Facebook to temporarily disable mobile number sharing feature

Social networking site Facebook will be temporarily disable a feature that allows users to share their address and mobile number with external websites and applications.

This particular feature, allowing users to share address and mobile number with application developers, was introduced late last week.

"We agree and we are making changes to help ensure you only share this information (address and mobile number) when you intend to do so. We will be working to launch these updates as soon as possible, and will be temporarily disabling this feature until those changes are ready," Facebook said in a blog.

The move came after "some useful feedback that we could make people more clearly aware of when they are granting access to this data," it added.

Facebook, which is estimated to have over 600 million users worldwide, said it expects to re-enable the improved feature in the next few weeks.

According to the blog, the feature had required users to explicitly allow application developers to access their address and mobile number.

However, users were not allowed to share friends' address or mobile number with applications.

In recent times, Facebook has come under criticism for some of its privacy policies, which some sections feel does not fully protect the privacy of users.
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Dell to focus on smartphones in India

US-based computer-maker Dell today said it will introduce more smartphone models this year to strengthen its presence in the country.

"We entered the handset category late, but that gave us a chance to study the market well. We will introduce more products in the market this year to strengthen our position here," Dell India General Manager (Consumers and Assembly Segment) Mahesh Bhalla told reporters here.

He, however, declined to comment on the models and price points that the company was looking at for the Indian market.

Dell made its entry into the Indian smartphone market in November last year with its XCD28 and XCD35 handsets. The handsets were priced at Rs 10,990 and Rs 16,990.

The smartphone category has grown significantly over the last two years, both in India and overseas, with companies like HTC, Samsung, Nokia, Research in Motion, Apple and Acer launching a slew of handsets at various price points.

According to IDC, mobile phone vendors were expected to ship 269.6 million smartphones globally in 2010, compared to 173.5 million units in 2009.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

U.S.: iPad users' data stolen, sets criminal charges

U.S. investigators plan to announce criminal charges concerning the alleged theft of email addresses and other personal information belonging to about 120,000 users of Apple Inc's iPad tablet computer.

Prosecutors said the charges arise from an alleged hacking of AT&T Inc's servers, which affected iPad users who accessed the Internet through AT&T's 3G network.

Paul Fishman , the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, and the FBI plan to hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the charges.

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High-efficiency 6-channel WLED driver for 72 LEDs

IXYS Corp. has begun offering samples and evaluation boards of its inductor-based, high-efficiency, 6-channel white LED (WLED) driver, the LDS8763.
The company said the LDS8763, an integrated DC/DC boost converter with an internal MOSFET switch as a synchronous rectifier for highest efficiency, can drive 72 WLEDs in six strings with up to 12 LEDs per string. It is available with factory-programmed LED current at 20mA, 25mA, or 30mA per string and 1.5% channel-to-channel current matching. The MOSFET operates at 0.7MHz switching frequency and wide input voltage range of 4.5V to 28V for power conversion circuitry. A small external inductor of 10-33µH is required. The device features under-voltage, over-voltage, over-current, and over-temperature protections.

The LDS8763 is designed for backlight LED lighting of medium-size LCD displays such as notebooks, netbooks, E-books, tablet computers, navigation displays, small LCD TVs, and displays, as well as large-area LED lighting panels for indoor and outdoor LED lighting fixtures.

The LED brightness can be adjusted using an internal PWM pulse generator with duty cycle regulated by external DC voltage applied to the PWM pin. Duty cycle changes linearly from 1% at 0.25V to 100% at 1.135V and remains at 100% at higher voltages.

The LDS8763 comes in a 4x 4x 0.8mm 28-pin thermally enhanced TQFN package.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Third-generation platform for microcontroller development

STMicroelectronics has released its third-generation development platform for customers using STM8 and STM32 microcontrollers in line with its bid to simplify product design.
The new EvoPrimer platform, built using lessons learned from the company's Primer and Primer2 kits, is billed as the industry's first low-cost, hand-held tools for rapid prototyping with the STM8 and STM32. ST said EvoPrimer further boost flexibility and reduces customers' overall investment in tools by providing a common base unit with interchangeable low-cost microcontroller modules, or target boards.

