Technology Effect

Even as staunch experimentalists disbelieve it, the use of information and communication technologies to do a laboratory experiment independent of a student's location is fast becoming a reality. In short, virtual reality technologies are revolutionizing the educational system. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is launching a series of workshops on their newly developed Virtual Labs. These labs were developed under the research grant from the National Mission on Education through ICT, Ministry of HRD. Amrita is a partner in the National Mission project on Virtual laboratories coordinated by IIT Delhi in partnership with 10 other institutes including IITs (Kanpur, Kharaghpur, Bombay, Madras, Roorkee, Guwahati), IIIT Hyderabad, NIT Suratkal, COE Pune and Dayalbagh University. The objective of this national mission project is multi-faceted — to provide high quality personalized and interactive knowledge modules over the internet, intranet and through satellite communicat...

The day is not far off when anyone can find out everything about you with the help of just a snapshot. The technology is still in the nascent stage, but artificial intelligence applied to face recognition may change the Internet and our lives Let's say you see this pretty face in a crowd, in a newspaper or a magazine, and want to know more about who the person is. You scan her image, crop it to just her face, go to a visual search engine and hit ‘Enter'. Within seconds, you know everything about her. You get more pictures of her, some of them from her Facebook account and almost instantly, you've put a name to her face. Does this excite you or scare you? If you've been using Picasa or Facebook over the last few months, you would've realised how Picasa automatically identifies faces and asks you to tag them. If you've been using digital cameras, you would know how the machine knows to identify a human in the frame and throws just the right ...

ensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers are pioneering a new study in which they have developed a type of nanomaterial that could spark a new generation of Lithium ion batteries for electric automobiles, laptop computers, mobile phones, and other devices. Called ‘nanoscoop’, it can withstand extremely high rates of charge and discharge, thanks to its unique material composition, structure, and size. Professor Nikhil Koratkar and his team demonstrated how a nanoscoop electrode could be charged and discharged at a rate 40 to 60 times faster than conventional battery over 100 continuous charge/discharge cycles. “Charging my laptop or cell phone in a few minutes, rather than an hour, sounds pretty good to me,” said Mr. Koratkar. “Moreover, this technology could potentially be ramped up to suit the demanding needs of batteries for electric automobiles. Due to their nanoscale size, our nanoscoops can soak and release Li at high rates far more effectively than the m...

Mumbai: Security and systems management solutions provider Symantec on Wednesday announced the launch of a new solution that, it said, would help organizations better understand and manage their increasing unstructured data. The solution, Symantec Data Insight Storage , will help improve data governance in organizations, the company said.. PUnstructured data growth is one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today and it has a direct impact on their profitability. The new solution will help improve data governance in organizations through insights into ownership, usage and lifecycle of unstructured data," Symantec Director (Systems Engineering) Anand Naik said in release here. This solution would help IT managers have greater visibility of data and align data management with the overall business goals of the organization, he said. e.

Amazon has taken its first step toward creating an app store for devices that run on the Android operating system. It has thrown open a portal wherein interested developers can submit their apps for Android-based devices. The next would be starting a full fledged store that is scheduled to come up sometime later this year. Amazon proven expertise in the business of selling will make it a strong case for both app developers and customers. The company will put a price tag to the apps and recommend on which apps to purchase. Amazon will also test the apps before putting them into the store. Amazon will share the remunerations on the apps with the developers. As per the Amazon's developer license agreement, Amazon will pay the developer 70 percent of the purchase price or 20 percent of the list price for sale of an app. "Amazon's innovative marketing and merchandising features are designed to help customers find and discover relevant products from our vast se...

  Hyderabad: Quick Heal, an Internet security tools provider, has introduced a new technology called Laptop Tracker that helps to track and recover lost laptops. The technology works on the premise that every laptop or PC has a Media Access Control ID (MAC ID) - the physical address of the device. When the stolen devices are connected to the Internet, its IP location can be found using the physical address number. To use the services of the Laptop Tracker technology, one needs to register into its website known as www.trackmylaptop.net. All one needs to do there is key in the physical address number of the laptop or PC. The solution from the Pune-based company is open for everyone. However those of who are using its anti-virus solution do not have to fill the MAC IDs. The technology would help the cyber crime departments and law enforcement departments of the country and the company is in talks with them to deploy the technology.

