Thursday, December 26, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
BlackBerry
BlackBerry cancels device launches, rising inventory costs hurt
NEW DELHI: Mounting inventory has cost BlackBerry about $1.6 billion in the third quarter and has forced the Canadian handset maker to cancel the launch of two new devices.
BlackBerry said the pile up was mainly on account of unsold BlackBerry 10 devices, which was launched earlier this year with much fanfare.
During the third quarter, the company registered hardware sales of 1.9 million BlackBerry smartphones compared to about 3.7 million BlackBerry smartphones in the previous quarter.
Most of the units recognised were BlackBerry 7 devices. "During the third quarter of fiscal 2014, the company recorded a primarily non-cash, pre-tax charge against inventory and supply commitments of approximately $1.6 billion, or $1.3 billion after tax, which is primarily attributable to BlackBerry 10 devices," the company said in a filing.
During the second quarter of fiscal 2014, BlackBerry recorded the Z10 inventory charge of about $934 million, which included a write-down of inventory of approximately $627 million and supply commitments of approximately $307 million.
BlackBerry said it had shipped devices to its carrier and distributor partners to support new and continuing product launches and meet expected levels of end customer demand in the third quarter.
"However, the sell-through levels for BlackBerry 10 smartphones decreased during the second quarter of fiscal 2014 due to the maturing smartphone market and very intense competition," it said.
Additionally, delays in the launch of certain functionality of the BES 10 platform and alternative competitor products in the market have resulted in a slower than anticipated rate of adoption of the BES 10 platform by enterprise customers, it added.
"The company also made the decision to cancel plans to launch two devices to mitigate the identified inventory risk," it said.
BlackBerry has also cancelled its BlackBerry Live event, which has already been hosted 12 times, for 2014.
"BlackBerry events have always been purpose-driven, designed to help get your hands on new products, get familiar with our services, to learn about our future plans and roadmaps, and to demonstrate the powerful capabilities of BlackBerry platforms," it said.
"We've taken a look at how to best meet our goals with BlackBerry events, and today we're announcing that we will not be hosting a BlackBerry Live conference in 2014," it said.
Instead, BlackBerry will engage a line-up of smaller, targeted events taking place all around the world over the next 12 months.
BlackBerry said the pile up was mainly on account of unsold BlackBerry 10 devices, which was launched earlier this year with much fanfare.
During the third quarter, the company registered hardware sales of 1.9 million BlackBerry smartphones compared to about 3.7 million BlackBerry smartphones in the previous quarter.
Most of the units recognised were BlackBerry 7 devices. "During the third quarter of fiscal 2014, the company recorded a primarily non-cash, pre-tax charge against inventory and supply commitments of approximately $1.6 billion, or $1.3 billion after tax, which is primarily attributable to BlackBerry 10 devices," the company said in a filing.
During the second quarter of fiscal 2014, BlackBerry recorded the Z10 inventory charge of about $934 million, which included a write-down of inventory of approximately $627 million and supply commitments of approximately $307 million.
BlackBerry said it had shipped devices to its carrier and distributor partners to support new and continuing product launches and meet expected levels of end customer demand in the third quarter.
"However, the sell-through levels for BlackBerry 10 smartphones decreased during the second quarter of fiscal 2014 due to the maturing smartphone market and very intense competition," it said.
Additionally, delays in the launch of certain functionality of the BES 10 platform and alternative competitor products in the market have resulted in a slower than anticipated rate of adoption of the BES 10 platform by enterprise customers, it added.
"The company also made the decision to cancel plans to launch two devices to mitigate the identified inventory risk," it said.
BlackBerry has also cancelled its BlackBerry Live event, which has already been hosted 12 times, for 2014.
"BlackBerry events have always been purpose-driven, designed to help get your hands on new products, get familiar with our services, to learn about our future plans and roadmaps, and to demonstrate the powerful capabilities of BlackBerry platforms," it said.
"We've taken a look at how to best meet our goals with BlackBerry events, and today we're announcing that we will not be hosting a BlackBerry Live conference in 2014," it said.
Instead, BlackBerry will engage a line-up of smaller, targeted events taking place all around the world over the next 12 months.
LENOVO
Lenovo launches 5-incher Vibe X for Rs.25,999
Chinese handset maker Lenovo has launched another large-size smartphone Vibe X for Rs 25,999 in Indian market after two months of its global launch at IFA
The smartphone features a full HD 5-inch screen and runs on Android 2.2 Jelly Bean operating system. It is powered by 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589T processor.
It boasts of a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera and comes with a 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. Connectivity options include 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. It packs a 2,000mAh battery and comes in black and silver colour combination.
