Navtej Kohli IT Blog

Navtej Kohli IT blog is the repository of latest developments in IT industry. HP now wants to buy EDS to take on IBM.

After gobbling up Compaq for $25 billion in 2001, IT giant Hewlett-Packard is looking at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) Corp for a possible buy-out.

Media reports puts the deal size could be in the range of $12 billion to $13 billion.

HP and EDS confirmed that they are engaged in advanced discussions on a possible business combination involving the two companies.

"There can be no assurances that an agreement will be reached or that a transaction will be consummated. HP does not intend to comment further until an agreement is reached or discussions are terminated," HP said in a statement.

Buying Plano, Texas-based $22.1 billion EDS would give HP more tools to compete against IBM in the lucrative field of technology consulting and customer support.

With olympics right around the corner, China is again in controversy over Internet freedom. A Navtej Kohli report:

China will not guarantee it won't censor the Internet over this summer's Beijing Olympics, nor can it guarantee to stamp out piracy of Olympic-branded goods, officials said on Thursday.

Wang Wei, executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic organisers, had promised media would have "complete freedom" to report over the event, but rights groups have regularly criticized China's commitment to that pledge.

China maintains a tight grip over the Internet, whose use is exploding in the world's most populous nation, preventing access to sites it considers anti-government.
"China has always been very cautious when it comes to the Internet," said Technology Minister Wan Gang.

"I've not got any clear information about which sites will be shut or screened. But to protect the youth there are controls on some unhealthy websites.

"We will guarantee as much as possible" that sites will not be blocked over the Olympics, he added.

"Every country limits access to some websites. Even in developed countries not every site can be accessed."

As part of China's plan to hold a "high-tech Olympics", broadband wireless Internet services will be widely available, according to a handbook issued at the same news conference, to ensure "convenience for journalists (and) promptness of news".

Additional resources: Navtej Kohli

Navtej Kohli IT blog brings yet another good news for Indian masses. World's hot favorite online video community launched its Indian edition in addition to 19 other country specific sites that it already has.

YouTube, the world's most popular online video community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created content has launched its local Indian site (www.youtube.co.in).

The website allows users to create and share videos, discover the most popular and relevant videos in India, connect with other Indian and global users. Eventually, YouTube India will be highlighting and featuring the content and functionality most desired by the Indian users.

"We are very excited to bring a local version of YouTube to India considering the passion of users here for music and entertainment." said Steve Chen, CTO and co-founder of YouTube. "For a culture that is steeped both in video and in storytelling, and where everyone has a voice - YouTube India will not only offer Indian users more relevant content but also provide a platform to share India's unique and diverse culture and lifestyle with the largest online video community in the world."

"YouTube allows anyone with a simple web camera or even a cell phone to create content, connect, and converse with each other through the medium of video," said Sakina Arsiwala, International manager, YouTube. "It provides a powerful way for people to express themselves. From a home video to a magic show to classroom lectures or working professionals connecting with their families in another city, YouTube is about communication and not just entertainment," she added.

With local features such as promoted videos, featured videos, and homepage promotions, localized user interface and help center, user support and community features (such as video ratings, sharing and content flagging), YouTube India will make it even easier for the Indian YouTube community to search and view videos from India. Additionally, content uploaded by users in India will show up as "top favorites" and "recommended content" on the local YouTube site. The localized site also aims to facilitate connections among the large Indian NRI community.

In India, YouTube has already partenered with many big banners like Eros Entertainment, Rajshri Films, IIFA, Ministry of Tourism, IIT Delhi, NDTV, UTV, Zoom TV, India TV and Krishcricket, and will continue to work with a range of partners, across a range of genres, to bring Indian content to more people in new ways.

Samsung is all set to join forces with Intel and TSMC to work on the next-generation chip. Navtej Kohli IT blog brings the latest industry updates.

The top maker of memory chips, Samsung Electronics, had decided to team up with top rivals Intel and TSMC to develop next-generation bigger silicon wafers to boost efficiency in chip manufacturing.

Samsung said that it would work with the US-based Intel Corp, the world's top maker of semiconductors, and Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest contract chip maker, to help migration of manufacturing standards from the current 12-inch silicon wafers to 18-inch discs that would yield more than double the number of chips.

The South Korean company said the cooperation plan called for a first pilot line to be operable by 2012.

Samsung has been exploring the moves to pizza-sized silicon wafers to help them grab market share as demand surges for gadgets such as Apple Inc's iPod.

"Increasing cost due to the complexity of advanced technology is a concern for the future," Mark Liu, TSMC's senior vice president of Advanced Technology Business, said in a statement.

"Intel, Samsung, and TSMC believe the transition to 450mm wafers is a potential solution to maintain a reasonable cost structure for the industry."

The size of a wafer, the silvery disks from which tiny chips are diced, is critical to make production more efficient. A new generation of larger wafers typically comes out each decade or so.

The group is planning to cooperate with the whole semiconductor industry in order to establish common standards through the International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) consortium.

