Zebronics launches Blaster Tower Speaker at Rs 2,499.

Domestic IT peripherals manufacturer Zebronics has launched a new portable tower speaker in India. Dubbed Blaster, the speaker is priced at Rs 2,499. It is available in all retail stores in the country.



Backed with 10W total RMS power, the new Zebronics Blaster has a sleek design and comes with a LED display. Settings and navigation options can be easily toggled.

On the connectivity front, the tower speaker supports Bluetooth, USB, memory cards and Aux. There's a handy remote controller included in the mix as well.

With the various connectivity options, Zebronics' new tower speaker can be connected to a range of devices like smartphones, laptops, PCs or any other Bluetooth-enabled devices within the range of 10 metres. There are four different coloured LED lights on the front side of the speaker. The small LED display is placed at the bottom in between the control buttons.

Zebronics recently launched its Amazer Bluetooth speaker in India. Bearing a price tag of Rs 3,999, the speaker comes with integrated app-based LED lighting and music controls. Like all the other Bluetooth speakers, the Amazer also supports USB and Aux connectivity. It packs a 1,200mAh battery.

The Amazer comes in three colour variants - Gold, Silver and Grey and is available across all retail stores in India.

Source:- Gadgetsnow.com

Facebook brings HD video upload, PIP and more to its Android app.

Facebook appears to be adding some new video-related features to its Android app through an update. The update, as mentioned by Android Police website, brings a host of new features aimed at making it easier for users to view videos even when using different apps. The ability to change view quality has also been introduced in the update.



As part of the update, it's now possible to upload videos in HD resolution. This is something that was already available with Facebook's iOS app. Android users can find the 'Upload videos in HD' option under the app Settings.

In what may be the biggest part of the update, Facebook has introduced the ability to view a video even if you are using another app on your smartphone.



Dubbed Picture-In-Picture, the feature works similarly to Messenger's chat heads functionality.

In addition, Facebook now lets users choose the playback quality of the videos between 360p, 240p, 144p, 108p or 72p.


The update will be reaching out to users in a phased manner.



According to several recent media reports, some Facebook users have complained of old photos and posts appearing on their timeline without their permission.



"@facebook reposted 3 of my old posts today about an hour ago without any action on my part, others are experiencing same issue @sherylsandberg," tweeted one of the users over the past weekend.

Some users have complained that the glitch appeared soon after they updated the Facebook app on iOS.

"Hey @facebook, why are you suddenly reposting my old photos after the last iOS update? Like to do that myself when I think it's fitting. Tnx," tweeted another user named @MelleKramer.

Although Facebook is yet to suggest a solution for this so-called glitch, it is said to be aware of the bug.

"We are aware of this and are investigating," a Facebook spokesperson told PCMag website.

Source:- Gadgetsnow.com

If we release data, it will create ‘chaos’ in India: Legion.

The hacker group “Legion” that broke into the Twitter accounts of the Congress Party, its Vice President Rahul Gandhi, controversial liquor baron Vijay Mallya and now TV journalists Barkha Dutt and Ravish Kumar has finally come out in the open.

In an interview with The Washington Post on Monday -- through an encrypted instant-messaging software, “Legion” said the group has access to servers like that of Apollo Hospitals and it was unsure about releasing data from those servers because it might cause “chaos” in India.

“Legion wasn’t even interested in ‘political data’ until a few weeks ago. ...the group was in possession of several terabytes of raw data concerning all sorts of ‘interests’ and that within that drove the hackers had identified gigabytes worth of information relating to Indian public figures,” the report quoted the user marked LC from “Legion Crew” as saying.

“When I asked him how they came into possession of so many data, he was vague, and said they just ended up with access to over 40k+ servers in India, ‘and we decided -- hey, why not write a tool to sift through them for interesting data’,” said Max Bearak who writes about foreign affairs for the Washington Post.

“He said the data was choosing the targets for them, not the other way around. Whatever they were finding, they aimed to release. From Dutt’s Twitter account, they shared a link to a ‘partial’ data dump of approximately 1.2 gigabytes of her emails,” Bearak said.

“Legion” has warned that their next target is former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi.

“As for upcoming targets, LC indicated that he and his fellow hackers had their sights set on bigger things,” the report said.