It measures of 6.9mm, and weighs only 120 gram which makes it lighter than most top-end devices and slimmer than iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4.
Lenovo launched the Vibe Z with 5.5-inch full-HD display in China which is powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. The dual-SIM device comes with 2GB of RAM, Adreno 330 GPU and runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
The smartphone features a full HD 5-inch screen and runs on Android 2.2 Jelly Bean operating system. It is powered by 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589T processor.
It boasts of a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera and comes with a 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. Connectivity options include 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. It packs a 2,000mAh battery and comes in black and silver colour combination.
It measures of 6.9mm, and weighs only 120 gram which makes it lighter than most top-end devices and slimmer than iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4.
Lenovo launched the Vibe Z with 5.5-inch full-HD display in China which is powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. The dual-SIM device comes with 2GB of RAM, Adreno 330 GPU and runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
HTC
HTC Lanches One Max Phablet
HTC lanches One Max with fingerprint scanner at 61,490, also introduces tracking devices fetch
HTC has finally introduced much awaited One Max, its largest and most expensive of One series of phones with a fingerprint scanner in India. The phone is expected to compete with Apple iPhone 5s.
HTC also launched Fetch a tracking device along with One Max for Rs 2,500. This can be paired (connected wirelessly) with any HTC One series phone. As soon as an HTC One owner walks 10 meters beyond the phone, both device and phone will start ringing.
The One Max pahablet (16GB variant) is however available for pre-order online for Rs. 56,490. The device was unveiled in October this year.
HTC One Max features 5.9-inch full-HD LCD display and runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box with HTC's Sense 5.5 UI on top. It is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, with 2GB of RAM.
It comes with 16GB inbuilt storage with support for up to 64GB of additional external storage via microSD card. The device sports HTC's UltraPixel rear camera, along with a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. Like HTC One it has HTC Zoe and HTC BoomSound features.
HTC One Max comes with connectivity options such as 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, DLNA and HTC Connect. The device has large a 3300mAh battery which according to company’s claims can give up to 25 hours of talktime and 585 hours of standby time for 3G networks. It weighs 217 grams.
HTC is offering accessory Fetch keychain at Rs. for the HTC One Max. It allows the users to activate their phones' ringtone within 15 metres by pressing the button on the keychain.
Recently Apple launched iPhone 5s with a fingerprint scanner and HTC One Max is the only other handset with the similar feature.
HTC One Max key specifications
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with Sense 5.5 UI
5.9-inch full-HD LCD display
1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor
2GB of RAM
Fingerprint scanner
16GB/ 32GB inbuilt storage variants, expandable up to 64GB via microSD card
164.5x82.5x10.29mm
217 grams.
HTC also launched Fetch a tracking device along with One Max for Rs 2,500. This can be paired (connected wirelessly) with any HTC One series phone. As soon as an HTC One owner walks 10 meters beyond the phone, both device and phone will start ringing.
The One Max pahablet (16GB variant) is however available for pre-order online for Rs. 56,490. The device was unveiled in October this year.
HTC One Max features 5.9-inch full-HD LCD display and runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box with HTC's Sense 5.5 UI on top. It is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, with 2GB of RAM.
It comes with 16GB inbuilt storage with support for up to 64GB of additional external storage via microSD card. The device sports HTC's UltraPixel rear camera, along with a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. Like HTC One it has HTC Zoe and HTC BoomSound features.
HTC One Max comes with connectivity options such as 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, DLNA and HTC Connect. The device has large a 3300mAh battery which according to company’s claims can give up to 25 hours of talktime and 585 hours of standby time for 3G networks. It weighs 217 grams.
HTC is offering accessory Fetch keychain at Rs. for the HTC One Max. It allows the users to activate their phones' ringtone within 15 metres by pressing the button on the keychain.
Recently Apple launched iPhone 5s with a fingerprint scanner and HTC One Max is the only other handset with the similar feature.
HTC One Max key specifications
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with Sense 5.5 UI
5.9-inch full-HD LCD display
1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor
2GB of RAM
Fingerprint scanner
16GB/ 32GB inbuilt storage variants, expandable up to 64GB via microSD card
164.5x82.5x10.29mm
217 grams.
APPLE
Apple, China Mobile in pact sell iphones.
Apple on Sunday announced a deal with China Mobile, the world's biggest wireless carrier, to sell iPhone in China.
In a joint statement, Apple and China Mobile said the iPhone 5s and 5c models will go on sale in Apple and China Mobile stores beginning on Friday, Jan. 17. China Mobile customers can pre-register for phones starting Wednesday Dec. 25.
