Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Android Powered $99 Ouya Games Console Shipped To First Supporters



A new games console which industry experts say could disrupt the industry has begun shipping to kickstarter backers who helped the Android-based project get going last year. For the rest of us, there’s an official retail release date: June 4.
Games on the system will be a fraction of the cost of traditional console games, more comparable to those found on mobiles and tablets. However, it may struggle to muscle in on a market dominated by big players such as PlayStation and Xbox, one analyst predicted.
The Ouya was financed using crowdfunding website Kickstarter, where it attracted over $8m (£5.3m) in funding from 63,416 backers.

The company has begun sending out consoles to the first supporters of the project – while other interested gamers can pre-order the device.
About 55 games will be available with today’s release, according to [Ouya founder Julie] Uhrman. The cube-shaped player uses a version of Android that requires developers to create applications and games just for the device. Games must be free, offer a free trial or have free add-ons, the company said. … Ouya plans to keep 30 percent of game sales, with developers getting the rest.
Blowfish12@2013 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Monday, April 1, 2013

How top Techies celebrated April Fool's Day


April 1st is celebrated as April Fool’s Day or All Fools Day in many countries. People usually play prank on others and celebrate it. Tech companies also have celebrated April fools Day and, here is a list how the have done it this year.
bmw-royal-baby-carriage
BMW: ROYAL BABY CARRIAGE
BMW said today that “we are proud to announce the launch of our limited edition BMW P.R.A.M. (Postnatal Royal Auto Mobile)” to coincide with the birth of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first child
guardian-goggles
THE GUARDIAN: GUARDIAN GOGGLES
Playing on Google Goggles, The Guardian newspaper released its own set of smart frames.
google-maps-treasure-map
Google: Closing of YouTube, Treasure layer in Google Maps, Google Nose, Gmail Blue, Add emotions to Google+ pictures, Levity algorithm
Google is the master of humorous tech pranks for April Fools’ Day. We clearly don’t believe anything Google tells us on March 31 and April 1, but here’s a roundup of Google’s pranks:
Closing of YouTube
Treasure layer in Google Maps
Google Nose
Gmail Blue
Levity algorithm
Google+ emotions
Finally, the Google+ team added the ability to add “emotions” to pictures.
ikea-grassax
IKEA: FLAT-PACK LAWNMOWER
IKEA launched a “brand new, fully flat-pack GRÄSSAX lawnmower.”
nokia_microwave
NOKIA: TOUCHSCREEN LUMIA MICROWAVES
If you can’t win the people with Lumia Windows Phones, maybe it’s time to try pitching them onsmart microwaves?
RUNKEEPER FOR IPAD
Runkeeper brings its iPhone app for tracking your exercise to the iPad.
SPHERO: PEACEKEEPER EDITION
The Sphero robotic ball that can be controlled from your phone has been modified to help crush objects and trip runners. It costs $10,000.
SONY: PET TECHNOLOGY INCLUDING CAT HEADPHONES AND TVS FOR DOGS
Sony launched a set of technology for pets including Cat Cans, speakers for your hamster, andTVs for dogs.
sony-pet-tech
THINKGEEK: PLAY-DOH 3D PRINTER AND EYE OF SAURON DESK LAMP
3D printing is super hot. Why not a 3D printer that works with Play-Doh? Oh, and how about a sweet “Eye of Sauron Desk Lamp” while you’re already ordering?
play-doh-3d-printer
TWITTER: CHARGING TO USE VOWELS
It’s now going to cost to use vowels on Twitter, no more “LOL” for you freeloaders. You’ll just have to use smiley faces.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC: GLASS-BOTTOMED PLANE
Maybe the most scary sounding prank we’ve heard today is Virgin Atlantic’s proposed glass-bottom plane.
virgin-atlantic-glass-bottom-plane
LET US KNOW WHAT WE MISSED
Other companies will surely have their own April Fools’ pranks today. Let us know in the comments what we missed or what you found particularly funny.
Blowfish12@2013 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R
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Google celebrates April fool's day