“Then again, he said, the hacking was taking away from precious time he’d rather spend doing drugs and making electronic music... He said he particularly disliked spending time in India’s capital, New Delhi and suggested that he might try to go to Russia -- to do some more drugs,” it added.

As they hacked the Twitter accounts from India, the group sought public support claiming that they will be doing more such cracking in the coming weeks.

“People and brothers who support the cause - Join us! Email us at legion_group@sigaint.org. We require info on f***tards like this one,” a tweet said earlier.

“Support Legion. We will bring you the info needed to bring these criminals to justice,” it said.

“This is just a partial dump. More data will be coming over the course of a few days ;) We are Legion,” another tweet from the shadowy group said.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Xiaomi unveils Mi VR Play, Mi Live app in India.

Chinese smartphone maker company Xiaomi on Monday launched its entry-level VR (virtual reality) headset “Mi VR Play” and live-streaming “Mi Live” app in India.

The Rs 999 Mi VR Play is a lightweight device that is certified to work with Google Cardboard apps.

‘Mi VR Play’ is an entry-level product that seeks to bring the VR experience to a much wider audience. ‘Mi VR Play’ is set to make a huge impact in India where VR is still in its infancy,” the company said in a statement.

The “Mi Live” app is the only live-streaming app in India to support VR live streaming.

“MI VR Play” will be available on Mi.com and other offline channels from December 21.

“Mi Live” is available for Android users at the Google Play Store.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Legion: Meet the hackers who broke into Rahul, Barkha Dutt’s Twitter accounts.

A hackers’ group called Legion has repeatedly breached the Twitter accounts of some well-known Indians, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and prominent journalist Barkha Dutt.

Legion has not posted any classified information on the hacked accounts but has threatened to expose email communications among Congress party leaders in the new year. The group has also threatened to expose Dutt’s private emails. Earlier this month, they posted Vijay Mallya’s personal details on his Twitter handle, vowing to bring to justice the fugitive industrialist who has defaulted on at least Rs 7,000 crore bank loans.

Here is some detail about the hackers’ group:

What is Legion?

It is a coalition of like-minded hackers based out of five countries – the United States, Sweden, Canada, Thailand and Romania, according to the Delhi police’s cyber crime cell. The group seeks to expand its activities, leaving its email id -- legion_group@sigaint.org – for more hackers to join their campaign.

Are they connected with Legion of Doom of the 1980s?

The group does not appear to have any links with the hackers’ group Legion of Doom (LoD) that targeted rich and famous people’s email accounts in the mid-1980s. LoD remained active till the early 2000s. However, the two groups appear to share ideological goals in targeting what they say are the rich and corrupt. LoD was founded by US-based hacker Lex Luthor after he broke away from the Knights of Shadow.

Why do they hack people’s accounts?

Legion fancies itself as cyber vigilantes working to expose the corrupt. But the group is yet to bolster their anti-corruption crusader credentials, given that it has so far offered very little valuable information.

How does Legion operate?

Legion communicates through email servers and browsers that are shielded against surveillance. In other words, it does not use Google Chrome or Internet Explorer but a browser called The Onion Router (TOR), which is difficult to track (provides anonymity) and allows a user to communicate directly with another one. This is also called the darknet, a platform often used by activists and journalists seeking to avoid a surveillance dragnet.

Are there other such hackers’ groups?

Yes. Anonymous is another loosely associated international network of activist and hacktivists which started operating in 2003. The group’s website describes it as “an Internet gathering” with “a very loose and decentralised command structure that operates on ideas rather than directives”. The group became known for crashing websites of governments, corporates and religious groups. Anonymous members (known as “Anons”) use the Guy Fawkes mask as their emblem.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Trump pushes back against call to probe Russian role in US polls.

Even with Republicans joining the call for investigating Russian interference in the US election, President-elect Donald Trump is pushing back, questioning the intelligence community’s combined wisdom and conclusion about Moscow’s role.

According to multiple reports that haven’t been denied yet, the growing call for a probe could imperil Trump’s plans, to appoint ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has ties with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, as secretary of state.

“Unless you catch ‘hackers’ in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn’t this brought up before the election?” Trump tweeted on Monday morning, omitting to mention that it did come up before.

The US formally accused Russia of directing “the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organisations” in October, but Trump, who was behind in polls then, may not have noticed.

“Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called a conspiracy theory!” Trump said in another tweet, getting right into the middle of the fight.

