Hardware-Assisted Virtualization

"If you're booing now, all I can tell you is it's gonna get worse." Those were the words of comedian D.L. Hughley after someone booed his first joke during a performance. Interestingly enough, Hughley's response got me thinking about a particular set of problems associated with hardware-assisted virtualization.

Now that x86 virtualization is a mainstream element of the production infrastructure, management issues that previously were not considered are now beginning to pop up. Over the next several issues, I'll use this column to address some of the boos I'm hearing with regards to virtualization management. Although developing tools are starting to ease the management burden, emerging technologies -- hardware-assisted virtualization, single- and multiroot I/O virtualization and storage virtualization -- threaten to make virtualization's underlying management hardships even worse. This month I'm going to start by examining the new challenges presented by hardware-assisted virtualization.

Hardware-assisted virtualization was introduced by AMD and Intel a couple of years ago. It's known as AMD Virtualization and Intel Virtualization Technology, respectively, and is required by select hypervisors, namely Xen and Hyper-V. VMware did not latch onto hardware-assisted virtualization in its first iteration because VMware's binary translation technology -- which provides the trapping and emulation needed for privileged-mode CPU instructions in the virtual machine (VM) guest -- could outperform what both companies could do on the bare metal.

Hardware-Assist Architecture
One of the core elements of first-generation hardware-assisted virtualization was the creation of a new layer in the x86 CPU ring architecture, known as Ring -1. With hardware-assisted virtualization, hypervisors that support the technology could load at Ring -1 and guest OSes could access the CPU at Ring 0, just as they normally would when running on a physical host. So VM guest OSes could be virtualized without any required modifications to the guest OS. Previously, paravirtualization of the guest OS kernel-adopted by the major Linux vendors-was used to overcome performance latency associated with privileged CPU instruction trapping and emulation.

All was good in the hardware-assisted virtualization universe when the technology was initially shipped. Organizations deployed it and the technology worked as expected on Xen and Hyper-V hypervisors. VMware didn't start to adopt hardware-assisted virtualization until the summer 2008 release of ESX Server 3.5 Update 2, which officially supported AMD's second-generation hardware-assisted virtualization features such as hardware-assisted memory virtualization, known as Rapid Virtualization Indexing (RVI) and sometimes referred to as nested paging. AMD RVI has yielded substantial performance improvements for multithreaded enterprise applications such as Exchange, Oracle and XenApp. An equivalent feature from Intel, known as Extended Page Tables, is expected to ship in early 2009.

No Mixing and Matching
The presence of multiple hardware-assisted virtualization generations in the same physical host cluster can cause significant mobility problems, such as the inability to live migrate a VM from one physical host to another. Mixing CPU generations in the same physical cluster is problematic because the hypervisor doesn't emulate the CPU, so the CPU seen by the hypervisor is presented to the VM guest OS. The lack of emulation is important as it allows applications within the VM's guest OS to take advantage of low-level CPU features. However, mixing CPU generations in the same physical cluster could cause unforeseen problems such as the inability to live migrate VMs or having to reactivate an application whose activation is bound to a particular CPU type.

Intel and AMD thought of the potential problems caused by mixed CPU generations within the same physical cluster and developed Extended Migration (AMD) and Flex Migration (Intel). Extended Migration and Flex Migration allow the hypervisor to mask the underlying physical CPU and present it to the VM guest OS as an earlier CPU generation. In essence, this allows different CPU generations to reside in the same physical cluster. But there is a tradeoff: The cluster hardware's CPU features run at the lowest common denominator. Note that Extended Migration and Flex Migration do not provide CPU interoperability, so you still must commit to AMD or Intel in any given cluster; mixing Intel and AMD together in the same physical cluster is not permitted by any hypervisor.

Now let's assume that a particular ESX cluster is undergoing a hardware refresh or that budget restrictions are forcing you to scale out a hypervisor cluster over the period of a year. In either case, you may be faced with having multiple CPU generations reside within the cluster. In this situation, the first question to be addressed is: "Does my hypervisor support Extended or Flex Migration?" ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 is one of the few hypervisors that supports this feature; however, you'll need to enable CPU masking on each VM in the cluster. You can do this with the VMware Infrastructure client by accessing a VM's Properties, clicking the Options tab and then clicking the "Hide the Nx flag from guest" radio button.

Of course, enabling CPU ID masking per VM can be an arduous task, to say the least, and VMware has offered a scripted solution to automate the process on a large scale.

Feature Disablement
Now let's look at another potential management problem with hardware-assisted virtualization-automatic feature disablement. AMD's RVI has shown substantial performance improvements for many applications, while some applications will perform better without the feature enabled. That being said, RVI can be enabled or disabled on a per-VM basis.

