Doordarshan, All India Radio apps coming soon

If you have enjoyed shows on Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) in the past, and have since moved on to present-day digital technology, here’s some pleasant news for you. The Times of India reports that Prasar Bharati is looking to introduce mobile applications for both DD and AIR to bring news and entertainment to its ardent users. In addition to that, the apps reportedly will also allow users to access rare archival material on their mobile devices. The apps are expected to be available in the next six months.

An interesting move, the apps are likely to get the youth acquainted to the rich content on both DD and AIR. It will also make it easier for connoisseurs to access the content of their choice on the go. The entities are already popular on the Internet. Both have a presence on Twitter and Doordarshan National (DD1) has a decent subscriber base on YouTube. On Twitter, Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) boasts of an impressive number of followers. 

A person familiar with the development told the publication that the apps for news service would be a priority. The public broadcaster, he said, has a credible network spanning across the country, which it would put to good use in making these apps. "It has the potential of creating its own niche amid the private news broadcasters," he said. 

The nation’s largest public broadcaster may offer its rare archived and digitised content to users via subscription. Once implemented, it reportedly expects to earn ad revenue to the tune of Rs 200 crores.

28 'Super 30' students crack IIT-JEE entrance

                                 "Super 30"

Carrying forward its legacy, 28 out of the 30 students of 'Super 30' institute have cracked the prestigious IIT entrance examination, results of which were declared on Friday.

'Super 30', a brainchild of noted mathematician Anand Kumar founded in 2002, provides free-of-cost IIT coaching to students belonging to economically weaker sections of the society.

The results of which was declared on Friday evening.

The students are also provided with free fooding and lodging.

"The 28 students of Super 30 who cleared the IIT-JEE (Advanced) are all children who belong to deprived section of the society," Kumar said.

"Many a time my family had to go without food," said an emotional Rampyare, a labourer from Uttar Pradesh whose son Bhanu made it to the IITs with the help of 'Super 30'.

Pranav Kumar from Samastipur, son a landless farmer, was also among the 28 lucky students along with Ankit from Hajipur, who lost his father last year in a road mishap, and Abhishek Kumar, whose father is a mechanic.

"Somehow, I got to know of Super 30 and managed to clear its screening test. Here, I seemed to have found my new father, as Anand Sir and his family looked after me in such a way that I never felt like being away from home," Ankit said.

To prep against a massive asteroid strike, NASA wants India's help

Vienna: Saving humanity from a mega-asteroid strike could be the next big effort in co-operation between USA and India.

The American space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is looking to actively co-operate with India on how best to avert the possibility of humans getting wiped out if a large asteroid were to strike the Earth.

Memories of a big meteorite striking Russia in spectacular fashion on February 15, which injured 1,500 people, are still very fresh.

People standing near a six-metre hole in the ice of a frozen lake, reportedly the site of a meteor fall in February, outside Chebakul town in Russia (AFP photo)

Speaking exclusively to NDTV's Science Editor Pallava Bagla in Vienna, NASA chief and former astronaut Charles Bolden said the asteroid issue will be high on his agenda when he visits India next week as part of the large delegation being led by Secretary of State John Kerry for the Indo-US strategic dialogue to be held in New Delhi.

Mr Bolden will consult in detail with K Radhakrishnan, the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), about how to develop technology "to move a civilisation-killer out of a collision course" with Earth.

Mr Bolden said "humanity should not go down the route of dinosaurs", which are known to have been wiped out when a giant asteroid struck the Earth. This generated a huge dust column, which blocked out sunshine for a long period, making dinosaurs extinct.

NASA has been mandated by US President Barrack Obama to examine the possibility of landing humans on an asteroid in the next decade and humans on Mars in the next 25 years.

But before undertaking the next human space flight, NASA hopes to polish its skills with full international collaboration on how to nudge a small asteroid that could be on collision course with the Earth.

Mr Bolden says by 2018, it will launch a $2 billion mission to gently nudge a small 500 metric tonne asteroid by "capturing it and redirecting it away from Earth towards the moon."

ISRO has already announced that it wants to launch an unmanned mission to closely study an asteroid soon.

NASA and ISRO co-operated successfully for India's maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1. In 2008, their collaborative efforts led to the first clinching evidence of the presence of water on the moon.

Smart watch that alerts you if you're too drunk to drive

Too drunk to drive? Your watch can 

tell!

Engineers have developed a new watch, with a built-in breathalyser, that warns you when you're too drunk to drive.

The Kisai Intoxicated's sensor is made from stainless steel and features an LCD display.

It reads the alcohol level in your breath and judges if you're too tipsy to climb behind the wheel.

Users have to simply blow into the side of the watch after boozing and the screen turns red if they're over the limit.

"The display on the right of the screen shows 10 different levels of blood alcohol content. A green display showing 0.00 percent means you're sober. A yellow display showing between 0.41 and 0.60 percent means you're buzzing. A red display showing 0.61 percent or above means you're drunk," according to TokyoFlash, the Japanese makers of the watch.

