Internet

Google have announced Account Activity a new feature in your Google Account. If you sign up, each month Google will send you a link to a password-protected report with insights into your signed-in use of Google services.

“Knowing more about your own account activity also can help you take steps to protect your Google Account. For example, if you notice sign-ins from countries where you haven’t been or devices you’ve never owned, you can change your password immediately and sign up for the extra level of security provided by 2-step verification. ”

Read more at: http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2012/03/giving-you-more-insight-into-your.html

PayPal has announced a mobile payment system for small businesses.

The new service PayPal Here, includes a free app and encrypted thumb-sized card reader, which allows merchants with an iPhone, and later Android smartphones, to process payments.

Merchants can accept payments by swiping cards in the card reader, scanning cards and checks using their phone cameras, or by entering card information manually into the app, the eBay unit said. They can also send an invoice and set payment terms, and accept PayPal payments from the app. The check facility is however only available in the U.S.

An iPhone version of the card reader and merchant app is available from Thursday to select merchants in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, with general availability in those countries scheduled for April. PayPal also plans to have an Android version of the merchant app by then. It will announce the availability of the service in more countries soon, it said.

More info: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/credit-card-reader

Google has introduced “Google Play, a a digital entertainment destination where you can find, enjoy and share your favorite music, movies, books and apps on the web and on your Android phone or tablet,” to replace Android Market.

With Google Play you can:
Store up to 20,000 songs for free and buy millions of new tracks
Download more than 450,000 Android apps and games
Browse the world’s largest selection of eBooks
Rent thousands of your favorite movies, including new releases and HD titles
Starting today, Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore will become part of Google Play. On your Android phone or tablet, we’ll be upgrading the Android Market app to the Google Play Store app over the coming days. Your videos, books and music apps (in countries where they are available) will also be upgraded to Google Play Movies, Google Play Books and Google Play Music apps. The music, movies, books and apps you’ve purchased will continue to be available to you through Google Play—simply log in with your Google account like always.

Learn more: http://play.google.com/about/

Abine, the leading provider of online privacy solutions for consumers looking to regain control over their personal information, announced today the official release of its new product, Do Not Track Plus (DNT+), a simple and effective tool that gives privacy back to consumers. DNT+ makes it easy for anyone to see when they’re being tracked online and stop being profiled by social networks, large advertisers, and data collection companies, including Google and Facebook. The product takes a major step towards enabling consumers to control their privacy online as evidenced by over one million beta downloads.

DNT+ is the first product to launch in Abine’s collection of new privacy tools scheduled for release this year. The tool is available today at Abine.com for free. Once installed, DNT+ blocks hundreds of trackers that collect, use, and sell consumers’ personal information. The tool works seamlessly with all major browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. It blocks tracking across hundreds of websites, including those with whom consumers share most of their personal information.

Abine is 100 percent consumer focused and never collects or sells its customers’ data. Abine’s customers can trust Abine with their privacy because its business model is based entirely on revenue from sales of its products. Customers can visit Abine.com for free information about how to improve their privacy as well as find tools and services. Abine products are designed with people in mind: they’re easy to use and put control in consumers’ hands. Abine’s single-click download enables users to get DNT+ without sharing any personal information.

DNT+ can speed up website loading by up to four times, and allows consumers to see who is tracking them on each website they visit with a simple numbered icon in the corner of their browser window. Consumers can elect to block or allow the tracking at the individual website level. By doing so, consumers regain control of information while shopping, playing games, socializing, and more, and prevent real problems that can occur from profiling such as identity theft, reduced credit score ratings, and loss of employment.

