Intel® Core™2 Processor with Viiv™ Technology

When you want a sensational high-definition (HD) experience, look no further than PCs with Intel® Core™2 processor with Viiv™ technology. Built on the latest hafnium-infused 45nm dual- and quad-core processors, these systems give you performance for HD audio and video and your most demanding applications.
The cutting edge is now. Every PC with an Intel Core 2 processor with Viiv technology is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo or Intel Core 2 Quad processor to give you the performance to run demanding applications and manage your HD entertainment.
The Intel Core 2 processor with Viiv technology includes the latest Intel chipsets with most everything you need to build a multimedia PC for HD content. Experience stunning sound from movies and music with up to 7.1 surround sound capabilities enabled by Intel® High Definition Audio (Intel® HD Audio). Get full 1080P video playback for movie clips, media streams, and the latest generation of HD video cameras with optional Intel® Clear Video Technology. And explore the Internet with 1GB-capable broadband Ethernet to quickly access high-definition content. The possibilities are endless.

Make the leap into compelling game realism and life-like effects, enabling a cost-effective PC solution with built-in Intel® Graphics Technology.

Intel Graphics Technology supports the latest Microsoft DirectX* and 3D features such as Microsoft Shader Model 3.0* to enable stunning visual effects in games, such as object deformation, motion blurs, and complex animations with realistic shading, lighting, and textures.³

These 3D features are supported by the latest Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (Intel® GMA) software drivers.

• View the Intel® Graphics Technology game compatibility list

• With the dramatic improvements in Intel® Graphics Technology and Intel® processors, it's no longer necessary for most users to buy expensive add-on graphics cards. Users can pocket the difference, or spend the extra money instead on system enhancements like a more powerful CPU.

  Intel Graphics Technology is an especially smart choice if you're looking for a value platform for Microsoft Windows Vista, because you get a great built-in graphics adapter capable of the full Microsoft Windows Vista experience.¹ Plus, this cost-effective solution is ideal if you're a mainstream PC user who needs broad, modern feature support.

  Intel's solution allows the PC to connect to the latest digital display interfaces, including the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). HDMI carries uncompressed HD video and uncompressed multi-channel audio in a single cable.◊

  Intel Graphics Technology powers the next generation of PC display technology. When you buy a PC with Intel Graphics, you get a cost-effective solution with the performance you need.

INTEL DX58SO MOTHERBOARD

codename.

This new chipset will use the same ICH10(R) "South bridge chipset" as the Intel P45 (Eaglelake) chipsets, but the X58 chipset overall obviously will be drastically different.

• The X58 Express will use the new LGA1366 socket (also known as Socket B).
• No more memory controller
• Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) the interconnect between the Core i7 processor and the X58 Express.

There's another feature about the X58 chipset that will appeal the enthusiast crowds like myself as well. This will be the first (besides Skulltrail) non NVIDIA chipset based mainboard which supports SLI and Crossfire making THE choice of weaponry for future high-end upgrades as you are no longer limited towards an NVIDIA supporting SLI chipset of for that matter a Crossfire bound infrastructure.

But to get SLI support activated, the mainbord series has to be submitted (by manufacturer) and certified by NVIDIA, after which they'll open up support through their drivers. To get multi-card graphics cards support Intel obviously had to include support for at least two x16 PCI Express 2.0 slots with the option for four x8 slots to support quad-graphics cards (CrossfireX).

All in all, plenty of stuff to talk about. Over the next pages we'll take a brief look at the chipset architecture, then a photo shoot and then obviously a test or two to get these geek juices flowing.

GOOGLE

You know the Google Doodle right? We are talking about the artistic, funny graffiti you see on the Google Logo on its homepage on special occasions, dates or even birthdays of famous personalities. Ever wondered what goes behind the scenes and who designs those in the first place? Well, that's not what we're here for to discuss right now. Nevertheless, if we just pressed your curiosity button, you can read more on that here.
What we were here was to report a recent Google announcement regarding its Google Doodle contest for Indian school children. So, if you are currently a student in any school in India (between standards 1st and 10th), you are eligible to have your work of art displayed on the Google Homepage on Children's Day. (You know when that occurs, we believe!). All you need to do is to win this contest!

The theme of this competition is 'My India' and for your work to feature on the Google Homepage, all you need to do is to create a Google Doodle, with an India-specific theme in mind and impress the judges. As the theme says, you should create a doodle that represents India. You have many ideas to work on, ranging from India's culture to its advances in terms of science and technology.

Your friends over at Google are interested in seeing these representations of what India means to you and how you represent it using images. Since this happens to be a contest, there will be one winner whose work, apart from being featured on the Google Homepage, will also receive a brand new laptop and a help your school avail a technology grant of Rs. 1 lakh!

