Samsung Stops Revealing Phone and Tablet Sales Data

According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday, released an announcement saying that they will stop reporting sales data for their mobile phones and tablet computers. According to Samsung, competition in this segment has intensified and this step has been taken to potentially reduce the risks attached to divulging figures, which could eventually affect Samsung’s own businesses. In their earnings release, Samsung have simply noted that, ‘shipments of mobile handsets increased in the high-single-digit range quarter-on-quarter’. When asked for a further explanation, Samsung declined the request.

Samsung stops reporting phone sales data

Samsung was recently entangled in a legal battle with Apple; with the latter accusing Samsung of copying the iPhone’s hardware, software, design, packaging and marketing. There could be a chance that this might have influenced Samsung's plans of hiding their sales data. Because  the rate at which Samsung’s smartphone sales are increasing, they will be stiff competition for Apple. Samsung’s phone sales may not have reached the number they were expecting to, this quarter, which might have led them to believe that it would be best to cease reporting phone and tablet sales data.

EchoSign Acquired by Adobe

Adobe’s very own document exchange services are all set to get a major makeover. Adobe Systems Incorporated has acquired EchoSign, a popular provider of electronic signatures and signature automation. From now on, EchoSign’s services will be given out alongside Adobe’s online document exchange services. Other Adobe services, on which EchoSign will be enabled, include SendNow, FormsCentral and CreatePDF. With EchoSign services being enabled on Adobe and its cronies, users will be spared of having their documents signed by the traditional methods.

Now, with Adobe!

The usage availability of EchoSign is flexible. Users can pick the apt ‘subscription plans’ for EchoSign based on the size of their business – on an individual level, small to medium sized businesses, among others. The entire process, EchoSign claims ,has been automated in the sense that the entire process from the request for a signature for distribution, to the execution of the action happens in a single click.

Also included in the partner package are a wholesome set of APIs for tailor made needs of each company.

Mobile Ticketing Makes Life Easy For Indian Railways' Commuters

Indian Railways have certainly made life a whole lot easier for commuters by introducing the new mobile ticketing application for mobile phones. Although the application is still in the development stage, it is being ascertained that commuters would no longer have to wait in long lines and wait for printouts of their tickets. All the customer has to do is download the application on their mobile phone and carry some kind of identification proof. The ticket will be sent to them via SMS on their mobile phone through the same application. This mobile ticket cannot be forwarded. 

Booking made easy

Elimination of the ticket printouts has certainly made the Indian Railways more modernized and a lot more accessible. Other than making it easy for commuters to book their tickets, it also helps them to make their own reservations without going to the reference of a travel agency. This feature will definitely help commuters in the rural parts of the country. Since most travel agencies often block tickets and sell them at a higher price, this will  prevent ticketing fraud. However, the introduction of the mobile ticketing application will not completely rule out the presence of travel agencies; but it will make it more organized.

Earlier, travel service agents (RTSA) used to sell tickets and make reservations for the customers without actually registering them on the IRCTC website. It will now be mandatory for individuals as well as travel agents to register themselves before making any further reservations. S. S Mathur, GM-IT reports that ‘there will be no additional charges and that they were planning to stick to their current prices”.

For more information check out the IRCTC link here.

Motorola Working on 4:3 Aspect Tablet with 2048 x 1536 Resolution

The R&D team at Motorola seems to be on to something big, at least they believe so. Fudzillahave received confirmation about the company hard at work on their next big tablet project, which is a bit different from the current herd. Motorola will go old school on this one by offering a 4:3 aspect ratio on a 10-inch slab of glass. Not only that, it will sport a crazy high 2048x1536 resolution, that’s higher than any HDTV or 24-inch PC monitor currently available. Could this be the next Xoom? Sources at Fudzilla apparently have had a go at the prototype and say that it will run Ice Cream Sandwich when it comes out which means we are looking at a Q4 or early 2012 announcement. There’s no telling why Motorola would go with a 4:3 aspect when the entire world has moved on to the wide screen format. Maybe they are taking a cue from Apple, I mean, it’s worked brilliantly for them so it’s worth a shot. No word on what hardware it will be packing but my guess would be either Nvidia’s Tegra 3 or AMD’s Fusion APU.

