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Compared: Payment Gateways in India [2014 Edition]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 21:47:00 +0000

Back in 2013, along with the launch of Flipkart’s payment gateway service PayZippy, we had done an overview comparison of payment gateways, with respect to their pricing plan and services offered in the country. Its has been 6 months since our coverage, much has changed.

Hence we have decided to do an update on this comparison and this time around we have added 2 more services, bringing the total number of services covered to 7.

Payzippy

Plan	Standard	Promotional
Setup Fee (Rs)	0	0
Debit Card	0.75% for Transaction Value upto Rs. 2000 1% for Transaction Value above Rs. 2000	0.75% for Transaction Value upto Rs. 2000 1% for Transaction Value above Rs. 2000
Netbanking	3.5% for Transaction Value between Rs. 0-5 lakhs. 3.25% for Transaction Value between Rs. 5-10 lakhs. 3% for Transaction Value between Rs. 10-25 lakhs. 2.5% for Transaction Value between Rs. 25-100 lakhs. For Transaction Value above Rs. 1 Cr (Custom Quote)	1%
Credit Card	3.5% for Transaction Value between Rs. 0-5 lakhs. 3.25% for Transaction Value between Rs. 5-10 lakhs. 3% for Transaction Value between Rs. 10-25 lakhs. 2.5% for Transaction Value between Rs. 25-100 lakhs. For Transaction Value above Rs. 1 Cr (Custom Quote)	1%
American Express	3.5%	1%
International Credit Card	1.5% over and above domestic credit card pricing	1%
AMC (Rs)	0	0
Note*	Promotional Pricing is for sign-ups before 31st March, 2014 and is valid till June 18th, 2014. Taxes apply to all above charges.

CCAvenue

Plan	Popular	Privelage
Setup Fee (Rs)	0	30000
Debit Card	1.25%	1.25%
Netbanking	4%	2.5%
Credit Card	3.5%	2.25%
American Express / JCB	5%	3.6%
Cash Card	5%	3.6%
CC Avenue Phone Pay	0.5% + Above TDR	0.5% + Above TDR
AUSC/AMC (Rs)	1200 (from 2nd year)	3600
Note*	Annual Software Upgradation Charges (ASUC) is charged on a per month basis payable in advance every year in April. Taxes apply to all above charges.

Citrus

Plan	Introductory Offer (6 months)	Easy Starter	Level Up	Power Packed
Monthly Charges (Rs)	1	7000	10000	15000
Setup Fee (Rs)	0	0	0	0
Debit Card	1.25%	1.25%	1.25%	1.25%
Netbanking	2%	2%	2%	2%
Credit Card	2%	2%	2%	2%
American Express	2.75%	2.75%	2.75%	2.75%
AMC (Rs)	0	0	0	0
Notes*	The above mentioned plan is for monthly transactions numbering between 1000 to 5000. For plans with monthly transactions numbers between 1-100 & 100-1000, TDR is flat 2.5% on all transactions, only the monthly charges vary. Plan monthly charges vary depending on transaction number chosen. Monthly charges payable upfront. For plan with more than 5000 transactions per month, custom quote facility is available.

PayU India

Plan	Economy	Silver	Gold	Platinum
Setup Fee (Rs)	6000	12000	24000	36000
Debit Card	0.75% for Transaction Value upto Rs. 2000. 1% for Transaction Value above Rs. 2000.	0.75% for Transaction Value upto Rs. 2000. 1% for Transaction Value above Rs. 2000.	0.75% for Transaction Value upto Rs. 2000. 1% for Transaction Value above Rs. 2000.	0.75% for Transaction Value upto Rs. 2000. 1% for Transaction Value above Rs. 2000.
Netbanking	4.9%	3.9%	3.25%	2.75%
Credit Card	4.9%	3.9%	3.25%	2.75%
American Express	4.9%	3.9%	3.5%	3.25%
EMI	4.9%	3.9%	3.25%	2.75%
Cash Card	4.9%	3.9%	3.25%	3%
Release on Delivery (COD)	2.9%	2.9%	2.9%	2.75%
AMC (Rs)	2400	2400	2400	2400

EBS

Plan	Bronze	Silver	Gold	Platinum
Setup Fee (Rs)	12000	18000	24000	30000
Debit Card	3%	1.75%	1.5%	1.25%
Netbanking	4%	3.5%	2.75%	2.5%
Credit Card	4%	3.5%	2.75%	2.5%
American Express/JCB/Diners	5%	4.5%	4%	3.75%
EMI	NA	NA	3.75% for 3 months. 5.75% for 6 months.	3.75% for 3 months. 5.75% for 6 months.
MMC (Rs)	600	500	400	300
Notes*	MMC will be waived in Silver, Gold & Platinum plans if Transaction Volumes Processed is above Rs. 300,000 per month. EMI options currently available through Citibank, HDFC Bank & ICICI Bank. Taxes apply to all above charges.

Direcpay

Plan	Gold	Platinum	Corporate
Setup Fee (Rs)	10000	20000	35000
Debit Card	1.25%	1.25%	1.25%
Netbanking	4%	3%	2%
Credit Card	4%	3%	2%
AMC (Rs)	2400	2400	2400
Notes*	Taxes apply to all above charges.

Zaakpay

Plan	Starter	Express
Setup Fee	10000	30000
TDR	3% for Monthly Transaction Value upto Rs.5 lakhs 2.5% for Monthly Transactiona Value above Rs. 5lakhs	2.5%
AMC (Rs)	2400 (From second year)	0

Azim Premji says Wipro focused on strong profitable growth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 07:03:00 +0000

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has said the company is focused on strong profitable growth, and will make investment in both organic and inorganic growth areas.