[Click on image for larger view.]

Figure 1. Enabling CPU ID masking on a VMware ESX Server VM.

Now here's the problem. Assume that a VM with RVI enabled is started at the organization's disaster recovery site following a major outage. The hardware at the recovery site doesn't support RVI, the difference is detected by the hypervisor, and RVI is automatically disabled when the VM starts at the recovery site. Sure, the application may run slower without RVI, but at least it's still available.

The catch is that while the hypervisor's default RVI handling allowed the VM to run at the recovery site in spite of the difference in hardware features, what will happen when the VM fails back to the original production site? You guessed it. RVI will remain disabled. So to use RVI again, you'd need to manually re-enable it, or have your fail-back procedures involve restoring the original production VM configuration file -- the .VMX file -- for each VM from backup. So while the default hypervisor behavior is designed to get you through the disaster, it may also create some performance problems once you recover VMs back to the original source site, or to a new site using new hardware.

RVI is just a single example. Many new hardware-assisted virtualization features are on the horizon, and hypervisors will continue to have to deal with interoperability issues by disabling features that are not available to all physical nodes in a cluster. Hypervisor-management tools will also need the intelligence to alert administrators when particular features can't be used due to limitations in cluster hardware. Site failover tools such as VMware's Site Recovery Manager will need similar capabilities. I'd prefer to know that I will lose a certain performance feature before a failure occurs, rather than leaving it up to the hypervisor to automatically disable that feature for me.

Hypervisor vendor hardware-assisted virtualization implementations are beginning to mature along with AMD's and Intel's offerings in the space. As these new features emerge and become a part of your virtual infrastructure, you're going to need to look at your deployment processes to ensure that applications take advantage of features such as RVI when it makes sense. You'll also need to ensure that your organization's site failover and fail-back procedures take hardware platform differences-and how the hypervisor responds to those differences-into account. Of course, I haven't even mentioned the issues with moving a VM to "the cloud." While treating a service provider's physical infrastructure as a cloud sounds great on paper, differences in hardware-assisted virtualization make that notion impossible. Instead, VMs are going to need to use standards like open virtualization format to advertise their hardware-assisted virtualization requirements to the cloud provider.

Hardware-assisted virtualization is an important technology. Moving forward, it will allow us to virtualize applications whose workloads made the thought of virtualizing them laughable. Still, new management challenges brought about by hardware-assisted virtualization are no laughing matter, and ignoring these challenges may lead to boos from upper management, something no IT administrator wants to hear.

Source : http://virtualizationreview.com/

Ace to Show Off $999 CableCard-ready PCs

January 02, 2009 | by Arlen Schweiger

So you want to use your computer as a true home theater PC (HTPC) for your entertainment needs, eh?

The folks at Ace Computers are ready to help you ace that test. And it won’t hurt your wallet too much, either.

The company will be showcasing some CableCard-equipped HTPCs at next week’s CES 2009 expo in Las Vegas, hoping some home theater buffs will be hitting the jackpot with these machines.

ZDnet says that Ace’s $999 CableCard LMS 250 systems will be ready to view and record your encrypted cable channels, with processing from AMD’s Maui entertainment platform (in this case the Phenom) or Intel Core 2 Duo.

Whether you go AMD or Intel, you’ll get 2 GB of RAM, a 500-GB hard drive, DVD burner and internal ATI digital cable tuner to hold your CableCard. You’ll be glued to the video on your PC with the aid of Windows Vista Home Premium and its built-in Media Center for easy recording and viewing delights.

There’s also an option for a $100 Blu-ray drive, ZDnet notes, which would still put Ace’s HTPC price way below market average. Plenty left over for a Media Center extender—Xbox 360, anyone?

Source : http://www.electronichouse.com/

Microsoft Expected to Slash up to 15,000 Jobs

In today’s economy, job cuts seem to be par for the course. We all expected to see major losses at vulnerable companies such as AMD, Circuit City, and Yahoo. Recently however, we have been seeing cuts at major technology employers that we once considered to be at least somewhat recession proof. These include companies such as Sony, Google, Adobe, and now even Microsoft. What started out as an unsubstantiated rumor now appears to be true and the Redmond based software giant is preparing to let go around 15,000 of its 90,000 global employees.

The bulk of the layoffs are expected to be absorbed by MSN, but Microsoft’s global operations are rumored to be under the microscope as well. Large cuts are also expected at its Europe, Middle East, and African operations. Like most companies in these tough times, this is likely to be more of a belt tightening then a white flag. Profitable operations will likely dodge the bullet but as of this point, the full nature of the cuts is not yet known.

