Place for Feel Free Talk

More Skype Rumors: Big News Soon, Microsoft In The Mix

2011-05-09T02:51:00.000-07:00

For the past week or so, rumors have been swirling around Skype, the Internet telephony company. Reuters has reported that the company has been in talks with both Facebook and Google, either for a partnership or for an outright acquisition. And if my sources are right, we will find out more details very soon.

How soon? People familiar with Skype indicate that some kind of news is forthcoming later this week, perhaps as soon as Monday. At present, corporate attorneys and other senior managers are burning the midnight oil this weekend, ahead of some kind of announcement. A Skype person replied to my email query by saying, “Thanks for reaching out – as a matter of practice - Skype does not comment on rumor or speculation.”

Sources also say that Microsoft has entered the mix and is interested in either partnering with, acquiring or investing in Skype. While they are late entrants to this game, Microsoft’s interest makes sense for several reasons:

Skype would givemMicrosoft a big boost in the hotly contested enterprise collaboration market places, thanks to Skype’s voice, video and sharing capabilities. It would be particularly useful for competing against Cisco and Google, two of its main rivals in the collaboration business.
It would give them a must-have application/service that can help with the adoption of the future versions of Windows Mobile operating system.
it would give Microsoft an outside chance of working with carriers, many of them looking to partner with Skype as they start to transition to LTE-based networks.

What is my take on all the rumors? First of all, this is not the first time we have heard them. While I clearly see value in these companies partnering with Skype, an acquisition doesn’t make much sense. But an investment from one of the three could give Skype the cash cushion as it waits out for its initial public offering, and could also be a way to buy out an antsy investor. And while a partnership would make sense for Facebook, it doesn’t need to acquire Skype — I’ve heard the two companies are about to make some kind of joint product announcement soon.

Investors Cough Up $1.6 Million To Dine With Grubwithus, The Brilliant Social Dining Service

2011-05-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

The idea behind Grubwithus is an awesome yet simple one. You browse for a restaurant you’d like to go to in a certain city and buy a ticket for your meal at a set price. But the key is that others do this as well, all with the intention of meeting new people over dinner. And when you’re buying your ticket, you can see who your dinner buddies will be. Yes, it’s sort of like Groupon meets Meetup. And yes, it’s brilliant.

So it should be no surprise that a long list of prominent early-stage investors have decided they’d love to back Grubwithus. The service, which launched out of Y Combinator last year, has just raised a $1.6 million round. Who’s at the funding table? Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, NEA, SV Angel, Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, Vivi Nevo, Yuri Milner, Maynard Webb, Matt Cutts, Elad Gil, Paul Buchheit, Alexis Ohanian, Start Fund, and Y Combinator.

Alongside the funding, the company is also highlighting two different types of dinners: charity dinners and raffle dinners. And the first two they’re doing are with investors Andreessen Horowitz and NEA.

For the Andreessen Horowitz meal, which takes place a Tamarine in Palo Alto on May 18, you’ll have to bid to win a dinner with John O’Farrell and Scott Weiss (two of the general partners). The proceeds from the bidding will go towards Second Harvest Food Bank. The 10 highest bids will win seats at the table (and the bidding will close 24 hours before the event).

The NEA meal is a raffle one. Essentially, anytime you book a meal on Grubwithus you’ll get a ticket. These tickets can then be used to enter to win access to the NEA meal — the more tickets you have, the better chance you have of winning the random draw. If you do win, you’ll be asked to pay the $35 set fee for the meal at Reposado in Palo Alto.

Currently, Grubwithus operates in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, DC, and Los Angeles. Boston and Seattle will be opening very soon, co-founder Eddy Lu tells us. The biggest city remains Chicago, as that’s where the service first started, he says.

The team is currently 8 people, but with the new funding they’ll be looking to hire quickly. And they’ll need to, as Lu realizes the competitors and clones will come quickly. One such competitor is LetsLunch, which launched in January.

Lu also envisions expanding the idea of Grubwithus into other verticals and use cases.

That makes sense given the obvious business model. Grubwithus has actually been making revenues since day one, Lu notes. They take a percentage from the restaurants they work with.

“Restaurants love us because we want to create sustainable relationships with them and tell them to make sure they still make money using us,” he says. “Users also use Grubwithus for social utility, not financial utility, so it’s a bunch of high-quality users coming into these restaurants, not deal-hunting cheapskates,” he continues.

You can probably guess which services he’s alluding to with those statements.

MySpace For Sale: The Bidding Begins [REPORT]

2011-05-04T03:32:00.000-07:00

A handful of venture capital firms and other companies are expected to make News Corp. offers for one of its most disappointing properties: MySpace.

News Corp. declared it was ready to sell MySpace in an earnings call in February. At that time, in spite of significant layoffs and a massive redesign, the company “recorded a $275 million pre-tax charge for the impairment of goodwill related to the Digital Media Group and an organizational restructuring at MySpace.”

Now, The Wall Street Journal, which shares a parent company with the faltering social network, is reporting that News Corp. is attempting to get at least $100 million out of the sale. It names Redscout Ventures, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and Criterion Capital Partners LLC, which also owns Bebo, as potential buyers.

