IBM unveils Big Data, cloud enhancemen​ts

PUNE: IBM has announced enhancements across its systems portfolio that are designed to help organizations adopt cloud computing as they build toward software defined environments (SDE).

Enhancements to IBM's smarter storage line of flash, disk and tape systems gives clients faster access to business critical information and big data insights, the company said, adding that the new high-performance computing solutions bring HPC capabilities to mainstream servers to help more clients crunch their ever-mounting volumes of data faster. 

Rural India selling cows, buffaloes on OLX, Quikr

Black 'Murrah' buffalo with short and tightly curled horns for Rs 80,000 and herd of 10 'Holstein Friesians' cows at Rs 6 lakh on the click of the mouse the Indian online classifieds are moving beyond usual items such as mobiles, cars and real estate with increasing internet penetration in smaller towns. 

Online classifieds players Quikr and OLX are finding good traction for their business from semi urban and rural areas in states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. 

Coke Enterprises shares slide after warning

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc shares fell after the company warned that persistent economic weakness in Europe, bad weather, a sharp excise tax increase in France and fierce competition in Britain have dampened its outlook for the second quarter.

Shares of the European bottler of Coca-Cola drinks fell 3 percent in morning trade to $36.06 on the New York Stock Exchange after it said those factors have been "unexpectedly persistent". 

Intex to launch 20 smartphones in 3 months

MUMBAI: Intex Technologies today said it expects to sell 20 lakh smartphones this fiscal as it expands its portfolio by launching 20 new devices in the next quarter. 

"The smartphone penetration is growing and is encouraging for handset companies like us to innovate and bring offerings that combine latest technologies and features at affordable prices," Intex Technologies GM (mobility division) Sanjay Kumar Kalirona said. 

The IT hardware maker aims to "sell two million Aqua smartphones in 2013-14." 

Google finalizing dollar 1.3 billion Waze deal, Source

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is finalizing a deal to acquire online mapping company Waze for $1.3 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter. 

The deal is expected to be announced this week, though it was unlikely to occur on Monday, another source told Reuters. 

"Negotiations are nearly final. There are a couple of details being worked out," the second source said. The source described the remaining details as "logistics" rather than significant sticking points. 

Falling rupee may hurt mobile handset makers

NEW DELHI: The rupee's downward spiral against the US dollar could spell good news for the domestic IT-ITeS sector, which has been facing strong headwinds due to a weak global economy, provided the Indian currency's softening continues.

However, depreciation in the Indian currency, which fell to a life-time low of 58.16 against the dollar, could lead to rise in input costs for handset makers who see their margins eroded by the fall and could be forced to pass on the burden to the consumer, in case the situation persists.

IRobot, Cisco team to create new robot, The Sun

IRobot, Cisco team to create new robot

The Sun

BEDFORD -- IRobot Corp. said Monday that it was teaming up with networking-equipment giant Cisco Systems Inc. to create a video-collaboration robot. The Ava 500 enables people working off-site to participate in meetings and presentations where
movement and location spontaneity are important, iRobot officials said in a statement.
The new product combines IRobot's autonomous navigation and robotics technology with Cisco's videoconferencing expertise.

Spend too much on Facebook, It can hurt your relationship

WASHINGTON: If you have just started dating someone, it may be wise to limit your time on Facebook.

New couples who use Facebook excessively are far more likely to experience Facebook-related conflict which may lead to emotional and physical cheating, breakup and divorce, a new study has warned.

Russell Clayton, a doctoral student in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, along with Alexander Nagurney, an instructor at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and Jessica R Smith, a doctoral student at St Mary's University in San Antonio, surveyed Facebook users ages 18 to 82 years old.

Now, enjoy music while you take a shower

NEW DELHI: Kohler has come up with a shower head fitted with music speaker for all those who want to enjoy music during a shower but are too skeptical of carrying their phone or mp3 players to the bathroom.

'Moxie' is the first of its kind showerhead to combine the delivery of water and music. With the proximity of Bluetooth enabled wireless speaker, bathers are simultaneously showered with music and a best-in-class spray experience.

