Blue Sea Slug Nudibranch Eats Portuguese Man-of-war

The Blue Sea Slug (Glaucus atlanticus) is a nudibranch mollusc that floats upside down at the ocean surface. It drifts around until it encounters something to eat. The Portuguese Man o’ War (Physalia physalis), often known as the ‘bluebottle’ in Australia, also floats at the ocean surface and is the usual food of Glaucus atlanticus.

Eating the Portuguese Man-of-war

Glaucus atlanticus will eat many creatures that float on the sea, including the ‘by-the-wind-sailor’ (Velella velella), the ‘blue button’ (Porpita porpita), and the ‘violet snail’ (Janthina janthina) – but according to the Sea Slug Forum it feeds: “almost exclusively on Physalia“.

Glaucus has many sharp ‘teeth’ (radular teeth), and as it consumes the Portuguese Man o’ War it takes in its stinging cells (nematocysts). These are what the Portuguese Man o’ War uses to catch its own prey, and they contain a toxin that is capable of paralysing small fish. Glaucus is not harmed by this toxin, and it uses the captured nematocysts for its own defence – they migrate to the tips of its tentacle-like ‘cerata’. According to Thompson and Bennett (reported in the Sea Slug Forum): “they are able to select the most venomous of Physalia’s stinging nematocysts for their own use”.

This makes Glaucus more dangerous than the Portuguese Man o’ War. In Australia thousands of bathers are stung by the Portuguese Man o’ War each summer, but it seems to be: “kids engaged in ‘Bluebottle’ fights – where they throw stranded Physalia at each other – who are badly stung by inadvertently playing with Glaucus” (Sea Slug Forum). The sting of the Portuguese Man o’ War is painful, but Glaucus stings are much worse!

The Blue Sea Slug Glaucus atlanticus

Glaucus has a gas-filled sac in its stomach to keep it afloat, and this results in it hanging upside down at the surface. Because it is upside down it is the underside of the animal (ventral) that is camouflaged – it is shades of blue to merge in with the ocean when seen from above. The upper surface of the animal (dorsal) is silvery, so it provides camouflage when seen from below.

Glaucus is not ‘worried’ about being seen by its prey (they have no eyes), but it could be attacked from above by birds, or from below by fish. Anything eating Glaucus would get a nasty surprise (being stung by its captured nematocysts), but all in all it’s probably better not to get eaten in the first place.

Glaucus is quite a big sea slug (nudibranch), up to 3 cm. It can be found in all warm and temperate oceans. Since it hangs passively from the surface (like its prey) it goes wherever the winds and currents take it.

Nudibranchs

Glaucus is a nudibranch mollusc, one of around 3,000 named species (although experts believe there may be as many again waiting to be found). Nudibranchs are often very beautiful, and they have a better ‘following’ than most invertebrates. There is even an iPhone App for identifying Australian nudibranchs.

Sources:

‘Glaucus atlanticus‘, Sea Slug Forum.

‘Glaucus atlanticus‘, Marine Species Identification Portal.

‘Nudibranchs’, National Geographic, 2008.

‘Nudibranchs’, World of Nudibranchs, includes a preview of a Nudibranch ID iPhone App (for Australian nudibranchs).

Where to Buy a Cheap iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 sure is getting some hype huh? Well finding a cheap one is going to be very hard.

You can always checkout the following sites for cheap deals on the iPhone.

Craigslist- Is a ad site in which some people are selling their electronics for low prices. Who knows you might be able to get a cheap iPhone 4 for half it price. Not to shabby, huh?

PriceGrabber- PriceGrabber is a excellent to get stuff from. What PriceGrabber do is checks all sites to find the lowest price for the item you are looking. So you can rest assure that you will be finding some terrific deals on iPhones and iPads.

Amazon- Very typical site. You will be able to find good deals on the iPhone 4 on this site. They have a great support and customer service so if anything goes wrong they got you cover.

eBay- This is really a gamble here. It is possible to find good deals on electronics here, but be aware of the scammers on this site. So use eBay at your own risk and please be careful.

Those are the key sites you want to target for cheap iPhones.

Still can find a good deal on the iPhone 4?

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How to Use Your iPhone with the AT&T Prepaid GoPhone Service

I love my iPhone. I love all the apps available for the iPhone. I love the easy text messaging on my iPhone. For all that there is to love with the iPhone, there’s one thing I hate about it; the bill! I got my iPhone the week they came out and loved it from the start. However, when my two year contract with AT&T was up, I cancelled the service and have been using the iPhone as basically an iTouch. I use it on WiFi to surf the web, and use it to play my music. But not being a big phone talker, I just could justify keeping the service and paying almost $100 a month.

