Facebook in talks to buy Whatsapp: Report

Whatsapp, the most popular online messenger for smartphones, may soon become yet another high-profile acquisition by Facebook, the biggest social network in the world. 

According to a report in technology blog TechCrunch, Whatsapp has already had talks with the social networking giant over an acquisition. The report said the likely terms of the deal as well as the acquisition price are not yet known. 

Facebook is currently facing problems on the mobile front as it has been unable to make use of its mobile platform. Facebook Messenger, a full fledged app for mobile devices, is not very popular among users, who continue to use Whatsapp and other mobile instant messengers. Off late, Facebook has also effected a much closer integration with popular internet telephony and messaging service Skype which is now owned by Microsoft, also part owner of Facebook.

Whatsapp, on the other hand, boasts of over 100 million daily users and delivers over a billion messages per day. The app works on Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Symbian and Nokia S40 platforms and is used by people on over 750 networks across the world. 

The two services are quite different when it comes to business models. While Facebook is a free service and depends on advertisements, Whatsapp is free for a limited period on some platforms after which one has to pay to use it. On iOS, it is a paid service download. 

Facebook has often been criticised due to its "weak business model" and the inability to solve the mobile puzzle, as it grapples with serving advertisements to smartphone and tablet users. 

Facebook recently acquired the purchase of photo-sharing mobile app Instagram and announced it will combine user data from the two services to 'improve them'. Widely considered as means to serve more specific advertisements, that too on two different platforms, Facebook's move was criticised by privacy advocates who said it will invade users' privacy.

FACEBOOK INTRODUCES AUTOMATIC PHOTO SYNCING FROM MOBILE PHONES

Facebook today has announced a new feature on its mobile phone apps for iPhones and Android phones. It is called PhotoSync and like it’s name, it allows users to automatically upload their photos on Facebook from their phones.

If you current have a Android or iPhone, then open the Facebook app. You can see the photos section (image below) from the navigation menu.

Facebook today has announced a new feature on its mobile phone apps for iPhones and Android phones. It is called PhotoSync and like it’s name, it allows users to automatically upload their photos on Facebook from their phones.

If you current have a Android or iPhone, then open the Facebook app. You can see the photos section (image below) from the navigation menu.

 

The photos section should show up a sync option. Select it to sync your photos that are on your phone to Facebook.

Privacy on Photo Syncing by Facebook

Facebook sets the privacy of all synced photos to private. That means only the user can view these photos. Later you can select a bunch of photos from among the “Private” album and share it in a post with select friends.

The current storage limit for “synced photos” is 2 GB.

Automatic uploading of photos from Camera to a a website is not exactly a new idea. Google+ has long ago implemented this idea. Dropbox too has a similar service to allow any mobile phone connected with computer to sync photos.

Are you comfortable with the syncing all your photos automatically on Facebook? Do drop in your comments.

Dead or Alive 5 Review

On first glance, it's hard to take the Dead or Alive (DOA) franchise seriously. On the surface it appears to be a regular fighting game, but its otaku-friendly vibe shows through upon closer inspection. The skimpy clothes, jiggling breasts and general over sexualisation of female characters sometimes overshadowed its fighting roots. This is especially true for the various beach and bikini spinoffs that eschewed the fighting aspect for an untrammelled appreciation of painstakingly crafted boob physics.

Underneath all these...erm...distractions, lies a genuinely good fighting series replete with fast action, excellent animation, and a brand of gameplay that's easy for n00bs to pick up and deep enough to keep the veterans engaged. I found DOA4 to be easy to pick up and enjoy right off the bat, and it kept me interested even after I had mastered the complex fighting mechanics. It had one or two issues that purists would scoff at, but other than that it was a very good fighting game.

Dead or Alive 5, however, doesn't aim to be just a good fighting game. This time Team Ninja pulls all stops to make DOA5 a complete experience. The best evidence of this pursuit of excellence is apparent in its comprehensive dojo mode. The training mode makes all sorts of information on moves, frame data and player stats available to the player—information that's invaluable to advanced players to monitor, analyse and improve their skills. The online component of the dojo even lets gamers watch matches together and have discussions over the same. It's clear that the developer seeks to give competitive players all that they need to up their game and look at the series as a viable alternative to the Tekkens and Street Fighters of the world.

