All posts by Utkarsh

Solution designer with Firstsource solutions. A post grad in Networks and IT Infrastructure. Technology enthusiast, blogger, webdesigner, Network security aspirant and in love with electronics and gadgets. This blog is an attempt to share what I find interesting... almost anything @Mtaram on twitter and
Mobile

Google Deal May Stabilize Patent Fights

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Google Inc.’s $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. was a welcome development because it may bring “stability” to a recent slate of smartphone patent disputes.

Verizon was the first U.S. wireless carrier to make a big bet on Google’s Android software, and it relied heavily on Motorola’s Droid smartphone lineup to combat the iPhone, which was exclusively distributed by rival AT&T Inc. for four years. Even though Verizon started selling the iPhone earlier this year, it has a lot at stake since it still distributes millions of smartphones from Motorola Mobility and other device makers that support the Android system.

By gaining Motorola’s roughly 17,000 patents in the deal, Google said it could more easily protect its Android mobile software from lawsuits. Apple, Microsoft Corp., and Oracle Corp. have sued Google, Motorola and device-maker HTC Corp. over allegations of intellectual property violations.

Android, Mobile

Android Highly Vulnerable to Attacks, Google Apprehensive

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http://cdn.itproportal.com/photos/android_sad_display.jpgTime and again it has been brought to attention that Google’s Android operating system is not secure enough and the latest announcement comes from a security expert named Riley Hassell.

The expert from Privateer Labs has revealed that there are more than dozen apps on Android that are quite dangerous and can leave the phones vulnerable to attacks such as phishing and hijacking.

Hassell was supposed to speak of the security issues with smartphone operating system at the annual Black Hat hackers conference, but he pulled out at the very last moment.

Read More

Android

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion

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http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00754/GOOGLE_MOTOROLA_MOB_754937f.jpg

Google is buying cell phone maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in cash in what is by far the company’s biggest acquisition to date.

Google will pay $40.00 per share, a 63 per cent premium to Motorola’s closing price on Friday.

The companies say the deal has been approved by the boards of both.

Google CEO Larry Page says that the deal with “supercharge the entire Android ecosystem.”

The deal gives Google direct control over the maker of many of its Android phones.

This post first appeared on The Hindu

Mobile

Could this be the iPhone 5?

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http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2011/08/iphone5-3.jpeg

Leaked case designs have been a surprisingly good barometer for predicting the shapes of previous iPhones and iPods, and even the iPad 2. The thinking goes that iPhone cases are big business, and case-makers are willing to pay big bucks to get their hands on the details so they can have cases in stores on launch day.

Couple this with the fact that Apple is surely already building zillions of iPhone 5s to avoid any shortages at the expected September launch, and there must be some underpaid worker, somewhere, willing to sell the secrets.

So it is that MacRumors commissioned Italian designers Ciccarese to make a CG mock-up of the iPhone 5 based on already leaked case designs. Could this be the shape of the iPhone 5?

Read more at Wired

Facebook, Social NW

Facebook Messaging App

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Facebook debuted a new app for smartphones Tuesday, allowing users to send text messages to each other from their smartphones using Facebook’s messaging system.

The app in question — Facebook Messenger — is an extension of Facebook’s existing messaging system, which allows two Facebook users to communicate within the Facebook platform. As a standalone program separate from the Facebook app, Messenger allows Facebook users to send text messages between phones, while still storing the conversation in a user’s messaging center on his or her individual Facebook page.

Facebook’s Messenger app is also capable of group texting, letting you pick multiple Facebook contacts and send them all texts at once. If a FB user is logged into the new message app, it’ll show up there. If not, they get the message sent to them as an SMS, so long as they’ve registered their phone with Facebook. The service is mobile-focused, so it doesn’t completely integrate with Facebook Messages, which tries to route a message to a person using whatever channel Facebook thinks is most likely for you to get it fastest.

Facebook, Social NW

Facebook allows unborn child to be listed as family

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Facebook is now letting parents-to-be list their unborn children on their personal profiles.

