World‘s first smartphone for the blind, made in India

The world's first smartphone for blind people is here. Soon, they will be able to read SMSes and emails on this phone, which converts all text into Braille patterns. 

"We have created the world's first Braille smartphone," says its innovator, Sumit Dagar, whose company is being incubated at the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship, located in IIM Ahmedabad campus. "This product is based on an innovative 'touch screen' which is capable of elevating and depressing the contents it receives to transform them into 'touchable' patterns," he says. 

Dagar, who is a post-graduate from the National Institute of Design (NID), says he was motivated to develop the device when he realised that so far, technology was only serving the mainstream and ignoring the marginalised. He is collaborating with IIT Delhi on making the prototype, which is currently being tested at L V Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad. 

"The response during the test has been immense. It comes out as a companion more than a phone to the user. We plan to do more advanced versions of the phone in the future," Dagar adds. 

Dagar started the project three years ago while studying interaction designing at NID. After working with a couple of companies, he gave up his job to concentrate on his technology, formed a team of six people and started his venture, Kriyate Design Solutions. Currently, the venture is being funded by Rolex Awards under its Young Laureates Programme, in which they select five people from across the world every two years and fund their projects. 

How it works 

· The smartphone uses Shape Memory Alloy technology, based on the concept that metals remember their original shapes, i.e. expand and contract to its original shape after use. 

· The phone's 'screen' has a grid of pins, which move up and down as per requirement. The grid has a Braille display, where pins come up to represent a character or letter. 

· This screen will be capable of elevating and depressing the contents to form patterns in Braille. 

· All other elements are like any other smartphone.

Posted By: rihan khan

Plastic iPhone shell appears in leaked photo

This morning a single photo of what very much appears to be the fabled low-cost plastic iPhone. This device has been said to be appearing later this year in a collection of colors for a price that will allow Apple to not only sustain iPhone sales on the whole, but to expand to markets previously unavailable to them due to the cost of producing the standard iPhone. This case may well also be just that – a case.

What you’re seeing here is the back of what’s very much intended to look like an Apple product, at least. If you have a peek at the camera lens hold and flash bulb hole, you’ll see that there’s also a microphone hole in-between. You’ll see a printed-on ink Apple logo as well as the standard “iPhone” lettered-logo in their regular places, while the left-hand side of the device appears to have slightly updated places for buttons.

This setup shows the new iPhone – if that’s what this is – to be working with volume knobs and a lock switch not unlike that of the iPod touch units of the past. This case also appears to be a bit thicker than the iPhone is currently, leading us to believe that this will either be a high-capacity model using a massive battery or that it is, again, just a case for a future iteration of the standard model.

Another possibility is that this photo has been forged entirely – keep your wits about you and make sure you’re questioning everything that appears with an Apple logo on it in this time before the launch of Apple’s newest product. Head down to the Apple hub we’ve got set up for more information on the possibilities this summer and stay tuned as more colors arrive!

[via Tactus]

Plastic iPhone shell appears in leaked photo is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear. 

Posted By: charitra swaroop

IDENTITY_INSERT

Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table ‘tblTestTable’ when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF.

by Vijay Modi

Suppose you have a table in MS Sql with two Columns.

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[tblTest](
[Test_Id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[Test_Name] [varchar](200) COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS NOT NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_tblTest] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
[Test_Id] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON, FILLFACTOR = 90) ON [PRIMARY]
) ON [PRIMARY]

Now you are inserting the three values in this table:

Insert Into tblTest(Test_Name) values(“Test1″)
Insert Into tblTest(Test_Name) values(“Test2″)
Insert Into tblTest(Test_Name) values(“Test3″)

So your table will look like as follows:

1 Test1
2 Test2
3 Test3

Now you are deleting second row of the table using the following syntax:

DELETE From tblTest where Test_Id=2

Now you table will looks like the following:

1 Test1
3 Test3

Now you are going to insert a row with the following query:

Insert Into tblTest(Test_Id,Test_Name) values(2, “TestTemp2″)

when you execute this query, you will face the following error:

This error is coming when we have a Identity Specification is ‘Yes’ and IsIdentity is also ‘Yes’, Identity Increament is set to(1/2/…).

So you are unable to insert this type of row, because sql know that the Test_Id is the Identity_Column and so you cannot insert the value which already inserted. So to resolve this error, you have to set the Column_Identity ON by using the following syntax.

