Myce.com recently nabbed two screenshots from a purported recent build of Threshold, which is expected to be called Windows 9 when it debuts in 2015. Right now, however, these internal builds are labeled Windows 8.1 Pro—a fact that Neowin noted earlier in July when it also nabbed a screenshot of the Start menu.

 Most desktop users are excited about the notion that the Start menu will return. Even better it may actually put metro apps to good use for those of us who boot to the desktop. The Myce and Neowin shots are very similar and aren't all that different from what we saw in April, when Microsoft officially announced the Start menu was coming back. On the left-hand side of the new Start menu you'll have a list of recently used apps as well as an option to view a list of "All apps." (The terminology seems to be a catch-all for both desktop programs and Metro apps.)
Presumably, as with the original versions of the Start menu, you'll be able to pin apps to this list.
To the right of the apps list is an area with pinned metro apps for easy access and at-a-glance live tiles for apps like weather, mail, news, and calendar. The new Start menu seems to be customizable, with it tile sizes appearing adjustable, just as they are now on the Start screen.


But Microsoft may have different plans. The Verge reported late Monday that Microsoft is testing versions of the Start menu that take over the entire screen and act more like the current Start screen in Windows 8.1. However, is whether this will happen on all devices running Threshold. A report from Windows watcher Paul Thurrott earlier in July said the expanded Start menu would be the default option for tablets and other touch-based devices that lack a keyboard. This interface, Thurrott said, would be "a full-screen Start menu that looks and works a lot like the Start screen does now." Regular PCs, however, would get the more traditional Start menu as seen in the Myce and Neowin leaked screenshots. In addition to another look at the Start menu, Myce also published a screenshot showing the Windows Store operating in windowed mode.


Threshold isn't expected to roll out until April 2015, but if you can't wait that long you can put together a similar set-up using third-party tools for Windows 8.1. Check out our tutorial on how to get a Windows 7-like Start menu and windowed Metro apps right now.

Trend Micro has released a new mobile application for gaming enthusiasts in India. The app, however, focusses on making gaming experience safer by reducing risks from malware and malicious apps. Trend Micro has tied up with mobile game developers from India – CreatioSoft, Tuttifruitti Interactive and Gamania – and around Asia to set up what its calls a 'Safe Gaming Alliance'.

Called Dr Safety, the app comes with features such as Secure Certified Games Recommendation,  Anti-disturbance - blocks unwanted contact with whitelists and blacklists of phone numbers, Anti-phishing - blocks malicious websites including phishing and fake bank sites and Safeguard privacy - identifies which apps collect and steal your personal info using the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network.

Dr Safety is  available for download on the Google Play store. The app supports English, Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese (Traditional), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese. This is driving the rapid growth of the mobile app market in India, as more local and international developers expand into India. Mobile gaming will become a key focus area and cybercriminals are bound to capitalize on this growing sector. By working with local partners such as CreatioSoft, Tuttifruitti Interactive and Gamania, we can offer a trusted and secure platform for consumers in India, creating a safer mobile gaming environment for the entire ecosystem,” says Terrence Tang, Senior Director of Consumer Business, Asia Pacific, Trend Micro.

Spice Stellar 497 and Stellar 361, two new smartphones in the Stellar series are now available from online retailer Saholic. The Stellar 497 has a 4.5-inch FWVGA screen, powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It has a 3.2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Spice Stellar 600 that was launched last month is the company’s first smartphone with Android Kitkat.


The Spice Stellar 361 has a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) OS. It has a 2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Both these smartphones have dual SIM support and 3G connectivity.

Spice Stellar 497 specifications

• 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) capacitive touchscreen IPS display
• 1.2 GHz quad-core processor
• Android 4.4 (KitKat) OS
• Dual SIM
• 9.5 mm thick
• 3.2MP rear camera with LED flash
• 2MP front-facing camera
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with MicroSD
• 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS
• 1650 mAh battery

Spice Stellar 361 specifications

• 3.5-inch (480 x 320 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
• 1GHz dual-core processor
• Dual SIM
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 2MP camera with LED flash
• 1.3MP front-facing camera
• 11.9 mm thick
• 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS
• 256MB RAM, 512MB internal memory, expandable memory with microSD (up to 32GB)
• 1400 mAh battery

The Spice Stellar 497 comes in white color and is priced at Rs. 5,999. The Stellar 361 comes in black and white colors and is priced at Rs.  3,699.

Researchers have developed a new software that provides real time data on traffic and can help drivers choose the fastest route to their destinations. Researchers at the University of Granada in Spain designed the software that can provide information on traffic flow between cities to individual users through mobile phone alerts or web-based devices.

