Software may clone your personality

In 5 years, a software may clone your personality

 

 

 

 

When you and I die, our kids aren't going to go to our tombstones, they're going to fire up our digital twins and talk to them," John Smart said.

As a futurist and founder of the Acceleration Studies Foundation, Smart uses many names for the technology he predicts — digital twin, cyber-self, personal agent — but the concept stays the same: A computer-based version of you.

Using various strategies for gathering and organizing your data, digital twins will mirror peoples' interests and values. They'll "input user writings and archived email, real time wearable smartphones (lifelogs), and verbal feedback to allow increasingly intelligent and productive guidance of the user's purchases, learning, communication, feedback, and even voting activities," Smart writes. They'll displace much of today's information overload from regular people to their cyber-selves.

And one day, Smart theorizes, these digital twins will hold conversations and have faces that mimic human emotion. "They will become increasingly like us and extensions of us," Smart says.

The concept might sound far-fetched. But consider that people often turn to a deceased friend or family member's Facebook wall to grieve. People already form relationships with each other's online presence. As computer science advances, the connection will only improve and strengthen — even with identities that aren't real people.
"Where we're headed is creating this world in which you feel you have this thing out there looking after your values," Smart says.

For digital twins to reach their full potential, however, they require two important developments: "good conversational interfaces and semantic maps," Smart explains.

Conversational Interfaces (CI)
Ron Kaplan, a data scientist in Silicon Valley, already chronicled the necessity of CI for Wired last year. In his words, simply scheduling a flight could require 18 different clicks or taps on 10 different screens. "What we need to do now is be able to talk with our devices," he wrote. Smart couldn't agree more. "With technology, we want things that enable us to use as much of our brains as possible at one time," he adds.

When you and I die, our kids aren't going to go to our tombstones, they're going to fire up our digital twins and talk to them.
For example, with a single, spoken sentence, you could tell your personal agent you feel sick. It could reference your calendar or emails to determine when to make a doctor's appointment. And when you arrive, you might not even need to fill out forms. Your personal agent would have looked at your hospital records and healthcare information for you - and then later relayed the outcome of any tests taken during your visit.

While no company boasts such comprehensive abilities yet, many have started to implement similar technologies. Right now, Apple has Siri. Microsoft has Cortana. And in the summer of 2014, a program named "Eugene Goostman," imitating a Ukrainian teen, passed the Touring Test (with some healthy skepticism).

Smart, however, places great emphasis on an earlier cognitive machine: IBM's Watson, which the company claims "literally gets smarter." Watson's performance on Jeopardy against champion Ken Jennings, shown below, convinced many skeptics of the emergence and optimization of CI.

Vocal technologies like Siri, Cortana, and Watson already rely on semantic maps, tools that represent relationships in data, especially language. And companies constantly improve them. For example, a late 2013 Google update brought pronouns to the table — and Smart's wife, for one, quickly noticed a difference.

Walking in downtown Mountain View, his wife pulled out her phone, and as a test, asked Google, "Who is the President of the United States?" Naturally, her phone responded: "Barack Obama."

Next, Smart's wife inquired: "Who is his wife?"

Phone: "Michelle Obama."

Smart's wife: "Where was she born?"
Phone: "Chicago, Illinois."

Not only did Smart's wife engage in conversation with her phone, it understood words like "he" and "she" — pronouns that refer to an antecedent earlier in the conversation. "Now, you don't have to specify every little detail," Smart explains. "Because the computer has some memory of previous exchanges and uses that as context."

Once we create "decent maps of human emotion," Smart adds, digital twins will even have faces to help them communicate. They'll smile or furrow their brows to show whether they understand or not.

"But the next step is something I call a 'valuecosm,'" Smart explains.

The 'Valuecosm'
A valuecosm doesn't just, for example, analyze all your emails and formulate a record of your interests and values. It allows a personal agent to interact in your stead based on this information.

Your digital twin can help you choose products in-line with your values.

"You're reaching for a can of tuna at a grocery store in 2030," Smart envisions. "And your bracelet gives a green arrow to move your hand a few inches to the left, from Bumble Bee to Chicken of the Sea or whatever."

You'd previously told your personal agent to watch for foods with high mercury levels or companies that over-fish the oceans. So this wearable piece of technology, imprinted with a digital version of your values, informed you which product to choose based on that.

"And then, back in your car, your digital twin directs you to the gas station that's most in line with your environmental values," Smart adds. A valuecosm not only uses information in a human way, it's flexible, too. You can review your settings and change them manually.

"You'll be having a conversation with your [personal] agent, and you say, 'I want more of this or this plus something else,'" Smart explains. "You know, I care more about social justice so make that area bigger."

To make this technology the most usable and effective though, your digital twin will have to pullyour information from various places, with your permission — not push its functions onto you.

"People who have started using Google alerts, they've moved themselves toward a more pull-based view of the internet," Smart says.

The future that we care about is control of an algorithmic interface of your identity.

In truth, the concept started as a way to improve advertising. For example, internet cookies monitor your online activity, allowing companies to match their advertisements to your interests. But instead of a company "pushing" their products or ideas onto you and trying to create demand, with pull-based marketing, you give permission for access to your information, and the advertising follows.

"Instead of a filter, it's more like a magnet," Smart explains. That idea, however, could lead to even less online privacy.

The Future Of Privacy
The uncertain status of online privacy already bothers the general public. People criticize companies like Google and Amazon that only pull their information from what's available. But with digital twins, we'll have to give full permission for companies to access our online identities to optimize our use of the technology.

"You know, I'd like to have control of my healthcare or financial information in my own little internet locker," Smart admits. "But that kind of thinking is first generation. You can't accomplish much by having control of your own data."

Talking to your digital twin could one day be like looking in the mirror.

Big-name companies using algorithms and predictive analytics can probably best host our personal agents. As long as people feel they have strong control over the technology, privacy will come secondary, in Smart's opinion.

