Forced to take legal action against her own parents, a college student obtained an order of protection after discovering invasive electronic monitoring.

Covered by ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday, an Ohio college student named Aubrey Ireland was recently granted a civil stalking order against her parents due to their overprotective behavior that included installing monitoring software on her electronics. According to AZ Central, the monitoring software on her smartphone would provide them with details about incoming and outgoing calls and a keylogger installed on the laptop could potentially keep track of things like instant message chat history, websites visited and login information to social networks like Facebook. In addition, Aubrey allegedly had to connect with her parents over Skype and leave the video stream constantly running to allow them to watch her sleep all night in the bedroom.

While attending the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Aubrey’s parents would allegedly travel approximately 600 miles from their home in Kansas to visit their daughter unannounced as well as meet with her department head at the school.

After her parents allegedly accused her of promiscuous behavior and drug use, they began talking about having her committed against her will to get treatment for “mental issues” as well as her other behavior.

At this point, the dean’s list student met with school officials and decided to take legal action against her parents. After hearing the arguments on both sides, Ohio Common Pleas Court Judge Jody Luebbers ruled in Aubrey’s favor and told the parents that they were the problem in the relationship. According to the stipulations within the order, parents David and Julie Ireland must stay a minimum of 500 feet away from Aubrey until September 23, 2013. In addition, the school has hired security guards to help keep Aubrey’s parents away from her musical theater performances. Both parents could face criminal charges if they attempt to violate the protection order.

When asked about the actions of her parents, the 21-year-old stated “They basically thought that they were paying for my college tuition and living expenses that they could tell me what to do, who to hang out with, basically control all of my daily life.” Regarding acquiring the stalking order, she continued “I never wanted this to happen, that’s the last thing I wanted. But I wasn’t in control of my life anymore. I knew they were holding me back emotionally, mentally and professionally. And that it got to the point where that was basically my last option.”

Aubrey claims that her parents have been diagnosed with codependency personality disorder. That’s a condition where a person attempts to live through someone else by attempting to control their actions and protect their well-being. In regards to the relationship between a parent and child, it’s also commonly called helicopter parenting.

However, her parents claim that she lied to the judge about their actions and they are attempting to get a refund from the school for the $66,000 spent on her college education. Aubrey’s parents have stopped paying for her tuition, but Aubrey has obtained a full scholarship from the school to finish out her senior year and complete her college education. 

From MacBook Pros with Retina displays to Windows 8 and convertible laptops, here are some of 2012's best computing products.

According to the headlines, mobile technologies boomed and stole the limelight from traditional computing in 2012, making it a down year for PCs proper. Balderdash! If the PC industry’s dying, it’s doing so in style, shipping an estimated 367 million units in 2012 and stuffing store shelves with legions of top-notch products that blew the pants off previous generations of computers and computer components alike.

What, you want examples? I have examples. After spending the year tinkering with the best ­– and worst –the industry has to offer, I’ve managed to narrow the field down to just ten interesting and intriguing products that caught my eye and held my attention in 2012. These, folks, are the cream of this year’s computing crop.

Windows 8

I might as well get the controversial pick out of the way first. Yes, Windows 8 looks a lot different from Windows 7, and yes, the new (and somewhat non-intuitive) interface works best on touchscreens –touchscreens that most traditional laptops and desktops don’t have. And where are all the apps?

However, once you roll up your sleeves, replace the missing Start menu, and pick up a few tips and tricks, Windows 8 becomes a lot more palatable. In fact, I almost never lay mine eyes upon the controversial Start Screen; and once you eliminate the modern UI from your life, Windows 8 is basically a faster, better version of Windows 7. Try booting up a Windows 7 PC after getting used to Windows 8′s lightning-quick start – it’s almost as bad as watching paint dry.

Is Windows 8 a must-have upgrade for satisfied Windows 7 users? No, not at all. In fact, most mainstream types – I’m looking at you, mom – would be better off avoiding it until absolutely necessary. But if you take the plunge and don’t mind making a couple of usability tweaks, you’ll find a lot to like in Microsoft’s latest OS.

Dell XPS 12

Speaking of Windows 8, the operating system shines on tablet/laptop hybrids, which help bridge the gap between the touch-focused UI and the keyboard-and-mouse productivity chops Windows is known for. I’ve tested the majority of the hybrids released thus far and the Dell XPS 12 is the hands-down standout, sporting an attractive (and lightweight) carbon fiber design, a stunning 1080p IPS display, excellent ergonomics, and the best tablet-to-laptop conversion mechanism I’ve seen. It’s pricey – starting at $1,200 – but it’s speedy and an early shining star for the mostly “meh” Windows 8 lineup.

