Product Review: LG X-BOOM

LG Electronics, a global leader in Consumer Electronics and Home Entertainment, has over the years demonstrated its innovative prowess by churning out classic devices that go beyond the ordinary. An now, the company is making another bold statement with the introduction of 3 game-changing audio products – the XBOOM Pro, CM9540 as well as the ARX 10, which recently hit the Nigeria market. LG CM9940 also known as X-Boom Pro is innovatively fitted with state-of-the-art console for sizzling DJ skills. It is specifically designed for music lovers who are passionate about becoming DJs in their homes.  LG XBOOM Pro has unique and blazing features which enable users enjoy music with ideal blowout mood. It’s all blazing has PMPO: 35000W speakers which delivers energetic sound, light bomb lighting with LED lighting speaker, DJ Pro, Turntable look-like makes it a smart DJ at home. The XBOOM Pro could also be used in alfresco settings.

Key Features:

Product Review: Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

Sony is the first to deliver a smartphone, which wouldn’t let size get in the way of performance or screen quality. It’s no accident that it’s a compact rather than a mini – the Snapdragon 800-powered beast would be ashamed to share a name with the upper-midrange (at best) wannabes of the competition.

Key features

NCC extends SIM sale ban on MTN, Airtel, Glo

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has broken its silence over the ban it imposed on three telcos in the country earlier in the year. It said the ban it imposed on them for failing to meet key performance indicators (KPIs) has been extended. The regulator did not say why it was extended and for how long the extension will last.

Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Dr Okwchukwu Itanyi, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend, said the regulatory agency will keep regulating the industry in a manner that will bring growth and consumer satisfaction.

MainOne prepares to launch Tier 3 data centre

MainOne has concluded plans to launch its Tier 3 Data Centre in Q3 2014. The US$40 million facility is built to meet the rapidly growing demand for advanced data and managed services in Africa.

Main One says the 600 Rack Data Centre, on 3,500 square meters, is the largest purpose built facility of its kind in West Africa, designed to provide a fault-tolerant environment to safely store and access critical data and IT equipment. Scheduled for inauguration in Q3 2014, the facility guarantees open access to all major local and global networks available in Nigeria and on-demand collocation facilities required to deploy and grow IT operations for Clients’ business.

Mobile wallets in 1 in 5 handsets by 2018

A new report from Juniper Research has found that 1 in 5 mobile handsets will have mobile wallet functionality by 2018, against less than 1 in 10 at the end of last year.
The report – Mobile Wallets: Strategies for Developed and Developing Markets 2014-2019 – found that growth would be driven by two distinct wallet models. In emerging/developing markets, SVAs (Stored Value Accounts) are increasingly enabling first time financial access for unbanked individuals, and the report anticipated a surge in deployments across sub-Saharan Africa, developing Asia and Latin America.

Meanwhile, the report says that wallet launches across North America and Western Europe are increasingly expected to feature contactless payment functionality. The sector is forecast to receive a boost both from the anticipated launch of an Apple iWallet later this year and through HCE (Host Card Emulation)-based NFC (Near Field Communications) services. According to the report, more than 1 in 3 mobile wallets – and over 50% of wallets in developed markets – will featuring contactless payment by 2018. continue...

South Africa creates new telecom ministry

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma announced the appointment of Siyabonga Cwele as the minister of the newly formed department of telecommunications and postal services. He was previously the minister of state security. The deputy minister of telecommunications and postal services is Hlengiwe Mkhize. She was the former deputy minister of economic development, MyBroadband News reported. Zuma said the country has a fast growing telecommunications sector which in 2012 was estimated at being worth ZAR 180 billion. The aim of the new ministry is to get more value out of the telecommunications sector.

Intel reaffirms commitment to Education in Africa

Intel Corporation has restated commitment to modern teaching and learning techniques with investment in electronic educational resources to encourage the youths get access to quality education in a pleasant manner.
The company announced this at the 4th Edition of the Nigeria Education Network Conference 2014 (Edunet) tagged “Fostering Technology Entrepreneurship in Nigerian Universities, “held at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Kenya’s Equity Bank enters mobile banking arena

Equity bank will officially wade into the mobile banking market beginning July this year, a move that is expected to shake the telecoms market.

The bank will open a platform that allows itr customers make payments and cash transfers from their mobile phones under its recently awarded Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) license.

To this end, Equity is issuing all its customers free SIM cards to register for the service through which the bank also plans to disburse short-term loans to its customers at an interest rate of between one per cent and two per cent per month, compared to an average market rate of five per cent. continue...

