Technology and IT News

Wallpaper Pack 2

2014-08-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here is my Wallpaper Pack 2

Wallpaper Pack 1

2014-08-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

Butterfly Tattoo Collection

2014-08-01T08:40:00.001-07:00

Finds beautiful butterfly tattoo collection

Animal Tatto's Collection

2014-08-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Find Some beautiful collection of Animals Tattos

Sony Xperia Z3: Release Date, Five Features to Expect from New Android Smart Phone

2014-07-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

It seems that Japan-based multinational company Sony is well on its way to hit the market with its rumoured next flagship phone, the Sony Xperia Z3. For two consecutive days, serial tipster @evleaks posted information about the upcoming smart phone with the model number D6653. On the first day, the serial tipster posted some specs and on the second day, he tweeted the side view photo of the rumoured gadget.

Here are five fresh features to expect from the upcoming Sony Xperia Z3.

Fully-Curved Design

The leaked photo from @evleaks showed that Sony Xperia Z3 has a fully curved design which many smart phone users find as ergonomically sensible. With Samsung embracing the curved design,smart phone users will have easier and better grip of their smart phone units. If the rumours are true, Sony Xperia Z3 will have a comparable curve design toMicrosoft's Nokia Lumia 925.

High-End Camera

According to GSM Arena, Sony Xperia Z3 will sport a 20.7-megapixel rear facing camera with Samsung's very own G lens technology. This high-end snapper will allow smart phone users who are fond of taking photos and other snapshots to have hours and hours of picture taking moments.

Enormous Display

The Daily Tech said that Sony Xperia Z3 will have an enormous 5.15-inch display with a screen resolution of 1080 pixels. With this huge screen size, smart phone users will be able to clearly see the text messages, graphics, and other information displayed on the gadget's screen.

Great Processor

The Twitter post from @evleaks mentioned that Sony Xperia Z3 will be powered by quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and Adreno 330 Krait 400 clocked at 2.4 GHz. It will reportedly have 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory. This great processor is comparable to Samsung Galaxy S5 which allows smart phone users to perform different tasks at the same time such as listening to music while browsing the internet, reading emails, or playing games.

Updated OS

GSM Arena also mentioned that Sony Xperia Z3 will run on Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system but there is a possibility that the smart phone will also unpack an Android L OS. Either way, the updated OS will allow smart phone users will expect significant updates on the operating system of Sony's next flagship phone.

Sony is expected to unpack the Xperia Z3 at the Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) trade show come September of this year.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini Release Date Slated For Aug. 7 in the UK

2014-07-31T11:08:00.002-07:00

Samsung has been releasing a slew of devices this year with the Galaxy S5, Galaxy K Zoom,Galaxy Tab S, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy Tab Q leading the way. However, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini saw only a limited release in July. Nonetheless, the compact device will hitthe store shelves in the UK on Aug. 7.

The Galaxy S5 Mini is already available inRussia and Germany. With Britain as the new destination, the handset can be expected to make a landfall in many other regions shortly. Potential buyers can purchase the Galaxy S5 Mini from Samsung's official online store and also from the retailers like Phones 4u. Moreover, the handset can be availed in gold, blue, black and white colour choices, according to GSM Arena.

When it comes to price, the Samsung handset can be purchased for £389.95 without a contract. It is worth noting that,the Galaxy S5 Mini retails for €380 in Germany. Therefore, the device is very pricey in the UK market.

When it comes to specifications and features, the Galaxy S5 Mini comes with a 4.5-inch Super AMBLED display bundled with 720 x 1,280 pixels screen resolution and 326 ppi pixel density. The smartphone sports the same perforated plastic rear of the Galaxy S5. In addition, there is a glossy but fake metal band along the corners. Also, the handset comes protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

The thickness and the weight of Galaxy S5 Mini are 0.36 inches and 120 g respectively. The Galaxy S5 Mini is powered by a quad-core (Exynos 3 Quad chipset) Cortex-A7 processor, clocked at 1.4 GHz. When it comes to memory, the handset houses a relatively better 1.5 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage capacity with microSD card support for expansion up to 64 GB.

Furthermore, the phone runs on Android OS v4.4.2 KitKat (upgradable to higher versions) along with Samsung's TouchWiz UI. The device houses an 8 MP primary camera with LED flash and a 2.1 MP secondary shooter unit. Also, the Galaxy S5 Mini comes equipped with Li-Ion 2100 mAh (user-replaceable) battery unit.

Along with the standard connectivity options like Bluetooth v4.0, Wi-Fi, LTE, microUSB slots, the device also supports NFC. Additionally, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini handset features water and dust proof exterior. Hence the device is IP67 certified.

Similar to the 2014 flagship Galaxy S5, the compact device features fingerprint scanner and heart-rate monitor. In addition, the smartphone sports Ultra Power Saving Mode, Kids Mode, Private Mode, and KNOX among others.

4 answers you are getting wrong in your interview

2014-07-27T04:44:00.001-07:00

Mismatch between the candidate responses at an interview and the recruiter’s expectations can lead to loss of time and effort. Here’s how to avoid this.

After a failed attempt at an interview, one often wonders what went wrong? HR professionals tell us what kind of responses they expect from candidates and how they would like them to prepare for the interview questions.

What interests you about this job?

What prospective employers are looking for here is a match between the candidate’s natural inclination and acquired skills and how they match the job they have applied for.

“In their enthusiasm to get the job (any job) candidates often drop jargon to cover a generic answer about what they assume the job would entail,” says Sainul Abraham, HR head, AGRE Technologies. “What companies really look for is how much research has the candidate done about the job and the skills required.”

Did you go through our website? What do you think of it?

“This is often mistaken to be a check on the candidates’ knowledge about the clients or services provided. This is true only to a certain extent. A detailed talk about some of the stuff like a case study or even a service/product launch is a better way to take the discussion through so that the interviewer knows you have done your homework,” says Abraham.

Can you solve this problem?

This question is clearly to gauge the candidate’s problem-solving abilities.
“We are not expecting a fresher to come up with a solution to any of our problems. What we look for mostly is how he handles himself and the situation,” says Shiv Kumar, CEO, eNetworths. “I often ask him or her to think aloud, with the aim to understand their thinking process. Interestingly, I was once able to hire a candidate as a BD even though he had applied for a programmer’s job.”

What salary are you looking for?

“Freshers make two fundamental mistakes here – either they get enthusiastic and think they can bargain or get too desperate and say ‘anything’,” says Kumar. “What we are really looking for is how does the candidate handle this question. How much does he/she talk about the job vis-à-vis the salary? Above all, does he or she come across as someone who will stick around for about three years atleast.”

10 Apps That Will Help You Sleep Better

2014-07-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

We've all heard it before — the general rule of thumb is that a good night's sleep consists of about seven to eight hours. But with late-night work, stress or Netflix binges, achieving the perfect amount of shut-eye can be difficult.

