Apple's Siri to Soon Understand Indian English

Siri can do several things that its Android counterpart cannot but one area where it has been lagging behind is its ability to understand English with an Indian accent. Rather frustratingly, we have had to fake an American accent to get Siri to understand our voice commands. It looks like that problem may be solved soon.

According to a report in 9to5Mac, Siri will soon start understanding English spoken with an Indian accent. iOS 8.3 beta 2 is said to add Siri support for languages such as English for India, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Thai and Turkish.

Our experience with Siri has largely been positive because we learned to fake an American accent for Siri. If you can't manage that, then using Siri can be frustrating. Siri also takes care of dictation on iOS and that makes support for Indian accents an exciting addition. Pretty soon you'll be able to write feature length articles without typing a single word.

Apple is reportedly planning to switch to a public beta process for future iOS updates. The company currently only allows developers access to beta releases of iOS in exchange for a fee. The move to a public beta, where anyone is allowed to test beta builds of software, will allow Apple to eliminate bugs in iOS faster. The company is said to be focusing on stability with iOS 9.

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in

Islamic State Uses Social Media to Groom British Muslim Girls: Report

Islamic State is using social media and the promise of adventure to lure British Muslim girls to join its cause, an anti-extremism think tank said on Monday, as police attempt to trace three London schoolgirls believed to be heading to Syria.

The three friends, two aged 15 and one 16, left their east London homes last week and caught a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul without telling their families. The Quilliam Foundation said there had been a concerted effort from Islamic State to use websites like Twitter, Ask.fm and Facebook to groom young girls into believing they have a moral duty and obligation to join the militant group.

For girls from conservative Muslim families in Britain, who may be denied the same opportunities as their brothers and male peers, messages offering the chance to "do something with your life" can prove tempting, said managing director Haras Rafiq. "Many of these girls are not allowed out, or to do certain things in society," Rafiq told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"When they are online, they are being targeted with messages of empowerment... 'Come and do your bit... Reject Western values - you'll never get what you want there'".

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in

NSA Chief Seeks Compromise on Encrypted Phone Snooping

The National Security Agency chief pressed on Monday for a compromise which allows intelligence services to snoop on encrypted devices to combat terrorism, within a "legal framework" to protect user rights.

Admiral Michael Rogers told a Washington cyber-security forum that he does not believe Americans should be divided on the issue of encryption which makes it nearly impossible for outside parties to gain access, even in some cases with a warrant.

Rogers endorsed the view expressed by FBI director James Comey on gaining access to encrypted mobile devices as necessary for law enforcement. Comey last year warned that law enforcement could be hampered in critical investigations after Apple and Google said they would encrypt their smartphones and give users the keys, making it impossible to hand over data even with a court order.

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in

OnePlus One to Get Stable CM12S, OxygenOS Builds in Mid-to-Late March

OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pei on Monday revealed CM12S will be released for the OnePlus One smartphone roughly alongside the stable build of OxygenOS in mid-to-late March.

Pei was responding to a user query on Twitter, and announced a March release of both builds apart from apologising for the delay. Pei later confirmed a more precise release date, of mid-to-late March.

In the meanwhile, OnePlus last week announced a contest that asks participants to submit a design for a OnePlus One accessory. Called the "OnePlus x Ultimaker Creative Contest," the contest was introduced on the company's forum. "As of now, you are the latest product designer for OnePlus. Create an accessory--any accessory you'd like--and design the cad file for 3D printing," the forum post reads.

As explained by the forum post, the contest requires participants to submit cad files for a new OnePlus One accessory, and to assist, the company has provided a 3D model of the smartphone to start off with. Submissions have to be posted to Ultimaker's YouMagine website. The team says "entries will be judged based on design, creativity, feasibility in 3D printing on Ultimaker, and quality."

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in

Gmail Auto-Complete Feature Malfunctioning for Some Users

You may want to be a bit careful when sending out emails using Gmail for the time being. The problem isn't affecting all users of Google's popular mail client (no problems to report from this correspondent), but there have been complaints coming in over Twitter and other forums of users accidentally and embarrassingly sending emails to the wrong people.

Users have complained that Gmail's auto-complete feature is showing a tendency to suggest less frequently mailed contacts when the first letter is typed in the 'To' field. A lot of people who are used to typing quickly and sending mails to frequent contacts are accidentally sending mails to people they may not have communicated with in a while. A lot of the complaints have users sending embarrassing or confidential information to the wrong people.

