Technical News - 26 Dec 2011

• Fujifilm: too early to say if it will invest in Olympus
  December 26, 2011
  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Fujifilm Holdings is watching developments at scandal-ridden Olympus Corp but it is too early to say if it will invest in the rival endoscope maker, a senior executive told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

  

  
  
• Former South Korean first lady heads North for condolences
  December 26, 2011
  PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - The widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, the author of a now-jettisoned engagement policy with North Korea, crossed the fortified land border between the two sides on Monday to pay her respects to deceased dictator Kim Jong-il.

  

  
  
• Exclusive: Afghanistan sets ground rules for Taliban talks
  December 26, 2011
  KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan will accept a Taliban liaison office in Qatar to start peace talks but no foreign power can get involved in the process without its consent, the government's peace council said, as efforts gather pace to find a solution to the decade-long war.

  

  
  
• Lawsuit Asks "Who Owns a Twitter Follower?" (The Atlantic Wire)
  December 26, 2011
  The Atlantic Wire - Related: Moody's, Bacon, and Puppets That Look Like Lyndon Johnson
  
• LAPD Surveillance Cameras Go Unused
  December 26, 2011
  
  
  First time accepted submitter Ethanol-fueled writes "Most of the surveillance cameras installed downtown and operated by the LAPD have not been working for two years, according to interviews and records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. Many of those broke and were never repaired, and six cameras allocated to the Little Tokyo section weren't even plugged into the LAPD's monitoring bank. In one case, a 53-year-old man died after being stabbed and beaten in Skid Row — right below one of the malfunctioned cameras. It probably also didn't help that the cameras themselves were prone to being coated with pigeon droppings and the system backend being stored in a room so small that overheating was frequent. One LAPD Deputy Chief compared the situation to buying a used car without an extended warranty — 'We know the reasons it doesn't work. Now we're trying to make it work.'"
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
  
• Nigeria leaders rapped after Islamists attack churches
  December 26, 2011
  ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria lacks competent leaders to tackle its security problems, a former military ruler said on Monday, following Christmas Day bomb attacks on churches by Islamist militants that killed more than two dozen people.

  

  
  
• News to know: Facebook privacy changes, Germany patent wars, iPhone suffers in Europe
  December 26, 2011
  News to know -- December 20-25: A look back at the news from London, the UK and wider Europe, on all the bits that were missed during the week's coverage.
  
• Apple Files Patents For Fuel Cell Technology
  December 26, 2011
  May equip iDevices with hydrogen-based power source for extreme battery life.

  
  
  
  
• Customers Gleefully Mock Best Buy's $1,095.99 HDMI
  December 26, 2011
  
  
  First time accepted submitter Forthan Red writes "It may be a pricing bot run amok, or a ridiculously over-inflated sense of worth, but Best Buy has been offering an HDMI cable for a whopping $1,095.99 (currently sold out!). While Best Buy seems to be oblivious to the absurdity of this price for a digital cable, those posting customer reviews are not. Enjoy the mockery!" One of my favorites is: "saved a ton of money on a new TV on black Friday and decided to use the extra cash to get the best cable available. At a whopping 3.3 feet in length, this cable is no joke. When all my friends come over to watch football, they always say 'WOW what kind of HDMI cable do you have?' I proudly tell them about my audioquest diamond and its advanced features such as its Dark Gray/Black finish. It is a great conversation piece! Not to mention it fits into my dvd player and tv perfectly."
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
  
• Six Free Software Packages to Load on Your New PC
  December 26, 2011
  Those lucky enough to get a new computer this holiday season face a world of free software choices.
  
  
  
  
• 2012 Will See Rise in Cyber-Espionage and Malware, Experts Say
  December 26, 2011
  The security industry expects the number of cyber-espionage attacks to increase in 2012 and the malware used for this purpose to become increasingly common.
  
  
  
  
• Syrian tanks fire, 20 dead as Homs awaits monitors
  December 26, 2011
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed as Syrian tank forces battled opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in Homs on Monday, residents said, ahead of a planned visit by Arab League monitors to verify whether he is ending a violent crackdown on unrest.

