Posts tagged microsoft
Nokia No.1 in Indian mobile market, Study
Mar 3rd
NEW DELHI: Driven by strong uptake of smartphones, mobile phone shipments to India grew by 10 per cent to 183.4 million units in 2011 against 166.5 million units in 2010, says a study.
According to a CyberMedia Research study, the smartphone segment grew 87 per cent to 11.2 million units in 2011 as against 6 million units in the previous year. On the other hand, feature phone shipments increased seven per cent to 172.2 million units in 2011 from 160.5 million units in 2010.
Nokia retained its leadership position with 31 per cent share of the overall mobile phone segment, followed by Samsung at No 2 with 15 per cent and Micromax at No 3 with 5 per cent share in terms of sales (unit shipments) during 2011.
The Finnish firm was also numero uno in the smartphones segment with a 38 per cent share, followed by Samsung with 28 per cent share in 2011. RIM dropped to third place with a 15 per cent share, the study said. In 2011, the India smartphones market witnessed the launch of 150 models by over 30 vendors.
“In 2012, the proportion of smartphones with extended features like NFC and 3D gaming is likely to increase. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft and Nokia take their partnership to the next level with a new range of smart devices based on the Windows 7.5 Mango OS platform,” CyberMedia Research Lead Telecoms Analyst Naveen Mishra said.
With established players like Nokia and Samsung expanding their dual-SIM portfolio, the multi-SIM category saw an year-on-year increase of 61 per cent in shipments and accounted for 57 per cent of the total shipments in 2011.
Nokia (13 per cent share) displaced G’Five to capture the top slot, while Korea’s Samsung, with eight per cent share, pushed Micromax to the third slot.
“The innovative products in the Finnish vendor’s portfolio helped Nokia become the market leader in the category,” CyberMedia Research Telecoms Practice Analyst Tarun Pathak said. The year 2011 also saw about 250 3G handsets from about 30 vendors hitting the market and accounted for nearly 18 million units, a year-on-year growth of 153 per cent.
Nokia again emerged as the market leader in this category, followed by Samsung and RIM. “3G is a relatively new phenomenon in India with active subscribers estimated at only 15 million as of December 2011. This may be directly attributed to the lack of 3G network availability in many locations and the poor quality of service experienced by existing subscribers,” Mishra said.
It will be interesting to see how new alliances and offerings emerge from handset vendors, service providers and content developers to target mobile subscribers with innovative device plus data service bundles, he added.
Internet giants come calling to IITs with fancy offers
Dec 2nd
MUMBAI: Three giants of the internet -Facebook, Microsoft and Google - landed at the Indian Institutes of Technology this year to pick the brightest brains to power their headquarters.
Facebook, which picked one student last year, was seen at all IIT campuses, from Bombay to Guwahati to Madras. It paid the highest salary – $140,000 (about Rs 72 lakh) per annum – apart from a relocation bonus and a one-time signing amount. It appeared as if the placement process at the IITs was insulated from the world’s crippled economy.
Microsoft, for the first time, had come to hire IITians for its Redmond headquarters. Google picked engineers for both their India (with salary packages nearing Rs 20 lakh) and global offices. Also, big consulting firms that had gone quiet during the slowdown returned to the IITs to pick a large contingent of students.
Campuses were abuzz with students rushing from one department to another for interviews that were held back-toback. At IIT-B, close to 150 rooms were converted to placement chambers for corporations such as Goldman Sachs, Booz and Company, Boston Consulting Group, Schlumberger, ANZ Bank, Credit Suisse and Sony Corporation. “The top brand slot is a lot more crowded this year,” said IIT-B placement head Ravi Sinha.
“There is an increase of 10-20% in the overall salary as compared to 2010.” At IIT-Madras, packages exceeded the highest salary offered last year. Sony Corporation (Japan) offered five students between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 33 lakh a year. The highest salary offered in 2010 was Rs 28 lakh, by offshore drilling contractor Transocean International.
HUL’s packages were up to Rs 17 lakh a year. But a bonanza is awaited from mobile gaming startup Pocket Gems, which is looking for the right candidate to get Rs 67.5 lakh a year. For students across campuses, the gruelling tests and interviews started at 8 am and stretched past midnight. In all, 29 firms visited the Powai campus to interview 450 students on Thursday, the first day.
