"Blockout Traffic" android app to beat the traffic jam

Kochi Based Amidray Technologies team, the creators of Blockout.

 

If the person in question is in a hurry, say to attend an important meeting, the situation gets compounded. But fear not, the fairies inside your smartphone are always hard at work and now your handheld device may be able to get you out of yet another pickle. 

The fairies in this situation are created by Amidray Technologies. Their new Android app, Blockout Traffic, which released last week, draws upon the power of the community to help users avoid traffic jams and reach their destinations in peace.

By providing users with a simple interface and a large button that says ‘I’m Stuck’, the app collects GPS data from the phones of stuck users and relays the site of the block to the other users of the app. Blocks are listed according to time, with the latest showing up first, and the number of people who reported a block is also mentioned. While this may seem like a hindrance to the people posting about the block as a result of being stuck in it, the internet has demonstrated in recent years how many good Samaritans are willing to post reviews and opinions without receiving any thanks in return. Besides, taking a hit for the team one day could result in some other user forewarning you about a block and saving you another day. Karma, as they say. 

Pratheeksha A.K., CEO and one of the founders of Amidray Technologies, says, “Though we started out focusing on web development, we feel that we need to give back to the.............read more THE HINDU

Students come up with anti-rape gadgets, innovative clothing

 

Anti-rape underwear, a fashionable vest that can jolt molesters out of their wits or a watch-like device fitted to give abusers an electric shock — students from various colleges and schools in the country are channelling their outrage and anger over sexual attacks on women in the country through several futuristic innovations. 

Externally, it looks like a nightgown, ordinarily worn by women or teenage girls, but the garment is literally a power packed GPS and sensor-enabled device capable of temporarily incapacitating assaulters off their feet by triggering an 3,800 kV electric shock at the press of button by the wearer. 

 

“It was the pain of every women, which triggered the idea. All the more, it was hatred against molesters and eve-teasers which led to this design,” says Manisha Mohan the inventor of the “anti-rape underwear” and what she calls ‘SHE’ or Society Harnessing Equipment.

 

 

Apart from administering a powerful shock to the assaulter the garment is also devised to send an alert to the police when the ...........read more THE HINDU

Virtual office @Kochi for just Rs.500

You can open a virtual office in Kerala's commercial capital Kochi paying just Rs.500 a month, thanks to Spacelance.com.

"With the intention of providing affordable office space solution for freelancers, start-ups, home-based businesses, NRIs and student entrepreneurs to show their business presence here, we came up with this idea. 

We offer service at affordable cost without compromising the quality," said Boby Thomas, founder and chief executive of the company which launched this cost-effective service here Tuesday.

"Our service gives a virtual platform for businesses to operate remotely and still show their presence in the city. We have plans starting from as low as Rs.500 per month," added Thomas.

Spacelance.com will provide a prestigious address at the heart of Kochi, a dedicated virtual landline number with a Kochi STD code, a virtual Kochi fax number, a live receptionist to answer and forward your customer calls and mail handling and office support facilities. 

Any interested person can choose a virtual phone number from a pool of available numbers and have the option to forward it to the personal phone number or to a voicemail. The service also allows setting up a customized greeting for virtual number with your company name before redirecting the call to you.

Read full story NEWS TRACK INDIA

Cyber attack downs Kochi Metro website

 

KOCHI: Hackers have once again had the last laugh, putting to sword tall claims made by the Kerala cyber police on preventing cyber attacks on government websites.

On Monday, an unidentified group unleashed a malware on the official website of the Kochi Metro rail project (www.kochimetro.org), shutting the site down and delaying the process inviting expressions of Interest (EoIs) from consultants for various Metro-related projects.

Other than providing information on the prestigious project, the website hosted by the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) was used for official communication by vendors and downloading applications.

The incident was noticed when Metro officials tried to open the website on Monday morning. According to police officials, a hacker group, ReZk2LL team, has claimed the responsibility for the attack.

KMRL's official spokesperson said that the website was the main interface between vendors and Metro officials. "Several expressions of interest (EoIs) and appointment details were hosted on the website. Now, the vendors will not be able to access the details of EoIs and download more details available on TIMES OF INDIA

Google may buy Whatsapp for $1 billion: Report

 

NEW DELHI: The hugely popular social media app WhatsApp may soon become a part of Google, with online media abuzz with reports of the internet titan courting the smartphone messaging app maker. 

