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Now this is just the kind of news that all the prospective iPhone buyers were waiting for. We have learnt that after the major 3.2 billion dollar acquisition of Beats by Apple, the company is going to include their earphones with the next iPhone.
The Dr.Dre and Jimmy Lovine created brand of music gear has become the staple across the music scene. This was Apple’s biggest acquisition till date as they remain conservative with their spending. This conservative approach helps them to put resources in R&D which then helps them to stand out from the crowd.
Apple had made it clear that it is not going to combine the brand. This is a good step as Beats has massive visibility and brand recognition especially its association with the Doctor of the Hip Hop world. Apple was already selling Beats gear at its store but it will reach a lot more people since one of the most recognized brands (Apple) starts selling it along with its most recognized gadget (iPhone).
Along with this, Apple might also try to bring some kind of integration with the Beats music service, which will be appreciated by many. The service lets you personalize music based on listening habits and recommendations from expert music curators. Though this is only a speculation at the moment but a Beats music integration with iTunes might help Apple to reclaim its youthful appeal.
Now as the Apple-Beats deal has been confirmed so the chances of a Beats earphones coming to you with your next iPhone box has increased. So if you were contemplating an iPhone purchase you might want to wait a couple of months, to get your BEATS on !
Last week, we told you about production of iWatch starting. Now there are several new stories emerging regarding the device. The company has begun accelerating work on the project as it tries to expand its family of mobile devices to the wrist.
Apple has already started work on trademarking the name in a number of countries in preparation for a late 2014 launch, perhaps in October, and the device was said to be in production as of the second quarter.
The Rumors illustrate that the new iWatch will be a round device similar to Moto 360 smart watch. Apple is also said to be using a capacitive touch screen making it smooth to function. The earlier report told us that this smart watch’s screen will be made of rounded organic light-emitting diode (OLED) which will help the iWatch track our important body functions like calorie consumption, blood glucose, sleep activity and blood oxygen levels.
As Apple ventures into a new territory, hopes since the iWatch might be launched along with much-awaited iPhone 6 and iOS 8.
A Russian supercomputer named “Eugene Goostman” was able to fool researchers and make them believe it was a 13 year old boy. The computer was able to beat the Turing test by fooling 33% of the researchers. The Turing test assess the Human like behavior of an Artificially Intelligent system (AI). It is an important story to know as there will be multiple kinds of comprehensions and speculations in the readers mind.
“Eugene” was created in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was invented by software development engineer Vladimir Veselov and software engineer Eugene Demchenko. The computer was tested along with four others at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.
First and foremost let us rest assure you that Skynet or HAL 9000 haven’t been created yet. This is actually the next step in the evolution of computing. Some scientists like Kevin Warwick, visiting professor at the University of Reading, hold the view that rather than being an accomplice in cyber-crime, the system can actually help in solving cyber-crimes because it understands human perspective.
So now that you are relieved that Terminators are not going to show up, lets take the story further. The Turing Test was invented by the father of modern computing Alan Turing. He created the first model of a general functions computer. This was the base of computers and now smartphones like the one that you are reading this article on. The invention was called the Turing machine.
Alan Turing: The Father of Modern Computing
Turing was one of the real heroes of World War 2. He was a British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, computer scientist and importantly a philosopher. He cracked the German enigma code which helped the Allied forces win the war. And guess how was he honored for this achievement? he was prosecuted and chemically castrated for being a homosexual. This is the perfect example of how moronic archaic beliefs hamper with real progress. Turing died in 1954 due to cyanide poisoning (a likely suicide). There is a lot they can be blamed for, but at least the British government had the good sense of declaring an Official Public Apology in 2009 and a posthumous pardon in December of 2013 (doesn’t solve anything but better late than never.)
Alan Turing also formulated the Turing test for understanding Artificial Intelligence. It is a test to determine the ability of a computer to think or exhibit intelligent behavior akin to a real human being. The test lets the volunteers ask certain questions to access the human behavior in 5 minutes and if the researchers can’t specify if the answers are from a Human or a computer, the computer wins.
Euguene must have done heavy prep to score 33%
The Russian Supercomputer, “Eugene” was able to beat the Turing test by a very narrow margin; it needed 30% to pass while it scored 33%, becoming the first computer to do so. It is not an easy feat to achieve as the test was curated by independent auditors.
