SanDisk India launched SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB Flash drives in India. SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB Flash are very small and very portable USB Flash drives. The SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB flash drive measures 41.5×17.6×7.4 mm and weighs 2.5 grams. The flash drive also supports plug-and-play. The SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB flash comes with five year warranty.

The SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB flash drives are available in India capacity ranging from 2GB to 16 GB from MRP ranging Rs 699  to Rs 2999.

Kingston technology has launched HyperXDDR3 2GB triple channel memory configuration, these are specially designed for Intel’s x58 motherboards. Kingston’s HyperX DDR3 2GHz memory meets Intel’s Core i7 1.65 volt platform recommendation. In addition to the top-of-the-line 2000MHz, Kingston’s family of triple-channel kits include 1866- and 1800mhz, and low-latency 1600- and 1375mhz speeds. Kingston ValueRAM kits of three are also available in 1333mhz and 1066mhz, in 1- and 2gb capacities. Kingston HyperX is backed by a lifetime warranty and free 24/7 technical support.

Thursday, January 28th marks International Data Privacy Day. Google recognizing this day by publicly and publishing their guiding Privacy Principles.

• Use information to provide our users with valuable products and services.

• Develop products that reflect strong privacy standards and practices.

• Make the collection of personal information transparent.

• Give users meaningful choices to protect their privacy.

• Be a responsible steward of the information we hold.

Kingston Digital launched DataTraveler 5000 USB Flash drive. DataTraveler 5000 is FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certified and supports a 256 bit AES hardware based data encryption. DataTraveler 5000 uses XTS cipher mode and also uses elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) algorithms to meet Suite B standards approved by the U.S. government. The DataTraveler 5000 utilizes patented Secured by SPYRUS technology which supports hardware-based 256-bit XTS-AES and Suite B cryptography, including ECC. Suite B algorithms were specifically selected and approved by the U.S. government and the Department of Defense for use in multinational data sharing environments including both classified and unclassified applications. XTS-AES mode is a cipher mode for encryption that is much stronger than CBC, ECB and other modes. SPYRUS, Inc., is the leader in the development of advanced hardware-based encryption, authentication and digital content security products.

FIPS 140-2 certification requires a validation process that meets federal requirements set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This is critical because many governmental agencies in the United States mandate that sensitive "data at rest" (i.e., all information not in the network) must be encrypted with the FIPS 140-2 standard. Level 2 means the DataTraveler 5000 has a tamper-evident construction which acts to notify any users if their drive has been tampered with. It also has a power-on self test that verifies the encryption mechanism is running properly each time the drive is plugged into a USB port. The drive is expected to receive a FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certificate soon.

DataTraveler 5000 Features and Specifications

• Dimensions: 3.06" x 0.9" x 0.47" (77.9mm x 22mm x 12.05mm)
• Capacities¹: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB
• Compatibility: designed to USB 2.0 specifications
• Operating Temperature: 32°F to 140°F (0°C to 60°C)
• Storage Temperature: -4°F to 185°F (-20°to 85°C)
• Minimum System Requirements²:
  • USB 2.0 compliant and 1.1 compatible
  • Two (2) free consecutive drive letters required for use
• FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Certified
• Secure: drive locks down after 10 intrusion attempts and encryption key is destroyed
  • Enforced complex pass protection: password is user set with minimum characteristics to prevent unauthorized access
  • Passwords never stored on device
  • Hardware designed and assembled in the U.S.
  • SPYRUS Suite B on Board
  • Elliptic curve cryptography
  • Secure channel communication
  • Digitally signed firmware updates using Suite B SHA-384 and ECDSA P-384
  • DT5000 can operate with AutoRun disabled
  • Enforces tamper-free AutoRun files
  • Fully customizable Malware scanning option³
• Cryptography: Made in the U.S.
• Full Privacy: 100 percent of stored data is protected by 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) hardware-based encryption — master key recreated at logon
• Customizable: preload content, full security policy customization, casing options
• Tamper evident: tamper-evident coating/seal for physical security
• Waterproof: protected against water damage
• Guaranteed: five-year warranty with 24/7 customer support
• Ruggedized: waterproof and titanium-coated stainless steel casing

The DataTraveler 5000 is available in 2-, 4-, 8- and 16GB capacities. It will also be available with an onboard Malware scanning application via Kingston’s extensive customization program.

