Samsung Galaxy S III vs. HTC One X: Quad-core faceoff

International versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X both sport quad-core chips. Which offers better performance? Read on.

The Samsung Galaxy S III's 8-megapixel camera is crammed with features and options.

(Credit: Luke Westaway/CNET UK)

 

Now that Samsung has announced its Galaxy S III muscle phone, one big question is how its core technology stacks up against that of its main Android rival, the HTC One X. So let's take a look under the hood and see.
The S III packs a 1.4GHz quad-core chip, as the company indicated last week. Samsung obviously believes that kind of horsepower is necessary to drive a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with 1,280 x 720 resolution, among other things.
The One X, with a 4.7-inch screen and an identical 1,280 x 720 resolution, also sports a quad-core chip in its European variant -- but opts for dual-core in the U.S. More on that in a moment.
Samsung has gone into some detail to explain why it has gone quad-core for the first time in the Galaxy S series.

Samsung Galaxy S III (European variant) with Exynos 4 Quad highlights:

• Full-speed video: Uses HD 30 frame per second video hardware codec engine for 1080p video recording and play-back. Also includes an embedded image signal processor interface for a high-quality camera and an HDMI 1.4 interface.
• Speed jump: Owing to its 32-nanometer tech, the Exynos 4 Quad has "two times the processing capability over the 45-[nanometer] process based Exynos dual-core while consuming 20-percent less power," Samsung said.
• Ready to plug into new phones: Exynos 4 Quad is "pin-to-pin compatible" with the Exynos 4 Dual, allowing smartphone and tablet suppliers to adopt the new solution without additional engineering or design efforts.
• Based on ARM Cortex A9 design: Based on the current Cortex A9 tech from ARM. The latest and greatest ARM tech is called Cortex A15 but those chips won't emerge as commercial products for a while yet.

Because the Galaxy S III is so new, more in-depth reviews about performance are on the way. (See Galaxy S III performance preview here.) But the HTC One X is a known quantity. Let's look at performance and the processor internals of the European/International variant.

HTC One X (European variant) with quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3:

• Needless to say, fast: "Blazingly fast -- you won't feel any Android 'lag' when using this phone," said CNET Reviews. "HTC also claims a fast camera startup of 0.7 second and 0.2 second autofocus," CNET said.
  
• "Five" cores: Nvidia calls it "Super 4-PLUS-1" Quad Core. The fifth processor core is much more power efficient than the others and is used -- when performance is not required -- to boost battery life. "The single battery-saver core... handles low-power tasks like active standby, music," says Nvidia.
  
• DirectTouch tech: Nvidia DirectTouch is a patent-pending technology that improves touch responsiveness and reduces power consumption by offloading a portion of the touch processing onto the Tegra 3 chip.
  
• Based on ARM Cortex A9 design: Like the Samsung quad-core, the Nvidia also uses a Cortex A9 design. But Nvidia is undoubtedly working on a next-gen Cortex A15 chip; Nvidia is very quick at getting next-gen chips out the door. The Tegra 3 is manufactured with a 40 nanometer fabrication process, a slightly older technology than the 32 nanometer process used to make the Exynos 4.
  
• Battery life: "Top-shelf components and a massive 4.7-inch screen take a toll on this pricey superphone's battery life," said CNET Reviews.
  

In the U.S. market, HTC chose to go with a dual-core Qualcomm S4 processor paired with LTE in the One X. It's not clear yet what Samsung will opt to do in the U.S., although the specs of the HTC One X may be instructive.
LTE and dual-core seem to be a good fit because the Qualcomm S4 squeezes LTE and the processor onto one piece of silicon. (That's just not possible with quad-core and LTE at the moment.) That's quite a feat and something that Qualcomm has done first. That level of integration not only allows for more compact designs but it doesn't compromise on performance, as many reviews attest to.

"I know many HTC fans are disappointed that the U.S. version of the One X has a dual-core CPU instead of the much-hyped quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3," said CNET's Brian Bennett. "Well, I'm here to wash that bitter taste of sour grapes away. Equipped with a powerful 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor... this phone seriously hums," he wrote.
Bennett continues. "It flies through Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC's Sense overlay with oomph and agility."
And battery life? In anecdotal use both over LTE and Wi-Fi, the handset got through an 11-hour workday of running tests, opening apps, and playing music, CNET said.
The upshot is that U.S.-based consumers that opt for Qualcomm's LTE and dual-core in the HTC One X don't have to sacrifice much. And may be able to expect better battery life than quad-core.
That said, quad-core is inevitable for more high-end smartphones. And Qualcomm will be going quad-core, too -- when it's ready.

Read More

iPhone 5 launching with 4-inch screen, new Dock connector?

That's the latest rumor from iLounge, which claims to have a source with knowledge of Apple's smartphone plans.

The iPhone 5 rumors keep coming.
Apple's upcoming smartphone will come with a 4-inch screen, due mainly to a thinner, taller body, according to Apple-focused site iLounge, citing an unnamed source. The site's source claims Apple's new iPhone will be 10mm taller than the iPhone 4S, and about 2mm thinner. By keeping the same width and tossing in the display to fit the new form factor, Apple is able to deliver more screen space than what's available on 3.5-inch-equipped iPhones, according to the source.
Although the front of the iPhone 5 will look about the same, the back will feature a flat, metal panel stretching from beneath the camera to nearly the bottom. iLounge's sources did not say why the device might come with that additional element. Aside from the metal panel, the device will boast Gorilla Glass 2 technology, according to the site's source.

