Saturday, September 8, 2012

Spot that Cancer early on


Self detection holds the key to nailing cancer at the earliest. Survivors tell you how they did it and saved their lives. | Mail Today


NO ONE knows your body like the way you do is the belief that helped Delhi based homemaker Prasanna Menon save her life. It was during a regular self examination routine that she discovered a small lump in her left breast. It was small but she did not treat it as insignificant. She did deal with the mental tussle of whether she should see a doctor or just take it easy though. “I was sure that I would get away with it in a few days. I tried to tell myself that it can’t be anything serious,” she admits. 

What It is Really Like to Be Rich


Wealth--who has more of it, how it was earned, and how it's spent--has been a centerpiece of the presidential race this year. Now, a new report from the Pew Research Center shows what self-described upper- and upper-middle class Americans really think about their lives, and what less-fortunate Americans really think of them.
Upper- and upper-middle class Americans describe themselves as happier, less stressed, and healthier than lower-income Americans. They also made it through the recession relatively unscathed and report enjoying their careers more. Around 1 in 3 upper-class Americans say they "frequently experience stress," while close to 6 in 10 lower-class Americans report doing so.

The best juice for all your health woes

Bad skin? Always tired? No matter what your health problems, we have the juice recipe for you! 

The best juice for healthy skin: cucumber 

"Fruit and vegetable juices, prepared in the right combinations, can help you to remove crud from your blood and tissues and restore alkalinity and balance to your system," says Noelle Swatland of GreenLemonade.com. "You see the benefits of this crud removal in younger looking skin and greater energy." 

Swatland's favorite skin booster? Cucumber. "Consisting of over 90-percent water, cucumbers are a naturally cooling and hydrating food," she says. Plus, they're rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and silica, which is believed to improve complexion and youthful radiance of your skin . 

Astro Signs and Career


We all dream of a high flying career but only those who are determined, hardworking or talented get to live this dream. Astrologically, which signs are career driven and which sun signs are not? Take a look at our analysis and find out. In Astrology there are 12 sun signs and each sun sign is blessed with a unique characteristic of its own.


The Aries Worker: Stubborn and impatient, the Aries is known for being impulsive and hot-headed in most situations. An Aries works with his head and he seldom follows his heart. They are hardworking and are blessed with leadership skills. In a group, they have the ability to shine and do not shy away from taking the lead when required.

Tablet market, It is Apple all the way


Apple's iPad and the iOS system running it dominate the market for tablet computers despite growing competition, according to Gartner. On Thursday, Amazon.com Inc. unveiled successors to its Kindle Fire tablet computer.
Here are Gartner's figures for worldwide unit sales and market share for tablet computers in 2011 and projections for 2012.
The figures are broken down by operating system. Android includes modified versions used in Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Inc's Nook Tablet. Tablets based on Windows will come out later this year with the October 26 release of Windows 8. The report came out before Research in Motion Ltdannounced yet-another delay in its new BlackBerry 10 operating system, which could affect sales for 2012.

Intel slashes sales outlook over poor PC demand


Intel  cut its third-quarter revenue estimate and withdrew its full-year forecast, saying demand for its chips declined as customers reduced inventory and businesses bought fewer personal computers.
The revenue warning sent shares of the world's largest chipmaker down more than 3 percent in premarket trading.
Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and others in the PC industry have been hit by a shaky global economy and consumers shifting toward tablets and smartphones.
"Everybody up and down the food chain has been saying this. Intel was one of the last hold-outs," Williams Financial Group analyst Cody Acree said.

Hundreds more cyber attacks linked to 2009 Google breach

The hacker group that attacked Google Inc in 2009 has launched hundreds of other cyber assaults since then, focusing on U.S. defense companies and human rights groups, according to new research from security software maker Symantec Corp. 

Google said in January 2010 that it and more than 20 other companies were the victims of a sophisticated cyber attack - later dubbed Operation Aurora - from China-based hackers that resulted in the theft of intellectual property. 

