Internet providers fail to deliver what they advertise

Majority of the broadband internet service providers have not been able to deliver the speed which they had advertised, a recent study says.

According to a test conducted by Sri Lanka-based research firm LIRNEasia 'Recent Quality of Service Experience (QoSE)', majority of the packages tested within India, failed to deliver even 80 per cent of the advertised speeds, most of the service providers fail to deliver a mere 20 per cent of what was publicised.

In its report, the research firm compared download speeds, Round Trip Time (RTT, or the time delays in data transfer), Jitter (the variation in time between the arrival of data packets) and Packet Loss (the percentage of data packets that did not reach its destination) of eight broadband packages in four major cities across India.

Rather than comparing download speeds between packages in different locations, tests were performed during six time intervals on two weekdays in 11 locations across seven countries in south and southeast Asia.

LIRNEasia analyses package speed compared to what was promised by the operator, as well as the "value for money" (or Kbps per USD).

From a regional perspective, most Indian internet broadband services offer better value for money and perform well on delivering what was promised to the customers than other operators in Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

"The regulator should promote such transparency in order to boost competition in the broadband market and improve service quality," LIRNEasia Research Manager Shazna Zuhyle said.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Are Apple's Best Years Over?

The stock has been a mainstay of my portfolio since I recommended it during the depths of the financial crisis. I have owned Apple shares and long-term options, including those I bought in 2009 with a strike price of just $50. I recommended Apple again last April, when shares were at $272. This week they hit $345.

With Apple up nearly 80% since last February—and more than 400% since its 2009 low—the stock has single-handedly guaranteed that my portfolio has outperformed the major averages.

This week, Verizon Communications announced that its 93 million subscribers will be able to buy the iPhone in February. I plan to be one of them. This development should bring a gusher of sales for Apple, which has been blowing away analyst estimates already. Its recent year-over-year earnings growth was 70%, on revenue gains of 67%. Its operating margin was 27%. Analysts are nearly unanimous in recommending the stock, even as it reaches new highs.

The Apple-centric world I hypothesized when first recommending Apple shares has largely materialized, at least for me. I tote around my iPad and my MacBook Air, own an iPod and am typing this column at a work station with a large Apple desktop screen. I'm intrigued by Apple TV, and, as I said, hope soon to be brandishing an iPhone.

I see only one problem: I'm not sure what worlds are left for Apple to conquer.

I realize I'm in a minority, and that there are plenty of customers still to be wooed by Apple. But competition is stirring. At last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a resurgent Motorola—which this month split into Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility Holdings—trumped Apple. Motorola Mobility's new Xoom tablet computer, designed to rival the iPad, was named "Best of Show," and the Motorola Atrix was named the best smartphone.

Intel settles with WiLAN over patent litigation

Intel Corp has reached a settlement with WiLAN Inc over lawsuits alleging the chipmaker infringed on a string of wireless and Internet patents, sending WiLAN's shares surging.

WiLAN said the deal, announced Friday, would not lessen its resolve to go after Intel's co-defendants, including Apple Inc, Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co.

Intel will make a series of payments on a multi-year license of WiLAN's entire patent portfolio. Neither Intel nor Ottawa-based WiLAN, which derives most of its business from patent protection, disclosed the value of the settlement.

Alexander Poltorak, chief executive of General Patent Corp, a patent advisory firm, said the amount paid was likely substantial. He said it was likely other defendants would now settle as well, though PC makers using Intel components would not need to license the technology a second time.

"When the biggest defendant settles, it starts a domino effect and everyone else follows," Poltorak said.

Intel's legal counsel had taken a lead role in a number of related cases covering WiLAN's intellectual property in laptops, routers and handsets and covers WiFi, CDMA, Bluetooth and DSL technologies, WiLAN spokesman Tyler Burns said.

Mobile doubts weigh on chipmakers Intel, AMD

Fears about Intel Corp's absence in tablets and smartphones are overshadowing the chipmaker's strong earnings and reinforcing the impression that the company no longer sets the direction of the tech industry.

The world's largest semiconductor maker has new chips for mobile devices on the way this year and is boosting spending on research and development, but it remains far behind rival ARM Holdings, whose chip architecture is found in most smartphones and tablets.

Despite better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and guidance posted on Thursday, and a broadly higher market, its shares slipped as investors focused on the company's failure to stake out territory in the mobile market.

Even as Intel's stock fell, shares of other semiconductor companies rose, with ARM rising 6.5 percent to a 10-year high.

The stock market, and sentiment on the wider technology industry, for years moved in tandem with Intel following its earnings report. But in recent quarters they have diverged.

"It's historically been the bellwether, that if you're positive on the (technology) sector you're positive on Intel, but I think that relationship is breaking down," said Craig Berger, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets.

Intel's strategy in the mobile market has been to adapt chips originally designed for personal computers but versions released so far consume more energy than ARM-based chips, making them less suitable for mobile gadgets that are left on for hours at a time.

US mother accused of playing on Facebook while baby died

An American mother who told police her 13-month-old son drowned in the bathtub while she was playing a game on Facebook was charged on Friday with child abuse resulting in death.

Shannon Johnson, 34, of Colorado was advised of the charge against her via a video hookup from the jail where she is being held on a $100,000 bond, said Jennifer Finch, spokeswoman for the Weld County District Attorney's Office.

Johnson requested a public defender during the brief hearing and another hearing was set for later in the month, Finch said.

Under questioning by police after the boy died at a Denver-area hospital last September, Johnson admitted she placed the baby in the bathtub and went into another room to play the Facebook game "Cafe World."

She also checked in with friends and watched videos on the site while the boy bathed alone, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

When she didn't hear any sounds from the boy after 10 minutes, she found him slumped over face down in the bathwater making "gurgling" sounds, according to the affidavit. Johnson then called 911, and the boy was airlifted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead from drowning.

Now, an iPhone app that can read minds!

Experts have come up with a new application for the iPhone that has the ability to read minds.

The XWave enables users to control on-screen objects with their minds as well as train their brains to control attention spans and relaxation levels.

It works via a headset strapped around the user's forehead, plugging into the iPhone jack.

A state-of-the-art sensor within the device can then read the user's brainwaves through the skull, converting them into digital signals before displaying them in various colours on the iPhone screen.

And as the mind focuses on a particular task the graphics change, indicating the user's level of concentration or relaxation.

The device is the latest in the field of emerging mind-controlled games and devices.

Innovations giant PLX Devices developed the high-tech sensor using technology that has for years been used by doctors to treat epilepsy and seizures in patients.

However, PLX Devices founder and CEO Paul Lowchareonkul said it was a matter of time before such contraptions entered the mainstream.

"The human brain is the most powerful, complex thing in the universe, and for the first time, we're able to harness its amazing power and connect it to everyday technology. With the development of 3rd party apps, the potential for innovation is limitless," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us