Category: Computing

All the Computer and Laptop news, bundled with all add ons including Printers and Peripherals.

AMD Brings Out FirePro W9100 and W8100 GPUs for 4K Workstations

The Indian entertainment industry is massive. India is known for making the most number of movies in the world, and this industry is constantly updating itself. The buzzword around the industry is currently 4K. Creating content for 4K requires high power components such as storage, processors and GPU’s. As the content creators are making major strides to create more visual content in 4K resolution, the demand for high power equipment is also increasing. To address this demand AMD has launched its flagship AMD FirePro W9100 and W8100 professional graphics card in India.

The prominent global chipmakers introduced the cards targeted for 4K content production. While the FirePro W9100 is the flagship product, the W8100 is a lower variant of the product. The major target of these units is the massive VFX industry in India who often work for big-budget Hollywood blockbusters.

The GPU’s are accelerated by OpenCL. The FirePro W9100 delivers up to 2.62 TFLOPS peak double precision and 5.24 TFLOPS peak single precision in terms of GPU compute power. The W9100 workstations comes with 16 GB GDDR5 memory and users can multi-task across up to six 4K displays.

The FirePro’s are some Heavy duty GPU’s.

AMD FirePro 8100, on the other hand, is aimed at 4K CAD and Media workflows, engineering analysis and supercomputing applications. It offers 8GB of GDDR5 memory and 4.2 TFLOPS peak single precision and 2.1 TFLOPS peak double precision.

Raja Koduri, corporate vice president of visual computing at AMD said, “With an increase in accessibility of 4K displays, there has been a rise in the applications demanding increased memory support while pushing the limits of real-time 4K video production and rendering. The addition of W8100 is a significant step towards expanding our product portfolio for enabling professionals with the best kind of workstation performance for next generation 4K workflows.”

AMD also brought out the Radeon R9 285 graphics card. It features a clock speed of 918 MHz and is capable of delivering 3.29 TFlops of computing performance. AMD also announced they are getting involved with Indian filmmakers in providing them superior visual effects support for their graphics needs in a more cost-effective manner.

The FirePro W9100 has been priced at $4500 or Rs. 2,75,000 INR whereas the FirePro W8100 has been priced at $2499 or about Rs.1,60,00. The technology is here now, and we can only hope that the Indian entertainment industry starts to make content worthy of 4K resolution.

September 26, 2014
ARM Unleashes Cortex M7 Chip To Make Smart Devices More Powerful

Internet of Things is the buzzword of this decade, turning everything around us into interconnected computers. Well, every computer needs a processor to run, which in turn consumes power.

The processors for various smart devices need a whole different class of chip as they don’t have a traditional interface. Usually, for a devices to become smart, they need to be user friendly and convenient. Hence, the most popular smart devices are generally small in size which means they need smaller processor with equal power. This is achieved by special type of microprocessors called Embedded Processors.

But, until now, these embedded processors were still low on power and needed an upgrade to meet the need of the consumers. ARM, the company that has its chip tech in almost every smartphone today, just gave the category a big upgrade.

The company announced the latest processor in its M-series. These are a set of low-power processors capable of handling embedded devices like smart home appliances, drones, automotive and wearables. It is focused on making these devices more powerful. The company’s 32-bit Cortex-M7 chip architecture is a big step up from the previous top-of-the-line, the M4.

Being able to perform twice as well, while consuming the same battery life as previous chips will have benefits to many wearables. The M7 comes with a 400MHz processor, packing more than twice the punch as the 168MHz M4 that came before it (and will continue to be available to manufacturers). It comes with support for more displays, motors, voice controls, connectivity, audio performance and improved GPS accuracy.

The company said that manufacturers are already building devices with the chip embedded, so it won’t be long before we get to see if the extra power actually makes a difference in our everyday lives.

September 24, 2014
IFA 2014 : Lenovo Introduces 17-inch Gaming Laptop, The Y70 Touch

Along with the Tab S8 and the ERAZER X315, Lenovo gave us a good look at another addition to its line-up of laptops, the Y70 Touch. The company claims that the Y70 Touch gaming laptop is its first 17-inch touch device.

