Facebook Phone Not Coming Anytime Soon

Mark Zuckerberg has officially laid the smack down on rumors circulating around that Facebook is working on a smartphone of their own. Sure, such rumors are more or less guaranteed to drive traffic to any site, but the Facebook founder claims that nothing of that sort is going to happen anytime in the near and immediate future. In fact, at a recent earnings call, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said, “We’re not going to build a phone.It’s not the right strategy for us to build one integrated system…Let’s say we sell 10 million units — that would be 1 percent of users. Who cares for us?”

Well, do you think that Zuckerberg is correct in his analysis? After all, the company has already gone public, and its stock price has not been doing gangbusters as expected. Perhaps investors think otherwise, but it cannot be denied that it would require a mighty effort for Facebook to come up with their very own hardware from scratch without enlisting the help of other seasoned players in the market. Status quo seems about right at this point in time.

Source : ubergizmo

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Lady Gaga Loses 156 Million YouTube Views on Official Account

Lady Gaga has joined the list of musicians to lose millions of video views on YouTube. Her official account lost some 156 million views, NME reports.

According to a YouTube spokesperson, VEVO reduced the play counts on many major artist's videos by up to 2 million views in December 2012 due to articially inflation of view counts. Gaga's account survived that initial sweep.

Though many millions of views were removed last month, Gaga's videos have been found to be artificially boosted by hackers as well.

Source : mashable

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Twitter now supports large image viewing from profiles and search, the ability to add videos to galleries

Today on its blog Twitter announced a number of changes to its web interface that should allow users to better view photo and video content while using the service.

Photos that are clicked on from either a profile page or a search result will be shown, in large form, in-page, keeping the user where they were, and preventing the need for more navigation. Also announced today is the ability to include video from a number of sources in media galleries.

Here’s a shot of the new photo feature in action, via Twitter:

According to the firm, Vine, YouTube, and other partners that already appear in expanded tweets will be supported. As Twitter expands its service to be more content rich, this sort of update is to be expected. The company wants you to come, stay, and enjoy your time with it as much as possible.

Earlier today Dropbox announced the ability for users to share photos more simply amongst each other. That and the spat between Twitter and Facebook over Instagram and one thing is quite clear: photo content is key to user engagement.

For more coverage of Twitter and its happenings, our channel on the topic is required reading.

Top Image Credit: Shawn Campbell 

Source: http://thenextweb.com

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QuikIO adds iPhone-to-iPhone file transfer feature to its media streaming service

On the heels of adding Apple TV integration earlier this month, QuikIO has announced version 2 of its media streaming service and added a convenient iPhone-to-iPhone file sharing feature.

QuikIO is hard at work developing a cross-device solution for painless media management. Its iPhone and iPad apps provide an easy way to stream media and access files from Windows or Mac computers. Version 2 is still forthcoming, but the company has already added the file sharing feature to version 1.0.3, which arrived on Wednesday.

The new Quiksend feature, which is being shown off at this week’s Macworld conference, pulls desktops out of the equation and allows for direct connections between mobile devices. We’re told it will require an Internet connection, though, as it’s designed to work both locally and remotely.

In order to transfer files, the sender selects the files and then either types in the recipient’s QuikIO user ID or uses a ‘Find nearby’ GPS feature. The recipient then accepts the files in the Quikio app and the transfer begins.

Quiksend has access to videos and photos in the iPhone’s camera roll app, files from your computer saved in the QuikIO app, and files previously received and saved from another user.

“QuikIO’s solution is consumer friendly since there are no special requirements for network configuration, hardware capability and OS version – as often needed in the Android world,” CEO Michael Chen said in a statement.

The service has already amassed hundreds of thousands of users since launching late last year, and Chen says it has grown ten-fold over the past month.

Adoption is likely helped by the fact that the apps are free for a limited time. QuikIO says it plans to eventually charge $0.99 for the iPhone version and $1.99 for the iPad edition. The company is planning to add support for other devices in the near future.

QuikIO is built by Cisco veterans and has raised $1.28 million from Enspire Capital and angel investors.

Source: thenextweb.com

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Want to unlock your phone? Fix the DMCA

The anti-circumvention provision of the DMCA has been stifling research, slowing innovation, and annoying consumers for more than a decade. So why does it still exist?

This week, a new federal mandate kicked in that makes it illegal for you to unlock a phone that you bought locked from a carrier. The rule states that unauthorized unlocking of a phone you bought -- even if you paid full price for it, minus a carrier subsidy -- is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Specifically, it violates a portion of the law enacted in 2000 that makes it illegal to bypass technology designed to restrict access to a certain product. And that provision has bedeviled consumers, researchers, and lawyers for 12 years -- it's time for it to disappear or be substantially rewritten.

The first time I wrote about the DMCA and anti-circumvention was in the wake of the 2005 Sony root kit fiasco, in which Sony had surreptitiously installed restrictive DRM software on the computers of consumers who played or attempted to rip CDs. Under the anti-circumvention provisions, the Princeton security researcher who discovered the root kit had actually broken the law by reverse-engineering the software, and consumers risked breaking the law if they attempted to hack it in order to uninstall it. (On its own, the software would disable your CD drive if you tried to get rid of it.) The Princeton researcher who brought the root kit to light actually delayed his findings because he feared prosecution under the DMCA. That problem? That's still around.

Then it became clear that anti-circumvention would prevent you from being able to rip a DVD to your computer the way you can rip a CD. In 2000, Universal Studios won an injunction against three hackers who had created software to defeat digital rights management technology on DVDs. The court ruled, in fact, that you have zero fair use rights to your encrypted DVDs: That is, just because you bought it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with it, if "whatever you want" includes making your own digital copy for backup, to put on a mobile device, or to watch from a computer. In 2006, I blogged about a survey that reported 90 percent of people (more if those people had kids) think you should have the right to rip your DVDs for backup or mobile use. I bet that number is 100 percent by now, but that problem? That's also still around.