By 2014, Bionic Spectacles Will Impart Vision to the Blind

Beginning from 2014, the vision-impaired will have the scientists at the Oxford University, United Kingdom to thank for bringing back the lost hopes of regaining vision. The scientists have readied what they call bionic spectacles that integrate the use of mini-sized cameras and a pocket computer to give the wearer indications about any object in their way, and also to the people walking in their direction.

Regained lost hopes..

According to a report in The Hindu, among the several highlighted features of the spectacles, are its inexpensiveness and light weightedness.  Using these glasses, the blind will find it possible to do the basic tasks like finding their way on crowded roads, read bus numbers, among others. The spectacles primarily derive their information from the Light Emitting Diodes that have been fitted into the lenses, which light up, thereby giving the wearer all the necessary details.

Although a fixed price tag for the same has not been added, the researchers state that the price tag would be kept affordable.

Picasa and Blogger to be Rebranded Under the Google Umbrella

Google’s Picasa and Blogger are set to undergo a makeover with the possibility of their names changing ahead of the public launch of their social networking site, Google+. According to a report by tech blogging website, Mashable, who're citing the claims from anonymous sources, Picasa will be rebranded to Google Photos and Blogger will be called Google Blogs.

Google to rebrand Picasa and Blogger

Picasa is an image organizer and image viewer for organizing and editing digital photos, plus an integrated photo-sharing website that was first started in 2002 by Idealab. Later on in 2004, Google acquired the site in 2004 and led it to become one of the world’s most popular photo sharing website. Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. Google bought Pyra Labs, which was the creator of Blogger in 2003.

According to the report, “The move is part of a larger effort to unify its brand for the public launch of Google+, the search giant’s social initiative.” The report goes on to indicate that the transition will take place in a month and a half and one should expect the public roll out of Google+ on or before July 31st, 2011.

SatNav GPS Systems to Monitor Rickshaws in New Delhi Soon

Public travel in the three-wheeler i.e. the country's colorful rickshaw, at least when in the capital, is all set to get a much needed facelift. If you’re a frequent rickshaw-rider (for want of a better term) in Delhi, chances that you encountered an unreasonably rude driver must be quite high. Not that it's any different in any other city of course. But in the capital we often also hear about the plight of the female travelers, who fear for their safety when commuting via this mode.

Under the scanner..

A recent report in The Telegraph, has added a shade of optimism to the bleak reality. By the end of this week, as many as 250 rickshaws plying on the streets of New Delhi will have GPS from SatNav installed, a number which by the end of this month will soar to a good 55,000 rickshaws. These GPS devices will further be connected to a government server. Among the many purposes it is expected to serve, the device will track the journeys the rickshaw covers, thereby giving officials a way to check if the drivers are taking the easiest, fastest routes. Also, considering the increasing instances of indecent, rude behavior of the drivers towards the customers, especially female travelers, the monitoring will help the officials nail the guilty.

Appreciatively, the rickshaws will also include a panic button which female passengers can press to raise an alarm, to alert the cops if they sense danger. The move, for now at least has met with stiff resistance from the rickshaw drivers, owing to the high costs of the device. However, the officials have offered them an option of ‘renting’ the SatNav systems. This move comes as an attempt to improve the services of the three-wheelers in the busy metro of New Delhi, which accounts for good manners, professional behavior, personal hygiene, vehicle maintenance, among others.

Although this does seem to be a great move, considering the amount of dependency that metro dwellers have on their services, it remains to be seen if these services reach the other metros too.

China opens world's longest sea bridge

This photo taken Tuesday, June 21, 2011 released by China's Xinhua news agency shows the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. China opened Thursday, June 30, 2011, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, which is 42 kilometers (26 miles) long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to an offshore island, Huangdao. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yan Runbo)

QIngdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is seen in Qingdao, Shandong province, in this general view taken June 27, 2011. The world's longest sea bridge spanning Jiaozhou Bay of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, opened on Thursday, June 30. The bridge is 36 km (22 miles) long, Xinhua News Agency reported. Picture taken on June 27, 2011. REUTERS/China Daily

.

This photo taken Wednesday, June 29, 2011 released by China's Xinhua news agency shows the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. China opened Thursday, June 30, 2011, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, which is 42 kilometers (26 miles) long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to an offshore island, Huangdao. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yan Runbo)

Al-Qaeda Hacked!-Now what left

The online communication platform of the global militant, Sunni Islamist group, Al-Qaeda was brought down by a group of ‘seasoned’ computer hackers. The militant group has since been unable to manage their flow of videos, and other communications.