LG Electronics introduces new G3 smartphone

LG Electronics has introduced the new LG G3 smartphone, the successor to the company’s G2 device. The G3 will launch in LG’s home market first on 27 May and roll out with more than 170 carriers worldwide. The new flagship phone was designed around the concept ‘simple is the new smart’, providing advanced technology with a simplified user interface, LG said. The company launched the phone at events in six cities worldwide – London, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore and Istanbul.

The LG G3 smartphone runs on Android 4.4.2 and features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor (up to 2.5GHz quad-core), a 5.5-inch quad HD IPS display, 16/32GB eMMC ROM, microSD slot for expandable memory up to 128GB, a 13.0-megapixel rear-facing camera with OIS and Laser Auto Focus, a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera and a 3,000mAh battery.

20 Things Other Than Napster Released in 1999

Napster was born on June 1, 1999, in Shawn Fanning's Northeastern University dorm room, and music was forever revolutionized.

The service pioneered peer-to-peer file sharing, meaning it allowed users to transfer files directly between each other. Prior to Napster, downloading music off the internet was unreliable.

But two years later, the Record Industry Association of America filed lawsuits against Napster users who illegally downloaded music and the service was shut down. Napster may be gone, but its legacy will live on.

Music wasn't the only thing set free 15 years ago. Take a trip with us down memory lane and relive the final year of an innovative century.

Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 Will Be the Godzilla of Smartphone

Size matters, especially when it comes to your phone size.

The newest version of the Samsung Galaxy Mega, simply called Galaxy Mega 2, will live up to its moniker, according to an FCC filing. The phone has a screen size of a massive 7 inches, approximately as long as an average pencil. This latest phone surpasses its Mega predecessor by 0.7 inches, making it the largest Android phone to date that we know of.

The FCC recently approved the new device. While it's unknown if any wireless carriers will supply the new phone, Android Central speculates that Mega 2 will be contracted under AT&T, as other Samsung phones have been in the past. It's uncertain whether the phone will be released in the United States or only in Asia.

Additionally, while the cost of the behemoth device has not been made available, the original Mega cost $499 without a contract. In comparison, Apple's 16-gigabyte iPhone 5S weighs in at $649 sans contract.

Other features included in the new phone have not yet been released by Samsung.

Congratulations to the 5th BMW X3 winner courtesy Johnnie Walker

Finally the wait is over and we have the fifth lucky winner who cruised home with a brand new BMW X3 yesterday thanks to Johnnie Walker.

The Grand Square, VI was buzzing as Johnnie Walker treated consumers to a nice time in its Step up to VIP lifestyle final promo.

Congratulations to the 5th Chief Abass Adesina Ibraheem and all the other lucky winners for stepping up to the VIP lifestyle, Johnnie Walker is really changing lives for the better. Continue...

Photo: Kanye West proudly shows off his wedding band

Kanye West proudly showed off his wedding ring designed by Lorraine Schwartz as he stepped out with wife Kim Kardashian in Prague yesterday.

Source:LIB

Photo: Tonto Dikeh at 'Musical Whisper' movie premiere last night

The actress looked lovely as she stepped out at a movie premiere held at Silverbird Galleria, Lagos last night. She was styled celebrity stylist Jeremiah Ogbodo of Swanky's Signatures Styling.

Source: LIB

Instagram is Currently Down: See How To Avoid Being Affected

If you are having problem with posting those lovely selfies and images on Instagram and you are blaming your internet, then it should interest you that the problem isn't with your internet connection but with Instagram itself. 

Guys over at Instagram have made a proclamation on Twitter stating that they recognize the issue which emanates from them and they are currently working on fixing it as shown in the image below. 

Yahoo To Launch a YouTube Rival This Summer

It has been reported that Yahoo is set to launch a YouTube rival this summer. According to reports, the service was supposed to have launched since April 2014 but was delayed due to contract issues.

Reports says that the new service will be more generous when it comes to revenue sharing with creators. Currently, Google's YouTube takes 45% of ad revenue but Yahoo seeks to give much more to the creators than for itself.

Apple Sued for Not Delivering Text Messages to Android Phone Users

A suit as been filed against Apple for not allowing text messages to get delivered to Android device users who switched from iPhone according to Bloomberg. The suit was filled by a former iPhone user who switched to Android and realized that his messages failed to deliver over a couple of days.

