How to Run Android Apps on PC

Intel is now interested in pushing “Dual OS” PCs — devices with both Windows 8 and Android on them. But you don’t have to buy a new PC to do this — you can run Android apps and even the Android operating system on your current PC.

This allows you to use Android’s ecosystem of touch-based apps on touch-enabled Windows laptops and tablets, so it does make some sense. Of course, the process is clunker than just using Windows 8 apps.

BlueStacks is currently the best way to run Android apps on Windows. It doesn’t replace your entire operating system. Instead, it runs Android apps within a window on your Windows desktop. This allows you to use Android apps just like any other program. BlueStacks also includes support for easy installation of apps from Google Play, so the process is as seamless as possible. Even better, BlueStacks runs Android apps and games with surprisingly good performance.

This solution can’t replace Windows with Android, but that’s not a bad thing — competing solutions that allow you to dual boot Android with Windows are currently unstable. This is only a solution for running Android apps on Windows.  Unlike many of the other options here, this is a fairly stable and polished experience.

Similar applications, including YouWave and Windroy, lack the speed and easy app installation BlueStacks offers.

Official Android Emulator

Google provides an official Android emulator as part of the Android SDK. You can use it to run the Android operating system in a window on your existing computer. This gives you complete access to the entire Android operating system. It’s intended for developers to test their Android apps.

Unfortunately, the official Android emulator is rather slow and isn’t a good option for everyday use. It’s useful if you want to test apps or play with the latest version of Android, but you wouldn’t want to actually use apps like WhatsApp, Hike, Line or play games like Temple Run, Subway Surfers, Candy Crush or Plant vs Zombies in it.

To get started with the Android Emulator, download Google’s Android SDK, open the SDK Manager program, and select Tools > Manage AVDs. Click the New button and create a an Android Virtual Device (AVD) with your desired configuration, then select it and click the Start button to launch it.

Android-x86

Android-x86 is a community project to port Android to the x86 platform so it can run natively on Intel and AMD processors, allowing you to install Android on a laptop or tablet just as you’d install Windows or Linux. This project was originally noteworthy for providing a way to run Android on low-power netbooks, giving those old netbooks some additional life.

Only certain devices are officially supported at this time. The official page lists ASUS Eee PCs, the Viewsonic Viewpad 10, Del Inspiron Mini Duo, Samsung Q1U, Viliv S5, and Lenovo ThinkPad x61 Tablet as tested platforms. However, you should also be able to install it inside VirtualBox. This allows you to install Android inside a virtual machine.

Bear in mind that this project isn’t stable. You should exercise extreme caution when installing it on physical hardware.

Android on Intel Architecture

Intel develops their own distribution of Android for new Intel-based PCs with UEFI firmware. It’s named Android on Intel Architecture, or Android -IA. Intel even provides an installer, which you can use to install Android on your Windows 8 device. The installer will ask if you want to preserve Windows in a dual-boot scenario, so this is a way to dual boot Android and Windows on a new laptop or tablet.

Bear in mind that this project isn’t stable and won’t work on every device yet. At the moment, the Samsung XE700T, Acer Iconia W700, and Lenovo X220T and X230T devices appear to be officially supported targets. This project is really interesting because it’s being driven by Intel itself. This is likely the same software you’ll find on those new “Dual OS” Intel PCs.

This option isn’t for casual users, but it may become more stable over time. For more information, consult Intel’s Downloads, Quick Start, and Devices pages.

If you really want to run Android apps on your Windows computer, you should install BlueStacks. It’s the easiest, slickest, most stable option.

In the long term, the Android on Intel Architecture and Android-x86 projects may make Android easier to install and use on a wider variety of hardware. They could provide an easy way to dual boot Android and Windows — or even replace Windows with Android. For now, these projects aren’t recommended unless you have supported hardware — and you should be careful even if you do.

Source: How-To Geek

Read More

Install WhatsApp on Java enabled Phones

WhatsApp is a very popular messaging service that was recently acquired by Facebook. It lets you post status updates, images, videos and your location all of which are instantly shared with your friends.



