UPDATE: A recent tweet by @opindia_revenge reveals that Anonymous has successfully managed to take down the Department of Telecom’s website - dot.gov.in

UPDATE: Looks like both the sites - supremecourtofindia.nic.in and aicc.org.in are back in action again! However, @opindia_revenge has tweeted with the following message:

Anonymous group has successfully taken down the website of Supreme Court of India (supremecourtofindia.nic.in) and the official website of the All India Congress Committee (aicc.org.in). The reason being due to the fact that the Indian Government is taking Internet Censorship quite seriously, and has ordered most of the Indian ISPs to block websites including, Vimeo, ThePirateBay, Pastebin, Dailymotion, and many others.

Since yesterday, many users on Twitter were reporting that popular file sharing and torrent sites were blocked by major ISPs like Airtel, Reliance, MTNL and You Broadband ISP. Upon visiting the blocked sites, the following message is displayed – “Access to this site has been blocked as per Court Orders.”

Within hours, the government websites were taken down by Anonymous, an act of revenge, due to the very fact that the Indian Government had ordered ISPs to block ThePirateBay and other sites.

The first tweet came in from @opindia_revenge indicating that they’re going to “paralyze” the two websites. An hour later, a confirmation tweet followed stating – “We have successfully taken down our main enemy –>> http://dot.gov.in Department of telecom +1 for #opindia”

Although they mentioned that they had managed to take down the Department of Telecom’s websites (dot.gov.in), but at the time of writing this article, the website was fully functional.

The government websites are reportedly down since 17th May 2012, 15:30 IST

Back in June 2011, Anonymous has successfully hacked the National Informatics Centre’s (NIC) websites due to the action taken against Baba Ramdev’s anti-corruption campaign by the Delhi Police. They also managed to hack the Indian Army’s website, which was down for an hour or so.

In response to this, the Indian Twitter and Facebook account of Anonymous were suspended and all videos from its YouTube account were removed completely.

Google Docs, Google’s cloud office suite recently integrated with Google Drive has added a research sidebar to its interface. The research sidebar allows you to select content from the document and find more information through the research pane or from the right click context menu. To use the research pane in Google Docs, either  select “research” from “Tools” or hit the keyboard shortcut “Control + Alt + R”.

The research pane lives up to its name and lets you perform quick lookups through Google web search and image search. I use Google Docs a lot for writing and sending documents and often I find myself lost in a sea of open browser tabs. This is because whenever I am writing something, I read about the subject and have to check facts, definitions, blog posts and so forth. This newly added research pane should speed things up, as I can simply select a phrase from the document and find more information about it, directly from the Google Docs WYSIWYG editor.

Here is how the research pane looks like:

If you want to link to a webpage you found from the research sidebar, all you have to do is hover over the result and choose “Insert Link”. Google Docs’s writing assistant will automatically link the selected word to that webpage, so you can save three mouse clicks and focus on writing the document. The best part – search images from the research pane and add them through a simple drag and drop. No longer you have to open a new browser tab, head over to Google Images or Flickr, find an image, copy the URL, fall back to Google Docs, hit “Insert” and paste the URL. The research pane makes life easy so you can just focus on writing and researching.

The only downside I found is that the preview pane is not large enough to house an entire webpage, so that the content is readable. If the preview pane was just as big, it would have been awesome as I can read a webpage without having to switch browser tabs (which is a big, big distraction).

As of now, the research pane supports web search, image search, quotes and maps. YouTube Videos are out of luck

Watch the following screencast to see the research pane in action:

Facebook, which is heading for an IPO in next few days is not done with acquisitions yet. Lightbox, a social photo sharing app, has announced on their blog that they have been acquired by Facebook for an undisclosed amount.

Lightbox, the android app, not only let users apply filters to photos like Instagram (Facebook acquired Instagram in April for more than $1 Billion in cash and shares) but also allowed them to store the photos and let them share on other social networking sites. After the acquisition, Facebook will be sun-setting the startup and the team will be joining Facebook. The Android app has already been pulled out from Google Play. Since Facebook will be terminating the app, the acquisitions looks to be made for the team behind the app. Lightbox, a 500 Startups company had raised $1.2 million in funding from 500 Startups, Index Ventures, Accel Partners, and SV Angel.

