Category: Technology

NEW DELHI: Google India has launched the second edition of its nationwide internet safety campaign, ‘Be NetSmart,’ in association with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

The campaign was first launched in Mumbai on 18 February, in collaboration with the Mumbai Police and then the campaign was launched in Chennai on 25 August. From Chennai the campaign was initiated in schools across Kolkata on 2 September and is now being brought to schools in New Delhi.

Says Google India managing director Shailesh Rao, “The ‘Be NetSmart’ campaign is not a story about one organisation. It is a story about the young people of India using a powerful medium like the internet to realise their highest potential. It is vital to empower our youth with all the tools and the knowledge that will help them build a better future. The ‘Be NetSmart’ campaign is a celebration of the internet and its positive impact on the lives of our children.”

‘Be NetSmart‘ is focused on students, parents and teachers.

“It is time that we celebrate the role that internet plays in our lives as a platform for information sharing, self expression, and communication. The ‘Be NetSmart’ campaign is a nucleus around which we would like to build a nationwide campaign for making the internet pleasurable, useful and safe,” adds IAMAI president Subho Ray.

After the metros, Google India and IAMAI plans to join forces with other stakeholders to take the campaign ‘Be NetSmart’ in other Indian cities.

MUMBAI: Zapak.com has announced the launch of zapak.com/sbssindex.zpk, a website for the latest Warner Bros. movie ‘Saas Bahu Aur Sensex’.

Zapak Digital Entertainment COO Rohit Sharma said, “Zapak is constantly looking for opportunities to provide novel and interesting content to its consumers. Saas Bahu Aur Sensex is a light movie related with different problems that a lay man goes through while investing. We at Zapak thought that it was an interesting movie to partner with. I am sure that the online game will be as successful as the movie.”

MUMBAI: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has rolled out the new series of PS2 in India with an aim to capture “sales opportunities” during the Diwali season.

The new PS2 model comes in a “duo-shade look and sleeker design” with the AC adapter being in-built.

The new PS2 is being introduced at a price point of Rs 6490 and with a festive season offer of one free game with every PlayStation 2 purchase.

MUMBAI: Management solutions provider SintecMedia and Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset have joined hands to deploy SintecMedia‘s OnAir boadcast management solution across Italia 1, Canale 5, and Rete 4.

This is Italy’s one of the most advanced integrated system installation for managing content programming, rights management including non-linear media, long term schedule planning, detailed scheduling, and other broadcast-related functions.

Mediaset CIO Maurizio Galli said, “We selected OnAir for coverage it provides is precisely what we need to capture content and extend our rights‘ model in linear and non-linear broadcasting.”

OnAir‘s modules can provide Mediaset with a full set of applications for the management of TV and non-TV media rights and contract negotiations, amendments and revisions.

SintecMedia CEO Amotz Yarden said, “OnAir is enabling Mediaset to capture digital rights and manage them efficiently. In replacing four systems, we have streamlined the company‘s communications and operations enabling them to focus on their competitive advantages.”

NEW DELHI: Surf and Fish internet solutions has appointed Percept Knorigin, a Percept Limited company, as its online agency to promote www.nobrokerage.in. The website focuses on real estate domain.

According to the company, the website directly connects property owners, buyers and tenants thereby eliminating payment of brokerage.

Says Percept Knorigin MD Viraj Malik, “Percept Knorigin will be working on the on-line communication strategy for www.nobrokerage.in to increase its brand awareness and enhance the conversion ratio. We are excited with the prospects, as the website offers significant value-add to the users especially in the real-estate industry where the market is quite fragmented and unorganized. We expect the website to garner significant market-share shortly”.

MUMBAI: Sony is adding high-definition movie recording to its digital camera line with the introduction of the Cyber-shot DSC-T500 model in the US.

This 10-megapixel camera features wide and full-screen 720p movie recording at 30 frames per second in standard and VGA recording modes.

The movie function is based on the MPEG4 AVC/H.264 codec for video compression and stereo audio. Benefits of the format include high-quality video as well as small file sizes that are for download, upload and share.

Sony Electronics director of digital camera marketing Phil Lubell says, “Our research revealed that people like to shoot video with their point-and-shoot cameras, but were very dissatisfied with the video quality and the resulting large files. Our new T500 fulfills this customer need for a digital camera that delivers high-quality movies in a small form factor.”

