18 TECH-À-TETE THE TIMES OF INDIA, BANGALORE

MONDAY, DECEMBER 6 | 2010

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TECHNO BITS
IMPORTING SONGS
There are many who love their iPod
but hate iTunes. They find it too
confusing, resource-heavy and

PUBLIC SERVICES
functionally restricted. iTunes doesn’t
even allow songs to be exported from
iPod to computer. But several third-
party programs give iPod-users
options unavailable through iTunes.

© ImageZoo/Corbis

Yamini Nair | TNN

A
diti Ray, an advertising professional
in Bangalore, was pleasantly sur- Now you can view your ECG on your Android phone
prised when she applied for a pass-
port online. She found the process
smooth and orderly. “After choos-
ing my interview time and date and with all
my papers in order, I went for my interview.
High-tech health
It lasted just 40 minutes. No touts, no delays,” Kavita Kukday-Deb like the flashing light, this won’t
she happily recounts. stop until the cap is unscrewed.

SharePod is one of them. It is a
lightweight, feature-rich program.
Sharing songs between computer and
iPod couldn’t be easier. There is drag-
and-drop support, an option to back-
up the iPod, edit playlists and tags.
Users who feel at home with Windows
and its folder-based navigation will
find SharePod particularly easy due to
the low-level control it gives to the
syncing process.
GYMING MADE EASIER
Apps have become the primary
feature of our time now that
smartphones
increasingly
make their
way into
people’s
pockets.
Apps that
teach how to
cook,
translate
foreign
languages,
show you the
way in an
alien city –
they’re all available on Android
smartphones. JEFIT is an app that
aims to be your exercise buddy. Its
app organizes exercises in different
muscle groups, making it easy for
users to choose the right one for
them. JEFIT has a custom-built
exercise regime for beginners and also
allows users to build their own
schedule. Its best feature is the
animation alongside each exercise so
that users learn the right way to do it.
This is particularly handy for
beginners who might injure
themselves by exercising in the wrong
way. JEFIT can be downloaded from
the Market, which is preinstalled on
Android phones.
Javed Anwer
Deepanjali Bhas would agree. She nor-
mally lives in Delhi but just last month, ap-
plied for passport renewal in Bangalore. She
was impressed by the Passport Seva Kendra,
describing “everything” as very “well laid-
out”. She adds that “the staff was pleasant,
there were refreshment and photostat facili-
ties and even a baby care room”.
But not everyone is so satisfied with the
union of official and online. Chennai student
Sumayya Rasheed complains that the UGC
offers the chance to apply online for the Na-
tional Eligibility Test and Junior Research
Fellowship, even as it insists hard copies of
documents be submitted. “This defeats the
purpose of online application,” she says.
Having said that, the Passport Kendra that
floored Deepanjali Bhas, shows the way to go.
It is a pilot project in collaboration with Tata
Consultancy Services, is just one of many
technological initiatives by the Central and
state governments to transform the lives of
citizens. For some, it is blissful to forget the
old days – of long queues and multiple visits
to government offices.
One of the early success stories was the
online railway booking service. Today, more
tickets are booked in this way than at reser-
vation counters. The PAN card can be applied
for from the comfort of your home; phone bills
paid; bank balances checked and income tax
returns filed. Many of these online tasks can
be executed using any of the various payment
options – debit card, credit card, netbanking.
Pratyush Jatwani, who works in market-
ing in Bangalore, says he pays his telephone
bill online, checks his cash balance with SBI
on the net and pays property tax through the
Municipal Corporation website. “They are all
very user-friendly,” he says.
But Riyad Rasheed, CEO of IT company
dWise Solutions & Services, says some of the
early movers, like the railway booking web-
site, have allowed themselves to get decrepit.
He suggests a major revamp, with a “smart
use of IT solutions”. Rasheed offers an in-
teresting example: “It is technically possible,
for example, to buy platform tickets on the
mobile by sending an SMS.”
For now though, Suresh Kaimal, who
works in finance, says he is happy he never
has to queue for a railway ticket. “(The web-
site) is good though slow at times,” he says.
Of course, railway bookings are one of the
LOG ON...
For income tax payments and PAN card
application: www.incometax.gov.in
