Haryana Boy Among 15 Google Science Award Contenders

A teenager from Haryana has invented a device to help patients of the dreaded ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease speak through their breath. His project is now among 15 shortlisted for the Google Science Fair Award 2014.

Arsh Shah Dilbagi, a student of Class 12 in one of the three DAV Public Schools in Panipat city of Haryana, has invented "Talk", an innovative augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device to tackle the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease. ALS is a neuro-degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to control muscle movement is lost, and patients in the later stages may become totally paralysed, says the ALS Association based in Washington.

Arsh submitted his project online in February.

Viber Launches Public Chats, a 'New Way to Get Behind the Scenes'

Viber, the messaging app that is now owned by Japanese company Rakouten, has launched the Public Chats feature that lets users follow and participate in public conversations.

The Public Chats feature, though being popularised as a way to follow celebrity chatter, can also be used by regular people - any of whom can start a Public Chat. The existing Viber users will be soon getting the new Public Chats feature and can choose the option from the main menu. To browse live conversations, Viber app users will have to select the 'compass' icon to search list of Public Chats to follow. Viber announced the Public Chats feature on Twitter and said, "We're excited to announce #ViberPublicChats a new social entertainment platform that lets you listen in on celebrity conversations."

Viber has also launched a separate Public Chats microsite to promote the new feature, where it's described as, "Public Chats is a new way to get behind the scenes with music, film, fashion, sports or whatever else you're into." CEO Talmon Marco revealed to Techcrunch the new Public Chats feature has been optimised first for Android devices though it will work on other platforms well, as long as they are running version 5.0 or above.

SAP CEO Rules Out Big Acquisitions in Next Few Years

German business software maker SAP is doing an about-face on its acquisition strategy and plans no more big new deals in the next few years, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Asked about potential acquisitions, SAP's Chief Executive Bill McDermott said emphatically: "Faced with a choice of stepping up or stepping it down, we are going to step it down."

"If we do something it will be tuck in. It will probably put you to sleep," McDermott said at Morgan Stanley's annual European Technology, Media and Telecoms Conference in Barcelona.

SAP is in the process of buying expenses software maker Concur for $7.3 billion, which is its largest acquisition ever and has earned SAP criticism for paying a rich multiple. That deal is set to close in the next three weeks, McDermott said.

He said that he would lay out a growth plan for each year and each business for 2015 through 2020 in January. "We are very confident for the future," he said.

Researchers Teach a Computer to Create Magic Tricks

A team of researchers in Britain have for the first time succeeded in creating magic tricks using artificial intelligence.

The researchers provided a computer programme the outline of how a magic jigsaw puzzle and a mind reading card trick work.The card trick is available as an app called Phoney in the Google Play store.

"Using AI to create magic tricks is a great way to demonstrate the possibilities of computer intelligence and it also forms a part of our research in to the psychology of being a spectator," said Peter McOwan, who worked on the project and is also a professor at the Queen Mary University in London.The magic tricks that were created use mathematical techniques rather than sleight of hand or other theatrics, and are a core part of many magicians' repertoires, noted the study.The tricks proved popular with the audience and the magic puzzle was put on sale in a London magic shop.

"Computer intelligence can process much larger amounts of information and run through all the possible outcomes in a way that is almost impossible for a person to do on their own," added Howard Williams, co-creator of the project. The AI can now use psychological and mathematical principles to create different versions and keep the audience guessing, said Williams.

Apple's Plans for Beats Music Service Taking Shape

Apple's plans for Beats, the company it acquired for $3 billion (roughly Rs. 18,634 crores) in May, are coming into sharper focus.

Apple intends to include its Beats music service in future versions of iOS, its mobile software system for iPhones and iPads, according to people briefed on the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Behind the scenes, Apple also is working to make the streaming music service cheaper for consumers.

It has begun discussions with record labels over new licensing terms that will allow it to drop the monthly subscription price for Beats Music to as low as $5 a month, down from $10 a month, according to executives briefed on those talks. So far labels have balked at that request, seeking a slightly higher price, according to these people. Apple declined to comment.

The price of subscription music plans has become a debated topic in the music industry, with some analysts saying that $10 a month is simply more than most casual listeners are willing to pay.

Estimates of the average listener's annual spending on music vary, but are usually around $40-$55 a year.

Now Book Auto Rickshaws in Bangalore via Ola Cabs

Ola (formerly Ola Cabs), after launching services in Nagpur, has started a pilot on-demand auto rickshaw service in Bangalore.

The company announced the news on Twitter on Tuesday, saying, "Yes, it's true. Bangalore autos are now on Ola. Check out the beta version on the Ola App." With the commencement of the on-demand auto services, Bangalore has become the first city where Ola has both auto rickshaw and cab services.

