University of Manchester

Try this exercise when you have a few minutes to spare. Type the term 'wonder material' on Google and see what you get. 5 or 6 years back you would have ended up with an assorted list, not at all wondrous and some of them even fancies of marginal scientists and inventors. Now you will have to go way down in the list of search results to spot anything other than one substance, graphene. Microsoft Office would still tell you that you are spelling the word wrong, as the program confuses it with the word 'grapheme' used in linguistics, but material graphene has set the world's laboratories on fire. It will soon start restructuring major industries worth several hundred billion dollars. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms networked in a honeycomb structure. It is super strong and super thin, and shows extraordinary electric and optical properties.

Discovered only in 2004, graphene has been used already in labs to make transistors, memory devices, transparent and flexible displays, high capacity batteries, solar cells, energy storage devices and several other things. These devices show remarkable properties when compared to what we use now, but graphene manufacturing technology has to develop over the next few years before they make it to the commercial world. "I am surprised at the pace of development of graphene-based devices," says Konstantin Novoselov, professor of physics at the University of Manchester, and a co-discoverer. "It is because quite a few scientists are now working on the material."

Novoselov and his former professor Andre Geim, also of Manchester University, had won the Physics Nobel Prize last year for their discovery. The duo now continues to be a rich source of new grapheme science and technology. Last week they published the results of research that showed ways of using graphene to convert light into electric pulses at high speeds, a development that could result in better solar cells and 10-100 times faster Internet. Their paper was among the many in recent times that described exciting developments in the world of graphene, as scientists and engineers started moving basic research into lab-scale development. "Over 200 patents have been granted on graphene since its discovery," says Ajay Sood, professor of physics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. "This shows the extent of commercial interest in the material." Sood himself has made transistors and memory devices using graphene. Although graphene is unlikely to replace silicon in transistors in the near future, graphene-based transistors are lightning fast when compared to the silicon-based ones that computers use now. Two months ago, in an important step towards developing commercial grapheme devices, IBM demonstrated a graphene-based integrated circuit (IC) that worked at frequencies of 10 gigahertz. Graphene could give us chips that work at terahertz (1000 gigahertz) frequencies, and is a replacement for silicon. IBM had made an isolated graphene transistor last year working at 100 gigahertz, but this time it had shown how to connect it with other materials in a broadband mixer, a basic component of radios. Novoselov and Geim first made graphene by peeling off thin layers of carbon from graphite using scotch tape, after others failed to do so using advanced equipment and large sums of money.

Developing Solutions IT services - developing solutions

International Business Machines Corporation, the world's largest tech services company, has renegotiated its outsourcing contract with Vodafone Essar and signed an extended deal estimated at around $1 billion to manage IT systems for the country's third-biggest phone firm till 2017. In 2007, Vodafone had signed an over $400-million, 5-year outsourcing contract with International Business Machines Corporation. The contract was to expire next year. According to at least three people, one of whom was part of the negotiations, both the companies agreed to restructure the contract last month estimated at $800 million-1 billion. When contacted by ET, a Vodafone Essar spokesman confirmed that the contract with International Business Machines Corporation had been renewed but declined to share the exact value of the deal. "The deal could have come up for renewal late this year if this agreement was not reached - it completely ruled out any opportunity for rival bidders," said one of the executives familiar with the contract. He requested anonymity. According to research firm Gartner, India's IT services market will reach $9.5 billion this year, an 18% rise over 2010 revenues of $7.6 billion. The country's domestic IT services Industry ranks third in Asia Pacific and is forecast to grow to $15 billion by the end of 2014. Over the past 19 years, IBM has been slowly and quietly moving to control India's lucrative domestic IT business in the backyard of the country's top technology companies, which started by writing software codes for helping overseas customers manage the millennium bug during the '90s.

The challenge for International Business Machines Corporation, however, is to increase profitability of these engagements, especially the ones signed with phone companies, which are squeezing costs to cope with falling per-user revenues. Big Blue, a nickname International Business Machines Corporation acquired from its blue-painted mainframe computers of the '60s, now controls over half of the outsourcing business with revenues of around $1.5 billion, in a market that is home to the world's fastest-growing tech firms. Most of this business is from India's domestic market, where International Business Machines Corporation takes over computer hardware, software and IT services functions of customers such as Bharti Airtel. Some of International Business Machines Corporation India revenues also come from developing solutions for government customers such as Indian Railways, which sought the company's help to develop a crew management system last year. With 120,000 employees, which is around one-fourth of its global workforce, International Business Machines Corporation is now one of the top five technology companies in the country in terms of overall revenues, behind TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant and HCL. However, none of the rivals derives more than 15% of its business from Indian customers.