"People who are thinking that you can control your own identity aren't thinking about the problem right," he says. "The future of personal control isn't control of data. The future that we care about is control of an algorithmic interface of your identity."

For comparison, Smart mentions domestication. Humanity didn't engineer the brains of cats and dogs. We simply chose the ones more amenable to us and bred them. "We'll do the same to our advanced AIs, whose brains we won't be designing, but rather teaching, like a small child," Smart explains.

And as Smart predicts, all these technologies, required to make fully functional personal agents possible, are only about five years away.

Google

Google, Zedo blamed for Zemot Malware

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON: A report has revealed that Google's DoubleClick ad servers and the popular Zedo ad agency were serving malicious ads to millions of internet users that spread the recently identified Zemot malware.

A Google representative confirmed that the team was aware of the breach and has taken steps to shut it down, reported The Verge.
Researcher Jerome Segura said that the malware went unnoticed for weeks because it was not too visible. It was identified only after popular sites got flagged in the honeypots, Segura said.

However, by the time it was spotted, millions of computers may already have been exposed to Zemot, the researcher said but added that only those with outdated antivirus protection were actually infected.

Zemot is a malware focused on computers running Windows XP but it can also infect more modern operating systems running on x86 and 64 bit machines.

It is designed in a way that it bypasses a system's security before infecting it with additional malware so, it's difficult to determine what effect the attack would have on a system once it has been breached.

HTC

HTC Global in talks for acquiring US healthcare company

 

 

 

 

CHENNAI: The US based privately held HTC Global Services — an IT services company — is negotiating to buy a healthcare services company while also looking at boutique firms in the mobility space, a senior official has said.

The company is also expanding its operations in the US, India and South Korea.

HTC Global Services plans to add 10,000 more people over couple of year's time. Currently the company has over 6,500 employees, he said.

"We are looking at a company operating in the healthcare space in the US. The company has a turnover of around $160 million. There are couple of suitors for that company some from India," Chary Mudumby, executive vice president, told IANS.

He said if HTC Global Services bags the company, it would help it to grow in the healthcare provider (hospitals) space.

Referring to the recent acquisition of the US-based TriZetto by Cognizant for $2.7 billion, Mudumby said the trend is towards acquisition led growth.

He said Cognizant acquisition of TriZetto will not have negative or positive impact on HTC Global Services.

On the expansion plans in the US, Mudumby said HTC Global Services has acquired a 15-floor property in Michigan and will be shifting some of its operations there.

In India HTC Global Services will focus on the banking, retail and other sectors. 

TRAI

Over 1,500MHz spectrum likely to be available by 2015

 

 

 

 

NEW DELHI: About 1,538 MHz of spectrum in various bands for telecom services may be made available for auction next year, a move that will help the government expand mobile and broadband penetration in the country.

In the premium 700 Mhz band, which can be used for 4G and is even being considered for 5G services, 93 MHz of radiowaves can be put for sale. In the 800 MHz (CMDA), 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands 117.5 MHz, 184 MHz and 104 MHz, respectively, can be made available, sources said.

In 2,300 MHz band (broadband wireless access spectrum), 320 MHz spectrum, and in the 2,500 MHz band about 720 MHz could also be put on the block for sale, they added.
Besides, the government expects to make available a fresh set of 300 MHz spectrum for mobile services by 2017 and an additional 200 MHz by 2020.

Sources said that almost all of the spectrum in 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz will be available through the expiry of licences as well as that unsold in the last conducted auction.

For 700 MHz band, sectoral regulator Trai had recommended that the reserve price for the spectrum should be four-times of that of the 1,800 MHz band.

The 700-Mhz frequency band is considered to be one of the most valuable slots for telecom services as most of the latest technology can be transmitted in this band. Also investment required to roll out infrastructure will be lower for telecom companies in 700 Mhz compared to using higher frequency.

Spectrum auction in the last four years has fetched the government about Rs 1.75 lakh crore, which includes Rs 61,162 crore this year from auction in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz band and Rs 1.05 lakh in 2010 in 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz.

Government has set a revenue target of Rs 45,471 crore from communication services, including proceeds from spectrum auction and other related charges in 2014-15 fiscal.

Additionally, there are plans to make available 85 MHz spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band — presently used for 3G services — but that will be subject to release by the Defence Ministry, sources said.

Availability of spectrum will aid the government in achieving the objectives in the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012.

According to NTP 2012, the government aims to increase rural teledensity from the current level of around 39 to 70 by the year 2017 and 100 by the year 2020.

Besides, it aims to provide affordable and reliable broadband on demand by 2015, to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020, at minimum 2 Mbps download speed and making available higher speeds of at least 100 Mbps on demand.

Most e-commerce startups shut down

Most e-commerce startups shut down: Experts

 

 

 

 

NEW DELHI: India has witnessed a boom in the e-commerce/startup sector in last five years but only one out of five startups gives good returns, while three do not give any return or simply fold up, say experts.

Moreover, as the focus has now shifted to developing and encouraging more startups, there is a definite chance that many startups and .coms would find it difficult to flourish amid tough competition from already established ones.

"The excitement around e-commerce is real but the valuations may be a bubble," The Chennai Angels member Kayar Raghavan said, adding that, "one out of five startups gives good returns while three do not give any return or simply fold up."

Experts believe, with all these major players who are already operational and making profits smaller set ups find it tough to gain second round of funding or hard to continue further after the funding. Between 2012-2014 alone there have been many startups shutting shop.

'Exits' for initial investors are difficult to come by not just in India, but across the world.

Sometimes, earlier investors get to exit partially or fully at subsequent fund raising rounds. Another form of exit happens through consolidation/M&A. IPO is the other preferred route.

Raghavan noted that investors to the startups get few exits but when one does indeed get an exit through whatever means (secondary or M&A), that is highly likely to be only profitable.

"Redbus, Snapdeal, Myntra, Flipkart, Mu Sigma, JustDial, LetsBuy, makeMyTrip, Chakpak, Rediff, etc, are examples although a couple of these may have made money for only early investors," he added.

