Google introduces the biggest algorithm change in three years

Marking Google's 15th birthday, Hummingbird is the biggest change to the inner workings of the world's most popular search engine sinceGoogle's "Caffeine" update in 2010, which sped up Google's indexing of sites and delivery of search results.

The Hummingbird update focuses more on Google's Knowledge Graph – an encyclopaedia of about 570m concepts and relationships that allows Google to anticipate facts and figures you might want to know about your search term.

New engine with old parts

Hummingbird isn't an overhaul that Google search users will instantly notice, however.

"In general, Hummingbird – Google says – is a new engine built on both existing and new parts, organised in a way to especially serve the search demands of today, rather than one created for the needs of 10 years ago, with the technologies back then," said Danny Sullivan of the search blog Search Engine Land.

It will benefit those using more modern forms of search, such asconversational or voice search, where you ask Google a question rather than typing keywords into the search box.

"The goal is that pages matching the meaning do better, rather than pages matching just a few words.

"Google said that Hummingbird is paying more attention to each word in a query, ensuring that the whole query – the whole sentence or conversation or meaning – is taken into account, rather than particular words," said Sullivan.

But will it really work?

Unfortunately, it's very difficult to do before and after comparisons, especially as Google has pushed out the Hummingbird update over the last month without any public announcements.

For the moment we only have Google's word that Hummingbird will make a difference, although it gave a few examples of searches that could benefit from the new algorithm.

For instance, a search for "acid reflux prescription" pre-Hummingbird produced sites with lists of drugs, but now brings up search results with more information about acid reflux treatment in general.

Likewise, a search for "pizza hut calories per slice" now links the answer directly from Pizza Hut.

It’s a smart move, but there’s a long way to go

“Apps are the biggest long-term threat to Google’s current search-based business model – people turn to apps for information on discrete services like flights rather than search,” said Ian Maude, a search analyst at Enders Analysis.

Google Now – Google’s personal digital assistant that uses context, location and knowledge of the user’s habits to preempt requests for information like flights, your daily commute and film times – has been one of Google’s attempts to fight the silos of individual apps and keep you within the Google search ecosystem. That all helps Google maintain its estimated 53% market share of internet advertising.

Google Now relies on Knowledge Graph, as well as natural language interpretation, which were both boosted by the Hummingbird update.

“Hummingbird doesn’t replace keyword search, it augments it, speeding up the process of search using natural language processes that understands conversational search or speech – it’s a smart move, but there’s clearly a long way to go.

“Right now, when I search for trains to Warwickshire, I get a list of search results for train operator websites, but I don’t yet get times for the next trains pulled into fact boxes by Google,” said Maude.

• Not everything is so straightforward in Google land, as Google's chat protocols Hangouts and Talk, suffered a privacy issue on the 26 September that saw instant messages routed to unintended recipients.

4G India: News Round-up – Reliance Jio, Airtel and Aircel

Reliance Jio Infocomm’s 4G project gets a green signal in Kolkata metro areas following Mukesh Ambani met West Bengal’s CM Mamta Banerjee in Bengal Indistry Summit held in Mumbai few days back. RJIL asked for permission to Kolkata Municipal Corporation to lay optic fibers across the metro last year and had metro KMC officials at least four times but it did not work.

However it seems now the roadblock has moved out of sight as Tarun Jhunjhunwala, business head (East), RJIL has met with KMC officials, 4 days after the Bengal Summit.

Reliance Jio, telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries has already started laying its OFC network in other cities of West Bengal and around 400 km of OFC has been laid. In Kolkata all municipal authorities except Saltlake area disposed their proposals as it might damage the underground water pipes and telephone as well as electric cables. Now RJIL agrees to create underground maps of Kolkata including video recording using Ground Penetrating Radar and will share this data to KMC.

Reliance Jio plans to lay 750 km of OFC in and around Kolkata – 2 inch of breadth and 12 inch depth in underground using micro trenching technique & Horizontal Direction Drilling (HDD) method. The whole thing is estimated to be completed by March, 2014 with investment of Rs 3,000 crore.

Reliance Jio Testing Text Messages over LTE

Following the approval of extension of voice services for 6 months, Reliance Jio has now been granted to run trials on messaging features on its LTE-TD 4G network by Department of Telecom (DoT).

Bharti Airtel also Eyes Expansion in Kolkata

Airtel, country’s first 4G-LTE operator who introduced LTE-TD in the country in Kolkata first in April 2012, is now on extensive expansion mode in the eastern metro. The company approached to KMC to get persmission to lay 500-1000 km of OFC in and around Kolkata using micro trenching technique & Horizontal Direction Drilling (HDD) method.

“KMC had given us a draft agreement and a book with rates and fees for micro-tunnelling. We will reach a settlement in 7-10 days after our internal discussion and vetting by our legal department and expect to start off the expansion project by this month,” PD Sharma, CEO Airtel Hub, East India, said. The investment of Rs 3000 crore will be coming in months to complete the work by end of this year.

