Mozilla Wants You to Help Redesign Its Logo

Mozilla’s New Logo – New Visual Identity

Mozilla will be given a new logo this fall and would be getting a completely new visual identity. The open-source software firm is not aware of what it could look like though it would probably take after one of the seven identities that had been developed by London firm Johnson Banks.

These could be viewed online and could also be evaluated. Mozilla’s creative direction and the lead on the project, Tim Murray had stated that instead of conducting a brand refresh behind closed door, they thought of a better or different way to do it. That `way’ meant publishing each repetition of the design process to Mozilla’s blog and request people to weigh in.

Murray does not seem to have a concrete indication of how that input could shape the ultimate look though he states that commenter would in some way inform the final design in making this a most unusual rebranding. Murray comments that in the present world, over 50% of the people tend to say they hate new logos and he thought of giving people an opportunity of participating earlier and getting that feedback early.

Net Neutrality/Open Source Internet

Characteristically this approach seems to make some sense for Mozilla and the non-profit trusts in net neutrality and an open source internet. Hence a transparent rebranding seems ideologically appropriate. Overall, the process is already getting enough attention in helping Mozilla to achieve its goal which is to stand apart from Firefox, the marquee product of the company.

It is difficult to say if the comments would be helpful though a lot of people would certainly say yes. This comprises of the designers behind the Mozilla project. Michael Johnson, the Johnson Banks creative direction in charge of the Mozilla project comments that certain people take the view that brand identity designers like themselves should be like architects and lawyers. An architect of lawyer does not provide you with multiple solutions. With most of their clients they seem to be like that.

Approach of Mozilla Helpful

Jim Bull, the co-founder of Moving Brands studio who had spoken regarding how popular opinion shapes design, commented that `it is definitely a feature of most branding conversations and how are we going to launch it and talk about what it is? He believes that clients started caring about the public’s opinion around ten years back. He further added that he has never been one of these designers to say that, as designers, they know best, or that they know some secret language.

If something is not loved, there could probably be something which is done to make it not loved and that is the guiding philosophy at Mozilla. Its rebranding is among the most inclusive to date apart from crowd-sourced or open-invite design competitions, such as the one held recently by the 2020 Olympic Tokyo Organizing Committee.

The approach of Mozilla could be helpful in taming commenters in the near future. Johnsons states that by offering a window into how complicated it would be to create not just a logo but a complete organized visual program. Meanwhile, the Johnson Banks team together with Mozilla seem to inspect the comments rolling in. Johnson comments that it is a roller coaster ride and occasionally punishing.

Self Driving Two Person 'Cyclotron' Bike

Cyclotron Maintains Stability Utilising Gyroscope

Focus on automated vehicles has been directed towards cars and trucks. The ultramodern concept vehicle dubbed the Cyclotron tends to transport two passengers at a time and does nothave to worry about the road ahead.

The designs for the two wheeler looks like a cross between the vehicles from Sci-Fi movies Tron and Minority Report, which demonstrates a face to face ride where the passengers can get familiar while touring the city.Charles Bombardier, a mechanical engineer had explained in an article for a website that the concept vehicle would maintain stability utilising a gyroscope, which would keep it upright in spite of it coming to a halt.He commented that two passenger could sit facing each other with a rare opportunity to relax, converse or get to know one another.

The purpose of the electric vehicle design is to minimize the human footprint and would be capable of running in every season with the electric motor driving both wheels for enhanced traction during winter. Bombardier had developed the concept with industrial designer Ashish Thulkar and had explained that the design had been inspired by the Tron light cycle and the C1 prototype vehicle from Lit Motors.

Adjustable Seats – Adequate Space for Leg/Head

Cyclotron tends to recharge wirelessly and could probably buy as well as sell electricity in real time based on price fluctuations with the other vehicles. The interior of the vehicle seems to be a bit cosy with its two passengers seated face to face.

The adding of adjustable seats can ensure adequate space for leg and head with the passenger getting in and out through the butterfly doors, which makes the concept bike, appear like a high-tech insect. Bombardier, in his blog sets a number of concept vehicles intended at inspiring the future generations of designers. Over 200 concept cars together with bikes, planes, trains and space vehicles had been considered with industrial engineers from across the world.

Even after Tron hit cinemas for three decades, its effect on the advanced design indicates no signs of slackening down. The Cyclotron bicycle tends to borrow the look as well as the name from the science-fiction film with a design which has been unmistakably centred on the Light Cycle especially its two illuminated spokeless wheels.

Wheels Hubless – Utility Slot Modules

Moreover, the visually striking wheels `radiances’ tend to turn by themselves on in low-light conditions, helping as an additional safety measure by increasing the visibility. This seems to last for eight hours only on battery alone. The red laser lines can project rearward to mark a bike lane for precaution. The wheels seem to be hubless enabling what according to the designers is known as USMs or Utility Slot Modules, which are said to be storing vessels intended to fit within the wheel where the spokes could be in the traditional wheel.

Though it seems to be a great concept, it is left to be seen how the additional mass in the wheel would affect the gyroscopic effect. The base of the Cyclotron is said to be a manual 12-speed though the top-of-the line model tends to provide more secrecy along with an electronic gearbox which seems to move under a fifth of a second even when it seems to halt. Those who prefer to enjoy the ride could enable an automatic mode wherein the gearbox tends to do all the shifting for you.

This MS Paint-like tool lets you search for images by drawing them

Latest Search Feature - MS Paint-Style Sketch

Microsoft Paint is the basic computer graphics program which is found on several personal computers having Windows operating system. The images that are developed within MS Paint seem to be typically saved as GIF, Windows bitmap, PNG, TIFF or JPEG files. Initially MS Paint simply permitted the users to create black and white images though users can now paint a full array of colours by using simple user friendly tools.

Painting tool is a function in graphic editing or painting program which is utilised to alter the area of the canvas or an image by adding paint strokes or filling in the area with colour. The most shared painting tools are the pencil and the brush that are present in any kind of drawing or painting program from simple ones such as MS Paint right up to professional graphics software like Photoshop.

An unconventional latest search feature which enables the user to contribute a Microsoft Paint-style sketch of what one would be considering, provides various suggestions for landscapes, portraits, animals together with travel photography, has been unveiled by photo-editing and storage app 500px. The feature is known as Splash and seems to be great one since Jake Gyllenhaal seems to be everywhere.

Colour Splash Effect

Splash was tested by sketching Jake Gyllenhaal explaining the word `separate’ on Sesame Street in 2009 with the support of a puppet octopus. Jake Gyllenhaal speaking to a puppet octopus did have some similarities to an image of a child who is given a free balloon and appealing facial expressions before a green screen is said to be the specialty of Jake.

