It is Twitter's 6th birthday

Twitter is celebrating its sixth birthday today. The sheer fact that you can understand that sentence shows you how far Twitter has gone since then. It has become the de facto short message system of the internet and the favorite social networking service of celebrities all around the world.

And, with over 500 million users, it is the largest one-to-many open communication platform on the web.It wasn't long before its public debut on July 15 as Twitter and since then the service's popularity has exploded.

Today Twitter has an estimated 350 million registered users, with about 100 million of them posting regularly on the site in 2011. The service has attracted numerous celebrities, politicians, brands, and influencers from all fields to the platform. Depending on who you ask (or follow), you'll find that Twitter can be used to comment on the mundane, for personal micro-blogging, as a promotional tool, an RSS reader replacement, or to learn about current events in real time.

Here are some quick facts about Twitter gathered from around the web:

• Born from a 5-member team, Twitter is now available in 28 languages and employs over 835 people.
• Over 60 billion tweets were sent out in all of 2011.
• 1 million Twitter accounts are opened every day
• The record for maximum tweets per second as of date is 12233, set during Superbowl 2012.
• It took 3 years, 2 months and 1 day to hit the first billion tweets. Now it takes less than a week.
• A 2011 study from the University of Washington says Twitter and other social media sites played a central role leading up to the toppling of the Tunisian and Egyptian dictators.
• Lady Gaga (@LadyGaga) has over 21 million followers on Twitter, making her the most "followed" user. Barack Obama (@BarackObama) is by the most popular politician on Twitter with over 13 million followers, while YouTube (@YouTube) is the most popular brand on Twitter with 10 million followers.

[Source: Mashable and Techspot]

Chrome became best browser for one day

Google’s Chrome browser became the most-used browser in the world for one day last weekend, according to web analytics company StatCounter.

A new report by StatCounter revealed that Chrome became the top global Internet browser for the first time on Sunday. It was the most popular browser in India, Russia and Brazil, which helped contribute to it becoming the number one PC browser for the day.

“While it is only one day, this is a milestone,” said StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen.About 32.7% of global web browsing occurred on Chrome on March 18, followed by Internet Explorer with 32.5%, according to a Reuters report. On Monday, Chrome occupied 30% of browsing while Internet Explorer accounted for about 35%. Firefox occupies about 25% of the global market share, while Safari trails with 7%.

Chrome still has a way to go to beat Internet Explorer and Firefox in many regions, including China, United States and Germany.

“Whether Chrome can take the lead in the browser wars in the long term remains to be seen, however the trend towards Chrome usage at weekends is undeniable,” Cullen added. “At weekends, when people are free to choose what browser to use, many of them are selecting Chrome in preference to Internet Explorer.”

[Source: Mashable]

Windows 8 may come this october

Microsoft plans to finish working on its Windows 8 operating system this summer and have it ready for personal computers and tablets in October, according to unnamed sources familiar with the matter speaking with Bloomberg.

The sources also revealed that the Redmond-based company plans to release both the traditional x86 version of Windows 8 and the new ARM version at the same time. It is expected that five ARM-based devices will feature the new OS on launch day, with more expected in the future.

According to the sources, three of them will be ARM-based tablets, and Microsoft’s tight control of the number is to ensure extensive quality control standards are kept to, so that the first devices exceed consumer expectations.

In many ways it makes sense, as the software house is an expert at crafting operating systems using the x86 architecture, but this is their first attempt at providing consumers with an identical version on ARM-based devices. By limiting the initial offering of ARM devices it frees the company to focus extensively on each one to ensure they operate as expected.

A launch around this time would also be ideal for Microsoft to target Christmas shoppers and claw back some of the consumer interest that has largely focused on Apple products over the course of the last year.

[Source: Techspot]

New iPad Smart cover problem

Smart covers, which attach to the iPad’s built-in magnets, are supposed to turn the tablet on automatically when you flip them open. But as dozens of iPad users in this Apple forum concurred, that was no longer the case with many smart covers on the new iPad.

That seemed odd, as the new iPad is physically no different from the iPad 2 — on the surface, at least. But it turns out Apple has been messing with the polarity of its magnets under the hood.

Photographer Mark Booth uncovered this when he did some experiments with magnets, iPads and a couple of smart covers. You can see the results in a video on Booth’s blog.

