10 things you can only do on an Android phone

Just last month at a developer conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed out that only 8.5 per cent of Android users are using the latest version of Android (KitKat) while 74 per cent of iOS users are on iOS 7.

What he didn't mention was this — there's not a lot of difference between Android JellyBean (4.3) and KitKat (v4.4). JellyBean and KitKat combined make up 72 per cent of all Android devices, according to latest figures released by Google.

Make no mistake; it's Android, not iOS, that is spearheading the smartphone revolution, especially in markets like India where smartphone penetration is low. From a productivity stand point too, Android offers several advantages which a power user will enjoy.

Transfer files using WiFi direct

12 Jun, 2014

When you want to transfer 1GB of video files, WiFi Direct can do it within a few minutes. Since the phones connect directly to each other, a WiFi network is not needed.

Easily pair with NFC

12 Jun, 2014

With NFC or Near Field Communication, you can tap two devices together to pair. Where NFC payments are enabled, you can pair your credit card with the phone and simply swipe the phone.

Transfer files at will using OTG

12 Jun, 2014

With USB host, you can plug in any USB flash drive into the phone and freely copy-paste files. Unlike Apple, Android also gives you the convenience of a file explorer (access to the complete file system of the device).

Change keyboards

12 Jun, 2014

Apple's keyboard is fixed — but Android allows you to get excellent options like Swype and SlideIT. Not only do these keyboards suggest words, they also learn your style and offer multiple input options.

Block spam with ease

12 Jun, 2014

iOS doesn't give apps control over messages and calls. On Android, you can take things into your own hands and get a call/SMS blocker. You can also make your own blacklists.

Change everything about the way it looks

12 Jun, 2014

Every iPhone looks the same. Android offers nearly limitless customisation. You can use a launcher to completely change the look, feel and performance of a phone.

No pricey lightning cables

12 Jun, 2014

Lightning cables are proprietary to Apple and they apply strong protection, so cheap knock-offs may or may not work. In comparison, any micro USB cable from anywhere will work on an Android phone

Widgets and automation

12 Jun, 2014

On Android, widgets can be used for quick access to information and there's a widget for everything! Secondly, features like automation are not available on iPhones. For instance, on Android, you can have WiFi automatically turn on when inside your home or office.

Affordable memory expansion

12 Jun, 2014

Primarily, you can have a micro SD to enhance the storage on Android. But you can also use the card to quickly share large amounts of data. How about cost effectiveness? A 16GB micro SD card costs just Rs 700 while the difference between a 16GB iPhone 5S and 32GB iPhone 5S is Rs 7,000.

Control all data on your device

12 Jun, 2014

Share a photo from either device — you'll have three times as many options on Android. Using a file manager app, you can also share system files, set ringtones and transfer songs.

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Google Makes Glass Play Better With Your Smartphone

The most interesting thing Google announced as part of its software update for Google Glass yesterday was an update to the MyGlass app for Android. Photos taken on Glass now instantly sync to your device, where you can apply filters and share via whatever photo-sharing services are available on your phone — not just the options built into Glass.
As someone who owned Glass for several months, that sounds like a huge improvement on the user experience of sharing photos from Glass itself.  While Glass would automatically back up your photos to Google+ when connected to Wi-Fi, sharing to Facebook or Twitter required tapping through multiple layers of the interface and dictating the captions you wanted. Whenever I would try, I’d get to that last step and wish I had access to a keyboard. With this latest update, that’s not an issue, and you get filters, which would have been a pain to skim through on Glass’s display.
There are actually quite a few places in the Glass user experience where access to a more complex interface is helpful. For instance, navigating with Google Maps on Glass is great, but searching isn’t, especially when you don’t really know where you’re going.
But if you do a Google Maps search on your Mac that happens to be signed into your Google account, a card will show up in the Glass interface giving you the option to navigate to that address. It’s pretty neat to walk out the door, put on Glass, and instantly know where you’re headed.
It’s when Glass best leverages the other gadgets you use throughout your day that it really feels like you’re getting the most out of the device. There’s certainly incentive for them not to: One could argue that having functionality require the use of a smartphone makes using Glass redundant.
That ignores the advantages that come with Glass, such as visual notifications (that contain more information than what you can fit on a watch face). With a software update released last week, you can see your notifications just by looking at the screen.
When I asked Google if it worries about making the features on the MyGlass app “too useful,” Steve Lee, Glass product management director, said:

We want the user to have the best experience possible. Period. There are experiences that are just naturally better on Glass, like capturing moments while living them. If it enhances the user experience, we want to make sure those experiences can extend to other platforms regardless of whether it’s iPhone, Android or desktop. When it comes to photo editing — cropping, filtering, etc. – that’s clearly easier on a phone. This functionality is something that our Explorers have asked for, so we wanted to be sure to deliver it to them.