Addressing the company's 68th Annual General Meeting in Bangalore on Wednesday, Premji said the firm was focused on profitable growth and enhancing shareholder value.

He also said the company will make investments in both organic and inorganic growth areas.

This comes less than a week after Wipro announced it has entered into a multi-million dollar dual pact with Canada's ATCO, through which India's third largest software services company will provide a complete suite of outsourcing solutions to the Canadian firm as well as acquire its IT services arm.

He further said Wipro is investing on its staff and training them.

In addition, Premji also told investors that succession plans for the leadership at Wipro "is strongly in place".

This come in the wake of concerns over leadership succession plans in IT services firms, which have seen series of top level exits at Infosys, another IT major.

The Wipro Chairman also informed that sanction from Karnataka Government to start new SEZ is long over due.

Premji had earlier this month met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and sought speeding up of departmental clearances, including those relating to environment and forest, as part of setting up of Kodathi SEZ project here.

The SEZ is expected to create around 25,000 jobs in the first phase.

API Management: The Key to Improving the Consumer Travel Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 06:55:00 +0000

With mobile hitting the mainstream, travel suppliers and intermediaries need to evolve their mobile offerings in order to satisfy the always-connected traveler. Unfortunately, they have not been able to keep up with expectations and consumers continue to express frustration with the booking and purchase process.

Join PhoCusWright's Senior Technology Analyst, Norm Rose, as he shares his insights on how travel suppliers and intermediaries can improve industry data flow and customer satisfaction by adopting API management.

In this webinar you will learn:
* Key drivers and frustrations in the way consumers view the online travel planning and booking process
* How to improve the user travel experience by incorporating 3rd party innovation
* How API management allows providers to get the right data to the right user at the right time

# Should Microsoft kill Windows Phone?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 06:52:00 +0000

The company is backing away from Android and doubling down on its own smartphone OS just when the smart move seems to be to surrender.

It's been nearly four years since Microsoft first released Windows Phone, and what it has gotten after many millions of dollars in development and marketing costs, plus its $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia, is this: a worldwide smartphone market share of less than 3 percent. And that number has been going down, not up.

Ask any smart businessperson whether that investment is a good one, and you'll get a straightforward answer: no. Over at Microsoft, though, they think differently. Rather than abandoning Windows Phone, they're doubling down and making an even bigger bet on the struggling smartphone operating system. A company with Bill Gates' DNA will never willingly admit defeat, but in this case it may be time to do just that and instead hitch its mobile wagon to Android.

[ Also on InfoWorld: Find out how to make sense of your mobile management options without diluting the benefits of consumerization. | iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, or other? Whatever you prefer, subscribe to InfoWorld's Mobilize newsletter for the latest developments. ]

The numbers explain why this might be the best option at this point. They're not pretty. The latest figures from Strategy Analytics show Windows Phone with only a 2.7 percent worldwide share of the smartphone market in the second quarter of 2014, compared to an 84.6 percent market share for Android and 11.9 percent for iOS. That 2.7 percent figure is down from 3.8 percent a year earlier. And even that understates how badly Windows Phone is doing. In the second quarter of 2014, shipments of all smartphones were up 27 percent compared to a year previous -- but Windows Phone shipments fell in that year, from 8.9 million devices in the second quarter of 2013 to 8 million devices in the second quarter of 2014.

Windows Phone is struggling in the world's two largest smartphone markets, the U.S. and China. For May, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech found, its market share was 3.8 percent in the U.S., down from 4.7 percent a year previously. And in China, it was a barely measurable 0.6 percent, compared to 3 percent a year earlier.

By any measure, Windows Phone has been headed in the wrong direction. Earlier this year, Microsoft seemed poised to adopt a backup plan that would keep it in the mobile game even as Windows Phone tanks. As it was preparing to acquire Nokia, the handset maker released a line of low-end Android phones called the Nokia X, aimed at the developing world. Though the phones don't run a Microsoft OS, they do carry Microsoft services, such as Skype, Outlook.com and OneDrive. That would allow Microsoft to make money on the services the phones carry, in the same way that Google makes money on any of its services that other Android phones carry.

Nokia was still ostensibly an independent company at the time, but is it possible that it decided to release Android phones without the blessing of its soon-to-be owner, Microsoft? That doesn't seem likely. And it's worth noting that after the acquisition was finalized, Nokia released a new generation of the phones, the X2. It looked like a smart move, given those disastrous Windows Phone numbers.

Chrome Extension Opens MS Office Docs in the Browser

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 06:11:00 +0000

Google Chrome OS users have long enjoyed the ability to open Microsoft Office documents right in the web browser. Now Google is expanding its MS Office support to include Chrome on Windows and Mac as well.

The new Office Viewer beta is an extension for Google Chrome. You’ll need to be using Chrome 27 or better (currently in the beta channel), but provided you’re willing to use the prerelease version, you can install the new Office Viewer (also a beta release) from the Chrome Store.

The new extension can open most Microsoft Office files including .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx. The interface is very similar to the existing PDF view in Chrome and comes from QuickOffice, which Google acquired last year.

The main downside to the new plugin is that it’s definitely still a beta — very buggy and rough around the edges. In my testing two very simple spreadsheets simply didn’t open and selecting text in .docx Word documents was hit or miss; sometimes it worked, other times it was as if the document had been converted to an image.

