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Qwerty: A digital disaster waiting around the corner!

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For the past few days, internet space in India has turned volatile – with debates, Facebook display pictures and Mark Zuckerberg’s posts. So what really happened to have led to this? Last week, PM Narendra Modi met with a number of top organisation leaders in USA, these included Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google; Tim Cook, CEO, Apple and most importantly, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook. The underlying agenda being to gather support for the Digital India campaign by the Government of India.

Now Mark Zuckerberg went on to show his support for Digital India and linked it to his own project- Internet.org (or Free Basics).

What is Internet.org?

Internet.org or Free Basics is a service which aims to connect regions which have less penetration of internet, reasons for which include lack of infrastructure and high internet tariffs. Internet.org however will only provide access to a certain section of internet which includes services by Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera, Samsung and Nokia.

What about Digital India?

The Digital India initiative seeks to lay emphasis on e-governance and transform India into a digitally empowered society, and this particularly includes connecting Rural India to the internet. It also aims on IT training of rural population, setting up BTOs in North-East India among a lot many things.

Then what in the world is the problem?

The existence of Internet.org is a violation of Net Neutrality i.e. the principle that Internet Service Providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites.

Services of some websites like Facebook may be free for a person in a remote village in Chattisgarh, but access to the rest of the internet is not free. Facebook will also keep all his data, monitor his activity and temporarily store his data in unencrypted form. Not only is this a massive privacy violation, but a security threat as well.

To him, the internet will be confined to Facebook and 6 other services. So these websites will become the unprecedented faces of the internet. The telecom brands which team up to provide these services will have a chance to expand simultaneously. So, is this a huge business agenda behind something that poses to be the welfare of people? Seems like it.

As Manu Joseph writes in New York Times, “The goal of Internet.org is to bring cheap Internet to all, as long as they use Facebook.”

Digital India, although will provide you digital services, but will simultaneously find ways for the government to monitor your activity. Again, a case of violation of privacy. Talking about free access of Internet to all Indians, remember internet blackouts in Ahmedabad, Kashmir and Manipur?

Since Mr. Modi and Zuckerberg have, with quite fanfare, declared collaboration between Digital India and Internet.org, the recipe seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Of course, not everything can be commented on as of now; we’ll have to wait how Ministry of Telecom lays out the plans and policies. However, the fact that Net Neutrality is being violated by both the campaigns is a fact that cannot be challenged anymore.

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QWERTY – What’s happening in the world of technology?

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The technical world is advancing at almost the speed of light and sometimes it becomes difficult to cope up with it. Don’t worry, we understand your pain! Hence, we are here with all the details, you need to know, about the tech-market.

Apple has finally unveiled the successors to its famous iPhone 6 – the iPhone 6s. The new phone boasts the brand new 3D touch, Faster Touch ID sensors and bumped up rear and front cameras. The phone can shoot in 4K. Although the launch did not include any major hardware or software changes like last year, but something is better than nothing. Apple even announced a bigger iPad – the iPad Pro. The iPad Pro has a 12.9 inch screen. The launch included updates for the Apple TV as well. It seems like Apple has sensed the competition and is finally stepping up its games.

Elephone has launched a dual boot cell-phone – Elephone Vowney. Quite unbelievable, eh? The highlight of Elephone Vowney is that it’s a dual-boot smartphone that can run, both Windows 10 Mobile and Android 5.0 Lollipop. The phone features a 5.5 inch QHD IPS LCD display along with 2.2 GHz clocked processor coupled with 3GB of RAM. The phone has 64 GB of inbuilt space along with 20.7 MP rear camera. The phone comes with an 8 MP front camera, dual sim, and 4200mAh removable battery and even shoots 4K. The specs are very promising and competitive. The phone will go on sale on September 30th, 2015.

Amazon launches a 50$ tablet to attract more customers in the tablet market. The ‘Amazon Fire’ has a 7 inch display, 1.3GHz Processor, 8 GB of storage, 2 MP rear and 0.3 MP front camera. The tablet will be a tough competition for the cheapest 8 inch iPad mini which has an 8 inch screen and sells at 270$. Amazon Fire aims at attracting more people to converge towards reading over a tablet. Pre-orders will begin soon and the tablet will go on sale this month.

Sharp is all set to launch world’s first 8K Television next month. Yes, you read that absolutely right. 4K technology hasn’t been adopted yet properly by the people and here is an 8K Television being launched. Companies have just been adapting and viewing 4K for cellphones, but an 8K TV will be a total game changer. The television will be launched with a whopping price tag of 16 Million JPY (Rs. 90,00,000). Or you could buy yourself a nice Mercedes! The television will have a resolution of 7680X4320 pixels, 85inch Panel and 104 PPi density.

