Xerox Patents Paper Technology

Xerox has created a technology according to which paper can be easily recycled. It was found that a large percentage of paper was rendered useless with in a day. Any ways now days paper is used as a medium to display and not as a storage medium. And hense Xerox has created a photocopier paper priced two to three times the normal paper. What ever is copied on this paper disappers within 16-24 hours of copying. So this makes a case for automatic paper recycling without any physical or technological effort. Cool Technology. Mostly daily memos in office can use this paper.

Technology Life Cycle

There are various phases of technolog deployment in a corporate

1. The study Phase : Feasibility is enquired and requirement analysys is done to find out what kind of infrastructure would be required and what would be the Software deployment. What would be the architecture of the deployment.

2. Deployment : The actual deplyment takes place and the computers are physically put onthe site and software installed.

3. Usage and Learning : People start using the system, and find the strengths and weaknesses of the system. They report bugs to the involved consultancy or SI's.

4. Consolidation : The processes are in place people are adept at using these systems, the productivity is up, bottomline improves.

5. Maturity : The employees become so adept that they may start taking part in the Consulting other organisations for similar implementations and charge them for the same. Also the top managers know how to use the system for findin required trends and leveraging the information to improve business processes and introduce new product and service offerings. The system is in flow.

Self Serving Through Technology

Technology in a number of instances is able to reduce the dependence of processes on human beings. This is made possible through self service programmes many time through the help of the internet. For example there may be a HR module which serves the employees information on request. It may also allow employees to update the system and add their information as and when required. This in term reduces the nuimber of employees required to complete various transactions.

For example in a government department there may be web IT returns filing. Also one may have land records in computerised form which can be accessed via web and also reduce property related frauds.

Good Going.

E-Governance to Circumvent Corruption

The RTI act ( Right to Information Technology Act ) has already succeded to weed out corruption, but only to certain extent. So if all the state and central governments carry out e-Governance plans then to a large extent the corruption from the highly corrupt government office can be weeded out. The human element is the element which introduces corruption in the system, if technology or computers take over then this problem can be solved to a much greater degree as technological systems are difficult to rig, although not impossible. But such ingenuity and enterprise is lacking ini our Babus.

Stay alert, stay healhy.

Database Future

According to Oracle officials the average database size doubles in size every two years in India. Because of this India is a challenging market for Oracle. The future of database market seems to be that of self - diagnostic self-corrective mechanisms, ie the database itself finds out the compelling problems that it faces and either corrects or suggests corrections.

Looks like a great advance in database technology. As presently costly Database administrators have to be hired to carry out performance tuning of the database. Looks like some expert solution.

Say what.

Keep the eye on that ROI

Today CIO's have to consider the Return on Investment ( ROI ) for any investment. They have to justify the cost of any IT deployment to the top managers. The top manager wants to know what are the metrics of cost savings and other synergies. So what is the gain in terms of increase in productivity, saving in manpower cost, increased efficiency and accuracy all have to be quantified and reported to the management.

Today the IT investment and department is no longer supposed to be the support function which it used to be some years back. Today it is considered as the core strategic function which is necessary for any organisation to survive in the market and further its interests. The top management has to be convinced of any expenditure and this can be easyly done if the top management team is tech savvy. If not they should be involved in Workshops and executive coaching courses to make them enlighetened on the issue.

Earn while you blog : Adsense

Did you know that you can earn for the blogs you maintain. Its a simple concept, sign up to the adsense google programme. In turn Google will display ads on youir web site and if people click on these ads, google pays youi. Cool deal man. People became millionaires through this programme. And many are earning hefty cheques using the same facility.

The main challenge for you would be to attract traffic to your web site. If your web site has a traffic of a few thousand per day, you could well ditch your job and start blogging full time and make a decent earning.

Say what.

