iChat : Apple's social network ??

In a world, where social networking has revolutionized the interaction mode of the society and "digital social profile" reflects the personality and character of an individual, it is becoming very difficult day by day to choose the perfect platform for networking.

If you thought "Facebook" is the best platform then think again, as new entrants like "twitter" and "google plus" has already threatened its numero uno position and the latest to join this $200 billion "social networking market" ,is none other than "Hardware and software" giant "APPLE".

Apple which already provides "iChat" an "instant messaging" application currently available on MAC OSX, is planning to take it to the next level and convert it into the full-fledged "social meadia network". As per our sources, Apple is making its best effort to introduce this social platform alongside the launch of iPad 3 next year.


When Apple first announced that it would launch "iChat"(to know more about it, read below) for the first time as an application on its next iPhone i.e. iPhone 5, many critics spontaneously referred to as BBM's (BlackBerry Messenger) killer as it has got each and every qualities to defeat Research in Motion's instant messaging service.

It wouldn't be difficult for Apple to gain the market share in the social networking field too as it already have the strong user base of iPhone and iPad all around the world. Apple which estimatedly sold 24million iPads (both 1 and 2) already in the market, wouldn't have to try it hard to get the user's attention.

ABOUT  iCHAT(application)


Full-featured instant messaging.
iChat is an instant messaging application that makes it easy to stay in touch with friends and family using text and video. iChat works with AIM, the largest instant messaging community in the U.S., which means you and your buddies can use AIM on a Mac or a PC. iChat works with other services including Yahoo! too.

Video chatting made easy.
Most Mac computers include a built-in FaceTime or iSight camera and mic. When you use them with iChat, you can have high-quality video and audio chats with your friends and family.
Chat with just one person or make it a party by starting a multiway chat.

15 Billion Application Downloaded from Apple's App store

Apple’s App Store has served 15 billion application downloads, the Cupertino, California, company announced Thursday.

According to the official numbers, the store has gone from zero to 425,000 apps in just three years. About 100,000 of those are iPad-native.

Those are impressive figures, whichever way you cut them. And, doing some math actually makes them even more interesting. Apple says there are 200 million iOS users worldwide. Dividing one number by the other gives us a figure of 75 apps per user.

Sure, many of these apps are free (and lots are just plain junk), but that’s really not the point here. Before the App Store, installing software on your phone was a horrible experience. I’m a total nerd, but even I shied away from putting much extra software on my old Symbian-based Sony Ericsson P800 and P900. And when I did, it was uniformly ugly and buggy.

Now, it is so easy and compelling to install apps that the average user has 75 of them on their device. That’s pretty incredible. In fact, shopping for apps is actually something of a pastime. I have friends who browse the App Store in idle moments and think nothing of trying out something new for a few bucks.

Top 10 GLOBAL GREEN BRANDS of 2011

Toyota is again on the top of one more list. This Japanese Automobile giant is topping each and every list from "Most reliable brand" to "Greenest Brand".

The recent released list by the "Interbrand Network",analyzing different brands on the basis of their impact on environment and steps and initiatives taken by different companies to protect environment, revealed that Toyota is the greenest brand of 2011 followed by 3M.


They began with the understanding that 'green', or planet-focused, corporate citizenship efforts of the world's most valuable brands are the ones that are most likely to have the largest impact. As such, it was vital that the Best Global Green Brands ranking be based on the same publicly available data used for the Best Global Brands report.
The result is a comprehensive report of public perception of environmental sustainability ("green") performance and demonstration of that performance for the world’s most valuable brands.


The entire is listed below.

NUMBER 1

NUMBER 2

NUMBER 3

NUMBER 4

NUMBER 5

NUMBER 6

NUMBER 7

NUMBER 8

NUMBER 9

NUMBER 10

Vintage Wine Estates new aquisition

"Windsor Sonoma Winery"
one of the brands from the large portfolio
of Vintage Wine Estates 

Vintage Wine Estates which brings exceptional wines from the Napa Valley & Sonoma County, plus the best of all the world' s wine accessories, on Tuesday acquired the 100,000-case-a-year Cartlidge & Browne brand and inventory.

