Android Now Has 1 Billion Active Users

Google announced hitting a major milestone on Wednesday: one billion active Android users
The stat was revealed by Sundar Pichai, Google’s head of Android, during Google’s big I/O developer conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. Researchers had predicted that Google would hit the one billion mark sometime this year

See also: Google Overhauls Android With L Developer Preview

Study Shows How Ethical Lapses Start Small and Grow Over Time

Just one small ethical lapse can snowball into big trouble, according to a study released June 25.
The same kind of slippery slope that Bernie Madoff said led to his $18 billion Ponzi scheme can make workers and companies vulnerable to scandal — unless managers snuff out ethical transgressions that may seem minor, write four business school professors in the study.

Microsoft Smartwatch Will Reportedly Have 11 Sensors

Details of an upcoming Microsoft smartwatch were uncovered in May, hinting at a summer release. However, a new source claims that the device will actually debut in October
In addition to the update regarding the launch of the device, the source also offers a few more details about the device itself

See also: 10 Beautiful Moto 360 Smartwatch Concepts

Previous reports have already mentioned that the wearable will monitor the wearer’s heart rate, but a source in contact with Tom’s Hardware claims that it will use 11 internal sensors to achieve this function.
The report further claims that the device will contain chips from …
More about Microsoft, Tech, Apps Software, Dev Design, and Gadgets …read more
Via: Mashable: Apps & Software

RIP Orkut: Google to Shut Down Its First Social Network

Before there was Google+ or even Google Buzz, there was Orkut, Google’s first social network.
Google launched Orkut in January 2004, after attempting to acquire Friendster, the hot social network of the time. Orkut gained some traction in Brazil, but never really caught on in the United States. The month after it launched, Facebook went online at Harvard and gradually came to dominate the social networking space

See also: RIP: Every Product Ever Axed By Google

On Monday, Google announced that it plans to shut down Orkut on Sept. 30, after more than 10 years of service. Existing users will be able to export their information using Google Takeout, but new users are no longer able to create accounts. …
More about Google, Orkut, and Business …read more
Via: Mashable: Business

UK Bans Google Glass in Movie Theaters, Is the U.S. Next?

If you plan on catching the latest blockbuster at any cinema in the United Kingdom, you’ll want to leave your Google Glass at home
Just days after Google announced that its wearable heads-up information display technology was arriving in the UK, theater owners put a global block on use of the device inside any one of the UK’s roughly 3,900 screens.

See also: How Google Fumbled Glass — and How to Save It

Phil Clapp, CEO of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association in the UK, the organization which represents UK’s theater owners, cited film piracy concerns and said UK theater managers do not want …
More about Tech, Gadgets, Mobile, Google Glass, and Work Play …read more
Via: Mashable: Gadgets

IPMAN To Build 2 Refineries In Nigeria For $3bn

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VENTURES AFRICA – Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the umbrella body of oil marketers in Nigeria, is set to construct two modern refineries in the country, worth $3 billion. The refineries will guarantee a steady flow of oil products needed to satisfy local consumption and offset import gaps seen in periods of product scarcity.

FDA Approves First Robotic Exoskeleton for Paralyzed Users

For years, we’ve been shown research projects teasing next-generation exoskeletons designed to empower those without the use of their legs. But those desiring the devices have been forced to wait for a viable commercial solution — until now
That wait finally ended last week when the United States Food and Drug Administration approved ReWalk Robotics‘ personal exoskeleton for marketing in the U.S.

Latest iPhone 6 Mockups Could Offer Preview of the Real Thing

We’ve seen many, many mockups of the purported iPhone 6 over the past half year — tons — and even though all of these mockups are just that, as time progresses, they may actually be getting closer to what the final end product could be.
As we get closer to the manufacturing start date of Apple’s next smartphone, supply-chain leaks tend to become more accurate. We saw it with the iPhone 5, iPhone 5S and the iPad Air

See also: Apple’s iPhone 6 Rumored to Launch in August

That’s why it’s worth looking at the latest round of iPhone 6 mockups, this time from Japanese newspaper …
More about Apple, Mockups, Iphone 6, Tech, and Gadgets …read more
Via: Mashable: Gadgets

Nationwide Cash-less Policy: Is Nigeria Ready?

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VENTURES AFRICA – When the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced the cash-less policy in January 2012, it was kicked off in Lagos, the country’s commercial hub, with a promise to extend it to other parts of the country by July 1, pending a successful flagship roll out.
The apex bank was clear about the advantages of the innovative policy, which it said included driving development and modernization of the country’s payment system in line with its vision 2020 goal of mingling among the top 20 economies by the year 2020. The CBN also said it would reduce the cost of banking services and drive financial inclusion as well as improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation. This is all intended to foster economic growth.

Dubai Caps Worst Month Since 2008 as Real Estate Stocks Tumble

Dubai shares declined, posting the biggest monthly retreat in almost six years, as investors fled property stocks.
The DFM General Index (DFMGI) lost 4.4 percent to 3,942.82 at the close, bringing its monthly loss to 22 percent, the most since November 2008. It entered a bear market last week after the shares plunged 20 percent from their peak in May. Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), the developer with the biggest weighting on the measure, decreased 3.7 percent. Arabtec Holding Co. (ARTC), the United Arab Emirates’ largest listed contractor, fell 10 percent, the most allowed in a day.