Government moves to review MTN Nigeria’s tariffs following declaration as dominant operator for mobile voice telephony

The Nigerian government plans a major shakedown of MTN Nigeria operations after a probe revealed that the South African mobile phone company’s control of 44 per cent of mobile voice telephony service undermines competition in the telecoms industry.

MTN Nigeria has been declared dominant operator in the mobile voice telephony voice business by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and the company will be forced to review its call rates as part of the tougher scrutiny to be imposed on its operations as from May 1, this year by the telecoms regulator.

Eugene Juwah, the Executive Vice Chairman of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), who announced the “Determinations of Dominance in Selected Communications Markets in Nigeria” that comes into force from May 1, this year, says that it was the outcome of a study conducted to check abuse of dominant market power by operators and ensure that Nigerian consumers get a better deal. 

Juwah says that the implications of the declaration on MTN Nigeria will see its operations coming under stricter regulatory scrutiny to guard against abuse of its market position in the mobile voice telephony.

The regulatory determination is part of a widespread shakeout in the telecoms market where the regulator says that anti-competitive acts by the big players have stifled open competition in the marketplace.

Juwah says that MTN Nigeria has 44 per cent market share of the mobile voice telephony market while there is also a wide differential of about 300 per cent between on-net and off-net calls “and this is indicative of the likely establishment of a calling club for MTN subscribers.”

The implications of designating MTN Nigeria a “Dominant Operator” in the mobile voice segment of the Nigerian telecoms market is that NCC will now impose regulatory sanction under which regulator will now enforce and implement Accounting separation of the South African mobile phone company, the regulator says.

NCC says it will take steps to collapse the on-net and off-net retail tariffs for MTN Nigeria whereby the differences between the two rates will become and remain the same.

MTN”s operations in Nigeria will also come under stricter regulatory scrutiny as the newly-designated dominant operator will be required by NCC, “to submit details on specific aspects of its operations from time to time as the need arises.”

Following the ruling, NCC says that it will also undertake “a determination of pricing principles to address the rates charged for on-net and off-net voice calls for other operators.”

The regulator says that MTN Nigeria and Globacom also stifles competition in the upstream segment of wholesale leased lines and transmission capacity where they have been jointly declared dominant operators.

According to the NCC, the duo “jointly control about 62% of the public terrestrial transmission infrastructure which is a bottleneck resource in the provision of voice and data services. There are concerns that operators playing in the wholesale and retail sub‐segments of these markets have the leverage to “squeeze” the margins of their competitors who are also their customers.”

Following this, the segment will be subjected to a price cap for wholesale services and floor caps for retail to be determined soon by NCC.

NCC says it is also implementing an accounting separation for the joint dominant operators and will also require them to submit details of their operations for regulatory scrutiny  

Source: Technologynewsng.com

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4 Reasons Why you should "Not" Buy That Phone

Introduction

Whenever people talk about mobile devices and purchase decision whenever someone is hoping to get a new mobile device, be it a phone, a tablet or a laptop computer. What most people focus on are the features that make the device under review such a great device, but no one seems to think about why they really need the device. Right now, we will be looking at reasons why some people should not buy some devices. This is not to discredit any company or product and every point raised in this article are my personal opinion. So, let's get down to business.

1.    Price

Most people dream of things that they're not yet financially ready to own. So, once you look-up the price of that device and it makes you feel like you cannot afford it, then there is a likelihood that you may not be able to afford it. So, at this point I think one major reason why you should get that device off your mind is the price. 

2.     Do You Really Need it?

One of the things people talk about are the features, the processor speed, RAM size screen size etc. But if we must be honest with each other, not everyone that buys these top-notch devices are making good use of the device. In fact, some people have no idea whatsoever what they're buying. So, I would advice that if all you want to do is make calls and send text messages, you really do not need that flagship device you were planing to buy. Rather, anything that can make calls and send SMS is good enough for you even if it is a Nokia 3310.

