Google unveils first 10-inch Nexus tablet

Hugo Barra, Android at Google Director of Product Management, holds up the Nexus 10 tablet at a Google announcement in San Francisco, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012.

Google Inc unveiled a larger version of its Nexus-branded tablet computer on Monday, and updated its mobile gadget and online content offerings as competition with Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp heats up ahead of the holiday sales season. 

The device follows a spate of new product launches by the technology leaders in recent weeks, including Apple's iPad Mini last week and software-maker Microsoft's first-ever home-built tablet, the Surface. 

Google, the world's No.1 Internet search engine, has pushed deeper into the hardware business at a time when consumers are increasingly accessing the Web on mobile devices.

Google's new Nexus 10, made in partnership with consumer electronics company Samsung Electronics Co, is the first 10-inch tablet to come to market under Google's Nexus brand. The device, with prices starting at $299, will be available on November 13 in the United States and seven other countries, Google said in its official blog on Monday.

Google was scheduled to introduce the device at a media event in New York on Monday, but was forced to cancel because of Hurricane Sandy.

Google also said it was expanding its online movie and music retail businesses to several countries in Europe.

And the company introduced an improvement to its online-music storage service. The new "matching" feature scans songs in a consumer's music collection and automatically creates an online or "cloud-based" library of the same tracks which consumers can access from any device or computer.

Google said the music matching feature, which only works with tracks that are part of the Google Play store's music catalog, will be available in Europe on November 13 and in the United States soon after.

Google also updated its smaller, Nexus 7 tablet released earlier this year. It increased the storage on the $199 version of the device to 16GB from 8GB, and introduced a new $299 version of the Nexus 7 with a cellular data service option. 

Google also unveiled a new Nexus 4 smartphone, made in partnership with LG Electronics, that features a quad-core processor and a 4.7-inch display.

Spam hits Indian users of Skype

NEW DELHI: A "malicious spam" has hit the internet-based audio-video communicator 'Skype' in the Indian cyberspace and anti-hacking sleuths have asked users to remain alert and cautious.

"A malicious spam campaign is on the rise targeting Skype users by sending instant message which appears to come from friends in the Skype contact list," a government advisory to 'Skype' users in the country said.

Cyber security experts found the malware content has been lurking in the vicinity of cyber networks of Indian users who use this popular Voice-over Internet Protocol ( VoIP) service.

A number of Indians use 'Skype' to communicate with their friends, relatives and other contacts within and outside the country.

The government agency mandated to counter such threats-- the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Communications and Information Technology ministry, said the spam "eventually controls the victim machine by opening a backdoor and communicating to a remote http server.

"The worm reported as stealing user credentials, engaging in click fraud activities and pose as ransom ware," the agency said.

Cyber sleuths have also recommended a number of counter- measures in this regard as it asked the users of this form of web telephony not to "follow unsolicited web links or attachments in Skype messages and install latest security updates to Skype".

"Download the latest version of the Skype from the trusted markets, install and maintain updated anti-virus software at gateway and desktop level, use caution when opening attachments and accepting file transfers, disable auto play feature as a safe practice.

"Use caution when clicking on links to web pages and protect yourself against social engineering attacks," the agency advised internet users in the country.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurates Crystal IT Park Indore

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

 

Indore October 27, 2012: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said around one lakh jobs would be generated through Crystal Information Technology Park which was operationalised today after nine years. 

"Around one lakh jobs would be created over two-and-a-half years through the project. The synergy of inclusive growth and industrial and commercial development coupled with foreign investment in information technology would lead to all-round development of the state," Chavan said after inaugurating Crystal IT Park, the only SEZ for IT in the state. 

The Park has been constructed at a cost of Rs 150 crore by Madhya Pradesh Audyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam Limited (MPAKVN) on 20 acre of land on Khandwa road.

Chouhan said the state would achieve growth rate at 12 percent by the end of 12th Five Year Plan in 2017.

He said the state government had approved a number of new policies to benefit IT, agro-forestry, textile and food sectors and is awaiting investment. 

On the occasion, Industry and IT Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said Indore would become an IT destination in near future. 

The project is being developed in two stages. In the first stage, two multi-story buildings were constructed on 12 acre of land, and it created office space of 52,000 square metres. 

IT Park is first operational SEZ for IT in the state and as of now three companies that are operating from the building. 

Praveen Kakaria, chairman of Impetus, one of the three IT companies that have invested in the SEZ, said the new set up would provide about 15000 direct jobs to qualified youths. Intellicus and Clear Trial are two other firms that have set up shops in the project, said state Road Development Corporation MD Vivek Agarwal.

Pheed a new social network similar to Twitter and Tumblr

London: A new social network similar to Twitter and Tumblr, called Pheed has attracted lots of celebrity support in its first week launch.

Pheed is hoping to take on Twitter and other social networks. 

Celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown and Slash are using the new service, which allows members to charge for access to their " channels ," either on a subscription basis or a pay-per-view basis, the Telegraph reported.

Launching her Pheed channel, which already has almost 2,000 subscribers, Paris Hilton wrote: "Hey guys! Im about 2 go on a pheeding phrenzy."