“Apple’s iPhone is very much loved by millions of customers around the world,” said Xi Guohua, Chairman of China Mobile. “We know there are many China Mobile customers and potential new customers who are anxiously awaiting the incredible combination of iPhone on China Mobile’s leading network.”
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said that "China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world's largest network."
He said "iPhone customers in China are an enthusiastic and rapidly growing group, and we can't think of a better way to welcome in the Chinese New Year than getting an iPhone into the hands of every China Mobile customer who wants one."
Negotiations between Apple and China Mobile took years, with one key hurdle reportedly being the US firm's demand for sales volume guarantees.
In a joint statement, Apple and China Mobile said the iPhone 5s and 5c models will go on sale in Apple and China Mobile stores beginning on Friday, Jan. 17. China Mobile customers can pre-register for phones starting Wednesday Dec. 25.
“Apple’s iPhone is very much loved by millions of customers around the world,” said Xi Guohua, Chairman of China Mobile. “We know there are many China Mobile customers and potential new customers who are anxiously awaiting the incredible combination of iPhone on China Mobile’s leading network.”
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said that "China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world's largest network."
He said "iPhone customers in China are an enthusiastic and rapidly growing group, and we can't think of a better way to welcome in the Chinese New Year than getting an iPhone into the hands of every China Mobile customer who wants one."
Negotiations between Apple and China Mobile took years, with one key hurdle reportedly being the US firm's demand for sales volume guarantees.
Merry Chrristmass
MERRY CHRISTMASS
‘Adaptxt, the Keyboard app from KeyPoint Technologies welcomes the festive spirit by introducing the special Adaptxt Christmas Keyboard theme for Android smartphones which is in line with the festive celebrations spread all across the world. The theme is designed to let you get into the celebratory mood on the auspicious “festival of love and brotherhood”.
The visually brilliant Christmas theme is designed with a combination of vibrant colour scheme, which captures the essence of the festival in its full might. Free to download from the Google Play Store, theAdaptxt intelligent keyboard add, and the Christmas theme, let you soak up Christmas celebrations in the best of spirit.
The special Christmas theme, a unique feature of Adaptxt, allows the users to customize the colour combinations of the keyboard, in line with the spirit associated with Christmas making it a pertinent expression of the celebratory season. With the colour customization option, the user can either save the new theme or reset back to the existing theme from the Keyboard customization window as well, giving them complete control on the application utility.
The visually brilliant Christmas theme is designed with a combination of vibrant colour scheme, which captures the essence of the festival in its full might. Free to download from the Google Play Store, theAdaptxt intelligent keyboard add, and the Christmas theme, let you soak up Christmas celebrations in the best of spirit.
The special Christmas theme, a unique feature of Adaptxt, allows the users to customize the colour combinations of the keyboard, in line with the spirit associated with Christmas making it a pertinent expression of the celebratory season. With the colour customization option, the user can either save the new theme or reset back to the existing theme from the Keyboard customization window as well, giving them complete control on the application utility.
thank you
MCAfee Identifies 12 Scams of christmass
MCAfee identifies "12 scams of christmass"
Industry estimates suggest that In India, out of 150 million internet users around 10 million internet users are shopping online. A report by ASSOCHAM states that e-shopping during festive season in India for 2013 has witnessed a 65% increase in comparison to last year for products like mobile phones, e-tablets, consumer electronics, home appliances, home decor, furnishings, apparels, etc. Though banks and various agencies are repeatedly propagating the cause of safe online transactions remains a potential challenge in India.
“The potential for identity theft increases as consumers share personal information across multiple devices that are often under protected,” said, Michelle Dennedy, Vice president and Chief Privacy Officer at McAfee. “Understanding criminals’ mindsets and being aware of how they try to take advantage of consumers can help ensure that we use our devices the way they were intended – to enhance our lives, not jeopardize them.”
To help consumers stay alert for greedy Grinches as they surf the web for holiday travel deals and seek out gifts for their loved ones, McAfee has identified this year’s top “12 Scams of Christmas”:
1) Not-So-Merry Mobile Apps—Official-looking software for holiday shopping, including those that feature celebrity or company endorsements, could be malicious, designed to steal or send out your personal data. Criminals can redirect incoming calls and messages, offering them the chance to bypass two-step authentication systems where the second step involves sending a code to a mobile device.
2) Holiday Mobile SMS Scams—FakeInstaller tricks Android users into thinking it is a legitimate installer for an application and then quickly takes advantage of the unrestricted access to smartphones, sending SMS messages to premium rate numbers without the user’s consent.
