Satya Nadella The New CEO of Microsoft
Satya Nadella The New CEO of Microsoft
"Satya Nadella is a tough, number-driven leader," said Forrester's Ted Schadler. "He is a visionary, has passion for change, is making it happen, and knows what it takes to drive change in the unique Microsoft culture. An outsider would have a hard time accomplishing this coming in fresh. And time is of the essence."
There's a school of thought that suggests Microsoft is simply too big to compete with slicker, faster-moving companies born in the Internet era. If Nadella buys into that worldview, he may decide to sell off the Xbox and Bing businesses as Nomura Equity Research's Rick Sherlund has argued. Earlier this year, Sherlund sketched out a scenario in which Microsoft sells Bing either to Facebook or Yahoo while shopping the Xbox business around to a consumer electronics company where it would make a better fit.
That's the Wall Street view, at least. Nothing new there as the Street has been down on Bing for quite some time. The online services division, the corporate organization where Bing resides, lost $1.3 billion last year. The year before, it lost $8.1 billion. But with Microsoft integrating its search technology into nearly all of its software and hardware as a service, Nadella may decide, like Ballmer, that there's a nice strategic fit here. Also, there's a good argument for keeping Xbox: It's a growth area with terrific upside. So why jettison the business just as it's realizing its potential?
Obviously, Nadella will have to sort through competing visions of the future, but he doesn't need to to rush his decision. The good news is that there's nothing immediately troubling the company's bread-and-butter business of Windows and Office, and that's what pays the bills. Also, Windows Azure, the company's cloud platform, rates as an unqualified success, now pulling in more than a billion dollars each quarter. And given Nadella's familiarity with Microsoft's enterprise business, the engine behind its earnings momentum, investors can remain sanguine that the new boss won't screw around with a winning formula.
As the baton officially gets passed from Ballmer, who announced last August that he intended to leave the job within the following 12 months, the countdown is getting under way. Nadella still has to work out where to point Microsoft in a world increasingly dominated by tablets and software that resides on the cloud. PC sales continued their decline in the fourth quarter of 2013 -- and that's not going to reverse, a troubling harbinger for the company's cash cow Windows monopoly.
Satya Nadella's First Interview as CEO of Microsoft.
Give me your comment on this:
" can satya Nadella put the Microsoft in the position where Bill Gates is expecting? "
After a
six-months-long search, Microsoft has handed responsibility for its future to Satya
Nadella, who replaces Steve Ballmer and becomes only the third chief
executive in the company's nearly four-decade-long history.
Founder
Bill Gates, meanwhile, will move over as a "technology advisor,"
suggesting a more active role in the development of Microsoft product. John
Thompson will take over as chairman.
"Satya
is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision, and the
ability to bring people together," Gates said in a prepared statement.
"His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the
world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of
expanded product innovation and growth."
In
choosing Nadella, the executive vice president of Microsoft's Cloud and
Enterprise group, Microsoft has turned to a highly accomplished executive in
the mold of its co-founder Gates, who reportedly held out for a candidate with
sufficient technical gravitas to inspire -- and if need be, change --
Microsoft's engineer-driven corporate culture. It also confounded the early
handicapping in the CEO vetting process that the board needed to land an
outside candidate to shake things up.
At the
still relatively young age of 46, Nadella oversaw one of Microsoft's
fastest-growing divisions -- the Cloud and Enterprise Group -- which accounted
for $20.3 billion in revenue and $8.2 billion in operating income during the
company's last fiscal year.
Outsiders
and colleagues credit Nadella with helping to move Microsoft's server and tools
group to a faster, more agile development model - so they are no longer
innovating on long, 18-month release cycles. At the same time, he's been a key
player in forcing a shift in the business focus to the cloud and software-as-a-service.
Brad Silverberg, who co-founded the venture investment firm Ignition Partners
after a long and successful career at Microsoft, noted that Nadella had done
"a remarkable job" moving Microsoft to the cloud, where its Azure
service is now a strong rival to Amazon Web Services. (You can read
Silverberg's guest column on the Nadella appointment here.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
The new boss walks into a job where there's lots to celebrate but also lots
to worry about for a company still seeking to figure out its place in a post-PC
world. Perhaps the most pressing question facing Nadella will be whether it's
worth keeping Microsoft's different pieces together or recasting the company
with fewer lines of business. But analysts familiar with Nadella say his track
record is a promising harbinger."Satya Nadella is a tough, number-driven leader," said Forrester's Ted Schadler. "He is a visionary, has passion for change, is making it happen, and knows what it takes to drive change in the unique Microsoft culture. An outsider would have a hard time accomplishing this coming in fresh. And time is of the essence."
There's a school of thought that suggests Microsoft is simply too big to compete with slicker, faster-moving companies born in the Internet era. If Nadella buys into that worldview, he may decide to sell off the Xbox and Bing businesses as Nomura Equity Research's Rick Sherlund has argued. Earlier this year, Sherlund sketched out a scenario in which Microsoft sells Bing either to Facebook or Yahoo while shopping the Xbox business around to a consumer electronics company where it would make a better fit.
That's the Wall Street view, at least. Nothing new there as the Street has been down on Bing for quite some time. The online services division, the corporate organization where Bing resides, lost $1.3 billion last year. The year before, it lost $8.1 billion. But with Microsoft integrating its search technology into nearly all of its software and hardware as a service, Nadella may decide, like Ballmer, that there's a nice strategic fit here. Also, there's a good argument for keeping Xbox: It's a growth area with terrific upside. So why jettison the business just as it's realizing its potential?
Obviously, Nadella will have to sort through competing visions of the future, but he doesn't need to to rush his decision. The good news is that there's nothing immediately troubling the company's bread-and-butter business of Windows and Office, and that's what pays the bills. Also, Windows Azure, the company's cloud platform, rates as an unqualified success, now pulling in more than a billion dollars each quarter. And given Nadella's familiarity with Microsoft's enterprise business, the engine behind its earnings momentum, investors can remain sanguine that the new boss won't screw around with a winning formula.
As the baton officially gets passed from Ballmer, who announced last August that he intended to leave the job within the following 12 months, the countdown is getting under way. Nadella still has to work out where to point Microsoft in a world increasingly dominated by tablets and software that resides on the cloud. PC sales continued their decline in the fourth quarter of 2013 -- and that's not going to reverse, a troubling harbinger for the company's cash cow Windows monopoly.
Satya Nadella's First Interview as CEO of Microsoft.
Bill Gates
welcomes Satya Nadella as Microsoft CEO
Give me your comment on this:
" can satya Nadella put the Microsoft in the position where Bill Gates is expecting? "
HCL Lucknow campus to create 25,000 jobs
HCL Lucknow campus to create 25,000 jobs
Technology
group HCL said it will set up a 100-acre IT city in Lucknow, a move
that will help create job opportunities for about 25,000 people in Uttar
Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh government has awarded the project to Vamasundari Investments, the investment arm of HCL, the group said in a statement.
No financial details were available. About 60 acres of the proposed IT city will be allotted to IT and ITeS, including a hi-tech skill development center with a capacity to train more than 5000 people, it added.
The remaining 40 acres is intended for support infrastructure and initiates of social impact, it said.
"IT City shall play a crucial role in the overall economic development and boost up industrial growth of the state. Apart from this, it will directly create approximately 25,000 job opportunities for the youth of the state," UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said.
Ancillary support services required for setting up IT industry such as hardware manufacturing, telecommunication equipment and several others shall also create huge career opportunities, it added.
Yadav said the move will also stop the state's talent from migrating to other states in search of better career opportunities.
"Four decades ago, we dreamt of positively impacting the world with microprocessors and the journey then began in partnership with UP government...The development of IT City will further the momentum for innovation-led growth and social development in the state," HCL Founder and Chairman Shiv Nadar Foundation Shiv Nadar said.
Headquartered in Noida, the $6.4 billion HCL group offers indirect employment to one lakh people in UP. Of its total direct workforce of about 90,000 employees, about 30,000 work out of the state.
HCL also has a 46-acre SEZ campus in Noida. In its full capacity, the campus will seat 25,000 employees and generate export revenue to the tune of $one billion.