Closing the GAP

When buying that ERP solution, you have your current processes which have to be mapped to the processes capabilities of the Module which you buy. So you may be doing the process in one way in your organisation whereas the Module which you buy may be doing it in a different way, which the selling company may propound as the best practice and ask you to switch to that way of executing the process. The difference between your way of working a process and the way software does it is called the GAP. For example if 70% of processes match then there is 30 % GAP. This GAP can either b efilled by customisation, butn no company offers you 100% process match. So it is up to your wisdom to decide how much GAP is acceptable.

What ever the GAP is , that much change has to take place in the organisation and as you know that any change entails, resistance and a cost of training and build up. Hense it is pertinant to close the GAP as much as possible. If the GAP consists of an actual industry beset practice then adapt it as it will add to the bottomline. So the best is left to the descretion of the task force.

How to spread Best Technological Practices in SMB's

Most Small and Medium Scale businesses are devoid of best prectices. Som eentrepreneurs with out the requisite experiences set up the Business and runs it the best which comes to his mind. That best is not good enough. In todays globalised world where competition is all but available it is not possiblel to survive if you do not have that edge.

One way to learn the best practice is through hiring consultants, you can create processes which are best in the line of the business. Another way is to implement ERP packages which are created especially for the SME's. These packages are today available from leading players like SAP and Oracle. You can go for module wise implementation to keep the change effective and keep costs low. You may also be able to implement the whole package if you can afford as the cost of these solutions is low. Or you can even rent these solutions.

Go on, be the best.

DRM Restrictive

Zune offers 2 million songs through its store. Apples i-Tunes has more than 75% market share. But both Apple and Microsoft offer their songs in propritary standard, which can be used only with their players. That is if you buy from Microsoft it wont play on the I-pod, and if you buy from Apple store it won't play on Zune. Crazyly incompatible. Shouldn't be that way.

e-Music a online store which has 10% market share sells music in MP3 format which is not restrictive like the DRM ( Digital Rights management). But then the music can be copied. Until there is a solution so that any body can buy from any store and also there is no piracy the consumers are is a soup.

Well hope standards emerge soon.

Sony PLaystation 3.0 Unleashed

Sony has released playstation 3.0 which was much eagerly being awaited in the market. Now on sunday Nintendo is expected to unleash Wii system. The wii from Nintendo tries to differentiate on motion detecting capabilities. There was a long queue formed to buy th efirst playstation in the US. Poople waited for three days to get their hands on the console which is selling for $600.

Apart from crazy gamers the crowd included resellers who would buy the console and then auction it on e-bay and make a fine profit cut. The reason being that the console is supposed to be short of demand , creating a secondary market of it. Well for all you die-hard fans, more fun is on your way.

Create Your Own Music

You need not be a great Musician to crete digital music. There are tools like Sony Acid Studio, Fruity Studio and various other programs which allow you to create your own digital music and record your album.

The music track can be created in two ways ie, Loopology and Recording. If you have the MIDI interface with your computer you can directly record your music by connecting the Guitar or whatever instrument with the computer.

Using prerecorded loops you can directly create the music tracks by repaeting the loops in innovative ways. Loops are a small fraction of music.

Also using software like Sound Forge you can give great effects to yoiur tracks like reverb, and others and make your music sound really great. Today you need not have a hell lot of talent to produce music album. All you need is a Media Center PC and a little bit of ingenuity and obviously marketing prowess.

If you have money, Man you are Maddona of US or Sonu Nigam of India.
Go ahead do the Research and produce your own digital music.

User Controlled Content

With the coming ofthe Dish TV there has been some innovative experiments.Like multi feed Audio Support, where one can watch the channel in multiple language choice, ie either English or Hindi. Also if you are watching cricket you can control the camera or the viewing angle of the match.Upto 8 different angles can be selected to view the match. Cool isn't it.

Also with IPTV introduced by MTNL recently in Mumbai and Delhi you have a choice of on demand video or audio or a host of other prerecorded programmes, just by the click of a button. Plethora of choice to the user.