3) Hot Holiday Gift Scams—Advertisements that offer deals on must-have items, such as PS4 or Xbox One, might be too good to be true. Clever crooks will post dangerous links, phony contests on social media sites, and send phishing emails to entice viewers to reveal personal information or download malware onto their devices.
4) Seasonal Travel Scams—Phony travel deal links and notifications are common, as are hackers waiting to steal your identity upon arrival. When logging into an infected PC with an email username and password, scammers can install keylogging spyware, keycatching hardware, and more. A hotel’s Wi-Fi may claim that you need to install software before using it and instead infect your computer with malware if you “agree.”
5) Dangerous E-Seasons Greetings—Legitimate-looking e-cards wishing friends “Season’s Greetings” can cause unsuspecting users to download “Merry Malware” such as a Trojan or other virus after clicking a link or opening an attachment.
6) Deceptive Online Games—Before your kids are glued to their newly downloaded games, be wary of the games’ sources. Many sites offering full-version downloads of Grand Theft Auto, for example, are often laden with malware, and integrated social media pages can expose gamers, too.
7) Shipping Notifications Shams—Phony shipping notifications can appear to be from a mailing service alerting you to an update on your shipment, when in reality, they are scams carrying malware and other harmful software designed to infect your computer or device.
8) Bogus Gift Cards—An easy go-to gift for the holidays, gift cards can be promoted via deceptive ads, especially on Facebook, Twitter, or other social sites, that claim to offer exclusive deals on gift cards or packages of cards and can lead consumers to purchase phony ones online.
9) Holiday SMiShing—During the holidays, SMiShing is commonly seen in gift card messages, where scammers pose as banks or credit card companies asking you to confirm information for “security purposes”. Some even include the first few digits of your credit card number in the SMS message to fool you into a false sense of safety.
10) Fake Charities—Donating to charities is common this time of year for many looking to help the less fortunate. However, cybercriminals capitalize on this generosity, especially during natural disaster events, and set up fake charity sites and pocket the donations.
11) Romance Scams—With so many niche dating sites now available to Internet users, it can be difficult to know exactly who the person is behind the screen. Many messages sent from an online friend can include phishing scams, where the person accesses your personal information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details.
12) Phony E-Tailers—The convenience of online shopping does not go unnoticed by cyber scrooges. With so many people planning to shop online, scammers set up phony e-commerce sites to steal your money and personal data.
To keep consumers protected and ensure a happy holiday season, McAfee has shared additional safety tips which include reviewing mobile apps carefully before downloading.
It also recommends checking the comments section and confirm the app’s legitimacy directly with the parties that the software claims are involved.
THANK YOU
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 Coming to India in first week of january. Price Below 25,000.
http://bit.ly/1fOyj4m
Samsung which is learnt to be planning more investment in India has launched Galaxy Grand 2 phablet, the successor of Galaxy Grand at a price expected to be below Rs 25,000.
Galaxy Grand 2 was globally unveiled in November. Though the company has not revealed the exact price of the device, according to the sources it could be priced between Rs 22,000 and Rs 25,000. The will hit the Indian market in the first week of January.
The Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 will be available in Black, Pink and White colour variants in select regions.
The dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 features a 5.2-inch HD TFT display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels and runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor alongside 1.5GB of RAM. It measures 146.8x75.3x8.9mm and weighs about 163 grams.
It comes with an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera accompanied by an LED flash and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 8GB inbuilt storage, which can be expanded up to 64GB through microSD card. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB and 3G (HSPA+) as connectivity options. The Galaxy Grand 2 comes with a 2600mAh battery which according to company’s claims can offer up to 17 hours of talktime.
Samsung has popular apps like Story Album, which can organise pictures by timelines; S Translator, company's proprietary translation service. It also comes preloaded with S Travel, for travel details; Samsung Hub, its content service for music, videos and games.
Samsung launched Club Samsung for its Indian infotainment content. It is digital entertainment store featuring 400,000 songs, 5,000 movies, 500 gigs and live TV with around 90 channels.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
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Thursday, October 10, 2013
Drop Cam
Dropcam's new $199 Pro model aims to be the smart home hub
You and I might see flashy new Web-cam hardware, but the maker sees the centerpiece of the connected smart home.
The 27-year-old CEO of Dropcam, the maker of a video camera that streams to the Internet 24 hours a day, is holding a shrink-wrapped box containing the next major version of that device.
On it is a simple front and side shot of the all-black camera on a white background. On the back of the box are the words "Designed by Dropcam in California. Assembled in China." It's a not-so-subtle homage to Apple. In fact, from across the room, the camera could be mistaken for an Apple product.
