COMMON PASSWORD USED ACCORDING TO RESEARCH "123456"

Perhaps you chuckled at the irony of making your password "password." Or you thought it was the right place to express affection for your favorite primate by choosing "monkey."
More likely, you were lazy and wanted something easy to remember, like "123456."
If you're using any of these passwords, change them.

Those are some of the most common passwords, according to a new list released by security company Splash Data. The group comes up with the top 25 list based on lists of passwords that were stolen and posted publicly in the previous year.

This year, the most common password is "123456," which unseated last year's No. 1, "password."
In addition to strings of digits in numerical order and simple words and letters like "qwerty" and "admin," there are a few phrases on the list. The sweet and common "iloveyou" is beloved by hackers, as is "letmein," "trustno1" and "password1."

Codes for checking MTN, Glo,Etisalat & Airtel BIS Balance/ Expiry Date.

Do you want to know how to check BIS balance for mtn, airtel, glo and etisalat? If your answer is a big YES! Then this article is for you.

Today, am sharing with you how to check bis balance for all networks in Nigeria.

Codes for checking MTN, Glo,Etisalat & Airtel BIS Balance/ Expiry Date.

World Double Sided Smart Phone

 

Are two screens better than one? Russian mobile device company Yota Devices hopes so, as its first 4G smartphone includes displays on both the front and back of the phone. The new Android, called YotaPhone, is currently only available in a few European countries.

"YotaPhone combines a smartphone and e-reader into one device," said Yota Devices CEO Vlad Martynov in a statement. The front has a typical 4.3-inch LCD display, just like any iPhone or Samsung phone. But its second display looks more like Amazon's Kindle e-reader: black and white graphics and text atop a light gray background.
"You can save images and information on the second screen, and it stays there, even if you lose battery power," said Martynov. "You can save anything on the always-on display." Though the e-ink display isn't touch sensitive, there is a small patch of smartphone real estate beneath the display that customers can use to navigate the phone.

GOOGLE ACQUIRED NEST LABS FOR $3.2 BILLION



NEST



Google has acquired Nest Labs, the company founded by iPod creator Tony Fadell, for $3.2 billion. The smart home startup makes a digital thermostat as well as smoke detector.

Nest had been close to completing a deal to raise upward of $150 million that would have valued it at more than $2 billion, it was reported earlier this month.

Google said the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, was all cash and that the company would continue to operate under its own brand.

Fadell, a well-respected figure who co-founded Nest along with former Apple software exec Matt Rogers, said in a statement that Nest “will be even better placed to build simple, thoughtful devices that make life easier at home, and that have a positive impact on the world” with Google’s support.

TECHNOLOGY: South Korea spending $1.5 billion for '5G' network

Is the era of 5G connectivity upon us? The government in South Korea says so, and it's sinking $1.5 billion into upgrades it says will make mobile communications there 1,000 times faster than they are today.

But not so fast. Literally, not so fast. As was the case when smartphones and other mobile devices first started having 4G slapped on them, the term 5G is as much a marketing slogan as anything else -- at this point, anyway.

And if technophiles in the United States are hoping Korea's announcement means warp-speed data connections are coming their way in the near future, they're going to be disappointed.

Regardless of the network's capabilities, any wireless carrier wanting to take advantage of them also would need costly upgrades to their systems. Users would have to purchase new devices that could access it. And even then, there's no guarantee that Netflix or similar companies would make their own data available at speeds that live up to the Korean government's tantalizing vision of an entire movie downloading in a single second.

All that said, don't count Korea out. Arguably the most wired country in the world, South Korea has led in mobile adoption since the 1990s.

"We helped fuel national growth with 2G services in the 1990s, 3G in the 2000s and 4G around 2010. Now it is time to take preemptive action to develop 5G," the nation's science ministry said. "Countries in Europe, China and the US are making aggressive efforts to develop 5G technology ... and we believe there will be fierce competition in this market in a few years."

New payment system intorduce by CBN

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a new payment system called Real-Time Gross settlement (RTGS) system as part of efforts to implement Payment System Vision (PSV)2020 strategy.

Mr Tunde Lemo, CBN Deputy Governor (Operations), made this known while briefing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.

Lemo, who is expected to proceed on retirement on January 11, said that CBN put live operations to the new system on December 16, 2013.

He said that the new RTGS was integrated with Scrip less Security Settlement System (SSSS) and would replace the old payment system in use since seven years ago.

“The SSSS, on the other hand, is a new initiative to issue, manage and settle government and other money market securities processed as electronic records in a Central Securities Depository (CSD) system.”

Etihad records 12m passengers, 486,753 tons of cargo in 2013

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, which also operates daily flights to Lagos, has recorded its highest ever passenger and cargo volumes in 2013 with 12 million passengers flying with it last year.

Impressive cargo growth was also reported, with 486,753 tons of freight and mail flown by Etihad Airways last year, a staggering increase of 32 percent compared to 2012 volumes.

