250 Windows 8 Devices To Hit Indian Markets

Bangalore: About 250 Windows 8 devices; including 25 exclusive ones designed for Microsoft’s new operating system is to hit Indian markets soon, “defining all new digital living” said Bhasker Pramanik, Chairman Microsoft Corporation India addressing the press meet on Windows 8 launch 31st oct in Bangalore.

Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned to make Windows 8 a hit in the country. According to Pramanik, the OS will be available on 250 devices in more than 2,500 stores across 100 cities in India. Microsoft’s OEM  partners like HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Samsung and others are to produce a range of Tablets/Hybrids, Ultrabooks and All-in-ones, which are called as “Hero Devices”.  The company is partnering with chip manufactures Intel, AMD, and Nvidia, for powering these exciting devices.

The launch was full of glitz, glamour and gadgets. Preceded by Bhasker Pramanik, Sanket Akerkar, Managing Director Microsoft Corporation India, and Amrish Goyal, Director Windows Business Group, the event showcased a wide range of gadgets including tablets to ultrabooks, loaded with the whole new “touch centric” OS.

“With the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft is unveiling a re-imagined Windows to the world,” Pramanik said. “Wheteher you want a tablet or a PC, whether you want to consume or create, whether you want to work or play—Windows 8 delivers a personalized experience that fits your unique style and needs.”  

‘Everything at once,’ the Lenka’s vibrant, bass filled promotional video said all about Windows 8. And the charismatic hosts pulled a gig, Mandira Bedi been a Mum getting tips for training her kid; Archana Vijaya been a  girl  lying on beach getting fashion gyan with help of Windows 8 apps; Roshan Abbas, a workaholic easily executing multiple tasks and Gaurav Kapoor, a guy following his favorite sports, exploiting the OS’s multiple stream applicability.

Microsoft has also announced a promotional offer on Windows 8 from 2^nd June 2012 until 31^st January 2013. The Windows 7 PCs purchased within this time line, can be upgraded to Windows 8 for 699, whereas other genuine Windows users will have to pay 1,999 for the upgrade.

With this launch, Windows 8 had opened a plethora of global and local apps available for download from its Windows 8 Store, which includes exciting local apps like BigFlix, Gaana, Bharat Matrimony, ICICI, MakeMyTrip and many more.

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Supercomputer Does 20,000 Trillion Calculations In A Blink!

Washington: New supercomputer Titan can process more than 20,000 trillion calculations, or 20 petaflops, in a mere blink by employing a series of graphic processing units first created for computer gaming.

Launched by the Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), Titan will be 10 times as powerful as ORNL's last world-leading system, Jaguar, overcoming power and space limitations inherent in the previous generation of high-performance computers.

Using a grid of 14-km cells, the new system will be able to simulate from one to five years per day of computing time, up from the three months or so that Jaguar was able to churn through in a day, according to an ORNL statement.

Titan, which is supported by the US Department of Energy, will provide unprecedented computing power for research in energy, climate change, efficient engines, materials and other disciplines and pave the way for a wide range of achievements in science and technology.

Titan also has more than 700 terabytes of memory. The combination of central processing units, the traditional foundation of high-performance computers, and more recent graphics processing unit (GPUs) will allow Titan to occupy the same space as its Jaguar predecessor while using only marginally more electricity.

"One challenge in supercomputers today is power consumption," said Jeff Nichols, associate lab director for computing and computational sciences. 

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Yeto Vellipoyindi Manasu

Release Date: 02 Nov 2012

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Denikaina Ready $10 in US

Are you tired of paying high ticket prices for Telugu movies in US? Enjoy Dhenikaina Ready with low and reasonable ticket prices of $10 adults and $6 kids in US. Dhenikaina Ready is running with unexpected response in US and it once again proved that overseas audience more looking into entertainers than any other formula.

Small centers like in Omaha where we have single shows people went back as the show is sold out. We added additional shows in some locations like Indianapolis, Columbus etc. based on Fridays response. Please keep checking your local websites for updated schedules or check with BlueSky for latest updates. People who ever watched are enjoying the movie and wishing Vishnu a great success as another ‘Dhee’.

Also we have clean subtitles for this movie in all the locations where kids can follow easily!

Vishnu in Dhenikaina Ready followed by sizzling beauty Hansika Motwani and all famous comedians like Bramhanandam, Master Bharath, Vennela Kishore, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, AVS, MS Narayana and many more. Movie is directed by comedy king G.Nageswara Reddy who directed movies like Seema Shastry and Seema Tapakai and music composed by Chakri and Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Payless and expect more from ‘Dhenikaina Ready’ and we can assure that you will not be disappointed!

Press note issued by BlueSky Cinemas, Inc. 

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Denikaina Ready Wall Picture

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Gigantic Hurricane Sandy bears down on U.S. East Coast

NEW YORK CITY (Reuters) - Tens of millions of people along the U.S. East Coast girded themselves on Sunday for Hurricane Sandy, a gigantic storm forecast to assault the densely populated region with battering winds, dangerous flooding and even heavy snowfall.

Sandy, expected to come ashore late on Monday, could deliver a harsh blow to major cities in its target zone including New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Boston. Its center was forecast to strike New York-New Jersey area and then move inland toward Philadelphia and the rest of Pennsylvania.

The sheer size of the storm meant its effects would be felt from the mid-Atlantic states to New England. Officials warned of widespread power outages that could last for days.

In New York City, subway, bus and train service will be suspended on Sunday evening and up to 375,000 people were ordered to evacuate from low-lying areas.

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Employers to face challenge in finding highly qualified people

Chennai: Employers in India are facing challenges in finding highly qualified people and this trend is set to continue for the next three years, says a latest survey.

Sixty-five percent of the respondents predict a challenge to find highly qualified people in their respective organizations and this is much higher than the world average of 48 percent, says Randstad India?s latest global Workmonitor Survey 2012.

The survey, a quarterly review that tracks jobseekers confidence and provides a comprehensive understanding of job market sentiment and trends relating to the employment market across 32 countries, says that 65 percent of respondents believe that this talent crunch will continue to intensify for their businesses for the next three years.