Google has announced that its Android tablets and smartphones will be able to stream video games directly to YouTube without any additional software. The new feature will let one add audio and video commentary via the device’s front camera and a headset and will be able to upload game clips directly to YouTube from ‘Google Play Games’. The feature will be available in Japan as of now and later in rest of the world. The feature sounds really promising for all the gamers out there who want to display their mobile gaming skills on a bigger platform.

Image credits: insights.dice.com

Sahil Siddiqui

[email protected]

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QWERTY: Pokémon GO-Gotcha! Catch ‘em all

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If you’re a kid born in 90s, 5pm to 5.30pm holds a very special significance for you. Whatever calamity might be hitting the world, this half an hour was Pokémon time. This phenomenon wasn’t just exclusive to India, it was worldwide. Superman, Batman and Goku might have ruled the hearts of boys but Pokémon was one show that had something for girls as well. Ash was the one hero with whom every boy identified and Misty was a girl that every girl wanted to be. A Pokémon fan, to do this day, will say that Pikachu is the cutest thing that has ever existed. While many of you might say that the franchise has achieved its peak and should retire, the creators don’t think so. With what’s coming, I’d say they are taking it to a whole new level.

From the whole Pokémon experience of tazos, diamond cards, rectangular cards etc there was always this one thing that lacked. However close they came to making it all real for us, there was still something missing. This new game is another attempt to fill that void and by the looks of it, will do the job.

So, the new game is called Pokémon Go and is for android and iOS platform. The trailer was released a little time back and looks really amazing. By the looks of the trailer, the game is going to be an augmented reality game based in the real world. User will be notified on devices if there’s a Pokémon around. The pokémons will be even visible on the screen. Users can trade, battle and do a lot of other stuff with their pokémons. The game is free but there is going to be an in-house store where users can buy stuff. The trailer shows a large battle with Mewtwo where many people come together to fight the legendary Pokémon, which shows that there are going to be such special events. The game will also come with Pokémon wearable watches.

There’s still a lot to discover but from the looks of it, the game looks awesome. Check out the trailer below:

Image Credits- videogamer.com

Kavach Chandra
[email protected]

 

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QWERTY: One smartphone to rule them all… But which one?

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Have you ever wondered which smartphone is the perfect one? Is it the Samsung Galaxy S6? Is it the OnePlus 2? LG G4? Nexus 6? HTC One M9?

I, for one, can’t pick one of these because all of them have a couple of nagging little flaws. The S6 has poor battery life and no expandable storage. The OnePlus 2 doesn’t have NFC. The G4 has LG’s horrible android skin. The Nexus 6 is just plain huge and also has a subpar camera. The HTC One M9 tends to overheat. Since none of the phones on the market fit my version of ‘The Perfect Smartphone,’ I decided to create my own smartphone. These are the features I would borrow from today’s flagships –

Body

In terms of pure looks, nothing beats the iPhone 6. It looks premium, feels sturdy and is durable enough to survive minor falls.

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S6 has a beautiful 5.1 inch Super AMOLED 2K display. Viewing angles are great, colours are sharp and vivid, and brightness is more than enough for outdoor use.

Speakers

HTC’s BoomSound speakers are without a doubt the best on the market. Front-facing, Loud, Crisp and Clear.

Battery

I’d take the 3900 mAh, beast of a battery, from the Motorola Droid Turbo which would last for 30-35 hours of regular without breaking a sweat.

Storage

Storage is something we just can’t get enough of, so I’d opt for the 128 GB storage from the iPhone 6 but I’d also throw in an expandable Micro SD card slot to increase storage up to 256GB.

Performance

The OnePlus 2 is probably the best performing smartphone out there, both in terms of benchmarks and real world testing. The octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, coupled with 4 GB of RAM and the Adreno 430 GPU make for a buttery smooth gaming and multi-tasking experience.

Camera

This was a tricky one, and I wrestled with whether I wanted the iPhone 6 Plus’ camera or the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S6. Both cameras are fantastic, especially the one on the iPhone, but it’s only 8 megapixels which means no 4K recording. Gotta have 4K though! So I ended up choosing the one on the S6. However, I’d still want the image processing from the iPhone just to compensate for the over-saturation that Samsung’s sensor is notorious for.

 

So there you have it. My version of the perfect smartphone. What’s yours?
Guest post by Kabir Saxena.

