a2z Information: 2013-03-31

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Nokia starts selling cheapest Lumia phone in India

Nokia is set to launch its cheapest Windows Phone 8 smartphone in India, the all-new Lumia 520, on April 6, 2013. This phone was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in February 2013 and announced in the country on March 20. The company has priced this device atRs 10,499 and began taking pre-orders for the smartphone soon after it was showcased in India.

The all-new Lumia 520 comes with a 4-inch LCD IPS touchscreen and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor coupled with 512MB RAM. The phone comes with 8GB built-in memory and can support microSD cards with capacities ranging up to 64GB; Nokia is also offering free SkyDrive storage of 7GB with this phone. The device can access the internet over 2G, 3G and Wi-Fi networks, while data can be shared via Bluetooth 3.0 and microUSB 2.0.

Toshiba (TOKYO:6502):

Power devices are strategic products, at the forefront of the discrete devices business. In power electronics, Toshiba's focus is on the development of MOSFETs and IGBTs, indispensable devices for securing an efficient, stable electricity supply—a precondition for flourishing smart communities that utilize big data in real time to realize high-performance infrastructure responsive to changing needs.

Efficient use of energy and storage capacity is a pressing issue in industrial applications, including power supply for the base stations needed to handle growing numbers of smartphone and tablet PCs; power supply for servers in data centers and intelligent automobiles; and wind farms and other renewables. Toshiba's MOSFETs and IGBTs can play a vital role in any effective solution meeting these needs.

Mobile phone companies are investing in low-cost Wi-Fi systems to improve mobile broadband coverage in heavy data consumption zones. A few may be trying to attract fixed-line users by getting them hooked through the Wi-Fi route.

Idea Cellular is testing a five-city Wi-Fi network that will soon go commercial while Aircel will roll out 600 Wi-Fi outlets in six cities that are considered to be India's biggest data markets, top company executives with direct knowledge said. Vodafone India too is believed to be in talks with Wi-Fi gear suppliers like Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Cisco to improve mobile broadband coverage in under-served indoor public areas. More companies are likely to jump onto the bandwagon.

Number of people following Pope Francis on micro blogging platform Twitter has doubled from 2.5 million to 5.0 million in just seven weeks.

The account @pontifex - the word "pope" in Latin, has tweets in nine languages including English, Spanish, Arabic and Latin.

The number on all nine accounts put together went over five million for the first time on Thursday, the Telegraph reports.

Zynga's chief executive, Mark Pincus, has opted to receive an annual salary of just $1 this year and forgo all cash bonuses, the company said.

Pincus, who founded the social gaming company in 2007 and still maintains majority control, received a pay package of $1.7 million in 2011.

His 2012 pay package has not yet been made public by the company, which is best-known for "FarmVille," a popular game on Facebook.

Ralph Whitworth was on Thursday named as interim chairman of Hewlett-Packard's board after its chairman, Ray Lane, stepped down. Whitworth posted an open letter on the personnel changes, which included decisions by John Hammergren and Ken Thompson. They had been nearly ousted two weeks earlier at HP's annual meetings as shareholders are upset by a series of mistakes that have damaged the company's share price.

Here's the text of the open letter on Thursday:

Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder and executive co-chairman, Infosys Technologies Limited, has been elected as the President of CII for the year 2013-14. He succeeds Mr Adi Godrej as the new President.

Gopalakrishnan along with Mr NR Narayana Murthy and five others, founded Infosys in 1981. Kris served as Director (Technical) and his initial responsibilities included the management of design, development, implementation, and support of information systems for clients in the consumer products industry in the US.

Samsung Electronics is spending more on marketing than R&D for the first time in at least three years, prompting some pundits to warn that the IT giant is sacrificing innovation at a time when the market is teeming with ever smarter gadgets.

The South Korean firm, which warned on Friday it will not post record quarterly earnings for the first time since 2011, looks set to spend big bucks on marketing upcoming mobile devices, including the Galaxy S4 smartphone, to convert more iPhone and iPad users loyal to arch rival Apple.

Researchers have developed a new laser powered camera system that creates high-resolution 3D images of objects from up to a kilometre away.

