Softview

Indian Students Develop Anti-Rape Underwear With Electric Shocks[video]

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:37:41 PDT

Following the violent gang-rape of a New Delhi woman last year that made international headlines, engineering students in India have created anti-rape underwear that they say will prevent sexual assault.

Called Society Harnessing Equipment, or SHE, the device will deliver up to 82 electric shocks of 3,800 kV to an attacker, according to The Times of India. To prevent the wearer from being shocked, SHE's inner side is "insulated with a polymer," according to creators Niladri Basu, Manisha Mohan and Rimpi Tripathy, students at SRM University, Chennai.

The device is also equipped with GPS that can deliver alerts to police and the victim's parents.
"Lawmakers take ages to come up with just laws and even after that, women are unsafe," said Mohan and Tripathy. "Hence, we have initiated the idea of self-defense, which protects the women from domestic, social and workplace harassment."
They added that they plan to incorporate Bluetooth into SHE, so "stress messages" can be sent instantly.

Do you think this anti-rape underwear would be effective in preventing sexual assault? Tell us in the comments, below.

source: mashable,techpedia

Android 4.2.2 Update blocks Nexus 4 LTE tweak

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 04:35:01 PST

Google (GOOG) updated its Nexus line of smartphones and tablets to Android 4.2.2 this week. It was initially reported that the update included a variety of bug fixes and security enhancements, however Brian Klug of AnandTech noticed that it also removes unofficial LTE support on the Nexus 4.
According to Anandtech, a radio update inside the new firmware removes LTE support. Even if you try and toggle to “LTE only” in settings, the device will quickly dump you back to “WCDMA preferred.” Since the device was not approved by the FCC to operate in an LTE capacity, this is not all that surprising.

If you were taking advantage of the N4′s secret LTE power, you may want to hold off on updating. If you aren’t ready to give up LTE, there is a chance that you’ll find an update package without the new radio over at XDA or another forum.

via: Anandtech

Customize Facebook Login Page and Background

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 07:01:20 PST

Inside Facebook, there is scope for customization using apps or beautiful timeline covers or Facebook Themes but what if you want to customize login page. Yes, the experience of awesomeness should start right from logging in to Facebook. Here is a solution which will help you to change Facebook Background image and style of Login page.

Not just background image but also it changes the style of login page. Text boxes to enter username and password are now shown in more elegant way.

It is made possible using the chrome extension called “FB Refresh” which can be downloaded for free from Chrome web store.

After installing, try opening facebook.com in new tab. You’ll notice change in the background image and position of login boxes. This is a default image which can be changed as per choice.

Click gear icon on top right of login box to access extension settings.

From FB Refresh Settings, you can specify image to be used in background. Browse the computer for image by clocking on Choose file button and wait for image upload to complete. Imgur link will appear in the box which signifies upload is complete and now you can save the changes.

You can also paste the Image URL already hosted on web.

Apart from image, there are various customization options offered by the extension. Like, you can change Facebook logo, font sizes and appearance.

Please note that these changes appear only on your computer. To be more specific- Only on the Chrome browser when extension is installed.

There is no risk in typing your username and password in this new boxes. Extension doesn’t collect user data and only responsible for visual appearance.

Facebook has revealed its most checked-in locations and songs list for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 05:07:20 PST

City-based shopping mall Select City Walk has topped the list of most 'checked-in' locations in the country on social networking site Facebook.
Interestingly, the second most checked-in location during the year was Golden Temple in Amritsar, followed by Gurudwara Shri Bangla Sahib in Delhi. Check-in feature on Facebook allows users to share their location with friends and places where they took photographs.

"Based on the list of most checked-in locations, it shows that people from India's metro cities tend to check in more, in comparison to other Indian cities," Facebook said in a statement. Delhiites seem to be the more proactive, as most of the checked-in locations in the top 20 list belong to the capital city, it added. "The Indian urban consumers' love for modern day retail outlets is reflected in the fact that Select City Walk, a popular mall in south Delhi, is the most checked-in location on Facebook for 2012," the statement said.

