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Mozilla Firefox, as you all is one of the most used browser on Destop will very soon be available for Mobile users. It is codenamed as Fennec. Initially it will be available only for Maemo devices i.e. Nokia N900 and Nokia M810.

Firefox for mobile phones comes complete with familiar features that you enjoy on your desktop:

• The Awesome Bar searches your history, bookmarks and tags to go to your favorite sites instantly.
• Share your Firefox preferences, history, and bookmarks between your desktop and mobile.
• Add-ons to make your browser your own.
• Tabs that let you browse multiple sites at once.
• One-touch bookmarking to quickly organize websites.
• "Remember Password" Option
• Swipe your finger across the screen to access tabs or install useful add-ons. Double tap to zoom.

Right now the beta version is available for download. To  download it click here


source- http://mobigyaan.com

WASHINGTON: Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a new way to fix the security holes linked with the popular "captcha" securit
y mechanism- wavy letters websites ask us to type into a box-used by web pages and newsletter sign-up forms to prevent computer robots from hacking into servers and databases.

While these codes are becoming increasingly complicated for an average person to use, they are not immune to security holes.

A research project led by Prof. Danny Cohen-Or of Tel Aviv University's Blavatnik School of Computer Sciences demonstrates how a new kind of video captcha code may be harder to outsmart.

Cohen-Or said that the foundation of the work is really pure research, but it opens the door so security researchers can think a little differently.

"Humans have a very special skill that computer bots have not yet been able to master. We can see what's called an 'emergence image' - an object on a computer screen that becomes recognizable only when it's moving - and identify this image in a matter of seconds. While a person can't 'see' the image as a stationary object on a mottled background, it becomes part of our gestalt as it moves, allowing us to recognize and process it," said Cohen-Or.

In the new study, co-authored with colleagues in Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and India, Cohen-Or has described a synthesis technique that generates pictures of 3-D objects, like a running man or a flying airplane.

He said that the technique will allow security developers to generate an infinite number of moving "emergence" images that will be virtually impossible for any computer algorithm to decode.

"Emergence," as defined by the researchers, is a unique human ability to collect fragments of seemingly useless information, then synthesize and perceive it as an identifiable whole. So far, computers don't have this skill.

"Computer vision algorithms are completely incapable of effectively processing emergence images," said Cohen-Or's faculty colleague Dr. Lior Wolf, a co-author of the study.The scientists have warned that it will take some time before this research can be applied in the real world, but they are currently defining parameters that identify the "perception difficulty level" of various images that might be used in future security technologies.

"We're not claiming in our research paper that we've developed a whole new captcha technology. But we are taking a step towards that - something that could lead to a much better captcha, to highlight the big difference between men and bots. If it were to be turned into a solution, however, we wouldn't be able to give humans a multiple choice answer or common word answer for what they see, so we'll need to develop a way to use it. We have a few ideas in the works," said Cohen-Or.


source-http://infotech.indiatimes.com

Auto sales in December continued to grow at an unprecedented rate, mirroring the health and resilience of the Indian economy. Most companies registered high double-digit growth in the month.

Four-wheelers grow

The country’s largest four-wheeler manufacturer Maruti Suzuki sold 71,000 units in India, a 36.5% increase over previous year’s December. Counted with exports, Maruti’s sales grew at 50.6%.


Hyundai Motor India, the number two player in India, too registered an impressive 42.6% domestic growth year-on-year. In December, Hyundai sold 47,217 units compared to 38,502 units in December 2008. Exports for the company grew by 9% taking the cumulative growth tally to 22.6%. Expectedly, Hyundai’s A2 segment cars like Santro, Getz, i10 and i20 cornered the bulk of its sales. “With the overall economic scenario improving the Indian automotive market seems to have stabilized but we must thank the Indian government for the timely intervention last year. The stimulus package certainly helped the automotive industry and we hope the government will continue with this at least for some more time,” said Arvind Saxena, Director – Marketing and Sales, HMIL.

“For Hyundai, introduction of new products like the i20 helped as in the last few months it has become an important contributor to our sales,” Saxena said.

Sales for Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), a major player in the utility vehicles (UV) space with vehicles such as the Scorpio, Bolero and Xylo, grew at 122%. It sold 22,754 units last month compared to 10,253 units in December 2008.

Two-wheeler tally

Among motorcycle, leader Hero Honda said it sold 3.75 lakh units versus 2.15 lakh units year-on-year, a 74% growth. Hero Honda said it would launch new models across various segments by March.

The number two player in the segment, Bajaj Auto, has not yet released its December sales tally.

TVS Motor Company registered a domestic growth of 42% in December over the same month last year, selling 1,02,479 units compared to 72,355 units.
 source-http://www.moneycontrol.com

BEIJING (Dow Jones)--China on Friday sought to reassure the outside world it is taking a conservative approach to managing its massive foreign-exchange reserves, with the government saying it hasn't made big changes to its strategy and the U.S. dollar remains a central asset.

China holds the world's biggest reserves of foreign currency--US$2.27 trillion at the end of September--and so is under intense scrutiny from both global investors concerned about its moves in financial markets and Chinese citizens worried about their nation's wealth.

The statements Friday by a senior regulator, later supplemented by a book published by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, seem intended to reassure investors that Beijing isn't selling its vast holdings of U.S. Treasurys, despite worries the dollar is likely to depreciate in the future.

"The composition remains as it was before. There is no major change" in the reserves, said Wang Xiaoyi, vice director of SAFE, which oversees the reserves.

"We are not making any big adjustments in direction. Our operations are still as usual, meaning they follow the existing forex reserves management goal," he said Friday on the sidelines of an economic forum in Beijing.

