Google announces Android Lollipop, Nexus 6 smartphone, Nexus 9 tablet .

WASHINGTON: Google on Wednesday ramped up its mobile arsenal, upgrading its Nexus line with a new tablet and smartphone, and unveiling its revamped Android software, to be dubbed “Lollipop.”

The US tech giant also announced the launch of a streaming media player for music, movies and videos, which can also allow users to play games via the Android TV device.

“Lollipop” or Android 5.0, the upgraded operating system for mobile, “is designed to be flexible, to work on all your devices and to be customized for you the way you see fit,” said Google vice-president Sundar Pichai, who heads the Android operations.

Read more:- http://lifehacker.com/updating-all-the-new-stuff-in-androids-l-release-prev-1595928268

Read more:- http://googleblog.blogspot.in/2014/10/android-be-together-not-same.html

Google finds new web threat as bad as Heartbleed, Shellshock.

Three Google researchers have uncovered a security bug in widely used web encryption technology that they say could allow hackers to take over accounts for email, banking and other services in what they have dubbed a ‘Poodle’ attack.

The discovery of ‘Poodle,’ which stands for Padding Oracle On Downloaded Legacy Encryption, prompted makers of web browsers and server software to advise users on Tuesday to disable use of the source of the security bug: an 18-year old encryption standard known as SSL 3.0.

Read more:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Google-finds-new-web-threat-as-bad-as-Heartbleed-Shellshock/articleshow/44821183.cms

Xiaomi, Not Apple, Is Changing the Smartphone Industry.

Determining which customer to target first is one of the most critical decisions in the entrepreneurial process.  Customers that are relatively less risky and more predictable can make it easier for new to firms gain a market foothold. One such set of customers is the nascent middle class in emerging economies.

Why? First, as their financial situation improves they are anxious to buy new things. Not quite able to afford the top brands, they’re nevertheless willing to pay a little more for something they perceive might be close. Second, because they can’t yet afford the high-margin top brands, they’re not all that attractive to incumbents worried about generating enough cash to cover their high fixed and variable costs. So they exist in a sweet spot from an entrepreneur’s point of view: rich and numerous enough to fuel a start-up’s growth and also poor enough not to spur incumbents to respond.

 

Details:- http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/10/xiaomi-not-apple-is-changing-the-smartphone-industry/

Facebook and Apple Will Pay for Employees to Freeze Their Eggs.

NEW YORK: Free lunches, dry cleaning, massages — frozen eggs?

Silicon Valley’s biggest companies have long offered cushy perks to attract top talent and keep workers happy logging scores of hours on the job. But beyond day-to-day luxuries, Facebook and Apple will now give up to $20,000 in benefits to help employees pay for infertility treatments, sperm donors and even to freeze their eggs. The move comes amid stiff competition for skilled engineers, and as many of the biggest firms try to diversify their male-dominated ranks to include and appeal to more women.

Read more:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Apple-Facebook-will-pay-for-female-employees-to-freeze-their-eggs/articleshow/44820796.cms?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=TOI

Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/facebook-and-apple-will-pay-for-employees-to-freeze-their-eggs/381409/

Genetically Modified Silk Is Stronger Than Steel.

The idea for the work was based on the fact that some spiders’ silk is five times as strong as steel. A research team wondered if they could harness that strength in order to manufacture a more durable cloth. Previous studies had shown that attempting to produce artificially long and strong fibers of the spider silk is not successful.

Silkworms have been modified to produce spider silk, creating a fabric that could be used in everything from bulletproof clothing to artificial tendons.

At the University of Wyoming, scientists modified a group of silkworms to produce silk that is, weight for weight, stronger than steel. Different groups hope to benefit from the super-strength silk, including stronger sutures for the medical community, a biodegradable alternative to plastics, and even lightweight armor for military purposes.

 Read more:- http://www.digitaljournal.com/science/gm-silkworms-made-to-spin-super-strong-silk/article/401045

Six things you must do after buying a new iPhone 6.

So, you’ve finally decided to get rid of that peasant phone you owned and planned to treat yourself to a swanky new iPhone 6. Pat yourself on the back because you will soon be ahead of the technology curve; well at least for the next 3-4 months. If this is your first iPhone there are tons of new things to discover. Here are the first six things you must do with that brand new iPhone 6 of yours:

1. Install iTunes on your PC or Mac.
2. Transfer all you data from your old phone
3. Make your iPhone secure
4. Make your iPhone Theft proof
5. Try out a few games
6. Throw away your point and click camera

Read more:- http://www.hindustantimes.com/technology/gadgets-updates/buying-a-new-iphone-6-things-you-must-do-before-anything/article1-1274748.aspx

Artificial arms get closer to the real thing.

Smarter nerve stimulation and muscle monitoring vastly improve prosthetic movements.

Powered prosthetic hands and arms have advanced little in the last 50 years. Their appearance and structure have improved, but advances in underlying function and control have been harder to come by.
In a pair of studies published in Science Translational Medicine1, 2, researchers now report major advances in two areas: guiding prosthetic limbs with realistic tactile feedback, and delivering reliable motor commands.
“They are both addressing big limitations that current prostheses have,” says Kevin Otto, a biomedical engineer at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Read more :- http://www.nature.com/news/artificial-arms-get-closer-to-the-real-thing-1.16111

A software that detects emotions based on your typing style .

DHAKA: Researchers have developed a new computer programme that can recognize people’s emotions based on how they type.

Scientists from the Islamic University of Technology in Bangladesh asked a small group of people to type a block of sample text, and then analysed the keystrokes and characteristics to see if they could identify any of seven different emotional states: joy, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, shame or guilt.

The emotions that the programme recognised with the greatest degree of accuracy were joy (87% of the time) and anger (81% of the time), ‘LiveScience’ reported.

More details :- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/computing/A-software-that-detects-emotions-based-on-your-typing-style/articleshow/44803189.cms

What is noni? ICAR has the answers.

Old Goa: Noni or locally known as makodfoll has been extensively used for thousands of years for its rich content of phytochemicals, vitamins, micro and macronutrients but traditional knowledge about its varied uses has slowly dwindled.

Indian council of agricultural research (ICAR), Old Goa, is carrying out research entrusted by World Noni Research Foundation (WNRF) in Goa, Maharashtra and Lakshadweep to collect germplasm of noni (morinda citrifolia) and chose the best variety for cultivation.

More details :- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/What-is-noni-ICAR-has-the-answers/articleshow/43655821.cms

Wearable technology that feels like skin .

When it comes to the future of computing, there is one major known and a principal unknown.

The known, with almost guaranteed certainty, is that the next era of computing will be wearables. The unknown, with commensurate guaranteed uncertainty, is what these wearables will be and where on your body they will live.

More details:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/more-gadgets/Wearable-technology-that-feels-like-skin/articleshow/44780821.cms