Random Techie--Tech World News and Happenings

Nokia Expo Ushers In Fresh Phones, Facebook Features

2009-09-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) on Wednesday unveiled three new smartphones at Nokia World 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany.

Nokia N97 Mini

It also announced a partnership with Facebook through its Lifecasting With Ovi application.

One smartphone, the N97 mini, is targeted at women, IDCanalyst Ramon T. Llamas told TechNewsWorld.

The other two, the X6 and X3, are aimed at maintaining Nokia's position in the mid-range smartphone market.

Lifecasting With Ovi will be available on the N97 mini.

PlayOn for Wii: Sometimes a Great Application

2009-09-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

When they were designing the latest generation of video game consoles -- the generation we're currently right in the middle of -- two of the three major players envisioned their systems as hubs not just for games but for all sorts of digital entertainment. Downloaded movies, songs stored on a PC, high-definition discs, etc., would all run through their platforms, so they built their systems with HD video capabilities. The results appear to be what they intended -- three or four years on, the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3 still look spectacular on a big screen. But their prices, at least at the time of launch, were enormous.

With the Wii , Nintendo took a totally different route. It wasn't concerned with high-def multimedia. It didn't side with either HD-DVD or Blu-ray. The Wii has a WiFi chip, but its Web capabilities have barely evolved beyond a built-in browser and an online store through which you can buy decade-old titles. The Wii doesn't even have an HDMI port; instead, you hook up with low-def RCA. What the Wii does have is a bunch of fun games anyone can play by moving a wand around, and compared to the other two, it was dirt cheap at launch. Of the three, it's consistently been the best seller.

However, even the Xbox and PS3 high-def hubs are imperfect multimedia machines. Native support for online video from popular providers like Hulu, Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Amazon(Nasdaq: AMZN) usually doesn't come as a built-in, out-of-the-box feature (though Xbox does offer native Netflix support). And the Wii won't even share video files with your PC.

Now that prices on the PS3 and Xbox 360 Elite have fallen to points competitive with the Wii and with each other, someone looking to buy a new console might want to consider what each system is capable of besides just gaming. As far as native features go, PS3 and Xbox still beat Wii in multimedia, but with the right third-party software, the Wii can theoretically be a media center too. MediaMall Technologies has just released a beta version of PlayOn that includes Wii support in addition to PS3 and Xbox 360 support.

Setup and Installation

PlayOn is a server application that runs on Windows PCs. In order to work, the computer it's running on must be connected to your home network, and your video game console must also be hooked up to the same network.

After it's downloaded and installed on your desktop, the PlayOn server app lets you save your user IDs and passwords for Hulu, Netflix and Amazon. Once those accounts are saved, you'll be able to access your queued video lists on these sites and services. PlayOn also supports video from Internet channels like ESPN, YouTube, CBS and CNN.

The desktop server app has features for testing your bandwidth and processor abilities, setting parental controls, checking for updates, requesting help and adjusting performance. You can set PlayOn to activate every time you turn on your PC or set it for manual activation. There's also a tab for inputting a license key if you decide you want to pay US$40 to keep it after a 14-day free trial.

In addition to all those Internet channels, the latest edition of PlayOn also includes a beta feature for streaming media like music, video and photos from your PC to your console. A tab on the server application lets you designate which PC folders are allowed to share content. Wii users will probably get the most use out of this feature; the other two consoles already have Windows Media Server compatibility.

The Laptop Benchmark

Before using PlayOn, when I wanted to watch Hulu or Netflix videos in the living room, I'd have to schlep my laptop in from the office , yank an HDMI cable out of one component, stick it into the laptop, and hope that the battery wouldn't quit before I was finished watching (digging that power brick out from behind the desk is so undignified). With PlayOn, as long as the server app is running on your computer and all connections are solid, the video is sent straight to the TV by way of the console (and by way of the PC). All pause/play/FF/RW functions are handled using the console's controller. No schlepping required.

The resulting picture and experience, however, isn't seamless. To access this video on the Wii, you have to open the Web browser and go to the address "Playon.tv" in order to find your options. Once there, you can choose a channel (Netflix, YouTube, etc.), go through your list of queued videos, and start playing.

Unfortunately, the resulting picture was just abysmal on a big-screen HDTV. While Netflix and Hulu videos rarely come in at resolution even approaching high-definition under any circumstances, when viewed through my old laptop arrangement, the quality is tolerable for an hour-long program. Viewing it through the Wii with PlayOn, I could barely make it through the opening credits.

By contrast, the PS3 experience is much smoother. PlayOn appears as a server under the video section of the XMB -- no need to visit the browser and tap in an address.

However, even though the PS3 has better video capabilities than the Nintendo, PlayOn video running through the PS3 also seemed to suffer the same picture quality issues as video on the Wii. This is likely due to the strain it puts on a home wireless network (my PC, PS3 and Wii were all running on WiFi rather than wired connections).

According to PlayOn's FAQ: "If you're using a wireless network for your PC or device, especially if it's on 802.11g, you are likely to experience problems. PlayOn requires a lot of bandwidth on the home network to pass over the MPEG video files to the device. Anything that may interrupt or slow down that video feed will result in an unhappy device, and you'll see excessive buffering."

Sure enough, when I put the PS3 on a wired connection, quality improved significantly, though I was still vexed by frequent freezes and claims of "corrupted data." This is perhaps related to the "excessive buffering" mentioned above. And keep in mind that it's impossible to give the Wii a wired connection without buying an adapter -- it has no built-in Ethernet port.

Things might clear up further if the PC rather than the console gets a wired connection, which for some might mean finding a new home for the modem and router. Such are the joys of home networking .

Bottom Line

Even though I wasn't consistently satisfied with how PlayOn performed on my network, I have three reasons for liking it as a product: A) The app itself is easy to get up and running (networking issues may be a different story depending on how you're set up); B) It's a great idea that really expands the multimedia capabilities of a console; and C) It lets you try the product for free for two weeks.

That last point is really important. Getting PlayOn to work right depends on all sorts of disparate hardware and software, not to mention where your router is physically located and whether a wired connection is convenient. With home networks, sometimes stuff just works, sometimes it just doesn't, and it's good that MediaMall lets you figure out for yourself whether you're satisfied before spending. If you can get PlayOn to work, it's worth the price.

If you're interested in a convenient way to get Web video to a TV without schlepping a laptop, I highly recommend taking 15 minutes to install and set up PlayOn -- and make sure to put it to the test for the full two weeks before committing.

Wikipedia to Tinge Suspect Entries With Orange Cast

2009-09-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia wants to give users more confidence in the reliability of its information, so it has come up with a color-coding scheme that will assign an orange background to less-trustworthy information -- the darker, the more suspect -- and a white background to content that ranks high for accuracy. However, Wikipedia hasn't said much about how it will arrive at its rankings.

Top Ten IT Companies of India 2008-2009

2009-08-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

1) Tata Consultancy Services : Tata group-owned Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the country's no. 1 IT company. During the year 2008-09, the company clocked Rs 25,894 crore in revenues.

Like all its peers the company too was hit by slowdown pangs. The turmoil in the BFSI sector in the US hurt the company which has a huge exposure to the segment. It also had to write off some dues of Lehman Brothers and was hit by the bankruptcy of auto major General Motors and telecom giant Nortel.

However, the company made impressible gains in other sectors like manufacturing, healthcare and engineering services to grow by 22% year on year. Geographically, the company continued its expansion in Latin America, setting up its third delivery centre in Mexico. On acquisitions front, the company bought Citibank's BPO unit for $505 million.

The company which got 8% of its revenues from the domestic segment expanded its focus beyond government. It provided backend connectivity to Rajathan Royal's team during IPL season 2.

2) Wipro : At no. 2 is Bangalore-based Wipro. The company beat its larger rivals TCS and Infosys to post a revenue growth of 41% (excluding BPO). The company recorded revenues of Rs 23,882 crore during the fiscal 2008-09 which saw its two divisions Wipro Technologies and Wipro Infotech synergies better for total outsourcing deals.

The company fought the likes of IBM and HP on the domestic turf to wrestle Aircel, Wnitech Wireless and ESIC deals. The company's Middles East operations grew by over 280%.

The restructuring at the top level was followed by the departure of several senior executives of the company. The company was also hit by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and General Motors. The news that it Wipro has been barred by World Bank also created a small flutter.

3) Infosys : The third biggest IT company in India is Infosys with 2008-09 revenues of Rs 20,392 crore. The company closed the year with a 31% growth, with Europe and the US contributing 90% of the total revenues.

The turmoil in the US economy hit the company which had little focus on the domestic market. Only 1% of the company's revenues came from the domestic market.

However, the recession in the US seems to have wisened the company who is now focusing aggressively on the domestic market. Bharti Airtel and SBI were two of its big wins in the domestic market during the year.

Geographically, the company also expanded in Central Europe, Latin America and South America. The company also opened a new development centre in Mexico.

Last quarter saw the company laying off almost 1500 people on the grounds of non-performance.

4) HP India : The fourth largest IT company is Hewlett Packard India. Slowdown seems to have hurt the company badly, which grew by mere 2% in the fiscal 2008-09.

However, the company's slow growth was not company wide. While TSG grew by a good 33%, largely led by services and enterprise software, the PSG and IPG divisions saw a big hit in their numbers due to the general hit in the consumer sentiment.

Parent company's acquisition of EDS helped solidify HP's services business in the Indian market, with 18% of the revenues coming from the domestic segment.

The company bagged several new clients including Indian Railways, Tata Motors, Durgapur Steel and Raymonds. HP India continued to be the no. 1 vendor in notebooks and desktops across all four quarters according to IDC.

5) IBM India : At no. 5 is IBM India. With revenues of Rs 12,048 crore, the company grew by a decent 36% during the fiscal 2008-09 (excluding BPO business). The FY ‘09 saw the share of domestic revenue in the overall pie increase to 48%, from the previous year's 42%.

The company's big wins included SAP implementation deals from Torrent Pharma and Star India. It also won some key deals from Bharti Retail, Bharat Bijlee, LANCO Infratech, Cavincare, HDFC Bank, Max NewYork Life and Sun Direct.

The company was hit by its aggressive focus on the retail and real estate segments, as the two sectors are among the worst hit sectors.

The company's image as a hire and fire employer too is said to be there due to the layoffs it announced early last year.

6) Cognizant Technology Services : The sixth largest IT company in India is Cognizant Technology Services. Surprisingly, the company which gets four-fifth of its revenues from the US and half of this from the BFSI sector grew by almost 49% during the fiscal year 2008-09. With this the company recorded highest growth among all IT companies in the country for the third year in a row.

At a time when almost all companies announced layoffs, Cognizant claimed to have added 10% to its workforce between April ‘08 to March ‘09.

Cognizant also increased its penetration in the non-US markets, growing by over 71% in Europe and 142% in APAC. The company also made some inroads into the German market. The year also marked Cognizant’s entry into the domestic market.