Lumia 920, 820 not last shot at success, Nokia senior VP


Nokia's senior vice president of smart devices Jo Harlow has said the new Lumia phones were not the only chance the company had to prove it could still compete with rivals such as Samsung and Apple.
Harlow claimed that the firm's latest Lumia devices powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system are not a final throw of the dice, despite stock markets' negative reaction.
"This is a step in the journey. This characterisation that it is the last step is not reality," the Telegraph quoted her, as saying.

Infosys premium positioning is a liability

ImageInfosys, the company that symbolized India's rise as an outsourcing powerhouse but has struggled this year, will have to wait longer than expected for returns from a remodeled strategy. 

The $7 billion company based in Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, has missed sales targets, lost market share, put off an annual pay rise and seen its stock battered this year. 

"The realization of the benefits will be delayed short-term," said SD Shibulal, the company's chief executive officer, referring to the " Infosys 3.0" strategy that the company says will better position it for the future. 

Facebook completes Instagram acquisition


Social networking giant Facebook has finalised the purchase of Instagram, the popular photo-sharing website's founder has said.
Facebook bid one billion dollars for Instagramin April, and was given the green light for the deal from US regulators at the end of August.
But after the sharp fall in Facebook stocks, the cash plus share offer ended up being worth nearer 700 million dollars.
The social networking site's shares launched at 38 dollar each, but closed on Thursday at 19 dollars.

Apple launching 2 iPhones


Apple may be launching a new edition of theiPhone 4S and doing away with the iPhone 3GSwhen it launches the next generation iPhone. According to a news report in The Telegraph, quoting sources close to retailers, the Cupertino-based tech giant will add an 8GB version of the current flagship, iPhone 4S, to its line-up.

The news story adds that the purported iPhone 5, which is expected to be unveiled on September 12, will come in three storage capacities. If this is true, it is likely that Applewill stick to the 16, 32 and 64GB formula for the new phone as well. Along with that, the sources also said that the sixth-generation iPhone will hit the shelves on September 21, in line with rumours.

Apple in talks for free online radio service, Report

US technology giant Apple is in talks to license music for broadcast on a custom online radioservice modeled after Pandora, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Apple's service would work on the company's hardware, including the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers, as well as potentially on PCs using Microsoft's Windows operating system.

But it would not work on smartphones and tablets that use Google's Android operating system, as the two technology giants are at loggerheads to dominate the lucrative mobile market.

Security firms see rise in smartphone cyber attacks


Cyber-crooks are increasingly taking aim at smartphones, following their prey as lifestyles migrate to Internet-linked mobile devices, according to new reports by online security firms.

Symantec's annual Norton Cybercrime Report released Thursday calculated that such crimes cost worldwide consumers $110 billion in the past year, with an increase in attacks on mobile devices and online social networks.

"Cybercriminals are changing their tactics to target fast-growing mobile platforms and social networkswhere consumers are less aware of security risks," said Norton Internet safety advocate Marian Merritt.

Amitabh Bachchan warns Twitter, threatens to leave


Amitabh Bachchan has lashed out at social networking sites Twitter and Tumbler asking them to either rectify the malfunction or he will quit.
The veteran Bollywood actor is very upset after reading the comments on the malfunction, warning Twitter that if the problem not sorted out he might go elsewhere.
"Distraught to read comments on malfunction on Twitter and tumblr. blog.. sent warning to concerned - rectify or I go elsewhere !!" Big B tweeted.
The 'Angry Young Man' of Hindi cinema also expressed remorse for those who faced problems in commenting on his blog.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Nasscom renames BPO industry as BPM


 IT industry body Nasscom wants to bury an acronym that the world has come to associate with India over the past decade, and replace it with one that it thinks is more appropriate for the industry's current maturity level. 
The acronym BPO, for business process outsourcing, Nasscom says, does not reflect the industry as it stands today. The apex body will henceforth use the term BPM, or business process management. 

Twitter tops Facebook in mobile ads, Survey


 Twitter is outpacing Facebook in US mobile advertising revenue this year, according to a survey released Thursday showing a market dominated by Google. 

