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Microsoft to Launch New Surface Tablets Today

Microsoft is expected to unveil its new Surface tablet and also the Surface Pro in today’s event. This launch comes out to be a month before the launch of its Windows 8.1 which is probably on 17 October.

Microsoft launched the Surface tablets last year in October, the Surface RT has not done that well but Microsoft did cut the price down to $150. However, the new Surface tablets are expected to get lighter and thinner, if rumors are to be believed the new surface devices will be powered with Intel’s Haswell processors along with an Intel Core i5. It is expected to come with an option of up to 8 GB RAM.

Along with the tablets, Microsoft might launch great accessories as well. We will bring you the official features and specifications, so stay tuned!

September 23, 2013
Mass Identity Suicide on Facebook, 11 Million Users drop out after NSA probing

Over Eleven million Facebook users in the US and the UK have deleted their Facebook accounts in view of recent NSA spy program revelations. The number is still increasing and is expected to cross 20 million by the end of September. This phenomenon also known as “Virtual Identity Suicide” is demonstrated by people with privacy confers and internet addiction phobias.

Approximately 9 million Facebook users in the US and 2 million people in the UK have deleted their accounts from the social network, the Daily Mail reports. Reasons for quitting Facebook were mainly privacy concerns (48.3%), followed by a general dissatisfaction (13.5%), negative aspects of online friends (12.6%) and the feeling of becoming addicted (6.0%). Fear of Facebook addiction and unwillingness to waste time on silly talk was mentioned among other reasons for deleting Facebook accounts.

Brenda Wiederhold, editor of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking which published the findings, said:

Given high profile stories such as WikiLeaks and the recent NSA surveillance reports, individual citizens are becoming increasingly more wary of cyber-related privacy concerns.

With over 950 Million active users Facebook barely gets a scratch in its popularity, but if the trend continues the Online Social Giant may be forced to tap into better security and privacy norms to ensure the peace of mind of its members.

[VIA]

September 23, 2013
Chaos Computer Club Breaks Apple’s TouchID

The biometrics hacking team of the Chaos Computer Club has successfully bypassed the biometric security of Apple’s TouchID by using everyday means. A fingerprint of the phone user, photographed from a glass surface, was enough to create a fake finger that could unlock an iPhone 5s secured with TouchID.

Apple launched its new iPhone 5s with a fingerprint sensor, which was supposedly much more secure than previous fingerprint technologies.

In reality, Apple’s sensor has just a higher resolution compared to the sensors so far. So we only needed to ramp up the resolution of our fake”, said the hacker with the nickname Starbug, who performed the critical experiments that led to the successful circumvention of the fingerprint locking. “As we have said now for more than years, fingerprints should not be used to secure anything. You leave them everywhere, and it is far too easy to make fake fingers out of lifted prints.”

The process, requires a 2400 DPI photograph of someone’s fingerprint from a glass surface, which is then laser printed at 1200 DPI and used to create a thin latex sheet that serves as the fake print. You can watch the video below:

[youtube id=”HM8b8d8kSNQ” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

However, most iPhone 5s users may want to consider fingerprint access as an option for convenience rather than security.

September 23, 2013
App Review : Paytm

For quite some time now, Patym has been one of the best websites in India as far as online recharging goes. Naturally, when they came out with an application for mobile recharging, it was met with high expectations. Does it live up to the brand name? We find out.

Compatibility : iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia Asha

File Size : 2.3MB For Android, 4.9MB For iOS

The User Interface of the applications clearly follows on from the website. Three colours dominate the app windows, Blue, Yellow and Grey. The application isn’t cluttered and is easy to use and navigate, even for beginners.

As soon as you open the app, you’re met with the home screen which asks for your number and automatically detects your carrier and circle.

A bar at the top has 3 toggles, Recharges, Bill Payments and Bus Tickets. Recharges are further categorized into Mobile, DTH, Data Card and Toll Card.

