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Facebook, mobile carriers offer free access to site

2010-05-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook has teamed up with 50 wireless operators to offer cellphone users a stripped-down version of the social networking site that can be accessed without incurring data charges.

The new site, dubbed 0.facebook.com, is a text-only version of Facebook's flagship Internet site and is specially designed for mobile phones with limited bandwidth Internet connections.

The new site will be available beginning on Tuesday in 40 different countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia and Turkey from a variety of carriers.

The new site comes as the world's largest Internet social network continues to grow its base and looks for ways to increase the amount of time Web surfers spend using its service.

At the company's annual developer's conference last month, Facebook introduced new technology that allows third-party Web sites to integrate Facebook features directly.

Roughly one quarter of Facebook's 400 million users access the site on mobile devices, according to the company.

But Facebook wants to make the service more accessible to cell phone users who do not own high-end smartphones such as Apple Inc's iPhone, or phones based on Google Inc's Android software.

"We are targeting people whose major barrier is they have little experience on the mobile Internet. They want to try it, they want something super simple, super fast. And they are potentially afraid of browsing costs," said Henri Moissinac, who heads Facebook's mobile business. "If you take an iPhone user in San Francisco, that's not his problem."

Among the carriers partnering with Facebook are Reliance and Videocon in India (with Tata Docomo coming soon), T-Mobile in Hungary and Vodafone in Greece.
Customers of the participating wireless operators will be able to access the new Facebook site without paying any wireless data charges, Facebook said.

The 0.facebook site offers the same capabilities as Facebook's standard website, allowing members to view their news feed, comment on posts and send messages.

But 0.facebook will not feature any photos or videos -- Web surfers can link to view photos and videos, although they will be charged standard wireless data fees by their carriers at that point.

Facebook is not paying the wireless operators any money to reimburse them for the free usage they provide and there are no financial terms to the partnerships, said Moissinac.

In addition to many so-called emerging economies in which 0.facebook will be offered, the site will be available in the United Kingdom, Finland and Hong Kong, among other places.

While the United States is not among the countries in which Facebook has operator deals, Moissinac said he hoped the site would eventually be available there as well.

An Ultimate Beauty from Apple - iMAC Desktop

2010-05-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

The latest offering from Apple-the iMac desktop-which has a 27-inch panel with a 2560 x 1440 16:9 display and is 1.5-inch thick, promises to give you ultimate viewing pleasure. The LED backlight is vibrant and the viewing angles offer you to read even when standing side-on. With the speakers placed under the bottom edge, it manages to put out commendable amount of sound, similar to the 24-inch Apple Cinema Display. The widescreen makes it ideal for movie content.

You have the option of using a 3.06GHz dual-core processor or one of Intel's latest quad-cores. The quad-core iMac also benefits from Turbo Boost. If you're using an application that doesn't need every core, Turbo Boost shuts off the idle cores while simultaneously increasing the speed of the active ones. On the side there's the same 8x SuperDrive as its predecessor, while graphics are courtesy of an ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB of dedicated memory.

Another striking feature is that it is one of the quietest computers ever, in spite of being loaded with heavy electronics. There is only a faint hum of the fans, even with a DVD drive, which gets drowned by sound of typing. Sadly, the desktop is still not height adjustable and has no Blu-ray option but has got a SD card slot this time on.

Also as with Apple's recent desktop and mobile range, their choice of panels keep getting better. In fact, the 27-inch model, particularly, would make for the perfect HD workstation, both for consuming and producing high-definition content. With a Wi-Fi network connection and the included Bluetooth keyboard and Magic Mouse, the iMac can truly be a one-cord computer.

With a hard drive of 1TB and 4GB RAM, the product is priced at Rs. 89,900. Although not a cheap purchase, but Apple's recent financial report has shown that there are plenty of people willing to pay a premium for high-end design and the aesthetic ease of OS X.

Effective E-learning for rural development

2009-01-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

Gandhigram Rural Institute's e-learning programme is a classic example of effective e-learning

BANGALORE, INIDA: There has always been the apprehension about how can E-learning help the masses in the rural part of the country, despite the 'digital leap' that India has made.

But the initiatives of Gandhigram Rural Institute, a provider in distance education and a deemed university in Tamil Nadu, shows how the possibility of E-learning can be utilised to reach out to the masses.

Gandhigram has created an E-learning programme for creating literacy campaign in the rural areas and it is a classic example of the effective reach of technology in helping towards the development of rural India.

An E-learning center is set up by the institute in every village, where the people are taught how to read and write by using visual and audio content.

Content are developed on various issues particularly faced by the villagers such as Panchayati Raj, right to information, human rights, self funding, sanitation, environment restoration, superstitions, etc.

"The criterion is to educate the rural masses on the basic knowledge and about the current happening around the globe," said L. Raja, director, Gandhigram Rural Institute, while speaking to CyberMedia on the sidelines of the two-day knowledge conclave being held in Bangalore.

He said, people from various sectors such as media, educational organization, government organization etc are invited to conduct workshop through which we get information for generating the content.

The villagers so far have welcomed this initiative openly and are very excited about e-learning as the content in form of audio and visual are very appealing to them.

The idea to initiate such kind of e-learning campaign was generated to this institute by TCS's literacy model.

This initiative was started by the institute five years ago and is funded by UGC.

The university so far has covered 100 villages and educated about forty to fifty thousand villagers.

This campaign shows the power of technology to transform the entire country in to a high knowledge base.

Here lies the answer to the question; of how effective is e-learning not only for higher education but also for increasing literacy rate and as well as rural development of the country.

©CyberMedia News

Source - http://www.ciol.com//News/News-Reports/Effective-E-learning-for-rural-development/23109115170/0/

Google Gdrive: Is the 'PC killer' arriving?

2009-01-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Search giant Google is reportedly all set to make another giant leap in the world computer, with its plan to launch this year the long-rumoured and the most anticipated GDrive storage-in-the-cloud service.

According to industry reports, the company is about to launch 'GDrive', which would allow people to store almost all their data on the Internet and access it from wherever they are.

"Throw your hard drive away, Google's Gdrive is arriving in 2009," said TG Daily, an American technology news website.

According to it, when Google Drive, or Gdrive, arrives, it will likely cause a major paradigm shift in how we use computers and bring Google one step closer to dethroning Windows on your desktop.

The service has the potential to eclipse even Gmail, Google's second best-known product after their google.com search engine, it added.

Gdrive is basically a cloud-based storage that should have two faces: A desktop client that keeps local and online files and folders in two-directional sync via a web interface for accessing your desktop files anywhere and anytime, using any network-enabled computer.

In addition, it will come tightly integrated with other Google services to enable editing of supported document types, like spreadsheets and presentations via Google Docs, email via Gmail, images via Picasa Web Albums, etc, said TG Daily.

The GDrive would enable users to access and update all their information such as emails, photographs, music, documents and spreadsheets from any device with an Internet connection.

This move on Google said to be a part of its 'cloud computing' initiatives, in which the web rather than the hard drive is used as the place where information is stored.

Actually the first rumour about Gdrive was broke way back in 2006 March, when it described about the product in a Google's Analyst Day Power Point presentation.

"With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including: emails, web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc and make it accessible from anywhere (any device, any platform, etc). We already have efforts in this direction in terms of GDrive, GDS, Lighthouse, but all of them face bandwidth and storage constraints today," it said.

However, Google had removed this presentation from its website and was silent about it. Now the rumour has got stronger once again. According to Britain's Observer newspaper, G-Drive has the capacity to kill off the desktop computer.

With the GDrive, a PC would be a device acting as a portal to the Web, enabling users to think of their computer as software rather than hardware, it said.

However, Google is still silent about the GDrive launch was imminent. "We don't comment on speculation, and we don't pre-announce product launches," said a Google spokesperson.

But what do you feel? Can the mysterious drive make the PC redundant?
©CyberMedia News

Source - http://www.ciol.com//News/News-Reports/Google-Gdrive-Is-the-PC-killer-arriving/27109115196/0/

Adobe to open flash platform messaging protocol

2009-01-24T01:57:00.000-08:00

The company recently also launched the eAdobe Technical Communication Suite 2 and Adobe eLearning Suite

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Adobe Systems Incorporated, a provider in technology and software solutions announced the plans to publish the Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) specification, which is designed for high-performance transmission of audio, video, and data between Adobe Flash Platform technologies.

Providing developers and companies open and free access to RTMP is the latest advancement of the Open Screen Project, said a press release.

The initiative would enable the delivery of rich multi-screen experiences built on a consistent runtime environment for Web browsing and standalone applications across personal computers, mobile devices, and consumer electronics, the release added.

"With the RTMP specification, developers and companies will be able to provide users with optimized audio, video and data streaming, no matter what kind of device the user is on or where the content is coming from," said Kevin Lynch, CTO, Adobe.

Developers and companies will have free and open access to the documented RTMP specification to help enable unparalleled delivery of video, audio and data in the open AMF, SWF, FLV and F4V formats compatible with Adobe Flash Player, the release added.

For the customers who want to protect their content, the open RTMP specification will not include Adobe's unique secure RTMP measures, nor will the license that accompanies the specification allow developers to circumvent such measures. However, developers will be free to use their own technological measures to secure content, Adobe said.

The RTMP specification is expected to be posted on the Adobe Developer Connection in the first half of 2009.

The Open Screen Project is an initiative with 20 major industry partners who are working together to provide a consistent runtime environment for Web browsing and standalone applications, taking advantage of Adobe Flash.

Adobe system had also recently launched the eAdobe Technical Communication Suite 2 and Adobe eLearning Suite.

Technical Communication Suite 2 is an upgrade of its solution for authoring, reviewing, managing, and publishing rich technical information and training content across multiple channels.

The eLearning suite is a new content-authoring solution for learning professionals, educators and trainers to create rich learning experiences that can be delivered via the Web, desktop, mobile devices and learning management systems.
©CyberMedia News

Source - http://www.ciol.com//News/News-Reports/Adobe-to-open-flash-platform-messaging-protocol/22109115086/0/

Satyam faked 13,000 salary accounts: prosecutor

2009-01-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

CID custody of Raju and brother extended

HYDERABAD, INDIA: A prosecutor pursuing allegations of the financial fraud at Satyam Computer Services Ltd told the court on Thursday that the company has faked 13,000 salary accounts.

Satyam actually employs 40,000 people, and not 53,000, said the prosecutor.

While ten thousand employees were non-existent, 3,000 belonged to attrition category. Assistant prosecutor K. Ajay Kumar also said as many as 400 fake transactions had been uncovered in the investigation so far.

The public prosecutor said that crores of rupees were possibly siphoned off at regular intervals and diverted it to benami accounts.
also said that accounts were fudged, bank statements were forged and shares were transferred.

The court which heard the case extended the CID custody of Ramalinga Raju and his brother and Satyam's former managing director B. Rama Raju for one more day.

A lawyer for both Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju denied the prosecutor's allegations, saying they were false, weren't included in documents filed with the court, and that there was no siphoning of money from the company.
©CyberMedia News

SOurce - http://www.ciol.com//News/News-Reports/Satyam-faked-13%2C000-salary-accounts-prosecutor/22109115111/0/

http://www.ciol.com//Global-News/News-Reports/NetApp-is-the-best-company-to-work-for/23109115131/0/

2009-01-24T01:54:00.000-08:00

The offering comes as companies are under pressure to both slash expenses amid a slumping global economy

LOS ANGELES: International Business Machines Corp (IBM) unveiled a consulting tool on Thursday that allows companies to reduce both costs and carbon dioxide emissions in their supply chains.

The offering -- which IBM calls the Supply Chain Network Optimization Workbench, or SNOW -- comes as companies are under pressure to both slash expenses amid a slumping global economy and reduce impact on the environment.

Built with IBM-branded software, SNOW helps clients review the number of distribution centers they need and decide whether to do manufacturing themselves or through a third party.

In a test, Chinese shipper and logistics company COSCO Ltd used the system to reduce the number of distribution centers it uses to 40 from 100, lowering costs by 23 percent and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent, IBM said.

"When you improve the overall efficiency of a system you can almost automatically lower cost, waste, and environmental impact," Eric Riddleberger, head of IBM's business strategy consulting practice, said in a statement.

©Reuters

Source- http://www.ciol.com//Global-News/News-Reports/IBM-tool-helps-companies-cut-costs-and-emissions/23109115127/0/

NetApp is the best company to work for

2009-01-24T01:53:00.000-08:00

Google drops to No.4 in Fortune magazine's list of 100

NEW YORK: NetApp tops the list of the 100 best companies to work for, most of which have open positions and are hiring, Fortune magazine said on Thursday.

Coming in second on Fortune's 12th annual list was Edward Jones, followed by Boston Consulting Group. The list was published online on fortune.com/bestcompanies and contained in an issue set to hit newsstands on January 26.

NetApp, based in Sunnyvale, California, provides storage and data management services to business.

It employs 5,000 people and topped the list due to its "employee enthusiasm for the legendary egalitarian culture," Fortune said.

Of the 100 companies, 73 are hiring, and the open positions are identified in Fortune's list, the magazine said.

California had the most number of companies on the list, at 15, followed by 14 in Texas and nine in New York.

Fifteen companies made the list for the first time, including Zappos.com, DreamWorks Animation SKG, salesforce.com, T-Mobile TMOG.UL and Accenture.

Google, which topped the list for the past two years, dropped to No. 4.

Rounding out the top 10 were Wegmans Food Markets, Cisco Systems, Genentech, Methodist Hospital System, Goldman Sachs and Nugget Market.

Fortune polled more than 81,000 randomly selected employees at 353 companies, using a 57-question survey. Two-thirds of a company's score was based on survey results and the balance was based on studies about demographics, pay, benefits, communication and other factors, it said.

©Reuters

Source - http://www.ciol.com//Global-News/News-Reports/NetApp-is-the-best-company-to-work-for/23109115131/0/

Microsoft stuns with profit miss, job cuts

2009-01-24T01:50:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, USA: Microsoft Corp stunned Wall Street with disappointing results that included plans to slash up to 5,000 jobs and a warning that profit and revenue will almost certainly drop over the next two quarters.

The news from the world's largest software maker, which had not been expected to report results until after the close of trading on Thursday, sent shock waves across financial markets, pulling down the Nasdaq, and sending U.S. Treasury debt prices higher as investors sought safer assets.

Microsoft's shares dropped as much as 11 per cent to their lowest level since January 1998, adding to a 40 per cent decline in the past year.

The company blamed the miss on the weak PC market and the popularity of low-cost netbook computers, which have combined to badly undercut sales of its Windows operating system.

"Our financial position is solid ... but it is also clear that we are not immune to the effects of the economy," Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told employees in a letter. "Consumers and businesses have reined in spending, which is affecting PC shipments and IT expenditures."

The market has become so volatile, Microsoft cautioned, that it will not issue earnings or revenue forecasts for the rest of its fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 -- other than to predict both will very likely be lower.

"It is pretty bad when things are deteriorating so fast that even the largest companies in the world don't know how rapidly it is happening," said Jefferies analyst Katherine Egbert.

Microsoft posted a profit of $4.17 billion, or 47 cents per share, in its fiscal second quarter ended December 31, versus a profit of $4.71 billion, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts were looking for earnings of 49 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 2 per cent to $16.63 billion, missing the average analyst forecast of $17.1 billion.

Sales in the Windows segment fell 8 per cent, while its Business division, responsible for the Office software package, marked a 1 per cent increase. Revenue at the unit that makes the popular 360 Xbox gaming system rose 3 per cent.

Looking ahead, the Windows business is expected to perform in line with the weak traditional PC market, Microsoft said.

Biggest Job Cuts Ever

Microsoft's staggered elimination of 5,000 jobs -- 1,400 immediately and the rest over 18 months -- amounts to about 5 per cent of its estimated 96,000 work force, the biggest reduction ever by the software maker. Other cost cuts include travel and marketing budgets, and the roster of independent contractors.

"Clearly business conditions are worse than people were expecting," said Richard Williams, analyst at Cross Research. "This is a substantial amount of jobs cuts. Microsoft has never had a layoff like this in my knowledge and it's sending a signal that the times are definitely changing."

The job cuts follow similar moves by other technology firms, including AT&T Inc, Dell Inc, Motorola Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, all of which are suffering from the global economic slowdown.

Microsoft faces a shift by PC buyers to netbooks, which are smaller, stripped-down laptops. Microsoft only gets $60 or less for each sale of Windows for a netbook, compared to $90 for traditional laptops, according to Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle. Some netbooks also use the rival open-source Linux software instead of Windows.

