Friday, October 30, 2009
Michael Jackson's This Is It Film
Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American concert film documenting Michael Jackson's rehearsals of the concert series of the same name (scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but cancelled because of his death on June 25, 2009), both on stage and behind the scenes. The film shows Jackson mentoring his team for the 50 shows, as well as him creating, developing, and ultimately staging the high-tech performances.
The film's director Ortega confirmed that when Jackson had filmed footage of himself rehearsing that he never had the intention of releasing it to the public, but after Jackson's death, it was agreed that the film be made and released for Jackson's fans. The footage was filmed at The Forum and the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Despite originally being set for an October 30, 2009, release date, the film's release date was rescheduled for October 28, 2009; due to a strong demand by Jackson's fans. The was given a wide worldwide release and a limited two-week theatrical run from October 28, to November 12, 2009. Tickets went on sale a month early on September 27, 2009, to satisfy a high anticipated demand.
Since the confirmation of the film, AEG Live had faced criticism mostly consisting of theories that they'd only made the film solely for them to be able to make a profit off Jackson. Multiple members of Jackson's family had confirmed that they didn't support the film and some family members went as far as to try to stop the film agreement in August. The film has also been surrounded by multiple controversies, including a Jackson body double hoax; which Sony denied, and an outrage from Jackson fans; with some going as far as to start a protest against the film.
On August 10, 2009, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved a deal between Michael Jackson's estate, concert promoter AEG Live, and Sony Pictures. This allowed Sony Pictures to edit the hundreds of hours of rehearsal footage needed to create the motion picture. Sony subsequently paid $60 million for the film rights. The trailer first premiered during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009, along with the simultaneous launching of the film's official website. To date, the film has broken numerous box office records via tickets sales worldwide. The film was released to positive reviews from both critics and Jackson fans, negative responses mainly consisted of people having felt that the film was made just to profit off Jackson's death and that Jackson wouldn't have wanted the film released because he was a "perfectionist".
The film opens with a short text introduction stating the purpose of the footage and its intent "For the fans...". After short dialogues from various dancers, Kenny Ortega is heard talking through the original concert opening sequence involving a body suit made from screens which display fast clips and images with bright intensity from which Jackson emerges on stage. Immediately after this, Jackson begins "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" first solo, and then half way in is joined by dancers. A short clip showing rehearsals of the "toaster" mechanism is shown before rehearsal footage of "Jam" is played. This plays directly into the green screen adaption of soldiers dancers for "Bad" which are also used for "They Don't Really Care About Us" which is shown next. A small snippet of Jackson singing acapella his song "Speechless" is shown next. From here, the film shows Michael directing Ortega and his band for his solo rehearsal performance of "Human Nature" which he performs acapella, then acoustic and finally with full band. Green screen rehearsals for the video vignette for "Smooth Criminal" come next, with dress rehearsals of the song following, including parts of the vignette intertwined with the dancing. Jackson is seen next directing his musical team for the cues in his song "The Way You Make Me Feel." Jackson then performs a rehearsal with dancers which he alters and changes as he goes. A small animatic introducing the Jackson 5 is shown afterwards, and Michael then rehearses "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There" and "Shake Your Body." Jackson stops only to report problems with his earpiece. After this, Jackson sings with one of his back up singers on his duet song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" in which he sings at full strength, directing his partner as he goes. The filming for the "Thriller" vignette is then shown with Jackson and Ortega watching with 3D glasses. Jackson is then seen rehearsing "Thriller" with the vignette intertwined like that in "Smooth Criminal."
During the dance sequence, puppets are suspended in the audience aisles while Jackson emerges from a robotic spider originally seen in the vignette. Jackson and Ortega rehearsing the cherry-picker is seen next, along with Jackson rehearsing "Beat It." Jackson creates the ending he wants for the song, a long drum build up in which he tears off his jacket and burns it. Footage of the show's aerialists rehearsing to the instrumental of "Who Is It" is shown next, followed by the Jackson and his band rehearsing "Black or White," in which he allows guitarist Orianthi Panagaris to take centre stage to finish with a high guitar rift. The video-sequence for "Earth Song" is shown next, featuring a small girl who wanders through an abundant forrest, falls asleep, and wakes up to find the forrest destroyed by man. Jackson then performs the song both onstage and using the cherry-picker, with his voice being heard at the end telling of the dangers of Global Warming and the lack of reversible time left. Afterwards, Michael is seen conversing with Ortega, his dancers and band about the shows, trivial dance moves and his hopes for the concert series. He then performs a quick version of his song "Billie Jean" featuring an extra dance sequence. Michael is then seen talking to all crew members and wishing everyone the best for the London performances. As a sound check, Jackson performs "Man In The Mirror" with strong backing vocals. The film ends with Jackson with his arms extended on stage with the message: "Michael Jackson King of Pop Love Lives Forever".
Motorola is all set to launch its anDroid phone
New Jersey: Motorola is all set to launch its Droid phone, which provides high-speed web browsing, voice-activated search, customizable large screen, access to thousands of Android applications and hundreds of widgets. Motorola will be launching the phone on Verizon Wireless.
