NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR MOBILE DEVICES

Still going: New technology saves battery life on mobile devices

You're on a long-distance flight with a two-hour DVD to watch but only 90 minutes of battery power left on your laptop. You're unexpectedly detained out of town without the charger for your mobile phone. Your MP3 player runs out of steam just when you locate that rare song to download.
We're more reliant than ever on our mobile devices, but battery life remains a problem. Improvements in battery capacity simply haven't kept pace with ever-more-powerful processors.
HP Researchers have come up with an answer for mobile devices that not only reduces power usage but enhances usability as well. Targeting one of the main culprits of battery consumption -- the display -- they've developed an energy-aware solution that dims parts of the screen that aren't in use.

Users preferred energy-saving display

HP design, usability and display experts -- iPAQ system architect Ken Nicholas, HP Labs researcher Erik Geelhoed and Meera Manahan, manager of customer-centered design services -- worked with Ranganathan to develop software that monitors a PDA's screen when it is in use and automatically dims the unimportant pixels. The team then tested the solution on a group of volunteers.
The result: Display battery life lasted from two to 11 times longer, depending on what the user was doing.
What's more, 95 percent of users said they preferred the new interface, even without the energy-saving advantages.
"People said they liked the light shining the way it did because it emphasized the content they cared about," says Ranganathan. Users have the option of turning off the energy-saving function, shrinking or enlarging the size of the lighted area and changing the brightness of the display.

Energy-saving displays, and more

The team also explored changing the default appearance of the screen. The default display for an MP3 player has two hours of battery life. But one altered to highlight only the most frequently used features -- the "Play" button, the names of the tracks and the equalizer -- was able to last three times longer. An alternate MP3 design targeted at those use the display infrequently (because they're listening to music, for example) provided a twenty-fold improvement in battery life.
"The need for this is great, and there's a big opportunity going forward," says Nicholas, the iPAQ system architect who collaborated on the energy-saving technology, which could potentially be used for the iPAQ and other devices
Researchers are now investigating adding dynamic energy-saving components that are sensitive to time as well as context. For example, the whole screen could dim when not in use. Or, rather than relying on the display, an LED light could blink to communicate the arrival of an email. It may even be possible for MP3 players to save energy by playing tunes at a slightly lower fidelity without a noticeable change in audio quality.
"When we started this work, people told us, 'You can't innovate in the commodity space,' Ranganathan. "We showed that you can."

NEW TECHNOLOGY IN MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft Backs New Technology Company: ZenZui Aims to Change the Way People Use Mobile Devices
Microsoft’s IP Ventures invests key technology from Microsoft Research to launch startup focused on mobile device content.

REDMOND, Wash. — March 26, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of ZenZui, an independent company with the mission of transforming the way people engage, consume and interact with Web content through a revolutionary mobile user experience and information ecosystem. ZenZui’s Zooming User Interface, a technology patented by Microsoft, was initially developed by the Microsoft Research lab in Redmond, Wash. Microsoft’s IP Ventures helps startups and growing companies speed their time to market through access to Microsoft innovations. ZenZui worked with IP Ventures to acquire the technology and assistance in securing venture capital funding to help launch its company.

"ZenZui is a perfect example of how entrepreneurs are capturing the value of licensed Microsoft® intellectual property and generating valuable business opportunities," said Dan’l Lewin, corporate vice president of Strategic and Emerging Business Development at Microsoft. "Our IP Ventures program opens the door for businesses of all sizes to access the work of world-class research teams, then use that access and innovation to rapidly bring new products to market."
ZenZui’s core technology brings advanced information visualization techniques out of the research lab and onto mobile phones and into the hands of mobile device operators, marketers and consumers. ZenZui’s high-frame rate Zooming User Interface employs up to 36 individual "tiles" that are selected and customized by users to reflect their interests and lifestyle with relevant content, interactive communications and fresh data. From the connected communities of social networks and the immediacy of pop culture to the have-to-know sports and weather info, this modular tile interface lets users sync, surf, and share digital content quickly, easily and in a distinctly new way.
"This innovative technology developed with the help of Microsoft Research has provided a strong foundation from which ZenZui has developed a unique user experience," said Eric Hertz, chief executive officer of ZenZui. "ZenZui’s compelling platform is already creating excitement among carriers, content providers, interactive agencies and major marketers."
Companies onboard for the initial trial include Kayak.com, OTOlabs, Avenue A Razorfish and Traffic.com Inc. Representatives’ comments include the following:

• "OTOlabs develops and deploys products that put our clients’ brands, like Fox Family Guy, where today’s audience lives. ZenZui provides a powerful and unique platform to accomplish that in the mobile space," said Chris Heitmann, executive vice president and general manager for OTOlabs.
  
