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Experts anticipate significant continued reductions in wind energy costs

Technology advancements are expected to continue to drive down the cost of wind energy, according to a survey of the world's foremost wind power experts led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Experts anticipate cost reductions of 24%-30% by 2030 and 35%-41% by 2050, under a median or 'best guess' scenario, driven by bigger and more efficient turbines, lower capital and operating costs, and other advancements (see Figure 1).

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  • Physics & Chemistry

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NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP finds powerful storms in Tropical Storm Malakas

NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite measured cloud top temperatures as it passed over Tropical Storm Malakas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean and found strong storms.

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  • Earth & Climate

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Land-based food not nutritionally sufficient for wild polar bears, according to new study

A study, by San Diego Zoo Global conservationists, released this week (Sept. 12, 2016) is shedding new light on how scientists evaluate polar bear diet and weight loss during their fasting season. On average, a polar bear loses up to 30 percent of its total body mass while fasting during the open-water season. Although some scientists previously believed land-based foods could supplement the bears' nutritional needs until the sea ice returns, a new study published in the scientific journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology has revealed that access to terrestrial food is not sufficient to reduce the rate of body mass loss for fasting polar bears.

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  • Earth & Climate

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When vendor meetings become a dreadful affair

Like any other CIO I get several mails and calls and meeting requests from vendors – small and big, old companies and startups, current partners and potential partners. I must admit, I do not entertain most of the requests.




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How my organization fell prey to transnational cyber fraud

Last year my organization fell victim to a trans- national export invoice fraud. Since 99 percent of our sales come from exports, the cyber fraud dealt a big blow to our organization. We have a customer in South East Asia and my organization had business dealings with this customer for over five years.




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To survive, CIOs need to act as a conduit between business and IT

It is crucial for CIOs to break free from set behaviors and relationships in order to establish IT as a full business partner. If CIOs complain that they feel ignored by the business, they are themselves to blame.




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What do CIOs want – The title or the relationship

Managing relationships is as important for a CIO as having operational and technical competence.




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CIOs, will you speak your mind?

It is better to put forward our views and deal with the multitude of possible outcomes than to ponder what if we had spoken.




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When CIO-CMO relationship goes sour

For a CIO-CMO association to deliver true business value there must be a true level of trust and respect built between these two leaders and their teams.




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India's digital lending market likely to grow $515 bn by 2030 : Report

Given the low base and huge demand, the digital lending industry remains in an expansive phase. According to a recent report by IIFL FinTech, the digital lending market is expected to grow to a whopping USD 515 billion by 2030.




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Google’s ad tech in peril as EU joins US’s breakup bandwagon

The European Commission last week joined the Department of Justice in touting a breakup as a viable remedy for the California-based tech giant’s alleged monopoly abuses. A selloff order would strike at the heart of one of Google’s biggest money spinners, although it could still be years away due to the legal processes being played out.




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Upcoming aviation, tech ventures giving Noida new identity: UP Minister Nand Gopal

"With the development of Asia's largest airport at Jewar, the freight corridor, data centres, food park, toy park, medical device park, an Integrated Industrial Township in Greater Noida, multi-modal transportation hub, the region managed by the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities has got a new identity," Nand Gopal Gupta said.




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Digital India Bill draft likely within 15 days

The draft was due to be released earlier this month, but was held back for fresh consultation with legal and industry leaders. This follows feedback from experts during the government’s outreach on the proposed Act, which began in March across multiple cities, including Bengaluru and Mumbai. The proposed regulations may also include provisions requiring companies to inform consumers how their data is being processed, sources said.




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EU to take one giant leap towards digital euro

Digital euro enthusiasts say it will complement cash and ensure the ECB does not leave a gap that could be filled by private, usually non-European, players and other central banks. Critics question the need for a digital euro and banks warn of major risks, while the ECB's own study found the public was concerned over payment privacy.




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Internet shutdowns cost $1.9 billion to India in Jan-Jun 2023: Report

The shutdowns also led to a loss of nearly $118 million in foreign investment and triggered over 21,000 job losses, the global non-profit Internet Society said in its report 'Netloss'.




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Private banks bullish on branch expansion while PSU banks scale digital operations

Private banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis have been spending a lot on expanding their operations into the hinterlands of the country, contrary to public sector banks which have been investing in building capabilities and enhancing their digital functions. What’s driving this change? Is phygital the new norm in banking? Find out more here.




