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Google Search lets you launch the camera by saying ‘Ok Google, take a photo’ or ‘take video’

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Google Search on Android has had several updates over the years witha its Google Now and voice search integrations that changed the way we search on our phones.

Previously saying ‘ Ok Google’ let you open the Google voice search feature. Today an update on Google Play lets users launch their camera app by using these voice commands ‘Ok Google take a photo’  or ‘take a video’  and ‘record a video’. 

If you phone has hot word detection activated adding OK Google to either commands does the prompt immediately but when you have it switched off you can tap the mic and then say the command i.e ‘take a photo’ 

This might making taking quick photos easier on phones on which it applies. The update might take a while to reach all users but keep checking Google Play.

Lets hope this is the beginning of more commands on Google search, imagibe saying ‘Ok Google, take a selfie’ and the front camera went on.

Source : TNW

How to use Facebook Home on almost any phone without any geeky tweaks!

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Remember when Facebook made updates to its Facebook Home launcher to add photos from other sources such as Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr and Pinterest? Not only did they make these changes but they also made a full standalone launcher which is available on the PlayStore for only a limited number of Devices like the HTC First, Nexus 4, the Galaxy S4 and a few more.
However at the end of this post you will realize that it works on almost any phone running Android 4.1 once you side load the Apk without editing the build.prop.

Now forget the tweaks by Modaco where the Apk files were edited, here you will be able to use the latest Facebook app with this Home apk.

How to use it
Download the FacebookHome.apk at the bottom of this post then Install it on your phone. You will need the Facebook android app installed alongside the Facebook Messenger for an improved experience.

Login in to your Facebook app and then look for the Home icon in your app drawer (app list) then login with your Facebook account then it will prompt you with a screen saying your phone saying your phone is not supported yet and Facebook Home will not work properly, however it will give you two options:

Select ‘Use Home Anyway’
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From there you will get a menu with options that lets you customise Home such as; Connected Apps which lets you choose to see posts from Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr & Pinterest.
By the way you can select another source and unselect Facebook if you you are not impressed with the social network.

Another major step is selecting where you want the Facebook Home Feed to appear, select both Launcher and lock screen to get the full launcher from Facebook after you press the home button on your phone and then select the Facebook Home option.

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Just in case you want to keep you default launcher just select lock screen however this had many issues on the devices I tested on such as the Nexus S, a galaxy Grand, a generic tablet and Samsung duos because it sometimes conflicts with the pin or password set on your lock screen. You can also access the Facebook Home lockscreen through the notification tray.

You can also choose whether you want your wallpaper chosen from photo uploads you have made on Facebook or photos of your friends and family. Toggle the ‘Use Home Wallpaper’ to turn on the option.

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Other customisation you might need to make include;
Adding a Cover Feed shortcut icon that takes you to your cover feed straight from your launcher.
You might want  to turn on device notifications and change your preferred temperature units.

Download, install, open, login, Done!

There you have it, the official Facebook Home on unsupported devices.

Download the Facebook Home Apk 1.2 from here.

Facebook Home Apk – Google Drive

Facebook Home Apk – Box

Let us know whether this worked for you and if it did reward us with a thumbs up on Facebook.

Oppo unveils phone that takes 50 MegaPixel Photos!

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Oppo launches the Quad HD Find 7 phone that reportedly takes 50 megapixel photos Yes, I said 50 megapixels and i mean 50. Remember the 41MP Lumia that shocked us, well 50MP is a bigger shock however there is a glitch. Oppo a Chinese based company whose aim is to produce phones with high end specs. With devices like the Oppo N1 which was the first phone to come with Cyanogenmod pre-installed, they have deviced to launch the Quad HD F7.

Today they launched the Oppo Quad HD F7 with a 5.5 inch screen at (2560x1440p) resolution. It is carries a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a powerful 3,000 mAh battery under the cover.

The weird bit is it carries a 13 megapixel Camera with takes 50 megapixel photos by by taking ten photos in the back end with its ‘Super Zoom’ feature. The Camera lets you record full 4K video and 720p 120 frame-per-second videos in slow motion.

Oppo also unveiled the Oppo Find 7a which is a lower end smartphone at a cheaper cost that comw with a full HD display (1920x1080p), a 2.3GHZ quad-core processor, a 2800 mAh battery, and 16GB of storage. Both devices will be on sale in mid-April, at $599 and $499 for the Find 7 and 7a respectively.

Desktop, chrome and Mac OS X Telegram apps that will make you switch!

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Telegram the open source messaging app that rivals WhatsApp has decided rival other apps through is diversity of platform by opening up its app to support almost all platforms. Since its open source and has got more royalty from developers after whatsapp had many issues like downtime and rumours of insecurity after it was bought by Facebook.