Miley Cyrus, with 20,000 subscribers, posted: "My fans have officially taken over Pheed!"

Pheed lets members post text updates, as well as photos, video and audio clips. Channels can even host live broadcast events.

"That whole model where people pay x amount for a video or song is a bit outdated. What social media is today is about selling bits and pieces of peoples' lives. It's not necessarily selling that one song, it's selling access to me," O.D. Kobo, the company's co-founder, said.

The channel owner keeps half the fees their feed generates, with the other half going to cover bandwidth and other overheads, as well as Pheed's profits.

Pheed's mobile app will go live next week and Kobo expects the site's traffic to grow significantly from the current level of 350,000 unique visitors.

 

The celebrity line-up should draw in some users but it remains to be seen whether they will pay for those who choose to run a subscription channel, having followed celebrities free on Twitter

Intel: Forget Keyboards and Mice, 'Perceptual Computing' on Its Way

 

Intel sees "perceptual computing" as the next big wave for personal computing. That vision, articulated by Executive Vice President Dadi Perlmutter in a keynote speech at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, echoes similar futuristic landscapes recently envisioned by IBM and Intel competitor Advanced Micro Devices. 

 

In Perlmutter's view, we're in the process of leaving behind mice and keyboards. Touchscreens, which have gotten new life following the success of touch-sensitive tablets, and new attention with the coming full release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, are "just the beginning," he said. 

In Intel's view, this new perceptual-based interactivity will instead be built around voice commands, facial recognition, eye-tracking and gestural controls. 

More Natural and Intuitive

 

"People love the way" they can interact with machines using voice and gesture, Perlmutter said, adding that the new perceptual computing "will be more natural and intuitive." 

At the conference, Perlmutter demonstrated new, more powerful voice-recognition technology from Nuance. Intel has also been collaborating with a company called SoftKinectic, whose aim is to deploy gestural recognition on PCs that can distinguish between each of one's 10 fingers. Perlmutter demonstrated a catapult game where fingers could be held and gestured in front of the laptop to hold a virtual crystal ball. 

Intel has also been promoting the coming of the Internet of Things, where all kinds of non-PC , non-smartphone devices have built-in intelligence and Net connectivity -- resulting in the possibility of a natural interface that would encompass virtually all of one's environment, not just the desktop, phones, a laptop or a TV. 

Interestingly, a similar view of the Next Big Thing in personal computing was sketched at the end of last month by AMD's chief technology officer, Mark Papermaster. 

Papermaster shared his vision for what he called Surround Computing at the Hot Chips semiconductor design conference, held in late August in Cupertino, Calif. He said the industry's last 10 to 20 years have been used to develop computing capability to simulate reality, and the next decade or two will be focused on providing the capabilities to interpret content and contexts in order to provide better experiences. 

Contextual Insight 

 

The Surround Computing Era, he said, is multi-platform, ranging from eyeglasses to room-sized computing devices. It's also fluid, with realistic output and natural human input, and it's intelligent, anticipating human needs.

This kind of computing, he said, "imagines a world without keyboards or mice, where natural user interfaces based on voice and facial recognition redefine the PC experience," and where devices deliver "contextual insight and value," even as they "disappear seamlessly into the background." 

In his view, natural user interfaces will go beyond Microsoft's gestural and facial recognition controller Kinect, and beyond Siri's intelligent voice agent, which, by themselves, already fill out many sci-fi visions. Papermaster is intending to build systems that also employ fingerprints and tactile information , and that can interpret facial expressions and speech better than current technology. 

He told The Wall Street Journal that "it's going to be a tsunami" driven by "this inexorable growth of all these sending devices around us." 

To be truly natural, computing devices will need an intelligence that is approaching that of humans. In short, a Watson, the IBM-built supercomputer that defeated two champion Jeopardy players on live TV, at their own game. 

Recently, IBM Vice President Bernie Meyerson said his company was working on turning Watson into a back-end, intelligent voice agent for smartphones and other devices, one that could be available from virtually any connected device . In short, an anywhere version of Apple's Siri, but on steroids.

iBall Slide 3G 7334 tablet launched in India, priced at Rs 10999

 

iBall has launched its new Slide 3G 7334 tablet in India and has priced it at Rs 10,999. This Android tablet that has 3G and 2G support is a great catch especially with the dual SIM support.

Sandeep Parasrampuria, Director of iBall said, "We are heartened at iBall to present yet another innovation and latest technology for the Indian consumers with the launch of iBall Slide 3G 7334. It happens to be the first tablet PC in India to have dual SIM and a FM transmitter function".

Here are the features and specification of iBall Slide 3G 7334 tablet:

• Slide 3G 7334 operates on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and generates its power from 1.5GHz Cortex A9 1GHz processor.

• iBall Slide 3G 7334 is a dual SIM tablet and has 2G and 3G network support.

• Slide 3G 7334 is topped with a 7-inch HD WSVGA capacitive multi touchscreen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.

• Slide 3G 7334 sports a 2.0 Mega Pixel primary camera and a VGA camera at the front for video calling. It comes with 8 GB of built-in memory.