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Ecommerce logs 24% Q2 growth as premium products click; slowdown hits low-priced items

The 24% quarterly growth follows a slower-than-expected 16% growth in the January to March quarter, as reported by ET in May. While certain segments like pharma and eye wear have grown at a faster clip, senior ecommerce industry executives said there is an emerging trend of slowdown in online sales of low-priced items across categories like fashion, appliances, etc.




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24 central banks will have digital currencies by 2030: BIS survey

The past 18 months have seen turmoil in the crytpo market, including the failure of TerraUSD, an unbacked stablecoin, in May 2022, the collapse of crytpo exchange FTX in November and the bankruptcy of banks such as Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which serviced crypto providers.




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Meta, Qualcomm partnership to bring AI-powered apps on phones

Both the companies are working to optimise the execution of Meta’s LLMs directly on-device without the need of cloud services. According to the chipmaker, the technology will enable applications, powered by Snapdragon, to work in areas with no connectivity or even in airplane mode. This will essentially bring generative AI capabilities from large companies using powerful processors to users’ hands.




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Tech startup Wiom raises Rs 140 crore

The Series A round was led by RTP Global while YourNest and Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focused on impact, also participated, along with Global Brain, Blume Founders Fund, Alteria Capital, Stride Ventures, Stride One and 9 Unicorns.




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Create flexible, adaptable cloud services with BT Cloud Compute

Cloud Compute is our latest cloud based data centre service allowing you to self-service and access cloud based infrastructure globally.It's all about choice and flexibility, building the service you need as for long as you need it. Setting up infrastructure that perfectly aligned, faster than ever with near instant provisioning times across private and public availability zones.




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How to choose a public cloud storage provider

A recent Gartner study offers some useful guidelines on how to choose an enterprise-level cloud storage provider. But don’t forget that providers need to work together effectively too.




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How CIOs are using the cloud to take on shadow IT

There’s a growing phenomenon in CIOs’ lives, and it’s called Shadow IT: other departments like finance and marketing bypassing the IT department and buying their own technology.




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The real-time economy: when everything gets connected

The real-time economy requires instant processes in an increasing number of business functions.




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How we connect you for a better future

At BT Global Services connections are our business. We are trusted by thousands of enterprises around the world, combining our global strength in networks, IT and innovation with local presence, expertise and delivery. Watch this video to find out how we can help you connect for a better future.




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Keeping pace with the changing threat

It’s no longer enough to follow cybercrime trends and react to them. You need to be constantly monitoring and anticipating threats, because these days the stakes are simply too high not to.




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Case Study : BT One Enterprise Cisco: Work without boundaries around the world

A BT One Enterprise Cisco solution makes voice calls between the UK and India simple and immediate. In most cases they’re free of charge too. Best of all, the employees feel as one with the BT global team.




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Show as well as tell

Desktop sharing features put everyone in the picture




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Video : Improve collaboration with Cisco Jabber

Cisco unified communications give your teams the freedom to be productive from anywhere, on any device, with Cisco Jabber. Available as one of our Cisco cloud services or as an on-premises solution, Cisco Jabber lets you access presence, instant messaging, voice, video, voice messaging, desktop sharing, and conferencing.Now you can find the right people, see if and how they are available, and collaborate using your preferred method.




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No need to travel as Southbank Sinfonia recruits artists around the world using a Cisco TelePresence solution from BT

Every year some of the world’s best young musicians would jet into London to audition for a bursary with the Southbank Sinfonia. Simon Over wanted to cut down on those thousands of air miles and hours in transit. He also didn’t want to miss out on youngsters who couldn’t afford the fare.




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Etihad Airways: Assuring special service levels for high-flying guests

A BT cloud-based virtual contact centre helps Etihad deliver own-language service excellence to guests from 37 countries




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OpenAI and rivals seek new path to smarter AI as current methods hit limitations

TECH-AI-OpenAI and rivals seek new path to smarter AI as current methods hit limitations




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CEOs in infrastructure and transport sector focus on ESG and Gen AI amid growth prospects: KPMG

The survey indicates that 57% of CEOs believe stakeholder expectations on ESG are evolving faster than they can adjust their strategies, with more than half concerned that inadequate climate adaptation could negatively impact growth in the short to medium term.




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Zetwerk is said to consider raising $1 billion in Indian IPO

The Bangalore-based firm, backed by investors such as Peak XV Partners and Lightspeed India Partners, has held talks with investment banks to help prepare for a potential IPO in Mumbai next year, as per sources.