The company is touting the service as "beta launch of autos" on the Ola App. Media Nama reports that the on-demand auto service from Ola works similar to the cab booking service. It said, "The fare payable is the regular meter fare plus Rs. 10 as convenience fee. Interestingly, one has to enter the drop-off point before an auto driver accepts the booking."

As of now, the number of autos in Ola's pilot service is limited, which is said to be around 300, and each of the autos under the Ola service has been equipped with Huawei phones to track bookings, according to a report. Currently, the Ola auto service users will have to pay through cash. A report even suggests that the company is offering auto rickshaw drivers "quick training on etiquettes."

Ola Cab is currently offering each auto rickshaw driver a minimum salary of Rs. 10,000 alongside Rs. 1,500 as mobile charges per month, claims a report by Deccan Chronicle.

Ola on Monday launched its services in Nagpur, which was the fourth city in Maharashtra after Mumbai, Pune and Nashik.

So Close, So Far Away: Why Glasses-Free 3D Is Still a Fantasy

Glasses-free 3D, it's a concept that TV-makers have demoed at previous years' Consumer Electronics Shows, but a full-size, market-ready device has never been unveiled or announced.

At a press conference here at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Philadelphia-based Stream TV showed off what might be remarkable: a glasses-free 3D panel that the company says could show up this year, with compatible content from one of a number of partner providers.  The optimal experience, says Stream, is to use one of their so-called "Ultra-D" displays, with twice the resolution of a standard hi-def TV (or 2160p). But since Stream doesn't sell to customers, but rather to device makers and service providers, it's flexible.

The company will happily convert regular HD feeds to 3D, and do its best to display the results on just about any flatscreen. They'll even provide a remote-control-based slider, so you can adjust the intensity of said 3D on the fly.

Glasses-Free 3D Mobile Displays Are Finally Here (Almost)

A new advance by Hewlett Packard researchers, announced this week in Nature, could put 3D video in the palm of your hand within the next few years. The new tech is an autostereoscopic multiview 3D display. In English, that's glasses-free 3D imaging you can see from any angle.

Three-dimensional viewing works by making each eye see an image from a slightly different perspective, as we do when viewing real-life objects. Glasses make this easy, as they can filter out two simultaneously projected images so that each eye sees only one. But glasses-free 3D has been a goal of TV and mobile developers for a while now, because wearing 3D glasses at home is annoying, and relying on glasses to view 3D images on your tablet or cellphone would be downright ridiculous. 

Current or glasses-free tech works by projecting two images in different directions—as opposed to 2D screens, which have pixels that send light in all directions at once. The problem with this is that the viewer needs to stand within a strict viewing field. If the viewer's nose isn't precisely where it needs to be, his or her eyes won't pick up the right images.

Reliance Retail Launches Online Grocery Store, Starts Service in Mumbai

Reliance Retail, in a bid to expand its reach, has quietly entered the e-commerce market with the launch of an online store from where consumers can shop for groceries, vegetables and various other items.

The online grocery store, called Reliance Fresh Direct, will deliver the items shopped for by the user, on the given address. Users can order from more than 6,000 grocery products including fruits & vegetables, rice, dals, oil, packaged food, bakery and dairy items, frozen and pet food, household cleaning items, and specialised beauty & personal care products. "Taking another leap ahead, Reliance Fresh Direct makes your grocery shopping even simpler by bringing it to your door step.

No more hassles of sweating it out in crowded markets & grocery shops & supermarkets - now shop in comfort of your home; office or on the move & select from a wide range of 6000+ products," added the website's 'About' page. To start shopping online, users would need to create a Reliance Fresh Direct account. Users will also be able to add items to a wishlist, get advance notice on promotional items, check order status, and maintain personal address books.

Notably, customers can schedule their deliveries, which is a free service if the order being placed is above Rs. 750.

Jolla Teases 'Something Big' Is Coming on Friday

Jolla, the company formed by a group of former Nokia employees, has started teasing "something big" that's due to be unveiled on Wednesday.

The Finnish company posted teasers on its Facebook and Twitter handles with a tagline that said, "The countdown to something big begins now." The post also included an image that showed sides of the possible Jolla smartphone successor. However, multiple reports speculate about a launch of the first Sailfish OS-based tablet from Jolla. Jolla's official website is currently running a countdown to the November 19 announcement.

Considering that the first Jolla smartphone was launched in November last year. We can expect the company to announce the successor to the Jolla (Review | Pictures) on November 19. As of now, details about the upcoming device are limited.

