If you are a lady or have lady friends you understand the constant vigilance that needs to be maintained while going out. Does that taxi driver look trustworthy or is this drink I’m holding safe for consumption? Some of the constant questions going through a girl’s mind while out at night. Date Rapes are also one of the leading sexual assault cases against women. It seems like Toronto based, former IT consultant David Wilson might have found a perfect solution for this epidemic of date rapes, a tiny USB sized gizmo called Pd.id.
Pd.id uses three different tests to identify if the drink has been drugged. The device uses light, conductivity and temperature to determine if the drink has been sabotaged. The two Red and Green indicators tell you if the drink you are holding is tainted or not. The best part is that the device can be used multiple times so it will be one of the essentials to pack before a night-out. Pd.id also has a companion mobile app which lets you access the drink database from the company and visually confirm the purity of the drink.
The indicators help you figure out if the drink is safe for consumption
The company claims that the drug recognition technology has been with the drug enforcement agencies for quite some time. They learned from them and created this miniaturized, consumer friendly version of the technology that can go in women’s purse.
This is a phenomenal invention and should really be encouraged. This is how a real moral invention looks like; one of the several instances when technology can come to change the world and make it a better place. If you can’t donate to the device, you can atleast spread the word. But no amount of gizmos can take the spot of a sex educated and gender sensitive mind.
Of course the best part of this invention is that all the single ladies will have a good time going out without any worries. Pd.id sure is an awesome innovation. Also you don’t to worry about sanitizing the gizmo, the alcohol you are dipping it in will do the needful.
Remember the time when there was a profession dedicated to guides? oh yes they still exist and Google has plans to make that job obsolete. With the new ‘Explore’ feature, exploring new places will get a lot easier. The feature will be available on Google Maps app on both Android and iOS platform.
The Explore feature will be available on Android as well as iOS
All the user needs to do with this update is to tap the new Explore button at the bottom right corner of the map to get a quick look at what’s nearby (where available). The feature will provide you information on different places and activities that adapt to each area and moment throughout the day. This also allows you to browse other neighborhoods and cities on the map so you can plan your day’s outing or daydream about your next vacation.
The feature also gives you an option of finding what is nearby the place where you’ll be in the next five minute walk or a 20 minute drive. The convenience of finding a spot that suits your taste has never been this easy. As the results change according to the time of the day and weather, you can be assured that you will find exactly what you are looking for. The feature performs optimally when the location reporting and web history have been turned on.
The Awesome functionality of this app will make it stand out.
The feature also lets you assess the reviews and relevant information about the spot you have chosen to hang at. This can be done by tapping on the ‘My location’ on an Android devices. You can also save these places for future references. Like other data analysis based system, the app will personalize itself with regular use.
On the look from, the upgrade features Google’s latest material design. The interface is simple, clean and easy to understand.
So if you have an itch to always be outdoor and exploring, Google Maps and the Explore feature was what the doctor would prescribe for you. So go ahead, get Exploring !
If you remember watching Robin Williams’ forgettable Bicentennial Man, you must have felt the thrill of having a robotic companion in your family. The best part about Robin Williams’ character is that it was a robot capable of human emotions and learning new things just like a human being. Now a company called Jibo Inc, founded by an ex-MIT professor, Cynthia Breazel has brought an incredible new family pet in Jibo.
This Linux powered robot has a cylindrical base and a circular screen which makes it look like a smaller and rather enthusiastic version of Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Alan Rickman as a sad robot was the only humorous part of that movie.
Jibo is about a foot tall family friendly robot that is capable of doing everything your dog can’t do. It has six microphone inputs that help Jibo to take voice instructions and reply back. Jibo can take pictures; assist you in your daily chores, read out your messages. But here is the best part; it can be a cute little tutor to your kids, which is surely going to make a lot of private tutors angry, especially in India.
One of the feature that is really impressive is the boost tele-presence will get with Jibo. With Jibo the person on the other end can physically move about and interact with all who are present in the room. This is our favorite feature. Jibo also seems fun to interact with and even though some of its functions can be currently done by a smartphone but the fun interaction aspect is missing from them.