To apply, students can register online at www.google.co.in/doodle4google

Infy to use internships to attract more global talent

Infosys Technologies, India's second largest software exporter, plans to use the success of its global internship programme, InStep to attract more global talent to the company. From the launch of the programme in 1999, the company has so far trained 664 people from 41 nationalities.

"The programme, launched almost 10 years ago to create a platform for the brightest engineers from the US to understand India and our (Infosys ) business better, has now metamorphosed to cover most other countries globally. Our belief is that sooner or latter InStep will become a good conduit to recruit more and more global talents," N R Narayana Murthy , chairman and chief mentor of the Nasdaq-listed company told in Chennai on Monday.

In 2008, about 175 trainees from 27 countries joined the internship programme. This year, as of now, over 100 students have joined the programme. The company says, while at least 15-20 people from every internship batch were joining the company earlier, this number is expected to go up as it is planning to recruit more overseas talent going forward.

According to the company, once they return to their respective countries, the interns work as brand ambassadors for Infosys which helps the company promote itself as a global recruitment brand.

"Today if you go to 85 universities worldwide considered the best in those countries, you will see us present there and you will see our ex-interns. It has done wonders to us in terms of building a global brand amongst the global academia," said Sanjay Purohit, vice president and head of corporate planning.

The duration of Infosys' global internship programme targeted at young engineers and MBAs is in the range of 8-24 weeks. During the internships, the trainees are being provided monthly stipends

INDIA ANNOUNCES THE $10 LAPTOP......FOR $20

NOT the computer, just an example

With great fanfare, the Indian government announced their $10 laptop, now known as the “Sakshat” and stated that the laptop would sell for twice the planned cost … $20. Still, not to bad. And although there’s no picture of this price breaking design at the moment, here’s an overview of what’s under the hood:

The Sakshat will have about 2GB of storage, presumably flash/solid state, with WiFi, Ethernet and use only about 2 watts of power. That’s really the only information so far. No specs on what size screen (although we’re guessing it’ll be on par with an average netbook, so say about 8-10 inches), or how much on board RAM it will have, and we don’t know about it’s processor either. What we do know is that the Sakshat is expected to ship in six months. The laptop will also include free e-books of all textbooks used in the Indian School system and the government promises to pay about 25% of any broadband fees to students in college.

So, really, all we learned from this epic announcement is pretty much the name of the computer and that it’s going to cost twice as much.

KINDLE 2 IS NOW OFFICIAL

Amazon.com’s CEO Jeff Bezos finally unveiled the Kindle 2 today. Like the famous upgrade of the iPhone, the Kindle is slimmer as it is 0.36 inches thick (half as thick as the old one).

Another upgrade of the Kindle 2 is the battery life. It is approximately 25 percent larger than before, and good for two weeks without charging. The memory has also been increased at 2GB instead of the 256MB from the old Kindle.

One of the most outstanding features is the text-to-speech feature that literally allows the Kindle to read to you. Yes, the voice sounds very artificial, so you might not want it to tell you your favorite story for very long.

If that new feature doesn’t turn you on, then you might be interested in Whispersync, which allows for automatic synchronization with other Kindles. Now you can share content to both old and new versions of the Kindle, and the company plans to have Whispersync compatible with other wireless reading devices.

If you want to get the Kindle 2, you should be able to get it on February 24th. It might take a little while to ship to you, but the cost will be the same as the original: $359.

MICROSOFT STORES COMING TO YOU

It appears that Microsoft has found yet another way to dominate the market as they are starting their own line of retail stores.

Some of you are probably looking at the picture here and can’t help but compare it with Apple stores. I mean, look at the minimalist décor, and the company logo emblazed in the glass. Should we have any problem with Microsoft stealing a page from Apple’s playbook? It wouldn’t be the first time.

Ooooo, that was below the belt with that cheap pot shot at Microsoft. I suppose that I could take a lot more, because a company like Microsoft is too big not to hit. So let’s get all the Microsoft cracks out of our system.

Perhaps I should start out by making comparisons with the iPod and the Zune? That’s always good for some tech blog laughs. Or you want me to talk about how the Wii and PS3 will always be reigning the video game frontier in comparison to the Xbox 360, which is able to play outdated HD format movies?

No, it is time to stop the hating of Microsoft by ending the ridicule. Yes, Microsoft has more money than you, deal with it. It is capitalism at work! They have a product that everyone wants, and they have made money from it. If you are sick of Microsoft jokes, and want to get them out of your system, leave a comment.

As for me, I admire Microsoft’s new endeavor with my full support. By full support, I mean that I will visit them if they open up a retail outlet that is close by. I hope that each store will have the Microsoft Surface, as you can’t help but love that technology.

STANDARD UNIVERSAL PHONE CHARGER

The main association of mobile phone manufacturers, GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association) has recently announced a plan to standardize all phone chargers with a microUSB connector.

