a2z Information: 2013-02-03

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Apple iPhone 5S, 6 spotted at supplier, Report

Over the past few months, the rumour mill is abuzz with reports about iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 - the two new smartphones that Apple is supposedly working on. Speculations have been rife about the upcoming models, from their prices to colour options and features. Now a report claims that the two smartphones have been spotted for the first time at the facility of an Apple supplier.

A user named Old Yao has claimed on a Chinese microblogging website Sina Tech that a friend of his working with an Apple supplier has seen the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6. He revealed that the former looks exactly like iPhone 5, while the latter is longer, wider and thinner. The post also said that the two devices are likely to be launched in 2013.

Bharti Airtel it will invite other telecom operators for equity participation in its managed services company, in which it has bought out Alcatel- Lucent's entire stake for an undisclosed amount.

"We just did it so we will talk to companies over a period of time... We would be open to everybody," Bharti Enterprises Deputy Group CEO and MD Akhil Gupta told reporters here.

A US judge narrowed a patent lawsuit brought by Google's Motorola Mobility unit against Microsoft, finding that parts of three Motorola patents are invalid.

The ruling on Thursday came from US District Judge James Robart in Seattle, who is overseeing a tandem lawsuit in which Microsoft claims Motorola deserves only a small royalty on many of its telecommunications patents. Google bought Motorola for $12.5 billion, partly for its intellectual property stockpile.

Social networking site Facebook has said it is having approximately 50 million duplicate accounts besides 22 million of misclassified and undesirable accounts.

According to a Facebook's statement as on December 31, 2012, it has 1.06 billion monthly active users (MAUs) worldwide including 71 million in India.

"We estimate, for example, that "duplicate" accounts (an account that a user maintains in addition to his or her principal account) may have represented approximately 5.0 per cent of our worldwide MAUs as of December 31, 2012," Facebook said in its report to Securities and Exchange Commission of USA.

Struggling Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu is slashing 5,000 jobs, or nearly 3 percent of its global workforce, as it seeks to boost profitability by reshaping its computer-chip business and its overseas operations.

Fujitsu on Thursday said the job cuts will be completed by the end of this fiscal year next month, and will rely on early retirement, layoffs and other methods. Details were undecided.

Think transparent smartphones are futuristic? Not really. For, if Taiwan-based Polytron has its way, we will soon be holding a transparent smartphone. Polytron, which works on display technologies, has unveiled a smartphone prototype with a transparent body. A company exec has also claimed that users will see the arrival of transparent glass phone by the end of this year.

The company's prototype is manufactured using glass that is light in weight and features a transparent screen and body. The prototype was not functioning and hardware like battery, camera and microSD card could be seen by the naked eye.

A security flaw has made it easy for scam artists to send phony text messages to Android phones with help of a security flaw, a report has said.

In late October, researchers at North Carolina State University alerted Google to a practice called "smishing" that can ensnare consumers in fraud.

Google's security officials confirmed the flaw and promising to correct it.

IT major TCS said Rajesh Gopinathan will succeed S Mahalingam as the company's Chief Financial Officer.

Mahalingam, who is also executive director, "will retire from his Executive and Board position on February 9, 2013, on reaching the retirement age of 65 years as per the company's policy," Tata Consultancy Services TCS) said in a BSE filing.

Gopinathan will take over the position with effect from February 10, 2013.

Users are more likely to fall prey to cyber crime through search engines, online ads and social networking websites than pornographic or gambling sites, according to a report by technology giant Cisco.

"Common belief holds that one increases their individual risk to security threats when they seek out illicit content like counterfeit software, online deals, hacking sites or even view pornography," Cisco Vice President (Borderless Networks), India and SAARC, Mahesh Gupta said.

SuchiraIyer, chief marketing officer at Wipro, India's third largest software services exporter, has resigned.

Wipro said in a statement that Iyer "has decided to move on to pursue interests outside the organisation."

"We wish her success in all her future endeavours.The company will announce her successor in due course," the Bangalore-based company added in the statement.

Wipro recruits 30 interns in South Africa

Wipro Technologies has recruited 30 interns to work on live projects post the completion of the first batch of internship programme in South Africa. The Bangalore-based IT player selected the first batch of 30 local students from South African universities to train under its project readiness programme.

The interns underwent a rigorous training programme for three months in Wipro's training centre in Johannesburg. The comprehensive engagement programme entailed a curriculum that has been designed to address IT industry relevant skill sets, especially in advanced technologies.