7) Ingram Micro : IT distributor Ingram Micro is the seventh biggest IT company in the country. The year saw slowdown straining the company's revenues. The worst hit was the company's non-IT business, which includes mobiles and consumer electronics.

Incidentally, the company witnessed healthy growth in the first half of fiscal 2008-09, however, the poor showing in the second half wiped out the gains of the first half.

Computing systems including, notebooks, servers and desktops continue to be the biggest revenue generator for the company. In the computing segment, Ingram got maximum revenue from HP products followed by Acer. Lenovo's declining fortunes continue to trouble Ingram.

While printers and other peripherals did show slowdown pangs, the company's component business did well showing impressive performance from Intel.

8) HCL Technologies : At no. 8 is HCL Technologies. The company grew by 41% to clock revenues of Rs 8,764 crore. The biggest highlight of the fiscal 2008-09 for the company was its acquisition of UK-based Axon for which it pipped rival Infosys technologies.

The $658 million Axon buy was the biggest acquisition in the history of Indian IT. The company said that the acquisition was the part of its Blue Ocean strategy, which aims to expand in high-potential areas with low competition.

The year saw the company expanding its footprint in the APAC market. Some big deals included, UTI, MTV Networks, Misys and Serena Software.

The company's two major clients were among the worst hit BFSI companies.

9) HCL Infosystems : The ninth largest Indian IT company is HCL Infosystems. With Rs 8,089 crore revenues, the company grew by almost 60% during the fiscal 2008-09 largely riding on its services business.

BFSI segment showed the most activity, with the company acquiring a cooperative banking software vendor NTPL. The company bagged orders from BSNL in the telecom space.

The company ventured into physical security space launching Safe State to offer security and surveillance solutions. Some big launches of the year include mobile POS solutions and high-speed Infiniti challenger series workstations.

However, the company's marketshare in the PC/laptop market continues to lag at a lowly 11-13%.

10) Redington India : The tenth largest IT company in India is Redington. Slowdown hit the company badly during the fiscal 2008-09, with growth slipping to 5% from 25% in the previous year.

The company's revenues during the year stood at Rs 6,576 crore. Peripheral and systems were the biggest spoilers for the company during the year, with both businesses shrinking.

On the positive side, the company added nine new vendors including some niche principals like Philips LCD and Belkin accessories. Focusing on large deals and guarding it cash reserves helped the company.

Premji re-appointed Wipro Chairman

2009-08-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

MUMBAI: Software major Wipro said its current Chairman and Managing Director Azim Premji has been re-appointed for the post for a further two year period till July 2011. The shareholders of the company have given their approval for the re-appointment of Azim Premji as Chairman and Managing Director until July 30, 2011, Wipro said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

His re-appointment would be effective from July 31, 2009, it further said.

Samsung launches world's first OMH phone

2009-08-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Leading CDMA player Samsung has announced the launch of the world's first OMH (Open Market Handset) phone "Mpower 699" in the Indian ma

rket in cooperation with Qualcomm that develops digital wireless communications products and services.

The OMH technology gives cellphone customers the flexibility to buy SIM cards for CDMA handsets from operators of their choice.

“This technology will help migration between operators in all our CMDA (Code Division Multiple Access) phones,” Samsung India country head Sunil Dutt said at the launch of the handset, priced at Rs 7,000.

He said Samsung's Mpower 699 is the world's first CDMA phone to offer this flexibility to customers since the network settings for CDMA connection have shifted from phone to OMH SIM card.

Qualcomm Inc's Senior Vice-President Kanwalinder Singh said that OMH handsets like Samsung's Mpower 699 play a central role in offering Indian subscribers the freedom and choice to easily change or upgrade their handsets.

"With currently more than 100 million CDMA subscribers, we expect OMH to play a key role in driving the growth of CDMA in India," Singh said.

Put Things Off: A Practical, Pragmatic Prioritizer for Procrastinators

2009-08-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

Put Things Off is a to-do list app made for people who have come to terms with the fact that they can't always get everything done every day. It shows you a list of tasks you want to accomplish today, but if you decide any of them can wait for later, you don't have to go through the process of editing the date. With one button, they can be put off for anywhere from one to 31 days.

Procrastinators: The Leaders of Tomorrow

With a name like "Put Things Off," this app sounds like it was tailor-made for slackers and lazy people. Not so. Slackers and lazy people, by definition, lack motivation to plan for, organize and actually do things. Maybe it's a character flaw, or maybe it's a sort of Zen virtue, but it's not the kind of thing Put Things Off is made for.

Instead, Put Things Off is best for really busy people who need an easy way to manage tasks, figure out which ones need immediate attention, and put the rest on the back burner without abandoning them completely.

The app is laid out as a set of four wooden boxes like you'd find on an actual desk: Inbox, Today, Put Off and Done. Hit the "+" sign in the upper right corner to create a new task. You can either assign a specific due date, or save it in your Inbox with no date assigned. Giving it a due date of today saves it in your Today box, and any date in the future sends it over to you Put Off box. When the date changes at midnight, everything with a due date for today gets moved to the Today box.

So far, this sounds like nothing that can't be done in Calendar, but there's one feature that makes it stand out a little. Any to-do item can be immediately put off using a single button press. Its due date will be set back anywhere from one to 31 days (you can set this default number of days in the setup menu), and it'll pop back into your Today box when the new, procrastinated date rolls around.

Sure, when you get a reminder in Calendar, you can view it, edit it and assign a new time. Put Things Off's approach just lets you do that a little easier. Choose the tasks that need immediate attention; save the rest for later without risk of losing them. Things will only be trashed when you actively throw them away.

Wake Me Up on Thursday, Please

Graphically, Put Things Off is well-polished. The developers could have easily made the UI very bare-bones and still kept the functionality, but instead it has some good animation and a nice wooden desk background with off-white note paper. Even the icon looks nice, which is something I wish more developers would pay attention to. It's a detail, it's minor, and it won't turn a poorly designed app into a good one, but if you have a good app, why make the icon look lousy?

Unfortunately, there is no landscape typing mode.

I also wonder whether this app might be improved by adding some sort of time-of-day element to the mix. Put Things Off is more polite than Calendar because it won't barge in and remind you of what you need to do with a chime and a message at the moment you set it for. Instead, you have to actively open the app each day to see what's on the agenda. Sometimes, though, I need to be barged in on, I need a wake-up call, and adding the option to make any task buzz in and demand your attention at a given time on its set due date would be very helpful, as long as you could still use that Put Off function.

It wouldn't even need to be as active as a beep and a pop-up. Apps like Mail, App Store, Facebook , and lots of others use a little red badge in the upper right-hand corner to notify you of items in need of attention. Perhaps Put Things Off could use one of those for its Today list.

Nokia Tosses Another OSS OS Into the Mobile Mix

2009-08-27T11:00:00.001-07:00

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) on Thursday announced the N900 smartphone, a mobile device running the Linux-based Maemo operating system that the company typically uses for its tablets.

The device runs a Mozilla-based browser and offers still and video photography, an FM radio and 3.5G and WLAN connectivity.

Maemo is the operating system used in Nokia's tablets, and the Finnish handset maker's description of the N900 shows it's moving to converge the computer, the Internet and the mobile phone.

Convert web applications into executable desktop applications with Mango

2009-08-26T13:08:00.001-07:00

Mango, though a rather strange name for a program, provides a neat solution for managing our favorite web applications. Mango converts web applications or simply websites into an executable file that runs directly on the desktop on it's own window independent of the browser installed on your system. An executable file of a website means that to open this site, it neither requires to have Mango installed on the computer nor even a browser. You can convert your favorite sites into EXE files, carry them with you on a pen drive and access them from any computer with an internet connection. What's more? You can even lock these executable files with a password so that no one else can access these sites.

The web applications are configurable, like you can add your own icons or add a splash screen to the file and even create customizable menus, according to Mango's website, though I'm unable to figure out how to create menus.

The idea was good, but lack of some basic features can make it frustratingly difficult to use. For instance, there is no back button and no address bar. So if you click on a page there is no way of returning back to the previous page unless there is a link on the site like Home or previous etc. The developer needs to work out these problems. Let's wait and see what new features the next release brings in.

Yahoo peps Search, Mail and Messenger

2009-08-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yahoo has added slew of new features and updates to its three core offerings - Mail, Search and Messenger. Yahoo Mail, one of the top leading email services, gets more social features as one of the key milestone in Yahoo Open Strategy. Along with that, Yahoo Messenger 10 will also bring social tinge like showing status updates, photo sharing, video calls and other notifications.
Yahoo Mail gets the long deserved attachment limit raise to 25MB from 10MB per mail. New Application box combines Calendar, Notepad, and several other third party apps for streamlined single window Inbox. The Application box will contain third party apps like Picnik, ZumoDrive or PayPal along with several others coming in future.

Yahoo Mail's integration with popular social networks will be a boon to community website lovers. Users will be able to get updates from their contacts on various social networks and interact directly from Yahoo Mail window. Photo sharing would now be fun as users will be able to select several photos and share all of them at same time.

Yahoo has also redesigned its Mail's mobile version (m.yahoo.com) which can perform important functions including attachment downloads. This mobile version will now have read-write access to phone's folders. Also, Mail Contacts now will automatically get updated as the contact changes the name.

Yahoo Messenger 10 beta has new HD video calling support and new Y! Updates window that'll remind you of Facebook. Users will get status updates from their contacts on Yahoo Buzz, Flickr, Twitter and other series. Yahoo Insider now can be localized with pin code to obtain local information. Messages from Yahoo Messengers contacts can be received for different IM apps on iPhone. Basically, because the Yahoo 360 service that was rolled out to compete with MySpace and Facebook didn't work, Yahoo is lifting interface and adding more features to its Mail and Messenger services.

Yahoo Search will offer a new search results page that connects users directly to web content and new results filtering options. Also, Search Assist, Yahoo's real-time query suggestion engine, has been added to Yahoo universal header's search box for search suggestions. Users can also organize, save and share their search results with Search Pad. Check out images of the latest updates here.

Even after the deal with Microsoft, Yahoo Search continues to differentiate itself from Bing. "We are Yahoo and that will continue...We collaborate on the back-end but we are competitors on the front-end", clarified Prabhakar Raghavan, senior vice-president of Yahoo, at a press event held at company's headquarters.

Yahoo has sent out a clear word regarding its Search - We're still in competition!

LG Arena Sells a Million Units

2009-08-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

LG's flagship touchscreen handset, the Arena KM 900, that was first seen in February 2009 has managed to rake up a million units in sales within five months of its launch.
The extremely popular handset has seen its popularity increase across the world ever since its launch, contributing to this milestone figure. The success of the LG Arena comes close on the heels of the successful launch of the LG Viewty, which, since its launch in October 2007, has seen 8 million units sold. In India, the Arena was only recently launched - in June. The extreme popularity of the Arena might also reflect in LG's global standing as one of the leading manufacturer of cell phones. It is competing with the likes of Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola who, along with Nokia, at the top are the top five cell phone manufacturers of the world.

