Monday, October 17, 2016

Mi Note 2: Forget ultra-thin bezels, Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship may not have any

Mi Note 2: Forget ultra-thin bezels, Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship may not have any

Image: Xiaomi Today (via Weibo)
By 
Xiaomi’s Mi Note 2 has been surfacing in images time and again. This time around we have two new images that showcase a smartphone with literally no bezels at the top end. While the leaker pegs it as the Mi Note 2, it does look like a prototype, this is because we have already seen plenty of images of what we think is the Mi Note 2 with dual cameras at the back.
The two images that have surfaced online (on Weibo) were reported by Xiaomi Today and show just the top end of what is said to be a phablet device. The image reveals just a frame that wraps around the edges of a functional display running Xiaomi’s software on it. There’s no speaker (receiver), sensors not a front facing camera at the top. While this still a leaked image, it could be a prototype device of designs to come from the Chinese smartphone maker.
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 leaked Weibo top
Image: Xiaomi Today (via Weibo)
While the bezel-less design does look jaw-dropping, Sharp pulled off something similar with its Aquos Crystal 2 where-in the speaker was hidden and the camera and sensors were placed at the bottom bezel. The design looked impressive, but Sharp did not sell these handsets globally. Moreover, while it certainly looked breathtaking, the

Amazon Global Store with limited catalogue is useless in its current state

Amazon Global Store with limited catalogue is useless in its current state

Image Credits: REUTERS
By 
Amazon India recently launched “Amazon Global Store” in India after China and Mexico. Amazon global store allows the users to buy products that are not available in India and are available on Amazon in other countries.
Global Store streamlines the process of purchasing goods through proper channels instead of relying on traditional methods as relatives or friends living in the country or passengers that are visiting the country to buy the goods and carry them on their way back.
Amazon Global Store
Amazon Global Store
Issues with workarounds
Even though such methods work without any issue and are considered most reliable for people to procure the goods, there are a lot of limitations that come with such workarounds. These restrictions included the limit on the number of products that you can ask your relatives or passengers to get with them without raising any red flags with the customs department. Global Store provides a legitimate way for users to frequently buy things available on Amazon store outside India, without relying on

The top AAA game franchises that found success on mobile

The top AAA game franchises that found success on mobile

By Deepak Kumar
When the biggest game developers noticed that the smartphone market was slowly eating into their revenues, they knew it was time for them to dabble in an ecosystem they never really expected to enter. While most released obligatory games for the mobile, others worked hard to bring masterpieces we will never forget. With Nintendo’s Mario hitting smartphones next year, we bring you a list of the top AAA game franchises that did (and are still doing) well on your touchscreen.
Hitman Series
How do you successfully penetrate into the smartphone gaming market if you are a stealth game? Its pretty simple. Do what Metal Gear Solid did when it tried to step into the PSP market! Launch a stealth centric turn-based strategy.
hitman-go
Hitman Go
A title very similar to Metal Gear Acid, Hitman Go lets players control Agent 47 in a board game, trying to inch closer towards his targets grid-by-grid avoiding enemies to eliminate them.
This game turned out to not only be a resurgence for the franchise, but an entry of all the Eidos titles into mobile. Today the Go series has become a popular Eidos property with

Diwali 2016: Asus ‘Incredible Diwali’ offers on Zenfone 3, laptops starting on 18 October

Diwali 2016: Asus ‘Incredible Diwali’ offers on Zenfone 3, laptops starting on 18 October

