Kalam for use of mobile tech for dissemination of information

The internet community should concentrate on technologies that can provide people-centric information through mobile phones, using latest 3G/ 4G technologies, said former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam , here today.

"The world community will look for, how a mobile device can provide integrated solutions of 3G or 4G applications in the mother-tongue(s). That means, a fisherman in the sea will be in a position to get an advance information about the sea-wave conditions, and locations of abundant school of fish...For a farmer, (information on) prices of agriculture produce at various markets in the nation, and also the demand...," Kalam said.

Sensors would be incorporated in mobile phones, and patient's family-members would be in a position to transmit the data and get the doctor's advice immediately, he said, delivering key-note address at 20th International World Wide Web Conference .

Kalam said even though the service may be available in a limited way, the internet and "web 2.0 and 3.0 combination" may enhance the services in native languages.

Taiwan fair to see 100 tablet launches: Organisers

The co-sponsor of Asia's leading IT trade fair is expecting up to 100 tablet computers to be launched at the event in May, with technology firms vying for a slice of Apple's success with the iPad.

Chang Li, secretary-general of the Taipei Computer Association, which co-sponsors the 2011 Computex Taipei trade fair, said that the sector was increasingly shifting towards the tablet market.

"Our estimate is that the exhibitors may make public up to 100 new tablet models," during the five-day Taipei International Information Technology Show, which opens on May 31, Chang said.

The global tablet market hit an estimated 16 million units last year, with volume forecast to surge to 43 million units in 2011, according to Taiwan's quasi-official Institute for Information Industry .

Chang predicted that Apple , which held an overwhelming 95 percent share of the market last year, would face mounting challenges from competitors, even if its status as market leader was not in question.

"Apple was the only player last year. But its competitors, even some monitor manufacturers, won't be absent from the new market."

"Besides, the threshold of entering the tablet market is not high."

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

India unveils its energy standard for laptops

An Information and CommunicationTechnology industry initiative started almost one-and-a-half year back for energy efficiency has finally made government make some move which today announced energy efficiency label for laptops.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) today announced BEE Star Label version 1 for laptops. The guidelines announced by BEE are based on United Sates Energy version 5 guidelines.

"US Star energy version 5 is the base for BEE standard announced today," said Ashwini Aggarwal, executive editor, Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology.

"This had been long awaited launch. It is going to sidelines low quality products in the market, especially cheap and energy inefficient imported products," added Aggarwal.

P Umashankar, secretary, Ministry of Power appreciated timing of issuing the BEE guidelines.

Message for Mohali - straight from the web

If it's the talk of the town, could social networking sites be far behind? Celebrities and commoners alike posted last minute online messages of excitement, tension and good luck on the India-Pakistan semifinal in Mohali Wednesday.An excited Sania Mirza, Indian tennis player, tweeted early Wednesday: "Okkkk...here we gooo...good luck Team India..more than a billion wishes are with you...give it ur all..(sic)".

Film personality Pritish Nandy similarly tweeted: "Pakistan's bowlers vs India's batsmen: that's the real battle today".

Actor Rahul Bose tweeted that he was on his way to Mohali to watch the match. Kunal Kapoor, another Bollywood actor, tweeted that the tension was "unbearable".

The hype over the match reached a crescendo Wednesday as a lot of cricket buffs took leave from work to watch the match. They did not forget to post their online updates, of course.

Abhinav Singh, an advertising professional, said: "This is one match I just couldn't have missed. So I applied for casual leave and thankfully my boss was understanding enough to grant me the day off! I have called over a few friends to my place so that we can watch the match together and root for India."

Soon, your heartbeat 'could recharge your mobile phone'

Scientists have developed a tiny chip that can generate power by using the body's own movement, a technology which they say could soon enable you to recharge your mobile phone by just holding closer to your heart.

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in the US who were behind the invention hoped that as the nanotechnology used in the chip evolves, it could lead to electronics which don't require batteries or mains power.

Hailed as a milestone, it can use tiny movements such as the pinch of a finger to generate power, the Telegraph reported.

Dr Zhong Lin Wang, who led the research, said: "This development represents a milestone toward producing portable electronics that can be powered by body movements without the use of batteries or electrical outlets.

"Our nanogenerators are poised to change lives in the future. Their potential is only limited by one's imagination."

Review: HTC Incredible S

In best HTC touchscreen phone tradition , the Incredible S looks very compact in spite of the 4-inch display, and at 135 grammes is actually on the light side. The front is dominated by the 480 x 800 super LCD display, with the now-familiar four HTC touch buttons beneath it for home, menu, back and search. And in a very neat touch, these buttons actually rotate with the screen.


