Hacked Twitter accounts can be more valuable than stolen credit cards

Hackers operate by the same rules of economics as we all do. Thanks to a high profile breach like Target's , a glut of stolen credit cards has made them cheap cheap cheap. So you know what's a more valuable target these days? Your Twitter account. 

That's all outlined in a new cybercrime report by RAND Corporation and Juniper Networks that delves into the economics of hacking. Days after a breach, credit cards along with home addresses and account information appear for sale in the black market. They're valuable at first-fetching $20 to $135 each-but quickly plummet in value, dropping to as low as 75 cents per account. 

Meanwhile, social media accounts can range from $16 to $325+ depending on the account. It's not just your followers that hackers are after. As social media has become part of the fabric of our lives, access to a Twitter account gives hackers access to a whole lot more. Michael Callahan explains it on Juniper Networks's blog about the report: 

Depth: Social media and other credentials include usernames and passwords, which can often be used as an entry point to launch attacks on that person's accounts on a number of other sites. Given the number of people that tend to use the same username and passwords, hacking one account can often yield other valuable information such as online banking or e-commerce accounts. By stealing Joe Smith's account information on one site, the criminal might gain access to his information on 10 sites. 

Reach: An individual's stolen account information can be used to spear-phish the accounts of friends, family and co-workers for additional financial gain. 

Silicon Valley is no country for old men

Dr Seth Matarasso is a cosmetic surgeon in San Francisco. When he started his practice two decades ago, his patients were middle-aged and female. Today, most of his patients are from Silicon Valley, and in their twenties. 

Tech is young people's business. This is an impression that has been reinforced by the images of a young Jobs and Wozniak, beaming over their prototype Apple II, or by Mark Zuckerberg telling a Stanford audience that "young people are just smarter" and companies saying that they want people who have "Their Best Work Ahead of Them, Not Behind Them."

The New Republic's Noam Scheiber looks at the extreme ageism of Silicon Valley. He quotes an engineer in his 40s who met a tech CEO who was trying to acquire the company he worked for. The CEO looked at him and said: "You must be the token graybeard." The engineer responded that he was the token grown-up . 

Snappy comebacks apart, Silicon Valley is notorious for its prejudice against older people. "In 2011, Google settled a multimillion-dollar claim brought by a computer scientist named Brian Reid, who had been fired when he was 54. Reid said colleagues and supervisors had frequently referred to him as 'an old man' and 'an old fuddy-duddy' ... ". 

Scheiber follows the attempts of Nick Stamos, a 40-something techie and former CTO of a billion -dollar tech company, to raise venture funding for his idea. Stamos gets steadily frustrated as VCs happily fund companies founded by pimply kids with half-baked ideas, throwing in good money after bad. The funders he talks to believe that his idea is good, and his grasp of technology is excellent, but when it comes to funding, they say nothing. 

Ultimately, the idea of young innovators may just be a mirage. About 15% of the winners of the Nobel prize in scientific disciplines are in their 20s - and the percentage holds good for 50-somethings as well.

How Employers Can Create a Sustainable Culture of Empowerment

A recent CareerBuilder survey suggests that 21% of workers plan to change jobs this year -– a 17% jump from last year, and the highest percentage since the recession.

For employers, this turnover rate can be a frightening thought, especially when you consider the potential impact that the loss of an employee can have on productivity and morale. In this competitive environment, many employers are likely wondering how to keep their brightest stars and how to bring promising fresh blood neatly into the fold.

Not long ago, Big Spaceship held a hack day, in which members of our crew could self-organize to produce anything that made our agency a better place. There were a number of results — from solutions for a healthy workplace to tools to appreciate daily moments of humor and joy. Big Spaceship has been evolving its culture for 14 years, but it wasn’t until recently that a printed book -– a rarity in the digital age -– would illuminate the ins and outs of our company values and what they mean to employees new and old.

In depth: The future of facial recognition: big brother or our new best friend?

The future of facial reconigiton

For better or worse facial recognition has become the technological elephant in the room. It's there, but nobody really likes to think about or talk about too much.

Despite the continued advancements of software and algorithms that would elicit gasps of awe in some of the other tech sectors, the ever-improving ability for machines to put a name to human faces is considered, in most cases, unwelcome.

Take Facebook's recent unveiling of its DeepFace research paper for example. The algorithm, which is still seemingly long way from being integrated into consumer-facing element of the social network, uses 3D analysis of human faces to identify them with a 97.25 per cent success rate. The human brain only can do a fractionally better job with 97.5 per cent.

As incredible as that breakthrough appears to be, you'll struggle to find reports that don't contain words like "creepy," "scary," or "stalkerish," just like the verdicts on Facebook's previous iterations of identifying tech, that have been protested in some countries and banned in plenty of others.

Which Version of Microsoft Office Is Best For Your Needs?

Which Version of Microsoft Office Is Best For Your Needs? is a post by Travis Pope from Gotta Be Mobile.

Microsoft’s Office suite of productivity apps aren’t just best in class. Chances are that if you’re have a business of some scale or are a student you live in Office’s Word, the suite’s word processing utility. With all of that utility and power comes a big problem: there are a handful of different versions of Microsoft Office 2013, all with their own unique features, distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Here’s how to cut through all of that noise and choose the version of Microsoft Office that is best for your needs.

Office 365

We’ll begin with the newest and most important version of Office, Office 365. To understand why it’s so important, you first have to understand that Office 365 isn’t a program in the traditional sense of the word. Yes, there’s still a local version installed on your computer, but instead of paying one flat fee for a version of Microsoft Office that never updates, Office 365 essentially allows users to rent five copies of Microsoft Office for $99.99 per year, or $9.99 a month. That’s right, Office 365 isn’t a one-time purchase. It’s a subscription service.