The average web user is tracked by more than 100 technologies every day. By using DNT+, they can:

Stop advertisers from knowing everything they do online, including site visits, shopping interests, hobbies, clicks, and geographic location

See how they’re being tracked on millions of websites

Block a growing list of 580 different tracking technologies and more than 200 tracking companies

Improve web page load times by up to 4x

Block social tracking while still being able to voluntarily use social-sharing buttons, a feature that’s exclusive to DNT+

Keep a running count of who’s tracking them with DNT+’s block counter

Browse in true privacy, far beyond what built-in “private browsing modes” offer

“At Abine, our mission is to give every consumer control back over their private information online,” said Bill Kerrigan, CEO of Abine. “Do Not Track Plus is a big proof point in fulfilling that mission, instantly revealing the companies tracking you so you can block them and know that your private online activities are staying private.”

In response to a report last year by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University that criticized other blocking products as difficult to use, Abine’s R&D team carefully reviewed the findings and built DNT+ to address many of the researchers’ concerns. Specifically, DNT+ explains clearly how it works and what it does, providing an easy to use interface that is built specifically for consumers.

“There are a lot of concerns about the amount of personal information now being collected in the digital age and consumers need easier-to-use tools to help them make informed choices they won’t regret in the future,” said Lorrie Cranor, an associate professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and director of The CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Lab (CUPS).

With recent funding from leading venture capitalist firms Atlas Ventures and General Catalyst Partners, and an experienced executive team from the fields of online security and privacy, Abine is putting the most high-powered, yet consumer friendly, technology in the hands of consumers. Abine expects the number of consumers using privacy tools to better control the sharing of their personal information to increase by more than 100 percent in 2012.

About Abine

Abine provides consumers with online privacy solutions that are innovative, easy to use, and actually work. With proven tools, Abine enables people to both benefit from the Web and retain control over their most personal information. Abine is backed by premier venture capital firms Atlas Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. Abine: The Online Privacy Company (TM). Abine.com.

Google has just released new features that are specifically designed to make syncing to Google Docs faster and more reliable. The new Syncdocs takes full advantage of these features, with a new core sync engine that dramatically reduces sync times and increases sync fidelity. Syncs that used to take up to 15 minutes can now finish in 15 seconds.

Other new features include enhanced support for new style Google Presentations, scheduled backup to and from Google Docs, and powerful selective syncing options.

With Syncdocs, Google Apps is mapped as a G-Drive. Folders across multiple PCs and mobile devices just stay in sync automatically. Anything saved to these folders is automatically mirrored online and across all linked PCs. Syncdocs can also integrate with other cloud storage providers, like Dropbox or Box.net to sync these to Google Docs.

“Syncdocs gives you the freedom to access your files where you want, in the you want it,” said Donald Recsei, Syncdocs’ product manager. “Backing up cloud data is also increasingly important, something Syncdocs makes easy.”

In addition to providing sync and online backup, Google Docs are available right from the user’s Windows desktop. This means that Microsoft Office is no longer necessary to open or create Word or Excel files on the PC.

Syncdocs can also help in migration from Sharepoint to Google Docs.

The full version of Syncdocs is free, as is the upgrade. Users are only charged when syncing a large number of files. The free download of the latest version of Syncdocs is available at syncdocs.com

Joomla 2.5 has been launched with extra features and critical security issues fixed. Joomla 2.5 is far more scalable, secure, faster and effortless than its previous versions.

Joomla is a hugely successful PHP based opensource content management system (CMS) which is extensively used by companies and by individual bloggers alike. It is backed by a vibrant community of talented developers and tech savvy people. Joomla Project officially confirmed the launch of Joomla 2.5 on 24 January, 2012. For the first time ever, Joomla CMS gets multi-database support with the addition of Microsoft SQL Server.

“Currently, Joomla powers over 1.6 million websites globally. I believe it is a smart move to free it for multi-database support. Previous versions of Joomla required to be integrated with other software to achieve compatibility with databases other than MySQL,” said Mr. Paresh Sagar, Joomla expert of OpenXcell Technolabs, a prominent Joomla web development company based in India. “From dozens of new features, my personal favorite is automatic notification for core and extension updates. These resourceful features are likely to make Joomla 2.5 more favored by mid-sized companies.”