On the plus side your MS Office files open in a specialized sandbox which protects you from any malware and viruses lurking in the files.

Still, there are enough rough edges that Chrome’s Office plugin isn’t ready for prime time. While it’s a necessity on Chrome OS, which has no Microsoft Office suite, everywhere else you’re probably better off using Google Drive to view files when you’re online (assuming you want to use Google services, Zoho Docs works well if you don’t), and Microsoft Office or Open/Libre Office when you’re not.

The Very First Website Returns to the Web

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 06:09:00 +0000

Twenty years ago today CERN published a statement that made the World Wide Web freely available to everyone. To celebrate that moment in history, CERN is bringing the very first website back to life at its original URL.

If you’d like to see the very first webpage Tim Berners-Lee and the WWW team ever put online, point your browser tohttp://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html.

For years now that URL has simply redirected to the root info.cern.ch site. But, because we all know cool URIs don’t change, CERN has brought it back to life. Well, sort of anyway. The site has been reconstructed from an archive hosted on the W3C site, so what you’re seeing is a 1992 copy of the first website. Sadly this is, thus far, the earliest copy anyone can find, though the team at CERN is hoping to turn up an older copy.

Be sure to view the source of the first webpage. You’ll find quite a few things about early HTML that have long since changed — like the use of <HEADER> instead of <HEAD> or the complete absence of a root<HTML> tag. There’s also a trace of Berners-Lee’s famous NeXT machine in the <NEXTID N="55"> tag.

CERN has big plans for the original website, starting with bringing the rest of the pages back online. “Then we will look at the first web servers at CERN and see what assets from them we can preserve and share,” writes CERN’s Dan Noyes. “We will also sift through documentation and try to restore machine names and IP addresses to their original state.”

In the mean time, have a look at the web’s original todo list and read more about the project to restore the first website over on Mark Boulton’s blog.

WebRTC, Online Code Editor Team Up for Real-Time Coding

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 06:05:00 +0000

It’s still going to be some time before WebRTC technology starts to deliver cool apps, but even today developers are quickly moving from the realm of cool WebRTC experiments, like the Mozilla/Google phone call demo, to useful apps like Codassium.

WebRTC is a proposed standard — currently being refined by the W3C — with the goal of providing a web-based set of tools that any device can use to share audio, video and data in real time. It’s still in the early stages, but WebRTC has the potential to supplant Skype, Flash and many native apps with web-based alternatives that work on any device.

Codassium uses WebRTC to bring together WebRTC-based video chat and Mozilla’s Ace code editor. The result is what Wreally Studios, creators of Codassium, call “a better way to conduct remote interviews.” Of course Codassium could be used for more than just interviews — think code reviews, remote pair programming or even just discussing code with remote employees.

To use Codassium you’ll need to be using a web browser that supports WebRTC — recent versions of Firefox and Chrome will both work. Head on over to Codassium, click the Start button and allow the site to access your camera and microphone. Once the video chat and Ace editor load, just click the Invite button and send the resulting link to the person you’d like to work with.

Internet Explorer 10 Doubles Its Desktop Market Share

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 06:04:00 +0000

Internet Explorer 10 Doubles Its Desktop Market Share

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 10 saw a meteoric rise in market share last month, jumping from 2.93 percent in March to 6.22 percent in April, according to NetMarketShare.

Some of IE 10′s growth might be attributable to more Windows 8 machines coming online, but it also comes close on the heels of the release of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7.

As we noted in our review, IE 10 is a huge step forward for Microsoft’s oft-maligned browser, bringing much better web standards support and considerable speed improvements over IE 9. And there’s plenty to like even on Windows 7 where Microsoft claims users should see a 20 percent increase in performance over IE 9, as well as better battery life on Windows 7 laptops.

While web developers should be happy to see IE 10 gaining some ground given its vastly superior web standards support and speed compared to previous releases, looking at the bigger browser share picture is still disheartening. While IE 10 use may have doubled last month, it still trails IE 6 use worldwide.

The most widely used version of IE on the web remains IE 8, which, while much better than IE 6, still has next to no support for modern web development tools like HTML5 and CSS 3.

As always, progressive enhancement and feature-detection tools like Modernizr are your friends when it comes to older versions of IE.

Dropbox’s Carousel Design Deconstructed (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 05:57:00 +0000

Many of today’s hottest technology companies, both large and small, are increasingly using the concept of the minimum viable product (MVP) as way to iteratively learn about their customers and develop their product ideas.

By focusing on an integral set of core functionality and corresponding features for product development, these companies can efficiently launch and build on new products. While the concepts are relatively easy to grasp, the many trade-offs considered and decisions made in execution are seldom easy and are often highly debated.

This two-part series, looks into the product design process of Dropbox’s Carousel and the product team at UXPin shares our way of thinking about product design, whether you’re in a meeting, whiteboarding, sketching, writing down requirements, or wireframing and prototyping.

Part 1 is about the core user, their needs and Dropbox’s business needs, and it breaks down existing photo and video apps. Part 2 will cover Carousel’s primary requirements, the end product, its performance and key learnings since the launch.

The Carousel MVP

It’s been reported, that Dropbox wants Carousel, its new mobile photo and video gallery app, to be “the go-to place for people to store and access their digital photos [and videos],” to be the “one place for all your memories.” In effect, Carousel allows you to access all of your photos and videos stored in a Dropbox account on any device, unifying them in a single interface that automatically sorts files by time and location.