Our present day way of living, our economies, a massive tech sector job market can all be attributed to the likes of Alan Turing who dared to dream in an oppressive era. While we use our computers and smartphones, we unknowingly keep the legacy of Alan Turing alive. There is also an important lesson to learn here; our judgment of people shouldn’t be based on their personal affiliations and choices but rather be on their proclivities and talents.
Jarvis might be closer than you think.
Eugene is the first to beat the Turing’s test but hopefully it will encourage others to create better AI computers. With this experiment, in a way we have created Life, though digital, but still a conscious life. While we can debate if this can lead to a utopian or dystopian future like the sci-fi movies, the fact remains that Alan’s machine has brought invaluable advancement for our civilization. So working towards a futuristic technology should be a priority for all. Maybe with the lessons we have learnt from the movies, we would be able to perfect a JARVIS instead of a HAL-9000.
Choosing the right app, for whatever reason, is a headache these days. App Store and Google play is flooded with a range of apps, most of which don’t function as desired or are filled with unnecessary ads. Previously we listed our favorite photo-editing apps and people wanted us to list video-editors too. So, because on popular demand, we picked the best video editors for Android and iOS users.
Video editor apps, when it comes to phone, are most likely limited to basic trimming, filters and editing. But, there are some which could be useful. Keeping this in mind, check out our list of the best 5 user-friendly video editing apps:
VivaVideo
This app tops the list because it is one the most simple and fun phone video editors available in market. The app gives the option of creating photo movie, pro editing, simple video editing and PIP(Video trimming). The design is so simple that even first time user can use it like a Pro. The app provides you with range of themes, filters, transitions and also the option of adding text. You can add music from your personal library or choose from the VivaVideo’s music library. Even better, you can dub your voice in real-time while you’re editing the video.
VIDEOFX Live
VideoFx Live is rammed with awesome real-time effects. It is perfect for a DIY music video or if you’re planning on compiling messages for your friends birthday. You can even sync devices, shoot the same scene from different angles and fade between different videos. Video Fx is a simple app to handle, with minimal options. VideoFX Live records both video and audio. It automatically stores the shot videos within the app, skipping on the phone’s gallery. It offers you a wide range of Instagram-like real-time effects. But the problem is that it can only shoot upto 10 seconds, which makes it similar to Vine (but with better effects). Through VideoFX Live you can save your creations in a camera roll, upload directly it to Facebook or YouTube, or send it via email.
KineMaster Pro
This app is actually for the professorial editors. KineMaster Pro gives you a multi-tracked timeline with full drag-and-drop support. You can import multiple videos, images and audio clips, and then move them around with your finger. The app gradually picks up on your choices and adjusts its functions accordingly. Select the element you want to tweak and then tap the scissor icon above the timeline. You can then drag your finger to trim the clip or tap a “Split” option to divide the clip into two separate pieces for further manipulation. KineMaster has tons of options for improving the quality of the video, ranging from sliders for adjusting a clip’s brightness, contrast and color saturation to a range of filter-like color effects. The app also has one-touch tools for rotating videos or images and an impressive selection of professional-looking transitions to give your project a more refined look.
VidTrim
VidTrim is less of a full-fledged video editor and more of a collection of tools for basic video manipulation. The app doesn’t give you a standard timeline for editing; rather, you just select a video clip from your device and then tap one of a few options available. Tapping the scissor icon opens up the app’s Trimmer tool, which gives you a simple slider for selecting a small portion of your clip and trimming it down to only that section. It also allows you to save your selection as an MP3, should that need ever arise. Tapping a tools icon, meanwhile, gives you the ability to change the video’s size and quality. It also allows you to add a supplementary audio track into the clip. Though there’s no way to fine-tune where exactly the audio will play or how loud it’ll be. Last but not least, an overflow menu icon holds the option to grab a still frame from a video as well as to apply a variety of different filters — standard stuff like black and white, vignette and vintage modes.
Magisto
Don’t take this one seriously, it is just for fun. You actually don’t edit the video here. butt the app does it for you. Though it creates the video with great effect, it takes too much time to generate it. All you have to do is shoot the video or upload it from gallery to the app, select the theme and then select the sound track and you’re done. The app will automatically create your video for you. It selects the best parts of the video and creates a short movie with it. Magisto has its own music library too. Though you can choose your own track for the movie.