For mobile recharges, Paytm has an impressive array of recharge packages. You can either entire the recharge amount yourself or go to the Special Recharges tab that provides you with various recharge options divided into 3G data, 2G data, Top-Ups and Special recharges that contain minutes packs and tariff reduction packages.

The drawback however, is that it does not offer the entire catalog of recharges that you would find at your local telecom shop.

Recharging is a simple process. Select your recharge amount and you’re taken into a tokens page from where you can select various coupons to choose from as a special bonus. The coupons range from eatery joints to clothing brands, both free and paid.

After you select a coupon or skip, you’re taken into the payments page where the app connects to the payment system that offers support for most credits cards and several popular banks for direct transfer.

If the payment goes through, you get notifications in the form of an SMS and an email. You can also store money in the app itself in the form of Paytm cash that can be used to recharge later. This is helpful as you do not need to carry your card with you at all places in order to recharge your accounts.

One thing to note however, is that the payment gateway opens up in an inbuilt browser that is somewhat choppy. It fails to establish connections from time to time which can be irritating for most.

The application offers recharges for most telecom operators across the country and within all the circles, making this app useful for any and all prepaid and postpaid users.

Conclusion : The Paytm app certainly lives up to its website standards. While the app itself, with a clean and easy to use UI, is nice, it would certainly have been better had their been more recharges available to the user.

What do you think? Which app do you use for mobile recharging? Let us know below!

Developers’ App Description

Paytm is the most preferred partner for prepaid mobile recharges, DTH recharges, postpaid bill payments and bus ticket booking in India. It is truly the fastest way to do recharge, in under 10 seconds, via Paytm Cash; our virtual wallet. In addition to the awesome recharge experience, Paytm provides the best in class customer care service with unwavering trust and support to keep customers 100% satisfied and always charged.

Download Paytm now and get the best online recharge and ticket booking experience on your iPhone.

What we offer:

* All payment options – credit card, debit card, net banking and IMPS as well
* Prepaid recharge and Postpaid payment on ALL major operators
* Data Card Payment available on ALL major operators
* DTH Payment on ALL service providers
* Toll Card Recharge service (Currently only for the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway)
* Landline payment option on select service providers
* Latest prepaid and postpaid plan offers for Topups, SMS, Data (GPRS 2G and 3G) packs
* Bus ticket booking covering over 1200 operators across the country
* Exciting discount coupons with each recharge! The best ever.

September 23, 2013
Blackberry pauses BBM Android and iOS rollout following Leaked apps

Blackberry has stopped seeding the Blackberry messenger for iOS and Android apps following a leaked Android app that caused server and stability issues with the Blackberry messaging network.There were too many simultaneous users, the company says; with over 1.1 million active clients in the first eight hours of the initial seed.

BlackBerry says that it has tried to address the problems caused by the leaked app throughout the day, but to no avail, requiring it to halt its launch plans. The company says that those that have already downloaded the iOS version of the app will still be able to use it, but it will not be releasing it to any new markets at this time. The leaked version of the Android app will be disabled.

Blackberry now plans a “staggered country roll-out” for Android and will soon restart the rollout for iOS. The company was hesitant in giving a timelinefor this new rollout, only saying

our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM.”

The company’s official statement is below:

Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online. The interest and enthusiasm we have seen already – more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours without even launching the official Android app – is incredible. Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have attempted to address throughout the day.

Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM. We are pausing the global roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone. Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone will be able to continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be disabled, and customers who downloaded it should visit www.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability.

As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country roll-out of BBM for Android and continue the roll-out of BBM for iPhone. Please follow @BBM on Twitter for the latest updates and go to www.BBM.com to sign-up for updates about BBM for Android and iPhone. These issues have not impacted BBM service for BlackBerry.

September 22, 2013
BlackBerry BBM For Android, iPhone Released

Most users now will be able to install BlackBerry’s iconic BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app on their Android devices and iOS devices starting today.

It’s been a long wait for the BlackBerry Messenger service to go cross platform, but after months of anticipation BBM for Android and iPhone apps will go live today.