Unfortunately for Java phone users, Whatsapp is primarily a smartphone app with versions for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Symbian. There is a Java version but it only supports the following Nokia S40 and Asha Phones: Nokia C3-00, Nokia C3-01, Nokia X2-01, Nokia X3-02, Nokia X2-00

Nokia Asha: 201, 205, 206 Single Sim, 208, 210, 300, 301, 302, 303, 305, 306, 308, 309, 310, 311, 515, 500, 501, 502, 503, 230.



Whatsapp reportedly actually woks on most modern Nokia S40 and Asha phones. But if you don't have one of the supported phones, the Whatsapp site and the Nokia Store won't even let you download it.Even if you do manage to download it you will get an "unsupport device" error when you try to run it.



Fortunately there's a workaround for that. Unfortunately Nokia and Whatsapp didn't make it easy. To install Whatsapp on a non supported device:



1) The process is easiest if you have a PC and a USB cable for your phone. If you do, download the jad and jar files listed below to your PC and copy  them to the Apps & Games folder on your phone's memory card. Then skip to step 6 below.



2) If you don't have a PC, open this page with the UC Browser on your phone and tap or click the jad file link below and choose "Save". Change the download  path to E:/Apps&Games and hit "OK" and then "Save" to download the file. Do the same for the jar file.



3) Next, open the Games&Apps folder on your phone and choose Memory Card. then choose Apps&games and you should see whatsapp_jad and whatsapp_jar.



4) On touchsceen phones,press and hold  whatsapp_jad until a menu appears and then choose "Rename" and change the name  to whatsapp.jad (replace the "_" with "."). Then rename whatsapp_jar as whatsapp.jar



5) On non-touchscreen phones, highlight whatsapp_jad and press "Options" and choose "Rename" and rename it as whatsapp.jad. Then rename whatsapp_jar as whatsapp.jar



6) Open the Apps&Games folder on the phone and tap the memory card folder and then the Apps&Games folder. Press and hold or highlight the Whatsapp icon and choose options and then "Update version". If it tells you that you already have the latest version and asks if you want to replace it, choose " Yes". After the update finishes tap the Instagram icon again toinstall it.



You can try installing Whatsapp on non-Nokia phones but it's unlikely to work.



Type: freeware

Author: Whatsapp

Data Connection Required: yes

Minimum Java ME profile: MIDP 2.0

Screen Size: All

Touch support: Yes



Reported working on: Nokia Asha 303, Nokia C2-03,  Sony Ericsson c510



Reported NOT working on: LG GS500, Motorola Rambler, Nokia 110, Nokia 112,Nnokia 5130, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6303i Classic, Nokia Asha 503, Nokia C2-00, Nokia C2-01, Samsung Wave GT-S8500, ZTE G-N281

Download to your PC

JAD                JAR             ZIP

[UPDATE] : 

Those who stuck at creating an Account, I have a solution.

1. Get a s40 phone that supports WhatsApp. 


2. Install WhatsApp and create an account.


3. When you are done, use WhatsApp to send/receive few messages.


4. Restart the phone and move the App from Phone Memory to Memory card. 


5. Switch off the phone and remove the Memory card.


6. Insert the memory card to the device in which you want to run WhatsApp.


7. Open WhatsApp, and you are done.


8. Enjoy :)

Via: BoostApps

Read More

25 Mind Blowing Facts About Kolkata Even Bengalis Hardly Know

Whenever we claim of knowing a place perfectly, we basically rejoice in knowing only the locally known facts. None of us actually do a deep research and delve into the not-so-known aspects of the place.



Well, let’s do that now, and what’s a better place than Kolkata to start with: the perfect amalgam of old world charm and modernity.

25. Calcutta might not have been the city of princes, but the Calcutta Polo Club is the oldest one in the world!

24. To the British rulers, Kolkata, the then Calcutta, was the most important city in India (it was India’s capital too), and the second most important city of the whole British Empire, after London.

23. You often refer to the city as the “city of joy”, but did you know its other names—“city of palaces”, “city of processions” and the “cultural capital of India”?

22. In terms of the unique trains it daily handles, the Howrah Station is the busiest in India.

21. Did you know, till 2006, Kolkata hadn’t had any “Kolkata” station? For mails and expresses, one had to board trains either at the Howrah Station, located at the twin city of Howrah, or at the more local, Sealdah Station. The current Kolkata station was a railway goods terminal, referred to as the Chitpur Station.

