Ultra-Portable Dell Inspiron Mini-12 Laptop

Dell’s new Dell Inspiron Mini-12 laptop is powered by 1.6 GHz Intel Ultra Low Voltage ATOM Z530 with 512-KB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB on Intel US15W Chipset Motherboard, and it offers 1-GB DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM (max 4-GB in 2 slots), a 80-GB 5400 rpm SATA hard drive and does not have any internal optical drive.

The Intel Atom processor uses a new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized of just 22mm, and it uses less than 1/10th of the 35 watts power used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor resulting is less heat output.

Intel ATOM ULV Processor Z530 has been specifically designed for small devices with low power consumption, besides maintaining the Intel Core 2 Duo instruction set compatibility. The new Dell Inspiron Mini 12 ultra-portable Laptop is designed as low-cost, Internet-centric mobile computing devices also called NetBooks.

This Ultra-Portable Dell Inspiron Mini-12 laptop is designed for consumer who needs to stay connected, informed, entertained and productive-anytime and anywhere. The ultra-portable laptop is designed lightweight and small in size making it convenient for use at all sorts of places like in home, gym, trains, bus, planes etc. where a larger size laptop might feel inconvenient.

Only 1.1 inch thick and weighing 1.24 Kgs with 6-cell battery pack, the Dell Inspiron Mini-12 laptop comes with 12.1-inch (30.7-cm) UltraSharp Widescreen WXGA TFT display with TrueLife powered by Intel Mobile Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 500 with upto 128-MB shared video memory 256-MB shared GDDR3 video RAM offering upto 1280 x 800 pixels screen resolution with 16.7 million colors.

Built chiefly for media consumption and available in several colors including Sapphire Blue, Smoke Grey, Crimson Red and Bone White, the Dell Inspiron Mini-12 laptop offers a wide range of component upgrades – including integrated WWAN or a Blu-ray DVD burner optical drive.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic edition preinstalled Dell Inspiron Mini-12 laptop offers Intel PRO/Wireless 4965 Network 802.11a/g/n Dell Mini Card for wireless LAN networking and it also features integrated 10/100 Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller, built-in 56kbps V.92 Fax/Modem, 4x USB 2.0 ports, IEEE 1394, VGA video output & S-Video and integrated stereo speakers powered by 5.1 channel surround audio system.

An optional Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth module is also available with this laptop allows attaching wireless mice, keyboards, PDAs and other Bluetooth-enabled devices without the hassle of cords and cables.

BSNL offers new prepaid BlackBerry plans for subscribers in 3 zones

PSU BSNL introduced three new plans for services offered in partnership with Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry.

The three new plans are BlackBerry® Internet Bundle service plans, BlackBerry® Messaging Bundle service plans and BlackBerry® Social Networking Bundle service plans offering the subscriber to choose from range of services related to instant messaging, social networking and internet browsing requirements of the subscriber.

Commenting on the launch, Shri Kuldeep Goyal, CMD, BSNL, said, “BSNL''s new service plans fill a void in the market; we are making it affordable and easy for customers to purchase BlackBerry smartphones and services. Our integrated plans for BlackBerry services are Extremely approachable and will be attractive to people who want connectivity at their fingertips,” he added.

"BSNL has played an important role in fostering the adoption of BlackBerry smartphones among both consumers and business users in India. We believe that these attractive new service plans will now help expand the market opportunity for BlackBerry smartphones even further," said Frenny Bawa, Vice President, India, Research In Motion.

SETI calls for citizen scientists

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute has opened up its data to all and sundry.

It's also publishing its signal-detection algorithm, hoping techies everywhere can make it even better and pick up a few of the aliens' missed calls.

"If you are knowledgeable about digital signal processing and pulling signals out of noise - we need you," says the website.

"If you are eager to use your eyes, ears, and mind to help us find anomalies in the data streaming from the Allen Telescope Array - we need you."

In particular, they're after software developers, data parsing and gaming geeks and amateur radio astronomers.

We suspect that what they'll actually get... well, you can work it out for yourselves.

Pulsar 220 goes streetfighting

Another day, another Pulsar. If you are obsessed with keeping a track of the Pulsar variants Bajaj Auto has launched in the past few years, here’s one more to add to your kitty. And like most of the Pulsars, this one’s a plain follower of permutations and combinations. The Pulsar 220’s fairing has been stripped off and the ‘new’ bike will sport the familiar Pulsar bikini fairing and tank shrouds from its younger siblings. The engine specs and output figures remain the same at 21.4PS of power and 19.2Nm of torque while the kerb weight is down by about 12kg to 148kg now. This should make the fastest Indian even faster. The bike will be called Pulsar 220 DTS-i and will sport a pricetag of Rs 69,425 (ex-showroom Delhi), which is about three grands cheaper than the fairied ‘F’ version.

LG Mini GD880 Ultra-slim Touchscreen Phone unfurled

Changing the definition of ‘smart’, LG has recently taken the veil off all-new LG Mini GD880, a new trendy mobile phone that accentuates its trendsetting design with a full complement of intelligent features.

