Voicemail works by monitoring the electromagnetic waves used to carry phone signals. If you’re busy, or your phone is off, the message is stored in a ‘mailbox’, essentially another line to which calls are diverted after a certain time. This mailbox records the exact nature of the electromagnetic wave that was sent, including the differences in volume and frequency in the human voice.

These impulses are then encoded into ASCII, a binary system that renders them into 0s and 1s. Once this is done, the phone is capable of playing it back as a stream of binary data, which includes the frequency and volume of the voice that left the message. When you hit playback, the resonating elements of the phone, including the speaker itself, use that stream of binary code to re-create the voice call for you to listen to.

iPhone Tips, Tricks, Apps & Hacks Volume 5 is the perfect book for anyone looking to unlock the full potential of their iPhone. With step-by-step guides showing you how to record guitar tracks, test your eyesight, measure your heart rate and much more, this book will open up a wealth of new functions. There’s also a full guide to jailbreaking, answering all your questions and explaining the benefits, along with tutorials to show you what you can do with your jailbroken device. On top of all that there are reviews of all the best apps to extend the functionality of your device.

Aaron Asadi, Editor-in-Chief, stated: “This book is ideal for any iPhone owner. With top guides to help you discover just what your iPhone can really do, along with ways to get the most out of all the default apps, you’ll be amazed at all the extra functionality this book brings to your device. Add to that a round-up of all the latest and greatest apps and a complete guide to jailbreaking, and there’s something for everyone here.”

iPhone Tips, Tricks, Apps & Hacks Volume 5 is on sale now from www.imaginebbokshop.co.uk and all good newsagents, priced £9.99.

1 – You’re not supposed to split atoms in your kitchen

A 31 year-old Swedish man was arrested by police after he acquired the radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium to create a miniature nuclear meltdown on his stove. Not the smartest idea.

2 – Always check your sources on the Internet

On 5 August a company known as AptiQuant released a “study” of 100,000 people claiming that Internet Explorer users were likely to have a significantly lower IQ than Firefox, Chrome and Opera users. It later transpired that both AptiQuant and the study were a hoax.

3 – Not all planets are bright

Astronomers have found a planet the size of Jupiter but darker than coal. TrEs-2b, as it’s known, is just five million kilometres away from its parent star, with its temperature in the region of 1200°C. The almost invisible planet was found by measuring differences in brightness of the star it orbits.

4 – There could be flowing water on Mars

Images taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate that water could be flowing beneath the surface of Mars. The presence of dark lines a few metres wide and stretching for hundreds of meters point to thawing mud, very possibly caused by briny water underground, where extraterrestrial life may reside.

5 – Men are four times as likely to be struck by lightning than women

A study into victims of lightning strikes between 1995 and 2008 revealed that of the 648 people killed, 82% were male. One possible reason is that men spend more time outside playing recreational sports such as golf during a storm.

6 – LEGO is on its way to Jupiter

On board NASA’s Juno spacecraft, due to arrive at Jupiter in 2016, are three LEGO figurines aimed to inspire children to become involved in science as part of a collaboration between NASA and LEGO. King of the Roman gods Jupiter, his wife Juno and astronomer Galileo Galilei are the three immortalised as the popular children’s toy.

7 – The Large Hadron Collider team needs our help

The elusive Higgs boson, a theoretical ‘god’ particle that would help explain scientific interactions on an atomic level, has almost been found by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. However, the LHC team needs the public to help simulate particle physics experiments by using their collective computing power with a program called LHC@home 2.0 to finally track it down.

8 – Solar storms may have caused the UK riots and erratic trading

In 2003 a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta reported that traders were more likely to make pessimistic choices during a period of increased solar activity, leading some academics to suggest that the week of riots in Britain and turbulent financial markets during August could have been the result of a large geomagnetic solar storm that erupted in that week affecting people’s moods. We’re pretty skeptical though, to say the least…

9 – We aren’t smarter than a 10 year-old

In early August the 19th annual “Defcon” hacking conference took place in Las Vegas, where thousands of current and wannabe technology tinkerers gathered to discuss all things hacking-related. The NSA, FBI and other governmental agencies were also present, on the lookout for potential cyber-geniuses to employ. For the first time there was also a Defcon Kids convention where, amongst other presentations, a 10 year-old girl known only as CyFi revealed security problems she had discovered in many popular mobile games.

10 – Apple has more money than the United States of America

Apple’s latest financial results revealed it has cash reserves of $76.4bn (£46.8bn), while figures from the US Treasury Department show that the US Government has slightly less money with an operating cash balance of $73.7bn (£45.3bn)

Macs can get viruses, but there are a few factors that ensure it’s a rare occurrence. The operating system run by a computer is what gets the virus. Windows is the most common OS, with an estimated 90% of people using it. As more people have exposure to Windows, any malware (malicious software such as a virus) written for Windows will affect more people. Macs also use a Unix-based system, which means that users have less privileges to install software. Recent Mac operating systems update daily with a list of recognised malware, which means that if a malicious site is visited that tries to install malware, the user will be notified. It’s thought to be impossible to get a virus on an iPhone or iPad, because they only accept software approved by Apple. Happy computing!

Answered by David Houston.

