Apple Announces Most-Downloaded iTunes Songs Of All Time

The world's most popular online music retailer, Apple's iTunes, reached a landmark milestone on February 25 when it sold its 10 billionth song. To celebrate the monumental occasion iTunes released its list of most-downloaded iTunes songs of all time.

At the top of the list was the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling." The avant-garde lady of pop, Lady Gaga, followed behind in second place with her hit "Poker Face." Gaga's collaboration with Colby O'Donis, "Just Dance" and her chart-topping hit "Bad Romance" also made it into the list at numbers six and 22 respectively.

Songs from other well-known artists such as Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, P!nk, Katy Perry and Beyoncé also featured in Apple's list of most-downloaded songs of all time.

Apple's iTunes store has the biggest music catalog in the world, with over 12 million songs available for download. In 2008 iTunes overtook Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer in the US. Best Buy, Amazon and Target lagged behind in the third, fourth and fifth positions.

In less than seven years since its initial launch, iTunes has grown to become the world's largest music retailer with some reports stating that it accounts for more than 70 percent of worldwide online music sales.

Apple's most-downloaded iTunes songs of all time:

1. "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas
2. "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga
3. "Boom Boom Pow" by Black Eyed Peas
4. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
5. "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay
6. "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis
7. "Low" (feat. T-Pain) by Flo Rida
8. "Love Story" by Taylor Swift
9. "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis
10. "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha
11. "Disturbia" by Rihanna
12. "So What" by P!nk
13. "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry
14. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" by Beyoncé
15. "Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry
16. "Stronger" by Kanye West
17. "Live Your Life" (feat. Rihanna) by T.I.
18. "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's
19. "Right Round" by Flo Rida
20. "Party In the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus
21. "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey
22. "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
23. "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon
24. "Fireflies" by Owl City
25. "How to Save a Life" by The Fray

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Apple iPad Tips and Tricks

Add a Google Calendar

Want to add your Google Calendar to the iPad's Calendar app? No problem. In Settings open Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Add an account and tap on Other. Tap on Add CalDAV Account and enter your Google Account credentials (the Server is www.google.com). Exit the Settings app and tap on the Calendar app and all your events should appear. By default all calendars are displayed, but you can tap on the Calendars button to choose which ones are shown.

Dim your iBooks

You can lower the brightness setting down to a low level using the Brightness option under Settings. But the iBooks app has its own brightness slider, which you can use to lower the level down more conveniently.


Display PDFs

There are two ways to display PDFs on your iPad: you can either email them to your iPad, in which case you get an Open in iBooks button appear, or you can sync PDFs from your Mac or PC via the Books tab in iTunes.

To do this just drag and drop the PDF into iTunes, then when you sync your iPad click on the Books tab and select the PDFs you'd like to sync. In iBooks you click on PDFs in your library to see the PDFs you have ready to display.


Download photos straight from your camera to your iPad

You can't plug an SD card from a digital camera straight into your iPad to view the photos, but you can purchase the iPad Camera Connection kit from Apple.

With this device attached you can transfer photos straight from your camera's memory card. Get it from the Apple Store online.


Find My iPhone (or iPad) is now free

Apple's Find My iPad works for MobileMe subscribers, but you can set it up for free on your iPad. In Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars tap the Add Account button and select MobileMe.

If you have an iTunes or MobileMe account then enter it here. Alternatively, tap on Create Free Apple ID. You may need to check your inbox and verify your account now. Return to the MobileMe screen and switch on Find My iPad. Now sign into me.com to see your iPad on a map, or install the Find My iPhone app from the App Store.


Find text on a page

You can search for a particular word on an open page in Safari. Type your word into the Google search box. You'll see a list of suggestions appear, and near the bottom you'll see "On This Page", showing how many times that word appears on the page. Tap the Find option to go to the first instance of the word.


Hidden apostrophe key on the keyboard

This is a great tip for any app, such as Notes, Pages or Mail, that you type into using the iPad's virtual keyboard. Rather than having to go to the second screen of the keyboard every time you want to type an apostrophe (which is a real pain) just tap and hold on the ! key and a hidden apostrophe option will appear - then just slide your finger up to access it.



