How To Buy a HARD DRIVE ?

Whether you're running out of drive space on your desktop or laptop, or you just need to backup your stuff, here's what to look for before you settle on the perfect external storage solution. External hard drives promise almost unlimited storage: For a mere 3000-4000 Rs, you can add a terabyte of data to your PC or Mac, laptop or desktop. That's enough for over 750,000 MP3s or photos, or over 230 DVD-sized movies. Every computer out there, from mega-huge towers to budget-priced Windows tablets, can connect to at least one hard drive. If you're lucky enough to have multiple input/output ports, you can hook up many more. Auxiliary storage allows you to backup your system files, in case your primary system goes kaput.

Hard Drive Types

There are two types of external drives. Desktop-style drives, with 3.5-inch mechanisms inside, require a power adapter. Desktop drives are designed to stay in one place, usually on your work surface at home or at the office. If you're buying a desktop-style drive for active use (video or lots of file transfers), look for one with a built-in fan, as the extra cooling will extend the drive's life expectancy. Notebook-class (a.k.a. pocket) hard drives, like the Seagate Backup Plus, are usually 2.5-inch mechanisms powered through the connector cable without the need for a power adapter. A 2.5-inch pocket drive can fit in a coat pocket and some pants pockets. Desktop-style drives currently top out at six Terabytes (TB) per mechanism, but some drive makers put two to four mechanisms into a drive chassis for more storage (i.e., two 4TB drives equal 8TB of storage). Notebook-class drives come in capacities up to 2TB, but capacities from 500GB to 1TB are more common.

A word about multiple drives: You can increase capacity, speed or data protection by buying an external RAID array, but multiple drives add expense and (some) complexity. Once you connect a simple (single volume) external RAID array to your PC or Mac, it will show up and act as any other external drive. After that, it can become more complex. You should consider a drive with support for RAID levels 1, 5, or 10 if you're storing really important data that you can't afford to lose. There are other RAID levels for speed, capacity, and other factors like software vs. hardware RAID.

Connectivity:

External solid-state drives (SSDs) are found mostly in the notebook-class form factor. We recommend that you buy SSDs for use as internal rather than external drives. External drives connect to PCs and Macs via their external connectors. USB 2.0/3.0 ports are almost always present; others can include FireWire (400 and 800), eSATA, or more esoteric connectors like Wireless USB or iSCSI. Note that while iSCSI uses Ethernet cables, it differs from SAN or NAS technologies, since those connect multiple hard drives to multiple computers. Wireless USB and iSCSI are still very rare on drives. Wireless USB drives are still mostly a curiosity since NAS drives are easier to manage, and iSCSI is mainly used on professional-grade drives like theDroboPro. USB 3.0, becoming the port of choice, provides faster transfer speeds and a minimum of fuss, since almost all desktop and laptop PCs come with USB ports.

Is Drive Speed Important?

Some drive manufacturers will crow about the speed of their drive mechanisms. While a 7,200rpm drive is inherently faster than a 5,400rpm drive, the true answer would be "it depends." If you are transferring lots of files over a speedy interface like eSATA (fast),USB 3.0 (faster), or Thunderbolt (fastest), then by all means go for the 7,200rpm drive. However, if you're limited to USB 2.0 or FireWire 400/800, then I would trade speed for capacity and get the largest 5,400rpm drive that your budget allows. USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 are more common than USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, and those older interfaces work fine with a 5,400rpm drive. If all out speed is your goal, multiple drives (7,200rpm, 10,000rpm, or SSD) over Thunderbolt 2 is the fastest (and most costly), with a single SSD connected via Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 as next fastest, and so on.

After you've slogged through the above criteria, you may have to look for other differentiators to find the drive you want. Color and design are usually a concern: A drive you're embarrassed to use won't be used at all, defeating its purpose. Included software is a concern if you don't already have a backup plan. If you're simply using the drive as an extra storage container or if you're using the backup software built into Windows or Mac OS, packed in software isn't as important. Warranty is also an important factor in our ratings: Drives can and will fail on you. That cheap drive you found on dealnews.com may only have a one-year warranty. Look for a three- or five-year warranty if you're hard on your drives.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 | What's New !

Samsung can release their most waited Galaxy S6 on 1st of March, 2015. There is strong rumor that company has decided to launch the device on that date only. So now, don’t have to wait much, few more days and you will see it in market.

Not to mention that the Samsung’s flagship product shall have a lot of hardware power but here are some of the most striking feature which are expected in this release of Galaxy series phone.

·         Front speakers for better music experience

·         Front camera would have flash, so that you can take high quality Selfies.

·         Phone will be available in Four Color; White, Black, Blue and Red.

·         It will capable of 4K video recording and awesome and unseen features.

·         Complete Metal Body for the Device.

·         4GB RAM and will have Water Proof Body

·         S6 to be the first Android smartphone to have 64-bit Snapdragon 810 that supports 4G LTE Advanced Cat 6.

·         Primary Camera supposedly to be of 20 Megapixel, with a TV out feature, for direct connection to 4K TVs.