More specifically, the app launched with several key features:

Backing up
It integrates directly with Dropbox’s file storage to save all photos and videos taken on your mobile phone.
Viewing
A cloud-based media gallery displays all of your photos and videos without taking up local storage on your phone.
Sharing
It offers many ways for you to share photos and videos with others, primarily by sending links to view them in Carousel.
Discussing
A new chat thread is created for every group of people with whom you share a collection of pictures or videos.
Since launching, Carousel has received polarizing reviews. Amidst this uproar of praise and feature requests, we’ll go over how any product or design team could arrive at the same initial release — a critical exercise, especially in a market as crowded as the one for photo apps. First, we’ll summarize what Carousel is, then break down part of the design process for this MVP, and then compare the UI and UX to existing design patterns such as Apple’s Photos, Instagram, Google+, Camera+, Flickr, Facebook, Picturelife and Dropbox Photos itself.

2014 Fab 50: Asia's Tech Takes Over The World

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 17:04:00 +0000

By Liyan Chen and John Koppisch

Scouting for the world’s next growth engine? The 2014 annual honor roll of the Fabulous 50 brings you the best of Asia-Pacific’s biggest publicly traded companies.

China boasts the most companies, as it has for the last three years. Tech companies dominate China’s lineup, with Tencent the most valuable, having a market cap of $155.6 billion, nearly twice that of runner-up Tata Consultancy Services . Lenovo is the biggest in terms of annual revenue–$38.7 billion, just edging out India’s Tata Motors . But as China is experiencing slowing economic growth, the total number falls to 16, down from 20 last year and 23 the year before that. The country’s real estate slump knocked off all of the property developers that would make the list regularly.

Full List: 2014 Asia’s Fab 50 Companies

India trails China with 12 companies on the list, the same number as last year. HDFC Bank , the country’s second-largest private sector bank, has made the list eight times, more than any other company since we started compiling this roster in 2005. Tata Consultancy, another long-time Fab 50 star, makes the Fab 50 for the seventh time and sixth straight time overall. Tech Mahindra, the country’s fifth-largest IT player, debuts on the list after net profits soared 112% to touch $500 million.

South Korea has six companies, with Naver for the sixth straight year. Boosted by strong mobile advertising-and-content sales, the country’s largest online search portal enjoyed a 32% rise in revenue and a 250% jump in net profit last year. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, South Korea’s second-largest nonlife insurance company, makes the list for the first time as it seeks rapid expansion beyond crowded domestic market.

After failing to get any companies on the list the last two years, Japan has two newcomers this year: Suntory Beverage & Food, which sells bottled teas and fizzy drinks, and Unicharm, the country’s No. 1 in feminine hygiene products and baby diapers. The Japanese beverage giant debuts on the Fab 50 list after raising $3.9 billion in an IPO in July last year. It now has a new U.S.-based sister company, Beam Suntory, thanks to parent Suntory Holdings’ $16 billion purchase of the producer of Jim Beam bourbon in April.

Casino kings Galaxy Entertainment Group and Melco Crown Entertainment represent Hong Kong once again, along with newcomer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery. Started in 1929, the famous jewelry chain is the world’s largest jeweler by stock market value and is controlled by the family of Cheng Yu-Tung, Hong Kong’s fifth richest with a $15.5 billion fortune.

There are eight other first-timers. Another eight return after falling off in recent years. That means 19 companies failed to repeat, including China snack leaders Tingyi Holding and Want Want China Holdings. At least one of them had made the cut every year since 2007. Other companies ending long streaks include China’s Hengan International Group and India’s ITC.

In terms of industry, technology companies once again shine on our list this year with nine representatives. The consumer durables industry has the second most members with 7 companies, including four motor vehicle giants from China and India, as the rise of Asia’s middle class continues to drive demand. Three oil and gas companies make it into the rank, up from only one firm from last year.

The Fab 50 is chosen from a pool of 1,300 companies in the region that have at least $3 billion in market cap or annual revenue. Since only public companies are considered, hot privately held outfits such as Alibaba Group and Huawei Technologies are out. We screen for a long series of performance measures, analyze the outlook for each company and throw out any that carry a lot of debt or are more than 50% state-owned. Companies that are more than 50% owned by listed parents are also culled. The result is the region’s best of the best.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 08:05:00 +0000

Facebook rolls out bandwidth targeting for advertisers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 12:42:00 +0000

NEW DELHI: Social networking giant Facebook has rolled out a new "bandwidth targeting" Globally feature for advertisers to help them reach people based on the type of network.

NEW DELHI: Social networking giant Facebook has rolled out a new "bandwidth targeting" feature globally for advertisers to help them reach people based on the type of network.

The move is Especially Relevant in emerging Countries like India, where limited data plans and feature phones are common. "Targeting by mobile network type Helps advertisers choose creative That will run smoothly on any given device and connection speed. "That is why we are launching a new feature That enables advertisers to reach people based on the network connection - 2G, 3G or 4G - they use most Often When Accessing Facebook, "the social media giant said in a blogpost. The US-based firm, Which has over 1.32 Billion Globally users, already offers advertisers to reach people based on the type of device they use ( smartphones, feature phones and tablets) as well as device model and operating system. In June this year, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said Had 30 million small and medium Businesses (SMBs) Globally are using Facebook to connect to customers and expand and reach Hwy Presence . India, Which is Facebook's second Largest market in terms of user-base, has nine lakh SMBs leveraging its platform. "People want fast, Efficient experiences on Hwy phones. Our hope is that mobile network targeting can improve your the experience people have with Facebook ads by helping advertisers deliver the right experience the while respecting people's device bandwidth and data costs, "Facebook product marketing manager Brendan Sullivan said. Advertisers like Vodafone in India are already testing these new targeting Capabilities with good early results. "We are excited about the new mobile targeting option on Facebook Which Allows us to a sharper targeting Relevant audience," Vodafone India senior vice president (brand communication, insights and online) Ronita Mitra said.

