Useful Tech 360.

Wishing You All...Great, Prosperous, Blissful, Healthy, Bright, Delightful, Mind Blowing, Energetic, Terrific & Extremely HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017 . Let's pray it will be a year with New Peace, New Happiness and abundance of new friends. Cherish each moment and Celebrate the blissful New Year. May all your dreams come true. AKSHAT GUPTA

With all the exciting A.I. stuff happening, there are lots of people eager to start tinkering with machine learning technology. A.I. Experiments is a showcase for simple experiments that let anyone play with this technology in hands-on ways, through pictures, drawings, language, music, and more.  There is a experiment named Quick Draw  which I loved the most. It can recognize what we are drawing as we continue to draw. Thing Translator , which uses camera to translate the name of the thing our camera is showing.  There are many more cool experiments to try and have fun. aiexperiments.withgoogle.com

Play Store had already announced it's top games, apps, movies and books of the year. Now, Apple also revealed it's top ones.  Prisma had been chosen by Apple as the app of this year (also by the Play Store). This app was released in this June which gained popularity for the great effects and impressive machine learning technology. Clash Royale which is the editor's choice game and game of the year as well by Play Store is also chosen as the Game of the Year by Apple. It was introduced by Supercell (the maker of the Clash of Clans) and is a real-time multiplayer card duelling game. No way that is was a wrong decision as I also love these apps. Let's see who will be the new winner in the coming next year.

Everyone is aware of that hidden games that comes in some Google made apps just like the flappy bird type that comes in Lollipop and Marshmallow version of Android when clicking the Android version button in settings. Just like that, today I am going to tell about you about one another game hidden in Google maps known as Smarty Pins .  It can be used for testing your map knowledge. It asks you a question like "Where is the point in USA where four states meet?" You have to place the pin where you think is the point. It detects the same number of points from your score how far you places the pin from the answer. It's a cool game which can be enjoyed by you by searching for Smarty Pins on Google and clicking the first link or here's the link for the game. Be sure it can not be played in the Google maps app. https://smartypins.withgoogle.com/

It's the last month of 2016. We will be seeing 2017 very soon. Today, which is the 1st day of December, Play Store announced the best game and App of the year. Play Store said Clash Royale to be the best game and the very trendy photo editor in last some months, Prisma as the best app of this year.  I am completely in favour with this decision as I also loved the cool effects of Prisma and Clash Royale game play. Clash Royale is already an editor's choice but Prisma can be one very soon.

Hill Climb Racing which is one of the most popular games on Android is going to get a sequel on November 28. The game will also be free to install but will contain in app purchases. It will be more customizable and get new places to drive. It will contain multiplayer feature too. The company has released it's official teaser on YouTube. It will be great for Hill Climb Racing fans who are already playing the original version.  I will keep my review for this sequel version very soon after trying it as it is also one of my favourite games. If you have not yet tried Hill Climb Racing, try it here .

Google Allo continues to get new features month-by-month. The latest v ersion of Google Allo includes a couple of new features. Now, Allo users can change the basic backgrounds for their chats to a variety of new different themes. With this feature, chat certainly becomes more interesting as compared to with plain background. Google also added new smart smiley button to their messaging app Allo with this update. Google says that people use less than 3 percent of the emojis that are available. This button is made to change that.Users will just have to press that button while typing their message to get emoji suggestions according to that message. It can also suggest emoji before you start a chat. Finally, Google Allo users can add official stickers based on the upcoming movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. The film, set in the universe of Harry Potter, debuts in movie theaters on Friday, Nov. 18.  These changes can be defined as a big small change that Google will

Today when I picked my phone in afternoon. I saw the notification for a new updates in Google Play Music and quickly updated the app to try that new redesigned Play Music by Google. Now, I will keep my review on the new Play Music. Many people just like me are loving the new Play Music. Google has used it's power of giving the best recommendations based on your favorite artists, the music you listen, place where you listen, etc. Google has announced about this update two-three days ago but I got this update today. Anyway, the main thing is that I got the update and get involved with all those people who got this update.  By the way, I have not get Google Allo with that emoji suggestions and new themes nor Play Newsstand with that new design and best recommendations. I am waiting to get them and write something new on them too. I will surely do but you have to wait for that. Hey guys, here's the link for Play Music . Try the new one today!

