All Things Technology

Thank God am not the only one who is starting to have a strongdislike for China's biggest phone vendor Xiaomi. This guy also feels the same way. Xiaomi has no regard for intellectual property. But I sometimes wonder why Apple hasn't sue Xiaomi. Anyway, Read what he wrote below.

It's really, painfully obvious that Xiaomi is copycatting Apple to a degree no other company of this valuation is. Is there really a (legitimate) alternative viewpoint here, though?

At the2015  Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas next week, Korean tech giant Samsung will officially remove the wraps off its series 9 2015 Edition notebook, which many expect to compete directly with  Apple's MacBook Air. The Samsung Series 9 2015 Edition notebook will boast of a 12.2-inch high resolution display(2,560x 1,600 pixel) and will make use of Intel's new  chips.

China's Apple is just having fun with Apple designs and the Apple is doing nothing about it. Xiaomi is known for copying Apple's designs and has helped it to become the world's fourth largest phone maker and most valuable tech startup. Xiaomi's smartphones and tablets are modelled on Apple devices.

So your belief is using your thumb to unlock your iPhones and Galaxy smartphones is the most secure way to keep people away from accessing your devices? I think you might want to drop that belief after reading this. Someone just stole the fingerprints of German Defense Minister Ursula Von Der Layer using a regular camera.Yes, you read that right.

It looks like the next flagship from South Korean tech giant LG might come with a stylus pen. News coming from Asia has it that LG will launch the G4 phablet with a stylus pen called the G-pen for note-taking and split-screen multitasking. The G4 G-Pen is rumoured to look very similar to the S-Pen for Samsung Galaxy Note series. However, the people who revealed this did not say anything further about the G4.

Today December 28, is the last Sunday of 2014( Simeon is spending it at home) and Facebook wants every one of you to see what you did on its platform. Whether it's a photo of your grumpy cat, video of you in a pyjamas or those silly or nice posts that got your friends bored or excited, you will find all of them just in one place:Your Year in Review.

Oculus CEO Brenda Iribe had said at the Web Summit in Ireland last month that the consumer model of the Rift Virtual Reality Headset is ''months, not years away, but many months.'' But, according to an email we received from an anonymous tipster, Facebook-owned Oculus will show off the consumer version of the Crescent Bay headset at next month's Consumer Electronics Show(CES2015) in Las Vegas, USA. The tipster, who is familiar with Oculus plans, says the final model will be lighter, fully equipped with controllers and will cost  $350 and beyond. The VR headset will immediately go on sale in the US after Facebook tries it for ''social ecommerce.''

Be very careful guys. There is a bug in Skype for Android that lets other users of the service eavesdrop on your conversations...and might even allow them to see you in the state of undress(Whoops!). The flaw was first noticed by a Reddit user, who already brought the issue to Microsoft

News making the rounds on the internet is that Sony is developing a 12.9-inch tablet to take on Apple's next iPad, the iPad Pro and Microsoft's surface Pro 3. The laplet is expected to be launch in the first quarter of 2015 and Petragon Technology will manufacture the tablet. In case you don't know, Petragon Technology is the same company producing Apple's iPads and Microsoft's Surface tablets.

I know you are used to playing Temple Run on your smartphone and tablet, directing that guy on the screen to take the idol while running for your his life. Interesting game! But brace yourself up for a whole new game experience because you---yes you---will be the one running to the steal the idol. Imangi Studios, the developers of Temple Run, has released the classic game for Samsung's GearVR Innovators Edition. The game is available for the GearVR as a free download.

Hey guys, if you are among the one billion people using OpenID for Google to login to your favourite websites, I would advise you move over to Google Plus sign in parmenately , which uses OAuth 2.0 login(OpenID connect). That is because I just got know that OpenID will no longer work for Google accounts, as from April 10, 2015. Google has deprecated OpenID and will shut down next year. Developers are advised to migrate their apps  by the shut down date. For more information visit https://developers.google.com/+/api/auth-migration#timetable

Researchers may have said that Google's self-driving cars are not quite ready to take people down millions of American roads, but the search giant just announced that its first fully working prototype self-driving cars are now ready to master city streets and  California roads in 2015. As you can see, this complete prototype is somewhat similar to the one Google showed off in May.

Another day.Another Samsung smartphone leaked. But wait a second---is Samsung doing this on purpose?
Barely two days after the Galaxy S6 picture surfaced online, the successor to the Galaxy Grand 2, the Galaxy Grand  3 specifications have been leaked online ahead of launch. Well all thanks to China's Telecommucation Equipment Certification Center which gave the smartphone thumbs up.

Few days after a picture of the next flagship smartphone from Samsung surfaced online, there are widespread rumours that the Galaxy S6 may launch with ''half metal body'' at the Consumer Electronics Show(CES) in Las Vega, 2015. Samsung is typically known for releasing its Galaxy S line at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Guys, I found it so difficult to convince my friend that the Galaxy Note 4 phablet is far better than the iPhone 6 Plus---even though the phones specs are clearly there for him to tell which is better. Please which of the two BIG flagships from Apple and Samsung is better.