Technology website Digital Trends, citing an inside source, has reported that a deal between Google and WhatsApp has been in works for the past four to five weeks.
 

Google and WhatsApp are currently said to be negotiating over pricing of the deal. Says the report, WhatsApp is playing hardball and jockeying for a higher acquisition price, which currently is "close to" $1.

Google is rumoured to be working on Babel, a mobile messaging app........ for more details read TIMES OF INDIA

Google redesigns its Play Store now with bigger images

Whether you’re in the mood to listen to Justin Timberlake’s new album, read Harlan Coben’s latest bestseller or discover a new game to play, you want the experience of finding and making your purchase to be quick and easy. 

  
Today we’ve started rolling out a redesigned Google Play store on Android phones and tablets that is simple, clean and — most importantly — helps you find great entertainment........ more details at ANDROID Official Blog

Over 6 million new website names registered in Oct-Dec 2012

 

Over six million new domain names were registered in the October-December period of 2012, taking the total number of registered domain names to 252 million worldwide.

VeriSign, the global registry operator for .com and .net, in a report said: "More than six million domain names were added to the Internet in the fourth quarter of 2012, bringing the total number of registered domain names to more than 252 million worldwide across all top-level domains as of December 31, 2012."

The increase of 6.1 million domain names globally equates to a growth rate of 2.5 per cent over the third quarter of 2012 and marks the eighth straight quarter with more than 2 per cent growth, it added.

"Worldwide registrations have grown by 26.6 million, or 11.8 per cent, year over year," the report said.

The .com and .net TLDs reached a combined total of approximately 121.1 million domain names in the adjusted zone for .com and .net, it added. ........read more details BUSINESS TODAY

LG launches Optimus L3 II dual and L7 II dual in India

 

LG Electronics has added two more phones to its Optimus L- II series the Optimus L7 II Dual and Optimus L3 II Dual in India. 

LG Optimus L3 II Dual  priced at Rs 8,800

 

• 3.2-inch QVGA IPS display
• Screen resolution of 240x320 pixels
• 3.0MP CMOS camera
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS 
• 4GB internal memory upto 32GB expandable memory
• Bluetooth, USB 2.0 HS

 LG Optimus L7 II Dual priced at Rs.18,650.

 

 

• 4.3-inch WVGA IPS display
• 1GHz Dual-Core processor
• Screen resolution of 800x480 pixels
• 8-megapixel rear camera, front-facing camera (VGA)
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth
• 4GB internal memory expandable upto 32GB

Samsung unveils new Smart TV, LED TV series

 

Samsung Electronics today announced the introduction of 20 new television models across its flagship Smart TV and LED TV series.

"With the launch of our 2013 Smart TV range, we are looking to consolidate our leadership in the Panel TV market in India. 

 

We expect LED TVs to drive our Panel TV growth, with Smart TVs contributing at least 20 per cent of our Panel TV volumes this year," Samsung India Senior Vice-President (Consumer Electronics) S K Kim told reporters here.

Designed to deliver the ultimate lean back experience to consumers, the F8000 and F7500 are the first Samsung televisions to feature a quad-core processor, he said. 

Both the F8000 and F7500 offer brighter, more vibrant pictures with richer colors, deeper black levels and higher contrasts, Kim said. 

The ultra-thin .....for more details THE INDIAN EXPRESS

New screen lets you smell objects

 

NOW YOU CAN  SMELL FOODS THROUGH YOUR SMARTPHONES WHETHER IT IS BIRIYANI, SAMBHAR, CHICKEN CURRY, COFFEE OR WHATEVER  YOU LIKES.....

Yes, this is possible through smelling screen technology.

Japanese scientists have developed a 'smelling screen' that allows you to see as well as smell the coffee or food displayed on it. 

The "smelling screen", invented by Haruka Matsukura at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology in Japan and colleagues, makes smells appear to come from the exact spot on any LCD screen that is displaying the image of a cup of coffee, for example. 

It works by continuously feeding odours from vaporising gel pellets into four air streams, one in each corner of the screen. 