Feature Image credits: pedrocaso.deviantart.com

 

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QWERTY: SOCI’ASM, THE APP THAT MAKES YOUR PHONE LIGHTER

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Have you ever ended up purchasing an overpriced application from the mobile store, an application which is good for nothing? It turns out to be heavy; consumes a lot of memory; space and crashes while making your cell phone practically unusable.

Social applications are really heavy and consume a lot of battery. This is where our app of the week, Soci’asm, comes into play. This application is a life saver for those who are very active socially and always run out of battery just because of heavy usage. Also, it does not put any load over the cell phone. Soci’asm is an android based application which integrates three major social platforms – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This integration is really fast and reduces the pain of downloading three different applications which ultimately saves a lot of space on the cellphone. This results in making the phone much faster. Soci’asm is easy on the battery life of the cell phone. It’s really light and updates content under different tabs with a simple thumb swipe.

The user interface of the application is also really simple and friendly. The app combines different social platforms in one window under three different tabs which are easy to access. We reviewed it by using the app on a Samsung E-7 and it worked without any crashes or lags. The app had no issues while multitasking. Soci’asm is very small in size as well (under 2 megabytes).

Final Verdict: Soci’asm is light, fast, and saves battery and memory. What else does a smartphone user need? The app is available for free on the Google Play Store and an iOS version will be rolled out soon.

Sahil Siddiqui

[email protected]

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QWERTY: The Narendra Modi App

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With the amount of travelling that our PM has done in the past year, I am sure that every politically aware and responsible citizen of our nation who voted for him or didn’t, will agree on the fact that one of the most difficult thing to do is to keep themselves updated with the movements of our beloved Namo. There are even memes on the web saying to bring back our PM first rather than the black money he promised to. Seems like the voice of such “responsible Indians” have reached the ears of our PM and to keep everyone in the nation updated with his plans, the PM launched his app on 17th June.

The interface: It has a very decent and elegant interface. If there’s one thing that our PM exudes, it’s confidence. And the app is very coherent with this quality of his. Blue, the colour of harmony and confidence, has been used very tastefully and intelligently by the designers. The app sends out a strong signal to the user that this is going to be the digital legacy of a great and powerful personality.

 

registration screens

After registration, the home page is a News page which features articles telling the latest activities of our PM. It’s a parallax scroll page. Clicking on article takes the user to a new screen which has a sub menu bar under the main menu bar with options ‘web’, ’smart’, ’picture’, ’social’ and ‘video’. Web has the whole article with all the images, quotes and videos. Under smart tab only the textual part of the article is present. Video and Picture tabs contain all the videos and photos related to the article respectively. Under social tab, all the important quotes are shown which can be shared across various social media channels. Users can also change the size of font they want to view the article in and can also add it to read it later section with options in the main menu bar.

 

Screenshot_2015-06-19-13-58-07

 

There’s an option in the top right corner below the menu bar where you can switch viewing articles according to most recent ones or most popular ones. The menu bar is itself very plain with only three icons: an arrow icon with which you can view the articles by either ascending or descending order, a magnifying glass which is a search option and three dots which when touched opens a box with an array of options. The menu box has around 15 options such as news, interact with PM, messages from PM, speeches, governance, my profile etc.

 

Screenshot_2015-06-19-14-07-06

 

Exploring the Menu: The app’s purpose is to connect every other person with a phone to the PM and it is very much conveyed through the options it houses in the menu box. There’s an ‘Interact with PM’ option which opens your inbox with messages from PM. There are ‘write to PM’ and ‘give ideas & suggestions’ tabs alongside the inbox. Among other options there is ‘social buzz’ which opens up the PM’s twitter and Facebook page. ‘Blogs’, ‘Speeches’, ‘Interviews’, ‘Media Coverage’ & ‘Infographics’ are some other options which basically encompass PM’s interaction with Media and the Web. Users can also give their feedback about the app.

The app is built around the idea that every user that registers should not only be able to connect with the PM but can also feel connected to the politics of the nation and be a part of decision making process. So to achieve the latter goal of the app, there’s a ‘To-do Tasks’ options where the user has to view videos or read an e-book or answer a multiple choice question , all related to PM in some or the other way. Points are given on completing every task. The user can view their total points under ‘my profile’ option. Users are awarded with badges as the points increase, signifying that the users are becoming more active and more responsible towards decision making process in this nation, the ultimate goal being to become “true-change maker”. The highest badge present so far in the gallery is of SUPER FAN worth 500 points.

Verdict: A very effective and elegant solution by PM to make every Indian citizen more politically aware and connected with the politics of the nation. Hats-off to the design team of the app.