That was then and I’m back using my iPhone on the AT&T network, but I don’t have a contract and I don’t pay $100 a month. You see, I’m using my iPhone with AT&T’s prepaid cellular service GoPhone. Now AT&T doesn’t really advertise that the iPhone will work with it’s GoPhone service (they want you in a multi-year contract not on a month to month pay as you go plan). But it works, and it works well.

With your iPhone on GoPhone, you can talk, text, surf the web; everything you can do when you’re on a contract with AT&T. The only thing an iPhone on the GoPhone network can’t do is use iPhone’s visual voice mail. That means you’ll have to call your voice mail and listen to the messages in order. Other than that, GoPhone for iPhone works like a charm. And you don’t have to jailbreak your phone and it’s simple to get setup and started.

First of all, of course, you need an iPhone. It doesn’t have to be a new one. It can be an old one you have laying around the house or one you bought cheap on eBay.

Once you have the iPhone, you need a SIM card from GoPhone. The cheapest way to get one, and how I got mine, is head to your local Target or BestBuy and buy a cheap GoPhone. You can often find them on sale for $10. Just buy the cheapest one because you don’t need the actual phone, just the SIM card that’s in the package.

Once you have the GoPhone, open the package and take out the SIM card but do not put it into your iPhone. Go to the GoPhone activation site and enter the SIM card number (number that begins 8901) and the IMEI number found on the bottom of the GoPhone packaging.

Once you’ve activated the SIM card, you’ll get your new telephone number and then select a GoPhone plan. I selected the $25 plan that included 300 minutes and unlimited texting. You can select just a data plan if you don’t plan on using your iPhone to make and receive calls and texts.

Once you’ve done that, put the GoPhone SIM card into the iPhone and turn on the phone. You should see “AT&T” and status bars in the top left. Congratulations, you’re in the AT&T network without a contract!

The final step is to ensure that data will work with your iPhone. This step is the most technical but it’s not difficult at all. And it’s not jail breaking your phone, either. Rather you’re just updating the APN (or data settings) for your phone. From the iPhone’s web browser (you’ll need to be on WiFi for this) go to unlockit.co . Select “Cingular” as your wireless carrier and choose accept. Save the new profile and you’re done.

That’s it, you’ve now got a fully functioning iPhone without a contract!

Text-Enlarging Apps for iPhones

The Kids In My Neighborhood 1) Rock, 2) Rule, 3) Need a Life

When you own an iPhone you not only have the world-wide web at your fingertips but Apple’s greatest creation also enables you to carry a small libary and the world’s biggest notebook in your pocket. The only problem is due to the iPhone’s limited screen size many people have dificulties when viewing the small text. If you’re fed up of manually zooming in on web pages, texts, contact details and emails you just cannot read, and also struggle with reading small print in general, then this list of text-enlarging and life-enhancing apps might just be the solution to all your problems.

Text Enlarger

The title of this handy little app speaks for itself and is a must have for anyone who’s always taking notes and writing text messages. It works by waiting until you have typed in your desired text, and hey presto! It enlarges it to the biggest size possible. It’s not rocket science but it’s very effective. It’s also ideal for communicating messages from a distance and comes with some handy personalized messages such as “I Love You.”

BIG Contacts

It’s all well and good having a bumper number of stored contacts on your iPhone, but they are about as much use as a choclate teapot if you cannot find the name of the person you want to call. BIG Contacts transforms your contact list by replacing the IPhone’s default text with a bolder and much bigger font to enable easier reading. Wether you want to make a call, shoot off an email, or fire offa text message, things have just got a lot easier thanks to this app.

Reading Glasses

Reading Glasses is the closest you can get to turning your iPhone into a pair of spectacles. Capable of bringing the unseeable into focus courtesy of its powerful zoom function, Reading Glasses acts like a super human lens which can be used via the standard pinch-and-zoom technique or by operating the nifty vertical slider on the side of the screen.

aMagnifier

The earliest magnifying glass was thought to have been invented by Aristophanes in 424 BC, and centuries later the ancient Greek’s concept has been digitally incorporated into an iPhone app to make reading anything a lot easier. Similar to Reading Glasses, aMagnifier is very easy to use and works by enlarging the text on anything you hold your device up against such as food labels in the grocery store or a prescriptions with tiny writing. With this app what was once hidden from view becomes visible.

