Six million domain names have been added to the internet in the first quarter of 2015, bringing the total number of registered domain names to 294 million worldwide across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of March 31, 2015, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief.The increase of six million domain names globally equates to a growth rate of 1.9 per cent over the fourth quarter of 2014. Worldwide registrations have grown by 17.8 million, or 6.5 per cent, year-over-year.The .com and .net TLDs experienced aggregate growth in the first quarter of 2015, reaching a combined total of approximately 133.0 million .com and .net domain names in the domain name base. This represents a 3.1 percent increase year over year. As of March 31, 2015, the domain name base of .com equaled 117.9 million names, while .net equaled 15.1 million names.In the first quarter, Verisign processed 8.7 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, as compared to 8.6 million domain names for the same period in 2014.During the first quarter of 2015, Verisign's average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was 119 billion across all TLDs operated by Verisign, with a peak of 165 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, the daily average increased 8.6 percent and the peak increased 13.1 per cent. Year over year, the daily average query load increased 40.2 per cent and the peak query load increased 37.9 per cent.With changes to search algorithms that favor websites that look and perform better on mobile devices, non-mobile friendly website owners, including many small businesses, fear their search rankings will plummet. As online commerce continues to grow and as people continue to turn to the Internet when looking for information, this quarter’s feature article, “‘Mobilegeddon’: Good for Small Business?” touts the benefits of mobile websites for business and why small businesses should make this a top priority.Verisign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide Internet users throughout the world with statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry. The first quarter 2015 Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained at VerisignInc.com/DNIB.
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Bengaluru-based IT infrastructure services company NxtGen Datacentre & Cloud Technologies has raised $13.5 million from International Finance Corporation (IFC), as part of series B funding for expansion activity.The financing will be used to complete a data centre project in Bengaluru and increase further investments into cloud infrastructure.A. S. Rajgopal, CEO, NxtGen, said, "This second round of funding, will enable us to further strengthen our growth plans in India and initiate our international strategy".NxtGen which provides cloud services and IT infrastructure service, has two data centres in India - in Mumbai and Bengaluru - and has offices in four major metros Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi. It has 105 employees and 200+ channel partners taking its services to market. And will expand it services across the globe such as Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka.The Telecom, Media & Technology (TMT) group at IFC focuses its investments on mobile, broadband, and infrastructure sharing. Independent datacenters fit well into IFC's strategy as they are an integral critical component of the telecom infrastructure, and allow for the evolution of an IT ecosystem in local economies. IFC's TMT group has invested in five other datacenter companies in emerging markets - GDS/EDC-China, Teraco-South Africa, iXcellerate-Russia, DeNovo-Ukraine and Zenium-Turkey.Atul Mehta, IFC Director for Telecom, Media, and Technology, Venture Capitals and Funds, said, "Affordable and effective IT infrastructure colocation and cloud computing services are increasingly important for digital inclusion and economic development. Built to top industry standards, NxtGen's data centers will support India's growing need for data consumption, incur capital savings for businesses, and boost direct and indirect job creation."
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Updating your smartphone’s firmware to the newest update is recommended for users as it not only improves the performance but it also brings in new features to your device. Who wouldn’t want that? While it is good habit to keep your devices up to date, there are certain issues that new updates could bring. For instance when Apple announced the new iOS 8 update, users started facing Touch ID issues, battery problems, Wi-Fi connectivity problems, Bluetooth problems, and so on. Apple is known to be quick on fixing bugs and it did so by rolling out incremental updates with iOS 8.2 and 8.3. Today Apple has released yet another update, iOS 8.4, for iPhone and iPad users. Apart from bringing bug fixes and improvements in performance, the new update also comes with a revamped Music app and Apple's on-demand streaming music service, Apple Music. The iOS 8.4 update is now available for all supported iDevices and along with Apple Music, brings the 24x7 Beats 1 radio service to over 100 countries.The new music service has been one of the most talked about features from Apple this year as it offers the entire iTunes store music library to users at a monthly fee and users get the service free of charge for the first three months. However some users are reporting that Apple Music comes with an auto-renewal setting, which means at the end of the three months, users will be charged automatically via their iTunes ID. Thankfully, the auto-renewal setting can be switched off in case you don’t like the service or are just not in the mood for paying the subscription. When Apple announced the service, the subscription was priced at $ 9.99, but it seems that the cost of the service in different countries will differ. For instance in Thailand and Indonesia the service is $5 (Rs. 300) per month, in the Philippines and Russia it is $3 (Rs. 180) and Indian customers can avail the monthly service for just while in India it is available for just $2 (Rs. 120). While this does sound exciting, it should be noted that the content might also differ for different countries. Users are also reporting that the new Music app refreshes your music library and might remove every single song that you have on your device, so better be careful before you go for an update to iOS 8.4. To update your iOS device you need to connect it to your PC and run iTunes which will guide you through the update process. Alternatively you can go to your device’s setting and check for the OS update under the Software Update tab. Updating your mobile OS can be risky but if you follow instructions, you should end up with a smooth running device. There have been cases when Android users updated to the new Lollipop update and ended up hating the revamped volume setting and issues with memory and battery drain. Yes, there are certain ways that you can downgrade your system, on iOS and Android, but that would mean a whole lot of tinkering with your device and high-chances of losing your data. But if you are willing to take the risk and are technically sound, then the process requires you to enter the recovery mode and then install an older OS firmware file.
