Learn to type faster and with fewer errors using Keybr.com

Have you ever wished that you had a way to practice typing for work or just for fun?

Keybr.com is a web software designed to provide readable text for you to imput. 

The idead is quite straight-forward: Type what you see

There are words, phrases and even quotes emering in the platform for you to type. There is a mode for learning how to type faster and there is also a kind of 'challenge mode' where you can see how fast you can type and keep highscores. Finally, to up the entertainment level of your typing lessons, you can import content from a web site or blog into Keybr.com to type it out.

How long would it take for you to develop a good typing speed? It would probably take you weeks to polish your skills up to a top level, but really decent speed can be achieved in a matter of hours with daily training. 

Keybr.com does not force you to type random characters over and over again; that is simply boring and contributes very little to your learning. Instead, Keybr.com generates readable random words using the phonetic rules of your native language. These words look almost natural, and often they really are. Typing sensible text is much easier than random letters, and it helps you to remember frequent key combinations. For example, it’s almost impossible for the letter ‘W’ to follow the ‘Z’ in English, and you will never type this combination in Keybr.com. Instead, you will type more common words, such as “the,” “that,” “with,” and so on. Keybr.com lets you introduce as few keys as possible to the lesson, adding more keys later when you feel that you are competent and fast enough on the current level. So, if you start with the keys from the Caps Lock row, then add keys form the Tab row, and then from the Shift row, you will eventually end up typing real text with capital letters and punctuation.

Keybr.com is a web–based software that runs directly in your browser. You don’t have to download or install anything! The most recent and up–to–date version is always with you. You can use it from any computer connected to the Internet, and your typing statistics are kept on the web site and available on–demand.

source: keybr.com

Facebook Hacked -No personal data compromised

Facebook announced on Friday that it been the target of a series of attacks by an unidentified hacker group, but it had found no evidence that user data was compromised. 

"Last month, Facebook security discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack," the company said in a blog post. "The attack occurred when a handful of employees visited a mobile developer website that was compromised." The social network, which says it has more than one billion active users worldwide, added: "Facebook was not alone in this attack. It is clear that others were attacked and infiltrated recently as well." Facebook's announcement follows recent cyber attacks on other prominent websites. Twitter, the microblogging social network, said this month that it had been hacked, and that approximately 250,000 user accounts were potentially compromised, with attackers gaining access to information including user names and email addresses. Newspaper websites including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal have also been infiltrated, according to the news organizations ( although those attacks were attributed by the news organizations to Chinese hackers targeting their coverage of China).

Two questions rise from the news above. The first one is if these attacks really left the personal data of the users untouched. Without the will to be conspirator, if the data had been compromised, would the companies announce it openly? A statement that leads to the second question: is the personal data safe under the possesion of the social media companies and in what level are these companies truly responsible for the personal data of the users? 

Although these questions lead to a very long conversation, the issue is that companies like Facebook will always be the targets of suck attacks since they represent a full database of the attributes, wills, likes, dislikes, trends and personal info of every person registered. 

iPhone 5 passcode security compromised

This could easily be a 'how to hack your iPhone 5' post.

In the Video you can see an exploit of a bug in the iOS 6.1 operating system that enables the user to gain access to the phone's contacts, text messages, data library and all the other features. 

The trick involves a call to the International distress number and a tapping of the power button of the phone. You can see the detailed procedure in the video above.

According to Apple sources, the company is aware of the bug and will deliver a patch on the next update resolving this issue. So, if you are a user that has not yet updated the operating system to iOS 6.1 it would be better for you to wait until the fix for this issue has been released. On the other hand, if you have already installed iOS 6.1 then it would be a good idea to protect your phone from 'malevolent hands'

source: www.wired.co.uk

iWatch: The new Apple trend

Rumors for a smart watch from Apple are constantly rising.

Latest leaks indicate that Apple is now focusing on creating a hand watch that will be able to execute all applications that an iPad or iPhone would. According to Bloomberg, Apple has already assigned a group of 100 people, including managers, marketeersm engineers and other stuff, to develop this watch according to the everyday needs.

Although someone might just claim that these rumors are not based on reality, truth is that Apple faces quite a problem regarding the value of its company that has dropped quite a lot according to the stock value. As a result, it is only logical for Apple to look for new ways of reaching top sales and elevating the value of its stock on the last September's peak.