Increase Your iPhone’s Text Size Naturally

It’s not actually an app, but it’s a very handy trick to know and one which all the latest iPhones are capable off. So to increase your iPhone’s text size without buying an app, enter your settings menu and then open the general settings option. Tap on the device’s accessibility options and then select large text. Fonts range up to 56 points in size so you’re spoilt for choice. Once you’ve selected your desired size, your new font size should now be active in your text, mail, calendar, and note settings, which will no doubt be a sight for sore eyes.

The Most Exciting Fresh iPhone Applications

It can be difficult to find the best new iPhone apps. With so many to choose from how do you find the latest and greatest? Check out this guide for the newest and most exciting applications.

Here at Bright Hub we cover new iPhone apps in various categories. You’ll find some great round ups and individual app reviews and guides. Many of the thousands of apps available have been around for a long time. You may get sick of browsing the same top ten lists and seeing the same recommendations over and over. Maybe what you’re really craving is some new iPhone apps.

Well iPhone app development is very popular and there are new iPhone apps hitting the App Store each and every month. In order to discover the latest releases you can bookmark this article and check back each month as we provide a monthly update of the best new iPhone apps for you.

Best New iPhone Apps in March 2011 Best New iPhone Apps in February 2011 Best New iPhone Apps in January 2011 Best New iPhone Apps in December 2010 Best New iPhone Apps in November 2010 Best New iPhone Apps in October 2010 Best New iPhone Apps in September 2010

Newest iPhone Apps

For the newest iPhone apps check back often as we’ll add a round up of the best new iPhone apps for every month. We’ll also update this section which offers a list of the most recent reviews of new iPhone apps. If you want to stay up to date with the latest and greatest releases in the App Store this is the place to do it.

You’ll find the iPhone app reviews are detailed and completely honest. Sadly not everything released in the App Store is worth your time or money so if an app disappoints you can rely on us to let you know before you waste either. With so much content competing for your attention it pays to check out a review before you buy.

Flowpaper iPhone App Review Talk-a-tron iPhone App Review 100 Cameras in 1 iPhone App Review OneNote iPhone App Review 8mm Vintage Camera App Review FreeTV – Unlimited iPhone App Review Foodspotting iPhone App Review BoltMeter iPhone App Review Skyfire Browser App Review Google Voice iPhone App Review Ugly Meter iPhone App Review Awareness! iPhone App Review Napster iPhone App Review Cook’s Ilustrated iPhone App Review

Best iPhone App Round Ups

As well as new iPhone apps there are also loads of round ups of old iPhone apps available here at Bright Hub. Consider this your one stop repository to find them. Here are some of our older general iPhone app round ups.

Top iPhone Apps Best Free iPhone Apps Best Apps for the iPhone 4 Essential Apple iPhone Applications Top 50 iPhone Apps

There are loads of other new iPhone apps and old iPhone apps covered here in the iPhone channel. You’ll also find a huge range of specialist iPhone app round ups for specific vocations or interests. If you haven’t found what you are looking for yet then have a browse through the iPhone app category. With so much content on offer you never know what you might turn up.

We don’t just cater for official iPhone apps either. Some of the best new iPhone apps are available from outwith the App Store for jailbroken iPhones. Here are a couple of examples:

Top Ten Cydia Apps 10 Cool Cydia Apps

Cool Apps for iPhone 4

A look at the features of iPhone 4 makes it more than obvious that Apple has worked on the drawbacks of all the previous versions of this series. Other than being faster and sleeker than its predecessor, iPhone 4 is also armed with new features such as a front camera and the background / multitasking functions – something which the previous versions lacked. Add to this the fact that Apple has developed some new apps, and made some of the best iPhone apps 2010 compatible to this model, your Apple iPhone experience gets even better. Before we move on and have a look at what are the cool apps for iPhone 4 which you can’t afford to miss on, let’s have a brief look at the general features of iPhone 4.

Apple iPhone 4

All those Apple fans who were waiting to get their hands on 4th generation iPhone finally got the good news on June 7, 2010, when Apple Inc. announced the release of Apple iPhone 4. A successor to iPhone 3GS, this smartphone was eventually released in the United States, as well as United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan, on June 24, 2010. Like its predecessors (and Apple iPod touch and iPad), even iPhone 4G has iOS as its default operating system. What makes it stand apart from its predecessors is the fact that it is equipped with an Apple A4 processor and 512 MB of eDRAM. This makes it twice as fast as iPhone 3GS and four times faster than the first generation iPhone. This time around, Apple has also put in efforts to work on the drawbacks of its predecessors, and the new iPhone 4G features highlight this very fact.

