Xiaomi Mi 3: First impressions review of the 'Chinese Apple's' Rs 13,999 flagship phone

Making its India debut, the fast-rising Chinese handset maker Xiaomi - which is often referred to as Apple of China - announced the launch of its three new handsets, including its flagship smartphone Mi 3, at its event in New Delhi. The Xiaomi Mi 3 is priced at Rs 13,999, while the other two phones launched under the Redmi series are priced under Rs 10,000.

Many of the experts got their hands on the Mi 3 smartphone at the launch event and here's what they thought of the phone, which the company claims is even faster than the Samsung Galaxy S5.

At first look, the Xiaomi Mi 3 reminded of the Lumia 800 as it borrows a lot of design elements from Microsoft-owned Nokia's early warriors. The Mi 3 looks good and has an elegant appeal to it. The phone's lightweight and its curved sides make it comfortable to grip. The matte-finished back adds to its beauty. Unlike the Rs 9,999 Redmi Note, the Mi 3's back panel is not removable and the phone supports only one SIM.

The phone's 5-inch 1080p IPS display has a good colour reproduction and great viewing angles. The touchscreen on the phone is very responsive and was smooth to navigate.

The disappointing thing in the phone was Xiaomi's India-specific theme. The icons used in the India theme are too gaudy for most smartphones users. But there is a way to switch the default theme and the looks improved.

The user interface is more like the one you find on other Android phones, but on exploring the apps, you see how different the interface is. For instance, the keyboard in the messaging app has all the numbers on the right - unlike their usual horizontal placement. I liked its calculator app as it looks a lot like the common Casio calculators.

Xiaomi places a high focus on themes for the phone. You get to see the different themes available, you might think different about it. The phone runs Android 4.4 with MIUI version 5.

The 13 megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash on the phone captures quality photographs, but don't expect them to be detailed. Its camera captures a good amount of light that makes the results impressive, but how well it fares in low-light conditions is yet to be tested. The 2-megapixel front camera is streets ahead of others phones in this price bracket; it won't disappoint selfie lovers. The phone is capable of recording 1080p videos.

The phone's 16GB of internal storage offers around 13.4GB of user-accessible storage space. There is no microSD card slot for additional storage. Beating under the hood is Qualcomm's 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor along with 2GB of RAM. It's too early to comment on its performance, so we are leaving it for the exhaustive review of the Xiaomi Mi 3 that would follow soon. The phone's speakers also appeared to produce loud and quality sound.

Altogether, the phone seems to be a good deal for its price but we are still holding our horses.

Xiaomi Mi3, RedMi 1S, and RedMi Note launched in India

Last week, Xiaomi had announced the Mi3 in India, which now has been launched for Rs.13,999 instead of the original announced price of Rs.14,999. The company had made this announcement last week, but along with the Mi3 the company has announced that the RedMi 1S, and RedMi Note are also coming to India for Rs6,999 and Rs.9,999 respectively. According to the company, the RedMi 1S andRedMi Note will be launch soon. The Mi3 is up for pre-registration today and the Mi3 will be available via FlipKart on July 22.

Xiaomi Mi3

 

The Mi3 has we have already reported is currently, Xiaomi's flagship smartphone. It offers high-end internals that are comparable to phones like the Sony Xperia Z1, the Google Nexus 5 and the LG G2. It has a 5-inch 1080p IPS display sourced from Sharp and JDI, a 13-megapixe rear camera from Sony, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM, a 2.1-megapixel front facing camera and a 3,050mAh battery.

It also has a 16GB of internal memory and features a unibody polycarbonate design similar to Nokia's Lumia smartphones. Its frame is also reinforced with aluminium on the inside. It runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, which is topped with MiUI v5.

The RedMi 1S is Xiaomi's budget smartphone. It has a 4.7-inch 720p IPS display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, and a 2,000mAh battery. It also has an 8-megapixelrear camera and a 1.6-megapixel rear camera. It runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean underneath the MiUI user interface.

The RedMi Note is Xiaomi's phablet. It has a 5.5-inch 720p IPS display, a MediaTek octa-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera and a 3,100mAh battery. It runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean running MiUI V5.

Xiaomi has set up a network of service centers in 20 big cites in India. There will be 2 exclusive Mi centers in New Delhi and Mumbai, which will have two hour turn around times. Additionally there will be 34 partner operated service centers that will have one day turn around times.

Additionally, the company also intends to bring its MiPad Nvidia Tegra K1 tablet and MiTV47-inch 4k 3D smart TV, but that will happen at a later date.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/xiaomi-mi3-redmi-1s-and-redmi-note-launched-in-india/1/372500.html

Ethical hacker Ankit Fadia is a fake

Soon after Microsoft India's online store was hacked last week, rumours swirled in Twitter that ethical
hacker Ankit Fadia had been hired as a security consultant by the software giant. He denies these rumours, calling them baseless.

