Intel tests liquid cooling for computers

Intel has a plan to take computers and completely submerge them in liquid to create the best cooling solution ever. 

Beyond a water-cooled heat sink, Intel and 3M (yes, the company that makes scotch tape) announced they've been working with SGI to create a completely liquid-based cooling system. The result is a system that completely immerses supercomputers in liquid to cool them more efficiently and cheaply. 

As a proof of concept, the companies have built and dropped a supercomputer powered by Intel Xenon chips into a tank of Novec, a dielectric, non-conductive liquid developed by 3M. While liquids and PCs don't usually mix, this solution didn't conduct electricity so the components continued to work as usual. The big advantage of such a liquid cooled system is fluids can pull heat away from processors and GPUs much more efficiently than air. Intel claims the technology has the potential to slash data center energy bills by 95%. 

Novec is already being used in fire suppressions systems but now Intel and SGI are experimenting with its capacity to cool computers. If everything works out Novec could be used to replace the system of fans and gallons of water currently used keep data centers chilled. 

Don't wet the server room

Of course, liquid cooling isn't without its drawbacks. 

One of the biggest challenges is designing new motherboards and servers to take the submersion. Companies also need to redesign rack-level interconnects since the Novec solution might affect the way light passes through optical connection cables. 

A liquid cooling solution also poses problems for regular maintenance as the system needs to completely drain out before an engineer can open it up and get to the components. 

It's hurdles like these that have prevented liquid submersion cooling from taking off outside of PC enthusiasts dunking their motherboards in mineral oil. It's unlikely completely liquid cooled PCs will show up at Best Buy anytime soon. 

But for IT solution companies, Novec could solve a big space problem for data centers, where there might not be enough room for efficient airflow in server rooms.

Instagram photo-sharing service goes down

Popular photo-sharing site Instagram was not working Saturday, as frustrated users quickly turned to social network Twitter and other web sites to share their complaints.

On the company's official Twitter feed, it confirmed there was a problem, calling it "a feed delivery issue," and said it was working to fix it.

The downed service quickly prompted complaints and jokes on Twitter and other sites, often linked to the popularity of sharing photos of meals with the service.

"RED ALERT! We are at DEFCON 1," Technology news site TechCrunch posted in a humorous take, alongside an image of a man on a cell phone and the caption "Instagram is down. Just describe your lunch to me."

Twitter users seemed split between frustration and amusement at others' frustration.

"Instagram is down but my self esteem isn't b/c now I don't have to see selfies from all the HoTtTt ppl I follow," wrote one user from the US state of Texas.

Another from Britain wrote "The fact that Instagram is down actually hurts me inside. This is a problem."

And a third in the US state of Indiana, wrote: "Instagram is down? Whatever will we do? OH I KNOW YOU COULD READ A DAMN BOOK OR ACTUALLY GET SOMETHING ACCOMPLISHED."

The company did not immediately clarify what had caused the problem or say when it would be fixed.

Amazon set to launch 3D smartphone this year

Amazon.com Inc is preparing to launch its long-rumored smartphone in the second half of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people briefed on the company's plans.

It has aggressive plans to launch smartphone with futuristic 3D capability, a tweet from CNBC and a report in The Wall Street Journal said.

The company has recently been demonstrating versions of the handset to developers in San Francisco and Seattle. It intends to announce the device in June and ship to stores around the end of September, the newspaper cited the unidentified sources as saying.

Amazon has made great strides into the hardware arena as it seeks to boost sales of digital content and puts its online store in front of more users. Amazon recently launched its $99 Fire TV video-streaming box and its Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets already command respectable U.S. market share after just a few years on the market.

Rumors of an Amazon-designed smartphone have circulated for years, though executives have previously played down ambitions to leap into a heavily competitive and increasingly saturated market.

Apple and Samsung, which once accounted for the lion's share of the smartphone market, are struggling to maintain margins as new entrants such as Huawei and Lenovo target the lower-income segment.

To stand out from the crowd, Amazon intends to equip its phones with screens that display three-dimensional images without a need for special glasses, the Journal said.

Amazon officials were not immediately available for comment.

Can You Renege on a Job Offer Once You've Accepted?

Whether it’s Pinterest, the NFL, or that cool boutique agency in your field, you probably have that one company you’d drop everything to work for. And typically, it’s not a big deal to move on from your company if the perfect opportunity comes up, especially if you’ve been in your current position for more than a year or two.

