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Computer Gupshup
Inappropriate Messages On Social Sites Could Get You Arrested, Fired, or Even Divorced 
 Imagine being thrown into jail for an innocuous Tweet. Or being sacked by your employer for an innocent status message. Worse, your wife files for divorce based on on what you put up on Facebook!Social networking may be gaining traction across India, but the growing army of users riveted on microblogging websites such as Facebook and Twitter would do well to focus beyond privacy settings. A humorous status message or an impromptu Tweet could get a person arrested, fired, or even divorced by recent changes in the country's IT laws, a development that seems to have gone unnoticed by most users bitten by the social networking bug. Amendments to India's IT Act, notified last October, make status messages and Tweets admissible as electronic evidence and the onus of the posts on these accounts now rests solely on users, say cyber lawyers. "Messages on a social networking can be used as electronic evidence under the IT Act," says lawyer Pavan Duggal, adding that posting a tweet or a status message online amounts to publishing in the public domain. India has a teeming social networking population of about 35 million. Orkut dominates the spectrum with 15.5 million users, followed by Facebook at 10.3 million users, LinkedIn at 2.2 million users and Twitter at 1.4 million users, according to online audience measurement site Vizisense. Source: Economic Times Inappropriate messages on social sites could get you arrested, fired, or even divorced Click On "Full Story" For More.... (945 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Tue Feb 02, 2010 at 11:28:35 PM EST
Cellphone Entertainment Takes Off In Rural India
In the furthest reaches of India's rural heartland, the cellphone is bringing something that television, radio and even newspapers couldn't deliver: Instant access to music, information, entertainment, news and even worship.
Despite its rapid modernization, many of India's 750,000 villages remain isolated except for the cellphone reception that now blankets almost the entire country after a decade of rapid expansion by operators.  So in villages that don't receive any FM radio stations, people have begun calling a number that has a recording of Bollywood tunes and listening to it on their headsets. This primitive cellular "radio" service was used by close to 20 million Indians last year, phone company executives estimate. "I call it the poor man's iTunes," says Mahesh Prasad, president of Reliance Communications Ltd., one of India's largest cellular companies. "A villager waiting for a bus has nothing to do. When he wants to kill some time, this is the only entertainment media available."  The cricket fan without a television or radio can dial up and listen to the latest match live on his phone. Bharti Airtel Ltd., India's largest cell company by subscribers, has a special service that calls hundreds of thousands of farmers every day with recorded messages of weather reports and advice about crops. Tata Teleservices has a service which lets farmers use their cellphones to control the pumps that water their crops. Source: Live Mint Cellphone entertainment takes off in rural India Click On "Full Story" For More.... (950 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 11:51:25 PM EST
Amended Information Technology Act, 2008 Comes Into Effect
 Besides monitoring and interception, the amended Act also deals with the appointment of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, which deals with computer security and situations arising from cyber attacks. “A rapid increase in the use of computer and internet has given rise to new forms of crimes like sending offensive emails and multimedia messages, child pornography, cyberterrorism, publishing sexually explicit materials in electronic form, video voyeurism, e-commerce frauds like cheating by personation etc. So, penal provisions were required to be included in the Information Technology Act, 2000,” the government said in a statement today. When floated for public feedback this May, the draft amendments (particularly Section 69A) had stirred up a hornets’ nest. Critics argued that the amendments gave the government blanket power to block news portals and other sites for ‘offensive’ content and could be abused. The government, under Section 69A of the amended IT Act, can “block public access of any information generated, transmitted, received, stored or hosted in a computer resource” in the interest of sovereignty or integrity of India; defence of India; security of the state; friendly relations with foreign states; public order; and to prevent incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence relating to the above. Source: Business-standard Amended IT Act comes into effect Click On "Full Story" For More.. (500 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 01:08:19 AM EST
Web Widens To Include Grassroots, Govt Plans Broadband Connection For Panchayat Across The Country
 In its second term, the UPA government has concretised Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's proposal to build Rajiv Gandhi Bharat Nirman Seva Kendra at every panchayat -- the lowest level elected local body in a three-tier system. This will mean that villagers do not have to travel long distances to government offices for for petty jobs and will be able to skip the red-tape. The Rs 28,000-crore (Rs 280 billion) scheme is the third biggest rural development scheme after National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (Rs 39,100 crore) and National Rural Livelihood Mission (Rs 10,000 crore). The kendra (centre) will be set up in a two-room building to be constructed in each of the 265,000 panchayats. The state governments will provide the land,while the Centre will fund the infrastructure. Once the kendras start functioning, the villagers would be able to check their National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme bank accounts, pay premium for health insurance scheme for below poverty line families and can get many other services through these centres. Source: Hindustan TimesWeb widens to include grassroots Click On "Full Story" For More... (434 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Tue Sep 22, 2009 at 11:57:19 PM EST
Can We all Govern?, Watch Us Now Movie
Us Now takes a look at how this type of participation could transform the way that countries are governed. It tells the stories of the online networks whose radical self-organising structures threaten to change the fabric of government forever.