From guided meditations to nature sound playlists, there are a handful of apps out there to help you get the sleep you need and want. You probably already sleep next to your smartphone, so why not take advantage of what these apps have to offer?

We rounded up a list of 10 apps to help you prepare for a restful night and turn off your brain. Check them out below.

1. Relax Melodies

Escape restless nights by listening to custom mixes of sounds from a selection of 64 high-quality ambient melodies. This sleep assistance app includes two binaural beats, an alarm and a timer system. You can also save, name and replay your favorites easily.

Relax Melodies is available for both Android and iPhone devices.

2. Relax & Sleep by Glenn Harrold

If you can't clear your head before bed, try a self-hypnosis meditation app like this one. Fall asleep to the soothing British voice of Glenn Harrold, an experienced clinical hypnotherapist. The free audio clip runs for about 27 minutes.

The app is available for both Android and iPhone devices.

3. Pzizz Sleep

If you're serious about regulating your sleep, Pzizz may be worth the download. This app claims to be the solution to insomnia. Due to its scientifically proven techniques that combine NLP (neurolinguistic programming), binaural beats and sound effects, the app is on the pricier side. With several sounds available, this software will mix a new playlist every time, so you never hear the same tune twice.

The app is available for both Android and iPhone devices.

4. Sleepmaker Rain

Plug in your earbuds and zone out to the natural sound of rain. There are 20 audio clips available that range from gentle, medium and heavy sounds of realistic rainfalls. From choices like "gentle onto forest foliage" to "heavy torrential downpour," you'll be sure to find one that suits your taste.

The app is available for both Android and iPhone devices.

5. Nature Sounds Relax and Sleep

Drift off with the peaceful and healing sounds of nature in this app. Along with water and sounds, Nature Sounds Relax and Sleep includes sounds of the sea, jungle, snow, birds and more. Not only can you use the melodies to fall asleep faster, but also to relax anytime throughout the day.

The app is available for Android devices.

6. Relax Melodies: Oriental Meditation

Created by the same developers of Relax Melodies, this app focuses on sounds of oriental nature. Close your eyes and listen to traditional Asian music from the Chinese flute, harp and more. You can mix and match the tunes as well as control the volume of each sound. The app also includes a basic alarm clock and timer.

It's available for both Android and iPhone devices.

7. aSleep

If you're looking for an app with a variety of sounds, you'll enjoy this app. Along with nature, instruments and lullaby tunes, there is a category called "Life" that allows you to listen to helicopters, showers, bubbles and the rhythm of a heart beating. There are also contemplative meditation tunes.

This app is available for iPhone devices.

8. Long Deep Breathing

Calm your mind by doing breathing exercises before bed. This app will guide you in a series of exercises and will help relieve any stress before falling asleep. The app also includes an advanced options feature that allows you to set the length of your inhales and exhales manually.

The app is available for iPhone devices.

9. Proactive Sleep Alarm Clock

If you're interested in keeping tabs of your sleep progress, take a look at this app. It features a "sleep diary" in which you can record your sleep habits and keep track of your exercise and other health behaviors. You'll receive personalized feedback based on the information you share with the app.

It also includes basic features such as an alarm clock, snooze button and ambient music.

The app is available for both Android and iPhone devices.

10. Alarm Tunes

If you prefer to fall asleep or wake up to your favorite music, you may find this multifunctional alarm clock handy. You can doze off to your own customized playlists with the app's built-in music player and timer. The app has other convenient features, like shake to snooze, music fade-in and more.

The app is available for iPhone devices.

Nvidia's Shield Tablet Earns Praise for Hardware, Shrugs for Games

2014-07-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

Nvidia is expanding its Shield line of gaming products with the launch of a gaming tablet and accompanying wireless controller.

Designed for high performance, the tablet is powered by Nvidia's Tegra K1 processor, which includes 192 graphics processing unit cores. It will be frequently updated with software updates designed to draw stronger performance and additional capabilities from the hardware. The tablet follows on from the release last year of the Shield Portable handheld device.

The tablet has an eight-inch screen with 1920x1200 resolution for full 1080p high-definition video. It features dual front-facing speakers and a dual bass reflex port with a built-in microphone, along with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and optional LTE connectivity. It has 2 GB RAM, 5 megapixel front- and rear-facing cameras, a gyroscope, an accelerometer and a compass. It weighs 13.7 ounces, and measures 8.8 x 5.0 x 0.36 inches.

Controller Focus

There's an optional cover consumers can add to protect the screen or use as a kickstand. The wireless controller, also optional, is designed for use with both Android tablets and PCs. It uses WiFi Direct connectivity, which reputedly offers lower latency than Bluetooth-based controllers.

It also has an integrated microphone that can be used for voice commands, along with a headset jack, touchpad and volume controls.

The tablet can run Android games that support the Shield platform or stream games from owners' PCs. Consumers will be able to stream games from Nvidia's Grid cloud platform as well, though it is currently in beta and available only to Shield owners in Northern California at present. Meanwhile, users can connect the tablet to TVs for big-screen gaming through a mini-HDMI port.

Players can opt to stream their games on Twitch, and overlay an image of themselves in their stream using the camera. The tablet is the first device to use Nvidia's ShadowPlay game-capture function.

Android Apps

Since the tablet runs on Android KitKat, users can surf the Web, listen to podcasts and music, and watch movies through its access to Google Play. They also can opt to use the included stylus to create art or take notes through handwriting recognition.

The tablet is preloaded with the Shield Hub app, which is the focal point for discovering Shield-optimized games, and for launching games and apps. It comes with platform game Trine 2, which has been optimized for the Tegra processor.

Classic games such as Half-Life 2, Portal, The Walking Dead, and several titles in the Grand Theft Auto series are available to play on the tablet. However, the paucity of high-profile exclusives might prove a drawback for the device.

'Desirable Exclusives'

"One major weakness of the Shield ecosystem is the lack of desirable games exclusives," said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games at IHS.

"Android games playable on the TV or ports of old PC games are not enough to sell this device to the dedicated gamer," he told TechNewsWorld.

"The ability to stream games from a GeForce GTX-equipped PC over home WiFi via the device to the TV -- in the same way the Shield console already does -- is attractive, but only to a small subsegment of PC gamers," said Harding-Rolls. "If Nvidia can extend its cloud gaming proposition beyond a select beta test in California, then this would widen the desirability significantly."

Pricing for the tablet is US$299 for the 16-GB model and $399 for the 32-GB version (storage is expandable up to 128 GB with a MicroSD card). The controller costs $59 and the cover $39.

All three products are available for pre-order in the U.S., Canada, and some European countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Spain. The tablet and controller will start shipping on July 29 in the U.S. and mid-August in Europe, Nvidia spokesperson Jordan Dodge told TechNewsWorld.

'Technical Beast'

The Shield tablet "is a technical beast, like the original Shield handheld," said Lewis Ward, games research director at IDC.

