Though India is known as an IT giant, it has the lowest Internet penetration among countries of the Asia Pacific region, a latest study has revealed. Internet research firm comScore, which studied Net behaviour of 10 countries in May, found that only three per cent of India’s population used the Internet. South Korea led the pack with 65 per cent of its population using the Internet and was followed by Australia (62 per cent), New Zealand (60 per cent) and Hong Kong (59 per cent). Though China’s Internet penetration is only nine per cent it has the biggest online population of 91.5 million people. South Korea also has the most active online population, with the average person using the Internet 17.4 days in a month.
With more persons accessing the Internet using mobile phones, popular browsers are also moving into the territory. Opera, for instance, upstaged rivals by releasing a beta version of its Opera Mini 4 web browser for mobiles the other day. Those who have been browsing the Net using wireless application protocol devices in mobiles are already singing Opera’s praises. It is very fast and has a virtual mouse that can zoom through the web page. There is a scrolling feature as well. Apple has already released its Safari version for the iPhone.
Film crazy Indians did it when Sivaji the Boss was released. Gadget-crazy Americans are going to do it when Apple’s much-touted iPhone is launched on June 29. Such has been the hype surrounding the release that thousands of aficionados have vowed to form over-night queues before Apple stores to buy the phone as soon as the shutters are up in the morning. Ever since its CEO Steve Jobs announced its launch in January, Apple has been carefully building up media frenzy over iPhone, which is supposed to change the mobile phone scenario totally. iPhone is a multi touch sensitive (it can respond to two fingers at the same time) phone without a keypad. It will provide easier access to mail, music and videos. But the hype has not been all for the good. Industry watchers believe that great expectations can lead to great disappointments too. Apple might as well get ready for a barrage of criticism.
Samsung Electronics, a leading provider of mobile phones & telecom systems, has launched three new mobile phones with stylish look, luxurious and innovaive futures. SGH E950, with a luxurious metal-finish, has powerful 3.2 megapixel camera along with some exciting multimedia features while the SGH-E840 is known to be the slimmest and sleekest phone in the world with its frame measuring about 10.6mm. The SGH J600-the economical one with 1.3 megapixel camera supports Mp3, AAC, AAC+ and e-AAC+, and has an external memory slot (MicroSD). Check out their detailed press release.
Hard drives are getting bigger and, well, harder. Seagate is releasing a hard drive this week which is as tough as it gets. It is specifically meant for use in ‘hostile’ environments. The Seagate® EE25 Series™ 5400.2 drive which has an 80 GB storage capacity, is designed to withstand more adverse temperature (–30°C to +85°C), more humidity, and more thuds, shocks and kicks. It is apt for use in rugged laptops. Meanwhile, Samsung is bringing out hard drives with bigger capacities. Its latest 3.5 inch drive has 1 terabyte capacity. It is also bringing out MH80, a 160 GB drive for laptop computers. This is the first Samsung drive with flash memory.
The open source browser, Firefox, which can be freely downloaded, now has a child-friendly extension called Glubble. Glubble, which has a Walt Disney sound and look to it, will make browsing the Internet an easier game for kids. Designed by Glaxstar, a company which has built other free add-ons for Firefox, the browser is user specific (you need to create a user name and password to browse) and parents can tweak it easily to restrict access to sites according to the age of the child. In that sense, it is parent-friendly too. It initially gives access to some 350 sites including Disney, National Geographic and Animal Planet, which kids dote on. Parents can add on or delete as they wish. Even if searches are given on Google or Yahoo, kids will get to see only those sites which fit Glubble specifications.
We celebrate the 25th anniversary of this remarkable device - that has changed the world and the way we function more than any other invention in the history of technology.The very first PC from IBM was introduced in 1981. A Intel 8088 processor running at 4.77 MHz. 16 K RAM. With green 12" CRT and having one or two 170K 5¼" full height floppy drives, no hard drive.The price tag started at $1,565 , which at current rate of inflation would be nearly $4,000 (about Rs 1,85,000) today. Imagine the rate of development of the technology!! Less than four months after IBM introduced the PC, Time Magazine named the computer "man of the year".
Samsung has built the largest high definition LCD TV for the commercial market. It has a 70inch screen and uses a light-emitting diode (LED) instead of the usual cold cathode fluorescent lamp. The company claims that its scanning programme will get rid of flickers and vague ghostly images that often spoil visuals in big screen TVs. It will also consume 50 per cent less power when compared to other big LCD TVs. The new model will start selling in a few months, though Samsung has not revealed the price.
Hackers are at it again. They have found their way into the popular website YouTube and are infecting computers with malicious software by providing a fake video link. Net experts have identified the attacker as a version of the Zlob adware, which earlier tried to infect PCs through a video link provided in MySpace. Then also, it used YouTube’s name. This time around, it is much more serious. Those who click the link will soon find porn spewing out of the Web. While they grapple with it, the Trojan will secretly install software which steals data from the PC. As mentioned before, websites are the new front opened by malicious hackers for their attacks. YouTube is fertile terrain since it is popular and trusted.
