After numerous high-profile hacks into its user accounts, Twitter has finally begun rolling out two-step verification to all users. Just like Google, the added security layer is still an optional feature that needs to be enabled by the user. Once enabled, a six-digit verification code will be sent to a user’s phone via SMS, and this code will need to be entered the next time the user logs in to the social networking site.

Twitter also added that Twitter applications that have been linked to a user’s account prior to the two-step verification should remain unaffected after enabling the two-step verification. To add devices or applications after securing a user’s account with two-step verification, the user can access the applications management page to generate a temporary one-time password for login purposes. To find out more about how to activate two-step verification, Twitter has made a handy video embedded above.

(Source: Twitter via The Verge)

What Yahoo announced yesterday was pretty amazing, 1TB of free storage space on its photo sharing service, Flickr, for all users ,but what about existing Flickr Pro users who only paid USD$25/year for completely free storage space? The new upgrade version cost twice that price for only an extra terabyte of space and while that may seem like a lot, it may not be enough for, well, the pros.

Yahoo has confirmed that existing Flickr Pro users will continue to enjoy their paid unlimited storage space, as long as they keep renewing their subscriptions. What does this mean? It means that users will need to keep renewing in order to keep the cheaper option, and make sure they pay up before their Pro account expires and risk getting downgraded to the free terabyte of space.

(Source: Engadget)

I’m sure one needs no introduction to daily deal sites in Malaysia that leverages on group / bulk purchases to get the lowest price possible for a service or a product, and it looks like soon, and I mean really soon, there will be a similar service but for properties in Malaysia thanks to PropertyPlus.

PropertyPlus is a group-buying portal that aggregates the buying power of individuals to create the ultimate discount for property seekers. This service has been successfully adopted in other countries and it will be reaching our shores for the very first time, offering “membership-free and cost free” channel for property buyers as well as investors to secure the best deal from property developers.

PropertyPlus will be launched tomorrow so stay tuned to find out more. Meanwhile, hit he break for more information and find out how things work, and maybe be able to afford your own home.

During the Yahoo press conference last night in New York City, Yahoo confirmed its acquisition of Tumblr with little to say about what the company plans to do with their new purchase. Instead, Yahoo announced something a little more interesting last night, a new design for its photo sharing service, Flickr, with 1TB of free storage space for all users; that’s right, 1 terabyte that can store approximately 500,000 full resolution photos per user.

Available on both mobile and desktop, the new design is now much, much prettier than before, paying more focus on the image itself rather than accompanying text. It features a vivid endless scrolling gallery in a grid layout. Images can also easily be shared onto other social network accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Visit Flickr to get started now or visit Yahoo for more information.

(Source: Engadget, Yahoo)

Rumors have been brewing for quite some time now that major companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! were interested in buying out Tumblr, and it looks like Yahoo! has gotten it, for USD$1.1 billion, cash. Earlier yesterday, it has been reported that the Yahoo! board has approved the deal and the CEO of Yahoo!, Marissa Mayer, will be hosting an event later today in New York, to make the official announcement.

We don’t know for sure what Yahoo! plan to do with Tumblr, but according to reports, David Karp, the CEO of Tumblr, will receive a load of cash, stay at Yahoo! for at least 4 years, and retain control over the service.

Whatever it is, we should be finding out for sure later today.

(Source: AllThingsD, Engadget)

Last week at the Google I/O developer conference, Google announced a revamped Google+ featuring a brand new Hangouts app which now becomes a full-featured messaging service, integrating the current Google Talk app with support for emoji, video calls and group chats.

And, in true Google style, the developers have added six Easter Eggs that can be used in any Hangout chat. With the Easter Eggs, users can trigger a shy dinosaur to hide behind a house, an angry mob or even a pony to run across the chat box. Also, users can use the Easter Egg commands to change the background colour of the text box.

On the other hand, what Google gives it also takes in equal measure. It appears that those who have upgraded to the new Hangouts app have lost the ability to make or receive Google Voice calls within the desktop Gmail client. Gmail users in the US have been particularly hit hard by the omission, as Google Voice also supported free calls within the US. One workaround for this would be the option to revert to the old Google Talk service, which should buy the company some time as it goes ahead with its promise of adding support for new features to the Hangouts app.

(Source: The Verge (1), (2))

Your smartphone could be powered by the latest and greatest processor, run on the most updated operating system and pack the most powerful camera, but none of them is useful if you do not have an equally good battery to compliment them. Over the weekend, Intel announced the winners from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and one of them is an 18-year old Eesha Khare (leftmost), who won USD$50,000 for creating a Supercapacitor that could charge up a battery in a matter of seconds.

Don’t get too happy yet though, at its initial stage, the Supercapacitor only works on LED lights, according to Eesha Khare, all she did was place the battery to charge for a mere 20-seconds, it was able to light an LED device. On top of super fast charging, it also allows for 10,000 recharge cycles, 10 times more than normal batteries.

Alright now, somebody please hire her so they can utilize this technology on phone batteries, as soon as possible.

(Source: Gizmodo, Intel)

Google tries very hard to get more users into its social platform, the Google+. At the on-going Google I/O, the internet search giant introduced quite a large number of new and cool features on its Google+ like better integration with other products such as Google Maps and Google+ Photos, as well as a new interface design. If you visit your Google+ page now, you will be greeted with a new design that features a multi-column layout, larger images as well as animations to make the site livelier. The new layout is applicable for both web and mobile, giving a familiar feel across a family of devices.

Another new feature in Google+ is the ability to automatic hashtag selected keywords, leaving out the clutter and making it easier for you to discover things of your interest. When you update your Google+, Google will tag whatever you write automatically and when you click on related hashtags, it will flip the card and let you browse related content.

Visit Google+ now to find out more.