The Y70 Touch gaming laptop comes in three variants and is available to buy from Lenovo’s US online store. The three models – 80DU000EUS, 80DU000NUS, and 80DU000HUS – are priced at $1,399.99, $1,499.99 , and $1,689.00 respectively. Lenovo also said that the laptops will be available with major retailers in October.

The only fact that may not go down well with its prospective buyers is its weight; the Lenovo Y70 Touch laptops weigh a hefty 3.4kgs.

The three models of the Y70 Touch gaming laptops are powered by the fourth-generation Intel Core i7-4710HQ Processor (2.50GHz, 4 cores, 8 threads, 6MB cache). The difference between the three variants is in system memory, dedicated GPUs, and in-built storage. All three models of the Lenovo Y70 Touch run Windows 8.1 64-bit OS and sport a 17.3-inch full-HD LED anti-glare multi-touch display. An integrated HD (720p) webcam is also included.

The three Lenovo Y70 Touch laptop variants also share the connectivity features including Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/b/g/n, as well as the same battery – a 4-cell 54-Watt Hour Li-Po. Sized at 422.9×290.6×25.9mm, the Lenovo Y70 Touch laptops boast stereo speakers powered by JBL alongside a backlit keyboard for easy typing during low light conditions.

September 3, 2014
IFA 2014 : Lenovo Debuts New Gaming Desktop, The ERAZER X315

Along with the Tab S8, Lenovo took the wraps off two new gaming PCs at the IFA trade show in Berlin today – The Y70 Touch and The ERAZER X315.

Talking about the first one, the Erazer X315 comes in two variants, the 3.1GHz quad-core AMD A8-7600 and the 3.7GHz quad-core AMD A10-7850k processors. With the AMD A8-7600, users get a 2GB AMD Radeon R9 255 GPU, 1TB+8GB SSHD in-built storage, and 8GB of RAM. And with the AMD A10-7850k, users get a 2GB AMD Radeon R9 260 GPU; 2TB+8GB SSHD in-built storage, and 12GB of RAM.

The connectivity features of the Erazer X315 include 4x USB 3.0; 2x USB 2.0; HDMI-in; 7-in-1 card reader; 6x audio jack with S/PDIF; and Wi-Fi 802.11ac. Weighing 16.5 pounds, the Erazer X315 gaming desktop measures 375.9×360.6×175.2mm and also features Dolby Advanced Audio technology.

The Erazer X315 will be available in November this year with major retailers with the starting price tag of $599.

September 3, 2014
Intel Launches First 8-Core Desktop Processor With X99 Chipset

Intel has just brought out a solution to all the worries of a Power PC user. The processor manufacturing giant unveiled its first 8-core processed which comes with 16 threads. The new processor is called the Intel® Core i7-5960X processor Extreme Edition and was previously known as Haswell-E.

The Processor was previously called the Haswell-E

The processor has been specially developed for the folks who demand excruciating performance from their systems. Intel says the new processors offer the speed, cores, overclocking and platform capabilities that the users had been demanding from them. They say this is the beginning to the ‘reimagination of the desktop.’ These processors are expected to churn out faster speeds on cooler temperatures.”

As you must have probably realized by now, the Core i7-5960X is not light on specs. It is combined with the new Intel® X99 Chipset and is the first Intel desktop platform to support DDR4 memory. It offers a massive 16-thread performance and quad-channel memory for content creation, gaming and multitasking. That is some serious machinery right there.

One of the first systems going for this processor is the amazing and uniquely styled Alienware Area-51, which comes with some imposing exteriors that truly stands up to the Alienware brand. Alienware’s general manager Frank Azor said “It was an easy decision to work with Intel to bring its new eight-core extreme processor to our new flagship gaming desktop, the Alienware Area-51. Using new overclocking and monitoring features in Alienware Command Center 4.0, we’ve been able to really push the processors to the fullest extent and are seeing impressive overclocking headroom. This new Intel processor lineup is the perfect choice for gamers who demand the absolute best performance from their systems.”

Intel has been working with industry partners to take advantage of this new platform. Key OEMs, memory vendors, motherboard vendors and graphics partners will help grow this enthusiast centric ecosystem. These Extreme Edition-based systems are the ultimate dream-come-true for any enthusiast looking for a high def, lagless performance.

