Technology news

Have you ever shut down your Facebook account, only to meekly log back in a week later? Researchers have explored the factors that prevent users from logging off.
Have you ever shut down your Facebook account, only to meekly log back in a week later? Researchers have explored the factors that prevent users from logging off the social networking site permanently.
Using survey data provided by 99daysoffreedom.com – an online campaign that encouraged participants to log off Faceboo

Twitter has alerted some of its users who might have been victims of state-sponsored cyber attacks
After Facebook and Google, now Twitter has alerted its users to falling a victim of a state-sponsored cyberattack, a media report said here.
“The social network recently alerted some users that they ‘may have been targeted’ by government attackers trying to get email addresses, network connections and phone numbers,” The Verge reported on Saturday.
At least 11 Twitter users

Gionee Marathon M5 Lite is the smaller-screen and battery version of the Marathon M5 which has a 6,020 mAh battery.
Gionee Marathon M5 Lite with a smaller 4000 mAh battery and a 5-inch screen, has been launched in China. The smartphone is listed on the company’s China website and is priced at Yuan 999, which is around Rs 10,387 when converted. Gionee has not yet announced an India release date or price for this smartphone.
Gionee’s Marathon M5 Lite has a 5-inch HD screen, 1GB RAM an

These surveys were sent to project participants on days 33, 66 and 99 and were intended to gauge each user’s mood throughout the Facebook detox. (Reuters)
Have you ever shut down your Facebook account, only to meekly log back in a week later? Researchers have explored the factors that prevent users from logging off the social networking site permanently.
Using survey data provided by 99daysoffreedom.com – an online campaign that encouraged participants to log off Facebook for 99 days

Nasa plans to quit ISS and move to cislunar space in a way to strengthen its human space exploration plans
As all good things must come to an end, NASA’s long space ride with the International Space Station (ISS) in low-Earth orbit will also touch the finish line in a decade from now.
The US space agency will move up to the cislunar space — the area of space surrounding the moon — for an ambitious human exploration programme.
William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s chief of human s

Researchers have decoded four reasons why it becomes difficult to quit Facebook
Have you ever shut down your Facebook account, only to meekly log back in a week later?
Researchers have explored the factors that prevent users from logging off the social networking site permanently.
Using survey data provided by 99daysoffreedom.com – an online campaign that encouraged participants to log off Facebook for 99 days – researchers at Cornell University honed in on those who made the p

Twitter has alerted some of its users who might have been victims of state-sponsored cyber attacks
After Facebook and Google, now Twitter has alerted its users to falling a victim of a state-sponsored cyberattack, a media report said here.
“The social network recently alerted some users that they ‘may have been targeted’ by government attackers trying to get email addresses, network connections and phone numbers,” The Verge reported on Saturday.
At least 11 Twitter users

Power Minister Piyush Goyal will tomorrow launch a mobile app, on the occasion of the National Energy Conservation Day, to help consumers compare and choose energy efficient appliances available in the market.
“The mobile application will allow consumers to instantly compare personalised energy savings across all products of a specific class and thus enable them to choose more efficient products available in the market,” a senior official said.
On December 14, 2015 to mark the Nation

Zomato’s apps now have an in-app chat feature.
Zomato has introduced an in-app chat feature for customers who are ordering food online, enabling them to chat with the team at the company about order-related issues.  Zomato’s in-app chat feature is currently available for users in India and UAE.
The chat feature has been integrated through a partnership with Konotor, a mobile-first user engagement platform.  Users can currently message the contact centre anytime between 9 a

Instagram brings 3D Touch feature to Android with its new software update
Instagram is planning to bring the 3D Touch feature of ‘Peek and Pop’, currently exclusive to Apple iPhone 6s series, to Android as well. A report on The Verge had noted that the feature had gone live with a new update on Android, but it was later pulled back by Instagram.
We tested out the APK file with the latest Instagram update (v7.13.0) and found that the 3D Touch style functionality is indeed live on the

Gionee Marathon M5 Lite is the smaller-screen and battery version of the Marathon M5 which has a 6,020 mAh battery.
Gionee Marathon M5 Lite with a smaller 4000 mAh battery and a 5-inch screen, has been launched in China. The smartphone is listed on the company’s China website and is priced at Yuan 999, which is around Rs 10,387 when converted. Gionee has not yet announced an India release date or price for this smartphone.
Gionee’s Marathon M5 Lite has a 5-inch HD screen, 1GB RAM an

