10 Killer things to know about iPhone 5S

Here are the top 10 things that you need to know about Apple's new iPhones.

#10. 

The iOS7 will see a much improved version of Siri - it can now draw on information from Twitter, Wikipedia and image searches. 

Apple said: “We’ve also made search more convenient than ever before. With iOS7, you can pull down from anywhere and type what you’re looking for and find it, just like that”

#9. 

The cheaper handset - the iPhone 5C - comes in five colours: white, green, yellow, blue and red.

Apple said: "The entire back and sides are made from a single part, its front is one glass, multi-touch surface. As close as you look, you wont see joints or seams. This is more colourful than any iPhone we've made yet."

#8. 

Not only that, but the iPhone 5C comes with a Connect-4 style case. Each case has holes cut out, allowing a bit of the phone’s original colour to pop through.

Apple said: “The team has created a really cool line of custom cases for the 5C. They’re soft, and cool. The soft, matte texture of the case is a contrast to the bright, glossy back of the phone.”

#7. 

Your next iPhone will be as fast as a computer. The iPhone 5S has a brand new chip called the A7, which makes it two times as fast as the iPhone 5.

Apple said: “The iPhone 5S is a huge leap forward in mobile computing performance. It starts with a brand new system on a chip called the A7. A7 is 64-bit, the world’s first and only such CPU in a smartphone.”

#6. 

As well as this, the iPhone 5S has a chip called the M7. It's a motion processor, which continuously measures motion data, accelerometer, and gestural data.

Apple have been working with Nike to test this, building an app that counts your stride and movements throughout the day. It can determine whether you’re walking or driving.

Apple sees this opening a “whole new generation of health and fitness applications”.

#5. 

The battery life of the iPhone 5S is “even better than that of the iPhone 5".

It survives 10 hours of constant Wi-Fi browsing, and a whopping 250 hours on standby.

#4. 

Apple have made serious upgrades on the iPhone 5S's camera. The flash now has two LEDs — one white, and one amber.

This means it analyses the lighting in the room, adjusting the color of the flash accordingly. Your photos should be of the highest quality, no matter what the light.

#3. 

There is a brand new fingerprint sensor called the Touch ID.

The Touch ID fingerprint sensor is located on the home button, reading your fingerprint as a more secure way to protect your phone.

Apple say: “Now you can simply touch the home button to unlock your phone. Since it’s built in, you can also use it to make iTunes purchases.

"It reads your fingerprint at an incredibly detailed level. The sensor is thinner than a human hair"

#2. 

The iPhone 5S rumours were spot on - the handset is coming out in a subtle gold shade, alongside the usual slate-grey and white.

Apple say: “This is our most forward thinking phone yet. It’s available in silver, gold, and space grey.”

#1.

And finally, the release dates. iOS7 is coming out on September 18, while both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are coming out on September 20.

Sources : Mirror News, Yahoo.

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See how Falling Rupee hurts and changes your way of life !!

Interest rates

With a weak Indian rupee, it may be difficult for the RBI to cut interest rates at the monetary policy meeting next week. India’s dependency on foreign investors to bring inflows in order to bridge current account deficit is one of the key factors that will be considered for interest rate changes.

Education

A weak rupee can weigh down your chances of studying abroad. Since students borrow education loans in local currency and spend in foreign currency, you will have to shell out more rupees to buy the dollar which would make accommodation, food and cost of education abroad costly.

Travel

If you are planning to travel while the rupee is weak, you may want to reconsider as air fares will be expensive considering an increase in fuel surcharge. Also, eating out when you are traveling overseas will turn out to be costly because you will end up spending more rupees.

Loans

Depreciation of rupee will impact loan seekers in a big way. If you apply for a car loan, you will have to pay more depending on where the vehicle is assembled and the components imported by the automobile company.

Oil prices

Rupee depreciation may prompt oil companies to hike petrol and diesel prices. India is highly dependent on importing oil and companies will have to shell out more money to import crude in dollars

Inflation

A weak currency will increase the price of imports which will translate into an increase in the prices of consumer products. Depreciating rupee will also cause an increase in inflation.

Imports

A falling rupee makes imports more expensive in terms of rupees. India is a major importer of oil, gold and iron ore among other things, and more money spent on imports will show up in inflation data which in turn will lead to increase in electronics, fuel prices and consumer products.

