Category: Tech

Angry Birds Star wars 2 is out !

After hyping it up for quite a bit of time, Rovio has finally released Angry Birds Star Wars II. This sequel to the Star Wars-infused spin-off looks to shake things up quite a bit. For starters, it’s based on the three prequels that were released after the original Star Wars Trilogy.

Another big change in this sequel is that you can now choose to play with the darkside — that is, you can play with the pigs! That gives you the ability to play as top villains such as Darth Maul, Darth Vader and more. In all, there are over 30 playable characters, the ability to bring those characters into your game by taking pictures of your telepod figurines, and more.

Angry Birds Star Wars was one of the most intriguing new directions explored by the franchise made by Rovio, and now it seems that the Finnish developer is back with Angry Birds Star Wars II.
The installment features new characters and a new storyline which will even let players choose their side, either go with the good birds or the bad piggies.

The game, like its predecessor, combines the bird-tossing action of the Angry Birds franchise with the powers, characters, and settings of Star Wars universe.

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Sep 23, 2013
Micromax Funbook P255 launched

Micromax has no parallel when it comes to the frequency of phone launch. While sticking to launching one phone/ tablet every week, Micromax this week has launched an all new Funbook P255 tablet with 7 inch capacitative touchscreen.

It is available on e-commerce portal infibeam.com for Rs. 4899.

It runs on Android v.4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. It is powered by 1.2 GHz Cortex A8 processor. The screen displays the content in 800 x 480 pixels resolution. The tablet bears the latest slim design that looks elegant and comes in classic black color. The tablet sports Dual camera with a 2 MP camera in the rear and a 0.3 MP VGA camera in the front that can support online video chats.

The Micromax Funbook P255 comes with a range of connectivity features like 3G, Wi-Fi connectivity, Wi-Fi Hotspot, and USB port. The user can also plug in 3G Dongle for using internet on the tablet.

Apart from this, Micromax Bolt A40 is also available on mobile store. It is available on Infibeam for Rs 5,999. This phone has been based on the older Android version and is said to quite similar to one of its other phones.

This Smartphones has been built on the Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and is powered by a powerful 1GHz processor that lets experience a smoother UI. Now you get better upload and download speed. It makes multi-tasking easy for you. It has a Spreadtrum SC6820 Chipset.

Micromax Funbook P255 Key Features

• Android v4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS
• 0.3 MP Secondary Camera
• Wi-Fi Enabled
• 2 MP Primary Camera
• 1.2 GHz Cortex-A8 Processor
• 7-inch Capacitive Touchscreen
• Expandable Storage Capacity of 32 GB

Micromax Bolt A40 Key Features

• Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread
• 1GHz processor
• 4.5inch TFT Touch Screen
• 2MP rear camera and 0.3MP front camera
• EDGE and GPS
• Bluetooth and USB
• 1500mAh battery

Sep 18, 2013
FIrefox 24 is Now Available !!
Mozilla has uploaded a few minutes ago, September 16, 2013, the final packages of their exceptional Mozilla Firefox 24.0 web browser for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows platforms.

This announcement is only for those of you who want to download the brand-new Mozilla Firefox 24 web browser ahead of the officially announcement, which will happen later today. Therefore, you can download the final version of Mozilla Firefox 24.0 right now (see download links at the end of the article for your favorite platform(s)) from the official Mozilla FTP servers.

Get Firefox 24 Now !!

If you prefer to wait for the official launch, you’ll soon be able to grab it directly from Firefox.com. Soon after it arrives tomorrow, Mozilla will also push it out via the browser’s automatic updates feature.

NEW

Support for new scrollbar style in Mac OS X 10.7 and newer

NEW

Implemented Close tabs to the right

NEW

Social: Ability to tear-off chat windows to view separately by simply dragging them out

CHANGED

Accessibility related improvements on using pinned tabs (see 577727)

CHANGED

Removed support for Revocation Lists feature (see 867465)

CHANGED

Performance improvements on New Tab Page loads (see 791670)

DEVELOPER

Major SVG rendering improvements around Image tiling and scaling (see 600207 )

DEVELOPER

Improved and unified Browser console for enhanced debugging experience, replacing existing Error console

DEVELOPER

Removed support for sherlock files that are loaded from application or profile directory

FIXED

Replace fixed-ratio audio resampler in webrtc.org capture code with Speex resampler and eliminate pseudo-44000Hz rate ( see 886886)

FIXED

24.0: Security fixes can be found here
Sep 17, 2013
Apple iPhone 5c only at 99

Apple finally revealed its two new iPhones, the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. As the naming scheme implies, the 5S is the high-end successor to the iPhone 5 and it features (among other things) a snappy new 64-bit A7 processor, an M7 co-processor for tracking motion (you know, for fitness apps), and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor built into the home button. If it weren’t apparent at first glance, the 5S looks nearly identical to the original iPhone 5, though the black and white (sorry, silver) versions are joined by a gold model that was the subject of many a rumor in the weeks leading up to the event. iPhone 5c, a colorful plastic phone that starts at $99.

