Microsoft: Four Million Windows 8 Installs Down, 396 Million More to Go

Back in September, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made an ambitious prediction: “One year from now — between Windows phones, Windows tablets and Windows PCs — we’ll see close to … 400 million new devices running those new operating systems.” Now, not two months later, Microsoft is 1 percent of the way toward that goal.
Speaking at the company’s Build conference this morning, Ballmer said Microsoft has sold four million Windows 8 upgrades since the operating system went on sale last Friday. “The level of enthusiasm we’ve seen is exciting,” Ballmer said. “I think we are really resonating across the board with the work we are bringing to market.”
It would seem so. With four million copies of Windows 8 sold to consumers in four days, Microsoft is off to an impressive start with its latest OS. But it’s got a long way to go to hit that 400 million number. Remember, Windows 7 sold about 175 million copies its first year at market, and Windows Phone 8 has not yet proven itself in the smartphone space.
One last point worth noting: Apple sold three million copies of Mountain Lion, the latest version of its OS X operating system, in the same time it took Microsoft to sell four million copies of Windows 8. But in selling those three million copies, Apple hit about 4.5 percent of its installed base of 66 million. In selling four million copies of Windows 8, Microsoft has only reached a third of 1 percent of its base, which is about 1.25 billion right now.
Errata: An earlier version of this post said Apple’s OS X installed base is 60 million.

Windows 8 to hit the floor on October 26

Windows 8 is coming on October 26. But it is not just any other update to Windows, the most widely used operating system (OS) in the world. According to Microsoft, Windows 8 is re-imagining of the 25-years-old OS.

Windows 8 is publicly available as a Release Preview. I downloaded the 64-bit version, installed it onto a laptop and used it to see what sort of changes it brings for the end users. There are interesting and significant ways in which this Windows is different from its predecessors. All of them affect the way people use computers. Some in a good way and some in bad. Dive in to know how Windows 8 fared on my laptop...

Day one
I got the Windows 8 ISO file from Microsoft website. Downloading the OS is simple: Just select the version you want -- 32-bit or 64-bit -- and hit the download button. If your computer has Core 2 Duo or newer processor and at least 4GB RAM, get the 64-bit version. Or else go for 32-bit OS. I used the USB tool created by Microsoft to convert the ISO file into a bootable pen drive and installed it on a laptop running AMD's A8 Trinity processor, 4GB RAM and AMD HD 7670M graphics card. The installation was smooth and took just 20 minutes.

When I booted into the Windows 8, I found everything worked well. If you are used to the quirky Windows XP, you will be pleasantly surprised by how well Windows 8 can identify the hardware. But the Wi-Fi and touchpad caused some issues. Some tinkering with the system revealed the driver for Wi-Fi chip was missing. The laptop, which was made by Acer, lacked Windows 8 specific driver for the Wi-Fi chip, made by Atheros. But I tried Windows 7 drivers and it worked. I also managed to sort out touchpad issues but couldn't make multi-touch support work on it.

The touchpad also did not support the gestures, like swiping from left to multitask. Apparently there is some confusion about gesture support on touchpad of laptops released before Windows 8 launch. I asked Microsoft but the company was ambiguous in its answer. "Gestures are delivered via driver updates that are not currently broadly available," it said in an email.

Day two
Windows 8 can be personalized in a way similar to a smartphone or tablet. There is an option to use Microsoft Live ID to log into the system. Tying up the ID with a machine in Windows 8 does a lot. It allows users to install apps from Windows Store. It allows users to automatically backup their important files and photos on to SkyDrive, Microsoft's cloud storage system, and it configures the Microsoft email automatically. I also changed the wallpaper on Lockscreen, which could show notifications like amount of unread email, Twitter mentions, time, and weather information etc. This is similar to how lockscreens on tablets and smartphones work.

Unfortunately, beyond the cosmetic options, I did not find too many ways to configure the OS. Wallpaper on the screen can be changed with any photograph, but for background on the Home screen, users are limited to just five abstract drawings. (In the final version of Windows 8 more images have been added but users can't select a custom picture).

More than anything, I disliked the way Windows 8 de-emphasized folders. There is no Start button that can help a user navigate through folders and files. And in the part of the OS that uses Modern UI with big bold tiles, the file system is virtually non-existent. If you are the kind of user who never changes default folders like Download, Pictures or Music in Windows and does not care about meticulously keeping track of files, it may not bother you. In fact, you may even like the way Microsoft is trying to move away from the folder-inside-folder approach of storing files. But to me a machine doesn't feel personal enough unless I don't know exactly where each file is.

