Krishna Srinivasan's Blog

Clubbing Income and Gains

2009-09-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

Clubbing Income and Gains

Mahindra Finance Fixed Deposits

2009-09-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Mahindra Finance Fixed Deposits

EPF Transfer and Opening PPF Account

2009-09-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

EPF Transfer and Opening PPF Account

Credit report from CIBIL

2009-09-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

Credit report from CIBIL

How to Pay LIC premium online?

2009-09-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

How to Pay LIC premium online?

Different Types of Life Insurance

2009-09-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

Different Types of Life Insurance

In this article I will be writing about the different types of Life Insurance Plans in the market. As we know that Life Insurance is important for everyone to protect their family incase of their demise the insured money will save their family for educating their children and marriage of daughter, etc. According to your needs, one can choose their Life Insurance Scheme. This article presents the very basic knowledge on different Life Insurance plans and how it will benefit you in the future. If you have any doubts, please post it in the comments section. You can subscribe to our future articles here.

15 Days Lock-In period for Health Insurance Policies

2009-09-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

15 Days Lock-In period for Health Insurance Policies

As of now there is no lock-in or test period for the health insurance policies. That meansinsurance companies once sold the policies to the customer then there is no way for the customer to cancel the policy for any reason. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDA) feels that insurance companies misusing this and selling the policies to the customer with false statements. This step is taken in favour of the customers.

Subscribe To Investment and Finance News

2009-09-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you for reading my blog. As you are aware I am not updating this blog for long time because I have started another blog which focued on writing the finance and investment related tips and ideas. The name of the blog is Plan Your Investment. Good news is the blog already getting the 1000 hits per day and got regular readers too. I am glad to share the details about that blog here. If you like the blog please subscribe.

Restriction on free ATM usage!!!

2009-09-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

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RBI has announced that from April 1, 2009 onwads withdrawl on the other ATM centerswould be free of charge. That means if you are the ICICI Bank customer, you can use the HDFC or any other bank’s atm to withdraw the money without any charge. Previously the charge is taken from the customer.

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Section 80c

2009-04-07T05:06:00.000-07:00

Earlier I have published Tax Planning for 2009 - Part 1. The previous post explains the basic stuff on tax savings using the home loans and the fixed deposit schemes. It doesn’t look into any specific section of the income tax act. This part of the article will be looking into section 80c of the income tax act. Section 80c is the important provisions and provide maximum of Rs.100000 savings under this section alone. So, it is better every one to understand the different options available under section 80c. Total amount of Rs.100000 can be divided into many different investments based on your interest and the financial status. I will explore the various options inside this particular section 80c and suggest you the investment plans. I would like to answer all your queries, please post it in the comments section. You can subscribe to our future articles here.

Tax Planning for 2009 - Part 2

Blog is moved to own domain

2008-10-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

HI Folks,

Finally I have created own domain name for my personal blog. All the posts are migrated to new domain name HiKrish. It is powered by Wordpress platform. I will stop blogging in this site. My future posts will be in the new site.

General Tips For Switch to Mac From Windows

2008-07-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sales of Apple's Macintosh computers have been growing much faster than PC sales overall, with many new Mac buyers switching from years of using Windows computers. For that reason, every month I get emails from readers asking about the differences in using the Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

While the Windows and Mac user interfaces are broadly similar, they do have subtle variations in day-to-day use that require some re-education for switchers. And because there are so many fewer Mac users than Windows users, help from friends and co-workers can be harder to obtain than it is for people switching the other way, to Windows from Mac.

So, here's a quick tip sheet explaining a few of the most common differences in the daily use of Windows XP, from which most people would be switching, and Apple's Mac OS X Leopard, which switchers would be adopting.

This column isn't an argument for making the switch to a Mac, merely an attempt to help those who have done so, or who are considering doing so. Of course, all Macs currently sold can run Windows and Windows programs concurrently with the Mac operating system. But this guide is for folks who intend to use their Macs primarily with Leopard, not Windows.

Menu Bars: In Windows, each program typically has its own menu bar. On the Mac, there's a single menu bar at the top of the screen that changes, depending on which program you are actively using. More>>

Rajnikanth's Next Movie - Kuselan

2008-07-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

Kuselan is a forthcoming bilingual drama being directed by P. Vasu, who with Kuselan, will direct his fifth feature film featuring Rajnikanth. Rajnikanth, playing a guest role, is the one of the few common actors in the bi-lingual, the others including Nayantara and Meena, which is to be made into Tamil as Kuselan and Telugu as Kathanayukudu respectively. Various other regional actors have been signed up for the film, with Pasupathy, Meena, Prabhu Ganesan, Vadivelu, Santhanam and Livingston playing roles in the Tamil version, whilst, Jagapati Babu, Sunil and Brahmanandam portray roles in the Telugu version. Whilst, G. V. Prakash Kumar and Arvind Krishna have confirmed their parts as members of the technical crew. The film which is expected to be released in July 2008, will be produced by prominent director, K. Balachandar for the Tamil version and Ashwini Dutt for its Telugu version. The film is a remake of the Malayalam movie, Kadha Parayumbhol.

Firefox download record official

2008-07-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

Mozilla has officially made history with a new Guinness world record for the largest number of software downloads in a 24-hour period.

The final record breaking 8,002,530 downloads for Firefox 3.0 took place in June with parties in over 25 countries.

"The enthusiasm and creativity of Firefox fans was key to making this happen" said Marketing head Paul Kim.

Gareth Deaves of Guinness World Records called it "an extremely impressive accomplishment".

The official figure was confirmed after logs from download servers were audited and checked to ensure duplicate and unfinished downloads were not counted.

Mr Kim told the BBC: "The notion of going for a world record, as gooky and nutty as it may have sounded, was a really sticky idea.

"It was an idea that translated really well across national borders and to all different kinds of people around the world."More>>

iPhone's launch to impact Nokia - India

2008-07-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Handset major Nokia Corporation’s global president and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo on Thursday said that the launch of Apple’s iconic iPhone in India would have an impact on the company here, “When iPhone comes to India, it adds to our competitors here. The entry of a new product in the market creates customer interest and it, therefore, impacts us in India,” Mr Kallasvuo said.

Nokia is the market leader in India and commands a 60% marketshare in the handset space. The company has so far largely remained unchallenged in India as it continues to extend the lead over its rivals in the domestic market.

At the same time, Mr Kallasvuo pointed out that consumer interest in iPhone would lead to an increased awareness on many of the concepts and features available on Nokia’s handsets.

Earlier this month, both Bharti and Vodafone had announced that they would soon be offering the new and cheaper version of iPhone to their customers by the year-end. More>>

Apple considering slider-style iPhone?

2008-07-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

That's what The Register thinks, reporting Monday that Apple has shown off prototypes of an iPhone with a hardware keyboard to certain executives at wireless operators. The current iPhone famously comes with only one hardware button that returns the user to the home screen, with the rest of the buttons enabled in software.

The lack of a hardware keyboard is said to be a detriment for business users who are hooked on their BlackBerrys, and the iPhone's touch-screen keyboard certainly does take some getting used to in the first couple of weeks. The report suggests that a hardware-keyboard iPhone will be out around this time next year assuming Apple can work out the kinks.

I can't decide what I think about this notion. It's not completely out of the question that Apple would at least be thinking about a slider-style phone; some designs are quite popular with young and old alike. And we've long expected Apple to eventually release a family of iPhones similar to its strategy for the iPod product line, with different form factors and capabilities targeted at different groups.More>>

Google Ad Deal Is Under Scrutiny

2008-07-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

The Justice Department has opened a formal antitrust investigation into a deal struck last month that would allow the Internet titan Google to provide some search advertising for Yahoo, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.
Investigators are planning to demand documents not only from Google and Yahoo, but also from other large companies in the Internet and media industries, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Google and Yahoo officials have said since the deal's announcement that they would delay its implementation for a voluntary Justice Department review. But a formal investigation signals that the department may have found some cause for concern. More>>

Hewlett-Packard clears U.S. hurdle to EDS purchase

2008-07-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hewlett-Packard cleared an antitrust hurdle in its $13.2 billion purchase of Electronic Data Systems. A waiting period under U.S. law passed without any request for additional information from regulators, Hewlett-Packard said Monday. This indicates there's no opposition to the deal. The purchase would more than double the computer maker's revenue from services, challenging IBM. The transaction is HP's largest since the $18.9 billion takeover of Compaq Computer, led by Chief Executive Mark Hurd's predecessor, Carly Fiorina. The acquisition still requires approval from EDS investors and European antitrust authorities, Hewlett-Packard said. HP will pay $25 a share in cash, or 33 percent more than EDS's closing price May 9, before the companies said they were in talks.

Microsoft confirmed an agreement to buy Powerset, one of the leaders in semantic search

2008-07-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

As rumored last week, Microsoft, with the notion of a Yahoo deal receding quickly in the rear-view mirror, is taking another tack in its efforts to stem the dominance of Google search -- rather than playing catch up, it wants to try leapfrog. Today, Microsoft confirmed an agreement to buy Powerset, one of the leaders in semantic search, which attempts to glean the context and intent of a search rather than just matching keywords against the content of ranked pages. Details of the deal weren't revealed, but the price is rumored to be in the $100 million neighborhood. "We're buying Powerset first and foremost because we're impressed with the people there," Microsoft's Live Search blog said. "We came away impressed by their smarts, their experience, their passion for search, and a shared vision. That shared vision is to take Search to the next level by adding understanding of the intent and meaning behind the words in searches and webpages."

There are challenges aplenty in the strategy. Semantic search is a non-trivial exercise involving the honing of the technology and the re-indexing of the searchable Web, and semantic analysis of a page is much more computing-intensive than simply scanning text. On its own, Powerset had been limited to demonstrating its proof of concept in searches through the finite world of Wikipedia. Microsoft has the infrastructure and the war chest to expand that reach, first, perhaps, in vertical search categories where semantic search has done the best so far. It will be a while before the success of this approach can be judged, and there's always the chance that Google might innovate or buy its way into the same territory, but Microsoft needed to do something to try to pull its search share out of single digits, and this looks like as good a bet as any. "Microsoft's acquisition of Powerset makes perfect sense and is probably the best shot at a disruptive technology that might allow it to leapfrog Google," said Andrei Hagiu, assistant professor of strategy, focusing on technology, at Harvard Business School.

Adobe Makes Flash Searchable

2008-07-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

For years the big problem with Flash-based websites is that they could not be properly indexed by search engines. Flash websites have been favored by marketers and advertisers for a long time, because of the ability to create rich, interactive Web experiences. However for most other businesses, particularly those with a lot of information on their website (let's face it, that's everyone except marketers and advertisers), Flash has been nearly an automatic 'no' for website development. That may be about to change.

Adobe announced today that it is teaming up with major search engines - notably Google and Yahoo - to "dramatically improve search results of dynamic Web content and rich Internet applications (RIAs)." In a press statement, Adobe said that it is "providing optimized Adobe Flash Player technology to Google and Yahoo! to enhance search engine indexing of the Flash file format (SWF) and uncover information that is currently undiscoverable by search engines."

Adobe claims that it will provide more relevant search results and rankings for RIA content. In a separate blog post, Google announced that it has launched a "Flash indexing algorithm", which will result in better search results. More>>

Will Enterprise welcome Mac's presence?

2008-07-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

As we know Mac is the best and simple easy to use opertating system in the earth. But, it is not stolen as many desktops in the Enterprise arena, may be this is because of their focus only on individual users. But this time it takes very serious into the Enterprise, Enterprise Desktop Alliance showcase the power of using Macs in the corporate environment. It says

By leveraging the suite of capabilities that EDA solutions offer, an enterprise can easily integrate Macs and achieve the same level of control, security, policy compliance, and services that they currently have with their Windows platforms.