Ambience Mall in Delhi, Inorbit Mall in Mumbai and The Great India Place in Delhi-NCR are also within the overall top 15, it added. In the top songs shared category, 'Tum Hi Ho Bandhu' from the movie Cocktail topped the list, followed by 'Daaru Desi' from the same film and 'Pani Da Rang' from Vicky Donor.

Apple to launch Apple TV in India for Rs 6,990

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:05:15 PST

Apple is planning to release its Apple TV in india.Several sources have now informed to us that in all cases that Apple would release the Apple TV in the coming days for Rs 6,990.

Apple TV is not the rumored television set that Apple is said to be currently testing with its Asian manufacturing partners. Instead, it is a tiny box that connects to the television and brings the iTunes Store to it and also enables users to connect their iOS devices to their television wirelessly using AirPlay.

Apple has been selling the device in some nations where it functions the iTunes store with music and video material for a few years now. However, it was not formally available in India as there was no content on iTunes until last week. But with iTunes store going live, launching Apple TV would seem the next thing to do for Apple.

Team GhostShell hackers dump 1.6M records, the digital dirt on Pentagon, NASA, Interpol

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:45:45 PST

The hacktivists from Team GhostShell announced an early 'Freedom of Information' Christmas present today after breaking out the holiday hammer and pounding on government agencies like the Pentagon, NASA, ESA, the Federal Reserve and Interpol to name but a few.

Team GhostShell has made quite a name for themselves as a group “taking on governments and private corporations” as a way of protesting and “drawing attention to the freedom of information on the net.”

Along with massive links to data dumps on Pastebin, the group claims to have emailed ICS-CERT Security Operations Center, Homeland Security Information Network, FBI in Washington and Seattle, NASA at Langley and others warning about “another 150 vulnerable servers from the Pentagon, NASA, DHS, Federal Reserve, Intelligence firms, L-3 CyberSecurity, JAXA, etc. consider it an early Christmas present from us.”
In a Pastebin post, the group announced #ProjectWhiteFox:

Kay, let's get this party started! ESA, NASA, Pentagon, Federal Reserve, Interpol, FBI try to keep up from here on out because it's about to get interesting.
Since it's our final stand this year, we've made the call to invite you guys to our event as well. How? Well, how about by starting with the fact that anti-terror agencies have been keeping an eye on us from the beginning. GlobalTerrorAlert you and the rest thought were invisible just because your own websites were set to 'hidden'? Silly kids, if you're on the net, then you can be sure that someone is watching you, no matter how hard you try to hide.
How did we find you? How did we find everyone else? Easy. You're predictable.

The group then linked to a document from Flashpoint Partners that talks about the “number of spectacular attacks” that have been credited to #TeamGhostShell.
Also, "It's not that hard to inject malware in gov's and spy a little," the group wrote and linked to this image:

Numerous corporations and sites from banks to lawyers were also hit in Project WhiteFox. There were about 1.6 million account details leaked from nearly 40 websites with a ton of data ranging from usernames, email addresses, passwords, phone numbers, mailing lists, administrator account information, defense data and other sensitive information. The leak covers “fields such as aerospace, nanotechnology, banking, law, education, government, military, all kinds of wacky companies & corporations working for the department of defense, airlines and more,” they wrote.
The Pastebin post included mirrors that contain the breach information and mention the following:
The European Space Agency; NASA's Engineers: Center for Advanced Engineering; Crestwood Technology Group - CTG123; Bigelow Aerospace; California Manufacturers & Technology Association - CMTA.net; Aerospace Suppliers; World Airport Transfers; General Dynamics Defense Systems - GD-OtsCanada; Zero-Max - Manufacturer of parts; MicroController Shop; JP Chem eData; Apsira + Anac; Ivao Aero; Human Security Gateway; Hamamatsu; NanoConference; Colonial Tool + MobilServ.nl; HMI CronPowder. At the Credit Union National Association - CUNA, the group claims that “over 85 million people are at risk."
Also listed were: Defense Contractor for the Pentagon - DPAtitle3; Business Consultancy dealing mostly with military personnel - Drum Cussac; Among the top 50 attorney offices in the US - Glaser Weil; Institute of makers of explosives – IME; At Your Business; Intelligence firm – Aquilent; Lawyers - Schneider Wallace; Texas Bankers; About PMC; RotherHill Developments; LosAngeles Global Events; CuyahogalandBank; Army UK, SmeHelpLine; Thinkkc; Lexpert; The Texas Education directory for lawyers – Utcle; Global Business – GBN and VSoft.

