Bill Gates once rightly said, `Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, as science today, is technology tomorrow`.
Technology has revolutionized the world. Whether we talk of handy mobile sets, smart PC`s or simple gadgets used in our daily routines, technology has transformed the way we think, work, contribute and achieve.
Imagine you are having a chat with your friends suddenly you receive a picture email in your phone from your mother of some occasion she last attended. Or another time suppose you are far away from your office and all of a sudden you get to know about this important meeting with your VIP delegates, no worries you can go for a video-conferencing on your slender notebook.
With so many gizmos and gadgets forming part of your curricular activities life has become so convenient, so handy, and so trouble-free as if the whole world has come into your pockets and all the problems could be effectively solved with just the click of a mouse. The mouse, which turned 40 this year. Technology has transformed our lives in a manner, we never imagined before. Be it our kitchen or our bedroom technology can be credited with the role of changing our lives tremendously.
Let`s give a take at the latest inventions in tech, net world:
3G enters India with MTNL- Much awaited 3G services finally saw the light of the day as PSU, MTNL launched the services in Delhi. PM Manmohan Singh inaugurated the services by making a video call. The service clubbed as ‘Jadoo’ will initially be on offer in Delhi to be followed by Mumbai launch. Motorola is the technology partner for MTNL in this initiative.
With 3G, the next-generation mobile service launched in Delhi, your handset becomes an all-purpose device. Here’s what all you can do and what it offers. * Browse Internet and send, receive large emails including graphics. 3G also enables faster movie downloads. * Make video calls and videoconference (possible on 3G to 3G calls). * Get streaming TV on phone screen with pause, record features. MTNL’s IPTV network currently offers 4 channels, will expand to 10 channels in 10 days and 40 in 2-3 weeks.
* Remote access footage from CCTV (could also help police and in traffic management). * Play interactive games on Net sites, access bank accounts and shop online. * Get high-speed Web navigation, maps. * 3G services give mobile users high-quality voice transmission and access to high-end data applications on their mobile phones. 2G vs 3G 3G represents the next step in the evolution of mobile telephony, offering markedly greater capacity and efficiency than the current 2G systems. While 2G is focused on voice, 3G supports high-speed data of at least 144 kbps enabling broadband Internet access on the mobile, and "triple play" features like mobile TV and converged communication services.
Mobile phones
With human lifestyle increasingly getting advanced, mobiles have assumed a prominent place in society than it had in the yesteryears. Today mobile is everything for everyone. Be it use for e-mails, music, photography or as a style icon, mobile has become the cherry of all eyes. There are several models, which are rocking but here we will discuss the key ones, which have patronized the technical world this year.
HTC Touch Diamond-I preferably prefer this black wizard. Available in the shades of grey and black it composes the best features. It`s a gadget that gives you three in one features i.e. of mobile, i-pod and digicam. This is seriously one gadget that can rule the whole world. Available at a price of nearly Rs 28,000 it can certainly be called a common man`s choice.
Apple i-phone- The much-hyped Apple i-phone was launched last year. However, its 3G version came up in the market this year in July in nearly 70 countries. This high-tech mobile supports several features. You can make a call by tapping a name or send a text with the intelligent keyboard. Simultaneously you can enjoy music and video on a widescreen display and shop for music with a tap. You can also browse the web, get HTML email, and find yourself with GPS maps.
Nokia N-series- Nokia N96 is the other most advanced phone in the run. It distinguishes itself on the basis of web browsing techniques as well as Wi-Fi smooth connectivity. Coming with the brand it suits those who have a fetish for the mobile`s oldest brand Nokia.
Others- Besides these best selling mobile phones we have several others in the row like Sony Erricsson`s Xperia, Samsung Omnia and Samsung`s i780 etc.
