Technology | Gaming | Wisdom

DotAsia Is Giving Away Freebies To All .ASIA Domain Registrations

Raj Agrawal — Mon, 28 May 2012 06:30:11 +0000

Pitched as a FreeB.Asia promo, all .ASIA registrations (whether current or new), are eligible to receive a freebie. As per the press release, freebies have been allocated as per an hierarchy, weighted on the number of years a domain registration has been booked for. Mind that the giveaway is valid until 31st July, 2012.

This giveaway is targeted towards organisations all across the world who intend to market their business in Asian countries.

The FreeB.Asia promo accepts traditional ASCII characters as well as Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) (e.g. http://कंपनीनाम.asia/).

For 1 year registrations – A headphone is given away,

For 2 year registrations – You get a stylus pen (I didn’t quite get this one. Users would need an appropriate device in order to make use of it. But anyway, no point complaining. It’s free after-all),

For 5 year registrations – A Bluetooth keyboard,

For 10 year registrations – A 7” inch Android tablet.

Show Press Release (270 More Words)

MakeMyTrip Initiates ‘Social Travel’ In India With It’s New Tripalong App

Raj Agrawal — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:30:53 +0000

Tripalong is a sociable facility to help you kill a boring air-commuting experience. In fact, it encourages a more sensible use of social networking websites, specifically Facebook (which has nothing interesting to offer these days, apart from forcing users to share plentiful memes and inspirational quotes out of boredom and stir things up. Do something Mr. Zuck!). The app is available online for access and very soon, a mobile/ smart phone version of the app will roll out.

Watch this video explaining how the app works and how it can help you socialize and make your air commuting experience more interesting,

In order to use this app, you must have a Facebook account and have your tickets booked from MakeMyTrip.com. If you need to understand the exact privacy implications and settings, hit the ‘Show Press Release’ button below and scroll down to Annexure I and it’s following note.

Show Press Release (948 More Words)

MakeMyTrip Enables ‘Social’ Travel in India with Tripalong

Travel becomes fun as you enjoy the journey, and not just the destination!

Tripalong is the app for you if:

You have ever been in the same airport or flight as a friend or long-lost acquaintance but only found out about it too late to catch up with them
You missed a stellar professional-networking opportunity for the same reason
A last-minute prayer is your only hope to influence the choice of co-passenger while you’re boarding
Your other last-minute prayer is for the in-flight magazine selection/entertainment to keep you engaged through the length of your flight

New Delhi, 2012: MakeMyTrip, India’s leading Travel Company, launched Tripalong, a revolutionary social application developed exclusively for travellers. Tripalong integrates with your favourite social networks and maps your travel itinerary to help connect with friends while travelling. Users enter the details of their flights on Tripalong and are notified if they are ‘intersecting’ with members from their social network (who are also Tripalong members). Once users share their flight details they can catch up with their friends who may be on the same flight, at the airport and even in the city they are visiting. Users can also make new friends on Tripalong based on their profiles and interests. The app has been conceptualized and developed in association with TenTenTen Digital Products, a company that helps brands reach out to today’s connected customer by creating large social apps that become brand properties.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Keyur Joshi, COO & Co-Founder, MakeMyTrip, said, “MakeMyTrip has always led from the front, using technology and innovation to deliver more power and choices to the traveller. We are extremely delighted to introduce Tripalong to India. This is a social application that will enhance the ‘fun’ quotient of your travel experiences. A unique platform to engage with old friends and meet new people, Tripalong extends our brand promise of creating Memories Unlimited!”

Mr. Ramesh Srivats, MD & CEO of TenTenTen Digital Products, added, “Social networks are more than just new “media”. They have changed the very way in which people interact with each other. So there’s no point in using them as yet another channel to pump brand messages. In fact, in this world, brands are built by actions, not words. Tripalong helps MakeMyTrip do just this. It’s useful and cool. And leverages the customer’s own networks to make his or her travel a lot more fun. And the fun has just started. We have lots of features that will be added to Tripalong as we go along, to make it even more powerful and even more useful.”

Tripalong is extremely simple and easy to use. The application allows users to register on www.Tripalong.in. The user can link their Tripalong account with their LinkedIn and / or Facebook accounts which will provide access to their friends already on Tripalong. Upon adding flight schedule (date of travel and route), the application auto-prompts the user for Airline detail and departure time. It then shares details of friends registered on Tripalong who may be travelling on the same flight, or be at the same airport with opportunity to ‘intersect’. Friends can then choose to connect offline and check-in together to get a seat next to each other or meet at the airport. Tripalong also updates users on friends who are in the same city as they are travelling to – it’s like a helpful assistant that facilitates interactions on the go. In addition, whenever a user adds flight details, he/she is also able to see other registered Tripalong members on the same flight, along with their brief profiles. The user can then choose to send an invite to connect with any of them. Once the invite is accepted, users can plan their interaction off-line or via e-mail. Tripalong also enables users to notify members in their social network of their itinerary. Members can share flight details on Tripalong irrespective of where they have purchased their ticket from – although MakeMyTrip flight purchases can be directly synchronized with the app.

MakeMyTrip is sensitive to traveller-information protection and no other user-related data is exchanged with Tripalong members who are not authorized by the user. The privacy settings and networks/groups are auto-imported from Facebook/LinkedIn – thus only other Tripalong Members and the friends/social connections who the user wants to connect with, are privy to their travel information. Refer to Annexure I on how to register and details on the feature of this application.

