Windows Phone 8.1: Finally, a worthy rival to Android and iOS

It has been nearly four years since Microsoft launched Windows Phone. The OS is beautiful to look at and with its unique tile-based user interface, offers an approach to software that is fresh and modern compared to Android or iOS. The OS even forced both iOS and Android to change their approach to user interface and go for a flatter design. 

Unfortunately, each time we reviewed a Windows Phone device - all Lumia phones run this operating system - in the past we also found that Microsoft's mobile operating system, while good to look at, could not match the functionality of iOS or the flexibility of Android. 

In fact, the early version of the OS - Windows Phone 7 - was incredibly light on functionality, lacking even the option to copy and paste text. 

Since 2010, Microsoft is hard at work, trying to fix Windows Phone. The OS improved somewhat with each iteration. The Mango update was decent and so was Windows Phone 8. But it is only now with Windows Phone 8.1 (WP8.1) that we feel Microsoft has finally caught up to Android and iOS. 

WP8.1 is a big update. It adds a number of features. It became available through developer channels on April 14 (see below to know how to get it). We have been using it for the last three days and we can tell you that finally Windows Phone fans have the OS they deserve. 

Why do we say that? First let's talk about the two big features: 

Windows Phone gets a personal assistant
Windows Phone, a though an operating system for smartphones, was never really felt all that smart. That is until now. With Windows 8.1, Microsoft has added a virtual assistant to the operating system. It is similar to Google Now in Android and Siri in iOS. Similar but not the same. Unlike Google Now, which is not a chatty type and won't tell you any jokes, Cortana can talk back and say funny things. And unlike Siri, which doesn't believe in the background tracking of your flight, Cortana can be like Google Now and can track a courier package for you after getting the tracking number from your email. In a way, Cortana is best of Siri and Google Now.

The key bit about virtual assistants is that they may have all the features and may sound sexy and funny but unless the technology behind them, especially the search and voice recognition is not good, they are useless. Cortana, however, is great! 

Even while dealing with heavily-accented English pronunciation, it recognises the voice commands almost all the time. It is as good as Google's voice recognition on Android phones. This is an impressive feat. 

Once Cortana has done hearing what you are saying, it can perform several tasks for you. It can set alarms and reminders. You can dictate messages to it and ask it to call a contact. It can search internet (Bing is supported, Google is not) for a topic. It can show you headlines of the day on topics that interest you. And of course, it can track your flights and courier packages, though this functionality is not yet available in India. (In fact, Cortana is not yet officially available in Windows Phones in India). 

Apart from adding the functionality to perform tasks on the phone with the voice commands, Cortana makes Windows Phone sexy. It makes the OS smart. The OS no longer looks like or feel like second rate to Android or iOS. It is just a perception. But we feel it will go a big way in attracting consumers to Windows Phone devices. 

You can haz notifications!
At last, Windows Phone has a notification centre. And it is uncannily similar to the one in Android. But we are not complaining because the notification centre in Android is amazing and works well. 

In WP 8.1, you can swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notication centre. There are four toggles to control Wi-Fi, BlueTooth, Airplane Mode and Rotation Lock. There is also an option to go to "all settings" directly from the notification centre. Notification can be cleared with a swipe. In the settings for Notifications+Actions, a user can configure which apps are allowed to give notifications and which apps aren't. 

Compared to Android, the notification centre in WP8.1 is still basic but it works well and goes a long way in making Microsoft's OS more approachable and easier to use for mainstream consumers. 

Other than these two big features, there are also a number of small enhancement in the OS. Some of them are really useful, some not so much. But all of them improve Windows Phone in one way or other. Some of the important new features are: 

SMS search: Phew! Finally, you can search through your messages on a Windows Phone. This one simple features adds so much usability to the OS.

Set a wallpaper: Windows Phone now allows a user to set a background image on the screen. The tiles became transparent if you set a background image. This looks good and helps a user customise the phone in a personal way. 

New camera app: The camera app in the WP8.1 has a new layout as well as adds a feature to capture images in 'burst mode'.

Extra row of tiles: Instead of two rows of tiles, now if you want you can have three rows on tiles. On phones with smaller screen, this will not be much useful but those who use Windows Phone devices with bigger screens will appreciate it. 