Microsoft is bringing out a wireless keyboard-mouse combination which is designed to give relief to all those sore wrists which pound away on unfriendly keyboards all day. The Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000, as it is named, has a keyboard designed like a gull wing to give easier access to tired fingers. It provides for a better wrist and arm alignment which will reduce stress and make typing an easy task, if not a joy. Both the keyboard and the laser mouse will work within a distance of 30 feet from the monitor and this would also make things more comfortable. The product is expected to hit the market by July.
Will ever search engines get so good as to answer a question like, "Should I continue to study or get a job?" Google, the czar of search engines, says yes. According to the web major, it is trying to retain search data of users for longer periods exactly for this. The more one tracks a person's search behaviour the more will be one's understanding of him or her. Finally, a search engine will get to know a user so well that it will be able to answer even the most intimate of questions. Or give suggestions at least. Now that Internet watchdogs have termed it hostile to privacy, Google has decided not to retain search data for more than 18 months. But it will still provide an option for those who are willing to let it keep data. In lonely days, the search engine might be your only friend.
Researchers of Toshiba and Tohoku universities are developing a technology known as Nanocontact Magnetic Resistance (NC-MR) which will help them build 5 terabyte (one terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes) hard drives in about six years. The technology is meant to increase magnetic resonance of drive heads to enable them to store a large amount of data in a small space. This means that hard drives will get smaller and ‘larger' at the same time. Two weeks ago, Hitachi had released its ‘colossal' 1TB deskstar hard drive. Seagate has also come out with 750GB (Barracuda 7200.10 Serial ATA) Hard Drive. To make the hard drives bigger, both Hitachi and Seagate used perpendicular recording techniques. This means that data is stored vertically using every bit of space available. NC-MR technology is expected to make it easier still.
Manhunt 2, a video game with extremely violent content, has been banned in the United Kingdom. Such bans are unprecedented in the UK. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had last banned the game 'Carmageddon' in 1997. According to the BBFC authorities, Manhunt2 was just too much. It could not be salvaged through either cuts or minor alterations. The game is all about a maniac escaping from a mental asylum and going on a killing spree. Censors felt that the unremittingly bleak game encouraged sadism and meaningless slaughter (within the game arena of course). There was no other narrative thread or action. It was killing, killing all the way. Rockstar Games, which has brought out Manhunt2, termed the ban unfortunate and said the game was just a ‘thriller in the horror genre’. The ban comes at a time when psychologists are hotly debating impact of violent video games.
Thanks to DC-IT watch.
The ‘dark’ version of Google, aptly termed ‘Blackle,’ is making waves in the Net. Darker does not have any disturbing moral connotations here. In fact it is quite ‘lighter’ in terms of the monthly power bill. Blackle is the same as Google except that the background is totally black and the text is in light grey.
It was set up by Heap Media, an Australian firm, after environmentalists proved that black screens consumed only 59 watts of power while white screens consumed about 79 watts. You can save lots of power by using black background. Heap Media founder Tony Heap said that Blackle would not solve the world’s energy problem but was a small effort in that direction. The response to Blackle has been so great that the site even crashed several times. But Google said it has no plans to have a black background.
Thanks to DC-Bussiness News.
Acer, the manufacturer that has been bringing down the prices of Laptops over the past few years, has now launched the cheapest ever laptop to hit the Indian Market. This Laptop series, Aspire 3680 makes available all the computing facility at a modest price of Rs.19,999. This series which is intended for the 'common man' has an Intel® Celeron® M Processor, 256 MB of RAM and a 14 inch screen. For a detailed specifications Click here.
Intel Corporation is planning to introduce a new PC Troubleshooting system with the help of Active Management Technology that will enable engineers to repair crashed PCs by a remote controller. Say the PC is physically dead, the engineers can tune into the constantly 'alive' Intel Memory Chip within it and add security updates or patches. They can be able to remove corrupt files or even re-install the entire Operating Sysytem. Yes, as you guess, the users have to sign-in a deal with the Intel Corp which will enable them to have access on their (agreed) users' computer. Most of the people don't mind on having their sytem accessed (to fix the problems) remotely as the problem that created by a PC crash is more than that of their privacy concerns.
Well its time to really check if your computer is personal or not!
Over 1 million computers have been made 'remote controlled' by hackers. They do so by making use of malicious software riding piggyback on spam emails. The beauty of this fact is that the (hacked-PC) users dont even know that their PC is being hacked and that they become part of Automated Crime Networks. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now in the job of searching those 'hijacked' computers. To solve this global threat, FBI team have tied up with agencies in 60 countries.
The hackers use their hijacked computers or so called zombies to send innumerable spam emails to people all over the world. Also they use it to get personal information (phishing) and for digital stealing. Over the past few weeks, three people have been arrested in the US for hijacking computers and using them for malicious purpose. Robert Soloway, one out of the three accused, is known for his spamming ability and being called 'The Spam King'.
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