Telegram which was official on Android and iOS only has been taken to more platforms than you can imagine thanks to third party developers.
Telegram might have taken a Twitter approach where their are multiple clients that do the same thing in a different way. Choice is the power of open source.
Follow you Telegram chats with any of these awesome 3rd party apps.

Telegram for Desktop

telegram desktop

The Windows Desktop app is well designed with a clean and modern Use interface in a typical windows desktop environment. After logging you get realtime notifications from the system tray when you get a new message, with a preview showing the profile picture and message, and just in case you have the app on the taskbar, the icon will get an notification count showing the number of messages. This app was the best designed and much as the website claims it’s in beta, I found no bugs while testing it with Joel writer. Since Telegram syncs, you can get you messages on any client or device after logging in and you can log out from the app.

Telegram for Mac OS X

telegram for macos

Telegram has about 2 apps for Mac OS X that will let you receive you messages from in realtime if you don’t belond to Bill Gates’ side of technology.

Lets say you started the conversation from your phone and the battery run out, you can login to Telegram on your personal PC or Mac and if you were traveling you can access it through the browser version (webogram

Webogram (Telegram in a browser)

telegram web
Webogram is the browser based Telegram client where you can login into any browser, (I dont know about how well it works in IE) and a security code is sent to your phone which you use to authorize you login and then you get a bootstrap-like interface with all your chats.

Telegram Chrome Extension

telegram on chrome

Telegram is similar to the Webogram (browser based Telegram) except that you get notifications for new messages from the app which shows up on the chrome app launcher. This client is ideal for those who use chrome a lot and don’t want to switch softwares.

Telegram also has several unofficial versions for windows phone users like Migram which means the application is cross platform and if you are a busy telegrammer, you can send a telegram from just about any platform.

Telegram for Linux (Command line)

Well if you want to appear like the mad scientists in the movies or want to experience chating in a virtual machine or through the shell of Linux then you download the command line version of the app.

I must remind you that some of these apps are in beta and are developed by third party developers, however the catch is you get to keep the conversation on almost all platforms and we must appreciate Telegram for featuring links to these unofficial apps on its website.

Well if you are worried, fell free to logout or terminate all connections using the official app on your android device or iPhone.
Let us know if you are willing to switch from other chat apps to Telegram.

Well big up to the developers of these apps

Outbox Hub wants to train your kid into a future Computer programmer!

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Outbox Hub, an incubation Hub for Developers in Uganda is promoting a children’s Programming program called Kids Computer Program (KCP) where they intend to equip very young minds with basic programing skills.

They will be using an MIT based co-curriculum called “Scratch” which teaches early programmers basic programming based on user friendly concepts like events, conditions, sequences, conditions, loops in short the what’s , when’s, and how’s of basic programming.

Well there is an even bigger catch! At the of program the young proggramer will gain the pride of having made a game they themselves besides acquiring life skills like collaboration, team sharing, and others that may not be programming oriented that are necessary.

Your child doesn’t have to be ‘Albert Einstein’ to join the program because any child aged 7 and up can be enrolled in the program. Its as easy as knowing how to read, write and maybe how to play with a mouse.

Outbox has put up the program during a time which won’t clash with the child’s study hours. The Computer Kid’s Program will take place Saturday mornings between 10am and 12pm from 19th April – 10th May 2014.

Such programs aid the mental growth of children and enable them become productive, creative and give a firm ground for future programmers. The earlier they get involved in programming the better besides you wouldn’t want regrets in the future for having stated late.

You can enroll them on the Outbox Website. This program will set you back $200 per child.

Smart Telecom launches in Uganda, its cheap calls offer new hope!

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Everytime a Telecom launches in Uganda we get about a year maybe 2 of insane offers which we use and maximize and enjoy until they expire then we put our dual Sim phones back to use after returning to our old numbers or make an entire switch to the new telecom.

Am bringing this up because another telecom has launched in the region. Smart Telecom is what ‘you’ called them after a crowdsourced search for name from their ‘fans’ on giveusaname.net

Smart Telecom which uses the prefix 074 has been in the country using brandless sim cards sold by SureTelecom agents using the same prefix. The now ‘sold’ SureTelecom gave a few internet lovers unbelievable offers like unlimited internet for a month and unlimited calls which was definitely a promotion gimmick obviously came to an end.

Now the Aga Khan Foundation owned Smart Telecom has officially launched in full swing with cheap call offers like a phone call at 74 Ugshs, No matter how long the call lasts it will cost the same provided you are making a call on the same network.