 

The Good:

1. Simple yet extra ordinary interface.

2. Extremely light app.

3. Serves the purpose it is made for.

4. It has an in-built video player so doesn’t redirects to YouTube or any other video streaming application.

 

The Bad:

1. Doesn’t have an in-built browser so user has to use a third party browser every time they want to see content beyond the app.

2. Uninstalling, reinstalling and registering through same username again and again adds to the total points.

 

Image Credits: www.americanbazaaronline.com

 

Kavach Chandra

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not Dead Yet! – App Review: Facebook Messenger 4

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Thought Facebook lost to WhatsApp & Viber? Well think again! The social networking giant, is still aspiring to make a mark in the world of instant messaging (guess buying your peers ain’t enough : P).

Facebook recently rolled out updates for its Messenger app for Android and iOS users & is simultaneously disabling the inbuilt chat feature present in the Facebook app  . For Android, the Facebook Messenger app has been updated to version 4.0, and for iOS to version 4.1.

Can this be a game changer? Let’s find out!

The Android update introduces features seen in the Facebook Messenger 4.0 for iOS released in end of March. This includes group messaging, as well as photo & message forwarding. The interface has been redesigned, and provides a great user experience. Also, much like WhatsApp, users can now pin contact shortcuts to their home screens – a feature also available in the new iOS app. You create a shortcut icon of any conversation with any of your friends and   the shortcut will open that particular chat window directly.

One feature that provides Facebook an edge over WhatsApp is the app’s ability to make free calls (via Wifi or mobile data) in all countries! Similar to Viber & Skype, users can call active friends without incurring any carrier charges. Had Facebook introduced video calls, it would have overpowered Apple’s FaceTime as well, hands down!

Facebook Messenger showcases enough features to blast the competition. For instance, the Chat Heads feature alerts you when you have a new message: while you are using some other app,  a bubble with the sender’s face pops up, and you can access the chat by tapping the face.  There’s a good collection of free sticker and smileys available. You can display your exact location to friends when you send a specific message or hide your location. Facebook Messenger has a Record Voice feature, which lets you record audio and then send it, similar to WhatsApp.

favebook4

Messenger allows you to group chat with up to 250 people at once (unlike Viber’s 40 and WhatsApp’s 30 group participants).You can also text those in your contacts, whom you aren’t friends with on Facebook!

Apart from the absence of Video Calling, another letdown is the apps inability to send videos, contacts, etc! Also, in a group chat, the option to leave the group is – missing! The app doesn’t allow you to log out as well (that’s creepy!).  Having a separate application for chatting is also very strange. Why can’t they integrate the same in the existing Facebook app? In fact by removing the messaging feature from the Facebook app,  Messenger is more of  a compulsion!

Barring these minor flaws the app is very efficient & looks refreshing. It offers all the features touted by the peers and even more!

The App / Update is available for Free on Google PlayStore & Apple AppStore .

 

Sidhant Malhotra

[email protected]


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How to create Android apps (for free) without prior coding knowledge

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As mobile applications are becoming more and more popular, tons of apps are flooding the market everyday. These apps are not only developed by billion dollar companies, but also by individuals like us. You no longer need heavy investment of money and time, neither do you need any programming skills to develop an Android app. All you require is an internet connection & some advice!

But remember, this article is NOT gonna teach you how to make the next Instagram, Flipboard or Candy Crush! Nope.  But it can help you create and distribute simple apps based on existing web content –  An app for you college’s  fest, your video channel, a website,  basic mobile games and much more without spending a buck and learning any coding language.  Ever wanted to have your own Android app? We’ll show you how!

Quite a few websites allow you to create your own applications. One the most popular & efficient one, is AppsGeyser. It is incredibly easy to use and has generated more than  5,00,000 applications! Moreover, it allows you to distribute your apps for free & provides monetization as well.

First, you must log on to the AppGeyser website and click the green ‘Create Now!” button.  A list of various app templates to choose from would be displayed.  Each template has a distinct function, and a layout to facilitate that function. You can create basic applications from websites, html code, YouTube channel, documents, etc. There are 30 different layouts available. If your app requires more than one function, don’t worry, you will later be able to add these as tabs.

Next you need to add in the source, which depends on the type of app you are creating. For example, if you are converting a website to an app you need to add the URL. Similarly, if you wanna add your own page you may attach the doc; if a photo app then images & so on.  You can see the finished product simultaneously on the “Preview” pane situated on the right side of the screen. Also, fill in other basic details like app name, version, icon, category, app background etc. Once done, click ‘Create App’.