Joomla is distinguished among the opensource CMS platforms for its six month software cycle. It is a strong example of steady bite-size improvements. A new release is not solely marked by adding up of radically new functionalities rather by feature improvement. The community tries to make Joomla more secure, bug-free and user friendly by building up on existing features.

Security issues such as information disclosure vulnerability and XSS vulnerability are fixed in this release. It also has quick and effortless search facilities such as auto-completion and stemming. With only a couple of days of its launch, an overwhelming number of Joomla users have upgraded their websites to the latest version.

Giving Joomla users a word of caution Mr. Paresh says, “Joomla 2.5 is quite promising and it is a natural response for Joomla users to upgrade their website. It is, however, strongly recommended to engage professional Joomla developers to help you with the upgradation or else you might risk loosing valuable data.”

Version 2.5 is a long term support (LTS) release and will be supported till next 18 months. The pervious version, Joomla 1.7 will end its six month cycle on 24 February, 2012 and will be phased out from then on.

OpenXcell Technolabs is a premier web development company specializing in developing custom website, template and extension on Joomla. Their focus on quality solutions and maintaining high standards has earned them ISO 9001:2008 certification. The company will showcase its expert services at the upcoming IT trade show, CeBIT 2012 to be held in Hannover, Germany all through from 6 March to 10 March 2012.

OpenXcell Technolabs is a Joomla web development company with offices in India and US. If you are seeking expert Joomla developers for your project, look no further. Feel free to contact us on www.openxcell.com/inquiry-now.html

Google has changed its privacy policy, streamlining it across its multiple services including search, email, video and social networking sites, reports the BBC.

“More than 60 different policies will be combined into one that will go into effect 1 March, the company said.

Google said the new policy will give people more relevant search results and help advertisers find customers.

“We’re rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of our products and explains what information we collect, and how we use it in a more readable way,” said Alma Whitten, Google’s director of privacy, product and engineering.

The single privacy policy will apply to Google search, Gmail, YouTube and Google+, its social networking site.

Google has previously faced criticism over the sharing of users data.

Last year, Google and the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement to prevent Google from misrepresenting how it uses personal information and from sharing a user’s data without approval.”

ScoreBig (www.scorebig.com), a new members-only site offering guaranteed savings of 10-60 percent and no fees on tickets for sports, concert and theater events, today is among the first companies worldwide to launch a new app for Facebook Timeline that makes it easier for people to discover live events online. Members will now be able to share ScoreBig actions with their Facebook friends that go beyond a simple “like.” With the ScoreBig integration, users can highlight the offers they’ve made on tickets, as well as the deals they scored on their purchases.

“The Facebook integration provides an excellent opportunity to improve discovery of live events to their almost one billion members,” said Adam Kanner, CEO. “This integration is a major leap in making the event discovery and purchase experience more social.”

Starting today, new ScoreBig members who connect through Facebook will be able to start sharing their ScoreBig activity with friends as it happens. After a member grants permission, their actions on ScoreBig will appear on Facebook through their Ticker, the News Feed and on their Timeline. People will be able to control how their activity is shared, and will have the option to turn the app on and off, as well as turn off the individual activities that they prefer not to share.

To learn more please visit www.scorebig.com.

Chris Davies, writing on Slashdot has published an interesting review of the ZTE MF10 WiFi Hub on Three mobile.

“Until now, the two most common options are a USB dongle, for getting a single device online, or a mobile hotspot, sharing a 3G/4G connection with a number of WiFi-tethered clients. Now UK carrier Three has launched the Three WiFi Hub (aka ZTE MF10), a compact, semi-portable way to share a USB modem’s connection with multiple wireless and wired devices.”

The router has a pair of 10/100 ethernet ports on the back. On top is a rotating USB port for your modem, as well as four indicator LEDs for power, WLAN, PPP and WPS status. The back offers two buttons – WPS for easy connections with Windows-based computers, along with power – the two ethernet ports, each with activity LEDs, and a DC power input.

