How Old Storage Tapes are Surpassing the New Age Drives Today?

You must be wondering why is there a surge in old storage tapes in the age of Cloud?  Especially considering the enormous growth in data volumes around the globe-. Also, why Storage tapes are considered as an ideal solution for several next-generation applications like Internet of Things, hyper-scale computing, entertainment, cloud storage services, and Big Data? 

Further, you will be surprised, but nowadays businesses prefer “olden” method of storing data on tape drives – How? According to Solomon Sukumar, Head – RM & IP Business Fujifilm India.

Recent progresses have caused an exponential increase in the quantity of data generated worldwide. As the use of accumulated big data rapidly increases, so does the need for reliable and cost-effective long-term storage of such data for future use and storage tapes have always been the preferred medium of backing up data permanently.  The benefits have been numerous especially in storing legacy data/archival data – a data which is 10 years old or more.  Certainly, saving such data in a disc invites a huge cost unlike the Fujifilm storage tapes where the data can be stored offline without any cost and can be availed anytime. Fujifilm holding a prowess in the realm of storage solutions have always contributed effectually in the sphere of archival data solutions for various industries and financial institutions. We have been a leader in this industry since long and we look forward to continue contributing our expertise in the same. We are proud to see that our storage tapes are surpassing the new age drives and how effectually our technology is considered as the safest in saving the archival data. So, Fujifilm has always been ahead of the times with this technology – we are proud to be a key contributor in the evolution  of data storage”.

Now Let’s delve how data storage addresses the growing demand for long-term data storage by companies, governments, II Sector, banks and research institutions around the world etc - 

Data is Valued

In the present epoch, data has value like never before, and it’s often mentioned to as “the money of the digital economy.” As such an important asset because for effective working of the organisation it’s very important that organizations have workable, economically-sound strategies in place for data backups, disaster retrieval, and archiving. More than before, now brands rely on the data. Often, it’s a business’s data—and how well it is used—that differentiate one business from another. So, valuing the trending strategies – it is important to adhere to the old cassette format to keep yourself forward whist keeping the data in place.  

Effective Data Management -

Management of exponential data growth continues to be one of the great challenges for businesses, IT managers and others. They finding the data management difficult in light of shrinking IT budgets and environmental concerns.  However, Tape storage tackles the challenge in meeting the data in a substantial way while achieving a maximum storage capacity of 30 TB (12 TB of uncompressed data), or twice that of the previous version (LTO7).  For instance - The Magnetic Tape FUJIFILM LTO Ultrium 8 Data Cartridge is better than hard disk storage and often faster than the cloud.  This open format for this magnetic tape is highly multipurpose and used most extensively around the world. `. 

Fujifilm has also been striving to address the need to store and manage constantly increasing volumes of data by presenting effective data management that is setting a benchmark for computer data storage, professional video production and TV broadcasting. Whether recording dramatic footage or safeguarding corporate data, Fujifilm is striving to assure reliability for effective data management backed by strong innovation.   

Safe and Cost Effective –

With recent virus and malware threats, tapes have also become the cheapest way to protect data on a threat-capable media and store it at an off-site location.  Further the reason is that there is an enormous amount of data nowadays that incessantly consumes electric power and huge amounts of energy, resulting in hazardous impact on the environment and functioning costs. And so, the magnetic storage tapes, as a means of addressing these issues, have been considered as a lucrative option. It is safe, low-cost, energy-saving recording medium for long-term data storage.  Also, it allows offline storage with minimum risk of data damage or loss. For instance- Financial services organizations face exceptional challenges when it comes to shielding their data. Between massive data growth, budget limitations they need scalable, cost-effective, end-to-end solutions that make it easy to store, protect and access data.

Progression in the Tape Technology

Magnetic tape has been around since the early days of computing. This long occupancy has obstructed tape’s image over the years. So, the emergence and aggressive marketing of new storage technologies has increased the demand too. But tape technology has advanced, and substantial investment continues to be made in tape storage technologies. Unlike before magnetic tapes have more storage than before and these tapes are highly multipurpose and used most extensively around the world. Thereby this progression has led to an increase in the demand.

