DAILY TECH- 5 April 2013

DAILY TECH- 5 APRIL 2013

Today’s Latest News

Mozilla Firefox gets updated, now with improved private browsing

Honda Amaze to lock horns with Swift DZire soon in India

Nokia to launch colour phone at entry level

Nokia, which is facing a tough challenge from low-cost mobile players in India and elsewhere, will be coming out with a basic colour phone priced at about Rs 1,200 this month.

Transistor’ will have ‘under-the-hood’ multiplayer components

Is it the end of the road for the Gypsy?

When it was launched in 1985, the sleek but still rugged lines of the Gypsy made it an instant hit, although that popularity never really translated into massive sales figures.

Video of the Day:

Red Hat Linux 5.0 Step By Step Installation.

Must See Tricks 4 Computer(Click on Image)

Mozilla Firefox gets updated, now with improved private browsing

Mozilla has unleashed the latest version of Firefox for desktop as well as Android devices and has incorporated a spate of improvements in the browser. The enhancements drawn in are directed towards privacy, downloads and developers.

Augmentations made to private browsing allow users to concurrently open up a new window, while their current sessions remain unclosed as well as uninterrupted. Consumers will even be able to sign in to and access several e-mail accounts at the same time. The security element is also deemed possible on devices based on the said platform, wherein it is carried out through tabs. Owners will be able to switch between tabs within a same session.

With the addition of a new and improved Download Manager located on the toolbar, users can easily find, check and keep a track of whatever they have saved. This can be accomplished without having to open up a new window. Check out the demonstration video embedded at the end for more clarity. As for the mobile browser, shortcuts can be tailored according to what websites consumers consider important or pages they frequent most often.

Developers will be glad to hear about increased levels of support for them, which includes getUserMedia to enable speedy as well as easy coding for programs intended to access cameras or microphones. In addition to this, a toolbox has been provided consisting of resources for coders. It also offers advice on easy methods to switch between various tools that they use. In terms of visual effects, Canvas Blend Modes permits them to personalize already existing images. They can give out instructions to guide Canvas around how they want the picture to look.

Back in September, the company had released a beta version for phones that contained ARMv6 processors. Now, it has finally introduced support for these chipsets which are present in devices like the Samsung Galaxy Next, HTC Aria and Legend amongst others. The tool even allows synchronization between desktops and mobiles, so that consumers don’t lose track of what they were surfing through.

Potential users can download Mozilla Firefox from the official website and those who want the browser present on their Android devices, can lay their hands on it through the Play store.

Featured Technology Talk

Ducati considering Monster 696 India debut

The recent customs duty hike on imported bikes (800cc plus) from 60 to 75 percent could prove a blessing in some way for Indian superbikers.

Harley-Davidson was first to react, adding three new assembled models (including the iconic Fat Boy) to its Indian assembled fleet, which is so much more affordably priced. And now the Bologna based superbike manufacturer Ducati has hinted they are evaluating introduction of the entry level Monster, the 696 in India.

More popularly known for lending its lower, smaller trellis frame and sharing some components with the Monster 795, the 696 is similar to its bigger sibling. The M696 weighs in at only 2kg less than the M795, and shares several key specifications including a 1450mm wheelbase, saddle height of 770mm, fuel tank capacity of 15 litres, rim and tyres and brakes. It’s powered by Ducati’s 696cc, L-twin, air-cooled and Desmodromic valve train engine, and develops nearly 79bhp of peak power at 9000rpm. The 696 being under 800cc means it faces no extra duty, attracting 60 percent as earlier. And the Monster 696 is almost as exciting and just as practical a bike for Indian roads as the more powerful 795, already on sale here.

Although low cost of ownership and Ducati don’t go hand-in-hand, the launch of the Asia-specific Monster 795 last year proves the company is responding to tap deeper into emerging Asian markets including India, armed with more affordable models. “Given the overall situation of the Monster 795 assembled in Thailand, we, along with our local importer in India, are currently evaluating the most appropriate steps for the market,” states an official statement from Ducati, responding to queries from our sister publication, Autocar Professional.

Honda Amaze to lock horns with Swift DZire soon in India

Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL), a subsidiary of the Japanese multinational automobile giant Honda Motor Co., is going to launch its much awaited Amaze compact sedan in the domestic market on April 10, 2013. Experts believe that the car will take head on the entry level sedan champion, the Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire upon its arrival in the country.

Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire comes powered with a 1.2 litre, K-Series petrol engine rated with a maximum power and torque outputs of 86 bhp and 114 Nm, respectively. Further, the diesel trim comes fitted with a 1.3 litre DDiS engine that churns out a peak power of 74 bhp and highest torque of 190 Nm.