The group also runs the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which operates Shiv Nadar University in Dadri, VidyaGyan Leadership Academies in Blandisher and Sitapur and Shiv Nadar School in Noida.
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Uttar Pradesh government has awarded the project to Vamasundari Investments, the investment arm of HCL, the group said in a statement.
No financial details were available. About 60 acres of the proposed IT city will be allotted to IT and ITeS, including a hi-tech skill development center with a capacity to train more than 5000 people, it added.
The remaining 40 acres is intended for support infrastructure and initiates of social impact, it said.
"IT City shall play a crucial role in the overall economic development and boost up industrial growth of the state. Apart from this, it will directly create approximately 25,000 job opportunities for the youth of the state," UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said.
Ancillary support services required for setting up IT industry such as hardware manufacturing, telecommunication equipment and several others shall also create huge career opportunities, it added.
Yadav said the move will also stop the state's talent from migrating to other states in search of better career opportunities.
"Four decades ago, we dreamt of positively impacting the world with microprocessors and the journey then began in partnership with UP government...The development of IT City will further the momentum for innovation-led growth and social development in the state," HCL Founder and Chairman Shiv Nadar Foundation Shiv Nadar said.
Headquartered in Noida, the $6.4 billion HCL group offers indirect employment to one lakh people in UP. Of its total direct workforce of about 90,000 employees, about 30,000 work out of the state.
HCL also has a 46-acre SEZ campus in Noida. In its full capacity, the campus will seat 25,000 employees and generate export revenue to the tune of $one billion.
The group also runs the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which operates Shiv Nadar University in Dadri, VidyaGyan Leadership Academies in Blandisher and Sitapur and Shiv Nadar School in Noida.
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Vodafone Germany servers hacked, data of 2m stolen
Vodafone Germany servers hacked, data of 2m stolen
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A
hacker has gained access to one of Vodafone Germany's servers and has
stolen the personal data of about 2 million customers, the company said
on Thursday.
The hacker had access to
customers' names, addresses and bank account numbers, the group said,
adding the person did not get any passwords, security numbers or
connection data.
Vodafone said it was not
possible that the data was of any use to the hacker. "It is hardly
possible to use the data to get directly access to the bank accounts of
those affected," Vodafone said in a statement.
Privacy
and personal data are sensitive issues in Germany due partly to a
history of heavy surveillance of citizens in the former communist East
and under Hitler's Nazis.
Vodafone warned its
customers that with potential so-called "phishing" attacks or fake
e-mails criminals would try to get more information about passwords and
credit cards.
It said it was working with
police to investigate the matter and had sealed the ports the hacker had
used to get access to its servers.
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Galaxy Note 3, Xperia Z1 coming to India next week
Galaxy Note 3, Xperia Z1 coming to India next week
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Get
ready for the next-generation smartphones. The recently announced
Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Sony Xperia Z1 and LG G2 will be launched in
India in the coming weeks. While the Samsung device will be launched on
September 17, the Xperia phone will announced on September 18. For G2,
there is no specific launch date yet but it is coming to India in the
last week of September.
Incidentally, all three
phones will be available around the same time. Note 3 is expected to be
available from September 25 while and Xperia Z1 will hit the market a
few days after the announcement on September 17. Consumers will be able
to buy G2 immediately after its launch.
Samsung
will also launch its Galaxy Gear smartwatch on September 17. Sony,
meanwhile, will launch QX10 and QX100 that can be strapped onto a
smartphone to turn them into a point-and-shoot camera along with Xperia
Z1.
For now the prices of Xperia Z1, Note 3 and
G2 are not known. But all of them are expected to cost around Rs
45,000. Sources said that G2 will cost less than Rs 45,000.
All three phones pack in the next generation hardware and have special features.
Galaxy
Note 3, which is a successor to Galaxy Note 2, has a 5.7-inch
SuperAMOLED screen with FullHD resolution. The Indian version of the
Note 3 is likely to be powered by 1.9GHz Exynos Octa processor. It will
have 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. The highlight of Note 3 is the
multi-functional stylus that will enable a user to access some special
software features on the device. It is also going to be the first
Samsung phone that doesn't use a back cover made of glossy plastic.
Instead, it has a cover made of leather-like material.
The
highlight of Xperia Z1, which has 5-inch FullHD screen, is its 20.7
mega pixels primary camera. The camera also features optical image
stabilization and is said to rival the camera in Lumia 1020 in terms of
performance. Z1 also has a waterproof and dustproof design. It is
powered by 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, which is
theoretically the fastest mobile processor available at the moment. The
device will come with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage.
LG
G2 is the successor to Optimus G. It is powered by 2.3GHz Snapdragon
800 processor. It has a 5.2-inch screen with FullHD resolution, a 13
mega pixel camera with optical image stabilization, 2GB RAM and 16GB
internal storage. The highlight of the G2 is its design and screen
quality. Unlike other smartphones, G2 has the power and volume buttons
placed on the back of the phone. LG claims that this makes using a large
screen device like G2 a better experience.
Watch Trailer.
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Nissan Says Self-Driving Car Is Coming By 2020
Nissan Says Self-Driving Car Is Coming By 2020
Germany's Daimler
AG plans to start selling a self-driving car by 2020 as part of its
campaign to regain the top spot among premium carmakers, its development
chief said.
Carmakers and suppliers across the world are working on ways to make driving safer and more comfortable through automation, and the race is on to bring the technology to the mass market.
"We want to be the first to launch autonomous functions in production vehicles. You can be sure: we will accomplish that in this decade," Daimler head of development Thomas Weber said.
Daimler, battling to regain the top stop in the luxury car market from German rival BMW, is focusing on so-called highly automated driving, in which cars master situations such as cruising the motorway or manoeuvring through traffic jams while the driver relaxes.
The car would recognise difficult situations such as dealing with traffic lights or urban driving among pedestrians and cyclists, and hand control back to the human behind the wheel.
Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars, is not alone in its ambitions. Japan's Nissan, for example, has also announced plans to launch a car completely guided by computers this decade.
Testing is already under way in many countries. US internet search and advertising group Google has fitted out several cars with radar-like equipment that lets them navigate roads in California and Nevada.
The technology will feature at this week's Frankfurt car show, the world's biggest, although experts say the move from dream to reality will likely take 10 to 15 years.
German auto supplier Continental aims to enable cars to drive themselves at speeds of up to 30 km per hour (18 miles per hour) by 2016, and at up to 60 km/h by 2020.
Google is reportedly discussing an alliance with Continental on self-driving cars that could be announced as soon as this week.
OBSTACLES
Daimler's Weber said it was hard to forecast exactly when drivers would turn into passengers in their own cars. "Autonomous driving will not come overnight, but will be realised in stages," he said.
One obstacle to overcome is making it legal for cars to steer themselves. European Union laws currently call for drivers to be in control of cars at all times, so test vehicles at Daimler and BMW need special approval in Germany.
There's also the challenge of convincing drivers of the technology, although Georgeric Legros, a Paris-based management consultant with AlixPartners, believes attitudes are changing.
"The slightly macho aspect of cars is gradually disappearing in favour of a more functional, safety-minded image," he said.
"People prefer to be comfortably installed in a leather seat, reading the paper or catching up on email, rather than stuck behind the wheel in a traffic jam or on a monotonous motorway."
Technology already on the market allows partly automated driving in which motorists stay in control but get a hand from the vehicle.
Daimler for instance offers traffic jam assistance, which can maintain distance to other cars in stop-go situations, in its top-line S-Class Mercedes, and BMW will roll this out in its new i3 electric car before the end of the year.
Rivals including Audi and Volvo Cars are moving in the same direction.
Daimler sees itself ahead in the race to develop robot cars because it says its technology can handle city driving as well as motorways. It uses readily available sensors rather than specially designed technologies for research vehicles.
A Mercedes test vehicle recently travelled the same 100-km stretch between the German cities of Mannheim and Pforzheim that Bertha Benz drove 125 years ago to demonstrate the practicality of the automobile.
Watch Trailer.