Rumors have been flying since the beginning of this year that Apple is getting set to launch a watch-like device. The iWatch which consumers can connect with their smartphones.
The fact that Apple didn’t announce any hardware during WWDC 2014 disappointed everyone. We now have to wait a few more months before we can get any new hardware from the company. Hopes are high as everyone is buzzing about how iWatch might be launched along with much-awaited iPhone 6 and iOS 8.
The reports further tell us that this smart watch’s screen will be made of rounded organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The device will be able to track most of our important body functions like calorie consumption, blood glucose, sleep activity and blood oxygen levels. It may also use Apple’s new HealthKit platform for health and fitness tracking.
Since it will be connected to your iPhone, you will also get phone notifications on the watch. It is predicted to come with a sapphire glass display, which was one of the biggest investments of Apple recently. It seems like it’s the new go-to material for Apple, since one of the major rumors for the upcoming iPhone 6 includes the same screen.
Samsung had tried its hand at something similar. But the Samsung Galaxy Gear Watch didn’t quite attract the eye of users. The iWatch might come with wireless charging, which Samsung failed to deliver in its smart watch. Now, since Apple is all set to launch its smart watch, we’re curious to see how the users will respond to this device. Is this gadget going to be the next big game-changer?
Google is planning to launch 180 small satellites which will provide access to the two thirds of human population which still doesn’t have access to the internet.
The project will be organized in collaboration with Dutch satellite start-up O3b Networks Ltd. Its founder Greg Wyler is at the helm of this project. The project cost is being estimated to be around a billion dollars.
O3b has already launched satellite orbiters, 4 satellites in 2013 and they’re going to launch 4 more this year. The intention is to bring High Speed Broadband connectivity to rural areas. It plans to create a constellation of satellites with Google’s assistance.
Google will make a constellation of satellites for affordable internet for all
These orbiters will be much more efficient as they orbit the planet at a lower altitude in comparison to the conventional satellite. Geostationary communications satellites fly at 36000kms from the surface whereas O3b satellites will fly at about 9000kms. As they have a low altitude, the data delay from one round-trip between the station and the satellite will also be decreases from an average of 638 milliseconds to less than 150 milliseconds.
This will be an extension of Google’s ambitious Project Loon. The ingenious project has Solar powered ballons flying at the height of about 20 kms from the surface. They use stratospheric winds for navigation for both sides of the equator. Check out this video to see how it’s done:
Apart from this, there are high hopes from Google’s acquisition of Titan Aerospace. The company is the inventor of the Solora 50, a solar powered drone which can be used for bettering telecom services around the world. The drone is massive; it has a wingspan of 50 meters and is 15 meters in length and can cruise at speeds of 104 kilometers an hour.
Google Acquired Titan Aerospace for the Drone technology
It is not just Google that is investing heavily in the broadband access business. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with his internet.org initiative wants to achieve something similar. According to him, the internet is a basic human right and we couldn’t agree more.
But the intentions of these major corporations are seen by some as self-serving philanthropy. After all Google and Facebook’s entire business is based on how many people are connected to the internet. There are still 4 billion people who don’t access the internet. Think about the vast amounts of profits to be made.
Even if they are self-interested ventures, these companies will be doing a lot of good for the people around the world. They internet has become an inseperable utility of our present culture. By connecting more people to this massive network would lead to more dialogue between the people of the world which will lead to better understanding.
You may not know this, but Coca-Cola is damn serious about recycling more packaging than they use.
The ‘2nd lives’ campaign with tag line, “What if empty Coke bottles were never thrown away?”, shows that instead of getting rid of plastic bottles, we can use them in different fun ways. The video was a refreshing change to see them make an effort to encourage upcycling plastic in Vietnam. They’ve developed interesting cap attachments that convert discarded bottles into bubble-makers, soap dispensers, paint brushes, water guns, pencil sharpeners, etc.
The campaign created with the help of Ogilvy & Mather China, promised that Coke will give away 40,000 of these modified caps, which come in 16 different varieties, in Vietnam. The last line hinting that they’d start rolling them out in the rest of Asia as well.
The only question we have is, “when are they going to start giving these away in India?”
Friday, June 6, 2014 is going to mark the start of the the 20th FIFA World Cup 2014. The world has been in a frenzy, counting down days to its start. With the tournament coming to an end on 7th July. It’s going to be an entire month of madness. That and, 32 teams and 3 matches a day during the world cup is lot of news to keep track of. But as always, smartphones make our lives easier.