The camera can continuously record a video clip up to 10 minutes in length. It can hold hours of clips by expanding the camera’s capacity with a Memory Stick media card (media sold separately), which now has capacities up to 16 GB.

The T500 camera integrates a wide (16:9), 3.5-inch (measured diagonally), transflective, touch panel LCD screen for easy navigation, framing and viewing in strong light conditions. It has a Carl Zeiss 5x optical zoom lens with a wide field of view (33 – 165 mm, 35 mm equivalency). It incorporates Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation and high sensitivity settings up to ISO3200 helps combat blur and facilitate flash-free shooting for natural-exposed photos.

The model also incorporates face detection technology, a function that automatically detects up to eight faces in the camera frame and adjusts focus, exposure and flash.

The T500 camera connects to a compatible HD television via an HDMI cable. Photos and videos can be enjoyed as slide shows in high definition for a cinematic experience.

Subjects can take center stage as slideshows move through pans, fades and wipes. Slide shows are given a boost with background music, including use of up to four pre-recorded music tracks of up to five minutes in length.

MUMBAI: Responding to the intense public interest in the upcoming presidential election in the US and in both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, CNN.com has launched The Forum.

This is an online destination for political and social self-expression where the CNN audience can share opinions on the candidates and the election overall, as well as the issues most important to them.

CNN.com senior VP and executive producer Rena Golden says, “CNN.com’s users are independent thinkers with diverse viewpoints and opinions, and we are delighted to offer a launching point for them to become a bigger part of the global conversation. The Forum will serve as more than a platform to inform our users – it will give our audience a medium and tools to participate and engage in the major issues of today.”

As CNN’s latest online community initiative, The Forum will provide CNN.com users with a platform to inform themselves as well as sound off and engage in discussion about issues they deem important this election season and beyond. The Forum provides users with practical, convenient access to the most current election information, including detailed candidate profiles and platforms; examination of salient issues; an extensive video archive allowing users to hear from the candidates in their own words – raw and uncensored; and links to relevant political Web sites and other resources.

At CNN.com/Forum, users will be provided with simple tools for self-identification, social networking and community-building, including the ability to:
• Design a virtual “badge” graphically depicting an individual user’s personal political passions and positions on top issues;
• Compare viewpoints and trends through Flash-animated graphs, sortable across several categories; and
• Engage in informed discussions with other members of The Forum community.

The forum builds on CNN’s April launch of the League of First Time Voters. This is a multi-platform programming initiative designed to inform, involve and empower individuals passionate about this election cycle. In addition to the League of First Time Voters, The Forum enables users to identify with like-minded individuals in additional leagues, including the Leagues of Political Junkies, Conservative Voters, Independent Voters and Liberal Voters, all of which were selected by polling the CNN.com audience.

From each of the leagues’ respective Web pages, users can educate themselves about the candidates, key issues and the election process in general, as well as use an easy-to-use online voter registration tool from Rock the Vote, a non-partisan organization dedicated to engaging young people in the political process. The tool allows users to download a one-page voter registration form directly from CNN.com, streamlining and simplifying the process for users. Rock the Vote’s tool also automatically follows up with registrants to ensure they complete the voter-registration process and know where and when to vote on Election Day, 4 November 2008.

By visiting the League of First Time Voters’ page at www.CNN.com/League, users can access the music video for the leagues’ theme song“Feels Like the First Time” re-recorded by platinum-selling recording artist Daughtry and originally made famous by Foreigner in 1977. The video, created by CNN, includes imagery of first-time voters of all ages, as well as Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on the campaign trail.

Online users also are invited to pose questions to CNN’s Best Political Team on Television through video submissions to iReport.com, CNN’s unfiltered user-generated community Web site.

NEW DELHI: Google has launched mapping tool “Google Map Maker”, mapmaker.google.com, in India.

Developed by its Indian engineering team, the mapping tool allows users to add or edit features, such as roads, businesses, parks, schools, apartment buildings, localities etc. Users can also add detailed information about these locations and this user created geographical content is updated and made visible immediately to all other users.

Other than India, Google Map Maker is also available in 57 countries in Asia including the Island Nations and the Caribbean.

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan is debuting with fellow Motorola brand ambassador and Grammy Award-winning international musician Wyclef Jean on a remix of his new single, “Hollywood meets Bollywood” from his album, Carnival, Vol. 2: Memoirs of an Immigrant.