As for the LG Arena, the device comes with a 5 megapixel camera, supports high quality video recording (the Omnia HD is the new king here!) and comes with 8GB of internal memory, that can be expanded up to 32GB - thanks to its memory card slot that accepts mini SDHC cards. The phone is on sale in 53 countries around the globe and in India, it is priced at Rs. 24,990.

Microsoft's OneApp Released

2009-08-26T11:55:00.001-07:00

Microsoft seems really interested in the mobile phone segment of late. If it announced a major partnership with Nokia a few weeks ago, its now time to announce its OneApp service which promises to bring smartphone like abilities to feature phones.
This also marks the beginning of Microsoft "deviation" into the non-smartphone scheme of things who, until now, had only the Windows Mobile smartphone OS in its mobile arsenal. Microsoft had never ventured into making hardware and it still seems committed to that policy. That however doesn't seem to have stopped the company from concentrating on non-smartphones.

As for OneApp, this happens to be a "do it all" application that will enable users to run various subsidiary applications under it's umbrella. These include mini Facebook, Windows Live Messenger

, Twitter and Mobile Wallet applications. It's a pretty light on the resources, "weighing" in at just 150KB. The add-on apps are just 30KB in size and hence should fit in most feature phones of today. The best thing about this is that it offers users to access the service "online" being more of a cloud service. Which means, users do not really store and install apps to their devices.

"When people see these apps running on a feature phone, their eyes light up. It's pretty exciting. What we're letting you do is get access to the applications and services you want from a device you already own. If you don't own a PC, or you share a PC, your mobile phone may be your first or only computing device," said Tim McDonough, Microsoft's senior director of Mobile Product Management.

OneApp will be initially launched in South Africa. For those wanting more, there's a video preview available as well - strangely showcasing the service being used on a Nokia smartphone!

Competition 2009 on iPhone developer contest at B/C Interactive

2009-08-13T01:52:00.001-07:00

iPhone developer contest

Introduction:
Your mission should you choose to accept, is to create a fun interactive application or gaming application program that will both capture and ignite even the most timid iPhone user’s desire. Enter our nationwide search for the next mind-blowing iPhone app created by the most ambitious and imaginative amateur programmer.
This ground-breaking challenge is a recreational programmer’s dream come true. The winning candidate will be awarded $1,000 in cash and prizes.

Dates to remember:
Last date for submission of application: 09/01/09

Source: http://www.easyiphonecontest.com/

Microsoft, Nokia, and Google Take Aim at RIM

2009-08-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

Some of the biggest names in mobile technology are girding for battle against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM) and iPhone creator Apple (AAPL).

Later this year, Google (GOOG) and partners that include handset maker Motorola (MOT) plan devices and features aimed at business users of mobile phones. Meantime, Nokia (NOK) and Microsoft (MSFT) are joining forces in their effort to take share in the lucrative market for company-friendly smartphones.

The moves are aimed mainly at RIM, the U.S. leader in smartphones for businesses, and defending against a rising threat from Apple and Palm (PALM). In July, RIM accounted for 34% of smartphone sales in the stores of the largest U.S. wireless service providers, and it boasted the most popular smartphone on the market, the BlackBerry Curve, according to research by Avian Securities.

Microsoft and Nokia announced their offensive on Aug. 12, saying that beginning in 2010 they'll unveil features including tight security and syncing with other devices. The companies also said they'll work together to get other applications, such as Microsoft's Office productivity tools, onto cell phones, and that by working together they can make it cheaper for corporations to support smartphones for employees.

Facebook testing Twitter-like "Lite" version

2009-08-13T01:46:00.000-07:00

The Internet was buzzing Wednesday with talk of Facebook testing a streamlined "Lite" version of the social-networking service that could challenge microblogging sensation Twitter.

"We are currently testing a simplified alternative to Facebook.com that loads a specific set of features quickly and efficiently," the Internet star said in reply to an AFP inquiry.

"Similar to the Facebook experience you get on your mobile phones, Facebook Lite is a fast-loading, simplified version of Facebook that enables people to make comments, accept Friend requests, write on people's Walls, and look at photos and Status updates."

Facebook Lite is being tested in India and other countries where new users flooding to the service "are looking to start off with a more simple experience," according to the Palo Alto, California-based firm.

A test website at lite.facebook.com was accidently opened to an expanded audience on Tuesday night, but the slip was caught and traffic routed to standard Facebook pages.

Invitations to take part in a private test of "Facebook Lite" evidently reached a variety of US bloggers only to have the enclosed links vanish a short time later.

"Lite" screen shots captured and posted online revealed a Facebook page devoted to fresh comments and updates from friends in a style that could challenge the real-time interplay at Twitter.

Facebook announced on Monday that it has acquired FriendFeed, a Silicon Valley startup which allows members to see what their friends are doing online and share content.

Facebook said that the 12 employees of the Mountain View, California-based FriendFeed will join Facebook and its four founders will hold senior roles on Facebook's engineering and product teams.

The acquisition of FriendFeed and testing of "Facebook Lite" follows social-networking star's failed attempt last year to buy Twitter.

FriendFeed has been described as a potential rival to Twitter in its ability to conduct real-time search, an area where Facebook has been seeking to expand.

Facebook is the fastest growing social network on the Internet and has more than 250 million members.

Microsoft ordered to stop selling Word in US

2009-08-13T01:45:00.000-07:00

A US judge has ordered Microsoft to stop selling its popular Word document creation application in the country in 60 days after finding that the software contains technology that violates a patent held by a third party.

Microsoft Office, which includes Word, accounted for more than $3 billion in worldwide sales in Microsoft's most recent fiscal year and is used by literally millions of businesses and consumers for everyday tasks like word processing and making spreadsheets and presentations.

I4i, a Toronto-based software maker, has been battling Microsoft over an obscure patent related to XML or Extensible Markup Language. XML is a key software component of many websites as well as Word and other programs.

Upholding a a May 20 jury decision Tuesday, Leonard Davis, a federal district court judge in Tyler, Texas, banned the world's largest software from selling Word 2003 , WWord 2007 and future versions of the software that use i4i's technology without a licence.

The judge also ordered Microsoft to pay several hefty fines to i4i, including $200 million in damages and $40 million in "enhanced damages".

"We feel vindicated with this reuslt," said Michael Vulpe, who co-founded i4i in 1993.

"It is not a question of fear or pride or anything else," said Loudon Owen, chairman of i4i. "We're very respectful of Microsoft, but when you're in the right you have to persevere."

Microsoft plans to appeal.

"We are disappointed by the court's ruling," spokesman Kevin Kutz said in a written statement. "We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid."

The suit involves a patent i4i's founders obtained in 1998 that is the basis for a "customised XML" tool the company supplies to drug and defence companies and other large corporations, said Owen.

XML is a specialised alphabet that can capture any kind of computer file as a regular text. It's designed to make computer data human-readable - and make it easier for one programme to load and process data created by another programme.

Judge Davis found that Microsoft was aware of i4i's patent and that there was enough evidence of Microsoft "wilfully infringing" on the patent to issue the injunction, pending continuation of the case.

Investors shrugged off the news - perhaps in anticipation of a higher court overturning the ruling, which arose from the plaintiff-friendly Eastern Texas federal jurisdiction, Information Week reported.

Microsoft shares were up 1.6 percent to $23.50 in early trading in the US Wednesday.

Networking fiends beware of Koobface

2009-08-13T01:43:00.000-07:00

If you have been getting tempting messages with video links in your accounts in social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Bebo, Friendster and Hi5, beware. Any attempt to download the promised video will make you another victim of Koobface, a worm that could steal critical and personal information from your computer.

The government's India Computer Emergency Response Team has warned that Koobface, a play on the name of social networking site Facebook, comes with an enticing tagline and spreads by spamming the contacts of the victim on networking sites.

With more than 3 million members of Facebook alone in India, Koobface's potential for wreaking havoc on the country's computer systems is immense — a fact that has prompted the government to issue the warning alert.

Typically, Koobface victims get a message from one of their contacts inviting them to click on a video link. The link leads you to a site mimicking the video-sharing site, Youtube. Once there, you are asked whether you want to download a software needed to watch the video.

If you click `yes', the worm gets activated, leaving your computer vulnerable. The worm not only disrupts your internet experience by sending your searches on engines like Google elsewhere and return garbled replies, it also steals data that may have been left in your computer's memory.

If you do or have already been Koobfaced the only way to protect your machine is to delete all files and registry keys that have been added by the worm. Internet users have also been advised by the government agency to install and maintain updated anti-virus software in their computers, as also a desktop firewall, and block ports which are not required.

While you may not be able to notice the worm rummaging through your electronic files searching for personal data, including passwords, the visible signs of the worm would show up on your internet browsing where you would get abnormal results to your searches and be misdirected to other sites.

Western Digital New Mobile Hard Drives

2009-08-05T04:10:00.000-07:00

The company, Western Digital has recently added two new mobile hard drives to its range for India. These Mobile Hard Drives offers an incredible storage capacity. The new 1 TB mobile hard drive is powered by the famous 333GB-per-platter technology, the latest Scorpio Blue 2.5″ hard drive series offers up to 1TB capacity. The company has also brought out a 750GB mobile hard drive.

WD Scorpio Blue 750GB drives (model WD7500KEVT) are now available all the way through selected distributors and resellers. However, the 1TB device (model WD10TEVT) is available now and configured into My Passport Essential SE USB drives.

Sharad Srivastava, Director, Director India and South Asia, Western Digital said that, “The convergence of the growing mobile computing and digital media trends produces demand for desktop-like capacities in portable devices. Our new WD Scorpio Blue drives enable people to take even more of their digital collections with them wherever they go and, realizing the value of their data, back up their notebooks on their My Passport drives.”

Both the mobile hard drives come with a 12.5mm form factor. These devices are suitable for use in portable storage solutions, like the recent My Passport Essential SE Portable USB Drives. These storage devices offer a remarkable transfer rate of 3 gigabits per second.

The mobile hard drives employ WhisperDrive technology, which make them one of the quietest 2.5″ drives currently available. It is also equipped with the ShockGuard technology that integrates firmware and hardware advancements to meet the highest combined shock tolerance specifications needed for mobile and notebook applications. Further the SecurePark feature ascertains that the recording head does not touch the disk surface. Hence users can experience long-term reliability owing to fewer head wear and enhanced shock tolerance.

The 1TB drive is priced at Rs 12,980 MSRP and the 750GB version at Rs.9880. The company offers a five-year limited warranty for the Scorpio Blue hard drives.

App to rate your sexual performance

2009-08-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

SYDNEY: Want to measure your performance in the sack? Well, all you need to do is to download a new iPhone application and see how competent you are.

The Passion app uses the phone’s accelerometer to sense motion, as well as the device’s microphone and timer. Users will just have to place the phone on the bed before intercourse, and at the end of the horizontal dance, the phone will give a rating out of 10 based on three criteria -- duration, orgasm and activity.