In a nutshell, the Dell XPS 12 easily earned Digital Trends’ Editors’ Choice award. ‘Nuff said.

Raspberry Pi

All that being said, the breakthrough computing star of 2012 wasn’t a Windows hybrid or a fancy-schmancy, multi-thousand-dollar, multi-core, water-cooled behemoth of a gaming system. No, the most intriguing computer of 2012 was the Raspberry Pi: a credit card-sized PC built with modest specs and the intention of bringing computer programming to the masses thanks to its price tag of $25 to $35.

It worked. There’s been a consistently long wait time to buy the Raspberry Pi since its launch at the end of last February as youngsters, curious minds, and hardcore enthusiasts alike took to the device in droves. Initial orders came in at more than 700 per second. Even if you’re not interested in learning Python or hooking your Pi up to an Arduino microcontroller, the mini-PC offers solid value as a low-cost 1080p media streamer or even a basic network attached storage device (with the help of an external hard drive). The possibilities truly are endless with the Raspberry Pi.

Intel Core i5-3570K

When it comes to computer processors, it’s all too easy to give the crown to the biggest, baddest CPU around and call it a day. There’s one problem, though: most people don’t need the raw power of a Hyper-Threaded Core i7. Intel’s 3.4GHz Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge processor delivers the best bang for your enthusiast buck, delivering four cores of overclockable, Turbo Boosted power that can handle most tasks without breaking a metaphorical sweat – and that includes cutting-edge gaming. This chip beats at the heart of my most recent PC build.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 670

Mainstream gamers will find their itches scratched by the more modestly priced AMD Radeon 7850 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 660, but for my bottom dollar, Nvidia’s GTX 670 was most intriguing GPU of 2012. GTX 670 graphics cards can now be found for around $370 and deliver frame rates nearly on par with the performance pushed out by AMD and Nvidia’s high-end offerings, despite costing $70 to $200 less than said high-end offerings.

Samsung 840 SSD

Upgrading to a speedy solid-state drive can make your computer feel like new again. If you’re in the market for an SSD, the Samsung 840 is the one to buy. The drive delivers blazing fast read and write times, and features easy-to-grasp software that alleviates most of the very mild headaches associated with SSD ownership. Combine it with one of those newfangled 4TB hard drives and you’re good to go for years to come. Of course, a 1TB hard drive works too, if your PC building budget more closely mirrors mine and you don’t mind backing off from the bleeding edge.

NOFAN CR-95C Copper

A passive (read: fanless and silent) CPU cooler this big may be impractical for most builds, but the Nofan CR-95C Copper is nothing less than a thing of beauty. It fits all the latest mainstream Intel and AMD sockets, and with a 95W Thermal Design Power rating, it should theoretically cool even the beefiest of Ivy Bridge chips. Just don’t expect to get much overclocking done.

MacBook Pro with Retina display

In case you didn’t get the hint by this point, I’m more of a PC guy than a Mac guy. That being said, the Retina displays on the new MacBook Pros are jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and they’re backed by powerful hardware to boot. MacBook Pro with Retina Display, you still bring me down, but your pretty face tickles me with envy nonetheless.

DayZ

What The Walking Dead did for zombies on TV, DayZ did for zombies in video games. A mod built atop the hyper-realistic ARMA II military shooter, DayZ drops players into a similarly hyper-realistic Russian state populated by zombies and bandits. The game has one simple goal: survive. It’s harder than it sounds, especially when you consider the game’s authentic hunger, thirst, and damage mechanics, and the fact that the other players you run into in this multiplayer release may be more dangerous than the zombies themselves. (Getting hold of a sniper or assault rifle helps.)

It’s awesome, and there’s nothing else quite like DayZ. Don’t take my word for it: DayZ’s popularity propelled the three-year-old ARMA II to the top of the Steam sales charts and prompted Bohemia Interactive – ARMA’s developer – to snatch up DayZ’s creator for a stand-alone DayZ game coming in 2013.