On a conference call, Ballmer said Microsoft also lost market share to Apple Inc, which on Wednesday posted surprisingly strong results. Ballmer, whose public histrionics often overshadow a sharp intellect and gift for numbers, was serious in tone.

"We are certainly in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime set of economic conditions," Ballmer said, adding that the company is "dealing with unprecedented ground."

As for the economy, Ballmer said he did not expect a quick rebound.

Still, Ballmer noted that Microsoft will be adding "thousands of jobs" in strategic areas like Internet search, where it has been lagging behind Google Inc, and that he still desires a search partnership with Yahoo Inc.

Ballmer said the result of the job cuts and additions would be an overall staff reduction of 2,000 to 3,000 positions.

But Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said he does not expect significant acquisitions this year, despite hopes from some Yahoo shareholders for a buyout.

Shares of Microsoft were down $2.13 at $17.25, after touching an intraday low of $17.17, the weakest level since January 1998. It was the biggest single-day drop in the stock since an 11.38 percent fall on April 28, 2006.

©Reuters

Source - http://www.ciol.com//Global-News/News-Reports/Microsoft-stuns-with-profit-miss%2C-job-cuts/23109115129/0/

BSNL to increase rural Internet connectivity

2009-01-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

To invest Rs 1,600 crore in the next two years on broadband equipment

CHENNAI, INDIA: In an effort to increase the number of broadband connections in the country and also to increase the rural net connectivity, state-owned telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has decided to invest Rs 1,600 crore in the next two years on broadband equipment, including Wi-Max and optical fibre.

BSNL chairman and managing director, Kuldeep Goyal told reports that the investment would help BSNL to increase its capacity of around 8 million broadband connections.

"We are working on a target to have around nine million broadband connections in the next two years," he told reporters here.

Goyal said the government's target is to have around 20 million broadband connections by 2010-end from the present 5 million.

He also said that out of the 30,000 exchanges that BSNL has in rural areas, 23,000 exchanges have been provided with equipment for rolling out broadband connectivity.

BSNL is also looking at wireless technology to rollout broadband in rural areas and has recently placed orders for 1,000 WiMax equipment.

The telecom player is also having advanced talks with the government of India for using Universal Service Obligation fund to rollout broadband services in rural areas, he added.

Source - http://www.ciol.com//News/News-Reports/BSNL-to-increase-rural-Internet-connectivity/5109114404/0/

Sun, Microsoft enter distribution tie-up

2008-11-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

The deal focuses to offer all US-based Internet Explorer users an option of installing the Live Search-powered MSN toolbar when they download the Java Runtime Environment

CALIFIORNIA, USA: Sun Microsystems, a provider in IT services, announced on Wednesday that it has entered in to a distribution agreement with Microsoft to offer all US-based Internet Explorer users the option of installing the Live Search-powered MSN toolbar when they download the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

The toolbar would not be automatically upgraded for existing customers and the customers who have already downloaded Java would be offered the option to install the MSN Toolbar when they upgrade to the latest Java version, said a press release.

Internet Explorer users downloading Sun's JRE would also have the option to download the MSN toolbar and get one-click access to Live Search features including news, entertainment and sports from the MSN network, it added.

They users would also get direct access to Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger.

"This agreement with Sun Microsystems is another important milestone in our strategy to secure broad-scale distribution for our search offering," said Yusuf Mehdi, Senior vice-president, Online Audience Business, Microsoft.

He added that vast array of Java software-based web applications that are downloaded every month, this deal would expose Live Search to millions more Internet users and drive increased volume for the search advertisers.

Jonathan Schwartz, CEO, Sun Microsystems, said, "This deal would be one of the most valuable distribution deals ever struck in the industry and it likely makes Microsoft one of Sun's largest customers. It'll also set the stage for an even more interesting auction next year, as more and more folks realize the value of retail distribution."

Source - Cybermedia.com

Spice launches software development venture

2008-10-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Focuses on Internet enabled services on all mobile phones

NEW DELHI,INDIA: Spice Televentures, a provider in mobile ecosystems, announced on Thursday the launch of its mobile software development venture Mobisoc Technology Pvt Ltd to offer Internet enabled valued added services for mobile phones.

It also launched a flagship product Mitr (friend), a development platform that allows fast paced development of Mobile applications for multiple phone platforms.This offers development of mobile applications for varied platforms like Java, Symbian, Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry.

"Mobisoc will enable rich internet experience on all mobile phones. Today, 70 per cent of the phones sold are GPRS-enabled but the usage of value-added services is yet to pick up," said Dilip Modi, chairman, Spice Televentures, while addressing the media.

"We expect to grab 10 per cent share of the total GPRS phones sold in the country by December 2009, he added.

It has also partnered Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com, makeMytrip.com, FinancialExpress.com and Sulekha.com to launch their applications on its platform.
©CyberMedia News

Source - CIOL.com

Apple laptops get glass trackpads, Nvidia chip

2008-10-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Lowest-priced laptop will cost $999, price drop of $100

CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple touched up its line of laptop computers Tuesday with a minimal nod to the economic turmoil that might push consumers to be more frugal this holiday shopping season.

Apple avoided a major price cut to the Macintosh line, though it did lower its least expensive computer, the basic MacBook, by $100 to $999. Enthusiasts and some analysts had hoped Apple would drop the price to $800 for its entry-level laptop.

For the updated MacBook and MacBook Pro machines, Apple gave them some of the high-end features that had been in the MacBook Air, including thinner laptop casings and a "multitouch" track pad, which, like the iPhone, understands gestures for spinning and zooming.

In an event at Apple's headquarters, Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder and CEO, also said Apple switched from Intel Corp. to Nvidia Corp. as the supplier of the laptops' graphics chips. Jobs said the change speeds up processing-intensive activities — playing popular 3-D video games, for example — as much as six-fold.

As at other events in the last few months, Jobs appeared thin but, in a tongue-in-cheek nod to persistent questions about his health, projected a slide with his healthy 110-over-70 blood pressure reading.

The redesigned laptops are lighter than existing machines, and Apple touted a construction "breakthrough" in the way the casings are cut and tooled from aluminum, without a stronger skeleton fused to the insides.

At the lowest end of the redesigned laptops, a MacBook will cost $1,299, while the most expensive MacBook Pro, which comes with two graphics chips from Nvidia for extra fast graphics processing, costs $2,499. An updated MacBook Air, the ultra-thin portable notebook that does not have a CD or DVD drive on board, is $1,799.

The new machines can be ordered online Tuesday and are expected to reach Apple's retail stores on Wednesday.

Jobs declined to take questions on the economy on Tuesday, telling reporters and analysts that "there are much smarter people than us that you can ask about the global financial meltdown."

Maintaining premium status
However, Apple's decision to keep most laptop prices well over $1,000, despite competition from PC makers whose cheapest notebooks cost less than $500, would appear to reflect the company's confidence it can maintain its premium status even in tough times.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, said Apple's Macintosh sales growth has far outpaced the broader PC market over the last several quarters. Market tracker IDC said in its last quarterly report, in July, that Apple ranked third in the U.S. PC market, with a 7.8 percent share.

Cook said Apple was benefiting as rival Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system has received a landslide of negative press.

"Vista hasn't lived up to everything that Microsoft hoped it would," he said. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Steven Baker, an analyst for market researcher NPD Group, said he wasn't surprised by Apple's decisions on pricing or the new features it incorporated into the laptop line. Baker expects Apple's sales to slow this year along with other PC makers as economic jitters inhibit consumer spending.

"Clearly the MacBooks and MacBook Pros were in need of a refresh," Baker said. The update was incremental, he said, but "that's kind of where the PC market is these days."

Nvidia chip issue
Apple's decision to work more closely with Nvidia for its graphics processing could be a needed boost for the Silicon Valley chip maker.

In July, Nvidia disclosed a major problem with an unspecified number of its laptop chips that were already built into computers from several manufacturers. The problem caused the chips to suddenly fail, leaving users with badly mangled video or no video at all.

Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Apple have notified customers that their machines contained the problem with Nvidia chips. Apple's notice came just this week.

Nvidia hasn't recalled the chips, and the computer makers have so far said they won't replace all the problem chips — just the ones that fail.

LED-backlit displays, no 'netbooks'
Apple is also working to be more environmentally conscious. LED-backlit displays, which use less energy, are being added to the MacBook, MacBook Pro and Apple’s 24-inch Cinema Display screen.

Environmental considerations were made in packaging, as well, Jobs said. The MacBook Pro, for example, he said, has 37 percent less packaging.

When asked if Apple would get into the market for small "netbook" notebook computers, Jobs described it as "a nascent market," and said that Apple will see how it goes.

He also said Apple is "waiting until things settle down" with the Blu-ray high-definition market before adding Blu-ray to Apple's products.

"Blu-ray is a bag of hurt," he said during the question-and-answer session. "I don't mean from the consumer point of view. It's great to watch movies, but the licensing is so complex. We're waiting until things settle down."

© 2008 msnbc.com

Source - MSDBC.com

Microsoft installs XP, Office for Portuguese laptops

2008-10-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

The software package called "Magellan Learning Suite" to go with the laptops, that would include Windows XP and Office in addition to development applications, free email and instant messaging

Axel Bugge

Monday, October 06, 2008

LISBON, PORTUGAL: Microsoft launched on Friday a software package for a Portuguese ultra-cheap laptop for school children that the government hopes will boost the country's technological edge in education.
Portugal started rolling out the "Magellan" computer at schools last month. It aims to hand out a total 500,000 of the laptops, which cost just 50 euros ($69.29) for school children, at home and export it to countries in Latin America and Africa.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the software package called "Magellan Learning Suite" to go with the laptops, which will include Windows XP and Office in addition to development applications, free email and instant messaging.

"This is a unique, amazing and wonderful program on a global scale," Ballmer said at the presentation. "It's a great example to show how the private and public sectors can work together to create new opportunities."

Portuguese Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates has made boosting poor education standards and technology at schools a priority of his government.

"We all know that one of the fundamental keys for the country to progress lies in technology," he said. "We all know that the presence of computers in schools boosts education."

The government hopes the Magellan project, named after the 16th century Portuguese explorer, will raise computer access at schools to two students per computer by 2010, up from five now.

Portugal has developed a fledgling software industry in the past few years and in June Microsoft bought Portuguese mobile software company MobiComp.

Ballmer said the Magellan project could help create a platform for the computer industry development in Portugal.

"This is an important step forward for Portugal's high-tech industry," Ballmer said.

While the computer will be assembled in Portugal by a company called JP Sa Couto, it is based on Intel's Classmate PC, a cheap computer that has been adopted in various formats in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed an agreement to buy 1 million Magellan laptops for Venezuelan schools. The computers also went on public sale in Portugal last week for 285 euros ($394).

©Reuters

Source - CyberMedia

Nokia touch-screen to miss Xmas mature in markets

2008-10-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

The first touch-screen phone from the world's top mobile phone maker would reach the markets by year-end

LONDON, UK: Nokia's answer to Apple's iPhone will go on sale in seven countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe this year but will miss the Christmas shopping season in most developed markets.
The first touch-screen phone from the world's top mobile phone maker will go on sale in India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Russia and Spain by year-end.

The Nokia 5800 will cost 279 euros ($387) before operator subsidies and taxes, substantially less than the iPhone.

"The phone is competitively priced and Nokia's competitive advantage is in emerging markets. When putting two and two together it's logical they start the roll-out from emerging markets," said analyst Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.

The research firm expects Nokia to ship more than 10 million touch-screen phones next year.

But JP Morgan analyst Ehud Gelblum said he had hoped the 5800 would be in shops in developed markets by Christmas.

"This is disappointing as we had expected the device to be shipping in the critical holiday season for most developed countries," he wrote in a note published on Friday.

Spurred by Apple, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics have already rolled out touch-screen phones over the last two years, mostly in developed markets.

Nokia said its schedule was similar to that for many other phones, adding that customizing the phone's software for operators in other markets would take some time.

The touch user interface makes such adjustments more complex than for other types of phone.

©Reuters

Source - CyberMedia

India is top global outsourcing destination

2008-10-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

NEW DECyberMedia’s ‘Global Services’ Study finds Six Indian Cities among the top 8 global outsourcing cities; Chinese cities dominate list of emerging cities for global outsourcing

Monday, October 06, 2008

DELHI, INDIA: The Top 8 Global Outsourcing Cities in the world includes as many as six Indian cities led by Bangalore, says a study by CyberMedia's publication 'Global Services' - the media platform for global IT outsourcing and BPO industry, and Tholons - a global investment advisory firm.

The other Indian cities are Chennai, Delhi National Capital Region, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. Dublin (Ireland) and Makati City (The Philippines) are the other two cities in the list.

India's representation in the top 50 Emerging Global Outsourcing cities has grown to four, from last year' three, with the addition of Jaipur to the list at No 31, the study said. The other three cities in the list include Kolkata at sixth position, Chandigarh at No 12 and Coimbatore at No 17.

Chinese cities dominate this list with six cities. Cebu City (Philippines), Shanghai (China) and Beijing (China) lead the list of emerging global outsourcing cities. The other Chinese cities are Shenzhen, Dalian, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

While the 'Top 50 Emerging Global Outsourcing Cities' 2008 list has nine entrants - Quezon City, Toronto, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Jaipur, Singapore City, Chengdu, Guadalajara and Mandaluyong City - six cities from 2007 have not made it to the list this year, the study said. These cities are Perth (Australia), Baguio City (The Philippines), Leeds (U.K.), Birmingham, (U.S.), Oklahoma City, (U.S.), Juarez (Mexico). Of the top 50 cities, 19 are from Asia and 13 from Central and Eastern Europe.

Besides tier-1 Asian cities, outsourcing centers are being set up in many tier-2 and tier-3 cities, it added. The study has also short listed tier-II cities around the world, which have the potential of moving into the top 50 list. These include Nizhniy Novgorod (Russia) Cork, Republic of Ireland, Tianjin (China), Bacolod City (The Philippines) and Amman (Jordan).

While pointing out the Chinese dominance in the outsourcing segment, the study said China's outsourcing industry is set to flourish further with a supportive government and favorable outsourcing conditions. CyberMedia's 'Global Services' from the USA, the first Indian magazine title to be published from outside the country for a global audience, report says increasing competition in the global outsourcing will make the cities more focused in identifying appropriate service lines and in developing their service-delivery capabilities.

Commenting on the 2nd Global Services study Ed Nair, Editor, Global Services said, "The concept of an individual location being a 'one-stop-shop' has given way to 'smart, multi, selective sourcing' models, wherein selected processes are outsourced only to the most appropriate destination."

Avinash Vashistha, CEO, Tholons, said "Clients' focus on identifying outsourcing locations has driven the emergence of 'Centers of Excellence.' Rise of Manila National Capital Region (NCR) – an agglomeration of 16 adjacent cities - is an example. Though less than 1/13th of India's population, its BPO revenues are already half as large as India's BPO revenues."
©CyberMedia News

Connect a Computer to a TV

2008-04-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

How to share images between a laptop (or desktop) PC and the television
One way to show digital pictures and video to friends and family is for all to huddle around the home computer screen. Alternatively, you can connect the computer to a television and send the images to the TV. Technology also exists to network a TV and a computer in the other direction, so that you can watch television programs on your laptop or PC. Each method involves pros and cons including some setup challenges.
Displaying Digital Images on The TV
With a digital camera or video recorder, you can create multimedia image files stored on your PCs. Showing these images to others can be inconvenient, however, especially if your computer screen is small and located in a private room of the house. Displaying them on a television usually allows you to show them at a larger size and in a more comfortable location.
You can connect a computer to a TV either wirelessly or with cables.

The best method to choose depends on the types of connections your TV supports as well as your budget for purchasing additional hardware.
Watching TV on the Computer
You may also be interested in watching television programs on a computer. This is also possible with the right wired or wireless equipment installed. Some TV broadcasts are accessible directly via the Internet and no connection to a television is required. Those who own Digital Video Recorders (DVR) may also prefer to connect their computer to the DVR rather than the television directly.
Connecting Computers to TVs With Wires
Televisions do not normally support Ethernet cable connections. Instead, you will typically connect your laptop or desktop PC to a TV using one of the following types of audio-visual (AV) cables:
S-Video
HDMI
DVI or HDMI-to-DVI
VGA
Any of the above - to-SCART (in Europe)
See also - TV Terminology - About.com
A scan converter is a device that translates the computer's video signal into standard TV formats. You may need to set up a scan converter to connect your computer and TV if, between them, the two do not support any compatible combination of AV cable technologies listed above. Newer televisions, however, generally support multiple types of digital inputs, and finding the right cable should not be too difficult.