Twelve companies visited IIT-Guwahati (said the institute’s placement head Saurabh Basu), 13 visited IIT-Madras to pick about 65 students, 20 visited IIT-Delhi and 18 visited IIT-Kharagpur. “Much like last year, this time, too, some of the biggest names are here. Facebook, BCG and Slumberger are some, to name a few,” said Kharagpur’s training and placement chairman Sunil Kumar Srivastava.
Windows 8 Tablets Set to Challenge iPad, Android
Jun 6th
Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky showed off a prototype Windows 8 tablet at the All Things D conference in California this week — the company’s answer to Apple’s “magical” device and Google’s Android.
The new tablet-friendly operating system will function much like the Windows Phone 7 platform, with tiles you can flick around the screen, click to start an app, or reposition anyway you want.
The hardware for this new batch of tablets will likely mirror what’s already on the market: tablets like the Motorola Xoom and Acer Iconia A500 that use the Nvidia Tegra 2 processor (and run the competing Google Android 3.0 operating system). The dual-core 1-GHz chip runs lightening fast for browsing the Web, playing games, and playing movies. Those tablets sport front- and rear-facing cameras, boast sharp graphics, and work well for touchscreen games.
In a tersely stated e-mail prior to Sinofsky’s display, Microsoft spokeswoman Anna Imperati told FoxNews.com that “Microsoft has nothing to share at this time” about any upcoming Windows 8 tablets.
From Androids to Apples, from Samsung, RIM and more, 2011 will be the year of the tablet. We’ve rounded up the 9 best tablets and 3 most notable e-readers you should keep an eye on.
However, NPD analyst Stephen Baker said Microsoft is likely working on a Windows 8 tablet. One major hint: He says Microsoft is developing a version of the next OS that will run on standard PC chips and — for the first time ever — on a different class of processors like the Tegra, which are based on a totally different architecture.
“We all know they are working on Windows 8. We all know that tablets will be a key market for them. We just don’t know when these will be in the market and competing,” he told FoxNews.com.
“Expect a tighter familial relationship with the Windows Phone platform,” Rob Enderle, a consumer analyst, told FoxNews.com. He expects a Windows 8 tablet to boast “full Windows capability and likely have enhancements that will dramatically reduce launch time, battery life, and communications — with some level of Skype built in.”
Not everyone agrees. Ken Dulaney, a Gartner analyst, told FoxNews.com Microsoft will have a tough road to walk in the tablet space.
“Apple made tablets popular because they created software that was another generation above Windows in ease of use,” he told FoxNews.com. “Microsoft will have to change the Windows UI radically to succeed,” Dulaney said.
The news of Windows 8 tablets comes as computing shifts from total reliance on desktops and laptops to a new touchscreen paradigm. And ironically, Microsoft attempted to capture the tablet market over a decade ago with the Tablet PC platform.
Of course, those devices were bulky, operated more like a computer, and required the use of a stylus.
A recent Nielson survey showed the Apple iPad has an 82 percent share of the tablet market. Financial services firm UBS has predicated sales of around 28 million units for the reigning touchscreen device. So how can Microsoft differentiate from the field?
One key to success will be a diversity of apps, Baker said. Windows developers should be able to port their wares to the tablet easily. And Microsoft has a long history of working with hardware makers, helping them bring products to market.
Baker said he’d like to see Microsoft come out with a Windows 8 tablet by the holiday season this year — but predicts it will probably be sometime next year instead. As to whether Microsoft will shoot its own foot by promoting a switch to tablets, Baker said most people will continue using computers and carrying smartphones — they’ll just add in tablets.
“Consumers will migrate to multiple devices that do different jobs in different circumstances, and we expect to see consumers own all three types of devices over time,” he said.
Still, Microsoft has an unusual ability to challenge even the biggest names in technology. The company’s Bing.com search engine has encroached on Google dominance, for example. And in the video game market, the Xbox 360 has taken on and arguably bested Goliaths of the industry like Sony and Nintendo.
But will the company’s market capitalization of around $208 billion let it afford the marketing resources to challenge even the mighty Apple? Only time will tell.
Source : http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/01/windows-8-tablets-challenge-apple-ipad/
IE’s latest security risk: Cookiejacking
May 26th
BOSTON: A computer security researcher has found a flaw in Microsoft Corp’s widely used Internet Explorer browser that he said could let hackers steal credentials to access Facebook, Twitter and other websites.