We have to wait and see the reaction from the Big companies whether they welcome mac into their environment. Obviously I will rise my hand If my manager asks my opinion :)

Leopard Rises from XP's Ashes

2008-07-01T04:04:00.000-07:00

Windows XP officially exits the OEM and retail channels after today. Let the Leopard and Vista competition really begin.

Windows XP won't completely go away, but it will be increasingly more difficult to find, and that could be very good for Apple. Because if computer buyers don't want Windows Vista, they'll have to look elsewhere. Can you say Mac OS X 10.5?

Here's the no-nonsense explanation about XP availability:

Today is the last day OEMs can offer Windows XP PCs.
System builders, which buy the software from distributors, can ship XP PCs through the end of January.
OEMs can offer XP as a "downgrade" option for PCs shipping with Vista Business or Ultimate, but usually at extra cost.
OEMs can still ship Windows XP Home on ultralow-powered notebooks like the Asus Eee PC.
Businesses buying Microsoft software through some volume-licensing programs can use "downgrade" rights to reimage Vista PCs with Windows XP.

XP's exit from OEM and retail channels comes at a time when Vista isn't doing so well. Microsoft boasts 150 million Vista licenses shipped, but the number loses its impact in the context of PC shipments.

Between Jan. 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, PC manufacturers shipped approximately 342 million PCs worldwide, according to published Gartner figures. However, the figures include x86 servers. Being as generous as possible to Microsoft, I lop off 42 million units, to account for x86 servers and computer sales during the first 29 days of January 2007, when Vista wasn't yet available on new PCs.

That works out to about 300 million PCs during the same time Microsoft shipped 140 million Vista licenses. Typically, Microsoft sells about 80 percent of Windows licenses on new PCs. Being, again, generous to Microsoft, I figure 112 million Vista licenses. Based on this arguably loose estimate, Windows Vista shipped on about 37 percent of the 300 million PCs. I strongly suspect that one-third would be a more accurate number.More>>

Subscribe to MyBlog

2008-07-01T02:57:00.000-07:00

Are you regular reader of this blog. You can subscribe to this blog to your mail box. We will update you when there is any new blog entries. Fill the below form and activate the subscription. Enjoy Reading!!!

Microsoft to stop selling Windows XP on Monday

2008-06-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to stop selling its Windows XP operating system to retailers and major computer makers Monday, despite protests from a slice of PC users who don't want to be forced into using XP's successor, Vista.Once computers loaded with XP have been cleared from the inventory of PC makers such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., consumers who can't live without the old operating system on their new machine will have to buy Vista Ultimate or Vista Business and then legally "downgrade" to XP.Microsoft will still allow smaller mom-and-pop PC builder shops to buy XP for resale through the end of January. A version of XP will also remain available for ultra-low-cost PCs such as the Asus Eee PC.A group of vocal computer users who rallied around a "Save XP" petition posted on the industry news site InfoWorld had been clamoring for Microsoft to keep selling XP until its next operating system, Windows 7, is available. The software maker has said it expects to release Windows 7 sometime in 2009.Last week, Microsoft said it would provide full technical support for six-year-old Windows XP through 2009, and limited support through 2014.

Mysore stands third among Tier III cities

2008-06-29T22:41:00.001-07:00

Though there's a feeling that Mysore has lagged in advancing as a happening city over the last 3-4 years, here comes a morale-boosting report, which places Mysore third among the top 10 Tier III cities in the country in job offerings.

A study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) reveals that Mysore ranked third with 11.08 percent of the share of jobs among the top 10 Tier III cities. Automobile, insurance, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and education were the top five employment-generating sectors. It is interesting to note IT does not figure in the top five sectors.

The first two of the 10 among the Tier III cities go to Ranchi with 13.80 and Mangalore with 11.60. Energy, construction, metals, electronics and telecom are the job growth areas in Ranchi while Mangalore lead in automobiles, insurance, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and education sectors like of Mysore.

After Mysore, the cities of Raipur, Udaipur and Aurangabad top the chart with fourth, fifth and sixth ranks respectively. Patiala, Jalandhar, Meerut and Vishakhapatnam occupy the last four places respectively.

Mysore is one of the four small cities, which provided maximum vacancies in the automobile sector. This expanding sector is speeding towards the small cities where two wheelers and low cost four wheelers are in high demand. Pondicherry, Aurangabad, Vishakhapatnam and Mysore were the four top Tier III cities in order.

The study says, of the 30 lead sectors that provided the maximum jobs to young aspirants between January and March 2008, financial services outpaced the IT sector in Tier II and Tier III cities.

The study titled ‘Job Trendz: Across Cities and Sectors' found that these tier II and tier III cities have cornered 18.5 percent and 21.5 percent share of the job space respectively. The high cost of manpower and capacity constraints in the big cities is pushing industry towards small cities for job creation

The study was based on the sample of 32,000 vacancies posted by around 3,500 companies in the national and regional dailies, journals and job portals during the three-month period.

A change in the job trend is observed in small cities while traditionally the maximum job openings used to be concentrated in IT sector, but in Tier II and Tier III cities, financial services have taken over it.

Mangalore lead the top three tier III cities followed by Pondicherry and Aurangabad by providing the highest job openings in finance related jobs. It led also in IT sector, which posted the second largest share of vacancies. The other two low-cost cities, which offered maximum job avenues, are Jalandhar and Aurangabad. Mangalore also led in FMCG sector over Amirtsar, Ranchi and Udaipur.

13 Indian cos among world's 500 most valued firms

2008-06-29T22:39:00.001-07:00

Thirteen Indian firms, led by Reliance Industries, have made to the list of world's 500 most valued companies compiled by the UK business daily Financial Times, even as 12 of them fell down from their previous rankings amid weak stock market trends.

Excluding tobacco-to-consumer goods major ITC, all the 12 Indian companies present on the list, including RIL, ONGC, NTPC, SBI, Bharti Airtel, DLF and Reliance Communications, saw their rankings drop in the latest FT Global 500 list, topped by American energy giant ExxonMobil with a market value of 452.5 billion dollars.

FT publishes the list based on the market capitalisation of the companies at the end of every quarter and the latest rankings are based on March-end figures for this year. The previous list was based on market cap figures at the end of December 2007.

In the global list, ExxonMobil has replaced China's PetroChia as the most valued firm, while US industrial conglomerate GE has retained its third position. Other firms in the top 10 include Gazprom, China Mobile, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Microsoft, AT&T, Royal Dutch Shell and P&G.

Among the Indian companies, Mukesh Ambani-led RIL has been ranked the highest at 80th, down 15 places from 65th earlier, with a market cap of 82 billion dollars.

RIL is followed by state-run ONGC at 148th (down from 115), public sector power major NTPC at 206th (down from 163), Sunil Mittal-led telecom giant Bharti Airtel at 218th (down from 193), realty major DLF at 329th (down from 195) and Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications at 350th position (down from 252). However, ITC climbed six spots to the 484th place, with a market value of 19.38 billion dollars.

Dasavatharam - Purpose and Explaination for ten Avatars

2008-06-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

One thing we had noticed is that people didnt get the real subtext and reason for the various roles and hence the title. If you knew the real dasavatharams of Lord Vishnu and their characters you can appreciate the script more.

1. Krishna avatar - Vincent Poovaraghavan

Lord krishna is actually a dalit, he is dark-skinned [shyamalam]. He saved draupadi when she was being violated and he was the actual diplomat in mahabharatham. Lord krishna dies of an arrow striking his lower leg. Now look at how vincent was introduced.. he appears when asin is about to be molested and he saves her like draupadi. Vincent is the dalit diplomat, fights for land issue [soil issue to be exact] and dies from the metal rod striking his leg. Oh even five of vincent's men are drugged at P.Vasu'sresidence.. sounds familiar???

2. Balarama avatar - Balarama naidu

This is an easy given. as the name suggests and the role personifies you can easily get it.

3. Mathsya avatar - Ranagaraja nambi

nambi is thrown into water in an act of trying to save lord from being thrown into sea, though vainly. what more clue do you want?

4. Varaha avatar - Krishnaveni paatti

During the mukunda song, krishnaveni paatti does varaha avatar in the shadow puppetry. The frame freezes on it for a second. there is the clue.
Moreover, in varaha avatar lord actually hides earth so as to protect life forms. Here too krishnaveni hides the germs - life form inside the statue so as to protect.

5. Vamana avatar - Kalifulla khan

Remember in vamana avatar, lord vishnu takes the vishvaroopa, that is the giant form! Hence the giant kalifulla here symbolises vamana avatar.

6. Parasurama avatar - Christian Fletcher

Parasurama is actually on an angry killing spree and killed 21 generations of the particular kshatriya vamsa. Hence the real KILLER... Guess what thats what our Fletcher is! He comes around with the gun [modern upgrade for axe] and kills everyone around. I have to check if he kills 21 people though. :-D

7. Narasimha avatar - Shingen Narahashi

first of all the name itself is a play on the words singam [means lion in tamil] and narasimha [the avatar being symbolised]. Lord Narasimha manifests himelf to kill the bad guy and he also teaches prahaladha. In the movie, he shows up to kill the killer fletcher! and is also a teacher..

Lord Narasimha had to kill the asura with bare hands and hence the martial arts exponent here.. get it?

8. Rama avatar - Avatar Singh

Lord Rama stands for the one man one woman maxim, kind of symbolising true love.. Here Avatar portrays that spirit by saying that he loves his woman more than anything and wants to live for her.

9. Koorma avatar –George Bush

This is the most loose adaptation I couldn't clearly comprehend. But if you look at the real koorma avatar, the lord is the turtle/tortoise that helps in stirring the ksheera sagara and bringing out the amruth. This essentially creates war among the devas and asuras. Similarly today Bush facilitates war between you know whom... May be Kamal also indicates that this avatar is a bit dumb like the tortoise...

10. Kalki avatar - Govindaraj Ramasamy

As you know, the hero in kaliyug can be none other than the Kalki avatar!!!

Creativity is Rare ..but when people fails to understand your creativity,then its either the problem with the creator or with the viewer.In the case of movies,its for all kind of viewers.The movie has to reach them.Demanding the viewer to reveal the esence of the movie may some time result in failure!!! Anyway " DASAVATHARAM " By Kamal Hassan was indeed a good attempt!!

'.wow': ICANN to allow almost any domain suffix

2008-06-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

At its meeting in Paris, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a not-for-profit organization that oversees the naming scheme for web sites, voted to accept a proposal that will allow companies to purchase new top-level domain names ending in almost whatever suffix they choose.

So, for example, instead of being restricted to sites ending in .com or .org., eBay could have a site that ends in .ebay, or New York City could end its website address with .nyc.

The new naming process will begin in 2009. The first suffixes will probably be given to businesses and other major organizations. Countries are expected to keep their specific suffixes, but, as in the example above, cities could also get individualized URLs, such as .london or .chicago.

In an effort to deter cybersquatters, the organization is likely to charge a hefty price for the new names. Some experts have estimated that the new domain names could cost anywhere from $50,000 (£25,200) to $100,000 or more. ICANN plans to give companies with trademarked names priority for those names.

The group also voted to allow public comment on a proposal that would enable countries to use non-English script. For example, companies could use Chinese or Arabic script to identify their web sites.

Paul Twomey, chief executive of ICANN, told the BBC earlier this week that allowing the new naming conventions would create new "real estate" on the internet.

However, some experts have expressed concerns that the decision could result in a gold-rush mentality. While trademarked names will only be available to holders of those trademarks, there are many common words that people may want to register as web site suffixes, such as '.sex'.

