Apple Announced to end the Era of Paid Operating Systems

Amid a slew of incremental improvements to its iPad tablets and MacBook laptops, Apple today announced some landmark news about its oldest surviving operating system: It will not charge for the latest big upgrade, Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks, breaking from a tradition that goes back 16 years and shining a light on a long-unfolding reversal in how tech profits are made. 

Eighteen years ago, the tech industry’s dominant company made nearly half its revenue selling OS licenses. Now, as Apple just confirmed, the prices of OS licenses are headed towards zilch.

Prices of Apple’s Mac OS X have long been on the wane. After four releases that cost $129, Apple dropped the operating system’s upgrade price to $29 with 2009’s OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and then to $19 with last year’s OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Microsoft — the king of the operating system in the ’80s and ’90s and on into the aughts — still charges PC makers who sell the Windows OS preloaded on their desktop and laptop machines, but that business is shrinking, thanks in large part to the continued success of Apple. And just last week, Microsoft announced that, much like Apple, it would not charge consumers who upgrade their machines to the latest version of Windows, version 8.1.

Part of what’s going on here is that the low-cost mobile ecosystem has changed the way people think about operating system software. Smartphones and tablets have left traditional computers in the dust, and their operating systems and apps are overwhelmingly free. Upgrades to Apple’s iOS platform — which powers the company’s iPads tablets and iPhones — have long been free, as have new versions of Google’s Android mobile OS. Like Microsoft, Google supplies operating systems to outside hardware makers, but unlike Microsoft, it doesn’t charge them for the software. Phone and tablet makers can load Android on their devices for free.

So, as the mobile world takes off, it’s only natural that the desktop and laptop world would move towards the free model as well.

Microsoft’s OS sales once generated 47 percent of its revenue, but they contributed just 25 percent last year on decelerating Windows licensing (and even that figure is inflated by ad revenue from Windows Live). In response, Microsoft is restructuring as a “devices and services” business — meaning a company that sells hardware like the Xbox and web services like Azure. In other words, it’s becoming more like Apple. Apple isn’t really a software company. It makes software and services that run on its own hardware devices.

In a way, operating systems are returning to their roots as a kind of loss leader. Before the personal computer revolution of the late 1970s, operating systems were just one piece in a vertically integrated stack of technology, a stack that also also included hardware and support services. Operating systems like Unix and VMS were used to sell minicomputers and workstations, and companies made their profits on hardware and support contracts. OSes such as BSD UNIX were completely free, and programmers would pass them around at will. Under the same philosophy, Apple gave away new versions of its Macintosh operating system until the crisis years of the late 1990s, when hardware sales slowed dramatically.

In the rapidly developing smartphone and tablet markets, tightly-coupled stacks are once again dominant, so OS makers can subsidize their operating systems with profit from the products integrated into them. Google, for example, subsidizes its mobile OS by selling online ads, and, in theory at least, by selling Motorola-branded hardware. Apple’s iPhone profits come from hardware and service sales, not the OS.

“The $0 [Mavericks] price is linked to the trend towards vertical integration,” says programmer and longtime OS X watcher John Siracusa. “A company that makes both the hardware and the software for a device can choose where to put its profit margins. Given the proven magic of ‘free’ in the minds of consumers, it’s better to put all the profit in a single basket. Free hardware is difficult to pull off, so software gets the nod: buy our hardware, get our software for free.”

Yes, even Microsoft is moving towards the vertical stack. It recently acquired phone maker Nokia and sells its own tablets. But this game of cross-subsidizing the operating system will be tougher for Microsoft, since the company is no Apple when it comes to hardware — and no Google when it comes to online services. The company rose to prominence in the horizontal PC era, when Microsoft could play one hardware vendor against another, dictate prices, and keep a computer’s hefty OS markup hidden from consumers. Those were the days.

“The OS always ‘seemed’ free. You got it with your computer,” says former Microsoftie Joel Spolsky. “Doesn’t mean it wasn’t a profit center. Probably the only people who noticed the price of Windows were the people who went out to the store to buy a newer OS for their older computer to upgrade it, but I don’t think that was a super-mainstream thing to do. Most people didn’t upgrade their OS until they got a new computer.”

So to the average consumer, the 21st Century sea change in OS pricing might not be particularly apparent. But to Microsoft shareholders, it will look very real and very scary. The company must make up that 25 percent somewhere else.