In future, the company wishes to integrate Jibo with your home automation system so it can take care of the security of your house and the power management. They also intend to add health features so that it can gather up information from devices like heart rate monitors, glucometers and scales and can maybe become your personal trainer.
Unfortunately you can’t buy Jibo just yet, but you can surely pre-order it and you can also contribute towards the project through their Indiegogo page. Jibo will arrive at the doorstep of folks who have preordered. Guess the robots are finally ready to invade our houses and if they are as cute as Jibo, they’ll be sure welcomed with an elation from everyone in the house.
Technology has brought immense advancement to our civilizations as a whole. It also gave a chance to budding entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas a launchpad to take their dreams to the skies. Here is a list of some of these individuals, who in a small period of time have used their intellect to not just make some of the most interesting and innovative tech products but got rich doing it.
These self-made richies are also an inspiration in times when young people constantly fear their upward mobility is being hindered by businesses. So if you have an idea that you are passionate about, just start working on it, maybe the next time we make a list, you might be in listed in.
1. Mark Zuckerberg
Age: 29
Net Worth: $28.5 billion
So let’s start this list with this famous or for some, infamous billionaire. There would hardly be a person who won’t know this guy. With his social network Facebook becoming the indomitable social network which turned 10 this year the Zuckman is on his lifetime high right now. He is also known for ferocious takeovers of start-ups. Just this year itself his company has acquired Whatsapp and Oculus in Billion dollar plus deals. He is also a philanthropist who has signed the Giving Pledge, thereby committing to pay over half of his fortunes in charity.
2. Blake Ross
Age: 29
Net Worth: $150 million
The co-founder of the third most used web browser in the world truly deserves his fortune. The open source browser has grown phenomenally over the 11 years of its existence. The browser currently has over 450 million users. Blake was in high school when he had started working on the Firefox. At age 14 he started working on Netscape. So if you are in high school and need an inspiring figure, this man should be it. He is responsible for giving a true alternative to folks frustrated by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and turning it into a browser that people used to download Firefox. He also worked with Facebook from 2007 to 2013 as the Director of Product.
3. Matthew Mullenweg
Age : 30
Net Worth: $40 Million
A lot of people need to thank this Texan for giving a phenomenal web tool called WordPress. The idea behind WordPress was to provide a blogging platform, but quickly it became a content management system which most websites, including the popular ones have begun using. Mullenweg attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where he studied jazz saxophone. Mullenweg is also a Dvorak Keyboard user and can type over 120wpm.
4. Drew Houston
Age: 31
Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
Dropbox is one of the most popular and fastest growing cloud services. Its founder Drew Houston is as versatile as his Cloud tool. He holds a degree from MIT and has worked with multiple start-ups like Bit9, Accolade and Hubspot. The service initially took assistance from Y Combinator‘, who might consider it their best investment yet. Drew is also politically active and is one of the founders of a lobbying group called FWD.us (aimed at lobbying for immigration reform and improvements to education).
5. Kevin Systrom
Age: 30
Net Worth: $400 Million
Instagram is responsible for the menace called “amature food photography” which your friends share around social media, which ends up making you crave munchies at 2 AM at night, a time when nothing is open. Its co-founder is Kevin Systrom is a Stanford graduate who began the service with Mike Krieger. Both their bank balances got a serious boost after Facebook acquired Instagram in a Billion dollar takeover.
(Note: A previous version of this story said that the Firefox browser had 450 users. The error has been corrected. )
Touchscreen is the interface of choice for interaction with digital world for quite a while now. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, refrigerators, even RO water purifiers now come with touch screens. But there is always a divide in such devices; there is no physical feedback. The devices we use, respond to our stimuli and act on our instructions. We have access to our loved ones thousands of kilometers through video conferencing services like skype, but it still lacks the physical appeal of holding hands. Now MIT’s Tangible Media Group with their Project called inFORM intend to change that.