Choose your side on the Linux divide The battle over systemd exposes a fundamental gap between the old Unix guard and a new guard of Linux developers and admins

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 12:40:00 +0000

Last week I posted about the schism brewing over systemd and the curiously fast adoption of this massive change to many Linux distributions. If there's one thing that systemd does extremely well, it is to spark heated discussions that devolve into wild, teeth-gnashing rants from both sides. Clearly, systemd is a polarizing subject.

If nothing else, that very fact should give one pause. Fundamental changes in the structure of most Linux distributions should not be met with such fervent opposition. It indicates that no matter how reasonable a change may seem, if enough established and learned folks disagree with the change, then perhaps it bears further inspection before going to production. Clearly, that hasn't happened with systemd.

[ Also from InfoWorld's Paul Venezia: systemd, harbinger of the Linux apocalypse? | How-to: Get started with Docker | For the latest practical data center info and news, check outInfoWorld's Data Center newsletter. ]

Fundamentally, I think this exposes a separation of the Linux community: between those who were deep into Unix before Linux came on the scene and those who came later. I can't help but think that a number of younger developers and admins are missing key elements of how Unix-like systems were designed and how they functioned before, say, 1998 -- when Unix was for servers and high-end workstations, not desktop systems or laptops.

As I alluded to last week, we've had many extremely good reasons to use SysVinit all these years. It's extremely adaptable, easily maintained, and very simple to debug. To some, it looks like a ragtag collection of shell scripts that should be condensed into a set of sleek, modern binaries -- now known as systemd. To others, systemd is the answer to a question nobody asked. SysVinit wasn't broken, and it didn't need to be fixed -- certainly not by an option as all-encompassing and dependency-laden as systemd.

I truly don't wish to speculate on how the elders of Unix who have passed on would react to something like systemd. I do, however, find it hard to think that Dennis Richie or Jon Postel would embrace systemd and its 1MB binary running at PID1. We need only look at the pillars of computer software design to see why:

Much of the power of the Unix operating system comes from a style of program design that makes programs easy to use and, more important, easy to combine with other programs. This style has been called the use of software tools, and depends more on how the programs fit into the programming environment and how they can be used with other programs than on how they are designed internally. [...] This style was based on the use of tools: using programs separately or in combination to get a job done, rather than doing it by hand, by monolithic self-sufficient subsystems, or by special-purpose, one-time programs.
-- Rob Pike and Brian Kernighan, Program Design in the Unix Environment, 1984

The design of systemd violates this statement completely. Doug McEllory's statements on the Unix philosophy also clash with systemd's design:

This is the Unix philosophy: Write programs that do one thing and do it well. Write programs to work together. Write programs to handle text streams, because that is a universal interface

Dropbox offers 1TB Pro plan for $9.99 The new Dropbox for Business plan does away with previous options maxing out at 500GB

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 12:39:00 +0000

Dropbox is consolidating its three Pro account options into a single plan that's priced at $9.99 per month and includes 1TB of storage and added controls for document sharing and security.

The Pro plan is aimed at freelancers, contractors and other workers who want more storage and tools than come with the free Basic plan, which starts at 2GB, but for whom a Business account might be overkill.

[ Get the most out of Google with InfoWorld's quick guide "25 tips and tricks for Google Drive power users." Download the PDF today! | Also check out our Cloud Security Digital Spotlight PDF special report. ]

Previously, Dropbox had three different Pro plans with 100GB, 200GB and 500GB of storage, priced at $9.99, $19.99, and $49.99 per month, respectively.

In addition to a terabyte of storage, the new plan includes several features for collaborating with clients. There's "view-only" permissions, which an interior designer could use to let a client see a mockup of a design but not make changes to it, for instance.

Users can also password-protect links to documents and folders, and apply expiration dates to links, so a wedding photographer could provide access to a group of photos for a limited amount of time.

Finally, there's remote wipe feature. If a user loses their mobile device, they can log on from another computer and have Dropbox stop syncing to that device and delete the files on it the next time it comes online.

The new Pro plan aims to provide a more compelling option for those willing to pay for online storage, but Dropbox is competing with larger competitors like Google and Amazon who continue to slash prices and increase the storage they offer.

In March, Google cut the price of its 1TB Drive plan by 80 percent, from $49.99 to $9.99, and Amazon cut the price of its 1TB S3 plan by 65 percent, $0.03 per GB per month.

The Dropbox for Business plan, which includes the sharing controls in Pro plus many admin tools for employers, starts at $15 per month for five users.

Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service.

Ratan Tata invests in Snapdeal

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 12:24:00 +0000

BANGALORE: In a boost to India's consumer internet story, Ratan Tata has invested in homegrown e-tailer Snapdeal in his personal capacity. With this, he joins other tech titans including Wipro's Azim Premji and Infosys' N R Narayana Murthy in making investments in the burgeoning $3-billion e-commerce sector.

TOI was the first to report, earlier this month, that Tata was considering an investment in Snapdeal.

Tata and Snapdeal have not disclosed the investment amount. The 76-year-old chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, credited with transforming India's largest private sector conglomerate with a string of marquee global acquisitions, is expected to be a minority investor. Tata Sons is the holding company of the $103 billion Tata Group with interest spanning from steel to automobiles.