What does that mean? It means that there will no longer be a myriad number of charging cords, with all those tips that are not compatible with each individual cellular phone manufacturer.

One of the motivations of this new agreement is to stop the environmental damage caused by the waste of old cellular phone chargers. Did you know that there is 51,000 tons of cell phone chargers being discarded a year? A standardized charger could reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from this waste by 13.6 to 21.8 million tons.

Another economical and environmental improvement by the standardized charger is that they are projected to consume up to fifty percent less power.

The plan is to implement this sweeping change to the mobile phone industry by the year 2012. Isn’t when the world is coming to an end, according to some Mayan calendar? At least according to some new film by Roland Emmerich, the guy who gave us Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow.

So, by the time we have standardized phone chargers, it may be too late. Here is a list of those cellular phone companies who will be part of the deal: AT&T, KTF, LG, mobilkom Austria, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile, Vodafone, and 3 Group.

SCIENTISTS WORKING ON DEATH STAR LASER......BUT FOR ENERGY,NOT BLOWING UP

The National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is working on creating a laser which can compress and heat a single fuel capsule to more than 180 million degrees in order to trigger a thermonuclear reaction. In short, they’re building a Death Star Laser. But for good, not evil. The idea is to create a kind of miniature sun on earth that would supply “limitless, safe, and carbon free energy.”

Normally, fusion – which is the bonding together of heavy atoms to create energy – takes place in hot environments like stars, but with 192 giant lasers, the NIF is attempting to create the same kind of reaction here on earth. The reaction will be accomplished by superheating the outside of a fuel capsule contining about one millionth of a pound of deuterium and tritium. This will cause the interior of the capsule to compress while the exterior explodes much like a star does. The biggest challenge? Containing the reaction as 180 million degrees will melt just about any known substance here on earth. But the reaction itself may be the key to containing it as, according to the NIF, the reaction consumes the cooler outer region faster than the capsule can release the hotter elements, thereby containing it.

Serious ignition testing is scheduled for next year. Then its’ bound to be a horse race to see if it can beat the Hadron collider in destroying the planet.

TOUCHABLE HOLOGRAPH? ALMOST.....

It’s cool enough to have holograms, but what if you could actually touch them? This was a project that some researchers at the University of Tokyo took on, and have achieved some interesting results.

You can watch a video of what they have done after the jump, but here is a quick summary. First, they used two Wiimotes (yes, Wiimotes) to track a holographic object in realtime and space. So when that hand that you see in the picture tries to dribble that tiny ball, it responds like a real superball would.

Ultrasounds are then given so the hand can actually “feel” the impact. Experiements have shown that the ultrasounds can disrupt things from a distance, and if focused properly, they can create a sense of touch. At the end of the video is that hand underneath some raindrops, and it can apparently “feel” them.

This is definitely one of those “this could change everything” technologies, but it is still in its fetal stage. In other words, don’t be dreaming about having your own holodeck from Star Trek TNG anytime soon. By the way, I believe that technology used energy and matter conversion.

Man, I am such a geek sometimes. I’ll prove it yet again by saying that this technology reminds me of a short-lived show called Automan. It was about a guy who created a holographic man who others could actually feel. He even had an Autocar and Autoplane which were also tangible holograms.

Yeah, we are a long way holograms that we can feel. I suppose if they had this touch holograms in Star Wars, then Luke Skywalker could have felt Princess Leia saying “help me Obi-Wan Kenobi”.

Oh, that is so wrong.

ACER TO OFFER NETBOOKS POWERED BY ANDROID

Acer to launch world's first Atom based Android Netbook

Since the launch of the Google G1 smart phone running Android, there has always been talk that Android could be a great mobile platform for small notebooks. And with the popularity of Netbooks being sky high - the most popular selling computers so far this year - there has been talk that sooner or later, there will be an Android driven netbook on the market. And it looks like Acer is goin’ for it in a huge way.

Scheduled to ship this fall, the Acer Android netbook will be based on the Aspire One with the Atom processor and 10 inch screen. Unveiled at the Computex Electronics show last June, Acer showed that not only can the Aspire run Android, but it can also run in a dual boot configuration with Windows XP. This can be especially advantageous until more Android based Netbook applications come online.

Acer is the first company to offer an Android based netbook running the Atom processor, and the advantage that Android has over a Windows configuration is it’s open source community development which would translate into a more affordable netbook.

No word on how much the Aspire Android will run, but it’ll be here this Fall.

WINDOWS PHONE DESIGN BEST WEATHER STATION WE HAVE SEEN TO DATE

The Window Phone concept works this way - it comes in a translucent piece of glass while holding all the technology within to operate a cellphone alongside the ability to receive daily weather reports. Not only that, since the phone itself is transparent, it will graphically depict the day’s weather conditions directly, hence what you see above would mean it is advisable to carry an umbrella with you wherever you go. We do have one gripe about this handset though - is the battery transparent as well? How about the rest of the components - where do they fit in? If it rains cats and dogs, won’t it be hard to make out just who’s calling or read text messages through the virtual downpour? Pretty cool concept nonetheless.