Connecting Computers to TVs Wirelessly
As an alternative to using cables, you can also use Wi-Fi to connect computers and TVs wirelessly. Because televisions do not ordinarily support Wi-Fi, you will need to install a separate unit between the computer and TV. One common solution is called a Wireless PC to TV system or [i[Digital Media Receiver. These products connect via AV cable to the TV and supply Wi-Fi connections to any computer in the home.
Another wireless PC to TV connectivity option is based on Windows Media Center Edition (MCE). If you purchase a Windows XP or Windows Vista PC with the MCE application included, this system contains built in wireless connectivity support for streaming images to your television. Some of these systems also support TV tuner cards that allow your computer to receive incoming television signals. Finally, you can extend the capability of a Media Center PC across an entire wireless home network by installing a Media Center Extender product like the LInksys DMA2100.

Source: - About.com

Microsoft Office 2008 for MAC

2008-01-16T02:46:00.000-08:00

Office 2008 for Mac includes new versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage, which replaces Outlook for e-mail on the Mac.

After a round of delays, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is slated to release Office 2008 for Mac to the public on Tuesday at Macworld. It's the first new release of Office for the Mac in almost four years, and the new release isn't just a copy of the Windows-based Office suite.

Office 2008 for Mac includes new versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage, which replaces Outlook for e-mail on the Mac. But it doesn't replace the drop-down menu with the new "Ribbon" interface, as did the PC version of Office 2007 did.

And it adds a few of its own touches. The new Office for Mac apps add something called the Element Gallery, a new menu bar for easily formatting documents. There are also upgraded note-taking and publishing modes for Word.

(See our review of Office 2008 for Mac here.)

Office 2008 for Mac doesn't change everything from the Windows version. It still saves documents as Open XML files; matches the scalability to billions of spreadsheet cells that's found in Excel for Windows; and includes an upgraded version of SmartArt, which turns data and lists into PowerPoint graphics.

One potential negative for Office 2008 for Mac, especially in corporate realms, is that the new software drops support for Visual Basic for Applications. That means macro compatibility could be greatly affected by business power users who choose to upgrade, unless their add-ins were developed in .Net.

Office 2008 for Mac starts off at $149.95 for the Home and Student edition, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage. The full version, at $399, adds Exchange support, and the Special Media Edition, at $499, adds Microsoft Expression Media design software. It will have to compete with Apple's much cheaper ($79) iWork suite and even free competitors like NeoOffice that have found a home on some Macs.

Going forward, Office will also have to compete with Web-based suites such as Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Office, and there's little indication whether and how Microsoft's strategy of combining desktop software with Web-based services will play out on the Mac differently than it will on the PC.

Office 2008 for Mac will require Mac OS X v10.4.9 or later, a PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel (NSDQ: INTC) Core duo processor, 512 Mbytes of RAM, and 1.5 Gbytes free on the hard drive.

Source: Information Week
By: By J. Nicholas Hoover

Hearing Machines

2007-01-03T05:42:00.000-08:00

While hearing in machines lags far behind vision in machines, the potential is great, and researchers are beginning to make impressive progress.

Technology Review has invited members of the 2006 TR35 to tell us about their hopes for research in 2007. Paris Smaragdis explains the importance of improving machine hearing. Smaragdis, a 2006 TR35, is a research scientist at MERL Research Lab, in Cambridge, MA.

Understanding how we perceive the world, and using that knowledge to make machines that can mimic us, has been an ongoing and exciting scientific quest. Vision has had the lion's share of attention in the field. Our understanding of image structure and form is well developed. The development of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) has immensely benefited from--and has been immensely influenced by--vision problems. And we all understand why computers and ATM machines come equipped with cameras nowadays. The rest of the senses have not been investigated as much as vision has. Having a machine exhibit hearing is not something that people think about. Sure, computers can (sort of) recognize speech, but is that all hearing is good for? Surely we do more with our ears than just hear other people talk.

Our thinking is so concretely grounded in vision that hearing, as well as our other senses, has become a subconscious processes. But hearing is important for a lot of tasks. You can hear your baby cry from upstairs; you can hear the car you didn't see approaching you in the pedestrian crosswalk; and you can hear that not-so-friendly dog growling behind your back. Machines can do their own set of valuable hearing tasks. They can listen for survivors in a collapsed building's rubble; they can help soldiers locate who shot at them; they can listen for breathing problems in patients in intensive care; and they can try to filter out that annoying neighbor who loves to sing really loudly in the shower.

The technical challenges in computational audition are plenty. As in all fields of computational perception, there is a thrillingly large number of problems awaiting exploration that will keep technologists busy for a long time. However, until the idea of a hearing machine captures the public imagination, these problems will stay at the fringe of computer science. And being at the fringe comes with an extra burden to those of us working in the field.

Our knowledge of human hearing is relatively limited. We know how our ears work, but we mostly improvise in our descriptions as neural signals move deeper into the brain. The study of auditory psychology is not even close to where we want it to be. Machine learning, AI, and classical computer-science algorithms are deeply rooted in a visual way of thinking that does not extend naturally to reasoning about sound. Our own ability to describe sounds and the process of hearing is predominantly limited to vocabulary developed for music. These problems share the common cause that hearing (whether human or machine) is not something that has attracted adequate attention. Because of this, the process of creating a new technology in this field--from finding bibliographical references and abstracting to simpler problems, to actually explaining the point of it all in a business or technical meeting--is a fight against the unknown. Things are getting better, though: in the past few years an increasing number of researchers interested in computational perception have started showing interest in hearing (as well as in the senses taste and olfaction), and we have seen some amazing progress in our field as well as the slow emergence of relevant products in the mainstream.

So keep your mind and ears open. You might not see much of hearing machines today, but you'll be hearing about them soon.

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/InfoTech/17965/

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Samsung Intros Ultrathin LCD for Mobile Phones

2006-11-23T04:37:00.000-08:00

A new, super slim LCD screen from Samsung, specially designed for mobile phones, will help consumer electronics devices shrink to ever-smaller sizes. Samsung's 0.82-mm LCD for has some wondering just how thin is too thin? The new Samsung screen, along with its i-Lens technology, will let phone makers trim 2.5 mmm off a phone's thickness.

Thin is in at Samsung. The South Korean electronics giant has announced a new LCD for mobile phones that, at 0.82 mm, is no thicker than a credit card.
Today, most mobile phones use LCDs that add two or three millimeters to a phone's design. But Samsung's new screen, along with a technology it calls i-Lens, will let phone makers trim nearly 2.5 millimeters off a phone's thickness.

What's more, the new LCD is shock-resistant to protect the phone more effectively. And, according to Samsung, it can protect your eyes, too, making outdoor reading -- even in bright sunlight -- less painful.

When Is Thin Too Thin?

As consumer electronics devices shrink to ever-smaller sizes, one might wonder just how thin is too thin. According to Avi Greengart, a handset expert and principal analyst at research firm Current Analysis, the slimmest phones invite questions about weakness.

"There has been some concern that they're too thin," he said, "and that they're not sturdy enough. You put them in your pocket, you sit down, and they snap in two."

What's more, phones that are too thin might sacrifice important functions -- like battery life -- for the sake of fashion. With that said, Greengart noted that he sees several benefits in Samsung's announcement.

"When you get thinner components that aren't the battery," he said, "you enable thinner phones with good battery life." For instance, if you can shave a millimeter off the display, you can add a millimeter to the battery, giving users more time to chat. "That's a wonderful trade-off," he noted.

Pantability Quotient

"The trend towards smaller, miniaturized components has been underway since the first transistor radio," said Greengart, noting that it won't stop now. Indeed, some phone makers vie to create the thinnest designs, knowing that a segment of the consumer market views thin phones as fashion statements.

Others care more about comfort, a concern that Greengart called the "pantability quotient."

"The definition for 'pantability' in my dictionary is the ability to slip a phone into your pocket and not feel like you've got a lump of coal in there," he said. "It's more than a fashion accessory. For many people, a cell phone is permanently welded to their bodies."

So what does the future hold? Waif-like phones, perhaps, or phones so thin they can barely be seen, produced by an industry that's in an all-out race for the smallest, sleekest, and slimmest?

"Sooner or later there will be one that's so thin," joked Greengart, "that you'll put it in your mouth and it dissolves."

Linux Patent Group Says Microsoft's Claims Are 'Baseless'

2006-11-23T04:19:00.000-08:00

"In fact, there have been no patent suits against Linux," said the Open Invention Network's chief executive. The group includes IBM, Novell and Red Hat.

Linux patent group formed by IBM, Sony, NEC, and Phillips said Microsoft is making "baseless" claims when it says Linux users need protection from patent infringement lawsuits.

The Open Invention Network, which also counts Novell and Red Hat as members, took Microsoft to task for claiming that Linux users needed protection.

"Those claims are baseless," Jerry Rosenthal, chief executive of OIN, said in a statement. "In fact, there have been no patent suits against Linux." OIN is an intellectual patent company formed to share Linux-related patents royalty free.

In an interview, IBM weighed in separately. "We're not sure what Microsoft's intentions are here, but IBM has long asserted that we don't see the need for that coverage," Scott Handy, vice president for worldwide Linux and open source for Big Blue, said. "Patent claims should be settled between vendors, and not involve customers."

Microsoft and Novell announced a deal Nov. 2 that included patent protections, support cooperation and co-development of technology for Windows-Linux interoperability. As part of the agreement, Microsoft promised not to sue Novell for patent infringement stemming from code currently in Novell's SuSE Linux, or future technology co-developed by the companies. Microsoft got the same patent protections from Novell.

The implication that Microsoft code could be in Linux angered the open-source community, which demanded that the software maker prove its claims. Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer fanned the flames further last week, when he said, "Anybody who's got Linux in their data center today sort of has an undisclosed balance sheet liability." The remarks were made to the Professional Association for SQL Server, in a discussion posted on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's site.

In its letter, Novell Chief Executive Ron Hovsepian said the company disagreed with recent statements from Microsoft, and said its deal with the company was "in no way an acknowledgment that Linux infringes upon any Microsoft intellectual property." In response, Microsoft said the two companies "agreed to disagree."

SourcE: http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=195600038

Microsoft Gives Away Office 2007 User Interface

2006-11-23T04:13:00.000-08:00

Microsoft hopes that the giveaway results in more applications that share the look and feel of Office 2007, and thus creates a more identifiable application ecosystem

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a royalty-free licensing program so that outside developers can apply the Office 2007 interface to their own applications.

The license, which can be applied to applications on any platform, Linux and Mac OS X included, gives developers the right to duplicate Office 2007's new interface elements, including the top-of-the-window Ribbon, the Mini Toolbar, and galleries. The license is perpetual, and no fees will be charged, Microsoft promised.

"There's no fee, you don't owe Microsoft any royalties, and the license is perpetual -- meaning that the terms won't change," wrote Jensen Harris, lead program manager for the Office user experience effort, in a blog entry Tuesday. "This should give you the confidence you need to build a business or product on top of the Office UI platform, secure in the knowledge that you've licensed the technology and research you're using in your product."

Developers must download and submit a copy of the license, after which Microsoft will provide a 120-page confidential guideline that spells out which elements of the Office interface must be included and which are optional. (Microsoft has posted an excerpt of the guidelines that shows the basic format of the requirements.)

Microsoft will deny a license only to developers who plan to craft direct competitors to the Office 2007 core applications of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access. "Microsoft spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the research, design, and development of the new Office user interface," said Harris, "but we want to preserve the innovation for Microsoft's productivity applications that are already using the new UI."

The Redmond, Wash. developer hopes that the giveaway results in more applications that share the look and feel of Office 2007, and thus creates a more identifiable application ecosystem. The company is sharing the interface, it said in a downloadable FAQ, so others "have the benefit of the functionality and great design of our new UI in a way that's good for the ecosystem and good for Microsoft."

Microsoft, however, will not share any interface code for the time being, a decision that requires each developer to craft the Office look and feel from scratch. "Microsoft may be distributing tools in the future to help developers build a UI," the company said in that same FAQ.

Microsoft Office 2007 will launch at the end of this month, but won't make it into retail until Jan. 30. Prices for the suite will range from $149 to $679.

Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=TBGCPSRCPK5WAQSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=195900125

Microsoft intros 2007 range of hardware devices

2006-11-23T04:10:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division India has unveiled its 2007 range of high-end input devices, including mice, keyboards, lifecams and headsets, designed to offer more comfort and performance to the user.

The new product range includes Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000, Microsoft Habu, LifeCam NX-6000, LifeCam VX-1000, Wireless Laser Mouse 8000, wired headsets and Wireless Laser Desktop 6000.

Mohit Anand, Country Manager, Entertainment and Devices Division, Microsoft India said, "Our singular aim is to provide a superlative PC experience to the performance-driven PC user who wants to derive maximum value from the input devices he or she uses at work, home or on the go. We also take pride in sharing our entry into Integrated Communication Experience products like Webcams & Headsets giving our users richer communication experiences. Our new hardware line-up delivers exactly on this objective with some very great features that have been conceptualized and designed to trigger the new wave of digital computing experiences for our customers in India."

The Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 is a 4-in-one device that offers Bluetooth connectivity. Slide presenter, Laser and digital pointer, and Media remote. Microsoft Habu is a gaming mouse with slip-resistant grip feature. The LifeCam NX-6000, a webcam, offers high Definition video sensor of 2 MP and 7.6 megapixels (MPs) and still photography resolution. LifeCam VX-1000, is another webcam with brilliant video and still photography (640x480 pixels) and a built-in microphone for superior audio performance.

The Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 is a rechargeable mouse with 2.4GHz Bluetooth technology, Microsoft?s proprietary High Definition Laser Technology, brushed aluminum metal casing and smart navigation features. The Wired headsets - LX 3000 is optimized for Windows Live Messenger with USB installation feature. Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 comes with a Comfort Curve Keyboard and Wireless Laser Mouse.

The new product portfolio is priced ranging from Rs. 2,010 to Rs. 10,570 and will be available through the Microsoft strong network of 9100 resellers across 83 cities in India.

Source:

eSys, Samsung sign global distribution pact for HDD

2006-11-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

eSys Technologies has announced the signing of a distribution deal with Samsung Electronics Ltd., to distribute its entire range of Hard Disk Drives (HDD) across North America, Canada, Latin America (except Brazil), and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) excluding Ukraine, Russia, Nordic, France, Poland, Spain and Germany. Samsung already has distribution agreement with eSys in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Neeraj Chauhan, chief operating officer, eSys Technologies, said, "This global distribution agreement with Samsung reinforces the market credibility that eSys Technologies has come to command in key markets worldwide. We will fully utilise our expertise, vast network and market knowledge to help Samsung increase its footprint in the HDD segment around the world."

"We are glad to be associated with a leading brand such as Samsung whose hard disk drives are fast gaining ground globally thanks to its excellent performance and read speed. We look forward to working with Samsung and helping them achieve their business objectives in the most efficient way," added Chauhan

eSys is a global distributor for several major IT component manufacturers such as Intel, Sony, Pioneer, BenQ, Hynix, Alps, Kingston and many more. The company is known for its 'eSys PCs' - its brand of low cost multimedia PCs.

T J Lee, vice president, Sales & Marketing, HDD Business, Samsung Electronics said, "eSys being a global electronics distribution powerhouse was the right partner for Samsung to team up with. eSys has an excellent distribution network and a team of highly efficient and capable personnel that will help boost the sales of our hard drives in key regional and international markets. Samsung's relentless commitment to constantly improve its hard drives has seen us steadily increase our market share, and with this partnership with eSys we hope to make a greater impact."

for more information brows Techzone

Quad-Core Processors: Coming Soon from Intel

2006-11-17T10:01:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought Dual Core was all the rage -- leading chip producer, Intel Corporation, has recently launched a new series of chips that boasts four computing engines inside a single microprocessor.

Labelled the "quad-core" processors, Intel promises that this innovative line of processors will undoubtedly be able to handle much more complex jobs at once over models that have only one or two ("dual") processing cores.

This is great news for Intel, who is currently on the losing end of an ongoing battle with smaller, but (recently) much more effective competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD). Intel has been losing significant market shares to its rival company and hopes that the quad-core processors will help retrieve these losses.

Intel and AMD had equally expressed interest in the quad-core processing unit, with both promising to establish the product by mid-2007. However, Intel apparently increased production in an effect to gain this significant leverage over their competition.

Intel produced four processors for servers under the Xeon 5300 label and another processor under the Core 2 Extreme label. These much more advanced processing units will target computer gamers, hi-tech programmers and those that wish to tackle multiple computing tasks at once.