To file tax returns:
www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
To book railway tickets: www.irctc.co.in
For passport related work:
www.passportindia.gov.in
most obvious services to go online. Some states
have started to think about doing much more
and Karnataka is one of those that has actu-
ally done so. The BangaloreOne project, for
example, allows people to pay electricity, wa-
ter and phone bills online; apply for bus pass-
es and birth and death certificates. It has be-
come a huge success, says Kumudavally H S,
assistant director in the directorate of elec-
tronic delivery of citizen services. He reels
off the numbers: “The number of users of
BangaloreOne centres increased from 19.31
lakh in 2005-06 to 96.09 lakh in 2009-10.” He
adds that the city plans to increase the num-
ber of one-stop online centres “from the cur-
rent 65 to 100, and also have vans – ‘B1 on
Wheels’ – on the outskirts.”
E-services can be of great help to villages
as well. The Agricultural Marketing Infor-
mation System Network, an online initia-
tive by the directorate of marketing and in-
spection, links important produce market-
ing committees, state marketing boards and
regional offices across the country. Product
prices are available on the website daily and
in regional languages too. Farmers can also
get information online on seeds, fertilizers
and the weather from block development of-
ficers, says a senior official of the National
Informatics Centre.
However, some major services still remain
firmly off-line, especially property and vehi-
cle registration. These are particularly cor-
rupt sectors. Even so, in Maharashtra, new
vehicles can be registered at the showroom
itself. Kanpur City Corporation uses a geo-
graphical information system to identify prop-
erty, which is seen to be a step closer towards
online registration.
P
icture this. A microchip
inside your diabetes pill
wirelessly tells the doctor
exactly when you last had your
medication and what your
blood sugar level is. Sounds far-
fetched? On the contrary. Wire-
less technology is increasingly
helping to keep people health-
ier. Here are some technologi-
cal advances that might just
revolutionize health care…
Smart pills and sensors | On Oc-
tober 6, Proteus Biomedical
(www.proteusbiomed.com)
launched digestible sensors to
help doctors monitor the effect
of a pill on a patient’s body.
When the silicon and metal sen-
sor inside the tablet comes in
contact with fluids in the stom-
ach, it turns itself ‘on’ and
transmits a faint radio signal.
This is picked up by a small re-
ceiver patch attached to the
skin and records the date and
time the pill was ingested, the
type of drug in it and dosage.
This data can be sent to your
doctor on a regular basis.
Smart bottles | GlowCap Connect
(www.vitality.net) is ideal for
the forgetful patient because it
ensures you take your pills on
time. It has a smart screw-on
cover, with sensors and a wire-
less transmitter, for
medicine bottles.
The cap can be
programmed
in order that
it flashes au-
tomatically
when it’s time
for a dose. If
the patient ig-
nores that, the
bottle emits a
sound alert
half-an-hour
later – and un-
The smartest medicine bottle
in the world can also be pro-
grammed to make automated
calls to a home telephone num-
ber as a dosage reminder.
Modern band aid | Gone are the
days when medicated adhesive
tape was about tending to cuts
and bruises and nothing more.
Nowadays, many companies
such as Sotera Wireless
(www.soterawireless.com) are
developing ‘smart tape’ tech-
nology that collates data and
sends it to doctors. These in-
clude heart rate, perspiration,
body position and even blood
pressure. The tape communi-
cates with a gateway, just like
a smartphone does, using Blue-
tooth and 3G networks.
Matters of the heart | Remote
ECG’s have been around for a
while, but Corventis PiiX
(www.corventis.com) has made
the first wireless remote mon-
itoring sensor that will ping
your doctor as soon as it detects
a heart problem. It’s the size of
a pack of gum and can be worn
under the clothes. There’s also
a low-power mobile heart-mon-
itoring system developed by the
Imec and Holst Centre
(www.holstcentre.com) which
lets the patient view an ECG
on an Android phone.
And the others | Then there are
companies which have spe-
cialized smartphone apps
such as AirStrip OB that en-
able obstetricians to view
foetal and maternal heart
rates. Intel is studying wire-
less devices for the elderly.
‘Magic carpet’, for example,
has embedded sensors and
records the weight, angle and
pressure of the patient’s steps
and prevent falls.