By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer Gupshup
Source: www.usnowfilm.com Can We all Govern?, Watch Us Now Movie Posted on Sun Sep 13, 2009 at 04:12:10 AM EST
Indian Websites Flout Guidelines For The Disabled
But government's draft National Policy for Electronic Accessibility offers some hope
Given the government's assurance this February that at least 50 important government websites would be made disabled-friendly and accessible, he should have faced no problems. However, there were accessibility problems galore. For instance, there were inappropriate alternate texts, no means to control the moving content, missing form labels, and code (XHTML) that did not match the world wide web consortium (W3C) specifications -- all in violation of guidelines provided by the Indian government itself.  Moreover, links leading to external websites existed but users were not informed about the same in advance, thus creating more problems for disabled people. The very title for the homepage of the website "Rajya Sabha -- Parliament of India" failed to describe that it is the homepage. The world over, as new websites are created, countries like the US, the UK, Canada and Australia have enacted legislation to make it mandatory for creators of web pages to follow the minimum standards for accessibility adopted by Source: Business-standardIndian websites flout guidelines for the disabled Click On "Full Story" For More... (917 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 02:55:55 AM EST
BSNL Launches Nova Net PC In Bihar
With a view to expand the usage of internet among the people particularly in rural areas, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has launched a multi-featured computing service Nova net PC bundled with broadband over landline for both urban and rural areas in Bihar.
By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer Gupshup
"BSNL has been constantly striving to have broadband penetration in the country especially in rural areas. With our huge connectivity and infrastructure, BSNL hopes to give a new wind to the computing and broadband revolution in the country, Chief General Manager, Bihar Telecom Circle S C Mishra said. The Nova net PC, launched in association with Noavtium Solution Private Limited, can be used for both internet access and computing applications at economical prices, Mishra said. In urban areas, Nova Net PC would be delivered to the users against a one-time payment of Rs 2,999 and tax, the BSNL chief GM said. However, in rural areas, the system would be made available to the broadband users under USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund) scheme which means that rural users would have to pay a secuirty deposit of Rs 1900 which was refundable if the facility was used for three years continuously, Mishra said. .
Source: www.samaylive.com BSNL launches Nova Net PC in Bihar Posted on Tue Sep 01, 2009 at 03:03:54 AM EST
CYBER LAWS:The New IT Act Plans Sweeping Changes.But Security, Libel, Privacy Will Prove Contentious
 We Are Watching
 Here's a wake-up call for those just digesting Pakistan's ban on the "slander" of its leaders via SMS or e-mail. It might just pay to be careful while exchanging a joke about national leaders in India too. Anything you send or receive through the Net will soon come under the scanner--if it even remotely resembles anything "offensive or against national security", you could well land up in jail. If the rules being drafted under the Information Technology (IT) Act come into force, the government will have sweeping new powers to monitor, intercept or even block any content--and also prosecute people.Pretty soon, millions of Indian users will find that it's no longer easy to put up just about anything on the internet without bothering about it. A photograph, a joke or an innocent, honest comment on a contentious issue could prove to be troublesome depending on how a government agency interprets it. Drafted under the broad umbrella of cyber security, the rules give teeth to a new law passed by the government late last year. It changes the system of penalties for cyber offences and makes it easy for government agencies to seek any information, including users' personal data. This sudden extremism over Net activities stems from the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai last year, where internet and mobile technology was allegedly used to plan and execute the operation. India's action here is not isolated and follows a pattern among countries like US and China, who are targeting terror aided by the internet. Source: www.outlookindia.com IT: CYBER LAWS, What Was The Password? Click On "Full Story" For More... (1518 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Thu Jul 30, 2009 at 03:10:51 AM EST
