With best compliment
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15 11 2013
Tuesday
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Vol. 1, Issue No. 4, Pages 8
Monthly Edition
FITAG
Times
FLOURISH KNOWLEDGE NETWORKING POWER PROTECTION - Editorial Dear Fitagians, very happy & prosperous new year to all of you. As per the Hindu calender we are beginning our new year 2070. India's cultural diversities are of eccentric proportions - just imagine people in different part of the country using 30 different date systems! With so many different calendars, one might land up having a couple of new year celebrations every month! The current national calendar of India was set up in 1957 by the Calendar Reform Committee that formalized a lunisolar calendar in which leap years coincide with those of the Gregorian calendar, and the months are named after the traditional Indian months. T h i s reformed Indian calendar began with Saka Era, Chaitra 1, 1879, which corresponds to March 22, 1957. But the most popular epoch is the Vikram era that is believed to have begun with the coronation of King Vikramaditya. The year 2013 AD corresponds to 2070 Vikram Samvat in this system. How may all these relates to IT? As our cover page article hi-lights the paradigm shift in the emerging technologies, changing from various epoch of Hindu calender to one standard national calender was also a same paradigm shift. Our world is changing very rapidly and we must adopt the change or else be ready to face the consequences. I am sure every FITAGIAN will look forward for a brighter future in the new year 2070. Once again wishing you a very happy & prosperous new year and enjoy 4th edition of FITAG Times.
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Mr. Kaushik Pandya Editor
Emerging Technologies and the Paradigm Shifts Therein One has to know where to look; to actively seek out this information in order to find it. Thus, in an effort to raise awareness to the ever-growing plethora of emerging technologies, featured below are just some paraphrased examples of prominent developers, and the significantly impacting technologies they are hastily bringing into the world:
The frequency of technological advancement, in nearly all fields, is increasing at a dauntingly rapid rate. Almost every other week, an article is featured on a prominent news website like Digg or Reddit, which details exotic, new, and potentially revolutionary technologies. And just as soon as these articles are featured, they are forgotten, often overshadowed by consumer-related technologies, such as the next iPhone, Google Glass, or simply unnoticed altogether.
X-47B Drone on the USS George HW Bush Aircraft Carrier
Cyber Warfare The Pentagon recently announced that it has been working on a program to simplify cyberwarfare in order to
President’s Message Dear members, Wish you and your family a very happy Diwali & prosperous new year, May God fulfill all your wishes in wealth, health & happiness in your life. May this year be as bright as ever. May this year bring you the utmost in peace and prosperity. May lights triumph over darkness. "WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY DIWALI & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR." FITAG has been an old idea, which is now flourished within an interest and initiative taken by many people who have been the leaders of the fraternity in Gujarat. In fact, there is no such umbrella body on regional level existing across India. All the cities across Gujarat as well as India has their associations and most of their problems are also common but, this is the first of its kind of body in India to address motivational activities, common issues, sharing information, publish LOCAL ASSOCIATION activities on common platform & try to achieve objectives in nutshell as five point agenda through CONVENTION, LEADERSHIP AWARD, CRICKET MATCH, E-MAGAZINE FITAG TIMES & "ABCD-IT" programs. I REALY SALUTE THE FIVE POINT AGENDA PUT FORWARD BY OUR FOUNDER PRESIDENT MR.KAUSHIK PANDYA. Flourish - To flourish and co-exist by being united and supportive to each other Knowledge - To share the knowledge available by all means Networking - To increase awareness by extensive networking with each other Strength - To stay united and utilize the strength Protection - To protect common interest I would like to thank all angel persons without whom we can not publish our own E-MAGAZINE (FITAG-TIMES). I would like to specially thank all vendors for their continuous advertisement support & also request to other vendors for their supports. I would like to request all the FITAG members to view this e-magazine & share it among their contacts in their area's non registered IT members. I also request all the local association presidents to give their VALUABLE REVIEW & send your local activity details with photograph to general secretary - FITAG before every first week of month. Federation Of Information Technology Associations Of Gujarat is taking right step in their direction by publishing FITAG-TIMES. On this divine festival I promise you to establish the unbreakable bridge which would facilitate two way flow of Information, Networking, & business development. I firmly believe that FITAG is doing a commendable work in collaborating with All Local IT Associations and voicing their concern and issues at an appropriate level for expeditious resolutions.
