The News Arena

Tech giant Apple has announced the arrival of a new green-initiative known as “Apps For Earth” to coincide with Earth Day next week.

The project aims to spread environmental consciousness through its millions of customers by injecting environmental themes and motifs into 27 of its most popular apps.

Apple plans to run “ Apps For Earth,” in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, for ten days, starting today and ending April 24. Earth Day is Friday April 22.

During this run, popular games like Angry Birds 2, Jurassic World: The Game, and SimCity BuildIt will all have ecologically minded twists.

In SimCity BuildIt, for example, users will be able to plant a massive forest right in the midst of their city, as well as build coral reefs offshore and create habitat for endangered animals like tigers, gorillas, and pandas.

In Angry Birds 2, the avian protagonists will promote ocean conservation by defending the seas’ ecosystems from the devilish pigs.

Each time one of the 27 apps involved is purchased, the proceeds will go to support the World Wildlife Fund in order to bolster the foundation’s climate and environmental initiatives.

The Washington Post pointed out that given the size of the App Store—which is spread across 155 countries with millions of users—as well as the popularity of some of the apps themselves—Angry Birds 2 has been downloaded 85 million times—the proceeds from this initiative could be one of the largest conservation fund-raising efforts ever.

Ride-hailing service Uber has submitted a bid for Nokia Oyj's map business, HERE, for as much as $3 billion.

Uber is competing against a consortium of automakers,
including BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. (Photo: Reuters)

Nokia had said last month that it had started a strategic review for HERE, a competitor to Google Maps, after announcing a takeover of network equipment rival Alcatel-Lucent.

Citing people with knowledge of the offer, The New York Timesreported that Uber is competing against a consortium of automakers, including BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, the newspaper said.

The German automakers are teaming up with the Chinese search engine Baidu on the offer, the report added.

Uber declined to comment on the matter.

The report said a private equity firm has also bid and that Nokia is expected to announce the sale of HERE by the end of May.

(Reuters)

Ride-hailing service Uber has submitted a bid for Nokia Oyj's map business, HERE, for as much as $3 billion.

Uber is competing against a consortium of automakers,
including BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. (Photo: Reuters)

Nokia had said last month that it had started a strategic review for HERE, a competitor to Google Maps, after announcing a takeover of network equipment rival Alcatel-Lucent.

Citing people with knowledge of the offer, The New York Timesreported that Uber is competing against a consortium of automakers, including BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, the newspaper said.

The German automakers are teaming up with the Chinese search engine Baidu on the offer, the report added.

Uber declined to comment on the matter.

The report said a private equity firm has also bid and that Nokia is expected to announce the sale of HERE by the end of May.

(Reuters)

Wrapped under secretive 'Project Spartan' so far, Microsoft has unveiled future looking Edge as its new web browser, which would eventually replace the existing Internet Explorer.

So far Edge was wrapped under secrecy and was called Project Spartan. (Photo: Reuters)

Edge, Microsoft officials argued, is lighter and faster than Internet Explorer and comes with new features like a built-in notation tool, a distraction-free reading mode, and website information from Cortana, a personal voice-assistant app for Windows.

"Microsoft Edge is the browser built for Windows 10, and it will be available on the widest range of Windows 10 devices," Joe Belfiore, Corporate vice president, operating systems group at Microsoft on Wednesday said at Build 2015, a conference of developers.

So far Edge was wrapped under secrecy and was called Project Spartan.

But not so any more, Belfiore said.

"For us the name refers to the idea of being on the edge of consuming and creating.

"It refers to the developer notion of being closest to the modern capabilities of the Web," he said.

The end users of the browser will think about for getting things done, for things like note-taking on the Internet, for a great way of reading and consuming content, the Corporate VC said.

"The browser has Cortana built-in, so it learns the things that one cares about and helps one get things done", he added.

"We have been testing this a ton and we're optimistic about its opportunity to help people discover and connect with work that you all do on the Web and in apps. Now, there's another big thing that we're doing in Microsoft Edge that has huge relevance to you", he said.