IT Act 2008 Gets Tougher With Cyber Crime
 It's a long journey for the Information Technology (IT) Act 2008, passed sometime in February this year, and yet to be notified. The IT Act 2000, the first law to address the diverse legal issues emanating from India's phenomena IT growth, proceeded on a fundamental premise in trying to provide an omnibus law to cover e-governance, e-commerce, e-archiving, as well as the basic framework for cyber security and cyber crimes. The platform was deficient, as issues of cyber security, particularly in the context of the proliferation in internet transactions for goods and services, transfer of funds through banks, online credit card payments, which exposed and enhanced the scope of vulnerability to frauds and other crimes, were not addressed.In response to this need for a proper law for electronic commerce, and the larger canvas of Fundamental Rights from the encroachment of cyberspace, in 2006 an Amendment Bill was introduced in the Parliament to provide for its integration into the legislative changes being implemented in other laws such as the Negotiable Instruments Act, the Indian Evidence Act, in recognition of the role of electronic media in the 21st century. Renamed as the IT Amendment Bill 2008, several changes were made to the initial recommendations and the draft passed by the two Houses of Parliament without any discussion thereon. Even in terms of media recognition, there was very little coverage of a law as controversial as this though there was a lot of spirited blogging, which could have far reaching implications on privacy rights of citizens. To an extent, the Act is an updation of the IT Act 2000, differentiating application of digital and electronic signatures in relation to authentication and creation of documents. Definitions have also been introduced to include new technology in communication devices and systems of creation and transmission through various systems. The Act has sought to validate the concept of penalties, compensation and adjudication in dealing with what is popularly known as cyber crimes and in doing so Section 66 and 67 of the existing Act have been enacted. Source: business-standard IT Act 2008 gets tougher with cyber crime Click On "Full Story" For More... (818 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 03:34:08 AM EST
India's Call Centres Take Calls From Home
From providing services to the developed world, the country is now shifting to cater to its own growing needs
With the US in recession, India's call centres have opened a new outsourcing frontier: India. The shift is a sign of how India's flagship export industry is shifting from providing services to the developed world to catering to its own, quickly growing market. The Indian economy grew 6.7% for the fiscal ended March 31.
 While outsourcing revenue from within India is still a tiny fraction of the global market--$12 billion (Rs57,360 crore) in 2008 out of $500 billion spent worldwide--it is expected to hit $95 billion by 2020, or nearly 15% of the expected global market, according to a recent McKinsey and Co. report. The overall global market for business process outsourcing will reach $640 billion in the same time, the report says. Indian outsourcers capture contracts from US clients largely by touting India's low wages and big cost savings. But at home, providing those lower costs means setting up offices in rural areas, where wages and property costs are lower than in its bigger cities. "We cannot deliver and make money in the same way we make money for an international market," says Ananda Mukerji, chief executive of Firstsource Solutions Ltd, a Mumbai-based outsourcer. In April 2007, his company opened a call centre in Hubli, a city of 800,000 people 370km northwest of Bangalore, India's outsourcing capital. Hubli is best known for its cotton and peanut farms. But it is also a place where wages and rents are half of those in major cities such as Mumbai. A call centre worker who gets roughly $500 a month in Mumbai would earn $250 to $300 a month in Hubli. source: Live Mint India's call centres take calls from home Click On "Full Story" For More.. (785 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 01:27:25 AM EST
Pink Slip Fear Drives Techies To Docs
IT professionals in this tech hub are battling the global downturn with the help of doctors. Living under the constant fear of losing their jobs or trauma of seeing their colleagues getting the pink slip, the techies are increasingly seeking medical help to survive what experts call the "layoff survivor syndrome".