Apple becomes the world’s most valuable company

By: Aseem Gaurav on August 10, 2011

It is a historic day for California-based technology giant Apple as it has quietly overtaken Exxon Mobil Corp. in market value to become the world’s largest company.

Apple with a market cap of $342 billion is a tad ahead of Exxon Mobil at the moment.

Apple’s market value had risen considerably after its stellar quarterly results. On the other hand, the value of Exxon’s has fallen harder due to a market slowdown and depressed oil prices.

Only few could have predicted the growth that the company has witnessed in the last one decade when the company took a chance and rehired its former chief executive Steve Jobs. The recent gravity-defying growth in Apple underlines the immense popularity of Apple products across the world. A decade back, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company was at No. 287 in terms of market cap on the S&P 500, and last year it overtook Microsoft to claim the No. 2 spot.

Given the company’s expansion plans in overseas markets, analysts say the company has more headroom to grow.

Apple bans passcode-collecting app

By: Aseem Gaurav on June 16, 2011

Following reports that application developer Daniel Amitay used information gathered from his app's users to reveal the 10 most frequently used iPhone passcodes, Apple surprisingly has decided to ban his app.

The working methodology of the controversial app was like this: the app used its own lockscreen to grab the passcodes users entered into the program. The developer then used this data and suggested in a report that many iOS users have weak passwords like 1234 and 0000.

Amitay wrote on his blog:

Big Brother has been removed from the App Store. I’m certainly not happy about it, but considering the concerns a few people have expressed regarding the transfer of data from app to my server, it is understandable.not the actual iPhone lockscreen passcodes. Second, when the app sends this data to my server, it is literally sending only that number (e.g. “1234”) and nothing else. I have no way of identifying any user or device whatsoever. 


I think I should clarify exactly what data I was referring to, and how I was obtaining it. First, these passcodes are those that are input into Big Brother.

The developer believed that he can collect the passcode data since he was not collecting personally identifiable information. Amitay is now working out the issue with Apple.

Apple on top of the world branding

By: iPadfanzz.blogspot.com, May 9, 2011

Technology giant Apple Inc has ended Google’s four year reign as the world's most valuable brand, surging to top rank with a staggering 84 per cent increase in dollar value, according to Millward Brown’s 2011 BrandZ study of the most-valuable global brands.

The annual BrandZ study of the world’s top 100 brands, says Apple, best-known for its hardware products including the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, now has brand value which is worth $153-billion. That’s 84 percent more than it was worth last year and a bit more than Google’s brand as well.

A 2 per cent decline dropped Google’s brand value to $111 billion and its BrandZ ranking came to second slot.

"Google's drop is mainly attributable to a 4 per cent decrease in market capitalization from the year before and investments in such mobile platforms and the Chrome browser that she described as "heavy and ahead of return." Google's exit from China only affects about 2 per cent of its revenues, she said, but did help boost Baidu's valuem" said Eileen Campbell, global CEO of Millward Brown.

Last year Apple became the world’s most valuable technology company surpassing Microsoft because of its portfolio of coveted consumer goods.

Analysts attribute the rise of Apple due to its increasing presence of its gadgets in the market and meticulous attention while producing those products apart from its pricing model.

The study placed IBM at third place which was valued at $100.9 billion – a 17 per cent increase over 2010. McDonald’s rose two places to number four, as fast food became the fastest-growing category. Fifth-placed was held by Microsoft as it improved its value by 2 per cent to register $78.2 million.

Popular social networking giant Facebook also made its debut in this year's top 100 brands, valued at $19.1 billion, scoring the highest increase in brand value at 246 per cent.

As per the study out of the top 10 brands, six were technology and telecoms companies.

The study also mentioned the rising purchasing power of consumers from BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries as brands from these emerging markets increasingly populate the global ranking. Millward Brown said 19 out of 100 companies are from BRIC markets.

Here are the top 10 most valuable brands ranked by Willward Brown

1. Apple — $153 billion in brand value

2. Google — $111 billion

3. IBM — $101 billion

4. McDonald’s — $81 billion

5. Microsoft — $78 billion

6. Coke — $74 billion

7. AT&T — $70 billion

8. Marlboro — $68 billion

9. China Mobile — $57 billion

10. GE — $50 billion

Apple buying iCloud.com for $4.5 million?

