Whatsapp Voice Calling Feature: How to Activate it on Android?

In competition with Viber, Skype and other apps, Whatsapp has added voice calling feature recently. The company rolled out the feature gradually to the Android users and now it is available for all. And if you have another platform like iOS, probably, you have to wait for some time, as they are already in beta version.

Initially, a Reddit userpradnesh07, even got the feature activated on his phone. According to the images posted, users who receive the voice-calling feature will notice an icon for it, beside the Chats and Contacts tabs.

So if you feel left behind, don't worry, we have jotted down the steps for you, on how to get the Whatsapp calling feature on your smartphone. So here it is:

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Step 1: First of all, update your Whatsapp via Playstore to version 2.12.5 or above, otherwise if you don't get the update you ca n download the 2.12.7 from here. Then install it.

Step 2: After updating, tell one of your friends, who has the Whatsapp calling feature to call you.

Step 3: You have to receive the call, wait for few seconds, and disconnect it. [Note: Giving missed call wont work]

Step 4: Once the call is disconnected, you will get to see a new tab "calls" in the Whatsapp on your phone.

Now you are Whatsapp Voice calling feature activated customer. WhatsApp Messenger is an instant messaging app for smartphones, which is send to send images, video, and audio media messages. This application is available in all the platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry etc.

Indeed, WhatsApp is the mostly used popular messaging app with more than 600 million active users, with India alone boasting a user base of more than 70 million. According to the company report, this app has surpassed 700 million users, during Jan 2015.

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Government plans free Wi-Fi in 2,500 cities, towns in mega internet push

NEW DELHI: The government will roll out free high-speed Wi-Fi in 2,500 cities and towns across the country over three years and the programme, involving an investment of up to Rs 7,000 crore, will be implemented by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

However, the free ride will be only for a limited time, after which one would have to pay for further access, a model similar to what is being offered at airports and other places by private operators. For those having a BSNL or MTNL connection, the switch-over to Wi-Fi will be similar to roaming "at very nominal costs" once the free usage is over.

"The services will begin in the next financial year (2015-16) and we plan to offer these to subscribers of all mobile operators," BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Shrivastava told TOI here.

The measure seems to be in line with the Modi government's ambitious 'Digital India' programme that aims at boosting internet connectivity across the country. Also, it is being seen as a measure that will give a boost to struggling BSNL, which has been in the red for the last nearly four financial years and suffered a loss of about Rs 7,000 crore in 2013-14. Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has already listed revival of BSNL and MTNL among his top priorities.

Shrivastava, who recently took over as the CMD of the ailing PSU, said that most of the top cities around the country will be getting the Wi-Fi facility that aims to provide fast internet speed. "The cities where it will be rolled out include Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow, Dehradun, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Bhopal, Jaipur, Patna, Indore, Chandigarh and Ludhiana."

The BSNL CMD said the Wi-Fi speed will be "of 4G levels" as the company will develop it around its vast optic fibre and cable network. "Around 50,000-60,000 Wi-Fi hotspots will be set up as part of the programme."

BSNL is hoping that a favourable tariff plan offered for Wi-Fi services will help it gain mobile subscribers. Stiff competition from private operators and slow pace of infrastructure upgrades have seen flight of mobile customers from BSNL at a time when its landline base is also shrinking.

"We are sitting on the verge of a data revolution and BSNL has a huge potential here on the back of our landline base and capability. Data capability will be a game changer in the next few years and we will gain a lot through such measures," Shrivastava said.

Data is significant for the PSU's revenues. Data business is expected to generate Rs 1,500 crore out of Rs 13,500 crore revenue estimated through mobile business. "And, of nearly Rs 14,000 crore from fixed line business, half will be through broadband and data services," Shrivastava said.

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10 Reasons to Pick the HTC One M8 Over the Galaxy S5

With the introduction of the HTC One M8 on March 25, the number of true contenders for the honor of top Android smartphone of 2014 has doubled. The other contender made its debut at Mobile World Congress in February when Samsung introduced its Galaxy S5. With the Android market this year now a two-horse race, all the other competitors will either have to introduce beautiful, well-crafted devices like the HTC One M8 and the Galaxy S5 or see their wares languish on store shelves. For now, though, it's just between those two handsets. However, deciding between the two might not be as difficult as some would argue. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is undoubtedly a good-looking device with great features, but it's not as attractive as the HTC One M8. Granted, the Galaxy S5 does have some features that HTC's alternative doesn't, like a fingerprint sensor, but such features won't be enough to put that device over the top for the vast majority of consumers and enterprise customers looking to get their hands on an Android handset this year. Here are the reasons why the HTC One M8 is the better choice over Samsung's Galaxy S5.