The provision outlawed jailbreaking phones until 2010; it's still illegal under the DMCA to jailbreak a tablet, because apparently "tablet" is a scary, fuzzy concept for the Library of Congress, which is the body that can grant exemptions to the DMCA, if they can be persuaded to understand what you're talking about with all this new technology. (You also can't jailbreak a game console, while we're at it.) Amazon used anti-circumvention to try to stamp out software that converted e-books to audio so that the blind could listen to them -- fortunately, the Library of Congress did allow an exemption for that purpose, but not until 2010 (and it wasn't a very good exemption until 2012).

The provision has also been used to threaten a security researcher who was investigating Internet filtering and blocking around the world; Apple used it to force an online forum to actually remove discussions about reverse-engineering iPods; and it was used to prosecute Russian security hacker Dmitry Sklyarov and others. Canada's lawmakers used the rule as a guideline for enacting its own copyright legislation last year, replete with digital lock technology even more restrictive than the DMCA's, despite almost universal protest from the Web community there. The Electronic Frontier Foundation maintains a running tally of these and other unintended consequences of the DMCA -- a startling number of them refer to anti-circumvention.
 
And now, here we are again at unlocked phones. The Library of Congress refused to allow an exemption for unlocking your carrier-locked phone (which The Atlantic rightly calls "The most ridiculous law of 2013 -- so far"). In the ruling, the Librarian determined that, essentially, it's not as hard as it used to be to buy an unlocked phone, so what's the big deal? And in a truly remarkable bit of rationalization, the Librarian writes:

While it is true that not every wireless device is available unlocked, and wireless carriers' unlocking polices are not free from all restrictions, the record clearly demonstrates that there is a wide range of alternatives from which consumers may choose in order to obtain an unlocked wireless phone.

Now, as you know, all that a restriction on unlocking your phone really accomplishes is allowing carriers to increasingly restrict your ability to leave them, despite their own wildly anticonsumer behavior, increasing contract costs, and skyrocketing early termination fees. In effect, the Librarian ruled that it's OK to restrict your consumer choice so that the carriers can restrict your consumer choice because hey, there's a little bit of consumer choice out there!

Quite obviously, the ban on unlocking cell phones is ridiculous -- there's a growing chorus of voices on that fact and a new Whitehouse.gov petition to overturn the ruling. But the problem won't be fixed until the DMCA is fixed.

Attempting to add exemptions after the fact is an absolutely ludicrous way to enforce anti-circumvention provisions that are already too broad and way too flawed. Those exemptions, by the way, have to be reissued every three years, meaning insanity could still creep back in (as The Atlantic points out, the blind have to defend their right to access e-books as audio every three years), and the state of affairs is constantly confused. The DMCA anti-circumvention provisions have always needed broad exemptions for personal use. They need massive rewriting to close the loopholes that allow for prosecution of security researchers, academics, and journalists. And they need, quite frankly, some basic logic. It's time to start beating that drum and stamp out this problem at its root.

Source: news.cnet.com

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Black Ops 2 Die Rise Zombies Sliquifier for all players (Video)

As most of you are well aware, Die Zombies is finally available to Xbox 360 Black Ops 2 owners with a Season Pass. The new map provides players with a brand new zombies fix and unsurprisingly, hardcore players are already trying to work out how to solve the main Die Rise Easter Egg. We told you that a new wonder weapon would be included in the map and now we can reveal it to be called the Sliquifier.


Like the Jet Gun in Green Run, the Sliquifier can be obtained by collecting various parts that are scattered around Die Rise. It’s not particularly hard to achieve if you search hard, but we’ve included a video below showing you the locations of the parts if you are having trouble still.

When completed, you’ll form the full weapon and you’ll be able to take out zombies in a single hit. Even better, the weapon creates a puddle on the floor which can affect both players and zombies when coming into contact with it. After you have built it for the first time, you’ll then be able to find it in the mystery box – just in case you happen to lose it.

You won’t be able to pack a punch the Sliquifier unfortunately, but we do have one little trick to show you allowing all of your team to obtain the gun at once. When it comes to collecting the weapon, all players should simply hold the button at the same time. If done correctly, your whole team will have the weapon instead of one and you can then start calling yourself the Ghostbusters.

A video shows how this trick works below, we’ve tried it and can confirm that it is definitely working. We’re not sure if Treyarch intended this to happen, or if it’s a glitch, but either way try it out for yourself and let us know how you get on.

Source: product-reviews.net

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Top 10 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2013

Continuing a long-standing New Year’s tradition, today we present an up-to-date list of the world’s most-visited BitTorrent sites. At the start of 2013 The Pirate Bay continues to pull in the most visitors, followed by KickassTorrents and Torrentz. Household names BTJunkie and Demonoid have dropped off the list as both sites are no longer online.

Which torrent sites get the most visitors at the start of 2013?

Traditionally BitTorrent users are very loyal, which is reflected in the top 10 where most sites have had a consistent listing for more than half a decade. This year there are a few movers and shakers, as well as several newcomers.

The most notable absentees this year are BTJunkie and Demonoid. Both sites have been featured in the top 10 since 2006, but went offline in 2012. BTJunkie permanently quit early last year and Demonoid’s future is also uncertain after it disappeared during the summer.

The first newcomer in tenth place is H33t, which has been growing steadily in recent years. The second newcomer is TorrentReactor, one of the oldest torrent sites around that makes its comeback after not making the list last year.

Then there is also a group of notable sites that didn’t make the cut, but deserve a mention. YIFY-torrents.com for example, which launched late 2011 and has grown exponentially since. Also worth mentioning are the Pirate Bay proxies, including Pirateproxy.net, which in itself almost deserves a spot in the top 10.

Below is the full list of the 10 most-visited torrent sites at the start of the new year. Only public and English language sites are included. The list is based on various traffic reports and we display the Alexa and U.S. Compete rank for each. In addition, we include last year’s ranking for each of the 10 sites.

Did we miss anything? Feel free to join the discussion below.

