Casinos on lookout for iPhone card-counting app
We've all seen the movies where the hot-shot gambler slips up and finds himself hustled off to a back room where a genial but brutal casino manager calmly breaks a few fingers while issuing a stern warning never to come back. Films like The Cooler, 21, Rounders, Casino and many others have made this kind of scene, even if it's not always about card counting, a staple of our imagination.Yet card counting--a complex practice that gives practitioners a way to determine the optimal times to bet in blackjack--prevails to this day. And it's not even illegal, though being caught at it is sure to lead to a hasty expulsion from a casino, at best, or even the kind of back-room visit discussed above. What is definitely illegal, however, is the employment of any kind of electronic device that aids players in counting cards.And that's where "A Blackjack Card Counter," and perhaps a few other iPhone apps come into play.Earlier this month, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, itself tipped off by the California Bureau of Gambling Control, issued an alert to "all non-restricted licensees and interested parties"--the state's casinos--warning of the emergence of iPhone card counting apps. "This blackjack card-counting program can be utilized on either the Apple iPhone or the Apple iPod Touch...Once this program is installed on the phone through the iTunes Web site it can make counting cards easy," Nevada Gaming Control Board member Randall Sayre wrote in the alert. "This program can be used in the 'stealth mode.' When the program is used in the 'stealth mode' the screen of the phone will remain shut off, and as long as the user knows where the keys are located, the program can be run effortlessly without detection."And, as Sayre pointed out, "use of this type of program or possession of a device with this type of program on it--with the intent to use it--in a licensed gaming establishment, is a violation" of the law.For its part, the makers of "A Blackjack Card Counter," an Australian outfit called Webtopia, couldn't be happier about the attention being paid to its app as a result of its potentially illegal nature."Since the Nevada Gaming Control Board warned casinos about 'A Blackjack Card Counter' there's been an unprecedented demand for this app," Webtopia wrote in the tool's official App Store description. "Now you can see what all the fuss (is) about at a very reasonable price."According to Webtopia, the app "allows any blackjack player, professional or amateur, to keep track of their blackjack card count." Among the features it offers are a "count vibrate," which vibrates the iPhone or iPod touch "when the true count reaches the value you specify...This is particularly useful when using stealth mode."Webtopia also cautions users of the app that, "This card counter is great for learning to count cards or for playing blackjack with your friends. While counting cards is deemed legal, electronic card counting devices are illegal in many casinos. Therefore I would not recommend using this app in a casino as you could get into a lot of trouble."And in an interview, Webtopia's Travis Yates, a 35-year-old developer in Cairns, Australia, said that the stealth features of the app--which allow players to surreptitiously hit buttons updating the count on the iPhone while its screen appears black--came as a result of feedback on earlier versions of the app."It's the features people were asking for," Yates said. "The was very simple at the start. It's my understanding that the app isn't illegal, so I thought, 'Why not?'"Yates also said that since the Nevada Gaming Control Board put out its alert, sales of the app have risen to around 500 a day, after lingering at 10 or so a day previously.Apple did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.In a story in the Las Vegas Review Journal, Howard Stutz wrote that the Gaming Control Board leaves it up to individual casinos to decide their own policies regarding the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices. But he added in the story that, "After iPhones came on the market in 2007, Harrah's Entertainment halted their use at the World Series of Poker." 'Card Counting Practice,' from Bacon Bear Productions, is another card-counting app for the iPhone. It offers a disclaimer that, 'This app is for entertainment purposes only. Counting in casinos may be hazardous to your health.'Bacon Bear ProductionsIn an interview, Stutz said, "It's actually unusual that a (Nevada Gaming Control Board) memo went out. It's kind of interesting that they were forthcoming about this."To Sayre, of the Gaming Control Board, it would indeed be abnormal to issue a public statement about new cheating technology."But this technology is available and can be utilized for appropriate as well as criminal conduct," Sayre said in an interview, "and because (mobile) phones are of such prevalent use in all walks of society, because this phone can be used in this capacity, I thought that it was appropriate to notify the entire industry that this capability was available."Sayre added that the application can be used legitimately--outside any Nevada casino--to help people learn advanced blackjack techniques.While "A Blackjack Card Counter" might be the only iPhone app specifically called out by the Gaming Control Board, it is by no means the only app that purports to at least teach card counting techniques. Others currently available on the App Store include Card Counter and Card Counting Practice, the latter of which warns, "This app is for entertainment purposes only. Counting in casinos may be hazardous to your health."Of course, to some people, the dangers of being caught using apps like this to count cards might even be worse than having a Vegas tough guy break some fingers. They might decide to take away your iPhone.
