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Introducing Google Play

March 7th, 2012

Omar Khan | Print this Article

The Android Market is out! Google Play is the new kid on the block

Google’s Android Market has gone through massive changes since its launch. It went from a simple app store to including e-books, music and videos. Now Google feels that the Android Market is making the experience a bit too restrictive and not really offering what Google wants to deliver to its users.

Google wanted to consolidate all the offerings under a single brand name and starting today has made the switch to replace the Android Market with Google Play. Apple’s had a single solution for offering users videos, music, e-books etc. via the iTunes store for a while and Google’s move will bring it in a better position to compete with iTunes.

With Google Play you can:

Store up to 20,000 songs for free and buy millions of new tracks
Download more than 450,000 Android apps and games
Browse the world’s largest selection of eBooks
Rent thousands of your favorite movies, including new releases and HD titles

The upgrade will be pushed to Android phone and tablets over the next week. For those worried about what this means for their purchased items and selections, fear not as it will all remain the way it was. Nothing has changed except for a major rebranding and consolidation of major Google services.

This move will put push the idea that Google services are not just for Android users but for everyone. Google Engineering Director Chris Yerga says “Google’s intent with Google Play was to not only break down the “silos” that Google’s content types were lumped into, but also to “break down the barriers between content consumption and the store experience.”

Since the content that users see varies by region, Google users will see different content pushed to them based on their geographic locations.

Google’s Official Blog says “In the U.S., music, movies, books and Android apps are available in Google Play. In Canada and the U.K., we’ll offer movies, books and Android apps; in Australia, books and apps; and in Japan, movies and apps. Everywhere else, Google Play will be the new home for Android apps. Our long-term goal is to roll out as many different types of content as possible to people around the world, and we’ll keep adding new content to keep it fresh.”

Top Features for Apple OS X: Mountain Lion

February 17th, 2012

Omar Khan | Print this Article

Mac OS X upgrade announced for the summer!

Apple has announced the launch of its new OS update called Mountain Lion for the summer. According to Apple, the new OS has around a 100 new features ranging from tiny unnoticeable tweaks to major changes like the instant messaging app. Customers will have to wait till the summer to download the update, for now anyone with a developer account can download the beta version and test drive it.

The release of this update was low key, it was not followed by a huge event announcing the launch but just dropped it into our laps one find Thursday morning. We’ve also heard that Apple will be releasing an update of their OS every year with an incremental approach until they decide to completely rethink the OS.

For now, customers can view some salient features of the OS that will make them want the new OS even more.

1. iCloud Everywhere

Apple’s cloud service sync media and data among iPhone, iPads, iPod Touch and to a certain extent the Macs. iCloud has a bigger role in Mountain Lion as its extended to sync contacts, calendars and email accounts across all the devices. This helps in creating a unified system across all Apple devices. This means that when you add or delete something on your Mac it is also added or removed from your iPhone, iPad and iPod or rather all the synced devices. All one has to do is sign-in once with their apple ID and you’re set.

2. Messages

Apple renamed iChat to Messages in an effort to give users a more unified IM experience. The iOS 5 brought iMessages to the iPhone to counter the popular Blackberry Messenger to either text messages or data. It lets you send unlimited messages to anyone on a Mac or an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 5. Send photos, videos, documents, and contacts — even to groups. Turn on read receipts, and they’ll see when you’ve read a message. With end-to-end encryption, your messages stay safe and private. And you can start a conversation on your Mac and pick it up on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

3. Reminders

The Reminders app is now on the Mac. It has features from the iOS 5 and can now sync through iCloud to have your reminders on all your Apple devices. Check items off your lists as you go and keep track of what you’ve completed. And to be sure you don’t forget anything.

4. Notification Center

There are gazillion pop ups always appearing somewhere or the other on the Mac but with the Notification Center all those pop ups are history! A single place to check all your notifications speeds up the process and also makes it really convenient.

