A social network for the dying -- called My Last Wish -- has been created to help dying people meet others who have similar hopes and ambitions which they wish to achieve before they die.

The free app, created by a software company called White Lotus Corporation, is available in Apple's App Store, the Telegraph reported. "A social networking application to make friendship with those unknown people from corners of the world with different ethnicity, culture, traditions, value systems, life style and much more - but having only one thing in common and that is the 'Last Wish'," the website says about itself.

"By this application, we have tried to unite the community on the 'Wish Wall' to share their last wish with the world and find out those people with similar wishes before they die, get connected to them and be friends forever."

Users of the app - "fellow wishers" - are asked to post their final wish on to the "Wish Wall" and can choose to attach their email address or phone number so other users who want to do the same thing, can get in touch.

"Fellow wishers" can tap on a user's name and their contacts will be instantly added to their phonebook.

One user named Eve Lynn said her last wish was to: "Drive out to the desert and watch the stars with the man I love."

Kirtan Thaker, co-founder of the White Lotus Corporation, said: "I believed in the possibility that there can be two persons in this world with same hopes, dreams and wishes. I was confident that if we create an app where this possibility can be turned into reality, people will love this concept and they will get a chance to make friends who are unknown but having just one thing in common which is the last wish." -IANS

We first heard about this new scalable OS when it went into development following a partnership between Samsung and Intel in September 2011. Tizen is a combination on Intel’s MeeGo and Samsung’s LiMo platforms.

There is good news for those who have been waiting for this OS to launch as a report on DigiTimes suggests that first devices based on Tizen may hit the market sometime in late June.

Manufacturers including HTC, Asus and Acer will be launching new devices running Tizen in the second half of this year. Apparently, Acer and Asus are currently preparing a Tizen-based netbook which will be focused at emerging markets. There are a few other manufacturers who are also developing in-vehicle infotainment solutions based on this upcoming OS.

Tizen is an extremely scalable operating system as it will perform on smartphones, tablets, internet-based TV, in-car infotainment systems and various other embedded systems. It is mainly an HTML5 based operating system and we are quite excited to see it in action.

Lenovo has released the IdeaCentre H430 and IdeaCentre H520s with the option to load then with the latest Core i5 and Core i7 processors. By the looks of it, these rigs are designed for those with small desktop space and somewhat equally thin wallets.

The starting price of IdeaCentre H430 is listed as Rs. 24,990 plus taxes, and the IdeaCentre H520s starts selling at Rs. 21, 250. It is not very clear however, if third-gen processors are available at this price as these models are also sold with Sandy Bridge processors. When fully specked out, these machines can be loaded with AMD Radeon 7570 or NVIDIA GT 630, 8GB RAM, Blu-ray drive, USB 3.0, and an onboard TV tuner.

Caged within a case that is meant to be slim and compact, we hope that Lenovo is using some clever heat management design to handle all that hardware. Lenovo does not have these desktops listed on their Indian website, but you can get a peek global version here.

ASUS has released the P8Z77-V Premium motherboard with Intel’s Z77 chipset for third generation processors. ASUS has slapped the Premium tag on this model as it loaded with all the modern bells and whistles like an onboard 32GB SSD for system caching, USB 3.0 ports, PCIe v3.0 slots for quad GPU setup, and even a Thunderbolt port.

This single Thunderbolt port has 10 Gbps bandwidth and it can support up to six, daisy-chained devices. The premium edition of P8Z77-V gets SMART DIGI+ technology based onboard processors control voltage to the CPU, RAM, and the onboard graphics accelerator. This technology also lets the user set system performance based on the maximum overall wattage consumption.

On the audio front, the onboard processor in built with DTS Connect technology that remixes stereo sources to work over 7.1 channels, and DTS UltraPC II for true 7.1 surround sound. For networking, this motherboard is equipped with dual Gigabit ports, and support for Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band radio, Bluetooth v3.0+HS, and Bluetooth v4.0. All this goodness comes at a considerable investment of Rs. 34,385 for the ASUS P8Z77-V Premium motherboard.

Microsoft has silently though officially launched their new social networking website called So.cl (Social) which has been devised by its FUSE Labs. This new social networking site (like others) will allow users to share images, links and posts. However it integrates all of these feeds onto one visually appealing profile page.

Microsoft says that it combines social networking and search, to help its users find and share interesting web pages. Additionally it also provides rich media sharing and real-time video sharing.