To view Kingston’s FIPS 140-2 Validation Certificate No. 1227, please visit:
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/140crt/140crt1227.pdf
FIPS Validated 140-2 is a Certification Mark of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which does not imply product endorsement by NIST or the U.S. Government.

Ben Edelman, Harvard privacy researcher and guru found that Google toolbar is continuing to transmit users browsing information even it is disabled. Not only does it track a user’s Google searches, but it also phones home information about searches done in other search engines. Internet Explorer users who enabled Google Toolbar’s enhanced feature including Google PageRank and SideWiki are affected by this bug. 

Ben Edelman conclusions about what Google should do:

When a user disables Google Toolbar, all Enhanced Features transmissions need to stop, immediately and without exception. This change must be deployed to all Google Toolbar users straightaway.

Google also needs to clean up the results of its nonconsensual data collection. In particular, Google has collected browsing data from users who specifically declined to allow such data to be collected.

But these records never should have been sent to Google in the first place. So Google should find a way to let concerned users request that Google fully and irreversibly delete their entire Toolbar histories.

The current Toolbar installation sequence suffers inconsistent statements of privacy consequences, with poor presentation of the full Toolbar Privacy Statement. Toolbar puts a button on users’ Taskbar unrequested. And as my videos show, once Google puts its code on a user’s computer, there’s nothing to stop Google from tracking users even after users specifically decline. I’ve run Google Toolbar for nearly a decade, but this week I uninstalled Google Toolbar from all my PCs. I encourage others to do the same.

Google said it will publish a download update today that will truly disable the monitoring when a user tries to do it. According to PCWorld

A Google spokesperson said Monday night.

Google confirmed the bug and said that only a tiny number of toolbar users are impacted. a fix for the toolbar would be pushed out Tuesday and the software would automatically update. Google declined to say how many toolbar users use IE8 and would only estimate the number of all its toolbar users as hundreds of millions.A fix that doesn’t require a browser restart will be available in an automatic update to Google Toolbar that we are pushing tomorrow.

Kingston has released second generation of SSDNow V+ solid-state drive. The SSDNow V+ solid-state drive has Windows 7 TRIM support, is available up to 512GB and provides faster performance than the previous generation. TRIM support enable SSDNow V+ to maintain optimal write speed throughout its lifespan. Using PCMark Vantage 1.0.1 for Windows 7, the 512GB SSDNow V+ drive received a score of 28,264.

The SSDNow V+ is the latest addition to Kingston’s SSDNow family of solid-state drives. It is available in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB capacities. The drive is also available with a bundle that includes cloning software, 2.5" USB enclosure, 2.5" to 3.5" mounting brackets and SATA data and power cables.

Kingston SSDNow V+ Features and Specifications:

• Sequential Speed*: 230MB/sec. read; 180MB/sec. write
• Innovative: 2.5" form factor; uses MLC NAND Flash memory components
• Silent: runs silent and cool with no moving parts
• Shock Resistant: no moving mechanical parts means the SSD handles rougher conditions
• Supports S.M.A.R.T.: Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology
• Guaranteed: three-year Kingston warranty, 24/7 tech support
• Interface: SATA 1.5Gb/sec. and 3.0Gb/sec.
• Capacity: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
• Storage temperatures: -40° C to 85° C
• Operating temperatures: 0° C to 70° C
• Dimensions: 69.85mm x 100mm x 9.5mm
• Weight: 84 grams
• Vibration operating: 2.17G
• Vibration non-operating: 20G
• Operating Shock: 1500G
• Power specs: 2.6W active; 0.15W idle
• Life expectancy: 1,000,000 hours MTBF

Find more on Kingston SSD here

According to Forrester’s research report on behavior of US internet users says one third of US internet users update their status on social networking websites once in a week. The Social Technographics is way to analyze market’s social technology behavior. Social Technographics was carefully constructed, not as a segmentation, but as a profile (that is, the groups overlap). That’s because the actual data told me that people participate in multiple behaviors, and not everyone at a higher level on the ladder actually does everything in the lower rungs.

