New plans to rewire for the digital age plans

They are plans that could have a big impact on those living amongst the green hills of Mill End Farm, set in an idyllic corner of English countryside.

Farmer Anita Tackley and her family manage a thriving small business with 500 milking cows and a bed and breakfast in their 17th-century home.
But in this seemingly timeless landscape, they have got a very modern headache - no broadband internet.
The farm is in a 'not spot' - one of thousands across Britain that are too far from the nearest telephone exchange to get broadband access.
"Everybody else seems to be able to get a broadband connection so I don't see why we shouldn't be able to have one too," complained Anita.
She cannot get access to the up-to-the-minute weather forecasts she needs on the farm, and her daughters struggle to complete their school homework without a good internet connection.
In the nearby village of Hambleden, locals say they are being left behind by the information age - despite being just 40 miles from London.
"I just find it incredible that you can get an 8MB broadband connection in the middle of the Sahara Desert and yet here we are in a very affluent part of the country with no internet access at all other than dial-up," said resident Matt Murton, who works in the IT industry.
The village is not alone in sitting on the wrong side of the digital divide.
Some 40% of British households still do not have broadband, and average connection speeds lag well behind France, Germany, the US and Japan.
The Government's Digital Report - put together by Communications Minister Lord Carter - promises to solve Hambleden's problems.


For further details visit as : news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Digital-Britain-Plans-To-Rewire-Britain-Revealed-Broadband-Access-For-Rural-Areas/Article/200906315307504?lpos=UK_News_Second_Technology_Article_Teaser_Region__1&lid=ARTICLE_15307504_Digital_Britain%3A_Plans_To_Rewire_Britain_Revealed%3B_Broadband_Access_For_Rural_Areas

Chinese developers of a controversial software to filter pornography

Chinese developers of a controversial software to filter pornography may face legal action from the U.S. makers of a similar Internet filter.

Solid Oak said it had “very solid evidence” to support copyright infringement against developers Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co and Dazheng Human Language Technology Co.
The California-based software maker has sent “cease and desist” letters to Hewlett-Packard and Dell to stop distributing computers containing the alleged copied software and said it was considering seeking an injunction in a U.S. court.
“We are weighing our legal options against the two program developers in China. We should know more in the coming 24-48 hours,” said Jenna DiPasquale, the head of Solid Oak PR and marketing.
The development puts a question mark over the future of the Green Dam-Youth Escort software, for which the government paid 41.7million yuan (US$6 million) and must be included in all computers sold on the mainland from July 1.
DiPasquale said programming codes within Solid Oak's CyberSitter had been found in the Green Dam software, which the government said is designed to protect youngsters from pornography and violence.
“We have sent HP and Dell, with which we have had business relationships, cease and desist letters,” said DiPasquale.
“We objected to the distribution of any software based on proprietary CyberSitter data, techniques, or methods that were illegally obtained or reverse engineered without proper licensing, or any Green Dam product that contains illegally obtained intellectual property.
“We have also asked them to provide an accounting for any units that may have already been shipped.”
Zhang Chenmin, general manager of the Zhengzhou-based Jinhui, could not be reached for comment Wednesday but he told China Daily earlier that the two filters' databases of blacklisted URL addresses might share similarities.


For further details visit as : www.chinapost.com.tw/business/asia/b-china/2009/06/19/212894/Green-Dam.htm

Employee snooping on sensitive information continues unabated

HELSINKI (Reuters) - More than one-third of information technology professionals abuse administrative passwords to access confidential data such as colleagues' salary details or board-meeting minutes, according to a survey.

Data security company Cyber-Ark surveyed more than 400 senior IT professionals in the United States and Britain, and found that 35 percent admitted to snooping, while 74 percent said they could access information that was not relevant to their role.
In a similar survey 12 months ago, 33 percent of IT professionals admitted to snooping.
"Employee snooping on sensitive information continues unabated," Udi Mokady, CEO of Cyber-Ark, said in a statement.
Cyber-Ark said the most common areas respondents indicated they access are HR records, followed by customer databases, M&A plans, layoff lists and lastly, marketing information.
"While seemingly innocuous, (unmanaged privileged) accounts provide workers with the 'keys to the kingdom,' allowing them to access critically sensitive information," Mokady said.
When IT professionals were asked what kind of data they would take with them if fired, the survey found a jump compared with a year ago in the number of respondents who said they would take proprietary data and information that is critical to maintaining competitive advantage and corporate security.


Source : in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-40205520090610

Teachers can call in and access information

Chennai (PTI): The latest in mobile technology will soon help teachers across the country enhance their teaching skills by providing them access to a whole host of information on their respective subjects through their cellphones.

The system, an initiative of National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR) under the HRD Ministry and the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), involves developing a database with course details in various formats, including presentation and animation.
"This database can be accessed by a mobile phone through satellite communication to get required information," NITTTR Director S. Mohan told PTI here.
The system is expected to be launched in the next six months, he said, adding that the database and other related software, created by a group of experts, would also have comprehensive course contents in various subjects.
Mr. Mohan said this technology would be gradually introduced for students also, the objective being to make them well conversant with the new technology, thereby creating their own innovative learning resources.
"In fact, such a facility for students will provide information on subjects, career guidance and much more. This is an age of technology. We are working for convergence of technology for enhancing the quality of education," he said.
Vasudha Kamat, Joint Director of Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) of NCERT, said CIET had recently conducted 'Educational Technology Lecture Series' across India and found almost all teachers who attended it had mobiles. Taking the cue, CIET planned to use mobile technology in big way soon to enhance teachers knowledge, she said.
The NCERT also plans to create a mobile phone portal at CIET, where a database of teachers across India would be entered. It would work on the same lines as the railway ticket booking system through mobile phones. Teachers can call in and access information.


For further details visit as : www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200906081011.htm

About information technology

Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware."[1] IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.
Today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. The information technology umbrella can be quite large, covering many fields. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems.
When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or "infotech". Information technology is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.
The term information technology is sometimes said to have been coined by Jim Domsic of Michigan in November 1981.[citation needed] Domsic, who worked as a computer manager for an automotive related industry, is supposed to have created the term to modernize the outdated phrase "data processing". The Oxford English Dictionary, however, in defining information technology as "the branch of technology concerned with the dissemination, processing, and storage of information, esp. by means of computers" provides an illustrative quote from the year 1958 (Leavitt & Whisler in Harvard Business Rev. XXXVI. 41/1 "The new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology.") that predates the so-far unsubstantiated Domsic coinage.
In recent years ABET and the ACM have collaborated to form accreditation and curriculum standards for degrees in Information Technology as a distinct field of study separate from both Computer Science and Information Systems. SIGITE is the ACM working group for defining these standards.


Source : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology

Tata Motors enters into tie-up with United Bank of India

The FINANCIAL -- In order to provide an added facility of car finance to its customers, Tata Motors has entered into an understanding with United Bank of India for financing its range of passenger vehicles.

United Bank of India is one of the largest Public Sector Banks in the country catering to the needs of industry as well as retail segment. The bank has pan India presence with a network of 1450 branches including extension counters across the country.
United Bank of India offers car loans up to 90% of on-road price, for tenure ranging up to 6 years, at a very competitive and attractive rate of interest.

This facility will be available at all 1450 branches of United Bank of India and 470 sales touch points of Tata Motors. This tie-up will provide a single window for both cars as well as car loans and will make car buying easier for customers.

United Bank of India has also been empanelled for the Nano Booking Retail Finance with Tata Motors