An Elegant Design

The HTC One M8 comes with a beautiful design that the Galaxy S5 can't match. The smartphone has an all-aluminum shell that meets the front of the device at the perfect spot to deliver an elegant finish. While the Galaxy S5 is not an ugly device, it's by no means as good-looking as the M8.

Excellent Sound Quality

Just about every review surrounding the HTC One M8 indicates that the handset has the best sound quality of any smartphone on the market. That has been achieved by bundling dual front speakers into the device. It also helps that for a while, HTC owned Beats Audio, a top music device provider that likely helped the company work on its speaker technology over the years. Sound quality is extremely important for those who want to listen to music or watch videos from their smartphones.

A Beautified Sense

Sense 6, the latest version of HTC's mobile software skin for Android, is a major upgrade over the previous version. The software is simpler and cleaner, making users more productive. What's more, it comes with support for multiple home screens and widgets, ensuring users have everything they want at the ready. Samsung has updated its TouchWiz with the Galaxy S5, but overall, that experience is slightly inferior to Sense 6.

The Dual-Lens System

Although the Galaxy S5 would be the winner in terms of actual picture quality, the One M8 wins out for those who want to take selfies, courtesy of the device's front-facing camera and accompanying software, as well as those who want to get artistic with pictures. The back of the One M8 comes with two lenses that snap the same photo. On the device's software, users can decide what parts are blurred and what are not to create truly artistic pictures. It's a neat offering.

More Damage-Proof

The nice thing about having a device that's aluminum is that it's a little more damage-proof than those that are plastic. Most people don't like to think about dropping a handset, but an aluminum smartphone would survive a fall a bit better than the plastic option found on the Galaxy side. Those with slippery fingers should keep that in mind.

Fewer Gimmicks, More Value

The Galaxy S5 is chock-full of gimmicks. The device has a fingerprint sensor for security that those who have used it say doesn't work as well as Apple's TouchID. The device is also heavily focused on health-related apps that might or might not appeal to users. The One M8, meanwhile, comes with gesture-based controls that can detect when the device is picked up or brought to the ear. In fact, many functions can be achieved with the One M8 without even hitting the power button to turn it on.

A Slightly Better Display

Although the Galaxy S5 and One M8 come with nearly identical screens—HTC's option has a 5-inch display and Samsung's comes with a 5.1-inch screen—the One M8 is ever so slightly better. HTC claims that its screen packs 440 pixels per inch, compared with 431 for the Galaxy S5. For the average person, the difference between the two displays might be negligible, but for movie viewers, that might be something to keep in mind.

You're Tired of the Samsung Experience

Another reason someone might buy the HTC One M8 over the Galaxy S5 is that perhaps they're tired of the Samsung experience. Although TouchWiz has been updated, it's not that much different from previous versions. Plus, the Galaxy S5's design is not a major upgrade over that of the Galaxy S4. Samsung has stayed the course with the Galaxy S5. HTC, meanwhile, has tried to push the envelope.

You're Already an HTC Owner

HTC owners who are happy with their current HTC One handsets will find a multitude of reasons to buy the One M8. From the smartphone's better specs to its improved design to its downright gorgeous Sense 6 software, current HTC owners would be foolish to go elsewhere to find a new device.

HTC's Sense of Urgency

HTC is in trouble. There's no doubt about it. The company has watched its smartphone sales fall over the last few years and is relying on the One M8 to fix its myriad issues. That's a good thing for consumers. Upon buying a device that is already impressive, one can expect that HTC will keep a close eye on the One M8 to ensure security issues are patched, new software versions are quickly brought to the device, and customer-support issues are promptly handled. HTC's desperation could work in the owner's favor.

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India to have 155 mn mobile Internet users by March: IAMAI

The number of users accessing the web on their mobile handsets in India is expected to reach 155 million by March this year, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

This number is further expected to grow to 185 million by June, 2014.

"The number of mobile internet users is going to reach 155 million in India by the end of March 2014, and 185 million by June 2014, maintaining a quarter-on-quarter growth of 20 per cent," a report by IAMAI and IMRB International said.

At the end of December 2013, the number of mobile internet users stood at 130 million as against a userbase of 110 million in October 2013.