"We're proud to work with Verizon Wireless and Google on the first smartphone to feature Android 2.0," said Sanjay Jha, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Motorola and Chief Executive Officer of Motorola Mobile Devices. "Droid by Motorola delivers a rich consumer experience with warp-speed Web browsing, a mammoth screen, and Motorola's expertise in design and voice quality. Combined with Android's open, flexible graphical user interface and the power of Verizon Wireless' 3G network, Droid is a smartphone that simply doesn't compromise."
"This is an exciting announcement for Verizon Wireless, as the Droid by Motorola is the first device that we are bringing to market under our ground-breaking strategic partnership with Google," said John Stratton, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Verizon Wireless. "Droid by Motorola gives customers a lifestyle device with access to more than 12,000 applications that will help them stay in touch, up to date and entertained, using the best 3G network in the country."
Droid by Motorola has a solid exterior, intelligent interior and is one of the thinnest full-QWERTY slider phones available. Users can View the Web, e-mail, Google Maps and videos on Droid's 3.7" high-resolution screen and more than 400,000 pixels. Users can also snap digital camera-quality photos with a 5 megapixel camera loaded with dual-LED flash, AutoFocus and image stabilization. It has 16 million colors and DVD-quality video capture and playback. Droid comes with 16 GB memory card. Droid also syncs Facebook contacts to user's address book, and a live widget gives the ability to update status and view latest updates from friends.
Droid by Motorola will be available in the United States exclusively at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online on Friday, November 6, for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
Three new smart phones from sony ericsson
New Delhi: Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson on Wednesday launched three new smartphones in the Indian market, priced between Rs.16,950 and Rs.35,950. The phones, "Satio", "Aino" and "Yari", will set the trend for the new age smart phones, said Anil Sethi, president of Sony Ericsson Mobile India. He said the company would focus on the smartphone category for the next two-three years to boost sales.
"Once the 3G spectrum allocation happens, we can roll out more features with better network," Sethi said.
Built on Sony Ericsson's strengths in music, imaging, gaming, applications and content services, the new phones bring alive entertainment on the go for consumers, the company said.The Satio, priced at Rs.35,950, comes with a 3.5-inch screen and offers a 16:9 widescreen format with 12.1 megapixel camera.
The Aino offers services to access content stored on a PlayStation 3 from anywhere in the world through a Wi-Fi connection. It also gives remote play access to videos, television shows and photos. The mobile has an eight megapixel camera and is priced at Rs.28,950. Yari debuts Gesture gaming that enables users to make the moves in front of the screen and play games without even touching the phone. The Phone comes with a five megapixel camera and is priced at Rs.16,950.
Google Chrome OS leaked, beware!
Bangalore: Google asked people not to believe the leaked version of Chrome operating system. Recently, Google announced that it is coming up with its own OS, and after that there have been rumors about a leaked version being available for download. The 'leaked version' is a fake that is not related to Google at all.
Even a trusted source like Gizmodo has perpetuated the myth that Chrome is available. Its tough when there is so much pressure to be the first to publish a breaking news story. Gizmodo recently reported a story of alleged Chrome operating system screen shots, but later updated the story to state that it was verified as a fake. Gizmodo pushed the story of the fake download with a story titled Google Chrome OS Now Available, Go Get It.
The number of sites and individuals who are propagating the story is lending credibility to the false rumor. A quick scan of Twitter or a quick search of the Web will lead to all sorts of seemingly reputable sources talking about the availability of the Chrome OS beta. Most of the excitement though can be traced back to Gizmodo. It is a trusted source of breaking tech news and it doesn't take much for an announcement on Gizmodo to go viral on Twitter and blog sites.
The site in question appears legitimate in so much as it is actually on the google.com domain. The site lists features like a GNOME desktop, Google Picassa integration, and a Flash Player plugin. It comes complete with a few Google logos scattered about.
However, it is actually a product of Google Sites. Basically, someone created a page with Google Sites which points to sites.google.com and populated it with basic information about the Chrome OS which could be extracted from publicly available details Google has shared, then added a link to download some other completely unrelated tool.
To be fair, the site owner did include a disclaimer at the bottom stating "Chrome OS is not related to Google. Service is provided by SUSE Studio. Seethe license." Google has since disabled the site for violating the Google Sites terms of service.
Chrome sounds like it has promise, although the operating system market is a tough sell that is already filled with dominating players like Microsoft and Apple. Of course, Google hasn't shied away from head-to-head battles with either of those companies in other arenas like Web search, mobile phone operating systems, or web browsers.
In the meantime, if a guy in a dark alley whispers that he has an early version of Chrome OS available, there is good reason to be suspicious. Google may have shut down this fake Chrome OS site, but others are sure to follow. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, its probably a duck. Check your sources and exercise some common sense before you rush to download a fake, and potentially malicious, Chrome OS.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
BharatMatrimony or Google, who is wrong?
Bangalore: Was it a part of BharatMatrimony's strategy to gain publicity or protect its trademark? Consim Info, which owns matrimony portal BharatMatrimony.com, had sued Google and three other matrimonial sites for the trademark infringement last month. After hearing the case, even Madras High Court gave an interim injunction to Consim Info. Next hearing is due on November 4, and before the next hearing, we are trying to find out as to what extent this case is true and makes sense for a user.
If any user searches for Tamil Matrimony, Google shows just tamilmatrimony.com, which is owned by Consim Info, on the search page; how can a user get to know about other options available under Tamil Matrimony? But Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO, Consim Info says, "We are not stopping any user from visiting different websites and choose the best one. But Trademark text should not be used in ad words. By putting trademark test in ad words, Google is misleading our customers."
