LUCKNOW: A social activist has registered an FIR against Facebook, the US based social networking website and its members for abusing Hindu religion and gods. The FIR accused a Facebook profile of "instigating communal passions" and feared that it could lead to riots in India.
The complaint was lodged by a social activist Nutan Thakur in the civil lines police station of Meerut, under section 66 A of the Information Technology Act 2000.
"Though in my complaint I have named several persons whose comments and names figure in Facebook, lot of them appear to be fake IDs," Nutan told TOI. But, she added, there is a `virtual riot' on the profile of Facebook members of two communities where people post the choicest of abuses against the two religions -- Hinduism and Islam.
The title of this Facebook profile itself is highly inflammatory. In place of the photograph of the person who has created the account, a picture of Hindu gods have been placed with the title three idiots. The remarks from Hindus and Muslims are unprintable. The person who has created the profile has warned of creating such profiles if profiles insulting and abusing Islam were not removed from Facebook. In response to this, people have posted anti-Islam remarks on the profile along with links of websites with equally bad abuses against Islam.
The act, says Thakur, amounts to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of communities and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, assertions prejudicial to national-integration , public nuisance (290 IPC), intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, criminal intimidation and using information technology for these purposes.
Facebook Inc., she added, has been charged with providing the platform for dissemination of all the information and overlooking requests of several saner people to block the profile.
Last month, Thakur along with her IPS husband, Amitabh Thakur, had lodged complaint in Gomtinagar police station of Lucknow against a Faceboook group calling itself "we hate Gandhi". Subsequently, Facebook blocked the profile.
LUCKNOW: A social activist has registered an FIR against Facebook, the US based social networking website and its members for abusing Hindu religion and gods. The FIR accused a Facebook profile of "instigating communal passions" and feared that it could lead to riots in India.
The complaint was lodged by a social activist Nutan Thakur in the civil lines police station of Meerut, under section 66 A of the Information Technology Act 2000.
"Though in my complaint I have named several persons whose comments and names figure in Facebook, lot of them appear to be fake IDs," Nutan told TOI. But, she added, there is a `virtual riot' on the profile of Facebook members of two communities where people post the choicest of abuses against the two religions -- Hinduism and Islam.
The title of this Facebook profile itself is highly inflammatory. In place of the photograph of the person who has created the account, a picture of Hindu gods have been placed with the title three idiots. The remarks from Hindus and Muslims are unprintable. The person who has created the profile has warned of creating such profiles if profiles insulting and abusing Islam were not removed from Facebook. In response to this, people have posted anti-Islam remarks on the profile along with links of websites with equally bad abuses against Islam.
The act, says Thakur, amounts to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of communities and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, assertions prejudicial to national-integration , public nuisance (290 IPC), intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, criminal intimidation and using information technology for these purposes.
Facebook Inc., she added, has been charged with providing the platform for dissemination of all the information and overlooking requests of several saner people to block the profile.
Last month, Thakur along with her IPS husband, Amitabh Thakur, had lodged complaint in Gomtinagar police station of Lucknow against a Faceboook group calling itself "we hate Gandhi". Subsequently, Facebook blocked the profile.
Let’s get this out of the way first: The Nexus S is an excellent phone. It’s not as nice as an iPhone 4 as a complete package. But it’s a great phone on its own merits, and it does even do many things better (connectivity, media-sharing, background processes and notifications). You very well may prefer this to an iPhone, but it is not an iPhone. If you want an iPhone; you should buy an iPhone. Phew. Now g’head flame away.
The tech specs are excellent. (Get your writing sticks out, nerds, because here comes a list.) The Nexus S has a 1-GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, a 4-inch Super AMOLED 800 x 480 display, 16 GB of flash memory, a gyroscope and accelerometer, and two cameras. There’s a 5-megapixel 2560 x 1920 shooter in the back with a flash, and a 640 x 480 front-facing cam for vanity shots. It’s got antennas for GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, Edge, Bluetooth and most intriguing of all, NFC. Got it? Pencils down.
