Category: Software

This technology is yet another introduction in the range of miniaturized cameras in mobile phones, personal computers, security cameras, and other electronics.

Tessera‘s OptiML WLC technology makes it possible for cameras to be manufactured at the wafer level thus reducing the size.

According to Tessera‘s chairman, president and CEO Bruce McWilliams, ” With our acquisitions of Shellcase, Digital Optics and Eyesquad, we have assembled what we believe to be the strongest portfolio of camera optic technologies in the marketplace. OptiML wafer level camera technology represents a significant leap forward in the development of highly integrated, lower cost optics for consumer and other electronics.”

Analysts say this move could well make Netflix drop prices, thus reducing its profits. This would make the market even more competitive, growing at more than 40 per cent according to estimates.

Blockbuster said it would offer a plan wherein customers can rent three movies at a time for $16.99, a buck cheaper than its most popular offering, called ‘Total Access‘. It said it would offer more limited plans, such as two movies a month for $4.99.

Stacey Widlitz, an analyst with Pali Research, said $1 a month might not convince current Netflix customers to switch, “but it will affect the new customers.”

Netflix does not have an offline presence, but it boasts more online subscribers than Blockbuster. The latter however, is growing faster, say analysts.

Blockbuster will lose an undisclosed amount but chief executive John Antioco has said it will be profitable next year as the number of Internet orders are expected to rise. It began the year with 2 million online subscribers and predicts it will have more than 4 million by year end.

In the first quarter, Blockbuster added 8,00,000 new online subscribers, nearly double of Netflix‘s increase of 4,87,000.

Blockbuster and Netflix now could well lock horns over movie streaming, wherein the latter has already made a headstart. Blockbuster had earlier tried acquiring a Movielink, which is owned by major Hollywood studios.

Analysts say this move could well make Netflix drop prices, thus reducing its profits. This would make the market even more competitive, growing at more than 40 per cent according to estimates.

Blockbuster said it would offer a plan wherein customers can rent three movies at a time for $16.99, a buck cheaper than its most popular offering, called ‘Total Access‘. It said it would offer more limited plans, such as two movies a month for $4.99.

Stacey Widlitz, an analyst with Pali Research, said $1 a month might not convince current Netflix customers to switch, “but it will affect the new customers.”

Netflix does not have an offline presence, but it boasts more online subscribers than Blockbuster. The latter however, is growing faster, say analysts.

Blockbuster will lose an undisclosed amount but chief executive John Antioco has said it will be profitable next year as the number of Internet orders are expected to rise. It began the year with 2 million online subscribers and predicts it will have more than 4 million by year end.

In the first quarter, Blockbuster added 8,00,000 new online subscribers, nearly double of Netflix‘s increase of 4,87,000.

Blockbuster and Netflix now could well lock horns over movie streaming, wherein the latter has already made a headstart. Blockbuster had earlier tried acquiring a Movielink, which is owned by major Hollywood studios.

The computer software giants plan to do so by making the world‘s computers and servers more efficient.

Known as The Climate Savers Computing Initiative, the coalition which also includes Microsoft Corp., Dell Inc., Hewlett Packard Co., IBM, Lenovo Group Ltd., intends to increase efficiency of computing gear over the next four years and have set ambitious targets to achieve the same.

The companies aim to cut down on electricity consumption by PCs to half by 2010 using existing power-saving technologies. Presently, the average PC wastes about half of the power it consumes. According to estimates, the average server wastes about one-third of total energy consumption.

More efficient computing could bring down electricity consumption currently being wasted as heat. Large server centers infact require more power for air conditioning.

“Let‘s create a more efficient IT industry by driving up the efficiency of computers,” said Intel‘s Digital Enterprise Group senior vice president Pat Gelsinger. “We think we can have huge savings in terms of carbon footprint and energy costs.”

According to officials, the initiative is expected to save more than $5.5 billion in electricity costs by 2010 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change by 54 million tonnes annually.

Computer prices could get hiked by about $20 and server prices by $30 but they would be equipped with energy efficient technology. Consumers are expected to recoup the costs through lower electricity bills and rebates from utilities.

According to MMT founder and CEO Deep Kalra, people still prefer buying holiday packages offline although the online travel business had grown threefold in the last one year to Rs 54 billion.

Headquartered in Delhi, the company recently launched an office in Ahmedabad and plans to launch Mumbai and Kolkata offices within the next few months.

Sharing some more figures, Kalra said that presently, 25 per cent of all air tickets are bought on the internet, up from 5 per cent in 2004.

He said that Karnataka accounts for only 3 per cent of total outbound and 20 per cent the domestic holidays and hotels sales for MMT. His focus is on holiday market and hotels business to increase the domestic and outbound business from 3 per cent to 7 per cent by FYE 2009 from Bangalore.

According to Kalra, several factors work for Bangalore as a location for their new office.At least five new international airlines carriers are to enter the market in the next one year. The Bangalore International airport is expected to be operational by April 2008. Also, Bangalore has a considerable population of young people with more disposable income, who were very open to experimenting new products and ways of buying.

“The Bangalore market presents a huge opportunity to travel solutions providers. It has always had a strong corporate travel opportunity and today the leisure travel industry too is booming. Holiday or leisure travel currently constitutes around 24 per cent of the total pie – but this segment is growing fast and strong, and is expected to grow 2.5 times to Rs. 7.5 billion in the next three years,” said Kalra.

