Barnes & Noble Inc introduced a new 'Nook' to compete against Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire, entering the lower-end tablet war with a device that has more memory and speed but also costs $50 more.
HERE THE THUMBNAILS ARE:
Friday, November 11, 2011
Guide Lines For The Good PHD..
Have you bought or earned your PhD?
A PhD programme gives you a chance to push the frontiers of human knowledge. Unfortunately, this prestigious degree has fallen prey to commercialism.
Going by some of the recent newspaper advertisements for some universities, a PhD should be the easiest degree to earn in India. No screening tests and interviews, no coursework, and no rigorous assessment of research work. Just a Master’s degree in hand and a pre-determined waiting period will lead you to a doctorate!
Demand for PhD degrees has gone up after University Grant Commission (UGC) accepted PhD as a substitute for National Eligibility Test (NET); there are now more opportunities for doctorates to get employed in higher educational institutions. It’s no surprise then that a number of universities started offering PhD programmes by distance mode much before UGC could set guidelines for them.
“It’s now an open secret that anyone can virtually buy a PhD degree. You just need to pay two to three lakhs to the right person. In some universities, registration, coursework, thesis and viva voce are all effectively managed,” says Dr. Sushil Upadhyay, Assistant Professor at Uttarakhand Sanskrit University.
There are many universities which do not have adequate infrastructure and faculty for even postgraduate-level teaching, but have been offering programmes like PhD and DSc. Mazhar Husnain, a research scholar at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, says most of these universities target students who fail to get a place in premier institutions.
What is a good PhD?
A good PhD programme demands rigorous coursework in addition to working on the thesis. JNU-Delhi, for example, requires the research scholar to undertake five to seven assignments on an average, including a seminar/ research paper. The Centre for Development Studies - Thiruvananthapuram, a social science research institution that has a tradition of interdisciplinary research, requires 18-24 assignments to be completed over two years. Coursework helps anchor a researcher in the subject area and aids his growth.
The thesis can be of varying quality across institutions. And nowhere in the country refereed publications are essential for the award of the degree. Such a requirement would go a long way in obviating the problem of researchers submitting low quality work.
Norms for PhD
PhD is the highest degree in the education system which gives you a chance to push the boundaries of human knowledge. According to UGC Regulations (2010) on minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in universities, NET/ SLET/ SET shall remain the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment of assistant professors in universities. However, candidates, who have been awarded a PhD in accordance with UGC norms, shall be exempted from the requirement of NET/ SLET/ SET. Besides, a PhD continues to be a qualification for all appointments of professors and associate professors through direct recruitment in universities.
Taking advantage of the freedom that the UGC allows them to set the criteria for selecting supervisors for PhD programmes, some universities have, unfortunately, allowed lax supervision, leading to decline in the quality of PhD. UGC requires admission into PhD programme to be based strictly on the results of entrance/screening test and interview along with a six-month full-time and compulsory pre-PhD coursework. Thus, a direct admission into PhD will not be in line with UGC rules. The thesis produced by a research scholar should also be evaluated by at least two experts, out of which at least one should be from outside the State. After this regulation was introduced, most of the State universities started conducting entrance test for doctorate programmes and making some changes in the way they used to conduct such programmes.
Hundreds line up for DU placements
Its placement time in Delhi University and the zeal among students needs no explanation. The number of candidates registered in the central placement cell has also increased.
The placement season has kicked off in all individual colleges across Delhi University. This year, the packages are expected to rise steadily. The placements began on 8th November for the final year and post graduate students. The event saw a large student turn –out this year, in comparison to the previous year.
Reports from the Times of India suggests that about 21,000 students have registered in the central placement cell this year, the number including students from the School of Open Learning and Non Collegiate Board for Women’s Education. However, of these, 18,000 students are from regular colleges. Due to such a large number, most of the companies turned back, collecting resumes from students. “Day one was a good experience, though some companies asked for resumes instead of recruiting students because of the heavy rush,” said Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, deputy dean, Students’ Welfare.
On the first day, Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh gave the students a pep talk before the companies began their recruitment drives. The four companies that were lined up for day one were Aakash Institute, Jaipur Rugs, Naukri.Com and Teach For India. At the end of the first day, a job portal hired 22 candidates for their sales and marketing division, while 3 other companies, one being an NGO have gone back with resumes. At the end of the day, 22 students- 18 girls and 4 boys found their dream jobs, while the others had to wait longer for their turn.