According to Janakiraman, there are two reasons why he sued Google, and competitors Shaadi.com, Jeevansathi.com and SimplyMarry.com. "Firstly, we filed the case seeking prevention of competitive advertising on Google. People searching for our trademarks know what they are searching for, and Google is the entry point for our sites, so the users should not be shown ads of other similar websites. Secondly, we have asked Google to stop allowing our competitors using our trademarked keywords as headings. For example, if someone searches for 'Tamil Bride', which is a generic keyword, competitors use our trademarks (TamilMatrimony) as headings in Google Ad words, which linkback to their websites," says Janakiraman.
Following this case, when we did the research to find that if the practice of showing competitors' ads when one is searching for a brand name on Google, is happening only in the online matrimony space or in other verticals also, we found that there are similar cases happening with even offline brands such as Adidas, Dell and LIC (Life Insurance Corporation). For instance, a search for Adidas, Puma or Reebok on Google shows advertisements from Nike, while a search for LIC shows ads from Max New York Life and Aegon Religare. Similarly, a search for HP and HCL leads us to ads from Dell and a search for Dell shows ads from Samsung. Even in the real estate vertical, we found that a search for 99acres shows ads from MagicBricks and IndiaProperty.
In the U.S, to improve ad quality user experience, Google adjusted its trademark policy in May 2009 to allow some ads to use trademarks in the ad text. It was done to bring Google's policy on trademark use in ad text more in line with the industry standard. It is clearly mentioned that under certain criteria, one can use trademark terms in its ad text in the U.S. even if that very company don't own that trademark or have explicit approval from the trademark owner to use it. This change was done mainly to help a company to create more narrowly targeted ad text. But, till now there is no system as yet wherein a single trademark application is sufficient to protect the trademark right internationally.
According to Mahesh Murthy, founder and CEO, Pinstorm, Google already has a rule in place which says that if a company can show the proof of its registered trademarks to Google, no one else would be allowed to advertise using these keywords. "For example, words like Jet and Microsoft are registered keywords for Jet Airways and Microsoft Corporation and Google doesn't allow any other advertisements around the same search keyword. Now, in India, if a company fails to show the proof of its registered keywords, Google allows competitors' ads to appear on search results, but restricts usage of the keywords in the copy of the ads," said Murthy.
But has Consim Info done the correct thing by filing the case against Google for trademark infringement, Murthy said, "As claimed by Consim, 'TamilMatrimony' (without a space) is a registered keyword of the group. So, it appears that the group owns a combination of two generic words Tamil and Matrimony. Now, the competitors are using Tamil Matrimony as two separate generic keywords in their ad copies and hence BharatMatrimony can't claim that these two separate generic terms are their registered keywords."
Consim Info can also be held guilty for similar practice, because we found that even their ads are also shown on their competitor's page. Anupam Mittal, Chief Managing Director, Shaadi.com said, "We were genuinely surprised to be named in the lawsuit, especially since the Consim Group has been actively following a practice of bidding on Shaadi.com searches. Perhaps they should have included themselves in the list of companies they thought were in violation of their proposed guidelines."
Consim Info filed the trademark infringement case only for matrimonial site, when the problem prevails at real estate vertical also. On this issue, Janakiraman said, "Though the problem persists across categories and verticals, we decided to go for BharatMatrimony as it is the company's premiere and well-known brand. We had earlier contacted Google on the same but did not get a good response and hence had to move to court."
Though the Madras High Court gave an interim injunction, Murthy said that this is a wrong judgment and the decision should be challenged or else Jet Airways will tomorrow say that 'Airways' is their registered keyword and they want other airlines to stop advertising around that keyword. He also suggested Google to stop using different policies in different countries and to make a standard keyword advertising policy across the world.
But on the trademark policy being followed by Google, Mittal of Shaadi.com said, "Google has a well-articulated policy of disallowing trademarked terms to be shown on AdWords copy, which prevents misrepresentation to consumers. Without this clause, consumers could click on a trademarked term and be directed to an incorrect destination. However, preventing bidding on trademarked keywords is akin to disallowing a company to put up a billboard in front of a competitor's office. It's real estate, which the trademark owner has no right to, and so we are supportive of Google's policy."
Till now, there is no any detailed response form the Google India. In its reply to the case, Google India Spokesperson has just said that they have received the court papers and are in the process of reviewing those.
Indian engineer builds glaciers to stop warming
New Delhi: A retired Indian engineer, Chewang Norphel, 76, has built 12 new glaciers already and is racing to create five more before he dies, and by then he hopes to train enough new 'icemen' to continue the work he is doing to save the world's 'third icecap' from being transformed into rivers, reports Telegraph.
His race against time is shared by Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, who called on the region's Himalayan nations, including China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, to constitute a united front to tackle glacial melting. The Himalayan glaciers, including Kashmir's Siachen glacier, feed the region's most important rivers, as they irrigate farm lands in Tibet, Nepal and Bangladesh and throughout the Indian subcontinent. The acceleration in glacial melting has been blamed as the reason for the increase in floods that have destroyed homes and crops.