Exports

On the bright side, rupee depreciation will help increase India’s export competitiveness especially with other emerging Asian markets like China and Korea. But, a weak rupee alone may not boost the country’s exports.

Companies

Considering India’s reliance for raw materials from overseas, a weaker rupee affects the profits of companies. While IT and pharma sector gain from a weak rupee, it might be trouble for aviation.

Its good news for a few IT companies operating in India because most of the countries tech firms gain revenue from the US, a weak rupee can help them earn relatively more. Pharmaceuticals companies in the doing business in the country will gain when rupee depreciates because they export more than they import. On the other hand, aviation sector will be disappointed with a weak rupee because most of their earnings are in rupees while they spend in dollars.

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Here is how you are charged at Restaurant...!

A simple thing made complicated

We have an uncanny ability to screw simple things and make it complex. Taxes and charges on seemingly simple stuffs like food and drinks are one such thing where customers are taken for granted. Let’s understand few terms that we see on our food bill often but do not understand.

Service charge

This is charged by the restaurant for the services rendered to you. This money goes to the restaurant. The establishments are free to charge any amount as service charges as there are no guidelines provided by the tax authority. The charge varies from 5% to 10%. Few restaurants don’t charge it. This is equivalent to the tips people usually give to waiters. If you are charged service charge in the bill, don’t pay tips as this charge is supposed to be shared among the staff.

Most of us don’t bother about it even when we feel the charges are higher. One reason is that we don’t think anything can be done about it. Secondly, we don’t want to spoil our evening because of this and argue with restaurant manager. However, the ground rule is that if the menu mentions service charges, you have to pay. If it doesn’t, you can question it.

Service tax

Many people confuse service tax with service charges. Service tax is the tax levied by the Government on the services rendered by restaurants. Service tax is same in all states. It is 12.36% on the 40% of the bill. The bill includes your food and drink and the service charge. The restaurant must be air-conditioned for the service tax. The problem here is that most of the customers are taxed at the full bill and not on the 40% of the bill as directed.

To make things simple, service tax should be 40% * 12.36% = 4.94% on the total bill. Hence whenever you see service tax on the total bill exceeding about 5%, you can question it.

VAT (Value Added Tax)

There is another tax called VAT (value added tax) that is state specific. The rates can be as low as 5% and as high as 20% depending upon the states. Moreover, VAT for food items and drink are different. Many restaurants might club food items and drink and charge a flat rate on the total bill. In such cases, it is good to ask for separate bills for food and drinks. This should clearly show the different VAT for both the items.

Example

Let’s see how service charge, tax and VAT work with an example. Suppose you have dined in an AC restaurant and the price of food items is summed to Rs 900. You will be asked to pay service charges (goes to the restaurant) and VAT and service tax (goes to Government)

Items	Amount
Bill of food item	900
Service charge (assuming 6%)	54
Sum Total	954
Service tax to be levied on (40% of sub-total)	381.6
Service tax (at the rate of 12.36%)	47.16576
VAT @ 12.5% of the sub-total	119.25
Total amount to be paid	1120.416

Many times, restaurants charge the highest rate on the total bill. This is general complaint by almost all the customers.
Source from Yahoo!

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All about Mobile Screens...!

The screen defines your smartphone. This is why its size and the quality of image it reproduces determines, to a large extent, your overall experience of using a smartphone.

No wonder mobile phone makers are investing a fortune in screen technologies. But what makes one screen better than the other? ET explains the mainstream technologies behind smartphone displays.

#1...LCD

LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display, is the most common flat panel display. It uses a combination of layers of liquid crystals and a backlight to produce an image. The properties of the liquid crystals to block or allow light change as current is applied

#2...TFT

TFT or Thin Film Transistor is used to improve readability of LCD panels. Transistors are embedded within the panel itself, reducing crosstalk between pixels and improving image stability. Used mainly in entry-level handsets with colour screens.

#3...IPS LCD

IPS, or In Plane Switching, is a further evolution of the LCD, invented by Hitachi and LG to improve on colours and viewing angles of TFT displays

#4...Retina

Introduced by Apple, this type of LCD uses pixels smaller than the human retina can perceive. Retina displays are found in fourth-generation iPod Touch and iPhone 4/4S.

