Those days are gone when we used to tell twitter is an Earth friendly service. No, its proved wrong now. TJ Creamer, a NASA scientist made history by sending the first tweet directly from the International Space Station.
His first tweet is as follows:
Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! More soon, send your ?s
TJ Creamer has made history only because of NASA’s efforts to upgrade their software. This upgrade gave the International Space Station for direct access to the Web which has never happened before with what NASA calls the “Ultimate Wireless Connection”.
Before this upgrade tweets were sent down to the station in Earth and then had posted to twitter. There are many people who tweeted this way but with the software upgrade now astronauts can send it directly to twitter.
TJ Creamer was first to do so and rightly will be remembered for this!!
TechFest is a festival celebrating technology, neat? Anyway this event is held at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology). Its a really huge event . Well i spent my todays day there. quite an amazing place and even more when with my friend Monik Pamecha (Editor at Etiole). The campus is huge and if one walks all the way, feet ache.
Anyways let me acquaint you with the stuff i witnessed.
I entered the Campus and the first thing i saw was the Inferno Throttle. A small racecourse set up for the racing of remote controlled cars. quite nice.
then next we went on to see the Military weapons and defence things used by the defence department of the Government. There were quite a bit of them and very practical in use.
We further went to down walking without any idea and we reached the area of Robowars. There was a glass cage set up and there were two robots at a time. The robots were with blades spikes and all things to ruin the other robot. It was like nuts ans screws around all over (not really). One of them was nice in which one robot took the other above it and made it immobile.
Next we walked around and got into a enclosure where an old gentlemen was telling us the correct use of digital cameras and DSLR’s even till the fact how to hold them. He told us why film cameras are out of use. He also told us the difference between the ethical and unethical means photo editing. The gentleman also told us:
The world runs behind more mega-pixels, but it isn’t about that. The sensor of the camera has to be good. An 7 mega-pixel camera can do a better job than a 14 mega pixel.
We further kept walking, now we reached the open ground. out there people were flying radio controlled air planes made by themselves. all one could see in the sky was air planes(not completely but somewhat). Some made an awesome flight whereas some did not survive. Anyways nice experience.
Later in the night we saw 3D Holographic view at the Open air theatre with a public of over 10,000 people! Next what we observed was just amazing. Mountain Bikers from M.A.D had entered and showed us some of their brilliant stunt moves!
I then went back and Monik continued to witness other things with others. It was a nice day and I enjoyed. All the mumbaikars you can go to IIT Powai with on this Saturday and Sunday, to witness other things.
Day 2
We jumped into some action and played lazer tag. The game is seriously fun and i think everyone must play it once. It’s just like playing shooting games, in reality and also no one gets hurt this time!
We had a look at the A.N.T.Z competition where students of IIT and other participants had prepared robots and were to walk on certain paths and were acquainted with sensors to sense objects and move them aside and then continue their path.
Dr. Lars Rasmussen (Co-Founder of Google Wave and Google Maps) was also there and after waiting for 1 hour in a long line we got a chance to listen to his words. We’ll be posting of what all he said in the next post!
Just after the event we lined up back again for the entry at Open Air theatre. Tony Chapek (master illusionist) and Nexus Europe which a group of Artists who do dance, kung foo and acrobatics, all in one mashup performance which the crowd loved!
Day 3 is on now! Don’t miss this chance! For more information go to TechFest.org!
We’ve been hearing up rumors of Apple’s Tablet all over from the web. If reports from Wall Street Journal is to be believed then Apple’s concentrating a lot more on Music, Games and Television for their hyped product.
Here’s a break up of what could possibly happen
Apple is supposed to be working with The New York Times, Conde Nast Publications Inc. and HarperCollins Publishers. Also the rumor of publications to be go paid with the launch of the tablet fix in very well with this.
Next is Television. Apple is also in talks with companies like CBS and Walt Disney for a possible monthly subscription service. Nice!
Now come games. Apple is negotiating with the Electronic Arts which is a well known name in the gaming industry. They could possible develop brilliant games for the device!
Buying songs from the cloud could also be possible soon and they acquisition of Lala.com is surely going hands in hand with this rumor which could expel the current method of buying songs via iTunes.
Maybe Bing could be the default search engine for the device too (This doesn’t fit here, but it’s kind of entertainment, you see the Google Vs. Apple fight )
If you ask why would Apple be interested in the things i mentioned above, then the answer is There’s hell lot of money in this business! Apple’s revenue from iTunes is well over $800 Million!
Apple has already revolutionized music industry and lets see if they can do the same with television and gaming. Pricing rumors float around $1000. I really hope if its less then that!
Nokia is coming after Google Maps with the latest announcement of making Ovi Maps completely free to provide step by step and driving directions and they promise you, to expect No Additional Charges!