Long Term Perspective of Preserving Data for Future –

Magnetic tapes can address needs from a long-term perspective as their storage capacity continues to increase into the future and there is really low risk of data loss too. Also, Magnetic Storage tapes preserve Data for Future Generations due to an upsurge of the cloud, IoT, and AI across business sectors for preserving digital content and which leads to increase in data. These tapes are designed in such a way that there is less data loss. For instance - Fujifilm tape like 3592 Tape Cartridge has an exceptionally smooth surface that assures improved head contact and minimal spacing loss and which why data can be preserved for long and thus can be preserved for future.

Leverages advanced technologies

The demand of Magnetic Data is increasing in manufacturing process of IT Industry.  Magnetic Tapes, tackle the test to enable Smart Manufacturing by actively leveraging advanced technologies. Also, the magnetic tapes help in Developing a Coating Process for Manufacturing Next-generation Products. In the coating process, magnetic particles in the form of liquid that functions as the recording layer are applied on the thin base layer at a high speed and dried. To enable high-quality magnetic tapes, a control of the magnetic particle alignment is essential since well-aligned particles allow data to be stored in higher capacity as well as reducing data noise.

Reliable - Tested with time and experience

Magnetic tape has been used for data storage since the 1950s. Though it’s been overshadowed by machineries focused on high-performance needs, however again we continue to see emerging use cases where tape offers the impeccable solution for some puzzling storage trials. Also, Fujifilm is revamping their storage strategies for some reasons, contributing to the resurgence of tape. It has already created a benchmark with each new generation of LTO tape technology having the native transfer speed have almost doubled,

Thereby with increase of data – and the up-surging use of big data – The tape industry has recognised the ways of meeting data challenges by realising on how to meet the customer’s needs and expectations.  Similarly, Fujifilm aims to protect irreplaceable data for future and is determined to play the key role in continuing to support the technological breakthrough in the data tape technology.

Yamaha Celebrates its HERITAGE During the 65th Anniversary in India

65th Anniversary

* Yamaha Heritage of products, technologies and racing victories constitute the brand’s spirit of serving the society ~

* Yamaha also pays tribute to the frontline workers who have enormously contributed towards the society during challenging times ~

Yamaha Motor India (YMI) Group celebrated the 65th anniversary along with the global businesses under the Yamaha Motor Company (YMC) Ltd. with its HERITAGE of unique mobility solutions including two wheelers, ground breaking technologies and racing legacy. The company has planned various online and digital initiatives to recount the brand’s landmark successes of performance and innovation during the “Yamaha Day” celebrated globally on July 1 that could further help the current employees and management to cultivate “The Unique style of Yamaha”.

The brand’s motorcycle division that started in 1955 at Japan with the introduction of YA 1 had gradually rolled out some of the world’s best seller commuters and performance-driven motorcycles along the sidelines of ace technologies like 4 stroke, DOHC 5 valve engine and eventually setting outstanding records of racing championships. YMIG under its brand campaign “The Call of the Blue” has been driving the spirit of this HERITAGE with the help of a unique two-wheeler line up that are “exciting, stylish and sporty” and striking engagements and customer activities. Yamaha will run a host of customer activities on the digital space and will separately engage Yamaha employees in various craftwork initiatives to continue to transmit the brand’s uniqueness, thus redirecting from physical activities to digital initiatives as billions of people are grappling with the pandemic.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Motofumi Shitara, Chairman, Yamaha Motor India Group of companies said, “Yamaha’s Heritage is an outstanding tale of cutting through the constraints and develop world-class products and experiences. Since the beginning, Yamaha’s aim was to bring heart revving products and experiences that many would cherish in a world of routines and limits. The 65th anniversary is when we showcase our heritage of uncompromising excellence of innovation and performance to the world and reiterate the brand’s continuous commitment towards the society in offering more exciting, stylish and sporty products. On this occasion, the brand in India has also decided to stand with the frontline warriors who have enormously contributed towards sustaining our society.”

The company has also endeavored to offer its tribute to the frontline warriors including medical fraternity, teams handling emergency, civil and essential services through a new campaign “Yamaha Salutes Frontline Warriors”. All two wheelers and four wheelers used by the employees along with the company’s transport would display the illustrative stickers in support of the campaign, a balloon signage will also being installed at OMR, Chennai near to the company head office while the teams at Yamaha’s Chennai plant have offered their support with the help of a unique vehicle formation saying ‘Thank You’. The company has also launched a Social Media campaign “Yamaha salutes frontline warriors” in which various employees from across pan India offices of the company along with dealers and customers can be seen to have come together to offer their support and thanks to the frontline warriors.