  

  
  
• App aims to make a social network more personal
  December 26, 2011
  TORONTO (Reuters) - Interested in sharing more personal moments of life to a small group of friends rather than a large network? An app called Path could help.

  

  
  
• Samsung Buys Sony's Stake In LCD Joint Venture
  December 26, 2011
  
  
  First time accepted submitter rtoz writes "Samsung Electronics has decided to buy out Sony's entire stake in their Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) joint venture S-LCD Samsung will pay Sony 1.08 trillion won ($939m; £600m) in cash for Sony's entire stake (50% – 1 shares) in S-LCD Corp., a venture formed in 2004 to make TV panels. After acquisition, Samsung Electronics' stake in S-LCD will be 100%. The move comes as Sony has been restructuring its TV business, which has been making a loss for the past seven years."
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
  
• The 10 biggest tech stories of 2011
  December 26, 2011
  The technology industry often finds itself pontificating about the future, but the busy news cycle this year gave us plenty to discuss.

  

  
  
• Best Kindle Fire cases and covers
  December 26, 2011
  Looking for a new case for your Amazon Kindle Fire? Here are CNET's top picks for Kindle Fire cases and covers.
  
• In 2011, these flying machines soared
  December 26, 2011
  From the space shuttle to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and next-generation tanker, along a trio of drones, these were the aircraft and spacecraft that mattered most.
  
• New Car Anti-Theft Device Profiles Your Rear End
  December 26, 2011
  
  
  Hugh Pickens writes "A car-seat identifier developed at Japan's Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology by Associate Professor Shigeomi Koshimizu can recognize a person by his or her rear end with 98 percent accuracy when the person takes a seat in his car. The bucket seat's lower section is lined with 360 pressure sensors that measure pressure on a scale from 0 to 256, sending information to a laptop, which aggregates the information, generates the key data and produces a precise map of the seated person's rear profile. Researchers say traditional biometric techniques such as iris scanners and fingerprint readers cause stress to people undergoing identity checks, while the simple act of getting seated carries less psychological baggage. Koshimizu wants to see his work available commercially as an anti-theft product in two to three years if automakers agree to collaborate. He sees possibilities of this device being used beyond auto-theft identity protection to a device for security identification in office settings, where users log on to their PCs as they sit down."
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
  
• TechTree Presents The New Year Contest: Week 1
  December 26, 2011
  "AVerLife Cinema (E232)" HD media player and T-shirts up for grabs.

  
  
  
  
• 2011 in review: ZDNet's top galleries
  December 26, 2011
  Windows 8 screenshots and apps were in big demand in 2011.
  
• Aakash Tablet Available On Ncarry.com
  December 26, 2011
  Available again after initial stocks were lapped up quickly from the official website.

  
  
  
  
• Make your old Android smartphone as good as new
  December 26, 2011
  The last week of the year is a good time to wipe your Android phone clean and make it as good as new.
  
• U.S. mulling Yemen's Saleh travel request: official
  December 26, 2011
  HONOLULU (Reuters) - The U.S. government would only allow Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to travel to the United States for "legitimate" medical treatment, and is now considering the request, a senior Obama administration official said on Monday.

  

  
  
• Microsoft: Five things to look for in 2012
  December 26, 2011
  After a year with few marquee releases, 2012 will likely bring the biggest debut of all for Microsoft: Windows 8. Keep an eye on Windows Phone market share and patent litigation as well.
  
• 802.11u, Hotspot 2.0 bring roaming to Wi-Fi devices
  December 26, 2011
  The number of Wi-Fi hotspots is expected to triple by 2015 with some 1.2 million venues Wi-Fi ready
  
• CA APM 9.1
  December 26, 2011
  Comprehensive, powerful and confusing are the words that come to mind. All of the necessary pieces are there. Others present their case more clearly.
  