3.    Different Phone models Are made for different People

So many people using BlackBerry phones today simply bought the phone because of the BBM (Blackberry messenger). If that is the case, why buy features you don't need, like the touch screen on blackberry tourch, and many others. In essence, just buy what you need. For those who are dying to to own a flagship device of any kind, I would advice that they go online, read a few reviews of the features and capabilities of the device and also evaluate your needs to see if that device was made with you in mind. If you discover that it has more of things that you do not need than the things you need. Then there is no point spending on it and carrying it around.

4. Even the best can be too small

I am fully aware of the existence of some power users like myself that spend hours and hours, working the living daylight out of the phone. I remember when I bought my first android device, it was a flagship device though but that did not make it into a PC. From time to time, Insee myself tryin to do some very intensive work that would have been meant for the bigger 15" PC screen on the fragile and relatively tiny mobile phone screen. The point in all these is that, PC work should be done on a PC and a phone should be bought for what it is, a phone.

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WHAT TO DO IF YOUR SYSTEM FREEZES

Like all modern technology, laptops are great when they work, but lousy when they don't. The frustration of a frozen laptop is one of those headache-inducing, teeth-gnashing, pulling-out-your-own-hair sort of things that we have to deal with from time to time. But what causes a laptop to freeze, and what do you do when it happens? More importantly, what steps can be taken to prevent freezing in the future? Sit back, relax, and let us explain how get through it.

What Causes the Common Freeze?
While there are numerous potential issues that can cause your laptop to freeze, there are three that are both most common, and also account for the vast majority of stalls and stutters. The good news is that these are also the easiest for the average user to address.

The first cause is physical—laptops will often (somewhat paradoxically) freeze when overheated. Whether it's dust built up in the chassis and vents or a blanket preventing airflow, rising temperatures can put the kibosh on your late night project or marathon Netflix session faster than you can say toasted leg syndrome.

The second frequent freezer is insufficient memory. A laptop's RAM is much like the working memory of the brain, used to hold data short term while it's accessed for a variety of programs and functions. Run out of RAM and you'll find yourself running into issues, including slowdowns in performance, stuttering during processor-intensive tasks, and even full blown lockups and blue screens.

The third and final cause of laptop catatonia can be loosely labelled "software problems." This is a big umbrella that encompasses everything from BIOS changes to software bugs to malware and viruses.

Immediate Actions
Whatever the root cause may be, when you're staring down a paralytic PC, the initial steps to take are the same. First, try to close the offending program. If only one program is having issues, closing it will often temporarily solve the problem. But closing the program may be more difficult than just clicking the X in the corner.

If a program is unresponsive, try closing it through the Task Manager. You probably already know that you can access this tool by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del, but for a quicker route, you can also use Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

If your laptop won't even let you do that, then it's time for a hard reset. On most laptops, you can do this by pressing and holding the power button for a few seconds longer than usual—just hold the button until the device powers off. If this doesn't work, you may need to do it the hard way—by disconnecting the AC connection and removing the battery.

The next thing to do is check is the temperature of the laptop. While most people don't have a Fluke IR thermometer handy, the touch test is usually sufficient. Feel the laptop chassis, but be careful, because it may be hot to the touch or even hot enough to burn. Hotspots are common around the vents and hinge, and on the underside of the system. Also do a visual inspection of the vents. If there is anything obstructing airflow, the heat buildup may be causing the 

Fixing and Avoiding Problems
Heat problems can often be addressed simply by cleaning out any dust with a can of compressed air and keeping the vents unobstructed. In other instances, however, you may have a bigger problem, such as a broken cooling fan, or a heat sink that needs re-seating. These fixes can sometimes be tackled at home with the right tools and some Googling for tutorials, but if you don't know what you're doing, you might want to take your PC to a professional before trying to open up the chassis yourself.

To ferret out memory problems, start by finding out where memory is being used. In the task manager, select the "Processes" tab. You'll then see a list of all the various processes running on the machine at any given moment. Without opening any programs, take a look at the percentage of physical memory being used. If a large percentage is already in use with no programs running, you've likely found your problem. If your physical memory is mostly free, try opening the last program used, and then open one program at a time to see if any of your frequently used apps are hogging all the memory.

You can also run a memory test using the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool, found by opening the Start Menu and searching "memory." Run the diagnostic, which will involve an automatic reboot.

