Category: Top Around the Web

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Next Gen Wifi to be the End of Bluetooth?

The Wi-Fi Alliance, body that controls research, and advances of the Wi-Fi technology, yesterday at CES, 2016 announced its future plans for taking this already indispensable medium of communicating with the Internet forward.In a bid to expand the reach and adoption of the Wi-Fi technology when it comes to connectivity with the Internet of Things, ‘Wi-Fi HaLow’ was announced. This new Wi-Fi framework which will operate on the 900 Mhz range, promises to double the reach of the already existing 2.4, and 5 Ghz Wi-Fi baseband.

This switch to the new spectrum will also help conserve energy, making it the perfect platform for low-power, less data intensive devices like smart watches, and other Internet enabled household appliances that the coming days will bring to us.

When quizzed about the real world benefits of ‘HaLow’ to the end consumer, Kevin Robinson, Vice President of the Wi-Fi Alliance had this to say,

“For a consumer, you might imagine someone who wants to deploy a water sensor in their basement to detect flooding or a motion sensor at the end of their driveway to warn them of someone arriving late at night.

In both of these cases, Wi-Fi HaLow will deliver power-efficient connectivity to the home access point, despite the challenging environment caused by obstructions in the device’s path or ranges involved.”

Emergence of ‘Wi-Fi HaLow’ will have implications far greater than just how efficiently low powered devices will interact with the Internet in the future. It will most likely be sounding of the death knell for the outdated Bluetooth framework which currently is used by such low-powered devices. ‘Wi-Fi HaLow’ in time promises to be the perfect platform to meet the needs of the various upcoming Smart Homes, and Smart Cities around the world.But, all is not lost in the land of despair for our trusted old warrior, Bluetooth. According to reports, the new Wi-Fi framework will not come into effect any time before 2018; even then it will take some time to make its way into consumer durables, and even more time through our routers in to our homes, thus leaving a small window of chance for low energy Bluetooth framework to reinvent itself, and leave ‘HaLow’ feeling like a hollow idea to implement altogether.

January 5, 2016
Facebook’s “Free Internet” TRAI Email Scam Explained

Internet.org was announced globally in August, 2013 and it arrived in India in February 2015. The initiative aims to provide free internet services on the Reliance network in the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and Telangana. The users would have free data access to more than three dozen services.

The idea of thousands and millions being included within the ambit of the virtual world sounds brilliant and one everyone is up for. But before that, those endorsing this initiative need to understand all that it entails.

Internet.org:

Internet.org refers to a collaboration between Facebook and six other companies, namely, Samsung, Qualcomm, Nokia, Ericsson, MediaTek and Opera Software. The aim of this collaboration is to bring easily accessible internet to developing countries, especially in remote rural areas. However since it includes only selected services and online operators, it is seen not only as a direct threat to net neutrality but also as rampant publicizing of Facebook. It would be a single company, or a small group of them, which would decide what services are made available and which ones are excluded, a right earlier extended only to the user of the internet, not the service providers.

The Digital India Display Picture Controversy:

This controversy surfaced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Silicon Valley to promote Digital India. When Mark Zuckerberg changed his display picture on Facebook to one with an overlay of the Indian flag, the Prime Minister followed suit and did the same with his display picture. Facebook also introduced a feature which allowed users everywhere to make the tri-colour part of their display pictures. Post this, people, as we know them to be, switched their profile pictures left and right and centre. All of a sudden, we woke up to find unanimous, enthusiastic support for Digital India. Utopia, could it be?
A lot of netizens took to social media platforms to express their dismay at the new feature, which was allegedly directly connected with Facebook’s Internet.org. It was assumed that these pictures had a source code which would automatically link them to Internet.org, inadvertently making them support the initiative. However, the confusion was soon cleared up -the tri-coloured display pictures had nothing to do with Internet.org and that was the end of this controversy.

Free Basics:Free Basics is part of Internet.org and lets users access the services of the initiative by downloading an app. It became available in India last month and allowed users access to Facebook and Facebook messenger, Wikipedia, BBC News and health services, among others. The app was initially made available on Reliance Communications Network, Facebook’s partner in Internet.org.

The app and the initiative has received flak from the word go for its alleged preferential treatment, and thereby being in direct contradiction with net neutrality. Mark Zuckerberg defended this, however, and said Free Basics provides not only internet services for free but plans to include more services and developers within its reach.

Current Scenario:

A little after its release in the country, Free Basics ran into turbulent waters. Reliance Communications had to withhold the service after it received a request from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to do so.