News Corp. purchased MySpace in 2005 for $580 million. At that time, the year-and-a-half-old Facebook hadn’t even acquired the Facebook.com URL and recorded a net loss of $3.63 million for the year. Even as late as 2007, Facebook’s traffic was disappointing when compared to traffic on MySpace.

But all that changed quickly. MySpace users began abandoning ship for Facebook and, in late 2009, site traffic took a dive from which it never really recovered. By 2010, even relative upstart Twitter was getting more traffic than MySpace.

Even though the network has pivoted to become an entertainment destination (in a nod to the bands and filmmakers that have clung to the platform out of habit or necessity), MySpace is still losing ground in these creative industries.

We’ll continue to keep an ear to the ground for MySpace news. Do you think News Corp. will find a bidder to meet its $100 million asking price?

News Courtesy :mashable.com

Online image albums with Social networking site

2011-05-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hi dear

We are on a new start up. it is online image album like picasa and Filckr. but we are focusing on real time album sharing with Social Networking site like Facebook as well as Orkut and User can share with Email friends Like Gmail, Yahoo , Hotmail with privacy settings with more features. all other works are in progress.

OpenID allows you to use an existing account to sign in to multiple websites, without needing to create new passwords.

2011-03-05T23:41:00.001-08:00

You may choose to associate information with your OpenID that can be shared with the websites you visit, such as a name or email address. With OpenID, you control how much of that information is shared with the websites you visit.

With OpenID, your password is only given to your identity provider, and that provider then confirms your identity to the websites you visit. Other than your provider, no website ever sees your password, so you don’t need to worry about an unscrupulous or insecure website compromising your identity.

OpenID is rapidly gaining adoption on the web, with over one billion OpenID enabled user accounts and over 50,000 websites accepting OpenID for logins. Several large organizations either issue or accept OpenIDs, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Microsoft, AOL, MySpace, Sears, Universal Music Group, France Telecom, Novell, Sun, Telecom Italia, and many more.
Who Owns or Controls OpenID?

OpenID was created in the summer of 2005 by an open source community trying to solve a problem that was not easily solved by other existing identity technologies. As such, OpenID is decentralized and not owned by anyone, nor should it be. Today, anyone can choose to use an OpenID or become an OpenID Provider for free without having to register or be approved by any organization.

The OpenID Foundation was formed to assist the open source model by providing a legal entity to be the steward for the community by providing needed infrastructure and generally helping to promote and support expanded adoption of OpenID.

XamCenter is getting Ready to Fight

2011-02-21T08:53:00.001-08:00

A new Social Examine site called Xamcenter. is getting ready for its beta launching. As per reports from Officials. its going to launch on March first week and we are expecting it will make huge impact in the social network industry. Let us see what is going to happen.

XamCenter - The New Social Network killer -Generating a new version its called Social examing

2011-02-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

Hi Users

In the January mid XamCenter Chief Mr. Febin ismail reported to media "Our new Social examing Product slightly late and we hope it will hit in the beginning of March 2011.
and He continue there is some rumors about XamCenter. its not a Social network killer. its new way of surfing we called Social examing. in this site users can create and share exams with friends,colleagues even students. its a smart platform to share your knowledge.

Google bid to buy-out Groupon falls through: Report

2010-12-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK: Internet search giant Google Inc's multi-billion dollar bid to buy out online advertising firm Groupon Inc has fallen through, according to a media report.

"Google Inc's multi-billion dollar bid to acquire local deals site Groupon Inc ended Friday as the two sides broke off talks," The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

It seemed as though the negotiations between Google and Groupon were on the verge of completion at one point of time.

However, Groupon's board of directors -- many of whom are investors in the company -- were unable to reconcile their differences over whether to accept the proposal.

The company continues to remain an independent, privately held firm and plans to come with an IPO in the future, the report noted.

AllThingsD had previously reported that Google offered USD 5.3 billion for Groupon, with a further USD 700 million to be paid subject to Groupon's ability to hit certain performance milestones.

News Corp owns the AllThingsD website, as well as The Wall Street Journal.

Groupon, a closely held company based in Chicago, has grown rapidly by getting local businesses to spend money online to attract consumers, a market Google has sought to crack.

The online market for local business advertising is expected to grow rapidly and is being targeted by other large web companies as well, including Facebook Inc and Yahoo Inc.

Yahoo had earlier put in a bid of its own for acquisition of Groupon, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

The model has caught on because it improves on the idea of local online advertising, where a business pays money upfront for exposure that will hopefully translate into sales. With Groupon, merchants don't pay for marketing until they get a customer in the door.

A potential Google-Groupon deal was controversial among Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and executives, with some feeling that the Groupon model could be copied successfully by others and the two companies' cultures might not mesh, among other things.

Google's largest purchase till date is its USD 3.1 billion buy-out of online ad provider DoubleClick in 2007.

News Courtesy :http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Google buys Internet video security firm Widevine

2010-12-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has agreed to buy a company whose software is used to protect Internet video from piracy and make it play more smoothly.
The Seattle-based company, Widevine Technologies Inc., makes so-called "digital rights management" software that's used to secure video content as it makes its way to a variety of consumer devices, such as Internet-connected TVs, personal computers and cell phones. Its software is also used to help make sure the content is delivered seamlessly, known in industry jargon as "optimization."
The purchase price wasn't disclosed.
Google Inc. which is based in Mountain View, owns the video-sharing site YouTube.

