'Classroom Revolutionaries'

Indian-origin CEO of Datawind and MIT professor among

Forbes' top 15 education innovators list.

Indian-origin CEO of Datawind, the maker of India's low-cost tablet Aakash, Suneet Singh Tuli and Massachusettes Institute of Technology professor Anant Agarwal have been named by Forbes magazine among the 15 "classroom revolutionaries" who are using innovative technologies to reinvent education for students and teachers globally.

The Forbes list names 15 education innovators who are "harnessing a slew of disruptive technologies to change everything from the way we teach grade school math to how we train the next generation of teachers."

The publication said Tuli(44)) is the " mastermind" behind the world's cheapest tablet computer Aakash, "which has the potential to revolutionise educational access in the developing world."

Datawind has a backlog of "millions" of orders for the 35 dollar Aakash tablet. The publication quoted Tuli as saying that "I don't care about creating the iPad killer. I care about the 3 billion people who can afford this device."

Agarwal, 53, a professor of computer science at MIT is also the President of edX, the new combined online offerings of Harvard, MIT, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas.

Over 400,000 are currently enrolled in the education programme. "We've created dramatic access to learning for students worldwide. By reinventing online learning, we can dramatically improve what we do on campus," Agarwal, who took over as head of edX in May this year, said.

"EdX continues to up the ante by increasing partners, classes (seven to dozens for spring 2013) and innovations, such as virtual laboratories," Forbes added.

Datawind had won the tender in 2010 to supply one lakh Aakash tablets for a price of around 49 dollars per unit. A new version of the tablet PC, featuring one Ghz processor, four-hour battery time, capacitive screen and Android 4.0 operating system, is expected to be launched in India on November 11.

Among the other education innovators on the list is Salman Khan, the Bangladeshi-American founder of Khan Academy, the revolutionary online education platform.

The 36 year old M.I.T. and Harvard alumnus has so far created 3,400 videos, mostly science and math tutorials, that have been watched by more than 200 million people. Khan Academy's YouTube channel has more than 400,000 subscribers.

Lenovo launches all-in-one desktop at Rs 26,000

Computer maker Lenovo today said it has launched a compact all-in-one desktop targeted at small businesses. The new product called 'ThinkCentre Edge 62Z' is an option for traditional desktop users who are looking at a clutter-free workspace with integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, Lenovo said in a statement.

The leading personal computer maker in the country said the product is priced at Rs 26,000, excluding taxes, and can save 65 per cent of workspace as compared to a traditional desktop.

The device is armed with a 2nd Generation Intel Core i3-2120 processor, and has 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz. The all-in-one desktop has an 18.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The PC has a 500GB hard disk.

Doodle 4 Google India 2012 winner honoured on Children's Day...!!

Today, on Children's Day, Google has displayed a colourful and creative Doodle 4 Google India 2012 on its homepage created by Arun Kumar Yadav, a student of class 9 Kendriya Vidyalaya, Chandigarh. 

Arun Kumar Yadav is the winner of Doodle 4 Google India 2012 contest that invites young and talented students in grades K-12 to design doodles using their creativity and imagination considering Google's homepage as the canvas. This year, the search engine giant was seeking for captivating and symbolic doodles that signify India's " Unity in Diversity" and best reflect the diverse cultures and uniqueness of India. 

The theme of Doodle 4 Google India 2012 is 'India: A prism of multiplicity' 

On October, this year, Google invited enthusiastic participants between the ages of 5-16 years to design and create a logo. 

And after much evaluation, the judges gave their verdict by voting Arun Kumar Yadav's doodle as the national winner. 

Google has also declared the category winners of the competition. 

Category Winners: 

Class 1-3: 

Vasudevan Deepak, Devgiri CMI Public School, Calicut 

The Great Banyan 

Class 4-7: 

Shravya Manjunath, Mitra Academy, Bangalore 

Unity in dance disperses vibrant colours 

Class 8-10: 

S. Preetham Paul, Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, T.P.T. Branch, Vishakhapatnam 

Striding Forward the Unity

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

the latest version of Android is hitting the Google Nexus 7 tablet and Galaxy Nexus smartphone right now.

So if you're the proud owner of either, you should be able to get your hands on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

It's not all quite as simple as one rollout though. No, that would be too easy.

Selected models

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is only available for the unlocked HSPA+ model that's sold through Google Play. So far, anyway.

But if you've no qualms about flashing a ROM yourself, you can download the files you need from Google and get fiddling. It shouldn't be long until the update hits other Galaxy Nexus handsets though.

Things are a bit simpler with the Nexus 7. You should get a notification of the update any day now, but if you can't wait, you can prompt it yourself manually. 

To do so, turn off the Wi-Fi, go to Settings > Apps list > All > Google Services Framework. Clear the cache, and hit Force stop. Reactivate the Wi-Fi, go to Settings > About tablet > System, and the update should be there staring back at you, ready for download.

So what will Android 4.2 get you? Improved stability and performance are the order of the day, as well as user profiles, so everyone can log in under their own name and personalise settings to their liking. Gesture typing means you just slide your finger across the keyboard rather than hitting keys, a bit like Swype.

Have you downloaded the update yet? How are you getting on? Let us know.

Akash-2

 Akash 2 : New to Market

Aakash 2 tablet at Rs 1,130 for students

Akash 2 a tough player in low cost tablet battle.....

Lets take a look at the below spec comparison between Aakash 2 and Funbook Alpha and observe how they stack up against each other to win the tablet race. 

Display: At an undisclosed dimensions by their respective manufacturers, both the tablets sport a 7 inch capacitive touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution. 

Processor: Speaking of processor, Alpha is powered by the single-core 1 GHz processor and Mali 400 GPU. On the other end, Aakash 2 processor is better, that is dual core Cortex A9 processor clocked at 1Ghz. 

Operating System: Being budget devices, Aakash 2 and Funbook Alpha are flavored with the Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. 

Camera: On the camera optics front, both the tablets are equipped with basic front facing VGA cameras for video calling and they lack a rear camera for taking pictures or other multimedia activities. 

Memory: In terms of storage, the tablets have 512MB RAM and a micro SD card for expandable memory support up to 32GB. Fuhter, both the tablets also house the same internal memory capacity ie. 4GB storage. 

Connectivity: Funbook Alpha and Aakash 2 both come with basic connectivity features such as Wi-Fi, 3G through dongle, Bluetooth and micro USB 2.0 port. 

Battery: As far as the battery backup is concerned, there is a little difference in both the tablets. While, Micromax Funbook Alpha is loaded with a 2,800 mAh battery, on the other end, Aakash 2 scores higher with its 3,000 mAh Li-ion battery reportedly claimed to be delivering 3 hours of normal operation. 

Verdict

Well the verdict is very simple over here, as Aakash 2 UbiSlate 7Ci possess all the key specification which are present in Micromax Funbook Alpha at a lower price and better battery backup. 

However, in the end, everything depends on the availability of the product. While Funbook Alpha is already present in the market, there is no word on when will Aakash 2 reach the retail shelves. Aakash tablets already have a bad image when it comes to delivery and service quality of their tablets, a part being a government product after all.