There are loads of apps this time to keep track of the news, matches, conferences and what not. So, we thought we would test a few of the applications to try to find the best World Cup application and save you the bother. Here are the ones that deserved a mention:
Onefootball Brasil
Onefootball Brasil is our pick for the best World Cup app for a number of reasons.The app’s game pages are second to none. You can get notifications for goals as well as check line-ups, see live match data and chat with other fans while watching the game in real-time. The app also has sections where you can read related tweets, watch videos and see live tables and standings.
Brazil 2014 Countdown
Can’t pass the time while waiting for the World Cup to start? Are you counting the days until the first match? How about the minutes? Well, if you crave to really get keyed up for the event, this free app provides a running countdown until the World Cup begins—down to the last second.
ESPN FC Soccer & World Cup
The official football app from ESPN offers the in-depth coverage “the worldwide leader in sports” is known for. The app features live video highlights of key plays, feedback and breakdown from ESPN’s team of top analysts and commentators, and breaking news. Also, even after the World Cup has ended, this free app can help you keep up on the action in the English Premiere League, La Liga, MLS, the Bundesliga, and much more.
Official FIFA app
FIFA’s official app is a upright effort with a satisfying design. It doesn’t offer as many features as the other apps mentioned, and is somewhat slow to load and navigate, even on WiFi. Available in five languages, the FIFA app does however include news from the FIFA site, a match centre and a table of the official FIFA country rankings. The FIFA app also has video and photo sections, but at present there are only two videos, and the photo section loads a blank page.
365Scores
It is an unofficial app offering scores, news, tweets, and standings information. 365Scores has good squad listings and photos for each of the teams at the tournament in great design and format. If you are going to Brazil to fulfill your World cup dream, this is one must-have app on your smartphone. 365Scores also provides you with stadium guides, displays a map of Brazil where you can click on each stadium to get information about each stadium and the matches to be held there.
You may have come across a situation when you need to send some personal information to someone, but wondered if email is a secure enough channel? In that case, Virtru can help you out.
Identity theft is huge problem on the internet. You don’t know when and from where your confidential information can be hacked. Be it your credit card payment, bank details or just an address, hackers find way to get it. An email message may only be virtual but if it falls in immoral hands, the cost and damages can be very fatal. The service offers encryption, message tracking, and the option to delete sent messages after the work is done.
With Virtru, you can decide when to keep your digital content private and secure even after it’s shared online. You can manage and revoke access to emails, photos, files and other content at any time, right from within your favorite programs like Gmail, Outlook, and Mac Mail on your desktop or smartphone.
There are ample of ways to encrypt your email much like a full PGP encryption, but all of them can be difficult and complicated to set up and use. Virtru took this seriously and created an add-on that makes encryption automatic—every message you send and choose to be secure is encrypted before it leaves your computer.
Setting it up is easy as well, and doesn’t require as many of the hoops as other tools do. The service provides you a dashboard which can be used to see if your messages have been forwarded to others or read by the recipient. You get access to files or recall messages at any time.
Virtru provides you a multi-platform service. At present it supports Firefox and Chrome, while Internet Explorer and Safari versions are not available yet. Apps are available for Android and iOS, which give you most of the same options as their web browser equivalent.
When you send email through Virtru, it by design encrypts your email message and transfers it through its own server instead of that of your email provider. The original email message is replaced with a link to the Virtru website where the message can be then read.
It is a great way for securing your emails while not bothering about PGP encryption, which mostly goes over your head. It’s compatibility and multi-platform service makes it one of the best software for encrypted Emails.
Siri with her lovely voice introduced the concept of personal assistants (PA) on phones. It was the closest people could get to own their own JARVIS and wasn’t she one snarky lady. Google tried to match up to her, but they could only muster up a personality less voice.
Microsoft is now bringing its answer to Siri and this woman comes directly from the world of Halo. She has been called one of the sexiest women in video game history and GameTrailers put her in the “top 10 babes who are out of your league” list (which for gamers is probably every woman ever.) She was originally based on the Egyptian princess Nerfititi and her name is CORTANA.
Microsoft sure released an impressive introduction video for her:
Cortana was the name Microsoft used during the development process of the app. But as the developers themselves had been in love with her during their endless sessions of Halo, they pressured Microsoft to let the name be for the Artificial Intelligence infused, Windows phone 8.1 personal assistant app.