"That is enabling users to engage with your sites and give you a shot at starting to write some Web code, which you may put into an app via Web extensions built into Microsoft Edge," he said.

With Microsoft Edge and the new support for these extensions, he said, one will see the company is going to enable people to discover and engage with code that developers are propping up on the Web.

"So you've seen for engagement the start screen, the lock screen, you've seen Cortana and Microsoft Edge all helping people discover value in the Windows ecosystem," he said.

Microsoft officials later said while Edge is successor to the heavily used existing Internet Explorer, but would keep the latter for the moment.

Edge would be available only for Windows 10 and further.

(PTI)

Facebook Inc has introduced free video calling in its Messenger phone app as the company seeks to transform its mobile messaging service into a full-featured platform with the same reach as its 1.4 billion user social network.

Earlier this year, Messenger launched voice and video calling
 between computers. (Photo: Reuters)

Messenger, with more than 600 million users, now has a video icon at the top right corner of its screen. Earlier this year, Messenger launched voice and video calling between computers.

Messenger competes with Microsoft Corp's Skype, Apple Inc's FaceTime and Google Inc's Hangouts, all of which allow video calls between mobile devices or computers.

At Facebook's annual developer conference in March, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerburg said the social network would introduce myriad features within Messenger. For example, users can also send money to friends within the app. Facebook also unveiled a platform that enables developers to easily create apps that function within Messenger.

"Adding (video calling) to Messenger instead of the main Facebook app maybe ties in to Messenger's mission where it's a real core person-to-person app," said Brian Blau, research director at Gartner Inc, a US technology research and advisory firm. "Now they're really enticing people with more features."

Video calling is available on devices using Apple's iOS andGoogle's Android mobile operating systems in Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Laos, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay.

Facebook said additional regions will be added in the next few months.

(Reuters)

As the net neutrality debate rages on, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday said "it is not sustainable to offer the whole Internet for free" but is possible for internet.org platform to give basic services without any cost.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook also said internet.org is open to all content and application developers who meet "certain guidelines". This follows criticism from free internet advocates that the social networking site was "hand-picking services" violating principles of net neutrality.

Zuckerberg, who in the past had defended internet.org, said in his video blog posted on Monday, that the programme supports itself.

"When people use free basic services, more of them then decide to pay to access the broader Internet and this enables operators to keep offering these basic services for free. It is not sustainable to offer the whole Internet for free," he said.

But, it is sustainable to offer free basic services that are simpler, use less data and work on all low-end phones, he added.

The net neutrality debate in India was triggered after Airtel introduced an open marketing platform 'Airtel Zero' where the data charges were being borne by application developers. Facebook, which has tied up with Reliance Communications for internet.org initiative in India, too offer access 33 websites for free.

Free Internet advocates had raised objections to these platforms, saying there were in violation of net neutrality, which stands for equal treatment for all Internet traffic and any priority based on payment to service providers like telecom companies is seen as discriminatory.

Zuckerberg had earlier said principles of neutrality must co-exist with programmes like Internet.org that encouraged bringing people online.

Internet.org aims to bring 5 billion people online and has partnered mobile operators, local entrepreneurs and companies for launching the initiative across various countries, including India.

"A reasonable definition of net neutrality is more inclusive. Access equals opportunity. Net neutrality shouldn't prevent access. We need both. It's not an equal Internet if a majority of people can't participate," he said.

The goal with Internet.org is to help everyone connect and it provides free basic services starting with education, communication services like Wikipedia, job listings, HIV education and maternal health resources, he added.

"Research has shown that for every billion people who gain access to the Internet, more than 100 million people are lifted out of poverty. There are over 4 billion people who need to be connected. And if we can connect them, then we will raise hundreds and millions of people out of poverty," the young billionaire said.

Zuckerberg said Internet.org will work with "anyone who wants to join us". He asserted that no company paid to be included on Internet.org and neither does an operator get paid to offer these services for free.

India has the world's third-largest Internet user-base after China and the US. Indian regulator TRAI's consultation paper has sought comments from public whether telecom firms can be allowed to charge different rates for different uses of Internet data like email, Internet browsing and use of apps like Whatsapp, Viber and Sky.