On the other hand, Honda Amaze is anticipated to come fitted with a 1.2 litre i-VTEC and a 1.5 litre i-DTEC engines powering its petrol and diesel models, respectively. The 1.2 litre i-VTEC will roll out maximum power close to 85 bhp, whereas the 1.5 litre i-DTEC belts out an impressive peak output power of 98 bhp. The drivetrain could be equipped with a 5-speed speed manual gearbox and an option of 5-speed automatic transmission. Hence, the Amaze diesel definitely has an upper hand over the Swift DZire diesel, in terms of engine performance. Further, Honda has claimed that its 1.5 litre i-DTEC engine delivers a best-in-class fuel efficiency of 25.8 kmpl, which will make Amaze the most fuel efficient sedan in the country.

At present, the Swift DZire is the best selling model in the entry level sedan segment of the Indian auto market. Hence, the Honda Amaze has a huge onus to displace Swift DZire from the top position in the entry level sedan segment. Maruti Suzuki offers its entry level sedan to domestic buyers at price tags between Rs. 4.9 lakh and Rs. 7.4 lakh. Sources suggest that Honda Cars India could also launch its Amaze range within a price range of Rs. 6 to 8 lakh in the country. Therefore, a lot of fireworks are expected when the two entry level sedans indulge in a direct face off in the Indian auto market.

Nokia to launch colour phone at entry level

Nokia, which is facing a tough challenge from low-cost mobile players in India and elsewhere, will be coming out with a basic colour phone priced at about Rs 1,200 this month.

This would signal the end of black-and-white phones from the Finnish firm.

The company will manufacture the new phones at its Chennai facility for the domestic and global markets.

“We are specifically looking at India, Africa and China where there is huge scope in the entry-level market. In India, we are going to introduce the phone in Andhra Pradesh this month followed by other markets. We are planning to phase out the 1280 phone of which we have sold 10 crore pieces,” T. S. Sridhar (Regional General Manager South) of Nokia India, told Business Line. The new phone Nokia 105, showcased at the Mobile World Congress-2013 held at Barcelona, will target those who are yet to have a mobile connection. To catch their attention, the phone comes with a battery back-up of 35 days. It has a ‘speaking clock’ too.

Phones below Rs 4,000 rule

Quoting a GFK Nielsen study, Sridhar said the sub-Rs 2,000 phone market in India by volume accounted for 60 per cent of the 1.3 crore phone sales. About 85 per cent of sales were of phones priced below Rs 4,000.

According to research firm CMR, Nokia is the leader in feature phones with a share of 21.8 per cent in the total market of 20.64 crore units in this segment in 2012. This segment continues to dominate the handset industry that witnessed 22 crore shipments that year. It, however, trailed in the smartphone segment at 13.3 per cent. Samsung led with 43.1 per cent in a market of 1.5 crore units.

TECHNOLOGY

"A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing."

iPhone maker Apple to release updated phone this summer

The Wall Street Journal says Apple is set for a possible summer launch of the next iPhone, rather than a fall launch like the last two models.

Apple is also working on a cheaper iPhone model that could win it some market share in developing countries, the paper says. It cited unnamed people "familiar with the device's production.''

The report is in line with the expectations of company watchers and Wall Street analysts. The iPhone 5 costs around $600, and while Apple maintains older iPhones in production, even those aren't cheap enough to compete effectively against low-end smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software.

Apple doesn't comment on future products before its launch events.

Famous Scientist

Carlo Gambacorti-Passerini

Carlo Gambacorti-Passerini (born 1957) is an Italian oncologist and hematologist known for his contributions to cancer research. He is presently Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Milan Bicocca in Italy and Director of the Clinical Research Unit at S. Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy.

Previously he was Senior Investigator and Head of the Oncogenic Fusion Proteins Unit at the National Cancer Institute, Milan Italy (1990–2003), Professor of Oncology and Hematology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada (2004–2007).

His main scientific contribution relates to the preclinical and clinical development of imatinib. His publications between 1997 and 2000 are among the earliest original reports on this revolutionary drug.

Specifically, he showed that apoptosis, or programmed cell death, was the predominant mechanism through which imatinib eliminates leukemic cells, that leukemic animals could be cured using imatinib, and that resistance to imatinib could be mediated by gene amplification of BCR-ABL1.

Dr. Gambacorti-Passerini is the Chairman of the ILTE (Imatinib Long Term side Effects) study, an independent clinical study aimed at assessing the long term effects of imatinib in 948 CML patients worldwide, which showed for the first time that CML patients in remission have a normal life expectancy.

He is also the first researcher who (in June 2010) successfully treated a patient affected by ALK+ lymphoma with an ALK inhibitor (crizotinib).

‘Transistor’ will have ‘under-the-hood’ multiplayer components

Supergiant Games’ first big hit, Bastion, was a strictly single-player affair . The developer’s upcoming follow-up, Transistor, won’t be able to say the same, creative director Greg Kasavin tells Rock Paper Shotgun. The game won’t just feature the traditional arena deathmatch or co-op gameplay modes, however.