Preview more of your emails

The iPad's Mail app defaults to previewing two lines of each email before you tap on it. Sometimes however it would be handier to be able to see more of an email before loading the whole thing in, especially if you are on a slow connection. To do this open the Settings app, then tap on Mail, Contacts, Calendars and change the Preview options to add more lines.


Take an iPad screenshot

You can take a screenshot on your iPad by pressing Home and then the Sleep/Wake button. The screen will flash and you'll hear a click, indicating that a photo has been taken. Your screen shots are saved automatically in your Photos gallery. Here, you can view or email them as you see fit.


Take charge in FaceTime

Once you've started a video call, you can move the picture-in-picture window that shows you by simply dragging it around with your finger.

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Samsung Galaxy S II

The Galaxy S II is Samsung’s latest and greatest superphone and judging by the rate at which these things are selling, very soon millions around you will have a one. The device packs a dual core 1.2 Ghz processor, a 4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus display, runs Android 2.3.3 out of the box with Sammy’s TouchWiz 4 on top.

TouchWiz is Samsung’s custom UI layer that differentiates the SGS 2 from the myriad of other Android slabs and Samsung has managed to add enough value to it to make it a very welcome addition. Some of its benefits become obvious, but some tweaks and shortcuts that can make your experience even better are tucked away. This post aims to showcase a bunch of tips and tricks that every SGS 2 user should know. Some of these might even work on older TouchWiz devices.


Homescreens: TouchWiz supports upto 7 homescreens and jumping between them can quickly become a problem, but you can easily pinch to get an overview and then quickly jump to the screen you want.

Here Are Some of it's Tricks.

Quick Calls & Texts: Once you have the contact you want to call or text in front of you, instead of entering it and then carrying out the operation, you can simply swipe left to place a call or swipe right to enter a text.



Homescreens: TouchWiz supports upto 7 homescreens and jumping between them can quickly become a problem, but you can easily pinch to get an overview and then quickly jump to the screen you want.



Screenshots: Taking screenshots on Android devices is a pain, but on the Galaxy S2, you can simply hit home button and then the power key while holding onto home to take a screenshot. You can then see them in the Gallery.

Brightness Adjust: The notification bar can serve as a brightness scroll on the Galaxy S 2 if you are not using the auto brightness option. Just hit the notification bar, hold for a second and swipe left to decrese and right to increase the brightness. This is one of my favourite tweaks.

Browsr Text Wrap: Out of the box the Galaxy S2 doesn’t automatically reflow the text in the webpage if you zoom in. But if you just goto settings and check the ‘auto-fit pages’ option, all is well again.

User Agent Change: The browser lets you change the user-agent without needing an extra app, just type ‘about:useragent’ and you can choose between the iPhone, Nexus One, Desktop, Galaxy S or even enter a custom string.



Pinch Based Tab Switching: While you are viewing a webpage, just pinch out and you will be shown the other tabs that are open, or you can even open a new one. Handy, finally possible on the Galaxy S2.



Custom Fonts: The Galaxy S2 comes with inbuilt support for custom fonts. Just goto Settings -> Display -> Screen Display -> Font Style and choose from the three options or follow the link to download more from the Android Market.




Change Bottom App Drawer: Its just easier to explain if you watch the video, around the 03:28 minute mark.

Quick Slider: Whether you are in the homscreen or the app list, just roll your finger over the dots at the bottom of the screen and see the screens fly by. Beautiful and functional.

Video Lock: Pressing the power button in video player locks the screen, now you can hold the device any way you like, no accidental presses.

Testing Mode: *#0*# in the dialer enters the LCD test mode, useful if you are hunting for dead pixels or a few other things.

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Some Super Secret iPhone Features and Shortcuts

If you’re reading this, you will probably agree that the iPhone is one of the most useful devices currently on the market. But there’s a lot more functionality than initially meets the eye. The iPhone is simple on the surface, but packed with hidden features.
Here are iPhone tips and tricks that aren’t widely publicised – I’m sure you’ll have encountered a few before, but some are bound to be brand new to you. Read on to join the ranks of an iPhone ninja!

Tap the Status Bar to Scroll to the Top


Maybe you haven’t checked your tweets for a few hours or you’ve just read a lengthy article. In many cases, you’ll want to scroll back to the top of the page. By tapping the status bar at the top of your screen, you’ll by whisked straight back up to the top. This nice tip can turn annoying quite easily, though. Be careful not to hit the status bar accidentally.