1. The Pirate Bay

To many people The Pirate Bay is the equivalent to BitTorrent. The site was founded in 2003 and is still expanding, despite the various legal troubles and new blockades in the UK and the Netherlands. The Pirate Bay currently has well over a billion page views a month.

Alexa Rank: 74 / Compete Rank: 398 / Last year #1

2. KickassTorrents

KickassTorrents was founded in 2009 and has moved up in our top 10 year after year. Responding to increasing worries over domain seizures, the site moved from its kickasstorrents.com domain to kat.ph in 2012. This year the site continued to grow, despite being blocked by Italian Internet providers.

Alexa Rank: 116 / Compete Rank: 719 / Last year #3

3. Torrentz

Torrentz has been the leading BitTorrent meta-search engine for many years. Unlike the other sites featured in the list Torrentz does not host any torrent files, it merely redirects visitors to other places on the web. The site uses several domain names with the .eu being the most popular.

Alexa Rank: 166 / Compete Rank: 882 / Last year #2

4. IsoHunt

Two years ago isoHunt became the first search engine forced to implement a keyword filter provided by the MPAA. Despite this setback, isoHunt continues to be listed among the world’s top torrent sites. isoHunt is currently trying to get rid of the filter through the Appeals Court.

Alexa Rank: 213 / Compete Rank: 1,935 / Last year #4

5. ExtraTorrent

ExtraTorrent continues to gain more traffic and has moved up again in the top 10, now being the 5th most visited torrent site. This success didn’t go unnoticed to rightsholders groups such as the RIAA and MPAA who have called out ExtraTorrent as one of the top pirate sites recently.

Alexa Rank: 279 / Compete Rank: 1,973 / Last year #6

6. 1337x

1337x focuses more on the community aspect than some competitors. The site’s owners say they started 1337x to “fill an apparent void where it seemed there was a lack of quality conscience ad free torrent sites with public trackers.” The site moved up from spot 10 last year to 6th in 2013.

Alexa Rank: 1,031 / Compete Rank: 9,228 / Last year #10

7. EZTV

Unlike the other sites in the top 10, TV-torrent distribution group EZTV is a niche site specializing in TV content only. It was one of the newcomers last year despite being around for more than 7 years, and is relatively popular among Australians. Because of its focus on TV-content EZTV’s traffic varies in line with the TV-seasons.

Alexa Rank: 1,128 / Compete Rank: 16,622 / Last year #8

8. Bitsnoop

BitSnoop is one of the largest BitTorrent indexes, claiming to index a massive 19,091,736 torrent files at the time of writing. The site’s traffic continues to grow steadily, as do the DMCA notices that it receives.

Alexa Rank: 1,159 / Compete Rank: 5,648 / Last year #9

9. TorrentReactor

TorrentReactor is back in the top 10 after dropping off last year. A few months ago the site was blocked by a court order in Italy, but the site nonetheless continues to gain visitors.

Alexa Rank: 1,314 / Compete Rank: 4,530 / Last year #NA

10. H33t

H33T has been around for many years and has built a dedicated user base, mostly in Europe and Asia. Despite the wishes of the music industry, the site isn’t yet blocked by any court orders. The site made the news a few months ago when its owner took a stand against the avalanche of copyright takedown requests.

Source : torrentfreak

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Google walls off public Facebook events without logging in

If you’re not signed into Facebook and try to search for an event on Google, you’ll now encounter a login wall when clicking on the Facebook link.

While Facebook brushed off any comparison to Google’s search engine post-Graph Search launch, the parallels are obvious. And though the social network doesn’t coin itself a Google challenger, it seems there’s some competitive spirit. The Register has discovered that Facebook is semi-blocking any public events from showing up in Google’s search results.

By “semi,” we mean that if you really wanted to find a public Facebook event through a Google search, you have to log into Facebook first. Private Facebook events aren’t indexed.

The Register recommends typing in a search query in Google like:

• dance “January 2013” site:facebook.com/events.

• Or you can simply just type “site:facebook.com/events” into Google.

Regardless, the point is that if you’re logged out of Facebook and attempt to open up the event, you’re hit with a brick wall in the form of a Facebook login page. Even copying and pasting the event’s unique URL directly into the browser only brings up the login page. 

Is there preferential treatment for Bing here? Since trying to access an event via URL doesn’t work for the Microsoft browser either, the answer is no. While Facebook’s partnership with Bing means it’s offloading Graph Searches it can’t complete to the search engine, it would appear that Facebook is treating both search apps the same. 

So why go through this effort to force visitors to jump through these hurdles? It forces non-users to sign up or in to Facebook for starters. Secondly, by logging in, Facebook is able to target ads specific to you which the social network otherwise wouldn’t be able to do should you be logged out.

Source : digitaltrends

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Samsung launches red Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 Android tablet for $219.99

I posted a few weeks back about a report that Samsung was preparing a Valentine's Day gift in the form of a red Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet, and today, the company has officially launched that slate in what it's calling "garnet red."

Unfortunately, while there's a new color option, the specs haven't been updated from the original Tab 2 7.0, which is also available in silver. The 7-inch tablet (with a screen resolution of 1,024x600) runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean using a dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP CPU and includes just 8GB of storage. It does include a handy built-in IR blaster to turn the Tab into a remote control for your TV.

You'll pay a little more for the garnet-red edition of the Tab 2 7.0--$219.99 instead of the $199.99 the silver version will set you back. However, you do get a matching red case thrown in as part of the deal. Samsung said that the red tablet will be available for a limited time only, so if you want to snatch it up, you should start looking for it at retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Office Depot later this week.

Source : zdnet

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Facebook app for iOS gets voice and video recording, voice message support and improved Nearby tab

The Facebook app for iOS has gotten the ability to record voice and video right in the app, as well as Messenger’s voice messaging support and an improved Nearby tab. Voice messages originally showed up in the iOS and Android versions of Facebook’s Messenger apps, and later VoIP calling was added to those apps in the US and Canada. Now, the voice messaging capabilities have come directly to the main Facebook apps for iOS as well. Sending a message in the app now gives you the ability to record a voice message  to send directly to the recipient, and also gives access to the camera to allow for still shots or video clips to be recorded and sent.