Razer Tiamat headset

While you’re sneaking your way through a zombie apocalypse, it helps to have full awareness of your surroundings. The long-delayed Razer Tiamat is the first gaming headset to pack 10 directional drivers for true 7.1 surround sound and a low-end bass punch that puts most competing cans to shame. Make sure you have a motherboard or sound card capable of 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, though – at $180, you don’t want to invest in these bad boys if you’re going to be stuck on stereo sonics.

If you're an amateur app developer hoping to develop the Next Big Thing, but need a helping hand to keep you on schedule, Launch This Year gives you the tools you need to make it happen in 2013.

It’s the New Year, so it’s time to start committing to those New Year’s resolutions. While many of us may be trying to stay healthier with the help of, say, RunKeeper and FitBit, a few more might want to try their hand at creating the first great app of 2013. But before you give up by mid-February, a new website called Launch This Year promises to keep you on the right track to greatness.

Launch This Year is the newest initiative by Ooomf, a young startup focused on app discovery and development. Opening today, the site gives members a personalized step-by-step guide for getting their dream iOS app off the ground.

With more than 700,000 apps in the App Store and 35 billion downloads to date, the iron is more than hot for the striking.

“We started to notice a lot of people who’ve maybe never made an app before,” said Launch This Year founder Mikael Cho. “So we said hey, let’s help enable this next generation of creators who want to do something on mobile, and let’s start it right on January 1. So if somebody’s making a resolution to make a mobile app this year, we can help them achieve that.”

The site breaks down the process into goals and milestones, offering tools along the way to make sticking with the development process easier. Steps like creating the app’s landing page, devising its organization structure, and even submitting it to the App Store are all outlined in a way that’s accessible and less of a daunting headache, while the Launch This Year team develops a close relationship with their clients by coaching them through the work of getting the app ready and worthy of a few million downloads.

Launch This Year has the backing of reputable entrepreneur networks as Startup Weekend, Tech Stars, and the Application Developers Alliance, which have supported the initiative from the start. With the hope of expanding to other platforms, the site could very well do for mobile creators what Codecademies like Code Year have done for the programming at large.

Currently in private beta, users will need an invite code to access the toolset the site offers. Just type in “digitaltrends” at the Launch This Year site and get started on that app.

Those jealous of Xbox 360 owners for their exclusive grip on indie hit Fez will not have to wait much longer to see the game on other platforms.

When you think of Fez, a number of descriptors might roll through your head depending on which video game systems you happen to own. Those with Xbox 360 consoles would say its a cleverly-designed, aesthetically-appealing homage to classic platforming games, while those who own PlayStation 3s would likely just sneer and walk away, as Fez is simply not available on their machine of choice. For months now it seemed as if this was simply the way of things, but now Fez creator Phil Fish has offered word that the game will be appearing on other platforms at some point during 2013.

During the course of his short end of the year address at the Polytron Corporation website Fish offered up the following:

2012 was crazy.

But what now?

2013 is going to be an interesting one, too.

For one, FEZ will finally be ported to other platforms.

Yes, i’ve heard you, dozens of people emailing me everyday telling me how much of an idiot i am for not porting FEZ to everything.

We also have some exciting plans for the soundtrack, and something about a US branch?

Beyond that however, the future is uncertain for polytron.

Which other platforms? When? How much will these new versions cost? Fish answers none of these questions, and has so far not responded to our attempts at clarification. Then again, this is December 31, so its more likely that he’s simply enjoying the holidays than hiding some dark, sinister secret. Expect more information from Fish when he’s less busy relaxing.

As one might expect, Fish followed that semi-concrete announcement with more ethereal word that “there’s a couple of new games in the pipeline, of course.” We know nothing about these titles, but given the objective quality of Fez we expect them to be interesting, if nothing else. Hopefully Fish won’t spend seven years building each one as he did with Fez; Tantalizing glimpses of an attractive game are enough to build buzz when you’re relatively unknown, but now that Fez is a hit and Fish has become one of the de facto faces of independent games development, he’s going to have to put games together far faster or risk fading into obscurity once again. As Fish says, “2013 is going to be an interesting one, too.”

In an effort to avoid complete collapse, casual gaming giant Zynga has opted to close down 11 of its least profitable games. Fans are understandably upset.

Only a year ago casual games publisher Zynga seemed poised to overtake the entirety of gaming. Its massively successful line of games, though arguably created purely to drive profitability and hook players with purposefully addictive gameplay mechanisms, had become a huge hit among lesser-served portions of the gaming audience, and the company was absorbing and regurgitating game concepts as fast as its employees could move.