The official release of the song will be available exclusively on Motorola’s digital music service, MotoMusic, beginning from 25 August and continuing till 14 September 2008.

Motorola will give access to the exclusive track for Rs 20 to consumers in India. The track will also be available for download to consumers’ personal computers at the current rate of Rs 20 from MotoMusic.

“We believe Abhishek and Wyclef Jean have created a unique sound that India will love and we are proud to launch the exclusive track than on the new MotoMusic India portal,” said Motorola Mobile Devices products and solutions, India and South West Asia Faisal Siddiqui.

“Working with Wyclef was a totally new experience for me. Being in the studio and watching how he works was inspiring. The song has a great message about love and peace, but it also has a great beat that I think everyone in India is going to love,” said Motorola Brand Ambassador and Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan.

MUMBAI: Alcatel-Lucent has announced its support for the world’s first commercial trial of the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA)’s new Bcast Smartcard Profile, a key emerging standard for mobile TV content protection.

This trial is being led by Alcatel-Lucent for MobileOne (M1), a mobile telecom service provider in Singapore, and MediaCorp along with key mobile telecommunications providers SingTel and Starhub.

The trial, which began in early August 2008, is based on Alcatel-Lucent’s industry-leading Mobile Interactive TV solution, which will power the DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) platform for the trial. The trial also includes mobile devices from Samsung and Smartcard Profile-compliant SIM cards from Gemalto.

Alcatel-Lucent’s DVB-H platform supports the Open Mobile Alliance BCast Smartcard Profile (OMA Bcast SCP) standard, which is being adopted globally. This is a SIM-based service protection system that enables Mobile TV providers to offer flexible subscription models incorporating services such as pay-per-view, pay-per-time, recorded content and more.

The Alcatel-Lucent Unlimited Mobile TV solution is a complete, turnkey solution that presents end-users with a truly diversified Mobile TV offer based on a mix of mainstream broadcast channels and an unlimited number of specialty unicast channels. Thanks to its multi-standard approach – spanning 3G, DVB-H and DVB-SH – the solution supports most of the DVB-H handsets on the market, including those supporting Digital Right Management Profile (DRMP) or Smartcard Profile (SCP).

Starhub head of mobile services Anil Nihalani said, “The DVB-H platform is designed to optimise the delivery of broadcast content over mobile devices. Starhub is keen to gauge the receptiveness of our customers to this new service, and is pleased to be working with Alcatel-Lucent, Samsung and Gemalto in the user trial.”

MediaCorp MD technologies Mock Pak Lum said, “The mobile phone is truly a unique platform as a third screen for TV content. The success of the Mobile TV service depends on abundance of handsets and good user experience. We are very happy that Alcatel-Lucent is supporting us for this trial”.

Alcatel-Lucent MD Singapore and Brunei Oliver Foo says, “We are pleased to be able to partner with Singapore’s leading mobile communications industry players in bringing more advanced mobile TV options to Singaporeans. Asian subscribers are ready for a mobile TV offering that delivers a large variety of choices, a high level of personalization, maximum interactivity and great quality of service.”

Samsung Asia MD Yoon Ki-Heung says, “Samsung is pleased to provide the latest Samsung SGH-P960 for the consumer mobile DVB-H trials in Singapore conducted by the three local telecommunications providers and MediaCorp.

“With its DVB-H digital TV receiver, large LCD screen, HSDPA support and other capabilities, the SGH-P960 is an excellent showcase of Samsung’s mobile technology leadership. Samsung is confident in the upcoming DVB-H trials and looks forward to the day consumers in Singapore can get seamless streamed broadcast content direct into their mobile handsets.”

NDS Asia Pacific VP, GM Sue Taylor says, “NDS is proud to be providing its industry leading Conditional Access System, with our VideoGuard Mobile, for this groundbreaking trial, in cooperation with Alcatel-Lucent, M1, Mediacorp, SingTel, Starhub and our other partners.

“The NDS solution is based on the NDS Unified Headend architecture, which provides a single point of rights management for all video broadcasts, irrespective of the delivery networks or the rendering devices. The new platform will enable our partners to support multiple mobile broadcast profiles and multiple handsets simultaneously and cost-effectively.”