Also you have your regular Media Center PC using which you can record the live TV programmes and watch it when you have leisure. The world looks like changing for the better for those looking out for entertainment. Sure who doesn't want to be in control.

Zune launched

Microsoft has launched Zune portable music player today. It retails at $250 at an cost equal to that of the Apple's 30 GB I-Pod Category. The main feature is that you can share songs and photographs wirelessly among different Zunes. Compared to I-pod it is a bit larger and bulky, also heavier. Battery lif eis same for songs ( 14 Hrs ) , video playback time is 4 hrs compared to 3.5 hrs of I-Pod.

Even the cost of a song is comparable at 99 cents. I just think that Apple has the First Mover advantage to It which will not be that easy to snatch away from Apple.

TracNet Internet Service

In the US now you can access wireless service inside your vehicle or boat. TracNet has launched a service using which you can connect to the internet in matter of seconds. Your vehicle should just be equipped with a video screen which most of the Vehicles ( 40% ) in US are.

There are various advantages for sucha service. Suppose you are moving in your vehicle and want to find a place to park or want to know the nearest Restaurant. Just look up in the internet. It converts your Car or Vehicle into a Wi-Fi Hot Spot and you can conect to the net using a wirefree laptop.

You can connect to your office while camping or away for vacation. You can connect to your ofice system or to a digital home remotely and carry out your tasks using this service. India is still far away from such technologies. Some of the forward looking Educational Institutions lke the IIPM, IIM's, Amity University etc provide such services but that is limited only to the University campus. There are plans to set up Hot Spots across the country beginning with Metros.

Fight Your Mobile Bills

T Mobile in the US has started a new service to reduce your monthly cellular bill. The service is using Wireless Networks to connect the phones. If you have hot spots at your home or nearby. Your mobile seamlessly switches to the wireless network and your bill will be reduced as there is a subscription charge of 15 dollars per month irrespective of the usage of the service. It is a technology similar to VOIP but this uses the wireless network.

In India which is still slow to adopt 3G services leave alone services like Wi Max and 4G. The service also offers unlimited internet access. Let us hope that some such service is launched in India so that Indians can gain from the Idea.

Customised Virtual Newscast

US based Northwestern University has devised a technology in which news can be organised edited and delivered through a virtual anchor to the user. The user gets a customised newscast based on his/her interests. So gone are the days of watching what is offered to you, you would be able to watch news on the topics which interest you. Wow, sounds impossible. So now you can program your newscast. This is certainly a breakthrough as customisation will result in increased usage. A brand new news package could be delivered every hour or every half an hour.

Technology only as Good as Human Endeavour

At least till today technology ( AI Artificial Intelligence ) has been unable to replace a seasoned and experienced human mind. So let me tell you, we have Business Intelligence ( BI ), DSS ( Decision Support System), and MIS ( Management Information System ). We also have Expert Systems. All these systems generate solutions to a given particular business problem but the part of choosing the best solution and implemanting it is left at the mercy of a human mind. Such is the divinity of a human being. All these system help you to avoid the lengthy and time consuming process of computing and analysing data for trends. So you are left with accurate data and ample of time to take timely decisions. But then you should be experinced and seasoned businessman to understand the relevance and importance of the data and take suitable action.

So all KM ( Knowledge Management ) tools can be used to take a particular action. The implementation of decision is for what Human Recources, Technology and team work are required. Project implementation can be done only by an organisation of resources and people. For example a data warehouse was created, which was producing 10 TB of data every week, then using Data Mining and BI you found out that out of 5 product categories of your company, only one category itself was contributing 80 % growth p.a. . The other categories were producing 10 % growth p.a. and one category was in loss. You have the data instantly, at the end of a quarter.

So now you can take a decision to introduce new models of products in the category showing 80% growth, as it would possibly take off. You may discontinue the loss making product or make it a point to continue offering the product category if you want to offer the complete boquet of Products to your customer or take advantage of tax planning.

