A ‘floating‘ stand for your laptop

TwelveSouth's new Ghost Stand is a Houdini for your MacBook-the clear lucite computer stand looks like it has suspended your laptop in mid-air. 

Inspired by designer Philippe Starck's Ghost Chair, the $35 platform is available starting today. It works for MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros. The stand levitates your MacBook six inches above your desk, to give you more room to work comfortably with a wireless mouse and a different keyboard, or maybe a second monitor.

Plus, it's nice and modern and unobtrusive, with two silicone rails that will keep your laptop securely attached to the seemingly floating stand. Magic.

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Android security apps that don‘t drain your device‘s battery

If you've been thinking about installing a mobile security tool for your Android phone or tablet but you're worried about the impact it may have on your battery, the folks at AV-Comparatives have some good news for you. They tested 16 different mobile antivirus apps, and none of them seriously drained the battery. 

AV-Comparatives tested 16 different products, including some of the most reputable names in mobile security like Lookout, ESET, Sophos, Kaspersky, Trend Micro, F-Secure, and Avast!, among others. They put each suite through its paces, testing to see if it caught all of the over 3,000 malware applications they tried to slip past it, and how much battery drain each app was responsible for. Maximum PC explains: 

Surprisingly, there wasn't a whole lot that separated one product from another. Starting with a look at battery usage, AV-Comparatives found that most of the products only had a minor impact on battery life. The worst offenders in this category were Qihoo and Webroot, the former because it uses "fancy animations" and the latter due to its real-time protection component. Though they came in last, the battery drain still only amounted to around 3%. 

When it came to testing malware protection, AhnLab and Kingsoft both detected 99.9% of the nearly 3,000 malware applications that were collected in the four weeks prior to the start of the test. Kaspersky came in a close second at 99.7%, followed by Baidu and ESET (both detected 99.6%), Bitdefender (99.4%), and Avast (99%). Several others scored in the 98 percentile, while Ikarus took last place with a 91% detection rate.
AV-Comparatives concludes that the days when the value of mobile security apps was questionable at best is long over, and the threats facing mobile devices (specifically Android users) are significant enough that "mobile security software protects the user against the great majority of threats, and should not, in our opinion, be regarded as merely optional." 

You can see how each of the products fared in the chart above. Keep in mind that many of the suites may not be available in your market because they were designed for other countries (and to catch malware threats more prevalent in other regions). Even so, if you've wondered whether Android antivirus would come into its own, it has-and if you were worried about your battery, don't. Hit the link below to read the full report.

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HP launches new EliteBook and Probook

Hewlett Packard (HP) launched new notebooks targeted at professional users. The company introduced EliteBook Revolve 810 and ProBook 430 G1 in India. While the Elitebook has a starting price of Rs 90,000, the Probook will cost at least Rs 39,000.

Both laptops are powered by Windows 8.

Elitebook Revolve 810 is sleeker and more portable of the two. It weighs just 1.36kgs and has an 11.6-inch touchscreen. The screen resolution is, however, rather low at 1366 x 768 pixels. It is a convertible laptop and its screen can be swiveled. It can also be laid flat on the keyboard, turning the laptop into a Windows 8 tablet. The device is powered by 3rd generation Core i processor and can be configured to have as much as 12GB RAM.

Elitebook Revolve also has a premium design and finish. It uses a Gorilla glass cover on the screen and has a body made of magnesium alloy.

ProBook 430 G1 is a mainstream laptop. HP said that the device is powered by 4th generation Core I processor. It has a 13.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Sunish Raghavan, who looks after commercial notebook division at HP India, said that this laptop will be available in several configurations. Buyers will have choice to opt from Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors. They will also be able to able to choose between a hard disk and a solid state drive and have option of getting up to 16GB RAM.

"People who want web connectivity on will have option to buy the version of ProBook 430 G1 that offers inbuilt support for 3G connection," said Raghavan.

The ProBook weighs 1.50kg. "Professionals today demand zero-compromise productivity and extreme mobility in a computer, and HP offers the best solution with Elitebook Revolve and ProBook 430," said Raghavan.