One of the more surprising moves, though, might be iLounge's contention that Apple will launch the iPhone 5 with a new Dock connector featuring fewer pins than the 30-pin option found across its mobile devices today. The new connector is "closer to a pill shape" and will find its way to all future mobile devices the company launches, according to iLounge.
Rumors have been surrounding the iPhone 5 for months now. Much of what iLounge claims will be coming to the device has already been cited in previous rumors. And in each case, Apple has stayed tight-lipped, allowing the rumor mill to heat up and speculation to run rampant. So, be sure to take all of this with a healthy heaping of salt until the final product is officially announced.

And when might that final product be announced? iLounge says the iPhone 5 is slated for a fall release.

Read More

Facebook IPO: A bet on 'King' Zuck

Mark Zuckerberg will wield near total control over Facebook's future. Some fear that once the hype dies down, the situation could lead to problems no one will be able to do anything about.

When Facebook executives and its bankers hit the road Monday to pitch the company's public offering to money managers, two questions will surely face prospective investors: Should we worry about the slowdown in the business? And what's up with Zuck calling the shots on, well, everything?
The answer to the first question is yes. Facebook does state in its IPO filing that "rates of user and revenue growth will decline over time." And while the company still has unprecedented reach -- an astounding 526 million active daily users -- that's a troubling harbinger given how Facebook has boosted revenue over the years by adding more users to its service.

But what Facebook will do to make more money off that already giant audience leads to the second question, which is a lot harder to answer: Can Mark Zuckerberg can keep coming up with the right answers?
That's because Zuckerberg exerts unusual control over Facebook because of his stock ownership. After the Facebook IPO, Zuckerberg will own 18.4 percent of the stock and control more than 57.3 percent of the voting power, a degree of influence that Facebook alludes to in the risk section of the S-1 document:

As a result, Mr. Zuckerberg has the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.

The dual-class tactic has long rankled shareholder advocates because it's used as a power grab, which is counter to the notion of a public company. Larry Page admitted as much in Google's S-1 from April 2004 when he wrote about the control he and co-founder Sergey Brin were giving themselves: "By investing in Google, you are placing an unusual long-term bet on the team, especially Sergey and me."
While Google started what's become a popular structure among tech companies going public -- LinkedIn, Zynga, and Groupon all took this route -- the issue goes farther back. In 1956, Ford Motor successfully lobbied the New York Stock Exchange so that it could go public with a dual class of stock despite the NYSE's one-share, one-vote rule at the time, said Charles Elson, the director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. As a result, Henry Ford and his family maintained control after what was then the single largest IPO in Wall Street history.
Media companies, too, have long used dual-class stock structures, from The New York Times to CNET's parent, CBS, at which Sumner Redstone has almost 80 percent voting control. For a public tech company, giving so much power to single individual is unprecedented.
This isn't generally a problem, until problems arise. Look at the stronghold Rupert Murdoch -- with nearly 40 percent control over News Corp. -- maintains over his embattled enterprise. "Investors have no opportunity to take action," said Elson.
Big mutual managers surely will wonder why they ought to put millions of dollars into a company that, with a potential $96 billion valuation, looks crazy by standard Wall Street metrics, such as price-to-earnings ratios. Zuckerberg has so much control over the company -- he designed it that way -- that a bet on Facebook is largely a bet on the talents of the almost-28-year-old tech wunderkind.
"You're betting on a king, on an old-style king," said Elson. "And if the king turns out to be not such a good ruler, you're stuck."
As a cautionary tale for potential Facebook investors, Elson points to Yahoo, which has seen plenty of CEO turnover owing to pressure from shareholders angry at the mess the business is in. Yahoo's current CEO, Scott Thompson, is now under attack by hedge fund Third Point. And last September the board ousted its last CEO, Carol Bartz, in a shakeup that couldn't happen at Facebook no matter how badly Zuckerberg stumbles.
"A board has two jobs," a person who's served on the boards of several public Silicon Valley companies told me, "acting as a sounding board, and hiring and firing the CEO. If the CEO wants to go ahead with something the board doesn't like, the only power they have is to fire him. And in Facebook's case, they can't even fire him."

Zuckerberg has already shown his desire to go it alone when it comes to big decisions. When he bought Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock, he reportedly didn't even tell his board until the deal was all but done. Maybe board members questioned the price tag, as so many outsiders did after the deal was announced, but maybe they didn't. It probably wouldn't have mattered.
Of course, it'll be in Zuckerberg's interest for the stock to do well. For one, it'll keep his employees from jumping ship. It'll also provide him with a powerful currency with which to do more Instagram-like deals, and perhaps ones far larger.
And a bunch of outcry from finance profs is unlikely to dampen demand for this offer. This is Facebook, after all. Everyone knows it. Everyone wants a piece. And, despite the slowdown in the first quarter, this is still a profitable company on track to generate more than $4 billion in revenue this year. And though the king is just 27, so far he hasn't messed up.
It's also easy to argue Facebook's enormous potential, and that's what the bankers and Facebook executives will naturally stress during the upcoming road show, which is set to culminate with the IPO on May 18. Facebook already has frustrated advertisers eager to give it more money, and there's plenty of speculation that Facebook will become a place for e-commerce transactions, as its acquisition in April of a startup called TagTile suggests. And there's much more.
With such promise, fund managers won't want to be left out, even though money managers often shy away from IPOs with dual-class stocks. Retail investors also will likely jump in as soon as the shares start trading, even if they can't yet separate the price from the hype and all the pundits warn them to sit tight.
"This is one of those times when people act contrary to their own interest," Elson said. "The hype overwhelms good judgement."
Perhaps. But that good judgement also would have kept people out of Google, which since going public at $85 a share in August 2004 has climbed 617 percent. And Facebook seems a lot more Google than it does Groupon.

