Tech Life, Technology News India, Tech Tips for World Techies

HP launches program to train software testers

"As applications become more complex, testing is going to be the need of the hour, while the sector which is growing about 45 percent annually among the various verticals of application development faces shortages of trained testers," said Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director, HP India. Blaming Indian IT education system which follows the curriculum that is not subjected to upgradation frequently, Neelam opines that Indian institutes fail to produce graduates who are updated with latest trends in technology.

Intending to fill the gap between education and employability and help the graduates to become well trained software testing professionals, HP, one of the testing majors has launched HP Software University (HPSU) in partnership with Indian Institute of Hardware Technology (IIHT).

The first of its kind program from HP will offer students accredited training on HP software and a curriculum path surrounding various testing software from HP like Quick Test professional and LoadRunner. Certified professionals would gain access to special HP software online resources providing the latest in software news, product information, job openings and more.

Software testing is a $13 billion market globally today and India is expected to contribute 70 percent of this. "Keeping in mind the tremendous market for software testing tools, we have partnered with HP and with program our students will be equipped with unique skills that will benefit and make them more marketable," said Keshava Raju, CEO, IIHT.

As per the estimates India is currently facing a shortage of 18,000 software testers and it may grow to 25,000 in the coming years. HP is eying to fill this gap by setting up training centers in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Noida, Chennai and Bangalore. The company has plans to extend the program to more cities over the next few months.

HP India launches HP Software University

Hewlett-Packard (HP) in partnership with the Indian Institute of Hardware Technology (IIHT) on Thursday announced the launch of ‘HP Software University’ (HPSU). This first of its kind program from HP in the non-enterprise training space aims to address the growing demand of software testing professionals in India.

The program will offer students accredited training on HP Software and a curriculum path surrounding various testing software from HP like Quick Test professional and LoadRunner. Certified professionals would gain access to special HP Software online resources providing the latest in software news, product information, job openings and more.

The university will be initially launched in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Noida, Chennai and Bangalore and HP has plans to add more cities over the next few months.

Keshava Raju, CEO, the Indian Institute of Hardware Technology, said, “Keeping in mind the tremendous market for soft ware testing tools, we have partnered with HP. With this program, our graduates will be equipped with unique skills that will benefit and make them more marketable.

"We want to expose our students to products and technologies used by leading corporations in the real world," he added.

“HP Software University is aimed at providing students a competitive edge in the software testing industry. With HPSU, students and professionals will have access to numerous opportunities in the technology industry," said Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director, HP India.

The HP Software University is the only HP authorized program offering students and professionals the opportunity to attend an official and accredited training on HP Software testing tools.

"The HP software university’s mission is to prepare its students for the real world of business and IT," said Roy Chermana, director, Educational Services - HP Software, APJ. "The program and its students will be directly monitored by an HP worldwide team at each stage right from the inception to final certification."

Five great products IBM would get by buying Sun

1. VirtualBox. Sun acquired German-based Innotek in 2008. This is a really innovative desktop virtualization product that despite having more than four million downloads needs more visibility. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9062319

2. Q-layer. Sun acquired this company in January. The company, based in Belgium, manages and automates deployment of public and private clouds.

3. MySQL. We all know the Swedes make great companies. MySQL is a next gen database company who will find a welcome home at IBM which loves all things database.

4.Neogent. Sun acquired this identity management company in 2006. This company was really an identity management database building tool. This is increasingly important as database security systems get built, combined and must remain secure themselves.

5. Kealia. I saved the best for last. Andy Bechtolsheim was a Sun Micrososystems founder. He also is about the smartest guy around in networks (He essentially built Cisco's Catalyst 4000 family). While IBM has been moving away from hardware, Andy could be the catalyst for the next gen unified storage,computing, network platform.

New Gmail features gives users a chance to Undo Send

As Gmail gets ready to celebrate its fifth birthday (on April 1), Google rolls out yet another feature that goes to show that they really have learned a thing or two about e-mailing habits.

Today, the company is announcing Undo Send, an experimental feature in Google Labs that will give users a chance to change their minds about the e-mail they just sent.

Who among us hasn’t heard horror stories of e-mails that never should have been sent - maybe it had a major typo or an e-mail trail that wasn’t meant for all eyes? Better yet, what about those e-mails that should have been sent as a “reply,” not a “reply to all.”