Unfortunately, the past few months have seen Zynga on the verge of collapse. In November, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus outlined a plan to close down a number of the company’s older, less valuable games in an effort to shift the extant resources currently keeping those titles afloat to its other, more profitable games. This plan has been slowly unfolding over the course of the past month, and as TechCrunch points out the company has settled on 11 of its casual titles, all of which have either been shut down completely, removed from the app store or made unavailable to new players.

Have a look at the full list:

PetVille – Shut down December 30th
Mafia Wars 2 - Shut down December 30th
FishVille – Shut down December 5th
Vampire Wars – Shut down December 5th
Treasure Isle – Shut down December 5th
Indiana Jones Adventure World – Closed to new players, shuts down January 14th
Mafia Wars Shakedown – Pulled from app stores
Forestville – Pulled from app stores
Montopia – Shut down December 21st
Mojitomo – Pulled from app stores
Word Scramble Challenge – Pulled from app stores

As one would expect, given Zynga’s efforts to utterly enthrall players with their games, fans of these games — particularly those that have been playing for an extended period of time — are upset. “Please don’t remove petville. I been playing for 4 yrs. and I’M going to miss my pet Jaime….why do you want cause depression for me and others. Why do you want to kill my pet?” reads one comment found on the PetVille shutdown notice.

As you might notice from the end of that Facebook post, Zynga is hoping to assuage player anger by offering “a one-time, complimentary bonus package in one of either Castleville, or Chefville, or Farmville 2, or Mafia Wars or Yoville.” Casual gamers do enjoy other casual games, so we can see this gift working for some distraught Zynga fans, but it certainly won’t make up for the dozens (or hundreds) of hours other players have spent (and, now, seemingly wasted) on the casual titles Zynga has just shut down. This move may allow Zynga to reallocate resources and streamline its business model to maximize profitability — money is the ultimate goal here, after all — but it remains to be seen if it can recoup the good will lost by abandoning some of its most devoted players in this fashion.

To celebrate the end of 2012, the Xbox Live Marketplace is now hosting huge discounts on all of the Elder Scrolls games and their DLC, with discounts ranging from 30 to 50 percent.

For the past few weeks Microsoft has been counting down the days left until the end of 2012 by offering various new and interesting discounts every day. Most of these have paled in comparison to some of the other special deals we’ve seen this holiday season, but for the last day of the promotion Microsoft is really going all out by offering up all of the Elder Scrolls games available on the Xbox 360 at bargain prices.

Obviously the most tantalizing items on offer are Skyrim and its DLC additions. While the digital download version of Skyrim is still sitting at its initial $60 price point, today’s sale cuts that price in half. Now you can download the entirety of Skyrim from the Xbox Live Marketplace for a mere $30. The game’s DLC have likewise been massively reduced in price: Act today and you can get the Dawnguard expansion for $10 (that’s 50 percent off its normal retail price) and the Hearthfire expansion for only $2.50 (also half off its standard $5 price point).

In case you missed its initial debut in 2006, this sale is also offering big discounts on Oblivion and its expansion packs. The main game will set you back $10 (that’s 33 percent off its normal $15 price), while its expansions, Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine, will set you back $7.50 and $2.50, respectively (both are discounted by 50 percent).

As with all previous offers in this ongoing sale, these deals are only available until midnight tonight. Once the clock rolls over into 2013 we’ll be right back to paying standard retail prices for the above list of Bethesda hits. Thus, this seems an opportune time for those of you who’ve somehow missed the Xbox 360′s most notable roleplaying game to finally give it a shot. For less than $43 you can have all of the latest, greatest content Bethesda’s developers have put together for Skyrim. That would be great by itself, but given that we’re about to fall into the post-holiday game release drought, that’s a pretty solid deal for a game designed to keep you occupied for a few months at a time.

An app released this month causes Apple's iPhone 5 to automatically spin 360 degrees while recording video.

There are tons of photography apps out there, but none are quite like this. Cycloramic, a 99-cent app available in Apple’s App Store, transforms the iPhone 5 into spinning camera.

The app allows Apple’s iPhone 5 to rotate in a full 360-degree circle while recording video. Cycloramic, which launched earlier this month, enables the device to vibrate in such a way that forces it to spin in a circle. To use the app, simply place your iPhone 5 upright on a smooth flat surface. Press the middle of the screen, and Cycloramic will count down from three before it starts to rotate the phone.

