Goa students to get tablets, notebooks for Rs 25

Students in Goa can now get a tablet PC or a notebook for just Rs 25. The digital largesse is a part of the Goa government education department's initiative to familiarise Class V and VII students with computers in order to "prepare them for the life ahead and get them curious about the e-systems", according to additional director education Anil Powar. "General category students will have to pay only Rs.25 while SC and ST students will have to pay Rs.10 to register for the scheme," Powar told reporters here Tuesday. The official said that the state government was making arrangements for purchasing nearly 50,000 notebooks and tablet PCs...

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More top universities to offer free online courses

More top universities outside the United States are joining the rush to offer "massive open online courses" that are broadening access to higher education. Coursera and edX, two leading providers of so-called MOOCs, announced major expansions that will roughly double the number of university partners offering free online classes through their websites. Mountain View, California-based Coursera said it will add 29 institutions, including 16 outside the US Over the next several months, they will offer about 90 new courses, including some taught in French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese. "Having courses taught in other languages will enable more...

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Internet rates may go up

Industry body ISPAI said that rates of internet and broadband services may go up under new licenses framework due to high entry fee proposed by Department of Telecommunications (DoT). DoT has proposed to charge one-time entry of Rs 15 crore for a national level Unified Licence compared to Rs 30 lakh which companies pay for internet services at present. "DoT has not done anything new as per the proposed format for Unified Licence regime. They are going ahead with option to continue the old licence format along with a new national level Unified Licence (UL) that will cost Rs 15 crore. "If internet service providers opt for UL, then cost...

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Facebook says it was hacked

Facebook said on Friday it had been the target of an unidentified hacker group, but it found no evidence that user data was compromised. "Last month, Facebook security discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack," the company said in a blog post posted on Friday afternoon, just before the three-day Presidents Day weekend. "The attack occurred when a handful of employees visited a mobile developer website that was compromised." The social network, which says it has more than one billion active users worldwide, also said: "Facebook was not alone in this attack. It is clear that others were attacked and infiltrated...

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Now, charge your phone with coffee and beer

A new device that can charge your mobile phone with a hot cup of coffee or a cold beer mug has been developed by a US company. The company claims that the two-sided Epiphany onE Puck converts the warmth of your hot cocoa or iced beverage into power for your phone. The lightweight device is portable enough to store in your purse or day bag for emergencies. The device uses a Stirling engine powered solely by heat disparities to generate the electricity to keep your phone up and running, Gizmag reported. Stirling engines were actually invented in 1816 as a rival to the steam engine, but its use was limited to low-power applications for a...

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7 tips avoid Facebook hack

People who do have little or no time to maintain Facebook profiles, can do seven things to at least minimize the damage when their account gets hacked, a report has said. Firstly, change your name. If you tweak your name just a little, or use a nickname, it will be easier for you after the inevitable hack. Opening more than one account can also help. It violates Facebook's terms of service, but 80 million accounts already do it, says privacy expert John Sileo. Secondly, stop geotagging your photos. Geotagging includes the latitude and longitude where a picture was taken, the Huff Post reports. Thirdly, lie about your age as it is a key...

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