Among options that include daughter, son, wife and husband, the “Friends and Family” section under “Edit Profile” now allows the option “Expected: Child.” Parents can add a due date and the baby’s name.

With the feature, the expected child would appear next to other family members on the user’s profile and the changed status would appear in friends’ News Feed.

Read More @ CNN

Search

SEO Hosting

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http://nichebloggers.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/seo-hosting.jpgEvery computer on the Internet has an IP address. Your computer, your web enabled phone and the server that hosts your websites all have IP addresses. They usually look something like this:

67.45.123.87

As you see above, there are 4 sets of numbers separated by dots.

The first set of numbers is the ‘A’ class
The second set is the ‘B’ class
The third set of numbers the ‘C’ class
And finally the fourth set is the ‘D’ class

Something a bit like this:

A.B.C.D

Inside data centers where your server is located related servers or websites are often hosted by servers with the same ‘C’ class of ips. So their ips might look something like this:

67.45.123.87
67.45.123.79

The search engines know this and can spot when related sites cross link to each other from within the same class C ip address. These links are often filtered out of the ranking algorithms. If your site has too many of these types of links it can even bring a penalty to your site.

That’s why a few companies came up with the idea of “SEO Hosting”. This is where they will sell you hosting on completely different sets of class C ip addresses. People often use this to hide their mini site networks, blog “farms” or cross linking networks.

Keep in mind that Google can also see your contact information for your domain. So if you go through all the time and expense of setting up this type of hosting it would be silly to use all the same contact information on your entire network. That stands out like a sore thumb to Google.

Facebook

Facebook privacy controls

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Facebook allows you to share almost anything and everything with your friends. But what if some day you get a friend request from your Boss, you cant say Ignore and you also don’t want to accept. Here comes the role of Facebook privacy controls. You can customize them such that you can have things hidden from who ever you want on an individual or group basis.

Controls can be set for individuals but it is better if all the Facebook friends are grouped into various lists as Facebook prefers to call them.

Following is a step by step walkthrough to do it.

Login to Facebook.

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Click the Friends tab on the left column as shown above. This would take you to the all friends list.

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Click manage Friends List on the top right corner. This would lead to all the lists that you have made of friends, colleagues etc. as shown below.

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If needed you can also create a new list by clicking the button create list which is on top right (cropped out in the above depiction)

Once you have your lists in place head over to account management.

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Go to Account >> Privacy Settings.

This would take you to a page which shows the summary of current privacy controls in place.

Here you can configure what you want to show to who. Following will be just an example and you can customize everything in the same manner as shown.

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Click Customize to go to the individual controls page.

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Here you can Customize privacy controls for Things shared by you and others and contact related details. The following examples shows it only for posts. Rest can be done in same way.

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Click on the tab to open the drop down and click edit to customize. This brings up the following popup.

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Here you can select the setting from the drop down for who to show and to hide the updates just type in the friends name or the list name in the below “Hide this from” section.

Save settings and you are done.

This same can be done of all kind of updates.

Do let us know if this was of any help to you. 🙂

News

Speak Asia COO Tarak Bajpai in police net

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http://denim99.com/wp-content/uploads/spk.jpgSpeak Asia COO Tarak Bajpai was detained by the Economic Offenses Wing of the Mumbai police for questioning on Friday. The online survey company hit controversy in a multi-crore scam.

The move comes just two days after CID froze the online survey company’s bank accounts.

Bajpai, who is the most prominent face of the online survey company’s India operations will be flown from Indore to Mumbai.

Speak Asia is being investigated for a multi-level fraud. FIRs and PILs have been filed against it. The company has maintained that it collects money only for its online magazine and that the survey is just a benefit.

Speaking to CNN-IBN, Kirit Somaiya said that three other officials of speak Asia are likely to be arrested soon.

The Singapore-based company Speak Asia, which is yet to be incorporated as a company in India, would be inspected under section 591 of the Companies Act, which is applicable on companies incorporated outside India and has established a place of business within the country.

The company charges a membership fee is Rs 11,000 for a year. The members are expected to conduct online surveys for clients of the firm. Members are paid for conducting the surveys. The company said that it pays Rs 500 for every survey to its member.