By 
Brands are trying to put their best foot forward with deals and offers during the festive season. Next in line is Asus with its ‘Incredible Diwali’ sale or rather offers that start tomorrow.
Asus Zenfone 3 review (15)
However, Asus isn’t putting up a slew of devices on discount, rather offering users a chance to win its acclaimed Zenfone 3. So, those who buy the Asus Zenfone 3 ZE520KL and ZE552KL get the chance to win 100 percent cashback, provided it is bought from authorised partners. So, users will basically get the device for free, and also stand the chance to win the Asus ZenPower.
The Asus Zenfone 3 comes with a 5.5-inch FullHD display and houses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 chipset which is paired with 4GB of RAM. It is priced at Rs 27,999. Read our in-depth review of the Zenfone 3.
Similarly, it is offering free gifts worth Rs 11,000 by paying a nominal charge for those buying its notebooks. In addition, free EMI offers will be available for all its Core series products. This offer is valid for laptops In the gaming section, its Republic of Gamers series will let users stand a chance to win gifts that are worth Rs 10,600, including Microsoft XBox One controller.
But for all of this, Asus wants users to register on its new microsite especially built for the Zenfone offer season. You can head here to find out more about its Diwali sale.

Yahoo not to hold Q3 earnings call or webcast

Yahoo not to hold Q3 earnings call or webcast

Image: Reuters
Yahoo Inc said on Friday that it would not hold a call or webcast when it reports third-quarter results on Tuesday, citing its pending $4.83 billion deal with Verizon Communications Inc.
Last month, Yahoo disclosed a massive data breach in 2014 that affected at least 500 million of its email accounts.
Verizon soon called it a ‘material event’, which essentially means the company wouldn’t have offered the amount it did, had it known about the data breach earlier. It may also have probably not bid for Yahoo at all. And, this makes it even worse for Yahoo.
According to Cnet, a Verizon spokesman had said “material” finding kills the acquisition, said “the statement stands on its own. Nothing more.” This clearly hints at a possibility of Verizon changing its mind. If this happens, the company may just lose its chance of getting whatever asking price it still can, or simply struggle finding a new buyer. In worse case, there are chances that Verizon may renegotiate the price, and experts believe that Yahoo may have no other choice either.
Verizon reports results on October 20. Companies that are being acquired do not typically hold earnings calls with analysts.
With input from Reuters

Chemical companies like Honeywell working on making cooling systems climate-friendly

Chemical companies like Honeywell working on making cooling systems climate-friendly

Image credit: REUTERS
U.S. chemical companies including Honeywell and Chemours Co are ramping up efforts to produce alternative coolants used in air-conditioners and refrigerators, following a global pact to reduce planet-warming greenhouse house gas emissions. On Saturday, some 150 nations struck a global agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, on ways to phase down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases, which are currently used in air-cooling systems and refrigerators, and help curb the release of climate-warming emissions.
The accord is an amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which was aimed at stopping the depletion of the ozone layer. As part of a larger goal to globally reduce HFCs by 80 percent by 2047, signatories such as U.S., India and China have agreed to phase out the pollutants from cooling appliances starting 2019.
The agreement is a boon for chemical and equipment makers as it gives them “clarity and certainty” and will help speed up development and testing of HFC alternatives, which are already underway, Kevin Fay, executive director of the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy, a trade group that represents chemical and equipment manufacturers, said.
Honeywell began developing HFC alternatives as far back as 2000 and has invested $500 million to date, a company spokesman said. The company has committed $900 million in total. The Morris Plains, New Jersey-based company has already begun producing HFC substitutes used for foam insulation, aerosols, commercial refrigerants, and chiller applications at two plants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
It has manufacturing partnerships with local producers in India, Japan and China to produce an alternative refrigerant used in automobile air conditioners called HFO-1234yf. Honeywell is in the process of starting up 1234yf production at the Indian plant and its facility in Geismar, Louisiana, will roll out a commercial product in early 2017, the spokesman added.
Chemours, which was spun off from DuPont Co in 2015, said in May it will invest “millions of dollars” to set up a new plant to produce the 1234-yf auto refrigerant substitute in Corpus Christi, Texas. A spokesman for Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc., said the company is working on developing HFC alternatives but declined to provide details.
Equipment manufacturers will switch to making systems with alternative coolants as chemical makers produce new HFC substitutes, Francis Dietz, VP of public affairs at trade group Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute. “It’s not a big shock to the system, it’s phased in a little at a time,” Dietz said. As per the agreement, developed countries such as the United States have to move first to reduce HFCs, followed by developing nations who have been given a longer timeline and aid to meet the accord’s climate-friendly goal.
As companies in developed countries will have to scale up production of HFC alternatives and new cooling systems, any increase in costs to consumers will eventually come down, Durwood Zaelke, president of Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, a sustainable development research and advocacy group. “If you buy an AC, you use it for the average life of 10 years. Most of the cost is the electricity, the refrigerant is about one percent of the life cycle cost (of the AC).”
Reuters