There is also a front facing 1.3MP camera for video calling and self-portraits . The back houses an 8.0-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and speaker . The innards of the Incredible S are impressive too-a 1 GHz processor , 768 MB RAM, surround sound, support for micro-SD cards, and every connectivity option that springs to mind, including Wi-Fi , GPS , 3G and even the option to stream pictures and videos to a television using DLNA (provided your television supports it, of course).

And running on top of all this is Android 2.2, over which, in turn runs HTC's Sense interface, which makes most tasks a snap and is by far the best looking and most functional 'skin' over Android. As a smartphone , the Incredible S excels, handling social networks, mail & web browsing with ease, even when all are running at the same time (the RAM helps!) . The big screen comes into its own when you are viewing video or browsing the Web. And unlike some of its competitors, it actually has an onscreen keyboard that is easy to use.

In terms of pure phone functionality , call quality was excellent. Music through the headsets was very good indeed. Best of all, this has got to be one of the smoothest operators we have seen in a while in terms of pure performance. It does, however, disappoint a bit in the camera department. While the 8.0-megapixel shooter performs adequately in sunlight, the quality of snaps and video dips discernibly when one shifts indoors. And then there is Android's albatross-the battery life.

The Incredible S does better in this department than the Desire HD and the HD7, but it still is nowhere near BlackBerry or Symbian territory. In short, be ready to charge it once a day, especially if you are making the most of the Sense interface's ability to park everything from mail to social networks to news updates on your home screens-and it does make sense to do so. The back panel of the phone is also a bit too thin for comfort as you can at times feel the battery heating up through it.

Supercharging your Windows 7

Windows 7 is not just another pretty face. Underneath all those fancy Aero effects , transitions and translucent windows lies an operating system that has a many tricks up its sleeve. These are just a few.


GOD MODE
If there is one single tweak you can do to Windows 7, God Mode should be it. God Mode works with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and is officially a hidden feature; something you won't find in the user manual. God Mode gives you all possible settings, control panel items, all possible configuration options in one place. To enable God Mode, make a new folder anywhere on the PC and name it "GodMode.{ED7BA470-8 E54-465 E-825 C-99712043 E01C}" - without the quotation marks.

The folder icon will instantly change to one that looks like a control panel, and inside the folder you'll get one-click access to all the settings on your computer. The name is actually inconsequential , but a rather clever way of propagating the idea. So, if you use the code "Testing.{ED7BA470-8 E54-465 E-825 C-99712043 E01C}", it still works. These codes are part of Windows Globally Unique Identifiers of GUIDs. A full list of various GUIDs can be found at http:// goo.gl/9311U.

RSS WALLPAPER
If you're on an unlimited internet plan, you can enable an automatic RSS wallpaper with Windows 7. Many different themes for Windows 7 are available that take advantage of this feature. For example, download the Microsoft Bing theme from http:// goo.gl/iqwlW. Once downloaded , double click the theme to activate and select the option to download the attachments when prompted. Then, right click on an empty area on the desktop and click 'personalize' to view the themes. Click the newly installed Bing theme and click 'Desktop Backgrounds' . Here, you can change how often you want the desktop wallpaper to change and select between the wallpapers that have already been downloaded. Many more RSS themes for Windows 7 can be found with a simple search.

WINDOWS 7 AS A WI-FI ROUTER
A free prog RAM called Connectify (www.connectify.me) works with Windows 7 to turn it into a Wi-Fi router, so that other nearby devices can connect and use the PC's internet connection. This virtual Wi-Fi feature is only available in Windows 7 and it becomes possible to use the wireless adapter as a wireless hotspot. Another open-source software that does the same thing is Virtual Router Manager (http:// virtualrouter .codeplex.com).

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

Battery that makes electricity from water developed

A battery that takes advantage of the difference in salinity between freshwater and seawater to produce electricity has been developed by Stanford researchers.


Anywhere freshwater enters the sea, such as river mouths or estuaries, could be potential sites for a power plant using such a battery, said Yi Cui, associate professor of materials science and engineering, who led the research team.

The theoretical limiting factor, he said, is the amount of freshwater available.

"We actually have an infinite amount of ocean water; unfortunately we don''t have an infinite amount of freshwater," said Cui.

As an indicator of the battery's potential for producing power, Cui's team calculated that if all the world's rivers were put to use, their batteries could supply about 2 terawatts of electricity annually – that's roughly 13 percent of the world's current energy consumption.

The battery itself is simple, consisting of two electrodes – one positive, one negative – immersed in a liquid containing electrically charged particles, or ions. In water, the ions are sodium and chlorine, the components of ordinary table salt.