Google PUNISHES Itself

When you search for "browser" on Google, you won't see Chrome until position 50.

          

           Google has demoted its Chrome home page in results for a search using the keyword "browser" following an effort to have bloggers promote the Google browser that backfired. Now, there is no Chrome ad at the top of the results or link to the Chrome page anywhere on the first page of results on Google. It's ranked in position 50. 

           According to Google's statement,

"We've investigated and are taking manual action to demote www.google.com/chrome and lower the site's PageRank for a period of at least 60 days.We strive to enforce Google's webmaster guidelines consistently in order to provide better search results for users. While Google did not authorize this campaign, and we can find no remaining violations of our webmaster guidelines, we believe Google should be held to a higher standard, so we have taken stricter action than we would against a typical site."

           The demotion is a response to a campaign in which bloggers were found posting low-quality content related to Google Chrome in an effort to promote a Google video about King Arthur Flour. At least one of the posts had a hyperlink to the Chrome download page, which can help a site rise in Google search results through Google's PageRank algorithm. But paying people to include such links violates Google's guidelines.

Google and Facebook were dominant websites in 2011

          Online giants, Google and Facebook came out as the most-visited websites of 2011. Meanwhile, Yahoo, which has struggled with corporate and financial problems, was the third-most-visited website. 

               Google was the most-visited website in 2011, with an average of more than 153 million unique visitors per month. Facebook was second with more than 137 million, and Yahoo was third with 130 million. Microsoft sites, including MSN, Windows Live and Bing, came in fourth with nearly 116 million unique monthly visits. Google-owned YouTube rounded out the top five with more than 106 million visits.

                Yahoo, which has fallen from its once lofty position as an Internet pioneer, has been in a state of flux. This past September, with revenues falling and some top talent leaving, Yahoo's board of directors fired then-CEO Carol Bartz. Once Bartz was out, speculation bloomed that Microsoft, which made a failed bid for Yahoo back in 2008, is once again looking to scoop up Yahoo. And then talk began that Google, possibly just to keep Yahoo out of Microsoft's clutches, was also interested in buying Yahoo.

           For social networks, Facebook was the top dog in 2011 with more than 137 million unique visitors per month, according to Nielsen. Blogger.com came in a distant second with nearly 46 million, and Twitter was in third place with more than 23 million. WordPress, with more than 20 million, and MySpace, with nearly 18 million, rounded out the top five. Google's new social network, Google+, was in the eighth spot, even though it didn't launch until late June.

Dropbox

A pretty outdated topic to post!!!
Bu sure an important application that many do not know about!!

"Dropbox" culture can be effectively used to share or save your files over the net.
This works on the now popular CLOUD computing concept.
You just have to drop the files you need to share/save online into the dropbox folder of your computer and the rest is taken care of.

You will have to download and install the application (14MB approx.) on your system.
A folder appears where specified by the user.
Every time you drop files into the folder, the files do get saved online on the cloud!!!
So even in case of loss of data on your system, they can very well be recovered. Thats happy news fellas...

In case of the need for sharing, all you have to do is, share the online link of the uploaded file with the other person and instantly, he is ready to download the file!! As easy as that...


How much can I store???
Well, with the option of FREE storage, one can store/share upto 2 GB of files on the cloud.
Thats generosity!!!!

When you need space in excess of that, all you need is to check out for the attractive plans and select the one best suited for you!!!


For more details and to start dropping, visit
www.dropbox.com 

India's Equivalent of The Likes of IPad

If you thought the Indian HRD ministry's attempt at making that $35 (Rs. 1,500) laptop is pure government fantasy and the usual pep talk we see from the Indian government, be ready to be surprised. Not only does the tablet exist in a prototype form, it actually works pretty well - and how!

Before I start, let's take a look at the brief history behind the story. The first time we heard of the tablet was last month when the HRD ministry, out of no where announced its plans to bring this $35 wonder to the student community of India. Back then, it was welcomed with the usual suspicion and skepticism that the Indian and world media has regarding anything that is remotely connected to the Indian government.

A month on, when all the hype about the tablet was just about to die, folks from NDTV Gadget Guru managed to scoop an interview with HRD Miniter Kapil Sibal (if you don't know who he is, you REALLY need that tablet) who carried the tablet with him to the studios. And that resulted in the first video hands on of the device. Our first impressions?

Well, it's no beauty contest contestant. The looks are nothing much to home about. If you were expecting something curvy like the iPads or the JooJoos or the Notion Inks of the world, be prepared for a nasty, boxy surprise. But hey, this is no lifestyle product. This is pure utilitarian stuff so if it does the job, that should suffice.

