Youtube is down again for maintenance and this time too its unscheduled, interestingly its second time in just one month of period that such all of sudden downtime occurs and that’s too unscheduled. On Sunday  mid-night (1st Nov.09) IST youtube pages are showing up downtime maintenance message.

Moreover, there is no twitter updates nor a blog posts from Youtube’s behalf that can clarify whatsoever reason of downtime. Youtube’s videos are used in millions of websites, blogs and webpages across the web through direct embedding and Youtube APIs and such downtime obviously made them (videos) broken too.

Till time there is no acknowledgment from Youtube or Google for this unscheduled downtime, such unscheduled downtime is making Youtube unreliable.

India has been identified as Top Global internet market by Google Sites’ in terms of share of time spent on Google owned sites in July 2009 by comScore Inc., a digital marketing intelligence company. In India 28.9 percent of total time spent online was spent on Google owned sites such as Gmail, Orkut, Blogger, Picassa, etc.. India stands just after Brazil which is at top with 29.8% share of time spent on Google sites.

Google Sites ranked as the most visited Internet property worldwide with 854 million unique visitors age 15 and older in July, an increase of 18-percent during the past year. Nearly 75 percent of all Internet users worldwide visited the Google Sites property, which accounted for 9.4 percent of all time spent online. Nearly one out of every ten minutes a person spends online around the world is spent on a Google site.

In India, Google Sites accounted for 88.4 percent of all searches conducted, and had commanding share of time spent in social networking with Orkut (68.2 percent), maps with Google Maps (63.9 percent), multimedia with YouTube (82.8 percent). It also commanded slightly less than half of all time spent in the blogs category with Blogger (47.6 percent) and email with Gmail (46.8 percent).

“It’s interesting that the dynamics of Google usage would be so similar in Brazil and India given that the two markets are on opposite sides of the world and quite different culturally from one another,” said Alex Banks, managing director of comScore Latin America.

“As it turns out, there are interesting similarities between Brazil and India as emerging Internet markets. Google’s prevalence in these markets can perhaps best be explained by the fact that the time at which these markets really began to develop and flourish was around the same time that Google was becoming a major player in the search landscape. As a result, Google became the dominant Internet brand in these markets and its success appears to have bled from search into other areas of the web like social networking.”

Source: comScore World Metrix and comScore qSearch

Bitstream Inc. (BITS) today announced its first commercial release of the BOLT mobile browser,  a web browser designed for use on a mobile devices such as a mobile phones or PDAs. After ending eight months of public beta testing that saw the browser downloaded more than 2 million times, rendering in excess of 200 million Web pages. Building on the user experiences and feedback from beta users in more than 190 countries and territories around the world, the company is today making available version 1.5, its fastest, most capable mobile browser to date.

Although, the bolt browser since its release has been a hit among low-end mobile device users such as Nokia 5300, Nokia N-series, Sony, Motorola and other low-end mobile phones or say Non-PDAs/ non-smart phones because the features and capabilities it provides is as much as comparable to any smart phones’ browsers might have. Bolt browser displays full Web pages just as they appear on desktop computers.

Bolt as a mobile browser gives fast, secure, desktop-style web browsing on both high-end and low-end handsets along with streaming video capabilities and 23:1 compression that uses less data than competing browsers making it routinely 25 to 50 percent faster than the next fastest mobile browser in its competition such as Opera Mini, Skyfire etc.

With advanced features like the ability to stream video from the most popular video websites, copy and paste, upload files such as photos and videos to websites, and order and arrange favorites into custom folders, BOLT is also the most fully-featured mobile browser.

Built in J2ME and able to operate on phones of all types, BOLT can work on an estimated 3 billion phones already in the market. A version of BOLT created specifically for BlackBerry smartphones includes all the features of BOLT but also includes default BlackBerry shortcuts and optimizations.

Built with proprietary compression, navigation and rendering technologies, BOLT enables users to find and read information quickly and easily. Once users have navigated to the specific section of the large Web page they are viewing, they can then zoom in to display clear text and images that look crisp on even small mobile phone screens or low-end phones. Employing the Webkit 4.0 rendering and layout engine, BOLT offers users the most accurate rendering of complex Web pages available on mobile phones.

New features and enhancements to BOLT 1.5 include:

• Cache Support to speed users’ ability to move quickly back and forth between the currently and previously viewed Web pages through the use of backward and forward navigation.
• Download Manager for easy download of files directly from BOLT and the ability to save them to specific folders on the mobile phone (requires JSR75 support on the device).
• Support for Streaming Videos of Any Length that overcomes limitations on some phones’ ability to stream videos of longer lengths. The new approach ensures video clips will play on all devices, for any length video.
• Video Wizard to assist users in configuring their device for optimal video playback.
• Dedicated Search Bar on home page, for easier and faster online searches.
• Improved Ability to Manage RSS Feeds by allowing users to arrange and file feeds just as they do with their favorites and bookmarks.
• Enhancements for Touch Screen Devices such as simple volume controls for the BOLT media player which now offers volume controls on the screen.
• Enhancements for BOLT Servers in the cloud, which increase the already fast BOLT mobile browser by an additional 10 to 20 percent.