Trump and his advisers have pushed back hard against reports of Russian interference, even at the risk of been seen as questioning their own intelligence community, which has been noticed and commented on even by many conservatives.

And there are conspiracy theorists who are never too far behind in the Trump train. John Bolton, a former UN ambassador and contender for deputy secretary of state, has said the hacking was a “false flag” operation by the Obama administration.

Trump’s Monday morning tweets could have been caused by two senior Republican senators joining their Democratic colleagues in calling for an investigation into Russian interference, which Moscow has dismissed as “ridiculous”.

“Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American,” Republican senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain said in a joint statement with Democratic senators Charles Schumer and Jack Reed.

“Democrats and Republicans must work together, and across the jurisdictional lines of the Congress, to examine these recent incidents thoroughly and devise comprehensive solutions to deter and defend against further cyber attacks.”

President Barack Obama has already ordered a “full review” of the reports and the evidence intelligence agencies claimed to have found of Russian interference. He has asked for a report before his term is up, in a few weeks.

The CIA told lawmakers in a secret briefing last week that it has found evidence not only of Russia’s interference but also its motive, which, it said, was to undermine Hillary Clinton and help Trump win the presidency.

US intelligence found the hackers had accessed the Republican Party’s computer network but did not release the stolen data as they did with those from the Democratic Party, passing it on, through intermediaries, to WikiLeaks.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Social media turns good medicine for doctors, hospitals.

When Debraya Mukherjee admitted his 67-year-old mother Kabita in Fortis Hospital at Anandapur, Odisha, for a spinal cord decompression surgery, he was little aware of the ordeal that he would have to go through. After the operation, his mother became immobile for a prolonged period. Mukherjee voiced his discontent at a consumer complaint forum, which was later posted on Facebook, on a page named ‘Avoid Fortis Hospital Noida’. The page describes itself as a community to connect those who lost their loved ones due to negligent treatment. It has over 1,200 followers.

Fortis did not comment on the particular Facebook page.

The hospital, however, has a team of three people handling the content on social media and is also working with a digital marketing agency to improve its presence. “Comments on social media offer us scope to improve. Our ratio of bad versus good posts remains 15:35; all posts are interactive,” says Gaurav Dudeja, chief marketing officer at Fortis Hospitals.

Mukherjee is not alone.

Social media – WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Viber – is slowly evolving into more than a platform for sharing pictures, videos and chats. From searching doctors to posting feedback about hospitals and treatments, they are helping doctors reach out to patients, guide them for treatments, provide post-surgery counselling and create close-knit support communities.

Sample this.

Lucknow-based Taqi Hassan recently underwent a complex life-saving surgery at the Fortis Flt Lt Rajan Dhall Hospital, with the help of funds raised through social media appeals. Hassan received R8 lakh through donations by communities from the US and Australia, which was used to remove a tumour on the forehead.

At Max Super Speciality Hospitals in the Capital, WhatsApp has connected several breast cancer patients with specialists, who are available for counselling round the clock.

Doctors at New Delhi-based Indian Spinal Injuries Centre frequently use WhatsApp, Skype and Viber to reach out to patients for post-surgery counselling and rehabilitation training.

BLK Superspeciality hospital has created its own WhatsApp group for bariatric patients to stay in touch with surgeons and dietitians.

Dr Lal Path Labs, a diagnostic chain, has recently opened a new department to handle queries on social media and drive positive conversations around the brand. “We are boosting our presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and Instagram. It is a way forward for any business,” says Om Manchanda, CEO, Dr Lal Path Labs.

According to a recent report by marketing and analytics firm Hansa Cequity, “there are over 100 million Indians who use social media networks and the numbers are only increasing by the day. This phenomenon creates the opportunity for healthcare service providers to engage with customers at a more personal level.”

“Hospitals are increasingly using blogs as a tool for customer rating and feedback. Some organisations also allow users to blog about their experiences on the company blog or link the blogger’s personal blog to their company website. Prospective customers always see more value in peer reviews, compared to company generated content such as the advertisements,” the report titled ‘How Digital Can Transform Healthcare Relationships’ states.

“Social media is pervading businesses across industries. It is shaping public opinion and eventually transforming the overall business ecosystem,” says S Swaminathan, CEO and co-founder, Hansa Cequity.