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make it feasible for greater amounts of military personnel to operate. Headed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the program, ominously named “Plan X”, is aimed at rendering the frontier of cyberwarfare
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Say you’re playing World of Warcraft, and you’ve got this type of sword, +5 or whatever. You don’t necessarily know what spells were used to create that sword, right? You just know it has these attributes and it helps you in this way. It’s the same type of concept. You don’t need the technical details. – Dan Roelker
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into a quasi-video game format. As it stands now, cyberwarfare is usually the result of top-government approval for groups of hackers to arduously plan and later carry out a given attack, or the work of vigilante groups like Anonymous. DARPA’s plan is to revolutionize the current, exceedingly complex realm of hacking by creating an infrastructure
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that would circumvent the vast topology of global computer networks. In other words, they want to create a digital battlefield where cyber functions and effects are given a simplified representation, allowing a military operator to know exactly what weapons they are using, how to use them, and what effects they will have. Tapping into the most prominent design companies of the Silicon Valley, DARPA finally settled with Frog Design. Using a Samsung SUR40 Touch Table, Frog Design created a prototype interface which effectively maps out the aforementioned vast global network topologies. Based on the detailed account of the prototype, Plan X really is nothing short of a video game-esque rendering of cyberwarfare. A mission or objective is provided (in this case “botnet take-down”), and upon the Samsung tablet, a target node appears amid the network topology, which is said to look like a map of stars. Then, the user is given a selection of weapons, accompanied by a number (projected to eventually represent the cost of cyber attacks), and battle units in the form of icons, to pre-plan an attack on the target node. Much of the specifics of the system are still undisclosed, but if this interface is as successful and
accessible as it seems, cyberwarfare, and the world for that matter, will truly experience a paradigm shift. Printable Bionic Upgrades Most, if not all supporters of trans-humanism and the singularity have long waited for the day when they can begin to upgrade their physiology with biotechnology. Lucky for them, that day is quickly approaching. The subheading of this article reads like some-
thing right out of an Isaac Asimov article: “Scientists have created a 3D-printed cartilage ear with an antenna that extends far beyond the normal human range.” Using hydrogel, silver nano-particles, calf cells, and other readily available 3D printing tools, scientists at Princeton University overcame the staggering challenge of reconciling soft 3D printed material, such as tissue, with hard material, such as electronics, to create the bionic ear in the image below. The successful creation of the ear has led scientists to lend further credence to the idea of not just 3D-printing organs for repair and replacement, but also potentially creating organs with capabilities that would not otherwise be available naturally. The implications of the latter are stunning, to say the least. Google [X] Robot workers, driver-less cars, internet-connected refrigerators, and space elevators are just a few examples on the list of ideas at the Google [X] Lab. While it has only released brief, tentative ideas, Google [x] will undoubtedly be the harbinger for much of the world’s future technologies, and the amount of secrecy surrounding it only bolsters the latter prediction. Likened by one familiarized engineer as functioning similar to the CIA, Google [X] is run primarily by two offices – one vaguely described as being for logistics, the other, in a secret location unbeknownst to most Google employees, specifically for robots. With AI researchers, roboticists, electrical engineers from Microsoft to MIT, and Johnny Chung Lee donning the title of “rapid evaluator”, Google [X] has all the ingredients for a mad science lab. Unfortunately, it is still too new and secretive to say much more than the aforementioned, but in an effort to pique the reader’s interest, two employees briefed on a project have said that there will be a product released at the end of this year, though they were not allowed to comment on any details whatsoever. Drones: Military and Civilian Drone technology is one that is burgeoning, and is espe-
cially important for the public to keep tabs on. Simply speaking, drones are one of the most integral aspects of future society. The implications for their integration into not only military, but civilian life are nothing short of overwhelming… and terrifying. Most of the general public is aware that the use of drones in the military is already increasing, since not a month goes by where a highvalue terrorist target is taken
out by the infamous predator drone. On top of that, the United States Navy has recently confirmed the successful launching and landing of an X47B on an aircraft carrier, the first drone to ever accomplish such a feat (pictured above). However, military drones seem to be overshadowing the rapid growth of the civilian side of