Develop applications for mobile phones

Philips mobile phone After bidding adieu to the Indian mobile phone market five years ago, Philips has stepped back with the launch of its Xenium Philips phones in the lower and mid segments. The Dutch company's brand will be distributed in the Indian market through China's Shenzhen Sang Fei Consumer Communication Co, which had bought Philips' mobile phone business long ago and continues to own the rights to its branding in several markets including India. The Chinese firm manufactures cell phones at its Shenzhen plant, which has a capacity of 15 million phones. "We are extremely optimistic about th e Indian market and are confident to reaching one million sales by March next year. Philips is a trusted brand here and that should help us push the brand," said Tan Jok Tin, CEO and managing director of Shenzhen Sang Fei Consumer Communication Co Ltd. He said the company would bring in its 3G and Philips smart phones by next year and would eventually look at backward integration by entering into services segment to develop applications for mobile phones. "There is a huge talent pool in India, which we will use that to create a complete eco-system for our business," said Tin. Of late, there has been a trend of consumer electronics companies tapping mobile phone market after the success of companies Nokia, Samsung electronic, Ericsson and others. Korean electronics major LG also recently forayed into phone market, which is currently dominated by the Nokia Mobile today. Shenzhen Sang Fei Consumer Communication said it would set up a manufacturing facility in the country once it reached a critical mass of five million sales.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Trai warns telcos on call rates, may intervene : In a stern warning to telecom operators, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman Mr. JS.Sarma on Wednesday said mobile operators could not increase rates at will and the regulator would have to “intervene” to protect the interest of consumers. “We will not allow operators to increase their tariffs at will. We are investigating the matter and if necessary will intervene on the issue,” Mr. JS.Sarma told Business Standard. This means the regulator can bring rates under regulation once again. Currently, the rates are determined by market forces. Mr. JS.Sarma warning came a day after Mr.Sunil Mittal, chairman of the country’s largest telecom company, BhartiAirtel, said a further increase in rates was inevitable as costs were rising. “The pressure on the industry will be acute, as operators will have to serve rural markets, as well as low-end customers, who use only voice calls and SMSes.” Mr.Sunil Mittal had said in an industry conference in Delhi. The correction in rates was required to compensate the company’s rural operations, as the cost of operations had gone up exponentially, Mr.Sunil Mittal had said. Bharti Airtel has raised rates by over 20 per cent since July across most key circles. Other telecom operators like Tata Teleservices, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications have followed suit.Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indiahas asked operators to give details justifying the increase in rates. Currently, operators have to notifyTelecom Regulatory Authority of Indiafor any change in the rate plan, introduction of new plans and changes in prices within 30 days. This is not the first time that the regulator is closely scrutinising rates. It had sought details from operators in August 2010, when rates hit a rock bottom low to 1 paise per second, amid allegations that new telecom operators were resorting to predatory rates.

Fastest data transfer system

Renesas Electronics Corp. introduces fastest data transfer system the µPD720230, a Universal Serial Bus (USB 3.0) SATA3 bridge system-on-chip (SoC) that enables fast data transfer between a USB3.0 host system and a Serial ATA (SATA) device in external Universal Serial Bus storage equipment. The SoC is said to be the world's first USB 3.0 bridge SoC that supports the UASP (Universal Serial Bus Attached SCSI Protocol) protocol to significantly speed up data throughput for large volumes of data USB storage equipment. In addition to the BOT standard for mass storage devices using USB 2.0, the µPD720230 SoC also supports the UASP protocol standardised in Universal Serial Bus 3.0 for improving the performance limits of the BOT standard. When connected to an SSD that supports 6Gbps SATA3, the µPD720230 device achieves data transfer performance in excess of 370MB/s in UASP mode as verified by the ATTO Disc Benchmark, version 2.46. The µPD720230 USB 3.0 SATA3 SoC is provided in a 48-pin QFN package, incorporates a voltage regulator, and also supports bus power modes, which contribute to miniaturisation of the end products.