“It add another level of business for us,” said Pat Roney of Vintage Wine Estates. “It adds different line of distributors nationwide to what we’re doing.”

The acquisition price wasn’t disclosed, but Mr. Roney said industry estimates of $4 million to $6 million for were “comfortable.”

Of the Cartlidge & Browne partners — Tony Cartlidge, winemaker Paul Moser and Bob Babbe — Mr. Cartlidge will be remaining involved with the brand, according to Mr. Roney.

The wine now will be made by Marty Peterson, winemaker at Vintage’s Grove Street Winery in Healdsburg.

The brand had been produced by Sonoma Wine Co. since it acquired Greenfield Wine Co.’s custom wine business and the lease for the 116,500-square-foot winery at 205 Jim Oswalt Way in the Green Island Industrial Park. Mr. Cartlidge and Glenn Browne started the brand in St. Helena in 1980. Mr. Cartlidge remains the owner of the building.

Vintage Wine Estates’ portfolio includes Girard, Grove Street, Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Fire Station Red, Windsor Sonoma, Windsor Vineyards, International Wine Accessories, StoneFly Vineyards and Cosentino Winery.

NASCAR : Brand of the week

NASCAR, the biggest auto racing sports event of United States, is often referred to as "US Formula one" as it holds the same importance to US, which Formula one has to the rest of the world especially Europe in "Automobile racing" field. Here is few facts and figures of this exciting sports event.

The race teams of the "Sprint Cup Series" are as follows-

The major NASCAR tracks are as follows.

Blackberry 9700 Rogers

Rogers was one of the first carriers to release the BlackBerry Bold 9700. It debuted on their website for a whopping $299.99 with a three year contract. We thought the price was a little steep and it looks like Rogers now feels the same. They have lowered the pricetag of the Bold 9700 to $249.99 with a three year plan. It’s a change that needed to be made because of how many good deals there are right now for the 9700.

Yesterday Rogers also pushed out an official OS update for the Bold 9700. They released OS 5.0.0.351 which was previously available but only as a leak.

blackberry 9700 rogers
blackberry 9700 rogers
blackberry 9700 rogers
blackberry 9700 rogers

Blackberry 9700 with Reviews

Here are some fresh new pictures of the BlackBerry 9700 (Onyx). The BlackBerry Onyx 9700 should come as a refreshment of the Bold, featuring 3G support, Wi-Fi with UMA, GPS and a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash. In addition, the Onyx has a 3.5mm jack and a microSD slot.Blackberry Bold 9780 has been unveiled some weeks ago and today this handset is resurfaced again as we got the more information and detail of it. One thing that we noticed is that the RIM when launches a new model it some what resembles with previous one .Now we observe that Bold 9780 smartphone is the brother of 9700 model of Blackberry.
Blackberry Bold 9780 has the Blackberry OS 6.0 and we can say with surety that this new model is planned to replace the 9700 model .Although it will come with some new features and functionalities but we sure that the it will be an upgrade .In terms of its specifications this model of Blackberry has bear a striking resemblance with 9700.

We will provide you more information and news about this Blackberry model soon as currently we don’t know when this phone will exactly hit the market and at what price. We recently unveiled Blackberry storm 3 specifications and video so check it also.So visit us again so that you can get up-to-date news of latest gadgets. Keep in mind the BlackBerry Bold 9700 will come in two versions - one for AT&T/Rogers/Europe and another version specificially built for T-Mobile in the USA, which features T-Mobiles 1700Mhz HSPA bands. Below is a picture of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 with the optical trackpad:
Since this review first when live in late May, a few things have changed in regards to this review. First, the "onyx" became branded with a 9020 device model, which recently changed again to become the BlackBerry 9700 and now for sure will be labeled as the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Hardware-wise, compared to unit featured in this review, a few other things have changed, namely the device will feature a touch sensitive trackpad (as seen on the Curve 8520) instead of the trackball, and the BlackBerry Bold 9700 will also feature a leather back on it. And above the battery door, engraved into the rubber will be the word "Bold".