Japanese Firm ‘Kiyou Jochugiku’ Launches “Air Doctor” for Prevention of Virus in India

Key Points

* The Japanese technology releases antimicrobial agent Chlorine Dioxide to protect from Airborne disease

* New hope to prevent from Virus in this situation

A Japanese based company Kiyou Jochugiku Co. Ltd launches “Air Doctor” in India. The Air Doctor is a portable product that helps to prevent viruses, bacteria, and fungus within a 1-meter radius. The product Air Doctor contains sodium chlorite, natural inorganic substances (natural zeolite) which helps in the prevention of viruses. Air Doctor can be hanged on chest, pocket, or bag and this Japanese based technology releases antimicrobial agent Chlorine Dioxide (ClO2) to provide ultimate protection against airborne diseases such as influenza, cold and flu, allergy, H1N1, pneumonia, tuberculosis, recurrence respiratory infections, etc. This product is also advisable to patients living with Asthma and immunocompromised like hypertension, diabetics, heart disease, cancer patient under chemotherapy, etc.  Even children, pediatric and pregnant women can use it. The Air Doctor product is approved worldwide by the WHO, USFDA, Occupation Safety, and Health Administration and The Japan Ministry of Health, Welfare & Labor.

Mr. Jitendra Bhatt, CEO of Access BioImage, the Indian Promotor of the Air Doctor says, “At this crucial time, when we are fighting against various diseases and virus this product will be useful to scan the virus within a 1-meter radius after wearing the Air Doctor. The portable product which is like a batch can be used by everyone including educational institutions, healthcare & hospitality industry, private and government offices, policeman, flights, banks, showrooms, restaurants, public transport, aviation, etc. The product can also be placed inside or outside air condition to prevent Air Borne disease.”

Air Doctor claims that it uses a new generation of virus prevention, sterilization, and deodorization techniques. There are 3 variants:

a.       Air Doctor Fan that has 90 days effect and advisable for the use in hospital

b.      Air doctor Mobile which prevents virus and bad odor

c.       Air Doctor Mobile portable which effectively kills pathogenic microorganisms such as fungus, bacteria, and viruses, and both the mobile versions last for 30 days.

Mr. Jitendra Bhatt further adds, “It is beneficial for all the citizens working on essential duties and can use the Air Doctor portable to prevent themselves from virus exposure.”

The product is not accessible to use underwater and exposure to high air should be avoided.

About Kiyou Jochugiku Co. Ltd.

For over a century since our founding in 1910, Kiyou Jochugiku has endeavored to make products that are people, environment, and planet-friendly as the underlying principle. We make a wide variety of products from diverse perspectives, to note the bath life business that pursues health, beauty and therapy, and the eco-life business that proposes health, nature, and resource conservation. The spearheads the development, production, and marketing of a wide range of medical product and OTC products in many countries.

Kansai Nerolac Celebrates “Father’s Day and International Yoga Day” with #NerolacYogawithDad

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. has constantly engaged with its audience to underline the importance of being careful in the current Covid-19 situation. With Father’s Day and International Yoga Day around the corner, Nerolac has launched an engaging contest, #NerolacYogawithDad, as an extension of its latest brand campaign #AajCarefulTohKalColourful. Through the initiative, Nerolac urges citizens to encourage their fathers to kickstart their fitness journey for a healthy and bright future! This is the fourth extension in the campaign’s ongoing series.

The initiative encourages participants to post a picture practicing Yoga with their father across social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #NerolacYogaWithDad.The winning entries will feature on Nerolac’s social media page.

The contest #NerolacYogawithDad is being promoted across Kansai Nerolac’s social media platforms.

About Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited:

With a rich heritage of 100 years in the paint industry, Kansai Nerolac Paints is one of the largest paint companies in India and the leader in industrial segment. A wholly owned subsidiary of Kansai Paint Co. Ltd., Japan, which is among the Top 10 companies worldwide, Kansai Nerolac manufactures a diversified range of products ranging from decorative paint coatings for homes, offices, hospitals and hotels to sophisticated industrial coatings for industries. Kansai Nerolac has established itself as a leader in product innovation with its initiatives including no added lead, Low VOC and HD finishes with brands like Excel. Its product portfolio and customer awareness campaigns promote environmental sensitivity. www.nerolac.com

Green battery gives non-stop energy for years

Scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a new, environmentally friendly silicon-air battery capable of supplying non-stop power for thousands of hours without needing to be replaced.

