Apple planning iWatch using Intel chips: Rumors

By: iPadfanzz staff on December 31, 2012

Reports suggest that Apple is building a ‘smartwatch’ using the firm’s iPod Nano. The device will use Intel chips and new low-power Bluetooth technology and is all set to go on sale next summer.

The watch will reportedly have a one-and-a-half inch LED screen and will let users to send and receive email, texts and Facebook alerts as well as communicating with other devices wirelessly though Bluetooth. For voice commands, Apple’s voice assistant Siri would be used.

However, according to some tech blogs, the iPad-maker is supposedly working on something big. They say it will be much more than a watch.

The market is already filled with a number of watches based on similar pattern. Recently, a popular Kickstarter project from Pebble gave life to the concept. It had nearly 70,000 backers, but due to delays it will be out in early 2013. Thousands of consumers also use fitness products that resemble watches to track calorie intake and calories burned. A lot of these products sync and share data with iPhones via Bluetooth.

An affordable iwatch from Apple could affect the sales of some popular devices like the Nike Fuel Band, Fitbit and Jawbone Up.

Wearable computing products is a growing trend in the industry and obviously Apple will also thrive on such tech products that behave less like tech products, but with a human touch. Rival Google, has a product in Project Glass that appears to be gaining in popularity, but the price is currently prohibitive.

Till now Nano is Apple’s smallest device, bigger than only the Shuffle, which though looked awkward but was an excellent beginning – and perhaps a precursor — to the Pebble smart watch.

In all probability, this could be the next big thing from Apple in 2013 and with its technology prowess it can easily play the market.

Though the iWatch is just a rumor right now, but we’re hoping it’s more … much more.

US state Michigan passes law to protect social media accounts

By: iPadfanzz staff on December 31, 2012

A new Michigan House Bill has been enacted that prevents schools and employers from requesting login information to their personal social media accounts.

House Bill 5523, signed by Governor Rick Snyder and introduced by state Rep. Aric Nesbitt, "prohibit[s] employers and educational institutions from requiring certain individuals to grant access to, allow observation of, or disclose information that allows access to or observation of personal internet accounts."

It means that an institution can’t request for your username or passwords for sites like Facebook and Twitter. The bill is known as the "internet privacy protection act."

Before Michigan, Delaware too has banned public and private schools from requiring students' social media account information. Similarly, California has also banned companies from asking its workers to surrender their social media account passwords.

Instagram denies reports that active user numbers dropped by a quarter

By: iPadfanzz staff on December 30, 2012

Facebook's Instagram has denied the reports which said that a quarter of Instagram users have abruptly stopped using the massively-popular service over Christmas after the company rolled out and then withdrew policy changes.

The company had earlier this month announced that Instagram's new terms and conditions would allow it rights to sell your pictures without any compensation, which sparked internet outrage around the globe.

Following the backlash, Instagram did partially back down, and said it was not the company's intention to sell users' photos and that "legal documents are easy to misinterpret".

According to a post in New York Post, it said audience tracker AppData.com, Instagram’s active users dropped by almost a quarter over the Christmas period, from a 16.4 million peak to 12.5 million, as of December 27, 2012.

Reports published in various tech blogs suggest that the reasons for Instagram exodus may be different: as all other top websites - Pinterest, Spotify, FarmVille, Yahoo Social Bar – see a similar drop-off in user activity around the same time. The reports said it may have to do with ‘the Christmas holiday’ – when fewer people go to work.

"This data is inaccurate. We continue to see strong and steady growth in both registered and active users of Instagram," a Facebook spokesperson said.

Facebook launches Poke app which lets users send self-destructing messages

By: iPadfanzz staff on December 22, 2012


Pokes, once an old and popular Facebook feature which were used to get friends' attention on the site, has now been re-imagined as a mobile app.

The Facebook Poke app allows you to poke or send a message, photo, or video to Facebook friends to share what they're up to in a lightweight way. Since the messages sent through the app are self-destructing, each message expires after a specific time you've set, say 1, 3, 5 or 10 seconds, and cannot be retrieved by either party again. The app lets you poke an individual friend or several at once.