So how does all that work? Let’s start with the Hummingbird processor: It’s fast. Really fast. Apps fire seeming instantly, everything loads well, and we never had an issue with it hanging or stalling to process something. Yet, it does this without being a battery hog. We were very pleased with the performance and power tradeoff.
Battery life is also quite good, assuming you’re using it casually. We pulled out nearly 30 hours of battery life, using it occasionally all day to snap a few photos, browse the web, send e-mails and make an occasional phone call. (And yes, the GPS was turned on.) However, when we really hammered it with heavy internet use, media playback and the in-car navigation function and plenty of apps, we were done in just over five hours. It takes approximately forever (or three hours) to fully charge. We really dug the battery-use feature, which shows not only how much life you’re getting but also exactly how you are spending your power.
The backside camera did fantastic with night shots, so-so shooting into the sun, but in most other respects is more or less average. We were neither amazed nor turned off by it. The frontside camera is a toy. It takes mediocre snaps, that will make fun party pictures, but it’s not exactly built for precious memories. Video was likewise just OK; it’s good but not great.
Where it really shines, however, is in sharing that media. Take a photo or shoot a video, and sending it to YouTube or Picasa, or even Facebook or Dropbox, is a mere three taps away.
The display is great, but it’s not going to blow you away, nor would we describe it as beautiful. Pictures look fantastic, and text is crisp and readable. The screen is bright and colors were largely accurate. You aren’t going to want to hang it on your wall, or dive into it, but in terms of phone displays, it’s solid.
We were thrilled with reception. We had voice and data reception in numerous places in San Francisco where our phone is typically either wobbly, or has no signal. Whether this was the antenna, or T-Mobile’s coverage in San Francisco, we can’t say. But overall, it was a solid experience, and we certainly had better coverage in tough-to-cover spots (subway stations and tunnels, downtown between large buildings and among a sea of other users) than we normally do.
GPS reception was flawless when we had it, but it did have occasional trouble picking up a signal, such as in heavy cloud cover. This was as expected.
The real novelty in the hardware specs is the NFC (near field communication) antenna. Hold the phone near an object with an embedded NFC tag (like certain Google Places window displays) and the phone will recognize and import the tag. At some point, it will be able to transmit tags as well, letting you exchange them with other users. This should make for an interesting way to seamlessly exchange small bits of data. But for now, it’s mostly interesting in theory — you’ll need a lot of luck finding any NFC tags out in the wild.
All of that hardware is crammed into one good-looking phone. The most noticeable and immediate feature is the Contour Display — the parabolic glass in the front that curves slightly to meet your face. It’s a subtle, yet nice-looking feature. It feels substantial in your hand and provides a certainty when held to your face, yet is in no way distracting when you’re using the touchscreen. We loved it. One big nitpick? The audio jack is on the bottom. It’s off-putting.
But the real gravy here is the OS: The phone runs version 2.3 of Google’s Android operating system. Even better, it hasn’t been mucked up by a carrier or hardware manufacturer to add a skin or other enfeebling of the operating system. It’s just Andoid, with no add-ons or takeaways. We love this OS, and it reminds us why phone manufacturers and carriers should quit skinning up Android. Pure Android is Best Android.
And 2.3 is quite an improvement, if somewhat invisible at first. There are a lot of iterative interface enhancements that make it more usable. For example, green-lit indicators let you know what’s running at a glance, a yellow glow indicates you’ve gotten to the bottom of a list, and numerous other small changes make the phone feel instantly familiar. Word selection during text entry has been greatly improved with 2.3, and it’s now easier to edit text you’ve already entered with multitouch to select partial blocks of text. Text selection is for the first time natural, although still not graceful.
Application management is far better in 2.3. One longstanding issue we found with Android phones is that users can easily be confused trying to quit out of an application. (And it’s still confusing! But it’s better.) People end up with a phalanx of apps draining their battery and pinging away at them with notifications. This version of Android adds a dedicated “Manage Apps” option on the home menu. It essentially holds your hand all the way to the kill floor where you can switch off an app, or easily delete it altogether.
And then there are apps. Android apps aren’t nearly as slickly designed as their iOS counterparts, but they’re close. The major social media apps (Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare) were as charming as a debutante. The more sophisticated Android apps, like Layar, remain amazing.