The layoffs are likely to take place starting January 15^th, and finish before Microsoft issue’s its Q2 results on January 22^nd. 17 percent of its work force is a pretty substantial cut and we will just have to wait and see what brands or product lines will be affected going into 2009.

So have we hit rock bottom yet?

Source : http://www.maximumpc.com/

The week in hardware: AMD, antitrust, and 3G in the Far East

The past week has been a holiday season in North America, which means we haven't seen that many major announcements. There were, however, a few notable events, including Cisco's plans to take at least a baby step into the consumer electronics market, AMD's writedown of ATI goodwill, China's plans for 3G, and NVIDIA's new Ion platform.

Here are the week's top stories in hardware:

AMD writes down ATI's value...again: The only consolation that comes as a result of this further devaluation of AMD's ATI purchase is that it's less a shot at ATI's competitive position and more the result of market behavior over the past 3-6 months.

Cisco to bring "human network" to your stereo: Cisco, long a brand leader in corporate network hardware, is taking steps to enter the consumer market. The company's prowess in its chosen field is unquestioned, but will that translate into sales at the likes of Best Buy?

China licenses (non-Chinese) 3G wireless standards: Once upon a time, China's avowed goal was to go with a unilateral TD-SCMA deployment, but issues with its own homegrown standard have forced the nation to turn to CDMA 2000 and WCDMA to feed its citizens' desire for 3G connectivity.

AMD, Intel, and the cases in between: A walkthrough of the current cases between Intel and AMD, where the various investigations are currently, and how things proceed from here. If you want to know how all of these bits tie together, here's your chance.

NVIDIA unveils ION platform: It's tiny, it's NVIDIA-powered, and it's built on Atom. NVIDIA is making big claims about this little box; hopefully we'll find out more at CES.

Details on HP's Firebird PC: HP's got a plan for a smaller, lighter, Blackbird built on the same single-foot style of case (but a good bit smaller). I spent some time with a Blackbird 002 once upon a time, and I have to say I generally liked the case styling—if HP properly balances performance and size, the Firebird could be a hit.

Source : http://arstechnica.com/

Nintendo Previews Game Lineup for Early 2009

Jan 03, 2008 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- -- Nintendo of America has announced its list of new game titles for the first quarter of 2009.

Topping the list is the Pokemon Platinum version for Nintendo DS, a new entry in the Pokemon series, slated for a March 22 launch across North America.

Nintendo said its roster of more than 100 new games includes an array of challenges and experiences for new players and loyalists, as well as everyone in between. Notable titles include the enhanced New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin for Wii, and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Personal Trainer: Math and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Nintendo DS.

"Our fans expect a diverse selection of entertainment options, and we're eager to deliver exactly that," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We're building on the momentum of a strong holiday season by offering new and experienced players an even greater library of game titles in 2009."

The company said that Pokemon fans in particular will have plenty to cheer about as Pokemon Platinum is readied for its U.S. debut. Following Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl, Pokemon Platinum is the newest in the core series of Pokemon games. Pokemon Platinum features a new story full of adventure, never-before-seen forms of Pokemon - including the legendary Giratina's Origin Forme - and the Distortion World, a mysterious new world that suddenly appears in the Sinnoh region. In addition, with Pokemon Platinum up to 20 players can interact with other Pokemon fans from around the world in the new Wi-Fi Plaza, featuring mini-games and activities. Nintendo said that players can also enjoy the new features in the Global Terminal, such as posting battle videos using the new "Vs. Recorder." In addition, Pokemon Platinum features a new Battle Frontier, where the toughest Trainers can test their skills in new ways. Pokemon Platinum already has broken previous Nintendo DS sales records in Japan, selling more than 1 million copies in its first two days of release.

For the portable Nintendo DS, Personal Trainer: Math builds on the new Personal Trainer series, which launched with Personal Trainer: Cooking, now extending its reach beyond the stomach to the brain. Personal Trainer: Math introduces 40 fast-paced exercises to give players a fun way to improve their arithmetic skills. The Personal Trainer series is designed to help users enrich their lives and learn new skills in fun and interesting ways. Also for Nintendo DS, fans of the Fire Emblem franchise will enjoy the arrival of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, a revamped and re-imagined version of the NES classic, featuring touch-screen controls. Players with a broadband Internet connection can enjoy worldwide battles over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's online gaming service, the company noted.