Google said most mistakes in an email are spotted just as it’s being sent and that five seconds is actually just enough time to hit the Undo Send button and bring that message back as a draft. From the official Gmail blog post:

This feature can’t pull back an email that’s already gone; it just holds your message for five seconds so you have a chance to hit the panic button. For extra cushion, you can increase the time to 10 seconds. And don’t worry – if you close Gmail or your browser crashes in those few seconds, we’ll still send your message.

It’s not the first feature that Google has added to Gmail to help senders from finding themselves in an embarrassing situation. The company also offers an e-mail attachment detector, which stops a message from going out if Gmail notices that the message references an attachment but none is there.

Something a bit more fun is Mail Goggles, a late-night feature that makes users do a simple math problem to send the message - just to make sure that you really want to send that 2 a.m. message to your ex, begging her to take you back.

Google notes that Undo Send is a Labs feature, one that’s still being refined and could be buggy. The company is asking test users to share feedback on how to make it better.

Google Chrome goes faster

Google released a new version of its Chrome Web browser, as the search giant continues its efforts to get a foothold in a market dominated by Microsoft Corp.

The new Chrome represents the first major update of the software aimed at the general public since Google entered the browser business six months ago.

According to a post on Google's blog, the new Chrome beta loads certain types of Web pages 25 per cent to 35 per cent faster than the current version of the browser.

It offers Web surfers faster performance and a handful of new features, such as auto-filling of personal information on online forms and a new way for users to drag around tabs of different Web pages within the browser window.

Google was a distant No.4 in the browser market, with 1.2 per cent share of the worldwide market in February, according to market research firm Net Applications.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominates the market, with a 67.4 per cent market share in February, while the Mozilla foundation's Firefox browser had a roughly 22 per cent share. Apple's Safari browser had an 8 per cent share.

Last month, Google officially joined the European Union's antitrust case against Microsoft, describing the browser market as "largely uncompetitive." The EU has charged Microsoft with abusing its dominant market position by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with its Windows personal computer operating system.

The new features were previously available to programmers using the "developer" version of Chrome, but Google has now packaged all the updates together into a more reliable beta test version that is available for download.

Google also has a more polished, so-called stable version of Chrome, based on the older beta version.

Future shock: The PC of 2019

For those of you who want the world at your fingertips, the wait is almost over.
The future PC promises to put nearly everything you could need or want right in your palm.

Think of a souped-up version of today's smartphone, with a monitor that unrolls into a larger screen and a biometric security system that lets you access everything in your professional and personal life from anywhere, with all the data residing in the cloud. Wave it at your car to unlock the door. Order and pay for your morning coffee with a touch of a button. Plug it into a docking station and project that big presentation to your clients. Book a weekend getaway with just a few clicks.

"PCs are going from engines or tools to portals and enablers. The vision of what they'll be in the future is a partner. They'll be participating in the higher cognitive tasks of what people do to get their jobs done," says Andrew Chien, director of research at Intel Corp.

The personal computer has been a corporate workhorse for decades. And while it has evolved, becoming slimmer and more mobile, in many ways it still resembles those old terminals tethered to the mainframe. But the next decade will bring dramatic changes, as the PC evolves past the standard desktop and laptop units to amalgamations of computing devices and their peripherals.

This future PC will be smarter, too. It could discreetly remind you of the name of an acquaintance and alert you when it's time to take your medicine. It will be your colleague, your butler -- and possibly your friend.

For Complete story click here computerworld.com

Google launches GrandCentral as Google Voice

GrandCentral was known as a free service for US residents that gives user a permanent local phone number that all other numbers (office, mobile, etc..) can forward to. The basic idea of GrandCentral is, one phone number for all your phones. As we change jobs, homes and cell phones, there are a lot of phone numbers to keep track of, and keeping everyone up to date with your most recent phone numbers is a real cost. If you use GrandCentral you can give out a single phone number.

Google acquired GrandCentral in 2007 for $50 millions.Google today relaunches the service and renamed to Google Voice. Google Voice is still in closed beta stage but the company expects to open the service up to the public within the coming weeks. Google Voice will be free to use and users will also be able to place free U.S. calls through the service. International calls can be made for a small fee (lower than Skype's or your wireless carrier) with credits purchased via Google CheckOut. Also, Google Voice will remain a solely U.S. based service. You can read more at Google.com

Google Adsense Launches Behavioral Targeting

Google is wading into behavioral ad targeting in a big way today. It will start placing cookies on consumer’s browsers to collect information about their interests whenever they visit sites that show AdSense contextual ads. Then it will show ads targeted to those interests to the same person as he or she browses the Web on other sites that also serve AdSense ads (which is a large portion of all commercial sites).