Facebook is launching an open platform for online content and application developers to join its Internet.org service in a move the social media giant said would boost efforts to get people online in low-income and rural areas in emerging markets.

Facebook partnered with Reliance Communications to launch
Internet.org in India in February. (Photo: Reuters)

"The platform unveiled on Monday will be open to all developers who meet certain guidelines including content being built for browsing on both feature and smartphones and in limited bandwidth scenarios", the company said in a statement.

The move comes amid growing debate in India, home to the world's third-largest population of Internet users, over free access and net neutrality in the country.

Facebook partnered with Reliance Communications to launch Internet.org in India in February.

But a number of e-commerce firms and content developers pulled out of the service subsequently as activists claimed it violated principles of net neutrality - the concept that all websites on the internet are treated equally.

"We've heard the debate about net neutrality in India and have been tracking it" Chris Daniels, vice president of product for Internet.org told Reuters.

"The principles of neutrality must co-exist with programs that also encourage bringing people online" Daniels said, highlighting that Internet.org was open to mobile operators and involved no payments either to or from the developers.

"Facebook has launched the service in nine countries including India bringing over 8 million people online", said Daniels, who was in India to speak with partners and operators.

The Internet.org application offers free access to basic internet services on mobile phones as well as access to Facebook's own social network and messaging services.

(Reuters)

Apple has confirmed that permanent or temporary changes to the skin like tattoos can lead to inaccurate readings in Apple Watch.

Apple said that darker tattoos cause major issues that prevent the Watch's light from getting through. (Photo: Reuters)

According to the Verge, Apple said that the tattoo ink, pattern and saturation can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings.

However, Apple did not reveal what type of tattoos will pose a problem and which ones will not.

Apple said that darker tattoos cause major issues that prevent the Watch's light from getting through.

If you are bit vain in nature, you may just posses one of the qualities that most celebrated leaders in the business world have, as a new study has said claimed that narcissistic leaders happen to be the most successful ones.

New research from Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management finds those strong characteristics are not such a bad thing, as long as those leaders temper their narcissism with a little humility now and then.

Assistant professor Bradley Owens said that just by practicing and displaying elements of humility, one can help disarm, counterbalance, or buffer the more toxic aspects of narcissism.

Giving example of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the study mentions "Although Jobs was still seen as narcissistic, his narcissism appeared to be counterbalanced or tempered with a measure of humility, and it was this tempered narcissist who led Apple to be the most valuable company in the world..."

The study supported the softer portrayal of Jobs that appears in the new biography, 'Becoming Steve Jobs'. Specifically, the research finds when leaders self-regulate their narcissism with humility, employees are more engaged, perform better and perceive their boss to be more effective.

To show a little humility, the leaders should admit their mistakes and limitations, spotlight the strengths and contributions of others and model teachability. This allows the less toxic, potentially beneficial aspects of leader narcissism to yield positive outcomes.

For the study, Owens and colleagues from Arizona State University and SUNY-Buffalo surveyed 876 employees at a large Fortune 100 health insurance company. Employees rated 138 leaders in the organization on their humility and effectiveness, and then answered questions about their own engagement.

Study results show leaders with high narcissism and high humility were perceived as more effective leaders with more engaged followers. Fortunately, Owens said, humility can be developed.

The study is published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. 

Microsoft is now bringing Solitaire game from Windows 8 back to its new Windows 10 version as a built-in app.

Photo: Reuters

According to the Verge, the game on Windows 10 is the same modern version where users will no longer have to search around the Windows Store to find the game.

The Windows 10 will also bring back the Start Menu that users of Windows are familiar with.

However, other games like Minesweeper and hearts will need to be searched in the Windows Store.

It may be a social platform which allows only 140 characters to post your message, but believe it or not, it can help you realize your dream job .

Twitter is rapidly emerging as a social media resource available to job seekers and is even giving the giant in this sector,LinkedIn , a run for its money.

By the way, a whopping 94 per cent of recruiters use LinkedIn as part of their recruiting strategy, according to a study by recruiting software company, Jobvite.

