Microsoft's BIG plans for India Leslie D'Monte | BS | October 12, 2006 | 11:03 IST Everything at the nearly-$45 billion software giant Microsoft has been going "Live" over the past few months: starting with its search offering "live.com", to counter Google's search engine; to others like MSN Live, Live Labs, Live Cams, Windows Live, Live Meeting and Office Live. The excitement is palpable at Microsoft India, too. For one, India is the only subsidiary outside the US where Microsoft has an end-to-end presence through six business units. Moreover, the wholly-owned subsidiary is now an independent "strategic business hub" - no longer clubbed with the Asia Pacific business zone - like China, Taiwan and Hong Kong; Microsoft India now reports directly to headquarters in Redmond. The implication is clear: Microsoft India is now on the global radar. "From an organisational perspective, the company now reports directly to the president of Microsoft," points out Doug Hauger who has now become chief operating officer of Microsoft India; he was earlier the business and marketing officer for the region. "The move makes tremendous sense from a management-cost perspective as the market size becomes bigger and more sophisticated. Microsoft India can now sensitise itself to local needs," says Alok Shende, director, ICT, Frost & Sullivan. Indeed, Microsoft India has increasingly been in touch with the domestic needs of the market (read: sensitising), especially over the past one year. The company, which is estimated to have a turnover of over Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) in India (Microsoft officials do not discuss India figures), has reworked its price strategy to address different segments - starter, middle, and premium. At the entry level, it launched the Windows XP SE (Starter Edition) last year in Indian languages, and then English. It then targeted the top of the PC-user pyramid with the launch of the MediaCentre entertainment platform, which shipped on HCL, HP and other PC brands. "We have already sold over 80,000 MediaCentre PCs to date," claims Neelam Dhawan, managing director, Microsoft India. The company's advertising, too, will now feature fewer white people and more taxi drivers and similar local content, notes Hauger. A'mass'ing goodwill Microsoft and Hughes recently announced their commitment to roll out 5,000 broadband-enabled ICT kiosks across the country. Part of "Project Saksham" that aims to set-up connected PC kiosks in at least 200,000 villages, the ICT kiosks will be deployed across 200 small towns and rural regions across India and will be operated on a franchisee-based model offering entrepreneurs a chance to use technology for e-commerce, education and e-governance. Canada-based IDRC and Microsoft have invested $100,000 each in the project, which is expected to create over 15,000 jobs and self-employment opportunities over a period of time. There's also Project Bhasha, through which Windows and Office interfaces have been made available in 14 regional languages. "You have to think about issues of power and connectivity. The inability to access technology in local language can be a big hurdle," points out Dhawan. Of course, not everything the company is doing will generate revenue immediately. Why is Microsoft investing so much money (it was only last December that Bill Gates announced an investment of $1.7 billion in India), though it can't see immediate returns? "Microsoft is a serious and long term partner for India. Our focus is on strengthening India's presence in the knowledge economy and empowering the population to leverage the benefits of IT and realise their untapped potential," says Ravi Venkateshan, chairman, Microsoft India. Analysts say this will create goodwill for the company. They note that creating a social impact in this manner is working for the company since competitor. Linux, which has no owner in a sense, cannot invest such huge sums. However, Novell and Red Hat (who support Linux versions in India) are also moving in this direction. On another plane, Microsoft wants to be the preferred operating system (OS) on every PC. Assembled PCs come with pirated copies of XP or Windows, losing Microsoft huge sums of money. And the Linux OS on branded machines is often replaced with pirated copies of Windows or XP by the user. Packaged software piracy is in the 80-85 per cent range. While Microsoft is stemming piracy to some extent with its "Genuine Windows Advantage" programme, it realises this approach will not suffice. It's better to enter the rural markets with a starter edition (cheaper, basic version) and "become relevant" as soon as possible to India's one billion-plus population. Keeping this in mind, in May the company initiated a pay-as-you-go business model (Flexgo), aimed at making PCs more accessible by dramatically reducing the entry cost and enabling customers to pay for their computer as they use it, through the purchase of prepaid cards. "We believe that making technology accessible and affordable to all is the key to increasing PC penetration," says Will Poole, senior vice president, market expansion group, Microsoft. Small is beautiful Microsoft is also betting big