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 28, 2011 (New Delhi)

Apple's upcoming and long awaited 'cloud-based' online music storage and streaming service could bear the name iCloud.

According to popular tech site GigaOm, Apple has reportedly bought the domain www.iCloud.com from Swedish tech company Xcerion, for a hefty sum of $4.5 million.

Xcerion’s iCloud service have rebranded itself to CloudMe.

Recent reports reveal that Apple’s upcoming cloud-based music service is nearing completion. The service will let iTunes users to store their music and videos which they have purchased on Apple’s cloud in a digital ‘locker’ enabling them to stream the content to internet connected devices, such as the iPhone and iPad. Thus it eliminates the need of users to store the content locally on the device.

While Apple is still keeping the specifics under the wraps, sources in the industry say that major record labels are in talks with with the iPhone- and iPod-maker before the service is launched.

Amazon recently rolled out its own cloud-based digital storage service called Cloud Drive. The service offers 5GB of storage for free and then tiered subscriptions that allow storage up to 1TB.

White iPhone 4 available worldwide from today

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 27, 2011 (New Delhi)

California-based Apple will begin sales of its white iPhone 4 on Thursday. The phone, already delayed by production problems, will be sold at Apple's online and physical stores, AT&T and Verizon stores, and other retailers.

"The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it's beautiful," Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said in a statement. "We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we've worked to get every detail right."

Initially the company planned to sell both black and white versions of the device at the time of its release in June 2010. But in a statement is said the white iPhone was more challenging to manufacture than expected. Apple never talked about the challenges, but speculation about paint that peeled under heat and problems with sensors reacting to the lighter shade circulated online.

Other than the color, the new version is similar in appearance and function as its black counterpart, running on Apple's A4 processor. The new white iPhone for will be available for $199 or $299 depending on the model. The model comes with a Retina display and a front-facing camera for FaceTime video chatting.

Apple denies tracking iPhones, promises to fix the 'bug' soon

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 27, 2011 (New Delhi)


Apple has finally broken its silence over claims that it was tracking the locations of iPhone users in a hidden file, stating "Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone.”

“Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so," the company said in a statement.

Apple said it is planning to rectify "bugs" that resulted in location data being unencrypted and stored for up to a year.

According to Apple, the iPhone was not logging a user’s location but instead gathering location information to maintain a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in the user’s vicinity to “enable an iPhone to rapidly calculate its location when requested.” It said that its approach can slash the process of calculating a phone's whereabouts to a few seconds.

Apple’s statement comes in wake of researchers raising privacy concerns that that iPhones and iPads were storing latitude and longitude coordinates along with a time stamp. It said the location as seen by the researchers is "not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone's location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone."

It says that all location data sent to Apple is in an anonymous and encrypted format, and that it cannot identify the source of this data.

The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly Apple blamed it is on a software bug for storing as much as a year of location data, and planning to fix it shortly with the release of a free iOS software update. It said the update will reduce the size of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database cached on the iPhone, ceasing backing up this cache, and deleting this cache entirely when the Location Services function is turned off.

Apple admitted that users should be able to turn off the location logging feature on their phone when they disable location services on it. But a bug prevented this, the company said.

Apple has been at the center of a privacy debate that’s sparked lawsuits from consumers and drawn inquiries from US Congress about whether their products breach privacy rules by tracking and storing users’ locations.

US Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. blames iPad for US job losses

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 20, 2011 (New Delhi)

US Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D- Illinois) took to the US House floor and blamed Apple’s iPad for US unemployment crisis. Jackson, spoke specifically about Apple outsourcing iPad production to China.

‘This device … is now probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs,’ he said in his speech.

Kids are being given iPads, and their textbooks are downloaded rather than handed out. He said stores like Borders are shutting down because people can now get an iPad and download their books, magazines and newspapers.

If recent trends are an indication, then not only just iPads, even laptops, kindles and Netflix are shifting the preferences of the consumers. Latest technology, efficient ideas sometimes leave established business choking in the dust thrown up by their progress. But just as there are arguments against the iPad as a job-killer, critics also appreciate the jobs that iPads have created in other areas. Please do let us know your views!