Since Google already knows what each site or page is about, it will use this information to place each user in one of 600 subcategories of interest. If you visit tech blogs often, you are probably interested in technology. If you visit Trulia, you are probably in the market for real estate. Through AdSense, Google can now target ads not only based on the context of the page you are on, but also based on the context of the pages you have visited in the past, even if you are on a site that is completely unrelated. For instance, as a completely hypothetical example, it might show you a real estate ad targeted to the towns you were searching on Trulia when you visit a gadget blog.
Not only will Google now target ads at you based on your interest, but it will also let you target yourself. Anyone can go to Google’s Ad Preferences Manager and see exactly how Google is categorizing their interests. (Most people will probably see nothing right now, since this program is only being rolled out on a test basis and will gradually expand). Now, here’s the really smart part: Google lets you add or remove any interest. In effect, it is inviting you to declare what kind of ads you wan to see. You can also opt out of the program completely.

While most people will probably never bother to tweak their ad preferences or even be aware that they can, this represents an important new precedent in online advertising. Why should the ad networks be the only ones who can determine how to target ads at consumers? Why not let the consumers self-target if they care to do so?

Google knows that its interest-based targeting algorithms need a lot of work. Even if it can get just a small percentage of people to correct the algorithm, that data theoretically could be applied to other people with similar browsing patterns. Google gets to say that it is giving users more privacy and control, while collecting really valuable data that will help make its targeting more effective. In the online ad game, whoever can target the best can charge the most.

Apple Releases New iPod Shuffle With Speech Capabilities

Apple today released a redesigned iPod Shuffle. Even smaller than the last one, the new iPod Shuffle has no playback controls on the player itself--instead, the playback controls are on the headphone wire. This change does beg the question: What happens if you lose the bundled headphones? Does this rule out using third-party headphones?

The big new feature is the iPod Shuffle's inclusion of Apple's VoiceOver technology. VoiceOver on Mac OS X is Apple's built-in screen reader for the visually impaired. On the iPod Shuffle, VoiceOver will read you the current song's title and artist information with a touch of a button. The function was added to iTunes last fall.

According to Apple, VoiceOver now makes it possible to switch between playlists on the iPod Shuffle. The iPod Shuffle is multi-lingual, and knows how to speak 14 languages, including Spanish, Japanese, Greek, and Dutch. This begs another question: What happens if you play a song tagged as explicit? Apple's press release makes no mention of what happens, but wouldn't it be amusing if it spoke a warning to you? Imagine: "I'm afraid I can't play that, Dave."

The new iPod Shuffle costs $79 and stores 4GB worth of music, or roughly 1000 songs. If you want one, you'll need WIndows XP SP3 or Windows Vista (or Mac OS X 10.4.11 or higher), and iTunes 8.1.

Eight Fixes for Vista’s Worst Features

Ask anyone who has seen Spider-Man 3: Good ideas seldom survive bad execution. The developers of Windows Vista had some great design ideas, but poor implementation turned many fine concepts into lousy, annoying features. To be fair, Vista inherited most of these well-intentioned flaws from earlier Windows versions— but it either failed to correct them or didn’t even try. Here are eight of Vista’s most irritating flops, with quick fixes and workarounds.

User Account Control

People do some things in Windows—such as install destructive apps or edit the Registry—that merit a stern “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” warning. Such situations may even warrant asking users to prove they’re administrators before letting them continue.

Maharashtra wants Google Earth censored

The Maharashtra government is examining legal options to censor Google Earth and curb it from showing sensitive locations to prevent terror attacks such as what happened in Mumbai, a minister said Tuesday.

"We want Google Earth censored. We shall submit a proposal to the centre and other concerned agencies to implement it as soon as possible," Minister of State for Home Naseem Khan told IANS.

Khan explained that the state government has been concerned about the issue since learning that the terrorists who attacked Mumbai Nov 26, 2008 were aided by Google Earth satellite maps through the internet.

"We have scores of sensitive and ultra-sensitive locations in Mumbai, Maharashtra and the rest of the country that can be easily viewed on Google Earth maps. We want at least sensitive locations like defence installations, government headquarters, legislature buildings, important places of worship, ports, docks and other similar sites to be left out on the satellite maps," he added.