The suffix .xxx was rejected by ICANN last year, but it could also prove to be a popular suffix under the more relaxed policy. However, Twomey told Agence France-Press that the organization will still try to block or reject any domain name that it deems inappropriate for security or moral reasons.

Who Will Fill Bill Gates’ Shoes?

2008-06-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates is retiring as an employee of Microsoft to focus on his philanthropic foundation. More than any other single person, Gates defined the PC era. His products touch nearly every computer user on the planet. And he created what is still the biggest technology wealth machine in Microsoft. But now that he is leaving, who will fill his shoes?

I don’t mean who will fill his shoes at Microsoft. Gates stepped back from day-to-day management years ago, handing his business responsibilities to CEO Steve Ballmer and technology responsibilities to chief software architect Ray Ozzie. What I mean is: Who will carry on his legacy and define the current Web era of computing?

It is unlikely there will ever be another Bill Gates if for the only reason that Gates’ influence stemmed from his control of the computing platform of choice (the PC, through Windows). The computing platform of choice today is the Web, and no single person or company can control that. But there are plenty of Web company founders out there—from large companies to small startups—that are turning the Web into a platform for applications and creating new kinds of software as a result.More>>

Bill Gates: how a geek changed the world

2008-06-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates ends his full-time job at Microsoft on a Friday afternoon and the company opens for business after the weekend as if nothing has changed.

At least, that is how Gates' successors want to play it.

The 'transition', as it is called inside the company, was announced two years ago.

On the face of it, the only difference after 27 June will be that Gates will be non-executive chairman rather than executive chairman, spending just one day a week on Microsoft business.

Seamless transition?

The new leaders, none much younger than Gates himself, mix warm tributes to their founder with reassurances that all will be fine without him. More>>

Bill Gates says good bye

2008-06-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

On June 15, 2006, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie, Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie and CEO Steve Ballmer pose after Bill announces his plans to phase himself out of the company. June 27,2008 was his last working day at Microsoft.

LoveLogger.com is a Pair-Blogging and Social Platform

2008-06-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

I am just surprised seeing www.lovelogger.com and www.sweetcircles.com. These two sites are created and lead by BalakumarMuthu. I can say he is my inspiration to start this blog on 2005 when I don't even know what is blogging. I even had communication with him, that time he said he is busy with web 2.0 project. After long time today I checked his blog and come to know he is the CEO and Creator of www.sweetcircles.com. It looks very good idea and www.lovelogger.com seems to be very new concept of connecting two people. I wish him All the Best to suceed in creating one of the best blogging platofrm from an Indian company.

guruji.com - Indian Local Search Engine

2008-06-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

Guruji.com, the first indian based search engine which crawl the indian sites and indian related contents was launched last week. Guruji.com is funded by Sequoia Capital India, incidentally who funds google also and the angel investors like Suvir Sajan, Co-CEO of Bazee.com, which was acquired by ebay. On the first look, their home page and the resultant page is very much similar to the search engine giant google. Their home page is simple and elegant, like google and the speed of their search is quite satisfactory. Try Now>>

The Man Who Could Have Been Bill Gates

2008-06-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

A new book says Gates got the rewards due Gary Kildall. What's the real story?
The saga of the computing industry is rich with outsize characters and surprising plot turns, but there's one story that has risen over time to mythic proportions. It's the tale of how software pioneer Gary Kildall missed out on the opportunity to supply IBM (IBM ) with the operating system for its first PC -- essentially handing the chance of a lifetime, and control of tech's future, to rival Bill Gates and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT ). In the process, he may have missed out on becoming the world's richest man.
The legend goes like this: One fateful day in the summer of 1980, three buttoned-down IBMers called on a band of hippie programmers at Digital Research Inc. located in Pacific Grove, Calif. They hoped to discuss licensing DRI's industry-leading operating system, CP/M. Instead, DRI founder Gary Kildall blew off IBM to gallivant around in his airplane, and the frustrated IBMers turned to Gates for their operating system. This anecdote has been told so often that techies need only be reminded of "the day Gary Kildall went flying" to recall the rest. While he's revered for his technical innovations, many believe Kildall made one of the biggest mistakes in the history of commerce.

But what if that's not what happened? What if IBM and Microsoft deprived Kildall not only of untold riches but also of the credit for a seminal role in the PC revolution? That's the thesis of a chapter about Kildall in They Made America, a serious coffee table history book by renowned author and former newspaper editor Harold Evans. The book, published by Little Brown on Oct. 12, profiles 70 American innovators and is the inspiration for an upcoming PBS series. And while other tech authors have debunked the gallivanting story before, Evans bases his Kildall chapter on a 226-page, never-published memoir written by Kildall just before his death in 1994. Early on, Kildall seemed to represent the best hopes of the nascent computer industry. But by the time he died at age 52, after falling in a tavern, he had become embittered and struggled with alcohol. More>>

Bill Gates to step down as chairman of Microsoft today

2008-06-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

The world’s richest man, Bill Gates, is all set to step down as the chairman of Microsoft on Friday.

The God of geeks, an inspiration to many a wannabe millionaires and a shrewd businessman, Mr Gates would always be remembered for the huge contribution that Microsoft did for spreading the IT revolution in the world.

Over 90% of the world’s desktops work on Microsoft Windows and almost all of the world’s word processing documents, spreadsheets, are created on Microsoft software.

All started in Albuquerque, US, in 1975, when Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and started ‘Microsoft’ with buddy Paul Allen at age 20. Paul was two years older to Bill. Both wrote the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. Within three years, Bill and Paul earned their first million dollars via sales of BASIC and two other software.

Bill Gates became CEO for Microsoft in 1975, a title he handed over to his Harvard mate Steve Ballmer in 2000. Bill Gates went on to become the richest man in America with a fortune of $9.35 billion in 1994. He married Melinda French from Dallas, the same year.

The next year he was crowned the world’s richest man with a worth of over $12.9 billion. He visited India in 2005, and announced an $1.7-billion investment.
In June 2006, he announced his intention to step down as Microsoft chairman by July 2008. Mr Gates expressed his intention to focus more on Global Health & Development Program run by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation has an endowment of $34.6 billion. The donations from the foundation each year amount to over $1.5 billion at minimum, largely from Bill Gates’ own fortune.

Even though Microsoft’s monopoly may erode over the years as open source and web technologies gain momentum, nobody can forget the enormous contribution of Bill Gates to the world both in terms of a software revolution and his philanthropic efforts.

25 most powerful people in business - Mark Hurd (16)

2008-06-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

Chairman and CEO, Hewlett-Packard

When the steely Midwesterner signed on to run Hewlett-Packard in 2005, the company was in the dumps. The board had fired his predecessor, the high-profile Carly Fiorina; morale was low; and the numbers were not looking good.

All that has changed. HP is back at the top of its game. In its most recent results, net earnings rose 28% on revenue growth of 15% - and the company is so bullish that it ordered an $8 billion buyback. The Silicon Valley stalwart has overtaken Dell as the leader in the personal computer market and is turning out innovative products, such as the video-conferencing system Halo. Oh, and its stock price has tripled under Hurd, who emerged pretty much unscathed by the boardroom pretexting scandal in 2006.

Hewlett-Packard to reorganize printer business

2008-06-26T18:32:00.001-07:00

Hewlett-Packard Co will reorganize its printer operations, trimming its five business units to three in a bid to become more efficient, reported on Thursday.

The announcement was made in a Webcast to employees on Wednesday by print division chief Vyomesh Joshi, the newspaper reported in its online edition.

The changes will consolidate HP's laser-jet and commercial-printer units into one, change the head of the graphics unit and combine the ink-jet and consumer-supplies units. The printing division has already eliminated hundreds of jobs in its offices in Idaho, Oregon and Washington State, but the company said the new move would not result in large-scale lay-offs.

The printer business has long been one of the company's largest profit centers, but consumers and businesses have become less reliant on printing in recent years. The printer unit earned $2.38 bn over the first two fiscal quarters.

TCS, Infosys, Wipro run Indian IT show: Forrester

2008-06-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Large IT services companies have widened the gap with their smaller peers in terms of revenue, strategy and differentiation, a report by Forrester research says.

The country’s top three IT vendors, TCS, Infosys and Wipro—accounted for 46.4% of exports from India during FY08 compared to 26% in FY04, according to the study ‘Understanding the new grip of vendor polarisation.’

The top-tier firms have been outperforming the rest on all counts, including profitability, revenue-per-employee and growth while the sub-$1 billion firms have not shown any differentiation either in terms of capability or providing specialised IT services, according to the research outfit’s senior analyst Sudin Apte.

Small and mid-sized IT companies are also struggling to grow the base of their existing clients and bag large orders. On the other hand, those with revenue above $1 billion are growing their revenue by 30% despite tougher economic conditions.

What is Cloud Computing?

2008-06-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

I am writing this blog to explain what really is Cloud Computing. If you are up to date with the technology trends, you would come across this term frequently. In this blog I will post few of the definition from the internet.

computing paradigm in which tasks are assigned to a combination of connections, software and services accessed over a network. This network of servers and connections is collectively known as "the cloud." Computing at the scale of the cloud allows users to access supercomputer-level power. Using a thin client or other access point, like an iPhone, BlackBerry or laptop, users can reach into the cloud for resources as they need them. For this reason, cloud computing has also been described as "on-demand computing."

One of the more dramatic changes is a shift to cloud computing -- where applications and files are stored on a large, centralized supercomputer or network. The end user accesses his or her files using computers that are more streamlined but less sophisticated than today's typical machines.

Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT's existing capabilities.

From the above definition it is clear that Cloud Computing is delivering Software as a Service (Saas). Move everything into server and access from the any endpoint interface. Analysts predict that the future will be about doing everything on the cloud without worrying much about the client.

Microsoft's war against Google

2008-06-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is pushing hard to stop Google from teaming up with Yahoo now that the software giant has given up on acquiring the tarnished Internet portal. But antitrust lawyers and technology analysts outside the case don't think Ballmer & Co. has much of a prayer at stopping the deal from going through.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) intends to put up a strong fight nonetheless. The company is on a mission to derail or delay Google's deal to outsource a portion of its ads on Yahoo. The company says it's still interested in buying just Yahoo's search business. Microsoft has deployed its lawyers and Washington staff to meet with lawmakers to discuss how Google will monopolize search advertising and drive up prices through its new Yahoo partnership.More>>

Kandasaamy’ to be released for Diwali!

2008-06-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

‘Kandasaamy’ is expected to be released for Diwali. The film stars Vikram, Shriya in the lead roles. ‘Kandasaamy’ is directed by Susi Ganesan and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. Devi Sir Prasad scored the music for the film. The producer says that they are taking no chances and no compromises are being made and they are working to provide a quality product. He says that the film would satisfy all sections of fans. A huge set had been put up in the Prasad Studios costing Rs. 1 crore. The action scene was shot for 17 days in the sets.

Vikram's Kandasamy - Tamil Movie Trailer

2008-06-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Google, @ 10 years, is looking for more

2008-06-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago this coming September, two Stanford University doctoral students -- one of them a Michigan native -- launched a business that would revolutionize how millions of people use the Internet.

Yes, Google is getting older, at least in tech years.

But don't expect the world's dominant search engine company to remain content with the enormous success it has achieved so far.

Google is rolling out innovative features that will allow users to search the Web more efficiently. It is also looking to expand its advertising reach, focusing on the folks who do their queries via mobile phones and car-based systems. Google has been increasing its spending on research and development, which totaled $2.1 billion last year alone.

The company has come a long way since Sergey Brin and Michigan native Larry Page started Google in a garage in Menlo Park, Calif. One of the most feared and respected technology giants in the world, Google earned $4.2 billion in profits last year and employs nearly 17,000 workers, including more than 262 at ad sales and support offices in Ann Arbor and Birmingham.More>>

Mani Ratnam, Vikram comes together

2008-06-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

This is the latest buzz in Kollywood. One of India’s premier filmmakers, Mani Ratnam, joining hands with the talented Vikram.

