#Facebook launches 'dislike' button for Messenger

Facebook has updated its Messenger app that includes a 'dislike' button. 

However, the 'dislike' option is only available on the desktop and mobile versions of Facebook Messenger, Fox News reports. The dislike button is not available for the newsfeed and cannot be used in statuses and other posts. 

In order to access the new sticker pack, users will have to download it from the Sticker Store inside the Messenger app. 

While a "like" sticker was already available on Facebook Messenger, the new set of finger stickers was added only now, after having been created during a hackaton that took place this fall.

Facebook is said to be mulling launching a 'sympathize' button.
(By: TOI)

#Google Play Music gets update for #iOS 7

Google has updated Google Play Music to include features missing from the initial release. The move comes a month after Google was lagging behind its Android counterpart. 

According to the Verge, the app has been updated for iOS 7, the app now includes "I'm Feeling Lucky" radio. 

The radio builds an instant playlist based on the user's listening habits, and genre radio stations for paying All Access subscribers, the report said. 

Added creature comforts include the ability to search for genres and auto-playlists - all the better to enjoy the service's more than 20 million songs, it added.

#Nokia's dual-sim Lumia phone Moneypenny leaked

It looks like Nokia's first dual-sim Lumia smartphones could hit developing markets pretty soon.

An alleged screenshot of the home screen of one such phone was posted online by Twitter user @evleaks. The tweet didn't reveal much except the codename of the phone, mentioned as 'Moneypenny.'

The screenshot though, offers a peek in to the next iteration of the Windows Phone OS, complete with onscreen navigation keys for Back, Start and Search. The onscreen keys were also leaked by @evleaks, earlier this month. The home screen of the phone features two network bars, both indicating support for 3G networks, and two separate tiles for Phone and Messaging, most probably corresponding to the different phone lines for the two sims.

@evleaks had first tweeted in November that Nokia was planning a dual-sim version of Windows Phone-Blue (Windows Phone 8.1) powered Moneypenny. A report by The Verge had also reiterated that Nokia's Moneypenny handset will feature on-screen navigation buttons that are being offered to device makers with the latest iteration of the OS. Windows Phone 8.1 is expected to be unveiled at Build 2014 scheduled to be held in April 2014.

It was reported that two of the major new features of the Windows Phone 8.1 OS would be a notification centre and Siri-inspired personal voice assistant. Sources have revealed that the mobile operating system would feature the highly requested notification center, which will be enabled by swiping down from the top of the screen, similar to iOS and Android. The personal voice assistant, dubbed 'Cortana', is expected to replace the existing Bing search on Windows Phone and allow users to interact using voice or text input.

Meanwhile, @evleaks has also posted a new picture of a big-screen Nokia Asha-like handset, codenamed Normandy. The picture just features six colour variants of the phone. It was previously reported that the Normandy was Nokia's Android phone which was being tested by the company. The phone was running a special "forked" variant of Android that's not aligned with Google's own version, akin to what Amazon does with its Kindle Fire line and was believed to be an equivalent to the company's low-cost Asha range and support Android apps.

The rumour was dismissed by another report that claimed that Nokia had dumped plans for Android smartphone and tablets completely as it cannot launch any phones under its own branding for two years after the completion of the sale of its mobile unit to Microsoft. However, it is reported to be focusing on nascent technologies in the field of wearable computing, such as smartglasses, flexible displays, wireless power transmission and electromagnetic energy generation.

#Micromax Canvas 2.2 listed online for Rs 12,799

Micromax has quietly introduced a new Android phablet, the Canvas 2.2 A114. The phone is listed on e-commerece retailer Flipkart, at a price point of Rs 12,799.

The Micromax Canvas 2.2 A114 sports a 5 inch IPS display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels, and 16.7m colours. The phone is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processor (MT6582M) and 1GB RAM. It runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and measures 73 x 145 x 9.7 mm, weighing 147 gram.

