You may be facing this problem with your browsers...

 Firefox 51.0.1(32Bit) on Windows 10 Pro build has this new problem.

Your browser is open and, you have couple of other windows (notepad, Microsoft Edge, Excel, etc) open and all of a sudden the window display is frozen. You click here and there but no reaction. How do you get out of this?

The only way I have found is by invoking the Task Manager. As soon as Task Manager comes up the problem goes away this time around, and you can bring to the top any window you want. It can happen again.

Who is the culprit?

I am not sure if it is the OS () or the Browser. I have seen this happen with Microsoft Edge as well. Probably it is OS build that is the culprit.

OS Version used here:

Version 1703

Build: 15063.0

Windows 10 Professional

Added after the above post:
Build has changed but the problem has not gone.
Build: 15063.13

Mobile apps with MobileRoadie

MobileRoadie is the platform to build mobile apps with rich features. It is also one-stop, build, manage, design and engage. It supports all media, photos, video and audio. The text color in the picture may not show you the logo clearly!

Here are features taken from Mobile Roadie site.

Using Photos:

Upload your photos manually, or automatically pull in your photos from an RSS feed, Flickr account, Instagram account or hashtag, Mobypicture, Picasa, Twitpic, or Facebook Fan Page profile photos.
Users will see your photos in a grid layout of your choosing, and can even play a slideshow of your photos.

Embed news:

Add news posts manually, or import automatically via RSS feed, Twitter account, or Google News keywords.
   
Each item has artwork, title, date & time, and HTML story content.

FAN Wall:

    Import your past and upcoming events from Artistdata, Bandsintown, Songkick, Plancast, Ticketmob, SonicLiving, Eventbrite, or add them manually.
    Your users can RSVP to events, add to their calendar, see who else is going, and post photos of the event.
    Choose to display your events as Live Shows layout or Sessions/Workshops layout to best suit your content.

Locations:

Add locations along with addresses, contact info, and images.
    Your users can view your locations as pins on a map, as well as in a simple list.

Others:

    We have a wide variety of sections to suit your content, and are constantly adding more.
    Some of the other sections you can add to your app are: Accounts, Attendees, Biography, Books, Category Shortcut, Copyright, Directory, Discography, Favorites, Links, Mailing List, Menus, QR Scanner, Speakers, Store, Top Users, Twitter.

How to get started building apps with MobileRoadie?

Easy. Click the button Start Now at the bottom of the site, fill up their form and wait form them to reply.

 I thought I would find more technical details. It appears I have to register and get the reply before I can see how all of this get integrated.

Samsung phones S8 and S8+ to debut soon

They are black, they are beautiful and they have OLED screen. There is yet another voice assistant BIXBY to join the Cortana, Alex and others. The future looks like the battle of the voice assistants.
While S8 is 5.8", the S8+ is 6.2" with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. probably the battery (3000 Ah & 3500 Ah) must have had an extra overhaul. The battery can be charged using the USB-C charging port.

It has nice resolution 2960x1440 with the display covering 83% of the face. There is no HOME button but there is a pressure sensitive area that functions as one.The cameras remain the same as in its earlier phones.

It appears that it has been designed to work with the up and coming Internet Of Things like the Connect Home feature.The OS is android.

The phones ship sometime next month.


Here are the specs (look after zooming) as seen on the SAMSUNG News Room site.

Microsoft Band 2 will probably disappear

I thought it was a nice fitness device, not as flashy as Apple Watch. I was even preparing to buy one. The only place where I could by was at amazon.com. It is not available in Microsoft Stores.

I believe Microsoft has pulled it out of the stores. Even the developers SDK is not available anymore.

Cutting of the limbs like this can only mean one thing. Microsoft Band 2 is dead.

I have to look at other options. There seems to be too many with a staggering price range.

Well what about Samsung's band? I will look into it. It will not come cheap.

Are you a developer (not the real estate type)? This is a must...

StackOverflow has published its Developer Survey 2017 here. It has the most interesting statistics. It should be important to those of you who choose to work as a developer. It covers the whole globe and the global developer view shows how many in these countries are part of the global developer community.

Here are the various sub-categories of the survey breakdown.

The salary related data should be very interesting for those who want to pursue a career. Things could be different in 2018.

JavaScript appears to be the king.

Rivers are People, OK?

According to recent news , New Zealand has given 'People' status to its Places and Rivers. Maori's consider their rivers as their own manifestation (I am the river and river is me). The natural meaning of this is not hard to comprehend. Mankind always depended on rivers which is true even today. What has happened is that the rivers have been abused by humans, very much like the rest of the environment.

