Category: Software

MUMBAI: Aventail has announced Aventail Connect Mobile for smartphones, the SSL VPN to provide full support and secure end point control for Windows Mobile smartphones.

This new device will allow IT managers to easily extend their secure remote access solution to all mobile devices. As such, it is part of an integrated solution for all remote access, including laptops, kiosks, home computers, Windows Mobile PDAs, and now smartphones. Connect Mobile gives end users an in-office experience, connecting them to e-mail without a separate infrastructure.

Aventail connect mobile for smartphones was designed for network managers who realize that mobility in the workplace is just a fact of life, and need a solution that is easy for end users as well as secure and cost-effective to manage.

“Aventail is a necessary part of protecting today‘s mobile enterprise,” said Aventail director product marketing Chris Witeck. “With the latest release of Connect Mobile, Aventail has once again led the market in providing an easy to use, easy to manage, and secure remote access solution for the growing number of Windows Mobile device users.”

Aventail Connect Mobile for smart phones is now in beta, and pricing starts at Rs 49,000.

MUMBAI: 7 Seas Technologies Limited, an independent game development company from India, has launched its online gaming portal www.onlinerealgames.com.

Interestingly, some of the top games can be played in multiple languages like Telugu, English, Hindi, Marathi, Korean, Tamil and Kannada.

The portal officially launched on 13 May, hosts 100 different games on action, racing, shooting, kidszone and puzzles. Registration is free and Indian traditional folk game Rooster Cup, Cricket, Xtremedrive for race lovers and a unique online sudoku are some of the key-attractions of the site.

All the games were developed at the company‘s 6,000 sq. ft gaming development centre in Hyderabad.

It also has other entertainment stuff like free ringtones, free radio and free live TV, wall papers, screen savers, chat, email facility. Surprise free gifts are also on offer for those who excel in online games.

The beta version of the portal was launched a few months ago and claims to have 3 lakh registered users already. The company is targeting a million users in the first six months with summer holidays in the offing.

MUMBAI: Microsoft has announced its largest acquisition ever, countering multiple bids, by paying a premium price of $6 billion to buy Seattle based online advertising firm aQuantive.

The Redmond company, which made its fortune building software, believes that in an estimated $40 million global digital advertising market, this move would help it rise to the challenges posed by arch-competitor Google Inc.

Internet search provider Google outbid Microsoft last month to snap up online advertising firm DoubleClick Inc. for $3.1 billion. Soon after, Yahoo Inc., another global competitor, gobbled up Right Media, for $680 million.

Shares of aQuantive rocketed 77.84 per cent, a gain of $27.92, to $63.79 after the deal was disclosed yesterday. Microsoft‘s shares, meanwhile, retreated 0.48 per cent, or 15 cents, to $30.83.

Microsoft has been expanding into advertising and other Internet businesses as its core software business matures.

Its alliance with aQuantive, which owns a cluster of computer servers, an ad network, and an interactive advertising agency, will catalyse its efforts to use online advertising market that is projected to reach $40 billion in 2008 and to grow at 20 per cent a year through the rest of the decade.

The deal also could give Microsoft a leg up in providing ads for game consoles, Internet television and cellular phones. Last month, Microsoft signaled its interest in that market by buying ScreenTonic, a mobile phone advertising firm in Europe.

MUMBAI: While the majority of consumers who watch online video today do so on a PC, the ultimate destination for much of this content will be the TV.

Hardware vendors in the gaming console, media adapter, and set-top box space are working to develop solutions that enable delivery of video content from the public Internet and connect it to the television.

According to ABI Research, over-the-top net video-to-TV solutions will generate about $1.5 billion in service revenue by 2012.

In a recent ABI Research survey of online consumers, 12 per cent indicated that they have purchased some form of video content delivered over the Internet. Of those, the vast majority (71 per cent) watched this video on their PCs, while another 16 per cent watched it on a TV using a burned DVD. Another eight per cent watched it using a gaming console as their video playback device. ABI Research believes that of all the consumer platforms for TV playback, video game consoles will lead in total revenue for public Internet video delivery, because of their close proximity to the TV, large hard drives, and the high penetration of online services among gamers.

ABI Research director Michael Wolf says, “The biggest challenge for online video providers and consumer platform companies today is bridging to the TV. Over the next few years new solutions from the likes of Apple, Netgear, and Sony will help cross this divide, making ? la carte video download and viewing much easier. That doesn‘t mean this transition will be an easy one: factors such as video quality, pricing of content, and technical glitches will persist for some time.

“ABI Research believes that while Internet video delivery services for TV playback such as gaming consoles are only beginning to see public adoption, these devices, as well as products such as Apple TV, will ultimately create significant pay-content revenue opportunities if consumer platform vendors can provide easy-to-use solutions with good quality and large libraries, while offering attractive pricing options, whether subscription, download-to-own, or rental.”

MUMBAI: Pan Asian broadcaster Star and Hong Kong based Artificial Life, which provides mobile 3G technology, games and applications, have announced an agreement to jointly develop and distribute mobile games across Asia.