Porn tops search list at Patna railway station’s free Google RailTel Wi-Fi service

Porn tops search list at Patna railway station’s free Google RailTel Wi-Fi service

Commuters wait on the platform as a train passes by at a suburban railway station in Mumbai October 11, 2011. According to the Western Railway. REUTERS
The Patna railway station tops the chart in terms of internet search using free Wi-Fi service, but mostly to view porn, an official said on Monday.
More than any other railway station in the country, where free Wi-Fi service was launched, Patna goes for most internet search, particularly for porn, said an official of RailTel, a public sector undertaking.
Jaipur station comes second to use internet search, followed by Bengaluru and New Delhi.
Patna station is the first station in Bihar to have free Wi-Fi facility. More than 200 trains pass through it daily.
According to RailTel officials, people in Patna station use free Wi-Fi to search Youtube followed by Wikipedia. “More than anything, porn sites have been watched and downloaded at the station.”
Some people use free Wi-Fi to download apps and Bollywood and Hollywood films.
At present, RailTel is providing 1 gigabyte Wi-Fi at the Patna station but plans are to increase to 10 gigabytes due to slow speed of internet in view of more use.
Free Wi-Fi service was launched last month at Patna.
To date free Wi-Fi facility has been launched at 23 railway stations in the country.
The government has said the facility will be introduced at all major railway stations over the next three years.
The service has been provided under ‘Railwire’, the retail broadband distribution model of RailTel.
IANS

Moto Z and Moto Z Play along with Moto Mods go on sale at 11:59PM tonight

Moto Z and Moto Z Play along with Moto Mods go on sale at 11:59PM tonight

By 
Lenovo will start selling the newly announced Moto Z range along with the new Moto Mods in India today. The smartphones and the Mods were announced just a couple of weeks back in the country. The Moto Z and Moto Z Play are priced at Rs 39,999 and Rs 24,999 respectively and will be available from Flipkart and Amazon tonight at 11:59PM.
The Moto Mods will also be available, which include the JBL Soundboost speaker (Rs 6,999), Incipio offGRID battery pack (Rs 5,999), Insta-share projector (Rs 19,999) and the good-looking Hasselblad True Zoom camera module (Rs 19,999).
When bundled with a smartphone purchase, the Moto Mods will be available at a reduced price as follows: JBL Soundboost speaker (Rs 5,999), Incipio offGRID battery pack (Rs 4,999), Insta-share projector (Rs 15,999) and Hasselblad True Zoom camera module (Rs 14,999).
moto-z-play-4
Buyers can also go in for the Style Shells with the Wood and Ballistic nylon shell priced at Rs 1,099 (Rs 899 bundled) or the leather shell at Rs 1,599 (Rs 1,299 bundled)
moto-mods
As for the phones, the Moto Z features is slim design with a 5.1mm thickness and is made with aircraft-grade aluminium and stainless steel. It feels really sleek but very sturdy. There’s a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display on the front and on the inside there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset paired with 4GB RAM and