Finally, Apple steps up to Android with the futuristic, ambitious iOS 7, NBCNews.com

Finally, Apple steps up to Android with the futuristic, ambitious iOS 7

NBCNews.com

Apple's not exactly reinventing the mobile OS with iOS 7, but it is refining it yet again. By combining the best of Apple design with good ideas from its competitors, Apple's latest and greatest is exactly what Apple needed to fend off the competition

TCS, Canadian NGO team up on educational programme

Country's largest software services firm TCS said it has partnered with Canada's Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) to develop a programme to get high school students interested in pursuing higher education in fields like science and mathematics. 

ICTC is a not-for-profit organisation that conducts research, and develops and implements solutions to help Canadians take advantage of the digital economy. 

Under its goIT initiative in Canada, Tata Consultancy Services has been working with ICTC to develop a program to get grade 7-10 students in Canada interested in pursuing higher education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, TCS said in a statement. 

All about Apple s new iTunes Radio service

Apple on Monday unveiled its hotly anticipated iTunes Radio service, as the iconic maker of the iPhone moved to challenge streaming music operators like Pandora and Spotify.

The free internet radio service features over 200 stations "and an incredible catalogue of music from the iTunes Store," Apple said in a statement as it opened its annual developers conference in San Francisco.

The ad-supported free music service is set to launch later this year and "offers music fans access to thousands of new songs every week, as well as serving up exclusive music from new and popular artists before you hear them anywhere else," an Apple statement said.

Look, where Google, Facebook store your data

Internet companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google have vast amounts of data on you.

These include the photos and video you share, the email you send and receive and the musings you broadcast to friends on what you are thinking or eating. Internet companies store all this information at data centers they run around the world. When you're ready to read your email, the message gets pulled from a computer at one of these centers. When you're sharing a photo, the image gets transmitted to one of these computers and stored there until someone else views it.

PS4 Will Cost dollar 399 Undercuts Xbox One by dollar 100

If you’re still debating between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Sony may have made the decision a little easier for you.
During its press conference at E3 Monday night, the company announced that the PS4 will cost just $399 — $100 less than Microsoft’s Xbox One.
While Sony officially announced the PS4 this February, Monday marked the first time we were able to see the console.
The PS4 has an X86 processor, enhanced PC GPU and 8GB of high-speed unified memory. It also features a dual-shock controller that includes a touchpad, headphone jack and share button.

Alien hunting telescope may be ready by 2018

Astronomers are planning a massive 250-foot telescope that will search for extraterrestrial life by detecting the heat that alien civilizations may produce. 

The proposed instrument -- called Colossus -- would measure 77-metre, which is more than double the aperture of any telescope yet constructed. It is expected to cost $1 billion. 

The telescope would be sensitive enough to spot cities or other signs of aliens for planets as far as 60 to 70 light-years from Earth, astronomers said. 

How technology is changing your travel experience

Goodbye, plastic hotel room key. So long, wallet. Farewell, camera. These days you don't need any of the above to unlock a hotel room, buy a mojito or snap a vacation photo. All you need is, well - you. At hotels like Alma Barcelona in Spain, a scan of your fingertips opens the door to your room. At Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel in the Mediterranean, you can buy suntan lotion and a sarong with a tap of two fingers. 

On some Disney Cruise Line ships, facial recognition technology enables onboard photographers to easily group every candid picture they take of you so that you can later browse (read: buy) them. Like it or not, we are living in an age of human holograms that welcome us to airport security checkpoints and luggage tags capable of texting us when our bags are lost. 

100 percent rise in jobs for mobile app developers

To bridge the significant gap in demand and availability of skilled mobile app developers, several large organisations are tapping global talent hotspots like India, China, Israel and Europe, says a study.

Job postings for mobile developers has doubled in the last two years, but supply is growing only at 13 per cent, the study by Talent Neuron, a web-based talent planning and management platform from Zinnov LLC, said. 

To address the gaps, companies are following a three- pronged approach -- acquisitions, leveraging global talent hotspots by expanding their R&D footprint and vendor partnerships -- to take advantage of available talent, the study said. 

Apple s biggest announcements at WWDC 2013

Apple on Monday unveiled new mobile software that it described as the most revolutionary overhaul of its operating system since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, sporting a revamped layout with fresh colors, new animation and more depth to its display.