• iOS Dominates Mobile Shopping in December
  December 26, 2011
  Evidently, iOS is the platform of choice for mobile shopping. At least that’s the gist of a new study by retail analysis firm RichRelevance.
  Between April and December 2011, RichRelevance analyzed 3.4 billion shopping sessions and found that consumers making purchases from their mobile devices accounted for about 3 percent of total sales. In April, 88 percent of those purchases were made via iOS devices, mostly the iPhone and iPad. By December, that percentage had risen to 92 percent.
  So, really, the rise in mobile shopping is being driven by iOS. Which is good news for Apple, and for retailers, as well. According to RichRelevance, the average order value (AOV) of purchases made via iOS devices is greater than those of other platforms. IOS’s AOV was $123 in December; Android’s, meanwhile, was $101.
  Said RichRelevance CEO David Selinger: “The numbers across our retailing partners sites demonstrate just how powerful the iOS platform is enabling mobile web shopping and, while still below 5 percent in total conversion, mobile traffic’s doubling in eight months is a trend we only see accelerating.”
  As a mobile OS, Apple’s iOS may not be quite as ubiquitous as Google’s Android, but as a shopping platform, its dominance appears uncontested.
  
  
• Web gambling gets boost from Obama administration
  December 26, 2011
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration cleared the way for U.S. states to legalize Internet poker and certain other online betting in a switch that may help them reap billions in tax revenue and spur web-based gambling.

  

  
  
• Web gambling gets boost from Obama administration (Reuters)
  December 26, 2011
  Reuters - The Obama administration cleared the way for U.S. states to legalize Internet poker and certain other online betting in a switch that may help them reap billions in tax revenue and spur web-based gambling.
  
• Disaster Recovery is your transitional Cloud step
  December 26, 2011
  The Cloud is a much feared entity but it shouldn't be. Fear of the Cloud can cost you a lot of money and can cost you a lot of money in downtime.
  
• Killing Environmentalism to Save It: Two Greens Call for Postenvironmentalism
  December 26, 2011
  Environmentalism, like politics in general, is depressingly polarized these days. On one side, alarmists like the activist Bill McKibben , climatologist James Hansen and blogger Joe Romm warn that if we don’t cut way back on fossil fuels now! civilization may collapse. On the other side, deniers, including most of the current GOP candidates for president, won’t even accept a causal link between surging carbon emissions and warmer temperatures. (Newt Gingrich advocated countering global warming in 2007 but now, sucking up to conservatives, calls global warming an unproven “theory.” )
  Forced to choose, I’d go with the alarmists, who at least are guided by science and concern about humanity s long-term future. But some greens, notably Romm, are so shrill and hyper-partisan that they harm their own cause. Just as many voters yearn for a third party that transcends the fractious old politics, so I and many other people are eager to hear fresh, creative approaches to global warming and other enviro-threats.
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• Virtualization and Business Uptime
  December 26, 2011
  I'm presenting at a workshop. You're welcome to register.
  
• CRM 2012 Forecast - The Era of Customer Engagement - Part I
  December 26, 2011
  I have to tell you up front - this is not strictly a forecast. There are elements of a forecast - a few likely trends for 2012 are embedded in the piece. But just so expectations are clear, this...
  
• Top technology trends for 2012
  December 26, 2011
  Beginning 2012, it is expected that low cost cloud based projects will pick up, especially those which do not necessitate heavy investments
  
• Suicide bomber kills 7 outside Iraq ministry
  December 26, 2011
  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed when a suicide car bomber hit Iraq's interior ministry on Monday in the latest attack since a crisis erupted between the Shi'ite-led government and Sunni leaders a week ago.

  

  
  
• 25 Top Network and IT Industry News Stories of 2011
  December 26, 2011
  2011 will be remembered for the death of Steve Jobs, Cisco's refocusing, IPv6's coming-out party, and more.
  
  
  
  
• WD intros 2.5", 1 TB, Scorpio Blue HDD in India
  December 26, 2011
  The new WD Scorpio Blue 1 TB HD utilizes 500 GB-per-platter areal density and is now available in the highest capacity for 2.5-inch HDs in the 9.5 mm size, two-platter (two-disk) form factor
  
• Keywords 101 - Types of Keywords and Search Operators
  December 26, 2011
  This blog post is about Keywords 101 and it includes information on how keywords works with search, types of keywords and effective easy to search keywords using Google operator. Keywords are of many types that vary to the individual human behavior. Keywords are not created they are formed.
  
  What are Keywords?
  