What Microsoft is really banking on though is Cortana’s ability to “chitchat” with the user. It reminds you of Scarlett Johansson-voiced character Samantha, from the movie ‘Her’. Though don’t get your hopes up yet or be discouraged that she will leave you like Samantha (or Scarlett) left Joaquin Phoenix, because Cortana is just starting out. If Microsoft’s history is to be considered, she will at most disappear behind a blue screen of death (tsk.)
The personality of Cortana is directly inspired by her AI counterpart in Halo. ‘363 Industries’ which produces Halo, was roped in to provide the backstory and character elements for the PA app. These character elements may be what gives Cortana the edge over Siri. Even if its just the predetermined responses, Cortana can carry out a flowy conversation with its user. Maybe someday she will evolve into a personal associate rather than just a personal assistant.
On the Utility front, Cortana (I am trying to use less pronouns for ‘her’ because that’s one sexy name) provides all the functions that Siri and Google Now offer; like setting reminders and calendar, weather and traffic information, writing notes and messages.
The Siri update in the iOS 8 hasn’t been a significant one. Apple has focused more on the interconnectivity element of the OS. They have also integrated Shazam with Siri with other minor tweaks to the app.
This might actually work in Microsoft’s favor. If the users are really able to have a conversation with an Artificially Intelligent PA and enjoy it, they wouldn’t really care about Shazam integration of Siri. For once, Microsoft might take a page out of Apple’s book of taking inspirations from existing technology and turning into revolutionary new idea. Cortana also looks beautiful with the two concentric circles which gets her activated.
Though Cortana doesn’t have natural conversational ability like Samantha, but somehow her semi-robotic voice has its own sex appeal. Microsoft has plans to bring Cortana to countries like UK and China though that would involve going back to recreating the database for a whole new language or accent. That bet will only payout if she performs as per her marketing hype.
As we don’t have access to her yet, we will wait to give you in-depth updates on whether Cortana can be your next best companion.
It was the year 2001, and Nokia had just rolled out its best phones yet, the 8250 was a super success right after the launch of the 8210 which was one of the best selling “high end” cellular phones available at the time. But, the year also marked the end of monochrome displays, as Nokia the only big name in mobile telephony would transition to color displays for their next generation of phones.
Nokia 8250 Print Ad Title : Walk on the Blue Side!
The Nokia 9210 communicator became the phone of choice of many professionals, the first color screen clamshell to revolutionize the Mobile industry. Nokia had everything working for them, they had the right markets, the right products and they were rich, rich enough to explore the future.
It was also the year when Nokia secretly developed 2 world changing products, a Color Screen touch phone set above one single hardware button, and a ten-inch tablet computer both of which had features like video playback, internet access and navigation capabilities. These two world changing devices could also securely order products online and create online accounts and keep data safe within the internet (Now known as Cloud Storage).
Nokia was innovating and how, but these products never came out, the consumers never saw them and the corporate marketing heads shut down the research claiming that the ideas were far fetched. Ironically, Nokia had never been so wrong in the many years of leading the wireless revolution and becoming stronger than ever in the 1990’s.
Steve Jobs Announces the First Apple iPhone in 2007
Seven years later, Steve Jobs got on stage and announced the first Apple iPhone, and all hell broke loose in the world. Nokia execs were scrambling left right and center to now re energize their seven year old product research. But the world had matured beyond Nokia’s internal understanding, while people now wanted Capacitive Touch Phones, because they were easy to use and type on, Nokia still confident of its seven year old tech wanted to hold on to their N series and E series which they continued to develop for quite a while.
In 2012, Apple had already announced the iPhone 4 and had taken a major chunk of the Smartphone sales under its banner, a new enemy loomed for Nokia: Android. This Google made OS, was revolutionizing the Smartphone and bringing it to the masses. This year Android Powered handsets were available for as low as 200 $ and Nokia ended its 14 year streak as the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer. Nokia’s Stock crashed and thousands of employees lost their jobs.
Nokia had another big opportunity lost around the time when they started a cold war with Google and decided never to make Android Phones, and shift focus completely towards making Windows Phones, bringing gradual cancerous death Meego and Symbian in the process.