According to the report, the number of mobile Internet users in urban India is expected to grow from 103 million in December 2013 to 126 million in March 2014 and further touch 153 million by June.

Rural India, though accounting for the smaller share, is also expected to register strong growth to touch 32 million users (in June 2014) from 27 million in December 2013.

The report also found that the average revenue per user (ARPU) has dropped to Rs 387 from Rs 460 in 2012.

However, the percentage amount spent on mobile Internet has gone up to 45 per cent in 2013 from 43 per cent in the previous year.

Also, 35 per cent of the mobile Internet users are spending between Rs 100 and Rs 500 monthly on their phone expenses.

While nine per cent are believed to be spending over Rs 500, six per cent are spending less than Rs 100 every month, the report said.

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Unbreakable smartphones coming soon

Unbreakable rubber-like smart phones, roll able tablets and functional clothing have come closer to reality, thanks to new breakthrough research by scientists including one of Indian-origin.

Researchers from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) RMIT University have developed a new method to transfer electronics with versatile functionality, which are usually made on rigid silicon, onto a flexible surface.

The ability of micro and nano-electronic devices to sense, insulate or generate energy is controlled by thin, transparent nanolayers of oxide materials, often much thinner than 1/100th of a human hair.

These oxide materials are brittle and their high processing temperatures - often in excess of 300 degrees Celsius - have until now prevented their incorporation in flexible electronic devices.

Lead author, Philipp Gutruf, said the new process could unleash the potential of fully functional flexible electronics, while providing a new way for the materials to mesh together.

"We have discovered a micro-tectonic effect, where micro scale plates of oxide materials slide over each other, like geological plates, to relieve stress and retain electrical conductivity," he said.

"The novel method we have developed overcomes the challenges of incorporating oxide materials in bendable electronic devices, paving the way for bendable consumer electronics and other exciting applications," said Gutruf.

Supervisor and co-leader of the research group, Dr Madhu Bhaskaran, said the new approach used two popular materials - transparent conductive indium tin oxide and rubber-like silicone which is also biocompatible.

"The ability to combine any functional oxide with this biocompatible material creates the potential for biomedical devices to monitor or stimulate nerve cells and organs. This is in addition to the immediate potential for consumer electronics applications in flexible displays, solar cells, and energy harvesters," said Bhaskaran.

The study was published in the journal Asia Materials.

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Microsoft offers Ahmedabad boy $180,000 package

An Amdavadi boy who attended school in Shahibaug and interned at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Ahmedabad, has landed one of the highest pay packages offered to an engineering postgraduate - $1,80,000 USD plus incentives. The offer was made by Microsoft to 23-year-old Priyanshu Kumar Jha, who earned a master's from Singapore. Priyanshu will work for Microsoft's Bing search engine as development engineer.

Priyanshu will head to the Microsoft headquarters in the US next week. He is the youngest of the batch of students who appeared for placements at the National University of Singapore this year, where he studied for the master's degree in software engineering. He has secured a bachelor's degree in information technology from UV Patel College of Engineering, Ganpat University, Mehsana.

Priyanshu's father, Prabhat Kumar Jha, is a zonal director (central zone) National Small Industries Corporation, ministry of medium, small & micro enterprises. Priyanshu's mother, Ranjana, is a homemaker. Priyanshu completed his schooling from Central School, Shahibaug.

"As an engineering student, I always aspired to work for Microsoft at some point in my career," Priyanshu said. "But to have my first job, at this age, as an engineer in Microsoft is a dream come true." Being the youngest achiever in his group has been Priyanshu's habit. He was the youngest to be chosen for the master's programme in Singapore. "I had to put in a lot of extra work to keep up with my batchmates, who had a minimum of two years of work experience," he said. "I was the only one with no work experience, but my top scores always gave me an edge over the others."

Priyanshu told TOI that he had been exposed to computers since 1994. "My dream is to work for corporations for a while and use my learning to launch my own company after coming back to Ahmedabad," he said. "I want to give back to society which has given me so much."

As for the interview with Microsoft, Priyanshu said it consisted of six rounds with each one lasting six hours. But he said the interactions were always relaxed.

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Yahoo! Hack India to be held in Hyderabad

NEW DELHI: Programmers, developers, designers across the industry and student stop technical universities in India will gather at Hyderabad for a two-day hacking event.