Commenting on the findings, Managing Director and CEO of Randstad India E Balaji said, "Corporate India is facing challenges to find the right talent and there is no denial about it.

"With the economy showing signs of growth, coupled with proactive reforms, the situation will accentuate further. If businesses have to shape their world of work with the right talent, they have to strengthen their training and development function. It is a good development to note that Indian businesses are working on this aspect as our survey shows", he says.

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India-Australia target doubling trade to $40 bn by 2015

New Delhi: Seeking enhanced economic engagement with India, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday said the two countries have set a goal of doubling bilateral trade to USD 40 billion by 2015.

Addressing Indian business leaders here at a luncheon meeting, Gillard said the dramatic changes in Asia are creating new patterns of Indian growth.

India is changing through important economic reforms in areas like energy, aviation and retail, she said.

"We have already set a goal of USD 40 billion trade in 2015, in other words, our trade could double by 2015," she said. Currently the annual bilateral trade stood at about USD 21 billion.

She said Australia has opened the door for uranium sales to India.

"We both have huge energy needs...India's energy needs are going to increase sharply...There is a good potential for partnership in energy sector," she said.

Gillard said both the countries have agreed for joint research and development in areas like clean energy, water efficiency and sustainable agriculture.

"In recent years, our economic relationship has grown stronger. Two-way trade has grown at 13 percent per annum in the past five years. Indian investment approvals in Australia grew last year alone to over USD 11 billion. This is a one hundred fold increase from ten years ago," she added.

Speaking on the occasion, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma invited investments in infrastructure sector, particularly, in the proposed national investment and manufacturing zones (NMIZs).

"This process (of setting up NMIZS) is on. Come and join us at least in setting up of these zones," he said.

Ficci President R V Kanoria said there is a need to increase air connectivity between the two countries.

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Microsoft India on Wednesday announced the launch of a new education resourcing program

New Delhi: Microsoft India on Wednesday announced the launch of a new education resourcing program 'Microsoft Ed-vantage' which seeks to partner with the educational institutes to bring in more technology innovation and enhance employability potential of students.

The program aims to consolidate and enhance the benefits to both academic institutions and students who are leveraging on Microsoft programs like 'campus agreements', 'IT academy', 'DreamSpark',

'Student2Business' that provide the right software tools to the faculty and students, said a statement.

The initiative was launched in Pune.

Its primary focus is to make students more employable and equip them with skills relevant to industry needs. It is designed to help academic campuses and students connect with Indian industry, thus creating a platform for the students to explore internship and employment opportunities.

"The programme represents an all new way under which academic institutions can work closely with Microsoft leveraging the technology and programs that we have to offer, build the right skills to become more employable while getting innovative," said Microsoft Corporation India managing director Sanket Akerkar.

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AP govt to launch mobile electricity bill payment service

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government, in association with Airtel, has developed a service that would allow customers to make electricity bill payments through their mobile phones.

The new service would be launched Monday by the state's Minister for Communication and Information Technology Ponnala Lakshmaiah, K Gopinatha, the director, Electronic Delivery System (EDS) and Meeseva of state's IT Department, told a news agency.

Giving details of the new service, Gopinatha said Airtel has developed a new software in coordination with Infosys and they would charge Rs 10 per transaction.

Over 150 services like issuing of income certificate, renewal of trade licenses and birth/ death certificates have already been provided through Eseva and MeeSeva (digitally sent certificates issued by various departments) centres across the state.

Initially, the service (payment of electricity bill) will be provided to Airtel customers only and later it would be extended to other network services, Gopinatha?said.

With the launch of the service, Airtel customers would be able to make electricity bill payments through cellphones and shortly 7-8 more utility services like water bill and property tax would also be included in the service net, he said.

"We have conducted a trial run and other utility services would be provided very soon," he added.

"We have been negotiating with other service providers, including BSNL to include in the new scheme. Once we finalise the deal, the charges for each transaction through mobile phones would definitely come down," he said.

The customers would be able to make payments of bills just sitting in their office, home or anywhere, thus saving time, he said.

For availing the service, the customer has to go to any Airtel outlet for topping up his mobile wallet (re-charge) as per the bill amount, he said.

There were over one crore Airtel SIM card holders in Andhra Pradesh and 20,000 Airtel outlets, Gopinatha said.

Last month, over 40 lakh transactions (of payment of electricity bills) were recorded in different Eseva centres across the state, he added.

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Facebook offers Rs. 50 talktime for new users signing up via mobile

Facebook has launched a new scheme under which the company is offering Rs. 50 worth of talktime to new users who sign up via a mobile device. Under the new plan – first spotted by Plugged.in – users have to visit m.facebook.com/tt and register for the free talktime. Users can also refer others to join Facebook and get the same Rs. 50 talktime benefit if they sign up.

The process for the registration is pretty simple. You have to visit m.facebook.com/tt and follow the instructions appearing on the screen. New users don't require an e-mail address to complete the signing up formalities. All you have to do is give your mobile phone number. According to Facebook, talktime will be credited to users' account within three days of time.

Facebook is already massive popular in India. In fact, India has the second largest Facebook population. However, the social network aims to expand its reach in the country, especially by wooing the mobile users. A top Facebook official recently revealed that number of the Indian users accessing Facebook via mobile phones has significantly increased over the years.

Facebook's new scheme is certainly going to help the social network increase its popularity in the country. However, there are concerns the scheme may prompt the addition of fake profiles on the social network. According to the company's quarterly report, about 83 million Facebook accounts are fakes and dupes.

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Google now lets site owners disavow links to counter "negative SEO"

Google has added a new option to its Webmaster Tools that lets site owners worried about negative SEO hit back by disavowing specific links or entire websites.

Low quality or spammy link-backs to a website impact its PageRank. While site owners may have control over some of these link-backs, it may not be possible to take other pages down. In fact, it is not completely unheard of competitors introducing low-quality link-backs to negatively impact the PageRank of a website. Obviously, the webmaster had no control over such pages. Until now.

