TECHNOLOGY INSPIRATION
Technology-People-Innovation

2014
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December 06, 2014
LONDON: Amazon.com's launch of its own private label brand of consumer goods, starting with diapers and baby wipes, underscores the website's maturity as a grocery retailer and the migration of grocery shopping online. 

And if successful, the line's sharp prices could pressure profit margins for other makers of consumer goods, such as Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark. 

Amazon this week announced the launch of Amazon Elements, a new line of premium, everyday products available to members of its loyalty programme Prime, whose membership could exceed 40 million US households this year, according to Bernstein Research. 

Elements will offer information — such as where and when items were made, why each ingredient was included and where the ingredients were sourced. 

"The two things customers told us they want are premium products that meet their high standards and access to information," Sunny Jain, Amazon.com consumables vice president said in a statement. "We're excited to offer Amazon Prime members added selection, beginning with diapers and baby wipes." 

"Most large grocers have their own private labels, so Amazon's move should not be a huge surprise," said Will Hayllar of OC&C Strategy Consultants. But it does underline Amazon's confidence in its push into consumer products. 

"This is a sign of Amazon maturing as a retailer and certainly a sign that they're getting some critical scale in a couple of pockets of CPG (consumer packaged goods)," Hayllar said. 

Amazon Fresh, its grocery delivery programme, is now in about 10 US markets. That is less than it had originally planned last year, a source said at the time. It faces competition from established companies like FreshDirect and startups like Instacart. 

E-commerce accounts for just 3.7% of sales for fast-moving consumer goods like packaged food, drinks and toiletries, but that amount is growing as retailers like Amazon and Ocado gain traction among weekly grocery shops. 

The Amazon Elements line is priced in between branded players' premium and basic lines, and its success could pressure margins at suppliers, said Bernstein analysts. 

"This would be a challenge for CPG companies, both in terms of the top-line and their own margins, requiring CPG to change the way they fundamentally operate to adapt to this more dynamic and potentially deflationary online pricing environment," Bernstein said in a note.
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December 06, 2014
Mark Zuckerberg just slammed Tim Cook and Apple.

In an interview with Time magazine, he said:

A frustration I have is that a lot of people increasingly seem to equate an advertising business model with somehow being out of alignment with your customers ... I think it's the most ridiculous concept. What, you think because you're paying Apple that you're somehow in alignment with them? If you were in alignment with them, then they'd make their products a lot cheaper!

Previously, Cook went after advertising-supported businesses like Google and Facebook, saying they were not in alignment with customers because for them the customers served as the product.

"If [companies are] making money mainly by collecting gobs of personal data, I think you have a right to be worried," Cook said in an interview. "And companies I think should be very transparent about it."

It's rare to see big technology executives — and in this case, two of the biggest — make such public attacks on each other's companies.

Facebook's entire business is built around collecting personal data, then selling advertisements tailored to that personal data.

Apple is the exact opposite. It sells hardware products, collecting very little data.

Cook has been using this as a selling point for Apple to consumers. The idea is that if you don't want to turn over your personal information to a company, then you should use Apple products.

This is a bit rich coming just months after the iCloud hacking scandal. Nude photos of celebrities were posted online after hackers accessed iPhone accounts on which they were stored. Apple says iCloud wasn't breached. It says hackers used "phishing" tactics to get access to accounts.

Still, it's not good for Apple, especially if it wants to be seen a steward of users' personal information.

As for Zuckerberg's counterpoint, it makes sense. Consumers have repeatedly shown that they are willing to give up a little privacy for a great, free product.

Facebook has more than 1.3 billion users despite the fact that it uses personal information for advertising. Google has more than a billion users on its products, and it uses personal information. Twitter has hundreds of millions of users, and it relies on advertising based on personal information.

People don't mind ad-supported products.

Further, the average iPhone costs over $600, while the average Android phone costs half that. Zuckerberg is saying that if Apple were on the side of the consumer, it would lower prices and make its products more broadly available. After all, Apple has $150 billion in cash on hand. It is the most profitable technology company in the world. It can afford to lower prices.

Facebook is free for everyone to use. The price for that is that it collects some user information. Zuckerberg and consumers, based on their actions, think that's a fair deal.
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October 24, 2014

Shweta Kohli has always paid her own way. Her straight-A average won her a full scholarship to San Francisco State University at the same time she worked a 40-hour week as a waitress at a cafe. But when she applied for a credit card after graduation, she was turned down because she had no credit history.

So three years ago, Kohli, now 34, joined a lending circle - a small group of people who chip in every month to lend money to one another at no interest. Managed by the Mission Asset Fund, a nonprofit group in San Francisco that works with credit-rating agencies, the circle offered Kohli something no bank would: a chunk of cash and a chance to build a credit score.

After faithfully making payments - and socking away enough to buy a 1997 Ford Mustang - she raised her credit score from zero to 789 in 26 months. Kohli, ever the striver, said: "My goal is to keep it at 850, the highest."

While informal lending circles among families, acquaintances, co-workers and neighbors are familiar to hundreds of millions of people all over the globe, they are rarely recognized by mainstream financial institutions. But now these centuries-old networks are being seen as a promising tool to help low-income Americans build credit records, part of a new frontier of the war on poverty that has attracted a crazy-quilt coalition of supporters that include major banks, immigrant activists and academic researchers.

In August, California became the first state to enact a law allowing nonprofits to offer small no-interest, no-fee loans, attracting unanimous support from Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

"It crosses party lines, it crosses ideological lines because it's so simple," said Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, who sponsored the bill.

"Access to credit is very important in breaking the cycle of poverty," Correa said.

