BBC launches prime-time news capsule for India

British broadcaster BBC World on Tuesday announced the launch of prime-time evening news featuring local and world news for viewers in India and South Asia.

The hour-long live programme will be broadcast globally each week day from July 23 and aired across India at 9:30 pm on the 24-hour BBC World channel.

Nik Gowing, the BBC World anchor who was present at the launch of the programme here, told reporters that BBC recognises the changing preference among audience in India who want to see the local news as well as the world news.

“India and Indians are currently making news across the globe, across areas as diverse as business, finance, arts and cinema,” he said.

“The prime-time programme ‘World News Today’ strives to bring BBC World viewers across South Asia the latest international headlines with impartial analysis, insights and global perspectives on news stories that are of relevance to them,” he added

TCS, Ferrari may jointly develop software

Formula 1 car maker Ferrari relies on an Indian software company to deliver its 300 km per hour performance on the race track. The firm has been collaborating with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) since 2004, when it decided to look for an engineering and IT consulting partner. The two came together for the development of the Formula 1 racing car and the Ferrari Sports car and have since enjoyed an ongoing relationship that spans a gamut of the F1 car maker’s IT needs for before, during and between races.

This relationship may now also include software development, something which the two firms have not explored until now, Ferrari CIO Antonio Calabrese, who is currently visiting India said. “There is no other company that can offer the complete breadth of services that the Tatas can,” Mr Calabrese said. TCS is also the only firm that it has a relationship with for consulting, and the only Indian vendor for IT.

Ferrari’s IT requirements span areas like soft simulation of the actual race track, telemetry that allows Ferrari to record the car’s behaviour and strategy planning. In effect there is new software release or update on an existing version very one or two weeks.

“The F1 car is the most complex and advanced car platform in the market, packing research in aerodynamics, engine technology, brakes, tyres and modelling. The configuration management of all the components of the F1 car is controlled by product data management software, and a framework integrating two different environment was undertaken with the involvement of TCS. There are about 40 people working on the prestigious Ferrari account at TCS.

TCS’ engineering practice, of which the Ferrari account is part of, contributes around 6% of the TCS’ revenues. The engineering vertical also includes aerospace, heavy engineering and automotive. In aerospace, Boeing is one of its customers. The company has a centre of excellence for engineering in Pune and centre of excellence for aerospace at Bangalore.

preview of Halo 3

Love, Bungie’ reads the message on the screen as your first look at Halo 3 loads. It can never be argued that Bungie hasn’t been good to its fans. If anything, the success of Halo 2’s multiplayer is testament to the care the studio takes of its audience.

With the public multiplayer beta of Halo 3, Bungie once again gave something back: more than a demo, it’s a chance for fans to take part in the development process, a big thank you for the success of the series.

But the gifts don’t end there, as jumping in for the first time you were immediately reminded of how Bungie operates, of how incredibly user-friendly everything is. Halo 2’s matchmaking system should have revolutionised the way online gaming is handled on consoles

Visually, Halo 3 has a lot to prove, with the success of Epic’s Gears Of War raising the expectations and Bungie itself stoking the fires each week in studio updates via its website. Halo 3 doesn’t disappoint. The rich, colourful environments debuted in the multiplayer beta have a bright clarity, creating an unusually consistent game-world in which everything looks like it belongs.

Realism has never been a goal that Halo has chased, but that’s never prevented the series from creating vibrant, believable worlds and that stands true a third time around. The HDR lighting which floods every map as you tear around them on bright sunny days may be the first thing you notice over Halo 2, but it’s Halo 3’s use of environmental detail (greenery, water, snow) and, most importantly, scale, that makes a lasting impression.

The three maps on offer were cleverly chosen specifically to demonstrate the most popular Halo game-types: Highground, a dusty run-down military compound similar in structure both visually and tactically to Halo 2’s Zanzibar, for team-based games; Valhalla, a huge grassy canyon reminiscent of Halo’s Blood Gulch and playing a similar role in objective-based play; and finally Snowbound, a smaller, bowl-like ice map for one-on-one deathmatches.

All three are considerably larger than anything seen in the previous games, causing players to rely heavily on Bungie’s new additions to gameplay with regards to long-distance travelling, namely the Mongoose ATV, rescued from the cutting-room floor of Halo 2, and the highly entertaining Man Cannon (something like Unreal Tournament‘s jump pad). While each offers a serious tactical advantage, both have clearly been tuned for fun, spicing matches with dashes of slapstick and daredevilry.

But when compared to the previous games, Halo 3 is little odd. It would be difficult to pick any real standout advances here on the surface, similar in scale to, say, the addition of dual wielding in Halo 2, yet subtle refinements in the series’ multiplayer offerings abound. Listening to criticisms of fans and combined with lessons learned from releasing Halo 2 under pressure (and in near-immediate need of a serious update) has proven worthwhile.

Some hated Halo 2 for its reliance on dual wielding. Others loved it for that very reason. Some will only ever touch Halo, offended by the sequel and its changes, while others swear the sequel was where the series began. It’s clear Bungie has taken all of this on board, balancing every single aspect of the game from weapon rates of fire to map design, and enforcing an enjoyable game the 500th time you boot up. It’s paid off, too, as despite the wide range of weapons not one feels as though it entirely supplants the rest.