Day three
Windows 8 puts a lot of emphasis on Modern UI. And it discourages users from spending time in the Desktop mode, which has been reduced to an app. The command centre in the new OS is the Home screen, which is populated by tiles that replace icons in Windows 8. Some of these tiles can show information such as the number of unread mails and breaking news in almost real time. The Home screen also uses a powerful universal search, which helps users quickly find an application or file.

Despite my best efforts to use Modern UI mode, I found myself switching to the Desktop mode frequently. The reason is simple: There are few apps with Modern UI. You can't help but use the good old apps like 7-ZIP. And when you use an app that lacks Modern UI, the OS kicks the user into the Desktop mode. In fact, the Desktop mode is brought to the front even when a user accesses advanced system options like MS-Config or configures a newly-installed harddisk or uses Windows Explorer, renamed File Explorer in the final version! The to and fro between desktop mode and the Home screen is jarring. And bad if you want to do some serious work on the computer.

Day four
I am slowly getting the hang of the Windows 8. Unlike the earlier Windows, which relied on point-and-click philosophy, Windows 8 uses a lot of gestures. For example, do you want to switch off the computer? Navigate to the bottom right corner of the screen and wait for the charms to appear. Then click on settings and switch off the machine. Want to multitask? Navigate to the top left corner and wait for the open apps to show up. Want to close a program? Go to the top of the window, hold down the mouse button and then drag the window to the bottom.

While I find point-and-click much easier to use, I feel comfortable with gestures on Windows. But it may not turn out to be the same experience for everyone else. Until you are familiar with these gestures, it's kind of a hit and miss. There were times when I navigated to a corner of the screen and nothing happened. Or dragged a window to the bottom of the screen but it didn't close. Depending on your patience, you are either going to love the gestures or may ditch Windows 8 for something like Windows 7 within days.

Day five
As my familiarity with the OS grew, I started to appreciate some of the changes Microsoft had made with Windows 8. I liked the fact that the OS was snappy, with fast performance, and booted within seconds. I liked the revamped file transfer tool and task manager in the desktop mode. I liked the way the OS was always connected to the web and applications like Mail and Weather could pull in the data and showed the information right on the Lock screen. More than anything, I liked the big and bold design of the apps with the Modern UI.

Unfortunately, the availability of these apps is limited at the moment. For example, the Windows store doesn't have Firefox, my favourite browser, with Modern UI. Or WinRar, another of my favourite program. Similarly, there are no CPU-Z, KMPlayer, VLC Player, FoxIT reader, DaemonTools, OpenOffice, Picasa and InfraRecorder. I use these programs on daily basis. And I miss their Modern UI versions.

Instead, a user gets the Internet Explorer 10 (Modern UI) and the inbuilt Video Player. But I didn't like them. IE10 focuses too much on the design at the cost of functionality. For example, to open and access multiple tabs I had to do a right click and then select the tab. When I work, there are often 15 to 20 tabs open in my browsers. Opening this many tabs in IE10 with Modern UI and accessing them proved to be a cumbersome task. Similarly, I found the Video Player too basic. It didn't even utilize the full functionality of AMD graphics card in the laptop to playback HD videos in a better way.

Day six
I love Modern UI for its design but I totally hate the multitasking it provides. When I used Windows 8 in Modern UI mode, I could only open two windows. Of these, one was just a vertical strip on the left or right side of the screen. Apps did run in the background and I could navigate to them using gestures or ALT+Tab but I couldn't keep an eye on more than two windows at a time. When I was in Modern UI mode and wanted to see the programs I had opened on Desktop, I couldn't do it with ALT+Tab. I couldn't resize the windows. By default they took the full screen.

Multitasking is the single biggest drawback with Windows 8. Even on a 15-inch laptop screen I felt the need for a more flexible multitasking. I can only imagine how I am going to feel about running two windows — one taking 80% screen and another 20% — on a 24-inch desktop monitor. It's not pretty!

Day seven
I decided to 'forget' that I am a geek so that I could use Windows 8 the way many of not-so-tech-savvy users would do. I realized that if you were not so particular about multitasking -- and many people who work on one thing at a time might not be - Windows 8 was not that bad.

The dynamic information on the lockscreen is a nice touch. And so is the Settings corner, which has been simplified and now comes with options like Factory Reset. The more advanced settings are available but only in desktop mode.