Without a credit score, you cannot get a car loan, rent an apartment, obtain a mortgage or build a business. Prospective employers and even dating services frequently check credit scores, which a credit-rating agency generates based on a person's history of debt and payments.

"It's very hard to be a part of the economic mainstream" without credit, said Amy Brown, a program officer at the Ford Foundation. "Over time, it makes it really hard to build wealth and move up."

As many as 64 million Americans lack this type of paper trail, leading them to rely on alternatives like exorbitantly priced payday lenders and check-cashing stores.

"A credit report is like a passport to the financial marketplace," said Jose Quinonez, chief executive of Mission Asset Fund. "Without that passport, you're denied entry."

Making payments on time to other members of the lending circle is just like paying off a bank loan or a credit card, supporters point out. The only difference is that one activity is recorded - and can therefore be used to build a credit score - and the other is not.

 "Credit scores are calculated with data that is too narrow," argues a new report on informal lending and saving tools from U.S. Financial Diaries, a research study of low- and moderate-income families: "It may be just as relevant to a lender whether a prospective borrower has the discipline to make regular savings deposits as to make regular loan payments."

Advocates and financial institutions have increasingly been looking for new ways to assist those who are off the financial grid to plug into the system, said Robert Annibale, global director of community development and microfinance at Citibank, which is investing in several pilot projects.

Some banks offer credit building loans - a kind of loan with training wheels - in which people borrow money for the sole purpose of paying it back. The Credit Builders Alliance, a membership organization of nonprofits, helps low and moderate-income households report payments like rent to credit-rating agencies.

Mission Asset Fund formalizes the informal loans arranged through lending circles by making sure all the participants sign a contract or promissory note and reporting every payment to national credit bureaus.

The fund represents only a minuscule portion of the lending industry - through partnerships with 26 other nonprofit organizations it has facilitated about $3 million worth of loans among 2,200 people - but the Ford Foundation has recently issued a $350,000 grant to help expand its program nationwide.

"It's a new take on efforts to build credit," Brown said. "It's sort of brilliant, as a social justice philanthropy."

The fund has also received support from some big banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Citibank.

Quinonez, the fund's director and a native of Mexico, said his own family used lending circles when he was growing up. The conventional view that low-income people are financially illiterate, he says, is mistaken.

"They were managing money in ways we just didn't understand or conceptualize," he said.

Known as tandas in Mexico, susas in West Africa, pandeiros in Brazil and huis in Asia, these informal savings and lending networks continue to be a mainstay of immigrant communities around the country.

Generally each member of a small group - six to 10 people - contributes a set amount of money, say $100, on a regular schedule for a set period of time. Each member of the circle in turn receives the whole pot until everyone gets a payout. Circles continually disband and regroup.

Mission Asset Fund, which also provides extensive financial counseling and education, markets its lending circles around what it calls "financial pain points": a security deposit to rent an apartment, the $680 citizenship application fee, the $465 fee for a deportation deferral and a temporary work permit.

Saving for the deferral is what led Alan Santos, now a 21-year-old college student and part-time debate coach, to join a lending circle two years ago to lift his credit score of zero. "Now it's almost 700," he said proudly.

Immigrants are the primary users, but not the only ones. Lending circles administered by the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center, for example, have a zero default rate.

"What they have is a social connection," said Quinonez, whose group teams up with the center, "and that's what made them perform really well."

Just as dieters join Weight Watchers instead of going it alone, people join lending and savings circles to help reach a specific goal.

A few commercial services aimed at organizing lending circles, including Yattos, Puddle and eMoneyPool, have recently sprung up. They help clients form circles using their own Facebook and social media contacts. Users generally provide each other with no- or low-interest loans but pay the company a coordination fee. Payment activities are not regularly reported to the credit-rating agencies, however, so they do not count toward a participant's credit score.

As for Kohli, she is now working for a software company in the San Francisco Bay Area and has joined another lending circle to save for a condominium so she can move out of the one-bedroom she shares with two roommates.

Her wallet contains a range of credit cards - American Express, Discover, Visa and Master Card - but said she only uses them to buy gas. She prefers to pay for everything she buys upfront and in cash.
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October 24, 2014

Seattle: Microsoft Corp's new Chief Executive Satya Nadella has become one the technology industry's biggest earners, with a total compensation package worth $84.3 million (Rs. 514 crore, $1 = Rs. 61) this year, according to a document filed with securities regulators on Monday.

The outsize number is mostly made up of the estimated value of certain one-time stock awards given to Mr Nadella, who became the company's third CEO in February. Most of it Mr Nadella cannot actually receive until 2019.

The massive stock awards, valued at $79.8 million (Rs. 487 crore) overall, were designed to keep Mr Nadella at Microsoft while the company was hunting for a new CEO and to give him long-term incentives as CEO.

Large stock awards have not been necessary for Microsoft's previous two CEOs, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, as both had multi-billion dollar holdings in the company. Microsoft is also slightly hampered in ensuring the loyalty of its top executives as none of them have employment contracts with the company.

Disclosure of Mr Nadella's rich pay package comes at an awkward time for the new CEO, just 11 days after he urged women in technology not to ask for pay raises but trust in "karma" to get a fair salary. Mr Nadella earlier on Monday said men and women are paid equally at Microsoft. (Read: Satya Nadella Says No Gender Pay Gap at Microsoft)

According to Microsoft's proxy statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Nadella is slated to receive stock worth an estimated $59.2 million (Rs. 361 crore) under a long-term incentive scheme that stretches out over seven years and is dependent on Microsoft's shares beating the Standard & Poor's 500 index. He got a further award worth $13.5 million (Rs. 32 crore) to stay at the company while it was searching for its next CEO.