As Apple kicked off its annual conference in San Francisco for its developers, executives also showed off a new line of Mac computers and said that updated Siri voice software used on the iPhone now incorporates Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Microsoft India names Karan Bajwa as MD

The Indian arm of the world's largest software company, Microsoft, named its head of enterprise business as managing director, replacing Sanket Akerkar, who has been in the role for over two years. 

In a statement on Monday, Microsoft India said Karan Bajwa will take over as MD (sales and marketing) from Akerkar, who will move back to the United States and take up another assignment for the company. 

Bajwa's appointment comes at a time when Microsoft India has been facing a churn in its top deck, with over three business heads leaving the company due to alleged differences with the leadership team, which includes Akerkar and chairman Bhaskar Pramanik. 

Personalized Email Becomes a Reality with the Launch of Email.biz

An email address of your choice, fully customized, easy to remember with a personal touch is now a reality with the launch of Email.biz, a premium and personalized email service from Guava Softs Pvt. Ltd. Email.biz comes at an opportune time when email has become an intrinsic part of both personal and business communications. Following are some of the differentiating features of Email.biz;

-- Registered users of Email.biz can choose from over 20000 premium domains and effortlessly create an email address by incorporating their name, company’s name or even their nickname. (e.g anshul@anshul.biz; anshul@cool.biz; or anshul.cool@coolanshul.biz)

Google launches world s first tablet cafe

Among the washer women, carpenters, busy waiters and squabbling children sweltering under the midday sun on this dusty Dakar street an internet revolution is taking place in the world's first tablet cafe. Next to the workshops, meat stores and barbershops on what could be any bustling street in sub-Saharan Africa, a grey concrete building stands out with a garish sign advertising the Tablette Cafe. 

"This is the first tablet cafe in the world, a cafe that works with tablets," said Tidiane Deme, the head of Google in French-speaking Africa. The concept, introduced by the internet search giant, is a simple twist on the traditional cyber cafes which have been springing up across Africa as the internet boom takes hold, ditching PCs for tablet computers. 

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 goes official

Samsung has unveiled the third smartphone in its Galaxy Ace series, in single as well as dual sim variants. The company has launched two versions of the phone, one compatible with 3G networks and the other with 4G for different markets. The new phone, named Galaxy Ace 3, had been rumoured for long and its leaked photo had recently surfaced on the internet. 

The new Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 has a 4-inch TFT touchscreen with 800x480p resolution and 233ppi pixel density. The phone is powered by Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), the latest version of Google's free mobile operating system, topped with TouchWiz UI. It packs a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM under the hood and comes with 4GB internal storage and microSD support up to 64GB. 

Data mining helping US s spying efforts, Analysts

With every phone call they make and every web excursion they take, people are leaving a digital trail of revealing data that can be tracked by profit-seeking companies and terrorist-hunting government officials.

The revelations that the National Security Agency is perusing millions of US customer phone records at Verizon Communications and snooping on the digital communications stored by nine major internet services illustrate how aggressively personal data is being collected and analyzed.

Andi Gutmans on PHP, Cloud Computing and Security InfoQ.com

Andi Gutmans on PHP, Cloud Computing and Security
InfoQ.com
In an exclusive interview to InfoQ, Andi Gutmans, CEO and Co-founder, Zend shares his views about cloud computing, various aspects related to PHP including security and the course of action which needs to be taken to protect your site from hackers. InfoQ: Can you explain the meaning of cloud computing in simple words?

IBM explores making Java Virtual Machine big part of future cloud platforms, Network World

IBM explores making Java Virtual Machine big part of future cloud platforms
Network World
Network World - Austin, Texas -- IBM is conducting research that involves making use of the open JavaVirtual Machine (JVM) in a cloud-based setting as a way to provide dynamic services, especially to mobile devices.If the research project works out, it might be considered “the operating system of the future for both embedded systems and the cloud,” said Jan Rellermeyer, IBM research staff member at IBM Research in Austin, Texas, who explained the intent behind the research at this week’s Design Automation Conference.

Shopping, Smartphone users prefer websites over apps

More Indians prefer to log onto websites for shopping on their smartphones rather than using apps, a Nielsen Informate report said on Thursday.

Close to 25% of smartphone users in the country prefer to shop on websites than use shopping apps, it said. "When it comes to accessing content on the smartphone, there has been an increasing preference for apps over websites. However , in the shopping genre, the smartphone audience still prefers websites," it said.