MMT has planned spends of around Rs 300 million towards mass communication, 40 per cent of these spends will on online promotions, 30 per cent towards TVC’s and the rest towards print, outdoor and events.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled Safari versions for Windows XP or Vista operating systems and said, “We‘d like Safari‘s market share to grow. We are bringing all the Safari innovations to Windows. We‘ve got the most innovative browser in the world and the fastest browser on Windows.”

According to estimates by Apple Inc., Microsoft‘s IE browser is on 78 percent of the world‘s computers while Safari, made exclusively for Apple‘s Macintosh machines until Monday, has about 5 percent of the market.

Apple will distribute Safari software as part of its iTunes online store content for the company‘s iPod.

Safari supports all modern Internet standards so users can view websites as they were meant to be seen, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SVG and Java.

Safari 3 for Windows requires Windows XP or Windows Vista, a minimum of 256MB of memory and a system with at least a 500MHz Intel Pentium processor.

The free public beta of Safari 3 is available immediately as a download from Apple’s web-site and is preview software licensed for use on a trial basis for a limited time.

Previously it had proposed keeping data for up to two years before erasing it. The policy shift was flagged up in a letter sent to the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party in Brussels on Sunday by Google‘s global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer.

Last month the working party challenged the search giant‘s policy of keeping its server logs, which include data that links a web search to an individual user, for up to 24 months.

One reason why concern has been raised about Google is that it now operates a wide range of services, including search, email, web-based applications and social networking.

Like many other web companies, Google has come under scrutiny over the way it handles personally identifiable data. Under the European Data Retention directive, the working party has argued that this data should not be stored without user consent and should be deleted as soon as possible.

“There is tremendous confusion in legal circles across Europe on these issues, and both individuals and companies would benefit from greater clarity from authorities responsible for the Data Retention Directive to answer these very fundamental questions,” said Fleischer.

Google‘s FAQ on privacy explains that its server logs include a user‘s IP address, the search query, the date and time the search took place, and a cookie which allows the firm to identify the computer that requested the search.

Next month NHK World will also be available on MHz 6 on Comcast Channel 206 and at a later date on Verizon and RCN.

Along with presenting a different perspective to the American audience, NHK World provides a direct opportunity to get information from and about Japan and Asia. NHK World is the international version of NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation with programs drawn from NHK‘s domestic channels, magazine shows and documentaries produced by NHK.

MHz Networks GM, executive VP Frederick Thomas says, “NHK is one of the greatest broadcast organisations in the world and we are committed to helping them become an integral part of the D.C. TV market. I think Washington area audiences will love NHK World”.

MobiTV will put the videos into rotation immediately on their existing, branded music channels, giving fans access to a library of 7,000+ music videos through their mobile service.

The two parties will also collaborate on the creation of a series of customised channels featuring original video programming. The content will range from long-form concerts to genre and artist-driven shows and series, some of which will be available for an additional fee. In many cases the programming will be conceived and created by the artists themselves.

The first of such initiatives, created in collaboration with RCA Records artist Avril Lavigne, is a mobile site called Avril TV
(http://www.mobitv.com/avril). The site is designed to provide access to all things Avril, including her entire video library and made-for-mobile versions of Avril‘s Make 5 Wishes comic book released along with her album.

Avril TV content is available through participating US carriers via video enabled phones, with a limited content package available to Wap enabled phone users.

Other content related to Avril Lavigne, including her biography, a photo gallery, and links to buy ringtones, ring back tones, screensavers and more are also available. CBS Television Network will be the first to sponsor this fully ad supported site. Avril fans can now get access to Avril TV by simply going to the Avril TV WAP site on their cell phones.

The link to the Wap site is available through Avril‘s website, MySpace page and distributed to her fan-base via SMS and email blast.

Sony BMG president, global digital business and US sales Thomas Hesse says, “We‘re delighted to be working with MobiTV as we continue to build our presence in the mobile space. We look forward to working closely with them as we explore a wide range of innovative programming concepts.”

MobiTV executive producer of music television Nancy Levin says, “MobiTV is the only mobile television service in the industry that has the rights to stream full-length music videos from three major music groups.

“MobiTV continues to prove itself as the dominant player in mobile television by opening doors for top labels and artists; giving their content an extended reach across entertainment platforms of the future.”

Today, MobiTV‘s US mobile and broadband subscribers can access music videos from music labels, bundled throughout seven branded channels and categorised by genres including hip-hop, pop, rap, rock, country, Latin and alternative.

In contrast to other mobile offerings that require a user to purchase access to each video, MobiTV subscribers have unlimited access to music videos for no extra charge beyond the monthly subscription fee.

TThe HTS8100 uses a host of technologies including array processing, precise driver positioning and psycho-acoustic innovation to achieve the full surround sound performance. Marking a new dimension in home entertainment, the Ambisound bar features five amplifiers integrated into a single horizontal sound bar.

For maximum audio quality and clarity, the Ambisound Home Theatre system features a three band equaliser and DoubleBASS™ deep bass performance, creating a smooth cross over between sounds.

The speakers feature soft dome tweeters for increased clarity and clear voice performance and are designed for maximum efficiency for full midrange performance. Additionally, users will enjoy the Smart Surround feature, which automatically ensures correct surround sound settings on playing music or a movie.

Philips Electronics director- entertainment solutions Gunjan Srivastava said, “Philips is always committed to creating customer centric innovations. Our user need analysis study shows that customers look for a real cinematic experience from their home theatre without the clutter of having multiple speakers in their living room. Incorporating these inputs, Ambisound HTS8100 features a single central sound bar and sub woofer, leaving no cluttered space or obstruction of speaker wires.”