  Keywords are words that are used to search information in Search Engines that refers to a specific topic. Keywords can vary like Singular Keywords, Plural keywords, Strong & Weak keywords, Global & Local keywords, Misspelled keywords, Seasonal keywords and Long tail keywords.

  
  How Keywords work?
  
  When you search for information using a Keyword[1], the Search Engine looks for all the indexed pages in the database contacting the specific word or words (Called as keywords). If you try for a Keyword 'SEO and SMO' then the search engine will look for the pages that contain the words 'SEO and SMO'. Despite you will see topics that relates to only SEO and as well you will also find topics that only relates to SMO. If you need the search result that includes both 'SEO and SMO' then you have to use an advance operator " ". Here an example advance search Keyword "SEO and SMO" to check the web search results that has all words and following the exact order of words. You can read more on advance operator section below..
  
  Types of Keywords
  
  Keywords are of many types that vary to the individual human behavior. Keywords are not created they are formed. Sometimes Today's Keywords will not be Tomorrow's. Even there are Keywords that get disappeared. For example, if a Keyword is based on a specific technology and the technology is outdated than people will not be searching for those words and obviously the Keywords will be disappeared or can be changed to some other form based on the versions and future technology. Likewise same for many industries. Here are the types of Keywords that can give you more idea.
  
  (1) Singular Keywords:
  
  Form of a word that is used to search a single piece of product or niche information. Singular Keywords had to be used according to the need and generally Keyword formation should be smart.
  
  For example, a singular keyword can be something like - book and can't be like - Cricket shoe. People will search for shoes and not shoe.
  
  (2) Plural keywords:
  
  Form of a word that is used to search more than one specific object or range of information. Compared to the above example Plural keywords can be used like - Cricket shoes and it is meaningful and the simple difference between the singular and the plural is an “s” or “es” at the end of the word.
  
  Now a days, Google and other major search engines are smart enough to find the relationship between plural and singular. Google also index and values singular keywords for some of the targeted plural keywords based on the people search behavior. That is, users who search for the plural keywords may still get benefit out of web pages that focus the singular keywords.
  
  (3) Strong Keywords:
  
  Strong keywords have high volume of search and it takes up from single word to even some Geo specific keywords. This depends entirely on the user volume those who are looking for the information. Promoting web page for strong keywords is not so easy as the competition would be much high and as well will have large number of results.
  
  Here few examples for Strong Keywords:
  
  * Apple ipad
  * Toyota
  
  (4) Weak Keywords:
  
  Weak Keywords are low volume keywords but it can produce a decent reference for business enquiries. Normally more than two or more words search keyword comes under weak keywords criteria. For creating week keywords, you can try to add your location to strong keywords and measure the search volume using a keyword tool.
  
  This will work for many industries and you can obtain a decent traffic for start and gradually you can focus strong keywords. There are even week keywords that are not location specific since those keywords might have less competition and search results based on industries you target.
  
  (5) Global Keywords:
  
  Global Keywords are not location specific and most of the keywords are targeted for Dot com search engines and the importance of site listing for Global keywords are not restricted to regional specific search engines.
  
  (6) Local Keywords:
  
  Local Keywords are location specific and the keywords can be targeted for regional search engines. Normally local keywords are specific to your languages and targeted country.
  
  Example for local keywords
  
  * Web design London
  * SEO New York
  
  (7) Misspelled Keywords:
  
  Misspelled Keywords are formed when huge volume of search engine users have problem with spellings and make typo mistakes while searching for information. And also some spell different and it depends on country. In US the spell is 'color' and in Australia it is written as 'Colour'
  
  One good example is 'accommodation' word. Some type as 'accomodation' and 'accomadation'
  
  (8) Sesonal Keywords:

  
  Seasonal Keywords occur only on certain times of the year. A good example is a greeting card site and seasonal product-selling site. Seasonal Keywords competition changes based on the volume of the search.
  
  In Christmas period, users will be searching for Christmas greeting cards and Christmas gifts. Other than November and December these keywords will have least importance.
  