The suit which was filed in a federal court in San Jose, California reads as follows: 

Comparison Between Gionee Elife E6 versus Tecno R7 Smartphone

It is not often that we compare Tecno devices to Gionee devices, however, this time we are taking time to look at spec comparison between Tecno R7 and Gionee Elife E6 smartphones.

we compared their basic specifications side by side in other to see which is most desirable and more optimum in terms of price and spec for the basic to advanced android smartphone user.

Download The New Google Play Store 4.8.19 APK Now

A new Google Play Store apk with version number 4.8.19 was just recently released with a number of updates. One of the update is the PayPal support when making purchases.

Also, slight UI changes have been made to the Play Store app to give it a more polished look with bigger header images in video and book section.

You can download the new Google Play Store apk for your Android phone or tablet from here

Microsoft Introduce Skype Translator, To Break Language Barriers

Microsoft showed off a test version of a real-time, spoken-word translation service for Skype calls on Tuesday, the first time the world’s largest software company has demonstrated the breakthrough technology publicly in the United States.

Skype Translator, as it is currently called, allows speakers in different languages to hear the other’s words spoken in their own language, according to a demo introduced by Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella at the Code Conference technology gathering in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Happy Democracy Day, Nigerians. Read GEJ's Democracy Day speech

Happy Democracy Day to all Nigerians. Read the Democracy Day national broadcast by our president below...

Fellow Nigerians,

1.   I greet and felicitate with you all, today, as we mark 15 years of uninterrupted democratic governance in our beloved country.

2.  Our dear nation, Nigeria, has certainly come a long way and made notable progress since our first Democracy Day on May 29, 1999 when the military finally relinquished power and handed over to a democratically-elected government, marking the true beginning of a government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

Blame opposition for insecurity in Nigeria - Labaran Maku says

Nigeria's Minister of Information, Labaran Maku yesterday May 28th said Nigerians should blame the opposition political parties for the rising insecurity challenges Nigeria is facing. The minister made this statement while addressing newsmen after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja

Photos: Actor/director Femi Ogedengbe and wife welcome twins

 Nollywood actor and movie producer Femi Ogedengbe and his wife Nkechi Kenneth welcomed a set of twins recently - a boy and girl - and the proud papa showed off his new bundles of joy. The couple already have a four old son. Congrats to them. 

4 Cities, 3 Super star artistes, 1 weekend. Brought to you by Harp

Port Harcourt, Warri, Enugu & Aba are you ready??!! If you thought the weekend couldn’t get any better than hanging out with your crew and a chilled bottle of Harp at your favorite joint, then you better guess again. Harp Premium Lager is bringing 3 top Nigerian artistes to a bar near you.

Enugu and Aba, we’ve got you covered with the one and only Ada Ada crooner, Mr. Flavour N’abania so you better get ready to move your waist. PH & Warri get ready to be hit by the fire of Zamani from the one and only suave, cool & collected Ice Prince, the gorgeous irawo singer; Seyi Shay will also be breaking it down with Mr. Zamani in Warri town. Continue...

Deeper Life pastor, Eric Abakporo, sentenced to 6yrs for Real Estate fraud

A pastor with Deeper life Bible Church and a former Brooklyn-based civil attorney Ifeanyichukwu Eric Abakporo, was yesterday May 28th sentenced to 6 years imprisonment by a US Federal High Court for defrauding banks, mortgage lenders, property owners, and property buyers in America.

Prosecutors say Mr Abakporo and his accomplice, Latanya Pierce, carried out the illegal transactions for over nine years. They were convicted in a wide-ranging series of illegal transactions in New York city over a 9-year stretch, dating back to 2003. His accomplice, Latanya Pierce was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment.

Pastor Abakporo was immediately handcuffed out of the courtroom with his wife and his 2 children present in the court room wailing as he was taken away. 

Panic as explosion rocks Abuja this morning

There was panic in the Kurudu, Jikoyi community in the outskirt of Abuja this morning after a loud explosion was heard. Residents in the area were reportedly seen running for safety when they heard the loud bang.

It was initially thought to be a bomb blast but a Spokesman for the Nigerian army assured people it wasn't, explaining that a rock blocking a new road being constructed from Karishi to Apo in the Abuja city centre, was blasted with dynamites to help free the road and allow construction to continue

Nigerian sentenced to 27 years imprisonment in Cambodia

23 year old Precious Chineme Nwoko (pictured above) has been sentenced to 27 years imprisonment by a Cambodian Court for drug trafficking in Cambodia.

