Google has been taking the popularity of Apple's voice assistant quite seriously. Late last year, Google's Project Majel was revealed, which is said to be much more than just a voice assistant, and obviously a competitor to Apple's Siri. Siri competitor could possibly launch in the fourth quarter of 2012. However, it is yet uncertain and the release date could be changed. The company is working on Artificial Intelligent technology christened the 'Google Assistant.' The Android team is developing a voice-powered 'do-engine', which will be powered by Google's own search engine, Google+ social network and Google +1. Apple is also geared up and all set to release new multi-platform Siri, probably next week, along with the iPad 3 release. Earlier Apple had claimed that they had no plans to bring Siri to other Apple devices. Furthermore, Apple plans to integrate Siri into Apple TV and also other iOS devices. Rumours are rife that the Google assistant will not be a standalone app. The company may release API for developers to integrate it to all apps. Siri had created a stir in the tech world after its launch, with the latest iPhone 4S. The Android market did get some voice assistant apps soon after and the most talked about was Iris, which when spelt in reverse order read 'Siri.' Earlier this year, Google was seen pulling the plug off the fake Siri app that had entered the Android Market. This app called itself the 'official' Siri app for the Android, but was soon taken off by Google. It isn't just Android that is bowled over by a voice assistant, the newest entrant into the Windows Phone marketplace is Ask Ziggy - personal voice assistant. Visit as on Omnifuzz or FastFind
The news that Android phones are the dominant force in the phone market today comes as no surprise, and this is only going to get better, as Android smartphones are going to dominate the phone market in India, China and Africa. It's a different situation in the U.S. as those service providers who didn't tie up with Apple for their iPhone, chose Android as the alternative. The success of Android in the American market is by the high-end, expensive smartphones. The low-end, more affordable devices are more popular in emerging economies, such as ours. In-Stat claims that by 2015, Android will take up close to 80 percent of the phone market in these countries. Most of these Android devices would be ones running on the slightly older builds - 2.2, 2.3, and so on. They would have a single-core 600MHz processor and the typical price would be $150 or lower - roughly Rs.7,500 or lower. The 'gray market' would be a popular place to buy these phones and manufacturers, such as Huawei, Micromax, Motorola, Samsung, Spice and ZTE are likely to take centrestage. It's not just going to be Android - companies such as Nokia and Samsung will compete for this price bracket as well. The Samsung Bada operating system and Nokia's upcoming Meltemi operating system should replace the outdated Symbian S40 operating system. Phone manufacturers look to gain by selling hardware, whereas Google hopes to gain by making money off advertising. Microsoft also hopes to reduce prices of their Windows Phone platform to try and approach a similar price that can woo prospective customers. Some 340 million low-cost Android smartphones are expected to ship in 2015. These large numbers will force the Android platform as a whole to be scattered even more. The new ICS platform requires more processing power and memory requirements, thus making it difficult to port back to older devices, which means the older 2.2 (FroYo) and 2.3 (Gingerbread) Android operating systems will be king for some more time. 
US added more charges against file-sharing website Megaupload and its executives, and also accused them of taking copyrighted content from sites such as YouTube for its own service, according to a new indictment released on Friday. The founder, Kim Dotcom, and six others employed by the site were charged with eight additional counts of copyright infringement and wire fraud. They were originally charged with five counts of conspiracy and copyright infringement. Dotcom and four of his co-workers have been arrested and are awaiting extradition proceedings in New Zealand and the Netherlands. Two suspects remain at large. They have been charged in a federal court in Virginia with a making millions of dollars from peddling copyrighted materials, including popular television shows, movies and music to millions of users around the world. The superseding indictment said the Megaupload site had 66.6 million registered users as of January 2012 and just under 10 percent had ever uploaded a single file, suggesting most people used the site only to download infringed material, according to the Justice Department. The indictment also accused the group of taking copyrighted material from sites such as Google's YouTube video service for use on Megaupload websites. The Megaupload service has been shut down. 
The termination of 3G roaming agreements had earlier compelled telcos like Vodafone, Idea and Airtel to send a joint letter to Kapil Sibal and further on to the PM stating that termination of 3G pacts is a breach of contract and government should refund the spectrum auction payments with interest. The future of such 3G roaming was already uncertain. The final verdict is probably out and government has asked telcos to terminate 3G roaming agreements, according to TheMobileIndian. Simply put, their customers cannot use 3G services in circles, where the service provider does not have permit for 3G services. Telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar revealed, "The decision has been taken that this (3G roaming pacts) is in violation of terms and conditions of the licence. The government will be issuing notices asking operators to stop their service with immediate effect. But on penalty, no decision has been taken yet." Not being able to access 3G services, because their service provider doesn't have the necessary permissions will cause a lot of inconvenience to the users. Aircel and Tata DoCoMo, reportedly have already discontinued their pact. 
India is currently home to millions of mobile subscribers. While this may seem to be a significant milestone to most, it is also an indicator of the fact that millions of us lie exposed to harmful radiation emitted by mobile phones. Numerous reports have been proof enough to convince us that total dependence on them can be fatal, to say the least. The government, however, has been constantly working out ways to ensure that radiation levels emitted by mobile phones remain under check, at all times. Times of India confirms that the government is close to enforcing a set of norms, which should meet the purpose. Hands-free, till now may have been just another accessory bundled up with a mobile phone, but soon, they will be mandatory with all mobile phones. Reason? Using hands-free, as opposed to answering calls the usual way is as an effective method of steering clear of radiation emissions. That or, switching over to SMSes as your mode of communication, altogether is preferable, too, since this way one can evade radiation. However, keeping safety tips aside, the government also plans to tighten the noose around norms, which specify the levels of radiation in every handset. Reportedly, the SAR levels (Specific Absorption Rate), i.e. the rate at which a normal human body absorbs radio frequency (RF), is currently at 2 watts/kg in India. Now, the government aims to crunch this number down further to 1.6 watts/kg average over a six minute period. These levels are decided on in compliance with the norms of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection Association (ICNIRP). 
Internet Explorer has managed to stay at the number one spot, but its market share is quickly dwindling as Firefox and Chrome compete for the next best - number two spot. A report by StatCounter, a service that monitors internet statistics has seen Chrome beat Firefox in the month of November. Chrome reportedly has a market share of 25.69 percent, as compared to Firefox's 25.23 percent through the month. Microsoft's Internet Explorer still has a healthy lead of 40.63 percent, which is slowly, but steadily dropping. Internet Explorer was the most dominant browser for a very long time. StatCounter expects Google to take on Microsoft for the number one browser place in the near future. The service records the number of users per browser and not the number of downloads that each one has. Internet Explorer continues to have a healthy market share in the U.S. In fact, the numbers in the U.S increased slightly from 50.24 percent last year to 50.66 percent this year. While Chrome might have taken a minor lead over Firefox, the trend for the newest of the browsers is healthy. It shows that Chrome will be able to extend that lead as months go by. Mozilla has made changes to make their browser more efficient, but they seem to have lost the momentum they once had with Firefox. Increasing extensions support for the Google Chrome has also been another reason for users to switch over from Firefox.