Adding to the anxiety, for the first time an international company has confirmed its presence in the placement in the next round, scheduled for 29th January 2012. A Japanese organization – ‘Uniqlo’ will hire students and send them on training, after which they will be placed globally.
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Leave your iPad at home, travel with an Indian tablet
The UbiSlate 7 touch screen tablet includes a 2GB memory card and has a battery life of three hours. Read more: …
Still picking the sand out of iPad's last beach holiday adventure?
A sibling of the world's cheapest tablet computer -- the Aakash, launched in India last month -- promises a cheaper, worry-free and therefore travel-friendly alternative for mobile computing.
The tablet's "proudly made in India" and the base version (meant for students) was launched on October 5. It was christened the Aakash tablet, after the Hindi word for sky.
London-based DataWind, a leading provider of wireless web access, will make a commercial variant of the Aakash available in India by the end of November.
The varient will have a less romantic shelf name of UbiSlate 7. It's currently available for pre-order atwww.aakashdatawind.com.
UbiSlate 7 costs US$60, or a maximum retail price of Rs 2,999, including all taxes and a 12-month warranty.
Dubbed the computer version of the Tata Nano car, the 7-inch touch screen tablet promises a high definition video processor, Wi-Fi Internet and two full-sized USB ports.
The UbiSlate 7 offers the same features as the Aakash tablet: Web browsing, multimedia games and also doubles up as an e-book reader and instant messenger through Nimbuzz Webchat, a popular free call and messaging app.
The only difference is that UbiSlate 7 will have a cellular mode for web access on-the-go, with Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enabled.
Future products will include a mobile phone version of the device and a larger 10-inch screen.
"This is not only a concept that applies to India, but has ignited the imagination of governments around the world. The Aakash is proudly made in India, and is destined to revolutionize computing and Internet access for the world," says Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, DataWind.
Impressed? Now let's see if it doubles as a Frisbee.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Reasons Why Facebook is better for business than Google+
Google has taken another major step needed toward becoming a full-fledged Facebook rival last week by revealing its Google+ Pages for business. Analysts believe, it may be possible that Google+ may develop into something more useful for business over time. But for the time being, the suit doesn't even come close to the services that Facebook is offering to its business users
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Let’s check out why Facebook is better for businesses than Google+
More active users on Facebook
The first and most obvious reason for businesses to hop on Facebook to take advantage of social networking is the number of more active users on Facebook. As per latest report, Google+ users were almost 43 million at the end of September, while Facebook records over 800 million users.
Google+ lacks key services
Google+ was launched without many significant services that Google added later on. For instance, of Google Apps for Business, Google Apps for Nonprofits and Google Voice are some significant services that Google introduced later to enhance its experience.
Google+ doesn't allow promotions and contests
Another distinct problem with Google+ is that people cannot promote their business via contests. In contrast, one of the benefits of having a presence on Facebook is that businesses can boost audience by enticing them with various promotions and contests directly on Facebook itself. Google+ has elected to not allow promotions or contests.
Compatibility to mobile devices
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Let’s check out why Facebook is better for businesses than Google+
More active users on Facebook
The first and most obvious reason for businesses to hop on Facebook to take advantage of social networking is the number of more active users on Facebook. As per latest report, Google+ users were almost 43 million at the end of September, while Facebook records over 800 million users.
Google+ lacks key services
Google+ was launched without many significant services that Google added later on. For instance, of Google Apps for Business, Google Apps for Nonprofits and Google Voice are some significant services that Google introduced later to enhance its experience.
Google+ doesn't allow promotions and contests
Another distinct problem with Google+ is that people cannot promote their business via contests. In contrast, one of the benefits of having a presence on Facebook is that businesses can boost audience by enticing them with various promotions and contests directly on Facebook itself. Google+ has elected to not allow promotions or contests.
Compatibility to mobile devices
Although, it cannot be denied that Facebook doesn’t provide separate chat applications for mobile devices and users have to install an eBuddy app to use Facebook chat platform for mobiles. Facebook can be accessed from almost every mobile device, even compatible with those who don’t have an Android operating system.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Rumor du jour: Apple testing Siri on older iPhones
Would Apple give up one of the big reasons to pull out your wallet on its latest iPhone by offering its hottest feature to users with older models?
iOS hacking blog Jailbreak Nation says that may be in the cards, in report claiming that Apple is testing Siri, its voice assistant feature that is exclusive to the iPhone 4S, on older iOS devices including the iPhone 4.
