iPad newspaper 'The Daily' will be launched on February 2

Talking of the iPad, media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s tablet-only newspaper — designed specifically for the Apple product — will be launched on February 2 after at least two missed deadlines.

It has the most unassuming name — The Daily — but it could have a significant impact on the media space not only in the US, but around the world. American newspapers are battling falling readership and precipitously falling revenues to stay afloat. In the last two years alone, several newspapers have either shut down or have cut staff and retained only the digital version.


Mostly, the print medium has lost to digital, something that even television was unable to do.

Thus, in a world of 1.5 crore ( and growing) Apple iPads, will The Daily ( priced reasonably at 99 cents or Rs 45 a week and $ 4.25 or Rs 196 per month) ease out regular newspapers? This question is moot.

Here’s why.

The Daily ’s success will depend upon its product quality. Given Mr Murdoch’s track record so far, it is safe to assume that the product will have high standards. It may be controversial, but it would not be devoid of high quality journalism.

So assuming that The Daily is a success, what does it have in store for the print editions of newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post , since both already have iPad apps? Chances are that the print medium will be further hit and sooner than expected. A newspaper is bulky to carry; it has to be folded; it cannot be updated through the day and it can never hope to have the instant interactivity that a digital edition promises.

It would not be naïve, therefore, to say that the print medium in the US — unlike India, where print news products face no such threat — is bracing up for upheaval. And it could well be a battle that is being fought for a losing cause.

PM rings in nationwide mobile number portability (MNP)

Begining Thursday, over 75 crore mobile subscribers in India will have the option to switch to another telecom operator while retaining their mobile number. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday launched the much-awaited mobile number portability (MNP) that empowers subscribers to change their operator, for slack services, while retaining their numbers.

With MNP kicking off, India has now joined the bandwagon of advanced countries like the US, UK and China, which had already introduced it a few years ago. MNP was introduced in the state of Haryana in November 25 last year as a test case.

The Prime Minister said that the MNP is an unblemished example of how India’s telecommunication services have helped to widen the human choices in a very important area of the nation’s economic activity.

“ More of our countrymen have been touched by this (mobile) revolution than by any other program, product or service in the history of our nation and that too, at a pace unprecedented in the world at large,” the Prime Minister said while launching the MNP by making an inaugural call to telecom minister Kapil Sibal from a ported number.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) : Airtel, Idea, BSNL & Vodafone to be affected majorly

Mr. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today will roll out the mobile number portability (MNP) on pan- India basis which will literally make the customer a king, however these days it is rare to be heard that 'customer is king' and get what he wants when we look at the rising prices of commodities. Manmohan Singh will launch MNP at Vigyan Bhavan on today i.e. January 20 at 5 pm.


It has already been delayed four times as initially it was meant to be applied on December 31, 2009 however delayed to March 31, 2010 then June 30 and later to October, 2010, but now it is here and will offer the subscribers to change their mobile operator without changing their number.

So, what exactly the buzz is all about, is it going to change the world for us, not exactly, but it will give you a freedom to choose the best as mobile operators usually leave hundreds and thousands of their customers dissatisfied in terms service, high bill value and lack of network. Idea is one of the operators which I guess would face the major setback due to this and this is exactly why they were the first one to start off their campaign named 'No idea? Get Idea'.

As a company and a human being you cannot do everything right, hence all the majot service providers like Airtel, Idea, BSNL & Vodafone are likely to be affected with MNP and majorly in urban areas than in rural.

So, are you changing your operator !!!

Scientists blow cover off dense fog in north India

Dense fog cover and below normal temperatures observed in north India are a result of a new high- impact weather phenomenon that affects a large belt in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, according to weather scientists.

The new phenomenon was observed for the first time in December 1997, and since then it has recurred in December 1998, January 2003, December 2008, January 2009 and January 2010, besides January this year. Analysis of daily images from satellites between 1997 and 2011 has shown presence of identical large- scale dense fog cover over northern parts of India, parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh during these months. The fog cover aligns itself in the shape of the Indo- Gangetic plains in satellite imagery.