• Avenue A Razorfish has brought three of its clients to the alpha phase. "ZenZui’s platform is perhaps the first mobile interface to truly leverage unique aspects of mobile devices," said Bruce Woolsey, vice president of Advanced Media Solutions. "And it’s all wrapped up in a gorgeous interface that’s completely intuitive to use. This kind of solution has been sorely missing from the mobile marketing world. We look forward to continuing to experiment with the technology and developing smart, effective ways for our clients to leverage it."
  
• "We are excited about the combination of ZenZui technology and our nationwide real-time traffic services to provide another mobile delivery channel for our content," said Christopher Rothey, chief operating officer of Traffic.com. "Commuters demand the immediacy of on-the-go traffic content personalized for the roads they drive every day. This hyper-localized content platform allows us to engage our users multiple times per day, and the rich visual capabilities offered by ZenZui enhance users’ dynamic interaction with the traffic news crucial to their daily lives."

Innovative Program Connects VCs and Entrepreneurs With Microsoft Innovation
Microsoft launched the dynamic IP Ventures program in May 2005 to expedite the commercialization of new innovations developed through the company’s significant R&D investment. The program is available globally and is frequently updated with new technology offerings. Companies taking advantage of the IP Ventures opportunities include Wallop Inc., Inrix Inc., SoftEdge Systems LLC, Vimio PLC, Skinkers, Enterprise Ireland, EON Reality Inc., Comtech Group Inc. and Hunan Talkweb Information System Co. Ltd. (Talkweb).

About ZenZui
ZenZui has closed a Series-A financing round of $12 million from Oak Investment Partners and Hunt Ventures. Wireless entrepreneur Tom Huseby of SeaPoint Ventures acts as chairman of the board. Leading ZenZui as CEO is Eric Hertz, who brings 22 years of international wireless experience to the venture.
ZenZui is reshaping the way people interact with and use their mobile devices by marrying the power of the Internet with the personalization of the mobile phone. ZenZui tiles transform the handset and give users the power to acquire information, conduct transactions and share experiences quickly and easily. More information on ZenZui is available at http://www.zenzui.com.

BILL GATES ; FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF MICROSOFT CORPORATION

William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft had revenues of US$44.28 billion for the fiscal year ending June 2006, and employs more than 71,000 people in 103 countries and regions.
On June 15, 2006, Microsoft announced that effective July 2008 Gates will transition out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. After July 2008 Gates will continue to serve as Microsoft’s chairman and an advisor on key development projects. The two-year transition process is to ensure that there is a smooth and orderly transfer of Gates’ daily responsibilities. Effective June 2006, Ray Ozzie has assumed Gates’ previous title as chief software architect and is working side by side with Gates on all technical architecture and product oversight responsibilities at Microsoft. Craig Mundie has assumed the new title of chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft and is working closely with Gates to assume his responsibility for the company’s research and incubation efforts.
Born on Oct. 28, 1955, Gates grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Their late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International.
Gates attended public elementary school and the private Lakeside School. There, he discovered his interest in software and began programming computers at age 13.
In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, now Microsoft's chief executive officer. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer - the MITS Altair.
In his junior year, Gates left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he had begun in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers. Gates' foresight and his vision for personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry.
Under Gates' leadership, Microsoft's mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers. The company is committed to a long-term view, reflected in its investment of approximately $6.2 billion on research and development in the 2005 fiscal year.
In 1999, Gates wrote Business @ the Speed of Thought, a book that shows how computer technology can solve business problems in fundamentally new ways. The book was published in 25 languages and is available in more than 60 countries. Business @ the Speed of Thought has received wide critical acclaim, and was listed on the best-seller lists of the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com. Gates' previous book, The Road Ahead, published in 1995, held the No. 1 spot on the New York Times' bestseller list for seven weeks.
Gates has donated the proceeds of both books to non-profit organizations that support the use of technology in education and skills development.
In addition to his love of computers and software, Gates founded Corbis, which is developing one of the world's largest resources of visual information - a comprehensive digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe. He is also a member of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which invests in companies engaged in diverse business activities.
Philanthropy is also important to Gates. He and his wife, Melinda, have endowed a foundation with more than $28.8 billion (as of January 2005) to support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning, with the hope that in the 21st century, advances in these critical areas will be available for all people. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed more than $3.6 billion to organizations working in global health; more than $2 billion to improve learning opportunities, including the Gates Library Initiative to bring computers, Internet Access and training to public libraries in low-income communities in the United States and Canada; more than $477 million to community projects in the Pacific Northwest; and more than $488 million to special projects and annual giving campaigns.
Gates was married on Jan. 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf and bridge.