Kunal Bahl, co-founder & CEO of Snapdeal, said, "This is a very proud and exciting moment for the entire Snapdeal family. An investment by a legendary and respected figure like Mr Tata is an excellent validation of our focused strategy on building a long term enterprise and marks the start of a very important phase for the company."

Snapdeal has previously raised about $350 million in funding. In February, one of the world's largest digital marketplaces eBay led a $134 million (Rs 830 crore) investment. eBay invested $100 million and the rest came from existing investors like Nexus Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Intel Capital. It subsequently received a $100 million round from Premji's investment arm Premji Invest, Temasek, BlackRock and others.

Tata is boarding Snapdeal at a time when the online marketplace is seeing huge interest from customers, thanks to discounted offerings, the massive array of offerings, and the ability to buy from the comfort of their homes. India has 243 million internet users, and this number continues to grow rapidly due to increased smartphone penetration.

Snapdeal's biggest rivals in India, Flipkart and Amazon, both recently received humongous amounts of investment commitments. Flipkart received $1 billion, and Amazon $2 billion. The Tata investment, even if small, gives Snapdeal something of a morale boost in this environment.

HP beats Dell in Q1 PC sales

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 09:54:00 +0000

BANGALORE: Hewlett-Packard (HP) got back its top spot in the PC market in the quarter ended June thanks to the execution of a large education deal in Tamil Nadu. Its overall market share was 29.5%, up from 20.9% in the first quarter ended March, according to research firm IDC. Dell, which was No. 1 in the first quarter with a 23.1% share, was second this time with a 19.1% share. Lenovo was third with a 13.9% share.

The Tamil Nadu deal helped HP's share in commercial notebooks to jump to as high as 51.4%. Lenovo, at No. 2, was way behind at 16.8%. In commercial desktops, HP was second to Dell. In consumer desktops and notebooks, HP was No. 1. In the former, Lenovo was marginally behind, in the latter, Dell was 4 percentage points behind HP's 31.4%.

HP was the leader through much of 2013.

The overall PC shipments for the second quarter stood at 2.55 million units, a substantial growth of 23.6% over Q1, but a drop of 27.8% over Q2 of last year. "The market remained upbeat buoyed by business purchases, as well as channel intake of low priced PCs at the end of the quarter," IDC said.

The commercial PC segment grew sequentially by 34.5%. "A clear mandate in elections signalled a mark of recovery in the economy. Against last calendar year, business prospects are expected to remain moderately better in the coming six months," IDC said.

Google gets patent to make Glass look like ordinary specs -

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 05:45:00 +0000

Google appears to be redesigning Glass to make the wearable computer look less nerdy and more like ordinary eyeglasses.

With the company's computerized eyeglasses, users can take photos and video, view maps and weather reports and read news stories with a tiny see-through display screen that sits above the user's right eye.

Google received a patent on Aug. 12 for a new design for Google Glass that would replace a separate display screen with an image shown in front of or inside the right lens frame. (Image: U.S. Patent Office)

That display screen, as helpful as it is, also draws attention to users wearing Glass. Some users have complained that Glass looks dorky, while some businesses, including a cafe and a casino, have banned people from wearing them in their establishments for fear that users might be surreptitiously recording others.

Now it appears that Google is working to give Glass wearers a look that would more easily blend in with regular eyeglass wearers.

The company last week received a U.S. design patent for a wearable display device that is part of the eyeglasses, but that doesn't stick out in front of them.

Sergey Brin, CEO and co-founder of Google, wears the company's Glass during a product demonstration at the Google I/O 2012 conference in San Francisco. (Image: Stephen Lam / Reuters)

The new computer, which would be built into the frames of the glasses would give users an image, like a map or weather forecast, in front of or in the right lens.

However, it's unclear whether Google will use the new design.

"We hold patents on a variety of ideas," a Google spokesperson said in an email to Computerworld. "Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don't. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patents."

While creating Glass without a separate display screen could make the wearable computers more marketable, it also could fire up a privacy storm with people concerned that they would no longer be able to distinguish computerized eyeglasses from regular glasses.

"Google Glass has other problems, like being pointless and annoying, but making you look like a total geek is part of the problem, so changing the look is good," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "Being undetectable is a problem too, however. People are getting pretty upset about potentially being videoed without their knowledge& I imagine some will call for some kind of notification that a recording is being made, and a penalty for disabling it."

Social Media & Social networking

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 16:25:00 +0000

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites.

Social media itself is a catch-all term for sites that may provide radically different social actions. For instance, Twitter is a social site designed to let people share short messages or “updates” with others. Facebook, in contrast is a full-blown social networking site that allows for sharing up

dates, photos, joining events and a variety of other activities.

Why would a search marketer — or a site about search engines — care about social media? The two are very closely related.

Social media often feeds into the discovery of new content such as news stories, and “discovery” is a search activity. Social media can also help build links that in turn support into SEO efforts. Many people also perform searches at social media sites to find social media content.

Social networking

A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on facilitating the building of social networks or social relations among people who, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections. A social network service consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web-based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging. Online community services are sometimes considered as a social network service, though in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual-centered service whereas online community services are group-centered. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks

The era of socializing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 06:06:00 +0000

Last night I found my long lost friend on WhatsApp while browsing my contact list and to my surprise he was online and ping me. We chatted almost for an hour discussing about professional and personal lives. I was so much touched and the conversation had brought back the memories of good old school days where we use to have fun with friends.