"It looks like it's got about twice the frames per second as the iPad Air. It basically has the power of a pretty high-end PC in the palm of your hand, which is what you would expect a company like Nvidia to produce. It's great on the hardware side," he told TechNewsWorld.

"The huge weakness, as with the original device -- which as far as I can tell has not sold very well at all -- is the games catalog," Ward added.

"The number of optimized games for the controller feature, which is really a differentiation piece, as far as I can tell is about 175 games. So, it's just too small of a games catalog. Until there's some breakout MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena)-type hit on smartphones and tablets, where a controller interface makes a huge difference on the outcome, I'm just skeptical that a device like this is going to sell well," he said.

"Compared to other gaming tablets on the market, the price -- at $299/299 euros/Pounds 229 for the WiFi version -- appears well pitched," Harding-Rolls said.

"We have already seen Xiaomi's Tegra K1-based MiPad enter the market at a moderately lower price point, but it is not curated for the gamer in the same way as the Shield Tablet is. However, pricing alone is not enough to entice adopters if the value proposition across content and services does not complete the picture for the consumer," he pointed out.

"Nvidia's direct-to-consumer sales strategy is much less developed in markets outside North America," Harding-Rolls noted. "The company has significant work to do to build out its capability here."

Apps by which you can save money while making international calls

2014-07-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

Voxox

The consumer service from VoxOx relies on downloadable software — mobile apps for Android & iOS or software for Windows & Mac. As is usual, VoxOx lets you call or text other VoxOx users for free, anywhere in the world, without any limits. You can also share photos, videos and location over chat (with in-chat language translation between 37 different languages). When you want to call other numbers, call rates are quite low. For instance, calls to the US are charged at 60 paise per minute. Calls to Singapore are a flat Rs 1.14 per minute. You can check call rates for each country here: www.voxox.com/callingrates. They also have several plans for small business and enterprise — with something special too: a complete cloud-based phone system called Cloud Phone (www.cloudphone.com).

Vopium

Vopium's app is free for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and select Symbian/Java phones. When you sign up, they'll give you 5 free minutes of international calls and 5 free text messages. As usual, if you're calling another Vopium user, the call is free (data/WiFi charges do apply, so unlimited plans are preferable if you plan to use this a lot). Calls to both US and Singapore are Rs 1.81 per minute. However, regular users should opt for the US$10.75 pack (30-day validity) that gives you 30 international text messages and 1,000 minutes of talk time to 52 countries.

Line

The popular free messaging app Line has started a service called Line Premium Call when you want to use the app to call landline numbers in other countries. You use the same messaging app on your phone to make the call. The mobile app is available for free on Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Nokia Asha & Firefox OS. On the computer, you can get it for Windows or Mac. As you start dialling the number (or after you select a number to call from your contact list), the app displays the cost before you make the call. Calls to the US and to Singapore are Rs 1.20 per minute. If you like the service and plan to use it on a regular basis, you can take the 30-day plans for further discounts on call rates.

RebTel

RebTel has free apps for Android, iOS (including iPad) and Windows Phone. Calls with RebTel are free. If your phone is not supported (or if you're on a feature phone), you can call abroad using a local access number (you will pay some additional amount to your phone company for the local call). Rates vary depending on whether to go for the flexible RebTel credit (1 year validity) or the Big Saver (100 minutes) and Max Saver (1,000 minutes) packs: saver packs have a 30-day validity & minutes don't carry over. So, for calls to the US, you pay 90 paise per minute with credit, 54 paise with Big Saver & 30 paise with Max Saver. To call Singapore, it costs Rs 1.14 per minute with credit, 76 paise with Big Saver & 54 paise with Max Saver.

TruPhone

The free TruPhone app is available for Android, iOS and BlackBerry. After a quick registration and phone verification, you can start making free calls and sending free texts to other TruPhone users. The app automatically shows you which of your contacts are already on TruPhone so that you can call them directly. To call other numbers, you can purchase credit from within the app in multiples of US$ 3, 5, 10 or 20. The call rates are displayed within the app itself. You can also choose to invite some of your contacts to TruPhone — if they download the app and register, you can make a free call to them within minutes. It works over 3G or WiFi plus there's a voicemail service built in for the times when you can't accept calls.

Vyke

Vyke is available to download on Android, iOS (including iPad), BlackBerry and on a Windows PC. New users get 50% extra credit by entering the code BONUS50 (this is valid only for the first top up, when buying credits on www.vyke.com - not through the app). Calls to both US and Singapore are Rs 1.02 per minute. Now the special offering here is called VykeZone: this is a set of destinations where they charge a fixed amount per call (60 minutes per call). So if you have family/friends in Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, UK, USA or Venezuela — you pay Rs 9.03 per call. Each call can last up to 60 minutes. To keep talking, make another call.

FooCall

FooCall's app is available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Once you download the app and sign up, they give you $0.30 for free towards your first call. You can check call rates to any country from within the app — calls to USA are 90 paise per minute while calls to Singapore range from 90 paise to Rs 1.20 per minute. FooCall's speciality is special package deals. For instance, they offer a 30-day worldwide unlimited (with a fair usage policy) plan which includes calls to 57 countries for just US$14.99.

Skype

To call international numbers (landline or mobile), you need to purchase Skype Credits. Credits can be purchased online for as low as $5 using a credit card. After credits are added in your account, you can call over 40 countries with US calls starting at Rs 1.39 per minute. You can check rates on www.skype.com. You can also get 60/120 minute or unlimited calls per month subscription packs. A 2 hour call duration fair usage policy applies to unlimited packs.

Nimbuzz

Nimbuzz offers a service called NimbuzzOut for international calls. The process is similar: add Nimbuzz credits to your account by purchasing them using a credit card or PayPal. The minimum credit purchase is $10. Nimbuzz offers calling rates to US starting at 48 paisa per minute. Detailed rates for calling landlines/mobiles can be viewed on www.nimbuzzout.com. They also offer subscription-based calling minute bundles for a few countries for frequent callers.

Viber

Viber's international calling service called VIber Out is currently available only for iPhone and Android users. You can buy calling credits starting at $5 using a credit card or Paypal by logging in to your account on www.viber.com. Calling rates vary depending on the country: calls to the US start as low as Rs 1.14 per minute. However, unlike the competitors, Viber does not offer any subscription-based calling packs or unlimited packs for frequent callers.

Fring

Fring claims to offer the cheapest call cost starting at just 6 paisa per minute. You have to buy minimum calling credits worth Rs 800 from www.fring.com or go for a monthly subscription for unlimited calls at Rs 400 per month. You can call the US for as low as 72 paisa per minute. The subscription is subjected to fair use policy (no more than 3 hours per day, limited to 20 numbers per day and 50 numbers a month). The service is currently only available for iPhone and Android users.