time on small and medium enterprises. Its Dynamics customer relationship management (CRM)/ enterprise resource planning suites (Navision and Axapta are sold in India) nearly doubled in sales this year, focusing primarily on manufacturing, textiles and auto parts. There are eight million SMEs in India, only 25 per cent of whom have a computer. Microsoft believes that what SMEs need is affordability, ease of deployment and easy to manage out-of-the-box solutions. "The affordability factor must encompass the ability to pay for hardware, software and connectivity on a usage or on a monthly basis. This will require a combined effort of hardware players, ISVs, services companies. This is exactly what we are attempting to do under Project Vikas. And we hope to have successful pilots in five clusters (each cluster may have 300-3,000 units) by the end of this year," says Hauger. The first cluster should come up in South India soon. Analysts say Microsoft India should see a tripling of revenue in this segment over the next three years. The company is also chalking out a "retail" strategy. It recently announced plans to double its reach from 16 to 32 cities across India by the end of the year. It also launched Open Value - a new licensing programme aimed at the SME segment, and made available the Microsoft Business Solutions Navision 4.0, an integrated ERP, CRM and supply chain management solution for SMEs. Think globally, act locally What Microsoft does globally will naturally impact how Microsoft India shapes its strategy. Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, Microsoft, has gone on record saying that Internet services will play a very important role for Microsoft moving forward. The rapidly-growing threat called Google is evidently on the company's mind. Of course, it can be argued (and rightly so) that Google is not a very serious enterprise player - at least, not yet. Besides, Microsoft is getting into Google's "search" space with live.com and MSN. Having completed six years in India, MSN recently announced the addition of four new channels and special effects advertising packages. "The Web is moving to 'My Web'. Microsoft believes that the PC computing experience increasingly includes an online view," says Jaspreet Bindra, country head, MSN and Windows Live India. MSN has also entered into a strategic global agreement with Yahoo! to ensure its Messenger users can talk to Yahoo! and vice versa. Moreover, it recently launched a Hindi version of Messenger and will add other languages. The software giant also recently published the Microsoft Open Specification Promise - a document that says Microsoft will not sue anyone who creates software based on Web services technology, a set of standardised communication protocols designed by Microsoft and other vendors. What this means is that the company is becoming more open and may gain goodwill from the larger community. These are all clear signs that the old, lethargic company that earlier simply sold box products is gradually giving way to a new and dynamic company. Effort is being put in increasing its revenues through non-Window and non-Office products and solutions. A case in point is the revenue Microsoft India sees in business processing outsourcing units, where there is much competition from products like StarOffice (from Sun) and Linux. "This revenue stream does not exist in any of the other Microsoft business units. It has the potential to be adopted worldwide," notes an analyst. On the consumer front, Microsoft is preparing to go live with its new, user-generated video service and is ramping up to take on YouTube soon. Codenamed Warhol, the service's final name is said to be "Soapbox". It's also laying the Internet Protocol TV platform that promises to change the way we watch TV. With pirated OS and Office products eating into sales, pricing remains a sore point with the company. To combat piracy, Microsoft India launched the "Genuine Windows" campaign and introduced the "How to Tell" website that distinguishes between counterfeit and genuine software. The efforts appear to have paid off as piracy rates dropped two points to 72 per cent. "We see a major opportunity to increase sales by reducing piracy," says Poole. Microsoft India currently has around 4,000 employees and plans to hire an additional 3,000 over the next four years. It is also set to file for 70 patents this fiscal (up from last year's 40) as it works towards creating a Microsoft ecosystem that already has over 650,000 developers in India - its second largest in the world. Microsoft's India Development Centre, too, has embarked on its next phase of innovation and growth with 1,000 employees on board: it will double its headcount in three years. The Hyderabad Development Centre, the largest outside Redmond, has witnessed an impressive growth over the past eight years - starting as an R&D centre with 20 people working on two products in 1998 - to what is today: 1,000 innovators working on over 50 products. And with the desi touch, rural penetration and a booming economy that will demand more PCs, Microsoft India should only see its revenues growing. Out of the window Microsoft India has always been a leader