Using the new disavow option, webmasters can instruct Google to ignore any link-backs to their website from select pages or entire domains. This can be done by going to the new Disavow links page under Webmaster Tools and specifying the pages/ domain in the specified format.

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Bangalore property market surpasses Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai with 140 per cent growth

 BANGALORE: Bangalore has outpaced bigger property markets such as Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai with 140% growth in the quarter to June over the year-ago period, even as sales in most other cities stagnated or even plummeted.
In the first quarter of the current fiscal, 15.58 million sq ft of residential space was sold in the city, giving it a total market share of 13.9% and beating other domestic markets in homes sales, property research firm PropEquity said.
In comparison, property sales in the bigger markets of Mumbai Metropolitan Region and National Capital region fell by 60% and 57%, at 15.98 mn sq ft and 28.86 mn sq ft respectively. The trend continued into the second quarter.

"Bangalore is witnessing higher offtake as compared to other bigger realty markets in the country despite challenging times," said Pirojsha Godrej, managing director and chief executive officer of Godrej Properties BSE 1.27 % , which is in the process of launching projects totalling 4 mn sq ft over the next few months.

Experts say Bangalore's real estate market is growing due to a combination of factors such as a greater percentage of end users among buyers than in the other cities and a relatively moderate rice escalation.

"Land is not priced out in the south as compared to other cities. The property market in the city has performed even during the slowdown," said Prashanth Sambargi, partner at Mars Realty. The company is looking at mid-sized residential sector and standalone retail for luxury projects as its revenue drivers this fiscal.

In 2011-12, the southern cities including Bangalore contributed nearly 40% to the country's home loan disbursals of Rs 1.95 lakh crore. Since April, LIC Housing Finance BSE 0.76 % garnered around 14.5% of the total home loan business from the Bangalore region, compared with 12% in the corresponding period last year.

"Bangalore property market is leading both in terms of loan disbursement and sanction. There is a turnaround in the real estate market in Bangalore, which is mainly due to slower growth as compared to markets like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai," said VK Sharma, CEO of LIC Housing Finance.

Delhi-NCR and Mumbai witnessed a sharp drop of over 40% in property sales in 2012, compared with the previous year, mainly due to multiple increases in home loan rates and inflated property prices. The southern cities, including Bangalore, did not see such a sharp downturn partly due to the turnaround in the IT sector.

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Concerns rise as more U.S. audit work moves to India

 Auditing of U.S. corporations' financial books, a vital underpinning of investor confidence, increasingly relies on work carried out in India, where there is no clear system of oversight.
U.S. audit regulators do not conduct regular physical inspections of offshore centers in India where U.S. audit work is performed, Indian accounting officials and employees of large audit firms told Reuters.
The U.S. arms of the Big Four audit firms - Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young Global Ltd - said that work handled by Indian employees is routine and systematically sent back for review to the United States.
But some audit firms are layering on more complex tasks in the offshore centers and Indian workers are rising to senior positions in the auditing ranks, said Big Four firm employees and others in the accounting industry in India.
Given the failures of U.S. auditors so alarmingly displayed in recent accounting problems - for instance, February's $2 million penalty against Ernst & Young over its past Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp (MRX.N) audits - some experts said having more Indian auditors on the job may result in better audits.
Yet concern is growing that no coherent regulatory system exists to closely police the work in India, to gauge its quality, and to take action if problems should develop.
Perhaps as much as 5 percent of U.S. audit work is presently done in India, said M.G. Fennema, an accounting professor at Florida State University who has researched offshoring.
That is up from an estimated 1 to 2 percent about five years ago when the firms launched offshoring pilot projects.

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Cops Get the Sour Taste of Social Network

Bangalore: If you have been ill treated by any cop in town or find it hard to deal with them and been thinking of how to speak your mind about the police and their way of doing business, now there is a solution to all your concerns. You can give any suggestions or file complaints on cops misbehaving, even tips on crimes or related information just by logging on to the social network which is assured to yield results.

Bangalore Police has taken an initiative to start an online interactive site for the people. So fret no more. This site will be the tool to keep a watch on city police, from the citizen point of view. It will also help the police to keep a better surveillance with the information posted by people about any conniving act or threat to the city. This seems like a win-win situation both for the people and the cops. It’s just a matter of time before we find out how far this might work.

Bangalore police commissioner BG Jyothi Prakash Mirji said "Citizens can host their grievances, suggestions, tip-offs and complaints against anyone through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Foursquare, and blogs, forums and online communities. We have assigned eight personnel for monitoring these social media round the clock. Complainants will be provided feedback" as reported by TNN.

People can log on to Bangalore city police Facebook site for assistance, or to file complains which will be followed up by the police department. This set up was expected four years ago in Bangalore, in 2008 after the serial blasts in the city created turmoil.

When asked about the reason behind this set up Mirji explained “Poor response of police or government agencies to discussions in the virtual world may have serious repercussions on law and order. We saw in the cases of the Mangalore homestay attack and exodus of north-eastern citizens how sensitive issues can be twisted out of context with these modern tools. Social media, obviously, have a corrective potential too, and we hope to tap into it,” as reported by TOI. He also added that their goal is to be in sync with the current generation and adopt modern method in terms of communication between the people and force.

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Bing Or Google? Here Is The Best Search Engine

Bangalore: First, there was only Google, the six letter word which defined ‘search,’ and then came Bing, a strong competitor from Microsoft. Over the years, both of them fought furiously, integrating breakthrough features, which were once unimaginable to a search bar.

But the question still stands- Which is the best one, Google or Bing? The recent online commercials from Microsoft claimed that blind users preferred Bing’s results over Google’s by a margin of 2 to 1, while Google picturises itself as the most popular one.

Here is a breakdown of these search engines from speed to quality to social integration.

