Facebook Boosted with the LightBox Viewer for Photos

After rolling out the Timeline feature for its users and several apps, reports suggest that Facebook will bring out the new lightbox photo viewer feature for all its users by the end of this week.

The Brand New Avant Browser 2012 with More Exciting Features

The browser arena is often portrayed as a three-horse race among Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer, but there's now a new option that aims to give users the best of all three worlds.

Education masters on web

We’re in the age of information. There, I put that straight up. We are not in the dark ages where our only source for information was the public library. It is just a Google query away. Or if Siri is the next big technology, its just a matter of picking your phone up and asking it.
We are free to learn whatever catches our fancy, from the most fascinating to the most bizarre. The web also makes learning a two-way street, enabling you to learn at your pace and adding a certain amount of intuitiveness while at it.
But for education to be meaningful, it must have a certain amount of structure and it is best delivered in the form of a ‘course’. The web sites listed below help you do just that.
On Udemy, you can find courses here from dance to making coffee to the obvious realm of coding and design lessons. Being a Silicon Valley firm, they also routinely put up lessons about startups and the like. I signed up for a course of the basics of Photoshop CS5 and its been a good experience.
You can also design your own course with slideshows or videos or both.
 
The Khan Academy started from a simple idea when an doting uncle made small, simple videos for his nephews. He decided to make this videos open to everyone and people wanted to see more of this. That’s how the Khan Academy grew and now counts The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation amongst its board. The site features an astounding range of videos on many subjects. From simple math to complex accounting lessons. They have also started adding practise exercises to make the process that much more intuitive.
This is how code should be taught. Start off with some really simple exams that even the old hag grandma next door can do and slowly walk them through as the difficulty increases. It’s just so simple that it works. I would, however, love to see a voice guide. Some people respond better to audio aid.

Here’s another awesome platform to learn coding online. Website’s designed to mimic the feel of a school. Tonnes of videos, interactive tutorials and the use of ‘gamification’ to improve grasping.

When the big daddy of the web starts offering tutorials, you better sit up and take note. With courses divided into 8 sections, we have quite a comprehensive list of coding goodies. My only gripe is that they don’t have video content from their insanely talented engineers.


The learning phase in education is all about consuming media. Be it a blackboard, a paper book, videos or anything else for that matter. Stepping away from the class of online video/interactive learning, we have Kno.com who provide textbooks for the iPad.
Kno fully utilizes the iPad for what it is, a great consumption device. It is a joy to read a Kno textbook on an iPad with all the interactive features the books have on offer. Another huge advantage I see is that kids wont have to lug heavy textbooks to class, incur the huge costs of the textbooks and actually learn better while at it.
Kno.com can be accessed via Facebook and the Web apart from the iPad. While I wouldn’t really recommend the Facebook app given all the social distractions, the Web readers gets a thumbs up from me.

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Online Security: 11 Tips to be Followed

Billions of dollars will be spent online over the course of this month and, unfortunately, there are those that will be looking to steal some of it. Make sure you will not be a victim.

There is many reason in the world to shop online. The bargains are there. The selection is mind-boggling. The shopping is secure. Shipping is much fast during the festive season. Even returns are pretty easy, with the right e-tailers. Shopping has never been easier or more convenient for consumers.

But what about the bad guys who lay in wait? ECrime Report for 2011 indicates that use of phishing attacks (where thieves attempt to swindle you out of your sign-in credentials and even credit card info by pretending to be a real website, or even an online bank) is down, as much as eight percent since the second quarter and 11 percent since the third quarter of last year. That's great news—except the same report says sites with malware (malicious code aimed at compromising your privacy) has increased by 89 percent since the second quarter.

Stay calm. While somewhat alarming, these stats should not keep you from shopping online. You simply need some common sense and practical advice. Follow these basic guidelines and you can shop online with confidence. Here are 11 tips for staying safe online, so you can start checking off items on that holiday shopping list.

1) Use Familiar Websites
Start at a trusted site rather than shopping with a search engine. Search results can be rigged to lead you astray, especially when you drift past the first few pages of links. If you know the site, chances are it's less likely to be a rip off. We all know Amazon.com and that it carries everything under the sun; likewise, just about every major retail outlet has an online store, from Target to Best Buy to Home Depot. Beware of misspellings or sites using a different top-level domain (.net instead of .com, for example)—those are the oldest tricks in the book. Yes, the sales on these sites might look enticing, but that's how they trick you into giving up your info.