Tales of two INNOVATORS Random hacks

Vrajabala S V | TNN

Huntington (California): In-

tel Capital recently made ear-
ly-stage investments of $7.9 mil-
stepped in with his brain-
child, Buzz In Town. “You give
people a bucket of choices,
and let them decide what they
want to watch.”
of kindness
Mini Joseph Tejaswi | TNN Random Hacks of Kindness sualize landslide risk, and to
lion in 18 companies spread This unique trait of the (RHoK), a global collaborative help guide urban and rural de-
across 11 countries. Of these, website — a one-stop-for-all- Bangalore: The telecom net- supported by tech giants like velopment is currently being
two were from India. For one of weekenders — caught the at- work is the common casualty of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, piloted by the World Bank in
them, it was the first VC in- tention of Intel Capital. This every natural calamity or man- NASA and the World Bank. the Caribbean Islands.
vestment, for the other, it was a year, the strategic investment made tragedy that takes place India hosted its first RHoK The World Bank has been
follow-on investment. Here are arm of Intel has pumped in anywhere across the globe. last week, and it brought to- collecting, studying and
the tales of the two companies, fresh funds. The moment a disaster gether dozens of volunteer analysing data on landslides,
which give an idea why Intel Where Buzz In Town strikes, people start calling up software developers, internet soil conditions, terrains and
found them interesting enough scores over others is in de- their families, friends and col- experts and disaster risk man- rail falls in multiple geogra-
to invest in. tails. There’s a clear-cut cat- leagues to check if everyone agement solution experts. The phies. This data was combined
egorization of events, no art is safe. This quick release of two-day hackathon focused on with algorithms created and fi-
ALTHEA SYSTEMS space is left uncovered, and traffic instantly clogs the tele- creating software solutions nally the matrix was project-
One is almost tempted to call there’s a dedicated team of com infrastructure, hamper- that can help mitigate or re- ed onto a map that reflected
him a start-up freak. Throw- writers and reviewers who ing the rescue, relief and re- spond to disasters around the which geography is more or
ing away a lucrative IBM job will feature the event before habilitation operations, which world and help save lives. less prone to landslides.
around the turn of the cen- and after. Thus, surfers get a also requires communication.
tury, Vinod Gopinath chose to taste of the event much be- A group of young techies
follow his heart. Convinced fore they plan it see it. Buzz from California has developed
that a big-company culture re- In Town features 19 Indian a solution to such network
stricts one’s ability to inno- cities, including Bangalore jams. It is a freely download-
vate, Vinod hopped on to the and New Delhi, and 16 in the able application that sits on
start-up wagon — little-heard US and Canada. “Our reach your smart phone as an addi-
of companies that led inno- is widespread. Those staying tional icon. It allows you to add
vation in gesture-recognition in North America and Cana- your favourite telephone num-
da, too, can plan their week- bers, email addresses and IDs
Amit Saran heads Buzz In Town ends by looking up our web- of social networking sites. If
site. We upload detailed itin- you are disaster-hit, simply
Sagar — from his covery platform made sense erary. On the web, there’s no type in your message and press
previous compa- as it enabled our users to space constraint, and that’s the IMOK (I am ok) icon. Your
ny and his neigh- watch video from their per- an advantage.” message gets delivered to all
bour, Rajnish, sonalized video feeds not just As the business grew from those pre-entered numbers
with the idea of on their notebooks but on being an event e-zine to the and internet IDs, via the near-
creating software smart phones, tablets and one that offers a bouquet, in- est server.
that interacts di- smart TVs.” cluding book launch, music In January this year, the A PACK OF HACKERS (DOERS): Front row: Srinivas Molli,
rectly with the He tied up funds from an- concerts, movies and food fes- World Bank deputed a team entrepreneur, Bayan Ansari, Std 9 student, Avantika Thakur,
end-user. Mil- gel investors, and most re- tivals, Buzz In Town launched to Chile to ascertain the post student, National Law School, also intern with the World Bank,
lions of surfers cently with Intel Capital. BUZZ IN TOWN group buying too. The web- quake situation. An after- Todd Khozein, founder, SecondMuse, Ahlam Ansari, MBA
aimlessly trawl What swung the deal was the All dressed up and nowhere site tied up with many hang- shock, measuring 6.3 on the student, and Shruti Reddy, MBA student. Back row: Dr Selva
the internet look- right mix of a video-discov- to go. That pretty sums up a outs and restaurants to offer richter scale, hit the building Sekaran, ophthalmologist, Padi Yadaganagi, director, Rabbani