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drone technology, a potentially invasive and rapidly growing trend. It is important for the reader to realize that this part of the article doesn’t even cover the tip of the ice berg of what is out there in terms of drone technology (e.g. DARPA has already successfully turned a living beetle into a remotecontrollable flying cyborgdrone). Universal Air recently far surpassed its Kickstarter campaign goal of $15,000, earning a whopping $220,000 to fund their R10 Quadrotor System drone. UAir’s success was a clear sign that there is a hunger for personal UAVs. While the initial purpose of the R10 is to act as an unmanned version of a GoPro camera for extreme sports enthusiasts, the implications for having such a drone sparks the imagination. While it is currently reliant on WiFiinternet connection, UAir’s next project, expected to be released somewhere in 2014, is said to have the capability to be fully autonomous and maintain connectivity with its user via WiFi connection to the user’s
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phone, regardless of internet connection. Extreme sports enthusiasts will surely be satisfied, but UAir also expects their autonomous drones to find their way into the industrial world with upgradable sensor-packages for mining and construction jobs. The drones from UAir seem to add a fun, lighter side to the realm of drone technology, but what about drones that can’t be distinguished from tiny insects, no larger than a penny? It seems that the most appropriate
reaction to Harvard University’s “Robobees” would be fear of invasion of privacy. Rest assured (or not), this program’s purpose is, or at least was to study insect flight, but after announcing its success at hovering and then following a preset flight path, it would be naive to think the military would not be interested.
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15 11 2013 Certificate of Authenticity ("COA") - Salient Features, Do's & Don'ts FLOURISH KNOWLEDGE NETWORKING POWER PROTECTION
Dear Reader, Microsoft believes in trustworthy computing experience for our customers and an honest channel reseller business environment. This communication is in continuation to our commitment to educate and spread awareness among the channel partners about relevant anti-piracy information, and this particular message is around the distribution and usage of COA label. What is Certificate of Authenticity ("COA")?:A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is a label that helps one identify legal and genuine Microsoft software. A COA is one of the condi-
tions of the software license, and primarily, it is a visual identifier that assists in determining whether or not the Microsoft software is legal and genuine. COA is never distributed independently and always accompanies our OEM and Retail Software. However, without it, one will have difficulty in proving usage of legal and genuine Microsoft software license. Our Current Market Findings: Through our market intelligence, we are noticing an increase in distribution and selling of independent/stand-alone/loose COAs, which is an illegal activity. Please pay close attention to the important
points below that will help you and your customers not fall victim to illegal and non-genuine COAs: <NEVER DEAL IN STAND-ALONE/LOOSE COAS: If you receive offers for COAs as stand-alone items, be aware that these are illegal offers, could be fakes/duplicates, inviting civil and criminal liabilities. If you fall victim to standalone COAs, you would have wasted your money and your act would cause your customers to be illegal and non-genuine. Write to Microsoft Product I d e n t i f i c a t i o n Centreinpiracy@microsoft.c om if you encounter any instance of loose or stand-
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alone COAs.Further, please note that Microsoft will take strict action against partners found trading or reselling stripped down COAs. < Each COA label includes advanced anticounterfeitingfeatures to help verify the software's authenticity. The COA label is included with each individual software license. < For preinstalled MS Windows operating systems, the COA label must be affixed by the system builder to the PC chassis. The COA label also includes the product key, which will be needed in the event the operating system needs to be reinstalled. < COA labels must be distributed as part of the full System Builder software license, which also includes the hologram CD and documentation. < A COA should never be purchased, sold, or distributed by itself without the
software license it authenticates. < Protect your customers and your company: Purchase software licenses through a Microsoft authorized OEM distributor, an assured source of legal and genuine Microsoft software. We need your cooperation in preventing COAs from being misused and abused. Please write to Mr. Satish Pokhriyal (satishp@microsoft.com) if you need further clarification. The following sites are also relevant: <www.microsoft.com/oe m/en/licensing/.../COA_ho logram.aspx - Deeper understanding on MS Licensing < ww.microsoft.com/howtotell - To report an instance of piracy/counterfeit MS software <www.microsoft.com/gen uine - To know more on MS genuine Windows and office.