One can upload the scores and compare to those of other people around the world. In fact, the high scores list also gives you a chance to brag about it.

In case a person is not happy with the score, there is an option of “try again”. Priced at $4.99 (Rs 240 approx), the app’s creator Chris Alvares, said the idea came up as a joke between his co-workers.

“It’s not a hoax, it actually works! I figured out an algorithm that I could use with the iPhone’s features,” he said.

Delhi kids top list of internet, cell users

2009-08-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: A large section of the affluent Delhi children, who go to public schools, are net-savvy and tech-friendly and also have deep pockets because of generous parents, a survey has revealed. The city has the largest number of students accessing internet from schools 31%, the highest in the country. Ninety nine per cent of Delhi's children have access to mobile phones and 72% have digital cameras. And 28 per cent of Delhi students get over Rs 1,000 as pocket money.

These are the findings of a nationwide survey carried out by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) of nearly 14,000 high school children between the age of 12 and 18 in 12 cities across the country. The objective: To figure out just what's on the mind of the country's affluent youth in metros and mini-metros.

The target group was from socio-economic classification (SEC) A. The survey was carried out in Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Cochin, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Pune, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Chennai for 2008-09.

The survey found these kids to be netizens. They blog, catch the news online and make friends on social networking sites. In fact, an overwhelming 93% of them were aware of social networking.

Sixty seven per cent of Delhi's youth ranked a search engine as their number one source of information with TV and newspapers coming a distant second. Kolkata has the highest number of students (77%) accessing the internet for information. While 62% of the youths surveyed had PCs at home, 63% spent over an hour a day on the net. PC penetration at home was highest in Bangalore and Delhi. Chennai topped the metros in internet use from home while cybercafes seem to be the primary access points in smaller cities.

Blogging in the metros revolves largely around the students' lives. But when it comes to reading blogs, a majority of students in Mumbai and Ahmedabad prefer films and celebrities. But students in Delhi blog more from school and for study purposes.

As for education, a majority of the students would like to study abroad, more so in the mini metros than in the metros, with US being the No 1 option. There is a great deal of interest in destinations like Dubai and Singapore for studies as youngsters feel these countries have a good support system for students. Although mobile and nomadic when it comes to travel, a large number of students 49% nationally and 60% in the mini-metros would like to live and work in the country after their studies.

So just what is it that the youth is looking for in a career. Money? Not really. Travel and learning new skills are priorities that have overtaken salaries when it comes to zeroing in on a career of their choice. It comes as no surprise that engineering and IT rank highest in industry preference.

Infosys to start hiring from next year

2009-07-30T05:27:00.001-07:00

HYDERABAD: IT major, Infosys Technologies Limited plans to go to campus recruitment across the country next year. Chief Executive Officer and Managing director, Infosys technologies Limited, S Gopalakrishnan told reporters on the sidelines of a CII meeting that companies which skipped campus recruitment following global economic downturn this year, are looking at training about 18,000 of their employees under the extended mode till January 2010.

The recruitment and expansion would begin early next year, he said hoping that economy will revive in second quarter of the fiscal. Economic meltdown affected the growth rate of leading IT companies including Infosys, he said.

Gopalakrishnan expected better performance of IT companies including Infosys in the first quarter results. He said the IT and ITES industry would continue to grow despite the economic slowdown and its growth rate is expected to pick up by mid next year.

Gopalakrishnan said that his company has no immediate plans to expand activities in two tier cities in Andhra Pradesh.

Infosys work for the second campus at the SEZ has already begun and is expected to be complete by next year as the campus with over 10,000 employees in Hitech city was inadequate, he said.

Microsoft-Yahoo deal: How it will work

2009-07-30T05:21:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc sealed a 10-year Web search deal to better compete against market leader Google Inc. The long-expected deal means Microsoft's new Bing search engine will be combined with Yahoo's experience attracting advertisers in the first serious threat to Google Inc -- if the companies get regulatory approval and can make the partnership work.

Here’s how the Yahoo-Microsoft deal will work out: Financial details, search, advertising, risks, obstacles and more...

* Microsoft will guarantee the revenue per search for Yahoo's owned and operated sites in each country for the first 18 months after initial implementation in that country.

* Yahoo expects the agreement to boost annual GAAP operating income by about $500 million within two years and help capital expenditure savings by about $200 million. Yahoo also expects the partnership to add about $275 million to annual operating cash flow.

* Microsoft will pay Yahoo through a revenue-sharing agreement on traffic generated on Yahoo's network of both owned and operated and affiliate sites.

* Microsoft will pay traffic acquisition costs to Yahoo at an initial rate of 88 percent of search revenue generated on Yahoo's owned and operated sites for the first five years.

* Yahoo will act as the global sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers.

* Microsoft's AdCenter platform will fulfill self-serve advertising for both companies.

* AdCenter's automated auction process will set prices for all search ads.

* Each company will keep its own separate display advertising business and sales force.

* Under a 10-year license, Microsoft will be able to integrate Yahoo's core search technologies into its current Web search platforms.

* Microsoft's Bing will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo sites. Yahoo will continue to use its technology and data in other areas of its business, including display advertising technology.

* Yahoo will innovate and "own" the user experience on its own properties, including the user experience for search, even though it will be powered by Microsoft technology.

* The agreement restricts the use of search data shared between the companies. To protect consumer privacy, it will limit the data shared between the companies to the minimum necessary to operate and improve the combined search platform.

* Yahoo! will continue to syndicate its current search affiliate partnerships.

* The companies will continue to compete in other areas as the agreement does not cover each company's Web properties and products, email, instant messaging or display advertising.

Bing Lands into Worlds Top 20 Websites

2009-07-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

How much time does it take to launch a new service and bring it in to the coveted "worlds most visited" sites list? Not much if the service happens to be a Search Engine, and more importantly, if the search engine is from Microsoft. Well, it's not the most visited website as yet. However, breaking into the top 20 was cakewalk for Bing, which managed the feat in just about two months from the launch date.

So, ladies and gentlemen, it's now official. Microsoft's Bing, launched sometime in June, has now made its quiet entry into Alexa's top 20 list. It is still behind the likes of Facebook and Twitter. Strangely, Alexa's "top 20" page still lists Bing's erstwhile Avatar, Windows Live Search at the number five spot. Windows Live is dead for all practical purposes as going to live.com redirects to Bing now.

While it may have inched itself into the top 20 list, it is still way behind Google, which continues to dominate the number one position. In second place is Yahoo followed by another Google property, YouTube. Almost two months since the launch of Bing, it sure is a good sign for Microsoft about Bing's growth. However, it still has a long way to go before it can ruffle the feathers of folks over at Google in the Search Engine wars. As for Bing, its growth, in sheer numbers has been great; however, the overall usage pales in comparison to Google.

Sony launches Wire-free, All-in-one Walkman, W Series MP3 Player

2009-07-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

Sony recently launched All-in-one Walkman W Series MP3 Player . Showcasing a wire-free design, the Walkman W series is perfect for audio fans who want a simple and headphone-only MP3 player to use on the go. The ultra portable W series is compact and lightweight (35g) with a revolutionary design that fits comfortably behind the head, so users can get active without getting tangled. Available in five stand-out colours; black, white, pink, violet and lime, it features 2GB internal storage, ensuring you have a wide selection of songs whilst working the treadmill.

The unique design means there is no traditional display to this MP3 player; instead, it incorporates Sony’s unique new ZAPPINTM function that offers an effortless way of browsing, searching and listening to music without a display, allowing you to concentrate solely on your workout. By simply clicking the Jog Dial operation on the inside earpiece, the ZAPPINTM mode helps you find tunes easily, by playing a four or 15 second snippet of each song in the music library one after the other until a favourite song is found.

The Walkman W series MP3 player offers a handy solution for all those times you’ve discovered your battery is flat. A quick charge feature has been incorporated in this model, allowing users to play back up to 90 minutes of music with only a three minute charge – perfect for a quick gym session. Give it a full charge and users can enjoy up to 12 hours of music playback. The W series also comes with a USB cradle to dock and charge your MP3 player.

You can be assured of the clearest sound with Sony’s impressive 13.5mm EX headphones, offering exceptional sound quality and maximum comfort. In addition, the ‘Content Transfer’ software supplied with the W series Walkman allows you to easily transfer non-DRM music files from online music services, such as iTunes, to the Walkman by simply ‘dragging and dropping’ files.

With an affordable price tag of Rs.4,990/-, the NWZ-W200 Series will be available at all Sony Center stores and retail partners across the country.

Bill Gates on NDTV

2009-07-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

SOCIAL DESKTOP CONTEST 2009 SOCIAL DESKTOP GERMANY

2009-07-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

Competition 2009 on Social Desktop Contest! at Social Desktop Germany

Social Desktop
Frank Karlitschek
h i v e 01 GmbH
Stöckachstrasse 16
70190 Stuttgart
Germany
phone: +49 711 5188 2593
fax: +49 711 5188 2923
www.hive01.com

Social Desktop Contest!

Introduction:
Last year the vision of the Social Desktop was born. The idea is to bring the power of online communities and group collaboration to desktop applications. One of the strongest assets of the free software community is our worldwide community of developers and users who believe in free software and who work hard to bring our software and solutions to the mainstream. openDesktop.org wants to help to make this vision reality. We decided to launch a contest for applications, services and programs using it.

Dates to remember:
Last date for submission of application: 08/25/09

Source: http://www.socialdesktop.org/contest/

Mozilla Story

2009-07-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

BOXES lined the cubicles and hallways in the offices of Mozilla on a recent afternoon, and its chief executive, John Lilly, seemed a bit disoriented as he looked for a place to sit. Mozilla, which makes the Firefox Web browser, had just moved from one end of this city to the other, mainly to gain more space for its growing work force.

Yet it was hard not to read symbolism into the move. Mozilla’s old offices were next door to Google’s sprawling headquarters. For several years, Google has been Mozilla’s biggest ally and patron. But in September, it also became Mozilla’s competitor when it unveiled its own Web browser, Chrome.

So it seemed only natural for Mozilla to move out from under Google’s shadow.

“We’ve learned how to compete with Microsoft and Apple,” says Mr. Lilly, a soft-spoken, earnest 38-year-old. “Google is a giant, of course, and competing with them means we are competing with another giant, which is a little tiring.”

Those big companies weren’t giving much thought to browsers when Firefox was released in 2004, and neither were most ordinary Web users. A browser was just a window onto the Web, and people used whatever was already installed on a computer. Usually that meant Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

Since then, Firefox has captured nearly a quarter of the browser market by focusing on speed, security and innovation. Its success is all the more remarkable because it was built and marketed by a far-flung community of programmers, testers and fans — mostly volunteers — coordinated by a nonprofit foundation. It is a shining example of the potential of open-source software, which anyone can modify and improve, and its ascent is one of Silicon Valley’s most unusual success stories.