Reliable sources indicate that the duo will come together for a project that will be unique and special. Vikram is currently shooting for Kanthasamy which is directed by Mani Ratnam’s protege Susi Ganesan. He is expected to do Mani’s film after completing Kanthasamy. The fact that Vikram has postponed his film with Bhoopathy Pandian, which he was supposed to do after Kanthasamy, adds credibilty to the news.

Mani Ratnam, who struck gold in Bollywood with Guru last year, was supposed to do Lajjo with Aamir Khan. However, the project has fallen off the tracks as Aamir is busy with his Ghajini. Hence, the maker is planning to make a Tamil film with Vikram in the lead.

Meanwhile, there are also reports that Mani is planning to repeat the lead in his previous film, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, in a breezy romantic film on the lines of his Alaipayuthey. The reports say that the film will be in Hindi but will be dubbed into Tamil.

The report also says the director met up with top actors to start the casting for his next film. He has already finalised Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan for the lead pair and is in talks with other actors for the supporting cast.

Well, we expect the director himself to put an end to such conflicting reports.

MTN acquires Verizon's south african ISP entity

2008-06-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

Telecom major MTN, currently in exclusive negotiations with India's Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications for a possible merger, today announced acquisition of Verizon South Africa, an Internet service provider majority owned by US-based Verizon Communications.

Under the agreement, MTN will acquire 100 percent of Verizon South Africa Pty Ltd, which is 70 percent owned by Verizon Business and the rest by J&J Group, an investment holding entity founded by two Indian-origin persons.

Verizon Business is part of the US telecom major Verizon and Verizon Business South Africa is an established South Africa headquartered Internet service provider (ISP) providing connectivity services to corporate customers in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Kenya.

The ISP is about 30 percent owned by Jay & Jayendra Pty Ltd, part of South Africa-based investment holding and management company J&J Group, which was founded by Jay Naidoo and Jayendra Naidoo in February 2000.

US major Verizon Comm has a mobile business joint venture in the US, named Verizon Wireless, with British telecom giant Vodafone, which is headed by an Indian-origin CEO Arun Sarin. However, Sarin is set to leave the company next month.

In a regulatory filing here, MTN said that the deal is in line with its strategy to provide integrated communications solutions in all of its markets.

The deal follows similar acquisitions by MTN in Nigeria, Cameroon, Cyprus and Cote de'lvoire, the company said.

MTN said that the closing of the deal is subject to regulatory and competition commission approvals.

The African telecom major is currently engaged in 45-day exclusive talks, which began on May 26, with Reliance Communications for a possible amalgamation to create an entity worth about an estimated 70 billion dollars.

Indian GOVT launches e-Passport Scheme

2008-06-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

Government today launched the ambitious 'E-passports' scheme with President Pratibha Patil receiving the first copy from External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee here.

While the E-passports launched today are meant for the diplomats, it would be issued for the category of officials from next month and general people from September next year.

"Around 80 lakh e-passports would be issued by 2010," Mukherjee said.

The new passports would have an electronic chip containing all personal data and help reduce the procedure at immigration.

"It is compatible with international standards and identity cards and would protect against fraud and security breaches," Mukherjee said, adding it was easy to verify the authenticity of e-passports.

The new passports have been designed indigenously in India by the Central Passport Organisation, the India Security Press, Nasik and IIT, Kanpur.

Nokia and Google: Too much emphasis on the mobile OS?

2008-06-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

With Nokia’s acquisition of Symbian, it is going head-to-head with Google Android and Windows Mobile to make a run at building the top software platform for mobile phones. The problem is that all three of them could be making some bad assumptions about the way the mobile phone market — particularly the smartphone market — is going to unfold over the next five to ten years.

They all seem to be assuming that the mobile phone market will mirror the computer market, which is dominated by a small handful of platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The reality is that there is likely to be a much larger diversity of platforms in the mobile world.

In addition to Android, Symbian, and Windows Mobile, there is now the iPhone with its OS X-based platform. And, beyond those four, there’s a plethora of phone makers that run their own proprietary operating systems on a variety of phones, sometimes with a customized OS for each phone.

It’s going to be very hard to put the genie back on the bottle in the phone market. All of these different types of phones are already out there and will be in use for years to come. Some may argue that the smartphone market does not have as many players as the general mobile market, but the lines are blurring between standard mobile phones and smartphones.More>>

Microsoft Outlook Accounts Migrate to Gmail

2008-06-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

Google seems to have landed a big-ticket contract for issuing Gmail accounts to some 1.3-million students in schools in Australia. Which also means Gmail accounts will now oust existing Microsoft Outlook or Exchange accounts of these students.

The three-years contract is worth nearly $9.5 million; Google, in partnership with SMS Management & Technology and Telstra, will supply the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education a customized Gmail version that bundles Google Apps. With this contract, Google has succeeded in migrating Microsoft Outlook/Exchange users to its Google Applications and Gmail. For the NSW Department of Education, it's a win-win as the existing Microsoft Outlook/Exchange system costed a bomb, i.e. $33 million.

The other big story is that an upstart named LimitNone (start-up) has sued Google for allegedly 'copying' their email switching tool. LimitNone has alleged that while it shared trade secrets of its email switching tool (gMove) with Google engineers, sales executives, customers, Google quietly went and developed an 'almost identical' tool, subsequently jumping into the fray itself.

Vodafone Offers PreRegisteration form for iPhone 3G in India

2008-06-25T03:59:00.000-07:00

Vodafone, one of India's largest telecommunication provider will offer first iPhone to the Indian market. The date is not confirmed but the site Officially announce the preregistration for the upcoming iPhone 3G device.

Register Here

Self Appraisal

2008-06-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits (phone numbers).

The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation:

Boy: "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?

Woman: (at the other end of the phone line): "I already have someone to cut my lawn."

Boy: "Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now."

Woman: I'm very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting my lawn.

Boy: (with more perseverance) : "Lady, I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach , Florida."

Woman: No, thank you.

With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver. The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy.

Store Owner: "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."

Boy: "No thanks,

Store Owner: But you were really pleading for one.

Boy: No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to!"

This is what we call "Self Appraisal"

Bharti Airtel-Apple to bring iPhone3G to India

2008-06-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

After announcing a tie-up for bringing iPhone, Bharti Airtel and Apple extended their partnership to launch the 3G version of iPhone in India later this year.

Soon customers will be able to purchase iPhone3G at Airtel Relationship Centers. Details of pricing and availability will be announced at a later date.

iPhone3G, the latest phone from Apple, combines all the features of iPhone with 3G networking, which is said to be two times faster than the first generation iPhone. It has built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, a joint press release said.

It also has iPhone 2.0 software, which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK.

“We are delighted with the opportunity to bring the innovative iPhone3G to India,” said Bharti Airtel President and CEO Manoj Kohli.

“We are thrilled to be working with Bharti Airtel, India’s leading integrated telecom company, to bring iPhone 3G to millions of mobile customers in India,” said Apple’s COO Tim Cook.

“We can’t wait to get this revolutionary product in the hands of even more people around the world.”

BillGates Last week as Microsoft's FullTime Employee

2008-06-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates isn't really leaving Microsoft; he's just shifting how much time he spends there.

In late May, I chatted with Gates over cocktails before he and CEO Steve Ballmer made their final public appearance together at the D Conference in Carlsbad, Calif. Gates said he spends about 80 percent of his time at Microsoft and another 20 percent at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. From July 1, that 80-20 ratio will flip, with the majority of Gates' time being dedicated to the charitable endowment.

And Gates really hasn't been involved in day-to-day operations at Microsoft for a while.

For example, during the D Conference, Gates said, other than consulting with Ballmer as a friend, he wasn't involved in Microsoft's attempted, and failed, takeover of Yahoo. In addition, Gates' role as visionary has greatly diminished, particularly after his successors—Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer—fully assumed their positions during the last year.

As chairman and the largest stockholder in the company, Gates will always have a role at Microsoft. But as chief influencer, Gates left long ago.

Gates announced his departure two years ago, as part of a long transition from monopolist to philanthropist. But Gates' exit really started in 2000, when Ballmer replaced him as CEO. A transition from charismatic founding leader burdens any company, and Microsoft has taken eight years to move from Gates to Ballmer. The change is sure to affect Microsoft during its fourth decade as an incorporated entity.

Even with waning influence, however, Gates is an important figurehead who casts a long shadow over most other Microsoft executives.

Technical expertise is one reason. More>>

Idea Cellular to buy Spice Communications

2008-06-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

Idea Cellular, India's fifth-largest mobile operator, said on Wednesday it would buy Spice Group's 40.8 per cent stake in another mobile firm, Spice Communications, at Rs 77.3 per share.

Idea also said it would merge Spice with itself through a share swap where Spice shareholders would get 49 Idea shares for every 100 Spice shares held.

Spice has operations in two out of a total 23 telecom circles and has a customer base of more than 3 million while Idea is present in 11 circles and has a customer base of over 26 million. India, the world's fastest-growing mobile services market and the second-largest market after China, has lured foreign firms like Vodafone Plc which last year bought a controlling stake in the third-largest local cellular firm.

India has 269.30 million wireless users at end-April, up 57 percent from a year earlier, according to the telecoms regulator.

Nokia to acquire Symbian: make it open source

2008-06-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

GLOBAL - Nokia today announced a plan to acquire the 52 per cent of Symbian it doesn't already own and set up the Symbian Foundation, making the platform open source in the process. The ambition is to create "the most attractive platform for mobile innovation and drive the development of new and compelling web-enabled applications" Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

The full press release is below:

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced it has launched a cash offer to acquire all of the shares of Symbian Limited that Nokia does not already own, at a price of EUR 3.647 per share. The net cash outlay from Nokia to purchase the approximately 52% of Symbian Limited shares it does not already own will be approximately EUR 264 million.

Nokia has received irrevocable undertakings from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. and Siemens International Holding BV to accept the offer, representing approximately 91% of the Symbian shares subject to the offer. Nokia also expects Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to accept the offer.

The acquisition is a fundamental step in the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, announced today by Nokia, together with AT&T, LG Electronics, Motorola, NTT DOCOMO, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone. More information about the planned foundation can be found at www.symbianfoundation.org.

"This is a significant milestone in our software strategy" said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia. "Symbian is already the leading open platform for mobile devices. Through this acquisition and the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, it will undisputedly be the most attractive platform for mobile innovation. This will drive the development of new and compelling, web-enabled applications to delight a new generation of consumers."More>>

Google Browser Sync To Be Discontinued for FireFox 3.0

2008-06-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

For those who never used it, Google Browser Sync was a Firefox extension that synchronized your bookmarks, web history, browser sessions and passwords across multiple computers by temporarily saving them to Google's servers. According to the Google Browser Sync team: 'It was a tough call, but we decided to phase out support for Browser Sync. Since the team has moved on to other projects that are keeping them busy, we don't have time to update the extension to work with Firefox 3 or to continue to maintain it.' For all of those who fell in love with Google's Browser Sync, our only hope now is to resort to poorly maintained 3rd party extensions without Google's blessing."

Snow Leopard: Back to Basics

2008-06-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

All the media attention this week has been on the announcement of the new iPhone 3G during Steve Jobs’s keynote at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. But for Mac users there was another huge story that day, one that took up only a few seconds of the keynote: Snow Leopard, a brand-new version of Mac OS X.