If your memory is mostly full, you'll want to free up some space. While freeing up RAM could easily be its own series of articles, the essence of it is this: Unnecessary files, programs, and background processes will eat up your available RAM, leaving you prone to slowdowns and freezes. To fix this, shift files to the hard drive, uninstall programs that aren't needed or used, and turn off any programs running in the background. Unsure of how to do this? Take a look at our guide, How to Remove Bloatware. To prevent future problems, make the most of your memory by cleaning up and defragging your hard drive, and consider upgrading with more RAM.

If the problem has its roots in software, be it a malicious program, a buggy software update, or corrupted driver, there are two simple steps to take. First, revert your PC to a previous state using System Restore, also found in the System Tools folder. If you can pinpoint the date that your performance issues began, you can simply roll back your system to a prior date.

Once you've reverted to a more stable version of your system, head off future problems by updating your drivers and running a virus scan.

If these simple steps aren't enough to alleviate your frozen laptop woes, you have two options. Often solutions to specific problems can be found with a bit of Google-Fu—you can diagnose a lot of problems just by knowing the symptoms and the make and model of your laptop. Don't hesitate to contact the manufacturer's tech support, either. Many problems will pop up due to system specific issues, such as a known software bug or flawed component, and they will be able to not only help you determine what the problem is, they will also be equipped to help you fix it (assuming of course that the laptop is still under warranty).

The second option is to approach a local repair shop or technician. There are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of potential freeze-inducing problems that can arise in one laptop, and a bit of knowledge will go a long way toward figuring out what that problem is and how to fix it.

Source: Pcmag.com

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Xiaomi Launches Its Own Text Message Service

Users on Xiaomi devices will now be able to send international text messages faster and more reliably, it said. The Chinese smartphone maker just announced its enterprise international SMS platform at the Mobile Asia Expo event in Shanghai.

The new service looks like it’ll rival Apple’s iMessage service in function, but is based entirely on SMS technology. That means that while iMessage requires a data or Wi-Fi connection, Xiaomi messages will go through SAP’s global gateway of over 990 operators globally, an SAP representative said.

It will also likely be more reliable, because fewer packets are required to transmit SMS compared with data-based messages such as those exchanged over WhatsApp or iMessage. That means it’s more likely to send successfully if you have patchy connectivity, and will work if you’re traveling with data roaming switched off.

SAP also said that the service won’t be an extra subscription for users since it’s based on SMS. Messages sent will just come out of your regular SMS quota or be charges as ordinary text messages.

Xiaomi’s service is built on SAP’s SMS 365 platform (which SAP acquired by purchasing enterprise messaging company Sybase in 2010 for $5.8 billion). Prior to its acquisition, Sybase was one of the world’s largest SMS and MMS exchanges in the world. In 2010, it delivered messages at a rate of 32,000 per second all year round.

Xiaomi also has a consumer messaging app called Mi Talk is a closer rival toWhatsapp and WeChat. It has a relatively small base compared with the latter two, however. Mi Talk reportedly has about 23 million registered users, while WeChat has 300 million—and 50 million of those active monthly. WhatsApp has200 million active monthly users.

The launch of the messaging service follows Xiaomi’s recent launch outside of its home country to neighboring Taiwan and Hong Kong. The smartphone maker is known for its powerful but relatively low-priced smartphones. The company’s newly launched flagship, the Mi-2S, is priced at just $373 (RMB 2299).

Xiaomi reportedly makes 10 percent profit on its handsets, which exceeds the margins of other domestic players like Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo.

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10 Sites You Have to Check Every Day

Once you arrive at the office, how do you start your morning? You probably don't dig right into your work. (If you do, you deserve a raise.) More realistically, you hit the coffee machine and then peruse your favorite websites to catch up on the news you missed while logging your virtuous eight hours of dreamtime.

Even at most media company offices, their browsers aren't always tuned to their own site. In fact, many of the must-read sites aren't even tech-related. Shocking, right? But it's our duty to be up on all the news that's fit to tweet. Besides, those Facebook friend requests aren't going to confirm themselves.