Reader poll- What's the best free online backup solution-
Reader poll: What's the best free online backup solution?
A couple weeks ago I asked you to name the best free backup program for Windows.And, boy, what a response! Hundreds of people chimed in with dozens of great suggestions, ranging from Windows 7's built-in backup utility to folder-syncing backup hacks like SyncToy.Today, let's talk online backups. I'm a big believer in the diversified backup plan, one that combines local and cloud-based solutions. The reasons should be obvious: an external hard drive can be stolen, destroyed in a fire, or even wrecked by malware. That's less of a crisis if your data also lives online.Services like Carbonite and Mozy give you unlimited and 50GB of storage, respectively, for around $6 per month--not a bad deal given that they're highly automated, uploading and updating designated files and folders in the background.Still, nothing beats free, which is why I've tapped a variety of services to cover my backup needs.For starters, MozyHome Free offers 2GB of that sweet, sweet automated backup, which is great for small but critical documents: Word and Excel files, Quicken records, maybe even an Outlook PST file. Just set it and forget it.You can accomplish something similar with free accounts from Dropbox and SugarSync, both of which will automatically sync selected files and folders to their servers (and, conveniently, other PCs and devices). Dropbox gives you 2GB; SugarSync, 5GB.What about backing up big libraries of photos and music? Microsoft's Windows Live SkyDrive offers 25GB of storage at no charge. Alas, there's no easy way to sync files and folders to the service; you have to add them manually, which is OK for one-time uploads, but a hassle for adding new stuff.Same goes for Box, which recently offered Android users 50GB of free cloud storage (which is also accessible from your desktop). There's no sync option (not for free, anyway), so it's not ideal for all kinds of backups.Personally, I'm using Google Music to back up my music library. For zero dollars I get space for 20,000 songs, and Google's Music Manager utility automatically syncs from folders, iTunes, and/or Windows Media Player. Likewise, Google's Picasa photo editor for Windows can sync my photos to Picasa Web--but here the free space is limited to 1GB. For a paltry $5 per year, Google bumps it to 20GB.That's just a smattering of the free online-backup options currently available. Know of any other good ones? Hit the comments and share your suggestions for low- and no-cost backup.
A couple weeks ago I asked you to name the best free backup program for Windows.And, boy, what a response! Hundreds of people chimed in with dozens of great suggestions, ranging from Windows 7's built-in backup utility to folder-syncing backup hacks like SyncToy.Today, let's talk online backups. I'm a big believer in the diversified backup plan, one that combines local and cloud-based solutions. The reasons should be obvious: an external hard drive can be stolen, destroyed in a fire, or even wrecked by malware. That's less of a crisis if your data also lives online.Services like Carbonite and Mozy give you unlimited and 50GB of storage, respectively, for around $6 per month--not a bad deal given that they're highly automated, uploading and updating designated files and folders in the background.Still, nothing beats free, which is why I've tapped a variety of services to cover my backup needs.For starters, MozyHome Free offers 2GB of that sweet, sweet automated backup, which is great for small but critical documents: Word and Excel files, Quicken records, maybe even an Outlook PST file. Just set it and forget it.You can accomplish something similar with free accounts from Dropbox and SugarSync, both of which will automatically sync selected files and folders to their servers (and, conveniently, other PCs and devices). Dropbox gives you 2GB; SugarSync, 5GB.What about backing up big libraries of photos and music? Microsoft's Windows Live SkyDrive offers 25GB of storage at no charge. Alas, there's no easy way to sync files and folders to the service; you have to add them manually, which is OK for one-time uploads, but a hassle for adding new stuff.Same goes for Box, which recently offered Android users 50GB of free cloud storage (which is also accessible from your desktop). There's no sync option (not for free, anyway), so it's not ideal for all kinds of backups.Personally, I'm using Google Music to back up my music library. For zero dollars I get space for 20,000 songs, and Google's Music Manager utility automatically syncs from folders, iTunes, and/or Windows Media Player. Likewise, Google's Picasa photo editor for Windows can sync my photos to Picasa Web--but here the free space is limited to 1GB. For a paltry $5 per year, Google bumps it to 20GB.That's just a smattering of the free online-backup options currently available. Know of any other good ones? Hit the comments and share your suggestions for low- and no-cost backup.