Another member of The Chennai Angels Mithun Sacheti said "exits are not always profitable. Exit in itself means a return on capital, which would be positive or negative. But it is better than having no option to exit and being a part of a living dead company". 

Snapdeal

Snapdeal launches experience zones for personalized shopping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BANGALORE: India's leading online marketplace Snapdeal has launched virtual experience zones showcasing exhaustive product catalogues where experts guide buyers through a personalized shopping experience.
Snapdeal, which is nearing a run rate of $2 billion (Rs 12,000 crore) in annualized sales, has launched two experience zones —fabric store, running store along with the exiting wedding store to enhance customers' shopping experience.
The running store is a one-shop stop that offers running essentials and tips from marathon runner Rahul Verghese, who is also the founder of Running & Living Infotainment, to help customers choose from a range of shoes and running accessories best suited for their workouts. The running store offers personalized tips on how to improve your run by focusing on muscular endurance or agility drills to improve speed.
It has also launched the country's largest suitings and shirtings store where one could choose form a wide range of fabrics including organic fibers in wool, silk and polyester.
"The idea is to improve consumer know-how before they make a purchase. It also increase awareness on a wide array of options enriching the entire shopping experience. We have over 3,000 products in our fabric store that caters to end-to-end requirements of customers," said Amit Maheswari VP-fashions in Snapdeal. He said the e-tailer is also launching a gourmet store with chef Sanjeev Kapoor sharing his recipes and experience on the science and art of cooking.
Snapdeal has a registered user base of 25 million and a seller base of 50,000, which is expected to double in the next six months. Earlier this year the e-tailer raised $240 million from existing investors including BlackRock, Temasek, eBay, Intel Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners.

EMC explores merger

EMC explores merger, holds talks with Dell, HP: WSJ

Data storage products maker EMC Corp held merger talks with rivals Dell and Hewlett-Packard, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Under pressure from an activist shareholder and the expected retirement of its longtime CEO, the company is exploring options including a sale, the report said.

On the talks with Dell, given the relative sizes of the companies, Dell may not contemplate a full takeover of EMC, but may explore buying assets including its core storage business, the Journal reported.

Merger talks between HP and EMC, which were on for about a year, broke down weeks ago over financial terms and over fear that shareholders of both the companies would reject the deal. Status of the talks between EMC and Dell remains unclear, the WSJ reported.

EMC and HP declined to comment on the report. Dell could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is advising EMC on its options, the report said.

In July, hedge fund Elliott Management picked up a stake in EMC and urged its CEO Joe Tucci, who is expected to retire in February, to spin off its stake in software maker VMware, saying the move would boost the value of the two assets.

Elliott Management also declined to comment on the report.

EMC, which owns about 80% of software maker VMware, bought the company in 2004 for $700 million. VMware accounted for about 22% of EMC's revenue of $23.2 billion in 2013.

 

 

8-year-old makes $1.3 million a year

This 8-year-old makes $1.3 million a year via YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

What were you up to when you were 8-years-old? Probably something less impressive than Evan.

Evan is the kid behind EvanTubeHD, which is a family-friendly YouTube channel where Evan (and occasionally his sister or mom) reviews toys and video games. And Evan rakes in $1.3 million a year from posting his toy reviews to YouTube.

It started out as a fun project Evan and his dad embarked on together. The pair would make Angry Birds stop-motion videos, and according to a Newsweek interview with Jared, Evan's father, "all of the proceeds from the channel goes into investment and savings accounts for their children."

Tech-savvy and smart. Not a bad combo.

In an interview with Newsweek, we learn a little more about the business behind Evan's viral videos. Jared says they have a dedicated sales team that sells ads and negotiates deals with brands and businesses.

"These include both ads that appear in and around each video as well as products actually featured in our videos. The majority of the revenue is generated by the ads placed on the video itself," he says. "Outside of the networks, YouTube/Google handles all ad placement within the site. Content creators have a few options regarding the format of ads they would like to allow on their videos. But the actual ads are chosen by some higher power."

Take a look at this review, which has over 50 million views. 50 million!

GPS

GPS-like technology used for surgery

 BANGALORE: Something on the lines of the much-in-vogue GPS technology has found its way to hospital corridors where it's being used for knee-replacement surgeries. The technology ensures higher precision, minimal complications, reduced blood loss and perfect alignment errors, say doctors.

On Wednesday, Fortis Hospital organized a live surgery workshop on computer-navigated knee replacements for over 50 orthopaedics. So far, Fortis has seen 17 knee-replacement surgeries using this method.

Manual measurement of the bone in the muscle can be relative and inaccurate, said Dr Narayan Hulse, consultant orthopaedic and joint replacement surgeon at Fortis who operated on two patients on Wednesday.

Homemaker Anjana Devi, 53, from Tumkur underwent a total knee replacement. "I don't know much about the new technology that'll be used for the operation. But it's intriguing to know that a computer can gauge my pain. All I wish is to get rid of this knee pain that's almost rendered me immobile," she said before entering the operation theatre.

Doctors recalled the unique case of a 55-year-old bank manager from Hassan, whose right knee bone bent after he met with an accident. "No stent or rod inserted can measure a bent knee. We used the computer navigation technique to know the exact angle in alignment and positioning of the implant," said Dr Hulse.

How it works: Surgeon uses a computer to deter mine the spatial location of conventional instruments, and to provide positional feedback regarding their use. With infrared signals and a special pointing device, the precise angle of the thigh and knee can be seen on the screen; trackers are attached to the patient and the instruments. Display screen feeds the surgeon with a map of the knee area and its real-time measurements.

Computer-navigated knee-replacement surgery allows the surgeon to make more accurate cuts on the thigh and knee joint, while placing an artificial knee with its critical angles. "We have seen cases where one degree or half a degree of critical angles were missed, leading to faulty alignment. This is something we can easily overcome now," said Dr Hulse.
 