·         S6 shall have Android Lollipop v5.0.

·         DROPBOX with 50 GB free cloud storage and expandable 128 GB memory card slot.

·         The phone shall have a Fingerprint sensor, and shall be Pay-pal certified.

·         Wireless Charging, using Qi modes and shall be multi touch enabled phone.

NEXUS 6 vs IPHONE6

How does the so-called 6th iteration of both lines fare against each other? We find out, in this comprehensive look at the Nexus 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus!

FORM FACTOR

The Nexus 6 is dramatically larger than the Nexus 5 and in the case of the iPhone 6 plus, the jump is even more impressive when compared to the much smaller iPhone 5 family.

The iPhone 6 introduced a rounded look to its design language, with the larger plus edition an identical counterpart, only with a screen bumped up to 5.5-inches. Buttons include the volume on the left side with the silence toggle, and the power button, which is to the right side from its usual position up top. A lone home button up front also includes a fingerprint scanner underneath, with the 2.5D glass adding to the rounded look. The metallic construction increases this phone’s attraction.

Nexus 6, phone looks like a large Moto X (2014), albeit without the numerous customization options available. No buttons on the front mean that the inputs are made with software keys. One of the big concerns with the Nexus 6 was in terms of the handling, but the curve on the back does help with the phone’s feel in the hand.  A metallic frame also helps the Nexus 6, adding to what is one of the most exquisite Nexus devices yet.

DISPLAY

Nexus 6 has an extra half inch and a higher resolution might be enough to make you choose the Android phone over its Apple competitor. Apple’s display technology gets a bump up to 5.5-inches and offers Full HD resolution, which results in in a pixel density of 401 ppi. Screen is pretty easy to view in daylight, and text is easier to view on this larger display, compared to previous smaller iterations of the iPhone. 

Nexus 6 sports, an AMOLED screen at just under 6-inches with Google and Motorola deciding to meet the trend of Quad HD, resulting in a pixel density of 493 ppi. The result is a display that is outputting some intense power, and for work and play, you will be able to read sharp text and enjoy any media in a large fashion. 

The colors on the iPhone 6 Plus are not bad at all, but they seem to pop out a little more on the Nexus This can also be owed to the highly colorful motif of Android 5.0 Lollipop, though. 

PERFORMANCE

We're putting against each other are two completely different architectures, catering to equally different ecosystems. Under the hood, the Nexus 6 packs a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, clocked at 2.7 GHz, backed by the Adreno 420 GPU, and 3 GB of RAM. The device boasts the kind of high-performance processing package you’d expect to find with a flagship Nexus smartphone, and can handle anything you throw at it with ease. Opening, closing, and switching between applications is a breeze, and gaming is also extremely smooth and enjoyable. 

Apple puts the A8 is the processor for the iPhone 6 Plus, and its dual-core 1.4GHz Cyclone chip is backed by quad-core graphics in the PowerVR GX6450. iOS has gradually become more about flashiness in its interface, but overall, the simplicity of the operating system can be felt. Moving among applications is pretty seamless, and even the 1 GB of RAM is able to keep a good number of apps running simultaneously. Gaming is also a standard affair, with games moving along well without much incident.

Comparing Android and iOS on different processing architectures is really tough, but what I can tell you is that users in both camps have reported very good experiences nonetheless. 

HARDWARE

Hardware offerings on either of these phones are mostly typical fare, with the iPhone 6 Plus boasting one specific addition over the Nexus 6.

The fingerprint reader on the iPhone is a press version, meaning you can easily unlock the phone by pressing and holding the home button. The reader can also be used for some other functions like unlocking payments. Aside from that, however, you get the standard fare with various connectivity options and even NFC, though it is restricted to Apple Pay for the time being. With versions of the phone available across all networks, mobile internet is never an issue. The bottom mounted speaker performs as expected, offering a pretty good soundstage. On the storage front, the iPhone 6 Plus does come in a 128 GB flavor, but you’re going to have to put down a pretty penny to get that much storage.

A 2,915 mAh battery powers the iPhone 6 plus, bringing a fair amount of battery life, though with enough power usage, it will struggle to get past the one day mark. Previous versions of the iPhone did have problems with longevity, and the larger and higher resolution screen on this edition does bring the bigger battery back down to size a bit.

On the Nexus 6, the lack of a fingerprint reader is made up for with its media consumption features. The main enhancement on the Nexus 6 is right on the front, with its dual front-facing speakers, whose placement simply trump the bottom mounted unit on the iPhone 6 Plus. NFC on the Nexus 6 is also wide open, and not left to just a payment platform. As far as connectivity goes, the Nexus 6 is the first of the line to get access across the board, with versions on AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular and one possibly coming to Verizon soon.

CAMERA

The app on the iPhone 6 Plus is about as simple as you can get. Swiping on the viewfinder changes the various modes, and the different options for your pictures are accessed via buttons on the side. You get modes for regular photos, for video, for slo-mo video, and even a square interface that makes Instagramming easy. Panorama and time-lapse modes are also available for anyone that wants to get fancy with their smartphone photography.