To the untrained eye the camera looks like the one the company began shipping last year -- but black in color and a bit thicker. As if channeling Apple some more, Duffy smiles and says not to let looks deceive me. "It looks the same outside, but everything has changed on the inside," he says.
Despite the name, the $199 Dropcam Pro is not a product aimed at taking over the enterprise. Instead, it's a new, top-of-the-line camera that can view 20 percent more of its surroundings than its predecessor -- and can do it with a sharper image, thanks to an all-glass lens.
That same lens, which was developed in house, also boasts a new "enhance" feature that comes close to sharpening up video detail like you see in movies and TV shows. (Picture some geeky engineer clicking his mouse to make an unreadable license plate come into focus, which leads to the bad guys' inevitable capture.)
To show off the feature, Duffy pulls up a decidedly less crime-ridden live video feed of the couch in the company's lobby here. He pinches the screen to zoom in on a copy of Bloomberg Businessweek that's on the table and then taps a small magic wand icon on the glowing screen of an iPad running Dropcam's app. A second later it fizzles into near-perfect clarity
It's a wow feature, and one that Duffy hopes will get existing customers to spend another $200, and entice new buyers alike. It's also an alternative response to one of the most asked-for features by Dropcam buyers -- the option to pan and zoom around the room.
Yet, instead of adding motors and a gear system, the company made the image clearer and sharper with a mix of hardware and software. According to Duffy, adding motors and a gear system to achieve the effect just adds extra costs and can end up shortening a product's lifespan.
"You have to look beyond what people are asking for and what functionality they actually want," Duffy says. "We took from that that they want more detail from anything they have in a room."
Getting that extra clarity was not easy. The new camera takes up about 10 percent more bandwidth than its predecessor. That's a far cry to where the company was when it was in the initial stages of testing, Duffy says. Earlier, the Pro was using up three to four times more bandwidth, something that was resolved with compression. That's been a constant push at the company, where three people work solely on squeezing better video into a smaller amount of space.
"Internet providers have not innovated at all, so we had to do it without a commensurate increase in video," Duffy says.
The hub at home
To you and me, the new Pro model might look like a jet-black paint job on last year's HD model with some better specs, but to Dropcam it's a Trojan horse that could unify and harmonize the onslaught of smart appliances. That's thanks to the addition of Bluetooth low energy (LE) and a new API that lets other companies tap into the Dropcam Pro's Wi-Fi connection and ferry information through Dropcam's existing app and notification service.
"Anything that can talk to your iPhone [or Android device] over Bluetooth LE is fair game for Dropcam Pro," Duffy says. "We want to integrate Dropcam with existing sensors."
That scenario could work out to display things like your home's temperature using a nearby smart thermostat, or allow you to flip your lights on and off in a room -- all through Dropcam's Web and mobile viewing tools. Perhaps one day it could be triggered to adjust home gadget settings when it detects motion, such as a person leaving or returning to the house.
For now, that vision is limited to a "if you build it they will come" type of scenario, and Dropcam's not alone. A similar such wireless networking specification made by the ZigBee Alliance, which has been around for nearly a decade, enables home-related devices to exchange data. Moreover, Nest, which makes a smart thermostat and now a smoke detector, also announced plans for a developer API last month, which could turn the Nest platform into more of a hub. In Dropcam's case, Duffy hopes its new platform will attract makers of connected security systems, light switches, and climate controls to tap into its 24/7 home presence and now fat bandwidth, thanks to the Pro's new dual-band Wi-Fi.
Cloud-powered eyeballs
Paving the road for extra types of utilities is a new set of computer vision technologies that can identify behaviors and events. This allows users to adjust what kind of alerts they want to get in real time or to see their online recording history from the past week or month.
"The first 24 hours after you plug it in, it's in learning mode," Duffy says. "It's looking at patterns of activity, not just regions. It's analyzing paths of objects and then it tries to separate it out to specific categories."
That may sound wildly creepy to some, but Duffy stresses that the video is anonymous when it's processed through the company's servers. And in return, the system promises to help cut down some of the unnecessary notifications people get from the motion alerts system. One example: A camera facing an outdoor area with some trees can learn that when the trees move, it's a frequent pattern that can be ignored.
Paired with the new Bluetooth features, Dropcam's system could add granularity, turning a simple motion alert into a notification that someone has entered the home and which door the person used. That system isn't quite ready for prime time. The company has been working on it for the past two years and plans to introduce it in early 2014.
What's next
While the Pro model may open the company to new buyers and fulfill some popular user requests, it's still limited to the indoors.