Meanwhile, for the Wii console, Nintendo is offering up two classic Nintendo GameCube games: New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin enhanced for play using the Wii Remote controller. The enhanced New Play Control! Pikmin game lets players point the Wii Remote controller at the screen and use it as a cursor, making it easy to select either a single Pikmin or an entire army. When a player tosses Pikmin, they fly wherever the cursor is pointing. New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis lets players enjoy an afternoon on the court as their favorite characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, complete with motion-controlled serves and swings. With Wii controls, players can swing the Wii Remote controller to hit forehands and backhands and to apply spin. Experienced gamers can also attach a Nunchuk controller for additional precision. Both games are scheduled to launch next March.

In addition, the company noted, third-party publishers continue to bring creative games like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time from Square-Enix for Wii and Nintendo DS. The games offer features that allow users to play multiplayer across Nintendo platforms. Madworld from Sega will be available exclusively for Wii, and the franchise Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars from Rockstar Games will be available for Nintendo DS.

Source : http://www.tradingmarkets.com/

Nintendo Wii Winner gets Birthday Gift

‘Wii wish you a Merry Christmas’ contest winner Noel Celestino (L) receives his Nintendo Wii from Hot 104.1’s DJ M.

Hot 104.1, in partnership with Burger King, brought the gift of gaming to one lucky winner this Christmas.

Walking away with a brand-new Nintendo Wii, Noel Celestino was the grand-prize winner of the “Wii wish you a Merry Christmas” competition.

“I am very excited to be the big winner,” Mr Celestino said. “A Nintendo Wii is a highly sought after Christmas present and I have never won any sort of raffle or contest in my life!”

Mr Celestino’s birthday was on 23 December, making his win even more exciting.

From 8-19 December listeners of Hot 104.1 were made eligible to win the Wii by purchasing any regular or children’s Burger King combo and dropping their receipt in boxes located at any of Burger King’s three locations on Walker’s Road, Harbour Drive, and Seven Mile Beach. On 22 December, Mr Celestino’s name was drawn from the many that entered.

“We were thrilled to team up with Burger King to make one loyal HOT 104.1 listener’s Christmas special,” said DMS Broadcasting Network Promotions Manager Phil Vinciullo.

“We would like to congratulate Noel on winning the competition, and hope he enjoys his new game system as they certainly seem to be a popular gift this holiday season.”

Angel Rutty of Burger King said: “Burger King would like to thank all our customers for their patronage throughout the year. We hope the Wii brings happiness and laughter in the New Year.”

Source : http://www.caymannetnews.com/

Sony’s PS2 tops popularity ratings for the most-played console

In the recently published Nielsen's popularity ratings - from January to October 2008 - for TV advertisements, product placements, consoles/ PC games/ mobile games of the year, Sony PlayStation 2 was not just the most popular console, but was also used nearly two times more than its closest rival the Xbox 360.

In fact, even with the combined time spent on Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony's PS2 was a clear winner! While 31.7 percent of the American gamer pool consisted of PS2 users, 17.2 percent comprised the Xbox 360, and 13.4 percent comprised the Wii.

Among the other consoles, the original Xbox hung on at 9.7 percent; the PS3 at 7.3 percent; Nintendo's GameCube 4.6 percent, and others at 16.2 percent.

Though the high popularity rating of PS2 came as a surprise, with much hype about 'next-gen' console, what was not so surprising was Blizzard's World of Warcraft (WoW) ranking the highest on the 'top ten list' of most-played PC titles. With American gamers playing an average of 631 minutes per week, during the period surveyed, figures indicate that nearly one percent of PC gamers play WoW each minute.

Among other games, while EA Maxis' The Sims worked their way up the order, the Valves occupied most of the lowest ranks. Expectedly, Tetris was the most popular game played by the mobile users!

Source : http://topnews.us/

Dell Adamo and Sony Vaio Pocket look to spice up the laptop market

The Adamo and the Vaio Pocket aren't really aiming at the same market -- the ultra-thin Adamo seems to be Dell's answer to Apple's slender MacBook Air and the Vaio Pocket is a netbook a la Eee PC -- but together they mark the latest proof that laptops are where the action is in the computer biz these days.

The base version of the Adamo looks to cost about $1500, with additional options such as a Blu-ray (you know, Steve Jobs' famous "bag of hurt"). So far there are no pics of the device, but an official unveil is expected at CES.

The Vaio Pocket is much less mysterious, thanks a variety of leaks from Sony. The extra-wide device will sport an 8-inch screen with 1600x768 resolution and come with the ever-popular Intel Atom processor. Price looks to be about $1000, which is pricey for a netbook. So Sony appears to be cornering/creating the "premium" netbook niche.

It's no surprise that computer markets are focusing their attention on laptops these days, as sales of laptops worldwide are now bigger than global sales of traditional desktops.

So expect CES to be very laptop-centric when the show kicks off on Thursday.