The 50 Media Sites Bloggers Link To The Most

Media search engine Technorati is about to release The Technorati Attention Index, which measures the mainstream media websites with the highest number of blogs linking to them in the past 30 days. Right now it has a blog postwith the inaugural list. YouTube takes the top spot with the New York Times, BBC News, CNN.com, and MSN rounding out the top five. Compared to the top non-blog sources on Techmeme’s leaderboard, which is a narrower universe of sites which tech blogs link to, the top five mainstream media sites there are CNET News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and Computerworld. (The leaderboard for sister site Memeorandum, which covers politics, more closely matches Technorati’s list).

Here’s the top five from Technorati’s index:

1. YouTube
2. New York Times
3. BBC News
4. CNN.com
5. MSN

Five Essential Tips for Editing the Registry

Editing the Windows Registry has the potential to improve your system’s performance, but making a mistake can destroy Windows and cause you great distress. Here are five tips for keeping yourself anxiety-free—and for keeping your PC alive.

1. The best protection from Registry hassles is to have a current full-system backup. You ought to create one right now, even if you’re not planning to mess with your Registry anytime soon. For a tutorial, read “how to Prevent a Data Disaster"
2. Before you open the Registry cleaner, use ERUNT (emergency Recovery Utility NT; to back up the Registry. i know, it’s redundant, since the Registry cleaner will back up any changes it makes, and since you (should) already have a full system backup. But having a separate Registry backup will make it easier to restore your system quickly if something goes wrong.

3. Prior to scanning with your Registry cleaner, close all other applications; if possible, unload any tools running in your system tray, too. Open apps constantly make Registry changes, and you want the Registry cleaner to do its work with no interference along the way.
4. When using a Registry cleaner, stay alert and read whatever the cleaning tool’s wizard has to say. With most other programs that employ wizards, it’s no big deal if you pay scant attention and just keep clicking the Next button. But that isn’t the case with Registry cleaners.
5. After the scan, the program will let you remove (or in some cases, repair) the Registry errors. if you are given the option, set the Registry cleaner to remove errors only at the safest and least-intrusive level. (you can scan again with more aggressive settings later on.) Even at that, you might see 1000 or even 2000 “safe” entries that need cleaning. For instance, Registry First aid found 2161 problems on my PC, of which it deemed about 1900 safe to alter. Whatever you do, never choose an auto cleaning option. Instead, be sure to approve each change manually, which keeps you in control. For a complete set of Registry editing tips and a look at some leading Registry cleaners, see the tutorial .

PHP tops Ruby, Javascript in developer survey

Recent studys from EDC predicts, PHP is the best all around scripting language for web applications with a large community and lots of readily available tools

Developers using PHP are more satisfied than users of other scripting languages including Ruby, Python, Perl, Java script, Flex and VB script according to an Evans Data user satisfaction survey released this week.

Over 500 developers were asked to rate the features of scripting languages that they personally use across 12 different categories.

Demand for PHP developers on raise

PHP received the highest overall score while Ruby did best in ease of use and exception handling, and Python was tops in extensibility and memory management.

Java script was best for client-side scripting, while F# got the best score for security. PHP was rated best in everything else.

"Scripting languages play a significant role in the software application development landscape with just over 60 percent of all developers indicating they use some form in their development efforts," said John Andrews, president and CEO of Evans Data,

Five good programming habits in PHP

He added, "We forecast continued increasing adoption as a result of greater emphasis of web and front end development continues."

The study concluded that PHP was the best all around scripting language for web applications with a large community and lots of readily available tools. Ruby was the easiest to use and thus the most accessible, but suffers from performance problems and a tiny community, while Python showed itself to be the best suited for creating large and complex applications.

User Choice Satisfaction surveys are conducted several times a year by Evans Data as a free service to the development community. The full survey report can be downloaded here: view report

Languages in the survey included: Actionscript, Flex, Java Script, Microsoft F#, Windows Powershell, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby and VB Script.

Windows 7 leaks continue as new build hits BitTorrent

A second post-beta build of Windows 7 has leaked to file-sharing sites on the Web, according to searches at BitTorrent trackers.

A search on Mininova.org, for example, found several instances of Windows 7 Build 7048, a bootable .iso disk image of the operating system's 64-bit edition. The last leaked build was numbered 7022, which hit BitTorrent three weeks ago.

Build 7048 first appeared on Mininova on Monday.

Although several users who downloaded the new build reported that they were unable to get it to run, others confirmed that the pirated 7048 worked. "Using right now, works fine," said one Mininova user, identified as SoLoR.

Another user, alen666, claimed that 7048 is not a release candidate build. "7048 is a pre-RC1 compile of Windows 7 and is not likely to become the final RC1 build," the user said in a comment on Mininova.