On Nexus 6, swiping from the left side of the viewfinder brings up the photo and video modes, but adds Photo Sphere and Lens Blur, the latter of which is more usable due to its stylish defocusing. Accessing HDR+ is done via the small button on the opposite corner, which also allows for switching to the front facing camera and adding a few elements to the viewfinder.

HDR modes on both of these cameras are at their best when used in the right spots. While the iPhone opts to have an HDR Auto mode, the Nexus 6 requires a little thought put into the shot, so that you’re taking advantage of how the scene can benefit from it. Video modes also fall under a similarly even scope, because both cameras benefit from optical image stabilization. The Nexus 6, however, can record in 4k resolution, putting it over the Full HD capabilities of what is already a good performer in the video space. The iPhone pushes ahead a little bit especially with its low light capabilities, but the Nexus 6 isn't that far behind, and that’s saying something.

SOFTWARE

Finally, we get to the age old question of Android vs iOS, and truth be told, if this was a comparison being made a couple years ago, there would be a far gap between the ecosystems. This situation has drastically reduced over time. 

In the newest version of the operating system, iOS has been able to bring a number of features that Android pioneered, like the notification drop down, a quick settings panel called “Control Center,” and a Holo-like design that has refreshed its look quite well. However, functionally, iOS remains about the same. No app drawer means organization requires folders, and despite the additions of the notification dropdown and Control Center, much of what veteran Apple users call home remains as such. That being said, there are still few limits on what you can do on iOS, and choosing is purely based on how you feel about its aesthetic, perhaps more than anything else.

Android, on the other hand, has become rather ubiquitous outside of the Apple space, and its limits are just as far and few between now. The newest version of Android, Lollipop, brought with it a much starker aesthetic change, taking what already worked before, and finding ways of presenting them in even better fashion. Google Now is now a launcher that comes with a second homescreen for quick news and contextual cues from your Google history, and the notification dropdown has been made easier on the eyes, hiding an equally attractive quick settings panel.

SPECS COMPARISON

	Nexus 6	iPhone 6 Plus
Display	5.96" AMOLED	5.5" IPS LCD
Resolution	1440 x 2560 (493 ppi)	1080 x 1920 (401 ppi)
SoC	Snapdragon 805	Apple A8
CPU	4x 2.7GHz Krait 450	2x 1.4GHz (ARMv8 based)
GPU	Adreno 420	PowerVR GX6450
RAM	3GB	1GB
Memory	32GB / 64 GB	16/64/128 GB
Battery	3220mAh	2915mAh

So, there you have it – the Nexus 6 vs the iPhone 6 Plus! They are certainly the best that both of these systems have to offer, both in their own big way. Those who are already loyal to either ecosystem will make their obvious choices here, but for everyone else, the matter comes down to what you want out of your phone. Media consumption with front-facing speakers and a gorgeously powerful screen make the Nexus 6 a pretty compelling choice.

LIGHTWORKS | The Free Video Editor

Who says you need to pay big bucks for a professional video editing program? Lightworks is stupendously powerful software that's available completely for free.

Why you need it

The prohibitive cost of professional video editing software can form a major barrier, especially if you're just starting out or don't have much in the way of funds. If you want a fantastic program that can work with video but need something cheaper than Adobe Premiere Pro, Lightworks is the perfect choice - even more so because you don't even have to pay for it.

But don't think it's not up to much because it's free - Lightworks is used extensively by Hollywood directors, and was put to good use on such films as The Wolf of Wall Street, The King's Speech and Pulp Fiction.

So what can it do? Well, there's a multi-layered timeline, a multi-channel audio mixer, full effect adjustment with keyframes and real-time waveform and vectorscape tools. There are more than 40 effects bundled with Lightworks,

One of the best aspects of Lightworks is its compatibility - it can work with files created in Final Cut Pro, Avid, Adobe After Effects and many more programs, which makes it ideal if you're working on a project with various different collaborators.

The paid-for version allows you to export your work in 1080p (the free version is limited to 720p maximum), support for hardware I/O and a few more advanced options, but the free version offers so much that there's really no need to shell out unless you plan on editing a Hollywood blockbuster.

Key features

Works on: PC, Mac, Linux

Versions: Free, Pro (£14.99 per month, or £99.99 per year, or £249.99 outright)

Feature rich: There is an amazing amount of functionality in Lightworks, especially when you consider that you can use it for free.

Used by Hollywood: Lightworks is such an impressive program that it has been used on a number of Hollywood films

Highly compatible: Share your work with collaborators who are using different software or even different operating systems - Lightworks can handle it all.

The ISSUE with MOBILE BATTERIES

For all the incredible improvements in mobile technology there’s a persistent complaint that tops the consumer survey charts – battery life. Top 10 Smartphone Purchase Drivers, battery life is the top consideration by a distance, way ahead of ease of use, operating system, and camera resolution. If battery life is so important to us then why aren’t the manufacturers focusing on it? Why do the majority of us still have to charge our smartphones every single day?

The lithium-ion batteries that power our smartphones have been improving, but the processors and screens that they’re powering have been improving much faster. As we jump to QHD displays and octa-core processors we need more power just to maintain the same level of usage.