“As directed by TRAI, the commercial launch of Freebasics has been kept in abeyance, till they consider all details and convey a specific approval,” said a Reliance representative.

This was soon followed by a Facebook campaign -users were flooded with notifications of their Facebook contacts having ‘voiced their opinion’ on Free Basics. Clicking on the notification directs the user to a page which automates reply to TRAI in appeal in favour of the same. Users were also presented with this pre-filled form as they logged in which would be sent to TRAI in support of Free Basics. Though this feature was meant only for Indian users, it was sent to many American users as well. Facebook claims it was a mistake which has been corrected. The fate of Free Basics is uncertain until a verdict is passed post TRAI’s hearing on net neutrality next month.

India is one of the 36 countries where Free Basics has been launched and is the second largest user of Facebook in the world.

Free Basics and Internet.org are the Same but Not Many Remember it: Free Basics is an extension of Internet.org but quite a lot of seem to have forgotten that. There had been a lot of hue and cry only a couple of weeks ago over Internet.org and its ‘altruistic’ intentions behind the initiative. However, the clamour died down quiet magically as large number of people have stepped forward declaring their support for Free Basics on Facebook, without even realising it in many cases.
Facebook notification windows have their hands full all over the country with updates about users voicing their opinions about Free Basics (read: declaring support for Internet.org, which they had opposed only a little while ago).

Times of India aptly commented on the whole topic recently and said, “Facebook is just trying to play on the fact that most of us click the like button on its platform without reading or understanding the complete picture.”

Nothing would be better on the tech front than to have a country where internet is available in every household. But any policy that endangers net neutrality, and therefore, the freedom of expression, needs to be reconsidered.

Equal internet is important for the virtual space, for future Facebooks and platforms like iGyaan itself. It enforces net neutrality and makes sure consumers don’t end up paying with every click online. However, concepts like ‘free internet’, what the Facebook-based app aims to provide under its Internet.org campaign, tends to complicate things, and endangers net neutrality.

Have you signed your TRAI-email petition yet on Facebook, if not would be willing to or would you rather steer clear from it? Let us know in the comments below.

December 24, 2015
Internet Grows to 299 Million Domain Names in Q3

VeriSign, Inc., a global leader in domain names and internet security today announced that there are approximately 229 million domain names worldwide across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of September 30, 2015. The number reached this tally after an additional 3.1 million domain names were added to the internet in the third quarter of 2015.

The 3.1 million increase in domain names also leads to a 1.1 percent increase over the second quarter of 2015. The .com and .net TLDs reached an aggregate total of approximately 135.2 million domains in the domain name base. This makes it a 3.4 percent yearly increase. As of September 30th, there are 120.1 million .com domain names and 15.1 million .net names.

During the third quarter, Verisign processed 9.2 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, as compared to 8.7 million domain names for the same period last year. The company’s average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was about 120 billion queries per day across all TLDs operated by Verisign, with a peak reaching to 593 billion. Furthermore, the daily average query load increased 8.0 percent and the peak increased by 225.3 percent. Year over year, the daily average query load increased by 4.8 percent, and the peak increased by 86.4 percent.

December 21, 2015
Brazil Shuts Down WhatsApp for 48 Hours

Update: Within 12 hours of issuing it, the ban has been revoked. WhatsApp is working again in Brazil, for now.

Looks like it’s time to shove that smartphone aside for two days and look up from the phone screen if you’re in Brazil. The country has closed WhatsApp for 48 hours. Reasons for this have not been disclosed.

In the past, there has been much ado by Brazil’s telecommunication companies to curb interaction on WhatsApp. They claim that the free calling feature of the app is illegal and requires stricter regulations.In an attempt to distinguish itself from countries like the US, especially post the entire NSA spying scandal, Brazil had passed net neutrality laws in 2014, the internet ‘Bill of Rights’ being an example. Two years down the line, things seem to be taking a turn for the worse in Brazil. Soon, individuals would have to enter their address and phone numbers, among other details, to be able to use websites and apps.

With the government having given no explicit reason for this 48-hour long ban, the current picture is just as hazy as the future of WhatsApp in Brazil. The ban has already let to a huge uproar with grievances being expressed on social media. At the same time, WhatsApp competitors like Telegram are doing exceptionally well. Let’s see where it goes from here for the Brazilian cyber space and internet laws.

