First Time: Flash mob in Kozhikode

Kozhikode: After Kochi it was the turn of Kozhikode to embrace the flash mob.
Youngsters Friday danced to the tune of popular numbers at Focus Mall to create awareness on the dangers of drugs.

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Facebook tracks what you do online even when you’re logged out

AnAustraliantechnologist has claimedthat Facebook can track the web pages you visit, even when you are logged out of the social networking giant.
According to Wollongong-based Nik Cubrilovic, when the user is logged out of Facebook, rather than deleting itstracking cookies, the site merely modifies them, maintaining account information and other unique tokens that can be used to identify its users.
This simply means that any time you visit a web page with a Facebook button or widget, your browser is still sending personally identifiable information back to Facebook.
"Even if you are logged out, Facebook still knows and can track every page you visit," Cubrilovic wrote in a blog post.
"The only solution is to delete every Facebook cookie in your browser, or to use a separate browser for Facebook interactions," he added.
Cubrilovic said he tried to contact Facebook to inform it of his discovery but did not get a reply, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
He said there were significant risks to the privacy of users, particularly those using public terminals to access Facebook.
"Facebook are front-and-centre in the new privacy debate just as Microsoft were with security issues a decade ago," Cubrilovic said.
"The question is what it will take for Facebook to address privacy issues and to give their users the tools required to manage their privacy and to implement clear policies - not pages and pages of confusing legal documentation, and ''logout'' not really meaning `logout'," he added. (ANI)

2012 Auto Expo - Renault to unveil Duster at the Expo

Will also launch small car Pulse at its stand in Pragati Maidan.

We have reported before that Renault will launch the Pulse on January 6. The Pulse is the small car from Renault which shares the platform and components from the Nissan Micra. 

The French company has also announced that alongside the launch of the Pulse, it will also unveil the Duster SUV. The Duster is a sub-Rs 10 lakh SUV that currently does not have any direct competition - it is bracketed by the Mahindra Scoprio and the Premier Rio, but it looks likely that it will have competition in the form of the mini-Xylo that is undergoing development. 

The Duster will be manufactured in Renault-Nissan's Oragadam facility and exported to markets like Europe. Some of the production will be diverted for sale in India. It is expected to go on sale sometime next year, in all likelihood in the first half of the year. 

Google doodle welcomes 2012 with party

Google doodle welcomes 2012 with a party

Always innovative and thoughful, Google's doodle on Friday welcomes 2012 with a party. The theme of this year's last doodle is New Year party with hats, balloons and confetti decorating the aphabets. The New Year doodle is the 260th Google doodle of 2011.Google recently announced the revamp of its Doodle site (www.google.com/doodles) where all the doodles since 1998 can be seen.

Here's a look at some of the most loved doodles of 2011:

Les Paul
Google created a musical stringed instrument in honour of American jazz and country guitarist, Les Paul's 96th birthday in June.

Freddie MercuryQueen's lead singer Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday was celebrated with a unique video doodle which played the band's hit song, Don't Stop Me Now.

Art Clokey
The 90th birthday of Gumby creator Art Clokey saw a Google doodle featuring characters from the Gumby series.

Charlie Chaplin
Google celebrated Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday with a video doodle.

Jim HensonGoogle gave an opportunity to surfers to turn puppeteer for a day with a doodle celebrating the 75th birthday of Muppets creator Jim Henson.

Jules Verne
Google celebrated author Jules Verne's 183rd birthday in February with a doodle allowing visitors to navigate underwater scenes straight out of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Martha Graham
On May 11, Google celebrated dancer and choreographer Martha Graham's 117th birthday, with dancing silhouettes performing dance routines.

Lucille Ball
With an old-fashioned TV set playing footage from actress Lucille Ball's show I Love Lucy, Google's doodle celebrated Bell's 100th birthday anniversary on July 6.

