What do we need to learn right now from increasing technological advancement

The ever increasing technological advancement and also our ever increasing dependance on the same is very well known now.

We browse the internet, gain information and insights on subjects that affects us. Even for the most common and silly ones too. We use to do list applications on our smart phones. They help us not to miss any crucial tasks, provide us reminders and other notifications.

We use the in-built calculator for performing even the most simple calculations. We have applications for other purposes that do most of the crucial tasks at the back and provide us with relevant data and analysis.

We devote a lot of our time to online gaming, streaming music and videos, chatting and uploading our social content online.We are letting our smart phones do all the hard work. Rightly so, but in return we may be letting ourselves become not so smart.

We may be applying less of our own brains in everyday tasks. We tend to spend more of our time online rather than spending it on offline tasks.Our computer oriented tasks then make us spend even less time off it. We may be spending less time on exercising, proper nutrition and applying less brains in everyday tasks which in due course of time lessens our capabilities and also lessens our flexibility needed for tasks of varying nature.

For physical and strength training, we should use the health applications that are provided on our smart phones itself no doubt. They help us track our performance and provide us tips and help us follow a well planned schedule. Something which we should not miss at all.

The key here obviously is to strike a balance between how much task we allow our tabs or smart phones to perform. For short to do lists we should be trying to remember the list by our own. Short and complex calculations can also be performed by our sharp minds :). When we do some of the hard work we keep ourselves active and respond positively to the varying type of work.
 In short, we should be proactive in performing tasks that are simple and takes less time. Else in some time, it may eventually get the better of us.

Welcome 2015 !!!

The year that was 2014, saw a lot of technological advances. From smart watches to smart phone advancement. From smart living to smart utilities. From smart apps to smart living, it saw everything.

Google Glass, 3D printing (almost anything), Genome Editing, Agile Robots, Smart Apps for smartphones, precision comet landing, Agricultural drones, New information on Brain Mapping, disposing of plastic permanently, medical advances and so much much more. Phew !!! The list is endless.

And this year will see even more technological breakthroughs. 

The clever spoon that will enable disabled people to land the food laden spoon properly into their mouths, the invisibility cloak that would make you disappear in real, 3D printing new and improved mechanisms, camera sensors that does not involve using flash, implants to enable paralyzed people walk again, health trackers to prevent emergencies, tech going green and this and that and so on.

We have super cars, super bikes, super sensors, superman what not. fitness trackers, improved solar power devices, bionic legs, electric vehicles. I'm tired.

It will come costly though but why not just watch it and get updated about it. This is what is happening around us, there is a lot around us and this is just the beginning.

So sit back and relax. You will be aww'ed at the pace we are going. And we're reaching there in good time.

Access Netflix from other than host country

Netflix has become the to be most accessed online streamed content and no surprise that with every passing day more people want to subscribe to its services.

The content that they bring on the plate is tough to beat. Movies, daily watched soaps, TV series. You name it, they stream it. Plus the quality of the content is awesome.

But suppose if you subscribe to them and suddenly you move out of the country, how in the world are you supposed to access Netflix. It's allowed for the residents of the USA only.

In such a case, you can make use of a VPN service. It's called a Virtual Private Network. That while accessing the website you can access the Netflix server with a local IP address.

So without getting much into the non required details, I will mention how to access Netflix from other than the host state. By the way, you can download several other VPN softwares from the internet too. Some offer a trial period and some need to be a premium account. I started using proXPN.

Several other softwares available are HMA, vyprVPN, openVPN and a lot others.

You first need to download the software itself. You can do this from https://proxpn.com/



Install the software



Then complete the setup and create an account on its website. You can create a free 
account or a premium account. The difference is that with a premium account you can surf
 with more speed and with this the download speed increases.

On starting the software, provide the user id and the password and you will get the below
interface on the screen.



You can connect from different locations using a premium account. The premium account
has loads of facilities as compared to a basic one.

That's it. Just connect and you will be able to access the Netflix website. 

And then you know what to do :)

Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality means unreal reality, an environment that is not real at all like we experience in our life, but is a simulation. A not so real replica of the life that we live in.

In other words it is also called as "Augmented Reality".

Digital information is displayed which can take the form of an image or a visual to the user. It is an artificial environment created with the use of real world as well as computer generated data.