“BBM for Android will be available at 12 pm on Saturday 21,” an official statement from the company confirmed in the run up to the launch. The BBM Android app will be available as a free download and allow users to chat for free with follow BBM users across all platforms. The first time BBM will have been made available to none BlackBerry handset users, the BBM Android app will precede the BBM iOS app by a matter of hours, with the iPhone bound iteration to be rolled out just after midnight.

It’s features include everything you’ve come to expect from the program: traditional instant messaging, group chat for up to 30 people, and user profiles.

In order to use the app, you will need to signup for a BlackBerry ID, which will only take a few minutes. Signup is done through the app once its installed. For those concerned about privacy, you’ll be happy to hear that BlackBerry will assign you a PIN and you will not need to disclose your phone number or email to anyone in order to begin messaging.

For millions, the app will be a matter of nostalgia. There are a large number of Android and iPhone users who have owned a BlackBerry at one time or another.

If you can’t see the app on your App Stores yet, wait for a few hours!

Note : As many of our followers have notified us, there are a lot of fake apks floating around, so be careful while installing the app. BBM for iOS has already been put up on the Australian App Store, so we expect other stores to follow suit soon!

September 21, 2013
Top 5 Free Android Browsers

Competition among browsers is more fierce than ever. Chrome and Firefox release 72 new versions every week for desktop versions, but their Android counterparts are equally, if not more competitive. As we all race to tablets and smartphones we’re being tempted with all kinds of alternatives to systems’ stock browsers.

But which are the best browsers for you and your Android device? Let’s find out.

1. Opera

Opera comes with an interface that has been easily adapted from Desktop version to mobile UI. It rose to fame because of its data compression algorithms which work whenever the user requests for a page. Its powerful server will compress the data which will make the page will load faster and use lesser data.

With the download manager, users can start, stop, resume, and rename media files. If you haven’t already, you can download Opera from the Google Play Store here.

2. Dolphin Browser

This is one of the most popular and, at the same time, fastest browsers ever released for Android devices. It features tabbed browsing along with Dolphin Connect, it allows you to sync and send contents between your mobile and desktop browsers. . This browser is allows to enhance your browsing experience by simply installation of additional Add-ons.

The way a user uses the Dolphin Browser HD is unique as most of the usage is gesture based and voice guided. The improved UI and the voice dictation service has propelled this browser in to the elite league.

You can download Dolphin Browser from the Google Play Store here.

3. FireFox

Mozilla Firefox, we all are familiar with it’s good name and how it works. The features are pretty tight including smart tabs and a ‘hiding’ feature of the open tabs. The privacy options will be updated and Mozilla sync is fully functional.

It is highly customizable as you can add Add-ons/ extensions, Awesome Screen functions that allows users to set favorite websites and an easy to use page. Awesome Bar is another great feature along with Sync functions that yo can use to Sync the mobile variant of Firefox with the Desktop variant.

Sync function will bring all the bookmarks, history, passwords, bookmarks and opened tabs from your desktop Firefox browser and to your mobile Firefox app.

You can download Firefox from the Google Play Store here.

4. Chrome

Chrome Browser on PC is the most popular browser. and soon after its launch gained the same popularity on Android as well!

The app combined the desktop software’s varied abilities with a mobile’s agility. The user gets a very intuitive experience while using the browser, shifting screens and flipping through tabs.

You can enter your Google account details and sign it into your Desktop Chrome variant and then sing in into the mobile version and, every single thing will be automatically synced between both devices. Chrome for Android will not work with older Android phones and this might be a low-point.

You can download Chrome web browser from the Google Play Store here.

5. UC Browser

The main feature of this small browser is the ‘adaptable setup’ feature, which allows users to adjust their browsing styles and create separate configurations for multiple network connections.

Some other great features of UC Browser for your Android device are these: Multi-touch support for gestures and commands, a download manager that allows you to grab files from all over the web faster. Quick Reads is another option that you can enable to grab RSS feeds. The other important functions you’ll find in UC Browser are: Vox – control the app using voice; AutoFill – it will show suggestions as you type a word in the address field; Night Mode – when enabled, it will offer you a better browsing experience in a dark environment.