As we pack in more and better features, and our expectations for performance grow, battery life suffers. Our smartphones also get more prone to overheating, which has a knock-on negative impact on our batteries.

Why aren't Batteries improving faster?

It is becoming increasingly difficult for engineers to squeeze more power out of the existing technology. New breakthroughs require expensive and time-consuming testing on a large scale. Safety concerns are paramount with batteries because they can literally explode if the manufacturer gets it wrong. There’s no substitute for long term testing. Exciting findings in the lab can’t always be scaled up for mass production. How do you balance output, capacity, longevity, and charging speed? Even if something has been extensively tested and it can be scaled, it’s going to be prohibitively expensive compared to older technology which is already being manufactured for the mass market.

That’s not to say that research and development departments around the world aren’t working on new battery technology, because they are, but there’s a big gap between a lab breakthrough and a mass roll-out. In the short term we’re likely to get more mileage out of workarounds that extend or boost our existing li-ion technology.

Working around the problem

Some people are already working around the problem by using extended battery cases, external chargers, and extra batteries, but there are obvious downsides. There’s no getting away from the extra expense and the added bulk of a battery case or an external charger.

Many manufacturers are also embedding batteries now and making it hard to replace them, ostensibly because that enables slimmer, unibody designs. It can also help with water resistance and potentially tougher phones. Of course, it doesn't hurt from the manufacturer’s perspective if you decide to switch your phone every year or two because the battery is dying.

Improving charging

We've taken a look at what’s holding back wireless charging before. Something like WattUp from Energous, which uses RF and Bluetooth to charge a device within 15 feet of a transmitter could be a game changer. If truly wireless solutions like that are proven safe and they hit the market with the right level of support, then perhaps wireless charging can still be the answer.

Speed is another line of attack. We're already seeing smartphones and chargers that speed up the process of charging. Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology offers 75 percent faster charging, so you’re looking at around half an hour to get to 60 percent on your battery. StoreDot wants to take it much further with the promise of a 30 second recharge, check our older blog THE 30 SEC BATTERY CHARGER , but the technology is yet to be perfected and it can’t be retrofitted.

New battery technology

Barely a month passes without news of some possible breakthrough that will improve on our current technology, whether it’s Stanford University’s next-gen lithium batteries tripling smartphone battery life, research into nanomaterials to lengthen li-ion battery life. There are possibilities everywhere, but no solid answers on the future of batteries. What we can be sure of is that software optimization will continue to play an important part, and component manufacturers are still finding ways to reduce and optimize power consumption.

Where exactly is the sweet spot between performance and functionality? Would you be happy to ease off the cutting edge and dial back resolutions and specs if it meant week long battery life? Would you be happy with better charging technology? Or do you look for another solution?

How To Buy A USED SMARTPHONE

Used. There’s just something about this word that seems to have a negative connotation, as in “we've used it up, and it’s no longer good”. That’s probably why so many retailers that sell used products (games, hardware, cars, etc.) tend to use the word pre-owned as an alternative. Scary word aside, buying used doesn’t have to be a bad experience. The below tips should help you through the buying experience, and while written primarily with phones in mind, most steps should also apply to tablets.

Know What You Want

Start by deciding the minimum specs you are looking for, the minimum Android OS you're willing to live with, what sizes you are looking for, and the maximum budget you have to spend. This should give you an idea of what to look for and should help you narrow it down to just a small handful of handsets. How do you know how much you should be paying for a used phone? Research! You'll want to hit Swappa, Ebay, Craiglist, Amazon and just about any online source you can think of where they have used phones for sale. Pay careful attention to condition, not the median price. Compare mints to mints, goods to goods, etc.

Time your buys with the release of new iterations of the device. If your heart desires a used Galaxy S5, wait until the Galaxy S6 has been announced, or better yet until it’s been on retail shelves for a few weeks.

Swappa

Swappa is absolute favorite place to go when looking for used phones, or even offloading ones you do not want. Swappa requires sellers to verify that the phone in their pictures is really in their possession by requiring them to put a piece of paper with an identification number on it within the photos. They run ESN checks and personally approve every listing before a seller’s item can be bought. Swappa tends to have pricer phones than sources like Craiglist and Ebay,

Ebay

Ebay can actually be a great place to get a phone and tends to have some of the cheapest pricing around. Like Swappa, there’s Paypal protection that can help you get your money back if you get scammed. Buying from Ebay is also pretty easy, as long as you do some research on the phones and seller before you commit.

Stuff to bring with you for the inspection:

·         Bring a battery pack or a laptop, as well as a charging cable

·         A MicroSD card if the phone has a slot for it

·         Headphones

·         An active SIM card that is compatible with the phone you are testing

·         A flashlight

Before you even boot the phone up, give it a visual examination. Start with the screen, how scratched up is? If the phone has physical keys, are they in good condition (press in okay, etc.). Is the front camera’s glass cracked or damaged in any way? Next, move to the sides, checking for scratches and dents, testing the buttons out for how well they click and press. Finally move to the back, checking the camera for scratches or a broken lens, as well as scratches and other damage to the back.