It should be noted that Airtel did not able to take the first mover advantage with 4G. Recently Airtel slashed 4G tariff and device prices to promote 4G. But one of the big problems of Airtel 4G is they are using category I infrastructure which are not able to provide that huge speed of upto 40Mbps as claimed by Airtel during launch. Currently many users confirmed that Airtel is now capping 4G speed at 10Mbps only.

Wait & See: Aircel 4G Not Coming This Year

Aircel, the mobile operator under cash crisis, is on wait-n-watch strategy on 4G as the company waits for the properly developed ecosystem. The company is still not sure about the launch, but certainly it is not coming this year. Aircel is seeing opportunity on 3G/HSPA as the mobile broadband in 13 circles where it has spectrum.

Expected pricing of 4g 

Plan name	Rentals (per month-INR)	Free quota (GB)	Speed post FUP (kbps)
breakfree	999	6	128
breakfree max	1399	9	128
breakfree ultra	1999	18	128

'FIFA 14' review (PS3): The most complete football game yet

Release Date: September 27 (Europe), September 24 (North America)
Platforms available on: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Vita, PSP, 3DS, Wii
Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: EA Sports
Genre: Sports

Konami made a real statement of intent with PES 2014, introducing a new game engine which not only transforms the action on the pitch for the better, but also sets up a mighty battle between itself and FIFA heading into the next generation.

With its footballing franchise dominating in recent years, the need to reinvent FIFA 14 is less of an issue for EA Sports, who have instead opted to tweak and refine the action on the pitch and options away from it.

The result is a release that doesn't give the beautiful game a complete makeover, but still manages to make it a slightly more attractive option for football fans.

Attacking AI is much improved in 'FIFA 14'

FIFA 14's most significant changes affect the way matches are paced, removing the reliance on speedier players in favour of a much more balanced style, where strength and positional awareness is key.

Not only is the game slower than before, but there are new ways to protect the ball in midfield, players have more control when it comes to taking a first touch, and there's even a new motion engine, which gives players more freedom to dribble in different directions.

The game appears to be less bug-ridden, and the physics engine is more refined with

 players less likely to fall over each other.

Artificial intelligence is also significantly improved, particularly in attack, with supporting players drawing defenders away by making smarter runs without the ball or playing off the shoulder of a high defensive line.

There are probably a few more errant offside decisions than before, but you'll really appreciate the AI when a quick counter-attack pays off.

Small though they may appear on paper, these additional touches combine to create a deeper and more realistic football experience.

© EA

First touches play a bigger role in FIFA 14

For example, after hoofing the ball from defence, my midfielder was able to hold off the defender as an attacker ran past the halfway line and into space on the right-hand side.

Playing a diagonal ball, I was able to direct my first touch towards the goal ahead the defender, using strength to hold him off.

Another attacker drew the only other defender away from goal with a cross field run, giving me a clear path to goal.

It's just one example of the different gameplay mechanics combining to create that perfect counter attacking goal.

Another seemingly minor enhancement is the new Pure Shot technique, which gives more gifted attackers the opportunity to strike a decent shot, even when they're off-balance.


It's something I noticed in my first game, as my player tumbled over but still managed to hit an accurate, albeit not particularly powerful shot, across the face off goal.

Judging by the number of instant replays it produced, Pure Shot is something EA is proud of too.

Elsewhere, visuals are cleaner, smoother and more colourful than before. In addition, the game appears to be less bug-ridden, and the physics engine is more refined with players less likely to fall over each other.

Off the pitch is a similar story, with lots of minor improvements that contribute to a deeper and more satisfying footballing experience.

FIFA 14's career mode, for example, benefits from lots of presentational improvements, such as the Windows 8-esque menus, which are crystal clear and easy to follow.

FIFA 14's presentation is superb

The commentary, meanwhile, is superb. Not only do players benefit from detailed colour commentary, but there are consistent updates from other matches, random facts about clubs, and references to past results and debuts.

Away fans will even boo players who have left the club for greener pastures, which, when combined with potentially heated press conference statements, adds a little flavour to the bigger matches.

Outside of the match day atmosphere, we were particularly impressed with new scouting system, which adds a whole new layer to transfers.

The career modes are incredibly deep, giving players so much to think about, especially compared to PES 2014's stripped down Master League mode.

Players must send scouts to different countries, giving them a list of attributes to look for.

When reports come back, scouts can be assigned to individual players, uncovering detailed stats, the amount of money you should offer and how they'll fit into your system. 

The other option is to make a blind bid - which you'll have to do during tense transfer deadline days - but you won't have any idea about a player's worth or their overall attributes, which makes it much riskier.

© EA

Ultimate Team adds new chemistry styles

The career modes are incredibly deep, giving players so much to think about, especially compared to PES 2014's stripped down Master League mode.

Finally, while we were unable to fully get to grips with FIFA Ultimate Team, EA Canada has added a new single-player mode as well as new chemistry styles, which should allow players to better mould a team in their likeness.

FIFA 14 is far from a revolutionary release, and it's arguably inferior to the much improved PES 2014 in terms of pure footballing gameplay.