Iranian hackers steal data from UN atomic agency's server

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:30:17 PST

U.N. nuclear watchdog Tuesday acknowledged that one of its servers had been hacked, after the hackers posted the stolen data online earlier this week.

The IAEA said a previously unknown group called Parastoo had posted contact details for more than 100 nuclear experts on the group's website.Parastoo asked those listed to sign a petition calling for an IAEA investigation into Israel's undeclared nuclear weapons programme.The IAEA is investigating Iran's controversial nuclear programme.Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons but neither confirms nor denies this under a "strategic ambiguity" policy.

A Pastebin posting on November 25 by someone purporting to represent the group listed the e-mail addresses of physicists and other experts that had consulted with the IAEA.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokeswoman Gill Tudor said the agency "deeply regrets this publication of information stolen from an old server".She said the server had been shut down "some time ago" and experts had been trying to eliminate any "possible vulnerability" in it even before it was hacked.

"The IAEA's technical and security teams are continuing to analyse the situation and do everything possible to help ensure that no further information is vulnerable," she added.The word Parastoo is Farsi for the bird species the swallow and an Iranian girl's name.The Vienna-based IAEA said the theft concerned "some contact details related to experts working" with the agency.

The names include physicists at US, British, European and Japanese universities as well as researchers at Japan's Atomic Energy Agency, the US government's Los Alamos National Laboratory and Russia's Space Research Institute.A Western diplomat quoted by Reuters news agency said the stolen data was not believed to include information related to confidential work carried out by the IAEA.

Israel, the US and other Western nations accuse Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran strongly denies.

Earlier this month, the IAEA said that Iran was ready to double the output at its underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo.

courtesy:bbc

Get Google Now-Like Search Features On Any Android Device Using GTalk

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 10:45:24 PDT

A few days ago, an XDA member stumbled upon a neat trick. If you love Google Now or don’t have Jelly Bean and can’t access it yet, then this is for you.
Using Gtalk, simpy add user, “guru@googlelabs.com” – then, ask away! Guru can give you answers to basic questions just like Google Now. So far, it handles sports, weather, word definitions, translations, web queries, and calculations.

Following are some more commands if you’d prefer typing:

Score <team>
Weather <city>
Define <word>
Translate <word> or Translate <word> to <language>
Web <query>
Calculate <calculation>
Convert <units> into <units>
Convert <currency> into <currency>

Go into the future, much like Google Now, maybe we can expect greater and more advanced things to come from Guru. For now, it’s a neat little trick that some of you should enjoy.

via :XDA Developers

Types of Social Media Addiction

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:29:21 PDT

The following infographic, which comes by way of the marketing software company Marketo, details 10 of the most common types of social media fiends.

iPhone hacker dream team edges closer to iOS6 jailbreak

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:55:16 PDT

A trio known for their prowess in hacking Apple's iPhone software indicated on Thursday they may be edging closer to breaking the improved security measures in iOS 6.

