Dotcom World-6: "Arena Launches Animation Studios in Chennai" - Corporate Reporter, The Hindu

Arena Animation, global leader in animation and multimedia training, launched animation studios at Arena's Vadapalani and Anna Nagar centres, which offer Arena's hi-end animation engineering (DAE) program. The studios will facilitate live projects and intensive industry interaction for the DAE students, says a release. - Corporate Reporter, The Hindu.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, July 4, 2008 ("Snippets")

Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

Mobile World-5: Cellucom to invest Dh 500 m in India

Dubai: UAE mobile retailer Cellucom will invest Dh 500 million (Rs.500 crore) for rolling out 500 stores across India by the end of 2009. Cellucom Chief Executive and Managing Director Arun Nagar said the company would open 15-20 stores every month in India.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, July 4, 2008 (“Snapshots”)
Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

Mobile World-4: “Nokia Introduces Two New Handsets” – Special Correspondent, The Hindu.

New Delhi: Ahead of the much-awaited launch of Apple’s i-Phone in India, leading mobile handset manufacturer Nokia on Thursday (July 3, 2008) consolidated its smartphone offerings by unveiling two new handsets – E71 and E66 – priced at Rs.22,949 and Rs.23,689, respectively. “The launch of two stylish email-optimised devices from the E-series product range reiterate the potential of business mobility in India. The two handsets deliver an unmatched combination of advanced technologies, network connectivity options and stylish design,” Nokia’s Director (Marketing), Devinder Kishore, said at a press conference here. Both the handsets easily mobilize a broad range of personal or professional messaging needs, including Microsoft Exchange, the world’s most widely adopted corporate e-mail solution.

With these Nokia E-series devices, people can get reliable realtime access to their e-mail, calendar, contacts and tasks, as well as download attachments such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF files directly on their devices.

Excerpt from The Hindu, Madurai, July 4, 2008.

For an article on "Microsoft Exchange Server" from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Exchange_Server
Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

SMS Jokes-2:

Lady: So, you want to become my son-in-law?
Boy : Not really, but I don’t see any other way 2 marry ur daughter!

Courtesy: Chennai Times, June 5, 2008 (“Toons & Trivia”)
Grateful thanks to Chennai Times.

Mobile World-3: "Airtel, Tata Indicom Slash Prepaid Tariff"

New Delhi: Mobile operators Airtel and Tata Indicom have slashed their pre-paid tariff rates from Friday (July 4, 2008) and launched new schemes in order to retain their existing customers and woo new clients. Bharti has announced that all its pre-paid customers in Delhi and NCR region would be able to make local calls to any mobile or landline at 50 paise per minute by recharging with Rs.499. The recharge would have a validity of 30 days but would not have any talk-time, it added.

Similarly, Tata Indicom has announced that with a recharge of Rs.499, Tata Indicom prepaid customers can make unlimited free local and STD calls to all Tata phones across the country.

Also, with this recharge, which has a validity of 30 days, customers can make local and STD calls to any other networks at 50 paise and Rs.1.5 per minute respectively, said a company release – PTI.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, July 5, 2008.
Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

Mobile World-2: "Norms for WiMAX, 3G Services"

New Delhi: Communications and Information Technology Minister A.Raja on Friday (July 4, 2008) said the guidelines for 3G (third generation) and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) mobile services will be announced soon.

“We are consulting with the Union Finance Ministry, which has a say in the policy-making body, Telecom Commission. Broad guidelines for 3G and WiMAX are ready and its final version would be out soon after inputs from the Finance Ministry. It will then be forwarded to the Telecom Commission,” Mr.Raja told reporters here.

Mr.Raja said the much-awaited launch of 3G and WiMAX services, which would take the mobile services to the next level with faster data transfer and downloads, would be launched by the end of this year or early next year.

Excerpt from The Hindu, Madurai, July 5, 2008 (“Norms for WiMAX, 3G Services Soon”)

For more details on WiMAX and iPhone 3G from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMAX

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_3G

Grateful thanks to The Hindu and Wikipedia.

SMS Jokes-1:

"What is the difference between Egyptian mummies and Indian mummies?"

"Children are afraid of Egyptian mummies and fathers are afraid of Indian mummies."

Courtesy: Chennai Times, June 5, 2008 (Toons & Trivia).

Grateful thanks to Chennai Times.

Dotcom World-5: "IT Finishing School to start working soon"

IT Finishing School to start working soon
It will hone skills of students to make them employable.
Special Correspondent, The Hindu

Chennai: The IT Finishing School in Chennai will start functioning in a month, and the ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu in this quarter, Information Technology Secretary, C.Chandramouli said on Thursday (July 3, 2008).

He was addressing the inaugural session of Nasscom HR Summit 2008.

Later talking to reporters, he said most of the companies started the training process only after recruitment. This resulted in cost overrun and delay in project implementation. To address this problem, the State government launched several initiatives in colleges and universities.

According to Mr.Chandramouli, the IT Finishing School would act as a pre-employment training centre to hone the skills of both engineering and non-engineering students to make them readily employable.

Except 6-7 districts, computer centres were ready in all other districts. Each centre would have around 25 computers, and the students would be trained for three months. “Many companies have come forward to run these centres. We had three rounds of discussions with them and will start allotting them the districts soon,” he said.