Created from oxygen and silicon, such batteries would be lightweight, have an unlimited shelf life, and have a high tolerance for both humid and extremely dry conditions.

Potential uses include medical applications (example, powering diabetic pumps), sensors and microelectronics structured from silicon. “Silicon-air batteries will be used like the ones already in use today,” said lead researcher Yair Ein-Eli. “But by using silicon – a safe, non-toxic, stable and more common material – we can create batteries with infinite shelf life and high energy capacity,” he added.

Silicon-air batteries would be able to provide savings in cost, weight as they lack the built-in cathode used in conventional batteries.

Agencies

Can mobile phones authenticate your identity?

Move over passport and PAN card! Now the mobile phone will be used to verify your credentials, for authentication at banks, gas connection centres or while providing rural jobs, Unique Identification Authority chief Nandan Nilekani said Saturday.

"Our project will provide a unique identification (UID) number not a card. The authentication will be made by using mobile phones," Nilekani said.

"Once the numbers are issued, we will go for online authentication. Lets say, you are asking for a job under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The authorities will send your number to the designated points through mobile. A message will be returned saying 'Yes' or 'No'," Nilekani said.

"This will verify whether you are the person you are claiming to be," the former Infosys managing director said, delivering the Foundation Day lecture of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

"This will not require much details to be divulged. It will help provide portability to our farmers, labourers. When they move from state to state, this UID will help them get employment without hassles."

He said banks, mobile service providers, LPG gas connection counters and many more partner organisations can use this UID to verify their customer. "With the growing mobile phone network, this will become an easy process for authorities to verify people."

"It will cut down the fake or duplicate records. This will enhance the efficiency of flagship programmes like NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) and other such projects," Nilekani stressed.

He said his team will roll out the first batch of UIDs in the next 12 to 18 months. "In five years from now, we will issue at least 600 million UIDs," Nilekani said, terming it a Herculean task and a major challenge.

Agencies

New smart card technology by 2014, says MTA

Bus and subway riders will be able to abandon the MetroCard and use debit or credit cards to ride anywhere in the city by 2014, according to the MTA.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the first time set a target date for a no-swipe smart-card system to be in full use after years of studies and pilot programs.

With smart-card technology, riders simply waive or tap their credit or debit cards on readers when entering a subway station or bus.

Not having to swipe at turnstiles or dip a MetroCard into a fare box reader should speed travel and reduce MTA expenses, experts have said.

"I think it's great," Bill Henderson, executive director of the MTA's Permanent Citizens Advisory Council. "The technology is going help out the riders and the system."

The 2014 date is included in an MTA document detailing some of the major initiatives in the five-year capital plan recently approved by the authority's governing board.

If fully funded, the capital plan will allocate $220 million for a smart-card system, which also would include prepaid cards not linked to bank or credit accounts.

Agencies

Ex-lovers most popular online search on the Net

Most people look for their long lost love on the internet, a new survey has found.

The study found that one out of four people are using social networking sites like Facebook to search a childhood sweetheart.

Search engine Ask Jeeves claims that 9% even confessed trying to know details of a one-night stand.

Nearly 37% said that they wanted to learn about their ex to just “see what they were doing these days”, reports the British tabloid the Sun.

Surprisingly, 4% even looked for former flames just to inform them how happy they were without them, while 3% searched to find out how miserable their ex were.

Apart from searching for previous lovers the poll also suggested that a trend of “vanity searching”, which means looking for yourself on the net, has become increasingly popular.

Agencies

$2 tn in revenues for green businesses by 2020

Global revenues from climate-related businesses such as energy efficiency rose by 75% in 2008 to $530 billion and could exceed $2 trillion by 2020, HSBC Global Research estimated.

In the 2006 Stern Review on the economics of climate change, climate-related revenues were forecast to climb to $500 billion by 2050. “We can see that this seemingly huge figure has already been surpassed well ahead of time as more and more businesses adapt their business model,” said Joaquim de Lima, global head of quant research for equities at HSBC.

The climate sector has surpassed the size of the global aerospace or defence industry, with the United States, Japan, France, Germany and Spain accounting for 76% of global climate revenues, the report found. For revenues to rise to $2 trillion, the way energy is generated and used needs to change and continued government support is needed.