A standard camera takes flat, 2D pictures. To get 3D information, such as the distance to a far-away object, scientists can bounce a laser beam off the object and measure how long it takes the light to travel back to a detector.

The technique, called time-of-flight (ToF) navigation systems for autonomous vehicles, and other applications, but many current systems have a relatively short range and struggle to image objects that do not reflect laser light. Researchers have tackled these limitations and reported their findings in the journal Optics Express.

Facebook Home, the new application that takes over the front screen of a smartphone, is a bit of a corporate home invasion. Facebook is essentially moving into Google's turf, taking advantage of software the search giant and competitor created.

Facebook Home will operate on phones running Google's Android software and present Facebook status updates, messages and other content on the home screen, rather than making the user fire up Facebook's app. The software will be available for users to download on April 12 and will come preloaded on a new phone from HTC, sold by AT&T in the US.

The US received nearly 50,000 packages of H-1B visa applications on the very first day, which is reflective of the sudden surge in demand of the country's most sought after work visas.

The USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), officially has not announced the number of H-1B applications received by it since April 1, when it started accepting petitions for the fiscal 2014 beginning October 1, 2013.

TV networks head online with animal webcam videos

The average visitor to the Kitten Cam on Animal Planet's website has a hard time leaving. The live internet stream of felines has been watched more than 25 million times since it started last September. The average person, seemingly transfixed by the cuteness, stays on the page for 18 minutes and 50 seconds.

"That's a longer length of time than many television shows," said the head of Animal Planet, Marjorie Kaplan. The channel, sensing that its visitors would like more of a good thing, will begin promoting 10 more web channels this week as "ambient entertainment" for viewers and advertisers.

Sales of digital cameras that enable users to immediately post pictures on the web have risen sharply in Asia despite stiff competition from smartphones, an industry survey showed.

Market research company GfK said sales of Wi-Fi-enabled cameras in 13 major Asian markets including Japan and China rose 52 percent from the year before to 8.44 million units in 2012 with a total value of $2.74 billion.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has said the media coverage of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's decision to ban telecommuting was about Mayer 'being a woman'.

During a lecture at Stanford University on Tuesday to promote her new memoir, 'Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead', Sandberg offered a harsh assessment of the negative media coverage surrounding Mayer's decision to end telecommuting at Yahoo.

Absolute Software said Samsung Electronics will use its software that allows for tracking of stolen mobile devices in its Galaxy range of products, sending the Canadian company's shares up as much as 37 per cent.

Absolute Chief Executive John Livingston told Reuters there was no financial component to what he referred to as the "partnership". The company said it hoped the deal would pave the way for future deals with employers that want to use the software to track and secure mobile devices and laptops.

Baidu, China's largest search engine, is developing prototype digital eyewear similar to Google's Google Glass that will leverage Baidu's strengths in image search and facial recognition, a Baidu spokesman said.

Internally known as project "Baidu Eye", the glasses are being tested internally and it is not clear whether the product will ever be commercialised, said Kaiser Kuo, Baidu's spokesman.

April 1 has come and gone. And for many thousands of techies in India it was no fun considering that they were far too stressed out on annual fools' day, to be thinking of playing pranks on their friends and colleagues. It was the day when the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) started accepting petitions against the annual cap of 65,000 (plus another 20,000 for those graduating from US colleges) work permit H1B visas for the fiscal year 2014, the route used by thousands of Indian IT professionals to go to the US every year.

Say you need a latte. You might pull out your phone, open the Yelp app and search for a nearby cafe. If instead you want to buy an espresso machine, you will most likely tap Amazon.com.

Either way, Google lost a customer.

Google remains the undisputed king of search, with about two-thirds of the market. But the nature of search is changing, especially as more people search for what they want to buy, eat or learn on their mobile devices. This has put the $22 billion search industry, perhaps the most lucrative and influential of online businesses, at its most significant crossroad since its invention.

Facebook just announced Facebook Home, an all-new start screen/home screen of sorts for Android devices. The company took some time to demo the new software, and show us all the cool goodies, but what people really want to know is when Android users will be able to grab Facebook Home and use it for themselves.