ing for videos ery platform and a rich im- working couple’s weekend the best deal. Somewhere the team was staying. Soon Institute of Rural Education, Praveen Selvasekaran, consultant
they like. With mersive video experience on plans as they’re torn between along the line, online and tick- there was a news flash to the with IBM, Nandita Dhindsa, a clean tech entrepreneur
thousands of the client. Encrypted in this a long drive to a resort on the eting, too, got ingrained in the office of the World Bank head-
hours of video was an acknowledgement city outskirts and an event website’s DNA. Amitabh says, quarters, which was quickly “Collective intelligence is “Such information can save
being uploaded that online video “is the next they may not like so much, “We currently have 2.5 mil- followed by a message “we are strength. We believe that cre- lots of lives. The Chile earth-
every day, how do big thing”. Vinod now heads but may end up going there. lion subscribers, and our all safe’’ sent by the team head ative and cooperative use of quake was 5,000 times more
they decide what a 12-member team in his What the couple wouldn’t re- Facebook page has 2.7 lakh from Chile using the IMOK technology can help make the powerful than the one that hit
to watch? Vinod Bangalore office each with alize is many events might be followers, making it one of application. world a better place,’’ said Vint Haiti. But while Chile report-
saw a market in just a laptop and a wi-fi con- taking place right in the the top 10. Intel Capital has Realising the potential of Cerf, often called the father of ed a loss of 250 people, over
this: a cloud- nection. The servers “are lo- vicinity. been offering us help and this technology, the state of the internet and chief inter- 250,000 people perished in
based video dis- cated up there, in the cloud”, Amitabh Saran, who had guidance through our jour- California is gearing up to do net evangelist in Google. Haiti. Because, Chile had data
covery platform he says, his hands reaching worked with several technol- ney. Many of our stress and a ‘drill’ involving 1 million peo- The event gives hackers the on its quake-prone areas, so
Vinod Gopinath heads Althea Systems that aggregates up almost to the ceiling. “I ogy companies, started Buzz load testing was done in Intel ple. “That’s the kind of speed opportunity to use their skills they could avoid such zones or
videos from sev- don’t have to worry about In Town, a website, in 2007-08 laboratories.” with which easily-deployable for a noble cause with the guid- take extra care while building
and motion-sensing software eral sites and helps users cut storage capacity or backup. when he saw a dearth of in- Amitabh says the con- technologies that directly im- ance of experts who under- there,’’ said Khozein.
for handheld devices, wi-fi sil- through the clutter by filter- If I need more, I reach out to formation on entertainment. sumer space is growing. pact lives and people is find- stand the real world challenges. Similar hackathons are
icon with beam-forming tech- ing the videos on their in- the cloud.” Every newspaper and website “This segment will see a lot ing adoption,’’ says Todd “We are looking forward to see- concurrently being held in
nology and error-resilient mo- terests, profile and social Intel Capital, he says, has in the town publishes events of traction. We believe in dy- Khozein, an agent of Second ing how technology can give cities around the world, in-
bile TV chipsets. graph so they can spend the ability to connect Althea happening in the week; but namic infor mation on en- Muse, an organization that in- people and organizations the cluding Atlanta, Chicago, New
His hunger for innovation more time watching video with almost any Fortune 500 these are indicative, not ex- tertainment, lifestyle and spires innovation through col- tools to improve disaster relief York, San Francisco, Toronto,
then saw him attempt some- than searching for it. company. Althea’s Shufflr is haustive. Who applies the fil- leisure for our viewers. Sta- laborative methods. efforts and help save lives,’’ Denmark, Berlin, Birming-
thing different: he started a Vinod says, “We always all about online video guid- ter to edit out certain events tic data is not our forte.” The team that developed said Raymie Stata, CTO, Yahoo. ham, Jakarta, Nairobi, Lusa-
company, which he called knew video would be con- ance and social discovery: appearing in dailies and web- (This correspondent was in this smartphone solution is Another tool, from a Wash- ka, Mexico City, Mexico, Bo-
Althea Systems, with two of sumed on multiple screens. you don’t go looking for sites, and by what yardstick? Huntingtown, California, on part of a social, safety and sus- ington DC team of RHoK, that gota, Buenos Aires, Singapore
his colleagues — Kishore and Hence, a cloud-based dis- videos, videos will find you.” That’s where Amitabh Intel Capital’s invitation) tainability movement called allows engineers to easily vi- and Tel Aviv.