The Xeon 5300 chips contain the same amount of power as in previous models, but when utilized in a quad-core processor, the chips will be much more apt at boosting performance. Likewise, the Core 2 Extreme chips are already 80% faster than in previous models.

Representatives from AMD were unnerved by the recent announcement, relying on their cheaper and equally fast models to win the ongoing battle with Intel. The company has promised an eventual smooth transaction to quad-core chips.

It is apparent that AMD has already impacted the financial health of Intel. In an effort to save up to $3 billion annually, Intel was forced to reduce staff by 10% in September of this year.

Intel plans to produce three more quad-core processor in the first quarter of 2007. A processor called Core 2 Quad will appeal to those seeking entertainment and multimedia capabilities, while the Xeon processor will be made available to appeal to those who appreciate low-voltage use.

Source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Quad-Core-Processors-Coming-Soon-from-Intel%20.asp

Vodafone, Yahoo launch ads on mobiles

2006-11-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

BANGALORE: Vodafone and Yahoo! have formed a alliance to create an mobile advertising business that will enhance the customer experience on mobile phones while providing both companies with a new revenue stream.

Through this alliance, Yahoo! will become Vodafone’s exclusive display advertising partner in the UK. Yahoo! will use the latest technology to provide a variety of mobile advertising formats across Vodafone’s rich and varied content services.

Yahoo!’s sales force and technology team will work with Vodafone to derive benefit from mobile’s unique advertising opportunities while delivering the best possible experience for both consumers and advertisers. Vodafone and Yahoo! intend roll out the initiative in the UK in the first half of 2007.

Under the plans, customers who agree to accept carefully targeted display advertisements can expect to enjoy savings on certain Vodafone services. This proposition could extend to key Vodafone mobile assets including the Vodafone live! portal, games, television and picture messaging services.

“Since we announced our intention to develop revenue from mobile advertising as part of our mobile plus strategy unveiled in May, we have carried out extensive customer trials,” said Nick Read, chief executive of Vodafone UK. “We will now use the experience to determine with Yahoo! how best to ensure customers, who choose to receive targeted essages, get better value as well as a richer mobile experience. This will also ensure that advertisers are given a compelling proposition.”

“This partnership demonstrates Yahoo!’s continued focus on extending our leadership in graphical advertising across multiple platforms,” said Marco Boerries, senior vice president, Connected Life, Yahoo!. “We are excited to work with a global leader such as Vodafone to help us define the emerging world of mobile advertising and create superior experiences hat deliver the most value to advertisers and mobile users alike.”

Source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Vodafone-Yahoo-launch-ads-on-mobiles.asp

Microsoft, Novell reach agreement on Linux

2006-11-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

Once bitter rivals, Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. have entered into an agreement to allow open-source Linux software to work with Microsoft's Windows software.

After years of trying to crush open-source rivals, Microsoft said it will provide support and technology to allow Linux to work on Windows while agreeing not to assert patent rights over technology that may be included in Suse Linux, a version of the operating system sold by Novell.

In its second major partnership with an open-source software company this week, Microsoft sought to assure a growing number of Linux users, especially in the computer server market, that the two technologies can work together.

"We appreciate that open-source software plays an important role in our industry and it's here to stay," said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel. "This will enable a new level of cooperation between open source and proprietary software."

Unlike proprietary software, open-source software lets developers share code and add functions. Users pay for custom features, maintenance and technical support. Linux is the most popular variant of open-source software.

The Microsoft partnership gives Novell an advantage over open-source rivals and Linux leader Red Hat Inc. since corporate customers increasingly run both Windows and Linux machines.

The agreement comes two days after Microsoft struck a long-term partnership with open-source software maker Zend.

News of the Novell partnership sent Novell's shares up 16% while pushing Red Hat stock down 2%. Microsoft shares were mostly unchanged.

"Linux has grown up," said Katherine Egbert, an analyst with Jefferies & Co. who covers Red Hat and Novell. "This is a mainstream technology that major technology vendors are struggling to find a way to support."

Microsoft is not the only software giant eyeing Linux. Last week Oracle Corp. made its boldest move yet into Linux software, offering cut-price technical support in a surprise bid to wrest away Red Hat customers.

The Microsoft-Novell pact, which will run until at least 2012, is a broad set of business and technological agreements to make Novell and Microsoft products work better together, the two companies said.

The agreement focuses on three main technological areas: virtualization to allow Linux to run on Windows machines and vice versa, Web services to help customers with a mix of Linux and Windows products, and document format compatibility to allow users to share documents.

"Customers continually ask us how they can consolidate servers with multiple operating systems through virtualization," said Jeff Jaffe, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Novell.

According to industry data from Gartner, 21% of worldwide server shipments in 2005 run Linux versus 67% of servers running Windows. Linux has continued to gain market share in recent years.

More than a decade ago, Novell assembled the pieces of a full-scale Microsoft competitor by buying database software from Borland and WordPerfect, an alternative to Microsoft Word. It bought rights to a rival to Microsoft's Disk Operating System (DOS) and a version of Unix, a predecessor to Linux, seeking to fuse them with Novell's own operating system.

But the strategy failed amid surging demand for Windows, leading Novell to file an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft. Two years ago Microsoft paid $536 million to Novell to settle part of those claims.

Article Source: http://www.crn-india.com/breakingnews/stories/nsl,67960.html

Microsoft Vista Doesn't Need Antivirus Software

2006-11-11T17:38:00.000-08:00

The security in the new operating systems has improved so much that Windows co-president Jim Allchin lets his son run a PC without anti-virus software.

Windows co-president Jim Allchin has said that Windows Vista, which met its release to manufacturing milestone earlier this week, is so superior to Window XP on security that he feels safe letting his own son run a PC without anti-virus software.

A prominent security analyst countered that that attitude would be fine as long as everyone using Vista was a seven-year-old.

During the Q&A portion of a telephone briefing with reporters Wednesday, Allchin said he was proud of Windows XP SP2, another operating system effort he led. "[But] there were things that we couldn't put in that product," he said.

Don't misunderstand me, this is an escalating situation. The hackers are getting smarter, there's more at stake, and so there's just no way for us to say that some perfection has been achieved. But I can say, knowing what I know now, I feel very confident."

So confident, in fact, that his seven-year-old son's Vista PC lacks anti-virus software.

"Honestly, he doesn't have an antivirus system on his machine. His machine is locked down with parental controls, he can't download things unless it's to the places that I've said that he could do, and I'm feeling totally confident about that," Allchin said. "That is quite a statement. I couldn't say that in Windows XP SP2."

"Sure, if everyone treated their employees like seven-year-olds, and locked down their PCs 100 percent, how could a virus load?" said John Pescatore, a Gartner analyst and the research firm's resident security expert, on Friday.

But that's not going to happen. And in the real world, Windows Vista does need anti-virus software.

"As soon as you allow users to load anything, and everyone will allow that in Vista, then you need AV [anti-virus]. For two reasons, one small and one big," said Pescatore. "The small reason is the hope that it will block viruses and worms. But the big reason is so that you run an AV scan once a week and remove viruses before they can cause too much damage."

Another Vista opinion that Allchin put forward on Wednesday got better reception from Pescatore.

"It's my opinion that the severity of the [security] bulletins will be less [in Vista than in XP], as well as the number will be less," predicted Allchin. "That's to be proven, so we'll see about that. Vista will have issues in security because the bar is being raised over time, [but Vista] is the most secure system that's available, and it's certainly the most secure system that we've shipped. So I feel very confident that customers are far better off by using Windows Vista than they are with anything that we've released before."

Pescatore agreed. "Since Windows Server 2003 came out, it has had many fewer vulnerabilities than Windows 2000 Server," he said. "It was their first server OS since they began to take security seriously. Vista is their first desktop OS.

"We expect that Vista will be to Windows XP as Windows Server 2003 was to Windows 2000 Server."

Allchin, who has been with Microsoft since 1990, will retire at the end of January, after Vista ships. Earlier this year, 17-year veteran Steve Sinofsky was appointed to succeed Allchin as the head of the company's Windows division.

Windows Vista will reach corporate volume license customers this month, and consumers on Jan. 30, 2007.

Article Source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Microsoft-vista-doesnot-need-antivirus-software.asp

Corel Bundles Firefox With $79 WordPerfect Home Suite

2006-11-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

The deal adds Firefox to a software suite that includes home versions of the WordPerfect word processor, Quattro Pro spreadsheet, Corel SnapFire photo editor and organizer, WordPerfect Mail e-mail client, and other tools.

Corel Corp. on Thursday launched a $79 edition of its WordPerfect productivity suite, and announced a deal with Mozilla Corp. to bundle the Firefox browser with the software collection.

The "Corel WordPerfect Office X3 -- Home Edition 2007" suite includes home versions of the WordPerfect word processor, Quattro Pro spreadsheet, Corel SnapFire photo editor and organizer, WordPerfect Mail e-mail client, and other tools

Corel's bundle agreement with Mozilla adds the open-source Firefox browser to the mix. It is not the first such arrangement by Mozilla. The company has struck deals with others, including Google and RealNetworks, to add Firefox to ad hoc collections, and the browser is bundled with Sun Microsystems' StarOffice suite.

"We're pleased to work with partners like Corel to introduce our free, open source Firefox Web browser to even more people worldwide," said Christopher Beard, Mozilla's VP of products, in a statement.

Corel's WordPerfect, which owns only a fraction of the suite market share, took a shot at rival Microsoft as it rolled out Home Edition 2007. "Most software makers focus on developing products for the enterprise market, forcing consumers' needs to take a back seat," said Jason Larock, the suite's product manager, in a separate statement. "Corel's focus on developing a product suited to the needs of the home PC makes WordPerfect Home Edition 2007 unique."

Home Edition 2007 is available immediately for $79 after a $20 mail-in rebate direct from Corel. Home Edition users can upgrade to WordPerfect Office X3 -- Standard Edition for $159. Microsoft's Office 2007 suite, which will hit retail on Jan. 30, 2007, includes a version targeting home users; Office Home and Student 2007 will sell for $149. Corel's share price, which has struggled since the Canadian company went public in April, stayed static Friday at $15.50, still under the $16 offering price nearly seven months ago.

Article Source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Corel-Bundles-Firefox-With-WordPerfect-Home-Suite.asp

Windows Media Player 11 Debuts for Windows XP

2006-11-10T09:54:00.000-08:00

Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP offers great new ways to store and enjoy all your music, video, pictures, and recorded TV. Play it, view it, and sync it to a portable device for enjoying on the go or even share with devices around your home—all from one place.

Simplicity in Design

When designing Windows Media Player 11, we looked at the needs of a wide range of users—from people who are just getting started with digital media to discriminating audiophiles with very large collections on their PCs. By incorporating this feedback into the design process, we made some significant changes to the Player to deliver a simpler, more visual way to navigate music, video, and other digital media and further improve the overall experience.

More of the Music You Love

Windows Media Player 11 is loaded with smart, fun features that breathe new life into your music collection and create a much more personal entertainment experience. The new design lets you get the most out of your digital library and enjoy simple solutions for managing it all.

All Your Entertainment in One Place

Windows Media Player 11 offers great new ways to store and enjoy digital media beyond music. It's easier than ever to access all of your video, pictures, and recorded TV on your computer. Play it, view it, organize it, sync it to a portable device for viewing on the go, or share with devices around your home—all from one place.

Enjoy Everywhere

Storing your entire digital media collection in Windows Media Player 11 has many great benefits, but what about options for enjoying your digital media library away from your computer? New PlaysForSure devices like the iriver clix and the Creative Zen Vision:M offer a great experience when teamed with Windows Media Player 11 and URGE, helping you stay connected with your music, video, and pictures no matter where you are. Check out more great devices.

Click to download : Windows Medial Player 11

Source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Windows-Media-Player-11-Debuts-for-Windows%20XP%20.asp

Nokia gets $400 mn contract from Bharti Airtel

2006-11-10T01:46:00.000-08:00

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel Limited has awarded Nokia an estimated $ 400 million contract to expand its managed GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks in eight Airtel circles and deploy a pan-Indian WAP solution across its networks.

As per the three-year contract, Nokia will provide managed services and expand Airtel networks to cover all towns and cities in the eight telecom circles of Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Gujarat, Bihar (including Jharkhand), Orissa, Kolkata, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh (including Chattisgarh). The network monitoring operations will be carried out from Nokia’s Global Network Services Center in Chennai.

Nokia will also deploy its WAP solution across Airtel’s national network to enhance the operator’s mobile packet core network capabilities. The WAP gateway will enable easy usage of data services, thereby increasing the consumption of content on the Airtel network. Nokia will provide consulting services and integrate the WAP gateway into a multi-vendor environment.

Nokia will deploy the latest radio and core network equipment including Nokia MSC Server System (MSS) mobile softswitch, Nokia Flexi WCDMA and Ultrasite base stations, and provide services based on Bharti's capacity requirements, delivering a cost-efficient rollout of on-demand capacity. The contract also has stringent service level agreements and performance metrics for both parties, which are designed to provide consistently high-quality services to subscribers and continuously enhance the user experience.

Manoj Kohli, President, Bharti Airtel said: “Our network leadership across India is a critical driver in the Bharti Airtel success story. Our partnership with Nokia reinforces our commitment to this cause and Nokia will provide us the latest technology and expertise to drive growth in the latent market in Eastern India and rapidly expand our coverage in Western parts of India.”

“Nokia is proud to collaborate with Bharti on its initiative to take mobile services to millions of unconnected Indians and enhance the mobile data experience of its existing customers,” said Ashish Chowdhary, Country Director, Networks, Nokia India.

In the past two years, Nokia has signed two contracts collectively worth $400 million with Bharti for the supply of equipment and managed services.

Nokia is a major player in the Managed Services business with close to 60 managed services contracts globally. Nokia provides managed services in 27 telecom circles in India.

Nokia's operations in India include networks and terminals sales divisions, three Research and Development facilities, Global Networks Solutions Center and a manufacturing facility in Chennai that produces both terminals and GSM infrastructure equipment.

Source: http://www.ciol.com/Ciol-Techportal/Content/Mobility/News/2006/2061106907.asp?nl=2_194442_Nov6

Download, Oracle SQL Developer

2006-11-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

Oracle SQL Developer is a new, free graphical tool for database development. With SQL Developer, you can browse database objects, run SQL statements and SQL scripts, and edit and debug PL/SQL statements. You can also run any number of provided reports, as well as create and save your own. SQL Developer enhances productivity and simplifies your database development tasks.

SQL Developer can connect to any Oracle Database version 9.2.0.1 and later and runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OSX.

To Download CLick Here: http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/sql/index.html

Source: www.oracle.com

Sony PRS 500, e book

2006-11-09T02:53:00.001-08:00

This year Sony tested the patience of e-book fans like me by twice delaying the release of its new PRS-500 reading device, originally promised for the spring. The company finally started taking orders over the Web in September, and the gadget can now be purchased at electronics stores and select Borders bookstores. Was it worth the wait? That depends on the size of your wallet.

The Sony Reader's main selling point is its black-and-white "electronic paper" screen, which is not, of course, made from trees. It has been advertised as a far better imitation of real ink on paper than the LCDs found in laptops, cell phones, and earlier generations of e-book reading devices. After curling up for a couple of weeks with a unit loaned to me by Sony, I'm happy to report that the device lives up to its billing. It isn't a replacement for paper--but it's enough of an improvement on older generations of e-book readers to impress this veteran student of the technology.

In fact, I'd say the Sony Reader is the first e-book device that's good enough to appeal to a large swath of readers, even given its hefty $350 price tag. The only major drawback of the system--and, in fairness, it's one that has marred almost
every attempt at making electronic books into a mass-market product--is that content for the device, which must be downloaded from Sony's Connect eBooks retail site, is overpriced.

But early adopters, at least, aren't daunted by high book prices: so far, Sony hasn't been able to ship enough devices to keep up with demand. Personally, I'd been waiting for Sony to release an English-language e-book reader since 2004, when the company introduced its first e-book device, the Librié, in Japan. My interest in electronic-paper technology dated back to 1999-2001, when I served as managing editor for a technology news site called eBookNet. (The site was owned by a now-defunct startup called NuvoMedia, which manufactured the Rocket eBook, an elegant little device that captured my fancy when I first reviewed it--for Technology Review, in fact--in 1998.)