Never in Halo 3 will you feel as though you’re ill equipped for the task at hand, or that you can’t eliminate your opponent with the weapon already equipped.On the subject of equipment, arguably Bungie’s big twist this time around is the addition of tactical deployables mapped to the X button. Similar in frequency of use to the Overshield or Active Camo, these one-shot power-ups offer a last-chance escape in overbearing situations. The Bubble Shield puts up an energy wall through which bullets won’t pass. The Power Drainer removes the shields of all in the vicinity as well as disabling vehicles, the Grav Lift is a portable jump pad for a speedy exit, and the Tripmine enables stealthy vehicular destruction.

Slotting into the flow and feel of Halo immediately, and with weapon balancing as close to perfect as this, your deployable kit can mean the difference between winning and losing. It adds yet more choice to a game that fundamentally relies on decision making rather then execution – the opportunity, not the outcome – for its thrills and spills. With a September release approaching fast, it’s clear Bungie is feeling confident. It’s already learned all it needed to for Halo, and is now concentrating on incorporating absolutely everything it can to enable it to excel. Three games in, and Halo is still as much a labour of love today as it was when the series launched, and that care and dedication is reflected back from its fans. Love, Bungie indeed.

Google to help non-profits with maps

NEW YORK – Google Inc. launched an initiative Tuesday to help charities and other non-profit groups use maps and satellite images to raise awareness, recruit volunteers and encourage donations.

The Google Earth Outreach program represents a formalization of ad-hoc partnerships with organizations using the free software to publicize their works.

Already, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has been using Google Earth to call attention to atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan. When users scan over Darfur, they see icons of flames representing destroyed villages and of tents for refugee camps. Clicking on one opens a window with details and links on how to help.

The U.N. Environmental Program, meanwhile, has used the software to show areas of environmental destruction. The Jane Goodall Institute shows locations of its research on chimpanzees and African deforestation. A Brazilian Indian tribe is working on ways to help stop loggers and miners from deforesting the jungle and digging for gold.

“There’s nothing like the power of information to make people understand the urgency of action,” said Kathy Bushkin Calvin, executive vice president for the U.N. Foundation.

Edward Wilson, chief executive of Earthwatch Institute, said the maps help people understand that “what they are reading is not happening some place out of sight, out of mind. Those places become places you can visit, you can actually see.”

The launch party at Google’s New York office, chosen for its proximity to leading philanthropic groups, came complete with beach balls sporting globe designs. Video monitors showed Google Earth’s software in action.

By turning these individual efforts into a formal program, the Mountain View, Calif.-based search company hopes to make its tools more widely available to non-profits around the world. The resources will be available on an open Web site, so technically individuals and corporations can tap into the program as well.

However, one component of the initiative — grants to receive a free copy of Google Earth’s $400 professional-version software — will be limited initially to certain U.S. non-profits certified by the Internal Revenue Service. Many of the features, though, are available in the free version of Google Earth, available as a download for Windows, Mac and Linux computers.

Non-profits are “trying to tell a story and trying to move people emotionally,” said Rebecca Moore, manager of Google Earth Outreach. “They are trying to inspire action, advocate on behalf of a cause and drive people to, for example, make donations, sign a petition or lobby your congressional representative.

“They have somewhat unique needs. Therefore we have focused on helping them understand how to do these things.”

Many government agencies, hobbyists and other users of Google Earth already overlay maps with photos, video, text and links pinned onto specific locations.

“KML” files containing such overlays are distributed through Web sites, e-mail or the software itself. Once a user clicks on the file, icons representing those elements appear on the map.

Google will be providing online guides, video tutorials and case studies aimed at showing non-profit representatives how they, too, can use Google Earth’s overlays.

Although Google also runs a mapping Web site, users will need the free Google Earth software to view the materials. Google says it has 200 million Google Earth users worldwide

Microsoft rolls out Web storage, new photo gallery

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp. introduced two new online services to its Windows Live line-up on Tuesday and said it plans to release more Web offerings this year to beef up its Internet strategy.

Microsoft plans to take on Web competitors Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. with its “software plus services” strategy, that aims to leverage its dominant market position for software running on the computer to a new suite of services delivered over the Internet.

The company offers a suite of online services including e-mail and Web search under its Windows Live brand. Microsoft said it will introduce test versions of two new free services: Windows Live Folders and Windows Live Photo Gallery.

Chris Jones, Microsoft’s corporate vice president, said the company will unveil the next wave of services later this year, but its goal will be to stitch together the disparate Windows Live services and offer a more unified experience.

“Soon we’ll begin to offer a single installer which will give customers the option of an all-in-one download for the full Windows Live suite of services instead of the separate installation experience you see today,” said Jones in a posting on Microsoft’s Web site.

Windows Live Photo Gallery is a new version of the photo application found on Microsoft’s two most recent operating systems, Windows XP and Windows Vista. It simplifies how people can share photos on their Windows Live Spaces site, Microsoft’s social networking platform.

The sharing feature of Microsoft’s new Photo Gallery is similar to how users can publish pictures from Apple Inc.’s iPhoto application to the company’s .Mac online service.

Microsoft said it is open to eventually letting users post to other photo sharing sites such as Yahoo’s Flickr, if it can establish common protocols and standards with those Web sites.

Windows Live Folders will provide up to 500 megabytes of online storage in the United States in a limited test release. Microsoft said it will gauge usage during the test release and possibly add more capacity if needed.

Microsoft sees Windows Live Folders as a way people can share documents, but not necessarily a place where users can back up all the files on a computer hard drive.

Google has been widely rumored to be working on an online storage service, but the company has remained mum on the issue. However, Google offers a variety of services that include large amounts of free data storage, including Gmail and Docs & Spreadsheets.