in the PC operating system (OS) space - over 70 per cent market share. The company is now attempting to make inroads in the high-performance computing space, or HPC - estimated to be growing at 40 per cent and dominated by Linux/Unix offerings - while simultaneously warming up to end users with offerings in the gaming - a nearly $35 million market that is estimated to be growing at nearly 70 per cent with 1.6 million gamers in the play - mobile and home entertainment arena. While Zune (Microsoft's dig at Apple's iPod) is expected to hit the US market during the holiday season, the Xbox (its answer to Sony's PS3 and Wii's Nintendo) has already hit the Indian shores. The Indian gaming market is expected to touch around $300 million by 2009. However, gaming software licences make more money than the hardware (Xbox, in this case), whose prices keep on falling. The problem in India, though, is that Xbox can be tweaked by hackers to accept pirated games, hence eating into its potential revenue. In the server space, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems and others offer their own variant of Unix preinstalled on server hardware, and nearly all computer manufacturers offer server hardware for the Linux operating system. IBM's endorsement of Linux has accelerated its acceptance as an alternative to both traditional Unix and Windows server OSs. Microsoft India Managing Director Neelam Dhawan, however, is unfazed. "We believe our server products provide customers with significant advantages in innovation, performance, total costs of ownership, productivity, applications development tools and environment, compatibility with a broad base of hardware and software applications, security, and manageability." On the database front, Alok Shende, director, ICT, Frost & Sullivan, says the "gap between [leader] Oracle and Microsoft is closing rapidly". In other spaces, Frost & Sullivan 2005 figures show Microsoft having a 21 per cent share in the business intelligence market (SAS has 19 per cent and Terradata 12 per cent). In the mid-market ERP space, SAP comes first with around 25 per cent, Oracle is second with 15.5 per cent and Microsoft comes third but has gained share - 11.9 per cent. In the consumer space, MSN India competes with Rediff, Yahoo! and Google and websites and portals that offer content and online services. The company has gone mobile too, having taken a swipe at Research in Motion's Blackberry by tying up with Airtel to ship "push" email smartphones. However, in the mobile and embedded space, Nokia is the clear leader and analysts believe Microsoft has a very long way to go. The Windows Mobile software faces competition from Nokia, Openwave Systems, PalmSource, QUALCOMM, and Symbian. Hauger admits the revenue is insignificant for now, but adds that it's a long-term strategy. Finally, Red Hat and Novell with their versions and support for Linux have made their presence felt in the areas of e-governance and defence. For instance, Linux has a strong presence in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Hyderabad. Microsoft on the other hand, dominates in IT centres like Hyderabad and Bangalore. (Sweety Bhalla) Mobile # 9868300466 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: 15/10/2006 2:18 AM Subject: AccessIndia Digest, Vol 6, Issue 51 > Send AccessIndia mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of AccessIndia digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Fw: Duplicate mails problem resolved: but a query > (Keshav Kumar) > 2. Re: nokia 3230 with talk/mobile (praful vyas) > 3. Re: History of the White Cane (praful vyas) > 4. IOL Broadband, MTNL roll out first IPTV (Shadab Husain Syed) > 5. Portable office from phone-pc (Shadab Husain Syed) > 6. Web resource to spread literacy (Shadab Husain Syed) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:28:34 +0530 > From: "Keshav Kumar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [AI] Fw: Duplicate mails problem resolved: but a query > To: <[email protected]> > Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > reply-type=original > > well, i had never experimented in such an extencive way, thanks for this > useful piece of information. > > regards, > Keshav. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Srinivasu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 10:29 PM > Subject: Re: [AI] Fw: Duplicate mails problem resolved: but a query > > > > Shiv, thanks for posting on my behalf. > > All, after talking to Harish this morning, I have playing around my rules > > in > > Outlook and now the problem got resolved. I don't know but there were two > > rules one with "[EMAIL PROTECTED] and sent to > > [email protected] and another one is just sent to > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Now I am receiving single copy. > > > > Sorry for any inconvenience caused. Thanks all who tried to help me. > > Special > > thanks to Harish, Keshav and Shiv for offline support. > > > > Regards, > > Srinivasu > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Shiv > > Sent: 13 October 2006 21:50 > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: [AI] Fw: Duplicate mails problem resolved: but a query > > > > Hi friends, I don't know if the message below has reached the list or not. > > > > Shiv > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Srinivasu > > To: shiv > > Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 11:09 PM > > Subject: Fw: Duplicate mails problem resolved: but a query > > > > > > Please forward below.. thanks > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Srinivasu > > To: AccessIndia > > Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 10:37 PM > > Subject: Duplicate mails problem resolved: but a query > > > > > > Dear Harish and all, > > As you are aware, I posted a mail stating that I am receiving all AI mails > > twice in my mail client Microsoft Outlook. During my recent discussion > > with > > Harish bhai, I have configured my email ID [EMAIL PROTECTED] (which I am > > subscribed to AI list) to outlook express and now I am receiving only > > single > > copy. I failed to understand why I am receiving duplicate mails in > > Microsoft > > Outlook? I appreciate if any one can resolve this issue. I would some how > > prefer to use Microsoft Outlook rather than outlook express. > > > > Thanks in advance. > > > > Ch.Srinivasu > > Mobile: +91-983-346-5430 > > "Service to Humanity is Service to Divinity" - Swami Vivekananda > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > with > > the subject unsubscribe. > > > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > > please > > visit the list home page at > > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > > -- > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.13.1/466 - Release Date: 07/10/2006 > > > > > > -- > > No virus found in this outgoing message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.13.1/466 - Release Date: 07/10/2006 > > > > > > > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > with the subject unsubscribe. > > > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > > please visit the list home page at > > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:55:50 +0530 > From: praful vyas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [AI] nokia 3230 with talk/mobile > To: [email protected] > Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > Hello Archana Bhatia, > I am using Nokia 3230 with Mobile speak last two years. It is very good > model of Nokia. No problem. go ahead. > With warm regards > Praful Vyas > Hon. Secretary, > Andhjan Kalyan Trust, > Dhoraji 360410. > E-mail:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Archana Bhatia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2006 8:05 AM > Subject: [AI] nokia 3230 with talk/mobile > > > > Hi Friends > > Need some advise on buying a mobile phone which can be used with > > talk/mobile speak. Actuall my need is a handset with fm radio feature > > so I landed up with only one model which nokia 3230. But my problem is > > that 3-4 people have told me that it is not a good model as it hangs > > alot. Is there anybody on the list who is using this model then please > > write to me. Also guide any other model with fm radio feature. > > Many thanks in anticipation > > Regards > > Archana > > > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > > > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:57:56 +0530 > From: praful vyas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [AI] History of the White Cane > To: [email protected] > Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > Good information. > Thank you very much. > With warm regards > Praful Vyas > Hon. Secretary, > Andhjan Kalyan Trust, > Dhoraji 360410. > E-mail:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mayavan Gopalakrishnan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2006 5:24 PM > Subject: [AI] History of the White Cane > > > > Hello Friends, > > > > As we are aware that 15th October of each year is being observed as "White > Cane Safety Day" all over the world. Let me wish all the visually impaired > friends to use white canes with utmost care and to achieve many things! > Please read the history of the white cane. > > > > > > HISTORY OF THE WHITE CANE > > > > > > > > Note: The National Federation of the Blind was instrumental in the > adoption of the congressional resolution in 1964 authorizing the President > to declare > > > > October 15 as White Cane Safety Day. We are the major force to promote the > white cane as a symbol of true independence for blind persons. > > > > > > > > The white cane is not just a tool that can be used to achieve > independence; it is also a symbol of the blind citizens in our society. To > honor the many > > > > achievements of blind and visually impaired Americans and to recognize the > white cane's significance in advancing independence, we observe October 15 > of > > > > each year as "White Cane Safety Day." Today, the white cane works both, as > a tool for the blind as well as a symbol, but this has not always been the > case. > > > > > > > > Throughout history, the cane, staff, and stick have existed as traveling > aids for the blind and visually impaired. Dating back to biblical times > records > > > > show that a shepherd's staff was used as a tool for solitary travel. The > blind used such