Samsung starts 10nm SoC production, speculated to come on Galaxy S8

Samsung starts 10nm SoC production, speculated to come on Galaxy S8

By 
Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Monday its system chips business has started mass production of semiconductors using 10 nanometer technology, adding it was the first company in the industry to do so.
Samsung said in a statement a tech product launching early next year will use chips made with its 10-nanometre production technology without specifying the device.
South Korea’s Electronic Times reported this month that Samsung will be the sole contract manufacturer of Qualcomm Inc’s high-end Snapdragon 830 chips using 10-nanometre production technology and these processors will be used in half of Samsung’s next Galaxy S smartphones expected to launch in early 2017.
“The industry’s first mass production of 10nm FinFET technology demonstrates our leadership in advanced process technology,” said Jong Shik Yoon, executive vice president, Head of Foundry Business at Samsung Electronics.
According to Samsung, the 10nm FinFET process uses advanced 3D transistor structure and allows a 30 percent increase in area efficiency and 27 percent increase in performance. There’s also a 40 percent lower power consumption said Samsung. “We will continue our efforts to innovate scaling technologies and provide differentiated total solutions to our customers.”
SoCs with 10nm process technology will be used in digital devices launching early next year and are expected to become more widely available throughout 2017.
With inputs from Reuters

Diwali 2016: Here are some not-so-common but interesting gifts you can get this festive season

Diwali 2016: Here are some not-so-common but interesting gifts you can get this festive season

Image: Rushil Fernandes
By 
While it’s true that gifts come in all shapes and sizes (as well as in the form of intangible objects, and donations made in your name to charitable organisations), it’s easier to find something for someone when you understand the intended gift recipient. It’s even easier when you’re told exactly what to buy for someone. But if emotionally disconnected gifting (which is arguably one of the best ways to gift, of course) isn’t your thing, at least let us attempt to make you aware of things you probably didn’t know existed as gifting possibilities. A word of warning, though: most of this stuff will need to be plugged in somewhere.
Logitech Bluetooth Audio Receiver
Starting off with something on the wrong side of the “not so obvious” category is this nifty little piece of hardware from Logitech. While it’s true that everyone including Raju’s aunt has a stylish, cylindrical Bluetooth speaker these days, there are some of us (including yours truly), who simply forgot to invest in such advanced technology. The Logitech Bluetooth Audio Receiver is the perfect alternative.
Logitech Bluetooth Audio Receiver
Priced at a reasonable Rs 1,499 on Amazon India, this compact audio receiver unit plugs into any speaker system via Red-and-White RCA or 3.5mm cables. Multi-device Bluetooth pairing is another feature—easily stream audio from your

The future of enterprise technology is in the cloud

The future of enterprise technology is in the cloud

By Muqbil Ahmar
With the boom in startups and the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) increasing exponentially, it’s time businesses start leveraging new-age technology. According to a recent report by Nasscom, the number of start-ups in India is the fourth highest in the world, at more than 3,100 start-ups. The report also predicts that the number is set to increase to 11,500 by 2020. However, start-ups have their own problems; more than 85 percent fall by the wayside. The government’s Digital India campaign is aimed at automating business processes, among other things so that running a business becomes simpler.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is one such tool that promises to remove the headache of enterprises as far as all the different operations are concerned since all the accounting, inventory tracking, record keeping and invoicing are tedious tasks. ERP allows an enterprise to use a system of integrated and interlinked applications to manage business operations and automate several back office functions. The software integrates all operations of a business including product planning, development, manufacturing, sales and marketing—and all in a single database, application and user interface. Thus, removing the hassle from the everyday running of a business and increasing their operational efficiency. From Financials, Inventory and Customer Service to Payroll, Recruitment and Projects, the ERP can take care of all aspects in the lifecycle of a large, small or medium enterprise.
Trends and Predictions in ERP
According to a report by Gartner, a global research firm, by 2018, at least 25 percent of new core financial application deployments in large enterprises will be public Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). Similarly, according to a survey conducted by Deskera, a cloud-based ERP provider in the South East Asia region, 67 percent SMEs think that problems of inventory management and invoicing can be tackled more efficiently with the help of an ERP. With rapid spread in the Internet and Cloud services coming within the reach of small enterprises, Software as a Service (SaaS) ERP will become increasingly cost-effective and easier to deploy, helping SMEs catch up with their bigger counterparts. Modern technologies such as ERP will no longer remain the bastion of big corporate; they will be accessible to most. Gartner has further predicted that, by 2018, at least 30 percent of service-centric companies will move the majority of their ERP applications to the Cloud.
“Longer term, over the next 10 years and more, we envision a scenario where more of the market ‘flips’ to the cloud. Instead of having on-premises core solutions that are complemented by innovation or differentiating processes being supported in the cloud, some organisations will move all their ERP functionality to the cloud,” said Nigel Rayner, research vice president at Gartner.
Get the ERP edge over your competitors
In this age of stiff competition and profit maximisation, the use of this software can give you an edge over your competitors. Additionally, businesses these days—particularly, the small and medium ones—have a lot of factors to contend with and that too on several fronts: disruptive technologies, changes in regulatory environment and consumer demands and competition from unforeseen quarters. Much of this change stems from the