#5 Google Advantage: More Relevant Information

Google scores high in the quality of informative queries. Even though Bing has made some relevant changes recently, it’s not yet good as Google in qualitative and relevant results. For example if a person search for “income tax rates” in both search engine, Google’s Search Engine Algorithm would display information from 2012-2013 in top five results, compared to Bing which displayed a single listing, mentioning 2011 tax rates.

#4 Bing Advantage: Strong Social Integration

Bing is more social compared to Google’s search results. While Google try to push its not yet successful social network Google+ through the page, Bing’s contract with Facebook and Twitter gives it an edge in displaying more social data.

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Huawei’s Ascend W1 Windows Phone 8 smartphone revealed in leaked photos

Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Phone 8 is finally getting a little love from the small-time smartphone vendors, as Japanese website Blog of Mobile published images of what it claims is Huawei’s (002502) Ascend W1 Windows Phone 8 smartphone. Judging by the slightly blurry images, the device has a bright polycarbonate body like Nokia’s (NOK) Lumia smartphones and HTC’s (2498) upcoming Windows Phone 8X and 8S. Rumored specs for the Huawei Ascend W1 include a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4-inch WVGA display (800 x 480 resolution), a 5-megapixel rear camera, a VGA resolution front camera, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a 2,000mAh battery. The specs won’t blow anyone away in today’s world of 4.3-inch+ displays, 1GB of RAM and quad-core processors, but it should at least give a competitive entry-level Windows Phone 8 device for those who want one.

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Life cycle of software Joke

* Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free.
* Product is tested. 20 bugs are found.
* Programmer fixes 10 of the bugs and explains to the testing department that the other 10 aren't really bugs.
* Testing department finds that five of the fixes didn't work and discovers 15 new bugs.
* Due to marketing pressure and an extremely pre-mature product announcement based on over-optimistic programming schedule, the product is released.
* Users find 137 new bugs.
* Original programmer, having cashed his royalty check, is nowhere to be found.
* Newly-assembled programming team fixes almost all of the 137 bugs, but introduce 456 new ones.
* Original programmer sends underpaid testing department a postcard from Fiji. Entire testing department quits.
* Company is bought in a hostile takeover by competitor using profits from their latest release, which had 783 bugs.
* New CEO is brought in by board of directors. He hires programmer to redo program from scratch.
* Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free.

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Lawrence in midst of controversy

Raghava Lawrence is in the midst of a controversy.  The reason is, needless to say, Rebel, which has got him the highest number of brickbats since he was born.  First, Prabhas' fans cursed him because they believed that the film was getting unduly delayed due to his nakhras.  After the release, critics slammed his appalling creativity.

Now, it is the turn of the film's two producers, J Bagawan and J Pulla Rao, to slug it out with him.  They have approached the Producers' Council, complaining that Lawrence did not honour his commitment.  What is it?  He agreed to complete the film at the agreed cost of Rs. 22.5 cr.  However, once the film went on the floors, its cost soared and soared without respite.  Sometime in mid-2012, the producers proudly stated that Rebel's budget is Rs. 40 cr.

They might have hoped for spectacular collections, but the film has received a lukewarm response from Day 3.  It is now the case of the two producers that Lawrence should owe the responsibility for not honouring the agreement and being the cause of the inflated budget.

On his part, Lawrence took his own grouse to the Directors' Association.  He has his own grievance: The producers sold off the dubbing rights by going against the terms of the agreement dealing with  it.  They had agreed to sell the rights to Lawrence.

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Naayak being shot in Kolkata

Having done with its Old City schedule and later, in Greece, Naayak is currently being shot in Kolkata.  Some action episodes involving Charan, Dev Gill and others are shot in this schedule.

Kishore Roya and Rajeev Kanakala, who are part of the cast, are also part of this schedule.

Written by Akula Shiva, the film has music by SS Thaman.  Cinematography is by Chota K Naidu.  Also starring Kajal and Amala Paul, Brahmi, Jayaprakash Reddy, MS, Asish Vidhyarthi, Rahul Dev, Raghu Babu, Pradeep Rawat, Satyam Rajesh and Sudha are part of the cast.

The film is slated for Jan 9, 2013 release.

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Alcatel-Lucent to cut 1,000 jobs in India

KOLKATA: Struggling French telecom gearmaker Alcatel-Lucent will lay off nearly 1,000 employees, or 9% of its India workforce, as part of a global restructuring drive to cut costs as deals dry up and demand for network equipment plunges, two senior executives aware of the matter told ET.

Bulk of the cull is likely to impact Alcatel-Lucent India's key business support functions and its people-centric managed services vertical where nearly 7,000 employees are engaged primarily in maintaining and managing Reliance Communications' countrywide CDMA and GSM networks and Bharti Airtel's landline and broadband networks.

In July, the Paris-based phone equipment supplier had said it would cut 5,000 jobs across global units as part of an organisational rejig to optimise costs, becoming the second European networks vendor to announce staff reduction plans after Nokia Siemens Networks said it would axe 17,000 jobs globally to trim losses.

Alcatel-Lucent, in response to ET's specific queries, did not reveal the employee count reduction target in India as it is yet to conclude mandatory consultations with unions, but two people privy to the developments said the restructuring exercise, internally classified as 'Performance Programme', could trigger sizeable redundancies in India.

"We will not comment on specific details of the Performance Programme as it affects people, until we have completed the legally-required consultations with workers' representatives," said an Alcatel-Lucent spokesman, adding that the restructuring exercise would not impact its 3,500-strong India R&D staff distributed across Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon hubs.

An executive with direct knowledge, however, said Alcatel-Lucent is reviewing existing managed services contracts in India and associated people requirements in the backdrop of its biggest client Reliance Communication's stated plans to go for a multi-vendor outsourcing deal shortly.

Alcatel-Lucent Managed Solutions, a 67:33 JV between Alcatel-Lucent and RCOM, has managed the Anil Ambani-promoted telco's mobile networks for the past four years but it "could lose substantial business and face large-scale staff redundancies if RCOM outsources network management to multiple vendors", said the executive quoted above.