2) Look for the Lock
Never ever, ever buy anything online using your credit card from a site that doesn't have SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption installed—at the very least. You'll know if the site has SSL because the URL for the site will start with HTTPS:// (instead of just HTTP://). An icon of a locked padlock will appear, typically in the status bar at the bottom of your web browser, or right next to the URL in the address bar. It depends on your browser.


Never, ever give anyone your credit card over email. Ever.

3) Don't Tell All
No online shopping store needs your social security number or your birthday to do business. However, if crooks get them, combined with your credit card number for purchases, they can do a lot of damage. The more they know, the easier it is to steal your identity. When possible, default to giving up the least amount of information.
4) Check Statements
Don't wait for your bill to come at the end of the month. Go online regularly during the holiday season and look at electronic statements for your credit card, debit card, and checking accounts. Make sure you don't see any fraudulent charges, even originating from sites like PayPal. (After all, there's more than one way to get to your money.)

If you do see something wrong, pick up the phone to address the matter quickly. In the case of credit cards, pay the bill only once you know all your charges are accurate. You have 30 days to notify the bank or card issuer of problems, however; after that, you might be liable for the charges anyway.
5) Inoculate Your PC
Swindlers don't just sit around waiting for you to give them data; sometimes they give you a little something extra to help things along. You need to protect against malware with regular updates to your anti-virus program. PCMag recommends Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus (4.5 stars, Editors' Choice, $39.95 direct), which has extras to help fight ID theft, or at the very least the free Ad-Aware Free Internet Security 9.0 (4.5 stars, Editors' Choice).
6) Use Strong Passwords
We like to beat this dead horse about making sure to utilize uncrackable passwords, but it's never more important than when banking and shopping online. Our tips for creating a unique password can come in handy during a time of year when shopping around probably means creating new accounts on all sorts of e-commerce sites.

7) Think Mobile
The National Retail Federation says that 5.7 percent of adults will use their mobile devices to do comparison shopping before making a purchase. (And 32.1 percent will comparison shop online with a computer, as well.) There's no real need to be any more nervous about shopping on a mobile device than online. The trick is to use apps provided directly by the retailers, like Amazon, Target, etc. Use the apps to find what you want and then make the purchase directly, without going to the store or the website. (For more complete information, be sure to also read our tips for shopping safely on a mobile device.)

8) Avoid Public Terminals
Hopefully we don't have to tell you it's a bad idea to use a public computer to make purchases, but we still will. If you do, just remember to log out every time you use a public terminal, even if you were just checking email.

What about using your own laptop to shop while you're out? It's one thing to hand over a credit card to get swiped at the checkout, but when you must enter the number and expiration date on a website while sitting in a public cafe, you're giving an over-the-shoulder snooper plenty of time to see the goods. At the very least, think like a gangster: Sit in the back, facing the door.

9) Privatize Your Wi-Fi
If you do decide to go out with the laptop to shop, you'll need a Wi-Fi connection. Only use the wireless if you access the Web over a virtual private network (VPN) connection. If you don't get one from your employer, you can set up a free one with AnchorFree Hotspot Shield, if you're willing to put up with the ads, or pay $4.99 a month or $44.99 a year to skip the ads. There's even an iOS app version of Hotspot Shield, but that will cost you $.99 per month or $9.99 a year after the first seven days.

Now it is not a good time to try out a hotspot you're unfamiliar with. Stick to known networks, even if they're free, like those found at Starbucks or Barnes & Noble stores that is powered by AT&T. Look for the network named "attwifi," then open a browser to click into the "walled garden" to get final access. You can also find free Wi-Fi at McDonalds, Panera Bread, and FedEx Office locations, not to mention libraries and local cafes.

10) Count the Cards
 Gift cards are the most requested holiday gift every year, and this year will be no exception. Stick to the source when you buy one; scammers like to auction off gift cards on these sites with little or no funds on them.

11) Know What's Too Good to Be True
Once again, McAfee has compiled a Twelve Scams of Christmas list, all things to be aware of while shopping. The "coupon scam" offers of a free product with purchase, in particular an iPad (a very coveted gadget at any holiday) or even holiday job offers. Many of these "offers" will come in via social media. Beware even of your friends, who might innocently forward such a thing. Be very wary even if you get a message from friend claiming he or she has been robbed, especially a friend overseas looking for money to be wire transferred, unless you absolutely can confirm it by talking to him or her personally. Skepticism in most cases can go a long way toward saving you from a stolen card number.