The intensity of the syndrome could become severe when a team member working on a project is benched or sent out, a leading psychiatrist said. "It's a mental situation where IT professionals who of late have seen their colleagues, who are often friends, too, being laid off," B.N. Gangadhar, professor of psychiatry at the premier National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) here, said. "First, it is the anxiety that the axe may fall upon them the next time and, secondly, a sense of remorse, with a tinge of guilt that they have survived, whereas their colleagues sitting next to them have lost jobs," Gangadhar said. Two million people were employed in the Indian IT and BPO industry in 2007-08, according to the IT industry body Nasscom. The BPO sector employed more than 7 lakh persons. "These are bad times. Recently two of my colleagues, who are also close friends, were fired. I am feeling terrible after the episode," said Sundar Gopal working with a reputed Indian IT company. UNITES-Professionals (Union of Information Technology-Enabled Services Professionals), says there is no clear estimate of the job loss in these sectors in the wake of the global economic meltdown. Source: The Tribune Pink slip fear drives techies to docs Click On "Full Story" For More... (394 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Tue Jun 30, 2009 at 11:36:12 PM EST
IT Layoffs: The Fall of the Software Professional
 Thirty-five-year old Sampath Tilak Vegi first started working on the Lehman Brothers account a few years ago. At that time, he had no idea how closely his fortunes would get entwined with that of the now defunct investment bank. The tango started almost two years ago. Vegi was living the great Indian IT dream. He had 10 years' experience. He was working for TCS, India's largest IT services company in Bangalore, servicing a marquee customer. He had just received a 25% pay hike and was contemplating buying a house in his hometown, Visakhapatnam. Life was good. A few continents away, the New York-headquartered Lehman Brothers had just posted record revenues and profits, and was handling assets of over $275 billion. At that time, Vegi was sitting on multiple job offers. One was from American outsourcing giant EDS and the other from Wipro, India's second largest IT company. Both offered to pay him substantially more than what he was earning at TCS. But EDS was willing to pay a little more than Wipro. Multiple job offers and generous pay hikes were nothing unusual in the IT industry. Talent was hard to come by. Companies had to pay plenty in cash, bonuses, perks and stock options to retain existing employees, and attract new hires by the thousands. New contracts from US clients were flowing in easily and IT companies had a simple formula for success: they could grow as much as they could hire. They often behaved like sharks in a feeding frenzy. They hired indiscriminately. Vegi chose to accept Wipro's offer ahead of EDS. "I thought my job would be more secure with an Indian company," he recalls. Soon after, on September 14, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. In three months, the bank would be just a footnote in financial history. When Vegi heard the news, he was in Vizag for his housewarming ceremony. "Good I moved out of that account," he thought. But he had no inkling of the catastrophe awaiting him the next day. On September 15, Vegi was summoned to his supervisor's cabin. He had been a part of Wipro's `free pool' (the bench, IT industry lingo for people without any work to do) for a few months. "The supervisor asked me to resign as there were no projects," recalls Vegi. If Vegi were to be assigned a project during his notice period, the supervisor promised to reinstate him. The supervisor then pushed his laptop across the table and asked Vegi to type out his resignation letter. Flustered, Vegi asked for time. Source: business.outlookindia.com IT Layoffs: The Fall of the Software Professional Click On "Full Story" For More... (3498 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 03:40:38 AM EST
Don't Get Trapped By Leading E-mail
Four Held Guilty In Pirate Bay Case, Pirates Of The Web To Be Jailed For A Year
 A Swedish court handed down a guilty verdict and a year in prison on Friday to all four defendants in a copyright test case involving The Pirate Bay, one of the world's biggest free file-sharing websites.The verdict could be a step toward helping music and film companies seeking to recoup millions of dollars in lost revenues from filesharers, though analysts said they doubted it would stem the tide of illegal downloading. "The Stockholm district court has today found guilty the four individuals that were charged with accessory to breaching copyright laws," the court said in a statement. "The court has sentenced each of them to one year in prison." Companies including Warner Bros., MGM, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox Films, Sony BMG, Universal and EMI were also asking for damages of more than 100 million crowns ($12 million) to cover lost revenues. The court also ordered the defendants to pay over 30 million Swedish crowns ($3.58 million). The men linked to The Pirate Bay Peter Sunde, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundstrom were charged early last year by a Swedish prosecutor with conspiracy to break copyright law and related offences. Lundstrom's attorney Per Samuelson told journalists he was shocked by the guilty verdict and the severity of the sentence. "That's outrageous, in my point of view Of course we will appeal," he said. "This is the first word, not the last. The last word will be ours." The group that controls The Pirate Bay launched in 2003, has maintained that since no copyrighted material is stored on its servers and no exchange of files actually takes place there, they cannot be held responsible for what material is being exchanged. Industry specialists were not convinced the verdict would have a lasting effect. "Every time you get rid of one, another bigger one pops up. Napster went, and then up came a whole host of others ... The problem of file-sharing just keeps growing year on yeal and it's increasingly difficult for the industry to do anything about it," said music analyst Mark Mulligan of research firm Forrester "Pirate Bay was brilliant at self-publicity, but the reality is there are lots of other torrent-tracker sites," said Dan Cryan, senior analyst at media research firm Screen Digest. "The closing of the one that shouts the loudest won't make any difference." Source: Hindustan Times PIRATES OF THE WEB TO BE JAILED FOR A YEAR Posted on Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 12:53:17 AM EST
On Internet Piracy - Court Nears Decision On File Sharing Site
F or some Internet users, the operators of the noto rious the Pirate Bay Web site are heroes who have enabled free access to movies, music and other copyrighted material. This week, a Swedish court will decide whether they are criminals.