Android Honeycomb, much awaited version of Android OS is launched in CES 2011. Honey Comb version is Android 3.0 designed specially for Tablet PC. Year 2011 being Tablet Year, Google has launched its next update of  Open Source Operating System Android 3.0. They have released Sneak Peak Video of the Android OS. Google recently released 2.3 version of Android named as Gingerbread, and had a preview of Android Tablet from Motorola running HoneyComb which features Google Maps 5.0. Honeycomb is the next version of the Android platform, designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. We’ve spent a lot of time refining the user experience in Honeycomb, and we’ve developed a brand new, truly virtual and holographic user interface. Many of Android’s existing features will really shine on Honeycomb: refined multi-tasking, elegant notifications, access to over 100,000 apps on Android Market, home screen customization with a new...

Motorola finally announced its much awaited tablet, the Motorola Xoom at the CES 2011 in Las Vegas. This device runs on the Google’s latest Android OS (Honeycomb), optimized for tablets. Motorola Xoom comes with a large 10.1 inch touchscreen display, NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 4G LTE upgradeable, Full HD (1080p) video playback and more. This device allows you to access more that 3 million Google eBooks. Check out the complete specs below. “Motorola XOOM is a powerful addition to Verizon’s product lineup and builds on our combined leadership with Motorola to deliver innovative mobile devices and service on the Android platform. Motorola XOOM gives consumers complete access and control of their favorite personal content and work files whether through our nationwide 3G network, or through our lightning-fast 4G LTE network as it rolls out around the country,” said Marni Walden, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. Motorola Xoom Specificat...

  Google barely got done launching Android 2.3 Gingerbread and already 2.4 is being caught on camera. Dutch tech site Tweakers got to play with an Xperia Arc and were surprised to find 2.4 listed as the software version. After some poking around on the device, they concluded that the update was likely a small update for Gingerbread in the vein of Android 2.0 and 2.1, both of which were named Eclair. The biggest feature seems to be an uncompleted Google Talk app that would allow video calling -- a feature Google is including in the tablet-centric Honeycomb. It seems they got a hand on a very early version of the OS so we likely won't hear much about 2.4 for some time.

Verizon Wireless and Motorola Mobility Company presented a new Android Smartphone – Motorola DROID BIONIC, equipped with a 1 GHz dual-core processor , and supports work in LTE networks. Further, the device is equipped with 512 MB of DDR2 memory , 4.3-inch touch screen 960 × 540 ), 8-megapixel camera, HDMI port and supports Full HD (1080p) resolution qHD ( video content. Features of Motorola DROID BIONIC Support communications standards: 4G LTE (Band 13) Dimensions: 66,9 h125, 9h13, 3 mm Weight: 158 gr. Display: 4.3-inch, resolution 960h540 points Camera: 8 megapixels with autofocus and LED-backlit display, support for HD (720p) video Memory: 512 MB RAM (DDR2), 16 GB Flash, microSD slot for memory cards Operating System: Android 2.2 Communication: WLAN 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR (supports A2DP and HID, which allows you to connect your mouse and keyboard), USB 2.0 HS, Corporate Sync, DLNA, Motosync, OMA DM, HDMI, 3.5 mm audio jack Battery: 1930 mAh

Acer , one of the leading computer manufacturer has rolled out a new Aspire series gaming desktop named Aspire Predator AG3600. Aspire Predator AG3600 desktop is loaded with lots of advanced features including 2.8GHz Intel Core i5 2300 Sandy Bridge processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT 420 graphics card support. Three open PCI Express x1 slots are embedded with this new Aspire Predator AG3600 desktop along with Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 technology. The Aspire Predator AG3600 desktop also poses 10 USB 2.0 ports i.e. four on top and six in back. Acer Aspire Predator AG3600 Desktop Specs 8GB DDR3 RAM 1.5TB hard disk drive Powered with 2.8GHz Intel Core i5 2300 Sandy Bridge processor Intel H67 chipset NVIDIA GeForce GT 420 graphics card support Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 technology HD video support Microsoft DirectX 11 Multi in one card reader 3D gaming facility D Sub and DVI outputs Three open PCI Express x1 slots 10 USB 2.0 ports, Mini HDMI output High definition 5.1...

Motorola, one of the leading mobile maker has unboxed a new smartphone named Motorola ATRIX 4G or, Motorola Etna. Motorola ATRIX 4G smartphone is engraved with a lot of sizzling features including 1000 MHz processor, dual core Tegra 2 processor and GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 Mhz network support. Running with Android v2.2 (Froyo) operating system this new Motorola ATRIX 4G smartphone comes embedded with 3D graphics hardware accelerator. Preloaded with social networking services like Facebook, MySpace, Picasa, Twitter, and YouTube this Motorola ATRIX 4G smartphone poses Instant messaging. Motorola ATRIX 4G Smartphone Features 4.0 inches of capacitive touch screen display 540 x 960 pixel of screen resolution 5.0 mega pixel of primary camera 2592 x 1944 pixels of resolution 0.3 mega pixel of VGA secondary camera 640 x 480 pixels of resolution Digital zoom 1000 MHz processor, dual core Tegra 2 processor GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / HSD...

