Posts Tagged ‘india’
LG’s Watch Phone Makes Its Way to India
First talked about in 2008 , LG has finally brought its Watch Phone to the country.
This mobile phone and watch rolled into one snazzy device allows convenient communication coupled with a Bluetooth headset. LG has used materials and stylistic elements found in watches from top manufacturers to ensure that users will be comfortable wearing it for any occasion.
The Watch Phone has a curved tempered glass face, high quality metal casing and is a mere 13.9mm thick. It also packs in 3G Video Telephony (VT) service and GSM Network capabilities.
Priced at Rs. 49,900 it features 7.2 Mbps 3G HSDPA compatibility, enabling high-speed data transmission and video phone calls using the built-in camera.
Experts for Legalising Ball Tampering to Even Bat and Ball Contest
Melbourne, Feb 2 (ANI): To give bowlers an edge in an increasingly batting-friendly game, cricket expert Brendon Julian has called for ball-tampering to be legalised to put bowlers at equal footing with batsmen.
In the wake of Pakistan stand-in skipper Shahid Afridi’s bizarre biting incident in the fifth ODI in Perth, Julian says allowing bowlers to alter the state of the ball will give them a chance in a game that has been slanted towards the batsmen over the last 20 years.
“When all that (ball-tampering) first came out and the ball was reversing … People were saying hang on, we can’t have that. We can’t have the ball swinging around after fifty overs. Well, why not? Why can’t we do that?” Fox Sports quotes Julian, as saying.
Commenting on changing cricket laws, Fox Sports commentator Allan Border said giving the bowlers an edge would be good for cricket.
Speaking on Inside Cricket, Julian said authorities were too quick to bring in stringent rules on ball-tampering in the first place and relaxing the laws would even up the contest between bat and ball.
“In Pakistan and India, you watch bat-a-thons where 800 runs are scored and the wickets are so flat. So all of a sudden, bowlers are thinking of ways to get the batsmen out,” he said.
With bats getting more powerful, grounds getting smaller and wickets getting flatter, Julian says bowlers need to be given more leeway.
Changing the condition of the ball gives bowlers an edge as it allows them to get reverse swing when the ball is old, he added.
New Zealand legend Sir Richard Hadlee has long been an advocate for open slather on ball tampering, saying bowlers should be allowed to alter the ball as long as they don’t use a foreign object. (ANI)
Computer Sales in India Up 24 Percent in July-September Quarter
In another sign of recovery in Indian industry, the sales of personal computers in the country were up 24 percent in the quarter that ended Sep 30 and touched 2.19 million units, according to leading market research firm IDC.
“The July-September quarter experienced strong boost from new found consumer confidence that reflected in increased demand during the festive season,” said Kapil Dev Singh, country manager of IDC India.
“Overall consumer personal computer sales recorded a 28-percent growth, quarter-on-quarter. This performance underlines the recovery in the India personal computer market,” Singh said, releasing the survey.
The IDC survey shows that desktops accounted for nearly two-third of the total sales of personal computers and grew 15.2 percent to 1.46 million, while notebook sales expanded faster at 46.4 percent to cross the 700,000-unit mark.
In desktops, HP retained its top position with a market share of 12.2 percent, followed by HCL and Acer, while in the notebook segment, too, HP retained the top spot with a market share 27 percent, followed by Dell and Acer.
“Commercial personal computer sales can be expected to steadily improve as the economy recovers,” said Sumanta Mukherjee, analyst with IDC India.
“Even though the consumer personal computer segment recorded a faster 28 percent growth, industry will need to watch how the recovery in consumer PC shipments unfolds in the quarters ahead.”
The analyst said the emerging mini-notebook personal computer segment, however, needed to evolve in terms of processing power, graphics capabilities, innovation and functionality to compete with mainstream notebooks.
Cybersecurity Starts at Home and in the Office
Mon-Oct 05, 2009
Washington / Associated Press
When swine flu broke out, the government revved up a massive information campaign centered on three words: Wash your hands.
The Obama administration now wants to convey similarly clear and concise guidance about one of the biggest national security threats in your home and office – the computer.
Think before you click. Know who’s on the other side of that instant message. What you say or do in cyberspace stays in cyberspace – for many to see, steal and use against you or your government.
The Internet, said former national intelligence director Michael McConnell, “is the soft underbelly” of the US today. Speaking at a new cybersecurity exhibit at the International Spy Museum in Washington, McConnell said the Internet has “introduced a level of vulnerability that is unprecedented.”
The Pentagon’s computer systems are probed 360 million times a day, and one prominent power company has acknowledged that its networks see up to 70,000 scans a day, according to cybersecurity expert James Lewis.
For the most part, those probes of government and critical infrastructure networks are benign. Many, said McConnell, are a nuisance and some are crimes. But the most dangerous are probes aimed at espionage or tampering with or destroying data.
The attackers could be terrorists aiming at the US culture and economy, or nation-states looking to insert malicious computer code into the electrical grid that could be activated weeks or years from now.
“We are the fat kid in the race,” said Lewis. “We are the biggest target, we have the most to steal, and everybody wants to get us.”