Over 1,000 developers across 20 states had signed up to participate in the sixth edition of "Yahoo! Hack India"July 13, of which 250 best hackers have been selected after an entry-level coding challenge.

"These hackers will now participate in the two-day event which brings forth a series of technical workshops, followed by a nonstop 24-hour coding Hackathon on July 13 and 14," a statement said.

For the first time, Yahoo! Hack India is being organized in cyber city Hyderabad. This will be Yahoo!'s first hack event in India hosted outside Bangalore,Yahoo! has its second largest research and development centre.

Due to overwhelming response developers across India in the last five years, Yahoo! had decided to expand this hack events to cover more Indian cities over the next few years.

"This year will see two external hack events by Yahoo! in India, one in Hyderabad and another in Bangalore later in this year. The event brings together programmers, developers, designers across the industry, start ups and students the top technical universities," it said.

"Hackers team up to turn their ideas into a working prototype, or hack, as it's called in just 24 hours. It gives developers a chance to work together and build applications and product ideas scratch using market-leading technologies Yahoo! as well as other technologies, to develop something cool that can potentially solve a real-world problem that impacts Internet users," it said.

The two-day event involves a hacking competition using a great collection of new web tools, services and APIsBSE 0.00 % ( Application Programmable Interface), as well as data around the web.

Yahoo! Open Hack was started as an internal event in 2006 at Yahoo! headquarters in Sunnyvale, US with an aim to bring the Yahoo! developers together. So far, Open Hack has been hosted in seven countries with representation over 30 countries.

The first Open Hack in India was hosted way back in 2007, which was attended by 180 developers in and around Bangalore.

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Infosys is my life: SD Shibulal

Despite the solid performance in first quarter of the current fiscal year, Infosys has adopted a "cautiously optimistic" stance and left its full-year growth forecast unchanged. In the third quarter of the last fiscal also, the Bangalore-based company delivered a surprisingly robust performance, only to slump back in the quarter after that.

Acknowledging the volatility in performance, in an interview with N Shivapriya and Akanksha Prasad, chief executive officer SD Shibulal cautioned against drawing conclusions about a secular trend based on a single quarter's performance. While he described analysts as "experts", Shibulal refused to comment on why they are getting Infosys estimates wrong quarter after quarter. Edited excerpts:

In the last three quarters, including this one, analyst forecasts have failed to get Infosys' performance right. In your view, why is this happening?

Our performance has been volatile in the last few quarters. Even at the end of Q3, we said that a single quarter's performance cannot be taken as a secular trend. This quarter we have done reasonably well and we have not changed our guidance. We have a few challenges which we are trying to address - high quality growth is one of them, plus there are also challenges on the cost side because salary increases will have an impact. We have to mitigate these through various methods. I do not want to comment about why analysts are getting it wrong; they are the experts. I do acknowledge that our performance has been volatile. This is one of the reasons why we are optimistically cautious and have not changed our guidance. Our guidance is a statement of fact and not a statement of hope.

Does this quarter's performance feela vindication for you?

If we look at this quarter, we have achieved 2.7% growth. On constant currency, the growth is around 3.4%, which means we lost around $40 million due to currency volatility for the quarter.

You referred to certain steps the company undertook earlier that are showing results now. What are they?

Part of the overall Infosys 3.0 strategy was to grow the consulting and system integration business, which is now strong. The second aim was to achieve balanced growth. The Business IT Services division was growing below the company's average, so we brought in a lot of focus into that segment. Our target is to bring it on a par with the company's growth rate although as a percentage of the overall revenue it may not increase because other divisions are growing faster.

What is your strategy to win large deals?

We are working on multi-tower solutions and alliancesthe one we have with IPSoft. Since business IT services is price sensitive, we need to ensure that we bring tools, automation, and operational efficiency. It is tough to balance margins and growth, but we have done it for many years and we will do it again.

What are some of the changes you are making?

There have been changes and it is part of the overall strategy. Despite competition getting aggressive and poaching people, in the last two years, we increased our sales force800 to 1,200. It depends on the way you look at the glass - half full or half empty.

For Narayana Murthy, Infosys isa middle child. What is Infosys to you?

For me, Infosys is life. Most of my life has been spent here.

With your term ending in 2015, has the company set in motion the succession planning process?

We have a nominations committee, which has the responsibility for it. They are looking at it.