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FITAGTimes Tuesday 15 11 2013 4 Surveillance - Moving from analog to digital FLOURISH KNOWLEDGE NETWORKING POWER PROTECTION
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rise in the instances of terrorism has prompted organizations, authorities and individuals to devise effective response mechanisms. Physical security has become essential for enterprises looking at solutions to address everything from pilferage to theft and terrorism. This has led to an increased demand for solutions like video surveillance in sectors like public transport, hospitality, airports, BFSI and education, prompting organizations to increasingly incorporate network video into their enterprise IT security plans. While surveillance requirements of corporate environments are generally driven by the need to protect employee and company assets, they help achieve other business objectives also. Retail outlets for example use network surveillance for footfall measurement. In airports, an intelligent video system measures the queue time between entering and exiting a check-in point helping direct staff and minimizing waiting time for travelers. In banks, remote surveillance and monitoring can help prevent theft, fraud and facilitate investigation.
Market opportunity: Gartner estimates a CAGR of 16.4% for the Indian security market between 2008 and 2013. ccording to ASSOCHAM, corporates are likely to increase their security budgets by 35-40%. The demand for security equipment has increased by 10-15% and the private security industry in India is expected to touch Rs. 50,000 crore by 2012 (125% growth as opposed to the 25% that's been the norm for the past five years). The Indian surveillance market, which is about 30% of the security industry, is seeing a shift from analog to IPbased surveillance. Currently IP-based surveillance market in India is valued at about $50-60 million and is expected to grow at 45% YoY for the next four to five years. While the global market for analog video surveillance equipment was flat in 2009, the growth rate of global IP video surveillance equipment exceeded 15%. According to the 2009 IMS Research report, the global growth of network video products will be approximately 30% over the next five years. According a report by International Fire and Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC), physical security in India is likely to grow into a $3.5 billion market; this is expected to grow by up to 30% YoY. Growth is expected from various sectors including urban security, public transport, hospitality, airport security, BFSI and education. The government remains the biggest spender on physical security/ surveillance solutions and is expected to spend $10bn on the nation's homeland security requirements, over the next two to three years. Following the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, there has been an increase in investment for installing, as well as upgrading, existing security infrastructure within the country. This has provided a boost to the Indian security and surveillance systems industry, which grows at 20-30% annually.
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Advantages of digital surveillance:
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P-based video surveillance touted as the future of surveillance systems, has replaced closed circuit analog systems, which traditionally dominated the security market. IP surveillance technology allows video to be transferred over the IP infrastructure making it accessible from anywhere in the world. An effective and integrated security system provides operator control, more usable data, and faster response time, at a reduced cost. By moving on to an IP-based network, building systems operators get better response control. Since IP-based surveillance provides the ability to access footage from any remote location over the internet, security or other authorized personnel need not be in the building or campus to access the data. They can remotely access the network and the cameras online. This technology also helps individuals who need to monitor their homes from anywhere in the world while they are away. Today's IP-based surveillance cameras can handle motion detection and tampering detection. They have in-built intelligence that enables them to alert security personnel or to activate recording if an event takes place in a camera's surveillance area. Network video facilitates proactive monitoring. Digital or IP-based cameras can also add to business intelligence. In retail outlets, camera footage can help to analyze the customer footfall and patterns, reduce shrinkage, enhance marketing and optimize staffing. Network video helps retailers manage the inventory lifecycle more efficiently. Other benefits of bringing physical security infrastructure onto the IP network include reduced total cost of ownership, better image quality, increased storage capacity, enhanced features, greater interoperability, and faster access to relevant information during emergency. Compared to traditional CCTV cameras, the digital infrastructure is scalable and there is no limit to the number of devices that can be added to the network. The ability to interconnect security cameras with the other security systems with open standards is another advantage of IP-based surveillance. IP- based surveillance solutions provide an open platform to build more collaborative and integrated physical security systems, while preserving their existing investments in analog-based technology. Simply put, the users can enable their analog devices to 'talk' to other devices on the network, or to the central control system.