20. All the Kolkatans might just hate the zoo for being filled with dust, but little do they know about the fact that it has the oldest zoo in the country!

19. The Howrah Bridge seems to be the identity of the city—but did you know that it’s the one of the largest cantilever bridges in the world, and the largest (and perhaps the only) one in the country?

18. In Sir Ronald Ross, C.V. Raman, Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen and Mother Teresa, Kolkata has found five brilliant scholars and Nobel laureates — the most in any Asian mainland city (except Tokyo and Kyoto). Satyajit Ray was one of the first Oscar winners in the country.

17. The National Library of India, situated in Kolkata, is the largest public library in the country.

16. Move over Mumbai and Bangaluru; in terms of area covered, Kolkata is the second-largest city in India, after New Delhi.

15. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club is the first golf club ever, outside the United Kingdom.

14. If you’re a cricket buff, then you must know the fact that in terms of seating arrangement, it has Eden Gardens – the 3rd largest in the world.

13. When talking about cricket, there’s one fact which even many cricket buffs do not know: the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is the second oldest cricket club in the world after MCC: the Mecca of Cricket.

12. Founded in 1898, the Calcutta Football League is the oldest football tournament in the country, and the second oldest in the world!

11. India might still have to wait long before competing in the Football World Cup or hosting a world cup, but the Salt Lake stadium is surely ready to host such an event, being the second largest football stadium in the world, in terms of seating capacity!

10. Kolkata is a book lover’s paradise. In fact, College Street is widely referred to as the second largest second-hand book market in the world where, if you search properly, you’ll be able to find the first edition of even the rarest of the rare books! Regarding College Street, there’s a saying that if you didn’t find a book in College Street, that book probably have never existed!

9. Calcutta is one of the fewest cities in the world, to have Trams.

8. There’s a saying that what Calcutta thinks today, India thinks tomorrow—true that! After more than 2 decades of the metro railways (or the rapid transit system), Delhi has had one, and Mumbai is thinking of having one!

7. You might term this one as a pro or a con; nevertheless, it’s quite true that Kolkata is the only city in India with hand-pulled rickshaws.

6. The botanical garden of Kolkata has been the house of the world’s largest tree: An enormous banyan tree whose circumference is more than 330 meters!

5. Kolkata might be the city of temples and palaces, but little known is the fact that the Birla Planetarium in Kolkata is the largest planetarium in Asia, and the second largest in the world!

4. Founded on 19th November, 1792, the U.S. Consulate in Calcutta is the second oldest consulate of the U.S Department of State. It is located on the Chowringhee Road, near Maidan.

3. After the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London Book Fair, Kolkata Book fair is recognized as the world’s largest conglomeration of books! Besides, it’s one of a kind and Asia’s largest book fair—it is also the most-attended book fair in the world!

2. The Kolkata Book fair is the world’s largest non-trade book fair.

1. The Khidderpore Port is the oldest port in India besides being the only riverine port in the country. Besides, the replica of the Hooghly River Port is the only representative of India at the Asian Cities Sector in the Metropolitan Museum (MET), New York.

Via: TopYaps

Read More

India's first hospital for fishes in Kolkata

The country’s first hospital to treat abnormalities and diseases in fish is set to come up in Kolkata by mid-2015.Various abnormalities and diseases of fish to be treated in this hospital.



Senior scientist T J Abraham, who is spearheading the project told PTI that the work has already started on the project.



He said that nearly 60-65 kinds of disease and abnormality were found in fishes in India and the one reason why West Bengal slipped from the number one position in fish production was due to the fact that 10-20 per cent of them died of diseases.



“Such hospitals are quite common in foreign countries,” Abraham, a senior fish microbiologist with the West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, said.



The institute will not only help fish farmers increase yield by reducing the number of fish deaths, but will also ensure that people will consume healthy fish, he points out.



According to Abraham, the hospital will have 50 glass aquariums, 25 circular water tanks, each with a capacity of 500 litres, to admit and treat diseased fish.



The hospital will also have a separate well-equipped pathological lab to diagnose various fish diseases.