All phones should offer a water damage indicator sticker somewhere, sometimes within the headphone jack, the SIM slot or somewhere behind the back plate on phones with removable backs. You’ll want to research where the sticker is found for the phone you are looking for before meeting up. Seeing the sticker can sometimes be hard, and that’s where a small flashlight comes in handy.

Now it is time to put in the SIM card and micro SD, and turn it on. Be sure to mess around with the phone’s software, get a feel for how fast it is, how the UI layout is (if it isn't stock, etc.).

Use an online tool to check the ESN. Swappa has a good free one, even if you aren't using Swappa to buy the phone. Also be sure to run a few service codes, which give access to hidden testing menus for the phone. You’ll need to use Google to search for exactly what the code is, as it differs from device to device. For example, using *#*#4636#*#* on Nexus 5 brings up a menu that lets me look at detailed Phone Info, Battery Info and more. There are also tests for checking sensors and more.

Wrap Up

Inspect the phones (in pics, in person, or both) and are firm on what you are looking for. Okay, so that’s not true. There are no guarantees in buying used, and it’s important to remember that. Even with protections in place, there’s a small chance you’ll get scammed and never get your money back.

Hopefully the above gives you a good idea of what to look for and where to buy. Did I miss some important hints or tips? Let our readers know about your own suggestions in the comments below.

MYTHS of PRIVATE BROWSING

Let's be honest: There's probably a few things you've been looking at online that you don't want anyone to know about.

Whether you're secretly searching for a gift for someone who uses your computer, planning a surprise event or just looking at websites you'd prefer to keep to yourself, there are plenty of reasons to want to keep your web history in the shadows.

There a few different ways of doing this, and they all depend on who it is you want to hide your history from. But here's the thing: The

websites you visit in private browsing modes can still be tied back to you. Even if the people on your computer can't see which websites you've been visiting, your Internet provider and the websites you're visiting can. Here's how it works.

What private browsing modes do

Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox,Opera and Internet Explorer all have private browsing modes you can use to make sure the websites you visit don't appear in your browsing history. Typically, your browser will record a running log of each website you visit and store information about what you entered into search and information forms on websites.

So, if you found an awesome T-shirt on an online store, but can't remember which store it was or what you searched to find it in the first place, your browser will store that information so you can use it later. Your browser will also store cookies from websites, which are small files of data that help tailor a website to you and your computer. Whenever you go to a website that already has you logged in, remembers what you were last looking at or displays ads that eerily fit what you've been searching for, that's a cookie at work.

When you enable private browsing modes, you are telling your browser not to record which websites you're visiting, and telling it not to use or download any cookies. So, if you set up an account with an online jewelry store to find an engagement ring for your girlfriend, and she uses the same computer as you, she won't be able to see any of that if you only do it in a private browsing mode.

If you download an SSL certificate from a website or told that site specifically to stop displaying pop-ups and downloading cookies, all of that information is still stored on Firefox.

Also, if you log into your Google account in Chrome's Incognito mode, the browser will record your history and remember your cookies, which effectively ends the private session.

Private browsing modes — by the admission of their developers — only try to hide your history from other users of the same computer, and there are still ways to get around that. If you're looking for something that prevents anyone from tracking your browsing history, a normal browser isn't going to cut it on its own.

What private browsing modes don't do

Even if the private browsing mode doesn't keep a record of which sites you visit, it's still possible to track all of that information with your Internet Protocol (IP) address. Your IP address is both an identifier and a locator, telling the Internet who you are and from where in the world and on a computer network you're connecting to the Internet. Any device that can access the Internet has an IP address, which is the Internet's version of the return address on a mailed envelope. Whenever you send a request over the Internet, your IP address is included.

Because every request sent over the Internet is tied to an IP address, anyone with the capacity to monitor which IP address sends requests to a server can figure out where you've been going online and to whom you've been sending messages. That's how the NSA metadata collection program worked in a nutshell: The agency collected information about which IP addresses were sending requests to each other with the goal of figuring out the composition of terrorist networks.

Private browsing settings can prevent your history from being recorded on your browser, but they cannot prevent your IP address from being tied to those requests. Your Internet provider, law enforcement much more local than the NSA and any website that can install tracking cookies or access your search history can track those requests. The government can legally request your Internet history, too.

Also, anything you download and any bookmarks you make during a private browsing session will remain on your computer. Expecting those to go away when the session is over is like expecting a package you got in the mail to disappear just because you threw out its box. The file is now on your hard drive, and it will take a lot more than deleting your browser history to get rid if it.

Top 5 Ebook Apps for Android

If you are a Bookworm, and do not have the time to snuggle in a quilt and read a book, here are some of the top and the best ebook reading apps for your Android device.

Kindle

Read literally thousands of free books on the go on your tablet or your smartphone without ever needing a Kindle. The Kindle app lets users experience the same features and functionality that catapulted Amazon’s success with the Kindle Fire. It’s the perfect ebook reading app that caters to any reader’s taste buds, whether you're browsing for the latest fashion trends on a magazine, or getting real-time updates through online newspapers, the Kindle for Android never fails to amaze you. Other features include a built-in dictionary, Google Search, and Wikipedia access–all of which will greatly complement your reading pleasure.