Excluding those one-time stock awards, Nadella's pay package totaled $11.6 million (Rs. 71 crore) this year, including $918,000 in salary, a $3.6 million (Rs. 22 crore) cash bonus, and an annual stock award valued at just over $7 million (Rs. 42.7 crore).

Mr Nadella was not the only executive to benefit from the uncertainty at Microsoft between August last year and February, as the company looked for its next CEO. Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner was awarded shares valued at $10 million and head lawyer Brad Smith was awarded $9.6 million worth.

In the future, Mr Nadella's compensation is set to be more modest, with "total target compensation" for fiscal 2015 set at $18 million, according to the company's proxy filing. That includes a base salary of $1.2 million, a maximum cash bonus of three times his salary, plus shares worth $13.2 million.

($1 = Rs. 61)

Copyright: Thomson Reuters 2014
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September 15, 2014

Apple wants the plastic credit card to become as rare as the paper check.

Apple wants the plastic credit card to become as rare as the paper check.

On Tuesday, the company announced Apple Pay, a digital payment system that lets people pay for retail store purchases using their phones rather than cash or credit cards. The service, which will work both with iPhones and Apple's new Watch, is backed by a host of big retailers, along with most major banks and credit card issuers, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

So-called contactless payment isn't new. Starbucks, McDonald's, PayPal, Google and Square offer their own services, but only a small portion of customers use them. Some experts believe Apple Pay — with its presence on millions of iPhones and its advanced security features — could be the service that leads to widespread adoption of the digital wallet.

Citi Investment Research analyst Mark May believes the sum total of mobile payments could grow from $1 billion in 2013 to $58.4 billion by 2017.

Payment digitization paints an enticing vision of shopping's future: Simply tap your device against a checkout screen and walk away with your new shoes.

But despite the flashy Apple Pay launch, Apple faces challenges making that vision a reality. The company and other digital wallet providers must convince shoppers that the transactions are safe — especially in the wake of recent high-profile data breaches at Home Depot and Target. Meanwhile, the company must also make a case to retailers that it's worth it for them to invest in new point-of-sale systems.

Many US merchants still aren't sold on the idea. About 220,000 stores are set up to accept Apple Pay. That's only 5.5% of the 3.6 million retail locations in the US, according to the National Retail Federation. The biggest US retailers, including Wal-Mart and Best Buy, are not participating in Apple Pay.

The main reason is cost. Each point-of-sale device, which uses something called near-field communication technology, costs hundreds of dollars, plus hours of worker training. And there's been little customer demand for the systems.

That may change now that Apple has entered the arena, says Gartner analyst Avivah Litan.

"There's no doubt young people want to use phones to make payments, but they have to have a place to pay," says Litan. She predicts bigger retailers will see how well Apple partners like McDonald's do before they move into mobile payments.

"If it goes well at other retailers, Wal-Mart and other companies may break down and start taking it," Litan says.

In countries such as Canada and the UK, contactless point-of-sale systems are widespread, and as a result, such payments are far more common. In Canada, for instance, about 20% of transactions at registers processed by MasterCard are completed by contactless payment, according to MasterCard.




"What you learn from that is when consumers start 'tapping' two or three times, they never go back to their old behavior at that merchant. ... It's just a much better experience," says Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard.

One of the strengths of Apple Pay is its security. Its system uses the company's Touch ID fingerprint technology, a secure chip, and payments that require a one-time security code.

That kind of security — similar to the chip-and-pin credit card system used in Europe — would prevent the type of breaches that happened at Target and Home Depot. And it could be a compelling reason for retailers to adopt Apple Pay, Litan says.

"If you get enough people using the service, it would cut down on retailers' security costs, and that's why over time it may really take off," she says.

Still, not everyone is convinced that swiping a credit or debit card is that much of an inconvenience in the first place. Bill Ready, head of next generation commerce at PayPal, points out that near-field communication has been around for 10 years without catching on. His vision of the mobile payment future is more akin to an "e-commerce style transaction happening in the physical world," he says, citing the example of car-sharing service Uber, which works with PayPal to processes riders' payments by way of a mobile phone app.

"Uber addressed a real pain point, in that hailing a taxi and payment for a taxi is cumbersome," he says. "We're focused on those types of things more than killing the card swipe."

Even amid the differing visions, most experts agree that the march toward the digitization of payment will continue.

"Someone is going to figure out how to make mobile payments easy and cheap and then we're talking a real shift in consumer behavior," says Gartner's Litan.

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September 15, 2014


Google has unveiled its first set of Android One low-cost smartphones in the Indian market, partnering with Indian hardware vendors Spice, Micromax and Karbonn.
Google has unveiled its first set of Android One low-cost smartphones in the Indian market, partnering with Indian hardware vendors Spice, Micromax and Karbonn. The three phones will be available online on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal and via Reliance Digital, Croma and The Mobile Store, offline.

The phones will be available for purchase online starting September 15, 3:30pm IST.

Under the Android One programme Google partners with local phone makers to create and sell affordable yet feature-packed Android phones. Google essentially provides hardware reference boards and software support to partner vendors under the programme.

Google will also have Wi-Fi-equipped mobile demo trucks called 'Showroom on Wheels' in 600 locations across 20 cities to allow potential consumers to experience the Android One phones. Google has also appointed 30,000 Android One ambassadors who will spread the word about the phones.

Airtel will offer 200MB free data per month for app downloads and updates via Play Store. However, Google clarified that it is not paying Airtel for the subsidy and other telecom operators will also join the programme in the near future.

Google is also launching support for Google Play News Stand in India with 30 Indian publications on board.

Sundar Pichai, the Google executive who heads Chrome and Android divisions at the company, said the Android Devices will get direct software updates from Google and will get early access to Android updates just like Nexus devices.

