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Monday, 22 June 2015

WhatsApp voice calling now open to all Android users

NEW DELHI: Popular mobile messaging service WhatsApp has now flipped the switch to enable voice calling for all users of its Android app. 

User can make voice calls through the internet to other WhatsApp users (on Android) without the need for any invites, hacks and tweaks. However, they'll need to download and install the APK installation file for the latest version of WhatsApp (Version 2.12.19) from WhatsApp's website since the Play Store still has an older build. The development was first reported by Android Police. It's still not clear if the auto-activation of voice calls is temporary or permanent as WhatsApp has not officially announced the rollout of the feature yet. 

After testing the feature with select users, WhatsApp started rolling out the awaited internet calling functionality to a wider set of people, last month. However, to get the voice calling feature activated users needed to receive a call from a user who had the service already turned on. However, this invite system did not work for all users. 

The feature is still not available yet on the iPhone. It also doesn't work on Windows Phone handsets, at the moment. 

After activation of the feature, WhatsApp's user interface changes to feature separate screens for dialing a voice call to WhatsApp contacts, call logs and ongoing calls. The chat window also displays a calling button (represented by a phone icon). The active call screen sports buttons for turning on the loudspeaker, switching to the chat window and for muting the call. 

The voice calling feature brings WhatsApp in direct clash with apps like WeChat, Viber and Line that already allow users to make calls and send messages. WhatsApp is the biggest instant messaging app in the world, with 700 million active users in January 2015.

Source:http://m.timesofindia.com
11:34 Posted by Unknown 0

Sunday, 21 June 2015

Wozniacki enjoys sweet taste of commercial success

Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki has the crowd, if not necessarily the expensive confectionery, securely in the palm of her hand, as she turns her attentions to chocolate making.


The photogenic 24-year-old Dane is using a day off in the run up to Wimbledon to promote her newest commercial partner, Belgian chocolatier Godiva, and specifically the launch of their tennis-themed Sweet Caroline chocolate.

In front of selected guests in London she tries her hand at some intricate design work, but despite expert hand-eye co-ordination on court she is finding this an altogether trickier task.

"I love having input into the chocolates and spending a day with the team working it all out," she says cheerily, before taking time to pose for pictures and chat with the awe-struck guests.

That unaffected air explains her popularity with tennis fans (she has 1.35 million Facebook likes and 870,000 twitter followers), and also makes her a marketing man's dream.

Indeed Godiva says it believes this partnership will be a fruitful one, not only because of her playing skills, but also her "appeal well beyond the tennis court".
'Good fit'

According to Forbes Wozniacki made close to $11m (£6.9m) in 2014, with endorsements making up 85% of that total. Meanwhile, her total career earnings from prize money alone stands at $20m, with $600, 000 won so far this year.

The former world number one has major deals with global brands like Adidas, Babolat, Rolex, Sony Ericsson, Lavazza, and others including Dubai Duty Free, US vitamin firm Usana and Danish company E-Boks.

Her Adidas deal is reputed to be one of the most lucrative in sport, and she wears tennis kit specially designed for the German firm by Stella McCartney. She says that she only works with companies that she feels comfortable with, rather than concentrating just on the financial bottom line.

"I think carefully about what sort of deals I do. I like to be an ambassador for brands that I believe in, and that are a good fit for me as a person. That is why I am happy with this latest association - it is fun for me," she says.

"I am a tennis player first, and all of this - the commercial partnerships, would not be possible without the work on court. Things like this, it is my day off. My partners are very good about giving me the time I need for my tennis, and working around that."
 source: http://www.bbc.com/
22:53 Posted by Unknown 0

Apple Music changes policy after Taylor Swift stand

Apple Music has reversed its payment policy, a day after Taylor Swift said she was refusing to allow the company to stream her album 1989.


In an open letter to Apple, Swift said she was withholding the record as she was unhappy with the three-month free trial offered to subscribers.

Now Apple says it will pay artists for music streamed during trial periods.

"We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists. Love, Apple," tweeted executive Eddy @Cue.

Swift had said the plan was "unfair", arguing Apple had the money to cover the cost.

"I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company," the 25-year-old said, describing Apple as one of her "best partners in selling music".

"Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing."