Press the Home and Sleep Buttons Simultaneously to Take a Screenshot



Take this quick quiz: Where can you go when you double-press the home button?
Search
iPod, to the currently playing track
First Home screen, if you aren’t there.

The correct answer is: d. Any of the above. Within Settings > General > Home, you can choose which of these three behaviours you want to use.

Press Home Once to Go to First Home Screen or Search

But what happens if you only press Home once? If you’re at your first home screen, you’ll be taken to Search. If you’re in Search or at another home screen, you’ll be taken to your first home screen. No customization here.
Hold Home and Sleep to Reboot

It doesn’t happen often, but it is possible that your iPhone will freeze up. When that happens, hold the Home and Sleep buttons until the screen goes black, and subsequently shows the Apple logo. This will probably take about eight seconds.

Hold Home for Five Seconds to Quit the Current App

What happens to an app when you close it? It might look like it’s sucked down a black hole, but that’s certainly not the case. When you close an app, much of it remains in memory, so it can be opened again quickly.

To “force quit” an application in iPhone OS 3.0, press and hold the sleep/wake button until the slide to power off screen appears. Then proceed to press and hold the home button until the application quits (usually takes around six seconds).
If you’re on iPhone OS 1 or 2, it’s just a case of holding the home button for about five seconds. Process exterminated!

Double Tap Shift for Caps Lock




Many people don’t like caps lock, but it’s still available on your iPhone if you so wish. You will have to enable it, though. “Settings > General > Keyboard > Enable Caps Lock” should do the trick. Then, just double-tap the shift key to type away in capitals.

Tap Shift and Drag
It’s hard to explain, but once your learn this trick, it’s pretty fun to use. Instead of simply tapping Shift and then tapping your letter when you want the capital format, do this: tap Shift, drag your finger to the letter you want to capitalize, and release. It’s a bit odd at first, but I think it’s probably slightly faster.

This trick is even better when you’re going for punctuation: just substitute Shift with the keyboard switcher key (123/ABC). The beautiful thing here is that after inserting your punctuation, you’re back at the alphabet keyboard: definitely a time-saver.

Tap and Hold for Extra Characters




How would you type the British Pound symbol on your iPhone? Or an inverted question mark? And what about letters with cedillas? To get these, and other special characters, tap and hold on the letter or symbol that closest represents the one you want.

You’ll get a hidden menu that offers the extra characters. This also works with the .com button, offering a few other top-level domains.


Double Tap Space for a Period and Space



Without a doubt, a period is the most often used piece of punctuation. But the period is on the alternative keyboard, and it’s a bit of a pain to switch back and forth between keyboards continually.
The shift-swipe trick is nice, but there’s an even faster move to master: double tap the space bar to get a period and space. This is an optional trick, turned on by default. You can get to it via Settings > General > Keyboard.

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5 Basic Mobile Security Tips to avoid Dangerous Application

Now a days, attackers targets smart phones rather than the Desktop. The number of malware application for mobile is increasing. Infected mobile can be used to steal confidential data or send out expensive text messages without a user’s consent.


Some Top tricks used by attackers:

Malicious apps are usually offered for free and being disguised as fun applications such as games, calendar and comedy apps.
Download the legitimate application off of one marketplace, insert malware into it and then re-publish it on other marketplaces or sites with a similar name.
In order to stay away from these type of risky application, McAfee released 5 basic Mobile Security Tips.
1) For the moment, the amount of detected smartphone malware is relatively low compared to malware that targets desktop or laptop PCs; but being aware that it exists is the first step toward protecting yourself and your data.

2) Research apps and their publishers thoroughly and check the ratings – better to install apps that are broadly used in the market or are recommended by your circle of friends and colleagues.

3) It is wise to purchase from a well-known, reputable app marketplace, such as Google’s Android Market or Apple’s App Store. One way for Android users to avoid installation of non-market applications is to de-select the “Unknown sources” option in the Applications Settings menu on their device. If the option is not listed, it means your mobile service provider has already done this for you.

