News in Brief

Spice introduces Zing Mail for the Punjab circle



KOLKATA: Spice Telecom launched a service called ‘Zing Mail’ that would
enable its subscribers to record their voice and send it across through e-mail.

The recipient will receive e-mail in the in-box as a voice-mail from the Spice

user that can be heard with the click of a button. Sending and configuring a ‘Zing

Mail’ involves a two-step process. Initially an address book with the e-mail

addresses is created. Typing in the e-mail ID and then sending it to ‘1111’

is the first step. Secondly, to send in the voice mail ‘510’ is dialed while

following some simple instructions. Thereafter the recorded message will be sent

to the selected e-mail ID(s) in the address book.



Additions and deletions on the address book can be made sending a single letter
command. For instance " D S.No" or "D e-mail ID" is entered

to delete an e-mail address from the address book. The address book can be

downloaded any time by sending ‘Q’ as an SMS to ‘1111’. - CNS

US software market to stage a comeback

HYDERABAD: The US economy will stage a comeback in the second quarter of the

calendar year with 70 per cent of the companies saying they would hike their IT

spending, according to Information Technology Association of America president

Harris N Miller. Speaking at a seminar, organized by the Hyderabad Software

Exporters Association and Satyam Computers, on the US slowdown and software

exports, Miller debunked the theory that the Internet was a passing fad. He

pointed out that as many as 25 per cent of the manufacturing firms were

advertising on the Net, while the number of Internet users was growing over the

years. "The talk about recession is also premature, as the US economy has

not shown any negative growth. It just could not sustain the unrealistic growth

we had in the last decade. Moreover, the flow of venture capital has not shown

any sign of slowdown," he explained. —CNS

VIA Technologies to expand its base in India

NEW DELHI: VIA Technologies Inc, supplier of Personal Computer (PC) core

logic chipsets, microprocessors, multimedia and Communication chips, has drawn a

long-term plan to further expand its share in the Indian market. VIA

technologies had earlier launched 650MHz and 667MHz processors in India. VIA

Technologies Inc director marketing, Richard Brown, announced the introduction

of its new VIA Cyrix III processor running at speed of 700 MHz. It is built

using an advanced 0.18-micron manufacturing process.



The VIA Cyrix-III processor comes with 128 KB level 1 cache, MMX and 3D. VIA
Technologies Inc, headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan has branch offices in the US,

China and Europe. Its customers include OEMs, main board manufacturers, and

system integrators. In India VIA has marketing tie up with Karma Distribution

(Singapore) for marketing of its products in India. - Preety Raheja, CNS

Rockwell Automation introduces Automation WebStore

NEW DELHI: Rockwell Automation, a unit of Rockwell has added the Automation

Replay WebStore to its e-Business platform at www.rockwellautomation.com/abstore.

The Automation Replay WebStore gives customers the opportunity to purchase

selected Allen-Bradley products from Rockwell Automation, including current

products, previously issued-technology products, hard-to-find products, and

refurbished products at reduced prices.

The first catalog featured in the Automation Replay WebStore is "Open

Box", which carries products at discounts. After the sale, a 90-day

warranty is provided, which covers replacement. The WebStore features real-time

inventory with products available on an "as supply lasts" basis. —

CNS

3Com Corporation launches CommWorks

NEW DELHI: The CommWorks division of 3Com Corporation has announced that the

newly established CommWorks' India office will serve as headquarters for SAARC

region. CommWorks serves telecommunications service providers and comprises the

entirety of 3Com's former carrier networks business and its rich legacy of

delivering customer centric, IP-based networking solutions to service providers

worldwide. These networks allow service providers to deliver enhanced data and

voice services to their end users through dial, wireless and broadband access.

CommWorks builds IP networks that deliver enhanced data and voice service

through dial, wireless and broadband access. These networks are based on the

CommWorks architecture, a flexible, open system that allows service providers to

build their networks as they see fit. — CNS

AirTel launches US roaming in Andhra Pradesh

NEW DELHI: Bharti Mobile Ltd., a cellular service provider has launched US

roaming in Andhra Pradesh. With this, AirTel became the first cellular service

in Andhra Pradesh to provide US roaming to its customers. To provide roaming in

North America, AirTel has tied up with Nextel communications Inc. of USA. Nextel

offers roaming on an all-digital network based on the Integrated Digital

Enhanced Network (iDEN) technology developed by Motorola. IDEN technology

provides superior sound and transmission quality utilizing state-of-the-art

packet based transmission methods. AirTel is currently offering international

roaming to 37 countries through 51 networks.

To use roaming service to the US, an AirTel customer needs to rent a Motorola

I-2000 handset, which operates on the US frequency. AirTel has tied up with

cellular handset hiring companies of the US. AirTel customers travelling to USA

can get the form from AirTel customer care for hiring a handset even before

embarking on their journey. - CNS

Computer training centers for economically weaker section

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Canara Bank has decided to start a nation wide network of

computer training institutes christened Canara Bank Institute of Information

Technology (CBIIT) to provide training, free of cost to the economically weaker

sections. Canara Bank chairman and managing director, R J Kamath launched the

second training center of the CBIIT in the state capital here on Thursday. About

25 students from the economically weaker sections of society will be trained for

three months in computer basics. The bank will also provide financial assistance

for the students to start own business venture on their own, top Canara Bank

officials said. The selection criterion is based on income, age and educational

levels.



The topics to be covered under the three-month intensive program include MS
Office, data entry, Windows, programming fundamentals, hardware, software,

Internet use among others. - Aswathy Sreekumar, CNS