Remember, visiting these sites is important information gathering, not woolgathering. That way, later at the water cooler (read: on IMs to people in the same cavernous room at the office), you can show off your command of popular culture.

After a random poll, PCMag came up with a list of sites we just can't live without. So before you dive into your morning workload, be sure to check these 10 essential websites.

1. FacebookNot that you need our encouragement—it's the most popular site on the Internet, according to Alexa traffic rankings. There are more than a billion people active on Facebook per month and for some of them, Facebook is the Internet. It's where kids and adults both go to check in with friends and family around their campus, city, country, and the world; organize events; share pictures and video; and more.

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2. Reuters
If you're looking for sober, unbiased news coverage that's less infotainment, less political activism, and more pure journalism, then the international news agency with 160 years of history as the world's most respected wire service is probably your best choice. Established in London in 1851 to provide financial market data, Reuters built a reputation as the first to report international news scoops, including news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Reuters online is multi-lingual, employs thousands of reporters, and hits all the highlights without the fluff. It's like normal news, except for grownups.

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3. PinterestPinterest is a bit like Hotel California: "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave"—it's that consuming. On the social pinboard site you "pin" images from around the Web to your categorized boards, and others can then repin your pics. It's a way to collect your thoughts, bookmark recipes and tips, or just get inspired. If you're not already pinning, check out how you can get started.

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4. Lifehacker
Your life needs some hacking and this Gawker site has the low-down on how to do it. While there's a lot of emphasis on improving your digital well-being, there are also plenty of other worthwhile tips and tricks to be found for bettering your life overall, in areas such as food, creativity, work, and travel, to name a few.

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5. The Verge
Former Engadget Editor-in-Chief Joshua Topolsky launched The Verge to be an accessible technology site, but one with longer, in-depth features and reviews where the design is as important as the writing. Mission accomplished. The Verge may not have the most traffic among gadget blogs (yet) but it's definitely got the buzz; it even won five Webby Awards last year. The site now also features The Verge Video, with regular video updates about the gadget world.

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6. Slate.com
One of the very first online magazines alongside Salon, Slate's come a long way from the days when it was owned by Microsoft. In its 17 years the online magazine has covered or argued about everything you can imagine in politics, tech, business, art, and life. It couldn't make paid subscriptions work but succeeded in podcasts, and became an award winner at the National Magazine Awards in 2011.

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7. CollegeHumor
Perhaps you wish you could relive your college glory days—the good times when everything was a riot. Luckily there's plenty of that fun to be had at this comedy site, home of some of the most consistently hilarious sketches and series of today. Most of the time they are NSFW (not safe for work), so check it out before the boss gets in.

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8. Twitter
There was a time when only a handful of the PCMag staffers had Twitter accounts. Now Twitter is a full-time companion for just about everyone here, and you're probably no exception. Even if you don't tweet anything yourself, it's the best place to read breaking news from media outlets, pithy comments from celebs and comics, and some solid lunch longreads. In fact, if you follow your favorite sites on Twitter you probably don't need to store them in your bookmarks bar.

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9. Consumerist
When a tech product is flawed or an online service doesn't work like it should, you'll read about it in PCMag's review. But when customer service reps refuse to listen to your cable troubles or restaurants are overcharging for their meals, you'll read about it on The Consumerist. Now owned by Consumer Reports, it's updated throughout the day and is chock-full of useful shopper information.

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10. Grub Street
If you're a foodie and want to keep up with restaurant and industry news, keep an eye on Grub Street and its local editions for New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. The short blurbs on this New York magazine blog are repurposed from just about everywhere. If it concerns a food law, a restaurant, a chef, or even a chain of gas station supermarkets, it'll show up here.

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Windows 8.1′s Start Button Isn’t A Start Button

The headlines are loud and clear today. Microsoft brings back the Start Button in Windows 8! Huzzah! ZONG! But don’t believe the hype. We’ve been duped.

Windows 8.1′s Start Button isn’t the Start Button of old. The classic multi-step application launcher is still missing. Windows 8.1′s Start Button is more of a shortcut to the Start Menu — you know, the screen with the little colorful icons.

