With plans to invest $2 billion in India, iPhone maker Foxconn keen on Nokia's Chennai plant

NEW DELHI: Foxconn, which makes iPhones and iPads for Apple and the Kindle for Amazon, has emerged as a possible buyer for Nokia's defunct Chennai factory as the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer looks to invest around $2 billion in India. This comes within weeks of fast-growing domestic handset maker Lava being reported to be interested in acquiring the plant, once the world's biggest phone-making facility.

In a related development, the telecom and IT ministry has proposed to the revenue department that Nokia be allowed to sell the plant, currently frozen in a tax dispute, without passing on the legal liability to the buyer, people familiar with the matter told ET.

"The proceeds from the sale (of the plant) could be deposited into an escrow account, which, upon the final court ruling, can go to the winner," a senior government official told ET. "The current dispute, as it stands, is lose- .. 

Microsoft Lumia 535: 5 Reasons Why You Should Buy the Company's First Non-Nokia Smartphone

Lumia 535 is very special to Microsoft as it is the first non-Nokia Lumia smartphone from the company.

Windows phones have been in the market for long but they haven't been able to grab the expected market share that Microsoft wanted. Later entrants Android and iOS did much better than Microsoft Windows phones.

And now that Microsoft is in complete control of the hardware specifications and software features, the company released Lumia 535. Priced at Rs. 9199, the Lumia 535 is a successor to Lumia's budget smartphones 520 and 530.

1. Voice and Skype integration- Microsoft Lumia 535 features a seamless integration between voice calling and Skype calls. A user can shift to VOIP calling direct from the voice only calling screen. While the data rates in India are affordable, the easy Skype access will certainly impress the techno-unfriendly users.
2. XBOX Connectivity- All Lumia based smartphones have XBOX connectivity, but a sub-10k device with a quad-core processor is impressive.
3. Camera- A front camera was the key missing feature of the previous generation Lumia 530 phone. Making amends, Microsoft has featured a wide-angle 5 MP front camera in Lumia 535. We tested the camera yesterday and found it really impressive, particularly while clicking wide angle photographs.
4. Software Integration- the Lumia 535 comes pre-loaded with live Office suite, the most significant software ever made by Microsoft. Office suite is a must have feature. The Lumia 535 also features 15 GB of additional OneDrive Cloud storage which will certainly help the user to manage their documents and multimedia content. The user can also buy 1TB of OneDrive storage later by paying an annual fee of Rs. 799. Another significant feature of Lumia 535 is the Microsoft Outlook.
5. Operating System- Microsoft Lumia 535 runs on the latest Microsoft Mobile OS Lumia Denim 8.1. The Denim update features an improved interface with better software-hardware integration. Microsoft has also promised to deliver the Windows Mobile 10 very soon with lots of improvements. And Lumia 535 is sure get the upgrade.

 Key Specifications:

Operating System	Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim
Display	5-inch qHD 960x540 pixels
Processor	1.2 GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200
Camera	5 MP Rear + 5 MP front
Memory	8 GB in-built + 15 GB OneDrive + MicroSD support up to 128 GB
Battery	1905 mAh Battery
Extra Feature	Free global HERE maps and HERE drive

Source:International Bussiness Times

Dropbox’s Mobile Apps Are Now Integrated With Microsoft Office

Earlier this month, Dropbox and Microsoft announced a partnership that would see Dropbox offer better support for Microsoft’s Office Suite, including the ability to edit Office docs from the Dropbox mobile app among other things. Today, those integrations have gone live for users of both the Android phone and iOS Dropbox applications.

Explains Dropbox in a blog post announcing the news, users can now edit their Office files when they’re “on the go,” editing them directly from the Dropbox app and accessing the files directly from the Office apps. To use the new feature, you’ll first need update your app to the latest version, then open any Office document, spreadsheet or presentation that’s stored in your Dropbox.

From here, a new “Edit” icon (see above picture) will be available that will allow you to switch over to the new mobile Office apps to make changes to the file. When you’re finished working, those changes will be saved back to Dropbox automatically.

The Dropbox/Microsoft partnership is an extensive deal aimed at increasing collaboration between the two firms, and may have surprised some given that the two companies offer competing products. Microsoft has a Dropbox-like service called OneDrive, but Dropbox’s larger service reaches hundreds of millions of users, including 80,000 businesses.