Spice is one of the few Indian manufacturers who are vying for the enviable position that Micromax enjoys in the market right now. With a portfolio comprising the hot sellers like Canvas 2, A110 as well as the upcoming Canvas HD, Micromax has gained the leading spot in the budget market.

In hopes of expanding its share in the booming smartphone market of India, Spice has launched its Stellar Virtuoso Mi-495, a dual-sim budget phone powered by Android OS. But can Spice break Micromaxx's winning streak and take over the top spot with its new smartphone Stellar Virtuoso? Let's find out:

Microchip will help you find your lost pet

Every dog owner in Britain will have to put microchips on their pets starting 2016 under plans intended to cut a rise in stray animals, BBC reported.

The microchips will be coded with owners' details, and people who do not comply could face fines of up to 500 pounds.

Owners could also be prosecuted over an attack by their dog on private land.

Dell today launched its Inspiron 15z laptops with optional touchscreen, with the aim of attracting buyers seeking entry-level ultrabooks. This new laptops is priced at Rs 41,990 (without taxes) and runs on Windows 8.

The all-new Inspiron 15z has a 15.6-inch LED HD display with TrueLife technology and buyers can choose between RAM ranging from 4GB to 8GB. Hard disk options in the device are 500GB SATA or 256GB solid state drive. The device is powered by 3rd generation Intel Core CPUs and features scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass touchscreen.

IT services company Cognizant Technology Solutions reported a modestly better-than-expected quarterly profit as clients in Europe ramped up outsourcing, but guided first-quarter profit below analysts' estimates.

European companies have been outsourcing more in recent months as instability in the region forces them to restructure and cut costs. However, some U.S. companies have said they may be seeing a bottom after years of weakness in the region.

The economic downturn in Europe has served as a catalyst for longer-term growth for outsourcing in the region, Cognizant President Gordon Coburn said after the company reported third-quarter results in November.

Google reads every email that you send and receive, so claims software giant Microsoft. In its latest campaign titled 'Don't get scroogled by Gmail', the software maker says that Google reads every email a user sends and receives in order to dish out related advertisements.

Through the campaign, Microsoft asks users to switch to its own free email service Outlook.com, which it claims "doesn't go through the content of users' emails to show ads." It also asks users to sign an online petition against Gmail to let Google know that "going through personal email messages to sell ads is unacceptable."

BlackBerry recently unveiled its much-awaited new OS BlackBerry 10. The company also showed two high-end devices running on the all-new OS, BlackBerry Z10 and Q10. The devices are available only in few countries so far. However, a report in tech blog Fonearena, citing sources, says that the Canadian manufacturer is launching Z10 in India on February 24 for a whopping Rs 39,000.

Before the worldwide unveiling of BlackBerry's new smartphones, the managing director of the Indian division of the company told TOI that the phones are expected to be launched within 2-3 weeks of their global showcasing.

BPO firm Genpact said it has acquired Jawood, a business services provider to healthcare payer industry, for an undisclosed amount.

The transaction also includes Genpact's purchase of India-based Felix Software, a key subcontracted service provider to Jawood, Genpact said in a statement.

Technology companies are eyeing a pool of about 5.5 lakh students in close to 1,000 colleges of the state offering non-technology courses to meet the shortfall in trained non-technical workforce. A database ofoutstanding students from faculties like Arts,Commerce, Science, Education and Law will be prepared after assessing them according to their abilities. These will then be showcased to the industry.

The move will reduce the duration to train the freshers, believe industry players. "So far companies have to train freshers in English as well as give him sectoral knowledge. The move will ensure that candidates are proficient in English. So, they will be imparted only domain knowledge, reducing their training duration. Initially we can start with 2,000-3,000 students," said Rajiv Vaishnav, vice president of National Association of Software Services Companies (Nasscom) involved in the programme.

Sony will this month announce the late 2013 launch of its latest PlayStation console, Japanese media said on Thursday, as is looks to its games business in a bid to repair its tattered finances.
The much-anticipated announcement will come at a "PlayStation Meeting" set for February 20 in New York, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper and Kyodo news agency reported. Sony declined comment on the reports.

The firm last week sent out invitations to a mystery event in New York, but declined to give details, sparking rumours the world would get its first look at the newest console, seven years after the PlayStation 3 (PS3) was launched.

Chicken Noodle Soup for the soul

Chicken Noodle SoupBorn from a chance visit to a tiny Tibetan restaurant in Kodaikanal, Chicken/Beef noodle soup has since become my comfort food for a cold wintery day and when it rains, it just gets better. And hey, it’s not oily or fatty, and it’s got a good mix of carbohydrates, protein and good fats - all the right food groups you know you want to put in your tummy! Try and use lean meat with no fat on it, to ensure the fat content stays on the lower side. Till then…slurp away!