Subscribers to Office 365 get Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher and Outlook on their Windows 7, Windows 8 or Mac devices. They also get access to the mobile phone versions including Office for iPhone, Office for Android phones and Office for iPad. Office 365 will also sync your documents between multiple devices if you want it too.

Really, there are only two problems with Office 365. One is pricing. A standard version of Office 2013 Home and Student, includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for $139. While it’s true that copy can only be used on one PC instead of five and doesn’t include Access or Outlook, I still think it’s a better deal for anyone who doesn’t need those particular apps.

What happens when you stop paying for Office 365 is the other big issue. Users will still be able to read their documents in the online version of Office and in Office on other PCs, but their desktop version of Office will stop working if they’ve stopped paying on it.

For big families Office 365 is great deal. For any single person looking for Office 2013, picking up a copy of Office Home & Student 2013 is a much better deal over the long-term.

Office Online

Though not as new to the Office ecosystem as Office 365, Office Online is still a fairly new product for Microsoft. Think of Office Online as a web app like its Outlook email service. Microsoft continuously updates the suite’s copies of Word Online, OneNote Online, PowerPoint Online and Excel Online. As such, you’re always up to date. The trick is that Office Online lives in the web browser. As such, users need to be connected to the internet to use it.

Office Online ’s free price tag makes it great for anyone just looking to edit a few documents. Users can store and download any documents created in Office Online to their PC, Mac or any other device. Documents are automatically stored on Microsoft’s OneDrive service for free by default. These apps aren’t as feature rich as their Office 2013 desktop counterparts, though. I suspect casual users will be hard-pressed to find the difference despite this.

Office 2013

Lastly, there’s Office 2013, or what people traditionally think of when buying Microsoft Office. It’s literally a software package that users install on their PCs. Which version you choose depends heavily on your specific use case.

Office Home & Student 2013 allows one user to install Word for writing documents, Excel for making spreadsheets, PowerPoint for presentations and the OneNote note taking app on their PC for $139.99. As the name suggests, home users, students and anyone that doesn’t need Outlook are better off purchasing this version.

Office Home & Business also includes one install of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. It adds Outlook, Microsoft’s email and calendar utility and a bit more to the base price tag. This version costs $219. If you must have Outlook because you run a business or belong to a business that relies on Outlook than this is the way to go.

Finally, there’s Office Professional 2013. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and Publisher for making flyers, banners and newsletters. There’s also Microsoft’s Access database software here too, for those who really need it. This version costs a rather robust $399.99 and can only be installed on one PC too.

Buying either of these versions is great as long as you don’t need to install Microsoft Office on more than one machine. If you need more installs, paying for Office 365 could quickly turn into a better short-term deal for you.

Either way you go, Microsoft Office is the world’s premiere productivity suite. Millions of buyers use one of these versions of Office to get work done every day. Don’t be intimidated by your choices. Examine which apps you might need and which ones you won’t use. Office 365 is the only way iPhone, iPad and Android users are going to get their hands on mobile versions of Office, take that into consideration too. Look at how many devices you need to install it on and go from there.

IIM-Indore graduate gets Rs 32 lakh annual salary offer

A salary offer of Rs 32 lakh by a domestic company is the highest in the current year's placement programme at Indian Institute of Management, Indore. 

This year's highest offer is Rs 2 lakh less than best one last year. 

Without disclosing the details of the employer, an IIM spokesman said the highest package of Rs 32 lakh per annum was offered to a student of PGP 2012-14 batch for appointment in India. 

Various companies that took part in the placement programme offered jobs to all 475 pass-outs of the 2012-14 batch. The average annual package offered was Rs 12.13 lakh to the participants, he said. 

A total of 152 companies showed interest in taking part in the placement process and out of them, 41 came for the first time. 

The maximum (26 per cent) jobs were offered in the sales and marketing line while 24 per cent were from the consulting side. 20 per cent students bagged the opportunities in financial sector, 13 per cent in general management, human resources, 10 per cent in IT and seven per cent in operations. 

Earlier, IIM-Indore chairman K V Kamath distributed diplomas to nearly 638 students of different programmes during the annual convocation ceremony in the presence of noted historian and writer Ramchandra Guha. 

Addressing the pass-outs, Guha said the country is facing challenges in various fields and the nation badly needs good leaders in every field. 

Kamath also addressed the young managers and called upon them to become good leader in their respective fields as this is the right time to do so. 

He also expressed regret over collapse of a dais yesterday during photo session before the convocation in which nearly 24 students suffered injuries. Five seriously injured students were admitted to a hospital in Indore. 

Kamath has constituted a committee to probe the mishap which will submit its report within two weeks.

Executives to expect 15-20 per cent salary hike: Experts

With economic prospects looking better, executives are expected to see their pay packets increase as much as 20 per cent in the next financial, feel experts. Although the salary hikes could see significant variations across sectors, pharmaceutical and automobile industries are likely to see the maximum increases, HR experts said.

"The expected hike is estimated to be 15-20 per cent. It should be better as economy is looking upwards," HR firm Unison International's Managing Director Udit Mittal said. According to him, some multinational companies might also extend additional perks to their senior level executives.

Latest projections by executive search firm MANCER Consulting showed that middle and senior level professionals in the country are likely to get a pay hike in the range of 10 to 20 per cent. Similar increases could also been with respect to bonuses.

MANCER Consulting CEO Satya D Sinha said executives especially in the pharmaceutical, automobile and realty sectors, are expected to see better appraisals next fiscal.