It sports an 8MP rear camera with LED flash, capable of 1080p video capture and a 2MP front facing camera. The Canvas 2.2 comes with 4GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. The phone features a 2000mAh battery and is a dual-sim handset (GSM+GSM). It offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and 3G connectivity options and comes with a G-Sensor, Light Sensor, and Proximity Sensor.

In May, Micromax had launched Canvas 2 Plus A110Q that sports an inferior display and a different processor.

Key specifications:

5 inch IPS display with a resolution of 540 x 960pixels;
1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processor (MT6582M);
1GB RAM;
4GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card;
8MP rear camera with LED flash;
2MP front facing camera;
Dual-SIM (GSM+GSM);
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean;
2000mAh battery

#WhatsApp Messenger Updated to Work on #iOS 4 and #iOS 5 Again

WhatsApp messenger has been updated to work on iOS 4 and iOS 5, after the recent 2.11.6 update had a bug that instantly crashed the app for those users.

WhatsApp Messenger is a smartphone messenger available for iPhone and other smartphones. WhatsApp uses your 3G or WiFi (when available) to message with friends and family. Switch from SMS to WhatsApp to send and receive messages, pictures, audio notes, and video messages.

WhatsApp on iPhone works with virtually all carriers and networks but some carrier limitations may apply. If you are on an Apple unsupported wireless carrier, double check our FAQ for up to date information on our coverage. 

* NO HIDDEN COST: Once you and your friends download the application, you can use it to chat as much as you want. Send a million messages a day to your friends for free! WhatsApp uses your Internet connection: 3G/EDGE or Wi-Fi when available.

* MULTIMEDIA: Send Video, Images, and Voice notes to your friends and contacts.

* GROUP CHAT: Enjoy group conversations with your contacts. Add or Remove group participants, change group subject and set a group icon.

* PERSONAL: Set a profile photo which will be shown to all your contacts

* NO INTERNATIONAL CHARGES: Just like there is no added cost to send an international email, there is no cost to send WhatsApp messages internationally. Chat with your friends all over the world as long as they have WhatsApp Messenger installed and avoid those pesky international SMS costs.

* SAY NO TO PINS AND USERNAMES: Why even bother having to remember yet another PIN or username? WhatsApp works with your phone number, just like SMS would, and integrates flawlessly with your existing phone address book.

* NO NEED TO LOG IN/OUT: No more confusion about getting logged off from another computer or device. With push notifications WhatsApp is ALWAYS ON and ALWAYS CONNECTED.

* NO NEED TO ADD BUDDIES: Your Address Book is used to automatically connect you with your contacts. Your contacts who already have WhatsApp Messenger will be automatically displayed under Favorites, similar to a buddy list.

* OFFLINE MESSAGES: Even if you miss your push notifications or turn off your iPhone, WhatsApp will save your messages offline until you retrieve them during the next application use.

* AND MUCH MORE: Share location and places, Exchange contacts, Custom wallpaper, Custom notification sounds, Landscape mode, Message timestamps, Email chat history, Broadcast messages and media to many contacts at once, and much much more!

What's New In This Version:
2.11.7

- make the app work again for iOS 4 and iOS 5 users

You can download WhatsApp Messenger from the App Store for free.

Court says #Apple did not violate #Samsung patents

SEOUL, South Korea: A Seoul court has denied Samsung's claim that Apple violated three of its patent related to short message services. 

A judge at Seoul Central District Court said Thursday that two of Samsung patents lacked ``progressivity'' and can be easily developed by others. He said one patent was not used in the iPad. 

Samsung Electronics Co. sued Apple in March 2012 accusing the iPhone maker of illegally using its three patented technologies. It sought compensation and a ban on sales of six iPhone and iPad models. 

The ruling is the latest legal blow to Samsung, which owes Apple $930 million from two jury verdicts in Silicon Valley. Samsung is seeking to appeal both. 

