Microsoft coming in ad network

In an attempt to catch-up with rivals including Google and Yahoo, Microsoft has started testing online ads on Live - its new web services network.

Microsoft plans to display ads from around 20 advertisers as part of a year-long trial program, on its network comprising Office Live, email service Windows Live Mail and social networking service MSN Spaces.

Although Microsoft attracts a huge online traffic, the company has lagged behind its rivals in terms of generating ad revenue. Microsoft is hopeful that its Live.com portal will be useful in eventually creating an advertising network.

In a separate announcement, Microsoft has launched the beta version of its Windows Live Family Safety Settings service.

"Family Safety Settings" provides several free tools to work with Windows Live and other Microsoft applications, to offer enhanced safety in PC- and Web-based activities.

The new service incorporates features such as content filtering for the Web, contact management tools for e-communications, online activity reports, etc.

The content filtering feature lets users apply settings like "allow" or "block" to different Web sites or content categories. Contact Management is applicable to Microsoft online communications services, and enables parents to create lists which either allow or restrict children from accessing specific sites. The Online Activity Reports feature makes it possible for parents to access information about what their family members are doing online.

The new service is slated to become available this summer, and will be offered to customers using Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista. Microsoft says that it prefers calling its new product Family Safety Settings rather than Parental Controls, since neither parents nor children are too fond of that particular term.

Apparently as Microsoft does not consider itself an expert in child psychology, the company has teamed up with third party experts such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which was responsible for creating the recommended default settings of the new service. Tie-ups with similar such organizations are in the pipeline.

Microsoft maintains that its aim is to be less intrusive, and to make Family Safety Settings something which will go down well with both parents and kids.

Hp Announced Pen Keyboard for Indian Lang.

HP Labs India Wednesday introduced its pen-based keyboard for Indian languages, including Devanagari (Hindi), Kannada and Tamil.

Priced at Rs 2,000, the gesture-based keyboard helps solve the phonetic language entry problem by allowing users to input text and data with a pen.

The innovative technology also allows any Indian script to be recorded and stored directly on the computer.

"The hi-tech keyboard makes it easier for even non-English speaking people and those who can't type to communicate with others effortlessly. It is meant to bridge the digital divide by simplifying the use of IT," HP Labs India director Ajay Gupta said at a preview of the product here.

Designed and developed at HP Labs India, the keyboard is currently available in Hindi and Kannada scripts along with English fonts.

ATI s new X1800

ATI Technologies has announced the latest entrant to its Radeon X1800 family, the Radeon X1800 GTO.

ATI Technologies says that its Radeon X1800 GTO will deliver outstanding gaming performance, as compared to other graphics options in the same category.

The Radeon X1800 GTO features both high definition rendering (HDR) and anti-aliasing (AA) support, and incorporates the ultra-threaded shader architecture and revolutionary new memory architecture of ATI's award-winning Radeon X1800 XT and Radeon X1800 XL GPUs.

ATI's Radeon X1800 GTO also features the company's Avivo visual technology, which makes it capable of delivering superior high definition video playback and image quality.

Radeon X1800 GTO incorporates features such as 12 pixels shader processors, 256-bit GDDR3 memory interface, 500 MHz core speed, and 1000 MHz memory speed.

Vijay Sharma, director - desktop discrete graphics, ATI, said, "ATI recognizes that there are gamers at every price point, and the Radeon X1800 GTO is a clear price-performance winner. The X1800 GTO is an important addition to the Radeon X1800 series, further strengthening the mid-range market and giving users a powerful gaming card with a range of multimedia functions."

The Radeon X1800 GTO will be available from ATI's add-in-board partners by end March 2006, at a suggested retail price of $249.

Emirats wins Skytrax award

Emirates has once again gained prestigious industry recognition at the 2006 Skytrax Awards for Airline Excellence, taking top honours in the category for Inflight Entertainment Excellence.

Emirates' award-winning entertainment system, "ice" - an acronym for information, communication and entertainment - is now offered on over 35 per cent of the fleet. It offers over 500 channels of entertainment, video and audio on demand, over 40 games and live news headlines, and is available to travellers in every class.

Customers also have access to e-mail and SMS messaging and satellite telephones. On the Emirates A340-500 there is also a WiFi e-mail service available.

Last year Emirates was adjudged the best in this category at the Skytrax World Airline Awards.