• This tablet has Wi-Fi capability and comes with A-GPS support.

• Output ports include a micro SD card slot that can be used to extend memory up to 32 GB, a 3.5 mm audio jack, HDMI port and a micro USB port.

Microsoft on Thursday launched Windows 8 for its customers in India and around the world.

New Delhi: Microsoft on Thursday launched its new Operating System (OS), the much awaited Windows 8, in the national capital, about three and a half hours before its launch in the US.

Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman Microsoft India, introduces the new OS at an event in New Delhi on Thursday.

The new OS which aims to be fast, fluid and fun is a mishmash of multitasking capabilities with a crisp and intuitive user interface and clusters of groups of applications — which can all be accessed simultaneously.

Old Windows users, who have at least a Windows XP or a Windows 7 PC, can also upgrade to Windows 8. Those who bought a PC June 2 onwards this year (and till January 31 next year) can upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8 for just Rs. 699. Others can update their OS via an electronic software download which will cost Rs. 1,999. The company will provide technical support for Windows 7 till January 14, 2020.

“Technology has enabled us to be able to use and carry multiple devices. But we at Microsoft wanted to build a platform through which a single device can be used for creation and consumption,” said Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, as he introduced the company’s new operating system.

In a changing world, where the line between work and life blur and each one uses multiple devices, Windows 8 aims to integrate all those device functions into one.

 

At first look, Windows 8 looks rich, clean and invitingly playful. Its interface is a cluster of applications in use, all split into little rectangular tiles. Each tile can be dragged around and its positioning changed, as can each cluster of many tiles. Each cluster can also be customised to one’s tastes — by adding or subtracting individual tiles in the cluster.

The interesting part about the tiles is that they are live – which means, every application is constantly updating in the background even if it is not being actively used.

“The best part about the tiles is that it is live,” said Roshan Abbas, TV host and self confessed gadget freak who has been using the OS for a month now. “This helps you save time on loading each app individually and makes things more efficient. I’m definitely not missing the hourglass” he said.

Microsoft has done away with its start button for the home screen of Windows 8. Instead, users have access to the start menu at their fingertips as soon as they log in. Many new Windows 8 enabled devices come touch enabled, with all the trimmings of pinch zoom and easy swipe access.

All Windows 8 devices will also come with the Windows App store which sees around 700 apps added to it each day. Among the apps for the Indian consumer are popular apps like PVR, Dhingana, MakeMyTrip, Burpp, and BookMyShow, among others.

Another cute feature of the OS is the picture password. As in an Android phone where one can have a design based password, Windows 8 allows the user to have a picture password – which when touched in a certain way will allow the user access.

According to its developers, Microsoft, the OS aims to be “everything at once” — a platform that bridges the gap between laptops, personal computers and tablets. It wants to be a platform for consumption and creation, a marriage between a primary device and a companion device and connected anywhere and everywhere – through the Cloud.

The company in partnership with its vendors, starting Friday, will launch 250 Windows 8 devices, in India alone. These devices will be available in over 2,500 stores in more than 100 cities. These devices too will be “functional yet beautiful, thin and light weight, connected to the Cloud and grounded in its basics of being accessible through a mouse and a keyboard aside from the touch interface,” according to Pramanik. Some of the vendors which will have Windows 8 enabled OS devices are Sony, Toshiba, HP, Dell, Asus, Wipro, Acer, Samsung, Lenovo and HCL.

Microsoft India’s (L-R) AmrisGoyal, director, Windows Business Group, Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman and Sanket Akerkar, managing director answer questions at the launch of Windows 8 in New Delhi on Thursday. Arlene Chang/Firstpost

“At Sony we believe that the next big revolution in the technological world is the holistic convergence of innovation, synergy and connectivity, packed in a single device. An upgradation to Windows 8 offers not only this, but portability speed and ease in utilisation of various processes in a single device,” Kenichiro Hibi, Managing Director, Sony India said.

Sameer Garde, President and MD, Dell India, said he hoped this advancement will help bring a paradigm shift in user interface with technology. “Microsoft Windows 8 will help in accelerating the technology development in the IT space. We are glad to be part of a new revolution which will change how people perceive and interact with technology,” he said.

As part of its consumer outreach strategy, Microsoft will travel across 20 cities for roadshows and will conduct marketing engagements in terms of user interactions at malls and IT hubs with demonstrations. The company has also already trained over 4,000 Retail Sales Persons (RSPs) across the country. Some marketing for Windows 8 was already initiated in the social media space and Friday will see Microsoft launch its new TV commercial for Windows 8 called ‘Everything at Once’.

“We want to create a desire for the OS and an awareness of the product and how it works. We want to give the end user a good experience and make sure they they feel like they have made a satisfactory purchase,” Amrish Goyal, Director, Windows Business Group, Microsoft India said at the launch.

The company was mum on its Surface tablet, which in its first phase of launch releases in eight countries worldwide. Microsoft officials said India was not among those countries.