Source : http://techblog.dallasnews.com/

More Sony VAIO P Details leak

The new Sony VAIO P slowly emerges in full. As reported the new wide format Sony netbook leaked over Christmas and is currently teased on the Japanese Sony site.
German NetbookNews reports now that the Sony VAIO P would run on the Intel Atom Z520 CPU (1.33Ghz) and feature 2GB RAM. HDD, SSD, GPS, and 3G are options. The price of the Sony VAIO P is supposed to be shy of $1,000.
As reported earlier the screen of the VAIO P is supposed to be 8 inches in size and have a 1,600 x 768px resolution.
There is also yet another new VAIO P teaser graphic offering the mysterious tag line "A new Light is coming". See it on Engadget.
The Sony VAIO P draws a lot of coverage around the tech sites, but I am not really excited about it. The form factor seems awkward. Sure it is nice to have such a high resolution, but I would be fine with 1,280x1024px in a 8 or 9 inch display.

Source : http://www.i4u.com/

More Sony Vaio Pocket Leaks: Screens That Sweet Don't Come Cheap

While we knew much of Sony's new netbook's specs already, the price was still a mystery. But new leaks put the Vaio Pocket awfully close to the $1000 mark, which makes it a pricey toy indeed.

The leaks confirm the 1.33 GHz processor, and specifies it as a Z250 Atom, as well as the ultra-sharp 1600x768 8-inch screen. It'll be packing 2GB of memory as well as GPS, which suggests it'll at least have an option of Windows Vista. But the juiciest detail is the price: 700 Euro, which comes out to about $970 US. That'd make it one of the most expensive netbooks out there, and aside from the screen, it's not a huge bump in specs over HP or Dell's offerings. These are still unconfirmed rumors, so we'll have to reserve judgment until Sony rolls out the official announcement. Here's hoping that price isn't quite right. [UMPC Portal]

Source : http://gizmodo.com/

Silencing the background noise

Whether you're on the plane, riding the train, or want to drown out fussy kids in your automobile, a good set of noise-cancelling headphones can be a godsend.

The Globe plugged in three sets of these silencers. We tested the Sony MDR-NC40 ultra-light headphones at $99, the Philips HN 110 fold-up set at $36, and the Plane Quiet Platinum headset by the Outside the Box Group also at $99. All three feature active noise-cancelling technology. They use a battery-powered mechanism to emit sound waves that cancel out whatever is in the background - jet engines, locomotives, and kids.

For a professional opinion, we went to Best Buy in South Bay and met up with customer assistant Evan Penkethman, who likes to hang out in the MP3 player and headphone aisles.

There are also some very good earphone/earbud models out there, Penkethman said, recommending Bose and Sony brands for those applications. The earbud models are small and fit in your pocket but can deliver some amazing sounds. That's why the earbuds that come with your iPod are actually $40 if purchased separately. They're not throwaways.

But for traditional, over-the-head headphones, we liked what we heard from Sony.

Penkethman said the most important shopping tip is to look at the box and see which headphones will cancel the highest percentage of background noise for the lowest price. We both preferred the Sony model to the others because it removed the most background noise while also providing a quality musical experience. Sony's model delivered a loud, clear sound and kept everything else out.

The Phillips brand fit the best over our ears, but we were turned off by the fact that it keeps the battery inside the headphone compartment - right over our right ear. The Sony MDR-NC40 set has a compartment halfway down the wire that stores the battery and lets you switch it on and off.

All three sets sounded good and came with a variety of cases, plugs, and accessories. The Phillips brand claims to remove up to 75 percent of ambient noise, the PlaneQuiet set 80 percent, and the Sony set 90 percent.

"Eighty to 90 percent of ambient noise removed is good," Penkethman said.

The PlaneQuiet set was surprisingly good for a brand we've never worked with. We're impressed. The set had good definition and packed a loud punch while removing a good deal of noise in the background. It's just that, for the same money, it's hard to turn away from a known brand like Sony.

SONY MDR-NC40 HEADPHONES
$99
Pros: Sony delivers a rich, full sound in a set that's comfortable and soft on the ears while removing the most background noise among the sets we tested.
Cons: None. If you have a Benjamin in your pocket, buy these.
The final word: Sony wins this round.

PHILIPS HN 110
$36
Pros: This set is a real bargain. It was originally priced at about $90, but it's come way down lately. That will attract entry-level sound-cancellation experimenters.
Cons: The battery on the ear was a turnoff. It also reduced the least amount of background noise.
The final word: You can't beat the price. But you can beat the quality.

OUTSIDE THE BOX GROUP PLANEQUIET PLATINUM
$99
Pros: The PlaneQuiet comes out of the gate with respectable noise cancellation and a great sound. We recommend them highly for airplane rides.
Cons: In the $100 range, it's hard to justify these over the Sony model.
The final word: If they were $50, they'd be hard to beat.