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Germany's Daimler
AG plans to start selling a self-driving car by 2020 as part of its
campaign to regain the top spot among premium carmakers, its development
chief said.Carmakers and suppliers across the world are working on ways to make driving safer and more comfortable through automation, and the race is on to bring the technology to the mass market.
"We want to be the first to launch autonomous functions in production vehicles. You can be sure: we will accomplish that in this decade," Daimler head of development Thomas Weber said.
Daimler, battling to regain the top stop in the luxury car market from German rival BMW, is focusing on so-called highly automated driving, in which cars master situations such as cruising the motorway or manoeuvring through traffic jams while the driver relaxes.
The car would recognise difficult situations such as dealing with traffic lights or urban driving among pedestrians and cyclists, and hand control back to the human behind the wheel.
Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars, is not alone in its ambitions. Japan's Nissan, for example, has also announced plans to launch a car completely guided by computers this decade.
Testing is already under way in many countries. US internet search and advertising group Google has fitted out several cars with radar-like equipment that lets them navigate roads in California and Nevada.
The technology will feature at this week's Frankfurt car show, the world's biggest, although experts say the move from dream to reality will likely take 10 to 15 years.
German auto supplier Continental aims to enable cars to drive themselves at speeds of up to 30 km per hour (18 miles per hour) by 2016, and at up to 60 km/h by 2020.
Google is reportedly discussing an alliance with Continental on self-driving cars that could be announced as soon as this week.
OBSTACLES
Daimler's Weber said it was hard to forecast exactly when drivers would turn into passengers in their own cars. "Autonomous driving will not come overnight, but will be realised in stages," he said.
One obstacle to overcome is making it legal for cars to steer themselves. European Union laws currently call for drivers to be in control of cars at all times, so test vehicles at Daimler and BMW need special approval in Germany.
There's also the challenge of convincing drivers of the technology, although Georgeric Legros, a Paris-based management consultant with AlixPartners, believes attitudes are changing.
"The slightly macho aspect of cars is gradually disappearing in favour of a more functional, safety-minded image," he said.
"People prefer to be comfortably installed in a leather seat, reading the paper or catching up on email, rather than stuck behind the wheel in a traffic jam or on a monotonous motorway."
Technology already on the market allows partly automated driving in which motorists stay in control but get a hand from the vehicle.
Daimler for instance offers traffic jam assistance, which can maintain distance to other cars in stop-go situations, in its top-line S-Class Mercedes, and BMW will roll this out in its new i3 electric car before the end of the year.
Rivals including Audi and Volvo Cars are moving in the same direction.
Daimler sees itself ahead in the race to develop robot cars because it says its technology can handle city driving as well as motorways. It uses readily available sensors rather than specially designed technologies for research vehicles.
A Mercedes test vehicle recently travelled the same 100-km stretch between the German cities of Mannheim and Pforzheim that Bertha Benz drove 125 years ago to demonstrate the practicality of the automobile.
Watch Trailer.
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Sony KDL-65S990A: First curved LED LCD TV
Sony KDL-65S990A: First curved LED LCD TV
The 16:9 aspect ratio introduced with HDTV was designed to better fill a user's field of vision, and the gentle curve on the S990A takes that idea one step further with a slightly more immersive feel when you're sitting front and center. The effect is even more noticeable when you're playing games with a first-person perspective, but it works just as well for the home theater experience too.
The S990A uses Sony's TRILUMIOS display technology, which has the ability to precisely control the set's LED backlighting in order to make colors seem particularly vibrant. And as much as it sounds like just a marketing buzzword, the results are colors and saturation that are very intense. As long as your source material hasn't been compressed to a muddy mess, you'll certainly see the difference on the S990A if you're upgrading from a flatscreen that's even just a few years old.
To allow the 65-inch set to still be mounted to walls, the back of S990A doesn't match the curve of its display up front. It remains flat, which means that while the TV is thin in the center, it gets a few inches thick at the sides. But Sony has found a way to even promote that as a good thing, by using that extra space as resonance chambers for a set of four speakers on either side.
Home theater enthusiasts will probably still want to stick with their own speaker setups, but those happy to rely on the S990A's will appreciate that the top speaker on either side is actually pointed slightly outwards to bounce the sound around a room, creating a faux-surround experience. You won't be fooled into thinking you're sitting in a movie theater, but it's adequate enough if the S990A topped out your budget.
The downside, of course, to this recent trend of curved TVs is that you run into the same issues with viewing angles as we did with 3D sets. It's not quite as bad here, you can certainly sit pretty much anywhere in front of the S990A without any loss of image or color quality. But the sweet spot for the full immersive experience is still dead center, which limits how many people crowded in front are getting the best experience.
However, the curve is so gentle that sweet spot issues aren't a complete deal breaker. And if you live alone and are looking for the ideal way to escape into a movie or a video game, the immersive feel of the S990A is most definitely noticeable. Particularly when you then go back to a perfectly flat set and wonder why the screen is curving away from you. And Sony has managed to price the S990A at a reasonable level so that this first generation of its curved sets isn't completely out of reach for most consumers.
Watch Trailer.
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Microsoft buys Nokia's mobile phone business for $7.2 billion
Microsoft buys Nokia's mobile phone business for $7.2 billion
Steve Ballmer: Nokia Deal Accelerates Microsoft's Share Position
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Microsoft has bought Nokia's mobile phone business, including the Lumia brand, for €5.4 billion ($7.2 billion/£4.6 billion).
The deal includes all of Nokia's devices and services business and will see 32 thousand Nokia employees transfer to Microsoft, with 4,700 employees in Finland and 18,300 working on manufacturing, assembly and packaging of Nokia products.The deal is expected to be concluded in early 2014.
Microsoft announced a partnership with Nokia in February 2011, with both companies facing stiff competition in the smartphone market from the likes of Apple, HTC, and Samsung.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who will leave the company in the next 12 months, announced that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will take charge of Microsoft's expanded Devices team, including Xbox One.
Current head of Microsoft's Devices and Studios team, Julie Larson-Green, will continue to run the current Devices and Studios team until Microsoft fully acquires Nokia, and will focus on launching the Xbox One in November this year. Larson-Green will join Elop's team following the acquisition.
"It's a bold step into the future--a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies," said Ballmer.
"Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft's share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services."
The deal includes all of Nokia's devices and services business and will see 32 thousand Nokia employees transfer to Microsoft, with 4,700 employees in Finland and 18,300 working on manufacturing, assembly and packaging of Nokia products.The deal is expected to be concluded in early 2014.
Microsoft announced a partnership with Nokia in February 2011, with both companies facing stiff competition in the smartphone market from the likes of Apple, HTC, and Samsung.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who will leave the company in the next 12 months, announced that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will take charge of Microsoft's expanded Devices team, including Xbox One.
Current head of Microsoft's Devices and Studios team, Julie Larson-Green, will continue to run the current Devices and Studios team until Microsoft fully acquires Nokia, and will focus on launching the Xbox One in November this year. Larson-Green will join Elop's team following the acquisition.
"It's a bold step into the future--a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies," said Ballmer.
"Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft's share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services."
Steve Ballmer: Nokia Deal Accelerates Microsoft's Share Position
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MTNL Mumbai website attacked by Pakistani hacker
MTNL Mumbai website attacked by Pakistani hacker
MTNL's website for Mumbai has been attacked by a suspected Pakistani hacker operating from Australia.
While MTNL later claimed that its website has been restored, some users complained that they were unable to access it.
"Hacked
homepage if in cache of that customer, should be refreshed, otherwise
it will continue to show old page," MTNL spokesperson in Delhi today
said.
The website showed the message:
"MrCreepy Was Here. Napsters CrEw. Happy Independence Day Pakistan.
http://Facebook.com/m3creepy. Greets: SEEKER, Dr.FREAK, MKHAN SWATI, And
All Pakistani Hackers :D".
However, the
corporate website of the telecom services provider, which has over 80
lakh customers, and its portal for Delhi customers were not affected.
In
a post on social networking website Facebook, the hacker 'MrCreepy'
also claimed to have attacked the websites of Pune Traffic Police and
janwani.org (a voluntary group).
Another post, dated August 14, stated "Lol Just rooted MTNL Server -- feeling excited."
However, the websites of Pune Traffic Police and janwani.org were found to be working normally.