Even back then, I was already aware of an electronic-paper technology being developed by E Ink, a Cambridge, MA, startup founded in 1996 by researchers at MIT's Media Lab. The scientists' clever idea: sandwich millions of tiny, liquid-filled microcapsules between two layers of electrodes, the top one transparent. Floating inside each microcapsule are thousands of positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles. A negative charge applied at a given electrode on the lower layer pulls the white particles to the bottom of nearby microcapsules and pushes the black particles to the top, creating a black mark at that spot (the equivalent of a pixel in an LCD screen). The technology held out the promise of both higher resolution (since the colored particles are smaller than conventional pixels) and longer battery life (since the particles stay in place, without any further expenditure of electricity, until the user calls up the next page).

I'd long wanted to see E Ink's technology, which Sony licensed for the Librié and the new Sony Reader PRS-500, in action. And as it turns out, the Reader's six-inch-diagonal display is a beauty to look at. It's 800 pixels high and 600 pixels wide, giving it a resolution of roughly 170 pixels per inch. That trounces a standard LCD's 90 to 120 pixels per inch, which means the edges of printed characters appear sharper and less jagged than on other displays. In fact, the text is even sharper than newsprint, which has a resolution of 85 to 150 dots per inch. And the contrast ratio of the Reader's screen--the brightness of the whites, measured against the deepness of the blacks--is a respectable 8:1, which puts it on par with newsprint. The Reader's screen doesn't quite achieve the crispness of black text on the thick, bleached pages of a hardcover book, but then again, neither does the print on the pages of paperbacks.

Sony was also careful to make the 0.25-kilogram device comfortable to hold and easy to operate. It has only two important buttons: Page Forward and Page Back. Pressing them with the left thumb requires even less effort than turning the pages of a printed book. And you can press those buttons up to 7,500 times before the Reader runs out of power, according to Sony. I believe it. I charged the device only once, used it for more than 20 hours, and never came close to depleting its battery.

One particularly lovely feature--which does, however, run down the battery faster--is the user's ability to listen to music with the device's built-in player while he or she is reading. The Sony Reader may not be the first device that can display e-books and play songs, but to my knowledge it's the first that can do both at the same time.

In sum, the Sony Reader is so well engineered that it's no longer reasonable to dismiss e-book devices solely on the grounds that they aren't as simple, readable, or enjoyable to use as printed books. Sony's system has only two flaws worth noting. One is that the screen often shows a faint ghost image of the previously viewed page, due to the fact that a few black particles remain near the top of the microcapsules after some of the page's black pixels change to white. To "erase" more particles, Sony programmed the entire screen to flash black between pages, rather as if one were shaking an Etch-a-Sketch. But this results in an annoying flicker.

The other flaw, as already mentioned, is the price of e-books at Sony's Connect eBooks site. The site offers a decent range of titles, including many current bestsellers. Most of the publishers working with Sony charge less for electronic editions than for print hardcovers, and Sony further discounts these prices. Walter Mosley's Fortunate Son, for example, lists at $32.95 in hardcover, while the electronic edition is discounted to $17.95, and Sony Connect sells it for $14.36. But I just can't see average readers paying that much for e-books, which, after all, have about as much physical substance as the digital signals that flit through your PC. A $5.95 paperback may have onion-skin-thin paper and almost invisibly small type, but at least it's a concrete thing you can hold and put on your shelf. E-books may not be seen as a viable alternative to print books until they're so cheap that their ephemerality doesn't matter. Until publishers and hardware makers can turn e-books into a sensible economic proposition, the way Apple's iTunes Store has done with $0.99 downloadable songs and $1.99 TV shows, I fear the technology will languish.

The prospect of a $1.99 bestselling novel is unthinkable within today's publishing culture--yet every author and publisher knows in his or her heart that e-books will, at some point in this century, begin to outsell print books. What may be most significant about the Sony Reader, then, is that by bringing the technology of e-reading up to snuff, it is clearing the way for inevitable changes in the economics of publishing. Whether those changes come about soon enough to keep Sony's device on store shelves is doubtful. But I believe they will happen, just as surely as iTunes and the iPod have upended the music business.

Source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Sony-PRS-500-Reading-Device.asp

Block and Remove / Uninstall Internet Explorer 7 (IE7)

2006-11-09T02:53:00.000-08:00

Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) has been released as of November 1, 2006. If you're not ready for it yet, there are a few options to prevent its installation through Automatic Updates.

Reports say that IE7 is more secure and has more functionality than Internet Explorer 6 (some improvements include tabbed browsing and a built-in RSS reader) -- but user should prefer to wait until they get a few more bugs worked out and some patches for the flaws that still exist before you install it on to your PC.

Many users have automatic updates enabled on their systems. Microsoft is distributing Internet Explorer 7 as a high-priority update through Automatic updates and the Microsoft update sites. Internet Explorer 7 will be available for users of genuine Windows XP SP2, Windows XP 64-bit Edition, and Windows Server 2003 SP1. See the Microsoft Updates IE7 announcement for more details.

Installing IE7: Through Automatic Updates

If you use automatic updates, a notification will appear and you can choose whether or not to install IE7. (Note that the update will only be available if you run your system with administrator privileges).

Once you click on the automatic updates notification balloon, you will be presented with 3 options: Install, Don't install, and Ask me later.

* If you select Install, follow the prompts to install it.

* If you select Don't install, you can install it at a later time from the Windows update site.

* If you select Ask me later, it will not install it and you will be prompted to install it at a later time.

Uninstalling IE7

If you install IE7 it will replace IE6. If you want to uninstall IE7 at a later time, you should be able to remove it through the Add / Remove applet in the control panel. If you do install it and uninstall it later, the automatic updates will inevitably ask you if you want to install it again.

In that case, just select the Don't install option. Important: If you do want to remove IE7 after installation, make sure you uninstall it correctly through the Add/Remove applet in the control panel or with another uninstall utility. Do not delete it manually as that will cause more problems. Note that installation of IE7 will not override your default browser.

Other Options to Uninstall / Remove IE7

As previously mentioned, there are other options to prevent the automatic delivery of IE7. You can download a toolkit to disable the automatic delivery (available to users running genuine Microsoft Windows). Toolkits to prevent the installation of some updates from Microsoft have had expiration dates in the past. According to Microsoft, the toolkit to block IE7 does not have an expiration date.

IT Administrators can use Update Management solutions for Windows Server Systems and SM Servers from Microsoft for better solutions to block the installation of IE7, respectively.

Disabling Automatic Updates

To control whether or not you receive automatic updates, you use the automatic updates applet in the control panel. To do so: Click Start, then click on control panel. Once the control panel applet opens (in classic view), double click on the automatic updates applet to open it). You will be presented with 4 options: Automatic (recommended), Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them, Notify me but don't automatically download or install them and Turn off Automatic Updates and click the apply button. More information regarding Automatic Updates can be found at the Technet2 Microsoft site.

Downloading Updates Manually

If you do turn off the Automatic Updates option, make sure you check the Microsoft Windows Update site on a regular basis. The second
Tuesday of every month Microsoft releases updates.

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Occasionally, Microsoft releases updates at other times when they need a patch to fix a patch. It's important to keep your Windows and other programs updated for security and safety reasons. Microsoft encourages you to keep Automatic Updates turned on, but as long as you take the necessary security measures and update your computer regularly, you should be fine turning them off.

Source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Block-and-remove-uninstall-IE7.asp

Hexaware on expansion mode

2006-11-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

CHENNAI: Hexaware Technologies is on an expansion mode by setting-up three facilities across India.

Talking to CyberMedia News here on the sidelines of Hexaware’s Tech Summit, Atul Nishar, founder and executive chairman of Hexaware Technologies said that the company would be establishing three facilities on campus-model.

“The campuses will be in Chennai, Mumbai and Pune, and we would be investing close to Rs 200 crores in each of them,” he said adding that the facilities would be completed in the next two years.

“As for Chennai, we would be having a green campus at Siruseri, along the IT highway, for which we have procured 27 acres of land. The Chennai campus will have a total of 1 mln sq ft built-up area,” he informed.

Nishar said that in Chennai alone, Hexaware would be creating 9,000 additional jobs in the next five years.

“Similarly, the company has acquired 25 acres in Hinjewadi IT Park in Pune and 14 acres in Airoli area of Navi Mumbai,” he said indicating that all the three campuses would be on the line of Special Economic Zones

Nishar also revealed Hexaware’s plans to go global by setting-up centres in Mexico, China and East Europe. “The Mexico centre would be set up in a short time, while the East European centre would come up in mid-2007 and the China centre in 18 months,” he added

Source: http://www.ciol.com/content/news/Investment/2006/106110706.asp?nl=7_204540_Nov7

''Wireless is a growing market in India''

2006-11-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Bob Friday is the worldwide director of engineering for wireless at Cisco Systems. In an interview with Pragati Simlote of CyberMedia News he gave an idea of direction to the Wireless initiatives in the market outlining the advantages of the Cisco go to market model for wireless.

He also shed light on Cisco’s wireless plans in the service provider, government and defense verticals especially in the area of outdoor wireless.

What kind of wireless initiatives is Cisco undertaking?

We want to participate in the wireless revolution that is about to happen in India. We are trying to look at how we can participate in working with the government and other agencies, and bring in the value of networks as not point products but as end-to-end solutions.

From that standpoint one of the key components of the solutions approach is obviously wireless both from a standpoint of connectivity, which is required in cities - point to multipoint connectivity - or connectivity for some of the large projects that are happening in the government. These projects may vary around setting up of hotspots, rural broadband infrastructure for village connectivity as well as setting up of citywide municipal wireless solutions.

There are several technologies that we work on and there are many options that are available right from Wi-Fi, which is one of the most widely prevalent techs to Wi-Fi Mesh and which is a new technology and Wi-Max, for which there is lot of involvement in the market in this.

What is your go to market strategy in India?

There are several areas that we are targeting in India. Predominantly wireless started off with enterprise connectivity. For the next at least two-three years, our focus would be on outdoor connectivity. From this standpoint, if we look at various business verticals where we can see application of wireless connectivity, we have several. The biggest is the government space, the second is service provider space for providing wireless solutions and the third is connectivity for managing disasters and providing connectivity in areas where wired connectivity cannot be provided.

The SP space is where we expect wide spread deployment to happen. The SPs are looking at unlicensed band and evolve business models around that. We are talking to Indian SPs and the experience that we have gained in working with SPs in more mature economies like US and Europe, we want to implement that over here.

Campus connectivity in universities is also one space that can be targeted, as it becomes a productivity tool. Then there is the server market, providing connectivity in residence, hospitality industry, hotspots, public transport system, etc. We have also started getting queries about how wireless can to be implemented in say metro rail.

What kind of wireless adoption do you see in India?

Wireless is a growing market in India. From a price-performance standpoint, Wi-Fi has got a lot of advantage. With the advent of new standards like 802.11g and the upcoming standard of 802.11n, we will be increasing the sort of reach and bandwidth available. In addition, the other thing happening is that it is getting integrated with IP-based systems, which basically allows you to handle more complex tasks like quality of service (QoS), security, etc. They start getting integrated in the wireless domain itself. This provides a lot of maturity to Wi-Fi than some of the emerging technologies that may be there.

We can look at the adoption in three parts Adoption in enterprise space, adoption in rural space – this is an area to watch out for in the next 18-24 months and adoption from a service provider (SP) standpoint – providing carpet coverage, hot spot coverage and SOHO connectivity.

In the consumer and enterprise space, Wi-Fi is very well adopted now. In the SP space, tier 1 players are still looking at the market and figuring out how business models work in unlicensed spectrum. Large tier 1 SPs are slowly looking at it, but there are tier 2 challengers who are quickly building up networks or hot spot businesses or point to multipoint businesses to start connecting out villages.

You are also targeting the defense sector in India. What are the opportunities in this space for Cisco?

Typically, defense applications are more point-to-point and point-to-multipoint links in licensed spectrum. They tend to avoid any use of the unlicensed spectrum. So most often the queries we get is more oriented around having an early set up because these networks are easy to build and easily deployable especially in areas where you have to set up a network on the fly. So it is in those areas where the wireless networks are being addressed.

We are also talking to them about several other networks, which basically combine the licensed and unlicensed bands. Licensed bands are being used for connectivity from say a battalion headquarter to a unit but the local area mobility for providing connectivity for network centric warfare is being provided over maybe Wi-Fi. But these are just trials that are going on as typically defense does not deploy unlicensed spectrum at all. And they would want to continue that way for the foreseeable future.

Source: http://www.ciol.com/content/developer/CommunicationTech/2006/106110701.asp?nl=7_204540_Nov7

Look before you leap

2006-11-08T21:16:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: There is nothing like free lunch. Businesses usually fail to include both direct and indirect costs throughout the lifecycle of the IT asset while calculating the total cost of ownership (TCO).

The TCO evaluation should go beyond the initial purchase cost of a hardware or software to include pre-implementation soft costs and post-implementation operation, support, maintenance, downtime and training costs.

According to Frost & Sullivan, hardware is the largest component of TCO of Indian enterprises, while software cost is just about 15 per cent of the capital expense and just 6.8 per cent of TCO. Soft costs (costs related to planning, configuration and project management of server environment) are about 17 per cent of TCO, while maintenance and downtime costs constitute about nine per cent each of TCO in Indian enterprises.

The F&S report on TCO, which is audited by Cap Gemini and commissioned by Microsoft, compares the TCO of Windows based applications ecosystem vis-à-vis Linux based applications ecosystem. The report also points out that Windows 2003 offers a 15.9 per cent lower TCO as compared with the Linux environment. The initial costs (capex) for the Linux operating system might be low but the operating expenses (opex) could be significantly higher as compared to the Windows 2003 operating system.

According to the report, on an aggregate level, Windows Server 2003 has 59 per cent lower training costs, 35 per cent lower upgrade costs, 25 per cent lower downtime costs, 667 per cent lower cost of Installation, 62 per cent lower maintenance costs and 30 per cent lower soft costs. For the five-workloads compared, Microsoft Windows 2003 has a clear TCO advantage over Linux for Application, Networking and Mail servers.

Linux Servers’ higher costs can be attributed to relatively low availability of IT professionals trained on Linux servers and tools. Installation costs are 667 per cent higher in the Linux environment reflecting the gaps in maturity to work in an enterprise environment. According to the report, Windows 2003 also gains by higher supply of qualified IT professionals thus decreasing acquisition costs and easier problem solving and trouble shooting because of better documentation and support.

Windows has a clear cost advantage over Linux in application servers. The TCO of Linux is 22.4 per cent higher than that of Windows 2003. Linux application server despite having low capital expenditures, cost significantly higher in operational expenses.

While Windows 2003 starts with a distinct disadvantage by way of higher software and hardware costs, overall costs are more than mitigated owing to the mature ecosystem created around windows environment. The windows advantage includes 59 per cent lower training costs, 35 per cent lower upgrade costs, 25 per cent lower downtime costs, 667 per cent lower cost of Installation, 62 per cent lower maintenance costs and 30 per cent lower soft costs.

F&S ICT practice director – consulting Dr. TR Madan Mohan recommended that there is nothing like a free lunch and a lot of things we assume as free are not free and there are a lot of hidden cost of installation, not enough trained people and integration cost associated with it.

He added, “There is lot of other costs associated with server deployment and these include training, upgrade and maintenance cost. If we consider all this, we will find that Windows 2003 performs extremely better on multiple workloads in application, networking and mail server. The performance difference on the other servers like web and file/print servers is not very high. Eighty per cent of deployment today is on the first three servers where TCO advantage of Windows 2003 is higher.”

Dr. Mohan also recommended that from a CIO’s perspective when you are making new deployments, it makes strategic sense to deploy Windows 2003 because several other associated costs are lower thereby lowering the total TCO.

He added, “Thirdly, your opex is almost same as your capex cost. Please look at the overall cost and realize that there are lot more advantage of implementing Windows 2003 than open source platforms.”

Giving the rationale behind commissioning this study, Microsoft India competitive strategy director Radhesh Balakrishnan said, “From a development model perspective we have learnt a lot from open source. But 95 per cent of all open source software is commercialized and then the cost of acquisition comes into play. Although companies do not pay for licensing, they do pay for support, training, etc and this is where TCO comes into play. We commissioned this study because Indian customers want India specific data as labor market is different in India, need for computing can be different.”

He added, “Microsoft Windows server share of shipment over the last four – six quarter has been in the 65 per cent -68 per cent range and has stayed the same. In the server market, either Linux or Windows is replacing Unix. So the net gain is between the two. Going forward, while targeting customers, this study would be a good proof point that customers have been asking for.”

The research was conducted on 54 organizations (both high end and mid tier) across BFSI, manufacturing, public sector and government, ITeS, BPO and telecom verticals. The target respondents consisted of senior IT professionals (consisting of CIO, CTO, Head of Information Technology, general manager - Information Technology, Senior IT managers, Senior System Analysts) of large and mid-sized enterprises (500 and more employees).