Installing apps from Windows store is very easy. Just click install and they will be available to you. For uninstalling them, just click on their tile, do a right click and select delete... the app will vanish. There is no mumbo jumbo of click next, next, and next. Every file that is being downloaded goes through security check by default. There is no need for a user to look for the appropriate program to open file. The OS handles all of it automatically.

Yes, there is much to like with Windows 8 if you are not a power user. The only problems for such users are figuring out gestures, which requires patience, and the availability of apps, which Microsoft says will be solved.

Day eight
There is no other way to put it: Windows 8 is an OS with dual personality. I realize that I like both, just not together. The part with Modern UI is completely different from the good old Desktop mode. I personally prefer the Desktop mode but the part with Modern UI has some merits. It terms of design and ease of use, Modern UI part is good and if Microsoft can take care of the app problem, it can be a perfect fit for users who find computers confusing and currently struggle with even tasks like installing a program.

But at the same time, I feel millions of existing Windows users are going to be frustrated with the Windows 8 experience. The real problem is that Microsoft has deliberately made it difficult for users choose between the Modern UI part and the Desktop mode. On desktop computers and laptops, it is either both or none. The persistence of Charms, gestures and Start screen breaks the Windows experience as we know it. At the same time, it is missing crucial bits in terms of multi-tasking and file management.

SOURCE:- techgig.com

Ten facts about Curiosity's journey to Mars

NASA's Curiosity, packed with sophisticated instruments, touched down on Mars on a quest for signs of whether the planet has evidence of past and present habitable environments. Moments after landing, Curiosity beamed back its first three images from the Martian surface, one of them showing a wheel of the vehicle and the rover's shadow cast on the rocky terrain. The craft's descent through Mars' thin atmosphere, a feat called the most elaborate and risky achievement in the annals of robotic spaceflight, turned out to be short-lived cliffhanger, much to NASA's relief. Here are a few things to know about Curiosity:

1.The purpose of the $2.5 billion mission is to look for evidence that Mars - the planet most similar to Earth - may have once harbored the basic building blocks necessary for microbial life to evolve. It represents NASA's first astrobiology mission since the 1970s-era Viking probes.

 

2.It has been equipped with 10 scientific instruments, including two for ingesting and analysing samples of powdered rock delivered by the rover's robotic arm.

 3.The robotic lab sailed through space for more than eight months, covering 352 million miles (566 million km), before piercing Mars' atmosphere at 13,000 miles(20,921 km) per hour -- 17 times the speed of sound -- before starting its descent.

 4.The $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory, the formal name of the mission deploying the Curiosity rover, was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Nov 26, 2011.

 5.Curiosity will spend two years exploring Gale Crater and an unusual three-mile (5 km)-high mountain consisting of what appears to be sediments rising from the crater's floor.

 

 6.The craft's descent through Mars' thin atmosphere, a feat called the most elaborate and risky achievement in the annals of robotic spaceflight, turned out to be short-lived cliffhanger, much to NASA's relief.

 7.Curiosity, encased in a protective capsule-like shell, utilized a first-of-its kind automated flight entry system to sharply reduce its speed before landing. Then it rode a giant supersonic parachute, a jet-powered backpack and a never-before-used "sky crane" to touch down inside a vast impact basin called Gale Crater, located near the planet's equator in its southern hemisphere.

  

8.The rover comes equipped with an array of sophisticated instruments capable of analyzing samples of soil, rocks and atmosphere on the spot and beaming results back to Earth. One is a laser gun that can zap a rock from 23 feet (7 meters) away to create a spark whose spectral image is analyzed by a special telescope to discern the mineral's chemical composition.

 9.Weighing in at about a ton, Curiosity is too big for the landing bags and thruster rockets that were designed to let previous probes to Mars touch down gently down on its surface. Instead, engineers designed a complicated landing system that navigates through the thin but unpredictable atmosphere, deploys a massive parachute at supersonic speeds and fires up a rocket-powered descent platform. The platform holds an aerial crane to lower the rover on a tether to the surface of Gale Crater and fly away. 

 10.The landing marks a major milestone for a US space agency beset by budget cuts and the recent loss of its 30-year-old space shuttle program. he last time NASA sent a rover to Mars, it sent two - Spirit and Opportunity, which were dispatched to opposite sides of the planet to hunt for signs of past water. Both outlived their three-month design lives by years. Spirit succumbed to the harsh environment in 2010. Opportunity continues to operate.