Airfone has added another dual SIM and dual standby bar mobile phone to the range of its product named Airfone AF-102. Airfone AF-102 mobile phone is empowered with a lot of fabulous features including 1.3 mega pixels of camera with 1280 x 1024 pixels of resolution and Micro SD/T-Flash memory card slot. Pre-installed with WAP browser this new Airfone AF-102 mobile phone works on GSM 900 / 1800 Mhz | GSM 900 / 1800 Mhz network support. 500 phone book entries comes embedded with this Airfone AF-102 mobile phone along with 200 SMS storage capacity. Airfone AF-102 Mobile Phone Features 2.0 inches (5.08 cms), QCIF 262K color screen display 176 x 220 pixel of screen resolution Dual SIM Dual standby 1.3 mega pixels of camera 1280 x 1024 pixels of camera resolution Digital zoom MP4, 3GP video support GSM 900 / 1800 Mhz | GSM 900 / 1800 Mhz network support WAP browser 500 phone book entries 200 SMS storage Inbuilt games Micro SD/T-Flash memory card slot M...

They note Microsoft announced: Zune/Netflix/Hulu Plus/ESPN integration with Kinect avatarkinect Copy and paste for Windows Phone 7 New laptops using Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors Windows 8 [?] running on SoC chips (such as ARM) Microsoft Surface 2.0

Surely you made a New Year's resolution, right? Right. What better way to keep tabs on yourself than to nab a new pocket camcorder? DXG has just unveiled a new duo of handheld video cameras, so we won't waste any time getting down to the nitty-gritty. The aptly-named Twist looks an awful lot like LG's now-ancient VX9400 (or pretty much any phone with embedded mobile TV support), boasting a 3.5-inch widescreen swivel display and the ability to capture footage in 720p / 1080p at 30 frames per second. It's also equipped with HDMI and USB 2.0 outputs, an SDHC card slot and a rechargeable Li-ion battery. It'll be available around a month from now in pistol-grip (1080p and 720p) and traditional football grip (720p) variations, with a price point sitting at $169.99. If that's a little too Plain Jane for ya, the 2011 Luxe Collection is bound to provide the sprucing you're after. Available in a half-dozen patterns, this pocket camcorder offers a 3-in...

Embedding projectors in mobile phones is a fairly new practice that very few manufacturers have jumped on, we saw glimpses of it at last years CES, including the Samsung Beam at MWC shortly after. This year, its all about the Tablet, and of course we’re now being shown the “MicroVision Mini-Tablet with Embedded Projector.” Being shown for the first time at CES, the Mini-Tablet is essentially a mobile phone minus the cellular banding, sporting Android 2.2 and a 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen, 720p camcorder module, motion sensing, HDMI in and out and display support for web content, user generated content and apps on popular mobile operating systems. The Mini-Tablet is essentially a reference design for manufacturers, it will allow them to use the PicoP laser display engine in their own mobile devices, yes, Android devices will be packing projectors in 2011. PicoP laser will seriously kick some projection ass, its using MicroVision’s laser-scanning technology that ma...

Sennheiser has a thing for trotting out titillating new wares at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and this year is proving to be no different in that regard. The audio specialist has just introduced one of the most fully-featured headsets we've seen in quite awhile, with the CXC 700 boasting not one, not two, but three levels of noise cancellation. The newfangled NoiseGard /digita l technology gives owners a trifecta of noise-cancelling profiles, with each one optimized for something different. In fact, we'll let Senn do the explaining here: "Mode 1 absorbs low-frequency noise in particular (100 to 400 Hertz), such as engine noise from trains, buses or small passenger planes. Mode 2 focuses on cancelling noise in the medium frequency range (400 to 3,000 Hertz), which is caused above all by air-conditioning systems in large passenger aircraft or office buildings. Mode 3 has a particularly wide frequency range (100 to 3,000 Hertz), and combines the no...

The BlackBerry PlayBook has not been camera shy since it was first announced at the BlackBerry Developer Conference back in September 2010, but at that time we had to do our CrackBerry photos and videos with the PlayBook embedded in glass. With CES 2011 now upon us, we can FINALLY get our own hands on the first tablet from Research In Motion. There are lots of photos below, so scroll down for a good look. When you're done, be sure to check out our more in-depth BlackBerry PlayBook review!   BlackBerry PlayBook Photo Gallery - CES 2011 Briefing