bill gates at the bottom
row(right) with his family

THE HISTORY OF OCTOBER 1582 !!!!!

A year is not an arbitrary period of time, it is an astronomic reality insofar as it represents the time it takes for the earth to orbit around the sun. A good calendar therefore, needs to match this period of time. It takes 365.242 days for the earth to complete the trip. Instead of adding .242 of a day (5 hours 48 minutes and 30 seconds) to a 365-day year the leap-year system was devised. Every four years an extra day was added to the 365 days in the regular calendar thereby creating 366-day years. This system is relatively accurate, but .242 is not exactly the .250 of a day that it needs to be for the leap-day to work perfectly. Over the centuries the .008 of a day (11 minutes 30 seconds) began to accumulate.
The continuing accumulation caused by the inaccuracies of the Julian calendar came to an end in 1582. Pope Gregory XIII stated that 10 days in October were to be removed from the calendar. Specifically, he struck the 5th through 14th from the month which created a very bizarre October 1582. You can imagine what people's schedule's looked like during that month:




Pope Gregory XIII, for whom the modern calendar is named after (Gregorian), also established a system to prevent the accumulation from developing all over again. Every four years divisible by four would continue to be a leap year, but years divisible by 100 would not, unless they are also divisible by 400. The year 2000 was one of these special years that comes once every four centuries. 2000 is divisible by 100 but also divisible by 400 and therefore it is designated as a leap year.
The new Gregorian Calendar is far superior to the inaccurate Julian Calendar that it replaced, but it still not perfect. There are still minuscule accumulations of time and in thousands of years, another correction may have to be enacted.
Perhaps the most interesting event of 1582 (aside from the calendar change), is that William Shakespeare (at age 18) got married to Anne Hathaway in Stratford-upon-Avon.

FLOOD IN JOHOR

More than 100,000 people fled Malaysia's flood-devastated south on Monday as the second massive deluge to hit the country in weeks pushed the government closer to declaring a state of emergency, officials said.


Massive flooding forced more than 100,000 people from their homes in southern Malaysia.
(CBC) No casualties have been reported so far in Johor state, where the fresh wave of floods surged less than a month after Malaysia saw its worst in a century kill at least 17 people in late December.

Many of the evacuees had been Malaysians returning home from dry shelters they had sought during the December disaster.

Torrential rains that began on Friday and lasted almost 72 hours caused major rivers to burst their banks and flow into towns in the southern state of Johor. In some places, flood water levels had reached a height of four metres, and one town was completely submerged, with only rooftops of homes and gas stations showing, the New Straits Times said.

One hospital in Kota Tinggi, the hardest-hit area, had to relocate all its patients to another hospital. Meanwhile, overcrowded relief centres in Kota Tinggi had to close their doors to evacuees after reaching their maximum capacity, an official at the Johor state flood operations centre told the Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

110,000 flood victims in relief centres
"We need donations of food. Some [relief] centres have no more space already. Blankets and warm clothing are also needed," the official said, adding there were currently about 110,000 flood victims in more than 300 relief centres in Johor.

Johor has yet to declare a state of emergency, but a condition for imposing one is "if the number [of evacuees] exceeds 100,000, or the water level at dams reaches the 'crash' level," the New Straits Times said, quoting the director in charge of disaster management Che Moin Umar.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi estimated losses at more than 100 million ringgit, or $33.3 million.

Malaysia's Meteorological Service has forecast heavy rain for the next few days and health officials are on alert for the spread of diseases from contaminated flood water.