When you tap on the record button, the recording begins immediately, allowing you to send the message by simply releasing the button. If you swipe off of the button while recording, you can release to cancel it, similar to the way that any other button on iOS cancels an action but with a nice visual cue.

The ability to record and post video right from within the app is also a new feature with the latest version. A new Nearby tab has cleaned up the interface significantly and offers a more Foursquare-like interface for finding interesting things to see and do based on Facebook’s Knowledge Graph.

The content of the Nearby tab has yet to show the refinement and usefulness of Foursquare though. There are simply too many random entries that reference someone’s personal checkins in your network. You’re not so much interested in someone’s backyard deck as you might be in a public venue for food or entertainment. In this aspect, at least, Facebook’s local search efforts continue to exist as a side note to its other efforts like photo and video messaging.

➤ Facebook for iOS

Source: thenextweb.com

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MacBook Air speculation for 2013 during price drop

Whenever we learn that a product is to receive a price drop there are two reasons for this, the first is just a general sale to help make room for other items, while the other is a new version soon to be released. Knowing this we’re pretty sure that there will be a great deal of MacBook Air speculation for 2013 because you can currently purchase this slim ultraportable computer for $200 of its full retail price.

While this may only be a temporary discount there are bound to be many consumers looking more into this, suggesting that it’s the first sign of a MacBook 2013 refresh, but we feel as though it’s a little too early for that just yet because the last update to the Air was back in June. However, we’ve seen in the past with the iPad that Apple is not afraid to release an update out of cycle.

Having said that, it came to light towards the end of last year that Apple already made preparations to release the new 2013 MacBook Air and Pro refresh models in June of this year. However, we have yet to know if the design of the exterior will change, although considering the current design of the Air was first introduced back in late 2012, Apple could make a change.

Adding to the confusion we were told that the current MacBook Air model would see a price drop ahead of the release of the refresh, but we assume that this meant on the Apple Store rather than a third-party vendor like Best Buy?

We recently reported that Apple could stick with the 2010 MacBook Air design but make several changes to the hardware, one of which could be a shift to the more powerful Intel Haswell processor, apart from that we don’t see much else being updated.

Source: product-reviews.net

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Nexus 4 Is All Sold Out?

Is there something that we have missed out on today? It seems that the Nexus 4 is about to arrive in droves, having both Best Buy and Wirefly unveil to the world their respective Nexus 4 pages, with Google switching the page to “Temporarily Out of Stock” compared to the “Sold Out” product pages that we are all so used to. 

Do you think that this rather subtle change in wording has more than meets the eye? LG did say that the Nexus 4 supply should ought to be replenished in order to satisfy the demand of the masses sometime in the middle of next month onwards, and to hear that fresh stock is arriving to retailers, it does seem that this bit of information holds true.

Of course, a whole lot of it remains as hearsay and rumors at this point in time, so you might want to take this bit of information in with a grain of salt – or a few pinches, depending on the believability level. Nexus branded devices in the US that were affected by today’s change include the Nexus 4 16GB, Nexus 4 8GB, Nexus 10 32GB, Nexus 10 16GB and the Nexus 4 bumper.

Source : ubergizmo

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Apple releases iOS 6.1, available for download today

Apple has released the latest version of its mobile operating system, iOS 6.1, available for download today.

In a statement, the Cupertino, California-based technology giant said the new software will bring 4G long-term evolution (LTE) capabilities to 36 additional iPhone carriers and 23 additional iPad carriers around the world.

New LTE markets have been updated on Apple's Web site to include Denmark, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, and some Middle Eastern states.

Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller said in prepared remarks: "iOS 6.1 brings LTE support to more markets around the world, so even more users can enjoy ultrafast Safari browsing, FaceTime video calls, iCloud services, and iTunes and App Store downloads."

A number of security fixes have been integrated into the latest software, along with software bug fixes. One new privacy feature, ZDNet's sister site CNET reported, is an option to reset Apple's advertising "non-permanent, non-personal, device identifier."

The software is available as a free update, and notifications will be sent out to supported devices today. iOS 6.1 is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, and 5; the iPad 2, the third- and fourth-generation iPad and the iPad Mini; and the fourth- and fifth-generation iPod Touch.

By the numbers:

• More than 9 billion photos uploaded to Photo Stream
  
• 450 billion iMessages sent, and more than 4 trillion notifications received
  
• Nearly 300 million iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices on iOS 6 in five months
  
• More than 800,000 apps in the Apple App Store, with more than 300,00 native apps for the iPad
  
• 40 billion apps downloaded by iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch customers
  
• More than $7 billion paid to developers to date.
  
  Source : zdnet

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Here Is Why You Should Try ‘Mageia’ Linux Distro!

Last year in December, we had released a report of the top 10 Linux distributions and the newbie we are talking about was sitting safely on spot two!   

Monday, January 28, 2013:  The best part about Linux is that new names with better offerings keep coming up, ensuring that users never feel stuck with a single offering. This also ensures that existing distributions are constantly improved upon and newer ones are released with an edge. While Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Fedora have been ruling the charts for quite some time now, there is a newbie that is making news for all the good reasons.  

Last year in December, we had released a report of the top 10 Linux distributions and the newbie we are talking about was sitting safely on spot two! Mageia has grown much faster than any other Linux distribution in the past year. Mageia was born as a forked version of Mandriva two years back, however, it failed to garner much attention and exposure at that time. This year, parent distro Mandriva has disappeared from that list, but Mageia jumped to a coveted spot closer to the top spot.

Similar to many Linux distributions today, Mageia 2 can easily be installed via a downloadable .iso file, or previewed first via Live CD or USB.

What’s more? It features the KDE Software Compilation, which was recently updated with major improvements to KDE Plasma Workspaces, KDE Applications, and the KDE Platform. It brings along many new features and offers improved stability and performance. It also offers GNOME 3.4.