Amazon

In tax tussle, industry backs Amazon India

 

 

 

 

BANGALORE: Indian industry has reacted strongly to the ongoing tax related hurdles faced by US e-tailing giant Amazon in Karnataka, and called on the state government to remove impediments to the growth of e-commerce.

Bangalore is home to India's e-commerce poster boy Flipkart and is the India headquarters of Jeff Bezos' Amazon, companies that have together lined up cumulative investments of $3 billion into what is one of the fastest growing consumer sectors in the country.

R Chandrashekhar, president of IT industry body Nasscom and former Union telecom secretary, said the government should do what it can to catalyze the growth of e-commerce, a sector that brings efficiency to the market.

"The industry increases the pace of economic activity. To realize that benefit, we need to work on regulation, taxation, infrastructure, and also on the innovation ecosystem in the country," he said. Nasscom would soon unveil case studies that show how disruptive technologies used in the e-commerce industry can dramatically impact economic growth.

Tax authorities in Karnataka have raised objections to the way Amazon India and its sellers file their tax returns while operating out of the former's warehousing facilities, located on the outskirts of Bangalore.

HV Harish, partner in Grant Thornton India and past president of Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC), said that new businesses (like e-commerce) haven't been envisaged in our tax system.

Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail consultancy firm Technopak, said the government must sit down and draw a tax framework for the e-commerce industry. "At present, there is just no clarity on the subject. I don't think this has been intentionally done as central government and various state governments are supportive of the e-commerce sector," he said.

In June, M Veerappa Moily, the Congress MP from Chikkballapur, wrote to the state government cautioning them that Maharashtra could benefit in the eventuality of e-commerce operators pulling out of the state.

"I understand that the e-commerce industry in Karnataka is facing certain setbacks. In view of the obstacles, the business (industry) has been thinking of shifting base to Maharashtra," Moily wrote in his letter, a copy of which is with TOI.

Given the large tech workforce in the city and state, who are at ease shopping online, Bangalore and Karnataka have emerged as one of the top three sales markets for e-tailers in the country. Bangalore is the largest revenue generator for some of the niche furniture e-tailers.

The state finance department has issued notices to some 50 of Amazon's vendors to stop supplying products to the company. It has also asked the vendors not to store their products at Amazon's warehouse, located in Moily's constituency.

Tax authorities have objected to VAT not being collected by the warehouse facility and vendors designating the facility as "an additional place of business".

"When and who pays the tax has to come from interpretation of law," said Harish. 

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg wants more students to take up tech

  REDWOOD CITY: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to turn more American high school students into well-paid techies — and even hire some of them to work at his social-media company.

Zuckerberg told students at Redwood City's Sequoia High School that understanding technology and computers will be critical to having options later in life.

Facebook says it is donating 50 laptops and creating a class to teach mobile-application development at Sequoia High, a short drive from Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters.

Zuckerberg's appearance is part of Facebook's campaign to encourage more young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Silicon Valley companies have recently come under criticism for workforces that are mostly young, male, white and Asian. 

Quikr

Quikr gets $60 million funding for business expansion

 

 

 

 

MUMBAI: Online classifieds firm Quikr said it has raised USD 60 million funding for business expansion.

Tiger Global Management along with all existing investors in the company participated in the funding, Quikr said. The current investors are Kinnevik, Matrix Partners India, Nokia Growth Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Omidyar Network, Warburg Pincus and eBay.

"The explosive growth in mobile internet is fundamentally reshaping the Indian classified internet market, and we are well-positioned to be at the forefront of growth," Quikr founder and CEO Pranay Chulet said in a statement.

Quikr is a large-scale cross-category online classifieds business with more than 30 million monthly consumer and small businesses users in 940 cities.

"Quikr has grown rapidly to become one of India's major classifieds players with a deep understanding of the local market. By leveraging the company's strengths as a local player, Quikr has seized a tremendous opportunity in a rapidly growing market," Tiger Global management partner Lee Fixel said. 

Alibaba

Alibaba in funding talks with Snapdeal

 

 

 

 

BANGALORE: China's Alibaba has been in talks with Snapdeal as it looks to enter India's booming online retail industry, according to two people aware of the development. Alibaba, whose mammoth share sale in the US is underway, is considering investment in Snapdeal as one of its options while it sizes up the online consumer market in this country. "India is a huge opportunity for Alibaba," said a person directly aware of the matter.

"Eventually it will look at entering the business-to-consumer space in India and talks are on." The Chinese company, which is expected to be valued at over $165 billion (Rs 10 lakh crore) at the conclusion of its initial public offer, has discussed a possible investment with Snapdeal, though both firms are yet to reach any conclusion, said the person.

So far, Alibaba has only been linking Indian merchants with overseas buyers and sellers. If it enters the Indian online retail space by aligning with Snapdeal, it will be competing directly against market leader Flipkart and Amazon. While the Chinese company would be a late entrant, it has the advantage of size — by sales Alibaba is bigger than Amazon and eBay combined — and cash (it will raise up to $25 billion in the IPO this week)

"We are currently in a quiet period," said Pamela Munoz, manager (international corporate communications) at Alibaba, in reply to an email query on the developments. One source estimated that Snapdeal could raise up to $300 million in a potential round of fund-raising.

So far this year, Delhi-based Snapdeal has raised a total of $233 million in two rounds of investments, which saw participation from eBay and billionaire Azim Premji's family office Premji Invest. The last round in May valued the firm at $1 billion.

Snapdeal, one of India's biggest online marketplaces, is also attracting attention from other Asian conglomerates including Japan's largest ecommerce company Rakuten and communications provider SoftBank, according to sources in the investment banking community.

Snapdeal, in which former Tata Group head Ratan Tata has a personal investment, could well be the vehicle to infuse a predominantly Asian flavour to Indian online retail, expected to be worth Rs 50,000 crore by 2016, according to market rating agency Crisil. A spokeswoman for Snapdeal declined comment for this report.

However, in an earlier interview, co-founder Kunal Bahl had said that while "lots of external investors are interested in this space, and are very interested in Snapdeal", his company will "decide when is the right time to raise money, from whom, how much and at what value".