Source: http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2006/106110703.asp?nl=7_204540_Nov7

Torry Harris sets up R&D cell for SOA

2006-11-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

BANGALORE: Torry Harris Business Solutions (THBS), an IT services provider with focus on middleware technologies, today announced the formation of an in-house R&D cell for Service Oriented Architecture implementation solutions.

Anurab Ghosh, CTO of the company, will head the R&D cell.

The total headcount of THBS is 1000 and the company plans to double the headcount next year. Headquartered in Bangalore, the new R&D center consists of 30 per cent of the total workforce, aimed at enabling the company to offer cost effective alternatives /solutions to their clients by combining SOA and Open Source.

The new R&D cell is focused to cater to the next generation needs of global clients. The team will study on the latest technologies in SOA space and conducts training programs and hands-on workshops to disseminate information on SOA to THBS personnel across the company, said Shuba Sridhar, regional technical manager (Europe), Torry Harris.

It has already implemented some international projects usingSOA approach for government agencies in the Middle East and credit insurance major in the Netherlands. It has also bagged an SOA assignment with a wall street major in US, said Sridhar.

New Jersey-based Torry Harris, has development centers in Bangalore and Shenzhen (China) and sales and operations offices in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific regions. It provides IT services aimed at creating and maintaining mission critical IT systems to industries like Telecommunications, BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance), e-governance and Healthcare.

Source: http://www.ciol.com/content/developer/web_services/2006/106110701.asp?nl=7_204540_Nov7

Open environments invite hackers

2006-11-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

BANGALORE: Open and collaborative working environments help enterprises to scale up their operations and improve upon their productivity but also expose the enterprise networks to external world of hackers and crackers.

This was the stated by J. Pazhamalai general Manager, Information Risk Management and Policy Compliance, Wipro Technolgies. J. Pazhamalai was speaking at the Frost & Sullivan conference on advancements in technology behind Web security. The conference aimed to address the concerns of Indian CIOs towards threats emanating from the web.

“It has become mandatory for IT managers to provide an all pervasive networking environment for their employees. But that comes with an inherent risk of making company’s network vulnerable to disruptive elements, which can result in financial losses and legal liabilities for the enterprises” said Pazhamalai..

Pazhamalai added that the existing network security measures were very inadequate to take such risks, which also explained the spurt in web-based attacks.

“Antivirus solutions are reactive, not preventive; they are effective only against very specific threats, and they provide even this limited protection only after an attack has already occurred,” said Pazhamalai.

“ The way we are responding to the challenge is incorrect. Rather than taking reactive measures like putting high-end security solutions everywhere in the network, organizations should be filter the web content that employees were accessing,” he added.

Shedding light on the enormity of web-based threats, Surendra Singh, head, South East Asia and India, Websense, said the next-generation web-based threats were designed to invisibly capture both personal and company confidential information.

“As web-based attacks become more sophisticated in nature, companies need to protect themselves through automating their web security,” said Singh.

He added that with the motivation for attacks being financial, the lead organizations need to ensure they are aware of the security gaps that are to be plugged.

Alok Shende, director, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan, in his presentation, said organizations are responding to this challenge by deploying a combination of security products and services from different vendors.

“With increasing internet penetration and use of online transactions, there is a growing need to filter the web content, which employees are accessing for malicious codes and also objectionable content. However, web access control is still not seen as a critical issue in enterprise security management,” said Shende.

“The antivirus protection, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems, are generally excellent within their intended sphere, but they do not always provide sufficient protection from advanced blended threats. The problem gets complicated when employees are working remotely where they are not protected or managed by the organization’s perimeter security,” added Shende.

Source: http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2006/106110706.asp?nl=7_204540_Nov7

Seagate to encrypt data on hard drives

2006-10-31T05:25:00.000-08:00

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Seagate Technology LLC hopes its new security system for the hard drive will become the most formidable barrier between computer data and thieves.

The world's largest hard drive maker says its DriveTrust Technology, to be announced Monday, automatically encrypts every bit of data stored on the hard drive and requires users to have a key, or password, before being able to access the disk drive.

Technology that protects the hard drive -- the computer's storehouse of data -- differs from most security products launched in the past several years. Such products typically put firewalls around computer networks, encrypt data files or defend the operating system from invasions.

Protecting the hard drive itself offers another layer of protection and might stop thieves from purloining confidential information from lost or stolen laptops. Errant notebook computers have cost government agencies and corporations millions of dollars and put sensitive data -- including customer credit cards or social security numbers -- on the street, possibly in criminal hands.

''I believe other companies will be following suit and it will become an industry standard,'' said John Monroe, a research vice president at Gartner Inc.

Laptop computers with DriveTrust-based hard drives would prompt users to type in a password before booting up the machine. Without the password, the hard drive would be useless, Seagate officials said.

Even data-recovery specialists would not be able to help if the assigned password somehow gets lost, said Scott Shimomura, a senior product marketing manager at Seagate.

''That's the trade-off: Anytime you introduce backdoors or holes to circumvent the security, then you've created vulnerability,'' Shimomura said.

Seagate said it has already implemented the technology into one of its drives for laptops and another for digital video recorders.

Though DriveTrust is proprietary, Seagate may eventually allow other storage companies to integrate it into their own products. Seagate will offer development tool sets for other companies to create additional security layers to work with DriveTrust.

''We believe the entire industry will benefit from it,'' Shimomura said.

source: Technology Review

Google says it wants Microsoft's Vista to offer a choice of Internet search

2006-10-31T05:24:00.000-08:00

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Google Inc. said Monday that it wants Microsoft Corp. to make sure users can easily choose Internet search engines in future products -- but Google refused to say if changes Microsoft has already made to its upcoming operating system, Vista, have gone far enough.

David C. Drummond, Google's senior vice president of corporate development, spoke to reporters after meeting with European Union antitrust regulators but refused to give details on those talks, beyond saying there had been no particular agenda.

''It's been our view that any new version of Microsoft products that include search, that that be done in a way that preserves user choice for search and other applications,'' Drummond said. He said that Google would monitor the situation but that it was ''too early to tell'' if there were would be any antitrust allegations arising from Vista.

Vista is Microsoft's first major update to the company's flagship operating system since Windows XP was released in late 2001.

Microsoft said this month it had changed Vista in several key sectors -- including its search service -- in an attempt to soothe European antitrust worries. Regulators had said they were concerned that computer manufacturers or consumers might be prevented from having a proper choice between different software packages.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes wrote to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in March, pointing out possible issues with Vista's integrated Internet search, digital rights management tools used to protect copyrights and software that would create fixed-document formats comparable to Adobe Systems Inc.'s Portable Document Format, or PDF.

Security vendors Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc. also complained that Microsoft had been slow to hand over technical details needed for their antivirus software to work smoothly with Vista.

There is no formal investigation into Vista, but Microsoft is still embroiled in a long-running legal challenge to the EU's 2004 antitrust order that found the company broke competition law. Microsoft was fined $613 million.

source: technology review

Nanotech Triple Threat to Cancer, New technology finds, flags, and kills tumor cells

2006-10-31T05:21:00.000-08:00

A new nanotechnology-based treatment developed by researchers at the University of Texas's Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas could double the effectiveness of cancer drugs without increasing side effects, while allowing doctors to see immediately whether the treatment is working.

Nanotechnology-based drug treatments are already starting to be approved for use, but so far they are neither very precise nor very potent. Current cancer-fighting nanotechnologies, which involve little more than nanoscopic containers packed with chemotherapy drugs, reach tumors by leaking through holes in tumor blood vessels and gradually releasing a drug. To kill appreciable amounts of the tumor this way, doctors must flood the body with these drug-bearing nanocarriers, says Jinming Gao, professor of pharmacy at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. These can get soaked up by the body's natural filters, such as the liver and spleen, in which they can cause side effects, he says.

What's more, doctors can't get a good view of what's happening once nanocarriers are administered. They don't know whether the nanocarriers are reaching targets or delivering drugs until they remove tissue from the patient, the tumor starts to shrink, or the first side effects appear. It's like fighting cancer in a "black box," Gao says.

Now a growing cadre of researchers are developing next-generation nanotechnology that can both deliver drugs only to cancer cells and allow doctors to monitor the progress of the treatment. The University of Texas system delivers both an anti-cancer drug and a highly effective magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent to allow doctors to see that the drug is being delivered to a tumor. The nanocarriers are made of polymers with an inner core that traps doxorubicin, a common chemotherapy drug, and iron-oxide particles that show up clearly with MRI. Polymer strands on the outside of the nanocarrier bear targeting molecules that are recognized only by tumor blood-vessel cells. The nanocarriers latch on to the vessel cells, and the cells engulf the carriers. The polymer releases the drug once inside the cell, where it is most effective.

Tests on cells grown in the lab showed promising results, says Gao. Nanocarriers equipped with the targeting molecule delivered twice the amount of drug and killed twice the number of cells (94 percent) as those without it, he reported online in the journal Nano Letters. Because of the nanoparticles, the tumor blood-vessel cells were visible at a resolution unattainable with current MRI contrasts. "We could detect as few as 50,000 cells," Gao says. Studies in mice are now in progress.

At this point, the nanocarriers only target tumors' blood vessels, so they can't image or attack tumors without vasculature. This includes most tumors smaller than about two cubic millimeters. But Gao says tumors in the dangerous process of spreading, or metastasizing, are large, have well-established vessels, and can be directly attacked.

And unlike other targeted cancer therapies, he adds, the nanocarriers are easy to modify. As researchers discover more targets unique to cancer cells, the nanocarriers can be equipped to find, image, and destroy other types of cells within tumors and also different types of cancer, he says. He is now working on a system that directly targets lung-cancer cells.

The clearer images created by nanoparticles delivered directly into cancer cells could ultimately allow many new possibilities, says Michael Bonder, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware's Cancer Translational Research Center. Doctors could detect smaller tumors and possibly watch them metastasize, or spread cell by cell to new parts of the body.

But toxicity remains a risk, even with the targeted nanocarriers, cautions Glen Kwon, associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Wisconsin. He says Gao's team should run tests to ensure that none of the drug leaks out as the nanocarriers travel through the bloodstream. "This is often a major challenge for nanocarrier systems in drug delivery," Kwon says.

Although the nanocarriers deliver drugs and imaging particles directly to tumors, when tumor cells die, they'll likely release free drug and imaging particles into the bloodstream, adds Patrick Winter, professor of medicine at Washington University. "These particles naturally accumulate in clearance organs like the liver and spleen" and "could lead to severe side effects," he says.

But the new nanocarriers are promising as "a triple threat to a cancer cell," says Robert Sikes, director of the Laboratory for Cancer Ontogeny and Therapeutics at the University of Delaware. "They seek out, display the location, and deliver the lethal blow to dividing cancer cells," he says.

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17679&ch=biotech

IT capital spending could take a hit: Report

2006-10-31T05:20:00.000-08:00

Despite recent improvements in the economy, the outlook for IT spending in 2007 calls for slower growth, particularly as it relates to investments in hardware.

A recently released report by Forrester Research finds that overall tech spending will grow only 2% next year, compared with an estimated 6% this year and 7% in 2005. Capital spending, which Forrester is forecasting to be up 3% totaling $354 billion this year, will decline by 1% in 2007.

Channel partners see services as the key avenue for growth. According to the soon-to-be released 2007 VARBusiness State of The Market report, solution providers and integrators are budgeting for 25% growth, though services now accounts for 60% of their sales.

Several factors will contribute to the decline in capital IT spending, including lower costs for commodities and volatile energy costs, according to Forrester analyst Andrew Bartels.

"What we have been expecting is a slowing U.S. economy late this year or early next year, translating into not necessarily cutbacks, but a big slowdown in purchasing and spending next year," Bartels says.

While software sales will grow, computing hardware sales will essentially be flat, according to Forrester. Meanwhile, sales of communication gear, up 12% this year, is projected to decline in 2007, largely due to consolidation in the telecommunications market, which will leave fewer buyers, Bartels says.

That forecast is in stark contrast to what market leader Cisco Systems is telling Wall Street: that it expects growth for the 2007 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, to be in the range of 15 to 20%.

The most recent Goldman Sachs CIO panel survey, released last month, shows that 67 % of Cisco customers expect to increase their spending with the vendor.

"That's an all-time survey high," says Keith Goodwin, senior vice president of worldwide channels at Cisco. "That's just a proof point in the game is still coming to us."

However, the Goldman Sachs survey also raises a red flag that networking spending overall could be flat. While 65% said they will increase their network spending, that's a drop from 76% two months earlier.

Other factors will pressure capital spending, as well. Spending growth on security, while a key priority among all customers, may start to slow in 2007, Forrester's Bartels says.

"As a focus and priority, it's still strong, but as an investment it may slow down," he says, pointing out that Microsoft's presence will push licensing fees down. "You are seeing some price erosion."

On the software side, Forrester's Bartels says many customers will be preparing for the release of next-generation ERP suites from the likes of SAP and Oracle. Both companies are readying major updates, now presumed for the 2008 time frame, that will be based on a pure services-architecture.

While those release updates might suggest customers will be on the sidelines, Bartels points out that in order to be able to go to take those next steps, they will have to be up-to-date.

"If you want to migrate to those new releases, you have to have the latest versions so we expect to see people updating," Bartels says.

In terms of new application rollouts, those will be more spotty, with demand up for contract and project management and invoice presentment, while procurement will be more flat. "There are definitely pockets of demand but it will be fairly niche," he says.

One area in software that most expect to be reasonably strong is infrastructure management, including virtualization platforms from EMC's VMware, Microsoft and others. Also many are expecting a strong uptick for Microsoft's new server software, notably SQL Server and SharePoint 2007.

Source: CRN

IBM to set up development centres in India, China

2006-10-31T05:18:00.000-08:00

IBM, the world's largest computer services company, said that it would set up two new IT solutions centres in India and China, underscoring the Asian countries' growing importance as a hub for outsourcing.

The new centres, in Beijing and Pune, will each employ 500 people, Jeby Cherian, director of IBM's global business solutions centre, told Reuters in a phone interview from Bangalore.

Earlier in October, IBM relocated its global procurement headquarters to Shenzhen in southern China. The company has also made India a global delivery hub for software needs and client services.

"The centres position us strongly to take advantage of what we see as a $160 billion market in service oriented architecture.

The other underlying story is it demonstrates IBM's commitment to the emerging markets of China and India," Cherian said.

IBM is focusing on services-oriented architecture (SOA), which makes it easier for businesses to quickly find information stored in different formats.

The company sees SOA as a key driver of future growth, and hopes the technology will help sell other products, such as server computers and consulting services.

The new centre at Pune will focus on developing solutions for the insurance and healthcare industries, while the Beijing facility will tap the growing technology services demand from banks and government departments.

International Business Machines Corp. of Armonk, New York, employs 43,000 staff in India -- up from 9,000 three years ago -- and 7,200 professionals in China, IBM's eighth-largest market.

IBM, which derives about half its revenue from IT consulting and outsourcing, announced in June plans to invest nearly $6 billion in India over three years.

"As we launch these solution centres, we believe there exists a pool of very capable resources to rapidly accelerate what we are trying to do," Ray Harishankar, IBM's global SOA strategic asset development leader, said.

IBM, which started operations in India in 1992, has operations in 14 Indian cities and its network of 2,500 business partners covers 40 cities.

Source: CRN

Oracle launches SMB solution 'Oracle Accelerate'

2006-10-31T05:17:00.001-08:00

Oracle has unveiled an expanded small and medium business solution "Oracle Accelerate", which is comprised of industry-specific, pre-packed application bundles, rapid implementation tools and a growing network of certified Oracle applications resellers.

Oracle President Charles Phillips said, "Oracle has long been a trusted partner for small and medium businesses, and we have developed a wealth of knowledge to help facilitate the unique needs of that market. The introduction of Oracle Accelerate expands on our experience in this market, and makes it faster and easier for customers and partners to leverage Oracle's leading enterprise applications."

Working with the partner community, Oracle has identified 80 product and industry-specific bundles that can help companies quickly take advantage of Oracle's enterprise applications, without sacrificing flexibility and functionality. The product bundles deliver comprehensive business flows, across front office, back office and industry-specific processes. The bundles can be extended by partners to meet specific industry requirements.

New guided learning path and assessment tests, available through the Oracle Partner Network portal, offer self-paced education courses for partners to become trained on a wide range of Oracle products. Partners can easily become proficient in how to execute an Oracle Business Accelerators implementation using Oracle's guided learning paths, allowing them to provide extended services to their customers.