So.cl is something you might get by combining Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. It is a place where you can share videos, pictures, links and other updates together in one single post.  It also allows users to view a video with their friends and followers by using a feature called Video Party.

So.cl also includes Facebook authentication, which means all Facebook users can easily access the new social network using their Facebook details and can choose to allows So.cl to post automatic updates on their Facebook stream.

Microsoft has also introduced a new button which goes along with So.cl and helps user to share all the interesting content from the web. This works similar to the Facebook Share or Google’s +1 button. So.cl will use search data from Bing’s public API.

The company has mentioned that their plan is to create and develop an experimental research project using minimal set of features for the purpose of learning.

Users can now request their invites simply from So.cl. It looks like a decent and appealing social network, but do we really need it?

An American company by the name of Leap has unveiled its motion sensing and motion tracking technology that they have been developing for four years. The result in an iPod sized device that latches on to a USB port, and the company claims, it is more than 200 times more accurate than anything else currently on the market.

This device is called Leap Motion, and it can accurately detect motion within eight cubic feet of itself. Leap Motion detects and responds to familiar gestures like swiping and pinching, and it also supports more precise input methods such as a stylus. Leap however, has designed their systems to go beyond the application and be useful in an artist’s studio or during surgery. Using the precise sensors within, Leap Motion can be used to manipulate and even sculpt 3D models as one would in real life with clay.

Leap will start shipping their device this winter, and for now they are free developer kits in hopes of having a substantial library of applications at the time of launch. When the device is released, it will be compatible with Windows 8, and the team is currently working on getting it to work on Linux. Leap Motion is priced at $69.99 for which the pre-order can be placed on the company website. If you are more inclined to develop applications for the device, you can make an SDK request here.

Via: SlashGear, Source:Leap Motion

Following much hype and some hysteria, Facebook’s journey to go public has gotten off to a less than auspicious start. Starting with the very first day, the trading started two hours behind schedule, and subsequently trading was further held for two hours during the day, both of which was caused by technical issues with trader Nasdaq’s systems.

At the end of trading on the day of issue, Facebook’s stocks were priced about $38, after hitting a peak of about $45. Today, the stocks shed about 11 percent of its value, and closed at about $34.

While Facebook has collected $16bn in new funding, the company is yet to spell out a clear investment plan with all that money. The less than exuberant start to Facebook’s IPO may be credited to this current uncertainty, or it may be that traders still haven’t shaken-off the disappointment of MySpace.

Source: SlashGear

It’s not just images that you can edit using your Android device. There are a vast range of applications to choose from which allows you to manage and edit music directly from your Android device. Here is a list of some of the most useful and interesting apps which will let you manage and edit audio files on your Android.

PocketBand
This is a cloud-based social music studio where you can not only create your music and upload it but also listen to some good compositions from other users. All you need is an Android device. It has a 12 channel mixer with effects, polyphonic synthesizer, drum machines, mastering toolbox and various other useful features. It has a free and a pro version, the former has a few limitations.

RingDroid
This is a free ringtone maker for your Android smartphone and tablet. Users can pick any audio file from their device make the desired ringtone. It is very easy to use and a popular app in the Play Store.

Audio Tagger
The ultimate and super-easy audio tagging app for your Android service. It helps you organize your music and also add custom album covers to all the songs in your library. Users can rename and tag files in batches. Find actual album covers from online music stores. It supports MP3, MP4 audio, OGG, FLAC and WMA audio formats.

G-Tunes Music Downloader Pro
It allows you to search and download music directly to your SDcard from public search engines. Users can also download album cover and lyrics tagged with the song and then can use any of thes songs for various notifications directly from the app.

Droid DJ
This is a full fledged mixer with with cross fading and twin visual mixing decks. Some of the basic features include the auto pitch set, BPM counter and efficient performance amongst others. It has a lite and a pro version, the former has very few limitations.

In this Series

App Guide: Image Editing Apps for your Android

Smartphones have rearranged the pixel density charts this year, we take a look at the top 10 smartphones with the sharpest screens. Anything above 250 ppi may seem like overkill but the boundaries continue to be pushed. For trivia junkies and those with 20/20 vision, we have ten recent smartphones with 300 PPI displays and higher.

When buying a smartphone, pixel density matters as much as screen size. You can use this simple calculator to know your phone's pixel density.