Bankers are of the view that Rakuten's aggressive track record of acquisitions this year, including messaging app Viber and rebate site Ebates, purchased last week, makes it a prime contender in the investment sweepstakes for Indian Internet commerce. For Softbank, any potential deal could hinge on approval from local partner Bharti Group.

SoftBank and Rakuten did not reply to emailed queries on the developments.

Ericsson to shut modem business

Ericsson to shut modem business, expects savings

 

 

 

 

Ericsson, the world's top mobile network equipment market, will stop developing modems, it said, shutting a loss-making unit it took on after joint venture partner STMicroelectronics pulled out a year ago.

Europe's semiconductor firms are struggling to compete with bigger US and Asian rivals, which have largely outsourced chip manufacturing to cope with volatility in demand and prices.

"Since integration, the modems market has developed in a direction that has reduced the addressable market for thin modems," Ericsson said in a statement.

"In addition, there is strong competition, price erosion and an accelerating pace of technology innovation. Success in this evolved market requires significant R&D investments."

The unit lost 456 million Swedish crowns ($63.7 million) in the second quarter.

The Swedish company said the decision to end the development of modems would mean it could shift resources to developing radio networks. It said it expected the move to lead to significant cost savings.

"Modems will have no impact on Group P&L from the second half of 2015," it said in a statement. 

Snapdeal

Snapdeal to hire 1,000 software engineers in 12 months

  BANGALORE: India's largest digital marketplace Snapdeal will hire 1,000 software engineers and set up at least three new development centres in the country, as it plans to plough marquee investor funding into building proprietary disruptive technologies to make online shopping even more seamless for consumers.

This addition of engineering talent, which seems to now form the backbone for most e-commerce companies, is happening as Snapdeal nears a run rate of $2 billion (Rs 12,000 crore) in annualized sales.

Snapdeal has a registered user base of 25 million and a seller base of 50,000, which is expected to double in the next six months.

The e-tailer, which has investors like Ratan Tata and Azim Premji, will hire 400 engineers in Bangalore. This will be its second development centre - the only one currently is in the National Capital Region - and will open in 45 days.

Snapdeal has a 300-strong development team in NCR. Pune and Hyderabad are the other cities which the company is looking at to set up development centres in.

Rohit Bansal, co-founder and COO, Snapdeal, who was in the city, told TOI that in the next 12 months software engineers (numbering 1,300) would form the company's largest employee base. At present its engineering, supply chain and category management divisions each have about 300 employees.

"Software engineers will disproportionately be larger than any other team, as we think of ourselves as a technology company more than anything else," said Bansal.

Bansal said the development centres would focus on key areas such as supply chain, consumer and supplier facing technologies, big data, and mobile. Within that basket, mobile is expected to be a big focus area given that over 60% of Snapdeal's sales are generated through handsets.

The four-year-old company will be hiring from top engineering colleges like the IITs and NITs and would also look to laterally hire engineers having 3 years to 20 years of work experience.

Bansal declined to talk about any innovations the company is planning, but provided an overview of SafeShip, a proprietary order delivery platform for sellers. SafeShip aggregates courier companies in India, standardizes the delivery processes, and has an algorithm which automatically finds the best courier company to fulfil consumer orders.

"As soon as an order is placed in our system, based on the package size, it decides which courier company can give the best service at the most affordable rate," explained Bansal.

Earlier this year Snapdeal raised $240 million from existing investors including BlackRock, Temasek, eBay, Intel Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Alibaba beats Facebook

Alibaba beats Facebook, raises $21.7 bn in biggest-ever IPO

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK: Alibaba made its long-awaited Wall Street debut Friday on the heels of a record stock offering that opens the door to global expansion for the Chinese online retail giant.

Company founder Jack Ma was on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as trading opened, while a group of Alibaba customers rang the opening bell.

A trading price was not available in the early minutes after the opening, which is not uncommon for stock market debuts.

By raising as much as $25 billion, Chinese online giant Alibaba is poised to break the record for the largest initial public offering in history.

Priced at $68 a share, Alibaba would raise $21.7 billion with the offering of 320 million shares. If underwriters exercise the option for 48 million additional shares, the amount would top $25 billion, breaking the 2010 record set by China's AgBank.

Speaking to CNBC television from the trading floor, Ma said he was "very honored, and so excited" by the market debut and that he sees enormous growth potential for Alibaba.

"We have a dream," he said. "We hope in the next 15 years the world will change. We want to be bigger than Wal-Mart."

He added that he sees Alibaba as a company that will have a huge impact: "We hope people say in 15 (years) this is a company like Microsoft, like IBM."

Some analysts were also upbeat about Alibaba, which dominates the Chinese online retail space with Taobao.com and TMall.com.

"Alibaba has become the biggest e-commerce firm in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume," the research firm Trefis said, setting a target price of $80 per share.

"Alibaba will continue to retain the mammoth share of online shoppers, even if it is not able to increase it much."

Youssef Squali at Cantor Fitzgerald recommending buying Alibaba with a target price of $90.

Alibaba "starts trading today and with it comes the opportunity to invest in China's largest e-commerce platform, which we believe has the potential to dominate global online commerce over time," the analyst said in a note to clients.

"While the stock's not cheap, we believe the company's outsized growth and margin profiles, if sustained, should support higher valuation over time."

The IPO allows investors to get a piece of the huge Chinese market, but it also will fuel Alibaba's international ambitions.

Alibaba's consumer services are similar to a mix of those offered by US Internet titans eBay, PayPal and Amazon, and it also operates services for wholesalers.

The company earlier this year announced plans for a US marketplace called 11 Main, which is currently in a test phase.

Alibaba Group made a profit of nearly $2 billion on revenue of $2.5 billion in the quarter ending June 30. Revenue rose 46 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Alibaba decided to list in New York because it wanted an alternative class share structure to give selected minority shareholders extra control over the board; the Hong Kong bourse declined to change its rules to allow this. 