tools to alert them to obstacles in their path. > > > > > > > > For centuries, the "cane" was used merely as a tool for travel and it was > not until the twentieth century that the cane, as we know it today, was > promoted > > > > for use by the blind as a symbol to alert others to the fact that an > individual was blind. > > > > > > > > This new role for the white cane had its origins in the decades between > the two World Wars, beginning in Europe and then spreading to North America. > James > > > > Biggs of Bristol claimed to have invented the white cane in 1921. After > an accident claimed his sight, the artist had to readjust to his > environment. > > > > Feeling threatened by increased motor vehicle traffic around his home, > Biggs decided to paint his walking stick white to make himself more visible > to motorists. > > > > > > > > It was not however until ten years later the white cane established its > presence in society. In February 1931, Guilly d'Herbemont launched a scheme > for > > > > a national white stick movement for blind people in France. The campaign > was reported in British newspapers leading to a similar scheme being > sponsored > > > > by rotary clubs throughout the United Kingdom. In May 1931 the BBC > suggested in its radio broadcasts that blind individuals might be provided > with a white > > > > stick, which would become universally recognized as a symbol indicating > that somebody was blind or visually impaired. In North America the > introduction > > > > of the white cane has been attributed to the Lion's Clubs International. > In 1930, a Lion's Club member watched as a blind man attempted to make his > way > > > > across a busy street using a black cane. With the realization that the > black cane was barely visible to motorists, the Lion's Club decided to paint > the > > > > cane white to increase its visibility to oncoming motorists. In 1931, the > Lion's Club International began a national program promoting the use of > white > > > > canes for persons who are blind Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, blind > persons had walked with their canes held diagonally in a fixed position, and > the > > > > role of the white cane took on a symbolic role as an identifier. But when > the blind veterans of World War II returned to America, the form and the use > > > > of the white cane was further altered in an attempt to help return > veterans to participatory lifestyles at home. Doctor Richard Hoover > developed the "long > > > > cane" or "Hoover" method of cane travel. These white canes are designed to > be used as mobility devices and returned the cane to its original role as > > > > a tool for mobility, but maintained the symbolic role as an identifier of > blind independence. > > > > > > > > During this period, the white cane began to make its way into government > policy as a symbol for the blind. The first special White Cane Ordinance was > passed > > > > in December 1930 in Peoria, Illinois. It granted blind pedestrians > protections and the right-of-way while carrying a white cane. In 1935, > Michigan began > > > > promoting the white cane as a visible > > > > > > > > symbol for the blind. On February 25, 1936, ordinance was passed for the > City of Detroit recognizing the white cane. To promote the new ordinance, a > demonstration > > > > was held at City Hall where the blind and visually impaired were presented > with white canes. The following year, Donald Schuur wrote the provision of a > > > > bill and had it proposed in the State Legislature. The proposal gave the > carrier of the White Cane protection while traveling on the streets of > Michigan. > > > > Governor Frank Murphy signed the bill into law in March 1937. > > > > > > > > During the early 1960's, several state organizations and rehabilitation > agencies serving the blind and visually impaired citizens of the United > States urged > > > > Congress to proclaim October 35 of each year to be White Cane Safety Day > in all fifty states. This event marked a climatic moment in the long > campaign > > > > of the organized blind movement to gain state as well as national > recognition for the white cane. On October 6, 1964, a joint resolution of > the Congress, > > > > HR 753, was signed into law authorizing the President of the United States > to proclaim October 15 of each year as "White Cane Safety Day". The > resolution > > > > read "Resolved by the Senate and HR. that the President is hereby > authorized to issue annually a proclamation designating October 15 as White > Cane Safety > > > > Day and calling upon the people of the United States to observe such a day > with appropriate ceremonies and activities." Within hours of passage of the > > > > congressional resolution, President Lyndon B. Johnson went down in history > as the first to proclaim October 15, as White Cane Safety Day. The > Presidential > > > > proclamation emphasized the significance of the use of the white cane as > both a tool and as a visible symbol. In the first White Cane Proclamation, > President > > > > Johnson commended blind people for the growing spirit of independence and > the increased determination to be self-reliant and dignified. He