Along with the KDE desktop comes the Dolphin file manager, which is free and open source. The features include navigation bar for URLs, file content previews, an integrated terminal, and support for version control system plug-ins, reports IT World.

The distro comes with LibreOffice, which is becoming increasingly popular. The Control Center of Mageia is capable of launching a whale of system administration tools. The distro also comes bundled with apps that suit different tastes. The ones that don’t come bundled can easily be downloaded.

The developers say that the working of the distro is very much alike any proprietary software so first time users can be rest assured that they won’t have to struggle a lot with this distribution.  

Source: efytimes.com

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Apple to include 128GB model in next-generation iOS devices?

On Saturday, Apple released iOS 6.1 beta 5 to developers, giving them a chance to test the software before being released to the masses. Interestingly, a few developers noted code hinting to a 128GB model coming in Apple's product line at some point. 

First spotted by iDownloadBlog, the 128GB system partition key was found in the "iOS 6.1 BuildManifest" file, but not the in iOS 6.0 currently offered on customers' iOS devices.

While this doesn't mean that Apple will release a 128GB model positively, it does offer some solid evidence. Beta versions of iOS have hinted to future features before, including Siri Dictation for iPad and speed increases in future devices. As you can see below, there is now a 128 listing.

The iOS 6.1 software is currently available to developers a part of Apple's Developer Program that gives early access for testing purposes. While beta 5 of iOS 6.1 isn't listed as the "Golden Master" version (or version for public release), developers have noted that it is ready to roll out to the masses, possibly soon. 

A 128GB model would offer double the amount of storage currently offered by Apple. Both the latest iPhone and iPad are offered in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB variants. It's not clear if Apple would make the 32GB model the base and use 16GB only for last-generation devices.

Recent reports have pointed to Apple releasing the next-generation iPhone in July and iPad mini in October. Could a 128GB model be included?

Update: Conveniently, a new report notes that Apple is releasing a new version of the fourth-generation iPad, thought to be a 128GB version.

Would you be interested in a 128GB model?

Source: pocket-lint.com

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Samsung Galaxy S3 vs. potential Galaxy S4

When Samsung released the Galaxy S3 to the world last May (well in certain countries) the handset was greeted very favorable, so much so that in the UK several months before Christmas it was shifting more units that the iPhone 5. The smartphone continues to do very well even though a new version is due in a few months time. The release of the Galaxy S4 has certainly got us a little excited because there have been so many rumors as to what new spec upgrades we are likely to see.

While most of the rumors do seem a little far-fetched at this time, such as a flexible display there are still some rumors that could come to fruition. First up there’s the all-important screen, the current S3 has a 4.8-inch 720 x 1280 pixels display, which is compared to the rumored 5-inch Full HD 1080 x 1920 pixels screen. Running the show on the S3 is the Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 chip, whereas the S4 is expected to get the Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A15 processor. However, Samsung could also go with the 1.8GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor, which was shown off during CES earlier this month.

The Galaxy S3 currently has 1GB of RAM, but it’s believed that the S4 will be upgraded to 2GB of RAM, although the upcoming handset is expected to stick with the same storage capacity. The camera is expected to go from 8-megapixel up to 13-megapixel with Full HD video recording.

There had been rumors to suggest that the S4 would come packing Android 5.0 Key Lime, but as we know this is still a long way from completion it looks as though the latest version of 4.2 Jelly Bean will be used instead – although this could change closer to release.

Speaking of release, we recently reported that the Samsung Galaxy S4 could be announced as early as March with a release a month later. This could mean that the successor to the S3 would be released a month earlier than expected. It’s also hoped that the S4 would be released in the US at the same time as in European countries and on multiple US carriers as well. What do you think a worthy update to the successful Galaxy S3 should include?

Source: product-reviews.net

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Sure Way To Get Fired: Post ‘I Wish I Could Get Fired Some Days’ On Facebook

We've all had work days in which we wished we'd be asked to leave and never come back. Then comes the hard-hitting reality that unemployment is about as bad as it gets in the professional world.

Phoenix resident Amy McClenathan, who is still heartbroken over the loss of her mother, learned this lesson after updating her Facebook status with the confession, "I wish I could get fired some days, it would be easier to be at home than to have to go through this."

Whether you're Facebook friends with anyone from work or not, a comment of this nature never brings anything good, and McClenathan wound up losing her job.

"It was a very small sentence, but it was one of the most powerful sentences I've ever typed in my life," she said. She added that she'd posted the remark around the one-year anniversary of her mom's passing. You'd think she'd get a pass, but the woman was asked to leave the day following her Facebook status update.

On top of it all, her firing may not have even been warranted. Phoenix attorney Dan Barr told AZ Family that the woman's post could very well be protected by the law:

"If the employer reprimands you for discussing your job on Facebook, that can run afoul of the National Labor Relations Act…"If you were to post on Facebook, I work for a bunch of crooks or company X is the worst place in the world to work, that would not be protected. If you post on Facebook I was cheated out of a bonus or that I'm working too many hours and other employees respond and you get a conversation started about that, that counts."

Even so, McClenathan takes responsibility for what she wrote, and if you want to keep your job (as awful as it may seem some days), you should probably do the same.

Source : mashable

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IBM relying on more cloud services, software to accelerate social business

ORLANDO -- IBM giving its social business strategy a significant push this week through a nearly week-long conference along with the debut of several new software and cloud services products.

Announced at the start of IBM Connect 2013 on Monday morning, the latest releases from Big Blue are a direct result of its recent acquisition of HRM software provider Kenexa.

Thus, the intention for these new services are to enable businesses to integrate IBM's social networking and analytics technologies with critical business processes.

IBM is also aiming to pique the interest of other decision makers besides the CIO -- specifically CMOs and HR managers -- through an emphasis on the user experience and value.

Here's a rundown on the new services:

• IBM Employee Experience Suite: Merged with Kenexa's Applicant Tracking System for talent data insights, this software suite is targeted towards HR leaders to provide their teams with access to social networking, e-meetings, instant messaging, and multimedia (i.e. videos) -- all within a company's intranet. This solution is lined up to roll out by mid-year.