The four core investment pillars will be low-carbon energy production, energy efficiency, control of water, waste and pollution and climate finance, the report said. Energy efficiency recorded the highest investment returns in the year to date at 30%.

“This is a very significant trend given the substantial share of climate stimulus funds that have been directed at energy efficiency and energy management by governments across the globe,” HSBC analysts said.

Agencies

New green computing centre from Microsoft

In an eco-friendly move, Microsoft has announced that its new center at its Redmond headquarters will cut the company's carbon footprint by 12,000 metric tons per year. The Redmond Ridge 1 centre will combine Microsoft's research laboratory servers from individual product groups with the corporate systems that process other data, reports BusinessGreen.com.

According to the software giant, the facility is due online in April 2010 and will provide major power efficiencies. "The opening of Redmond Ridge is a big milestone and represents a real transition point in the company's culture," said Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist at Microsoft.

The building has been designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, using air heat exchangers to keep the temperature down. Air conditioning starts only if the temperature rises above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. "This facility is a great example of how technology can help improve the energy efficiency of a company's operations," said Bernard.

The move is causing something of a cultural shift at Microsoft, however. Engineers developing new code are physically removed from the servers testing it for the first time. Microsoft has not said how much of its computing it intends to centralize, but is aiming to cut its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2012.

Agencies

Dual-screen laptops to hit market by 2009-10

The world's first laptop with twin monitors is slated to hit the stores by the end of the year.

The dual-screen laptop, entitled Spacebook, was masterminded by Alaska-based technology firm gScreen.

The pioneering technology, that will let users to multi-task while on the move, will have two 15.4 in screens, reports the Telegraph.

The PC is estimated to cost enthusiasts around 3,000 dollars but not without concerns regarding the weight of the Spacebook and the pressure on the batteries to meet the energy demands of running two screens.

Gordon Stewart, the founder of gScreen, told US technology website Gizmodo, that the gadget could be expected to be up for grabs on Amazon by December this year, provided final modifications had been dealt with.

He said: "We designed this knowing that many may not need the extra screen at all times."

Spacebook is thought to be the first of its kind with twin screens of equal size.

Agencies

Will Nissan unit shift from UK to Chennai lead to job losses?

Japanese major Nissan has decided to shift the entire production of its small car Micra from the UK and relocate it to India. After production of the Micra begins here, Nissan plans to manufacture four more models in India, involving a total investment of over Rs 2,000 crore.

The move underlines the rush among automakers to rationalise production costs and move to locations that offer the best value and quality. “We have decided to shift the production of the Micra compact car from our UK plant and manufacture it in India at our upcoming factory at Oragadam, near Chennai,” Nissan India MD and CEO Kiminobu Tokuyama told TOI here.

The company’s Chennai plant will start production from May next year, and the export markets would be catered to from autumn, Tokuyama said. Nissan, he said, plans to meet Micra’s requirements for the entire European region as well as some other markets like Middle-East from the Chennai plant. “We plan to initially start with export volumes of 1.1 lakh units, which would be gradually scaled up to 1.8 lakh units as demand goes up,” Tokuyama said. But what has prompted the company to take such a step, uprooting manufacturing presence from an established base and shifting to an all-new location. “There are many benefits to count in India, and these include a high-quality vendor base that is also cost effectiveness, leading to globally-competitive pricing,” Tokuyama said. Also, the technological skills in India are of a high quality, he added.

Nissan’s move points to the growing importance of India in small car manufacturing, which was initiated by the Government by way of lower manufacturing tax (excise duty) on them. The rising scale of small car production in India also sweetens the deal in favour of the country as component makers have improved on quality and scale, making them a safe and a reliable bet. Lower wages in the market, and relatively high engineering skills, is another big advantage that attracts companies.

Times of India/Agencies

Japanese cos NEC, Hitachi, Casio to merge for mobile operations

Japan's NEC Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Casio Computer Co are in talks to merge their struggling mobile phone manufacturing operations to create Japan's No 2 handset maker, the Yomiuri daily reported on Friday.

Loss-making NEC could hive off its mobile operations and merge it with an existing joint venture between Hitachi and Casio to together develop handsets, or the three could merge their mobile phone production operations, the newspaper said without citing sources.