The new phones arrive September 20th.

Though the new color schemes are flashy — you can get the phone in silver, gold, or a darker space gray — the biggest changes are internal, with a new A7 chip that’s been reengineered for 64-bit architecture. Apple claims this will make the 5s several times faster than its predecessor. The camera has been updated with a new, larger Apple-designed sensor and a host of other features, and as rumored, the home button is now also a fingerprint scanner.

The iPhone 5C will cost $99 for a 16GB model or $199 for a 32 GB model, with contracts. A colorful variety of cases will cost $29. The iPhone 5C will go on sale on Sept. 20, with pre-orders starting on Sept. 13.

Apple has also confirmed the weirdest rumored feature of the iPhone 5s: a fingerprint sensor built right into the home button. Called Touch ID, it’s a substitute for the traditional PIN or password, with a thin capacitive sensor layered on top of the button.

The iPhone 5c features a 4-inch Retina display, A6 chip, and an 8-megapixel iSight camera (the same as the iPhone 5), as well as an improved FaceTime HD camera on the front . Also available are custom, soft-feel rubber slipcases for $29 each based on the iOS7 color scheme. Though it is indeed a cheaper iPhone, the difference is more dramatic on contract; if you want to buy it unlocked, it starts at $549, in comparison to the $649 5s.

Sep 11, 2013
Newkia: The New Nokia For Android Lovers!

Many people didn’t like Nokia’s decision to sell its handset business to Microsoft. Nokia’s both existing and former employees were among the most vocal opponents of the deal, and one of them wants to do something about it.

His name is Thomas Zilliacus and for seven years, he served as the Finnish company’s Asia-Pacific CEO. He’s now looking to launch a new company called Newkia, and offer solidly built devices running Android.

The Singapore-based startup was founded on the same day Microsoft announced its $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia’s smartphone business, effectively putting an end to a long history of Nokia and Lumia-branded handsets. Zilliacus, who served as the company’s Asia-Pacific CEO for 15 years before leaving in 1993, may be a bit out of touch with the company’s current inner-workings, but he plans to rectify that by hiring Nokia employees who always wanted to make an Android smartphone.

To fulfil his vision of making a Nokia-like Android phone, he plans to hire Nokia employees who have expressed interest in developing for Android. He already has some ex-staff on board, and wants to hire more. “What Newkia wants to do is to use Nokia know-how, technology, and design to build the world’s best smartphones, but running on Android,” he said.

Can the $7.17 billion Microsoft handset deal save Nokia?

According to Newkia’s founder and CEO, Newkia phones will be available in Asia, Europe and gradually make way to the US markets.

Newkia plans to launch its first device within a year, though it still needs to raise a substantial amount of cash and gather some top talent to create a compelling product. R&D will be done in Finland, while the company will operate from Singapore, primarily serving the Asian audience. We’ll be watching this space and get back to you as soon as there’s something new to add. Stay tuned…

Sep 9, 2013
First Look at Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch

Samsung Electronics unveiled its highly anticipated digital wristwatch that can snap photos, track workouts and use an array of apps – gadgetry that the company hopes will catapult it into a market of smart portable devices that leave cellphones in users’ pockets.

Samsung will start shipping the $299 Gear smartwatch in September, ahead of a similar product expected from Apple. I had a chance to play with a pre-production unit for about 10 minutes and briefly with the version that Samsung announced Wednesday in Berlin on the eve of the annual IFA consumer electronics show.

Features

– 512 MB of RAM

– Internal memory of 4 GB

– 800-megahertz, single-core CPU

– Weighs 2.6 ounces

– Available colors include lime green, oatmeal beige, wild orange, mocha gray, jet black and rose gold.

The Pros

– The Gear supports apps such as Facebook and lets the wearer answer incoming calls or check email without picking up the smartphone that’s paired with it.

