Prakash Advani's Blog

If you need a small computer to run as a media server, file server or even build an IoT solution, then the Raspberry Pi is a good start.

Amazon.in has an offer on the Raspberry Pi for just Rs. 1738

Grab it while it lasts.

VW’s diesel firmware detected when it was undergoing emissions testing and changed the engine tuning to produce 1/40 of its normal toxic output, fooling regulators. But though they’re the only ones who’ve been caught using firmware to game emissions testing, they’re not the only ones with something to hide.

It’s an open secret that manufacturers who’re conducting gas-mileage testing on new cars trick them out in ways that are totally unrepresentative of field conditions, in order to produce sticker-numbers that promise eye-popping (and unattainable) fuel efficiency. These kinds of shenanigans work great in the EU, where auto manufacturers self-certify their efficiency claims and face no real penalties for lying.

Before a car’s fuel efficiency is tested, manufacturers take such steps as removing all extra weight (including the stereo!), removing source of drag like side mirrors, adding special lube to the engine and filling the tires with exotic gases. The alternator is switched off so that the gas goes further (but the battery drains), and the petrol itself is replaced with special, expensive blends not available in the wild. There are even more dirty tricks — taping the seams in the panels to reduce drag, running the cars in high gear and at high temperatures, for example.

Read More: http://boingboing.net/2015/09/25/not-just-emissions-manufactur.html

“Proprietary software is an unsafe building material. You can’t inspect it.”

Columbia University law professor Eben Moglen made that observation 5 years ago. It’s timely today, as the Volkswagen emissions fraud scandal–enabled by proprietary software–worsens.

Volkswagen admitted this week it altered proprietary software on 11 million VW diesel cars, so they’d pass emissions tests when they were actually belching more smog.

Read more: http://boingboing.net/2015/09/24/vwscandal.html

Open Source key to innovation at Telstra says Frank Arrigo, API evangelist at Telstra.

Telstra is looking to stay ahead of the curve by encouraging technological innovation through collaboration with startups, machine-to-machine (M2M) technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT) — but said that ensuring its network continues to be the best in Australia is still at the core of its business, and the driving force behind being able to deliver these capabilities.

Speaking at Telstra’s Vantage 2015 conference in Melbourne on Tuesday, Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said that IoT is integral to all businesses now, because by 2020, “everything that can be connected will be connected”.

Cisco, which has a long-standing cloud, communications, and collaboration partnership with Telstra, predicted that there will be 50 billion IoT devices by 2020.

Read More: http://www.zdnet.com/article/telstra-ceo-eyes-innovation-through-startups-iot-m2m/

Last week, Wired published an account describing how two security researchers, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, were able to wirelessly hack into a Jeep Cherokee, first taking control of the entertainment system and windshield wipers, and then disabling the accelerator. Andy Greenberg, the Wired writer who was at the wheel as the self-described “digital crash test dummy” explained what happened next:

Immediately my accelerator stopped working. As I frantically pressed the pedal and watched the RPMs climb, the Jeep lost half its speed, then slowed to a crawl. This occurred just as I reached a long overpass, with no shoulder to offer an escape. The experiment had ceased to be fun.

Miller and Valasek also wirelessly disabled the Jeep Cherokee’s brakes, leaving Greenberg “frantically pumping the pedal as the 2-ton SUV slid uncontrollably into a ditch.” In response, on July 24 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced a recall impacting about 1.4 million vehicles, stating, somewhat incongruously, that “no defect has been found.”

This is the one of the most dramatic demonstrations to date of the cybersecurity challenges that will accompany the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). And, it offers an opportunity to make some broader observations about the changing landscape of cybersecurity as systems become increasingly connected and decentralized.

Here are five takeaways on the Security of Things (SoT) that designers—as well as companies building products for the cybersecurity market—should keep in mind as they build increasingly complex and connected systems:

Read More: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnvillasenor/2015/07/27/five-lessons-on-the-security-of-things-from-the-jeep-cherokee-hack/

Amazon.com released for sale a tablet that sounded too good to be true…. a 7″ quad core tablet for a mere $50. It took me about 15 minutes to realize that there were a lot of “fine print” to the deal and I think you need to be aware of them before you buy or before you recommend it to friends and family.

