For anyone who knows the pain of having to look for a public notary, you may be interested in the new Notarize app that just hit the App Store today. Users can actually get documents legally notarized conveniently from the iPhone. Here’s how it works:
Apple has already taken over its homepage, produced video advertisements, and injected promotions into iOS to digitally promote its new Apple Music service. Now, the company is expanding its billboard promotion strategy, which has been mostly reserved in recent years for new iPhones and iPads, to include Apple Music. Several 9to5Mac readers and social media users have spotted posters and billboards for Apple Music across San Francisco, subway stations in Japan, London, Canada, and Los Angeles…
More than a few people in and around Springfield, Virginia have not been receiving their Apple orders over the last six months as wusa9 reports police have arrested a 31-year-old UPS sorter for stealing over 60 iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks:
Stephen A. Owens, a UPS sorter, was reportedly taking unopened Apple products, stuffing them into his pants or otherwise concealing them and then selling them at bargain prices, officials say.
“Thefts were reportedly taking place in batches since September 2012, and included such items as Macbooks, iPhones, iPods and iPads all being shipped directly from Apple to new customers. UPS became suspicious when customers started calling to inquire or complain that they had not received their products,” according to a news release from the Fairfax County Police Department.
Police say the 6-month investigation found the sorter was taking the Apple products directly from unopened packages at UPS and selling the devices at discounted prices online throughout D.C, Maryland and Northern Virginia.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Arlington, Va.-based CACI International Inc., is working with Apple to secure thousands of iPads for use in U.S. government agencies. CACI Chief Executive Officer Dan Allen referred to the modified devices as “neutered iPads” and hinted the company is working to implement security features related to wireless connectivity and the camera. CACI specializes in providing IT solutions to government, although it didn’t state how exactly the iPads are being secured, but it did note that it’s a hardware solution and not software:
“It’s a neutered iPad,” Allen said today during a meeting with Bloomberg Government reporters and editors. “We’re working on how do we effectively brand it.”
The move comes as iPad and other iOS devices continue to be adopted by government agencies. In October, documents revealed the U.S. Department of Defense planned to deploy at least 162,500 devices partially made up of iOS devices, while a number of other U.S. agencies also switched from BlackBerry to iPhones over the last year.
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The Marion Police Department in Virginia have decided to encourage residents to report crime by releasing a new app called “iWatch Marion“. The app is available for free on the App Store and provides citizens with an easy way to report potential crimes by uploading tips, photos, and video. Content uploaded by users is forwarded directly to the police department closest to the location the tip was sent from:
Because iWatch Marion uses global positioning technology, the system intelligently forwards information to the Howard County Police Department based on where the handheld device is physically located at any given moment.
The app will also allow users to receive alerts for missing children, crime, weather, and more. I’m not sure if major cities will jump on the idea of encouraging citizens to get involved in crimes in progress, but it’s something that more and more smaller towns are starting to take advantage of.
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Late last week, Verizon introduced a new 300MB data plan for $20/month for the carrier’s mid-Atlantic region. This covers Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and North Carolina. This special data plan tier is available in a limited test run from August 18th until September 30th. The idea for the plan, according to Verizon regional president Mike Maiorana is to welcome users from non-smartphones:
This is a great introductory plan for customers who have been contemplating moving from a basic phone to a smartphone but were hesitant because of cost, said Mike Maiorana, regional president in Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia. The $20 monthly access promotional plan is an opportunity for customers to learn the many benefits of having a smartphone with email and calendar functions, as well as Internet access and apps, at their fingertips
According to our sources, though, Verizon’s reasoning for the plan is not that simple. The company is actually going right after AT&T’s $15 data plan that provides users with 200MB of data usage per month. Verizon Wireless figures that an extra 100MB for only $5 is the more enticing deal. The plan also doubles as an easier route for parents to set young children up with a phone line on their Verizon plan. Because of this, Verizon Wireless currently plans to make this data plan a permanent and nationwide option by this holiday season. This could change at anytime, though, depending on response to the test-run.
VZ’s current plans