An example is the trilogy movie "Matrix", where the actors enter the virtual reality environment called the Matrix and fight off the machines.

Some other instances are the video games, computer games, game consoles that we have played and spent time on over the years. Using the joystick our actions control the game as we play it and accordingly create a situation. And we do the same in our everyday life as well.

In most visuals related to Virtual Reality, we see people wearing huge dark glasses that seem to cover their entire head at a time and sometimes holding an object that they can control with their hands to glide away or perform some action.

The thing they wear on their heads is the headgear to watch the simulated visuals whereas the object in the hand can be a joystick, a gun in case of a shootout environment, a bionic gear for instance so that they can watch their hand movements on the screen being converted to the hand movements of an animated character.

The environment becomes a 3-dimensional environment that can also resemble an actual scene. The intention is to make the scene as real as possible so other objects like people, skies, vehicles, traffic, the nature etc. are added on purpose.

Such simulations are used in military training so as to hunt down an enemy bunker for training, in sports, as form of entertainment in parks and in medical research for the blind or for the brain infected who find it difficult to see actual life.

Why Secure FTP

We've all used or heard this term before in the context of net browsing. Many private entities encourage and promote the use of secure FTP. But what exactly is a secure FTP and why use it. Why even care?

FTP means File Transfer Protocol.  When we surf the internet, we commonly use this term while accessing website links.

Our most common website address starts with 'http:\\www.abc-bank.com'. We prefix the web address with 'https' or more commonly use this convention 'https:\\www.abc-bank.com'.

When we access say, a particular website, all types of information whether it is an image or text or documents etc., that we see on the webpage is transferred using this mechanism called FTP. FTP transfers data from one source to another destination. We provide information (i.e. type or record) and also receive information with this technique. FTP provides this data transfer facility using this to and fro mechanism.

The problem is that only an FTP mechanism is not secure. It is fine to use only FTP if you are just browsing content online, or you want to read something which is available globally or rather things that does not include your own details.

But if you are performing an online transaction which includes your personal bank credentials, Login identification or passwords, Credit/Debit card details, card transactions, then a secure FTP becomes inevitable.

A secure FTP encrypts the data which is sent from the source. This data is then decrypted from the destination so as to allow the receiver to make sense of the data that you have provided. 

In the entire traversal of the data from one point to the other, the data is in an encrypted state. So even if this data gets in the hands of unwanted people they would need to first decrypt the data, else it will make no sense to them. And with complex encryption methods now in place, it becomes even more cumbersome for them to decrypt the data.

So if you are performing online transaction worth say thousands or millions or dollars and if you don't want an illegitimate person being party, then you must use a secure connection. Because this can always risk losing your private details being eavesdropped by third party sources or hackers.

In times like these where digital money gets deducted from your account without you having any knowledge or other people getting your private account details, it is highly essential to make use of preventive measures in important internet activities. 

Also while providing your Login id and passwords make sure the website has the address as 'https'. This can go a long way in at least minimizing the risks involved.

Nowadays websites have inbuilt functionality to provide a secure connection. You can also provide a secure browsing environment to your users by making available SFTP for your website.

The Best Top 10 Games on Android Play Store

Android since its initiation has seen a host of games getting launched and enjoyed by its users all across the globe. Such is the popularity and its competitiveness along with other OS makers to deliver the very good and give an enthralling gaming experience.

Games in all kinds and categories like Racing, Arcade, Brain teasers, Card games etc. are available and popular on the Android platform. Below is my personal list of the 10 best games that this OS has to offer. This is in terms of game play, time spent on user experience and game effects. The order of the games listed is immaterial.

1. Subway Surfers: Running games have become a trend and this one is better in the play store. Starting with Paris, it is a real pass time. The next version in China should and hopefully will not disappoint the users.

2. Angry Birds: One of the firsts in quality game play Angry Birds is still ruling the Play Store. The Space, Star Wars, Rio and Classic version of this game has been an immense pleasure to play and enjoy. Well done !!!

3. World of Goo: It has given immense positive response from the gamer community worldwide. The concept and game play are simply outstanding. One of the similar games Where's my Water is also very gripping and very intuitive.

4. Sonic 4 Episode II HD: Sega has always given us the best in game play. Sonic Episode I and II are real fun and good to enjoy. Very gripping and an amazing gaming experience as always.