Roger HargreavesGoogle went all out to celebrated what would have been children's author Roger Hargreaves' 76th birthday with 16 doodles!

Richard ScarryA colorful doodle showing a world of toy houses and animals riding bikes, was Google' way of celebrating the 92nd birthday of children's' book author Richard Scarry.

Special mention
In India, the most famous Google doodle was the one designed by Varsha Gupta, winners of Doodle4Google India contest. Her doodle illustrated the Google logo with Indian classical music instruments.

Microsoft developing new way to login on tablets

By Darpana Kutty 

Software giant, Microsoft is planning to develop a new way to log in to its tablet computers instead of tradition way oftyping software.
The company is working on a mechanism in which it will allow users to log in using gestures on the screen. A user will be able to choose a photo and perform certain gestures in the right order of taps, lines, and circles in order to log in.
Some are raising questions on the safety of the system but as many users reply on simple predictable passwords, the gesture based system could prove to be more secure than passwords. The company admits that smudges on the screen or recording devices could allow others to determine the gestures but said that the risks are very low.
Analysts say that the system is not secure enough as the gestures on a screen of a tablet can be recorded from a distance by anyone. Company officials have said on the Building Windows 8 blog that there are some ways to break the security under the system but the presence of a vast number of password combinations could make the system more secure than the password system used in most devices.
The company has released a video showing Microsoft program manager Zach Pace logging into a tablet with a family photo by various gestures on the picture. The demonstration also shows an option to switch to regular password login.

Android's Secret Superpowers

By Patrick Nelson

You don't always get what you expect when you push a button on your Android smartphone. In fact, if you know all the right moves, you can get a lot more. Android uses a combination of touches, drags, double-touches, stabs, flicks and pinches to control what you see on your display. For example, a button can be briefly touched to initiate one response, but it can also be touched and held to initiate a different response.

As a Sprint (NYSE: S) corporate customer I'm referred to as "preferred," which basically translates to "preferred because I give them increasing amounts of money." Anyway, it gets me a phone upgrade annually, rather than the non-preferred biannual deal.

The only problem with an annually replaced gadget is you have to figure out how to use it annually too. I'm now on my third Android phone and that's not including a tablet. They've all worked differently -- and quirkily.

The Motorola Photon 4G

The best screen-based user interfaces deliver designs suitable for large fingers, constant interruption, minimal scrolling and logical results. Controls designed for large fingers ensure that the app works with even small fingers; interruption-friendly designs handle incoming phone calls; minimal scrolling presents you with all of your commonly used elements at one glance; and providing logical results means that when you press a button, the button does what you think it should do based on your expectation, which in turn is based on your previous experience.
It's here, in the expected results, where Android has stuck a fly in the ointment.
Android uses a combination of touches, drags, double-touches, stabs, flicks and pinches -- among others. These controls are generally hidden. For example, a button can be briefly touched to initiate one response, but it can also be touched and held to initiate a different response.

Looking Around

You can find and use hidden controls on your Android device by following some steps:
Step 1
Turn the device on by pressing and holding the hardware "Power" button. A long-press turns the device on or off. Allow the device to start. An initial screen will display, which is called the "Home" screen. Touch the "Home" button quickly to check out the brief touch function. The "Home" button is the button with the house icon on it. The "Home" screen will change to a multiscreen display. Briefly touch "Home" again, and the original, initial "Home" screen appears.
Step 2
Touch and hold the same "Home" button to see a different result. On the Motorola Photon, the "Recent" screen will display instead of the initial "Home" screen. The "Recent" screen shows recent apps that you've used. Your result may be different, though, depending on device. Tablets won't show anything.
Touch and hold also opens the available options for some buttons and provides more drilled-down results than the brief touch used in the previous step. For example, in the "Messaging" app, touch and hold opens available options like "Delete" and so on, whereas a brief touch opens the broader message or conversation.
Step 3
Touch and hold and at the same time drag if you can't get a result with a brief touch or touch and hold. Often something unexpected will happen. On the Photon, and maybe your device too, you can touch and hold and then drag on the notification icons in the top left of the screen and the "Notifications Panel" will launch.
Step 4
Open "Contacts" and try a flick-and-drag combination. "Contacts" is usually represented by a silhouetted mug-shot icon. Drag through long contact lists to see items that don't appear within the initial screen real estate. Flick to scroll quickly. Then stab at the screen when you want the quick scroll to stop.
You can usually get a hidden scroll bar to appear too when flicking. Drag that scroll bar to quickly get to a specific letter in the alphabetically sorted list.