What the future holds:
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s the awareness of the benefits of IP-Based systems spreads, features and complexities of surveillance products will increase, and costs will go down. According to industry experts, IP surveillance in India has enhanced its reach into verticals such as government, SMBs and SOHOs. This market will continue to grow as organizations and authorities understand the advantages that IP-based surveillance brings with it. Additionally, with IT equipment prices likely to fall faster than analog CCTV equipment, the scales will increasingly tilt in favor of IP-based systems. At the end of the day, the security of the country continues to be a key concern for the government and its various stakeholders, who are working to bring together the best security solutions and create a widearea security net, so that both the nation's assets as well as its people remain safe and secure.
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FLOURISH KNOWLEDGE NETWORKING POWER PROTECTION
FITAG Wi-
Tips to Retain High Performance,
"Senior", he tide has turned. The employers no longer can tell employees, "Like it or leave it." In today's business, attracting and retaining good employees is a top priority in both large and small organizations. In fact, it is the biggest concern of today's
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Effective Employees
businessmen. Today's workers expect fair pay and competitive benefits. But they also are interested in job security. A study by the Hay Group (1998) reports that out of fifty retention factors pay is the least important to one-half million employees from
Mentor Mantra
over three hundred companies. Surprising....Isn't it? Managers, supervisors, team leaders, and project leaders-who lead and interact directly with employees-have the greatest impact on employees' satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their jobs.
An Efficient Boss
15 11 2013
In short, "problems with the boss" is the primary reason that employees seek work elsewhere. Four key factors....the primary factors that contribute to retention & that create loyalty on the part of high-performing, senior & effective employees can be
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placed in four categories: (1) having an efficient boss, (2) the sense of being part of a group or team, (3)challenging and meaningful work, and (4) opportunities to learn and grow. These factors drive employee satisfaction and commitment.
The Sense of Being The Part of a Group or Team
"An Efficient Boss does not.....
"An Efficient Boss.....
< Working with great people, being part of a team, and having fun on
< Fail to solicit and listen to employee inputs < Fail to recognize employees' accomplishments < Withhold praise < Give only negative feedback < Take credit for others' accomplishments or ideas < Blame others for one's own mistakes < Betray trusts or confidences < Manage up rather than down
< Pays Attention to and Communicates with their employees < Provides frequent, honest feedback to employees about their performance. < Helps to make the right job fit in terms of an employee's skills and personal interests. < Takes the time to listen and respond in a way that shows that they care. < Is Trustworthy and Supportive. < Is concerned about his employees' family concerns and work-life balance. < Helps to Create a Sense of Purpose in the Work by providing coaching & mentoring. < Encourages Employee Growth and Career Development through creativity & innovation. < Asks questions to the obvious and go beyond.
the job are some other important factors in job satisfaction. < A department, section, or division can feel like a "team" if.... < The manager and employees treat one another with courtesy and respect. < They listen to one another's ideas. < They recognize and celebrate one another's accomplishments. < They work toward common goals. < They Provide the team members with the tools and resources to work together. < They provide training in the areas in consensus decision making, planning & conflict resolution.
Opportunities to Learn and Grow Career growth, learning, and development are three of the top reasons that people stay in their current jobs. < Provide opportunities on the job that match the employees' abilities & and aspirations. < Encourages employees to improve the work itself as well as their skills < Motivate them to keep up with latest developments in their fields. Providing formal training and development opportunities is only one means of helping employees to learn and grow. < Provide informal learning opportunities on the job can be done regularly. < Encourage them to "network," and learn from Coaching, mentoring. < Make them read publications related to their lines of work.