This is a strategic move that will be the game-changer for the industry
says D Shivakumar, Managing Director, Nokia India. This truly could be? I mean remember the time when they added camera’s to Nokia phones and they soon became the largest producers of camera’s in the world!
Nokia’s Ovi Maps has got a unique hybrid technology and essential features required for navigation. With this step, they make Navigation available to over 50 Million cellphones. Currently there are about 27 Million devices using navigation systems on their cellphones.
They would support Voice navigation for 76 countries in over 46 languages and maps for 180+ countries currently and expanding!
This would be a massive gear up against Google Maps as Nokia would have a advantage providing inbuilt systems for their navigation then Google maps as Nokia is selling more cellphones then Google.
Five key features that sets Ovi Maps apart:
1. No hidden costs
Everything is free! Only data charges apply!
2. Best global coverage
You take your mobile with you wherever you go in the world so, as standard, voice guided navigation for both pedestrians and drivers is available for 74 countries in 46 different languages and there are maps for over 180 countries. This gives you the best maps with the largest global coverage for free.
3.No network connection required when navigating Avoid expensive, battery-draining network connections with Nokia’s unique hybrid technology. Maps can be pre-loaded on to your Nokia smartphone so you can set Ovi Maps to offline mode, saving battery power, and the navigation system will still work. This is particularly useful for those worried about data connection costs when travelling abroad or when you are travelling through areas with little or no network coverage.
4. Unique hybrid technology
Ovi Maps is built on an advanced technology called hybrid vector maps. Vector maps are high quality but less data intensive and allow you to continue to navigate even if you lose your network connection. This means that maps downloaded or updated across a network connection are about half the size of bulky bitmaps used by other mobile map providers. The hybrid technology ensures that, unlike other providers, any downloaded map data is stored on the device for future use.
Currently 10 smartphones are supported which include Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia E72. They will be adding more phones to the list. If your device is supported then you can get the maps here.
Press Release after break.
Nokia makes worldwide walk and drive navigation free on smartphones
ESPOO,FINLAND: Nokia today announced plans to make walk and drive navigation free on its smartphones as part of a new version of Ovi Maps, available for download at www.nokia.com/maps. Nokia’s mapping and navigation software has been specifically designed for mobile use and is based on unique hybrid technology. The new version of Ovi Maps will include all essential car and pedestrian navigation features, such as turn-by-turn voice guidance for 74 countries in 46 languages, and traffic information for over 10 countries, as well as detailed maps for over 180 countries.
“We want to make using your mobile for navigation as familiar as using it to send a text or take a picture. We believe that making the best maps with voice guided navigation available for free will be the catalyst to do this,” explained Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Nokia. “Why have multiple devices that work in only one country or region? Put it all together, make it free, make it global and you have something that is truly useful and can help you get round almost any city in the world whether you’re on foot or driving.”
According to D Shivakumar, Managing Director, Nokia India, “This is a strategic move that will be the game-changer for the industry. We believe that offering the world’s best maps with full navigation features and premium content at no extra cost will be the catalyst that drives mass market and penetration of mobile maps in India.”
This move has the potential to nearly double the size of the current mobile navigation market. For Nokia, removing the costs associated with navigation for drivers and pedestrians allows the company to quickly activate a massive user base to which it can offer new location features, content and services. This is part of Nokia’s strategy to lead the market in mobile maps, navigation and location-based services. The move is also in line with Nokia’s vision that the next wave of growth will be centered on the location-aware, social internet — as the ‘where’ people are doing things becomes as important as the ‘what’ they are doing.
According to research firm Canalys, the number of people worldwide using GPS navigation on their mobile phones was approximately 27 million at the end of 2009. With this announcement Nokia potentially grows the size of this installed user base to about 50 million by enabling smartphone owners, with compatible devices and devices that will be made compatible shortly to activate free drive and walk navigation through a simple download of the new Ovi Maps. Nokia will further grow this base as it quickly adds more smartphones to the compatible devices list. Canalys also estimated in 2009 that the installed base of smartphones with integrated GPS was 163 million units worldwide, of which Nokia accounted for more than half (51%) having shipped cumulatively 83 million GPS devices.
“This is a game changing move. By leveraging our NAVTEQ acquisition, and our context sensitive service offering, we can now put a complete navigation system in the palm of your hand, wherever in the world you are, whenever you need it – and at no extra cost,” continued Anssi Vanjoki. “By adding cameras at no extra cost to our phones we quickly became the biggest camera manufacturer in the world. The aim of the new Ovi Maps is to enable us to do the same for navigation.”
Some real good news for die hard cricket fans, especially Indians! Indian Premiere League (For others, it’s a cricket tournament featuring world class players) is going to be broadcasted live on Youtube as per their 2 year agreement.
So you can expect 60 matches to be up on YouTube starting this March! Remember the U2 concert which was broadcasted live on YouTube? It had got over 10 Million viewers and this time Google hopes to do something like that.