1835

• Samuel Morse made the first working electric telegraph to send and receive complex messages, and in 1844 he sent the first message: “What hath God wrought?”

1973

• Motorola engineer Dr Martin Cooper made the first handled mobile phone to call to his invention rival Joel Engel at AT&T in 1973.

1985

• First-generation (1G) mobile phones entered the market in the Eighties; they were large and heavy devices with limited battery lives that could only make voice calls.

1992

• The introduction of the 2G network allowed for text messaging and basic Internet access, and by 1999 76% of the UK owned a mobile phone.

2001

• Japan launched the first 3G network, bringing with it faster mobile Internet, and by 2007 there were a total of 200 million 3G users worldwide.

On sale today, issue six of Apps Magazine features the ultimate guide to using the revolutionary iMovie app on iPad 2 and iPhone that explains how you can capture and edit your own movies anywhere. Also in this issue are the 50 best iPad apps that you must own, awesome apps for kids and 25 new iPad 2 secrets. So, for your essential guide to what’s hot on iPhone and iPad, check out Apps Magazine right now. Available in supermarkets, bookstores and all good newsagents.

1989

The Atari Lynx was the world’s first colour portable gaming system, but its reign was soon eclipsed by the legendary Nintendo Game Boy, which dominated for years to come.

1991

This year was all about the Sega Game Gear, which managed to become the trendy must-have item long before portable technology became fashionable.

1998

The Game Boy Color took many years to reach the masses, but sold by the bucketload. Even the hard-to-see screen did not deter the gaming community.

2003

Nokia wanted a piece of the action and launched N-Gage, which was an abject commercial and consumer failure. It never did recover enough ground to remain viable.

2004

The Nintendo DS demonstrated the company’s ambitions in the portable gaming market and was an instant smash.

2005

The Sony PSP proved that powerful console gaming was possible in a handheld device and received praise from critics, but to date has struggled to outsell the Nintendo DS.

2007

The iPhone was never purely a games console, but quickly became a foe to Nintendo and Sony, and has hurt sales from both consoles.

2009

The PSP Go is Sony’s attempt to shore up the flagging PSP range, but it has had limited success to date.

2010

Nintendo announce the first portable gaming device that will have a 3D display (allowing gamers to see depth of field and 3D games) but not require the use of 3D glasses, the Nintendo 3DS. It will be released worldwide in March 2011.

2011

Sony announce the official successor to the PSP, codenamed the NGP (Next-Generation Portable), boasting graphics almost equivalent to the PS3 and Xbox 360. Many critics point out that such an advanced portable console may come with a high retail price, while others suggest that the emergence of smart phones as gaming devices may mean that portable devices exclusively for gaming will soon be on the decline.

The latest great edition of How It Works is here at last. Issue 9 is on the shelves today.

Don’t miss issue 9, which is packed full of articles to really feed your brain. Kicking off is an exhilarating four-pager on roller coasters and the science of thrills, and if you’re trying to decide between iPhone and Android, we’ve put them head to head in a useful buyer’s guide centred on how they work. Another close-to-home feature looks at superfast broadband and how new technology is capable of providing faster, more efficient internet services. An excellent feature on the nervous system reveals what keeps our bodies functioning and communicating properly, but if that doesn’t get your synapses firing we have another biology article that explains what heart bypass surgery entails. A mighty four-page article explaining the nature of explosives will keep you hooked while a hot and steamy spread on geysers will enlighten you on these spectacular geological features. Never get caught short during an avalanche as we explain what they are and how to survive them. If you want to learn how the most deadly chopper in the world works, check out our teardown of the Apache Longbow. Meanwhile, for information on the engineers attempting to break the land speed record take a look at our article on the race to 1,000mph. In space, we have a complete guide to Mercury, a look inside Jupiter’s moon Io, details about the Cassini-Huygens mission and how that’s working, plus a huge feature exploring our search for new Earth-like planets in the galaxy. Discover how the Greeks took to the seas and did battle in huge warships called Triremes, find out why the Tower of Pisa leans and how the west was won in our Wild West weapons article as well as a look at how the Battle of Britain was fought.

We also answer questions such as why can crocodiles snap their mouths so powerfully but not open them with the same force, how does bulletproof glass work, how do placebos work, what are allergies, how do hummingbirds beat their wings up to 80 times a second, how is it possible to rain frogs, how do volcanoes work, what is a Wankel engine, and what are solar flares?

So don’t miss out, get your copy of How It Works issue 9, available in all good newsagents and supermarkets. And if you want to enjoy the magazine on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, simply visit the Apple App Store and search for How It Works, then download it for just £1.79. Check it out today!

Jason Bradbury: “The wait for the digital publishing revolution is finally over and the PixelMags version of How It Works is on the frontline. With my iPad and the How It Works magazine app, I have content-rich geek journalism at my fingertips.”

If, like Jason, you also want to enjoy How It Works on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, simply visit the Apple App Store and search for How It Works, then download any issue – including those now out of print – for just £1.79. Every edition will be released in digital form via PixelMags so if you’ve missed an issue or just prefer the convenience of having How It Works with you at all times, there’s nothing stopping you getting your healthy dose of edutainment on the go. Check it out today!

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For more information about the Parrot AR.Drone, including an interview with one of its designers, look out for issue five of How It Works.