Apple has been working on Mac OS X for more than a decade, and the public has been able to use it for eight years. In that time, the replacement for the classic Mac OS has grown through several stages: it began in an awkward, half-functional state, progressed into a fully functional replacement for OS 9 with increasing levels of speed and stability, and finally became an entrenched system that advanced by acquiring whizzy new features such as Spotlight and Time Machine.

Early in Mac OS X’s history, the operating system sped up with each new version, as Apple engineers tuned the code and got it working better. But those improvements have faded, and the last two releases have certainly been no faster than their predecessors. Instability, too, has returned to Mac OS X. (The title of my predecessor Rick LePage’s opinion piece, “What I Hate About Leopard,” says it all.)

So how refreshing was it for Apple to announce—albeit out of the spotlight of the keynote, via press release—that Apple is taking a break from rolling out Mac OS X updates with hundreds of new features. Instead, the next major release of Mac OS X will focus on speed and stability.More>>

Firefox 3 won't have 'private browsing'

2008-06-14T06:20:00.001-07:00

The feature, Private Browsing, would have disabled all caching, cookie downloads, history records, and form data used during the current session. In essence, you could surf the Web and leave no fingerprints.

"It basically said to the browser: I would like what I'm about to do to not be logged anywhere," said Johnathan Nightingale, Mozilla's "human shield," aka its security user interface designer.

He described the private browsing process as this: you hit a button and everything past that point isn't logged. Then, at some point in the future, you hit the button again and it's as though what you just did never happened.

One possible use might be when someone other than the computer owner uses the browser.

"We looked at ways to do this, but the problem is that it touches a lot of code," Nightingale said. "Because there are such rich interactions with Web sites and mashups and things like that, we didn't want to put in something that was half baked."

You can hear more of my interview with Nightingale on my Security Bites podcast here.

Shyamalan's 'Happening' Lacks a Sense of Direction

2008-06-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

He still sees dead people, only now they're the best thing in the movie.

M. Night Shyamalan gets great spurts of energy when he visualizes the dead, in this case victims of a plague of suicide sweeping the Northeast in his new film, "The Happening."

A perfectly pleasant if somewhat distracted young woman plunges a knitting needle into her neck.

Someone carefully places himself in front of a large power mower. (Ugh!)

Scores of construction workers leap eerily to their deaths (a shocking image made more powerful by Shyamalan's insistence on stuntmen rather than dummies so the bodies show spontaneity and plasticity on the way down).

And finally: An old lady smashes her head through a window to cut her own throat.More>>

Dasavatharam becomes the costliest Indian film

2008-06-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

Kamal Haasan starrer Dasavatharam has overshot its Rs.1.3 billion budget and becomes the costliest Indian film to be ever made, said sources.

"Friday's much hyped trip of Jackie Chan to Chennai on a chartered flight had cost Rs.100 million to the producer and has added to the total cost that has now gone beyond Rs.1.4 billion, said sources close to producer "Oscar" Ravichandran."

The producer, however, is not said to be complaining.

"Since top stars from Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini and Mallika Sherawat were present, the worldwide publicity generated has contributed more to the movie's Hindi release than what we actually ended up spending," the source added.

Unfortunately, there was chaos at the film's audio launch function last week in Chennai. Dozens of people, including journalists, were injured when police cane-charged frenzied crowds at the star-studded event.

"Any news is good news. Despite spending all this money, there were no pictures of our shy producer Ravichandran. And there is no mention of his apologising to anyone anywhere," said a publicist associated with the film, referring to the mismanagement of the audio release function.

Sun Certification Retake Promotion

2008-06-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

To commemorate Sun's awarding 500,000 certifications, purchase a voucher by June 20 for most Sun certifications - and should you need it, you can take the exam one additional time for free.

Step 1: Select Your Exam

Select the certification exam of interest from the list of qualifying exams below. You must use Priority Code WW48CX1 when you place your order. If you reside in the United States, follow the links below for the qualifying certification exams to research Sun professional certification and to order exam vouchers. If you reside outside of the United States, please contact your local training office or country web site.

This offer is valid in all countries where Sun certification is sold, except Brazil and India. For certification candidates in Japan, this offer begins on May 1, 2008. Check Your Proficiency

With Sun's free online Proficiency Assessment System you can check your knowledge and skill level with that required to achieve several of Sun's certification exams. When you're done, you'll receive a custom proficiency profile, and if needed, a recommended learning path to help you advance to the next level in your professional development.

Step 2: Schedule Your Exam

Exams are taken at Authorized Prometric Testing Centers, which are located around the world. After you have purchased your exam voucher, contact the desired testing center to schedule your exam date, time, and location.

Step 3: Schedule Your Retake Exam

Those who purchase a certification exam voucher using the priority code by June 20, 2008, and who do not pass the exam, qualify for the free retake. Simply contact the Authorized Prometric Testing Center in the same manner you did for your initial attempt at the exam, and provide your original certification exam voucher number. You must allow 72 hours after taking your initial exam before scheduling the free retake exam. Please also be aware that per Sun certification guidelines you must wait at least 14 days before you may retake any exam. There is no need to contact Sun to schedule your retake exam.

More Details>>

Yahoo Runs Into Google’s Arms

2008-06-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Yahoo and Google have confirmed that they are indeed entering into a partnership around search advertising, a story we broke earlier today. Google’s blog post on the agreement is here.

—The deal is non-exclusive. Yahoo will be able to run Google ads alongside Yahoo ads or other ad providers.
—The deal is expected to add $800 million a year in revenues and $250 million to $450 million in operating cash flow.
—The deal only applies to paid search and contextual ads, not to algorithmic search.

This arrangement will no doubt intensify the scrutiny from Washington, where the Justice Department has already launched an investigation into antitrust issues arising from Yahoo and Google merely testing the waters for today’s partnership. Congress might want to hold hearings as well. Back in April, Citi analyst Mark Mahaney estimated that a Google deal could increase Yahoo’s cash flows by more than $1 billion a year. It turns it will be less than that. But given the antitrust scrutiny, the deal is necessarily structured in a creative way. As part of the deal, Yahoo can decide to go with Google only for those search queries where it will get the most bang for the buck.

On Wednesday, when asked by Fox News about the antitrust issues surrounding a possible search deal with Yahoo, Schmidt responded:

Well you are presuming that there’s an issue there.

If there were an issue, it’s perfectly possible that you can do commercial deals that look like outsourcing deals which are not exclusive and where industry structures allow everybody to win. If you look in the automobile industry and lots and lots of industries like that, you have suppliers who supply other people. So if there were a deal, it would be based on those sorts of principles.

As long as the relationship is competitive, it might pass regulatory scrutiny. That is, if Microsoft can bid for Yahoo’s search advertising business as well, then whoever can deliver the most cash to Yahoo will win the business. In reality, we all know who that will be: Google. Neither Microsoft nor Yahoo can match the search dollars that Google can deliver.

Dasavatharam Review

2008-06-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

After watching Dasavatharam- the so called magnum opus of the year- an ardent fan of Kamal Hassan will ask why indeed it is called a magnum opus in the first place. Why was all the hype, tension, cases, expectations and unnecessary expenses wasted on this average film. Once again, Kamal fails to attract Tamil audiences with his own script.

The story starts with an incident taking place in 12th century during the rule of the Chozha dynasty when Hindus were divided into Saivites and Vaishnavites. Rangarajan Nambi (Avatar No.1) is a loyal disciple of Ramanuja Azhwar. King Kulothunga (Napolean - what a fantastic performance!), a follower of Lord Siva, compels Nambi to change his religious beliefs and worship Lord Siva instead of Lord Vishnu but Nambi refuses.

After this meaningless first avatar, the movie shifts to the present scientific world. Govind (Avatar No.2), an American scientist invents a dangerous bio weapon in his lab but wants to destroy the same after realizing its dangerous consequences. But the US Govt and scientists don't allow him to do that. One fine day, Govind runs away from the lab with the bio weapon but Fletcher (Avatar No.3), a former CIA officer turned villian, chases him to get the weapon back to destroy other countries.

The weapon is mistakenly sent to an Indian address by courier where a 95 year old lady (Avatar No.4) receives the parcel. Govind immediately rushes to India and traces down the address. He is followed by Fletcher who is accompanied by his prostitute cum translator (Mallika Sherawat). The old lady refuses to give the weapon to them without understanding the danger it could cause and puts it inside a statue of Lord Vishnu. More>>

Apple unveils a faster, cheaper iPhone

2008-06-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Steven Jobs, chief executive of Apple, introduced a new cheaper iPhone model that connects to the Internet faster, expanded its distribution overseas and displayed a range of new applications and services in order to establish Apple as a major player in the cellphone industry.

Apple, the Cupertino, California, maker of consumer electronics and computer equipment, had set a goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008, which would establish it as one of the major smartphone makers in the less than two years since it began shipping the original iPhone. Apple has sold six million phones globally since its introduction.

Analysts said that Jobs, one of the world's best product marketers, had largely accomplished what he set out to do and they welcomed the moves he outlined in a presentation before software developers on Monday.More>>

Difference between SCWCD 5.0 and SCWCD 1.4?

2008-06-07T05:32:00.000-07:00

Sun has recently announced SCWCD 5.0 exam and retired its previous version SCWCD 1.4. There is no major changes in the new version of the exam. It seems to be the marketing buzz created by sun just updating the exam number without changing many of the older objectives. So, one can prepare for the new exam using the existing books for SCWCD. Instead of updating the objectives, the questions pattern has changed. Previous exam versions checked for the concepts of the subjects which one can clear the exam by reading the book. But, the new version of the exam checks the indepth knowledge of the exam taker. This could be the major change because it needs deep understand on the concepts and also demands practical knowledge on the subject. The following are the key points to

consider difference between SCWCD 1.4 and SCWCD 5.0.


...First of all, the title of the exam is pure marketing fluff. The SCWCD5 exam has
nothing to do with Java EE v1.5. This exam (CX-310-083) is merely an update of
the old SCWCD exam (CX-310-081). No objectives were changed. The new exam is
solely based upon the J2EE v1.4 version of the serlvet (2.4) and JSP (2.0)
and JSTL (1.1) specs...


...So the new (updated) SCWCD5 exam is a mixture of old items and new items...


... new exam more "performance based" rather than "knowledge based"...


You chances of passing the SCWD5 exam with the current HFSJ is very good. The
new version of the book has a few topics that we forgot to include in the first
edition: dynamic attributes and the JSTL <out> tag

Wipro launches Fit for Life for its employees

2008-06-03T03:11:00.000-07:00

Wipro Limted launched Fit for Life, a comprehensive well-being programme for its employees, today.

"The objective of the programme is to evaluate and improve well-being,both physical and mental, quotient of employees as well as integrate all current well-being initiatives under the umbrella to strengthen it further", a Wipro release said.

Commenting on the initiative, Girish Paranjpe, joint CEO and Executive Director, Wipro Limited, said, "Employee well-being is of paramount importance to us. Fit for Life is yet another initiative in this direction. Companies need to have such initiatives as they will become hygiene factors in choice of employers in the future."

Some of the initiatives to be rolled out in the coming weeks are onsite health check camps across locations, promotion of healthy habits, anti smoking awareness campaign, stress management camps, meditation and yoga, various awareness campaigns on asthma and allergy, skin care, headache disorder and alcohol.

A study by PWC on well being across 32 companies globally states well being programmes adopted by campanies make them a more attractive place for people to work and improves employee engagement levels with the organisation apart from the primary benefit of increasing well being levels among employees, it said.

What's new in Internet Explorer 8.0?

2008-06-03T03:04:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has kept development of Internet Explorer 8 pretty quiet, but already the next major version of the most widely-used browser is available for downloading in a beta version.

While the focus of IE 7 was on security and the incorporation of a tabbed interface, version 8's main features centre on stability and usability.