He calls the technique “cookiejacking.” “Any website. Any cookie. Limit is just your imagination,” said Rosario Valotta, an independent Internet security researcher based in Italy.
Hackers can exploit the flaw to access a data file stored inside the browser known as a “cookie,” which holds the login name and password to a web account, Valotta said via email
Once a hacker has that cookie, he or she can use it to access the same site, said Valotta, who calls the technique “cookiejacking.”
The vulnerability affects all versions of Internet Explorer, including IE 9, on every version of the Windows operating system.
To exploit the flaw, the hacker must persuade the victim to drag and drop an object across the PC’s screen before the cookie can be hijacked.
That sounds like a difficult task, but Valotta said he was able to do it fairly easily. He built a puzzle that he put up on Facebook in which users are challenged to “undress” a photo of an attractive woman.
“I published this game online on Facebook and in less than three days, more than 80 cookies were sent to my server,” he said. “And I’ve only got 150 friends.”
Microsoft said there is little risk a hacker could succeed in a real-world cookiejacking scam.
“Given the level of required user interaction, this issue is not one we consider high risk,” said Microsoft spokesman Jerry Bryant.
“In order to possibly be impacted a user must visit a malicious website, be convinced to click and drag items around the page and the attacker would need to target a cookie from the website that the user was already logged into,” Bryant said.
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/internet/IEs-latest-security-risk-Cookiejacking/articleshow/8581975.cms
Facebook takes Microsoft help to fight child pornography
May 24th
In a bid to drive paedophiles away from its service, Facebook has announced introduction of a new technology that will automatically trawl photos posted by users for child abuse.
The popular social networking site, which claims to have more than 500 million users, has now partnered with Microsoft and will implement its PhotoDNA technology, designed to identify and remove images that exploit or endanger children.
Run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the PhotoDNA technology creates a “blueprint” of an inappropriate or offensive image and can search through billions of other images to locate photos with similarly inappropriate features, the Daily Telegraph reported.
According to Bill Harmon, a lawyer in Microsoft’s digital crimes unit, PhotoDNA detects child pornography with “zero false positives”.
“Some images become ‘popular’ and are used time and time again — making good targets for the PhotoDNA program,” he said in a post on the Microsoft blog.
Facebook was heavily criticised over its child protection efforts by Britain’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), the police agency responsible for tracking down paedophiles online.
It followed the murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall, who was lured to her death by a 33-year-old man who posed as a teenager on the dominant social network.
PhotoDNA is just the latest of several safety initiatives launched since by Facebook.
Microsoft has already implemented the system on its Bing search engine and SkyDrive online storage service, and says it detected more than 1,500 illegal images on the former and more than 1,000 on the latter.
“Even though NCMEC is a U.S.—based organisation, we found image matches on our services stemming from abuse that has occurred across many countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and Brazil among others,” said Harmon
“We hope that Facebook’s adoption of PhotoDNA serves as a springboard for other online service providers to take advantage of the opportunity available through NCMEC’s PhotoDNA program and, in fact, we know that others are exploring the possibility right now,” he added.
Microsoft buys Skype
May 19th
The rumors that appeared overnight have turned out to be true. Microsoft has confirmed the purchase of Skype for $8.5 billion in cash.
Microsoft has been very clear in that it sees Skype’s technology and services being applied across the board to both its consumer and business customers. That means enterprise customers will receive a new way to communicate over voice and video, but more excitingly, those who own an Xbox and Kinect will also benefit from its introduction, as will Windows Phone 7 owners.
With Skype now a wholly-owned branch of Microsoft there may be worries that the service could disappear from non-Microsoft platforms. But Microsoft has been quick to state that Skype will continue to be supported across all devices going forward.
With guaranteed billions coming their way, investor group Silver Lake, who previously owned Skype, were delighted. Both Skype and Microsoft boards of directors approved the purchase and only regulatory approval is now required to finalize the deal.
Read more at the Microsoft press release
Matthew’s Opinion
With the news of an acquisition now official, the next question to ask is what Microsoft intends to do with Skype beyond integrating it into existing services and platforms?
$8.5 billion is a lot of money to spend, and you have to wonder how much of that is a premium to ensure Google or Facebook weren’t chosen partners instead. But now further investment is required to ensure Skype stays in the number one spot for VoIP communications.