But the cloud apps and internet services are where it’s at. Enter your e-mail address and password, and your Google contacts, calendars and, of course, e-mail all import nearly instantly. If you’re a Google Voice user, your calls and voicemails just start showing up on the new phone as if by magic.
It’s clear that Google’s cloud strategy is a winner. As soon as you enter your Google account information, you’ve got all of its app services—voice, Gmail, YouTube, Picasa, Blogger — quite literally at your fingertips. And cloud services mean more than your Google account. Thanks to Dropbox, Rdio and 1Password all my music, file storage and passwords were just there. The constant trickle of notifications, which don’t announce themselves as rudely or publicly as on an iOS device, gave the phone the feel of something that was simply embedded in the internet. A node on the digital highway.
Once again, overall this is an excellent phone. Certainly it’s running the best version of Android yet, implemented purely, and on first-rate hardware. The operating system could still be more user-friendly and intuitive, but we do not hesitate to recommend this phone.
WIRED Integrated Google services a snap to set up. Wealth of apps. Super speedy processor makes quick work of tasks. Slick-looking, almost symphonic form-factor; Contour Display and hand-friendly backside are a delight to talk to. More deeply connected to the internet than your basement-dwelling, neck-bearded uncle.
TIRED Interface seemingly still designed primarily for dudes who dig binary. Greatly improved multitouch text selection means text editing is now merely horrible instead of atrociously shameful. Autocorrect seemingly programmed by non-native English speaker.
Let’s get this out of the way first: The Nexus S is an excellent phone. It’s not as nice as an iPhone 4 as a complete package. But it’s a great phone on its own merits, and it does even do many things better (connectivity, media-sharing, background processes and notifications). You very well may prefer this to an iPhone, but it is not an iPhone. If you want an iPhone; you should buy an iPhone. Phew. Now g’head flame away.
The tech specs are excellent. (Get your writing sticks out, nerds, because here comes a list.) The Nexus S has a 1-GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, a 4-inch Super AMOLED 800 x 480 display, 16 GB of flash memory, a gyroscope and accelerometer, and two cameras. There’s a 5-megapixel 2560 x 1920 shooter in the back with a flash, and a 640 x 480 front-facing cam for vanity shots. It’s got antennas for GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, Edge, Bluetooth and most intriguing of all, NFC. Got it? Pencils down.
So how does all that work? Let’s start with the Hummingbird processor: It’s fast. Really fast. Apps fire seeming instantly, everything loads well, and we never had an issue with it hanging or stalling to process something. Yet, it does this without being a battery hog. We were very pleased with the performance and power tradeoff.
Battery life is also quite good, assuming you’re using it casually. We pulled out nearly 30 hours of battery life, using it occasionally all day to snap a few photos, browse the web, send e-mails and make an occasional phone call. (And yes, the GPS was turned on.) However, when we really hammered it with heavy internet use, media playback and the in-car navigation function and plenty of apps, we were done in just over five hours. It takes approximately forever (or three hours) to fully charge. We really dug the battery-use feature, which shows not only how much life you’re getting but also exactly how you are spending your power.
The backside camera did fantastic with night shots, so-so shooting into the sun, but in most other respects is more or less average. We were neither amazed nor turned off by it. The frontside camera is a toy. It takes mediocre snaps, that will make fun party pictures, but it’s not exactly built for precious memories. Video was likewise just OK; it’s good but not great.
Where it really shines, however, is in sharing that media. Take a photo or shoot a video, and sending it to YouTube or Picasa, or even Facebook or Dropbox, is a mere three taps away.
The display is great, but it’s not going to blow you away, nor would we describe it as beautiful. Pictures look fantastic, and text is crisp and readable. The screen is bright and colors were largely accurate. You aren’t going to want to hang it on your wall, or dive into it, but in terms of phone displays, it’s solid.
We were thrilled with reception. We had voice and data reception in numerous places in San Francisco where our phone is typically either wobbly, or has no signal. Whether this was the antenna, or T-Mobile’s coverage in San Francisco, we can’t say. But overall, it was a solid experience, and we certainly had better coverage in tough-to-cover spots (subway stations and tunnels, downtown between large buildings and among a sea of other users) than we normally do.
