Vol.

01 No - 03

Delivering Concrete Information

October 14, 2011

Hot News
Now make video calls on Facebook The much awaited video calling facility is now available on Facebook. Users just need to click the movie camera button in the chat box and ready to go. Apple to launch iPhone 4S Apple announces to launch iPhone 4S on October 14, 2011. It will feature a dual core A5 processor, an 8 MP camera and a new voice recognition system, Siri. Siri is an intelligent personal assistant on your phone, with natural language processing. For example, you ask it is it going to rain today and it will analyze the weather information and your current location through GPS and will return you the result.

Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs no more.

Regarded as the worlds most Iconic business leader, Steve Jobs is no more. In September 2011 he resigned from the CEOs post stating that he cannot meet the day-to-day responsibilities. And on October 5, 2011 he took his last breath. Jobs was suffering from a rare type of pancreatic cancer since 2004 and had even undergone a liver transplant surgery in 2009 but despite efforts he succumbed to his bad health. Before creating Apple, Jobs came to India to attain enlightenment and adopted Buddhism. At Apple he created some of the most revolutionary products like Mac, iPod and iPhone. Some technologists say anybody could have created a Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad or implemented a mouse, Wi-Fi, USB and FireWire but the fact is that nobody else did. This was his vision, which changed the world and defined the way we communicate and work today.

How to send more than 100 SMSes in a day

If the telecom regulator's restriction allowing only 100 SMSes a day is ruining your late-night messaging spree with your friends (after all, you need each one of them), fret not. There are several options that offer a richer communication environment, unlimited messaging, and, are available for free. All you need is a smartphone, a free application and a basic data plan that can start as low as 99 per month. A slew of applications - both proprietary and platform-agnostic - are available in the market. The best known is the BlackBerry Messenger, known to all fans of the brand as BBM. Two people with BlackBerry phones can chat for free with each other no matter where in the world they are, and that too, in an encrypted environment. Another application Kik is completely free and available for iOS, Android or Windows phones. With Kik, you get real-time delivery and read receipts when you send a message to a contact. It also allows you to have a group chat or share photos with your contacts too. Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Editorial Team: Prof. Kavita Venkatachari and Cyber Minds

Aakash: World's cheapest tablet launched

The wait for the world's cheapest tablet is finally over! The $35 tablet nicknamed Aakash was launched on October 5, 2011 and will be available at retail stores at a maximum retail price of Rs 2999. The $60 tablet for retail sales has an inbuilt cellular modem and SIM to access Internet, which will be absent in the $35 device, supplied to the government. Both versions of the tablet, will run on Google's Android platform, with WiFi connectivity for internet access and cloud storage. The tablets will have 256 MB of RAM, a 32 GB expandable memory slot and two USB ports. The commercial version of the tablet would have no duty waivers or subsidy, as in the government's version. An inbuilt cellular modem and SIM card will add to the price of the commercial tablet. The commercial version of the tablet, is expected be out within 60 days, of its launch on October 5. Datawind adds that it is supplying to the government at a price of Rs 2200, which includes sales tax and replacement warranty. "The $35 price is achievable at higher volume levels. When we supply the product to the government at $35, then too it will allow us a margin, albeit at higher volumes," Datawind CEO added. India trails fellow BRIC nations Brazil, Russia and China in the drive to get its 1.2 billion population connected to technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones, a report by risk analysis firm Maplecroft said this year. The number of Internet users grew 15-fold between 2000 and 2010, according to another recent report. Still, just 8 percent of Indians have access. That compares with nearly 40 percent in China. Some 19 million people subscribe to mobile phones every month, making India the world's fastest growing market, but most are from the wealthier segment of the population in towns. Bharat Mehra, an expert on the use of communications technology for development, said the budget tablet could be used to deliver distance learning in rural areas and among students. Source- Economic Times The advent of tablets has already shaken up the world of computing. Theres no need to say that already much have been said and everybody knows it. Apart from being a great communications device, a tablet at this price point can be boon especially for the education sector. To buy a desktop computer you still need to spend a minimum of around Rs 10,000 or Rs 15,000 for a netbook, which is mostly useless. But now you can own a tablet at just Rs 3000. Tablets ship with touch controls and touch controls are perfect for learning. You can draw shapes with your fingers, write in natural style, save notes and much more. Moreover if you have an artistic hand, you can even create a sketch. A tablet available at this price point can be revolutionary...