– The Gear’s design flair and ease of use are its sweetest attributes. It is sleek, with a thin metallic bezel surrounding the display. The strap comes in six different colors – black, gray, orange, beige, gold and green.

– It is easy to activate the camera and quick to shoot a photo. It left both hands free while placing and answering calls. The full message can also be read. Samsung says replies are possible through voice dictation.

– Easy navigation of the touch screen is one of the device’s biggest pluses.

– Samsung has dispensed with buttons on the screen, so there’s no home or back button.

– One tap anywhere on the screen takes and saves a photo in the Gear and the smartphone that’s paired with it.

– The first generation of the Gear seems to be cool but not compelling enough.

The Cons

– Gear is not an independent device. For useful functionality, the Gear needs to be linked with a specific Samsung smartphone or tablet computer. The pairing is done wirelessly over a Bluetooth connection built in to both sides.

– The Galaxy Gear may have an intuitive interface, but it is not an independent device, instead a slave which can be used only when it is paired to a smartphone.

– The big disappointment for Samsung gadget owners is that the Gear does not work with most of its phones and tablets. For now the Galaxy Gear can only be paired with the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet PC.

– It is priced at about twice the price of the Sony SmartWatch and the Pebble.

– Its 1.9 megapixel camera is said to be of poorer quality than a typical smartphone camera.

– One downside is that the Gear doesn’t support a wireless earpiece, so both sides of any conversation can be overheard.

Sep 6, 2013
Mark your Calenders for Windows 8.1 Release

Windows 8 users should circle October 17 on the calendar. On that day at 7 a.m. ET / 4 a.m. PT Microsoft will release Windows 8.1 as a free upgrade or download through the Windows Store. A day later on October 18, the new version of the operating system will also be available at retail stores and on new devices.

The release of Windows 8.1 comes almost a year to the date after Microsoft released Windows 8 and the ARM-based Surface RT tablet.

Senior marketing communications manager Brandon LeBlanc blogged the news on the official Blogging Windows blog: “It’s very exciting to be delivering Windows 8.1 to consumers just before Windows 8 celebrates its 1-year anniversary,” LeBlanc said.

“Windows 8.1 brings many improvements in areas like personalization, Internet Explorer 11, search which is powered by Bing, built-in apps including a few new ones, an improved Windows Store experience, and cloud connectivity with SkyDrive (and much more) that people will enjoy,”

LeBlack said.

First Look at Windows 8.1 with Start Button

Announcing the news, LeBlanc rehashed the rather hollow Redmond party line that Windows 8.1 “continues the vision that began with Windows 8.” In reality, Microsoft’s been forced to take a step back by re-introducing features familiar to users of Windows that were dumped or hidden in Microsoft’s rush to touch on Windows 8.

That rush cost Microsoft some sales, as customers dodged the “unfamiliar” look-and-feel of the new operating system.

Intrigued? Incredulous? Impatient? Just plain interested? Microsoft’s already offering a preview version of the Windows 8.1 update for those daring souls who don’t mind delving deep into unfinished software.

Aug 14, 2013
Pirate Bay Releases ‘Pirate Browser’ to fight Censorship

The Pirate Bay is taking a stand against the increased censorship efforts it faces in several European countries. On its 10th anniversary the infamous BitTorrent site is releasing its “Pirate Browser,” a fully functional web browser that allows people to access The Pirate Bay and other blocked sites just fine. The current release is Windows only but Mac and Linux versions will follow soon.

The Pirate Bay is arguably the most censored website on the Internet.

Courts in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy and elsewhere have ordered Internet providers to block subscriber access to the torrent site, and more are expected to follow.

Up until now The Pirate Bay has encouraged users affected by the blackout to use proxy sites. However, on its 10th anniversary they are now releasing a special “PirateBrowser” which effectively bypasses any ISP blockade.

“It’s a simple one-click browser that circumvents censorship and blockades and makes the site instantly available and accessible. No bundled ad-ware, toolbars or other crap, just a Pre-configured Firefox browser,”

The Pirate Bay explains.

PirateBrowser works like any other web browser and comes pre-loaded with several bookmarks for blocked sites, which aside from The Pirate Bay includes EZTV, KickassTorrents, Bitsnoop and H33T.

The browser also lists the alternative .onion addresses for both TPB and EZTV as backups to access these sites.