Caught off guard..!

According to a report in msnbc.com, Evan Kohlmann, from Flashpoint Global Partners, the firm monitoring Al-Qaeda’s communications, stated that, “Al-Qaeda's online communications have been temporarily crippled and it does not have a single trusted distribution channel available on the Internet.” It was further learned that, the nature of the hack wasn’t like the usual modes, which were observed. Instead, the hack was almost an ‘unusual cocktail of relatively sophisticated techniques’, in Kohlmann’s words. Although, any kind of detail about the hacker(s) is still out of the reach of the investigators, it is for sure that the militant group will take long to get their systems up and running again.

This attack comes a year after Al-Qaeda’s online system suffered a hack attack of a similar nature. At that time, it was found that the U.K. government had replaced the bomb-making recipe on the site, with that of a cup cake. And, even then, it took a while for the militant group to put their site back on track.

Panda Global Protection 2011: All Round Protection!

Since the Internet is used on nearly every PC, there is always a threat of being infected by malware. Licensed anti-viruses offer the best protection to it. With the release of the latest version of Global Protection 2011, Panda seems to be making its mark on the industry.

The list just gets better!

Features
The Global Protection 2011 security suite features an antivirus, firewall, anti-spam protection, parental controls, identity protection, system optimization, backup, multimedia and gaming modes, network manager, file encryption and shredding, remote PC access and safe browsing. The installation of the security suite is pretty simple and so is the user interface.

Performance
The identity protection module is quite awesome; enabling the feature pops up a message asking you permissions for sending critical information such as username, passwords, bank account numbers, email addresses, PIN and credit card numbers over the Internet. This module is very useful for those using messenger applications. Phishing websites are also blocked depending on the sensitivity settings in the application.

Filter your kiddie's content

The built-in anti-spam feature also works well. It is almost automated and can also be trained by the user for more accuracy. Parental control is not installed by default, but getting it there is a matter of a few seconds. Though the parental control is useful, configuring it can be a little tedious. Another brilliant add-on is the maintenance module, which allows you to wipe out crucial cached information such as IE history, cookies, temporary files, etc. Also included in the suite is a disk defragmenter and automatic backup feature. The antivirus suite also offers anti-spam and anti-id theft features. We did find the test PC slow down a miniscule amount due to the number modules occupying the system memory, but considering the protection it offers, it is worth the wait.

Verdict
The Panda Global Protection 2011 is priced at Rs.1, 299 (Single PC). Considering the expanse of protection it offers, which includes protection against virus, spams, as also lending parental controls, identity protection, system optimization, backup, multimedia and gaming modes, the price shouldn’t be a constraint.

Netgear NeoTV 550 - Geared to Entertain

Netgear is an established brand when it comes to networking solutions. They’ve been exploring into other avenues out of which, HD media player is one. This is a product segment that’s been mostly dominated by large data storage solution companies and many smaller, lesser known brands. While products from the larger companies are more refined, it’s the smaller brands that have products that are closer to the hearts of movie enthusiasts. Netgear makes its entry into the Indian market with their NeoTV 550 player.

Features
The NeoTV 550 comes with a wide variety of connectivity options. Apart from the two USB 2.0 drives, there’s also an eSATA port that can be used to attach hard drives to it. There’s also an SD memory card reader at the front along with the power on button. Ethernet connectivity is also available. In terms of connectivity, it’s got most of the features covered. HDMI, Component and an AV port are available. Built-in wireless connectivity would have been pretty neat as well.

Memory card reader at the front

The NeoTV 550 supports the standard set of formats that we’re used to. There’s even support for formats such as FLAC, which till sometime back was available only to a few media players.

Most media players have a compact remote control but the NeoTV 550's is a full-fledged one that has a ton of controls that work well with the interface of the player. The remote has the standard controls and it also lets you make text entries with ease like you would with a non-QWERTY mobile phone. There are quick access buttons for the different kinds of media, as well and buttons to switch audio sources and tweak subtitle settings. The primary playback buttons are isolated and placed at the bottom half of the remote control.