The X-99 chipset is capable of some insane performance delivery

Many of these new platforms based on the Intel X99 Chipset are also Thunderbolt Ready. When paired with a Thunderbolt 2 add-in card, a blazing-fast connection to your PC at 20 Gbps is enabled. Data intensive tasks such as 4K video editing, 3-D rendering and game development all strongly benefit from the performance of Thunderbolt 2.

Intel will launch three new SKUs that will be available next week ranging from six to eight cores and will be priced from $389 to $999. The processors are priced on the higher end which is a given considering its massive performance and the convenience it provides in undertaking high-intensity projects with ease. Hope we get our hands on this soon and go for some insane gaming weekends.

August 30, 2014
All You Need To Know About the Reversible Type-C USB

Universal Serial Bus or the name you’re more likely to be aware of, USB, is an industry standard that defines the cables, connectors and communications protocols used for connecting and power supply between computers and electronic devices. USB Type-C is one of the biggest technological advancement in recent years as it comes with more speed, convenience and power. Recent iPhone 6 leaks show Apple is working on its own form of reversible USB standard.

Well, before we go any further, let’s have a quick look at the existing USB standards.

There are basically 4 types USB standard used these days: Type-A, Type-B, Micro USB and Mini USB. Type-A is the most widely used USB standard, used in pen drives, standard USB jacks on your laptops and computers and practically on every electronic device. Type-B is fairly less used or used in combination with Type-A standard to reduce the risk of electrical overloads. Micro USB is the tiny, near-universal form factor used by smartphones and tablets for connections and power supply. And the last one is Mini USB, the larger predecessor of Micro USB used at the device end of things like GPS units and some external hard drives, but like USB Type-B, it is also fast fading from use.

Each type has a different form factor and the same is true for USB Type-C.

What makes the Type-C a revolutionary technology is that it is going to replace all the form factors and unlike the other standards which target different classes of device, Type-C form factor will be a universal USB standard. The reversible Type-C connector is roughly the same size as the existing Micro-USB connector at the bottom of your smartphone, but it’s reversible.

Reversible USB patent Design by Apple

Advantages

Speed

USB Type-C standard can go as fast as 10Mbps, which is double when compared to USB 3.0’s 5Mbps speed. This means you can transfer 1,250MB of data in one second with USB Type-C.

Power

USB Type-C will also compliment the USB 3.1 in terms of power. USB 2.0 can handle the current of up to 500 milliamps (mA) for up to 2.5W of power and USB 3.0 upped that to 900mA for up to 4.5W of power, USB 3.1 can offer 5amps (5000mA) and up to 100W of power. This means not only will devices charge far faster, but almost anything can be powered via USB 3.1 and the tiny USB Type-C connector.

Reversible

The new MacBook with a single slot

The Type-C connector, which has 18 pins, is essentially two USB 3.1 SuperSpeed connectors (which have the standard four pins, plus five more to enable 10Gbps connections). If you plug in the connector one way, the top set of pins are used; if you plug it in the other way, the bottom set of pins are used and hence, making it reversible.

Official confirmation

The USB Promoter Group announced earlier this month that the reversible Type-C USB connector is ready for mass production. That means it will be an official standard just like USB Type-A, Type-B, Mini and Micro USB. It is also backwards compatible with each USB standard, though the USB 3.1 speed and power benefits it can deliver will only come when connecting to other USB 3.1 compliant ports.

Downsides

Physical compatibility

As mentioned above, USB Type-C is backwards compatible with each USB standard, but they are not physically compatible. Which means you need to buy adapters to fit into existing slots.

Apple

Old vs New

The recently launched Apple MacBook, is the first Apple product to incorporate the new-gen USB. Apple’s USB-C supports higher wattage charging, USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) data transfer and DisplayPort 1.2 all in a single connector that’s one-third the size of a traditional USB port. Since the MacBook is the thinnest notebook ever (24% thinner than the Air,) slimmed down ports were also necessary to bring in.

Not only that, this new connectivity standard gives you five ports in one – power, USB data transfer, DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA capabilities.