Play Newsstand by Google which has provided a single destination on your phone or tablet for browsing thousands of the world’s leading news sources and magazines has now got a new web version for it's first time. Google updated the Play Music app a few days ago with a new look and today it gave Play Newsstand app getting machine learning personalization, rich images and videos, and a web version. Google is wanting to prove that it is the best and it has the best with it. You can see the great new look of Google Play Newsstand's web version. I have seen the web version but I didn't get any new update for my Play Newsstand. I hope to get the mobile update as soon as I can get.

Today, you can save your photos in your phone safely without any fear of losing them. But what about those printed old and dirty photos that are some of your most treasured memories? Now, Google Photos has introduced PhotoScan for that problem. It is available for free (as Google every time gives) on Android and will be also available for iOS very soon. People are giving a good response to this app and wondering about the photo scanning feature. It automatically detects the edges and also crop and enhance the image itself. This is the fifth-sixth app released by Google in the last three months. This shows that how much Google is working for it's app in the last some months. Get this app for free on Play Store here.

I just wrote a blog on WhatsApp yesterday and today it brought a new feature for and you. Yes, WhatsApp has introduce some a couple of new features for the beta version of WhatsApp on Android and Windows. It has now enabled two step verification. You have to go from Settings > Account > Two Step Verification. It will want a 6 digit passcode and your email address if you forget your passcode. You can more about this feature by just clicking here . Also, there is a background audio feature which enables recordings and audios from WhatsApp to be played even after switching to another app.

WhatsApp has finally introduced the feature to send and create your own GIF images. You have just to create a video less than 6 seconds or shortening a video to 6 seconds. This feature is only for iOS now but will surely upgrade to your Android phones very soon. If you are using an iPhone with 3D touch, you can set GIF images on WhatsApp also as live photos. This is the best thing of WhatsApp, it always keep upgrading to become the best for us. This is my today's update for you. Keep reading my blogs to get more news and updates regularly.

I am today going to tell some Keyboard Shortcut Keys you didn't know about. These are very useful to ease the way you you PC. These are shortcut keys for Windows. So, some of them may not work on other operating system. Now, let's check out these shortcut keys: 1. Show Desktop - Windows Key + D 2. Reopen Closed Tab - Ctrl + Shift + T 3. Snap Windows - Windows Key + Left Arrow or Right Arrow 4. Paste Plain Text - Ctrl + Shift + V 5. Quick Lockdown - Windows + L 6. Quick Copy - Ctrl + (Drag where to copy) 7. Delete Word - Ctrl + Backspace 8. Magnify Screen - Windows Key  +  + or - 9. Access Drives - Windows Key + E I think the second one is very useful for me as sometimes I close an opened tab by mistake. I can surely say that you will also find these shortcut keys very useful after using them.

Many people's are unable to see the total number of views of their or any other's profile. I have a solution for those people.  You have just to click that 'Back to classic Google+'. You will see the classic Google+ that was used earlier. After that, go to the profile tab and you will find the number of your profile views.   

I am now going to tell you how to get Pixel phone like look in your phone. You have just to follow the instructions given below: 1. You have to download Nova Launcher Beta and and Pixel Icon Pack from the Play Store. 2. Open Nova Launcher Beta settings and change them as given below: a. HOME Desktop Grid = 4*5 Search Style = Pixel Style Scroll Effect = Simple Page Indicator = None Swipe to Drawer Indicator = On b. Apps and Widget Drawer App Drawer Grid = 5*5 Show Frequently Used Apps = On Swipe to open = On Fast Scrollbar = On Color = Green Search Bar = On c. DOCK = ON Dock Background = Rectangle Color = White Transparency = 50 percent Draw Behind Navigation Bar = On d. FOLDERS Folder Type = Grid Folder Background = N Preview e. LOOK AND FEEL Icon Type = Pixel Icon Pack Scroll Speed = Stock Opening App Speed = Stock App Animation = ( Your Choice ) Be sure you are using Nova Launcher Beta, it can work only with it. See, this is made by me on my Moto phone. S

WonderFox & 8 well-known software developers are offering software worth $390 as part of their Halloween giveaway. Software like DVD ripper, Photory, Ashampoo Backup, WhatsApp Recovery etc. are being given away for free. Don't miss it, available only till Nov 06. 2016 Halloween Giveaway Party No Trick but Treat

Have you seen that Android Characters wearing hats, shirts, etc. in advertisements or on the website of Android or somewhere else. Just like that, you can also make your own Android Character with the help of Androidify. It is an app available for free on the Play Store . It can also be used from it's webpage . It has a good rating on Play Store. It can be used when you are bored or have nothing to do. You can your characters with animation and also submit online to hang it with all the Android Characters from around the world.