However, Pichai said that Google will not pump in any marketing money and will not support OEMs to market the phone.

He informed that Acer, Alcatel, Asus, HTC, Intex, Lava, Panasonic, Lenovo, Xolo and Qualcomm are also joining the Android One programme.

The first three Android One phones include Spice Android One Dream UNO Mi-498 phone, priced at Rs 6,999.

Spice Android One Dream UNO Mi-498 sports a 4.5-inch IPS FWVGA (480x854p) display. The hardware specifications don't seem to ground breaking but Google's backing could surely make a difference when it comes to software experience.

The phone is powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek quad-core processor, Mali-400MP graphics and 1GB RAM. The phone has 4GB internal storage and a microSD card slot that supports cards of up to 32GB capacity. The phone will also come with 10GB Spice Cloud cloud storage space and 35GB Google Drive space.

Spice Android One Dream UNO runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat, the latest iteration of the OS and comes preloaded with Flipkart, Flipkart eBook and Facebook apps in addition to Reverie Smartpad for Indian language input support.

It sports a 5MP rear camera with LED flash and support for full-HD video capture, and a 2MP front-facing camera. The phone has a 1700mAh battery.



In terms of connectivity, the dual-sim Spice Android One phone supports Bluetooth 4.0, 3G, Wi-Fi and A-GPS.

The other Android One phone, Karbonn Sparkle V has been priced at Rs 6,399. It will be available in blue, red, white, and grey colours.

The phone sports a 4.5-inch IPS FWVGA (480x854p) display. The hardware specifications don't seem to ground breaking but Google's backing could surely make a difference when it comes to software experience.

The phone is powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek quad-core processor, Mali-400MP graphics and 1GB RAM. The phone has 4GB internal storage and a microSD card slot that supports cards of up to 32GB capacity. The phone will also come with 35GB Google Drive space.

Karbonn Sparkle V runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat, the latest iteration of the OS.



It sports a 5MP rear camera with LED flash and support for full-HD video capture, and a 2MP front-facing camera. The phone has a 1700mAh battery.

In terms of connectivity, the dual-sim Karbonn Android One phone supports Bluetooth 4.0, 3G, Wi-Fi and A-GPS.

Micromax is the third Android One partner, but the price of its Canvas A1 smartphone has not been disclosed yet. It will be available in white and metallic black colours.

The phone sports a 4.5-inch IPS FWVGA (480x854p) display. The hardware specifications don't seem very impressive but Google's backing could surely make a difference when it comes to software experience.

The phone is powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek quad-core processor, Mali-400MP graphics and 1GB RAM. The phone has 4GB internal storage and a microSD card slot that supports cards of up to 32GB capacity. The phone will also come with 35GB Google Drive space.

Micromax Canvas A1 runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat, the latest iteration of the OS.

It sports a 5MP rear camera with LED flash and support for full-HD video capture, and a 2MP front-facing camera. The phone has a 1700mAh battery.

In terms of connectivity, the dual-sim Micromax Android One phone supports Bluetooth 4.0, 3G, Wi-Fi and A-GPS.
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August 03, 2014 ,
Was your Facebook, Twitter, Gmail or LinkedIn account hacked? The first thing you should do in such cases is change your password. Even if your accounts are safe, it is safest to keep changing your passwords. If you're having trouble with that and even if you forgot your passwords, this guide will help you solve your problems.

Gmail
Of all your accounts, Gmail is the most important because you use your email to login to almost every other website. Make sure that you have a password with uppercase, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols for this account, to make the password harder to crack. To change your password, follow these steps.

1) Open the Google security settings page and click Change password.

2) This will take you to the page where you can change the password. Enter your current password once and the new password twice. Click Change password. That's it.

(Also see: How To Stop Google From Tracking You On The Web)

Forgot your password? This is what you need to do.

1) Open Gmail and click Need help? under Sign in.

2) Choose I don't know my password and enter your Gmail address.

3) Next, you can enter the last password you remember. If you don't remember any passwords, click I don't know and Google will send a password reset link to your secondary email address.

4) If you didn't set a recovery email address or can't access that address, then you can click Verify your identity and answer various account-related questions to prove your identity. If you succeed, you'll be able to reset your password.


(Also see: Seven Extensions That Make Gmail Better)

Facebook
If you log in to Facebook from public computers such as those in a cyber cafe, you might want to change your password frequently. Here's how you can do that.

1) Go to Facebook's settings page and click on the Edit button next to Password.

2) Now key in your current password and the new password. Click Save Changes when you're done.

If you can't remember your Facebook password, go through these steps.

1) Open Facebook and click the Can't log in? Link under the password form.

2) Now enter your email address, phone number or full name and click Search.

3) Click I forgot my password and click Continue.

4) Facebook will offer you three options: use your Google account to sign in, send a link via email or send link to your phone. Pick what you prefer and click Continue. Open the link and you can reset your password.


(Also see: How to Clean Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Websites)

Twitter
Hacked Twitter accounts can be very embarrassing, because unless your account is protected, all your tweets are visible to everyone. You don't want spam links being tweeted from your account, so keep changing your password by following these steps.

1) Head to Twitter's password settings.

2) Here you need to type your current password and the new password and click Save changes. That's it.

If you forgot your password, try this.

1) Go to Twitter, click the Forgot password link under the password form.

2) Enter your Twitter handle, email or phone number (if you've linked it). Click Search.

3) Now Twitter will ask you to choose whether you want a password link on your email or phone. Pick one and click Continue.

4) Open the link Twitter sends you and change your password.