Ring2Skype is a new start-up that allows you to have a local number (in NYC, London, Madrid, etc.), forwarded to your Skype ID, no matter wherever in the world you are and for free. Although the service is unavailable in India, however its available in Pakistan as only country from Indian sub-continent.

The service requires no credit card info and not even software download are necessary. You just need a Skype account, select the city where you want the “Online Number” (there are currently more than 100 options), and Ring2Skype sends that Online number to your email.

An online number is your own online personal telephone number people can call you on, but which you answer directly on your Skype. With an online number friends who aren’t using Skype can reach you by dialing your online number – you receive and answer the call in Skype no matter where in the world you are.

Although the service is still in beta mode, Ring2Skype works flawlessly and quite worthy service for off-shore offices, small businesses with global clients and even families with their love ones abroad.

Allthewhile, I am waiting to get the service for India as well !!

NASSCOM Product Conclave 09, Bangalore

Are you building software products from India? Does the vision of being responsible for the next Windows ™ or Firefox™ or Oracle™ keep you up late at night? Do you believe that it is certainly possible to create world-beating products right here, right now?

The flagship event for software product companies in India – NASSCOM Product Conclave 09 Mecca of Indian Product and High Technology Companies– happening in Bangalore on Oct 27-28 – in its 3rd successful year…

..Know more of NASSCOM Event »

With a new technology called ‘Mobile Everywhere‘ companies can create cost effective security solutions for identification, authentication and signing on the Internet. With this solution organizations can simplify and secure login, authentication and signing using the users mobile phone, replacing security solutions like, one-time codes, hardware token authenticators, certificates on computers and of course the use of ID and password. The technology has been brought by Accumulate, a London and Stockholm based online security solutions company for the mobile.

This innovative and patented mobile technology platform enables enterprises and organizations to increase the use of the Internet as the carrier of sensitive company information. The technology also enables companies to offer their employees, partners and suppliers new innovative and secure services. In addition administration, logistics and the cost of hardware tokens and the alike are reduced.

“Many organisations would like employees to have secure access to the company system wherever they are. The problem has been to find simple and cost effective solutions. With Accumulate’s technology companies can now provide their employees with access to information without high investments in special code boxes, scratch cards or costs of one-time codes via SMS. This though we make use of the user’s mobile as a security device for login, authentication and signing”, says Stefan Hultberg, CEO of Accumulate.

Mobile Everywhere works on all mobiles and with all mobile operators. The solution qualifies with the law as an advanced electronic signature and uses a method that in security language is called “two-factor, dual-line authentication”. External experts have examined and approved Accumulate’s technology for implementation in banking environment. Furthermore the technology gives protection against so called man-in-the-middle attacks and phishing of user ID and password.

With this technology and use of the mobile as a security device the level of security would raise whilst making usage simpler such as VPN login and login to websites with high level of security.

Mobile Everywhere for companies, examples of security solutions

• Login
• Authentication
• Signing
• Information services direct to the mobile
• Protection against man-in-the-middle attacks and phishing of ID & password

Accumulate One-Time-Ticket (OTT)

Accumulate uses a patented solution, One-Time-Ticket (OTT), for one-times codes. This is easier, more secure and more cost effective than for example OTP (one-time password) and other solutions on the market. With OTT no user information (like user ID and password) is transported or saved over the Internet, and the cost of SMS text messaging or separate security devices is saved.

ME Platform – the technology behind

The basic components of Accumulate’s ME platform are a client software which is distributed to the user’s mobile and a background sever-based transaction system. The ME platform offers 3D security and uses the mobile itself as a security device. With Accumulate’s technology actors on the market can offer cost effective secure transactions for identification and payments.

For each transaction two separate lines of communication are established – simultaneously – between the user and the server. This is done with two different communication systems, mobile phone and computer-to-computer communication via the Internet. Users use their own computer and mobile. The service provider sends and receives back encrypted information via its web server and an external transaction service.

Accumulate’s ME products function on most mobile platforms including Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Java (J2ME), Nokia Series 40/60 and Windows Mobile.

India’s first native iPhone music streaming application has hit the iTunes App Store via Dhingana who have earlier released a gmail app for listening Indian songs and tracks. This time Dhinagana has released the music app for iTunes App Store as Dhingana iPhone music app.

The music app has been released with two versions – iPhone Native App and if you dont like to spend money to get native app downloaded on your iPhone than iPhone Web App is there. However, iPhone Native application is for sale on 50% discount, for a limited time.

