App by Airtel founder s son a big hit

Hike, the newest kid on mobile instant messaging scene, has had such a wild welcome and adoption rate that it brought the servers down causing disruption in services. 

The free mobile app, now on the top of the list on the Android marketplace Google Play Store, has been downloaded over a million times so far. "Signups will not work until 12pm tomorrow - 9th Feb - given the sudden increase in the volume," an official blog post said. "We are working at lightening speed and will get this back up asap." 

7 tips avoid Facebook hack

People who do have little or no time to maintain Facebook profiles, can do seven things to at least minimize the damage when their account gets hacked, a report has said.

Firstly, change your name. If you tweak your name just a little, or use a nickname, it will be easier for you after the inevitable hack.

Opening more than one account can also help. It violates Facebook's terms of service, but 80 million accounts already do it, says privacy expert John Sileo.

Now, charge your phone with coffee and beer

A new device that can charge your mobile phone with a hot cup of coffee or a cold beer mug has been developed by a US company. 

The company claims that the two-sided Epiphany onE Puck converts the warmth of your hot cocoa or iced beverage into power for your phone. The lightweight device is portable enough to store in your purse or day bag for emergencies. 

The device uses a Stirling engine powered solely by heat disparities to generate the electricity to keep your phone up and running, Gizmag reported. 

Gmail gets over 1,000 new smileys

If you are among the internet users who love emoticons, you will love the latest addition in Gmail. Internet search giant Google has beefed up the number of smileys in its free email service by over a thousand emoticons.

Earlier, Gmail users could choose from an assortment of 158 emoticons, but now they have as many as 1,287 smileys at their disposal, says a report in The Next Web. The company is rolling out the new emoticons to users in a phased manner.

PayPal shows off preview of new upcoming site design

PayPal has had the same design for quite some time, and it is, shall we say, a tad dated. That will be coming to an end in the relatively near future, with the company rolling out a preview of its updated design, complete with information about the layout and how it will benefit users. Check out its features and some screenshots after the jump.

The updated design, which you can see in the image above, is very Web 2.0-ish, with a streamlined, easier to digest interface that categorizes things in a logical, simple way. Bits of information are displayed in their own sections right on the main account screen, including notifications, recent activity, and balance.