Category: Apps and Software

Games, Apps, Softwares, Operating Systems and Software Hacks

The Indian Railways Website Just Beat Flipkart and Amazon In Numbers

Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) has emerged as India’s biggest online marketplace, beating out competition from Flipkart, Amazon and the like. IRCTC generated a revenue of two hundred and six billion rupees ($3 billion) in their last financial year solely based on online sales; this number is almost double Filpkart’s yearly turnover.

IRCTC had an increase in their turnover as compared to the previous year by 34%, and this has probably been due to the fact that the website has taken steps in order to upgrade their otherwise slow interface this year. This resulted in a record of taking 1.34 million ticket reservations in one day.

“Bulk of the sales may be attributed to IRCTC’s rapid growth in e-ticketing which has been due to its interface and setting up of a very robust process,” said Sandip Dutta, IRCTC’s Public Relations Officer.

This speed has also been upgraded to book 7,200 tickets per minute as compared to the earlier 2,000 tickets per minute. With all these upgrades the battle between the three online e-commerce websites – Amazon, Flipkart and IRCTC, seems to have its final result. However, since IRCTC isn’t really in direct competition with either of the two; they have tied up with Amazon India for the next two years as its preferred shopping partner. More power to you Indian Railways.

November 28, 2015
Microsoft Sends Out Cortana To Be Tested By iOS Users

After providing a version of Cortana to Android users, Microsoft is now looking for Windows Insiders willing to test Cortana on iOS. This process is underway as reports surfaced suggesting that iOS testers have received an email alerting them that Microsoft’s virtual personal assistant was available for download.

This version of Cortana for iOS offers voice responses to questions, provides sports scores, stock prices, reminders, alarms, and much more. And because Cortana is not just any virtual assistant, it comes with its own personality to tell jokes and sing songs. Further reports suggest that this version of Cortana for iOS is being distributed by Apple’s TestFlight and is limited to only 2000 testers. With this, Microsoft is planning to look for a way where Cortana can be used to connect iPhone users with their Windows powered PC.

Microsoft has suggested that testers set a reminder using Cortana on their PC in order to see how it works on the iPhone, and also to use it to hold meetings so that they can test whether Cortana is able to help users do so. Apart from that, interactions with Cortana are supposed to be like interactions with any other human personal assistant, so users are suggested to speak to it just like they would with any human assistant.

However, Microsoft has made no confirmation about how long this testing will last, but as of now this definitely makes the wait for iOS users shorter.

November 28, 2015
Instagram’s Next Update To Support Multiple Accounts On Android

If reports are to be believed, the the new Instagram app version 7.12.0 on Android might begin supporting multiple accounts on one device. This is the first time, since its inception, that Instagram has even thought of the possibility of multiple accounts.

However, not everyone who downloads the newest version of the app will receive this feature as it is still being rolled out in stages. Additionally, Instagram has not made any official statement yet. In case you did receive the update, then you should see an “Add Account” option under the “Clear Search History” option on the settings list. This basically means that you can now add or create another account to use simultaneously with your present account already logged in.

As of now, iOS doesn’t seem to have this feature even if they also have the same Instagram 7.12.0 version. If you want to check whether you have this feature, click here to update; and don’t forget to let us know about it.

November 28, 2015
OnePlus X to Receive New Oxygen OS Update Today

A new OS is on its way to the OnePlus X, and no, it won’t be a new Android update. Instead, OnePlus X owners will be receiving a new Oxygen OS update that promises to bring several enhancements to the MicroSD card support.

The latest Oxygen OS 2.1.3 will bring UX improvements, along with exFAT SD card support, and the ability to move apps to and from the card. It also fixes a bug that caused the handset to reboot whenever you removed the SD card.

OnePlus X

OnePlus has also stated that there are some unnamed security patches as well as “general bug fixes and optimisations”. The new Oxygen OS update rollout starts from today, though only 10% of OnePlus X users out there will receive the update as of now. This is to test if the update works well. The update will rollout to a wider audience in a few days.

November 26, 2015
Google’s ‘Accelerated Mobile Page’ Will be Similar to Facebook’s Instant Articles

Google is trying to catch up with Facebook and Apple with Accelerated Mobile Pages that make loading web pages a lot faster on mobile devices. Facebook and Apple have been providing previews so far, and Google has stated that the first accelerated pages will “come early next year”.

The project is similar to Facebook’s Instant Articles, which loads articles by publishers 10 times faster than the standard mobile web, using the same technology that goes into displaying photos and videos quickly. This means the stories are already being pre-loaded in the background as you scroll your News Feed, so it opens quickly when you tap on it, which makes it accessible even with a 2G connection.

Google has employed 4,500 developers working on AMP on Github. The AMP project has drawn in publishers including The Guardian, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and Vox Media. Google has also attracted advertisers like Outbrain, AOL, OpenX, DoubleClick, and AdSense who are developing ads that abide to quick-loading specifications of AMP.

It’ll be interesting to know just how quick-loading mobile pages will be when advertisers begin to push more data intrusive and data-intensive specs over time. For now, you’ll have to wait for early 2016 to have a taste of what accelerated mobile pages will look like.