Source: PTI, The Hindu, 24 Ghanta

Read More

Diwali is all about Togetherness

Could you imagine a Diwali where you were so far away from everyone you loved? A Diwali where you can neither call up your loved ones nor even wish them a 'Happy Diwali'. This beautiful, heart warming video shows that no matter how far you are, life has a way of bringing you close to the ones you love. All it takes is a KITKAT, and home is just a break away! #MyDiwaliBreak

Read More

Windows 10 Technical Preview

Windows 10 Technical Preview has arrived! Microsoft made the OS available for download as of last week. 

If you love to preview an early version of the OS be ready to take it for a spin!! You have a couple options. If you have an old PC lying around, you could install Windows 10 to it. Do not install it on a PC in which you do all your works. I think the better approach is to run the new OS inside a "sandbox," a virtual machine that won't affect your system in any way (except for borrowing some space on the hard drive).

Indeed, thanks to free virtualization software, you can run Windows 10 on your current PC -- then remove it when you've seen enough (or the Technical Preview expires, whichever comes first). The entire process takes about 30 minutes -- maybe longer depending on the speed of your PC. Here's how to make it happen:

Step 1: Start by downloading the Windows 10 Technical Preview ISO file. You'll need to click through the handful of "Get Started" and "Join Now" screens until you land at the download page, then scroll down and choose the appropriate language and version (32- or 64-bit).

Step 2: Download and install Oracle VM VirtualBox or VMWare Player or any other virtualization tool that's going to make it possible for you to run Windows 10 inside Windows Whatever-You-Have. Alternatively you may use Hyper V if your system supports it.

Step 3: Run VirtualBox, then click the New icon. In the Create Virtual Machine dialog box, type "Win 10," then click the version selector and choose Windows 8.1 (making sure to match the ISO you downloaded: 32- or 64-bit). Then click Next.

Step 4: VirtualBox will show a recommended memory size; go ahead and accept unless you have a specific reason for changing it. Then select "Create a virtual hard drive" and click Create. Accept VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) as the file type for the drive, then choose Fixed Size for the virtual drive. Finally, click Create, then wait while VirtualBox builds your virtual drive.

Step 5: Once the drive is ready, click the Start button in the VirtualBox toolbar. You'll see a box telling you to "Select start-up disk." Click the little file folder next to the pull-down, then navigate to the Windows 10 ISO file you downloaded in Step 1. 

Step 6: Go ahead with the installation process.

Step 7: After installation go ahead with the User Setup. 

Step 8: Now you have completed the installation process.   

Some of the New Features that make it different from the previous versions of Windows:

1. A better animation or transition after clicking on the Start menu was the most popular request from testers. More of a visual improvement than a feature, it probably will incorporate several new graphical features, like transitions, before Windows 10 hits PCs next year.

2. Add the ability to move or disable, or both, the new search and task bar buttons, which sit next to the reincarnated Start button.

3. Make it easier to sign in to a local account. Testers felt that the option is difficult to find on the operating system's sign-in screen.

4. Incorporate tabs into Windows 10's File Explorer, like those found in a modern Web browser. The idea is to minimize the app’s appearance on the task bar.

5. A number of users said they had trouble accessing Charms, the simplified quick-hit toolbar from Windows 8. For now, only a keyboard shortcut (pressing the Windows Key at the same time as the letter C) brings up Charms, but testers hope Microsoft will fix this in a later version of the preview.

6. A more “beautiful boot screen.” Users of Windows 10’s technical preview seem very focused on visuals, with one asking for a pretty startup animation.

7. Finish updating the icons for Windows 10. Testers noted that many date back to earlier versions of the OS.

8. Complete the transition from Control Panel to PC Settings. Making it easier to change the way their PCs were set up does not mean users want duplicate efforts – since searching through both the legacy control panel and new settings menu makes it take longer to complete even the simplest of tasks. More than 200 users also complained that they were not able to select multiple tiles by holding down the Control key.

9. Allow the use of different background images (and folders) on virtual desktops. One user said having different images could make it easier to distinguish which desktops were for work, play and other tasks.

A number of users expressed a desire to see Cortana – the voice-activated digital assistant from Windows Phone – in Windows 10. Bits of code have already revealed that the Siri and Google Now competitor will come to Windows 10. 

Source: CNET, International Business Times, Computer World



Have any hopes, dreams, thoughts for Windows 10? Let me know in the comments below.

Read More