INNOVATION

Blogging Powers a Business Venture !!!

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source:::: ECONOMIC TIMES

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How four avid bloggers from Chennai made IndiBlogger into a Rs 1 crore venture….

Offering an interface between companies and clients, IndiBlogger has grown to a Rs 1 crore venture.

For most people, blogging serves as a good pastime, a forum to air or read views and opinions. However, for four yuppies from Chennai, harnessing the power of blogs has proved to be a money-minting venture—a Rs 1 crore business, to be precise. “We were all avid bloggers and saw the potential early, so we based our business idea on it,” says 33-year-old Renie Ravin, managing director of IndiBlogger.

Launched in August 2007, IndiBlogger.in started as a free blogging platform for Indians. However, the founders—Renie Ravin, Karthik DR, Vineet Rajan and Anoop Johnson—had a bigger game plan: to mobilise the blogosphere, a nascent field at the time, so that companies and brands could engage with their customers. The idea was conceptualised by the founders (barring Rajan), all in their 20s, at a party in early August 2007. At the time, Karthik and Johnson were selling security solutions for Ostsold Software, and Ravin—also Johnson’s childhood friend—was working as a Web architect for Broadspire, a software company, in Chennai. Convinced that they were on to a good thing, the trio quit their respective jobs shortly afterwards and focused on their start-up. Rajan left his account manager’s job with Hewlett Packard, Hyderabad, to join IndiBlogger after a bloggers’ meet in Pune, in March 2008.

Luckily for the founders, they found an angel investor in their friend Nitin Bindal, who chipped in with the seed capital of Rs 32 lakh. The money was spent on building infrastructure and marketing. “Since we are based in different cities, conference calls remain one of the biggest cost centres for us,” says Ravin, who is based in Chennai. Johnson, director of marketing, lives in Bangalore, Delhi-based Karthik is director, finance, and Rajan, director, pre-sales and consulting, lives in Mumbai.

Here’s how IndiBlogger works: Registering one’s blog is free of charge, but members must publish at least five blog posts to continue to be a part of the community. The company’s eight-strong team handles support and moderation from Chennai and Bangalore. The revenue comes from connecting brands and bloggers via unique blogging contests and meets, which are organised periodically across the country. The idea stems from the fact that brands see value in connecting with bloggers, who can influence the purchase decisions of their peer groups. In fact, a Neilsen report, Global Trust in Advertising Survey 2011, shows that less than a third of Netizens trust advertisements, while 92% have faith in peer and word-of-mouth recommendations.

Computer Data thro ‘ Radio !!!!!

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Who would have thought of getting emails and data over the radio? But now this is possible because of 22-year-old Indian boy Vinny Lohan who has developed a software that lets one do just that. Radios reach out to the millions in the country, and transistors are cheap and easily available. Lohan has come up with a software to send computer data over normal radio waves, reported Jaimon Joseph for CNN-IBN.

Vinny said “Computers are all about zeros and ones. Be it video or text or music, to a computer, it is all zeros and ones. Since that’s so, we asked ourselves, can we take a book or a video and convert it into music. And then send it over the airwaves. Turns out the answer was yes.”

‘OneBeep’ is the special software that Vinny and his friends created. In order to send a file, video or text, the broadcaster has to just select and drag it into the software. OneBeep converts that data into an audio file, which is then sent out over the airwaves.

Vinny was quoted saying to IBN Live “It’s a bit like bit-torrent. When you are downloading something, the software is intelligent enough to know when something is paused and when it is restarted. We break digital data into packets. The software is converting audio into packets of data on the computer. Say your signal is weak or your battery died. When it restarts, it starts from the place it left off.”

Vinny and his team had bagged the third prize in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup in 2010. It was a worldwide contest for tech innovators.

Listeners can plug in their radio to a laptop or a tablet computer, using a normal headphone jack, while the OneBeep software installed on their machines will automatically convert the audio files back into data. It’s like getting an email over the radio. However the idea does have a few drawbacks.

Firstly, it is slow and sending just 2 MB of data can take up to 40 minutes. Secondly, the idea itself isn’t new. HAM radio operators have used almost similar software since the 1970’s. And lastly, it could be misused by terrorists.