Working more efficiently...

We work in groups and teams and distance is one of the key problems. It sometimes becomes an issue that makes it difficult for all the people in a team to be available at the same time. In this information age this problem can be easily resolved but most of us dont know how. Software tools you will need: 1. Web browser (preferably chrome or safari) 2. Skype, and 3. Teamviewer We have all heard about Google Docs. It is a free, Web-based office suite, and data storage service offered by Google. Go to docs.google.com on your web browser, login with your gmail account and you are ready to go. You can create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users. The best part of google docs is that all the people in a team can create, edit and track changes by each user at the same time on their own computers and from their home eliminating the need for all to be present at the same time. You can create documents, excel spreadsheets and presentations in this way. Although google docs provides chat built in to communicate between team members while working. But thats not enough; nothing beats verbal communication. For that we use Skype. Skype is a very popular audio and video chat software and it supports conferencing too. Start Skype and just login into your Skype account and connect all the people in your group and start a conference call. What you get is a crystal clear conference happening online and all the people collaborating at the same time. It works seamlessly. But sometimes the teammates get stuck in between and cant resolve the issue by themselves. Teamviewer is a software program that connects to other computers using a unique pin and allows the users to access each others system. To help the teammate in trouble, one of the other teammates who knows the job can connect to the computer of the user facing problem using teamviewer and operate his computer to resolve the issue. Although you wont need teamviewer often, but proves very useful when stuck in between. Advantages: 1. Using these systems one can easily work in the comfort of couch and from anywhere in the world. It completely dissolves the distance and disparity. 2. No multiple copies of documents are created to avoid confusion. 3. Everybody can see, edit and collaborate at the same time. It also allows to track changes by individual user. Example of Application: The Manthan team of IBS Mumbai used Google spreadsheets in conducting survey of 130+ students within 24 hours. And all the emailers and documents were created and managed on Goole docs. In addition to that Individuals sitting at their homes using Skype and Teamviewer did graphic designing and editing in a big group. Working like this was in fact better and more fun.

-Prateek Kedia

A geeks poem Write in C

To the tune of "Let It Be" When I find my code in tons of trouble, Friends and colleagues come to me, speaking words of wisdom: Write in C. As the deadline fast approaches, And bugs are all that I can see, Somewhere, someone whispers: Write in C. Write in C, Write in C, Write in C, oh, Write in C. LOGO's dead and buried, Write in C. I used to write a lot of FORTRAN, For science it worked flawlessly. Try using it for graphics! Write in C. If you've just spent nearly thirty hours, Debugging some assembly, Soon you will be glad to Write in C. Write in C, Write in C, Write in C, yeah, Write in C. BASIC's not the answer. Write in C. Write in C, Write in C Write in C, oh, Write in C. Pascal won't quite cut it. Write in C.

Your Tech Interview

1. The first floppy disk was introduced by... 2. Which company invented the mouse and object oriented programming. 3. Which Indian website was acquired on June 22, 2004 by eBay for approximately US $50 million. 4. Which computer game comes in various editions like Vice City, Liberty City and San Andreas? 5. How is the company formerly known as 'Integrated Electronics' now known? FIND ANSWERS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE...

Gadget of the Month

Magic Mirror
The New York Times have revealed a prototype of a bathroom 'magic mirror'. Using Microsoft Kinect, the mirror detects and follows movements to execute your commands, along with voice recognition technology. Gadget suggested by Sudhanshu Gaur

Answers to your tech interview:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

IBM Xerox bazee.com GTA (Grand Theft Auto) Intel