#5...OLED

OLED or Organic Light Emitting Diodes, produce their own light rather than relying on a backlight. It offers a brighter, more vivid picture with a higher contrast ratio on lower power consumption.


#6...AMOLED

AMOLED, or Active Matrix OLEDs, allow for a larger size screen with a higher number of pixels.

#7...SuperAMOLED

SuperAMOLED Plus & AMOLED Advanced are improvements that increase brightness, reduce reflectance or lower power consumption.

#8...S-LCD

Super, or S-LCD, is a corporation founded by Samsung and Sony. S-LCDs use technology that brings quality and contrast levels to near-Amoled standards, but at a lower price.

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How wikileaks worked...Spy files !

When citizens' protests overthrew dictatorships in Egypt and Libya this year, they discovered listening rooms where devices from companies like Gamma corporation of the UK, Amesys of France, VASTech of South Africa and ZTE Corp of China monitored their every move online and on the phone.

What was extremely difficult to digest, however, was the fact that such wide-scale snooping and tracking had been going on not just in these two countries, but across as many as 25 nations across the globe. The governments in these countries had been keeping tabs on its citizens since 2002.
According to Spy Files released by WikiLeaks, intelligence agencies, military forces and police authorities "silently... and secretly intercepted calls and had taken over computers without the help of telecommunication providers", and tracked the physical location of mobile phone users, even when their devices were only on standby.

#1...25 countries snooped

Mass interception of entire populations is not only a reality, it is a secret new industry spanning 25 countries, according to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. These countries include India, US, UK, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.

#2...The Indian angle

There are three Indian companies in the WikiLeaks list of surveillance companies. These are Shogi Communications, ClearTrail and Shield Security.

#3...Big names involved

According to Assange, international surveillance companies are based in the more technologically sophisticated countries, and they sell their technology on to every country of the world.

This industry is, in practice, unregulated and has some 160 companies. Some of the significant names include, BEA, Dialogic, Cambridge Consultants, HP, Siemens, Nice Systems, Nokia Siemens Networks and Thales.

#4...How it worked: Computers hijacked

Surveillance companies like SS8 in the US, Hacking Team in Italy and Vupen in France manufacture viruses (Trojans) that hijack individual computers and phones (including iPhones, Blackberries and Androids), take over the device, record its every use, movement, and even the sights and sounds of the room it is in.

#5...How it worked: Voice analysis

Other companies like Phoenexia in the Czech Republic collaborate with the military to create speech analysis tools. Other companies like Phoenexia in the Czech Republic collaborate with the military to create speech analysis tools. They identify individuals by gender, age and stress levels and track them based on 'voiceprints'.

Blue Coat in the US and Ipoque in Germany sell tools to governments in countries like China and Iran to prevent dissidents from organizing online.

#6...How it worked: Location-based spying

The CIA officials have bought software that allows them to match phone signals and voice prints instantly and pinpoint the specific identity and location of individuals. Intelligence Integration Systems, Inc, based in Massachusetts - sells a "location-based analytics" software called Geospatial Toolkit for this purpose.

Another Massachusetts company named Netezza, which bought a copy of the software, allegedly reverse engineered the code and sold a hacked version to the Central Intelligence Agency for use in remotely piloted drone aircraft.

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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich: New Features

The latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, or simply Android ICS introduces a bunch of new features never seen before in its prior iterations. It would be available for tablets as well as smart-phones and it is expected to hit the Indian stores in November.


#1...Font System

One of the first things you will notice while using Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is the brand new font system, which is much more appealing than previous versions. It is known as Roboto which is specially designed for high resolution screens and brings a magazine-like feel to the whole interface.

#2...Screenshots

Finally, your Android smartphone will allow you to take screenshots without rooting the smartphone or installing any third-party apps. Just hold down the volume down key and the power button to capture the screen.

#3...Instant voice

While this is not as compelling as Siri on iPhone, unlike other versions of Android which support voice commands, Android 4.0 will not take very long to transcribe your words. Just speak it in and it instantly transforms it into text.

#4...Android Beam

This features is based on NFC (Near Field Communication) and it allows two Android smartphones to securely exchange Web pages, contacts, media or even applications. It is based on NDEF Push technology.