Happy Halloween! This blog is not only for saying happy Halloween to all. I am noticing that many popular and unpopular games on the Play Store like Subway Surfers, Hitman Go, Angry Birds 2, King of Thieves, etc. are getting the Halloween theme as it is the Halloween time. This makes the feeling of Halloween greater.

The forth Global Math Challenge which is also known as GMC is now back. It is an online competition which is held online and is hosted by Sony Global Education, Inc. Signing up for this competition is free but registration takes a free trial plan or a standard plan which has explanations for answers and many more things. The online test for this competition will held from November 17 to November 19. After the test, results will come after a short period in trial plans but standard plan will give you rankings, test analysis, etc. It's a very good platform for the Math lovers. You can learn more about the competition on the Global Math Challenge website.  

Today, when I opened Chrome Browser on my PC, I noticed that the Google Search Bar has been changed. As you can see in the above picture, there is a shadow behind the bar.  In this picture which is in the right of you, the Google logo is appearing bigger and the search icon is colored blue. This is appearing more attractive than earlier. These small changes makes an app better to best.

I have seen 3 new updates in the beta version of WhatsApp including a very big update. These update may come to your very soon. Ok, here are these updates: Video Calling This was the big update I was talking about, 'The Video Calling Feature'. After clicking the 'call' button, there is an option to choose between phone call and video call. It means that. after some time, you will be able to video call you WhatsApp friends.  Forwarding Shortcut Now, there is a forward button in the side of every photo and video which is shared by you or your friend on WhatsApp. I thinks that without the button will also be ok to use. New Forward Button This is not a major update. Only the forward button has been changed. Now, it is somewhat round in shape. So, these are the three updates of which I am taking about. 

Google updated its app with a new widget. As you can see in the above picture, there is feed given about the weather outside. By this, you will not to open the app or search for weather to know about it. You can directly know about that from this widget. This can can be turned on from the Google settings in the 'Widget' option. Hmmm, a new good and useful update from Google. Read more blogs related to Google.

Google Cast has been updated by the team with a new logo and a new name, 'Google Home'. It has surely be done for the new Google product, 'The Google Home' which was released by Google in the October 4 event which held in San Fransisco. It can work both for your Chromecast device and your Google Home. If I truthfully say, I just love the old logo of the Google Cast. But every app should be updated to make people's experience better and Google keeps updating its app regularly. That's why, today it is the one of the most successful companies in the world. 

I know it looks odd but there is an option given in your Android phone to inverse the colors and make your screen look like this. To make your android screen just like the screen in the photo above, you have to do the following steps: 1. Open your phone's Settings. 2. Go to the 'Accessibility' Settings. 3. Turn on the 'Color Inversion' option in the bottom of the page. 4. Now, your screen will be looking just like the photo above. It can be turned off from the same place mentioned above or from the quick settings above the notification bar. Here, you can read more blogs related to Android .

'There is no internet connection', you had seen this message many times but do you know that you can play a game with the dinosaur like monster just above that message. You have to just press the space bar on your keyboard if you are using your PC or touch the screen if you are using your smart phone. Be sure that you are using Google Chrome otherwise this will not work. To read more blogs related to Google, just click here .

A just updated my Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus App. And you know what, I found a new logo for that app. It's a tiny blog because I just want you people know about this new logo. So have a good day and keep reading my blog.

Degoo  - an app on play store gives 100 GB cloud storage for all your files, videos, photos and many more. '100 GB for free' What I can say about that? More than the Google Drive, One Drive and Dropbox. There is also an option to buy more storage if 100 GB is less for you. It has downloads between 1 million and 5 million. It is only my opinion. You should know more about this app on the play store . The iOS version of this app is under development .