Cool Apps for iPhone 4

So which are the best apps for iPhone 4? The number of applications compatible to iPhone that are available at the App Store lies way beyond the thousand mark. This makes it very difficult to choose the top 10 iPhone apps, or top 100 apps for that matter. The list of cool iPhone apps, which include utility apps, gaming apps, travel apps etc. given below will make this daunting task relatively easier for you.

Apps Description Bloom You can create melodies by simply tapping on the screen. Shazam You can get the details of whichever song you want. Zagat To Go You get the reviews and ratings of all the restaurants in your neighborhood. CNN Mobile Your one stop destination for various events that are making news in different parts of the world. The White House You can tap your way through and get access to all the newsroom stories and blog updates from The White House. NASA App You get the details of all NASA discoveries and activities on your iPhone 4. SCRABBLE You get to play scrabble on the technologically advanced platform of Apple iPhone 4. iNavX Marine Navigation You can track your position in real time using this navigation app. Urbanspoon You can use Wi-Fi to access the comprehensive database of restaurants in your city. National Geographic World Atlas You get to access the database of maps for the entire world on your iPhone.

Those were some of the cool apps for iPhone 4 which can help you enhance your iPhone experience. While the most useful iPhone apps such as The Weather Channel and CNN Mobile can help you in day-to-day life, apps like Angry Birds can make sure that you don’t get bored doing nothing. While some of the best iPhone 4 apps given here can be downloaded for free, you will have to spend some money for other apps. Other than these must-have apps for iPhone 4, App Store also offers some other iPhone downloads which can make your iPhone experience a memorable one.

New Apple iPod Touch rumored for September roll out

A new Apple iPod Touch is on the way, according to speculation fueled by a major retailer. According to reports, the new device brings the iPod Touch up to date with many features of the iPhone 4.

British retailer John Lewis broke the news about the new iPod Touch in London, revealing to the world that Apple plans to release the new product in September, in plenty of time to exploit the end of year shopping season.

An updated featuring a 5 megapixel rear facing camera highlights the updated iPod Touch: it will include flash and high definition video capabilities, making it equivalent to its iPhone 4 counterpart. The video calling application, FaceTime, also will come on the iPod Touch, allowing free video communications via wireless connections and should make use of a front facing camera on the new iPod Touch.

Now that FaceTime has been validated by the iPhone 4 community, analysts have expected Apple to extend FaceTime to the iPod touch, Apple iPad, and Macintosh product lines, exponentially expanding the number of users that can communicate via video using the application. Many readers may remember FaceTime as the highly anticipated video conferencing application featured during the San Francisco roll out of the Apple iPhone 4. During the session, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was frustrated by the application’s lackluster performance that presumably was due to the heavy WiFi usage at the event.

FaceTime reportedly will contact iPad and iPod Touch users via a user’s Apple ID or email address since those devices do not have telephone numbers assigned.

Besides the camera and FaceTime, speculation exists that the new Apple iPod Touch will come with a high resolution display similar to that on the iPhone 4. Other experts suggest that the iPod Touch will reflect the updated iPhone design, including the dreadful metal band that caused Apple users such grief when iPhone 4 was first released.

Gamers will likely appreciate new enhancements to the iPod Touch that include an accelerometer and gyroscope, that will surely extend its appeal as an entertainment platform.

Apple enthusiasts also hope that Apple will fit the new iPod Touch with the A4 processor and some extra memory to go with the new video application, high definition camera and high resolution display.

Other Apple product enhancements said to be in the works include an iPod Shuffle with touchscreen, an Apple iPad with a smaller screen, and an iPhone 5 slated for next year.

Sources:

• Baig, Ed. “Is this the new iPod Touch?” USA Today. July 8, 2010. content.usatoday ve/post/2010/07/is-this-the-new-ipod-touch/1 (accessed August 9, 2010).

• Wright, Mic. “New iPod Touch: 5MP camera and FaceTime incoming? Britain’s top sellers say so.” ElectricPig. July 8, 2010. electricpig.co mp-camera-and-facetime-incoming-britains-top-sellers -say-so/ (accessed August 9, 2010).