That said, FIFA 14 is the most complete virtual footballing experience available today. Whether in single or multiplayer, there's enough to keep fans busy well into the new football season and beyond.

Download on itunes
Fifa 14

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Alleged new iPad spotted in leaked 'Space Gray' variant images

A number of photos of the alleged next-generation iPad in the new 'Space Gray' and Silver colour, have appeared online.

The images have been shared by Sonny Dickson, who had also shared pictures of the new iPhone devices and their components before the devices were launched. The leaks were pretty accurate, so it could be possible that Apple is planning to offer the next-generation iPad in a totally new colour.

The leaked pictures come just a few days after purported images of a 'Space Gray' variant of the next-generation iPad mini appeared online, courtesy Nowhereelse.fr.

Also see:iphone-5s-fingerprint-scanner-touch-id

It's worth pointing out that Apple started offering a 'Space Gray' colour variant of the iPhone 5s and the fifth-generation iPod touch, instead of the Black and slate versions it used to offer for the iPhone 5, and the iPod touch. Apple still offers a Black and Slate version of the iPad mini.

It's believed that Apple replaced Black and Slate with 'Space Gray' as it was more easy to notice daily wear and tear on the former.

However, it's worth noting that the first purported image of the next-generation iPad featured a back that sported a Black and Slate finish similar to the one sported by the current-generation iPad mini. The first alleged images of the next-generation iPad mini also featured a Black and Slate back.

It's possible that the decision to offer a 'Space Gray' version instead of the Black and Slate is a recent one, and perhaps the Black and Slate back plates were of early prototypes. Also, Apple could have taken the decision to maintain consistency with the new iPhone 5s colour variants. Who knows we also see a Gold version soon.

The picture in the new leak also suggests that the fifth-generation iPad would sport a thinner body design and sleeker form factor in line with the design of the iPad mini.

A number of rumours, including a report by the credible Wall Street Journal, have suggested that Apple is modelling its next-generation iPad on the iPad mini in terms of design and form factor. The WSJ report suggested that the new iPad will feature the same touch-panel technology that's seen in the iPad mini, making it thin and light, and adds that Apple intends to use the film-based touch panel used in the iPad mini instead of the glass-based one that is sported by the full-sized iPad.

Apple is expected to unveil new iPads at an event in October, however, there's no official word from the company on the same. 

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Microsoft Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets unveiled

Microsoft introduced new Surface tablets, including a professional model that allows people to use it more like a laptop or a desktop computer.

The Redmond, Wash. company is trying to boost its tablet business as sales of traditional desktop and laptop computers decline.

The Surface Pro 2, unveiled at an event in New York, is targeted at professionals who want the full power of a laptop in a tablet-style device. The kickstand built into the device is redesigned to make it easier to use on laps. In the past, it worked best on a flat surface such as a table.

Microsoft says the Pro 2 also offers a 75 percent improvement in battery life over the previous model. There's also a new cover accessory that extends battery life even further. An optional docking station allows the Pro 2 to be used like a laptop.

A cheaper model, Surface 2, offers a better screen and other improvements over last year's Surface RT.

The Surface 2 starts at $449, and the Surface Pro 2 at $899. It is available starting on Oct. 22 in the U.S. and other markets.

Microsoft plans to release an update to its Windows 8 operating system on Oct. 17. Among other things, Windows 8.1 will be usable on smaller touch screens, which have become popular because they are cheaper and easier to carry. The previous version of Windows 8 was limited to tablets with 10-inch to 12-inch screens.

The screen on both new Surface models remains at 10.6 inches, measured diagonally. Microsoft didn't announce smaller Surface models.

The redesigned Surface tablets come at a time of transition for Microsoft. At a time when personal computer sales are falling, the software giant is trying to become a more diversified software and mobile devices company. Earlier this month, Microsoft struck a deal to acquire Nokia's handset and services business for $7.2 billion. The company is also searching for a new CEO to replace Steven A. Ballmer, who announced last month that he plans to retire within the next year.

Microsoft has manufactured devices before, such as its Xbox gaming console. In selling the Surface, the company became a competitor to its many manufacturing partners, which rely on its Windows operating system to power their machines.

Microsoft began selling Surface tablets last October, but sales have been slow. The company shipped about a million tablets in the first three months of 2013, according to research firm IDC. That includes about 260,000 of the slimmed-down RT version of Surface and 750,000 of the Pro version, which is compatible with older Windows programs. The shipments gave Microsoft a meager 2 percent share of the tablet market in the first quarter. By the second quarter, Microsoft tablets dropped out of IDC's Top 5.

Microsoft absorbed a $900 million charge in the April-June period to account for its expected losses from the Surface RT after it slashed prices to stimulate demand. The $150 cut brought the price of the Surface RT with 32 gigabytes of memory to $349. The Surface has a 10.1-inch screen measured diagonally. The RT version is 1.5 pounds. The Pro version is 2 pounds and starts at $799, $100 less than it was at launch.