However, there is little doubt Twitter is slowly but surely catching the recruiters' attention. It has grown by leaps and bounds to over 288 million monthly active users.

So, let us look at five ways how the microblogging site can help you catch your dream job.

1. Search for potential job leads

Now a days, many companies have twitter handles, which are specifically dedicated for posting vacancies. So, streamline your search with the terms like 'jobs' or 'careers', to find recruiters.

You can also keep your eye on hashtags such as #TweetMyJobs and #JobOpening to find new opportunities shared by employers.

2. Follow accounts giving job-search advice

There are twitter accounts, which are related to sharing carrer tips with their followers. To name a few, some of these are mine and TheLadders. So check out the list of top twitter handles to get careeer tips.

3. Engage yourself more

Whether there are tweet chats ot twitter meetups, there is no harm in expanding your digital footprint and getting a better understanding of the industry you are intersted in. Grow your network and participate in the business networking events that take place all over the Twittersphere.

Reach out to important people by sending them direct messages. The approach works wonders if used appropriately.

4. Demonstrate your career interest

You can demonstrate your expertise in your interest in your field. Remember to retweet and favour tweets from people you find relevant. Let them know about your opinion related to your line of subject.    

5. Conduct research

Twitter is a great platform to keep yourself abreast of all the news related to your target industry. You can conduct research in order to get relevant information before attending any networking event.

Source:info.theladders.com

The Apple Watch goes on sale around the world on Friday, the final stage of a protracted launch of Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook's first new product, capping months of publicity and a frenetic two weeks of pre-orders.

Photo: Reuters

Buyers can take the smart watch home from a handful of upscale boutiques and department stores, such as The Corner in Berlin, Maxfield in Los Angeles and Dover Street Market in Tokyo and London, which Apple courted to help position the watch as a fashion item.

But the watch will not be sold at Apple stores on Friday. The company is directing people to order online, which should prevent the lines around stores that generally greet new iPhone and iPad launches.

The lack of queues at Apple stores will make it hard to judge popular demand for the Apple Watch, which comes in 38 variations with prices ranging from $349 for the Sport version to $10,000 and more for the gold Edition.

Apple has not released any numbers since it opened for pre-orders on April 10, but many buyers were told their watches would not arrive for a month or more as supply appeared to dry up.

Wall Street estimates of Apple Watch sales vary widely. FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives raised his sales estimate this week to 20 million watches from 17 million, based in part on online order backlogs.

"There was a question over whether the trajectory and demand for wearables in the Apple ecosystem was there and real," said Ives. "But it's a resounding yes."

Apple itself said on Wednesday that some customers will get watches faster than promised.

"Our team is working to fill orders as quickly as possible based on the available supply and the order in which they were received," Apple said in a statement.

The Cupertino, California company previously predicted that demand would exceed supply at product launch.

(Reuters)

In a bid to put Facebook at the centre of all your communications, the social networking giant has launched an Android-only dialer app called, Hello.

The app is available on Google Play store for free and replaces the native Android dialer with a significantly more Facebook-centric version, reported The Verge.

Hello seeks to modernize phone calls by allowing users to make free calls over Wi-Fi.

The three key features offered by the app are:

Andrea Vaccari, a product manager at the company, said that Facebook had no plans to make money from the app directly.

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella has reportedly revealed that downloads of its Office app on Android and iOS have crossed the 100 million mark.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella

According to The Verge, although the milestone is not particularly surprising as free apps are downloaded more often than paid ones, but it does prove that Microsoft's Office software is being preferred by users across multiple platforms.

Microsoft has been working to ensure the availability of its software and services across platforms like, Windows, iOS, and Android, over the past year.

Apps such as, Skype, Outlook, and Word are regularly features in the top 100 charts of free apps in the App store.

Sony Corp has unveiled its new high-end Xperia Z4 handset featuring an aluminium frame and a 5.2-inch screen, showing it is still in the smartphone race even as it scales down its struggling mobile operations.

The company said the Xperia Z4 would be available in Japan around the middle of the year, though it did not provide a launch date, details on carrier partners or price. The handset would be available in four colours and was slightly thinner than the previous Z3.

