Microsoft to research advanced algorithms in India
636565
Microsoft Research in India has formed a group to work on advanced software algorithms, looking for a way to more efficiently process and analyze the large volumes of data generated by Web applications and scientific research.The challenges thrown up by the increased data volumes can&#39;t be solved by throwing more computing resources at them, said Padmanabhan Anandan, managing director of Microsoft Research India, on Thursday.The focus of new algorithms has to shift to sampling data efficiently, rather than trying to analyze all of the data, even if results may not be completely accurate, he said.&#8220;You have to do statistical sampling when mining such large quantities of data to get patterns in it, and perhaps help scientists see laws in it,&#8221; said Ravindran Kannan, a principal researcher at Microsoft Research, who heads the new group.Algorithms are conceptual and mathematical descriptions of a method for solving a problem, which are then included in computer programs. Traditional algorithms depend on analyzing data that is stored locally, and focus on achieving exact results even if it takes time. That approach is no longer suitable because of the large volumes of data being analyzed, Kannan said.The research into principles and techniques for the new algorithms will be relevant across a wide variety of applications, he said.Microsoft decided to work on algorithms in India because educational institutions in the country have considerable expertise in theoretical computer science, which makes it easier to find and attract talented staff, Anandan said.The research lab in Bangalore also works on other areas including cryptography, security, mobility, and technologies for bridging the digital divide. It works in tandem with top educational institutions in the country, such as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Research that could differentiator for Microsoft&#8217;s own business tends to be done in-house, however, and later patented by Microsoft, Anandan said.
233350
Microsoft Corp.  will hire several hundred new staff at its new Indian campus in the next year, its chief executive said on Monday, in a move aimed at strengthening its presence in Asia's fourth-biggest economy.
744341
Microsoft is to open a research lab in India early next year, further extending the international reach of what has become one of the technology industry&#39;s biggest research bases.
679829
BRUSSELS - European researchers lead the field in a number of key areas for the future development of computer science and play a crucial role in Microsoft Corp.'s research activities, according to senior company staff speaking at an innovation fair here on Thursday.
691175
The Microsoft Chairman discusses where the XO laptop fits on his radar screen (not too high) as well as other efforts to bring low-cost computing to emerging markets.
454271
Microsoft has trained 200,000 teachers in India on the use of computers, ahead of its original target to train 80,000 teachers in the country during the five-year period ending December this year, it said.The company introduced the program, called project Shiksha, in 2003 with the objective of&#160;raising the computer literacy of Indian teachers and students&#160;in government-run schools. The 200,000 teachers trained so far have in turn trained about 10 million students, a spokeswoman for Microsoft India said on Monday.The moves by Microsoft to offer free or subsidized software in India have however come in for criticism from the Free Software Foundation, which compared Microsoft&#39;s philanthropy to that of a cigarette manufacturer handing out free samples of cigarettes to students.The communist-run state of Kerala in south India is actively&#160;promoting open-source software&#160;in schools, but most other states and the federal government are beneficiaries of Microsoft&#39;s programs.Microsoft works with state governments to help teachers use its technology in school administrations and also to include it in their curriculum and teaching methods, she said. While the state governments provide the classrooms, Microsoft provides the hardware and software, and a team of trainers for the teachers.Although the company has reached its training target, it&#39;s not stopping the program yet. It did not say how many more teachers and students it plans to cover under the program, though.The company has introduced low-cost, starter editions of its Vista operating system, as well as local language versions of its Office suite to target both the academic and e-governance markets.&#160;
333635
HYDERABAD, India  - Microsoft Corp. will hire  several hundred new staff at its new Indian campus in the next  year, its chief executive said on Monday, in a move aimed at  strengthening its presence in Asia's fourth-biggest economy.
305162
SINGAPORE: Microsoft Corp is expanding its community and economic development programmes in Asia as part of its global campaign to give poor people access to computers, the US software giant&#39;s chief executive said last Thursday.
537539
Microsoft will hire several hundred new staff at its new Indian campus in the next year, its chief executive says -- a move aimed at strengthening its presence in Asia&#39;s fourth-biggest economy.
467328
US-based Microsoft Corp will introduce a low-cost version of its Windows XP operating system in India in early 2005 in a bid to capture a market of millions of households.
638027
Microsoft researchers talk about a variety of location-based tools they are developing.
275559
Microsoft Corp. won a battle against open source software supporters in India's technology hub of Bangalore, with local authorities choosing its software for networking the state's utilities and services.
709158
NEW DELHI -- Microsoft Corp. will distribute free software to nonprofit groups to boost charity in India, a company official said Monday.
416963
Manikonda Jagir (Ranga Reddy, AP): Microsoft India Campus, the new facility coming up at Manikonda Jagir near Hyderabad as an extension to Microsoft Corporation&#39;s commitment of $400-million of investment in India, would focus on developing high-end
563023
AMD has teamed up with partners in India, Mexico and the Caribbean in an ambitious bid to equip half of the world&#39;s population with internet connectivity and computing capabilities by 2015.
187169
(InfoWorld) - Ever wondered why Microsoft software needs continually to be patched and updated? Microsoft's Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie believes it's because software development is still more an art than a science. Mundie was speaking on one of his first foreign trips since taking over the technology strategy and policy roles from iconic company founder Bill Gates, at a press briefing in Brussels late Monday billed as a glance into the future of the technology industry. Expect as many fundamental changes in technology as we have seen over the past 20 years to occur in the next five to 10 years, he said. We are entering a multidevice environment where mobile phones get smart, and people will demand both integration and segregation of their various computing devices, he said. Web services will become vital in this new age and Microsoft "will have to master how to use the Internet and components of the net for software services," Mundie said. But isn't Microsoft racing too fast into this brave new world when its core product, the Windows operating system, can't even function properly without having to be patched up and updated constantly? he was asked. "The problem is that software development is an important endeavor but it has not matured as an engineering process, it's still an art form," Mundie replied. "As the scale of software grows, so does its complexity. Software has to find, in the next five to 10 years, a simultaneous solution to complexity and concurrent (parallel) problems," he added. How does Microsoft feel about having to follow Google's leadÂ in the new environment where Web services play such a central role in mapping the future direction of technology development? Claims that Microsoft has lost its leading position are exaggerated, he replied, just as they were in 1994-95, when Netscape was seen as the next great thing in information technology. Does Microsoft plan to do to Google what it did to Netscape? (Netscape was eclipsed when Microsoft attached its own Web browser, Internet Explorer, to Windows, sparking anÂ antitrust battleÂ with the U.S. department of Justice.) "I hope so," Mundie replied. Antitrust is one policy area that doesn't fall under his remit and he declined to comment on theÂ ongoing disputeÂ with competition regulators including the European Commission. However, he couldn't resist the opportunity to disparage the work of Europe's top antitrust officials. "There is no country, including the European Union and every other part of the European Commission (other than its competition department), that doesn't see Microsoft as an important player in the broad economic realm," he said. He added that the company's ongoing antitrust problems in Europe have not hampered its efforts to influence policy. "I've never felt that people are shunning our involvement because of that dispute," he said. Mundie was in Brussels to give a keynote speech at a conference on European venture capitalism, hosted by Microsoft. During his visit to the European capital he said he met with the staff of European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, as well as civil servants in the information society department of the Commission -- not quite the top level meetings enjoyed by Gates on his occasional visits to Brussels in recent years.ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
227164
The Massachusetts site will research cross-platform virtualization and document format translation.