In terms of stability, IE 8's new automatic crash recovery feature is designed to solve one major problem that most IE users know all too well. Today, when an IE window or tab freezes or crashes, other browsers instances or tabs will likely become inoperable as well.

Automatic crash recovery does a better job of isolating instances of the IE browser - or separate tabs within the same browser - so that one stalled browser or tab can be terminated without affecting any other. More>>

Microsoft Strikes Search Deal With HP

2008-06-03T02:46:00.000-07:00

Having recently launched a cash rebate scheme to encourage Internet searchers to choose Windows Live Search over the competition, Microsoft on Monday moved to make search engine selection even easier for consumers by making the choice for them.

Microsoft said that it struck a distribution deal with Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest PC manufacturer, to install a Live Search toolbar on all HP consumer PCs in the United States and Canada starting in January.
"This agreement with HP is a strategic indicator of our increased focus on securing broad-scale distribution for Live Search," said Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platforms and services division. "This is the most significant distribution deal for Live Search that Microsoft has ever done, and we are very pleased to be partnering with HP to help bring Live Search to millions of consumers across North America."

HP shipped 3.9 million PCs in the United States in the first quarter of 2008, according to IDC. Turning all HP PC buyers into Live Search users would be quite a coup for Microsoft, but it's likely that many customers will change the default search engine to Google or Yahoo. It's doubtful, however, that such a change will affect the search box associated with a Live Search-branded toolbar, which is separate from the search box associated with the user's Internet browser. More>>

Firefox on track to crack 20% share in July

2008-06-03T02:40:00.000-07:00

Firefox boosted its share by 0.6% in May, accounting for 18.4% of the browsers used during the month and putting it within shouting distance of a major milestone, according to Net Applications Inc. "Firefox is trending to hit 20% market share sometime in July," said Vince Vizzaccaro, the company's executive vice president of marketing, in an e-mail.

Net Applications' May figure represents a record for the open-source browser, which resumed gains that had been interrupted in April when its share dropped slightly. The one-month increase was also the largest by Firefox since March 2007.

"Firefox is surging again, but their gains when reviewed over time aren't out of the ordinary," said Vizzaccaro. "Other than the stagnation Firefox experienced in mid-2007, their growth has been fairly consistent."

Vizzaccaro was referring to several months last summer when Mozilla's flagship browser slipped in market share, including May 2007 (down 0.9% from the previous month) and July (down 0.2%).

Although Vizzaccaro didn't pin all of Firefox's increase on a change last month to its update dialog, he did note the new approach. "Mozilla has implemented a change in Firefox 3.0 [Release Candidate 1] where the installation now has a checkbox that defaults to making Firefox your default browser," he explained. More>>

UK SEO Forum

2008-06-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

Another blog on the same topic webmasters. This time I am going talk about Webmaster Forums. Webmasters forums are hangout place for anything related to internet business. Want to make money from your blog or website? You have to first consider a active webmaster forums to get the tips. It is the place where experienced webmasters share their knowledge with others. I have been learning this for the past three years. There is plenty of webmaster forums are available in the internet, but only few are more active forums.

UK SEO Forum is the one such forums I spend most of the time while searching for the SEO tips. I have special interest on this forums because even I got a chance to moderate adsense forum and Google help forum.

Are you looking to sell or buy adspace?

If you are looking to sell or buy advertisement space for your website, please post it in Webmaster Marketplace. This forum is dedicated for selling any of your service not only adspace.

Need help for eCommerce website?

Are you looking for help for your eCommerce website? Then post it in eCommerce forum UK . If you want to consider submitting your links to directories, please post it in Directory Forum.

How to select a better webhosting service provider!!!

2008-06-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

I am writing this blog to give some general idea on the web hosting industry and how to choose better web hosting plan. If you are not aware what is web hosting means "A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own website accessible via the World Wide Web" - defined by Wikipedia.

There is many options available for the web hosting it depends on the financial constraints of the company. Most of the big companies would like to host their web hosting server in their premises since they want to have full control on it, small web msters like me :) will host the website in any of the statnard web hosting companies like Web Hosting UK and also you can register the Domain Names with the same company.

Once you host your website the basic set up for running your website is come to end. If you are a web developer then you will choose to design your website and upload it. it is not the case for all the webmaster many of them are not aware of the web design, so they will buy web designing pack from the same web hosting company. Most of the popular web hosting companies provide web designing tool kits for designing the eCommerce development websites .

Search Engine Marketing is very important for a website to increase the sales and revenue of the website. the more pages indexed in Google, more visitors com in to the website. This should be the final step once you have done with setting up the website and started adding contents into the website.

Adobe Acrobat.com Treads on Google, Microsoft Turf

2008-06-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

Adobe's free online collaboration suite seeks to make inroads against Google Apps and Microsoft Office Live Workspace.

Google isn't the only large software maker looking to replace Microsoft's on-premise Office and SharePoint productivity and collaboration suites with hosted, online versions of similar applications.

Adobe Systems June 2 made its Acrobat.com suite of word processing, file-sharing and Web conferencing software available as public beta for free. The software was released in conjunction with the launch of Adobe Acrobat 9.

An alternative to Google Docs, Buzzword is a Web-based word processor users can co-author and share documents for comment and review.More>>

Temi Odurinde Webmaster Blogs

2008-06-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am writing this blog for who are newbie or want to learn new tips and tricks on becoming the successful webmasters. I am not going to teach you from the basics since there is millions of articles already published in the internet. Instead, I would like to point you on a webmaster blog I used to read many tips and successfully implemented in my website.

Temi Odurinde Webmaster Blogs is a quality blog and maintained by temi who is the founder of one of the best webmaster website. The blogs are written in the different categories like SEO, Website Marketing and Promotions,WebHosting,etc. These are the some topics which I like to read regularly on this blog. For example Web Hosting category has the reviews on popular hosting plans and explains how to select the better webhosting company. If you are a websmater you will understand how imporatant is the reliable webhosting provider. Bad webhosting company will empty your pocket.Read this blog to get updated on webhosting details.

SEO is the mahor part in designing a better eCommerce shopping cart. Temi explains with nice tips and tricks on how to design a online store with fulfilling all the SEO needs. you can read this seo tips for example. Apart from SEO and webhosting news, this blogs also has some interesting facts on Web Directory Resources and Domain Names. The following is the statement published in the blog:

Temi Odurinde Internet blogs offers information, resources and opinion on Internet related topics such as web hosting, domain Name registration, website marketing, website promotion and search engine optimisations(SEO) related issues. Temi's Internet blogs welcomed articles from other bloggers within the aforementioned industry, please contact Temi Odurinde if you wish your article published on this site.

WebcosmoForums.com

2008-06-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

WebcosmoForums.com is a webmaster forum offering help and resources on marketing, search engine optimization, link development, graphics design, hosting, HTML, CSS etc.

With the Revenue Sharing system you can earn while you are having fun posting.

There is nothing like feeling at home in any place, whether virtual or real,
and this is where my heart is at and if you are looking to perfect your webmaster skills, or share your knowledge then please do drop by and I promise you..You will get hooked.

Is Microsoft Repeating Vista Mistakes with Windows 7?

2008-05-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

In the world of technology, success is linked to perceptions. Microsoft its multi-touch technology in a Windows 7 demo at the D: All Things Digital conference this week, and the software giant may have hoped to overcome the perception that Apple owns touchscreen interfaces. Instead, some observers are wondering if Microsoft is making the same mistakes that now plague Windows Vista.

"We are always looking for new ways to deliver great experiences for our customers," Chris Flores wrote on the Windows Vista blog. "This is especially true of Windows -- where we're constantly examining trends in hardware, software and services to ensure that we continue to drive the innovation."

Copying Apple

But Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch, is among those who are scratching their heads about Microsoft's moves this week. He has one overarching question after viewing the demo: Is Redmond making the mistakes it made with Vista all over again?

"Some of the mistakes Microsoft made with Vista were talking up the next version of Windows way too early, showing off features out of context with the rest of the operating system," Gartenberg said. "The second mistake was focusing so much on multi-touch."

Apple didn't invent touchscreen technology. In fact, Microsoft was working on the concept long before Apple publicly demonstrated its efforts. However, touchscreen technology has become almost synonymous with Apple and the iPhone, Gartenberg said, and he wonders why Microsoft is showing off a feature that makes the company appear as if it is copying Apple instead of innovating on its own.

"Yes, Microsoft wants to recapture the notion that Apple didn't invent multi-touch, that they have their own implementation of it, but is that really the right way to go about this?" Gartenberg asked. "It's a perception issue. It makes Microsoft look like it is chasing after Apple. Microsoft probably is working on some innovative technology in the back room somewhere that they could have shown off at this conference, and didn't."More>>

Microsoft loses a Zune retailer

2008-05-26T01:29:00.000-07:00

GameStop, a leading video game retailer, has decided that it will no longer stock Microsoft's Zune players, citing poor sales. And while I don't quite agree with my fellow-blogger Don Reisinger

that this is the beginning of the end for Zune, it's hard to see any silver lining in the news.

Microsoft's entry into the consumer electronics space came with a thorny channel problem. Microsoft sells the vast majority of its products through PC makers, who bundle Windows (and often Office and other software) on new PCs, and through well-established partners who specialize in selling to large organizations and businesses. Microsoft had a retail channel for selling Windows and Office upgrades and other consumer products (like Money, Encarta, and keyboards and mice), but for the most part these products were sold through computer specialty stores like CompUSA. To succeed in capturing a broader audience, Microsoft had to broaden its retail channel.

The Xbox business helped take care of that problem: once Microsoft proved that it was serious about developing and promoting the first Xbox, and once it began to show reasonable sales figures, a new class of retailers--including game-specialty stores like GameStop--were happy to make shelf space for Microsoft's consoles and games, right alongside Sony and Nintendo.

These retail partners are an important part of Microsoft's Zune strategy. Microsoft figured that the mostly young male audience who buys game consoles and games might be a natural fit for a new MP3 player from the same company that produces the Xbox.

Apparently, after giving it a year and a half, GameStop has found that's not the case. Looking at recent NPD figures, it's easy to see why--compared with the first Xbox, the product just isn't moving nearly as many units (2 million in 18 months) or capturing enough market share. Moreover, if a retailer sells a customer a console, that customer might come back again and again for games. Where's the equivalent attach for Zune? Peripherals, maybe, but I don't think a customer will buy 10 periperhals at $60 a pop like they might with games over a console's lifetime.More>>

Google Docs the Latest Spam Vehicle

2008-05-26T01:26:00.000-07:00

Spammers have proven themselves as creative as they are tenacious. We've seen image spam, PDF spam and MP3 spam, and now the latest trick involves using Google Docs to get by spam filters.

Sending attachments like JPGs or Word .doc files has proven less than successful when compared to just sending the user a link in the hopes they will click on it, but spam with just a URL isn't foolproof, either. Spam filters have relied on checking the links in e-mails and blocking them based on suspicious Web addresses.

So by adopting Google Docs, spammers gain the credibility of Google's domain, since no spam blocker is going to automatically declare a Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) link to be spam. That's what they are hoping for, according to Matt Sergeant, an Anti-Spam Technologist at MessageLabs, which found the new misuse of Google Docs.More>>

Microsoft to end Web search program for digitized books

2008-05-26T01:23:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Corp. is ending a program that lets Web users search through digital versions of books, ceding the market to Google Inc.

The move will allow Microsoft to focus on other types of Internet searches, such as travel listings, Senior Vice President Satya Nadella said in a blog posting Friday. Spokesman Scott Trepanier declined to say how much Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft had spent on the book project.

"We recognize that this decision comes as disappointing news to our partners," Nadella said.