Additionally, Oracle provides extensive pre-sales support for partners and has recently doubled its joint demand generation and marketing program budget. To facilitate partner involvement in Oracle Accelerate, Oracle has expanded the SMB content available on the Oracle Partner Network portal.

Oracle is also establishing regional SMB Solution Centers throughout the world to showcase the Oracle Accelerate offerings and to bring partners into the sales cycle.

Source: CRN

Virtual Netcomm to tie up with US company

2006-10-31T05:17:00.000-08:00

Virtual Netcomm, an IT network security solutions company and the only value added distributor of Blue Coat Systems in India, is soon going to tie up with another US company to provide complete data protection solution in India. "We are waiting for the government to come out with its data leakage regulations and then we will announce the tie-up," Rajendra Shah, CEO, Virtual Netcomm told CRN.

"With this tie-up, our company will be the first to provide a complete and best solution to prevent data leakage along with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) & VPN (Virtual Private Network) solutions," he added. However, he refrained from telling the name of the company with whom it is tying up.

Being the only company dealing in SSL, it gives them a monopoly in the market. "Security have become prime concern for all organizations and SSL is the fastest growing market. In the coming times, we see a 50% year on year acceleration in this market," he stated.

According to Shah the reason for such acceleration in this segment is the recent data theft incidents occurring in India. "Big organizations like the BPOs and call centers have become more conscious and has started installing applications running on SSL & VPN so that the bandwidth is not chocked along with secured transmission," he remarked.

Having four national and ten regional partners, the company is always on the look out for new partners. "We are constantly looking out for partners but the criteria is that they should have strong customer base and contacts then we will give them training and certification," said Shah. Another initiative taken by the company for the partners is holding specialized meetings with channel partners and 2-3 end customers who are chosen by the partners themselves. "The reason why the partners choose the customers is the end users feel important which in turn will help the partners getting more business," he said.

To tackle the problem of warranty and service, Blue Coat had opened a depot in Mumbai last month and also a test center in Delhi, where all the spares are shipped and stocked. "This has been done to give full fledged support to our partners in case of replacement or service so that they do not have to face any problem or delay," explained Shah. This depot is open 24x7 and is easily accessible to the partners.

Among the verticals that they plan to target are BPOs, finance, call centers, software development companies and government sector like defence. As far as C & D class cities are concerned, Shah is not that enthusiastic. "Security has more to do with big network infrastructure which is not there in the C & D class cities and unless that is made, there is no point going there, may be 2-3 years down the line we may consider it," he said.

source: CRN

AMD appoints Alok Ohrie as MD, India Operations

2006-10-31T05:15:00.000-08:00

AMD has appointed Alok Ohrie as the managing director of AMD's India operations. Ohrie succeeds Ajay Marathe, who will return to AMD's headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, USA.

Ohrie brings with him more than 18 years of experience in the technology industry. He will report to Gustavo Arenas, corporate vice president and head of AMD's High Growth Market Initiative.

Announcing the appointment, Gustavo Arenas said, "Ajay has built a strong foundation and successfully grown AMD's presence in India. Alok is well positioned to draw on his extensive experience in the Indian technology industry to drive AMD's further growth in the region."

Prior to joining AMD, Ohrie served as the director, Systems and Technology Group for IBM's India and South Asia operations. Ohrie's illustrious career includes 13 years managing critical sales and marketing assignments for IBM in India, South Asia and Australia. Prior to IBM, Ohrie also worked with Wipro and ESPL.

Ohrie holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electronics and Communication from National Institute of Technology (formerly REC) Suratkal.

Accepting the welcome, Ohrie said, "I feel fortunate to be a part of AMD at such an exciting time. AMD's innovative product lineup is incredibly strong and it has the right customer-focused strategy for growth. I intend to build on the strong foundation which Ajay leaves behind, and will endeavor to steer AMD India during this next, very exciting phase of expansion."

Source: CRN

Browser extensions? Apple-Google integration takes things a bit further

2006-10-29T23:46:00.000-08:00

Browser extensions for searching the web are old news to most of us; in fact, using them almost comes as second nature. For example, Mozilla's Firefox browser, the net's fastest growing application, has allowed countless users to search a multitude of different engines straight from the browser.

However, Apple, seen by many as the innovators of the OS scene, has gone one step further. As part of a collaboration with Google, the company's own Mac-only web browser - Safari - is rumoured to be able to communicate directly with Google's AntiTrust database as a user is browsing. Not only will the AntiTrust database allow Safari to block potentially unsafe websites from the user in a bid to protect their computer, it will also block known "phishing" sites to protect their personal details.

And more Google integration is on its way: in Apple's next OSX update, the company's hard drive search application, Spotlight, may pull web results from Google. PC Google Desktop users have been able to search hard drive and web results in tandem for some time now; but Apple is taking a big step by bringing Google straight into their OS as standard.

In other Google-Apple news, tech savvy iPhoto users have discovered a hidden function in the latest release of the software - one that seems to grab latitude and longitude values from - you guessed it - Google Maps. This looks to be a function which is being prepped to compete with similar features in Yahoo!'s online photo-sharing service, Flikr, which allows people to see the geographical location where the photograph was taken. Not much is known about the new features in iPhoto as of yet, but with over 70 references to GPS attributes that link through to Google Maps, it looks like the two companies have something very big planned.

So what will Mozilla and Microsoft do to try and counter the Apple-Google collaboration? As Mozilla's Firefox browser reaches version two, Microsoft have stepped up the pace on Internet Explorer 7 and have been forced into changing the way a default search engine is selected. Microsoft originally stated that they would import search settings from Internet Explorer 6, but have now implemented a system where the user picks the search engine they wish to use from a list. This stemmed from pressure heaped on Microsoft by Google, with the latter saying that the original system would give an unfair advantage to Microsoft. The EU upheld the complaint, and Microsoft have given in; but giving users the chance to pick a search engine may drive searches away from Google, as user's might pick a new engine rather than going straight through to Internet Explorer 7 - something Google may regret if it sees it's search share fall. Mozilla has plans to show suggested searches as users type into the Firefox 2 search box, and will also give anti-phishing alerts through downloaded "safe lists." However, perhaps the biggest change in the search area of the browser will be seen in the OpenSearch description format - something which is compatible with both Firefox and Internet Explorer, and allows the same extensions to be used in both applications.

We have yet to see who will gain or lose ground in the integrated search wars, but Apple's forward thinking holds them in good stead to gain some ground on the market leaders.

source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Browser-extensions-Apple-Google-integration-takes-things-a-bit-further.asp

Google goes mobile

2006-10-29T23:41:00.000-08:00

If you love your mobile more than your computer, your time has finally come!

Google has significantly enhanced its Mobile Search facility, adding tutorials and emulators for every service currently available. Google Mobile offerings include access to Google Maps, Google News, SMS, your personalised homepage, and web search. You can now enter queries in Google from your mobile or PDA in three different ways: through web search, image search and now Mobile Web search.

Earlier this year, Mr Dipchand Nishar, head of Google Mobile, announced Google's intentions to improve its product for mobile devices. According to Mr Nishar:

“There are many emerging markets where people do not have a PC and will never have one.”

There are many reasons why search engines like Google are increasingly interested in mobile technologies. On average a person in the developed world is between 20 to 30 minutes away from a PC; however almost everyone now has immediate access to a mobile phone or device. The price difference is also a significant factor, since buying a PC requites a solid investment whereas mobile devices are generally more affordable.

Using Google Mobile Search, users can access over eight billion Web pages and two billion images, and the service is available in over 100 languages. Furthermore, Google Mobile is available from any mobile phone or mobile device that supports a web browser.

You can use Google WebSearch to perform a regular web search; when you type in a certain query it will give you the same results on a mobile device as it would on a computer. This option will give you all the results that match the keyword or keyphrase you have introduced, including those websites that are not specifically designed for mobile phones.

Google Image Search will show any image that matches your search query, by searching through into a database that includes over two billion images; the results are shown in a set of three per page. Once you have made your selection, Google will automatically reformat the chosen webpage in order to fit your mobile screen device.

Finally, you can restrict your search only to those websites that have been specifically designed for mobile phones and devices, using Google Mobile Web Search option. In this case, you will only get those websites which have been previously formatted in XHTML, WML or iMode.

Additionally, text messages can be sent to Google SMS and you can get a reply sent to your mobile phone. This feature is currently available in the USA, Japan, Canada, Germany and Spain. Another service you can access from a mobile device is Google Maps, which shows you the location of a specific street. This service is available only in the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. But Google Maps does not use GSP technology, so the location of the mobile user will not be shown in the map.

Further to all these innovations, it is very likely that Google's mobile services will be extended further in the near future. Its Mobile Search facility will go from strength to strength as it becomes more widely available in different countries and diversifies the services it offers.

One great example would be, for example, instant access to Gmail via your mobile phone or through syndication.

Source: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Google-goes-mobile.asp

Point of View announces Tirupati as their new partner in India

2006-10-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

Point of View, a European manufacturer of graphics cards, announced Tirupati Enterprises as their new partner in India.

Point of View is an official authorized board partner for nVidia and carries the whole range of nVidia based graphics cards. This complete range will also be delivered by Tirupati in India.

For Complete News Click: http://techzone.izine.in/articles/Point-of-View-announces-Tirupati-as-their-new-partner-in-India.asp

BenQ launches limited edition mobile phones for Diwali

2006-10-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

BenQ has launched its Limited Edition E61 and A38 phones as part of the special festive season offer. In addition to the launch, BenQ also announced complimentary accessories like hands free and SD cards on the purchase of the mobile phones.

Available only during the festive season, sleek accessories such as 128 Mini SD card, data cable & hands free sets are being offered on the purchase of the all-new 'musical' E61 MP3 phone. Complementing the E61 MP3 phone, the 128 Mini SD card will allow the customers to download and hear as many songs as they like. The phone now, could be bought at about at Rs 6299, comes equipped with other features like 1.8 TFT, camera with 4x zoom.

For Full News Click:
http://techzone.izine.in/articles/BenQ-launches-limited-edition-mobile-phones-for-Diwali.asp

Lexmark intros C500n colour laser printer for SMBs

2006-10-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Lexmark International (India) Pvt. Ltd. has introduced the Lexmark C500n colour laser printer for small and medium business (SMB) customers, which is with fast speeds of up to 31 pages per minute (ppm) in monochrome and 8 ppm in colour.

At an estimated street price of Rs.17999, the C500n can easily serve as the primary printing device for customers who require colour but also print large volumes of black and white documents. It also comes standard with networking so that printer can easily be shared by several users in a small workgroup to further reduce costs.

It also gives users the ability to precisely manage and adapt the colour output to meet their personal preferences with independent colour density control for black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. It also features 1,200 x 600 dots per inch enhanced quality for printing vivid colour photos and graphics. It also features a fast, host based driver to quickly deliver output and is backed by Lexmark's onsite repair warranty.

P G Kamath, general manager at Lexmark International (India), said, "When it comes to value, the Lexmark C500n is a clear standout. SMB customers are asking for ways to print professional, high quality colour documents in house, and the Lexmark C500n delivers at an exceptional price."

Source: CRN

Linksys unveils wireless Internet video camera for small businesses

2006-10-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc., a provider of voice, wireless and networking hardware for the consumer, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and small business customer, has launched Linksys Wireless-G Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) Internet Camera with Audio (WVC200).

The new PTZ Internet Camera, part of the Linksys Business Series of products, can send live video and audio through the Internet to be seen and heard through a web browser anywhere in the world making for simple access for mobile workers or remote users.

Unlike standard "web cams" requiring an attached PC, the PTZ Internet Camera contains its own IP address, so businesses can easily connect it to an existing Ethernet or Wireless network. The WVC200 comes equipped with a LCD screen on the front of the camera that displays the IP address so multiple cameras can be easily managed.

Sanjeev Gupta, Linksys regional sales director for Asia, said, "We've designed a camera that provides small businesses the tool they need to monitor their office during business hours or while they are away. The camera can be accessed over the Internet, enabling the office to be remotely monitored. Users can be alerted by email or phone when unexpected movement has occurred after hours, eliminating the need to actively monitor the camera. It's an ideal solution for providing peace of mind at the price small business budgets can afford."

The WVC200 images can be password protected or can be left open for the world to see. Support for Dynamic DNS enables access to the camera by using an easy-to-remember URL "name", even if the business is using a dynamic IP address.

The Pan/Tilt and 2X digital zoom function allows for remote control of the camera's movement and focus remotely. Software is included for multiple camera monitoring, and recording to a hard drive with advanced search by time and date. The advanced MPEG-4 video compression produces a high-quality, high-frame rate, 640x480 video stream. MPEG-4 encoding facilitates good video quality in varying bandwidth environments.

Advanced features of the PTZ Internet Camera include a security mode. When the camera detects motion, it begins to record the video and audio feed and simultaneously sends an e-mail alert to the office, a pager or a cell phone. Up to three e-mail alerts can be sent, including a short video clip in an email attachment.

The Linksys Wireless-G PTZ Internet Camera with Audio (WVC200) is now available and priced at Rs. 19,900.

Source: CFN

Sun Microsystems leads in Non-x86/Unix server market: IDC

2006-10-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

Sun Microsystems India announced that as per IDC?s Asia/Pacific Quarterly Enterprise Server Tracker,Q2 2006, August 2006, it has occupied a leadership position in the Non-x86/Unix server market in Q2 2006 in India, with 56.6% market share by units and 38.1% market share by revenue. In the non-x86/Unix segment in India, Sun was the only vendor whose revenue share increased on a year-on-year basis in Q2 2006.

It is noteworthy to highlight that Sun was the fastest growing vendor in the High-end Enterprise and Midrange Enterprise segments of the non-x86 Unix server market in India in Q2 2006 on a year-on-year basis. Sun was also the #1 ranked vendor in the non-x86 Unix Midrange Enterprise server segment in India in Q2 2006.

Additionally, Sun continued to maintain its number three position in the India overall server market in Q2 2006 in terms of revenues. According to IDC, Sun ended Q2 2006 with a revenue share of 19% in terms of overall server market in India, up from 15.87% in Q2 2005.

Bhaskar Pramanik, president, India GEM, Sun Microsystems India, said, "We have maintained our position as the leading vendor in India Non-x86/Unix server market for 6 years* now since 1999. Our systems continue to be favored by mission critical sectors such as Telecommunications, BFSI, and Service providers - enterprises that need to manage unpredictable user loads, in fast-changing networked environments."

"Our leadership position is the result of Sun's constant pursuit of technological excellence and innovations. Many of our customers are taking up the new Solaris servers we've introduced, and are using them as engines to run Solaris and Java-based applications. Though our top customers segments continue to be Telecom, BFSI and IT/ITES markets, we have also seen wide adoption of our technologies in other growing segments like Retail, Government, Education & Research, Healthcare and Manufacturing," he added

Source: CRN

3i Infotech launches Orion@Apparel

2006-10-14T01:29:00.000-07:00

3i Infotech, a provider of IT solutions, has launched Orion@Apparel, a suite of software products to address the technology and automation needs of India's booming apparel industry. Launched at Tirupur, Asia's largest apparel hub, Orion@Apparel will help garment manufacturers, exporters, and buying houses to automate, measure and enhance the entire supply chain in real time.

The suite comprises of Orion Operator Efficiency Monitoring System, Operator efficiency control, skill matrix, effective production planning, Orion Product Tracking System, Orion Quality Audit and warehouse audits.By implementing this end to end system, an apparel manufacturer will be able to integrate his entire operation while providing management with online, real-time access to all processes at the click of a mouse. Additionally, they will be able to identify lapses in the supply chain, determine their causes and fix these through the system. The software is also capable of facilitating pictorial representations of the functional pipeline thus making for an interactive user interface.

Anirudh Prabhakaran, Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, 3i Infotech Ltd., said, "Tirupur is Asia 's largest apparel hub and almost 80% of the country's manufacturing is headquartered out of this region. Additionally, given the huge export market that it addresses, it has become essential for manufacturers and agents to match international standards and processes. Orion@Apparel is launched keeping these factors in mind. It will provide the market with the tools that will help it reach high levels of production and process optimization while making individual players competitive in both the local and global marketplace."

Source: CRN

Apple store comes up at Malad's Inorbit Mall

2006-10-14T01:27:00.000-07:00

RSG Retails India Pvt. Ltd., an Apple Premium Reseller, has opened their second retail outlet showcasing Apple's products at imagine, Inorbit Mall, Mumbai. The store will showcase Apple's products and technologies, including the recently launched iPod and iPod nano. In addition, the store will also exhibit a host of complementary products and peripherals to Apple's products providing consumers with a complete digital lifestyle experience.

