Posted: 13 Aug 2013 08:01 AM PDT

Recently we have been reading reports of smartphone accidents involving electric shocks, explosions and self-combusting devices. We’d like to think that these are isolated cases but when you start to pay attention, exploding smartphones aren’t so rare that you can’t find more than a handful of extreme and bizarre gadget accidents.

(Image Source: gizmodo)

Numerous cases of smartphones exploding, imploding, turning red, bursting into flame and causing grevious harm to users have plagued smartphone users for years. However, to be fair, not all of them are caused by faulty hardware.

In this article, we will be highlighting a few of the more prominent cases and dig into the (possible) causes behind these traumatic experiences. It would at the very least put some of us at ease particularly when we are carrying the same model as the victims of some of these devices.

Recommended Reading: 5 Smartphone Cases To Survive (Almost) Any Drop

Shocking Phones

Wu Jiantong (Beijing, July 8 2013) was found spasming on the floor of his home by his sister who heard him shout for help. She succeeded in pulling the charger from the power source but by then her brother was no longer responding. When paramedics arrived, they had to pry the iPhone 4 from his left hand. He has since been in a ten-day coma in hospital (as of July 19).

(Image Source: iamunplugged)

Reports were alluding to the victim’s use of a counterfeit (knockoff) charger as the cause to the electric shock.

Ma Ailun (Xinjiang, July 12 2013), a 23-year-old flight attendant received an electric shock on her iPhone 5 as she took a call on it while it was still charging. Other reports included the fact that she had just gotten out of the bath. Her family members have since warned other users not to take calls on a charging phone.

(Image Source: interferencetechnology)

Subsequent investigations have found that the model is an iPhone 4 and although the family claimed that the charger was original, the charger plugged into Ma’s phone during the incident may be a knock off.

Burning Batteries

In some cases of burning smartphones, the phone doesn’t even have to be plugged into a power source.

March 2012

A schoolboy in Gwangju, South Korea suffered burns to his fingers and butt when the spare battery to his Galaxy S2 exploded in his back pocket.

The phone itself was with school authorities as the devices were not allowed in class.

Amazon
(Image Source: chosunmedia)

July 2012

A hacker attending Defcon found his pants on fire when his phone battery burned up.

The battery was of a Droid Bionic smartphone but was not attached to the phone when it burned up. If it wasn’t for his hotel card key taking the brunt of the burn, he would suffer more than just a burnt pocket.

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(Image Source: cnet)

Feb 2013

The battery was not even inside the Samsung Galaxy Note when it burst into flames in a 55-year-old man’s pants pocket.

He suffered second-degree burns and a one-inch wound on his thigh. The battery was from a 2011 Galaxy Note. Samsung did not launch an investigation into this case.

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(Image Source: androidcentral)

March 2013

The owner of a Nexus S woke up to a burning phone that was left charging near her bed. The flames were a foot high but were otherwise put out quickly by the woman.

The burning battery was not an original, but made by a third-party battery maker, Anker. Anker had launched an investigation into the incident but we can’t find any release of a report online yet.

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(Image Source: imgur)

July 2013

The owner to this Samsung Galaxy S3 suffered substantial injuries to her right thigh when her phone combusted at work. The phone itself was charred.

Officials later found that the battery was not an original or obtained from an authorized dealer, and yet it bore a Samsung logo. Are you sure your smartphone battery is original?

Amazon
(Image Source: brimtime)

Flying Hazard

More on batteries, this time while it is in the air.

Crew on board a Regional Express plane heading for Sydney on Nov 25 2011 had to use a fire extinguisher on a passenger’s iPhone 4 which was emitting not only dense smoke but also a red glow! No one was hurt from the incident. Four months later, the Australian Travel Safety Bureau released its report on the issue identifying the cause as a battery screw which had come loose (circled in red) and had punctured the lithium battery casing (in yellow).

(Image Source: imore.com)

An internal short circuit resulted from the puncture, causing ‘heating and thermal runaway‘. The battery screw was suspected to have been misplaced when the phone was sent to ‘unauthorized service providers’ for repairs. However, lithium-ion batteries have been known to combust due to other factors.

Heat Problem

Less than a year before the iPhone 4 incident, a cargo plane carrying tens of thousands of lithium batteries ‘of various designs’ crashed into the desert outside of Dubai (September 2010).