On using the app, it may remind you of Snapchat app, which self-destructs photos so it's harder for friends to store and embarrass you with later. Facebook’s latest app is also seen as a counter measure of the growing popularity of Snapchat app which is gaining traction with young users. People share nearly 50 million photos on Snapchat every day as against Facebook’s 300 million photos shared a day. Clearly, Facebook didn't want Snapchat to grow so big so that it would have to make another costly acquisition.

Reports on tech blogs suggest that Facebook did show interest in acquiring Snapchat, but but when the founders decided to stay independent, Facebook built its own version in just 12 days.

After you send a poke message, the recipient gets a push notification with a voice saying “Poke!” After opening the app, the user can see the type of message that has been sent until the timer runs out and the message disappears.

Since the app is completely mobile, nothing you do outside the app (say Facebook.com) will be viewable to users inside the app. There’s currently no way to view Poke app messages on the web.

Further, Poke simply links back to the main Facebook terms of service, which means that Facebook can save all the content from the app until you delete your account. But reports suggest that all Poke messages are retained for two days after being read, to help facilitate abuse reporting.

‘Gangnam style’ makes YouTube history with 1 billion views

By: iPadfanzz staff on December 22, 2012


South Korean pop star Psy’s “Gangnam Style” video has become the first video on YouTube to attain over one billion views, creating a fresh milestone for the musician.

"One billion views is an incredible number," said Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager. He has attributed Psy's success "to the universal appeal of catchy music -- and his dance moves."

Over the past few months, the rapper’s fame has spiraled, and now he can be consistently seen in international awards and giving guest appearances in different shows. The video and its singer have been given walk-on roles in major world events like the US presidential election.

Following “Gangnam Style” is Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber’s “Baby” which fetched over 750 million in over two years. In comparison, PSY’s “Gangnam Style” took less than seven month’s time to hit the 1 billion mark.

Although it is hard to say how much an impact PSY has made on the pop culture arena, one thing is for sure that he had made a big-time entry and his charisma and popularity is unlikely to fade soon. Every time it looked like declining, another parody gives it the necessary publicity to give it the required fillip.

Earlier, Rolling Stone put "Gangnam Style" at number 25 on its top 50 list of best songs for 2012.

The quirky star, whose real name is Park Jae-Sang, has won adulation in his homeland and overseas and has even received one of South Korea's highest cultural honours, the Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit.

Samsung Galaxy Music Duos now available in India for Rs 9,199

By: iPadfanzz staff on Dec 8, 2012


Samsung India has started taking pre-orders for Galaxy Music Duos, the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)-powered smartphone that is available for Rs 9199.

It is a dual-SIM smartphone that has 3-inch QVGA capacitive touch screen offering the resolution of 240 x 320 p. The handset captures images through a rear-facing 3MP camera that features auto focus, X2 digital zoom, smile shot and self timer. It offers panorama, portrait, landscape and scene modes for shooting images while recording videos can be done at 25 fps.

The phone has dimensions of 110 x 59 x 12.25 millimeters and weighs 106 grams. It runs on an 850MHz processor and comes with 512MB RAM. It has 4GB on-board internal memory and supports 32GB microSD cards for expansion. It is a 3G enabled device that delivers 15 hours of talk time in 2G mode and upto 6 hours in the 3G.

For connectivity, Samsung Galaxy Music Duos has features like Wi-Fi, 3G, 2G, Bluetooth 3.0 and microUSB.

Just like the name, the device is built for music and supports formats like MP3, AAC, AMR, midi and OGG, but will not play wma files. It is equipped with FM radio.

The handset is available in India through snapdeal.com in blue color and is available for Rs approximately Rs 9000.