Social media platforms also generate data, which can be analysed by healthcare companies to improve services.

“The online platform provides huge conversations around all diseases, quality of healthcare providers, pharma companies etc. Digital is bridging knowledge around healthcare needs. Also, it helps plot trends around what people look for, search and is concerned about,” adds Swaminathan.

Source:- Hindustan Times

Worrying when market leader is in loss: SpiceJet CMD.

SpiceJet’s record average passenger load factor of 92% for 19 months in a row is not a consequence of low fares, Ajay Singh, CMD SpiceJet, tells HT in an interview.Excerpts:

Q. Rivals have taken potshots at your load factors saying you sell below costs. Comments?

A. If that is true, how can I have seven quarters of profit? Today, at an operating level, SpiceJet made a profit even in a very weak Q2. If I was selling below cost how would I be making a profit? Clearly, I am not. Our average fares amongst the low-cost airlines are amongst the highest. The load factor is not a consequence of low fares.

Q. Jet fuel prices are going up. Is it a cause for concern?

A. There are some concerns. We remain the most highly taxed aviation sectors in the world. Input costs such as fuel and airport are very high and these costs continue to increase. Demonetization has led to some concerns as there is a fall in demand. Q2, of course, is the traditional weak quarter in the year but even in a traditionally weak quarter to see the market leader make a loss at an operating level is not a healthy sign for the industry. We need to work very aggressively with the government and all our peers to reduce cost in the aviation space so that we can all grow profitably.

Q. You said the market leader made an operating loss in Q2. Can you elaborate?

A. It’s a well-known fact and it’s not anything hidden. In their documents, you can see that a significant amount of money is coming in terms of engineering credits, which is another name for sale and lease back profit, and in terms of finance income. Remove these, and you will see an operating loss. This is a worrying thing when at an operating level the largest airline in the country makes an operating loss, even if it is in a weak quarter. We must work together to create an industry where we can lower costs, lower fares, stimulate the market and still be profitable.

Q. So you think the attacks on SpiceJet’s load factors are unfair?

A. It’s completely unfair, completely wrong. We have clearly shown that we continue to make profits at an operating level whereas some of the other airlines can’t say that. The load factors are happening but profits are also happening continuously.

Q. Do you feel you are falling behind since IndiGo’s market share has touched an all-time high of 42.6% whereas yours is at 12.9%?

A. They are inducing capacity. What is there to be worried? It should be clear that there is no anti-competitive behaviour. As long as that is clear it is for everybody to go on their own strength.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Irregularity in transactions: Not cancelling Axis Bank licence, RBI clarifies.

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday denied a media report that authorities were preparing to cancel the licence of Axis Bank Ltd over irregularities in transactions relating to the exchange of high-value banknotes.

“The clarification comes in the background of rumours in a segment of the media that the bank was likely to lose its banking licence,” the RBI said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last month that 500-rupee and 1,000-rupee bank notes worth a total of Rs 15.44 trillion ($229 billion) were to be scrapped in a bid to crack down on the shadow or black economy and prevent counterfeiting.

People have scrambled to exchange and deposit the old bank notes since then, leading to long queues at banks. Tax officials and law enforcement agencies have unearthed malpractice and breach of rules in some cases.

Axis Bank, the country’s third-biggest private sector lender by assets, earlier on Monday dismissed a report in local Hindi newspaper “Dopahar” that suggested the bank could lose its licence over alleged money laundering activities, calling it “false and mala Fide”.

“We firmly believe that said news is intended to spread panic amongst the general public, demoralise the staff and damage the reputation of the bank,” the lender said in a stock exchange filing.

Axis Bank, which says it has suspended 24 employees so far over alleged wrongdoing, has appointed KPMG to conduct a forensic audit. Senior bank officials were also conducting a parallel probe, it said last week.

Shares in Axis closed 2.5% lower at Rs 445.10 a share in a Mumbai market that fell 1.1 %.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Cyrus Mistry removed as director of Tata Industries.

Cyrus Mistry has been removed as the director of Tata Industries, a Tata Sons spokesperson said on Monday, commenting on a development that will further escalate a boardroom battle that erupted after Mistry’s sacking as head of the $103-billion business empire.

At an extraordinary general meeting, Mistry was removed from the unlisted Tata Industries by shareholders’ vote. Hence, he ceased to be the chairman of the company, sources said.