It is a highly reliable, low-cost method, easy and quick to install, which uses Bluetooth devices, researchers said. These devices collect real-time data on road traffic which is then sent to a central server. This information is then processed using complex data mining algorithms, evolutionary computing and neuronal networks, with the aim of providing users with information and predictions on the density and flow of traffic on any given route.

Current systems in use for the collection of data and the generation of information on the state of road traffic lack the capacity to identify the vehicles they detect and they are also costly, which makes them too expensive for use in secondary roads.

This restricts their use to main roads that connect large urban centres. The SIPEsCa project (Spanish for Low Cost Autonomous Information and Prediction System for Real Time Data on the State of Roads using Distributed Devices) has been developed by the GeNeura University of Granada research group and the company Ciudad 2020. The data gathered through these devices generate a variety of statistics on vehicle use in their respective areas. ”Thanks to this new method we have been able to monitor traffic density and movement on an individual basis, as vehicle users move between nodes within the zone in question,” Castillo said.

These devices capture the signals broadcast by the different technological components inside each vehicle, such as GPS or hands-free devices, as well as drivers’ mobile phones. As far as data privacy is concerned, the research team emphasises that the data they collect ‘are never associated with any specific user, since they do not gather any information that can allow for the personal identification of the user from which they are collected’.

In a move to improve coverage and data speed, state-run telecom companies BSNL and MTNL are enhancing capacity and coverage of their mobile services by adding about 28,300 new mobile sites.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has stated that both public sector units are making changes in their network which will enhance 3G download speed by about six times.

BSNL is augmenting its network by adding IP based 10,502 new Node Bs (3G antenna) and 14,263 base transceiver stations (generally for 2G) in the network as part of phase 7 expansion plan.
Meanwhile, MTNL is adding 3,526 mobile sites which include both 2G and 3G equipments for enhancing mobile broadband coverage in Delhi and Mumbai. The TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) monthly report card for May 2014 is out; Out of the 6.9 billion mobile subscribers globally, 13.6% subscribers are in India. The total subscribers, including wireless and wire-line, in India reached 938.34 million in May 2014, with the monthly addition of 2.54 million subscribers. The growth in the subscriber base is primarily driven by …

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced today in an email to employees that the company is preparing to layoff a total of 18,000 people within the next year. Additionally, Stephen Elop, chief of Microsoft devices, also announced that the Nokia X Android project is over. Future Nokia X designs and products will be shifted to Windows Phone devices. He notes that the company will make the shift immediately, but support and sales for existing Nokia X products will remain.

There's no further information on what's the destiny of the recently announced Nokia X2. It's an existing product technically, so it should go on sale, but given the new developments Microsoft might as well cancel it. After all, we doubt anyone will be interested in buying into the platform now that it's officially pronounced dead.

Here's an excerpt from Elop's email.

In addition to the portfolio already planned, we plan to deliver additional lower-cost Lumia devices by shifting select future Nokia X designs and products to Windows Phone devices. We expect to make this shift immediately while continuing to sell and support existing Nokia X products

. Out of the total of 18,000 planned job cuts, the Nokia Devices and Services unit will lose 12,500 people. Each one of them will be notified over the next six months and will receive a severance package. Those 12,500 jobs are comprising of both factory workers and IT professionals.
Satya Nadella said that the workforce reductions are dictated by the need of work simplification and strategic alignment with the Nokia Devices and Services integration.

Every citizen of the country will have access to the contents of the National Electronic Library (NEL), HRD minister said Wednesday. NEL is a digitised library which according to the minister will be device independent.

“The government of India has taken a decision to provide access to NEL to its citizens including students and teachers in schools, colleges and universities. Most resources in NEL would be available in open access to every citizen of India without any restrictions,” Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

“It can be accessed using a variety of devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and other devices,” added Irani.

However, few of the resource contents will be especially subscribed to students, researchers and faculty of colleges. Further, the resources available under the National Repository of Open Education Resources (NROER), launched in 2013, will also be part of e-library. The resources available in NROER are in the form of concept maps, video, multimedia, learning objects, audio clips, talking books, photographs, diagrams and charts, articles, Wiki pages and textbooks.

“NROER is a collaborative platform that endeavours to bring together relevant and appropriate digital digitizable resources in multiple languages for the school system for all classes and subjects,” she said.

A 3D chip stack that utilises carbon nanotubes could theoretically power supercomputers small enough to fit in a pocket, according to researchers. Philip Wong, an electrical engineering professor at Stanford University, claims that the chip stack would reduce the power needs of supercomputer systems to such an extent that a computer as powerful as IBM's Watson could one day come in a pocket-sized form.