“The iPad 2′s sleep/wake sensor wasn’t polarity specific,” Booth explains. And that apparently led to an issue for iPad 2 users who flipped their smart covers around so that they sat flush with the back of the tablet — an everyday act that could cause the iPad 2 to switch off unintentionally.So it seems the new iPad’s sleep/wake sensor does require a specific polarity. But in fixing one issue, Apple appears to have caused another for users who want to use their old smart covers with their new tablets. 

Booth theorizes that Apple quietly made the polarity change in their smart covers at some point in 2011, since newer Apple-made smart covers do seem to work with the new iPad. If you got yours for the holidays, there’s a good chance you won’t see a problem.

If your smart cover hails from early 2011, try taking it back to the Apple store; Booth says he’s hearing from users that the store will exchange old smart covers for new ones.

[Source courtesy: Mashable]

Galaxy Tab 2.0.7 coming in India

Samsung has announced at the on-going South-West Asia Regional forum that it will be launching recently announced Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 aka Tab 310 in South-West Asia including India next month. There is no word on the exact launch date or the pricing as of now.

Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is the successor of the original Galaxy Tab and comes with features like Android 4.0, 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 7-inch 1024×600 PLS LCD display, 3MP rear camera, and a VGA camera on front. Other specs include HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS and a 4000mAh battery. Company has stated that it will be releasing both Wi-Fi only and 3G variants in the region but we don’t think India will be getting the Wi-Fi only version.

Samsung has also revealed that it also plans to launch Galaxy Beam projector phone in South-West Asia in May. There is no word whether India will get it too.

Hands on with Android Google Chrome

Google rolled its signature Chrome browser to Android phones on Tuesday, 7 Feb 2012. If you’re one of the lucky ones running Ice Cream Sandwich, commonly known as Android 4.0, you’ll be able to download Chrome from the Android Market, now Play Store.

As you can see from the above gallery of screenshots taken from both Google and our experience running Chrome on a Galaxy Nexus, tabbed browsing is a big highlight of Chrome for Android. It also boasts the ability to have simple private browsing sessions.

Most importantly, Chrome for Android blends in with other Google services seamlessly, such as Google Maps and YouTube. It was easy for us to import tabs from our computer browsers as well.

[Content taken form here]

View this gallery for features:

YouTube and Google Maps are both integrated into the new Chrome for Android. 

 

It is easy to use.

 

Google's search bar is also easy to find. 

 

Google imports your tabs from your Chrome session on your computer. 

 

The tabs view gives you a neat way to see all your open pages at once. 

 

Flipping your phone sideways offers expanded maps. 

 

The tabs also function just as well sideways. 

 

Google's suggestion engine helps fill in what you're searching for. 

 

Chrome for Android even includes private browsing sessions. 

 

ou can do many features, like find on page, from the Chrome options.

 

It also makes it much easier to save pages for offline reading. 

 

Your bookmarks are imported from your desktop and separated from your mobile bookmarks. 

 

Verizon 4G iPads can also run on AT&T

Purchasing a Verizon iPad doesn’t mean you can’t also surf the web on AT&T’s network–for now, at least.

One enterprising MacRumors commenter, jsnuff1, discovered Friday morning that the Verizon version of the tablet can also run AT&T’s data network.All you have to do is swap out the micro-SIM in the tablet and update the iPad’s carrier settings.

“I was one of the first to obtain a Verizon iPad and can happily confirm that this is allowed,” writes jsnuff1. “I used my AT&T iPhone 4S sim card and took out the Verizon sim, and data worked! You must apply the AT&T APN carrier settings before this works though.” The commenter also shot a video of his iPad running on the network.

Sure enough, after inserting the AT&T micro-SIM from an iPhone 4S into a Verizon iPad, we saw the familiar “AT&T 4G” appear on the screen. Using an AT&T SIM in your Verizon iPad won’t actually get you 4G speeds.

That is likely why many opted to purchase the LTE version of the tablet over the Wi-Fi version in the first place. AT&T data cards will only be able to connect to the carrier’s 3G, HSPA+, and EDGE networks rather than the much faster LTE network the AT&T iPad runs on.

The fact that the Verizon iPad can run on other carrier’s networks also isn’t entirely surprising. The micro-SIM card slot on the tablet is designed to be used for roaming internationally when Verizon’s network isn’t available.

But it was expected that the slot would lock out other carriers while in the U.S. Apple may well fix that soon enough in a future iOS update.If they leave it this way, however, the functionality could come in handy for Verizon buyers when traveling in areas in the U.S. where they might not get the best coverage.