This move was likely to impact the voting at the December 13 extraordinary general meeting of software major and group jewel Tata Consultancy Services.

Tata Sons has called for the meetings to decide on the resolution for replacing Mistry as chairman or director of group companies since the former group chairman did not step down even after his unceremonious ouster.

Tata Sons said in October that it decided to replace Mistry as chairman, a shock announcement that stunned many. Ratan Tata, the patriarch of the salt-to-software conglomerate, took over as interim chairman while a company-appointed search panel was formed to find a replacement.

Ratan Tata later told shareholders that the continued presence of the ousted executive in respective boards is a serious “disruptive influence”, and can make companies “dysfunctional”. For his part, Mistry accused the veteran industrialist of being insecure about his “legacy”.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Take strict action against employees if they indulge in wrongdoing: FinMin to banks.

The finance ministry has written to the chiefs of all public sector banks, asking them to take strict action against any official found to be indulging in malpractices. Warning against firm action in case of deviation, the ministry has asked lenders to ensure that each bank employee follows the guidelines scrupulously.

The ministry has also written to the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) on the issue.

The ministry said all records of currency transactions, including deposits and withdrawals in the wake of the demonetization exercise, must be duly maintained with accuracy.

Several banks, including private sector lenders, have come under the scanner of the taxman for alleged malpractices.

The ministry has asked all banks to educate customers too.

Banks have also been asked to communicate in local languages. “..banks may clearly display a prominent sign (including in the local language) in their respective branches requesting their customers to fill-up deposit slips, clearly indicating old and new currency and the denomination of the notes,” a statement issued by the ministry said.

Bank chiefs and the IBA have been asked to submit a report on the same by December 16.

The finance ministry recently said that as many as 27 officials engaged with various public sector banks have been suspended, and six transferred to non-sensitive posts after reports of misconduct. Several officials of Axis Bank and HDFC have also been suspended for indulging in unfair practices.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

2016 can be considered as the beginning of VR revolution, say filmmakers.

The first wave of virtual reality cinemas, heralding what their creators claim will be an entertainment revolution, rolls out across the world this month.



The first screening room in France opened Wednesday and several others are promised for Beijing, Shanghai and Los Angeles in the next few weeks.

Like the early days of cinema, virtual reality -- or VR -- is still something of a novelty sideshow.



But not for long, its supporters claim.



"Film as we know it will be dead in the next five to 10 years," said the founder of the world's first VR cinema in Amsterdam.



"It's a whole different way of telling the story. I think it is really what we are moving towards in the entertainment world," Jip Samhoud told AFP.



Elisha Karmitz, who is behind the MK2 screening room in Paris, insisted "that the VR revolution is already happening.



"2016 is year zero of this revolution," he added.



In a glass cube inside an MK2 cinema near France's national library, viewers can choose between HTC Vive, Playstation VR and Oculus Rift headsets, or they can go for "full body immersive" simulators.



For 12 euros ($13) you can feel what it is like to fly like a bird for 20 minutes through a forest of New York skyscrapers in the film "Birdly".

Flap your wings
Lying flat on your stomach suspended from the ceiling, you change direction with electronic "wings" placed on your arms, and speed up by flapping them faster.



MK2, which has signed a deal with the acclaimed Chinese film director Jia Zhangke to produce more content, predicts that with the cost of producing VR film falling, its time is coming fast.



Keen not to be left behind, Hollywood is also investing in the technology, with a few minutes of the new "Assassin's Creed" film already available in VR. There is also a "Star Wars"-inspired game in which the viewer becomes an X-wing fighter pilot like Luke Skywalker.



Analysts argue that more and more conventional films will be released with spin-off VR sequences.



US 3D giant IMAX announced earlier this year that it is planning to open six VR locations worldwide in malls and multiplexes, with the first destined for Los Angeles.



Its first British VR centre is due to open in Manchester later this month, with another expected in China.



The VR headsets it will use -- created by Swedish company Starbreeze -- give a 210-degree field of vision, nearly twice that offered by Oculus Rift and HTC Vive sets, it claimed.



IMAX is also working with Google to create a cinema-quality VR camera, expected to be ready for commercial use towards the end of next year.



However with VR cinemas in their infancy, it is unclear whether gaming-based formats -- which are already hugely popular in Asia -- will dominate.



