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Microsoft and Google agree to build YouTube app

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Microsoft and Google agree to build YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 Summary:  After a public tussle, Microsoft and Google have agreed to jointly build a native YouTube app for Windows Phone 8, which will be released within a few weeks. Microsoft and Google seem to have found common ground in their recent skirmish over YouTube on Windows Phone 8. The pair announced on May 24 that they are going to build together a version of a native YouTube application for Windows Phone 8 that will meet Google's terms of service. The new app will be available in the Windows Phone Store in the "coming weeks," according to a Google spokesperson. A quick play-by-play recap for those new to the latest Google-Microsoft feud: On May 8,  Microsoft fielded a YouTube application  that it built itself for Windows Phone 8. The problem: The app violated Google's terms of service by not serving ads and allowing video downloads. Google sent Microsoft a cease-and desist; Micros...

Gd & bad news for WP8 Users

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There's good news and bad news for Windows Phone business users Summary:  VPN support may not be coming to Windows Phone 8 this year, as was rumored and hoped for by many business users. But Good Technology's secure messaging app is now on WP8. As I mentioned on the  Windows Weekly podcast on May 16 , current and potential Windows Phone users who've been hoping Microsoft might add VPN support to Windows Phone 8 this year could be disappointed. One of my sources, who has been pretty accurate so far about Windows Phone futures, said that neither the GDR2 nor GDR3 updates to the Windows Phone 8 operating system are going to introduce VPN support to the platform. (GDR2 is supposedly rolling out to existing Windows Phone users this summer; GDR3 is rumored for this fall.) It's unclear if Microsoft will relent  and introduce VPN support with the follow-on to GDR3, which is known as Windows Phone Blue -- which is looking increasing...

New roles for BSNL, MTNL

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Indian govt must define new role for BSNL, MTNL Summary:   Once again, there is talk of merging the two struggling public sector telecom behemoths to revive their fortunes. But benefits won't begin to show till the government spells out a new role for them. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has reinitiated the move to merge state-owned telcos Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), in a bid to streamline operations and improve their profitability. In a note prepared for the consideration of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, the DoT has said that both public sector undertakings (PSUs) faced stiff competition from pan-India private operators. The private players were in a position to extend benefits especially to enterprise and business customers, while the two PSU telco were not in a position to do the same. "Merger of BSNL and MTNL into a national telecom service company may be considered fo...

Microsoft readies 'Mohoro'

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Microsoft readies 'Mohoro' Windows desktop as a service Summary:   Microsoft is believed to be building a Windows Azure-hosted desktop virtualization service that could be available on a pay-per-use basis. In yet another example of its growing emphasis on   remaking itself as a devices and services company, Microsoft looks to be developing a pay-per-use "Windows desktop as a service" that will run on Windows Azure. Enterprise Management The desktop virtualization service, codenamed Mohoro, is in a very early development phase, from what I've heard from sources. I don't know the final launch target, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't until the second half of 2014. Mohoro is a town located on the island of Grande Comore in the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean. Given that members of the Microsoft India Development Center may be playing a key role in Mohoro's development, according to my sources, the codename choice seems app...

India tech matrix

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India tech matrix transforms enterprise software Summary:   The software sector's focus is shifting from one motivated by scale and cost toward knowledge leadership and execution, as global in-house centers collaborate more with the rest of the ecosystem. India's crowded technology landscape has fostered new types of collaboration and innovation, which benefits enterprise customers locally and globally.According to Nasscom, India is  home   to about 500 offshore software product development (OSPD) centers, generating US$1.2 billion revenue in the year ending March 31. In FY2010, there were over   750 IT-BPO multinational captive centers in India. Meanwhile, in FY2012 engineering research and development exports were expected to exceed US$10 billion. Nasscom vice president K.S. Vishwanathan said over 350 tech companies had their R&D facilities in India. "There's nowhere that you can find such a conglomerate of corporations," Vishwanat...

Google Glass: 2034

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Beyond Google Glass by 2034 Summary:  What happens if we progress to a culture dominated by augmented reality and lifelogging? In decades past, they had called it spring. But at 95+ degrees outside of Eva Konsumer's tiny studio apartment in downtown Miami, it sure felt like summer. In fact, Eva could not recall during her 25-year-old life when it wasn't blazing hot in April in Miami                                                                         (Image: Google) Unless there was a compelling reason to do so, these days, it was best to stay indoors where the concrete block construction and the industrial air conditio...