4)When you install an app, you’ll see a list of permissions for services that are granted access to the hardware and software components on your device, like contacts, camera and location. If something in the permissions screen doesn’t look right, don’t install that app! For example, a game or alarm clock app probably doesn’t need to access your contacts or have the ability to transmit that data from your device.

5) Install antivirus software on your phone. It is a good idea to install an antivirus program when you get a new mobile device before you add any other apps.

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Nano Sims

A new SIM card, dubbed nano-SIM, will free up room in phones for additional memory and larger batteries, allowing manufacturers to create thinner devices, German card maker Giesecke & Devrient claimed.

At approximately 12 millimeters by 9 millimeters, the nano-SIM is around one-third smaller than the smallest card currently available -- called a micro-SIM -- and about 60% smaller than the traditional SIM card that is still used in most phones, Giesecke & Devrient said. The nano-SIM card is also about 15% thinner than current models, the company added.

The first phones to incorporate the new card will arrive next year, the company said. With adapters, the format will be backward-compatible.

Giesecke & Devrient has shipped samples to mobile network operators for testing.

Apple, which already uses a micro-SIM card, has been helping develop the new form factor. In May, Apple filed a proposal for a smaller card of its own design, and in early November, a patent application for a virtual card surfaced.

It's only a matter of time before virtual SIMs take over, according to Malik Saadi, an analyst at Inform Telecoms & Media.

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Quad Core Chips

Qualcomm has promised that its quad-core Snapdragon chips, designed to run Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system, will appear in tablets in the second half of next year.

The quad-core chips will be part of the Snapdragon S4 product line and are based on ARM architecture. The S4 chips, which will include single-core and dual-core options, will run at clock speeds between 1.5GHz and 2.5GHz.

Microsoft has said Windows 8 will work with ARM processors, and it has chosen Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Nvidia as its initial chip partners.

Qualcomm's Adreno graphics core will support DirectX 9.3 multimedia technology, which will be available in Windows 8.

A Qualcomm spokeswoman declined to comment on when S4-based tablets running Windows 8 would become available, but Microsoft has already demonstrated Windows 8 running on a Snapdragon tablet.

Microsoft hasn't announced a release date for Windows 8. However, Intel has said the OS will be released later next year, which could be around the time the S4 tablets are ready.

Snapdragon chips are already being used in HTC's Jetstream and Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 tablets. For its part, Qualcomm is working on 30 tablet designs with top device makers, the spokeswoman said.

The market is heating up. Nvidia has already shipped a quad-core ARM processor for tablets, and Asustek Computer recently announced the Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet, which sports a 10-in. screen and the Tegra 3 quad-core processor.

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Google Tips N Tricks

Google is the search engine of choice for most users. This is well represented by the fact that Google averages one billion unique visitors every month. A reason for this popularity is Google's characteristic to integrate simplicity with usability.

Another major reason for this popularity is Google's minimalistic homepage, which consists of a search bar and two buttons, Search and I'm Feeling Lucky. We all know what the search button does, it takes us to a search results page consisting of top ten results that match our query. The "I'm Feeling Lucky" button on the other hand takes you to the top ranking page in the search results for a particular query.


Some webpages use this behavior to create some amazing and funny results. Here is a list of few such keywords that have some funny websites at the first position in Google. To use these tricks, open Google's homepage, type in the phrase and hit the I'm feeling lucky button. To use the I'm feeling lucky button, you have to disable Google Instant.



Google Gravity
The force of gravity is non-existent in cyber space. Google gravity makes you realize how Google would have been if gravity had been effective on the internet as well. Just type Google gravity in the search bar and press the I'm feeling lucky button. This will take you to the Google gravity page which, at first look, might appear to be the Google homepage itself. Wait for a few seconds and you will realize why this Chrome experiment is called Google gravity. Although the website lists it as a Chrome experiment, it works on Mozilla Firefox as well, although it does not work on IE8 and previous versions of IE.


Google Sphere
Want to see images on Google dance in circular motion? Google sphere is the phrase for that. This phrase will take you to the Google sphere Chrome experiment. Google sphere is a modified version of Image search that adds a bit of fun to your regular search. This Chrome experiment, just like the previous one, works on Chrome, Firefox and IE9.

Epic Google
Epic Google will take you to a growing version of Google that will continue to increase in size until it becomes too large to read.