Fadia feels that the hacking of the Microsoft website allegedly by a China-based group is part of trend that is here to stay. "The hacking of the Microsoft, CIA and the BSF websites happened within days of each other. Such hacking incidents happen all the time. There is no use overreacting as the hacking attacks will continue," says Fadia, also a bestselling author blamed for extensive plagiarising.

The hacker group, calling itself the Evil Shadow Team, stole from the Microsoft website usernames and passwords that it admittedly found unencrypted. "No system in the world is secure. If the CIA cannot fully protect its website, how can ordinary Indian companies. The firms should, however, be more pro-active about their security."

Fadia recently released How to Unblock Everything on the Internet, a book that shows how to allow sites restricted at workplaces, colleges or countries. "The book has been written for users who are not tech savvy. The book is intended to be

easily understood and contains screenshots of 50 techniques for unblocking sites," he explains.
The author of over a dozen books has often been accused of plagiarism and making tall claims. A security professional, who uses the handle @FakeAnkitFadia on Twitter, told The Sunday Guardian, "The first book that Fadia 'wrote' at the age of 14, The Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking, was a little over 32% plagiarised from other security publications and websites."

The security professional also burns holes in Fadia's claims of being featured in The New York Times Best Sellers List. "I have not found any mention of him in the list going back 50 years, either in the fiction or the non-fiction category." He points out that Fadia's statement that his website on hacking was ranked the second best in the world by the FBI is untrue, because the investigative agency has no such system of ranking.

The security professional says that he has been attending Black Hat and Defcon, the largest hacker conferences in the world, for the past 10 years but claims to have never seen Fadia attending them.
Blogger Sandip Dev lists reasons for Fadia being famous, despite his tarnished image. "The masses see computer security as some sort of dark magic whereas it is a systematic process, a science. Hence, these people can be easily fooled by the likes of Fadia. The other aspect is obviously shoddy journalism. Papers print whatever catches the readers' attention. A child prodigy in computers does just that and our 'idol crazy' nation laps it up."

A Facebook page, called We Hate Ankit Fadia, contains some scathing attacks on the celebrity author. "A Hacker should be a tool. Tools do not make anyone a hacker," says a comment, in reference to Fadia's books that teach hacking. "He is nothing but just a person with very good luck," says another comment.
Mohit Agarwal, who is associated with the Facebook page, cites at least six instances, twice of them this year, when Fadia's own website was hacked. "Fadia has spent his entire career talking about hacking and security, but has not performed penetration testing, has not secured networks and only offered pedestrian 'hacking' training re-branded as a certification bearing his own name," Agarwal says, referring to courses that Fadia runs in association with Reliance. "Just because he knows how to Google, he cannot be a hacker. He is a fake."

Courtesy : The Sunday Guardian

Check mahresult. nic. in Maharashtra Board 10th Result 2014, Maharashtra SSC Results 2014, MH SSC Result 2014, MSBSHSE Class 10th Result 2014 on 10th June 2014

Check mahresult.nic.in Maharashtra Board 10th Result 2014: Maharashtra State Board of Secondary (MSBSHSE) Higher Secondary Education will be announcing their Maharashtra Board Result 2014 / Maharashtra Class 10th Board Exam Result 2014 / 10th SSC Result 2014 Maharashtra Board / Maharashtra 10th Result 2014 / MSBSHSE SSC Result 2014 / MSBSHSE Class 10th Result 2014 / MSBSHSE Result 2014 / MH SSC Result 2014 on mahresult. nic. in on 10th June'2014.

 

MSBSHSE - The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education, Pune was formed in January 1966 under the provisions of the Maharashtra Act No. 41 of 1965. The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), conducts the MSBSHSE HSC Class 12th and MSBSHSE SSC Class 10th Examinations in the state of Maharashtra through its nine Divisional Boards located at Pune, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Nasik, Kolhapur, Amravati, Latur, Nagpur and Ratnagiri.

The Maharashtra Board conducts examination twice a year and the number of students appearing for the main examination is around 14 Lacs for HSC Class 12th and 17 Lacs SSC Class 10th , for the supplementary examination around 6 Lacs students are expected HSC and SSC together. There are about 21000 schools (SSC) and 7000 (HSC) Higher Sec. Schools / Jr. colleges in the entire state.

MSBSHSE - Maharashtra Board used to conduct HSC (Class 12th) twice a year. In the similar manner, Maharashtra Board has conducted HSC (Class 12th) board exam 2014. "Gangadhar Mhamane" also stated that, the Lok Sabha elections have not impacted the results. A glance at last year MSBSHSE Class 12th Result date also proves that the declaration of MSBSHSE 12th HSC Result 2014 has not been delayed this year. Last year, i.e. in 2013 the board had announced Maharashtra Board HSC Results on May 30 and MSBSHSE SSC Results on June 7.

