Although Artificial Intelligence is not being used now, Chowdhury says that rapid visualisation and data analysis is being done to provide better solutions.

While the technology will not be as effective as a GSPS tracing, it would undoubtedly save battery as the power consumption of GPS is much higher than Bluetooth.

Apps that are reshaping online learning either through their pioneering offerings or their way of offering these solutions. Apps that have unique offerings or unusual ways of offering solutions.

The Watson virtual agent is AI-enabled and will be able to understand and respond to queries in English and Hindi.

This project brings together National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune; Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, and Gurgaon-based PredOmix Technologies in a collaborative mode for a public health emergency.

Recovery is expected in Q2; upgraded to ‘Add’ given recent correction and other positives; TP cut to Rs 1,310.

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,981 and the number of cases climbed to 59,662 in the country on Saturday, the Health Ministry said.

British Columbia invited 70 candidates in the initial BC PNP Tech Pilot draw for the present year on January 14th.  It issued invitations through four streams of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program as mentioned below:SI – Skilled Workers…

1. Bharat Biotech to lead human monoclonal antibodies venture  Microbioz India
2. Bharat Biotech to lead monoclonal antibodies project for Covid-19 therapy  The Financial Express
3. Bharat Biotech leads CSIR project to develop antibodies against Covid-19  Times of India
4. CSIR approves project to develop human monoclonal antibodies that can neutralize COVID-19 in patients  Times Now
5. Bharat Biotech to lead project on monoclonal antibodies therapy for COVID-19  The New Indian Express
6. View Full coverage on Google News

RBI sets up Inter-regulatory Working Group on Fin Tech and Digital Banking

IFTTT (If This Than That), a web-based software that automates and connects over 600 online services/software raised a $24M Series C led by Salesforce. Other investors include IBM and the Chamberlain Group and Fenox Venture Capital.

The latest round brings IFTTT’s funding to $63M and it will use the funding proceeds to provide integration for enterprise and IoT services and hiring. In IFTTT’s platform, applets are code/script users need to deploy to integrate two or more services (such Google Drive’s integration with Twitter/Facebook).

Investment in IFTTT reveals that Salesforce is consolidating its presence in enterprise IoT space. It also acquired Mulesoft, an integration platform that rivals Microsoft’s BizTalk.

IBM’s investment in IFTTT is also noteworthy as the former is pushing its IBM Watson IoT platform. The following statement also shows its keen interest in IFTTT.

Other recent investments in IoT companies include $30M Series B of Armis and Myriota's $15M for its IoT satellite-based connectivity platform.

For latest IoT funding and product news, please visit our IoT news section.

This is the 23rd installment of The Rationalist, my column for the Times of India.

I had a strange dream last night. I dreamt that the government had passed a law that made using laptops illegal. I would have to write this column by hand. I would also have to leave my home in Mumbai to deliver it in person to my editor in Delhi. I woke up trembling and angry – and realised how Indian farmers feel every single day of their lives.

My column today is a tale of two satyagrahas. Both involve farmers, technology and the freedom of choice. One of them began this month – but first, let us go back to the turn of the millennium.

As the 1990s came to an end, cotton farmers across India were in distress. Pests known as bollworms were ravaging crops across the country. Farmers had to use increasing amounts of pesticide to keep them at bay. The costs of the pesticide and the amount of labour involved made it unviable – and often, the crops would fail anyway.

Then, technology came to the rescue. The farmers heard of Bt Cotton, a genetically modified type of cotton that kept these pests away, and was being used around the world. But they were illegal in India, even though no bad effects had ever been recorded. Well, who cares about ‘illegal’ when it is a matter of life and death?

Farmers in Gujarat got hold of Bt Cotton seeds from the black market and planted them. You’ll never guess what happened next. As 2002 began, all cotton crops in Gujarat failed – except the 10,000 hectares that had Bt Cotton. The government did not care about the failed crops. They cared about the ‘illegal’ ones. They ordered all the Bt Cotton crops to be destroyed.