The report by the research firm eMarketer said Facebook, which just rolled out mobile ads for the first time this year, will likely overtake Twitter by 2013 but will not come close to matching Google. 

The report estimated Google will take in 2012 mobile ad revenues of $1.4 billion, or more than half the total for the United States of $2.6 billion. 

4G penetration in India on the rise, TelecomLead


 Bharti Airtel has 3,180 TD-LTE subscribers through its 4G network in Kolkata and Bangalore. The state-run BSNL has provided 50,077 connections through 4G/WiMAX, the minister of state for communications and information technology Milind Deora informed the Lok Sabha. Airtel launched 4G TD-LTE services in Kolkata in April 2012 and Bangalore in May 2012.
Airtel has BWA licenses in four circles - Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra - and 3G licenses in 13 circles in India. Its recent deal to buy BWA license from Qualcomm will enable Airtel to secure a nation-wide broadband leadership through a combination of 4G and 3G, with its own networks in 18 circles.

TCS extends CFO S Mahalingam‘s tenure


Tata Consultancy Services has announced the re-appointment of S Mahalingam as the executive director and chief financial officer of the company. 

The company informed BSE that the board of directors has re-appointed Mahalingam as the executive director and chief financial officer of the company for the period September 06, 2012 to February 09, 2013, subject to the approval of the shareholders. 

Japan s Sony hit by fresh cyberattack as hackers steal details of 400 clients


Sony said Thursday that hackers stole details belonging to hundreds of its mobile unit clients, the latest in a string of cyberattacks to hit the embattled Japanese electronics giant. 

A group calling itself "Null\Crew" said it had attacked a mobile communications server, with a Sony spokesman confirming the cyber thieves had grabbed information belonging to 400 customers in mainlandChina and Taiwan. 

Microsoft announces Windows 8 App Fest in India


Microsoft India has announced the world's largest App Fest for Windows 8, which kicks off on September 21-22, 2012 at the KTPO, Bangalore and is open to the global developer community. This 18-hour-long coding event is a non-stop software jam where developers will design, build, test and submit apps. Microsoft's on-site staff will be available to assist the developers participating in the event with preparing their apps for eventual submission to the Windows Store.


Apple iPhone 5 sales may touch 10m mark in a week


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Apple's much-awaited iPhone 5could hit the 10 million sales mark in its first week, an analyst has predicted.
Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 5 at an event on September 12.
Some reports suggest that the new phone will reportedly go on sale on Friday, September 21.
With that date in mind, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster projects iPhone 5 sales of anywhere from 6 million to 10 million, CNET reports.
According to the report, last year, Apple sold 4 million iPhone 4S units during that phone's first three-day weekend in October.

Mid tier IT companies growing faster than biggies


This may come as a surprise. Mid-tier Indian IT firms have been doing as well or better than their top-tier counterparts in recent times. Normally in a downturn, the mid-tier segment tends to be more adversely impacted because customers who are still able to spend on IT prefer the safety of the more established players. But that's not the case now. In fact, the only exception in recent times was the global recession year of 2009-10, when mid-tier firms performed worse than top-tier ones. 

Zynga launches FarmVille 2, aims to win back players


Zynga on Wednesday launched a new version of "FarmVille" as the one-time social games darling tries to win back players to one of theFacebook games that fueled its rise to stardom. 

"We recognize that there are players who have moved on from FarmVille," said Zynga vice president of gamesTim LeTourneau. 

"We wanted to embrace what three years of technology has brought and reinvent FarmVille as if we were making it fresh today," he said. 

India ranks 33rd globally in using Internet to improve people s lives


India has ranked 33rd in a global Web Index compiled by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.
The index, which takes into account the development of the web in a country, measures the economic, social and political impact of theInternet, ranking 61 countries on criteria ranging from the proportion of people online to the amount of useful content available.
Sweden has topped the list for overall impact of the web, taking first place for political, second place for social and third place for Economic Impact, following by the US and the UK taking second and third positions respectively.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

PCs can reduce the risk of dementia, Study

Access to a personal computerlowers the risk of cognitive decline anddementia in older men by up to 40 per cent, a new study has claimed. 