Facebook may now come up with its own voice and video service, while Google can continue to develop its existing services. Skype has to keep innovating even if it does already have hundreds of millions of existing users, and it’s now Microsoft’s responsibility to see that happens.
Report: Microsoft near deal to buy Skype for around $8.5 billion
May 10th
Microsoft Corp. is nearing a deal to buy the popular Internet telephone service Skype in what could be the biggest deal in the software maker’s 36-year history, according to a published report.
If Microsoft does buy Skype, The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal could be valued at $8.5 billion, including assumed debt. At that price, a Skype takeover would top Microsoft’s biggest previous acquisition — a $6 billion purchase of the online ad service aQuantive in 2007.
Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the Journal said Microsoft could announce an agreement with Skype as early as Tuesday. The newspaper reported the same people also cautioned the talks could fall apart.
Spokesmen for Microsoft and Skype declined comment on the report late Monday
Buying Skype would give Microsoft a potentially valuable communications tool as it tries to make a bigger splash on the Internet and become a bigger force in the increasingly important smartphone market.
Skype boasts about 663 million users worldwide who make voice and video calls over the Internet. The amount of calling on Skype’s network totaled 207 billion minutes last year, according to regulatory documents.
Most people use Skype’s free calling services, a penchant that has made it difficult for the service to make money since entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis started the Luxembourg company in 2003.
Skype lost $7 million on revenue of $860 million last year, according to papers that the company has filed since announcing its intentions last summer to launch an initial public offering of stock. The IPO, however, has been in a holding pattern. An average of about 8.8 million customers per month pay to use Skype services.
Although it makes billions from its computer software, Microsoft has been accustomed to losing money on the Internet in a mostly futile attempt to catch up to Google Inc. in the lucrative online search market. Microsoft got so desperate that it made a $47.5 billion bid to buy Yahoo Inc. three years ago, but withdrew the offer after Yahoo balked. Yahoo is now worth about half of what Microsoft offered
Since hiring former Cisco Systems Inc. executive Tony Bates as its CEO last year, Skype has explored joint ventures or an outright sale with Google Inc. and Facebook, according to unverified reports in newspapers and blogs.
If Skype does sell to Microsoft, it would mark its second go-around under the ownership of a large company. Ebay Inc. bought Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005, but its attempt to unite the phone service with its online shopping bazaar never worked out. It would up selling a 70 percent stake in Skype to a group of investors led by private equity firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz for $2 billion 18 months ago.
Besides eBay, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz, Skype’s other major shareholders are Joltid and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Source : http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fiw-microsoft-buys-skype-20110510,0,1809806.story
Microsoft calls Intel’s Windows 8 comments ‘inaccurate’
May 19th
Posted by muthu in Technology
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At Intel’s Investor Meeting 2011 at the company’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters on Tuesday, James told her keynote audience that the upcoming versions of Windows that Microsoft will provide for ARM-based systems will not run “legacy” applications. “Our competitors will not be running legacy applications. Not now. Not ever,” she said, after referring to the next incarnation of Windows by its apparent code name, Windows 8.
She also told the gathered investors that “Windows 8 traditional” – a version of the new OS for x86 chips – will offer a “Windows 7 mode”, and that this version would allow users to run “all of their old applications.”
She then indicated that Microsoft was developing four Windows versions for ARM systems. “There will be four Windows 8 SoCs for ARM. Each one will run for that specific ARM environment, and they will run new applications or cloud-based applications,” she said, referring to system-on-a-chip architectures. “They are neither forward- nor backward-compatible between their own architecture – different generations of a single vendor – nor are they compatible across different vendors. Each one is a unique stack.”
When Microsoft announced its ARM versions of Windows at this January’s Consumer Electronics Show, it mentioned only three ARM-system partners: Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments.
On Wednesday, Microsoft took issue with James’ comments – but it declined to provide any clarification on what part or parts of her comments were problematic. “Intel’s statements during yesterday’s Intel Investor Meeting about Microsoft’s plans for the next version of Windows were factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading,” the company said in a statement sent to The Register. “From the first demonstrations of Windows on SoC, we have been clear about our goals and have emphasized that we are at the technology demonstration stage. As such, we have no further details or information at this time.”
Intel declined to elaborate on James’ comments. “We are not commenting further on this one,” a company spokeswoman told us. ®
Source : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/19/microsoft_contradicts_renee_james_on_windows_8/