It was time for a satyagraha – and not just in Gujarat. The late Sharad Joshi, leader of the Shetkari Sanghatana in Maharashtra, took around 10,000 farmers to Gujarat to stand with their fellows there. They sat in the fields of Bt Cotton and basically said, ‘Over our dead bodies.’ ¬Joshi’s point was simple: all other citizens of India have access to the latest technology from all over. They are all empowered with choice. Why should farmers be held back?

The satyagraha was successful. The ban on Bt Cotton was lifted.

There are three things I would like to point out here. One, the lifting of the ban transformed cotton farming in India. Over 90% of Indian farmers now use Bt Cotton. India has become the world’s largest producer of cotton, moving ahead of China. According to agriculture expert Ashok Gulati, India has gained US$ 67 billion in the years since from higher exports and import savings because of Bt Cotton. Most importantly, cotton farmers’ incomes have doubled.

Two, GMO crops have become standard across the world. Around 190 million hectares of GMO crops have been planted worldwide, and GMO foods are accepted in 67 countries. The humanitarian benefits have been massive: Golden Rice, a variety of rice packed with minerals and vitamins, has prevented blindness in countless new-born kids since it was introduced in the Philippines.

Three, despite the fear-mongering of some NGOs, whose existence depends on alarmism, the science behind GMO is settled. No harmful side effects have been noted in all these years, and millions of lives impacted positively. A couple of years ago, over 100 Nobel Laureates signed a petition asserting that GMO foods were safe, and blasting anti-science NGOs that stood in the way of progress. There is scientific consensus on this.

The science may be settled, but the politics is not. The government still bans some types of GMO seeds, such as Bt Brinjal, which was developed by an Indian company called Mahyco, and used successfully in Bangladesh. More crucially, a variety called HT Bt Cotton, which fights weeds, is also banned. Weeding takes up to 15% of a farmer’s time, and often makes farming unviable. Farmers across the world use this variant – 60% of global cotton crops are HT Bt. Indian farmers are so desperate for it that they choose to break the law and buy expensive seeds from the black market – but the government is cracking down. A farmer in Haryana had his crop destroyed by the government in May.

On June 10 this year, a farmer named Lalit Bahale in the Akola District of Maharashtra kicked off a satyagraha by planting banned seeds of HT Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjal. He was soon joined by thousands of farmers. Far from our urban eyes, a heroic fight has begun. Our farmers, already victimised and oppressed by a predatory government in countless ways, are fighting for their right to take charge of their lives.

As this brave struggle unfolds, I am left with a troubling question: All those satyagrahas of the past by our great freedom fighters, what were they for, if all they got us was independence and not freedom?

© 2007 IndiaUncut.com. All rights reserved.
India Uncut * The IU Blog * Rave Out * Extrowords * Workoutable * Linkastic

RF Enthusiasts, Come connect with Cadence RF experts and discover the latest advances in Cadence RF technologies, including Spectre RF at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS) 2014. This year, IMS will be held in Tampa, Florida. Cadence...(read more)

It’s always good to hear what real users think of products. Here is a very detailed review (~4000 words) by an Anonymous user, nick named Ant-Man (from the movie). Overall it’s a very strong endorsement of Perspec, and summarize...(read more)

This is the 23rd installment of The Rationalist, my column for the Times of India.

I had a strange dream last night. I dreamt that the government had passed a law that made using laptops illegal. I would have to write this column by hand. I would also have to leave my home in Mumbai to deliver it in person to my editor in Delhi. I woke up trembling and angry – and realised how Indian farmers feel every single day of their lives.

My column today is a tale of two satyagrahas. Both involve farmers, technology and the freedom of choice. One of them began this month – but first, let us go back to the turn of the millennium.

As the 1990s came to an end, cotton farmers across India were in distress. Pests known as bollworms were ravaging crops across the country. Farmers had to use increasing amounts of pesticide to keep them at bay. The costs of the pesticide and the amount of labour involved made it unviable – and often, the crops would fail anyway.

Then, technology came to the rescue. The farmers heard of Bt Cotton, a genetically modified type of cotton that kept these pests away, and was being used around the world. But they were illegal in India, even though no bad effects had ever been recorded. Well, who cares about ‘illegal’ when it is a matter of life and death?