Still, some analysts say cost is a major hurdle and the industry - from semiconductor makers to the companies that make their equipment - needs to agree on how to proceed.

A factory designed to make chips on 18-inch wafers could cost $10 billion or more to build, nearly triple the price of a current 12-inch wafer factory.

Only the biggest companies, like Intel, Samsung and TSMC, have the resources to be the first adopters of the new technology, while smaller chip makers, such as those in China, are unlikely to buy into the expensive plan soon, they say.

Wikipedia is blocked in China yet again. Navtej kohli IT blog brings the latest scoop!

After being accessible for over two months, Wikipedia’s English website is blocked again in china. This irregular availability of the site has been a constant phenomenon since last eight months.
However, the site was available till recently when users in Beijing and Shanghai confirmed that they were no longer able to access the website.

China regularly blocks access to websites that it finds objectionable, including those dealing with politically sensitive subjects such as the Falun Gong religious cult and independence for Taiwan and Tibet, along with some pornographic sites. The Chinese government does not announce or comment on when a site is blocked or made available.
Because the version of events or political views expressed on Wikipedia are not necessarily in line with those of the Chinese government, the government may be blocking access to the site.

The current blocking may be related to the upcoming Communist Party Congress, which begins Oct. 15 in Beijing. Held once every five years, the meeting is the Chinese government's most important political gathering, used to create five-year plans, which are the bedrock of China's centrally-planned economy. It is also often used to reshuffle government positions or for leaders to consolidate their power.

While Wikipedia's English site is occasionally available, its Chinese-language sites are almost permanently blocked, although access is sometimes permitted for one or two days at a time.

Is this the end of life for Windows XP? -by Navtej Kohli

Read on to know more...

Microsoft could re-think plans to discontinue its Windows XP operating system by June 30 if customers show they want to keep it, which so far they have not.

"XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies we can always wake up smarter but right now we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments," Ballmer said.

Microsoft has announced that it will stop licensing Windows XP to computer makers and end retail sales by June 30.

Ballmer said most retailers sold computers with Vista, the latest version of its Windows operating system, and most consumers were choosing to buy Vista.

Some consumers have complained they were unable to buy XP at retail stores, or as consumers. They say that in order to get XP they must buy their computers as small businesses.

"In the business environment, we still have customers who are buying PCs with XP" because information technology departments often have to work with old machines, Ballmer said.

Vista requires high-speed central processing units installed only in newer machines.

Navtej Kohli IT blog keeps a constant track of the latest happenings in the IT industry. This time it is the Intel-Cray tie up.

Navtej Kohli shares a report he stumbled upon over web.

Microprocessor giant Intel Corp is in a tie-up with supercomputer maker Cray Inc to bolster Intel's market share for the highest of high-end computers, executives said.

Cray and Intel announced a multiyear deal to build the next generation of high-performance computers capable of processing petaflops -- quadrillions of machine instructions a second -- or twice the power of the world's top existing supercomputer.

While Intel supplies a wide range of supercomputer makers, working with Cray helps ensure Intel will be inside more of the world's top 10 most-powerful computers, where boasting rights to having the fastest machines are in constant flux.

"Cray enjoys a pretty unique position in the top 10, and fills a gap in the range of Intel systems," said Richard Dracott, general manager of Intel's High Performance Computing division.

More than 70 per cent of the top 500 supercomputers are Intel-based, up from about half two years ago, he said, citing industry data. Its main rivals in that segment of the chip market are IBM with its Power processors and perennial rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Cray, a supercomputer pioneer which supplies three of the world's 10 most powerful machines, plans to switch to Intel processors in future installations. It had previously relied on AMD and custom-built chips.

Cray aims to deliver its first petaflop-scale machine later in 2008 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Intel tie-up will help Cray fulfill its product technology roadmap code-named "Cascade," which the company plans to deliver by 2011 or 2012, according to Ian Miller, Cray's head of sales and marketing.

Cray and Intel said their collaboration would lead to the development of systems that could help solve some of the most complicated scientific, engineering and humanitarian issues.

Intel, which has a commanding lead in the mass market for microprocessors in PCs, has expanded in recent years to focus on chips that can handle the most arduous computing tasks.

Partnering with Cray helps Intel fill gaps in its historic ambition to capture this elite segment of the market. Intel chips already power three of the top five supercomputers.

"The partnership is really about scale (and) moving much larger amounts of data," Dracott said. "No one wants to take a machine that does jobs that take weeks or months to complete and have them fall over half way through the job."

A year-and-a-half ago, Santa Clara, California-based Intel formed a new business division to target the high performance computer market, one of the fastest-growing segments in the computer server industry.
The HPC market will grow to $18 billion by 2012 from $10 billion in 2006, executives from the companies said, citing data from market research firm IDC.

The Intel and Cray executives said they will explore future component designs such as multi-core processing and advanced interconnects -- technologies that should allow supercomputers to eventually handle multiple petaflops of data per second.

Courtesy: Reuters