SOURCE:http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/08/18/phone-that-shames-the-weather-bureau/

CORSAIR UNVEILS 128GB FLASH VOYAGER GT

Remember the good old days where USB flash drives came in capacities of Megabytes (MBs)? Well, those days are long gone and have been replaced by Gigabytes (GBs), and we’ve seen the number jump from 1GB to 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and even 64GB. It does make me wonder just how hard finding stuff on it will become in the long run with something so huge to sift through. Well, Corsair has clearly upped the ante yet another time by releasing their latest USB flash drive known as the 128GB Flash Voyager GT, making it the fastest high capacity 128GB USB flash drive in the world at the same time. This new Flash Voyager GT works differently since it is based upon a revolutionary design which relies on a unique dual-controller architecture in order to achieve SLC-levels of performance using MLC NAND flash memory. According to Corsair, the 128GB Flash Voyager GT can hit read speeds of up to 32MB/sec and write speeds of up to 25.6MB/sec, where the bottleneck has been pointed at the speed of the USB 2.0 bus and operating system overhead.

The 128GB Flash Voyager GT will come with a durable and water-resistant rubber housing that adds extra protection to the drive against accidental damage, while the racing-red ‘GT’ styling continues to be the trademark of Corsair’s ultra high-performance products.

If you’re interested in picking up the 128GB Flash Voyager GT, it is readily available from Corsair’s authorized distributors and resellers worldwide, and each purchase will actually come with a 10-year limited warranty for added peace of mind. Have you ever gave a thought and wonder just how large USB flash drives can get in 10 years’ time? We’re betting it will be in the Terabytes (TB), just in case you’re a gambling person.

USB AROMA DIFFUSER GETS OWN USB HUB AND MORE

Are you a big fan of convergence devices? Well if that’s the case, then check out thisUSB Aroma Diffuser that not only comes equipped with its very own 4-port USB hub, it also doubles up as a mood light as well. Since it is powered by USB to dissipate the aromatherapy oil around you, there is no need to worry about batteries or using up yet another power slot around your cubicle. Guess anyone working in a high pressure environment would find this to be soothing, and its ability to cycle through different light colors offer you an even more relaxed environment, never mind the deadline that’s alreay piled up. Heck, you might ’sacrifice’ a single USB port on your machine, but you get four more in return! The USB Aroma Diffuser + 4-Port Hub With Moody Light will retail for $17.90 apiece.

WOODEN DUAL iPHONE/iPOD DOCKING STATION

If you’re tired of all your gadgets having a nice clean sterile look, there’s one Etsy seller you should definitely check out. I’ve never been that into wooden gadgets, it’s one of those thing you either like them or you don’t. I do understand the desire to have a gadget that doesn’t always look so clean cut though. This wooden dock brings nature indoors and still manages to look somewhat tidy.

The dock is hand made out of cedar and is compatible with any of the iPhones as well as all iPod devices. That is except the Shuffle of course, but then you don’t really need much of a charging dock for it since it is so small. Each chunk of wood will differ slightly, since it depends on the piece of wood as to how it will look. Each one is a custom order so it will take up to 3 weeks to create it and ship it out. You can purchase it for $119.

LOGITECH UNVEILS COUPLE OF SPEAKERS

Logitech is a famous name where home computing speakers are concerned, and they certainly deserve the accolades they’ve garnered in the past with some quality releases. This time round we have a couple of models for those who are interested - the Logitech Rechargeable Speaker S315i and the Logitech Portable Speaker S125i. Both models are touted to boast exceptionally long battery life, where the former is able to keep on going for up to 20 hours non-stop before requiring a recharge, while the latter lets you crank up the bass around your home, no matter whether you’re in your bedroom, kitchen, living room or even your backyard.

The Logitech Rechargeable Speaker S315i is able to provide you with virtually a full day’s worth of continuous music playback on but a single charge, where its power saving mode even stretches its performance to touch the mentioned 20 hour mark. As with some other iPod speaker docks, the Rechargeable Speaker S315i also boasts the ability to play your favorite tunes whenever it is plugged in, simultaneously juicing up your iPod as well to make sure that portable media player of yours is more than ready to keep you entertained on the go. Performance-wise, the Rechargeable Speaker S315i relies on custom, full-range drivers that are able to reproduce the highs and lows of your favorite songs accurately. It will play nice with the iPhone as well as any iPod model with the Apple Universal Dock Connector.