And, for all those people missing their old Windows interface and homescreen, just a click of the Windows key on the new Windows 8 enabled devices, will transport one back to the old interface – keeping with its approach to being ‘Everything at once’.

Google drawn into South Korea-Japan island dispute

SEOUL: South Korea on Thursday lashed out at Google for changing the name of an isolated set of islands at the centre of a territorial dispute with Japan on its English-language web mapping service.

The protest came as Seoul and Tokyo are locked in a propaganda war to publicise their respective claims to the islands, known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

Google recently updated its Google Maps and - on the English-language version -- replaced the name of Dokdo with Liancourt Rocks, a name taken from a French whaling ship that came close to being wrecked on the islets in 1849.

Google's Korean-language service retains the name of Dokdo, while its

Japanese-language service uses the name of Takeshima.

The South's foreign ministry said Google had notified its embassy in the United States of the name change on October 18.

"At that time, we told Google officials that the name change is unacceptable," foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-Young told reporters.

"We made it clear that we can't accept Google's new policy because Dokdo is clearly Korean territory," Cho said. "We will go on with our request to correct it."

In a statement, Google stressed that the name change was not the result of political pressure.

"This update is consistent with our long-standing global policy and was not made in response to any government request," said David Marx, Google's head of Product Communications in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We understand that names of places can raise deep emotions, which is why we have invested so much time to ensure we get to the best outcome for our users," Marx said.

The islands, which lie between the two countries, are controlled by South Korea but claimed by both nations.

The long-standing row over ownership boiled over in August when South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak made a surprise visit to the islets.

Tokyo said the trip, the first ever by a South Korean president, was deliberately provocative.

Lee said it was designed to press Japan to settle lingering colonial-era grievances, including the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. Japan colonised Korea from 1910 to 1945.

Japan is also embroiled in a separate row with China over a different set of disputed islands in the East China Sea, which are also claimed by Taiwan.

Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2013

  

NEW DELHI: Mobile devices, applications, personal cloud and big data are among the top 10 technology trends that research firm Gartner sees for 2013.

David Cearley, vice president Gartner said in a release that these technologies are emerging amidst a nexus of converging forces - social, mobile, cloud and information. Although these forces are innovative and disruptive on their own, together they are revolutionizing business and society, disrupting old business models and creating new leaders.

The top 10 strategic technology trends for 2013 include:

Mobile Device Battles

Gartner predicts that by 2013 mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common internet access device worldwide and that by 2015 over 80% of the handsets sold in mature markets will be smartphones. However, only 20% of those handsets are likely to be Windows phones. By 2015 media tablet shipments will reach around half of laptop shipments and Windows 8 will likely be in third place behind Google's Android and Apple iOS operating systems.

Windows 8 is Microsoft's big bet and Windows 8 platform styles should be evaluated to get a better idea of how they might perform in real-world environments as well as how users will respond.

Enterprises will need to support a greater variety of form factors reducing the ability to standardize PC and tablet hardware. According to Gartner the implications for IT is that the era of PC dominance with Windows as the single platform will be replaced with a post-PC era where Windows is just one of a variety of environments IT will need to support.

Mobile Applications and HTML5

The market for tools to create consumer and enterprise facing apps is complex with well over 100 potential tools vendors. Currently, Gartner separates mobile development tools into several categories. For the next few years, no single tool will be optimal for all types of mobile application. Six mobile architectures native, special, hybrid, HTML 5, Message and No Client will remain popular. However, there will be a shift away from native apps (embedded on the mobile device) to Web apps as HTML5 becomes more capable. Nevertheless, native apps won't disappear. Developers will need to develop new design skills to deliver touch-optimized mobile applications that operate across a range of devices in a coordinated fashion.

Personal Cloud

Personal cloud will gradually replace the PC as the location where individuals keep their personal content, access their services and personal preferences and center their digital lives. It will be the glue that connects the web of devices they choose to use during different aspects of their daily lives. Personal cloud will entail the unique collection of services, Web destinations and connectivity that will become the home of their computing and communication activities. Users will see it as a portable, always-available place where they go for all their digital needs. In this world no one platform, form factor, technology or vendor will dominate and managed diversity and mobile device management will be an imperative. The personal cloud shifts the focus from the client device to cloud-based services delivered across devices.

Enterprise App Stores

Enterprises face a complex app store future as some vendors will limit their stores to specific devices and types of apps forcing the enterprise to deal with multiple stores, multiple payment processes and multiple sets of licensing terms. By 2014, Gartner believes that many organizations will deliver mobile applications to workers through private application stores. With enterprise app stores the role of IT shifts from that of a centralized planner to a market manager providing governance and brokerage services to users and potentially an ecosystem to support application entrepreneurs.

The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a concept that describes how the Internet will expand as physical items such as consumer devices and physical assets are connected to the Internet. Key elements of the IoT which are being embedded in a variety of mobile devices include embedded sensors and image recognition technologies. As a result, mobile no longer refers only to use of cellular handsets or tablets. Cellular technology is being embedded in many new types of devices including pharmaceutical containers and automobiles.