The training mode looks splendid, but in case you wonder if the actual gameplay can keep up with it, allow me to point to what Team Ninja dubs as the Triangle System. It's the roshambo equivalent of a fighting ruleset where strikes beat throws, throws beat holds and holds beat strikes. This gameplay twist transforms what would otherwise be a button mashing exercise into a game of rock-paper-scissors, where anticipating and countering your opponent's moves takes precedence over mere twitch. It doesn't take long for two beginners to figure out the basics and then engage each other in a violent mental game of roshambo.

This system has existed in the previous game as well, but the insanely powerful counters tilted the balance in the favour of defensive players. This is no longer the case, as both holds and throws have had their reach, strength and active time toned down. This strikes a good balance between defensive and offense play styles, thereby letting players choose their play style of choice without having to worry about handicaps. DOA5 is also the first game in the series to include a true side-step system. This has been a long time coming since this has existed in the competition for a long time now. Side stepping now gives you another avenue to dodge non-tracking attacks.

 

 

The developer goes further to maintain balance with the introduction of Critical system. Overly defensive players who rely on blocking can be thwarted with Critical Stun. Launching specific moves puts your foes in a stun that prevents them from blocking your attacks. Critical Combo allows you to pummel stunned foes for an extended period, but they can still perform strike-countering holds on you. This is where Critical Burst comes in. Using certain attacks lets you initiate Critical Burst, which leaves an opponent completely defenceless and open to all kinds of advanced juggling and special attacks.

While the levels in the last games focused on sheer beauty of the next-gen engine, DOA5 has very busy stages that go beyond eye candy. While you could break through the arena boundaries in DOA4, the latest instalment incorporates tonnes of destructible environmental elements and explosive set pieces that can be triggered with Power Blows. Initiating a Power Blow on a stunned enemy, for example, allows you to control the camera and choose which Danger Zone you want to send them crashing into.

These zones involve something as mundane as sending your enemies crashing through walls and floors, to more insane Michael Bay-esque sequences involving exploding cars, trains and, well, more elaborate explosions. It's either that or the pushing your foe off the arena edge to send them in the Cliffhanger mode, where an ensuing mini-game lets you deal even more damage at the risk of letting them recover without a scratch.

 

The game looks quite gorgeous, which is no mean feat considering how good DOA4 was visually. The character models are more detailed, and this time they show realistic beads of sweat rolling down their skins, in addition to the accumulation of dirt and grime over the course of combat. Meanwhile, the otaku service continues with the inclusion of Watch Mode that lets players see AI battles and pause, zoom and snap photos that can be archived in albums.

The animations are fluid and the moves segue seamlessly from one attack to another. The move animations for each player are distinctly different, which makes its relatively smaller 20-player roster forgivable. The good thing here is that no matter what character you choose, it's your mastery over roshambo-inspired tactical combat system that makes a difference over the attributes of any particular fighter.

The usual offline modes such as Versus, Arcade, Time Attack and Survival have the same stuff that you expect, but the online modes are easier to get into. Moreover, the revamped and balanced gameplay mechanics makes competitive online play a compelling experience if you're willing to put an extra effort to hone your skills to the next level. The Story mode is not as apeshit crazy as the one in the previous game; it involves a somewhat confusing plotline that zips through different characters and timelines to present a spectacle-packed narrative.

Dead or Alive 5 is a vastly improved instalment. It is so complete in every aspect that it can easily be termed as the best the franchise has ever seen. It has the technical competence comparable to the games such as Tekken Tag Tournament 2, which is the current darling of technical competitive players. The fine balance between defensive and offensive play, the thoughtful telemetry provided in the training modes, and the general speed and combination of moves as well as special attacks makes this a game of choice for technical players.

Having said that, it's still incredibly easy for those who want to pick up and have a blast without trifling with the deeper gameplay mechanics. DOA5, then, is an inclusive fighting game that packs in beauty and brains in one competent package.

Burn ISO To USB

Making a USB flash drive bootable sounds like a fairly simple task, but it’s not an easy task always. While using the Command Prompt method (see how to make USB bootable using Command Prompt) to transfer all setup files to the USB drive is the easiest and best way, many users are having difficulties using the Command Prompt.

If you’re having a bootable ISO file and looking for a straightforward tool to burn your ISO to USB drive, ISO to USB is the right tool for you. ISO to USB comes with all basic options that you need to create a USB bootable.