Since Splash could perform well in generating the first Jake Gyllenhall mood board something more complicated was attempted - Jake Gyllenhaal in the 2001 Donnie Darko film, carrying an axe. Though the mood of the film Donnie Darko was not picked up by Splash, it did a good job of considering just how happy any photo of Jake Gyllenhaal at any stage of his life makes one feel.

The smallest brush that is available in Splash is somewhat large and can capture the essence of the moment. The Colour Splash Effect enables the user to play with colour in their image. Painting tools can be utilised in painting a single pixel or colour a complete canvas, where each kind of painting tool tends to have its own set of functions and options which could be used in creating unique art styles.You could learn to use this feature by the following guidance and then share your image edits with hashtag #ColorSplash!

1. Open Effects Menu

Image can be opened in the Editor by tapping on Effect and then opting for Colours Section

2. Select Effect & Colour 

On tapping Colour Splash, select the Effect and then drag the cursor over the colours you would prefer to appear in the image.

3. Adjust Hues 

Utilising the sliders, adjust the maximum and minimum hues and when done, you could tap on the gear icon to exit the setting menu

4. Confirm

Tap on Apply to relate the Effect and tap on the check mark in order to confirm. Thereafter save your task performed and share it with the hashtag #ColorSplash!

Sony, DJI and Lenovo Show off New Smartphone Camera Tech

It was at the IFA tech show held at Berlin that a new kit had been announced, the kit enhances camera products. The gadget helps in making videos shot on smartphones seem as if they have been recorded using a Steadicam and at the same time, a plug in that reduces the cost of 360 photography. However the flagship phone of Sony also has come up with some new photography features of its own.

Carolina Milanesi’s take 

One of the consumer tech analyst, Carolina Milanesi ofCreative Strategies mentioned that since people nowadays are always with their phone in hand, vendors are aiming at adding on things to sell to them. The camera is one of the most used features however the price also matters because when a vendor is considering charging a price of $300 [£226] for a mere add on could lead to customers opting to by a separate device in itself.

Snap-on zoom

Lenovo's Moto Z phone with its snap on accessory will be a true judge to check customer’s willingness to up their budgets. A 10x optical zoom is provided by the Hasselblad True Zoom which has superior results in comparison normal smartphone cameras that make use of digital cropping. Users would be able to take Raw photos which enables users to alter the pictures better thus making them more detailed tan Jpegs by using editing software’s. The accessory cost is half of that of the Moto Z which is £199 however it is still cheaper than the camera accessory DxO One of the iPhone which is £399 and launched last year. Reviews claim that DxO One provides better quality in comparison to Hasselblad.

Steadier shots

Sony is emerging a camera add-on of its own - the life-logging Xperia Eye. However its major focus is on new smartphone, the Xperia XZ. The firm gloats it is the main handset camera to highlight five-pivot picture adjustment, which means it can make up for the gadget being up and down and left and right off its imprint notwithstanding pitch, yaw and roll.

This component was beforehand constrained to top of the line cameras, including Sony's Alpha extent. Be that as it may, in the phone, the adjustment is accomplished by adding a product impact to the recording as opposed to moving the sensor about, as the cameras do. Subsequently, it is less powerful.

Additionally, the phone can utilize the capacity just when recording video in 1080p superior quality, and not the 4K resolution it is prepared to do. Different developments incorporate the presentation of a laser-based self-adjust framework - a component spearheaded by LG's before G3 telephone - and new shading detecting tech incorporated with the sensor that helps it make white-parity judgements. "I trust it's a bit excessively specialized, making it impossible to resound with most purchasers," said Mr.Jijiashvili. What's more, when I saw the adjustment illustrated, it wasn't an awe-inspiring change. That is an issue for Sony.

Cinematic shots'

Drone-maker DJI is aiming phone owners with disposable income for its new stabilization system. A handheld support Osmo Mobile known as gimbal, makes use of motors controlled by computers which help in stabilizing the attached smartphone across three axes.

This device may be used on phones from Apple, Huawei and Samsung and ensures to capture cinematic shots. Costing £289, it is a lot more expensive than other rivals in the market such as Feiyu and Zhiyun. At the same time, Steadicam produces stabilizers of a lower cost which do not require batteries or motors. The original DJI Osmo which is approximately 60% more in price and comes with its own camera has been highly appreciated by those who wish to make more professional videos.

360-degree views

Though not the most advanced in the market, the camera add ons of Alcatel’s are low in terms of cost when it comes to virtual reality or 360-degree interactive photos. French firm Alcatel’s 360 camera has two versions, one is rectangular in shape, while the other is ball –shaped.

Both are used in the same manner by plugging it into the phone and they both comprise of the same features. It costs a mere 99 euros which is cheaper by more than fifty percent of rivals such as Samsung, LG and Theta. However customers would have to wait for at least another year until the add on is compatible with other handsets.

Alcatel makes used of the processor, memory and battery in the phone itself since it is connected to the phone via the MicroUSB port mentions George Jijiashvili of CCS Insight. Since both Facebook as well as YouTube are promoting 360-degree content there is a distribution to almost 1. 6 billion people.

Here's How to Install Android Nougat on a Nexus Right Now

Google’s Latest Version – Android 7.0 Nougat

Google had rolled out the latest version of Android 7.0 Nougat to some innovative Nexus devices and the over-the-air –update that added features such as improved multi-tasking as well as enhanced notification control would be out to user soon.

However if one intends to have a Nougat immediately, there is a method. Initially one would need to ensure that they have a compatible device which means either a Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C tablet or a General Mobile 4G. You could then sign up for the Android Beta Program, utilising the same Google account the one to be used on the chosen device. Thereafter opt for the handset or tablet one would prefer to enrol and on accepting the terms, you could click Join Beta.

If your phone or tablet is not among them you could look out for Android Nougat release date article on the latest details regarding when one would get the update. A newer and high-profile device would probably get the taste of Nougat much sooner. The update is set to take place in stages and some of the carriers would be receiving the update later than the others.

Nougat – Plenty of New Features

It would be apparent when the update would be available for the device since Nougat would be pushed to devices as an over-the-air software update and one would get a notification when the same is available. Google had stated that it would take around 24 hours to send the updates to the device though the staff at Verge observed that it generally occurs within seconds.

You need to be connected to Wi-Fi for the download but overall it seems to be a very simple procedure. When Nougat is installed, one could get access to split-screen, which is a system-wide quick reply system for the apps as well as a virtual cat-catching game.

The upcoming handsets like the LG V20 and new Nexus phone would be among the first to launch with Android Nougat and avoid updating if one tends to get one of them. Either way, Android Nougat is worth it since it adds plenty of new features like the capabilities of replying directly to notifications without leaving the screen one may be on, together with new quick settings menu, besides multi-window mode enabling the user to run two apps simultaneously.