The hackers, who spoke at the Hack in the Box security conference in Kuala Lumpur, are famous for "jailbreaking" the iPhone's software, the term for using combinations of exploits to allow the installation of unauthorized software. Apple dislikes the practice, which is legal in the U.S. but can void warranties for modified devices.
The release of a new jailbreak is highly anticipated among the select group of iPhone users who resent the company's careful gatekeeping of applications it allows in its App Store.
But the process for creating a jailbreak has become much more difficult with each iteration of Apple's iPhone software, and many of the old tricks used to create jailbreak software in the past simply don't work anymore. French hacker Cyril, known by his Twitter handle "@pod2g," admitted that iOS6 so far has him stumped.
"At the moment, I'm kind of stuck ... but it could change in a week," said Cyril. "It's luck, I think."
It's more than luck: creating a jailbreak is a highly technical, skillful process, and one that requires hours and hours of testing. Cyril spoke on the panel with David "@planetbeing" Wang and another famed broad-shouldered hacker who goes by pseudonym "@Musclenerd" on Twitter.
Wang said during the panel that the group has a couple of kernel bugs in its back pocket, which could be used to create a jailbreak. The problem is there isn't just one key to Apple's locked door: often, many different exploits are needed in order to create a successful jailbreak.
"We still have a few tricks up our sleeves," Wang said.
After the panel, Musclenerd said the work done on the jailbreak so far is like a delicate houes of cards, he said.
"We think we have something that's working under a certain set of conditions." But before the final jailbreak is released, "it's a very technical, very boring set of steps" that need to be taken to make a more refined user experience.
"The overall technique works," he said. "We think we have the flow for it."
Also appearing was Mark Dowd, founder of Azimuth Security, who has done extensive analysis of the iPhone's "kernel," the term for the core code of an operating system.
On Wednesday, Dowd and his colleague Tarjei Mandt successfully installed Cydia, an app store for unauthorized iPhone applications, on an iOS6 device using a kernel-mode exploit. They didn't use a method that could be applicable for the jailbreaking effort, however: Azimuth used its own custom-designed debugging application installed on an iPhone to deliver the kernel exploit, Dowd said.
Overall, Dowd and Mandt concluded that Apple has mitigated many weaknesses with iOS6, which makes its kernel much harder to exploit.
"All the previous techniques that have been used have basically been made for the most part useless," Dowd said. "But there's still room to move and its still possible to exploit the kernel in iOS6, but the bar has definitely been raised."
But all are attracted to the challenge.
"It's very engrossing," Wang said. "It's kind of like doing a very complicated Sudoku or a crossword but it's like 10 times harder. It's just entertaining to be able to use your brain in that way. It's really the only reason I do it."
Cyril remained positive about the eventual outcome: "I'm still confident we can find something in the next few weeks."

Apple reportedly knew about Maps problems prior to launch

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:37:10 PDT

The whole point of beta releases is so that beta testers can weed out the bugs in a program before it is released to the general public. That being said, it seems that Apple had known about the various bugs plaguing its Maps app before it was released in the iOS 6 update.
This is according to six iOS developers who spoke with CNET, claiming that they had sent various emails, filed multiple bug reports, and posted the issues on private message boards about the Maps app while it was still during its beta period.

While Apple did fix some of the issues brought up about its Maps app during the beta phase, they were not the problems that the public complained about when it launched. The developers also revealed that glaring issues such as incorrect location data, cloud-covered areas and etc. were well documented but in the end Apple chose to ship the app as it is. However there have been recent reports which have indicated that Apple’s Maps app is starting to improve, although there’s still quite a ways to go before it will be on par with Google Maps.

Virginia Beach McDonald’s offers free iPad use

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:17:05 PDT

McDonalds wants to get customers in the door and then keep them there for awhile. That’s why a Virginia Beach McDonald’s has stocked its location with free to use iPads. Grab a Big Mac and sit down and use Apple’s tablet.

The tablets are mounted on tables and they hope that you will be glued to the tablets. Franchise owner Hugh Fard got the idea while attending the annual worldwide McDonald’s convention in Florida.

It won’t be long until those iPad screens are all greasy and cracked. What do you think? Does this make you want to eat there? For those who already own an iPad, it’s no big deal, but maybe others can take the opportunity to check it out.

Tritton Kunai Headphones Launch for PS3 and PS Vita

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:13:06 PDT

Mad Catz has announced that it has launched its latest headphones that fit into the Tritton branded gaming accessories line. The headphones are called the Kunai and this particular set is made specifically for the PS3 and the PS Vita. The headset is offered in white, black, and red colors for approximately $60.