The launch of the new flagship model comes amid a painful restructuring at the Japanese consumer electronics giant which has thrown the future of its smartphone division into doubt, with top executives saying an exit cannot be ruled out.

Hiroki Totoki, who was appointed last year to turn around the mobile unit, said Sony was targeting the upper end of the market where rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc dominate.

"There's a broad variety in the prices of smartphones, from around $100 to $1,400 at the upper end," he told a news conference. "We want to focus in the upper half of that."

The company whose Walkman and Trinitron TV once played a critical role in the global entertainment industry has struggled in recent years to come up with trend-setting gadgets.

Sony announced in February that it would scale down its weaker operations such as TVs and mobile phones to focus instead on more successful products such as video games and camera sensors.

In February, he said the Japanese consumer electronics firm would no longer pursue sales growth in smartphones.

(Reuters)

Google will release a revised formula on Tuesday that will change the way its search engine recommends websites on smartphones.

The new code will favour websites that Google defines as "mobile-friendly".Websites that don't fit the description will be demoted in Google's search
results on smartphones. (Photo: Reuters)

The new code will favour websites that Google defines as "mobile-friendly". Websites that don't fit the description will be demoted in Google's search results on smartphones while those meeting the criteria will be more likely to appear at the top of the rankings - a prized position that can translate into more visitors and money.

Although Google's new formula won't affect searches on desktop and laptop computers, it will have a huge influence on how and where people spend their money, given that more people are relying on their smartphones to compare products in stores and look for restaurants.

That's why Google's new rating system is being billed by some search experts as "Mobile-geddon".

It's probably the most significant change that Google Inc has ever made to its mobile search rankings, according to Matt McGee, editor-in-chief for Search Engine Land, a trade publication that follows every tweak that the company makes to its closely guarded algorithms.

"Some sites are going to be in for a big surprise when they find a drastic change in the amount of people visiting them from mobile devices," said Itai Sadan, CEO of website-building service Duda.

Here are a few things to know about what's happening and why Google is doing it - 

MAKING MOBILE FRIENDS

To stay in Google's good graces, websites must be designed so they load quickly on mobile devices. Content must also be easily accessible by scrolling up and down - without having to also swipe to the left or right. It also helps if all buttons for making purchases or taking other actions on the website can be easily seen and touched on smaller screens.

If a website has been designed only with PC users in mind, the graphics take longer to load on smartphones and the columns of text don't all fit on the smaller screens, to the aggravation of someone trying to read it.

Google has been urging websites to cater to mobile device for years, mainly because that is where people are increasingly searching for information.

BRACING FOR CHANGE

To minimize complaints, the company disclosed its plans nearly two months ago. It also created a step-by-step guide and a tool to test compliance with the new standards.

Google has faced uproar over past changes to its search formula. Two of the bigger revisions, done in 2011 and 2012, focused on an attempt to weed out misleading websites and other digital rubbish. Although that goal sounds reasonable, many websites still complained that Google's changes unfairly demoted them in the rankings, making their content more difficult to find.

STILL CAUGHT OFF GUARD

While most major merchants and big companies already have websites likely to meet Google's mobile standard, the new formula threatens to hurt millions of small businesses that haven't had the money or incentive to adapt their sites for smartphones.

"A lot of small sites haven't really had a reason to be mobile friendly until now, and it's not going to be easy for them to make the changes," McGee said.

BURYING HELPFUL CONTENT

Google's search formula weighs a variety of factors to determine the rankings of its results. One of the most important considerations has always been whether a site contains the most pertinent information sought by a search request.

But new pecking order in Google's mobile search may relegate some sites to the back pages of the search results, even if their content is more relevant to a search request than other sites that happen to be easier to access on smartphones.

That will be an unfortunate consequence, but also justifiable because a person might not even bother to look at sites that take a long time to open or difficult to read on mobile devices, Gartner analyst Whit Andrews said.

"Availability is part of relevancy," Andrews said. "A lot of people aren't going to think something is relevant if they can't get it to appear on their iPhone."

(Associated Press)