Game review: Infinity Blade

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 17, 2011 (New Delhi)

Infinity Blade is one of the most coveted and coolest games you can have on your iPad (or iPad 2). Developed by Epic Games, makers of the best-selling games like Unreal and Gears of War, the best part about this game is its jaw-dropping graphics. Infinity Blade is a 3D action Role-Player Game, where you take the role of an armour-clad warrior, entering a big fortress to avenge the execution of your father at the hands of a powerful warrior monarch. 

At each level, you have to enter into combat against numerous giant monsters, ranging from nimble assassins to hulking metal golems, and slay them to make your way into the Big Dad's castle for a one-on-one showdown. To reach ahead, you have to kill those monsters, and on course collect treasures and spend it on your armour and weapons upgrade. These monsters enemies attack wildly, and when wounded, often become enraged. You can defend their attacks through block, but it weakens your shield to eventual breaking point and then you have to adopt a different defensive strategy.

Most of the gameplay is occupied by these battles, combining defence and attack. Its different sections are powerful enough to settle you down into the game’s rhythm. Enemy hit chains must be broken by shield blocking, dodging, or parrying using touch-screen motions that are intuitive and simple. Press your thumb at the bottom right of the screen and you will dodge right and press the bottom left and you’ll dodge left. To block you can press the shield icon in the center to block. For attacking you have to swipe your finger across the screen. Parrying is a difficult move to execute, but parrying attack chains daze your enemy, giving you a larger window to attack. 

The game is quite appealing from the strategy point of view as during the gameplay, you have to be responsive and intelligent to ‘break’ the enemy’s attack. The game requires you to think most of the time, and to coordinate and time your attacks. For beginners, developing tactical skills may prove to be difficult but as you play the game extensively you’ll see improvement in every single level. During the course, you may also witness magic and special attacks. By tapping the icon, you can initiate special attacks, but these magic attacks must be “cast” by gesturing a particular symbol with your finger. The battles are challenging and exciting and are fast paced enough to make your pulse racing. 

Overall, it is simple and enthralling game that can keep you glued for hours. To reach to the final Big Boss you can expect up to two hours (or less) but slaying him would require some more time. The game involves a compelling story with marvelous graphics, exciting combat and a well-developed character progression.

Game: Infinity Blade

Genre: Brawler

Developer: Chair Entertainment, Epic Games

Publisher: Epic Games

Platform: iOS

Available from: iTunes

Infinity Blade retails for £3.49

iPad 2 now available in India at HomeShop18 website for Rs 34,900

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 16, 2011 (New Delhi)

Popular Indian home shopping website, HomeShop18, has some good news for all diehard fans of iPad and its newer version. Apple's much anticipated Jesus Tablet, the iPad 2, which is yet to be launched in India, is up for grabs on this site for Rs 34,900.

Following the successful launch of the tablet in the US market on March 11, the company unveiled the device simultaneously in 25 countries on March 22. The second-generation iPad has been a runaway hit among masses and classes worldwide due to its unique and innovative features; analysts estimated that roughly 500,000 units flew off US stores shelves in its first weekend, temporarily driving wait times up to five weeks.

Research firm IDC forecasts that 44.6 million media tablets will ship worldwide in 2011, with the US representing nearly 40 per cent of the total. Analysts expect Apple to maintain a 70 to 80 per cent share of the market, which equates to 31.2 million to 35.7 million units for the entire year, or between 2.6 million and 2.7 million iPad shipments per month.

Apple has yet not confirmed the launch date of iPad in the Indian market but people have been seen ordering the device on popular online shopping websites.

The newer version of iPad is slimmer, lighter and very powerful. It comes with a dual core A5 processor which, according to Apple, doubles the device's speed and graphic display by nine times. The device comes with a whole set of new features including a front mounted camera for video calls as well as a multi-purpose Smart Cover that automatically switches the device on and off as well as acting as a stand.

The gadget comes with two built-in cameras, a front one and a rear one, for use with FaceTime video chat and other apps. FaceTime can be used between two iPad 2s, between the iPad 2 and an iPhone or iPod touch, or between an iPad 2 and a Mac. The iPad 2’s front camera can record VGA-resolution (640-by-480) video at 30 frames per second with audio and the back camera can record HD video at 720p at 30 frames per second with audio. Just like the original iPad, the newer version features a 9.7-inch LCD screen with a 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch. Other features include Gyroscope, capacitive touchscreen, iOS 4.3 + FaceTime & PhotoBooth and long battery life.