But there was a name that is mostly believed to be the root cause of the above decisions. In September of 2010, ex-Microsoft Exec Stephen Elop was the first non-Finn to be named CEO of Nokia. During the 3 years Elop was Nokia CEO, Nokia revenues fell 40%, Nokia profits fell 95%, Nokia market share collapsed in smartphones from 34% to 3.4%.
In one of my meetings with a Product Design manager at Nokia during IFA 2012, it became apparent that Nokia was still the same, shutting down ideas and killing innovation. In fact, most of those who worked at the Finnish HQ already assumed that Nokia would collapse under Elop and Windows Phone.
Stephen Elop at a Launch
A company that was easily valued for upwards of $150 billion 14 years ago, when they secretly developed the first “iPhone” and “iPad” (Smartphone and Tablet) was sold in 2013 to Microsoft for a mere $ 7 Billion. For context, that’s less than half of what Facebook paid for Whatsapp. Stephen Elop who would then join back Microsoft as Executive Vice President, later to be made head of XBOX, Games and Hardware division. Conspiracy theorists have called Elop the Trojan Horse who led Nokia to its demise simply because Microsoft eyed a takeover.
Elop and Nadella
Microsoft has confirmed that they will kill the “Nokia” branding and start building a new line of smartphones internally called “Microsoft Mobile Oy”. The final name may simply be Microsoft Mobile or Microsoft Surface Phone even Microsoft Lumia. This may not be the smartest move on Microsofts part, A long legacy of Nokia also would have brought among the loyalty of Nokia users. But, as Elop mentioned, “Nokia is not a Brand placement” that Microsoft would like for their lineup of Smartphones, especially if one was to consider the bad press we have seen lately. “Nokia” as a name is now considered “old school” and maybe a new name might just do wonders.
After the announcement of the acquisition Nokia shares jumped 35% on the news, whereas Microsoft’s fell more than 5%, either way the only company to benefit is Microsoft, and Nokia truly lost, thanks to a corporate culture that lavished funds on research but squandered opportunities to bring innovations.
Nokia’s line of Lumia Phones have seen some success in the recent past, only to measure their success in non percentages compared to the world. Nokia is finally dead, and most of the world will and should shy away from investing in the brand. At least up until the Microsoft version comes out.
WWDC 2014 unveiled some of the most important upgrades since the introduction of the App Store. One of the most highlighted upgrade was the iOS 8. The company added tons of developer tools for home mechanization, heavy gaming performance and extensions in abundance. There’s a lot of polished new apps and add-ons that will earn rave reviews from fans, once it drops later this fall.
Let us introduce you to the Apple iOS 8. We tested out the Beta version on iPhone 5, and like they’ve said – it’s quicker, more productive and more integrated than ever before. Here’s what’s new on board:
Photo Library and Photography
Apple added the powerful iCloud Photo Library which ensures all your edits are automatically synced between devices. The new iOS 8 also includes new photo editing tools which give users manual control over the exposure, shadows and color of the photograph. If a user is focusing on clicking an overly bright object, the brightness can be directly reduced by swiping the screen and reducing the exposure. Along with the new editing functions, Apple has made the Photo Library more user-friendly by adding the ability to search based on location, time or albums.
Bye-Bye Snapchat
Apple has taken a great leap with the iMessage by including features such as ability to not only send quick video and voice messages, but also the option to make them expire. The Tap to Talk feature lets you share video and photos with a simple gesture, option to leave a conversation, label threads and add/remove contacts mid-convo. The option to add DND to specific threads will put all the leading chatting apps to shame.
QuickType and Third-party Keyboards
Apple is including third-party keyboards to the new update as well, so you can Swype with the best of them, or you can find a keyboard where you actually understand when the Shift key is on. They have also introduced the new predictive typing feature called QuickType which gives personalized suggestions while taking content in the context. It not only helps while you’re tying out a message, but when you receive a message, it understands it and offers possible responses. As the name suggests QuickType is quicker and easier than ever.
Health Connect
Apple introduced a new integrated programming system called HealthKit. Through this, users will be able to connect applications and develop a central database of all their health data. It has an extensive list of functions. The fitness tab has integrated Nike Fuel and can monitor and record your fitness numbers which includes your Body Fat Index, distance that you run, calorie intake, the steps climbed and the hours you’ve slept.
The new Health feature will also include the information from other apps you have purchased in the app store, as well as connect with your personal doctor through a dedicated application. If you get your blood pressure or your sugar blood checked from your hospital, your iPhone will receive a notification and store the results. You will be able to store it privately or share this information easily with other doctors. So essentially, a combination of your entire medical and fitness history will be in your hands, all the time.