Annexure I:

How to use Tripalong – it is a few simple steps!
Open Tripalong.in and Click on “Sign UP NOW”.
You can click on fConnect to connect through Facebook, or your MakeMyTrip account, or even create a new account on Tripalong.
Upon logging in, you can link your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts with Tripalong and also directly import information pertaining to flights booked through MakeMyTrip.
Enter and save the key details of your profile – mandatory fields are ‘Name’, ‘Email ID’ and ‘City of origin’.
Once you add a flight on Tripalong, you can select the origin, destination and date following which you will be able to choose the airline and time of departure from the drop-down menu.
Upon adding a flight, you will be able to see other “Trip Pals” on the flight.
You can then choose to connect with old friends or other Trip Pals based on profile and common interests.

Please Note:

Tripalong works best with Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox 8 and Above, IE 8 and above.
When logging into the app through Facebook, if you click on “Allow” to post on your behalf, the message that you have joined Tripalong and the Flights you wish to share will be posted on your wall – you can change the privacy setting regarding access to view your wall-post any time through Facebook privacy settings.

STT-MRAM Is Potentially The Future Of Non-Volatile Memory

Raj Agrawal — Mon, 28 May 2012 00:30:38 +0000

A breakthrough and a pioneering error correction technique in the data transmission process, possibly holds a key to the future of non-volatile memories in next-generation of computers. Termed as Spin-torque transfer magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM), the improved error correction technique in STT-MRAM showed increased tolerance towards fluctuations in electrical resistance of devices, which could aid in smoother device manufacturing process and super-fast device bootup times. And STT-MRAM promises scalability and cost-efficiency.

Via [Science Daily]
Image Source: Cospa.ntu.edu.tw

In Research: Using Cell Phones To See Through Walls

Raj Agrawal — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:30:09 +0000

With a designed imager chip, mobile phones turn into devices that could see through most solid objects like walls and plastic. This comprises of two scientific advances, one involves tapping into an unused range of an electromagnetic spectrum and the other being a new microchip technology.

Via [University Of Texas, Dallas]

Needle-less Injection of Drugs: MIT Improves Jet-Injection Technology

Raj Agrawal — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:30:49 +0000

A new improvement to the existing jet-injection technology breaches the skin at the speed of sound, without any use of needles.

Via [MIT]

First of It’s kind, 25000 Invisibility Cloaks Trap A Light Beam

Raj Agrawal — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:57:56 +0000

Research in invisibility cloaking steps ahead. Using a biochip array to stop the light at the edge of each cloak.

Via [Institute of Physics]

New Diagnostics Technology Imitates A Lotus Leaf

Raj Agrawal — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:53:37 +0000

A low-cost, patented surface that imitates a lotus leaf to move drops of liquid in required directions can potentially aid medical or environmental tests.

Via [University Of Washington]

Upping the Ante on Cell-Phone-Security – The New Law

Jane Andrew — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:29:54 +0000

Losing cell phones is undoubtedly a sensation that can send our nervous system into doldrums. And one can’t always rely on a cell phone tracker to be able to outthink the potential mobile thieves. Cell phones have become so much more than just mere communication devices; they are our social hub, data storage safe, memory box, entertainment center and whatnot! Losing all of this in one blow could possibly rupture a few nerves and give one a quasi cardiac arrest.

Now, to save the cell phone users from that sinking feeling, Senator Charles Schumer and New York City Police Commissioner are vying to come up with a new law that would virtually make cell phone theft pointless.

The New Law

This new law that is being formulated in the New York police drawing board is vying to make stealing someone else’s phone less desirable, while at same time making it impossible to be reactivated by thieves, if stolen. As things stand, once a phone is reported as ‘missing’ its carrier deactivates the device. Even so, a lot of potential damage can be done during the time that the phone takes to be deactivated. With the new law, which is scheduled to be implemented in November 2013, its MEID number – a unique electronic serial number – will be red flagged for a solitary database per carrier, which would mean that no one would be able to reactivate it at all.

This simply means that while in the past, a person could get the MEID number changed after getting hold of a particular phone, that won’t be possible now, since the number will be fixed. This connotes that you wouldn’t have to be a cell phone tracker aficionado to feel secure about your phone, you’d just know that no one but you could access your phone and its data.

Common Database

While Verizon has been making optimistic noises with regards to the new law, the fact that other carriers are also following suit and evolving to LTE and 4G technology means that there would be a need of a ‘cross carrier database’. This cross carrier database or a common database would help all networks and carriers ensure that stolen cell phones aren’t activated from other networks. Having a common database covers all the bases and outlets through which a human cell phone tracker or a mobile thief could possibly make use of someone else’s cell phone.

A Verizon spokesman has stated that once the law is implemented, 90 percent of American cell phone users would be supported by a humongous common database of unique ID numbers. This would allow all the carriers involved to disable any phone that is reported to be stolen.

Plan Of Action

According to resources, leading companies including Verizon and T-mobile would be working on developing programs to disable stolen phones. This should be done within the next six months. And then 18 months after that, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) would fuse them all together into the aforementioned common database, which would nullify the possible usage of other networks.

However, while we all wait for the plan of action and the lawmaking to materialize, if your phone is stolen you should still notify your carrier as soon as possible. There are some smartphones that have apps to erase your private data remotely, plus you can also ask your company if they have a cell phone recovery plan. For, even as things stand, some companies have an array of plans that could at limit the damage that losing your phone could potentially cause.

For countries except the US

There isn’t any word for any similar security initiative in other countries. It’s quite clear with the new and tighter initiative for cell phone security by the US law, other countries will follow, sooner or later.