The website is offering the device both in black and white colors at:

• Wi-Fi 16 GB - Rs. 34,900
• Wi-Fi 32 GB - Rs. 41,499
• Wi-Fi 64 GB - Rs. 47,999
• Wi-Fi + 3G 16 GB - Rs. 43,499
• Wi-Fi + 3G 32 GB - Rs. 49,999
• Wi-Fi + 3G 64 GB - Rs. 56,499

App review – Xperica: An interactive physics experiments app

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 15, 2011 (New Delhi)


Have you lately found that learning science through textbooks has somewhat been hard for your children, who are always on the lookout for some fun way to understand various science subjects.

IL&FS Education has just launched Xperica HD 1.0, their first education app for the iPad, which brings the experience of touch to various science experiments to foster better understanding.

The app is being promoted as a teaching aid for both teachers and students. At first the company has decided to focus on one subject which is physics but later on it will include other science subjects as well over a period of time.

Xperica is an interactive and visually appealing app, which allows a user to virtually perform four experiments in topics like Archimedes Principle, Pulleys, Resistance, Oscillation and Projectile Motion. The great thing about the app is that while performing an experiment the elements react in a similar fashion just like they would do in a real world. A user can make adjustments to see how the results change and one can see them both visually and through measurement readings.

Xperica is a free app, which currently features four experiments with additional experiments available through the app interface.

The company is going aggressive into its promotion given the growing importance and usability of iPad as a learning tool in schools/universities/educational institutions across the world.

Xperica also features a feedback function, which allows users to reach out for support and, also, to submit suggestions. The app is also social with connectivity to Facebook and Twitter, allowing users to share their experience with their network.

Overall, it is a good app, which targets school kids who want to learn science in a fun way and that too without bothering about someone going to scold them if something goes wrong. However we would have liked the company launching the app in different science streams in one go.

Top 5 reasons to gift an iPad to your child

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 13, 2011 (New Delhi)

Is Apple’s cool gadget, the iPad 2, is the best toy that you can offer to your kids. A recent research conducted by Nielsen among children aging 6-12 showed that a good 31 percent of the children wanted to buy an iPad in the next six months — or rather, that they were hoping someone else (like their parents) would get them an iPad.

For toddlers, the iPad is a brilliant, educational device enriched with a powerful format to develop your children’s critical thinking skills. The iPad surely makes a great gift for kids because of the extensive collection of apps along with the ease with which a kid can use it, that too without a computer mouse and keyboard. Here are my top five reasons to pick the iPad when looking for a great kids' gift:

1. Easy to carry: Kids certainly like those devices which are easy to carry and hold. They can use it in the car while their parents are driving, in the dentist’s waiting room, in school lounge or while playing with an older sibling.

2. It eliminates the need to stuff so many toys and books in the house: You won’t be required to keep on finding room for all the new games that you buy from a fancy mall store or the books that you recently purchased from the book shop. It simple means less clutter at home.

3. Appstore: Obviously, it is one of the most important reasons for which you would like to go for an iPad. There are tons of children apps available in the market which are designed to teach basics of alphabets, flowers, animals apart from stories, cartoons and other fun stuff that your kids love. In other sense it helps develop your children to grasp many different things and help him/her explore and develop new interests.

4. Your kid will not outgrow an iPad: An iPad is one of those gadgets which your kid will appreciate right from the age of two and till they become teenager. The only difference between a toddler and a teenager is the maturity and interest level. Besides it is a family product. This means you don’t need to buy separate gadgets for every other member of your family looking at his/her different interests. An iPad will surely have something for everyone. Well, it is an expensive toy but in the long run it is worth its price.


5. You make your kid ‘computer ready’: It is again a huge advantage as by providing an iPad means that you are equipping your child with some solid computer knowledge. It becomes a savior for your kids as they will become more accustomed to computers more than we are.

My top 10 iPad wallpapers

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 13, 2011 (New Delhi)

There are tons of sites available on the Internet which provide attractive and eye-catching wallpapers for your iPad. But selecting a cool wallpaper could be a tough task for you given the sheer variety of them. I am giving below my list of top 10 wallpapers that are hip, happening, colourful and add the glam quotient to your iPad. Though the list could be extended but I have restricted it to only ten. Your suggestions are invited.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

 6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Mobee Magic Bar charges your Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Trackpad

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 12, 2011 (New Delhi)

Swiss company Mobee Technology, well known for their inductive Magic Charger for the Magic Mouse, has now come out in the market with their new product – the Magic Bar, which is the world's first Inductive Charger for the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Magic Trackpad.