But what if that perfect job offer comes in before you even start your current job? What do you do if you’ve already confirmed you’ll start at another company — and then in waltzes “The One?” Can you renege on a job offer that you’ve already accepted?

Why Infosys may need a CEO from outside the IT industry

On Friday, Infosys announced in a statement that chief executive Shibulal, 59, has decided to retire as CEO, managing director and a member of the board on January 9, 2015 or when his successor is ready to assume office, whichever date is earlier.

US-based Development Dimensions will present the board's nominations committee with a shortlist of internal candidates and another CEO search firm Egon Zehnder will come up with a similar list of external contenders. But as the technology industry's most watched search gets underway there are several unanswered questions that the $7.4-billion one-time IT bellwether needs to answer.

First, is Infosys looking for a CEO or a COO wearing a CEO's mask? Or simply put will co-founder and chairman NR Narayana Murthy step back and give the new man complete freedom to run the show? Says an IT analyst who wished not to be named: "In Mr Murthy, there's a strong mentor in place for the new CEO. But that will spell continuity. For transformation you need new ideas. Mr Murthy has to make his role clear."

Second, cash-rich Infosys seems pretty satisfied with incremental growth rather than disrupting the model — is the strategy to continue in this vein or is there a transformation in store, like IBM did under Louis Gerstner, Ford Motor under Alan Mulally or even the transformations that Cognizant and HCL scripted after the 2008 slowdown.

Third, Infosys has never demonstrated any appetite for risk. As a top business leader at one of the big five IT services players, told ET Magazine: "Infosys never set the world on fire. Prior to 2008, they were happy with growth coming from the low-hanging fruit and, post-2008, they were clueless on what to do, despite a $4-billion cash hoard." Fourth, the average Infosyscian remains clueless on what to expect from a change. And finally, will it be a Tata-style succession, where speculation of global head honchos like Vodafone's Arun Sarin and PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi taking over was eventually scotched when an insider, Cyrus Mistry, was selected to pick up the reins.


"Such a move may have worked for Tatas [after all the Mistry family is the single largest shareholder in Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group], but will do more harm than good for Infosys. If they have identified a person within, why carry out a charade?" asks the person quoted earlier. Besides, why the sudden decision by Shibulal, whose tenure was to run till March 2015, to hang up boots just two months before? Says Ankita Somani, IT analyst, Angel Broking: "The timing is not surprising, as Shibulal's term was coming to an end in early 2015. Murthy as mentor to the new CEO may work well."

Infosys officials were not available for comment as the company is in its 'silent period' ahead of its fourth-quarter results. Infosys, which is battling multiple challenges including a top leadership exodus and growth, needs to make clear the mandate to the new boss. Warns Vineet Nayar, former CEO, HCL Technologies: "Don't end up hiring a French chef to cook butter chicken and then wonder why it did not taste good."

Look at Turnaround Models

At this stage analysts think it won't be a bad idea for Infosys to look for a new chief from outside the industry. Much like IBM did when it chose Gerstner, who came from American Express to turn around Big Blue. Once the turnaround was complete, IBM fell back on an insider, Sam Palmisano, to run the show. Or consider what Mulally did at Ford Motor: He came from Boeing into the auto industry to propel the struggling Detroit carmaker into profitability.

Says K Sudarshan, managing partner, EMA Partners International, a search firm: "Infosys needs someone who can shake it up. That's easier for an outsider to do than an insider, as the former won't come with any baggage." Sudarshan believes an expat may be best suited for Infosys at this stage. "That will help change the way of working. The problem is that Infosys has lot of good people, but that does not mean they are good leaders."

Biocon co-founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who is an independent director on the Infosys board, said that the search within the company will encompass several senior executives and not just presidents BG Srinivas and UB Pravin Rao. Sudarshan reckons that not only should the next CEO be an expat he should also be based out of the US — just like is the case with Cognizant and Genpact — as it is the biggest market for IT services companies.

"It's going to be a breakout appointment for Infosys. Companies are tempted to look from within. But for Infosys which has lost out on risktaking ability or making big acquisitions and diminished entrepreneurial energy, an outsider will be a better choice." Infosys fifth CEO, and the first non-founder at the helm, will not only have the tough task of fitting into the big shoes of the founders but get Infosys' mojo back.

Online shoppers population to touch 38 million by 2015

With more and more people buying products online, credit card issuers are seeing an increase in their business, and the number of online shoppers is likely to reach 38 million by 2015, says a study. 