Challenging and Meaningful Work Exciting and challenging work and meaningful work that makes a di ference or a contribution to society were cited as some of the most important factors in job satisfaction. < Provide a sense that he/she is going to spend a great deal of one's life doing something. < Allow them to have some say in how the work is done. < The need for connection extends both from the work and to the work. < Recognize their suggestions of improvement suggest improvements in work assignments, processes, schedules, and measurements. < Let them have autonomy and a sense of control over their work . < Delegate work to them and lat them be responsible for their own work. < Let them Perceive and meet the challenges on the job such that the work exciting and full of pride < Create an environment such that they keep up with knowledge and technology in the field.
"The punch line is... "We need high performance, senior, effective employees. It is the truth and it will remain the truth." In business, guarantee no dips. If we use these tips.
"If we do not do All These and Lose employees then? Some businessmen may think that they don't have time to do all these things. Consider ... A [A.] Investment in the current employee < The time (and costs) required to recruit, interview and hire an employee < The time and cost invested to assess, train, and integrate them to replace the ones who have left. < Hard costs like advertising, travel, selection, orientation, and sign-on bonuses. < Other costs of the work that is put on hold while this is done; the effects on productivity, morale, and customer satisfaction
B [B.] There are some unseen costs also. < The benefits to the competitor of hiring the lost employee. < The possible influence of this employee on other employees (to leave). < New hires tend to demand 20 to 40 percent more in pay than the
employees they replace. < High-tech workers, professionals, and managers cost twice as much as
other employees to replace. < Primary job responsibilities should be the retention of high-perform-
ing employees.
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NEWS CORNER Tuesday 15 11 2013 6 FITAGTimes Google’s Chromebook 11 Worldwide Server Sales Decline in Q2 unveiled! FLOURISH KNOWLEDGE NETWORKING POWER PROTECTION
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HE SERVER busines continued to slide in the second quarter with world wide revenue and unit sales down, IDC said. Revenue was down 6.2 per cent to $11.9 billion (about Rs 77,280 crore) in the second consecutive quarter of year over - year decline, as demand for servers continued to soften in most geographic regions, the research firm said. Unit shipments were also down 1.2 percent to 2 million, after also falling in the previous two quarters. The highest fall in revenue was in mid-range systems, which dipped by about 22 percent yearover-year, while volume systems had a 2.4 percent revenue decline and revenue from high - end systems dipped 9.5 percent in the quarter ended June. The slowing demand is a combination of factors including consolidation, virtualization, and migration initiatives by mainstream small and medium businesses and enterprise customers, and dampening demand for new IT projects in difficult economic conditions. Top server vendors tried to offset weak demand for highermargin
Unix and blade servers with lower-margin rack and density optimized servers, IDC said. IBM held the number one position in the server market with a 27.9 percent
6.2% is the server revenue decline for the second consecutive quarter year-overyear. share of revenue, but its share was down from over 29 percent last year. The company’s server revenue fell in the quarter by 10percent year -over-year because of low demand for System x and Power Systems. IBM’s System z mainframe running z/OS, however, had a third consecutiv quarter of growth, with revenue up by 9.9 Percent year - over - year to $1.2 billion (about Rs 6,000 crore). The mainframe accounted for 9.8 percent of server revenue in the quarter. HP held the number two
position with a smaller market share of close to 26 percent, after a year - onyear decline in revenue of 17.5 percent as a result of poor demand for x86based Pro- Liant servers and continued decline in demand for HP Integrity servers. Dell fared better, growing its server market share to 18.8 percent, its highest ever in any quarter, from 16 percent last year, to retain the third spot. Dell’s server revenue grew 10.3 percent in the quarter. Rival Oracle held the fourth position with 6 percent market share followed by Cisco Systems at number five with 4.5 percent share after a close to 43 percent growth in revenue. Cisco had a statistical tie with Fujitsu in the last quarter. Revenue from density optimized servers, used in large hyperscale datacenters, surged 26.6 percent year - on - year. -john Ribeiro
Now play the ‘Modi Run’ game on your Android for free!
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he Narendra Modi fever is catching on! Among the list of your favourites like Temple Run, Super Mario and Subway Surfers, you can now also make Modi run to see him win over India. The game called Modi Run has been developed by Dexati, a mobile application and gaming company based in the US. It is a free game and can be downloaded on any Android
device. In the game, politician Modi is seen running through all the states to win the election and become the Prime Minister of India. The details of the game read, “Help Modi through all the states and gather the votes to win the election and become PM of India.” It is purely for entertainment and not endorsed by either Modi or the BJP, says the developer.