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App based business is helping small and medium enterprises to extent their scope of business, says Sameer GroverF&B Industry is on the verge of a huge transformation taking shape in form of IT oriented services and amenities. Bourgeoning smartphone users and the rise of middle class has shaped the current transformation. Consumers are becoming more demanding than before with growing purchasing power. On the other hand, a massive information flow has facilitated the society to be updated with latest trends across the globe. Mobile business is becoming a mainstream trend across every business sector. The contribution of this sector is growing in business, as transactions are becoming mobile oriented. Communication and information exchange through mobile devices is gradually emerging as a major revenue earner in any business.There were more than 850 million active mobile connections in the country in March 2015. With increasing proliferation of communication throughout remote locales across the country, number of mobile subscribers will further increase exponentially. Mobile devices became the primary mode for long distance connection and communication. With Smart phones turning to be the most popular device among masses, use of mobile applications is gaining massive momentum. There is a mobile app for almost everything, offering competitive range of services. They have become a part of daily lives of people integrated to lifestyle and living. The trend is gradually encompassing new sectors and industry verticals. Mobile apps were adopted long before in sectors such as finance, banking and retail. Within sectors such as health and agriculture, they are gaining rapid popularity.The current trend, which is rolling over with tremendous impact on the market is Restaurant or Food Ordering Mobile App. The F&B industry is pacing up in the race of technology boom. In this backdrop, the market is growing to be highly competitive. This has rendered a sheer requirement of innovation and flexibility of any business matching up to expectation of customers. A look at the evolution of restaurants and food ordering traits over the last 10 years will prove how technology has changed the whole landscape of both B2B and B2C operation.More than 70 per cent of mobile apps are used in urban locales in India. This urban middle class forms the largest categories of customers who have adopted a technology-oriented lifestyle the most. Food ordering apps are becoming popular among this customer segment. Mobile apps have grown to encompass the whole dining out experience of customers. From the first touch point, which is discovering a restaurant up to paying up the final bill; mobile apps are being used throughout its every state. The preferences of localities, the sitting arrangements, distance, checking out the menu, ordering and so on can be all done through mobile apps. Mobile apps allow every little customization of cuisines, size, ambiance and place that can make the experience a happening one. They offer what users exactly want and provide tailored services.The advent of technology is offering dynamism to the entire restaurant business. Before businesses relied on word-of-mouth, hoardings and flyers, which offered limited outreach. In printed media businesses had to spend good amount, as only a famous critic could promote them through written reviews. Now, with the advent of digital media, unbiased reviews of restaurants and services are available and additionally, customers could offer reviews of their own, completely at no cost. These add to popularity as well as the quality of any restaurant or foodservice. As people can share their experience with millions in no time using mobile apps, customers are now empowered to impact the business and contribute to improvement of any service. Businesses now run with much vigilance to satisfy consumers as it has direct impact on profit. Therefore, apps are becoming a powerful platform to proffer innovation and excellence in F&B sector. Using this platform, small and medium businesses can enjoy greater outreach to customers on a very limited cost.Mobile apps offer customers wide and convenience payment options. Mobile payment facilities provide options of cashless transfer and customer no longer need to carry money. Online payments are gradually becoming more popular among consumers in India. The Indian E-tailing industry is expected to grow to $50 Billion by 2020.App based business is helping small and medium enterprises to extent their scope of business. Online food ordering is emerging as a segment that caters to a wide range of consumers. Leveraging this platform, companies are offering all round solutions to various stakeholders of the industry such as merchants, consumers, logistics and marketing. IT platforms offers comprehensive range of business avenues making operation processes easier to manage.The market of Deal and Coupons is emerging as a unique segment. The category is gaining massive popularity among urban elites. Incentivizing purchases, referrals and providing loyalty offers are strong marketing techniques that form a massive customer base. It helps the business to grow exponentially without extra investment in advertisement and promotion. Apart from this, another segment of apps have started to show up that are now providing solutions to other aspects related to one's dining experience. Apps let customers to calculate the ideal amount and allow splitting it the bills among the buyers. There are apps that suggest the type of drinks one should have based on the ordered food.Mobile apps are transforming business paradigms in F&B Industry offering amenities to both customers and business. There are over 55,000 restaurants across India and the trend will become more fervent in coming times.The author is CEO at Crown It
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Android gives you the freedom of choosing whatever keyboard you are comfortable with, something which Apple brought in one of their iOS updates. One of the most popular third-party keyboards is SwiftKey which can be easily downloaded on any Android device and can replace your default keyboard. Since Android natively supports a number of Indian languages, SwiftKey for Android offers regional languages such as Devanagari, Tamil and Gujarati scripts. Today the app has been updated and brings in support for additional Indian languages including Bengali, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Assamese, Oriya, Konkani and Manipuri.Not only does the set of languages make it easy and intuitive for users, but like contextually relevant word predictions, the new update brings in a set of contextually aware keys for these new languages. This helps in maintaining the structure of the words that you type as the keyboard suggests the next letter to maintain the flow of the word. Other changes include access to characters on the secondary layout by pressing and holding the key in the same position on the primary layout, just like in a traditional Android keyboard. This is something that the developers should have added long time back as it makes it easier to type texts. For emoji-lovers there is added support for emoji prediction for regional languages including Bengali, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, Assamese, Oriya, Sinhala and Urdu.The new update comes right after when SwiftKey was accused of a security flaw that put over 600 million Samsung smartphones vulnerable to attacks from hackers who could spy on users. Hopefully the developers have dealt with the issues and fixed the security flaw in the new update.