Smartphone users spend 3 hours on device every day

2014-07-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

A survey carried out in 18 Indian cities has revealed that 12 out of every 100 housewives use smartphones as portable video players when someone else is watching television, 11% professionals shop online at work with this device and 16% of all users watch videos on them in bed rather than switching on the TV.

The survey carried out in April-June 2014 among 4,000 smartphone users shows that an average Indian spends over three hours daily on their smartphone and that 25% check their phones over 100 times a day.

Over the last two years, average time spent on apps-WhatsApp, Facebook, Candy Crush-has increased 63%, showing a 20% rise in time spent by users on the device nationwide. A third of the time spent on smartphones goes into apps and this trend is expected to continue, the study conducted by Ericsson's ConsumerLab stated.

"Social and chat apps are the reason why most new users buy a smartphone. However, 40% mature smartphone users say its usage is no longer limited to social purposes. (At least) 24% smartphone owners use mobile apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat for business purposes to sell products and services, expanding their reach to new customers," said Ajay Gupta, vice-president, strategy and marketing, Ericsson India.

Mobile video usage is evolving, with mobile broadband users spending 61% more time on video apps compared to non-users. For one-third of consumers, smartphones are the only screen used to view online mobile videos.

According to Gupta, network speed variations also have an impact in shaping smartphone behaviour. "Consumers receiving higher speeds spend twice as much time streaming videos and browsing internet compared to those who experience slower speeds. Users with slower network speeds are seen spending more time on social websites such as Facebook, playing games offline and browsing chat apps which require less data and are not as reliant on a fast network," he said.

Gionee to launch thinnest-ever smartphone

2014-07-23T22:01:00.001-07:00

Just months after launching the Gionee Elife S5.5, Gionee seems to be working towards breaking a record set by its own smartphone.

The Chinese smartphone company is working on a ridiculously slim smartphone which is just 5mm thick. The company's Elife S5.5 holds the record for being the thinnest smartphone at 5.5mm.

Chinese certification agency TENAA has published a certification filing for a Gionee phone codenamed GN9005, which is just 5mm thick. It measures 139.8x67.4x5mm and weigh 94.6gram.

Compared to the Elife S5.5, the upcoming phone's hardware specifications are inferior. It sports a 4.8-inch 720x1280p display (the S5.5 has a full-HD one). Unlike the Elife S5.5, which boasts an octa-core processor and 2GB RAM, the phone will be powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM. The slim phone will sport an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera, and come with a 2050mAh battery. It will support China Mobile network band (TD-SCDMA) and TD-LTE 4G.

BlackBerry Q5 gets a Rs 6,000 price cut

2014-07-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Canadian handset maker BlackBerry today slashed prices of its QWERTY devices - 9320, 9720 and Q5 - by as much as Rs 6,000 to sell them for Rs 9,900 onwards.

The price of 9320 has been cut by 10% from Rs 11,000 to Rs 9,900, while 9720 will be available for Rs 11,990 (from Rs 15,990 earlier).

BlackBerry 9320 is the first 3G enabled device from the smartphone maker's portfolio in the sub-Rs 10,000 range.

The Q5 will now be available for Rs 13,990, cheaper by almost 30% from the earlier price of Rs 19,990.

Commenting on the price cut, Sameer Bhatia, director (distribution) at BlackBerry India said, "The classic BlackBerry keyboard has huge fan base who swear by the distinct typing experience that BlackBerry offers."

These compelling price-points will enable QWERTY fans to experience the latest technology and ease of use in one device, he added.

The offer will run across all BlackBerry retail networks.

The company had earlier slashed prices of its devices like Z30 and Z10 under special offers, which saw phenomenal response, often resulting in stocks running out.

Flipkart crashes after Xiaomi Mi 3 goes on sale

2014-07-23T21:53:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: Indian shopping site Flipkart crashed temporarily on Tuesday, minutes after Xiaomi's Mi 3 went on sale, as customers rushed to order the Chinese vendor's much-awaited Rs13,999 smartphone. The phone, which is only being offered through the site, was sold out in under 40 minutes, according to Xiaomi.

At around noon, when sales began, Flipkart site showed a 404 error, meaning the webpage wasn't found. An hour later it showed an out-ofstock message on the page promoting the device.

The price offered by the online retailer is about Rs1,000 lower than the Rs14,999 Xiaomi had announced at the launch earlier in the month. According to Xiaomi's Facebook page Mi India, the company got more than 100,000 registrations until July 21 from people seeking to purchase the Mi 3.

The Flipkart site said registrations for the phone will restart on July 28 and sales at noon on July 29. "The demand is much higher than anticipated. We have already started work on ramping up the supply chain to meet the demand for the Mi 3 and for other devices. We are still figuring out ways to handle the future demand," Manu Kumar Jain, head of Indian operations at Xiaomi told ET.

"We will ensure that customers who missed out on today's sale are automatically registered to buy a Mi 3 on 29th," Jain added.

In a separate statement, Flipkart said the company had anticipated a traffic spike and scaled up its services, but the number of customers who logged in immediately after the sale went live caused the process to slow down for a while. "We are expanding our capacity in order to provide a smoother shopping experience the next time."

The Flipkart website had previously experienced similar issues when it offered Motorola's Moto E smartphone for sale. That and the Moto G were launched in India solely through Flipkart.

Jain said the company is working with Flipkart to ensure the technical issues are resolved. "We underestimated the demand we would receive and we are taking steps to ramp up the supply as soon as possible."

Flipkart and Jain didn't comment on the number of units sold in India, but a person familiar with the matter said that Xiaomi has brought very low numbers under 10,000 of the smartphone to India. Jayanth Kolla, analyst founder at Convergence Catalyst, believes that bringing a small stock could be a part of Xiaomi's strategy to get the initial response.

"We have seen in China Xiaomi bringing in very low numbers of devices for the first three days just to get the feedback... It seems that the company's strategy is working for them," he said, adding that Xiaomi is targeting the urban audience.

The price of Rs13,999 pits Mi 3 against mid-segment devices such as the Moto G and BlackBerry's new Z3 device. The Moto G and the Moto E were big hits in India while Z3 is also having a decent run. Flipkart has sold close to one million Moto G smartphones in the country, an insider said.

Windows Phone 8.1: Finally, a worthy rival to Android and iOS

2014-04-18T00:32:00.000-07:00

It has been nearly four years since Microsoft launched Windows Phone. The OS is beautiful to look at and with its unique tile-based user interface, offers an approach to software that is fresh and modern compared to Android or iOS. The OS even forced both iOS and Android to change their approach to user interface and go for a flatter design.

Unfortunately, each time we reviewed a Windows Phone device - all Lumia phones run this operating system - in the past we also found that Microsoft's mobile operating system, while good to look at, could not match the functionality of iOS or the flexibility of Android.

In fact, the early version of the OS - Windows Phone 7 - was incredibly light on functionality, lacking even the option to copy and paste text.