"This design requires new, highly-efficient heat spreaders," Wong said at the recent Semicon West conference. "The thermal aspect is critically important. "The resulting design could provide a thousand-fold power reduction for the IBM system that consumed 175kW power to beat human contestants in the Jeopardy gameshow."

Wong admits that there are significant challenges to be met before such a system could be practically implemented. "The material is not suitable for the high-temperature doping processes used in today's chip fabs," Wong said. "Researchers still need to improve the purity of the material they grow. And, like all transistor materials, it faces challenges when contacts scale to increasingly small sizes."

The advancement of technology has often been summarised by Moore's law, which states that the number of transistors that it is possible to fit onto a chip doubles every two years. This rule has held fast since the dawn of computers, however in the last few years it has begun to collapse. The reason behind this is the limitations of silicon as a semiconductor; it is not possible to reliably scale down chips below 10 nanometres. It is widely believed that carbon nanotubes could hold the key to overcoming this scaling issue and re-establishing Moore's law. One of those betting on carbon nanotubes is IBM. Earlier this month the firm announced a new $3 billion (£1.8 bn) project that aims to build commercial transistors using carbon nanotubes by 2020.

It’s been Chinese manufacturers that have been making the most noise in the Indian market in the past few weeks. More recently, it was Xiaomi which announced the uber-affordable Mi3 smartphone for the Indian market, something which resulted in a lot of hype and talk.

Earlier today, the Huawei Mediapad 7 Youth2 was found to be listed online on major e-commerce portals in India. The large phablet/small tablet (pick one) was launched earlier this year, and this is the first time that the device landed on Indian shores.
The device comes with a mild specs set and, thanks to a 7-inch screen, is suited for those who’re looking for a large screen device for activities such as web browsing, multimedia, etc.

Specifications

• 7-inch 1024 x 600p display
• 1.2GHz quad-core CPU
• 1GB RAM
• 4GB on-board ROM
• 3 mega-pixel rear camera
• VGA front facing camera
• 4100mAh battery
• Android v4.3
• Voice calling

The device has been priced at 10,999 INR, which means the Mediapad 7 Youth2 isn’t going to be the most affordable 7-incher. What’s interesting though, is that it comes with voice calling so you can not only use the device to surf the web while on the go, but can also make and receive calls.
Indian retailers in Amazon, Infibeam and Flipkart are currently offering the device.

Government's cyber security arm Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-In) reported 62,189 cyber security incidents in the first five months of the current calendar year, Parliament was informed today. Similarly, the government body reported that 9,174 Indian websites were hacked by groups spread across the world, Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

"During the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 (till May), a total number of 21,699, 27,605, 28,481 and 9,174 Indian websites were hacked by various hacker groups spread across worldwide. In addition, during these years, a total number of 13,301, 22,060, 71,780 and 62,189 security incidents, respectively, were reported to the CERT-In," Prasad added. These incidents include phishing, scanning, spam, malicious code and website intrusions, the Minister said.

"These attacks have been observed to be originating from the cyber space of a number of countries including the US, Europe, Brazil, Turkey, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria and the UAE," he added.It has been observed that the attackers compromise computer systems located in different parts of the world and user masquerading techniques and hidden servers to hide the identity of the actual system from which the attacks are being launched, Prasad said.In a separate query in the House, Prasad said with the increase in the proliferation of IT and related services there is a rise in the number of cyber crime and cyber security incidents. The trend in increase in cyber crime incidents is similar to that worldwide.

"As per the cyber crime data maintained by National Cyber Records Bureau, a total of 1,791, 2,876 and 4,356 cyber crime cases were registered under Information Technology Act during the year 2011, 2012 and 1013, respectively, thereby showing an increasing trend," he added.
A total of 422, 601 and 1,337 cases were registered under cyber crime related sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) during the year 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively, he said.

Amazon has introduced its popular shopping service #AmazonCart in India. The latest shopping experience enables Indian customers to buy products from Amazon directly through Twitter.The feature which was first launched in the US in May, lets buyers in India add products they discover on Twitter to their Amazon.in shopping carts without leaving Twitter. In order to use the service, customers will first have to connect their Twitter account to Amazon. Next, they can add items to their carts just by tweeting the link of an Amazon.in product along with the #AmazonCart hashtag.

“The Twitter and Amazon agreement now extends to India to provide the maturing e-commerce industry here with another tool to engage online shoppers as well as to extend relationships on Twitter to the core of their e-commerce platforms,”
said Arvinder Gujral, business development director, south-east Asia and India, at Twitter.