Last year, Swedish prosecutors filed criminal charges against four men they say violate the country's copyright law by operating the Pirate Bay. The file-sharing site has long been one of the top Web destinations for people seeking access to pirated movies, games, books and business software. The site, which says it has 22 million users, is based in Sweden, where the government has taken few steps to curtail piracy until recently. The four men--Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundstrom--have denied the charges, arguing that they merely provided an index of content and didn't control what other people did with it. Arguments have finished, and a ruling is due Friday. The men face up to two years in jail, although the prosecution has asked for sentences of one year. Entertainment companies, including Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros., EMI Group Ltd. and Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures, are also seeking a total of 117 million Swedish kronor ($14.2 million) compensation for lost revenue. Source: Live Mint Court Nears Decision On Filesharing Site Click On "Full Story" For More.. (914 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Wed Apr 15, 2009 at 03:08:34 AM EST
Baddai Kamm Ki Hai Net Pe AddaiBazzi !
 ग्लोबल मंदी के इस दौर में जब लोगों की नौकरियां जा रही हैं और इसके चलते वे भारी तनाव का सामना कर रहे हैं, सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइट संजीवनी का काम कर रही हैं। न सिर्फ इन पर मौजूद फ्रेंड्स आपस में एक-दूसरे की तकलीफ बांट रहे हैं, बल्कि रोजगार के नए अवसर भी मुहैया करा रहे हैं। सोशल सर्कल और दोस्ती बढ़ाने से शुरू हुईं ये वेबसाइट्स अब जॉब पोर्टल का काम भी बखूबी कर रही हैं। यानी दोस्ती, प्रेम, शादी से लेकर कारोबार तक, तमाम ऑप्शन उपलब्ध हैं सोशल वेबसाइट्स पर।एक जैसी रुचियों और पसंद वाले लोगों को एक प्लैटफॉर्म पर लाने के लिए शुरू हुई ऑनलाइन सोशल नेटवर्किंग अब कम्यूनिकेट करने और जानकारियां शेयर करने का सबसे सुविधाजनक, सस्ता और आसान जरिया बन गई है। दुनिया में करोड़ों लोग सोशल नेटवर्किंग वेबसाइट्स से जुड़े हुए हैं और इनमें रोजाना हजारों-लाखों नए नाम जुड़ रहे हैं। सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइट्स के इस बढ़ते नेटवर्क पर आईटी कंपनी क्यूबिट टेक्नॉलजी के एमडी संजय शर्मा कहते हैं कि टेक्नॉलजी को आप रोक नहीं सकते और न रोकना चाहिए। वह सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइट्स की तुलना टीवी से करते हुए कहते हैं कि जिस वक्त टीवी शुरू हुआ, गिने-चुने चैनल और प्रोग्रैम थे लेकिन आज सैकड़ों ऑप्शन हैं। ऐसे में आप क्या चुनते हैं, यह आप पर निर्भर करता है। इसी तरह सोशल नेटवर्किंग वेबसाइट्स की भी बाढ़ आ गई है। लेकिन इनका इस्तेमाल आप अपने फायदे के लिए किस तरह करते हैं, यह आप पर निर्भर करता है। वह जोर देकर कहते हैं कि ये वेबसाइट्स आपको प्रफेशन में आगे बढ़ाने में बड़ी भूमिका अदा कर सकती हैं। प्रफेशनल यूज भी : असल में, इन दिनों सभी सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइट्स ढेर सारे प्रफेशन और कमर्शल ऑप्शन उपलब्ध करा रही हैं। इन पर नौकरियों और कारोबार से जुड़े न सिर्फ विज्ञापन हैं, बल्कि लोग एक-दूसरे को सीधे अवसरों की जानकारी मुहैया कराते हैं। जिन्हें अवसर की तलाश है, वे भी यहां मौजूद हैं और जिनके पास अवसर या उससे जुड़ी जानकारी हैं, वे भी यहां हैं। सीधा संपर्क होने की वजह से यहां बननेवाले प्रफेशनल संबंध ज्यादा सटीक और गहरा होते हैं। फिर जितने ज्यादा मेंबर, उतने ही अवसर भी ज्यादा मिलते हैं। ये तमाम चीजें मिलकर एक मजबूत मार्किटिंग सिस्टम तैयार करती हैं, जो आपके ब्रैंड, प्रॉडक्ट और सर्विस को प्रमोट करता है।
(1667 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Sat Mar 21, 2009 at 11:34:18 PM EST
Internet As Battlefield For The Indian Politicians, By 'Sanjay Sharma' MD of QuBit Tech.Pvt Ltd
 Internet as Battlefield for the Indian Politicians by Sanjay Sharma (Managing Director of QuBit Technologies Pvt Ltd) Today many politicians are embracing the internet (blogs, websites, social networking and other social media forums) to reach out to voters. But so far they have not been very successful in engaging the Indian population in a dialogue with them about their own party's platform or their personal stands on issues of public importance. One of the major reasons is that the efforts so far by politicians have been only marketing campaigns rather than efforts to organize the community, or to translate the population at-large into reliable vote banks. A party having or not having a website cannot be the major reason for people to choose party affiliations, but having a good and interactive website it can cause people with a certain party preference to articulate their support for that party more strongly. And articulation of the support in public can motivate them to stick with that stand till election time, and also cause more people to speak up in support and identify themselves with the political party.