The study showed that the risk of dementia was about 30 to 40 per cent lower among older computer users than non-user. 

Researchers at the University of Western Australia undertook an eight-year study of more than 5000 men in Perth aged between 65 to 85. 

Wipro appoints ex Infy exec as global head


 Wipro Technologies has announced the appointment of Shaji Farooq as the senior vice president of the company's newly created advanced technologies service line, which will comprise of social media, mobility, analytics-as-a-service and cloud. 

"Dynamic developments in the sphere of social, mobility, analytics-as-a-service and cloud will have a significant impact on how business processes are transforming in the enterprise. To truly differentiate Wipro as the partner of choice for our customers in this phase of disruption, we need to focus on these technologies as a comprehensive service line. We are confident that Wipro is poised for accelerated growth in these new areas, under Shaji's leadership," said TK Kurien, CEO, IT business and executive director,Wipro Limited. 

It is raining gadgets this September


Think of it as the opening act at a concert: Nokia, Motorola and Amazon are expected to unveil new mobile devices this week before attention turns to a new iPhone and possibly a smaller iPad from Apple.
Makers of consumer electronics are refreshing their products for the holiday shopping season. Apple's rivals are hoping that a head start on the buzz will translate into stronger sales. Nokia and Microsoft, in particular, are trying to generate interest in a new Windows operating system out next month.
Apple dominates the market for tablet computers. Seven out of every 10 tablets shipped in the second quarter were iPads, according to research firm IHS iSuppli. Rivals have been trying to compete with smaller, cheaper models -- such as the Kindle Fire, which Amazon is expected to update on Thursday. Now, there's speculation that Apple will be coming out with a smaller iPad as well.

Hackers post Apple data online after hacking FBI laptop


 A hacking group today said it has obtained a million identification numbers for Apple mobile devices after breaking into the laptop of an FBI agent, a claim which the federal probe agency said has "no evidence". 

Anonymous affiliate - AntiSec - released a file on the internet which allegedly contained a million identification numbers for the Apple devices. 

The group said they obtained the data by hacking into the computer of an FBI agent in March. 

Aakash 2, Challenging to make a quality tablet at Rs 2276

Chinese PC maker Lenovo on Wednesday said it may look at the proposition of a participation in India's Aakash tabletproject, though it would be difficult to produce a tablet with a great user experience at the proposed price of Rs 2276 ($41).

"We are aware of the project and looking at that proposition. We don't disclose about tenders we are participating. In my personal view, it's very challenging to produce a tablet at that price, which can carry a great customer experience," said Keith Liu, Business Development Director for Mobile Internet Digital Home division at Lenovo across Asia Pacific & Latin America regions.

Cyber threat is growing, UK eavesdropping chief


The head of Britain's secret eavesdroppingagency says businesses face an unprecedented threat from cyber attacks. 

Iain Lobban, head of GCHQ Britain's equivalent of the US National Security Agency held talks on Wednesday with executives from a host of FTSE 100-listed companies. 

He said his agency is aware of successful attempts to steal intellectual property or data like negotiating positions, to disrupt government work and to access defense information. 

Infosys to hire 8,000 people for BPO unit


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Infosys BPO has said it will hire about 8,000 people in the remaining part of this financial year and about 20 per cent of them will be in middle and senior level professionals. 

"In FY 2013, we are looking at hiring 10,000-12,000 people. Of this 4,000 have already been hired. About 15-20 per cent of these would be middle and senior level professionals as well as supervisors," Infosys BPO Chief Executive Officer Swami Swaminathan told reporters on the sidelines of Nasscom BPO Strategy Summit 2012 here. 

Micromax rolls out Funbook Alpha at Rs 5,999

Micromax has launched a new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)-powered tablet called the Funbook Alpha. The latest device from the indigenous company's stables is focussing on education and features a host of interactive study material, including sample papers for MBA, medical and engineering exams as well as tutorial videos. According to reports, the new Funbook Alpha is priced at Rs 5,999. 


