Microsoft to test education PC in India
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft plans to start testing a new education PC called IQ PC and an education channel on its MSN portal in India next month. The India launch of the IQ PC and education channel will be the first worldwide. It is part of Microsoft's "Unlimited Potential" program, which aims to use technology to increase the reach of education, said a spokeswoman for Microsoft India on Wednesday. Microsoft ChairmanÂ Bill Gates announcedÂ the Unlimited Potential program in April. The new education PC, which is a combination of online and offline content, is likely to be priced at about Indian Rupees 21,000 ($513). It runs on a Advanced Micro DevicesÂ (AMD) processor, and comes bundled with software from both Microsoft and local partners offering educational software. Microsoft also announced Wednesday the launch of the MSN IQ Beta Education Channel, which will be a repository of educational and "edutainment" content. Students will have access online to curriculum, tutoring, competitive exam coaching, entertainment, references and counseling, the company said. Students will be able to access the education channel through the IQ PC and from shared PCs at Internet cafes, the spokeswoman said. Microsoft has partnered with Indian PC makers Zenith Computers of Mumbai and Wipro of Bangalore. Selecting AMD as a partner for the pilot program was only coincidental and Microsoft is also working with Intel Corp. on other similar initiatives, the spokeswoman said. "There is a lot more coming in this area from Microsoft," the spokeswoman said. For example, the company has already trained over 100,000 teachers in India on using computers in education through its Project Shiksha, she said. Microsoft Research in Bangalore is also working on technologies that will make computers more accessible and affordable to students, and has developed a technology called MultiPoint that allows several computer mice to be used with a PC simultaneously. This technology is targeted at schools in India and other countries that cannot afford to give each student a PC. The concept of the IQ PC has been researched extensively by Microsoft, but the company plans to run test programs of the PC and the MSN Education Channel first in Bangalore and Pune, the spokeswoman said. The country-wide roll out will be in November. "Our focus is on making IT accessible, and affordable, and also relevant by offering content and services relevant to the local requirements," the spokeswoman said. The IQ PC is not cheap by Indian standards. A number of entry-level PCs are less expensive. However, Microsoft holds that the price will be attractive because of the software, Internet connectivity and other tools and services bundled with the product.
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A southern Indian state plans to switch all school computers from Microsoft Windows to the free Linux operating system, an official said Thursday.
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Microsoft announced it would set up its second Asian research facility in India's technology hub of Bangalore.
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Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O will start   selling its popular Xbox 360 gaming console in India by the end   of September, a company official said on Thursday.
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HYDERABAD: Microsoft Corporation will hire several hundred new staff at its new Indian campus in the next year, its chief executive said yesterday, in a move aimed at strengthening its presence in Asia&#39;s fourth-biggest economy.
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Microsoft Corp.  said on Tuesday  that is has begun widespread testing of Windows Vista, the  long-awaited new version of the operating system that sits on  more than 90 percent of the world's PCs.
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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.
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InfoWorld - 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.
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NEW DELHI The chief executives of Microsoft and Intel are visiting India this week, underscoring the country&#39;s importance as a source of skilled software workers and a growing local market.
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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.
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The Microsoft Corporation announced on Monday that it was significantly expanding its software development operations in India as it opened a new campus near Hyderabad
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates outlined on Wednesday a vision of education in which students worldwide use high-speed Internet connections and curriculums that draw on online resources such as Wikipedia to become more globally competitive. "We are now on the verge of something where technology will make a difference," Gates said in an address before the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland. Advances in hardware, software, and connectivity and are enabling a "user-centric" focus for technology, letting people access information over vast distances inexpensively, Gates said. The address by Gates concluded the two-day Government Leaders Forum, an annual Microsoft-sponsored conference attended by government leaders throughout Europe. The delegates addressed education issues and how Europe can become more competitive through the use of IT. Gordon Brown, the U.K.'s chancellor of the exchequer who oversees financial matters, warned in a speech before Gates' address that the number of jobs that require no skills in the country will drop from 3.4 million today to only 600,000 by 2020. Those who donât have access to education programs and acquire IT skills are "at risk of being unemployed over the next decade." "We cannot afford to ignore the potential of any child," Brown said. Microsoft is backing several educational programs aimed at integrating technologies into classrooms that some young people may already be encountering outside of school. Teachers may have trouble keeping up with students who are already using devices such as the Xbox Live gaming system at their homes, Gates said. "When they [students] come back into the classroom and there's a chalkboard there, that teacher has a hard time living up to the level of drama and richness," he said. Gates announced that Microsoft will expand the company's Innovative Schools initiative, which looks at ways to better integrate technology and learning, to an additional 12 countries: Ireland, the U.K., France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Qatar, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Hong Kong. Microsoft has undertaken a variety of projects as part of the program. In Philadelphia, the company joined the city's school district and built a 750-student high school -- called a School of the Future -- that focuses on how technology can improve student performance. It opened in September 2006. The company provided technical guidance, which included the building of a secure Web portal for parents and students for access to assignments, class schedules and grades. In the U.K., Microsoft backs the Building Schools for the Future program, a Â£40 billion ($78 billion) government program to revamp secondary education. The company assists local authorities on ways to integrate technology into education. In Taipei, students at Zhong Lun High School have improved their acceptance rate from 36 percent to 50 percent since it became a School of the Future two years ago, Microsoft said. The company also helped with a distance education facility for teachers, where they can design and publish e-learning material. At the start of his address, Gates spoke of Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-American steel magnate who later used his wealth to fund libraries and educational institutions. Next year, Gates will step down as Microsoft's chairman to focus on the philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on global health and development issues. Gates recalled one of Carnegie's statements: "He who dies rich, dies disgraced." "Iâm working on avoiding that, but it's a high responsibility," Gates said to laughs.
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NEW DELHI: Microsoft will be launching âsubstantiallyâ low-priced Windows XP Starter Edition in the Indian market early next year.
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Microsoft Corp. said it is  launching on Tuesday its second major test version of the  Windows Vista operating system, which the company has said it  plans to debut next year.
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Company's $185 machine will debut in India, Mexico and Caribbean and feature browser, e-mail and word processor.
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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.
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Microsoft Corp. will expand its software development operations in India , according to the companyâs statement. Microsoft&#39;s chief executive Steve Ballmer has formally opened the first building of the campus near Hyderabad .