The Pirate Bay is not alone in its efforts to keep the Internet open and accessible. The Obama administration has spent millions of dollars on similar projects allowing citizens of oppressed regimes to access blocked websites, albeit for different reasons.

In theory, this will allow sites to exist and update even without having a public facing website. As a result, it will be virtually impossible to block or shut them down. The first version of this new software is currently being tested but there is currently no firm launch date. More on that later.

Aug 11, 2013
Firefox 23 arrives with new logo and network monitor
Mozilla today launched Firefox 23, which adds a couple of interesting features that extend the browser’s capabilities beyond just displaying websites. On the desktop, Firefox recently added the ability to integrate a number of social sites like Facebook, Cliqz and Mixi or new sites like msnNOW into a persistent sidebar in the browser. Now it is expanding this feature by adding a share button to the browser toolbar, too.

This feature currently works with Facebook Messenger for Firefox and Cliqz and, as the Firefox team notes, allows you to “post an interesting article to your profile, share a recipe with your friends or send an idea for a gift in a private message or email, all without leaving the Web page you are visiting.”

The new desktop version was available on the organization’s FTP servers last night, but that was just the initial release of the installers. Firefox 23 has now officially been released over on Firefox.com and all existing users should be able to upgrade to it automatically. As always, the Android version is trickling out slowly on Google Play.

The biggest addition is no doubt the new share button and panel for the browser’s Social API. In short, developers can let users share content with friends in one click (Facebook users, for example, can use it to share content directly from Firefox, regardless of where they are on the Web).

Next up is the mixed content blocker, which prevents non-secure (HTTP) content on a website from being read or modified by attackers by blocking the non-secure content from being compromised. In case you’re wondering, mixed content occurs when a webpage containing a combination of both secure (HTTPS) and non-secure (HTTP) content is delivered over a secure data channel to the browser. Here’s how it looks in action:

Also in this release, developers can finally use the new Network Monitor. It breaks down individual website components, highlighting how long it takes for each to load.

There are naturally other Firefox 23 features worth noting; here’s the official changelog:
- NEW: Mixed content blocking enabled to protects users from man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdroppers on HTTPS pages (learn more).
- NEW: Options panel created for Web Developer Toolbox.
- CHANGED: “Enable JavaScript” preference checkbox has been removed and user-set values will be reset to the default.
- CHANGED: Updated Firefox Logo.
- CHANGED: Improved about:memory’s functional UI.
- CHANGED: Simplified interface for notifications of plugin installation.
- CHANGED: Enabled DXVA2 on Windows Vista+ to accelerate H.264 video decoding.
- CHANGED: Users can now switch to a new search provider across the entire browser.
- CHANGED: CSP policies using the standard syntax and semantics will now be enforced.
- CHANGED: input type=’file’ rendering improvements (see bug 838675).
- CHANGED: Replace fixed-ratio audio resampler in webrtc.org capture code with Speex resampler and eliminate pseudo-44000Hz rate.
- CHANGED: “Load images automatically” and Always show the tab bar” checkboxes removed from preferences and reset to defaults.
- DEVELOPER: HTML5 input type=”range” form control implemented.
- DEVELOPER: Write more accessible pages on touch interfaces with new ARIA role for key buttons.
- DEVELOPER: Social share functionality.
- DEVELOPER: Added unprefixed requestAnimationFrame.
- DEVELOPER: Implemented a global browser console.
- DEVELOPER: Dropped blink effect from text-decoration: blink; and completely removed element
- DEVELOPER: New feature in toolbox: Network Monitor.
- FIXED: Various security fixes.
Aug 7, 2013
Its all about Android 4.3

Unlike previous versions of Android, 4.3 Jelly Bean leaked all over the place before the official announcement. A full system ROM was even extracted from a few internal Google devices and made available online. Android 4.3 might not be the biggest update, but it’s still something to look forward to.

Officially, Android 4.3 is still a version of Jelly Bean, which makes sense, considering the minor nature of its changes. But of course, this may disappoint Android fans whose mouths have been watering for Key Lime Pie since Google I/O in May.

Performance Improvements

With the first version of Jelly Bean, Google introduced us to Project Butter. This was a unified effort to streamline UI responsiveness with extra buffering and hardware acceleration. In 4.3, Project Butter has been enhanced with rewritten vsync timing, triple buffering, reduced touch latency, CPU input boost, and hardware-accelerated 2D rendering.

Android 4.3 includes support for OpenGL ES 3.0, which makes Android the first mobile platform to support this standard. Game developers working with the native development kit (not running code through the Java virtual machine) will be able to take advantage of many new features.