Sharing is Caring
Apple’s innovative Family Sharing lets you share your apps with up to 6 different people so they can enjoy all your apps without buying them on their own. The new feature will be connected through your credit card to their account. But don’t fret about the privacy settings, iOS 8 will require a consent from you before anyone cause use the privy information.
App Store Makeover
One of the most exciting new feature in iOS 8 is the updated App Store. It has new searching features and they’ve also added categories for easy excess. They’ve added the facility to create video previews of their apps, so you get a better idea what you’re buying, and if you’d like to test new apps, the new TestFlight feature gives developers the ability to propel you access. And yes, there’s finally providing “App Bundling”, so you can get big deals on a number of apps at once.
Siri Becomes Cooler
Siri can now be activated by saying “hey Siri,” rather than pressing the home button. She can now understand more languages and accents. The best part? Apple has gone ahead to integrate a music-recognition feature, so you can know which tune is being played instantly, without wasting time to open an app. You have the option to download the song instantly from the iTunes, and if you’ve installed Shazam, you can save the song in your tabs.
Last Bits of Improvements
Some of the last bits of new features include: iOS 8 allows you to directly reply to your messages from the NC panel, Touch ID can now be used with third-party apps so you not at all have to enter your password again, phone calls can be answered from your Mac, and AirDrop is now attuned with iPhones and Macs.
Like it always happens, the features of iOS 8 Beta 1 are subject to change, but based on the specification of WWDC’s offerings and the added APIs for developers, iOS 8 will be an exciting update once it’s accessible for users later this fall.
Flipkart, India’s largest online retail portal, took a great leap this year when it bought Myntra for $330 Million. It was the largest acquisition in the Indian E-commerce sector since last two years. Flipkart is now in battle with Amazon.in and they are locked in competition for the throne of the biggest e-commerce website in India. The invasion of giants like Ebay and Amazon is forcing Indian online retailers to get critical masses to compete.
Founded by two ex-employees of Amazon, Flipkart is expanding day by day and is introducing new categories to their site. They also grabbed an exclusive deal with Motorola Mobility for the sales of Moto X, Moto G and Moto E which has been a phenomenal success. The company immediately rand out of pieces after the release of Moto G and E, even though they had prepared and kept a massive stock.
Flipkart’s merger with Myntra created an entity with annual sales of $1.5 billion, which is over half of the country’s emerging online shopping market. Venture capitalists have been bucketing money into the sector, scenting potential.
So far, $497 million worth of deals have been struck already this year, in comparison to the $592 million for all of last year. Most are small in value but significant stepping stones as retailers put together critical mass.
This battle of the e-throne is also giving a boost to the number of jobs in the sector. The new websites are going live and old ones are expanding. As foreign and domestic e-retail giants are swelling up their businesses antagonistically against each other, hiring activities are expected to grow by over 30 per cent in the sector and may help create up to 50,000 jobs in the coming years.
Since 2012, considering the growth vista of the E-commerce sector in India, major venture capital firms such as Accel Partners have invested significantly. In one of the principal fund raising, Flipkart.com, in August 2012, raised about INR 822 crore (US$140 million). Entertainment ticketing website BookMyShow.com raised INR 100 crore (US$17 million) asset by Accel Partners. On July 10, 2013, Flipkart announced it had received $200 million from existing investors Tiger Global, Naspers, Accel Partners, and ICONIQ Capital. New investors who are making up the additional $160 million include Dragoneer Investment Group, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Sofina, Vulcan Inc. and more from Tiger Global.
Hiring has been rather slow in the e-commerce space over last couple of years, but recruitments are expected to rapidly grow by 33 per cent, over the previous year as various retail brands are also bringing in their business online.
According to Amazon, the industry is growing at a fast rate and there is still a huge potential for growth. They have grown exponentially over the last 11 months and chances are they will continue to see growth.
To match the rise and pace of the sector, there will be an explosion of new jobs and recruitment’s soon. The scenario of the sector can be compared with the BPO explosion in early 2000’s which employs approximately 1 Million professionals at present. Nevertheless, BPO offered jobs to people from all walks of life, from housewives to high school graduates, while E-commerce sector need skilled employs which restrict their hiring process.