GPS reception was flawless when we had it, but it did have occasional trouble picking up a signal, such as in heavy cloud cover. This was as expected.
The real novelty in the hardware specs is the NFC (near field communication) antenna. Hold the phone near an object with an embedded NFC tag (like certain Google Places window displays) and the phone will recognize and import the tag. At some point, it will be able to transmit tags as well, letting you exchange them with other users. This should make for an interesting way to seamlessly exchange small bits of data. But for now, it’s mostly interesting in theory — you’ll need a lot of luck finding any NFC tags out in the wild.
All of that hardware is crammed into one good-looking phone. The most noticeable and immediate feature is the Contour Display — the parabolic glass in the front that curves slightly to meet your face. It’s a subtle, yet nice-looking feature. It feels substantial in your hand and provides a certainty when held to your face, yet is in no way distracting when you’re using the touchscreen. We loved it. One big nitpick? The audio jack is on the bottom. It’s off-putting.
But the real gravy here is the OS: The phone runs version 2.3 of Google’s Android operating system. Even better, it hasn’t been mucked up by a carrier or hardware manufacturer to add a skin or other enfeebling of the operating system. It’s just Andoid, with no add-ons or takeaways. We love this OS, and it reminds us why phone manufacturers and carriers should quit skinning up Android. Pure Android is Best Android.
And 2.3 is quite an improvement, if somewhat invisible at first. There are a lot of iterative interface enhancements that make it more usable. For example, green-lit indicators let you know what’s running at a glance, a yellow glow indicates you’ve gotten to the bottom of a list, and numerous other small changes make the phone feel instantly familiar. Word selection during text entry has been greatly improved with 2.3, and it’s now easier to edit text you’ve already entered with multitouch to select partial blocks of text. Text selection is for the first time natural, although still not graceful.
Application management is far better in 2.3. One longstanding issue we found with Android phones is that users can easily be confused trying to quit out of an application. (And it’s still confusing! But it’s better.) People end up with a phalanx of apps draining their battery and pinging away at them with notifications. This version of Android adds a dedicated “Manage Apps” option on the home menu. It essentially holds your hand all the way to the kill floor where you can switch off an app, or easily delete it altogether.
And then there are apps. Android apps aren’t nearly as slickly designed as their iOS counterparts, but they’re close. The major social media apps (Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare) were as charming as a debutante. The more sophisticated Android apps, like Layar, remain amazing.
But the cloud apps and internet services are where it’s at. Enter your e-mail address and password, and your Google contacts, calendars and, of course, e-mail all import nearly instantly. If you’re a Google Voice user, your calls and voicemails just start showing up on the new phone as if by magic.
It’s clear that Google’s cloud strategy is a winner. As soon as you enter your Google account information, you’ve got all of its app services—voice, Gmail, YouTube, Picasa, Blogger — quite literally at your fingertips. And cloud services mean more than your Google account. Thanks to Dropbox, Rdio and 1Password all my music, file storage and passwords were just there. The constant trickle of notifications, which don’t announce themselves as rudely or publicly as on an iOS device, gave the phone the feel of something that was simply embedded in the internet. A node on the digital highway.
Once again, overall this is an excellent phone. Certainly it’s running the best version of Android yet, implemented purely, and on first-rate hardware. The operating system could still be more user-friendly and intuitive, but we do not hesitate to recommend this phone.
WIRED Integrated Google services a snap to set up. Wealth of apps. Super speedy processor makes quick work of tasks. Slick-looking, almost symphonic form-factor; Contour Display and hand-friendly backside are a delight to talk to. More deeply connected to the internet than your basement-dwelling, neck-bearded uncle.
TIRED Interface seemingly still designed primarily for dudes who dig binary. Greatly improved multitouch text selection means text editing is now merely horrible instead of atrociously shameful. Autocorrect seemingly programmed by non-native English speaker.
Google's flagship NFC phone, the Nexus S.
Google wants to do away with your wallet.