While pharmaceutical industry is anticipated to get salary hike of 14-15 per cent, that in automobile segment is likely to 13-14 per cent. Real estate sector is projected to register 12-14 per cent increase in pay packets. Executive search firm Spectrum Talent Management's Director Vidur Gupta said that sectors such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and consumer goods sectors, that are largely dependent on domestic economy, could see significant hikes.

"With a general election to be concluded by the end of May 2014, many are looking to the country's next government to break India out of its economic doldrums. "A stable government will definitely have a positive impact on the overall economic condition and hence there will be something good for employees as well," he said.

Striking an optimistic note for the coming months, Sinha said services, mining, construction and infrastructure are expected to up their hiring activities as well as increase salaries.

"A hike of 2-4 per cent is expected in hiring in 2014. This is owing to positive growth in GDP and high expectations from Lok Saba Elections in 2014," he noted. Experts also opined that companies need to be careful while carrying out appraisals since there is need to retain performers and provide them with decent pay hikes.

LinkedIn cannot replace professional recruiters: Joseph Devasia

68% organisations avail services of professional recruiters to make the hiring process effective. 

In the age of social media, the charm of a professional recruiter still exists, simply for their ability to attract, assess and hire the best talent. As the war for talent intensifies, organisations are forced to use professional recruiters to assess and hire the best talent. And, nearly 68 per cent organisations are availing the services of assessment centers to make the hiring process more effective and flawless, revealed a study conducted by TimesJobs.com. This is because professional recruiters and assessors are better equipped to judge a candidate's suitability for the job, claimed 45 per cent of respondent companies. 

Joseph Devasia, managing partner, Antal International Network highlights five reasons why corporate need professional recruiters to source the best talent: 

LinkedIn cannot replace recruiters: You may often wonder why you need a recruiter when you have social media tools like LinkedIn. Here is a warning - you may think so at your own risk. LinkedIn cannot replace recruiters. It is a great aid in identifying people, who may be right for the opportunities we are hiring for. But there is so much more to recruitment than finding people. Placement, the end goal of recruitment begins when a recruiter calls a prospective candidate and sells the opportunity and interests them enough to say yes. From there on, through conversations after conversations, recruiter forges a relationship with the candidate to identify the reasons for leaving, the reasons for staying, validating if this is the right opportunity. 

Save on time & money: Most organisations assume that external recruiters are overpriced; and ask for exuberant fees; they need to change this assumption. If you calculate, organisations end up spending more money as well as time in advertising, marketing, interviewing, screening candidates, etc. Specialist recruiters save the company a great deal of time and effort as they do all the tedious work and bring only the best out of the entire lot after exhaustive screening and evaluation. 

Recruiters have access to the best talent: Recruiters have a very well connected network; they create their pipeline which includes only the best talent available in the market. Individuals are not always looking for jobs actively and hence, they do not usually pay much attention to the job adverts posted by corporates. As a result it is extremely painstaking to reach the passive talents who are already working for your competitor. However, for a trained recruiter this is their everyday job - to headhunt and build their talent pipeline. 

Recruiters have access to the best talent: Recruiters have a very well connected network; they create their pipeline which includes only the best talent available in the market. Individuals are not always looking for jobs actively and hence, they do not usually pay much attention to the job adverts posted by corporates. As a result it is extremely painstaking to reach the passive talents who are already working for your competitor. However, for a trained recruiter this is their everyday job - to headhunt and build their talent pipeline. 

Recruiters are aware of the industry pulse: Recruiters have experience and exposure to many companies and candidates, they are aware of the pulse of the industry and moreover they avoid mistakes in the hiring process by providing an in depth background check of a candidate or by following up on references, which in turn saves your time and capital.

10 emerging technologies for Big Data

1. Column-oriented databases- Column-oriented databases store data with a focus on columns, instead of rows, allowing for huge data compression and very fast query times.

2. Schema-less databases, or NoSQL databases- Key-value stores and document stores are some examples of schema-less databases which focus on the storage and retrieval of large volumes of unstructured, semi-structured, or even structured data.

3. MapReduce- This is a programming paradigm that allows for massive job execution scalability against thousands of servers or clusters of servers.

4. Hadoop- Hadoop is by far the most popular implementation of MapReduce, being an entirely open source platform for handling Big Data.

5. Hive- Hive- is a "SQL-like" bridge that allows conventional BI applications to run queries against a Hadoop cluster. It is a higher-level abstraction of the Hadoop framework that allows anyone to make queries against data stored in a Hadoop cluster just as if they were manipulating a conventional data store.

6. PIG- PIG is another bridge that tries to bring Hadoop closer to the realities of developers and business users, similar to Hive.

7. WibiData- WibiData is a combination of web analytics with Hadoop. It allows web sites to better explore and work with their user data, enabling real-time responses to user behavior, such as serving personalized content, recommendations and decisions.

8. PLATFORA- PLATFORA is a platform that turns user's queries into Hadoop jobs automatically, thus creating an abstraction layer that anyone can exploit to simplify and organize datasets stored in Hadoop.

9. Storage Technologies- As the data volumes grow, so does the need for efficient and effective storage techniques. The main evolutions in this space are related to data compression and storage virtualization.

10. SkyTree- SkyTree is a high-performance machine learning and data analytics platform focused specifically on handling Big Data.

Android apps infected with cyptocurrency mining malware

Security researchers have discovered new malware on Android devices that mines for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
The ANDROIDOS_KAGECOIN.HBT malware has been bundled with some popular apps in the Google Play store, some of which have been downloaded by millions of users, according to TrendMicro.
CPU mining code from a legitimate Android mining app, based on the popular cpuminer software, was injected into the apps to make them earn money for cybercriminals.