The world's top two smartphone makers have waged legal battles over mobile devices since 2011.

#Apple Improves Siri's Accuracy, Reduces Reliance on #Google

Apple has been working to improve the accuracy of Siri and reduce its reliance on Google Search, according to a report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, relayed by MacRumors.

Munster recently issued his latest report card on Siri saying:

The primary improvement between Siri in iOS 6 and iOS 7 came from its performance in noisier areas, where Siri was able to translate better through a noisy environment (94% vs. 83% correct in Aug iOS 6). Based on our testing, iOS 7 Siri's net ability to answer questions (factors in questions not correctly understood) improved to 79% from 77% in August with iOS 6.

Notably, in Munster's December 2012 tests, 27% of Siri's answers relied on Google; however, that dropped to just 17% in August and just 4% in December 2013. Apple has shifted answers to emphasize Bing, Wikipedia, and WolframAlpha results.

Finally, when comparing Siri to Google Now, both services received a "C+" score. Google Now has a slight lead in commerce and information and Siri performed better for operating system controls.

How #Facebook wants to use your data

Facebook has unveiled plans on a partnership with New York University for a new center for artificial intelligence, aimed at harnessing the huge social network's massive trove of data.

The California-based tech giant named professor Yann LeCun of NYU's Center for Data Science to head up the project.

"As one of the most respected thinkers in this field, Yann has done groundbreaking research in deep learning and computer vision," said Mike Schroepfer, Facebook's chief technology officer. "We're thrilled to welcome him to Facebook."

Facebook, the world's biggest social network with more than a billion members, is building the team across three locations -- New York, London and its headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

The lab will work on "machine learning," -- a branch of artificial intelligence that involves computers "learning" to extract knowledge from giant data sets.

LeCun, a French-born mathematician and computer scientist, said in a blog post that he was pleased to head up the project with "the ambitious, long-term goal of bringing about major advances in artificial intelligence."

"I am thrilled to announce that I have accepted the position of director of this new lab," LeCun wrote. "I will remain a professor at New York University on a part-time basis, and will maintain research and teaching activities at NYU."

Facebook chief and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke of the plans during a call in October to discuss the company's quarterly earnings.

Zuckerberg said a working group was formed in September "to do world-class artificial intelligence research using all of the knowledge that people have shared on Facebook."

"The goal here is to use new approaches in AI to help make sense of all the content that people share so we can generate new insights about the world to answer people's questions," Zuckerberg said at the time.

He added that one of the goals was "to build services that are much more natural to interact with and can help solve many more problems than any existing technology today."

LeCun is a professor at NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and is the founding director of the university's Center for Data Science.

He is known for creating an early version of a pattern-recognition algorithm which mimics, in part, the visual cortex of animals and humans.

The algorithm helped allow AT&T's Bell Labs to deploy a check-reading system that by the late 1990s was reading about 20 percent of all the checks written in the US, according to NYU.

LeCun's recent research projects include the application of "deep learning" methods for visual scene understanding and navigation autonomous ground robots, driverless cars, and small flying robots, as well as speech recognition, and applications in biology and medicine

#Qualcomm plans processor to rival #Apple A7 chip

Qualcomm Inc said it will make smartphone chips with 64-bit features typically found in personal computers, following Apple Inc and opening the way to more efficient mobile gadgets.

Qualcomm said its new Snapdragon 410 component will also include 4G cellphone connectivity technology and be aimed at the fast-growing Chinese market, where it should start appearing in low-cost smartphones in the second half of 2014.

Along with 4G, 64-bit technology will become standard across Qualcomm's products, said Michelle Leyden Li, a Qualcomm senior director in charge of marketing its Snapdragon line.

Led by Apple's iPhones, the smartphone industry's evolution toward 64-bit chips reduces the gap between low-power mobile processors and punchier chips used in laptops, desktop PCs and servers.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has also said it plans to use 64-bit processors in its smartphones.