The headphones ship with a 14-foot-long cable for connecting to the PS3 and a three-foot cable for the PS Vita. The headphones use 40 mm drivers and have in-line volume control for voice and audio. The frequency response to the headphones is 25 Hz to 20 kHz.

When connected to the PS3, a USB port powers and amplifier for increased audio quality. The ear cups fold allowing them to be worn flat around the neck and the microphone boom is removable. The headphones are available right now.

Apple iPhone 5 to Launch in India on 26th October

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 07:37:44 PDT

Apple launched their latest and greatest iPhone 5 last month and opened to their biggest iPhone sales ever. And now, more than a month later it seems Apple is all set to launch the iPhone 5 running on the latest iOS 6 in India at the end of this month, i.e. October 26th. The iPhone 5 will also be launched in Malaysia on the same day.

The phone houses the latest Apple A5X processor running a custom architecture (neither ARM Cortex A9 nor A15, but with a performance somewhere around the A15 itself). The phone houses a dual-core 1.3 GHz processor and the PowerVR SGX543 MP3 GPU (down from MP4 on the new iPad). This tri-core GPU combined with it’s higher clock speeds allows it to churn out the same output as the new iPad’s quad-core configuration.

The iPhone 5 is the first to house a display size other than 3.5″. Having a 1120×640 odd display resolution spanning across 4″ still allows for a very high Retina level ppi (pixels per inch density). The iPhone 5 has the same (but slightly improved) 8 MP camera and 1 GB of RAM runing the latest iOS6 operating system.

Apple iPhone 5 Official Launch in India on October 26

People have been wanting their hands on the phone ever since launch, and hence the grey market stood up to the task and imported the iPhone 5 in high volume to meet the demand. Listings for all 3 models (16/32/64 GB) can be found on eBay.

The Malay Mail report suggests that Apple will launch the iPhone 5 officially on the 26th of October in India as well as Malaysia. We expect Apple to start selling the 6th gen iPod and iPod Nano as well.

The iPhone 5 will launch for an official price between Rs. 48,000 to Rs. 52,000 for the 16 GB base model.

Aakash 2 Tablet launching November 11 for 1500 INR

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 07:31:03 PDT

The much awaited Aakash Tablet 2 finally has an official launch date and price tag. The original Aakash Tablet was an utter failure, and it brought much shame on a global scale, especially with it was covered by world’s most popular technology blogs as the $35 cheap budget Android wonder tablet from India.
The original Aakash tablet was so bad that it’s display never even worked when people tried using it. The resistive display was an utter flop. Couple that with Android 2.3 and the 256 MB of RAM and tons of delays missing all deadlines and the tablet was asking for a complete fail. We hope that the Aakash Tablet 2 will change all of that.

The Aakash Tablet 2 hopes to correct what was wrong. Swapping the aged and weak 800 MHz processor, the new Aakash Tablet 2 will sport a 1 GHz processor most probably based on ARM’s Cortex A8 or A9 architecture (faster). The tablet will also most likely sport 512 MB of RAM, although rumors of just 256 MB RAM is short. We fail to understand how they can make Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (that they plan to ship the tablet with) will run smoothly in just 256 MB of RAM. It is similar to try running Windows Vista on your old Windows XP PC with 512 MB of RAM. Lag and jitters, that is the summation of the experience to follow.

The display this time is to be a capacitive type (finally). This should bring better touch response and definitely a display which is at the very least usable. The battery rating is unknown but the battery life promised is 4 hours, which seems below average.

How to Use laptop trackpad as touch screen in Windows 8

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:25:16 PDT

While Windows 8 may seem a bit out of place on hardware without a touch screen, trackpad gestures can help bridge the gap. Gestures on a trackpad work similarly to gestures on a touch screen.
Instead of moving the cursor to the corners of the screen, you can swipe the trackpad to reveal hidden menus and pinch your fingers to zoom in and out.