Improved Battery Efficiency/Doze Mode

Besides this, it also has improved battery efficiency with Doze Mode together with general performance enhancements. If considering on backing up the device, ensure that the built-in backup feature is enabled. To get this done, the user could go to `Setting > Backup & reset, and ensure that both `Backup my data’ and `Automatic restore’ are checked.

One could also back up photos by plugging the Android device to a PC through a USB and view the phone in Windows or Mac OS X, surf to the DCIM folder and duplicate the folder or its contents. To ensure that you have backed up everything, you could check out the comprehensive guide to backing up your Android device.

EU to hand Apple hefty Irish tax bill

EU Orders AAPL.O to Pay Hefty Tax Bill

Recently, Apple-AAPL.Ohad been orderedby the European Commission antitrust regulators to pay up 13 billion euros around $14.5 billion, by way of taxes together with interest to the Irish government after ruling that a special scheme to route profits through Ireland had been illegal state aid. It is said that Commissioner Margrethe Vestager would be holding news conference on antitrust case towards noon (1000 GMT) in Brussels.

In spite of the subject of the case not provided, she was expected to feature her verdict on why a deal which had stimulated the U.S. tech giant to route vast profits through Ireland had broken EU state aid laws apart from government giving some firms unfair advantages.The decision is probably to annoy Washington who hadblamed Brussels of disturbance against the corporate success stories of U.S.

Ireland had been accused by the European Commission in 2014 of evading international tax rules by permitting Apple to house profits amounting to tens of billions of dollars from tax collectors for maintaining jobs. The accusation had been rejected by Apple as well as Ireland and both have stated that they would be appealing any contrary decision.

Decision – Reverse Engineered

The source had mentioned that the Commission would recommend a figure in back taxes, expecting it to be collected though it would be the decision of the Irish authorities to calculate precisely what are maintained. An excess bill of 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) would have been more far more than the 30 million euros each the EU had earlier ordered the Dutch authorities to pull through, for their tax deals, from U.S. coffee chain Starbucks and Luxembourg from Fiat Chrysler.

 It is said that both the companies have appealed those decisions. In 2014, when it had opened the Apple investigation, the Commission had informed the Irish government that the tax decisions agreed in 1991 and 2007 with the iPhone maker amounted to state aid and could have broken the EU laws.

The Commissioner had mentioned that the decisions were reverse engineered to make sure that Apple had the nominal Irish bill. The minutes of meetings between the representatives of Apple as well as the Irish tax officials had indicated that the tax treatment of the company had been inspired by employment considerations.

EU Executive’s Tax Investigations – Departed from International Taxation Standards

Apple tends to hire 5,500 workers or about a quarter of European based staff in the Irish city of Cork where it seems to be the largest private sector employer stating that it paid 12.5% rate of Ireland on all the income which it tends to generate in the country.

The low corporate tax rate of Ireland which had been a cornerstone of economic policy for 20 years, had drawn investors from most of the important multinational companies, where the staff accounts for nearly one in 10 workers in Ireland. Dublin had been urged by some opposition Irish lawmakers to accumulate whatever tax the Commission tends to order.

 However, the foremost opposition party Fianna Fail, supporting the minority administration relies on passing laws stated that it would assist an appeal depending on the reassurances it had been provided by the government so far. Last week the U.S. Treasury Department had published a white paper which stated that the EU executive’s tax investigations had departed from the international taxations standards and could have been an enormousinfluence on the companies in U.S. The Commission had stated that it tends to treat all companies likewise.

FSS Launches New Authentication Platform For Online Transactions

FSS Launched FSS Access Control Service – Secure Authentication Platform

Financial Software and Systems – FSS,the payments technology and transaction processing company, has launched FSS Access Control Server, which is a secure authentication platform that tends to support 3-D Secure Protocol, permitting Card issuers and acquiring banks with the provision of safety to customers at the time of online transactions.

FSS Access Control Server in Mumbai had been launched by Mrityunjay Mahapatra, Deputy Managing Director & CIO, State Bank of India. As per FSS, this platform tends to strengthen the prevailing digital security contributions and matches with the line-up of the services and products provided by it.

The server is said to be Visa and MasterCard certified authentication platform, offering two-factor authentication, which is an extra layer of security for eCommerce and mCommerce transactions. The company had announced recently that utilising FSS Access Control Server Card Issuers and Acquiring Banks tend to protect their customers from the deceitful practice at the time of transactions thus increasing the confidence of the customers as well as the merchant.

The president of Software Products, FSS, Suresh Rajagopalan stated that their highly configurable as well as modular solution would support Card Issuers and Acquiring Banks in controlling as well as in reducing frauds, transactions friction, enhancing end-customer experience.

E-Commerce – Substantial Increase in Card-Linked Cyber Frauds

Mr Rajagopalan had mentioned in a press release that the growth of e-commerce has given rise to substantial increase in card-linked cyber frauds that have become a big cause for concern among performers in the eco-system.He adds that the accomplishment of e-commerce is based on customer trust which can be constructed only by providing the best-in-class controls for data security as well as a safe and secure together with extremely available environment for transacting.

The FSS Access Control Server tends to offer licensed as well as hosted models and tends to assist financial institutions where the data seems to be keep apart and PA-DSS 3.1 compliant.Card issuers can enrol their customers for 3-D secure service with the server, during the first online transaction or directly on the website of the Bank. They can also configure BIN level business rule for individual portfolio of cards like Gold/Silver/Platinum etc. since the platform has made provision of hierarchical based user administration in meeting the corresponding compliance necessities.

Prevention of Frauds – Authenticating Payment

This could be utilised in the prevention of fraud by authenticating payment through the choice of methods by user like a onetime password through short message services, or email or through a static password, besides others.It added that this would enable them to resolve disputes as well as reduce minimise chargebacks with the assistance of authentication history, handling risk with the help of hardware security model established data encryption together with online digital signature generation.

Moreover the transactions could also be monitored in real time. It further added that the solution could be implemented rapidly and with ease since it tends to leverage the prevailing infrastructure, providing APIs for seamless incorporation with external systems.

How to Record Audio and Video from a PC Desktop with Movavi Screen Capture Studio

Would you like to capture a video of your desktop or one of the windows that is open on it? With the help of screen capture software it is now possible to record video footage directly from your screen, which can be a huge benefit if you want to save Skype calls and online video streams, or even create video guides or tutorials.

It is understandable if you’re a bit apprehensive about trying out something like that for the first time, and may even shy away from doing so. That being said you can rest assured that Movavi Screen Capture Studio will make it straightforward and simple with its intuitive and user-friendly approach. All you need to do to use it for desktop video capture is:

1. Define the region of your screen that you want to record by selecting one of the presets or adjusting the capture frame. 
2. Set up the audio source by choosing to record either the system audio or audio from an external device such as a microphone. 
3. Click ‘REC’ to start recording and then ‘Stop’ when it is done. 
4. Click ‘Save’ to save the video.