Source : http://www.boston.com/

Sony Ericsson C510 phone revealed

The images of Sony Ericsson’s C510 or Kate phone appeared on the DailyMobile.se website. The Kate phone is a successor of the Sony Ericsson K770 phone. The C510 middle-level phone will make its entry in the CyberShot series.

The C510 Kate phone has a larger 2.2 inch QVGA TFT display than its predecessor. The phone sports a 3.2 megapixel camera with features like auto focus, LED flash, auto rotation, smile shutter, face detection. You can record videos in QVGA 340 x 240 pixel resolution. The Kate phone also incorporates a direct blog key that is assumed to link you to the blogging software directly.

The CyberShot C510 phone comes packed in with a 160 MB memory. You can also upload videos to YouTube. The auto rotation feature will automatically rotate the images from landscape mode to portrait mode or vice versa. It is also accompanied with dedicated shortcut keys for quick access.

The Sony Ericsson C510 Kate phone is expected to get release in February and its price have not been disclosed yet.

Source : http://www.mobiletor.com/

Nokia releases community gaming tools

Nokia has beefed up its offering to gaming developers, so it’s easier for them to make fun games for us all to play with.

Nokia has beefed up its offering to gaming developers, so it’s easier for them to make fun games for us all to play with.

The new SNAP Mobile SDK (software development kit) 2.0 makes it much simpler to make connected games that include community features. The kit simplifies the process of writing Java games as it includes tools for testing and emulation, speeding up development time.

The new environment supports multiplayer games and instant messaging, so you can communicate with other players. Now we just need to wait and see what those canny techheads do with the new toys on offer.

On the other hand, if you fancy getting all technical and trying it out for yourself, then you can download a copy of the SDK for free from Forum Nokia. Happy coding.

Source : http://noknok.tv/

Nokia Hero Honda Campus Rock Idols

"Nokia Hero Honda Campus Rock Idols" is out once again announcing one more season of extraordinary battle between the best of Campus Rock Bands. An annual, most successful national series is in its 5th year. Campus Rock Idols provides, a unique opportunity for amateur rock bands at the college level to compete on a national platform. It has come a long way since its inception in 2004.This annual competition travels nationally to Metros as well as other cities across four zones of the country. This year Chennai and Indore have been added as new routes.

Ten cities will undergo rigorous regional rounds where aspiring campus rock bands will take part from various cities in India. Shillong, Calcutta, Delhi, Indore, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Manipal have been the most regular stopover of the Campus Rock Idols tour. Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Goa have also been a part of the Campus Rock Idols roadmap over the previous years. The competition has seen eager young talented contestants from both small as well as big towns in droves for the regional events and quite a few of them have made it big in the world of rock music.

A heartening feature of Campus Rock Idols over the years has been the number of original composition that the different bands play. It is true indicator of talent that exists at the campus level, it takes more than just craze and taste for rock music to come up with an original composition. Campus Rock Idols over the years has produced a number of extremely talented rock bands that have gone on to achieve national as well as international exposure.

CRI as usual is divided into 4 zones and the regional winners from each of these zones, which are Pune, Calcutta, Delhi, Hyderabad go on to compete against each other at National Finals in Hyderabad on 7th February 09. Apart from winning the coveted title "Campus Rock Idol" of the year. Winning bands in earlier series of CRI have had the unique distinction of performing alongside international rock icons such as the "Rasmus", "Bryan Adams" and more recently "Iron Maiden".

Campus Rock Idols is an event managed and conceptualized by DNA Networks.

MD DNA Networks Mr T Venkat Vardhan says, "Nokia Hero Honda Campus Rock Idols has struck the right chord for rock music lovers at the campus level and its one of the most anticipated events of the campus calendar. Some key highlights of Campus Rock Idols have been the huge number of entries from all corners of the country, bands singing in their local language, the various different styles, and attractive cash prizes. In fact Afflatus, an all girls band from Shillong were the runners up in the 2004 edition".

This year regional winners in each city get a gift hamper from "On Stage" equipment. On Stage is a musical instrument retails store which consists of brands like Fender, Yamaha, Ibanez, Remo, Dean Markley, Tama, Ernie Ball, Dunlop and many more. The national winner apart from winning cash prize and On Stage gets a chance to open for Rock n India, India's first and only international rock music festival.

Nokia and Hero Honda present Campus Rock Idols in association with Reliance, Force India and VH1.