5. Need for Speed:  The classic NFS was a real treat for racers. The PC version was simply brilliant and the phone version is no exception. Most Wanted and Shift provide ultimate racing experience. The sounds and the graphics are truly worth enjoying.

6. Asphalt: The ultimate in racing, Asphalt works magnificently in phones and tablets. The speed and the adrenaline can only be experienced on this one. Asphalt 6 Adrenaline and 7 are truly the best in racing.

7. Home Run Battle: This is the best Baseball game that you can find on Android. The second version Home Run Battle 3D is also worth it. I have spent a LOT of time on this game. It still exists on my phone and I doubt it would ever leave. A worth to download for every Baseball fan.

8. Temple Run: The first and the most popular run games on the store till date, Temple Run is very addictive and gripping. The concept is very original and the game play is brilliant. The second version in 3D is very exciting and outstanding in every aspect.

9. Prince of Persia: I still remember playing the DOS version of POP. And the new versions have lived up to the expectations. The Classic; Shadow&Flame version of POP has extremely brilliant and magnificent game and sound effects. Truly a hit.

10. Tank Recon 3D: The most enjoyable tank game I've played so far. After Recoil that i played on my PC, Tank Recon looks very real and the graphics and sound effects are marvelous. Very enjoyable

Others like GTA III, Infinite Flight, Air Control HD also are really good in their execution and experience.

These games are the best in game play, sound effects, graphics and overall user experience which makes them for a worthy mention. Enjoy :)

Yahoo melts Rock

In continuation of its trend to acquire many small-scale businesses, Yahoo has again bought a kind of a social web browser.

Called as Rockmelt, this web browser was started in 2009 with an intention to make the Web faster and more fun. Basically it showcases the best and interesting data from the Web. A good idea really. This is the link here http://rockmelt.com/.

It has introduced a version for Smartphones and Tablets. You would love spending your time and browsing the content there. It also has its browser contents tied to Facebook's social media network.

Yahoo is going great guns to stay in the competition of gaining traffic for its web content. After acquiring Tumblr with a large bid amount, Rockmelt and also other companies, it seems pretty clear that Yahoo is in the race alongside Google and FB of becoming leaders in web content.

Some of its services like Yahoo messenger, Ymail, Yahoo search, Finance and other products are already going great. And with addition of Tumblr and Rockmelt now, it only seems to be getting better with every passing day.

Interesting to see now what actions others will take. Enjoy :)

Google's Helium Balloon initiative to get the entire planet online

Yes, get the entire planet online.

It is a huge challenge but that's what innovation is all about. Challenges.

Their team has suspended a thin polyethylene film helium filled balloon of 15 meters in diameter when fully inflated. This balloon is suspended about 12 miles above the earth's surface in the stratosphere.

The intention: Called the 'Project Loon', the idea is to enable the rural as well as the backward urban population get connected to the Internet. This helium balloon was developed in the Google X Labs with the purpose to connect the 4.8 billion people who are not online.

With about 18 months of work behind this project, this balloon has been launched in New Zealand. In order to connect to this giant balloon, it would need a bright red, basketball size receiver and pin it to the outside of their home.

The balloon will come equipped with flight computers, and Google would control the balloon's altitude from the ground, keeping them moving along a desired channel by using winds at different heights.

This would deviate from the traditional way of providing Internet connection with the help of underground fibre cables. The only challenge is to control the movement of the balloon across changing weather and environmental conditions and to keep the balloon afloat. Also trying to manage a fleet of balloons will be tougher.

On a more positive note, a huge welcome to the new members of the Internet.

Enjoyy :)

How to increase your PC speed

When we first bring our new system/PC at home or in office, the speed at which it performs is electric. We don't see any other system perform at the speed at which our system performs. It is mind blowing to see our desktops, PCs fast speed and compare it with the other older systems.

But as time progresses, maybe months or years, the PC speed decreases gradually. It goes so slow to an extent that we have other thoughts of buying a new system and replace the current system.

So what exactly happens that the speed goes so sour. Computers are made to last very long and help us for our online purposes and tasks. In fact even office systems last longer than home systems. Also offices use older systems that run as fast and neat as compared to newer systems.

At home, we install new software, games, tools and a host of other applications. Over time when we don't need these applications, we uninstall these applications and reduce our memory consumption.