Since 2010, Microsoft is hard at work, trying to fix Windows Phone. The OS improved somewhat with each iteration. The Mango update was decent and so was Windows Phone 8. But it is only now with Windows Phone 8.1 (WP8.1) that we feel Microsoft has finally caught up to Android and iOS.

WP8.1 is a big update. It adds a number of features. It became available through developer channels on April 14 (see below to know how to get it). We have been using it for the last three days and we can tell you that finally Windows Phone fans have the OS they deserve.

Why do we say that? First let's talk about the two big features:

Windows Phone gets a personal assistant
Windows Phone, a though an operating system for smartphones, was never really felt all that smart. That is until now. With Windows 8.1, Microsoft has added a virtual assistant to the operating system. It is similar to Google Now in Android and Siri in iOS. Similar but not the same. Unlike Google Now, which is not a chatty type and won't tell you any jokes, Cortana can talk back and say funny things. And unlike Siri, which doesn't believe in the background tracking of your flight, Cortana can be like Google Now and can track a courier package for you after getting the tracking number from your email. In a way, Cortana is best of Siri and Google Now.

The key bit about virtual assistants is that they may have all the features and may sound sexy and funny but unless the technology behind them, especially the search and voice recognition is not good, they are useless. Cortana, however, is great!

Even while dealing with heavily-accented English pronunciation, it recognises the voice commands almost all the time. It is as good as Google's voice recognition on Android phones. This is an impressive feat.

Once Cortana has done hearing what you are saying, it can perform several tasks for you. It can set alarms and reminders. You can dictate messages to it and ask it to call a contact. It can search internet (Bing is supported, Google is not) for a topic. It can show you headlines of the day on topics that interest you. And of course, it can track your flights and courier packages, though this functionality is not yet available in India. (In fact, Cortana is not yet officially available in Windows Phones in India).

Apart from adding the functionality to perform tasks on the phone with the voice commands, Cortana makes Windows Phone sexy. It makes the OS smart. The OS no longer looks like or feel like second rate to Android or iOS. It is just a perception. But we feel it will go a big way in attracting consumers to Windows Phone devices.

You can haz notifications!
At last, Windows Phone has a notification centre. And it is uncannily similar to the one in Android. But we are not complaining because the notification centre in Android is amazing and works well.

In WP 8.1, you can swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notication centre. There are four toggles to control Wi-Fi, BlueTooth, Airplane Mode and Rotation Lock. There is also an option to go to "all settings" directly from the notification centre. Notification can be cleared with a swipe. In the settings for Notifications+Actions, a user can configure which apps are allowed to give notifications and which apps aren't.

Compared to Android, the notification centre in WP8.1 is still basic but it works well and goes a long way in making Microsoft's OS more approachable and easier to use for mainstream consumers.

Other than these two big features, there are also a number of small enhancement in the OS. Some of them are really useful, some not so much. But all of them improve Windows Phone in one way or other. Some of the important new features are:

SMS search: Phew! Finally, you can search through your messages on a Windows Phone. This one simple features adds so much usability to the OS.

Set a wallpaper: Windows Phone now allows a user to set a background image on the screen. The tiles became transparent if you set a background image. This looks good and helps a user customise the phone in a personal way.

New camera app: The camera app in the WP8.1 has a new layout as well as adds a feature to capture images in 'burst mode'.

Extra row of tiles: Instead of two rows of tiles, now if you want you can have three rows on tiles. On phones with smaller screen, this will not be much useful but those who use Windows Phone devices with bigger screens will appreciate it.

Updated calendar: Among the major changes, weekly view is the most significant.

Swype to type: The Windows Phone keyboard now supports "swyping". This means to type a word, users can swipe finger on the alphabets in that word. A lot of people using Android find it a faster way to type so it is good to see it now available to Windows Phone users. In our use, we found that typing through "swyping" in WP8.1 keyboard is easy and words are recognised accurately.

New Internet Explorer: WP8.1 comes with Internet Explorer 11. It has a reading mode as well as a few user interface enhancements. However, we still prefer Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS compared to IE on Windows Phone.

* You can tell Cortana to enable "Quite Hours" if you don't wish to get calls or messages while you are sleeping or in a meeting. This is similar to Do Not Disturb on iOS and works very well.

* The Facebook integration with Me hub has not been removed. This is a welcome change and simplifies the user interface.

Conclusion
As we said earlier, WP8.1 allows Microsoft to finally match what Google and Apple offers with their Android and iOS operating systems. And this makes Windows Phone a very good operating system and a viable option if you don't want Android and iOS.

Essentially, the strength of Windows Phone remains the user interface. The flat, tile-based user interface is unique. With emphasis on bold colours, it is also catchy and looks fresh. Another good thing about the Windows Phone user interface is that doesn't lag, even on budget phones like Lumia 520. If there are performance issues, the OS hides it well from users with clever use of animations.

This makes Windows Phone better than Android, especially on the budget phones. Until now, it was missing too much on functionality to be really a good choice for consumers but with WP8.1 Microsoft has more or less fixed it.

Android is still more flexible, has better integration of Google services like Gmail and Google Maps, which almost everyone uses, and offers access to much better third-party apps. iOS too is a mature operating system and offers consumers very good smartphone experience. But with the latest update Windows Phone is finally at a stage where we don't have any qualms about recommending it if you don't like the look and feel of Android or iOS.

How to get Windows Phone 8.1
Currently, Windows Phone 8.1 is only available to developers. It will be rolled out to all devices that run Windows Phone 8 in the coming months but for now there is no definite timeline on when different devices will get it. In case you don't want to wait, you can get the version meant for developers but it is not final and may have bugs/software glitches and performance issues (we didn't encounter any). Also, installing developer version of the OS will void your warranty.

Here is how you can get the developer version of Windows Phone 8.1:

* Go to Windows Phone App Studio website and register yourself using the Microsoft account. It is free.

* Download and install an app called "Preview For Developer" from the Windows Phone app store.

* Open Preview For Developer and register using your Microsoft account.

* Go to settings and use the "phone update" feature to download the latest updates, including Windows Phone 8.1

How to enable Cortana
If you are in India, you will not get Cortana in Windows Phone 8.1. But you can enable it by following these steps:

* Go to Language in Settings and select English (United States).

* Go to Region in Settings and select United States.

If required, download the language pack (around 22MB) and reboot the phone if prompted. After the phone has been rebooted, you will see Cortana in the list of apps. Open it and configure it using onscreen instructions.

Google Adds SLR-Like Lens Blur To New Camera App

2014-04-18T00:25:00.002-07:00

Yet another feature once only found in expensive SLR cameras is making its way to smartphones: the buttery background blur caused by wide-aperture lenses. Google is bringing a simulated version of this blur to Android phones worldwide.

The feature is part of a redesigned camera app out today from Google, available only to devices running Android 4.4 (KitKat) and up.

Background blur, also called bokeh, is an optical effect made possible by the opening in the lens through which light passes — the aperture. The wider this is opened, the more light is let in (allowing for shots in lower light) but the narrower the area in front of the camera where the image is sharp — sometimes it can be just a fraction of an inch.