In short, Mozilla showed the world that browsers matter. Now the challenge is to keep proving that Mozilla matters.

The rise of Firefox unleashed a new wave of innovation and competition among browser makers. Microsoft and Apple, which makes the Safari browser, have narrowed the gap with recent upgrades. That makes it less likely that people will take the trouble to seek out and install Firefox.

At the same time, the Web has been migrating from PCs to powerful mobile phones like the iPhone. Firefox won’t have a mobile version ready until later this year.

And then there is Google. After introducing Chrome, a lightning-fast browser designed to run increasingly complex Web applications, Google upped the ante. This month it said it would put Chrome at the center of a new operating system — the software that handles the most basic functions of a PC.

“Google, Apple and Microsoft can all throw a lot of resources toward improving their browsers. Mozilla, not so much,” says Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. “When it was them against Microsoft, it wasn’t such a big problem. Now that there are other alternatives, it becomes harder for them to retain relevance.”

DESPITE Mozilla’s mighty and increasingly competitive rivals, the spread of Firefox has continued unabated. Nearly 300 million people around the world use it, making Firefox not only the most successful open-source consumer product, but also one of the most successful software programs ever.

To a large extent, that success sprang from a disparate community that coalesced around Firefox and was harnessed by Mitchell Baker, Mr. Lilly’s predecessor. Ms. Baker, whom Mr. Lilly calls the “conscience” of Mozilla, remains its chairwoman and is actively involved in managing it.

Ms. Baker, 52, seems to embody Mozilla’s anticorporate ethos. Unlike the clean-cut Mr. Lilly, Ms. Baker has a decidedly counterculture look. Her hair, dyed a reddish color, is closely cropped on one side only, and she is prone to wearing sandals with hiking socks.

She organized a recent meeting of nonprofit groups at Mozilla that ended with what she called a “psychic group hug” — not a literal embrace, but a chance for everyone there to describe in one word how they were feeling.

For Mozilla and its millions of fans, Firefox is not just cool software but also a cause: to ensure that no company, whether Microsoft, Google or anyone else, can tilt the Web to its advantage by tweaking its browser to favor its products or applications. Microsoft appeared ready to use that tactic after its browser vanquished Netscape’s.

Ms. Baker envisioned Firefox as a counterweight to that possibility, and a way to make browsing safer. In the years after Netscape’s demise, Microsoft essentially stopped improving Internet Explorer, and the browser quickly became vulnerable to security threats, an explosion of pop-up ads and other annoyances.

Firefox was faster, safer and blocked pop-ups. It also offered some compelling innovations, like tabs, which allowed users to have multiple pages open inside a single browser window. Word of its virtues spread quickly, first in the tech world, then through a rapidly expanding fan base.

Today the model remains the same. Only a small fraction of the people involved in building Firefox are paid employees at Mozilla, which has about 250 workers. An additional 1,000 or so programmers contributed code for the most recent Firefox release. There are also tens of thousands of other volunteers who help test and promote Firefox, write add-ons and help translate it into more than 70 languages.

“We succeeded because more people got engaged, helped us build a better product and helped us get the product into the hands of people,” Ms. Baker says. “We succeeded because of the mission.”

That community’s fervor was heard in a recent weekly conference call for engineers who build Firefox. The call, moderated but open to anyone, had 30 participants, some in Mozilla offices and others scattered worldwide.

The conversation bounced from one technical topic to another: user interfaces, bug tracking, security. Then someone interrupted to announce that in just a few hours, one million people had downloaded the new Firefox 3.5. The group erupted in cheers. (By the next afternoon, the number had topped six million.)

“Mozilla is about a community coming together and saying it can compete with the largest software company in the world,” says Sandeep Krishnamurthy, director of the business administration program at the University of Washington at Bothell, who recently wrote a paper on Firefox’s success. “There really is nothing like it.”

Across the globe, Vineel Reddy, 21, an engineering student in Hyderabad, India, basks in the satisfaction of having contributed to that success. Drawn to the Firefox mission, but not particularly good at programming, he decided to work on promoting Firefox. He rallied some friends who were skilled at video editing, rented a camera and produced a flashy clip that compares Firefox to a slick sports car.

The video has been seen more than 33,000 times, and Mr. Reddy says he gets daily e-mail messages thanking him. “This is the best experience I have had,” he says.

Mr. Lilly says it was that kind of dedication from volunteers that enticed him to move from a career in venture capital and to join Mozilla in 2005.

“As Americans we’ve lost the sort of civic engagement, the participation in making the world what we want and what we think it should be,” says Mr. Lilly, who became chief executive last year. “That, as a mission and as a product ethos, resonated with me.”

MR. LILLY readily acknowledges that Google’s entrance into the browser market rocked the Mozilla boat. “Life was simpler before they did this,” he says.

That said, Chrome’s release does not signal a return to the browser wars of the 1990s, when Microsoft poured resources into crushing the upstart Netscape.

For starters, Mozilla and Google have long had an agreement that makes Google the standard home page when people start Firefox, and sends them to Google when they type something into the search box at the top of the browser.

Google pays Mozilla hefty fees in return.

The deal accounted for 88 percent of Mozilla’s $75 million in revenue in 2007, according to its most recent tax filings, and it was recently renewed through 2011. (The gusher of income from Google prompted the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation to set up a taxpaying subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation, in 2005.)

The deal has helped Google gain market share in search. But Google has also been among the biggest beneficiaries of Firefox’s success in other ways.

Google’s fortunes are tied to the advancement of the Web. As browsers become faster, more standardized, more secure and more capable of running complex Web applications, Google’s services, like search, Gmail, maps and office software, become easier to use and more popular, and Google earns more money. Firefox’s innovations have helped with this.

“Mozilla has done an amazing job,” says Sundar Pichai, a vice president of engineering at Google who heads the development of Chrome.

Mr. Pichai says that because of Mozilla’s vital role, the company thought long and hard about the impact Chrome would have on Firefox. Google eventually came to believe that it could help spur even more innovation in browsers by building its own, he says. And it made Chrome open-source, so any advances it makes could be adopted by others, including Mozilla.

“We were all very clear that if the outcome was that somehow Mozilla lost share to Google, and everything else remained the same, internally, we would have been seen as having failed,” Mr. Pichai says.

So far, Chrome doesn’t appear to have hurt Firefox. Chrome has grabbed just under 2 percent of the browser market, according to Net Applications, a company that tracks browser use. During the same period, Firefox’s share has kept growing, to 22.5 percent from 19.5 percent. Microsoft’s has continued to decline, to 66 percent from 72, though it argues that most of that loss has been on computers that don’t readily support Internet Explorer, like those from Apple.

In many ways, Google and Mozilla are fighting the same battle, albeit not with the same objectives. They both contend that the Web should be open and based on common standards — Mozilla because it is its mission, Google because it is good for its business.

“Most days we are aligned with them,” Mr. Lilly says. “Their focus on the open Web is pretty amazing.”

But he says financial pressures may someday push Google to start using Chrome to favor its own services. That danger, he says, “clarifies for me how important it is for independent organizations like Mozilla to exist.”

Few at Mozilla fear that Google will pull its financial support. And even if it did, Mozilla says that it could find another company willing to cut a similar deal. The real challenge for Firefox is that over time, as Google and others invest in developing and marketing their browsers, the mission that drove Firefox’s success will lose urgency.

“Mozilla performed a really good service, but you have to wonder what their relevance is going to be going forward,” says Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, an independent firm that tracks the company. “They keep Microsoft honest. But if Google is pushing innovation in its own browser, it can play that role.”

Mr. Lilly acknowledges that with the intense competition, it will be harder for Firefox to stand out. Firefox and its supporters will have to work harder to find areas of browser technology where they want to focus their efforts, he says, and let Google, Apple and Microsoft push innovation in other areas.

But he says the renewed competition is a testament to the success of Firefox and of the Mozilla mission.

“This is the world we wanted, and the world we made,” he says. “We wanted a world where people — normal human beings — could make meaningful choices about the browser technology that they use. That’s what we have today.”

Scientists develop 'sensor' to measure happiness

2009-07-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

Washington (PTI): Are you feeling happy or sad? Well, scientists in the United States have created a "sensor" which is capable of measuring happiness of people.

Peter Dodds and Chris Danforth, a mathematician and computer scientist respectively, working in the Advanced Computing Center at the University of Vermont, have developed a mechanism to measure happiness of millions of bloggers.

"The proliferation of personal online writing such as blogs gives us the opportunity to measure emotional levels in real time," they wrote in their study, 'Measuring the Happiness of Large-Scale Written Expression: Songs, Blogs, and Presidents,4" available in online edition of Journal of Happiness Studies.

Their "hedonometer" gathers sentences beginning "I feel ..." Then, applying standardized "psychological valence" of words, each sentence receives a happiness score.

According to release by the the University of Vermont, the scientists were able to make observations of people "in a fairly natural environment at several orders of magnitude higher than previous happiness studies".

"They think they are communicating with friends," but, since blogs are public, Danforth said, "we're just looking over their shoulders."

"We are thus able to present results of what might be considered a very basic remote-sensing hedonometer," Dodds and Danforth were quoted as saying in the release. "Our study is a data exploration," Danforth underlined, adding "It's not about developing a theory."

Nokia N86 8MP Smartphone @ Rs. 27,359

2009-07-26T02:21:00.000-07:00

Nokia has finally launched its N86 8 Megapixel mobile phone in the market. The phone has been a force to be reckoned with everyone hailing it as the best non-touchscreen smartphone. This is the first phone from the world’s largest mobile maker to feature such a high quality camera. N86 in the Indian market at a price tag of Rs. 27,359.

This N86 is a dual-slide design with rounded corners. It measures 103.4mm x 51.4mm x 16.5 mm (4.1in x 2.0in x .6in) and has a display of 16 million colors.

Each Nokia N86 8MP can play up to 25 hours of music on one charge which can be enjoyed with the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-214 also announced today.

The company says their built-in camera will take “clear” pictures in both dark and light conditions. There is a wide-angle option along with a high speed shutter.

The device also offers a bright OLED screen with scratch resistant hardened glass, easy photo management, full sync capability with a PC and TV-out support for slide shows.

This phone has also taken care for the gaming fans as phone offers dedicated gaming keys and some 17 pre-loaded N-Gage labels.

When there are no more IP addresses

2009-07-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

The ‘dotcom’ industry, which has evolved gracefully into an indispensable business channel in emerging economies after its boom and bust phase, may be at yet another cross roads at the start of this decade. The reason is that the unique IP addresses allotted to websites are peaking at a number of 4 billion globally, and at just 3 million in India. The IPV4 standard of addressing can accommodate only a finite number of IP addresse, which are estimated to be exhausted by 2011-12.

An IP (internet protocol) address, otherwise known as web addresses, is the unique identification number given to each web space allocated to a particular individual or corporation. The international standard of addressing for this is IPV4 (internet protocol version 4), which allows a finite number of addresses only.