Complete in terms of connectivity

The Netgear NeoTV has one of the best looking interfaces around. It’s simple, but the colours used and the menu layouts are really quite impressive. There is an easy-to-use setup wizard which can get the player up and running in a minute or two.

The interface like all other media players has menus to switch between different types of media as well as be able to browse the storage drives freely. Internet content is also supported. There’s support for Youtube, which works rather well as well as Flickr, RSS feeds and video streams. A Shoutcast directory is also available. Using the remote control to enter search keywords is also really easy. It’s a more efficient way of typing than having to move the cursor on an on-screen keyboard.

There are plenty of neat features while watching movies and listening to music. For example, fast forwarding and skipping is really simple. The remote lets you quickly slide anywhere in the movie within seconds without having to press the fast forward button multiple times. While streaming videos, you also see an indicator that displays the status of the caching of the video. Tweaking of the look and position of the subtitles is also possible. There are also some advanced features which may not be needed. You can for example, view details about a video’s format and codecs

Design and Build Quality
The player is larger than most players in the market. The build quality of the player is decent and it comes with a stand so you can place it either vertically or leave it sitting horizontally. There’s even provision for wall mounting the player. You could set it up on a wall right next your PC.

Provision for wall mounting the player

The product is light weight and has a large vent at the center of the player. Netgear could have shrunk down the player by a bit. The remote control has the right weight and feel to it and it performs really well with the player.

Performance
The NeoTV 550 works well with all video and audio formats that we used. We only faced a problem with the 1080 60fps video file. There was some fine stuttering motion that was visible with this video clip. We had no problems running this video on all previous media players that we tested. You’re unlikely to be playing 60 fps as almost all movies today are recorded in the 24 fps or 30 fps format.

Browsing through the menus and listing of files in large folders and drives is also easy.  Response is instantaneous and scrolling is also smooth. The player was stable all throughout except for once, where it hung and had to be reset.

Verdict
We were thoroughly impressed by the Netgear NeoTV 550. It’s a solid player that handles media very well. The very elegantly designed interface is also a thing to look at. Netgear has priced the NeoTV 550 at Rs.14,649, which is a lot of money.

A somewhat bulky, but effective home entertainment solution

There are players that offer more features, but the Netgear offers the features that matter the most and it runs those really well. If you’re looking for a no-frills HD media player for your home and are willing to spend that extra bit, you won’t go wrong with the Netgear NeoTV 550.

NIC Servers and Indian Army Official Website Hacked

We last reported about the hack outfit, Anonymous, hacking into the data of National Informatics Centre (NIC). Today, it has been learned that the official website of the Indian Army has been brought down owing to a successful hack attempt by Anonymous.

A screenshot of the data compromised..

In addition to the official site of the Indian Army, Anonymous also managed to bring down the entire server of the NIC. The group addressed a letter to the Indian government citing the hack to be an answer to the rising instances of corruption in the country.

The letter, addressed to the Indian government reads:

We are Anonymous Again.

To the People of India and Government,

You Have Underestimated the Power of people.You thought First NIC Hack by Anonymous was Playful act, "THINK AGAIN".

We are not here to Play with anyone.We are here to send a Message to all the people who support the Anti-corruption bill. We took Down Indian Army Officail Site and NIC knows more what we did.We do not support anyone, We Support Only The Anti-Corruption Bill.No one can speak for Anonymous, Nothing is Official.

We are Not the "FALME", We are just a "SPARK".Stop Your Brutal Voilence and Blame games.Anonymous are the people.

We do not forget.
We do not forgive.
We are legion.
Expect us

Additionally, the outfit claims to have access to all data stored on the NIC servers, and has threatened to leak all of it. Anonymous has also posted a video press release addressed to the government criticising the corrupt, and laid-back nature of the Indian government, and has stated their hacks as attempts to better the situation in the country, and ensure the success of the Anti-corruption bill. To view the video, click below:



Source: The Hacker News

Prithvi-II successfully flight-tested

 Nuclear weapons-capable, surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile on Thursday was successfully flight-tested for its full range of 350 km by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) personnel.

The nine-metre tall Prithvi-II, the first indigenously built surface-to-surface strategic missile, was fired from a mobile launcher from Launch Complex-III at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Orissa. It achieved a high degree of accuracy and zeroed-in on the pre-designated target in the Bay of Bengal with a CEP (Circular Error Probability) of less than 10 meters.