Facebook Home will be available as a free download in the Google Play store starting on April 12, which is just next week, so it seems users won’t have to wait long to get a hold of it. Off the bat, Facebook Home will only be available for Android phones, while tablet support is in the works and will become available in the future.

Worldwide devices (the combined shipments of PCs, tablets and mobile phones) are on pace to total 2.4 billion units in 2013, a 9% increase from 2012, according to Gartner. Device shipments are forecast to continue to grow, reaching more than 2.9 billion units in 2017, but the mix of these devices will significantly change over the forecast period.

The proliferation of lower-priced tablets and their growing capability is accelerating the shift from PCs to tablets. "While there will be some individuals who retain both a personal PC and a tablet, especially those who use either or both for work and play, most will be satisfied with the experience they get from a tablet as their main computing device," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. "As consumers shift their time away from their PC to tablets and smartphones, they will no longer see their PC as a device that they need to replace on a regular basis."

The online advertising market is expected to reach Rs 2,938 crore by March 2014 in the country, a report said today.

The online advertising market, comprising search, display, mobile, social media, email and video advertising, has grown by 29 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,260 crore by March, 2013, the report jointly published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and IMRB International said.

A rather sparse looking website from 1999 that allegedly belonged to Mark Zuckerberg has been making the rounds on the web lately.

The username on the website was Slim Shady - the name of rapper Eminem's alter-ego during the mid-90s.

The website, named Angelfire, was one of the first blogging sites on the web back in the day, reports News.com.au.

CSS inks deal with mobile security developer AirWatch

Technology consulting and support company CSS has inked a pact with mobile security developer AirWatch to offer mobile device management services to customers in India and the United States.

"CSS will offer its customers a comprehensive range of services to enable effective adoption of the Bring Your Own Device model", a company statement said.

CSS's mobile device management services would include Readiness Assessment, Policy Creation, Policy Management and 24x7 monitoring and management. It would offer customers to track, secure, monitor and manage mobile devices, it said.

South Korean manufacturer Samsung has announced two new budget smartphones -Galaxy Star and Galaxy Pocket Neo. Both the phones are powered by Android4.1 (Jelly Bean) with TouchWiz user interface and support dual-sim functionality.

The all-new Samsung Galaxy Star comes with a 3-inch TFT screen with 320x240p resolutionand is powered by a 1GHz processor. Powered by a 1,200mAh battery, this phone has 512MBRAM, 4GB internal storage and supportsmicroSD cards with capacity up to 32GB. It comes with a 2MP rear camera and has connectivity features like 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB.

Videocon Mobile Phones today announced VT 75C, a new tablet that features2G voice calling. This device runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), has a 7-inch display and is priced atRs 6,499.

The all-new Videocon VT75C has displayresolution of 800x480p and 133ppi pixel density. This device runs on a 1GHz processor coupled with 512 MB RAM and has 4GB internal storage and microSD expansion up to 32GB. Connectivity features in the device include 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0 and miniHDMI. This device can also access the internet via 3G dongle.

Facebook, which has become an integral part of our social lives, is hosting an event to showcase its "new home on Android." Speculation in tech industry is rife that the company may launch a smartphone running on Google's mobile operating system Android.

EVLeaks has leaked what it claims is the first image of the Facebook phone, likely to be called HTC First. This phone is rumoured to have a heavily customised version of Android, much like Amazon has done with its Kindle tablets.

According to tech grapevine, HTC First is likely to have a 4.3-inch touchscreen that supports 720p videos and run on a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Other rumoured features of this alleged smartphone include a 5MP camera, 1GB RAM, Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) with HTC Sense 4.5 and deep Facebook integration.

It's no secret that Apple wants to get into the living room by making its own TV set, and there have been plenty of rumors and reports about how and when it's going to happen.

Now, an analyst says he's learned that the set will go on sale late this year, for $1,500 to $2,500.

In a research note on Wednesday, Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets says the " iTV" will be 60 inches (150 centimeters) on the diagonal, but could also come in 50- and 55-inch versions. Apple will also release a small "iRing" that fits on the viewer's finger, allowing the user to control the screen by pointing, White says.