#5...Unified tablet and smartphone API

Unlike Android Honeycomb, Android 4.0 ICS will work on tablets as well as smartphones, making it simple for developers to create one application and have it work on various form factors. This will surely improve the number applications on Android tablets.

#6...Web browser

The new version comes with a brand new Chrome mobile Web browser. It syncs with your desktop or laptop Chrome bookmarks, it can save pages for offline reading, and it can open upto 16 tabs at the same time.

#7...Improved Camera & Facial Recognition

Android ICS has some great new camera features, a brand new camera UI, options to edit your images using multiple effects right after you click them and it captures images at a ridiculously fast speeds, probably the fastest amongst smartphones. Video recording modes have also improved along with support for a time lapse mode.

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Neutrino Faster Than light..Remarkable Change In Physics

A pillar of physics - that nothing can go faster than the speed of light - appears to be smashed by an oddball subatomic particle that has apparently made a giant end run around Albert Einstein's theories.
Scientists at the world's largest physics lab said Thursday they have clocked neutrinos traveling faster than light. That's something that according to Einstein's 1905 special theory of relativity - the famous E (equals) mc2 equation - just doesn't happen.

CERN neutrinos travel faster than light

The Chicago team had similar faster-than-light results in 2007, but those came with a giant margin of error that undercut its scientific significance.

Other outside scientists expressed skepticism at CERN's(European Organization for Nuclear Research) claim that the neutrinos — one of the strangest well-known particles in physics — were observed smashing past the cosmic speed barrier of 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers per second).

CERN says a neutrino beam fired from a particle accelerator near Geneva to a lab 454 miles (730 kilometers) away in Italy traveled 60 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light. Scientists calculated the margin of error at just 10 nanoseconds, making the difference statistically significant. But given the enormous implications of the find, they still spent months checking and rechecking their results to make sure there were no flaws in the experiment.

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How to try the new Facebook Timeline right now...!!

Facebook announced a new profile page design dubbed the "Timeline" on Thursday and while it may be weeks before the change rolls out to most users, you can try it right now. Here's how.

Greg Kumparak at TechCrunch explains that the secret to getting an early look at your Facebook Timeline is simple: You just have to trick the social network into believing that you are developing apps for its Open Graph feature.

Of course, this deceit means that there are some risks and drawbacks to the whole affair. There are some bugs here and there, your Facebook accounts has to be verified (by the addition of a confirmed phone number), and your profile could unexpectedly revert to the old design. Oh, and none of your friends will actually be able to see your Timeline unless they use this same trick.

Not bothered by any of those things? Great! Here's what you need to do then:

• Head to Facebook's developer's page (after logging in to your account, of course).
• Hit the "Apps" button on the blue bar and give the "Developer" app permission to access your information.
• You should be redirected to a page which offers you the option to "Create New App." Click that button. (If you don't see it, go right back to the developer's page and hit the "Apps" button again.)
• Enter an "App Display Name" and an "App Namespace." (Don't worry, no one will see what you put here since you're not actually making an app.)
• Read the "Platform Privacy Policy" and check the box to agree to it. Hit "Continue."
• You'll now see a confusing looking settings page for your fake app. Ignore it and click the "Open Graph" button on the left side.
• You should arrive at a page which suggests that you get started with Open Graph.

• Enter some kind of action and object into the boxes on the screen ("watch" and "movie" will do the trick just fine). Click "Get Started."
• You'll get to another confusing settings page. Ignore it and scroll all the way down. Click "Save Settings."
• Twiddle your thumbs for a few minutes and then go to the Facebook homepage. You should see a message offering you the chance to enable your Timeline.
• That's it. Go enjoy looking at your shiny new profile page.

Whew! That wasn't so tough, right? But what if you want to go back to your normal profile for a little while longer? No problem. Here's how to do it:

• Go back to Facebook's developer's page (after logging in to your account, of course).
• Hit the "Apps" button on the blue bar.
• You should see the fake app you created. Hit the "Edit App" button on it.
• Look to the left. There should be an option to "Delete App." Select it and confirm that you want to do that.
• Go to your Facebook privacy settings.
• Select the option to edit the "Apps and Websites" settings.
• Click the "Turn Off Platform Apps" button. 
• Check the "Developer" app in the pop-up window and confirm that it's what you want to do.
• Go back to the same page and click the "Turn On Platform Apps" button. This won't bring back the "Developer" app, but it will simply prevent you from having problems with any of your other apps.