From Lightbox blog:

Today, we’re happy to announce that the Lightbox team is joining Facebook, where we’ll have the opportunity to build amazing products for Facebook’s 500+ million mobile users.

This means we’re no longer accepting new signups. If you’re an existing user, you can continue to use Lightbox.com until June 15 and you can download your photos from here.

Facebook is not acquiring the company or any of the user data hosted on Lightbox.com. In the coming weeks, we will be open sourcing portions of the code we’ve written for Lightbox and posting them to our Github repository.

Facebook is aiming for an IPO and in its seventh amendment to its S-1, Facebook is offering 50.6m extra shares at a new  price range of $34-$38 per share. The filing also states that high profile Instagram buyout might not close by second quarter of 2012 due to FTC probe, as it expected earlier. Since 2012, Facebook has acquired six startups — including the high profile Instagram buyout, Tagtile, Gazehawk, Sendoid, Glancee and now Lightbox.

Macquarie Equities Research released a report stating that Google’s Chrome browser might be coming to iOS device. The report does not state when it might arrive on the Apple’s app store, however, it states that  it could be as soon as Q2 of 2012 and if it doesn’t land on the app store by that time, it is definitely arriving by the end of this year.

As much as we would like to see the Chrome browser on iOS devices — iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, Apple doesn’t allow third party browser app to be set as a default app for the device which limits the usability of the app. For example, any links within an email, text messages will open on default browser (Safari) on any iOS devices.

Chrome browser on desktop is highly successful browser with about 18.57% of browser market share falling only slightly behind Mozilla Firefox. Google, also, recently released Chrome Beta for its own mobile operating system, Android. With the release of Chrome on iOS Google also might be able to get away with the huge chunk of money it spends on Apple for Google search on Safari browser. With Chrome browser, all the money that it will earn from the search, Google will be able to keep them with themselves.

However, we do not think Chrome for iOS will make it big for a simple reason that Apple does not allow third party apps to be set as default browser.

If Steve Jobs hadn’t pushed Steve Wozniak so hard on a deadline, we might still be looking at monotone monitors. Jobs and Wozniak got an assignment from Atari to create a game called Breakout. Jobs needed the money from the assignment as soon as possible so he decided that they would complete the design in four days, even if they had to stay up around the clock to do it.

It was in the stupor of tiredness that the idea for color computers was invented. Nobody expected color monitors to be part of computers because the cost was so prohibitive. Color machines had many chips and could easily cost a thousand dollars just for the color. Steve Wozniak figured out a way to do it with only one inexpensive chip.

Steve Wozniak said he only got the idea that this was physically possible because he had been going without sleep for four days straight and his head was in the hypnotic brain wave state of creative thought where normal obstacles are forgotten.

Wozniak was watching an Atari game where the bouncing blip was changing color. While staring at it he realized that Atari had just put Mylar color strips over a black and white monitor screen to give the illusion of color.

Watching this game caused Wozniak to think back to his knowledge of basic TV color electronics. He realized for color TV that signals go up and down at a certain speed. He asked himself, what if he could make a signal that also went up and down using codes of zeros and ones that were slightly different for each color.

It was a year after watching that Atari blip that the first color computer came out. Wozniak had succeeding in bringing a small miracle to life. Now we would never dream of having a monitor not in color.

Wozniak states that adding color to computers was one of Apple’s greatest accomplishments. He credits his ability to invent a system that could do this with the ability to let go of preconceived notions and to apply similar technology in a different, pared down and rebuilt way.

His invention is still the keystone for all color monitors today. As new developments make monitors and tablets move vivid and sharper, we remember that we can all access the type of creativity Wozniak showed for our own new inventions.

==== About the Author ====
Joel Cordle, is the Marketing lead at Idea Design Studio. Idea Design Studio is a product development firm that specializes in top-of-the-line design work for inventors. If you have any question on how to get invention help just contact Idea Design Studio.