Smartphone cameras don't generally show this effect because their compact lenses and sensors don't allow for the distortions of light necessary to create it. Simulating it is possible — but only if you can somehow tell how far away everything in the image is.

Google solves this problem by having the user move the camera after taking the picture, during which the software captures more images in succession, tracking objects and determining their distance. This creates a "depth map," and from there blur can be applied by the user to the background or foreground, and to whatever degree they choose.

Others have achieved this with other means: Lytro's famous but impractical camera measured tiny differences in the paths of light waves, and the recently announced Nokia Refocus app uses a technique something like Google's but without the moving camera bit.

SLR users will doubtless mock this method as being as close to real bokeh as Instagram's filters are to the famous film stocks on which they are based. But fake or not, it's a tool any photographer, mobile or professional, will be glad to have in their possession.

You can read more about the technology at Google Research's blog post.

Honda's ASIMO Robot Is Now Surprisingly Human

2014-04-18T00:23:00.001-07:00

Honda's remarkable humanoid robot, ASIMO, has come a long way since I first saw it stiffly walk across a stage more than a decade ago.

The latest edition can run briskly, climb stairs with ease, dance like Travolta, kick a ball and jump up in down in what can only be described as a robot tantrum.

The 4 feet tall, 115-pound robot now features five dextrous fingers on each hand with force feedback sensors. As we saw in its first North America demonstration at the International Auto Show in New York on Wednesday, ASIMO can pick up a sealed container filled with orange juice, unscrew the top, pick up a paper up with its other hand, pour the juice and carefully set both cup and container back on the table.

It's a simple task for humans. For ASIMO, it takes a great deal of sensors, including its two camera eyes and the sensors in its hands — which not only tell the robot that it's holding something, but what kind of object it is and how much it weighs.

Earlier versions of ASIMO were somewhat larger and heavier, but this robot has a far greater degree of autonomy.

When I first saw ASIMO (which stands for "Advanced Step in
Innovative Mobility”) in 2003, the robot was remote controlled from behind the stage. Now the engineers program it with simple tasks — and ASIMO uses its sensors figures out the rest.

It can navigate a floor, labeled with tape so ASIMO can keep track of where it's going. It can walk up a flight of steps without pausing (or falling). ASIMO still has to pause before descending the steps (it kind of stomps down them).

The robot's battery still doesn't last more than 40 minutes, and ASIMO has an unfortunate habit of walking in a semi-crouch. But it can now also jump in place and hop on one foot. Neither of these actions look super smooth, and seem unimpressive until you realize you're judging a man-made object by human standards.

It's a robot that can jump, not a person jumping while wearing a robot suit.

Honda, which started the ASIMO project in 1986, is spending a lot of time working on ASIMO's communication skills. The robot can understand a handful of phrases and is now quite adept, thanks to its articulated hands, at Japanese sign language. Honda executive Jeffrey Smith told us that ASIMO is in the process of learning American Sign Language.

Best know for making cars, Honda, is working hard on removing the "creepiness" factor from ASIMO, a task that becomes increasingly important — and perhaps difficult — as ASIMO becomes more and more human-like and starts to approach the uncanny valley.

ASIMO, for example, can serve tea — but instead of focusing the robot entirely on the task of delivering and pouring hot liquid, Honda has programmed ASIMO to pause and look at the guests before bending down and placing the tea on the table. That simple act, which mimics what a human might do, "helps people have more friendliness and affinity toward ASIMO," explained one Honda executive through an interpreter.

It's also critical that ASIMO, which can now recognize faces and vocal commands, also read our non-verbal communication. Honda researchers hope to build this skill by placing ASIMO in more real-world situations, where they can collect additional data.

In our brief time with ASIMO, the robot showed off all its skills, including running across the stage at nearly 3 miles an hour; it even shook my hand. As I held its cool, magnesium alloy appendage and felt it firmly, yet gently, pump my hand, I imagined a not-too-distant future where a robot like ASIMO is carrying my luggage, fetching a ginger ale from the fridge, or keeping my children entertained with a game of soccer.

For now, though, ASIMO remains an impressive piece of robotic technology — one that, like a favorite aunt, visits far too infrequently and has no timetable for a lengthier or permanent stay.

Change Google Plus Custom URLs?

2014-01-17T11:59:00.002-08:00

Did you noticed the URL of my profile in the above image? Yes, it is custom which comes with the name or username and the long code is removed now from my profile! Recently, Google has announced the custom URLs for Google+ accounts and profiles and it really seems a great update because mostly people was being irritated by that old long URL which came with the code. In this post, I'm going to show you that how can get or change the custom URL which will be short than previous.

Google+ Custom URLs - Who Can Get This?

As you know that Google has recently announced the custom URLs because the old URL seems long and it was annoying people many times because we couldn't easily remember the old long URL and this new one is really simple and short which can be remembered just by seeing it only one time. I would like to recommend you that before getting it you must read the terms, conditions, policies and principles of this new feature. Read Google+ Custom URLs Term of Use.

Now, this awesome feature is available to only established profiles which may have good number of followers, friends, well designed with cover and profile pic, real and accurate information in the profile like date of birth, living place, work etc, it should be verified with the phone number and you should have the verified Google authorship if you own a blog or website. It just means that you should have the strong profile. If you've all these requirements then you can easily get it. You can checkout the following link to know that how can we verify the authorship and it helps to get that custom URL.

Read : How To Get Google Authorship Verified?

How To Get Custom URL for Google+ Profile?

There is nothing any big process in getting the custom URL but once if you're eligible for that feature, then you can get it in seconds. So, follow the below simple tutorial.

Go To Google+ and Sign in to your account.
Go To Profile.
There, you will see the blue color notification asking for getting the custom URL.
Click on "Get it" button.
Now, it will ask for the confirmation and also for choosing your own custom URL.
Edit or change the URL and confirm it in last.
That's all, You're done!

Was it difficult? - Final Words

I don't think it was any difficult process for getting the custom URL for your Google+ profile but it was the most easiest thing. Now enjoy the short custom URL and also show your friends about and share this tutorial with them. Remember, if you've pages on Google+ and if they're also eligible then you can also get it for your pages. And if you can't see that blue notification bar then you need to complete your profile or verify the authorship and you will get it soon! Keep visiting us for more news, Take Care!

Show Author Profile Picture In Google Search Results

2014-01-17T11:59:00.001-08:00

Google is making a lot of improvements and introducing latest features in their whole system for the development. Some months ago, the latest feature was introduced specially for webmasters and bloggers and that is Google Authorship Markup. It is a kind of certificate or license which helps webmasters and bloggers to produce content is a better way. If you've verified your Google Authorship then whenever you'll search for any keyword and if your webpage appears in the search results then it will be having a profile picture or it will appear like thumbnails. Most of webmasters are willing to get their verified Google authorship to show the author image and today here I'll be guiding them on how can we verify Google authorship and show author image in search results.