PS3 SLIM GOES OFFICIAL

There’s this old saying - repeat something often enough, and people will start to believe it to be the truth. Well, guess the folks at Sony must’ve heard the prayers and rants of many Sony fanboys over the years on how the PS3 console was way too bulky, and having repeated a rumor countless times of a PS3 Slim coming our way many months ago, guess the age old adage kicked into action with Sony officially unveiling the new PS3 today, where it comes in an extremely svelte form factor. Heck, if it had been a contestant on the reality show “The Biggest Loser”, chances are pretty good the PS3 Slim would walk away as the clear winner with a couple of beauties in tow (fondling its controllers, of course). Let’s take a look at the PS3 Slim in greater detail right after the jump.

The internal design architecture of the new PS3 Slim has been revamped from ground up, changing the way the main semiconductors, power supply unit and cooling mechanism look in order to achieve what was thought to be impossible. While the original PS3 held a 60GB hard drive within, this remodeled version holds a 120GB hard drive despite trimming down its internal volume, thickness and weight to 67% of the original. Not only that, power consumption has also been reduced by one-third, further lowering the amount of fan noise in the process. You won’t find a glossy, fingerprint magnet as the surface material here since it relies on a textured surface finish instead to provide an all new impression and a casual look.

Wireless Phone and Modem Extenders

Who doesn't need an additional phone outlet somewhere else in the house?

This question becomes even more important to solve for all of those appliances that need "to call home" once a day, such as TiVo's Personal TV recorder or these satellite TV receivers. Except for those techies who placed a phone outlet in every room and/or close to the TV during the planning phase of their house, everybody else probably runs a cable through the family room for some time or weeks...

Here are two great solution for the "DIY'er" and everybody else with two left thumbs:

The Wireless Phone Jack does what it says - it provides an easy way to add phone outlets in the house or appartment. Just plug one into an 110V outlet near the phone and wire the phone cable through it. The other unit goes into any 110V outlet in the house and the phone plugs right into it. For all other devices check their data throughput requirements. Everything that needs less than 14.4K bps works with this Wireless Phone Jack. And don't plug it into a surge protector!

Data Speed
Wireless Phone Jack: up to 14.4K bps

Ericsson Unveils the First Multi-Functional Communicator Platform

At present, just a concept study. Ericsson is using this device as a prototype for the continuing development of new applications. Look for a commercially available example from Ericsson in the next 12 to 18 months.

Details: Mobile telecommunications giant Ericsson unveiled the world's first true multi-functional communicator platform at this year's CeBIT 2000 Show in Hannover, Germany. Coined as a first-generation integrated mobile information device, it combines Internet browsing, messaging, imaging, mobile telephony, personal information management, and location-based applications and services.

The Communicator is configured to handle the latest mobile communications protocols, HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), along with triple-band GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz) - which makes the device worldwide capable. Internet access is via either a WAP or HTML browser.

Equipped with both built-in Bluetooth™ and GPS chips, the device employs Bluetooth™ technology to connect wirelessly to a myriad of similarly configured appliances (like other phones, your PC, or the store you are standing in?!), while the GPS interface allows the unit to provide and receive information based upon geo-coordinates - to comply with regulations so that an emergency crew can find you.

An intuitive color touch screen allows for easy navigation, pen-input and handwriting recognition.

Palm and QUALCOMM - watch out!

BOOKS BY INTEL....

INTEL--"RIGHT BOOKS.RIGHT TIME.FROM THE EXPERTS"

These books are written by technical experts, resulting in "engineer-to-engineer" content. We design them to educate and meet the needs of computer system developers, integrators, and engineers about solutions based on Intel® architectures. Often the first titles to market on the subjects, these books contain the latest and most up-to-date information about Intel products and initiatives.

Intel has teamed with leading companies and computer industry experts to publish a comprehensive IT Best Practices Series of books. The result is a single reference source for IT professionals who plan, develop, deploy, and manage Intel® Architecture-based e-Business environments.

Intel Press books are essential for computer product Developers and IT professionals because they are timed with industry roadmaps. Our books are a simple way to to learn from the experts about the latest technologies from Intel.

TO SEE VARIOUS BOOKS FROM INTEL BY VARIOUS AUTHOR VISIT--"http://www.intel.com/intelpress/authors.htm"

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Google unveils speedier search engine

London, August 11 (ANI): Google Inc. is working on a new test version of its search engine, which the company claims will be faster and more relevant than ever before.

The company has dubbed the new search engine "caffeine".

Look-wise, the new engine doesn't appear different, but its developers hope that the technology they have used will noticeably index new content faster.

Google engineers are said to have invited web developers to test the new search engine, and give their feedback.

Matt Cutts, a principal engineer at Google, and Sitaram Iyer, a staff software engineer, have posted an entry on the company's webmaster central blog, appealing to developers to try the newly improved service and send them some feedback.

