Knowledge Update

New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Just a few years ago, seeing an Indian youth with a Nokia or an office-goer with a BlackBerry device on the road was a common sight. In 2009, about 70 per cent of smartphones sold globally had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia and the two stalwarts were going strong. But even tech leaders can, at times, fail to gauge when a particular phenomenon can go extinct. The mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft, which account for nearly 99 per cent of sales today, were in less than 25 per cent of mobile devices sold at that time, says a recent blog post by WhatsApp which has decided to end its support to BlackBerry phones and those powered by Nokia's Symbian OS by the end of this year. After acquiring Nokia for $7.2 billion in 2013, Microsoft soon realised it made a big mistake and is now selling off Nokia's phone-making business to Apple's supply-chain partner Foxconn. With the Nokia acquisition, Microsoft actually placed a bet on hardware which has never been its strength. On the other hand, Canadian mobile company Blackberry reported a $670 million loss in the first fiscal quarter this year -- its biggest loss in over two years. Is it time for Nokia and Blackberry to quit the smartphone business? "Blackberry can't catch up on the plethora of offerings iOS and Android players are providing with their vast ecosystem. The surge in vendors offering android devices at competitive prices dominate the smartphone market globally. Similarly, Windows-based smartphones are likely to decline sharply given the fact that Nokia is no longer a part of Microsoft," says Karthik J, Senior Market Analyst (Client Devices) from International Data Corporation (IDC). "The high-end Blackberry Priv (based on Google's Android OS) smartphone was a drastic approach the vendor took to revive by moving away from its homegrown OS to Android but failed to create ripples in the market," Karthik told IANS. According to experts, Blackberry was a little late in coming up with an Android-based smartphone. "Priv is launched at the premium end which accounts for a smaller pie of smartphone market and dominated by Samsung and Apple. Smartphone market is already highly populated with numerous vendors offering products across multiple price segment. Also, adding to this is the fact that smartphone market's growth is saturating in key markets like the US and China," Karthik told IANS. It is not just WhatsApp that decided to end support for BlackBerry OS 10 services by the end of this year. Facebook too is leaving the BlackBerry platform after announcing it will discontinue support of its application programming interfaces (APIs) for BlackBerry. "BlackBerry needs to focus on feature phone market and concentrate when it comes to India if it wants to beat Chinese and established players in the country. They always had top-of-the-line security and they can still cash on it in upcoming devices when data security is the buzzword," notes Vishal Tripathi, Research Director at global market consultancy firm Gartner. According to Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Analyst with CyberMedia Research (CMR), a market research firm, one of the key strengths for BlackBerry has been security and software. "They should become a technology company, licensing their solutions to original design manufacturers (ODMs) rather than attempting and reattempting to emerge in the smartphones," Kawoosa told IANS. "The recent developments indicate that the pioneer of the smartphone should now take up things differently and look up to strengthen its Android platform and in creating some great hardware too," notes Krishna Mukherjee, Analyst (Telecoms) at market research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR). When it comes to Nokia, with a proper revival approach, the Finnish company still holds a good chance to make a strong re-entry into the highly populated smartphone market in India. "Nokia continues to have a strong brand perception in India especially in lower tier cities and with its in-depth knowledge of the market, possibly it is still not too late for Nokia to make a comeback," Karthik told IANS. According to Kawoosa, Windows still is the default enterprise OS and mobility is an extended piece within enterprise communications. "So there is a connect. It is only that Microsoft has to develop the solid links. There have to be compelling reasons," he suggests. "The only way out for Nokia would be to go back to its roots and spin all its strategies from scratch. Again, Nokia's strength has been its technology orientation. It should focus on research and development and license its technology and patents to the mobile world," adds Kawoosa. All is not lost yet for Nokia and Blackberry, the two handset legacies of our times -- if they understand the changing needs of the Next-Gen smartphone users, and act.​

Chandigarh, June 28 (IANS) To support growth of tourism sector in the state, the Haryana government on Tuesday declared tourism as an industry for land use purpose.

The decision to this effect was taken in-principle in a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here on Tuesday.

The move has been made to attract big investment in tourism projects in Haryana.

"The components that have been classified as land use under industry include all tourism projects and activities with the exception of activities like hotels, tourist resorts, eat streets or outdoor dining areas or promenades or food courts or restaurants and commercial components within recreational or commercial activities," a Haryana government spokesman said here.

"These provisions would be applicable to mega projects only involving investment of Rs 100 crore or above or employing more than 500 people. These would be applicable with prospective effect to all new as well as expansion projects involving an investment of Rs 50 crore," he added.

Haryana was the pioneer state in highway tourism in the 1970s and 1980s with government-run and private outlets along highways running successfully. However, in the absence of further impetus, the state has lagged behind on the tourism front despite having a rich historical background and being the land of the Mahabharata battle.

​New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Excessive use of electronic gadgets, including mobile phones and tablets, can cause "tech neck" that leads to early signs of ageing, health experts have warned.