(Also see: Twitter Power Search: How to Find Old Tweets From Your Timeline)

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is essentially your online resume, so it is necessary to change passwords once in a while so that your account is safe. These instructions should do the trick.

1) Follow this link to open LinkedIn settings.

2) Click Change next to Password in the top-left corner.

3) Enter your old password, type your new password, and click Save changes to complete the process.

If you don't remember your password, you can try these steps.

1) Go to LinkedIn and click Forgot password? above the password form.

2) Now enter your email address and click submit address.

3) Open the link LinkedIn sends to your inbox and reset your password. This link is valid only for a day so make sure you sign in before that.


(Also see: How to Delete Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, or LinkedIn Account)

We hope this tutorial helped you change your password. For more tutorials, head to our How to section.
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July 23, 2014

Google Webmaster Tools Gets New rel-alternate-hreflang FeatureGoogle announced on Monday that it is adding a new feature to Google Webmaster Tools to make it easier to debug rel-alternate-hreflang annotations. These are the attributes Google uses to serve the correct language or regional URL in search results.

Google's Maile Ohye talks about using rel-alternate-hreflang in the following video.

The Language Targeting section of "International Targeting" in Webmaster Tools lets you identify missing return links and incorrect hreflang values.

Regarding missing return links, Google's Gary Illyes explains, "Annotations must be confirmed from the pages they are pointing to. If page A links to page B, page B must link back to page A, otherwise the annotations may not be interpreted correctly. For each error of this kind we report where and when we detected them, as well as where the return link is expected to be.

For incorrect hreflang values, he says, "The value of the hreflang attribute must either be a language code in ISO 639-1 format such as 'es', or a combination of language and country code such as 'es-AR', where the country code is in ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 format. In case our indexing systems detect language or country codes that are not in these formats, we provide example URLs to help you fix them."

Google has also moved the geographic targeting setting to the International Targeting feature

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July 23, 2014

Google Webmaster Tools Gets Updated Robots.txt Testing ToolGoogle has released an updated robots.txt testing tool in Webmaster Tools. The tool can be found in the Crawl section.

The aim of the new version of the tool is to make it easier to make and maintain a "correct" robots.txt file, and make it easier to find the directives within a large file that are or were blocking individual URLs.

"Here you'll see the current robots.txt file, and can test new URLs to see whether they're disallowed for crawling," saysGoogle's Asaph Amon, describing the tool. "To guide your way through complicated directives, it will highlight the specific one that led to the final decision. You can make changes in the file and test those too, you'll just need to upload the new version of the file to your server afterwards to make the changes take effect. Our developers site has more about robots.txt directives and how the files are processed."

"Additionally, you'll be able to review older versions of your robots.txt file, and see when access issues block us from crawling," Amon explains. "For example, if Googlebot sees a 500 server error for the robots.txt file, we'll generally pause further crawling of the website."

Google recommends double-checking the robots.txt files for your existing sites for errors or warnings. It also suggests using the tool with the recently updated Fetch as Google tool to render important pages, or using it to find the directive that's blocking URLs that are reported as such.

Google says it often sees files that block CSS, JavaScript, or mobile content, which is problematic. You can use the tool to help you fix that if it's a problem with your site.

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July 23, 2014

Salman Khan to Host Bigg Boss Again, For a Fatter Fee?

Salman first hosted the fourth season of the show and has appeared all all seasons henceforth
It seems that when Salman Khan says no, he means yes. After dropping multiple hints that he would not be returning to host another season of Bigg Boss, Alpha Khan may just be hosting season eight of the reality show after all. 

Salman is incredibly busy with a stack of films including Sooraj Barjatya's Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Karan Johar's Shuddhi, both of which have very long schedules and will see him alter his look. (Also: Salman feels hosting Bigg Bossis challenging)

In the last few seasons of Bigg Boss, Salman seemed to be getting increasingly agitated by the attitude of the celebrity contestants who dished out large helpings of drama for the cameras. We saw him getting into verbal altercations with many contestants, apart from times when he openly expressed his displeasure at the overall decorum in the house.

Though Bigg Boss is a big draw on television, it was still lagging behind Comedy Nights With Kapil in terms of TRPs. 

All this combined with Salman's recent quips about getting someone else to host the show were pointing towards a Salman-shaped hole in the upcoming season of Bigg Boss.

But now reports suggest that he will in fact return to host the season, for a much higher fee of course. According to Mid-Day, The fee in question could be as high as Rs 5 to 6 crores per week. 

The show itself may be rescheduled around Salman's hectic schedule. There are reports that the show will start airing in August instead of the usual October.
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July 23, 2014

Did Nadella confirmed that Windows 9 will replace three OSes?

Windows 8, RT and Windows Phone?

Amidst all the bad news about job losses and closures, somewhere in Microsoft's quarterly conference call, held yesterday, the company's CEO Satya Nadella, confirmed that the company was working towards a unified Windows operating system, potentially replacing Windows RT, Windows 8 and Windows Phone.

Following the release of the Universal Windows Apps developer tools back in April, Nadella said that "We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes."

He added, "In the past we had multiple teams working on different versions of Windows. Now we have one team with a common architecture. This allows us to scale, create Universal Windows Apps."

In practice, developers are still having to deal with two fundamentally different architectures (x86 and ARM) but development tools (like Visual Studio) transparently handles the coding process, making it less demanding in terms of money and human resource.

Microsoft biggest competitors, Apple and Google are also likely to merge their mobile and desktop OSes; MacOShas adopted some of iOS' features while Google confirmed years ago that Chrome OS and Android will merge sooner or later.

What that entails in the long term is an architecture agnostic approach that focuses more on the market, the audience needs and the screen sizes. Windows Pro, Windows Phone, Windows Enterprise, Windows Embedded and other versions will still exist, albeit in slightly different formats.