Next, fill in your  details & create an account on AppsGeyser which would redirect you to your dashboard. Here, you can tweak your app further by clicking ‘Edit’ on the menu above. You may tune up your advanced settings such as App Permissions, Thumbnails, Loading Screen and a host of other settings.

If you want to add more content to your app, go to “Tabs’ section, click on “Add Tab” & select ‘more options’ to see the complete list of features to choose from. You can add a Homepage to your app, which would stack all your Tabs in a beautiful shelf-like layout.

Download the APK file and check it for yourself. Once you are satisfied with you application you may wanna share it with the world or use it yourself. You can share the download link for anyone to download the appe. You may also wanna browse the ‘Distribute’ section for further sharing options.

AppsGeyser also lets you earn through your apps. If your app gets downloaded 100 times (No ads will be displayed otherwise), Click on ‘Monetization’ from top menu and opt in for a Revenue Program. Half of the profits will be shared by you (50-50)!

Thats it! This whole procedure should take you less than 5 minutes & without any technical knowledge you successfully created an app, on your own! So go ahead & create apps – show off, flaunt, share, learn & earn!  

Sidhant Malhotra
[email protected]

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Dating Apps: Find Love Using your Smartphone!

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A long-term relation, dozens of dates, making new friends or just a chat with like minded singles – mobile dating apps can help you succeed! With a myriad of like-minded users available,  it shouldn’t be hard to get what you want!  Here are some apps available on Android and iOS devices for free, to help you in your endeavors!

Krush – The dating app (Android)


Krush is a unique dating app that uses your Facebook account to provide you with lists of viable partners, which are generally your ‘friends of friends’ on Facebook!

By matching your interests, hobbies and preference You will receive a list of 10 suitable users everyday. You  may “Like’ or ‘Skip’ them. If you ‘like’ a user and get a positive response from the other side as well, both of you would be informed about the match. And if you don’t get matched, the other user would never know your identity and will remain a crush! The app gives you complete privacy and your contact details aren’t shared, unless you want them to. Go, find your krush(es)!

Tinder (iOS & Android)

Tinder is a simple app that connects to your Facebook account to access your basic information.
It finds you suitable partners near your locality, from which you can select users by going through their profile pics, choosing the one that meets you eye! If you get a positive response you can then start a private chat and take it further and if not, you atleast showed your interest!. It has a game-like interface which makes it fun to use and can be addictive!

Twine (iOS & Android)

Twine enables users to interact with one another in a safe and non threatening manner. Your user identity is kept completely anonymous. It connects with Facebook and accesses the basic information along with your  interests. Based on your location, you will be suggested users according to the ‘Twine juice’ that you have. You can interact with them on a personal chat  straight away with the profile pics blurred. You may reveal your name and pic later using the ‘Reveal Now’ button. It also showcases some unique features such as ICE – Intelligent Conversation Enhancer that allows one to initiate the chat using by generating questions!

So if you are having trouble finding a date in a traditional manner why not use your smartphone?

Go ahead and use these apps to enhance your love life!

Happy Dating!  <3<3

Sidhant Malhotra
[email protected]

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How to run Windows programs on Ubuntu

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Though Ubuntu is a very popular Linux operating system at present, it doesn’t offer as many applications as a Windows based machine. Moreover, if you are migrating to Ubuntu, you might miss some of your favorite apps, which may be a deal-breaker!

What’s the fix?

Yes, dear Ubuntu struck FYUP students – here’s introducing Wine. It is a program loader which assists you in running apps in Linux & various other non-Windows operating systems for free.

File:Wine 1.3.7 on Ubuntu 10.10.png

In Ubuntu, there are different ways of obtaining WINE. One may install it through the Terminal or download it from their official website.  A simpler way is to get through the Ubuntu Software Center (Briefcase shaped icon with the alphabet ‘A’). Search for “wine” in the center, select and install “Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer (meta package) wine” from the obtained results. Enter your login password when asked. The installation may take some time, depending on your internet connection.

install-wine-on-ubuntu

Once finished installing, you may configure Wine, such as default Windows version, screen resolution and so on. Now, you can run Windows applications, by right-clicking the desired application file and selecting “Open with Wine program loader” from the drop down list.  When you install an application, a shortcut would be created on your desktop and Application menu, which runs like any other Ubuntu application – Open and Play!

However, do remember Wine cannot run all Windows applications and there may also be certain bugs present in software you run using it, which should be resolved by further updates. But, nonetheless it’s an extremely useful application which enriches your Ubuntu experience and makes it more productive.  So try your favorite Windows software, games, tools and more, on Ubuntu-  have fun!

wine-office-shortcuts-in-unity-launcher

Sidhant Malhotra
[email protected]

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