You can also adjust the app’s settings to switch between the front-facing camera and the rear camera, and you can make it spin twice instead of just once. When your iPhone 5 has returned to a stationary mode, you can view the video in your camera roll.

“Gathered around a dinner tablet, in a bar, in a club, at home, at a conference table, or at a historical monument? Cycloramic allows you to capture the moment (handsfree) in a unique and fun way whilst making you and your phone the talk of the event,” the app’s description on its Facebook page reads.

Cycloramic is currently ranked as number one in the App Store’s photo and video category for top paid apps. The application’s Facebook page has 277 “Likes” and is littered with comments from users.

The Los Angeles Times posted a video showcasing exactly what the app can do. The resulting footage was a 47-second bit of a slow 360-degree pan around a conference room in the newspaper’s offices. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak seemed impressed by the app, as he posted a video recorded using the cylindrical filming application himself.

For only 99 cents, Cycloramic certainly seems like a welcome addition to the Apple App Store. While it might not be the most innovative application and you might not find yourself using it everyday, it’ll save you the trouble of walking around in a circle to snag those hard to get That 70’s Show shots. 

Check out the video below to see a video of the Apple Store taken using Cycloramic. 

As Andrew continues his mission to go all in on Windows and Microsoft products and completely convert his digital life, his love affair with Windows Phone 8 and the Nokia Lumia 920 begins to fall apart.

Well, the honeymoon is over. The last time you heard from me, my relationship with the Lumia 920 and Windows Phone 8 was in its infancy, untainted by the painful reality that we truly are stuck together – for better or worse. We were newlyweds, dancing the night away and taking long walks on the proverbial beach. But now we have had time to live together, I’m beginning to notice its flaws. Some of WP8’s quirks are beginning to make me question the practicality of our arrangement. When this whole thing started, I assumed I was ready to make the switch from iOS to WP8, but as the days wear on it is quite obvious that Microsoft’s mostly great operating system still needs some work. And the most pressing to-do list item should be a notification center. Where the hell is it!?

WP8 uses toast notifications to alert the user of missed calls, new texts, etc. The problem is that without a way to store these notifications, they are lost after a brief appearance at the top of your screen. If you happen to be away from your phone when a toast pops then it may be gone forever, and that’s no good. The number of missed notifications for any particular app is shown on its Live Tile – assuming you’ve even made a Live Tile for that app – but even this half-assed workaround is imperfect. Once an app is opened, the number of notifications is erased from the associated Live Tile, even if you don’t deal with or read any of them.

It was a missed Twitter mention that first had me riled up about WP8’s lack of a notification center. Under normal circumstances, I would have shrugged it off. Social media has never been a huge passion of mine. However, this particular mention was special. After leading a presentation on a tech journalist I admire, I decided to express my admiration of his work via Twitter. As luck would have it, I received a reply, but due to my Lumia’s pathetic grasp of notifications, didn’t find out until much later. Since I missed the toast notification and had no Twitter Live Tile, I was never notified of the mention. It may seem trivial, but that Twitter exchange was a big deal to me and my Lumia let me down!  

That wasn’t the only problem, either. A few days ago, my editor at DT attempted to contact me about a pressing matter and I missed the toast. There were no icons at the top of the screen to alert me and nothing on the lockscreen. There was a small number “1” on the Live Tile way down at the bottom of my homescreen, but I had no reason to scroll down there. My editor was annoyed; I was annoyed; and I knew exactly who to blame.

Microsoft uses the angle of “updates at a glance” a lot when promoting WP8, but has no system to back that claim up. Microsoft claims it “ran out of time” to include a notification center, but Windows Phone has been on the market for two years now and has gone through two major OS updates. If Steve Ballmer and company had time to include a “Kids Corner” why couldn’t they add one of the most essential aspects of a smartphone, especially considering both of WP8′s competitors, Android and iOS, have already implemented it.

My issues don’t end with notifications. Another side to WP8’s puzzling absence of important information is the icons up top that display the time, battery level, connectivity status, and ringer mode. By default only the time is consistently shown, while the other icons require a downward swipe. I understand the logic. Hiding extraneous information keeps things looking clean and helps Microsoft capitalize on screen real estate, but there needs to be an option to turn the hiding off. Only official apps support the downward swipe too, meaning third party apps (including Nokia’s) are incapable of showing the time, battery life, or connectivity. This oversight needs to be addressed and soon. Get it together, Microsoft. Seriously. You’re failing Smartphone 101.