But the most important part is that even the registry goes on entering data for the new applications. When we uninstall our applications, the entries in registry still exist. So our systems always execute instructions for software that are not in our systems and it ends up doping more work than required.

You can remove unwanted registry data by referring the video below,


Also spamware and malware slows down our systems and cause unrequired slow speeds. Viruses and Worms are also mostly responsible for the ever reducing system speeds and drive crashes.

You can scan your system with the newer versions of anti-virus and keep your system safe. Softwares like Avast and Kaspersky are portable and very handy.

My article on Tips and Tricks on better system performance also explains things you can do to keep your system sound and working at its full potential.

Google's new tabbed Gmail

Google has introduced ways to cut our time in checking our e-mails.

Welcome to tabbed mails.

Using this methodology, our e-mails will get divided into certain sections. This will be done so that we can only check the mails that we want to check. For example, if you want to check a mail sent by your close friend, you don't need to search that mail from the host of e-mails that you get everyday.

Instead, since your mails will get sorted into sections, you can enter a section (tab), and check your e-mail in a jiffy. Well, this is tabbed e-mail system and it should work great in your inbox too.

This will help you to prioritize your e-mails that are really important for you.


Google tabbed Gmail Inbox


This method is not enabled by default. To enable it, go to your email 'Settings', click on 'Configure Inbox'. The different tabs available are Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums. Since your mails will be sorted in this format, you can check your mails in a flash and spend less time for other unimportant mails.

The below video also describes it all,

How to create an account on Facebook

Facebook is one of the best social networking website to be found currently on the Internet.

Also called as 'FB', it has a global reach of more than billion users and a monthly active user count in hundreds of millions across the world. It was started way back in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and other people like Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz etc.




A film was made on Facebook called 'The Social Network' which describes the invention of Facebook and it's story around it.

Facebook now allows any users who declare themselves to be at least 13 years old to become registered users of the site.

It has also registered an 'Initial Public Offering' called an IPO details of which you can find here

It is one of the best sites to share Photos, Videos, make contact with old friends, Birthday reminders, create Events, share Articles, play Games, boost advertising, earn revenue, you can also send gifts to your loved ones, relatives, or send birthday presents and much much more.


You can create and shape up your online profile, set your status, 'LIKE' other people's online content, create friends, create Groups, follow people, buy goods and a host lot of other stuff.

Facebook also provides e-commerce facilities which means you can shop for your requirements at the comfort of your computer system.

For those of you who are unaware, here is a simple way for newbies to create an account on Facebook.

Click on this link 'https://www.facebook.com/'

You will see this below webpage on your web browser.



Under the 'Sign Up' header, enter your details as mentioned in the boxes. This will include your 'First Name', 'Last Name', your 'E-mail Address' where you will get e-mails on any updates like a friend request, pending notifications, tagged information etc. 

Then re-enter your email address, your account password, your Birth date, your Gender, and then hit 'Sign Up'.

It then sends you a link to your registered e-mail address that you need to click. This is done to verify your are a real and a verified user.

It is this simple. Once you are signed up, you can use Facebook services and get connected in this circle of billion people.

It is an enjoyable time to spend on this website and get connected to people online.

The best time saving technology tips

This article contains some interesting and time saving techniques when you are using a technological application, tool or if you want to avoid some unnecessary hassles.

1. If you are accessing a webpage, and you quickly want to go to the bottom of the page you would take your mouse/cursor always go to the scroll bar and scroll down. Instead, you can hit a space-bar. A space-bar hit takes you one page bottom of the web-page. Similarly, pressing a Shift Key + Space-bar takes you one page upwards of the web-page.

2. On a web-page you can move onto other fields of the form by hitting the Tab key. If you are on a drop down field and want to select a value, just enter the alphabet from which the value starts. Suppose if you want to select the country 'Australia' just enter an 'A'. If you want to select the value 'Duck', enter a 'D'.

3. For increasing the font size of the webpage, hit a Ctrl Key + '+' key. Similarly, for decreasing the font size hit a Ctrl Key + '-' sign.

4. When you want to highlight a word on the webpage, don't drag the word from the left to right or vice versa using a mouse. Just double-click the word. it will neatly select the required word on the web-page. Click again to select the entire statement containing the word.