The French gearmaker, it is learnt, is also reviewing future manpower needs at Alcatel-Lucent Network Management Services India, its 74:26 JV with the Bharti Group, which manages Airtel's landline network. "Managing and maintaining a pan-India fibre-optic network is both labour intensive and expensive since fibre-cuts are frequent," said another executive, hinting that a re-evaluation of people costs is in the offing amid the dip in infrastructure spends by telcos.

Staff redundancies further stare Alcatel-Lucent India in the face, following its other key managed services customer, Uninor's recent decision to ramp down mobile operations in Kerala and Orissa, which are both being managed by the French networks vendor since 2009. 

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Opportunities Loom In Australia & New Zealand Despite Bleak Outlook

Relatively low unemployment, fast changing industries and a growing skills shortage in a range of sectors are some of the reasons career savvy professionals want to work in Australia and New Zealand.

The outdoor lifestyle is another plus along with accessible health care, good education options and relative safety and security. 

Employment outlook

Unemployment continues to be low in Australia – ranging from just under five per cent to just over 5.1 per cent. New Zealand’s unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. Both rates are well under the jobless rates of Europe, the US and the UK. 

A hiring intentions report compiled by recruitment giant Manpower found 20 percent of Australian employers plan to hire new staff in the next quarter but hiring is generally cautious right now. 

While recruiters report skill shortages across a range of sectors including mining, IT&T and finance, employers would rather leave a role empty than hire the wrong person.

Recruiters say that for candidates, their focus should be on marketing their skills and attributes rather than their job title when talking to employers in the region.   

Employers in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors in Australia show the strongest hiring intentions over the next quarter, according to Manpower. 

The same research reveals hiring will continue at a steady pace in New Zealand over the next quarter with the strongest hiring predicted to take place in the Mining & Construction and Transport & Utilities sectors. 

For Australia, mining continues to create a huge demand for jobs including for engineers while retail and manufacturing have been shedding jobs. 

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Too many agents of IRCTC adding to woes of passengers in festive seasons

New Delhi: Planning to go home this festive season? Seeing a multiple rise in the number of IRCTC agents, you would find it a dreadful task to do so as they are making the availability of tickets too difficult.

There are lakhs of agents standing between you and your railway ticket. Certainly, your case could be exceptional if you are ready to pay 3-4 times more than the counter price of the tickets. IRCTC has authorized lakhs of the agents during past six years.
The figures accessed by an RTI activist, Manorajan Rai, are certainly a cause of worry for all those who want to head back to home this festive season. These figures clearly show that the agents involved in ticket booking process are making a common man deprived of railway tickets.

According to figures, the number of authorized railway agents in Mumbai zone has zoomed to a whooping 1,35,157 from a mere 1,537 during 2006-2012. One can now imagine the leap in the number of agents all over the country. Railway agents of Mumbai zone book around one crore tickets in every month.

But there is a sharp increase in this number during the festive seasons and the agents charge several times more than the actual fare charge from the passengers. The surprising fact is that IRCTC is well aware of these practices of the agents but instead of taking any initiative, it continues to authorize hundreds of agents every day.

The RTI activist believes that railway is not at all worried about the problems faced by the passengers due to the black marketing of tickets. The railway in fact motivates the agents to make more collections from the passengers. The activist also said that railway does not take action against the agents who violate ticket booking norms.

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Retail sales point to stronger economic growth

Retail sales rose in September as Americans stepped up purchases of everything from cars to electronics, a sign that consumer spending is driving faster economic growth.

Other U.S. data on Monday pointed to an economy feeling the effects of cooling global growth, with New York state factory activity shrinking in October.

But consumer spending remains the U.S. economy's biggest engine, and expectations for third-quarter economic growth improved after the Commerce Department reported a 1.1 percent increase in retail sales during September.

The reading, which beat analysts' forecasts, builds on other signs of growing economic momentum, including a drop in the jobless rate last month and a rise in consumer confidence.

"The news flow on the U.S. economy keeps getting better," said Chris Williamson, an economist at Markit in London.

Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting firm, raised its outlook for the pace of third-quarter economic growth to 1.9 percent, up three tenths of a point from its previous view.

The details of the retail sales report showed broad strength, with sales outside autos, gasoline and building materials -- a closely followed barometer of consumer spending -- climbing 0.9 percent last month. That was well above expectations.

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Apple may reveal iPad mini on Oct 23

Apple Inc will host an event on October 23 where it is expected to unveil a smaller iPad that will take on the less expensive devices offered by Amazon.com Inc and Google Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Wall Street analysts have predicted for months that Apple was planning a smaller, less costly version of its popular iPad to take on cheaper competing devices, a move that analysts say might hurt its margins, but prevent its rivals from dominating an increasingly important computing segment.
The source did not specify what the product would be and an Apple spokesman declined to comment, but tech blog AllThingsD reported earlier on Friday that Apple would launch the mini iPad at the event. The device is expected by many experts to have a screen between 7 and 8 inches (18-20 cm).
A smaller iPad will directly compete with e-commerce company Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablet and Google's Nexus 7. Both devices have 7-inch screens and sell for $199. The first Kindle Fire, launched last year, grabbed about a fifth of the US tablet market.
The consumer device company is gearing up to unveil a new product at a major October 23 event, said the source, who declined to be named, only days before Microsoft Corp unveils Windows 8 and its new Surface tablet on October 26.
The Nexus 7, manufactured by Asustek Computer Inc, has also seen a successful start, with the tablet selling out soon after launch.
One Wall Street analyst said he had seen the smaller tablet, dubbed iPad mini by the media, while visiting component suppliers in Asia.
"We actually had the opportunity to play with a pilot iPad Mini used by one of the vendors," Topeka Capital analyst Brian White said.
"This 7.85-inch iPad Mini fit our hands like a glove and we were easily able to tuck the device in our sport coat, offering consumers a more mobile iPad experience for certain use cases."
Apple events are typically among the most-watched items on the industry calendar, monitored by consumers and technology investors alike. The event in two weeks, however, comes at a time of volatility for the popular technology stock.
Apple shares closed up 0.25% at $629.714 on the Nasdaq market, barely recouping significant losses suffered over the past three weeks as investors cashed out after it touched an all-time high of $705.07 on September 21.
While the stock is up 55% this year, it is currently down 10% from its record high.
Wall Street analysts have cited concerns about disruptions of iPhone supplies after a riot in September at one of the plants operated by its main contract manufacturer, Foxconn Technology, and sharp criticism from consumers about errors in its Maps service.
Margin risk?
Apple's fiscal fourth quarter financial results are scheduled to be released on October 25, two days after the event, offering analysts a rare opportunity to grill executives about a new product just after details are made public.
A smaller iPad could be a risk to Apple's industry-leading margins, given that neither Amazon nor Google has been known to make much money from the smaller tablets.
Amazon's first Kindle Fire just about breaks even, according to IHS iSupply estimates. But the internet retailer sells a lot of content - music, books - through the Kindle line.
Google has said that its $199 Nexus 7 is being sold at cost and has no profit margin.
Apple earned gross margins of 23% to 32% on its US iPad sales between October 2010 and the end of March 2012, a court filing by Apple in a recent patent trial against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd revealed in July.
The company's margins on US iPhone sales are almost double those of the iPad, averaging between 49% and 58%.