With the advent of social media today it is possible to be in touch with anyone, anywhere and keep yourself updated about the friends, news, and the world over. If the industrial era was about building things, the social era is about connecting people and ideas. Networks of connected people with same interests and goals create ways to be in touch with each other on the move.

The recent emergence of social media has transformed the thinking of the people and today instead of being together on a place they are together on the move. Today social media has brought many voices together, distributed to many people. Live tweeting, facebook, WhatsApp, et cetera allows users to get the news in no time.

Over 50% of the population in the world is under 30 years and is hooked on to the social media networking. My cousin who has just got admission in Delhi University has been on Facebook and WhatsApp all the time to keep her gang of friends updated about her move and vice versa.

Facebook was launched in the year 2004 and today it is the first silicon valley web giant to have watched every move, reported, analyzed again since birth. Adaptxt is another text input application from Keypoint Technologies understands the value of connecting near and dear ones. With Smartphones and engaged communication redefining effortless communications, Adaptxt is revolutionizing new trends for greater audience interaction aimed at bringing the youth of today closer to each other.

The new app initiates fun-filled activities on the social media which help connect with friends and relatives better. With social media becoming a key communicator in the lives of people, it is the time to celebrate the freedom and be connected to the loved ones always.

Dell partners with VMware

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 06:05:00 +0000

Dell and VMware collaborates to announce the companies longstanding relationship to deliver solutions that will accelerate adoption of network virtualization and open networking in the software-defined data center. The expanded relationship includes a range of new networking solutions for midmarket, large enterprise and service provider customers, backed by a joint go-to-market initiative, a validated reference architecture and a global reseller agreement.

Dell and VMware are working with Cumulus Networks to deliver the VMware NSX network virtualization platform with Cumulus Linux on Dell Networking switches. Additionally, Dell is delivering a fully-tested and validated converged infrastructure solution for midmarket customers that includes VMware NSX.

Dell and VMware have partnered to train the Dell field, with thousands of representatives already completing initial VMware NSX training. Dell and VMware have also completed a validated reference architecture for the combined Dell and VMware networking solution.

Dell, VMware and Cumulus Networks are delivering a pre-configured solution, available from Dell, that combines VMware NSX with Cumulus Linux on Dell Networking switches. This combined solution will help enterprises and service providers achieve holistic management and provisioning of the complete data center networking environment, physical and virtual, and accelerate deployment of new applications while simplifying IT operations. The companies expect customers to achieve the following benefits:

Transition rigid, proprietary networking solutions to flexible, open, simple and agile networking with compelling economics;
Speed network and service provisioning time to accelerate application deployment time;
Leverage network virtualization, isolation and segmentation to Implement application and client multi-tenancy;
Connect physical workloads with virtual networks;
Improve performance and quality-of-service by automatically detecting and isolating application-specific flows (known in networking as elephant and mice flows);
Deliver micro-segmentation to embed security into data center constructs.

Companies with limited IT staff and budget are looking for simple, integrated and validated architectures. Dell and VMware have teamed to provide a converged infrastructure solution to meet these requirements.

The solution features the VMware NSX network virtualization platform running on top of reliable Dell servers, networking, and storage infrastructure. Dell's converged infrastructure includes the Dell PowerEdge M1000e server blade chassis, the Dell Networking 10 / 40GbE MXL blade switch, S4810 Top of Rack switch and S6000 fabric switches, as well as Dell Storage iSCSI arrays.

Spice brings FireFox smartphone

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 06:03:00 +0000

In a midst of costly and mid segment smartphones flood, Spice has created a ruckus in the smartphone segment while launching an ultra low cost smartphone for those who want to switch from a feature phone to smartphone.

Spice Fire One Mi-FX 1 priced at Rs. 2,299 is purely targeted to nearly 90 percent of the feature phone users. The device is aimed at the masses that are looking for a larger than life phone statement but are deterred due to price sensitivity.

Connecting through the aspirations of affordable smartphone of small town masses, Spice partnered with Mozilla to provide the best technological innovations to the customers. This Firefox OS smartphone is the first device powered completely by Web technologies and offers all that the users need - calls, messaging, email, camera and more. The 2G Dual sim enabled Spice Fire One targeted towards the masses is well equipped with a 1 GHz processor, 2.5 G connectivity, 8.89 cm HVGA capacitive touch screen and 1.3MP primary camera + 0.3 MP front camera.

Spice Fire One has a very intuitive and beautiful interface especially for the first time smart phone user.

Based on the open web, the phone has unique features like Adaptive App Search or the Single Window Search, as we have termed it, allows users to find all relevant information and apps available on the web together at a single click. The Marketplace on this phone helps you find an app for almost anything you can think of on Firefox marketplace. This device also supports several Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil and Bangla.

This device also comes preloaded with great social networking and instant messaging apps just to connect with your friends and family like Facebook, Twitter and Connect A2.

Security | HomeFeaturesNational Trends In Enterprise Security

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 05:48:00 +0000

The enterprise security market in India is expected to touch $234 million in 2014, growing at 16 percent, driven by new business paradigms such as social, mobility, analytics and cloud computing.

According to McAfee, the enterprise security market in India is expected to touch $234 million in 2014, growing at about 16 percent, compared to 2013.

New technologies such as advanced persistent threats (APTs); data loss prevention (DLP); security information and event management—governance, risk and compliance (SIEM-GRC); and next generation firewalls (NGFW) are driving most of the security spends in the enterprise as well as SMB markets.

Advanced persistent threats
According to a recent report on APTs, government agencies and organizations in industries such as finance, energy, IT, aerospace, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are mostly likely to be the victims of APT infections as are those involved in international trade. Any organization running industrial control systems linked to the Internet is at risk, the report cautions.

