Wednesday 26 February 2014

How to pay for your friends’ WhatsApp subscription

WhatsApp now has a new feature with which you can buy subscription packages for your friends. I'm not quite sure whether this is a new feature or it has been seen ages.

I'm using an unreleased WhatsApp APK that I pulled off from the WhatsApp website to hide my Last Seen, status and profile photo. And, this APK has this feature.

If the users find these features useful, these features should appear in the markets soon.

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Pay for a friend on WhatsApp

Getting back to the topic, purchasing a WhatsApp subscription package for your friends is easy. You can purchase for any contact that you have on your WhatsApp contacts list. You cannot purchase the subscription package for more than one friend at once.

Is this feature useful?

This feature should be useful for those who do not have a credit card that works with Google Wallet or PayPal. You can also use this to gift subscription packages to your dear ones on their special days.

If you plan on changing your number, you can take your account information along with that.

How to purchase for your friends?

  1. Go to More > Settings > Contacts > Pay for a friend in the app.
  2. Choose a friend and make payment for 1, 3 or 5 years package using Google Wallet, PayPal or the payment URL.
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Purchase screen on WhatsApp

Once the payment is made, your friend will be notified about this. Note that if your friend is using Android, BlackBerry or BlackBerry 10, he'll see the updated expiry date immediately. If your friend is using iPhone, Nokia or Windows phone, he'll have to restart the device to see the new expiry date.

If you are unable to purchase for your friend at some time, you may try again after some time. Or maybe purchasing for that friend isn't available at that time.

Related : Facebook buys WhatsApp for $16 billion

If you wish to get this feature immediately, instead of waiting for official market rollout, you can download the new APK in the WhatsApp website.

-- This Post How to pay for your friends' WhatsApp subscription is Published on Devils Workshop .

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After Moto G success, Moto X is coming to India in few weeks

Motorola has announced that it is bringing the Moto X to India in the next few weeks. It will be available in Australia too. The announcement comes from the official tweet from Motorola.

At this moment, Moto X has been available only in the US, UK, Germany and Mexico and Latin America.

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Similar to Moto G, it is expected that Motorola will be selling the Moto X only on Flipkart. This strategy has worked well for Motorola, except that the demand for the low cost Moto G was huge in India that it went out of stock every now and then.

The price tag is unknown, but it should cost more than Moto G.

The launch in India will not come with Moto Maker. The Moto Maker is available only the US for now. It allows the buyers to customize the Moto X to their needs. They can choose the front and back panel colors, camera rim and more. Over 2000 combinations are possible, says Motorola. Once designed, the Moto X will be delivered straight to their doors.

About Moto X

The Moto X comes with a 1.7 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 2GB RAM, 4.7 inch 720p HD AMOLED display, 10MP rear camera, 2MP front camera and has 16GB/32GB internal storage. It comes with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box. But, a promised Android KitKat update is available.

Moto X comes with PixelClear technology and has Active Display. Active Display displays your notifications in a brilliant way that the screen doesn't light up. Only the notifications are shown with a black screen covering the rest of the area. If you wish to get this feature on your Android, you should try ActiveNotifications.

Moto X is well known for its brilliant voice recognizing feature. The device hears you all the time. You can give voice commands even when the device display is turned off and it will respond you.

Motorola's next plans

Motorola has announced that the Moto Maker will be available to Western Europe and Mexico in the next few months. And, if Moto X finds success in India, Moto Maker may be available in India too.

Based on reports, Motorola is developing a Moto X2, the next generation of Moto X. It is believed to go official in the late summer of 2014.

Also, Motorola is making its first smart watch. It is said that Motorola is keeping the smart watch high on style and design. It will be available later in this year.

-- This Post After Moto G success, Moto X is coming to India in few weeks is Published on Devils Workshop .

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Monday 24 February 2014

Samsung showcases waterproof Galaxy S5 with fingerprint sensor

Samsung announced it's next flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S5 at the Mobile World Congress 2014, held at Barcelona. This smartphone comes similar to it's predecessor, except that it is packed with a better camera, bigger size, fingerprint sensor and a heart rate monitor. And, the device is waterproof!

The 5.1 inch Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with a new back look that offers a better grip. If you are familiar with the original Nexus 7 launched in 2012, the Samsung Galaxy S5 looks more like the original Nexus 7. Talking about the hardware features, it comes with a 2.5 Ghz quad core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2 GB RAM and offers 16 GB or 32 GB internal memory. You can also expand the memory up to 128 GB.

Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung Galaxy S5

Regarding software, it comes with a toned down version of TouchWiz UI on the top of Android 4.4 KitKat.