December 17, 2015

Delhi NCR Most Active in E-Commerce According to Flipkart, Amazon

Flipkart studied consumer trends and preferences between 1st January and 14th December 2014, and concluded that mobile phones and accessories are the most in demand products across India. Additionally, Delhi NCR ranked as the city with maximum purchases of mobile phones, beating Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai – in that order. Another set of stats by Amazon revealed that 60% of its customers belong to Delhi NCR.

Mobile phones and accessories, LED television sets and smart wearables are doing immensely well with customers. It has also been revealed that 69% of online customers were males -yes, that’s the sound of shattering stereotypes related to shopping.

Top Selling Mobile Phones Brands	Top Selling Smart Wearables Brand	Top Selling TV Brands
Lenovo	Motorola	Vu
Motorola	Samsung	Micromax
Xiaomi	Apple	Samsung
Micromax	Moov	LG
Samsung	Honor	Panasonic

The age group that dominates the e-retail space is 25 to 34 years, predominantly office-goers followed by students. Is that what you’re doing all day at work or in college then?

This huge shift to online shopping marks a significant development in the consumer-supplier relationship. As more and more buyers become tech savvy, the movement to online platforms gains immense importance, especially when it comes to electronic goods. Looks like it’s been a good day for technology.

December 16, 2015

5 Internet Hacking Operations that Shook the World

Internet warfare and cyber espionage has been going on for a while now. Hackers breaking into secret government records, swindling banks off their money or just simply having a laugh on the internet is something not unheard of at all in contemporary times. Therefore it’s only natural that we talk about some of the most well-executed hacks that made the world sit-up and listen.

1. First Worm on the Internet (1990):

I only wanted to see the size of the web -is what Robert Morris said in 1988 when he was caught for creating what would be known as the first worm on the Internet. He tried hiding his online trail by releasing the worm from MIT, instead of Cornell where he was a student.

A design flaw ensured that the worm replicated itself in way larger numbers than Morris had planned or expected, until it had caused significant and noticeable damage to confidential files all over the country.

Robert Morris was the son of a famous former NSA scientist.

Robert Morris became the first person to be convicted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 1990. He was also sentenced to three years of probation, 400 hours of community service, a fine of $10,050, and had to cover the costs of his supervision.

2. Citibank Loses Millions to Russian Hacker (1995):

One of the most important and earliest hacking scandals of banks was in 1995 when Vladimir Levin illegally transferred $3.7 million from Citibank into bank accounts of his criminal organisation.

The criminal ring-leader conducted this incredibly well-planned hack using a computer based in London. Using a list of customer codes and passwords, Levin logged into bank accounts numerous times and transfer funds to his own.

Vladimir Levin

Levin was finally tracked down by FBI at a London airport. Following his arrest, he was tried and convicted in the U.S. and was sentenced to three years in jail in 1998. A penalty of $240,015 was also levied against him by Citibank to be paid as restitution.

3. When New York Times Was Hacked by a Teenager (2002):

Hacking of tabloids and newspapers is one of the most common incidents of cyber-crime. Everyone is dying to spill the beans on the deep, dark secrets of tinsel town’s ‘who’s who’. The year 2002 saw hacking of voicemail accounts of celebrities like actress Sienna Miller, and even people of the British Royal Family. However, this NYT hack is especially important because it involves a 19 year old who broke into the records of one of the biggest daily newspapers in the world.

Adrian Lamo, the “homeless hacker”

Adrian Lamo gained access to some of the most confidential records of the New York Times which included detailed database of op-ed writers the paper had used in the past. This included names, phone numbers, home addresses and payment history of contributors like Democratic strategist James Carville and former secretary of state James Baker.

Because Lamo wasn’t done having fun yet, he added his own name under “experts” and put “Computer hacking, national security, communications intelligence”, under “expertise”. And yes, Adrian Lamo is the same person who turned in Wikieaks’ Bradley Manning to the US authorities, winning himself the title of the “world’s most hated hacker”.

4. Hacking Heist that Involved 100 Banks All Across the Globe (2015):

Hackers pulled a ridiculously high-profile Hollywood-styled heist as they broke in the accounts of about 100 banks over 30 countries, including India, China and the US, and duped them of $1 billion. It was a group of cyber-criminals from all over the world executing this hack over a period of two years.

It is beyond incredible how they left absolutely no virtual trail behind them, despite the humongous size and the long period of time involved in the heist. The attack which took place earlier this year in February was called an “unprecedented cyber robbery.” The criminal gang was dubbed ‘Carbanak’ by a Russian security firm, and is believed to include members from Russia, Ukraine, Chine and Europe.

