Before we get into the specifics though, let’s look at an overview of how the Android mobile phone operating system came to be. Android originally began as a product of Android Inc. in 2003 and was founded by a group of people including Andy Rubin, a co-founder of Sidekick phone manufacturer Danger, and Nick Sears, a former vice president at large US mobile phone carrier T-Mobile. In 2005, Google bought the company, and although they knew little about Android’s inner operations, it caused people to speculate whether Google was interested in getting into the mobile phone market. During the years following the acquisition, Google worked to develop a Linux-powered operating system (kernel) for phones and Google was also reported to be meeting with device manufacturers to make phones with the new operating system.

As Android grew to more phones on more carriers worldwide, its popularity also grew. After fine-tuning the code that runs the inner-workings of the operating system, Google released the source code code to all, which developers and others saw a a big step forward because this made Android the only widespread open source cell phone operating system.

More and more carriers are picking up Android phones for use on their network. The new Motorola Droid as well as other new Android cell phones like the HTC/T-Mobile G1 are attracting a new audience for their ease-of-use and large feature set. While Android’s market share is still at only about 4%, the Android Market has over 9,000 applications and continues to grow, showing that Android, while different, is still headed towards being a big name in mobile operating systems.

Google also encourages developers to build for Android by offering huge prize money to popular and winning applications in the Android Market. Through user voting in their “Android Developer Challenge”, Google awards developers of popular applications with up to $250,000. Android’s market (the equivalent to the Apple App Store or Windows Mobile Marketplace) also has a smaller fee developers have to pay to submit applications. Instead of $99, developers can submit their applications for $25. Finally, Android also has what some consider to be an easier-to-learn and easier-to-use developer framework, which uses the widespread Java programming language. So, Android is also different because it is very developer-friendly.

Do you have an Android phone? What do you like about Android phones? Share your thoughts in the comments below and also check out the Top 10 Free Android Apps [Part 1] and [Part 2] and the Top 5 Free Games for Android phones.

Image credit: laihiu and bfishadow

Urbanspoon lets you browse local restaurants, review them, and you can even let the restaurant iPhone app pick a place for you to visit through the amusing random restaurant “slot machine” function. Urbanspoon first lets you pick a city (it supports most major cities in the US) and then allows you to select a neighborhood or suburb to search in detail. From there, you can shake the phone and, after playing a fun slot machine noise, it’ll pick a random type of restaurant and cost for you along with a restaurant that meets that criteria. You can lock each category column as you please, which can help if you’re only looking for a really cheap restaurant, for example. The search tool that Urbanspoon uses also lets you filter out restaurants by things like hours open, chain availability, distance from your current location and popularity among other users.

Urbanspoon also allows you to rate and review the restaurants you visit so that other iPhone/iPod Touch users can see what you think. You can write a short review or just select weather you like or don’t like the location. In addition to reviews, you can call and map the restaurants you find as well as add photos of them, see reviews from “critics” online, set them as a favorite for later review and even look at blog posts about the restaurant on the internet.

Urbanspoon also has a browse tool which lets you simply browse for restaurants by food type, features the restaurant has or popularity of the restaurants in your area. Food types that you can browse for include everything from bagels to smoothies and barbecue to buffet and the features that you can browse through include things like weather a restaurant has free wifi, live music, happy hour or delivery. Another handy part of the browsing feature in Urbanspoon is the ability to see what restaurants in your area local blogs and newspapers are talking about most. The app also has a “scope” tab where you can look at a map of nearby restaurants.

Urbanspoon requires that you create an account to review restaurants, add information to existing ones, save your favorite restaurants or other common tasks. Creating an account is free though, and you’re able to connect to Facebook to register. Also, because the application is free, small ads are placed on some of the pages to cover the costs but they aren’t very obtrusive or annoying while browsing. Finally, Urbanspoon isn’t limited to just restaurants- it also features cafés, bars and more and ties into the Urbanspoon website at urbanspoon.com.

Do you use the Urbanspoon restaurant iPhone app or a similar application when looking for a restaurant on-the-go? What other favorite iPhone or iPod Touch apps do you use? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

While they aren’t the chocolate kind you eat, cookies did cause a quite a security commotion a few years ago and it’s surely worth knowing how they work and what they do on your computer. Cookies are small bits of text data stored in your computer by websites you visit and are organized in a name:value pair along with a separate domain and expiration value. Cookie data is also sent back and forth between certain sites you visit whenever you travel to that site.

Google Search might place a cookie on your computer if you adjust your search preferences with the site for example. If you set your default Google display language to “Ewmew Fudd”, than Google will place a cookie on your computer with the following text:

“ID=87d29aeaeaf65698:U=4906f9bfc2fcadbb:LD=xx-elmer:NR=10:TM=1259122802:LM=1259165259:GM=1:S=tUvbIFprv_XP1fQP”.