said in > part: > > > > "A white cane in our society has become one of the symbols of a blind > person's ability to come and go on his own. Its use has promoted courtesy > and opportunity > > > > for mobility of the blind on our streets and highways." During most years > since 1964, the President has proclaimed October 15 as White Cane Safety > Day. > > > > On October 15, 2000, President Bill Clinton again reminded us of the > history of the white cane as a tool, and its purpose as a symbol of > blindness: > > > > > > > > "With proper training, people using the white cane can enjoy greater > mobility and safety by determining the location of curbs, steps, uneven > pavement, and > > > > other physical obstacles in their path. The white cane has given them the > freedom to travel independently to their schools and workplaces and to > participate > > > > more fully in the life of their communities. It reminds us that the only > barriers against people with disabilities are discriminatory attitudes and > practices > > > > that our society has too often placed in their way. As we observe White > Cane Safety Day, 2001, let us recall the history of the white cane, its > emergence > > > > as a tool and a symbol through history; a staff of independence. Let us > also recall the events that have permitted us to celebrate October 15 as > White > > > > Cane Safety Day." > > > > > > > > With regards, > > > > > > > > Gopalakrishnan > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > Find out what India is talking about on - Yahoo! Answers India > > Send FREE SMS to your friend's mobile from Yahoo! Messenger Version 8. > Get it NOW > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > > > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 02:05:59 +0530 > From: "Shadab Husain Syed" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [AI] IOL Broadband, MTNL roll out first IPTV > To: <[email protected]> > Message-ID: > <[EMAIL PROTECTED] .in> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > IOL Broadband, MTNL roll out first IPTV > > > > Video, voice and content in single network > > > > - Photo: Paul Noronha > > > > VIDEO ON DEMAND: R. S. P. Sinha (right), Chairman and Managing Director, > MTNL, with A. S. Oberai, Director, IOL Broadband, at the launch of IPTV > service > > at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday. > > > > MUMBAI: IOL Broadband on Saturday rolled out India's first IPTV (Internet > Protocol Television) service here, enabling subscriber access to digital > television > > services through Internet Protocol, in association with the Mahanagar > Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). > > > > (IPTV describes a system where a digital television service is delivered > using the Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include > delivery > > by a broadband connection. For residential users, IPTV is often provided in > conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services > > such as Web access and VoIP. > > > > The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as > a Triple Play.) > > > > The service would be commercially launched on October 21 (Diwali), MTNL > Chairman and Managing Director R. S. P. Sinha told reporters here. > > > > MTNL has entered into a strategic tie-up with IOL Broadband and would > provide the services at Rs. 199 a month. > > > > "As a first step, we will provide 25 channels, which will go up to 200-250 > at a later stage. Initially, the service will be offered to the existing 2.2 > > million MTNL broadband subscribers in Mumbai,'' he said. > > > > About the revenue sharing between MTNL and IOL, he said it would depend on > the growth rate. > > > > MTNL would provide the infrastructure, while IOL would provide the content > delivery network. > > > > On whether there would be opposition from cable TV operators, he said there > were enough slots for various players. > > > > "It is a very vast and diversified sector. I think there is a slot for all > kinds of service providers. We are not taking away somebody's share. In > fact, > > we are presenting the country the latest technology, and providing a > different experience,'' Mr. Sinha said. > > > > IPTV users would be able to receive video-on-demand, voice and content > through a single network. - PTI > > > > Shadab Husain Mo: 9335206224 > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 02:15:42 +0530 > From: "Shadab Husain Syed" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [AI] Portable office from phone-pc > To: <[email protected]> > Message-ID: > <[EMAIL PROTECTED] .in> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Portable office from phone-pc `sangam' > > > > Anand Parthasarathy > > > > This Blackberry gels well with corporate networks > > > > BANGALORE: Is that a souped up mobile phone with a few computer features? > Or, a pocket PC with wireless telephony thrown in? It may soon be impossible > to > > tell. The phone-PC `sangam' or convergence has created a number of devices > that seamlessly merge the twin worlds of computers and communication. > > > > Blackberry, the pioneer product from Canada, in the niche called `smart > phone,' has just launched a new handset for