However Vinny said “Each radio frequency transmission needs a government licence. Most amateur transmitters have a range of 20-30 metres. Anything stronger than that can easily be traced. If any unauthorized frequency transmissions take place, the army will be privy to that,” as reported by IBN Live.

Vinny’s idea still has potential since it’s so simple and easily adaptable, and can help rural school kids to download assignments overnight. Further, community radio stations in villages can also use it to transfer files related to panchayats.

Though the technology is few years away, OneBeep already works and Vinny wants to offer it for free on the web. He wants give rural India a taste of the internet over the radio.

Source::::: silicon india net….

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Aakash Tablet of India ….World”s Lowest Priced !!!

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UN set to witness Indian Aakash tablet on November 28!

India’s Aakash tablet, which is branded as the “Lowest costing Tablet PC” in the world is set to be focused in a presentation at the United Nations (U.N). (Photo: Ubislate)

Aakash tablet, branded as the “lowest costing tablet PC” in the world, is set to be presented at the United Nations (U.N.) headquarters on Nov. 28.

The presentation, which will put forward the various details of the tablet, will be attended by Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General. Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., said in a news conference that Aakash is “the most competitively priced tablet computer by an Indian-origin entrepreneur.”

Aakash was launched in October last year, it received a record number of pre-bookings ( approximately 3.5 million) soon after the launch. The Aakash tablet will reportedly provide Wi-Fi connectivity to users along with a battery backup time of three hours.

 

Designed keeping in mind the interest of the Indian Student community, the Aakash tablet’s competitive price tag is one of the gadget’s notable aspects. The commercial version of Aakash, namely the Ubislate will cost around $65.

There was a lot of hype and speculation regarding the launch date of the tablet, whose official manufacturer is Canada based Datawind, and also regarding the gadget’s pre-bookings in India.

Another improved version of the Aakash tablet, which will cost around $75, is also on the cards and is speculated to be launched in India on Nov. 11. “Hopefully on November 11, you will see the President talking to 20,000 students across the nation (who) will have their hands on Aakash,” Kapil Sibal, India’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology had earlier stated.

source::::: international digital times net

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iPad Apple or Google Nexus 7….who is the clear winner !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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iPad Mini Vs. Nexus 7: Tablet Smackdown

Apple iPad Mini versus Google Nexus 7 sets up the tablet battle we’ve all been waiting for. We see who has the goods to come out on top.

By Eric Zeman  InformationWeek
October 27, 2012 09:06 AM
iPad Mini Tablet: Visual Tour

iPad Mini Tablet: Visual Tour

(click image for larger view and for slideshow)

Can’t decide which small tablet is the best buy? Let’s look at the top two contenders, the Apple iPad Mini and the Google Nexus 7. Either one is a solid pick, but each has pros and cons, to be sure. Let’s look at what the two tablets have in common and what sets them apart.(Where’s Michael Buffer when you need him? “Let’s get ready to ruuummmmbbb

Form

Does size matter? It might for some, but these two combatants are pretty close when it comes to size and weight. The iPad Mini measures 7.87 x 5.3 x 0.28 inches and the Nexus 7 measures 7.81 x 4.82 x 0.41 inches. The length and width are nearly the same, but in terms of percentages, the thickness is nowhere close. The iPad Mini is 7.2mm thick and the Nexus 7 is about 50% thicker at 10.42mm. The iPad Mini weighs 10.9 ounces (308 grams) and the Nexus 7 weighs 12 ounces (340 grams). The Nexus 7 is about 10% heavier. The iPad Mini is slightly thinner and lighter, but taller and wider. Advantage: iPad Mini.

Display

The iPad Mini’s display measures 7.9 inches and has 1024 x 768 pixels for a pixels-per-inch density of 163. The Nexus 7’s display measures 7 inches and has 1280 x 800 pixels for a pixels-per-inch density of 216. The iPad Mini’s display has a 4:3 aspect ratio and the Nexus 7 has a 15:9 aspect ratio. The iPad Mini has more viewable real estate, but the Nexus 7 has a higher-resolution screen. Advantage: Nexus 7.