Mobee Magic Bar can energise either an Apple Bluetooth Keyboard or a Magic Trackpad thanks to their identical dual AA battery compartment.

The device includes a specific cylindrical battery pack, a stylish aluminum-made base station and a micro-USB cable.

Magic Bar’s base station is USB powered so you don’t need further power supply cables and eliminate the process of going through batteries.

The Magic Bar is a cost effective tool for long usage in home and office. It is best suuited for iMacs & MacBooks in offices and universities as you don't need to care about battery replacement.

The Mobee Magic Bar induction charger will start shipping in June and will be retailing for around $59.90, with pre-orders being taken from May 15.

How to install it ?
- Installation takes 1 minute!
- Remove the 2 AA Batteries of your Apple Bluetooth Keyboard or Magic Trackpad
- Screw the Cylinder battery Pack into your input device.
- Place the Magic Bar on your desktop and plug it through any USB port.
- Slide you input device into the Magic Bar, it is charging !

Logitech launches Keyboard Case for the iPad 2

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 10, 2011 (New Delhi)

So, you've just become the proud new owner of an iPad 2, but wondering about cool accessories that are functional, happening and protect the new tablet from scratches or other disastrous physical defects.

To solve some of these issues, Logitech has come out with its Keyboard Case for the Apple iPad 2 tablet. Smart and sleek, this is Logitech’s first offering designed especially for tablets which provides that extra safety with convenience and style, wherever you take your iPad 2.

The Logitech Keyboard Case has been made from precision-cut aircraft-grade aluminum and features military-grade, high-density padding. The protective case wraps around the iPad 2 covers the screen and sides. This helps you to go from Face Time to e-mail in no time.

Logitech's Keyboard Case offers a flexible, folding hinge, which makes it easy to place your iPad 2 in either portrait or landscape mode.

It uses the Bluetooth connectivity to pair the included wireless keyboard quickly and the keyboard charges over USB, so you never need to worry about replacing batteries.

The Logitech Keyboard Case has been developed in partnership with ZAGG, a market leader in providing innovative mobile device accessories.

The Logitech Keyboard Case is expected to be available in the US in April 2011 for a suggested retail price of $99.99.

US school gives free iPad 2 for every kindergarten student

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 10, 2011 (New Delhi)

What could be a better way for a school to impart education to their students by giving them the Apple’s next generation computer tablet, the iPad 2. The Auburn School Department in Maine (US) has agreed to start a pilot program in May which will offer 285 kindergartners and teachers with iPad 2s, for free. The school would be paying around $200,000 for this purchase.

Teachers in the school are of the view that the ipads would engage the students and make learning more fun for them. The school administration says the iPad is more portable and less expensive than laptop computers.

The idea for school kids to use iPads for education gained steam when teachers who owned iPads noticed some significant improvement in kindergartners who were exposed to iPad educational software.

Without doubt for toddlers it is easy to learn so many different things by simply touching things on the screen that they just dive in without needing to be shown how it all works.

How to lock the screen orientation in iPad 2

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 10, 2011 (New Delhi)

As you may be aware that on upgrading the latest iOS release on your iPad, the screen orientation doesn’t work anymore. iPadfanzz tells you how to lock your screen's rotation using a few easy clicks.

Step 1. From any iPad screen or application, double click on the big home button on the bottom of the iPad.

Step 2. At the bottom menu a new task switcher will appear. Slide your finger over to the right to access the new screen hidden on the left.

Step 3. On opening the new screen, click the lock symbol on the bottom left-hand side of the screen, and it will lock.

Now, it won't change orientation if you turn the Apple iPad. Repeat this step to unlock the orientation. This process works in portrait or landscape orientation.

Today’s app review – iStudiez Pro: A must have for students

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 9, 2011 (New Delhi)

A student’s life is quite similar to a high rank corporate executive who has to multitask a wide range of activities in order to achieve his day’s goals. To ease this madness to keep up with so many things in a day there is a cool app that's quite simple and is user friendly.