The highlight of the Jolla smartphone is its operating system that is based on MeeGo software, which Nokia co-developed with Intel abandoned in 2011 when it switched over to using Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system. Notably, the Sailfish smartphone operating system also features Android app and hardware compatibility. The company last year unveiled the Jolla smartphone in Finland, followed by a launch in 135 other countries. In September, the smartphone arrived in India priced at Rs. 16,499 exclusively on Snapdeal.

It features a 4.5-inch Estrade (540x960 pixels) display, and a 1.4GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. The Jolla smartphone also has an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera alongside an LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera as well.

Spice Stellar 439 With Android 4.4 KitKat Launched at Rs. 4,999

Spice has launched the Stellar 439 smartphone in India, listing the handset with a price of Rs. 4,999 on the company's site. It is also available to buy from the firm's Saholic website at a best buy price of Rs. 4,099.

The Spice Stellar 439 is a dual-SIM (3G+3G) device which runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. It comes with a 3.9-inch (480x800 pixels) TFT LCD WVGA display. The smartphone is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor coupled with 512MB of RAM.

The Spice Stellar 439 also comes with 4GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB). Users would also get 2GB of Spice Cloud storage on purchasing the handset. It sports a 3.2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, while there is a secondary 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. On the connectivity front, the Spice Stellar 439 offers GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro-USB, Bluetooth and 3G options. The smartphone packs a 1400mAh battery with no word on talk time and standby time.

The Spice Stellar 439 handset looks a lot like the HTC One (M7) flagship smartphone that was launched last year. The handset features the same front-facing speakers on the top and bottom and a similar rear panel. It is listed in White, Grey and Silver colour variants.

Google Releases Android Auto APIs for Developing Audio, Messaging Apps

Google on Tuesday further advanced its Android Auto platform by finally announcing the availability of the platform's API for developers. Using the API and UX guidelines, developers will now be able to build Auto-optimised Android apps for audio and messaging.

In addition, Google is also letting developers extend their existing Android 5.0 Lollipop (API Level 21 or higher) apps "to work in the car without having to worry about vehicle-specific hardware differences." The added bonus will give developers a wider reach across various car manufacturers, regions and models. The Android Auto APIs will enable developers to make car-optimised audio and messaging apps. While the audio apps will enable users to browse through audio tracks, podcasts, and news from their Android devices to the car, the messaging apps will "receive incoming notifications, read messages aloud, and send replies via voice from the car," as mentioned by Google's Product Manager, Daniel Holle, on the company's Developer blog.

It is worth noting that although the Android Auto app APIs have been made live by the search giant, developers won't be able to publish their apps yet. More app categories will also arrive soon. The developers can however, stay up-to-date by joining the firm's Android Auto Developers Google+ community.

Facebook At Work platform ready to challenge other business services

Facebook looks like it could be about to trample all over Linkedin's action with the development of a new platform aimed at workers and business types.

Sources close to the social media giant have confirmed to the FT that a new service, being dubbed “Facebook At Work”, is being put together in London.

Although not ready for launch just yet, it is being tested by a whole host of companies, and is already used in-house by Facebook staffers.It is believed that there will be no crossover between personal and At Work accounts, with the new platform filled with tools that will make working easier. Insiders say that it will present a genuine challenger to Linkedin, Microsoft Office and Google Drive.

The new service will help Facebook get back into more offices – at present, it is banned from work computers in many companies, because of the amount of time that staff spend lurking on it.

Google develops 'smart' contact lens which tells diabetics their blood sugar levels

Google has developed a hi-tech contact lens which tells diabetics their blood sugar levels. The company announced it has produced a prototype of the ingenious device, which features tiny antennae.

The technology could potentially revolutionise the lives of diabetics by ending the need to carry out finger prick blood tests throughout the day. At present, sufferers prick their fingers and test drops of blood.

"We're in discussions with the FDA, but there's still a lot more work to do to turn this technology into a system that people can use," Google said in a post on its official blog.

Google said it planned to find partners, "who are experts in bringing products like this to market."

The world's largest Internet search engine, Google is developing a variety of new technologies outside its core business, including self-driving cars and balloons that beam wireless Internet to remote regions of the world.

Google Play App Store to Be Launched in China: Report

Google Inc plans to launch Google Play app store in China, The Information news website said, citing several people familiar with the matter.

The launch in China will give the company access to about half the users of its Android operating system, the report said.

The search engine giant exited China in 2010, citing repeated hacking attempts, potential loss of intellectual property and persistent censorship.Some of Google's web services remain blocked in China and the features will not be available in the foreseeable future, the report said.

Google last year discussed with the Chinese government about launching Google Play, the Information said.

Nevertheless, "it will be unclear until the last minute" whether the government will actually permit a launch.Google is reportedly looking to launch in collaboration with a partner. The company has approached handset manufacturers Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp.

