Author: Loknath Das

Shutterstock For companies that deal in offering software — whether as an aggregator, a third-party seller of software products or the creators of the software itself — customer trust is crucial to establishing a successful and stable foundation. In an age where every successful product draws dozens of imitators in a matter of days or weeks, loss in customer trust can spell death for a software company, as consumers will simply migrate to a competitor product or even free open-source options. Many companies also make the mistake of building a successful product and a loyal base only to have a…

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Australia’s spy agencies were so concerned about the security and strategic risks posed by a plan for Chinese firm Huawei to build an internet cable linking the Solomon Islands to Sydney that the Turnbull government will now largely pay for the project itself. The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it has taken responsibility for the undersea fibreoptic cable, including paying for the bulk of the project – which will cost tens of millions of dollars – through the overseas aid program. The cable will provide fast and reliable internet to the small Pacific island nation, which now relies on satellites. The step…

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The Nobel prize-winning economist Robert Shiller has said bitcoin will not be a “permanent feature” of the financial world, as politicians indicated that a clampdown on cryptocurrencies was coming. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Shiller hailed bitcoin as a “really clever idea”. But although he was impressed with the technology behind it, he was concerned that it had “gone viral as a currency”. “I tend to think of bitcoin as an experiment. It is an interesting experiment, but it’s not a permanent feature of our lives,” said Shiller, who has previously warned that the bitcoin price could…

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Mumbai: L&T Financial Holdings Ltd (LTFHL) on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs384 crore during the October-December quarter, a 42% rise from Rs271 crore during the corresponding period a year ago. The rise in profit was led by an increase in total revenues which rose from Rs2,162 crore to Rs2,701 crore during the period. The company also said that its board will meet on 31 January to discuss fund raising plans. “Meeting of the board of LTFHL is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 to consider raising of funds inter alia by way of issuance of…

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An amazing transformation has occurred in the course of a generation. Young men and women in rural India are far surpassing their parents’ levels of education. Two generations ago, people in remote villages were largely unlettered: there were hardly any schools in remote areas. And it is still common to find low educational levels among village residents who are 40 years old and older. But the early-morning image of a rugged but illiterate peasant pulling a plow fades before the newer reality of village children walking to schools in the hundreds. As late as 2001, only a little over 25%…

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MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) North America has launched a new Education, Technology, and Opportunity Competition that will support U.S. education leaders in identifying effective uses of education technology that can serve as models for how innovation can improve learning. Amid significant spending on education technology around the country, there is growing demand for rigorous evidence on which of these technologies truly help students learn. To meet this demand, the competition is inviting education agencies, school networks, post-secondary institutions, and nonprofits to partner with J-PAL North America to evaluate their most promising technology-based education programs, particularly those aimed at improving learning for disadvantaged…

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According to a freshly updated map of community-owned networks, more than 750 communities across the United States have embraced operating their own broadband network, are served by local rural electric cooperatives, or have made at least some portion of a local fiber network publicly available. The map was created by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit that advocates for local economies. These networks have sprung up across the nation as a direct reflection of the country’s growing frustration with sub-par broadband speeds, high prices, and poor customer service. They’ve also emerged despite the fact that ISP lobbyists have convinced more than 20…

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UPDATED WASHINGTON — AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is calling for Congress to pass an “Internet Bill of Rights” as a solution to the long debate over net neutrality, including provisions that would require that internet providers not discriminate in the way they treat online traffic. “Congressional action is needed to establish an ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ that applies to all internet companies and guarantees neutrality, transparency, openness, non-discrimination, and privacy protection for all internet users,” Stephenson wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. It also ran in an ad in major newspapers. The company pushed for the FCC’s repeal last month of the regulatory foundation for its net…

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President Donald Trump’s pick for a top Commerce Department post privately assured Republican senators that he would look at reversing the Obama administration’s decision to give up U.S. oversight of the internet, according to documents newly obtained by POLITICO. David Redl, now the head of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, made the pledge last summer to Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), who had condemned the move to international control as a giveaway that could empower authoritarian governments. Trump has also attacked former President Barack Obama’s handover, describing it as a “stupid” decision that would turn over…

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Hey, good morning! Morning there! Ready to shop in Amazon’s store of the future? How about grabbing a cheap Windows laptop for your kid’s next semester? The Pulse Wave Velocity tracking will be deactivated on January 24th. Nokia will disable the key feature of its priciest scale Nokia will be disabling the headline feature of its Body Cardio scale in a software update. The scale was sold with the ability to track Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV), the speed at which your blood flows through your veins. The slower and more constant the speed, the healthier you are, and vice versa.…

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