Airtel

Airtel may pay DoT Rs 436 crore for broadband unit's merger

  NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India's No. 1 telecom carrier, may have to Rs 436 crore for merging its subsidiary Airtel Broadband Services Pvt Ltd (ABSPL) with the company, as the transaction would mean a change in the unit's permit from that of an internet provider to a unified licence.

Bharti Airtel acquired the business from US-based Qualcomm's broadband wireless access (BWA) operations last year. It then renamed the unit Airtel Broadband Services.

ABSPL has an internet service provider's licence to provide wireless broadband. Merging the unit with Bharti Airtel, which holds a unified licence to provide telecom and internet services, will allow Bharti Airtel to use ABSPL's bandwidth to provide all kinds of wireless telephony, and not just internet. An internal note of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), seen by ET, cites this as one of the reasons to seek a payment from the company.

Secondly, the merger and acquisition rules for the telecom industry mandate that the company must pay the difference between the entry fee and the market determined price for the spectrum it got through the acquisition to the government.

Facebook

Facebook Newsfeed will display more timely and relevant content

 

   Your Facebook Newsfeed is about to look a lot different.

Facebook announced that it will be delivering more-timely stories from your friends and family "to show everyone the right content at the right time."

Facebook is constantly playing around with its algorithms. The general thought has been that posts with more likes and comments were prioritized on the Newsfeed, so you would see tons of posts about weddings and birthdays. One woman even managed to keep her post on her friends' Newsfeeds for four days by including key phrases like "personal news," "congratulations," "new baby," "engaged," "married," and "new job."

Well, all that may be changing now.

Based on feedback, Facebook wants to help provide relevant and timely content, so if you're watching the newest episode of "New Girl" and a friend posts about it, it would pop up on your Newsfeed while the show was airing.

Facebook

Facebook will also be determining when posts are no longer as relevant and timely by looking at two new factors: whether it's trending and when people are choosing to like, comment on, and share the post. So a couple days after that episode of "New Girl" aired, the idea is that you would no longer have the post on your Newsfeed.

The update will be rolled out gradually, according to Facebook, but they're confident that this will help users not miss out on the stories that are important to them.

HCL

HCL Tech to invest $9 million in North Carolina centre

 

                NEW YORK: India's fourth largest software

services

firm HCL Technologies will expand its centre in North Carolina with an investment of $9 million, creating up to 1,237 new jobs by the end of 2018.

HCL Technologies, which has over 8,000 people working across 15 states in the US, employs close to 1,000 people at the Cary Centre in North Carolina.

Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina commerce secretary Sharon Decker made the announcement at the centre.

"HCL sees Cary as a strategic talent hub in the Americas and will invest approximately $9 million in expanding the centre. The company continues to invest in its global delivery footprint in order to enhance value for its clients by developing nearshore capabilities," HCL Technologies chief human resources officer Prithvi Shergill told PTI.

The hirings will be a mix of local as well as external professionals, he added.

HCL's business in America contributes more than 50% of the firm's global revenues.

In 2013-14 fiscal, its revenue stood at Rs 16,497.37 crore.

The firm also has partnerships with North Carolina New Schools for STEM related initiatives to leverage HCL's services for content creation and management of its collaborative online community.

HCL will hire computer professionals to develop, maintain and upgrade software applications and provide services to global clients. Salaries will vary by job function and experience, but the average annual payroll for the new jobs is expected to be nearly $64 million.

The expansion comes as part of an award to HCL from the state Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) programme, which are awarded to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects in the region.

Under the terms of the company's JDIG award, HCL is eligible to receive up to 12 annual grants equal to 75% of the state personal income tax withholdings from the eligible new jobs created since the date of the initial award.

"Over 12 years, the JDIG award could yield aggregate benefits to HCL of more than $19.6 million upon the creation of 1,237 jobs," he said.

An estimated $6.5 million in additional funds from the company's JDIG award could be added to the state's Utility Fund for infrastructure improvements in economically distressed counties, he said.  

Qualcomm

Qualcomm shows off robot technology

 

Qualcomm Inc executives showed off robots made with smartphone technology at an annual developer conference, but they steered clear of talking about China, a key growth market where the chipmaker is entangled in an antitrust investigation.

With an explosion in smartphones in recent years tapering off, Qualcomm and handset manufacturers are eager to show consumers and investors that they have more innovation in store to drive demand for new devices.

The company discussed progress in 4G LTE and technology and 3D cameras, but demonstrations of robots made with Qualcomm smartphone technology stole much of the show.

Chief executive Steve Mollenkopf demonstrated a three-wheeled robot that picked up and sorted a number of small toys such as stuffed animals and building blocks, based on their shapes.

In another demonstration, engineers quickly trained a one-foot tall robot decked out with wheels, glowing ears and

camera

sensors to come and go based on simple hand gestures.

"The concept that a processor can enable a product to learn a behavior and change behavior based on learning is powerful," said Qualcomm senior vice president Raj Talluri. "Now imagine your phone ... You buy a phone and it learns your behavior and in time the phone starts getting better and better and more and more personal."

Slower growth
Global smartphone shipments will increase 19% this year, less than last year's 39% growth and driven by the adoption in developing countries of handsets selling for under $150, according to Juniper Research.

With demand for smartphones cooling in the United States, Qualcomm sees consumers in China as key to its future, but the world's leading mobile chipmaker faces a nearly year-old antitrust investigation there.

That investigation, which could lead to a fine of over $1 billion, and recent troubles collecting royalties from local manufacturers have some on Wall Street concerned about Qualcomm's ability to cash in on the fast-growing Chinese smartphone market.

Qualcomm normally sticks to future products and upcoming technology at forums aimed at developers, but the investigation is a major concern on Wall Street. Senior executives held a lunch with financial analysts at the event, but Mollenkopf did not attend.

"The big elephant in the room is China," said Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. "Who cares about anything else right now?"

A Qualcomm spokeswoman at the event declined to discuss the investigation in China, where Qualcomm also faces growing competition from smaller rivals such as MediaTek and other small manufacturing low-cost processors.