 

 

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Hackers' next target: Your eyeballs

Iris scanners aren't as hack-proof as we thought they were.

LAS VEGAS (CNNMoney) -- We know that cybercriminals are attacking our networks and computers every day, but the next thing they come hunting for might be your eyes.
Some passwords for critical systems are gradually being replaced with biometric identifiers like fingerprints and iris scans, which supposedly offer a safer way to log in. Biometric information can't be stolen in a phishing attack, for instance, because the markers are unique (and physically attached) to each user. It's a foolproof system, right?

Ha.
It turns out that fingerprints and iris scans can be hacked just like a password, with a clever bit of reverse-engineering.
When biometric data is entered into a computer, the system doesn't store the actual fingerprint or iris scan. It records a digital template that serves as a trimmed-down representation of the biometric information. When a user goes to log in, his or her characteristics are matched against those templates, and the match is given a similarity score. If it's high enough, the user is let inside.
Last year, researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy were able to reconstruct a fingerprint from the digital template stored in a computer. They were so successful that they were able to build gummy finger versions of the prints that could be pressed up against a reader and used to fool the computer into letting them into someone else's account.
Iris scans shouldn't be susceptible to reverse-engineering, because the human iris is far more complex than a fingerprint and offers extremely low false positives in a scan. It's possible that your fingerprint comes close enough to matching mine, but the chances that your iris could be confused for someone else's are incredibly slim.

Yet new research shows that building an eyeball from a digital iris template is just as plausible as creating a fingerprint from a template.
At the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Javier Galbally, a researcher at the Universidad Autonoma of Madrid, Spain, showed how his team did it.
Iris scanners take an image of the eye, stretch the iris out into a rectangle, and then create a template of 0s and 1s called an "iriscode." In image form, it resembles a series of black and white pixels in a long, narrow rectangle. It looks nothing like an actual iris.
But don't tell that to an iris scanning system. By making an image out of the stored iriscode, stretching it into a circle, and feeding it back into the system, Galbally's team was able to get into the system with an 87% success rate.
The iris scanner didn't even care that the background was completely white, with no eyelid surrounding the reconstructed image. In other words, the scanner didn't look to check that the image it was looking at was really a human eye. That's a huge vulnerability, Galbally said, and one that iris scanning systems should fix.
The growing popularity of biometric scanners have raised concerns that bad guys are going to start gruesomely chopping off fingers and cutting out eyeballs to break into critical systems. (Hey, it worked in Demolition Man.)

Microsoft announces Surface: new family of PCs for Windows2012

LOS ANGELES — June 18, 2012 — Today at an event in Hollywood, Microsoft unveiled Surface: PCs built to be the ultimate stage for Windows. Company executives showed two Windows tablets and accessories that feature significant advances in industrial design and attention to detail. Surface is designed to seamlessly transition between consumption and creation, without compromise. It delivers the power of amazing software with Windows and the feel of premium hardware in one exciting experience.

Surface: A New Family of PCs for Windows

June 19, 2012

Conceived, designed and engineered entirely by Microsoft employees, and building on the company’s 30-year history manufacturing hardware, Surface is designed to seamlessly transition between consumption and creation, without compromise.

Download: Web | Print

See also: Surface Website

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Advances in Industrial Design

Conceived, designed and engineered entirely by Microsoft employees, and building on the company’s 30-year history manufacturing hardware, Surface represents a unique vision for the seamless expression of entertainment and creativity. Extensive investment in industrial design and real user experience includes the following highlights:

• Software takes center stage: Surface sports a full-sized USB port and a 16:9 aspect ratio – the industry standard for HD. It has edges angled at 22 degrees, a natural position for the PC at rest or in active use, letting the hardware fade into the background and the software stand out.
• VaporMg: The casing of Surface is created using a unique approach called VaporMg (pronounced Vapor-Mag), a combination of material selection and process to mold metal and deposit particles that creates a finish akin to a luxury watch. Starting with magnesium, parts can be molded as thin as .65 mm, thinner than the typical credit card, to create a product that is thin, light and rigid/strong.
• Integrated Kickstand: The unique VaporMg approach also enables a built-in kickstand that lets you transition Surface from active use to passive consumption – watching a movie or even using the HD front- or rear-facing video cameras. The kickstand is there when needed, and disappears when not in use, with no extra weight or thickness.
• Touch Cover: The 3 mm Touch Cover represents a step forward in human-computer interface. Using a unique pressure-sensitive technology, Touch Cover senses keystrokes as gestures, enabling you to touch type significantly faster than with an on-screen keyboard. It will be available in a selection of vibrant colors. Touch Cover clicks into Surface via a built-in magnetic connector, forming a natural spine like you find on a book, and works as a protective cover. You can also click in a 5 mm-thin Type Cover that adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel.

