would have been something of an upgrade. The camera still features a 12MP sensor on the back with an f/1.7 aperture and fast auto-focus. The S8 surprisingly did not try to compete with the LG G6 or the iPhone 7 and include a dual lens, clearly focusing on the fingerprint sensor in terms of design. The front camera however has been upgraded to an 8MP sensor, great in low-light. The camera app alsos features Snapchat like filters. One unexpected upgrade to the camera is the Bixby Vision, that will allow users (from launch) to search up objects that they point their camera at. Samsung Galaxy S8 Specifications The Galaxy S8 sports a 4GB of RAM, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor (or Exynos 8895). The phone is powered by a 3000mAh battery and the Android version from launch is Android 7.0 Nougat. Bixby, The Galaxy’s Artificial Intelligence Assistant Samsung unveiled Bixby as a prime feature of the S8 and shocked us all a little, because nothing of the sort had been mentioned in the leaks. Bixby is an Artificial Intelligence assistant, shadowing the like of Siri but what sets it apart from Siri or even Google Assistant that Bixby is meant to be an open ended AI assistant that follows commands through your voice, camera and a (surprisingly) dedicated hardware button.  It also allows users to refer to it any manner they want, not restricting them to specific words or phrases (hint: Okay Google). That being said, Google Assistant is still available to use on the phone, and the Bixby is something Samsung hopes to keep working on. Bixby Vision hopes it will lead the S8 in artificial intelligence realm. Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date and Price The Galaxy S8 will be the most expensive phone Samsung has ever made right away from launch:$724 (£689, AU$1,119). The actual Galaxy S8 release date is April 21 for the US and April 28 for the UK.  Pre-orders are available for the phone. XNSPY and The Samsung Galaxy S8 XNSPY is compatible for the latest Android devices, and will run smoothly on the Android 7.0 that Is set to be on the S8. To find if your phone is compatible, visit here.

iPhone, NEWS

The Future of the Apple Airpods: Wireless Charging Pads

/

Apple’s intention to upgrade the controversial Airpods seems to have cemented now that a patent application submitted by the company highlights Apple’s intentions to include wireless charging pads, not just for the Airpods, but the Apple Watch too. The Concept The Airpods case is conceptualized to act as a secondary wireless charging dock (already acting as the case for the Airpods) for several Apple Devices and if the patent holds, this will be a serious game changer preceding to the iPhone 8 release and for the wireless charging technology in general. The patent reveals how the Airpods case will be equipped with a wireless power transmitting component (the main part to power the wireless charger). This entire component will transform the case into a secondary charging dock allowing it to charge an extra device from the external. Aside from Apple products, the Airpods case will likely support other gadgets such as music of video players or even cameras. The entire concept of the wireless charger entails that future Apple products might have infra-red sensors. The bigger implication here is that the iPhone 8 will mostly likely support wireless charging, a feature still absent in the iPhone series even as of the iPhone 7. Waterproof Case The huge reveal of the Apple patents also revealed intention for the Airpods to be liquid resistant, and the connectors to be of the same nature. This just means that the case and its connecting wires will be totally waterproof. Hardware features such as flaps or flanges reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S5. Different variants of the case will be revealed that will feature different resistances between spraying water and powerful water jets or immersion for up to 1 meter. iPhone 8 Rumors What this case entails is a major hardware change in the iPhone 8. A wireless charging feature is now long due in the iPhone 8 (something that has been a staple in the rival Samsung Galaxy series since the Galaxy S6). Besides hardware for battery, Apple has a major design overhaul planned for the iPhone 8. The screen will be a 5.5 inch edge to edge OLED display, still featuring Touch ID as a staple. The iPhone 8 will also come as a complete glass body. It is rumored that there might not be a home button at all, and that Apple will go the Samsung route of having software buttons. The glass body would be necessary for the wireless charge to work. The processor will be an upgraded, 10 nanometer A11 chip which will be faster. And more efficient than ever before. The models are supposedly to follow the same tentative names, as in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus. Multiple rumors have suggested that a ‘premium’ OLED model will be the flagship followed by standard LCD devices, sizes ranging from 4.7, 5.8 (OLED) and 5.5 inches. All three models will share the same glass body which could mean that all of them support wireless charging.­