Power/Memory

Apple’s 1-GHz dual-core A5 chip powers the iPad Mini. It is (probably) mated to 512 MB of RAM. The Nexus 7 uses Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chip with four cores operating at 1.3 GHz each. The Nexus 7 has 1 GB of RAM. The iPad Mini boasts 10 hours of battery life, as does the Nexus 7. Advantage: Draw.

Cameras

The iPad Mini has a 5-megapixel iSight camera. It can also capture video at 1080p HD. The front camera shoots 1.2-megapixel images and can capture 720HD video for FaceTime chats. The Nexus 7 does not have a rear camera, but it’s front camera also shoots 1.2-megapixel images and captures 720p HD video. Advantage: iPad Mini.

Wireless

The iPad Mini comes in two versions — one that only has Wi-Fi and one that pairs Wi-Fi with one of three different LTE networks. LTE 4G, of course, lets the iPad Mini surf the Web wherever AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon Wireless provides network access. The Nexus 7 only has Wi-Fi, no 3G or 4G. That means it can only be used to browse the Web within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot. Advantage: iPad Mini.

Storage

The iPad Mini comes in three different storage configurations: 16 GB, 32 GB and 62 GB. Right now, the Nexus 7 comes in two storage configurations: 8 GB or 16 GB. This is expected to change as soon as October 29, when Google announces new Nexus gear. For now, however, Advantage: iPad Mini.

Apps

The iPad Mini has access to 275,000 dedicated tablet applications in the App Store. That’s a lot of apps. The Nexus 7 can use most apps in the Google Play Store, but the vast majority of them are not optimized for the tablet form factor and may offer a less-refined experience. Advantage: Draw.

Price

The iPad Mini starts at $329, but ranges all the way up to $659 depending on options. The $329 option provides 16 GB of storage and Wi-Fi (no 4G). The Nexus 7 costs $199 for the 8-GB version and $249 for the 16-GB version. Advantage: Nexus 7.

Sum

Based on these criteria, the iPad Mini comes out ahead of the Nexus 7 in terms of specs. But the price difference is significant enough that it’s hard to call a clear winner. Whichever of these two tablets you might pick, both will provide a solid Web-browsing and app-running experience.

source ::::::::::::::::bigdata

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Build…Print…Fly ….3D Plane !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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SOURCE:::: BRISBANE TIMESNatarajan

Students build and Fly 3D Printed Plane!!!

Pictured is the UAV University of Virginia engineering students built entirely from parts from a 3D printer.Pictured is the UAV University of Virginia engineering students built entirely from parts from a 3D printer. Photo: University of Virginia

This post was originally published on Mashable.

The sky’s the limit for 3D printing. Two students at the University of Virginia 3D-printed and assembled a plane. When it successfully took off, their unmanned plane became just the third 3D-printed drone to ever fly.

3D printing is a revolutionary technology, which some speculate could have an impact similar to that of the personal computer. In fact, new potential applications for 3D printers seem to be appearing every week.

The technology has been used to design artificial legs, wounded animals are getting plastic beaks, and even meat could be soon 3D printed.

Steven Easter and Jonathan Turman, two third-year engineering students at University of Virginia for the MITRE Corporation, a federally funded research and development centre, designed and assembled the plane this year. The result of their work is a 6.5-foot wingspan drone, entirely built with 3D-printed parts.

The students proved that 3D printing can bring manufacturing cost down and still deliver a quality product. “To make a plastic turbofan engine to scale five years ago would have taken two years, at a cost of about $US250,000,” David Sheffler, a U.Va. Engineering School alumnus and 20-year veteran of the aerospace industry who helped the two students, told UVAToday. “But with 3D printing, we designed and built it in four months for about $US2000.”

Mashable is the largest independent news source covering digital culture, social media and technology.

 

Read more:http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/students-build-and-fly-3dprinted-plane-20121026-289ki.html#ixzz2AT4sBUO4

வறண்ட பூமியில் செழிக்கும் விவசாயம் !!!!

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Meet MR. Chinnaswamy… Siddhanaickenpalayam , Palladam

நம்பிக்கை, இயற்கை விவசாயத்தை, துணையாக கொண்டு, வறண்ட நிலத்தில் பசுமை புரட்சி செய்து, சாதித்து காட்டியுள்ளார், பல்லடம் அருகேயுள்ள விவசாயி.