The hardware on this thing is pretty impressive by the looks of it. I am not sure what processor does the number crunching inside but it looks quite meaty to handle most tasks thrown at it. It has 2GB of RAM which is quite sufficient for web browsing, the occasional video streaming and document editing tasks that this is expected to do. The tablet is particularly impressive when it comes to connectivity options. Apart from Bluetooth, it seems to have all you need - ranging from Wi-fi, USB ports, Video out and SD card slots to SIM card slots for 3G ready connectivity. There is a camera at the rear (the megapixel count is still under wraps) that should suffice for normal photography. Besides, I don't expect anyone to take this on an African Safari anyway - so, the camera is pretty much sufficient for something that won't cost more than $35. One disappointment might be the screen which is resistive in nature. But then, for $35, it's criminal to expect a capacitive display on this - that too a 7-inch one.

On the software front, while we all thought it would run some real excuse of an OS based on Linux, I was surprised to see it running Android OS! Yes, I know Android is based on Linux as well. The good thing about this bit is the fact that there is considerable activity on the app development front when it comes to Android and this would actually make the tablet appealing to people who are just looking for a pure, no frills tablet. While the version of Android doesn't look to be the latest one, it still is pretty much usable. Also, I think it is likely that the tablet is powerful enough to get an update to Gingerbread once that arrives. Let's hope the processor is clocked at 1Ghz or more so that its eligible for the update.

Sibal, during the entire course of the interview, emphasised that the $35 price is pretty much real and that had it been under the retail sales, the price would have been considerably higher. However, this project is government subsidised and has no intention to go retail. Surprisingly, he also confirmed that he is aiming to bring the cost down to $10 later! By 2011, he expects at least a million units of the $35 tablet in the hands of Indian students. He adds that once that is done, we are ready to take the next step and take the tablet global.

What we think about this $35 wonder from India? For once, India has proved and has actually made something that isn't just there on paper or in pictures. It is pretty much real and more importantly, it works pretty well. If the idea is taken forward, there is no doubt that this will positively impact the education of millions of children who do not have access to basic computing. Think of it - an Internet tablet for under $35. Only Indians could pull off this one!

Reference: Techtree

One Laptop per Child

One Laptop Per Child has revealed that they are working on deals to sell around 1 million units of their current generation XO Laptop in the Indian market.


The laptop is designed to be used by school going children and it comes preloaded with educational material.
The device is being offered for Rs. 15000 per unit which is slightly more than what it costs in the US market.


OLPC India Foundation spoke about the new developments: “The momentum has just begun in India. We are targeting government primary schools as illiteracy in the country is in the level of primary schools”.

It added: “The Gujarat government had placed an order for 350,000 units recently. Andhra Pradesh has evinced interest in the product and we will be meeting the government officials shortly. Our India plans are what the state governments want.”

Nokia's "Listings"

Nokia has announced the launch of a new service in India. Known as "Nokia Listings". The service has been developed for the purpose of connecting buyers and sellers (or employers and job seekers)and making this process as simple as possible.


According to a blog post on Nokia Beta Labs announcing the service, Nokia highlights the fact that almost 60 percent of the hiring and consumer-to-consumer transactions, like apartment rentals, in emerging markets (like India) currently occur via word-of-mouth or through middlemen who charge a hefty commission for their services. Nokia aims to bring a digital marketplace of sorts to users of basic mobile phones (Series 40) without the need of GPRS connections. Nokia Listings enables users to buy and sell things on a digital market place, look for jobs and access local services such as auto repairs, driver services, plumbers, etc - all using their basic phones either using GPRS or SMS.

The service is currently available only in India and as of now, no registration is required to use the service. Nokia has coded a Java application which can be used to access listings. Note that while the app should work on most Java ready devices, it has been optimized for S40 handsets.

Exit Of Apple Executive Mr. Papermaster

Mark Papermaster, Apple Inc.'s senior vice president for iPhone engineering, is leaving the company, signaling a change in leadership after criticism erupted over the iPhone 4's unique antenna.


Mr. Papermaster's duties will be shouldered by Bob Mansfield, the company's senior vice president of computer engineering, Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said. He added that Mr. Mansfield already manages some aspects of Apple's mobile device technologies, such as the touch screen and A4 processing chip.

Mr. Papermaster couldn't be reached for comment, and Apple wouldn't say under which conditions Mr. Papermaster left.

The move comes after a series of uncharacteristic missteps for the popular consumer electronics maker. Earlier this year, photos of the iPhone's new design were published on a popular technology blog after an engineer allegedly left a test unit in a bar.

Then, after the phone's release, the device was dogged by complaints of reception issues related to its unique new antenna design. Apple eventually was forced to respond with a press conference hosted by CEO Steve Jobs, at which the company said it would supply free bumpers to iPhone 4 purchasers.

Mr. Papermaster joined Apple in April 2009 after the company reached an agreement with International Business Machines Corp. IBM was arguing that Mr. Papermaster, who had managed Big Blue's PowerPC chip business, shouldn't be allowed to join Apple because he had signed a noncompete agreement.


The dispute took several months to resolve. As part of the settlement, Mr. Papermaster was required to certify at a couple of prearranged times last year that he had complied with his legal obligations not to disclose IBM's confidential information.

Adopted from : The Wall Street Journal