But Chewang Norphel, the "Iceman of Ladakh", believes that he has an answer. By diverting melt water through a network of pipes into artificial lakes in the shaded side of mountain valleys, Norphel states that he has created new glaciers. A dam or embankment is built to keep the water in, which freezes at night and remains frozen in the absence of direct sunlight. This water remains frozen until March, when the start of summer melts the new glacier and releases the water into the rivers downside.
His glaciers have been able to each store up to one million cubic feet of ice, which in turn can irrigate 200 hectares of farm land. This can make the difference between crop failure and a bumper crop of more than 1,000 tons of wheat for the farmers. Norphel says that he has seen the effects of global warming on farmland as snows have become thinner on the ground and ice rivers have melted away.
His work has now been recognized by the Indian government, which has given him 16,000 pounds to build five new glaciers. But time is his enemy, he told The Hindustan Times. "I'm planning to train villagers with instruction CDs that I have made, so that I can pass on the knowledge before I die," he said.
Ek Niranjan Movie Review, Trailers, Ratings
iEncyclopedia rated ek niranjan telugu movie with 3 stars (good)
Movie Review
'Kangana' plays the role of a music teacher, gosspimongers say that she has been given a very high remuneration for the skin show. You can watch sizzling Bollywood babe 'Kangana Ranaut' in nude scenes. Ek Niranjan is expected to be a very high budget movie and it is believed that 'Puri jagannath' has poured 3 crores for a single set in the movie. That`s a quite high budget movie isn`t it?
Sexy, seductive & Petite Lady 'Kangana'as a music teacher performance gives a fresh look to the movie.
Sonu Sood who played the role of 'Aghora' in 'Arundati' is apperaing in a negative role again in 'Ek Niranjan'. Other star cast includes Mukul Dev, Tanikella Bharani, Brahmanandam, Ali, Sunil and others. Ek Niranjan would be a visual treat for the audience.
Related Post's: Ek Niranjan Movie
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Cisco to buy security company
Boston: Cisco Systems has announced to buy the privately held Web security company ScanSafe for about $183 million, a move that will intensify its battle with security giants Symantec and McAfee. ScanSafe sells Web-based services that protect business computer networks and PCs from hackers, saving companies the cost of buying and installing software on their own equipment.
The top two security software companies, Symantec and McAfee, already sell such products, which are known as "cloud" services and whose sales are growing at a far faster clip than traditional software. As reported by Reuters, Cisco announced the deal on Tuesday, saying that the transaction is expected to close in its fiscal second quarter that ends in January 2010. The $183 million price tag includes cash and retention-based incentives, as per Cisco.
The deal helps Cisco expand its security portfolio, which includes email and Web security software company IronPort that it bought in 2007. San Jose, California-based Cisco has recently stepped up its pace of acquisitions. It announced deals for wireless equipment maker Starent Networks for $2.9 billion and Norwegian video conferencing maker Tandberg for $3 billion. Chief Executive John Chambers has said that he was looking to do more.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
3G Spectrum allocation is scam: BJP
New Delhi: The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday said that the alleged irregularities in allotting wireless radio spectrum and licenses by the telecom ministry to nine private operators in 2007 was the "largest scam in independent India" that cost the government a whopping "Rs.60,000 crore".
"In terms of monetary value, it is the largest scam in independent India. It is a monumental scam. It cannot be a subject of controversy. It is a mathematical calculation," Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told reporters. Demanding that Telecom Minister A. Raja of the DMK should be sacked, the BJP general secretary took exception to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "intervening in the matter".
"I don't think the prime minister should intervene when the investigation is on," Jaitley said.
Manmohan Singh said Sunday that allegations about the scam were incorrect but he refused to answer a question about the opposition parties' demand that Raja should resign following last week's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids on the offices of his ministry. Jaitley said the government had in 2007 recommended an "open licence regime".
"Applications for telecom licenses were invited setting Oct 1, 2007, as the deadline. An artificial cut-off date, Sep 25, 2007, was created and applications received between Sep 25 and Oct 1 were summarily rejected. Rules of the game were changed after the game had begun," he said.
The BJP leader alleged that "all friendly applicants, mostly real estate companies, had been advised to put in their applications before Sep 25". The licenses and the spectrum allocation were then allotted to nine operators at a price of Rs.1,650 crore per operator, he said. "This price," he said, "was not taken on the basis of the 2007 market value but on the basis of an auction held in 2001.
"The value of the license and spectrum in 2007 could not be the same as in 2001. The telecom market has grown phenomenally during this period," he said, adding the companies "post allotment didn't operate the service". "All they (the private companies) owned was a shell company and a guaranteed spectrum. They availed 74 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy of the government and found buyers and joint venture partners from the international market," Jaitley said.
"The companies were overnight valued at over $2 billion (over Rs.9,000 crore) and a large chunk of the equity was sold by at least three licensees to overseas partners at a price of Rs.6,000-7,000 crore. Obviously the government lost over Rs.60,000 crore for the nine licenses collectively along with the spectrum," he said.
Alleging that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was trying to "cover up" the scam, the BJP leader said, "It was unfortunate that the prime minister has choslitics should not come in the way of the an honest investigation. The minister should cease to be in office. His continuation is itself a deterrent to an honest investigation," the BJP leader said.
"It is an open and shut case, not only for the investigation and trial but for conviction also," he said.