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July 23, 2014

Alia Bhatt: I Look Too Young to Work With Khans
Alia Bhatt during the promotions of her film Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
Bollywood's reigning Khans are in their late 40s and 21-year-old Alia Bhatt feels she needs to look more matured to look convincing with the superstars. 

When asked if she thinks she is too young to be paired with the Khans, Alia said: "I am right now definitely (young) because I look small not age wise, age is just a number, but my face. I am just maturing right now - from Student Of The Year till now you can see a difference. " 

"So, when I become a little more matured looking, then it can work. But having said that I have done a film with Randeep Hooda, in which I looked too young without make-up, which didn't look bad at all. So if there is a scope or a character and a role like that then it will work," she said in an interview.

The actress, who has worked with new actors like Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra, is yet to team up with the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. 

Alia's good fortune in filmdom started with her debut vehicle and the actress says success and accolades bring a lot of pressure. 

After hitting a hat trick with her first three films -Student of The Year, Highway and 2 States, she recently appeared in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, which also got a favourable response at the box office. 

Asked if she feels under pressure after doing so well in Bollywood, she said: "Yes, I am constantly under pressure because success becomes a burden on your shoulders, so do the flops. So with every film, no matter how bad or good, there would be pressure
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July 23, 2014

Satya Nadella

Microsoft's chief executive Satya Nadella aims to streamline Windows development

Microsoft has said work is under way to "unify" parts of its different Windows operating systems.

Chief executive Satya Nadella discussed the effort while briefing analysts following Tuesday's earnings update.

"We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes," he said.

The firm also confirmed it had recently scrapped a new type of tablet.

"During the quarter, we reassessed our product roadmap and decided not to ship a new form factor that was under development," said Amy Hood, the company's chief financial officer.

Leaks had indicated that the firm had originally planned to launch the Surface Mini in May - a small tablet running the Windows RT system, a version of the OS designed for ARM-based chips.

Mr Nadella did not mention Windows RT during the conference call, instead referring to the three existing versions of Windows that would be merged as "one for phone, one for tablets and PCs, [and] one for Xbox".

However, as the tech news site Zdnet noted, that did not necessarily mean the firm was about to release a single variant of its operating system.

Rather, a single team is now working to deepen the links between Windows for PCs, Windows Phone and the Xbox OS, which are all based on the single Windows NT software core.

Surface Pro 3In May Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 3 but cancelled plans for another tablet

Universal apps

Mr Nadella said one target was for developers to be able to write a single app that would adapt its layout and controls to suit whether it was being used on a phone, tablet, PC or games console.

"One of beauties of universal Windows app is it aggregates for the first time for us all of our Windows volume," Mr Nadella said.

Ubuntu Edge docked with monitorCanonical designed a phone that could double up as a desktop PC

"An app that runs with a mouse and keyboard on the desktop can be in the store, and you can have the same app run in the touch-first [mobile devices].

"[It] gives developers the entire volume of Windows, which is 300 plus million units as opposed to just our 4% share of mobile in the US or 10% in some countries."

The move to "unify" the various Windows stores and developer platforms puts Microsoft at odds with Apple and Google, which are both pursuing separate strategies for app development on laptop/desktop computers and mobile devices - Apple with Mac OS X and iOS, Google with Chrome and Android.

But it does bring Microsoft closer to another OS developer, Canonical, which has promoted the idea of its Ubuntu system powering both phones and desktops. Canonical previously highlighted that one benefit of this strategy was that a handset could double up as a low-power desktop PC if it was plugged into a monitor and connected to a mouse.

It also paves the way for Microsoft to introduce its voice-controlled personal assistant, Cortana, to PCs. Mr Nadella mentioned the app several times during the call.

BBC's North America technology correspondent Richard Taylor meets Microsoft natural language guru Larry Heck

Microsoft has yet to discuss what new functions the successor to Windows 8 - codenamed Threshold - will offer, but one expert suggested the firm would at least find it easier to sell a more joined-up set of operating systems.

"Microsoft has had a real problem trying to educate the market about the differences between the different platforms its been running," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at the Davies Murphy Group consultancy.

"So, given the issues it's had on that front, going down the one-size-fits-all approach is something it sees as much easier for the user base to comprehend."

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July 19, 2014
Huawei Ascend G6 is a mid-range smartphone which the Chinese company first unveiled in February during the Mobile World Congress. Huawei, which does not have much presence in the Indian smartphone market both in terms of mindshare and sales, brought the phone to the country in May pricing it at Rs 16,999. 

Unlike other Chinese players notably Lenovo, Gionee, Oppo and now Xiaomi, Huawei and ZTE have never been very aggressive when it comes to pushing their phones though they have been present in India far longer. Huawei Ascend G6's USP is its sleek design and 5MP selfie camera. Is that enough to make it a competent smartphone? We try to find out in our review. 

Build and design 

Huawei Ascend G6 follows the same design philosophy as seen in Ascend P7. The compact and slim phone looks nice with its rounded bottom edge. It is surrounded by a metallic looking frame on the other three edges, giving it a premium look.



The front of the phone features a 4.5-inch display, three capacitive keys for navigation, an earpiece and the front camera lens. 

The 3.5mm headset jack is placed rather unconventionally towards the bottom of the left edge. This makes for poor usability if you want to keep the phone in your pocket with headphones plugged in. The power and volume keys are located at the right edge. These keys don't wobble and offer good tactile feedback. 

The micro-USB port sits at the top. The back features a removable plastic cover that sports a grey matte finish; hides a non-removable, sealed battery, micro-sim and microSD card slots. While the phone is well-built, we feel that the back cover could have been made a little more sturdy to give a feeling of durability. The back also features a camera lens and LED flash.



