iTechnoBuzz!!

At the beginning of this year, analyst firm Gartner released a report that highlights up-and-coming mobile technologies which they predict will impact the mobile industry over the course of the next two years. According to Nick Jones, vice president and analyst at the firm, the technologies they’ve identified will evolve quickly and will likely pose issues that will have to be addressed by short term strategies.

It includes the following technologies:

Bluetooth 3.0

This is one of the no-brainers on the list. The Bluetooth 3.0 specification will be released this year and devices will start to hit the shelves by 2010. At this point, it’s expected that the 3.0 spec will include faster speeds, reportedly transferring files at 480 megabits per second in close proximity and 100 megabits per second at 10 meters. It will also feature an ultra-low-power mode that Gartner predicts will enable new peripherals, sensors, and applications, such as health monitoring. The technology will be backwards compatible, allowing old devices to communicate with new ones, so there’s no reason for it not take off in the upcoming years.

Mobile User Interfaces & Mobile Web/Widgets

Mobile user interfaces and mobile web/widgets were listed separately, accounting for two items on the list, but we think they can be lumped together. They all point to how mobile computing is rapidly becoming a new platform for everything from consumer mobile apps to B2E (business-to-employee) and B2C (business-to-customer). (Gartner did not include B2B on their list.) Modern day smartphones like the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, the upcoming Pre, and others deliver better interfaces for browsing the web, thus making it accessible to more people. Widget-like applications, including those that replicate thin client technology, will become more common especially in B2C strategies. Yet the mobile web still has challenges ahead. For example, there are no standards for browser access to handset services like the camera or GPS, the report notes.

Location Awareness

Location sensing, powered by GPS as well as Wi-Fi and triangulation, opens up new possibilities for mobile social networking and presence applications. Technology’s earliest adopters are already familiar with social networks like Brightkite and Loopt which let you reveal your location to a network of friends. But we’re still on the tip of this iceberg. Take for example, the iPhone IM client Palringo, they’re just now adding location services to their application. This allows users to see how far away their contacts are, introducing a whole new dimension to mobile communication. Over the next year or two, this sort of technology is expected to become more commonplace, but it will also raise questions about privacy. Will you want your network of online friends and acquaintances to really know your exact location? Will turning off location awareness signal that you’re up to something sneaky (so asks the suspicious wife, husband, boss, etc.)? As a society, we will have to answer these questions and more in the near future.

Near Field Communication (NFC)

NFC is a technology that provides a way for consumers to use their mobile phones for making payments, among other things. It’s something that has taken off in many countries worldwide, but certainly not all, and definitely not in the United States just yet. Unfortunately, Gartner predicts that the move towards mobile payment systems will still not occur this year or the next in mature markets like the U.S. and Western Europe. Instead, NFC is more likely to take off in emerging markets. Other uses of the technology, such as the ability to transfer photos from phone to digital photo frames, will also remain elusive to more developed markets.

802.11n & Cellular Broadband

802.11n, a specification for wireless local area networks (WLANs), initially gave us pause. Although not ratified as an official standard yet, the technology is already commonplace. However, until it “goes gold” so to speak, it won’t really infiltrate the mobile world. Even the ubiquitous iPhone only supports 802.11 b/g at the moment.

On the flip side, the other Internet connection technology, cellular broadband, has the potential to make Wi-Fi almost unnecessary, at least for achieving high speeds. In addition to mobile phones, laptop makers will likely continue to incorporate this technology into their netbooks and notebooks using modern chipsets that provide superior performance to our current crop of add-on cards and dongles.

Display Technologies

Display technologies will also see improvements in the upcoming years. New technologies like active pixel displays, passive displays and pico projectors will have an impact. Pico projectors – the tiny portable projectors we saw being introduced at this year’s CES – will enable new mobile use cases. Instant presentations in informal settings could become more common when there isn’t large, cumbersome equipment to set up. The different types of display technologies introduced in 2009 and 2010 will become important differentiators between devices and will impact user selection criterion, says Gartner.

Technology never stops moving, but what are the technologies that CIOs and IT managers really need to consider in 2010?

We sampled opinions among analysts, vendors, users, IT professionals, system integrators and pundits and came up with the following 10 to watch:

1. Cloud computing

Cloud computing now comes in at least three flavours: on-demand applications (software-as-a-service), clouds as a source of computing infrastructure (Amazon web services and its ilk), and as a paradigm for delivering services within an organisation (internal clouds). This means almost every CIO has one type of cloud computing to consider. All three are disruptive forces, with analyst firm Gartner ranking the cloud as the most strategic technology for 2010 because it “does not eliminate the costs of IT solutions, but does re-arrange some and reduce others.”

2. Four big Microsoft upgrades

2010 will see the emergence of Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010. Throw in the late 2009 debut of Exchange 2010 and IT managers on long-term licensing deals with Microsoft have three big upgrades to consider. Office 2010 looks like another incremental update but the new SharePoint and Exchange will only ship in 64-bit versions, putting a server upgrade on many users’ roadmaps. And let’s not forget Windows 7, which many CIOs must surely be considering as XP runs out of puff.

3. Virtualisation

Virtualisation has hogged headlines in recent years but continues to evolve at an impressive pace. In 2010, Gartner says virtualisation will become a standard disaster recovery and availability technique, as the practice of moving virtual machines from one location to another matures. The idea of desktop virtualisation is also powering a new round of thinking about whether thin clients are a cheaper alternative to PCs.