NEC would be likely to hold a majority of the new firm, it said. The three are struggling in Japan's saturated cellphone market and mounting development costs, said to be about 10 billion yen ($107 million) per handset. In the year ended in March, Sharp Corp controlled over one-fifth of Japan's handset market, followed by Panasonic Corp.

Agencies

Harley-Davidson to ride into India in 2009

US motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson is optimistic about a recovery in the US economy but would continue to tread carefully by adopting cost-saving measures, a senior official said on Thursday. Milwaukeebased Harley-Davidson also said it plans to start selling its motorcycles next year in India, the world’s secondlargest market for bikes.

It is betting on a rising middle class population in the world’s second-fastest growing major economy to create a demand for its large and powerful machines. Harley, whose bikes account for half of the motorcycle sales in the United States, has been hurt by a slowdown in its biggest market and last month reported a slump in second-quarter net profit and slashed its 2009 shipment forecast.

Agencies

Does US lag in internet speed over other countries?

The US is lagging far behind other industrial nations in the availability and high speed internet broadband connection, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) report.

The report states that the average download speed in South Korea is 20.4 mbps, four times faster than the US average of 5.1 mbps. Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands follow South Korea with an average of 15.8 mbps, 12.8 mbps and 11.0 mbps respectively.

The new research indicates that between 2007 and 2009, the average download internet speed in the US has increased by only 1.6 mbps, from 3.5 mbps in 2007 to 5.1 mbps in 2009. At this rate, it is likely to take the US 15 years to catch up with current internet speed in South Korea, the country with the fastest average internet connection.

The report says, "Our nation continues to fall far behind other countries. People in Japan can upload a high-definition video in 12 minutes, compared to a grueling 2.5 hours at the US average upload speed." The 2009 speed test done by speedmaters.org shows that only 20 percent of those who took the test have internet speed in the range of the top three ranked countries - South Korea, Japan and Sweden. Even more alarming, 18 percent do not even meet the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) definition for current - generation broadband as an always-on internet connection of at least 768 kbps downstream.

Continued job growth, innovation and rural development require high-speed, universal networks. Data shows that for every $5 billion invested in broadband infrastructure to create these networks, 97,500 new jobs in the telecommunications, computer and IT sectors will be created.

Larry Cohen, President, CWA said, "Every American should have affordable access to high-speed internet, no matter where they live. Unfortunately, fragmented government programs and uneven private sector responses to build out internet access have left a digital divide across the country."

The US President Barack Obama has pledged to put broadband in every home and the FCC has embarked on an ambitious project to bring high-speed internet access to every corner of the country.

According to the CWA report, the fastest download speed in the US is in the northeastern parts of the country while the slowest is in states such as Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Agencies

LED set to change the display systems

You may soon get to enjoy facilities like flexible high-resolution home theatre displays, wearable health monitors, and biomedical imaging devices because scientists are working on a novel process for creating new classes of lighting and display systems.

John Rogers, the Flory-Founder Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, has revealed that the new process is all about creating and assembling ultra-thin, ultra-small inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) into large arrays that offer new classes of lighting and display systems with interesting properties, such as see-through construction and mechanical flexibility.

He said that such properties would be impossible to achieve with existing technologies. "Our goal is to marry some of the advantages of inorganic LED technology with the scalability, ease of processing and resolution of organic LEDs," said Rogers.

Compared to their organic counterparts, inorganic LEDs are brighter, more robust and longer-lived. Organic LEDs, however, are attractive because they can be formed on flexible substrates, in dense, interconnected arrays.

Rogers and his colleagues-including collaborators from Northwestern University, the Institute of High Performance Computing in Singapore, and Tsinghua University in Beijing-say that the new technology combines features of both.

"By printing large arrays of ultra-thin, ultra-small inorganic LEDs and interconnecting them using thin-film processing, we can create general lighting and high-resolution display systems that otherwise could not be built with the conventional ways that inorganic LEDs are made, manipulated and assembled," Rogers said.

To overcome requirements on device size and thickness associated with conventional wafer dicing, packaging and wire bonding methods, the researchers have developed epitaxial growth techniques for creating LEDs with sizes up to 100 times smaller than usual.

They have also developed printing processes for assembling these devices into arrays on stiff, flexible, and stretchable substrates.

To create an array, a rubber stamp contacts the wafer surface at selected points, lifts off the LEDs at those points, and transfers them to the
desired substrate.