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Free laptop scheme: UP govt owes HP Rs 900 crore

Four months after the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav began distributing free laptops to students, it now turns out that Hewlett Packard, the supplier, has not been paid for more than 5 lakh laptops it has so far delivered. With a Rs 900-crore bill pending, HP has threatened to stop further supplies till dues are settled, government sources said.

In June 2012, the Samajwadi Party government had announced a budget of Rs 2,721.24 crore for distributing tablets and laptops tomeritorious students of classes X and XII. Of this, while Rs 400 crore was earmarked for tablets, the remaining was to be spent on laptops.

But funds got entangled in red tape and only Rs 312 crore was released into the accounts of district magistrates, who, in turn, are responsible for releasing funds to HP representatives in districts. Even this amount, though, has not been paid in full. "There is no clarity on why there is a in the release of funds. The government has already allocated the funds.that is needed is an order for its release," a senior government functionary said.

So far, UP has taken delivery of 5,19,600 laptops, running up a total bill of Rs 998.41 crore, according to senior government sources. According to the contract inked with HP, the government is liable to pay 90% of the total cost at the time the laptops are delivered. This amount touches Rs 900 crore.

In addition, while 5% will be paid after the company finishes conducting the training and demonstration to teachers and students at tehsil or school levels, the final 5%, the contract mandates, must be settled after a one-year maintenance period.

Of these, 79,491 have been distributed to beneficiaries. HP has also created an additional inventory of 1,41,866 laptops that can be made available to the state government immediately once a purchase order is issued. Though the complete distribution pattern of the computing gadgets had to follow a seven-month delivery schedule, HP has met the delivery targets of ahead of time.

In fact, with the rate of delivery far exceeding the rate at which the gadgets are being distributed, the company has also raised concerns about the availability of storage space for the laptops.

When contacted, HP officials confirmed delivery of more than 5 lakh laptops. They, however, refused to comment on pending payments.

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Your car may soon talk to your mobile

CHENNAI: An entertainment and communication console that seamlessly connects the phone with the car? The mobile phone-enabled 'integrated' system is a given in many high-end luxury cars but after the Ford EcoSport, the trend is now finding converts in mass market cars as well. As the mobile becomes a one-stop entertainment-cum-communication device, car companies are looking at ways to extend that connectivity to the vehicle too.

Not a cheap technology, this has so far been the premise of high-end cars including the just-launched Mercedes-Benz A-Class. But after the Ford EcoSport's SYNC system, more volume car makers are starting to wonder if the technology can come to less pricey brands in India.

Said Kenichiro Yomura, president & CEO, Nissan Motor India: "We are studying that kind of possibility and will definitely try to introduce those sort of features in India. In Japan we have the 'CarWings' (vehicle telematics) system which allows you to communicate between the car and the service centre for example. We provide this option in many models in Japan because scale makes the technology affordable and we are studying to see if it will work for India as well."

Ford and Nissan aren't the only volume car brands that are looking at bluetooth and telematics as the ultimate bells and whistles for car buyers. General Motors India packs in bluetooth, USB port and an MP3 (though no telematics) player as part of its entertainment package for the Sail hatchback and notchback and the Cruze and Captiva. Vehicle telematics is already a favoured option in a number of high-end cars. The Honda CRV and Accord for instance come with bluetooth interface.

Ditto for the Mercedes-Benz A-Class on which the iPhone can be synced seamlessly offering music playback on the head unit, audio streaming and text messages are displayed in the CD display if the bluetooth message access profile (MAP) is supported by the mobile phone.

Said Mercedes-Benz MD & CEO Eberhard Kern: "The bluetooth and phone compatibility option is standard in the A Class and it allows you to play musicyour iPhone and use the contact list to make calls etc. It's a seamless integration of entertainment and communication between the phone and the car."

Car manufacturers have been tying up with software makers to integrate the mobile with the car, making the car an extension of the entertainment-cum- communication devise . Ford for instance is working with Microsoft globally which has powered its SYNC integrated communication and entertainment technology for the EcoSport. Apple reportedly announced at its developers' meet last month that it plans to link its iOS7 mobile operating system with the techentertainment systems of passenger cars.

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See, what makes your Android phone vulnerable to hackers

LONDON: A 'master key' has been reportedly discovered by a security research firm which could potentially give cyber attackers access to almost every Android phone.

According to BBC, security research firm BlueBox has discovered the loophole which is present in every version of the Android operating system released since 2009.

The bug emerges as a result of the way Android handles cryptographic verification of the programs installed on the phone

The report said that Android uses the cryptographic signature as a way to check that an app or program is legitimate and to ensure it has not been tampered with.