A right-click on the so-called Start Button pulls up a quick launch menu of shorts. The menu displays a list of administrative tools like Power Options, Event View, Disk Management and Windows Shells. It’s not customizable.

Microsoft essentially installed a shortcut to the Start Menu and called it a button. This does nothing to fix the core issue of Windows 8.

With Windows 8, Microsoft dramatically changed how the user interacts with the computer. The Start Menu replaced the Start Button — a full screen menu replaced the task of a tiny application launcher. It is a step backwards for productivity. To open a new application, the user has to completely leave the workspace. It’s horrible on a laptop.

It’s clear that Microsoft switched the paradigm to address multitasking on a tablet, and it works well on a tablet, especially so when all the applications are Metro based.

But for those of us that greatly prefer the classic Desktop — mostly because of the lack of mainstream applications — having to switch back to the Start Menu to load a new app is a waste of time. A shortcut to this screen doesn’t change that fact.

I’ve been looking forward to the return to the good ol’ days ever since the news broke that Microsoft was bringing back the Start Button in Windows 8.1. Windows 8 runs like a champ — noticeable better than Windows 7. But even after 6 months of using it, I still try my hardest to stay within Desktop, mostly the browser, and shake my head ever time I have to see the Start Screen.

Also, startup idea: Customize people’s Windows 8′s start screen for them. Or better yet, develop a little plug in that does it automagically. I tried to do it once, but quickly discovered it’s a horrible chore.

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Sony announces the IP57-certified SmartWatch 2 with NFC

Along with the Xperia Z Ultra phablet, Sony today officially announced the SmartWatch 2, its third-gen watch accessory that pairs with your Android smartphone.

The new SmartWatch 2 sports a new design inspired by the Xperia Z and even sports the smartphone's cool-looking aluminum power button. Just as before, the watch connects with any Android smartphone or tablet via Blueetoth and can show text messages and incoming calls as well as give you Facebook and Twitter updates, show calendar entries and act as a remote for the music player.

   

Sony claims that the SmartWatch 2 is significantly faster than its predecessor and is also resistant to water splashes with IP57 certification. There are a few hundred apps specifically designed for the experience that the SmartWatch 2 provides, according to Sony.

  
Sony SmartWatch 2 official photos

Sporting an aluminum body and stainless steel wristband, the watch features NFC connectivity for easy pairing and connecting and microUSB port for charging. It has a 1.6" display with a resolution of 220 x 176 pixels, which Sony says is very good for reading and offers great sunlight legibility.

Check out the Sony SmartWatch 2 promo video below.

Other notable features of the smart watch include remote control of presentations using the Presentation Pal app or take a photo remotely via the smart camera application.

The Sony SmartWatch 2 will be available worldwide from September, this year with a wide variety of standard 24mm wristbands as well as new Sony watchstraps. Pricing is yet to be confirmed.

Source...

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SETTING UP YOUR ANDROID DEVICE

INTRODUCTION

I know that this is not the first article that you will be reading on how to set up a brand new Android device. We will look at some of the must-have apps and tools available in the Google Play Store to help newbies (but not only) get the best of their smartphone.

With the number of apps nearing a million and Google Play downloads in the range of tens of billions, with at least three different software versions in circulation, getting the best for you isn't the easiest job in the world. You'll need to sift through a vast collection and cherry-pick the relevant bits.

The good news is, if you care about personalizing your smartphone experience, Android is the right OS. Sure, you can upgrade any smartphone with add-ons from the respective app store, but Google is by far the most hands-off platform owner in terms of what users are allowed to do to customize their devices.

Android smartphones are increasingly better equipped right out of the box but there're always more than enough ways to make your device more efficient. In the pages to come, we'll look at some of our favorite ways to customize the user experience and then move on to apps that really put all the available processing power to good use and make you more productive on the go.

We'll also talk about the category of apps I'd refer to as video player apps. What we'll not cover is games. Sorry, but the vast majority of available titles out there and the subjective nature of the gamin topic in general means we can't really do all of them justice. We're sure our picks in the other categories are not necessarily everyone's favorites, but those will hopefully serve to teach you something new you can do with your phone and then you can chose the actual tool to help you on your own.