"For the last several months, a large team of Googlers has been working on a secret project: a next-generation architecture for Google's web search. It's the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions," the Telegraph quoted them as having written on the blog.

"The new infrastructure sits "under the hood" of Google's search engine, which means that most users won't notice a difference in search results. But web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we're opening up a web developer preview to collect feedback," they said.

A Google spokesperson added: ""Google is always working on new technologies to improve the quality of our search services. We hope this new system will improve search in the areas of speed, accuracy, and comprehensiveness."

Martin McNulty, director of search marketing specialist, Trafficbroker, who has tried the new version, said: "Google's caffeine is undoubtedly faster, almost twice as fast at times.

It's like a Google GTi. Caffeine may be 'under the hood' but with this noticeable injection of speed it won't remain under the radar for long. As for accuracy, it's hard to say at this early stage but Google is clearly upping its game by including real-time results and more breaking news, as well as updates from the likes of Facebook and Twitter." (ANI)

Where The Jobs Are: Information Technology Professional

As the worldwide economic crisis grinds on, companies continue to hire information technology professionals.

"Now more than ever, companies have to focus on efficiency," says Yazad Dalal, vice president of North American sales at the New York-based job search Web site Vault.com. "The primary way to do that today is through technology." Vault predicts that the number of IT jobs will increase by 50% over the next six years. "You don't need to be a technology company to need world-class IT professionals on your staff," Dalal adds.
Jobs can range from desktop support to network systems and data communications manager or analyst. The minimum requirement: a bachelor's degree in computer science. IT pros with 10 or more years of experience under their belts command the most elevated positions, which can pay as much as $100 an hour.

In Pictures: Where The IT Jobs Are

The biggest cluster of IT jobs is in New York City, says Dalal. Even though the financial sector has been battered by the recession, banks and investment houses like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are actively hiring in their IT departments. "We're hiring in this area globally," says Andrea Rachman, a Goldman spokeswoman.

At the same time, New York is home to so-called Silicon Alley, an area stretching between Midtown and Wall Street where a number of new-media and technology companies live. Tech companies are also in hiring mode, says Dalal. Those businesses, which include the New York offices of large Internet concerns like Yahoo! and Google, are willing to pay high Manhattan rents in exchange for proximity to their clients and for the "little bit of spark," in Dalal's words, that comes with a SoHo or Bryant Park address.

Another hot town for IT jobs: Washington, D.C. The plethora of government contractors there explains this phenomenon. Lockheed Martin and Booz Allen Hamilton, for instance, have offices in D.C., and they need good IT folk running their systems.

Texas is an IT hot spot thanks to the plethora of banks in the state. Matthew Ripaldi, senior vice president for Ajilon Consulting, in Houston, which handles IT staffing and strategy, agrees with Dalal that IT jobs nationwide should grow by at least 50% over the next half-dozen years.

From Ripaldi's perspective as a staffing consultant, companies are increasingly hiring IT employees on contract, either for a fixed length of time, like six months, or for the duration of a project. Pay for contract work can range from $20 to $100 an hour.

For full-timers, entry-level salaries start in the $36,000 to $48,000 range, says Dalal. Those jobs go to college grads who've majored in computer science. For an IT pro with experience, pay can rise as high as $122,000.

Although IT is more robust than other hiring areas, it's still suffering a hit from the downturn. According to Edward Koc, director of research for the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which links employer recruiters with college career centers, computer science is the college major with the second strongest hiring record this year, behind accounting. Even so, less than half of computer science grads--48.7%--landed jobs in 2009 (and only 53.1% of accounting majors did).

Ripaldi points out that IT job applicants must not only be computer whizzes; they need to be able to communicate well with human beings too. It's also very helpful, he says, to know the latest computing frameworks, like Microsoft's .NET Framework. "There are some skill sets with IT that have zero unemployment," he observes. Being up-to-date in .NET is one of them.

On the ground at a school, Manny Contomanolis, who runs the Rochester Institute of Technology's career services office, says computer science majors there did well this year. His office is still compiling its final 2009 tally, but he estimates three-quarters of the students found jobs this year. A strong showing, but not as impressive as pre-crisis 2008, when Contomanolis says 98% of Rochester computer science grads landed employment.

In Pictures: Where The IT Jobs Are

Susan Adams, Forbes.com

GATES RETIREMENT

It’s been a whole year since Bill Gates retired from the day-to-day running of Microsoft. After an extensive six months farewell tour, he handed the reins of the company over to Steve Ballmer at a town hall meeting in Redmond on June 27, 2008. Although Gates is still the part-time non-executive chairman, Microsoft has essentially been going for a year without him in charge. So, how are things going?

The recession has bit heavily and deeply in the year since Gates’ departure. This has forced Microsoft’s hand somewhat in the way it has conducted business. There have been large employee laoffs, the canceling of non-essential staff perks, and the culling of several products. But Microsoft has also grown in some areas.