Stay tuned next Monday for the next edition of Life and Tiles, when Andrew begins his dive into Windows 8 and the Lenovo Yoga 13. To catch up, read the entire Life and Tiles of a Windows 8 Convert series.

Internet Explorer users who think there's no reason to update to the latest version might want to reconsider. A zero-day loophole is affecting older versions of the browser.

Microsoft confirmed the presence of a zero-day vulnerability in several versions of Internet Explorer that could leave Windows computers open to attacks. The problem has appeared in IE 6, 7, and 8, although it has not been identified in the most recent iterations of the browser. 

“The vulnerability is a remote code execution vulnerability that exists in the way that Internet Explorer accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated,” Microsoft said, confirming the bugs in a security advisory on December 29. An attacker can take advantage of the security weakness and execute arbitrary code while the computer’s owner is browsing with Internet Explorer.

According to Computerworld, the attacks stemmed from the website for the Council on Foreign Relations. Visitors to the non-partisan foreign policy think tank site were subject to attacks through Adobe Flash Player. The organization has not released comment on the security of its website. 

Microsoft said it has released a preliminary workaround to protect those machines with the most up-to-date versions of its compromised browsers until a full update is ready. The advisory included a list of suggested actions for people to take to secure their machines. Microsoft also encouraged users of Internet Explorer to upgrade to either IE 9 or the latest IE 10 in order to avoid security gaps. 

Microsoft faced similar troubles with security late last year, too, releasing an emergency update notifying customers of a bug in its ASP.Net programming language that could be used by hackers to bring down website servers. 

With 2013 almost upon us, we've come up with this handy list of apps for iOS and Android that will help you drink smartly and get home safely after ringing in the New Year.

Whether you’ve had an amazing year or simply can’t wait to see 2012 pass you buy, one thing is for certain: New Year’s Eve is almost upon us, and that means an evening full of adult beverages, Auld Lang Syne playing at midnight, and a morning full of regret after that 10 you went home with turns out to be a two. While we deeply regret not being able help you with the last part, we’d like to see you safely into 2013 all the same. That’s why we’ve come up with this handy list of apps for iOS and Android to ensure you ring in the New Year safely by not drinking and driving.

Want to access your iCloud account on your Windows computer? This guide will help you install and set it up.

Did you get an iPhone or an iPad this holiday season? One of the things you’ll learn about Apple’s devices is that they can back up data via the company’s cloud service, iCloud, which you can easily access on other iOS devices or Macs. Simply log in with your Apple ID to access your Contacts, Reminders, Messages, and photos on any iOS or OS X devices that comes pre-installed with iCloud. If you use a Windows computer, however, you’ll have a bit more work ahead of you to have iCloud up and running on your machine. But it’s not hard. Here’s what to do to get iCloud running on your Windows PC.

Download and install iCloud on Windows

1. First, download the iCloud Control Panel installer from the Apple website. If you have a fast Internet connection, it shouldn’t be a problem; otherwise, feel free to pause or cancel any other downloads or video streams you might be running. You’ll get an executable file that’s less than 50MB in size.

2. Double-click the iCloud executable file to open it. Choose Run when your computer asks you if you want to Run or Cancel. 

3. The program will walk you through the iCloud installation.

4. Once installed, you’ll be able to log in to iCloud using your Apple ID credentials. 

5. You can choose to back up your Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Tasks with Outlook; sync your Safari bookmarks with Internet Explorer; and access your Photo Stream on your Windows computer.

Using iCloud on your Windows computer

If you want to access your Photo Stream on a Windows computer, make sure to tick the check box beside it on the Control Panel. Then, click the Option button, so you can change your Photo Stream folder if you wish to do so. To see your images, open My Documents and click on the Photo Stream folder. Note that iCloud sometimes doesn’t automatically sync your Photo Stream – it’s a well-known issue among Windows users. To solve this problem, simply go to Program Files > Common Files > Apple > Internet Services, then find a file named ApplePhotoStreamsDownloader.exe. Right click the file and choose to Run as Administrator. Your Photo Stream should start syncing. 

If you’ve chosen to sync your Mail, Contacts, and Calendar with Outlook, you’ll find Refresh iCloud and Notifications buttons on the program next time you launch it. Clicking Refresh iCloud will sync your Reminders, Calendar entries, and the emails sent to your iCloud email address on your computer.