Child Monitoring, Parental Monitoring

Why I Would Want My Daughter to Watch ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with a Grain of Salt

/

So I just watched Beauty and the Beast this past weekend. It was quite an interesting experience to say the least. I remember watching it as a child and being fascinated by the ballroom scene. But even as a child, somehow the film never really resonated with me. Hence, today, with the reboot taking the box office by storm, I feel the reason for its success it exactly that; the nostalgic familiarity people have with the colors, the music and the characters. On the surface level, it has quite a poignant message: that inner beauty counts a lot more than outer beauty. That doing good is what makes you beautiful from the inside out. That you must never judge anyone based on what they look like. All of these are great messages for kids to take away. But then there are other, more subliminal messages that have always rubbed me the wrong way. Now, I don’t have children of my own. But if I did, there are a few things I would explain to them before I took them to see ‘Beauty and the Beast’… It Is Not Enough for the Protagonist to Be a Woman I’m going to begin with the least daunting message—it is simply not enough to have a leading lady as your protagonist. Not in 2017. It must be so that more women are cast in meaningful roles across the film. A sole female character at the helm of the story isn’t enough. I know what you’re thinking at this point—there were a handful of other female characters in this film. Mrs. Potts being one, Featherduster being the other, and Wardrobe the third. But that’s where it gets interesting. A survey was conducted that meant to analyze the dialogue spoken in the top ten blockbusters of our time, i.e. the highest grossing films ever. As it turns out, women only spoke 27% of the dialogues in these movies. What’s more is that the two female characters that had the most dialogue were animated characters—Dory from ‘Finding Dory’ and Judy Hopps from ‘Zootopia’. So no, I’m not going to be impressed with a project simply because our protagonist is the heroin. I’d like to see much more effort than a mere 27 per cent. Let’s Face It, this Movie is About an Abusive Relationship There, I said it. At the core of it, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is about a beautiful girl who is held captive by a beastly beast and ultimately falls in love with her captor. This is literally a story about Stockholm Syndrome. So, when this movie was packaged as some sort of feminist project with Emma Watson, a prominent proponent of modern feminism as the lead, I did not buy it. Sure, she is whimsical and likes to invent things and reads in a town where reading is looked down upon; it just seemed really disingenuous. What the ‘whimsical’ and ‘socially awkward’ traits did was provide a cover for traits that were just as tired as any other movie with underdeveloped female characters. What was the “tale as old as time” then? The fact that if you are in an abusive relationship, you should stick it out because you can change him/her. The Beast is horrible to her. He imprisons her because her father stole a rose. She sacrifices herself when she makes the hostage exchange. He cuts her off from her friends and family. He literally puts her behind bars. He refuses to let her eat without his company (‘If she doesn’t eat with me, then she doesn’t eat at all!’). He rages and lashes out in front of her. Then, he contrasts it with little acts of kindness. He saves her life from the wolves. He gives her the library. He makes Belle believe that there is some good in him, which gives him licence to be abusive otherwise. The Conversations Around it Should Explore Power Dynamics The truth is, Belle falls in love with her captor because of the little bits of good she sees in him. She makes peace with her arrangement. She learns to accept her situation; she accepts the love she thinks she deserves. That’s where I have a problem with this dynamic. Essentially, this 2017 version of the movie should start a conversation about power dynamics in relationships. It should start conversations on consent and what it means to find a soft spot for your abuser. That’s the kind of message I would want my daughter to take away when she watches the film. Feminism doesn’t have to be so surface level—it does not have to be so dressed up that it exists only in the little quirks of the heroin. It needs to be deeper than that. That doesn’t mean that the lead can only be a ‘strong female character’. I understand the shortcomings of that trope. However, I do think that in this day and age, we mustn’t have such stories anymore. We need stories with greater nuances and greater depth and definite greater development of the female characters. How would I have liked ‘Beauty and the Beauty’ to end? When Beast finally lets her go, I would’ve liked Belle to run far, far away from her captor and never return to him. I would’ve liked her to have that kind of power. Then again, the people wouldn’t have the romantic happy ending they ordered, would they?

Scroll to Top