Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 | TechNews Office of Technology Services announces technology improvements for new school year IIT Office of Technology Services The Oflice of Technology Services (OTS) has been hard at work over the summer break to make your academic experience at IIT even better during the 2014-2015 school year. Improvements span the technological gamut from laptops to apps, to enhance your learning experience. Starting this semester, students can borrow a laptop for up to four hours for use on campus by going to the Galvin Library Circulation Desk Use of the laptops is no longer limited to the library confines. Each of the 25 available laptops will have the same software on them as you would find in the computer labs. Laptop circulation hours will coincide with the library’s hours. I In addition to new printing release stations in the Galvin Library, Perlstein Hall and, when it opens, the atrium of Engineering 1 (E1), mobile printing is now available. On the Main and Rice campuses, students can print directly from their phones and tablets. OTS is offering students MobilePrint, which is tied to the existing university printing system and utilizes your available printing credits. MobilePrint allows students to submit print jobs as email attachments or as direct document uploads using web release. These documents can then be printed through web release or existing release stations all over campus. Detailed information on how to use MobilePrint can be found by going to http://www.iit.edu/ots/ pdfs/pharos_mobileprint_user_guide.pdf. The Blackboard Mobile Learn App is now free for IIT students. In the past, while students could get the app itself for free, there was a charge involved with accessing the particular Blackboard material applicable to IIT classrooms. Starting this semester, students can connect to Blackboard and all of its resources on any mobile device without cost. Another improvement involves wireless in E1, which has been upgraded to the Main Campus standard of IIT—Secure. This upgrade ensures that students will be - connected to the internet on the secure network utilized by the rest of the campus. The Fall 2014 semester also brings additional classrooms to campus. In both Hermann Hall and the 14th Floor of the IIT Tower, students will see new classrooms complete with top-notch audio- visual equipment, expanding the learning environment. Ophir Trigalo, Vice Provost and Chief Information Officer, commented, “I’m pleased to share these technological improvements with the student community. OTS is here to make students’ lives easier and serve as a conduit to the most rewarding academic experience our campus has to offer.” Tech[nology]News: OnePlus One device review Kyle Stanevich BUSINESS MANAGER The OnePlus One phone has certainly lived up to its motto, “Never Settle.” Everything a modern smartphone could have, the OnePlus One also has, while still not breaking the bank. With the 64 GB model at $350 and the 16 GB model at $300, they are about half the price of similar smartphones. Like most smartphones, the OnePlus One comes with an amazing camera. The 13—megapixel back camera can take some' mind—blowing photos. On top of that, the stock camera app includes a whole series of active filters allowing the user to View the final image before actually‘taking the photo. Plus, there are hundreds of post—effects that can be applied, turning a simple camera app into a light version of Photoshop. 4K and slow motion video (at a lower resolution) can also be recorded from the back camera, as well as standard 1080p and every other mobile resolution. The front 5 megapixel camera is also nothing to laugh at, including a wide lens to easily capture a selfie and some background. What would a great camera be without an HD screen to view them on? Luckily the OnePlus One has a full 1080p screen at 5.5 inches. With the top notification bar doubling as a brightness slider, the screen can be dimmed to conserve battery or on full power to read > comfortably in sunlight. Additionally, there is an option to pick whether or not the navigation buttons are displayed on screen; otherwise, the hardware navigation buttons are used. Turn off the screen, and it can still be used. A circle drawn on the screen while off will start the camera, a ‘V’ will start the flashlight, 2 vertical fingers for play and pause, and a double tap to turn the screen on. These features are nice, but sometimes preform a bit buggy, like the flashlight turning on while in a pocket, or music randomly starting. Updates have fixed the majority of these bugs, but there are still a few things to be fixed. Unfortunately, there is no support for a SD card on the OnePlus One. However, it does support USB flash drives that have a micro USB plug or adapter. With normal usage, the 64 GB of internal storage should be big enough, unless 4K video is being recorded constantly. Another downside is that the Verizon and Sprint networks are not supported. These networks require that their phones are loaded with a bunch of unneeded software, and that the security measures on the phone are very strong. OnePlus wants the phone to be unlocked and open to the programming community, therefore no Verizon of Sprint support. It will however work with AT&T and T-Mobile, and all the corresponding pay-per-month plans. Everything about the phone is smooth. With a large battery and powerful processor, there is no app that the phone cannot handle. Games play without stuttering, and without the phone heating up too much. Even watching 1080p movies works like a charm. And after all that, the phone has enough battery to make it easily through the day. The OnePlus One is a great phone. The claim that it is the 2014 Flagship Killer is right on, especially at its price point. If you are lucky enough to get an invite, toss your current phone in the garbage and take the upgrade. Image courtesy of http://oneplus.net ., {301.015 N Mir;