The Mountain View, California, company is working on a partnership with credit industry giants MasterCard and Citigroup that would allow you to make real-world purchases at stores using your smartphone, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
If the partnership materializes, buying groceries may require little more than a wave of your smartphone across an installed card reader at the checkout counter.
The partnership would allow for cardholders to pay for retail items after activating an app on Android NFC-enabled smartphones. The phones could then be swiped liked credit cards across card readers enabled with near field communication, or NFC, at participating retailers.
As Wired’s Epicenter blog reported earlier Monday morning, Google will begin testing the mobile payments service in key markets — New York and San Francisco — within the next four months. Othertest markets include Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C., according to a report from Bloomberg.
Google would pay for the installation of thousands of NFC terminals in the major cities. The terminals will be built by VeriFone Systems, a manufacturer of point-of-sale electronic payment technologies.
As with many other Google experiments, the push into mobile payments would serve as a loss-leader for the company’s advertising business, sources told the Journal.
Google would be able to offer retailers more data about customers and purchasing habits, while tailoring its ad targeting and promotional offerings to smartphone users. The company isn’t expected to take a cut of the transactions.
The mobile payments initiative faces some challenges. Currently, only one NFC-enabled smartphone is on the market — Google’s Nexus S (above). Samsung’s successor to its popular Galaxy S smartphone, the Galaxy S II, boasts NFC capability, but isn’t slated for release until the summer of 2011.
Also, it’s been difficult to imagine a major disruption of a massive industry like that of the credit industrythat’s already established. One big reason: companies like Visa rely on trunks — shared lines that provide network access to a series of endpoints rather than providing them individually — and leased lines to provide retailers with reliable credit card terminal service.
One attractive option to companies like Google and other mobile-payment startups would be to cut out the credit card companies completely. Instead of using the card companies’ private networks, mobile payment could be made over a given smartphone carrier network.
But any attempt to circumvent the credit card companies’ private networks over 3G or 4G access runs into the problem of network reliability. A wealth of frustrated customers unable to pay for a meal because of spotty network service is less than ideal for any mobile-payment initiative.
That’s most likely the reason why Google is teaming up with the major credit card companies, instead of trying to bypass them. And Google isn’t alone in doing so. Joint mobile payment venture ISIS — which finds AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile partnering up with Discover Financial Services — is Google’s main competition in the mobile payments arena. ISIS is reported to begin testing its payments network this year, according to Bloomberg.
Google's flagship NFC phone, the Nexus S.
Google wants to do away with your wallet.
The Mountain View, California, company is working on a partnership with credit industry giants MasterCard and Citigroup that would allow you to make real-world purchases at stores using your smartphone, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
If the partnership materializes, buying groceries may require little more than a wave of your smartphone across an installed card reader at the checkout counter.
The partnership would allow for cardholders to pay for retail items after activating an app on Android NFC-enabled smartphones. The phones could then be swiped liked credit cards across card readers enabled with near field communication, or NFC, at participating retailers.
As Wired’s Epicenter blog reported earlier Monday morning, Google will begin testing the mobile payments service in key markets — New York and San Francisco — within the next four months. Othertest markets include Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C., according to a report from Bloomberg.
Google would pay for the installation of thousands of NFC terminals in the major cities. The terminals will be built by VeriFone Systems, a manufacturer of point-of-sale electronic payment technologies.
As with many other Google experiments, the push into mobile payments would serve as a loss-leader for the company’s advertising business, sources told the Journal.
Google would be able to offer retailers more data about customers and purchasing habits, while tailoring its ad targeting and promotional offerings to smartphone users. The company isn’t expected to take a cut of the transactions.
The mobile payments initiative faces some challenges. Currently, only one NFC-enabled smartphone is on the market — Google’s Nexus S (above). Samsung’s successor to its popular Galaxy S smartphone, the Galaxy S II, boasts NFC capability, but isn’t slated for release until the summer of 2011.
Also, it’s been difficult to imagine a major disruption of a massive industry like that of the credit industrythat’s already established. One big reason: companies like Visa rely on trunks — shared lines that provide network access to a series of endpoints rather than providing them individually — and leased lines to provide retailers with reliable credit card terminal service.