Pre-release review time! Rumors of the BlackBerry device model with the codename "Onyx" have been floating around for a while now and were proven legit when the first photos of it surfaced here at CrackBerry back on May 10th. After going hands-on with the Onyx, I think it's safe to say THIS IS the traditional (no touchscreen) BlackBerry smartphone so many of us have been waiting for. It always seems that every new BlackBerry smartphone makes a compromise somewhere on its specifications and feature sheet - be it the Bold's camera, or the Curve 8900's lack of 3G, or the Tour 9630's lack of WiFi, or the Storm's lack of memory and snappy OS.

Rupert Murdoch's Empire (pictorial)

The recent UK phone tapping "News of the world" scandal may have brought "Rupert Murdoch", a 80 year old, Australian-American and lively Business tycoon in the limelight of the world media but the irony is that he himself is the owner of second biggest media conglomerate in the world, known as "News Corporation". News Corporation owns a controlling stake in around 100 companies.


Rupert Murdoch, whose net worth is $7.6 billion (as per forbes list 2011) can't be written off so easily. He is an ultimate example of success. He turned his father's single publication in Austrlia to the World's most newspaper publishing company. Key characteristic of his personality is self-determination and aggresiveness. Here is the pictorial display of his vast empire. 

source- Al jazeera
             Shortformblog

CATERPILLAR NAMED TOP EMPLOYER IN ELECTRONIC DESIGN FOR 2010

Last to last year, Caterpillar was number 62 on our list. Last year, it inched up 61 ranks to take the top slot. The company manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through two lines of businesses: Machinery and Power Systems, and Financial Products.
The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies.
The Power Systems business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petroleum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, as well as power generation applications. It also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components and offers remanufacturing services for other companies.

The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels. It also offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. And, it provides financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels.

The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was originally organized as Caterpillar Tractor Co. in 1925 in California. In 1986, the company reorganized as Caterpillar Inc. in Delaware. Caterpillar Inc. is headquartered in Peoria, Ill.
Cat’s Competitive Landscape

Demand for machinery depends on overall industrial activity and on the health of sectors such as agriculture, construction, and power generation. The profitability of individual companies depends on engineering expertise and efficient production. Large companies have economies of scale in purchasing. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing.

The industry is capital-intensive, as average annual revenue per worker is about $300,000. It encompasses a number of segments: construction, mining & other heavy equipment manufacturing; electronics; electrical products; power generation & storage transportation services; and logistics services.
When it comes to machinery, Caterpillar’s chief competitors include Cummins Inc., Tognum AG, GE Energy Infrastructure, Siemens Energy, and Wartsila Corp. Other competitors, such as John Deere Power Systems, MAN Diesel SE, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Volvo Penta (part of Volvo Group AB), Kawasaki Heavy Industries, multiple emerging Chinese competitors, and Rolls Royce Group plc compete in other markets where Caterpillar is active.

An additional set of competitors, including Generac Power Systems Inc. and Kohler Co., includes packagers that source engines and/or other components from domestic and international suppliers and market products regionally and internationally through a variety of distribution channels.
In the engines space, Komatsu Ltd., Volvo Construction Equipment (part of the Volvo Group AB), CNH Global N.V., Deere & Co., Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., J.C. Bamford Ltd., Doosan Infracore Co. Ltd., and LiuGong Construction Machinery N.A. LLC all have varying numbers of product lines that compete with Caterpillar products, and each has varying degrees of regional focus.