The snazzy-looking digital watch even features a sobriety game that lets you test your reaction time between drinks, The Sun reported.

The gadget will cost 65 pounds. It uses a rechargeable battery which takes 3 hours to charge. Based on average use of the breathalyser, the battery should last for one month on one charge and has a lifetime of over 300 charges.

As well as an integrated breathalyser, the watch has date, time and also an alarm mode.

Samsung Ativ Q tablet cum PC hybrid launched with Android and Windows 8 dual-boot support

Samsung has launched a dual OS hybrid tablet cum PC called Ativ Q.

Samsung Ativ Q is a 13.3-inch hybrid tablet cum PC. The device has a thickness of 13.9 mm and weighs 1.29 kgs. It also comes with a qHD+ display that has a resolution of 1800x3200 pixels. The hybrid is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor. The device comes with a 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD storage. It also has a 720p HD camera on-board. In terms of ports, the Ativ Q comes with one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, an HDMI port, a headphone/ microphone combination jack and a microSD card slot.

The device comes with both Windows 8 and Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 operating systems onboard, giving users the option to choose which OS to boot into. It also gives you the ability to pin an Android application to the Windows 8 start screen, providing some kind of integration between the two operating systems.

In terms of the physical build of the tablet, the slider format with the keyboard makes it similar to Sony's Vaio Duo 13. There is no touch pad on the keyboard but left and right mouse keys do exist. The mouse is present in the form of a track pad in the centre of the keyboard, similar to how it is placed on the Vaio Duo 13.

The tablet offers S-Pen functionality allowing you to create content using the stylus on the tablet. Samsung has also incorporated Smart Sync functionality into the tablet enabling users to control their smartphones using the Ativ PC. So, your Android smartphone can be somewhere in your bag, while you reply to a text using your computer.

The hinge design of the ATIV Q gives four physical modes to the tablet. One can lay the display flat over the keyboard for tablet mode; raise the display upright to type through the keyboard similar to how you use a laptop; float and adjust the display to a desired viewing angle; or flip the display to place it on a stand mode.

Samsung has not revealed anything about the pricing or the availability of the PC-tablet hybrid as of now.

iWow! First Apple computer could fetch $500,000 or more

One of the first Apple computers ever built goes on the Christie's auction block next week - and it could sell for half a million dollars, or more.

The Apple 1 from 1976 is a forerunner of today's MacBooks, IPads and IPhones.

Ted Perry, a retired school psychologist from California who owns the old Apple, has kept it stashed away in a cardboard box. He says the green piece of plastic covered with memory chips is where the personal computer "revolution" started.

The board was produced by two college dropouts - Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. It first sold for $666.66.

The Apple 1 will be offered online from June 24 to July 9.

Another Apple 1 was sold last month for a record $671,400 by a German auction house.

After Vodafone and Airtel, Idea also cuts 2G data rates by 90 percent

Following Vodafone and Airtel’s example, Idea has also announced a 90 percent slash in its 2G data charges. Airtel was earlier reported to have reduced its data charges to 1p/10KB, while Vodafone was seen reducing its data rates to 2p/10KB.  Idea’s new data charges currently stand at 2p/10KB, which has been reduced from the earlier 2p/KB rate. The new data charges will be applicable from July 1.

In addition, the company has announced that the new tariffs will be applicable for both pre-paid and post-paid 2G plans. The new data charges will be applicable in the Tamil Nadu & Chennai, Karnataka, Kolkata, West Bengal, Assam, North East, Bihar and Orissa circles. The revised rates will be available for pre-paid subscribers for a period of 90 days from the date of activation, and can be recharged for as little as Rs 5-10. The company also stated that the new tariffs will be applied for the pay-as-you-go services in addition to overuse on the regular data packs.

According to RTT News, Idea Cellular had 21.57 million subscribers for its packet data plans as of March 31, 2013, which is a step up from the 18.9 million subscribers in the previous quarter. Out of this, 4.1 million are 3G customers. Overall, data subscribers contribute about 5.7 percent of the telecom company’s service revenue annually.

On Tuesday, Vodafone cut its 2G packet data rates in three operating circles from 10 paise to 2 paise per 10KB, and was soon aped by Bharti Airtel, which cut data tariffs from 10p/10KB to 1p/10KB in two circles.

As of March 31, 2013, Vodafone boasts 37.3 million data users in India, out of which 3.3 million are 3G subscribers. In comparison, Bharti Airtel, which is India's largest telecom company based on the number of subscribers, has 43 million packet data subscribers, out of which 6 million subscribe to its 3G plans.

Facebook rolls out ability to insert images in comments

Aday before its big press event where it has promised to unveil something new and big, Facebook is making some tweaks to its website. The latest tweak will make using Facebook a little more fun for those who think an image is worth a thousand words. The social networking giant is rolling out a feature that allows users to insert images into the comments stream. 