Year after year, reports tracking success of software projects have always come out with dismal figures on success of software projects. Even after a technical team believes that the project is successful, business teams believe that 70 percent of projects are failures. Most of them believe that they do not deliver what business is looking for.

The reason for this failure is not so much technical failure; it is the inability of the technical team to understand business requirements. Technical people are so involved in technology that they are unable to understand business requirements. Business people also find it difficult to explain to technical teams.

By harnessing Aircel’s vast retailer and distribution reach and its expertise In mobile network and customer-care centres, along with ICICI Bank’s strong pedigree in secure retail banking - ‘Mobile Money’ intends to deliver a safe, secure and instant suite of financial services for Aircel customers. Meanwhile Visa, the global payments technology company will deploy its Mobile Managed Service to host and manage the Mobile Money platform.

ICG Group said Google would acquire one of its units, Channel Intelligence, for $125 million in cash.

ICG Group, which buys and builds Internet software and services firms, said Google would acquire its partly owned marketing services unit, Channel Intelligence Inc, for $125 million in cash.

Channel Intelligence helps retailers, manufacturers and other advertisers make their products and services easier for consumers to find and buy online and in local stores.

Dell, which intends to go private in a $24.4 billion deal led by founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell, plans to stick to its current turnaround strategy to diversify away from personal computers.

Dell Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that the company can now pursue its strategy without being limited by the pressures of public ownership.

"Under a new private company structure, we will have time and flexibility to really pursue and realize the end-to-end solutions strategy," Gladden said. "We will be able to pursue organic and inorganic investment and we won't have the scrutiny and limitations associated with operating as a public company."

iTunes sells enough songs to give everyone in the world four tunes

iTunes has reached another landmark - 25 billion songs have been bought through the service, according to Apple.

On average, it's selling more than 15,000 songs a minute, Apple's latest stats say.

The lucky fellow who downloaded the 25 billionth tune was awarded a 10,000 euro iTunes Gift Card as a reward. That man was Philip Lupke from Germany, and the milestone song was Monkey Drums (Goksel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch. Us neither.

The Government of India (GoI) will spend 368 billion rupees on IT products and services in 2013, an increase of 10.5 percent over 2012 revenue of 333 billion rupees, according to Gartner, Inc. This forecast includes spending by government organizations on internal IT (including personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications.

Telecommunications, which includes telecommunications and networking equipment and services, will remain the largest overall spending

Along with growing in sophistication, India's business process outsourcing industry is expanding at a rapid clip, a sharp contrast to the information technology services sector which has struggled to recover after the global financial crisis of 2008.

The faster growth is driven by cost pressures at large corporations in Europe and the United States which are now outsourcing entire processes rather than parts of processes they used to earlier. Such a development, while helping reduce costs, also calls for advanced skills and expertise at Indian BPO firms.

Children who watch cartoons and others kids programmes on YouTube are an average of three clicks away from videos with explicit content, a study has said.

An study of YouTube's "suggested videos", which sit alongside children's favourites, found that it was easy to access clips including nudity and violence.

The study was released by online security firm Kaspersky Lab to mark Safer Internet Day, the Telegraph reports.

Introduction

Windows 8 has seen a host of fresh designs for tablets and laptops, with many manufacturers trying their hardest to build a device that's capable of doing both jobs. That has led to some innovative thinking, such as the screen-spinning Dell XPS 12 and the Microsoft Surface and its detachable keyboard. However, the Acer Iconia W700 has a slightly simpler take on the hybrid design.

Amazon on Tuesday unveiled a virtual currency to enhance the potential for developers to make real money in games and other apps tailored for Kindle Fire tablet computers.

Amazon Coins will be introduced in the United States in May in a move aimed at inspiring the creation of more fun, hip or functional programmes for its challenge to iPads and rival tablets powered by Android software.

Industry analysts maintain that the availability of apps synched with people's lifestyles can be more important than slick hardware when it comes to which mobile gadgets people buy.

Oracle today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Acme Packet, a leading global provider of session border control technology for USD 29.25 per share or approximately USD 1.7 billion, net of Acme Packet’s cash. Acme Packet enables the trusted, first-class delivery of next-generation voice, data and unified communications services and applications across IP networks. The company’s solutions are deployed by more than 1,900 service providers and enterprises globally, including 89 of the world’s top 100 communications companies.