5. When Irani Hackers Had a Field-trip with American State Secrets (2015):

Iran came up with a phony news agency in 2011 called NewsOnAir and used it to draw important details of American bureaucrats using social media and tactics like phishing (when a user is tricked into revealing personal credentials, like passwords, online). Though it hasn’t been confirmed that the hackers are Iranians, the central domain is located in Iran.

This group of hackers used numerous fake identities, like that of Reuters journalist Sandra Maler, to set an entire network online including social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, as well as WordPress blogs, to get in touch with important US officials.

Though it is unclear exactly how much data was lost, iSight Partners, a cybersecurity consulting group, comments, “a vast amount of social content was compromised in addition to some number of log-in credentials”. If reports are to be believed, this campaign has definitely been one of the most elaborate hacking operations ever.

December 2, 2015
How to Post GIFs on Facebook

Facebook is gung ho about videos and animated pictures taking over the social networking site. Today, GIFs are the new way to greet and add some humour to your News Feed (because words were so 5 years ago). And it’s time people caught up with the trend. GIFs are short animated videos that say what you want to say in a funny, ‘pop culture’ referenced way, only minus the need to use words. To put it simply, GIFs are the new emojis.

Memes have been around for a while now. But Facebook felt that memes and smileys weren’t enough to convey ones feelings anymore. Initially, Facebook was against using GIFs, fearing that along with its autoplaying video feature the News Feed would become too cluttered. But the company had to cater to the users love for meme’s and GIFs. So, without further ado, here’s how you can post GIFs on Facebook.

Posting a GIF on Facebook

Posting a GIF is simple, however, you won’t be allowed to upload your own GIF files to your post as you would a photo. You’ll either need to create one and upload it on another hosting site or simply find a GIF that aptly describes your Monday morning blues, for example, from sites like Giphy, Imgur and Tumblr. Open the GIF and right-click on the image.

If you’re using Google Chrome, select the option ‘Copy Image URL’. For Firefox, the option is ‘Select Image Location’. And for Opera it’s ‘Copy Image Address’. Basically, every browser will have a similar option that allows you to copy the URL.

Next, log into your Facebook account and simply paste the URL in the ‘What’s on your mind?’ status field. Once the image appears, you can edit the status and write something so that people understand what the GIF is trying to convey. Hit Post and you’re done.

Now that you know how simple it is, go ahead and find your perfect GIF for the day and share it with your gang on Facebook. It’s all about spreading the joy and knowing that there are people out there who feel the same way about Mondays. Sigh.

You may have also noticed a GIF option in your Messenger and chat as well. Facebook has been testing the GIF and attachment buttons for the Messenger, though not all users have the feature yet. Open a chat window on the Facebook site or through the Messenger app and you’ll find a new GIF button next to the smileys icon.

The GIF option will show you some trending GIFs and it also lets you search for the GIF you want. Now you can have more animated discussions with your friends when you feel words just don’t cut it.

October 19, 2015
Dummies’ Guide to Darknet: The Underbelly of the Virtual World

It is one thing to drive cheap thrills out of crime fiction and cyber-crime drama, and it’s another to know that all the gore and darkness we have grown up to find in media and art exist somewhere. And then one fine day, someone, or a group of someones, decides to put it up online and voila! We have the Dark Web for you -the realm of the most primeval instincts -where even the Tim Burtons and H.P. Lovecrafts and Chuck Palahniuks of the world tread lightly.Dark Web refers to the content on Darknet not indexed by any of the commonly used search engines like Google, Bing etc. It’s often referred to as the subconscious of the internet, where only the Id is at play. Darknet, therefore, is the over-lay network of this data. Neither Darknet, nor Dark Web should be confused with Deep Web which also refers to data not available on the online servers of the ‘pedestrian’ or ‘clear’ internet. Too many darkness, deepness related terms floating around perhaps? Let’s break it all down into simpler categories.

Darknet for Dummies:

Darknet: First up is the background against which all patterns are formed, the sea which inhibits all creatures – Darknet. This refers to that part of the internet which cannot be indexed by Google, Bing, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari or the likes. It is almost an established fact that this is that uncharted territory of the virtual world which is hundred times bigger than our, good old ‘clear’ internet we access through Google, Yahoo etc.