One attractive option to companies like Google and other mobile-payment startups would be to cut out the credit card companies completely. Instead of using the card companies’ private networks, mobile payment could be made over a given smartphone carrier network.
But any attempt to circumvent the credit card companies’ private networks over 3G or 4G access runs into the problem of network reliability. A wealth of frustrated customers unable to pay for a meal because of spotty network service is less than ideal for any mobile-payment initiative.
That’s most likely the reason why Google is teaming up with the major credit card companies, instead of trying to bypass them. And Google isn’t alone in doing so. Joint mobile payment venture ISIS — which finds AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile partnering up with Discover Financial Services — is Google’s main competition in the mobile payments arena. ISIS is reported to begin testing its payments network this year, according to Bloomberg.
Kobian, once very popular for their PC speakers, have been off the map for some time until recently when they launched a new LED backlit monitor in India. Going under the brand Mercury, the new Perfect View LED TFT - 2060 TWG has been launched in India for a yet undisclosed price tag.
The 20-incher will most likely have a 1600x900 resolution and comes with a 2ms response time and 'mega' contrast ratio. There isn't any mention about any other basic features like connectivity or panel type. The 2060 TWG will feature built in speakers which is sufficient for those how use their PC for just office work. Going by the picture, the monitor doesn't look too shabby. The only factor would be the price. It has to be under 5K else, it's not worth it as there are better options beyond that range. No word on availability either but expect to start seeing it in hardware stores in the coming weeks.
The 20-incher will most likely have a 1600x900 resolution and comes with a 2ms response time and 'mega' contrast ratio. There isn't any mention about any other basic features like connectivity or panel type. The 2060 TWG will feature built in speakers which is sufficient for those how use their PC for just office work. Going by the picture, the monitor doesn't look too shabby. The only factor would be the price. It has to be under 5K else, it's not worth it as there are better options beyond that range. No word on availability either but expect to start seeing it in hardware stores in the coming weeks.
Kobian, once very popular for their PC speakers, have been off the map for some time until recently when they launched a new LED backlit monitor in India. Going under the brand Mercury, the new Perfect View LED TFT - 2060 TWG has been launched in India for a yet undisclosed price tag.
The 20-incher will most likely have a 1600x900 resolution and comes with a 2ms response time and 'mega' contrast ratio. There isn't any mention about any other basic features like connectivity or panel type. The 2060 TWG will feature built in speakers which is sufficient for those how use their PC for just office work. Going by the picture, the monitor doesn't look too shabby. The only factor would be the price. It has to be under 5K else, it's not worth it as there are better options beyond that range. No word on availability either but expect to start seeing it in hardware stores in the coming weeks.
The 20-incher will most likely have a 1600x900 resolution and comes with a 2ms response time and 'mega' contrast ratio. There isn't any mention about any other basic features like connectivity or panel type. The 2060 TWG will feature built in speakers which is sufficient for those how use their PC for just office work. Going by the picture, the monitor doesn't look too shabby. The only factor would be the price. It has to be under 5K else, it's not worth it as there are better options beyond that range. No word on availability either but expect to start seeing it in hardware stores in the coming weeks.
Audi’s new Q5 2.0L TDI has been launched in India at Rs 39,05,000 (Ex-Showroom, Maharashtra). Audi will start 2011 Q5 2.0 TDI delivery to Indian buyers from April, 2011. The new Audi SUV features a 2.0 TDI engine which provides better efficiency and performance.
2.0 TDI engine generates 170 bhp and 350 Nm torque which is mated with a 7 speed automatic S tronic transmission to provide a wonderful driving experience. Michael Perschke, Head – Audi Indi, stated, “We are confident that the addition of the powerful 2.0 TDI q engine to the Audi Q5 range in
India will strengthen and sustain our leadership position in the luxury SUV segment. The all new Audi Q5 2.0 TDI q, resonates higher efficiency and dynamic performance with its new engine and refreshed array of characteristics, that reflect our core brand essence of „Vorsprung durch Technik.”