Google Books

Reading just got better with Google’s own reading app called Google Books. What makes it different from other ebook reading apps is the sheer number of downloadable books that span over 3 million titles for you to browse and download. Choose from a wide spectrum of choices from Google’s vast library of free and public domain materials that couldn't be normally found anywhere.

NOOK for Android by B&N

With over 2 million books in Barnes and Noble’s arsenal, you'll have your very own pocketable library at your fingerprints. Optimized for Android use, the app can easily mark your favorite magazine subscriptions like US Weekly, National Geographic, and The Oprah Magazine — free for a 14-day trial period. Previous users of the NOOK tablet will feel welcomed by the app as it sports the familiar user interface that they love and adore.

Aldiko Book Reader

If you’re tired of the same old-fashioned ebook readers found on the Android Market, try Aldiko Book Reader. It is a great alternative to apps supplied by many large companies such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Buy ebooks at great deals from your favorite retailers in either Adobe PDF or EPUB formats. Users can also download directly the ebook of their choice into their Android device without using a computer to transfer files.

Kobo eBooks

Reading on your Android device will never be the same again with Kobo eBooks. Featuring a massive database of free ebooks to download, users are treated to many interesting titles. Start your day right with the Kobo eReader app that makes reading more entertaining and stimulating. Make reading a fun learning experience as the app has a special feature called Reading Life, which monitors and tracks your reading statistics. You can also share memorable quotes, notes, dialogues, and more with the integrated Facebook feature.

Top 5 APPS for CRICKET World Cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 officially starts this Saturday. 14 teams from all over the globe will battle for Cricket's top prize. There will be a total of 49 games played over the 45 day period, which can get a little taxing for cricket enthusiasts as it's simply not possible to watch every game live.

This is where dedicated apps chime in to keep you updated on scores and any other developments that occur during the game. We're listing out five such apps for this World Cup season, which will keep you updated on all the happenings of the cricket's biggest spectacle.

1) ESPN Cricinfo: This app is naturally on the top of our list for a number of reasons. Not only does it offer the best u

ser experience (both on web and mobile), it also has opinion pieces from some of the greats of the game leading up to the World Cup. The user interface of the mobile apps have seen innumerable changes over the past year or so, with the most recent refresh making it well worth your attention.

Price: Free
Platform:Android, iOS, Windows Phone

2) Cricbuzz: This is the No.1 cricket app on Android and that too for a good reason. It's an excellent app to track scores and keep yourself updated with the match while the dedicated widget helps you get the scores directly on the home screen. The developers have added a new World Cup section in the app to check out results, schedules and fixtures without getting mixed up with other games.

Price: Free
Platform: Android, iOS, Windows Phone

3) Yahoo Cricket: This app lacks the bells and whistles of ESPNCricinfo or Cricbuzz, but more than makes up for it with the live scores and the essentials. You can't go too wrong with Yahoo Cricket as it can provide cricket scores and updates in a timely fashion, which is pretty much, all you can ask for from a cricket app.

Price: Free
Platform: Android, iOS, Windows Phone

4) Hotstar: Not many apps out there offer support for live streaming matches. But Hotstar is a fortunate exception as it lets you stream matches directly from your smartphones or tablets. It comes from the Star Sports group, so the stream is offered by the official Cricket World Cup broadcasters. The app also has a large number of TV Shows in its archives, which can be watched at your convenience.

Price: Free
Platform: Android, iOS

5) ICC CWC 2015: Coming directly from ICC, this app offers a comprehensive look of all the World Cup matches along with the scores, fixtures, results, news and a lot more. Since the app is published by the International Cricket Council, users can be assured of getting the best World Cup experience with the app. There are some handy social features, which lets you answer popular questions and make your voice heard.

Price: Free
Platform: Android, iOS

Internet Privacy Tools

We live in a time of widespread government surveillance, and you can't be sure who's intruding on or monitoring your Internet activity and communications.

You might want more privacy online for any number of reasons — you could be a journalist reporting on a sensitive topic. To better protect yourself, here are 5 tools (presented in no particular order) to help you encrypt data, block intrusive trackers or remain altogether anonymous on the web. Note that this is by no means an exhaustive list of what's out there, and no security measure is 100% effective. As always all the tools listed here are free.

1.       Tor Project

Tor is a free software program that allows people to use web connections anonymously. Widely considered to be one of the best privacy tools on the web, Tor can be downloaded as a software package, and there's a Tor-enabled browser available. It's difficult to track information that passes through Tor — so much so that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put up a $110,000 reward for anyone who can crack its secrets.
  

2.       The Guardian Project

The Guardian Project creates open-source apps to help people communicate privately. All of the group's software is downloadable for free for Android smartphones. For secure web browsing, there’s a privacy-friendly browser called Orweb that works with a Tor-enabled proxy called Orbot for mobile. There's also a private messaging service called ChatSecure, an app for private phone calls and a pixel-destroying camera tool to blur faces in photos. This project is almost worth a list all its own.