Digging deep

The malware mines for Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. Since mining uses a lot of battery power, the code only kicks in when the device is being charged, cleverly disguising the infection from users.
However, users may be alerted by the fact that their smartphone takes forever to charge or seems to be constantly hot.
The news follows a recent report on the Linux.Darlloz worm, which has also begun mining for cryptocurrencies on Internet of Things devices.
While mining on mobile devices is slow and not terribly profitable, these malware show that cybercriminals are willing to try their hand at anything to get money. Thousands of devices are believed to be infected.
Google has been informed of the latest Android threat.

DARPA calls for advanced big data ideas

The US military research agency DARPA has decided that cloud technology will be the next biggest thing to hit since the bunker-busting bomb.
According to V3, DARPA director Arati Prabhakar told a briefing on emerging threats with the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Intelligence that it is looking to come up with some advanced big data ideas.
She said that DARPA is creating a new set of cyber security capabilities that will ensure that networked information is trustworthy.
This is important for businesses because DARPA creates complex and sophisticated technologies for military departments, which are eventually rolled out to the public.
Prabhakar said that the tools DARPA are looking for will help it get a handle on the explosion of data. Instead of drowning in that data, it can actually get deep insights out of all of that information out there, she said.

Inflexible systems

The US's existing methods are not robust enough and the classic approach to complex military systems are so costly and inflexible that they are not going to serve the country's needs for the next generation, she said.
The data tools DARPA is developing will be used by intelligence agencies, such as the NSA, to improve the efficiency of mass-surveillance operations such as PRISM when sifting through data. But they also could be used to co-ordinate information from the battlefield from long distances away.

10 Gmail Hacks to Help You Master Your Inbox

Gmail has quite a few tricks up its sleeve.
The popular email service, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary on April 1, can do more than just send messages. There are shortcuts, customizable options and quick hacks that all users can optimize, as long as they know how to find them.

See also: 10 Simple Google Calendar Tips and Tricks to Boost Your Productivity

We've rounded up 10 tips and tricks you can use to become even more of a Gmail genius.

1. Keyboard shortcuts

Image: Flickr, electricnude

Have you ever wished you could press a few quick keys to do all of your Gmail actions? The email service has you covered. Here's a detailed list of keyboard shortcuts you can enable, from selecting and deleting contacts to opening your drafts.

'Industrial Internet Consortium' announced by tech giants

A group of major technology companies, including AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel have revealed the formation of a new industry group: the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC).
An open membership group, the IIC will reportedly focus on breaking down the barriers of technology silos to support access to big data, reports MBTMag. The group, which is not-for-profit, hopes to take the lead in establishing interoperability across the industry.
As to how it will encourage innovation, the IIC has said that it will deliver best practises, reference architectures, case studies and standards to ease new tech deployment. It also aims to facilitate an open forum for firms to exchange ideas and insights and build confidence around innovative approaches to security.

Fitting the pieces together

Founding members AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel will all hold permanent seats on a committee along with four extra elected members. The committee hopes to provide leadership to businesses looking to capitalise on the IIC.
The IIC is open to any business, organisation or entity with an interest in the industrial internet and improving critical relationships with leaders in technology, the Government and academia, the website states.
"As leaders we have come together to drive the ecosystem and market development of Industrial Internet applications and ensure organizations around the world can more easily create better services, access better data, and most importantly, seamlessly connect all the pieces together," said Bill Ruh, vice president, GE Global Software.

Instagram Hits 200 Million Users

It's a testament to Instagram's success that when Mark Zuckerberg revealed the photo-sharing service had crossed the 200-million-user milestone, it barely rated a mention.

The statistic arrived in the middle of an investor-relations phone call explaining why he had just purchased Oculus VR for $2 billion — or more than twice the price of Instagram. Zuckerberg's rationale: Facebook said it would be happy if Instagram hit 100 million users, and now they're at twice that. In other words, you can't always predict where these technologies are going.

Zuckerberg dropped the news a little early to make a point, it seems. Instagram's Tumblr made it official about an hour after the call, and added a few juicy details, including the fact that 20 billion photos (and counting) have been uploaded to the service.

More importantly, 50 million of those users signed up in the last six months, which means Instagram grew by roughly 100% in the last year. The 200-million figure is for monthly active users, Instagram said.

Given such strong growth, and the early appearance of ads on the service, it seems that Facebook got a much better deal than anyone knew at the time — especially as the final stock-based sale price closed at $735 million, rather than the $1 billion most of us remember.

Intel buys fitness tracker maker Basis

Chipmaker Intel says it has bought Basis, the startup behind the popular fitness tracker by the same name, for an undisclosed sum.

The deal, announced Tuesday by Santa Clara, California-based Intel Corp., comes as the still-nascent market for wearable gadgets is heating up. So far, a lot of these gadgets are fitness and wellness trackers. This includes the Basis band, which tracks users' activity level, heart rate, sleep patterns and other data.

 

 Just last week, Google released a version of its Android software tailored for high-tech watches and other wearable devices.

Intel says Basis Science Inc. CEO Jef Holove will now be general manager at Intel's new devices group. The Basis band will continue to be sold and the company's employees will work on ``future wearable initiatives.''

Facebook to buy virtual reality goggles maker Oculus for $2 billion

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc will acquire two-year-old Oculus VR Inc, a maker of virtual-reality glasses for gaming, for $2 billion, buying its way into the fast-growing wearable devices arena with its first-ever hardware deal.

The acquisition, which comes hot on the heels of its $19 billion deal for messaging service WhatsApp, marks a big bet by Facebook to anticipate the next shift in an evolving technology industry, at a time when consumers are increasingly abandoning their PCs for smartphones.