Although only two states, the U0 normal state and the U3 suspend state were stipulated in the Universal Serial Bus 2.0 standard, the Universal Serial Bus 3.0 standard also stipulates the U1 and U2 power states to provide even finer-grained suppression of power consumption. The USB 3.0 SATA3 SoC reduces overall power consumption by approximately 40 per cent (when the system is in the idle state) via the new Universal Serial Bus 3.0 U1 and U2 power states, as compared to when stipulating only the U0 and U3 power states. USB 3.0 is capable of supporting data transfer rates of up to 5Gbps, which is 10x faster than the previous version of the standard, Universal Serial Bus 2.0 (currently the mainstream data transfer technology) and therefore easily supports the growing need for increased data-recording media capacities. Therefore, the USB 3.0 can reduce the data transferring time to 10 per cent from that of the USB 2.0 and automatically extends the idle time. As a result, by stipulating the U1 and U2 power states, the new SoC realises even more power conservation effect. Samples of Renesas Electronics' µPD720230 device are available now, priced at Rs.156.95 ($3.5) per unit. Mass production is scheduled to begin in October 2011 with a combined production volume of 5,00,000 units per month expected. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)

Europe biggest consumer electronics fair

Samsung Electronics Co has stopped promoting its new tablet computer at Europe's biggest consumer electronics fair after a court-ordered sales injunction in Germany, the latest setback in its global patent battle with Apple Inc. A Dusseldorf court ordered the South Korean company to stop selling Galaxy Tab 7.7 on Friday when the annual IFA electronics show started in Berlin. The move follows an earlier ban on German sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 by the court in late August until its final ruling on September 9. The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the latest addition to Samsung's range of Galaxy products. It was first unveiled at the show along with 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, which Samsung Electronics hopes to create a new product category with and fill the gap between smart phones and tablets. "The product is not on sale yet but we've decided to respect the court order," Samsung Electronics spokesman Mr.JamesChung said. Samsung Electronics and Apple have been locked in acrimonious battle over smart phones and tablets patents since April as Apple seeks to rein in the growth of Google's Android phones by taking directly aim at the biggest Android vendor, Samsung Electronics. Apple has argued that Samsung had infringed on its patents and the Galaxy line of smart phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its design, look and feel. It is fighting legal battles in the United States as well as Europe, South Korea and Australia. The battle forced Samsung Electronics to delay its tablet sales in Australia twice. Samsung Electronics has counter-sued, arguing Apple infringed its wireless patents. The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is powered by a dual 1.2 GHz processor and uses a 7.7-inch super-bright active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) screen.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched

Want to explore the solar system and follow National Aeronautics and Space Administration space missions in real time? NASA is giving you the chance to through a new interactive Webbased Application tool called Eyes on the Solar System. The space agency said that the tool combines video game technology and National Aeronautics and Space Administration data to create an environment for users to ride along with agency spacecraft as they explore the cosmos. "You are now free to move about the solar system," Blaine Baggett, a manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, said in a statement. “See what National Aeronautics and Space Administration spacecraft see nd where they are right now all without leaving your computer.” By using a mouse and keyboard your computer, online users can zip through space and explore anything that catches their interest in Aeronautics and space. For example, National Aeronautics and Space Administration in August launched a probe called June that will explore Jupiter. Users can follow the Juno spacecraft and look over its “shoulder” to see what it sees and even look ahead to find out what’s ahead on Juno's five-year journey. Users' point of view can alternate from faraway to close-up, and switch from 2-D to 3-D with the aid of 3-D glasses. Users can also travel back in time because Eyes on the Solar System has National Aeronautics and Space Administration data dating from 1950. Download the tool here (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eyes/). A free browser plug-in, available at the site, is required to run it.

SECURITY EXPERTS

SECURITY EXPERTS :-

We've all heard about Trojan horse malware that poses as software you might want to run, phishing scams that send fake e-mail purporting to be from your bank, and identity thieves who can siphon away your money. But an unpleasant new variety of faith-undermining behavior has shown up twice now in recent months: bogus versions of the digital certificates that enable encrypted communications on the Net. How does a bogus certificate hit you where it hurts? Think of the Websites you trust, the ones with the traditional closed lock icon that signifies a secure connection. Fake certificates, in combination with changes to the way in which data is routed around the Internet, can be used to steal passwords and intercept e-mail from use of those websites. The problem is that there are hundreds of organizations called certificate authorities (CAs) that issue certificates, and those organizations may be vulnerable to attack. The certificate authority worry is very real: In March, Comodo issued fake certificates after a successful attack, and in August DigiNotar issued 531 fake certificates for Twitter, Facebook, Google, CIA, and more. Some security experts expect more use of fake certificates, too. In other words, we are running into a breach of trust not just for Websites, but for the organizations set up to to tell us whether we can trust Websites. That's a particularly corrosive type of doubt to have in the back of your mind: it's systemic, with the potential to undermine faith broadly, not just hurt the reputation of one particular website.