 3.       DuckDuckGo and HTTPS Everywhere

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that doesn't track or share any of your information. If you're looking for better privacy, use this over Google. When you're browsing the web, you'll notice that URLs typically have the "http://" prefix, if not the more secure version: "https://" (HTTP Secure). The HTTPS Everywhere browser plugin works with Chrome, Firefox and Opera, and it attempts to automatically switch any HTTP web address over to HTTPS, which encrypts communication between you and the server to protect against eavesdropping or impostors.

4.       Ghostery

Ghostery allows you to keep tabs on companies that track your visits to websites. With this browser extension, you can block companies from collecting your browsing data. Ghostery has a popup option that displays a message each time you visit a site with a list of who's tracking you. When I visited Amazon.com, for example, Ghostery showed me I was being tracked by these entities:

5.       Privacy Badger

Privacy Badger is a browser extension that can block third-party advertisers, but it has a moral compass. If Privacy Badger suspects a tracker is overstepping its bounds by tracking what you're doing without your permission, the extension stops the advertiser in its tracks. It's all based on the principle of user consent: If the advertiser breaks the rules, Privacy Badger cuts the cord.

6.       GPG

You may have heard of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), an encryption program developed in the early '90s to make email conversations more secure. It's a bit outdated, though. The better option is GPG. The GNU Privacy Guard system allows you to encrypt and sign your data. Each party has a pair of "keys," one public and one private. The sender, in this case, sends the email to the receiver's public key, but this encrypted message can only be deciphered if the receiver enters his or her private key (that is known only to them) upon reception of the communication.

The video above is a quick tutorial on using GPG with public key encryption to prevent the interception of your communication. 

 7.       Cryptocat

Cryptocat is an encrypted chatting service that can be added as a browser extension or downloaded as an app for Mac systems. It is one of the more popular encryption tools available, often used by journalists and human rights advocates. Put simply, only the sender and receiver can see the actual content of the message. When messages are traveling through Cryptocat, they're unreadable. As a bonus, the application supports file-sharing.

 8.       Wickr

Mashable previously described Wickr as "Snapchat for grownups," and that's a good way to put it. Wickr sends photos, video and file attachments that will eventually be deleted, but unlike Snapchat, Wickr encrypts messages. Not even Wickr itself is supposed to know what's in the messages you send. What you send can last anywhere from a few seconds to several days.

 9.       Signal

For phone calls on iPhones, there's an app called Signal, and it's probably the best iOS app available for phone call encryption. Open Whisper Systems, the developer behind Signal, has an Android equivalent called RedPhone that provides end-to-end encryption. Eventually, RedPhone will be rolled into Signal to unify the platform, but the apps are already compatible with each other. Snowden himself has praised Open Whisper Systems for their easy-to-use encryption apps.

10.   Surveillance Self-Defense Guide

For those of you who are very serious about ramping up your privacy online, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that advocates for civil rights as they pertain to modern technology, has published an extensive index of security tips and explainers for all sorts of Internet users, be they beginners or experts. It's a good place to tread a bit deeper into protecting yourself from unwanted surveillance.

CANON EOS 5DS and 5DSR DSLR's | 50 MAEGAPIXEL

Canon's 22.3-megapixel full-frame 5D Mark III may be regarded as one of the best DSLRs for shooting stills and HD video, but it's a lightweight compared to the company's new EOS 5Ds and EOS 5Ds R.

The 5Ds and 5Ds R have more than twice the resolution of the 5D Mark III. Canon's new DSLRs aren't 5D Mark III replacements — they're only variants. The two cameras, priced really high will be available this June. Existing 5D Mark III accessories like battery packs and grips are compatible with the new models.

The 5Ds and 5Ds R don't buck the established DSLR look. They both resemble the aging 5D Mark III down to the details. The sticker on the left side is the only way to spot the difference.

Both new DSLRs share virtually the same exact specs. The cameras have a monster 50.6-megapixel full-frame CMOS image sensor.
They each have a 61-point autofocus system with 41 cross-points, a Dual DIGIC6 image processor, ISO adjustable from 100-6400 (expandable to 12800) and a built-in intervalometer for creating time-lapse videos. A few features remain the same as the 5D Mark III: Continuous shooting is capped at 5 frames per second (fps) and the dynamic range didn't get any boost.

Disappointingly, the 5Ds and 5Ds R don't shoot 4K-resolution video. They top out at 1080p full HD at 30 fps and 720p at 60 fps. The omission is baffling since smaller mirrorless cameras like Panasonic's GH4 and Sony's A7S can record video in 4K. Both models sport a 3.2-inch 1.04-million-dot LCD screen (non-articulating and non-touchscreen, unfortunately) and dual memory-card slots for CompactFlash and SD.

The only real difference between the 5Ds and 5Ds R is the latter has a low-pass cancellation filter. A low-pass filter, for those who don't know, is a filter that eliminates pesky moiré (the distorted wavy pattern that appears on objects with lots of lines or dots).