Well, even with these downsides, Type-C USB standard is one of the best thing happened in the technology-sphere since ages. With combined power of USB 3.1 and Type-C USB standard, our gadgets will never be the same again. With the ease and the power that comes with this technology, we expect that it will be adopted by consumers quickly. However, it is possible it will create some confusion among the consumers. But taking in account the amount of convenience it comes with, it will be worth it.

August 23, 2014
Windows 9 Leaks Show The Revival Of The Start Menu

Windows 8 never became as successful as Microsoft had hoped. One of the major reasons cited was the entirely new ‘Tiled’ interface and gesture support which helped unify the tablet, mobile and desktop experience. The new interface dissuaded a lot many folks and enterprises from switching over to the new OS. One of the major demands from the consumers who did switch over to the latest Windows OS was the inclusion of a start menu. Now in a recent leak by Myce (sounds like a great name for a mole) shows that Microsoft might finally revive the Start button.

The new revamped Start menu, if this really is what it would look, is quite impressive. According to Myce, the build is 9795 and was compiled on 13^thJuly. It is said to be from the User Interface and Platform team. Although it was widely rumored that the Start menu would resurface with this year’s release of Windows 8.2, it seems now that it will only be ready for release with Windows 9. Even though the leaked images refer have Windows 8 written over it, they are for Windows 9.

Microsoft had showcased a demo of the menu option during the Build conference this year. That version had a mix of traditional windows experience with the new metro features.

A second leaked image shows a new App store design. Though these design elements can be seen as a precursor to new windows styling too.

Now these are still images from ‘work-in-progress’ situation so it’s advisable to not get your hopes high. There are several glitches and compatibility issues that the developers have to work out. Hence, this should be taken as what it is, a leak!

July 22, 2014
Net Neutrality vote: Our Internet is in Trouble

“Net Neutrality” – you might have heard this term in a passing reference on the internet or some news show. You may not know this yet, but this term directly has an effect on your life. We attempt to give you all the facts and tell you why you should care about net neutrality.

Tim Wu
Columbia Law Professor

The term, coined by Columbia media law professor Tim Wu in 2003, has been one of the major codes of conduct for the internet since its inception. It is the idea that internet service providers are not to discriminate between any content on the internet. The data packets which bring our services should all get equal access speed.

This basic principle has allowed the internet to be an environment which encourages open competition and has encouraged some phenomenal innovation. It has helped even the smallest business models to grow to become international conglomerates, the most prominent examples of this a Google and Facebook.

The Open Internet, Equal Access speed for all

The fact that general public doesn’t realize is that internet is not just a service anymore, it has now become a necessary utility. It is literally impossible to live without a decent internet connection especially in urban areas where it is used for bill payments, shopping, and admissions in universities; in fact internet has intertwined itself with all facets of our daily life.

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) had codified the Net Neutrality principles into law in the 2010 Open Internet order. This order was unfortunately squashed by a federal court recently and can spell doom for the internet as we know it. This ruling can help create a precedent for internet companies to create a fast lanes for the highest bidder. This means wensites who agree to pay more will get a faster access while everyone else will end up getting sub par connectivity.

Without Net Neutrality ISP’s can charge for individual websites.

Imagine an internet where you have to pay to access individual websites. Like a Cable subscription where you have to pay more for bandwidth intensive websites such as YouTube or Vimeo. Most importantly it would kill smaller start-ups who aspire to someday become the next Google.

Mark Zuckerberg could only succeed because of an open internet

The free and fair internet till now has given a level playing field for competition for all. So even a college freshman could create the Forbes listed, world’s biggest social medium called Facebook. It was also because of free internet that even iGyaan could reach its readers. But in a non net neutrality world, these guys will face the same obstacles which are faced by the real world business of finding resources.

The opponents of net neutrality make a point that currently websites with higher bandwidth consumption pay the same price to reach the consumers like any other website. But when road traffic started getting congested, the government created wider roads and not special roads for rich people. They should consider the same. The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which are opposing net neutrality earn billions in profits each year. Instead of disrupting a unique ecosystem that is still evolving, it is ISP’s prerogative to invest in making the services more innovative and sustainable for them as well as the internet. The companies will make more money by providing quality services to its consumers instead of trying to squeeze the last penny off them.