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2015/09/17/read-the-fine-print-before-buying-the-50-amazon-fire-tablet/

Users who are running licensed versions of Windows 7 or 8.1 on their PCs get a free upgrade to Windows 10, but those running Windows XP or Vista will have to buy Windows 10. Well, Ubuntu is a free user-friendly Linux based operating system. Yes, absolutely free, including future updates.

Secondly , it is extremely light on PC hardware, so you can even install it on computers that are 3-4 years old, and it will run smoothly . Besides, if you buy a brand new PC without an OS, you could consider running Ubuntu on that too. Ubuntu lets you do everything you can do on Windows, and just as easily…

You can edit documents, work on spreadsheets, create presentations and more with LibreOffice – a fully functional productivity suite. It comes with the Ubuntu installation and supports Microsoft file formats.

You can play music files on its Rhythmbox player and install software like VLC Player from the Ubuntu Software Center to watch movies.

Read More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Why-Ubuntu/articleshow/49020547.cms

From Forbes:

Traditionally, chief executive officers have come up through the ranks from the finance, sales or marketing side, so they don’t necessary bring an in-depth understanding of technology deployments. Not that it was necessary — the IT department ran its systems and spit out reports, while everyone else stuck to their specialties.

Now, everybody is getting into the technology act. A new study published by Deloitte finds that business executives — CEOs and CFOs — are getting directly involved in technology decisions. Maybe not studying and selecting application servers or hypervisors, but determining the technology direction that needs to be taken — whether it be moving to cloud, or deploying mobile to get closer to customers.

Close to two-thirds (62 percent) of 500 mid-market executives say their company’s C-suite leaders have “some” level of involvement in the adoption of next generation technologies such as cloud, social, analytics and mobile. In fact, nearly half (46 percent) say C-suite is “actively engaged.” A growing percentage (33 percent, compared with 20 percent in 2014) say their leadership is even “leading the charge.”

Read More: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2015/09/12/should-you-trust-your-ceo-with-cloud-computing-decisions/

Facebook built the React JavaScript library so its engineering team could build interfaces for iOS, Android, and web with the same code. Now it’s giving that development super power to everyone by open sourcing the final part of the React trilogy, React Native For Android.

Read More: http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/14/react-native-android/#.q7nwkb:BMin

Amazon.com has dropped the pricing for Nexus 6. The Nexus has had a good reputation of top notch hardware at a reasonable price. However this changed with the Nexus 6 launch. While it was great hardware, it wasn’t cheap this time.

Now Nexus 6 is finally had a price dropped and it now makes sense. A new Nexus is expected soon and hence the price drop but it still looks good.

For those who came in late, here is whats interesting about the Nexus 6:

• Water Resistant body
• 5.96″ screen – may be big for some
• 13 MP Camera with Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 GHz Qualcomm quad-core processor
• 3 GB RAM
• 3220 mAh battery
• Dual Band WiFi
• Wireless Charging

Taiwanese firm Foxconn’s decision to invest a whopping USD five billion in India has caused unease in China as it marks the first top international firm opting for India amid a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

“Foxconn chooses India over China for new plant,” read the headline in state-run china.org.cn while carrying the news of the Taiwanese electronic giant signing up to set up a big plant in Maharashtra.

“Foxconn’s latest India investment represents the leading electronic product maker’s intention to profit from the world’s fastest expanding market of smartphones. Foxconn, famous for making parts for Apple, will reportedly produce Xiaomi phones in the new factory, a rumour that Foxconn authorities did not clarify or comment,” it said.

Read More: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/foxconn-shift-to-india-causes-concerns-in-china/116976/

If the Digital Camera technology was open sourced, would it be available to consumers early? If it wasn’t for patents and Kodak hiding the technology, the world may be different.

In 1975, this Kodak employee invented the digital camera. His bosses made him hide it.

