Bangalore: Samsung has added Facebook and Goolge Maps to its HDTV-based Samsung Apps library. All of its 2010 Blu-ray players, Blu-ray home theater systems, and most Samsung TVs sized at 40 inches and larger have the ability to download and use the apps.
With this users will be able to plan out trips before they leave their living room using Google Maps, and interact with friends on Facebook just like they would on their computers.
Samsung Apps number in the 30s, with services that include Blockbuster, Netflix, Pandora, Twitter, USA Today and Vudu, among others
Bangalore: Microsoft has informed that Windows XP will be dropped from netbooks on October 22.
The policy is a reminder of a move unveiled in April 2008 but will require that all Windows-based netbooks use Windows 7 from the fall onwards. Switching is not expected to be a major issue as about 81 percent of netbooks were already using the much more modern OS by April, according to NPD data.
The switch still represents one of the last steps in Windows XP's lifespan. Regular PCs moved relatively quickly to Windows 7 after dropping Vista and XP, but the lower price and system demands of XP led netbook designers to keep the nearly nine-year-old OS as a standard OS on their least expensive systems.
XP's prolonged existence was mostly sparked by Vista, as its steep system requirements made it impractical to use on netbooks without inflating the performance and cost through extra RAM or advanced graphics. Microsoft also used the age of the OS to justify charging $15 per each notebook where even Vista Starter Edition would have cost at least $30, raising the price and leaving an opening for cheaper Linux netbooks.
Mumbai: Back office firm Intelnet Global Services has bagged the deal for providing outsourced call centre services for UID project, according to a report by N Shivapriya of Economic Times.
This is the second tender to be awarded by the authority led by former Infosys CEO and co-founder, Nandan Nilekani, in a series of contracts totaling $1 billion.
The UID project is being watched globally by governments, service providers and vendors because of the scale and complexity involved in providing a unique, verifiable identity to over a billion Indians.
Companies, both global and Indian, are competing for different parts of this huge project, the largest undertaken by any government. The first tender for software application development was awarded to Mindtree.
Intelenet spokesperson declined to comment when Economic Times contacted. Trading in shares of Sparsh BPO, the domestic arm of Intelenet Global Services, was frozen after there were only buyers at Rs 57.20, the upper end of the 5 percent intra-day circuit filter.
In many ways, this could be one of the most challenging assignments in the UID project as it involves directly interfacing with the citizens. "The vendor will be required to provide services in the official languages of all the states, no matter where the centre is located," said an executive with a BPO firm. The contract is expected to start small from around 100-150 seats and scale up to around 2000 as volumes pick up.
The potential for revenues to scale up as call volumes grow is just one of the upsides of winning the deal. The prestige of being associated with such a project brings along many intangible benefits, said analysts and outsourcing experts.
"There is tremendous upside for the player who wins the deal. Of course, it's an open question how much the revenues will scale up but it will be financially viable because there will be volumes. Indians are people who want answers," said Alok Shende, Principal Analyst with technology research firm, Ascentius Consulting.
"Globally there are not many nations that have opted for such an identity project. For any company to be part of it is prestigious. It will give them credibility to bid for similar projects abroad and other projects in the government. Even if opportunities overseas are not considered, there is enough opportunity within the government here," he added.
The pricing for the contract will be based on number of calls per minute. Earlier Economic Times has reported that the BPO winning the contract would have to operate 8 am to 8 pm, six days a week and on all festivals, delivering customer care through calls, e-mails , pull-and-push SMS, fax and traditional means like letters and postcards.
Bangalore: Wipro has bagged an outsourcing deal for ten years from automobile and parts distribution company TVS. The deal aims at leveraging IT across all business units and functional areas of TVS.
The scope of services includes the suite of IT infrastructure and applications across the enterprise. In the initial transformation phase, Wipro will reengineer the current IT systems to achieve business IT alignment, backed by processes and tools.
The second phase covering operations and maintenance, would involve application and infrastructure support at the Data Center, and facilities management across 82 locations for 10 years. The engagement would be governed by a mix of milestone-based, business outcome-based and operations-based Key Performance Indicators.
Speaking on the occasion R Dinesh of TVS said: "We see Business-IT alignment as the key driver for achieving business transformation. An integrated IT landscape will not only enable seamless information flow but will also help achieve high performance and scalability in our operations. We are delighted to be partnering with Wipro for this engagement."
"It is our privilege to be associated with TVS & Sons in this engagement. We expect this partnership to provide the growth platform for TVS & Sons in the highly competitive automotive distribution business by leveraging IT practices," said Anand Sankaran, Senior Vice President and Business Head, India and Middle East, Wipro.