Courtesy : The Associated Press.

Samsung ships 3 million Galaxy S smartphones

2010-12-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Samsung's Galaxy S smartphones have reached another milestone.

The company said today it has now shipped 3 million Galaxy S smartphones. The figure comprises sales of the seven models of Galaxy S smartphones, including the Fascinate, Captivate, and Vibrant, currently available from all the major carriers. The announcement comes about three months after Samsung said it had shipped 1 million of the phones, which run on the Android operating system.

Samsung also noted today that it plans to upgrade the phones to Android 2.2 "in the near future." It wouldn't provide an exact time frame for the update.

On a related note, reports have been swirling that Samsung has sold 1 million units of its Galaxy Tab tablet. After initially telling CNET today that Samsung had not officially announced sales or shipments of its tablet, a company spokesperson then contacted CNET again and confirmed that sales figure.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab features a 7-inch display and runs Android 2.2. The device has been on store shelves for about three weeks.

Courtesy :Cnet News

BlackBerry to provide India access to messenger services

2010-12-04T02:32:00.000-08:00

Research in Motion (RIM),

The Canadian company that makes BlackBerry mobile devices, Saturday said it is working to provide the Indian government lawful access to BlackBerry Messenger Services (BBM). "RIM confirms that it is fully cooperating with the government of India and is enabling carriers in related stories
India to be able to provide the same degree of lawful access to consumer data services, including BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), that occurs with respect to other consumer products and services offered by other companies, including RIM's competitors," the company said in a statement.
Minister of State for Communication Sachin Pilot Friday said that the security agencies are unable to intercept and monitor the communication made through BlackBerry Messenger Service and enterprise services in readable format. The government is engaged with RIM to find out a solution for the interception and monitoring of messenger chat and enterprise email using BlackBerry phone.

"Voice, SMS and individual email communication can be intercepted and monitored by security agencies in readable format. However, security agencies are not able to intercept and monitor the communication made through BlackBerry messenger and enterprise services in readable format," Pilot said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Earlier, the negotiations between the government and RIM were deadlocked on the issue as RIM said it does not have a master key in the system that would allow it or any third party to gain access to encrypted corporate information.

The government has given BlackBerry time till January 2011 to create lawful interception facilities with all operators offering the service.

RIM: India Agrees to Work With Enterprises for Data Access

2010-12-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

The Indian government has agreed that it must work with individual enterprises if it wants access to communications sent via BlackBerry enterprise services, Research in Motion said on Friday.

"The Government has acknowledged that any potential policy or approach that requires lawful access to strongly encrypted enterprise data sent to or from corporate and government organizations ... would need to occur through the enterprise customers themselves since RIM has no ability to provide the customers' encryption keys," RIM said in a statement.

The comment offers a clue about how RIM might be able to comply with government demands for access to BlackBerry communications while maintaining its reputation for security. Instead of RIM providing governments with access to user data, it appears to put the responsibility on the government to approach individual enterprises for it.

RIM has maintained since the beginning of the dispute that it does not have access to its customers' encryption keys and therefore cannot provide access to their data. The dispute has put the company in a tricky position. If it doesn't help the government, it risks having its service blocked. If it does, it risks alienating customers who choose RIM for the strength of its security.

RIM's comment comes after the Indian government said earlier Friday that it was still unable to monitor communications made through RIM's enterprise services. It can, however, monitor and intercept voice, short message and e-mail communications among consumers who buy the service directly from the mobile operators.

While the government said it cannot yet monitor communications through the Messenger instant messaging service, RIM said that's not the case. "RIM confirms that it is fully cooperating with the Government of India and is enabling carriers in India to be able to provide the same degree of lawful access to consumer data services, including BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), that occurs with respect to other consumer products and services offered by other companies including RIM's competitors," it said.

Along with its statement, RIM distributed a letter it sent to customers Nov. 19 seeking to reassure them that their services are secure. "RIM does not possess a 'master key', nor does any 'back door' exist in the system that would allow RIM or any third party to gain unauthorized access to the key or corporate data," it said.

While it said it was cooperating with the government and having constructive discussions, RIM did not say how it might resolve the dispute.

Videocon launches Ducati series smartphone

2010-12-03T04:33:00.001-08:00

Videocon and superbike Major Ducati Motors Plc have joined hands to launch Ducati mobile phone in India. Called V6200, the smartphone's unique features include e-compass, thermometer, barometer, altimeter, pedometer, sunrise & sunset timings, UV sensor and global positioning system (GPS).

The smartphone with a rugged and sporty design comes with anti-slip grip, screw frame body chassis and dust resistant keys with side control.

Videocon V6200 has a 2 MP camera, dual Led Torch, 6cm TFT screen, pre-bundled 4GB memory card (with pre-loaded lifetime validity) and GPS navigation system from MAPMYINDIA. The smartphone comes bundled with two headsets, normal and sports, and customisable LED Pulse Indicator. It also has a mobile tracker, FM with FM recorder and a sunset & sunrise meter

Videocon V6200 can be operated on three modes: Phone, Fun and Sports. It also bundles Ducati branded sports bottle, an arm band and a carrying case.

According to the company, the smartphone has been designed keeping in mind the requirements of adventure enthusiasts and introduces the concept of Mo-Biking in India.

