I now see a new and encouraging trend in a company’s efforts to be visible in the marketplace. And I’m not talking about press, outdoor, film or television. The new recipe has carefully hand-picked ingredients that can even get a steak to sizzle : bloggers. Bloggers, specially invited to a freewheeling session that is informal, interactive and informative.

I was recently invited to a product curtain raiser for bloggers and my invite gave me a sneak preview of two new Lenovo products. The new IdeaCentre A600 and IdeaPad Y650 – just off the blocks from the Lenovo launch pad. After the presentations were concluded, the bloggers were invited to test drive the two machines and interact with the Lenovo team on features, specs, support and compatibility with typical user profiles.

One of difficult things about a bloggers’ meet with a corporate agenda is the actual handling of the event – especially in terms of presentation logic. It can’t be orchestrated, or formal. It can’t be to a script. And it can’t be blow-dried. So, it has to be open-ended, freewheeling and meandering – with no timers set on presentations and discussions. And that is exactly what this bloggers’ meet was all about.

The next Barcamp Bangalore, an interesting amalgam of events and communication, where everyone is a participant, is happening at IIM-B on the 13th and 14th September.

For details, visit

http://barcampbangalore.org/wiki/Main_Page

And if you want to know in detail what a Barcamp is, go to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp

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Technology is seeping through into the Govt departments as more and more technical gadgets seen put to use in day to day administration work.

A tax collector moves around HAL market to collect taxes from vendors selling vegetables in the market the device used helps retrieve tax dues and prints instant receipts storing the data that can then be uploaded onto the central databases once back in office….

Well, there are city search engines and more city search engines. Every city worth its name has one or has folks with entrepreneurial spirit unleash one.

Why the barrage of them, you ask? Well, the ‘biggie’ search engine guys have found that search engine data show many users – roughly between 5% to 30% – searching for local or geography based queries which, in turn, lead them to a buying / availing a service decision. As there is money or potential money to be made catering to these folks searching, well, you get the idea. Of course, moving onto a revenue model at the outset is tricky so things do take time.

Bangalore is no exception to these online services. There are many local search engines here – a simple type on google with “Bangalore, local, city search engines” will give you a number of them and more. Here at MB, we’ve even profiled one of them. If you’ve gotten over that one, here’s one more for you.

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– The Broadband is getting broader by the day!!

Broadband speeds are poised for an explosive growth. Pushing the limits, Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced the launch of broadband internet access at 8 mbps for the first time in the country. The speed offered is much more than the 256 kbps to 4 mbps now available for the mass users. At 8 mbps, the Airtel broadband network will be IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) ready. The high speed broadband will be commercially available within the next three weeks in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkatta, Delhi and the National Capital Region, with a subsequent roll out in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

So what are you waiting for!! The new revolutions make it easier now to choose your TV channels via Internet anywhere in the world!! Isn’t it a time to bring Dreams into reality!!

It’s been awhile that we are taking about WiMax in Bangalore, after BSNL, AIRCEL, it is said that RComm to join the bandwagon but start the services from June 07.

“Reliance Communications (RCOM) will soon launch its wireless broadband technology commonly known as WiMax in Pune and Bangalore in June. Unlike wireless fidelity (wi-fi), where radio waves can cover up to 30 meters, WiMax services are accessible for over 10 miles in theory. WiMax is offering better mobility to the users without being connected by a wire to a service operator. Indian wireless market, which is growing rapidly by 40%, is expected to react positively to the new technology” Refer..

While many netzians keep struggling to get their boradbands connections from various players in the market and due to resource limitations they have to wait to get online. The bandwidth and reach of WiMAX make it suitable for the following potential applications:

1. Connecting Wi-Fi hotspots with each other and to other parts of the Internet.
2. Providing a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for last mile (last km) broadband access.
3. Providing high-speed data and telecommunications services.
4. Providing a diverse source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan. That is, if a business has a fixed and a wireless internet connection, especially from unrelated providers, they are unlikely to be affected by the same service outage. etc

Many companies are closely examining WiMAX for “last mile” connectivity at high data rates. This could result in lower pricing for both home and business customers as competition lowers prices and with a faster and reliable access to Internet . Enough heard! When will it work? Let’s keep our fingers crossed!!!

E-governance, most say is a two way street: give some (information and services), take some (feedback).

Go to Hyderabad Muni site and find handy links to register your grievance, and track them as well! Whats more, they have an online way to take in RTI queries as well (seems broken today, but did work last time I checked).

While I sure hope these grand citizen friendly online things work for Hyderabad, Bangalore site (BBMP) has been making us wait for an online grievance system. Sep 2006 was their self-enforced deadline, hope they put it up soon.

For lazy keyboard-warriors like us (who are good for not much else!), I think online RTI and complaint systems should be good tools for activism, isn’t it? Hopefully soon!

What a great relief this news brings us while we ‘enjoy’ the power cuts!! Another awakening story reveals..

BP and Tata plan to invest USD 100 million to create solar mega plant in Bangalore to meet the demands of Indian and global solar PV markets.
On Mar. 21, 2007, at the inauguration of a new 36MW solar photovoltaic (PV) production line, the board of Tata BP Solar confirmed that this represents another step towards realizing the designed potential of the 300 MW plant. The new production line has seen TBPS more than double its cell manufacturing capacity to reach some 50 MW per annum. The next phase of the expansion will see an additional 128 MW of cell manufacturing capacity added during 2007-08

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– Perhaps this could be the great news for the FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) project lovers,

In a big revolutionary move towards ‘Open source Computing’ was set forth by the Simputer project. Alchemy – the user interface used on the Amida Simputer – has been open sourced, and the code has been released under the General Public License. By “open sourcing” the code, it would mean that the software would be made available to the general public with either relaxed or non-existent intellectual property restrictions.

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“Understand – Innovate – Enable” seems to be the mantra of Brand Bangalore…The fasted and biggest brand tagged with innovation and technical revolution, continues to thrill the world…
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