In
June last year, MTNL's corporate website was disrupted by hacker group
Anonymous to protest against "censorship" of the internet. However,
city-specific websites (for Delhi and Mumbai) were not attacked then.
All Credits to the techgig
Updated: Best tablet 2013
Updated: Best tablet 2013
Tablets are taking the world by storm. Just a few years ago they were an unknown for many people, but nowadays you've got more choice than you can shake a mildly agitated badger at.
And with choice comes decisions - difficult decisions. Do you eschew Apple's high prices, join the Android brigade and find the best iPad alternative? Or do you give in to near-perfection and the get the new iPad?
Luckily we've made it easy for you and pulled together the top 10 tablets of the moment available in the UK. We'll keep this listing constantly updated as new players enter the market and the older ones fizzle out.
As well as reading our comprehensive feature, you can also check out our top 10 tablets video below.
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We've been waiting for Microsoft Surface Pro for a while but it's finally upon us, although it will set you back a fair few bob.
With a higher resolution screen than the Surface RT, and running the full blown version of Windows 8 the Surface Pro is kinder on the eyes and more powerful under hand, making for a potent, portable offering.
Making your mind up about the Surface Pro is less about what it is and what it does and more about what you want out of a tablet. As a hybrid PC it's an undeniable compromise - but that's no bad thing.
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We're not a fan of the name, but we reckon the new iPad 4 is the best full sized tablet out there.
The stunning Retina Display is certainly the highlight of Apple's latest tablet, and you won't see a better tablet screen on the market today.
It may be slightly bigger and heavier than the iPad 2, but with a bigger battery, beefed up processor and THAT screen, you can hardly blame Apple for this – plus it still keeps the famous iPad styling that has become something of a cult classic.
The price tag is eye-watering, however, and the lack of widgets and customisation will put some people off, but there are plenty of Android tablets that can satisfy your need for tweaking.
The Android experience cannot compete when it comes to dedicated apps, with the App Store rising head and shoulders above the competition, offering reams of quality applications made especially for the iPad.
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If none of the tablets in our top 10 take your fancy then maybe you will be enticed by the ones we could see later this year.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 didn't get a big, fancy launch event, instead being quietly announced via the firm's website.
Packing a 7-inch display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8GB and 16GB storage options, microSD slot, 3MP rear camera and 1.3MP front camera it's not going to set the world alight, but if Samsung get its pricing right we could have a budget winner on our hands.
We've had the Padfone and the Padfone 2, so what's next in line, the Padfone 3? No, don't be silly it's the Asus Padfone Infinity of course!
The Infinity is a thing of beauty. It's not for everyone but many of us do have a use-case for it. If you have a tablet yet find yourself using more things on your phone then Asus believes you'll be in its Padfone queue.
Not to be confused with the PlayBook 2.0 software upgrade for BlackBerry's initial tablet, the PlayBook 2 is set to run the new BB10 software Blackberry spent a year and a half developing.
Best tablets: 10-6
What's the best tablet for 2013? Today's latest tablets compared and rated - constantly updatedTablets are taking the world by storm. Just a few years ago they were an unknown for many people, but nowadays you've got more choice than you can shake a mildly agitated badger at.
And with choice comes decisions - difficult decisions. Do you eschew Apple's high prices, join the Android brigade and find the best iPad alternative? Or do you give in to near-perfection and the get the new iPad?
Luckily we've made it easy for you and pulled together the top 10 tablets of the moment available in the UK. We'll keep this listing constantly updated as new players enter the market and the older ones fizzle out.
As well as reading our comprehensive feature, you can also check out our top 10 tablets video below.
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Quick verdict
Sure, it's a mite expensive, the screen quality is lower than we've seen from Samsung in the past and the build quality somewhat lower than the competition, but this is still a fabulous tablet that many workers constantly forced to use a paper and pen will love to try out.- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review
- Compare Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 prices
8. Microsoft Surface Pro
We've been waiting for Microsoft Surface Pro for a while but it's finally upon us, although it will set you back a fair few bob.
With a higher resolution screen than the Surface RT, and running the full blown version of Windows 8 the Surface Pro is kinder on the eyes and more powerful under hand, making for a potent, portable offering.
Making your mind up about the Surface Pro is less about what it is and what it does and more about what you want out of a tablet. As a hybrid PC it's an undeniable compromise - but that's no bad thing.
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Quick verdict
The Google Nexus 10 is easily one of the best Android tablets on the market and while it's not quite as fantastic value for money as the Nexus 7, it certainly gives Apple's high-priced iPad 4 a run for its money. For the price you're paying, you won't be disappointed.- Nexus 10 review
Number 4: iPad 4
4. iPad 4
We're not a fan of the name, but we reckon the new iPad 4 is the best full sized tablet out there.
The stunning Retina Display is certainly the highlight of Apple's latest tablet, and you won't see a better tablet screen on the market today.
It may be slightly bigger and heavier than the iPad 2, but with a bigger battery, beefed up processor and THAT screen, you can hardly blame Apple for this – plus it still keeps the famous iPad styling that has become something of a cult classic.
The price tag is eye-watering, however, and the lack of widgets and customisation will put some people off, but there are plenty of Android tablets that can satisfy your need for tweaking.
The Android experience cannot compete when it comes to dedicated apps, with the App Store rising head and shoulders above the competition, offering reams of quality applications made especially for the iPad.
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Quick verdict
With a super slim chassis, impressive screen and whole glut of Sony extras on board, the Xperia Tablet Z is one of the finest pieces of kit we've seen in 2013. Its quality abounds the moment you take it out your bag, and the speedy internals and impressive weight are enough for us to recommend it wholeheartedly.- Sony Xperia Tablet Z review
New tablets 2013 - what's coming up?
New tablets 2013 - what's coming up?
This top 10 of tablets is by no means the be all and end all. There are plenty of new tablets to get excited about this year, which could challenge the iPad mini for top spot.If none of the tablets in our top 10 take your fancy then maybe you will be enticed by the ones we could see later this year.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 didn't get a big, fancy launch event, instead being quietly announced via the firm's website.
Packing a 7-inch display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8GB and 16GB storage options, microSD slot, 3MP rear camera and 1.3MP front camera it's not going to set the world alight, but if Samsung get its pricing right we could have a budget winner on our hands.
Asus Padfone Infinity
We've had the Padfone and the Padfone 2, so what's next in line, the Padfone 3? No, don't be silly it's the Asus Padfone Infinity of course!
The Infinity is a thing of beauty. It's not for everyone but many of us do have a use-case for it. If you have a tablet yet find yourself using more things on your phone then Asus believes you'll be in its Padfone queue.
- Hands on: Asus Padfone Infinity review
BlackBerry PlayBook 2
Not to be confused with the PlayBook 2.0 software upgrade for BlackBerry's initial tablet, the PlayBook 2 is set to run the new BB10 software Blackberry spent a year and a half developing.
All credit's to the http://www.techgig.com/tech-news/
How to find a lost device that is in silent mode
How to find a lost device that is in silent mode
I
lost my tablet somewhere in my house and have been searching for hours.
It's an Android device, which seems to have Wi-Fi-enabled (responds to
pings), but doesn't seem to react to cloud-based messages. Furthermore, I
have Cerberus installed on it, but cannot connect to it. Is there a way
of physically finding the device by measuring the signal strength from
different locations in my flat? I know it's theoretically also possible
to triangulate a Wi-Fi signal, and even though I have four Linux based
Wi-Fi receivers, I don't know any non-commercial software that is
capable of doing so.
Plan B
Not a direct answer to your question, but Plan B app is specifically for situations where you've lost track of your Android device and didn't have any sort of "finder" app on it. Note: Plan B only works with Android 2.0-2.3.
airodump-ng
I know you can get the signal reception using airodump-ng (part of the aircrack-ng tool suite) if you have a compatible Wi-Fi card and a Linux distro up and running. You'll see something like this with the signal reception listed as PWR (in decibels). If you keep pinging the device throughout this, you should see the airodump-ng screen update much quicker with the MAC address of the device. You should then be able to move around with your laptop, trying to increase the PWR until you find the device.
