Web 3.0 is about creating Semantic Web

The Semantic Web is a web of data. There is lots of data we all use every day, and its not part of the web. I can see my bank statements on the web, and my photographs, and I can see my appointments in a calendar. But can I see my photos in a calendar to see what I was doing when I took them? Can I see bank statement lines in a calendar?

Why not? Because we don't have a web of data. Because data is controlled by applications, and each application keeps it to itself.

The Semantic Web is about two things. It is about common formats for interchange of data, where on the original Web we only had interchange of documents. Also it is about language for recording how the data relates to real world objects. That allows a person, or a machine, to start off in one database, and then move through an unending set of databases which are connected not by wires but by being about the same thing.>>

Minglebox - Web 2.0 company in Bangalore

Minglebox Communications Private Ltd. is a start up in the internet and mobile space, founded by ex IIT/IIM alumni. The founders are marketing and technology professionals with varied experience in consumer goods, internet, telecom, financial services and IT industries across India and the US. The company aims to build internet and mobile consumer products for the next generation of Indian users. This is located in Bangalore.

Minglebox is in the process of setting up a world class technology team to build a set of highly scaleable web 2.0 based applications/platforms. They are looking to getting a couple or more high caliber techies from the Java world with an interest in building web2.0 technology.>>

Linus Torvalds - Godfather of Open Source

Linus Torvalds was just 21 when he changed the world. Working out of his family's apartment in Helsinki in 1991, he wrote the kernel of a new computer operating system called Linux that he posted for free on the Internet — and invited anyone interested to help improve it.

Today, 15 years later, Linux powers everything from supercomputers to mobile phones around the world, and Torvalds has achieved fame as the godfather of the open-source movement, in which software code is shared and developed in a collaborative effort rather than being kept locked up by a single owner.

Some of Torvalds' supporters portray him as a sort of anti-Bill Gates, but the significance of Linux is much bigger than merely a slap at Microsoft. Collaborating on core technologies could lead to a huge reduction in some business costs, freeing up money for more innovative investments elsewhere. Torvalds continues to keep a close eye on Linux's development and has made some money from stock options given to him as a courtesy by two companies that sell commercial applications for it.

But his success isn't just measured in dollars. There's an asteroid named after him, as well as an annual software-geek festival. Torvalds' parents were student radicals in the 1960s and his father, a communist, even spent a year studying in Moscow. But it's their son who has turned out to be the real revolutionary.More>>

Seagate puts a padlock on drive data

The Seagate technology called DriveTrust encrypts all data written to the disk, making it accessible only to users who have the correct password when the computer is hard booted.

The 128-bit encryption technology has been welcomed by notebook users, in the light of a number of recent high profile thefts of notebooks containing sensitive data in the US Government.More>>

Why vivek paul quit Wipro?

On May 5, Wipro vice chairman Vivek Paul walked into the second floor Bangalore offices of Wipro executive vice president (human resources), Pratik Kumar. The meeting was unscheduled.

Paul told Kumar about a certain sense of 'restlessness' that had seized him lately. He disclosed how he 'was evaluating to do something else'. Kumar thought Paul was at a stage 'where he wanted to make a decision'.

After the conversation, Kumar lost no time in speaking to Wipro chairman Azim Premji on what had transpired between him and Paul. Premji seemed to be aware of what was going on in Paul's mind. He simply expressed his quiet disappointment to Kumar.More>>

Wipro Roars

When Premji took over his father's business it was anything but global. It had about 350 employees, mostly in and around Bombay, and just $3 million in revenues. The company was publicly traded, and not long after Premji assumed control he faced shareholders for the first time at the annual meeting. Premji, who was self-conscious about his age, had grown a mustache in an effort to add some gravitas. But restless investors weren't impressed. One stood up to complain about the stock's lousy performance and demanded that Premji sell the company. ``'There's no way a twit like you can run it,''' Premji recalls him saying. ``More than anything else, that made me determined to prove him wrong,'' says Premji.More>>

Leading Infosys 2.0

Leadership in transition is a particularly painful time for companies. But not for Infosys and Nandan Manohar Nilekani. This year's Dataquest IT Man Of The Year continues to take Infosys and the Indian outsourcing story to new heights.More>>

Oracle unveils new apps, Linux support program

Oracle Corp. has unveiled a new version of its Oracle E-Business Suite of business applications and a support program for the Red Hat Linux operating system.