Anyway, this article in the Setting Up Your Android series will again look at ways to make an enjoyable and versatile Android smartphone even more enjoyable and versatile. And these would be but a fraction of the options to choose from.

So, sit back, have your droid close at hand and prepare for a ride down Google Play avenue. 

User interface makeover

So, let's kick things off with how to change the look and feel of the user interface so it best suits your taste. Android offers a level of customization that no other mobile platform can match, allowing you to go well beyond wallpapers and font sets.

Custom Launchers

Custom launchers change the behavior and looks of the Android homescreen. But some custom launchers will also customize the app drawer and even come with their own settings menus.

Launchers are the easiest way to give Android a totally different look and feel. They don't require rooting or any lengthy preparations, they are simple .apk files to download and install just like regular apps.

There are literally thousands of custom launchers to choose from. Our previous article gave an overview of ADW, Nova, Go Launcher EX and Windows Phone 7 Launchers. However, the Android ecosystem is constantly evolving and here are some of our favorite alternatives.

Smart Launcher

Our first entry in the recommended Android launcher category is of a minimalist nature. Don't be fooled by its looks though, the Smart Launcher is one of the highest-rated homescreen stand-ins to have come out for Android recently.

And it doesn't take long to see why it appeals to so many people. Smart Launcher offers unbeatable simplicity with just a single homescreen, which houses a ring of bubbles. Each acts as a shortcut to whichever app you assign them to. A long press adds or removes bubbles from the ring.

   
Smart Launcher

The app drawer gives you a structured way of viewing your apps. They are automatically sorted in categories: Phone, Settings, Multimedia, Games, etc. A very neat feature is the option to configure the app drawer to start from a slide off the edge of the screen. Overall, Smart Launcher transforms the seemingly complex Android UI into a more mature - and user-friendly experience.

As with anything, there are a couple of drawbacks. The big one is that with the single homescreen you don't get the benefit of adding any widgets. You have is the default clock widget, and that's really it.

Like most launchers, Smart Launcher comes with support for third-party themes. Both paid and free options are available in the Play Store. Currently, the pro version of Smart Launcher retails for $3.99, but the free version is sure to suffice too.

Get Smart Launcher (Free) | Get Smart Launcher Pro ($3.99)

TSF Shell

From one of the simplest looking custom launchers for Android, we move on to probably the most elaborate and feature-rich of them all. Meet TSF Shell, a custom launcher which means business - you'll know by just looking at the price.

   
TSF Shell

At near $17.00, it's clearly a premium offering and rightly so, as it adds a ton of customization options and user interface features that elevate the Android experience to new heights.

The TSF Shell has everything redone from the homescreen panes, the app drawer, folder and icon design to custom animations and widgets. It introduces a lot of new ideas that really stir the place up.

The changes run so deep and the new features are so many that words alone will hardly give you the best idea of what it actually feels like. So here come the TSF Shell screenshots and video demo below, which should help get you up to speed.

With all the animations, customizations and craziness that TSF Shell brings to Android, you would expect the custom launcher to be lacking in the performance department. Luckily, that's not the case, and you aren't likely to regret spending big.

Here's a little hint though: head over to the developers' All Apps page on Google Play and you can download all the cool 3D widgets and enjoy at least part of the TSF Shell experience free of charge before you fork out the cash.

Get TSF Shell ($16.81)

Yandex.Shell

Created by Russian developer team Yandex, this custom homescreen is heavily influenced by another popular launcher dubbed SPB.Shell. It has most of the functionality, including the famous 3D Carousel design for switching between screens. Speaking of them, you are not limited to the usual 7 or 9 homescreen panes - in Yandex.Shell you can have up to 20 of them.

Additionally, you get search in the App drawer, cool widgets, as well as custom Dialer and Contacts apps to match the design of the Yandex.Shell.

   
Yandex.Shell

All of this comes to you absolutely free, and although that's not a bad thing at all, it's probably the main reason behind the lack of any fancy animations and homescreen modes. Yandex.Shell keeps the core Android design mostly unchanged.