ST is offering target boards with support for STM8L ultra low-power 8-bit microcontrollers, as well as the 32-bit STM32F Connectivity and Performance Lines families. Other target boards to be released are designed for the ultra low-power STM32L and the ultra high-performance STM32 F-2 series featuring advanced 90nm process technology.

The target boards connect to functions onboard the EvoPrimer base unit, including an LCD touchscreen, a joystick, a MEMS accelerometer, a microphone, loudspeaker and jack, a Micro SD card connector, and a Li-ion battery with charge-management circuitry. Extra functions may be added through an integrated extension connector. Integration with the CircleOS operating system gives designers the ability to use services that simplify use of the microcontroller.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Apple's Steve Jobs takes second medical leave

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is taking medical leave for the second time in as many years, sending shares tumbling close to 10 percent as the news revived concerns over the long-term future of the iPhone- and iPad-maker.

The news, which was disclosed early on a U.S. holiday when markets were closed, came nearly two years to the date after Jobs first took a six-month break to undergo a liver transplant.

"This time around you have to question his ability to bounce back," said Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst.

Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer, said chief operating officer Tim Cook would take responsibility for day-to-day operations but he would continue to be chief executive and be involved in major strategic decisions.

"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health," Jobs, 55, wrote in an email to staff published on a regulatory newswire. "I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can."

Apple shares fell 8.3 percent in Frankfurt by midday. Nasdaq futures were down 1.4 percent. Monday is a holiday in the United States and markets are closed.

Apple's destiny has been closely tied to the charismatic Jobs, who revived the computer maker's fortunes in 1996 after a 12-year absence from the company he co-founded.

Nokia pulls plug on free music in most markets

The world's top cellphone maker, Nokia, is ending its bundling of free music downloads with cellphones in 27 countries, where it has gained little traction since its 2008 launch.

Nokia will continue to sell phones with 12-month subscription to free music downloads in China, India and Indonesia and with 6-month subscriptions in Brazil, Turkey and South Africa.

All four major labels -- Vivendi's Universal Music , EMI, Warner Music Group and the music arm of Sony -- signed up for the service, which was seen at the start as a major challenger for Apple's iTunes .

Nokia unveiled the service in late 2008 in Britain -- seen as a test market for new mobile services in Europe -- but has lacked operator support and failed to attract many customers.

Reasons behind the lacklustre performance include use of older supporting handsets for the product at its launch, digital rights management (DRM) software that tied downloaded music to the device and a difficult to understand product offering.

"The markets clearly want a DRM-free music service," said a spokesman for Nokia, adding the firm continues to offer DRM-free tracks through its music store in 38 countries.

DRM software limits sharing of songs between different devices.

Consumers with the free music bundle in the 27 countries where the sale of the service have stopped will continue to have access until their subscriptions run out.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Steve Jobs, from dropout to Apple visionary

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is a living legend in Silicon Valley, the man who gave the world not just a single iconic product but four.

The visionary behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, Jobs announced on Monday that he was taking a medical leave of absence for unspecified health issues.

Born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco to a single mother and adopted by a couple in nearby Mountain View at barely a week old, Jobs grew up among the orchards that would one day become the technology hub known as Silicon Valley.

As a high school student, Jobs attended lectures at Hewlett-Packard in nearby Palo Alto, and worked a summer job there with engineer Steve Wozniak .

Jobs left Reed College in Portland , Oregon, after a single semester, but continued to take classes, including a calligraphy class he has cited as the reason Macintosh computers were designed with multiple typefaces.

When he was 20, Jobs made a spiritual journey to India, returning with his head shaved and wearing traditional Indian garb.

He got work as a technician for video game pioneer Atari and attended a garage club called Homebrew Computer Club " with Wozniak, a fellow northern California boy who, like Jobs, was also a college dropout.

Jobs was 21 and Wozniak 26 when they founded Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs's family home in 1976.