The utility of trust : Trust is tremendously useful. It increases the efficiency of transactions, saving time by not requiring every little detail to be verified in advance. It can be hard to establish trust, though. Here's a case in point from my recent move to France: my bank required a phone bill with my new address to prove that I really had moved, and my phone company required a bank statement with my new address before it would give me a subscription. (The situation was more complicated, to be fair, but that procedural deadlock was one very real aspect.) Once the trust is established, though, future transactions get easier. For example, my bank now will send me a replacement debit card or an older bank statement with little fuss. The bank's process is very formal, but I think systems of human interactions naturally incorporate trust more organically. Perhaps it's human nature, in which we evolved to give others the benefit of the doubt to some degree. Perhaps it's that a system with a certain amount of trust is more efficient and spreads more quickly to other people.

The problem is that it's easy to get ahead in the short run if you're willing to abuse trust. The September 11 attacks took advantage of some built-in goodwill in pilot training, aircraft security, and air traffic control. Other examples of abuses: fabricated news stories, fraudulent scientific results, investment funds that are actually Ponzi schemes, and the patron who stiffs the restaurant. If everybody skipped out on paying bills, you can bet that all restaurants would demand payment in advance, but for now, we generally get the flexibility of being able to add dessert and a coffee onto the bill at the end of the meal. Happily, human systems repair themselves because overall the advantages of trust are pretty high, too. The stock market, airline industry, news media, scientific research community, and restaurant business all have surmounted plenty of trust-based challenges.

Hidden tax on the Net : What worries me about the Internet is that it operates at a massive scale and with greater automation. Even though the overall Net will keep on humming, a large number of individuals could suffer. Consequently, we're seeing a gradual rise in technical countermeasures. That means a tax on the Net's use, one way or another. Here's one example: I use Google two-factor authentication, and it's a pain. For one thing, I have to have my phone around to provide a verification code when I log into my account from a new browser. Given that I have two phones, two tablets, three computers, and at least a dozen browsers in regular use, that's a lot of work. Just as inconveniently, two-factor authentication means I have to generate passwords for apps that use Google services--Gmail and Google+ on my Android phones and tablet, Mail on my Mac and iPad, Chrome settings and iTunes-Google sync, and more. I've thought about ditching two-factor authentication on many occasions, but each time I ponder the risks and leave it on.

Likewise, my bank makes me jump through hoops to sign on--but in today's world I grit my teeth and put up with it. When I sign up for new services, I worry that I'm adding one more potential way that some identity thief or fraudster will find a way into my life. Browsers, the gateway to the Web, are on the front lines of this battle. There are encouraging signs here that browser makers are getting more serious. Google has modified Chrome so that for particular domains such as Gmail, it will only use certificates from a short list of certificate authorities it deems solid. That won't stop all abuse, but it was useful enough to flag the DigiNotar problem. Browser makers are also making it harder for add-ons to add themselves without user permission, asking difficult questions about balancing new features' utility and risk. More broadly, Google is pushing the use of secure Web connections, not just for Gmail but also for search.

No longer naïve : This isn't the first time trust took a hit on the Net, of course, and computing systems continuously evolve away from their early, naive designs. Gone are the days when it was possible to break into servers with the username "guest" and an empty password, as described in Cliff Stohl's 1989 book "The Cuckoo's Egg." The trouble is that the Internet is increasingly essential to school, business, politics, and our personal lives. The damages of breaches of trust are worse than ever. It's great that the Net's technologists are responding. But there's no miracle cure here, and malicious hackers are advancing the state of the art at the same time. Governments and armed forces, not just thieves, are getting involved as cyberwar becomes just a facet of ordinary war. It's a great time to be on the Net, and I'm confident that ultimately it will withstand this current hit to its trustworthiness. But the time being, I'm keeping the annoying, heavy-duty Google authentication.