Saurabh Dhoot, Director Videocon Group said, we are extremely happy about the way Videocon has been accepted in the market. Videocon embarks on a new era with the unveiling of this phone. We at Videocon strive to get interesting new elements and try to set the bench marks in the industry. We are very positive that it will create the desired newness in the mobile phone industry; this is a revolutionary phone with some never seen before features and uses."

83 Percent Phones Now Run Android 2.1 and Above

2010-12-03T04:23:00.000-08:00

Google pimps cheer in undiluted frenzy

Google's Android, an open-source mobile operating system that many major manufacturers use in their phones now, gets updated at a rapid pace. By the time we got the first wave of Android 1.6 laden phones to Indian shores, Android 2.1 was already out. This made people who purchased phones like these wait for many agonizing months before they got the 2.1 update. But by that time, the next version (i.e. Android 2.2) was out long ago with the 2.3 version update on the horizon. Such is the story of the Android update cycle (and the impending delays caused by manufacturers not being able to keep up with the pace).

But today, we bring to you a cheerful story - over 80 percent of all Android phones as of December 1 run Android versions 2.1 and above. Out of the pie, a major 43.4 percent run the latest 2.2 version - which might sound surprising to us Indian folk, but then when you account the crazy number of Android phones released in the markets outside, the numbers aren't so hard to believe. Next are 39.6 percent of the Android army that run Android 2.1 which, by our rough analysis, is the most popular Android version running on phones in India as of now.

A measly 10.6 percent run Android 1.6, while an even smaller 6.3 percent run the Android 1.5. So why should you care about these OS updates? Because each version has brought some important features and improvements both on the inside and outside. For example, Android 1.6 brought support for the WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) screens, Android 2.1 got and improved browser that supported multi-touch, Android 2.2 delivered better performance and nifty features like turning your phone into a Wi-Fi router or installing apps on an SD card.

Now, amongst this fanfare, there are a few rotten eggs in the basket that you need to be wary of. We're talking of Android phones in the Indian market as of now that run an Android version under 2.1. Steer clear away from these unless and until they get the deserving 2.x update:

LG GW620 (Android 1.5)
Motorola Backflip (Android 1.5)
Acer beTouch E130 (Android 1.6)
Acer beTouch E110 (Android 1.5)

And for all you people wanting to stay on top of the Android game, here's a list of models running the currently latest Android 2.2 in India:

LG Optimus P500
Samsung Galaxy S
Acer Liquid E
HTC Desire/Google Nexus One

Two Android tablets, namely the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the OlivePad also run Android 2.2. And the Dell Streak (or the thing we like to call as the mutated offspring of a phone and a tablet - a Phablet, if you prefer) also got updated from Android 1.6 straight to 2.2.

Image courtesy: androiddevelopers

Google Acts to Demote Distasteful Web Sellers

2010-12-03T02:23:00.000-08:00

Google announced on Wednesday that it had changed the way it ranks search results so that unscrupulous merchants would find it harder to appear prominently in searches.

The change was prompted by an article in The New York Times on Sunday about Vitaly Borker, a Brooklyn-based online seller of eyeglasses. Mr. Borker claimed that he purposely shouted at and frightened some of the customers at DecorMyEyes.com because the online complaints actually worked in his favor in Google search results.

In essence, he claimed, Google’s search engine is unable to tell the difference between positive posts and withering online critiques. Therefore, the more complaints posted about Mr. Borker’s site, the more likely customers would be to find his store ranked high on a Google search, which yielded him more revenue.
In a blog posting titled “Being bad to your customers is bad for your business,” Google said that it had revised its algorithm so that it could detect Mr. Borker and “hundreds of other merchants that, in our opinion, provide extremely poor user experience.”
Google did not reveal how it had changed its algorithm, or how that change would affect online sellers like Mr. Borker. It simply said that the more it reveals about the changes it made, the easier it will be for unscrupulous sellers to game it.
“We can’t say for sure that no one will ever find a loophole in our ranking algorithms in the future,” Amit Singhal, a Google fellow, wrote on the blog post.
“We know that people will keep trying.”
With the changes, Mr. Borker has already had a harder time pushing DecorMyEyes to its previous high rankings on Google. The store once showed up on the first page of a search of “Christian Audigier” and “eyeglasses.” As of Wednesday night, it was not in the first 20 pages.
Mr. Singhal said that the change was made after the company read in The Times about the ordeal of Clarabelle Rodriguez, who bought a pair of glasses and contact lenses from DecorMyEyes in July.
When she tried to return the frames and get a refund, Mr. Borker (using one of his favorite pseudonyms, Tony Russo) commenced a campaign of phone and e-mail harassment.
That included threats of litigation and chilling statements like “You put your hand in fire. Now it’s time to get burned.”
He also sent a photograph of the front of her apartment building, and in a separate e-mail wrote “I AM WATCHING YOU.”
Ms. Rodriguez went to the police several times and on Oct. 27, Mr. Borker was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment and stalking.
He is set to be arraigned on Dec. 22.
The Internet is rife with consumer complaints about DecorMyEyes, and even the quickest search of the store’s name yields dozens of outraged testimonials.
In July, Ms. Rodriguez’s search used only the brand name of the glasses she wanted. DecorMyEyes was at the top of Google’s main search page.
“We were horrified to read about Ms. Rodriguez’s dreadful experience,” Mr. Singhal wrote in the blog post. “Even though our initial analysis pointed to this being an edge case and not a widespread problem in our search results, we immediately convened a team that looked carefully at the issue.”
Exactly how Mr. Borker wound up so high in Google searches has been a matter of online debate. His theory is that the great mass of grievances on all those highly regarded consumer complaint sites were the key to his success.
Google cast doubt on that idea, saying that consumer complaint sites typically include special coding along with the mentions to the companies in question so that such links do not count in the companies’ favor in search results.
At the blog Search Engine Land, Byrne Hobart also wrote in a recent posting that the review-generating strategy was not the driver of Mr. Borker’s success. His analysis found that Mr. Borker benefited chiefly from various “black-hat tricks” to improve his site’s standing, including links from what he called auto-generated spam pages.