Using iCloud on your browser

You can also access Notes, Mail, Calendar, Reminders, Contacts, and Find my iPhone on your browser via the iCloud website. All you need to do is go to the website and input your Apple ID and password. You can’t access your Photo Stream via the iCloud website, but it’s a convenient way to access your data on any operating system without having to install anything. 

Take note that you only get 5GB worth of storage for free – once you’ve gone past that, you either need to start deleting files or upgrade your iCloud account. It costs $20 per year for 15GB of iCloud storage, $40 per year for 20GB, and $100 per year for 50GB. 

In fact those of you States side won’t have the chance to buy the S3 Mini in stores due to the recent deal struck with Apple to drop a lawsuit scheduled to go to court in 2014.

Android 4.1.2 on the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini comes with Premium Suite, which includes tons of great features such as Page Buddy, Multi Window, Paper Artist, Group Cast, Smart Rotation and a customisable notification panel. It’s nice to see an upgrade so soon, considering the phone just launched last month with Android 4.1.1.

So with the Galaxy S3 Mini banned in the U.S, is anyone planning on importing the tiny Samsung smartphone from Asia for some Android 4.1.2 awesomeness?

Perhaps you are in love with the Apple iPhone form factor, but you’d prefer to have things running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. If that’s the case, this budget unlocked smartphone could be just the ticket.

To be fair, the listed manufacturer for this Android 4.0 iPhone Knockoff is simply “China,” so it may not give you a lot of confidence in terms of user support. That said, the specs on paper are sounding pretty decent, especially for the price. It’s a quad-band GSM smartphone with a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen. It runs on ICS, has 4GB of storage, 512MB RAM, and a 1600mAh battery. There’s also WiFi, GPS, and dual cameras.

One of the most notable features, though, is that it has dual SIM card slots, allowing you to handle two separate phone numbers through the same smartphone. And yes, it bears a striking resemblance to the iPhone 4/4S, complete with that characteristic home button beneath the touchscreen. You’ll certainly fool more than a few casual passers-by.

A new iPhone app launched over the weekend by New York's MTA allows passengers to see precisely when their next train will be arriving, allowing them to better plan their journey and minimize the time spent waiting on the station platform. However, it currently covers only 156 stations along seven lines.

New Yorkers can now plan their subway journeys in a way that’ll allow them to minimize the amount of time they spend on the platform, so on a sweltering hot summer day they’ll be able to make their way from air-conditioned coffee shop to air-conditioned subway car without breaking a sweat – in theory, at least.

It’s been made possible by the Mass Transit Authority’s launch of its new (beta) Subway Time app for iOS devices that enables users to see the minute-by-minute arrival times of trains before heading into the subterranean depths of the sprawling network.

MTA chairman and CEO Joseph J. Lhota spoke of the new app in somewhat grandiose terms, despite the fact that it currently only covers lines 1 through 6 (as well as the S 42nd Street Shuttle) – that means information is only available for 156 of the network’s 468 stations.

“Today is the day that generations of dreamers and futurists have waited for. The ability to get subway arrival time at street level is here.” Lhota said in a release 0ver the weekend.

He continued, “The days of rushing to a subway station only to find yourself waiting motionless in a state of uncertainty are coming to an end. Now, you can know from the comfort of your home or office whether to hasten to the station, or grab a cup of coffee as part of a leisurely walk.”

The MTA said it is providing a free live stream of all arrival-time data to third-party developers “who can develop innovative ways of using that information to better serve customers on a variety of devices,” so expect an Android version before too long.

In fact, looking at its clunky interface (it’s not even optimized for the iPhone 5’s display so has black bars top and bottom) and lack of station coverage, it’s pretty obvious the MTA just wanted to launch something, anything, to get the word out about the free live stream data, encouraging other developers to put in the graft and come up with something altogether more pleasing to use.

2.5 stars

At the time of writing, the app has an average 2.5-star rating in the app store. “Come on guys, hire some talent and get it right first time,” writes one user in the review section.

“Laughable. Worst app design/usability experience you’ll probably ever see,” says another.

Among the mostly one- and two-star reviews, there were a few users looking at the offering a little more positively. “This app has a ton of potential,” said one reviewer who gave it a generous five stars. “Very good introductory release. Also nice to see the MTA working on something innovative.”

Used Subway Time? What do you make of it?