Google

Google to encrypt data on new version of Android by default 

 

SAN FRANCISCO: Google has said it would beef up encryption of its mobile operating system, so that it would not hold 'keys' to devices even if it is served with a warrant.

The announcement comes after Apple unveiled a similar plan for its iPhones and iPads, and amid heightened concerns about privacy of personal technology.

A Google spokesman said encryption is already offered for the Android system used on smartphones and tablets, but that this will be turned on automatically in the upcoming version of Android.

"For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement," the spokesman said in a statement.

"As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won't even have to think about turning it on."

Google has not said when the next update of Android will be released. Apple announced late Wednesday that its new encryption will be built into the iOS 8 operating system available on the

iPhone 6

, which goes on sale Friday. It also can be installed on many existing iPhones and iPads.

"Your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders, is placed under the protection of your passcode," says the new policy on Apple's website.

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

The updates come in the wake of revelations of massive government surveillance programs that sweep up data from computers and other devices.

Leaked documents from former

National

Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have highlighted concerns about the role of major tech firms in these programs.

Apple

Apple set to roll out latest iOS 8 today

SAN FRANCISCO: New-generation Apple software for powering its coveted mobile devices is set for release on Wednesday, two days ahead of the arrival of its latest iPhones.

The iOS 8 mobile operating system will be available free for download to many iPhone and iPad models and will be pre-installed on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which hit the market on Friday.

Apple unveiled iOS 8 at its annual developers conference in San Francisco in June.

The new operating software is tailored to deliver a seamless experience for users flitting between Apple mobile gadgets and popular Macintosh computers.

Alongside operating system updates, the California company unveiled HealthKit software to manage personal healthcare and HomeKit for home appliances. They are integrated into the latest system update.

HealthKit will provide a secure haven for data collected by devices such as fitness bands that track activity and sleep.

Apple also synched iOS 8 to HomeKit software that could let iPhones or iPads be used as a centralized control for internet-linked gadgets such as door locks, lights, thermostats and security systems.

Apple came up with a common network protocol, so not only can an iPhone be used to open smart locks, but virtual assistant Siri can dim lights and lower thermostat settings when told, "Get ready for bed."

Apple has also beefed up graphics and speed capabilities for games, which are consistently among the hottest applications on its mobile devices.

Capabilities woven into operating software include one called "Continuity," which lets tasks started on one Apple gadget be automatically handed off to another one nearby.

Messages or calls can also be handed off between devices. Apple last week announced that it is adding a smartwatch to its growing array of devices that will work together.

The Apple Watch will not be released until early next year.

Samsung

Samsung bags Reliance Jio contract for 50,000-70,000 base stations: Credit Suisse

NEW DELHI: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is believed to have awarded another contract for 50,000-70,000 LTE base stations to Samsung, global brokerage firm Credit Suisse said. 

RJIL, the telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries (RIL), had earlier awarded a contract for 60,000 LTE base stations to Samsung. 

"In addition to the original base station contract (for 60,000 LTE units for the initial launch network), we understand the second contract for 50,000-70,000 base stations has also been awarded to Samsung," Credit Suisse said in India Telecoms Sector report. 

The firm added that as many of these sites will also run on 1800MHz FDD LTE (expected to be the base voice network), the network would be quite comparable to other operators' network in terms of reach. 

When asked to comment on the report, RJIL did not respond. 

The brokerage firm said it believes RJIL will launch services by March 2015. "We believe that the accelerated pace of deployments now makes us still comfortable with a March 2015 launch timeline for full-fledged voice+data services." 

Credit Suisse said RJio has completed installation of 32,000 LTE base stations nationwide. 

"The pace of rollout, importantly, has picked up sharply to 6,500-7,000 per month (vs 3,000 per month in May-2014). It seems the company and the rollout partners are maturing in the rollout process," it said. 

Regarding prices for LTE-enabled handsets, which are very high currently, Credit Suisse said rapid developments in the global handset ecosystem are pushing down price points fast. 

The brokerage firm said its China smartphone sector analysts recently observed that LTE smartphones now start at $100. 

"We believe that a $100 price point for LTE smartphones could be fairly disruptive in India for the incumbents (for whom top 30% customers account for 70% of revenues based on industry discussions)," the report said. 

RIL had earlier announced that it would launch commercial 4G telecom service of RJio in 2015 entailing investment of Rs 70,000 crore. 

RIL had said that RJio will initially cover about 5,000 towns and cities accounting for over 90% of urban India, as well as over 215,000 villages in India and the target is to expand this to over 600,000 villages.

Microsoft

Microsoft raises dividend, adds 2 board members

SEATTLE: Microsoft on Tuesday announced the smallest percentage increase in its quarterly dividend since 2009 and appointed new directors to replace two board members who decided not to seek re-election. 

The increase, 11% to 31 cents per share, is in line with the software company's revenue growth last fiscal year but half of last year's 22% hike. 

Microsoft, like rival Apple, has been under pressure from activist shareholders to hand back more of its vast trove of cash, which increased 11% to almost $86 billion over the past 12 months. 

Financially conservative Microsoft has said it prefers to keep dividend increases in line with operating profit, which grew 4% last fiscal year. 

However, chief financial officer Amy Hood held out the possibility of more shareholder-friendly moves, saying that Microsoft's board "continues to evaluate capital strategy options," without saying what that might entail. 

The company has lifted its payout to shareholders almost every year since it introduced a regular quarterly dividend in 2004. It did not increase the dividend in recession-hit 2009, when it laid off more than 5,000 employees. 

The company's shares rose slightly in after-hours trading to $46.85. 

Microsoft's new annual dividend would equal about 2.6% of that share price, the same as Intel's 2.6% but higher than Apple's 1.8%. 

Microsoft also said on Tuesday that Teri List-Stoll, 51, CFO of Kraft Foods Group, and Charles Scharf, 49, chief executive of Visa, will join the board on October 1. 