That hasn't stopped some Dropcam owners from cobbling together weatherproof housing solutions, including one owner of a public Dropcam feed pointed at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, Calif., just 20 minutes from the company's office. The owner crafted a custom acrylic box with a hole for the camera opening. The hole is sealed shut with silicone rubber. Other fan-made contraptions have been put together using PVC pipes and moisture-absorbing packets.
Duffy says he loves that people are doing this, but he has concerns about the longevity of these projects -- and about the outdoor products from other companies.
"Our standard is a decade. No camera we've seen has met that standard," Duffy says. "It has to be able to handle a Northeast winter or Texas heat."
In the meantime, Duffy reiterates that the company's goal has been to expand what it can do with existing hardware, even the older models.
"We never want to be a company that makes you upgrade your stuff," he says. "Your [2010] Dropcam Echo still works. And we still have users on that, believe it or not."
Funny words from a guy with his hands on the very new thing he's hoping you'll buy.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Digital Indians: How Ruchi Sanghvi engineered her rise
When Ruchi Sanghvi arrived at the Facebook office in California for a job interview in 2005, she found a menu card outside saying: "Looking for engineers."
The start-up was located above a Chinese restaurant in downtown Palo Alto. It was modest looking place filled with gawky engineers, black sofas, lava lamps, and walls covered with murals and movie posters.
Earlier that year, the computer science engineer from Carnegie Mellon University had fled a job with a bank on Wall Street after three weeks. "I had panicked. I wanted to be in a business that was dependent on my core skills," she says.
She had flown out to California, interviewed with Oracle and started out there, when a friend had told her about Facebook.
"I didn't know much about them. I didn't even know that they had moved to California. I thought they were still in Boston working out of Harvard dorm rooms," she says wryly.
Earlier that year, the computer science engineer from Carnegie Mellon University had fled a job with a bank on Wall Street after three weeks. "I had panicked. I wanted to be in a business that was dependent on my core skills," she says.
She had flown out to California, interviewed with Oracle and started out there, when a friend had told her about Facebook.
"I didn't know much about them. I didn't even know that they had moved to California. I thought they were still in Boston working out of Harvard dorm rooms," she says wryly.
Scooter culture
We are sitting in the hip Dropbox office in downtown San Francisco, where Ms Sanghvi, 31, works as a vice-president of operations.
Employees at the online storage firm whizz through corridors on skates and office scooters, some take time off to play pool and video games, and a plush music room is ready for a karaoke contest.
But, for the moment, we are talking about how Ms Sanghvi got the job at Facebook and became its first female engineer.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
It is difficult to do exciting things in India. There are a lot of issues and barriers, simple things like a good internet line to the office”
Ruchi Sanghvi
"When I started out in Facebook, it had only 20 people. I saw it grow to a thousand employees and from five million users to over a billion users. I saw it evolve from a service that served college students to one that served the world," she says.
"It was extremely chaotic, but it was a wonderful experience. I learnt everything there."
At Facebook, she was part of the team that developed the news feed.
How was it, I asked, being the first female engineer at Facebook?
Ms Sanghvi says she was used to being in a minority: at engineering school, she was one of the five female students in a class of 150.
But at Facebook, she says, she truly came into her own.
"You had to be opinionated, you had to make sure your point of view was heard, you had to ask questions. Sometimes people would tell you were stupid and you'd start all over again," she says.
"But it was, by and large, a meritocracy. It had one of the best environments for learning."
Employees at the online storage firm whizz through corridors on skates and office scooters, some take time off to play pool and video games, and a plush music room is ready for a karaoke contest.
But, for the moment, we are talking about how Ms Sanghvi got the job at Facebook and became its first female engineer.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
It is difficult to do exciting things in India. There are a lot of issues and barriers, simple things like a good internet line to the office”
Ruchi Sanghvi
"When I started out in Facebook, it had only 20 people. I saw it grow to a thousand employees and from five million users to over a billion users. I saw it evolve from a service that served college students to one that served the world," she says.
"It was extremely chaotic, but it was a wonderful experience. I learnt everything there."
At Facebook, she was part of the team that developed the news feed.
How was it, I asked, being the first female engineer at Facebook?
Ms Sanghvi says she was used to being in a minority: at engineering school, she was one of the five female students in a class of 150.
But at Facebook, she says, she truly came into her own.
"You had to be opinionated, you had to make sure your point of view was heard, you had to ask questions. Sometimes people would tell you were stupid and you'd start all over again," she says.
"But it was, by and large, a meritocracy. It had one of the best environments for learning."