Trackpad Drivers

Laptops that come with Windows 8 should have trackpad drivers preinstalled and working properly. If you’ve installed Windows 8 on an existing laptop, you may have to install the trackpad drivers yourself, as many people are reporting that the final version of Windows 8 doesn’t yet include these drivers.

You may be able to download the appropriate trackpad drivers for Windows 8 from your laptop manufacturer. Many people have also reported that the generic Synaptics touchpad drivers, even though they’re for Windows 7, enable gesture functionality.

Charms

To access the charms bar wherever you are in Windows, place your finger at the right side of your trackpad and swipe inwards. The charms will appear at the right side of your screen.

You can also move your mouse cursor to the top or bottom right corners of your screen and then move the cursor towards the middle of your screen or press WinKey+C to access the charms.

Switcher

To access the new app switcher, place your finger at the left side of the trackpad and swipe inwards. The switcher will appear on the left side of your screen.

You can also move your mouse to the top or bottom left corners of your screen and then move your cursor towards the middle of your screen or press the WinKey+Tab keyboard shortcut to use the switcher.

Note that the switcher shows the entire Desktop, including all your desktop applications, as a single thumbnail. You can still use Alt+Tab to switch between desktop apps.

App Bar

Swipe down from the top edge of your trackpad to access the app bar, which contains an app’s options. For example, in the “Windows 8 interface” version of Internet Explorer, the app bar contains the address bar, tab thumbnails, and navigation buttons.

You can also right-click anywhere in an app or press WinKey+Z to reveal the app bar.

Horizontal Scrolling

To scroll horizontally, place two fingers on the trackpad and move them from right to left or left to right. Windows 8’s new interface uses horizontal scrolling in place of vertical scrolling, so this feels a bit more natural.

You can also scroll horizontally by scrolling the mouse wheel up and down.

Zoom In and Out

To zoom in and out, use a pinch gesture. Place two fingers on the trackpad and move them towards each other to zoom in or move them apart to zoom out.

You can also hold the Ctrl key and scroll your mouse wheel up and down or hold down the Ctrl key and use the + and – keys to zoom in and out.

Rotate

You can rotate the screen by placing two fingers on the trackpad and moving them in a circle, as if you were turning a knob. This gesture may be disabled by default in your touchpad’s configuration application, so you may have to re-enable it

source:howtogeek

Intel gangnam style

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 00:23:09 PDT

Intel Tweeted this pic of doing its own version of gangnam style.

Google Nexus 7 coming to Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 02:36:09 PDT

Google has lasered in on Asia this week, after the search giant unveiled its Nexus 7 tablet in Japan and Korea and now the device is set to come to Singapore tomorrow.

Singaporean fans shouldn’t expect a big event or stars like PSY — who put executive chairman Eric Schmidt through his paces – since the launch is being managed by ASUS, the company that manufactures the 7-inch device. Interestingly, ZDNet Asia reports that the 16GB model will be the only one available and, at S$399 (US$324.7), it’s $76 more expensive than in the US.

The upcoming launch could prove popular for gadget fans across Southeast Asia since Singapore is well known for stocking new products — like the iPhone 5 — ahead of the rest of the region. Relatively inexpensive flights make the country popular for shopping-fuelled short trips.

The low-key ASUS-led approach has already been used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, two countries where, technically, the device was available before Google officially unveiled it in Asia this week. ASUS has already revealed the tablet will make its way to India in November, and it seems likely that we can expect it to be introduced to other markets this year.

Announced in June, the $199 tablet stoked “incredible demand” when it first arrived. Supply has since stabilized and its availability was extended when Google brought it to France, Germany and Spain in August.

The device sits in a unique position in the market, being smaller than the iPad but larger than smartphones. That may not be the case for long as Apple is tipped to launch a smaller version of the iPad next month, although sources suggest that the much-speculated Apple device will be larger than the Nexus 7.