Steve Wozniak is one of the major proponents of Net Neutrality. (Photo: Nichollas Harrison.)

The great Steve Wozniak makes an excellent analogy when he says that nobody charges you for your per kilometer travel, then why charge for telecom routes. When the roads require maintenance, the government comes to do their part and this must be the responsibility of the ISPs itself.

TRAI needs to formulate regulations now

In India though there are no specific laws safeguarding net neutrality. TRAI in its guidelines mentions non-discrimination, but it is not really enforced. The high cost of spectrum licensing in India and the ever growing burden of massive mobile devices market may lead companies to go for charging a premium on some websites. India’s BRICS companion Brazil recently enacted a brilliant piece of net neutrality legislation and we should ask our lawmakers for the same. All we as consumers can do is be vigilant and raise our voices when we see that happen.

There is going to be a vote at FCC on Thursday the 15th which will decide the future of our internet. This vote can go both ways, the commission can create a precedent where companies can charge websites for priority access. Or the commission can create a legally safe law in which internet will be treated as a telecom service thereby giving FCC complete authority to regulate it. The great news right now is that most of the commissioners are siding with the open internet platform but what happens on Thursday still remain to be seen.

There have been many times when governments try to bring laws which discourage the free exchange of ideas. SOPA, PIPA were some of the laws targeted towards decreasing the efficacy of the internet dialogue. But some good sense prevailed and saved our internet. Net neutrality advocates from around the world are wishing for the same and hope to keep the future of a free and open internet secure.

May 15, 2014
Decoded: Top 5 Cloud Storage Services

Juggling between smartphones, desktops, laptops and tablets makes it increasingly hard to keep track of all our files. For example, as easy it is to snap a picture, the harder its become to keep tabs of the every-growing bulk of images. We tend to keep scattered folders for our pictures on various storage devices and laptops. Cloud storage rescues us from these restraints, ensuring that the files we need are available where and when we want them. Clearly, it should now be a fundamental part of our modern, mobile lives.

The ultimate advantage? You never have depend on your gadgets or fear losing any important data. We review the best cloud storage services and see what each of them have to offer:

Dropbox

Dropbox is the only online storage solutions to offer clients for Linux and Blackberry, along with the usual Windows, Mac OS X, Android and iOS standards – even though an official Windows Phone app still remains indefinable. This goes a long way to ensuring that your data can be with you, no matter what kind of technology you want to use. The basic free account provides a with a somewhat small – in contrast to competitor services – 2GB of storage. For documents, this amount works, however if you want to store any kind of media – photos, music, or video – it will fade away very fast. You have an option of investing and upgrading to the 100GB plan. Dropbox also offers 500MB of additional free storage for each friend you get to sign up to the service – with a limit of 16GB.

Overall it is an excellent cross-platform service, a benchmark which is hard to compete. It may lack several services which others provide, but its user-friendly interface and multi-technology compatibility makes it one of the most popular choices.

Google Drive

Google drive is a heart of various services Google currently offers. It offers 15 GB of free space on signup or when you link it with your old Google account. Drive works in the same fashion as most cloud storage solutions, with a local folder on your PC linked to a replica for cloud version. The interface across the apps is smart and simple to navigate, with a basic file tree showing where your data is kept. You can choose specific files to be available offline on the mobile versions, and these can be edited – if they were created in Google Docs – then synced when you return online.

Google Drive is the most munificent of all the services in this category. If you live in the Google universe then it actually is an brilliant storage option, predominantly if you use Google Docs a lot.

Streem

Our Favourite find! The lesser known Streem is a cloud-based hard drive that offers unlimited storage space for your files. All files are securely stored in the cloud and streamed to you on-demand, saving you terabytes of space on your devices. Unlike other cloud storage services, you are not require to store your files on your hard drive and sync them to the cloud. All your files are securely stored on the servers and streamed to you on-demand.

The edge about this storage service is that they give you free unlimited storage and that you don’t have to keep a copy on all of your computers in order to access them. As long as you have an internet connection, you’re set.