Homing Cone
Something that may work: Go to the hardware store and buy some brass mesh and build a cone. You'll probably need to layer the mesh, then hold your phone in the middle of the cone. The brass mesh should block all radio signals, so if you get a signal, it's coming from the direction of the open area of the cone. In theory, you can use this to home in on the device. FYI, the brass mesh is one component in building a SCIF.
Ethernet & More
Some Wi-Fi routers have a signal strength measurement on them. I know DD-WRT has this. If yours does, then you can do something like this:
*Get a long Ethernet cord.
*Plug one end into the router and one into your cable modem, internet connection, etc.
*Move the router around your apartment and see where you get the strongest signal. (Keep in mind, water pipes, metal studs etc can all distort Wi-Fi signals.)
*Another option would be to make your own directional antenna, kind of like this. You could also check out this page for some useful command line Linux Wi-Fi commands.
Triangulate
One-storied home? You can sort-of triangulate using signal strength alone. You have to assume that signal strength is proportional to distance from the transmitter, which isn't very accurate, but it could be accurate enough to help narrow down the search space. How to measure signal strength from 3 points in your house:
On a floor plan of the home, mark your three points, and with a drawing compass, swing an arc across the flat with a radius proportional to the signal strength so that the arcs enclose a fairly small space within the home.
If the assumption we made were true (and your measurements and drawing were accurate), your tablet should be within the space between the arcs. It's not quite true but hopefully not too far off either.
Start your search near that space. Hopefully its location will remind you of where you actually left the tablet. If not, search out from there, possibly repeating the above steps at a shorter distance from this location.
Multi-storied house? Same idea, only now plotting is more complicated by the third dimension. Easier would be to repeat the above for each floor. Now you have two or three more spaces to search but that'll be more information than you had before.
I
lost my tablet somewhere in my house and have been searching for hours.
It's an Android device, which seems to have Wi-Fi-enabled (responds to
pings), but doesn't seem to react to cloud-based messages. Furthermore, I
have Cerberus installed on it, but cannot connect to it. Is there a way
of physically finding the device by measuring the signal strength from
different locations in my flat? I know it's theoretically also possible
to triangulate a Wi-Fi signal, and even though I have four Linux based
Wi-Fi receivers, I don't know any non-commercial software that is
capable of doing so.Plan B
Not a direct answer to your question, but Plan B app is specifically for situations where you've lost track of your Android device and didn't have any sort of "finder" app on it. Note: Plan B only works with Android 2.0-2.3.
airodump-ng
I know you can get the signal reception using airodump-ng (part of the aircrack-ng tool suite) if you have a compatible Wi-Fi card and a Linux distro up and running. You'll see something like this with the signal reception listed as PWR (in decibels). If you keep pinging the device throughout this, you should see the airodump-ng screen update much quicker with the MAC address of the device. You should then be able to move around with your laptop, trying to increase the PWR until you find the device.
Homing Cone
Something that may work: Go to the hardware store and buy some brass mesh and build a cone. You'll probably need to layer the mesh, then hold your phone in the middle of the cone. The brass mesh should block all radio signals, so if you get a signal, it's coming from the direction of the open area of the cone. In theory, you can use this to home in on the device. FYI, the brass mesh is one component in building a SCIF.
Ethernet & More
Some Wi-Fi routers have a signal strength measurement on them. I know DD-WRT has this. If yours does, then you can do something like this:
*Get a long Ethernet cord.
*Plug one end into the router and one into your cable modem, internet connection, etc.
*Move the router around your apartment and see where you get the strongest signal. (Keep in mind, water pipes, metal studs etc can all distort Wi-Fi signals.)
*Another option would be to make your own directional antenna, kind of like this. You could also check out this page for some useful command line Linux Wi-Fi commands.
Triangulate
One-storied home? You can sort-of triangulate using signal strength alone. You have to assume that signal strength is proportional to distance from the transmitter, which isn't very accurate, but it could be accurate enough to help narrow down the search space. How to measure signal strength from 3 points in your house:
On a floor plan of the home, mark your three points, and with a drawing compass, swing an arc across the flat with a radius proportional to the signal strength so that the arcs enclose a fairly small space within the home.
If the assumption we made were true (and your measurements and drawing were accurate), your tablet should be within the space between the arcs. It's not quite true but hopefully not too far off either.
Start your search near that space. Hopefully its location will remind you of where you actually left the tablet. If not, search out from there, possibly repeating the above steps at a shorter distance from this location.
Multi-storied house? Same idea, only now plotting is more complicated by the third dimension. Easier would be to repeat the above for each floor. Now you have two or three more spaces to search but that'll be more information than you had before.
Why government websites are vulnerable to attacks
Why government websites are vulnerable to attacks
Many
servers that host government websites are plagued by various problems
like obsolete software and poor secure coding, making them vulnerable
to cyberattacks, a study has said.
According to official data, a total of 78 government websites were hacked and 16,035 incidents related to spam, malware infection and system break-in were reported this year so far.
It is very important for the nation to start upgrading its IT infrastructure and keep up with the latest security guidelines & practices, the study said.
"One can find servers running older and vulnerable versions of software, poor server management, web applications deployed on these servers being designed and implemented by programmers who lack awareness of secure coding practices," the study by Information Security Consortium (Infosac) said.
However, private sector is much more cautious and alert when it comes to their IT infrastructure compared to the government, it said.
The study also highlighted sophisticated cyber attacks, possibly from neighbouring China, aimed at stealing critical information from government organisation and large corporate houses.
Giving details of a malware Travnet that hit computer networks in India recently, it said that the group behind the attack had done extensive research on topics that are current as well as intriguing to Indian targets.
Some of phishing mails sent to individuals have attachments such as 'BJP won't dump Modi for Nitish NDA headed for split.doc'.
"The analysis strongly suggests that the group behind Travnet might be from China," the study said.
Rajshekhar Murthy, Director, CERT-ISAC, National Security Database, said, "the report outlines the dangers Indian IT infrastructure is facing and references research which proves that our government and Critical Infrastructure are targets of sophisticated attacks".
CERT-ISAC is a mobile and electronic security body and part of InfoSec consortium that is made up of cyber security communities like nullcon, c0c0n, Malcon and ClubHack.
Infosac is supported by National Security Database (NSD), a government supported empanelment program for information security experts for national critical infrastructure protection.
Infosac is also organising four-day Ground Zero summit here from November 7 for promoting information security and awareness in the region.
Many
servers that host government websites are plagued by various problems
like obsolete software and poor secure coding, making them vulnerable
to cyberattacks, a study has said.According to official data, a total of 78 government websites were hacked and 16,035 incidents related to spam, malware infection and system break-in were reported this year so far.
It is very important for the nation to start upgrading its IT infrastructure and keep up with the latest security guidelines & practices, the study said.
"One can find servers running older and vulnerable versions of software, poor server management, web applications deployed on these servers being designed and implemented by programmers who lack awareness of secure coding practices," the study by Information Security Consortium (Infosac) said.
However, private sector is much more cautious and alert when it comes to their IT infrastructure compared to the government, it said.
The study also highlighted sophisticated cyber attacks, possibly from neighbouring China, aimed at stealing critical information from government organisation and large corporate houses.
Giving details of a malware Travnet that hit computer networks in India recently, it said that the group behind the attack had done extensive research on topics that are current as well as intriguing to Indian targets.
Some of phishing mails sent to individuals have attachments such as 'BJP won't dump Modi for Nitish NDA headed for split.doc'.
"The analysis strongly suggests that the group behind Travnet might be from China," the study said.
Rajshekhar Murthy, Director, CERT-ISAC, National Security Database, said, "the report outlines the dangers Indian IT infrastructure is facing and references research which proves that our government and Critical Infrastructure are targets of sophisticated attacks".
CERT-ISAC is a mobile and electronic security body and part of InfoSec consortium that is made up of cyber security communities like nullcon, c0c0n, Malcon and ClubHack.
Infosac is supported by National Security Database (NSD), a government supported empanelment program for information security experts for national critical infrastructure protection.
Infosac is also organising four-day Ground Zero summit here from November 7 for promoting information security and awareness in the region.