google-maps-treasure-map
Google Celebrates April Fool’s day with some amazing features such as ‘Treasure Layer’ in Google Maps and a video suggesting YouTube will close tomorrow.
First up, as you can see in the photo above, a Google Maps look at San Francisco has a much different look that hearkens to old pirate tales. To see the Treasure Map layer, go into Google Maps and tap the Treasure option in the top right corner.
Google also released a three-and-a-half-minute April Fools’ video from the YouTube team (watch it below) saying that YouTube will close tomorrow and has actually been a massive contest to find the best video in the world. The company says it will review every video that has ever been uploaded and will delete everything else but the winner.
The search giant has also pushed out another practical joke called Google Nose, a program that lets you search by scent. This year Google’s flagship fake product is Google Nose. Nose purports to let you search for scents in Google search and use Android devices to smell objects and tell you what they are. Google says Nose can help you identify the smell of “a new car”, “the inside of an Egyptian tomb,” or “a ghost.”
google-nose-prank




“Our task as designers is to get our users the information they are looking for as quickly and beautifully as possible,” a Google user experience designer says in the video. “But until now we couldn’t give users what they are looking for — because sometimes they’re not looking at all.”
Blowfish12@2013 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Yet another movie like ‘The social network’

Fox released the trailer for its comedy The Internship Movie following two “salesmen whose careers have been topped by the digital world. Played by Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, the two set off to Silicon Valley to prove that they are still relevant by landing internships at Google. ”



It goes to show how mainstream Silicon Valley is becoming. It started with The Social Network, which took brought Mark Zuckerberg’s creation of Facebook straight into the heart of Hollywood. Now, we’ve got a focus on Google and its famed working culture of slides, great food, nap rooms, and more.

The trailer shows scenes from Google’s “campus,” including a clear dry-erase wall (that Vaughn writes on with Sharpie), a self-driving car, a Rubik’s cube competition, and a bunch of smart twentysomethings who have it out for the two “old guys.”

It’s a tale of old-timey institutions being overrun by the newer, younger, digital revolution. At one point, those crazy Google youngsters send Vaughn and Wilson off on an adventure to find “Charles Xavier,” a Stanford professor who is balding and in a wheelchair. It doesn’t end well for the pair.



Blowfish13@2013 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Top 10 meta search engines 2013

A metasearch engine is a search tool that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list or displays them according to their source.

The providers who have topped the list are,


  • WebCrawler

  • Dogpile Web Search

  • Info.com

  • Ixquick

  • Scour

  • Findelio

  • Mamma.com The Mother of all Search Enginer

  • Yippy.com

  • Qrobe.it

  • Geegain


“All results powered by alexa.com”



Blowfish12@2013 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Friday, January 25, 2013

Top 10 IM providers 2013

Instant messaging (IM) is a form of communication over the Internet, that offers quick transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver.

Lest go for the list of top 10 IM providers of the year 2013

“ranking powered by alexa.com”



Blowfish12@2012-13 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Top 10 websites of 2013

Another year has passed by lest see which site tops the list.

“Ranking powered by alexa.com”



Blowfish12@2012-13 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Top 10 search engines 2013

Most people don't want 290 search engines, especially people who are internet beginners.Most users want a single search engine that delivers three key features:

  1. Relevant results  (results you are actually interested in)

  2. Uncluttered, easy to read interface

  3. Helpful options to broaden or tighten a search


With this criteria, 10 Reader Favorite Search Engines come to mind. These 10 search sites should meet 99% of the searching needs of a regular everyday user.

“Ranking powered by alexa.com”



Blowfish12@2012-13 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Sunday, January 20, 2013

[Security breached] Facebook’s graph search a review

“Facebook has been greeted for its new feature ‘Graph Search’ for a few days ooops lets see some privacy issues on it –wait for it”

Graph Search is a feature Facebook introduced to allow users to enter parameter-based searches to find friends -- and friends of friends -- who share certain interests. A search for "friends who ski" or even more specifically "friends who ski in Arizona" will narrow the results within that field.

Concerns arose when Facebook changed its privacy policy to make way for Graph Search. The new policy made it impossible for users to hide their entire timelines from search results, although individual posts can be hidden one at a time by choosing the most restrictive privacy setting for that item.