Exclusive hands-on- Get the full version of Hulu on your iPhone (or iPad) with PlayOn
Exclusive hands-on: Get the full version of Hulu on your iPhone (or iPad) with PlayOn
The new iPhone app works much the same way, streaming the content from Hulu and other sources from a base PC on your network to your iPhone. Simply download and install the PlayOn software on a laptop or desktop (there's a two-week free trial), and have it run in the background. Once you install the PlayOn app on your iPhone, it will see the PC and connect, then let you choose from a variety of media sources. Navigation within the app is as clunky as it is on the Xbox 360 or PS3, and Hulu especially requires a lot of scrolling to find a specific program. A good workaround is to sign in to your Hulu account (there's a tab to enter your log-in info on the PlayOn server app on your PC), then add shows to your personal Hulu queue, which is easy to get to on the iPhone app. Even though this is an iPhone-only app, we managed to get it installed and working on an iPad as well. Image quality was fine on the smaller iPhone screen; blown up for the iPad it was clearly low-res, but still watchable. [Update: a PlayOn rep says the company is working on adding support for higher iPad-resolution streams in the very near future.]Watching "Justified" on Hulu via the PlayOn iPhone app.Hulu is the main attraction here, especially if paying $20 or so per year sounds preferable to the $10 per month Hulu Plus plans to charge. Many of the other channels built into the software, such as Netflix and Pandora, are already duplicated by native iPhone/iPad apps, but some are unique, including Comedy Central, CBS, and PBS (these are all essentially repackaged versions of what these broadcasters offer on their respective Web sites). Though the PlayOn iPhone app largely works as advertised, the prerelease version we tested did crash occasionally, and it required a very robust Wi-Fi connection. If one has a properly configured UPnP router, it's possible to stream the content to your iPhone remotely, without having to be on the same Wi-Fi network (but we haven't been able to get that set up properly yet). One major shortcoming is the lack of transport controls while watching a video. The onscreen controls are limited to volume, pausing, and rewinding to the start of the episode (as the PlayOn software on your PC is transcoding as it streams, so media player shuttle controls probably wouldn't work--and in fact, fast-forwarding and rewinding even on the Xbox 360 or PS3 with PlayOn is iffy). PlayOn for the iPhone hits the iTunes App Store on July 15, and is free to download, but keep in mind that it requires the sold-separately PlayOn media server software.
The new iPhone app works much the same way, streaming the content from Hulu and other sources from a base PC on your network to your iPhone. Simply download and install the PlayOn software on a laptop or desktop (there's a two-week free trial), and have it run in the background. Once you install the PlayOn app on your iPhone, it will see the PC and connect, then let you choose from a variety of media sources. Navigation within the app is as clunky as it is on the Xbox 360 or PS3, and Hulu especially requires a lot of scrolling to find a specific program. A good workaround is to sign in to your Hulu account (there's a tab to enter your log-in info on the PlayOn server app on your PC), then add shows to your personal Hulu queue, which is easy to get to on the iPhone app. Even though this is an iPhone-only app, we managed to get it installed and working on an iPad as well. Image quality was fine on the smaller iPhone screen; blown up for the iPad it was clearly low-res, but still watchable. [Update: a PlayOn rep says the company is working on adding support for higher iPad-resolution streams in the very near future.]Watching "Justified" on Hulu via the PlayOn iPhone app.Hulu is the main attraction here, especially if paying $20 or so per year sounds preferable to the $10 per month Hulu Plus plans to charge. Many of the other channels built into the software, such as Netflix and Pandora, are already duplicated by native iPhone/iPad apps, but some are unique, including Comedy Central, CBS, and PBS (these are all essentially repackaged versions of what these broadcasters offer on their respective Web sites). Though the PlayOn iPhone app largely works as advertised, the prerelease version we tested did crash occasionally, and it required a very robust Wi-Fi connection. If one has a properly configured UPnP router, it's possible to stream the content to your iPhone remotely, without having to be on the same Wi-Fi network (but we haven't been able to get that set up properly yet). One major shortcoming is the lack of transport controls while watching a video. The onscreen controls are limited to volume, pausing, and rewinding to the start of the episode (as the PlayOn software on your PC is transcoding as it streams, so media player shuttle controls probably wouldn't work--and in fact, fast-forwarding and rewinding even on the Xbox 360 or PS3 with PlayOn is iffy). PlayOn for the iPhone hits the iTunes App Store on July 15, and is free to download, but keep in mind that it requires the sold-separately PlayOn media server software.
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