5 Iphone 5 Features That Just Don’t Matter

The Internet is filled with detailed breakdowns of Apple’s latest iPhone 5, scheduled for release in September. Many people will tout the hundreds of new features available on the device, but few of those articles will let people in on the truth of that matter: not all of those features matter. Just because a feature is new doesn’t automatically make that feature good or worthwhile. For every legitimately great, new feature present on the iPhone 5, the device also has one that doesn’t really help to make it a better phone. All these “enhancements” do is make the phone look better on paper.

3D maps are a great idea, in theory. However, one has to stop and wonder when 3D maps will actually be worthwhile. It can be assumed that the primary helpful function of 3D maps is to help you navigate unfamiliar terrain in a visual way. However, a regular 2D top-view map (like the kind all iPhones up to and including the iPhone 5 support) does the exact same thing. All 3D maps do is display the graphical capabilities of the new iPhone 5 processor. It can be argued that an application like Google Maps, available on all iPhone models, accomplishes the same thing only in a better and easier to navigate way.

Mag+ Packs v4.0 with Apple iPhone 5, iOS 6 and Dynamic Ad Serving

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 19, 2012

Mag+ today goes live with version 4.0 of its award-winning digital publishing platform. Major enhancements to Mag+ include its support for Apple iOS 6, and for publishing to Android smartphones and iPhone, including to the brand new iPhone 5.

Hundreds of leading publishers already use Mag+ to create top-selling magazine apps, easily optimized for iPad, Kindle Fire and Android tablets. Now these same publishers – and many more seeking a wider audience – can also capture their share of an Apple and Android smartphone audience of more than 1 billion people.

The Next Web (TNW) is a digital-only publisher who has been quick to see the value in creating both an iPad edition and a bespoke, daily edition of its international technology blog for iPhone. Another is Incisive Media, which launched the first iPhone edition of the British Journal of Photography (BJP) in early summer. Both are soon to launch editions for iPhone 5, which hits the stores on September 21. New Black and ICON are some of the other publishers that have already released apps made in Mag+ for the iPhone.

“When we first decided to produce a magazine for iPad we looked at solutions from more than 40 companies. It didn’t take long to narrow that right down to Mag+,” says Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, editor in chief, TNW. “Mag+ always looked like the most flexible, affordable and scalable solution.

“It’s been so easy to make the next step to a different format. The tools behave and look the same. The process of designing, testing and delivering the iPhone magazine is almost identical to the iPad design process. I felt some reluctance to get started with an extra edition but once we decided to do it, it proved so simple that I regretted not making the shift earlier.”

Mick Moore, art director for BJP says: “Mag+ has enabled us to re-imagine British Journal of Photography magazine for the iPhone.

“For the first time, using Mag+, we are able to translate the magazine reading experience to iPhone. The same attention to detail in our print issue – in typography, imagery and storytelling, can now be combined with the creative possibilities the iPhone offers – interactive functionality, such as video and social media, alongside stunning screen resolution.

“Publishers should be excited about the opportunities this platform offers for them to develop and market their brands to a whole new audience.”

Dynamic Ad Serving with Google Interactive Media Ads (IMA) SDK

Mag+ has more good news for the business side of digital publishing; its product developers have been exploring the potential for dynamic ad serving into magazine apps built in Mag+. Via the Google IMA SDK, Mag+ clients will be able to populate dedicated spaces in their digital issues with dynamically served HTML5 ads. Digital publishing innovator Popular Science+ is among the clients testing this capability with Mag+ now.

“Nearly all advertising in digital magazines is sold and implemented today in the same way as print: it’s created and added to the issue at the same time as the editorial,” says Gregg Hano, Mag+ CEO. “We want our customers to be able to explore every possible revenue-making opportunity, so we’ve been working with some of them to road test dynamic ad serving inside Mag+ issues. We’re seeing great results and we’ll be rolling this out to other clients in the coming weeks.”

Sharing and Buying

Further enhancements in Mag+ 4.0, thanks to Apple’s iOS 6, include support for Facebook and Message sharing and “in-app purchasing,” which means that readers can buy any content linked to the iTunes Store, such as music, apps and movies, in a pop-up window, instead of leaving the app to make their purchase.

“The market is moving quickly, with new opportunities to support publishers and advertisers opening up all the time,” says Hano. “Mag+ is working hard and staying on top of what the market wants. We have a loyal, fast growing – and innovative – customer base, with truly great products that people really want to engage with.”

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