Tech Disappointments of 2011 – Mobile Phones

Today we’ll take a look at some of the handsets that were hyped to be something really great, but in reality fell flat on their face, as they simply didn’t work as advertised or were absurdly priced or simply didn’t receive adequate support, either from the manufacturer or community. Sony Ericsson Xperia Play The ‘PlayStation phone’ had a lot riding on it when it launched in April 2011 and it was supposed to ‘revolutionize’ the mobile gaming scene. Sadly, Sony failed to realize that if you are going to launch a niche phone dedicated to gaming, you will need a vast game library and more importantly, top tier exclusive titles. Where’s Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Toy Story? At least, let us have the old PS One games, which includes more than 100 titles. All 'play' and no games makes Sony a ... Most games found today in the Xperia Play’s library are standard Android games with just the controls mapped to work with the slide-out joypad. The device itself isn’t bad, as it’s similar to the Arc, internally. However, the extra bulk of the joypad is rendered useless without proper support for exclusive titles. HTC Sensation HTC’s first attempt at a dual-core phone didn’t go down too well with end users. The first major issue that cropped up was the ‘death grip’ problem, which mainly affected the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, rather than the cellular radios like the iPhone 4. Not sensational enough, eh? The issue was caused due to the aluminum chassis of the Sensation, which when held in one's palm immediately caused a drop in signal. A more alarming issue, with the touchscreen was found later. Many users around the globe stated that the screen would simply stop responding after just a week’s usage. Replacement units also suffered from the same problem, which put a further dampner on sales. Nokia X7 Nokia is well known for their product placements in big budget Hollywood movies (remember the Nokia 5800 ‘Tube’ from Dark Knight?) and they spared no expense for their X7 media phone. It made a cameo in Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, but unlike the movie itself, which wasn’t too bad, the X7 was more like Transformers 2. Perhaps Nokia should have used a better movie to promote this Leaving aside the fact that it came with Symbian Anna, it’s priced in a bracket where there’s no shortage of good Android phones to choose from, so why would someone pick this? Nokia targeted it as a media phone when its media capabilities were far from impressive. It could playback 720p videos, but most of it played without audio and it’s not like there’s a third party player to help you out since, hello, it’s the Ovi Store. Something else we can’t fathom is Nokia’s fixation with fixed-focus cameras. Why? You’re charging Rs.20,000, throw in a auto-focus camera!

Facebook status saves woman and child in hostage situation

AFacebook status update helped an Utah woman and her 17 month old son who were in a hostage situation. The woman had been held captive for five days and hid in her closet with her laptop to post the Facebook status. She wrote that she and her son would be "dead by morning", if no one helped. According to a statement made by Police Sgt. Jon Arnold to theAssociated Press, a friend of the women read the Facebook status and dialed 911. The person holding them hostage was a 33-year old man, Troy Reed Critchfeeld. He was jailed and is facing charges of aggravated kidnapping, child abuse, aggravated assault, forcible sodomy, domestic violence, animal cruelty, among other charges. A Facebook status can save The woman said that Critchfeeld had forcibly held her and her son hostage. He repeatedly hit, choked, and sexually abused her for nearly a week. She said that the man had taken her phone and a cell phone belonging to a disabled child and refused to let her feed her dog. The AP said that the woman had bruises consistent with the allegations, even though, she denied hospital treatment. This isn't the first time a Facebook status and a friend on Facebook has helped out. Back in March, Nitesh Bhakta posted “HELLLLLLLLP!" as his status when his house was being burgled and his grandmother and sister were tied up. A friend of his saw the status and called the police

Hands on: Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is by far one of the slimmest phones we have ever seen, and that lends a huge amount of uniqueness to the entire form factor. Basically, this phone has redefined the terms “slim” and “thin”, at least in the smartphone ecosystem.