The E-Business Suite 12 software adds features to help worldwide operations more easily consolidate data, said John Wookey, senior vice president of application development at Oracle. The new version was introduced during the company's OpenWorld user conference here this week.

Oracle E-Business Suite 12 offers easier deployment than Version 11i and includes tools to help users more easily execute profitability analysis by channel or product line, Wookey said. The updated E-Business Suite also adds a Web service repository and links to Oracle's Fusion middleware, the company said.

The new release will begin shipping within a year, Oracle said.More>>

Web Browser Faceoff

The last few weeks have been packed with browser action and the two market leaders, Internet Explorer and Firefox, have launched major new versions. So to round out our recent browser coverage, we present the Web Browser Faceoff - looking at how all the main browsers compare with each other in terms of features and innovation. We are basically looking for what is unique, interesting - and missing - in each browser.

Right now Microsoft still holds onto its huge market lead, but Firefox is gaining more ground every month. Probably more importantly, there are other major innovators in the browser space - such as the social browser Flock (a Read/WriteWeb sponsor) and the perennial innovator Opera. The Mac browser Safari of course has many passionate supporters, while new kid Maxthon is one to watch.

Regardless of who will prevail in the 'browser 2.0 wars', the users will win. While fighting each other, the browser makers innovate and simplify. They increase our productivity by integrating into the browser web concepts such as search, RSS, OPML, microformats and more. The core browsers are getting slimmer and faster, while extensions that cover a wide range of services are being developed by external parties.More>>

Sun CEO: Java open source in 30-60 days

Sun Microsystem will announce the open-sourcing of the core Java platform in 30 to 60 days, said Sun President/CEO Jonathan Schwartz at the Oracle OpenWorld conference on Wednesday morning.

Java will be offered via an open source format under an OSI-approved (Open Source Initiative) license similar to the one used for open-sourcing of the Solaris OS, he said during a keynote presentation.

Sun officials have talked about Java being offered via open source in stages later this year and into 2007.

Google zooms past IBM

INTERNET advertising giant Google has surpassed IBM to become the world's third most valuable technology company, trailing only behind software giant Microsoft and network leader Cisco.More>>

The Indian Summer of Linux

In recent weeks attention has focused on rapidly growing markets in the developing world where the relative absence of legacy computing systems, makes the choice more interesting. India is on the radar of dozens of software service providers, waiting and watching, which way large spenders will jump. And the media has caught on to the excitement:

`Linux spreads its wings in India' reported Business Week earlier this month, with Nandini Lakshman reporting that eight state governments here have put their treasury operations on Linux systems, while Maharashtra is fuelling its revamped health care system on Open Source systems.

Pankaj Mishra writes in the September 30 issue of CTO Forum that 18 of 28 Indian states have embraced Linux in some form or are running pilot e-governance schemes.

The `Open Source Symposium' and Red Hat Developer Day on successive days in Bangalore last week, provided another opportunity to assess to what extent the Penguin's Progress across India is the unstoppable march many watchers seem to suggest.More>>

Firefox2 Launched

The Mozilla Corporation has officially released Mozilla Firefox 2 for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Firefox 2 now with a refreshed user interface, anti-phishing protection, improvements to the built-in search feature, tabbed browsing changes, the ability to restore an interrupted session, better support for Web feeds, inline spell-checking, support for microsummaries and a number of other enhancements. Get it now!!