Processors with 64-bit features can take advantage of more memory than 32-bit processors now found in most mobile devices, potentially letting them work faster and more efficiently.

Current smartphones don't have enough memory to give 64-bit processors an advantage of 32-bit chips, but future phones probably will include enough memory to give the 64-bit processors a performance boost.

Taking advantage of 64-bit processors also requires changes to software originally designed for 32-bit processors.

"It's a little bit chicken and the egg," Leyden Li said. "We see this transition happening and we want to be there to help enable the ecosystem."

In September, Apple unveiled its first iPhone made with a 64-bit processor, leading to speculation the company plans to merge its iOS mobile platform with the operating system used for its Mac laptop and desktop personal computers. Future Macs could be built with the same line of chips Apple that uses in its iPhones and iPads.

Intel Corp already includes 64-bit features in its mobile chips but the company's "x86" architecture has failed to catch on in smartphones and tablets. A competing, low-power architecture has been licensed to chipmakers by Arm Holdings Plc and has become ubiquitous in devices.

3 ways to speed up your old #Smartphone

As smartphones age, they tend to slow down and lag too much while performing the simplest of tasks. But worry not, you can make your old gadget operate faster, just follow these three tips:

Updates
Firmware updates take care of lags, bugs, and other issues that you may not be aware of. Such issues crop up with reasonable frequency, so updating regularly will ensure the best performance for your phone.

Memory issues
Low internal memory might be the reason behind any severe lag that your phone is experiencing. Move your media (pictures, MP3 files, videos, and so forth) to the external memory, usually an SD card. Some low-end and mid-range smartphones might already have low internal memories, in which case, moving your files to the SD card won't help that much.

Apps
The application store of your phone, regardless of which OS it uses, will have plenty of apps that can help boost your phone's performance. Task managers help you monitor and close unnecessary processes. This frees up some RAM memory, and so, the phone will run faster. A good antivirus application will scan your phone for any possible viruses and malwares, which can also slow down your phone.

#Twitter to be available on mobile phones without internet

 Twitter Inc is tying up with a Singapore-based startup to make its 140-character messaging service available to users in emerging markets who have entry-level mobile phones which cannot access the internet. 

U2opia Mobile, which has a similar tie-up withFacebook Inc , will launch its Twitter service in the first quarter of next year, chief executive and co-founder Sumesh Menon told Reuters. 

Users will need to dial a simple code to get a feed of the popular trending topics on Twitter, he said.

More than 11 million people use U2opia's Fonetwish service, which helps access Facebook and Google Talk on mobile without a data connection. 

Twitter, which boasts of about 230 million users, held a successfulinitial public offering last month that valued the company at around $25 billion. 

U2opia uses a telecom protocol named USSD, or Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, which does not allow viewing of pictures, videos or other graphics. 

"USSD as a vehicle for Twitter is almost hand in glove because Twitter has by design a character limit, it's a very text-driven social network," Menon said. 

Eight out of 10 people in emerging markets are still not accessing data on their phone, he said. 

U2opia, which is present in 30 countries in seven international languages, will localize the Twitter feed according to the location of the user. 

"So somebody in Paraguay would definitely get content that would be very very localized to that market vis a vis somebody sitting in Mumbai or Bangalore," he said. 

The company, whose biggest markets are Africa and South America, partners with telecom carriers such as Telenor , Vodafone and Bharti Airtel Ltd. U2opia usually gets 30 to 40 percent of what users pay its telecom partners to access Fonetwish. 

"For a lot of end users in the emerging markets, it's going to be their first Twitter experience," Menon said.    

   

2 million #Google, #Facebook, #Twitter passwords stolen

Security experts have uncovered a trove of some 2 million stolen passwords to websites including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Yahoo from internet users across the globe. 

Researchers with Trustwave's SpiderLabs said they discovered the credentials while investigating a server in the Netherlands that cybercriminals use to control a massive network of compromised computers known as the "Pony botnet." 