Highlights

  1. 16 MP rear camera with which you get UHD recording capability and real-time HDR.
  2. Fingerprint sensor along with the home button. Samsung has also announced partnership with PayPal to offer fingerprint security options to make payments. iPhone 5S was the first device to come with fignerprint sensor.
  3. Heart rate monitor. Hold your finger on the sensor and the device will start recording your heart rate, thanks to S Health 3.0. Over time, the device will also start making graphs based on your heart rate results.
  4. It is water and dust proof.

This device will be available from April 11, 2014.

If you are hunting for a price tag, we do not have updates on that yet. Based on guesses, the device should be available at $650.

Are you buying one?

-- This Post Samsung showcases waterproof Galaxy S5 with fingerprint sensor is Published on Devils Workshop .

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Friday 21 February 2014

New WhatsApp APK now let’s you hide ‘Last seen’, status and photo

A new APK file is now available on the WhatsApp website that lets you hide your Last seen timestamp, status and profile photo. This new feature is not available officially on the Google Play store yet.

You can either hide these details from everyone, including your contacts and strangers, or choose to let it be visible for everyone. You cannot hide the details from particular contacts.

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Hide 'Last Seen', status and profile photo

Note : On hiding your Last Seen status, you won't be able to see your contacts' Last Seen status.

If you didn't know, the iOS version of WhatsApp already has this feature and allows the users to hide the Last Seen tag. But, it comes with a limitation. You cannot change the setting every now and then. You will have to wait for one day to toggle the setting again.

Also, the iOS feature doesn't let you hide your status and profile photo.

Talking about this feature for WhatsApp for other platforms, there are no reports yet. But, if the users find this feature useful, WhatsApp will be bringing this feature to the other devices soon.

Before you download the APK, it is suggested that you take a backup of your existing WhatsApp using MyAppSharer or any other method that you prefer.

Related: Facebook buys WhatsApp for $16 billion.

Link: Download WhatsApp APK | via Firstpost

-- This Post New WhatsApp APK now let's you hide 'Last seen', status and photo is Published on Devils Workshop .

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Wednesday 19 February 2014

Facebook buys WhatsApp for $16 billion

Facebook has been rumoured in the past to buy the popular phone messaging app Whatsapp but nothing materialized. Today Facebook announced that it would be acquiring Whatsapp for $16 billion. Let that number sink in a bit. Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars and that was considered overpriced. Whatsapp is possibly worth 16 Instagrams!

Whatsapp_Facebook

Facebook is buying the competition out!

Facebook today is a internet giant but its growth happened on the PC screen. Their ads are far more effective on larger screen and not so much on mobile phones. This is why it bought Instagram whose growth was mobile only. Whatsapp is similar but only a bigger threat to Facebook.

There is a rising trend of younger people preferring WhatsApp and not on Facebook. They are creating group conversations and sharing photos on WhatsApp not Facebook.

Facebook is now shelling out huge amounts not just so they have a great product but also to buy out the competition. It could also be to avoid Google or Apple getting in and buying these products.

Trivia

In 2009 Facebook turned down Brian Acton for a job. He lamented on Twitter that it would have been a great opportunity to work with great people but he was looking for life's next adventure. He was also rejected by Twitter for a job according to this tweet.

He went on to create Whatsapp and is now selling it for $16 billion to the same companies that did not give him a job.

Source: Facebook Press

-- This Post Facebook buys WhatsApp for $16 billion is Published on Devils Workshop .

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Saturday 15 February 2014

TimePIN for Android changes your lockscreen pin based on current time

TimePIN is nifty Android app that adds better security measures to your phone. It is different from the other lockscreen apps for Android because it changes the password every minute, based on the device time.

Advantages of using TimePIN

Here are few reasons why you should use TimePIN.

  1. A safe, complicated password is generated every minute and you're the only person who knows that password.
  2. Forget worrying about password stealing eyes that are lurking near you.
  3. Easy and immediate access to device without remembering complicated passwords.

If the time is 09:54, your pin would be 0954. And, when the time is 00:00, your pin is 0000.

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You may now wonder that when an attacker gets his hands on your device, he may easily unlock the device with the time being shown on the device. But, that's not the case.

The app comes with modifiers. Modifiers are a set of rules upon which the pins are generated. There are four modifiers. They are :

  1. Reverse : This modifier reverses your pin. If the time is 12:34, the pin is 4321.
  2. Double : It doubles your pin. If the time is 12:34, the pin is 12341234.
  3. Mirror : It mirrors your pin. If the time is 12:34, the pin is 12344321. If the time is 8:32, the pin is 08322380.
  4. Offset : This modifier generates the pin based on the time and then subtracts that with the offset value set by you. If the time is 12:34 and the offset value is 121, the final pin is 1113 (1234 – 121)

At any time, if multiple pins are enabled, they will be applied based on the order shown in the TimePIN app.