Decide your IT Budget

To decide on your IT spend you have to keep a watch on certain factors, lest you regret later, with a wrong IT spend. Look for complete solutions. Better deal with system Integrators who would have the responsibility of making all the components work together, like HP. Don't end up buying the cheapest components and apps. froom different vendors, which then don't work together, and you have to spend high amounts rectifying the problem. Look for scalablity next. Your business is likely to grow in the future, so you have to think of scaling the applications and IT infrastructure in the future.

To minimise costs, think of scalablility upfront. Take a decision, if open source software would serve your business purpose or buying the expensive propriety software is your priority. Some opensource softwares are better then their paid counterparts.

Take a decision if you want to procure or outsource the to reduce TCO. Non-core functions can be outsourced to reduce costs but take into consideration security aspects before taking such decisions. Also make sure that if you are buying proprietry software buy only the licenced versions from Authorised dealers to avoid legal problems. Plan your hardware and software aspects well in advance to avoid costly and strategic misfits later.

Spreading the Revenue Risk

Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and TCS which were hitherto dependent largely on North America for their revenues and customers are now spreading the risk and acquiring or increasing the number of customers from EU and Asia. Infosys now gets 68.5% from US, 32.59% from EU. TCS 59% US and 22% from EU and Asia. Spreading the risk is important for corporations to protect themselves from the risks of depending on a single market for revenues.

Spread your risks, now.

India now a R&D Hub

Did you know that high profile companies like Google, Microsoft, Adobe, SAP and Oracle et al all have India Development Centres, ie they carry out hi fi IT research in India. In last two years Microsoft Corp India has filed 110 patents from India mostly from its Hydrabad development centre. Looks like quality is getting enmeshed with India. Indian products and brands are no longer looked down upon and are joining the elite global list.
Bravo, India, Keep up the Good Work.

Management by Results

What can a quality glitch do to your company. I am talking about the sony 9.6 million battery recall case. Sony's second quarter earnings fell by 94% to $14 million from $329 million. The cost of recalled batteries alone at a whopping $429 million. Sony seems to be playing the benevolent god father in deciding to accept the failure in its stride and none of the top management would be required to resign. Looks like a death blow to the brand equity of sony. Hope they recover.

IPTV Arrives

MTNL to offer IPTV services in Delhi and Mumbai. Host of services like video on demand,audio on demand and other interactive stuff. People can watch their favourite programs whan they want. The degree f freedom with respect to time is a welcome. But I have certain doubts about creating compeeling and creative content. Most of the existing entertainment houses who feed the TV channels are going to be incubators of this new channel. Hense i doubt if people would have enough choice of variety of good entertainment to choose from. Reality shows like lil champ from Zee TV have succeeded to create a flutter in the market with a TRP of 11 but too many me-too copies would soon make even this sector loose its sheen.

Google Print ads

In a new service launched by Google, it is offering advertisements into 50 US newspapers including reputed ones like the Washington Post and NYC through its adwords program. YOu upload the print ad artwork and the choice of newspaper and it gets published and you get billed for the same. Although publishers have the ultimate creative and financial rights of publishing. I think this s a good move by Google as it will help advertisers located in other countries to access new customers through a single window.

Hosted Applications

Web hosted applications are where you access the application hosted on the hosts ( ASP ) Appplication Server Provider through a browser. You don't buy the application, you rent it, or pay-per-use as it is called in the industry parlance which means that the cost of the application or the rent is low, so that even ( SME ) Small and Medium Enterprises can use it effectively to plan their technological forays. The small application developers lose their market share to the bigger players as rented or hosted software would be more affordable and having better quality than them. The issues on the flip side include that of security of the shared data, as it is in the custody of third party. A solution for security issue could be that clauses be incorporated in the contract stage itself.