Another report from Symantec reveals that attackers are focusing on large enterprises. Amitabh Jacob, Director, Channels & Alliances, India & Saarc, Symantec, says that the security threat landscape for SMBs is no different. “SMBs face the highest phishing and virus-bearing email, almost three times as much as enterprise targets.”

A new trend, according to Jagdish Mahapatra, Managing Director, McAfee (Intel Security) India & Saarc, is advanced evasion techniques (AETs) which hackers use to bypass security systems and penetrate even the most locked-down networks. AETs work by splitting malicious payloads into smaller pieces, disguising, and sending them across multiple protocols. Once inside, they reassemble to unleash malware.

“The security landscape is so threatening that no business can afford to rely on legacy systems, hence we are witnessing demand from customers across verticals. We have bagged five large customers in 2014 with project sizes of Rs 15 lakh- Rs 20 lakh,” informs Uttam Majumdar, President, Locuz Enterprise Solutions, Hyderabad.

Data leak prevention
Enterprises are looking at DLP as a solution to increase organizational awareness and monitor their data flow due to tight regulatory environments in the form of improvements to the IT Act 2000 and the RBI Information Systems Audit Policy.

Shalil Gupta, Director, Consulting & Insights, IDC India, feels that DLP will be the next big opportunity led by banking, telecom, IT-ITeS and customer-centric verticals, in the next six months.

“Overworked and understaffed, security teams are stitching together good enough security products which were originally not designed to work together,” explains Jacob. “Not only does this make an organization more vulnerable to breaches, it also increases operational complexity. Enterprises are therefore opting for DLP systems that give greater control over confidential data and simplify the management process. According to the Gartner Magic Quadrant, this adoption was estimated to have grown to $670 million globally in 2013 from $535 million in 2012.”

Says Ajit Zanjad, AVP, Professional Services Group of Delhi-based Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic (HSMC), “We expect DLP adoption to grow by at least 20-25 percent YoY keeping in view the growing awareness among customers.” He adds that so far security vendors have been performing free audits for organizations, and, based on the findings, bagging deals. “Similarly, a partner should go and talk to the top management. Start the conversation with new trends such as SSL espionage, data leakage and theft—and the implications of each.”

While HSMC has already got more than 25 customers on DLP, it recently acquired three more customers with project sizes ranging from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

Connected Home Will Be A Reality In 5 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 05:44:00 +0000

According to a survey on Internet of Things, commissioned by Fortinet, 69 percent respondents from India said that the connected home is extremely likely to happen in the next five years.Here are the top trends.
According to the Connected Home survey, conducted by GMI, a division of Lightspeed Research, 69 percent of the respondents from India said that the connected home is extremely likely to happen in the next five years. Completed in June 2014, the survey asked 1,801 tech-savvy homeowners, including 750 in the Asia Pacific countries of Australia, China, India, Malaysia and Thailand, questions relating to the Internet of Things (IoT) as it pertains to the connected home. A majority (61 percent) of all respondents believe that the connected home is extremely likely to become a reality in the next five years. China led the world in this category with more than 84 percent affirming support. In India, 69 percent said that the connected home is extremely likely to happen in the next five years. "The battle for the Internet of Things has just begun. According to industry research firm IDC, the IoT market is expected to hit $ 7.1 trillion by 2020, "said Rajesh Maurya, Country Manger, India & Saarc, Fortinet. "The ultimate winners of the IoT and connected home will come down to those vendors who can provide a balance of security and privacy vis-à-vis price and functionality."

Six Things To Know About Microsoft's New Volume Licensing Program

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 05:39:00 +0000

Microsoft launched the Microsoft Products and Services Agreement last December. Here are six things Microsoft partners and customers need to know about MPSA.
Microsoft launched a new volume licensing program last December, called the Microsoft Products & Services Agreement (MPSA), which promises to simplify the vendor's notoriously complicated licensing by letting customers buy all the software they need under a single agreement. Microsoft began rolling out the MPSA in the US, UK, Germany and Canada late last year and has since expanded to a total of 13 countries worldwide. Ultimately, the MPSA will replace several other Microsoft licensing agreements, including Select Plus and others, for organizations with at least 250 seats. Here are six things Microsoft partners and customers need to know about MPSA, which appears to be the software giant's most aggressive attempt to date to streamline its Byzantine software licensing structure.

HomeNewsClients & Peripherals Dell Launches Festive Offers.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 05:36:00 +0000

The vendor is offering assured gifts upto Rs 6,497 on the purchase of Dell Inspiron PC range and other freebies to customers in Kerala and Maharashtra on the occasion of Onam and Ganesh Chaturthi.

In a bid to take advantage of the forthcoming Onam and Ganesh Chaturthi festivals, Dell has launched festive offers for its Inspiron range of PC. The scheme is valid from August 22 to September 7, 2014. The company is offering assured gifts worth upto Rs 6,497 on the purchase of Dell Inspiron PCs. On PCs worth less than Rs 30,000, the company is offering free Bluetooth headset and wireless mouse. PC customers who purchase worth more than Rs 30,000 will get free Bluetooth headset, wireless mouse and one year additional warranty. These offers add a dash of delight to the Indian shopper's spirit of Festivity, drawing in customers to enjoy these attractive schemes. The exchange of gifts and purchasing new things is a tradition in Indian festivities, and Dell hopes to play an important part in this tradition by encouraging customers to bring home the gift of technology, the vendor said.