HCL Infosystems bids for BSNL
Mumbai: HCL Infosystems, the domestic business subsidiary of the $5-billion IT group controlled by billionaire Shiv Nadar, has emerged as the lowest bidder for providing computer hardware and software solutions to Bharat Sanchar Nigam's (BSNL) western operations. HCL emerged as L1 or the lowest bidder at Rs. 890 crore, ahead of rivals TCS and Mahindra Satyam, for managing BSNL's phone lines in the western region.
As reported by the Economic Times, "Financial bid submitted by HCL will be evaluated and the entire process could take another month after negotiations," said a person familiar with the transaction, who requested for anonymity. BSNL opened the bids submitted by HCL, Spanco (partnered with Mahindra Satyam) and TCS on Monday. However, a single company cannot execute the IT contract in more than two zones according to BSNL's contract terms and this could emerge as a potential bottleneck for HCL.
"HCL will have a choice to decide which two zones it wishes to implement the operations support systems (OSS) and business support system (BSS) and the third zone in which it has emerged the lowest bidder will be awarded to the second lowest bidder," said a source from BSNL on conditions of anonymity.
Earlier, HCL won BSNL's IT outsourcing contracts worth almost Rs. 1,800 crore for Southern and Eastern zones. According to executives who requested anonymity, TCS' bid of Rs. 906 crore was the second lowest bidder followed by a Rs. 1,042 crore bid by Spanco, which partnered with Mahindra Satyam for the West Zone. Infosys was the fourth lowest bidder with a price bid of Rs. 1,897 crore, he added. HCL had won Rs. 230 crore enterprise resource planning (ERP) contract from BSNL in March this year.
These IT outsourcing contracts are part of BSNL's 93-million lines GSM project worth over $1 billion, for procuring network equipment, tower infrastructure and technology solutions and services. The project was further broken down in four zones for allowing companies to bid separately for each of these regions. The financial bid for the North Zone is expected to be opened next week.
Prevent the misuse of Wi-Fi connectivity
New Delhi: To prevent the misuse of Wi-Fi connectivity by unauthorized users, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed all telecom service providers to implement an online centralized authentication procedure for Internet subscribers. According to DoT, all Internet and broadband subscribers using Wi-Fi connectivity would need to get themselves registered with the respective telecom service providers for completing the centralized authentication procedure within 60 days.
As reported by Business Standard, there were about 14 million Internet subscribers and 6.62 million broadband subscribers at the end of June 2009, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Earlier in February, DoT had also raised concerns that Wi-Fi networks were being misused by anti-social elements. Wi-Fi enables user to access internet without any physical connection and the network has a range of 120-300 feet. Wi-Fi is a class of wireless local area network (WLAN) devices based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. Currently, a Wi-Fi device is installed in various personal computers, video game consoles, smartphones and laptops.
With terrorists using the open Wi-Fi networks for communicating, DoT and the Department of Information Technology (DIT) are jointly working out measures to check this growing misuse. DoT has been working on the security of Wi-Fi services in association with DIT since last year. The issue came to light after terror mails were sent via unsecured Wi-Fi connections before serial blasts in Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Google looks for 3G
Bangalore: Google seems to be eyeing opportunities in the third generation (3G) of mobile telephony in India. The search engine giant is likely to participate in the auction with an Indian partner.
Sources in the telecom industry say that Google is eyeing at broadband wireless access (BWA) in the country. BWA is also known as worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX). As an alternative, Google could be just a technology partner to a telecom service provider. Foreign companies can buy up to 74 percent equity in such a venture.
This is not the first time that Google is planning to enter into mobile telephony. It shook the world two years ago by announcing that it would bid for the U.S. government's auction of radio frequencies that could be used to deliver the next generation of internet and mobile phone services. The company's plan was to provide a nationwide wireless broadband service that would take on digital subscriber line services and cable internet access. However, it lost out in the auction as incumbent telecom behemoths like AT&T and Verizon stole a march.
Analysts say that there are many reasons for Google to look at 3G. "With the wave of consumers adopting BWA as the likely scenario in India, it is expected to bring about a shift in the focus of advertisement revenue from fixed line internet to mobile internet. Search-led advertisement is the biggest of all in the online business, and Google is the natural stakeholder in the Indian BWA space," says Alok Shende, Principal Analyst, Ascentius Consulting.
Google has also submitted a proposal to regulators in the U.S. for clearance to use unused channels, which the company calls Wi-Fi 2.0 and on which it is possible to offer wireless broadband services at very high speeds. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is offering spectrum both for 3G services as well as BWA and hopes to auction spectrum by the middle of January next year. It finalized the information memorandum last week.
The BWA spectrum to be put up for auction by DoT will be in the frequency of 2.3 GHz, with a base price of Rs.1,750 crore for a pan-India licence. The government will auction two blocks in BWA spectrum and reserve one for state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam in Mumbai and Delhi and Bharat Sanchar Nigam elsewhere.
A spokesperson for Google in India, when contacted, said that the company would not comment on speculation.
NASA prepares rocket
Cape Canaveral: NASA is all set to blast off Ares One, the first test flight of a next-generation launch system from Kennedy Space Centre today. On top of the ARES rocket, there will be an Apollo like space capsule - the next manned vehicle in space. Using some old hardware and developing new systems, ARES-1 and the new capsule, Orion, will replace the space shuttle within five years.