Another example of the difference in the US and Indian milieu is the notion of access to the politician or his office. Access to a politician in India is almost impenetrably guarded by a circle of people around the politician and his/her office in contrast to the politicians in the US. So, having "discussion forums", or "feed back" links are misleading on an Indian politician's website as they signal that a website visitor can just by tapping the keyboards get the attention of the politician - which due to the layer of people around the politician is not true. And if you can't get access to the politician, or can't find out a reasonable path by which to access the politician from the website, then what good is this electronic outpost for most citizens? Hence, to succeed websites of Indian politicians must be grounded in Indian realities and not mere copies of websites of Western politicians. Despite the growing number internet users today, many Indian politicians and political parties are reluctant to tap the growing number of Indian Internet users. One clear hinderance to the adoption of the net by the Indian politican is that most cannot figure out the basic tradeoff that they face - what do I want from my website for the citizens, and what am I willing to give in return to the citizens for getting what I want. Without addressing this basic issue of access, aggressive marketing campaigns like that being down by one of the major political parties may be shooting at the wrong target in the Indian context. There is a plethora of direct mail and there is a huge amount of graphic ads of the party's Prime Ministerial candidate's portal on thousands of websites across the web - there is a very intense online marketing campaign going on. Surely almost every one knows about the PM candidate, and to expect people to go and read about his bio, daily adventures, etc is not rational. And hoping that as more people know the PM candidate has his own website they will vote for him is also not realistic. So, what is it that the visitor should be provided when he visits the website? The visitor shoulf be provided access to the candiate or access to people in his circle and influence. The question that becomes most important for the candiate to decide, and infact for every Indian politician aspiring to create a website is - "in this new electronic channel and platform that is created, what do I want to flow to the people, what do I want to flow from the people, and what is that can flow amongst people on the platform that I create?" The problem is complex not only in Indian context but in US also. Of interest is as to how Mr. Obama will transform his website meant for campaign to a website meant to govern. The way in which his free-flow conversations on websites as a candidate are tempered to match the staid conversations of the POTUS office, the way in which he will get his administration to respond to concerns raised by citizens, etc will help guide Indian politicians. Indian politicians should learn lessons not from Obama the candidate's website, but from Obama the President's website. The restrictions and realities of Obama the president's websites are more akin to the need of the Indian politician. A lot of Indian politics plays out in the shadows. The relationships are not clear, the stands are ambigious, and their positions can change based on political realities. As long as a website is considered by politicians as a place where they have to declare information, and then be held acountable to it, they will hesitate. All they will be willing to provide is general banalities, which is not enough to make a successful website. There is a lot of criticism about the current internet initiatives by politicians as many feel it won't work in India because the penetration of technology is restricted to urban India. But, this is wrong. Penetration of technology is only a restriction if you consider a website as a marketing effort. Otherwise even a basic mobile phone has sufficient technology to connect to the electronic presence (or website) of the Indian Politician. Further, the material on the website can be picked up by the mainstream press, and mass media, and that can reach the rural areas. The real question for the Indian politician is not really as to who