Deep Web: As exciting as the name sounds, hold your horses there for a bit, the mysterious, disturbing parts of the virtual world are yet to arrive. Deep Web simply refers to content on the World Wide Web, like large databases, libraries and members-only websites, general public does not have access to. Since a major chunk of this is made up by academic resources of universities, you probably have already had a few flings with Deep Web when you tried to access a computer catalogue at a public library or a book store. Remember the lingering anti-climactic feeling in the pit of your stomach right now? Remember it next time you confuse Dark Web with Deep Web.

Dark Web: Time for the fun part now, you twisted readers, you! Darknet, as mentioned previously, refers to the content on Dark Web that cannot be indexed by any of the commonly (even not-so-commonly) used browsers. It requires specific virtual pathways for it to be accessed. It’s a realm of absolute anonymity where both the Website publishers as well as the surfers are completely unaware of each other’s identity. While governments and secret services have tried to track down individuals or groups in the past on the Darknet, more often than naught, these efforts have been in vain. Darknet, and therefore by default Dark Web, are part of Deep Web, and refer to the murky, unspoken aspects of it.

Dark web cannot be accessed using any of the regular methods. The user needs to use an ‘onion network’ (one which does not reveal who is communicating with whom) to be able to do it. While using pedestrian internet, the server of the website is directly accessed by the user. But this also leaves a virtual footprint of all your activity on the internet which can very easily be tracked back to you. The task of an ‘onion network’ is to break this direct link between the user and the website. When you use the said network, the commands are sent back and forth in a number of intermediate steps, making sure your online trail is not traceable at all. This is where browsers like Tor become significant.

Tor: Tor, which stands for The Onion Router, was an initiative of the US Navy developed with the aim of gathering intelligence and maintaining adequate secrecy while at it. But the anonymity of the browser ensured that it became a popular hub for darknet users. It’s user-friendly enough to accommodate all darknet-noobs, and a Tor download is simply a matter of two-three clicks. There’s also a version of Tor called Orbot meant for Google Android devices. The New York Times writes on Tor, “when a communication arrives from Tor, you can never know where or whom it’s from.”

Even though Tor is a highly popular ‘onion network’, it’s not the only one. Another example is The Freenet Project. Time for a field-trip to the dingy world of dark web now, anyone?

Things to be Found There: Nothing sums up this category more aptly than Loucif Kharouni’s statement, “You can find pretty much anything you can think of in the darknet.”

In terms of percentage, this is what a part of darknet had to offer as of January, ’15 :

Category Percentage

Guns 1.2

Abuse 2.2

Books 2.5

Porn 2.75

Hacking 4.25

Fraud 9

Black Market 9

Drugs 15.4

As is clear from the survey, darknet is infamous for all sorts of nefarious activities, often defined as ‘criminal’ in the traditional sense of the word. Honestly, it was a little surprising to find any sort of books as part of these Hidden Web services. But then again, there’s never a dearth of illegal, banned items on the literature front. Similarly, it was also surprising to see a part of the internet where porn is not the most popular commodity.

On the other hand, darknet also harbours the ideology of ‘freedom of information’. It becomes a platform of expression for revolutionaries, anarchists or just, plain simple distraught citizens of a country with draconian censorship laws and tyrannical oppression. In this aspect, darknet offers its own set of potential revolutionaries and reformers.

There are ways to hire assassins for individual or group-paid murders on darknet. However such services are nothing more than money-making scams, from what the reports tell us. Similarly, there are also urban legends that talk of ‘Snuff Films’ or live telecasts of stone-cold murders. This sounds more like fiction in the same league as the Canadian TV series called Darknet. At the same time, since it’s the unexplored territory of darknet, who knows where the line between fact and fiction blurs?

People to be Found There: As mentioned above, Tor, one of the most popular servers of darknet, was developed as a service to be used by the US military and navy. Military operations require secrecy and anonymity as a mandatory, and the most important prerequisite. Darknet, thus, became the perfect site for such exchanges. However the flip-side to this is that it has the potential of being used by ‘terrorists’ or other anti-social elements in the same manner.

Darknet becomes a platform for a lot of controversial views and opinions being exchanged. Politicians, reformers and anarchists from all over the world use it to voice concerns they would otherwise not be allowed to express without the threat of persecution.

In a poll which was carried out with 27,181 people, when the participants were asked if they’ve visited the darknet, it was a puny 22% who replied affirmatively. It was a no for the majority of 78%. Darknet like the subconscious of the human mind, continues to exist and exercise its desires in a world far, far away from the world of happy display pictures, bad cinema and mood altering junk food. If your curiosity ever gets the better of you, this is where you find Tor: https://www.torproject.org/. If you decide to take this plunge, keep in mind you have absolutely no idea where you are headed, and even less of an idea of where you might end up.