As you can see there really is nothing to it, and it is just as easy to adjust the frame rate or set up Movavi Screen Capture Studio to capture keyboard and mouse actions. In fact as you explore its features you’ll also see that it is able to edit videos too – which will let you cut and combine video segments, enhance the video quality, add customizable text, include background music, apply special effects or filters, and much more.

Effectively these features will let you not only record audio and video from your PC desktop, but also tweak it so that it turns out precisely the way that you need it to. Whether you use that to create your own video content or simply improve some of the videos that you record is entirely up to you, but suffice to say it makes Movavi Screen Capture Studio an extremely useful tool to have in your arsenal.

Should You Charge Your Phone Overnight?

Recurrent Charging – Toll on Lithium-Ion Batteries in Phone

Is overnight charging of your phone a good idea? There seems to be a short as well as a long answer to this query as The New York Times had recently discovered. If the user seems to be the type of a person who tends to change phones every two years or so, it would possibly not make much difference to the battery life of the phone if left to be charged overnight. According to experts, these people are not aware of the damage done to their phone batteries when they need a new device.

Edo Campos, a spokesman for Anker states that recurrent charging tends to take a toll on the lithium-ion batteries in the phone and it is not because they have been overcharged which produces phone charger. Smartphones seems to be smart and know when to stop charging. Android phones and iPhone are said to be furnished with chips which tend to guard them from absorbing extra electrical current once they are completely charged. Any damage due to overnight charging of the phone with an official charger or an off-brand charger should be insignificant. However, the act of charging is itself considered to be bad for the battery of the phone.

Charging Fast - Limits Life Span of Battery

Most of the phones tend to utilise technology which enables their batteries to receive more current faster. The founder, chief scientist and chief technical officer of the wireless charging company Ossia, Hatem Zeine has informed that the technology permits phones to regulate the amount of charge which a charger has the potential of providing. The technology is said to permit power to pulse in the battery in specific modulation, increasing the speed where the lithium ions in the battery tend to travel from one side to the other thus causing the battery to charge much more quickly.

However, this procedure inclines to also lead lithium-ion batteries to disintegrate quickly than they would otherwise.Mr Zeine informs that when you charge fast all the time, you are likely to limit the life span of the battery. Mr Seine advises that if one considers preserving a lithium-ion battery beyond the lifetime of the phone or tablet they could use a charger which is meant for a less powerful device but he does not guarantee that it would work.

Temperature Beyond 95°F – Permanently Damage Battery Capacity

He adds that if one utilises an iPhone charger on an iPad Pro, for instance, it would charge very slowly. If the electronics seems right, they could actually preserve the battery since one is always charging it slowly. Mr Campos advises that individuals who are keen on preserving their batteries should ensure that their phones do not get overheated since high temperatures could further stimulate the lithium-ion in the batteries which could lead to faster deterioration.

Apple’s website has mentioned that the temperatures beyond 95 degrees Fahrenheit could permanently cause damage to the battery capacity.Mr Zeine and Mr Campos have both noted that considering the continuous demand for new cell phones, charging them overnight may not be a matter of great concern for several people.

 Mr Campos quoting a 2015 Gallup survey which showed that 44% of smartphone users intended to upgrade their devices as soon as their providers permitted it, generally after a couple of years, the length of time it takes for batteries to show signs of wear, had mentioned that all this actually does not make much of a difference for the consumers.

Google Duo Makes Video Calling Between Operating Systems Easier

Google’s Duo – Video Calling App

For years, Apple and Google had been competing with each other for dominance over mobile users, with Apple submitting its greater devices such as the iPhone. Google on the other hand had battled back with its Android operating system together with a sequence of mobile apps which seemed to quite flexible and well-matched with broader set of devices than the apps of Apple.

Recently, Google had featured that strategy with the release of its new mobile app, the Duo, a video calling app which is said to be a direct substitute to the FaceTime of Apple. The app tends to fit precisely in the playbook in mobile of Google.

Google had progressively provided its software as well as internet service comprising of Google Maps, Google Docs and Google Photos to iPhone users and all these apps had been convincing substitute to the proprietary apps of Apple such as Apple Maps, Photos and Notes since they tend to function on a broader variety of devices inclusive of Macs, Android devices, Windows PCs and iPhones.

FaceTime can only be utilised to call others having the Apple devices though Duo enable the user to place video calls between Android as well as iPhone users and substantially increases the number of people with whom one intends to have a video discussion.

Great Product/Increase Use of Video Calling with Android Users

Google had mentioned in a statement in an indirect shot at Apple that one should not have to worry about whether your call can connect or if your friend is utilising the same type of device one is using. It is no wonder that almost half of U.S. adults do not make video calls on mobile.

All this encouraged the strategy of Google in attracting iPhone users over to Android. It is said that Google’s apps usually tends to operate better on Android devices than the iPhones and hence more users seem to get hooked on the core apps of Google with less reason for being loyal to Apple.

The head of communication products, Nick Fox had stated that the top priority with Duo was to create a great product and to increase the use of video calling with Android users. However he adds that making the Android much more attractive than the iPhone owners had been a secondary motive. He informs that the appeal of Duo was that it seemed to be simple to use, was fast and much more extensively accessible.

Switching – Android to iPhone – Highest

He commented saying that their view is video calling and should work for all. If one can only call half the people they know, that is very limiting. Apple does not seem to be concerned by the moves of Google.

When the falling sales last month had been reported by the iPhone maker, Timothy D. Cook, chief executive of Apple had highlighted that the rate where people were switching from Android-based devices to iPhone had been the highest the company had ever seen.

He had mentioned in a call without revealing the precise figure that their year-to-date iPhone sales to switchers were the greatest they have seen in any nine-month period. A spokeswoman of Apple had refrained from commenting beyond the comments of Mr Cook.

Putting a Computer in Your Brain is no Longer Science Fiction

Kernel – Small Chip Implanted in Brain – Neurological Damage

Bryan Johnson, a technology entrepreneur, like several in Silicon Valley foresees a future wherein intelligent machine could perform many things such as drive cars on their own and anticipate our requirements before we tend to ask. From his modest office in Venice Beach, his science-fiction-meets-science start-up, Kernel has been building small chip which could be implanted in the brain in order to assist people suffering from neurological damage which could be the result of strokes, Alzheimer’s or concussions.

Top neuroscientists building the chip call it a neuroprosthetic and hopes that in the long run it would be capable of boosting intelligence, memory as well as the other cognitive responsibilities. Johnson admits that the medical device will take several years but he can afford to wait. In 2013, he had sold his payment company, Braintree to PayPal for $800.

