Government orders ISPs to block websites with inflammatory content

In the wake of terror groups using internet to incite religious intolerance, the government has ordered blocking of at least 40 webpages with inflammatory content relating to a minority community, including posts on social media and popular video-sharing platforms.
"Government has issued order under Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 to block some...videos that could incite minority community," an official source said.
The order to block the online videos, dated June 29, was issued to all internet service providers, who have now blocked most of such posts. However, a few of them are still accessible and the internet service providers claim these can not be blocked totally as they have been posted through a 'secure internet protocol'.
"We can not block all videos and websites because they are on https (secured) website. The DoT is well aware of the technical issues regarding this," a top official at one of the Internet service providers said.
The DoT issued another order on July 8, directing the ISPs to block the social media accounts and posts, as well as videos posted on popular video-sharing platforms, which were found to be containing content aimed at inciting a particular minority community in the neighbouring country Myanmar.
In December also, the government had ordered blocking of 32 websites on national security concerns, as they were allegedly carrying anti-India material from terror groups such as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).
The websites that faced the crackdown at that time included some popular video sharing platforms, while some of them have been allowed to function after removing the objectionable content.
The websites were purportedly containing material about an alleged ISIS member, who was arrested by NIA, and three others suspected to be associated with other terror groups.
Sources said the websites were being used to induce Indian youth to join ISIS and for spreading news about purported death of certain persons while fighting Allied Forces in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7 With Android 5.0 Lollipop, S Pen Launched

Samsung has launched a new mid-range Galaxy tablet, the Galaxy Tab A 9.7, which is now listed on the company's Samsung France website. The new Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7 is now available to buy via various online and offline retailers at EUR 339 (approximately Rs. 23,750).The official website lists some bundled offers available with the Galaxy Tab A 9.7 such as free 12-week subscription to the New York Times, a free ebook on Kindle, and up to 100GB of free storage on OneDrive for two years. The tablet comes bundled with S Pen and supports calligraphy among other features.
For specifications, the Galaxy Tab A 9.7 features almost identical specifications as the
Samsung Galaxy Tab A, which was launched last month. The biggest difference however is the screen size - the Galaxy Tab A 9.7 features a 9.7-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels. The Galaxy Tab A, on the other hand, features an 8-inch TFT display with a screen resolution of 1024x768 pixels.
Another notable difference is that the Galaxy Tab A 9.7 supports Wi-Fi only while the Galaxy Tab A supported 4G LTE.
Rest of the specifications of the Galaxy Tab A 9.7 tablet include a 1.2GHz quad-core processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. There is 16GB of built-in storage, which is further expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). It packs a 6000mAh battery with no word on battery life. Notably, the Galaxy Tab A was backed by a 4200mAh battery.
The Galaxy Tab A 9.7 tablet sports a 5-megapixel rear autofocus camera and 2-megapixel front camera. Apart from Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, the tablet supports Bluetooth, NFC, and Micro-USB. The Galaxy Tab A 9.7 measures 242.5x166.8x7.5mm and weighs 487 grams.
Samsung, earlier this month, launched two new Galaxy S2 tablets featuring 8-inch and 9.7-inch displays. Both the Galaxy Tab S2 tablets were touted as the company's "thinnest and lightest" tablet of the size. At just 5.6mm thickness, both the Galaxy Tab S2 tablets were slimmer than Apple's iPad Air 2, which measures at 6.1mm. Another notable feature of the new Galaxy Tab S2 tablets is it comes with built-in touch-enabled fingerprint scanner.

Microsoft's Send app 'turns' emails into messages

Thanks to a new app from Microsoft, now you won't have to go through a tedious process to send an email from your phone.

The app called Send makes email more like SMS by removing the subject line and taking you directly to your contacts list.

Currently, you have to open the email, then open a compose window, type your contact into the recipient field, and finally write a subject line before you even really get to your message.

Also, you probably have many email contacts without a phone number in your address book.

Now, Send gives you the benefits of quick SMS-like communications with your existing email contacts, without requiring a phone number or separate app, The Next Web reported.

It doesn't ask for a subject line, signature or salutation, and it will surface your frequent and recent contacts right when you open the app. If your contact is a Send user too, you can also see when they're typing a response.