The inFORM was created by Daniel Leithinger and Sean Follmer and overseen by Professor Hiroshi Ishiiis. It is an attempt to look at the future of interactive interfaces. The surface looks like living clay columns which rise to form shapes and graphs as instructed. The project of course is in a rudimentary stage but the practical applications are unlimited.
inFORM is great for Work and Play
The technology behind inFORM is inspired by the pin screens which are used for animation purposes. Each block in inFORM is connected to a motor and controlled by a laptop. Using the inputs you can not only move the pins to render digital content physically, but can also register real-life objects interacting with its surface , for which they have hacked the Microsoft Kinect.
The Tangible Media Group intention with this project is to assess the interfaces of the future. This can be incredibly advantageous for professionals like Designers, Architects, and Engineers who can instantly see their creations in a 3D model and access the flaws of their designs too. The best part is that they can edit and interact with their designs.
For us regular folks, it can be used for physical game of chess with your friend sitting in Australia while you sit in Norway. With Virtual Reality(VR) gaining steam with Oculus and Project Morpheus, inFORM can be used to define the missing element of touch. So while you are having a VR walkthrough in the park, the inFORM surface can stimulate its surface in accordance to where you are in your VR world, you can feel different surfaces like grass, rocks maybe even rivers under your feet. Now that would be a truly immersive experience.
InFORM will be greatly beneficial for Education.
Even in the field of education this technology can bring a paradigm shift. Now instead of just reading about the movement of tectonic plates in geography class, students can see them move in 3D models. Subjects like Science, Maths, and Geometry will get a lot more comprehensible for students who get to see their theorems and formulas in action.
This project doesn’t fail to impress even if it is in a nascent stage. Like touch screens gave way to gesture controls that is found in Kinect and Wii and they too are giving way to VR technology, inFORM might be the new claimant for the next innovative technology revolution. Maybe we are closer than we think in terms of interacting with real world atoms instead of digital pixels. We are back into the physical world; the circle seems to be complete.
Motorola is surely in it to win it. The brand with its fierce product placement is ruthlessly being a thorn in the eye of the competition. After being the first company to bring Kitkat to all price points, the company will become one of the firsts to have the Kitkat 4.4.4 running on all its devices.
We’ve begun rolling out Android, KitKat, 4.4.4 for Moto E, Moto G & Moto X this week in India! Expect an update on your #Moto soon!
Motorola informed the users through its twitter account. The company claims that this new update will add an extra layer of security for web browsing. The company also stated that the new update will fix several stability, framework and OpenSSL-related issues. The phones will get a new phone dialer.
Android KitKat 4.4.4 update will give you all the features of Android KitKat 4.4.3 with an extra layer of security for browsing web (1/2)
Motorola phones presently are the most feature-packed and competitively priced devices. All three phones have successfully become the leaders and have ushered speed in delivering updates in an update starved market. The company had released a 4.4.3 update just last month.
Sorry, the kid inside me just wanted to get his emotions out. If you were close to me when I heard the news, you would have lost your hearing for a while, like my fellow mates did. Now this is what me and my kind have been waiting for. Z-man is in the house!
With Z-man everyone can get the Spideman experience.
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a pair of paddles that lets anybody climb glass walls. You can’t shoot webs though, so maybe this may be closer to what Tom Cruise used to scale the massive Burj Al-Kalifah in Dubai in Mission Impossible 4.
With the Z-man, a 99 KG climber was able to climb and descend a 7.6 meter vertical glass wall. In one trial the climber carried 22.6 KG’s of extra weight too.
The inspiration for the design comes from the Gecko. Geckos are cute little lizards who come in all kinds of colors and have an annoying voice which gives them their name. Come to think of it, they are pretty self-obsessed calling out their own names all day long. Listen to this and tell me it’s not annoying to hear:
Coming back to the how they inspired DARPA, is their expertise in climbing almost any surface in the world. They have tiny bristles on their feets called Satae which give them the ability to stick on anything they desire from living room walls to even the walls of International Space Station. This adhesive property doesn’t need any kind of liquid and is also self-cleaning. It can literally balance its entire body on one toe. This ability is present in almost 60% of Gecko species.