You can download UC Web Browser from the Google Play Store here.

What do you think? Do you agree with the list above? Let us know in the comments section below!

September 21, 2013
LinkedIn Sued For Hacking Users Email Accounts

Four individuals have filed a lawsuit against the professional networking site LinkedIn for hacking into their email accounts in order to send invitations to their friends.

The individuals say that they knew LinkedIn asks for users emails, the site does not make clear that it will bombard those users friends with up to three email invitations. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., alleges that LinkedIn violates the federal wiretap law as well as California privacy laws.

For years, people have been complaining about LinkedIn’s emails,” Larry Russ, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told The Huffington Post. “This lawsuit is squarely directed at the marketing practices causing the public outrage.”

The suit alleges that it is unlawful to send advertising emails, which give the impression that the member is endorsing LinkedIn, without taking the member’s consent.

LinkedIn disputes the claim that it is breaking the law. “LinkedIn is committed to putting our members first, which includes being transparent about how we protect and utilize our members’ data,” LinkedIn spokesperson Doug Madey said in a statement. “We believe that the legal claims in this lawsuit are without merit, and we intend to fight it vigorously.”

September 21, 2013
Google Updates Navigation Bar and other Products as well

Google introduced a new navigation bar, which will be rolling out across most Google properties over the next few weeks, Manager(Google), Eddie Kessler wrote in a blog post.

“Getting around Google should be seamless, and once you’re inside an app, you don’t want any distractions,” Kessler wrote. “So we’re introducing an updated Google bar that streamlines your experience across products and devices.”

There will also be a new app launcher from which you can easily access all your Google apps, like Gmail, Maps, Search, YouTube, News etc. The new app launcher is located at the top right of the screen and will also be present on Android devices and Chromebooks.

Google also released a new version of its Chrome Web browser for Apple’s iOS 7. The updated mobile browser sports a new design and makes it easier to switch between Chrome and other Google apps on your iOS device.

September 21, 2013
AirPlay Mirroring From an Android Phone Demonstrated

Koushik Dutta VP of Engineering at CyanogenMod just posted a video showing off AirPlay Mirroring from an Android phone(HTC One). There are other apps in the Play Store that connect Android devices over AirPlay, but the mirroring support integrated into the Operating System is something new.

He is been working on Android streaming support to various protocols/devices for the “AllCast” media streaming app since Google’s changes cut it off from the Chromecast, and Apple’s screen sharing feature is the latest target for him. AllCast support is already in place for pushing media to Roku and DLNA-compatible hardware, and he further says this mirroring feature is “coming soon to a CyanogenMod near you.”

You can watch the demonstration below:

[youtube id=”oYNEJSJbHWc” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

[via,via]

September 21, 2013
Facebook will Use Artificial Intelligence to Understand and Predict Our Actions

Facebook is trying to get a better understanding of the 700 million people with help of AI which they call as ‘deep learning’, targeting people who share everything happening in their life through the social networking giant everyday.

A new research group in Facebook (called “AI Team”) is working on this artificial intelligence, which will use the simulated networks of brain cells to process the data. With the help of this strategy, the social networking site might be able to predict our actions online and to show us content that is more relevant to our interests, and to better target advertisements as well.

The new team hopes to use deep learning AI, to determine which posts are genuinely important. The technology could also be used to sort users photos, and it might even select the best shots. However, the AI work has only just started, the company shared with MIT Technology, that it should release some findings to the public.

Facebook is not the first company to bring deep learning, last year Google and even IBM have also used this concept in the past. Deep learning uses a multi-layered approach to data, parsing information to build up a body of knowledge that can be used to figure out concepts or even understand what objects sound and look like.