The flight test met all the mission objectives and was like a text-book launch.

A battery of radars, electro-optical telemetry stations and a naval ship located near the impact point tracked and monitored the entire event, including the missile's trajectory and final splash down.

The missile was picked up randomly from the production lot and the launch operations were carried out by SFC personnel and monitored by scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Capability

The single-stage, liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II that is capable of carrying payloads ranging from 500-1,000 kg had been inducted into the armed forces. It is equipped with a high accuracy inertial navigation system with sophisticated on-board control and guidance. It could be launched from anywhere with its mobile launcher having user-driven features.

Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister V.K. Saraswat, who witnessed the launch, congratulated the armed forces and scientists for the successful flight-test. V.L.N. Rao, programme director, AD, S.K. Ray, Director, Research Centre Imarat and top officials of the SFC and DRDO were present during the mission.

In December last, two Prithvi-II missiles were successfully test-fired for different ranges within a span of one hour.

Cloned cow in Argentina to produce “human milk”

Argentinian scientists have introduced modified genes in a cloned calf that are to cause it to produce a kind of human breast milk when it grows up.

The cow named Rosita ISA had two human genes introduced, which guide the production of two proteins contained in human milk and which are important for the nutrition of babies, Argentina’s National Institute of Agrobusiness Technology near Buenos Aires said Thursday.

When the cow is fully grown, it was expected to give milk similar to that of humans. It would contain lactoferrin and lysozyme, which offer infants better antibacterial and antiviral protection than the normal cow’s milk provides.

The calf was born on April 6, and scientists would have to wait about two years before it gives birth and produces milk.

Magnetic bubbles fill edge of solar system

  

The edge of the solar system is filled with a turbulent sea of magnetic bubbles, astronomers said Thursday.

The finding changes ideas about the distant region and how the rest of the galaxy interacts with the solar system.

The two Voyager spacecraft, which have spent more than three decades travelling toward the outer boundaries of our solar system, found unexpected changes in the magnetic field that extends outward from the Sun. This discovery was made once they reached the heliosheath, as the outer part of the solar system is called.

The long sausage-shaped magnetic bubbles are approximately 160 million kilometres wide. A computer model was used to crunch data from the spacecraft to postulate their existence, as they cannot be seen with the eye.

They make the area very turbulent, “just like the bubbliest parts of your jacuzzi,” said University of Maryland astronomer James Drake.

The finding means that damaging galactic cosmic rays entering the solar system from the rest of the galaxy must first pass through the sea of bubbles, causing them to bounce around like inside a pinball machine before finally entering the solar system.

Scientists have long measured the rays, which can have damaging health effects for astronauts, but this could change theories about the rays and how they reach us from interstellar space.

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 reached the heliosheath in the past decade and are still travelling through it.

Twitter + The Peanuts = Mad Hilarity

The Peanuts was always a comic that humorized the sad state of the world. Twitter does that too, in many ways. What happens when two good things merge? Maybe a pile of awesome?

Commenting on life itself

Presenting Peanutweeter. The man behind the site, T. Jason Agnello basically takes tweets from his timeline that he finds funny/awesome and uses them in panels of Charles Schultz's The Peanuts. What results is some mad hilarity. The comics can be accessed at his @Peanutweeter Twitter account and his Tumblr blog. To get tweets, Agnello goes through his own Twitter feed and engages in follower hopping to find tweets to illustrate.

Star Wars is a recurring theme

Incidentally, Agnello also runs the Death Star Helpdesk Twitter account and a lot of the Peanutweeter panels end up having Star Wars references

Osama's Secret Computer Drive Stash Found

What can one expect to find in the hidden stash of someone who was once the most feared face of terror on the globe?

The secret stash..

Post the Sunday showdown that killed the Al – Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, soldiers of the US Navy SEAL managed to lay hands on what they nicknamed ‘the mother lode of intelligence’. A bunch of computer drives and disks that were recovered might unlock the mystery on Al – Qaeda’s operations and provide other clinching evidences. However, at the moment this seems to be a far – fetched thought since, the information at hand might just be encrypted. The US officials fear the usage of the AES-256, an encryption method which, if used correctly, would make it potentially impossible to crack any sooner, at least not till the age of the universe. These fears aren’t baseless, and are most likely a possibility.