The rumor comes on the heels of efforts to get the feature to work on the iPhone 4 without Apple's permission, requiring the use of a device that's been jailbroken. That means users can write files and install applications on their iOS device without going through Apple's App Store.
One such effort had a breakthrough last week, with its creator finding a way to get Siri's commands to go through Apple's servers, which play gatekeeper to make sure the device that's sending voice snippets is an iPhone 4S. In a demonstration provided to blog 9to5mac, the feature is shown working just as fast as on the 4S, which sports a beefier processor than the one in the iPhone 4. Yet that solution is currently unavailable to those with jailbroken devices and has no release timetable.
The real question is what Apple has to gain from bringing the feature to older devices. No doubt it would delight iPhone 4 users to get Siri without having to buy new hardware, and possibly extending their carrier contracts. But it would also cut down on the number of reasons the iPhone 4S is an improvement on its predecessor. That said, the data Apple collects from Siri in the form of user queries and voice sampling could be a huge asset to the company, which also operates its own advertising business called iAd, making a larger group of users statistically advantageous. The same goes for keeping an eye on the kinds of searches and activities users are doing on their devices, which could provide valuable intelligence on what to add or improve in future iterations.
One very important thing to note here is that Apple's history of iOS updates thus far would suggest the company would not add such a high-profile feature. For instance, Voice Over--which is Siri's predecessor--was available only to iPhone 3GS owners, due in part to the requirement the 3GS' faster processor. Likewise, multi-tasking, which was the headlining feature of iOS 4.0, could only work on the iPhone 3GS and higher. Siri differs from those efforts in that most of the hard work is being done on Apple's servers, which are piped with a user's voice commands then sent back as something the phone can use.
Siri remains in beta, with Apple planning to add additional features to it in the form of extra languages, localizations for its Maps app, and support for local searches, all things Apple says will be delivered in 2012. The voice assistant was previously available as a standalone application on the App Store, which was shelved the same week Siri the iPhone 4S feature was formally announced.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Ultrabooks to see fast growth, says analyst
Ultrabooks will capture more than 40 percent of the laptop market by 2015, becoming, in effect, a counterweight to tablets like Apple's iPad, according to market researcher IHS-iSuppli.
In a research note titled "Ultrabooks to Deliver Ultrafast Growth," iSuppli sees these svelte Windows laptops that run on Intel processors taking 43 percent of the laptop market by 2015.
Currently, Windows 7-based Ultrabooks from vendors such as Acer and Asus compete with Apple's MacBook Air. But new designs based on Windows 8 and future Intel processors in the coming years are expected to make them attractive alternatives to tablets.
Before 2015, growth is forecast to jump from 2 percent in 2011 to 13 percent in 2012, then to just under 30 percent in 2013. (See chart above.)
Intel raised some eyebrows earlier this year with a bullish prediction that Ultrabooks would take 40 percent of the market in 2012. That seems highly unlikely in light of iSuppli's forecast andcomments from Acer and Asus last month.
The Asus Aspire S3 Ultrabook debuted at $899. But that may still be too pricey for mass-market appeal.
But consumers' preferences will change as they become more acclimated to skinny devices that offer laptop-like utility, such as the iPad and upcoming Amazon Kindle Fire. "To compete with media tablets, notebook PCs must become sexier and more appealing to consumers," said Matthew Wilkins, an iSuppli analyst, in a statement today.
"With media tablets having already reversed the expansion of the previously fast-growing netbook platform, PC makers now are keenly aware that the notebook must evolve to maintain market growth and relevance," Wilkins wrote. Apple's iPad is driving a lot this growth.
Windows 8 will be a boon to Ultrabooks. That operating system will have an advanced touch interface and be more power efficient--in effect, tailor-made for the Ultrabook. And Intel's vision of the Ultrabook is closely aligned with Windows 8, Wilkins said.
That said, prices will have to come down. Acer made a splash last month when it announced its Ultrabook for $899 (and it's selling for as little as $840 at some resellers). But that's still pricey and out of the reach for a lot of consumers.
Prices will need to be closer to $699 or even $599 to trigger broader buying patterns, according to Deron Kershaw, an analyst at Gap Intelligence.
What will an Ultrabook look like in 2015? Nobody knows, of course. Nor is it likely that a special naming scheme will even be relevant at that point. But expect a raft of very thin hybrid devices that offer the best of the laptop and tablet.
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