Peace.

October 9, 2015
UN Broadband Penetration Report : Internet in India Sucks

We can’t say we’re surprised to hear that according to a report by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, India has fallen in ranking in broadband penetration. The nation has spiraled down to 131 in 2014 from 125 in 2013. A total of 189 countries were part of the survey conducted by the UN.

This news comes just days before the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit in New York and the meeting of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development on the 26th of this month.

There has been a 2.3 percent fall from a 15.3% in 2013 to a 13% in 2014 in broadband penetration in India. Further, the UN Broadband Commission report also pointed out that 57% of the world’s population stays out of the realm of internet, depriving themselves of umpteen opportunities of financial and intellectual development that the virtual world has to offer. International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Houlin Zhao commented on the topic and said,

“Our important challenge now is to find ways of getting the four billion people online who still lack the benefits of Internet connectivity, and this will be a primary focus of the Broadband Commission going forward.”

A national broadband policy was adopted in India as late as 2011, alongside Middle Eastern countries like Iran and Lebanon. When it comes to the internet, India has some more interesting stats to offer. The UN survey provides a tabular representation of fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 capita. The country leading this table is Monaco at a 46.8, closely followed by Switzerland at a 46. India finds itself at a puny 1.2 in this table. Closer home, countries like Thailand and Singapore are way above at 8.2 and 27.8 respectively.

The numbers are slightly better for the country in terms of fixed broadband for mobile phones per capita 100. India finds itself located at a 5.5. But before you give yourself a pat on the back for this, remember that Bangladesh is at a 6.4, and the country at the top is China with a 322.2. Looks like it’s only the size of the population where we can give China competition at the number game.

Lastly there is a table which shows the number of households with internet connections. India is at an 18%, once again behind unexpected countries like Yemen, Thailand and Bhutan! The country at the top of this table is Iceland with a 98.2%. Now that is something to think about.

According to the survey, Europe is home to all the top ten cities with the maximum number of internet users. The other end of the spectrum is filled by sub-Saharan African countries which has the least percentage of internet usage and connectivity. For a more detailed approach, find the entire report here.

Evidently, India continues to lag behind in the technology race. Despite all the developments in the tech world, the amount of capital being invested in the country and the rampant presence of technology in our lives, the figures on paper are discouraging. One can only hope for a better progress rate by the next UN survey.

September 22, 2015
Companies May Start Manufacturing 5G Smartphones From Next Year

With 4G gaining speed slowly here in India, we’re already looking at the possibility of 5G coming sooner than expected. There is no doubt that the next step to fast, wireless network is 5G. The question is how quickly that may happen. Though it is highly unlikely that 5G would be introduced by next year, it will not, however, it has not stopped smartphone makers to prepare for it.

The whole idea behind 5G comes as a ‘what can we add’ when looking at 4G. 4G connections tend to drain battery life in a flash and 5G would look to solve this by making it more energy efficient.

So far Bharati Airtel is the only operator to have launched 4G in a broad scale since it initially launched it on 10 April 2012 in Kolkata. Since then, Airtel’s 4G services have spread across the entire country.

Bharati Airtel revealed it has faced problems in Delhi due to the spectrum cap. The problem currently is the need for more spectrum. The operators in India need more spectrum to improve quality of not only internet services but to also reduce ‘call drops’. This is a deficiency which can only be fixed by the Indian Government and TRAI.

The recent spectrum auction held in March saw Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio Infocomm as the big winners, with Bharati Airtel and Reliance Jio already planning big launches of LTE using 1800 MHz as the primary band. However, limited spectrum is slowing the growth of 4G. This will also delay 5G services in India, whenever it does begin to roll out.

September 21, 2015
How To Port Your Number Using Mobile Number Portability
On the 3rd of July, telecom companies around India launched the National Mobile Number Portability (NMNP). This means that you can now move from one city to another and still retain your mobile number. While many may be aware of this already, we decided to provide a step-by-step guide for those who may not know the proper procedure to port their number and a few things to keep in mind before doing so.

Step 1 : Generate An Eight-Digit Unique Porting Code

The first thing you have to do is generate an eight-digit Unique Porting Code by sending “PORT <10-digit mobile number>” to 1900. You will then receive an SMS of the UPC code and the UPC expiration date.

Step 2 : Get The Required Documents

Before you head to your mobile operating store, you’ll need to carry along a few documents. You will need an ID proof, address proof, a passport size photograph, and a copy of your last paid bill (in case of post-paid customers). Airtel customers can carry forward the existing talk-time or outstanding/pending bills to the new telecom service.