Ruchi Sanghvi"It is difficult to do exciting things in India. There are a lot of issues and barriers, simple things like a good internet line to the office"
Ruchi SanghviThe journey from employee to entrepreneur was a complex and taxing one for an immigrant like me”
Facebook was also where she met her future husband who was the first Indian engineer the company had hired.
I ask her for a story about Mark Zuckerberg, one of the founders and chief executive. She frowns, thinks hard, and says she doesn't quite like talking about Mr Zuckerberg. Then she relents.
It's a story about how the news feed launch outraged users and nearly killed it.
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"We had less than 10 million users when news feed arrived. Mark was at a press conference (announcing it) and over a million users began protesting against it," she says.
Last year, Ms Sanghvi spoke about the time in vivid detail.
"Groups with names like 'I hate Facebook' and 'Ruchi is the devil' had been formed. People camped outside our office and demonstrated. But we realised the very people who hated it were able to spread the word because of the news feed," she told a talk.
But Mark Zuckerberg stuck to his guns, Ms Sanghvi tells me.
"Typically in any other company if 10% of your users decide to boycott a product you are obviously going to reverse the changes or do something about it. But Mark was really adamant about his vision about the potential of news feed."
When Ms Sanghvi left Facebook in 2010 after an itch to start her own company, the social networking site had more than 1,500 employees and more than 500 million users.
As a young girl growing up in India's industrial city of Pune, she had dreamt of taking over her family business.
Her father, a second generation businessman, runs a heavy engineering company. Her grandfather ran a stainless steel business. "We are an entrepreneurial family," she says.
But now, she was in the US, having studied computer science and worked at Facebook. The world beckoned.
So she went ahead and set up her own company, Cove, with her husband in 2010. There, helped by a team of engineers, they made "collaborative software" for communities and networks.
"The journey from employee to entrepreneur was a complex and taxing one for an immigrant like me," says Ms Sanghvi, who has been lobbying US authorities to ease immigration laws.
"When I started Cove, I spoke to three immigration lawyers who gave me a long checklist of things to do before my company could hire immigrations
As a young girl growing up in India's industrial city of Pune, she had dreamt of taking over her family business.
Her father, a second generation businessman, runs a heavy engineering company. Her grandfather ran a stainless steel business. "We are an entrepreneurial family," she says.
But now, she was in the US, having studied computer science and worked at Facebook. The world beckoned.
So she went ahead and set up her own company, Cove, with her husband in 2010. There, helped by a team of engineers, they made "collaborative software" for communities and networks.
"The journey from employee to entrepreneur was a complex and taxing one for an immigrant like me," says Ms Sanghvi, who has been lobbying US authorities to ease immigration laws.
"When I started Cove, I spoke to three immigration lawyers who gave me a long checklist of things to do before my company could hire immigrations
Diverse roles
Two years later, in February 2012, Cove was bought by the cloud-sharing service Dropbox.
At Dropbox, a six-year-old company with more than 175 million users, Ms Sanghvi has diverse roles. She has led hiring - "only great people can make great products," she says - and managed marketing and communications.
I ask her if she plans to do anything back home in India
At Dropbox, a six-year-old company with more than 175 million users, Ms Sanghvi has diverse roles. She has led hiring - "only great people can make great products," she says - and managed marketing and communications.
I ask her if she plans to do anything back home in India
"I'd love to do something if it was easier to do it. It is difficult to do exciting things in India. There are a lot of issues and barriers, simple things like a good internet line to the office," she says.
"It doesn't seem as easy as Silicon Valley where you have an idea you can simply execute it with hard work. But I admire folks who are doing things in India. It requires a lot grit and determination.
"You know I think I have had it pretty easy here in US actually," she adds, with a laugh. Then she skates away for her next meeting.
"It doesn't seem as easy as Silicon Valley where you have an idea you can simply execute it with hard work. But I admire folks who are doing things in India. It requires a lot grit and determination.
"You know I think I have had it pretty easy here in US actually," she adds, with a laugh. Then she skates away for her next meeting.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
BlackBerry
EXCLUSIVE - BlackBerry bidders may want to carve up business: sources
A handful of potential bidders, including private equity firms, are lining up to look at BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY.O) (BB.TO), but initial indications suggest that interest is tepid and buyers are eyeing parts of the Canadian smartphone maker rather than the whole company, several sources familiar with the situation said.
Private equity firms are mostly interested in businesses such as BlackBerry's operating system and the patents around its keyboard, two of the sources said. However, one possibility is for a Canadian pension fund to team up with an investor to buy the whole company, which is currently worth a little more than $5 billion, one of the sources said.