Farmers in Gujarat got hold of Bt Cotton seeds from the black market and planted them. You’ll never guess what happened next. As 2002 began, all cotton crops in Gujarat failed – except the 10,000 hectares that had Bt Cotton. The government did not care about the failed crops. They cared about the ‘illegal’ ones. They ordered all the Bt Cotton crops to be destroyed.

It was time for a satyagraha – and not just in Gujarat. The late Sharad Joshi, leader of the Shetkari Sanghatana in Maharashtra, took around 10,000 farmers to Gujarat to stand with their fellows there. They sat in the fields of Bt Cotton and basically said, ‘Over our dead bodies.’ ¬Joshi’s point was simple: all other citizens of India have access to the latest technology from all over. They are all empowered with choice. Why should farmers be held back?

The satyagraha was successful. The ban on Bt Cotton was lifted.

There are three things I would like to point out here. One, the lifting of the ban transformed cotton farming in India. Over 90% of Indian farmers now use Bt Cotton. India has become the world’s largest producer of cotton, moving ahead of China. According to agriculture expert Ashok Gulati, India has gained US$ 67 billion in the years since from higher exports and import savings because of Bt Cotton. Most importantly, cotton farmers’ incomes have doubled.

Two, GMO crops have become standard across the world. Around 190 million hectares of GMO crops have been planted worldwide, and GMO foods are accepted in 67 countries. The humanitarian benefits have been massive: Golden Rice, a variety of rice packed with minerals and vitamins, has prevented blindness in countless new-born kids since it was introduced in the Philippines.

Three, despite the fear-mongering of some NGOs, whose existence depends on alarmism, the science behind GMO is settled. No harmful side effects have been noted in all these years, and millions of lives impacted positively. A couple of years ago, over 100 Nobel Laureates signed a petition asserting that GMO foods were safe, and blasting anti-science NGOs that stood in the way of progress. There is scientific consensus on this.

The science may be settled, but the politics is not. The government still bans some types of GMO seeds, such as Bt Brinjal, which was developed by an Indian company called Mahyco, and used successfully in Bangladesh. More crucially, a variety called HT Bt Cotton, which fights weeds, is also banned. Weeding takes up to 15% of a farmer’s time, and often makes farming unviable. Farmers across the world use this variant – 60% of global cotton crops are HT Bt. Indian farmers are so desperate for it that they choose to break the law and buy expensive seeds from the black market – but the government is cracking down. A farmer in Haryana had his crop destroyed by the government in May.

On June 10 this year, a farmer named Lalit Bahale in the Akola District of Maharashtra kicked off a satyagraha by planting banned seeds of HT Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjal. He was soon joined by thousands of farmers. Far from our urban eyes, a heroic fight has begun. Our farmers, already victimised and oppressed by a predatory government in countless ways, are fighting for their right to take charge of their lives.

As this brave struggle unfolds, I am left with a troubling question: All those satyagrahas of the past by our great freedom fighters, what were they for, if all they got us was independence and not freedom?

The India Uncut Blog © 2010 Amit Varma. All rights reserved.
Follow me on Twitter.

This Metasploit module exploits a buffer overflow vulnerability in Advantec WebAccess. The vulnerability exists in the dvs.ocx ActiveX control, where a dangerous call to sprintf can be reached with user controlled data through the GetColor function. This Metasploit module has been tested successfully on Windows XP SP3 with IE6 and Windows 7 SP1 with IE8 and IE 9.

Core Security Technologies Advisory - Advantech WebAccess version 7.2 is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow attack, which can be exploited by remote attackers to execute arbitrary code, by providing a malicious html file with specific parameters for an ActiveX component.

Using Advantech WebAccess SCADA Software and attacker can remotely manage industrial control systems devices like RTU's, generators, motors, etc. Attackers can execute code remotely by passing a maliciously crafted string to ConvToSafeArray API in ASPVCOBJLib.AspDataDriven ActiveX.

Technical Cyber Security Alert TA07-163A - Microsoft has released updates that address critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Windows Secure Channel, Internet Explorer, Win32 API, Windows Mail and Outlook Express. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service on a vulnerable system.

London has been named fDi’s inaugural Fintech Location of the Future for 2019/20, followed by Singapore and Belfast. 