With this creation, Apple will make the first 'serious' attempt on smart wearable mobile devices worldwide. Using this watch as the first step, the opportunity of experimentation is born. And if the experiment is successfull, there are countless other products that are characterized as wearable and can be turned into smart mobile electronic devices.

In any way, you can see some suggestions or ideas from individuals across the globe of what the iWatch could look like:

Nokia Experimenting on Graphene

Nokia has announced the claim of a 1.000.000.000 Euros (1,35 Billion Dolars) grant from the European Union in order to study in cooperation with Graphene Flagship Consortium the the application of Graphene, one of the toughest substances on this planet, into electronic devices.

...And by saying 'one of the toughest substances on the planet', graphene as a material is about 300 times more resilient than steel! Also, at high temperatures the material has indicated signs of self-repair (yes, self-repair!). It also is one of the thinnest electricity conductors, a fact that encourages the use of graphene in electronics.

Nokia researcher Jani Kivioja in his statement implied that the use of graphene is studied for already existing devices which would gain a certain level of extra resilience with the use of graphene. Also, this study is a great opportunity for the creation of new jobs in European Union, since unemployment has reached a critical point in some countries.

To end up, graphene is the material of the future for electronics and there is no better company to study the extended resilience of electronics with its use than Nokia (let's not forget the reputation of Nokia Phones..!)

Glimpse in the future: Transparent Smartphones

The first prototype of a transparent smartphone has been revealed by Polytron corporation.

As you can see in the picture, the future of smartphones begins to unfold. Tablets, phones and everyday devices in a transparent pattern. A scene of the Future.

Polytron corporation has managed to create an -almost- transparent smartphone where only the memory card and the batteries are still visible.

The technology used in this invention is called ''Smart Glass'' and turns the phone transparent once activated. The device cannot still perform calls since it is in an experiemental level but the company continues the project making it more possible every day.

In the end, this device is the first step to a -controversial by many- technology that many companies experiement on. It may seem a great breakthrough and a top selling device in theory but lets consider the practical application: Beyond te fact that this technology is located many years into the future, it still promotes an invisible phone. How practical would an invisible phone be? Will the user be able to control the level of transparency? Also, what happens if it falls (fragility)? Does it support maintenance? Once these questions are answered, we will be able to form a better opinion about this -unquestionably- noteable creation.

Below you can find a video presentation of the transparent device:

Steve Jobs: Death Can't stop you... :-)

no comments.... :D

RIP Steve Jobs

Sadly, it is true. The man that has given nothing but inspiration to the world has succumbed to his ill (as well as irreversible) health condition.

Steve Jobs has recently quit the position of the CEO in Apple due to these problems. Liver Cancer has reached a point of preventing him from stapping up to the needs of that position. But today Steve Jobs has died, leaving the world in grief. 

Steve Jobs, founer of Apple, has created a great impact through his ideas to the world. His thoughts have literally changed the way we act, work, interact, amuse and educate ourselves. His innovative ideas have created products used by people all over the world, products such as the iPhone, Mac, iPad and so on...

Steve Jobs died at the age of 56 years old.

Rest in piece Steve, you will be missed...

Amazon Kindle 'Fire' sells 95.000 pieces on its first 24 hours

Amazon Kinde 'Fire' has overpassed everyones ambitions on its first days of release, reaching 95000 sales just in a matter of 24 hours (according to eDataSource reports). 

Kindle Fire was expected to be a huge success by everyone. It combines all the features that make it a very stable and competitive tablet. If we takeinto consideration the price-features ratio, Kindle Fire may overpass even iPad since Kindle's price at the moment is much much lower. Beyond that, so far Kindle's sales have largely overpassed other manufacturers tablets such as HTC, Samsung or even Blackberry.

Kindle has reported more than 100.000 sales so far reaching a milestone for Amazon. Beyond that, the sky is the limit since the tablet so far is available only in the US. It will be interesting to see the people's reaction to it once it reaches UK and Europe in general. Rumor has it that in the UK its price will be around  159 Pounds.

Facebook 'Timeline'

A new improvement has been revealed by Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook at the f8 conference in San Francisco. 