Source : http://www.webnewswire.com/

What Apple Must Do at Macworld

News Commentary. I won't join the chorus of Macworld Expo predictions. I'm more arrogant than that. I'm telling Apple what it better to hell announce next week.

By the way, if the rumors and predictions buzzing around the Web are true, Apple has got a crop full of worms ready for delivery. There is global economic crisis, which means it's time for Apple to—using the company's 1990's grammatically incorrect marketing phrase—"Think Different."

GOT A TIP OR RUMOR?

Whoops, it's mixed metaphor time. If Apple stays the course, the storm will buffet and quite possibly sink the ship. The navigator—that would be CEO Steve Jobs—is where? He's no longer scheduled to give the Macworld keynote. So who exactly is steering the ship in crisis?

OK, now I'm in stream-of-conscious writing mode and will digress. What Apple shouldn't do:

• Release new iMacs or Apple TV models




• Keep to the same iPhone strategy




• Open more retail stores




• Leave MacBook prices where they are

It's time for Apple to think strategic for global economic downturn. That means the company should shift away from costly, margin-sucking hardware and put more emphasis—at least for the next six months—on software and services.

OK, now for my list of Apple must-dos for next week, in order of importance:

1. Fess up about Steve Jobs's health. This non-disclosure approach is a wheelbarrow full of poop. Give it up. Is he sick, or not? Will he continue as CEO, or not? As I blogged in July, there are no private matters at public companies. Steve's health isn't private. The whole last-Macworld announcement was a smokescreen to distract from Steve's Macworld keynote no-show. If it's the last Macworld and logical place to celebrate the Mac's 25th anniversary, of course he should otherwise give the keynote.

Perception-sensitive Apple should know better. It's January during hard economic times. A large number of companies, particularly in retail, will go bankrupt this month. January bankruptcies, when retail coffers are full of cash and survival prospects are best, are a longstanding tradition. But there will be more of them this year, but fewer companies surviving beyond them. Weak fourth-quarter earnings reports and the number of bankruptcies will further undermine investor confidence.

Right now, there's a question mark over Apple's future that must be answered. Now. Otherwise, paranoid investors will be that storm swamping the Apple ship. Apple must do the right thing for its shareholders and customers—that is say whether or not Steve can go on as CEO. If he's finished or soon to be, Apple must also deliver a clearly articulated transition plan.

2. Officially launch Mac OS X 10.6 (aka "Snow Leopard"). Mac market share is way up, meaning there are plenty of people who could buy Leopard's successor. With past releases, Apple has done remarkably better selling new Mac OS X versions than has Microsoft with Windows. There's reasonable expectation Snow Leopard would sell well.

Software is like pure margin, and it's easily distributed inventory that doesn't quickly go bad on store shelves. Apple assumes much more risk with new hardware, particularly when people aren't buying. That $129 price for full version Mac OS X is appealing, and there is a $199 "Family Pack" for use on up to five home computers. The SKUs and pricing are simple and straightforward.

Apple could excite customers and investors by announcing Snow Leopard next week and setting a release date no later March 31; sooner would be even better. There is Windows 7 competition to consider. I absolutely expect Microsoft to release Windows 7 Beta 1 to the public during the Consumer Electronics Show, if not earlier. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will deliver the CES keynote on Jan 7. Philler Schiller, Apple's senior veep of worldwide product marketing, is scheduled to give the Macworld keynote on Jan. 6. Apple needs to get its news in front of Microsoft, not just Snow Leopard's announcement but the software's release.

3. Immediately release iLife '09, or something like it. There's a reason why so many journalism schools recommend Macs over Windows PCs or how so many younger computer users easily create content for the Web: iLife. The software is long overdue for upgrade, and it's time that Apple joined the Web 2.0 party. Apple makes posting content to its services simply easy. But there's not lots of built-in support for other services. YouTube is the major exception. People are social networking at places like Facebook or Flickr. Apple must better support services other than its own.

Like Mac OS X, iLife is like pure margin. The upgrade price is afforable—$79, or $99 for Family Pack. If the features are there—and considering time since iLife `08 launched—people will buy the new version. Software differentiation and sales can help carry Apple through tough economic times. Of course, iLife `09 or Snow Leopard sales can't replace revenue hardware produces. But software can make up for some hardware revenue declines and lift up margins.

4. Upgrade MobileMe. Apple's Web service is simply disappointing. As I will explain in a subsequent post, I didn't want to renew this year (I've had an Apple services account since 2000). There's simply not enough value in MobileMe compared to free services. Value would be better if the service worked right, but problems persist. On Jan. 1 got persistent page not found, "Looking for something on MobileMe?" notices when trying to access the home page. That's right, me.com.