He also found that the store was frequently linked to by mainstream media sites — The Times included — when references were made to high-end eyeglasses.

GSA Picks Google Apps Cloud Over Microsoft, IBM

2010-12-02T10:45:00.001-08:00

The U.S. General Services Administration Dec. 1 said it picked Google Apps to replace IBM Lotus Notes as its provider of e-mail and collaboration software for its 17,000 full-time employees and contractors.

The GSA said it will pay $6.7 million to IT service provider Unisys Corp, which has partnered with Google, Tempus Nova, and Acumen Solutions, for the 5-year deal.

The GSA, which oversees government procurement and manages federal property in the U.S., will work with Unisys to switch users in over 17 locations around the world to Google Apps in 2011.

Microsoft Senior Director of SharePoint Tom Rizzo conceded Google's win in a blog post Dec. 1.

"While we are disappointed we will not have the opportunity to meet the GSA's internal messaging needs, we will continue to serve its productivity needs through the familiar experience of Microsoft Office and we look forward to understanding more about GSA's selection criteria - especially around security and architecture," said Rizzo.

The contract represents more than just a forklift migration between e-mail providers.

With the switch, GSA has changed its procurement model, moving from the on-premise model of Lotus Notes, where software resides locally on users' computers and servers hosted by the GSA, to the Web-based Google Apps for Government suite.

In this model, Google provisions e-mail, document and spreadsheet applications over the Internet to users, hosting their data on servers in one datacenter designated especially for government users. The cost is $50 per user, per year.

By removing the onus of hosting e-mail and collaboration apps on its own hardware and computers, the GSA said it expects to save as much as $15 million in staff, infrastructure, and support costs over the 5 years of the contract.

"Cloud computing has a demonstrated track record of cost savings and efficiencies, said GSA CIO Casey Coleman. "With this award, GSA employees will have a modern, robust e-mail and collaboration platform that better supports our mission and our mobile work force, and costs half as much."

Moving to cloud-based e-mail and collaboration software is part of the government's "cloud first" strategy to migrate to solutions that "limit the need for expensive, redundant infrastructure," the GSA added.

For Google, the win is bigger than the modest dollars it adds for Google Apps. GSA is the first federal agency to move e-mail to a cloud-based system for its entire organization.

The move could embolden other federal agencies who have stuck with Microsoft of IBM out of security or service concerns for Google Apps.

The GSA signaled its intent to "go Google" in July when it accorded Google Apps with Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification.

GSA Associate Administrator for Communications and Marketing Sahar Wali told eWEEK that gaining FISMA is not a prerequisite for choosing a software vendor.

However, Google's near four-year foray into the cloud with Google Apps may have given it the inside edge over Microsoft and incumbent IBM, both of whom vied with Google to win the GSA's hand.

Google's win should take some of the sting out of losing out on a $59 million, 5-year deal with the U.S. Department of the Interior to Microsoft. Google is suing the agency for restricting its ability to bid for the deal, which covers 88,000 employees.

3 Reasons Why Women Should Adopt Android

2010-12-02T05:42:00.000-08:00

As opposed to a recent survey which says iPhone is ideal for women and Android is what most men choose

I'm sure I've read something like this long ago, but the survey done by Neilsen has surfaced again which states that women prefer the iPhone as their smartphone purchase, while men are likely to choose a Google Android OS based phone. Now while we at Techtree aren't anti-feminists and definitely don't think that women aren't geeky enough to sport an Android phone, numbers apparently don't lie. So, while the trend suggests women biting the Apple more than wanting to hold the Robot hand, here are three reasons why we think Android phones are better than an iPhone for the fairer sex:

1) The hardware QWERTY keyboard - Women love to communicate; at least most of those I know do. And not all would be comfortable with tapping their pointy-nailed fingers on the iPhone's capacitive touchscreen (that ironically needs the actual finger to touch the surface). Fortunately, a good number of Android phones come with an actual keyboard, which many women may love to type on.

2) They come in cute shapes and sizes - The iPhone, although being an iconic symbol and sporting a cool look, is limited to its brick-like form factor. Some Android phones on the other hand are so very tiny and petite, they can easily fit a compact purse (or a tight jeans pocket, if I dare to imagine any better). Some recent ones even come with cool sliding mechanisms

3) They're cost effective - Not all college-going girls can convince their daddies (or mommies) to part with Rs. 35,000 for their iPhone. Nor do many women want to spend that big an amount on a cellphone. Fortunately, Android phones come in all price ranges - from bang-for-the-buck to the expensive ones. To give you a random example, phones like the LG Optimus P500 have almost similar internals to an iPhone 3G, but cost a fair Rs. 13,000.