Earlier Mormon raised in Utah, he expresses regarding the project with missionary like passion and focus. He further added in an interview regarding the company that he had not spoken openly before, stating that `human intelligence is blocked-in relationship to artificial intelligence and the blocked-in is the degeneration of the body and the brain and this is a question of keeping humans front and centre as we progress’.

Support Cognitive-Enhancement Businesses

Johnson is said to be one out of a set of leading entrepreneurs who is of the belief that Silicon Valley could pay a role in financing large-scale scientific encounters, the types which could intensely enhance home life that could go further than building software. Several of their ventures have been drawn from the values of software.

 Venture capital firms such as Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel’s Founders fun, Khosla Ventures and several others, in the last two years had invested in start-ups which centred on `bio-hacking’, with the idea that one can engineer the body as one would, a software program.

They have subsidized the companies which focus to arrange the bacteria in the gut reprogram the DNA one is born with or conduct cancer biopsies from the blood samples. They have also supported cognitive-enhancement businesses such as Thync that tend to build headset which sends mood-altering electrical pulses to the brain as well as Nootrobox which is a start-up making chewable coffee complement that associates doses of caffeine with active elements in green tea, thus leading to a accurately planned, zenlike high.

Speed up Scientific Breakthrough

It seems easy to discharge these attempts as the hubristic, techno-utopian illusions of self-involved choice are of the belief that it could challenge death and human deterioration. Though there is no lack of hubris in Silicon Valley, it is also sure that some of these projects would speed up the scientific breakthrough and seal some of the gaps which may have been left in the process of declining public subsidy for scientific study, according to the professor of bioethics and medical humanities at North-western University, Laurie Zoloth. Besides this, techies have been encouraged by the statistic that several biological as well as health challenges progressively comprise of data-mining together with computation which look more like problem than one would know to resolve them.

Kernel is said to be a cognitive improvement and the concept depends on the work of Theodore Berger who was a pioneering biomedical engineer directing the Centre for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California and is said to be the chief science officer of the start-up.

Airline Cabins Of the Future- A New Golden Age of Travel

Air Travel Experience Renovated with Technology

In comparison to the air travel photos of the 1960s which portray smartly attired, champagne sipping passengers in a spacious airliner cabins, the present scenario is that of cramped seats with overcrowded airports which appears that our flying experiences seems to be gradually getting worse. The aviation industry has invested immensely in order to demonstrate sentimental passengers, the mistake.

Though the aircraft may seem to be the same to those of the supposed wonderful years but each aspect of air travel experience is being renovated currently, with the use of technology. At the front position we have the aircraft cabins and the fundamental to their transformation is that of a wireless connection. With every passenger practically using a smartphone, tablet or a laptop, the inflight Wi-Fi tends to open up new means of commitment with the travellers and redefine their flying experience.

Mobile technology has already being playing an important part in improving travel accompanied with electronic boarding passes to last-minute bids on biz upgrades on class. Other airlines such as KLM had also begun sending boarding passes as well as flight alerts, through dedicated airline Facebook Messenger chat bot.

Inflight Entertainment/Personal Devices

However, the one area wherein mobile could be accurately transformative is the inflight entertainment together with personal devices being a gateway to a range of up-in-the-air services. Though built-in-in-flight entertainment systems seem doubtfulto disappear, especially on long-haul flights, they could work in tandem with the own devices of the passengers.

Panasonic had unveiled Waterfront, earlier in 2016 which is a system that permits passenger in utilising their mobile handset in order to control the built-in entertainment of the aircraft. Aerospace companies Thales and B/E have also been utilising mobiles in personalizing passenger experiences.

On syncing the handsets, the seats tend to know the preferences of a passenger and could also restart a movie at the precise place they could have left in the earlier flight. Some of the airlines are discarding the implanted entertainment systems completely and are opting for he handsets of the passengers in delivering inflight entertainment, which is a change that significantly lessens aircraft weight and more cabin space.

Cost Effective/Flexible Means of Quality Inflight Content

Internet connection is not needed and passengers could only link their devices to an in-plane network. AirFi, Netherlands-based is mostly preparing low-cost airlines which tend to fly short-haul single-aisle aircraft often and does not have entertainment systems. The portable wireless system of the company beams pre-loaded content on the devices of the passenger.

The AirFi terminal tends to perform like a normal Internet router which is lightweight and can be installed in a luggage compartment with ease. Job Heimerikx, AirFi CEO had stated that it is cost effective as well as a flexible means of providing quality inflight content to the short haul market. He further added that `there are customer service and a commercial angle to the system and passenger could access a broad range of movies together with other kind of entertainment though they could also utilise it to order food or shop duty free.

It seems like an evolution of the traditional inflight magazine but since it occurs at online stores, one could make it really personal’. This conception tends to flourish on obtaining a captive audience.

Microsoft Office for iPhone Gets Drawing Support for Your Fingers

iPhone – the Use of Finger to Write/Draw/Highpoint Documents

Microsoft had optimized its Office suite of apps for the iPad Pro and the Pencil stylus of Apple though the company had put off on any inking provision in Office for iPhone.Recently Microsoft had updated Word, Excel and PowerPoint for iPhone to add a new drawing tab choice. Similar to the Windows and iPad alternatives, Office on iPhone would now enable the use of the finger to write, draw and highpoint documents.

In Word in iPhone, the draw tab is said to be hidden away though once it is located you will able capable of choosing it from the certain objects, like a pen, highlighter or an eraser. Moreover the thickness as well as the colour of the pen can be adjusted and can be used freely to mark on documents.

In the case of Excel, one would be able to mark freely on cells and PowerPoints inking integration, it enables you to draw on slides with the help of the fingers. The new update to Office for iPhone is made available in Apple’s App Store. The iPhone’s screen being smaller than the iPad and the laptop it means that with regards to editing certain things, the screen size does not reduces it.

Office Apps – Word/Excel/PowerPoint

In the case of Microsoft Office, Microsoft has introduced a feature which enables the user to draw on the screen with their fingers, though this had been limited only to the iPad where the IOs devices were considered. Microsoft has eventually got around to updating its iPhone app with the introduction of the same finger-drawing feature.

This would be applicable to the complete suite of Office apps like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. As per Microsoft, `use your finger to write, draw and highlight with the tools in the new Draw tab’. This would make it much easy for the user in drawing shapes or making rough explanations, or focus on certain thing on the documents, spread sheet or presentations slides. Beside the finger-drawing feature the update is said to bring about assistance for Citrix in storing as well as accessing the documents.