IPL is the craziest thing out here in the south east and huge number of people watch it, so lot of potential Google! Also with this Google steps into the market of sports broadcasting for the first time!
Google is currently looking for sponsors for the broadcast and i hope they will surely get a lot of them if we see the number of people who viewed IPL on television which was well over billions.
Apple Vs. Google war couldn’t have got more bigger. This time Apple is planning to remove google search from it’s browser Safari and guess who would be taking it’s place? Bing!
Apple was planning to replace Google Maps and advertising marketplace with their own products and this time they aim to chuck out search also.
Apple is supposed to be in talks with Microsoft to kick off Google as default search provider and let Bing take it on according to Business Week. This fight is just getting better and better. Apple won’t loose out much if this happens, but possibly Google could loose quite a few million users, yes thats it.
Recently, Apple sent out media invites to all their press guys regarding their press event on 27th January at San Francisco. The invite had a colorful background, just like the one’s we have at Holi (Festival of colors, mostly celebrated in India) and focused on the statement,
Come See our latest creation
You know what this points out to. iPhone 4G and morever the Apple Tablet device, iSlate. Fox news says that they had a talk with Apple guys and they said that the event was meant for unveiling the new Apple Tablet (iSlate) and iPhone 4G.
Nice! Apple is getting the needed buzz and it surely doesn’t like empty seats at press events!
The first thing i see when i log on to Digg.com is some Apple news. When i start reading articles in my RSS reader, all i see is Apple Rumors on all blogs. Who gives birth to these rumors? Why is everyone interested in Apple news? How does it spread so fast?
Apple knows all the answers. Let’s take the questions one by one.
Who gives birth to these rumors/leaks?
Apple itself. Apple has a team of marketing geniuses and news hungry people. That makes a perfect combination.
What? Apple itself leaks news?
I read this article at MacObserver which gave me a deeper idea as to how Apple made leaks. It had few simple steps.
Some Senior Executive instructs juniors to find to talk to someone at Major news outlets and reveal some information.
It is done over phone or in person and never in writing or emails because then no one comes to Apple with a proof.
This method works out the most as it’s claimed as a “Rumor” and so it may or may not be true and in this case the reputation of the both the parties is maintained and both of them benefit, Apple get’s required buzz and the authors get reader’s interest!
How do they get people interested in their news?
There are about 94,143,486 blogs who have posted about iPhone with a collective readership of over 30 Billion readers but only 45 Million iPhone were sold.
Apple does controlled leaks and it’s famous for not revealing information. If we see, generally you would be interested to know something when the other is trying to hide it. Simple principal is that
The more one hides, the more interest it generates for the other to know
This simple principal is responsible for the companies huge marketing success.
How does Apple get people to post their news?
If there are readers, give me a reason why people wouldn’t like to read about it? I mean our blogs first Digg frontpage was a Apple story too!
Also apart from readers, they do have great communication specialists who know the right people and get them at the right time so the news is a sure hit.
Why do they need news leaks?
To capture public reaction before releasing actual news as this helps them to plan actual stuff for products. I mean they could consider this as an unofficial trial without hammering the companies reputation.
They get the buzz by doing this. I can’t speak much on this because if we compare the Operating System market share, Apple has only about 5%-6% while Windows leads the rest of the market with much higher market share.
How far is this method successful?
In terms of popularity, this method works a lot. I mean every Windows fed up user wants to buy a Apple computer (sort of?).
Frankly if we think what a Apple customer is going through, then it’s hell. Why you ask? It’s simply because first of all he’s putting a lot of money into buying a premium product and on top of that he’s quite unsure about any refresh/updates to the product line so he gets confused if he should buy the product or not and so he wastes time thinking to buy it or not.
There has been a lot of speculation about the Apple’s Tablet’s (Rumored name is iSlate) Operating System. Amazing concepts have been coming up. Earlier it was said that the Tablet will carry the modified version of iPhone OS and will run iPhone apps with a larger resolution.
Another concept was of the Mac OS X running on the tablet computer. This too would be modified to fit the screen size and would support multi-touch gestures.
Here comes the third concept which states that it will be a mixture of both the operating systems (iPhone OS + Mac OS X). There is this short video which gives insight into concept.
Lets have a look at the names of Android versions till now
Cupcakes
Donuts
Eclairs
You see a pattern? C,D,E are in a alphabetical order. So next name possibly starts with a F (your guessing it, right?). It surely does and the next version of Android is going to be named Froyo which indicates Frozen Yogurt.
Erick Tseng at the Engadget Show had given out the details. Nice stuff they have got there. Now possibly what could be new features in Froyo?
More soon, send your ?s
)
The first thing i see when i log on to Digg.com is some Apple news. When i start reading articles in my RSS reader, all i see is Apple Rumors on all blogs. Who gives birth to these rumors? Why is everyone interested in Apple news? How does it spread so fast?
Lets have a look at the names of Android versions till now