Police sources say Nwoko was a ringleader in a heroin smuggling cartel in Cambodia. He was arrested last month for handing a backpack containing 2.2 kilos (4.8 pounds) of heroin to two women, 41year old Australian Yoshe Ann Taylor and 19 year old French Charlene Savarino, for onward transportation to an unidentified man in Australia. Both women were however caught and arrested.

Manchester United Football Club owner Malcolm Glazer dies

The owner of Manchester United football club, Malcolm Glazer, has died. The billionaire business man who bought Man U in 2005 and also owned NFL team Tampa Bay Buccaneers, died today May 28, three days after his 86th birthday.

He was the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests. He was worth $4billion. 

He left behind a wife, 6 children and 14 grandchildren. May he RIP!

Chibok leader claims 4 more girls escaped from Boko Haram camp

According to a report by Punch, 4 more Chibok girls have escaped from Boko Haram. The Chairman of Chibok Local Government, Mr Bana Lawan made this claim today May 28th at a stakeholders meeting initiated by the National Emergency Manangement Authority, NEMA, for the validation of draft humanitarian response plan for the abducted girls in Abuja. Mr Lawan who was represented by the Director of Personnel and Management, Musa Elijah said the number of girls that have escaped have risen to 57

“The people of Chibok are anxiously waiting for the safe return of their children. Except for the unfortunate situation where two of the parents have passed on. They were known to have BP (blood pressure) issues, although I am not a medical expert, but they will not be opportuned to welcome back their daughters. Latest report reaching us is that instead of 53, those that have escaped are now 57 and those remaining are 164 and not 168 as before. This is out of the 221 girls that were abducted.”

Lagos Police, FERMA Task Force Men Clash

There was pandemonium on Wednesday as policemen attached to the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit and officials of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme/ Federal Road Maintenance Agency Task Force clashed in the Toll Gate area of the state.

Over 200 FERMA task force officials were arrested and clamped in three Black Marias brought by the police into the camp of the federal workers.

PUNCH Metro, who witnessed the event as it unfolded, noted that at about 10.15am, the state task force, led by the Chairman of the state task force, Bayo Sulaiman, a Chief Superintendent of Police, stormed the FERMA task force camp.

Pius Anyim, Emeka Ofor, Gov. Okorocha Attempts To Rig The Appointment Of VC For Nnamdi Azikiwe University

Information recently made available to 247ureports.com through sources near the activities at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State indicate the appointment process for the next Vice Chancellor to replace the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof. Boniface Egboka may have been corrupted by the undue influence of the Governor of Imo State, Governor Rochas Okorocha,  Pius Anyim and the shady business mogul, Emeka Ofor.

According to available information, thirty four [34] applicants had submitted their applications for the position of Vice Chancellor – out of which – eight [8] were shortlisted by the governing council of the university. The names of the shortlisted candidates include:-

1. Prof. Ben C. Osisioma
2. Prof. Ifeoma B. Enweani
3. Prof. Ikechukwu Oluka
4. Prof. Greg Nwakoby
5. Prof. Azubuike S. Nwankwo
6. Prof. Joseph E. Ahaneku
7. Prof. Emeka Nwabueze
8. Prof. Okechukwu Ikpeze

Another Bomb Explosion In Jos

Less than a week after multiple explosion killed over 200 people in Jos, the Plateau State capital, another round of explosion has gone off in the city Saturday night, residents and a security official say.

Residents say the explosion occurred along Bauchi Road  near the University of Jos, Jos North Local Government Area.

The sound of the explosion was heard in Jos South LGA, about 25 kilometres away from the scene.

A witness, Tank Shittu, who rushed to the scene five minutes after the blast, said the explosion occurred near a car park, few meters away from a security checkpoint.

The spokesperson of the Police State Command of the Nigeria Police, Felicia Ali, confirmed the incident but said details were still sketchy...Continue...

Photos of Police averted bomb blast incident in Kano this morning

This afternoon, the Nigerian Police released a press statement claiming to have averted what could have been another devastating bomb blast in the ancient city of Kano this morning. 
Well, they've just released photos from the incident. See more pics after the cut...

"I'm not a cooking kind of woman and my husband is fine with it' - Joke Silva

In a recent interview with City People magazine, Nollywood screen legend Joke Silva talked about her lack of cooking skills and other ways she takes care of her husband, screen legend, Olu Jacobs..