Under the agreement, Artificial Life will develop a wide range of interactive mobile games, as well as mobile accessories such as wallpapers, ring-tones, video mails and screensavers based on Blackie’s Teenage Club and Lollipop, two hugely popular youth entertainment programmes on Star‘s wholly-owned music channel Channel [V] Taiwan. The mobile products will be jointly promoted and distributed by Star and Artificial Life across the region.

Since launch, Blackie’s Teenage Club and Lollipop have attracted a healthy following the parties state. Their dedicated website www.woo.com.tw generates an average of over one million page views per day.

Artificial Life CEO Eberhard Schoneburg says, ” Star is the most prominent TV network in Asia reaching more than 300 million viewers in 53 countries. We are delighted to cooperate with them to develop mobile games for the Asian markets”.

Star executive VP, content Ross Crowley said, “We are delighted to work with Artificial Life to launch Blackie’s Teenage Club- and Lollipop-themed mobile games for the massive youth mobile market in Asia. Going forward, Star will continue to explore opportunities to develop mobile products based on our vast portfolio of compelling content.”

MUMBAI: Panasonic, which is one of the firms behind the development of Blu-ray Disc technology and the market leader in Plasma televison, has announced the availability of the DMP-BD10A.

This is Panasonic‘s next generation Blu-ray Disc player. The DMP-BD10A features an audio upgrade package that brings high end surround audio to the viewing experience via the inclusion of 7.1 channel surround, Dolby True HD and high Resolution audio decoding technology.

The DMP-BD10A also incorporates Panasonic‘s proprietary EZ-SyncTM system for integrated one-touch operation of Panasonic home-theater components. Panasonic‘s DMP-BD10A further distinguishes itself with the bundling of five mega hit Blu-ray discs. Included with each DMP-BD10A are films like Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl, Transporter and Crash.

Panasonic VP entertainment group Gene Kelsey says, “Panasonic is deeply committed to the success of Blu-ray. High definition entertainment is a truly unique experience and nothing powers the HD experience like Blu-ray. With that in mind, we feel strongly about providing the ultimate high definition entertainment to the consumer and are thrilled to offer five Blu-ray mega hits with the purchase of the BD10A.

“From our format development activities and advanced Blu-ray authoring at Panasonic Hollywood Lab to our Blu-ray player, Panasonic has been instrumental in the development of Blu-ray from the start and I feel we are in the forefront of one of the most significant technological advances in home entertainment since the arrival of the DVD a decade ago.”

In addition to playing pre-recorded Blu-ray movie discs, the DMP-BD10A plays conventional standard-definition DVDs (with automatic 1080p up-conversion via HDMI) and conventional CDs. Other key features of the DMP-BD10A include proprietary P4HD technology for performing IP conversion at the pixel level for ultra-fine details, a 297MHz 14bit Video D/A Converter with 4X oversampling, video noise shaping that improves signal-to-noise ratios by shifting noise to an unused band, and theoretical support for nearly 4400 billion colours.

MUMBAI: Amazon.com has launched its Amazon Podcasts network, a series that offers customers four channels of free content: Amazon BookClips, Music You Should Hear, Significant Seven and Amazon Wire, all available at www.amazon.com/podcast.

The company expects to offer several additional channels in the coming months to meet its customers’ increasing demand for rich content related to the products they shop for every day on Amazon.com. Each podcast is available via streaming and download from Amazon.com, and through RSS and iTunes. Amazon Wire is also available on Tivo.

Amazon.com senior manager of editorial Kristi Coulter says, “Amazon Podcasts offers customers exclusive content and interviews they won’t find anywhere else. Amazon is continually finding ways to improve the service we provide to our millions of customers. Thanks to this new and innovative podcast series, listeners can get more exclusive information about the artists, authors and actors they love.”

Amazon BookClips is a weekly podcast offering customers a free sneak peek at some of the most popular soon-to-be-released audiobooks. Upcoming titles include “Einstein” by Walter Isaacson and “I Heard That Song Before” by Mary Higgins Clark, plus an exclusive, advance preview of Janet Evanovich’s “Lean Mean 13.”

Music You Should Hear is a free, weekly MP3 podcast whereby customers receive an MP3 recording featuring complete songs from developing and indie artists, selected by Amazon’s music editors. Upcoming episodes will include music from Jenny Owen Youngs, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Menomena, Ryan Shaw and more.

Significant Seven is a monthly podcast in which book editors from Amazon.com talk about seven of the most exciting upcoming books before they are released. Each book featured in the Significant Seven will be discounted 40 per cent for a limited time.

Amazon Wire is a biweekly podcast featuring interviews with some of today’s hottest authors, actors, directors and musicians. In the coming weeks, Amazon Wire will feature Ralph Nader, John Malkovich and Dolores O’Riordan.

Amazon Wire launched with a large library of previously recorded content from popular personalities such as personal finance guru Suze Orman, bestselling authors Michael Crichton and Khaled Hosseini, Grammy Award-winning artist Sting, “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels and Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. Other popular guests include Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Kirk Douglas, Wes Craven, Madeleine Albright, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Joss Stone.