The new version of OpenGL allows apps to render higher-quality visuals and deeper textures on the same hardware. It should also make advanced native games run on a wider range of devices, assuming they are running Android 4.3 — which most won’t be.

Multi-User Restricted Profiles

The biggest addition to Android 4.3 is the Multi-User Restricted Profiles feature, which lets you control the usage of apps and other content on a user level. Multiple user profiles were already available in 4.2.2, but the ability to create restrictions has long been requested, so it’s sure to be a big hit.

The people most obviously to benefit from the new profile controls are parents. We saw this in Google’s demo; being logged into a restricted user profile caused an app to behave differently. Specifically, a freemium game showed up without all of the in-app purchasing functionality, which is clearly going to be useful for parents with young children who use the device.

From the primary user’s Settings screen, it’s easy to configure a restricted account’s access using the sliders. And if an app offers in-app restrictions (such as the games mentioned above), then there’s a button for extra options next to it.

With Restricted Profiles, Google is obviously trying to lure more users — specifically parents and businesses — away from iOS, a platform that still lacks a user profiles feature altogether. As well, the feature opens a number of doors to developers who can now create in-app restrictions.

Open GL ES 3.0

A big deal for gamers, Open GL ES 3.0 makes the new version of Android more efficient and just plain better at displaying graphics. Google’s demo showed us impressive textures, lens flares, and reflections that the older OS would have had trouble displaying. While the upgraded graphics might be indiscernible to the average user, Open GL ES support is still important because of the new possibilities it opens up for developers.

Bluetooth Smart technology

Support for Bluetooth Smart technology is another addition to Android 4.3 that wasn’t all that unexpected, considering it’s been available on iOS since early 2012. With this, the updated Android now allows you to connect with the newer generation of power-efficient accessories that use Bluetooth Smart. And of course, the Smart connection should be less taxing on your Android device’s battery. During Google’s presentation, we saw an Android device connecting with a Bluetooth Smart-enabled heart-rate monitor that was being powered by the popular Runtastic fitness app.

The update also came with Bluetooth AVRCP 1.3 support, which lets your device now transmit metadata, like a song’s title and artist, to Bluetooth controllers.

New DRM

Android is an open platform, but it also has to work in the real world. To those ends, Android 4.3 includes new media DRM APIs. App developers will be able to more easily integrate DRM standards into their streaming services, which are often required to provide high-resolution video.

As if to prove to us that more DRM in Android can be a good thing, Google announced at the event that the first app to make use of this feature is Netflix. The new version, which was quietly pushed on Monday, has support for the advanced DRM in Android 4.3. This allows the app to stream 1080p video. On other devices, it will still stream in standard definition.

Hindi support lands on Android 4.3

Google has introduced native local language support to its operating system for Africaans, Amharic, Hindi, Swahili and Zulu. Hindi has finally reached the stock Android operating platform.

With the update, Google has also added support for Hebrew and Arabic (right-to-left) in the home screen, Settings, Phone, People, and Keep apps.

Additional

First up, is Android’s dialer, which now has autocomplete for both phone numbers and names. I haven’t gotten to try the feature on a phone yet, but its presence in 4.3 is confirmed, and the added convenience is notable. That said, the reality is that most Android users may not even notice the upgraded dialer, since autocomplete has already come built into the custom operating systems by hardware manufacturers like Samsung.

One feature that Google didn’t formally announce is the new Emoji keyboard, which comes stock with the OS and can be enabled through the Language & input menu under Settings. Once enabled, you can long-press the spacebar key to pull it up and emote to your heart’s content.

When I will get it ?

If you have a Nexus 4, GSM Galaxy Nexus, or original Nexus 7, the update is going to be rolling out over the air to your device very soon. The new Nexus 7 will ship with 4.3 pre-installed, but that’s not leaving warehouses until July 30.

Android 4.3 root using SuperSU via xda

If you’re using any other Android device, you’ll have to wait on your OEM and maybe the carrier to get around to developing and approving a new OS version. That could take a few months, or it might never happen. Owners of newer devices like the HTC One and Galaxy S4 will get the update at some point.

If you don’t want to wait with fingers crossed, the code for 4.3 has already been pushed to the Android Open Source Project, where it will be picked up by ROM developers. Give them a week or two, and 4.3-based ROMs such as CyanogenMod will start hitting the web.

Jul 26, 2013