The Secret Of Its Success

Infrastructure investment is back, which is a key force behind Caterpillar’s ascension to the top ranking in this year’s Top 50. The company continued its strong performance in the first quarter of 2011 with sales up 57% and profits up more than 400%, the most profitable quarter in the company’s history. Most of the sales increase came from machinery and power systems, which were up 61%. Financial products were basically flat.

Within machinery and power systems, construction industries were up 71%; resource industries, up 84%; and power systems sales were up 51%. Most of the increase came from higher customer demand, but dealers did increase their inventories to meet future demand as well. There was also some improved pricing, as well as the acquisition of Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), a maker of diesel-electric locomotives, contributing to the sales increase.

Sales improved in all four major geographic regions; North America, up 72%; Latin America, up 90%; Europe Africa/Middle East, up 67%; and Asia/Pacific, up 35%. While commercial construction in the U.S. is still very depressed and machinery sales are at about half the 2006 peak, it appears aging machines are starting to be replaced.

During the recession, Caterpillar’s customers cut machine purchases much more rapidly and deeply than the overall construction spending decline. As a result, their fleets both shrunk in size and got older. However, customers are beginning to buy enough machines now to slow or stop their fleets from continuing to degrade.
Mining activity and higher commodity prices, including coal, have encouraged investment in large mining equipment. Higher sales to oil and gas and electric power customers, along with the acquisition of EMD, drove the increase in power systems sales.
While the reasons for European growth mirror North America, basically replacement, growth in developing countries has been good and is driving investment in infrastructure and increased demand for commodities. Incremental margins were good in the construction industries, resource industries, and power systems segments. The company executed well in the quarter and controlled its costs.
Besides EMD in 2010, the company has announced the fairly large acquisitions of MWM Holding GmbH, a Mannheim, Germany-based manufacturer of combustion engines, and Bucyrus International, a company that designs, manufactures, and markets surface and underground mining equipment.
Caterpillar’s facilities in Japan were not damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, but many of its suppliers in Japan were. Caterpillar expects to experience sporadic production disruptions at many facilities around the world, which will have a negative impact on sales, factory efficiency, and costs like premium freight. While the situation is improving, the biggest impact will be felt in the second quarter of 2011./p>
Since the end of the first quarter of 2010, Caterpillar has added almost 21,000 people to its global workforce. About half are full-time employees, and about half are flexible workforce. In total, that represents an increase of over 19% in the total global workforce.

Cash flow has shown excellent improvement, while the machinery and power systems debt-to-equity ratio dropped from over 47% at year-end 2009 to 34.8% at year-end 2010, down to 30.4% at the end of the first quarter of 2011. That’s a drop of almost 4.5 points from year-end, which is an excellent improvement.
While there are some capacity constraints currently forecast for some products such as excavators and many of the company’s large mining products, Caterpillar continues to invest in capacity increases around the world to be prepared for 2012 and beyond, including substantial investment in the U.S. In fact, more than half of the $3 billion that it expects to spend on capital expenditures in 2011 is being invested in the U.S.
After a couple of very tough years, the continued high investment in infrastructure throughout developing countries and the continued replacement of aging machinery in Europe and the United States has Caterpillar well positioned to continue its rebound in growth. If commercial construction rebounds in North America and Europe as well, it will only make the company’s prospects even stronger.

Armani part of Italian olympic team

Giorgio Armani

Chic athlete alert: Giorgio Armani will design the complete wardrobe for the Italian Olympic Team, including formal and sporting togs, to compete in the London 2012 Olympics.  Armani is entering the uniform-design fray as a collab between the Armani Group and CONI, the Italian National Olympic Committee. The stylish sporting ware debuts with Armani’s formal, official outfit for the July 27, 2012 opening ceremony at the London Olympic Stadium.

Italy’s upper echelon sportsmen will exclusively don an array of clothing and accessories from Armani’s EA7 line, which launched in 2004 and is part of the Emporio Armani diffusion label. Hitting the field instead of the runway for the Olympic wardrobe design reflects the cultural importance of athleticism, according to the designer. “A passion for sport is central to the Italian way of life,” Armani said in a statement. Armani, who is the part-owner and honorary president of the Olimpia Milano basketball team, has also featured athletes like David Beckham, Rafael Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo in Emporio Armani underwear campaigns.