Investigations into the incident reported a possible chemical reaction in the batteries as well as exposure to excessive heat, resulting in thermal runaway. The batteries bundled together, burned up, filling the cockpit with smoke, leading to the Boeing 747-400F crashing. There were no survivors.

Thermal Runaway

This image shows an example of a lithium-ion battery (from a Boeing 787) that suffered from thermal runaway. Check out Boeing 787 Dreamliner Battery Problems for the full story. (Let’s just say you know it is bad when there is a Wikipedia page dedicated to it.)

(Image source: ntsb.gov)

User Error/Misuse

It’s not always the hardware’s fault, be it the original manufacturer’s or third-party. In fact, in many cases, the injuries could well have been avoided by the phone owners themseves.

Ear-Splitting Experience

Back in December 2010, a Motorola Droid 2 owner claimed that his phone exploded and cut his ears, giving him 4 stitches. He had to be hospitalized but fortunately suffered no loss of hearing. An image of the phone showed a cracked screen and some blood splatter near the receiver’s end.

(Image Source: fonearena.com)

Later on, news reported that he simply dropped the phone which cracked the glass, and the owner had sustained the injuries because he continued using the phone, cutting his own ear from glass that jutted out of the cracks. As for the alleged explosion, well, the phone was found by Motorola to still work, and showing no signs of damage which could be caused by an explosion. Go figure.

Things Are ‘Heated’ Up!

A student in Ireland posted in a public forum, pictures of his Samsung Galaxy S3 which supposedly overheated, sparked and combusted in his car. The heat welded the case to his phone and the shaken user was glad that the incident had not happened while the phone was on his bed, next to his leg or his face.

(Image Source: sammobile.com)

After the investigation, the phone was found to have received the damage depicted in the pictures from an external source (i.e. no, it did not explode). Someone tried to microwave the device after it was dropped in water, you know, to get to the water inside the phone. The student has since fessed up to the same board calling it a "stupid mistake".

Triggering The Battery

Here’s a brief one since it happened back in May 2010. Guy buys Samsung Rogue phone. Guy drops his phone below his car seat. Guy can’t reach the phone with his fingers, moves his seat and bam! The phone explodes and he gets screen in his face and eye.

(Image Source: gizmodo)

The good news is he walked away from the explosion from minor injuries. The bad news is he killed his phone, by crushing his phone battery with the car seat. Ouch!

An Ever Present Danger

Have you come across the message that tells you to not use your laptop on your bed? The advice should extend to phones as well. And it doesn’t matter what phone you are using, be it an iPhone 4, a Blackberry or a Samsung Galaxy S3 etc.

(Image Source: techinasia)

The gist of those three stories is that the user left their phones on the bed and for reasons unclear, the phones exploded and burned through the material they were sleeping on and caused injuries to the owners. And yet, none of them had it as bad as Du.

Du (Hong Kong, July 31 2013) claimed that he was playing a game on his Samsung Galaxy S4 while it was being charged when it suddenly burst into flames. He threw the phone onto a couch which fueled the flames that spread to the curtains and to the rest of his apartment. All of it. Firefighters took 30 minutes to put out the flames, but by them all he had were ashes.

(Image Source: au.ibtimes.com)

Du and his wife suffered no major injuries and insist that all accessories of the phone, including the battery were original. Samsung’s Hong Kong branch is set to investigate the incident to determine the cause of the smartphone explosion.

Stay Safe

This list is not exhaustive but there is no reason for alarm if you see your smartphone model listed in the above. For all we know the actual number of cases may be a lot higher as not everyone would like to share their exploded phone with the rest of the Web.

However, these cases do serve as a reminder as to what could happen if we do not treat our smartphones (and their batteries) in the right manner. While manufacturers apply a lot of safety features to make these phones as safe to use as possible, sometimes we can lend a hand in keeping these devices, and ourselves safe. Where possible:

Do not let your phone or its battery be subjected to extreme heat e.g. leaving it in a parked car that is under the hot Sun. Don’t microwave it either.
Don’t overwork your device. If it heats up, allow for it to cool down before continuing to use it.
For your own safety, leave the phone charging far away from where you sleep and not charging overnight.
Don’t use knock-offs (batteries, chargers etc). Accessories that are not authorized by the smartphone manufacturer for use with their smartphones could cause harm to your phone or to you. (The rule of thumb is, if you won’t let your loved ones use it, don’t use it yourself.)
Do not mix water with electronics. Just don’t.
Feel free to add your own advice or cautionary tale in the comments section. Your advice may be able to save someone from a smartphone-related accident.