According to experts, "tech neck", which leads to sagging skin, dropping jowls, and creases above the clavicle, seriously affects facial looks of the person by causing frown lines, undereye bags, and horizontal lines on the neck along with fat prominences.

"People who bend down constantly for long hours while using any handheld electronic device, like smartphones, tablet or computers, are more likely to get wrinkles. The bending position while texting on mobile phones can cause neck, back and shoulder pain, apart from headache, numbness, tingling in the upper limb and pain in hands, arm, elbows and wrists," said Vinod Vij, Cosmetic Surgeon, at Mumbai-based Fortis Hospital.

A recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had revealed that the number of mobile internet users in the country was expected to reach 371 million by June 2016. As much as 40 per cent of the users consist of youngsters between the age group of 19-30.

Experts have said that the frequent forward flexion causes changes in the cervical spine, curve, supporting ligaments, tendons and musculature, as well as the bony segments, commonly causing postural change.

Mohan Thomas, Senior Cosmetic Surgeon, Cosmetic Surgery Institute, said: "As people do not realise the negativity they are causing to their neck bone and the skin, tech obsessed people should take necessary steps to avoid the overuse of the electronic gadgets."

He said the overuse of smart phones causes shortening of the neck muscles.

"Apart from shortening of the neck muscle it also increases the gravitational pull on the skin. Ultimately, this results in sagging skin, double chin, marionette lines (vertical lines from lips to chin) and loose jowls (drooping jawline). All these signs have been collectively labelled medically as "smartphone face," he said.​

​New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Besides following a hydrating and high fibre diet that will help to stay cool, also indulge in power-packed foods to stay energised, says an expert.

Dolly Kumar, health expert, founder and Director at health brand GAIA, shares how:

* Most of us like to enjoy light and healthy meals during summer since they are easy to digest and don’t leave us feeling bloated, uncomfortable and lazy. A healthy quick fix is to start the day with muesli along with skimmed milk and fresh fruits for breakfast. Rich in dietary fibre, proteins, iron and anti-oxidants, this power-food is extremely healthy. 

* Summer is also the time to indulge in cooling beverages which keep us energised and refreshed all day. Green tea is a wonderful beverage to drink early in the morning or even late evenings. Green tea is packed with anti-oxidants and is known to strengthen the immune system and improve memory. Along with its aroma and pleasant taste, your body is bound to stay hydrated and fresh all summer. Add a dash of honey and squeeze a lemon in your cup of green tea and add some tanginess and zest to your day.

* Munch on healthy sweet and salty snacks regularly. Trail mix is a wonderful snack that will help you regain that lost energy. High on proteins and good fats, most trail mixes are packed with the goodness of assorted nuts, dried fruits and crunchy seeds. The mix provides instant energy from the proteins, dietary fibres and good fats found in its ingredients. ​

​Tokyo, June 29 (IANS) Japanese tech giant Sony announced on Wednesday that it was working on developing a robot which can connect emotionally with people, and expects to launch it soon.

​Colombo, June 28 (IANS) The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday said it will focus more on Asia, particularly India and China, to boost the local economy after Britain, in a historic referendum, decided to pull out from the European Union.

​Beijing, June 28 (IANS) A continental market with China, Russia and India as key stakeholders can be formed to reshape the global energy sector, a Chinese expert has said.

The three countries can also insist on an Asian pricing system, Xinhua news agency quoted Ren Zhihong of the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences as saying.

​New York, June 28 (IANS) Ever surprised by finding a person whose face you remember but not the name until the "People you may know" feature on Facebook told you about him/her? This is probably because Facebook stalked you and used your phone's location to suggest new people you could befriend.

​New York, June 29 (IANS) Computer scientists have developed a video privacy software that helps prevent inadvertent disclosure of trade secrets and other restricted information within a camera's field of view by letting users specify what others can see.

​London, June 28 (IANS) A team of researchers has developed a new approach to find natural researves of helium -- a key element in MRI scanners, welding, industrial leak detection and nuclear energy -- the known reserves of which are quickly running out.

The first use of this method, developed by scientists at Oxford and Durham universities, has resulted in the discovery of a world-class helium gas field in Tanzania.

Until now helium has never been found intentionally -- being accidentally discovered in small quantities during oil and gas drilling. 

The study, presented recently at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Yokohama, Japan, shows that volcanic activity provides the intense heat necessary to release the gas from ancient, helium-bearing rocks.

"We show that volcanoes play an important role in the formation of viable helium reserves. Volcanic activity likely provides the heat necessary to release the helium accumulated in ancient crustal rocks," said Diveena Danabalan of Durham University.

"However, if gas traps are located too close to a given volcano, they run the risk of helium being heavily diluted by volcanic gases such as carbon dioxide, just as we see in thermal springs from the region (Tanzanian East African Rift Valley)," she added.

Danabalan and her team are now working to identify the "goldilocks-zone" between the ancient crust and the modern volcanoes where the balance between helium release and volcanic dilution is "just right".

The discovery of helium gas field in Tanzania using the new approach is being considered as a game changer for the future security of society's helium needs.