The agreement announced at the beginning of November included four parts, as reported: the ability to quickly edit docs from Dropbox on mobile, accessing Dropbox docs from Office apps, sharing Dropbox links of Office apps, and the creation of first-party Dropbox apps for Microsoft’s mobile offerings.

Source:Techcrunch

Mac vs. PC: Here are the real differences

The burning rivalry between Mac and PC is one of the most storied rivalries in the history of technology – ruining friendships, bringing down corporations and inspiring some very creative commercials — but do we truly understand the fundamental difference between a Windows PC and a Macintosh? I’m sure many of you do, but for those who don’t have a grasp of the finer details, Computerphile has put together a short video primer explaining how Macs and PCs differ.

Professor Tom Rodden begins by discussing computer systems in their most basic form. You start with the physical hardware, then an operating system, then the applications on that operating system and finally the windowing system which the user directly interacts with. Of course, the way we interact with our computers has changed drastically over the years, but the basic interactions remains the same.

Moving on to the advent of the Macintosh computer, Rodden explains that historically,Microsoft has been a software company. The Surface tablets are the first hardware built by Microsoft in quite some time. Apple, on the other hand, controls both the hardware and the software in its computer business. This means that Apple can “optimize and protect” its computers in ways that Microsoft can’t.

Apple’s operating system can therefore make presumptions about the hardware it will be functioning on because Apple can extensively test its operating system with every piece of hardware it releases. Microsoft doesn’t have this luxury, as dozens of manufacturers create hardware for Windows. This is where device drivers come into play, and why certain accessories or programs might be incompatible from one Windows computer to another.

The obvious downside to siding with Apple is that you’ll only ever have one machine to choose from. This leads to inflated prices, which is why an $1,099 iMac is seen as a bargain. OS X and iOS are both regularly lambasted for bring closed off in comparison to other mobile and desktop operating systems as well. You have more freedom on Windows to customize both hardware and software than you ever will on a Mac.

All of this may sound redundant to those of you who understand the technical distinctions between Macs and PCs, but everyone else should take a few minutes to watch the video above.

SOURCE:

YOUTUBE (COMPUTERPHILE)

Pinterest app comes to Windows Phone!

Pinterest is going for Windows Phone users, having launched the official mobile app for Microsoft’s mobile platform.

As that’s the case with versions of the app for other popular platforms — as in iOS and Android — Pinterest for Windows Phone allows users to pin interesting stuff they come across around the web, and discover new things other Pinterest users have pinned to their boards.

Some of the use cases can be found from the app’s description, which goes as follows:

• Plan projects-home remodels, car restorations, garden redesigns and other DIYs
• Dream up your next trip-outdoor adventures, road trips with friends, family outings and exotic vacations
• Collect your favorite things-illustrations, tattoo ideas, hilarious quotes, tech gadgetry and inspiring art and architecture
• Save great ideas-articles to read, movies to watch, gifts to buy, fashion and beauty how-tos, food and recipes to cook, fitness tips and lifehacks
• Get organized for a party-wedding decor, birthday themes, costume ideas and game day menus

Pinterest for Windows Phone is available as a free download and you can get it from the link below.

Pinterest (FREE) [Windows Phone Marketplace]

Windows 8.1 finally passes Windows 8 in market share, Windows 7 climbs back over 50%

May was the seventh full month of availability for Microsoft’s latest operating system version: Windows 8.1 continues to grow slowly while Windows 8 remains largely flat, allowing the former to finally pass the latter in market share. At the same time, Windows 7 has managed to climb back over the 50 percent mark, while Windows XP still has more than 25 percent of the pie, despite support for the ancient OS finally ending in April.

The latest market share data from Net Applications shows that Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have gained a combined 0.40 percentage points (from 12.24 percent to 12.64 percent). More specifically, Windows 8 slipped 0.07 percentage points (from 6.36 percent to 6.29 percent), while Windows 8.1 grabbed an additional 0.47 percentage points (from 5.88 percent to 6.35 percent).

Windows 8, which saw its biggest gain in August at 2.01 percentage points and its biggest loss in November at 0.87 percentage points, continues to slip. There are still computers being sold with Windows 8, but Microsoft is encouraging the upgrade path to Windows 8.1 by making it just a free download away for Windows 8 users.

Meanwhile, Windows 7 managed to grab an additional 0.79 percentage points (from 49.27 percent to 50.06 percent). Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 usually do better combined than Windows 7 does, but some months the opposite happens, and May was one of those instances. It should surprise nobody if Microsoft ends up struggling to woo users off Windows 7 one day, just like the current headache it is experiencing with Windows XP.