One of the widely felt impacts of this phenomenon is that airports across the region are simultaneously hit by fog.

Conventional weather events such as Western Disturbance can’t fully explain the dense fog and the below normal temperatures seen in this region in winter months, according to Dr Rajendra Kumar Jenamani of the Indian Meteorological Department.

The fog covered region has typical geographic features. On the northern side exists the Himalayan range, which not only acts as a source of high cooling but also acts as a wind barrier. On the southern side are plateaus and hills running almost 2,500 km in east- west direction.

On the eastern and western sides, there are narrow openings into the sea.

“ This geography makes it a large tub like structure protected from both sides — which favours calm winds. The narrow openings on the east and the west allow a very high interaction with the sea, bringing moisture which helps fog formation and its persistence,” Jenamani said.

While the geography has remained unchanged, there are other factors which have exaggerated effects of this typical geography. “ Since late 1990s, the entire belt has been experiencing significant rise in urban pollution,” the scientist explained. In addition, the dense canal network of major rivers in the Indo- Gangetic plains provides high moisture.

All this contributes to fog formation. The dense fog clouds are not of uniform depth through the region and sometimes get re- formed or lifted to higher altitude at some points due to strong winds.

Supersonic Tejas joins Indian Air Force

Cutting across a clear and crispy cold morning, Tejas, India's first indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft, scorched the skies on Monday. The supersonic fourth generation fighter will be part of a 200- strong fleet of the Indian Air Force and replace its jaded Soviet- era MiG- 21 aircraft.


The country's first indigenous combat jet received its operational clearance nearly three decades after it was conceptualized. A galaxy of IAF and Defence official witnessed the flight. The IAF would commission its first squadron of the fighter in 2013. Though the design and body structure is indigenous, the LCA has an ' American heart' as an engine from the US- based General Electric powers it.

Indian researchers could not crack the code for developing the engine owing to denial of technology after the second nuclear test in May 1998. The indigenous Kaveri engine is yet to take off. " The indigenization level in Tejas is currently around 65 percent and will be scaled to 75- 80 percent when production is expanded to meet the IAF combat needs," VK Saraswat, scientific adviser to the defence minister, said.

After witnessing the flight, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Naik said, " The Tejas is expected to get the final operational clearance in the next two years for induction. The squadron is likely to be formed by 2013 or early 2014." The Tejas squadron, comprising 20 fighters, will be located at the IAF's Salur air base near Coimbatore in southern Tamil Nadu as a frontline aerial combat vehicle.

Each Tejas aircraft will cost Rs. 190 crore and the squadron would cost the exchequer about Rs. 3,800 crore. " The cost of the Tejas trainer variant and Mark II version with enhanced engine will be about Rs. 210 crore each and Rs. 4,200 crore for the second lot of 20 jets for the second squadron," State- run aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd chairman and managing director Ashok Nayak told reporters.

" This is a momentous occasion that the nation has been waiting for towards building our own multi- role combat aircraft,'' State- run Defence Research and Development Organisation official K. Jayaprakash Rao said.

Designed by State- run Aeronautical Defence Agency and manufactured by HAL in its Bangalore unit, Tejas has been in the various development stages since it was conceptualized in 18 years ago.

ADA director P S Subramanyam said LCA will remain contemporary for another 15 years. " A unique aspect of the LCA is its open system architecture. It is very easy to adapt such a system to contemporary technologies because it is open. The basic design of the LCA, too, permits easy adaptability. All new generation electronics will be continuously upgraded". The aircraft is capable of carrying assorted weapon loads and drop tanks on eight hard points.

Toyota Etios may start a sedan price war in India

The entry of Toyota, the world’s biggest car-maker, into the Indian entry- level sedan market has sent car-makers scrambling to work out fresh plans for the hitherto neglected sedan segment.

While Toyota will be launching the Etios, its foray into entry level sedan segment, on Wednesday, another Japanese major Nissan has also said that it is readying a new sedan based on a completely new platform for the Indian market for launch next year. What has set the cat among the pigeons is Toyota’s aggressive pricing strategy, clearly aimed at garnering volumes.