Estonia to vote by mobile phones in 2011- Parliament has approved a law making Estonia the first country to allow voting by mobile phone. Lawmakers approved a measure Thursday allowing citizens to vote by mobile phone in the next parliamentary elections in 2011. Estonians were allowed to cast Internet ballots in last year's parliamentary vote. The mobile-voting system, which has already been tested, requires that voters obtain free, authorized chips for their phones, said Raul Kaidro, spokesman of the SK Certification Center, which issues personal ID cards in Estonia. The chip will verify the voter's identity and authorize participation in the electronic voting system, he said.
Laptops and notebooks
Expensive hardware, sophisticated technology and one in all that surely defines Apple `s MacBook MB466LL/A launched in October. Available at a price of Rs 80,000 it gives a remarkable performance. It offers enhanced 3D gaming and video experience without compromising on the battery. Nvidia Ge Force 9400 graphics card offers 5 times better performance. It`s make-up is quite eco-friendly. New battery indicator key has been added. Dell has also launched its stylish, vibrant and colourful `Inspiron` available at a price of Rs 42,900. It supports Intel Core 2Duo Processor T5800.
World`s first eco computer- The world's first biodegradable computer, the iameco, has been manufactured in Dublin from bio-degradable wood panels made from waste products in the lumber and pulp industry. During a visit to the company by Ireland's Minister for Science and Innovation, Jimmy Devins, the inventors of iameco, MicroPro Computers Ltd, said they could implant the seeds of native-tree species into the wood panels.
LCDs and Plasmas
After Bollywood, size zero has entered techno world too. Sleek, slim and stylish are the `S` role models of the younger generation while selecting TV sets for their living rooms. Television sets are getting slender nowadays. The thinnest LCD TV in the world is of 38.1 mm of Hitachi UT42MX700A, a tenth of the slimmest Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). Gone are the days when 21 inches and 29 inches TV sets were in fashion. Now with the increased standard of livings of the younger generation people want to settle down with the latest Plasma and LCD screens in their halls. Samsung CS29A730EL ultra slim fit, SAMSUNG SERIES 6 LA40A650A1 are other models most acclaimed in the market.
Virtual games
Gaming is catching in India though it is yet to become the craze than it is overseas. In India the only option for buying these games is by using a credit card and buying online. Most of them are available at an amount of Rs 120-160, which is an attractive amount considering the amount of entertainment and fun you, get from them. The various games gaining popularity in India are in sports- FIFA, 09, Real Football, Pro Evolution Soccer, Wimbledon 2008, Michael Vaughan Cricket ad Playman Summer Games. While others include Rally Master, Prince of Persia, Assasin`s Creed etc. In India people basically like to play 3 types of games- first Arcade Games i.e. video games, second computer games and third consoles i.e. realistic action and digital audio on machines. Among the major players in India Zapak has understood the strategy to win his customers. Besides it Xbox and PlayStation continues to hog limelight.
Japan unveils solar powered ship- The world's first large ship partially using solar power for engine-related devices was unveiled today in the western Japanese port city of Kobe, with a ceremony to turn on the flow of energy from solar panels installed on the vessel's deck. The ceremony for the Auriga Leader, a car freighter developed jointly by Nippon Yusen KK and Nippon Oil Corp in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through the use of solar energy, was held at a shipyard of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
New hydrogen-powered racing car aims to be world's fastest- Researchers have unveiled the first hydrogen-powered racing car that demonstrates the incredible possibilities of hydrogen as the clean, renewable fuel of the future. The car will be bidding for the title of world's fastest hydrogen-powered racer when it attempts in early 2009 in Germany to break the Guinness World Records' mark for speed by a vehicle of its class. Powered by an internal combustion motorcycle engine that has been modified to run on hydrogen, the racing car is expected to reach speeds of up to 170 kmph in its world record bid, according to a statement of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).
