Will Google encash Microsoft and Yahoo deal?

The long discussed Microsoft Yahoo deal is on the verge of closure and is now with anti-trust authorities for the final decision. The concerned authorities are scrutinizing its pros and cons, and closely analyzing its implications in the short and long term.

The deal had undergone many phases and many considerations. It was picked up last month again after its failure last year due to Yahoo not agreeing to the Microsoft payment terms. Where reviewers peg it as a deal to spell end for Google’s monopoly, others find it a chance for Google to improve on its offerings. Google is touted as one company that keeps constantly innovating and improvising; the deal will induce more momentum and zeal.
Google's benefits from the deal

With so much hype attached to Microsoft and Yahoo deal, it is speculated that Google will get benefitted from this alliance. On a brighter side, Yahoo will definitely add $500 million every year to its operating income and Microsoft will jump to second position but this joint venture has something that Google can really encash on - “Time” and new features.

Google is currently under scrutiny due to its privacy infringements and piling the data on users. With Microsoft and Yahoo deal coming in limelight, Google will definitely get time to improve on its image and perception by DOJ (Department of Justice). Google will get time to pull its strings and work on the efforts that can help it to abandon those claims. Where EU (European Union) and DOJ will remain busy in analyzing the impact of Microsoft and Yahoo deal on online business, Google can find ways to remove the label of “data capturing search engine.” The deal will put pressure on Google to make its privacy policies more stringent and at par with the other two leaders.

The story has more to it. Google can innovate rather than just iterate and can look for other viable options that can help it to get engaged with users more deeply.
Google's advantages over other
Google has the lion’s share of search market and earlier it has to defend its territories from Microsoft and Yahoo, but now its fears are just limited to Microsoft in Web search spectrum. In the ad spectrum, still it has to fight with Yahoo but now the competition has been trimmed to one candidate in a field.

Bing is worth a good bet on internet spectrum and in search gamut. In fact, the reports suggest that it had assimilated good market share in last two months where as the shares for Yahoo and Google have slipped.

What could be better than having the rivals’ workforce arriving at your doorstep and that is what Google can really look upto and can even target them. With Yahoo users going off the board, Google can make offers to them and can even exploit their talent hub for further improvements.
Conclusion

On conclusive note, we can say that its really too early to say these things but deal will lay foundation for Google to be more stronger than ever before.

Freecom outs usb 3.0 external hard drive

External drives make a significant part of day-day-devices. These days thay are usually connected via USB 2.0 ports. But now Freecom has introduced what it claims to be the first ever USB 3.0 external hard drive. This brand new drive is called the Hard Drive XS 3.0.

The Hard Drive XS 3.0 is said to be the first external hard drive to offer the SuperSpeed USB technology. Thanks to the USB 3.0 port, this drive offers transfer speeds of approximately 130Mbps. This speed promises to enable users backup their data as well as upload information within seconds. The drive boasts of its small form factor that renders it completely portable.

“The rapid transfer speeds of USB 3.0 are going to make sharing information easier than ever before, and with the rise of interactive web applications and new media showing no signs of slowing, it’s arrived just in time,” said Axel Lucassen, managing director. “From downloaded TV programmes to digital photos and music, data-rich files are abundant both at home and in the office. The Hard Drive XS 3.0 is the first drive in the world to enable users to back up even the biggest files at unprecedented speeds, combining the latest technology with style and practicality to bring a new breed of hard drive to an increasingly demanding market.”

This Freecom drive is said to be ideal for home as well as professional users who constantly need to transfer large files. The XS 3.0 is also said to be the smallest 3.5” hard drive available in the market. This hard drive flaunts a form-fitting rubber enclosure that is said to ensure optimal grip. This unique design also claims to reduce the vibration. This fanless system is virtually silent in its operation.

“We now can transfer a 5GB movie in just 38 seconds – it’s unbelievably fast,” continued Lucassen. “Besides being SuperSpeed ready, the Hard Drive XS 3.0 also outperforms the competition in terms of security. Our USB 3.0 solution will have high-speed hardware encryption with AES 256 bit – this not only the fastest but also the safest storage solution on the market.”

The hard drive XS 3.0 will be offered in varying capacities up to 2TB. It claims to store up to 4,00,000 mp3 songs or more than 2,000 movies. The highlight of this drive is its backward compatibility while it works flawlessly with all USB 2.0 enabled computers. Freecom also plans to launch its USB 3.0 controller to allow computer users to take advantage of the standard’s top speeds.