Microsoft has not spelled out a ship date for Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC), but it has acknowledged that because it will issue just the one beta, the RC will be the next public release. Windows 7's fast development pace is in contrast to its predecessor, Windows Vista, which went through multiple betas and multiple release candidates.

Build 7048 downloading has been brisk. Yesterday, Mininova reported one BitTorrent had been downloaded more than 21,000 times, although that copy has since vanished from the tracking site. Thursday, the two available BitTorrents totaled about 10,000 downloads.

Windows 7 has regularly leaked to the Web since previews were first handed out last October to attendees at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference. Since then, other versions have appeared on BitTorrent, including a pirated copy of what was later released Jan. 10 as the public beta.

Windows 7 Build 7048 has drawn attention for reasons other than leaking to the Web. According to reports from a pair of bloggers, the build is the first that lets users remove the executable file for Internet Explorer 8. Some have speculated that the new option may be an attempt by Microsoft to mollify European Union antitrust regulators, who have accused the company of stifling competition by bundling IE with Windows and may demand that it provide users the means to eliminate IE from their PCs.

Mozilla Fixes Eight Firefox 3.0 Security Bugs

Mozilla has released an update for its Firefox 3.0 browser which patches eight security flaws.

Among the flaws fixed by Firefox 3.0.7 is a bug that Mozilla said "showed evidence of memory corruption under certain circumstances and we presume that with enough effort at least some of these could be exploited to run arbitrary code".

In an advisory, Mozilla added that it was concerned that JavScript flaws could also be exploited.

"We strongly discourage users from running JavaScript in mail. Without further investigation we cannot rule out the possibility that for some of these an attacker might be able to prepare memory for exploitation through some means other than JavaScript such as large images," Mozilla added.

This is Mozilla's second security release for the Firefox browser this year. The update can be downloaded direct from Mozilla's website. Alternatively, Firefox 3.0 users will be prompted to download the release with an automatic notification.

Windows 7 to ditch Internet Explorer?

Microsoft may give Windows 7 users the option to remove its Internet Explorer (IE) 8 web browser from the operating system.

The Aero Experience blog says build 7048 of the operating system benefits from the new 'Windows Features On or Off' function, which could potentially let users get rid of the browser.

Internet Explorer has been bundled with Windows for many years, a move which has created controversy. In January this year, the EU Competition Commission charged Microsoft with distorting competition in the market for web browsers by bundling IE with the Windows operating system.

"Given that this change doesn't exist in Beta 1, the odds that this change will persist through to RC are quite high," says the blog.

"There is a catch: for now, this only seems to wipe the actual executable running Internet Explorer 8. In addition, this actually takes two reboots and a configuration step to complete, so there's definitely something going on behind the scenes (likely a remapping of where IE-related functions can be found for other elements in Windows so that Windows doesn't complain about IE's nonexistence)."

Storm clouds over the iPhone

When I was supposed to upgrade my phone late last year, my wife suggested that I buy a new BlackBerry. But I decided to wait for the BlackBerry Storm to come to India. Though, in the meantime, I changed my mind on getting a new BlackBerry, I still wanted to review the Storm to help you decide whether it was better than the iPhone. I am not covering the other competitors, because I think only these two have got it all right - music, phone and email.

The Storm clearly looks like it was inspired by the iPhone. Research in Motion (RIM) has replaced its popular QWERTY keyboard with a 3" touchscreen, but not at the cost of the BlackBerry mission.

RIM has always been building serious business phones and the Storm does not change anything. If you are looking for email and messaging as your first use on the phone, the Storm wins hands down. I know some of you will say the iPhone has a better text input, but I think it is a matter of getting used to the phones.

But if you are looking for a phone that will be good with music, games and browsing the Internet then it is the iPhone that you should go for. The Storm does not live up to expectations on this front.

Like the iPhone, the Storm's screen flips from vertical to horizontal as you rotate the phone. This is a brilliant feature, and the Storm's new browser makes Internet browsing a good experience, but it does not match up to the brilliance of the iPhone. But I liked the click on the Storm. It uses a touchscreen, as well as a pressure switch matrix at the back of the screen to give a good tactile feedback.

I have been using a BlackBerry for years now, and the biggest plus for me has always been the QWERTY keyboard. So the touchscreen is a no-no for me. However, it works fine and has a keyboard layout similar to that of BlackBerry Pearl and Bold.

The Storm's best feature has to be the battery, which lasted more than a day. The iPhone on the other hand had to be charged by mid-afternoon.