Geckos incredible ability to climb any surface was the inspiration of Z-Man
The military had one major issue with climbing technology. It’s old, really old. Ropes have been used by combatants for thousands of years and are still being used today. A bit of investment in these would have made life easier for thousands of warriors, instead of making useless and extremely expensive Nuclear weapons.
Z-man takes inspiration from the natural forces and with the help of nanotechnology and bio mechanics to give Gecko-like ability to humans. There will also be everyday uses of the technology. This can be used by Glass cleaners in offices around the world. DARPA is working for more consumer intergration of the technology too.
Z-man currently is a work in progress and it will take a while to fully induct the technology in the armed forces. This might be a boon during urban combat.
If we get technologies like this right, we can handle situations like a Chitauri Invasion without the Avengers. But yes can we please have real life Avengers already? Come on DARPA, why don’t we have a real-life Captain America or Spiderman already?
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.
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.
The Mac OS X Yosemite is out and for the first time mobile devices and computers can interact seamlessly across the Apple universe. You can trust Apple to learn from existing technology and create a refined version, with some sweet graphics and names added to it.
The possibilities on the Yosemite may be revolutionary. Of course they took their “inspirations” from existing technologies, but what they have come out with is indeed progressive for the entire industry.
After taking a departure from naming OS X after the big feline family, the naming conventions for the OS X will now be based cities of California, starting with the Mavericks. BTW, we do agree that OS X Weed was a pretty chill name for an OS but Yosemite does just fine.
We will now tell you why you should get really excited about the OS X Yosemite’s connection capabilities.
Seamless Interconnectivity Between Yosemite and iOS
Connectivity never seen before
Apple has absorbed the value of “Continuity” based apps and has given it the Apple spin. Using the benefit of their conformed device ideology they are able to do multi device interconnection way more easily than others. Apart from giving Airdrop the ability to work between the iOS and the Mac they have added an ingenious new feature called the Handoff.
Handoff:
Handoff set a milestone in terms of inter-connectivity
This is definitely a feature that will shut up the critics of Apple’s proprietary controlled devices. It gives you mirrored access across all Apple platforms for instant access. For example, the iPad recognizes what you’ve been working on and prompts you about it. You can stop working on the Mac, pick up your iPad and start working on your project right way without a second of lag.
There is no need for third party apps. There is no need to open a cloud app and download the file, it’s always there.
Not impressed yet? then check this out; you can start working on an email on your iOS phone and your Mac will recognize it and ask you if you want to work on its bigger keyboard. Who would not love that?
It is this ease of access that other hardware and software manufacturers should aspire to achieve.
Instant Hotspot:
Effortless Wifi tethering through the iPhone
This will be a rather helpful feature for folks constantly on the move or have irregular access to a Wifi connection. The Mac’s wifi identifies your phone and without any configurations sets up a hotspot with the phone and voila, you are connected.
SMS and Phone Access from Mac’s:
This is definitely the future of interlinked digital devices. Apple definitely was to be the first company to benefit from this because of its enormous hardware ecosystem.
SMS can now be answered from all Apple devicesPhone calls can now be received and answered from all Apple devices
With the SMS and Phone integration in the Yosemite, you can send and receive text messages as well as phone calls across all Apple devices. Not just that, you can also dial a number you see on a website right away from your macs.
iCloud Drive:
The iCloud is built in the Finder itself so you don’t need third party apps like Dropbox or Google drive. These apps and files will appear in the exact form you have customized it on any of your devices. Here is something to cheer for the iCloud drive, it works on Windows too (Truly Winning.) The apps you use also get individual folders on the drive.
Cloud to the next level
This update has the potential to fulfill Steve Jobs dream of destroying the Dropbox. (First the Android and then the Dropbox, Jobs sure wanted to kill a lot of jobs.)
Mail:
Maildrop is an interesting feature. It allows you to instantly send up to 5 GB(yes, you heard that right) from one Apple account to another. What it really does is use the iCloud as a transfer medium for the attachment to bypass size restriction on the mail server on receivers end. It will simply show up as an attachment may whatever be the size on the mail app. On a non-Apple PC, you will receive a link to securely download the file from iCloud.