Google has announced that the Chinese regulators have cleared Google's bid to buy Motorola, clearing the last major hurdle before for the two companies can merge forces. Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility was quickly and almost simultaneously approved by American and European regulators in February.

Google and Motorola Mobility have been waiting ever since for similar blessings from the Chinese regulators, before the two can initiate the final phase of the merger. Now that the clearance has been granted, Google mentioned to AP that the finalize will be over soon and the deal will likely be completed early next week. This should give Google plenty of time to prepare something in tandem with Motorola for this year's Google I/O conference.

Via: engadget Photo courtesy: REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Full version of an Android ICS ROM that is apparently meant to run Samsung's Galaxy S III has been leaked and made available for download via XDA website.

The complete download is reportedly 800MB in size, and it include the new version of Touchwiz UI, S-Voice, Pop-up Play), and Smart Stay. The most significant new addition in this lot is the S-Voice, voice-activated assistant that has been bred to take on Apple's Siri.

Reports indicate that one will have better luck trying the S-Voice of a Samsung handset, as the servers may not respond to requests from any other devices. If you want to explore some of these new features ahead of Galaxy S III's release, then head on to the XDA website for your fill.

 Source: Android Police Photo courtesy: REUTERS/Ki Price

NVIDIA have released a bunch of graphics cards that are likely to please and confuse in equal measure. Carrying the moniker of GeForce 6xx like their more powerful brethren, these Fermi based cards are actually a part of the budget line-up from NVIDIA. According to AnandTech, these cards are actually reconfigured GT4xx and GT 5xx models.

The GT 630 comes in DDR3 and DDR5 variant, both of which run on 128-bit memory bus and 810MHz core clock speed, with the latter having its memory clocked at 3.2GHz. The GT 620 and GT 610 take things down a notch with 64-bit memory bandwidth and core speeds clocked at 700MHz and 810MHz, respectively.

All in all, these cards should deliver modest gaming performance and good HD video playback, making them a good place to enter the GPU market. Now all that remains to be seen is how much will NVIDIA be selling these at. In the meanwhile, hit the source link to learn more about these cards.

Source: Anandtech

Here is something that will come as a pause for thought for those who thought that all chip designers ever did was to create faster and more accurate chips. As it turns out, a group of researchers at the Rice University in the USA have designed a chip that is no stranger to the odd error.

Such a chip was not designed for shits and giggles either, as the researchers claimed to have extracted fifteen times more efficiency from these so-called 'inexact' chips. The researcher shed some parts of the chip that it could function without, and they also reduced the amount of power available for calculations.

This inevitably leads to errors, but the chip's designers claim that such errors may not make much of a difference in certain applications like image reproduction. While these chips are likely not making their way on servers and such, the system is expected to be a key component of ISAID's I-slate tablet, which will be heading to schools in India's Mahabubnagar District.


Source: Tech Eye.net  Photo Courtesy: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

A Chinese company by the name of Rikomagic has begun shipping a micro PC that has similar form factor as the recently released Raspberry Pi and the upcoming Cotton Candy. Marketed as an IP TV, the specs of MK802 also puts it somewhere in between Raspberry Pi and Cotton Candy.

The PC uses an Allwinner A10 SoC powered by 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, a Mali-400 GPU, and 802.11b/g radio. There is four gigabytes of onboard storage and 512MB of system RAM. The PC ships with Android 4.0, which could possibly be replaced by Linux.

Ports on this device include one micro USB, one full size USB, micro SD slot and an HDMI out that need a cable to connect to any compatible display. The Rikomagic MK802 is listed on AliExpress for $74, but at the time of writing this post, the stocks were sold out.

Source: Geek.com

Rovio is now teasing a new Angry Birds game which is scheduled to be released on June 18. This new version is known as Angry Birds Heikki and it seems that it has a lot to do with racing.

Rovio is the sponsor of Heikki Kovalainen, a Finnish F1 driver. A teaser image for the new Angry Birds game has a racing track reflected on the bird’s eye and two checkered flags in its name. While it will be closely related to racing it is yet unclear as to how exactly racing physics will be used in the game. The last iteration known as Angry Birds Space had some new physics and we expect Angry Birds Heikki to feature a slightly different gameplay.

After announcing its Android powered dual-SIM smartphone, Karbonn Mobiles has now launched a dual-SIM feature phone in the Indian market. This device is called the Karbonn KR 21 Express and it also offers push mail and IM services to its users.