Nokia installs server in India; BlackBerry may face pressure

2010-12-02T05:32:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: Nokia on Thursday announced installation of a server in India to enable security agencies lawfully intercept its email and messenger services, a move which may force BlackBerry to follow suite.

Nokia India Vice President and MD D Shivakumar called on Home Secretary G K Pillai on Thursday and handed over the letter, saying the company has conformed with all requirements suggested by the law enforcement agencies.

The company, however, assured its customers that their privacy would be protected, even while fulfilling public responsibility and legal obligations.

"As a responsible corporate citizen, we follow all local laws and regulations that are required by the government authorities," it added.

Installing a server to intercept data sent and received through smart-phones was a key demand of security agencies, which feared that this service could be used terror elements.

"We made a commitment to install host servers in India by end of the year. It gives me immense pleasure to inform you that it has been installed. We have completed the software installation and internal testing and the messaging service is now live on our India based servers," Shivakumar said in the letter.

This comes amid concerns raised by the government over flow of data on smart phones, especially BlackBerry which offers services like BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry messaging and enterprise mail on the device.

Canada-based Research-in-Motion , makers of BlackBerry, had said it was an industry issue and should be dealt with all the players including Nokia and other service providers who offer Virtual Private Network (VPN) services.

RIM has been saying that the security architecture was the same around the world and RIM truly had no ability to provide the agencies its customers' encryption keys.

Government has given Blackberry time till January 2011 to create lawful interception facilities with all operators offering the service.

With Nokia installing the servers in India, "the tool provides real time intercept of content. It also facilitates location of the mobile device generating emails," Shivakumar's letter to Pillai said.

According to the company, Nokia Messaging is a push mail service that aggregates current email accounts of the subscribers on their mobile phones. The service merely collates information available through the internet and directs it to the respective mobile devices.

Nokia servers include authentication server, email enterprise server, and configuration database servers. "This ensures that the authentication happens within India and the database will reside within India," Shivakumar said.

Apple Mystery: Why is India last on its radar?

2010-12-02T00:47:00.000-08:00

NEW DELH/BANGALORE: If you thought that the Apple iPad is yet to become officially available, you might just be wrong. Apple’s franchisees across the country have started selling iPads.

But the catch is that you’ve to buy in bulk. An Apple reseller at Delhi’s Connaught Place that ET visited said it has already supplied bulk orders to corporates like HCL, IndiaBulls, Protiviti and Bajaj Hindustan.

The price quoted: Rs 33,000 for a 16GB model and Rs 54,000 for a 64GB-3G model, with warranty and invoice. “We supplied 25 pieces to IndiaBulls. Give us just two days notice and an advance, and you’ll get the order,” the official said.

Another store at Noida’s Sector 18 said iPads haven’t been launched in India. However, when ET called a second time as a corporate customer, the store was willing to comply saying they will source the iPads from Hong Kong through an importer.

“You’ll need to buy the 3G version from Hong Kong, as the US model comes locked, and unlocking will remove the warranty,” said the importer, Beacon Electronics, who claims to sell through EBay.

Unfortunately, for the lay electronics aficionado, the Apple iPad is just not available, even 11 months after it was unveiled in the US. India has always been one of the last on the launch-list of Apple’s iconic products — iPads, iPhones or Macbooks.

Not just late arrival, there isn’t an India marketing strategy either. Despite being home to 650 million mobile subscribers and witnessing 80-million in PC sales every year, India sees muted offtake of Apple products because there is no differentiated pricing based on purchasing power parity or a focused marketing campaign. No wonder it has a sub-2% market share in both the Rs 30,000-crore mobile handset market or the booming PC market.

Even though the $65-billion technology giant has opened outlets and franchise stores through its partners like Reliance Digital, Vijay Sales, Croma and Imagine, a large number of cult products remain off the shelves, or arrive late.

Not merely in hardware, but India remains last on Apple’s radar when it comes to software R&D, even though its rivals like Nokia , Microsoft and Google have large development centres here.

Apple Software pulled out of India in 2006, citing re-evaluation of plans. “We decided to put our planned support centre in other countries,” an Apple spokesperson in India was quoted as saying.

“They are either not getting the signal from India or they are just ignoring it,” says Prof S Sadagopan, director-IIIT-Bangalore. “It is an enigma. I don’t think any other country has as many Apple fans. They may think they may not make money here. But what is there in Steve Jobs’ mind, no one knows,” he adds.

Apple responds by saying that its vision is neither country- nor market-specific. “It is across the markets. We cannot comment on the business details or any numbers and we do not have such break-ups,” said an Apple spokesperson in India, when asked about Apple’s apathy towards the Indian market.

What this leads to is distorted pricing and a thriving grey market. Says an Apple dealer in Delhi: “The 16GB iPad would be sold at Rs 32,000, including the ‘facilitation fee.’ This rate is almost Rs 10,000 more when compared to the $499-tag on Stockton Street in San Francisco of $499. Apart from price distortions, cheap and fake iPods are found aplenty in local electronics markets in Bangalore or Delhi.