An Amazing Windows Experience

Two models of Surface will be available: one running an ARM processor featuring Windows RT, and one with a third-generation Intel Core processor featuring Windows 8 Pro. From the fast and fluid interface, to the ease of connecting you to the people, information and apps that users care about most, Surface will be a premium way to experience all that Windows has to offer. Surface for Windows RT will release with the general availability of Windows 8, and the Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later. Both will be sold in the Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. and available through select online Microsoft Stores.

Contributing to an Expanded Ecosystem

One of the strengths of Windows is its extensive ecosystem of software and hardware partners, delivering selection and choice that makes a customer’s Windows experience uniquely their own. This continues with Surface. Microsoft is delivering a unique contribution to an already strong and growing ecosystem of functional and stylish devices delivered by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to bring the experience of Windows to consumers and businesses around the globe.

Additional Product Information

Surface for Windows RT

• OS: Windows RT
• Light(1): 676 g
• Thin(2): 9.3 mm
• Clear: 10.6” ClearType HD Display
• Energized: 31.5 W-h
• Connected: microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
• Productive: Office ‘15’ Apps, Touch Cover, Type Cover
• Practical: VaporMg Case & Stand
• Configurable: 32 GB, 64 GB

Surface for Windows 8 Pro

• OS: Windows 8 Pro
• Light(1): 903 g
• Thin(2): 13.5 mm
• Clear: 10.6” ClearType Full HD Display
• Energized: 42 W-h
• Connected: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
• Productive: Touch Cover, Type Cover, Pen with Palm Block
• Practical: VaporMg Case & Stand
• Configurable: 64 GB, 128 GB

(1), (2). Actual size and weight of the device may vary due to configuration and manufacturing process.

Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC. OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT.

For more information about Surface, visit http://www.surface.com.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Some information relates to a prerelease product, which may be substantially modified before it is commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

Do you know your processor

What's a Core i7 and why is it better than an i3? There's also Core i5? And what about AMD? Figuring out your processor is half the battle of buying a PC.

What are cores?
In simple words, a core is the part of the processor responsible for carrying out calculations needed to execute programmes. When a chip has multiple cores, it means it can process multiple instructions at the same time, thus increasing the software's speed.

Intel has three main Core families...
Core i3: Has two cores and Hyper Threading (HT) - a technology that simulates more cores than actually exist on the processor. This improves performance of programs that can utilize the extra cores. The i3, however, lacks Turbo Boost for extra muscle when needed. Ideal for average users.

Core i5: Has four cores, but no HT. Consumes a little more power than i3. The i5 comes with Turbo Boost that allows for an increase in clock speeds in the range of 300 to 400MHz. For example, if the processor has a speed of 2.8GHz, Turbo Boost will push the speed up to 3.1GHz. Ideal for power users

Core i7: Has four to six cores, with HT. The least power-efficient, but the most powerful. Ideal for professionals who work in 3D or edit multimedia.

Don't forget AMD
While AMD doesn't have Intel's raw performance, it's still good enough for everyday tasks and comes at a cheaper price. Of the lot, two AMD processors deserve mention.

The A 3870K: Has four cores and is part of the Fusion series. It promises better graphics at budget prices. Ideal for average users who want a bit of a gaming boost.

The FX 8150: Has eight cores and is part of the Bulldozer series. Not power-efficient and a bit slow in less demanding tasks. But works great in intensive processing tasks like video encoding and 3D modeling. Ideal for a professional on a budget.

The new processors What is Ivy Bridge?
Every year, Intel comes out with a new class of processors. The new Ivy Bridge is the third generation of Core i processors, and can be identified by model numbers that begin with 3. In terms of performance, Ivy Bridge processors average 10% faster than last year's Sandy Bridgeprocessors. They are also more power-efficient.

And what is Trinity?
Trinity is AMD's new architecture, replacing the current A series Llano CPUs like A3870K. They can be identified by model numbers that begin with 5. They will be slightly better in general computing like web-browsing or office work, but offer vastly better performance for 3D gaming.