A simple fix to this problem would be to watch what you type, spend an extra couple of seconds on keeping your eyes on the screen and double-check all the fields before you actually hit the 'send' button, as should be the case with any potentially sensitive information that you send through Google's email service.

The Gmail team has tweeted that they are aware of an issue with auto-complete problem and are investigating. This was followed by another tweet early this morning mentioning that the issue has been identified and a fix is being worked on.

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in

Visa Europe Plans Credit Card-Cloaking That Could Pave Way for Apple Pay

Visa Europe has announced a new, more secure way for consumers to pay retailers via smartphones, a move that could set the stage for Apple's Apple Pay and rival payment services to be introduced into Europe in the coming months.

Visa Europe said on Tuesday it would introduce to member banks by mid-April a "tokenisation" service, a technique which substitutes random numbers for a user's credit card number when a merchant transmits transaction data, reducing the risk of online theft. New token-based security from Visa Inc, the former parent of Visa Europe, and rival card issuers MasterCard and American Express was considered by many experts to be a critical security enabler when Apple Pay was introduced in the United States last year.

The announcement is just one of several new payment services the London-based credit card giant is unveiling.

These include a way for card customers to send money overseas to other Visa users via their social media profiles on sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter or LinkedIn. Visa Inc, now a partner of Visa Europe, announced its own tokenisation service that went live in September, the same month as Apple introduced Apple Pay in the United States. In October, Apple Pay was released with support from top U.S. banks, card issuers but resistance from some major U.S. retailers.

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in

YouTube Kids Launched for Android and iOS, Now Available for Download

Google on Monday officially launched the YouTube Kids app for Android and iOS platforms for the US. The company had revealed the launch plan last week on Thursday saying that the app is built with children and their parents' concerns in mind. It has not revealed plans for a global launch.

"Today [Monday], we're introducing the YouTube Kids app, the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind. The app makes it safer and easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore," said the company on the YouTube blog.

The YouTube Kids app for Android and iOS can be downloaded by the users in the US via the respective app stores. Google has also said that the app will soon be available on Kurio and nabi kids' tablets.

The YouTube Kids app, designed for "curious little minds", provides age-appropriate videos, channels, and playlists for the young ones. Google says that the app has taken out the complicated stuff and uses big buttons, easy scrolling, and instant full-screen interface for kids to navigate easily.

"Kids can enjoy favourites like Sesame Street, Thomas & Friends, and Dreamworks, online hits like Mother Goose Club, TuTiTu, and Super Simple Songs, plus anything else they're into - music, gaming, science, crafts, and more," notes the app description.

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in

Apple Acquires Music Software Maker Camel Audio: Report

Apple has reportedly acquired Camel Audio, a popular music software developer, as per an official document pertaining to Camel Audio's corporate registry.

A pdf file (via Macrumors) on the firm's corporate registry site Companies House shows the new address for Camel Audio as 100 New Bridge Street, which is currently Apple's London office address. In addition, the company's Director is Heather Joy Morrison, the name of the iTunes Senior Counsel in Europe.

Neither Apple nor Camel Audio have not confirmed the acquisition. Camel Audio however hinted at a buyout by an unknown firm early last month when it stopped purchases of its software without prior notification, as per a report which produces a message displayed by the company on its website.

For those who unaware, Camel Studio is popular for its Alchemy software, which features plug-ins, virtual synthesisers, effects, sound libraries and more for creating music. The website now guides users to its support page. It can be only guessed for now as to how Apple will integrate Camel Audio's products into its ecosystem. However, it is being speculated that Camel Audio may be used future versions of Logic Pro X, Apple's software for professional musicians.

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in

Apple Emoji Get Racial Diversity in Next iOS Update

Apple is preparing to release non-white faces in its line-up of the cartoon faces used to liven up text and email messages, news reports said.

In its next update of the icons, the faces will be available in six different skin tones, US media reported late Monday.

CNN's website said these are just some of 300 new emojis included in the latest developer version of iOS 8.3.

But the new icons won't be available to the public until the update is released later this year, CNN added.

The task is not simple. The keyboard of illustrated icons is based on Unicode, the standard for text, numbers and emojis across all platforms. Emoji originated in Japan and were added to the Unicode Standard in 2010, CNN said, and Apple first included them in iOS in 2011.

"Apple supports and cares deeply about diversity, and is working with The Unicode Consortium to update the standard so that it better represents diversity for all of us," said an Apple spokesperson, according to CNN.The Unicode Consortium sets international rules for text and characters to insure consistency across platforms.Major companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and IBM use it.

For More Details:-
RMP Infotech
www.rmpinfotech.in