பச்சைப் பசேலென காட்சியளிக்கும் இவரது 70 ஏக்கர் தோட்டத்தை, தினமும் எண்ணற்ற விவசாயிகள், ஆச்சரியத்துடன் பார்வையிட்டு வியந்துவருகின்றனர்.
பல்லடம் அருகே அமைந்துள்ளது, சித்தநாயக்கன்பாளையம் கிராமம். ஆறு, ஓடை, குளம், குட்டை ஏதுமில்லாது வானம் பார்த்த பூமியாக இப்பகுதி உள்ளது. இங்குள்ள பூமி சரளை மண், கரிசல் மண்ணாக இருப்பதால் பெரும்பாலும், பலரும் விவசாயம் செய்ய தயங்குகின்றனர். ஆனால், வறண்ட பூமியிலும் விவசாயம் செய்து சாதிக்க முடியும் என்று, நிரூபித்துள்ளார் விவசாயி சின்னச்சாமி. தனக்குள்ள 70 ஏக்கர் நிலத்தில், இயற்கை முறையில் விவசாயம் செய்து வருகிறார். பச்சைப் பசேலென காட்சியளிக்கும் இவரது தோட்டத்தை, அருகிலுள்ள விவசாயிகள் பார்த்து வியந்து வருகின்றனர்.
இயற்கை விவசாயத்தை துவக்கும்முன் இவர், தமிழ்நாடு வேளாண் பல்கலை, தோட்டக்கலை மற்றும் பழப் பண்ணையில் ஆலோசனைகளை பெற்றார். விவசாயத்தில் முன்னணியில் உள்ள நாடுகளின் தொழில்நுட்பத்தையும் கேட்டறிந்தார். அந்த தொழில் நுட்பங்களை பின்பற்றி, விவசாயம் செய்து அதில் வெற்றியும் கண்டுள்ளார். இவரது தோட்டத்தில் பீட்ருட், கத்தரி, வெண்டை, பாகற்காய், புடலங்காய், பப்பாளி, சப்போட்டா அதிகளவில் விளைகிறது.

என்ன தொழில் நுட்பம்?

விவசாயி சின்னச்சாமி முழுக்க முழுக்க இயற்கை வேளாண்மையை பின்பற்றி வருகிறார். இவரிடம் தற்போது, 70ஜெர்சி பசுக்கள், 150 ஆடுகள் உள்ளன.
அவற்றின் சாணம், புழுக்கை, சிறுநீர், கோழிக்கழிவுகளையே நல்ல உரமாக்கி, விளைநிலத்துக்கு பயன்படுத்தி வருகிறார். தவிர, கல்உப்பு, தோட்டத்தில் விழும் காய்ந்த சருகு மற்றும் சோகையை மக்கச்செய்து, அவற்றை நிலத்துக்கேற்ற இயற்கை உரமாக மாற்றியுள்ளார்.
தோட்டத்திலுள்ள 50 வேப்ப மரங்களை கொண்டு, அவற்றின் விதைகளை அரைத்து, விளைநிலங்களில் பூச்சிகள் வராமல் தடுக்க செடிகள் மீது தெளிக்கிறார். பால் கறக்கவும், அதில் உள்ள கொழுப்பை பிரித்தெடுக்கவும் இயந்திரங்கள் உள்ளன. கொழுப்பை ஐஸ்கிரீம் தயாரிக்கும் நிறுவனத்துக்கும், கொழுப்பெடுத்த பாலை ஜூஸ் தயாரிக்கும் பழக்கடைகளுக்கும் அனுப்பி வைக்கிறார்.
தினமும் அறுவடை:

களை எடுத்தல், தேங்காய் பறித்தல், மட்டை உறிக்கும் பணிகளுக்கு இயந்திரங்கள் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகின்றன. அறுவடைக்கும், விவசாயப்பணி மேற்கொள்ளவும் 100 வேலையாட்கள் உள்ளனர். இவரது தோட்டத்தில், பாலக்கீரை, நாளொன்றுக்கு 150 கட்டுகளும், கத்தரிக்காய், புடலங்காய், சுரைக்காய், பீர்க்கங்காய் 10 மூட்டைகள் வரையும், அறுவடையாகிறது. கறிவேப்பிலை, தினமும் பத்து சுமை அறுக்கப்படுகிறது. மேலும், “கோ-3′ ரக சப்போட்டாவும் பயிரிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. “ரெட்லேடி’ என்ற பெயரிலான பப்பாளி ரகமும் பயிரிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. நாளொன்றுக்கு ஒரு டன் வரை இவ்வகை பப்பாளி பறித்து அனுப்பப்படுகிறது.ஐந்து அடி உயரத்துக்கு நன்று வளர்ந்துள்ள மலை நெல்லி மரங்களில் கொத்துக்கொத்தாய் காய்கள் உள்ளன. மூன்று ஏக்கரில் செடி முருங்கை பயிரிட்டுள்ளது. வாரம் ஒருமுறை, ஒரு டன் வரை காய்கள் பறிக்கப்படுகின்றன. மா, கொய்யா, நாவல் என, பழ வகைகளுக்கும் பஞ்சமில்லை.
தாய்லாந்து புளி:

தாய்லாந்தை பூர்வீகமாக கொண்ட இனிப்புப்புளி, சின்னச்சாமி தோட்டத்தில் சிறப்பாகவே விளைகிறது. தமிழ்நாடு வேளாண் பல்கலை, புதிதாக தாய்லாந்து ரக புளியை கண்டுபிடித்துள்ளது. அந்த ரகத்தை சேர்ந்த 60 மரங்களை, இவர், தனது நிலத்தில் வளர்க்கிறார். அதிலிருந்து நல்ல சதைப்பற்றுள்ள புளியை அறுவடை செய்து , அழகிய டப்பாக்களில் அடைத்து வைத்து, “இயற்கை இனிப்பு புளி’ என்ற பெயரில் விற்பனை செய்கிறார். இந்த புளியை அதிக அளவில் பயிரிட்டு, ஏற்றுமதி செய்ய திட்டமிட்டுள்ளதாக, சின்னச்சாமி தெரிவித்தார்.
“துளிநீரைக்கூட வீணாக்குவதில்லை’:

விவசாயி சின்னச்சாமி கூறுகையில், “”இயற்கை வேளாண் முறையில் விவசாயம் செய்கிறேன். ரசாயன மருந்து, உரங்களை பயன்படுத்துவதில்லை. எழுபது ஏக்கர் பூமியில், நான்கு கிணறுகள், 25 ஆழ்துளை கிணறுகள் உள்ளன. அதிலிருந்து வெளியேறும் தண்ணீரை சொட்டுநீர் பாசன முறையில் பாய்ச்சுகிறேன். தோட்டத்தில் இரு இடங்களில் குட்டை ஏற்படுத்தி, மழை பெய்யும் போது வீணாகும் தண்ணீரை சேகரிக்கிறேன். குட்டை நிரம்புவதால், நிலத்தடி நீர்மட்டம் குறைவதில்லை. மழைநீர் சேகரிப்பு முறையையும் அமல்படுத்தியுள்ளேன். தண்ணீரை துளி கூட, நாங்கள் வீணாக்குவதில்லை,” என்றார்.

source:::DINA MALAR  …Tamil daily
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A Simple Idea…..Mother of Innovative Business Products…..

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4 Innovative Business Ideas That Changed Everything

They’re the ideas that set a new standard — those that upended everything that came before. And they each started with somebody just like you. “We can all identify the problem. It takes a visionary to see the solution. But it takes an entrepreneur to do something about it,” says Naveen Jain, founder of inome and Moon Express. How did these innovations go from deep thought to game-changers? Read on.

1.The idea: Online mapping technology

What came of it: Google Maps and MapQuest

The advent of on-demand directions not only boosted sales of GPS devices and apps, it also amped up productivity for dog walkers, cabbies and anybody headed into parts unknown.

2.The idea: Downloadable music

What came of it: iTunes

It took consumers years to willingly pony up cash for digital tracks after the free bonanza that was Napster.

“The best possible lesson for entrepreneurs is to pick ideas they believe in deeply enough to see them through more than a five- or six-month horizon,” says Scott Berkun, author of The Myths of Innovation.

3.The idea: The social network

What came of it: Facebook

Early chat rooms like GeoCities and Friendster got online sharing started. But Facebook built on the concept with an easy-to-use interface, newsfeed, photo tagging and other features–plus a model for generating ad revenue.