Internet subscriber base in India may reach 150 million, Report


Driven by youth, Internet subscriber base in the country is expected to reach 150 million by the end of this year, says a report. 

The report by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB said, "the number of claimed Internet users has seen a growth of 16 per cent over last year. This number is estimated to grow up to 150 million by December 2012." 

There will be 105 million users in urban India while the rural areas will contribute 45 million subscribers, it added. 

Infosys CFO, We are open to bigger acquisitions

Image Indian IT outsourcer Infosys, which has long said it's comfort size for acquisitions is up to 10 per cent of its own revenue, is open to bigger deals given the right opportunity, a top executive said. 

"Whatever size it is, if it makes strategic sense, if we feel we can take it and execute it, we'll look at it," V Balakrishnan, chief financial officer of India's second-biggest software services provider, told Reuters on Tuesday. 

Nokia s challenge to Samsung Lumia 920, 820 with WP 8 arrive


 Nokia on Wednesday showcased two new Lumia smartphones powered byWindows Phone 8, called the Nokia Lumia 920and Lumia 820, at a conference in New York, which was broadcast live across the world, including India.

The Nokia Lumia 920 is the company's new flagship smartphone. It has a 4.5-inch LCD touchscreen with all-new PureMotion HD+ technology and Qualcomm S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor, the first Lumia smartphone with dual-core technology. When quizzed about the reason for using LCD screen in the phone instead of AMOLED, the company officials cited incompatibility. It features a 8.7 megapixel (MP) rear camera with PureView technology that can capture and record HD videos at 1080p. According to Joe Harlow, the head of Nokia's Lumia division, the phone has the best camera among all high-end smartphones.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Sonys Android 4.0 phone Xperia Tipo at Rs 9,499


Sony's cheapest Android 4.0-powered phones Xperia Tipo and Xperia Tipo Dual are now available in India for pre-orders. Online retailer Flipkart is offering the Xperia Tipo at Rs 9,499, while its dual-sim counterpart is retailing at Rs 10,299. 

Sony Xperia Tipo and Tipo Dual are part of the company's efforts to lure the low-to-mid range phone buyers with feature-rich devices that don't burn a hole in pockets. The Japanese manufacturer has skinned the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with its Timescape UI in both the devices. 

Hackers claim 12 million Apple IDs from FBI


 A hacker group has claimed to have obtained personal data from 12 million Apple iPhone and iPad users by breaching an FBI computer, raising concerns about government tracking. 

The group called AntiSec, linked to the hacking collective known as Anonymous, posted one million Apple user identifiers claimed to be part of a larger group of 12 million, purportedly obtained from an FBI laptop. 

Contacted by AFP, FBI spokeswoman Jenny Shearer said: "We're not commenting." 

Intel to develop solutions for retail, automotive, energy sectors

Image Intel has outlined plans for the company's Intelligent Systems Group (ISG) in India. Intel is looking at expanding its reach with various partners in the ecosystem and developing smart solutions to retail, automotive, energy, communications/networking, security and surveillance segments.

The intelligent systems will be infused with high performance compute capabilities from the low-power Intel Atom processor to the high-performance Intel Xeon processor family. 

David Ebersman, The man behind Facebook s IPO debacle


It is David Ebersman's fault. There is just no way around it. 

Ebersman is Facebook's well-liked, boyish-looking 41-year-old chief financial officer. He's not as well known as Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and chief executive, or Sheryl Sandberg, its chief operating officer and recently appointed director. 

But when it came to Facebook's catastrophe of aninitial public offering - the stock reached a new low Friday, closing at $18.06 - it was Ebersman, not Zuckerberg or Sandberg, who was ultimately the one pulling the strings. 

IBM upgraded by Barclays over new mainframes


Barclays Capital upgraded International Business Machines "overweight" from "equal-weight", saying the company's new mainframe computers will help it gain market share fromHewlett-Packard and Dell. 

IBM, the dominant provider of mainframe computers, or machines that run on powerful microprocessors of its own design, unveiled a new version of its iconic mainframe computer last week. 