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Now, send free texts from Gmail

Gmail users in India can send text messages to mobile phones via Gmail chat free of cost.

Internet giant Google’s free SMS service, already available for Gmail users in 54 other nations across Asia, Africa and North America, is now accessible to users in India. This feature is available on most major mobile operators. All that a Gmail user needs to do is add the mobile number to his/her contact list. “If your contact replies, the response will appear as a chat reply,” said a Google notification.

All users get 50 credits every day. When a user sends an SMS, a credit is deducted. If you get a reply from a mobile to your Gmail, 5 credits are added to your account. “Effectively, you’re buying more messages by paying your phone company for outgoing messages,” said Google

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FBI warns that Android phones are havens for malware

A division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a warning to smartphone users about mobile malware and device safety, specifically regarding the Android operating system. A report published late last week the Internet Crime Complaint Center revealed that it has been made aware of various malware attacks, such as Loozfon and FinFisher, that target Android smartphones. Each malware is different and can range from stealing a user’s address book to completely taking over the infected device. The agency notes that Loozfon and FinFisher are just two examples of active malware that are used by criminals and users should take precautions to protecting their devices.
When purchasing a smartphones users should know the features of the device and use protective features such as device encryption and antivirus software to guard personal data. When downloading and purchasing apps, the FBI advises that users not only read reviews but also understand the permissions, such as Geo-location, they are granting the apps. Geo-location is used in applications to track a user’s location mostly for marketing purposes, but it can also be used for malicious purposes such as cyber stalker or burglaries.

The agency recommends that for physical security smartphone owners should consider locking their devices with a pass code and only connect to trusted Wi-Fi networks. Lastly, smartphones should always be kept up-to-date and users should avoid jailbreaking or rooting their devices to avoid greater security concerns.

All in all, users should be using the same precautions on their mobile phone as they do on their computers.

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Infosys to hire 6,000 engineering, MBA students, promote 12,000 employees

BANGALORE: IT services firm Infosys will hire 6,000 students from engineering and MBA colleges this year. This is a sharp drop compared with the 19,000 they hired last year.

But Human Resources head Nandita Gurjar said if needed Infosys would hire more through off-campus placements. Off-campus hiring takes place when companies recruit students who have not been placed during the regular hiring season.

The firm will also announce 12,000 new promotions from January-April 2013 in addition to the 20,000 promotions it had announced earlier for April to December 2012. The company's employee satisfaction study, which takes places every 18 months will happen in January as well, said the HR Head.

Infosys after two quarters announced wage increments of about 6%, which will be rolled out this quarter onwards. On site employees get a 2-3% hike. "A wage increment despite unsure economy reflects on the confidence the firm has in long-term growth," said SD Shibulal, CEO and MD. "This shows confidence in long-term strategic direction, while we believe short-term has challenges."

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Hyderabad issues non-bailable arrest warrant against Vijay Mallya

A Hyderabad court has issued an non-bailable arrest warrant against Chairman of Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya and four other persons due to their non-appearance in cases relating to the bouncing of the bank cheques issued to GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited for user charges.
A total of four cheques amounting to Rs. 10.5 crore were issued since January to GHIAL by the troubled airline. The cheques bounced when they were sent for clearance at the banks and legal notices were sent to the airline. When GHIAL did not receive the money even after serving legal notices, it filed a case in the special court under the Negotiable Instruments Act in August against the Bangalore-based company.
The court had summoned Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya, chief executive officer Sanjay Agarwal, chief financial officer H. G. Raghunath and two other senior officials to appear on Friday in the sourt bu their non-apperance led to the issue of a non-bailable warrant against them.
Lawyers representing the airline had filed a tition under provisions of criminal procedure code to dispense with their personal attendance but the court did not approve it and issued arrest warrant.
Kingfisher has an agreement with GHIAL relating to charges from passengers for parking, landing and navigation with regard to Hyderabad airport. Under the agreement, the airline is expected to pay these charges to the airport handler but it did not pay due to the difficult financial position of the arline.

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Deccan Chargers finds a buyer

Hyderabad -based Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Deccan Chargers has claimed that it has found a buyer for the financially troubled team. However, officials say that it might be too late as the team has already ceased to exist legally.
The team was unable to submit the required bank guarantee of Rs100 crore to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by Friday, which legally enforced the termination of the team through an order on 14. However, on Friday night, a team official claimed that they have obtained a arbitrator and the tema will remain until October 17.
It is believed that the officials at the BCCI are not much happy about the extension of the deadline for the team to fulfill its obligation to the board. They said that the team has not been able to provide the bank guarantee and did not clear player salaries even after applying for an extension. It indicated that the next step from the board will be announced to eh media soon.
Many believe that the BCCI will hold auction for a new team soon as it seeks to avoid losses due to the absence of the ninth team from the tournament. The team has claimed that the franchise has been sold to Kamla Landmarc Real Estate Holdings Pvt Limited for Rs1100 crore.