Research by fDi Intelligence reveals which cities received the most tech start-up FDI relative to their population between 2016 and 2018, with European cities coming out on top.

Here is the short answer to the question of how many Microsoft products you can request: You can get 50 of each kind of product in a two-year period — but there are some exceptions.

See Microsoft products

What do you mean by "each kind of product"?

The Microsoft Donation Program divides products into categories called title groups. See the current list of 37. A title group contains products that serve essentially the same purpose, like PowerPoint and PowerPoint for Mac.

You can get products from 10 title groups in your two-year cycle.

When does this two-year cycle start and end? Is it the calendar year?

No. Your nonprofit has its own two-year cycle. Your first cycle started the day you requested your first Microsoft product through TechSoup. You can see when your current cycle ends on your Microsoft Donation Center page.

Outlook and PowerPoint are both title groups. Does that mean we can get 50 of each product?

That's right. They can be all the Windows version, all the Mac version, or a mixture of the two. And you will be able to request products from eight more title groups.

What are the exceptions you mentioned?

They have to do with servers. Microsoft offers two licensing models for its server products.

• Core-based licensing. This licensing is based on the number of cores in the physical processors of your server machines. The product page on TechSoup will tell you whether the server uses this type of licensing. You can request up to 50 of these products from each title group, the same as desktop products. But you might have to request more than one product to fully license all the processors in your server.
• Non-core-based licensing. You can request a total of five server products that do not use core-based licensing. They can be from a single title group or from different title groups, but the total cannot be more than five.

A lot of the title groups are for CALs and MLs. What are the limits for these?

You can get 50 from each title group.

CALs, or client access licenses, give you access to a server from a device like your desktop computer.

MLs, or management licenses, let your device be managed by a management server.

Where can I find out more?

This article goes into a lot more detail and gives examples of how the various allotments work together.

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(Please visit the site to view this video)

What does it take to make a city greener? In San Francisco, it took a small group of motivated people to come together to create a nonprofit. After the city cut funding for urban forestry 36 years ago, seven individuals decided to take matters into their own hands. They created a nonprofit, Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF).

Starting with a Small Budget, FUF Plants Nearly Half San Francisco's Street Trees

The organization started off with just a small budget from a leftover city grant. Then it used grassroots efforts to rally neighborhoods throughout the city around urban trees. By empowering and supporting communities and homeowners to plant and care for their own trees, FUF has successfully planted 60,000 of the 125,000 trees in San Francisco. The group eventually even worked with the city to create San Francisco's first ever Urban Forest Plan.

FUF Harnesses the Power of Many Volunteers to Plant and Advocate for Trees

FUF is a member of TechSoup, and TechSoup's staffers were very excited to reach out for an interview to hear more about the group's impact. My team joined FUF early on a Saturday morning for its volunteer tree planting event in the Portola neighborhood, a part of the city that is lacking street trees. It was cold even by San Francisco standards, but there was an impressive turnout of volunteers present and ready to plant.

The executive director of FUF, Dan Flanagan, joined us and told us about his work. "We get to get out in the city and make it greener. We advocate for trees; I always call ourselves the Lorax of San Francisco. We are the only organization in San Francisco that is speaking for the trees."

FUF Gets the Chance to Plant Even More Trees … in Neighborhoods That Really Need Them

Dan was excited about a recent accomplishment for the organization. San Francisco just passed Proposition E, which opens up major opportunities for the nonprofit. As he said, "It changes the responsibility from street trees and sidewalks away from the homeowners and to the city. As a result, homeowners are no longer responsible, and now we actually get a chance to make the city more green than ever before by planting more trees in neighborhoods that couldn't afford it before."

This policy makes the city responsible for maintenance, but it will still require FUF to continue its work of planting the trees. FUF hopes to plant 1,700 trees this year and ultimately hopes to plant 3,000 trees every year.

FUF Puts Technology from TechSoup to Work

I was curious to find out how FUF was using technology to further its mission. Jason Boyce, individual gifts manager, said: "Here at Friends of the Urban Forest, a lot of our field staff tend to be out in the field all day; technology really needs to be out of the way to allow us to plant. So, as a result, the relationships we build with our community tend to be stronger because we use technology to enable our work, but it doesn't get in the way of our work."