Flipkart founder‘s advice to entrepreneurs
Flipkart founder‘s advice to entrepreneurs
By
2015, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, collegemates from the Indian
Institute of Technology, Delhi, expect their online venture Flipkart to
reach gross sales of $1 billion. None of this would have been possible
if the two Bansals, who are not related to each other, had not teamed up
six years ago says Sachin, the chief executive officer of the company.
Why are co-founders considered so important in the start-up world?
The biggest advice I have given to entrepreneurs is not to start alone. I always tell them to find a co-founder with whom they have good chemistry and with whom they share similar goals and vision for the venture.
Having a co-founder helps get through the ups and downs of starting up.
How did your partnership with Binny Bansal come about?
In IIT-Delhi we did have a number of courses and projects together but did not know each other very well. When we moved to Bangalore for work and shared an apartment with a number of other friends we got to know each other better. In 2007, when we were in Amazon and part of the same team, we started talking about doing something on our own and discussed it with other friends too. Soon, Binny and I noticed that we think alike and decided to start together. In the early days we had no real role definition.
In late-2008 when we were talking to the major investors in the country they kept asking us who was the chief executive. That is when we realized we needed to figure that out. We went back, looked at what a CEO and a COO does, spoke to advisors and then in quite an ad-hoc manner decided I would be the CEO and Binny the COO. We did not really follow these designations and did whatever was required at a start-up.
From sweeping the floor to hiring, the founders should be ready to do everything. It was when we began to grow and started hiring senior managers that we realized that we needed to define our roles better as it was leading to confusion.
Personally, what is the advantage you feel you have with Binny Bansal as a co-founder?
A shoulder to cry on. A co-founder is a person who can hold you together. We were a small company growing rapidly in a new industry. There are mistakes we have made.
We did not blame each other when we made these mistakes.
How have you made your partnership work?
We consult each other for almost everything. The interesting thing about us is that though we might have similar backgrounds — both grew up in Chandigarh, went to the same college and worked in similar companies — our working styles are very different and complementary. Binnyis very organized, while I am impulse driven. I am more emotional and intuitive and Binny is very rational and is able to assimilate a lot of data.
What should entrepreneurs keep in mind when trying to decide on a co-founder?
People don't realize how difficult this is. There is no rule; there is no job-description for a co-founder. It all depends on personalities. The basic requirements are patience, respect and understanding.
By
2015, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, collegemates from the Indian
Institute of Technology, Delhi, expect their online venture Flipkart to
reach gross sales of $1 billion. None of this would have been possible
if the two Bansals, who are not related to each other, had not teamed up
six years ago says Sachin, the chief executive officer of the company.Why are co-founders considered so important in the start-up world?
The biggest advice I have given to entrepreneurs is not to start alone. I always tell them to find a co-founder with whom they have good chemistry and with whom they share similar goals and vision for the venture.
Having a co-founder helps get through the ups and downs of starting up.
How did your partnership with Binny Bansal come about?
In IIT-Delhi we did have a number of courses and projects together but did not know each other very well. When we moved to Bangalore for work and shared an apartment with a number of other friends we got to know each other better. In 2007, when we were in Amazon and part of the same team, we started talking about doing something on our own and discussed it with other friends too. Soon, Binny and I noticed that we think alike and decided to start together. In the early days we had no real role definition.
In late-2008 when we were talking to the major investors in the country they kept asking us who was the chief executive. That is when we realized we needed to figure that out. We went back, looked at what a CEO and a COO does, spoke to advisors and then in quite an ad-hoc manner decided I would be the CEO and Binny the COO. We did not really follow these designations and did whatever was required at a start-up.
From sweeping the floor to hiring, the founders should be ready to do everything. It was when we began to grow and started hiring senior managers that we realized that we needed to define our roles better as it was leading to confusion.
Personally, what is the advantage you feel you have with Binny Bansal as a co-founder?
A shoulder to cry on. A co-founder is a person who can hold you together. We were a small company growing rapidly in a new industry. There are mistakes we have made.
We did not blame each other when we made these mistakes.
How have you made your partnership work?
We consult each other for almost everything. The interesting thing about us is that though we might have similar backgrounds — both grew up in Chandigarh, went to the same college and worked in similar companies — our working styles are very different and complementary. Binnyis very organized, while I am impulse driven. I am more emotional and intuitive and Binny is very rational and is able to assimilate a lot of data.
What should entrepreneurs keep in mind when trying to decide on a co-founder?
People don't realize how difficult this is. There is no rule; there is no job-description for a co-founder. It all depends on personalities. The basic requirements are patience, respect and understanding.
For more INFO
Samsung Gear smartwatch to arrive with Galaxy Note 3 on September 4?
Samsung Gear smartwatch to arrive with Galaxy Note 3 on September 4?
Rumours have been rife for a while that the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone will arrive on the eve of IFA at a special event on September 4, but reports this weekend suggest it may have some company.
Reports emanating from the company's South Korean homeland claimed the company will also introduce the purported Samsung Gear smartwatch during the event.
Samsung has gotten into the habit of launching its products on the eve of shows, so they don't get lost in the fog of countless announcements during the events.
Last year before IFA the company outed the Galaxy Note 2, so a follow-up this year would make sense and fits with what we've been hearing over the last few weeks.
The filing described "watches that communicate data to personal digital assistants, smart phones, table PCs, PDA, and personal computers through internet websites and other computer and electronic communications networks; watchbands that communicate data to [the same aforementioned devices]."
With Apple rumoured to be making progress on its iWatch project, the launch of a Samsung equivalent would give the company the opportunity to make a pre-emptive strike and set the tone for the smartwatch conversation.
Rumours have been rife for a while that the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone will arrive on the eve of IFA at a special event on September 4, but reports this weekend suggest it may have some company.
Reports emanating from the company's South Korean homeland claimed the company will also introduce the purported Samsung Gear smartwatch during the event.
Samsung has gotten into the habit of launching its products on the eve of shows, so they don't get lost in the fog of countless announcements during the events.
Last year before IFA the company outed the Galaxy Note 2, so a follow-up this year would make sense and fits with what we've been hearing over the last few weeks.
Pre-emptive strike
In terms of the Samsung's forthcoming mobile accessory, the name Gear was outed earlier this month in a in a trademark filing.The filing described "watches that communicate data to personal digital assistants, smart phones, table PCs, PDA, and personal computers through internet websites and other computer and electronic communications networks; watchbands that communicate data to [the same aforementioned devices]."
With Apple rumoured to be making progress on its iWatch project, the launch of a Samsung equivalent would give the company the opportunity to make a pre-emptive strike and set the tone for the smartwatch conversation.
- As well as Apple and Samsung, Google's also thought to be in on the smartwatch act. Here's what we've heard so far.
For more INFO
A social networking website for Indian children
A social networking website for Indian children
Parents
of seven-year-old Mehul Chowdhury were a worried lot after they found
out that a paedophile stalker, who had befriended him on Facebook, was
abusing their only child.
Like
what many other parents would do, they banned Mehul from accessing the
Internet resulting in angry outbursts from the Class three student, up
until his chartered accountantfather found a new fun, educative social networking website, which promised online safety and privacy for children.
Ever
since Worldoo.com was launched in April, more than 20,000 children have
already signed in for the first of its kind online ecosystem designed
specifically for Indian children, in the age group of 6-12.
Harsh
Wardhan Dave, Head (Experience and Brand) of worldoo.com, says with an
increase in the number of cases of child stalking and abuse they have
put in multi-level security checks on their website.
Besides
having moderators who round the clock monitor chats and children's
activities, the website prevents uploading of pictures and personal
information on their profiles or via any other activity.
"This
is to prevent any form of personal information like telephone numbers
and addresses to be shared and to ensure that the child's privacy is
protected," Dave explains.
Children
often fake their age in order to access sites like Facebook or Google's
Orkut. The two companies have already been asked by the Delhi High
Court to spell out their mechanism to deal with complaints including
misuse of social networking sites by children below 13 years of age.
The website also has made it mandatory to obtain parental consent via email for all children desiring to use the site.
According
to estimates, about 27 per cent of urban children in India currently
use Internet, through various mediums including computers and mobile
devices.