Android 7.1 developer preview which is now available Nexus 5X, 6P, and Pixel C, came with a number of updates. I am today going to tell you about all these updates in this developer preview. App Shortcut This is the most noticeable and the best for this preview. These are accessible from both the home screen and the app drawer. But, only the Google apps support these app shortcuts at this first moment.  Reworked Quick Toggles Now, there's a button for settings on the first swipe for the notifications. Also, the quick settings above the notifications bar has a edit button to arrange the quick settings according to you. Restart Button This preview also launched the restart button with the power off button which was not available with the previous version. Support Tab in the Settings Settings in this preview also contained a support tab in the settings. Volume Panel Features Text above Icons You can see above that these icons contain label above them.

If you don't know how strong is your password or wants to know how strong is your password, you can use the Kaspersky Security Password Checkup. Weak passwords can be easily cracked by your computer if it consists any type of virus which can crack your password. So, Kaspersky has made software to check how strong is your password. It does not collect your passwords, it is only for educational purpose. You can try this software here.

Today, I just tried the Arrow Launcher by Microsoft . I found it very useful as it shows the most recent works on screens which appear on the home. It can work 13 different languages. It has a vertical app drawer just like the Google Now Launcher which also has a vertical app drawer. It shows letters on the right side of the app drawer for fast scrolling and the apps are also grouped by letters which I liked very much. It has a good and attracting look which makes it very friendlier to the people. It has only three-four wallpapers built-in. You have to download the wallpapers if you want more. It works better with the Microsoft apps. It can be a useful launcher if you are looking for a speedy launcher.  You can learn more about this by other people reviews and description of the app on the  play store .

Google announced earlier this month that the Android 7.1 Nougat developer preview will be released for select devices by the end of this month. The search giant has now delivered on its promise and made the developer preview available for Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, and Pixel C. In order to get the developer preview, you can sign up for the company’s Android Beta Program, which was announced earlier this year, and receive the update over-the-air. You can also choose to download the factory image for the preview from the Android website and flash it to your compatible device. Google confirmed earlier that other devices will also get the preview by the end of developer preview cycle, but there’s no word on the timeline yet. The company also confirmed that the final build of Android 7.1 Nougat will be coming to all Google devices that support Android 7.0 Nougat by early December.

Google wants to make sure you have no excuse for not voting. The search giant on Thursday launched new tools designed to get people more information for November 8, when America goes to the polls. When you ask Google who or what's on the ballot, the search engine breaks it down to national, state and local races. You'll also see local candidates and measures. Google warns, however, that polling data state by state will roll out over the next few days, as the company needs to receive the information from each individual state. The search engine will also tell you where your nearest polling place is. Of course, it will show you how to get there on a map. For the project, Google worked with several voter groups, including the Voting Information Project, the Ballot Information Project and Democracy Works.

Take a very successful product and upgrade it to 4K. That's the new Chromecast for you. It still looks like an ice hockey puck and plugs int your TV - but now streams faster and in Ultra HD. Oh, and it costs twice as much as the previous generation. I just love the design of the Chromecast Ultra. But it does not matter, price matters. The price is $69 and this great device will be available in November for you. If you want to know more, go to the website of Chromecast Ultra .

It's made out of fabric, fits you like a glove with no hard plastic bits digging in, and comes with a remote control and the price is starting at just $79. This is bigger and more sophisticated brother of the poor Google Cardboard and takes Virtual Reality to greener pastures. You will still have to insert a phone in it(which means you can't use your phone at that point), continues to have some pixelation issues and will still be a middling experience. If you want to know more about Daydream VR Headset, click here .

I really like this product. It's a small speaker with built-in microphones that are always listening.The price is fixed at 130$.  It can answer queries, play music and control smart home products like lighting and thermostats. They can also connect to Chromecat devices and give you the same control for your videos and movies. Just ask for a youtube video or search for a movie by its cast and have it play immediately. You can even have a series of Google Home devices in your house and use them as a multi-room intelligent system. However, the Amazon Echo does nearly all of this and is also a refined product as it's already been out for a while. I think it can be better if it has Chromecast built-in. Still the Home is one of Google's better devices and I have great hopes for it.

