Apple launches iLife, OS X Lion and new Macbook Air

Cupertino: Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a series of new products at its 'Back to the Mac' event which includes MAC OS X Lion, MacBook Air and iLife 11 application suite at its Cupertino headquarters. The most notable of all the new products, was MacBook Air, a lightest Mac laptop with features borrowed from iPhones and iPads. Below is a brief highlight of the products launched at the event. Apple MacBook Air:
Like the iPad, MacBook Air comes with a flash memory and has no hard drive. It weighs 2.3 pounds (1 kg) and measures 0.11 inches at its thinnest to 0.68 inches at the rear. It also incorporates Facetime video chats and an apps store. The device runs on a 2.13 GHz Intel Core Duo Processor. It has a 13.3 inch LED backlit display with a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. The models start at $999 and have started shipping already.
"We asked ourselves what would happen if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up? Well, this is the result," said the Apple supremo Steve Jobs.
Apple Mac OS X Lion:
This is a new version of Mac operating software or MAC OS X. Like iPhone or iPad, it provides an option of downloading the different apps from the App store. It also has the other features like multitouch, full screen function and the launch pad. Lion includes an improved "iLife" multimedia suite and the newly-released FaceTime video chat. MAC OS X Lion will be available in 2011 summer.Unveiling the product, Jobs said, "Lion brings many of the best ideas from the iPad back to the Mac, plus some fresh new ones."
Apple MAC iLife 11:
The Mac event also the launching of a new version of the iLife application suite, iLife 11. Unveiling it along with Steve Jobs, Apple's Senior Vice President, Phil Schiller said, "I get to be the first to show you this great piece of software. I know a lot of you use it. This is the best version yet."Life 11 has a handful of new features like iMove, iPhoto and Garage Band. iMove 11 allows the users to edit the audio and also to insert audio effects into videos. A new feature called Groove Matching in GarageBand 11 has an automatic spell checker for bad rhythm and also FlexTime that helps to fix the timing of your music. iLife 11 application suite is available at $49 for older computers and it is included for free with the operating system.

Rediff introduces mobile email service

New Delhi: Rediff in partnership with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) Wednesday introduced a mobile email service for 50 a month.
"We will provide quite secure and user-friendly services. Its most features are like BlackBerry. But it is cheaper, more importantly, works on most phones including entry-level phones," said Ajit Balakrishnan, chairman and CEO of Rediff.com India. He said the company had entered into a partnership with MTNL to initially launch the service in Delhi NCR and Mumbai.
"We are in advance stage of discussions with major telecom operators like Airtel, Vodafone and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and will introduce the services in other parts of the country soon," said Balakrishnan.He said the company wants to target 100 million customers in the next few years.The new service, called Rediffmail NG, works on almost all mobile phone platforms including Symbian, Java and Android. It offers seamless synchronisation between PC and mobile phones.According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, there were over 670 million mobile phone users in India by the end of August 2010.
"There is huge business opportunity in this sector. We target to reach at least 100 million customers in the next few years," said Balakrishnan.
"With Rediffmail NG, we offer an affordable email service for the mass market, helping individuals communicate and conduct business anywhere and anytime, enabling Indian entrepreneurs compete with the world.
"Even small-sized business owners will now have a cost-effective way to equip their employees with mobile communications and increase productivity.
"Our approach in this product design has been inspired by the Tata Nano, which has made it possible for millions of people to aspire to own a car," he added.

India develops first Laser Guided Bomb

Dehradun: India has developed its first Laser Guided Bomb (LGB), a weapon that can hit a target with greater accuracy, with technological support from city-based Instrument Research and Development Establishment (IRDE).The development of technology for producing Laser Guided Bomb is part of ongoing research towards achieving self-dependency in the defence area being done in IRDE, a lab of DRDO, Scientist and Public Relation Officer of IRDE told PTI. The LGB uses a laser desgnator to mark or illuminate a target. The reflected laser light from the target is then detected by the seeker which sends signals to the weapon's control surfaces to guide it towards the designated point, he said.

Bangalore-based Aeronautics Development Establishment (ADE) has developed the guidance-kit for 1000-pound LGBs and these are designed to improve the accuracy of air-to-ground bombing by IAF.The guidance kit of LGB consists of a computer control group (CCG), guidance canards attached to the front of the warhead for providing steering commands and a wing assembly attached to the aft end to provide lift.

India had already carried out two successful flight trials of LGB for the IAF to test the effectiveness of the guidance and control systems at Chandipur integrated test range in Orissa early this year.LGBs are manoeuvrable, free-fall weapons requiring no electronic interconnect to the aircraft and attack the target with higher accuracy and reliability.The LGBs were first developed by USA in 1960s. Later, Russia, France and Britain also developed them.  

Micromax, Modu to unveil 3.5G touch phone in India

New Delhi: Domestic handset maker Micromax today announced an exclusive partnership with Israel-based Modu to launch co-branded ''modu T'' phones in India. ''modu T'' is a 3.5G touch phone with a 2.2-inch screen and expandable memory up to 32 GB. Priced at Rs 12,500, the handset has been awarded a Guinness World Record for being the lightest touchscreen mobile phone in the world. 

"By bringing the modu T phone to India, we are targetting the aspirational segment of Indian consumers, who are the early adopters of technology and passionate about electronic gadgets. We expect a great response, especially during the festive season," Micromax Business Director Vikas Jain told reporters here.The handsets would be bundled with Aircel connections, he added. Modu is also exploring the potential for launching tablet PCs in the Indian market.

"We are studying the Indian market for launching a tablet PC to extend our partnership with Micromax," Modu CEO and founder Dov Moran said. Micromax has a portfolio of 40 handsets.According to IDC India, Micromax ranked fourth among the top five mobile handset vendors in India in terms of sales volumes during January-June, 2010. 

Samsung developing a single platform for its TV and phone

Bangalore: Samsung Electronics has announced that it is working towards developing a new joint software platform which will work both for its televisions as well as cellphones. This is considered to be an attempt from the electronics major to attract more audience and developers to create apps for its platform.

According to an article on the Times of India by way of Reuters, the Vice President at Samsung's Visual Display Division, Kyungsik Kevin Lee has confirmed the company's plans saying "We have a plan to have a single platform for Samsung TV," but declined to give any timeline for its launch. 

Samsung's this move is expected to create a wave in the Smart TV industry where a price cut is anticipated by this. This new platform will bring out better syncing abilities between smartphone and smart TV. The company hopes to increase its sale of smart TVs from almost double the amount now.

As per the findings of research firm CCS Insight, only a handful of Samsung's competitors are in position to implement integrated platform and Samsung certainly has edge over them.