Box

Sometimes mistaken for the similarly named Dropbox, Box is the eldest of it’s competitors, having launched in 2005. It’s major focus is cloud computing for business side of the market and has impressive enterprise reputation.

Box still offers solid personal storage options, however, with a generous 10GB of space for any new account. However Box limits the file size to 250MB, which is a major drawback. This is noticeably lower than the 10GB limits of both Google Drive and Dropbox, with OneDrive’s 2GB limit still plenty for most people. Of course 250MB is more than sufficient for most documents and spreadsheets, but if large media files – especially videos – are part of your plan then this could be a problem.

OneDrive

Much of the functionality of OneDrive (previously SkyDrive) is equivalent to Dropbox, with its apps available to Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and of course, Windows Phone users. Microsoft to attract more users launched as offer whereby users gain 500MB of storage for every friend that signs up to an account through them.There’s also an added 3GB offered if you link OneDrive to your mobile phone’s camera roll, enabling it to routinely back up your photos online.

The OneDrive interface is similar to Windows 8’s Modern UI design. You have a choice between the boxy style or a more traditional file tree. Folders and files can be created on the web, including Office and OneNote formats thanks to tight Office Online integration. They’ve also added a social element to the web version – a range of popular messaging services are accessible to be connected to your OneDrive account.

April 30, 2014
Logitech TK820 Wireless Keyboard With Touchpad $99.99

Logitech is a well known name when it comes to keyboards and other computer accessories, and now it’s ready to show off its latest offering: the TK820 which is a compact keyboard with an attached touch surface.

Its slightly concave keycaps feature Perfect Stroke technique, which promises consistent resistance from edge to edge. It might not be useful to everyone, but for those who want to replace a mouse with a touchpad this can be considerable prize. Specially for the new Window 8 based hardware, as they mainly have been designed for touch gestures.

Logitech TK820

While the company says :

Everything you need to control and navigate your computer is integrated in one device. The keyboard has a built in touchpad so you can type, touch and swipe in one. It’s a new and innovative way to navigate.

The touch area is larger than a laptop touchpad so you have more room to point, zoom and swipe. In fact, you can perform up to 13 unique Windows 8 gestures comfortably and smoothly

The wireless, ultra-slim design keeps your desk cable- and clutter-free. The integrated touchpad also means you won’t need a separate mouse.

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August 13, 2013
Intel’s Pentium Processor Turns 20 Years Old Today

Following Intel’s previous series of 8086, 80186, 80286, 80386, and 80486 microprocessors, the company’s first P5-based microprocessor was released as the original Intel Pentium, 20 years ago today, on March 22, 1993.

Marketing firm Lexicon Branding was hired to coin a name for the new processor. The suffix -ium was chosen as it could connote a fundamental ingredient of a computer, like a chemical element, while the prefix pent- could refer to the fifth generation of x86.

If you’re old enough to recall, the chip ran circles around its 486DX2 predecessor, and thanks to a heavy dose of marketing from Intel, the brand quickly became synonymous with the PC. For you trivia types, the original Pentium P5 was available in 60MHz and 66MHz variants, and was manufactured with an 800-nanometer fabrication process, which is quite the contrast to the 22nm chips on the market today.

Despite Intel’s poor initial handling of the Pentium FDIV bug, the processor went on to become arguably the firm’s most successful piece of silicon. Intel’s Pentium chip hasn’t been its highest volume part, as the computer industry was considerably smaller during its original three and a half year run, but such is its association with the firm that the company still uses the branding to this day, 20 years on.

These chips also ran extremely hot, meaning they required a large heatsink and noisy cooling fan to keep under control. The misstep ultimately allowed AMD to take the performance crown with their highly successful Athlon line for several years.

Intel eventually found their way again with the Core architecture that debuted near the end of 2007. Interestingly enough, this platform was based on the same P6 architecture used in the first Pentium Pro back in 1995.

So there you have it: Happy birthday, Pentium!

March 23, 2013
Microsoft Q2 2013 Earnings Indicate $21.56b Revenue, $6.38b Profit

Microsoft says its fourth-quarter earnings slipped 4 percent, despite a lift from its latest version of Windows.

