SMW4 Cable Repaired: Internet Speeds Coming Back to Normal in Middle East and Pakistan

Updates:

• 10:37 AM - 26 Apr 13 -- @PTCLCares: The Undersea Cable repair work is complete and v are shifting traffc on SMW4. We now hv more than sufficient bandwidth on east and west side (Will take one to two days for full speed restoration)
• 7:06 AM - 26 Apr 13 -- @TH_ServeNET: The link to Europe via Submarine Cable (SMW4) is coming up and taking traffic since 05:00 morning (26 April 2013)
• 3:31 AM - 26 Apr 13 -- Algeria Telecom: End of maintenance of international cable (SMW4), Recovering Traffic.
• 7:00 AM - 23 Apr 13 -- @AaqilsBlog: SMW4 Egypt undersea cable problem: Repair work started on 21st April and repair is expected to completed by 26th April.

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On 27th March Egyptian Naval forces claimed that they had caught divers sabotaging a submarine cable off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. In any event, SMW4 clearly suffered a major failure caused widespread disruption of Internet services from Egypt to Pakistan.

Several internet and telecom service providers were either degraded or unavailable due to the SMW4 cut off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. These providers fell back on eastbound transit through the Far East, but those backup paths couldn't provide enough capacity for bandwidth load causing slow or below than slow internet speeds.

Outlook Gets Two Step Verification Security Feature and 32 New Domains

Microsoft have announced two step verification security feature for Outlook (available for all accounts Hotmail, Live mail, Outlook etc).
Start setting it up at https://account.live.com/proofs/Manage --it only takes a few minutes.

Windows Phone Application: For Windows Phone, Microsoft have released Authenticator app. The advantage of authenticator applications is that they use advanced cryptography to generate codes to access your account without the need to be online.

Two Step Verification isn't required every time:  On devices you use regularly, you can select an option to not ask for security codes. This makes two-step verification painless — you use a code sent to a phone or email only once (per Web browser per device) and Microsoft remembers that device in the future. If you don’t use the device for 60 days, they prompt you for a code again for your security.

-What is two step verification?
Two step verification sends you security code at your phone by SMS or by an automated phone call before you try to sign in into some new device. Which makes your account more secure. For example if somebody steals your password they won't be able to use it if they don't have your phone.

With the announcement of the new security feature, Microsoft also announced 32 new domain names for Outlook. List of new Domains are below (image).
These domains will be available for new account registrations within next few days.

Twitter launches trends for Pakistani cities

Twitter have launched trends for more 160+ locations and Pakistan got city based trends for the first time for following cities:

• Faisalabad
• Lahore
• Rawalpindi
• Karachi
• Multan

Google Glass Specifications Revealed

What is Google Glass?
Google Glass is a project of Google, a wearable computer or you can say a smartphone which works on voice commands. Features camera and internet.


Technical specifications of Google Glass:
Fit:

• Adjustable nosepads and durable frame fits any face.
• Extra nosepads in two sizes.

Google will start making their own Android phones

Google acquired Motorola Mobility last year in May but since they didn't make any Android phone with Motorola.

Last official Android phones of Nexus series from Google were built with LG. Now Google says they are ready to make their own Android phones with their Motorola unit.
Google said that their new Android phones built with Motorola will be available at the end of this year 2013.

Motorola’s design chief Jim Wicks tells:

Google Talk launching its new version with new name called Babel

Leaked reports and screenshots say that Google is making new version of Google talk for smartphones and Gmail.
Google voice, Google+ and other Google services will be integrated to the new messaging service called "Babel".

No release date have been announced for the Babel but following features are given.