Toyota Kirloskar Motors Ltd (TKM), Toyota’s India joint venture which will be manufacturing the Etios, has said the car will be priced at Rs 5.25 lakh for the base variant. This will pitch it head on against Maruti Suzuki, which dominates the entry sedan segment with its Swift DZire, and Tata Motors’ Indigo and Indigo CS variants. Ford is the only other player with a model in a similar price range. But its outdated Ikon model has been steadily losing market share, as has Hyundai’s dated Accent model. Maruti Suzuki, phased out the bestselling Esteem a few years ago.

TKM has invested Rs 3,200 crore on a new manufacturing plant near Bangalore, with an annual capacity of 70,000 units, keeping in mind this new model. Considered to be one of the most ambitious projects from Toyota, this car, which has a 1500 cc petrol engine, will face plenty of competition.

Apart from existing models like Maruti Swift D’Zire, Hyundai Accent, Tata Indigo, Tata Manza and the Ford Ikon, Volkswagen has also launched the Vento, which has base variants which are comparably priced.

Market watchers feel that Etios’ lucrative price has already started troubling other auto makers as it is also likely to affect the market share of hatchbacks within the same price range, such as Hyundai i20, Maruti Swift, Ford Figo and Volkswagen’s Polo.

“ We are very excited about the launch. We are sure the customers will be very happy. Reviews are very good and we expect it will be a game changer in the entry level sedan market,” said Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director ( marketing), TKM. Singh, however, declined to comment on the price. “ The exact price of the car will be announced only on December 1. Before that we do not want comment on price. Just wait for the launch,” he said.

TKM targets to sell 70,000 units of Etios in the first year. Also, after the success of its hatchback Micra, Japanese carmaker Nissan is now planning to bring an entry- level sedan model to the Indian market.

Nissan Sunny, designed especially for the Chinese and the India markets, is expected to be launched next year. “ We are waiting for the response of Etios in the market. We will try to keep our price competitive, so that it can take on the existing competition. But it will certainly be below Rs 6 lakh,” an official from Nissan Motors Co Ltd said .

According to sources even General Motors is planning to launch a new entry- level sedan in the Indian market by 2011. “ The last year has seen a host of launches in the luxury hatchbacks segment. The following years will be the dominated by entry- level sedans. There has hardly been any exciting offering in this segment,” a senior official from General Motors said.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is a test case for operators

The Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service, which was launched in Haryana on Thursday, is being seen as a test case by mobile operators, who have planned various campaigns including ad campaigns based on the MNP in the next few weeks in the backdrop of the government announcing pan- India MNP rollout on January 20 next year.

Idea Cellular is the first off the block launch its MNP- based ad campaign. It is called ‘ Switch to Idea’. The telecom industry feels that after the full roll- out of MNP, the sector would see reduction in prices for premium services like SMS, data services and roaming charges. Currently, around 10 per cent of the overall revenue in the telecom industry is generated from these services. However, not much change is immediately expected in voice services (calling charges).

Service providers also say that midtier consumers in both pre- paid and post- paid segments will most likely switch their operators with the onset of MNP, considering that the churn in the low- end of the market is very high.

Industry estimates say there is a monthly churn of two per cent among the post- paid customers while the prepaid segment sees a churn of five to six per cent, the highest in the world.

A lot will also depend on 3G also. Operators who don’t have 3G may be the most hit as high- end subscribers would like to switch to 3G- ready operators while rural subscribers will look for those operators with better coverage.

One in four Reliance Communications (RCom) and Tata Indicom subscribers will be keen to change their operator when MNP is introduced, followed by about one in five (19 per cent) of BSNL subscribers. RCom risks losing 25 per cent of its subscribers, that is, about 21 million users, who intend to move to another operator.

Facemail new features look prominent, however it is not a Gmail killer

Facebook, the world’s largest social networking website launched its email service on Monday night, giving credence to the speculation that Gmail, the popular email service from Google, may soon be ousted from its top spot.