We needed Markup, we just didn’t know
Markup feature allows you to add annotations or write texts on Jpegs. It even lets you sign PDF’s right in the mail itself. The feature also recognizes the hand drawn symbols and gives them a digital look instantly.
Safari:
Visual and Functional Reconstruction of Safari
Safari has got a visual renovation with a sleeker look. The browser now has a slimmer address bar to maximize browsing area. The favorites links can be accessed by clicking on the search bar. Safari is now integrated with spotlight searches to give better results and undermine Google even in the browser where it has thrived since its inception.
Tab view makes internet browsing simpler
The Tab View is without a doubt the best feature on the new Safari. This gives a bird’s eye view of all the tabs and by organizing each tab according to its corresponding website it gives a cleaner and more efficient browsing experience. As has been with Apple, the animations are impressive.
Spotlight:
The only search you’ll need
This is also where things got interesting, its almost like Spotlight got an adrenaline shot. When the magnifying glass icon is clicked a search bar opens in the middle of the screen. It is a fast and convenient way of opening Apps and files. While searching for a file, spotlight gives a preview of the content of the document.
Not just that Apple has integrated the internet sourcing ability on the Spotlight. This allows more in-depth search results for your query and would completely make Google obsolete on the Mac.
Spotlight can also be used for instant conversions and much more. This added utility will be really easy to get hands on and quite possibly make you wish your other systems had it too. It is essentially a one-stop shop for instant information.
Design:
Clarity is added through Translucence
Translucency is the key element inducted into the Yosemite. From the Docks, it is especially noticeable in the drop down menus and the finder. New toolbars and windows are giving it a fresh new look. The dark mode indeed looks enticing to start using right away.
The clean and consistent design throughout the OS gives a sense of, dare I say it again, continuity which will be really appreciated during extended uses.
The new Today view in Notification Center gives you a quick look at everything you need to know now — upcoming events, reminders, stocks, weather, and more. It is really handy and reminds you of the notification panel on the iOS 6 and 7. You can extend the panel to add widgets from the Mac App Store to customize according to your needs.
ITS FREE:
Yes, it is free, the most featured packed Apple OS is releasing this fall and it is for FREE. Not just that, there is also an update that’s gonna get a lot of people excited. Apple will let you be a part of the Public Beta program for the OS X Yosemite. Though there will be some glitches, but it will give the fan-boy a feel of being an Apple developer.
Conclusion:
In the 25th installment of the WWDC, Apple made a good bet of focusing only on its two operating systems and interlinking them together. This was one of the most feature intensive update in a long while. This will be a revolutionary idea and we will probably see all the Apple competitors trying to provide better integration across multiple platforms on the lines of the Yosemite. It’s time that the Apple naysayers should take a break and introspect about what they are doing with their lives.
California based Private space enterprise SpaceX has finally revealed its Dragon V2 Space Capsule. The dragon V2 is different from its predecessor because it is capable of carrying an extremely valuable cargo, the human Astronauts.
The company’s owner Elon Musk is the real life inspiration for Iron Man. He is a phenomenal human being. He is the co-founder of PayPal, CEO and CTO of SpaceX and CEO of the world’s best electric car brand called Tesla Motors. He plans to bring in a transportation revolution with his Hyperloop proposal. He is one of the most respected and revolutionary tech entrepreneurs.
SpaceX was founded in 2002 with rocket propulsion engineer Tom Mueller. The companies economical space travel model was so well appreciated, that in 2008 SpaceX was awarded a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. As per the agreement Space X will send 12 flights of its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station(ISS). With the retirement of the iconic Space Shuttle program in 2011, American ingenuity in space was at peril. Luckily Space X was there for rescue.
The Dragon spacecraft first docked with the ISS in 2012
The first SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully launched and docked at the ISS in 2012. It was basically a test mission to assess the capabilities of the Dragon to deliver payload to the ISS. Since then, it has completed 3 of its 12 missions. These were Cargo missions but the Dragon V2 will be capable of human flights which are extremely important considering our severely restricted means of access to space. Space research also is facing several issues because of the increased tensions between the West and Russia.
