Never be alone in your selfies with this selfie arm

The "Selfie Arm" is a new selfie stick design that adds an arm to your self-portraits, making them look like photos of you taken by someone who loves you. 

The prototype was created by artists Justin Crowe and Aric Snee out of lightweight and portable fibreglass, media reports said. 

The fibreglass arm lets you appear to hold a friend's hand while you take a selfie. 

Fascinated by the idea of technology and its illusionary "connectedness" and "sociableness", Snee and Crowe created the 'selfie arm'. 

Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/computing/Never-be-alone-in-your-selfies-with-this-selfie-arm/articleshow/47122695.cms

.Com turns 30 on Sunday

Talking about setting up a business, experienced people still suggest registering a .com as one of the basics to start with. Present day start-ups had to tinker a little bit more while naming their business and they often are forced to change their names as ".com is not available".

Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of the first .com registered by anyone. In these three decades, the internet has seen sweeping changes, but little did this computer manufacturer imagined that he was 'booking' himself a slice of history. The first registered .com - Symbolics.com - though had to change hands in August 2009 while the internet saw birth of present day giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter.

The underused domain since then has been a proud possession of XF.com Investments which was originally booked by now-defunct Symbolics Inc. "I had always known that Symbolics.com was the first domain name registered on the Internet. It was a goal of mine to acquire one of the first few names ever registered. I know that others before me had reached out to Symbolics, and inquired about the purchase price of the domain name. For whatever reason, my timing was perfect and I contacted Symbolics right about the time they actually started considering selling the asset," writes Aron Meystedt, owner of XF.com Investments. The website needs to be renewed before March 16 next year.

Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/-Com-turns-30-on-Sunday/articleshow/46566242.cms

Google eyeing to acquire India's InMobi

Google is in early talks to buy Bangalore-based start-up InMobi, in a move that would strengthen its offering in the increasingly competitive mobile advertising space, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

InMobi, which helps companies target phones and mobile devices in their advertising, was launched in 2007 and claims to have over 1 billion users across 200 countries. It counts Japan's SoftBank, an early backer of China's Alibaba, and early stage venture capital firm Sherpalo among investors.

The source, who asked not to be named because the companies have not made the negotiations public, said talks were at an early stage. The source said Google had not yet detailed its terms and conditions for the deal.

InMobi would likely be valued at around $1 billion, the source said.

The Economic Times newspaper first reported news of these ongoing talks on Wednesday.

Both InMobi and Google declined to comment.

Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Google-eyeing-to-acquire-Indias-InMobi/articleshow/46525512.cms

Twitter opens office in Hong Kong

 Twitter has opened a Hong Kong office, its first in the Greater China region, the company whose microblogging services are blocked on the mainland said on Tuesday.

The office, to be headed by Twitter executive Peter Greenberger, will allow the San Francisco-based company to tap China for advertising revenue, the company said, even if internet users on the mainland cannot see those ads.

Twitter collected $479 million in fourth-quarter revenue from advertisers who paid to inject their ads, known as 'promoted tweets,' into Twitter users' timelines. The company has 288 million users worldwide.

China's censors have blocked Twitter's microblog since 2009 along with US social media platform Facebook and Google's YouTube.

Beijing officials say this censorship is necessary to maintain social order. Twitter was credited with helping fuel the popular uprisings in the Middle East and has maintained a stridently pro-free speech stance to the extent that it has attracted international criticism for failing to police sexist and racist abuse.

Despite the ban, Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies and the state-owned Xinhua news agency use Twitter's microblogging service to reach a global audience.

Last year, the company downplayed suggestions it would seek to enter China, citing political hurdles.

Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Twitter-opens-office-in-Hong-Kong/articleshow/46515749.cms

Google chairman reveals company's ultimate objective

 New technologies are capitalizing on the jobs market and in the workplace, said Arianna Huffington and Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt at a London conference.

The Future of Work conference, staged at Lancaster House, looked at how technological advancements are changing the shape and even existence of traditional workplaces.

"While there have been a lot of concerns about machines and technology replacing humans, when it comes to jobs, in fact we are seeing that technology is allowing an enormous amount of new jobs to emerge," Huffington, editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post online newspaper, told AFP.

The conference, held on Thursday and Friday, brought together politicians, business leaders and intellectuals to debate the role of technology in tomorrow's workplace.

Schmidt is among the optimists, claiming that while some people accuse technology of being responsible for the world's ills, in reality it is often the solution.

He explained how several projects developed or supported by internet giant Google had created improvements in education in Africa and the health of diabetics.

Google's ultimate objective is to make people more intelligent, Schmidt said.

Meanwhile Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne, from the prestigious Oxford University, have produced a study which estimates that 47% of jobs in the United States are at risk of becoming automated in the next 20 years.

Philip J Jennings, general secretary of UNI Global Union, a Swiss-based international trade union, voiced concern about the millions of unemployed young people across the globe, saying it was essential to create a new social security net worldwide.

Several speakers insisted on the need for deep reforms to professional training to meet the challenge of huge numbers of jobs vanishing.