Even CEO Mark Zuckerberg's sister, Randi Zuckerberg, was caught unawares by the new privacy settings. When a photo she posted -- which was intended to be private -- became public, she raised a stink and got it removed.

Those users who previously had opted out of having their timelines appear in search results then were forced to change the privacy settings for each post if they wanted it to remain out of sight.



Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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[Tech] Electronic ring or USB drive as password

Google Plans to implement a secure way to login into your accounts by using USB drives or electronic rings as password rather than the traditional text passwords.

As revealed by Wired, Google VP of security Eric Grosse and engineer Mayank Upadhyay have outlined several ways to rethink the traditional password. The two are responding to the problem of password security. Passwords often don’t provide enough protection as we saw when tech journalist Mat Honan had many of his accounts hacked last August.

“Along with many in the industry, we feel passwords and simple bearer tokens such as cookies are no longer sufficient to keep users safe,” Grosse and Upadhyay write in an upcoming paper for IEEE’s Security & Privacy magazine.

Two ways the Googlers imagine changing the password?

  • A smartphone or smart-card ring that you wear that can authorize a new computer to give you access to certain sites or to the machine itself.

  • Plugging a customized USB drive into the computer while you are browsing that automatically logs you in to sites. When you take out the USB drive, the sites no longer give you access.


While these are just a few ideas, it’s hard to say if they will see the light of day soon or far in the future. In the meantime, security experts agree that you should turn on multi-factor authentication (if you’re offered the chance) to protect your accounts.



Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

A quick look at HTC Sense 4.1

htc-sense4-1


As usual, HTC is always looking to improve its software to deliver a better experience to its handsets. While the latest AT&T HTC One X  update to Android 4.0.4 had a few minor tweaks, it looks like HTC may soon have another update which will deliver Android 4.0.4 with HTC Sense 4.1. The software has managed to make its way into the hands of a few folks on XDA-Developers who have already turned it around and backed it into a new ROM for the international HTC One X.


Like the update for the HTC One X on AT&T, Sense 4.1 fixes the  “action overflow” feature in Android 4.0 by removing the menu bar that HTC had placed at the bottom of the screen and  allows users to configure the capacitive multitasking button on the device to access the menu functionality within apps. The second main feature is the return of the Quick Settings tab in the notification shade, giving users direct access to handset settings without having to dive into the main settings page or waste valuable screen real estate with widgets.


We expect HTC will be pushing out Sense 4.1 to the HTC One X, One S and One V in the coming weeks. But if you can’t wait that long, we suggest you check in with your favorite ROM developers to see if you can get Sense 4.1 a little sooner.



Other HTC Sesne 4.1 fixes or enhancements




  • Live wallpaper lag has been fixed.


  • Dedicated button in the Camera app to switch between Front/Backward facing cameras


  • Dedicated button to switch tabs in the browser


  • Removal of all 3D-Effects in the launcher


  • Updated kernel with speed improvements


  • Wifi-dropping/ Icon showing weak signal fixes


  • Better Battery life improvement




Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.



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Monday, December 31, 2012

China lifts bans on Internet anonymity

China is taking steps to abolish online anonymity by passing a law which requires citizens to identify themselves when signing up for Internet and telecommunications services.

The new law, Bloomberg says, will require people to provide their full names when ordering landlines, mobile phones, and Internet connections, and it will also mandate online services such as Weibo, the Chinese Twitter, to require real names when posting or tweeting or blogging.

“The Internet is a free and open stage,” an editorial in the People’s Daily said on Dec. 24. “But absolute freedom of the network does not exist … the virtual society and social reality are inseparable.”

The editorial paints the prime issue as one of public safety and well-being, adding that with the rule of law, “the network can be more civilized, more healthy, more secure” and enhanced with more “positive energy.” Others, however, are wondering if it isn’t critique of the government’s sex scandals and shoddy handling of disasters that is more the issue.