As the Internet continues to evolve, it has started becoming available to us on everything from our TVs, mobiles, to tablets. Of late, there are many stories on how mobile surfing is becoming the next big thing. Consider this, how many of us catch up on the latest Facebook news from our cell phones? A lot it seems. Comscore has recently discovered that users access Facebook on the mobile for nearly 7 hours versus 6 hours on the computer.

In fact, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has openly laid out the importance of being able to generate revenue using mobile advertising and promotions in 2012. On his road show to pitch the highly sought after IPO (initial public offering) that is slated for next week, Zuckerberg  has said that Facebook’s key priorities in 2012 are to work on its mobile application, to build stronger ties incorporating its social network with other online apps, and to create a “transformative” advertising experience.

There are claims that the Facebook IPO has been oversubscribed. It will be interesting to see what value Facebook can bring to its investors to make it worth close to $10 billion. Facebook has claimed that its advertising business was generating more revenues as marketers have began spending more. However, this only works when its users access it from their computer browsers.

It has been claimed that social ads would be able to address the problem of revenue generation on its mobile app. These ads are small and better suited for mobile screens. They show you which of your friends “like” certain products. Given the amount of user information that Facebook has already collected, it will allow marketeers to target consumers more effectively.

The true value of any investment is based on its long-term prospects. While Facebook moving on as an IPO is truly ground breaking for this new genre of organizations, it still has to be able to provide more concrete plans on its revenue generation. Having said that, Zuckerberg has made good decisions in the past about Facebook, this may just be another one of those.

Until a few days ago, Adobe had decided not to fix one of its security vulnerabilities. Instead, it tried pushing the next release of its Creative Studio, CS6 as a solution to a critical security issue. This was wrong on multiple levels and was downright unacceptable. The intellectuals and Adobe received thumbs down for this decision. Finally seeing the wrong it has done, now Adobe has decided to retract its decision, and has announced that it is releasing a security fix for the CS5 after all.

Adobe is notorious for having security vulnerability in its products. For a company that is known for having poor security and releasing numerous fixes every few days, Adobe should take extra care when handling matters like these. Now that Adobe has come out in support of a security fix, it is being given the benefit of doubt by The Verge.

The confusion seemingly came from the original wording of the Adobe product security bulletin, which stated, “Adobe Photoshop CS6 addresses these vulnerabilities” without mentioning that a security patch for older versions was being worked on.

However, the security fix is not a complete one. Adobe is supposed to support all versions of its Creative Suite. However, the fix is appearing only on the CS5 for now. This means, CS4, which is also a supported version still remains vulnerable. This lax attitude from Adobe in time when hacks are the order of the day is appalling.

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made Mothers.

The above quote reflects the importance of mothers and motherhood, who is one of the greatest living teachers on Earth. It is said that being a mother is a one of the highest salaried jobs, since the payment is pure love. In significance to the love and sacrifice called motherhood, the entire world today celebrates Mother’s Day, a great opportunity to thank and give love to the lady who has done everything that is possible from her hands.

To honor and celebrate Mother’s Day, the search engine giant – Google, has come up with a very lovely and beautiful doodle highlighting the love and affection between a mother and her kids. In the animated Google Doodle, you will see two children give their mother a flower and big hug.

The animations begins with the two children (the two Os in Google) opening a door and stealing a look to see if their mother (the letter “L” in Google) is there. The mother notices the two children coming inside and gets anxious. The children then run to their mother with a flower and give her a big fat hug. The characters then line up to form letters in the Google logo.

Since 2000, Google designs a doodle on the occasion of Mother’s Day every year, and replaces the classic logo on its home page with the doodle to compliment to mothers all over the world. As usual, clicking on the doodle will take you to the results page that details the significance, purpose, and its traditions.

While Mother’s Day is celebrated in different part of the world on different days, it is generally the second Sunday of May (May 13, 2012) that is most widely celebrated. The origin of Mother’s Day can be dated back to 1908 in the United States, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial in remembrance of her mother Anna Reeves, who spent over 20 years teaching at a Sunday school.

With this memorial, Anna Jarvis began a campaign to make “Mother’s Day” a recognized holiday in the United States. By 1914, she was successful enough and the day was known to many people around the States. However, she began hating the very idea of the holiday thing due to extensive commercialization as early as the 1920s. This, however, is considered to be the modern holiday of Mother’s Day.