A
recent study by Boston Consulting Group has said over 4 million
children in the country may potentially be exposed to harmful online
content and as many as 35 million children may have experienced some
form of cyber bullying.
An
official of Worldoo says the website has specially designed characters
(Doo Crew via actual moderators) to ensure that no one uses bad words.
Those trying to use unconstitutional language are banned from accessing
the site after bwing warned for one or two times.
The
webcompany has also tied up with leading brands. which lets children
play games from miniclip, the gamebox and zapak while cartoons are from Cartoon Network and Chota Bheem.
For edutainment it has tied up with ZeeQ, National Geographic and JeffCorwin Connect.
Movies and trailers from Warner Bros, Shemaroo, Sony Pictures and Reliance Big Flix can also be accessed on the site.
Children
can also read books and comics from Amar Chitra Katha, Crosswords,
Landmark, Dreamland, Britannica Books, Robinage and Champak.
"It
is our endeavour to make kids aware about animals, places and things
which they might not have known from their regular school syllabus and
textbooks. We have designed meaningful engagements for kids which are
fun as well as make them learn new things," says Dave.
How start-ups are using artificial intelligence
How start-ups are using artificial intelligence
World
over, companies are making products for everyday needs using artificial
intelligence. Indian start-ups are also at the forefront of this trend.
From discovering financial fraud to healthcare support, some of the
cutting-edge technologies are developed by young ventures here which
have a vibrant market in the United States and Europe.
Areas of application
Information technology: IPsoft, a company founded by an Indian-origin mathematician Chetan Dube, is revolutionising the way computer networks are managed. Its technology mimics the human brain and is capable of self-healing, self-learning and autonomously solving a majority of the problems that arise on computer networks. It has created a humanoid called Eliza which can identify problems, have natural conversations with users and solve problems in a few seconds. Infosys recently tied up with IPsoft, which carries out most of its R&Dwork out of India
Advertising and Retail: Bangalore's Tonbo Imaging, a startup that develops video processing and imaging technology for the military, is using this platform to help retail and consumer goods firms. Its cameras, embedded on digital signboards, automatically analyse a person's facial expressions, eye gaze and body language to develop insights about customer behaviour. Its customers include Kraft-Cadbury, L'Oreal and P&G. Tonbo also has a television audience measurement product. Its device in TV sets can analyse what channel is being watched as well as the demographics.
Education: eDreams Edusoft, a Bangalorebased company uses natural language processing technology to provide automated personalised tutoring. FunToot, its product, is now being used by about 14,000 children. Another company, PrazAs, founded by BITS Pilani and IIT alumni, has developed adaptive learning software being used by students in India and the US. The technology, which can recognise handwriting, records the steps taken by students to solve problems. It alerts the tutor when a student is stuck.
Agriculture: Hyderabad-based Gramener helps enhance longevity of chickens. It analyses data provided by Suguna Foods, its client and one of the biggest in the poultry business. Gramener finds disease patterns to let Suguna know what precautions to take and makes recommendations about how much sunlight the birds must be exposed to, the type of feed, and even the structure of the shed in which they are housed
BPO & e-commerce: Human responses come with a set of pitfalls —emotional vulnerability, bias, and above all, lack of knowledge. Bangalorebased Vimagino has created intelligent systems called 'angels' which can sense and respond to human emotions in customer interaction.
Robotics: Grey Orange Robotics, set up in 2009, builds robots that can move shelves stacked with various products to a f loor assistant who then scans a bar code to confirm the right items. The robot in turn moves the chosen products to the shipping bay where workers seal the packages for final transport. The robots, which look like cubes, are cal led Butlers.
Dating services: Artificial intelligence is showing the way to true love. Instead of traditional markers such as caste, community, or horoscopes, a new breed of online match-making sites, such as TwoMangoes, rank users based on education, profession and career prospects. These firms use algorithms to study users' behaviour and reaction to others on the site to suggest a partner.
Predicting crime: Crime fi ghting has also found an ally in big data analytics. The Tom Cruise-starrer 'Minority Report', set in 2054, showed prediction of crime. Data scientists at the India laboratories of IBM have brought that future to the present. They predict the chances of a person committing a crime, based on jail records, IBM India has deployed this analytics for the police departments of New York and Chicago and is now working with an Indian state police agency.
IBM also delivers traffic prediction in cities such as London and Stockholm, for which the prediction algorithms are done out of India. The traffi c prediction is based on real-time information that helps IBM identify the patterns of how a particular roadway is getting congested and traffi c and transport authorities of these cities are able to change the pricing of tolls accordingly.
Corporate enthusiasm academic interest
Corporates are always in search of competitive advantage. "Indian enterprises have no choice but to adopt (such) technologies as their global competitors are already using them," said Uday Chinta of IPsoft. Companies like Virgin Airlines and Jet Airways are taking the help of Bangalore-based Vizury to analyse data and target customers. Airtel and Vodafone are taking help from Noida-based mCarbon Tech Innovation to offer customised services. IndiGo uses AI to plan how best to price its tickets much in advance.
Machine learning is being widely used by analytics companies to predict consumer behaviour. Bioinformatics firm Strand Life Sciences, founded by professors at IISc, uses artificial intelligence, data mining and visualisation to help doctors to make a rapid analysis of genome mutations. Two of the country's top avionics research centres—NAL and CSIR—have successfully tested a technology that can reduce the cost of running and maintaining an aeroplane by predicting possible damages.
Level of growth: Entrepreneurs and technologists have shown tremendous initiative to build AI solutions. India does not have an ecosystem like in the US and Israel, where governments fund startups and provide incentives. Industry also needs to provide grants to universities to conduct research and development.
Foreign interest: Several Indian companies operate in the global market and have a roster of A-list clients. When US Army drones fl y over enemy territory, they use image analysis technology of Tonbo Imaging. Nimble Wireless helps clients in the US manage and control remote assets. For example, when clients fail to repay loans taken for a piano, an embedded sensor disables the instrument. Unmetric, founded by IIT-Madras alumni, has a platform that can sift through billions of bits of data on social media and analyse it through self-learning algorithms. It has bagged customers such as Subway, Toyota, Airtel and Australian bank Suncorp
Political encouragement: Most politicians and political parties are far removed from artifi cial intelligence. Some policymakers no doubt see the potential of this technology, but support from the government is limited. State institutions carry out research and development, but real-world applications are few and far between.
World
over, companies are making products for everyday needs using artificial
intelligence. Indian start-ups are also at the forefront of this trend.
From discovering financial fraud to healthcare support, some of the
cutting-edge technologies are developed by young ventures here which
have a vibrant market in the United States and Europe.Areas of application
Information technology: IPsoft, a company founded by an Indian-origin mathematician Chetan Dube, is revolutionising the way computer networks are managed. Its technology mimics the human brain and is capable of self-healing, self-learning and autonomously solving a majority of the problems that arise on computer networks. It has created a humanoid called Eliza which can identify problems, have natural conversations with users and solve problems in a few seconds. Infosys recently tied up with IPsoft, which carries out most of its R&Dwork out of India
Advertising and Retail: Bangalore's Tonbo Imaging, a startup that develops video processing and imaging technology for the military, is using this platform to help retail and consumer goods firms. Its cameras, embedded on digital signboards, automatically analyse a person's facial expressions, eye gaze and body language to develop insights about customer behaviour. Its customers include Kraft-Cadbury, L'Oreal and P&G. Tonbo also has a television audience measurement product. Its device in TV sets can analyse what channel is being watched as well as the demographics.
Education: eDreams Edusoft, a Bangalorebased company uses natural language processing technology to provide automated personalised tutoring. FunToot, its product, is now being used by about 14,000 children. Another company, PrazAs, founded by BITS Pilani and IIT alumni, has developed adaptive learning software being used by students in India and the US. The technology, which can recognise handwriting, records the steps taken by students to solve problems. It alerts the tutor when a student is stuck.