Today I got a new update on the WhatsApp messenger in my phone. I was waiting for this update from many time and finally now there it is. WhatsApp releases the feature for writing, drawing or adding an emoji on photos send by WhatsApp. Now group admin can invite people to join the grip by sending a type of link. One more feature is added, if you sends a single emoji to anyone, the emoji will appear bigger. Try it today.

Google has introduced a new phone, Pixel at the Oct 4 event. It is the first phone which has the built in Google assistant. You can ask it question, tell it to do things. Google has claimed that it has the highest rated camera ever. You can get a battery life of 7 hours by charging it just for 15 minutes. It also has a fingerprint sensor. The price of the phone is starting from $ 649. You can learn more here.

The invites are already out for Google’s latest event, which will take place on Oct. 4 in San Francisco. The event will showcase the latest hardware from the company and is rumored to be jam-packed, with new smartphones, a tablet, smart home gadgets and more. We look at what is rumored to be revealed at Google’s Oct. 4 event as well as how you can live stream the event and ensure you don’t miss out on any of the action. You can see the live action tomorrow.

Today I posted a new video on YouTube check the smartness of youtube. I found it very useful but if it had some more features, it will be a great feature of Google Allo. Anyway, it can be used to get facts, photos, movies near you, set alarm or stopwatch and many more things. You can play some games on it like emoji movies, emoji riddles and Google Doodle games. To know more watch the video above.

After a very very long break, finally google play music store has released in India. It contains most of the albums released in India in last 20 years. The rate is priced at 15 INR per song which is higher than Apple music (9 INR per song). It doesn't look like it has the option to subscribe but when it comes, I will notify you about that as soon as it will come.

Google company shows everyone a cute, celebratory doodle on 27 September to mark its birthday. Google celebrated its 18th birthday with a new doodle. You can see that the capital 'G' is blowing up a green balloon to spell out the rest of its name. And after blowing it up, the 'G' carries off into the sky.

Since 2009, Windows 7 and Windows 8 have together sold more units than there are people in all of Europe.

Mention Feature In a group chat, it is often difficult and confusing on who's saying what to whom. However, this issue is now old enough for the WhatsApp users, thanks to the 'mentions' feature that the app has come up with. As in Facebook, in a group chat,users can now mention their friend's name while replying to avoid any confusion. Just type '@' and you'll see the list of people on the group. Simply select the name that you wish to mention. Sharing GIF Images Sharing GIF Images to friends personally is also possible. However, here WhatsApp has the same feature for the groups. You can now send GIF images in a group and share a laugh all together. Click on the Attach button on top of the chat window to show Whats Tools share menu, then tap on the received message to open Download file popup. Choose the GIF file and send and forwarded it to any group you are a part of.

You can shorten any URL whether how big it is just by going to the  Google URL Shortener . For Example: Click this to go to my blog page , https://goo.gl/9jmS4p .

In December 2012, Psy's Gangnam the most-watched video of all time- first and only YouTube video to reach over 1 billion views. Today, it has more than 2 billion views.

Google today launched Google Allo, a messaging app for Android and iOS with Smart Reply and Google Assistant. You can download Allo from Google Play and though you may have to wait a bit as this is a gradual rollout — like its cousin, “the app will be live worldwide in the next few days.” 

On 30 August, 1998, Google published its first doodle for the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert.Larry and Sergey incorporate the iconic Man into the logo to keep people informed about where the Google crew would be for a few days. See their  first doodle  only here.

Google Trips makes exploring the world easier by organizing your essential info in one place and making it available even offline. Get activity suggestions based on what’s nearby, customizeable day plans, and your travel reservations from Gmail. AUTOMATIC TRIP ORGANIZATION Your travel reservations are automatically gathered from Gmail and organized into individual trips. Each trip contains day plans, things to do, food and drink suggestions, and more. BUNDLED RESERVATIONS See your flight, hotel, rental car, and restaurant bookings in one place without having to search for them individually. DAY PLANS For several hundred of the world’s top places, find popular day plans organized on a map that you can customize based on your interests and available time. NEARBY ATTRACTIONS Find out when you’re near popular attractions (and whether they’re open) as well as reviews and ratings from other travelers. THINGS TO DO Every trip contains ideas for things to do automatically org

This is a google doodle of New Years's Eve 2012. This is google's first and only doodle from where you can play another doodle just by clicking on any character or any object in this photo. Want to try it? Just go here for  this doodle .