Read More

iPad is to "tablet" as Starbucks is to "coffee shop"

When a product becomes synonymous with the general term for the item itself, it can own the market.
To paraphrase Ra’s Al Ghul from Batman Begins, “If you make yourself more than just a tablet, if you devote your circuits to an ideal and if they can’t stop you, you become something else entirely – a legend.”
Such is the case with the Apple iPad as it now accounts for 94.64% of all tablet web traffic. It accounted for 2/3rds of the tablets sold in 2011 despite a surge by the Kindle Fire around Christmas. Just like Starbucks, people often interchange the word “iPad” with “tablet” when discussing the mobile device.
The Samsung Galaxy tablet is the 2nd-most common, and yet there are fewer than 1.3 Galaxy tablets for every 100 iPads. Game over. Apple won.

Read More

How Does Google Adwords Work [Infographic]

Google AdWords is Google's main advertising product and main source of revenue. Google's total advertising revenues were USD$28 billion in 2010. 

AdWords offers pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, cost-per-thousand (CPM) advertising, and site-targeted advertising for text, banner, and rich-media ads. 

The AdWords program includes local, national, and international distribution. Google's text advertisements are short, consisting of one headline consisting of 25 characters and two additional text lines consisting of 35 characters each. Image ads can be one of several different Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standard sizes.Here is an Infographic about how Google Adwoks Work ?

Read More

Java creator James Gosling: 'Google totally slimed Sun'

Gosling said that Sun was "wronged" by Google and that Oracle is right to sue Google for the way it used Java code in Android.

James Gosling has a great deal of his life invested in Java. He is considered the father of the programming language, which was launched by Sun in 1995 and runs on billions of digital devices, and is currently at the center of a contentious legal battle between Oracle and Google.
Up until Saturday night -- when he wrote that "Google totally slimed Sun" -- the proud father of Java had been fairly moderate in his comments about how Google treated his baby.
Full coverage: Oracle v. Google

James Gosling at JavaOne in May 2007.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

When the lawsuit, claiming that Google had infringed on Java copyrights and patents in its Android platform, was announced by Oracle back on August 10, 2010, Gosling suggested on his personal blog that Java's new owner might be inclined to take a different approach to dealing with Google and Android than was the case at Sun Microsystems:

"Not a big surprise. During the integration meetings between Sun and Oracle where we were being grilled about the patent situation between Sun and Google, we could see the Oracle lawyer's eyes sparkle. Filing patent suits was never in Sun's genetic code. Alas...."

A few days later, on August 15, 2010, Gosling wrote a longer post, citing "very weak notions of interoperability" with Android that Sun "strongly objected to." He concluded his post by calling the lawsuit "more about ego, money and power."

"Don't interpret any of my comments as support for Oracle's suit. There are no guiltless parties with white hats in this little drama. This skirmish isn't much about patents or principles or programming languages. The suit is far more about ego, money and power."

Gosling left Oracle with some acrimony in April 2010, less than three months after the enterprise software giant closed its deal to acquire Sun for $7.4 billion. In announcing his departure, Gosling wrote,  "Just about anything I could say that would be accurate and honest would do more harm than good."

Following my article on ex-Sun executives on opposing sides of the lawsuit last week, which misstated his position on Oracle v. Google, Gosling assigned some public guilt, declaring that "Google totally slimed Sun":

"Just because Sun didn't have patent suits in our genetic code doesn't mean we didn't feel wronged. While I have differences with Oracle, in this case they are in the right. Google totally slimed Sun. We were all really disturbed, even Jonathan: he just decided to put on a happy face and tried to turn lemons into lemonade."

For Gosling and Sun's management, Android represented a kind of dark side, incompatible with the Java "Write Once, Run Anywhere" (WORA) credo. The Google "slime" was likely what Sun saw as a high-flying, arrogant Google, stacked with the former Sun CTO (Eric Schmidt) as its CEO and a roster of top Java engineers, using what was considered Sun's open, but in some ways restricted, code in a way that would offer little benefit to struggling company that had invested tens of millions of dollars developing Java and its community over more than a decade. 

In a March 8, 2007 e-mail to Schwartz about working with Google on licensing or partnering with Sun on Java, Sun's co-founder and chairman, Scott McNealy, characterized the relationship with Google at the time: "The Google thing is really a pain. They are immune to copyright laws, good citizenship, they dont share. They dont even call back."

In an interview with eWeek in June 2009, Gosling outlined his concerns about Android:

"It's really hard to tell what their intentions are with Android. They put this thing out there, and you've got lots of people picking it up. The big attraction seems to be the zero on the price tag. But everybody I've talked to who is building an Android phone or whatever, they're all going in and they're just hacking on it. And so all these Android phones are going to be incompatible.

"One of the reasons that we charge license fees is because we've got organizations of people that do compatibility testing and actual negotiating amongst the different handset makers so that things like GPS APIs look the same. And what's going on in the Android world is there's kind of no adult in charge. And all these handset manufacturers are doing whatever they damn well please. Which means that it's just going to be randomness. It could be let a thousand flowers bloom, but it also could be a dog's breakfast. And I guess having been around the track a few times, it feels like it's going to be more of a dog's breakfast."