4. Biometric authentication

2009 saw National Australia Bank adopt voiceprints as its preferred method of authenticating its customers for phone banking and general customer service inquiries because it improves security and customer service. Many call centres have noted this experience and this technology is ready for wider deployment in 2010.

5. Next-generation firewalls

Most organisations tend to operate a fleet of security appliances, with firewalls, intrusion protection devices and unified threat management devices all helping to build a layered defence. Firewalls, however, have grown up and can now take over some of the functions of other security appliances. CIOs wishing to consolidate their security infrastructure may welcome this evolution.

6. Employee-owned IT

Traditionally, IT departments decide what kind of computers and software employees use and they take responsibility for all maintenance chores. Younger workers, however, have grown up choosing their own computers and applications and want to keep their personalised computing styles. Enter employee-owned IT, which sees workers bringing their own computers to work so that IT can lock them down with virtualisation or multiple operating systems that deliver security. IT departments save as maintenance devolves to computer vendors, while employees swear they are more productive using a machine of their choice.

7. Loyalty schemes

Analyst firm Frost & Sullivan’s Industry Director Andrew Milroy believes loyalty schemes will go mainstream in 2010. Citing their mainstream acceptance in retail and aviation, Milroy notes their absence from telecommunications and other industries and expects newly mature loyalty software will be something many CIOs are asked to consider in 2010.

8. Solid state disks

Storage may not be fashionable but it remains a colossal industry, and right now that industry is shifting towards solid state disks – a technology that sees storage assigned to flash memory instead of magnetic spinning disks. Solid state disks are smaller, faster, cooler and use less power than conventional disks, which means they can speed up applications without the need for new servers while keeping electricity costs low – an irresistible combination. While we are on storage, note the 2010 release of LTO-5, a new standard tape format packing 3.6 terbaytes of data onto each tape.

9. Smart grids

Smart grids are an emergent technology that imagines sensors embedded in devices to monitor electricity consumption so that they can “decide” to operate when power is cheaper. This in turn allows power companies to predict demand more precisely, reducing waste. The idea is a favourite of green IT boosters and is also seen as a likely source of traffic for the National Broadband Network.

10. Hybrid servers

The big IT transaction of 2009 was Oracle’s acquisition of Sun. The former has been experimenting with all-in-ones that pack a server, storage and other goodies needed to run business applications into a single box, and is said to be keen on extending Sun’s work in the same space. HP is going down the same path, working to make its storage arrays more similar to its servers to make them cheaper to manufacture. If this trend continues, data centre hardware will start to look similar.

One of the most amazing action-adventure packed game series to be developed ever. The game series is created by Jordan Mechner. Although it was an ordinary game developed in 1989 and was about a prince who just moves here and there, jumps over hurdles. The next game in 1993 was a bit advanced and the game prince of Persia 2: Shadow Of Flame was a bit more adventurous and since then to upto now the rebooting and development in the game and several versions of the game has made it probably one of the best game series. It is action packed, adventurous and the 3D environment, graphics are just awesome.

Since the first launch of he game till now the developer team and the publisher team also have changed. In 1989 the game was developed by Broderbund and now from the Sands Of Time series (2003), the game developers are the Ubisoft.

The game storyline moves around the Ancient Persia. It starts with the Persian Sultan, who has to go to a war in the foreign land. And the demon Vizier jafafr seizes the throne for himself. The Prince is imprisoned and so the princess. The princess have two chices, either marry Jaffar or die. And with more versions of the game the story moves and many interesting action packed things come around.

After the release of the second game in 1993, it almost took six years for developing the next version of the game, i.e. the Prince Of Persia 3D (1999). The game was designed in a 3D environment, so the same adventures in a 3D surrounding. The franchise was revitalized by Ubisoft with Sands of Time in 2003 for the PS2, Xbox and GameCube. With the capabilities of the new consoles, the 3D roaming action was now properly possible and retro fans and new believers alike made it a massive hit.

Then           Then came the Sand Of Time Series(2003), developed by the Ubisoft Montreal. The sand of time series, was a three game series thatswhy also called as the (Prince Of Persia : Trilogy). 1. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time 2. Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within 3. Prince Of Persia: The Two Thrones. In this series, the game begins with the prince, his father and army passing through India to the land of Azad to attack Indian Kingdom. The adventure and the journey of the Prince begins and in the end in final game of the series “Prince Of Persia: The Two Thrones” the Prince saves his kingdom from the Vizier but the story continued…..

As with many classic PlayStation titles, Prince of Persia was ported onto the PSP in 2005, with Revelations much the same as The Two Thrones in terms of story line. Also a Nintendo Version of the game Prince Of Persia came in 2007 named as Prince Of Persia Classic (2007).

Prince of Persia: For Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

Ubisoft on 28^th April, 2009 announced that a new Prince of Persia title is scheduled for release towards the end of 2008 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC and has been rumoured to be titled Prodigy, will be the fourth title in the successful Ubisoft franchise, following The Sands of Time, Warrior Within and The Two Thrones.

Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time(The Movie In 2010) –Its True

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an upcoming film based on the game of the same name. The film is directed by Mike Newell and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, and Alfred Molina. Filming is taking place in the United Kingdom and Morocco. Prince of Persia is scheduled to be released on May 28, 2010.

For more info about the movie…Visit : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473075/

Awards

The success of the Prince of Persia series resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series 6 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008. These records include, “First Motion-Capture Animation in a Video Game” and “Highest Rated Platformer on PS2 and Xbox”.

The awesome fictitious storyline, action packed acrobatic prince and his journeys had made this game series an epic. Fans are crazy about it and waiting for another pumping action version to rock the gaming world.