Read More: http://www.brw.com.au/p/tech-gadgets/made_this_kodak_employee_invented_QnYp4iCrFXYwagdCRzszeP

For a whole lot of people, especially those in developing countries, science – and with it, medicine – isn’t readily available to the majority of citizens. But Manu Prakash wants to change that.
Prakash, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford, is the proprietor of “frugal science,” a term he coined to explain the movement toward building cheap versions of high tech tools. His endeavor aims to make medical devices both affordable and available to the masses.

The way Prakash sees it, labs don’t need the most expensive equipment out there in order to reach profound breakthroughs. “Today people look at these extraordinary labs and forget that in the 1800s they could still do the exact same science,” he told The New York Times.

So in 2014 he created a paper microscope, aptly named the Foldscope, that costs only 50 cents to produce.

Read More: http://www.businessinsider.in/A-paper-microscope-that-costs-only-50-cents-can-detect-malaria-from-just-a-drop-of-blood-and-it-could-revolutionize-medicine/articleshow/48259276.cms

Are you ready to play everybody’s not-so-favorite guilt game: what was I doing at that age? Ann Makosinski, a high school student from British Columbia, Canada, has created a simple LED torch powered by body heat. So instead of having to recharge it or swap in a fresh pair of AAs every so often, you literally just need to hold it in your hand for it to start glowing.

Read More: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/06/15-year-old-invents-incredible-new-kind-of-torch/

General Electric says it knows more about big manufacturing gear and data than any cloud provider ever will. Critics say it can’t keep up with the cloud giants of the world.

Read More: http://fortune.com/2015/08/06/ge-is-building-its-own-cloud-outsiders-wonder-why/

Transportation is one of the world’s largest industries. The five largest automotive companies in the world generate more than 750 billion euro in annual revenue. The names in the industry are global brands – BMW, Ford, Daimler. Yet despite its size and stature, it’s also an industry in the midst of transformation. Today, new transportation vendors like Uber, Lyft, Zipcar, and Grabtaxi are changing our relationship with cars.

Read More: https://hbr.org/2015/07/what-the-auto-industry-can-learn-from-cloud-computing

With 10 firms, India claims the second-highest number of companies for the fifth year in a row on Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 list again dominated by China with 25 companies.

The Fab 50’s brightest star over the decade, India’s HDFC Bank, did not debut until 2006. However, it has now made the list nine times, more than any other company, noted the US business magazine.

Read More: http://www.firstpost.com/business/hdfc-lenovo-ten-indian-firms-among-forbes-asia-fabulous-50-2358866.html

When a subordinate of President Kalam at DRDO couldn’t take his children to an exhibition due to work pressure, Kalam surprised his subordinate and took the children instead!

During a significant project of the DRDO, the work pressure was high. A scientist approached his boss – Dr. Kalam – and asked to leave early that day considering he had promised his children to take them to an exhibition. Kalam generously granted the permission, and the scientist got back to work. When he did, he lost the track of time and forgot to leave early. He reached home, feeling guilty, and looked for his kids, but could only find his wife. He asked for the kids, and to his surprise she told him: “your manager was here around 5:15 and he took the kids for the exhibition!”

Apparently, Dr. Kalam had been observing the scientist and noticed that he might never realise he had to go home. Feeling for the kids, he decided to take the kids instead. If that’s not sweet, what is?

Read More: http://www.youthconnect.in/2014/11/13/12-rare-stories-about-dr-apj-abdul-kalam-will-make-your-day-today/

India was the sole emerging market bright-spot in IBM’s second-quarter earnings, as the other BRIC countries weighed down the technology giant’s results.

Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/48170664.cms

GOOGLE HAS BECOME the biggest name yet to back the open source cloud system OpenStack. Specifically, Google will help integrate its own open source container management software Kubernetes.

This may seem like in-the-enterprise-weeds news, but it represents another significant step as Google tries to make up ground against Amazon’s wildly popular AWS suite of cloud products.

Read More: http://www.wired.com/2015/07/google-backs-open-source-system-cloud-battle-amazon/