Customers will get a reply tweet from @MyAmazonIN along with an email from Amazon.in when an item is successfully added to their cart. For the customers who have not connected their Twitter and Amazon accounts, they will receive a reply tweet asking them to connect their accounts to enable the new feature. The product will be added to the customer’s Amazon.in shopping cart after they have finished connecting the Twitter and Amazon accounts.

The Google X project is now officially in lock step with healthcare giant Novartis, the parent of Alcon, which produces some of the most-widely used contact lens products on the market, including Air Optix, FreshLook and Dailies. Novartis will work on turning Google's lab project into smart contact lenses for people around the world.

A product of Google Research, the smart lenses look like traditional contact lenses. The company's eye care division, Alcon, will license Google's smart lens and co-develop them for a variety of ocular medical uses. Ophthalmic electrochemical sensors in the contact lenses are designed to measure glucose levels and offer real-time updates to an app on a connected mobile device for people with diabetes. Google secured a patent for the technology earlier this year.

The lenses may also offer vision correction for people with presbyopia, an age-related eye condition that affects billions, making it difficult to focus on objects nearby. Details on how that might work are currently unavailable. Jeff George, Alcon's division head, said that the companies aim to "unlock a new frontier to jointly address the unmet medical needs of millions of eye care patients around the world."

There are no details yet about when the first Google-powered Alcon smart contact lenses will arrive. Elizabeth Harness Murphy, Alcon's director of global external communications, told Mashable that it is "way too early in the agreement and way too early in the prototype development" to project when smart lenses might hit the market.

AirType is a hardward and machine learning startup which is currently working on a wearable device which can be worn across the palm and will observe your finger movements to know the key on the keyboard you intend to press. AirType’s wearable device is unlike those projection keyboards, which form an image of the keyboard and then asks you to input. The company also claims that the device will work on ‘any surface or none’. It is also described as a ‘keyboard that fits your palm’.

It started right from those noisy keyboards to now present, noise-less keyboards. In addiction, the trend shifted from a physical to a touch screen keyboard. But some geeks in Austin, Texas couldn’t wait to take typing to a new level. That’s where the idea about a ‘keyboardless keyboard’ came in.

The AirType device is made to make users’ typing experience more easy and since the device is as portable as a mobile phone, it will be easy to carry. The developer has also mentioned on their website that the device would clink to the tablet, so that there’s no fear of losing one from the pair.
TThere is no clue how accurate the device will be and how the device would actually work, since there are people across the planet with different typing styles and different palm size. The AirType device is still in the early prototype stages, and there is no word about when the device would really be made available to developers and users.

The government said it is looking into the matter raised by tech giants Google and Microsoft which have said that the National Informatics Center (NIC) has issued unauthorized digital certificates.
The Controller of Certifying Authorities issues licences and regulates the working of Certifying Authorities, who issue digital certificates for electronic authentication of users. Digital certificate is like an electronic passport that allows a person, computer or organisation to securely exchange information over the Internet. When contacted, Department of Electronics and Information Technology Secretary R S Sharma told PTI: “We are looking into this issue. Certifying Authority (CA) is taking appropriate steps and is working under the guidance of the CCA.”

In a blog post last week, Google said: “On Wednesday, July 2, we became aware of unauthorized digital certificates for several Google domains. ”The certificates were issued by NIC of India, which holds several intermediate CA certificates trusted by the Indian Controller of Certifying Authorities (India CCA).” Similarly, Microsoft said it is aware of improperly issued SSL certificates that could be used in attempts to spoof content, perform phishing attacks or perform man-in-the-middle attacks. ”SSL certificates were improperly issued by NIC, which operates subordinate CAs under root CAs operated by Government of India’s Controller of Certifying Authorities, which are CAs present in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities Store,” it added.
 
Meanwhile, CCA in a post on its website said: “Due to security reasons 3 CA Certificates issued to NICCA have been suspended and the corresponding CRLs have been updated for this purpose. Further updation will be notified.” Google said it had alerted NIC, India CCA and Microsoft about the incident and blocked the mis-issued certificates in Chrome with a CRLSet push. “On July 3, India CCA informed us that they revoked all the NIC intermediate certificates and another CRLSet push was performed to include that revocation.” The US-based firm said India CCA informed it about the results of their investigation on July 8. ”They reported that NIC’s issuance process was compromised and that only four certificates were misissued, the first on June 25. The four certificates provided included three for Google domains (one of which we were previously aware of) and one for Yahoo domains,” Google added.

Digital certificate provides identifying information, and is forgery resistant and can be verified. It contains certificate holder’s name, a serial number, expiration dates, a copy of certificate holder’s public key (used for encrypting messages and digital signatures) and digital signature of the CA so that a recipient can verify the certificate.