• IBM Social Media Publisher: Included within the IBM Customer Experience Suite, this new feature is designed to enable CMOs to push ad campaigns directly to multiple social networks with one click and without IT assistance.

• IBM Connections: The updates to IBM's core social business platform focus primarily on big data analytics from sources both within and outside of an organization. This means everything from internal connected platforms to Facebook. This is where the cloud might really come into play as users can now edit shared documents from virtually anywhere with added support for on-premises work and elsewhere on browsers via the cloud. This along with deeper integration for Microsoft Outlook profiles and communities will be available in March.

To recall, IBM acquired Kenexa for $1.3 billion last August to develop a "smarter workforce" through social software and services directed at business units such as customer service and HR.

See also: The Kenexa/IBM deal – The consequences for the HR solution space | IBM's Q4 solid, raises 2013 earnings outlook | IBM's Q4 highlights enterprise hardware pecking order

With Kenexa's recruiting and talent management portfolio, the merger also lined up IBM with a number of other tech giants (namely Oracle, Salesforce, and Microsoft) that acquired smaller but notable social media-focused companies in 2012.

IBM's latest announcements come at a time when the corporate world is still trying to figure out what a "social enterprise" should look like.

For example, Cowen & Co. analyst Peter Goldmacher suggested in a memo last week that the social enterprise/revolution trend isn't as much about software but really about company culture.

Based on his argument, it also seems that cloud will be more of a lasting selling tool than social.

Nevertheless, IBM still looks convinced -- or at least it's trying.

In defense or promotion of social business, IBM cited a 2011 Forrester study in the announcement that described social business as an "emerging business category," and social technologies are expected to be worth $6.4 billion by 2016.

Source : zdnet

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Red Nokia Lumia 822 Offers Valentine’s Day Gift Options

If you are a Forever Alone dude, then February 14th would most probably pass by you without anything significant happening. 

I mean, you need not worry about what kind of gift to purchase for your other half, and neither do you need to stress yourself out with the different kinds of bookings that you need to make for shows, dinner, and perhaps even a hotel room to romance your other half all the way through to the morning. Hey, if you’re cold at night, just turn up the heat or use a hot water bottle, no?

As for the rest of the world who are attached or married, Valentine’s Day could be very stressful, as you have run out of gift ideas after celebrating your 50th anniversary in 2012. Hey, maybe it is time to ditch the traditional flowers and chocolates (although those tend to be classics), and settle for the Nokia Lumia 822. This time around, the Lumia 822 from Verizon will come in a flashy red color, instead of its boring white, black, and grey shades. It is now available for free from Verizon with a two-year contract, now how about that for a steal?

Source : ubergizmo

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Facebook Cuts Down Twitter's Vine

Facebook has blocked Twitter’s new Vine app from being able to find your Facebook friends on the service.

The app launched this morning, and previously offered users a way to see which of their Twitter and Facebook friends were also using the service, in addition to contacts stored in their phone.

A request to search for Facebook friends on Vine now yields a pop-up message indicating that the app is not authorized to make the Facebook request. The dialog box was first spotted by a Verge reader.

A Twitter spokesperson told Mashable the company didn’t have anything to share beyond that notification. We've reached out to Facebook for comment.

We're also currently unable to share videos from Vine on Facebook. While we did not receive an error message to this effect, videos shared from the app have still not appeared on our timeline.

Vine has been experiencing considerable delays posting to social networks — including Twitter — so its possible that videos are just severely delayed rather than disabled.

In July, Twitter did a similar thing to Facebook's Instagram, blocking the service from using its API to find friends on the service. In December, Instagram retaliated, removing support for Twitter cards.

Is this another sign of war between Twitter and Facebook? Give us your take in the comments.

Source : mashable

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Microsoft Surface Pro features touted by Microsoft

Earlier this week we talked about the gaming performance capability that the Microsoft Surface Pro has, considering it is equipped with integrated graphics via an Intel HD 4000 chipset. The jury is still out on that topic, but after Microsoft finally confirmed a solid release date for the upgraded tablet, the company has now released a promo video explaining some of the other features on offer.

We think they have their work cut out as well, as it certainly isn’t a cheap upgrade at $1000 if you opt for the $128GB version especially when Microsoft are not including any of the key touch or type pad accessories. With that said though, it’s still a lovely tablet and is now likely to go head to head with the recently announced Sony Xperia Z Tablet that is also geared towards premium consumers.

Microsoft has released an official Surface promo, giving you a brief look at some of the features available. You may not be aware, but Surface Pro also offers touch input via Pen and we’re glad to see that there is a Surface Pen included with the Pro purchase. There’s also a glimpse at how you can view media in 1080p resolution and transfer your display straight to the TV for large screen viewing.

You can also access full Windows 8 desktop mode with the press of a button, letting you switch between the two different UIs depending on what tasks you are you looking to perform. Unlike the Surface with Windows RT, the Surface Pro comes with full Windows support so you’ll be able to run any application that you normally would with a PC.

Take a look and let us know your thoughts on the upgraded Surface tablet. Is it worth $899-1000 in your opinion or is it simply too expensive for you at the moment?

Source: product-reviews.net

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Scientists Discover Method to Store Data on DNA

Storage density achieved results in single gram of DNA being able to hold nearly half a million DVDs of data.

Scientists have developed a method to store data on DNA and expects it to become an adequate alternative to hard discs within a decade.

Researches from the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) have successfully created a way to store data in DNA-centric strands. MP3s, PDFs, text files and photos can now be stored in the form DNA and doesn't require any power. They believe the data stored should last for tens of thousands of years.

"We already know that DNA is a robust way to store information because we can extract it from wooly mammoth bones, which date back tens of thousands of years, and make sense of it," said Nick Goldman of EMBL-EBI. "It's also incredibly small, dense and does not need any power for storage, so shipping and keeping it is easy."

At the storage density achieved, a single gram of DNA is able to hold 2.2 million gigabits of information, which is around 468,000 DVDs. The researchers also added an error correction scheme, as well as encoding the information a number of times in order to ensure that data is read back with 100% accuracy.