Net news
Mouse completes 40 yrs on Dec 2
One computer device could be called as being most "in touch" with humans - the mouse, which celebrates it's 40th birthday on Dec 2. The first computer mouse, developed four decades ago, was a little wooden box with a single red button on top and a wire hanging from the back, because of which it was likened to a rodent. And while computers have transformed from big white boxes to cool flat screens and laptops, the mouse has stayed the same. Its designer, Douglas Engelbart, is not a rich man as he never got any royalties because the patent expired before the mouse became a must-have.
India ranks 4th in world with 81 mn users
India has been ranked fourth among the top 10 nations in the world with 81 million internet users even as the world aggregate touched 134,85,72,040 by the end of 2007. United States leads the chart with 220 million Internet users followed by China (210 million) and Japan (88.1 million).
Intel launches fastest processor
Chip giant Intel Corp on Tuesday launched its most advanced desktop processor 'Intel Core i7' in India. The Core i7 processor is the first member of a new family of Nehalem processor designs and is the most sophisticated ever built, with new technologies that boost performance on demand and maximise data throughput. The processor speeds video editing, immersive games and other popular internet and computer activities by up to 40 percent without increasing power consumption.
Google Chrome
Google says Chrome is faster, more secure and easier to use than any other Web browser, especially Microsoft's Internet Explorer. So, let's say you've been driving around in the same old Chevy for years. It gets OK gas mileage, but it's not that fast. Now, someone has come out with a sleek hybrid that gets great mileage and is agile on the road. That's how I can best describe Google Chrome.
Other browsers would immediately freeze up every open tab, but in Google's browser each tab acts like it has its own engine. If one Web application is consuming a lot of your computer's resources, the rest of the apps can still act very responsively.
No matter how fast or how much simpler Google's Chrome may be, however, it is still going to have a hard time grabbing market from Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which has around 70 percent of people online and comes pre-installed on most PCs.
Google might be able to steer people to its browser by getting them there through its popular search engine.
Big Bang Machine which didn’t destroy the Earth
This year, fear grasped the world with the news of the scientific experiment of Hadron Collider taking place, as many argued that it might release particles called “strangelets,” which could gobble the globe. The ‘Big Bang’ experiment – which many said, including some scientists, would result in the end of the world did succeeded initially but ultimately failed.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, intended to collide opposing beams of protons or lead ions, each moving at approximately 99.999999% of the speed of light.
The Large Hadron Collider was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) with the intention of testing various predictions of high-energy physics. It also has Indian imprint, with the instrument on which the Collider is put, being made in India.
Those afraid of the experiment believe it may lead to the creation of a black hole – an intense gravitational field sucking in everything including light. According to Rossler, the experiment might lead to a scenario where the Earth will be sucked inside out “within four years of a mini-black hole forming”.
On 10 September 2008, the proton beams were successfully circulated in the main ring of the LHC for the first time. On 19 September 2008, the operations were halted due to a serious fault between two superconducting bending magnets. Due to the resulting damage, the LHC will not be operational again until summer 2009. There were also reports of protesters hacking the system.
Controversy
This controversy was created when physicist Walter Wagner wrote a letter to Scientific American, asking whether the creation of a quark-gluon plasma might create a globe-gobbling black hole. In his answer to Wagner’s letter, Frank Wilczek of Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study referred to a speculative scenario involving something called “strangelets.”
Strangelets would contain “strange” quarks, which are somewhat heavier and less understood than the garden-variety “up” and “down” quarks that make up ordinary protons and neutrons. If a series of highly unlikely conditions apply, strangelets could in theory start consuming ordinary matter, turning the entire Earth into a sphere of strangeness. This scenario captured the attention of physicists and the press jumping to conclusions and calling the whole experiment dangerous like “Big Bang Machine Could Destroy Earth.”
The Experiment
What the experiment is all about: In a giant machine called the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN research centre straddling the Franco-Swiss border, the physicists will smash particles together to create, on a small-scale, re-enactments of the event that started up the cosmos.
The LHC is using giant magnets housed in cathedral-size caverns to fire beams of energy particles around a 27 km (17 mile) tunnel where they will collide at close to the speed of light.