Bob Ess said, ARES Mission Manager said, "I think from it being long and thin and slender, it optically will look very strange coming across. There is an equivalent of a roll programme, we do roll the vehicle after we clear the pad. It's not for the reason shuttle does it. It is a reason for us to get our sensors oriented in the right wind access that we want to. So, you'll see the whole vehicle turn around by itself and then just kind of head due east. We have about three different times during the flight we're going to put in these programmed test inputs. And, what that is, we're going to purposely induce some action in the rocket nozzle, and therefore, get some reaction in the vehicle. And, by knowing how much input we put to the nozzle, and measuring what we get from the vehicle, we can understand a little bit better about the vehicle itself and how it flies."
On Tuesday, test won't even leave the Earth's atmosphere, a simple up and down flight, with results to show if changes are needed. On top of a four stage solid rocket, there is a dummy fifth stage and a mock-up of the Orion space capsule. Both fake parts will be weighted to mimic flight conditions. The Orion space capsule borrows the shape and aero-dynamic performance from Apollo space crafts of Moon flight fame. Seven hundred sensors will gather data from before lift-off to after splash down.
Data will help in narrowing any needed modifications to ARES and Orion before humans fly on board. Larger than the Apollo capsule, with upgraded computers and capsule accommodations, Orion is designed for short flights to resupply the space station, or longer flights to the moon and beyond. A newly designed three-stage parachute recovery system will bring the solid rocket booster to a gentle splash in the sea and a waiting recovery crew will pluck the rocket from the ocean.
This test flight should confirm the vehicle as an integrated, safe and stable space craft before astronauts begin travelling on top the ARES-1.
Microsoft more than Google
Bangalore: In 2009, Google became more aggressive on expanding beyond web search in a bid to take on Microsoft. Now, Google is focusing more on business applications, which is a traditional Microsoft stronghold with Exchange on the server side and Microsoft Office on the client side. However, when it comes to putting their trust on the technology products, not many Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are in favor of Google.
Recently, TechRepublic polled a 90-member panel of U.S. IT executives and asked, "Who do they trust more as a technology partner, Microsoft or Google?" The jury - made up of the first 12 respondents - voted 8-4 in favor of Microsoft. Google is making the pitch to businesses that it can save them money, speed up deployments, and provide users with a simpler experience. However, the primary obstacle that Google has to overcome is to convince IT leaders to transfer company data from internal servers to the Google datacenters, with all of the security, privacy, and compliance risks that such a move entails, reports TechRepublic.
The skeptical attitude towards Google was summed up by Donna Trivison, Director of IT for Ursuline College, who said, "There seems to be some conventional wisdom that Google is the answer to what's been wrong over the years in the Microsoft universe. That kind of thinking may be dangerous. As consumers of technology, we need to keep each and every business partner honest and working for us. Handing trust carte blanche over to Google because, as the wisdom goes, they are good citizens, seems misguided to me. If I had to pick one, it would probably be Microsoft because they have withstood the scrutiny their misdeeds have landed them. Google remains, for the most part, untested."
When confronted with the Microsoft vs. Google question of trust, Lance Taylor Warren, CIO of H.A.W.C. Community Health Centers, said, "Neither. While some of the technology that Google has been releasing is intriguing, their track record of leaving things in 'beta' for years does not lead to a high level of confidence. Microsoft is Microsoft. If I had to pay full price for their products, I would have to give serious consideration to other solutions."
Barack Obama has 1 km mail from Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow: Barack Obama has mail - from a place in Uttar Pradesh state in India that he would never have heard of.
And how! Measuring over one kilometre, the letter has been put together by more than 11,000 people over eight months and carries a simple message for the U.S. President - "Come and inspire hope: lots of love from Basti district, Uttar Pradesh."
Many of the two million-odd residents of Uttar Pradesh's Basti district, some 300 km from state capital Lucknow, have collaborated to prepare the one-km long invitation letter for President Obama. They want the US president to visit the district and address them.
"His speeches are known for inspiring hope and cooperation. We too want to hear him and therefore we have prepared this letter," Alok Kumar Mishra, a native of Basti and former post-doctoral fellow in psychology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), who conceptualised the letter, told IANS on phone.
"The letter has been prepared mainly by joining fax paper rolls end to end," added Mishra, also a member of the Juvenile Justice Board, Delhi. According to locals, the invitation letter contains text in different languages, carries photographs of the U.S. President and also has decorative designs. "People have used the language in which they felt comfortable to express themselves. While some have used English, others have written their ideas in Hindi, Awadhi and even Urdu," said Maneesh Kumar, a local, who is pursuing his B.Sc. from a college in Basti.
"In the invitation, I have urged the US president to guide youth and motivate them to join politics as I feel, particularly in India, politics is believed to be a profession of corrupt people," he added. Asked how the letter was written, Mishra replied: "Initially, after purchasing the paper rolls, they were cut into smaller sizes and distributed amongst the locals. After individuals had expressed their thoughts, the papers were collected and glued together." Locals say they started writing the letter in February.
"Initially, when we planned to undertake the exercise, only a handful of people were willing to join us. However, after seeing our project turning into a reality, more and more people came forward to assist us," said Kaushal Kishore, a student of Class 12. For dispatching the letter to the U.S. President, Mishra has approached the district authorities, asking them to hold talks with officials in the external affairs ministry.
"The letter needs to be handled with care, even slight carelessness can damage it. We have asked the district administration to talk with officials of the government of India for delivering the letter," Mishra said.