What is the improvement? The personal profile itself. Facebook profile has been looking like the last day of your life. Visual Facts only refered to your actions one or two days before or even a week. But now Facebook profile looks like more of a blog, showing a catalogue of your Facebook activity so far (starting at 2008!). This profile will list all of your apps, all of your stories, all your links... it will be a complete list of your Facebook activity.

Nostalgia on Facebook or an act of self defence? We all know that Google Plus has been released publicly and it is rumored to de-throne Facebook from the king of social networks. The last few days we constantly see changes in the profile, user interface and even if we go back in time a little bit we see new functions on Facebook (like the videochat). It surely looks like the battle between Facebook and Google+ will be a tremendous one.

Facebook timeline will be available soon. For more information see this: http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline

Google Plus goes public

After 90 days of testing, Google's new social network reveals itself  to everyone, since from today morning no recommendation from an already existing member is required. Registration can be achieved by visiting Googles website www.google.com/+

Google has presented Google + on the Google blog also indicating about one hundrend improvements made on it, emphasising on Google Hangouts and the ability to video chat with one or multiple members of the Network (this function is also available on iOS and Android).

Also there is a lot of attention on the search function of Google+, which when used by a person, results may come up not only from the Google+ area but from anywhere on the web as well.

In the Google Blog there are also mentioned future upgrades on Google plus, most of them concerning the mobile version of Google+ where especially Android users will have access to a fully equiped Android App that will keep them in touch with Plus all the time.

Last but not least, Google Huddle, a service that is meant to allow users to exchange text messages via 3G is renamed to Google Messenger.

Overall we expect to see from Google+ a network that guarantees privacy control as well as better connectivity, fusing major elements from other already existing networks into one. So, let us see....

For more info on Google Plus check out this

Windows 8: A synopsis so far....

At the moment, Microsoft is organising a special conference (with the code name 'BUILD') for software developers. This convention is expected to reveal more information regarding the upcoming Windows 8. But what exactly do we know so far about Windows 8?

Interface

What will the user interface for Windows 8 be, touch-style or classic mouse-arrow interface? Or perhaps something else? And, even if it is a touch-style interface, how will it work on desktops (or vice versa on teblets)? 

We know from the begining of Windows 8 design that Windows 8 is planned to be a platform uses in every deveice known so that there will be no incompatibilities. So, Windows 8 will run as touch-style, mouse-arrow style or any other style known so far. It will be a platform used for every gadget and it will contain all available uses.

Features

What new features will be implemented in Windows 8? Will Windows 8 be faster? More Steble? And how about the equipment implemented?

These are the facts we know so far:

Booting the System: Microsoft has combined the Cold Boot function with the Hibernate-Boot function. So, in later versions Cold boot took longer to boot and hibernate took shorter but now these functions are fused into one for maximum comfort. As a result, faster boot time is available.

Improvements in the basic functions of Windows

Check out the new copy-file function of Windows 8. It provides the user seperate completion bars in case of multiple file coping. In addition, in case of duplicate file errors, the new Windows will provide thumbnails of the files so as to make the choice easier on what file to keep and which one to discard.

USB 3.0 Support: The upgrade of the most popular way of transfering files among computers is available on Microsoft Windows 8. By calculations on the release plans of Windows 8 and USB 3.0, the former will already be released when the latter begins arriving. So, Windows 8 will make use of this technology to offer up to 10 times faster data transfer (compared to USB 2.0) as well as better power management.

These are the most certain facts that Microsoft has invested on to make a difference. But that is not all for sure... Microsoft has undoubtly more aces hidden regarding the new platform and all users around the world are already anxious to getting a taste of the new Windows. Further information only is expected to be provided through the BUILD conference. 

Until more news come up here is a taste of the BUILD conference:

HTC Sensation XE announced

After a deal that HTC did with Beats Audio back in August and worth $300 million, the first smartphones to pack Beats Audio are currently being unveiled and they include the HTC Sensation XE, an upgrade to the current HTC Sensation (as if it ever needed it) bringing along extra features to tip you over to the Sense UI side.

The Sensation XE will feature an upgraded dual-core 1.5GHz processor (up from the previous 1.2GHz dual-core) which is amazing considering the originalHTC Sensation was speedy enough as it was, and in the box the Sensation XE along with all other HTC Beats smartphones will come with a pair of in-ear Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. HTC also say that the audio levels will alter themselves to fully optimise the listening experience for the Beats buds, just so you don’t have to.