In testimony last week, former Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz basically dismissed Oracle's claims of infringement. He stated that Google didn't infringe on any Java intellectual property and didn't require any license from Sun as long as Android was not branded Java in any way.
"We didn't like it, but we weren't going to stop it by complaining about it," Schwartz said, indicating he may have felt a little "slimed."
"Imagine for a moment if Google selected Microsoft Windows," which was the alternative to an open source Java implementation at the time. Schwartz preferred Google's variance with the Java WORA to a stronger Microsoft in the mobile arena.
McNealy shares Gosling's view of Google's actions, disputing Schwartz's conclusion that Google was legally in the clear as long as its didn't use the Java name or logo.  "I don't recall that was ever a strategy that we pursued nor allowed in the marketplace," he said in court.
Gosling's sense of Google's wrongdoing didn't prevent him from joining the company one year after leaving Oracle, as the lawsuit was ramping up. But his Google stint was brief, lasting only five months. "In retrospect, it was a bad decision," he told me. Gosling departed Google to become the chief software architect at Liquid Robotics, which develops ocean-going robots that record and transmit data.
In his posts, Gosling said Sun didn't have patent suits in its genetic code, but the company clearly had some capacity for initiating lawsuits and taking on giant targets. In 2001 Sun settled a suit against Microsoft involving Java for $20 million, and in 2004 Sun settled a patent and antitrust suit against Microsoft that came with a $1.95 billion payment to Sun.
In his testimony last week, Schwartz explained his "grit our teeth" strategy after Android had its public debut as an incompatible variant of Sun's Java. "We saw a handset bypass our brand and licensing restrictions...we decided to grit our teeth and support it so anyone supporting it would see us as part of the value chain," he said. Apparently, continuing to seek a way to work with Google -- to turn lemons into lemonade, as Gosling wrote -- was preferable to engaging in a costly lawsuit.
As the trial goes into its third week today, Judge William Alsup and the jury will hear the closing statements from each side on the Java API copyright claims, phase one of the trial. Phase two of the trial will deal with liability on the patent claims. One of Gosling's patents, "Method and apparatus for resolving data references in generated code," is part of the case. Gosling was asked to be a witness for the plaintiff, Oracle, and he may get an opportunity to discuss Google slime in front of the jury.

Read More

INFOGRAPHIC : The History Of The Modem

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was sitting at my computer, waiting to go online while my torturously slow 56K modem whistled and screeched its way onto the World Wide Web.  Fast forward more than a decade and I am now spoilt with my broadband wireless connection which kicks the pants off a 56K modem any day of the week. Now I can watch ABBA on YouTube on the toilet with my iPad without that constant irritating buffering spinning circle.
Thanks to the advances in modems and Internet speeds, it is now possible to stream music and video and view interactive webpages without interruption.  We’re entering an era where anything before broadband and 3G is becoming an obselete dinosaur and now 4G and T1 are starting to mark their territory. In fact, I don’t know a single soul who uses a 56K modem anymore.  Everyone is getting upgraded to broadband, even the country folks.  Do you know anyone who uses a 56K modem or…gasp…anything slower than that?
But when were modems invented and who invented them?  What were some of their early uses and what is their potential for the future?  All of that is what this infographic from Broadband Choices tries to address below in the first of our infographics this week.  Let us know if you use 4G or T1 to access the net.  If so, is it good value for money?  How do you see Internet speeds going in the future?
Click on the infographic to be taken to a larger version

Read More

Always Connected : A Day In The Digital Life [INFOGRAPHIC]

It’s a well-known fact of the 21st century that from the moment you get up in the morning to the moment you go to bed at night, technology rules.  Smartphones wake us up, we get our news from online, we check our social networks, chat on IM, watch videos on YouTube, and text on our phones.  Whether we like to admit it or not, we’re addicted to our gadgets and to the Internet.
Our infographic this week comes courtesy of Online Schools, which has a rather strange looking guy who looks like he has had one too many Botox injections (his face in the “Eating Breakfast” section a case in point).
Are you this addicted to your gadgets and the Internet?  Which part of the infographic do you identify the most with?  Are you guilty of having an affair with your phone?  Let us know in the comments. Oh and if you want a bigger version of the infographic, just click on the one below.

Read More

INFOGRAPHIC : Where Is The World’s Data Being Stored?

As the Internet gets bigger and bigger, so do the places needed to store all of that data. But where are these data centers exactly? Which ones are the largest and who owns them? How can we put 600 Exabytes into perspective so that we can truly understand its size?
This great infographic, provided by Mozy, shows us the answers to these questions and more. Let us know what you think about the infographic in the comments, along with any questions you may have.

Read More

Facebook Rolls Out Apps For Timeline To Give Your Profile A More Personal Feel [News]

As with any change Facebook makes, Timeline was greeted with mixed reviews. Some users adore it (myself included) while others wish things would go back to the way they were. Love it or hate it, Timeline is here to stay, and Facebook is taking things a step further to enhance the experience by allowing third-party developers to create apps that use Timeline to share even more. Just reading the comments on the Facebook blog show how mixed peoples feelings are on the subject.



At launch, Facebook has apps available for all kinds of interests. They have apps for travelers, movie watchers, foodies and many more. Of course, these are just the launch apps and Facebook plans to add many more as time goes on. Chances are, if there is something you enjoy, Facebook will have a Timeline app that can handle it.
Adding an app is as simple as visiting the Timeline apps page and adding it to your profile. Your friends will see your activity from the app in their news ticker, on your profile and possibly in their news feed. It makes it easy to share whatever hobbies you enjoy.


Popular services such as Rhapsody, Spotify, GoGoBot and LivingSocial are available. Check out the Timeline apps page for a complete listing of apps.
Let us know in the comments which apps you enjoy, or how you feel about Timeline. Do you think Facebook is going too far with all these extras? We would love to hear your opinion!

Read More

Facebook to Introduce ‘Lifesaving’ Feature Tuesday

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear on ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday to introduce a feature that “could save lives.”
The program teased the segment by noting that Zuckerberg “doesn’t do much TV” and then asked, “So why is he inviting [GMA news anchor] Robin Roberts to Facebook’s headquarters? What does he want to share that could save lives?”