Today, almost the entire world celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May. This includes Canada, Australia, Brazil, most parts of Europe, India and other parts of Asia, as well as many countries in Africa.

Also Read: Google Celebrates International Women’s Day with a Symbolic Google Doodle

Watch the Google Doodle in action -

Blueseed, a visa-free startup incubator planning to locate on a vessel anchored in international waters near the coast of Silicon Valley, announced in a survey that 550+ entrepreneurs from 180+ startups in 50+ countries have shown interest in taking up residence on the ship.

Blueseed concept vessel

In the survey, 25.2% of startups originating from the US have shown interest in locating on Blueseed. While 8.9% of Indian startups and 5.4% of Australian startups have shown similar interest. Check out the graph for details on other countries:

Founded in late 2011, Blueseed was started by two former employees of The Seasteading Institute. The company aims at working on launching a ship near Silicon Valley which will serve as a visa-free startup community and entrepreneurial incubator. The project is funded by PayPal founder  Peter Thiel. The need for such a vessel originated as existing Visa system in the US does not support Entrepreneurs and there has been no progress on legislation like Startup Visa Act. Entrepreneurs like Amit Aharoni, an Israeli national and a graduate of Stanford Business School, who secured $1.65 million in venture capital funding, received a letter from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) denying his visa request and notifying him to leave the country immediately. His startup, at that time, employees 9 employees. However, when the issue went public, he was granted a Visa.

Benefits Blueseed offers

Blueseed’s vessel is to be located 12 miles from Bay area in International waters. As the Ship will be in the international waters, entrepreneurs will require no visa to visit or work. Domestic US laws will also not be applicable on people living on the ship. However, it’s assuring that the US still has the right to “act to prevent violations of its environmental, customs, fiscal, or immigration laws, or to apprehend vessels suspected of violating them” within that zone if it sees fits, according to Wired, as fully international waters begin only 44km offshore. Blueseed aims to create a dorm type environment where it wants to bring together the best technology minds and ideas from around the world. Apart from that, Blueseed will also be offering facilities such as 1GBPS internet connection, twice a day ferry to the coast, and more.

What’s not clear

Blueseed hasn’t confirmed yet, but it is expected to register its vessel with the Bahamas or the Marshall Islands for international tax regulations.

What concerns us

Although the idea is novel, what concerns us is that with a bunch load of talented people on board, the ship is going to face hell lots of poaching issues which might lead to yet another Anti-poaching agreement. Not only are such agreements distasteful, they might slow down employees over all growth.

While 38.1% of Startups would move to Blueseed if the environment met their needs right now, Blueseed is slated for launch only in Q3 2012.

Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, wants HP to get back into the ever booming tablet business, reports Bangkok Post. Having burnt their hands with WebOS powered TocuhPad tablets, this time HP will be bringing tablets in the market with Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system.

After acquiring Palm for $1.2 billion, HP launched their first WebOS based TouchPad tablets in the market. However, due to poor response from the market, HP decided to shut down TouchPad tablets and sold the available stock for $99, which sold like hot cakes. HP then shut down their smartphone business and was looking to sell WebOS. However, since it didn’t find any buyer, HP decided to open source the OS.

Now, HP is ready to start production on its tablets based on Windows 8. HP’s Windows 8 based tablets will come with cloud-based integration that will allow users to sync files between multiple devices.

Meg Whitman, after taking charge of HP,  reversed the decision to spin off the PC business. Under her leadership HP gain its foothold again in the market.

During a surprise appearance at the Global Influencer Summit 2012 in Shanghai, Whitman said that, as the world becomes more digital, HP’s PC and printing franchises continue to increase in importance. She said that, “PCs are a part of how we create and access digital information. We’ve found that we can differentiate our products through design and innovation. As the only player with leadership positions in both the consumer and the enterprise markets, we can bridge that gap that is being created by the consumerisation of IT,” reports ARNnet.

Apple still remains the darling of consumers when it comes to tablet market share with Apple’s iPad capturing 68 per cent tablet market share in the first quarter of 2012, according to IDC.