The 4.5 meter tall Dragon V2 will be the first space craft to land vertically on any surface like a helicopter. This will take us miles ahead in terms of reusability and making space travel more economical. Space X experimented with the Grasshopper rocket to achieve vertical launch and land capability. This technology will help in reducing the costs of building new rockets for every mission.
The Spacecraft has multiple backups for safety. It is powered by a main and backup engine which will ensure safe landings of the astronauts on surface; if one fails the other will take over. Dragon V2 also has a parachute as the ultimate time tested backup for landing.
Dragon V2 is fully capable of transporting Astronauts
The need for the manned SpaceX Dragon 2 to succeed is direr considering that Russia plans to do away with the ISS missions by 2020. Currently the Russian Soyuz is the only way to carry astronauts to and from the ISS. This will be a big step back for all of us if we don’t have access to space based research anymore.
Apart from Space X, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems have also cleared first step of NASA certification. Even President Barack Obama has encouraged more private investment in space exploration to speed up the research process.
Elon Musk wishes to now enter into the arena of planetary exploration with a trip to Mars. It is the only way we can ascertain the survival of the future for our species against the threats faced by our own self (global warming, wars, etc) or circumstances which are not in our control (asteroid strike or a super volcano eruption). We are in essence surviving on a living planet highly capable of getting bruised.
Space exploration has always been an aspirational area of interest for everyone, it entices us all. Throughout our history the heavens have enticed us. A scientific colleague of Carl Sagan once told him about a Stone Age tribe which was ignorant about all our scientific and technological achievements but they knew one thing, we had landed on the moon. It was a disappointment to them to know that no one goes there anymore.
In the last century, we have taken the human curiosity worth of 20,000 centuries to flight by gaining the ability to leave the surface and take a look back at our grand blue planet. If we stop now, we won’t just be disappointing that one Stone Age tribe, but all our predecessors who went to great lengths to ascertain the survival of our species. Elon Musk and the engineers at Space X deserve our gratitude for keeping that hope and curiosity alive and giving it wings to fly high.
As Mr. Narendra Modi got sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister of India, the new website for the elected representative went live. PMIndia.nic.in was updated with new images and new government policies, along with a way to greet the man himself.
This small move which may not be important to many, shows a major difference of opinion between the past and new government, towards the new digital generation. To put things in perspective the last time our Prime Minister was elected the website took over a month to get updated.
The new Government of India, led by Mr. Narendra Modi as Prime Minister has a brilliant agenda towards the technological improvements in India, should they get implemented. For one that stands out is seemingly the need of the hour, for India to become a truly broadband enabled state.
The new government promises severe improvements in telecom and internet access in the country making broadband high speed, and no not speeds of 512 kbps, but actual high speed internet available to all. While major metropolitans will see fibre networks within the next 6 months, low connectivity states will get access to ADSL.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”Narendra Modi” link=”http://pmindia.nic.in/pmmessage.php” author_title=”Prime Minister of India”]
I envision this website as a very important medium of direct communication between us. I am a firm believer in the power of technology and social media to communicate with people across the world. I hope this platform creates opportunities to listen, learn and share one’s views.
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For India, this might be one of the crucial blockades, that might be on the eve of removal. Many of the business leaders and active online (dare we say) Netizens have seen great hope in this new government and its forward policies towards a better connected India.
The new Government will also discuss the existing duty rates on the import of various forms of technology, this might result in decrease in prices of various daily use tech like smartphones and cameras.
However, India seriously lacks behind in the deployment of connected hardware in the country. Many manufacturers have started bringing the latest tech to India in a timely manner, but we are yet to see infrastructure to support it. Again, for perspective the United States had a fully deployed 4G/LTE network by the end of 2012 and India is still in the testing phase, all this despite the fact that urban India will continue to account for a large percentage of mobile internet users across the country and is expected to reach 126 million by March 2014 and touch 153 million users by June 2014. Significantly, a drastic growth was witnessed in the number of users of mobile internet in rural India and will register an impressive 50% growth to reach 32 million by June 2014.