November 25, 2015
Vines Are Now Only A Swipe Away on the Apple Watch

After being worked upon for the past couple of months, Vine has finally come to the Apple Watch. The app had been under construction since at least this summer when it was first showcased in an on-stage demonstration at an Apple event in June.

The launch of the watchOS app, that took place yesterday on the 24th of November, allows users to run videos on their gadget, while at the same time allows a feature that other than being borderline obsessive also lets you keep track of the number of times your video has been looped.

However despite all of Apple’s efforts, there is a sense of incompetence with various apps on the Watch. It seems like too many iPhone features are being crammed up in a small space of a tiny watch-screen. This new app will shrink down a lot of your favourite Vines on the gadget making them available simply a swipe away. The entire endeavour, however, still seems a little wasted, owing to the size of the screen and the fact that they load at quite a slow speed.

November 25, 2015
Snapchat Makes Live Stories More Interactive With New Feature

In an attempt to make its Live Stories more interactive, Snapchat has introduced a new feature called Story Explorer. Users will now be able to see more of their favourite Live Stories.

https://youtu.be/Is5MVYepFBE

There will be an “Explore” tab at the bottom of some stories, and swiping it up would allow users to see more Snaps related to that particular story. The idea behind this new feature, as the company suggests, is to allow users to see different aspects of the same story and explore several perspectives.

“It’s the first time you’ll be able to experience that incredible game-winning dunk from thousands of perspectives throughout the stadium – or feel like you’re right there on the scene when breaking news unfolds.”

This new feature has been rolled out in New York and Los Angeles for now. Snapchat says in its official blog post that it will be made available in other places as well “very soon”. Looks like Snapchat might have provided social media with a reliable, authentic source of news after all, don’t you think?

November 24, 2015
Google To Launch Play Store In China Next Year

Google wants to launch a special version of its Play Store in China next year. Reports suggest that the company wants to launch a stand-alone version for the country in order to comply with their government’s censorship requirements.

Google has had a short and somewhat tumultuous relationship with the country. It left China in 2010 as a reaction to the Chinese hacking attacks and the government’s censorship requirements. However, with the new turn of events, it seems like the company is agreeing to comply with content censorship request, but will keep the Chinese version of the Play Store separate from the existing app store. This will be done so that the rest of the users located outside the country won’t have to comply with those specific censorship guidelines.

Even with Android being the most used operating system in China, many users do not have Google apps on their phone because of the above mentioned reasons. They currently use web browsers like Tencent and Baidu in order to access app stores from mobile phones. Therefore, hopefully with the introduction of the Google Play Store, things might change for the ‘techizens’ of China, and will inversely even help Google expand towards more areas of influence.

This app store can be expected to launch during the first half of 2016, sometime after the Chinese New Year in February.

November 21, 2015
Microsoft Puts Android Support Project On Hold Due To Security Concerns

Microsoft had announced back in April that they were planning on supporting a quick reuse of their software on iOS and Android devices. This was so that they could create universal apps across devices. However, from the beginning this intention seemed shaky, and we finally now know that Microsoft has put Android support on hold.

Even though there hasn’t been any official statement about the discontinuity of Project Astoria (name of the Android support project), reports do firmly suggest that this collaboration is definitely on hold. The reason for this could be security and optimization problems.

“We’re committed to offering developers many options to bring their apps to the Windows platform, including bridges available now for Web and iOS, and soon Win32. The Astoria Bridge is not ready yet, but other tools offer great options to developers.” says Microsoft.

Therefore, what we can insinuate is that there still might be some hope help for Android in this sphere. Meanwhile, the company is focusing on iOS migration tools, which have in the past, proven to be more compatible with the Windows 10.

November 18, 2015
Apple iPad Pro Units Unresponsive and Prone to Freezing While Charging

Tim Cook has been in news lately for making confident comments about Apple devices and calling the recently launched Microsoft Surface Book “deluded“. However, the comments may have come a tad too soon in the day as some users are already complaining of glitches in the recently launched iPad Pro 4.

There have been numerous complaints on Apple Support forums -all playing to the same tune:

“I’m having the same problem. I’ve charged my new iPad Pro twice and both times it required a hard reset to get it working. Very frustrating.” Another complaint: “I have the exact same issue. When I connect my iPad Pro to the charger for more than an hour, it goes dead. It takes multiple hard resets to bring it back to life.”

The device freezes or gets unresponsive during charging. Apple is aware of the problem and has given tips like performing a factory reset and restarting the device using iTunes. Affected users can also hold down both the Sleep/Wake as well as the Home button simultaneously for a few seconds to force a restart on the tablet.

Many iPhone 6, 6s and 6s Plus units have also been facing the same glitches lately. This means it could be an iOS 9 problem which could be fixed with a simple software update. Either way, post all the confidence that surrounds the launch of every Apple device, these problems are a bit of a downer. We’ll hold our breath until Tim Cook has something to say about this as well. Is that the sound of Microsoft giggling behind the curtains?

November 17, 2015
Firefox OS 2.5 Comes To Android Phones

After having announced an iOS App, Mozilla Firefox now announces the launch of a Firefox OS 2.5 developer preview for all Android devices.