TimePIN is a free app. Only the Reverse modifier is available for free in the app. Other modifiers can be purchased with an in-app purchase priced at $1.99.

Default pin

A default pin can be set in the app during the first launch of the app. If you ever get locked out of your device, simply reboot the device, and once it restarts, enter the default pin to access your device again.

You can change the default pin anytime you want. Also, this default pin is required to access the app every time.

Upcoming features

The developer has mentioned that he has some interesting features coming soon. They include support for encrypted devices, support for pattern passwords, alphanumeric passwords and more modifiers.

The app doesn't need root access. But upcoming features like support for encrypted devices and pattern passwords may need root access.

Link: TimePIN on Google Play

-- This Post TimePIN for Android changes your lockscreen pin based on current time is Published on Devils Workshop .

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Wednesday 12 February 2014

Bringing Sochi to you, one Recipe at a time

Follow breaking news and results anyway you'd like. Create ESPN Olympics Recipes!

For a limited time only, use the ESPN Olympics Channel to bring Sochi to you.

IFTTT Recipe: Tweet when your country wins an Olympic Gold Medal IFTTT Recipe: Keep a simple spreadsheet of your country's Olympic medal wins
IFTTT Recipe: Sing 'We are the Champions' when the US wins an Olympic medal. IFTTT Recipe: If your country wins a medal change your hue to match your country's flag
IFTTT Recipe: Follow the latest news for your favorite Olympic athletes and sports IFTTT Recipe: Send yourself Direct Messages for Olympic top stories

Want to do more with ESPN and IFTTT?
Try these popular ESPN Recipes.

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Friday 7 February 2014

Trick to set your own Flappy Bird high score on Android

Flappy Bird is an insanely addictive game that's been spreading words everywhere since a month. The game objective is simple : keep the tiny bird flying to the unreachable checkpoint, without crashing into the pipes, to collect medals.

The game is available for Android and iOS devices. It has over 50 million users just on Android.

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Getting on to the topic, it's easy to set your own high score on your Android device. But, there are two things necessary : your Android device should have root access (that is, you should have rooted your Android device) and ES File Explorer. If you already have the two, you're good to go. Else, root your device and download ES File Explorer.

Before you begin with this hack, make sure to play the game once and set a minimum of 1 as your high score.

Open ES File Explorer and enable Root Explorer from the options available in the left side panel.

Once done, go to your Local panel and go to Data > Data. There, find com.dotgears.flappybird. Enter this folder.

Inside, go to shared_prefs. Open the FlappyBird.xml file with ES Note Editor.

Click the Three Dots at the top right of the file manage and choose the Edit mode. You can now change the value of your high score.

This was my high score before changing.

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This is my high score after changing.

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Things to to note

If the high score set by you doesn't show up during the game play, close the app manually and then restart the game.

Also, this high score is set only locally. This high score will not be reflected in your social gaming section like Google Play Games or that of iOS.

If you loved this trick, share this post with your friends too. They would also love to set their own high scores, right?

Links : Flappy Bird on Google Play | Flappy Bird on iTunes Store | via Android Pit

-- This Post Trick to set your own Flappy Bird high score on Android is Published on Devils Workshop .

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Thursday 6 February 2014

WordCamp culture in India – It is still early days!

Last month on 24th January, along with some friends I attended WordCamp Baroda 2014. This was the second time I was attending a WordCamp in Baroda and overall I have now attended four WordCamps. Will be attending a fifth one but more on that later.

The WordCamp in Baroda, itself was a good one. The venue was at the outskirts of Baroda city. It might have been difficult for some attendees but there were bus pickups arranged from two different points in the city. It meant a big benefit which was, that most attendees came to the venue and left the venue at the same time.

WordCamp Baroda 2014
WordCamp Baroda 2014

The speaker sessions were interesting and a lot of impromptu discussions were held too. These unstructured discussions are one major reason I actually like visiting WordCamps. One such impromptu discussions was actually a self-appraisal of speaker sessions themselves by Saurabh Shukla. The simple question was to ask if some sessions were adding any value to the attendees. This stirred some passions but in the end the tone of the WordCamp Baroda turned from officious to camp like.

The formalities were dropped and the informal discussions ended up being a blessing for healthy debates and a lot more audience participation took place over the two-day event.

As an organizer Rahul Banker did an exemplary job planning and executing WordCamp Baroda. I also must add the team of volunteers who worked tirelessly and diligently behind the scenes were true champions. Any amount of praise to the volunteers is not enough.