LG announces world’s first 84-inch Ultra HD 3D TV in India

  

NEW DELHI: LG Electronics India has launched a 84-inch Ultra HD 3D TV with a screen resolution of 3840 x 2160. LG has also introduced new features like LG's Cinema 3D technology, Smart TV ecosystem for easy browsing and navigation with the TV.

LG has also introduced four-mode Magic Remote which allows users to access and navigates the Home Dashboard. The remote also features Premium Content, Smart Share Plus and voice recognition.

The other new features include an imbedded 2D to 3D conversion engine, Dual Play which supports head-to-head gaming by allowing opponents to simultaneously see different images on the same screen, 2.2 Speaker System with two 10W speakers and two 15W woofers

As of connectivity, LG's Ultra HD 3D TV includes built-in Wi-Fi, it supports Intel's Wireless Display (WiDi) technology, which enables easy and quick connectivity between TVs and PCs without the need for cables or internet access.

"LG's 84-inch Ultra HD 3 TV represents a whole new level of home viewing experience because it offers every advanced technology we currently have to offer," said Mr Soon Kwon, MD LGEIL.

The 84-inch Ultra HD 3D TV will be available in the market at a price of Rs17, 00,000 from November 1 onwards.

Samsung launches 75ES9000, 75-inch LED Smart TV;

Samsung has announced the launch of its 75ES9000 LED Smart TV in India priced at Rs. 7,50,000. The Smart TV is available at select Samsung authorised outlets across the country.

The ES9000 Smart TV sports a huge 75-inch screen and a rose-gold-coloured finish. It has a slim 7.9mm curved bezel and features a built-in camera. The TV is powered by a dual-core processor that facilitates multitasking.

The high-end television boasts features like Smart Interaction that allows users to control the television using gestures, Smart Content that provides a range of premium Samsungoptimised content, and Smart Evolution technology that promises painless-software upgrades to ensure your TV stays "up-to-date".

Speaking of gesture control, the Korean giant has released the Angry Birds app as part of its Smart Interaction feature. Users can experience gameplay by waving their hands to fling the birds and equip them with their unique powers. Angry Birds will be available as a free download on Samsung's ES7500, ES8000 LED, ES9000 LED TVs and E8000 Plasma TVs.

The Smart TV also includes Sound Share, a new feature, which automatically and wirelessly connects the TV audio to Samsung's Series 6 and Series 7 Wireless Audio with Dock Systems.

Speaking at the launch, Mahesh Krishnan, Vice President, Consumer Electronics, Samsung India said, "The ES 9000 represents superior quality, best in class performance and features in a very sophisticated and elegant design. It provides consumers with a pure immersive viewing experience.

The ES9000's utilises Samsung's Micro Dimming Ultimate and Precision Black technology to deliver improved picture quality. Samsung claims that the pictures scan now be viewed in greater detail, higher contrast ratios and with a 30 percent improvement in sharpness and black levels. The company also says that there's a 60 percent improvement in brightness levels over the ES8000 series, supporting larger screen sizes and longer viewing distances.
Samsung also officially unveiled special Diwali offers for Indian consumers. Users purchasing a Samsung Smart LED or Plasma TV models in Series 7 and 8 of 46-inches and above, will be entitled to a Galaxy Tab 310 and an 11 by 1 easy consumer finance scheme. Those buying a Samsung 3D TV model from LED Series 6 or a Plasma Series 5 will get a 3D BD Player along with 3D Movie titles worth Rs 10,990.

Buyers of LED TV Series 5 will get a free Skype camera and Wi-Fi dongle. Purchase of all 32-inch and above Panel TVs and any Samsung Home Theatre System, will offer consumers a free 51 Movie DVD pack. Purchase of any Samsung Home Theatre System will additionally assure a saving of up to Rs 10,000. 

Exclusive Video of Samsung ES9000 for pramodtechnoblog fans:

 

YouTube plans paid video service in India

Google’s YouTube video-sharing website may soon offer pay-per-view services for its Indian viewers, a move that could help the movie industry fend off growing piracy concerns while expanding the range of viewing options for customers. 

Over the past two years, YouTube has started introducing paid video in different countries with Google having introduced its pay-per-view services in Australia, Korea and Japan over the last six months“

Our pay-per-view services or ‘rental’ model is a natural step here in India for the partners that we are working with. For instance, Eros Entertainment who has been with us for a long time already has a lot of content up on YouTube. 

“Once we have the functionality in, it will be done. There are many Indian media companies which are interested,” said Gautam Anand, Director, Content Partnerships, Google Asia Pacific. 

Rental model

 

In the ‘rental’ model, viewers will be able to pay a one-time fee to stream the movie for a limited amount of time. 

Pointing out that it was not a question of conducting talks, he said: “The major roadblock, which we are working on, is the payment mechanism – enabling carrier billing for example. We want to be able to ensure a seamless experience. Once this is done it will happen.” 

Regional Content

Gautam Anand

According to Mr. Anand, regional television has the potential to be converted into YouTube content. At present, close to 30 per cent of television broadcast are in regional languages. 

“We are raising a lot of awareness through our YouTube Partner Program on how regional content producers in South India can make money by putting up their videos on our website. We have seen its potential, much of this type of content is popular aboard,” he said. 