Claimed to be the smallest and slimmest 3.2-inch full touchscreen phone on the market today, the eye-popping phone is loaded with advanced communication features and cutting-edge technology. Crafted with the highest quality materials, the new offering from LG easily slides in a shirt pocket or small handbag while still feeling reassuringly solid to the touch.

“We developed the LG Mini in response to specific requests from actual consumers who were unhappy with current full touchscreen phones that are too bulky, too clunky and too expensive. The easily pocketable LG Mini delivers great looks at a reasonable price, along with the trendy features that people want,” stated Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company.

Valentine’s Day offers from mobile service providers in India.

Come on guys only two days to go before Valentines day, and many mobile companies in India know how important this day is.

There are usually special offers cool deals etc to get your heart pounding and it would seem that this year is know different.

Uninor, which happens to be the brand name of Unitech Wireless. This is Uninor’s first year in India and the company have announced the Uninor 143 pack for their Andhra Pradesh subscribers, it contains two SIM cards with 2000 minutes of free talk time over the two cards with Rs.30 talk time included in both cards which have a lifetime validity also.

Airtel have announced unlimited offer whereby Airtel fixed line customers can talk as much as they want for February 7th, 14th and 21st. There is also an offer for mobile phone customers as well, BlackBerry users can have unlimited chat and email service at just Rs99 per month.

Valentine’s Day offer from Airtel:
Bharti Airtel announce Unlimited Sunday offer in which Airtel Fixed Line customers can talk unlimited for February 7, February 14 and February 21.This offer is for Airtel Fixed Line users but don’t be disappoint, Airtel has another offer for mobile phone users.

Airtel announce Valentine’s Day offer for BlackBerry subscribers by which BlackBerry users can Unlimited Chat and Email service over BlackBerry phones at just Rs.99 per month in “BlackBerry Personal Mail” offer. This promotional offer is valid for 6 months, after 6 months it will cost Rs.299 per month.

Valentine’s Day offer from BSNL:
BSNL, one of the largest telecom service provider in India announce 20 percent Extra Talk Time on Recharges from Rs.100 to Rs.5500.This 20 percent Extra Talk Time can be used for local, STD, ISD, SMS and other VAS services from BSNL. User can take benefit of this 20 percent Extra Talk Time between 08 February to 15 February 2010.

MakeMyTrip acquires Ticketvala.com

Gurgaon, India-based online travel company MakeMyTrip (MMT) has announced the acquisition of online bus ticket company Ticketvala.com, operated by Travis Internet Pvt. Ltd.

MMT has acquired strategic assets from Ticketvala including website, URL, technology platform agent network, and bus inventory.

The Ticketvala online system provides real time quotations, real time bus booking services for round trips, multiple payment channels, cost comparison and last minute bookings.

Deep Kalra, founder & CEO, MakeMyTrip.com, said, “We were the first full service OTA to launch online bus ticketing in India and currently offer one of the largest bus inventory in the country with over 8,000 buses, 500 bus operators, and over 5000 routes across 14 states in the country. Ticketvala has a strong Customer Reservation System, (CRS) platform, a large supplier network, and direct contracting that will help us pass on greater value to our end users.”

MMT is targetting sales of Rs. 2300 crores or $511 million in the f.y.e. March 2010.

The online travel industry in India is estimated to be worth US$ 6 billion by 2010. It is expected to corner around 23% share of the total travel market by 2010.

Google changes doodle for Winter Olympics opening ceremony

The Google logo appears in front of a stylised drawing of the opening ceremony which – unusually for a themed doodle – stretches right the way across the screen.

The logo also boasts an Olympic flame in place of the letter "l", and a small print of the Olympic rings.

Google introduces smut censor for YouTube

Google has introduced a "safety mode" for YouTube watchers that filters out smut and other objectionable material, the company announced.

Customers can opt in to the "safety mode", which also automatically hides comments on any videos. If the user decides to view the comments, all objectionable words are censored by Google's smut filter.

The web's top video-sharing site has long banned pornography, gratuitous violence and animal abuse. But the new filter will target such images even if they occur within a legitimate context such as a news report, the company said in its blog Thursday.

"An example of this type of content might be a newsworthy video that contains graphic violence, such as a political protest or war coverage," said product manager Jamie Davidson. "While no filter is 100 percent perfect, 'safety mode' is another step in our ongoing desire to give you greater control over the content you see on the site.

MySpace: can the troubled social network save itself?

OWEN van Natta, the former Facebook executive brought in to revive News Corp’s MySpace social-networking unit, will step down after less than a year.

Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn, executives who joined the company at about the same time as Van Natta, will assume his responsibilities as co- presidents, New York-based News Corp said late on Wednesday. The announcement took the market by surprise.

Technology market watchers said yesterday the move was the outcome of a power struggle between Van Natta and Fox Interactive Media CEO Jon Miller.

Miller was said to have dispensed with Van Natta earlier on Wednesday. Van Natta had in his year at MySpace stopped users moving away to other social networks, but was still having a hard time attracting new members, reports said yesterday.

