Technology Effect

Facebook goes free for Airtel users NEW DELHI: Leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel has made access to online social networking site Facebook free for its over 130 million subscribers, the company said. The offer will, however, be available only for two months till August 31. The Facebook site will be available in English, Hindi and five more Indian languages -- Punjabi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam. "For the two-month period, the partnership enables Airtel customers to access Facebook’s full mobile site faster and at no data cost from their Airtel mobiles via m.facebook.com," said an Airtel statement. Customers, accessing mobile Internet for the first time need to SMS ‘FACEBOOK’ to 54321 to take advantage of this offer.

Smart cars with black boxes London: Computer scientists in the U.S. are developing technology that will transform cars into intelligent vehicles fitted with aircraft-style black boxes that can record information about driving behavior during accidents. The car, which is being developed by researchers at computer chip giant Intel, will record information about the vehicle speed, steering and braking along with video footage from inside and outside the vehicle, The Telegraph reported. This would be automatically sent to police and insurance companies in the event of an accident to make it easier to determine the cause of car crashes and identify the person responsible. The device forms part of an intelligent car envisaged by researchers at Intel. They are developing technology that will transform cars into smart vehicles that are able to detect dangers on the road and even take over control from motorists. They have been in discussions with car manufacturers about developing cars th