Jeff ForristalBlueBox and his colleagues have found a method of tricking the way Android checks these signatures so that malicious changes to the apps go unnoticed.

Forristal said that the implications of this discovery could be 'huge' as it can take over the normal functioning of the phone and control any function thereof.

Security expert Dan Wallach said that in order to catch Android users, malicious hackers would have to get their booby-trapped version of a legitimate application on to the Google Play store.

According to the report, BlueBox had reported finding the bug to Google in February.

Google denied commenting on BlueBox discovery, the report added.

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Google planning to kill passwords

Web giant Google is researching to build a more secure hardware device which in future can be used to login to a computer or an online account, thus eliminating the need for a password.

Designed in the shape of rings which can be worn on fingers, these hardware devices will aid in logging in to a computer or online account.

The search engine first revealed its plans to put an end to passwords in an academic paper published online in January.

The effort focused on having people plug a small USB key that provides their credentials into a computer.

The possibility of using special jewelry in a similar manner was mentioned in that paper.

According to Google's principal engineer, who specializes in security, Mayank Upadhyay at the RSA security conference in San Francisco last week, "Using personal hardware to log in would remove the dangers of people reusing passwords or writing them down."

"Everyone is familiar with an ATM. What if you could use the same experience with a computer?" Upadhyay said, adding that Google's trial was focused on a slim USB key that performs a cryptographic transaction with an online service to prove the key's validity when it's plugged into a computer.

The key also has a contactless chip inside so that it can be used to log in via mobile devices. Tokens like the ones Google is testing do not contain a static password that could be copied.

The cryptographic key unique to the device is stored inside and is never transmitted.

When the key is plugged in, it proves its validity by correctly responding to a mathematical challenge posed by the online service it is being used to log into, in a way that doesn't produce any information that could be used to log in again.

Google is already talking with other companies to lay the groundwork for using the technology to access different services and websites.

"It's extremely early stages, and we're trying to get more partners," said Upadhyay.

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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 for distribution.

"All the computers will have a special e-learning packages. After a day in class, the students will now be able to revise their tutions at home over the tablets," Powar said, adding that a provision of Rs.95 crore had already been made for the purchase of the computers in the last budget presented by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

All the systems will have inbuilt security systems installed to ensure that the computers are not misused for pornographic purposes and other controversial web applications, but the education department will also take an undertaking from the student's parents before handing over the computers.

"It is a no objection certificate saying they are OK with us giving them the computers. The parents should also be in a position to both goad the students to logging onto the right websites," he said.

The Goa government was the first state government in the country to give out free laptops to students over a decade ago.

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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 students to take our classes," said Andrew Ng, a Stanford University professor who co-founded Coursera.

Coursera currently offers 220 courses from 33 institutions and has nearly 2.8 million registered users who have signed up for nearly 10 million courses, Ng said.

The new partners include Chinese University of Hong Kong, Technical University of Denmark, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico as well as the universities of Copenhagen, Geneva and Toyko.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based edX said it's adding six new institutions, including five outside the US, which will provide at least 25 courses.

EdX, which was launched in May by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, currently offers 25 courses from six universities and has 700,000 registered students.

The new partners are Australian National University, Delft University of Technology, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, McGill University, Rice University and the University of Toronto.

Delft University in the Netherlands will be the first edX partner to provide courses as "open content," which means other universities are free to incorporate the materials into their classes, said edX President Anant Agarwal.

"People can reuse it and remix it," Agarwal said. "It enables courses to get better and better over time by allowing people to share content."

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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 of internet and broadband services will go up," Internet Service Provider Association of India's (ISPAI) President Rajesh Charia told PTI.

In the new licencing regime, DoT should allow internet telephony which would lead to low cost call service that would benefit even rural area the country where illiteracy is very high.

"VoIP is widely accepted application. Foreign companies who are not registered with DoT are providing voice calling service both between Computer to Computer and Computer to landlines.

"They don't even have licences. We pay annual charges to DoT and should be allowed to provide voice services across networks," he said.

A DoT internal committee has recommended to allow ISPs with wireless broadband spectrum (BWA) to provide voice telephony service using these airwaves. In 2010, six private players including Reliance Jio Infocom, formerly Infotel Broadband, Tikona Digital and Augere had won BWA spectrum.