And if, for example, the US gets into a conflict with China over Taiwan, “expect the lights to go out,” he said. The exhibit at the Spy Museum – “Weapons of Mass Disruption” – tries to bring that threat to life.
A network of neon lights zigzags across the ceiling. Along the walls computer screens light up with harrowing headlines outlining the country’s digital dependence.
Drinking water, sewer systems, phone lines, banks, air traffic, government systems, all depend on the electric grid, and losing them for weeks would plunge the country into the 1800s.
Suddenly, the lights go out and the room is plunged into silent darkness. Seconds later as the sound system crackles, a video ticks off a pretend crisis: no food, no water, system shutdown.
That faux threat has become a prime concern for the government, but fully protecting the grid and other critical computer systems are problems still waiting a solution.
Federal agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, are pouring more money into hiring computer experts and protecting their networks.
But there are persistent questions about how to ensure that Internet traffic is safe without violating personal privacy.
One answer, experts said last week, is to begin a broader public dialogue about cybersecurity, making people more aware of the risks and how individuals can do their part at home and at work.
Some will find it easier than others.
Much of the younger generation has grown up online and are more likely to know about secure passwords, antivirus software and dangerous spam e-mails that look to steal identities, bank accounts and government secrets.
Older people moved into the digital universe as it began to evolve and most have not grown up thinking about how to protect themselves online.
“Detection and prevention are fast, but crime is still faster,” said Phil Reitinger, director of the National Cybersecurity Center. The key, he said, “is to make sure that we’re all getting the word out about not only the seriousness of the threat, but the fairly simple steps that people can take to help secure their systems and their lives and families from the threats that are out there.”
In the computer world, “wash your hands” is less about tossing your keyboard into the dishwasher – although some have tried – and more about exercising caution.
Those steps include:
* Using antivirus software, spam filters, parental controls and firewalls.
* Regularly backing up important files to external computer drives.
* Thinking twice before sending information over the Internet, particularly when using wireless or unsecured public networks.
Asia Cup 2010: Afridi Ton in Vain, Malinga Powers Sri Lanka to Win
Defending champions Sri Lanka fought jangled nerves to override Shahid Afridi`s blistering century and record an exciting 16-run win over Pakistan in the first match of the Asia Cup cricket tournament here on Tuesday.
Chasing 243 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Pakistan seemed on course for a win as long as Afridi (109) was in the middle. But once Muttiah Muralitharan ended his scintillating 76-ball knock Lasith Malinga (5/34) mowed down the lower order and bundled Pakistan for 226 in 47 overs.
Earlier, Sri Lanka showed great character in recovering from a poor start to make a fighting 242 for nine, thanks in main to the never-say-die Angelo Mathews (55 not out), Mahela Jayawardene (54) and Kumar Sangakkara (42).
Afridi braved cramps and kept fighting but his batting colleagues completely let him down, something that could be gauged from the fact that the next best score was Umar Akmal`s 30.
Sitting pretty when Pakistan were staggering at 32 for four in the 14th over, Sri Lanka suddenly found themselves in dire straits when Afridi cut loose. Three Afridi-inspired partnerships — worth 73, 49 and 51 — saw Pakistan roar back into the game but his fall in the 41st over brought Lanka back into the game.
Hampered by a groin injury, the gallant Afridi struck as many as seven sixes and eight boundaries while producing his fifth ODI century. He dominated the Lankan attack until Muralitharan, battered and bruised by Afridi`s onslaught, had the last laugh.
Earlier, a two-wicket burst at the start of the innings by Malinga had put Sri Lanka firmly in control of the game until Afridi stepped on the gas and nearly turned the match on its head.
If Pakistan had blooded Shahzaib Hasan and Umar Amin with a hope of preparing their team for the 2011 World Cup, the two young top-order batsmen failed to live up to expectations.
They struggled against Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara, with neither having a clue against the seaming ball.
But Afridi made little of the pressure, smashing successive sixes of Farveez Maharoof and heaving the wily Muralitharan over the pickets on five occasions.
Malinga (5 for 34) was the pick of the bowlers, overshadowing an encouraging performance by Shoaib Akhtar who bowled his heart out on an unresponsive wicket.
Playing his first international match in 13 months, the controversial Pakistan fast bowler scalped three wickets in four short spells to prove that he still has fire in his belly to bowl full tilt at accomplished batsmen.
But his comeback wasn`t as telling as Pakistan would have expected it to be. The 34-year-old, who last played in a ODI against Australia in Abu Dhabi on May 3, 2009, did work up speeds in the region of 140 plus, but was far from his menacing best.
Evidently, he lacked rhythm and fitness, indicating that he could possibly break down during the course this four-nation tournament. His run-up was staggered and direction wasn`t pin-point but he was never short of effort, putting his heart into every delivery he hurled at the Lankans.
Akthar bagged the scalps of Upul Tharanga (11), Chamara Kapugedara (2) and Farveez Maharoof (1).
Sri Lanka were well served by Jayawardene and captain Sangakkara who raised 83 fighting runs for the third wicket.
The hosts were in a spot of bother at 36 for two when the two most experienced batsmen in the side came up with the rescue act.