Qualifying Office 365 Subscription for Creating/Editing Documents

With regards to Microsoft PowerPoint, users would be capable of adding notes and information together with their slide and be much ahead on their latest presentation. The potential of adding comments with the help of finger input seems much easier and practical taking into consideration the fact that changes need to be made at some point of time and nothing seems more convenient as an input tool than our finger which tends to streamline the entire process.

In order to get the latest update, you could go to the App Store and update the Microsoft Office Suite tools for the latest versions for your iPhone. While the apps are said to be available free of cost, for downloading, users would require a qualifying Office 365 subscription for creating and editing documents. Microsoft tends to roll out the latest update as well as new functions though one should yet get the up-to-date finger input selections very soon,

New Computer Programme Replicates Handwriting

Software – `My Text in Your Handwriting’ Programme

In the present world which is controlled by the QWERTY keyboard. Computer scientists of UCL have come up with software which may ignite the return of the handwritten word by studying the handwriting of any person and tend to imitate it precisely. The scientist have generated `My Text in Your Handwriting’, a programme that is said to semi-automatically test a sample of handwriting of a person which could be a small paragraph, generating new text stating that whatever the user desires, would be as though the author had handwritten it. Dr Tom Haines of UCL Computer Science had stated that the software had lots of valued application.

 For instance those suffering from strokemay be capable of formulating letters with the need of illegibility or the one sending flowers as a token of gift could send a handwritten note without even going to the florist. Besides this, it could also be utilised in comic books wherein a part of handwritten content could be translated into various languages without the need of losing the original style of the author. The machine learning process, published in ACM Transactions on Graphic and funded by the EPSRC, has been built around glyphs, which is an explicit example of a character.

Authors Create Various Glyphs – Element of Writing

Authors tend to create various glyphs in representing the same element of writing, the way one individual tends to write an `a’ would generally differ with the way others tend to write an `a’. Though the writing of an individual tends to have some variations, each author seems to have a recognisable style which demonstrates in their glyphs together with their spacing.

The software absorbs what is stable through the style of the individual and reproduces it. In order to produce the handwriting of an individual, the program tends to analyse and duplicate the specific character choices of the author, its pen-line texture as well as colour, inter-character ligatures, the joining between letters, the vertical and horizontal spacing. Dr Oisin Mac Aodha, co-author of UCL Computer Science had stated that till now the only way to create a computer generated text which is similar to a particular person’s handwriting could be by utilising an applicable font.

System Adequately Flexible

The issue with these types of fonts is that it frequently tends to clear that the text is not penned by hand and that loses the character as well as the personal touch of a handwriting part of the text. What has been invented is what removes this issue and could be utilised in a wider variety of personal and commercial situations.

The system is said to be adequately flexible where the samples from historical documents could be utilised with the minimum effort and hence the scientists have scrutinized and simulated the handwriting of figures like Abraham Lincoln, Arthur Conan Doyle and Frida Kahlo. In order to assess the efficiency of the software, the team had requested people to differentiate between handwritten envelopes and the ones created by their automatic software where the people were baffled by several of the envelopes.

This resulted in being fooled by the computer generated writing by 40% of the time. Taking into consideration how conclusive the computer generated handwriting seems to be, some are of the belief that the method could be beneficial in forging documents, though the team clarified that it seems to work both way and could be essentially supportive in distinguishing forgeries.

Audi Vehicles to Talk to U.S. Traffic Signals in First for Industry

Audi Technology – Vehicles to Coordinate with Traffic Signals

Audi, the German manufacturer is developing a technology which would enable its vehicles in the United States to coordinate with traffic signals, permitting a more stress-free trip, which is said to be the first commercial use of the nascent technology in the car industry. Audi of America, owned by Volkswagen has handpicked 2017 Q7 and A4 models built after June 1, 2016 to be furnished with its vehicle-to-infrastructure technology.

Recognized as `V-to-I’, in the industry, the technology enables traffic signals together with the other infrastructure to interchange safety accompanied with other operational data, wirelessly to vehicles through the cloud. Ultimate applications of the technology that tends to continue for testing across the globe by manufacturers as well as transportation agencies would be beneficial in mitigating crashes thus dropping jamming on highways and roads.

Pom Malhotra, general manager of the connected vehicles division of Audi had commented that this is their foray into V-I and this is designed not as a safety feature but a comfort and convenience feature. Malhotra states that the system of Audi permits the vehicle to exhibit a countdown before a red light tends to turn to green and being aware of how much time one has before the light could change to green could relieve much of the apprehension of waiting.

Traffic Line Information – New Line of Ground-Breaking Connected Car

The countdown also tends to display on the dashboard if the vehicle decides that it would not be capable of making an approaching light before turning to red, to enable the drive to apply the brake. On waiting for the red light to turn to green, the display tends to disappear a few seconds before it turns to green, compelling the driver to be aware of the intersection and regulate when it is safe to go ahead, informs Malhotra.

Traffic light information seems to be the new line of ground-breaking connected car improvement by Audi. Audi had been the first manufacturer in 2010, to provide a broadband enabled vehicle and since then, Audi connect tends to continue to enlarge on its industry leading services and potentials. Towards 2014, it had been the first manufacture to provide 4G/LTE Broadband connectivity.

Planned partnership as well as proprietary scalable infotainment architecture has enabled Audi to constantly provide its customers with the latest in solutions to mobile connectivity. An executive has informed that the future applications of the technology could envisage it to be linked to the navigation system of the car or its stop/start roles.

Manufacturer’s Efforts to Leverage Technology

Another possibility is that the traffic signals could direct the vehicle to maintain a certain speed to match the flow of traffic lights. Audi intends to roll out the competence this year, in five to seven U.S cities with cities to be switched on one by one.

The company has not revealed which of the cities would be the first. The manufacturers of car have been making efforts to leverage technology inclusive of vehicle-to-vehicle communications – `V- to –V’, enabling vehicles to talk to each other, in order to decrease accidents and to improve overcrowding. Organizing such types of schemes could be challenging since both V-to-I and V-to-V technologies tend to need safe communication infrastructure as well as close assistance with municipalities together with transportation agencies.

 The President of Audi of America, Scott Keogh had stated that `continuous innovation in connected car services as well as advanced driver assistance systems which enriches and improves the customer experience is at the core of the Audi brand and our collective future.

Mozilla Firefox 48 Out Now with Multi-Process Electrolysis

Firefox 48 –Designed to Enhance Stability/Security

Firefox 48, after seven years of progress is eventually enabling a multi-process feature which is similar to what Internet Explorer as well as Google Chrome has been offering as stable feature from 2009. Firefox 48 has recently shipped two long anticipated new features which have been designed to enhance the stability as well as security of the browser. Running their rendering engines in a distinct procedure from the browser shell, IE and Chrome have been steadier as well as secure.