"The stamping process provides a much faster alternative to the standard robotic 'pick and place' process that manipulates inorganic LEDs one at a time. The new approach can lift large numbers of small, thin LEDs from the wafer in one step, and then print them onto a substrate in another step," Rogers said.

The researcher says that shifting position and repeating the stamping process can transfer LEDs to other locations on the same substrate, and, in this fashion, large light panels and displays can be crafted from small LEDs made in dense arrays on a single, comparatively small wafer.

Given that the LEDs can be placed far apart and still provide sufficient light output, Rogers says that the panels and displays can be nearly transparent. He even envisions the creation of flexible and even stretchable sheets of printed LEDs, which can have potential use in the health-care industry.

"Wrapping a stretchable sheet of tiny LEDs around the human body offers interesting opportunities in biomedicine and biotechnology, including applications in health monitoring, diagnostics and imaging," Rogers said.

A research article describing the researchers' work has been published in the journal Science.

Agencies

Will MindTree touch $1 bn revenue by 2014?

Mid-sized software services firm MindTree, which completed 10 years on Tuesday, will come up with newer strategies as it aims to achieve over $1 billion in revenues by March, 2014. The company, which counts steel-maker Arcelor Mittal and Swedish truckmaker Volvo among its top customers, will be focusing on areas like energy, defence and healthcare. The firm is also targeting newer geographies like Japan.

“We are making strategic investment in defence, working along with DRDO and focusing on areas which deal with the surveillance space. There isn’t much revenue contribution right now, but the potential in long run is great” , said S Janakiraman, president and CEO, R&D services and one of the 10 co-founders of MindTree. MindTree is also building video surveillance , analytics solutions and new telemedicine solutions for the burgeoning rural healthcare market. “We recently had a major win from an Apac telecom firm and an European consumer appliance company. The size of the contracts is worth $5-6 million”, he said.

Mr Janakiraman said that MindTree will be the fastest growing company once the recovery happens as they are making more investments for innovations. “The 15% salary cut of 200 employees out of 8,000 will be immediately restored once business picks up”. MindTree has also bagged a contract for IT services from Swift, the financial messaging provider, and has plans to tap energy sector.

“We have put the team in place and are talking to large energy companies in Europe and the US,” said Anjan Lahiri, president and CEO, IT services and one of the co-founders of MindTree.

Agencies

Can India emerge as the 3rd largest Internet users by 2013?

The number of internet users worldwide is expected to touch 2.2 billion by 2013 and India is projected to have the third largest online population during the same time, says a report.

"The number of people online around the world will grow more than 45 per cent to 2.2 billion users by 2013 and Asia will continue to be the biggest Internet growth engine.

"... India will be the third largest internet user base by 2013 - with China and the US taking the first two spots, respectively," technology and market research firm Forrester Research said in a report.

Globally, there were about 1.5 billion Internet users in the year 2008.

Titled 'Global Online Population Forecast, 2008 to 2013', the report noted that emerging markets like India would see a growth of 10 to 20 per cent by 2013.

"In some of the emerging markets in Asia such as China, India and Indonesia, the average annual growth rates will be 10 to 20 per cent over the next five years (2008-13)," the report said. India's number of Internet users was estimated to be 52 million in 2008.

In the next four years, about 43 per cent of the Internet users globally are anticipated to reside in Asia and neighbouring China would account for about half of that population.

"... the shifting online population and growing spending power among Asian consumers means that Asian markets will represent a far greater percentage of the total in 2013 than they do today," Forrester Research Senior Analyst Zia Daniell Wigder said.

According to the report, the percentage of internet users in Asia would increase to 43 per cent in 2013 from 38 per cent in 2008.

"The percentage of the global online population located in North America will drop from 17 per cent to 13 per cent between 2008 and 2013, while Europe's share will shrink from 26 per cent to 22 per cent.

"The percentage of those in Asia will increase from 38 per cent to 43 per cent and Latin America will remain steady at about 11 per cent of the global total," Forrester noted.

The report said apart from China, other Asian countries with substantial online growth rates include India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

"By contrast, growth rates in some of the more mature markets such as Japan and South Korea will rise by less than two per cent each year," it added.

Agencies

Do Indian IT firms vie for $11.4-billion domestic market?

