Some free stuff for budding Java programmers!

I will be posting a series of 6 presentations on object oriented programming using core features of Java. You are free to use it for learning or educating someone. Here goes the first one...

Object Oriented Programming - Core Java - Session 01 from Manish

iPhone 5C and Apple's Flawed Strategy

Apple iPhone 5C - the cheap looking colored plastic phone, that isn't cheep

Pricing unlocked iPhone 5C at $549, Apple has simply lost the opportunity to make inroads into developing markets such as China, India and Indonesia, where competitors like Samsung have garnered a large market share by flooding it with dozens of affordable smartphones powered by Android.

Having two iPhone models was unthinkable in Steve Jobs era. Having a cheaper, feature stripped sibling of iPhone contradicts with Jobs' vision for iPhone as the best smartphone ever. However steady decline of Apple's market share in the global smartphone shipments led Apple take this extreme step. But they got it all wrong because $549 is not an affordable price for the developing world and Apple can not hope to sell any significant numbers.

A Pen That Checks Spelling As You Write On Paper

A German startup has developed a smartpen named Lernstift (German for "learning pen") which can check spelling as you write with it on paper. The pen vibrates when it detects any spelling mistake. At a time when digital devices like Laptops and iPads are getting increasingly integrated in school education and spell check as a feature is taken for granted even on mobile phones,  this device can bring the fun back to writing with hand.

The device also works without paper so instead of typing the text message on the small touchscreen of your phone and dealing with T9 dictionary you can use Lernstift and write the message in air!

To accomplish this the pen packs in nifty electronics inside comprising of a processor running embedded linux, motion sensor wifi, vibration modules and a battery. The prototype of the pen is ready and the founders are trying to raise funds at Kickstarter for commercial production. Here is the Kickstarter pitch for Lernstift:

MIT's 'Immersion' Project Reveals The Importance of Metadata

A number of officials and ministers when challenged about the internet surveillance by NSA, try to defend by saying that they are only collecting metadata related to your mails, messages and interactions from phone and internet companies and are not collecting the content. The idea that it somehow is no big deal, and people have nothing to worry about when it comes to metadata is ridiculous.

We already know how detailed an account of an individual's daily life can be constructed from metadata extracted from a mobile phone. What people may not realise is how informative the metadata extracted from their email logs can be.

In an attempt to illustrate this, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Media Lab announced a new tool named 'Immersion' that uses your Gmail metadata (eg. From, To, CC, Timestamp) to build a stunning visualisation of your social network (and of your private life).

Here is the link if you want to give it a try: https://immersion.media.mit.edu

A Giant Leap for your PC

Motion control is not a new technology, Kinect had it for years, but a new device by a startup called Leap Motion has the potential to make motion control with PC ubiquitous and awesome, changing the way we interact with computer and may even sound the death bell for mouse.

The Leap Motion Controller tracks all 10 fingers up to 1/100th of a millimeter. It’s up to 200 times more sensitive than existing motion-control technology. All this packed in a device of size 3"x1" and costs only 80$.

With the controller, you can navigate through your Windows 8 Start screen by waving your hands in the air, and launch and play games on your PC without ever touching the keyboard.

Google Earth app can already be explored using Leap Motion, letting you fly high above the city of your choice for an earth experience like no other.

The device has a lot of potential in fields like 3D design, music, entertainments and education.

Leap motion is also providing API for application developers and has already launched an App Store called Airspace, where developers will sell the apps.

Duck Duck Go - The Search Engine You Have Never Heard Of

Its not yet in the league of big boys like google, bing or yahoo, but a new search engine DuckDuckGo has shown an impressive surge in search traffic recently and has crossed 2.5 million search queries per day mark this friday. 

The search engine does not store any user information and this fact alone has contributed to users wary of privacy concerns, flocking to it after the news about the NSA PRISM program broke out this thursday.

I tried it today and really liked it. It feels a lot like early Google, with a stripped-down home page and clean search result page. When you search on DuckDuckGo, what you get first is a definition of the thing you were looking for, followed by links that reference it. 

DuckDuckGo's results are a compilation of about 50 sources, including Yahoo! Search BOSS, Wikipedia, Wolfram Alpha, Bing, its own Web crawler, the DuckDuckBot, and others. It also uses data from crowd-sourced sites, including Wikipedia. DuckDuckGo Goodies tucked under More button add to it's coolness factor.

If you want to give it a try here is the link : www.duckduckgo.com

Get the new Gmail Inbox today!

Google is redesigning the Gmail inbox by including a tabbed interface having capability to sort your mails and  automatically put them in appropriate category - Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forum. I just got the new interface on my inbox and I must admit that its really going to help me stay organised and focussed on the things that I need to work on.

Google will roll the new Gmail to users gradually, with the mobile versions expected to become available within the next few weeks. If you can not wait, go to your inbox settings (gear icon) and choose Configure inbox to enable it instantly!

Google+ Gets a Cool Redesign

After reading about the Google I/O keynote event and learning that major changes are going to happen to Google Plus  I thought of giving it a try and was in for a pleasant surprise on seeing the new version rolled out already, contrary to normal practice when these updates are rolled out after a wait time or after requesting an invite,

The new Google Plus includes a multi-column layout for Google Plus Stream. Now, users will see one, two, or three columns of content depending on their device’s screen size and orientation. I really liked the new interface because it makes exploring content easier. Other notable upgrade are improved photo experience, with features like Auto Enhance and Auto Awesome and also group video application Google Plus hangouts, so you can have conversations online across any device or platform. 

Mesmerizing World View of Wikipedia Edits

Two programmers have developed a website - www.hatnote.com, which shows locations of edits happening to Wikipedia in real time, superimposed over a world map along with name of article being edited. Clicking on the article title will show you the article with a listing of changes done recently. If you feel the article merits more editing you are free to do so, thereby improving Wikipedia.