Technology

Facebook is acquiring video advertising company LiveRail in the internet social network's latest step to make video ads a bigger part of its business.  Facebook did not disclose a price for the San Francisco-based company, which was founded in 2007 and has offices in several countries.  LiveRail's technology automatically pairs video ads with the videos that appear on many websites, such as the sites for Major League Baseball, ABC and A&E Networks.  Facebook would not discuss plans for using the technology on its own website.  In March, Facebook began offering 15-second video ads from a limited number of companies on its website. The company has moved cautiously in introducing the video ads on its social network to prevent a backlash from users who might find the ads annoying.  Video ads command higher prices than other forms of online advertising such as banner ads. Facebook and internet rivals like Google are increasingly trying to grab a slice of lucrative TV-mark

People often compare computers with our brains, but there are important differences between them. One difference, which the wider public seldom thinks about, is that computer brains are made of silicon while our brains are made of carbon. All known life is made of carbon, which is the most versatile element in the universe. Why should computers be made of silicon, even if it is the second most versatile element in the universe? IBM now thinks that the silicon age of computers is about to end, and that we might see the first carbon computer in just six years.  It is a bold statement, tempered with caveats, made more with hope than authority. Carbon nanotube chips would be not very different from silicon chips, only much faster. However, making them in large scale still requires significant technology advances. The year 2020 is around the time when silicon is supposed to hit a roadblock, yet again.  It will be great to get nanotube chips ready by then. This is what IBM hopes for, a

NEW DELHI: Samsung has added four new smartphones to its Galaxy line-up, namely, Galaxy Core II, Galaxy Star 2, Galaxy Ace 4, and Galaxy Young 2. All of the four phones feature Samsung's TouchWiz Essence user interface, and come with the latest version of Android, Kitkat.  Samsung Galaxy Core II is a dual SIM phone with 4.5-inch (480x800p) display. It is available in two colours - black and white. Powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 768MB of RAM, it has a 2,000mAh battery.  The phone offers a front camera apart from a 5MP main camera and an LED flash. It has 4GB internal storage and supports microSD cards of up to 64GB.  Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 has 4-inch (480x800p) display. The phone is powered by 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB RAM. It has a 1500mAh battery and is available only in black colour. The phone also has a 5MP rear camera, an enhanced camera UI and LED flash, and a front camera. It has 4GB of internal storage and can support a microSD card of up to 64GB.  Gal

NEW DELHI: Samsung has taken the covers off the Galaxy S5 mini smartphone, bringing the exclusive features of the company's top smartphone in a compact size.  The main differences between Galaxy S5 and S5 mini are in display, camera and processor. Galaxy S5 mini has a 4.5-inch HD (720p) screen, which is quite smaller than the 5.1-inch Full HD (1080p) display of Galaxy S5. The camera resolution has gone down from 16MP in the older model to 8MP in the new smartphone.  While the India version of Galaxy S5 comes with an eight-core Exynos processor, the new Galaxy S5 mini runs on a quad-core 1.4GHz processor, but Samsung has not revealed the chipmaker's name.  Despite these downgrades, Samsung has retained the fingerprint sensor and heart rate monitor, which debuted with Galaxy S5, in Galaxy S5 mini. The smartphone is IP67 certified, meaning that it is water and dust resistant to an extent, and has Galaxy S5's Ultra Power Saving mode.  Other key hardware specifications of t

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is fine-tuning its digital music strategy with the acquisition of Songza, a service that creates soundtracks tailored for people's changing moods.  Financial terms of the deal announced Tuesday were not disclosed. That means the price is considered to be too small to affect Google, which ended March with $59 billion in cash.  The acquisition highlights the growing importance of services that customize playlists as more people listen to music through internet connections on their smartphones, tablets and personal computers.  Apple is buying headphone maker Beats Electronics for $3 billion largely because it prizes the song-picking prowess of a digital music service that Beats has been building. The music service combines automated formulas with the expertise of a team led by Beats' co-founders, longtime recording industry executive Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop producer and rapper Dr Dre.  Amazon.com also recently rolled out a music-streaming service that

Asphalt 8: Airborne Usually Gameloft has tried to ape PC games, bringing their distinct console flavour to smartphones, though with mixed results. However, with Asphalt 8: Airborne, Gameloft has a clear winner. It is extremely hard to believe that this game is just given out for free. You will probably never notice the microtransactions, and as casual gamers you can easily launch the app, race and get out quick. With its visceral sense of speed, easy-to-use controls, beautiful tracks and licenced cars, Airborne hits all the right buttons. Real Racing 3 If Asphalt 8: Airborne is too arcadey for you, and you want something more serious and simulation-like to bring out the motoring aficionado in you, then Real Racing 3 is the best game for you. With jaw dropping visuals that demand a well-equipped Android device and realistic driving along very real circuits and campaigns, Real Racing 3 lives up to its name, literally. Blood Brothers Until the popular battle card game on iOS

If you have Siri set to speak in English, she will not understand the word "gracias." But Google on Thursday updated its Google Now voice search and assistant app so it can quickly switch between multiple languages on the fly, CNET reports. Rather than select a single language setting from Google's list of about 50, Google Now can now recognize and understand the speaker's language and allow users to switch up to seven different ones on the fly. According to Google, you'll have to pre-select your secondary languages, but after that the feature will work automatically. In an interview with CNET, Google said "seemingly simple language-recognition tasks are much harder than they appear," and that it's still working on making Google Now a true linguist by understanding complex accents and minimizing ambient noise. Simultaneous multi-language support will roll out to Google Now users within "the coming days," Google said.