Kiran Bedi Joins BJP; Microsoft Ends Free Support to Windows 7 ~ Xiaomi Launches Phablets

Down under, the 3 Nation ODI Series begins. Unlike the earlier versions, this is short – India plays Australia on 18th and 26th; England on 20th  & 30th – finals is on 1st Feb 2015. Do you still remember the ‘Millennium Bug’ – that threatened the Globe at the  dawn of New Millennium – 1st of Jan 2000 – there were wide and varied apprehensions that  the  dawn of the Century would bring in its wake,  the potential breakdown of computer information systems due to a programmed inability to recognize a reference to a four-digit year. Fortunately nothing happened !! At Tamilnadu, Head constable G. Kanagaraj, who lost his life in July last while attempting to nab an individual involved in sand smuggling, has been chosen for the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Police Medal for Gallantry. An official release said the head constable was about to apprehend Suresh in Uriyurkuppam, near Thakkolam of Vellore district, who was seeking to take away sand illegally from the Kosthalaiyar river bed. The legal heir of the deceased head constable would be given a cash prize of Rs. five lakh. In Delhi, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi,  joined the BJP and is going to be the face of the party in the crucial Delhi elections next month. "Delhi needs a stable, strong, corruption-free government. I have the experience, time and energy to make Delhi a world-class capital city," she declared after becoming an online member in the presence of BJP president Amit Shah and Union Ministers Arun Jaitley and Harshvardhan. For many computer users, 13^th Jan 2015, is not exactly a great day as Microsoft announced the end  of free support for Windows 7. My system runs on Windows 7 software and luckily this does not mean that it will stop working automatically ~ but Microsoft will no longer offer free help and support – nor will it update or add any new features.  Microsoft is keen to move users onto Windows 8 instead.  Windows 7 was released in 2009. It sold over 100 million copies in six months and remains hugely popular. Microsoft will charge for help with the software till 2020, when Microsoft turns out the light on Windows 7 for good. The next generation of Microsoft's venerable operating system is Windows 10 -- they're skipping 9, for some reason ! Chinese handset maker Xiaomi on Thursday unveiled its latest flagship devices, Mi Note and Mi Note Pro, to compete with the likes of global tech giants Apple and Samsung. The Mi Note is a 5.7-inch Mi Note and carries a price tag of CNY 2299 (about Rs. 23,000), while the Mi Note Pro (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB RAM and a 2K display) will retail for CNY 3,299 (about Rs. 33,000). Both the devices come under phablets, which are devices with screen size in the range of 5-7-inch range.  MI is challenging the markets for Nokia, Samsung and Apple with its products. India is one of the largest markets for Xiaomi outside of China. The company has so far, launched three devices in India — Mi 3, Redmi 1S and Redmi Note. It’s cumulative sales is reported  to have crossed a million units since the first launch in July last year. Yours Truly too would endorse that there is nothing to fault  ‘Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G’ with 5.5-inch IPS display ; 1.7 GHz CPU; 2GB RAM; Android 4.4.2 KitKat and 13MP rear camera, especially at its price. With regards – S. Sampathkumar
15^th Jan 2o15