Perhaps with new competition in mind, sources out of Taiwan — where ASUS is based — have speculated that a 3G version of the tablet could be available and on the market by November. As you might expect, Google has not commented on that rumour.

source : TNW

WhatsApp Brings Unlimited Deal for Users in India

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 02:31:57 PDT

A fortnight after it agreed to a landmark operator deal in Hong Kong, WhatsApp has stepped up its presence in India where it has partnered with Reliance to offer unlimited use of its BBM-alternative messaging service for college students.

The fruits of the coming-together — Reliance’s College Package, spotted by PluggdIn – is a pre-paid plan that gives students unlimited access to WhatsApp’s instant messaging service, and Facebook, for just INR 16 ($0.30) per month. Calls and SMS are not included but, given the growing popularity of WhatsApp, the omission of the latter is unlikely to bother a lot of the target audience.

WhatsApp emulates RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger service, which allows BlackBerry owners to send and receive an unlimited number of messages worldwide for free with no charge. The difference however is that Reliance’s student customers can chat to friends on multiple platforms, since WhatsApp is available for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and even seleted basic Nokia handset owners.

WhatsApp swots up in India with unlimited deal for college going Reliance customers.The messaging service is regularly accused of ‘stealing’ SMS revenue from operators. These are claims that the company has denied, insisting that it can help carriers grow data revenues and increase smartphone adoption – as its deals in India and Hong Kong show.

WhatsApp itself has plenty to gain through the deal since, alongside RIM’s BBM, it is also battling a number of other multi-platform messaging startups. India’s own Nimbuzz passed 100 million users worldwide this summer — the vast majority of which are in its home country — while WeChat (200 million users), KakaoTalk (55 million) and Line (60 million) are aggressively growing their numbers in Asia.

The services are initially targeting Southeast Asia but India, and its 1.2 billion population, is also a focus.

WhatsApp is pushing its services in a range of Asian countries where it has deals with operators, such as Thailand and Indonesia. In the latter country, top operator Telekomsel added the chat service — alongside Line and KakaoTalk — to a $3 unlimited monthly plan.

BlackBerry has sharpened its focus on India this year — having doubled its sales presence and launched new budget devices, but Samsung is among the brands that is leading the charge for Android-powered devices in the country.

Source:TNW

Samsung to Launch Galaxy Music Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 01:54:02 PDT

Samsung is working on a new smartphone, the device is rumored to be called the Samsung Galaxy Music Phone, and will come with Google’s Android OS.

The Samsung Music Phone is rumored to be a mid range smartphone, and it will come with Android 4.0 ICS but will get the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update shortly after release.

The device will apparently be available in single and dual SIM versions and will come with a 850MHz processo, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of built in storage plus a microSD card slot.

The Samsung Music Phone is also reported to feature a dedicated music key, a pair of front facing speakers, an FM radio with a built in FM antenna, and it will also apparently use Samsung’s Music Hub service.

source:sammyhub

Samsung Galaxy S3 Now available in Pink

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:06:47 PDT

Samsung recently expanded the color selections for the Samsung Galaxy S III and now a pink version of the flagship smartphone was discovered in Korea.

The pink version is expected to be available in Korea next week and pictures reveal that this model will be available for the three major carriers in the country. Right now, the Samsung Galaxy S III is available in seven colors including Marble White, Pebble Blue, Amber Brown, Garnet Red, Sapphire Black and Titanium Grey.

We don’t know yet if we will see this pink version show up anywhere else. With the holiday season approaching, it just might be offered globally.