The world's largest social network was deemed late to recognize the shift to mobile devices and the company's revenue has only recently begun to recover from the late start.

Many in the industry believe that wearable devices could represent the next big platform shift. Google Inc has been testing Google Glass, a stamp-sized electronic screen mounted to a pair of eyeglasses for several years. Last week, it introduced an effort to develop computerized wristwatches.

On Tuesday, Facebook said virtual-reality technology could emerge as the next social and communications platform.

"The history of our industry is that every 10 or 15 years there's a new major computing platform, whether it's the PC, the Web or now mobile," Facebook co-founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a conference call with analysts and media on Tuesday to discuss the acquisition.

"We're making a long-term bet that immersive, virtual and augmented reality will become a part of people's daily life," the 29-year-old Zuckerberg said, noting that wearing the Oculus goggles was "different than anything I've ever experienced in my life."

Zuckerberg said Facebook was not interested in becoming a hardware company and did not intend to try to make a profit from sales of the devices over the long term. Instead, he said Facebook's software and services would continue to serve as the company's underlying business, potentially generating revenue on Oculus devices through everything from advertising to sales of virtual goods.

While Oculus will operate as an independent company, Zuckerberg stressed that Facebook's plans for Oculus extended well beyond games.

"Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face - just by putting on goggles in your home," he said.

In addition to game makers, Oculus has garnered some interest from developers keen on creating apps in areas like architecture, automobiles, marketing and education, the company has said.

Shares of Facebook, which have risen 25 percent in the past six months, were down nearly 1 percent at $64.36 in late trading on Tuesday.

Facebook's recent spate of acquisitions is somewhat concerning, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney wrote in a note to investors on Tuesday. But he said that for a company of Facebook's size, the deal did not seem "irrational."

"The question this time is whether Facebook is too early or simply betting on the wrong platform. This won't be known for some time. But if it gets the platform right, we're relatively confident that Facebook will develop an effective monetization strategy for it, thus boosting its overall financial growth," Mahaney said. 

8 Ways the HTC One Beats the iPhone 5s

8 Ways the HTC One Beats the iPhone 5s is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

The new HTC One (M8) has several features that will make iPhone 5s users green with envy. While I love my iPhone 5s for several reasons, I wish Apple would borrow some ideas from HTC for its upcoming iPhone 6.  Some of the differences are due to the HTC one simply being a Google – powered android phone, but many others are thanks to HTC’s smart design decisions.

The iPhone 5s is nearly identical to the iPhone 5, which launched way back in September 2012. Fast forward 18 months and the iPhone 5s is starting to show its age while the competition is heating up. Here is a list of eight ways the new HTC One beats the iPhone 5s. Are they reason enough for you to make the switch from iOS to Android?

HTC One’s Big Screen

The HTC One Display is Substantially Larger than the iPhone 5s Display

The HTC One features a 5″ display that delivers full 1080p resolution (1920 x1080 pixels). The HTC One’s display is an inch bigger than the iPhone 5s and is simply better suited for everything from reading news to watching movies.

It’s not that the iPhone 5s’s display is bad, it’s just that it’s stuck somewhere between 2010 and 2012. Apple introduced the Retina Display back in 2010 with the iPhone 4, kept it the same in 2011 with the iPhone 4s and stretched it out a bit in 2012 with the iPhone 5. Nothing changed for the iPhone 5s display in 2013 and now we’re stuck in in 2014 with an iPhone 5s with a display that’s too small for getting the most out of our 4G LTE networks and more powerful apps.

HTC One microSD Card 

The iPhone 5S comes with just 16 GB of storage space for $199.   An extra hundred dollars will bump that up to 32 GB and an extra $200 gets you a 64GB GB iPhone 5s. But what if an iPhone user needs more than 64GB? Unfortunately they’re out of luck since the iPhone 5s doesn’t have a memory slot.

The HTC One M8 Can Stow a microSD Card to Boost Storage

The HTC One M8 comes with 32GB of internal storage plus a memory slot that accommodates microSD cards ranging up to 128 GB.  That means HTC One M8 users can haul around up to 150GB of data, more than double the capacity of the most expensive iPhone 5S and nearly 10 times the capacity of the comparably priced 16GB iPhone 5s. Yes, HTC One M8 users will have to pay for the microSD card of their choice, but I’d much rather pay $39 for a 64GB microSD card when the time comes than running out of storage space. The HTC One M8 camera app can automatically store photos on the microSD card. Android 4.4.2 limits access to copying files to and from an SD card in some apps, but the ability to add storage is still a plus.

Apple really needs to up the next iPhone’s storage capacities to help manage all the HD content available in the App Store and the larger photo and video files the iPhone produces. Apple hasn’t moved the storage needle since it introduced the 16 GB iPhone 3GS four years ago. In fact, Apple’s reverting to smaller storage options by offering a 8GB iPhone 5c in some countries.

 HTC One Camera App and Highlights

The HTC One’s camera isn’t as good as the iPhone 5s’s camera when it comes to pure picture quality, but the HTC One’s camera app offers a lot of flexibility and extras.

One of my favorite things about the HTC One M8  is its Zoe camera mode. Tapping on the shutter button records continuous still photos and video simultaneously. This might not sound like too big of a deal, but it’s a godsend when trying to capture my active toddler and his friend’s antics. The resulting photos and videos are automatically remixed into multimedia videos thanks to the phone’s Highlights feature. I’ve spent way too many hours of my life editing and sharing photos using various editing  and sharing tools. None of them are as easy and satisfying as uploading a Highlight to Facebook, tagging a few friends and calling it a day.