To bring about a similar multi-process competence to Firefox, Mozilla had begun in 2009, the Electrolysis project, but the organization had taken longer than Apple, Google and Microsoft in shipping this feature. The delay of Mozilla was partially driven by altering importance in the organization and Electrolysis progress had been on hold in 2011 before it was restarted in 2013 and partly due to the historic extension architecture of Firefox which made this type of split-up difficult to accomplish. The old extensions of Firefox invasively tend to interfere with fragments of the browser and several assumed equal access to the rendering engine as well as to the shell of the browser.

Rollout of Electrolysis Controlled Conventionally

The developers of Firefox had to create a new extension system as well as create shim layers to provide the developers with a temporary system to continue assisting their old extensions. The multi-process system of Firefox even after all this time does not seem to match its peers. The roll out of Electrolysisis being controlled conventionally in spite of its successful beta. It is said that for the next few days, a part of a percent of Firefox 48 users by default would have Electrolysis turned on.

If this rollout turns to go well, the multi-process feature would be roll out to around half of all the users of Firefox 48 and would be prolonged in handling extensions which are known to be compatible in Firefox 50. Thereafter Electrolysis will be rolled out to the users of Firefox 51 with touchscreen devices, right-to-left languages as well as disable accessibility software thus making it accessible to most of the users of Firefox.

Rust Language of Mozilla – Similarity of Performance

The multi-process feature of Firefox still tends to fall short of what Chrome, Edge and Safari do, since it would be utilising an individual process for each tab. The other browsers employs one process for single tab which means that not only does a crash in the renderer seems to guard the browser shell, but also averts any contagion between tabs where one tab crashing seems to cause another one to perish.

Moreover, it also stops any leakage of data between tabs and provision for one process for each tab is presently due to be available in the first half of 2017. Once this has been accomplished, the extensions would be moved to single processes as well. Rust language of Mozilla is said to be designed to give the similarity of performance as well as control as C++ though minus the weakness of the C++ to security errors.
Rust code has been developed by the company to replace the C++ code which tends to presently handle difficult media formats and this replacement code is being shipped in the stable version of Firefox 48.

Researchers Printed Energy Producing Photographs

Picture/Text Can be Inkjet Printed as Solar Cell

Manufacture of solar cells have been done for a long time from economical substances with various printing procedures and biological solar cells and dye sensitized solar cells in particular have been appropriate for printing. A solar cell that comprises of both solar as well as non-solar sources of light like photons from incandescent bulbs is said to be a photovoltaic cell. Essentially the strategies requires to satisfy two roles namely photogeneration of charge carriers – electrons and holes, in a light captivating substance and separation of the charge carriers to a conductive contact which tends to transmit the electricity.

The conversion is said to be the photovoltaic effect and the arena of research linked to solar cells is called photovoltaic. With the process established in Aalto University,researchers have invented a system where any text or photograph could be printed as a solar cell. As per Aalto University News website, Janne Halme, University Lecturer commented that they wanted to take the idea of printed solar cells further and see if the materials could be inkjet-printed as pictures and text like traditional printing inks. Utilising the latest technologically advanced expertise, any picture or text can be inkjet-printed as a solar cell and when light is captivated in an ordinary ink, it causes heat.

Darker the Colour, More Electricity Produced

Photovoltaic ink though coverts a portion of that energy into electricity and the darker the colour, the more electricity tends to get produced since the human eye is said to be sensitive to that area of the solar radiation spectrum that has the maximum energy density. The most effective solar cell is thus pitch-black. The purpose of a colourful patterned solar is to combine the other properties which tend to take the benefit of light on the same surface like in the case of visual information and graphics.

For instance, this kind of solar cell, installed on an adequately low-powerelectrical device, could be a part of its visual design while simultaneously create the required energy, contemplates Halme. In the case of inkjet printing, the photovoltaic dye can be printed to a shape determined for a selected image file and could be adapted precisely with the darkness and transparency of the various sections of the image.

Postdoctoral Researcher Ghufran Hashmi has commented stating that `the inkjet-dyed solar cells were as effective and long-lasting as the corresponding solar cells prepared in a traditional way and endured more than one thousand hours of constant light and heat stress without signs of performance degradations’.

Progress of Decorative Product Building Integrated Solar Cells

The electrolyte and dye which seemed to be the best had been obtained from the research group in the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, the place where Dr Hashmi had worked as a visiting researcher. Doctoral Candidate Merve Ozkan informs that the most challenging thing was to obtain appropriate solvent for the dye and the right jetting parameters which gave accurate and uniform print quality.

The results of the research have given rise to new possibilities for the progress of decorative product-building-integrated solar cells. The results had been published in the Energy & Environmental Science, the most renowned journal in energy research. The research had been financed mostly by the Academy of Finland and the SELECT + Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Programme of the European Union.

Hackers Hijack a Big Rig Truck’s Accelerator and Brakes

Discoveries of Unsettling Set of Tests – Industrial Vehicles

In recent years, when cyber security researchers had revealed that they could hack a Chevy Impala or a Jeep Cherokee in disabling the brakes of the vehicles or hijack their steering, the outcome seemed to be a distressing wakeup call to the customer automotive industry. At the Usenix Workshop on Offensive Technologies conference, a team of University of Michigan researchers intended to present the discoveries of unsettling set of tests on industrial vehicles.

On sending digital signals in the internal network of a hug rig truck, the researchers were in a position of doing everything from change the readout of the instrument panel of the truck, trigger unintended acceleration or to even disable a form of semi-trailer’s brakes. The researcher also discovered that evolving these attacks was in fact easier than consumer cars due to a common communication standard in the internal networks of several industrial vehicles, ranging from cement mixers to tractor trailers to school buses.

One of the researchers from the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, Bill Hass has stated that these trucks tend to carry hazard chemicals and large loads. They are the backbone of the economy. If one could cause them with unintended acceleration, it would be too hard to figure out how many bad things could occur with it.

Unintended Acceleration – Tap of a Laptop Keyboard

A video of the researchers portrayed the consequences of unintended acceleration with only a tap of a laptop keyboard. The researchers had targeted several of their attacks on a 2006 semi-trailer though they had also attempted some hacks on a 2001 school bus. On connecting a laptop to the vehicles through their on-board diagnostic ports, they observed that they could look up most of the commands utilising the J1939 open standard which is said to be common to heavy vehicles.

This enabled them in duplicating signals on the networks of vehicles without the laborious reverse engineering other car hackers had to perform in order to replay commands within consumer vehicles, that lacked the calibration of industrial trucks. The other Michigan researcher, Leif Millar had commented that if one desired to hijack someone’s car, they would need to have the knowledge of the make and model and then adopt the attack. With trucks it seems to be all open so it is easy to craft an attack.