The committee has left it for higher authorities to decide if players who won BWA spectrum in 2010 should be asked to make additional payment of Rs 1,658 crore which was charged from telecom players till 2008 for providing mobile telephony.

The licence issued to mobile telephony operators for Rs 1,658 crore had 4.4 Mhz spectrum bundled with it but government has announced to provide no spectrum with UL.

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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 recently as well."

Facebook declined to comment on the motive or origin of the attack.

A security expert at another company with knowledge of the matter said he was told the Facebook attack appeared to have originated in China.

The FBI declined to comment, while the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Facebook's announcement follows recent cyber attacks on other prominent websites. Twitter, the micro blogging social network, said earlier this month it had been hacked and that about 250,000 user accounts were potentially compromised, with attackers gaining access to information, including user names and email addresses.

Newspaper websites, including those of The New York Times (NYT.N), The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, have also been infiltrated. Those attacks were attributed by the news organizations to Chinese hackers targeting coverage of China.

While Facebook said no user data was compromised, the incident could raise consumer concerns about privacy and the vulnerability of personal information stored within the social network.

Facebook has made several privacy missteps over the years because of the way it handled user data and it settled a privacy investigation with federal regulators in 2011.

Facebook said it spotted a suspicious file and traced it back to an employee's laptop. After conducting a forensic examination of the laptop, Facebook said it identified a malicious file, then searched company-wide and identified "several other compromised employee laptops."

Another person briefed on the matter said the first Facebook employee had been infected via a website where coding strategies were discussed.

The company also said it identified a previously unseen attempt to bypass its built-in cyber defenses and that new protections were added on February 1.

Because the attack used a third-party website, it might have been an early-stage attempt to penetrate as many companies as possible.

If they followed established patterns, the attackers would learn about the people and computer networks at all the infected companies. They could then use that data in more targeted attacks to steal source code and other intellectual property.

In its statement, Facebook said the attack was launched using a "zero-day," or previously unknown flaw in its software that exploited its Java built-in protections.

"Zero-day" attacks are rarely discovered and even more rarely disclosed. They are costly to launch and often suggest government sponsorship.

In January 2010, Google reported it had been penetrated via a "zero-day" flaw in an older version of the Internet Explorer Web browser. The attackers were seeking source code and were also interested in Chinese dissidents, and Google reduced its operations in the country as a result.

Attention to cyber security has ratcheted up since then and this week President Barack Obama issued an executive order seeking higher safety standards for critical infrastructure.

Other companies stand to benefit more from comprehensive legislation, which has stalled in Congress. Republicans have opposed additional regulations that would come with mandatory security standards.

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Instagram boasts 90 million monthly active users, 40 million photos per day

Instagram might have gotten some crazy backlash from its policy changes back in December, for which they pulled an about face and returned it back to normal. However, a lot users were done with the service at that point, and vowed to switch to an alternative. Then again, that doesn’t seem to be scaring Instagram too much, as the company has reported 90 million monthly active users, as well as 40 million photos being posted per day.

AllThingsD notes that the service’s monthly active user base is actually up 10% from last month, so it seems that the privacy policy debacle wasn’t a huge deal for its users after all. Instagram’s Kevin System says that the company “continues to see very strong growth around the world.”

Along with those 40 million photos being posted every day, Instagram says that its users are liking photos at a rate of 8,500 per second and are posting 1,000 comments per second as well. This actually marks the first time that Instagram has posted statistics on its user base, but detailed numbers are still scarce.

According to AppData, Instagram use on iOS and Android actually rose quite a bit late last month, but with use on Facebook falling by 25%. Furthermore, according to AppStats, Instagram apparently saw their active user numbers cut in half to 40 million, but according to Instagram’s own numbers, that’s clearly not true.

Story Timeline

• SlashGear 101: Does Instagram own my photos?
• How to Ditch Instagram
• Five Instagram Alternatives you're going to love
• Instagram co-founder responds to user outrage
• Amid Instagram Madness, What Terms of Use Should Take for Granted
• Instagram updates its terms of service after massive backlash
• Instagram took the lazy, sneaky way out
• Instagram iOS and Android update adds new filter, support for 25 languages
• Instagram Privacy Policy prodded with Class-Action lawsuit
• Foursquare makes Privacy tweaks, wary of Instagram-style backlash

Instagram boasts 90 million monthly active users, 40 million photos per day is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

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Facebook‘s annual hacker competition opens for registration

Social networking giant Facebook has opened registration for its third annual Hacker Cup, set to begin from January 25.