Updated calendar: Among the major changes, weekly view is the most significant.

Swype to type: The Windows Phone keyboard now supports "swyping". This means to type a word, users can swipe finger on the alphabets in that word. A lot of people using Android find it a faster way to type so it is good to see it now available to Windows Phone users. In our use, we found that typing through "swyping" in WP8.1 keyboard is easy and words are recognised accurately. 

New Internet Explorer: WP8.1 comes with Internet Explorer 11. It has a reading mode as well as a few user interface enhancements. However, we still prefer Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS compared to IE on Windows Phone. 

* You can tell Cortana to enable "Quite Hours" if you don't wish to get calls or messages while you are sleeping or in a meeting. This is similar to Do Not Disturb on iOS and works very well. 

* The Facebook integration with Me hub has not been removed. This is a welcome change and simplifies the user interface. 

Conclusion
As we said earlier, WP8.1 allows Microsoft to finally match what Google and Apple offers with their Android and iOS operating systems. And this makes Windows Phone a very good operating system and a viable option if you don't want Android and iOS. 

Essentially, the strength of Windows Phone remains the user interface. The flat, tile-based user interface is unique. With emphasis on bold colours, it is also catchy and looks fresh. Another good thing about the Windows Phone user interface is that doesn't lag, even on budget phones like Lumia 520. If there are performance issues, the OS hides it well from users with clever use of animations. 

This makes Windows Phone better than Android, especially on the budget phones. Until now, it was missing too much on functionality to be really a good choice for consumers but with WP8.1 Microsoft has more or less fixed it. 

Android is still more flexible, has better integration of Google services like Gmail and Google Maps, which almost everyone uses, and offers access to much better third-party apps. iOS too is a mature operating system and offers consumers very good smartphone experience. But with the latest update Windows Phone is finally at a stage where we don't have any qualms about recommending it if you don't like the look and feel of Android or iOS. 

How to get Windows Phone 8.1
Currently, Windows Phone 8.1 is only available to developers. It will be rolled out to all devices that run Windows Phone 8 in the coming months but for now there is no definite timeline on when different devices will get it. In case you don't want to wait, you can get the version meant for developers but it is not final and may have bugs/software glitches and performance issues (we didn't encounter any). Also, installing developer version of the OS will void your warranty. 

Here is how you can get the developer version of Windows Phone 8.1: 

* Go to Windows Phone App Studio website and register yourself using the Microsoft account. It is free. 

* Download and install an app called "Preview For Developer" from the Windows Phone app store. 

* Open Preview For Developer and register using your Microsoft account. 

* Go to settings and use the "phone update" feature to download the latest updates, including Windows Phone 8.1 

How to enable Cortana
If you are in India, you will not get Cortana in Windows Phone 8.1. But you can enable it by following these steps: 

* Go to Language in Settings and select English (United States). 

* Go to Region in Settings and select United States. 

If required, download the language pack (around 22MB) and reboot the phone if prompted. After the phone has been rebooted, you will see Cortana in the list of apps. Open it and configure it using onscreen instructions. 

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Google Adds SLR-Like Lens Blur To New Camera App

Yet another feature once only found in expensive SLR cameras is making its way to smartphones: the buttery background blur caused by wide-aperture lenses. Google is bringing a simulated version of this blur to Android phones worldwide.

The feature is part of a redesigned camera app out today from Google, available only to devices running Android 4.4 (KitKat) and up.

Background blur, also called bokeh, is an optical effect made possible by the opening in the lens through which light passes — the aperture. The wider this is opened, the more light is let in (allowing for shots in lower light) but the narrower the area in front of the camera where the image is sharp — sometimes it can be just a fraction of an inch.

Smartphone cameras don't generally show this effect because their compact lenses and sensors don't allow for the distortions of light necessary to create it. Simulating it is possible — but only if you can somehow tell how far away everything in the image is.

Google solves this problem by having the user move the camera after taking the picture, during which the software captures more images in succession, tracking objects and determining their distance. This creates a "depth map," and from there blur can be applied by the user to the background or foreground, and to whatever degree they choose.

Others have achieved this with other means: Lytro's famous but impractical camera measured tiny differences in the paths of light waves, and the recently announced Nokia Refocus app uses a technique something like Google's but without the moving camera bit.

