Orkut Gets New Version

Google seems to have had enough of Facebook’s meteoric rise and has now sprung into action with a host of new design changes to its social networking website, Orkut.
The website, which has been in the decline for the past few months, will see a lot of new features and a drastic change in the looks. The “refreshing new look” of Orkut is based on the Google Web Toolkit (GWT) infrastructure and will include the ability to discover friends automatically, video chat integrated with Google Talk, ability to upload photos in bulk very quickly, add/view photos and videos in-line, and a more interactive activity stream, says Google.

The activity stream looks like a status message update functionality on the lines of Twitter and Facebook. Other new additions include video testimonials and of course applications

, which seems to have not taken off much — especially when compared with Facebook. The aforementioned activity stream has the option for comments as well – quite similar to the Facebook update feature – even visually!

Orkut, in its previous avatar, was notorious for its insecurity. The new version claims to be a lot safer and there will be customized mobile versions too for the iPhone, S60 and J2MEplatforms. Orkut also sees a neater integration with other Google services with the typical “Google bar” at the top of the site. This allows quick access to other Google services. Until now, Orkut looked like a Google outcast with no links to other Google services on the homepage – with the only Google indication being the integrated Gtalk and the occasional Chrome advertisements.

The new Orkut is being rolled out to a select few users initially. These selected few can invite others to experience the new Orkut. Orkut has a community for those who wish to take a preview of the new version and where you can list yourselves to be invited. Click here for more on that. The new version of Orkut with the new features certainly looks promising. However, will this be enough to stop the Facebook juggernaut that is taking over India? We will soon find out!

How To Install Microsoft Windows 7

Microsoft’s long-awaited successor to Vista — Windows 7 is finally here. The long wait hasn’t stopped early adopters all over the world from grabbing the beta, the release candidate and the RTM code. But if you’re just getting your hands on the new operating system, and need help with the installation, we’ll walk you through it.As superior as Windows 7 is to Vista, Windows 7’s setup process is closer to Vista’s than anything else. The installer uses the same accelerated setup system that Vista introduced, which shaves installation time down to as little as fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the system in question. Many of the same procedures and prompts have also been carried over.

If you’re approaching 7 from the XP side of things — that is, if you chose to skip Vista entirely — things may be a bit unfamiliar. To that end we’ve created this walkthrough, which provides visual details for both upgrades and fresh installs. This way you can get step-by-step guidance whether you’re starting anew or upgrading an existing copy of Vista.

Before you get started, the usual precautions apply. Back up any user data that’s on the system; make sure you have any device drivers needed for at least the first phase of installation (mass storage controllers, generally); don’t attempt to do this in the middle of a day when you plan on getting other work done.

When you’re ready to begin, simply see the pictures below:

Is the Mysterious Facebook Virus Indian?

A virus that seems to change some information in your Facebook account has been making rounds since yesterday. The “Vidyartha” virus, as it is known, seems pretty harmless. But, is it really a virus? That’s still being researched.

In the meantime, we did our own little research and found out that while the name “Vidyartha” may sound Indian, the Vidyartha College is actually an institution down south in Sri Lanka and apparently, if some reports are to be believed, some users have seen their school name being changed to that of this institution – automatically. And so far, that is precisely what this virus has been doing.

All this seems to be just sketchy information as of now. Having checked a few Facebook accounts, we did not find anything amiss. However, if you have been affected by this issue, all you can do for now is to wait and look for an official statement from Facebook regarding this. As of now, we are unsure if this is an attack or a simple bug. This “issue” as mentioned earlier was first yesterday and has since then spread its wings quite fast.

Thankfully, not all Facebook accounts have been affected and since we are unsure how widespread this issue is, all we can say to wait and watch how this one actually ends up. Watch this space for more!

Indian Telecom Sector

Highly divided Indian mobile handsets market is getting more players. Most of  them are Chinese and they are targeting the market left by grey market-sold, Non IMEI handsets, banned by Indian Govt due to security concern. Last to death-line for banning such handset is scheduled at Decemeber 1, 2009.

Worth Rs 26,000 crore Indian mobile handset market is mainly dominated by branded phones from Finland-headquatered Nokia (more than 50%),  Sony Ericsson,  Samsung,  LG and Motorola. Apart from these high profile handset makers, some major brands like HTC, Haier, Bleu, Spice, Videocon, Philips and some smaller brands like Simoco, Kyocera, Sagem, Micromax, Fly, Huawei, Xenitis, GeePee, Usha also peep into this market.

RIM’s Blackberry services are offered on country’s most networks like Airtel, Reliance (CDMA & GSM), Vodafone, Tata Tele(CDMA & GSM), BSNL, MTNL, Idea, Aircel. And last but not the least, Apple’s iPhone also reached India via Airtel and Vodafone.

Some months ago, Essar Group entered the handset market via its The Mobile Store retail chain, introducing China-made ‘Ray’ branded mobiles, while TCL Corp launched its Alcatel branded handsets through The Mobile Store.

Unbranded Chinese handsets are popular to price-conscious Indians, as those offers high-end features at comparative low prices. At the same time these cheap handsets also have demerits to their own – no service center and no warranty, and if it stops working, it is really hard to get parts n chips to repair. And the lack of International Mobile Equipment Identity numbers in unbranded handsets makes them non-traceable and creates security concerns.As a good percentage of people are using it, mobile operator are not likely to bar services, rather they want to implant a IMEI no to such handsets.

Chinese vendors are specialized in CDMA sector mostly, as a result equipment suppliers ZTE and Huawei already entered to India’s telecommunications market. ZTE, ranked among the top six mobile vendors globally has been selected by Russian telecom giant Sistema, which has partnered with Shyam Telelink, as a vendor for its pan-India roll-out of CDMA network. ZTE has sold over 25 million handsets in India through operators such as Reliance Communications, BSNL, Tata Teleservices and Vodafone. Now ZTE targets GSM handset market in India also.

Tata DOCOMO present Unlimited Internet Browsing

Tata has once again created a new race among the telecom providers with the unveiling of unlimited internet browsing from the handset. Tata DOCOMO, with its seamless internet browsing plan, enables customers to be in touch with information 24X7. Tata DOCOMO has plans for launching two unlimited GPRS packages. These packages, which are offered at Rs 15 and Rs 95 for the prepaid subscribers, provide unlimited connectivity over the internet.

The Rs. 15 GPRS pack comes with a validity of 3 days whereas the Rs 95 pack come with 30 days of validity. The latter pack provides access to internet via PC and laptop. While on roaming, on both the packs the user will be charged 10paisa for 10KB.

Once the user gets the GPRS pack, he has to save the settings to use the internet.To get Internet settings SMS INTERNET to 52270 (toll free on TATA DOCOMO HOME & CHARGED Rs.3 for the non- DOCOMO Network) and save them as default settings.

RCom launches GSM mobile numbers starting with ‘8′ in Delhi

Reliance Communications on Wednesday rolled out its new GSM mobile number series beginning with ‘8′ instead of the usual ‘9′ in Delhi-NCR circle.

The new series numbers of ‘8010xxxxxx’ would be available on both GSM pre-paid and post-paid platforms, a company statement said.

For over 15 years, India has been using mobile numbers starting with ‘9xxxxxxxx’. But with the phenomenal growth in the mobile telephony with over one crore subscribers being added every month, the DoT is facing exhaustion of the 10-digit mobile numbers.
It is exploring various options like converting the Unique Identity Number (UID) into mobile number as well as introduction of 11-12 digit numbers.

RCom is learnt to have got approval for using the series 8 in Maharashtra and Goa also.