This year has seen the launch of bing, Microsoft’s new search/decision engine. Bing may not currently be a Google-beater but it’s without a doubt the best search product Microsoft has ever released. The Yahoo! deal may never have happened but Microsoft took it on the chin and went back to the drawing board.

Also on the way is Microsoft Security Essential's, the free security suite Microsoft should arguably have been offering for years already. Then there is the Zune HD, which could and should perform better than the original, and Project natal, the Xbox 360 add-on which, once released, will enable gamers to play using just hand gestures.

Lest we forget Windows 7, due for release on Oct. 22. When Gates left his long-held position, Windows 7 was still a long way from complete and yet to be tested on the public. In fact,VISTA FAILURE was still what most people were thinking when they heard the name of Microsoft spoken out loud. Now, after positive response from analysts and the public alike, the company can look forward rather than back.

Would all these things, both good and bad, happened if Gates has stayed in his job? Steve Ballmer is certainly a very different kind of leader, but like Gates seems to know his own mind and refuses to be LAPTOP HUNTER ADS swayed off course. He’s also sanctioned a direct attack on Apple in those , which he should be applauded for.

I would suggest Microsoft is in a better state now than it was a year ago. While I’m not suggesting Gates’ departure had much to do with that upturn in fortunes, his retirement certainly hasn’t hurt the company in the way some people predicted it would.

SWINE FLU IN INDIA

So it’s official that Swine Flu has reached India’s shore – what’s really sad to note is that Indian govt’s lack of initiative towards educating citizens on Swine flu symptoms/precautions etc.

Let me start off with a small observation about Swine Flu – and how its being tackled by the ever “respectable” authorities inside the country.

Here are some facts :
1) Search for “Swine Flu Govt of USA” on google search – the first result points to “http://www.pandemicflu.gov/”
2) Search for “Health Ministry Ireland Swine Flu” on google search – the first result points to “http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/”
3) Search for “Swine Flu Govt of India” – the first page fails to point to any page hosted by the Government of India (rather it takes you to all the news sites).

The information presented so far might make the readers believe that there is no such initiative being taken by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW). Well, that’s not the case. You can find the specific page here – Swine Flu at MoHFW.

I will stop short of dissecting this page or even comparing it against the 2 other links provided above. The amount of crisp and forthcoming information being provided by the first 2 pages is what I am looking for.

Coming back to the context – is there a serious lack of resources available to the Government of India (to provide information about the disease?) ?

Are there not enough people who will create a perfect e-home for the Swine Flu pandemic in our country ? Or do we simply don’t care ? To come out with a very honest opinion – the government’s single point contact – National Informatics Center – for all such requirements isn’t simply geared up to be the “best”.

Okay, lets leave the government alone. It has just started coming to office and I would hope that Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad would hover around and see that the government is found behaving in the most astute manner over this matter.

I may not risk trying to counter the actual on-the-ground measures being taken – but have a look at the picture below of a doctor at Attari Railway Station assigned to the task of screening people coming into the country.
And then read about the importance of face masks.

Swine Flu in india: Doctor, where is the mask?

If you look at the best hospitals in Delhi (i.e. AIIMS, Apollo, Escorts / Fortis, Safdarjung), except for AIIMS, none of the websites has a mention of Swine Flu on the homepages of these institutions. And AIIMS has done the easiest thing that was there to do – link those words to the Swine Flu page at MoHFW.

At the cost of sounding the utmost critic of civic agencies, I will have to make a claim. At a time when the H1N1/Swine Flu virus is getting utmost attention all across the world, – can we afford to lack behind even at the “Information Propagation” stage. Is it really too much to ask – that I want to read all about Swine Flu / H1N1 sitting in the comfort of my home ?

I can already hear the standard argument that would be posted as a response to this “want”. The internet penetration in India is minuscule and the government has taken appropriate steps through other information mediums.

Being from Delhi, I can only provide facts about Delhi. However, there is little chance that those facts cannot be extrapolated to be found true all across the country. Tune into any of the radio stations like 91.1, 92.7, 93.5 or 98.3 FM – and keep yourself tuned for the next 24 hours. Tell me the number of times you hear a government solicited campaign trying to tell you about Swine Flu.
If these radio stations can provide some recording of dates like 1st and 2nd May 2009 – listen to them again for 24 hours. And count the number of times you hear a Congress or BJP poll campaign. Well, it is no surprise what number would win this game.

It’s high time that our civic agencies, the concerned ministries went overboard onto the information bandwagon. There is no single information medium that could possibly be overlooked in today’s times. And if the private players in the Health Care sector are not going to participate in such ventures, there is only a particular section of the “aam-junta” that’s going to feel “informed”.