The CEO of Smart Telecom says they plan to improve their Internet and broadband capabilities and he says they aim at offering consumers the ability to make calls without pressure of looking at a call while talking.

They have majored on offering cheap calls at 74 Ugx which is certainly low, but how cheap will the Data be?

Lets recieve the bouquet of ‘flowers’  from our new Telecom and lets pray the offers last and we can enjoy these cheap offers for longer.

WhatsApp VoIP feature on iOS leaked in screenshots

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After WhatsApp was bought by Facebook, the CEO Jan Koum tipped us that WhatsApp would soon bring voice call features (VoIP) to WhatsApp.

Since its 2014, a year full of leaks, iPhoneItalia posted leaked screenshots of the voice calling feature on iOS7. The images show a user interface that greatly resembles that of iOS 7 and has a few tweaks such as a camera button next to the voice message sending button, with a native like iOS 7 keyboard.

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The VoIP feature shows a circular button UI and a blurry background. The voice calls will be free on Wifi and cellular networks in a move to compete favorably with other chats apps offering the service.
Only time will tell, how the final product will look like.

Image Source: iPhoneItalia

Zuckerberg called Obama expressing frustration over US Internet spying!

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The CEO of Facebook shared what was on his mind on his Facebook page about Internet security today after news leaked that the NSA was posing as his social network Facebook and posting malware to users.

He expresses his frustration about how spying on Internet users by the US government is killing Internet Security and goes ahead to state that Facebook engineers work tireless to protect user data from criminals and threats but he is doesn’t expect them to be his government. He also states that he called Obama in his post.

strong>Below are his actual words he posted on his wall;

As the world becomes more complex and governments everywhere struggle, trust in the internet is more important today than ever.The internet is our shared space. It helps us connect. It spreads opportunity. It enables us to learn. It gives us a voice. It makes us stronger and safer together.

To keep the internet strong, we need to keep it secure. That’s why at Facebook we spend a lot of our energy making our services and the whole internet safer and more secure. We encrypt communications, we use secure protocols for traffic, we encourage people to use multiple factors for authentication and we go out of our way to help fix issues we find in other people’s services.

The internet works because most people and companies do the same. We work together to create this secure environment and make our shared space even better for the world.

This is why I’ve been so confused and frustrated by the repeated reports of the behavior of the US government. When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we’re protecting you against criminals, not our own government. The US government should be the champion for the internet, not a threat. They need to be much more transparent about what they’re doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst.

I’ve called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform.

So it’s up to us — all of us — to build the internet we want. Together,we can build a space that is greater and a more important part of the world than anything we have today, but is also safe and secure. I’m committed to seeing this happen, and you can count on Facebook to do our part.

Source : Mark Zuckerberg

Google Drive slashes prices tremendously! 1 TB now costs $9.99

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The cloud storage service from Google has seen a tremendous price drop in a bid to make cloud storage cheaper and definitely trash competition.

As Microsoft was busy rebranding and asking consumers to switch to OneDrive after SkyDrive rebranded, Google has suddenly decided to pull its scissors on the Prices for its premium packages on Google Drive.

Just in case the 15gb free storage is not enough, Google will let you buy more space in packages of $1.99 for 100GB and a terabyte at $9.9 which is down from a hefty $49.9. The storage space hungry can also buy 10TB for $99.9,

Business users and premium users of Google drive are definitely having a wide smile on their faces and this might attach a switch from rival cloud storage providers like OneDrive, Drop box whose prices are rocket high once compared to Google Drive’s new prices.  Just in case you want to do the math,  you will get 1 TB at the price which Dropbox offers 100GB.

Two million users form the biggest web “hunt” for missing plane

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You must have heard about Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777 plane that disappeared with 239 passengers on board and crew. The plane which went off radar along its route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur has been a trending story on the internet and media.

DigitalGlobe a US based earth-imaging company which provides data from a number of its satellites,  has taken its search for the plane to another level by crowd sourcing users on the internet to search through imagery that was captured by satellite 400 miles above the sea.

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DigitalGlobe provided a large amount of imagery for the area of the Gulf of Thailand and South China city where the plane is presumed to have gone down to a large number of crowd sourced web users.

Through its specially designed website, the service has attracted more than 2 million users to look through the digitally captured images. Yesterday users had tagged about 650,000 objects over thousands of square miles.

We will continue to collect imagery of the search area and adapt our collection plans as new information becomes available – DigitalGlobe

Unfortunately, the web search alongside, 39 planes, 42 ships and more resources has not found anything helpful in relation to Flight MH370.

You can join the search here

Source: DigitalTrends

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