Indians are at the bottom of the list
New Delhi: Indians are at the bottom of the list when it comes to the number of paid leaves they receive, even though they enjoy the highest number of holidays annually. According to a survey by human resource consultancy firm Mercer, employees in India get the least number of statutory annual leaves (paid leaves), while those in Finland, Brazil and France receive the highest.
The 'Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines' survey says that employees in India get statutory holiday allowances for 12 days, while in Canada and China they get 10 days each. However, workers in Finland, Brazil and France are entitled to as many as 30 days statutory holidays a year, reports PTI.
On the number of public holidays, India is joined by Japan at top. Employees in both the countries are entitled to 16 public holidays in a year. Japan and India are followed by Cyprus, Slovakia and South Korea with 15 public holidays annually. Interestingly, workers in Australia, the UK and the Netherlands are entitled to the least number of public holidays of eight days. The survey analyzed that both the statutory minimum number of holidays that companies must provide to their staff, as well as the number of public holidays in over 40 countries.
"Public holidays tend to be rooted in local tradition or religious beliefs, so it can be difficult to change practices. But with the increasing cultural diversity of the global workforce, there is pressure for greater flexibility around public holidays," said Matthew Hunt, Mercer International Team Principal. The survey figures are based on mandatory entitlements for an employee working five days a week with 10 years of service. In total, employees in Japan are entitled to 36 days off work followed by South Korea (34) and New Zealand (31). While, employees in Australia, Taiwan and India would potentially get 28 days followed by Hong Kong (26), Singapore (25) and China (21).
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wipro posted a net profit of Rs. 11.62 billion
Bangalore: Wipro posted a net profit of Rs. 11.62 billion for the second quarter (July-September) of this fiscal (2009-10), registering 19 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth, as per the Indian accounting standard.
In a regulatory filing, the IT bellwether Tuesday declared that revenue for the quarter under review (Q2) was Rs. 69.17 billion, a modest increase of six percent YoY, as per the Indian accounting standard. According to the International Financial Regulatory Standard (IFRS), the company's net income at $243 million increased by 21 percent YoY, while total revenue increased by six percent YoY to $1.44 billion.
Revenue from IT services, however, declined by four percent YoY to $1.06 billion during the quarter though it was sequentially higher by 3.2 percent.
Engineer from bangalore was arrested in a hacking case
Chennai: After Infosys techie was arrested for raising bomb scare on Sunday, techie community got another shocking news yesterday. An engineer from Bangalore was arrested in a hacking case by the additional metropolitan magistrate, Egmore, Chennai, reports The Times Of India.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources said, "After the verdict was pronounced, NG Arunkumar applied for and was granted bail."
In 1996, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Chennai, had lodged a complaint with the CBI after it found some misunderstanding cropping up amongst its staff due to an e-mail communication. During the investigation, CBI sleuths found that Arunkumar had logged into the PIB accounts after hacking passwords. He had then made alterations in the computer database pertaining to the users.
Infosys to emerge from the banking sector
Bangalore: IT major Infosys sees more opportunities emerge from the banking sector as banks merge their business and technology systems in order to consolidate their operations and integrate better with the acquired entities. Some of the top customers of Infosys in this space include Bank of America (BofA), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and ABN Amro, reports the Economic Times.
Consolidation among the top U.S. and European banks is bringing new business for Infosys, which derives around 33 percent of its revenue from the banking and financial services (BFSI). Potentially, some of these individual contracts worth around $500 million each. "There are six integration projects we are currently looking at," said Ashok Vemuri, Senior Vice-President and Global Head for Banking and Capital Markets Business at Infosys. "Fortunately, we have landed on the right side in most of these mergers and acquisitions (M&A) developments," he added.
While BofA is in the process of integrating its systems with Merrill Lynch, RBS is attempting to consolidate its IT systems with ABN Amro. As these banks merge, they now face an uphill task of integrating their software applications, consolidating their datacenters and other trading platforms into a single entity, so that their customers are able to transact without facing any merger-related issues.
Infosys was able to increase and sustain its revenues from the BFSI segment even as business from manufacturing and telecom customers were coming down during the past two quarters. Revenues from BFSI contributed around 33.5 percent of the company's total revenues during the quarter ended September 30, 2009, even as revenue contribution from manufacturing and telecom customers declined to 19.3 percent and 16.2 percent, respectively. However, M&A practice is not an area where Indian companies have been positioned as leaders yet, especially with top consultants of the world, including Deloitte and Accenture, being the most preferred vendors.
"A year ago, Infosys was not among the ones to be called for such high end M&A related consulting, a Deloitte was called," said Vemuri who also heads Infosys Strategic Global Sourcing Business focused on large multi-year contracts. "However, we are now increasingly getting pulled into it across the projects related to change management, developing common systems with our front-end consulting capabilities," he added.
Microsoft Market Trend, october 26th, 2009
Microsoft corporation today market trend
28.76 +0.74 (2.65%)
Real-time: 2:14PM EDT
Range 28.11 - 29.02 52 week 14.87 - 29.35 Open 28.14 Vol / Avg. 89.45M/58.99M Mkt cap 255.38B P/E 18.66 Div/yield 0.13/1.81 EPS 1.54 Shares 8.88B Beta 0.97 Inst. own 61%
TCS plans to bid jointly with CMC
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to bid jointly with CMC, a government-focused subsidiary it acquired some eight years ago, for projects worth almost Rs. 5,000 crore to set up the country's unique citizen database. The world's biggest citizen database being set up by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will rely heavily on biometric and fingerprint information of the country's 1.2 billion citizens, and would seek solution providers who can bring relevant expertise.