The lesson? Being the first one in is no longer a competitive advantage, says Matt Crowe, founder and CEO of Ahhha. In the wilderness, those who really blaze trails get shot at, while those who come next get the glory of the discovery. If you want lasting impact, you need to improve upon what came before. Test, tweak and refine your ideas, based in part on lessons learned from your predecessors, rather than rushing to market.

4.The idea: VoIP

What came of it: Skype and others While many of the current providers are a little clunky in operation, they allow a disparate team to chat and work together without the inefficiency and expense of getting on a plane.

Have what you think is a game-changing idea? Don’t fret over whether to tell people about it, says Barak Kassar, founder of San Francisco-based digital media branding firm Rassak Experience. You need real-world feedback. Offer your product in a pre-beta test mode as soon as possible, so you can make adjustments and fix what doesn’t work. And don’t worry about someone stealing the idea–it’s all in the execution, anyway.

SOURCE:::::ENTREPRENEUR.COM
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Tell Your Address … I will Show the Visual Location!!!!!

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SOURCE::: Input from one of my friends… truly amazing…. pl try this link to findout any address in this world!!!!!…what a simple way to locate spots and sites!!!!!… Hats off to the persons behind this tech.
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WOW! This is incredible!!
Try it at once…!!!
This is truly a keeper.
Faster and better than Google Earth..
ANY ADDRESS – ALL OVER THE WORLD
Much faster than we imagine!!!!!
It’s unbelievable technology.

Is there nowhere to hide,then ??

After opening the link below,
slowly type in the address you want,
one letter or number at a time,
then pause, letter by letter,
space by space, and watch
each time where it takes you.

http://showmystreet.com/
showmystreet.com – fast & easy street viewing
showmystreet.com

3 Computer Technologies that Will Power the Future….

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From the initial days of number-crunching by languages of FORTRAN, to the procedural methodology of Pascal or C, and later, the object-oriented paradigm of C++ and Java, we have come a long way. In this age of information overload, technologies that can just solve problems through steps and procedures are no longer adequate.

We need technology to detect complex patterns, trends, understand nuances in human language and to automatically solve problems. In this new era, the following three technologies are furthering the frontiers of computing technology:

PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS

By 2016, 130 exabytes will rip through the Internet. The number of mobile devices will exceed the human population this year, and by 2016, the number of connected devices will touch 10 billion.

Devices connected to the Net will range from cellphones, laptops, tablets, sensors and the millions of devices based on the ‘Internet of things’. A hot and happening trend in computing is the ability to make business and strategic decisions by determining patterns, trends and outliers among mountains of data. Predictive analytics will be a key discipline in our future and its experts will be much sought after.

Predictive analytics uses statistical methods to mine intelligence, information and patterns in structured, unstructured and streams of data. Predictive analytics will be applied across many domains, including banking, insurance, retail, telecom and energy.

There are also applications for energy grids and water management, besides those that determine user sentiment by mining data from social networks.

COGNITIVE COMPUTING

The most famous technological product in the domain of cognitive computing is IBM’s supercomputer, Watson, an artificial intelligence computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language.

Watson is best known for successfully trouncing a national champion in the popular U.S. TV quiz competition, Jeopardy. What made this victory more astonishing was that the supercomputer was able to decipher the nuances of natural language and pick the correct answer.

Following the success at Jeopardy, Watson has now been employed by a leading medical insurance firm in the U.S. to diagnose medical illnesses and recommend treatment options for patients. Watson will be able to analyse 1 million books, or roughly 200 million pages of information. Another well-known example of cognitive computing is Siri, the voice recognition app on the iPhone. The earlier avatar of cognitive computing was expert systems based on artificial intelligence. These expert systems were inference engines that were based on knowledge rules.

The most famous among the expert systems were ‘Dendral’ and ‘Mycin’.

AUTONOMIC COMPUTING

This is another computing trend that is set to become prevalent in the networks of tomorrow. Autonomic computing refers to the self-managing characteristics of a network. Typically, it signifies the ability of a network to self-heal in the event of failures or faults.