The Apple Music launches on 30 June. It will cost $9.99 (£6.30) per month in the US for one person or $14.99 for families.

The music industry has generally supported the company bringing its vast music library to paid streaming, and the company said it will pay 70% of the music subscription revenue to music owners.

It is not the first time Swift has spoken out against streaming music - she pulled her entire catalogue from Spotify last November and had refused to offer 1989 on streaming services, saying the business had "shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically".

1989 went on to become one of the biggest-selling albums of 2014 and has sold more than 4.9 million copies in the US alone.

Last week, UK-based independent record label Beggars echoed Swift's comments, saying it struggled "to see why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple's customer acquisition costs".

It said it did not have an agreement with Apple that would allow it to participate in the new service but hoped the "obstacles to agreement can be removed" in the coming days.  

source: http://www.bbc.com/news
22:37 Posted by Unknown 0

Dhoni sarcastically offers to quit

‘If I am the reason for all the bad that's happening to Indian cricket, definitely I would love to step away’
‘I am always the one who is responsible for anything bad that happens in Indian cricket’
Under-fire India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a sarcastic tone said that if his removal from captaincy can help Indian cricket move in right direction then he is game for it.
Mustafizur's six-for helps Bangladesh crush India again
Is 'Captain Cool' losing his cool?
"I am always the one who is responsible for anything bad that happens in Indian cricket. Everything that happens is because of me. Even the Bangladesh media is smiling," Dhoni gave a tongue-in-cheek reply to a question at the post-match press conference after India suffered the ignominy of their first ever series defeat against Bangladesh.
When the question was asked differently about how long he would continue as captain, he made it clear that he would continue but not before taking a dig at the scribe.
"I am really enjoying my cricket. But when the earlier question was asked, I knew this question one was coming. The media loves me. If it is justifiable if you remove me and the Indian cricket will start doing well, and if I am the reason for all the bad that's happening to Indian cricket, definitely I would love to step away and play as a player.
"It doesn't really matter, who is the captain because I was never really in line to become the captain. It was a job or responsibility for me. They want to take it away from me, I am fine," he said.
source : http://www.rediff.com/cricket
22:29 Posted by Unknown 0

Not invited, says VP Hamid Ansari after Ram Madhav's swipe at him

Vice President Hamid Ansari’s office late on Sunday night clarified that he was not invited to the yoga day event in the capital after his absence was questioned by senior Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Ram Madhav.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav stoked a controversy by questioning Vice President Hamid Ansari’s absence at the Yoga Day event in the capital. In a tweet, which has been deleted since the controversy erupted, read, “Two questions. Did RS TV that runs on tax payers money completely black out Yoga Day event? While President participated the VP gave a miss (sic).”
As Twitter raged over the tweets, Madhav deleted them, later saying he had learnt that the VP was unwell.
However, the vice president’s office said that was not correct. “Vice President was not sick. He was never invited for the yoga programme,” it said, adding, “the vice president only attends those programmes in which the minister concerned invites him as per protocol.”
Social media attacked Madhav with some dubbing his criticism of Ansari as ‘shameful and embarrassing’, that he was doing “foot in the mouth asana” and that he can destroy the divinity of yoga in the name of religious fundamentalism.
Madhav also drew flak for making an issue of Ansari’s absence when participation in yoga day events was meant to be voluntary. 
Image: BJP general secretary and RSS leader Ram Madhav participates in the yoga day event at Rajpath. The BJP general secretary deleted his tweets questioning the vice president's absence after receiving flak for them. Photograph: PTI
source : http://www.rediff.com/news   
22:23 Posted by Unknown 0

2 militants, 1 civilian killed in encounter in Kashmir


Two militants and a civilian were killed on Monday morning after security forces resumed their operation against militants holed up in a home in South Kashmir’s Redwani area in Kulgam district.
Acting on a tip-off, the Special Operations Group of Kulgam Police, 1-RR of army and Central Reserve Police Force launched a search operation in the village against the militants.
The security forces were conducting the search operation, when the militants who were holed up inside a building opened fired on them, the police added.
As the operation was going on, the villagers started to pelt stones on the security personnel. According to reports, the stone pelting by locals on the forces was on throughout the night. Police fired tear smoke shells to disperse them.
source: http://www.rediff.com/news 
21:55 Posted by Unknown 0