Scientists at CERN, the 54-year-old European Organisation for Nuclear Research, close to the foothills of the French Jura mountains, will pursue concepts such as "dark matter", "dark energy", extra dimensions and, most of all, the "Higgs Boson" believed to have made it all possible.
Doomsday failed
The Large Hadron Collider tested doomsday again on Sep 11 as a 30-ton transformer, which is used to power coolants in the 17-mile underground, vacuum-sealed loop in the world's most powerful particle accelerator, failed on Sept. 11. Because of the failure, the collider switched off the main cryogenic compressors for two sectors of the machine.
Apple i-Phone 3G
The much-hyped Apple i-Phone was launched last year. However, its 3G version came up in the market this year in July in nearly 70 countries. This high-tech mobile supports several features. You can make a call by tapping a name or send a text with the intelligent keyboard. Simultaneously you can enjoy music and video on a widescreen display and shop for music with a tap. You can also browse the web, get HTML email, and find yourself with GPS maps.
Features:
3G Speed- You can surf the web and download email over fast 3G cellular networks. Browse games and applications, then download and install them directly onto your iPhone.
Maps with GPS- Find your location, get directions, and track progress along your route.
i-Phone in Enterprise- Get push email, calendar, and contacts with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync.
This was the most hyped cell phone of the year though it could not match the respective standards in India due to basic requirements problems like high price and hefty tariff problems. Other problems include its mini 2MP camera. Even the battery is non-attachable. Certainly, these features were unable to impress the tech savy of India and therefore it soon found its way out of the market. Even British i-Phone users were facing a tough time using the new voice recognition software, because it did not understand British accents.
Rumbling Giants: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft
Resignation of Bill Gates
Bill Gates let his emotions get the better of him as he announced his pending resignation in a press conference in July 2008. Gates has made a transition from his day-to-day role as Chief Software Architect and Chairman of Microsoft to just being the Chairman. Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie immediately assumed the title of Chief Software Architect and began working side by side with Gates on all technical architecture and product oversight responsibilities while Chief Technical Officer Craig Mundie took the new title of Chief Research and Strategy Officer. In July 2008, Gates switched to working part-time for Microsoft and full-time for the health-and-education foundation he founded with his wife, Melinda.
Yahoo’s Microsoft bid
Microsoft withdrew their offer to acquire Yahoo after talks between the two companies and their advisors broke down after a failure to come to agreement on price and other terms.
A final meeting occurred at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, between Jerry Yang and David Filo from Yahoo, and Kevin Johnson and Steve Ballmer from Microsoft. At that meeting, Yahoo said the lowest price they could accept was $37/share. Microsoft reportedly went as high as $33/share. Yang and Filo returned to California shortly after the meeting, and Yang then had a subsequent phone conversation with Ballmer. At that very time Ballmer withdrew the offer.
Ballmer had even threatened to takeover the company by share purchase. Yahoo, after much thinking, rejected Microsoft's multibillion-dollar buyout offer, saying that it undervalued the company.
Google, Yahoo strike ad deal
The non-exclusive deal united the online advertising businesses of Google and Yahoo and came as a setback to Microsoft, which tried hard to acquire all or part of Yahoo to strengthen its own online business and compete better with Google.
Yahoo expects the deal to generate $250 million to $450 million in operating cash flow during the first 12 months, and that it represents an annual revenue opportunity for Yahoo of $800 million. The deal was announced after Yahoo said earlier that it had ended its talks with Microsoft over a possible investment by the software giant.
Yahoo said it ended the talks because Microsoft was interested only in acquiring Yahoo's search business, not the entire company.
Yahoo and Google had been in talks over a potential deal for months. It was seen as a way for Yahoo to strengthen its advertising business and alleviate the pressure to be acquired by Microsoft. Microsoft had cited any deal with Google as a potential deal-breaker in its talks with Yahoo. It had also called it a bad business decision that would only serve to strengthen Google, the online ad market leader.
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