You can see the word “elmer” and an ID in there, but the rest is not human readable- only data Google uses to store the rest of my search settings and language preferences. Many sites though simply store an ID for your specific computer to keep settings for you when you visit next. But, every time you visit Google again, their site will read this cookie and show you your results in “Ewmew Fudd” language.

Other popular examples where sites store cookies on your computer can be seen in shopping carts, and any site that requires a login or remembers you uniquely somehow during a “session” with that site. Analytics and visitor tracking to monitor how many times you return to a specific site are also another large source of cookies. Also, online ad services such as Google Adsense also store cookies on your computer to display and remember what kind of ads it thinks you might like.

The danger of cookies to some is that they can be used for targeted advertising online, and as I mentioned earlier, sites that use Google Adsense or Doubleclick can keep track of your preferences and ad likings and then target certain types of ads that you specifically like at you as you browse the web (but only on the sites that also use the same ad networks). Different organizations though have different privacy policies, and it is key to understand that targeting is not a threat or danger to your computer; it just makes some people uneasy if they are aware they are being targeted with certain ads.

The Network Advertising Initiative offer a simple page that you can visit here for example that allows you to opt out of some types of targeted advertising from many major ad networks, all on one page.

Most current browsers have an easy-to-use utility to view and remove cookies that sites have stored on your computer. Firefox for example allows you to right-click on a page you are viewing, click on “View Page Info” and then on the “Security” tab. From there in the “Privacy & History” tab, you can click on “View Cookies” to see any cookies that that site has stored on your computer. Chrome also allows you to . While disabling cookies might impair your browsing on many sites, if you’re worried about your cookie security, you can also simply clear out all of your cookies from within your browser’s “Clear Private Data” (Firefox) or “Clear Browsing Data” (Chrome) option. Internet Explorer also allows you to delete your browsing and cookie data every time you exit the browser from Tools > Internet Options.

Do you often clear out your browser history to get rid of cookies or do they sit for months in your computer? Got any additional comment on how websites may use cookies? Share your thoughts below in the comments.

Image Credit : scubadive67

Released originally in 2008, Pandora’s free iPhone app features all of the great features of the famous web application, as been seen on MakeUseOf before. If you’re not familiar with Pandora, the website lets you create your own custom radio station by naming a favorite artist or song, and then automatically adds variety to your stations and plays you songs from a vast library. However, with Pandora’s mobile app, this functionality integrates your iPhone and internet radio, anywhere you go!

The application carries a similar user interface to Pandora’s online player, complete with album artwork, thumbs up and thumbs down voting buttons, a skip button, play/pause control and volume control (you can listen through a headset/earbuds or just through the device’s speaker). Just like browsing through songs, you can also look at your favorite “bookmarked” songs from your account on the app.

New stations can be created through the website and will show up on the application, and “Quickmix” stations can also be created directly from the device for playback at both locations. Settings such as the account you’re signed into, power management/battery preservation and higher quality audio are also available.

The feature of viewing why a song was actually played also is on the app. So you can see something similar to “We’re playing this track because it features varying tempo and time signatures, repetitive melodic phrasing, etc” right on your device, which is a handy feature to find out why the system might have picked that song for your musical taste. Currently playing songs can also be bought off of the iTunes store on your device with the click of a button, and they can also be skipped up to six times per hour, per station if you don’t like the song selection.

In a few personal tests with medium signal quality on AT&T’s 3G network near Los Angeles, I found the app to have great audio quality, although there were a few times when I would skip a song or the song would change and I would see a ten or fifteen second delay. In full signal though, this delay was not present, and there was a smooth transition between songs. Use of the app though on my home wifi network though showed great audio quality as well as no delays in between songs, although when I took my iPhone out for a day of 3G music streaming, battery life on my device took a big hit.

Pandora’s iPhone/iPod Touch app [iTunes link] is a must-have application for music lovers, and has a great array of features to accompany mobile device support with the one-click iTunes purchasing ability, ability to skip songs, and the synchronization of stations with the website player.

Do you use the Pandora iPhone/iPod Touch app or the website to listen to music? What other “must have” iPhone applications do you have? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Livestream, originally known to some as Mogulus, is a free video streaming host that provides a live stream solution which allows you to create your own internet TV channel for broadcasting on your website through their player or on your channel page with them, 24/7. Livestream provides the “studio”, an elaborate flash app on their website where you can create a team of reporters, cue webcams, manage your library, record shows, control an “autopilot” that manages your channel, and manage a video-on-demand for your viewers.

