IntellectBeat

Why have we not received any call from the aliens out there yet? What if extraterrestrial observers called but nobody on Earth heard? As scientists step up their search for other life in the universe, two astrophysicists from McMaster University are proposing a way to make sure we don't miss the signal if extraterrestrial observers try to contact us first. According to Rene Heller and Ralph Pudritz, the best chance for us to find a signal from beyond is to presume that extraterrestrial observers are using the same methods to search for us that we are using to search for life beyond Earth. Here on Earth, space researchers are focusing most of their search efforts on planets and moons that are too far away to see directly. Instead, they study them by tracking their shadows as they pass in front of their own host stars. Measuring the dimming of starlight as a planet crosses the face of its star during orbit, scientists can collect a wealth of information, even without ever seein...

Intex on Thursday launched a new budget smartphone for the Indian market dubbed Cloud Breeze. The handset is priced at Rs. 3,999 and is already available to buy exclusively from Snapdeal, an e-commerce website. It is also listed on the company website. The Intex Cloud Breeze is a dual-SIM supporting smartphone that runs the old Android 4.4 KitKat operating system out-of-the-box. It features a 5-inch FWVGA (480x854 pixels) resolution TN display with Gorilla Glass protection. The handset is powered by a dual-core MediaTek MT6572W processor clocked at 1.2GHz and clubbed with 1GB DDR2 RAM. In the optics departments, the Intex Cloud Breeze sports a 5-megapixel rear camera with f/2.4 aperture and LED flash along with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It houses 8GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card (up to 32GB). Users would get 5.8GB storage as the rest will be taken by the OS. Also supported are all the regular connectivity options including Bluetooth...

Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday claimed it had 69 million daily active users (DAU) in India, including 64 million accessing its website on mobile. "In India, we have 69 million DAU, of which 64 million access our site on mobile," the US-based social network firm said in a statement here. The platform also boasts of having in India 142 million monthly active users (MAU), including 133 million accessing it on mobile. "Over three million businesses advertise on our site, which is an increase of 50 percent in one year. About 70 percent of them are from outside the US," the statement revealed. Asserting that it was a bridge to the new mobile economy for small businesses, helping them communicate with customers anytime, anywhere, the Silicon Valley firm said 50 million of them used its fee pages product to grow. "More than one billion people on Facebook are connected to at least one business.And, in India, 57 percent of people of Facebook are connected...

Smartphones would constitute 98 per cent of handset sales by 2020, according to a study by US-based market research firm iGR. "Many factors are driving the global increase in smartphone sales. First and foremost is the decrease in smartphone prices, which is making them more accessible in developing markets," marketwired.com said citing the statement of Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, on Tuesday. "The consumers in these developing markets are increasingly moving towards smartphones, which provide a portable, data-driven lifestyle," he added. Due to this development, out of a total of almost two billion mobile handsets that were sold during 2015, sales of smartphones were significantly greater than those of non-smartphones, according to iGR's 'Global Handset and Smartphone Sales Forecast, 2015-2020: Still More Smartphones'.

Xiaomi 's Redmi Note 3, that was unveiled to the world in November, will make its India debut today. Xiaomi didn't bring the predecessor to the Redmi Note 3, the Redmi Note 2, to India. In fact, the Note 3 was was introduced a mere three months after the Note 2. Featuring a metal body, the Redmi Note 3 is engineered with Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chipset, and has two variants - 16 GB (with 2 GB of RAM) and 32 GB (with 3 GB of RAM). It has a 5.5-inch Full HD display and runs Android-based OS MIUI 7 and includes a fingerprint sensor. The Redmi Note 3 is packed with a 4000 mAh battery and is said to support fast charging. The phone measures 8.65 mm at its thickest point. The 16 GB model is priced at 899 RMB (roughly translates to Rs 9,400), and 32 GB at 1099 RMB (around Rs 11,500). Pricing and availability details for the Indian market will be announced at its March 3 launch event in New Delhi. Watch at Youtube

A Facebook executive detained for refusing to give law enforcement information about users of the WhatsApp message service was released from jail on Wednesday, part of a tussle between authorities and technology companies that recalls the US dispute between Apple and the FBI. Facebook's most senior representative in Latin America, Diego Dzodan, left a jail in Sao Paulo after one night in custody. A judge ruled he was wrongly detained because he was not named personally in the legal proceedings. Another judge in the northeastern state of Sergipe had issued an arrest warrant accusing Dzodan of repeatedly failing to comply with a judicial order to cooperate with an investigation into drug trafficking and organized crime. Monica Horta, a spokeswoman for the federal police in Sergipe, said investigators have requested content from a WhatsApp messaging group as well as other data, including geo-location. Investigators first contacted WhatsApp — which was bought by Facebook in 2014 ...

Google on Wednesday said it is testing ways to let people use digital wallets without having to even take smartphones out of their pockets. The Internet colossus is dabbling with ways to make its Android Pay system for smartphones hands-free, with verification by facial recognition, Google product manager Pali Bhat said in a blog post. "Imagine if you could rush through a drive-thru without reaching for your wallet, or pick up a hot dog at the ballpark without fumbling to pass coins or your credit card to the cashier," Bhat said. "This prompted us to build a pilot app called Hands Free that we're now in the early stages of testing." Hands Free became available for smartphones powered by Apple or Android software and was being rolled out at a small number of Silicon Valley area eateries, including McDonald's and Papa John's, according to Google. The digital wallet uses Bluetooth and WiFi connections alone with location sensing capabilities in smartp...

US technology giant Apple should collaborate with carmakers to make a vehicle and use the expertise already available rather than attempt to do it on its own, Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said. A source told Reuters last year that the California-based maker of phones, computers and watches was exploring how to make an entire vehicle, not just designing automotive software or individual components. Speaking to journalists at the Geneva auto show, Marchionne said there was sufficient capacity available among car makers to deal with Apple's requirements and it would make more sense for them to partner with a car manufacturer rather than become an actor itself in such a "complex business". "If they have any urges to make a car, I'd advise them to lie down and wait until the feeling passes," Marchionne told journalists. "Illnesses like this come and go, you will recover from them, they're not lethal."