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BYOD, phablet make it to Oxford dictionary

Twerk (dancing to popular music in a provocative manner), Tweet, FOMO (fear of missing out) and flash mob (a group of people breaking into an impromptu jig) are some of the latest entries in the Oxford dictionary. FIL (father-in-law ) too is an official word and so is food baby (a big protruding stomach caused by eating street food). 
Also finding place in the latest edition of the dictionary are many abbreviations like 'BYOD' (bring your own device), 'srsly' (seriously ), srsly TL;DR (seriously too long, didn't read), LDR (long-distance relationship ) and apols (apologies) among others. 
'Phablet' (a smartphone with a screen size smaller than a tablet) also gets an official tag as technology and everyday lingo influenced the list of words added. 
Selfie — a camera phone self-portrait posted online, digital detox (time spent offline ) and digital currency (Bitcoin) have now been included in the new dictionary. 
It is estimated that annually, 1.8 billion new words are thrown in, but just around 1,000 of them actually make it to the dictionary. 
Spokeswoman of the dictionary Katherine Connor Martin said the word "twerk" has been around for 20 years but has generated enough evidence of usage to be added to its online dictionaries with American pop star Miley Cyrus hitting headlines this week for "twerking" at the MTV Video Music Awards.

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Space laser to take increased broadband beyond Earth

NASA's new mission is going to attempt to show that two-way laser communication beyond Earth is possible, which expandes the possibility of transmitting huge amounts of data.

This new ability could one day allow for 3-D High Definition video transmissions in deep space to become routine.

Don Cornwell, Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) manager, said that the goal of the (LLCD) experiment is to validate and build confidence in this technology so that future missions will consider using it.

He said that this unique ability developed by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory), hasincredible application possibilities and we are very excited to get this instrument off the ground.

LLCD is NASA's first dedicated system for two-way communication using laser instead of radio waves.

Cornwell said that LLCD is designed to send six times more data from the moon using a smaller transmitter with 25 percent less power as compared to the equivalent state-of-the-art radio (RF) system and lasers are also more secure and less susceptible to interference and jamming.

The LLCD experiment is hosted aboard NASA's LADEE: a 100-day robotic mission designed, built, integrated, tested and will be operated by Ames.

LLCD's main mission objective is to transmit hundreds of millions of bits of data per second from the moon to Earth.

NASA engineers believe this technology becomes even more advantageous for communications beyond Earth's orbit.

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TechM: Joy of a depreciating rupee is very short-term

In an interview with ET NOW, Vineet Nayyar, executive vice-chairman, Tech Mahindra, talks about business environment and strategy. Excerpts:


ET Now: The fall in rupee certainly is a blessing in disguise for you. Your stock has hit an all-time high, your profitability will only increase and markets love our stock now.

Vineet Nayyar: There are two aspects to it - one, the stock doing well; second, the issue of this fortuitous windfall in terms of the currency movement. 

For every 1% increase or decrease in dollar-rupee, there is only 0.30 or 0.25 as the final impact, which though is not insignificant, but gets priced in very quickly, because of intense competition. Most of the Indian companies are competing with each other and both have the same advantage or disadvantage. Yes, you will see an increase in profitability over one or two quarters, but then you will start seeing a dip as the markets adjust to the new reality. 

ET Now: Rupee depreciation also leads to certain problems like pricing future projects and hedging. How are you dealing with these issues? 

Vineet Nayyar: The current volatility is symptomatic of significant malaises in the economy and therefore that is far more worrisome than windfall profits or windfall losses which may arise for certain industries. Unless we don't repair the fundamentals which have gone awry, or till the fiscal deficit which is aggravating and the balance of payment deficit are rectified, the economy will continue to remain fragile. 

ET Now: Have your clients renegotiated your billing rates or they do not bother about what is happening to the currency, they are only bothered about delivery and quality of service? 

Vineet Nayyar: Delivery and quality of services is taken for granted. However, the world, be it Europe or the US, or even Asia, is facing huge economic pressures and it has already started renegotiating. Since the currency is now cheaper, the Indian industry is responding to it. Therefore, this joy of a depreciating rupee, if you can call it a joy, is very short term. 

ET Now: Do you think that demand is improving substantially when it comes to regions like the US and Europe? 