Isn’t it morally binding upon the Apollo’s and Fortis to be forthcoming on what the H1N1 virus is all about ? What are the symptoms ? What are the precautions ? How does the virus spread.

There is never a dearth of information when it comes to the Healthcare sector. However, there is a real need to have the right propagation mechanism in place - for both the public and private players in this space. I hope the agencies do not let this be treated like a localized spread of some disease. Its a “Pandemic”. Lets treat it like one.

THE CORE 2 EXTREME QX9650----LATEST FROM INTEL

The newest high-end processor from Intel is the Core 2 Extreme QX9650. It is a quad-core chip running at 3 GHz produced on a 45 nanometer assembly line. It has a total of 12 megabytes of cache on the chip. Here is a complete review, including a summary of the 45 nm production process:

Penryn Arrives: Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Review
In this article they were able to boost the memory speed to 1600 MHz and overclock the chip to 3.6 GHz (a 20% increase) without any trouble, which bodes well for the speed of future chips.
Here are two other announcements:
- Intel’s 45nm Penryn/Yorkfield architecture packs serious punch
- Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 – Penryn Ticks Ahead
The Anandtech article talks about the future: “The other important item to note on the roadmap going forward is that top line in the table – yep, the one that says Bloomfield. Bloomfield is none other than Nehalem, the 45nm successor to Penryn. It’s a brand new architecture complete with an on-die memory controller, SMT (Symmetric Multi-Threading – 2 threads per core) and 8MB of shared cache (probably L3 shared among all four cores). While it’s still a year away, it’s very nice to see it on an Intel roadmap this far in advance of its launch.” That chip will probably crack the billion transistor barrier.

SWINE FLU??

The swine influenza A (H1N1) virus that has infected humans in the U.S. and Mexico is a novel influenza A virus that has not previously been identified in North America. This virus is resistant to the antiviral medications amantadine (Symmetrel) and rimantadine (Flumadine), but is sensitive to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza). Investigations of these cases suggest that on-going human-to-human swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is occurring.

CAN A MASK PREVENT SWINE FLU

While a mask could theoretically help prevent swine flu, it's a bit much for most people and really not necessary at this point. Sure, if someone is coughing or sneezing in your face, a mask might help. Also, if you know that you're going to be around someone with swine flu, such as a loved one, a mask might be warranted. But otherwise, that's not the most effective strategy for preventing swine flu because you don't catch most respiratory viruses from people coughing in your face. Here's what generally happens. Someone with a virus sneezes or coughs in their hand. Then, they touch something like an elevator button or a doorknob. You come along a few minutes later and touch that same button or knob. Then, without thinking about it, you touch your face – your mouth, nose, or eyes – and the virus takes hold of you. As mundane as it sounds, the most effective way to prevent getting respiratory viruses like swine flu is washing your hands. But most of us don't do it often enough and don't do it the right way. The Latest on Swine Flu Learn about swine flu: Swine Flu Collection of Articles Swine Flu Symptoms Swine Flu FAQs How Does a Person Catch Swine Flu? Swine Flu: One New York City Pediatrician's View Swine Flu Pictures Complete Swine Flu Coverage on WebMD Obviously, the biggest risk is when you're in a public place. So, I do whatever I can to not touch anything when I'm out and about – or at least make double sure not to touch my face out in public. To be more specific, here's my strategy when I go into a public restroom. It goes without saying that I make sure to not touch my face once entering the restroom. But after I've taken care of my business, I wash my hands for a good 20 seconds. I know it feels like a long time, but believe me, it's worth it. Need to occupy yourself? Sing happy birthday -- twice -- to pass the right amount of time. Then, when you're done, don't touch a thing but a paper towel. Contort yourself or do whatever you need to do to get that paper towel without touching anything else. Turn the water off using the paper towel. Open the door to leave the restroom with the paper towel. And don't touch anything else with your hands – without the paper towel. I throw the paper towel away when I get back in my office. Washing your hands is extremely important after you sneeze or cough into your hands. Not around soap and water? Alcohol-based hand gels are also very effective for killing flu viruses. And if you have any swine flu symptoms, the CDC says call your doctor. It's also a good idea to practice social isolation. Keep to yourself until you're all better to prevent spreading your germs around.

SWINE FLU SYMPTONS

Although uncomplicated influenza-like illness (fever, cough or sore throat) has been reported in many cases, mild respiratory illness (nasal congestion, rhinorrhea) without fever and occasional severe disease also has been reported. Other symptoms reported with swine influenza A virus infection include vomiting, diarrhea, myalgia, headache, chills, fatigue, and dyspnea. Conjunctivitis is rare, but has been reported. Severe disease (pneumonia, respiratory failure) and fatal outcomes have been reported with swine influenza A virus infection. The potential for exacerbation of underlying chronic medical conditions or invasive bacterial infection with swine influenza A virus infection should be considered.