Taking stock of the situation, an alternate system of addressing named IPV6 has been under development for over a decade now. This system is structured in such a way that it allows infinite number of URLs to be allocated. However, despite a clear indication of exhaustion of IP addresses under IPV4, IPV6 deployment remains below 1% globally and near zero in India.

In fact, Sify is the only web service provider which has converted to IPV6 in India, apart from research networks. “Web clients, servers and internet service providers (ISPs) will much rather look at deployment of alternate technologies to circumvent the addressing problem than attempt a complete overhaul of standards,” said Verisign India vice president Shekhar Kirani. “IPV6 deployment stands at a mere 0.45% in the US and 0.24% in China.”

Incidentally, China beat the United States in the amount of web traffic it attracts in Q1 of 2009-10, at 27.59% of global traffic, compared to US’ 22.15%. The growth in traffic YoY has been at 43% from 19.3% last year, whereas US’ has fallen by a marginal 7% from 22.85%.

“It is clear that it is in emerging economies that the IP addresses crunch will be felt direly,” said Sify Technologies global infrastructure operations VP P K Saji. “67% of the world’s IP addresses have been allocated to the US, 17% to the US and only 9% to Asia. But, it is in Asia that the demand for IP addresses has grown rapidly in the past year.”

The Indian government’s outlay on e-governance alone is estimated to be Rs.23000 crore till 2011. “According to data from banks, 20% of financial transactions done in this country are done online, and this number is expected to hit 30% by the end of this year,” Mr.Saji said. “But, India has just 0.0006 addresses per person, while the US has 9 addresses per person.”

At a recent forum on IPV6 held by the government of India’s telecom engineering centre, it was concluded that all e-governance projects will have to be IPV6 enabled. Mr.Kirani considers IPV6 penetration highly unlikely as it involves a change in ISP infrastructure, network architecture and web design on a concerted effort. “If it doesn’t happen simultaneously there will be issues with interoperability,” he said. But, Mr.Saji suggests a solution – a dual stack adapter fit to the web server. “Our site uses that adapter and so, can communicate with IPV4 as well as IPV6 infrastructure. For every enterprise to do that, it means a mere 20-25% increase in their network infrastructure cost, which is only 10% of their IT costs,” he said.

US-based Akamai, director David Belson said, “As a nation with a developing telecommunications infrastructure, there is enormous potential for IPv6 in India. Because of the vast number of IP addresses available with IPv6, it is possible to assign IP addresses to nearly any device and connect them to the internet. This can have a significant impact in areas such as agriculture, shipping, retail, entertainment, communications, and utilities.”

Presently, there are said to be 10^36 IP addresses available under IPV6, of which Sify has managed to obtain 0.7 trillion from ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the international body for IP address allocation. “There are 6.1 billion people in the world. IPV4 falls short of them by 2 billion, while IPV6 exceeds them exponentially!” Mr.Saji said.

Ironically, the operating system which was supposed to put a computer on every desk at every home – Windows, is one of the challenges for IPV6 deployment. “While Mac is 2.4% compatible to IPV6, Windows is only 0.32% compatible,” Mr.Kirani said.

In this state of affairs, it is inevitable that markets would arise for IPv4 addresses that have become a scarcer resource, Mr.Belson feels. Mr.Saji said, “Instead of enterprises squeezing whatever efficiency is possible from IPV4 through LAN networks, it makes sense to shift to shift to IPV6, for by April 2012, when there are no more IPV4 addresses to be allotted, it will be inevitable.”

Nokia extends style association with Priyanka Chopra

2009-07-25T05:32:00.001-07:00

Nokia, the world leader in mobile devices has further strengthened its style and imaging portfolio with the launch of the sleek and chic Nokia 6700 Classic & Nokia 6303 Classic. The devices, which were launched by Bollywood diva, Priyanka Chopra, are targeted at the suave and savvy Indian consumers who are looking for superior functionality with premium finish at competitive prices.

Nokia also announced that it will continue its association with tinsel town’s reigning queen and Nokia’s youth style icon, Priyanka Chopra who will be seen in a new print and digital campaign being unveiled by the company soon. With the tagline “Pictures get us talking”, the new campaign has a contemporary visual appeal that brings out how people use the elements of mobile imaging in their way of mobile communication rather than just voice.

Alongside the Nokia 6700 Classic & Nokia 6303 Classic launch, Priyanka also rolled out an interesting consumer engagement initiative - “Pictures get us talking”. The consumer contest that starts from today, gives users an opportunity to upload their interesting and unique pictures on the Nokia website – www.nokia.co.in.. The picture that starts the maximum conversations and is the most talked about in the virtual world will emerge as the winner. The winning entry will get a complete makeover by a well known fashion designer. In addition, Priyanka will also talk and twitter about her favourite pictures on her twitter.

Bill Gates: US curbs on talent a mistake

2009-07-24T09:01:00.001-07:00

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said it would be a "big mistake" if the US imposes curbs on the entry of skilled workers from abroad, putting his weight behind "smart people" from countries like India who want to work overseas.

"I can't make any predictions. Immigration policy could get more difficult. Microsoft as a company is very vocal. It would be a big mistake," Gates, here for overseeing the philanthropic activities of his foundation, said in an interaction with India Inc.

"The US Congress is very tough on immigration. But why not make an exception for smart people?" said Gates while addressing an interactive session organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).

Even though Gates now devotes most of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he has always been vocal about his support for migrant professionals that is reflected in the number of such workers at the
Microsoft offices in the US.

Gates said he was also keen to partner India in its ambitious plan to issue a single identity card and number to its 1.17 billion citizens for which a new authority has been formed under Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

"Microsoft wants to be part of the Unique Identification Authority of India project," he said, adding that he hoped to meet with Nilekani to discuss the issue.

HTC Hero goes on sale

2009-07-24T08:25:00.001-07:00

The device, which features a five-megapixel camera, built-in GPS and a digital compass for simple navigation, runs Google’s Android operating system. The Hero also has a touch-screen interface, an accelerometer that can sense which way the phone is being held, and up to 16GB of memory, so it can store thousands of songs, photos and movies.

Gadget fans have been impressed by the handset, which gives Apple’s iPhone a run for its money. HTC said the Hero boasts cutting-edge device-wide and contextual search, enabling users to easily search for people in their contact list or messages in their email in-box, as well as across other services, such as Twitter.

Users will also be able to download “widgets” on to the Hero’s home screen, providing at-a-glance access to the latest news headlines, weather reports, email inboxes and calendars.

The Hero is available exclusively on the Orange network, and will be available for free on selected price plans, including a £39.15 per month, two-year contract, which gives users unlimited data usage and text message as well as 1,200 minutes of free calls.

“The Hero offers a unique blend of form and function that will take Android to new heights,” said Peter Chou, chief executive of HTC.

Kingston launches its best 256 flash drive DataTraveler 300

2009-07-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

Kingston Technology has launched its best 256 flash drive DataTraveler 300. The product is a huge improvement in both technology and storage capacity than previous flash drivesIn just around two months time the company seems to have doubled the capacity of its 128 GB USB flash drive.

Just a few weeks ago the company had released DataTraveler 200 (DT200), the world's first 128GB USB Flash drive. The large capacity along with password protection gave users the flexibility to carry critical data with them at all times in a very small form factor.

The company while launching the previous flash drive had said, "The new DT200's robust storage capability lets consumers store complete libraries of music, photos and videos. It is also a great tool for business users who carry around large databases or files".

The Kingston DataTraveler 200 featured a capless design to protect the USB connector when not in use and is enhanced for Windows ReadyBoost. It came in 32-, 64- and 128GB capacities. The 128GB drive is build-to-order only. Customers who wish to purchase it can place an order through normal.

Kingston is a Taiwanese-American producer of memory products. Its global headquarters is located in Fountain Valley, California. It has manufacturing and logistics facilities in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Taiwan, Malaysia, and China.

It is the largest independent producer of DRAM memory modules, currently owning 27.5% of the third-party worldwide module market share, according to iSuppli. These figures do not include Kingston OEM revenues. Kingston is arguably the second largest supplier of flash memory.

Kingston’s latest DataTraveler 300 allows users to carry around thousands of image files and whole databases of documents, the company said. Kingston said the product offers fast data transfer rates and the option to password-protect data.A company official says, “The DataTraveler 300 will enable users to carry huge volumes of data with them everywhere they go - up to 365 CDs for example. That's one album for every day of the year, and it demonstrates how far flash technology has developed”.

Nathan Su a senior company official says, “Having the ability to carry over 51,000 images or a paper tower 1346 meters tall in such a small format, demonstrates how far flash technology has developed”. He goes on to add, “Users can also safeguard their data by initializing the Password Traveler software, which will allow business users and consumers to password protect their data in a privacy zone without the need of administrator rights.”

Microsoft Offers Free Trial of SaaS Offerings

2009-07-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Microsoft India has announced a two-month trial for its SaaS offering for businesses called the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). Users can try the offerings at Microsoft India’s Website at no charge before its commercial launch in October 2009. Microsoft’s BPOS suite includes Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications Server, Office LiveMeeting and CRM Live.

“Over 80 percent of the businesses in India are SMBs that are increasingly looking to use world class IT for better business productivity. With tools such as email and collaboration becoming increasingly a must-have in this segment, the pay-as-you-go affordability and freedom from IT administration, our Online Services offer the much needed respite from financial and logistical hurdles,” said Sanjay Manchanda, Director, Microsoft Business Division.

Online Services such as Exchange Online (for e-mail) and Office SharePoint Online (portals and collaboration) are available separately or as a suite together with Office Live Meeting (for conferencing), Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services and Microsoft Office Communications Online (for instant messaging and presence).

Microsoft’s SaaS strategy has three components—Windows Live for consumers and small businesses; the second is the hosted SaaS offerings where third-party companies will host the mailing, collaboration and CRM solutions and offer it to the market, while the last piece is the Online Services (BPOS) which will be hosted and delivered by Microsoft.

Microsoft expects Online Services to offer significant opportunities to partners that can sell, customize and provide consulting, migration, and managed services to small and medium businesses.

Technology will be key factor in tackling climate change

2009-07-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: India and the United States on Tuesday “registered points of congruence” in their approaches to climate change and agreed to continue to remain engaged on issues where there were divergences.

“The talks were useful and productive. We welcomed the fact that both see climate change and energy security as interlinked challenges,” Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran told The Hindu after holding talks with his U.S. counterpart Todd Stern

Both agreed that climate change action must enhance and not erode the developmental prospects of the developing countries. They also agreed that technology would be a key factor in enabling the world to meet the climate challenge, Mr. Saran said.

“We need to talk more about mitigation and the scale of financial resources required to enable climate action in the developing countries beyond the significant action they are already taking such as India’s own National Action Plan on Climate Change,” he said.

The two countries further need to discuss how they could create a global regime that would allow rapid and widespread diffusion of climate-friendly technologies.

Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh explained India’s position to Mr. Stern. He said that even in a high growth scenario, India would not be a major polluter. “He appreciated our position and said we should work for an international agreement that would take into account the concerns of countries like India and China,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Earlier, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah told Mr. Stern that the U.S. should remove “barriers” that prevented research and technology transfer and ensure easy funding in the renewable energy sector to combat the threats of climate change.

“We told them [the U.S.] very clearly that renewable energy, for instance solar energy, is very expensive and, therefore, we are unable to give the boost that it needs. We also spoke on how they would make the research easily available to the developing nations, particularly to India,” Dr. Abdullah told journalists.

Infosys Banglore Campus

2009-07-21T05:00:00.001-07:00

Yahoo set for a radical makeover

2009-07-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo Inc said it plans to introduce a major overhaul of its Internet home page, as the company strives to make itself more relevant to Web surfers and create new ways to sell advertising.

The new homepage blends Yahoo's collection of online content and products with popular social networking services like Facebook and Twitter, representing what a Yahoo official called the most "radical" make-over of the site since its inception more than a decade ago.

"It's a sea change in the way we think about products, the way we think about users, and the way we think about our business," Yahoo Senior Vice President of Integrated Consumer Experience Tapan Bhat said in a conference call with reporters ahead of the announcement.

The new homepage comes as negotiations between Yahoo and Microsoft Corp on a search and advertising partnership are regaining momentum.

Yahoo, which is due to report its second-quarter financial results on Tuesday, is facing increasing competition from Microsoft, following the release of Microsoft's Bing Internet search engine in June.

According to comScore, Yahoo's share of the U.S. search market decreased to 19.6 percent in June from 20.1 percent the month before, while Microsoft's search share increased from 8 percent to 8.4 percent.

Yahoo's homepage, however, is one of the most visited pages on the Web, and among the most valuable of Yahoo assets. The homepage had more than 100 U.S. million unique visitors a month in June, according to comScore, and 330 million worldwide in May.

The new Yahoo homepage is less cluttered than the existing version, showcasing fewer of Yahoo's products and services. A column that runs down the lefthand of the Web page allows users to swap-in various "apps" that preview content from third-party websites like USA Today and Facebook, as well as Yahoo sites, when a user rolls a cursor over them.

Yahoo will sell display ads that run alongside the app previews.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz had previously said that the new homepage was set to go live in the Fall.

According to Yahoo's Bhat, the new homepage will be available in the U.S. on Tuesday, and in several other countries in the coming weeks, as a beta product that users can opt-in to receive. The new homepage will become the standard option for all visitors to Yahoo sometime in the fall, he said.

Only three operators can offer 3G services in Delhi

2009-07-21T04:47:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: Only three telecom operators can roll out third generation (3G) services in Delhi due to a spectrum crunch, Communications and ITMinister A. Raja said on Monday.

"Delhi has only 15 Mhz of spectrum available making it possible only for three telecom operators to offer such services," Raja told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The minister also told parliament that an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) had been constituted to look into matters concerning 3G spectrum auctions, scheduled to happen this year.

Each telecom operator (successful bidder) will be allocated 5 MHz of 3G spectrum once the auctions are over.

In Delhi, only two private players will be able to offer this high-end services as one slot is already reserved for the state-run telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL).

The minister said West Bengal will get only 10 MHz of spectrum, while Gujarat will have 15 MHz.

Such a crunch may lead operators to make crazy bids to acquire spectrum in maximum number of telecom circles, industry officials worry.

The government is expected to earn about Rs.35,000 crore from the 3G auctions.

‘Anytime upgrade’ could be ‘never’ for Windows 7 netbook users

2009-07-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is including all editions of Windows 7 on an installation disc to encourage users to pay an extra fee to upgrade from their original choice. But one analyst says pricing and other factors make it unlikely many will take advantage of this scheme.

The ‘Anytime Upgrade’ program uses the multi-edition disc to allow users to simply pay online and upgrade from one edition to another. Microsoft will be particularly keen for people to do this on netbooks where many manufacturers will opt to install the entry-level Starter edition to save on costs.

The problem is that the $80-90 fee for upgrading from Starter to Home Premium (effectively the standard consumer edition) may seem pricey from multiple viewpoints. It’s about 70% of the price you’d pay to upgrade Vista Home Premium to Windows Home Premium, meaning that most users might as well have bought a Home Premium machine in the first place.

And it’s likely to seem particularly expensive when seen as a proportion of the cost of most low-price netbooks. Stephen Baker of the NPD group told Computerworld “At those prices, there won’t be many opportunities to [convince users to] trade up. If people are buying cheap [PCs] they’re buying cheap for a reason.”

In theory the ‘Anytime Upgrade’ system doesn’t have to run through a DVD. PC manufacturers are able to install the full range of Windows 7 editions on the computer ready to be unlocked as and when the user opts for the upgrade.

However, it’s likely that option would be more popular among manufacturers of higher-spec machines. Not only would many netbooks struggle to perform well with the top-end editions of Windows 7, but on those which could cope, users could well feel duped if they believe their Windows 7 experience has been artificially limited to try to squeeze some extra cash out of them.

That anger would have been particularly strong if Microsoft had gone ahead with plans to limit the Starter edition of Windows 7 (designed for netbooks) to only run three applications at once. Dropping that limit has quelled a possible outrage, but does mean users have less incentive to upgrade from the Starter edition.

Google flies you to the moon

2009-07-20T08:50:00.001-07:00

Google Earth can now take you to the moon.

Timed with the 40th anniversary of the first moon walk, the Internet giant on Monday released an addition to its Google Earth mapping software to provide images of the landscape of the moon and traces of human exploration there.

Called the Moon in Google Earth, the software allows you to see topographical features on our closest celestial neighbor with the lunar equivalent of the Google Street View. People can also see a gallery of the Apollo space missions and get information on every robotic spacecraft that has visited the moon.

"This tool will make it easier for millions of people to learn about space, our moon and some of the most significant and dazzling discoveries humanity has accomplished together," said Anousheh Ansari, a Trustee of X PRIZE Foundation and first female private space explorer, on the Official Google blog on Monday.

Google is hosting an event to launch the Moon in Google Earth site at the Newseum in Washington D.C. where Ansari and Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin will speak.

Enjoy 'Special 5' Plan on Airtel Mobile

2009-07-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

Bharti Airtel has announced a new add-on feature called 'Special 5' that gives the customer the flexibility to choose any five numbers of his/her choice across both local and STD.

Under this feature, customers can select five Airtel mobile numbers from their friends, family and colleagues and stay in touch with them at 20 paise per minute on local calls and 50 paise per minute on STD calls. This feature is available as an add-on to customers' current tariff plans in prepaid. Customer need to register the five numbers and enjoy the benefits over and above the current tariff benefits enjoyed. In postpaid, it will be available as exclusive 'Special 5' plan.

Prepaid customers can use this service by dialing 12141 and registering their special 5 numbers online through the automated IVR. Postpaid customers can send a message "FIVE" to 121 and register on the Special 5 plan. There will be a daily rental component for each number (Re.1 for STD and 50 paise for local Airtel to Airtel mobiles).

Following is the brief description for prepaid numbers.
1) Rs 5 will be charged initially per number
2) 1 rupee/number will charged afterwards every day.

i.e. if you have subscribed 5 numbers, you have to give 150 Rs/month from your balance.

Mobile cos line up Google's Android phone launches

2009-07-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

Google’s smartphone operating system (OS) Android is soon going to get a leg up in India with leading cellphone vendors such as HTC,

Samsung, LG and Motorola firming up plans to roll out a portfolio of such handsets.

The vendors plan to target Android phones for urban youth users and position them in the mid to high-end segment. While HTC has just started shipping the first Android phone to India, Samsung will roll out its first device, christened Galaxy, next month.

Android phones from LG and Motorola’s stable are also likely to hit the market by December, industry sources said. Google too expects faster adoption of the Android platform in India with such launches at varying price-points.

Talking to ET, Google India director (products) Vinay Goel said 47 companies are working on the Android platform. “Globally, around 15-20 Android handsets will be launched by December. We expect some of these models will be shipped to India as well,” he said.

Create customized run command

2009-07-20T00:58:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wondered where does our operating system picks the run command.

We simply write "cmd" in the run dialogue box and enter and "booom" command prompt shows up
We simply write "winword" in the run dialogue box and enter and "booom" MS-Word shows up.
We simply write "osk" in the run dialogue box and enter and "booom" On screen keyboard shows up.

Now here is a trick where you will decide what to open and what keyword do you want to use for that to get opened.

Steps:

1) Create the shortcut of any file and rename it as per your wish. Because this is what you have to type subsequently in the run dialogue box.

2) Paste that short cut to this address "c:\windows\"

3) Type the keyword (renamed name that you have give above) and press enter.

Enjoy.....

Space shuttle endeavor docks

2009-07-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

Toshiba may surrender to Blu-ray, finally

2009-07-20T00:38:00.000-07:00

Consider it the final phase in the HD format war. Toshiba may be releasing its first ever Blu-ray player, after having dropped its own contender, the HD DVD format, in February of last year, and trying to pitch an enhanced DVD player as a cheap alternative to Blu-ray late last year. Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper was reporting last week that Toshiba is now preparing the BD 18 player for a 2009 release.

The article apparently had been removed by the publication without comment by the time of this writing.

The release of a Toshiba Blu-ray player has been a question of when, not if. The company announced the shutdown of HD DVD on February 19, 2008 and has repeatedly stated since then that Blu-ray players are pricey, but has remained quiet about its Blu-ray product plan otherwise. Mainstream Blu-ray players have broken the $300 barrier in 2008 and are now close or below the $200 mark, apparently convincing Toshiba that there is not enough room for a premium DVD player equipped with its “eXtended Detail Enhancement” XDE technology. And it seems that Toshiba is finally over its $1 billion HD DVD adventure.

From a technology point of view, the production of a Blu-ray player has never been an issue for Toshiba. Back in January of 2006 we reported that Samsung would be producing Blu-ray players through Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Korea (TSST Korea), a joint venture between Toshiba and Samsung. Toshiba holds 51% of that business, Samsung the remaining 49%. TSST Korea was founded in April of 2004 as a subsidiary of TSST.

Back in 2006, we were told that TSST is an "independent company" that Toshiba understands as being a developer of both formats in a "neutral position." But TSST has been focused on products that were in line especially with Toshiba's product strategy: For example, the company announced a slim HD DVD drive in September 2005, long before the actual introduction of HD DVD players. Even if TSST Korea seemed to have catered to Samsung's needs with Blu-ray players, it was clear that Toshiba is covering its bases just in case HD DVD would fail. By the way, Sony did the same through a joint venture with NEC, which guaranteed the company access to HD DVD manufacturing equipment.