Once we have stable networks and high speed internet access we can then possibly discuss the next major issue; Street TRAFFIC!
Picture a future with no street lights, but the road it self lit up. A road that warns you about blockages like fallen trees, giant boulders, crossing animals way in advance. A road that melts snow instantly, thereby no slipping cars. Not just roads but imagine parking stands, sidewalks, airport tarmacs and playgrounds that have programmable lights which work according to your requirement. Oh yes, they can also power themselves and everything around them with the awesome powers of the Sun. And here is the best part, this can be made possible in the present itself. Prepare yourself because the most freaking amazing invention of all time is about to be unleashed across the world and they are called SOLAR FREAKING ROADWAYS.
In the last few decades we haven’t seen a single major infrastructural innovation apart from the telecommunication revolution. The fact of the matter remains that neither Facebook, nor twitter nor any other app is ever going to bring real tangible development. We need to create cities which look like the fantasies of people who came before us. We have stopped investing in real world infrastructure. There needs to be massive R&D investment to make the next generation transportation apparatus possible.
Julie and Scott Brusaw, inventors of Solar Roadways
Enter into the scene, Julie and Scott Brusaw. They are the mild mannered master builders(Lego movie anyone) and inventors of solar roadways. These guys are real life pioneers who might go unnoticed in a crowd but they have invented something that the future humans will thank us for, instead of blaming us for all the destruction they will face because of our greenhouse emissions.
The video makes the concept pretty clear. It’s a smart roadway which can practically make our tar roadways extinct. The solar panels are hard and strong. They are imbedded with intelligent circuitry and made almost entirely with recyclable materials. They also produce clean energy, which might put an end to the dirty smog that has taken over major cities around the world. We may actually reach a shortage of garbage when this project reaches full potential.
Solar roadways are also probably the safest road possible. Their LED infused circuitry and intelligent electronics connected with optical fibers help to monitor their situation constantly.
This is in fact a revolutionary idea which can be put into place right away with the available technology of the present. Some of the biggest names in the tech world are realizing the importance of infrastructural innovation and have started to invest heavily into such projects. One such person is Elon Musk who offered an audacious idea last year called the Hyperloop. According to Google founder Larry Page, he would rather give his billions to Elon Musk than charity because of his avant garde developmental ideas.
The Hyperloop can change our existing Railway models
The Hyperloop is a high-speed transportation system which incorporates reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurized capsules ride on a cushion of air that is driven by a combination of linear induction motors and air compressors.It is a lot cheaper than to install than the conventional intercity railway model and futuristic too.
Coming back to the star of the moment, the best part about the Solar Roadways is the fact that they pay for themselves. They not just provide the safest mode of transport; they also generate free electricity for all, which will end our addiction to coal and gas forever. We don’t need those massive transmission lines anymore.
We have finally unlocked the knowledge that the plants and trees figured out almost 350 million years ago. We can now harvest the energy of the sun for all our purposes.
The only suggestion we would like to give the inventor is that they should adopt a better marketing strategy. Even though they have a prototype contract with the Federal Highway Administration, there website is not enticing enough for a common man to get excited about the prospects of their prodigious invention.
Lets share this incredible revolutions with all and demand our lawmakers to start finding ways to break ground for the induction of Solar Freaking Roadways all across the word. And then maybe we can invent Lightcycles too, and live in a scintillating Tron-like universe.
Clicking on the ‘Buy Now’ tab on Amazon or Flipkart surely gives you that good feeling of owning the very product you wanted to have for long time. But have you ever thought of the possibility of you compromising your personal information in internet Eco-system; that may be used against you or for stealing your money. We’re sure you are aware of these crimes but you think they won’t happen to you. Well you are wrong, and statistics say otherwise.
According to ‘Internet Security Threat’ report that was recently released by Norton (Symantec), India has 42 million cyber crimes affecting 42 million cyber crime victims every year on a pan-India basis. During the last year, 52 per cent of such victims had suffered attacks such as malware, viruses, hacking, scams, fraud and theft. The report adds eighty people are vicitimised under various cyber crimes, every minute across India. The study reports seven out of 10 adults have been victims of different modes of cyber crime in their life time.