In order to display author profile picture in Google search, you may setup profile picture for Google+ and you can use photoshop online free to edit or customize your picture.

Display Author Profile Picture In Google Search

In order to show the profile picture in Google search results, you will need a Google+ account. Because, you've to connect the Google+ account with your Blogger account. It actually shows the Google+ profile, that's why It is required. There are two main methods to to get the Google authorship verified. The first one is verifying with domain email and second is one by manually inserting the rel='author' attribute to the Google+ profile links. And second method needs to link the profile with your site manually. We're going to discuss these both methods below.

Method#1 : Verifying The Domain Email

Verifying the Google authorship with domain web email is not difficult. But it is the most easiest way. And here you will just need to have an email address created in your domain hosting panel or control panel. If you've bought the hosting of your domain then you can easily create that email or you might have already created. It will look likeyourname@yourdomain.com or simply my email address Master@techbloggermaster.com. You can also contact your hosting provider or 24x7 to create that kind of email if you've hosting. Let's come to start the tutorial.

First of all, Sign in to your Google+ account.
Secondly, Go to Google authorship markup.
There in the right side, you will see an input box in the last for domain email address. Simply fill the email address which you've but remember it must be created in your domain hosting like Master@techbloggermaster.com.

After entering the email address, easily click on "Sign Up For Authorship" button at the bottom.
Now you will receive an email address for confirmation that email. It will be having a link which you've to click.
Open the inbox of that email and click on the confirmation link.
A message will appear that you've verified the email address.
That's All for verifying Google authorship with email address.

Method#2 : Manually Verifying Google Authorship With rel='author'

This is another manual method specially for those who don't have the hosting for domain and still want to get verified Google authorship. This might be difficult for you but I don't think you will face any problem in doing this method if you follow this tutorial carefully. In this method, we'll make use of rel='author' attribute which help us and Google to verify the authorship. In this method you need an About Us page created in your blog and Google+ profile is also required as it is already needed while verifying Google authorship. So, let's begin the tutorial.

Step#1 : Adding Google+ Badge Widgets In Sidebar

The first thing is that I recommend to add the Google+ badges or widgets in your blog anywhere you want. But I think sidebar is the best idea. This will help you to get linked your profile and Google+ page with your site that will also help to Google in understanding that this is your own site. There is not any long process to add these widgets in your blog but previously, I'd shared a tutorial on how can we these kind badges in our blogger blogs. Just land on the tutorial given in the last upcoming sentence and follow the tutorial. I recommend to add the two widgets which are your Google+ profile and Google+ page if you have. Same as I've added in the sidebar, look at the sidebar and here is the tutorial.

Step#2 : Using rel='author' Attribute In About Us Page

Go to pages in Blogger and edit the About Us page.
Enter into the HTML Tab and add the following link code anywhere where you want to add.
Replace Google+ ID with the ID of your Google+ profile. [You will see the long ID number in the URL of your profile]
Replace Your Name With Your Name.
Don't touch or remove the rel='author' otherwise the tutorial won't work.
Publish or Update the About Us page.

Note : After adding the rel='author' link in your about us page, if you've more links in your blog going to your Google+ profile then I recommend to add rel='author' to all them. I'm not saying to add other links on any other place but If your google+ profile link is already added before the tutorial then you should add rel='author' to the link. Mostly, people have used social widgets in which Google+ profile link might be available. So if also have any kind of widget then add rel='author' to that link in that widget for the quick verification.

Step#3 : Adding your blog link in Google+ profile

By continuing the tutorial, this is last part of the tutorial in which we'll insert your blog link in your profile. And this will make sure to the Google that you're the actual owner. I won't waste your time and I'm not going into deep. Here is the tutorial.

Login to your account.
Go to the About page.
Scroll down and Links section will appear.
Click Edit button and a popup will appear. Simply, Add the link there.

After placing the link there. Save your profile and you've done!

Checking How The Profile Picture Will Appear In SERPs

This is the additional or advanced part of the post and in this part, we'll check that how the profile picture will appear in Google search results. By default, it will take about a week to completely display the picture in SERPs but there is a tool given by Google and by use of this, we can check that the authorship is verified correctly or not. So, let's check it.

Go to Structured Data Testing Tool
Enter the URL of your blog and click "Preview".
It might take some seconds to check and load the results.

Note : After completing the process, you've to wait at least a week to let the Google get verified your authorship and they may update the pages of you in SERPs. Sometimes, they take more than a month. So, please keep calm and wait for being completed the whole process.

Final Words

People mostly asked me through contact form and on social profiles that how do we show the image in search results. I'm sorry for being late to publish this tutorial. I hope this tutorial is surely going to help those who contact me and also for those who want to get authorship. If you've any problem regarding this guide then feel free to ask in comments. Also share your views on this guide and share this tutorial with your friends. Take Care!

ROLL LAPTOP Amazing new Technology 2012

2014-01-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

Roll Laptop

Watch below Video

Rolltop is a portable computer development concept for designer, architect and everyone, who would like to have a gadget, which, from an aesthetic standpoint alone, certainly hits the mark. By virtue of the OLED-Display technology and a multitouchscreen the utility of a laptop computer with its weight of a mini-notebook and screen size of 13 inch easily transforms into the graphics tablet, which with its 17-inch flat screen can be also used as a primary monitor due to the support attached to the back of the screen.

Rolltop 2.0 is a further development of Rolltop with some visible and mostly invisible improvements (e.g. internal design, placement of certain components etc

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tops 2013 charity giving list

2014-01-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly topped the giving list for US philanthropists after donating a Silicon Valley foundation with nearly one billion dollars.

Zuckerberg, along with wife, Priscilla Chan, contributed the sum to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation including 18 million in Facebook shares that totaled to about 992 million dollars.

According to Newsmax, Zuckerberg is joined by 14 other big ticket donors in the US, including outgoing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and businessman and political activist David Koch, who were among those giving away at least 100 million dollars of their fortunes at one time.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy released its annual charitable giving list in which Zuckerberg featured as the first person aged under 30 years of age to top the list of biggest donors.

The report said that Zuckerberg had made the same donation in 2012 with 18 million shares of Facebook stock, but that year the shares were valued at much less, worth under 500 million dollars.

Sibal praises C-DAC for making supercommuting history

2014-01-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal has congratulated the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) for achieving a significant milestone with the PARAM Yuva II supercomputer.

The supercomputer has been ranked first in India, ninth in the Asia Pacific Region and 44th in the world among the most power efficient computer systems as per the Green500 List announced at the Supercomputing Conference (SC'2013) in Denver, Colorado, USA.

PARAM Yuva - II uses hybrid technology - processor, co-processor and hardware accelerators - to provide the peak compute power of 520.4 Teraflop/s using 210 kiloWatt power. The interconnect network comprises of homegrown PARAMNet-III and Infiniband FDR System Area Network. This system is designed to solve large and complex computational problems. The system has 200 Terabytes of high performance storage, and requisite system software and utilities for parallel applications development.