Any photographer who wants insane resolution should consider the 5Ds. Landscape photographers will appreciate the 5Ds R more — the low-pass cancellation filter will be indispensable for taking artifact-free photos.

How to buy a LAPTOP ??

The laptop market has undergone major changes in the few years, and there may be more confusion in the notebook aisle today than at any other time. Today's laptops encompass everything from featherweight ultrabooks that barely tip the scales at less than 2 pounds, to lap-crushing behemoths of 10 pounds or more. Some laptops double as tablets, with hinges that bend and fold, while other touch PC’s are actually slate tablets that come with accessory keyboards for laptop-style use. There's simply too much variety in the laptop space for one size or style to fit every person's needs.

That's where this written material comes in. We'll brief you on all the latest styles and features, and parse the latest buzzwords and trends, helping you figure out which features you want, and how to find the laptop that's right for you.

Ultrabooks and Ultraportables

Intel has spent the last few years pushing ultrabooks, a breed of laptop that combines lightweight designs with the latest energy-efficient hardware and long lasting batteries to produce a laptop that deliver productivity portability. Make no mistake though, ultrabooks are simply ultraportable that meet Intel's standards for certification.

Ultrabooks took the ultraportable category and refined it with industry wide standards governing everything from boot times to chassis thickness—no more than 23mm (0.91 inch) thick for units with screens smaller than 14 inches, and no more than 20mm (0.79 inch) for units under 13.3 inches. Dubbed ultrabooks, these wafer-thin systems represent a new vision for portable computing, a no-compromises laptop light enough that you'll forget it's in your briefcase, whose battery and storage let it resume work in seconds after being idle or asleep for days. Solid-state drives (SSD)—whether a full 128GB or 256GB SSD or, more affordably, a small one used as a cache with a traditional hard drive—give ultrabooks their quick start and resume capability. The best of these ultraportables will still cost you a pretty penny, but the performance they offer is remarkable, and often comes with several high-end features to boot. Features like a 1080p touch screen, a full-size HDMI port, and more than 8 hours of battery life are commonplace these days. Premium laptops (with premium prices) now come with high-resolution screens, up to 3,840-by-2,160 at the top end.

Windows 8 and Touch

The most dramatic change to come to the PC in the last couple of years is Windows 8. Windows 8 is meant to bridge the gap between laptops and tablets. It does that by introducing a new navigation scheme, a tile-based Start Screen that replaces the traditional Start Menu, and an app friendly software environment. There's more to Windows 8 than can be addressed in this buying guide, but the bottom line is that Windows 8 has brought the touch interface to the forefront. As a result, the majority of new PCs will also feature a touch screen, and those that don't will have features in place to provide similar functionality.

If you're in the market for a Windows 8 laptop, a touch screen is highly recommended. Windows 8 user experience is dramatically more intuitive when using it with touch input. The one area where you won't see many touch screens is among gaming machines, where touch would potentially interfere with the precision control schemes needed on the gaming grid.

Hybrid Laptop Designs

This emphasis on touch has done more than encourage the adoption of touch screens. In a further effort to enter the tablet market while still meeting the needs of laptop buyers, a new category of laptop/tablet hybrid has emerged. These convertible-hybrid laptop designs can transform from laptop to tablet and back again, most opting for a folding design that flips the keyboard out of the way.

Some of these hybrid designs offer docking keyboards with secondary batteries providing all-day charge, while others opt for Bluetooth keyboards, forgoing the bulk of a docking hinge and connecting wirelessly.

Mainstream and Premium

While the entire laptop category has gotten slimmer, there's still a market for the desktop replacement and laptops that blend premium design and function. Desktop replacements aren't quite as portable as smaller ultrabooks, but these 14- and 15-inch laptops offer everything you need for a day-to-day PC. These larger laptops offer bigger displays, a broader selection of ports and features, and are one of the few categories that still offer optical drives. Screen resolutions run the gamut from 1,366 by 768 for inexpensive budget systems to the 1,920-by-1,080 resolution common to mainstream laptops, and up to the 3,200-by-1,800 resolution found on high-end multimedia laptops made for the graphics professionals.

Media and Gaming

For the gamer who wants top of the line performance, the combination of a high-end processor, a potent discrete graphics card, and a large high-resolution display is well worth the higher prices that gaming rigs frequently command. And boy do those prices run high—While an entry-level gaming laptop typically starts at about $799, prices can go up to and over $3,500 for a high-end system with multiple GPUs and the horsepower to play games at ultra-quality settings. 

Before you drop a grand or two on a gaming laptop, however, you should know what you're getting for your money. Powerful quad-core processors are par for the course, with Intel Core i7 and AMD A10 chips pushing serious performance even for non-gaming applications. Discrete GPUs from Nvidia and AMD provide silky smooth graphics and impressive frame rates. Some high-end rigs come with two GPUs, helping justify their high price tags. Additional features to watch for include high-resolution displays offering 1080p resolution or better, and hard drives that offer 1TB or more of local storage space, letting you store your entire game library on the machine.