As reported by the Economic Times, "Whether we bid as a consortium or not will largely depend on the conditions specified in the RFP (request for proposal). If they want a single point of contact, then CMC will act as a sub-contractor to TCS," said R Ramanan, CEO and MD of CMC. Meanwhile, multinational rivals IBM along with Wipro and Infosys are already preparing solutions to bid for the UID project, and like many other projects, TCS will face some aggressive competition.
TCS has been leveraging CMC's relationships with different government agencies and departments in order to create a competitive government business, bigger than domestic rivals Wipro and Infosys. For instance, TCS worked together with CMC on winning the Rs. 1,000 crore e-passport project awarded last year. TCS had acquired 51 percent stake in CMC for around Rs. 150 crore in October 2001.
"For some of these projects, an existing capability and understanding brought by the age-old CMC helps them do better," said a senior executive at one of the rival firms, which had bid for the passport project. The senior executive also added, "Training is one of the biggest bottlenecks in any government project-and this is where CMC proves an asset to TCS."
Experts such as Alok Shende, Principal Analyst of Ascentius Consulting said that CMC does provide TCS an edge over others. "It makes sense for TCS to bid with CMC because of its experience of working on similar deals in the past. Capability is not just about having the technology do it but also the experience and the track record. This is especially important in the government sector," said Shende.
"We have worked together on all major mission mode projects such as the MCA (Ministry of Company Affairs) e-governance project and SWAN (state-wide area network) projects in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar," said Ramanan. Computerisation of State Electricity Boards (SEBs) has proved to be another area of opportunity for both CMC and TCS. By jointly bidding for these projects, TCS has, so far, bagged two out of the three projects awarded by the SEBs.
On the biometric front, CMC has already implemented a project for the Chattisgarh government. The project uses fingerprinting devices in combination with other technologies to establish the identity of a person and provide services such as issue of birth and death certificates and ration cards through citizen servic information. "A biometric committee has already been set up and it's working on the details," said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of UIDAI.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Apple to keep ads in operating system
New Delhi: Now, when you boot your Apple notebook, an advertisement is likely to pop up on your screen. The ad could be an audio or a plain visual one. Regardless, it may offer you some product or could even offer the operating system (which enables you to start or boot your computer) free or at a lower cost.
If Apple Computer has its way, this is precisely what you may get in some years to come. Steve Jobs, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of the company, has aptly titled the patent application as 'Advertisement in an Operating System'. And he has listed himself as an 'inventor' of the application (U.S. Patent Application 20090265214).
Jobs is credited with 133 patents, unusual for a CEO of a large company who may have other important issues to handle, of the 1,250-odd patents that Apple has been granted till date. The current application became available for public inspection on October 22. It was just a day after software giant and rival Microsoft launched the much-touted Windows 7 operating system globally. It was also the same day when Nokia filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in Delaware, alleging that the iPhone infringes some Nokia patents.
Apple's current patent application drafted and filed by the attorneys at Fish and Richardson in Minneapolis explains that 'the operating system can disable some aspect of its operation to prompt the operator to pay attention to the advertisement'. The advertisements may include, for example, a rectangular banner ad, an audio ad, a video clip, an image file, executable code, embedded information, or any other media, content, or interactive advertisement.
The application does not appear to be restricted to computer operating systems. The patent application mentions that in some implementations where the computer device is a cellular phone or music player, the user may be prompted to press a certain button in order to confirm that he is paying attention. In some implementations, a user may dismiss an advertisement presentation prior to completion, for example, by clicking on the advertisement (or on an unoccupied screen area outside the advertisement if the presentation occupies only a portion of the screen).
Apple is known for building a mystique around its products like the Mac, iPod and iPhone. The question, of course, is why would the company want to embed advertisements, which irritate most users, in operating systems? The patent application, of course, does not answer this question. The Palo Alto-based company is no stranger to patents. A month back, Apple filed a patent application which can tell Apple whether your iPod or iPhone has been subjected to moisture. The new system also covers heat, shock, and tampering.
China uses hackers
London: With the help of a elte hacker community, the Communist regime in China is building its cyber warfare capabilities and appears to be using a long-term computer attack campaign to collect US intelligence. An independent study released by a congressional advisory panel found cases suggested that China's elite hacker community has ties to Beijing, although there is no substantial proof.
The commission report describes a cyber attack against a U.S. company several years ago that appeared to either originate in or came through China and was similar to other incidents also believed to be connected to that country, reports The Telegraph. The data from company's network was being sent to multiple computers in the U.S. and overseas. The report contends that the attackers targeted specific data, suggesting a very coordinated and sophisticated operation by people who had the expertise to use the high-tech information.
An internet protocol (IP) address located in China was used at times during the episode. The Chinese government is said to view such cyber prowess as critical for victory in future conflicts, similar to the priority on offensive cyber abilities stressed by some U.S. officials. Potential Chinese targets in the U.S. would likely include Pentagon networks and databases to disrupt command and control communications, and possibly corrupt encrypted data, says the report.
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