Celkon Millennia Epic Q550 With 5.5-inch Display Launched at Rs. 10,499

Celkon on Wednesday launched the Millennia Epic Q550 smartphone with a price tag of Rs. 10,499. The handset is available to buy from major smartphone retailers and e-commerce websites.

The Celkon Millennia Epic Q550 is a dual-SIM smartphone which runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. The domestic handset maker has recently been pushing out Android KitKat-based smartphones such as the Campus Whizz Q42 and Celkon Colt A401.

The Millennia Epic Q550 features a 5.5-inch (720x1280 pixels) HD OGS display and is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor (unspecified chipset) coupled with 1GB of RAM.

It comes with 16GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD card (up to 64GB). It sports an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash, while there is a 2-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. The Celkon Millennia Epic Q550 features 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro-USB, and Bluetooth connectivity options.

The smartphone packs a 3500mAh battery which the firm says can last up to three days on standby mode. Celkon also touts its Millennia Epic Q550 to feature an 8mm thick unibody build. It is available in Black colour variant.

Karbonn ST72 Voice-Calling Android Tablet Launched at Rs. 6,248

Karbonn, more than a year after its last tablet, has quietly listed a new tablet named ST72 on its website. The tablet is available to buy from e-commerce websites starting at Rs. 6,248.

The dual-SIM voice-calling Karbonn ST72 tablet features a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels, translating to a pixel density of roughly 170ppi. As per the listing, the tablet runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat version and is powered by a 1.3GHz dual-core (unspecified chipset) processor alongside 512MB of RAM.

It includes 4GB of built-in storage and supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 32GB). The ST72 also sports a 3.2-megapixel rear and front-facing camera. Backed by a 2800mAh battery which offers up to 5 hours of talk time and up to 250 hours of standby time, the Karbonn ST72 tablet comes with 3G, Bluetooth, Micro-USB, GPS, FM radio, infrared, and Wi-Fi 802 a/b/g/n connectivity options.

The tablet features a three colour variants - White, Black and Grey. It measures 184.5x100x8.9mm, and weighs 290 grams. The device is available to buy from Amazon India and Snapdeal.

Why Did Google Decide To Split Inbox From Gmail?

A couple of years ago, right around the time Google’s Gmail team decided to start working on a standalone email app — the recently announced Inbox — a major redesign of Gmail was launched. As is the case with all Google products it was first released internally as “dogfood” to let Googlers themselves digest all the new features, or as was the case with this particular redesign, the removal of most of the advanced features. The Gmail team did not have to wait for the reaction for long. And it wasn’t very “googly.”

It caused an uproar teeming with disgust for just about every decision the Gmail product/design team made. Phrases like, “You guys just completely destroyed Gmail!” and “What are these crazy designers doing over there?!” were everywhere. From being spoken at many of Google’s cafes to every internal online forum.

Google engineers, in typical OCD engineer fashion, wrote long internal Google+ and forum posts detailing every single use case that was no longer supported, no matter how obscure. Hell hath no fury like a product team removing a feature an engineer had been using on a daily basis. 

Add to that the decision to turn words into icons and add white space between rows and Google engineers were ready to storm the Gmail product/design team office with torches, swords and in full knight armor (you’d be surprised how many Google engineers own that stuff).

After Divorcing Microsoft, Nokia Reveals The N1, An Android Tablet Hitting China First

Today at the Slush conference in Helsinki, home-town hero Nokia — the part of the business that did not get sold off to Microsoft, that is – has revealed its first device: the N1, a iPad-like small tablet with an aluminum shell, a 7.9-inch screen and the Android Lollipop OS. Selling for $249, it will be sold first in China by way of a manufacturing and distribution partnership with Foxconn and initially at least will be WiFi-only.

“They said Nokia is dead,” Nokia’s head of devices Sebastian Nyström, pictured below, said as he started out his presentation today. “I say, they couldn’t be more wrong.” After the N1, there will be more products to come.

He then launched into an emotional (for a Finn!) speech about Nokia’s focus on great design, engineering and a consumer focus — areas he said the company could not leave behind with the sale to Redmond.

You can see our a video demo of the N1 here. This the first device announced by the company since the sale of its devices and services business to Microsoft for over $7 billion. That deal prohibited Nokia from making smartphones or handsets for 30 months, up to January 2016, but that deal didn’t cover other devices. The other product from Nokia since then has been an Android homescreen, the Z Launcher. Now it’s clear that the Z Launcher was laying the groundwork for today’s integrated hardware news — it runs using the launcher, complete with the neat features that the launcher includes, such as the ability to scribble a letter on the screen to call up a specific app.