“Something we’re more interested in is a sense of feeling connected to other people who are playing in a subtle way,” Kasavin tells RPS. “You can still have your personal experience around the story, but you always know you belong in a larger [world]. For example, players can sometimes see traces of other players’ paths moving around. Things of that nature. What’s interesting to us about this world is that it lends itself to some interesting things like that.”

Kasavin said Transistor’s gameplay would lend itself to more traditional multiplayer, but it didn’t seem to fit the style of the game.

“I don’t see this game having death match arenas or whatever,” he said. “I think I can say that pretty safely.”

Kasavin also tells RPS multiplayer was considered and tested for Bastion, but noted that the co-operative gameplay interfered with the narration-based story, which was one of the most successful and most widely-praised aspects of the game when it dropped in 2011, so it was cut before the game released.

“Traditionally, we agree that co-op is probably the most enjoyable way to play action-RPGs – with 1-3 other people,” Kasavin said. “But we found it to be quite at odds with our narrative goals. When we had three people running around in Bastion, they just started goofing off and messing up the narration.”

Kasavin said a similarly narrative-based story will be important to Transistor’s atmosphere, which would mean adding a second player into the mix “would come at a heavy cost.” Still, the developer wanted the player to have a sense that they were not alone.

Is it the end of the road for the Gypsy?

When it was launched in 1985, the sleek but still rugged lines of the Gypsy made it an instant hit, although that popularity never really translated into massive sales figures.

The numbers and the ubiquity came when law-enforcement agencies around the country and the armed forces began adding the sports utility vehicle (SUV), originally based on the Suzuki Jimny, to their fleets. The more agile, petrol-driven Gypsy was preferred over the slower, diesel-driven vehicles that had until then proliferated within the ranks of the police and the services.

But the sales of the Gypsy to the armed forces may dry up, according to five people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified.

Will this be the end of the road for the vehicle, given that its biggest customer, the Indian Army, wants a sturdier vehicle with more modern features?

When the Indian Army sought bids for the 800kg general service vehicle category, Maruti didn’t participate as it doesn’t have one that meets the requirements. Maruti’s Gypsy sells in the 500kg general service vehicle category.

Rivals such as Tata Motors Ltd, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and Nissan Motor Co. have bid for the contract for 30,000 vehicles valued at Rs.3,000 crore, according to the people cited above.

These people said that once an 800kg vehicle is selected, it will start replacing the Gypsy.

Features being sought include airbags, anti-lock braking systems, air-conditioning, power windows, five doors and central locking—specifications absent in the Gypsy, which pretty much still looks the way it did in 1985.

“This is a part of the fleet modernization process of the army and the changes have been sought as Gypsy has become obsolete with time,” said one of the people cited above. “The army changed the requirements in 2010 and they (Maruti Suzuki) did not participate for the 800kg class 4x4 general service vehicle tender as Gypsy could not meet the above mentioned new requirements.”

Tips to make your browser secure

MUNICH: Web browsers are the key to the internet. Without them the internet is an impenetrable black box.

Browsers may be among the most commonly used applications, but they also offer the greatest number of attack options for dangerous content on the net.To keep viruses, worms and other malware away from your computer when surfing,it's crucial to configure your browser for security.

The firewall on a DSL router is a good first step for protecting the computer during surfing, says Marco Rinne from the computer portal chip.de. But that doesn't hold true if your browser is out of date: “Internet Explorer 6 and 7 or Firefox 2 no longer satisfy current security standards,” he says. For optimal protection, he therefore urgesusers to keep theirbrowsers updated.

There are numeroussecurity tools already present in Firefox and Internet Explorer. The pop-up blocker,for example, prevents more than justannoying ads. It alsothrottles other windows that can be used to sneak malicious software onto PCs. Phishing filters protect personal dataagainst theft.

Firefox offers additional configurationoptions underthe Settings item in the Security tab of the Options dialog box: thisincludes the ability to block risky or forgedwebsites.It's also a good idea to prohibit websites from installing add-ons on their own. Similar settings are possible under Internet Explorer in the Security tab of the Internet Options dialog box, accessible from the Tools menu.

Computer owners should also activate all options for warning against attacks, advises Markus Linnemann, managing director of the Institute for Internet Security (ifis) at the Polytechnic University of Gelsenkirchen in Germany. This applies in particular to warnings about suspicious content to be displayed using ActiveX, Flash, or JavaScript.

reindeer like bananas

Cartoon of Technology

Mahindra Reva launches next-generation electric car

Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles on Wednesday launched its fully automatic transmission electric car, e2o, that can clock 100 km per one full recharge of five hours, for the Bangalore market.

Priced at Rs. 7.01 lakh on road, the e2o, weighing 830 kg, can seat four adults, including the driver. At the launch here, Chetan Maini, Mahindra Reva’s chief of strategy and technology, said the e2o is powered by lithium-ion batteries and runs on a three-phase electric motor on auto-drive mode.

“A minute's success pays the failure of years."