Jason explained, "We have been working with ArcMap for years, ... GIS software that TechSoup has provided for us. We use it to plant trees, to figure out where we are going to plant. When we do our plantings, we actually dole out the maps that our volunteers use to do the plantings, and all that comes through ArcMap. We use Adobe Acrobat to put together our tree manuals for our new tree owners and volunteer manuals. We use AutoCAD to put together the permit drawings for our sidewalk gardens. Technology plays a really important role in doing our plantings and making San Francisco more green."

FUF Partners with the City to Calculate the Environmental Benefits of Trees

Jason also recently worked with the city on the Urban Forest Map, which is an interactive online map that tracks every tree in San Francisco. The map helps calculate the environmental benefits the trees provide, including stormwater mitigation, air pollutants captured, and carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. This platform has increased the visibility of the city's urban forest.

As Jason said, "We are now at the forefront of cities worldwide that are building software to manage their urban forests. … [This] really gives a lot of benefit to the people living in San Francisco."

TechSoup is proud to support organizations like Friends of the Urban Forest by enabling them with the technology they need. That support gives them more time to focus on their impact, like planting trees, or to build the communities that help them thrive.

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(Please visit the site to view this video)

Older adults are at an increased risk of lacking company and being socially isolated. Recent studies prove that a lack of social relationships is as strong a risk factor for mortality as are smoking, obesity, or a lack of physical activity. Enter Little Brothers.

Little Brothers is an effort dedicated to spreading awareness and relieving isolation and loneliness in elders, a problem that often goes unseen. Little Brothers is in 7 U.S. cities and 10 countries worldwide. Its mission is carried out by more than one nonprofit organization.

Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly San Francisco facilitates more than 4,000 friendly visits a year. Volunteers are matched with elders in San Francisco, and they form and build a relationship through home visits, outings, or common interests.

We recently met with Andrew Butler, the program manager at Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly San Francisco. He explained that many volunteers form a relationship with an elder, and their stereotypes about older people are quickly broken down.

"A lot of what we do is creating awareness. I think a lot of the information that we share through training or events really inspires people," said Butler. He also suggested that we speak with a member of Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly San Francisco, Andy Morgan, to get a proper feel for the organization.

Andy Morgan is a highly spiritual 86-year-old who loves to read. Originally from Transylvania, Andy came to San Francisco in 1962 and has worked a variety of jobs throughout his life.

However, he stresses that he has never defined himself by what he did for a living. Aside from books and his spirituality, Andy values personal relationships and enjoys company.

Our conversation with Andy revealed why Little Brothers' impact matters so much.

I wanted to ask if you have any main visitors.

Andy Morgan: Yeah! I have one main visitor come every week. Rain or shine, he comes and sees me. He brings me food from Trader Joe's, and he does my laundry.

Wow, that's a sweet deal. Would you share a particular visit that has stuck with you over the years?

There's nothing that stands out; every visit is enjoyable. What we usually do is grab a spiritual book, you know, all those books over there are on spirituality, and we read from it and then we discuss it. I've been on the spiritual path since the 1960s, so if he has any questions, I can try and clarify.

I was wondering what makes you happy.

What makes me happy? Knowing that my within-ness, that which makes me breathe and which makes me exist, is pure joy and pure love. When you do a lot of meditation, something opens up within you, and I just feel, practically all the time, this feeling of love and joy and peace.

Of course no one can maintain that 24/7, but I can always come back. If something goes wrong, I can just remind myself of my true nature.

That's beautiful. Thank you so much for opening your home to us.

My pleasure; it's been a joy having you guys. Could I just read you one very short poem? It says …

Be as a Flower

Truth is very simple
A flower does not try to be beautiful.
Its True Nature is Beauty.
Just by its Very Being.

In the same way, when you Awaken
To your true nature,
You will naturally exude Love,
Compassion, Beauty.
It is all you.
For it is your True Self.