Going back to earlier versions, Windows Vista managed to gain 0.01 percentage points (from 2.89 percent to 2.90 percent). Windows XP meanwhile dropped a solid 1.02 percentage points (from 26.29 percent to 25.27 percent). Unfortunately for Microsoft, that drop is nowhere near as large as it should be.

In 2013, Windows lost share every month except for March, July, and November. So far in 2014, Windows slipped in January and April, gained in February and March, and now gained 0.19 percentage points (from 90.80 percent to 90.99 percent) in May. OS X fell 0.23 percentage points (to 7.39 percent), while Linux gained 0.04 percentage points (to 1.62 percent).

Net Applications uses data captured from 160 million unique visitors each month by monitoring some 40,000 websites for its clients. StatCounter is another popular service for watching market share moves; the company looks at 15 billion page views. 

Alcatel Eyes Comeback in the Indian Smartphone Market

Alcatel is renewing its efforts trying to grab a share of the booming Indian smartphone and tablet market.

TCL Communications, the company that makes and markets Alcatel One Touch mobiles has been actively launching smartphone and tablets at global events such as CES and MWC under Alcatel One Touch brand. However, until recently, there was was very little activity in the Indian market.

The company, which has incorporated itself in India under the Alcatel One Touch moniker plans to launch 14 smartphones, 2 tablets and data cards in the country this year.

Praveen Valecha, Regional Director, APAC, Alcatel One Touch was talking to NDTV Gadgets on the sidelines of the launch of Alcatel One Touch Idol X+.

Some of the smartphones expected to launch this year in India include the Alcatel One Touch Hero,One Touch Idol X, One Touch Idol S, One Touch Idol Mini, One Touch Pop C3, and One Touch Pop C5 - all of which have been already launched outside India. The two tablets expected to debut in India are Alcatel One Touch Pop 7 and One Touch 8, both have already been unveiled at CES this year.

While Valecha declined to give further details about the launch of other Alcatel smartphones, he did reveal that the company will be following a retail-focused strategy for its upcoming Alcatel One Touch devices and will be creating experience zones for consumers, similar to what Samsung has done in the past.

"For the Indian market we will be following retail-focused strategy where we will try to create a point of experience for our devices across India," said Valecha. "We will be investing in retail and will be creating a zone under our retail shops, where consumers can walk-in to experience an Alcatel device."

Earlier this week, the company launched the One Touch Idol X+ in India, priced at Rs. 16,999. The company is bundling a Boomband and JBL headphones in the box. The phone will be exclusively available via Flipkart from June 3.

Microsoft will pay you $100,000 to find a bug in Windows 8.1

Microsoft has announced a 'bounty'
program in a bid to encourage
developers and security experts to
find exploits in its upcoming products
like Windows 8.1
Under the program, which will launch
on June 26, Microsoft is offering to pay
up to $100,000 USD for "truly novel
exploitation techniques" against
protections built into the latest version
of its operating system Windows 8.1
Preview.

Windows 8.1 is a major update to
Microsoft's brand new operating
system Windows 8, and given the
serious bounty on offer, Microsoft
clearly wants to leave nothing to
chance as far as securing the
operating system is concerned. The $
100,000 amount is a big enough
incentive for individuals to spend
serious time and effort trying to find
exploits in the OS, but for Microsoft it
is pocket change to secure one of its
most important release.
Microsoft is also offering an additional
$50,000 BlueHat Bonus for those who
submit a valid defence to block a
bypass technique that qualifies for a
bounty, bringing total potential reward
to $150,000 for a single exploit.
Microsoft has posted details of the
program that indicate individuals must
be at least 14 years old to participate.
It has also posted details on what
qualifies as an exploit, and how
developers or security experts can
submit their entries. Though there are
no restrictions on the number of
qualified submissions an individual
submitter can submit and be paid for,
all bounties will be paid out at
Microsoft's discretion, which may
indeed be considerably less than $
100,000.
In the event more than one party
submit the same exploit, Microsoft
will consider not only time and date of
submission, but also quality and
complexity to be the deciding factor
for eligibility of payment of the bounty.
Microsoft has also announced a
separate bounty program for Internet
Explorer, where it is offering to pay up
to $11,000 USD for critical
vulnerabilities that affect IE 11
Preview on Windows 8.1 Preview.
Details of all programs are available
as a FAQ on the Microsoft website.