China sends two astronauts on a month long space mission

China sends two astronauts on a month long space mission

Image Credit: REUTERS
China launched its longest manned space mission on Monday, sending two astronauts into orbit to spend a month aboard a space laboratory that is part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. The Shenzhou 11 blasted off on a Long March rocket at 7:30 am (2330 GMT) from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert, in images carried live on state television.
The astronauts will dock with the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, or “Heavenly Palace 2”, which was sent into space last month. It will be the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts, state media reported. Early on Monday, Fan Changlong, a vice chairman of China’s powerful Central Military Commission, met astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong and wished them well, state news agency Xinhua reported.
“You are going to travel in space to pursue the space dream of the Chinese nation,” Fan said. “With all the scientific and rigorous training, discreet preparation, and rich experience accumulated from previous missions, you will accomplish the glorious and tough task… We wish you success and look forward to your triumphant return.”
Shenzhou 11 is the third space voyage for Jing, who will command the mission and celebrate his 50th birthday in orbit. In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with a space laboratory, the Tiangong 1. Advancing China’s space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power.
China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes. Shenzhou 11, whose name translates as “Divine Vessel”, will also carry three experiments designed by Hong Kong middle school students and selected in a science competition, including one that will take silk worms into space. The U.S. Defense Department has highlighted China’s increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed at preventing other nations using space-based assets in a crisis.
China has been working to develop its space program for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia. China’s Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon suffered severe technical difficulties.
The rover and the Chang’e 3 probe that carried it there were the first “soft landing” on the moon since 1976. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had accomplished the feat earlier. China will launch a “core module” for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.
Reuters

Facebook is not making all your posts public, so everybody relax

Facebook is not making all your posts public, so everybody relax

Image Credit: Reuters
By 
A copy paste campaign on Facebook has people posting a legal notice to prevent Facebook from making all their data publicly available. This is a hoax, and Facebook has reassured users that their data is private, owned by them, and they have control over who can access it. Even if Facebook were to make your data public, posting a legal notice in your timeline is not an effective counter measure against Facebook using your data in any such way. Snopes, a fact checking site that monitors rumours has an extensive page with details on this long lived hoax.
fb-hoax
Facebook has put up a post in the FBfacts section of its site that clearly informs users thatusers are in control of the content they post on Facebook. Facebook has requested users not to believe the information in the copy and paste legal notice. Users can download and check all the information that Facebook holds about them, on their own. Users can track the information and connections being monitored by Facebook in the Activity Log, which is a list of all your posts and activity.
This round of rumours are circulating close on the heels of Facebook agreeing to sign a controversial treaty that allows Facebook to store information obtained from EU citizens on servers elsewhere. Some rumours and hoaxes keep circulating in waves and refuse to die. This particular hoax has been around for over four years.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...