TCS, Infy hit campuses, analysts see muted hiring

IT companies, which account for a majority of the placements, have started hitting engineering campuses. Campus hiring is an important indicator of growth, comes in the backdrop of macro-economic uncertainty for the industry. The IT companies that have started hiring at engineering campuses include TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, HCL, Accenture and IBM.

Placement officials say that IT firms are visiting campuses but the numbers are likely to be less as Indian IT companies may cut back on campus hiring this year. However, MNCs were showing a lot of interest this year. Officials said that it would be difficult to achieve placement numbers like previous years.

Nokia Lumia 920 to feature wireless charging, 8MP camera


Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone handset will include wireless charging, a report has revealed.
According to a report by technology blog The Verge, the Nokia Lumia 920 will support wireless charging, and will have a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage.
The new smartphone, which will be announced at a special event hosted by Nokia and Microsoft in New York on Wednesday, is also rumoured to have and an 8-megapixel camera, the Telegraph reports.

Flipkart, Makemytrip struggle to fill senior positions

ImageThe economic slowdown may have led to a drought of senior management vacancies across the corporate sector, but the world of startup firms is grappling with scarcity of a differing kind: paucity of senior-level talent. 

"It is tough to find people with the right skills in e-commerce in India," says Kirti Raj, VP, HR at Yebhi. "Very few professionals can manageonline marketing and there is hardly any available talent for merchandising in categories like books and sports," she says. Yebhi is hunting for a vice-president for products. The portal will also start looking for professionals to head merchandising in new categories like books and sports. It hopes to close these openings in the next three months and is looking at international talent to fill the gap. "We are looking at global talent with international exposure. These are professionals settled abroad who might have plans of relocating to India," she says. 

Aegis opens call centre in Madhya Pradesh


 BPO solutions provider Aegis has set up a state-of-the-art call centre here in Madhya Pradesh, aimed at creating jobs for local youths. 

At the outset, Aegis Chhindwara, the second centre in the state after Bhopal, will operate the modern set up with initial capacity of 400 seats, a move that would generate close to 1000 direct and indirect jobs. 

Of this, direct employment will be given to 600 youngsters in the region, a press release said. 

What may boost internet penetration in India

Image Some months ago, Lalitesh Katragadda, head of products at Google India, was capturing images of small retail outlets at his grandmother's village near Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. An old woman who was selling red gooseberries on a pushcart asked him what he was doing. He said he was taking pictures of shops to put on the internet for others to see. She instantly said, "Why can't my business, my push cart too?" 

For Katragadda, this was further reinforcement of his belief that people were hungry for recognition and identity. He saw it in cities, amongst the educated, but equally among the uneducated in villages. 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Android app to test water quality


When environmental engineer John Feighery got an internship at NASA in the 1990s, he wanted to be an astronaut but he was given a job working with a team designing the US bathroom for the space station.
The small, closet-like space needed a toilet and room for hand washing, bathing and a place to keep toiletries. Feighery also worked on a project to fix equipment designed for monitoring crew health, which included testing water and air quality.

Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite pre booking starts


Samsung is expanding its Galaxy Y Duos family in India. The company is reportedly launching Galaxy Y Duos Lite in the country on September 5. The dual-SIM (GSM + GSM) smartphone Galaxy Y Duos Lite is available for pre-order on the company's e-store on an advance payment of Rs 1,000. 

Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite has GoogleAndroid 2.3 or Gingerbread operating system and runs on 832MHz single-core processor. The phone with 2.8-inch QVGA display has a 2MP primary camera. It comes with 2GB of internal storage with microSD card support. There's 1200 mAh battery and the company's TouchWiz interface. 

Twitter to block third party sites, apps that don not make money‘


Twitter is planning to block access for third party developers, which run on the micro bloggingplatform, but do not make any money for it. 

This means that parody sites and apps that run on the social networking site will soon disappear. 

Now, Twitter will only issue a 'sign in' button to websites and apps that are paying to use its data. 