Driving sales growth is India’s fast-growing number of Internet connections which was triggered by exploding sales of affordable smartphones and data plans. Internet users, total of 175 million, expected to grow to 429 million by 2019. Up to 30 per cent of e-shopping now is done using mobile devices. About three-quarters of online shoppers are aged 15-to-34. This broad consumer market and the fact that e-commerce websites in India are constantly trying to up their game is creating a huge potential for an jobs in the industry.
Important Update: Last night Reuters reported that the Indian Government is planning to ease the restrictions on foreign e-commerce sites like Amazon. Another good development since this will allow them to sell their own products in the Indian market.
Maybe it’s just us, but we miss classroom education. To be in awe of a professor who manages everytime to open your eyes to ideas and blow your mind with new concepts. The thrill of preparing for a test and the anxiety before the results are out. Maybe it’s just us, but they truth is that the monotony of life and work stagnates our thinking. We can’t stress upon how important it is to keep adding and refreshing information.
The concept of self-education and distance learning is widely accepted these days. Sitting at home, taking video lessons and earning degree from an international university may sound unfeasible, but we’re lucky that the power of internet has made it possible. Somehow, a power that not enough people are utilizing.
It’s more practical in India where most of the colleges don’t provide specialized courses you want to do. Solving this problem, there are some website which provide free education and degrees for small fee. We are listing amazing educational websites which provide you with variety of courses and help to strengthen your CV.
Coursera is an education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. The aim of Corsera is to provide everyone with world-class education. The website provides free courses online from top universities, including Princeton University and the University of Michigan. The topics are varied, and lectures are formatted into series of 15-minute-long clips.
Udacity’s mission is to bring accessible, affordable, engaging, and highly effective higher education to the world. They believe that higher education is a basic human right, and seek to empower students all over the world to advance their education and careers. Udacity at present offers 11 courses , all of which are in science and math-related topics. According to the website, plans are in progress to spread out the set of courses. Udacity is free of deadlines, free of quizzes and other annoying school stuff. Needless to say, courses are also free of charge.
Open Culture brings together high-quality cultural & educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. The website’s mission is to centralize the content which is ‘scattered across the web, and not easy to find’, curate it, and give you access to this high quality content whenever and wherever you want it. Open Culture offers you incredible compilation of 400 courses for free, from Ivy League universities, such as Stanford, UCLA, Columbia and Oxford University. Courses ranges from science and art to math and economics.
The Khan Academy has a large library of videos covering math, biology, chemistry, physics and even the humanities, finance and history. Khan videos aren’t so much recorded lectures as short 10 minute long tutorials with an instructor narrating explanations and working things out on a board by hand on your computer screen.
Ted-Ed is a powerhouse of really fascinating and amazing lectures combining expert educators, screenwriters and animators. A riches of amazingly animated and gripping videos on a wide collection of subjects, such as The Power of Simple Words and How Many Universes are There. All videos are under 10-minutes-long. Ted-Ed videos are already very popular all over internet with huge amount of viewers on Youtube. Ted-Ed also provide supplemental materials such as quizzes, books, e-books etc.
Sony has just announced the new phone in its slim phone category, Xperia T3.
The slimmest LTE phone in the world weighs around 148 grams and is 7mm thick. It will be competing with Gionee Elife S5.5 which is the slimmest phone available in the market at just 5.5mm thickness.
The Sony Xperia T3 has IPS-LCD Triluminos screen with 720×1280 pixels resolution. It is powered by a 1.4 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8228) processor and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. It comes with a 8-megapixel rear camera with Sony Exmor RS sensor, LED flash and 1080p video recording. It has a 1.1-megapixel HD front-facing camera.
The framework is made by following the customary OmniBalance design with a metal frame that is uncovered on the sides. The back is a lusterless plastic available in three colors: white, black or purple. The Sony Xperia T3 has affluent connectivity options for a mid-range device, starting with the usual 2G/3G, LTE Cat. 4 for up to 150Mbps download speeds, Wi-Fi with Miracast and DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and A-GPS.
The relatively small 2,500mAh battery promises up to almost 13 hours of talking, plus there’s Stamina mode to reduce power usage when you need more out of the battery. Sony has announced that the device will be launched globally in the end of July. The price has not been announced yet.
Sony Xperia T3 major specifications:
5.3-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD TRILUMINOS Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
365Scores