The first group includes the ones who create personal contents (including publishing blogs or uploading original multimedia files) and account for 24 percent of the persons surveyed. The joiners, 59 percent of the total number, are those already members of a social service and they maintain their profile updated by posting frequent new content.

The second group includes the ones who updates their social networking status to converse. this data include only people who update at least weekly, since anything less than this isn’t much of a conversation. 56% female, more than any other group in the ladder. While they’re among the youngest of the groups, 70% are still 30 and up.

Spectators are maxing out at around 70%, Joiners are still growing rapidly, and Creators are still growing slowly. Spectators  are accustomed to reading news, blogs and feeds or enjoying multimedia tidbits on these platforms.

Note: For Forrester clients, full access to the research is available here.

A day after YouTube announced HTML5 supported video player vimeo has also announced availability of HTML5 video player for all videos on the site as an option ad it is better than Flash based video player. Only 90% of videos uploaded in the last year will work in the new player. All told, about 35% of all videos will still require the standard Flash player. In this case, Vimeo will automatically switch for you. It should just always work.

HTML5 video player on vimeo offers a numbers of benefit over Flash based player including more stable on Mac and Linux, the player loads almost instantly and it’s just HTML code a lot lighter than loading all the Flash content – and there is no more buffering. HTML5 video player plays vide straight away, if your internet connection can handle it, and you can jump instantly to any position and continue playback smoothly.

To enable the HTML5 player, click the "Switch to HTML5 player" link below any video.

vimeo HTML5 video works only with latest versions of Safari, Chrome, or IE with Chrome Frame installed. It cannot go full screen. Unfortunately this is a limitation of the browsers right now. vimeo is working on adding at least full-window support. HTML5 video player only works on vimeo.com no embed option is available. Finally vimeo video player is in beta and it might be buggy.

Microsoft Research India today launched ResearchAndYou.com, a computer science (CS) community portal at TechVista, its annual research symposium. The portal was unveiled by Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India. Coinciding with the lab’s fifth anniversary celebrations, the launch of this portal will bridge the gap between the small number of CS researchers in the country and the large pool of potential research talent at the Bachelor’s degree level. ResearchAndYou.com has some of the country’s leading academics and researchers as mentors and aims to achieve the following:

• Provide a forum where students across India can access the country’s leading researchers to seek guidance and information to start a career in research
• Clarify and demystify what research actually means vis-à-vis product development
• Attract students to take up advanced studies in CS
• Help students choose a career in research.

ResearchAndYou.com will provide students with an interactive forum where they can connect with researchers and faculty from fields of their interest to ask questions, explore research opportunities and understand the state-of-the-art. The portal will also serve as a single source of information for resources in different disciplines of computer science and related areas, with links and pointers to different kinds of information, including reference material, research papers, events and conferences, and research news.

TechVista 2010 was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India. The morning session of TechVista also saw a Distinguished Address by Turing Award recipient Professor Adi Shamir, Weizmann Institute of Science, a panel discussion on The Future of Computing and Computer Science featuring four Turing Award recipients, and talks by Dr. Rick Rashid, Senior VP, Research, Microsoft and Dr. P. Anandan, MD, Microsoft Research India.

Dr. P. Anandan, Managing Director, Microsoft Research India.

Research, innovation and technological leadership are closely related and interdependent. While India has great talent, it is yet to realize its potential to be a world leader in research. We hope ResearchAndYou.com will be a great resource in helping aspiring researchers.

Dr. Richard F. Rashid, Senior VP, Research, Microsoft Corporation, Said

Access and exposure to world class research and researchers from an early stage in education is critical in motivating students to look at a research career, which in turn is critical to developing a rich research talent pool. ResearchAndYou.com seeks to address this issue.