 

Facebook reps could not be reached for comment on the announcement. The social networking giant has introduced tools of late that could be described along the same lines. In December, Facebook launched a program called “Lifeline” that let friends alert the company when their friends express suicidal thoughts. In that case, Facebook sends an email to the comment’s author directing them to a telephone hotline or a link they can click to start a confidential chat.

The company also introduced a suite of tools last March aimed a cracking down on cyberbullying.
In addition to Zuckerberg’s appearance, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is also scheduled to appear on GMA for an interview with Diane Sawyer to “discuss the personal stories that led to this new initiative and its goals,” according to ABC.
What do you think Facebook is going to introduce? Let us know in the comments.

Read More

Blogger Vs Wordpress [Infographic]

There are lots of blogging platforms available these days. But the most popular are Wordpress and the Blogger or Blogspot. Fans of them support their favorite blogging platform but which blogging platform is better ? Well, this question is circulating since a long time and everyone is having their own views. Both of them are having their own different features which scores over on each other.

I just found this infographic comparison between WordPress and Blogger. I believe that you will find this helpful. I believe you would add some comments at the end of this post. That would help me know what you have learned and what you want to add to this

Blogger Advantages:

• The Blogger platform requires less investment to create a blog and hence is good for initial bloggers who don’t want to spend more in starting a blog.
• If you have good CSS and XHTML skill that you want to flaunt in your blog, then Blogger is the right platform for you.
• Money is not required . Free Service

Blogger Disadvantages :

• You don’t want to have number of authors for the blog(as there is no “Submit for Review option)and you want to be the whole and soul of the blog, then Blogger is the platform for you.
• You have add Alt Tags to Images to have a better SEO .

WordPress Advantage :

• If you want your blog to have a professional look and you don’t have enough knowledge of CSS or HTML, then to choose WordPress as your blog platform is the best option.
• Good SEO with least effort is the way you wanna go, then WordPress is the platform for you.

WordPress Disadvantage :

• Money is required a lot to buy Hosting . For free Service you can try WordPress.com which has less features . (No Plugins) .

What Do you Say About this ?

Blogger or WordPress ?

Read More

INFOGRAPHIC: How SMS Messaging Is Changing The World

It’s become the most common form of communication on the planet and the number one occupation of teenagers everywhere.  That’s right, I’m talking about text messaging (SMS) which, quite often, is the best way to send someone a short message without getting trapped talking on the phone for ages.  Whether it’s keeping in touch with friends and relatives in other countries or texting your partner to request a takeaway, it’s hard to find someone these days who doesn’t know what texting is or who has never done it before.
Our infographic today comes courtesy of MBA Online.  Find out the total number of texters in comparison to the world population or the number of Facebook users.  Find out the influence mobile phones have on their users and how text messaging has been used for good causes in different countries.
Are you an obsessed texter?  If so, how many do you send per day/week/month?  Would you rather text than talk to someone?  And do you know of any good causes that texting has been used for?  Let us know in the comments!  If you are on the opposite side of the argument and you HATE texting, then don’t hesitate to tell us why in the comments too!

Read More

INFOGRAPHIC : Google Versus Facebook On Privacy & Security

It’s the classic ongoing battle which has been raging relentlessly without a ceasefire since the birth of social networking – how much privacy and security (if any) do you actually have on these sites? And who wins in these areas (if anyone)?  The two top dogs currently slugging it out for the number one spot are Google and Facebook. Each both have things going for them and things going against them.
For example, Google kicks the pants off Facebook when it comes to working capital and monthly unique users.  But the search engine giant falls down completely in the areas of banning the use of pseudonyms and blocking individuals from seeing a post.  Both sites are also the subject of a huge number of cyberattacks, which will put your data at risk when someone finally succeeds at breaking through.  So who has the best firewalls and site security?
It’s difficult to tell for sure who trumps who in the privacy and security battles, which is why this handy infographic from Veracode sums things up nicely for you to make your own mind up.  Let us know what you think.  Who would you trust more with your private information?  Google or Facebook?  Or neither?  Do you think either network is improving in these areas or getting worse?
Click on the infographic to be taken to a larger version

Read More

INFOGRAPHIC : The History Of Linux

If there’s one thing which must really piss off Bill Gates to no end, it must be the enduring popularity of Linux and other free software, as it undercuts his “if you want good software, you have to pay for it” attitude.  As Linux has shown, it is indeed possible to produce good software and a good operating system, then give it away for nothing to anyone that wants to use it.
Of course, it’s not without its flaws.  Linux doesn’t always produce software that matches up to the standard of its Windows equivalent and games for Linux are not that impressive according to people who care about these things.  However, you can tweak the system to your heart’s content and the huge number of distributions means there’s a version of Linux for everyone’s requirements.  Oh and of course, being big Linux fans here at MUO, there’s plenty of Linux articles for you to read and make use of.
Today’s infographic comes from BlogSearchEngine and it shows the history of Linux, starting in 1971 with Richard Stallman who would go on to set up the Free Software Foundation.  Later would come the operating system called MINIX and in 1989, the Finnish student Linus Torvalds wanted to upgrade MINIX and, finding he was barred from doing so, wrote his own OS called Linux.  The rest, as they say, is history.
Let us know what you think of the infographic.  Anything important that was left out?  What is it about Linux that you love so much?  What is it about Linux that you hate so much?  Give us your views in the comments below.
Click on the infographic to view a larger version