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oogle has unveiled its new Chromebook laptop, which has features similar to high-end laptops but is priced at only US$ 279. Built by Hewlett-Packard (HP), the HP Chromebook 11 has features that are usually seen in laptops worth US$ 1,000. In fact, the new device that has the Chrome OS sports many features from other laptops running Google’s Chrome OS, like the Chromebook Pixel, which costs US$ 1,299. The newly unveiled Chromebook 11 laptop has a plastic frame with no sharp edges or corners. In fact, even screw holes are missing, which gives it a very
sleek look. Further, the device’s speakers are placed under its keyboard, which means that the sound is directed towards the user. The 29.26-cm (11.6-inch) laptop weiths only 1.04 kg (2.3lb) and is apparently based on the Chromebook Pixel, which was designed by Google itself. But the two companies did have to make a few sacrifices in order to keep the price as low as US$ 279. For one, the device does not have a touchscreen display and neither is the display as sharp as the Chromebook Pixel. Further, the metal frame is replaced by plastic and the laptop has only 16 GB of storage in the basic model. Interestingly, the Chromebook 11 is charged via a micro - USB port, Which is the same as those used in smartphones and tablets.
Articals
FITAGTimes
FLOURISH KNOWLEDGE NETWORKING POWER PROTECTION
www.fitag.in Tuesday
15 11 2013
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What you can do with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Googleâ&#x20AC;? Calendar software can be quite useful. Busy executives might refer to a calendar program as they navigate from one business meeting to another. Popular socialites use them as they book parties and other events. And the perpetually disorganized depend on calendar software to avoid missing important appointments. There are several calendar programs on the market. One such application that's growing in popularity is the Google Calendar.
Google Calendar
reated by the multi-billion dollar corporation Google, the Google Calendar application allows users to create personal or public calendars after signing up for a Google account. The accounts are free, and Google stores the calendars within its cloud computing system. That means that the company stores the application and user information on its own servers. The user doesn't have to download special software to access the calendar -- all access is through a Web browser. With traditional desktop software, users store information to their own computers' hard drives or other storage devices. That means if they want to access their information, they always have to use the same computer. Since the information in Google Calendars exists on the Web, users can view
and make changes to calendars from any computer connected to the Internet. Storing calendars on the Internet also means that it's easier to share information with other users. In turn, scheduling events and creating invitations becomes easier. Want to know if a fellow Google Calendar owner is free this weekend? If the owner opts to share his or her calendar with you, you'll be able to see if there are any scheduled events that might interfere with your plans. If there are conflicts, you may be able to adjust your plans. Like all tools, Google Calendar is only helpful when people use it. It doesn't magically organize your life, but it can make the task much easier for you. What are some of Google Calendar's basic features? Find out in the next section.
he Google Calendar layout is fairly simple. A miniature view of the calendar appears in a column on the left side of the screen. It displays the current month and highlights the current day. A larger viewing area takes up most of the rest of the screen. The Google Calendar has multiple viewing options. You can choose to view the calendar by day, week, month or a view that presents just the next four days. You can also choose an "agenda" view, which presents all scheduled events as a list rather than as a calendar view. No matter which view you're in, you can block out time on the calendar. In most views, Google Calendar allows you to schedule appointments or events with a simple click-and-drag interface. In the day, week and next four days views, you can block out time in half-hour increments by clicking and dragging down the appropriate day. Google Calendar then prompts you to fill in details about the appointment. In the month view, you can
block out time for multiple days. This is particularly useful if you need to set aside time for trips and vacations. You can keep appointments simple with just a subject header, or you can choose to add more details. You can include a location for the appointment and a short description. You can also use the "repeat" function for events that occur regularly, such as a weekly meeting or annual event like birthdays. Most of these functions are similar to the features of other calendar software products on the market. As part of an effort to differentiate Google Calendar from its competitors, Google incorporates other features that take advantage of Google's capabilities. Perhaps the most notable Google offering is its search function. In Google Calendar, you can use Google's search technology to search not only your own calendars, but also any public calendar on Google's system. Let's say you're going to a
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Google Calendar's Features T
conference. The administrators of the conference have made the event's schedule available online through Google Calendar. You can use the search function to find the event's calendar and synchronize it with your own. Google Calendar returns a search engine results page (SERP) specifically formatted to show calendar results. You can select the appropriate entry in the SERP and Google Calendar takes care of the rest. Now you've got the detailed schedule imported into your own
calendar. Perhaps you own multiple calendars, some of which are public and others that aren't. You can use the search function to look for specific events within your calendars. Google Calendar returns a SERP showing you where specific scheduled events fall on each of your calendars. These features are just the tip of the iceberg for Google Calendar. Want to learn about more advanced features? Head on over to the next section.