The tips mentioned above work for all web browsers for all systems.

5. On a smartphone, if you want to redial a number, just hit the 'Call' button. The phone will put the last dialed button on the number box.

6. On a smartphone, if you want to put a full-stop, you don't need to change the character modes and then select a '.'. Instead, just hit the space-bar key twice on the display. The phone will insert a '.' for you.

The above tips work for all smartphones for all systems.

Hope you liked the time saving tips.

Enjoy :)

Transparency - The future in technology

With innovations going around at its peak, we get to see some enthralling, mind blowing and some really awesome technology never seen before.

It is this imagination and level of thinking that people put to use these days and it will get even better in the coming future.

The below videos tells why we're going to have a neat host of amazing technological gizmos.



That is a sure game changer. It is difficult to imagine if a product of such nature gets introduced in the market.   The impact of such a product on the notebook market is humongous.

The same goes for flexible OLED display mobile phones from Samsung. It is made up of plastic so the screen stays safe even if the phone falls off a height. lus it would be water-proof.

Just consider the situation if Samsung were to patent this technology. This would surely make Samsung the leader in smart phones.




So Samsung and Apple are definitely in the race to develop mass production of these transparent devices and this is possible only after some years. Question is what will the other competitors do. That will be needed to be figured out.

Website of the Day - Epipheo

EPIPHEO videos are a very good hit.

The company is a marketing tool for new businesses and start-ups and are spread upto good lenghts across the globe. If you have an idea with you, these guys can make you increasingly visible in the market.

Search for Epipheo on Youtube. It's very knowledgeable.

So they are the Website of the Week.

The Sixth Sense Technology

Pranav Mistry on TED gave a presentation on a mind blowing innovation on what he calls the Sixth Sense technology. This two part series is definitely an attention catcher.



In this sixth sense technology, Pranav Mistry talks about imagining about things that we do in a digital system. We can then replicate the same in our human world without the use of computer systems. We can do that using rollers and a camera to understand our needs. Rollers are used by the camera to understand our hand gestures.

It is simply brilliant of this guy to have come up with high number of unheard stuff and turning them a reality. Some really cool innovations he has come up with are the SixthSense, Teletouch, Mouseless etc.

There are a host of other innovations that you can read about and possibly try it on your own. You can read all about it in here.

Enjoy the change :)

The Future is here- Google glass, Smartwatch

THE FUTURE IS HERE.
THE FUTURE IS SMART.

The above lines are so true. What we had seen in Star Trek, Star Wars, Minority Report and other futuristic movies may be coming to reality sooner than expected. With new scientific discoveries and path-breaking innovations being introduced almost every single day from across all the parts of the globe, we are indeed heading fast to the futuristic era.

This is not only about smartphones. Technology has advanced to an extent where anything imaginable is possible now.

We have witnessed the wonder called the Google Glasses. Wearable glasses with the technology capability of Google on your eyes. The below video showing guys from Google bungee jumping and providing the video feed captured by the glasses is simply outstanding.






Also with Maps, Audio Video descriptions, Camera, Online search and other featured built-in in the glasses, it is simply outstanding. Refer more information from this link http://techstuffwiz.blogspot.in/2012/04/googles-augmented-eyewear-project-glass.html

However, with these glasses.not allowed in few places, owing to its ability to record anything might just be the response not expected.

It has also come in the news that Microsoft is working on a Smart watch. It will have a 1.5 inch display and will be touch enabled. It may also have curved glass as a wearable object. The Pebble smart watch and the Martian Passport Watch are already on its way.





News is that even Apple, Samsung and Google are on their way to design and introduce a smart watch. It would be interesting to see how it all works out between these companies.

Dubai is one hot spot for tourists now. The wonders of Dubai is their technology specialty. The Water Discus hotel, the Burj-Khalifa, Burj Al-arab, the Dubai Mall and the other vastly growing buildings and residential spaces are the reason Dubai is a global destination. Refer this article for more.

Website of the day - Quora

The website of the day goes to ...........

QUORA

Quora enables the users to get answers to any questions they might have on the topic of their choice. It can be anything. This means more content and more answers.

Enjoyyyy !!!

Yahoo lands on Tumblr

News is that the net giant Yahoo may be on its way to acquire the six year old social blogging website start up Tumblr for a swanky 1$ billion. How cool is that !!!