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In a bid to provide more information in electronic format and a trade facilitation measure, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has launched its mobile initiative with its Android app (DGFT) through which most DGFT services can be accessed while on the go. Commerce Secretary Rajiv Kher unveiled the app which would allow exporters/importers to access the foreign trade policy and other related documents in an easy-to-use searchable format. With just one click, the trade community would be able to check the status of transmission of various authorizations and the shipping bills through the dynamic app. The app will allow the exporters/importers to search for ITC(HS) codes and Merchandise exports from India rates which are huge databases that are used every day by the whole trade community. Application and its data structures have been designed in-house and software development done by DeitY. The app is currently available for the Android platform. The app is just a new beginning for DGFT and many new apps to provide other services are in the pipeline. A new look website has also been launched making it more user-friendly and easy to navigate. DGFT website has a huge dynamic component whereby the trade community can file applications online for IEC and various other schemes of DGFT. The exporters can also see the status of their electronic Bank realization certificates in almost real-time. The website is rich in content with all documents related to Foreign Trade Policy along with a responsive online grievance redressal system. The mobile application and the new website will further strengthen the e-governance platform of DGFT.
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Apple undoubtedly makes brilliant gadgets and it’s all because of the number of innovations that the company incorporates in its devices. With the iPhone 5S, Apple introduced the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, it wasn’t the first handset to do so, but it created a huge buzz and forced manufacturers like Samsung and HTC to follow Apple’s path. This year Apple is relying on a brand new innovation called Force Touch. The Apple Watch was the first device to feature this and the new glass based trackpad on the wafer-thin Macbook also incorporates this feature. Apple describes it as the "most significant new sensing capability" butwhat is Force Touch? Well basically it senses how hard the user is pressing down on the trackpadwhich can then be used to show more options to users. The sensors can detect more than one type of tap. A light tap can perform a certain action and a harder tap can perform something else. For instance you could press on the display harder to increase the volume or just forward a video. The Force Touch trackpad on the new Macbook has a customisable feature called Force Touch. This lets you adjust the feature's sensitivity, so that you can finely adjust the pressure required for certain actions. The trackpad also comes with Force Sensors that allow the user to click anywhere instead of relying on just the bottom of trackpad as it was on the previous Macbooks.There is also a Taptic Engine, which senses when a user taps on the trackpad and provides a haptic feedback to acknowledge the action. The trackpad doesn’t move and while the Force Touch trackpad sounds like it clicks and feels like it clicks, it doesn't actually click. This feature is also available on the recently announced Apple Watch.If reports are to be believed, then Apple is already working on incorporating this new feature into the upcoming set of iPhones this year and is also said to bump up the production next month. This would mean that the new iPhones will have a complete overhauling of how users will interact with the handset thanks to the new Force Touch feature.
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The Union Commerce Ministry has taken a major step to minimise the use of paper in global business by revamping its website.Commerce Secretary Rajiv Kher has launched an app which would allow exporters/importers to access the foreign trade policy and other related documents in an easy-to-use searchable format. With just one click, the trade community would be able to check the status of transmission of various authorisations and the shipping bills through the dynamic app."In the days to come, the ministry is going to focus on simplification and ease of doing business, use of technology and digital things to make international trading paperless," Kher said.The ministry's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has worked on the mobile initiative with its Android app (DGFT) through which most DGFT services can be accessed on the go.The app will allow the exporters/importers to search for ITC (HS) codes and merchandise exports from India rates which are huge databases that are used every day by the whole trade community.Application and its data structures have been designed in-house and software development done by DeitY. The app is currently available for the Android platform. The app is just a new beginning for DGFT and many new apps to provide other services are in the pipeline.A revamped website has also been launched making it more user-friendly and easy to navigate. DGFT website has a huge dynamic component whereby the trade community can file applications online for IEC and various other schemes of DGFT. The exporters can also see the status of their electronic bank realisation certificates in almost real-time. The website is rich in content with all documents related to the foreign trade policy along with a responsive online grievance redressal system.The mobile application and the new website will further strengthen the e-governance platform of DGFT.
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