SLR users will doubtless mock this method as being as close to real bokeh as Instagram's filters are to the famous film stocks on which they are based. But fake or not, it's a tool any photographer, mobile or professional, will be glad to have in their possession.

You can read more about the technology at Google Research's blog post.

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Honda's ASIMO Robot Is Now Surprisingly Human

Honda's remarkable humanoid robot, ASIMO, has come a long way since I first saw it stiffly walk across a stage more than a decade ago.

The latest edition can run briskly, climb stairs with ease, dance like Travolta, kick a ball and jump up in down in what can only be described as a robot tantrum.

The 4 feet tall, 115-pound robot now features five dextrous fingers on each hand with force feedback sensors. As we saw in its first North America demonstration at the International Auto Show in New York on Wednesday, ASIMO can pick up a sealed container filled with orange juice, unscrew the top, pick up a paper up with its other hand, pour the juice and carefully set both cup and container back on the table.

It's a simple task for humans. For ASIMO, it takes a great deal of sensors, including its two camera eyes and the sensors in its hands — which not only tell the robot that it's holding something, but what kind of object it is and how much it weighs.

Earlier versions of ASIMO were somewhat larger and heavier, but this robot has a far greater degree of autonomy.

When I first saw ASIMO (which stands for "Advanced Step in
Innovative Mobility”) in 2003, the robot was remote controlled from behind the stage. Now the engineers program it with simple tasks — and ASIMO uses its sensors figures out the rest.

It can navigate a floor, labeled with tape so ASIMO can keep track of where it's going. It can walk up a flight of steps without pausing (or falling). ASIMO still has to pause before descending the steps (it kind of stomps down them).

The robot's battery still doesn't last more than 40 minutes, and ASIMO has an unfortunate habit of walking in a semi-crouch. But it can now also jump in place and hop on one foot. Neither of these actions look super smooth, and seem unimpressive until you realize you're judging a man-made object by human standards.

It's a robot that can jump, not a person jumping while wearing a robot suit.

Honda, which started the ASIMO project in 1986, is spending a lot of time working on ASIMO's communication skills. The robot can understand a handful of phrases and is now quite adept, thanks to its articulated hands, at Japanese sign language. Honda executive Jeffrey Smith told us that ASIMO is in the process of learning American Sign Language.

Best know for making cars, Honda, is working hard on removing the "creepiness" factor from ASIMO, a task that becomes increasingly important — and perhaps difficult — as ASIMO becomes more and more human-like and starts to approach the uncanny valley.

ASIMO, for example, can serve tea — but instead of focusing the robot entirely on the task of delivering and pouring hot liquid, Honda has programmed ASIMO to pause and look at the guests before bending down and placing the tea on the table. That simple act, which mimics what a human might do, "helps people have more friendliness and affinity toward ASIMO," explained one Honda executive through an interpreter.

It's also critical that ASIMO, which can now recognize faces and vocal commands, also read our non-verbal communication. Honda researchers hope to build this skill by placing ASIMO in more real-world situations, where they can collect additional data.

In our brief time with ASIMO, the robot showed off all its skills, including running across the stage at nearly 3 miles an hour; it even shook my hand. As I held its cool, magnesium alloy appendage and felt it firmly, yet gently, pump my hand, I imagined a not-too-distant future where a robot like ASIMO is carrying my luggage, fetching a ginger ale from the fridge, or keeping my children entertained with a game of soccer.

For now, though, ASIMO remains an impressive piece of robotic technology — one that, like a favorite aunt, visits far too infrequently and has no timetable for a lengthier or permanent stay.

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Change Google Plus Custom URLs?

Did you noticed the URL of my profile in the above image? Yes, it is custom which comes with the name or username and the long code is removed now from my profile! Recently, Google has announced the custom URLs for Google+ accounts and profiles and it really seems a great update because mostly people was being irritated by that old long URL which came with the code. In this post, I'm going to show you that how can get or change the custom URL which will be short than previous.

Google+ Custom URLs - Who Can Get This?