I have a lot of respect for WordCamp organizers and volunteers today than I ever did before. That is because I have ended up in the organizing team of WordCamp Mumbai 2014, which takes place on March 15th-16th. In this post more than reviewing WordCamp Baroda, I am taking stock of the WordCamp  and by extension the WordPress culture in India.

Some delusions about meetups in India

There were some arguments made about how tech related meetups do not work in India. I do not mean tech related events but meetups organized by like minded people where entry is free and control over what is discussed is minimal to none. The constant argument made against organizing such meetups are "Meetups do not work in India as India is different from other countries".

In my personal experience is absolutely untrue. I am part of WordPress meetups in Mumbai for over a year and we might not boast of a large community but all the organizers of WordCamp Mumbai 2014 met each other at meetups and did not know about each others existence before these meetups began.

This clearly shows that India is not any different and meetups can and do work in India. It just requires people to keep having meetups regularly. I have attended meetups with only four people (me included). I have a simple rule to decide if a meetup is successful or not. If I meet someone new, the meetup is successful. :-) In Mumbai we organize meetups over coffee or even dosas which always get decent number of people attending. ;-)

Too many celebrities at WordCamps

I found a disturbing trend at all WordCamps I have attended till now. There is a bit of a celebrity culture around some people. These celebrities are usually popular bloggers. Too many people mob and excessively praise popular bloggers. I won't blame the bloggers themselves and I think most are a bit embarrassed by the attention.

I think this can be toned down a bit in the future – again back to the importance of meetups – if these bloggers were accessible with local meetups, I do not think there would be too much fawning over individuals.

Organizers need to contribute their experiences

I think people who have organized WordCamps in India, have missed a trick by not writing down detailed posts on what went behind organizing such an event. Explaining how they approached WordCamp Central and what should other budding organizers do would be a lot more helpful.

Hopefully after WordCamp Mumbai 2014 is over, I will write a series of long posts on what exactly happens behind the scenes while organizing the event.

Over to Mumbai!

WCMumbai

As I wrote earlier, I am part of the organizing team for WordCamp Mumbai 2014. There are some very good speakers lined up and one of them is our very own Rahul Bansal.

The big challenge was to make this WordCamp in Mumbai accessible to everyone. We have started that by keeping the ticket prices to a minimum of Rs. 300/-.

Here are some of the useful links for WordCamp Mumbai 2014 (March 15-16)

The WordCamp culture in India is still nascent but I can see it has moved forward since I wrote about my experiences at WordCamps a year ago. It is definitely becoming more informal and approachable. Hopefully it continues down this path. There are several thousand WordPress experts in India and hopefully they do not remain just a talent pool for companies but also end up becoming a thriving community.

Update: Rahul Banker brought to my notice that he had chronicled his experience as a organizer in a post last year.

-- This Post WordCamp culture in India – It is still early days! is Published on Devils Workshop .

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Wednesday 5 February 2014

Moto G in India – Flipkart and Snapdeal offers

As reported earlier, Flipkart is the official launch partner of the Moto G. The device will be launched tomorrow on Flipkart.

This is the dual sim version of Moto G.

In addition to Flipkart, Snapdeal will also be selling the device. The company has already begun the process of pre-ordering the device. As per the reports, more than 1000 pre-orders were placed within 2 hours on Snapdeal.

You can still pre-order Moto G on Snapdeal at 0 INR.

Snapdeal will be shipping the device by the third week of this month, while Flipkart will be shipping the device on the same day, February 6.

Snapdeal's offers

Snapdeal is offering 1 GB Airtel 3G data, back panel for Moto G, free 1 year accidental warranty and free 1 year support warranty.

Flipkart's offers

Offer 1 : It is offering 500 INR offer on purchases of eBooks of 501 INR and above.

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Offer 2 : It is offering 1000 INR offer on purchases of apparel of 1001 INR or above.

Offer 3 : It is offering 70% offer on colorful Moto G shells. The Moto G shells add beauty to your Moto G.

Offer 4 : It is giving 100% cash back offer in the form of Flipkart credits. 100 random winners will be chosen and given the cash back.

Other online retailers are expected to start selling the Moto G soon.

Links : 8 GB variant on Snapdeal | 16 GB variant on Snapdeal | 8 GB variant on Flipkart for 12,499 INR | 16 GB variant on Flipkart for 13,999 INR

Are you buying a Moto G? If yes, do let us know if you win the freebies!

-- This Post Moto G in India – Flipkart and Snapdeal offers is Published on Devils Workshop .

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