Anonymous Group Embelem
With the Internet becoming available at the touch of a button and wannabe computer whiz kids dabbling in hacking for sport, cyber crime has seen an unprecedented upsurge. What makes it infinitely more dangerous than any other crime is the comparative lack of awareness and identification. How could you be expected to know that behind the innocent looking website lurks a compulsive hacker, or worse, consummate identity thief?
History of hacking and identity theft can be traced back to 2004 with the rise of collective called ‘Anonymous‘ who targeted government organisations and corporate. Wikileaks is another major example of hacking and recent one’s like Heartbleed bug posed a major threat to many international organisations. Think if these hacker can bring down biggest names in the global business, where we stand in this mayhem of cyber-crime and identity theft.
Identity theft is a crime whereby criminals impersonate individuals, usually for financial gain. In today’s society, you often need to reveal personal bits of information about yourself, such as your social security number, signature, name, address, phone number, cell number or even banking and credit card information. If a thief is able to access this personal information, he or she can use it to commit fraud in your name.
Armed with your personal information, a malicious person could do any number of things, like apply for loans or new credit card accounts. This individual could request a billing address change and run up your existing credit card without your knowledge. A thief could use counterfeit checks and debit cards or authorize electronic transfers in your name and wipe out funds in a bank account.
Supposedly, Identity theft is one of the biggest practiced crime of our generation and you need to secure your self with these thefts. Almost every worldwide government agency responsible for identity theft issues will tell you the same thing: The first step to fighting identity theft is to minimize the risk.
To do this they urge consumers to protect their personal information. Start by asking companies how they use your information, and for online transaction, take a moment to review a website’s privacy policy. For Internet transactions, be sure the Web site offers secure data encryption and other services to protect your personal information.
In offline transactions don’t provide credit card numbers, financial account numbers, and personal identifying information over the phone unless you know the communication line is secure. Ideally, you should initiate the phone conversation.
Lastly, there are recommended everyday practices, such as keeping an eye on postal mail to ensure your bills are arriving when they should be, and taking the time to properly dispose of paper documents that may contain credit card numbers and other identifying personal information.
Remember: The more private and secure you keep your personal identifying information, the less susceptible to identify theft you are.
Books are an essential element of our lives and a lot of us still like to read for pleasure. Eventhough it’s really hard to recreate the feel of a physical book many apps promise the next best thing. We find out which Ebook reading apps give book lovers might feel comfortable to switch to without emptying your pockets on tablets or ebook readers.
Lets understand the formats first. Epubs are a great way to read books as they have fluid movement which helps to optimize the content according to the screen on which it’s being used. PDF on the other hand is more widely known and used document more rigid as it’s designed to keep the document intact and hence requires zooming in on smaller screens. If you have a library of PDF ebooks that you would like to read on your mobile, there are many websites which offer free conversions to EPUB so that you can have a comfortable time reading them.
Aldiko Book reader: This is a great one stop solution for book lovers. The reader gives you some of the classics bundled with the app. Apart from that the best part of the app lets you import Epubs from your personal collection. The app is to reading books as VLC player is to listening to music and videos. There are multiple ways to sort your books and categorize them according to titles, authors, date last read, ratings, etc. Apart from these it also gives access to the feedbook store where you can buy the books or choose from the huge free library.
Amazon Kindle App: Unlike the Aldiko, you need to make an account with Amazon to access the Kindle app. But with that comes the access to Amazon’s Kindle store, the biggest library on the internet. The UI is empty after installation and you need to find the books which you want to read in the kindle store. The app is great for Kindle purchases for folks who don’t want to invest in a real Kindle fire.
Moon+ reader: This is a great Epub reader with amazing customization ability. There are options for horizontal and vertical reading, options for 3D page flip animations, options for highlighting, adding annotations and an option for installing a dictionary. The app also helps you take notes which will be helpful for academics on the move. Moon+ also supports EPUB3 through which it can play multimedia contents(video and audio). Also the app helps you chose themes to recreate your own personalized reading experience.