BlackBerry's biggest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (FFH.TO), has approached several large Canadian investment funds about forging a deal to take the smartphone maker private, Reuters reported last week.
Fairfax has a 10 percent stake, and its chairman and chief executive, Prem Watsa, has left BlackBerry's board already to avoid any possible conflict of interest as the company assesses its strategic options.
Nevertheless, in recent days a few private equity firms have signed confidentiality agreements or have agreed to meetings with the company to gain access to the company's books, the sources said, adding that the sale process was expected to start in a few weeks.
BlackBerry declined to comment.
The apparent lack of interest among private equity firms in the whole company underscores the challenges BlackBerry has been facing in competing with rivals such as Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone and devices using Google Inc's (GOOG.O) Android technology.
Its new BlackBerry devices hit store shelves this year just as the high-end smartphone segment was showing signs of saturation in markets such as the United States. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) recently reported results that fell shy of expectations, while Apple earlier this year reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade.
The new BlackBerry device has so far failed to gain traction with consumers, and the company - which pioneered mobile email with its first smartphones and email pagers and was once a stock market darling - has seen its shares plummet. Its market value has fallen to $5.4 billion, from $84 billion at its peak in 2008. Shares closed down 1.4 percent at $10.28 on the Nasdaq on Friday.
Last month, the company said it was weighing its options, which could include an outright sale, after Reuters first reported that company's board was warming up to the possibility of going private.
Industry sources said several of the biggest private equity firms and some of the Asian hardware makers had decided against a deal for the company. Still, the sources added some BlackBerry's assets could be of interest to buyers.
According to analysts, BlackBerry's assets include a shrinking, yet well-regarded services business that powers its security-focused messaging system, worth $3 billion to $4.5 billion; a collection of patents that could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion; and $3.1 billion in cash and investments.
Even at a conservative estimate, that is more than the company's $5.4 billion market value. Analysts said the smartphones that bear its name have little or no value and it might cost $2 billion to shut the unit that makes them.
Many hurdles remain to a deal. Private equity firms have circled the company for more than two years and have tried without success so far to figure out ways to structure a deal.
Moreover, Ottawa reviews any big takeover of a Canadian company for competitive and national security reasons. Government officials have often said they want BlackBerry to succeed as a Canadian company, but concede they do not know how things will play out.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Future technology
Ten Future Technologies That Will Revolutionize Your Next Car
1.) Alternative fuels
Until we all hold our breath for Citroën to work out its high pressure air-hybrid system, let's talk about current technologies. Basically, fossil fuels won't lost long and it kills those precious pandas, hydrogen needs massive containers and has no infrastructure, while batteries are heavy without providing enough range. Whoever comes up with a cheap green petrol (ha-ha!) will be the next king of the universe.
2.) The self driving car
Purists can say whatever they want, but with CVTs, sensors and self-parking cars already on the roads, we have to face the fact that most people just don't feel like driving, not to mention the problem of constant traffic jams. For those who just want to get to their destination as quickly and comfortably as possible, Google and other companies are working on a solution. But what will the feds do?
3.) Camless engines
4.) Affordable carbon fiber
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Pushing down the price of lightweight materials like carbon fiber is the only way car makers can improve fuel economy significantly. Just ask Lamborghini.
5.) Predictive suspension
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For a fair bit of money, you can get an adaptive suspension with magnetic dampers nowadays. That's fantastic, but how going one step further?
6.) KERS
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If it works in racecars and high-end supercars, it should do well in your grocery getter as well. Somethingwittyer is the Anti-Grammar Hammer tells us about the benefits of a KERS flywheel system:
7.) Utilization of waste heat
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An internal combustion engine generates a lot of heat energy, most of which goes to waste. While regenerative braking is a great way to save some of that, we could do much better at improving efficiency by harvesting more of that grilling power, especially from the exhaust gases.
8.) Rev-matching manuals
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Car makers claim manuals are dying because they are inefficient, but that's hardly true. With a rev-matching stick shift, you get the most out of the engine without being Walter Röhrl. The 2014 Corvette Stingray is getting the technology, but why don't all new cars
9.) Head-up display as standard
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If you've ever driven a car with HUD, you know how much safer it is. You don't have to shift focus and your eyes are can stay on the road thanks to all the important information projected to your windshield. This is probably one of the best thing that came out of fighter jets.
10.) Solar chargers
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Fisker might be dead, but some of the Karma's technologies should really make it into the mainstream. Solar panels can charge the battery, power the air conditioner or the infotainment system as long as it's sunny. It's a great way to improve your mileage without sacrificing performance. Sure, you can have it as an option on your Prius, but why isn't it standard equipment?
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