I am confused how ultimately BlackBerry turned out to be the iPhone killer. Apple should be making plans to make a BlackBerry killer.

While the Storm is available only on Vodafone now, most service providers have the iPhone in their stables. But what wins it for the Storm is its price of Rs 27,990. However, the BlackBerry services will cost you about Rs 1,000 a month, while the iPhone package costs just Rs 500. But, I will still stick to the BlackBerry.

OMG! We're eating n sleeping SMS!

MUMBAI, INDIA: A teenage dame immersed in an SMSing game lying on a park bench. As the camera zooms out, we realize that she is having the game with her boyfriend on whose lap she is lying. A clear reflection of the generation that lives on SMS. From news to gossip to love to sex... everything is centered around this three-letter word!

The kind of explosion that is happening in the SMS space is evident from the recent report from VeriSign, Inc., a provider in Internet infrastructure services.

According to the latest quarterly index of mobile messaging statistics compiled by VeriSign's messaging and mobile media division, text messaging is one of the simplest and most useful means of mobile communication, allowing people to provide nearly real-time updates and alerts on the latest happenings to friends and family.

The VeriSign report says that it delivered a total of 224 billion SMS in 2008. And on a single day (you guessed it right – the recent Valentine's Day on February 14) 1.06 billion messages were delivered.

"Mobile messaging continues to play an even greater role in how the world communicate. Record usage growth requires a reliable, scalable network to ensure messages reach their intended destination – and as 2008 showed, VeriSign continues to deliver with ease," said Qi Li, vice president of Asia Pacific, for VeriSign's messaging and mobile media division.

Asia Pacific has traditionally led the growth of mobile messaging worldwide, and VeriSign has continued investing in and growing its reach in Asia, said a press release.

"Asia represents the single largest investment for VeriSign's Messaging and Mobile Media division and we are expecting a growth rate of 20-25 per cent in the next three years," Qi added.

He said that they have a long and successful track record in mobile messaging in the communications and enterprise segments, and intend to continue to address the rapidly emerging needs of mobile communications and enterprise customers throughout Asia.

Delivering 224 billion SMS not only shattered its original estimates of 200 billion messages, but it also saw a 134 per cent increase in its total messages delivered from 2007, the release added.

VeriSign facilitated an average of 772 million messages per day in Q4 2008, compared to 634 million messages per day in Q3 2008 and 352 million messages per day in Q4 2007, the release added.

Its combined mobile messaging networks achieved new milestones when VeriSign, together with RealNetworks, successfully delivered more than 1.1 billion inter-carrier SMS messages on Christmas Day.

At 6.89 billion and still counting, it is said that the world population is on the verge of an explosion. Do you think the kind of 'explosion' that is happening in the SMS space is even more severe, reflecting kind of addiction to the world of gadgets rather than dependence?
Source: CyberMediaNews

Facebook Goes the Twitter Way

This seems to be a year of change for Facebook. After the vow to make Facebook a democratic nation, now the plan is to make the social networking website even more on-the-go. Facebook will now go the 'Twitter way' with a real-time update feature.

Using his standard mode of communication with the public, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has made a blog entry on the social networking site to let people know about the direction in which Facebook is heading.

The highlight of the change, which will be incorporated starting next week, is the new homepage. Like in Twitter, users will get to see updates from all their friends as they happen. Of course, there will also be an option to choose who users want to receive updates from, by editing their privacy settings.

Also, the "What are you doing right now?" feature, which tells others about a user's status, will be changed to "What are you thinking of?" -- a shift that will offer Facebook users a real-time experience emphasizing on 'now,' again similar to Twitter's tag "What are you doing?"

Google Calendar Now Available Offline

After bringing the offline accessibility to Gmail, Google brings the same function to its calendar service. Currently in its beta stage, the offline calendar lets one view the schedule offline in case of weak Internet connection and traveling.

The offline calendar concept is ideal for those who're on the go and wish to check their schedule 'without' any active Internet or GPRS connection. This feature is made available to everyone though the usage of Google Gears, an open source browser extension for adding offline functionality.

Take your Google Calendar offline after signing into it and then click on "Offline Beta".

Google also offers offline mode with two-way sync for iPhone, Windows Mobile, Android and BlackBerry cellphones. For that, you'll need to have Google Sync on your mobile phone.

However, it is to be noted that Google Calendar is available offline in 'read-only' mode. Let's hope Google allows editing and creating appointments in calendar in offline mode too.