A high-level government review committee has given its stamp of approval on a decision to block 306 accounts being used on micro-blogging site Twitter in the wake of communal violence in Assam's Kokrajhar district and largescale migration of people from the South.

These accounts, according to the review committee, had the potential to inflame communal tension in the country and some morphed pictures were uploaded that had led to clashes in some parts of the country.

Facebook-owned Instagram on Tuesday enabled its website to serve as a gallery for images taken by users of the smartphone photo-sharing service.

"Instagram, at its core, is about seeing and taking photos on-the-go," company co-founder Kevin Systrom said in a blog post.

"You can now browse your Instagram feed on the web, just like you do on your mobile device."

Instagram.com was designed without the option of uploading images from the internet because the service is about pictures "taken in the real world, in real time" by people on the move, according to Systrom.

Taking potshots at rivals seems to be the new trend in the telecom industry. Just days back, struggling telecom giant Nokia proclaimed on its official Twitter account how Lumia series is a better choice for business users than the two new BlackBerry smartphones, Z10 and Q10. Now Taiwanese smartphone makerHTC takes a dig at rivals Nokia and Apple through an infographic that charts the history of cameras.

In the infographic, HTC charts the history of cameras since their invention in 1839 and moves to phones with cameras. The Taiwanese manufacturer highlights how the number of pixels in phones' cameras jumped suddenly in 2006. This, however, according to HTC, did not improve quality of pictures taken from these cameras.

BPO company Technosoft to hire 800 in India

US-based Technosoft Corporation, a software services and business process outsourcing (BPO), plans to hire 800 people in India, a company official said.

The $90 million Technosoft Corporation will also inaugurate its new 400-seater development centre here soon, the official added.

"Globally we plan to hire around 1,000 people by mid-2014 for our two operations - software services and healthcare BPO. Eighty percent of the new hiring will be in India. The company will soon inaugurate its new development centre near Chennai," Technosoft Corporation's chief executive officer Rajiv Tandon told IANS here.

Instagram is a huge hit among photography enthusiasts - within two years of its launch, it has gained over a 100 million users. The mobile photo app allows you to apply digital filters and share them on social networking sites. It's become so popular that some restaurants are getting annoyed by what is called foodstagramming (taking pictures of your food with Instagram). There have been reports of some restaurants in New York even banning people from taking pictures of their food.

Slumping personal computer maker Dellis bowing out of the stock market in a $24.4 billion buyout that represents the largest deal of its kind since the Great Recession dried up the financing for such risky maneuvers.

The complex agreement announced will allow Dell's management to attempt a company turnaround away from the glare and financial pressures of Wall Street. Dell stockholders will be paid $13.65 per share to leave the company on its own. That's better than $11 level the stock was hovering at before word of the buyout talks trickled out last month, but a steep markdown from the shares' price of $26 less than five years ago.

The number of privately held Silicon Valley startups that are worth more than $1 billion shocks even the executives running those companies.

"I thought we were special," said Phil Libin, chief executive of Evernote, an online consumer service for storing clippings, photos and bits of information as he counted his $1 billion-plus peers.

He started Evernote in 2008 on the eve of the recession and built it methodically.

HCL has rolled out three budget tablets with 7-inch screens and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The all-new HCL ME Tablet U2, V1 and Y3 come at a price tag of Rs 5,999, Rs 7,999 and Rs 11,999, respectively. While ME Tablet U2 has full access to Google Play marketplace, ME Tablet V1 and Y3 come with limited apps featured in HCL ME Store.

ME Tablet U2 features a 7-inch touchscreen 800x480p display and is powered by a 1GHz Cortex A9 processor paired with 1GB RAM. The device comes with 4GB onboard storage and supports microSD cards with capacities ranging up to 32GB. Running on a 3,100mAh battery, the device has a VGA camera in the front and supports full HD videos (shot at 1080p). Connectivity features in the tablet include Wi-Fi, microUSB and 3G (via dongle).

Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves is a British proverb. But, it's just not easy to do. Luckily there's a way to help track your spending without fussing with receipts: expense apps on your ever-useful smartphone.

Toshl Finance

Of all the apps for monitoring spending, one of the hardest to beat is Toshl Finance . Free on iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7, the app is all about making managing personal expenses an easy and almost lighthearted affair. The app's main interface is a simple menu bar at the bottom of the screen. This gives you access to expense data entry, income data entry, a summary screen, a budgeting screen and settings. Toshl lets you tag each expense as you like and maintains a handy display of all your tags for future access. The income entry screen is similar. The summary screen gives you a plain bar chart display of monthly income and expenditures, and a readout of your balance. It also reports on how your balance compares with the previous month and how you're performing against a budget.