CHAPTER REVIEW OF ICT

THE EVOLUSION OF ICT
Chapter review

Chapter 1
Introduction to computers

Ø Introduction of basic computer concepts, such as what a computeris, how does it work and what makes the computer powerful.


Chapter 2
The Internet and World Wide Web

Ø In this chapter, we learn about the Internet, World Wide Web , browsers,e-mail,FTP and instant messaging.


Chapter 3
Application Software

Ø Introduction to variety of bussiness software, communication software and etc.


Chapter 4
The Compenents of the System Unit

Ø Introduction of the compenents of the system unit


Chapter 5
Input

Ø Elabrote us the various techniques of input


Chapter 6
Output

Ø Describe us about various method of output


Chapter 7
Storage

Ø In this chapter, we learn about the various storage of media and devices.


Chapter 8
Operating Systems and Utility Programs

Ø Learn about stand-alone operating systems , network operating systems, and embedded operating systems.


Chapter 9
Communication and Networks

Ø The overview of communication technology and application.


Chapter 10
Database Management

Ø This chapter about the advantage of organizing data in database and describe the type of data.



Chapter 11
Computer Security,Ethics,and Privacy

Ø Computer and Internet risk,ethical issues surrounding information accuracy,information privacy and computer- related health issues.


Chapter 12
Information System Development

Ø Introduction of the cycle and guidelines of the system development.


Chapter 13
Programming Language and Program Development

Ø Its about program development cycle and design method, and popular programming languages.


Chapter 14
Enterprise Computing

Ø We learn about the special computing requirements used in an enterprise-sized organization.


Chapter15
Computer Careers and Certification.

Ø Overview of computer-related careers, career development, and certification

MY FUTURE IN MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

MY NAME IS NALYNY VENKATACHALAM. I’M CURENTLY STUDYING FOR DIPLOMA IN MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IN SELANGOR INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY (UNISEL) LOCATED AT BESTARI JAYA,SELANGOR, MALAYSIA.

LET ME TALK ABOUT MY COURSE FIRST BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE THIS PROGRAM IS QUITE NEW IN MALAYSIA. UNISEL IS THE FIRST UNIVERSITY IN MALAYSIA WHICH OFFERED THIS PROGRAM FOLLOWED BY THE LIM KOK WING UNIVERSITY IN CYBERJAYA, MALAYSIA.

WHAT IS “MOBILE ?”. WELL MOBILE MEANS A THING THAT WE CAN BRING ALONG US ANYWHERE WE GO FOR COMMUNICATION AND PERSONAL PURPOSE, FOR AN EXAMPLE CELLULAR PHONE, LAPTOP, THUMB DRIVE(USB), AND ETC..

MAYBE ANYONE CAN ASK ME “WHAT I’M GOING TO DO WITH THIS PROGRAM SEEMS THERE IS ALOT OF PROGRAM FOR AN EXAMPLE SUCH AS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.MAYBE THIS COURSE ENOUGH FOR YOU TO LEARN EVERYTHING ?”

MY ANSWER GOING TO BE : FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STUDIES, THE STUDENT LEARN ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES BUT NOT TOO DEEP BECAUSE THIS COURSE IS TOO WIDE SO MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IS A PART OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WHERE WE LEARN MORE DEEPER REGARDING MOBILE COMPUTERS AND MOBILE DEVICES. AS A STUDENT WE ALSO RESPONSIBLE TO CREATE A MOBILE COMPUTERS OR MOBILE DEVICES ACCORDING THE TREND WHICH IS FLOW TO THE BUYERS AND ACCORDING THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

SINCE I GET INTO THIS PROGRAM I HAVE MY OWN AMBITION WHERE BY I WOULD LIKE TO BE AS AN APPLICATION PROGRAMMER OR SOFTWARE ENGINEER. MAYBE IF FOR HIGHER POSITION I WOULD LIKE TO BE AS CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER (CIO). AND ALSO I WOULD LIKE TO WORK IN COMPUTER EQUIPMENT FIELD OR SALES FIELD.

I’M STILL IN FIRST YEAR AND I ALSO HAVE TO GET TO KNOW ABOUT THIS PROGRAM MORE CLOSER WITH LECTURER BUT ANY WHERE I STILL TRIED TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THIS COURSE AND A LITTLE BIT OF MY WISH IN FUTURE.

THANK YOU.