But it may not be the same from Tumblr users so as to speak. Users across the world have revealed their distress, unhappiness and a sign of zero excitement towards this deal. After all, Yahoo would want their websites to be clean and rich. Click here.

Microsoft and Facebook may also be in the race to buy Tumblr because they too want to see themselves more in the posts that the users create and refer all throughout the day and night across the world. It would be a huge and a major development for any organization that may have its hands full on this deal.

Facebook would definitely want to be in the race since they also tried to buy out Watsapp messenger services for a billion dollars for increasing their visibility on the net. And they may do that by offering some million dollars more. But FB already has a billion users signed in and Microsoft is into products industries lest they want to get involved into user social activities.

I personally feel Microsoft should involve themselves more into public networks to increase their visibility and   gain highest support of the users across the globe. This would mean good and healthy competition and great expectations from a worthy and a quality competitor.

But the question remains that how Yahoo would gain anything through this buyout. If Yahoo has to make any profit, it would need to make the end users use Yahoo products through ads, e-commerce, services etc. And as of now, the Tumblr users may not be in the deal. So it may lead to a lose lose situation which means a sinking ship for both the users and the company.

But you may never know :)

Dubai Tech Stuff. Hotels, Malls & Fountains

The technology upgrades are moving at a rapid pace every single day across the globe. And of the good places to see this technological progress is Dubai.

Dubai is undergoing a fast change as a technologically rich city undergoing vast and significant developmental changes. With Hotels and Shopping Malls to Residential areas and recreational places, its technology prowess always comes into picture.

There was the world's tallest building the Burj-Al-Arab (for a little while), the Burj Khalifa, then there was the largest man-made island. And now they have the world's largest underwater hotel.

Called the Water Discus hotel, this place takes you to the marine world. It has a futuristic design like in the Star Trek movies. It has disk shapes both above as well as below the water level that is not seen before.


Water Discus Hotel


The designers mention its modular design means it is transferable and can be moved in case of environmental or economic concerns.

In addition to a stay under the sea, guests can take advantage of the diving center, underwater vehicles for hire, a spa, a garden and even more.



Water Discus Hotel Room


The rooms under water have views of the ocean and sea life.

Next is the popular fountain show of Dubai.  This is the world's largest fountain and it's in the below video.




Next comes the Dubai Mall. It's one of the best technological marvels of the world.




There you have it. The complete leisure destination well equipped with the best of the world.

Best Photo Editing Tools - Pixlr, PhotoFunia, Adobe Photoshop and others

We all click photos on our Smartphones, Digital Cameras and look in wonder at the breath taking pic you have just shot.

However, your photos also look the best when you put some effect into it. Shades of grey, brown; a splash of green and blue; the classic negative, the sober sepia and much much more. We all love that extra touch of these colors that make our memories mesmerizing.

You can add these and many other colors and effects that some websites have to offer. These are renowned sites that have been making very good progress in the digital photo industries.

Below are some of the best photo editing websites that you can use to add the extra edge to your dear photos.

PhotoFunia
Instagram
Pixlr
Adobe Photoshop Online Editor
Gimp

Goal Line Technology

In a move to eradicate erring decisions from the most loved game ever, the FIFA has introduced goal line technology a.k.a (GLT) starting from Confederations Cup 2013 and the Brazil World Cup 2013. 

The aim of this technology is to assist the referees in goal line decision making. The technology should clearly determine if the ball has passed the goal line, using which the referees will take the decision. Currently, Hawk-eye and GoalRef are granted licenses by FIFA.

Unlike Cricket, if the referees err with the Goal Line technology; it will spell a disaster as the popularity of this sport spans the entire world across viewers, communities and sporting associations.

In my opinion, any sport should be kept miles away from any sort of technological interference. Allowing technology to play it's part spoils the fun. We have evolved in this age and the commonest of sense tells us that we should allow this. But it takes away the human factor out of the sport. The referees in the 19th century did a far better job in referring in every single sport. These days news comes out related to betting, match fixing and this has only tarnished the image of the sport on a whole.

For information on how this technology will be used in the matches, refer the below video.