Autonomic network can quickly localise and isolate faults in the network while keeping other parts of the network unaffected. Besides, these networks can quickly correct and ‘heal’ the faulty hardware without human intervention. Autonomic networks are typical in smart grids where a fault can be quickly isolated and the network healed without resulting in a major outage in the electrical grid.

These are truly exciting times in computing as we move towards true intelligence.

(The author is infrastructure architect at IBM, India)

Keywords: computing technologies, IT sector
SOURCE:::: article by Tinniam Ganesh in THE HINDU…..

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New Generation of AirShip ….Aeroscraft !!!!!

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Lighter-than-air craft rise again

A behind the scenes look at the project to build a radical new airship that could soon criscross our skies.

If you like the idea of cruising on a ship in laid-back luxury, but prefer the speed and convenience of air travel, there may soon be a solution. Drawing their inspiration from the airships of yesteryear, a new generation of airship-like vehicles could soon be making their way across our skies.

In a hangar outside Tustin in California, engineers are preparing one of the most radical designs for testing.  The Aeroscraft, as it is known, is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak and has been made possible by advances in materials and computer control systems.

“We are resurrecting [the airship] with new composite fabric structures, that are stronger, lighter, more versatile” says Fred Edworthy, of Aeros, the company building the lighter-than-air vehicle.

The airship in the hangar is being built to test various key components of a design that could one day contain a hotel, casino or spa. However, the company believes one of its biggest markets could be transporting freight from hard-to-reach locations or, for example, carrying wind turbine blades. Currently blades are as large as they can be to be transported on a truck.

“It’s a new era for logistics in cargo. Transport is our first aim for these craft,” says Edworthy.  “It’s impossible to get into some of the resource rich areas of the world. Ecologically, you can’t do it. Areas of the far north, or the Amazon are good examples.”

Planes need large runways, and helicopters can only carry limited loads. But the Aeroscraft can take-off and land vertically using turbofans that can swivel to provide lift and move the craft forward.

Rising up

The whole process of loading and unloading, as well as getting off the ground and keeping the ship aloft is helped by an ingenious system held within the frame of the ship.

“The biggest advancement is our buoyancy management system that allows the vehicle to operate autonomously – without the hundreds of people that you saw grabbing the Zeppelin type airships,” says Edworthy.

The system gets around a major drawback of traditional airships which have difficulty controlling lift, and need ballasts to reach the correct altitude, and ropes and docking stations are needed on the ground to stop a vessel floating off.

Instead, the Aeroscraft uses large bags, or bladders, inside a rigid structure. When the pilot wants to descend, the vehicle needs to be heavier, so the helium in the main body of the craft is compressed and put into storage chambers. That creates a relative vacuum inside the body, which draws air from the outside. Air is heavier than helium, so the vehicle sinks. To rise again, the stored helium is released back into the body of the aircraft, pushing the air out of the bags and replacing the volume it filled with lightweight helium.

“We can control the buoyancy, and allow ourselves to come to the ground and land vertically as well as take off vertically,” says Edworthy.  That is the biggest advancement over the last 100 years.”

The whole process is controlled from a cockpit, which is also designed to be retractable to allow the craft to be as aerodynamic as possible. During flight it can be moved inside the vehicle, and the pilots will have “virtual” views on screens. The whole assembly is lowered below the airship body for landing or when visibility is needed.

The craft is also designed to be as simple to fly as possible. Fibre-optics around the aircraft link touch screens in the cockpit with actuators and controls in the engines or on the control surfaces.

“We moved from the typical aircraft paradigm where we have pedals, to a 6 degree of freedom joystick,” says Munir Jojo-Verge, aerospace control flight engineer for the firm.  “You can control the vehicle with one hand – roll, pitch, yaw. This is a huge step.”

Ease of control will be critical when the firms’ next generation craft, which are twice the size of the test vehicle under construction, are built.

Assuming they pass their flight tests, which will begin later this year, the big question is whether anyone will choose to fly in them. For all of their cutting edge design and elegance, they will still only travel at about quarter of the speed of a passenger jet.

“It will be slower than a 747 [plane] at approximately 110 knots (approx 200km/h) cruising speed,” admits Edworthy. “But it would be the event of ‘getting there’ rather than how quickly you get there.”

source:::::bbc.com ………….

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