Satyan Gajwani to be the new CEO of Times Internet; Rishi Khiani plans own venture

Satyan Gajwani, Director, New Media at The Times of India Group will be taking over as the CEO of Times Internet (Indiatimes) from Rishi Khiani, the present CEO of the company. Gajwani has confirmed the news to India Digital Review saying that Rishi Khiani is moving ahead on an entrepreneurial journey. Though the official timings of this shift in leadership could not be confirmed, Gajwani tells us that Rishi Khiani will remain a part of TImes Internet till August 2012.

“I will be taking over as CEO TIL from Rishi. Rishi's been a great leader, and it's a disappointment to see him go, but we wish him the best as he starts back on his entrepreneurial journey. He's going to still remain close to us, working officially with us through mid-August,” Gajwani has said.

In August 2009, Times Internet had appointed Rishi Khiani as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Times Internet, Khiani was chief operating officer at Web18. Khiani had joined Web18 after he had sold his web design and technology firm UrbanEye to Network18 in 2006. Khiani was instrumental in Indiatimes’ winning the Internet and mobile rights for the Indian Premier League, launching Gaana.com, revamping Indiatimes.com, TimesofIndia.com and EconomicTimes.com, among others.

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What makes Noida preferred BPO destination

With the BPO sector logged in as the fastest growing industry in the country, companies are looking for greater talent pools and locations to expand their operations. According to industry estimates, around 2.5 lakh jobs will be created inIT-BPO sector alone. A hot destination for establishing BPO business due to various reasons, Noida seems to be all geared up to support the seemingly unstoppable growth of the sector. 

Noida is already the fourth largest destination for BPO industry in India with more than 400 IT-BPO companies. In 2008, Noida accounted for 8.6 per cent of the total IT-BPO exports. According to recent data, this industry in Noida created 1.3 lakh direct and 4 lakh indirect jobs. Though there are problems like shortage of power, talent and poor infrastructure, which act as an obstacle, companies have a host of other reasons to establish business in Noida. 

Why Noida?

"The reason why we have set up our company here is that the real estate prices are low as compared to other leading IT-BPO destinations. Also, the low cost of operations make Noida an ideal destination for BPO companies," said Pavan Bagai, president and chief operating officer, EXL. 

The Nasdaq-listed company, approximately employs 18,900 people globally, of which close to 15,000 are in India. The Noida-based BPO EXL Service Holdings Inc, reported a 43 per cent rise in its first quarter revenues to $105 million, up from the same period last year, backed by an increased cash flow from numerous acquisitions. 

"Noida has a rich talent pool, sound infrastructure and its connectivity through Metro within NCR is very good. All this attracts investors towards this place," he added. 

The popularity of Noida among employees is as much but due to some other reasons. "Like me, many people from North India come to Noida and Greater Noida in search of jobs," said Parvesh Kumar, an employee with Vcare Corporation. "It (BPO) is a growing industry that can absorb people in hordes, people readily move here in search of livelihood. I have been working with this company for the past seven years and would like to continue in this industry for the rest of my life." 

BPO-specific education model

According to Nasscom, facilitating the development of BPO-specific education model would increase employability and tap talent pools. Also, as the report mentions, this would help in capturing the huge addressable market of 280 billion in the next five years. 

"It's not only about BPO industry, it's true for all professions. Be it engineering, medicine or any other profession, you need to be presentable. So, either after class 10th or 12th, students should be given an opportunity to develop their soft skills. Also, there should be some kind of short term course, if not full time, to train people according to the requirements of this industry," said Mr. Kaveesh Kapoor, Chairman, Thee Zorba Outsourcing Pvt Ltd, a call centre which has 70 employees in India and an annual turnover of Rs 1.25 crore. 

People working with BPOs feel that time has come when students should start looking at this industry as a career option. "My career in this industry was unplanned," said Abhishek Kumar, an employee with EXL. 

"I joined out of compulsion to work in a big city but I have found in the past two years that it is an industry which is growing at a very fast pace. We have courses for engineering, medicine, IT etc. Similarly, there should either be full time course or training programmes for BPO industry. Some sort of training before people enter this field would take this industry to a new level," he said. 

Training modules

Training will help people in deciding which way to go. "Though both belong to the same industry, requirements for a domestic BPO is different from an international one. Since these two cater to two different cultures, a know-how of technological skills along with the ability to deal with the people of different cultures becomes a must. Also, people working here should be able to cater to different temperaments of individuals and should have the appetite to listen to the problems and solve them," said Jay Singh, who after working in the BPO sector switched to IT. 