Microsoft is making changes to its Internet business as it chooses battles with Google, owner of the dominant search engine. Microsoft said this week that it would offer rebates to shoppers who buy products through its Live.com search system, taking a different tack from Google's.

The company started making digital copies of out-of-print books in December 2006, later making deals with publishers to scan their books, after Google started a similar program with libraries. The Microsoft program digitized 750,000 books and indexed 80 million journal articles, Nadella said.

The book-search site didn't get enough users to justify Microsoft's investment, said Clifford Guren, the company's senior director of publisher evangelism for the project. Major publishers are digitizing their own books, he said.

"We had to ask if it was right for us to do this or the publishers," Guren said. "For the publishers, it is in their long-term best interest."

Microsoft owns the third-most-popular U.S. search engine, trailing Google and Yahoo Inc., according to research firm ComScore Inc.

Google's book-search project, which began in 2004, works with Harvard University, the New York Public Library and other organizations to scan books. The company also works with about 10,000 publishers to digitize their books.

Google is "absolutely" continuing the project, spokeswoman Jennie Johnson said in an e-mail.

Though Google hasn't detailed how it will turn book searches into a profitable business, it could use the feature to run ads alongside query results or to share profits with publishers when users buy books or portions of books, said Jim Milliot, news editor at Publishers Weekly, a trade magazine.

eCommerce Shopping Cart with Easy Setup

2008-05-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

Nowadays there is lot of Shopping Cart products available in the market to choose for our website. Choosing a better shopping cart will result in the increase of your sales and profit. Badly designed shopping cart makes user unhappy and then he runaway from your website. I have been reviewing few shopping carts for my client and I find one product with more user friendly features.

The product name is Boss Cart eCommerce softwares. They are specialised in eCommerce shopping basket system development for small to medium sized enterprises. A common website owner needs a basic shopping cart, but to survive in the competition website owners looking for more customized softwares where they can set the preferences and customize according to their business requirements. Boss Cart provides custom shopping basket to fulfil the every webmasters.Also they are providing a free shopping cart with basic features. This will be more suitable for very small webmasters where they can't afford spending more money to buy the shopping cart.

If you are a experienced webmaster with lots of transaction running on your site, then you would think about spending some money to setup a advanced shopping cart with more features. Boss Cart provides premium php shopping cart with 30 Days money back guarantee. It has some good features like Search engine friendly,Social marketing enabled,Advanced spam control,Supports over 20,000 products,etc.

These are the requirements to Install:
* Apache 1.3x or Apache 2.x Server
* PHP 4.2x (Recommended the 4.3.4 Stable) or the PHP 5.x (recommended stable version)
* Zlib, SSL, XML, mySQL support
* MySQL 3.23 (Recommended 4.x) or 5.x (stable)
* about 20 Mbyte space (it will dynamical grow in accordance with the product number)

What makes Google better than Microsoft?

2008-05-25T23:28:00.000-07:00

Read the excerpts from Microsoft and Google's letter to the investors:
Microsoft CEO says

"Given the evolution of the Web and our strategy, we believe the next generation of search is about the development of an underlying, sustainable business model for the search engine, consumer, and content partner. For example, this past Wednesday we announced our strategy to focus on verticals with high commercial intent, such as travel, and offer users cash back on their purchases from our advertisers."

Google Founders says

"Our goal is to develop services that significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible. In pursuing this goal, we may do things that we believe have a positive impact on the world, even if the near term financial returns are not obvious. For example, we make our services as widely available as we can by supporting over 90 languages and by providing most services for free," wrote Google's founders in the IPO letter.

From the above statement its obvious that Microsoft focus only on making more profit rather satisfying the customer need. One example is the recent launch of Cash Back Live Search that pays money for users. Also MS has closed their book search engine because it doesn't pour $$.

Top 10 Firefox 3 Features

2008-05-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

The newest version of our favorite open source web browser, Mozilla Firefox 3, offers dozens of new features and fixes, but only a handful will make the most dramatic difference in your everyday browsing. After 17 months of alphas and betas, Mozilla's finally made a feature-complete release candidate available, so it's time to spotlight the biggest improvements that will make "Gran Paradiso" the browser to beat. Nearly everything in the open-source app has gotten a second look from the minds at Mozilla, from back buttons to bookmarks, address bars to add-ons, passwords to performance, and the changes will make Firefox 3 worth the upgrade come its official release date, slated for sometime next month. Let's take a look at the 10 best upgrades in Firefox 3, and how they'll bolster your browsing, after the jump.

10. Souped-up Add-ons manager

9. More intuitive interface overall

8. Stronger phishing and malware protection

7. Improved download manager

6. Native looks for every system

5. Streamlined "Remember password" handling

4. Smart bookmarks

3. Places Organizer replaces the Bookmark Manager

2. Smart Location Bar learns how you browse

1.Insanely improved performance

Read the full article here

HDFC Bank agrees to buy Centurion Bank

2008-05-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

HDFC Bank, India's third-biggest lender by market capitalisation, agreed on Saturday to buy Centurion Bank of Punjab in an all-share deal in the nation's biggest financial sector buyout.

The boards of the two banks will meet on Feb 25 to consider the share swap ratio and again on Feb 28 to finalise the details of the merger, a joint statement from the lenders said. The two first announced plans for the merger late on Friday.

"The two Boards have resolved to pursue the merger subject to satisfactory due diligence, a fair share-swap ratio and all the requisite statutory, regulatory and corporate approvals," the statement said. It did not give a value for the deal.

According to Times News Network the deal may value Centurion's shares at 57 rupees each, or roughly the price at which they closed on Thursday after jumping 14 percent on the day as speculation of a deal intensified.

Ernst & Young and Dalal & Shah have been appointed to determine the share swap ratio, HDFC Bank said in a statement to the stock exchange. The merger will create a bank with 1,148 branches, surpassing second largest lender ICICI Bank's 955 branches.

Centurion had 394 branches and HDFC Bank 754 branches as on Dec. 31 2007, the statement said. However, the merged entity's total advances of about 870 billion rupees ($21.7 billion) are far lower than ICICI's 2.2 trillion rupees. The merger will allow HDFC Bank to extend its reach in the country before a central bank review next year that may allow foreign banks such as Citigroup and Standard Chartered to buy Indian lenders.

Indian banks, led by State Bank of India and ICICI, the top two by market value, are raising funds to expand ahead of the review and to meet the demands from an economy that has grown at an average of 8.6 percent over the last four years.

State Bank is raising $4.2 billion in a rights share issue, HDFC Bank plans to sell bonds worth up to $1 billion and ICICI sold $5 billion of shares in June, eyeing rapid growth in the fragmented Indian banking sector. HDFC Bank and Centurion, which got banking licenses in the mid-1990s, are among the few to have acquired local rivals. HDFC Bank bought Times Bank from media publisher Bennett Coleman & Co in 2000.

While Centurion, which was rescued by buyout firm Sabre Capital in 2003 after major losses, has bought Bank of Punjab and Lord Krishna Bank. Bank Muscat owns 14.02 percent and Sabre Capital 3.74 percent of Centurion as on Dec. 31, stock exchange data showed.

Centurion Bank shares, which ended one percent down on Friday valuing the bank at 105 billion rupees, have risen 13 percent since Feb. 20. HDFC Bank shares have lost 4 percent in the same period.

Windows 7: The information lockdown

2008-05-23T03:11:00.000-07:00

Why is so little known about the next version of Microsoft Windows?

Microsoft is maintaining a cloak of silence around its next major release of Windows. ZDNet Editor in Chief Larry Dignan talks with blogger colleagues Mary Jo Foley, editor of All about Microsoft, and Ed Bott, editor of Microsoft Report, about the road map for Windows 7, including feature sets, timelines, partners, OEMs, and marketing. The beta for the new operating system is due in late 2008. The bloggers predict that Windows 7 will launch earlier than 2010, its anticipated release date.More>>

The Internet FAQ from 2085

2008-05-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

What was the internet?

The internet and the world web was a computing system to transfer human information. Scientists have based its beginning to the years 1920 to 1940.

What was electromail?

Electromail was another transport protocol to transfer human information, but it was quickly discontinued as it caused misunderstandings due to lack of correctly representing emotions.

What were world web sites?

A so-called world web site consisted of an address of its owner to locate their physical business location, as well as other miscellaneous transmitting of human information that was considered important at the time. The protocol used to decode the information was called hypertext, and as its standards changed quickly over the years, it is impossible to decode most of the information contained within.

I noticed the word “NSFW” in a world web sites museum displaying hypertext reproductions. What does it mean?

Scientific research at the late Mars Research Laboratory came to the conclusion that NSFW announced the display of a widely popular human called Britneyspears in the 1970s. Why warnings were issued before the viewing of this human is unclear.

Did the world web have version numbers?

Yes. In the beginning, the world web was numbered from 1 to 10, with most people considering world web 8 to be the first stable release. Afterwards, the world web received code names for each new version, like “Omega Sun” or the popular “Happy Happy Rabbit" release.More>>

Microsoft Should Know Money Can’t Buy Love

2008-05-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

The rap on Microsoft is that it copies everyone else’s good ideas. That may be too kind. I think it also copies a lot of proven bad ideas. To wit, Microsoft’s latest move to offer shopping rebates to people who use its Internet search service.

You can see why Microsoft would want to do this: It has too much money and not enough customers, so why not pay people to use its services? Sometimes putting money into creating value for your customers is a great strategy. For an example, see Amazon’s decision to subsidize free shipping rather than buy television ads.

But Microsoft’s approach is wrongheaded. First, it’s not really about the main market for search. Price comparison shopping is a good service, but a relatively modest market, with none of the independent sites — like eBay’s Shopping.com — or the services of search engines — like Google’s Product Search — really taking off.

More importantly, history has proven that you can’t build a mass Internet business by buying customers with cash or rewards. I’ve seen hundreds of companies that have tried versions of this. There was AllAdvantage, a company that wanted to pay people to surf the Web and see ads. There are all kinds of bonus and reward programs, like the now defunct Netcentives, which offered airline miles for online shopping, and Upromise, which takes a cut of purchases and kicks it into a college savings account.More>>

Microsoft looking to buy Yahoo search

2008-05-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Rather than make an all-out acquisition, Microsoft Corp. has proposed buying Yahoo Inc.'s search business and taking a minority stake in the company, according to a report.

The complex deal, reported Tuesday by Reuters citing an anonymous source, would also involve Yahoo putting its Asian assets, which include sizable stakes in Yahoo Japan and China's Alibaba Group, up for sale.

The two companies revealed the talks on the weekend but declined to reveal terms of the discussions, Reuters said. The proposal represents Microsoft's current thinking and does not yet put a value on Yahoo's search business, according to the source, who the news agency said was not authorized to speak on the record because the discussions are confidential.More>>

Namakkal girl is State topper

2008-05-22T04:23:00.000-07:00

TWO years after she brought laurels to her weaving hamlet, getting the state first rank in SSLC examinations, R Dharani of Pallipalayam, Namakkal, has done it again.

Daughter of a weaver, Dharani has bagged the first rank in the Plus Two examinations, scoring 1,182 out of 1,200. The student of Vikas Girls Higher Secondary School, Thiruchengode, scored three centums — in chemistry, mathematics and biology — besides 199 in Physics, 193 in Tamil and 190 in English. Her father runs a powerloom unit in Pallipalayam. According to her chemistry teacher, Dharani used to be very attentive in the classroom and is a very hardworking student.

Dharani made it clear, “Bagging the first rank is no accident, but result of a conscious effort,” she said. Dharani, who is also interested in chess, wants to become a doctor, but hasn’t decided the specialisation.

Can Dell be as cool as Apple?

