Railways to run Technology Express to popularise IT

Posted by dinesh
New Delhi: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday announced that a special express train will be launched just after the October Commonwealth Games to promote information technology (IT) across the country.

"The train, named Technology Express will be launched from Kharagpur (West Bengal) after the Commonwealth Games to raise awareness about information technology in remote areas and small towns," Banerjee announced at the flagging off ceremony of the Commonwealth Express here.



The minister said the help of Indian Institutes of Technology will also be taken for the purpose.

The Commonwealth Express has 14 coaches, including five dedicated to sports and October 3-14 Games and six to IT.

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Entrepreneurship: Field for salaried employees

Posted by dinesh
Pune: Many salaried employees have started looking at entrepreneurship as a new way to express themselves and showcase their creativity and they are doing this by sticking to their current jobs for the financial security it gives them, reports Omkar Sapre of The Economic Times.

The new 'service entrepreneurs' are providing convergence and multi-tasking a fresh meaning. They not only work in regular jobs but also run their own business. These businesses may range from libraries, boutiques, coaching classes, service centres, garages, shops and portals to restaurants.



Nikhil Ajagaonkar, Deputy Manger operations with Big Flix, an ADAG company in the DVD rental and movie download business ventured into business in 2005 while working with a five star chain. Ajagaonkar says, "I wanted to start something on my own, but had no background in business. So, I experimented by selling insurance, which worked well. But I wanted to do something more. Our family owned a 150 square feet space in Mumbai and after evaluating the options, I started my business,"

In order to manage his venture Dattatray Services, he changed many jobs. Ajagaonkar joining of Big Flix made him to travel a lot and d therefore he recruited another person to look after the daily business of Dattatray Services. This allows him to work on weekends at Big Flix and on weekends at the centre.

The IT sectors work on a five day week to give employees free time to start their own business.

While working in an IT company,Nikhil Sharma and his two friends started the OTB Solutions a tech start-up CMS and collaboration tools to educational and nonprofit organizations. Nikhil Sharma, along with his two friends Vinod and Brijesh, started OTB Solutions, a tech start-up CMS and collaboration tools to educational and nonprofit. The recent cuts in salaries, made the people take entrepreneurship a viable financial option.

Sachin Agarwal (name changed on request), a professor in a college, runs a direct selling business for cosmetic and household products as he says that it was difficult to look after his family with the salary he earned. In two years Agarwal had earned enough to start a shop.

According to an HR professional, "One reason companies don't allow this is to avoid conflict of interest, while another is to ensure complete focus on the job. Generally, companies have no objection, unless there is a major conflict of interest,"

These ventures surely provide employees income satisfaction but not all companies are open about this idea as the jobs require 24 hour attention.
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Nokia N-series to use Linux

Posted by dinesh
 Helsinki: Nokia N-series is to make use of Linux operating system as N8 would be the last N-series phone to utilize the Symbian software.Though Symbian is the market leader for smartphones,with the rise of iPhone it has lost its market share.

Nokia Oyj is set to use MeeGo software in its N-series as it would provide a better chance to battle against their rivals Apple and Google.The N-series had been dominating the market before Apple's iPhone was brought into the market.



Nokia and Intel Corp revealed their plans to produce MeeGo, merging Nokia's Linux Maemo software platform with Intel's Moblin, based on Linux open-source software.

According to Ben Wood, Research Director at British consultancy CCS Insight, "The confirmation that MeeGo will be used for the next flagship Nseries device shows Nokia is betting the ranch on this platform to beat high-end rivals such as Apple's iPhone," said Ben Wood, research director at British consultancy CCS Insight.

Other versions of the Linux operating system inclusive of Google's Android operator-backed LiMo and Palm's webOS have acquired a large share in the mobile market. The Gartner review shows that in the first quarter, the market share of Linux phones rose to 14 percent from 8.5 per cent a year ago. Linux is the most popular type of open-source computer operating system. Linux's immediate rival on PCs is Microsoft.
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India a superpower: Can the common man feel it?

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Kolkata: India's economy is expected to reach double digit growth by 2013, but is this growth story only for those living in cities and enjoying the benefits of globalization, what do people in lowest rung of society think about it?

Though India's economy is growing pretty well, the other sectors in the country are still lagging behind, reports Indrani Roy Mitra of Rediff.com. "India has had 'great' industrial growth and 'economic' growth by the economic parameters of gross domestic product, gross national product, et al; but has 'not grown' at all in other sectors like health, education, quality of lives, nutrition, newborn, childhood and infant mortality and infectious disease prevention among others," says Amitrajit Saha, Public health specialist, who has worked with marginalized people.



Lately, Price rise has been another major issue for the majority of citizens in the country. "Growth to me suggests a better life for my kids. I thought I was giving them one till recently. In the last couple of years, prices of essential commodities have gone up alarmingly high throwing our monthly household budget out of gear," says Shyamal Das, an autorickshaw owner-cum-driver.

There are others who feel that though India could afford to give its citizens better healthcare, it has failed to do so. "A small percentage of our expenditure on defence would have sufficed to provide basic healthcare to all of our people. But look at our healthcare system. The government is fast withdrawing from its responsibility to provide even primary healthcare to its people free of cost or at a minimum expense," says Krishna Bandyopadhyay, social activist and writer. She also points out that healthcare now has become more and more privatised - a commodity affordable only for the rich or the upper middle class. The poor are not even entitled to have good health.

"Can you find me a single politician today who actually feels for us, the poor? Those who are sympathetic are strategically booted out of their parties or are successfully sidelined," asks Subimal Ghosh, a grocery shopowner, whose dream of becoming a doctor was shattered when his father fell ill and lost his job. Ghosh had to take care of a family of four so he took loan from a friend and set up a grocery shop close to his place and looking after his business now.

Are we spending too much on things that may not be very essential for the common man? "There is no point in building a huge Army when almost half of the country's population starves. If by growth, Indian politicians mean some inane statistics, nothing can be more tragic. India will grow only when Indians, even the poorest of them, get the best of healthcare, can send their children to schools, can feed their families and can lead a comfortable life," says Debasish Dutta, a teacher.
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