'Film changed forever'
As yet all, we have to go on is the experience of Samhoud's cinema in Amsterdam, which has welcomed 60,000 visitors since it opened in February.



His cinema has 50 custom-made chairs which turn 360 degrees so the viewer, who is given special VR glasses, can move around in their seat and watch the action around them.



"The big difference with 3D is you lean back to see the action, whereas in VR you lean forward because we are putting you right into the heart of the story," said Samhoud.



Movie-goers pay 12.50 euros for a 30-minute show, with a variety of genres on offer from horror to an environmental documentary to a kid's show where you can swim with dolphins.

Samhoud's company is now focusing on filming its own content, keen to get in on what it sees as a rapidly expanding market.

Last week it signed a deal with Chinese media giant Gome Group to distribute films to 100 VR cinemas there, with the first to open in Beijing and Shanghai in late December. Plans to expand to Russia and India are also in the works.

Whatever its future, what appears certain is that VR will change utterly the collective experience of going to watch movies.

Every person experiences a VR film differently, said Samhoud because they see it from different angles. "So I might be looking at the nice girl on the left, whereas you are looking at the painting on the right."

Source:- Gadgetsnow.com

ESET launches new internet security products for home users.

IT security solutions provider ESET has launched a new version of its premium line of digital security products for home users. Bearing version number 10, the new ESET Internet Security is built on the company's award-winning NOD32 technology that offers the optimal mix of detection, speed and usability.



In addition, the new product provides features including ESET Password Manager for easier and safer authentication, as well as ESET Secure Data for convenient and strong encryption.

Besides ESET Smart Security Premium, users will also be able to enjoy the brand new ESET Internet Security. For gamers, the exceptionally well-received ESET NOD32 Antivirus 10 remains the ideal suite with enhanced protection against script-based attacks.

In related news, RBI recently asked banks and companies issuing Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) to conduct special security audit saying any cyber attack could prove dampener at a time when the government is nudging people to go in for digital transactions in a big way.

With the withdrawal of legal tender characteristics of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes (Specified Bank Notes SBN), the use of alternate modes of payment, specifically e-wallets have gained momentum, the RBI said.

"While all efforts should continue to be made by entities for on boarding new customers and merchants, it needs to be borne in mind that any kind of cyber security incident affecting the digital channels/products, particularly at this juncture, may have significant system-wide ramifications and act as a dampener for the adoption of digital products by public at large," the central bank said.

Source:- Gadgetsnow.com

Google, Facebook and others join hands to propel VR development.

Acer Starbreeze, Facebook Oculus, Google, HTC Vive, Samsung and Sony Interactive Entertainment have announced the formation of an international non-profit organisation, called the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA), to research and foster virtual reality technology and bring together all the players in this global industry, including consumers.

Together, partners in the alliance hope to shape the future of virtual reality by developing this emerging industry and taking it forward in synergy with consumers. This implies making all of their debates and their most advanced research available to web users, while also taking on board user feedback.

"The goal of the Global Virtual Reality Association is to promote responsible development and adoption of VR globally," said the GVRA. "The association's members will develop and share best practices, conduct research, and bring the international VR community together as the technology progresses."

The firms who have signed up to this new and powerful association see virtual reality as an IT platform in its own right, with the potential to play key roles in sectors such as education and healthcare, for example.

It's still early days fort the virtual reality industry and the high prices of the first VR headsets on the market (the PlayStation VR starts at $399 and the HTC Vive sells for $799) could prove a brake on sales, even during the holiday period.

Source:- Gadgetsnow.com

Flipkart still the leader in smartphone sales: Report.

Online retailer Flipkart strengthened it's no. 1 position in the smartphone market on the back of high-selling models from Xiaomi and Motorola, taking away share from rivals Amazon and Snapdeal.



Flipkart had a 45% share of smartphones sold online in India in the quarter ended September, up 5 percentage points from the share it had in the three months ended June, according to data from Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

No. 2 Amazon lost share sequentially to 30% from 32% and so did third-placed Snapdeal, whose share dropped to 16% from 18%, Counterpoint said. Amazon disputed the findings, saying its sales had been "phenomenal." Snapdeal did not comment. Flipkart cited data from research firm International Data Corporation to claim a 60% share in the smartphone segment in July-September.