Step 3 : Visit The New Mobile Operator Store

Once you have your UPC code and required documents ready, you can visit the mobile operator store you wish to switch to and fill out the number porting form. You will also buy a new sim card. The whole porting process costs Rs. 19.

STEP 4 : Choose Your Plan

Both pre-paid and post-paid customers will have the option to either retain their original plan or to choose a different one based on their needs. Every operator has its own range of plans and you can pick yours at the store.

Step 5 : Processing Time

Some operators like Airtel promise that all NMNP requests will be processed within 24 hours. You will receive an SMS regarding the deactivation of your old sim card. Once deactivated, you can insert your new sim. Generally, most operators complete the porting process within 7 days.

Note : Some Important Points
- Post-paid customers must make sure any unpaid bills are paid before porting as this can hold up the porting process
- Make sure your active connection is at least 90 days old
- Some operators like Airtel and Idea require you to call 59059 for tele-verification once the new sim is activated.
September 21, 2015
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus May Disappoint

Apple’s latest edition of their smartphone is all set to be launched on Sept 9th. However, with leaks and information of the devices all over the internet, it seems that the new iPhones will disappoint many.

New leaks from the Netherlands have confirmed that the price of the iPhone will remain at €699 for the 16 GB, with the 64GB and 128GB versions priced at €799 and €899 respectively. Which not only means that Apple will continue selling the low capacity 16 GB version, but it will also be at the same price as the iPhone 6.

It also has become known, thanks to cnBeta, that the new iPhones will have reduced battery capacities with the iPhone 6S at 1715 mAh and iPhone 6S Plus at 2750 mAh vs the iPhone 6 at 1810 mAh and iPhone 6 Plus at 2910 mAh.

This is potentially the worst of the news, as iPhones are already heavily struggling with battery life. Despite many power enhancement updates in iOS 9, a bigger battery is always more appreciated. Also considering that the newer “s” version iPhones usually have a bump in hardware, power consumption might get affected.

The new iPhones are also expected to be heavier that the predecessors, by a few grams. But according to several sources, Apple is looking to reduce the thickness of its already delicate smartphones.

bendgate on the iPhone 6 Plus

Apple suffered heavy bad media last year thanks to the “bendgate” issues. A thinner iPhone may not be the company’s best bet. However, good news around the new iPhones’ construction is the use of 7000 series Aluminium, which is stronger and more resilient. You can also expect Apple to reinforce the iPhones with a stronger inner structure.

One of the main reasons of the success of the new Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge phones has been their cameras. With the iPhone stuck in the 8MP cycle for many a years, the company is expected to bump up the camera to 12 MP. This will allow the phone to capture 4K video, however this will not make the camera near as high resolution as the 16 MP sensors from Samsung. We can also not expect the Aperture to be around f1.9, the new iPhones are expected to keep f2.0 – f2.2.

4k video also takes up more storage, which means that buyers of the 16 GB variant will be suffering major with storage issues. They would then be forced to upgrade the iCloud storage and dump their files on that, or look for alternatives.

The new iPhones are going to keep the design from last year, which also may disappoint many buyers. With the S6 Edge the new benchmark of design, those looking for a new iPhone will need to push their purchases to next year and wait for the iPhone 7.

August 31, 2015
Government Listens to India, Ban on Porn Lifted

After the GOI (Government of India) received a lot of criticism for banning porn all over the country, they have now made the decision to lift the ban on all those websites except the ones containing child pornography.

Previously, the government had made the hasty decision of telling ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to ban all pornography available on the internet. Under this, 857 sites were blocked and even those that had jokes and memes bearing no pornographic content, like 9GaG and CollegeHumour, were shut down. However, in a new directive issued by the Telecomm Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, he stated:

“The intermediaries (ISPs) are hereby directed that they are free not to disable any of the 857 URLs… which do not have child pornographic content.”

In a previous statement, while commenting on the governments commitment towards freedom of communication, Prasad had said, “The government compliments the dissemination of idea on the social media. We have launched the mygov platform seeking views of people of India on developmental agenda and lakhs of people are participating on this platform.”

Naturally then, this platform would’ve been bombarded with resentment and disapproval by the Governments involvement in censoring the internet, especially in a day and age where people are already battling censorship guidelines in all other forms of media and communication.

It may come as a relief that all sites have now been left alone, barring those containing child pornography and with good reason.