The Redmond, Washington-based software giant posted revenue of $21.46 billion and net income of $6.38 billion, with earnings per share of 77 cents. That’s largely in line with what Wall Street had been expecting, though a bit lower on the revenue side and higher on the earnings side — ahead of today’s financial report, the analyst consensus was that Microsoft would post earnings of 75 cents a share on $21.53 billion in revenue.

The results announced Thursday are the first to include Windows 8. The program is a dramatic overhaul of the Microsoft Corp operating system that powers most PCs. Windows 8 came out 26 October with slightly more than two months left in Microsoft’s fiscal second quarter.

When Windows 8 finally hit the market, Microsoft also unveiled its own tablet computer, Surface, as a showcase for the operating system. Microsoft didn’t disclose Thursday how many Surface devices were sold in the October-December period.

Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices division, which is responsible for the Xbox and Surface, saw an 11% decline from last year, with only $3.77 billion of revenue. This comes after Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 was the top-selling gaming console for two years straight. It looks like holiday sales weren’t as great as the company expected.

Microsoft’s Online Services division saw more growth, however, with $869 million in revenue, which is an 11% increase year-over-year. Thanks to the upcoming Office 365 suite and SkyDrive, Microsoft’s online services don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, especially with the deal that Microsoft made with the city of Chicago to bring Office 365 services to city employees.

January 25, 2013
New Windows 8 Accessories Launched By Logitech

Logitech India today introduced a new line of products specifically designed to facilitate intuitive navigation of Windows 8.

The new products are: Logitech Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650, Touch Mouse T620, Zone Touch Mouse T400 and Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard K810 and Wireless Touch Keyboard K400R.

[quote]”We have a tradition of launching innovative products and believe in their superiority. Windows 8 allows users to move from one form factor to another, and hence we are offering mouse with horizontal navigation,” Logitech Country Manager India and South-West Asia Subrotah Biswas told reporters here.[/quote]

The Logitech Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650, lets you use all Windows 8 gestures to navigate on a old laptop running the new OS. The T620 mouse too lets users do the same – even the top corner swipes to cycle through apps and open settings. You can swipe though pages by running you fingers on the mouse and open Start with a double tap.

The new family of products includes the K810 Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard that can connect with up to three different devices at the same time (Rs 8,295), the K400 Wireless Touch Keybaord with a Windows 8 compatible 3.5-inch touchpad (Rs 2,995) and the T650 rechargeable touchpad with a glass surface and full gesture compatibility (Rs 4,995). The Logitech Touch Mouse T620 will be priced at Rs 4,295, while the T400 Zone Touch mouse will cost Rs 2,895.

November 21, 2012
The Indian Govt will make the fastest super Computer in the world by 2017 – with Rs 4700 Crore

The Govt of India is planning a supercomputer which will run at an Exaflop, a computing speed which is 61 times faster than the fastest supercomputer yet, Sequoia, which has registered a top computing speed of 16.32 petaflops.

Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal is understood to have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sharing the roadmap to develop “petaflop and exaflop range of supercomputers” at an estimated cost of Rs 4,700 crore over 5 years.

[quote]In his letter, he has said that C-DAC has developed a proposal with a roadmap to develop a petaflop and exaflop range of supercomputers in the country with an outlay of Rs 4,700 crore. The Minister has written that C-DAC developed first supercomputers in the country, the PARAM series. Presently Param Yuva with 54 teraflop computing power is serving many researchers through Garuda Computing Grid,” a government official said.[/quote]

The proposal made in the letter says that DEITY should be given tasks to set up a National Apex Committee to oversee the implementation of the proposed Supercomputing Mission and C-DAC should establish peta and exascale supercomputing facilities and development activities.

September 17, 2012
NIIT partners Microsoft to offer new programs in Cloud and emerging technologies

Technology trainer NIIT inked a strategic alliance with Microsoft Corporation to develop cloud-ready professionals, to take on assignments in the global IT industry. Under this alliance NIIT will offer new programs in cloud and emerging technologies in association with Microsoft.

This initiative will allow students to look at the next generation opportunities in the field of cloud computing, cloud services, and apps development. Further, the benefit of Microsoft Certification integrated with NIIT programs will be made available to students both in the retail and academic space, by NIIT.

[ET]

September 13, 2012