MobileMe should have set the standard for synchronization among devices, computers and Web services. But MobileMe doesn't consistently deliver. The mail user interface is pretty, but why is it http and not https access? Has Apple got something against security? Yeah, like I'm going to access Mac mail in a public place, sending everything in the clear. Neither should you.

Apple needs to:

• Secure Web access to MobileMe for use anyplace on any device.




• Extend sync to more devices and services, that means those not developed by Apple.




• Promise and deliver 99-percent uptime and functionality. People are paying!

5. Lower iPhone prices. AT&T has got the right idea with deals on refurbished iPhones—$99 for 8GB and $199 for 16GB models. Now those are prices that will sell iPhones. The lower $199 and $299 iPhone prices that appealed in July simply won't cut it in 2009. The economy is broken and analysts have lowered cell phone shipment estimates for this year.

But there's something more fundamental here: App Store, which could be foundation for the next-generation computing platform. Yeah, the one replacing the PC as most used computing device. Apple should make a volume play, by making iPhone so appealing it's the only mobile anyone would want to buy. Apple is way, way behind Nokia in market share and volume sales. If App Store is to succeed, Apple needs to quickly ramp up iPhone volume.

Meanwhile, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is all cocky talk about the sour global economy. He laid out a fairly compelling strategy in an interview with the Financial TImes on Jan 1. Nokia hopes to capitalize on consumers' craving for lower-cost handsets during the downturn and specialized services offered to emerging markets, where mobiles and not PCs often are the first Internet-connected devices. I've been testing out new Nokia services, including Widsets, and I'm impressed. I see lower pricing in a down economy one way Apple can increase iPhone volumes against Nokia, spread App Store adoption and solidify the device and application marketplace position as the next-generation computing platform.

6. Celebrate the Macintosh's 25th-anniversary. During the 1984 Super Bowl, Apple announced the Mac with a commercial aired just once. Many commercials should air this month, and lots of supporting print and Web advertising— all commemorating the Mac's anniversary and celebrating the Apple lifestyle. With Mac market share so high and consumer sentiments so low, there is every reason to generate some reverie about the anniversary. The computer debuted on Jan. 24, 25 years ago.

The anniversary would be a good time for giveaways and sales promotions, too. I'm guessing that Apple and its dealers are sitting on unusually high inventories after the slow Christmas selling season. Apple should use the celebration as a way of clearing out inventory by lowering prices or offering other incentives. The anniversary promotions could be temporary, allowing Apple to leave permanent pricing in place while boosting post-holiday sales. The anniversary's timing is outstandingly fortuitous, if Apple has the corporate will to do the right thing.

Source : http://blogs.eweek.com/

Nokia to focus on profit development

NOKIA will focus on profit development amid falling cellphone market, chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told the Financial Times.

“We will continue to combine market share and margins in the right way in order to maximise the bottom line,” Kallasvuo was quoted as saying in an interview in Helsinki. This in stark contrast to some of its smaller rivals, like LG Electronics, who have said they will do anything to reach their sales targets.

Nokia lost some market share in the second half of last year as it shied away from some fierce price battles.

Cellphone market is expected to see its weakest year in 2009, with analysts forecasting on average for a 6.6% fall in sales volumes.

“When times are tougher, people who have stronger positions fare relatively better than the competition . . . So, overall, I believe many of our competitors will have limitations here in terms of their ability to do things,” Kallasvuo said.

Nokia has said it targets to increase its cellphone market share in 2009, helped by consumers’ appetite for cheaper models.

Nokia has bought a dozen companies including a US$8.1bil acquisition of mapping company Navteq to jumpstart its Internet business as growth in the cellphone market stalls.

Nokia has said it was looking for smaller acquisitions to bolster its Internet services offering, and Kallasvuo said the company did not have “any big pieces missing” in its services portfolio. — Reuters

Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/

Nokia, D. Phone open Nokia specialty store in Beijing

Jan. 4, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Nokia Corp, a Finland-based multinational communications enterprise, and China's mobile phone chain store D. Phone opened a Nokia specialty store in Beijing, capital of China, sources reported.

The specialty store, jointly managed by D. Phone and Nokia, is located in Zhongguancun commercial zone. The store, which owns the same appearance and brand logo of Nokia outlet, covers an area of above 130 square meters.
 
A spokesperson with Nokia said the company plans to expand the figure of the specialty stores in Beijing to 10 next year.

The mobile phone stores of Nokia include specialty stores and flagship stores. The former ones can cooperate with local partners, while the latter are directly managed and operated by Nokia itself, according to Nokia.

Nokia has only two flagship stores in China, located in Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively. The Shanghai outlet is Nokia's largest flagship store in the world.

Source : http://www.chinaknowledge.com