3 ways to import and export a MySQL Database, ITworld.com

3 ways to import and export a MySQL Database
ITworld.com
June 07, 2013, 12:00 AM — Nobody ever really wants to move a database, but it is a frequent necessity. Servers get old, providers become unreliable, disk space runs out. In the case of MySQL database migration, you have many options for accomplishing the task. I’ll discuss three of the most common options and when to use each.

Option 1 - phpMyAdmin

US trade group calls for free entry of Indian techies

With an eye on India's vast market, a leading US trade group has engaged two powerful firms to lobby for changes in the proposed comprehensive immigration reform bill to attract skilled technical professionals from India.

The US-India Business Council ( USIBC) has retained top lobby firm Patton Boggs for lobbying at the scale of the US-India civil nuclear advocacy effort, augmented by a public relations campaign to be spearheaded by APCO Worldwide.

Organizing Code Files in C and Cpp GameDev.net

Organizing Code Files in C and C++
GameDev.net
While many simple programs fit into a single C or CPP source file, any serious project is going to become far more manageable if split up into several source files. However, many beginning programmers may not realize what the point of this is - especially since some may have tried it themselves and run into so many problems that they decided it wasn't worth the effort. This article will explain why to do it, and how to do it properly. A brief

Enterprise software market to reach dollar 3.92bn in 2013, Gartner

Despite a challenging economic environment, the enterprise software market in India is projected to reach $3.92 billion in 2013, a 13.9 per cent growth over 2012 revenue of $3.45 billion, research firm Gartner said. 

"Growing maturity of Indian users is an important driver for overall growth," Gartner Principal Research Analyst Asheesh Raina said in a statement. 

Compounding the demand is the ongoing tendency for greater customer services along with the continued drive for infotech cost savings along with the incorporation of emerging technologies like mobility, cloud and business process management, he said. 

Soon, make a face to unlock your Android phone

Google has filed a patent suggesting users pull a series of faces, like sticking out their tongue or wrinkling their nose, in place of a password to unlock their Android phones or tablets.

Google says requiring specific gestures could prevent the existing Face Unlock facility being fooled by photos, reports BBC News.

The document - which was filed in June 2012 but has only just been published - suggests the software could track a "facial landmark" to confirm a user not only looks like the device's owner but also carries out the right action.

Amazon seeks tie up with Shoppers Stop, Woodland

Amazon may be fighting tooth and nail with its brick-and-mortar counterparts such as Walmart and Tesco in the West, but in India it has laid the green carpet for Indian retail chains for its just-launched online marketplace. 

The world's largest online retailer plans to enter into selling partnership with many leading retail chains, including Future Group, Shoppers Stop, Crossword, Viveks, UniverCell, Spencer's Retail and Woodland, to sell their wares through the Amazon India marketplace. Several retailers confirmed to ET that they are keen to enter into a selling agreement with Amazon. "There is no significant or sizable online marketplace in India which Amazon will create and can become a significant sales channel for us," says Spencer's Retail CEO Mohit Kampani. 

Reliance 4G launch put off to next year

Reliance Industries' Jio Infocomm is still around a year away from launch of telecom service on 4G technology, said promoter Mukesh Ambani on Thursday. "We have charted an ambitious plan for the next 12 months and we foresee making rapid progress over this period towards launching our services across India." 

The company bought airwaves in 2010 for roughly 13,000 crore, but has not launched services till date, in anticipation of a more evolved technology ecosystem. Ambani told shareholders at Reliance Industries' 39th annual general meeting that plans to do initial launches were on course. "Let me assure that my continued optimism is based on the significant strides that we at Reliance have taken in the past year -- towards engineering and testing a world-class broadband network, and in developing a suite of compelling and synergistic digital services," he said. He did not share a timeframe for the official launch.

ESPNcricinfo revamps iOS, Android apps

ESPNcricinfo has announced the launch of new and improved versions of its iOS and Android mobile applications. 

The app is available from Friday in the Apple App Store and will be available on Google Play soon. Delivering the most comprehensive coverage of cricket from around the world, the app will be available to cricket lovers just in time for the ICC Champions Trophy, which is expected to feature in the ODI format for the last time this year.