Candidates are eagerly waiting for MSBSHE board to announce Maharashtra Board SSC Result 2014 / Maharashtra Board Class 10th Result 2014 / MSBSHSE 10th Result 2014 / MSBSHSE SSC Result 2014 / MSBSHSE Result 2014, so that they can plans their future accordingly.

Maharashtra Board Chairman “Gangadhar Mhamane”, said that, the MSBSHSE SSC Result 2014 / MH SSC Result 2014 / Maharashtra Board SSC Result 2014 / MH SSC Result 2014 / Maharashtra Board Class 10th Result 2014 / SSC Result 2014 Maharashtra Board declaration will take some time and will be declared around June 10, 2014 on mahresult. nic. in.

Students who appeared in Maharashtra Board Exam / Maharashtra SSC (Class 10th) Board exan can check their Maharashtra Board Result 2014 / Maharashtra Board SSC Result 2014 / MH SSC Result 2014 / Maharashtra Board 10th Result 2014 / 10th SSC Result 2014 Maharashtra Board Online on Jagran Josh http://www.jagranjosh.com/results/2014-maharashtra-ssc-39750

Best of Luck for all those who have appeared for Exams this Year !!

Apple IOS 8 : New Features

Many of the new features coming in iOS 8 are hidden under the surface or need developer pickup before they can be used, but there are a number of additions that beta testers can try out today.

Apple's WWDC keynote was chock full of new features, some for the end user and a ton for developers. Though not as sexy as new hardware, Apple's iOS ecosystem relies on developers to make the apps that keep bringing users back.
The new developer features are an incredibly opportunity for app makers, but it will be a few months before the end users begin to see the fruits of their labor.
Instead, here's a look at some of the new features that consumers will enjoy when iOS 8 comes out this fall.

1. Access apps from the lock screen

In iOS 7, apps like the official Starbucks app could put notifications on the lock screen to prompt user activity. In Starbucks' case, when users were located near a Starbucks, they could get single-swipe access to the coffee chain's digital payment system. Now, instead of a large notification, iOS 8 puts a small logo in the bottom left corner that can be swiped upwards to access certain features.
Figure A shows how the Starbucks and Apple Store apps can be accessed right from the lock screen when users are in those establishments.
Figure A

Apps can be accessed from the lock screen.

2. Responding to a notification in iOS 8

In iOS 8, when users receive a notification that could require some action, such as a text message or a comment on Facebook, users can respond directly from the notification without leaving the app they were in.
Figure B shows how the user can respond to a text message with Siri or via a typed message. In the WWDC 2014 keynote, Apple executives showed how Facebook could add a "Like" button to a notification.
Figure B

Users can respond to a text message with Siri or via a typed message.

3. Battery Usage indicator in iOS 8

Keeping an eye on battery status is a fact of life for mobile device owners. In the past, it would sometimes be difficult to determine when an app was misbehaving and taking more battery life than it should. Now, with iOS 8, users can see what apps are using the most power (Figure C) and make adjustments accordingly.
Figure C

The Battery Usage indicator.

4. Family Share in iOS 8

A useful new feature for families is Apple's Family Share (Figure D). With it, families can share music, movie, book, and app purchases across as many as six individual accounts with one credit card. Family Share even allows children to request permission to purchase apps, with a notification sent to parents to approve or deny.
Figure D

Apple's new Family Share.

5. Audio messages in iOS 8

Users can now send brief audio messages within iMessage, "borrowing" a feature from other popular chat programs like WhatsApp. Users can press and hold the microphone button to record a message (Figure E), then swipe up to send it. The recordings will automatically delete themselves to avoid filling up a device with unneeded messages, though users can manually decide which messages to keep.
Figure E

You can send brief audio messages in iOS 8.

6. Apple's new Health app in iOS 8

Apple's new Health app was the topic of a lot of discussion ahead of the keynote. In the end, Apple didn't seem to spend much time on the app, but it certainly holds a lot of potential.
At the moment, the Health app acts as a repository for health data sent by other apps, including calories burned, hours of sleep, heart rate, blood pressure, weight, and more (Figure F). It acts as a unifying force for health-related data that was previously spread across a multitude of different apps.
Many analysts expect the app's functionality to be expanded with the release of the rumored iWatch this fall.
Figure F

The Health app in iOS 8.

7. Siri improvements in iOS 8

Apple has made improvements to Siri as well. She can now listen to songs and tell you what's playing via new integration with Shazam (Figure G), and when the phone or iPad is plugged into a power source (say, in the car), you can say "Hey, Siri" and then begin dictating normally.
This is truly hands-free, even if it also was "borrowed" from Android.
Figure G

Siri in iOS 8.

What iOS 8 features -- if any -- are you most excited about? Share your opinion in the discussion thread below.