Toshiba has come a long way and may enter the Blu-ray market when there is still room to claim its stakes. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, unit shipments of Blu-ray players will jump 112% this year, reaching nearly six million. Even as prices drop, revenues are expected to top $1 billion for the first time, representing an increase of 48% over 2008.

Sony plans music stream

2009-07-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

SONY will compete with pay-TV channel MTV and video sharing website YouTube to take music videos to the masses with the launch of an advertising funded internet service on its PlayStation 3 console.

Sony Computer Entertainment launched the Vidzone music service in Australia and six European countries last month, offering on-demand video streams of music from Sony and other record labels.

Sony has appointed Full Circle Media, which also represents 13 pay-TV channels, to sell advertising on the service, available to PlayStation 3 owners who have connected their console to a broadband service.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia estimates more than 50 per cent of the 500,000-plus PS3 consoles sold are connected to broadband, making the potential audience of similar size to that for pay-TV services.

Marketing director Raoul Bedford said the service was an example of Sony's push to create content beyond games for the PlayStation 3.

"VidZone is third-party company that we have partnered with and when we saw the technology, and obviously the importance of music to a wide range of people, it just seemed (to) fit as part of the full entertainment offering," Mr Bedford said.

Sony has been pitching hard to sell the console as a broader entertainment device capable of playing Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and displaying digital photo albums.

"The type of person that is using PlayStation is going to change over time -- we (attracted) early adopters in the early stage of the lifecycle -- and then as the lifecycle extends, the product broadens," Mr Bedford said.

The growing audience has also been reflected in Sony's moves to broaden its content beyond games.

"This is an entertainment platform and, as we have seen in the US, videos on demand are part of that service and so this streaming of content seems a natural progression for a connected device," he said.

Full Circle chief executive Brian Gallagher said a broad market of advertisers would be attracted to the new new medium.

"We love it because it's a captured environment, it's an identifiable target market, it's an attractive target market and unlike (pay-TV channel) Channel V or a Video Hits, we have a very good idea about who is in front of the screen," Mr Gallagher said.

"We have a good idea about the targetability of the message and we have got a really good idea about how well they interact with that, so it's a full loop of accountability."

The service can also direct people to websites by opening up a browser on the PS3 when a user clicks on an advertiser's icon.

Mr Gallagher said Full Circle would target a "classic entertainment client base".

"Fast food, we have put that at the top of the list for the moment, telcos and other entertainment services -- it's a fantastic environment to play trailers," Mr Gallagher said.

"They are the ones we are currently getting traction with."

Despite that, Full Circle is yet to sign any paying advertisers and the service is running house ads for Sony game titles.

Mr Gallagher said he expected to sign at least two foundation clients in coming days.

"The quality of the (audience) numbers coming through this early with little or no marketing (is great) and it's a really large opted-in database," he said.

Audio Book Reader launched by SAKSHAM

2009-07-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

The Samadrishti Kshamata Vikas Avam Anusandhan Mandal (SAKSHAM) launched the first ever audio book reader (ABR) on Saturday. The pocket-sized device will enable visually impaired students to read audio books with much more ease.

Speaking about the ABR, Shirish Darwekar, one of the developers of the ABR said, “Reading audio books can be an arduous task for visually impaired students especially since there are no good audio readers available in the market, so they have to rely on MP3 players and I-pods to read audio books. As a result we undertook some research as to whether ABRs were available in the market and when we couldn’t find any, my colleagues, Sandeep Darwekar and Mukund Deshmukh and I began to work on making an ABR that would help students study with ease.”

The ABR, which is a pocket-sized device, weighs 175 grams with the battery. It can be synchronised to connect up to ten headphones so that ten students can study audio books at one time. Speaking more about its features he added, “The device can store up to 60 hours of audio files on a 2 GB Multi Media Card which is used in the normal mobile phones and digital cameras. It features two power sources wherein it can run for an unlimited period on an AC power using an AC adapter or for 8-9 hours on a 9 volt DC battery. Also, all the menus on the system are voice assisted so that the students can navigate through the device easily. The large data storage capacity enables students to store entire syllabi on the devices.”

Browser Speed Tests: Latest Firefox 3.5 Is Faster, but Not as Fast as Google Chrome

2009-07-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

When Mozilla released a new version of Firefox a couple of weeks ago, its developers promised a faster browser, and Firefox 3.5 delivers, racing past IE and Safari in our latest set of page-loading speed tests. But its page load times are still about two-tenths of a second slower than Google Chrome.

Google Chrome showed the fastest page load time in five of the eight sites we tested it against, with an average page loading time of 1.699 seconds. However, Firefox 3.5 also put on a strong showing, coming in a close second with an average page-loading time of 1.762 seconds. For the most part, the difference between Chrome's page-loading times and those of Firefox is approximately two-tenths of a second. In our previous testing, Firefox 3.0.7 came in fourth in a four-browser field.

Internet Explorer 8 and Safari 4 both did a decent job loading pages, but fell behind Chrome and Firefox with average page-loading times of 1.833 and 1.964 seconds, respectively. Opera 10 Beta came in last, roughly a half second behind its nearest competitor.

By far the most inconsistent results involved loading PC World's Twitter feed page. We saw load times ranging from about 1 second to over 20 seconds. Since Twitter has a history of server issues, we think this has less to do with the browsers themselves, and more to do with Twitter, although we were surprised by the wildly inconsistent results. For this reason, even though we list the loading times for the Twitter page in our results chart (click on the thumbnail image above), these loading times are not taken into account for the overall average loading time.

Some browser vendors, such as Apple and Mozilla, have touted big improvements in JavaScript performance. That has made some browsers shine in benchmark results. For example, Safari 4 earned the highest scores in both the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark and the Peacekeeper browser benchmark. But Apple's browser was at the back of the pack in our real-world page- loading tests. Browser benchmarks typically take elements that impact page-loading speed out of context, so while they'll give you a feel for how well a browser handles JavaScript or HTML rendering, for example, they won't tell you how fast a browser feels when you're clicking around from site to site. By comparison, our tests use real, popular sites to get a better idea of what you'll experience with any one of these browsers.

How We Test

In our browser speed comparison, we pitted Internet Explorer 8 against Firefox 3.5, Chrome 2, Safari 4, and the public beta of Opera 10. We used pages from a set of eight popular Web sites in our testing: PC World (of course), Amazon, Twitter, Yahoo, YouTube, The New York Times, eBay, and Wikipedia's English-language home page. To ensure that we measured the page-loading times as accurately as possible, we recorded our testing on video for review later on.

We performed all of our testing on a Gateway P-7808U notebook running a clean installation of Windows Vista Service Pack 1; we reinstalled the operating system before testing each browser. For each browser, we cleared the browser's cache and then loaded each page in our test suite. We repeated the process ten times per site per browser to ensure accurate results, to factor out fluctuations in network traffic, and to build a sufficiently large sample size to identify trends. In addition, we threw out the two best and the two worst scores for each page load test to further reduce the influence of fluctuations and to produce more consistent results.

Some browsers will report that a page has finished loading even though parts of the page haven’t yet appeared. We didn’t base our determination of when a page was loaded on the browser's opinion. Instead, we relied on whether all visual elements of the page were loaded and ready to use. For example, on Yahoo's home page, we judged the page to be ready when all of its graphics and images were loaded.

Measuring browser performance is not an exact science. Many, many variables are in play, such as a site's server load at the time of testing, when you consider a page to have finished loading, human error, and so forth. Testing methodologies vary as well, and range from the browser benchmarks mentioned above to stopwatch testing. Each testing methodology could yield dramatically different results from others.

Still, at least in our tests, Chrome and Firefox 3.5 impressed us with their overall snappy feel. And, of course, speed isn't all that matters in a browser; each browser we tested is certainly "fast enough," and each has its own special set of features, so if you're looking on switching to a different browser, take a look at all of them, and go with whichever one best fits your needs.

Bose SoundLink Wireless Music System @ $550

2009-07-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

The SoundLink will stream music from your PC’s music library to anywhere in your house. The concept here has already been seen in products from Creative and Altec Lansing, to name two, but these products were more iPod-centric and have not seen the sales success that a typical Bose release enjoys.

The SoundLink system doesn’t use your home Wi-Fi network, but we imagine it most likely creates its own 2.4GHz network to transmit the audio from your PC to the speaker–no word on the expected range. Bose also claims to need no additional software; that’s not surprising, as the USB dongle probably acts like a “USB speaker,” meaning that whatever audio can be played over your PC speakers can be transmitted over the network.

The speaker has a built-in, lithium ion rechargeable battery, making it easy to carry it to another room or out to the deck. It lasts up to three hours when played at full volume or for longer periods at more moderate listening levels, claims Bose It has a remote control as well that allows users to skip tracks in iTunes and Windows Media Player. There’s also an Aux input on the speaker unit for the iPod or other sound sources.

An aux-in jack is also onboard to support most portable media devices on the SoundLink, which is due on August 27th for $550.

Hungama and BSNL have announced to launch a music portal

2009-07-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

On this occasion, BSNL director (mobility) RK Agarwal says, “The present association with Hungama is a step towards offering same content to different platforms like IPTV, broadband, 2G and 3G mobile, CDMA etc so that customers can view these contents seamlessly.”

Now the users would be able to download unlimited music and videos less than the price of a regular music CD—Rs149.

Currently, there are some 65,000 songs and 2,000 music videos.
Access to unlimited game downloads set you back by another Rs49 a month.

“To fight piracy, we need to offer better value, and better experience. And we hope that’s what we are doing with this initiative,” said Sidhartha Roy, COO at Hungama.

Google bullish on mobile apps, launches voice-powered search

2009-07-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

Bullish on the mobile segment, global search engine major Google is strengthening its applications portfolio with the introduction of services like voice-based search and map solutions.

"Mobiles (more than 400 million) outnumber the personal computers (PCs -- slightly over 30 million) concentration in India. A big part of the population accessing Internet going ahead would do so on a mobile handset and so we need to offer enriching experience to these users," Google India Head of products Vinay Goel said.

Google has recently launched a free voice-based mobile Internet search application for BlackBerry users. The application has been built by the Internet search giant's India engineering team.

"This feature has been developed by the India team and takes into account the Indian accent. Currently the facility is available only to Blackberry cellphone users in India but we hope to extend this to other handsets by the end of the year," Goel said.

A user can open the Google search page, and ask for a particular location like a pizza joint or taxi stand and the search would show the top results.

With the availability of low-cost GPRS handsets and cheaper data plans, Google expects value-added services like social networking and voice-based Internet search to do well.

Delete pending print jobs

2009-07-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever found yourself stuck in paper jams?
Usually this problem does not get solved even on restarting your computer.
Well here is a simple trick to get rid of it.
Follow these simple steps

1) Press "Window logo+R" or goto start-menu and then run.
2) Type in "cmd" and press enter
3) Type "net stop spooler" and then press enter and wait until the service is stopped.
4) Type "net start spooler" and then press enter and wait until the service is started.
5) Restart your printer
6) Problem is solved
7) If not try and restart your computer

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