Overall, Huawei Ascend G6 is a sleek and compact smartphone that looks good and feels nice to hold. 

Display 

Huawei Ascend G6 sports a 4.5-inch qHD(540x960p) IPS display. The display is underwhelming and text and graphics don't look as crisp and sharp as they do on 720p phones. Viewing angles are good but sunlight legibility is average. The qHD display of the phone pinches as there are several phones with 720p HD display in the same price range. 

Software
Huawei Ascend G6 runs Android 4.3 with Huawei's Emotion UI 2.0Lite skin on top. Similar to Gionee, Lenovo and Xiaomi's MiUi ROM, the interface does not include a separate app launcher. App icons and widgets are spread across the home screens (one can have up to 9 home screens). 

The UI can be themed and the G6 comes with four preloaded themes, each of which comes with a different set of icons, wallpapers, font style, sounds and lock screen unlocks. The themes can be customized further. Some of the themes look good but we found the others to be bland. 

The unified home screen-app launcher style may come across as user-friendly to people who have not used an Android phone before. But it will take some time to get used to if you have already been using an Android smartphone.



The notification tray has also been skinned and features a white background. It features customisable toggles for frequently used settings in addition to notifications. At times, we noticed some usability issues with the white background reducing the visibility if a notification featured white text. 

Huawei has customized system apps in accordance with its UI style and some of these show a hint of skeuomorphism. It has also added additional features. For instance, the Music app is capable of displaying lyrics and also comes with a sleep mode to automatically turn off after a preset duration. 

The phone also comes with a Phone Manager app that allows power users to tinker with advanced settings and optimises the phone's performance by cleaning cache and large files, closing background tasks that are not needed, and allowing users to control notifications, app permissions and power settings. The phone doesn't come with a large number of third party apps, which is a good thing, especially when it offers limited storage. 

Overall, we're happy with the software experience offered by the phone barring some minor niggles. We hope Huawei updates it to Android 4.4 KitKat soon. 

Camera 

Huawei Ascend G6 features an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front-facing camera. 

The camera app is simple to use and features controls for granular settings such as brightness, ISO, white balance and contrast. It also offers HDR and panorama modes.



The quality of images captured outdoors, in daylight was really good with accurate colour reproduction, very little noise and good contrast. Low-light shots were also pretty good and we were impressed by the amount of light the camera captured. However, these shots had a lot of noise. 

Pictures captured indoors in artificial light also turned out well and had very little noise. The rear camera can capture 720p videos and in our tests, we found the video quality to be above average. 

The 5MP front camera is among the best in its class and takes really good selfies, especially in brightly lit conditions. It also has a wide angle lens that helps in getting more people in the frame. The camera app also offers selfie features including a timer and a prompt that directs you to look at the camera.



Overall, Huawei Ascend G6 has good camera hardware though it misses out on full-HD video recording. 

Performance 

Huawei Ascend G6 is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core processor, developed in-house, and 1GB RAM. While using the phone, we did not encounter any hiccups while launching and switching between apps and there was not much lag. 

Casual games such as Subway Surfers run smoothly. However, we encountered some frame drops while playing graphics-heavy games like Asphalt 8. 

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, it scored 8,261 in Quadrant Standard, 16,920 in AnTuTu, 1113 in Geekbench 3(Multi-core) and 53 in NenaMark 2, lagging behind Motorola's Moto G by a small margin in some tests. But we do not recommend a phone based solely on benchmarks as real world performance is different at times. 

Ascend G6 sports a 2000mAh battery and sails through a full working day (13-14 hours) with moderate to heavy use (screen brightness at full, 3G on). 

Unfortunately, out of the 4GB storage, only 1.83GB is available to the user. However, you can expand the storage with a memory card of up to 32GB.



We were able to play most video and audio files on the phone without any hiccups. 

The phone offers good call audio quality and the speaker output was loud and clear. However, a number of times, the other party complained of not being able to hear us. We also noticed that the phone's signal reception is not as good as other phones in the same range and it dropped signal in weak reception areas. We experienced multiple call drops in a moving vehicle. 

The phone was able to lock to GPS without any hiccups. 

The external speaker on the phone offers loud stereo sound output. It also features DTS technology for clear and richer sound. 

Of course, the sound gets muffled when the phone lies on its back, which is a problem with all such designs that place speakers at the back. 

Gaming
We were able to play games like Subway Surfers, Temple Run 2, Banana Kong, and Asphalt 8 without encountering frame drops or freezes. 

Verdict 

Huawei has been selling phones in India (on its own) for over four years. Yet, very few people in India would be able to recall hearing about a popular Huawei smartphone. Perhaps, a major reason for the same has been the company's low-key marketing which has led to poor brand recall. Will the G6 work in the company's favour? 

Well, at a price of Rs 16,999, we're not sure if it would find many takers. The landscape has changed drastically and companies like Asus, Motorola, Gionee and Xiaomi are offering phones with top-end features at budget prices.



There's no doubt Ascend G6 offers a combination of pleasant form factor, a good camera and decent hardware performance. But it has its share of problems including the low-resolution display, signal reception issues and the steep pricing. 

You would be better off buying an Asus ZenFone 5 for Rs 10,000 or Motorola Moto G for Rs 14,000. You could even wait for the forthcoming Xiaomi Mi 3 that offers much superior hardware specs at Rs 13,999.
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June 27, 2014

It seems Micromax will soon be launching a new smartphone in India, the Canvas Duet AE90, as it has been listed for purchase by two different e-commerce websites with immediate availability, at Rs. 9,299 and Rs. 8,999. For now, the phone has not been officially announced by Micromax.
The Micromax Canvas Duet AE90, according to the online retail listing, is a dual-SIM (GSM+CDMA) smartphone that runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The Canvas Duet AE90 features a 4.5-inch qHD display with a 540x960 pixels resolution. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor (unknown chipset) coupled with 1GB of RAM.