Another feature that the HTC One has that the iPhone 5s does not is Duo Camera. With a couple of taps the HTC One can focus on a subject and blur out distracting backgrounds with the Ufocus effect. The back of the HTC One has an extra camera sensor that collects extra information. This allows users to refocus on different subjects. This creates a bokeh effect that mimics a look usually reserved for big expensive cameras.   Take a look at the example photo below before and after applying the Ufocus effect.

Everything is in focus in the original photo (above) of this fountain in San Francisco. The tourists in the background and the storefront are distracting.

With the Ufocus effect enabled the shot is tightly focused on the bronze mermaid and animals. Everything in the background is blurred to a point where you can’t see any details.

Better Google Integration

Google services and apps generally run better and are more refined on Android devices than the iPhone. That shouldn’t come as a surprise since user’s Google accounts are the core of the Android experience.

While Google does offer plenty of apps for the iPhone, many of Google’s best apps aren’t truly integrated into the iPhone. For example, holding down the iPhone’s home screen launches Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, even if the iPhone is locked. If you want to use Google’s voice search you have to unlock the iPhone using your PIN or fingerprint, launch the Google app, then speak. That means it’s usually easier to just use Siri than relying on Google Now when I’m using my iPhone 5s.

The HTC One offers nearly instant access to the Google App by simply tapping on the Google Search widget on the home screen or tapping on the home icon and swiping up from within any app. Instant access to Google voice search and Google Now makes life on Android just a little easier.

As a Google Glass user, the MyGlass app is important to me. Unfortunately, the iOS version isn’t fully integrated with Google Glass and that means I can’t send or receive messages on it like I can when I’m using an Android device.

HTC One has Better Speakers

The HTC One M8 has a pair of BoomSound speakers facing forward. They’re loud and produce stereo sound that’s far superior to the mono sound piped out of the iPhone 5s’s single speaker. It’s easier to hear movie dialogue on the HTC One than the iPhone 5s. Games and movies have more depth to them on the HTC One than the iPhone 5s because sound is actually split into left and right channels, just like when listening through headphones.

I can’t emphasize enough how much sense it makes to have the speakers facing forward. I don’t have to worry about covering up the HTC One’s speakers with my palms as I hold the device like I do when using the iPhone 5s to watch videos.

HTC One: Google Wallet and NFC

The HTC One supports both Google Wallet and the Isis Mobile payment solution. This means users can pay with their phones rather than credit cards at many retailers by simply tapping the HTC One when checking out. That might sound trivial to some, but it’s always nice to have alternative ways to pay.

Apple does offer Passbook, but it requires retailers to have a Passbook-enabled app and scan barcodes using a laser. Starbucks is where you’re most likely to see Passbook payments in action. While that’s a good start, Passbook simply doesn’t have the same reach as Google Wallet and Isis. Apple isn’t expected to support NFC any time soon. Google does offer an extremely crippled Wallet app for iPhones, but it really doesn’t do much of note. 

HTC One is More Affordable

The HTC One is already available from Verizon Wireless for just $199 with a contract. That’s $100 less than the 32GB iPhone 5s, but that’s just the beginning. Verizon’s already offering a free HTC One with the purchase of an HTC One, effectively hopping the price down to $100 each. If HTC and its partners are offering these kinds of deals right off the bat, imagine what we’ll see in a few months. Verizon has a bit of a head start selling the HTC One and we expect it to get more aggressive with its HTC One pricing once the competition starts selling the device on April 10.

HTC One Wakes Up Happy

The HTC one has a few gesture controls that make it easier to get to where you need to go from a black screen. A swipe up brings you back to the last app or action you were in so you continue where you left off.  Swiping right on the display launches Blinkfeed so you can quickly read an article or two when you have a couple of minutes to spare. Swiping left on the display when it’s turned off will bring up the first page of widgets and apps after Blinkfeed. Holding the phone when off in landscape mode and holding down the volume-down button launches the camera app.

The iPhone 5s goes to the last screen used when it wakes up. Alternatively you can launch Siri by holding down the iPhone’s home button when it’s asleep. Users can get into the iPhone’s camera app by waking the device and swiping up on the camera icon in the lock screen, but it isn’t as convenient as HTC’s method of simply holding down the volume button.

Experimental Gmail Feature For Promotional Emails Might Be Good For Marketers

The new Gmail has not been that kind to email marketers. Firstly, the service introduced an inbox classification which clearly labelled promotional mails as such, thus drastically reducing the open rates for promotional emails being sent by marketers and brands. Users now have a choice to ignore these mails and just look at the inboxes which are necessary. Earlier all mails used to be come through just one inbox and many users would open it. Now, that is not the case when it comes to Gmail users.

Secondly, Gmail now loads images in promotional emails from its own servers as opposed to images hosted on a marketer’s server. This makes it difficult for email marketers to track analytics.  Now, in order to balance their product for marketers, the service is experimenting with a new feature for the promotional email inbox.

According to a blog post put out by Gmail’s product manager, the company is asking users to sign up for a field trial which lets users switch between traditional view and a new visual view of the their promotional inbox.

Here’s a gif showing the experimental feature.

As you can see, users can toggle between the traditional inbox view and visual view by clicking on the views button on the top right hand corner.

This could be an advantage for marketers if they could provide a good visual impetus for their users to check out their communication and ultimately click through to the actual link. Pictures are way more effective than a piece of text and since the traditional inbox an additional step to reach the visual content compared to the visual one, there might be an increase in the number of user engagement with promotional mails.