The top prize will be $ 10,000 (approx. Rs 5.5 lakh) as against $ 5,000 (Rs 2.75 lakh) last year and as many 25 of the best hackers will be taken to Facebook's headquarter in USA, a statement said.

The Facebook Hacker Cup is an annual worldwide programming competition where hackers compete against each other for fame, fortune, glory and a shot at the coveted Hacker Cup.

"The competition will be held in two rounds starting with an online qualification, out of which 25 of the best hackers are then flown by Facebook to their headquarters inMenlo Park, CA," Facebook said.

"The preliminary round will be held between January 25 and February 16 while the onsite final round is scheduled for March 22-23, 2013.

Contestants will be judged on accuracy and speed as they race to solve algorithmic problems to advance through up to five rounds of programming challenges," it added.

Last year, the Hacker Cup attracted 8,000 participants from 150 countries, with the winner- Roman Andreev, hailing from Russia, Facebook said.

"Hacking is core to how we build at Facebook. Whether we're building a prototype for a major product like Timeline at a Hackathon, creating a smarter search algorithm, or tearing down walls at our new headquarters, we're always hacking to find better ways to solve problems," Facebook said in its Hacker's Cup page.

Facebook said that those who registered for a previous year are automatically registered for the competition year, however, they still need to check their information is up-to-date.

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How To Turn Your Boring Old Laptop Into A Cool Touch Screen Machine

Sure, Windows 8 - Microsoft's new touch screen operating system - will run just fine on PCs designed for Windows 7. But you won't be able to take advantage of the new touch capabilities the OS enables unless you scrap your existing PC and upgrade to a new computer.

Or maybe not.

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a company out of China demonstrated a peripheral that combines a stylus and either a USB or wireless receiver to touch-enable a non-touch screen LCD monitor or laptop screen.

The technology has made its way to the United States via Shenzhen Yifang Digital Technology Co. Ltd., mercifully shortened to Yifang Digital, whose E Fun brand markets the APEN Touch8 system in the United States. Got that?

Discovering the Touch8 digitizer was a happy coincidence. Wandering though CES' maze of booths, you never quite know what you'll find. In the rear of the South Hall, for example, Trojan was handing out thousands of vibrators. So there's that.

Yifang was showing off several versions of the Touch8, including a USB-powered model and one that used wireless technology. According to Eric Ju, an account development manager with the digital pen business unit within Yifang, the company is attempting to license or has already licensed the technology to accessory vendor Targus, which is marketing a very similar device known as the Touch Pen. The Targus Touch Pen costs $99.99 and will be available during the second quarter; the Touch8 will be available this quarter for $79.99. Targus representatives, who were likely flying home from Las Vegas, could not be reached for comment.

The Touch8 system, and presumably the Touch Pen as well, both use a receiver that mounts to one side of your screen. A combination of ultrasonic and infrared beams detects the stylus' soft, fuzzy tip, orienting it on the screen. Ju told me that a brief period of 'training' the system is required, so the Touch8 learns the boundaries of the available touchscreen real estate. The stylus itself requires power, but it can be used for 500 hours (about 62 days of 8-hour workdays) without replacing the small, watch-sized batteries that power it.

I was able to play around with the Touch8 for several minutes. According to Ju, the system accommodates up to 15.6-inch displays, making the Touch8 suitable for a notebook or a small desktop monitor. The peripheral is magnetically clipped to the side of the notebook, and must be removed and recalibrated every time the notebook is closed. In other words, you'll have to suffer through some inconveniences to eliminate others.

To its credit, the Touch8 works well at what it does: Enabling 'touch.' Swiping works fine, and single-touch gestures seemed to work as advertised. True touch hardware, however, is multitouch, and I'm not even sure if holding two stylii together, chopsticks style, would even work. Right now, the Touch8 works best for drawing, swiping and other single-mode uses.

Should you buy one?

Yes, but only if:

• You're desperate for Windows 8 and touch interaction
• You're running a small monitor
• You leave your laptop on your desk
• You don't mind the absence of multitouch
• You're willing to spend $100 but not willing to buy a brand new machine

That's a pretty limited use case. But if you really want to use Windows 8 properly, you have to do something. I've used a mouse and keyboard with Windows 8, and while it's navigable, it's also sort of a pain; scrolling 'up' to slide your Windows 8 Start screen sideways simply feels awkward.

Pictures by Mark Hachman. Posted by JMD Computer

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