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Maruti Suzuki to launch new Alto 800

India's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) is planning to launch a new model named, Alto 800, which will replace the iconic Maruti Suzuki 800.
It is believed that the new Alto 800 will be powered by a K10 engine and the model will be priced at around 2.5-3 lakh, which will allow the model to compete with the world’s cheapest car, Tata Nano. Alto 800 is expected to directly take on Tata Nano's top-end variant LX model in the market.
The existing Alto is the largest selling car of the country and is a sort of the flagship product for the company. The popularity of the model continues even as it is more expensive than Nano. The new version, which will be cheaper than existing Alto model, will have a more a spacious cabin and will feature a 'Tall boy' design.
According to some reports, the new model will feature new 796 cc, three-cylinder F8D petrol engine, which will offer a higher output than the engine in the current Alto model. It is to be seen if the new model is able to emerge as the new favorite model of the people in the entry-level car market in India.

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Apple gets permission to use Swiss railway clock design

American technology giant, Apple has said that it has received permission from Switzerland's national rail company to use its iconic station clocks for the iOS 6 operating system.
Swiss Federal Railways or SBB announced that it has entered into an agreement with Apple for allowing the company to use its design in the software. The agreement brings allows the company move ahead from their ongoing dispute over the matter.
SBB had approached the company to inform that it owns the clock design. The company announced on Friday that the deal includes amount of the licensing fee but added that it will not be disclosed and will remain confidential. The iconic SBB railway clock was developed by engineer and designer Hans Hilfiker in 1944.
Many believe that it was interesting that Apple did not obtain the permission to sue the design as it the one using suing others around the world for copying and copyright infringement. After SBB threatened legal action against Apple, the company came to terms with the rail authority and entered into an agreement to avoid any legal proceedings.
“For the use of the clockface on certain Apple devices such as iPads and iPhones, the parties have negotiated an arrangement that enables Apple to use the SBB station clock under a license agreement,’’ said SBB.

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Obama Fights His Own Bull Market

Barack Obama, it might seem, should be privy to unlimited free pints in the pubs of Wall Street. Since he took the oath of office in January of 2009, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, including dividends, has very nearly doubled. The country has added $7.3 trillion in market capitalization—an indisputably huge boon to both garden-variety retirement account holders and one-percenters. The six biggest banks just enjoyed their best 12 months since before the financial crisis. In some respects, it’s as if 2008 never happened.

Indeed, Obama is just one of five presidents since 1900 to have overseen at least a 50 percent jump in the stock market during their first three years in office, joining the non-sequiturian class of Coolidge, FDR, Eisenhower, and Clinton. A positive $7.3 trillion sound byte should seem irresistible, especially for a campaign hard-pressed to brandish financial accomplishment.

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Dell to continue offering Windows 7 after launch of Windows 8

Dell will continue offering Windows 7 even after the release of Windows 8 at the end of October, the company said.
The Windows 7 OS, which reached PCs in October of 2009, will be offered as an option to commercial and gaming customers, said Alison Gardner, director at Dell. The company will offer Windows 7 as long as it is allowed to, Gardner said.

"We're still moving our business customers from [Windows] XP to Windows 7, Gardner said.
The company is continuing to recommend that customers migrate to Windows 7 and that those who need touch capabilities on PCs adopt Windows 8, Gardner said.
"The OS migration for a large company is no small feat. We make it easier but it takes some planning and work," Gardner said.
For gamers and enthusiasts buying Dell's Alienware laptops and desktops, Windows 7 will be offered as an OS option.
"For Alienware customers, they know what they want and we give them that choice," Gardner said.
Both Windows 7 and 8 will be offered as options on the Latitude, OptiPlex, and Precision brands, the company said.

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NASA's 'Iron Man' Exoskeleton Suit Boosts Astronauts

While it may not have the superpowers of Tony Stark's armor, NASA has built a robot exoskeleton called "X1" that can keep astronauts healthy in space, and help paraplegics walk on earth, according to the space agency.

Humans wear the 57-pound device over their body to "assist or inhibit movement in leg joints," NASA said in a release. In the inhibit mode, X1 would be used as an exercise machine to provide resistance against leg movement in space's zero-gravity environment; while, the very same technology could be used in reverse on earth, by helping some people walk.

"NASA is examining the potential for X1 as an exercise device to improve crew health both aboard the space station and during future long-duration missions to an asteroid or Mars," NASA said. "Without taking up valuable space or weight during missions, X1 could replicate common crew exercises, which are vital to keeping astronauts healthy in microgravity."

Along with the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and engineers from Oceaneering Space Systems, NASA has jointly developed X1, which is currently in a research and development phase.

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Nayanthara bags the prestigious Nandi Awards

The glamour queen of south Indian cinema’s transition to the Sita one of the most revered characters in Hindu mythology was a shock to everyone and today you think of the Hindu calendar gods and you might find Nayanthara’s face there. She has the face of an Indian Goddess.
There is something about Nayanthara that makes you stop and take notice of her. Unlike her contemporaries she neither had a sugar-daddy as mentor nor did she have a film maker as her best buddy to offer her films on a platter. She simply made use of her opportunities and the mythological Sri Ramarajyam not only won box-office success, critical acclaim and country’s eight biggest awards.
She could easily play a glamourous Sasha (in Billa) or Sita all at once. She is South Indian cinema’s answer to Marilyn Monroe and Madhubala. She extremely beautiful and has an air of mystery. And mystery is always beautiful.Her happiness knows no bounds and after hearing the news of bagging the Nandi awards, and she spoke Sridevi Sreedhar. Excerpts from a heart-to-heart chat..