With the growing influence of technology and digitisation, the concept of smart homes is gaining popularity and is likely to grow at 30 per cent year-on-year, potentially ensuring the market will double in revenue every 3 years, a recent survey revealed.
According to a study conducted by Schneider Electric India, high awareness among consumers about smart homes, which is almost universal in metros and upper-end segments, will drive the growth for smart home solutions in future.
The segment is ex

Microsoft will let OneDrive users keep their 15GB of free storage and offers free Office 365 subscription to those using more than 5GB space
Microsoft last month announced its plans to reduce the free OneDrive storage from 15GB to 5GB. Apart from the free storage, Microsoft also took the plug off its unlimited storage tier offered to Office 365 subscribers.
In a backlash to this move, a petition requesting Microsoft to “give us back our storage” at OneDrive feedback site received ov

Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli showcases company’s budget Akash tablet
Low-cost handset maker Datawind will launch a 4G device early next year for about Rs 3,000 and offer free Internet browsing for 12 months on it.
“We will launch a 4G device for about Rs 3,000 with free unlimited 4G browsing for 12 months,” Datawind President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told PTI.
He, however, said there will be no free downloads and videos.
Tuli said those who want to access vid

This was the year in which sales across the world started favouring smartphones and the feature phones segments started shrinking. Represenational Image. (Source: Reuters)
It is that time of the year when you do a bit of stocktaking. In the world of technology, especially in a mobile-first market like India, the stocktaking is primarily about how the smartphone industry progressed. As far as progress goes, 2015 has been a path-breaking year, so intense that it is tough to remember where it star

Datawind will launch a 4G smartphone early next year priced at about Rs 3,000 and offer free Internet browsing for 12 months on it. (Source: Datawind)
Low-cost handset maker Datawind will launch a 4G smartphone early next year priced at about Rs 3,000 and offer free Internet browsing for 12 months on it.
“We will launch a 4G device for about Rs 3,000 with free unlimited 4G browsing for 12 months,” Datawind President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told PTI.
He, however, said there will be

Datawind will launch a 4G smartphone early next year for about Rs 3,000 and offer free Internet browsing for 12 months on it. (Source: Datawind)
Low-cost handset maker Datawind will launch a 4G smartphone early next year for about Rs 3,000 and offer free Internet browsing for 12 months on it.
“We will launch a 4G device for about Rs 3,000 with free unlimited 4G browsing for 12 months,” Datawind President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told PTI.
He, however, said there will be no free down

To quest to smarten up our television sets continues. So while smart televisions are becoming more common and affordable, a company like iRevo still thinks there is chance for a Smart Entertainment Box to succeed. Given that a lot of people are still stuck with relatively new televisions which cannot connect to the net, there is surely an opportunity for something like this.
iRevo Smart Entertainment BoxRs 8,499
The Smart Entertainment Box is essentially an Android box that add smartphone-like f

Windows 10-os powered Lumia 550 is yet to be launched in India.
For those in India waiting for low-cost Lumia smartphones that come packed with the latest Windows 10, there is still some time as the company is now focussed on re-branding and launching new generation smartphones to take on big players, a top Microsoft executive has said.
“We are sort of re-building so we will start high. New generation smartphones first and then you will see a scale overtime,” Steve “Guggs&rdqu

Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and other prominent tech executives are pouring $1 billion into a non-profit aimed at creating artificial intelligence that augments humans’ capabilities. (Source: AP)
Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and other prominent tech executives are pouring $1 billion into a non-profit aimed at creating artificial intelligence that augments humans’ capabilities, rather than making them obsolete.
The effort announced on Frid

Huawei is thinking differently from other companies by trying to unify the languages in which these devices communicate, but at the network level (Source: Nandagopal Rajan)
Smart homes and smart cities have become the buzzwords of tech companies around the world. But the idea has lacked the practicality that can make it really successful. And that is due to an obvious lack of standards, which essentially means everyone is doing their own thing and none of these spheres are really talking to eac