To make it possible Karbonn has tied up with Emoze who provides push mail and IM services to carriers, handset manufacturers/vendors and individuals. This device is not the first of its kind but it will surely be useful for those who want push-mail and IM services on an entry-level phone and do not fancy a smartphone.

The KT 21 Express features a 2.8-inch QVGA display and has a 3.2 megapixel rear camera. It also includes FM radio, 3.5mm audio jack, microSD card slot, Bluetooth connectivity and a 1,000 mAh battery. The device also features Dolby Surround Sound technology and is officially priced at Rs. 4,490.

With the Samsung’s Galaxy S III expected to go retail in a few days, the company’s online store has started taking booking of the new flagship model in India. These are not exactly pre-orders that we are accustomed to seeing; rather the company is simply accepting Rs. 2,000 as a booking amount. According to a report by Korea Economic Daily, Samsung has already received 9 million pre-orders since the campaign went online. According to the same report, the company has its smartphone factories running at its full capacity of 5 million units per month. The Samsung Galaxy S III will first go on sale on May 29 in Germany before being released in other countries.

Update: It's official. The Galaxy S III will be arriving to India this month.

Samsung sends us the invite. It's official - Galaxy S3 India launch on 31st May!

— Stuff India (@stuff_india) May 18, 2012

India's Aadhar Bhalinge has won "m2Work", a World Bank-sponsored online challenge seeking the best ideas for spurring the job-creation potential of mobile phones.

Bhalinge convinced the high-level jury of World Bank, Nokia, UKaid, and other private sector representatives of the development impact, novelty, and feasibility of his "Smart Rickshaw Network" to take home the $ 20,000 grand prize. His tool would crowdsource maps at a very low cost in developing nations by employing fleets of rickshaw drivers to feed live traffic updates into a subscription service, according to a World Bank media release.

Bhalinge and the five other finalists all received business coaching during the finals. The other finalists' ideas touched on environmental conservation, access to health care and education, and social publishing. The competition organized by Nokia and infoDev, a World Bank innovation and technology entrepreneurship programme, drew a total of 939 ideas, 96 percent of which came from developing and emerging economies.

"m2Work", which stands for mobile microwork, aims to expand microwork to the five billion mobile phones in the developing world. Currently, millions of people supplement their income through microwork-small digital tasks they can perform online. InfoDev, as part of the World Bank Group, will use its vast network of Mobile Applications Labs (mLabs) and business incubators to help the finalists develop their seed-stage ideas into viable start-ups that can create sustainable jobs, the Bank release said. -IANS Photo courtesy: Parivartan Sharma / Reuters

Pricing its IPO at $38 a share, Facebook, the highly popular social networking site that has over 45 million users in India, is expected to raise $16 billion, making it the largest tech IPO in history. It's reported to be the third largest US IPO ever, trailing only the $19.7 billion raised by Visa in March 2008 and the $18.1 billion raised by automaker General Motors in November 2010.

The $38 IPO price is the rate at which Facebook's underwriters (including lead banker Morgan Stanley) will sell shares to their clients, which typically include large institutional investors, mutual funds and hedge funds. They will be on the open market beginning Friday. Many brokerages offering pieces of Facebook's IPO allotment "closed their books" on Tuesday, meaning they stopped taking orders, CNNMoney reported.

Unlike Google, whose IPO used a "Dutch auction" to allow direct bidding by investors, Facebook's setup doesn't give the general public access until shares begin trading publicly on the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange, it said. Many Facebook employees and executives hold unexercised stock options. If all of those shares were exercised, Facebook's outstanding share count would rise to around 2.8 billion,pushing the company's total valuation closer to $107 billion. Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg himself plans to sell 30.2 million shares in the IPO offering.

Facebook said he will use the "substantial majority" of the $1.1 billion windfall from the sale to cover the massive tax bill he'll be hit with, thanks to his plan to exercise a large stock-options grant that will increase his ownership stake in the company he founded. After the offering, Zuckerberg will hold 503.6 million shares, or about 31 per cent of the company, worth $19.1 billion. Venture capital firm Accel Partners, which is the largest shareholder outside of Zuckerberg, is selling 49 million shares, or about a quarter of its holdings, in the offering. -IANS

Photo Courtesy: Valentin Flauraud / Reuters