With the IT clients in the U.S., Europe and Japan tightening their purse strings, Indian IT companies are scrambling to raise their share of the Indian software and IT services market, which industry body Nasscom values at around Rs 57,200 crore ($11.4 billion), reported Mint.

Mumbai-based TCS and Bangalore-based Infosys, India's largest and second largest IT service exporters, respectively, have set themselves the target of earning $1 billion, or around Rs.5,000 crore, in revenue from the domestic market in the next three to four years. Wipro wants to raise its India focus, as does mid-sized firm MindTree. In March, Employees' State Insurance Corporation, a government of India agency that provides health insurance to 10 million workers, had awarded a Rs.1,182 crore information-technology (IT) project to Wipro, which outbid other biggies like Infosys and Wipro to clinch this deal.

Adding allure to the domestic market is the plans by the sectors like government, energy and utilities, telecom, banking and finance to step up their IT spending. Customers in the US and Europe have traditionally made up as much as 80% of revenue earned by Indian exporters of software and related services.

A late 2008 report by research firm Gartner says that the Indian IT software and services segment, excluding business process outsourcing, is expected to grow at an annual pace of almost 20 percent to touch $13.2 billion by 2012.

TCS earns around $500 million (Rs2,500 crore), or nearly 8 percent of its total revenue, from Indian clients. "We have a base of key clients and solutions portfolio. We have made investments and have people, business and clients. We will accelerate all of this," a TCS spokesperson said.

However, the worry at TCS is that "India, like other emerging markets, is volatile and most business is project-based and not annuity based and hence there is a certain element of uncertainty," the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, Infosys earns less than 2 percent of its revenue (or less than Rs400 crore) from the domestic market. "The market is very large, and has matured over a period of time," said Binod HR, head of the India business unit of Infosys. He said a "big challenge" is that Indian customers are very price-sensitive.

Wipro is one of the largest system integrators in India and, according to Springboard Research, has the second largest share of the domestic market after IBM.

P.K. Gopalkrishnan, Senior Vice-President and India business head IT services of Bangalore-based MindTree said the company earns up to 5 percent of its revenue from India and aims to double it by 2014.

Increasing the domestic market share would, however, not be easy. It entails competing with global technology firms such as IBM which, according to a late 2008 report by research firm IDC, commands a 10 percent share of the Indian market. IBM is the market leader and earns revenue of around Rs 5,700 crore from the Indian market.

Agencies

Toshiba to take over 100 percent of Panasonic LCD JV

Japan's Toshiba Corp plans to take a 100 per cent stake in its struggling liquid crystal display (LCD) joint venture with Panasonic Corp, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology, currently owned 60 per cent by Toshiba and 40 per cent by Panasonic, is the world's second-largest maker of small and midsized LCD panels used in cell phones, car navigation systems and other devices.

Toshiba has decided to buy Panasonic's 40 per cent stake for several billion yen, the source said, confirming an earlier report in the Nikkei business daily.

No one at Toshiba or Panasonic, formerly named Matsushita Electric Industrial, was immediately available for comment.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been made public.

Hit by falling prices and sluggish demand, Toshiba Matsushita Display is expected to post an operating loss of 30 billion yen on sales of 270 billion yen for the financial year ending this month.

Despite the earnings downturn, Toshiba still views the small and midsize display business as an important business and taking a 100 per cent stake will allow it to accelerate decision-making and restructuring, the source said.

Toshiba is planning to cut costs by 300 billion yen in the next business year from April as it braces for its worst-ever annual loss in the year ending this month.

At the same time the deal should allow Panasonic, the world's top maker of plasma TVs, to focus more of its resources on large displays, though it will still hold 25 per cent in another small and midsized LCD venture majority-owned by Hitachi Ltd.

Toshiba Matsushita Display held 10.3 per cent of the global market for small and midsize LCDs in 2008, second only to Sharp Corp's 20.2 per cent share, the Nikkei said, citing figures from research firm DisplaySearch.

The move will mark the latest realignment of the LCD sector.

Earlier this month NEC Corp said it would close a LCD plant in Japan while Sony Corp and Seiko Epson Corp announced that they were considering an alliance in small-sized LCDs.

After making the venture wholly-owned, Toshiba plans to scale back production of amorphous silicon panels, which have been hit hard by sliding prices, and focus on higher-end polycrystalline silicon panels, the Nikkei said.

Agencies