As you know that Google has recently announced the custom URLs because the old URL seems long and it was annoying people many times because we couldn't easily remember the old long URL and this new one is really simple and short which can be remembered just by seeing it only one time. I would like to recommend you that before getting it you must read the terms, conditions, policies and principles of this new feature. Read Google+ Custom URLs Term of Use.

Now, this awesome feature is available to only established profiles which may have good number of followers, friends, well designed with cover and profile pic, real and accurate information in the profile like date of birth, living place, work etc, it should be verified with the phone number and you should have the verified Google authorship if you own a blog or website. It just means that you should have the strong profile. If you've all these requirements then you can easily get it. You can checkout the following link to know that how can we verify the authorship and it helps to get that custom URL. 

Read : How To Get Google Authorship Verified?

How To Get Custom URL for Google+ Profile?

There is nothing any big process in getting the custom URL but once if you're eligible for that feature, then you can get it in seconds. So, follow the below simple tutorial.

1. Go To Google+ and Sign in to your account.
2. Go To Profile.
3. There, you will see the blue color notification asking for getting the custom URL.
4. Click on "Get it" button.
5. Now, it will ask for the confirmation and also for choosing your own custom URL.
6. Edit or change the URL and confirm it in last.
7. That's all, You're done!

Was it difficult? - Final Words

I don't think it was any difficult process for getting the custom URL for your Google+ profile but it was the most easiest thing. Now enjoy the short custom URL and also show your friends about and share this tutorial with them. Remember, if you've pages on Google+ and if they're also eligible then you can also get it for your pages. And if you can't see that blue notification bar then you need to complete your profile or verify the authorship and you will get it soon! Keep visiting us for more news, Take Care!

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Show Author Profile Picture In Google Search Results

Google is making a lot of improvements and introducing latest features in their whole system for the development. Some months ago, the latest feature was introduced specially for webmasters and bloggers and that is Google Authorship Markup. It is a kind of certificate or license which helps webmasters and bloggers to produce content is a better way. If you've verified your Google Authorship then whenever you'll search for any keyword and if your webpage appears in the search results then it will be having a profile picture or it will appear like thumbnails. Most of webmasters are willing to get their verified Google authorship to show the author image and today here I'll be guiding them on how can we verify Google authorship and show author image in search results.

In order to display author profile picture in Google search, you may setup profile picture for Google+ and you can use photoshop online free to edit or customize your picture.

Display Author Profile Picture In Google Search

In order to show the profile picture in Google search results, you will need a Google+ account. Because, you've to connect the Google+ account with your Blogger account. It actually shows the Google+ profile, that's why It is required. There are two main methods to to get the Google authorship verified. The first one is verifying with domain email and second is one by manually inserting the rel='author' attribute to the Google+ profile links. And second method needs to link the profile with your site manually. We're going to discuss these both methods below.

Method#1 : Verifying The Domain Email

Verifying the Google authorship with domain web email is not difficult. But it is the most easiest way. And here you will just need to have an email address created in your domain hosting panel or control panel. If you've bought the hosting of your domain then you can easily create that email or you might have already created. It will look likeyourname@yourdomain.com or simply my email address Master@techbloggermaster.com. You can also contact your hosting provider or 24x7 to create that kind of email if you've hosting. Let's come to start the tutorial.

• First of all, Sign in to your Google+ account.
• Secondly, Go to Google authorship markup.
• There in the right side, you will see an input box in the last for domain email address. Simply fill the email address which you've but remember it must be created in your domain hosting like  Master@techbloggermaster.com.

• After entering the email address, easily click on "Sign Up For Authorship" button at the bottom.
• Now you will receive an email address for confirmation that email. It will be having a link which you've to click.
• Open the inbox of that email and click on the confirmation link.
• A message will appear that you've verified the email address.
• That's All for verifying Google authorship with email address.

Method#2 : Manually Verifying Google Authorship With rel='author'

This is another manual method specially for those who don't have the hosting for domain and still want to get verified Google authorship. This might be difficult for you but I don't think you will face any problem in doing this method if you follow this tutorial carefully. In this method, we'll make use of rel='author' attribute which help us and Google to verify the authorship. In this method you need an About Us page created in your blog and Google+ profile is also required as it is already needed while verifying Google authorship. So, let's begin the tutorial.