Toshiba (TOKYO:6502) today announced the latest addition to its TXO3 series of ARM® core-based microcontrollers, the TMPM36BFYFG. The new device improves on basic performance and cuts power consumption to 2/3 that of Toshiba's previous products. Mass production will begin in November, 2013.

Toshiba announced the latest addition to its TXO3 series of ARM(R) core-based microcontrollers, the TMPM36BFYFG. The new device improves on basic performance and cuts power consumption to 2/3 that of Toshiba's previous products. Mass production will begin in November, 2013. (Photo: Business Wire)

HCL Technologies said it will create an online technology hub for schools and businesses in collaboration with North Carolina New Schools which will promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programmes in North Carolina state of the USA.

HCL will design the hub which will serve as a central gathering place for featured content and discussion between teachers, school staff, students, counsellors, district office superintendents and NC New Schools' administration staff among others, the company said in a statement.

Personal computer industry pioneer Michael Dell would "invest for growth" and compete aggressively in new markets if his plan to take the company he founded private succeeds, according to a new memo.

The company founder, in a message to Dellemployees available on Tuesday in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said he has plans that "will position Dell for long-term success."

The document was released as a special committee set up by Texas-based Dell evaluates two competing proposals to the one led by Michael Dell to take the firm private in a $24.4 billion deal.

Gmail s compose feature draws complaints

Internet search giant Google is facing backlash for changing the way users write emails on Gmail.

With the change, users now have to compose their email in a new window that pops up on top of the inbox. Earlier, previously, users were switched to a new page to write their email.

Google has been experimenting with the pop-up feature since October and said it is faster and simpler than the previous way of writing emails on Gmail.

Monster, the worldwide leader in successfully connecting people to job opportunities and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW) has announced this week that the company’s 6Sense® semantic search technology, which is the technology behind Power Resume Search™, is now available in the Netherlands. Recruiters in seven countries can now quickly and precisely find and target candidates who best meet their hiring needs.

Microsoft’s Windows Blue will launch as Windows 8.1, new leaks suggest, not Windows 9 as some have predicted, with the top-level branding still expected to be Windows 8. The update, tipped to be released to manufacturing this August, will stick closely to Microsoft’s existing OS branding, sources tell ZDNet, though as per previous nomenclature around Windows Phone, will make only minor reference to the .1 incremental change.

According to Twitter’s Roman L. and the screenshot from Winforum.eu he posted above, meanwhile, Microsoft has already begun referring to Windows 8.1 (or, in this case, 8.1 Pro) by the Windows 8 name in its latest builds. The screenshot apparently comes from build 9375, and if legitimate is one of the more recent 8.1 escapees.

Passengers on the Delhi-Kolkata Rajdhani would now be able to connect tointernet through Wi-Fi facility while travelling, a railway official said.

Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal will launch the facility on the train at the Delhi station, according to the official.

"Many passengers feel the need to access internet while travelling," the official said.

Infosys has signed a five-year agreement with RWE Supply & Trading (RWEST), a leading European energy trading house, to provide technology services to "transform its trading operations to create business efficiencies and drive growth from new markets and commodities".

Central to the agreement is an 'innovation and gain-share' model supported by a joint investment framework to identify and implement innovative business and technology projects that will deliver measurable benefits to RWEST, the Bangalore headquartered IT major said in a statement.

Regulators in Google's largest European markets are taking joint action to try and force the company to overhaul its privacy policy.

Led by France, organisations in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Italy agreed on Tuesday on the joint action.

Symantec over 200 google play apps integrated with one-click billing fraud

The Google Play store is no stranger to malware-infested apps or scam related apps, so we can add this one onto its list. According to its research, Symantec states that there are over 200 apps in the Google Play store that scam people into paying money in order to view adult-rated videos. They have discovered that there are at least 50 developers involved in the scam, and their apps have been downloaded at least 5,000 times in the past couple of months.

Symantec states that as of right now, the situation seems to be limited only to Japan, however these apps could easily be released throughout the world. It says that these apps are able to obtain up to $1,000 from just one person. It also states that since these apps have been operating for more than two months, it seems that the scammers are finding the fraudulent operations to be “worth the time and effort”.