In India rivers are/were considered holy back to the days of our scriptures. We considered them holy but we did not take care of them. We have a great disconnect between our thinking and practice. India taking its cue from New Zealand has also acted on giving a more legal status to its rivers, Ganga & Jamuna  for now.  Can we recover our rivers ?

Also read here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-39336284

Hyperloop Desert Run...

Since my first post in 2013 things have moved up a little bit. According to this news item, the start up company Hyperloop One (not an affiliation of Elon Musk's business) has begun constructing a full-scale test track called the DevLoop in the Nevada desert. According to their one liner, Hyperloop One has promised to deliver a means of transit that offers airplane speed at bus ticket prices.

You know what, this was unveiled appropriately in a Middle East Rail Conference in Dubai.  It appears the first implementation of Hyperloop may take place connecting Dubai with Abu Dhabi. Well this is a very hopeful choice with Dubai having a lot of cash and a wide open desert. There is lot more of this news at this NBC's news site.

Read at Hyperloop One here for the full story:

Here is a YouTube video :


Traffic congestion is a major, major problem and any thing to mitigate its effects such as lost time, pollution, stress at a reasonable cost is worth the effort & justifies support.

India  has teeming millions with cities congested with traffic beyond imagination and unbelievable pollution. No wonder India is looking at this technology although bringing Hyperloop India will not be easy.

Guys like Picasso and Oliver are really very cute

They both came from shelters. Where as Picasso (www.boredpanda.com) was probably born with the twisted jaw, Oliver abused as a puppy also came from a shelter in San Diego. Oliver has a slightly damaged jaw and the tongue which is extra long juts out of the damaged side.

Oliver is a great dog and Krishna and Jannet are his keepers. Oliver found a great home.


Walking around in India I see the street dogs which just survive with all that dangerous traffic around them. They lack food and care and, lots of them are in poor condition. Compared to them, dogs here live in five star hotels. There are also dogs kept as pets in India and they are cared for fabulously.

Inequality among humans appears to spill over to the canine community as well.

Here is Picasso (taken from the Boredpanda site).

Here is Oliver from our albums.

Evolving Traffic Solutions...

Since my first post in 2013 things have moved up a little bit. According to this news item, the start up company Hyperloop One (not an affiliation of Elon Musk's business) has begun constructing a full-scale test track called the DevLoop in the Nevada desert. According to their one liner, Hyperloop One has promised to deliver a means of transit that offers airplane speed at bus ticket prices.

You know what, this was unveiled appropriately in a Middle East Rail Conference in Dubai.  It appears the first implementation of Hyperloop may take place connecting Dubai with Abu Dhabi. Well this is a very hopeful choice with Dubai having a lot of cash and a wide open desert. There is lot more of this news at this NBC's news site.

Read at Hyperloop One here for the full story:

Here is a YouTube video :



Traffic congestion is a major, major problem and any thing to mitigate its effects such as lost time, pollution, stress at a reasonable cost is worth the effort & justifies support.

India  has teeming millions with cities congested with traffic beyond imagination and unbelievable pollution. No wonder India is looking at this technology although bringing Hyperloop India will not be easy.

Bharthi Airtel, Nokia to bring 5g and IoT to India

Airtel and Nokia waded through 2,3,4G technologies together and now they are gearing up to bring 5G to India.

5G is expected to make dramatic improvements to:

• Peak Data speeds
• Improvements to Network Latency
• Agility
• Enable new network capability such as network slicing

Nokia's First end-to-end 5G solution (AirScale radio access portfolio and AirFrame data center platform) will be leveraged.

More importantly this technology will be crucial for IoT(smart city, connected vehicles, industrial automation, etc).

Read more here:
http://english.jagran.com/tech-auto-nokia-airtel-join-hands-on-5g-iot-applications-226054

Hang on to your Nokia stocks!

Toyota and Shell team up to bring a Hydrogen Fueling station near you

Probably not in the next few weeks or months but surely in the near future. Toyota and Shell team will build hydrogen fueling stations in California. Hydrogen fueling stations are already being built in varying numbers by different countries with many already in California (see locations at the end of post). Read more here.

These pictures are copied over from the Wikipedia, showing the Hydrogen Fueling nozzle and the Hydrogen pump station.

According to this Japan Times'  article, Japan will have 40,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road by 2020 which will be expanded to 80,000 by 2030. Presently it has 400 fuel-cell vehicles serviced by 80 hydrogen fueling stations. By March 2021 there will be at least 320 fueling stations. Filling time is ridiculously short.

The other competitors in the region are Honda and Hyundai.

 Hydrogen fueling locations:



Do not miss this Scientific American article.