The Freecom Hard Drive XS 3.0 will enter the European market by mid-November. The drive will be made available in 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB storage capacities. The pricing for these drives will start at €119 (approx. Rs. 5,641) for the 1TB capacity. The company will also offer Controller Card for desktops and Express Controller Card for notebooks for a price of €25.95 and €29.95 respectively.

USB 3.0

Intel has introduced one of its latest developed Universal Serial Bus called USB 3.0 which is the latest super speed personal connector which can perform 10 times faster compared to its predecessors. This device has been designed to provide a solution for transferring data in computers, mobile phones, and other digital media appliances.
This device has also been designed to provide low-power consumption and improved energy utilization process. While the USB 3.0 has been made to provide greater bandwidth capacity to support video cameras, flash readers, and external hard drives, this blueprint is still undergoing various modification and can be expected to be released to the general public in 2009 or 2010.

Most of USB devices have some drawbacks and one of these is high CPU usage. To address this setback, experts suggest that specs such as sustainable power consumption, channel capacity, and cable length must be first modified and developed to maximize its functions.
Another impressive feature of this USB is that it can effectively identify if the port is in inactive condition, after detecting this, the device will then automatically cut the power supply to conserve electricity. This process is a far outcry from other devices which are designed to turn off the entire port system in order to conserve energy. While these two processes are designed to provide effective power consumption and improved electric usage, the former has been considered to provide a more effective procedure in energy consumption.
Other specs of USB 3.0 are still not yet revealed by Intel since this is still considered to be a prototype model. But according to experts, even though that this has not yet been introduced to the general public, other products such as Firewire 800 are now expected to be completely out of the market. In spite of the fact that this has already been introduced last year, there is no manufacturer or company that has proclaimed its willingness to produce consumer electronics products which will utilize this standard.
The USB 3.0 will require fiber optic cable. This prototype has also been designed to provide full compatibility with USB 1.0 AND USB 2.0.

Facebook Lite: An assault to Twitter?

Facebook, the world's biggest social networking site has launched a slimmed-down version of Facebook called “Facebook Lite” for people with slow internet connections. The new site will be faster and easy to work as it features fewer services than the main website.
According to the company, the “Lite” version is targeted to the audiences present in various developing countries, where bandwidth constraints make the current version too slow or unable to use. Currently, the application will be available in India and US.
The company announced that about 70% of its 300 million users are from outside America. Various countries from Southeast Asia and Europe have been witnessing a massive spurt in growth where fast internet connections are more common. Therefore, the company has been working on the ‘Lite’ site since August for the rest of the world that have slow net speed.

'Twitter-like' features
According to various analysts, the new version is similar to Twitter and Friendfeed, where users can send short messages or ‘tweets’ to other people. In the new Facebook Lite, users are now limited to write on their wall, post photos and videos, view events and browse other people's profiles. The new site has also sacrificed some of key features of original Facebook like special boxes, chat systems, links to applications and notifications.

Is ‘Lite’ an assault on Twitter?
It is speculated that the new Facebook’s site is a direct assault on increasing popularity of Twitter. After Myspace, Twitter is emerging as the main competitor for Facebook. In view of leading the competition, Facebook has constantly innovated and made certain improvements like inclusion of public profiles, profile fans, public status updates and real-time search on its main website. The simplicity of Twitter is tagged as the main reason for its popularity and Facebook is all set to rival that with its new "Lite" version.

Positive aspects:
1.      The new website has no application similar to the main site, hence people who do not want to see people’s annoying quiz results and their latest scores on Bejeweled, they can focus directly on their updates.
2.      Now, the new application can be easily used on various Smartphones.
3.      It reminds the older and simpler versions of Facebook that was only related to friends and family updates.
4.      There is a “View Top Stories” link so user can see which of their friend’s posts are getting the most comments/likes.

Few negatives
1.      It does not have a chat feature, which is must for any social networking site.
2.      The new Lite version allows user to view only two to three photographs at a time on one page, which is sometime very annoying.
3.      It can be called just an effort to become more like Twitter.
4.      The link for any quiz participation and game is missing in this new version.

Conclusion
The new Facebook Lite is reportedly created for users in countries such as China and India, where internet connections are not always the fastest or the most reliable. Further, it can be used on various Smartphones as well. But, it is certain that with a user base of more than 300 million, Facebook Lite's impact could be rather heavy on its competitors.