Enable Pirate language in Google
Remember the Facebook Pirate language trick? Google too has their own pirate version to compete with that of Facebook's. Just use the Google Pirate phrase or directly head over to Google Pirate.

Google Rainbow
This phrase will take you to a Google search homepage in which each element changes its color rapidly to create the rainbow effect. The search result page obtained for queries is very annoying too as it contains a very loud color combination of red, blue and green.

Annoying Google
Want to get annoyed while searching on Google? This one is for you. This phrase will take you to a Google search homepage with each word having alternate capital and small letters making everything a bit too hard to read.

2204355
Are you already familiar with the age old internet prank called rick-rolling and want to discover something new? Chicken rolling is for you. Try this new way of trapping unsuspecting internet users by typing the code 2204355 in the Google search box and hitting the "Lucky button."

LOL Limewire
Type in LOL Limewire in Google and you will be taken to a .swf file claiming that you are a pirate and telling you to "do what you want cause a pirate is free." Funny!

Find Chuck Norris
This one is for all fans of Chuck Norris jokes. We all know that you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you. The find Chuck Norris phrase proves the fact further.



Who is the cutest?
Want to know who is the cutest person in the world? Just use this phrase. This one will definitely make you smile.

Most of these websites are not owned by Google. They were created independently to achieve these effects.

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Facebook Tips N Tricks

1. Turn Facebook photo album into a slide-show

Our original post: Activate slideshow for Facebook photo albums

Just go to the Slideshow application page and activate the prototype. You will now have the ‘Play’ and ‘Stop’ options in nay Facebook photo album.



2. Hide yourself from specific people in Facebook chat

You can go stealth for specific people in Facebook chat using the ‘Friend Lists’ option in Facebook. Simply make a Dummy List, add friends to it, and become invisible to that list.




3. Download full photo albums from Facebook

If you wish to download your friends’ whole photo albums, group albums or event albums, then FacePAD (Firefox add-on) will do the task for you. FacePAD is a Facebook Photo album downloader.

4. Enable Facebook Chat in Firefox’s sidebar

If you don’t wish to keep the Facebook window open while you use Facebook Chat, you can enable chat in Firefox’s sidebar. For this,

» Right-click on Firefox Bookmarks toolbar > New Bookmark


» In the window that appears, enter the values-

Name: Facebook Chat
Location: http://www.facebook.com/presence/popout.php
‘Load this bookmark in the sidebar’ checkbox: CHECKED


» Now click the newly created ‘Facebook Chat’ bookmark by clicking its button in the bookmarks toolbar. This will open Facebook chat in Firefox’s sidebar. [Hat tip]

5. Know when someone blocks/delete you on Facebook

With X-Friends, you can now track your friends who block/delete you from Facebook. I haven’t tried this myself but you can give it a shot. Sorry guys, they’ve stopped this service.

6. Browse Facebook from your desktop

There are various tools to browse Facebook from your desktop. We have covered Fishbowl. You might also want to try Digsby, Gabtastik or Silverlight client for Facebook.



7. Access Gmail from Facebook

If Facebook is your greater priority than checking emails on Gmail, you might want to give a shot to Fmail. It is a Facebook application that integrates Gmail inbox within Facebook.

8. Download Facebook videos to your computer

Videos natively uploaded to Facebook can’t be downloaded by official means. For that, you need to seek help from services like Downfacebook. It’s just a matter of copy-pasting the URL of the video and you’ll be able to download it.

9. Share Flickr/Picasa albums on Facebook

If you want to share your pictures stored at Flickr or Picasa on Facebook, you can use services like Flickr2Facebook and Picasa Uploader.

10. Update your status at a future date

Sendible is a great tool to let you schedule your status messages to be updated at a specified time in the future.




11. Update Facebook status from Gmail

There is a Facebook Gadget for Gmail that lets you update your Facebook status from within Gmail. This comes in handy when Facebook is blocked at your office ;)


12. Update your wall automatically when you make a new blog post

Updating your Facebook wall automatically when you make a new blog post can be done either by using a WordPress plugin called Wordbook or by using a Facebook application like RSS Grafitti. I personally use RSS Graffiti to automatically update TechExplorer’s Facebook fan page as and when a new blog post is made here because it’s easy to setup and has decent features.

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