France's digital affairs minister Axelle Lemaire called for "major French companies to make innovation imperative and a factor for survival".

Eric Schmidt , Executive Chairman at Google .

Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Google-chairman-reveals-companys-ultimate-objective/articleshow/46483340.cms

Facebook plans to use solar-powered planes as well as satellites to provide free internet services in the remote and unconnected regions of India and also other developing countries. 

The social media company, which is spearheading the internet.org platform aimed at providing free web connectivity to remote regions, said it is working on developing a series of new tools that will aid the growth of the internet to the unconnected. 

"We are working closely on these technologies in our connectivity labs. They are in early stages of development," Facebook vice president of internet.org Chris Daniels said at the Mobile World Congress held here.

The company is trying to reach many of the unconnected areas in Africa and has similar plans for India. internet.org provides a host of applications free-of-cost to the unconnected areas and these also include a lighter version of Facebook. 

Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Facebook-plans-to-use-solar-planes-to-offer-free-net-access/articleshow/46461937.cms

 The main talking point at this week's Geneva car show is likely to be a vehicle that may never be built: The Apple car.

The world's automakers will gather in the Swiss city to tout their latest minivans, city cars and sport utility vehicles against an uncertain market backdrop, with growing signs of recovery in Europe offset by slowing demand in emerging markets.

But longer-term worries are also looming large. Reports that technology giant Apple may be building a car have got established automakers, who have spent the past 127 years refining the combustion engine, wondering whether they are still in pole position to build the car of the future.

The growing use of computing power in vehicles, and the ability of cars to connect to smartphones and other devices, is providing technology companies and automakers with new business opportunities — and increasingly making them rivals.

Thilo Koslowski, vice president automotive at technology market research firm Gartner, believes there is now a race between carmakers and tech companies to control the 'brain' of next generation vehicles.

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Apple-car-rumours-talk-of-town-at-Geneva-show/articleshow/46433241.cms

A new range of futuristic furniture has been developed that can charge smartphones, which that will bring an end to wire-filled rooms.

Swedish firm, Ikea, has become the first in the UK to launch a revolutionary range of furniture with built-in wireless charging spots, the Daily Star reported.

The phone-boosting fittings include tables, lamps and bedside cabinets. The new range will go on sale next month with prices starting at 30 pounds. 

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Now-furniture-that-can-charge-your-smartphone/articleshow/46418835.cms

Apple is moving into Silicon Valley headquarters that look like a spaceship. Facebook is expanding its campus with a new building designed by Frank Gehry. Now it's Google's turn. 

This week, Google, the search giant, is expected to propose new headquarters -- a series of canopy-like buildings from Heatherwick Studio, a London design firm known for works like the fiery caldron at the 2012 Olympics, and Bjarke Ingels, a Danish architect known for his innovative designs. 

The project in Mountain View, which Google has not made public but has discussed with members of the City Council, is likely to aggravate an increasingly testy relationship between the company and community leaders who fear the company is overrunning their small city. 

When Google moved here in 1999, it had a dozen employees and a search engine known only to computer aficionados. Now, its 20,000 local employees make it the biggest employer in a city that is bursting at the seams. 

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Google-plans-new-headquarters-San-Francisco-fears-being-overrun/articleshow/46394191.cms

Facebook is rolling out a new feature for suicide prevention that allows users to report suicidal posts on the social networking site and also contact a helpline or another friend for guidance.

Facebook has announced updated tools that provide more resources, advice and support to people who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts and their concerned friends and family members.

The new effort is part of a collaboration between Facebook and researchers at Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention, an interdisciplinary organization based in the University of Washington's School of Social Work.

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/social/Facebook-introduces-suicide-alarm/articleshow/46384965.cms

Cluster Computing VS Grid Computing

Cluster computing 

It is a type of computing in which several nodes are made to run as a single entity . The various

nodes involved in cluster are normally connected to each other using some fast local area networks . There are

mainly two reasons of deploying a cluster instead of a single computer which are performance and fault

tolerance. An application desires high computation in terms of response time, memory and throughout especially

when we talk about real time applications. Cluster computing provides high computation by employing

parallel programming, which is use of many processors simultaneously for a number of or a single problem.

Another reason is fault tolerance which is actually the ability of a system to operate gracefully even in

the presence of any fault. As the clusters are the replicas of similar components, the fault in one component only

affects the cluster’s power but not its availability . So, users always have some components to work with even in

the presence of fault.

Grid computing 

It is the segregation of resources from multiple sites so as to solve a problem that can’t be solved

by using the processing of a single computer . It employs use of multiple clusters that are loosely coupled,

heterogeneous and are geographically dispersed . Here individual user gets access to the resources (like

processors, storage, data etc.) on demand with little or no knowledge of the fact that where those resources are

physically located. For example, we use electricity for running air-conditioners, televisions etc. through wall

sockets without concerned about the fact that from where that electricity is coming and how it is being generated.

It is more popularly known as a collection of servers that are bound together to attack a single problem .

Grid computing is concerned about sharing, collecting, hosting and providing services to various consumers.