Release date wise smartphone retailer Clove is taking pre-orders very soon today for the HTC Sensation XE, and they state it will be available for shipping on the 7th of October.

Overall I’d say that the combination of 4.3″ qHD display, snappy albeit colossal 1.5GHz dual-core processor and Beats Audio make the Sensation XE the single best smartphone in the world.

source: TechnologyBlogged

Nokia Symbian Operating system abandoned and handed over

So that’s it then. One of the most feature rich operating systems in the world has been left in the dust by its maker just because they couldn’t come up with a competitive UI. 

As of now, the responsibility for developing and supporting Symbian is thoroughly being handed over to Accenture, along with 2,800 employees that work on the OS.

These news just come to present the power that software development that these days, forcing Nokia to part with its multi-billion Euro baby.  This deal is expected to be implemented in early October. Although Nokia is bound by its promise to make symbian devices till 2016, the development of the OS is solely in the hands of Accenture now. 

If that concerns you, don’t worry since the company promised to take care of its outdated OS till 2016 (well, I do not really know in what way this is more comforting since Nokia really abandons Symbian, but anyway..).

The perfect gift for the lazy ones..

Have you ever been too tired or too lazy to go shopping for a gift for your girlfriend? The solution for you is called 'Gift Side Story' (https://www.giftsidestory.com)

All you have to do is state your girlfriends hobbies, interests and likes and this website offers you a variety of solutions that would make excelent gifts for her.

Gift Side Story administrators claim to really know what women want. And as a result they can offer great solutions for every guy troubled of what to offer as a present. All you have to do is get the website's administrators to know your girlfriend's character a bit better. How that happens? 

Clients are subjected to questions concerning the girl's hobbies, interests, age and personal style (they even ask you to tag her in a photo). Afterwards, the clients fill in a form with important dates in their relationship with that girl. After the submission of these forms the administrators send you via e-mail three choices for you to shop. For each you can pay through a credit card and have it delivered home (or at the girlfriends house directly, for the really lazy ones).

The website's services are limited at the moment and you have to be invited from another member in order to use the site (single passwords are provided by the website rwgularly as well).

Diablo 3 Leaks

Every gamer at this point is waiting for Blizzards new RPG game, sequel  of its previus success: Diablo 3.

Rumors have appeared all over the Internet regarding its release which is about to be announced on BlizzCon (and is expected to be before the end of 2011). Furthermore, about 25000 Beta testers are playing the game right now. As a result we have the first leaks of Diablo 3 gameplay. Here it is:

Volkswagen's zero-gas emission prototype: NILS

Looking towards a zero-emissions future, Volkswagen will use the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show to debut its new NILS concept car. Although the car will bow as a concept, VW indicated the car could eventually make production.

Stretching just 3.04 meters in length, the NILS is 50cm shorter than VW’s diminutive up! model. Although that means the NILS isn’t exactly well suited for the autobahn, its small footprint is ideal for city commuting.

The NILS won’t be used for carpooling, though, as it only offers seating for one. The EV features a small storage compartment behind the cabin, but that should be plenty considering the car’s limited 40-mile range.

The NILS is powered by a rear-mounted electric motor developing a peak of 33 horsepower and 95 lbs-ft of torque. Although that doesn’t sound like a lot, the MILS tips the scales at just 1,014 pounds, meaning it can still scoot from 0-62 in less than 11 seconds. The NILS’ top end is limited to 80mph.

Although safety can be a concern in a car as small as the NILS, VW has gone to great lengths to ensure driver safety. The NILS is fitted with a radar system that can scan up to 200 meter in front of the car and has the capability to bring the vehicle to a complete stop in the event of an impending accident.

“NILS anticipates the future,” said Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the Board of Management and Head of Development for the Volkswagen Brand. “The goal of the NILS project is to research a technically concrete and economically feasible vehicle concept for micromobility which restructures individual transportation to make it more efficient and environmentally compatible based on electric drive technology.”

VW appears to be serious about producing a highly efficient commuter car, so something along the lines of the NILS could be on the world’s roads by the end of the decade.

Prototype iPhone 5 lost by Apple employees twice

...Lost where? In a bar!