MUMBAI: Tivo which creates television services for digital video recorders (DVRs) in the US has begun releasing the Tivo service’s universal Swivel Search.

This provides broadband-connected TiVo subscribers the power to quickly find programming.

Rather than starting with a title or keyword with universal Swivel Search on the Tivo service, TiVo subscribers can also search using the way they intuitively think about television; that is, by starting with a programme they currently enjoy and using elements of that program to find more of what they like.

Universal Swivel Search allows viewers to seamlessly link from descriptions of one programme to all others that have common elements, including programme name, actors, or suggestions based on other viewers’ feedback. Additionally, users can find programmes related to a specific subject with ’tags,’ which are topic-related terms that might not be included in the programme‘s title or episode description, but fall under an over-arching subject of interest.

Tivo CEO Tom Rogers said, “Universal Swivel Search is an easy way to find programming from virtually anywhere, any time the user wants. We know that as broadband video continues its rapid growth, and broadcast and cable programming continue to proliferate, consumers are finding it more and more difficult to find the content they want, when they want it. Now there is a fun and easy new way for TiVo subscribers to explore the few degrees of separation connecting content that they enjoy in a way that matches how the TV viewer thinks about programming.”

For example, a user would start with a television show or movie that they enjoy, for instance Seinfeld. Seinfeld features Julia Louis-Dreyfus from the cast list. With the click of a button, the viewer can ’swivel’ and see other programmes that the actor appears in, for instance, The New Adventures of Old Christine, including both broadcast lineup and available for download. Additionally, from that cast list a user can select Clark Greg and discover that he was also in The West Wing. With universal Swivel Search, a TiVo subscriber’s search can jump from a show to an actor, to a second actor and then to another show, following a unique path through the content that interests them. The new ’swivel’ ability is not limited to actors, but available on topic tags, or even lists of similar programmes.

MUMBAI: US sports broadcaster ESPN has launched its first free, downloadable video podcasts available daily via the ESPN PodCenter and soon to be available via the iTunes Store.

The first video podcast offerings include a downloadable version of the ESPN.com SportsCenter Minute, the “Big Finish” from ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption (PTI), the First Word segment from ESPN’s Around The Horn, ESPN Digital Media’s “Fantasy Focus” daily original fantasy sports news and analysis program (also available daily on ESPN.com and ESPN Mobile TV), and the “Mike & Mike Moment” from the popular morning radio and television programme.

Each podcast is between two and seven minutes in length, in MPEG-4 format, and can be watched on fans’ computers or on portable digital devices.

ESPN New Media senior VP John Kosner says, “Sports fans want their video everywhere they are and on any device. Through downloadable video, online video at ESPN.com and on your phone, plus live and on-demand events on ESPN360.com, we continue to bring fans the very best content in sports.”

ESPN video podcasting launches in the midst of ESPN’s industry-leading success with audio podcasts and on-demand digital radio initiatives. Since beginning its first audio podcast in July 2005, ESPN has expanded to produce more than 30 original and edited podcasts that account for more than four million downloads each month by more than one million unique users on ESPN’s PodCenter and the iTunes Store.

AndoMedia Web Metrics reported that from January through March, the total amount of time sports fans spent listening to ESPN podcasts equaled 24 years, 308 days and 19 hours.

Like ESPN audio podcasts, ESPN video podcasts will be ad-supported. Since the launch of audio podcasts, advertising for ESPN audio podcasts has grown by more than 200 per cent, driven by sponsorship and advertising from major marketers including: OnStar by GM, AT&T, AutoZone, Nivea For Men, Lamisil AT, Progressive Auto Insurance and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

In addition to free, ad-supported video podcasts, ESPN also offers commercial-free premium downloadable programmes and complete recent and classic games via iTunes, including packages of content tied to great college sports rivalries like North Carolina versus Duke basketball and Ohio State versus Michigan football, major sports events like The Rose Bowl, original ESPN events like the X Games, and ESPN Original Entertainment programming like The World Series of Poker and The Contender

MUMBAI: The technology magazine PC World has named itasveer.com as the Best Indian Website in the category ‘Digital Photo Printing‘ on the basis of site technology, design, usability and content in their May 2007 issue.

In the magazine‘s first comprehensive initiative to recognize the best Indian websites called ‘PC World Web Awards 2007‘, the magazine‘s 15 member jury panel reviewed 126 websites across 20 prominent categories – products and services which are most useful today.

“The awards aim to capture the framework and user understanding that the site has embodied in its design and deployment of technology rather than to rate its specific content, something that changes very dynamically and perhaps impossible to judge objectively,” the magazine declares of the assessment made by the jury panel. “The winners are based on what our experts believe are the most promising and deserving sites,” it adds.

Reacting to the announcement, Nishant Kyal, one of the co-founders and the brain behind the Doodlepad said, “This is exciting news. At itasveer, we believe in creating a platform, making the best combination of innovation, design and technology to provide valuable and memorable experience to our end user….This is only the beginning, the best is yet to come.”