Still, it's a light alternative that doesn't cost a dime, and offers enough customizations to get you started. The Dialer and Contacts apps are a nice addition, too.

Get Yandex.Shell (Free)

Everything.Me

Probably the only Android launcher that adapts to the user's current interests, Everything.Me isn't the typical homescreen replacement. Unlike other offerings which change the look of Android and allow you to endlessly customize it, Everything.Me concentrates on context and gives you app and website suggestions based on topics you care about.

   
Everything.Me

If you fancy a pizza at this exact moment, just type in "pizza" in the "What's on your mind" field. Everything.Me will take over and offer you a mini-version of an app drawer, with a matching background, and suggest relevant websites and apps.

The launcher will bring to the fore apps you have installed on your phone that are relevant to what you're interested in, then pull up app suggestions and websites. The app is still in early beta, and is available only in US, Canada, Spain and Germany. It currently works best with simple queries like types of food, movie titles, music and celebrities.

Otherwise, Everything.Me isn't much different from the stock Jelly Bean launcher on which it is based. You can't remove or add new homescreens, set different homescreen transitions here.

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Zuckerberg Replies To His Facebook Commenters’ Questions On Immigration

“If it’s just about tech wanting to hire more people, not as impressive” commented one of Mark Zuckerberg’s 18 million Facebook followers. “It’s definitely not just about tech immigration” Zuckerberg shot back in the comment thread for a video he’d posted from his political advocacy group FWD.us. Replying to average joes and reporters alike, Zuckerberg took a step towards clearing up confusion about his recent lobbying efforts.

“The bigger problem we’re trying to address is ensuring the 11 million undocumented folks living in this country now and similar folks in the future are treated fairly”, Zuckerberg concluded his response to Jeff Walsh, a man from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania with just 56 followers and who previously claimed to have been on a “Facebook detox”.

Public figures typically don’t respond to the reams of Facebook comments they get on their posts, but Zuckerberg seemed determined to show Facebook is a conversation, not a broadcast medium. The exchanges comes as Zuckerberg and FWD.us have been working towards comprehensive immigration and education reform that they say could boost the American economy.

The group has taken flack for buying ads supporting conservative politicians that back immigration and education reform, but also the Keystone XL pipeline and drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge that eco-friendly liberals denounce. Some prominent members including Tesla’s Elon Musk left the group over the issue. Others have speculated that FWD.us’ A-List lineup of founders and funders which include Google’s Eric Schmidt, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer, Y Combinator’s Paul Graham, and  Zynga’s Mark Pincus are backing immigration reform for their own benefit — they want to import more highly-skilled foreign engineers.

Zuckerberg tried to tackle both of these issues on his wall. The discussion started when Zuckerberg posted this video with the description, “Drawing on our history as a nation of immigrants, “Emma” is the new ad from FWD.us showing how passing reform is our chance to keep America a magnet for the world’s brightest and hardest working people.”

Despite the hostile tone of some responses, Zuckerberg remained calm. Dietmar Hochmuth called him out saying “‘America a magnet for the world’s brightest and hardest working people.’ – Please let’s not overdo! This is BSing. Why do think that other people are working less bright and hard?” Zuckerberg explained “Dietmar Hochmuth, my point was that we should make America a place that attracts the smartest and hardest working people to come here, not that we have them already. I was definitely not saying that all of the smartest and hardest working people are in this country — that would be crazy.”

Andy Bartholomew of the Naval Academy asked, ”How about supporting reforms that allow people a real path to permanent residency, rather than more H1B indentured guest worker visas?” Zuckerberg replied “this group is focused on getting full comprehensive immigration reform passed. H1Bs are just one part of that, but they’re far from the full solution.”

The most serious exchange came when TechCrunch’s own politics writer Gregory Ferenstein took the opportunity to address Zuckerberg directly:

“Comprehensive immigration reform still treats immigrants like second-class citizens. Unions want a mandatory wait period for American companies before they can hire a foreign worker, even if he or she is the most qualified. What is FWD doing to address this? Also, many of us love FWD’s mission, but we were disappointed in the political tactics. Ignoring these criticisms seems like the opposite of the kind of transparency you advocate for. Please give us clarity on what makes FWD unique from a normal political lobby and why you think their political strategy still upholds your values.”