Today we’ll talk about iStudiez Pro application that's among the best selling productivity apps in US Mac App Store. The app is a highly effective tool for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad that offers students and others (who have a busy daily schedule) to not only import their timetable for easy browsing but also add assignments and schedule exams.

It is more of a student organizer that keeps track of all of your homework, projects, classes, and more. iStudiez Pro can organize your classes by date, even allowing you to track your class instructors contact information.

The app is unbelievably useful and one of the core functions of the app is the schedule feature that allows one to import their recurring timetable for faster viewing later.

The app has got a very nice user interface that promotes easy navigation. You can even tweak the application to accommodate work, clubs or anything else done outside of the class.

The easiest part while using the application is that it lists everything you have scheduled for the day that you haven’t completed. Like it appears on the first screen so you know what is going on without having to go through many menus. The app has nicely integrated the iCal so you don’t need to go into iCal on your iPhone/iPod Touch to see the calendar events, everything in iCal is viewable in this app with details.

The app’s unique built-in planner lets you input and easily manage all types of schedules including classic, alternating (A & B weeks), rotating and block schedule. Apart from entering most common course details, you can also add instructors with all related information such as office hours, affiliation, phone number and email address. You can also add holiday periods and even cancel separate classes in case of outstanding events.

A special section of the app is dedicated to keep track of your homework and assignments. Whatever is the way you are used to manage your tasks, you will find it all in iStudiez Pro. You can manage your assignments by date or by course or by priority or sort them into pending and completed. For group work, you can also add a partner to any of your assignments (either choose from contacts or create a new contact right inside the app).

After you have added your schedule, the summary of current classes and tasks is automatically reflected in Today view. Courses reflected in Today view are easily modifiable in each and every detail.

The app has got great design and offers a clean and fresh approach. The design is setup like a book in the iPad version and there are enhancements even on the smaller screen in the iPhone counterpart.

The app offers a lot of additional features that hidden away in the settings. You can set custom messages that display when there are no classes or events.

Overall, iStudiez is a nicely designed and functional app with a great UI to back it up. I advise this app to students, professors, teachers or parents to keep track of classes/work/activities. Customization is great with this application and for those who have had issues getting other applications to adjust to their lives should have no problem with this one.

iStudiez Pro for Mac: Hints and Tips

Double click any class in Day or Week View to see/change its details. This does not work for iCal events so far though.

Right click any class in Day View to see contextual menu.

In Day View use three fingers swipe gesture to the right or left to get to the next or previous day respectively.

When in Planner press Delete (Backspace) key on your keyboard to delete selected Classes, Courses or Semesters. IMPORTANT: there is no undo for this action so far.

Drag & drop an instructor from Instructors pane to any Class in Planner to assign such instructor to that Class.

Check application menus to learn about shortcuts active for iStudiez Pro for Mac.

Apple investigating Verizon iPad 2 connection problem

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 9, 2011 (New Delhi)

Apple in a statement has said that it is looking into connectivity issues with the Verizon network that owners of the iPad 2 3G are experiencing.

The statement from the company comes in wake of mounting number of complaints on Apple support discussions board with users reporting trouble connecting to the Verizon data network with their iPad 2 3Gs, especially after turning 3G service off and back on.

The iPad 2 was launched last month with three models: WiFi only, WiFi and AT&T-compatible 3G, and WiFi and Verizon-compatible 3G.

(Read the forum posts here)

What’s the problem exactly: If the iPad’s Verizon connection is switched off, the tablet needs to be rebooted to connect it again. This glitch only affects the Verizon connection; the Wi-Fi connection isn't affected.

However, AT&T customers are not experiencing this connectivity problem.

Do write to us if you are experiencing the same problem.

Good news for US consumers: Toys “R” Us may stock iPad 2 next month

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 8, 2011 (New Delhi)

There is a buzz in the US tech blogsphere that retailer Toys "R" Us is gearing up to sell the Apple iPad 2 at stores. Reports suggest that employees of the said toy store are now busy training for the iPad 2 sales.

If the repots are correct, then Toys “R” Us will become the seventh biggest retailer of the iPad 2 in the US.

At present in the US, the Apple iPad 2 is available in six different stores, Apple, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Radio Shack, Verizon and AT&T stores.

Apple has recently now shortened the shipping time of the iPad 2 online sales to 2-3 weeks from earlier 4-5 weeks.