NOW SKYPE AVAILABLE FOR SYMBIAN FP1 AND FP2

NOW SKYPE AVAILABLE FOR SYMBIAN FP1 AND FP2

Skype  Chang is going now to change our life,Skype has officially rolled out its app for the Symbian FP1 and FP2 devices making the VoIP service now available through the Nokia Store. This video calling application had been available for a while for Symbian devices, however, it was previously not available for users owning FP1 or FP2 handsets such as the Nokia 808 PureView as the app had been pulled from the Nokia Store some time back.

In this rollout, Symbian FP1 and FP2 users would be able to enjoy all the benefits of Skype on their phone and allow a user to stay in touch with their friends and family while on the move.

Skype goes 3G

    Make free Skype-to-Skype calls and IM on 3G or WiFi.

    Save money on calls and texts (SMS) to phones abroad.

    Share pictures, videos and other files from your phone.

Skype notes that the service is free to use in a Wi-Fi zone and if a user uses the services with a mobile data connection, then operator charges may apply. Skype recommends it to be used over a mobile network only if a user has an unlimited connection.

The file size for the Skype app is 4.88MB and to download the video calling application, head on to the link here.In related Symbian news, in October it had been reported that after the problems that Nokia faced with the Belle FP2 OS update for some phones including the 603, 700 and PureView 808, Nokia had finally fixed all the issues in the update, and released it again for download.Some of the features in the update include a swipe to unlock screen, a new camera UI, and some minor tweaks to other UI elements like the navigation bar and the widgets. Another major feature of the update is that the keyboard will now offer word completion and predictive text.

The issues faced by some Nokia users included the update itself not installing, and issues with other parts of the updated software. Disgruntled users have been discussing their problems with the update on this thread in the Nokia Discussions forum. Nokia is investigating these complaints, and will release the update again once all the issues have been resolved.

In August, Nokia had released the Belle Refresh update for its Symbian phones. Some of the features of the Belle Refresh update include an updated browser that has support for HTML5 web apps, a new set of home screen widgets, and Nokia Maps Suite 2.0, and the Nokia N8 got some extra apps for imaging.

Back in July, Nokia Belle devices had received a small update that allowed SkyDrive integration with the phones. The report stated that Belle-powered smartphones were getting an ‘Upload to SkyDrive’ option that allows automatic photo upload to Microsoft’s cloud storage solution, SkyDrive. The 170KB update was made available via ‘SW update’ application on Nokia smartphones and needed a restart.

This follows Nokia's launch of the Belle Feature Pack 1 update for the 700, 701 and 603. The update brought with it some cool additions like an overclock on the processor front for more power. However, the degree of overclock depended on the phone itself. Some sound enhancements like Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Headphone were also a part of the update. Nokia added about 20 new widgets and a better browser and some minor tweaks as well as changes to the multitasking and notification area.

GOVERNMENTS SKYPE CONVERSATIONS

SNOOP ON YOUR SKYPE CONVERSATIONS BY GOVERNMENT

Now governments might now be able to monitor Voice over Internet Protocol  conversations by ‘silently recording’ them in real time on services such as Skype. Faced with the seemingly mammoth task of trying to monitor conversations over the web, governments seem to have found an ally in this new spying technology.

Dennis Chang, a California-based businessman has obtained a patent for a ‘revolutionary’ solution; something that he says is a “next-generation surveillance technology designed to covertly intercept online chats and video calls in real time.

Chang, the president of the Sun Valley based VoIP-PAL, a service similar to Skype’s has won a series of patents for a system he claims will help authorities identify and monitor suspects merely by accessing their username and subscriber data. Since VoIP software converts analogue audio signals into digital data packets to let people make phone calls over the Internet, it turns into a very expensive, complex affair for law enforcement agencies to tap.“VoIP services work by digitising callers' analogue voice signals and transmitting them as packets of digital data to send over the internet directly to recipients. Because of the fragmentary nature of the data sent, and the vast amounts of information sent alongside it, it is difficult for any eavesdropper to single out a consistent stream to listen in to, says the Daily Mail in its report.With 4G connections making it easier for people across the world to conduct discussions over VoIP services, Governments are worried about how it will affect their surveillance methodology over the Internet.

The problems of tracking related to VoIP have led certain countries such as Ethiopia and Oman to block the services on security grounds. The FBI back in the United States too has referred to this as the ‘Going Dark’ problem and are pushing for new powers to force Internet chat providers to build in secret backdoors to wiretap suspected criminals’ online communications.

The patent will help in tracking suspects down using billing records that associate names and addresses with usernames. This capability would make not only audio conversations but any other data streams such as pure data and/or video or multimedia data open for interception.

This system could be circumvented if users are paranoid enough to use false subscriber data and services to mask their IP addresses. Nevertheless, this patent could be a watershed moment in the quest of the governments of the world to monitor suspects in the name of law enforcement.

In India too, the government had made its fears apparent about their inability to monitor conversations on Blackberry Messenger, starting off a chain of events and stand offs with RIM. After going back and forth several times for around four years, RIM finally agreed to hand over encryption keys for its secure corporate emails and popular messenger services. The company also recently demonstrated a solution through which messages and mails exchanged between Blackberry handsets can be intercepted before making them available to Indian security agencies. The government hopes to halt the misuse of the encrypted services in the country.

 

FACEBOOK EMAILS

UPDATED DATA USE POLICY IN   FACEBOOK EMAILS 

F acebook emailed its users the proposed updates to its data use policy, which explains how facebook collects and uses data. Also included in the proposed updates is the statement of rights and responsibilities (srr) explaining the terms governing the use of facebook’s services. In a detailed email to its users, facebook elaborated that the updates will give users information about its practices, while also introducing changes to its products. Facebook explains that the updates bring new tools to allow users to manage their facebook messages, while also changing the way it refers to some products. The proposed updates also offer tips to users on managing their timeline. Importantly, the updates will also give users reminders about what is visible to others on facebook.

Among other things, facebook informed its users about the proposed changes to the site governance process for future updates to its data use policy and srr. We deeply value the feedback we receive from you during our comment period but have found that the voting mechanism created a system that incentivized quantity of comments over the quality of them. So, we are proposing to end the voting component in order to promote a more meaningful environment for feedback. We also plan to roll out new engagement channels, including a feature for submitting questions about privacy to our chief privacy officer of policy. We encourage you to review these proposed changes and give us feedback before we finalize them. Please visit the "documents" tab of the facebook site governance page  to learn more about these changes and to submit comments before 09 pst on 28 november 2012,” the email read.

The announcement of the updated data use policy has been one of the most profound ones by the company in recent times.

 Only yesterday, we had reported that the multinational french carrier orange has joined hands with facebook to offer a social calling service, named ‘party call'.

In an announcement made on wednesday, orange announced that the ‘party call’ feature will be available on the mobile and desktop versions of the social networking website, and users will be able to call each other and make group calls using ties on facebook.

What is important about this partnership is that not facebook, but orange is leading this initiative by making use of facebook’s open api. The service uses facebook's open social graph, letting users invite friends and post messages about each call to timelines.In a bid to improve the mobile versions of the social networking service, facebook recently informed techcrunch that the ‘share’ button will be rolled out to the mobile site, and will come soon to the android and ios apps.

The report states that this feature will allow people to share links and photos posted by others or even a sponsored story ad and quickly repost it with the option of adding a comment. This will work a lot like its desktop counterpart.