Read more

Spec: http://www.modem3g.com/base-wifi-zte-mf10-router.html

Manual: http://wwwen.zte.com.cn/endata/mobile/Chile_1/Chile_Instruction/201107/P020110729495421592122.pdf

Dongle support: http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.dll/,/?New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Device,varset_pid=5417,varset_cid=5418,Case=obj(5410)

Three set up pages: http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Devices/Modems/ZTE/MF10_Mobile_Broadband_Wi-Fi_Hub

http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.dll/,/?New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Device,varset_pid=5417,varset_cid=5419,Case=obj(5413)

Google Search for Android has been updated for previous versions. Compatible with Android 2.2, 2.3, or 3-point-anything, this upgraded app sports a streamlined UI, with categorized search suggestions displayed at the top of a device’s screen. it’s all around faster, to get what you need quickly, according the the Google Mobile Blog.

“In this version, you’ll notice:
Faster, smoother performance, with an updated and simplified user interface.
Suggestions for your search grouped by type, with web suggestions at the top.
Country-specific suggestions and search results for all countries with Google domains.
Long press to remove history items.

Additional tips we’d like to share:
Tap the arrow to the right of a search suggestion or history item to add it to your search term before searching.
Get suggestions from other apps on your phone – check out searchable items in Search settings.
Long press on home screen to add the Google Search widget, if you don’t have it already, to access search faster.

If you have Android 2.2, 2.3 or 3.x, you can download the app from Android Market

Belkin today unveiled its best-in-class wireless networking solution for maximum speed, range and performance, the Advance N900 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router. With Belkin’s exclusive MultiBeam technology, the N900 creates a robust, blazing-fast network that supports an entire household of Wi-Fi devices and media-intensive activities like online gaming and 3D video streaming. The N900 will debut at CES Unveiled on January 8, 2012, and be on display at the Belkin booth #30651 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2012 International CES.

Featuring dual-band combined speeds of up to 900 megabits per second, the Advance N900 delivers maximum data speeds on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands simultaneously. Built for high speeds, the N900 uses the IEEE 3×3 standard to transmit data on three streams, which gives 50 percent better throughput. Additionally, Belkin’s exclusive MultiBeam technology delivers a high-powered signal that allows for higher and more consistent network speeds and minimizes the number of wireless dead spots. With 6 embedded MultiBeam antennas, the N900 enables optimized video streaming from multiple devices, throughout the whole home.

Though the Advance N900’s speed and range set the benchmark for the router’s performance, other features of the router combine to create the ultimate wireless home networking experience for laptops, tablets, smartphones and AV devices. IntelliStream quality of service (QoS) automatically prioritizes video and gaming streams to eliminate buffering for uninterrupted streaming, and a 600MHz multi-thread processor enables high-bandwidth multitasking across all devices on the network. The Advance N900 also includes two high-speed USB 2.0 ports for ultra-fast access to attached network storage or wireless printing, and gigabit wirespeed routing for downloading at gigabit speeds and streaming from multiple devices simultaneously. Furthermore, a hardware-based Network Address Translation is implemented in the core chipsets to enable lightning-fast NAT speeds (up to 900+ Mbps) and the ability to route at these speeds-without compromising the performance of the rest of your home network.

The Advance N900 is a snap to install with Belkin’s Easy Setup, a simple process for getting the router out of the box and online in three easy steps, and also comes with pre-configured encryption settings for built-in wireless security.

Belkin Advance N900 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router (F9K1104) – $199.99
• Dual-band technology with simultaneous wireless speeds of up to 450Mbps (2.4GHz) + 450Mbps (5GHz)
• Exclusive MultiBeam antenna technology for high-powered wireless signal and maximum throughput
• 600MHz multi-thread processor to power through media-intensive multitasking
• Two high-speed USB 2.0 ports for fast access to network storage or wireless printing
• Download at gigabit speeds and stream from multiple devices at the same time
• IntelliStream QoS prioritizes video and gaming streams
• 4 gigabit ports for ultra-fast wired connections
• Guest network access for enhanced security
• Self-healing feature automatically resolves potential network problems
• Easy setup and pre-configured security

Availability
The Belkin Advance N900 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router will be available for pre-sale on Amazon.com in January and at major retailers across the United States and on Belkin.com in April.