The number of online shoppers in the country is currently estimated at 14 per cent of the total 74 million internet users and has been growing at 35 per cent over the last three years, according to an American Express study. 

According to the study, the number of online shoppers in the country is likely to reach 38 million by 2015. 

Last August the country has overtaken Japan to become the world's third-largest online market in terms of internet user base, growing at 31 per cent, after China and the US, according to research firm comScore. 

Credit card providers saw two-times more transactions on Flipkart, 1.6 times at Jabong and six times at Infibeam, says the AmEx study. 

The recent 'great online shopping festival' launched by Google triggered massive sales for various companies, from online retailers to credit card companies. 

American Express offered attractive discounts on leading e-commerce sites like Jabong, Flipkart, Infibeam and Makemytrip and saw 22 times growth in their average daily billings during the campaign, generating USD 1.7 million billings in total and USD 1.2 million in incremental billings during the period, the AmEx study said. 

According to Worldline, a payments and transactional services industry player, in the just concluded financial year, the credit card base in the country grew by 4 per cent. 

The private sector banks were the market leaders in FY14, with a 54 per cent share of the credit card base, Worldline, which is a subsidiary ofAtos, said in the report.

Samsung looks to life beyond the smartphone

 After years of record profit growth, tech giant Samsung Electronics looks to be at a commercial crossroads as it searches for a new growth driver to counter slowing sales of its phenomenally successful smartphones. 

Alarm bells have been sounding for a while over Samsung's reliance on smartphone sales in increasingly mature markets such as Europe and the United States, and increasingly competitive emerging markets like China. 

The world's largest smartphone maker has a diverse product line ranging from memory chips to home appliances, but more than half its profits are generated by mobile devices. 

Last week, Samsung said it was on track for a second consecutive quarter of year-on-year profit decline, and its stock price fell nearly 10 per cent in 2013 -- the first annual drop in five years. 

Friday saw the global roll-out of the latest version of the flagship Galaxy series smartphone, the S5, whose performance will be closely watched. 

While reviews have rated the S5 a top-class product, they note that it offers little in the way of real innovation that would set it apart from previous versions and models offered by competitors such as Apple. 

"I think the market really needs a new growth driver at this point," said Lee Min-Hee, an analyst at IM Investment and Securities, noting that the high-end smartphone market "is already saturated". 

"So it's inevitable to shift to mid-and low-end markets where margins are tighter and competition is even more fierce," she said. 

"Samsung did well this year on cutting costs -- including marketing spending, but these are only defensive measures to make up for slowing sales and to maintain profits, not a proactive move to innovate." 

There appears to be a general consensus that smartphone evolution has hit a barrier that will only allow incremental improvements on existing design and technology, rather than market-changing re-invention. 

Many see wearable devices -- such as Google Glass -- as the "next big thing". IT research and advisory specialists Gartner Inc. predicts wearable technology will emerge as a $10 billion dollar industry by as early as 2016. 

Samsung's first Internet-enabled smartwatch, introduced last September, was given a lukewarm reception by consumers who disliked its chunky design. A second edition, the Gear 2, was launched in February. 

"I believe the next big thing will be Internet of Things (IOT) in which all household appliances, electronic devices and even cars are connected through the network," said Lee. 

"And the first step towards the era of the IOT is wearable devices," she added. 

Samsung Electronics certainly has the financial clout to invest heavily in new technologies with a net cash balance of more than $50 billion. 

At a rare analysts' briefing in November last year, president and chief financial officer Lee Sang-Hoon said the reserves would be used to fund significant investment in research and development. 

"It's way too much of an exaggeration to say it's all downhill from here," said Suh Won-Seok, an analyst at Korea Investment and Securities. 

"Given its economies of scale and relations with mobile carriers around the world, I believe it can maintain the 10 per cent margin it needs to prevent any dramatic profit decline," he said. 

Samsung is already making margin concessions with the S5, launching it at a slightly lower price than its predecessor the S4 and throwing in apremium software bundle estimated at more than $500. 

Nevertheless, Greg Roh at HMC Investment and Securities said they had had cut their forecast for Galaxy S5 shipments for the year to 44 million, from the previous estimate of 46 million. 

"We also slashed our forecast for Samsung's second-quarter sales and operating profits by 1.5 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively," Roh said. 

"It's true that Samsung is good at producing profits despite slowing smartphone growth, but for now it looks inevitable that the operating profit falls this year," he added. 

Adding to Samsung's headaches is a continuing series of patent-focused legal battles with arch-rival Apple. 