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Introducing New Facebook : Things to know

            Facebook has gone new again. The company has announced a slew of new features and partnerships. The changes give the world's no. one social network a new look and feel. Facebook also unveiled new ways for users to listen to music and watch TV. 

Here's all you need to know about Facebook's latest transformation.

#1... Why don't I have the new Facebook yet?

Answer:  Facebook rolls out its new features gradually, so not all 800 million users see the updates at once. First, the changes are tested internally Facebook employees. Once they are public, the changes are rolled out geographically. 

US users will likely see the changes first, but even that could depend on where you live. You also may need to close and reopen your browser or log out and log back in. The just-announced timeline feature won't be available to users until later this year -- Facebook has not yet said when.

#2... What is the scrolling, Twitter-like list of my Facebook friends' activities doing on the right side?

Answer:  Facebook calls this the "ticker" - not to be confused with, but similar to, Twitter. The idea is to show a live feed of everything going on with your Facebook friends and pages you follow as it is happening. There will be information here that doesn't appear on your regular news feed, such as songs your friends are listening to on the music service Spotify, news stories they are reading or, eventually, even movies or TV shows they watched on Netflix.

#3... What is the new Timeline feature?

Answer:  Facebook has introduced a new version of Profile pages that will let you display images and highlight which posts are important while integrating the new applications. The Timeline can show photos, past songs that have been played and locations. 

For example,

                   The new profile serves as a sort of diary of a person's life, organised by each year they've been on Facebook. The timeline can also go back to include years before Facebook even existed, so users can add photos and events from, say 1985 when they got married or 1965 when they were born. Timeline will work on both personal computers as well as mobile devices.

#4... How do I go back to the "Old Facebook"?

Answer: You mean other than a time machine? That's tough. But there are some website plugins, such as "Better Facebook" that try to enhance the way your Facebook page looks and feels. Using the mobile application will also give you a more simple Facebook experience.

#5... How does Facebook determine what my "top news" should be?

Answer: The "top news" feature has already existed on Facebook, it just didn't automatically appear on the top of your news feed every time you logged in. This is the stuff Facebook thinks you will be most interested in. So it's updates from friends you interact with the most, big news stories from media accounts you follow or photos from your friends that got a lot of comments,

for example,

                   It's not an exact science, so you can uncheck a top story by clicking on a tiny triangle on its upper left corner. The site will try to remember, and a box will pop up saying "we'll try not to pub more stories like this at the top of your News Feed."

#6... Is there any change in the 'like' button?

Answer: Facebook users will now have new ways to flag content beyond the familiar "like" button which people click to endorse various items on the Web, from news articles to running shoes to websites. 

Facebook has introduced a new way for users to signal they "like" something on the Web. The company is adding buttons to the site to let users show they have "reviewed" or "watched" something, for example.

#7... What is the new feature Gestures all about?

Answer: Called Gestures, these actions further integrate Facebook with every part of the Web. For example, you will be able to click a Facebook "Challenge" button that would allow you to post a game challenge on your friend's wall, or a "Support" button to support a cause or your friends when they need it. And yes, this means now you can also create a "Dislike" button.

#8... Is there also any change in permissions that various apps on Facebook seek?

Answer: Yes. And this may be a controversial one. As with these changes, Facebook apps would require your permission only once to share a certain information on your behalf. Now, if once you authorise an app, it will tell you what it's going to share about you, and if you are fine with that, the app is never required to ask you again. Till now, apps had to ask every time they shared information about you in your profile.

#9... What is Facebook Music?

Answer: Basically, Facebook Music is not a service. It's a feature that's shared among different kinds of content and media. Any digital music service (or really any other content service) can use Facebook's new API to integrate themselves into the platform. 

Not only will that allow subscribers to authenticate themselves using their Facebook login, it also gives them an option to add any song, album, radio channel or artist that they subsequently listen to on that service to appear on Facebook for others to see. 

And, it allows their friends to view a report of their top songs, artists, albums and channels based on their listening history. All users need to do is select the "Add to Timeline" button in the service one, and all activity will be seamlessly recorded from that point on. The feature will allow users to see the history of songs played and listen together.

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