Incumbent board members Dave Marquardt and Dina Dublon will retire from the board at the end of their current terms in December. 

Marquardt, 65, has been involved with Microsoft since its early days, joining the board in 1981. Dublon, 61, joined the board in 2005. 

Microsoft has made several changes to its board recently as it undergoes a change in leadership under new CEO Satya Nadella. Former CEO Steve Ballmer resigned in August to focus on his newly purchased Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. 

Co-founder Bill Gates stepped down as chairman in February when Nadella was appointed CEO but remains on the board.

Media reaping profit

Media reaping profits from internet: Study

WASHINGTON: The internet is no longer draining profits from media and entertainment companies, which have learned to make online services pay, a new study shows.

The study by Ernst & Young released yesterday found that media and entertainment companies "are continuing to increase their lead as one of the most profitable industries" with profit margins of around 28%.

The study covers a variety of segments in media and entertainment, including cable TV operators, interactive media, music, broadcast television and even publishing — an area which lags behind other segments but remains profitable.

"We are seeing that digital is very much driving profits now, instead of disrupting it," said Ernst & Young's John Nendick.

"Companies are figuring out how to monetize the migration of consumers to a variety of digital platforms, and this insatiable demand for content is fueling growth throughout the industry."

Media and entertainment firms have increased profit margins in every year since 2010, according the study.

Cable TV had the highest profit margins in the industry at 41%, followed by cable networks (37%), interactive media (36%), electronic games (29%), conglomerates (26%) satellite television (26%), publishing and information services (21%) television broadcasting (19%), film and television production (12%) and music (11%).

The study also found that interactive media saw profits grow at the fastest pace, while publishing had the slowest profit growth.

The interactive media segment, which includes firms such as Google, Netflix and Facebook, has seen profits climb at a 19% pace, while the publishing segment, which includes the New York Times Co and Gannett, has been growing at just one per cent.

"Publishing and information services companies continue to see declining advertising and subscription revenues," the report said.

"While digital revenues are growing, this only makes up a very small portion of overall revenues."

A separate report from the research firm PwC said the global newspaper industry will start to grow in 2015 after a long period of decline, but that the trend will vary considerably in different regions.

Micromax

BSNL offers free 2GB data on Micromax devices



NEW DELHI: Domestic handset maker Micromax today said it has partnered state-run telecom firm BSNL to offer free internet access on select devices in a bid to drive data usage in the country.

Under the partnership, BSNL will bundle free data usage of up to 2GB per quarter for 12 months on smartphones, free voice calls (on net) on feature phones and other freebies on purchase of Micromax tablet and data cards.

The offer will be available on six Micromax devices — X070, X088 (feature phones), P410i (tablet), MMX377G (datacard), A37 and A37B (smartphones).

"We are delighted to partner with BSNL, as this collaboration will be an excellent unification of BSNL's offerings and Micromax's design capability thus enabling millions of Indian consumers to enjoy seamless connectivity through data usage, affordable call rates and other VAS services," Micromax CEO Vineet Taneja said.

The partnership will further provide a major boost to better connectivity and internet adoption as BSNL's pan-India network coupled with our devices, backed by a strong channel and retail presence which will take these offerings across length and breadth of the country, he added.

"The association will create immense opportunities for customers by offering them high speed 3G data. BSNL has already provided 3G coverage in more than 2,300 cities and towns of India and is committed to provide 3G coverage to additional towns," BSNL CMD A N Rai said.

Apple

Apple wins appeal: Court rejects $368 million awarded to VirnetX in patent case



SAN FRANCISCO: A federal appeals court today tossed out a $368 million verdict against Apple, ruling that jurors were given evidence that may have skewed the sum. 

"We vacate the jury's damages award and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion," judges in a US appellate court said in a detailed written ruling. 

Patent licensing firm VirnetX and Science Applications International Corporation filed suit four years ago in US District Court in Texas, accusing the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Macintosh computer maker of infringing on patented technology in secure video chat capabilities built into a FaceTime feature. 

Computer networking gear titan Cisco, maker of a widely used virtual private network (VPN) software, was also named as a defendant in the suit. 

Jurors concluded that VirnetX patents had been infringed on and calculated $368.16 million in damages, according to court documents. 

Appeals court judges backed the finding of infringement, but said the lower court wrongly allowed expert testimony that may have influenced the damages award. 

"While we are disappointed that the federal circuit has vacated portions of the judgement for further proceedings, we are bolstered by the fact that the patents were again found valid and that it was confirmed that Apple's VPN on Demand functionality infringes the VirnetX patents," VirnetX chief executive Kendall Larsen said in a released statement. 

"We look forward to readdressing the FaceTime infringement and damages issues as soon as possible." 

Sony

Sony warns of bigger loss, will not pay dividend

TOKYO: Sony has warned of a much-deeper-than-expected loss and said it would not pay a dividend this business year after it was hit by a 180 billion yen ($1.7 billion) impairment charge for its struggling smartphone division.

The Japanese consumer electronics company is now predicting a 230 billion yen ($2.15 billion) net loss for the year ending March 31, versus its previous forecast for a 50 billion yen loss. It expects an operating loss of 40 billion yen instead of a 140 billion yen profit flagged in July.

The news marks the sixth downward revision under Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai, who took his post in 2012 promising to pull the firm's troubled electronics division into the black by focusing on its mobile, gaming and imaging units.

The revision is also an embarrassment for new Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida, who assumed his post on April 1 promising the company would be more realistic about its outlook.

Yoshida warned in July, Sony could write down losses on its mobile unit for this business year. At the time Sony cut its profit outlook for its smartphone business to zero, but stuck to its full-year forecast.

In July, Sony also cut its full-year sales forecast for its smartphones to 43 million from 50 million, which would mark a 10% increase on the year.

Sales of Sony's high-end Xperia mobile devices have suffered due to a lack of relationships with carriers in the crucial US market where its smartphones are so far only available on No.4 carrier T-Mobile US, as well as in China, where local makers are dominant.