The Studio of Livestream provides a sophisticated titling engine where you can make TV-like titles for your free video stream, either full screen or a “lower third” for naming people. You can also add a scrolling ticker for your channel that runs at the bottom of the screen and even include live RSS feeds on it to include over your video.

Each channel also includes a library area where you can add videos from files, YouTube videos and more and then arrange them into storyboards and folders for playback on the channel when you’re not live.

Embeddable video players from Livestream can be downloaded to allow you to post your channel’s live feed and/or your channel’s chat feed on your own website, MySpace or even as a Facebook application. Livestream’s Studio also allows for Twitter integration, which will automatically send out tweets on your behalf when you’re live.

You also have the ability to invite other contributors to your channel and then host a web show with multiple people in different places.

Although Livestream is free, they do insert their own video overlay ads on your channel to make money to cover bandwidth fees, but they do offer a somewhat pricey premium account upgrade which lets you remove their branding, broadcast in widescreen HD, add your own ads and more.

Finally, Livestream provides a free software download called Procaster, which enables you to broadcast directly from your desktop, and show your screen or camera. The software also allows for 3D video mix effects, Twitter integration and also chat capability with others on watching your channel.

Procaster also allows you to broadcast feeds of computer games, which makes it perfect for gamers looking to show their skills to all.

Also check out other MakeUseOf articles on how you can stream live to the web from your phone and how you can stream video live through Twitter.

Do you use a similar service to Livestream to share or host a live, streaming video feed? What do you think of Livestream’s service? Let us know in the comments below.

Image Credits : Dryicons

With Mobiwee I can not only trace my stolen cell phone but I can also deactivate it.

MobiWee works by way of a downloadable client for your iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile Phone, and the client automatically syncs with the server at preset intervals to get the latest pending “requests” from the web interface.

You can follow the quick instructions to download the client from their website, and then install it via .cab (Windows Mobile), .apk (Android) or on either the Android or Apple App Store.

After installing the software, requests that you initiate from the online site will automatically be sent to and then quickly processed by your phone in the background and then executed silently. Depending on the type of device though, you might want to set the time that the client checks for requests higher to conserve battery life.

If your phone is ever lost, you can use the GPS in the phone to send a signal back and trace stolen cell phone on a Google Map with an address on it. Should it get into the wrong hands and your data is compromised, you can even send signals to the phone to lock with a password or even wipe your data. This will deactivate stolen phone for anybody who takes it.

If I clicked the option (in the picture below) to locate my phone, my phone will get the message, and then get the location via GPS (assuming my phone has GPS reception) and then send the location back.

MobiWee’s suite of other features also allows you to remotely track your phone’s usage and statistics. You can view statistics like the last person who called, battery life, manage contacts, Internet Explorer favorites, files, call forwarding and view call logs, all remotely. You can even remotely install applications to your phone, and grab screenshots of what it is doing.

Depending on your type of phone though, some of these may not work to full functionality due to OS restrictions. But, if I wanted to see who has been calling my phone or who has been calling from my phone, I can pull call logs from it just like the location above:

MobiWee’s other features also allow you to do a lot more remote management with your phone, allowing you to take screenshots for example and add files remotely to your phone as well. Microsoft also offers a similar paid service known as My Phone which can do similar tasks, such as view photos and text messages and ring your phone when lost.

Do you currently use a service to track and/or deactivate your phone? Share your options and ideas for keeping your phone safe in the comments below and also be sure to check out similar phone-finding tools like BlueRetriver and WhereisMyCellPhone in the MakeUseOf Directory.

Today, not only can browsers go to websites and view information but they can also interact with the websites they visit and that can end up leading to trouble if you’re not careful of what you download, specifically with installing Active X controls.

A brief history of ActiveX before we start. ActiveX is a software and coding framework made by Microsoft in 1996 and now competes with Sun Microsystem’s Java platform. ActiveX controls are almost like “mini” pieces of software that can be used not just in Internet Explorer, but also in other pieces of software such as the Offfice product suite and Windows Media Player. When the controls are in your browser, they are usually used for visual plugins, such as specialized 3rd party media players, remote control applications, online virus scanners and other things of that nature.

You might visit a website occasionally which will prompt you to download/install ActiveX in your computer, and say “yes” to the couple of security confirmation prompts that come up not knowing what you’re really accepting, but this is exactly where the danger lies. Most people only care to get to the content they’re visiting, so they will keep clicking “yes” and “accept” as many times as it takes to see the final page, and that is where the danger lies for you to be opened up to viruses, trojan horses, spyware and even phishing attempts.

ActiveX controls can be dangerous because, once you finish installing Active X controls, they have most of the functions a regular Windows program running on your desktop has, which is a significant security problem if the control was from a malware infested site or was downloaded by mistake. That’s why if you have a prompt for a questionable or suspicious ActiveX control from your browser, the worst thing that can happen will simply be that you won’t be able to see the site or page you’re trying to visit.