[via]

September 21, 2013
Grand Theft Auto 5 Makes More Than $1 Billion in First Three Days

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. today announced that Grand Theft Auto V, the latest release from the GTA series, has achieved worldwide retail sales of more than $1 billion during its first three days on sale, according to Company estimates. Take-Two Interactive Software company owns Rockstar Games, maker for the best selling video game till now, they believe this marks the fastest that any entertainment property, including video games and feature films, has reached this significant milestone.

“Grand Theft Auto is a cultural phenomenon and Rockstar Games continues to redefine what can be achieved in interactive entertainment,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two. “We are incredibly proud of the extraordinary critical and commercial response to Grand Theft Auto V.”

Developed by series creator Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto V is currently available for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. You can check our unboxing and gameplay below.

[youtube id=”8H5gN23c59g” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

[toggle title=”Press Release “]Grand Theft Auto V® Worldwide Sales Surpass $1 Billion In First Three Days

Fastest entertainment property in history to reach significant milestone*

New York, NY – September 20, 2013 – Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) today announced that Grand Theft Auto V, the critically acclaimed latest release from the iconic interactive entertainment series, has achieved worldwide retail sales of more than $1 billion during its first three days on sale, according to Company estimates. We believe this marks the fastest that any entertainment property, including video games* and feature films**, has reached this significant milestone.

“Grand Theft Auto is a cultural phenomenon and Rockstar Games continues to redefine what can be achieved in interactive entertainment,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two. “We are incredibly proud of the extraordinary critical and commercial response to Grand Theft Auto V.”

Developed by series creator Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto V is currently available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The title is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB.[/toggle]

September 21, 2013
Google ‘Freeing Quickoffice for Everyone’, With 10 GB Google Drive Storage

Google is adding 10 GB of free storage to your Google Drive account when you log into your Google account with the new Google Quickoffice before September 26, 2013.

As per Google blog, you can get the new, free Quickoffice app for Android and iOS phones and tablets on Google Play and in the App Store. Simply sign in with your Google Account to start editing Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations on mobile. You will also notice a number of new features, including a refreshed icon, the ability to create .ZIP folders, and view charts in Excel and PowerPoint files.

As per the blog by Alan Warren(Engineering VP, Google), the free 10 GB will be available for two years and Google has discontinued previous versions of Quickoffice apps from play store as well as app store.

September 20, 2013
HTC Butterfly S Unboxing and Initial Review

A revamp of the HTC Butterfly, the new HTC Butterfly S builds along the same design strategy but adding features from HTC’s popular HTC ONE.

Curved to fit in the hand the new HTC Butterfly S has been splashed with a metallic finish making it resemble a “car paint job”. The color options for the handset are also not limited to two like last year, this year they include a white, a metal grey and a glossy red.

The HTC Butterfly S is packed with a lot of exciting elements including a 3200 mAh battery, a Qualcomm APQ8064T Snapdragon 600 chipset with a Quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 CPU and the Adreno 320 GPU. The front has a beautiful IPS LCD 3 display of a 5 inch size and a full HD 1920 x1080p resolution and a layer of Gorilla Glass 3. The design and the materials used in the construction of the HTC Butterfly S show to a great extent what the thought process of the company is when they are building a handset. The HTC Butterfly S is not only functional but looks really good.

The new HTC Sense 5.0 on top of Android 4.2.2 improves on the Blinkfeed experience as well as the Camera features, including enhanced ZOE file management amang many other improvements.

September 20, 2013
HTC Butterfly gets Android 4.2.2 upgrade

The HTC Butterfly is ready to get the Android 4.2.2 update according to the company. The phone was released in late January in India, is now getting the firmware update along with the updated HTC Sense 5.0 UI.

The sense 5.0 will bring the BlinkFeed homescreen, first seen on the HTC One. The company confirmed the news on Twitter, saying, “Upgrade to the BlinkFeed on your HTC Butterfly! Android 4.2.2 is out now. Announcements for other handsets to come soon.” Which further hints that other devices can get update soon.

The Android 4.2.2 and HTC Sense 5.0 UI update will also add some other features, like a new gallery layout, new camera apps, automatic video highlights and improved battery endurance.

September 20, 2013