Download ISO to USB setup file, install the same, and run it with admin rights. Once launched, click the browse button to browse to the ISO file location and click open button to load the file. Next step is to select your USB drive from the drop-down menu.

Be sure to select the right drive as the tool will format your USB drive before transferring setup files to the USB. Chose FAT32 or NTFS as your file system, enter a volume label (should not exceed 11 characters) and finally select bootable option.

Before you click the burn button, once again make sure that you have left no important files in your USB and you have selected bootable option. Finally, click Burn button start transferring files to the USB drive. When you see “burning will erase all data on USB” warning, click Ok button to proceed. The tool might take a while to complete the transfer process.

You might see “not responding” in the title bar of the tool but don’t close the program. Once ISO to USB completes its business, you will see “successfully completed” message.

ISO to USB supports Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 as well as Windows 8 operating systems. We tested it on Windows 8 Pro (x64) to transfer Windows 8 RTM (x86) files to a flash drive and can confirm that the tool works as advertised.

Please note that ISO to USB can burn only ISO files and if you’re having extracted files we recommend you use Rufus tool or Microsoft DVD/USB Tool.

DOWNLOAD FREE ISO TO USB SOFTWARE

NOTE:: after opening click on SKIP AD to start downloading.

How To Create Bootable Windows 7 USB To Install Windows 7 From USB Flash Drive (Using Windows 7 DVD/USB Tool)

As we reported earlier, Microsoft released a free tool called Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool to help you install Windows 7 on all netbooks in simple steps.

Although you can refer our how to install Windows 7 from USB guide to do the same, this tool simplifies the job. Here are the five simple steps that you need to follow to create a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 7 from USB device:

Note: You need a USB flash drive with a minimum of 4 GB of free space. And also please backup your data from USB first.

1. Download Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool and install it.

2. Run the program, browse to your Windows 7 ISO image using the Browse button.

3. In this step, you need to select your media type. As we are here to create a bootable USB, simply click on USB device button.

4. Select your USB flash drive from the drop down box and click on Begin copying button.

5. The Windows 7 USB/DVD tool will take a few minutes to complete the procedure.

6. You are done. Reboot you machine and start installing Windows 7 (Windows 7 installation procedure).

Windows 7 Installation

While most of the Windows users are familiar with the Windows installation, there is one part of the user who really doesn’t know how to install Windows Vista/7 on their system as they have been using preloaded Windows on their PCs.

So I thought of writing a simple guide to cover Windows 7 installation procedure. Before we get into the innards of the installation you need to read below articles to make yourself familiar with Windows 7.

* Installing Windows 7 using USB drive

Here, I assume that you have bootable Windows 7 DVD or USB and you have already kept a partition (Minimum 16GB) to install Windows 7. I assume that you have made necessary changes to the BIOS so that you can boot from DVD/USB.

1. Boot your PC using Windows 7 DVD/USB drive and press any key if you see “Press any key to continue message”

2. Next select your language, keyboard type (Generally US) and time format.

3. Click Install button.

4. Click the box labeled “I agree with the license terms” and click Next to proceed further.

5. In the next screen click on Custom (advanced) option. I hope you are not upgrading here. If you are doing an upgrade then just click on the Upgrade option.

6. This is the important step as you need to select the drive which you have already prepared for the Windows 7 installation. Note that selecting a wrong partition will wipe out the data. Also note that Windows 7 creates another small partition of 200 MB if you are installing Windows 7 on an empty hard drive. Don’t worry as the 200MB partition will not be shown in explorer.

7. You can also format the selected partition by opening drive option and then choosing Format option.

8. Click on Next button to start Windows 7 installation. Windows may restart many times during the installation and you need not to worry about that.

9. After completing the installation Windows will give you the below screen to enter your username and password.

10. In the next step you will be asked to enter the Product Key. Enter the key that you have got and click Next button.

Here you need to select the Windows 7 update option. Click “Use recommended settings”.

Select Time Zone, date and time and click Next.

In the next screen, you need to select the type of network. That is, choose between Home network, Work network and Public network.

11. Finally Windows will ask you to create a group depending on the type of Network you have chosen. If you are not sure, just skip as you can do it later as well.

12. You will see Windows 7 desktop. That is, you have successfully installed Windows 7 on your PC.

13. Good luck!