Last year, in an edition of Al – Qaeda’s magazine, Inspire an article appeared that explained in detail the methodology of using a piece of encryption software known as Asrar al-Mujahideen 2.0, which uses AES-256 along with other encryption methods. Usually, the officials would force the person in question to blurt out the password, but, with Osama having exited the picture completely, the lane of options seems to have grown frighteningly narrower for US in particular, and the world, in general.

A known alternative would be the ‘backdoor’ to the encryption scheme. However, now, its only the NSA that could reveal further.

Wolfram Reveals His CDF Plans at Inspire

The PDF (Portable Document Format) now has competition in the making. Conrad Wolfram plans to unveil the CDF, soon. The CDF or the Computable Document Format is under a developing process now. But, at the technology conference in London, Inspire; Wolfram shared his game plan.

What about PDF?

At the conference, Wolfram spoke at length on the creation of, what he calls ‘better tools to illustrate information and let the reader discover new information’. The CDF format, unlike the PDF would allow users to play around with not only the text on the documents, but also the graphics which Wolfram claims, will give them the power to create something better. Their text files will be compatible enough with graphs and other figures and also leave room for editing, if need be – a feature absent in the PDF by Adobe. The CDF also aims at aiding students in educational institutions with the creation of digital textbooks or other innovations.

The major benefit that the CDF would bring to the table, and helps it separate itself from the PDF is the freedom to make changes to the existing document. Wolfram cited multi-usability of the CDF format by media professionals, students, and regular users. However, much cannot be stated before the CDF makes a final appearance. But, does this mean the end of the road for the PDF?

YouTube Box Office Launched in India

Popular destination for videos, YouTube is all set to become a popular destination for movies, too. The immensely popular video viewing site, YouTube has in partnership with Intel launched YouTube Box Office. This latest channel on YouTube will be the destination for free movies of premium quality. Intel, the presenting sponsor of this initiative will get in one Bollywood or regional language movie on this channel for the entertainment of YouTube users, each month.

Grab some popcorn!

At present, YouTube’s catalog of movies runs as long as 1500, which includes both Bollywood and regional content. The channel, for this month would feature the hit movie, Band Bajaa Baraat. Head on to: www.youtube.com/boxoffice to enjoy this movie, all this month for free.  This service is available only in India, and this service will be IP blocked for those living outside.

Indian astronaut to walk on Moon in 2025: Kalam

Bangalore: Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam hoped an Indian astronaut would walk on the Moon in 2025 and on Mars by 2035.

"I believe an Indian astronaut will walk on the Moon in 2025 and on Mars by 2035. The Indian space agency should attempt to put an Indian on Moon and Mars between 2025 and 2035," Kalam said at a function here.

Releasing a book titled "All About Rockets", authored by advisor to the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) S.K. Das, Kalam said Indian space scientists should innovate cutting-edge technologies to reduce the cost of access to space to $2,000 per kg from the current $20,000 per kg.

"Low cost access to space is the way forward. The challenge for the Indian space scientists is to reduce the launch cost to $2,000 per kg from $20,000 per kg currently by using nanotechnology and reusable single-engine stage launches," Kalam told ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan and directors of the space agency's various space centres who were present on the occasion.

Recalling his long association with the space agency and his involvement in the failures and successful launches of the first satellite launch vehicle (SLV) and the subsequent polar satellite launch vehicles (PSLVs), Kalam said space was another destination for man's quest for renewable energy.

"One of the spin-offs I foresee from space technology is to innovate a low-cost energy solution. We are already using solar energy to power satellites to orbit around the Earth and run its various payloads (instruments). We need to innovate a solution to transfer the solar-generated energy to earth and store it in the form of power cells or batteries that can be used as renewable energy," Kalam pointed out.

Regretting that India has been a laggard in achieving breakthroughs in rocket launches, building satellites or supercomputers, Kalam said the country should overcome the status of being a "fourth or fifth nation syndrome" to becoming the first country in cracking space technology and ICT (information and communication technology) through innovation and research.

"After every successful launch of a rocket or satellite, India is ranked as the fourth or fifth nation in the world to have achieved success or breakthrough in space technology. It is time for us to overcome the fourth or fifth nation syndrome and be the first among equals if we have to become a superpower. We can do it," Kalam added.