No, it is not an anecdote or a joke. In a time period of a single year the prototype iPhone 5 (which is about to be released in a few days) has been lost by Apple employees. How it happened? Well...

April 2010, an Apple employee (...for some reason his name is not public) walks into a bar carrying the new iPhone 5. After some drinks the employee walks out of the bar without the iPhone... When Apple realises that the prototype device has been lost, goes on pursuit of it and ends up re-taking back the device after finding out that whoever found it in the bar, that was originally lost, sold it shortly.

It happened last year, it also happened this year according to 'The Guardian' newspaper on todays post. The same thing happened (more or less) when iPhone was under test outdoors and away from the company's facilities. According to police investigation, the iPhone5 was (again) found by somebody and sold over through the Internet for 200 dolars. But when the police visited the house of the person supposed to have it, the family that resided there claimed to have no idea of where the iPhone would be. Even after police search (that was conducted with the permission of the family that resides the house) nothing was found. 

...Looks like there is an iPhone5 out there, a bit earlier than its release.....

HP Touchpad: Early Failure??

Looks like the HP touchpad, announced by the company in February and released in July has been a disappointment since it is struggling to sale in retail, even though supported by repeated price cuts. An early failure for HP?

Once the 4G touchpad has been released to the retail market, several retailers have ordered large amounts for sale. Retail chain stores such as 'Best Buy' and 'Walmart' have been involved in supplying the touchpad to the public. But looks like the results were not the ones that the shops expected. Reports show that out of the 270.000 pieces of the HP touchpad originally ordered by 'Best Buy', only 25.000 have been sold, a very frustrating outcome (even worst for HP, 'Best Buy' started discussion for taking back free of charge the rest of the order). Such dissapointing results were observed even though the company has repeatedly decreased the price of the touchpad, starting from 50 and ending up to a permanent 100 dollar decrease from the original price of 500 dollars for the 16GB version and 600 dollars for the 32 GB version.

Were does this failure for sales comes from? Opinions tend to vary..

Some people think that the price is very high for such a touchpad. The capabilities of HP's 4G platform slightly lower than iPad's performance but the price was the same. Combined with the brand equity that Apple has achieved, at this price HP had not much to expect for. It was quite obvious that customers would prefer the iPad.

Other people think that applications are the problem. Right now Apple offers about 400.000 applications and Android offers about 200.000. HP has not invested in this area, offering less than 100.000 applications, 1/4 of total Apple apps. This factor also pushes custimers to an iPad or an Android tablet, taking them away from HP's touchpad.

In general, HP touchpad does not really offer some competitive advantage over other tablets such as iPad or Xoom. Instead, it has almost the same price and its capabilities are slightly weaker. Moreover, HP has not yet earned a brand name such as Apple's in the field of tablets. All these factors have pushed down the sales of the specific tablet, offering frustrating almost two month after its release. 

One thing is for certain: HP should be investing more time, money and effort in competing the other companies in the tablet market if better results are to be achieved.

Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO

Following Steve Job's quitting the position of the CEO in Apple (see here), the seat is now taken by Tim Cook.

Tim Cook taking the position of Apple's CEO is no surprise. In fact Tim Cook has been prearing for such duties from the time Steve Jobs' health problems appeared, back in 2001. Ever since, Tim Cook has been the former CEO's right hand and the man to step to his place everytime Jobs was undergoing some medical treatment.

Cook has been employed by Apple in 1998. Prior to this he was Vice president of the 'Compaq' firm, in the department of corporate materials. He has also served other companies in his career such as Inteligent electronics and IBM. He is a graduate of Auburn university in Industrial Engineering and has also earned an MBA in Duke University 5 years later. 

When he first joined Apple, he was Senior Vice President for Worldwide Operations. There he was characterised as a strictly professional leader with innovative ideas which helped trully upgrade the problematic (at that time) supply chain system that the company used. People have named him as a very dry and business minded person with great organisational skills and a high level of commitment to his job. Even Jobs himself mentioned for Cook: 'Tim has been doing this job for over two years now, and its high time we recognized with this promotion'.

From all the above we can say that the man leading Apple to the future's innovations is a person that is higly appreciated by Apple personel and is very commited to whatever he is assigned. The position of the CEO will surely be a very challenging one for him but it is certain that he is suitably qualified for the job. Afterall, Steve Jobs was his teacher..