The passenger traffic recorded marks a significant increase of nearly 16 percent in comparison to 2012’s figure of 10.3 million.

Bangkok was once again the airline’s busiest route, with a total of 742,759 passengers flying to Thailand’s capital city in 2013, a year-on-year increase of seven per cent.

Manila was the second busiest route (547,068 passengers), followed by London (544,564passengers), Jeddah (373,651 passengers) and Paris (338,969 passengers).

Etihad Airways carried 73 per cent of the more than 16.4million passengers who travelled through Abu Dhabi airport in 2013.
 

Chinese firm to Invest N160bn in oil exploration, refinery project in Niger

The Niger State Government said on Tuesday that a Chinese firm had agreed to invest N160 billion in oil exploration activities in the state.

The Commissioner for Mining and Mineral Resources, Alhaji Abubakar Jibreel, made the disclosure in Minna at a press briefing on the ministry’s activities in 2013.

He said the amount would also cover the cost of building a refinery in Baro, Agaie Local Government Area of the state.

Jibreel said that the move was part of efforts to attract investors to explore its oil and gas potentials.

He said that the company was among five foreign investors that had indicated interest in oil and gas exploration in the  Bida  Basin.

The Best-Selling Smartphone Of 2013; TECNO Phantom A+

Leading online retailer, Konga has released shopping trends on its site for 2013 which shows Samsung and TECNO products leading the pack with top sales for the year. According to the report, the best selling smartphone of the year was the TECNO Phantom A+, ranked based on the number of search queries on its site, total number of purchases and total number of requests on its social media channels.

The TECNO Phantom A+, a 5.0-inch smartphone running Android OS 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with a brilliant 8.0 mega pixel primary and 1.2MP front facing camera, comes with a 1.2GHz Quad Core Processor, 1024MB of RAM, 4GB built-in storage, a Dual SIM slot and a 2100mAh battery capacity.

 The company also revealed that the most anticipated tech gadget launches of the year were the Sony Playstation 4 console and the TECNO Phantom A3 smartphone based on number of search queries on its website and total number of orders and sales. As the fastest-selling phone manufacturer in Africa, TECNO also became the most popular brand of the year in the Gadgets category, while Samsung became the most popular brand in the Home and Kitchen category.

The best-selling game for the year was Grand Theft Auto V, making the popular game maker, Rockstar Games the brand of the year in the Game category. Konga, which launched as a daily needs-only retail site back in July 2012, completed its first calender year as a full-fledged general merchandise online retailer.

During the year, the company introduced pay on delivery in many locations across Nigeria, launched SMS-based shopping, introduced a virtual shopping mall, opened new pick-up points, increased its books category to over 100,000 book titles, moved to a new 120,000 square feet distribution centre, and offered Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to Nigerians. - See more at:

NIGERIA AND ISREAL SIGN AGREEMENT ON AIR SERVICES (BASA)

Nigeria and the State of Israel in Jerusalem on Monday signed a  Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) to pave way for direct flights between them.
 The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, representing President Goodluck Jonathan, signed the agreement on behalf of the country.

The agreement is expected to pave way for direct flights between both countries on the principle of reciprocity by the designated airlines of both countries.

Before now, Nigerians travelling to Israel, including Christian pilgrims, stopped over in neighbouring countries before being finally transported to their destination.

Onwuliri said after the signing of the agreement that the accord would deepen bilateral ties between  both countries and boost their economies.

“The agreement will augur well for movement of persons, our pilgrims, businessmen, academics, the civil society and students.

“Many of our people also come here to benefit from the technology of Israel,’’ she said.
 

In 2014, Ministry of Justice to spend N181.3m on Clothing

 

According to a report by Punch, the Federal Ministry of Justice Headquarters will spend the sum of N181.3m on uniforms and other garments in 2014, according to the budget estimates submitted to the National Assembly by Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

A copy of the proposed budget of the headquarters of the justice ministry, which was obtained by a Punch correspondent, revealed that the sum of N181, 391,000 was allocated for “uniforms and other clothing” in 2014.
The sum is part of the total N4.7bn allocated to the Federal Ministry of Justice Headquarters in the 2014 budget proposal.

However, the nature of the “uniforms and other clothing” was not disclosed.
The ministry is to spend the sum of N1.3bn on legal services in the New Year, while N1.4bn is allocated for consulting and professional services.

Travels, including local and foreign trips, formed a substantial part of the ministry’s proposed budget.
The sum of N362.6m has been budgeted for travels and transport (general).
Local travel and transport (training) and local travel and transport (others) will cost N76.7m and N142.3m, respectively.

Aliko Dangote now worth $30billion, made $9.2billion in 2013 Only

 

According to a Bloomberg report that was released today, Africa's richest man & founder of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, made $9.2billion in 2013 alone, raising his fortune to over $30billion and making him the 30th richest person in the world.

Bill Gates is back to being the richest man in the world after making $15.8 billion in 2013 alone and raising his fortune to $78.5 billion.