5. AirPlay Mirroring

This new feature in Mountain Lion is made for an audience. With AirPlay Mirroring, you can stream what’s on your Mac to your HDTV via Apple TV. Show web pages and videos to friends on the couch. Share lessons with a classroom. Present to a conference room. It’s a big deal for your Mac. And for everyone around it.

6. Gatekeeper

Gatekeeper adds a new layer of protection in OS X Mountain Lion making it safer than ever. The app prevents unknown applications from downloading and installing. Users can chose whether to download and run apps from the Mac Store only, Trusted developers or anyone. It gives users the option to temporarily override the options by control+clicking also.

MegaUpload User Data Destruction Countdown Extended For Two More Weeks

January 31st, 2012

Omar Khan | Print this Article

MegaUpload has received a letter from the US Attorney informing the company that data uploaded by its users may be destroyed before the end of the week. The looming wipe-out is the result of MegaUpload’s lack of funds to pay for the servers. Behind the scenes, MegaUpload is hoping to convince the US Government that it’s in the best interest of everyone involved to allow users to access their data, at least temporarily.

With the recent shutdown of MegaUpload, the popular file sharing service, users have complaint that they have lost access to their data which they had uploaded on the MegaUpload service. This is the collateral damage as a result of criminal proceedings against Kim Dotcom, Founder of Megaupload and other members of the team.

18 Mega related domains were seized by the authorities including Megastuff.co, Megaworld.com, Megaclicks.co, Megastuff.info, Megaclicks.org, Megaworld.mobi, Megastuff.org, Megaclick.us, Mageclick.com, HDmegaporn.com, Megavkdeo.com, Megaupload.com, Megaupload.org, Megarotic.com, Megaclick.com, Megavideo.com, Megavideoclips.com and Megaporn.com.

Soon after the arrests and seizure of property and assets linked with MegaUpload and other domains, it was discovered that the data uploaded onto the servers maybe lost forever due to the inability of the company to pay its hosting and server bills. The files that might soon be deleted range from personal photos to work related documents in the millions which have nothing to do with copyright infringement which is one of the charges put up against the founder and his team besides conspiracy to commit money laundering and criminal copyright infringement.

MegaUplaod has contacted the United States Attorney’s office to request to unfreeze assets so server and hosting bills can be paid so users can get access to their personal data. MegaUpload lawyer says that they are doing everything they can to ensure that the data is not lost and that users can get access to it so they can make backups.

But good news has surfaced a few hours ago where it was revealed that the data has been saved for two more weeks after talks with related parties.

This move comes as a huge hit to cloud based services everywhere. The destruction of user data is simple unacceptable and the prosecuting parties should ensure that users get access to their data before it is destroyed.

Acer Iconia A700 revealed

January 10th, 2012

Omar Khan | Print this Article

Acer's Quad-core 1080p tablet revealed. No official release date yet.

The CES has showcased a lot of cool new devices soon to be released into the wild. In the tablet PC arena, Acer has been the fore runner in announcing a brand new tablet with a Quad-core processor and 1080p video recording. The new Iconia A700 is running on the Nvidia Tegra 3 1.3Ghz processor and has a 10.1 inch display with the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich as the operation system.

The tablet comes with a mini-HDMI and mini-USB ports, micro-SD slot and a 5-megapixel rear camera. The tablet is competing with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the latest Asus Transformer Prime.

Unfortunately, this is just a teaser and there is no official release date or any confirmation if this model will be released at all since this is more of a showdown of who has better tech.

Nokia Lumia 900 Announced

January 10th, 2012

Omar Khan | Print this Article

Nokia has finally announced its Lumia 900 smartphone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas which has been rumored for quite some time now. The rumors were put to rest when Nokia CEO Stephen Elop introduced the 4G LTE-enabled device.