all can you reach via your website, but the question is what will you do when someone does reach your website. Once citizens know the value proposition that the Indian politician offers on his/her website, they will find a way to connect with him/her - even if only briefly. All social media forums from social networking site like Facebook, Orkut to websites to blogs to twitter have a role in the Indian Politicians website, but the politican will have to identify and create a space in it for each of these communication technologies. And it is important to note that these social media forums involve a give and take, i.e. that is what makes it social. So, the politician has to decide that what he/she wants to take, and what he/she or other people in his social network are willing to give on his/her behalf. All the social media sites are used to find people who have a preference for a party or politician, and this is a form of targeted marketing. And twitter, blogs, etc are just a form of communicating effectively. Twitter technology just means sending sms to a huge group of people - just like group sms messaging. But the twitter marketing means that only people who have expressed a need to hear from you get the sms - that is how it is different from group/bulk sms messaging. Further facebook, orkut, etc are important because of the marketing that happens amongst people with certain declared preferences, and the possibility that your message will be heard mostly by people willing to listen to you in the first place ... Despite websites or blogs or social networking sites, online supporters and voters seemed pretty disappointed by the weak response of leaders to their requests, pleas and comments. They are disappointed, because the access that seems possible when you visit the website turns out to be illusionary when tried in practice, and hence is a big disappointment. What sort of bonding needs to be done is the toughest of the questions that has to be decided by the individual politicians, as it is according to their needs that they must cultivate their website and bonding. At the least the politican must spell out clearly on the website the clear and fair path according to which they citizen can gain access to the politician, even if it involves layers of heirarchy. There are many challenges to adapting the internet and communication technologies in the 2009 general elections. Two to 3 months is too short a period in which something dramatic can happen. It is true that each day is an eternity in a political campaign, but the Indian politican has not yet gotten a solution to the tradeoff - "what do I want from my website for the citizens, and what am I willing to give in return to the citizens for getting what I want." The more there is in the website for the citizen, the more will it give back to the Indian Politician. The more the website empowers citizen, the more the website will empower the Indian Politician. One of the ways to empower citizens is to help them peek into the corridors of power, and then provide them tools to be able to make those in power more transparent and accountable. The RTI Act of 2005 is the most powerful tool that the Govt has given to the citizen, and will someday be used by many politicans to help people seek administation transparency and accountability, and knowing that their actions are also open to RTI will make them more proactive about the use/abuse of power. The judicious use and spread of information obtained by RTI Act will make the websites of Indian politicians more meaningful and eventually lead to websites being important tools in the fight between political parties. To be a really effective tool, there must be something that is being leveraged. A website that uses the leverage of information (transparency) and access (accountability) is going to be effective and powerful tool in the political battles .... Source: HT, Special Edition of Gurgaon Supplement "Gurgaon Glamour"14/March/2009 Posted on Sat Mar 14, 2009 at 12:20:20 AM EST
User Discontent - Service Providers Set Data Transfer Limits On Unlimited Internet Plans
Over the past few weeks, all those paying for unlimited broadband Internet connection--be it to watch movies in the comfort of their homes using services such as BigFlix or to call friends abroad using Skype--were in for a rude shock, with leading Internet service providers, or ISPs, in India sneaking in fine print under the name "fair usage" seeking to limit the "unlimited".