(poem by Robert Adams)

TechSoup is proud to support our member, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly San Francisco, in its mission to spread awareness about and help elders at risk of loneliness and isolation. There are incredible people like Andy all over the world who are at risk of being forgotten. But they should never be. TechSoup provides technology and services to Little Brothers staff members to help run their nonprofit so that they can focus on fighting the effects of elder isolation.

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(Please visit the site to view this video)

If you're a frequent visitor to our site, you might notice a few changes in the coming weeks. That's because we're making some big improvements and are proud to announce the upcoming launch of the newly redesigned TechSoup.org.

As a social enterprise, we never stop working to better serve nonprofits that share in our commitment to building a more equitable planet. In fact, TechSoup currently works with more than 965,000 NGOs in 236 countries and territories and has facilitated over $9 billion in U.S. market value of in-kind technology and funding.

To that end, we've created a refreshed, modern web presence to streamline access to all our traditional and beloved products and services. It will also serve as the place where TechSoup technologies and services are first announced.

The new TechSoup.org has been optimized for mobile devices, so you'll be able to experience all the new functionality wherever you go. We've also built the site with accessibility in mind on several fronts. And we're launching a new blog.

Our new website will officially go live in early November.

A Streamlined User Experience

Nonprofits who are regular visitors to TechSoup will find a streamlined catalog that makes finding product offers and solutions easier and more efficient. Additionally, the home page has been reconfigured, sending a clearer message of who we are and what we offer as an organization.

"We reduced clutter and developed a cleaner, simpler user experience with more breathing room in the interface to encourage users to do what they are intended to do on the site," says TechSoup head of user experience Tyler Benari. "It will now be easier to benefit from offerings available in and out of our catalog, interact with others in the nonprofit community, and gain access to other TechSoup services."

Maximized for Mobile

TechSoup's updated website will be maximized for mobile devices, allowing nonprofit staffers to take advantage of the many offers on TechSoup.org right from their phone or tablet.

"It's an exciting time," Benari says. "We will now be able to literally get TechSoup into more people's hands. Redesigning the site to be more mobile-friendly will allow us to grow our community much faster and better serve the existing nonprofits we love so much."

Improved Accessibility

The newly redesigned TechSoup.org also features greater accessibility and is informed by Web Content Accessibility 2.0 Guidelines (WCAG).

"TechSoup cares very much about accessibility and enabling access for all people," Benari says, describing two key factors that have been improved upon: contrast and code. "Our new color scheme makes it easier for people with impaired vision to access content on the site, and our code was updated to better communicate with screen readers."

A New Blog Platform

Finally, we're excited to introduce our new blog, more suited to integrate existing TechSoup.org content in a single, easy-to-access location. We've given the platform an upgrade, complete with a fresh look and improved functionality aimed to make blog posts more easily shareable and to promote a more robust multimedia experience.

You'll continue to see improvements in the coming months as we receive feedback from the communities we serve. Also, be on the lookout for more information surrounding the new site, including a webinar and short video.

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Serbia’s technology cluster is gaining momentum and attracting FDI, for both its software and hardware expertise.

Passion Capital's Eileen Burbidge talks to fDi about what fintech companies should consider when expanding internationally, and why London will always be a key market in the sector.

AstraZeneca will set up a R&D centre and an AI innovation centre in Shanghai, as well as create a $1bn fund that would invest in healthcare start-ups.

Scientific innovation, a conducive regulatory climate and increased globalisation of drug markets are driving an investment boom in biotechnology, with small companies and emerging markets shaking up the sector.

Belarus is climbing up the innovation league table thanks to an official decree to establish a favourable environment for start-ups. Initiatives such as tech parks and tax-friendly conditions are attracting foreign companies and reversing the country's brain drain, as Wendy Atkins reports.

Lisbon’s mayor discusses the city’s tech strengths and its solutions to business challenges, such as affordable housing.

Global FDI in the biotechnology sector has witnessed year-on-year increase since 2015.

A new report from Navigant Research released this week says that revenue from device and data management technologies could grow from approximately $14.8 billion in 2018 to more than $22.1 billion in 2027 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6%.

From the way we shop to the way we socialize, the internet affects nearly everything we do these days. This dramatic change in our way of life has been fueled by a handful of large tech companies, companies that are increasingly going all in on solar.