Mr Perschke expects the new SUV from Audi to perform better in terms of sales and provide full customer satisfaction. Audi Q5 SUV is also available in two other variants- one with a 2.0l TFSI petrol engine and the other being a diesel one with a 3.0l TDI engine. The German automaker, Audi has done extremely well in India last year and looks forward to repeat the same feat this year.
Audi’s new Q5 2.0L TDI has been launched in India at Rs 39,05,000 (Ex-Showroom, Maharashtra). Audi will start 2011 Q5 2.0 TDI delivery to Indian buyers from April, 2011. The new Audi SUV features a 2.0 TDI engine which provides better efficiency and performance.
2.0 TDI engine generates 170 bhp and 350 Nm torque which is mated with a 7 speed automatic S tronic transmission to provide a wonderful driving experience. Michael Perschke, Head – Audi Indi, stated, “We are confident that the addition of the powerful 2.0 TDI q engine to the Audi Q5 range in
India will strengthen and sustain our leadership position in the luxury SUV segment. The all new Audi Q5 2.0 TDI q, resonates higher efficiency and dynamic performance with its new engine and refreshed array of characteristics, that reflect our core brand essence of „Vorsprung durch Technik.”
Mr Perschke expects the new SUV from Audi to perform better in terms of sales and provide full customer satisfaction. Audi Q5 SUV is also available in two other variants- one with a 2.0l TFSI petrol engine and the other being a diesel one with a 3.0l TDI engine. The German automaker, Audi has done extremely well in India last year and looks forward to repeat the same feat this year.
Intel 320 Series SSDs available in capacities up to 600GB
Intel
threw us for a loop when it announced its 510 Series 6Gbps SSDs exactly a month ago. The SSDs didn't use an Intel controller, and instead used a Marvell 88SS9174-BKK2 6Gbps controller. Despite the use of a non-Intel controller, performance for the SSDs was nonetheless impressive with read speeds of up to 500MB/sec and write speeds of up to 315MB/sec.
Today, Intel announced its third generation "in-house" 310 Series SSDs which now take advantage of 25nm NAND flash memory. Unfortunately, according to AnandTech, these SSDs are around six months late meaning they still use a SATA II interface. Performance is also not quite up to par with the 510 Series, with maximum read speeds of 270MB/sec and maximum write speeds of 220MB/sec.
The big news is the use of 25nm memory that Intel says allows a 30 percent price reduction compared to the second generation X25-M SSDs.
"Intel designed new quality and reliability features into our SSDs to take advantage of the latest 25nm silicon, so we could deliver cost advantages to our customers," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group. "Intel's third generation of SSDs adds enhanced data security features, power-loss management and innovative data redundancy features to once again advance SSD technology. Whether it's a consumer or corporate IT looking to upgrade from a hard disk drive, or an enterprise seeking to deploy SSDs in their data centers, the new Intel SSD 320 Series will continue to build on our reputation of high quality and dependability over the life of the SSD."
The Intel 320 Series SSDs will be available in 40GB, 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 300GB, an 600GB capacities at prices of $89, $159, $209, $289, $529, and $1,069 respectively.
The big news is the use of 25nm memory that Intel says allows a 30 percent price reduction compared to the second generation X25-M SSDs.
"Intel designed new quality and reliability features into our SSDs to take advantage of the latest 25nm silicon, so we could deliver cost advantages to our customers," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group. "Intel's third generation of SSDs adds enhanced data security features, power-loss management and innovative data redundancy features to once again advance SSD technology. Whether it's a consumer or corporate IT looking to upgrade from a hard disk drive, or an enterprise seeking to deploy SSDs in their data centers, the new Intel SSD 320 Series will continue to build on our reputation of high quality and dependability over the life of the SSD."
The Intel 320 Series SSDs will be available in 40GB, 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 300GB, an 600GB capacities at prices of $89, $159, $209, $289, $529, and $1,069 respectively.