Google has integrated its free video chat suite Hangouts with Gmail. This means users in India can now chat with as many as up to nine people through their Gmail accounts. The Hangouts integration enhances Gmail users' video chat experience with a host of fun effects and business-oriented features.

To start a Hangout, users simply need to click on the video camera icon appearing on the right side of their Gtalk pane. A new window pop-ups, showing a list of their Google+ friends. Users can also add people to the video chat by adding contacts via Gmail IDs, in case they are not in their Google+ circles.

Samsung has announced two new smartphones - Galaxy Young and Galaxy Fame. Both the devices are powered by Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and resemble top-of-the-line models like Galaxy S III and Note II in looks.

Galaxy Young features a 3.27-inch TFT touchscreen with 480x320p resolution. This device runs on a 1GHz processor with 768MB RAM and comes with 4GB built-in storage and support for 64GB microSD card. Samsung has included a 3MP rear camera without flash in the phone. Powered by a 1,300mAh battery, this device has connectivity features like Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, Bluetooth 3.0 and microUSB 2.0.

Days after The New York Times and Wall Street Journal said Chinese hackers had infiltrated its computers and hacked email accounts of its reporters, search engine giant Google said it has updated its 'Good to Know' website with the latest information on web security and threats.

Google said its efforts are primarily aimed at helping web users stay away from malicious content and online criminals by offering tips and advices through the re-launched website.

Rs 36,800 cr opportunity for Indian IT cos

Government is expected to spend Rs 36,800 crore on IT products and services in 2013, an increase of 10.5 per cent over 2012, research firm Gartner today said.

This is against revenue of Rs 33,300 crore in 2012, which included spending by government organizations on internal IT (including personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications, it said in a statement.

Telecommunications, which includes telecommunications and networking equipment and services, is expected to remain the largest overall spending category, it said.

Within days of the government notifying rules that provide preference to locally-made electronic goods, the US has protested the move saying that it will adversely impact investment by American companies. Senior government officials said that US under secretary for economic growth, energy and environment Robert Hormats had raised the issue during his meeting with commerce & industry minister Anand Sharma last week.

Sources said the US official told his Indian counterparts that American companies were worried about the local content requirement and preferential market access although they are interested in the information technology sector.

Soon, tech that offers HQ videos on low bandwidth

Before this year end, get ready to watch double the number of videos or films on your smartphones at the same bandwidth your phone already has. "Even if you have a phone which has a bandwidth of 2 mbps, you can watch a few ultra high-definition movies on it or double the number of standard definition movies," explains Srini Rajam, chairman and CEO of Ittiam Systems.

What will facilitate this surge is a new video compression technology that has the capability of compressing large visual and audio formats which, in turn, can be transmitted at a fraction of their size.

Top Indian companies and banks have found a smart way of putting more money in employees' pockets without loosening their purse strings at a time the economy is witnessing a slowdown.

Some of India's biggest companies are giving employees a choice to buy products offered under the New Pension System (NPS) to help them get higher tax breaks while building a bigger retirement nest. These include Reliance Industries, Reliance ADA Group, ICICI, State Bank of India, Wipro, Cognizant, ACC, Capgemini, Grasim Industries, Nalco and Konkan Railway Corporation, according to Yogesh Aggarwal, chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA).

The official mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party on Monday roundly rejected claims of hacking attacks from China byAmerican media outlets, hinting instead at ulterior motives by the US.

The People's Daily article echoed vehement government rejections last week after The New York Times and Wall Street Journal linked Beijing to cyberattacks and the Washington Post accused Chinese hackers of targeting it.

'Spiderman','Chinaking'...These are not Hollywood blockbusters. Rather they are two software programmes related to cellular technology that are giving a headache to central security agencies.

These software programmes are believed to help in changing International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) of mobile phones manufactured in China.

The IMEI number is a 15-digit unique number of every mobile handset and comes handy forsecurity agencies in the event of cellular technology being used for any terror or criminal activity.

Small business owners simply need to take two easy steps to ensure they don't become the next victim of a cyberattack- keeping systems up-to-date and setting policies for employees, security experts have said.

Jason Glassberg, co-founder of Casaba, a security company, pointed out that small businesses are a prime target for computer hackers and scammers largely because they leave themselves vulnerable.

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Saturday, February 9, 2013

Friday, February 8, 2013

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Introduction

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Tuesday, February 5, 2013