What are the names of three people that come into your mind after you heard the news of winning a Nandi Awards?(Smiles) The three faces that pops up are Balakrishna sir, director Bapu sir and producer Yalamanchali Sai Babu. I would not have done this film, if not for Balakrishna sir. When I was not signing any new film, he called me up and gave me confidence to take it up. The fact that he even told me that if I am not doing it, then he will keep it in the backburner and start work, when I’m ready! That is something no big actor will say, considering the fact that there are dime a dozen girls in the industry. That one line of his touched me and I decided to do it. I have to thank my producers and director who believed in me, the entire unit members and my good friends who stood by me.
We all know that Sri Ramarajyam is very close to your heart....
It not only close to my heart but I feel blessed to do such a character in my life. Nandi is my eight awards this year for Sri Ramarajyam. I don’t think there’s more that I can ask God. Looking back, I think I was destined to role of Sita and there was no grand plan that this is the goal for the year. And it’s not even that I went out looking to do a film in such a genre.
I was going thorough a difficult phase in my life and it’s my good fortune that Balakrishna sir instigated confidence and believed that I would fit into the role of Sita.  Working with a living legend like Bapu sir was like a dream come true for me and he gave me so much freedom. Producer Sai Babu made this film not aiming at box-office success but it was his dream as an ardent devotee of Lord Rama to make this film.

Did you relalise during the making of the film that the movie was heading to towards becoming a landmark one in your career?
Yes, I knew that Sri Ramarajyam will be a special film for me. There was positive vibes throughout the making of the film . Bapu sir handled my role with care and affection and I gave my best.
You have been touted as the woman for all seasons. How do you view yourself?
I do not consider myself anything like that! I fact, I wake up everyday look at myself in the mirror and thank God for everything in life. I am like the weatherwoman. I venture out to play come rain or sunshine. Work is not a chore for me. It’s my calling. I would be nothing without it. My passion for the art is enough to push me out of bed every day.

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Vishnu and Hansika are acting together in a film titled Denikaina Ready.

Vishnu and Hansika are acting together in a film titled Denikaina Ready. Being directed by G Nageshwara Reddy, the film is produced by Vishnu himself on his 24 Frames Factory banner.
Vishnu said that the movie is now in the last leg of shoot. 'We are planning to release it very soon,' he said in a press statement.
The film is a comedy entertainer that is penned by Kona Venkat, Gopi Mohan and BVS Ravi.

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Hair Style

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Student and Teacher

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Sare Nee Ishtam

• Cast :Shanthnoo Bhagyaraj, Aindrita Ray, Kota Srinivasan Rao...
• Director :Mahesh Chandra
• Producer :Mahesh Chandra, Ramesh Reddy
• Genre :Drama
• Release date: 26 Oct 2012

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Yamaho Yama

• Cast :Sai Ram Shankar, Parvathi Melton, Srihari...
• Director :Jitender Y
• Producer :G Vijaykumar Goud
• Genre :Comedy

Release date: 26 Oct 2012

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Demanding Salman Khurshid's resignation, Arvind Kejriwal to lead a protest march to PM's house today

Activist turned politician Arvind Kejriwal plans to "gherao" or lead a protest march to the Prime Minister's 7 Race Course Road residence around noon today to push for action against Law Minister Salman Khurshid over allegations that an NGO headed by him and run by his wife siphoned off lakhs of rupees meant for physically challenged people. A group of differently-abled people are likely to be part of his protest march.

The allegations against the minister were made by television channel Aaj Tak. After it aired a sting, Mr Kejriwal demanded that Mr Khurshid must resign and his wife should be arrested. Stridently rejecting the allegations, the minister has said he will take the TV channel to court.  About former activist Arvind Kejriwal, who launched his political party last week, the minister said, "I don't think that Mr. Kejriwal deserves a reply from anybody but we will take care of Kejriwal in due course of time."

But undeterred by the warning, Mr Kejriwal insists that Mr Khurshid must resign immediately. "This is a matter where there should be no inquiry, Salman Khurshid should be dismissed straight away," he said yesterday. 

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Strong earthquake rocks eastern Indonesia

A strong earthquake has jolted parts of eastern Indonesia, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency said there was no danger of a tsunami, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was a “very small possibility” for a tsunami near the epicentre.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured magnitude 6.7 and was centred 108 kilometres north of Dobo on Aru island chain of the provincial capital of Maluku, at a depth of 24 kilometres.oct 12 2012

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Samsung launches Galaxy S III mini with 4.0-inch display, Android 4.1

Samsung Thursday unveiled the Galaxy S III mini, a compact version of the flagship smartphone Galaxy S III. The Galaxy S III mini features a 4-inch screen and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The Samsung Galaxy S III mini is powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor and features a 5-megapixel camera. It has a 1500 mAh battery and 8/16GB internal storage options.

"The Galaxy S III introduced a new concept of smartphone that has proven hugely popular around the world. We're now delighted to bring its revolutionary design, intuitive usability and intelligence to the Galaxy S III mini in a more compact form," said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. "We continue to make every effort to provide extraordinary mobile experiences to meet a wide variety of user needs."

The Galaxy S III mini inherits Galaxy S III's features like S Voice, Smart Stay, Direct Call and S Beam. S Voice, Samsung's natural language recognition software, lets you use your voice to unlock the phone with simple customised commands, or to play your favourite songs, turn the volume up or down, organise your schedule, or automatically launch the camera and start taking photos.

The Galaxy S III mini also comes with Smart Stay, wherein the phone's camera tracks your eyes and keeps the screen lit as long as you are looking at it. When reading a text message from a friend, Direct Call enables you to automatically dial a call simply by lifting the phone to your ear; and Smart Alert alerts you to missed calls or messages as soon as you pick up your phone.

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Mozilla yanks Firefox 16 over security flaw

This is why it’s always good to wait a bit before downloading new versions of browsers. In a post on Mozilla’s official security blog, the organization says it has discovered a “serious security flaw” in the latest version of its Firefox browser and has stopped offering it to users so that it can be fixed. The company has already released a patch for the Android version of Firefox 16 and has created a webpage that will help Firefox users temporarily downgrade their browser to the previous version. Mozilla says that the Firefox 16 security flaw “could allow a malicious site to potentially determine which websites users have visited and have access to the URL or URL parameters.”

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