SET IDENTITY_INSERT tblOrderItemStatus ON

Then try to insert the row using the above same query, which was as following:

Insert Into tblTest(Test_Id,Test_Name) values(2, “TestTemp2″)

Now you need to reset the Column_Identity OFF. You can do it just by the following syntax:

SET IDENTITY_INSERT tblOrderItemStatus OFF

Is it resolve your problem. Howdy buddy?….

Why the Internet works and how to break it

If the internet was a person, it would be beginning to feel its age this year as it gets into its 30s, with a mid-life crisis looming. As it happens, the internet has never looked better: it's faster, bigger, better and richer than it was in its 20s.
But there are people having a midlife crisis on the internet's behalf. Governments want to change how it is governed, how it works and, most disturbingly, its openness. So, it is worth taking a moment to outline the first principles of the internet that have made it successful, why they are worth preserving and what we can expect if they are preserved.

Bob Kahn and I began work on the design that became the internet in the 1970s, motivated by the spectacular success of the Arpanet project, funded by the US Defense Department , in which small computers sent data 'packets' across dedicated telephone circuits. It was a homogeneous network connecting inhomogeneous computers: different operating systems, different word sizes, different computational capacities.

We met in 1973 at Stanford and started working on a design to allow up to 256 networks to be connected in such a way that the host computers would not need to know anything about the layout of this super-network . At the same time, every host computer would be able to talk to every other one despite their different operating systems and other differences. We also worked on a detailed design of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and began implementing and testing it in 1975.

We were sure that this was powerful . The packets we were using to transport data were remarkably adaptable : they could be transmitted over any digital communication channel , bringing with them any information that could be digitised. The network was not designed for a particular application and this has allowed it to support applications that weren't predicted in the early formulation of the internet's design.

We didn't , for instance, anticipate the hand-held mobile. We did anticipate an 'Internet of Things' — more on that in a moment — and personal computing. We even foresaw notebook computing, whereby a computer that isn't powerful can perform tricky tasks by drawing on the internet. We didn't have to imagine it. Alan Kay had shown a notebook-computer concept around 1968 he called FLEX and Xerox Parc built the Alto personal computer along with the Ethernet in the early 1970s. They were living in a world that others would not experience for 20 years.

The system Bob

 and I designed, alongside collaborators from Europe and Asia who visited our lab in the mid-1970 s, has since grown by factors of a million or more on all dimensions : a many million times more users , a million times more hosts, a million times more networks, all connected a million times faster.

But the numbers aren't the only difference . The internet era is different from the telephone era for at least two reasons: it allows groups to communicate , coordinate, collaborate and share information, and it supports every medium of communication invented, all in one network. People can discover each other without knowing who they are and they can find groups with common interests.

The institutions spawned by the internet and which regulate and build the internet are similarly meritocratic and diverse. The Internet Society , Internet Architecture Board, Internet Engineering and Research Working Groups, Internet Governance Forum and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers : all of them are run by many 

stakeholders who together decide policies and standardisation. It is a meritocracy that respects ideas more than institutions. It values openness and sharing of information, freedom of choice and expression.

Of course, the internet can be abused and people harmed from that abuse . Protection of personal information should be a high priority for all internet application providers. We also need to educate people about what can happen when they share information on the internet: once it is available to anyone, it is possible for someone to upload to other sites or to capture and store the information . Any country that gets the internet soon finds out that some harm comes from people who are in other national jurisdictions. We will need to find ways for international cooperation to deal with abuse.

But as we do figure out better ways to make cyberspace safe to use, we must preserve the very properties that have made it so successful: freedom of expression, transparency and openness, participatory policy and technology development.

Tip to become a successful software engineer.

 This post is a follow up to Derick’s great post. I could not agree with his view point any more., but it struck a chord with me.  There is more to it. To actually call yourself a software engineer you need to take into account a few aspects of what an engineer should do.

You’re Not Paid To Type

Typing code into a code editor or text editor is not what a Software Engineer is paid to do.  At least, it is not the primary reason this profession exists.  Yes, part of the job is to write code in any number of languages and platforms. As Derick pointed out, it is more then writing code, it is about writing tests, and making sure the code you do type works as designed and can be easily maintained.

All that being said, the actual act of typing is simple and quick.  There is training in keyboard typing and methods to increase how many words per minute one can type. So, does typing more code constructs per minute mean you should to get paid more money?  If you turn out more code then the engineer sitting next to you, have you created more value?  See where I am going with this.  Typing is easy, and typing the wrong code is really easy.  I have seen organizations that are fearful of missing deadlines and dates. Its so unhealthy that the developers think they need to start writing code NOW, but they don’t really know what they are supposed to be creating. They do know what to create in the general sense, but they rush intp writing software without knowing most of the details.

You are paid to THINK, so start doing that

So, my main point of this post is that Software Engineers are paid to Think.  You are paid to think about what is the correct code to create, how is should be constructed to lower the total cost of ownership.

If you only change one thing about the way you work this year try this.

  If you normally get your requirements verbally, trying writing them down.

Write down your requirements or technical plan in the easiest manner possible. That could be on a whiteboard, you could annotate a screenshot of an existing screen, you could use pencil and draw the changes to a print out of a screen shot.  Just do something in terms of thinking about what needs to be done before you start typing.  If you do write down what you plan to do, you can actually communicate it to other developers. You can have someone else review it and think through the problem.  You can also show it to the person who will decide if you created the correct software, imagine getting some feedback on what you want to build before you mess it up?

The two most valuable ways I have found to write down what needs to be created are Screen Mockups and Sequence Diagrams. Now, I have been in the web space for a long time, so if you are not creating websites, or web applications, you may find that there are better ways to write down what you need for your particular design problem.  Either way , try to write it down. If you are writing mockups today, then add a sequence diagram for the more complicated problems and see if it helps.  I know it helps me and the developers I work with.

Posted by Eric Hexter 

Facebook‘s annual hacker competition opens for registration

 Social networking giant Facebook has opened registration for its third annual Hacker Cup, set to begin from January 25.

The top prize will be $ 10,000 (approx. Rs 5.5 lakh) as against $ 5,000 (Rs 2.75 lakh) last year and as many 25 of the best hackers will be taken to Facebook's headquarter in USA, a statement said.

The Facebook Hacker Cup is an annual worldwide programming competition where hackers compete against each other for fame, fortune, glory and a shot at the coveted Hacker Cup.

"The competition will be held in two rounds starting with an online qualification, out of which 25 of the best hackers are then flown by Facebook to their headquarters inMenlo Park, CA," Facebook said.

"The preliminary round will be held between January 25 and February 16 while the onsite final round is scheduled for March 22-23, 2013.

Contestants will be judged on accuracy and speed as they race to solve algorithmic problems to advance through up to five rounds of programming challenges," it added.

Last year, the Hacker Cup attracted 8,000 participants from 150 countries, with the winner- Roman Andreev, hailing from Russia, Facebook said.

"Hacking is core to how we build at Facebook. Whether we're building a prototype for a major product like Timeline at a Hackathon, creating a smarter search algorithm, or tearing down walls at our new headquarters, we're always hacking to find better ways to solve problems," Facebook said in its Hacker's Cup page.

Facebook said that those who registered for a previous year are automatically registered for the competition year, however, they still need to check their information is up-to-date.

Nokia to transfer 820 jobs to TCS, HCL Tech

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokiasaid it will cut over 1000 IT jobs, including 820 employees who will be transfered to HCL Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services, as part of an already-announced restructuring.

It said 300 jobs will be cut altogether, and that most of the reductions would be in Finland.

HCL Tech has recently entered into a long-term, global IT infrastructure management outsourcing services agreement with Nokia. The scope of this engagement includes datacenter, network management, end-user computing services and cross-functional service management across Nokia's global IT infrastructure operations. As part of this engagement, HCL will be deploying its MTaaS and MyCloud solutions. HCL has also been delivering global service desk and desktop management outsourcing services for Nokia since 2009.
TCS has been operating in Finland for about 10 years, servicing clients such as Nokia Siemens, ABB and Telenor.

The job cuts are part of Nokia's plans to cut 10,000 jobs, including 3,700 in Finland.

Nokia will offer employees affected by these planned reductions both financial support and a comprehensive Bridge support programme. These are the last anticipated reductions as part of Nokia's focused strategy announcement of June 2012.

The majority of the employees affected by these planned changes are based in Finland. Nokia is beginning the process of engaging with employee representatives on these plans in accordance with country-specific legal requirements
.

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