Agriculture: Hyderabad-based Gramener helps enhance longevity of chickens. It analyses data provided by Suguna Foods, its client and one of the biggest in the poultry business. Gramener finds disease patterns to let Suguna know what precautions to take and makes recommendations about how much sunlight the birds must be exposed to, the type of feed, and even the structure of the shed in which they are housed
BPO & e-commerce: Human responses come with a set of pitfalls —emotional vulnerability, bias, and above all, lack of knowledge. Bangalorebased Vimagino has created intelligent systems called 'angels' which can sense and respond to human emotions in customer interaction.
Robotics: Grey Orange Robotics, set up in 2009, builds robots that can move shelves stacked with various products to a f loor assistant who then scans a bar code to confirm the right items. The robot in turn moves the chosen products to the shipping bay where workers seal the packages for final transport. The robots, which look like cubes, are cal led Butlers.
Dating services: Artificial intelligence is showing the way to true love. Instead of traditional markers such as caste, community, or horoscopes, a new breed of online match-making sites, such as TwoMangoes, rank users based on education, profession and career prospects. These firms use algorithms to study users' behaviour and reaction to others on the site to suggest a partner.
Predicting crime: Crime fi ghting has also found an ally in big data analytics. The Tom Cruise-starrer 'Minority Report', set in 2054, showed prediction of crime. Data scientists at the India laboratories of IBM have brought that future to the present. They predict the chances of a person committing a crime, based on jail records, IBM India has deployed this analytics for the police departments of New York and Chicago and is now working with an Indian state police agency.
IBM also delivers traffic prediction in cities such as London and Stockholm, for which the prediction algorithms are done out of India. The traffi c prediction is based on real-time information that helps IBM identify the patterns of how a particular roadway is getting congested and traffi c and transport authorities of these cities are able to change the pricing of tolls accordingly.
Corporate enthusiasm academic interest
Corporates are always in search of competitive advantage. "Indian enterprises have no choice but to adopt (such) technologies as their global competitors are already using them," said Uday Chinta of IPsoft. Companies like Virgin Airlines and Jet Airways are taking the help of Bangalore-based Vizury to analyse data and target customers. Airtel and Vodafone are taking help from Noida-based mCarbon Tech Innovation to offer customised services. IndiGo uses AI to plan how best to price its tickets much in advance.
Machine learning is being widely used by analytics companies to predict consumer behaviour. Bioinformatics firm Strand Life Sciences, founded by professors at IISc, uses artificial intelligence, data mining and visualisation to help doctors to make a rapid analysis of genome mutations. Two of the country's top avionics research centres—NAL and CSIR—have successfully tested a technology that can reduce the cost of running and maintaining an aeroplane by predicting possible damages.
Level of growth: Entrepreneurs and technologists have shown tremendous initiative to build AI solutions. India does not have an ecosystem like in the US and Israel, where governments fund startups and provide incentives. Industry also needs to provide grants to universities to conduct research and development.
Foreign interest: Several Indian companies operate in the global market and have a roster of A-list clients. When US Army drones fl y over enemy territory, they use image analysis technology of Tonbo Imaging. Nimble Wireless helps clients in the US manage and control remote assets. For example, when clients fail to repay loans taken for a piano, an embedded sensor disables the instrument. Unmetric, founded by IIT-Madras alumni, has a platform that can sift through billions of bits of data on social media and analyse it through self-learning algorithms. It has bagged customers such as Subway, Toyota, Airtel and Australian bank Suncorp
Political encouragement: Most politicians and political parties are far removed from artifi cial intelligence. Some policymakers no doubt see the potential of this technology, but support from the government is limited. State institutions carry out research and development, but real-world applications are few and far between.
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Over 80,000 engineering seats remain vacant in TN
Over 80,000 engineering seats remain vacant in TN
As many as 80,689 government quota engineering seats in Tamil Nadu have
gone vacant this year. And, colleges will have to pay — it will hit the
quality of the education they provide and, in some cases, cause heavy
financial losses to the institutions.
Of the 2.05 lakh seats made available through the single window counselling process, which ended on Friday, only 1.24 lakh were filled. Experts said the economic slowdown had impacted engineering education to a large extent: students were making informed decisions and were willing to risk signing up for alternate courses.
District-wise data shows students believe that if it has to be engineering, it has to be in Chennai or nearby places. "Engineering has not lost its charm," said S Vaidhyasubramaniam, dean, planning and development, Sastra University, Thanjavur. "Students are only rejecting engineering education in a bad institution."
Close to 96% of seats in the seven Chennai colleges have been filled, while it is 68% forKancheepuram and 73.44% for Tiruvallur. Colleges in Virudhunagar, which steadily churns out school toppers, have also been able to fill a good number of seats. The rate of seat allocation in 12 colleges there crossed 76%.
One reason is that the district is home to topnotch institutions like Mepco Schlenk Engineering College. "This keeps other colleges in the region on their toes to face the competition," said an 8expert.
Ariyalur, on the other hand, had the lowest rate of seats allocated. Five colleges in the district have been able to fill only 33% of seats.
When a college fails to fill even 10% of seats, as is the case with some institutions, it has far-reaching consequences. "They cannot offer sustainable quality education," said Vaidhyasubramaniam.
When rural colleges fail to fill more than 10% or 20% of seats, it will have a strong bearing on the rural economy, says C Thangaraj, former vice-chancellor of Anna University of Technology, Chennai. "The government should have insisted on quality maintenance on colleges, and encouraged edupreneurs to start engineering colleges in rural areas," he added.
The All India Council for Technical Education mandates that colleges seeking approval must have facilities commensurate with their intake and not with the number of seats filled. This means that the financial position of colleges, many of which are funded by banks, will already be in the negative. "Those without strong industry backing or without good investments will be forced to approach bigger players for a takeover," said S Alfred Devaparasad, CEO of Alpha Group of Institutions.
Those who don't come in for outright sale will try to cut losses by compromising on faculty salary and additional inputs. Devaprasad believes colleges that know that the trend will change in a few years are likely to keep investing - in faculty, infrastructure and R&D.
For More Info Click Here
As many as 80,689 government quota engineering seats in Tamil Nadu have
gone vacant this year. And, colleges will have to pay — it will hit the
quality of the education they provide and, in some cases, cause heavy
financial losses to the institutions.Of the 2.05 lakh seats made available through the single window counselling process, which ended on Friday, only 1.24 lakh were filled. Experts said the economic slowdown had impacted engineering education to a large extent: students were making informed decisions and were willing to risk signing up for alternate courses.
District-wise data shows students believe that if it has to be engineering, it has to be in Chennai or nearby places. "Engineering has not lost its charm," said S Vaidhyasubramaniam, dean, planning and development, Sastra University, Thanjavur. "Students are only rejecting engineering education in a bad institution."
Close to 96% of seats in the seven Chennai colleges have been filled, while it is 68% forKancheepuram and 73.44% for Tiruvallur. Colleges in Virudhunagar, which steadily churns out school toppers, have also been able to fill a good number of seats. The rate of seat allocation in 12 colleges there crossed 76%.
One reason is that the district is home to topnotch institutions like Mepco Schlenk Engineering College. "This keeps other colleges in the region on their toes to face the competition," said an 8expert.
Ariyalur, on the other hand, had the lowest rate of seats allocated. Five colleges in the district have been able to fill only 33% of seats.
When a college fails to fill even 10% of seats, as is the case with some institutions, it has far-reaching consequences. "They cannot offer sustainable quality education," said Vaidhyasubramaniam.
When rural colleges fail to fill more than 10% or 20% of seats, it will have a strong bearing on the rural economy, says C Thangaraj, former vice-chancellor of Anna University of Technology, Chennai. "The government should have insisted on quality maintenance on colleges, and encouraged edupreneurs to start engineering colleges in rural areas," he added.
The All India Council for Technical Education mandates that colleges seeking approval must have facilities commensurate with their intake and not with the number of seats filled. This means that the financial position of colleges, many of which are funded by banks, will already be in the negative. "Those without strong industry backing or without good investments will be forced to approach bigger players for a takeover," said S Alfred Devaparasad, CEO of Alpha Group of Institutions.
Those who don't come in for outright sale will try to cut losses by compromising on faculty salary and additional inputs. Devaprasad believes colleges that know that the trend will change in a few years are likely to keep investing - in faculty, infrastructure and R&D.
For More Info Click Here
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