2015 has not arrived yet and we are starting to see pictures of the next flagship smartphone from Korean giant Samsung. Yesterday, a Dutch website that goes by the name Toptienmobiel, posted pictures of what it claims to be the Galaxy S6 phone. The site noted that it got the picture from an anonymous tipster via an email. However this could just be a prototype or a clone.

It looks like for a company to sell its product it must have the ''Apple wow factor.'' Chinese smartphone makers are so fond of stealing Apple designs.This smartphone just looks very much like the iPhone5S.

Anyway, the iPhone 6 is no longer the thinnest or slimmest smartphone in the world. A new Android smartphone has just lifted the crown from Apple's new smartphone: The Vivo X5 Max. The Vivi X5Max smartphone measures 4.75mm which makes it thinner than the iPhone 6, which measures in at 6.9mm.

What better way to market the Apple Watch to consumers than bringing in people with knowledge or skill in the job. As the launch of the smartwatch draws closer, Apple is reportedly in need of you guys with a fashion or luxury background to help sell its first wearable in its retail stores. The news is coming from Apple news blog 9to5mac, which claimed to have gotten an internal memo. You guys will be in Apple retail shops overseeing the pricey version of the Apple Watch, the Gold Apple Watches. That calls for high security.

Did you miss or lose any ringtones  purchased from the iTunes Store?Well, if you are among those affected you don't need to be afraid, Apple has just released an update to its iOS mobile operating system to address those issues. Just install iOS 8.1.2 on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, and it will restore them and even fix other bugs you might not notice. To restore your ringtones to your device, just visit this url from your mobile device. You will need to create more space because iOS 8.1.2 is a 1.75GB download.

As the year 2014 comes to a close, let us take a look at some of the predictions made for 2014 concerning the'technology industry'' and see if they came out right. This infograhic above was created by magiclogix and predicted, among other things, that more articles and discussions will center around Google Glass but consumers won't  be interested in the search giant's smart eyewear. Did their prediction came to pass or not?

Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe may have said a consumer version of their VR headset will come out in months, but Korean technology juggernaut Samsung has just brought theirs to the market. The Samsung Gear VR headset is available to anyone in the US for $200--it sells exclusively  on  Samsung's website and US phone company AT&T. Time for some real-life virtual reality gaming.

After hacker group GOP(or Guardians of Peace) hacked Sony Pictures website last month, and threatened to reveal the company's confidential information to the public if demands are not met(which it did,  leaked five of Sony Pictures upcoming holloywood movies), many speculated that the attackers have ties with the North Korean Government. But North Korea National Defence Commission just released a statement in which it debunked such speculations, but praised the hackers saying that the cyberattack on Sony Pictures ''might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers with” North Korea in its struggle to “put an end to U.S. imperialism.” Read the full story on the NewYorkTimes website

The wearable device market is still young and growing, and Intel wants to dominate the scene before its rivals like ARM enters.It already released the MICA smart bracelet. It has been reported that its chips will power the next iteration of Google Glass. And now, the leading chipmaker and italy-based Luxottica Group are collaborating to develop a smart fashionable eyewear, as part of a multi-year partnership ''deal.'' The product to come out of that deal is expected to hit consumers' wrists in 2015. Details about Intel-Luxottica deal or the smart eyeglass are scarce at the moment.
In case you don't know, Luxottica is the world's largest eyewear maker, with control of 80% of the world's eyewear brands. It is also the same company designing, manufacturing frames for Google Glass.

Image credit: PCmag

Russian handset maker Yota Devices has launched a new Android phone that it calls the YotaPhone 2 and it has two screens---a coloured 5-inch AMOLED display on the front and a e-ink display at the back. The screen at the back is a 4.7-inch  e-ink screen meant for notifications and is always on, which means the owner can still get important updates like messages and emails, access Facebook,WhatsApp and even use the phone's camera when the main colour touchscreen is in standby mode.

Last year, the UK government allowed the testing of autonomous or self-driving cars on public roads. But it did not announce the locations where these robotic cars would be tested. But on Wednesday, the names of the cities to host the testing of driveless cars was revealed by UK Chancellor George Osbone in his Autumn statement. The cities are: Bristol, Greewich, Coventry and Milton Keynes.

I had been waiting for the day when the CAPTCHA would be put to rest. Seriously I hate it whenever a website tells me to prove that am a human and not a robot, by typing correctly the letters of a distorted image. You know not all CAPTCHA codes are easy to read  because they sometimes appear blurry. This often made me to left a website .

The other humanoid is the worst goal keeper ever. Didn't it see the ball come from its brother before trying to save it from entering the back of the net? Maybe it was not programmed well to do so.But the way it fell face down could have just destroyed the little parts in it.

The world's biggest chipmaker Intel has been showing some signs of getting into the wearable business for a while now. At least to make up for not dominating the tablet and smartphone market. It  released two wearable products two months ago--the MICA smart bracelet and the peak fitness and sleep tracker--- and again, developed a tiny computer for wearable devices known as Edison.