In YouTube’s Partner Program, the content producer’s videos are packaged along with advertisements and then hosted. The revenue generated is then split between the partner and Google. At present, YouTube’s India partner plan has over 1000 participants.

BlackBerry app-coding marathon

BlackBerry JamHack, a marathon hacking event, is scheduled to take place in 10 different cities across the Asia-Pacific over two consecutive weekends. Winning teams from each city will then have the opportunity to represent their country at the JamHack finals at BlackBerry Jam Asia on November 29 and 30, a release from Research in Motion stated. 

This weekend, it is being held simultaneously in Bangalore, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Manila. The event will be held in five other cities over the next weekend. The event will be held over 40 hours and teams of four, comprising developers, User Interface designers and marketers will work on apps, with support from RIM’s developer relations team. On the itinerary are “community sharing” sessions called JamBytes, the release added. 

For details, visit www.blackberryjamhack.com

Virtual bookstore from BookAdda.com

 

BookAdda.com — India’s largest online retailer of books has announced a fresh initiative that furthers the company’s vision of making education books accessible in the country. The company’s latest product offering — Acadzone.com — has been envisioned as a one-stop-solution for all academic and competition books. 

Acadzone.com is India’s largest online bookstore for students and houses over one crore titles. The website’s user-friendly interface allows a single-click buy for all curriculum course books. The books range from university textbooks, job vacancies and test preparations like UPSC, banking & finance, engineering, law, MBA and medical. Apart from buying new books, students also have the option of buying and selling their old textbooks through an exclusive Facebook App. This makes it the first such app in India that allows students to network and trade in used books. 

Innovative

 

The website facilitates a wide variety of innovative buying options for the students including group buying deal programme which is a simple way for students to come together, where they can create, customize deals and invite their peers and save an additional 5 per cent on their book purchases. 

One click buy for all course books is a syllabi-based site across all the courses for 15 plus universities, covering more than 2,000 colleges across India. 

 

The website has already mapped more than 20 leading universities in India and will offer curriculum books catering to the wider student community of over 2,000 colleges under these universities. This will help them with ease of search and allow them to buy their college books in one click. 

Exclusive App

 

BookAdda has also been selected by Microsoft to launch an exclusive Acadzone app which will be available on the upcoming Windows 8 platform. Available on computers and laptops, the app will enable students to buy books and even resell old ones. With these initiatives, Acadzone aims to make education more interactive by bringing students together. 

Hemant Kohli, CEO & Co-Founder, Bookadda.com, says “Although there has been mushrooming of many online book retailers, there was still a big gap when it came to the availability of academic books,’’ he said adding Acadzone.com was the first step towards bridging that gap and the website will offer the most comprehensive collection of books related to different curriculum. 

Bookadda.com was conceptualised in 2010 by Arjun Kumar and Mahipal Reddy, and is led by Hemant Kohli.

AcadZone.com offers students a single-click buy for all curriculum course books, a one-stop destination for various competitive exam books and money-saving group buying facility.

India-Japan cyber security meet on November 5

 

India and Japan will hold their maiden dialogue on cyber security on November 5, it was decided at their “2+2” meeting in Tokyo on Monday.

The four-hour meeting of the 2+2 or Foreign and Defence Secretaries from both sides, a format rarely used by New Delhi, also took some decisions to advance defence and security cooperation. 

Officials, however, were tight-lipped as the proposals will be fine-tuned and unveiled during next month’s summit meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda.

The Indian team for the cyber security dialogue will be led by Ministry of External Affairs Special Secretary Ashok Mukherjee. 

Officials hope that the exchange of notes on the topic with a developed country would help hone up security of the Indian cyber network, which faces relentless attacks from hackers based here and abroad.

“We hope to learn from them as we go about protecting ourselves from cyber attacks,” said an official source. 

The two delegations also exchanged views on maritime and outer space security.

Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, who participated in the dialogue along with Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, later called on Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba.

The second 2 + 2 dialogue began with an assessment by the former Ambassador to India and Deputy Foreign Minister, Akitaka Saiki, about the security environment around Japan. 

This was followed by Mr. Mathai detailing India’s perception of the security environment from the Gulf to South East Asia and beyond. Administrative Vice Defence Minister Hironori Kanazawa then provided an overview of how Japan intends to adjust its security policy to the prevailing environment.

How many mobile operating systems are there? (Campus Essentials)

Mobile operating system

 

A mobile operating system, also referred to as mobile OS, is the operating system that operates a smartphone, tablet, PDA, or other digital mobile devices. Modern mobile operating systems combine the features of a personal computer operating system with touchscreen, cellular, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS mobile navigation, camera, video camera, speech recognition, voice recorder, music player, Near field communication, personal digital assistant (PDA), and other features.

 

Mobile Operating Systems

Not sure what a smartphone mobile phone operating system is, or why you might need one? Unclear on what mobile operating systems are available and which one is most suitable for you? Read our guide below to find out. 

What is a mobile phone operating system?