Van Natta was named CEO in April last year to rejuvenate MySpace.

Earlier that month, News Corp hired former AOL chief Miller to oversee its digital operations.

“In talking to Owen about his priorities both personally and professionally … we both agreed that it was best for him to step down at this time,” Miller said.

Last year Facebook, with 112- million US users in December, passed MySpace as the top social- networking site in the US.

Shares News Corp, which is controlled by chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, fell 30c to 12,61 after the news in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. It had recovered to 13,70 yesterday morning.

MySpace, based in Beverly Hills, California, faces the expiry in June of a 900m, multiyear advertising partnership with Google. Van Natta, who had said MySpace’s health did not hinge on the advertising deal, steered away from direct competition with Facebook, seeking to make the company a hub for music, games and other entertainment.

MySpace bought the digital music services iLike and imeem while he was CEO.

MySpace announced its hiring of Hirschhorn as chief operating officer and Jones as chief product officer three days after Van Natta was appointed CEO.

India Says PayPal Not Authorized for Money Transfer

Indian users of online money transfer service PayPal face a long wait after the firm abruptly suspended personal payments because of regulatory issues.

Last month's move followed questions from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about whether PayPal complies with laws on cross-border money transfers.

Neither PayPal, which is based in the US, nor the RBI was able to say when the issue might be resolved.

The affair has left many Indian users of PayPal frustrated.

'Fast-growing market'

PayPal says in its blog that its personal payment service for India would be suspended "for at least a few months".

The company could not give figures for the size of its business in India, which is believed to be relatively small. However, PayPal spokesman Anuj Nayar told the BBC that India was a "fast-growing market".

The problem is over the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, which came into effect in India in August 2008.

The RBI says that under this act, any money transfer scheme has to be authorised by the Indian authorities, which PayPal is not.

The RBI would not give details of its discussions with PayPal, but says it has sent the company some questions to respond to. Government sources in India have said they believe PayPal was aware of the implications the change of legislation would have for its business.

The stumbling block is whether PayPal personal payments - as opposed to commercial transactions - amount to cash remittances. PayPal says it only operates online and it is up to users to get money from their PayPal account to a bank account to encash it.

Some Indian PayPal users are small businesses for whom the system is a quick and effective way to transfer funds.

Google Makes Google Buzz Privacy Controls More Visible

Google Feb. 11 acknowledged the wicked backlash of privacy concerns over its new Google Buzz social service by improving privacy controls in the service. Users able to access Buzz in Gmail complained when they realized their Buzz contacts were visible in their public Google profile until they edited their default settings to make Buzz lists private in their profiles. Buzz's latitude with user privacy drew more than a few comparisons to Facebook, whose disastrous Beacon service upset individuals.

Google Feb. 11 acknowledged the backlash of privacy concerns over its new Google Buzz social service by making privacy controls in the service more transparent.

Google launched Google Buzz in Gmail, offering a portion of its 176 million Gmail users the ability to post status updates, links, photos and videos. Because Buzz is geared toward making Gmail a more social application, it was automatically set up to follow the people whom users e-mail and chat with most.

Gmail users can follow people whose Buzz posts they choose to see. By default, the setting was public, but users can opt out of displaying the full list of people following them and whom they are following.

Nokia launches Nokia 2730 classic in India

Nokia brings the Internet closer to reality with its affordable 3G device, Nokia 2730 classic in India.

The sleek and compact Nokia 2730 classic is one of the industry’s most affordable 3G devices priced at Rs 4,499/-. The device provides an ultimate Internet experience and is competitively equipped with Nokia’s range of emerging market services such as Ovi Mail, Nokia Messaging, Nokia Life Tools, and browsing, making it easy for consumers to share and manage life.

Talking about the new phone Vineet Taneja, Director Marketing Nokia India said, “Nokia has always had a holistic approach towards driving the adoption of 3G in India, both at the infrastructure and at the handset level. As the market leader, our investment into different technologies has always been aimed at being future ready and today with the launch of Nokia 2730 classic we have a portfolio of over 20 3G enabled handsets in the market. We firmly believe that 3G technologies and future enhancements will offer the most expeditious and cost-effective means of providing mobile internet access to the mass market.”

Will people leave Facebook for Buzz?

Let's say you'd constituted a drinking game for the aftermath of Tuesday's unveiling of Google Buzz, the odd new mishmash of status messages, geolocation, and social-media aggregation: Take a drink every time some pundit says Google is trying to "kill" Facebook, Twitter, or any number of the "geo" start-ups out there.

You'd have been totally blitzed.

The cries of "It's a Facebook killer!" and "It's going to kill Twitter!" are tedious, but completely understandable considering that this is one of the first big pushes from Google, which has never been able to get a good grip on social networking, to make inroads in the space. And Buzz is indeed a product that's reactionary as opposed to trailblazing. It's Google's biggest acknowledgment of the fact that people dig these short real-time messages and social-media sharing. It aims to take the reasons why people use Facebook, why people use Twitter, and why early adopters have started using "geo" services, and wrap them all up into a product intimately connected to its existing Gmail client.