2008-05-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

The news that Apple now commands a massive 66% of the market share of PCs costing more than $1,000 and 14% of the overall market mush have sent shivers through some of the big OEMs. Part of Apple’s runaway success has to be down to the fact that the company and its products are seen as being cool and stylish. Could an OEM like Dell ever be as cool and as stylish as Apple?

Over the weekend my daughter showed me the new Dell Inspiron notebook. Overall it’s a nice machine that does everything she wants it to do (email, Facebook, IM, bit of gaming, photo storage …), but there’s no way that I’d say that the system had a tenth of the cool or style of an Apple system. Sure, she had bought one with a purple shell, and Dell had thoughtfully set the desktop background to match, but beyond that it was just a notebook. The build quality was average and the feel of the notebook was average. But then that’s the problem - most OEMs feel that average is enough. Compared to a MacBook or a MacBook Pro, the Dell looks and feels awfully generic.More>>

Microsoft CEO's egg attack

2008-05-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, was heckled and had eggs thrown at him during a lecture to university students at the Corvinus University in Budapest. More>>

What's next for Apple? We think it's the remote

2008-05-21T04:25:00.000-07:00

What's one of the most hated electronics on the planet? The universal remote.

While companies like Logitech have made great advances in making these electronics devices easier to set up and use, for the average individual, anything with an LCD screen and more than 10 buttons can be daunting.

Apple, which has a history of making complicated devices a simpler affair, could be the next company to take a stab at dominating the third-party remote control market. The company has a good track record of venturing into fields where others have gone for more, and succeeded in offering less. For example, the iPod's click wheel, which was introduced with the advent of the iPod mini married two sets of controls in one. Also, the mighty mouse--Apple's current pack-in for iMacs and Mac Pro towers took the idea of a multi-button mouse and disguised it as a single button device.More>>

iPhone 3G Launch Date Confirmed

2008-05-21T04:23:00.000-07:00

We all suspected it, but now it is confirmed: someone very, very close to the 3G iPhone launch has told me that Apple will announce their new model at the WWDC Keynote on June 9th. The second-generation iPhone will be available worldwide right after the launch, and not at year's end, as previously thought. The new model will also herald new sales policies in some countries.

In Spain, for example, the 3G iPhone will be available for sale at the June 18th grand opening of Telefonica's megastore—an Apple Store-like shop located in the company's historical building in Madrid's Gran Vía— with nationwide availability the next day or after a few hours. The other European countries with iPhone availability will have similar launch schedules.

According to another source involved in the launch, the 3G iPhone will no longer be available at a fixed price point—at least in some countries, and its launch will also bring new sales policies, although these have not been completely specified yet.More>>

Will Android have a tougher time than expected?

2008-05-21T04:16:00.000-07:00

Access Co has been developing its own Linux ecosystem for years, and when it purchased Palm Source in 2005 it was expected that mobile Linux would go mainstream.

Unfortunately little has happened and at this year’s Wireless Developers Forum, Access had great ideas but little to show.

So Android should have a clear run. However the industry is following a different path led by LiMo, an association which includes many Android supporters plus a number of major networks and developers.

This is now a race between Google’s Open Handset Alliance and LiMo. In that case Android and HTC will be the winners.

The Tug of War Begins Again: Microsoft and Yahoo Having a Fresh Round of Talks

2008-05-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

Two weeks after saying no to the Yahoo demands, Microsoft is back on the negotiation table with a new deal

The world’s biggest software giant and the world’s second biggest Internet search company are back on the negotiation table.

A fortnight ago, Microsoft had backed out of the offer made to Yahoo! saying that it had given up the idea of this acquisition.

The facts that Jerry Yang, Yahoo! CEO, had asked Microsoft to up its initial offer of $ 47.5 million and that the share prices of the search company fell by 15% consequently are said to have led to Microsoft’s saying a firm’ No’.

Two weeks down the line, they are back together, discussing how to work out a deal that would be mutually beneficial.

However, this time round, Microsoft is not seeking complete control over Yahoo!, while still reserving the right to a complete buy-out at a later date.

If this deal goes through successfully, Yahoo! would be able to retain some of its stake and therefore its control over the company.More>>

India's top IT companies hire less

2008-05-21T01:33:00.000-07:00

Last year something unprecedented happened in the top Indian software companies. As a bunch, they hired less number of people in 2007-08 than they did the previous year.

For years, the burden on the recruiters in India's top six IT companies - TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, Satyam and HCL Tech - has been going only up and up. If they hired 100 people one year, they could safely assume that they will have to hire anywhere between 125 to 150 people the next.

But, last year they had to hire only 97. These six companies made addition of 89,868 people in 2007-08, about 2500 less than 92,412 people they hired dur-ing the previous year.

Going by early indications, this year could be as bad. In the earnings call, none of the companies have been very enthusiastic on the hiring front. Engineering colleges, traditionally the recruitment bastion for IT companies, are feeling the pinch already and they expect the campus intake to come down by at least 15-20% this year. More>>

10 Truths About Tom Cruise

2008-05-21T01:20:00.000-07:00

After two years of battling bad PR, courtesy of his own couch-jumping and weirdly devout ways, Tom Cruise's image rehab is officially underway.

Monday's second hour of Oprah's Tom Cruise fest was, well, enh. Unlike Friday's visit to the Colorado Cruise compound (Tom Shales reviewed part one in yesterday's paper) -- complete with a peek inside Tom's inner sanctum and a visit from Suri -- yesterday's in-studio visit had all the charm of an infomercial: enthusiastic sales pitches, marketing posters and an audience of rabid believers.

Still, it isn't every day we get to study the elusive Mr. Cruise for the better part of an hour and, never one to squander a chance to flop in front of a TV for 60 whole minutes, I watched. And, because this is how I work people, I took notes -- resulting in the following list of Tom Cruise Truths, a sort of recitation of realizations about the actor who [brainwashing begin] has been entertaining us for 25 whole years! Please buy the box set![brainswashing end]: More>>

Xerox plans the future of today

2008-05-21T01:14:00.000-07:00

A rare glimpse of the future has been given by Xerox at its famed Palo Alto Research Centre (Xerox Parc).

On show were a handful of innovations including re-usable paper, environmentally friendly plastic, solar power, water filtering and a cell detection method that could help save lives.

Sophie Vandebroek, chief technology officer at Parc, told BBC News: "I think it is extremely critical to continuously come up with innovative ideas and work with your partners to turn them into innovations that the customers of the world can benefit from.

"If you stand still you become obsolete."

Xerox along with commercial partners, universities and the government spends $1.5bn (£754m) on research and development at Parc and other research centres around the world.

Ms Vandebroek said this was just the tip of the iceberg and that she found it hard to choose just one project as a favourite to show journalists.

"It's like picking between your children," she said.

"We picked 10 out of many more projects that are happening in the world today. The ones we have chosen today are among the newest, that are important to our customers and critical to the future of Xerox and they really enable a sustainable world. So that is really what Xerox and Parc is all about."

Parc is something of a shrine to innovation. Over the years it has given us ethernet, laser printing and pioneered the idea of ubiquitous computing. Today Xerox is hoping some of these innovations will have just as great an impact on our world and its bank balance.More>>

Hollywood stars in movie deal with billionaire Anil Ambani

2008-05-21T01:11:00.000-07:00

HOLLYWOOD'S biggest stars have struck a deal with the world's sixth richest man to make movies.

Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Nicolas Cage, above, along with Tom Hanks and Jim Carey will produce10 films with Indian billionaire Anil Ambani.

Film-makers Chris Columbus and Jay Roach have also signed up with Ambani's Reliance Big Entertainment.

Ambani earned £12.2billion last year and is worth £21.5billion.

Criticism for 'UK database' plan

2008-05-21T01:05:00.000-07:00

Plans for a super-database containing the details of all phone calls and e-mails sent in the UK have been heavily criticised by experts.

The government is considering the changes as part of its ongoing fight against serious crime and terrorism.

Assistant Information Commissioner Jonathan Bamford has warned that the UK could be "sleepwalking into a surveillance society".

Others have questioned how such a database could be made secure.

Public confidence

"While the public is "sleepwalking" into a surveillance society, the government seems to have its eyes wide open although, unfortunately, to everything except security," said Jamie Cowper, data protection expert at data protection firm PGP Corporation.

"The bottom line is - information of this nature should only be held if - and only if - it can be demonstrated that an appropriate system of checks and balances is in place and the security of the information being stored is of paramount concern," he added.

Public confidence in the governments' ability to look after data has been dented in recent months with high profile failures, including the loss of a CD carrying all the personal details of every child benefit claimant.

The latest plans being mulled by the Home Office will form part of the proposed Communications Bill, which is due to be considered by MPs later this year.

It is, said a Home Office spokesman, crucial "to ensure that public authorities have access to communications data essential for counter-terrorism and investigation of crime purposes."More>>

$100 laptop platform moves on

2008-05-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

An independent effort to develop the software originally designed for the $100 laptop has been launched.

Sugar Labs will take the laptop's innovative interface, known as Sugar, to the "next level of usability and utility", according to its founders.

It is intended that the free software will be made available on other PCs, such as the popular Asus Eee.

The launch comes after the announcement that the group behind the $100 laptop has joined forces with Microsoft.

The deal means that One Laptop per Child (OLPC) will now offer the low cost laptops with Windows XP, as well as an open source alternative.

It will also continue to offer the Sugar educational interface that the new foundation intends to continue to develop.

"We will continue to work with OLPC but we will also work with other manufacturers," explained Sugar Labs founder Walter Bender.

"Hopefully it will mean that these ideas will get out there faster and to a broader community."More>>

IT Workers Weigh In on Health Habits

2008-05-21T00:54:00.000-07:00

Feeling a little, shall we say, sluggish lately? You might be among the vast ranks of IT workers who have put on some extra heft while sitting at their desks.

A study by CareerBuilder.com found that half of U.S. IT workers have gained weight at their current jobs.

The study, which polled nearly 7,700 participants from Feb. 11 through March 13, found that 34 percent of IT workers report they have gained more than 10 pounds in their current positions. Even more alarming, 17 percent say they have put on more than 20 pounds!

Who knew managed services could be hazardous to your health? While the study doesn't specify anything about workers monitoring customer systems remotely, come on, you've got to admit that keeping an eye on a customer's systems from miles away by staring at computer screens surely produces far less sweat than even the minimal amount of walking to and from the truck a technician drives to a customer site for troubleshooting.

But let's not get crazy. The channel shouldn't turn its back on managed services just because that back is getting a few inches wider.

Perhaps a little more exercise during the day will do the trick, or taking better stock of what you eat. That is, if the extra weight bothers you. Hey, some people might enjoy the extra girth - who knows?More>>

iMac turns 10

2008-05-21T00:44:00.000-07:00

It was ten years ago today that Steve Jobs mounted the Flint Center auditorium near Apple's campus and revealed the product that would save Apple, and become the best selling computer of all time: the iMac. It is hard to believe that this cute little guy is ten years old, but it is true.

The original iMac came stocked with a 233MHz G3, 32MB of SDRAM (though you could bump it up to a whopping 128MB), a 4 gig harddrive, 2 USB ports, a CD-ROM drive (not a CD burner, Apple was late to that party), and an IrDA port. These specs might not make your heart skip a beat nowadays, but the iMac is the product that started Apple's amazing turn around. It was the first mainstream computer to break with the past and offer only USB ports, no legacy connectors here. And it is worth noting that the iMac can also be attributed as the killer of the floppy disk.

I recall the howls from the tech community about the iMac's lack of a floppy drive. 'People love their floppies!' 'This is nothing more than an expensive toy!' All charges leveled against the iMac, but the decision actually helped create a market for USB accessories as most people bought their iMac and a USB floppy drive (I know I did. I used that floppy drive twice: once to make sure it worked, and another time to copy a file).More>>