The technology is currently unable to launch as combining DNA from encoded information is a considerably intensive and expensive operation. That said, the researchers estimate that the price will decrease enough to become palpable in the coming years.

Source: tomshardware.com

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Never mind iPhone 6 and iPads next, in 2013 it's all about iOS 7 and iCloud

There'll be an iPhone 5S and iPhone 6. There'll be a Retina iPad mini. There'll be a thinner, lighter iPad 5. There'll be an Apple A7 system-on-a-chip. There'll be an LTE radio that can do simultaneous voice and data, and eventually voice over LTE. There may be curved displays, biometric sensors and security, 4K AirPlay, onboard voice parsing, in-air gesture and face recognition, and much, much more. Apple's hardware will continue to tick tock its way towards the future, but for mainstream users, most of the time, the devices we hold in our hands today are more than good enough. And it's the stuff inside and around them that's become far, far more important.

iOS 6 was prep work, a way for Apple to get Google off their platform, fully outsource social, and better approach China. It prepared Apple for the future, but it didn't take them there.

Likewise, iOS 5 introduced iCloud and Siri, but to this day Apple's online services are still unreliable, with the potential of tomorrow but mired in the problems of yesterday.

When BlackBerry 10 launches at the end of this month, iOS will become the oldest major operation system in mobile. Windows Phone still hasn't found feature parity or market traction, but Microsoft can throw Windows and Office money at it in perpetuity, and their phone division is perhaps the only part of the company that has shown any real, transformative forward thinking. They'll get there.

Android still hasn't caught up on interface or overall experience, but their feature set has leap-frogged ahead, and Samsung is now interesting and competitive all on their own. Then there's Amazon, Facebook, Intel, NVIDIA, and who knows what else 2013 will bring.

All of them will throw more and more varied hardware, more often, at the market than Apple. But it's not Samsung's or LG's or HTC's or Nokia's or BlackBerry's hardware that Apple will face in the market. It's Google Now and BlackBerry Balance and whatever Facebook does with their social graph, and SDKs that let developers create compelling apps to leverage them.

It's not about outdated concepts like widgets or settings toggles, or inconsequential interface trends like skeuomorphism. it's about software and services that don't force us to hunt for data or controls, no matter how they're painted up, but that bring data and controls to us, flat or textured. It's about actionable notifications powered by headless apps and seamless inter-app communication. It's about predictive data assistance with multi-layer natural language interfaces. It's about data moving from cloud to device, or vice versa, transparently, in the background, so we have what we need, when and where we need it, without having to manage or store it. It's about all our stuff working together directly, device to device, so using one of them is akin to using any one of them. It's about an app ecosystem that pushes rather than than waits for us to pull, with demos and refunds, and analytics that delight developers and users alike. It's about the brilliant interaction of software and services both on-device and in the clouds.

Over the coming weeks and months, we're going to be seeing a ton of rumors and leaks, real and fake, about the new iPhones and iPads and other devices Apple is thinking about for this spring and fall. None of them will be as important to Apple, to us, or to the future of Apple's mobile platforms as iOS 7 and iCloud this summer.

Source: imore.com

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Microsoft Posts Record Revenue of $21.5 Billion in December Quarter

t looks like Microsoft had a decent end to 2012.

Microsoft reported earnings-per-share of $0.76 on revenue of $21.46 billion in the December quarter, beating EPS estimates by a penny but coming in just shy of Wall Street's consensus estimate for revenue of $21.6 billion. Nonetheless, Microsoft's revenue for the quarter set a new high.

The Windows division of the company had a particularly strong quarter, generating $5.88 billion in revenue, a 24% increase from the same period a year before. Even when you factor in deferred revenue from Windows upgrade offers, Windows revenue was still up 11% year-over-year.

"Our big, bold ambition to reimagine Windows as well as launch Surface and Windows Phone 8 has sparked growing enthusiasm with our customers and unprecedented opportunity and creativity with our partners and developers," Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement. "With new Windows devices, including Surface Pro, and the new Office on the horizon, we’ll continue to drive excitement for the Windows ecosystem and deliver our software through devices and services people love and businesses need."

Microsoft did not break out sales figures for its new Windows 8 products, other than to restate that it has sold more than 60 million Windows 8 licenses to date.

Microsoft's stock was up down by about 1% in after hours trading following the earnings report.

Source : mashable

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My next notebook: 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display

It will soon be time to retire my Dell XPS 13 notebook. The machine has been a solid workhorse but it is now almost four years old and out of warranty, so it's living on borrowed time. That means it is time to choose a new portable system.

After a lot of careful consideration, I've chosen my next system: the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display.

So, why have I decided to pick up an OS X system when I could have picked up a comparable Windows system for less money?

Here's why.

• Reliability: While I've had good service from my Dell XPS 13, the machine has been repaired more times than I can remember. This mirrors my experience with other Windows notebooks from a variety of OEMs. While I'm not suggesting that Apple hardware is infallible -- it's not -- the overall build quality of Apple's hardware is much better. On top of that, AppleCare warranty offers a no-nonsense protection plan. It's not cheap, but it's good.
  
• Retina display: The MacBook Pro's Retina display is so easy on the eye that it's hard to ignore. Packing 2880 x 1800 pixels into a screen that's only 15.4-inches across is a technological marvel, and once you use one, it's hard to go back to a non-Retina display.
  
• iCloud: I'm finding myself making increasing use of iCloud services, especially iMessage and FaceTime. That's what having an iPhone and an iPad does. They can be a gateway drug to other, more expensive things.
  
• The MacBook Pro offers what I want: Everything I want from a notebook is right there. It's small and light, has the hardware specification I want.
  
• OS X: Like it or hate it. OS X has a growing presence. I'm increasingly covering OS X related news, and the fixed nature of the Mac mini just isn't cutting it any more.
  
• Macs still run Windows: Macs can run Windows, and run the operating system very well as a matter of fact. There are some gaps in the coverage, but this is a portable system so I can work around them for now.
  