"Training will help people decide whether they want to stay here or move to other sector as many people switch in a short period of time due to wrong decisions," he added. 

"I have been running this company for the last nine years and I have seen that those who are not satisfied with their management, medicine or other jobs join BPO company to earn big bucks. Structuring a course specifically for this industry will make this sector more systematic and give stability to employees," added Mr Kapoor of Thee Zorba Outsourcing. 

Doctors, engineers and lawyers are also moving in this industry as it is growing day by day. "We recieve applications from both experienced professionals and freshers. We have hired people who have BPO experience as well as from other sectors. We have employees from diverse professions such as management, accountancy, medicine, law," said Mr Bagai. 

Infra woes

If talent shortage is one problem, lack of supporting infrastructure is another. Power shortage, law and order and women safety are major issues. "It is human tendency to crib about things and it is happening in Noida. We have the best infrastructure in the country. Industrial township of Noida and Greater Noida are well established and we have provided everything for the smooth functioning of the city," said Mangal Sen, General Manager, Noida Authority. Talking about the law and order situation of the city, Mr Kapoor said, "Fault lies with the people as sometimes people engage in unwanted activities and later blame the government," said Mr Kapoor.

The Only Facebook Number That Matters: $104.2 Billion

Facebook became a $104.2 billion company Friday in much the same way it became the world’s biggest social network and a cultural game-changer: by stubbornly forging ahead despite criticism and calls that it couldn’t be done.

Last week, rumors turned into full-blown financial news stories that the initial public offering was getting a lukewarm reception in road-show presentations to investors in New York City, Boston and Palo Alto, Calif. CEO Mark Zuckerberg was criticized for wearing his trademark hoodie to the event in New York and skipping the event altogether in Boston, and some analysts said Facebook could open with a value as low as $75 billion.

And yet, by this week Facebook had raised its expected share price and was making more shares available to meet demand. By the close of markets Thursday afternoon, Facebook had set its opening share price at $38 (after considering levels as high as $40). Whatever happens in trading today, Facebook will be the third-largest IPO in history and will net the company $16 billion.

“It shows tremendous confidence in the guy wearing the hoodie,” Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, told Bloomberg. “He hasn’t specified how he’s going to do it, but he’ll have to do it to justify this price.”

Market Cap Now More Important than Number of Registered Users

But share price doesn't really matter. The most important number for now is that $104.2 billion. The $100 billion marker is symbolic, as is so much that surrounds Facebook’s evolution into a publicly traded company. Beyond the hoodie, Zuckerberg has been sending all sorts of signals that he’ll be a different kind of CEO, from his decision to not travel to New York to ring today’s opening Nasdaq bell, to celebrating the IPO not with champagne but with Red Bull (the company had one of its famed hackathons last night).

And while $104.2 billion can (and will) change as Facebook ebbs and flows through the ups and downs of being a publicly traded company, at least for now it makes the eight-year-old company more valuable than all but a handful of U.S. companies. Facebook is bigger than McDonald’s, bigger than Citigroup and - also symbolically - bigger than Amazon, arguably the biggest success story from the first dot-com boom.

“Facebook is here to stay,” Navin Chaddha, a managing director of the Mayfield Fund, a venture capital firm, told The New York Times. “It’s a virtual economy where people are spending more time than any other Internet property.”

Still, its stock is still highly speculative, leaving investors unsure of what to do. A steady stream of them have been interviewed on cable television and all make the same basic point: Invest in the company and you may see it wither, much as Groupon, last year’s IPO darling, did. Skip putting money down, however, and you may kick yourself if Facebook ends up like Google, which now trades about 100 times higher than its IPO price.

At its open this morning, Facebook was trading at 100 times its earnings for the previous 12 months. By comparison, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index trades at 14 times earnings. People who run the price up today are mainly buying into the hype, and may be too late: The true short-term winners are the company’s early investors, people who bought shares on private exchanges and Zuckerberg (his stake is now worth about $19 billion).

“It could take many years to calculate Facebook’s impact,” Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising company WPP, told The New York Times. “There’s a lot of pressure for them to monetize their content and demonstrate productivity, but you can’t do it overnight.”