any of Google Calendar's advanced functions rely on the fact that it's a Web service. With most other calendar software, you'd either access the program from your own computer's hard drive or you'd store the application on a local area network (LAN). With Google Calendar, the entire application and all its contents are on the Web. One of the Web services Google takes advantage of is short message service (SMS) support. This is the format cell phones use to send text messages. Users can allow Google Calendar to send reminders via SMS to their cell phones. As a scheduled event draws near, Google Calendar sends an alert via SMS to a phone number registered by the respective user. While Google offers this as a free service, users may have to pay their cell phone service providers if they go over their monthly text message limits. Google fosters a growing community of developers who use Google's application programming interface (API) to build new programs based off Google technology. Google calls the resulting applications Google gadgets. Many developers design gadgets
to work with existing applications, including Google Calendar. Gadgets allow users to insert special events into a calendar. The options are practically limitless. Examples can include everything from inserting a relevant photograph to attaching a Google Map showing the location of the event. Google Calendar makes it pretty easy to send invitations to other people. First, you create an event in your own calendar and fill out the details. Then, you can click on the "add guests" option. This opens up a field in which you can type e-mail addresses. Once you save the event, Google Calendar sends e-mails to the invite list. As guests respond to the invite, Google Calendar displays the results within the event listing on your calendar. If a user chooses to share or publish a calendar, other users can leave comments on event entries. This allows people to discuss upcoming appointments or debrief after a meeting. The event page becomes a forum for guests and calendar viewers. What does Google use to keep the Google Calendar system up and running? Find out in the next section.
f you're familiar with Google, you probably know that they're secretive when it comes to their
operations. There's not a lot of information available on the system Google Calendar uses. Still,
Advanced Google Calendar Features M
Google Calendar Software and Hardware
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there are some aspects of Google's operations that are public knowledge. As for the rest, we can make a few assumptions on what's going on behind the scenes. It helps to imagine the Google Calendar system as a client/server system. A client is an entity that requests a service. The server is the part of the system that provides a service. Both the client and the server may have special software allowing them to interact with one another. What's more, it's possible for a single computer to act as both a client and a server. On the server side of Google Calendar, Google uses the Java programming language to build applications. Sun Microsystems developed Java as an object-oriented computer programming language. Programs created with Java can exist independently of other programs. It's the Java applications that handle all the data on the back end of Google Calendar. Google Calendar users see the client side of the system. This consists of a Web page enhanced by Javascript. Javascript and Java aren't the same thing. The Java language allows programmers to build programs ranging from full applications to smaller applets. Developers use Javascript to beef up Web services. They can't use it to build programs that work outside of a Web browser experience. That about wraps up everything Google outsiders know about the Google Calendar system. But we can make a few guesses about other details: Google tends to use relatively cheap hardware for its systems. Instead of investing in cutting edge technology that can handle terabytes of data, Google purchases inexpensive hardware that integrates with existing networks seamlessly. While the hardware doesn't have all the bells and whistles of more expensive equipment, it serves its purpose. Since it's cheap, it doesn't cost much to add more capacity to the system, which means it's scalable. One possible arrangement of hardware would include application servers and database servers. The application server would process the programs that make Google Calendar possible, including integration with other Google applications. The database servers act as storage. Google may also use a control or administrative server that acts as a gatekeeper.
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