China has repeatedly said it follows the principles of keeping the reserves safe and liquid, as well as increasing the value of the reserves.

Hours later, SAFE posted a Chinese-language book about foreign-exchange issues on its Web site. The normally publicity-shy organization said the unusual move was an attempt to increase transparency on how it manages its foreign-currency holdings.

"A stable, diversified structure of currencies, with the U.S. dollar as the main component but with some appropriate diversification, is able to meet our needs of external payments and asset allocation," SAFE said in a chapter of the book on reserve management. It didn't give any precise details on how China's reserves are invested.

With the dollar's sharp slide in recent months, academics and officials outside SAFE have stepped up calls for more diversification of the reserves into other investments such as gold and commodities. But SAFE stressed in the book it is inappropriate to invest a large portion of the reserves in volatile and illiquid assets.

"The forex reserves must maintain enough liquidity," it said in the book. "Not only must they satisfy the usual demands of external payments, such as importing necessary materials and technology and encouraging companies to expand abroad, they must also play the role of ensuring the nation's financial security when there may be rapid capital outflows and the currency comes under heavy pressure."

Senior Chinese officials, including Premier Wen Jiabao, have repeatedly expressed concern about the dollar this year. China, which holds most of its forex reserves in dollar assets, worries massive U.S. government borrowing could eventually result in inflation, hurting the value of China's holdings.

Wang acknowledged recent declines in the dollar, saying the "depreciation of the U.S. dollar is a long-term trend." In the near term, however, the dollar's key role as the global reserve currency won't change, SAFE said in the book, which repeated views senior officials have expressed in the past.

The size of China's reserves continues to build, with the central bank intervening to hold down the value of the currency. Wang told Dow Jones Newswires that China's forex reserves expanded monthly in November and October from the prior month. Official reserve data are only available until end-September.
 source-http://online.wsj.com

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has received lots of compliments for his performance in Paa and the latest to join the bandwagon is Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar.

"Sachin Tendulkar called to personally compliment me on Paa," the 68-year-old posted on his blog.

"I was waiting for him to finish his cricket matches with Sri Lanka and then invite him over to see the film at a private screening. But he beat me to it and went to a theatre and saw the film," Amitabh added.

Paa that released Dec 4 saw Amitabh playing Auro, a 12-year-old child suffering from progeria, a disease that accelerates ageing. The film was directed by R. Balakrishnan and also starred Vidya Balan and Abhishek Bachchan.

 source-http://www.ndtvmovies.com

Drinking two glasses of champagne a day is good for your heart and blood circulation.

'Drinking champagne has the potential to reduce the risks of suffering from cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke. This is very exciting news,' said Jeremy Spencer, food scientist at the University of Reading, who led a new study on the subject.

Champagne does this by increasing the availability of nitric oxide, a molecule which controls blood pressure. It is able to induce these effects because it contains polyphenols, plant chemicals from the red grapes and white grapes used in champagne production.

When you drink champagne, these polyphenols get absorbed into the blood stream where they are able to act on the vascular (circulatory) system.

Specifically, they appear to slow down the natural removal of nitric oxide from our blood, meaning that it will have a longer time to act on blood vessels and so improve the flow of blood around the body.

High nitric oxide levels in the blood, as a result of drinking champagne, can have beneficial effects, because as well as increasing blood flow, it may help decrease both blood pressure and the likelihood of blood clots forming, said a Reading varsity release.

 source-
http://sify.com

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan exchanged the lists of their nuclear installations for the 19th consecutive time under an agreement which prohibits
any kind of attack on such facilities.

The lists were exchanged through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, a statement by the External Affairs Ministry said here.

Under the agreement signed on December 31, 1988, which came into force on January 27, 1991, the two countries share details of their nuclear installations with each other on the first day of every year.

 source-http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

NEW DELHI: Mozilla, the world’s second-largest Internet browser firm, is all set to release its Firefox web browser Fennec for mobile phones next
year, in order to compete with existing rivals including Opera Mini, Safari, Chrome, Nokia, Netfront and Internet Explorer for mobile. The war for browser market share is set to be shifted to the mobile market, experts say.

Globally, on the mobile front, Opera commands the largest market share—about 26%, followed by Safari (22%), Nokia web browser (19%) and iTouch (10%). Other web browsers which may face competition from Fennec will be Netfront, Android, Blackberry and Sony PSP.

However, on desktops Mozilla’s Firefox browser commands a global market share of about 25%. Internet Explorer, commands a majority share of almost 63% while Safari has a market share of about 5%. In India, however, Opera is the clear leader on the mobile with a market share of 63%, followed by Nokia at 26%.

The statistics may change next year as Firefox launches Fennec. On the desktop side Firefox has already captured a market share of 30% in India after Microsoft’s Internet explorer which has a market share of 50%.

Indian market is also quick to adopt new technologies. It’s evident from the fact that relatively new Chrome already has a share of about 11% in India, compared to 5%, globally.

Firefox mobile is expected to be available for most open environments like Android, Nokia’s Maemo, Symbian and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile. Apple’s Safari for iPhones will however be in safe territory as Fennec may not be available on iPhone.

Fennec is expected to include touchscreen support, pop-up blockers with a tabbrowsing interface. Mozilla’s Fennec may also be available for desktops based on Windows and Linux, but the prime focus of it will be the mobile phone, for which it will be optimised.

The earlier browser wars were fought from 1995 onwards when Internet Explorer made Netscape vanish from the marketplace by its sheer dominance in operating systems. The years following 2000 saw erosion of IE’s market share by Google, Opera and Firefox and extinction of Netscape Navigator.

Microsoft has still got the largest market share on desktops. But mobile phones being a generally non monopolistic environment may see more upheaval.


source-http://economictimes.indiatimes.com