A fresh trial opened in the United States earlier this month, with Apple vowing to prove that Samsung flagrantly copied iPhone features and should pay more than $2 billion in damages.

Google glass for faster check-ins? Virgin Atlantic thinks so!

Ever heard of an airline staff receiving and checking in a passenger at the counter using cutting-edge technology like Google Glass or a smartwatch?

Yes, this is now a reality. The facility is being tested by British carrier Virgin Atlantic and global transport communications and IT firm SITA at London's Heathrow airport for the airline's upper class passengers.

Google Glass is a wearable computer with an optical head -mounted display, worn as a pair of spectacles. It displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format, with the wearers communicating with Internet via voice commands.

Under this innovative, which was launched two months ago, concierge staff of Virgin's Upper Class Wing use wearable technology to deliver a high-tech and personalised customer service, the first ever in the world, an airline spokesperson said.

The Google Glass or a Sony SmartWatch 2, which the staff wear, have been integrated with a dispatch app built by SITA and Virgin's passenger service system, that manages all tasks handled by the concierge.

As soon as a passenger arrives, the application identifies him or her and pushes the individual passenger information directly to the assigned staff's smart glasses or watch. The staff can greet the passenger by name and start the check-in process.

The staff can also offer updates to passengers on latest flight information, weather and local events at their destination and translate any foreign language information, using the smartwatch or the glass.

In future, the technology could also tell Virgin staff the passengers' dietary and refreshment preferences and provide a more personalised service.

India Inc to offer 10.3% raise to employees this fiscal

Indian companies are likely to shell out an average salary increment of 10.3 per cent in the current fiscal with employees in pharma, health care and life sciences projected to get 12.4 per cent raise, says a survey.

The overall average increment is 0.3 per cent points lower than the previous fiscal (10.6 per cent), because of slow economic growth and lower attrition.

The findings are part of a survey conducted by Deloitte India, Human Capital Consulting.

Companies in pharmaceutical, healthcare and life sciences are expected to dole out an average raise of 12.4 per cent, highest across sectors in 2014-15. It is marginally lower compared to 12.6 per cent in the previous fiscal.

Given the overall mood of the economy, the retail sector will maintain a conservative estimate and is likely to offer the lowest average increment at 9.1 per cent, the survey said.

"Average annual increment percentages have reduced marginally across levels. The reduction is highest at the middle management levels," it added.

Meanwhile, as per the survey findings the average voluntary attrition rate across sectors in the 2013-14 fiscal had been 13.4 per cent, 0.8 per cent points lower than the previous fiscal 2012-13.

Recognition awards (monetary /non-monetary), clearly defined career paths and succession plans as well as development programmes for high potential and top performers were identified as main reasons that helped curb attrition.

The highest attrition rates were recorded in the ITeS industry (16.4 per cent), Media (15.6 per cent), Hi-tech (14.2 per cent) and BFSI (14 per cent).

Logistics had the lowest average attrition level at 10.5 per cent followed by auto sector at 10.6 per cent.

Employees identified as top performers are likely to get an average raise of 16.2 per cent while persons at the key positions -- roles in the organisation that have a maximum impact on the business -- are expected to get average increment of 14.7 per cent.

According to Deloitte, career management, developing potential leaders as well as retaining and rewarding critical talent are the top three HR challenges faced by organisations across sectors.

However, it observed that to address these challenges organisations are maximising their rewards spend by identifying, segmenting and rewarding individuals who have maximum impact on the business and are focusing on hiring talented individuals, among others.

3 things to do to protect from Heartbleed

The "Heartbleed" bug has caused anxiety for people and businesses. Now, it appears that the computer bug is affecting not just websites, but also networking equipment including routers, switches and firewalls.

The extent of the damage caused by the Heartbleed is unknown. The security hole exists on a vast number of the Internet's Web servers and went undetected for more than two years. Although it's conceivable that the flaw was never discovered by hackers, it's difficult to tell.

There isn't much that people can do to protect themselves completely until the affected websites implement a fix. And in the case of networking equipment, that could be a while.

Here are three things you can do to reduce the threat:

- Change your passwords. This isn't a full-proof solution. It'll only help if the website in question has put in place required security patches. You also might want to wait a week and then change them again.

- Worried about the websites you're surfing? There's a free add-on for the Firefox browser to check a site's vulnerability and provide color-codes flags. Green means go and red means stop. You can download it here.

- Check the website of the company that made your home router to see if it has announced any problems. Also be diligent about downloading and installing and software updates you may receive.