"Though numbers of exclusive launches for Amazon and Flipkart was the same du ring the third quarter, but hero models like Redmi 3S Prime, Moto E3 Power, Redmi 3s on Flipkart helped it regain market share," said Pavel Naiya, a research analyst at Counterpoint. "In terms of supply chain, Flipkart also has better grab outside metro and tier-1cities compared to Amazon."

The research firm said Paytm had a market share of 3%, followed by Mi.com and Tata Cliq at 2% each, tied for fifth place.

The volume of online smartphone sales expanded 30% to 11 million on-year in the quarter ended September. Analysts at Counterpoint expect online sales growth in 2016 to slow to 10%-12.5% on year, mainly due to the demonetisation announced in November, which led to a cash crunch and kerbed discretionary purchases.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Government to launch 19 e-governance schemes for Digital India initiative.

Giving more teeth to the conduct of foreign policy, MEA will launch 19 e-governance schemes over the next few months keeping with PM Modi's Digital India initiative to digitise several of its activities including effective cyber security mechanisms, the database for foreign diplomats in Delhi and create the possible database for all non-resident Indians.



MEA 's goal is to launch 19 e-governance initiatives by the next financial year and efforts are being made on a war-footing, persons familiar with the developments told ET. Among the key initiatives will be a stronger cyber security mechanism for ministry websites.

Recently a 17-year-old hacker exposed flaws in Indian diplomatic missions' websites that allowed intruders to gain access to non-public information. The hacker used an identity -Kaputsky.

Kaputsky has broken into websites of Indian diplomatic missions in eight countries. He had posted on a website some personal information of 418 people registered with Indian Consulate in New York,that he claimed he got by intruding into its website.

In addition to the New York consulate, Kaputsky had allegedly broken into websites of Indian diplomatic missions in South Africa, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Italy, Switzerland and Romania and put some information he had taken from there on pastebin.com, which is open for public posting of infor mation.Kaputsky, who said he is a student in Tokyo, claimed, "It took me only three seconds to gain access to their database."

The personal information from the New York Consulate General that was posted on pastebin.com was later removed.

Source:- Gadgetsnow.com

Microsoft India software revenue shoots up 50%.

Satya Nadella seems to have a golden touch.Not only has he transformed Microsoft, the company's revenue in India from its flagship software products business surged by 50% last year.The overall revenue grew by 100%, helped by the launch of its mobile devices business in that year, the business it acquired from Nokia.



Microsoft Corporation India's standalone turnover rose to $912 million (Rs 6,201 crore) in 2015-16, from $457 million (Rs 3,111 crore) in the previous year, as per filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). This means if the revenue grows just 10% this year, it will touch $1 billion.The company's net profit and cash on books more than doubled to $40 million and $199 million respectively .

The retail software products business grew to $612 million (Rs 4,168 crore), from $410 million (Rs 2792 crore).Revenue from services grew to $46 million, from $39 million, an 18% growth. Revenue from search online advertising grew to $9.6 million, from $7.32 million, a 31% growth. And revenue from mobile devices & accessories was $238 million, up from zero the previous year.

Microsoft India recently said it has been a year of tremendous cloud adoption in the country . It launched data centres in India late last year. Microsoft India chairman Bhaskar Pramanik said 52 of the top 100 Indian companies listed on the BSE today use the Microsoft cloud.Cloud adopters include HDFC, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Fortis Healthcare, Apollo Hospitals and Na Narayana Health. Pramanik said e-commerce pioneers Paytm, JustDial and Snapdeal are using its machine learning technologies and digital assistant Cortana.

Nadella is credited with turning the company around focusing on its cloud offerings such as Office 365 and Azure. He is also increasingly focusing on how artificial intelligence can change the game for businesses to automate routine tasks across industries. "In fact, AI is already working on your behalf to predict and automate tasks in many of the products you use today , such as handwriting recognition in Windows 10, the facial recognition in Windows Hello feature, voice recognition of Cortana, language translation in Skype and the input recognition in the SwiftKey keyboard on your iOS or Android devices," he said in a recent investor call.

In India last year, revenue from software product licenses and fully packaged products contributed 67% of overall revenue, mobile devices accounted for 27%, and revenue from service and search was 5% and 1% respectively .

Courtesy:- Gadgetsnow.com