Step#1 : Adding Google+ Badge Widgets In Sidebar

The first thing is that I recommend to add the Google+ badges or widgets in your blog anywhere you want. But I think sidebar is the best idea. This will help you to get linked your profile and Google+ page with your site that will also help to Google in understanding that this is your own site. There is not any long process to add these widgets in your blog but previously, I'd shared a tutorial on how can we these kind badges in our blogger blogs. Just land on the tutorial given in the last upcoming sentence and follow the tutorial. I recommend to add the two widgets which are your Google+ profile and Google+ page if you have. Same as I've added in the sidebar, look at the sidebar and here is the tutorial.

Step#2 : Using rel='author' Attribute In About Us Page

• Go to pages in Blogger and edit the About Us page.
• Enter into the HTML Tab and add the following link code anywhere where you want to add.
• Replace Google+ ID with the ID of your Google+ profile. [You will see the long ID number in the URL of your profile]
• Replace Your Name With Your Name.
• Don't touch or remove the rel='author' otherwise the tutorial won't work. 
• Publish or Update the About Us page.

Note : After adding the rel='author' link in your about us page, if you've more links in your blog going to your Google+ profile then I recommend to add rel='author' to all them. I'm not saying to add other links on any other place but If your google+ profile link is already added before the tutorial then you should add rel='author' to the link. Mostly, people have used social widgets in which Google+ profile link might be available. So if also have any kind of widget then add rel='author' to that link in that widget for the quick verification.

Step#3 : Adding your blog link in Google+ profile

By continuing the tutorial, this is last part of the tutorial in which we'll insert your blog link in your profile. And this will make sure to the Google that you're the actual owner. I won't waste your time and I'm not going into deep. Here is the tutorial.

• Login to your account.
• Go to the About page.
• Scroll down and Links section will appear.
• Click Edit button and a popup will appear. Simply, Add the link there.

• After placing the link there. Save your profile and you've done!

Checking How The Profile Picture Will Appear In SERPs

This is the additional or advanced part of the post and in this part, we'll check that how the profile picture will appear in Google search results. By default, it will take about a week to completely display the picture in SERPs but there is a tool given by Google and by use of this, we can check that the authorship is verified correctly or not. So, let's check it.

• Go to Structured Data Testing Tool
• Enter the URL of your blog and click "Preview".
• It might take some seconds to check and load the results.

Note : After completing the process, you've to wait at least a week to let the Google get verified your authorship and they may update the pages of you in SERPs. Sometimes, they take more than a month. So, please keep calm and wait for being completed the whole process.

Final Words

People mostly asked me through contact form and on social profiles that how do we show the image in search results. I'm sorry for being late to publish this tutorial. I hope this tutorial is surely going to help those who contact me and also for those who want to get authorship. If you've any problem regarding this guide then feel free to ask in comments. Also share your views on this guide and share this tutorial with your friends. Take Care!

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ROLL LAPTOP Amazing new Technology 2012

Roll Laptop

Watch below Video

Rolltop is a portable computer development concept for designer, architect and everyone, who would like to have a gadget, which, from an aesthetic standpoint alone, certainly hits the mark. By virtue of the OLED-Display technology and a multitouchscreen the utility of a laptop computer with its weight of a mini-notebook and screen size of 13 inch easily transforms into the graphics tablet, which with its 17-inch flat screen can be also used as a primary monitor due to the support attached to the back of the screen. 

Rolltop 2.0 is a further development of Rolltop with some visible and mostly invisible improvements (e.g. internal design, placement of certain components etc

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tops 2013 charity giving list

Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly topped the giving list for US philanthropists after donating a Silicon Valley foundation with nearly one billion dollars.

Zuckerberg, along with wife, Priscilla Chan, contributed the sum to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation including 18 million in Facebook shares that totaled to about 992 million dollars.

According to Newsmax, Zuckerberg is joined by 14 other big ticket donors in the US, including outgoing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and businessman and political activist David Koch, who were among those giving away at least 100 million dollars of their fortunes at one time.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy released its annual charitable giving list in which Zuckerberg featured as the first person aged under 30 years of age to top the list of biggest donors.

The report said that Zuckerberg had made the same donation in 2012 with 18 million shares of Facebook stock, but that year the shares were valued at much less, worth under 500 million dollars.

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