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Baidu bolsters AI lineup with text-to-image generator, no-code app builder

The country's leading search engine company is among tech firms shifting their focus to the commercialisation of large language model (LLM) applications after nearly two years of heavy investment in research and development in models that they tout as alternatives to OpenAI's GPT.




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Nvidia and SoftBank pilot world's first AI and 5G telecom network

"Every other telco will have to follow this new wave," SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said at an AI event where he was speaking alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.




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Amazon offers free computing power to AI researchers, aiming to challenge Nvidia

AWS said researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Berkeley, are taking part in the program. The company plans to make 40,000 of the first-generation Trainium chips available for the program.




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India likely to add 33.9 mn jobs to its workforce by 2028 in AI era

With AI-driven transformation, India is projected to increase its workforce from 423.73 million in 2023 to 457.62 million by 2028, a net gain of 33.89 million workers, according to a report on Wednesday.




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Is 'learn to code' just empty advice now that AI does the heavy lifting? Here’s Google’s take

Google's head of research, Yossi Matias, emphasizes the enduring importance of coding skills in an AI-driven world. While acknowledging AI's growing role in software development, Matias argues that basic coding knowledge is crucial for understanding and leveraging AI's potential. He compares coding to math, suggesting that both are fundamental for navigating an increasingly tech-reliant society.




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Apple working on AR shopping feature on iPhone: Report

Tech giant Apple is reportedly working on a new version of its Apple Store application which will offer an augmented reality (AR) shopping feature on iPhone.




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Cryptoverse: Bitcoin is back with a bonk

The No.1 cryptocurrency has clocked a 26% gain in January, leaping 22% in the past week alone, breaking back above the $20,000 level and putting in on course for its best month since October 2021 - just before the Big Crypto Crash.




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As ChatGPT takes the internet by storm, here’s what its rivals are up to

OpenAI took the internet by storm as its AI chatbot ChatGPT wowed people with its ability to formulate detailed and human-like answers on a wide range of subjects in a few seconds.




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Users can now mark messages as important or urgent in Microsoft Teams

Navigate to the "Mark as important" button which is present beneath the compose box and select either the "Important" or "Urgent" option depending on the level of attention the message requires.




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Meta sees strong trend in women entrepreneurs using its apps in India

About 73% of Instagram business accounts that self-identify as a women-owned business were set up in the last three years in India, the company revealed.




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Experts renew calls to save vestiges of ancient metal tech, artefacts of Zawar

India supplied zinc for the industrial revolution of Europe, and the ancient metallurgical remains at Zawar, a geo-heritage site nearly 45 km off Udaipur, lie as a living testimony. Lack of progress in work to preserve this spectacular geological heritage and promote geo-tourism has left experts wondering.




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Oppo aims to make GenAI accessible to 50 mn users in 2024, collaborates with Google, Microsoft

Oppo aims to make generative artificial intelligence accessible to 50 million users by 2024 through collaborations with Google and Microsoft, joining other handset makers like Samsung and Xiaomi in leveraging AI for sales growth.




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India's smartphone market estimated to grow 7-8 pc this year

India's smartphone market is estimated to grow 7-8 per cent this year, driven by strong demand for premium, 5G and AI smartphones, according to a new report.




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How fungi help trees tolerate drought

The mutualistic relationship between tree roots and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi has been shaping forest ecosystems since their inception. ECM fungi are key players supporting the growth, health and stress tolerance of forest trees globally, such as oak, pine, spruce, birch and beech, and help boost the productivity of bioenergy feedstock trees, including poplar and willow. The most common ECM fungus is Cenococcum geophilum, found in subtropical through arctic zones and especially in extreme environments. It is also the only mycorrhizal fungus in the Dothideomycetes, a large class comprised of some 19,000 fungal species, many of them plant pathogens.

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  • Biology & Nature

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Crab from the Chinese pet market turns out to be a new species of a new genus

Shimmering carapaces and rattling claws make colourful freshwater crabs attractive to pet keepers. To answer the demand, fishermen are busy collecting and trading with the crustaceans, often not knowing what exactly they have handed over to their client.

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  • Biology & Nature

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Critical information needed in fight to save wildlife

With global temperatures rising, an international group of 22 top biologists is calling for a coordinated effort to gather important species information that is urgently needed to improve predictions for the impact of climate change on future biodiversity.

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  • Biology & Nature