While it is good to see the government taking the peoples view into consideration, it is ironic that they made such a controversial decision around two weeks before ‘Independence Day.’ Perhaps, we will soon be able to celebrate freedom of censorship or is it too soon? Let us know your views in the comments below.

August 5, 2015
10 Things That Would Be Different if Mobile Phones Never Became Smart

Mobile phones have become an extended appendage to our bodies. Today though, with the stable establishment of the Smartphone, our lifestyle and etiquette has entirely changed. We embraced this change of modernity without much resistance, although it doesn’t hurt to wonder what it would have been like otherwise.

The Word ‘Selfie’ Would Not Be a Part of the Dictionary

The still trending culture of the ‘selfie‘ would be non-existent and one would have to learn how to perfect the art of holding one’s digital camera awkwardly. It helps that the new smartphones now come with a good front camera with up to 8MP HD clarity.

We Would be Rolling Down Our Car Window to Ask for Directions

Shopkeepers and road signs or even a REAL map would show us the way instead of the GPS or Google Map.

Image Source: Raising Gentlemen

Our Pictures Would Have #NoFilter

Instagram has nothing less than a cult following since its introduction. The App allows people to publish their photographs and has by far, the most aesthetic editing options that any photo editing app could offer. Although saying that it revolutionized picture quality and the art of photography would be going too far.

Source : Emarketing Blog

No Video Chats On-the-Go

At one point Skype was the only means to video chat across the world. It seemed like a revolutionary idea until the advent of the smartphone and along with it multiple video chatting apps such as FaceTime, Viber etc.

Remember SMS?

Two of the most popular apps for informal communication have changed the world of text messaging. Now we barely ever fill up our texting balance because we would rather use the Wi-fi to text, call, send jpeg images, voice notes etc.

Source : Mashable

We’d Still be Buying Cookbooks, Dictionaries, and Books in General

With the introduction of reading apps like Kindle, Aldiko Book Reader, Cool Reader etc. we have almost stopped opening Dictionaries, Cook Books and buying special edition magazines and novels. The reading app has become so much a part of our culture that Sunday morning Church services also involve the congregation taking out their mobile phones instead of The Bible. The mantra being, ‘less is more’.

Downloading and Storing Music

Today music enthusiasts don’t need to go to Music Stores in order to buy their favourite albums. In fact they don’t even need to buy an MP3 player or even the life changing iPod. All one needs to do is own a smartphone with apps such as SoundCloud, Apple Music, Spotify etc and you have it all in tow.

We should also be thankful that we’re no longer downloading music (along with a hundred viruses) from Limewire or Bearshare.

Candy Crush and Angry Birds Probably Wouldn’t Exist

Long ago in the 90s, if we wanted to play computer games we would have to go to the gaming parlours to experience the ultimate fun of gaming. Even when the feature Nokia mobile phone arrived the only game they had was called Snakes and it was joyous!

Arguments Wouldn’t Be Resolved Until Someone Located a PC/Laptop

Initially internet access would only be available to computer users and those who did not own one would have to visit Cyber Cafes. The feature phone too did not have a Wifi or data connection option and therefore the Cyber Cafés and computer business thrived. But with the coming of the smartphone and all its internet options most people now choose to buy a smartphone which has all the functions of a laptop or PC and have internet access on the go.

Without our smartphones, everytime anyone got into an argument, it wouldn’t be resolved till someone located a PC/Laptop.

To-Do Lists

The emergence of reminder apps have alone perhaps dropped the sales of efficient and creative stationary like sticky notes, labels, notebook fridge magnets etc.

In conclusion, a world without the smartphone would still be beautiful but perhaps won’t be able to keep up with the notoriously infamous ‘fast-paced modern’ lifestyle.

July 22, 2015
Facebook is Working on a Music Streaming Service Of Their Own

With Apple’s recent and successful launch of Apple Music, the Music streaming space has gotten really crowded. With companies like Spotify and Pandora already eating the pie, Facebook wants now a big chink of this space.

According to reports the social networking website has already tied up with various music labels and has already started showing music videos which are ad supported.

With reports of a Youtube-esque video service for Facebook already in the works, an all audio variant is expected to roll out later this year. It would be rather easy for Facebook to just acquire an already running service, say Spotify.

However, the folks over at Facebook are mum on the conversation and fail to add any new insight.

Source : [tw-button size=”small” background=”” color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://musically.com/2015/07/08/facebook-early-talks-audio-music-streaming-service/”]Musically[/tw-button]

July 9, 2015