If you compare this phone’s dimensions to its own slim (well, that terms is just relative now, isn't it?) sibling, the Xperia Arc S, the figures stand somewhat like this-

Xperia Arc S: 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm
Xperia Ray: 111 x 53 x 9.4 mm

Furthermore, the Arc S weighs 117 grams, and the Ray weighs 17 grams less!

• The 3.3-inch LED backlit LCD display has a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. Power isn't a shortage either, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor clocking at 1GHz. This is a single core processor, paired with 512MB of RAM and the Adreno 205 graphics. There isn't a lot of internal storage space on this phone - 1GB shared among many things. Sony Ericsson very thoughtfully provides a 4GB microSD card with the phone. You can use one up to 32GB.
• You must be wondering how comfortable it is to type on a display as slim as this, particularly in the portrait mode. Well, surprisingly comfortable, even though we switched from the traditional phone keypad to the full-blown QWERTY. The on-screen keys have a slight bulge design, which makes tapping the correct one a bit easier. Secondly, there is just that much gap between the keys to afford some breathing space for the finger, and allow you to type at a brisk pace.
• Design and build wise, the Xperia Ray feels very classy. Despite being completely plastic, the materials used are high quality. The only design fault that we could notice straightaway is that the top panel has the lock/unlock key and the 3.5mm jack, and both have the same dimensions. So, if you want to unlock the phone without really looking but relying on the feel of the fingers, there are chances you will stumble upon the 3.5mm more often than not!

We have seen this phone retailing for about Rs. 19,000 in the market, and should definitely interest you if you want a sleek and lightweight Android phone

Samsung Galaxy S III expected in February 2012

As the year comes to an end, it’s time to look forward to 2012 and mobile fanatics will be excited to hear about Samsung’s plans for early next year. Unwiredview is carrying a news that claims Samsung will most likely be launching their next big handset - Galaxy S III in February, this coming year. The hardware likely to power the S III will be a quad-core processor. The last round of rumours claimed that Samsung would use a dual-core processor, like the S II, but one that operates at 1.8 GHz. It’s known that Samsung is already working on a quad-core processor, which will be part of the Exynos series of SoCs. There are other improvements expected as well - a 1280x720 Super AMOLED display and LTE support. It will ship with the latest Android - Ice Cream Sandwich. A successor to the S2, and more! There’s more from Samsung. A 3D version of the Galaxy is expected and it’s likely to be called the Galaxy S 3D. A 3D display is likely along with support for 3D video and photo shooting. The 3D fever seems to be hitting mobile phones and Samsung hadn’t jumped onboard the bandwagon. LG was one of the few companies to make the move to 3D phones earlier with their Optimus 3D. A whole bunch of phones will be shown off at MWC 2012 (Mobile World Congress 2012) in early February and Samsung will most definitely show off their new hardware then.

Top 17 Most Expensive Mobiles

VIPN Black Diamond Smartphone

Cost : 300,000 ( USD)

With 300,000 USD  this Black Diamond Smartphone holds the sixth place in the list. It is a Quad-band phone with Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, an Intel 400Mhz processor running windows mobile 5, 4 Megapixel camera and a touch sensitive 2″ 256K TFT screen. This phone has an internal memory of 128MB and a 2GB SD card for external storage.