General Information Brand Samsung Model Galaxy Music Duos Weight 106.9 G Form Factor Touch Bar Dimensions 110.1x59x12.3 MM Operating Frequency GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / HSDPA 900 / 2100 MHz | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz Dual Sim Yes, Dual SIM Touch Screen Yes, Capacitive Touchscreen Display Details Display Color 3.0 inches, TFT Capacitive Touchscreen Display Size Samsung Galaxy Music Duos has a display size of 240 x 320 px Display Features Multi-Touch Screen, WVGA Projector Sensors Accelerometer, Proximity, Compass Camera Camera Yes, 3.2 Mega Pixels Camera Camera Res. 2048 x 1536 Pixels  Zoom Yes, Digital Zoom Video Yes Video Recording Yes Video Player Yes, Video Formats : MP4, H.263 Software Games Yes Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator Browser Yes, HTML5 Operating System Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) Call Records Phone Book Yes Missed Calls Yes Received Calls Yes Dialed Calls Yes Battery Stand By Time N/A Talk Time N/A Li-ion 1300 mAH

Memory Internal Memory Yes, Internal Memory : 4 GB Storage, 512 MB RAM External Memory Yes, Up to 32 GB Memory Slot Yes, Micro SD Card Message SMS Yes, Threaded View MMS Yes Email Yes, Push Email Instant Messaging Yes Social Networking Services Facebook, Twitter, Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa Music Ring Tone Vibration, MP3, Polyphonic FM Yes, Stereo FM Radio with RDS; Built-in Antenna Music Yes, Music Formats : MP3, WAV, eAAC+, Stereo Speaker, SRS Sound Enhancement, 3.5mm Audio Jack Speaker Yes Headset Yes Data GPRS Yes Bluetooth Yes, v3.0 with A2DP Wirless Protocol Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot Port Yes, Micro USB 2.0 Edge Yes Infra Red No 3G Yes, HSDPA, HSUPA GPS Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS Salespack Handset, Battery, Charger, Earphone, USB Cable, User Manual, Warranty Card Others Colours Blue, Orange, Gray

Steps to Fix a Wireless Mouse

Going wireless is something that shows the technological advancements. The popularity of wireless/cordless mouse has taken up the computer world by storm. There are lots of advantages to enjoy with a wireless mouse. It just acts as a remote control that makes our work cozy. However, there are some drawbacks of wireless mice as well. Due to the wireless interface, these devices can be prone to problems. Fortunately, we have practical solutions to fix out wireless computer mouse problems. If you’re the one having problems with your wireless mouse, go through this article to find out the effective solutions.

Steps to Fix:- 

Step 1: First you need to check up the wireless connection. Check whether your wireless adapter or USB linking device is plugged in correctly. To make sure, unplug the device and then plug it back in.

Step 2: Resynchronize your computer mouse to the wireless receiver. Press the sync or connect button located on the USB dongle to begin the process of resynchronization. Press the similar button located on your mouse. This will resync the dongle with your wireless mouse.

Step 3: If your mouse uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with the computer, then you need to do some settings again in the control panel. Turn off the network situated in control panel for few minutes. Then reboot the network and check if the connection is restored. 

 Step 4: If you got a trackball mouse, open it to clean the wheel and dust deposited inside. If you’re using an optical mouse, clean the bottom of the lens with a soft tissue and lens cleanser solution. You can also remove any debris by using compressed air. 

Step 5: One of the simplest ways is to check the mouse batteries. Check if the batteries are not dead or dying. Replace them if required and restart the whole device again by resynchronizing the mouse with the wireless receiver. Use good quality batteries that are quite durable.

Step 6: If your wireless mouse came with an installation disc, make sure you have installed it properly. You can reinstall the installation disc. Even you can update the USB driver in order to setup the connection. Press the Windows key and without lifting your finger, press the letter R to open the Run box. Type devmgmt.msc in it and then click on OK. Now in the Device Manager box you’ll find “Mice and other pointing devices” option. Double click on it to expand and get the “HID-compliant mouse” option. Right click on it to get the “Update Driver…” option. Click on this option to update the driver.  

    

Step 7: Make sure there's no interference by things like wireless routers, radios, cell phones, or large metal objects. Try to keep such things away from the mouse or the receiver. There should be distance of at least 8 to 12 inches between the mouse and the receiver. 

Step 8: The final step is to check your wireless mouse whether it’s working on another computer. If it runs fine, then it’s time to check the fault in your computer. If still it doesn’t work, then change it if it's under the warranty or else buy a new one. 

View also Why to Choose a Wireless Mouse