Vineet Nayyar: Yes, there is an uptick in demand because those economies, especially in Europe, are readjusting their cost base and increasingly looking towards India for a solution in bringing down the cost. Secondly, they are asking us to employ on their staff so that they do not have a negative employment issues arising. Indian Industry will also have to readjust and become truly global, not only in terms of clients, but in terms of employees. Therefore, we will still bring about cost effectiveness but we will learn to work with multinational employees globally as we go forward. 

ET Now: So one should not get excited about buying into IT stocks because rupee has depreciated and you think markets are pricing in a lot of euphoria? 

Vineet Nayyar: I do not speculate on what market does. All I am telling you is that the fundamentals of economics always remain constant. If a certain cost comes down, then it is equalised over a period of time in pricing. That has happened in every industry, and will happen here also. The laws of economics do not change. 

ET Now: You have mentioned post your earnings that you are pursuing four contracts which are about $50 million-plus. Has anything materialized? When can we expect these orders to be reflected in you order book? 

Vineet Nayyar: The negotiations are on and we are cautiously optimistic. We would not have announced it to the industry if we were not in that state of mind. Does that mean something can go wrong? Yes, it can go wrong, but there are good chances that we will come through. 

ET Now: Your margins are above 21% and because of the rupee tailwind, can I safely assume that the margin trajectory is certainly headed higher? 

Vineet Nayyar: In the short term, there will be an uptick. Yes, one can enjoy the moment, but one should never lose sight of the fundamentals. 

ET Now: On a combined entity basis after the merger, are you confident that for FY14 you will be able to grow higher than what Nasscom has projected for FY14? 
Vineet Nayyar: That would be giving guidance. 

ET Now: If Nasscom is a benchmark, will you grow higher than the industry average or will you go lower than the industry average? 

Vineet Nayyar: We do not give guidance. I would not wish to speculate, but the story will unfold itself as it always does. 

ET Now: Many experts are of the view that your dependence on telecom is going to go down dramatically and that will be the big game-changing move for you. 

Vineet Nayyar: Firstly, I am not apologetic about our dependence on telecom. We are the leaders in telecom and there is not a single large RFP which comes out globally to which we are not invited to join. We are now seen on a par with the absolute top-tier global technology companies, when it comes to telecom. I would not call it dependence, just that in this vector we will continue to grow. 

Yes, on the enterprise side, which came through Satyam, we have been able to diversify the portfolio. Therefore, the vicissitudes of a particular sector will not have such a large impact. Consequently, we have a balanced output, which cushions itself against sectoral ups and downs and to that extent it is a plus. But net-net, I expect telecom to grow as rigorously as enterprise. 

ET Now: Any update on Polaris's service division acquisition? Are you still in race? 

Vineet Nayyar: I have heard the name somewhere, but at this moment I would not like to comment.

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Nokia 515 feature phone with aluminium body launched

Nokia's feature phone portfolio has got a new addition, Nokia 515. The all-new Nokia 515 has been built from a single piece of anodized, sandblasted aluminium.

The feature phone features a 2.4-inch QVGA display with 240x320 pixels and boasts a pixel density of 166ppi while also possessing the scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 2 for protection. It measures 114x48x11mm and weighs 101.1gm for single SIM and 102.7 gm for dual-SIM variant. The phone comes with 64MB RAM and an internal memory of 256 MB which can be expanded up to 32 GB via microSD card.

Nokia 515 has a 5MP rear camera with LED flash. The phone also offers some smart features like voice-guided self-portrait for taking self-shots with the rear camera, Sequential shots and Panorama.

In terms of connectivity options, the Nokia 515 offers Bluetooth, EDGE, GPRS, Micro-USB and 3G, but no WiFi. It supports Micro-SIM instead of the regular SIM. The phone supports 3.5G HSDPA internet and also comes with some pre-loaded apps like Facebook, Twitter, Nimbuzz and Mail for Exchange that allows users people to check work email and sync their calendars and contacts.

The phone is slated to be available in two versions of single and Easy Swap dual-SIM.

The Nokia 515 would be rolling out globally in September into markets like Russia, Germany, Switzerland and Poland. It will have a suggested retail price of $149 before taxes and subsidies.

In India, the dual version of the phone is expected to hit the market as it has been listed on the company's India website. There is, however, no confirmation of the phone's price and availability.

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