Intel 320 Series SSDs available in capacities up to 600GB
Intel threw us for a loop when it announced its 510 Series 6Gbps SSDs exactly a month ago. The SSDs didn't use an Intel controller, and instead used a Marvell 88SS9174-BKK2 6Gbps controller. Despite the use of a non-Intel controller, performance for the SSDs was nonetheless impressive with read speeds of up to 500MB/sec and write speeds of up to 315MB/sec.
Today, Intel announced its third generation "in-house" 310 Series SSDs which now take advantage of 25nm NAND flash memory. Unfortunately, according to AnandTech, these SSDs are around six months late meaning they still use a SATA II interface. Performance is also not quite up to par with the 510 Series, with maximum read speeds of 270MB/sec and maximum write speeds of 220MB/sec.
The big news is the use of 25nm memory that Intel says allows a 30 percent price reduction compared to the second generation X25-M SSDs.
"Intel designed new quality and reliability features into our SSDs to take advantage of the latest 25nm silicon, so we could deliver cost advantages to our customers," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group. "Intel's third generation of SSDs adds enhanced data security features, power-loss management and innovative data redundancy features to once again advance SSD technology. Whether it's a consumer or corporate IT looking to upgrade from a hard disk drive, or an enterprise seeking to deploy SSDs in their data centers, the new Intel SSD 320 Series will continue to build on our reputation of high quality and dependability over the life of the SSD."
The Intel 320 Series SSDs will be available in 40GB, 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 300GB, an 600GB capacities at prices of $89, $159, $209, $289, $529, and $1,069 respectively.
The big news is the use of 25nm memory that Intel says allows a 30 percent price reduction compared to the second generation X25-M SSDs.
"Intel designed new quality and reliability features into our SSDs to take advantage of the latest 25nm silicon, so we could deliver cost advantages to our customers," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group. "Intel's third generation of SSDs adds enhanced data security features, power-loss management and innovative data redundancy features to once again advance SSD technology. Whether it's a consumer or corporate IT looking to upgrade from a hard disk drive, or an enterprise seeking to deploy SSDs in their data centers, the new Intel SSD 320 Series will continue to build on our reputation of high quality and dependability over the life of the SSD."
The Intel 320 Series SSDs will be available in 40GB, 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 300GB, an 600GB capacities at prices of $89, $159, $209, $289, $529, and $1,069 respectively.
Scientists have created the world’s first practical artificial leaf that can turn sunlight and water into energy, which they claim could pave the way for a cheaper source of power in developing countries like India.
A team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that the artificial leaf from silicon, electronics and various catalysts which spur chemical reactions within the device, can use sunlight to break water into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be used to create electricity in a separate fuel cell.
“A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades. We believe we have done it. And placed in a gallon of water and left in sun, these artificial leaves could provide a home in the developing world with basic electricity for a day,” Daniel Nocera, who led the team, said.
He added: “Our goal is to make each home its own power station. One can envision villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology.”
For their research, the scientists identified a set of inexpensive, common catalysts including nickel and cobalt that get the job done with far less expense. And, in the laboratory their playing-card-sized leaves have worked continuously for 45 straight hours without a drop in output.
Though in laboratory, an artificial leaf prototype could operate continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity, the scientists say that they will next try to boost both efficiency and lifespan of their photosynthetic material.
The findings were presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Scientists have created the world’s first practical artificial leaf that can turn sunlight and water into energy, which they claim could pave the way for a cheaper source of power in developing countries like India.
A team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that the artificial leaf from silicon, electronics and various catalysts which spur chemical reactions within the device, can use sunlight to break water into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be used to create electricity in a separate fuel cell.
“A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades. We believe we have done it. And placed in a gallon of water and left in sun, these artificial leaves could provide a home in the developing world with basic electricity for a day,” Daniel Nocera, who led the team, said.
He added: “Our goal is to make each home its own power station. One can envision villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology.”
For their research, the scientists identified a set of inexpensive, common catalysts including nickel and cobalt that get the job done with far less expense. And, in the laboratory their playing-card-sized leaves have worked continuously for 45 straight hours without a drop in output.
Though in laboratory, an artificial leaf prototype could operate continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity, the scientists say that they will next try to boost both efficiency and lifespan of their photosynthetic material.
The findings were presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.