According to News.com.au, unauthorised and unauthenticated posts won't any longer be allowed on the site. 

Karbonn launches Android 4.0-powered Smart A18

Karbonn Mobiles has announced its Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)-powered flagship mobile device, the all-new Karbonn Smart A18. 

Launched under the Karbonn 'Smart' range, Karbonn Smart A18 features a 4.3-inch IPS touchscreen, 1GHz processor, 1,500mAh battery and a 5.0 MP camera with autofocus, Burst Mode and Face Detection. 


Infosys senior VP Shaji Farooq quits, to join Wipro


In yet another senior-level exit at software major Infosys, Shaji Farooq, senior vice-president and head of financial services, Americas at Infosys has quit. ET NOW learns from people familiar with the development thatShaji Farooq is headed to Infy's cross-town rival Wipro. 

Shaji Farooq has been in Infosys for the last ten years and has over 20 years of industry experience. According to his LinkedIn profile, at Infosys he's unit head for Financial Services Americas, responsible for all client facing activities, delivery/execution and operations. Like other top software companies, Infosys gets a majority of its revenues from Financial Services and North America. 

VIT partners with IBM for new academic courses

Vellore Institute of Technology(VIT) has partnered with IBM to incorporate advanced information technology (IT) related concepts into the existing BTech (Bachelors in Technology) courses offered at the university. This initiative will not only provide the technical know-how, but also make the syllabi more tuned to real-world problems and solutions. This in turn is expected to make the graduates employment ready. 

Why Facebook addicts are usually women


Researchers have uncovered new evidence of a genetic variant which makes people less likely to be able to tear themselves away from their computers - and the link occurred most frequently in women.
The same genetic variation found to occur frequently in online addicts has already been linked to other forms of addiction - including nicotine addiction - and to loneliness and depression.

Nokia, Motorola to unveil new smartphones


Back when Apple was an underdog, it had an easier time shrouding its product announcements in mystery and perhaps catching its competitors off guard. But now tech companies are watching every one of Apple's moves - and scrambling to get out in front of them. 

Several major tech companies are cramming product announcements into this holiday-shortened workweek. Nokia and Motorola Mobility, former leaders in the mobile race who are now also-rans, have scheduled events for Wednesday at which they are likely to unveil new smartphones. And the next day, Amazon is expected to introduce new Kindle devices. 

China s biggest search engine Baidu enters mobile browser fight

China's dominant search engine Baidu Inc rolled out a mobile browser on Monday to help secure its share in a mobile Internet market that surpasses the US population in size and to fend off smaller rivals such as Qihoo 360 Technology Co. 

In China, the number of users who access the Internet from mobile phones has risen to 388 million, according to a government report in July, outstripping the number of users who access it from a desktop computer for the first time. 

Monday, September 3, 2012

Apple verdict, Days of design innovation over

ImageA pre-iPhone age, mobile phones came in all shapes and sizes. Remember the clamshell, candy bar, swivel, backflip, slider, dual-slider, lipstick, and, of course, the taco? Nowadays, most phones have a touch screen, rows of icons and are rectangular. 

In short, they all look a lot like the iPhone. 
Now, in the wake of the Apple Inc vs Samsung Electronics trial, where the U.S. firm won what the South Koreans scathingly called a "monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners," the fear is that an era of rapid andexciting innovation in mobile design is over. The iPhone has won the day and all those whose handsets use Google's Android operating system, the argument goes, will either give up or tread carefully for fear of litigation. 

Expedia to set up its largest APAC R and D centre in Gurgaon, to hire 200 people


US-based online travel company Expedia Inc, which runs Expedia.co.in in India, is setting up a research and development (R&D) centre in Gurgaon, India. The company has reportedly taken 100 people on board and is looking to add another 200 in its ranks. Expedia claims that this R&D facility will be the biggest among online travel companies in India.
Among other online travel companies, Yatra.com has a similar facility in Hyderabad with around 35 employees. MakeMyTrip and Cleartrip.com call it product and innovation team which is a separate department to develop technologies and applications.