As for the ICT Academy, he said it was an industry initiative. It was floated as a not-for-profit society. The Centre had allotted Rs.6 crore for this project, and the companies would contribute an equal sum. The State would play the role of an enabler. The board would comprise a Vice-Chancellor, the Education Secretary, the IT Secretary, CEOs and IT professionals. Initially, it would focus on the development of curriculum for various disciplines and train faculty and students. A portal would be set up to offer students distance education.

Excerpt from “The Hindu, Madurai”, July 4, 2008.

Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

Dotcom World-4: "Software by Subscription" - AP

Software by Subscription:
Microsoft can now offer programs as “services” on Web

Microsoft will begin selling its Office programs to consumers on a subscription basis starting mid-July, in a bid to reach thrifty personal computer buyers who would otherwise pass on productivity software.

The move may set the stage for Microsoft to offer its consumer-oriented programs as “services” over the Web, by acclimatizing people to the pricing model such a shift could require.

The software bundle, which includes Microsoft’s Live OneCare computer security software, will be sold at nearly 700 Circuit City stores for $70 per year.

Bryson Gordon, a group product manager for the Office group, said the agreement with Circuit City Stores is not exclusive, and that the bundle will be available at other retailers and on PCs sold by the likes of Dell in future.

Subscription pricing for software has become commonplace in businesses but is a relatively new concept for consumers. The Microsoft Equipt bundle – formerly code-named “Albany” – includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, plus OneCare and a handful of existing free Windows Live applications. Buying those programs the traditional way would cost about $200, and then consumers who wanted to replace the software with the next version, Office 14, would have to pay the full price. – AP.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, July 4, 2008.

Article on “Software as Service” in Wikipedia (SaaS):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_Service

Grateful thanks to The Hindu and Wikipedia.

Sivaraman's Column-2: A peep into the "Google Labs'

(Good Morning to all of you! I have been planning to write a column a day. Unfortunately, due to unavoidable circumstances, there is a time-gap of 7 days. I shall try my best to keep to my commitment of column a day. It all depends on your support and encouragement. Today I am going to write about 'Google Labs'. As you browse the Net, you find yourself using the word 'fascinating' quite often. The Net is an wonderland of fascinating topics. When you start browsing, you forget everything else, especially time. No wonder people are getting addicted to the Net. Who would like to abandon the fantasy world of Net and return to the dreary world of reality? O.K. Here is one such fascinating topic. Hope you will also find it fascinating and try the various technologies. Maybe some of you will be able to come up with some bright idea, which Google may take up. All the best!).

Google Labs

Google Labs is the site where Google tests its ideas before they become fullfledged products. That is, bright ideas which are not yet ready for prime time. Visitors like us also can contribute to its development by directly offering feedback to the concerned Googler. In short, it is a testing ground for new ideas of Google.

Google calls ‘Google Labs’ its technology playground. It invites the public to visit its site and play with these prototypes and then offer its feedback directly to the Googlers who developed them.

Google also cautions us, that they may disappear without warning or perform erratically, as the technologies are still in the beginning stages of development. If something is not working on this page, Google advises us to come back and try it again later. Some of these new technologies/ideas are:

Google Talk, Labs Edition
Experimental release with new desktop notifications.

Experimental Search
Check out Google's latest ideas

Google Code Search
Search public source code

Accessible Search
Web search for the visually impaired

Google Extensions for Firefox (Google Browser Sync now available)
Add powerful new tools to your Mozilla Firefox browser

Google Trends
See what the world is searching for

Google Mars
View some of the most detailed maps of Mars created by NASA scientists

Google Page Creator
Create your own web pages, quickly and easily

Google Dashboard Widgets for Mac
Quickly access Google products from within Dashboard

Google Ride Finder
Find a taxi, limousine or shuttle using real time position of vehicles

Google Suggest
As you type your search, Google offers keyword suggestions in real time

Google Sets
Automatically create sets of items from a few examples

When the ideas take shape and become products, they are ‘Google Graduates’. Some of the Google Graduates are:

Google Transit
Plan trips using public transportation

GOOG-411
Search for local businesses using your voice, from any phone, for free.
Dial 1-800-GOOG-411.

Google Reader
Use Google's web-based feed reader to keep track of your favorite web sites

Google Notebook
Clip and collect information as you browse the web

Google Docs & Spreadsheets
Create, store and share documents and spreadsheets on the web

Google Video
Search TV programs and videos

Personalized Search
Get the search results most relevant to you

iGoogle
Add information you care about to your Google homepage

Google Maps
View maps, get driving directions, and search for local businesses and services.

Google Scholar
Search through journal articles, abstracts and other scholarly literature

Google SMS (US)
Get precise answers to specialized queries from your mobile phone or device

Google Desktop
Find all your information, whether it's on the web or stored on your computer, from one convenient location

Google Groups 2
Create and join searchable discussion groups and mailing lists

Web Alerts
Find out about new web pages on a topic of interest

Search by Location
Restrict your search to a particular geographic area

Google Glossary
Find definitions for words, phrases and acronyms

Google News Alerts
Specify a topic and receive email updates

Links for more details:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Labs

http://labs.google.com/

Grateful thanks to Google and Wikipeida.