Mix chemicals in a virtual beaker, heat, cool and watch the chemical reactions happen (safely!) on your phone with the aptly named Beaker. Catch up with historical events each day with Historico – Today in History. Plus, a warning from Me2B about school apps.
Beaker
By THIX
Beaker turns your phone into a simulated chemical beaker in which you can mix chemicals, heat them, cool them, or add a match and then see the reactions. It is a little confusing at first, as it doesn’t have a picture of a beaker, your phone becomes the beaker. For example, add water and it will slosh around at the bottom of the screen. Add some potassium (K) to that, and it will burn and rattle around as you shake the device. You can then tip your phone to pour out the virtual contents. You can pull in heating and cooling elements onto the screen, or add a filter or lid to the top. A helpful meter can also be pulled in that tells you exactly what is in your beaker along with its weight and temperature. It is a clever and remarkable app although there is a downside. There is virtually no guidance within the app, it is purely a simulation, but there are some mixtures to try listed on the App Store description. However, those willing to do a little searching on the web can find plenty of experiments to try safely and with no mess. Beaker is available for a single low price and all in-app purchases have recently been made free.
Historico – Today in History.
By Mate Papp
Historico lists historical events, births, deaths, and observances that have happened on this day in the past. You can tap on an event and get more details on the things mentioned in the event. Most of the information is taken from Wikipedia, with all of the associated caveats of using Wikipedia. You aren’t limited to the current date, but can choose any from a calendar. The app is pure text, there are no images included, but it is remarkably well-designed for iPhones, functions smoothly and includes widgets. It is an app I intend to keep on my own personal phone.
Me2B Alliance Finds School Apps Sharing Data with Third Parties
Me2B examined the network data flowing out of a random sample of 73 school apps (apps that are designed for a specific school or school district) and found that 60% of them were sending data to third parties (such as Google, Facebook, analytics and advertising networks). Naturally, this raises alarm bells.
Third parties offer software to help analyze how people are using apps, or to generate advertising revenue, and these are often integrated into apps. The issue, of course, is that the third party is also collecting data from the device the school app is installed on, and these apps can ask for a lot of permissions (contacts, photos, location, etc.).
Be sure to check the privacy label for an app on the store (if there is one) and be careful which permissions you allow.
Direct Link to the report:
