online marketing CRAZY PAKISTAN: 2013-07-21

Tuesday 23 July 2013

King of fruits: Bahawalpur hosts first-ever National Mango Festival

King of fruits: Bahawalpur hosts first-ever National Mango Festival
BAHAWALPUR: The 1st National Mango Festival started here today at the Ghulam Muhammad Gothvi Hall, Abbasia Campus, Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB). The festival is being arranged by IUB in collaboration with the Agriculture Department, Bahawalpur Federation Pakistan Chambers of Agriculture and Livestock and the Bahawalpur Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.
The festival will be followed by a seminar in which researchers will present papers about mango cultivation and farmers will be informed about the mango plantation, quality, storage, packing and exporting process.
Commissioner Bahawalpur division Capt (retd) Asadullah Khan along with Vice-Chancellor, IUB Prof Dr Muhammad Mukhtar inaugurated the festival. More than 150 varieties of mango including Almas, Anwer Ratol, Barsha, Began Pali, Badami, Zafran, Saroli, Dosehri, Langra, Sindhri, Chaunsa, Gulab Ghas, Dil Pasand, Fajri, Maldah, Samar Behishat and Tota Pari were put on display in the festival.
Mangoes from Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were put on display.
The Vice-Chancellor, on the occasion said that more research was essential from a business point of view to promote growth in mango exports. The festival was attended by several high ranking government officials and businessmen.

Nine Leading Universities in Pakistan Join the Oracle Academy


Karachi, Pakistan – 11th July 2013: Nine leading universities in Pakistan have joined the Oracle Academy and have integrated its Advanced Computer Science program into their IT curriculum to provide their students hands-on experience with Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware.
Nine Leading Universities in Pakistan Join the Oracle AcademyAs a result, approximately 4500 students from these participating universities will have access to world-class Oracle software, technical curriculum, and industry-recognized certification resources, as well as developing vital business and technology skills.
Participating universities include University of Engineering & Technology (UET) – Taxila, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) – Karachi, GC University Faisalabad, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology – Lahore, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, University of Peshawar, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) – Islamabad, University of Agriculture – Faisalabad and The Superior Group of Colleges – Lahore.
The Oracle Academy helps to equip students with world-class IT skills that help them prepare for careers in fields such as computer engineering, application development, web development, IT consulting, systems integration, database design/administration, IT product management, IT product marketing, technical support, and more.
“It is essential that our next generation have the right skill set before entering the workforce. Using industry-relevant and engaging computer science education resources offered by Oracle Academy, these students can benefit from hands-on experience with real world business software,” said Ahsen Javed, Managing Director, Oracle Pakistan and SAGE-W.
“We are proud to support the universities in Pakistan in preparing the students for IT and business careers and hope that this young workforce will soon contribute to the success of the organizations they will work for,” he said.
The Oracle Academy provides a complete portfolio of software, curriculum, technology, faculty training, support, and certification resources to secondary and higher education institutions.
Representatives from participating universities were equivocal in their support of this initiative.
“The Oracle Academy has been very effective as we have not only been able to enrich our existing courses but our faculty is also in the process of designing more courses with major practical and hands-on outlines,” said M.N. Khokhar, Assistant Professor and Coordinator MS(CS), SZABIST Islamabad Campus.
“We are confident that the Oracle Academy will help our faculty and students to enhance their understanding in various areas where Oracle has been the leader and innovator,” said Dr. Adeel Akram, Dean – Faculty of Telecom, & Information Engineering, UET Taxila.
“We at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore campus have been benefiting from our Oracle Academy Advanced Computer Science Membership since March 2013,” said Dr. Hamid Turab Mirza, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore Campus.
“Curriculum and software support is very useful and is helping our students to master database systems concepts, and specifically Oracle Database technology, in a better way,” said Dr Mirza.
“We have recently subscribed to Oracle Academy to let our students and faculty members learn the state-of-art Oracle software,” said Dr. Azhar Rauf, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Peshawar. “We are also planning to incorporate some courses from Oracle Certification Programs into the BS program.”

MIT recognises Pakistani as one of world’s brilliant minds

576597-solotechsmartxs-1373749973-471-640x480
KARACHI: All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them, says Walt Disney.
Disney’s quote, perhaps, best explains the success story of Farhan Masood, who has been recognised as one of the world’s brilliant minds by Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier this year for his product – world’s fastest retina and face scanner algorithm called SmartXS.
Masood’s dream – to build a Pakistani product and turn it into a global one – came true this year after he won the MIT Business Acceleration Plan contest, a highly competitive annual event whose objective is to help Pakistani IT, ITES, telecom and new media companies improve their business.
Of the 165 participants that compete in this contest, some members of top teams also get a chance to attend an entrepreneurship development programme at MIT in Cambridge, USA.
After a winning performance in the contest, Masood joined the list of MIT alumni. He has just returned after attending a course at MIT, one of the world’s best educational institutes. Those who attended this programme previously had benefited a great deal.
According to Pakistan Software Export Board’s website, some of the companies that participated in this programme saw their revenues grow by 5 to 10 times and valuation increase by 15 times. Giving the example of Sofizar, the PSEB’s website stated that the company’s revenue increased from less than $1 million to $30 million in two and a half years.
Masood, too, seem to benefit from the programme as his product has been well received by both MIT and the industries worldwide. “MIT has done tech evaluation of SmartXS, which is a big achievement,” Masood told The Express Tribune. “When your product is recognised by MIT, there is not much you can ask for.”
Interestingly, the man behind this technology is a college dropout who hated math for he was weak in the subject. “I have got all of this achievement because of my passion,” the 36-year-old Lahorite said.
Masood is the CEO of Solo Smart that’s based in Lahore and has offices in the UK and USA, represented by its subsidiaries namely Solo Tech and Solo Matrix respectively. It also has an office in Australia.
“We are trying to bring all these companies under one name – Solo Matrix. It is a high-tech company that deals in Mechatronics – a combination of software, electrical and mechanical engineering,” he said.
SmartXS is a biometric verification system that uses human face and eye to verify his identity, Masood said, and works mainly in two spaces – workforce management and security access control.
“Our algorithm is very fast,” he said while claiming it is the world’s fastest retina and face scanner algorithm.
The product was first brought to life in 2005 and its hardware was as big as a refrigerator, but now it’s smaller than a PC, Masood said. It has started to get worldwide recognition.
He said his product is currently used by the National Database and Registration Authority, the Pakistan Army and many multinational groups including Pepsico, Nestle and Tetra Pak. These companies are in talks with Masood for the implementation of the technology in their global operations.
“We are also getting queries from immigration departments of many governments for this product,” he said, refusing to share details. “University of Pennsylvania has also shown interest in the medical application of this product.”
Before starting his own entrepreneurial venture, Masood served as IT professional and had a lucrative job. He is the originator of Urdu, Persian and Arabic on internet and was able to incorporate Urdu, Persian and Arabic characters in English-based Windows back in 1997.
Masood was hired as a project director in Dubai Electronic Government in 2000. “The government had softened its state laws for one day to hire me and few others,” he said as he didn’t have a bachelor’s degree, a requirement for that job.
Despite his lucrative job that paid him 55,000 UAE dirhams per month, he chose to be an entrepreneur. “If I can do a lot of things for others, why not for myself and that very thought was the reason I chose to come back and launch my own business,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version of the story had misspelt mechatronics. The correction has been made.

Scoring a first: Pakistani among US top 10 transport, aviation lawyers

Scoring a first: Pakistani among US top 10 transport, aviation lawyers
KARACHI: A Pakistani lawyer, Zarrar Sehgal, has been declared among the top 10 transportation and aviation finance lawyers in the US, according to Chambers – the world’s leading guide to the legal profession.
He has also been ranked in the prestigious “Band 1”. Sehgal is the first Pakistani to enter the category and the first lawyer across the globe below the age of 40 to enter the list at Band 1.
A BA from Boston University and a JD (Juris Doctor) from Georgetown University Law Center, Sehgal is a partner at Clifford Chance LLP, a global law firm backed by top ranked practices in the world’s major financial and business centres. The firm advises leading international financial institutions.
Sehgal has extensive experience representing underwriters, lenders, lessors and governmental agencies engaged in a wide variety of asset finance transactions.
Sehgal is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum.  He is also an advisor to several of the large investment and commercial banks.  In addition to this, he is the President of TCF-USA, a non-profit organization affiliated with The Citizens Foundation in Pakistan.

Pakistani techie helps design UAE satellite station

Pakistani techie helps design UAE satellite station
KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined the league of world’s big players of satellite communications in April 2011 by launching its first satellite into orbit – it now has two. The satellites are managed from Yahsat Satellite Tracking Ground Station, which, in part, was designed by a veteran Pakistani IT expert, now aiming for a skilled IT workforce for his homeland.
Built by the United Kingdom’s Astrium – a wholly-owned subsidiary of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services – Yahsat is the first ground communications satellite station in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
“I have designed the communications system for the Emirate including that of Yahsat’s satellite station with my own hands,” Dr Sarfaraz Alam, President and CEO of Texpo said in a recent interview with The Express Tribune. “I am a Karachi ka larka [a local boy],” he told this correspondent as pride filled his eyes.
Yahsat Satellite Ground Tracking Station is a flagship project of Texpo, a leading technology infrastructure provider based in Dubai. The company was an integral part of the project, Alam said, for it was responsible for complete cable networking installations, sub-communications systems testing and electrical installations and compliance procedures.
Besides that, Texpo also won a tender for e-government in 2006 to evaluate 22 services of different government departments of Dubai, he said.
Born in Karachi, Alam belongs to a middle-class family with the aspiration for quality education to get the best life has to offer. After completing his schooling from Karachi, he moved to the United Kingdom for higher studies.
He founded Texpo in 2000 in the basement of his residence in London while he was a masters’ student at Academy of Professional Studies College, an affiliate of Fredrick Taylor International University. In 2003, he completed his doctorate in information technology, along with business, majoring in Advance IT Infrastructure from Brunel University London. He was recently awarded CIO of the Year award by Teradata.
The company started as a software developer but soon realised that businesses were outsourcing their projects to companies in India and Pakistan because of their low costs, Alam said.
“We, therefore, decided to do something different and create a niche of our own,” he said. “I started building expertise in data centres and moved to Dubai in 2005 because it provided immense opportunity for our business and there weren’t many companies offering such services.”
Texpo has established itself as a leading IT solutions provider with a client base in the Middle East, Central and South Asia and North America, earning over $5 million in revenues annually. Texpo is also looking forward to strategic expansion into different regions.
“We have initiated our business plan to commence operations in Brazil, Canada, Sydney and neighbouring GCC countries,” Alam said.
Texpo has also extended its operations to Pakistan by opening a Karachi office three years ago – the reasons for which are not limited to commercial aspects only.
“I have come back to Pakistan for two reasons. I want to create 100,000 jobs in the ICT sector of the country during next five years and serve the country by developing highly skilled IT workforce,” Alam said.
Texpo is in the process of facilitating talent in IT through its project ‘Mentoring a talent’, which began last year to groom students who have the right IQ for IT. “Under this programme, we are giving scholarships to students from Karachi to Gilgit-Baltistan. We have already given 20 scholarships,” he said.
In the first stage, Texpo pays full university fee for those who qualify for its scholarship programme by passing their online exams. Once the students acquire degrees, they have to sit through another exam. Those who pass this exam are offered a paid internship in any of Texpo global offices for six months.
In the third stage, these students take another exam and those who are successful secure a permanent job placement in Texpo.
“This procedure is because I acknowledge the importance of students learning how to build different operating systems or platforms by hand rather than just through software.”

Creative industry: Here’s why being Pakistani should make you proud

Creative industry: Here’s why being Pakistani should make you proud
DUBAI: Would it make you proud if I told you that the Venom character in the Spiderman III movie was developed and animated by a Pakistani? How does it feel to know that a Pakistani animator worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as X-Men First Class, The Day After Tomorrow, Mummy, The Incredible Hulk, Land of The Lost, Surf’s Up and Ghost Rider? How does it feel to know that the same animator won an Oscar in 2008 for working on the winning sequences of The Golden Compass?
Feels great, doesn’t it? I felt the elation at a whole different level, as I came to know all this through a white man I met at the JFK airport when I was flying from New York to Chicago before Christmas last year.
I felt numb with pride when he told me about the exploits of Meer Zafar Ali, a graduate from FAST Karachi, the man who won that Oscar and accomplished the other animation feats mentioned above. Since that eventful chat, I have been gathering the bits and pieces of one of Pakistan’s most exciting untold stories. Though still in a nascent state if compared to the international market and even neighbouring India, the Pakistani animation industry nonetheless holds great value in itself.
It all started with Commander Safeguard. We should all applaud Post Amazers for pioneering an animation lab test for which they will be remembered for in the history of Pakistani animation. That lab test pushed our advertising industry to come up with more local superheroes, such as Lifebuoy Germ Busters, Dettol Warriors and Milkateers, later giving way to Mr Jeem and Baankay Miyaan.
And when you talk about Pakistan’s animation industry, you simply cannot forget mentioning Asim Fida Khan. The maestro has worked on blockbuster Hollywood flicks such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, G.I Joe, The Tales of Despereaux and Snow White and the Huntsman.
To double down on this fact, I would like to couple it with another amazing accomplishment for Pakistan: the Pakistan-based company Trango Interactive, operated by Shehryar Hydari, has made animations for foreign clients like Audi, Nike, Lexus, UPS, Mazda, Hyundai, Sega AND it has made documentaries for the Discovery Channel. It has also made the animations for all BlackBerry ads in Pakistan.
Trango Interactive’s maiden video game, Sherra Jutt, was made for a Pakistani audience. The game inspired musicians like Haroon Rasheed, ex-member of the Awaz band, to step into the animation and game development industry. Haroon’s upcoming game, Burka Avenger, is in its last phase of packaging and will be launched soon.
Another great mention here is a group of talented guys from Islamabad who operate under the name of We R Play. How gratifying is it to have your game selected for publishing by the people behind world-famous games such as Angry Birds and Cut The Rope?  These guys did it. We R Play’s latest game, Dream Chaser, was published just a few weeks ago by Chillingo, a premier game publisher that is a sister concern of Electronics Arts (EA) – and it is doing pretty well.
Another honourable mention is Mind Storm Studios, the game development company that received world recognition for Cricket Revolution. The game was not only rated as having the best game physics at many award ceremonies worldwide, but also received higher ratings than Electronic Arts’ conventional cricket game. This later resulted in EA Sports bidding for an acquisition of the game, but Mind Storm Studios rejected the deal. I would also like to tell you that this is the same company that made the official video game for the ICC World Cup 2011.
And here’s a shout-out to a software house in Karachi, Pi Labs, which developed the official iOS-based game for Garfield the cat a few months ago. The app has performed exceptionally well on the AppStore, given a strong marketing impetus to the official Garfield publisher. Another company that has achieved success in developing mobile games is Agnitus – a group of talented individuals who make addictive mobile-based learning games for children.
And when Pakistani companies like Caramel Tech Solutions work on foreign projects like Fear Factor, MTV Games and HALFBRICK – and collaborate with world giants such as DeNa – you can only say that for Pakistanis, the sky is the limit.
The writer runs a software company in Dubai and a healthcare startup in New York
Not many of you may know this, but the title animation sequence that plays before every episode of Game of Thrones, the world’s most-watched TV series these days, has been produced by Hameed Shaukat, a US-born Pakistani. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design for the series in 2011, which he shared with teammates Robert Feng, Kirk Shintani and Angus Wall.
Get a load of this: Post Amazers set the bar so high with Commander Safeguard that the same animated series was later adapted by Procter and Gamble in other countries, such as Mexico, China, Philippines and Kenya.
It is also worth mentioning that the Milkateers series won many short film and animation awards in Singapore and India. 

PTCL Launches Experia Summer Internship Program

Timeline Photos

Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) has launched ‘Experia Summer Program 2013’, an extensive learning and development platform for the students of top Pakistani universities.
The six-week long rigorous internship program hosts a good mix of fifty technical and business students from prestigious universities including IBA, LUMS, NUST and GIKI.
The program formally kicked off at a ceremony held at PTCL head office in Islamabad, which revolved around comprehensive orientation sessions aimed at educating the students about the vision, values, business operations and strategic programs of the company.
Syed Mazhar Hussain, PTCL Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP) HR while speaking at the occasion said that “PTCL Experia program presents an exclusive opportunity to the best talent to innovate, explore and learn about the telecom industry best-practices as well as getting introduced to the state of the art technology, wide range of products and services offered by the leading telecom company of the country. “
The summer internship program features comprehensive Orientation Sessions, Guest Lecture Series by seasoned PTCL officials, coaching sessions and Project-based competitions.
These students will be placed in the various departments of the company including Commercial, Finance, HR and Technical functions which will further enrich the exposure of the participating students.

Etisalat Q1 Profit: First Time Revenue From PTCL Included


PTCL_ETISALAT

Etisalat, the Gulf’s biggest telecoms operator, reported a near-flat first-quarter profit, missing analysts’ estimates as margins weakened.Etisalat which operates in 15 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made a net profit of Dhs1.83 billion in the three months to March 31, compared with a profit of Dhs1.81 billion a year earlier.
First-quarter revenue was Dhs9.6 billion, with revenue from affiliate Pakistan Telecommunication Co Ltd (PTCL) included for the first time. This compares with Dhs8.2 billion a year ago when PTCL was excluded.
PTCL boosted Etisalat’s subscriber numbers, which rose to 141 million as of March 31 from 122 million a year earlier. Etisalat said the number of subscribers in Asia was 36.6 million at end-March, up by 29 million due to the consolidation of Pakistan.
Etisalat, which also has operations in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Asia, did not state how many of the subscribers were from Pakistan.In the fourth-quarter of 2012, Etisalat wrote off $769 million from its Pakistan and Sudan units, while a year earlier it took $827 million in impairments relating to its failed Indian joint venture.
It’s worth mentioning here that in First Quarter, PTCL posted Rs 3.33 billion profit. 

GSM SIM Card is Finally Hacked, Puts 750 Million Users at Risk

SIM Card Hack GSM SIM Card is Finally Hacked, Puts 750 Million Users at Risk
The SIM was one of the few common things in tech which were considered impossible to hack. Until now. Karsten Nohl of Security Research Labs (based out of Germany) has finally got a way past the 56-digit unique code and found a simple process which leaves an estimated 750 million SIM cards at risk.
The research was done on a 1000 SIM cards and only the ones which were using the old DES (Data Encryption Standard) standard were found vulnerable. Cracking them is super-easy and takes just 2 minutes. A message is sent to the target SIM card while disguised as the carrier. In response, a message is received containing information needed to find a way past the 56-digit code or the digital key which can allow the hacker to take control of the target SIM.
After getting this information and taking control, the intruder can easily listen to your calls, send text messages and in short, have control over every form of data on your SIM card.
Mr. Nohl said:
“We can spy on you. We know your encryption keys for calls. We can read your S.M.S.’s. More than just spying, we can steal data from the SIM card, your mobile identity, and charge to your account.”
In all, about 25% of the SIM cards which were tested were found susceptible to such penetration. Newer technologies like NFC might be at risk too.
D.E.S. encryption, which is vulnerable to such hacks – is used on about half of the about six billion cellphones. Over the past decade, most operators have adopted a stronger encryption method, called Triple D.E.S., but many SIM cards still run the old standard.
The GSM Association hasn’t confirmed this just yet though as it will investigate the case first but if this, in any way is true, it will pose some serious threats to people using SIM card for much more complex purposes than calling and texting. Mobile payments that is.

HTC Announces the One Mini

HTC One mini HTC Announces the One Mini
Following the suite of Samsung and some other manufacturers, HTC too has made the trimmed-down version of its flagship the HTC One for people who don’t adore the large form-factors of today’s smartphones.
The new One mini has a 4.3 inch HD display and an UltraPixel camera at the back.
The One mini looks remarkably similar to its bigger brother. It features the same design (including the same speakers) and aluminium unibody. It does fell short in other departments though including the hardware.
Here are the specs:
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
  • 4.3 inch HD display with resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 3
  • 9.3 mm thick
  • Weight: 122g
  • 1.4Ghz dual-core processor with Krait 300 CPU and SnapDragon 400 SoC
  • Adreno 305 GPU
  • 1 GB RAM with 16 GB non-expandable storage
  • 4 mp UltraPixel camera with Full HD 1080p video recording and HDR
  • HTC Zoe, Beats Audio, BoomSound
  • 1.6 megapixel HD front-facing camera
  • 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, Wifi Hotspot
  • 1800 mAh battery
  • Available in Glacial Silver and Stealth Black
And compared to the HTC One here’s what has changed in the One mini:
HTC One MiniHTC One
StatusAnnouncedAvailable
Weight122g143g
Thickness9.3mm9.3mm
OS (pre-installed)Android 4.2.2Android 4.1.2
Display4.3 inch4.7 inch
Resolution720 x 1280 pixels1080 x 1920 pixels
Processor1.4 Ghz dual-core Krait 300Quad-core 1.7 Ghz Krait
GPUAdreno 305Adreno 320
RAM, storage1 GB, 16 GB non-expandable2 GB, 16 GB non-expandable
Camera (rear)4 mp Ultrapixel, 1080p video4 mp Ultrapixel, 1080p video
Camera (front)1.6mp HD2.1mp Full HD
ConnectivityBluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, Wifi, optional NFCBluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, Wifi, optional NFC, Infrared
Battery1800 mAh2300 mAh

So it’s obvious from the specs that the One mini isn’t a smaller carbon copy of its older sibling. That might not sound good but at least its better than the Galaxy S4 miniwhich doesn’t even come with an HD display. Also the One mini is considerably smaller than that phone.
If you want, however, you can also take any of the previous generation flagships for the same price. The One mini will retail for 449 euros or about 60,000 rupees. It will be available this September.

Nokia Chief Reveals Why Nokia Didn't Go Android

android nokia920 Nokia Chief Reveals Why Nokia Didnt Go Android
A lot of harsh words and bashing (including from this author) followed the moment when Nokia told the world that Windows Phone was its future. Two years later, Stephen Elop, the Nokia chief has shown that he is a man of his words. After the Lumia 1020 announcement last week, he told the press why Android isn’t an option.
What’s ironical, however, is that his judgement that Android will end up benefiting one manufacturer was somewhat true, as clear by the case of Samsung.
“What we were worried about a couple of years ago”, he said, “was the very high risk that one hardware manufacturer could come to dominate Android. We had a suspicion of who it might be, because of the resources available, the vertical integration, and we were respectful of the fact that we were quite late in making that decision. Many others were in that space already”. And that’s where Samsung exactly is.
“Now fast forward to today and examine the Android ecosystem, and there are lot of good devices from many different companies, but one company has essentially now become the dominant player.”
While it’s true that other manufacturers have been cashing in from Android quite a lot lately, it’s Samsung which stands atop everyone else, and that too by a monstrous margin.
You look at a number of other Android providers right now and they’re in a tough spot.
This compelled Nokia to look for a third alternative to the competition. The deal with Microsoft has also granted Nokia some exclusive rights and perks, the most prominent among which is the $250 million quarterly payments. They wouldn’t have gotten so much by Google.
While, arguably, Nokia has lost the smartphone race already, but they are still making sufficient enough to keep the ball rolling. And who knows if there might come a time when Windows – backed by mighty Microsoft – outshine other operating systems (in terms of features, performance and apps) and that is when Nokia will have the chance to get crowned again.

Nokia Sells More Lumias than Ever but Still Fails to Make a Profit


Nokia thumb Nokia Sells More Lumias than Ever but Still Fails to Make a Profit

Nokia has announced the earnings for the second quarter of 2013 and the results aren’t particularly spectacular. The company sold 32% more Lumia smartphones than before at 7.4 million units, but still encountered a loss of 115 million euros. The shares of the company fell by almost 4% at this news.
The Finns also sold 53.7 million dumb phones and 4.3 million Asha smartphones while the sales of the Symbian devices plunged to almost zero. All of these three categories saw their sales slide.
To sum it all up, almost all the divisions of the company except for the Nokia-Siemens Network showed losses. This resulted in revenues of $7.4 billion, down from $9.2 billion of the quarter before.
What’s good to see, is that the series of really large losses posted some time ago are long gone but profits still aren’t showing up. With the launch of the Lumia 1020 flagship (which is already sold out in pre-order in some places) might change this. Also the death of the Symbian market must be hurting Nokia.
Still, worth noting is the fact that Nokia continues to receive $250 million per quarter from Microsoft which must be helping the company in such times.

Pattinson out of remainder of Ashes

Australia's James Pattinson appeals in vain for a wicket at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, central England, on July 12, 2013. © AFP/File Andrew Yates
LONDON – Australia bowler James Pattinson is out of the remainder of the Ashes series owing to a stress fracture in his back, Cricket Australia confirmed Monday.
Pattinson was diagnosed with the lower back problem after the tourists’ defeat in the second Test at Lord’s and he will now return home after the third Test at Old Trafford.
“James Pattinson reported some hip and back soreness on the final day of the second Ashes Test,” said Team doctor Peter Brukner said.
“We had some scans done today (Monday) in London that have identified an early stage low back stress fracture.
“Unfortunately he will not take any further part in this Test series and will commence a rehabilitation program with the aim to have him back for the Australian summer.”
Australian selectors may now recall Mitchell Starc, left out for the 347-run loss at Lord’s, while James Faulkner and Jackson Bird are also available to back up Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris.
Cricket Australia general manager Pat Howard said: “While we are obviously disappointed for James, the selectors have five bowlers fit and ready to perform in England, providing them with many options.”
England lead the series 2-0 and could clinch overall victory in Manchester, starting from August 1.

Microsoft Lost $900 Million Last Quarter From Surface RT

Microsoft Office Microsoft Lost $900 Million Last Quarter From Surface RT
Microsoft has released its latest earnings report for the last quarter which has missed analyst’s expectation.
The most prominent thing in the whole of it is the fact that the company has lost a mind-blowing $900 million from the failure of Windows RT. Up till now, it hadn’t remained a secret that the Surface RT was selling abysmally but the graveness of the situation just couldn’t have been imagined.
In all, Microsoft still managed to churn out a revenue of 19.9 billion dollars which was a bit below analysts’ expectations of 20-odd billion dollars, resulting in the dropping of shares by 4%. This meant a net income of $4.97 billion.
What might be pleasing for some people is that Microsoft actually benefited from Windows Phone division by $222 million. That, however, is most-possibly due to the licensing of patents rather than increase in sales (but you can’t deny that they are increasing).
Also the Business and Entertainment & Devices divisions showed promise thanks to the success of the new Office products and Xbox.
The Windows division, however, also saw the revenues decline, by a distressing $281 million, mainly due to the plunging of the PC, and the fledging of the tablet markets. The poor sales of Windows 8 have also fuelled the loss.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s own performance in the tablet market, the Surface RT has been a failure, from head to toe, mainly due to the lack of apps and the buggy software. Even Microsoft’s recent $150 price drop couldn’t do much to aid the virtually non-present sales.
The time has come for them to realise their mistakes and go back to the drawing board, otherwise, the tablet will go down in history as yet another failed Microsoft product.

Warid Introduces International Prepaid Data Roaming Services


clip image001 Warid Introduces International Prepaid Data Roaming Services

Warid telecom has launched International GPRS /data Roaming services for its Prepaid customers.
Starting with Saudi Arabia and UAE, this international data roaming for prepaid customers is claimed by Warid to be the industry first.
Warid has advised its customers – who carry smartphones – to disconnect Data Connection/Cellular Data option to prevent auto sync, which may result into over billing issues.
As our readers may know, data services while International roaming is not economical at all but this facility by Warid can be handy during the emergency hours. Otherwise, its better to stick with Wi-Fi internet while you are roaming.
How to Subscribe:
  • While no security deposit is required to avail this offer but users will have to activate International Data Roaming Service by calling the Helpline 321.
Prices:
Country
Operator
Network Code
Uplink Charges
Downlink Charges
MMS Rates
Charging Interval
Helpline
Saudi ArabiaEtisalat420-03$0.002$0.002$0.5710 KB+96265828100
Saudi ArabiaAl Jawal420-01$0.023$0.023$6.9610 KB+96614555555
Saudi ArabiaZain420-04$0.023$0.023$6.9610 KBNA
UAEDu420-03$0.001$0.001$0.211 KB+971555555177
UAEEtisalat420-02$0.022$0.022$6.5430 KB+9714004101

Terms and Conditions:
  • To get Prepaid International Roaming activated, please call 321.
  • No security deposit required.
  • Operator specific GPRS usage rates shall apply.
  • All applicable taxes would be included in addition to the above rates.
  • The tariffs are charged in Pak Rupees when billed. The US$ – Pak Rupee exchange rate applied for each calendar month shall be the open market exchange rate on 23rd day of the preceding month.
  • GPRS charges have been calculated using prevailing exchange rates and are subject to change without prior notice.
  • Above GPRS charges are shown in 1KB increments. For operator specific charging interval, please refer to the Charging Interval column above.
  • For detailed tariffs/peak hour timings of a specific network, contact the Customer Service personnel and the helpline number of the respective operator.
  • MMS charges are event based.