 

Long gone are the days when mobile phones were just a device to make phone calls and occasional texts. Now they are handheld computers, where we can send emails, play games, watch the news and make video calls to loved ones. More commonly, these are known as 'smartphones'.

We have operating systems to run our desktop computers and laptops, and smartphones use them too, to introduce advanced functions to a mobile phone that were only available on our computers before. 

Functionality is a big selling point for the smartphone - there were more than 400 million smartphone worldwide and it's their operating systems that define what functions they can carry out and how the phone manages its memory.
It is also a platform so developers can create applications or 'apps' (software programs developed for smartphones that can carry out specific functions).

There are hundreds of thousands of apps available and they are constantly being developed - each with their own purpose. For instance, you may download a weather app that tells you the current temperature or chances of rain in your city, a news app or widget that sends the latest headlines straight to your device's homescreen, or a game to simply pass the time.

How do I know what operating system my mobile phone has?

 

Because operating systems are so integrated with the look, feel and function of a mobile phone, many people base their choice of device around which operating system it uses.

If you have already bought your smartphone, the name and version of its software should be detailed in the settings menu. However, if you are buying a new phone, the operating system can be found the handset's specifications information.

What different kinds of smartphone operating systems are there?

 

Some are open source software, which means there are no restrictions on what you can download on it, or who can develop its software (there are often a 'community' of developers) - it is entirely customisable, whilst others are restricted in the types of software permitted to run on the device.

Some of the best-known mobile operating systems include:

iOS

 

The Apple iOS multi-touch, multi-tasking operating system is what runs the Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

It responds to the user's touch - allowing you to tap on the screen to open a program, pinch your fingers together to minimise or enlarge an image, or swipe your finger across the screen to change pages.

The Apple iOS is not allowed to be used in third party systems, so you will only be able to use it on products made by Apple. It comes with the Safari web browser for internet use, an iPod application for playing music and Apple's Mail for managing your missives.

You can download more than 500,000 applications currently available on the App Store directly to any device running iOS, be it an iPhone or an iPad. These encompass everything from accessing recipes to playing the guitar or working on your documents on the move.

Android

 

Android OS is owned by Google and powered by the Linux kernel, which can be found on a wide range of devices. 

Android is an open source operating system which allows developers to access unlocked hardware and develop new programs as they wish.

This means unlimited access to any anyone who wants to develop apps for the phone and places very little restriction on its licensing, so users benefit from a tonne of free content.

Android is currently the fastest growing smartphone operating system in the market and is expected to become the dominant platform in a few years due to its tremendous traction with a wide spectrum of users.

Some of the best features of Android include the ability to customise multiple homescreens with useful widgets and apps that give you quicker, easier access to the content and functions you most care about. It also has an excellent capacity for multitasking - with the ability to close programs simply swiping them away. 

Last but not least, the Android Market, which is the Android equivalent of the Apple App Store is home to more than 370,000 apps, many of which are completely free.

Windows Phone 

Microsoft released its latest version of the Windows platform for mobiles in late 2010, which has been redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up with a greater emphasis on the user experience. It is recognisable by its tile-based interface - dubbed Metro - which features removable and interchangeable squares sections on the home screen, each with its own purpose and function.

It also has aggregators called 'hubs', that group together all photos from all applications, or all music into one library, meaning your Facebook photos can be found with your camera photos and your documents from different sources grouped together in one, easy to access location.

Windows Phone comes with a mobile-optimised version of the Internet Explorer for accessing the web, and Exchange, which supports secure corporate e-mail accounts with push support.

Symbian OS from Nokia and Accenture

 

Symbian is Nokia's own operating system and is now mainly used on mid to low-end handsets since Nokia announced it would be migrating its flagship efforts to Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.

Symbian's strength is in bringing smartphone functionality - including e-mail, apps and multitasking - to handsets at the lower end of the market and in emerging markets.

Like most smartphone operating systems, you can download apps on a Symbian device and customise it to your liking with widgets and shortcuts. You can also get free maps and turn by turn navigation from Nokia and other useful tools installed out of the box, such as a document viewing and editing suite.

bada from Samsung Electronics 

 

This is a mobile operating system being developed by Samsung Electronics. Samsung claims that bada will rapidly replace its proprietary feature phone platform, converting feature phones to smartphones.The name 'bada' is derived from 바다, the Korean word for ocean or sea. The first device to run bada is called 'Wave' and was unveiled to the public at Mobile World Congress 2010. The Wave is a fully touchscreen running the new mobile operating system. With the phone, Samsung also released an app store, called Samsung Apps, to the public. It has close to 3000 mobile applications. 

 

Samsung has said that they don't see Bada as a smartphone operating system, but as an OS with a kernel configurable architecture, which allows the use of either a proprietary real-time operating system, or the Linux kernel. Though Samsung plans to install bada on many phones, the company still has a large lineup of Android phones.

 

BlackBerry OS from RIM

 

This OS is focused on easy operation and was originally designed for business. Recently it has seen a surge in third-party applications and has been improved to offer full multimedia support. Currently Blackberry's App World has over 50,000 downloadable applications. RIM's future strategy will focus on the newly acquired QNX, having already launched the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet running a version of QNX and expecting the first QNX smartphones in early 2012.