Read More

DOWNLOAD Understanding Windows Phone 7: Your Complete Guide

Microsoft isn’t messing around when it comes to phones anymore. Windows Phone 7 doesn’t just catch up with Android and the iPhone – in many ways it surpassed those platforms.
Whether you think that statement is absurd or you are the happy owner of a Windows Phone, you should really read “Understanding Windows Phone 7: Your Complete Guide” from MakeUseOf staff writer Christian Cawley. This manual teaches you to use the many features of Windows Phones 7 along with tips and tricks for doing just about everything.
It’s the perfect way to find out how to use your Windows phone, if you already own one. It’s also a great way to decide whether you should buy a Windows Phone or not, because you’ll learn exactly what the platform can and can’t do.
After years of struggling to provide an operating system for smartphone users, Microsoft blasted back into the market in 2010 with Windows Phone. A whole new take on mobile phone operating systems, it first appeared on devices from HTC, Samsung and LG and can now be found on the latest devices from Nokia.
Featuring the tile-based Metro user interface, Windows Phone offers an alternative to the iPhone and Android’s rows of icons and makes performing some of the most common smartphone tasks quick, easy and satisfying.

DOWNLOAD Understanding Windows Phone 7: Your Complete Guide

The guide is free but password-protected. Gain access to the password by:

1- subscribing to our newsletter (you may do this on the download page itself, link above). Existing subscribers will receive the guide via email in the next couple of hours.

OR

2 – Simply join our Facebook page. Quick and easy.

This amazing free guide shows you:

• How to understand and use the Metro interface.
• Manage and merge contacts from your email, address book and social networks.
• Taking and managing photos with your Windows Phone.
• What Microsoft’s cloud services add to Windows Phone.
• Managing your music and media with Zune.
• Getting work done with Microsoft Office Mobile.
• Buying apps and games with the Windows Phone Marketplace.
• Gaming on your phone with Xbox Live.
• Tweaking and security tips.
• Tethering guides for Samsung, LG and Dell Venue Windows Phones.

DOWNLOAD Understanding Windows Phone 7: Your Complete Guide

The guide is free but password-protected. Gain access to the password by:

1- subscribing to our newsletter (you may do this on the download page itself, link above). Existing subscribers will receive the guide via email in the next couple of hours.

OR

2 – Simply join our Facebook page. Quick and easy.

Read More

INFOGRAPHIC : A Day On The Internet

The first stat alone says it all – all the online information we consume on a daily basis can fill up 168 million DVD’s (suddenly all those crappy AOL disks that kept on appearing a decade ago don’t seem so bad!).  We send out hundreds of billions of emails, write millions of blog posts and much more.  Suddenly working in Burger King, flipping burgers and cleaning toilets doesn’t seem to be all that appealing, does it?  Come home, go online, start your own blog and update your Facebook status instead.
What do you do on a daily basis on the Internet?  Do you live in Facebook?  Or are you camped out more in your email inbox?  Or maybe you’re a budding blogger?  Give us a breakdown of your Internet day.

Read More

INFOGRAPHIC : The Internet In 2020

The Internet is progressing at such a blistering pace that by 2020, we are probably going to see a lot of changes, hopefully for the better.  For example, right now here in 2012, we’re seeing a vast amount of data being uploaded to the cloud, as more and more people abandon concepts such as hard drives and CD/DVD disks, in favour of cloud services such as Google Music and Evernote. We’re also seeing file storage solutions offer us even more space in the gigabytes and terabytes, while wireless Internet connections continue to proliferate everywhere in homes, bars, coffee shops and other public places.
Our infographic this week, courtesy of Visual.ly, shows us some of the possible changes that we might see in 8 years time. I’m sure we will see more people online as infrastructure, services and businesses start hooking up more to the net. This will mean more people, from a wider area of the world, from a wider variety of backgrounds, will be able to enjoy the benefits of the net and it won’t become a toy of the privileged richer nations. I’m talking about places such as the African continent, South America and Asia.
But as usual, every good thing has its price.  With more people, services and infrastructure going online, the Internet becomes an even bigger and rewarding target for criminals and hackers who want to take advantage. So the infographic claims that we are likely to see a big rise in the number of hacking incidents by 2020, which I think is probably true.
Let us know in the comments below what you think of the infographic and what you think the Internet will look like less than a decade from now.  Will it be a place of innovation and wonder, or a lawless online Wild West?

Read More

DOWNLOAD Learn LinkedIn: How To Build Your Living Resume

Learn the true power of LinkedIn. Whether you’re looking for a job or looking to hire new talent, LinkedIn is a resource you can’t afford to miss. If you feel lost when you use this social network it’s time to download “Learn LinkedIn: How To Build Your Living Resume“. Written by author Joshua Sherman, this guide will teach you not only how to use LinkedIn but also how to get the most out of it. It’s all about building a living, online resume.
Many don’t realize how effective LinkedIn can be as a source of information, resources, or even future opportunities. Unlike other social media sites, which let you see reposts of Reddit from your friends or get the latest and greatest updates regarding how Mary-Ann checked in at Starbucks, LinkedIn instead focuses on your professional world, allowing you to build a network of professionals and enjoy the countless perks that can come with that.
In this manual, we’ll show you how to set yourself up on LinkedIn, establish your account, and develop your “living resume” in an easy step by step process. Those of you who have no clue about LinkedIn or how it works, fear not! We’ll go over must-know tips and information to ensure you don’t make any mistakes. For those of you a little seasoned in the LinkedIniverse, feel free to read on – you will learn some new tricks, or how to better personalize or develop your living resume.

DOWNLOAD Learn LinkedIn: How To Build Your Living Resume

The guide is free but password-protected. Gain access to the password by:

1- subscribing to our newsletter (you may do this on the download page itself, link above). Existing subscribers will receive the guide via email in the next couple of hours.