Working Timezones

“My clients are always in completely different timezones, how do I manage this?”

As is the nature of the freelancing game, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with employers from all corners of the globe. This of course means that you’ll get fantastic experiences, dealing with new clients and a whole range of culture sets different to that of your own.

However it also means that to do so, you’re going to have to deal with clients across various timezones completely estranged from your own. The way most freelancers handle this is with common sense planning.

A Compromise

There’s no point getting up at 3 a.m. to discuss a project with a client, you and the client must discuss the project at a time which falls somewhere accessible by both of you. If it’s 8 a.m. your time, and 5 p.m. the client’s time, then this is still a workable time frame. A mutual compromise on timezone management is the best way to get things done in this scenario.

However if this all just seems too hard for you, focusing your marketing efforts on a handful of timezones that fall around yours can also work. By servicing a distinct array of countries which form the majority of your client base, this is not only more comfortable for you, but helpful due to the familiarity your clients are likely to have with your portfolio of previous work.

I recommend this option if you feel you need to get your feet wet, or want to build a strong semi-local client base.

Different Currencies

“I’m constantly dealing with multiple currencies and I find it challenging.”

As you’re going to be dealing with multiple locales, you might expect that you may have to deal with multiple currencies, right? Not necessarily. In the freelancing world, the U.S dollar is widely accepted as a transaction constant for many clients, and is something you can utilize to your advantage depending on which location you’re based.

However keep a close eye on currency rates, because there’s significant financially instability across many nations at the moment, and you need to look at what the USD actually converts to in your local currency. Sometimes you may see a variance of up to 10%, which on larger projects can really hurt your bottom line.

Make It Clear

To counter this, I’ve seen contracts that take a couple of different approaches. Firstly you simply define that you only deal in your local currency, and provide a local representation of what the value of the project will be in both the clients local currency and in USD.

Secondly, I’ve seen conditional contracts being sent in that will offer a choice of currency based on the closest value to a given USD amount, or local amount. These options are both becoming more common as we see more instances of payment uncertainty amongst freelancers.

Financial Management 101

“I’ve got a large incoming cash flow (at the moment). Let’s go spend it.”

Freelancing, like small businesses, operates in waves of ups and downs. Sometimes it rains dollars, other times you will be lucky to get a drop. But in the event that you are cashed up, don’t head straight to the shops and buy that fancy watch or piece of jewelry… at least not initially.

Most seasoned freelancers will advise that it’s a good idea (see: rule) to keep some backup cash in an account to manage the drier periods. The first chance you get to do this, you should take it up. Even if it’s only a few thousand dollars, this can really last you for a long time when nothing else is coming in. And to be perfectly honest, almost all freelancers experience this at some time, no matter how long they have been in the business.

Watch The Cash Flow

By ensuring you keep a watchful eye on your incoming cash flow, and don’t get tempted to spend your windfalls each time they come in, you’re going to be much better off. That’s not to say you should never spend them, but I recommend only doing so a few times a year so that you’re sure you have that backup in place to protect your well-being.

The unfortunate reality of fancy watches or jewelry is that they look great, feel great, and should be something you strive to reward yourself with (if that’s your vice), but they don’t buy groceries. So play it sensible, try to put it in income-generating investments (including yourself), and you’ll be OK.

Manning the Counter

"I love being my own boss, but it can be tiring."

Being your own boss is for many freelancers one of the most compelling reasons they make the switch to freelancing. However it can be tiring, it can take you away from your specialization (which is in many cases why your pursued freelancing in the first place), and it will force you to make tough decisions for your business.

If you’re a person who is detail oriented, this is a great thing. However it can also be a major downside if you don’t use that strength to your advantage. For example, if you’re someone who places a great deal of pride in delivering the client a top-notch result, that’s fantastic. However if you’re a person who can’t deliver this without running yourself into the ground and achieving it without making a profit, then this is problematic.

