How tech can help you keep New Year's resolutions

With the advent of 2016, people around the world had set themselves New Year's resolutions. But 88 per cent of all those set resolutions fail, leaving most people feeling a bit disappointed in themselves. There are certain neurological reasons why we tend not to keep our New Year's resolutions, but in the digital world we live in there are certain tech solutions that can help us power through.
Train your brain
Neurologically, we need willpower to help us stick to our New Year's resolutions. We also need them to become habits rather than abstract thoughts and we need to hold ourselves accountable. Luckily, technology makes each of these steps easy to achieve.
Apps like "Mind: Brain Train" in the Windows Store stimulate your brain, helping to improve short-term memory, which is linked to willpower. There are also several goal-setting apps like "GoalsOnTrack", which help you to set realistic goals, and "21habits", which hold you accountable by requiring you to make a payment upfront and then refunding you for each day you have succeeded in sticking to your goal.
Stay fit and healthy
The most popular New Year's resolution according to Nielsen, a consumer research firm, is to get and stay fit and healthy. The Microsoft Band makes this a whole lot easier. This wearable device tracks your heart rate, calories, sleep quality and physical activities. It's also compatible with various health apps like "Livifi", which lets you choose from 40 lifestyle goals and help you set achievable targets.
Lose weight
Unsurprisingly, losing weight is another popular resolution. "Weight Loss Manager", available in the Windows Store, is a great app to help you do just that. Enter your weight checks and activities every day and get tips for getting healthy and fit. You can also see your progress and see which exercise burns the most calories.
Spend less, save more
Even if this isn't your New Year's resolution, it's probably in the back of your mind. While the growth of online shopping could burn a hole in your pocket, it's also a convenient way to hunt for bargains. Don't rush into the first store you see, rather use your smart phone to shop around and find the best deal.
Spend more time with friends and family
We live in a world where most of us have friends and family living overseas or out of town. Thanks to technology, that's no reason to lose touch. Microsoft's "Skype" app works across all devices, running silently in the background, ready to notify you when a call or instant message comes in. Don't miss out on those special moments just because you're far away.
Get organised
When life gets busy, it can be difficult to stay organised and remember all our commitments. That's where an app like "Todoist" comes in handy. It's a simple way of pushing notifications to your desktop for reminders, and allows you to clear a completed task easily (nothing's more satisfying than ticking something off that to-do list).
Learn something new
Nothing like a new year to inspire a burst of creativity. To keep the creative juices flowing, why not try apps like "Fresh Paint" to experience the joy of slapping paint on canvas, or "Music Maker Jam" to try your hand at blending your own music mixes? And, for the budding photographers out there, the Lumia's 20-megapixel camera is a great tool with its features like triple LED natural flash and Rich Capture.
Travel more
We might live in a global village, but travelling still tops many bucket lists. The travel industry has been revolutionised thanks to technology, putting the power into your hands. Apps like "TripAdvisor" and "EatOut Restaurant Guide 2015" help you find and book the perfect hotel or restaurant to fit your budget, based on other patrons' reviews.
Read more
Once you've travelled the world, got fit and healthy and learned something new, it's time to get back to basics. Reading is a great resolution to help you destress and gain more knowledge at the same time. Use "Goodreads" to find the perfect book, discuss and analyse your book on "Readmill" and learn to speed read using "Syllable".
There are just days left until we embark on the New Year. Don't be put off making those resolutions - use technology to help you have a successful, fulfilling 2016.
The writer is Windows Business Group Lead at Microsoft Gulf. Views expressed are his own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy.

new york - Apple is working to make subscription content available through its News app, giving publishers with paywalls a new way to control who sees their articles, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The move would differentiate Apple News from Facebook's Instant Articles news offering, which does not offer subscriber-only content, and would likely give Apple a boost as it seeks to distinguish itself from a growing crowd of online news apps.
The move comes as news publishers try to figure out how to work with Apple and Facebook, which are important distributors of news content to their hundreds of millions of users, but at the same time are getting between publishers and their readers.
By making paid content available through its News app, Apple would give publishers a way to maintain relationships with readers and perhaps attract new subscribers.
It is unclear how Apple would authenticate subscribers or if it would take a cut of payments from readers who become subscribers through the app. Apple declined to comment.
Subscriber-only publications that work with Apple News now can either share their articles for free or just share excerpts of articles and direct readers to log on to their own websites for more.
For example The Wall Street Journal, which has a paywall for most of its content, posts a handful of articles a day to Apple News.
However, publishers have been frustrated with the lack of information they receive from Apple about the readers of their content, the sources told Reuters.
"Ensuring subscription mechanisms in our off-platform distribution partnerships is critical," said Katie Vanneck-Smith, chief customer officer of Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal.
Dow Jones is working with Apple and others to take advantage of new platforms, she added. She declined to comment on the specifics of conversations with Apple. - Reuters
Released in September, the Apple News app followed Newsstand, which stored newspapers and magazines. Apple said in October that nearly 40 million people were reading Apple News, and the company has worked with more than 100 publishers as of this month.
Apple's move is designed to counter publishers' concerns about lack of data on who is reading their articles, the sources said.
Rival tech firms are working to give publishers more flexibility. Alphabet Inc's Google is piloting a program called Accelerated Mobile Pages that will allow users to search for news and retrieve articles from publishers instantly. - Reuters