Vertu Signature Diamonds

Cost:  62,500 (USD)

Along with an 18-karat gold keypad, this phone is set with white diamonds and pink sapphires (385 gems in all), and weighs in at just over 200 grams, or about 7 ounces.

Vertu Diamond

Cost : 88,000 (USD)

Another Vertu phone with tiny diamonds dotted all over holds the seventh place in the list.

Vertu Ascent Ti

Cost: 7,200 (USD)

It comes with a data-storage system called Fortress that automatically backs up all the information in a secure server at Vertu’s headquarters

Pieces Unique Mobile Phone by Goldvish

Cost: 1.29 Million (USD)

This mobile hold the third place among world’s costliest mobile phones.These are made by Goldvish with 18 carat gold set with top quality diamonds. It has Bluetooth,2 GB Memory,8x digital camera, and worldwide FM radio.

Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte

Cost: 1,500 (USD)

A lower-priced cousin of the Vertu luxury brand, Nokia’s 8800 Sapphire Arte includes a leather casing and a sapphire in its keypad. It also has a handy silencing gadget that mutes incoming calls when the handset is turned screen-side down.

Motorola Special V220 edition

Cost : 51,800 (USD)

Austrian designer Peter Aloisson, has taken a standard Motorola, studded it with 1,200 diamonds and added a keyboard inlaid with 18 carat gold.

LG Prada

Cost : $860 (USD)

It’s not often that Prada is considered a low-cost brand. But compared with some other superluxury models, the LG Prada handset seems like a bargain. Featuring a touch screen, MP3 player, and a 2-megapixel camera, it could give Apple’s iPhone a run for its money.

iPhone Supreme

Cost : 3.12 Million (USD)

World’s most expensive mobile is unveiled by a British company on November 2009. It is a  gold iPhone which is encrusted with nearly 200 diamonds. The casing of the exclusive iPhone 3GS Supreme is created using 271 grams of 22 carat solid gold.The front bezel houses 136 flawless diamonds totaling a massive 68 carats while the Apple logo on the back is made from a further 53 gems.  The front navigation button is made from a single diamond of more than seven carats.The phone comes in a special 7kg chest made from a single block of granite and Kashmir gold with a Nubuck leather lining.

iPhone 3G King’s Button

Cost : 2.5 million (USD)

The budget unfriendly phone is made of solid 18 carat yellow gold, white gold and rose gold with the white gold line encrusted with a total of 138 brilliant cut diamonds.

Gresso Black Aura Collection

Cost : 13,000 (USD)

its Black Aura cellphones are 200 years old Black Aura series ranges from 6,500 USD to 13,000 USD with the most expensive featuring an 18-carat gold front panel.

GoldVish LeMillion

Cost : 1.3 Million USD

This GoldVish phone is the second most expensive in the world with a price of $1.45 million. The odd-shaped device is made out of 18-carat white gold and features 1,800 diamonds totaling 120 carats.

GoldVish Illusion

Cost : 171,000( USD)

It comes in a casing made of platinum; or of yellow, white, or rose 18-karat gold, with a diamond inlay. Under its glittery exterior.

Bucheron for Vertu Cobra

Cost : 310,000 (USD)

which include a two-carat pear-cut diamond, a one-carat round diamond, two emerald eyes and 439 rubies totaling 21 carats.Vertu manufactures the uber-premium handsets and they sell Vertu phones between the price of 4,350 USD and 81,000 USD.

The Diamond Crypto Smartphone

Cost : 1.1 Million (USD)

Amosu Motorola KRZR

Cost : 50,000 (USD)

Motorola (MOT) KRZR K1 that boasts 336 diamonds and an 18-karat gold casing.That comes on top of Motorola’s standard 2-megapixel camera and MP3 player.

The Diamond iPhone

Cost 41,000 (USD)

420 diamonds at a total weight of 5.65 carats set in 18K white or yellow gold.The phone, is manufactured by UK blingmeister general Amosu, at a blustering price of 41,000 USD.