 

Palm OS/Garnet OS from Access Co. 

 

webOS was introduced by Palm in January 2009 as the successor to Palm OS with Web 2.0 technologies, open architecture, and multitasking capabilities.

 

Brew from Qualcomm 

 

Brew is used by some mobile phone manufacturers and mobile networks, however most often the end-user does not know this since mobile phones running Brew most often lack any Brew branding. Brew runs in the background with the custom "skins" of the mobile phone manufacturer or operator on-top. Brew is used by Sprint Nextel, metroPCS, U.S. Cellular and Verizon in the US and by the Three network in much of Europe, the UK and Australia on many mobile phones produced especially for their network. Manufacturers such as LG CDMA, Huawei, INQ Mobile, Amoi, and Samsung Mobile amongst others use Brew in some of their mobile phones and it is featured in Three UK phones such as the 3 Skypephone, INQ1 and Huawei u7510 (3 Touch). Two of HTC's mobile phones use Brew's successor Brew MP.

 

 

MeeGo from non-profit organization The Linux Foundation (open source, GPL)

 

At the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia and Intel both unveiled 'MeeGo' a brand new mobile operating system which would combine the best of Moblin and the best of Maemo to create a truly open-sourced experience for users across all devices. As of 2011, Nokia has announced that it will no longer be pursuing MeeGo and will instead adopt Windows Phone as its primary mobile OS. Nokia announced the Nokia N9 on June 21, 2011 at the Nokia Connection event in Singapore. The phone is presumed to become available to the public in September 2011. LG announced its support for the platform.

 

Maemo from Nokia (open source, GPL)

 

Maemo is a software platform developed by Nokia for smartphones and Internet tablets. It is based on the Debian operating system. 

 

Maemo is mostly based on open source code, and has been developed by Maemo Devices within Nokia in collaboration with many open source projects such as the Linux kernel, Debian and GNOME. 

 

Maemo is based on Debian GNU/Linux and draws much of its GUI, frameworks and libraries from the GNOME project. It uses the Matchbox window manager and the GTK-based Hildon as its GUI and application framework.

 

Nucleus from Mentor Graphics 

 

Nucleus OS is a real-time operating system (RTOS) and toolset created by the Embedded Systems Division of Mentor Graphics for various central processing unit (CPU) platforms. The Nucleus RTOS is designed for embedded systems applications including consumer electronics, set-top boxes, cellular phones, and other portable and handheld devices. For limited memory systems Nucleus RTOS can be scaled down to a memory footprint as small as 13 KB for both code and data. Manufacturers such as Motorola, Samsung, LG, Siemens/Benq, Sagem, Pantech, and NEC use Nucleus in some of their mobile phones. The last devices released that used Nucleus OS are LG Encore (GT550), LG Prime (GS390), and Pantech Pursuit (P9020).

 

^{Some of the expected mobile operating systems in future}

Aliyun OS from Alibaba/AliCloud (cloud based) 

 

AliCloud's operating system revolves around the idea of bringing cloud functionality to the mobile platform. According to the company, Aliyun will feature cloud-based e-mail, Web search, weather updates, and GPS navigation tools. In addition, the operating system will synchronize and store call data, text messages, and photos in the cloud for access across other devices, including PCs. Alibaba says it will offer customers 100GB of storage at launch. the operating system would allow users to access applications from the Web, rather than download apps to their devices.

BlackBerry 10 from RIM 

 

BlackBerry 10 (previously BlackBerry BBX) the next generation platform for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. In other words, there will be only one OS for both Blackberry smartphones and tablets going forward.

Firefox OS from non-profit organization Mozilla Foundation

 

According to Ars Technica, "Mozilla says that B2G is motivated by a desire to demonstrate that the standards-based open Web has the potential to be a competitive alternative to the existing single-vendor application development stacks offered by the dominant mobile operating systems."

Tizen from non-profit organization The Linux Foundation

 

Tizen is an open source project hosted by the Linux Foundation, with Intel and Samsung leading its development steering group, and support from the LiMo Foundation. According to Intel, Tizen “combines the best of LiMo and MeeGo." HTML5 apps will be emphasized for the new OS, with the MeeGo project encouraging its members to transition to Tizen, stating that the "future belongs to HTML5-based applications, outside of a relatively small percentage of apps, and we are firmly convinced that our investment needs to shift toward HTML5." Tizen will be targeted at a variety of platforms such as handsets, tablets, smart TVs and in-vehicle entertainment. The initial release of Tizen is targeted for Q1 2012, with the first devices using the OS planned to reach the market in mid 2012.

Windows 8 from Microsoft

 

Microsoft announced that Windows 8 will support tablet devices as well as PCs.

 

Windows RT from Microsoft 

 

Microsoft announced Windows RT. an OS design for only tablets and can only run on arm. This version also resembles windows 8. Windows RT cannot run x86 programs. Apps can be only downloaded from the windows store. This version also has Microsoft office 2013 preinstalled on every Windows RT device.