Facebook’s service ( users will now get a “@ facebook. com” email ID) is both an email and a messaging service in the sense that it allows users to send and receive messages from different platforms such as SMSes, instant messengers, email, chats and of course, Facebook’s own messaging system. For instance, if you are conversing with a friend over various platforms, you don’t really have to go to different devices to recall those messages.

Facebook does that for you in a single messages page.

The new messages page, which will be rolled out to all 500 million- plus users of Facebook over the next two months or so, will have three folders or categories for their Inbox – Messages, Others and Junk. All the conversations you have with your most important Facebook friends will land in your ‘ Messages’ folder, while the rest go into the ‘ Others’ folder. ‘Spam’ messages will end up in the Junk folder.

There was every reason for Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook to take on the Web’s free email services. “ Email is slow,” he said at a packed media conference in California on Monday night.

According to Facebook, 350 million people on its network use the messaging system every day to send close to four billion messages.

But will it really kill Gmail? Experts say the death of Gmail — and other email services — is vastly exaggerated. At present, even Gmail users can send or receive SMSes (in the US only right now), voice mail, instant messages and email messages all in the same platform.

Moreover, some of your formal contacts may or may not be part of your Facebook network.

As technology blogger Christopher Dawson pointed out in blog for ZDNet : “ For those of us who take Facebook with a grain of salt, this isn’t a game changer. But Google’s continued conspicuously absent social components leave Gmail and its SMS, IM, and voice/ video chat widgets feeling a bit long in the tooth. I mean, everything’s supposed to be social now, right?” Guardian ’s technology blogger Tom Scott said: “ Despite the hyperbolic headlines that will inevitably follow tonight’s launch, the truth is — of course — that Facebook Mail will be neither a swift revolution nor a privacy disaster. It’ll just be another incremental improvement — but perhaps also a step change — in one of many social networks, and another small step forward for our online lives.

It's certainly not the death of email; but neither is it going to cause teens to suddenly start typing long- form messages instead of texting.” One of the other prime concerns with Facebook mail is that it does not allow folders to be created on the fly, which is what all other free email services do. Gmail even allows extensions to your email ID to direct emails to a specific folder for easy retrieval later.

Facebook and Bing Join Hands to compete with Google

On October 14, Facebook announced that it will partner with Microsoft to allow the latter’s Bing to become its default search engine. This will make the world’s largest social network even more potent. It has more than 500 million users and Microsoft’s Bing, though it never made even a dent into Google’s search leadership, is not a walkover — it genuinely has tremendous potential, especially with specialised search.

Therefore, more than any other partnership that Microsoft has gotten into to capture Google’s marketshare, it is this that would scare the folks at Mountain View, California the most.

Take the numbers. Facebook’s 500+ million users can now search for a restaurant or a movie and Bing will tell them if any of their friends “likes” it. If Bing produces a killer search product for Facebook, Google might as well as say goodbye to a large number of its daily users thus severely denting its advertising revenue model which brought in more than $ 20 billion last year.

So, on Google, if you search for a film critic’s view on a new release, you would get only that critic’s views. Not on Bing, which will now feature your friends’ comments as well. It is more than likely that we watch movies based not upon the often esoteric and distant opinion of a critic but that of a genuine friend with whom we perhaps share greater commonality.

Another plus: “ Now when you search on Bing, rather than showing you all the Matthew Kims (a potential friend) out there, Bing finds and provides the results most relevant to you based on your Facebook connections — those with whom you have mutual friends will now show up first," said Facebook CEO and cofounder Mark Zuckerberg. He added that “ Bing is also making more prominent the ability to add these people as friends on Facebook directly from Bing.” This collaboration will therefore have two distinct advantages. It will drive traffic to Bing it so desperately needs to increase its unique visitors as well as revenue.

To Facebook, it will mean additional revenue to help aid its remarkable growth story. Google normally is not affected by tie-ups that potentially want to kill it. For example, in August this year, Microsoft and Yahoo — Google’s two biggest challengers — joined hands on search. No go.