India that allows executives on > the > > move - or the merely footloose - to browse the Internet, send and receive > emails, integrate smoothly with their office networks and access all > productivity > > applications they might have in their home PC or corporate desktop machine. > And oh yes, the Blackberry 7130g also produces great voice quality when you > > use it as a mere phone. > > > > In recent days, the parent company, Research In Motion (RIM), has expanded > its presence in India. Its products and services are available both with > Airtel > > and more recently through Hutch in some circles - Punjab and Haryana - for a > start. There is speculation that the company may also announce a tie-up with > > Reliance. > > > > That will drastically extend the Indian footprint of Blackberry, which, > since its global launch in 1999, has acquired over 5.5 million subscribers > and made > > its brand name something that the globe trotting hotshot executive is proud > to mouth. "I'll Blackberry you from Singapore," is their way of displaying > > their high-tech, always-connected status. The Hindu was provided with one of > the first 7130g handsets for evaluation. > > > > `Smart' software > > > > The size seems to have shrunk marginally since the chunky smart phones first > hit the market. > > > > The access to the Internet via the mobile service provider (we were given a > set with an Airtel connection) is smooth and intuitive. The small keyboard > is > > a clever compromise between a full QWERTY computer and a typewriter keyboard > and a numeric pad that mobile phones provide to send text messages. There > > is a key for every letter, but some of them double up for the numerals. > > > > The software is supposed to be `smart:' it tries to anticipate what you are > typing and complete the word... not always with success. Apparently, one has > > to use this Blackberry for sometime before it learns your writing quirks - > just as one house-trains a pet dog. > > > > The 7130g uses the latest Intel XScale chip and 64 megabytes of Flash memory > as well as 16 MB of Random Access Memory, not a great deal but adequate for > > most mobile office applications. It costs just under Rs. 24,000, which is > almost as much as a good desktop PC. But one has to pay a price for > shrinking > > it all to pocket size. > > > > In India, RIM is reaching out not just to owners of the Blackberry but also > to other smart phone users, through its Enterprise Server, a canny move to > carve > > out a larger market for its services. > > > > This may soon be put to the test. Palm, one of the early pocket PC players, > has just launched its latest `Treo' phone aimed for the first time at > non-corporate > > users. > > > > Other smart phone makers can also be expected to address the Indian market, > now that the Government has started the process of licensing 3G or third > generation > > spectrum that all the main mobile providers are bidding for. For the > customer on the move, it may be a case of "the more the merrier (and > cheaper)." > > > > Shadab Husain Mo: 9335206224 > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 02:18:26 +0530 > From: "Shadab Husain Syed" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [AI] Web resource to spread literacy > To: <[email protected]> > Message-ID: > <[EMAIL PROTECTED] .in> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Web resource to spread literacy > > > > Anand Parthasarathy > > > > Google, UNESCO and Frankfurt Book Fair join hands > > > > Gooogle's literacy web resource > > > > Bangalore: The international Frankfurt Book Fair, which concluded in > Germany, last week, has seen the organisers join hands with two other > agencies to launch > > a global literacy initiative. > > > > The Fair's literacy campaign, LitCam, has partnered with Google and UNESCO > to create ``The Literacy Project'' - a web-based resource for teachers, > students > > - and anyone interested in the promotion of reading and education. The site > is hosted at > > www.google.com/literacy. > > > > It helps with a search for books and academic resources on literacy, links > to blogs by like-minded organisations or individuals and helps locate > instructional > > material including videos. ``A global problem deserves a global solution,'' > says Karin Plotz, LitCam's Director of Education. > > > > An interesting literacy initiative with an India angle is PlanetRead which > uses Same-Language Subtitling of Bollywood film songs to spread literacy. > Viewers > > find it easy to relate to film songs and quickly learn the language when the > subtitles follow the words of the song. The U.S.-based non-profit > organisation > > was founded by Brij Kothari who built on the SLS technique, first > co-developed by him at the IIM, Ahmedabad. Google will now support > PlanetRead as part > > of its new literacy initiative. > > > > Shadab Husain Mo: 9335206224 > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > AccessIndia mailing list > [email protected] > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > End of AccessIndia Digest, Vol 6, Issue 51 > ****************************************** To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