Zuckerberg touted FWD’s bipartisan approach:

“We’re pushing for all the issues you mention. In terms of transparency, I think we’ve been way more transparent than other political groups I can think of in terms of disclosing which ads we run, who our funders are, what our platform is and what tactics we’ll use. I think what’s going on is that some folks are upset that we’re supporting politicians who have other views they don’t agree with — even though we’ve been quite clear that we’re going to support people in both parties who have the courage to support immigration reform and stick their necks out to do so. That approach — of actually trying to work with people on both sides — is what makes us unique. It may sound crazy, but most political groups don’t do it. And without bringing people in different parties and with different views together, meaningful reform will never happen.”

Time will tell whether playing politics gets immigration reform passed, burns the public opinion of FWD.us members, or both. Just by conversing with people directly, though, Zuckerberg and FWD are doing something different. Many citizens feel so disconnected from their elected officials that such raw discourse with a prominent figure now involved in politics might seem quite refreshing.

Source: Techcrunch.com

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DOLPHIN BROWSER FOR ANDROID GETS UPDATED TO HIGHLIGHT HTML5 APPS

Long-time Android fans (fandroids?) will probably be familiar with Dolphin, the third-party browser that first made a name for itself during the ways when the stock Android browser left much to be desired. It’s been making some considerable strides over the past year whether you noticed or not, and today the team at MoboTap have pushed out yet another substantial update into the Google Play store.

The new build plays home to a handful of significant UI tweaks — users now have one swipe access to gesture and voice commands, and can drill down their search results to focus solely on results from sites like Amazon, eBay, and YouTube. The biggest addition to the mix though? A HTML5 web app repository that gets featured prominently when you first fire up the browser. It may not seem like a huge leap for the company considering just how strongly it’s tried to play up its speedy HTML5 rendering over the past year, but Mobotap hopes that providing quick access to rich web apps will change how people interact with their phone’s browser.

“We want Dolphin to be people’s second homescreen,” MoboTap corporate strategy head Edith Yeung told me. “You don’t actually need to run all these native apps, you just run things in the browser.”

MoboTap says they’ve got “over 200” web apps indexed in their storefront, all of which can be added to the browser’s speed dial screen and slotted into different folders for quick access. Once you’ve got the speed dial loaded up with links it bears a passing resemblance to your typical Android homescreen, but their vision of a rich smartphone experience being contained within a browser hasn’t been achieved just yet. Yeung concedes that it’s very much a work in progress though, and that the company is working to make this particular sea change as smooth as possible — they’ve made their share of drastic changes in the past, much to the chagrin of unsuspecting users.

So what’s next in MoboTap’s push to proliferate HTML5? So far we’ve seen a handful of gutsy companies make a case for the web as a platform — Google is still doggedly pushing the concept with ChromeOS and some frankly impressive hardware, while Mozilla’s Firefox OS is being loaded onto entry-level smartphones in anticipation of an impending launch this summer. That sort of hardware-inclusive approach is one hasn’t been on the table thanks to MoboTap’s size, but as far as they’re concerned branching into hardware is problematic unless you’re tremendously well-connected.

“We have a very good relationship with the people at Firefox, but we have a very different theory,” Yeung added. “Firefox likes to have complete control, which is great, but from our experience working with the OEM, it’ll be different for any OEM to commit to any significant volume of phones.” Instead, the company has been spending its time and resources trying to ink potentially fruitful pre-install deals with carriers (and especially big players in southeast Asia) — MoboTap linked up with KDDI to pre-load the browser on a slew of Japanese Android phones, and it quietly locked up a similar deal with China Telecom back in January. So far, the strategy seems to be working — MoboTap confirmed that Dolphin has already been installed on over 80 million devices across the globe, though the company wouldn’t break down how many downloads came from users who found the app on their own and installs stemming from pre-install partnerships.

Source: techcrunch.com

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