It sports a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and also includes a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The Canvas Duet AE90 comes with 4GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded up to 32GB with the help of a microSD card. It packs an 1800mAh battery, which according to the listing, is rated to deliver up to 5.5 hours of talk time and 150 hours of standby time.

Connectivity options on the Micromax Canvas Duet AE90 include Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Hotspot, GPRS, GPS, Micro-USB, 3.5mm audio jack, and 3G (EV-DO) only, according to the listing on eBay, and the listing on Infibeam.

Earlier, Micromax had listed two new mid-range smartphones with GSM and CDMA network support - the Canvas Blaze HD and Canvas Duet II.

The Canvas Blaze HD runs Android 4.1 out-of-the-box. It features a 5-inch IPS display with a 720x1280 pixels resolution. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 (MSM8625Q) processor alongside 1GB of RAM.

The Micromax Canvas Duet II (EG111) smartphone runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It features a 5.3-inch HD display with a 720x1280 pixels resolution. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek (MTK 6572M) processor, coupled with 1GB of RAM.
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June 03, 2014

tim_cook_ios_8_ap.jpg

Apple's Mac operating system is getting a new design and better ways to exchange files, while new features in the software for iPhones and iPads include one for keeping tabs on your health.

Apple executive Craig Federighi pointed out that data from various fitness-related devices now live in silos, so you can't get a comprehensive picture of your health. That will change, he says, with HealthKit coming to the new mobile software, iOS 8. Apple is also working with the Mayo Clinic to make sure your weight, calorie intake and other health metrics are within healthy ranges.

Apple is also making it easier for various devices to work together. You can share songs, movies and books you purchase with your entire family. Macs and mobile gadgets will share more features, and you can share and sync files between the two more easily.

The company is previewing the new features at its 25th annual conference for software developers in San Francisco. The free updates will come this fall, though developers get a test version Monday.

Here are the highlights on what's been announced and what's coming:

Changes to Mac computers:
- The next Mac system will be named Yosemite, after the national park, now that Apple is naming it after California locales rather than cats.

- You'll be able to search for content on the computer and on the Internet at once, similar to a feature available with Microsoft's Windows 8.

- Apple is expanding its iCloud storage service so that you can store and sync files of any type, not just the ones designed specifically for iCloud. It's similar to how services such as Dropbox let you work with the same files on multiple devices more easily.

(Also see: Apple Unveils OS X Yosemite With New Continuity Features and More) 

- A Mail Drop feature will make it easier to send large files. Instead of pushing the entire file by email and overloading mail servers, the Mac will create a link that the recipient can click for the full file.

- The Mac's Safari Web browser will have more privacy controls and ways to share links more easily.

os_x_yosemite_apple.jpg

Changes to iPhones and iPads:
- Like the new Mac OS, the iOS 8 system will have a universal search tool, to cover both your device and the Internet. It will also get the iCloud Drive service.

- The new software will sport interactive notifications, so you can respond to a message without having to leave another app. It will have new gestures, such as double tapping to see a list of frequent contacts.

- A "quick type" feature promises predictive typing suggestions. For example, if you start typing, "Do you want to go to," the phone will suggest "dinner" or "movie" as the next word. Currently, the suggestions are limited to spelling corrections.

(Also see: Apple Unveils iOS 8 With New Health App, iCloud Photo Library and More) 

- iOS 8 will have a built-in health-management tool to help people track their vital signs, diet and sleeping habits. Apple's chief rival, Samsung Electronics Co., incorporated fitness-related features in its latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S5.

- Apple announced new technology for controlling garage doors, thermostats and other home systems, although the company didn't say how all the pieces will be linked together through what it calls HomeKit.

- For developers, Apple announced the ability to sell app bundles at discounted prices. The fingerprint security system on the iPhone 5s also will be accessible to apps written by outside parties, not just Apple functions such as unlocking the phone.

Working together:
- Although the Mac and iOS systems are separate, Apple CEO Tim Cook says the two have been engineered to work seamlessly together.

- Apple's AirDrop feature, which has let you share files with other devices of the same type, will now let iPhones and Macs share directly with each other.

- A new "handoff" feature will let you switch devices more easily, so you can start writing an email on a phone and finish on a Mac. And when a call comes in on your iPhone, you can get caller ID information on your Mac.

- The iMessage chat service will now let you communicate with devices that aren't running iOS, such as those running the rival Android system from Google.

ios_8_apple.jpg

Announced earlier:
- Last week, Apple announced a deal to pay $3 billion for Beats Electronics, a headphone and music streaming specialist. The deal brings rapper Dr. Dre and recording impresario Jimmy Iovine to undetermined roles at Apple. During a demo Monday, Federighi placed a call to Dr. Dre to welcome him to Apple.

Coming soon:
- Apple typically announces new iPhones in September and new iPads soon after that. Many analysts also believe the company will release an Internet-connected watch as part of Apple's expansion into wearable technology.

Silent:
- Despite speculation, Apple didn't say anything about a long-awaited digital wallet that enables Apple to process payments on iPhones and iPads.

- Apple didn't provide an update on CarPlay, its project for embedding automobiles with some of the iPhone's main applications. But Apple did say it'll be possible to tap the Siri virtual assistant without pressing a button. Cars with built-in CarPlay services and radios that are compatible with CarPlay are both expected this year.

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