Windows 8 needs improvement: Microsoft co-founder

Describing elements of  Windows 8 as 'puzzling',  Microsoft co-founder Paul Allenhas admitted that the upcoming operating system needs some improvement. 

Allen said some elements of the operating system 'can induce confusion', but added that he was 'excited and impressed' by the new programme overall. 

"Windows 8 does certainly require a brief adjustment period before users become familiar and comfortable with the new 'bimodal' operating system," the Telegraph quoted Allen, as saying. 

Allen said he had been using Windows 8 on both a desktop computer and on a tablet, but described the dual operating system as confusing and said it was difficult to know which mode to choose when opening an application or a file. 

"A few minor issues aside, I'm impressed with its clever integration of a bimodal interface to simultaneously support both desktop and tablet use in the same operating system," he added. (ANI) 

iPhone 4 and 4S to get a price cut in India

Reports from various news sources claim that the iPhone 4 and 4S will soon get a price cut in India. The 16GB iPhone 4S is expected to see a price cut of Rs 3,100 to Rs 41,400. The iPhone 3GS, which last saw a price cut to Rs 9,999 via Aircel, has been discontinued.

The 8 GB iPhone 4, now the new entry-level iPhone, gets a price cut of Rs 9,100 to Rs 28,300. According to BGR.in, Apple will not be selling the iPhone 5 through Airtel or Aircel, and has appointed Ingram Micro and Redington for the launch of the iPhone 5 in India.

The phone is expected to launch in India by November. Meanwhile the iPhone 5 is already available online and in the grey market, at starting prices of Rs 60,000 for the 16 GB version and a drop dead rate of Rs 1,05,000 for the 64 GB variant.

The phone uses a nano-SIM, an even more slimmer version of the SIM card than its predecessor, which will have to be sourced from the carrier.

Three Apple resellers in Bangalore gave no confirmation on the availability of stocks and the new prices of the iPhone 4 or 4S.

1 billion-user mark

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergtoday announced on the website that the world's biggest social network now has over 1 billion users. In an associated fact sheet, the company said that it surpassed the 1 billion-user mark on September 14, at 12.45 pm (Pacific Time).

The company stated that the median age of users joining the week that Facebook hit the 1 billion-mark was 22 years. Facebook's five biggest markets are Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States, as per the company fact sheet. It also said that it has 600 million users logging into the website from their mobile devices. Since February 2009, Facebook has witnessed 1.13 trillion users' likes, 219 billion photos being uploaded and 17 billion location-tagged pictures.
The world's biggest social network, Facebook hit the 500 million user mark in July 2010. At the end of June 2012, it had 955 million active members.

The Menlo Park, California-based company has had a difficult time of late. There were trading glitches the day it went public in May and concerns since then about its revenue potential. It's also facing lawsuits from disgruntled shareholders. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said that the company is going through a bit of a rough patch following its rocky initial public offering.

image leaked : Samsung Galaxy Note II

A leaked image of the front panel of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note II has surfaced online. The image, provided to GSMArena.com by an anonymous tipster, shows that the design theme of the upcoming phablet (phone+tablet) is quite similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

The look is characterised by curved edges and a standard single hardware button flanked by a haptic key on either side. The Galaxy Note II is expected to be launched within the next few weeks, most likely during the SamsungUnpacked event on August 29, 2012.

In its post, GSMarena itself said that the authenticity of the image could not be verified by the tipster either, which casts some shadows over its credibility. However, rumours say that the design of the second generation Galaxy Note will be heavily inspired by Galaxy S III, thus gaining some credence to the image.

The post said that the tipster also provided data about the specifications of the yet-to-be-launched Note II. In line with speculations, these include a 5.5-inch SuperAMOLED touchscreen with regular RGB matrix. The tipster also informed GSMArena that the device was subjected for Full HD videos, but that put pressure on the battery of the device, and is likely to be shelved.

Another speculation reinforced by the post was the inclusion of a 1.5GHz Exynos 4 quad-core processor and 8MP rear camera. Samsung Galaxy Note is likely to be launched with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), since the Jelly Bean update for the same is still under development, the post stated

http://www.techgig.com/

India ranked second

India ranked second in the number ofeducation queries on Google, the search engine major said today.

India was ranked 8th in 2008, and is now behind only to the US, reveals a study titled 'Students on the web' compiled by Google India.

The study was compiled by combining Google search query patterns and an offline research conducted by TNS Australia on behalf of Google India.

Over 60 percent Indian students, who have access to Internet, use it as their first source to research for information related to educational courses and institutes, the study reveals.

"With over 60 million Internet user population in India being in age group of 18-35, educational related search queries are exploding on Google. Our core objective behind compiling this study was to understand the impact Internet is having on this young population with regard to education related decision making by the students,"Google India Vice President and Managing Director Rajan Anandan said.

Education related queries on Google in India are growing at over 46 percent year on year, that highlights strong demand for information on institutes and courses that are available in the country.

Out of all education related search queries on Google, over 40 percent of queries were for higher educationcourses and institutes.

Search queries from mobile phones have considerably grown showing a growth of over 135 percent and amounting to over 22 percent of all education related search queries.