san francisco/mumbai - As China sales show signs of cooling, Apple is touting India's appetite for iPhones, betting that rising wages and an expanding middle class will pull consumers away from the cheap alternatives that currently dominate the market.
In an earnings call in which the company reported meagre iPhone growth and forecast its first revenue drop in 13 years, the Indian market stood out as a rare bright spot for Apple.
Sales of the company's flagship smartphone climbed 76 per cent in India from the year-ago quarter, Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri said.
According to data compiled by Counterpoint Technology Research, Apple sold an estimated 800,000 iPhones in India in the fourth-quarter, its highest ever amount but one that is a fraction of the 28 million smartphones sold during that period.
Growth in India is a tantalising prospect as Apple grapples with the economic downturn in China, its second largest market. While revenue in Greater China rose 14 per cent in the last quarter, Apple is beginning to see a shift in the economy, particularly in Hong Kong, Maestri told Reuters in an interview.
But with nearly 70 per cent of smartphones selling for less than $150 in India, Apple's high-end phones remain out of reach of most consumers. The basic iPhone 6S sells at just under $700 in India, or nearly half the average annual wage.
"In many ways India is very similar to what China was a few years ago, but the middle class here is still very small and it can be two to three years before Apple gets a similar level of success in India," said Counterpoint Technology Research analyst Tarun Pathak.
Apple CEO Tim Cook struck a more optimistic note, saying the company was "increasingly putting more energy" into India, citing a largely youthful population with rising disposable income as more people join the workforce.
With faster 4G coverage expanding, Apple has already asked Indian government for a license to set up its own retail stores just as the market seems to be turning in its favour.
As in China, Apple products are a coveted status symbol in India, a market that analysts say is likely to overtake the United States next year to become the world's second largest smartphone market.
"The love for the iPhone is there," said Carolina Milanesi, chief of research and head of U.S. business at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, a consumer research firm. - Reuters

thursday | JANUARY 28, 2016

Infotech

For all its strengths and innovations, Apple wasn't spared by the slowing smartphone market - but it still was able to eke out another record quarter, plus a billion reasons to add to its bragging-rights list.
The world's most valuable company reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 ended December 26 - the first full quarter of sales for its latest iPhone 6 and 6s flagships - showing another period of all-time-high figures.
The Cupertino, California-based tech giant, in a conference call that started at 1.30am in Dubai on Wednesday, said its quarterly revenue and net income were at $75.9 billion and $18.4 billion, respectively - both new highs - up 1.74 per cent and 2.22 per cent from the year-ago period.
However, iPhone shipments were a drag. The company posted its slowest quarter-on-quarter growth for the devices, with sales inching up only 0.4 per cent to 74.8 million from 74.5 million a year ago. This missed analyst forecasts.
The company also forecast its first revenue decline in 13 years - between $50 billion to $53 billion - for the second quarter. Gross margin was pegged at 39 per cent to 39.5 per cent.
Apple did point out, however, that it now has an active installation base of one billion - a considerably huge number that gives an idea how many of its devices are being used, including apps and services.
Apple shares, which have dropped five per cent so far in 2016, sank in opening trade on Wednesday. About 15 minutes into trade, shares of the consumer technology giant were down five per cent to $94.96.
iPad sales were at 16.1 million compared to 21.4 million a year ago and 26 million two years back, showing a trend of steady decline based on a year-by-year, quarter-to-quarter overview.
Macs sold were at 5.31 million, the lowest since the fiscal fourth quarter of 2014. It was 5.52 million a year ago.
Revenue for Apple's other products soared 63 per cent, thanks to record sales of the Apple TV - best quarter "by far" - and the "especially strong" Apple Watch. The company did not, however, provide specific figures.
Cook defiant
During the conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook seemed to brush off the less-than-stellar results, calling the company's performance the "biggest quarter ever" resulting in "strongest results ever" and iPhone sales "incredible".
The fluctuations in currencies everywhere were a major factor influencing the results. Cook pointed out that the impact of currency volatility to Apple is akin to the size of a Fortune 500 company.
Apple also said that if not for these wild swings, its revenue gain would have easily been at around eight per cent.
Despite this, Cook stressed that Apple is very confident and "very strong".
In interesting tidbits, Cook pointed out that the iPhone 5s is still doing well, while about 60 per cent of iPhone users don't have either an iPhone 6 or 6s - meaning there is room for more growth. In Greater China revenue was at $18.37 billion, up 14 per cent from a year ago. Revenue in the Americas was down four per cent; Europe and the rest of Asia crept up four per cent, while Japan dived 12 per cent.
Furthermore on China - a market that is critical for Apple - Cook said that the company is "crafting products and services" for the Asian powerhouse. He was also optimistic on the Indian market.
"Our record sales and strong margins drove all-time records for net income and EPS in spite of a very difficult macroeconomic environment," Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri said in a statement.
"We generated operating cash flow of $27.5 billion during the quarter, and returned over $9 billion to investors through share repurchases and dividends. We have now completed $153 billion of our $200 billion capital return programme."
Apple's board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.52 per share of the company's common stock, payable on February 11.
Despite rough economic circumstances, Cook said that Apple will continue investing "without pause". As for the scepticism in certain markets, the CEO said that "this too, shall pass".
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com

Mohammed Arif