Bloomberg’s billionaires index showed that the 300 richest people in the world increased their wealth by $524 billion in 2013 and the aggregate net worth of the world’s top billionaires stood at $3.7 trillion at the close of market on December 31.

Energy Chart in Africa

In Ikorodu, Graduate Commit Suicide on January 1st 2014

According to the report, the body of the 30 year old man was found around 1 a.m. yesterday dangling from a rope tied to the hook of a fan in an uncompleted storey building at 1, Alice Ogunsona Street, Hilltop Estate, Eruwen, Ikorodu. His body was found by his younger brother after reading the suicide not he wrote and left at their home.

Ogunsona Daniel Adekunle Adebambo is a graduate of Architecture, at Obafemi Awolowo University,  (pictured above) committed suicide by hanging himself in an uncompleted storey building yesterday January 1st 2014. Continue...

52 Passengers stuck in a Ship Rescued

After 10 days stranded far from home, all 52 passengers from a ship stuck in Antarctic ice have now been transferred by helicopter to an Australian icebreaker.

"It's 100% we're off! A huge thanks to all," tweeted Chris Turney, an Australian professor among the group of scientists, journalists and tourists marooned on the ship.

A helicopter from a nearby Chinese icebreaker ferried passengers Thursday to the Australian icebreaker, the Aurora Australis.
The rescue is the latest chapter in a saga that began Christmas Eve after the Russian-flagged MV Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck in unusually thick ice.

Officials abandoned a succession of other rescue attempts in recent days because of the treacherous conditions in the region.

China Internal Debt level ($3 Trillion)

 

China revealed the results of its national audit on Monday, giving the world a rare look at its rapidly expanding local debt levels.

China's National Audit Office said that local government obligations hit 17.9 trillion yuan ($3 trillion) by the end of June -- a dramatic increase from the 10.7 trillion yuan figure reported in 2010.

The audit office said that debt levels are still controllable, echoing the statements of top Communist Party officials in recent months.
For now, China's local government debt remains lower than that of many other advanced economies, such as the U.S., U.K., France, Japan, Germany and Spain.
But what is scary is the pace at which debt has accumulated. China's increase in local government debt is part of a larger issue -- a credit explosion as regional governments borrowed to finance major infrastructure projects to combat a slowing economy.

Harold Simmons, The Texas billionaire dies at 82

The death, confirmed in a statement by Texas Governor Rick Perry, was first reported on the website of the Dallas Morning News which said he died on Saturday at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.

Billionaire Harold Simmons, one of the richest men in America and a major contributor to the Republican Party, has died in his native Texas at 82.
His wife, Annette, told the newspaper Simmons had been “very sick for the last two weeks,” and in Baylor’s intensive care unit for the last eight days.

She did not give a specific cause of death.

Simmons, currently listed at No. 40 on Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, funneled millions of dollars to Republican campaigns with a view toward defeating President Barack Obama last year.
 

Sony to sale its battery unit

Japan’s Sony Corp has decided not to sell its lithium-ion battery unit, media reported on Sunday, in a gamble that it can turn the business around with a weak yen and growing demand for smart phone batteries.

In addition to a weak yen, which can boost overseas earnings, the battery unit is also seeing increased demand for some of its new products, the Nikkei business daily reported.

For the past two years Sony had been planning to offload the unit, which was a pioneer in making lithium-ion batteries for computers and mobile devices but has struggled recently against cheaper South Korean rivals.

A government turnaround fund tried to broker a sale of the battery business to a Nissan Motor Co Ltd and NEC Corp joint venture earlier this year.
 

Apple Strike Deal to sell iPhones through China Mobile

 

Apple Inc. (AAPL), ending six years of negotiations, struck a deal to sell the iPhone through China Mobile Ltd., giving both companies a means to fight declining share in the market of 1.2 billion wireless subscribers.

China Mobile will sell the iPhone 5s and 5c models in its retail stores starting January 17, 2014, the companies said in a statement that provided no financial terms.

The phones for China Mobile’s network will also be available in Apple’s retail stores in China under the multiyear accord.

The agreement means Apple now has access to all carriers in the world’s biggest handset market, where Samsung leads and smartphones using Google Inc.’s Android operating system dominate sales.
 

ZTE Corporation to Introduce Smartphones Netxt Year

ZTE Corporation has reiterated its commitment to providing better telecom equipment to across Nigeria in 2014.

The company also announced its decision to take active role in the mobile devices market with the introduction of ZTE smartphones in Nigeria.

Managing Director, ZTE Nigeria Limited, Brielle Gao, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the company’s end of the year get together in Lagos said, “we have maintained effective presence in Nigeria for close to 10 years with stable, long term partnerships with the Federal Government and Major Private Telecommunications Operators.”

Gao said ZTE Corporation, “a publicly-listed company posted a net profit of about USD90.5 Million for the nine-month quarter ending in September 2013.”