Amazing Tools by Google - II. The Mapmaker, Search and Scholar


MAP MAKER

For all those who love working around Maps and editing geographical information this is the one. By using Google Map Maker, you can easily upload, edit, add and create relevant geographical details in the map. This is applicable to around 200 countries but remember any changes or editing done by you will go to the moderators for approval. After approving your changes, it will be accessible.


SCHOLAR

Scholar is like an online library tool to those who are into academics; a user can easily look for books, content, documents, articles and thesis. If you are looking for a specific document that is available online then you can easily search it out using Scholar.


SEARCH via. SMS

The best thing that Google offers to its users is the ability to utilize numerous applications that too via SMS. If we take for example search, you can easily conduct a web based news search, get the latest info on movies, cricket scores by merely sending an SMS to  9773300000. The results will be received instantly via SMS. Interestingly even if you do not own a Smartphone you can still use this service as it is SMS based and it has nothing to do with data connectivity either. In addition, if you like to receive latest updates then you can register with Google Calendar.

Have fun !!!


Amazing Tools by Google - I. Navigation, Cooking and others


Google is a well-known search engine that keeps incorporating new tools and features from time to time. Let us find out a few of these useful tools or features that helps a user in day-to-day activities.


COOKING

With Google introducing the tool of Cooking in its search functionality it is now relatively easier to search for the latest recopies. You will be easily able to find relevant searches according to the keywords this way and avoid useless links. You will further be benefited with the search results with various headings that include categorization. For example, recipes for diabetics, low-carbo, low fat, vegetarian and weight watchers, etc. now it becomes relatively easier for you to search accordingly.


HANGOUT

This is a video chat provided by Google. Utilizing this service a user can engage in simultaneous video chat with at least 10 users instantly. The video chat can also be done through your mobile device, tablet or desktop. You will be able to view the chat friend in a window the moment you start the conversation. In Hangout, you also have the sharing option of collaborating docs and sharing screens. You also have the option of broadcasting your chat on Google+ profile or share it across YouTube instantaneously.


NAVIGATION AND TRAFFIC

Google has come up with the latest for Android users; this includes voice navigation that guides a user giving directions. This feature is accessible from Google Maps even users having navigation app on their phone can gain this functionality. Additionally this is not all; a user will also be able to get a clear indication about the traffic information through live updates. This feature is for selected cities along with color-coding that indicates the heavy (red), moderate (yellow) and frees (green). If you are stuck in a jam then you also have the advantage of taking an alternate route suggested via map avoiding traffic.

Read about the other tools in the next blog.

The Trending Sites

We are all fascinated by the growing variety and in depth level of information and knowledge that users, bloggers, websites etc. share on the internet. It's a growing list of popular links that people refer these days after browsing through search engines.

I have populated here a list of technical links that you could refer on for some daily dose of news, innovations and interesting facts. I will post new links in my next post. Till then happy time spending :)

TechStuffWiz
Mashable
Quora
NextNewDeal
HowStuffWorks
Coursera

To Do things to keep your environment safe

You want to do something for your environment but can't think of anything. Here's some things you can do to contribute towards being environment friendly and simultaneously telling others about it too.

1. If you work in a company, you know that everyday there are hundreds and thousands of print outs getting printed every single day. That itself is a huge huge load on paper which in turn falls on trees. To reduce the load, reduce your prints.
If there is a bulk of print outs that you want to print, just reduce the font size of your entire document. 
So for example, if you want to print 10 papers of a document, you might end up utilizing only 8 papers. That is a neat saving of paper sheets. If this is the case with one individual, just imagine the saving we can do with billions every single day.

2. You keep your phone on charge mode, you see your phone is charged 100%. Yet we sometimes ignore to remove the charger off our phone and keep the charging going. This is not a good practice.
It only ends up over heating our phone and wasting precious electricity. Start charging only up to a limit that is required. This will save our time and money too.
So switch off your AC's, Gaming consoles and other stuff when not required.

3. We sometimes forget or overlook to switch off the electric plug when we are done with our chores or watching TV for example. The bad part of this is it leads to current getting leaked also called as leakage current. 
The result is the same. Avoiding this practice can lead to a less money wastage.

4. You can also save power by just changing the URL of your favorite search engine. Google had launched a new webpage called 'Blackle' which saves power because of its black screen. So logging onto Blackle can save power.