Jack/Jill of All Trades

As a freelancer, you need to be able to deliver top-notch work, manage financials, marketing and client interaction, and you need to do this efficiently. The best way to become a great freelance boss is to take a good hard look at your strengths, your business, and what you can achieve in the available time you have.

Because you’ve most likely got commitments with friends, family, you have to be realistic that freelancing isn’t necessarily a job for one person. Connect with your professional network, outsource a bookkeeper, subcontract freelancers so you can bid on larger projects, hire a freelancer with marketing skills on a semi-regular basis, and free up your time to focus on delivering great client work.

It may take some time to get the balance right, but by doing so, you’ll avoid burnout, and deliver better service for your clients.

I’ve lost my work-life balance

It’s very commonplace that freelancers will isolate themselves, work too hard and forget to keep a balance in their lives. If this is you, don’t worry, you just have to be actively aware you’re doing this, and take a couple of simple steps to fix the issue.

For example, if you work from home, have a change of scenery by working in a coworking space, public library, or even a suitable coffee shop to change things up. If you’re most likely going to be mobile, work somewhere near a friend’s workplace so you can meet them for lunch.

Go for a run in the mornings before work, cook yourself a really fantastic lunch at home, or walk down the road to the local coffee shop to break up your day.

Make Real-World Connections For Business

As a freelancer you have to be actively aware that you need to start reaching out. Although there are tremendous opportunities online for freelancers, you need to balance that with real-world interactions.

By taking the time to balance your freelancing life, you’re also much more likely to meet new clients (especially in places like coworking spaces), develop a whole new subset of friends, and really expand your horizons. Most freelancers don’t realize the fantastic opportunity they’ve been given via their flexibility, so take the chance to really work it!

Conclusion

Freelancing is a great way to follow your passion and earn a living, but there are major differences between freelancing full-time and working for private enterprises. The great news is that many have walked in your footsteps before, and there is a great deal of information out there on how to become a successful freelancer – plus what you can do to get the most out of yourself.

By recognizing the common areas that freelancers tend to find challenging, and developing solutions that help you overcome these obstacles, you’re going to really help yourself dive into the pool (of sharks) as a freelance professional and come out ahead.

Editor’s note: This is a contributed post by Paul Dunstone, the founder of JobStock.com, a freelance marketplace that provides job opportunities for freelancers across 250+ different job categories.

Send Encrypted Emails Easily With SecureGmail

Posted: 13 Aug 2013 03:01 AM PDT

Security is a hot issue these days. With the recent issues of internet tracking, more and more internet users want to safeguard their online privacy. Many of us are looking for a way to safety transfer data and that includes information transferred via email.

We covered how to send an encrypted email using SafeGmail before, but unfortunately SafeGmail is no longer in service. But, fret not we have found another, even better tool which can help you to encrypt your emails.

SecureGmail

SecureGmail is a Chrome extension which allows users to send encrypted emails and is compatible with your Google accounts.

Recommended Reading: 10 Ways To Tighten Up Your Gmail Security

Composing Encrypted Email

To send an encrypted email for Gmail, first you need to install SecureGmail on Chrome. After installing, you will see a lock icon beside the ‘Compose" button. Click it before composing the email you want encrypted.

compose encrypted

Compose the email like how you normally do and when you are done click on Send Encrypted. A pop up will prompt you to set a password and a hint to your password for your encrypted email.

set password and hint

Decrypting your Email

Before decrypting, the content of the email is unreadable. To decrypt the encrypted email, the receiver needs to install SecureGmail on their Chrome browser too.

When they receive the encrypted email, there will be a clickable ‘Decrypt message with password‘ link.

decrypt message

Click on the link and it will ask for the password that the sender set earlier.

input password

After putting in the correct password it will display the email content.

decrypted email

Limitation & Conclusion

SecureGmail is a good alternative to replace SafeGmail but SecureGmail still has some limitations. Some of the limitations are:

SecureGmail only works on Chrome browser for now
The recipient needs to install the extension too, in order to decrypt (a small hassle)
You can’t directly reply to the encrypted email. To reply to that email you need to compose a new email.
The email cannot be saved as draft when composing in encrypted mode.

In conclusion, SecureGmail is a good replacement to send encrypted emails. And compared to SafeGmail, SecureGmail has an easier way to decrypt the encrypted email as you do not need to leave the page to decrypt it.

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