Netflix, launches today in the United Kingdom and Ireland, offering instant and unlimited access to a broad range of entertainment for the low monthly price of 5.99 Pounds Sterling in the UK and euro 6.99 in Ireland.

Starting today, people throughout the UK and Ireland can begin a free, one-month trial of Netflix by simply visiting Netflix.com. Members can select and instantly watch a wide array of Hollywood, local and global TV programmes and films on their TVs via a range of internet-connected devices capable of streaming from Netflix, including Smart TVs, game consoles, Blu-ray players, tablets and mobile phones.

“We are starting 2012 in the best possible way: by giving consumers in the UK and Ireland an amazing entertainment experience,” said Reed Hastings, co-founder and chief executive officer of Netflix. “Now, you can enjoy as many great films and TV programmes as you want, when you want, where you want, for one low monthly price with no contracts or commitments.”

With more than 20 million streaming members in 47 countries and territories, Netflix has revolutionised entertainment by providing seamless and unlimited access to tens of thousands of hours of Hollywood and international feature films, full seasons of new and classic TV programmes, global documentaries, independent cinema and an incredible range of kids’ programming in a specially designed section called “Just for Kids.”

At launch, Netflix is offering films and TV programmes from All3Media, the BBC, CBS, Channel 4’s 4oD, Disney UK & Ireland, ITV, Lionsgate UK, MGM, Miramax, Momentum Pictures, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox and Viacom International Media Networks.

Among the tens of thousands of hours of great films and TV programmes available at launch are recent big screen hits such as “The Expendables” and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop;” first-rate American programmes such as “Breaking Bad,” “24” and “90210;” previous full seasons of UK favourites including “The Only Way is Essex,” “Top Gear,” “The Inbetweeners” and “Torchwood;” and a wide-range of documentaries, art house films and classics ranging from “The 39 Steps” and “The Aviator” to “Man on Wire,” “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” “The Princess Bride” and “Once.” In the coming months, more great films and TV programmes will be added, building upon the great entertainment choices available today.

A pioneer in the delivery of high quality streaming video and of advanced recommendation technologies that help consumers find the films and TV programmes they’ll love, Netflix offers an unbeatable entertainment experience with many films and programmes available in hi-definition and with Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1 sound.

Netflix is integrated with Facebook to make it easy for people to discover new films and programmes through their friends. Members can connect their Facebook account to Netflix and share what they’re watching on both Netflix and their Facebook Timeline. Similar to the success of social music and social gaming, the integration gives people another way to connect with friends around common passions. Members can always control what they share and can turn off sharing anytime, from either Netflix or Facebook.

People in the UK and Ireland can instantly click and play films and TV programmes streamed over the internet from Netflix using the following devices that may already be in their living rooms and a complete range of upcoming TVs, Blu-ray players and other devices.

Blu-ray players

LG

Computers

Mac

Windows PC

Game consoles

PlayStation®3 (PS3™)
Wii
Xbox 360

Home theater systems

LG Home Theater System

HDTVs

Samsung Smart TV

Smart TV adaptors

Philips HD Media Player

WD TV Live streaming media player

Roku

Phones and tablets

iOS phones and tablets
Android phones and tablets

About Netflix
With more than 20 million streaming members in the Americas, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq: NFLX] is the world’s leading internet subscription service for enjoying films and TV shows. For about US$7.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited films and TV programmes streamed over the Internet to PCs, Macs and TVs. Among the large and expanding base of devices streaming from Netflix are the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, internet-connected TVs, home theatre systems, digital video recorders and internet video players; Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV. In all, more than 700 devices that stream from Netflix are available. For additional information, visit www.netflix.com. Follow Netflix on Facebook and Twitter.