There are a couple of highlighted features that arrive with the app such as add-ons, private browsing with tracking protection and ‘pin the web’.

The add-ons are a feature that will allow users to use an extension of one or more apps along with the system app itself; the private browsing feature is exclusive to Mozilla’s Firefox version which allows you to browse through the web with a tracking protection; last but not the least is the ‘pin the web’ feature that removes artificial distinction between web pages and websites so that you can pin any website to your home screen.

Obviously, the app is still being tested out, and you can click here to check out the ‘developer’s preview’. Oh, just one more thing, the app runs without needing to flash the operating system over your current Android OS.

November 16, 2015
The Mozilla Firefox iOS App Is Finally Available On the App Store

Mozilla had been testing an iOS version of its browser for a while now, and it has finally launched a Firefox version for iOS. This app will now be available on the Apple Store on all iOS run devices ranging from the iPhone to the iPod Touch.

Firefox had previously held a stance against developing software for Apple’s app store, but has clearly moved on since then. The first iOS Mozilla tester had rolled out in May this year, following another one in September, before going live with the final version.

This app is being introduced amongst much competition in the sphere of web browsing, especially with iOS owned Safari already in the picture. This new app will allow Firefox loyalists to continue using the web browser even on their Apple products. Let’s all hope that Firefox is able to gain some new customers whilst keeping its old ones too.

Here is a link for you to download Mozilla Firefox on to your Apple devices. Just make sure your device runs the iOS 8.2 or above.

November 16, 2015
Here’s How You Can Identify a Celebrity Profile on SnapChat

SnapChat is rolling out a new feature specially for its celebrity users as an added verification setting. So, if you want to verify whether the celebrity you think you are following is actually the real deal, you just have to look for a small emoji signifying their status. This emoji functions just like the blue tick mark on Facebook that identifies an authentic account from a fake one.

These emojis will be appearing under the header “Official Stories” and will also appear on the stories of users you are already following. This feature is expected to help “Snapchatters” discover interesting stories easily.

“If a Snapchatter has an Official Story, their name will appear under an Official Stories header when you search for them. Also, an emoji will appear next to their name so you know they’re the real deal!” – says SnapChat

As of now, the “Official Stories” feature is still being rolled out, so everyone may not have received it yet. However, it can be expected to become universally active soon.

November 14, 2015
Is Microsoft Late in Launching Cortana in India?

Cortana, the voice-based virtual assistant, was launched in India for Windows 10 users yesterday, with the Indian accent and voice support. It is part of the November update which the company announced on Thursday.

Thanks to leaks, some Indian users managed to get to lay their hands on this new addition by Microsoft weeks ago. But now it’s finally here officially and how. Microsoft says it took time in launching it in the country because it was working on an Indian voice and accent.

Cortana for India is complete with India-specific knowledge as well. Not only will it be able to understand the Indian accent but you can also talk to the voice assistant about golgappas and cricket, says Microsoft. Indian festivals and customs are two other things Cortana now recognises.

When asked about Diwali, Cortana says, “in the courtyard of AI imagination, I would light up a thousand diyas.”

The virtual assistant was first introduced in the country in September as part of Microsoft’s Insider Preview program with the promise of an update to be rolled out later. Microsoft claimed it was still working on improving voice support.

Users can now use Cortana to book tickets using Book My Show app. However, what is perhaps the most interesting feature that Microsoft cannot stop talking about is clicking selfies using simply voice commands. The virtual assistant with its added features is also capable of looking into your emails and reminding you of appointments and events, or reschedule meetings if need be.

But after its global launch months ago, is Microsoft a little too late in bringing it in India? Whether or not the delay is a disadvantage, Cortana definitely has an edge over its Apple counterpart, Siri, with its knowledge of Indian customs and accent. Let us know which voice assistant would you rather prefer in the comments below.

November 14, 2015
Apple To Discontinue Beats Music By the End Of November

Recent reports suggest that Apple will shut down Beats Music on the 30th of November 2015. Even though all the Beats subscriptions will end on that day, Apple is still encouraging subscribers to migrate their user profiles to Apple Music by saying that:

“…on Apple Music, you’ll get even better recommendations based on music you already listen to and love, 24/7 global radio with Beats 1, exciting material from your favorite artist, and more.”

This decision to shut Beats Music down has come less than six months after the company unveiled Apple Music. The appearance of Apple Music is said to have marked a departure from Apple’s stance on resisting the adoption of any music subscription model for its users. This service offers users recommendations based on purchases made over Apple’s iTunes Store or chosen on-demand from an online catalog. Apple Music also includes Beats 1, which is a 24X7 radio station. Apart from this the service also offers something called ‘Connect’ where artists can interact with their well-wisher or fans to share songs directly to their iPhones.

Since its launch, Apple Music has gathered 6.5 million subscribers, however this number still does not beat Spotify’s 25 million paid members and 50 million unpaid members. Furthermore, Apple has even released the service for Android users. Therefore, with the reach of Apple Music extending to more than just its customers, the discontinuation of Beats Music should not make much of a difference to the tech mogul.

November 14, 2015