Pitfalls in Adopting Technology

If you assume that one fine day a new technology is introduced in the company and it will succeed then you are under a false impression. People have to be trained in the new technology. Before actually implementing technology, you have to measure the readyness of your employees for a change in the process of working. If you have a primarily young employees then it would be easier to implement change, as they would be having the requsite skills and they will be more amenable to change.

If you have a work force of average age 55 plus, then you are probably going to face a lot of problems and resistance from the employees. Be prepared for it and have a strategy to communicate and effect change. A outside consultant should be hired or an internal person could take charge of the communication and behavioural modification exercise.

You should communicate the benefits of the new technology to the company and the people. Reward the people who buy into the change process and use negative motivation process to those opposing. You should be able to win the crucial stakeholders of the process like the Employee Labour Union, Management and supervisors to begin with.

Plan the change and implement it diligently. More on it later.

@Gaming

"Where have you been Ramesh?", Asks Mother.
"Where else, Gaming", replies Ramesh's Father.

Gaming is fast picking up its traction in India. From $30 million in 2005, its expected to reach a mammoth $300 million in India in the year 2009. Great Guns man. This booty in the bush has driven Microsoft to launch XBOX360 in India amidst fanfare. There was a flashy ad by Akshay Kumar and Yuvraj Singh ( Indian Stars ) to entice the Indian Gamers.

Apart from XBOX360 which is a console based gaming console from microsoft with Hi-Fi features, the other players in the industry include Nintendo's WII system and Sony's Playstation 3.0 both soon to be released in the Indian Market.

XBOX360 is also available in the online version as XBOX Live which is subscription based. Microsoft alrady has a first mover advantage and its gaming system is being touted as technologically superior to Playstation 3.0. In the first round of Gaming Wars, MIcrosoft was beaten by Sony, as Playstation 2.0 had a market share of 51%. In this fresh round of marketing Blitzkriez, Microsoft already has about 34% market share.

Some people say that gaming is bad. It creates violent tendencies in the youth. But the growth of the gaming sector globally is phenomenon. And the gaming experience itself is viral. There are people who sit in front of their console or pc's for hours together. IN one instance one youth died of gaming fatigue. But such incidents are rare. In fact their are role playing and strategic games which enhances your management skills. So Rajeev recommends you games. Apart from that if you can control your instincts then try out the games. The games are available in Online, Console, PC and Mobile versions.

Best of Luck, Gaming.

Muvee Autoproducer : Product Review

Its a software which automates video editing and burning DVD's. Creating Music Video was never so easy. Editing is no longer th eforte of experts, thanks to Muvee Autoproducer, just transfer the footage to the software, give a thumbs up, thumbs down flag to clips for definite inclusion or definite exclusion. Add the digital song track or the song. The application analyzes the music and images and assembles them in a compelling way. There are cuts between the scenes just at the right moments which is in perfect Sync with the music. So now youknow how you are seeing those amazing videos with stunning effects. Not a human endevour, but software creativity. System requirements are PIII processor or equivalent, 250 MB of RAM, Windows XP.
Go ahead, rip that DVD, you may be the next grammy award winner.

Virtual Existence

Beware of the predators and paedophiles on the prowl browsing the net. These people have fake identities and mutilated personalities. Theychange their genders and identities and stalk you. Hundreds of people get cheated, raped, murdered or duped by this process. You may fall in love with a guy on chat, who would involve you completely and then vanish into thin air. Making you feel like an exposed oyester. Paedophiles stalk children and sexually exploit them. Surfing the internet regularly, beware of virtual existence. So what can be done to avoid such traps. Before being involved be sure ofthe identity of the person. Talk through WEB Cams or video conferencing. Make a telephone contact or VIOP enquiry. Visit the person with an accomplice.