OR

2 – Simply join our Facebook page. Quick and easy.

This amazing free manual will teach you:

• What LinkedIn is, and why you should use it.
• What a living resume is, and why LinkedIn works as one.
• How to set up a LinkedIn account and find contacts.
• What to add and not add to your LinkedIn profile.
• Networking to turn third-degree contacts into firsts.
• How to ask for a recommendation without being awkward.
• Finding people you want to connect with.

DOWNLOAD Learn LinkedIn: How To Build Your Living Resume

The guide is free but password-protected. Gain access to the password by:

1- subscribing to our newsletter (you may do this on the download page itself, link above). Existing subscribers will receive the guide via email in the next couple of hours.

OR

2 – Simply join our Facebook page. Quick and easy.

Read More

Facebook Launches Facebook Security, Offering Free Anti-Virus Software & Expanded URL Blacklist [Updates]

Facebook has launched a new security initiative, aimed to further protect Facebook users from malware, phishing scams and viruses. Along with renowned security companies such as Sophos, Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and Microsoft, Facebook is now offering an expanded URL blacklist system, and free software downloads from these five companies.
The gateway to this new project is the Facebook Security page, where users can read security-related updates and access the Security Homepage and the Anti-Virus Marketplace. The updates are on the security page, which Facebook also refers to as a blog, and you will also find security updates from Sophos, Symantec et al., which you can the share with your friends.
On the Anti-Virus Marketplace, you will find free downloads for anti-virus software from all these companies. Aside from Microsoft, which offers its product for free as it is, you can access 6-months licenses for any of the remaining software, without paying a dime. Facebook’s URL blacklist will now also incorporate the databases from these companies. This is Facebook’s attempt to get people more aware of security threats, and to help them feel more secure when browsing Facebook.

Through the security homepage you can also access a PDF of the Facebook Security Guide, and other security-related tips. As of this minute, many of the options on this page are not working, either returning an error or claiming users are not authorized to use this option. Although this will probably be fixed soon, this security initiative is still worth checking out if you’d like to try any of the aforementioned anti-virus software for free, and get some security tips from the leading companies in this field.

Read More

Create Your Own Smartphone App With Infinite Monkeys – No Coding Knowledge Required

It would be great if we all had the time, skills, and patience to learn computer coding, especially since technology pervades so many areas of our life. But thankfully, there are applications and web developers out there who provide ways for the rest of us to produce apps with little or no coding skills.
Back in June, I reviewed one such web application called Buzztouch, which is designed to allow anyone to create their own smartphone application. Now a similar program has just been released called Infinite Monkeys, a web-based tool geared toward niche communities who want to share content on the iPhone and Android platforms. Infinite Monkeys is not as polished theme wise as Buzztouch, but unlike the latter, Infinite Monkeys, says the developers, “Is completely web-based, and works on any computer or tablet device. You never touch the source code and don’t have to know what it is or how it works.” There are several other differences that also might make Infinite Monkey more accessible to non-programmers than Buzztouch. But you’re free to explore both and see which fits your needs.

Web-based GUI

Infinite Monkeys’ web-based graphic user interface allows users to incorporate existing web content from social networking sites like Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and blogging sites.

These web-based apps of course don’t compare to more advanced apps like Angry Birds, but they are great for small niche communities and businesses, such as school associations, sports teams, churches, musicians and restaurants, who want to share content privately or publicly.

Ads by Google

ITIL V3 Expert Training Capability Track - May - Sep 2012 Top notch - Experienced Trainer
www.ITHelpLine.com

Music Mixing Software Try the award winning software for free - all features for 30 days.
www.ableton.com/free-trial

Video Watch the Matches Online only on Indiatimes.com
ipl.Indiatimes.com

Aircel Data Card Offers Fast and High Speed Internet Browsing. Simple and Affordable.
www.Aircel.com

Infinite Monkeys provides three different app platform models, ranging from free to the pro level version of $499. But for many users, the free HTML 5 web-based, and ad-supported model should suffice.

 

Building An App

Infinite Monkey provides a seriously easy step-by-step process for creating a smartphone app in less than an hour; that is if you have an ample amount of content already posted on the web.



The great thing about using a web-based platform is that you can constantly add content and updates to your app via your blog site, YouTube channel, photo sharing site, etc.
The Infinite Monkey web application uses a familiar drag-and-drop process. You start off by giving your app a title, followed by choosing a privacy setting. You can make the app public, or private for closed community access which will prompt users to enter a password to view content.


You can of course customize the background image and splash screen, as well as the font colors for the title and other text.

Core Content

The core content of your app consists of primarily news and third-party feeds such as your blog site(s) and specific URLs.


Infinite Monkeys includes additional content models for music and books, food and beverages, events, sports, reference materials, and location services such as a map and directions.
With the click of a button you can easily preview your app at any point in the development process. The online app also includes an embedded short video tutorial for each of the three part steps and multifunction tools.
You have poor control over the content of your app, including links to streaming videos, live chatrooms, shared calendars for upcoming events, shopping links to recommended products, and tap–t0–call phone contact information.

 

Publishing App

The free version of Infinite Monkeys allows you to instantly post your HTML 5 version immediately to the web so that anyone with a web-enabled smartphone can access it through the assigned URL.

Since your app is ad-supported, Infinite Monkeys will host it for free on their server. While it is not nearly as polished as professional apps that you will find in say the iTunes App Store, it does provide a way for anyone to get their content into this space.