Sibal said that supercomputing is very important for the all round advancements in the country, and added that the UPA-II Government is planning a big impetus for capacity building and advanced research and development in this area.

He said that he would expect many more contributions from C-DAC, as a key player, in this endeavour.

Supercomputers, in general, consume a lot of electrical power and produce much heat that necessitates elaborate cooling facilities to ensure proper operation.

This adds to increase in the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a supercomputer. To draw focus towards development of energy efficient supercomputers, Green500 ranks computer systems in the world according to compute performance per watt, thus providing a world ranking based on energy efficiency.

Energy consumed by supercomputers is measured at various Levels - L1, L2, L3 - for purpose of reporting. As the level increases, accuracy and rigor of measurement exercise also increases.

It is also a measure of our capability and noteworthy that C-DAC is the second organization worldwide to have carried out the Level 3 measurement of Power versus Performance for the Green500 List.

Hackers claim to expose phone information of 4.6 million Snapchat users

2014-01-04T09:35:00.000-08:00

SnapChat

Phone numbers paired with user names of over 4.6 million alleged Snapchat users were posted online by hackers, a few days after a security research group claimed a vulnerability in the social sharing service that could allow attackers to match phone numbers to Snapchat accounts.

“This database contains username and phone number pairs of a vast majority of the Snapchat users,” said a post on website SnapchatDB.info. The account has since been suspended, apparently by the hosting service. A cached version of the site can be viewed here.

The information was acquired through the recently patched Snapchat exploit and is being shared with the public to raise awareness on the issue, according to the post. “The company was too reluctant at patching the exploit until they knew it was too late and companies that we trust with our information should be more careful when dealing with it,” it added.

The hackers said they had “censored” for now the last two digits of the phone numbers in order to minimize spam and abuse, but asked people to contact them for the uncensored database, which they may agree to release under certain circumstances.

Gibson Security had published proof-of-concept code last week that takes advantage of the “find_friends” feature in the Snapchat application programming interface (API) to iterate and match the phone numbers of users to their Snapchat accounts in a short period of time. Gibson first revealed the vulnerability and other issues in August.

“Theoretically, if someone were able to upload a huge set of phone numbers, like every number in an area code, or every possible number in the U.S., they could create a database of the results and match usernames to phone numbers that way,” Snapchat wrote in response last week. “Over the past year we’ve implemented various safeguards to make it more difficult to do,” it added. “We recently added additional counter-measures and continue to make improvements to combat spam and abuse.”

After the release of the SnapchatDB database, Gibson said in a Twitter message that it knew nothing about SnapchatDB, but it was a matter of time until something like it happened. “Also the exploit works still with minor fixes,” it added.

Intex Aqua Octa Features MediaTek MT6592

2014-01-04T09:26:00.001-08:00

Intex Aqua Octa

With Intex Aqua Octa, Intex Technologies has kept its promise in bringing a smartphone with MediaTek MT6592 Octa core processor in India during the first week of January. The new phablet cum smartphone - Intex Aqua Octa features MediaTek's world's first true Octa-core mobile platform. The MT6592 SoC was introduced in November 2013 and has been popular ever since for having the eight CPU cores, each capable of clock speeds up to 2GHz, built on advanced 28nm HPM high-performance process. Thanks to the MediaTek scheduling algorithm, the process brings optimum temperature monitoring temperature and power consumption every single time it runs. The MediaTek MT6592 features a quad-core graphics engine, an advance video playback system supporting Ultra-HD 4Kx2K H.264 video playback and support for new video codecs such as H.265 and VP9, a 16-megapixel camera and a Full HD display.
All that power comes to Intex Aqua Octa through the 1.7 GHz processor.

Coming to the Aqua Octa specifications, we have a phone featuring 6-inch IPS display with 1280x720 pixel resolution running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system. With Dual SIM (3G+2G) support, Intex Aqua Octa packs inside it a 2300 mAh battery that promises six hours of talk time and 180 hours of standby. On the rear end of the phone, you will find a 13 megapixel camera with LED Flash, while on the front side, there's a 5 megapixel snapper for making video calls back home or taking selfies. The phone as such gives a high resolution video playability and support various video formats such as 3GPP, 3GP, MP4 and AVI and can play 60 FPS video files. The phone extends support for FM Radio and gets a 3.5 mm audio jack for your earphones and speakers. All this is under a body that weighs just 180 grams. Last but not the least are the connectivity features - These include: 3G, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth and AGPS.

The phone comes with a 16GB internal memory and 2 GB RAM. Speaking about the launch, Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Business Head – Mobile, Intex Technologies (I) Ltd. said, "The launch of ‘Aqua Octa’ reinforces our brand’s promise to bring premium smart devices at the leading edge of technology, to improve the quality of life of people at large. With the True Octa Core processor, Intex achieves another industry first by bringing the fastest 6-inch Android smartphone ever for the technically savvy customer. The incredibly responsive touch screen and innovative user interface adds that 'plus one' that our customers have come to expect from every Intex device."

Coming to the availability details - the Intex Aqua Octa which is available in white and black colors, will be available across 40,000 plus retail outlets, more than 42 INTEX SQUARES (exclusive retail stores), several hypermarkets and other leading e-commerce portals from January 15. At first, the Intex Aqua Octa showed up on the official website and Snapdeal started selling it an official price in India tag of Rs 20,000.

Opera TV Store comes to Samsung Blu-ray Disc players

2014-01-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

Opera, which has one of the most popular browsers for the three popular smart screens, is making a strong foray into the fourth screen, the television.

The Norwegian company has announced that from Thursday apps from the Opera TV Store will be available for download on select Samsung Blu-ray Disc players, “providing viewers with more choices of online and streaming entertainment for their TV screens and giving app and content owners a huge new audience”.

A note said content owners can easily transform their video and audio offerings into HTML5 apps for the Opera TV Store with Opera TV Snap, launched in July 2013. For instance, official users can turn their Dailymotion channel into an Opera TV Store app simply by clicking on the “create a TV app” button. It takes less than a minute and the service is free of charge – making it one of the fastest and easiest ways to reach Blu-ray player users.

The Opera TV Store delivers hundreds of optimized HTML5-based apps ranging from video and games to social media and news. “The Opera TV Store unleashes the full potential of online video content, the most popular consumption category on Blu-ray players and various other media player devices," said Aneesh Rajaram, SVP for TV & Devices, Opera Software. “With Samsung’s Blu-ray player on board, we significantly increase the reach we bring to our content partners and brands that are looking to engage with millions of consumers, while also providing those consumers with the best and widest choice in web content.”

The Opera TV Store is available on Samsung Blu-ray player Series 5 and Samsung Home Theater System Series 5, as well as some of Samsung's Series 4 models.