Cheap Laptops

Buying a computer, Consider a laptop, reasons, portability of course and Mobility. The third most compelling reason is that they are now available under 40k. Cool man, a branded notebook computer form the likes of Acer , Sony, Toshiba etc with Dual core , 80 GB hard disk, Dual Layer DVD Writer , 512 MB Ram , buit in camera, microphone, finger sensor, bluetooth and all other ultra modern features ( in the high end models ). HP and Lenove lead the pack based on factors like Volumes and After sales service. So does our old Desk Top PC sounds like a old Unwieldy Device. Sure man. Go ahead, buy it in a lap.

MIcrosoft Lower TCO

According to a latest research by Frost and Sulllivan, the TCO ( Total Cost of Ownership ) of Windows 2003 is 15.9% lower compared to that of LInux. The study points out that the TCO of the computer consists of CAPEX ( Capital Expenditure ) and OPEX ( Operational Expenditure). Capital expenditure is the one time expenditure which i sdone to buy the computer along with licenced software. The operational expenditure includes maintenance cost, down time cost and training costs.

These study was done over a period of five years. Linux has a lower CAPEX but higher OPEX , which is vice versa for Windows. If the study is to be trusted then Microsoft sales would soon zoom. Best of Luck , Gates.

Business Networking

It is to develop important business contacts. There are social sites and dedicated business networking sites. Social sites like Friendster.com,classmates.com,myspace.com,orkut.com ( google) . Dedicated business sites like linkedin.com which is most popular with 8 million registered users. You need an invitation by existing member to join this network. YOu have Ryze.com which is more of business cum networking site. Facebook.com is a social networking site which is organised on the basis of schools, companies and regions.

There are a lot of companies today which do not believe in placing ads in print media or the internet but want employees through word of mouth or networking. You can get such jobs if you join these sites and diligently develop contacts. Also you can develop important contacts who become your future business partners. Also knowing important people in life would never prove to be Futile. You can get difficult tasks completed in a jiffy if you have the right contacts.

Increase your prospects, get networked.

Narcissistic Tendencies

The cellular has now become a MFD ( Multi Function Device). But are people becoming a slave of the device. Are you overcommunicating? IT has camera, music player, photo album, video clips, internet , e-mail and host of other VAS(value added services). People are using cellular for its snob value. Some overuse it, some don't know how to use it and keep it just to showcase the gizmo. It is fast becoming a style statement. But are you as good as the cellular model you have? Does your phone reflect your personality or gets reflected by it. If you are given a month of talk time , would you utilise it 24x7x30. I am sure not. Any thing in excess or recess is bad. Moderation is the key. I make optimum use of my phone to further my life goals and maximise its ROI ( Return On Investment).
I don't want to be the servant of my servant.

Share your Videos

Are you an Amateurish Video Enthusiast and want to make it big in film making one day. Upload your clip to YouTube.com which has up to 25 million hits per day. Chances are your talent will be spotted. Other sites like break.com and getdemocracy.com also allows you to do the same. Google has recently acquired YouTube.com for $1.65 billion as its own google failed to take off.. So what are you waiting for shoot, burn, upload and swim your way to stardom. You may be the next Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

New Features of YouTube

Online Editor : Edit your clips online and do advanced things like color correction and auto correct, anti shake slow motion effects etc.

Create Channel Trailer : Set up a video as your channel trailer.

Live Hangouts : If you have huge following going into millions stream live videos in live events.

Improved Analytic's : Including estimated time of videos watched.

Dual Boot

If you are in a dual boot situation between Linux and Windows and want to share files between the two OS. Easy way is to create a separate FAT 32 partition and store your files in this partition so that it can be accessed form both the OS's. The native file storage format of Windows xp and 2000 is NTFS whose security features do not allow sharing of files between OS stored in separate partitions.

When Firangi's are more Compassionate

I was recently browsing New York Times Online Edition and while viewing a video, there was an option of high resolution and low resolution to view the video in. The low resolution was obviously for those who don't have broadband connectivity which is the most likely scenario in India. I was surprised at their empathy, because Indian Sites like SifyMax and Indiatimes do not have any such options although they cater largely Indian audiences and are supposed to understand India and its nuances better.