In a recent column on Wired, Mat Honan argues that notifications are going to rule the smartphone interface. Google Glass is already there: Everything you can do on the device is accessed through a notification-like card.
Maybe that’s why people don’t “get” Glass yet. They’re used to navigating to a specific app to do a specific task or reach a particular piece of information, not responding to contextual updates as they happen. Perhaps the notification-based interface on smartphones will get people used to that mindset by the time Glass is ready for consumer release.
If Google can get developers on board with making it as easy as possible to transition from seeing a notification on Glass to acting on that notification on a device better suited for the task, the device might start making a lot more sense to a lot more people.

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How to tell if someone is invisible on skype

Hello everyone,
What’s up !
It’s been a week since I posted anything useful. My exams are going on that’s why I couldn’t update it more frequently.
Few of our visitors asked to share if it’s possible to verify if someone is really offline or invisible in Skype.
Well, it’s really helpful for many purposes. So let me straight go down to write how it’s done.

First  Method:
Step 1: Send them a message. ( “Them” meaning the person you want to check if he’s invisible)

Step 2: Usually when someone is offline then the message you just sent will have a pending status. And if it’s sent
successfully  then you will see the time of when they viewed your message.
Second Method
Try calling them using Skype.  Usually when someone is offline then the screen will show connecting and then the call will drop.
Since they are offline and the call will not go through. But if they are online or say invisible, it will show connecting and then
the bell will ring and it won’t stop since the person is technically online even if they are invisible. They could pretend they are offline but actually they are online.
So now that you know how to see if they are online or invisible, you can catch them red handed

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Block ads in android

Pop up ads can be quite annoying and there are more people than you know who complain about them. They are disruptive, and quite unnecessary. Websites and apps that provide you with free content and free services are being paid to advertise these pop up ads. This is how they keep their businesses running.
However, most people are focused on the apps or the games that they have installed, and they become easily irritated when they have to find some way to click out of the pop up ads. So how do we get rid of these pop up ads, you might be wondering?
There are some methods that you can learn more about as you continue to read along below, which will help you to get rid of the pop up ads that show up on your game applications or your android web browser.
Adblock Plus (ABP)
The Adblock Plus method is one that will block every ad that shows up on your mobile device. There are various Adblocker applications that you can choose from with Sideloading on your mobile device. ABP and Adway would be the top choices that people download onto their mobile devices.
How to use Adblock Plus
Using Adblock Plus gives you the option of blocking ads that you don’t feel like dealing with.
Sideloading was mentioned earlier, ad it is what you will need because you cannot find any ad-block applications on Google Play store since they have been removed.  Any ad-blocker that you install will require the sideload. Basically what this means is that you will need to install the application with the APK file in place of Google Play Store.
Below are the steps that you will need to follow in order for this to work:

1. Go to settings > Applications (On 4.0 devices or higher you will need to go to Security) on your mobile device.
2. Go to Unknown Sources.
3. If you notice that this option is unchecked then you need to check it off. Click OK when the confirmation shows up.

You may now begin the installation of ad-blockers.
Adblock Plus Installation and Configuration
Open your browser and download Adblock Plus for Android. The APK file: adblockplusandroid-version.apk is that file that you should see.
Next, you need to go to where your downloaded files are located on your device. Tap on the file and choose to install it. When using file manager to open the APK file then you need to choose Open App Manager and then select Install.
For rooted devices:
Once you have installed AdPlus Blocker, open the application. Super user permissions will be requested. All the permissions of the super user to administer Adblock Plus and you are ready to go.
For non rooted devices:
There are some extra manual steps that you will need to take for devices that are manually rooted.
Generally speaking if you have a 3.1 version mobile device or less, then you will need to enter into your advanced WiFi settings.
Run the settings application. Select WiFi. The available WiFi networks list will pop up.
If you aren’t already connected to the desired network connection then choose one now. Long press the connected network option. A menu will appear that says Modify network config.
Choose Show advanced options (check the box off).
Go down to the proxy settings and choose Manual, and some options should appear.
Now, set the Proxy to localhost and Port to the number that is given by Adblock Plus in your notification message.
For Android 2.3
With Android 2.3 you will need to:
Go to the WiFi settings and choose Advanced Settings.
Search the list for proxy hosts and port settings.
Now, set your proxy host to localhost and port to the number that is given by Adblock Plus.