Whatever the case, the law is certainly going to further impair online freedom in a country that already isn’t shy about censoring and restricting online communications, as Google’s Eric Schmidt said earlier this year. Although some, including Sinocism China Newsletter author Bill Bishop, say there is already no Internet freedom in the country.



Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Friday, December 28, 2012

Santa gets technical: Over 17M iOS and Android devices activated Christmas Day

Christmas Day marked the most iOS and Android device activations than “any other day in history,” according to a report from mobile analytics company Flurry – with over 17 million new smartphones and tablets booting up for the first time.

Compared to the rest of December, new iOS and Android activations soared 332 percent on Christmas Day. Every other day in December only averaged around four million activated devices. It also squarely beat out last Christmas, which only hit 6.8 million devices activated.

Smartphones and tablets are undeniably mainstream and parents, friends, and significant others are seemingly happy to shell out for the technology everyone wants. It helps that a number of new products entered the market in the recent months, including Apple’s iPad Mini, iPhone 5, Kindle Fire HD, Nexus 4, and Nexus 10. The hype and marketing from these releases surely contributed to people’s holiday wish lists.

Interestingly, however, it seems like people think of tablets as a present, as opposed to an every day expense. Throughout December, 80 percent of activated iOS and Android devices were smartphones, whereas on Christmas Day, tablets rushed up and claimed 51 percent of activated devices.

Apps also saw an expected spike on what has now come to be known as Download Day. Compared with the rest of December, app downloads increased by 112 percent on Christmas Day with 328 million apps downloaded overall. Only 155 million apps were downloaded each day in December prior to Christmas.



Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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[virus] Fake Android app can launch DDoS attacks from your phone

Researchers at Doctor Web found a new trojan app in the Google Play store that can launch distributed denial of service attacks when opened.

Android.DDoS.1.origin, as it’s called, is Russian and disguises itself as the Google Play icon once downloaded. When opened, the app takes its victims to the actual Google Play store so as to distract the user. In the background, however, it searches for its command and control server — and if a connection is made, the app sends the infected phone’s number to the criminals. These hackers then administer commands to the app via text messages.

Commands include launching a DDoS attack or sending other text messages. Doctor Web suggests that the text message function could be used to spam others in the phone’s contact list, prompting them to either download the app or something else the hackers are pushing.

Nowadays when we think of DDoS attacks, we often are reminded of Anonymous, the hacker collective that launches a number of these attacks in the name of political protest. We’ve seen DDoS attacks take down a number of important websites including the CIA’s, financial institutions, and others. These attacks send large amounts of traffic toward a certain website’s servers in an attempt to overload the system and shut it down.

With this app, however, hackers with DDoS intentions are roping in innocent bystanders to do the dirty work. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a campaign like this. In the case of the CIA website’s take down, Anonymous was accused of distributing links on Twitter to low-orbit-ion-canons (LOIC). These “cannons” send thousands of packets of information to a targeted server per second. When the Twitter links were clicked on, unsuspecting visitors would suddenly be roped into the attack.

Doctor Web goes on to say that the app can cause the phone to perform poorly, and can actually run up the owner’s bill by texting premium numbers.



Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.
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Monday, July 23, 2012

Google acquires hot iOS & Mac e-mail app Sparrow (updated)

Google has just acquired Sparrow, a company that has gained notoriety for its innovative iOS and Mac e-mail clients.


“We care a lot about how people communicate, and we did our best to provide you with the most intuitive and pleasurable mailing experience,” Sparrow CEO Dom Leca wrote on the company’s blog this morning. “Now we’re joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google.”


Sparrow’s apps have gained a devoted and vocal fan base, thanks to their clean design and elegant functionality. The apps integrate particularly well with Gmail, so it’s not too surprising that Google was interested in snapping up Sparrow. On iOS, Sparrow filled the gap for a truly powerful Gmail client (Google released its own Gmail iOS client in November, but it had a very rough start).


When it comes to Sparrow’s existing apps, we’re hearing that Google will support them with critical updates, but don’t expect any new features.


Sparrow is based in Paris and has received seed funding from Kima Ventures. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.


Update: Sources tell the Verge that Sparrow was acquired for under $25 million.












Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R. Source: TheVerge



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