The company said that it has reported its findings to the largest of more than 90,000 websites and internet service providers whose customers' credentials it had found on the server. 

The data includes more than 3,26,000 Facebook accounts, some 60,000 Google accounts, more than 59,000 Yahoo accounts and nearly 22,000 Twitter accounts, according to SpiderLabs. Victims' were from the United States, Germany, Singapore and Thailand, among other countries. 

Representatives for Facebook and Twitter said the companies have reset the passwords of affected users. A Google spokeswoman declined comment. Yahoo representatives could not be reached. 

SpiderLabs said it has contacted authorities in the Netherlands and asked them to take down thePony botnet server. 

An analysis posted on the SpiderLabs blog showed that the most-common password in the set was "123456," which was used in nearly 16,000 accounts. Other commonly used credentials included "password," "admin," "123" and "1." 

Graham Cluley, an independent security expert, said it is extremely common for people to use such simple passwords and also re-use them on multiple accounts, even though they are extremely easy to crack. 

"People are using very dumb passwords. They are totally useless," he said.

#WhatsApp Messenger is Updated With New iOS 7 User Interface

The popular WhatsApp Messenger has been updated with a new iOS 7 user interface, broadcast lists, larger thumbnails, new notification alerts and sounds, and more.

WhatsApp Messenger is a smartphone messenger available for iPhone and other smartphones. WhatsApp uses your 3G or WiFi (when available) to message with friends and family. Switch from SMS to WhatsApp to send and receive messages, pictures, audio notes, and video messages. First year FREE! ($0.99 USD/year after)

Features:
● NO HIDDEN COST: Once you and your friends download the application, you can use it to chat as much as you want. Send a million messages a day to your friends for free! WhatsApp uses your Internet connection: 3G/EDGE or Wi-Fi when available.
● MULTIMEDIA: Send Video, Images, and Voice notes to your friends and contacts.
● GROUP CHAT: Enjoy group conversations with your contacts. Add or Remove group participants, change group subject and set a group icon.
● PERSONAL: Set a profile photo which will be shown to all your contacts
● NO INTERNATIONAL CHARGES: Just like there is no added cost to send an international email, there is no cost to send WhatsApp messages internationally. Chat with your friends all over the world as long as they have WhatsApp Messenger installed and avoid those pesky international SMS costs.
● SAY NO TO PINS AND USERNAMES: Why even bother having to remember yet another PIN or username? WhatsApp works with your phone number, just like SMS would, and integrates flawlessly with your existing phone address book.
● NO NEED TO LOG IN/OUT: No more confusion about getting logged off from another computer or device. With push notifications WhatsApp is ALWAYS ON and ALWAYS CONNECTED.
● NO NEED TO ADD BUDDIES: Your Address Book is used to automatically connect you with your contacts. Your contacts who already have WhatsApp Messenger will be automatically displayed under Favorites, similar to a buddy list.
● OFFLINE MESSAGES: Even if you miss your push notifications or turn off your iPhone, WhatsApp will save your messages offline until you retrieve them during the next application use.
● AND MUCH MORE: Share location and places, Exchange contacts, Custom wallpaper, Custom notification sounds, Landscape mode, Message timestamps, Email chat history, Broadcast messages and media to many contacts at once, and much much more!

What's New In This Version:
- new iOS 7 User Interface
- broadcast lists: communicate with your classmates, work colleagues or just friends by messaging many people at once.
- improved share location: 3D map view, hide places, search places
- large thumbs: see more
- new notification alerts and sounds: WhatsApp Settings > Notifications > New Message.
- application will now use your device text size as configured in iOS Settings > General > Text Size
- new improved User Interface for managing your blocked contacts: WhatsApp Settings > Chat Settings > Blocked
- crop image before sending 

You can download WhatsApp Messenger from the App Store for free.