Those who love replying using memes are in for a treat with Facebook’s new move. Using the camera icon in the comment’s panel you can upload an image to the comments section of a status update, Facebook share or any other activity.

You can click on the image in a comment to view a larger version of it in the photo viewer, but you will not be able to comment on it. Pages have not been given this feature just yet, you will only be able to comment on your friends’ status messages or group posts.

Users will also not be able to use this feature on the mobile web, iOS and Android apps yet. They can, however, view the image replies. We’re sure Facebook will slowly roll this one out to mobiles soon, as this seems like a fun tool that will make conversations of the social network livelier. Sadly, GIFs are not supported by this feature. Hopefully, Facebook will add support for those too. Doing this will turn the network into a mini-Tumblr of sorts. 

Facebook has already rolled out threaded replies to pages and image comments will only go on to enhance conversations, especially for brands and other entities who have pages. As of now on Facebook pages you can only share a link to an image in the comments, and the image will show up as a thumbnail.  

Aping Vodafone, Airtel slashes prepaid 2G rates by 90 percent in Punjab, Haryana

A day after Vodafone announced a drastic 80 percent price cut in tariff for its data customers in some circles, it is Airtel’s turn to slash prices. Bharti Airtel has reduced data usage charges by a massive 90 percent in some circles, firing a new salvo in the telecom battle.

These subsidised rates will not be available to Airtel users across the country, but only certain circles like Punjab and Haryana. Another catch here is that only customers with prepaid connections will be able to take advantage of these slashed rates. Post-paid customers will have to continue paying the same amount to access the web on their phones.

The low-rate recharges will be available in three denominations – Rs 22 for download limit of 125MB for five days, Rs 25 for 150MB lasting a week and Rs 125 for a download cap of 1GB for 28 days. After users have exhausted the download limit, they will be charged 1p/10KB of data, subsidised from 10p/10KB of data. 

Airtel has also increased the validity of data vouchers now. Vouchers worth Rs 22 and 25 will last you a month and the one that costs Rs 125 will be valid for three months. It must be noted that this offer is only valid for customers in Airtel’s Punjab and Haryana circles. Airtel has not mentioned whether this offer will roll out in other circles at a later time. 

Vodafone’s slashed rates on the other hand are applicable to subscribers in Karnataka, UP West and Madhya Pradesh as well as Chhatisgarh circles and are to be rolled out nationally in phases. The 80 percent cut for Vodafone will be available to both prepaid and postpaid data customers. The rate cut of 2p/10KB from 10p/10KB will serve mobile web customers a happy lot.

60,000 stranded in Uttarakhand, more than 100 dead

New Delhi:  With the weather improving after days of 

torrential rainfall, rescue operations are in full swing in

 Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. 60,000 people remain

 stranded; 102 have been killed.

Uttarakhand rescue operations are among army's largest ever

1. At least 102 people have been killed in Uttarakhand. Of these, 50 have died near the famous Kedarnath temple. "It is feared that loss of lives could eventually be much higher," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today after surveying the ravaged areas by helicopter today. (Read PM's full statement)
2. More than 10,000 people have been rescued in efforts led by the army, the PM added. More than 5000 people remain stranded in the Kedarnath region and another 15,000 are stuck in Badrinath and nearby areas. (Pics: Army called in for relief)
3. PM has announced Rs. 1,000 crore relief package for Uttarakhand. He also announced Rs. 2 lakh ex-gratia for families who have lost someone in the floods and financial assistance of Rs. 1 lakh to people who have lost their homes. (Here's how you can help)
4. 22 helicopters are being used to air-lift and help people stranded in areas around Kedarnath, said Junior Home Minister RPN Singh. The army will focus its efforts on Kedarnath tomorrow. Over 6,000 soldiers will be deployed across the affected region by Saturday. (Read: The Army's rescue plans for Kedarnath)
5. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said that the Kedarnath temple, which is covered in mud and slush, has not been damaged, but it will remain off-limits because the area around it has been torn apart. (See pics)
6. 60,000 people are stuck elsewhere in Uttarakhand, many of them pilgrims who wanted to visit the four religious sites or "Char Dham" in the state before the shrines were closed for the monsoon, which arrived two weeks early. 
7. Houses, multi-storied buildings, cars, bridges as well as roads have been swept away or badly damaged after rivers burst their banks. (Share your pics and videos here)
8. The government has suspended the annual Kailash Mansarovar yatra. "The pilgrims have been accommodated in various locations and the route will be opened again after things get normal," an official said.
9. Local officials said 40 relief camps have been set up to provide food, water and other aid to locals and tourists. Air force helicopters from different parts of the state are taking many of those rescued to the camps, with a control centre set up in the holy town of Badrinath. The Uttarakhand government has set up helplines: 0135-2716201, 2710925
10. In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, 25 people have died.