If you thought Samsung was ever going to stop attempting to create smart devices with every single different screen size, Galaxy S to Note to Tab, you were wrong! Today some anonymous sources have let it be known that two new Samsung smartphone/phablet devices by the name Samsung Galaxy Mega will be coming forth some time this year. We’d had some previous insight into at least one of the display sizes due to an accessory release made public during the Samsung GALAXY S 4 reveal event, while the other comes as a bit of a surprise!

Dropbox is one of the most popular cloud storage services on the internet today, and in an effort to bolster its email capabilities, Yahoo has included Dropbox integration with Yahoo Mail, making management of your various email attachments much easier and quicker than before, allowing you save and retrieve attachments from the cloud.

The Dropbox integration only supports English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, but you’ll be able to access your Dropbox folder from right inside your Yahoo Mail inbox. You can save attachments in email messages directly to your Dropbox, or include attachments into outgoing email using files from your Dropbox.

In early March, suspected Chinese hackers breached the computers of India's top military organisation, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in what was touted to be amongst the biggest such security breaches in the country's history.

Defence minister AK Antony ordered a probe into the matter, though an official statement denied any sensitive file had been compromised.

With smartphone and tablet users getting younger, new apps can help parents of 2-to-13-year-olds monitor and control their children's use of the Internet.

A Pew Research Center study shows that more than one-third of American teenagers own a smartphone, up from more than a fifth in 2011. For nearly half of these users, the phone is their main way of getting online, making it difficult for parents to supervise their behavior.

Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has launched the 32GB variant of Google Nexus 7 tablet in India just a week after the search giant rolled out the 16GB iteration of the device in the country. This new version of the tablet comes in Wi-Fi as well as Wi-Fi+3G variants, whereas the model being sold via Google Play Store does not support mobile data.

Asus has priced the Wi-Fi-only variant of Nexus 7 at Rs 18,999, while the Wi-Fi+3G model costs Rs 21,999.

CSC Names Maruf Majed Head of Asia, Middle East and Africa

Maruf Majed, vice president and general manager for Asia, Middle East and Africa, CSC. (Photo: CSC)

CSC today named Maruf Majed, vice president and general manager for Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Mr. Majed, will report to Thomas E. Hogan, executive vice president and general manager for CSC’s Global Business Services & Regions. As the regional managing director, Mr. Majed will drive and coordinate all CSC operations across the region.

“Asia, the Middle East and Africa represent an enormous opportunity for growth,” said Mr. Hogan. “CSC is committed to establishing a leadership position in these important regions, and we are delighted to add an executive with Maruf’s credentials to our team.”

Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-Commerce company, and MasterCard have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore future collaboration in the area of e-Commerce. The MOU aims to forge joint efforts to establish an enhanced e-Commerce environment to benefit consumers and small businesses within and outside China. The two parties have also agreed to jointly address issues of common interests, including a strong mutual commitment to help combat intellectual property infringement.

I recently watched my sister perform an act of magic.

We were sitting in a restaurant, trying to have a conversation, but her children, 4-year-old Willow and 7-year-old Luca, would not stop fighting. The arguments - over a fork, or who had more water in a glass - were unrelenting.

The Russian government in recent weeks has been making use of a new law that gives it the power to block Internet content that it deems illegal or harmful to children.

The country's communications regulators have required Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to remove material the officials determined was objectionable, with only YouTube, owned by Google, resisting.

The video-sharing site complied with a Russian agency's order to block a video that officials said promoted suicide. But YouTube filed a lawsuit in Russian court in February saying the video, showing how to make a fake wound with makeup materials and a razor blade, was intended for entertainment and should not be restricted.

Taxiforsure.com, an online aggregator of taxis and car rentals in India, is now listing its inventory on Makemytrip.com, India’s largest online travel company. This tie up will offer Makemytrip customers access to a reliable taxi-service in the city of their choice at the best value.

The service is presently live in Bangalore and will soon be active in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities. As part of the promotional offer, TaxiForSure cabs will be available for Airport drops at INR 14 per km and from the Airport (pick-up) at INR 10 per km. Taxiforsure.com also offers the best flat fares to get to and from the airport at INR 650 and INR 450 respectively in Bangalore.

Pages

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Friday, April 5, 2013

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013