But this isn’t Armani’s first time at the Olympic rings: In 2006, Armani designed garbs for the Italian flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin. In addition to Armani gussying up the Italy team, confirmed designers for the 2012 games are Stella McCartney dressing Great Britain, and Cedella Marley (Bob’s daughter) designing in tandem with Puma for Jamaica.

Oracle to question Google

Oracle will get to questionGoogle co-founderLarry Page under terms set by a US judge presiding over a patent suit pitting the business software titan against the Internet giant. 

Oracle can depose Page "for a maximum of two hours, excluding breaks" regarding the value of Android and whether Google intentionally infringed on patents at issue, Judge Donna Ryu said in a written decision on Thursday. 

"(Page) reportedly made the decision to acquireAndroid Inc., and thereby develop and launch the platform that Oracle now contends infringes its patents and copyrights," Oracle lawyers argued in their request to the court. 

"Oracle believes that Mr Page's testimony will likely be relevant with respect to a number of other key issues in this case as well, including the value of the infringement to Google," the letter continued. 

Google has asked to depose its chief executive,Larry Ellison, in the case. 

Oracle is accusing Google's Android software of infringing on Java computer programming language patents held by Oracle stemming from its recent purchase of Java inventorSun Microsystems. 

Google has denied the patent infringement claims and said it believes mobile phone makers and other users of its open-source Android operating system are entitled to use the Java technology in dispute. 

Google opposed the bid to question Page and three other current or former executives in the final weeks of the discovery process, arguing that Oracle was "gnashing its teeth with an eleventh-hour attempt to cram" in more depositions. 

Ryu is also allowing Oracle to depose two of its other targets, Bob Lee and Tim Lindholm. 

Oracle this week complained to Ryu that Google is not providing answers to questions about the Mountain View, California-based company's non-mobile businesses. 

Oracle wants Google to reveal details such as total search volume broken down by keywords and the Web content it indexes. 

Google has resisted with the reasoning that those facts are not relevant to the case because Android powerssmartphones and tablet computers, according to Oracle. 

Google has maintained that Sun, before it was acquired by Oracle, had declared that Java would be open-source, allowing any software developer to use it, and released some of its source code in 2006 and 2007. 

Oracle completed its acquisition of Sun, a one-time Silicon Valley star, in January of 2010 and subsequently filed suit against Google. 

Google-backed Android software is used in an array of devices that have been gaining ground in the hotly competitive global smartphone and tablet markets. 

Google won a round in the pre-trial proceedings when US District Judge William Alsup rejected a bid by Oracle to use an expert witness's testimony who said damages in the case could be as much as $6.1 billion. 

Alsup ruled that the Boston University finance professor's report "overreached in multiple ways" by factoring in Google revenues that went beyond the Android mobile platform. 

"Each and every overreach compounding ever higher damages into the billions - evidently with the goal of seeing how much it could get away with," Alsup reasoned. 

Alsup gave Oracle a chance to enter a revised estimate of damages prior to the trial, which was tentatively slated to start in October.

Apple has more cash than US govt ??

Well, it might sound ridiculous and weird at first but when it comes to "cash" even the most powerful nation is second to this tech giant.

Apple now owns more money than the government of the United States, reports thenextweb.com.

According to the report, currently Apple has $75.876 billion while the US government trails with $73.768 billion as they struggle with a debt ceiling debate.

Apple's cash reserves are only expected to go up as the company recently launched their next generation portable computer the MacBook Air and their latest operating system 'Mac OSX Lion' which became the fastest selling operating system in the company's history.

The company's iPhone has seen solid sales and those sales are expected to up as many believe the company will launch the next iteration of the iconic device in September.