"There is a significant increase in demand for digital devices and this has brought about a need to manage, organize and share media content in a better manner. The Mac as a digital hub is able to integrate all photo, video and music files with the iLife applications, and most importantly these applications work seamlessly with one another. 'imagine' is a great place to come and experience the entire range of the recently launched Apple iPod and various accessories that complement the iPod," said Rupesh Pandey, managing director, RSG Retails India Pvt. Ltd.

Pandey expressed his pleasure on the setting up of 'imagine' at Inorbit mall, the second Apple Premium Reseller store for Apple's products in Mumbai. Expressing his delight, he said, "With imagine now at Atria and Inorbit, we've pretty much covered the biggest shopping destinations in the city. Both malls have excellent walk-ins and are sure to be on anyone's agenda during the shopping season."

The Inorbit Mall has recently been voted as the mall of the year 2006 and hosts a mix of stores catering to all the segments ranging from fashion, lifestyle to eat-outs. It is buzzing with people from BPOs, the IT companies and the TV industry in Mumbai and has become a favorite hangout place for the suburban Mumbaikar. Inorbit Mall caters to entire North Mumbai crowd.

Source: CRN

CCS recognised as Star Partner by Microsoft

2006-10-14T01:26:00.000-07:00

CCS Infotech Limited, a Chennai-based IT solution provider, has received best assurance circle partner award from Microsoft and is also recognized as a star partner by the world leader.

CCS Infotech Limited has been awarded the best assurance circle partner award for their outstanding performance in OEM Microsoft product sales along with their personal computers. After getting this award CCS Infotech Limited has been listed on the Microsoft website and is receiving technical briefings and developments through the web page dedicated for the System Builders channel.

The company has also been recognized as a Star Partner, one of the most significant recognition of performance and excellence by a world leader. This highest endorsement is awarded to those who pass the highest level of requirements from Microsoft and means that CCS is now among Microsoft's most elite business partners.

M.A. Hasan Abdul Kader, managing director of CCS Infotech Limited, said, "By acquiring this award we have proven to posses the knowledge, skills, and commitment required to meet the extended needs of IT industry. We have demonstrated the ability to deliver an extensive range of products and services successfully, and possess the experience to meet a vast expanse of global business needs. CCS Infotech Limited considers this award an encouragement to take forward its drive to achieve higher standards and emerge as a true market leader."

H.Ratna Kumar, directorof CCS Infotech Limited, stated, "We are delighted with. Microsoft continues to be an outstanding principle to work with, this re-organization is the culmination of many years of work by CCS and our partnership with Microsoft is growing consistently. Microsoft star Partners should have a broad range of experience and reasonable business volume. Our work is encouraged by way of direct support from Microsoft which gives us a leading edge over competition."

CCS Infotech Limited Limited surpassed a turnover of Rs.60 crore for the financial year ending March 2006 up 73% compared to the last financial year and first quarter 2006-07 revenue increased to Rs.13.41 crore, up more than 9% from Rs. 12.23 crore in the first quarter of 2005-06. The net profit increased to Rs 1.18 crore up 74% from Rs 0.67 crore in the first quarter 2005-06.

Four Soft launches next version of webcentric solution

2006-10-14T01:25:00.000-07:00

Four Soft Limited (4S), a software solutions provider of transportation and logistics management, has launched version 2.1 of 4S e-Trans to caters to the need of transportation and freight companies.

4S eTrans is independent of platform & supports multiple databases. The application can be accessed from anywhere anytime through Internet, which helps in providing better customer service and lowering the maintenance cost. Also the centralized database architecture eliminates the need for multiple data entry improving efficiency and reduced data error.

Rakesh Kumar, VP, Product Management, Four Soft Limited said, "We at 4S continue to invest in the R&D which helps in augmenting our products and keeps us miles ahead of our competitors. With this new version we are shifting from cutting edge technology to bleeding edge technology and are committed to exploit technology for simplifying the complexities of supply chain management."

Developed on spring & Hibernate framework, 4S eTrans 2.1 has an improved GUI (Graphical User Interface), multiple search functionality, configurable menu system and enhanced reporting mechanism. Superior design of current release would help in better navigability resulting in increased productivity of end users.

Source: CRN

Canon announces new festive offers

2006-10-14T00:25:00.000-07:00

Canon India Pvt. Limited has announced new festive offers with the purchase of a Canon Digital Camera or Camcorder.

The special offer has been branded as 'Festival of Delights'. The promotion entitles the buyer to a lucky scratch card to win some fabulous prizes like a Chevrolet Optra, Canon Compact Photo Printer (SELPHY CP 510), MP3 Player, USB Combo, return air tickets to Singapore and many other assured gifts. The consumer promotion is on till end of October or till stock lasts.

Dhiren Singh, assistant director of Marketing (Consumer Imaging), said, "Year by year, Canon focuses on newer opportunities to reach out to its customers in a way that would leave them delighted with the experience. It is our constant endeavor to work on promotions that are more innovative and attractive for both the consumer and the channel partner. We are confident that our schemes will bring added cheer this festive season as well."

For all cricket fans, Canon adds to the adrenaline rush by bringing to them an association with the ICC Champions Trophy 2007. With the kick off of the ICC Champions tournament, Canon promises to be seen everywhere on Cricket through television commercials and with a special capsule on Extra Innings with Mandira Bedi.

On this announcement, Singh further added, "Cricket is a passion and a religion in India and ICC provides us a platform for associating with the sport and reaching out to the masses. The response to this event has been phenomenal. As partners to this event, we would enjoy sharing the joy of Indians who would love to capture a perfect shot with a Powershot from Canon range of cameras."

Source: CRN

Channel moving closer to open source platform, claims Red Hat

2006-10-14T00:23:00.000-07:00

A new trend is emerging wherein channel partners and independent software vendors (ISVs) are largely turning toward subscription-based platform as against the proprietary model and thus opening ample opportunities for enhanced Linux-based operation, Tirthankar Mitra, head - Channels and SI, Red Hat India said.

"It is heartening to witness a trend wherein more and more channel partners and even independent software vendors are realizing the benefits of choosing an open platform like ours over a proprietary model," Mitra told CRN in an interview.

He said one deciding factor for this could be that in contrast to open source vendor partners, channel players with proprietary vendors are largely finding their role as service providers being reduced as these companies have created immense database with the help of resellers and now are targeting the customers on their own.

"Ours is a subscription-based service mechanism and therefore those risks are not here. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers through top-tier partnerships. Red Hat's open source strategy offers customers a long term plan for building infrastructures that are based on and leverage open source technologies with focus on security and ease of management," he said.

He said Linux adoption in India and across the enterprise is by and large growing, and Red Hat India channel partner network is also expanding to address this market and customer needs. These partners not only cater to customers brought to them by Red Hat, but also independently pursue new projects on Linux.

"We see tremendous opportunities opening up as the industry is fast turning away from proprietary platforms toward open, standards-based building blocks for hardware and software platform. This approach offers cost-effective, timely delivery of new architectures, new services, and increased bandwidth," he claimed.

Red Hat partners play a crucial role as they reach out to end customers and guide them in arriving at an ideal solution for their needs. "My partners also take customers through the entire process of Linux adoption and implementation, and provide the needed support services."

Red Hat India has a distribution network of more than 70 channel partners, spanning 27 cities across India. It has OEM partners like IBM, Dell, HP, HCL, Wipro Infotech and Acer among others, while SI partners include Wipro Infotech and HCL Infosystems

Source: CRN
Article By: Nirendra Dev, Mumbai, October 13, 2006

SMB spending on PDAs alone estimated to jump 11%, says AMI Partners

2006-10-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

Small and medium businesses (1-999 employees) in India are on track to spend US$70 million on PDAs by this year-end, up some 16% over last year, following the need for portability and the remote access. Accordingly, spending on portable computers such as notebooks and tablet PCs is also expected to jump over the next couple of years.

This comes from a recent study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc. "The main advantage of having an intelligent office is that it adds connectivity, without sacrificing the portability," says Avimanyu Datta, Kolkata-based analyst at AMI-Partners.

Intelligent office is a concept that encompasses miniaturization and portability. It is like carrying a portable office with moving employees. Examples could be PDAs, Intelligent Phones, and other multifunctional devices which free the employees from being physically present in an office in order to complete their daily tasks. "Robust economic development in Tier-II cities in India brings greater market opportunities that need to be explored to maximize profits. Since setting up an office from scratch would mean excessive capital and infrastructure investments, intelligent office devices offer a lower cost solution. Using this technology gives a sense of a moving office. The employees can carry their office with them by wireless connected devices," Datta says.

Approximately seven out of 10 medium businesses (100-999 employees) and 14% of small businesses (1-99 employees) have multiple branches. "Pervasive devices with wireless connectivity provide a cost-effective communication link between firms, which frees them from setting up their own telecom infrastructure," Datta says. "In the future, given an increase in business volume, the number of branches will rise and firms which currently don't have multiple sites will expand operations. This will further boost the demand for building intelligent office infrastructures."

The other factor is the rise of a mobile workforce among SMBs. About 50% of all medium businesses and 20% of small businesses have a mobile workforce. These numbers across both segments are set to increase and will boost demand for intelligent office devices.

"The most important reason for intelligent office adoption is reduced decision cycle time," he says. "India's economic development and the increased business opportunities have resulted in intense competition where fast decision-making is often the key to success. Clients cannot wait for suppliers to respond via email; they want an immediate response. A decision on product purchase or on business partnerships often requires that people interact across various locations. Intelligent devices with wireless connectivity allow this to happen seamlessly."

Fortinet, a provider of multi-threat security solutions has launched FortiGate-3600A appliance, which offers increased deployment flexibility by inclu

2006-10-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

Kolkata-based PC and server manufacturing company Waves Infotech has now expanded its presence in UP.

The company, which was started in 1997 as a PC assembling and servicing unit, is on the verge to make a strong foothold across India with the establishment of regional offices and authorized dealers.

S K Loharuka, CEO of the company says, "Beginning small, but thinking big - is the underlying motto of the company. Efforts to venture into Northern and Western region are the roadmap under current consideration."

Loharuka says that the company views channel as a very important means to approach the market. Hence, they are sincerely looking forward to provide technical and other support to the dealers with sustainable business models, which in turn can give strong support to the customers.

The company is also structuring several plans to give maximum benefit to the dealers, distributors and customers. Waves is basically focusing on dealers of small city or town to give them ample space to grow, he adds.

The company's product includes Glider - the office expert PCs, Homer - the multimedia range, Commander - the server range. Moreover, the notebook PC called Gypsy will be shortly added in the product range.

Fortinet launches FortiGate-3600A multi security appliance

2006-10-06T05:06:00.001-07:00

Fortinet, a provider of multi-threat security solutions has launched FortiGate-3600A appliance, which offers increased deployment flexibility by including additional ports and slots that can be leveraged for wide area network interfaces.

The adoption of multi threat security appliances among enterprises, mobile carriers and MSSPs is rapidly growing, with performance, ease of administration, deployment flexibility and cost efficiencies as major drivers. The company says that the integration of Fortinet's next generation FortiASIC Content Processor and new system components boost performance up to 50%. Competitive multi threat security appliances typically offer 30 to 50% less firewall throughput than what can now be offered by the FortiGate-3600A.

In addition to higher performance, customers are demanding integrated WAN connectivity with their security devices. The FortiGate-3600A includes expansion slots that provide deployment flexibility via standard based AMC network adaptor modules enabling customers to adapt to a variety of WAN technologies and future internal network technologies such as 10-GigE.

Freddy Mangum, vice president of product marketing for Fortinet, said, "Defending against the evolving threat landscape requires multiple integrated security technologies that can ensure mitigation of all threat vectors without compromising network performance. The FortiGate-3600A builds on Fortinet's legacy of leveraging custom built ASICs and industry standard designs to deliver customers unmatched multi threat security performance and deployment flexibility."

SCO intros HipCheck mobile service

2006-10-06T05:06:00.000-07:00

SCO Group (SCO), a provider of UNIX software technology and mobile services, has announced the availability of HipCheck, the latest offering from the company's Me Inc. mobile services division that proactively monitors and manages UNIX and Windows systems through Windows Mobile phones.

The company sats that HipCheck is the only mobile administration solution in the market that combines system monitoring and alerts with secure mobile intervention. As a result, technicians are able to detect, diagnose and correct many common system problems much more quickly than before. It also allows business solution providers and IT system administrators to continually monitor the health of Windows and UNIX systems, setting alert thresholds for a wide range of parameters.

Chris Woolfenden, technical director at Yanex, a U.K. information technology services firm, commented, "We believe HipCheck will satisfy the mobile access and support needs of many IT managers with ease. Through its reliable and robust interface, IT staff will be able to access critical and desktop systems anywhere, anytime. The product's features ideally lend themselves to situations where IT staff are limited or distributed and where 24 hours a day, 365 days a year coverage is required. The cost savings using HipCheck can be considerable."

Proactive mobile administration represents a major advantage for any organization that provides system administration support services. The productivity and cost savings benefits are particularly strong for organizations supporting systems in multiple locations.

Sandy Gupta, CTO and general manager, SCO Platforms Division, stated, "By allowing highly mobile system administrators to take the offensive, HipCheck customers will see higher overall uptime, more productive users and lower maintenance costs. This level of flexibility and anywhere/anytime responsiveness lets technicians multi task far more effectively. They are now the first to find out about a situation, they spend less time diagnosing the root cause and, best of all, they can rectify the problem no matter where they happen to be."

HipCheck is made up of three components - HipCheck agent, client and mobility server. HipCheck agent is software installed on each system that needs to be monitored. The Agent software monitors each systems hardware and system status, and then communicates with the Mobility Server. The HipCheck Client is a graphical user interface that enables an authorized user to efficiently monitor systems and perform administrative actions such as responding to alerts and correcting any problems that may arise.

Asus launches 20-inch monitor with built-in webcam

2006-10-06T05:04:00.000-07:00

AsusTek Computer Inc. (Asus) has launched 20-inch, widescreen Asus PW201, which comes with a built in 1.3M pixel webcam to deliver high resolution video conferencing.

According to the company, its innovative pivot neck design further enables both vertical and horizontal viewing angles for optimized viewing comfort during different visual applications. The other features includes 1.3M pixel webcam built in and the LifeFrame software bundle, rich video input and USB 2.0 support turn the all new monitor into the ideal visual solution for business and entertainment. It has color shine glare type panel and wide view angle.

Leena Ajmera, product manager, LCD Business, Asus India, said, "The Asus PW201 LCD Monitor comes packed in with many features, so as to facilitate the usage requirements of Business users as well as gamers and movie enthusiasts. This LCD monitor is aesthetically designed and is a prestigious iF Design award winner."

Nortel unfolds new product portfolio, to focus on SMBs

2006-10-06T05:01:00.000-07:00

After creating a strong foothold in the Indian carrier and enterprise market, Nortel is extending its product offering to the SMB segment. The new product range includes switches, routers and access points and will feature the SMB specific Business Communications Manager (BCM50), and a digital hybrid PBX supplied by Nortel's Korean JV, LG-Nortel.

Nortel has established a long term strategy to cater to specific needs and challenges of SMB customers. SMB customers will benefit from both voice and data enabled solutions backed by Nortel's carrier grade industry standards. The specially designed offering will provide customers simple, scalable and easy to use products at a very affordable price. India is the first country in Asia where the SMB initiative is being rolled out, and is backed up by dedicated marketing, support infrastructure and people.

Ravi Chauhan, managing director of Nortel India, said, "The SMB segment is going through a pocess of evolution and businesses are looking at technology to enable them to grow bigger. Nortel is gearing up to become a dominant player in this segment. Nortel has streamlined its training processes and established a robust ecosystem for its SMB solutions that will help channel partners deliver the value of Nortel's voice and data solutions across India at a really affordable cost. Our solutions will cater to businesses even as small as three to five staff."

E. R. Ashok Kumar, director-SMB, Nortel India, stated, "We will follow the 'four E' approach: Engage, Enable, Excite and of course Execute. Emphasizing Nortel's long-term commitment to its partners. As part of enabling our channel partners, Nortel will invest the manpower and resources to educate them, provide complete technical support and develop a unique rewards program. There is an increasing number of data networking dealers who aspire to get into voice networking, and vice versa. We will work with them and train them to broaden their knowledge."

Nortel will also set up a national customer support center. This support center will be accessible through a toll free number, which will provide customers a single interface for all post deployment support and services. The new solution will combine the traditionally distinct voice networking products and data networking products to provide a complete end to end solution.