Google still has 73 per cent of the US online search market. By September, Yahoo had a mere 13.54 per cent and Bing just 10 per cent. The tie- up had actually brought down Yahoo’s share by five percent while Bing saw only a two per cent rise. Clearly, it had not worked.

Then, in September, Google launched Instant worldwide and in October it had an India launch. Instant allows users to see the search results page as they type rather than wait for the entire string to be typed. Chances are that Google’s marketshare may bump up further this month.


Now, however, Bing can deliver results based on what your trusted sources of information— your friends and acquaintances— think. This is a giant leap forward.” Google has for long dominated the search world. But when it comes to social networking, it has failed miserably so far with Wave and Buzz (Wave is dead and Buzz too may go the same way). It is this drawback that might help Facebook and Microsoft.

Govt uses Net tools to debate foreign policy with the public

Indian foreign policy talks will no longer remain confined to the hallowed rooms of South Block, courtesy new internet tools. Digital diplomacy is fast becoming the buzzword with India expanding its footprints in several countries and opening new missions. The Public Diplomacy ( PD) division of the external affairs ministry is all set to launch an interactive and exhaustive website.

The key objective is the creation of a framework that would foster a more informed discourse on foreign policy issues. Sources said Indian diplomacy channels have been launched on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Blogspot as well. Navdeep Suri, joint secretary in charge of the PD division, said the initiative has started a country- wide debate on foreign policy matters, with comments pouring in from across India.

The Twitter account, launched on July 8, has been an instant success. And it is evident from this post. “ Perhaps for the first time, Twitter is having such an account from any government of India department.We the people feel honoured,” Kaushik Dutta, an insurance official, tweeted three days after the account was launched. It already has 2,600 followers.

Another interesting feature is the uploading of documentaries sponsored by the ministry on YouTube. Almost 21 such films have been uploaded. And a key film deals with India’s projects in restive Afghanistan. Suri said the new policy discussion website would be unique.

“ It will showcase development initiatives that India has undertaken across continents. The contributions — in article format — will be made by diplomats working in Indian missions. The initiative is the first- ofits- kind and will usher in a turnaround in public diplomacy,” he added.

The current external affairs ministry website hosts the profiles of countries with which India enjoys diplomatic ties and lists the bilateral pacts and visits undertaken. Sources believe foreign policy should no longer remain the exclusive domain of diplomats and officials.

It is necessary to involve the citizens, particularly the younger lot. And the way to reach out to the 18- 35 age group is social networking. Earlier, the ministry’s publicity division had organised foreign policy seminars in the city to take the policymaking process closer to the public.

Suri is at the helm of India’s changing public diplomacy style. A 1983- batch IFS officer, he has served in various capacities at India’s diplomatic missions in Egypt, Syria, the US, Tanzania, the UK and South Africa. The use of Facebook and Twitter for public diplomacy is not a new phenomenon.

The US and UK have even developed a code on the usage of these tools. The response from youngsters has been quite encouraging in these countries.

Even palace tours are hi- tech in Bangalore Bangalore

The scion of the Mysore royal family, Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, has come up with an innovative plan to attract tourists to the Bangalore Palace — an audio- guided tour of the heritage site.

Wadiyar has partnered with a renowned tour operator for this facility.

Visitors will be provided with MP3 players. All they have to do is plug in the ear phones and select a language of their choice for the audio guide. The hour- long audio guide is available in Kannada, English, Hindi, French, Spanish, German and Italian.

The audio tour focuses on the history, art and architecture of the palace, which is a replica of the Windsor Castle in England.

The audio guide describes 21 different spots of the palace. “ We get millions of visitors every year. With the launch of these audio tour guides, site interpretation service will help them understand and appreciate the collections and history better. This will also be of importance to bridge the language barrier between the multilingual visitor and us,” said Wadiyar.

Of course, the service is available for a fee — Rs 175 for Indians and Rs 350 for foreign tourists. According to Wadiyar, the service has generated tremendous response among the visitors.

The scion now intends to introduce a similar service at some of the other heritage sites belonging to the Royal family of Mysore.