5. Participate in Earth Hour initiatives. Such initiatives do help saving power, resources etc. Or you might not even need an Earth Hour. Just do your own Earth Hour.

Google's the best Doodles - John Lennon, Games, Arts, Technology and much more

Impressed by Doodles and want to see more. Well here I have compiled some of the best doodles Google has come up with over these years. Get ready and enjoy !!!


The music legend John Lennon





Charlie Chaplin














For the rest of the exciting and dynamic doodles, go to this link below:
DOODLE

Tweet in Rhythm

Oh yes, get ready to tweet the rhythm. Twitter has just launched a music functionality. It is called 'We are Hunted'.

Twitter bought this new start-up with an intention to reach out to the masses with the profound music culture. 

The music application will provide the user with newly released Songs, Albums information from around the globe. Check out this official website for more information https://music.twitter.com

As the trend continues, this social giant has also got to acquire new start-ups to expand their value in the social networking market.

We are hunted determines trending songs and artists and gives this information to the users. This australian based company have announced that they will provide their services by joining hands with Twitter.

We are Hunted will allow online music streaming by using SoundCloud. This application will also allow video  streaming via. Vevo. And if this app also allows music purchase, ads display and other stuff, we would have a new competitor to the e-Commerce business.

So now people can tweet and listen to their favorite music and watch videos too. Looks like We are Hunted surely got into hunting it right !!!

The Chinese OS

In a move that could disappoint the OS giants, the Chinese government has asked Canonical to help them build an OS which will be specific for Chinese users on a whole. The new operating system will be called Ubuntu Kylin.

This OS will support Chinese dates and the language too. Kylin may also be able to run on websites, Shops, Portals etc.

This news also explains the intentions of the chinese to spread and support their technology to the world. Control over the Internet being the previous news.

This means a no-no to the known OS makers on the Chinese lands. Initially in a move, Microsoft had raised concerns to China over the growing piracy of their operating system and had put pressure to stop this rampant piracy. 

With the Chinese coming with their own version of an OS, this may completely stop dependency on the West. Because an OS is just the beginning, later on many more technological dependencies may be stopped like software applications, Support and maintenance applications, Hardware, Machinery and much more stuff.

WatsApp and a Billion $$$

Going once .. Going twice .. Going thrice .. and it's a Billion !!!

Rumor has it that the most popular mobile chat software 'WatsApp' may be going for sale. The party to buy this mobile czar is none other than our next door neighbor 'Google'. Seriously if Google does buy WatsApp, nothing can beat the Internet Giants.

What's interesting is that last year or so FB has been on the lookout to buy WatsApp. But it seems that the deal just never took off. WatsApp being the best mobile chat messenger may be having other plans. But WatsApp can do big things if it sticks to what it has been doing rather than sell off your greatest and the most popular idea to net giants. 

Look at FB, they have gone miles from where they have started. From a simple social networking start-up leading to a billion dollar jackpot. And now FB deals with e-Commerce, Ads, Apps of all nature and sizes, Chat, Messaging, Groups and a whole lot of user benefit initiatives. That's what time does. You think, scratch hard and your start-up is a profit making venture. 

I would really like WatsApp to go the long way. It's tough but it's worth taking a risk :)

The FB Home App. Flashy or unncessary?

So it's finally out now.

That FB is rolling out an app should have been known. They don't have a tie-up with phone manufacturers nor right now have the fire power to come up with an OS tough enough to beat the likes of Android and Apple Inc.

The app is named FB Home and it will be available on Android's Play Store. The app will integrate in the phone such that it will merge the users in the social networking medium.

The Home app acts like a medium between Android and the end-user. That is a neat idea to woo the users and the shareholders without going through much fuss of creating a phone or an OS. In my opinion, it seems unlikely that people will live long enough with the trademark white and blue styles and themes. However, this will get clear only when the app is launched by the Google Giants.

Another point is that will Android in its all consciousness block the FB Home from the Play Store, considering it's a rival in the tech world. If they do block the app, it will create negative vibes for the Google profit holders and make a bad impression for themselves. Google won't do that considering the intention that openness is a key characteristic Android thrives on. FB might play with the risk of publishing ad content depending upon user's choice, to generate more revenue. It's not necessary though because FB would just want to up their visibility on the OS stage as of now.

It has been so far so good for FB. Rest depends on Google :)

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