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20 Facts About Technology Which Will Amuse You, tech facts, technology fact

20 Facts About Technology Which Will Amuse You
As we all know, our lives revolve around technology more and more as the years pass. There is always something new being presented to human beings when it comes to technology, and we never cease to become bored of it. There are plenty of things about technology that would interest you or amuse you. Continue reading along to learn more about 20 amusing technology facts that may have never crossed your mind until now.

1. The majority of computer users blink 7 times per minute at most, compared to the normal blink rate of 20 blinks per minute.
2. Email was invented before the web; which means that it has been around longer.
3. The home of Bill Gates was designed with the use of a Macintosh Computer.
4. The original Macintosh case which was created during the year of 1982, contains 47 signatures of the division of Apple’s Macintosh members.
5. Doug Engelhard invented the very first computer mouse which was made out of wood. He created it in 1964.
6. On a regular work day for a typist, their fingers travel at an average rate of about 12.6 miles per day.
7. The state of Alaska is the only state whose letters can be typed in a straight row of keyboard letters.
8. Ebay has about $680 worth of transactions that take place per second.
9. There are more than one million domain names that are registered online per month.
10. Apple, Microsoft, HP, and Google are all IT

applications

that started development in a garage.
11. The social Media website Myspace has about 110 million registered users. If the social media site had been considered a country it would be the 10th largest; right after Mexico.
12. Youtue.com was registered February 14th, 2005.
13. The Dvorak keyboard is known to be more efficient and 20 times faster than Querty.
14. Computer programming is an occupation that is growing faster than any other.
15. The first online advertisement banner was created and used in the year of 1994.
16. Hewlett Packard, which is more known as HP, was invented in a garage in Palo Alto during the year of 1939.
17. As of this year, there are currently 17 billion devices that are connected or related to the internet and the use of the internet.
18. About 1 out of 8 couples met their spouse on the internet within the past few years. There are more people meeting their significant others online each year.
19. If you are able to find a way to hack into Facebook then they will pay you up to $500.
20. There are about 1 billion instant messenger accounts that are active around the world today.
The above are 20 interesting facts about technology that you may or may not have been aware of. Now that you know that you can share these facts with other people who might not know about them. It is most certainly considered to be entertainment for your brain.

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Apple announces OS X Yosemite, bridging the gap between iOS and Mac

Apple today unveiled OS X Yosemite, a complete overhaul designed to create continuity for users of both iOS and OS X.
Announced on stage during the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple called the new OS “gorgeous and more usable.” OS X Yosemite features redesigned core features – like Finder, Spotlight, and Notifications – as well as major updates to Safari, Mail, iCal, and new iCloud features.
Speculation over how Apple might rethink OS X began shortly after iOS 7 was first announced. Recent rumors suggested that OS X Yosemite would include an iOS-style control panel for quick access to settings, a new Mac App Store design, redesigned Mail and iPhoto apps, and even Siri support.
To watch Apple’s WWDC keynote in full, check out the live stream link here. For all of VentureBeat’s WWDC coverage, head here.

More about the companies and people from this article:

• Apple

Apple designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad

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Apple WWDC 2014 Keynote Live Blog

Apple kicks off its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco today, with a keynote address this morning. It looks like the show for 2014 will focus heavily on new software, including (confirmed by banners spotted on the show floor) iOS 8 and the next version of OS X.
Through leaks and rumors, we’ve heard lots about a potential health tracking platform addition for iOS, as well as big improvements to Maps and more, but we’ll have all the announcements live below as they happen, so save this tab and come back to it starting just before 10 AM PT (1 PM ET) for live updates.

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