Techno Sider

There's no question that mobile mapping software on a phone can be a very cool thing, but if you don't have a GPS-enabled phone, it can also be incredibly tedious: to plot a route or figure out what's nearby, you have to laboriously determine and enter your own location, and then (potentially) the address of your destination as well.

To ease your frustration, Google has added a new beta My Location feature to its Google Maps for Mobile service: even if you don't have a GPS-enabled phone, pressing "0" will plot a blue dot on the map to show your current location. If you have a GPS phone, the blue dot is a precise little point. Without a GPS phone, the blue point is surrounded by a light blue area, indicating some uncertainty about where you are. The larger location area results from Google using information broadcast from mobile towers to get an approximate idea of where you are. Google says the algorithm, on average, can pinpoint your phone within about 1,000 meters (a little over half a mile).

Google built the service independently of mobile phone carriers by anonymously analyzing mobile signals received by Google Maps users and constructing its own database of cell towers. Using that information, Google can compare the mobile signal readings on a particular mobile phone and make a reasonable guess where that phone must be located.

The feature is available on most Web-enabled phones, including Java-enabled phones, BlackBerry devices, Windows Mobile phones, and Nokia/Symbian devices. Google is offering the service free of charge; eventually, the company hopes to tie it in with local advertising and other location-aware services.

Taiwan based Genius has announced the availability of stylish accessories, the DPF-101K Digital photo keychain with photo album, in India.

Keychain is an essential product to carry vehicle, office or home keys. If you get a photo album with that, then it’s surely a best buy. Imagine you are about to attend a meeting, away from home and are dying to see your kid or loved one. And if you have a device like this, you can surely watch your favorite image and get a smile to your face.

Sandeep Ramani, Country Manager, KYE Systems (India) Corp., mentioned “This is a perfect sentimental gift for your beloved ones. You can even preload precious photo moments on Pocket Album for different entertainment occasions.” He also adds, “This pocketable digital keychain photo viewer is the answer to a wallet stuffed full of photos.”

The features of the Genius DPF-101K include a 1.0 -inch color screen, built-in flash memory to store up to 80 selected images. Moreover, the digital photo frame also has the ability to display real-time clock, temperature display alarm and calendar.

This mini digital photo album also sports CD-ROM including photo compression software and a multi-language manual. You can also set turn on/off time and manually set slideshow photo or else you can leave it on to the auto slide show photo function.

The Genius DPF-101K Digital photo Key Chain carries a suggested price of Rs. 1399 and is available with Transtek, Ingram Micro and Redington, the authorized distributors for Genius products in India.

India is at a nascent stage of gaming but holds burgeoning opportunities along with challenges, speakers at the India Gaming Summit 2007 said.


"With 57 per cent of the Indian population below the age group of 25 years, it makes India apt in terms of demographics to explore gaming. The market is eager to take on to gaming provided the cost is right and the resources are within an arm's reach," said Reliance Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney.

The main issues blocking the progress of the gaming sector are connectivity, costs and reluctance to move to the subscription model.

"If the above problems are sorted out, then the $3-5 million gaming industry will grow at a much faster pace," Sawhney said.

Although mobile has seen rapid growth, it alone can't drive the gaming industry. "We are still at a very low broadband penetration. Our target was to achieve 10 million subscribers in 2007 but we have only three million subscribers. The telecom companies are striving hard to achieve 10 million broadband subscribers by 2010," said Sawhney.

The event was organised by Zapakmail.com and Internet and Mobile association of India (IAMAI) in partnership with Intel.

The morning session included a panel discussion involving Sony Online Entertainment VP business development and international operations David Christensen and Shanda Interactive Entertainment business development director Desmond Lu. It was moderated by Level Up India MD Venkat Mallik.

Said Christensen, "The demographics in India is favourable to take gaming forward and it is good that players have already started exploring various platforms."

Speaking about the gaming industry in China, Lu said: "Virtual social communities, no software cost and lack of other entertainment choices have been instrumental in the growth that we are witnessing today. Shanda Entertainment has been leading the space with a market cap of $2 billion."

Remarking about India, Lu said, "Gaming cafes hold a lot of potential here, particularly in smaller cities as people don't have much choice for entertainment."

Google is expected to launch an online information storage service in an attempt to become the central depository for the world’s digital data.

Its new data storage facility – code-named “GDrive” – would allow users to store digital files such as music tracks and photographs on the internet and access them through any web browser.

The move will escalate the rivalry between Microsoft and Google over how best to steward the explosion in domestic digital data. Analysts agree that answers are needed to consumers’ data problems, ranging from how to keep highly sensitive information secure, to avoiding the loss of holiday photographs. It is estimated, for instance, that more than 270 billion digital photos will be taken this year.

In January Microsoft announced a hardware-based solution with its Home Server platform, a scaled-down version of the servers that companies use to store data.

A spokesman for Google, the dominant force in internet advertising, refused to be drawn on speculation that the company will release a rival web-based system in a matter of weeks. However he did say: “Storage is an important component of making web applications fit easily into consumers’ and business users’ lives.”