The broader implications are that it allows ISps to control acces to the internet. Vaibhav Kumar Spokeperson, IBF Bharti Airtel Ltd and Tata Communications Internet Services Ltd, or TCISL, in February adopted a so-called fair usage policy, or FUP, as part of the terms and conditions that govern the use of broadband Internet which puts data caps or download restrictions on unlimited plans. Another broadband service provider, Sify Ltd, recently indicated to the country's telecom regulator that it too favours limiting unlimited plans. As per this new usage policy, even those Airtel or Tata customers who have subscribed to an "unlimited Internet plan" will be subjected to restricted Internet usage. Through its FUP, Airtel, for instance, has "defined fair usage levels for unlimited data transfer plans" and "on reaching the fair usage level, the plan speed would be rationalized by up to 50% for the rest of the monthly billing cycle". This means that in the 256 kilobytes per second (kbps) connection, where Airtel has a download limit of 50GB, once this limit is reached, it halves the speed to 128kbps. Source: Live Mint Service Providers Set Data Transfer Limits On Unlimited Internet Plans Click On "Full Story" For More... (1037 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Mon Mar 09, 2009 at 01:02:06 AM EST
Bhuvan: Isro's Answer To Google Earth, Allows Web Users To Check High-Resolution Images Of Locations
The new service is variant of Google Earth and allows web users to check high-resolution images of locations
 There will soon be a local variant of Google Earth, the iconic and contro versial service from Internet search company Google Inc. that allows ordinary people to take a close look at most parts of the world on their computer screens, using satellite images and maps. The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) is planning to launch a similar Web-based service that will allow users to check everything from the exact location of the new restaurant where they have booked a table for the evening to the state of flood-ravaged villages in Bihar. The new mapping service will be called Bhuvan, which is the Sanskrit word for earth. "The content generation is taking time. We are doing first (the) internal evaluation and then the (public) launch," said V. Jayaraman, director of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) an Isro unit in Hyderabad that specializes in satellite image processing and distribution. He did not specify a launch date. Earlier, in November, the space agency had set a March deadline for Bhuvan to be operational. The Indian space agency will use images taken at least a year ago by its seven remote-sensing satellites in orbit around the earth, including Cartosat-1 and Cartosat-2. These satellites shoot images as small as a car on the street, to build a three-dimensional map of the world. Details such as roads and soil patterns on the maps would be available only for the Indian region, however. Bhuvan, which uses highresolution images, will comply with India's remote sensing data policy, which does not al low online mapping services to show sensitive locations such as military and nuclear installations. High-resolution images are those that show locations of 1 sq. m or less on earth. Source: Live Mint Bhuvan: Isro's answer to Google Earth Click On "Full Story" For More.. (742 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Wed Mar 04, 2009 at 12:43:44 AM EST
Govt Set To Make Available Low-Cost Computers At $10 (approximately Rs500) Within Six Months
 To take knowledge to every household and help students get feed on every subject while sitting home, the government is set to make available low-cost computers at $10 (approximately Rs500) within six months.Technology for these small devices have been developed by IISC, Bangalore and IIT Madras. "But lot of testing has to be done to ensure that the technology works properly. Once the testing is over, the computers will be made available on commercial basis. The target is to make it available in six months time," Higher Education Secretary, Ministry of HRD, R P Agrawal told reporters here on Thursday. The computer will be a small equipment with expandable memory, LAN and Wi-Fi facilities. The government will also produce e-content on every subject which will be made available free of cost. A prototype computer has been designed which is being tested now. "Its cost will be $10. If the parents want to gift something to their kids, they can easily purchase this item and gift them," he said. Students can get the e-content feed and load them in their computers and take advantage of the materials. The government will provide these computers to educational institutions at a subsidised price, Agrawal said. The government is in the process of consultation with different agencies for production of these computers and are seeking collaboration with them. These computers can run at two WT power. "The ultimate target is to have a Virtual Technological University," Agrawal said. The low-cost computers are being developed under the central scheme -- National Mission on Education through Information Communication Technology (ICT). The ICT scheme envisages providing broadband connectivity to about 20,000 institutions, including 100 central educational institutions, in the country. Source: msn news Govt set to market PCs@ Rs500 in 6 months Click On "Full Story" For More... (588 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section Computer GupshupPosted on Fri Jan 30, 2009 at 10:16:44 PM EST
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Last month, Deepak Kumar (name changed on request), a visually-impaired businessman, logged on to check out for some information on the newly-created Rajya Sabha website.
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