Disable the Brake of the Engine of Truck

It was for this reason that their complete truck-hacking project that had started as a University of Michigan class assignment had taken only two months. For the big rig truck that the J1939 standard permitted them in sending commands which accurately altered the statistics of almost any portion of the instrument panel. For instance they were capable of taking-off a full tank of gas when the truck was short of fuel or even avert a warning that the truck would be running out of compressed air in its air brakes, leading the vehicle to apply the emergency brakes without warning.

They could completely disable the brake of the engine of the truck, at 30 miles per hour or less, compelling the driver to rely on other form of brakes which is known as foundation brakes that tends to get overheated and fails. Most upsetting was the fact that the researchers managed to speed up the truck against the will of the driver on sending signals tricking the power train commands of the vehicle to limit the acceleration of the truck or max out its RPMs in any gear. They observed that they stopped short of attempting to put an end to the engine of the truck though they guessed it was a possibility.

Alter: A Creepy Humanoid with Complete Control over Its Limbs and Facial Expressions

Humanoid Robot – Control over Limb Movement/Facial Expression

A creepy humanoid robot with total control over its limb movement as well as facial expression has been unveiled by Japanese scientists and the robot named `Alter’ has been implanted with electronic sensors which tends to imitate the neural network of the human brain. The arms, head and the facial expressions of Alter,is said to be controlled by these sensors that gives the robot a random pattern of movement, which is weirdly identical to a human.

Besides that Alter can also sing converting the casual movement of its fingers into a lingering synth melody. According to sources the big claim of Alter is that it is run by neural network wherein neural networks tend to be software which utilises information in making decisions on their own, informed by decisions which have been shown already. Here the form of neural network tends to shift between a set of movement mode and `chaos’ mode that moves the bot depending on proximity of people, humidity, temperature and noise. It is a difficult method of making the robot to move on its own though the movements seems to be merely conservative.

Gestures Set by 42 Pneumatic Actuators

The gestures of Alter are set by 42 pneumatic actuators together with `a central pattern generator, a network that imitates neurons which can sense proximity, temperature and oddly humidity. Though the unbalanced gestures of Alter do not seem as yet humanoid, there is something certainly upsetting about the robot which can reason for itself. Researchers have stated that Alter is an attempt in creating a robot which can `will’ for itself to move and the head, arm movement and posture can adapt and alter according to choice of the system.

For instance, the torso tends to shudder if the proximity sensors seem to identify lots of people around. Kouhei Ogawa, Osaka University Professor had stated that the amazing thing regarding Alter is its capability of predetermining its own movements. He had informed RT News that Alter does not look like a human and does not really move like a human but it positively tends to have a presence.

Designing Alter – Significant Scientific Achievement

Professor Ogawa had mentioned that designing Alter had been a significant scientific achievement. He had informed engagdet that making android talk or interacts for 10 minutes presently needed an incredible amount of hard work only to program something to react for so long.Alter is said to be kept on display at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo till August 6. The disturbing part of Alter is the fact that only a portion of its hands and face are covered with silicon to look alike to skin though several of its mechanical components are left exposed for people to wonder at its complex movements.

Though the irregular gestures of Alter do not seem as yet human, there is something certainly worrying about the robot which can think for itself. At the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Alter had been unveiled to the public on July 29 in Tokyo. Alter had been designed at the Osaka University and the University of Tokyo by the engineer. The movement of Alter has been described as weird by one of the researchers who has not been involved in the project.

Seven Amazing Facebook 'Secrets' You Probably Didn't Know About

We all tend to use Facebook in order to get connected and be in contact with our friends, acquaintances and relatives who could be at any location of the world. Some of the features may tend to impose on us. Most of us may not be aware of some of the awesome features which have not drawn much of our attention. There are a few hints, tricks and tips which several users are unaware of Facebook though it has been around for over a decade. Facebook which is a social media behemoth, tends to have more than 1.44 billion active users per month where American seem to spend about 40 minutes daily on it which accounts for almost 20% of overall time online. However in spite of all the usage, there seems to be several features which the user may not realize Facebook tends to have. Here one can get some insight from the Facebook inbox right to getting a preview into the lives of strangers across the world:

1. See all who have rejected your request

If the user wants to know who have rejected their friend requests on Facebook there is a method in doing so. Devoted users of the social network for several years would have come across one or two rejections in creating a friend list which could comprise of ex-primary school mates, work colleagues as well as distant relatives. The process tends to take less than 60 seconds which can be done by opening Facebook, in the browser and not the app. Then you could click on the friend request tab and select `view all’ in the drop down menu and finally click on `view sent requests’.

2. Connect with strangers around the world 

You may have come across excess of Facebook Live videos coming into your New Feed during the past months though there is another lesser-known live streaming feature on the site. On clicking the icon on Live Video below the App section on the left-hand navigation bar the user has the capability of accessing people’s feed that tend to record clips all over the world.
3. Access your `other’ box

When Facebook considers that something could be possibly a spam, it tends to diverts it to your Message Request inbox where it could remain endlessly. You could view these messages by opening up Facebook Messenger on your phone and click the `Me’ section towards the bottom right of the screen and go to the `People’ section. Select `Message Requests’ and hit the link `See filtered messages’.

4. Play the secret football game 

Facebook had launched an addictive football game, at the beginning of June in order to celebrate the summer of Soccer as Euro 2016 had started. To play the football game, you could update your Messenger version and send a football emoji to any of your friends. On tapping the emoji once it is sent, you could start playing
football.

5. View all photos your friends have liked on Facebook 

A Simple way of viewing every photo you have liked on Facebook and the photos your friends, family and many other have liked is by heading to the tool bar towards the top the Facebook profile and explore `Photos liked by me’. If you wish to view all the photos your friends have liked then you could type in `Photos liked by, followed by the name of the person. You could also filter the images according to the year, place and who they had been posted by. Besides these you could also look out for posts which could have been hashtagged in Facebook by just adding the tagged word towards the end of the web address for instance https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/. You would get various results on typing post with hashtag `clarkson’ in the search box of Facebook. It could be worth attempting it.

6. Play Chess 

You could also play chess by utilising Facebook Messenger. On opening a conversation with an individual you intend to play with, just type `@fbchess play’. Then a board tends to appear and your opponent is invited to make the first move. You could select a piece by using K for king, Q for queen, B for bishop, N for knight, R for rook and P for pawn.

7. Remotely log out of Facebook

If the user tends to remain logged on to Facebook on a public computer, through oversight, you could log out from another location by going to Setting-Security to where you’re Logged In and hit `end activity ‘in order to log out.

Conclusion 

Facebook had been created in order to help viewers to get connected with their colleagues, friends, family and relatives and many others. The fact is that it is even better when one tends to get connected with them on their own terms.