Chicago selects Red Hat to help improve services provided to citizens

The world's leading provider of open source solutions to the enterprise today announced the City of Chicago's successful migration to Red Hat Enterprise Linux for essential government programs including the vehicle registration system online job applications restaurant inspections ethics training and more. The City of Chicago migrated to Red Hat in order to reduce costs and improve support performance and scalability. The city has already saved more than $250 000 and is reducing server hardware maintenance and operating costs as a result of Oracle's certification and support infrastructure on Red Hat.More>>

Coimbatore, India's rising IT powerhouse

When M Karunanidhi, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, handed over the documents for land in Coimbatore to Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, and unveiled the model IT Park to be built in the city, a new chapter in the development of Tier-2 cities started in the state.

Accepting the documents, TCS CEO S Ramadorai said that a recent study by Indicus Analytics found Coimbatore to be the best city in South India for investment.

He added, "As a matter of fact, I was in Coimbatore recently, where I met with the student community, academia and businessmen. My experience was an eye opener. Engineering students quizzed me on financial markets while businessmen discussed with me at length on strategies of Google and IBM."

"There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm. The point I'm making is that there is a passionate, well informed and ambitious community of people. I saw a potential ecosystem in action," he added.

TCS has opened a software engineering lab in PSG College of Engineering in Coimbatore. TCS also has an Engineering Centre of Excellence especially for SMEs. By collaborating with small and medium enterprises, Ramadorai said, TCS would be unlocking the potential to bring their innovations to the world.More>>

The success stories of TCS

Subramanium Ramadorai, also known as Ram, joined Tata Consultancy Services or TCS in 1972. Instrumental in setting up TCS' operations in New York in 1979, Ramadorai took over as the CEO in 1996 and since then he has played an integral role in building TCS into India's first $1 billion IT services company.More>>

How IITians aim to transform India?

It will be payback time for the country's most talented minds -- the stars from Indian Institutes of Technology -- when they meet for three days in Mumbai in December. PanIIT 2006, an umbrella organisation of IITians, has scheduled the annual alumni conference from December 23 to December 25.

This time a record 5,000 IITians are expected to participate in the convention, many of them from overseas.More>>

Apple iPhone Early Next Year?

Speculation is rife that Apple Computer is going to launch two iPhone models early next year. There are reports doing the rounds that the company has officially filed for the "iPhone" trademark.

The two iPhone models include a smart phone and a slim music phone that will be launched in conjunction with Cingular, a US mobile network operator. One of the models will include wireless (WiFi) connectivity, and a keyboard for messaging.

Reportedly, the Apple trademark filed under a South East Asian trademark on 15 September, includes several categories, such as music player, mobile phone, and video game machine.

According to reports, the smart phone version is under development for over 12 months now, and has been successful in overcoming ample challenges including design, interference, battery life, and other technical glitches.

Wipro Q2 net profit rises 46 p.c.

The net profit of Wipro for the second quarter (July-September) rose by 46 per cent to Rs. 700.20 crore from Rs. 478 crore in the same period a year earlier in a booming global outsourcing market. The consolidated revenues of Wipro for the second quarter went up by 41 per cent to Rs. 3,546.20 crore from Rs. 2,506.80 crore a year ago, as it added 54 new clients that included Global 500 or Fortune 1000 clients.

The third largest software exporter, thus, earned $589 million from global IT services and products during the second quarter, surpassing its own guidance of $577 million.

Wipro Technologies contributed higher to the volume growth in the second quarter by garnering revenues of Rs. 2,720.50 crore, 44 per cent more than a year ago period.

Revenues of Wipro Infotech grew by 36 per cent to Rs. 542.60 crore, while that of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting rose by 41 per cent to Rs. 202.50 crore.More>>

Apple profits soar on iPod demand

Global demand for the iPod music player and other Apple products helped the technology firm boost profits by 27% to $546m (£292m) in the fourth quarter.
Apple Computer shipped more than eight and half million iPods for sale during the period, up 35% on a year ago.
Combined with strong sales of PCs and laptops, Apple's international sales now account for 40% of its turnover.
Chief executive Steve Jobs said the past year was one of "extraordinary" progress for the company.More>>