Line Messenger Offers Free Talk Time of Rs 50 To Indian Users Only

In a bid to compete with WhatsApp and other mobile messaging platform LINE Messenger has launched a new scheme for Indian users. The Japanese mobile messenger is offering its users in India free talk time of Rs. 50.

In order to receive the free talktime, users will have to download the LINE characters in the Love sticker pack and then send these stickers to at least 5 other users in their contact list. Once you do that, you will receive a link to redeem talktime worth Rs 50. Do note that taxes are involved, so the actual talktime you’ll get might be less than Rs 50.

Both prepaid and post-paid customers on platforms such as iOS, Android and BlackBerry, can avail this service by following the above steps. The offer which is available for only India can be availed by users whose mobile number is registered on LINE. Valid valid from 24 March to 6 April, the offer can be claimed only once.

Last month LINE had tied up with Groupon to offer exclusive deals under Groupon Freebies. The Japanese messenger had entered India in July last year and soon crossed 5 million users, three weeks after the download. In October last year, the app 10 million users in India in October last year and over300 million global users in November. It is still way behind Facebook owned WhatsApp which has 35 million users in India and over 465 million users globally.

LINE Messenger is not the first instant messaging service that introduces such an offer in India and we expect more to follow. Hike messenger from BSB  ran a similar promotion last year. Indian customers were offered free talk time rewards in exchange for new signup and invites. The move from Line can be seen as a desperate action to attract users to shift to its platform at a time when the instant messaging market is becoming crowded with established and new players.

Facebook hits 1 billion mobile monthly active users

Not only is Facebook forking over around $2 billion (about £1.2b, AU$2.1b) for the company that makes Oculus Rift, it's also stepping out with some pretty heady numbers for its longer-standing properties.

First up, Facebook's first true love: mobile. Zuckerberg revealed Facebook now has 1 billion active users on its mobile apps. The company repeated its December 2013 figure of 945 million monthly users just last week, but clearly it was time for an update.

Furthermore, Zuckerberg said that looking at all mobile phone usage, more than 20% of peoples' time is spent on Facebook.

The company has made much of its "mobile first" approach, and it appears to be paying off.

Insta-success

As for Instagram, Facebook's first big payout, the photo sharing service revealed today that it has over 200 million users, with over 50 million of those joining in the last six months.

Users sat at 100 million when Facebook purchased the then-tiny team in 2012.

During a call with analysts to discuss the Oculus purchase, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Instagram is "already ahead of where we want it to be."

He assured Facebook won't make multi-billion dollar purchases every few months a regular thing, but with Instagram growing, WhatsApp expected to reach 1 billion people and Oculus Rift's potential as the future of computing, there's certainly some things Zuck is wiling to spend his bucks on.

Bank of India Allows Card-less Withdrawals At Its ATMs

Bank of India (BoI) has adopted a new methodology that allows people to withdraw cash at an ATM without needing a Debit / Credit card.

This week BoI unveiled an interesting and convenient approach to banking by allowing its customers the freedom to send money to other people and then allow the receivers to withdraw the same from their nearest Automated Teller Machines (ATM) without needing a Debit / Credit card. Though this system appears to be quite risky, the Bank has adopted multiple check–points to ensure deposit and withdrawal are secured and authenticated.

How does the transfer and withdrawal work? Under this facility, a Bank of India customer can send money to anyone using regular Bank of India ATMs or through Internet Banking. The primary interconnecting medium will be the receiver’s mobile number.

The sender has to provide the receiver’s Mobile Number, a special sender code as well as the amount to be transferred. The bank has allowed these details to be either transmitted via a simple SMS or via Internet Banking. The beneficiary will then be communicated about the transfer by the bank. The person then has to merely approach any Bank of India ATM, submit the sender code & collect the cash.

Currently, not all BoI ATMs are supported. The receiver will have to approach a BoI ATM that has the Instant Money Transfer (IMT) Facility enabled. However, the bank has confirmed that the facility will cover its entire ATM base currently numbering 4100 within 20 days.

BoI is doing this to enhance the ‘Financial Inclusion’ of the country’s unbanked population. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently allowed card-less cash withdrawal specifically to facilitate financial inclusion in the country. Interestingly, BoI also has the NRI community in its sights. Presently these people employ expensive Money Transfer facilities, but BoI technique will nearly eliminate the high ‘Processing Fees’.

Though not immediately clear, from a security view–point, BoI should mandate receivers to provide proof of identity as well. The facility isn’t restricted only for BoI customers. Being card–less, the IMT facility is extended to ordinary citizens who don’t have any bank accounts.

US to accept H-1B applications from April 1

WASHINGTON: Aspirants for the much coveted H-1B visa could start submitting their applications from April 1, a federal US agency has announced. 

As in the previous years, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas, which is most popular among IT professionals and companies in IT services. 

With the American economy recovering and much emphasis on information technology sector both by Obama Administration and the private sector, the demand for H-1B visas is expected to be met in the first few days of April 1, experts note. 

"Due to the high level of premium processing receipts anticipated, combined with the possibility that the H-1B cap will be met in the first five business days of the filing season, USCIS has temporarily adjusted its current premium processing practice," USCIS said. 

To facilitate the prioritized intake of cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases no later than April 28, 2014. 

Releasing guidelines for this year's filing process,USCIS said cases will be considered accepted on the date that it receives a properly filed petition with the correct fee. 

USCIS will not rely on the date that the petition is postmarked, it asserted. 

The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for fiscal year beginning October this year is 65,000. 

The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with a US master's degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap. 

"USCIS anticipates receiving more than enough petitions to reach both caps by April 7. 

The agency is prepared to use a random selection process to meet the numerical limit. 