• My desktop system is still Windows: I'm not abandoning Windows. Even if I wanted to -- which I don't -- I couldn't.

My MacBook Pro lands in a few days -- I chose an upgraded processor which added a few days to the delivery time -- so I'll soon find out whether this was a good move, or a bad decision.

Source : zdnet

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How to Install I9100XWLS8 Official Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Upgrade on Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100

The long awaited official Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update on Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 is currently hitting in Spain, other countries might also follow soon. But for those advance users who couldn’t wait much longer and wants to upgrade their devices right now can manually install the original I9100XWLS8 stock ROM. This method has been also useful for those devices that is now rooted or installed with custom firmware and wants to restore back to Samsung’s official firmware. Just follow this simple steps and your device will get updated to official Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean in no time.

Disclaimer: This guide is for advance users only, if this your first time heard about this method, make a careful research first before proceeding. We shall not be held responsible if anything happens to your device by using this guide. Proceed at your own risk!

How to manually upgrade or install the I9100XWLS8 Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean on Samsung Galaxy S2

Note: This stock firmware is compatible for all Europe unbranded or unlocked Samsung Galaxy S II with the specification model number  “GT-I9100″ versions only.

Step 1: Grab the relevant files for flashing I9100XWLS8
- Odin3_v3.07 Flasher tool Download link
- Samsung Galaxy S2 USB driver, Download link
- Original I9100XWLS8 Stock ROM Download link


Step 2: Prepare things  as follows:
- Use a PC or laptop that runs in Windows OS, with a good and perfectly working USB serial port.
- Use the USB cable wire for your Galaxy S2.
- Make sure that your galaxy S2 battery is fully charge.
- Back up all important files stored from your phone’s internal memory – contacts, messages, etc.
- Remember or back up the APN settings of your device.
- Enable USB debugging from your phone’s settings. Go to Settings > Applications > Development, and tick the box that says ‘Enable USB Debugging’.
- Do a “Hard Reset” if you have a lot of 3rd party applications installed from your phone, this is useful to gain a smooth flashing. (Just make sure that you already back up all your important files before resetting your device.


Step 3: Extract or unzip the downloaded stock firmware so that you’ll get the Odin flashable .tar.md5 file. Use Winzip, winrar, 7zip or any extracting tool you had in your computer.


 

Step 4: Run and Configure Odin
Run Odin downloader on your PC desktop. Watch out the check-boxes options on the right top of Odin, ensure that the ‘RE-PARTITION’ is unchecked. Leave the ‘AUTO-REBOOT and ‘F.RESET TIME’  remains checked.

Now, click on the PDA button, then select and load the “I9100XWLS8_I9100XXLS8_I9100FOPLS3_HOME.tar.md5″ that you have previously extracted.

Odin sample:



Step 5: Reboot the Galaxy S2 into Download Mode.
To put your galaxy S2 in download mode, just simply switch it off then gently press and hold the “POWER, VOLUME DOWN and HOME” buttons simultaneously. You’ll be then prompted in a warning screen to continue or cancel.




Step 6: Connect the Phone to the Computer or Laptop
Once the phone screen shows in downloading mode, connect your phone to the PC with the USB cable. You’ll then notice the upper box in Odin that turns in yellow color., it also indicates the COM:ID where the device is being detected and a word “added!!’ on the log box. If somehow those things never showed up, check out the USB cable connection, read again from the top of this post.
 

Step 7: Flash it!
Once all set and ready, hit he “START” button to begin flashing.

Do not touch anything that might interrupt the process to avoid any fatal errors or failures, it may ruin your device if any interruption occurs while already in flashing status.

It may only takes about 3 to 5 minutes, depends of your PC/laptop speeds. A word “PASS” will display in Odin once it finishes. If somehow you will not get the word “PASS” or just stuck in along time. Disconnect the phone, remove battery, re-insert it, check the USB connection, re-install the driver, disable Kies and any anti-virus. Set the phone in Download mode again, and repeat the whole procedure.

The phone will just automatically reboots if the firmware flashing successfully completes. Just wait until it boots up on the “S” logo for a while then into an android update screen. If it still shows boot logo try rebooting and if it stays there, you need to wipe your phone.

Fixing possible issues after flashing like bootloops or just stuck in welcome screen logo

Boot in recovery mode – Press and hold Volume Up, Home and Power button. Use volume keys to select up and down and power or home key to select the option.

1. Select Wipe Data/Factory Reset
2. Next select the Wipe Cache Partition
3. Lastly select Reboot System Now to reboot your Galaxy S2 in Normal mode.

Confirm your fresh firmware installed by typing *#1234# or
Go to Settings>About Phone>Firmware info.
 
Check and reconfigure your APN settings when data networks connection issues encountered.

 

Change the default text to your own or desired language

The default language of this firmware is Spanish – (Spanol), for this is Spain specific software build, but it has all major languages around the world included. You can just simply change it from your device text settings.

All Included languages:

• Catala
• Cestina
• Dansk
• Deutsch (Deutschland)
• Deutsch (Osterreich)
• Deutsch (Schweiz)
• Eesti
• English (Australia)
• English (New Zealand)
• English (United Kingdom)
• English (United States)
• Espanol (Spania)
• Espanol (Estados Unidos)
• Euskara
• Francais (Belgique)
• Francais (France)
• Galego
• Hrvatski
• Icelandic
• Italiano
• Kazakh
• Latviesu
• Lietuviu
• Macedonian
• Magyar
• Nederlands (Belgie)
• Nederlands (Nederland)
• Norsk bokmal
• Polski
• Portugues (Brasil)
• Portugues (Portugal)
• Romana
• Slovincina
• Slovescina
• Srpski
• Suomi
• Svenska
• Turkce
• Uzbek
• Russian
• Chinese
• Korean
• Japanese
• others which I can’t read

That’s it! If this helps you then simply share us some love by hitting our like and share buttons. If you also have something to add, your comments and suggestions are most welcome here.

Source: androidromupdate.com

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