With Dhingana Music app one can search and listen to Indian/ bollywood music using iPhone on EDGE / 3G or Wifi networks. Access all the public playlists created by other users and friends. Even more you can listen to songs in the background and access other applications while you listen to songs, for this you just have to open m.dhingana.com from your iPhone’s browser.

With Dhingana on iPhone one can browse the complete music collection from Dhingana.com alphabetically also sharing of songs with your friends over the iPhone will be coming soon.

Dhingana has impressed me with its all round product development in various areas consistently where Indian web companies/ start-ups seldom goes and even if they do they are not as crispier as Dhingana’s apps are, be it UI, Usability or User interaction.

Dhingana has released apps for Gmail, Orkut and now iPhone in very short intervals noticeably Dhingana has also won the OpenSocial App Award by Google earlier this year.

After the success of IEC ‘08, Entrepreneurship Cell at Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi presents International Entrepreneurship Challenge (IEC) 2009 one of the rare business plan competitions which brings together a host of partners from the Corporate, Academia and VCs who help find the best business ideas and guide them to fruition. The event has been launched on 25th September 2009.

According to E-Cell, FMS Delhi, the event is divided into three stages. Round I of the event, which is currently underway, will involve submission of Executive Summaries by the participating teams. The deadline for the first stage is 23.59.59 hours, October 9th, 2009.

Based on the evaluation of the initial entries, 20-30 teams will be shortlisted for Round II, beginning from October 25th, 2009. This would be a mentorship phase wherein each team would be working on their B-Plans under the guidance of an Expert from the industry relevant to their business idea. The mentors consist of experienced and high level corporate officials, entrepreneurs and academicians. At the end of Round II, the shortlisted teams would have to submit their final B-Plans which would then be evaluated to select the finalists for the event.

Round III, the Grand Finale would be held in the first week of December at FMS, Delhi. The finalists would have to present their B-Plans to a panel of eminent Board of Directors who would provide critical analysis to the teams about their business plans and select the winning teams. On the whole, the event will be a great learning experience for the participants.

Salient features about the competition are:

• Seed Funding of more than Rs. 6 Crores for the Finalists

• Cash Prize of Rs 75,000 for the Winners
• 1st Prize: Rs. 50,000
• 2nd Prize: Rs. 25,000

Mentorship from Industry Experts from India and Abroad

Participation across 4 Categories: Undergraduates, Postgraduates, Corporate and Start-ups (Only Start-ups registered on or after 1st October 2007 are eligible to apply)

Opportunity to compete with teams from across the Globe

Extensive Media Publicity for the Winners

The International Entrepreneurship Challenge 2009 has been sponsored by Apollo DKV Health Insurance and Redwood Associates. The Venture Partners for the event are Seedfund, VC Hunt and Helion Ventures. Media Partners are Bloomberg-UTV, Financial Express, StudentBusinesses.com and Shiksha.com. MBAUniverse.com is the Official Management Portal for the event. NEN is the Knowledge Partner for the event while Incubation services would be provided by Zahdoo.com.

For more details about the event and how to apply, download the Event Brochure from the E-Cell, FMS Delhi website, www.ecell-fms.org or send a mail to ecell@fms.edu.

Microsoft today has unveiled new Zune HD device along with its PC software and online services. Microsoft Zune provides comprehensive music and video experience across mobile devices, PCs and the TV to give consumers anywhere access to the music and videos. A black 16GB Zune version estimated for $219.99 and a platinum 32GB version for $289.99.

Zune has now combined few of the technologies that users/ consumers always fascinate about such as multi-touch screen, an NVIDIA Tegra HD processor and HD Radio receiver on a Wi-Fi-enabled device, ability to store and play back 720p HD video files to an HDTV and also with some software advancements such as the new quickplay menu and even a web browser as well.

Microsoft is also planning to release free applications such as Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune.

Zune owners would also have edge of Zune Marketplace, a sync that content to a Zune HD device where they can buy or rent HD content and take it with them to play back on a large-screen HDTV in the home or on the road.

You might have seen a common and lucrative feature on Facebook as – “You may know these people” or commonly known as “Friends Suggestion”. Youtube is also trying to put in similar feature for sharing of Videos, channels and if you have your YouTube account linked to your Gmail account than it fetch the information from your address book to suggest you YouTube channels of people who might be your acquaintances.

Youtube will be launching this – “You may know these people” suggestions box on the homepage over the next few weeks as per Youtube Blog post.

In addition to all this feature you’ll only see channels whose owners have allowed themselves to be found by others who have their email address and for your videos to be viewed by other you need to allow them to be viewed under your privacy settings.

Although using such a social networking feature on an entertainment video portal is awkward for some people even then its NOT something unacceptable for Youtube as it has advantage of being Google’s product and importantly Gmail, its something Youtube should have done this much earlier than now.