Non-duplicate petitions that are not selected will be rejected and returned with the filing fees," it said. 

3 Survival Tips For Women In IT

After reading the latest horror story of “woman’s STEM career gone bad,” I was particularly surprised by one of the reactions to the sordid account of former GitHub employee, Julie Horvath. When I posted the news report to one of my social media accounts, the only negative response came from another woman, a highly educated former classmate, who conveyed skepticism and her belief that Horvath might have attracted the harassment. I replied that unfortunately I didn’t find this story surprising at all, just depressing.

What I didn’t say was how disappointed I felt by the lack of empathy in her response; it felt like one more expression of personal scorn. I was accustomed to receiving this type of response in the male-dominated tech community. But I expected compassion, not suspicion, from my accomplished female acquaintance.

The worst thing about being a STEM woman is the professional loneliness I experience most days. It’s alienating to look out over a sea of male faces, never seeing myself mirrored back. At some jobs, it has been common for me to go entire days without ever interacting with another woman, unless working with administrative staff.

While there seems to be a few more women in IT, they still haven’t managed to permeate some of the more testosterone-laced domains, such as networking. And when I finally do manage to secure a spot on a technical team with another female, we don’t really know how to relate to each other. 

Computers can now nail people faking pain

In the ever-expanding contest between artificial intelligence and the ordinary human mind, you can chalk up another one for the computer.

Scientists have developed a computer system with sophisticated pattern recognition abilities that performed much better than humans in differentiating between people experiencing genuine pain and people who were just faking it.

In a study published in the journal Current Biology this week, human subjects did no better than chance — about 50% — in correctly judging if a person was feigning pain after seeing videos in which some people were and some were not.

 

 The computer was right 85% of the time. Why? The researchers say its pattern recognition abilities successfully spotted distinctive aspects of facial expressions, particularly involving mouth movements, that people generally missed.

"We all know that computers are good at logic processes and they've long out-performed humans on things like playing chess," said Marian Bartlett of the Institute for Neural Computation at the University of California-San Diego, one of the researchers.

"But in perceptual processes, computers lag far behind humans and have a lot of trouble with perceptual processes that humans tend to find easy, including speech recognition and visual recognition. Here's an example of a perceptual process that the computer is able to do better than human observers," Bartlett said in a telephone interview.

For the experiment, 25 volunteers each recorded two videos.

In the first, each of the volunteers immersed an arm in lukewarm water for a minute and were told to try to fool an expert into thinking they were in pain. In the second, the volunteers immersed an arm in a bucket of frigid ice water for a minute, a genuinely painful experience, and were given no instructions on what to do with their facial expressions.

The researchers asked 170 other volunteers to assess which people were in real discomfort and which were faking it.

After they registered a 50% accuracy rate, which is no better than a coin flip, the researchers gave the volunteers training in recognizing when someone was faking pain. Even after this, the volunteers managed an accuracy rate of only 55%.

The computer's vision system included a video camera that took images of a person's facial expressions and decoded them. The computer had been programmed to recognize that one kind of facial movement combinations suggested true pain and another kind suggested faked pain.

"It's looking at what 20 facial muscles are doing in every frame of video," Bartlett added.

So why are people so lousy at spotting a faker? The human face transmits an abundance of information including expressions of emotion and pain. But people also are adept at simulating emotions, some are so good they routinely can deceive others.

The computer system proved far better than people at spotting subtle differences between involuntary and voluntary facial movements that underpin sincerity, the researchers said.

Emerging markets to help Vuclip reach 500 mn users: CEO

Helped by growing number of users in developed and emerging markets, mobile video streaming network Vuclip expects its userbase to expand to 500 million over the next few years.

The California-based firm -- that claims to be the world's largest independent mobile video and media company -- currently has 120 million users globally, including 20 million in India.

"As consumer interest for mobile videos continues to see rise exponentially, we expect more innovative concepts will be introduced by telecom operators, not just in India, but also in other geographies, like Telkomsel in Indonesia and AIS in Thailand," Vuclip founder and CEO Nickhil Jakatdar told PTI.

The company had about 40 million users as of January last year, which rose to 120 million this year, he added.

Jakatdar, however did not specify the time period for the company's target to reach 500 million users.

Concepts like Airtel's Re 1 store, which introduced users to mobile videos in a very simple and absolutely friction-free manner, is the way ahead and the firm will try to cash in on such strategies, Jakatdar said.

"That's where Vuclip comes into play. We are a strategic partner to telecom companies, not just in India but also in other emerging markets like South East Asia and Middle East and making them more relevant by powering their mobile video store," he added.

The company has so far raised Raised USD 40 million in funding from SingTel Innov8, NEA and Jafco Ventures.

Quoting from Cisco's Visual Networking Index, Jakatdar said mobile devices will consume three times more data than the entire desktop Internet by 2017 and two-thirds of the world's mobile data traffic will be video.

While video is most attractive in terms of getting the subscribers moving to data, the congested networks and device variability often kills user experience with endless buffering and crazy loading times, he said.

Vuclip takes away unnecessary buffering and with its patent pending technology the firm helps to kill initial loading and frequent buffering, Jakatdar added.

"Our users enjoy over 2 billion minutes of videos each month via a unique, unbuffered viewing experience regardless of network variability and on all devices from feature phones to smartphones," he said.

Vuclip has also released an update to its popular Android app to provide a highly personalised mobile video viewing experience through a new sophisticated recommendation engine and exciting social features.

The app also offers an offline viewing feature to users seeking to view high quality videos at their leisure.

Besides, it has also partnered with entertainment company Graphic India to bring popular film Sholay's legendary villain Gabbar Singh's backstory to mobile through animated comics.