Satyameva Jayate_Episode 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFVonpyoCsY

www.youtube.com/shahidnawaz72

www.youtube.com/shahidnawaz72

Indian Railways gets ISRO nod to use its satellite for internet in trains

Surfing the internet in trains without using data card seems to be a distinct possibility now as the Railways have got the much-awaited clearance from space agency ISRO for using the satellite for the purpose. 


The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has given the clearance for using the frequency from KU band for using the satellite for internet, said a senior Railway Ministry official, adding it will be for the first time that internet will be operational in moving trains through satellite. 


Though Railways had proposed two years back to provide internet in trains, the project could not take off due to the absence of ISRO clearance. 


"ISRO's clearance for using frequency from satellite for internet is mandatory. Now that we have got the clearance, work on the project will commence soon," said the official. 


As per the proposal, three rakes of Howrah Rajdhani will be uplinked with satellite for facilitating internet in coaches on a pilot basis. 


Since it is a pilot project the internet service will not be charged from the passengers, said the official. 


Railways have sanctioned Rs 6.30 crore for providing internet facility in Howrah Rajdhani. The work will be executed by a Mumbai-based company. 


Now custom-made antenna will be installed on the locomotives of the train and coaches will be linked through Wi-Fi connectivity, he said. 


According to the procedure to be followed, passenger will get a password in his mobile phoneafter dialling a number given by the TTE. The passenger can make the internet operational with the use of the password. 


If the pilot project becomes successful then other trains will also be linked with satellite for internet purpose.

An Inspiring Conversation Between A Soldier & Software Engineer !!

A real story …A chat between a Solider and Software Engineer
in Shatabdi Train ………An interesting and a must readl!

Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the
air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool
his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not
entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to
reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he
had so many things to do!! He opened his case and took out the laptop,
determined to put the time to some good use.

“Are you from the software industry sir,” the man beside him was
staring appreciatively at the laptop. Vivek glanced briefly and
mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated
care and importance as if it were an expensive car.

“You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir.
Today everything is getting computerized.”

“Thanks,” smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He
always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young
and stockily built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely
out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a
prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the most
of his free traveling pass.

“You people always amaze me,” the man continued, “You sit in an
office and write something on a computer and it does so many big
things outside.”

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naiveness demanded reasoning not
anger. “It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question
of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it.”

For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software
Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement.
“It is complex, very complex.”

“It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid!,” came
the reply.

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of
belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone.

“Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work
we have to put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard
work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean
our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle;
we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing.”

He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to
drive home the point. “Let me give you an example. Take this train.
The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book
a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of
computerized booking centres across the country. Thousands of tr!
ansactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, 
locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and 
coding such a system?”

The man was awestuck; quite like a child at a planetarium. This was
something big and beyond his imagination. “You design and code such
things.”

“I used to,” Vivek paused for effect, “but now I am the Project
Manager.”

“Oh!” sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, “so your life
is easy now.”

This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, “Oh come on,
does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only
brings more work. Design and coding!

That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible
for it and believe me, that is far more stressfu! My job is to get
the work done in time and with the highest quality. To tell you
about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always
changing his requirements, the user at the other, wanting something
else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it
yesterday.”

Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with
self-realisation. What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a
wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while
defending the truth.

“My friend,” he concluded triumphantly, “you don’t know what it is
to be in the Line of Fire”.

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in
realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm
certainty that surprised Vivek. “I know sir,….. I know what it is
to be in the Line of Fire…….” He was staring blankly, as if no
passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time.

“There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in
the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There
was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for
whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolour at the
top only 4 of us were alive.”

“You are a…?”

“I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in
Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft
assignment. But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it
makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues
lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding
behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to
safety. But my Captain Batra Sahib refused me permission and went
ahead himself. “He said that the first pledge he had taken as a
Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation
foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he
commanded… ….his own personal safety came last, always and every
time. “He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured
soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter, as we stood
guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually
meant for me . I know sir….I know, what it is to be in the Line of
Fire.”

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond.
Abruptly, he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even
insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom
valour and duty was a daily part of life; valour and sense of duty
which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.

The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar
Sushant picked up his bags to alight.

“It was nice meeting you sir.”

Vivek fumbled with the handshake.

This hand… had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted
the tricolour.

Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right
hand went up in an impromptu salute.
It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a
true-life incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his
life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory
was within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was
awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the nation’s highest military award.

Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!
Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the
rain!!!

reference.-->    http://www.inspiringbits.com/an-inspiring-conversation-between-a-soldier-software-engineer.html