These air streams are blown out parallel to the screen's surface by fans, and varying the strength and direction of them manoeuvres the scent to any given spot on the screen ....... more details THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS 

$25 Model A Raspberry Pi now officially available in the U.S.

 

The $25 Raspberry Pi Model A variant that’s $10 cheaper than the Model B released last year is now officially available in the U.S. The tiny $25 computer was launched in Europe in February and became available in Asia last week.

 Because the Raspberry Pi Foundation had to iron out import paperwork kinks and stock up resellers with units they could ship out from get-go, the U.S. is its final destination.  

You could have imported the $25 Pi from European sellers prior to its U.S. release, but for a price higher than retail. Now that it’s arrived in the U.S., you can get one from an authorized reseller.  

Texas-based Allied Electronics is one of the first to sell it. The problem is, the Model A Pi sold out at Allied hours ago, and since the site doesn’t take preorders, you’ll have to check back frequently to make sure you get one when the site receives a fresh batch ....... for more details DIGITAL TRENDS

BSNL Internet capacity slows down due to cuts in undersea cable

 

Telecom PSU BSNL today said its Internet capacity has dropped by 21 per cent due to multiple fibre cuts in three under-sea cable systems that connect the country with many parts of the world.

"... three major cables which are serving as the International Gateway Connectivity are affected because of the multiple fibre cuts," BSNL said in a statement.

 

"The Sea-Me-We-4, IMEWE and EIG cable systems are the ones affected. Because of this disruption, BSNL has lost around 21 per cent of its total international Bandwidth," it added.

The under-sea cable systems facilitate Internet and various telecom services and any disruption in these cables impact Internet speed and voice quality of telecom services.

It, however,.............. for more details THE INDIAN EXPRESS

LG plans to launch Mozilla Firefox powered OS smartphones

 

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc., which has long used Google Inc.’s Android in its smartphones, plans to launch mobile phones by the middle of this year that support Mozilla’s Firefox operating system.

 

The company plans to launch the phones in Brazil, Colombia, Spain and Venezuela, a company spokesman said. It also plans to expand the launch of new Firefox phones to Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland and Serbia during the second half of this year or next year.

“LG’s planned launch of Firefox phones is a means to meet diversifying consumer needs,” a company spokeswoman said. “But this doesn’t indicate any shift away from Android,” she added. LG isn’t alone on plans to roll out Firefox phones............. more details The Wall Street Journal

 

Honda Motor to invest Rs 2,500 crore in India by 2014

 

Japanese auto giant Honda today said it will invest Rs 2,500 crore in India by 2014 to enhance its manufacturing activities and will launch five vehicles in the next two-three years to strengthen its position here. 

As part of its plans, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL), will set up a car assembly line, a diesel engine component unit and a forging plant at its Tapukara facility in Rajasthan.

To align with its growth strategy in India, Honda has mandated its Managing Officer Yoshiyuki Matsumoto the additional responsibility of 'Representative of Development, Purchasing and Production in Asia and Oceania Region'. He will be based in India and will also be the President and CEO of Honda Motor India.

"India is a strategic market for us and it is a strategic base for our local procuring business...to know more THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

Reliance Industries signed 12 billion rupee deal

 
The telecommunication unit of Reliance Industries(RELI.NS) has signed a deal worth 12 billion rupees to use Reliance Communications Ltd's(RLCM.NS) fibre optic network to roll out its 4G services, in what is the first business tie-up between two estranged billionaire brothers.

Reliance Industries, controlled by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is the only company to have 4G airwaves for all of India's 22 service areas, but has yet to launch services.

The fibre deal with Reliance Industries is positive for debt-laden Reliance Communications, which is controlled by Mukesh's estranged brother Anil, as it raises hopes for a bigger deal between ...... to know more Reuters

Akal Takht launch their exclusive website

The exclusive website of the Akal Takht, akaltakhatsahib.com, was launched from the Golden Temple complex here on Monday. 

The website-launching ceremony was performed by Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh at the Akal Takht

 

Secretariat in the shrine complex. Present on the occasion were Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Avtar Singh Makkar, senior vice-president Raghujit Singh Virk and several other priests of the shrine and SGPC officials. 

 

"Keeping in view the global demands of the Sikhs, we decided to have a website only for the Akal Takht," Makkar said at the launch ....... read to know more Hindustan Times