"I have never lied about this, I have never been 'a doing the cooking kind of woman'. When my husband met me, he knew. He was the one who used to do the cooking because he is good at it. I used to do the cooking when I felt like. Sometimes, it comes out to be a huge success and sometimes a failure. Some years ago, I cooked vegetables and it was terrible and my husband is such a gem, he ate it like that. It is not as if my mum didn't teach me. For my husband, cooking is a therapy and for me it is a chore and yet he will always tell you that I look after him so much, I do that in other ways. We have somebody who does the cooking. I have taught them to cook the way I like and we have people who do the general cleaning."

Chinese cyberspies charged with stealing secrets from US companies

The Department of Justice has taken the unprecedented step of charging five officials from the People's Liberation Army of China, who are accused of hacking into six American private-sector companies in order to steal trade secrets. Electrical and metal engineering companies like Westinghouse, Alcoa and Solar World are among the victims, and the DoJ believes their "sensitive business information" was stolen specifically to give a competitive advantage to Chinese state-owned companies. In the words of Attorney General Eric Holder:

Top 5 Android smartphones: Nearly perfect - in different ways

Unlike most of you who have to buy phones to try them out, I am blessed to be able to try out the latest and greatest smartphones for a few weeks at a time. I have been spending a lot of time with the HTC One (M8), Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2, Moto X, and Nexus 5 and wanted to summarize my major pros and cons.

Last month my top smartphones article was posted with four of these five in the top ten list. My ranking would now change after handling the Sony Xperia Z2, but all five are still excellent choices.

I purchased and kept two of these five devices so far (I bought a Nexus 5 and then returned it) and am likely buying a third for my wife. Each of us has different needs and something that is important to me may not be important to you. Some of my pros and cons are not major factors in your decision, but I still hope these thoughts are helpful to you since I have spent lots of time with these devices. continue....

Google buys enterprise BYOD startup Divide

Android might be more BYOD-friendly soon thanks to a new acquisition at Google this week.

The Internet giant is buying Divide, a New York City-based startup with one of many cloud-based mobile device management platforms out there that aim to satisfy BYOD dreams.

That would be offering a service touted to both comply with corporate BYOD policies without compromising individual employee privacy and freedom with said devices.

This single screenshot shows why iOS is years behind Android in usability

If you just use an iPhone -- or even if you just use an Android phone -- I don't think the deep gulf in usability would be nearly as apparent. But I jump between my old iPhone (which I use as an iPod touch) and my Android phone all day.

And boy-oh-boy, do I notice the difference.

Take a look at the screenshot above. What do you see? What you see is information and control. This is the home screen on my Galaxy S4. I've been tweaking it on and off over the past year, until I got it to be exactly the way I want it.

What you're looking at is a combination of widgets and icons. The iPhone doesn't have widgets. The iPhone presents simply page after page of icons. Even worse, you can't scale the icons, so if you happen to be over 40, you're forced to squint at your home screen to get anything done. It's even worse for those damnable folders, with their incredibly teensy icons -- and you can't even set a folder icon.

Cisco CEO warns Obama NSA 'load stations' threaten the entire tech industry

Cisco's CEO John Chambers has asked US president Barack Obama to consider new rules preventing agencies hijacking networking equipment at it moves through the supply chain — or risk undermining confidence in the multi-billion dollar US technology sector.

In a letter dated 15 May and published by Re/code on Sunday, Chambers responded to claims in a new book by journalist Glenn Greenwald that the National Security Agency (NSA) used "load stations" to implant spy beacons on servers and networking gear shipping from the US to particular customers. News reports included an image purportedly of staff from the NSA's Tailored Access Operations unwrapping a Cisco box.

Chambers, who said Cisco doesn't work with the government to weaken its own products, believes the intercepts pose a threat to trade and jobs across the US tech sector, and may leave its position in the industry "impaired".

Unemployed Nigerian Graduates to Earn N19,800 Monthly

Thanks to a committee at the National Conference, unemployed Nigerian graduates may soon start earning a monthly allowance of N19,800, the same amount earned by members of the National Youth Service Corps.

The committees at the ongoing National Conference is accepted at the plenary and by the Federal Government.

Our correspondent learnt that the conference’s Committee on Law, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Reform had recommended that each unemployed graduate should be paid a monthly allowance equivalent to the allowance of members of the National Youth Service Corps.

Stealing is not corruption, says ICPC

CONTRARY to the popular thinking that Nigeria is corrupt due to the incessant stealing of public funds by a few persons, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission has said that stealing is not corruption.

According to the commission, most acts credited to corruption have no relationship with stealing.

The ICPC chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, said this when a delegation from the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria visited the commission in Abuja to forge inter-agency partnership against corruption.