Last year Google inadvertently leaked an internal memo that made plain the scale of its ambitions over online data storage – a strategy that would apparently make computer hard drives all but defunct.

“With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including e-mails, web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc and make it accessible from anywhere (any device, any platform, etc),” the document said.

Google is likely to look at how to extend advertising to the service.

Privacy activists are expected to complain that Google already has access to too much information and any new data storage service would be launched into a freshly febrile atmosphere. Fears over data security soared last week when the Government lost personal details of 25 million Britons in the post. However, Google executives are so far unabashed, insisting that the public will trade access to some of its information for improved online services, such as adverts targeted to an individual consumer’s interests.

Executives at Microsoft will also be wary of Google’s plans. Analysts have argued that the long-anticipated GDrive system will make it easier for users to abandon Windows, Microsoft’s dominant operating system.

Henry Blodget, the former Wall Street analyst, who has become a technology blogger, said: “The critical element here will be seamlessness. If Google forces users to go through an inconvenient uploading process, the product will be just another easy-for-Microsoft-to-duplicate (tool).”

$300
cost of a 1-terabyte (1,000-gigabyte) hard drive by 2010, according to Microsoft

270bn
digital photos will be taken this year

79m
number of users of Gmail, Google’s e-mail service, in which stored messages are scanned for keywords to allow the delivery of targeted ads

In an exciting bid, Microsoft is launching six blockbuster titles on the 'Games for Windows' platform.

All six games are thrilling playoffs, and offer great variety of subject to explore.

Among them, "Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties" is an interesting game based on India's history -- the period of British rule, and the Great Mutiny of 1857. While "Zoo Tycoon 2 Extinct Animals Expansion Pack" takes gamers back into the Ice Age, and to a life surrounded by animals that are mostly extinct today.

"Flight Simulator X Expansion Pack" meanwhile, is for gamers who love the thrill of adventure, and to fly across the skies as an aviator on a journey of 24,000 airports across the globe. "Viva Pinata" is a crazy funny hilarious game, offering the ultimate party enjoyment.

"Gears of War" and "Age of Empires III Gold Edition" both offer jam pack action, promising enough bang for the buck in the action genre.

With these new titles, Microsoft is trying to offer a diversified portfolio of games that will cater to each and every kind of gamer.

All new games are available today onwards.

While "Zoo Tycoon 2 Extinct Animals Expansion Pack" and "Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties" are available for Rs 1,149 each; "Age of Empires III Gold", "Flight Simulator X Expansion Pack", "Gears of War", and "Viva Pinata" are each priced at Rs 1,649.

In order to make it easier to expand your friends network on Xbox Live, Microsoft has announced a new feature dubbed "Friends of Friends".

This feature will be released with the Fall Dashboard update on December 4.

"Friends of Friends" will enable users to check out the friends list of fellow Xbox Live members from the Dashboard itself.

Using this new feature, members can find old friends or connect with new ones within the Xbox Live community. They will also be able to send messages and game invites, as well as compare games and achievements.

With this, Xbox Live intends to play the role of a social networking platform for the community.

"Friends of Friends" feature will be available as the new default setting on Xbox Live and will be active with the Fall Dashboard update.

However, for those who prefer to keep their friends list private, they can change the settings beginning today by logging onto www.xbox.com/fof, and selecting one of the three options available for the Gamertag.

The three options are -- everyone (only available to members who are 18 years of age and above); friends only (available to members who are 13 years and above); and blocked (available to all members, and automatic for anyone under the age of 13).

Search categories related to music and technology continue to be among the most dangerous, according to a new McAfee report.

In its 'The State of Search Engine Safety' report, McAfee points out that one of the riskiest terms to search for on the Web is 'screensavers'.

It is learnt that nearly 42 percent of search results on the term 'screensavers' got a 'Red' warning flag or a 'Yellow' cautionary flag from McAfee SiteAdvisor.

SiteAdvisor even said that music- and technology-related Web sites have a negative impact on computers, since they often leave spyware and other malware, which could lead to a massive increase in the amount of spam generated.

Interestingly, the study revealed that while browsing porn Web sites through search engines carries an approximately 9 percent risk of infecting PCs with spyware, adware, and spam; the risk quotient jumps to nearly 19 percent when searching digital music Web sites. Other sites found to harm computers are those related to electronic gadgets, and those that offer background wallpapers.

In a statement, Mark Maxwell, Senior Product Manager for SiteAdvisor, said that the lesser risk posed by porn Web sites is due to the fact that they are already raking in a lot of money, and have no reason to indulge in such practices. On the other hand, faced with a slow electronics market, people related to such industries tend to look for additional ways to promote their products.

The study further found that queries related to file-sharing software such as 'BearShare', 'LimeWire', and 'Kazaa' posed a significant risk for computers. In fact, 'BearShare' was found to be the riskiest search term, with over 46 percent of search results marked as dangerous.