The devices houses a 1.4Ghz CPU, 512MB RAM, 8-megapixel back facing & 1-mega;pixel front facing camera with dual LED flash and a 4.3-inch AMOLED display running Windows Mobile and comes in black and cyan. Nokia has partnered with AT& T to launch this model in the U.S. as well moving into a highly competitive market from their usual emerging markets.

Nokia has signed an exclusivity deal with AT&T which will be the only carrier to have the Lumia 900 available running on its 4G LTE network. The company says that this device has been specifically made for the U.S. which can be seen as Nokia’s attempt to re-enter the market.

Whether Nokia can capture the market with their brand of Windows Phone is a mystery but should be interesting to see how it unfolds.

Samsung Galaxy Note hits the U.S.

January 10th, 2012

Omar Khan | Print this Article

AT&T and Samsung officially announce Samsung Galaxy Note LTE

The South Korean electronics giant has announced that it is bringing its mammoth tablet like phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note to the U.S. The Galaxy Note looks like a tablet but is essentially a phone with a massive 5.3 inch Super AMOLED display and a 1280×800 resolution, 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, 8 mega-pixel rear facing and 2 mega-pixel front facing camera with 1080p video recording and 16GB internal storage which is expandable to 32GB and running Android 2.3.6.

Looking at the specifications built into the phone, it can be said that the Galaxy Note has had a bit of an identity crisis. Samsung announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday that it will be bringing this giant tabletesque phone to the United States with AT&T and will run on the carrier’s 4G network.

Staying true to the name, the phone has a stylus which comes with it and is housed inside the device to take notes as if writing on paper. It seems to be an excellent device but its utility remains to be seen.

Over 700,000 Activation’s Per Day for Android

December 24th, 2011

Omar Khan | Print this Article

The popular Google mobile platform Android is slowly making its way to 1 million activations per day. According to Andy Rubin, Google’s Android chief, each device is counted only once and resold devices are excluded from this list. An activation is counted when someone walks into a store, buys a new phone and registers it on a network by subscribing to a service. It has been clear in the last few months that the Android platform has gained massive popularity and is being adopted quite rapidly.

Back in April, the number of daily activations was just 350,000 which has doubled in the last eight months. 44.2 percent of users in the U.S. have smartphones running Android according to a recent study from Nielsen. The divisions indicated was 15.8% for HTC, 10.4% for Samsung and 10.7% for Motorola. The study also indicated that though iOS and Android are both popular operating systems among all group, Android is leading in each age group.

The launch of the latest version of Android dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich which will run on both tablets and smartphones might just be a game changer for Android in its war against iOS. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus which is the first smartphone to run the latest version is already a hot seller and now an update has been rumored and users are awaiting the update anxiously.

GoDaddy Pulls Support For SOPA

December 24th, 2011

Omar Khan | Print this Article

The worlds largest domain name registrar removes name from list of SOPA supporters after massive internet backlash

GoDaddy, One of the largest ICANN accredited domain registrar in the world which was one of the 150 supporters SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) has withdrawn its support for the Act after many companies and individuals closed their GoDaddy.com accounts after the company released statements supporting the act. CEO of Cheezburger Ben Huh threatened to remove over a 1000 domains names from GoDaddy if they kept support SOPA and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said that domains would be moved away from GoDaddy because their support of SOPA was “unacceptable”

GoDaddy CEO Warren Adelman said “As a company that is all about innovation, with our own technology and in support of our customers, Go Daddy is rooted in the idea of First Amendment Rights and believes 100 percent that the Internet is a key engine for our new economy,”

Many other companies have started removing their names from the list as the internet backlash has increased when the names of the supporters were released. A list of companies can be found here.

About SOPA

SOPA gives both the U.S. government and copyright holders the authority to seek court orders against websites associated with infringing, pirating and/or counterfeiting intellectual property. The implication of having the bill pass is that it could drastically change the way the Internet operates. For example, if a website is accused of containing copyright-infringing content (such as a song, picture or video clip), the site could be blocked by ISPs, de-indexed from search engines and even prevented from doing business with companies