Nta noted that most Nigerians, including the educated, did not quite understand what constituted corruption and stressed that it was wrong to classify theft as such.

He said, “Stealing is erroneously reported as corruption. We must go back to what we were taught at school to show that there are educated people in Nigeria. We must address issues as we were taught in school to do.”

Facebook Working On A Video-Messaging App - Report

Facebook is taking Snapchat very seriously after its failed attempt to purchase the video and picture messaging app for $3 billion last year. Mark Zuckerberg is personally supervising an internal effort to build a competing "ephemeral messaging" app, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Details are slim on the video-messaging app, but, like Snapchat, it'd take just a few clicks to share videos and pictures that would disappear after one view. If the rumors are accurate, it's being called "Slingshot" internally and it could be released as early as this month.

Of course, Slingshot would not be the first time that Facebook has tried to copy Snapchat's formula. In 2012 it failed spectacularly with Poke, a similar video-sharing app. Mark Zuckerberg has since called that app "a joke," and it's been widely reported that it was developed in just 12 hours. Earlier this month, Facebook discontinued the app. Slingshot, according to the report, represents a much more concerted effort on Facebook's part. It's said that it has been in development for months, and Zuckerberg's personal involvement, if true, speaks to how important Snapchat is to Facebook. continue...

Louis van Gaal will take over as the new manager of Manchester United after the World Cup

Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal will take over as the new manager of Manchester United after the World Cup, the club announced Monday.

Van Gaal, who has signed a three-year contract, will have United great Ryan Giggs as his assistant.

Van Gaal, 62, has signed a three-year contract to succeed David Moyes who was sacked in April after a disastrous run of results...Conitunue...

Google Self-driving Car, Out For A Spin

Finally, it's out for a spin. Yes, after years of rumors over rumors, Google's secret self-driving cars were made public this week. The self-driving cars that was unveiled at Mountain View (Google HQ) were at least 10, consisting of six Toyota Prius, an Audi TT, and three Lexus RX450, each accompanied in the driver's seat by one of a dozen drivers with unblemished driving records and in the passenger seat by one of Google's engineers, according to report.

Casey Newton, a senior reporter at The Verge reports, "A pair of test drivers invites me to climb in the back. "I'm about to take a ride in Google's self-driving car." The  is a Lexus RX450h which has the same leather seats and wood accents as a normal Lexus hybrid, according to him. see more pix....

Twitter Introduces Mute Feature

On Monday, Twitter announced that it’s rolling out a “mute” feature. The update will allow you to temporarily eliminate a person from your feed so that you will no longer see her tweets in your timeline or receive push or SMS notifications from her on your phone.

Though the mutee is still able to fave, re-tweet  and reply to your tweets for anyone else to see, those notifications won’t show up in your timeline either. And here’s the sneaky part: The person you decide to ignore will have no idea she’s been muted.

 This update is part of a steady stream of changes Twitter has implemented in a recent attempt to make its service more appealing to a wider audience. Others include more image-heavy profile pages, pinned tweets, and the ability to share multiple photos in one tweet.

In theory, the mute function might be incredibly helpful when a specific event hijacks your feed and you need a break.

Passively tuning a person out is a very human way of communicating. You’re having a bad day, someone is bugging you over text, so you just don’t reply or care to look at what he has to say. It doesn’t mean you completely reject his existence as a human being; it’s just that there’s so much noise out there that sometimes it’s nice to have a volume button.  

What's view? Share below.

Picked from Yahoo Tech

Report: Justin Bieber Accused Of Attempted Robbery

Police are investigating Justin Bieber over allegations he tried to steal a cell phone from a woman he thought had taken pictures of him with it, a newspaper said.

 The incident happened Monday at a miniature golf course in the San Fernando Valley area, the Los Angeles Times reported late Tuesday.

"He has been accused of attempted robbery," Officer Rosario Herrera told the Times.

 She added that authorities have not yet talked to the Canadian pop star. The paper said Bieber is not accused of keeping the phone.

It is the latest in a series of run-ins with the law for the 20-year-old entertainer.

 He is due to stand trial July 7 in Miami for allegedly driving while under the influence of drugs.

 Bieber has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of substances, resisting arrest and driving with an expired license after being arrested in Miami Beach on January 23 for taking part in an illegal street race in his Lamborghini.

Police said he had smoked marijuana and taken Xanax tranquilizers.

 He has a hearing pending in Canada into accusations he assaulted a limousine driver last year, and was investigated in Los Angeles for allegedly throwing eggs at a neighbor's house