Send is currently available on the iOS platform only and may be launched for Android and Windows phone users soon.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects that contains embedded technology in order for them to communicate and interact with their environments and each other. More devices are becoming network-accessible, so as web developers, we’ll be tasked with coming up with new solutions to help users control and communicate with their cars, heat pumps, ovens, toasters and plants. Many companies such as Smart Things and LittleBits already have kits that make your house appliances smart so in 2015, we predict that IoT software platforms will continue to displace hardware. Although much of the early hype has been about high-tech wearables and wireless technologies, this year we predict that we will see an increased focus on the software and especially the cloud services to make all these sensors connect, upload data, and drive analytics that generate insights and enable efficiencies and communications across the business.
The IoT movement is so huge that recently Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt predicted that internet will “simply disappear in the future” as it becomes “part of your presence all the time”.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S2 tablets are thinner than the latest iPad Air

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Tab S2, a new Android tablet that’s available in two sizes and is only 5.6mm thick — that’s 0.6mm less than Apple’s iPad Air 2.
The Tab S2 comes in your choice of 9.7-inch (389g/13.7oz) or 8-inch (265g/9.34oz) screen sizes, with a 2048×1536 pixel Super AMOLED display. The larger variant is the same size as the iPad Air 2, which launched last October, and manages to offer the same resolution while weighing 1.6oz (46g) less.

Under the hood, you’ll find an octa-core processor (four 1.9GHz cores and four 1.3GHz cores) paired with 3GB RAM and 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage, depending on the variant you choose. There’s also a microSD slot for an additional 128GB of space.
The Android 5.0 Lollipop device packs an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2.1-megapixel snapper on the front. A fingerprint reader lets you secure and unlock the device with just a touch of the home key, while Samsung’s software layer allows for multi-tasking and pop-up windows for easy switching between apps.

Those are some pretty impressive specs and it’ll be interesting to see if Samsung’s new offering can bring the fight to Apple in the tablet space and win.
Both sizes of the Tab S2 will be available globally this August, in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+LTE options. Samsung hasn’t yet said how much they will cost.

Microsoft releases critical security update for all versions of Windows

If you’re on Windows, it’s time for an update. There’s an out-of-band update for all currently supported versions of Windows that patches a flaw allowing remote access and code execution. While we don’t know how many have been affected by the flaw, it is serious.
From Microsoft’s security update post:

This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted document or visits an untrusted webpage that contains embedded OpenType fonts.

The post goes on to say “the security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library handles OpenType fonts.”
OpenType is a format for scalable fonts, and was developed by Adobe and Microsoft. The fonts are available for free, making them attractive for Web designers to use and hackers to target.

Microsoft to offer free cloud services to Indian start-ups

Microsoft will offer free its Azure cloud services to Indian start-ups for speeding up the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country, the global software major said on Tuesday.
"Our Azure cloud services , valued at $120,000 will be given free to qualified start-ups under the 'BizSpark plus programme' for building the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country," the company's Indian subsidiary said in a statement here.
Cloud services such as software as a service, platform as a service and infrastructure as a service are provided by vendors over the internet to enterprises across verticals to drive their businesses.
"Start-ups need all the help they can to get access to the right tools, technology and guidance. At Microsoft, we are committed to supporting these startups and through the BizSpark Plus program we want to support India's upcoming entrepreneurs," said Microsoft Ventures India director Rajinish Menon.
Qualifying startups must be privately held, below five years old with sub $1 million revenue annually and be a member of select accelerator or venture capital firm, Microsoft added in the statement.
Microsoft BizSpark is a worldwide programme which gives wings to startup dreams by offering free Microsoft software development tools, connecting startups with key industry players, investors and giving marketing visibility.
Startups will also receive the full suite of development and test software and Visual Studio, Windows and Office tools in this latest offering, Microsoft added.
Microsoft is partnering with 13 startup accelerators in the country to rollout the offering. They include 91Springboard, Reliance GenNext, Zone Startups, Pitney Bowes and others.
"The BizSpark Plus programme is a unique opportunity for startups who want to leverage the power of the Cloud and give a boost to their product development lifecycle," the statement quoted 91Springboard partner Pranay Gupta as saying.
Internationally, Microsoft partners 150 startup accelerators in 47 countries.
Microsoft is also participating in the 'Digital India' programme initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by organising hackathons in 17 college campuses across India targeting 4,000 students, the statement added.

Rise of Instagram

Instagram recently passed Twitter in their number of users, does this mean a movement away from micro-blogging and an increase in the popularity of image sharing applications? We hope to see more creative ways to share images and videos as new technology becomes available. We should also keep an eye out for developments and trends within other image-based sharing applications like Pinterest and SnapChat.