Study: Oracle Users Have Big Private Cloud Plans

2010-12-02T00:39:00.000-08:00

While many Oracle customers are interested in running IT services on private clouds, most are still in the early stages of development, a new study from the Independent Oracle Users Group has found.

Some 267 IOUG members were surveyed in August by Unisphere Research for the study, which was underwritten by Oracle. It does not explicitly endorse any Oracle technologies for building private clouds, which in general refer to the use of virtualization, data center automation and other technologies to provide more efficient IT resource provisioning behind a firewall.
Nearly half of respondents are either running, planning or considering some type of private cloud. But only 11 percent of that total were running one "in production at scale," and 47 percent have no plans, results underscoring that despite strong interest in private clouds, the concept is still fairly nascent.
In addition, most respondents appear to be more comfortable developing private clouds on their own. Just 8 percent have tapped an outside provider to run private cloud services and another 11 percent are considering it.

Also, just 14 percent of respondents are using public cloud services such as Amazon Web Services, according to the study.

Companies are also having difficulty figuring out how to budget for private clouds. Only four in 10 have developed a funding mechanism, and the sources of money "tend to be all over the map," according to the study.

The largest subset of that group, constituting 18 percent, charges lines of business or departments based on resource usage or allocation. As private cloud deployments gain in maturity, more costs are assigned to the IT budget, the study found.

More than one quarter of the survey sample comes from organizations with 10,000 or more employees, but many small and midsized companies are represented as well, it states.
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service.

Google Earth 6 with 3D trees, integrated Street View

2010-12-02T00:34:00.000-08:00

Google’s brought out this funny video of a guy bumping into trees to advertise their latest version of Earth. A take on the introduction of 3D trees in Google Earth 6, the video ends with the warning ‘And watch out for those trees!’. Integrated Street View and conveniently viewable historical imagery also form part of the new additions, as announced by the official Google
Now users are not just restricted to a bird’s eye view of places with the newly integrated Street View that practically lets people tread their way from location to location with the Street View layer. Pegman’s been stationed by the navigation controls to accompany users on a virtual stroll through the streets. A click of the ‘exit’ button is all that’s required to soar back into an aerial view.The developers also claim to have ‘started planting’ trees in Google Earth, with more than 80 million trees sketched out in areas like Berlin, New York, San Francisco and Chicago among others. The 3D trees include detailed models of various species such as the cacoa tree, Japanese maple and the East African cordia. These additions can be viewed once the 3D buildings layer in activated in Google Earth.
Since Google has been working to model the earth’s endangered green cover with the Green Belt Movement in Africa, CONABIO on Mexico and the Amazon Conservation Team in Brazil through the Google Earth Outreach initiative. With the historical imagery feature, users can travel back and forth in time via the time control feature on the status bar that appears at the bottom of the screen.Google Earth 6 is already available for download through the official Google Earth site

Bangalore: Lemon Mobiles has launched a 3G phone, the W100 that is touted to be the cheapest 3G phone in India. The W100 is priced at 3,500 and is av

2010-12-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

Bangalore: Lemon Mobiles has launched a 3G phone, the W100 that is touted to be the cheapest 3G phone in India. The W100 is priced at 3,500 and is available in colors of blue and red.

The W100 sports a 2 inch screen and two cameras, one front camera for video calls (0.3MP) and a 1.3 MP rear camera. Connectivity wise, the phone supports Bluetooth, Java (Opera Mini browser pre-loaded) and email. It also has a 3.5 mm audio jack. The device comes loaded with 60MB internal memory. The memory can be expanded to 16GB using a memory card.

The device supports both 2G (GSM) and 3G (only WCDMA) SIM cards. One can avail free subscription of the pre-loaded Lemon Live TV for a month. The music player of the W100 supports audio formats of MP3, AAC, MIDI, and AMR. Other features include FM radio and voice recorder.

For a 3G phone, the pricing is sure cheap but the phone can access only WCDMA and not the HSPA over 3G networks. The buyers must note this aspect before hoarding to buy the cheapest 3G phone available in the market.

7 Hot app stores for your smartphone

2010-12-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, downloading applications on to your handset was mainly the preserve of the geeks and the smartphone-toting crowd. However, thanks (once again) to the intervention of a fruity sounding cupertino company, applications (or “apps,” as they came to be known as in common parlance) became a rage and before you knew it, everyone from cellphone manufacturers to service providers was giving the user the option to download software to their handsets ranging from games to cellphone themes to office suites.

Today, it is rare to get a mid-segment handset that does not have at least one link to an application store — be it Apple’s App Store that comes on the iPhones, the Android Market on Android devices, Ovi Store on Nokia phones, or Samsung Apps on Samsung devices. Most service providers from Airtel to Aircel and Reliance also have their own app stores, letting their subscribers download a variety of applications.

And that is not all. If you are not content with the app stores that come with your phone or those of your service provider, you can try out still others. They may not get the big apps as early as the major app stores do, but what they offer is variety and freedom from being tied down to just the official app stores

Behind The Avaya Flare(TM) Experience And Desktop Video Device

2010-12-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

The Avaya Flare™ experience and Avaya Desktop Video Device(ADVD) were announced on 9/15/2010 and changed the game and face of business communications. There are many sources for information on the Flare experience and the Avaya Desktop Video Device. I won't focus on the complete feature description or the demonstrations. A great starting point for that is to visit the guided tourdemo if you haven't already.