Read More

Meet the 80-Year-Old Grandma on a Quest for 80,000 Twitter Followers

When the poet Dylan Thomas wrote of growing old, “do not go gentle into that good night,” it’s a safe bet he didn’t have Twitter in mind. But Josephine Lamberti does.
The 80-year-old Staten Island grandma is, as her @J_DIMPS Twitter bio puts it, on a quest for “80K followers (or maybe a million) before I die!” And she’s getting close, having already racked up more about 65,000 in less than two years on the network.
She’s become a hit with celebrities, getting retweets and DMs from pop stars and pro athletes alike and becoming something of an online celebrity in her own right. Earlier this year, the NBA player Nate Robinson invited her and her grandson to a game after chatting over Twitter.
“We went and he met us after the game,” J. Dimps says. “He wanted to meet me more than I wanted to meet him. It was awesome.”
J. Dimps — short for dimples — originally joined Twitter and began her quest for followers with the help of 24-year-old grandson Donny Brandefine.
“Well, it was getting a little boring, so he came over and we tried to figure out something to keep me busy,” she says. “We came up with this idea, and it’s been good.”
Brandefine — who Dimps calls “my right arm” — says his grandmother has always had a rambunctious personalty and that she’s taken her online celebrity acquaintances in stride. A list called MyAdoptedGrandchildren contains more than 300 celebrities she’s interacted with on Twitter or is especially fond of.
“Thats all the big stars she has following her,” Brandefine says. “To me its crazy seeing her just sit there like, ‘Yeah, Jose Canseco’s reading me, Rihanna’s reading me.’ She thinks she’s a big shot over here!”
Dimps says she remains young at heart, as if her social media presence — she’s also on Facebook and YouTube — wasn’t proof enough. She Tebows, and she represents the hashtag #OLDladySWAG. What’s old lady swag mean?
“I’m really cool, stylish,” she says. “Funny. That’s about it. I really don’t act my age.”
Dimps says she acts “maybe 21,” and her tastes have evolved since she used to ballroom dance at the Palladium concert hall.

“Now I dance to the Rihanna music,” she says. “I don’t do the lindy or things like that no more.”
Despite racking up the Twitter followers, Dimps has managed to keep a proper followed-by-to-following ratio, at about 63,000 to 5,500. So how can you get a follow back from Dimps as she makes her way to 80K?
“If they make me laugh,” she says, “I’ll follow them back.”
Will you help 80-year-old J. Dimps meet her goal of 80,000 followers? Let us know in the comments.

Read More

Forget Emoticons — Skype Wants You to Use ‘Humoticons’

As part of Skype’s latest marketing campaign, the video call service has launched a Facebook app geared at making our interactions more human: Skype Humoticons.
The app basically allows us to recreate classic emoticon images — such as the smiley face, sad face or tongue-out face — with our own real-life expressions. You can post existing photos to a “Humoticon gallery,” or snap new pictures within the app. The results can be shared on a Facebook wall, downloaded, or turned into a URL to share in an Instant Message.

The “It’s Time to Skype” campaign, launched earlier this month, is based on the premise that social networks such as Twitter and Facebook are “degrading humanity.” Some of the slogans Skype is using for the campaign: “140 characters doesn’t equal staying in touch” and “Upgrade from a wall post to a first class conversation.”



The reasoning behind Skype Humoticons? “Because nothing can replace the look on your face,” according to a Skype blog post.
There is a distinct irony in the campaign. At the same time it blasts Facebook and Twitter, Skype isn’t above using both social networks for promotion purposes. As part of the “It’s Time for Skype” social media campaign, for example, the hashtag #timeforskype will be used on Twitter.
And not only does Skype have a video call integration feature on Facebook, but the entire Humoticons campaign is housed on a Facebook page.
Do we really need to mimic emoticons to put the humanity back in our conversations? Will you use them, or are they just another superficial way to show what we’re feeling? Sound off in the comments.

Read More

How Social Media Is Taking Over the News Industry [INFOGRAPHIC]

More than ever, people are using Twitter, Facebook and other social media sources to learn about what’s happening in the world as traditional news outlets become increasingly less relevant to the digital generation.
American forces’ raid on Osama Bin Laden, Whitney Houston‘s death, the Hudson River plane landing — these are just a few of many major news stories ordinary citizens broke on Twitter first. Professional journalists, meanwhile, use Twitter all the time to break news quickly before writing up full articles.
And the business side is going digital too. Online news now generates more revenue than print newspapers.
But the trend toward Internet and social media-based news — and the accompanying rush to be first to report a story — also comes with pitfalls. Some 50% of news consumers have received “breaking news” via social media, only to find out later it was erroneously reported.

All this and more comes from the online education portal Schools.com, which pulled research from sources including the Washington Post, Pew Research Center and Reuters to put together the infographic below. Check it out to see the fuller picture of how social media is coming to dominate the news industry.
How much do you rely on social media for news compared to more traditional sources? Has that balance changed for you recently? Let us know in the comments.

Read More

The Internet Is Ruining Your Brain [INFOGRAPHIC]

Admit it: As you’re reading this, you have tunnel vision — that feeling that the world is closing in on you after surfing the Internet for eight straight hours. Web dead head (yes, I made that up) is a growing concern for today’s connected generation, which collectively spends 35 billion hours on the Internet every month.
But we’re not just talking one online shopping experience at a time. Often, we have four tabs open, cycling between emails and shopping, tweeting and word processing. Such multi-tasking actually raises stress levels and lowers creative thinking overall, according to the research compiled by ForensicPsychology.net.



Turns out, multi-tasking online doesn’t positively exercise our brains or mental state. Heavy Internet users are 2.5 times more likely to be depressed. And web addiction reduces the white matter in our brains, basically the transmitters responsible for our memory and sensory abilities.
Scared? Tell us about it.

Read More