PETALS use smartphones as mine detectors

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:55:12 PDT

At this point in time, you can say that the most popular method of locating landmines would be through the use of metal detectors.
Well, Red Lotus Technologies have come up with a new kind of technology that they dubbed PETALS, short for Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Landmine Sensing. This particular system was the brainchild of co-founder Lahiru Jayatilaka, a Sri Lankan who first started working on this system while he was still a Harvard undergrad. The PETAL system would require help from your smartphones with initial demonstration photos depicting an iPhone in action, where said smartphone was connected to a device which is capable of reading the metallic signature of the buried item.
The handset will then show off the relative shape of the object, allowing observers a chance to visually determine whether the item is a potential landmine, some unwanted junk, or a pot of gold that lay buried and untouched after all these years. The PETALS project will have slightly more than a month left to raise a whopping $150,000 to see it come to fruition.

via:ubergizmo

BeoPlay A8 dock upgrade program works with new Lightning connector

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:16:49 PDT

BeoPlay A8 delivers authoritative acoustic performance, striking design and seamless connectivity. Wireless connection via Apple AirPlay is a breeze, and docking any iPod, iPhone or iPad on top of the system delivers an integrated music system that can be controlled with the accompanying remote control.
Now with the flexibility offered by the exchangeable connector module of BeoPlay A8, the music system is also able to cater to the new iPhone 5. BeoPlay A8 even allows you to completely remove the connector module for a clean look if the primary use is wireless.

This unparalleled flexibility offers the user backward and forward compatibility that is particularly useful in the many households with a mix of devices.

All existing and new customers of BeoPlay A8 will be offered the new dock connector free of charge through the "A8 dock upgrade program." Users can register their email on beoplay.com/A8/dock-upgrade to be notified when more details are available on the dock upgrade program.

This means that customers can today buy the best one-piece music system on the market and be certain that it will work with full functionality, should they choose to upgrade their phone.

BeoPlay 8 makes digital music come alive with power and grace. Whether mounted on the wall or standing on its own, BeoPlay A8 adds musicality to any room. BeoPlay A8 optimizes the sound to three different locations – wall, corner or freestanding.

BeoPlay A8 is available in black or white. Priced at $1149.00 Available today at Bang & Olufsen stores worldwide, at Apple stores in Europe and the US, at select design stores, and online at store.beoplay.com.

source:beoplay press release

Apple Hacker Charlie Miller is Now a part of twitter security team

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:05:59 PDT

It is a tough task for social networks to keep their systems fool-proof against hacks and other vulnerabilities. Yet, the cleverest hackers nearly always find a way to go around it and somehow break into even the most secure systems.

The tech companies have often gone by the philosophy that to keep the system secure, they can really use the help of leading hackers. Apparently, Twitter is also abiding by it. The micro-blogging network has hired the notable Apple hacker, Charlie Miller, to be a part of its security team.

Miller is known to have found out a number of major security flaws in Apple’s iOS. Quite obviously, Twitter has hired him to discover similar flaws in its systems before the hackers out there get to know of them, so that they could be patched pre-emptively.

Twitter has recently taken a number of measures to up the security of its micro-blogging website. With an ever-growing user base and Twitter API used by numerous third-party apps, it must take quite an effort for the company to accomplish the task. And Miller can prove to be a very useful addition to its security team.

via ubergizmo

LG, Qualcomm to announce a new smartphone on September 19th

noreply@blogger.com (Maddy r) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 10:28:23 PDT

Rumors have been doing their rounds on the web that LG is expected to go forth with the launch of a smartphone of its own is expected on September 19th. And now, LG has confirmed the date and the event by rolling out official invites.

We have already seen a whole plethora of smartphone launches this month. Nokia came up with the Lumia delights, Motorola had RAZR smartphones up its sleeve, HTC also pooled in with its share whereas Apple unveiled the much-anticipated iPhone 5. But the month’s launches seem far from over.

While LG hasn’t divulged a lot many details about the event, it does tell us that it is going to launch a smartphone. Since the company recently teased us with an Optimus G ad, we are quite optimistic that Optimus G is indeed going to be the highlight of this event. The smartphone packs a quad-core Snapdragon S4 chip together with a 13-megapixel camera and LTE connectivity.

The event is titled ‘Live without boundaries’ and the official invite states, “LG and Qualcomm cordially invite you Live Without Boundaries. This exclusive event takes place on September 19, where you will receive a first-hand look at an upcoming LG smartphone. LG and Qualcomm executives will be on hand to show off the device and discuss how this partnership is taking both companies to new heights.”