The development of the Flare experience and the Avaya Desktop Video Device (ADVD) was quite an experience to be involved in; starting with the early concepts study, the definition of its capabilities and objectives, and through to its first phase of fruition. I'd like to share some perspective and background on that experience and some of the influences behind it.

Trends In Communications Today
There were many conversations, studies and observations that influenced what my, the development team, project sponsors and others concept of what the Flare™ experience and the ADVD needed to include and address. One of the ways I engaged in conversation and validation was through blogs on the future of Unified Communications here on theAvaya Connected blog and at my personal blog. In fact, these blog posts, engaging others in the industry, and the interactions I've had with people were a major form of validation that I used in product definition discussions with the team. Unified Communications, gadgets, smart phones, collaboration, video, conferencing, and social networks in the enterprise were the main subjects and use cases on the Flare and ADVD landscape and the evolution of communication in general.

A few major themes surfaced from these conversations, and other forms of validation. These themes and trends have driven the need for a fundamental change in what Enterprise class communication and collaboration needs to be.

Changing communication preferences - Do we ever "talk" to one another anymore?
Admittedly that may be a bit extreme but there's no denying that "communication" is far more than voice these days. Our social communication behavior is shifting. Mobility, smart phones, social networks and being connected 24/7 have been major drivers in the communication modes we're using. There have been numerous studies and reports indicating that "texting" is popular and preferred especially in the younger age groups and moving up. Much of this has to do with being able to have non-dedicated or asynchronous communication unlike what voice or video conversation requires. Social networks are another form of asynchronous communication. Again, studies are showing that use of these nets continues to increase and that it's moving up in age demographically.

Social Networks For The Enterprise
If communication preferences are changing in personal communications, shouldn't we expect them to change in the Enterprise as well? There is a place for social network integration into enterprise communication.

Flare included social networking, allowing enterprise employees to communicate with customers, business partners, professional contacts as well as personal contacts and family. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, are not just for personal conversation. I validated that first hand when using them to monitor and engage in conversations on topics related to concepts we were considering for Flare and ADVD.

The Expanded Meaning of Contacts
Supporting the changing preferences in communication modes required that the definition of what a "contact" is had to change. The old view of name, phone numbers, and email addresses no longer meets enterprise or personal needs. A more complete people-centric view of who the contact is and how to reach them were key influences.

Flare expands the meaning of contact to include social networks, IM, and video choices along with presence information. The main objective was to make it easier for the user to see what options are available to reach a contact along with providing presence information to assist in choosing a communication mode most likely to reach them. The touch screen interface of the ADVD makes navigating through these choices a snap, getting you connected with ease!

Another key attribute around contacts was the ability to blend them all into a dashboard view regardless of source. It gives the user a searchable single total view of who they know, their last interactions with them, and a one touch visual view of communication modes and available to reach them. My personal and business worlds can be blended making it easy to find my golf buddies or my professional colleagues with expertise in user interface design.

Call History
Many of us are used to the traditional call log or history; calls made, received and missed. Since communication is far more than voice, Flare evolved the call log to be a communication and contact history. I can see my recent communication with that person, be it email, IM, or social network, providing me better context on why I communicate with that person. I think of it as my personal screen pop similar to what contact center agents see about a callers contact history as they answer the call.

HD Video

Video has been around for years and up until recently wasn't being adopted as a major communication mode. That's changing now for a few reasons starting with more use in the consumer space. Another is that businesses are becoming more global in nature. This demands a more engaging form of communication and collaboration than voice conferencing alone. Cognitive presence is a key factor in long distance communication effectiveness increasing the importance and adoption of video in the enterprise.

The Flare experience and ADVD bring point to point and video conferencing into the mainstream with easy one-touch call establishment, drag and drop conference formation, HD quality video right on the users main communication device. The ADVD form factor (screen size) was chosen to support high quality video and overall user interface experience.

There's a lot more I can discuss and I will in future posts. I'd appreciate hearing your comments on Flare and the Avaya Desktop Video Device. What do you like, and why? This is just the beginning. What else would you like to see to better support your communication and collaboration needs and use cases?

Mobile game revenue to top $11 billion by 2015

2010-12-01T06:28:00.000-08:00

Mobile game revenue is expected to nearly double by 2015, Juniper Research predicted today.
According to the market researcher, mobile game revenue topped $6 billion last year. By 2015, Juniper predicts, that figure will be over $11 billion. However, the research firm noted that as time goes on, a shift will occur with revenue migrating from the "traditional pay-per-download model" to in-game purchases.
Juniper expects that by 2013, more revenue will be generated from in-game purchases than from actual downloads of mobile games. The research firm said "discoverability remains a problem for developers and publishers on some app stores," so offering a free title and then getting people to pay for more levels or virtual goods is becoming the more desired way to attract gamers and revenue.
It could be a smart move. Earlier this month, research firm In-Stat reported that virtual goods revenue is expected to reach $7.3 billion this year. In 2007, consumers spent just $2.1 billion on virtual goods. By 2014, the firm predicts, customers could spend more than $14 billion on in-game virtual goods. Although those figures include data from social-networking titles, in addition to mobile games, it effectively highlights the growth in this area.