  (9) Long Tail Keywords :

  
  Long tail keyword are combination of highly searched keyword phrases that generates relevant phrases. These long tail in keywords can provide a significant amount of traffic and when promoted well these keywords can provide a good amount of traffic for original keywords that are used to combine to form a long tail keyword.
  
  These type of long tail keywords are used for article title and press release heading and a good long tail keywords can generate higher conversion rate than a normal keyword (Called as short tail keyword).
  
  Keyword Search Operators
  
  Keywords search Operators[2] help a lot with search and to become a real Keyword search expert you can use the following operators like,
  
  (1 ) Plus (+) Operator
  
  + Operator with a word / keyword helps to search the web results with those specific keyword around content, title, Meta tags and links.
  
  Example:
  
  

  

  
  
  

  Figure (A)

  
  
  
  

  Figure (B)

  
  From Figure (A) you can see a search keyword "business directories" and the results would be varied based on the words directory and directories. The actual search was for "business directories" and not "business directory" but yet you can see results for both directories and directory.
  
  When you use an operator "+" you can see changes in results as seen in Figure (B). The result shows for the word directories.
  
  Note: Now Google has replaced + with "".
  
  (2) Minus (-) operator
  
  - Operator with a word / keyword helps to omit those words from search results.
  
  Example:
  
  
  
  

  Figure (C)

  
  When you use an operator "-" you can see the web results as seen in Figure (C.) The result will not show search terms that include the word “directories” and show only related to the word “business”.
  
  (3) Related (~) operator
  
  ~ Operator with a word / keyword helps to find search results that are related to the search term.
  
  
  
  

  Figure (D)

  
  When you use an operator "~" with the word “directories” as seen in Figure (D), then you can see the results that includes words like "search, guide, white pages and so".
  
  (4) OR operator
  
  OR operator in-between search terms help the user with the results containing either one word.
  
  Example:
  
  
  
  

  Figure (E)

  
  When we use OR operator in-between “business” and “directories” words as seen in Figure (E) then the web search results will be displayed containing word business OR directories.
  
  Keywords Role in SEO
  
  Being Keywords as one of the major factor for SEO - an explanation is given in one of my post about how effectively Keywords can be used for Search Engine Optimization(SEO). The below topics are covered in the post"how to improve content writing to rank in first page?".
  
  (a) SEO copy writing - Two Ways
  (b) Four Keyword Strategies
  (i) Keyword Density
  (ii) Keyword Prominence
  (iii) Keyword Frequency
  (iv) Keyword Proximity
  (c) Maintaining the position.
  (d) Example on SEO Copy Writing Using Keywords
  
  By now this Keywords 101 post should have helped you to know all about Keywords and its use. Feel free to post your comment on what you know about Keywords.

  References

  1. Keywords - Webmaster Tools Help
  2. Google search: More search help

  

  

  
  
• Sony, Samsung dissolve liquid crystal display panel joint venture
  Japan’s Sony and South Korean rival Samsung are dissolving their joint venture in liquid crystal display panels as Sony tries to stanch years of losses in its TV business.
  
  
  
• Sony to sell LCD venture stake to Samsung for $940 million
  December 26, 2011
  TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Sony Corp has agreed to sell its nearly 50 percent stake in an LCD joint venture with Samsung Electronics to the South Korean company for $940 million, as it struggles to reduce huge losses at its TV business.

  

  
  
• China tests 500 km/h super high-speed train
  December 26, 2011
  BEIJING (Reuters) - China launched a super-rapid test train over the weekend which is capable of travelling 500 kilometers per hour, state media said on Monday, as the country moves ahead with its railway ambitions despite serious problems on its high-speed network.

  

  
  
• Christmas Cheer For 3G Telcos
  December 26, 2011
  TDSAT stays DoT's 3G roaming ban, mobile operators relieved.

  
  
  
  
• DoT Proposes, TDSAT Disposes!
  December 26, 2011
  Stays 3G roaming ban, mobile operators relieved.

  
  
  
  
• Best Features of Apple - Ipad 2
  Now with iOS and iCloud, it just got even harder to put down. starting at $499.
  
  
  
• What tech toys did Santa bring you in 2011?
  December 26, 2011
  Tell us what new gadgets you and your family unwrapped this Christmas!