If you think you’ve installed a risky ActiveX control, it is easy to remove. If you’re using Firefox, click on Tools, click Add-Ons, then click on the Plugins tab and disable the control that you’re trying to remove by clicking disable.

In Internet Explorer, click on Tools then on Manage Add-Ons and make sure that the “Toolbars and Extensions” type is selected on the left menu. Click on the control you’d like to remove and then click disable by its information in the lower right corner.

Finally, a word about how to stay safe. Some online toolbars (such as the Google Toolbar) and many browsers (including Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox) can help by warning you that a site you are trying to visit is known for downloading malicious code to its visitors browsers so if you do get such a warning from a browser, be sure to pay attention to it. Most browsers usually show a red screen before loading the page to make sure you get the message!

Do you have tips on how you stay safe while browsing? Share them with us in the comments below!

Basically, there are a bunch of iPhone keypad codes that you can type in and get back certain information about the your mobile carrier, phone and billing details.

To use any one of these codes, open your iPhone’s “phone app” and make sure that the keypad button is selected in the bottom menu. Then, type in the code from the list below and press call.

iPhone Codes: Network & Phone Information

*3001#12345#*- Opens up the “Field Test” settings on your iPhone, which allows you to see many, many advanced network settings on your phone including cell site information and more.

*#06# – Displays your iPhone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number (this code also works on many other phones).

*#21# – Displays any call forwarding settings enabled on your iPhone.

*#43# – Shows you if call waiting for various parts of your phone are either enabled or disabled.

*#30# – Shows you if you have the call presentation (to see who is calling you) setting enabled or disabled.

*#33# – Displays call barring settings for your iPhone, and weather they are enabled or disabled.

iPhone Codes: Carrier & Billing Information

*646# -View available minutes on your AT&T plan (*min#).

*777#- View available minutes on your AT&T pre-paid plan (if you get the “Account Not Found” error, you do not have a pre-paid account and you should try the code just above this one for postpaid accounts).

*3282# - View wireless data usage statistics (also *data#).

*225# – Check the bill balance on your AT&T account (also *bll#).

*729 – Makes a call to AT&T to pay your wireless bill.

Do you have any other iPhone keypad codes / shortcuts to share? Let us know in the comments and also be sure to check out other MakeUseOf iPhone articles here.

But, don’t worry – in this article, we’ll take a look at a few good RSS icons where you can find the right style to fit your site.

The ordinary plain RSS icon

We can start with the original RSS web icons by looking at the current set that is considered standard in most web browsers today. Originally started by the Mozilla Foundation, this set of RSS icons over at Feed Icons is probably the most basic and simple set you’ll find on the web, consisting of a few classic orange icons and a separate set of multicolored icons.

In addition to these two sets, a developer package is also available consisting of many different formats and sizes from 12×12 up to 128×128. The icons are available to download here and can be used for most purposes except for in logos, favicons and “non-open syndication formats”.

RSS icons with a bit of a twist

Another great set of RSS icons comes from 0at with a set of 15 free icons. The icons come in many different objects, including RSS bottles, books, printers, meat, sandwiches, omlettes, lights, melons and more (no, i’m not kidding!).

The download comes in a zip file and includes icons in high-quality JPEG and ZIP formats. The icons are  free, but if you enjoy them, you’re encouraged to send a cup of coffee when you download them here.

A RSS cup of coffee

Brazilian designer Dirceu Veiga created another neat set of icons for Smashing Magazine.

Although it only contains eight icons total, they are pretty neat and include things like RSS billboards, coffee and even a man sitting on a bench reading an RSS newspaper.

While they are free to use on any project, the author does request a backlink if they are used. The icons come in ico, png and mac format in sizes from 16×16 and up to 512×512.

For a download and more information, see here.

Glossy color RSS icons

The next set comes from the Snap2Objects site and is a glossy version of the standard RSS icon in many, many different colors. Red, blue, green, black, grey and 25 other colors are available for download.

A great thing about this set is that all of the icons are in vector format as well, so you can resize the icons to your pleasure.

The icons are licensed under the Creative Commons 3.0 format with attribution required. Download the set from Snap2Objects here.

And finally…

Last but not least is the Feedicons RSS icon set from Zeusbox Studio.

This set is a little bit more widely-scoped and includes RSS logos with plus icons, minus icons, share icons as well as some others.

The entire set includes almost seventy icons and are in PNG and mac-friendly formats.

The set is available to download here and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license with no derivative works.

Do you have your own favourite site where you get your RSS icons from? Share the icon love and let us know in the comments below!