Quantum computer slips onto chips

Chips like this one could form the basis for future optical computers

Researchers have devised a penny-sized silicon chip that uses photons to run Shor's algorithm - a well-known quantum approach - to solve a maths problem.

The algorithm computes the two numbers that multiply together to form a given figure, and has until now required laboratory-sized optical computers.

This kind of factoring is the basis for a wide variety of encryption schemes.

The work, reported in Science, is rudimentary but could easily be scaled up to handle more complex computing.

Shor's algorithm and the factoring of large numbers has been a particular case used to illustrate the power of quantum computing.

Quantum computers exploit the counterintuitive fact that photons or trapped atoms can exist in multiple states or "superpositions" at the same time.

For certain types of calculations, that "quantum indeterminacy" gives quantum computers a significant edge.

While traditional or "classical" computers find factoring large numbers impracticably time-consuming, for example, quantum computers can in principle crack the problem with ease.

That has important implications for encryption methods based on factoring, such as the "RSA" method that is used to make transactions on the internet more secure.

'Important step'

Optical computing has been touted as a potential future for information processing, by using packets of light instead of electrons as the information carrier.

But these packets, called photons, are also endowed with the indeterminate properties that make them quantum objects - so an optical computer can also be a quantum computer.

In fact just this kind of photon-based quantum factoring has been accomplished before, but the ability to put the heart of the machine on a standard chip is promising for future applications of the idea.

"The way people used to make this kind of circuit consumed square metres of laboratory space and took graduate students many months to align," said Jeremy O'Brien, the University of Bristol researcher who led the work.

"Doubling the complexity of the circuit often times turns it from being a difficult task to a practically impossible one, whereas for us to double the complexity it's really straightforward," he told BBC News.

The Bristol team's approach makes use of waveguides - channels etched into the chips that provide a path for the photons around the chips like the minuscule wires in conventional electronics.

While Professor O'Brien said he is confident that such waveguides are the logical choice for future optical quantum computers, he added that there is still a significant amount of work to do before they make it out of the laboratory.

"To get a useful computer it needs to be probably a million times more complex, so a full-scale useful factoring machine is still at least two decades away," he said.

"But this is one important step in that direction."

IBM uses DNA to make next-gen microchips

San Francisco: International Business Machines Corp is looking to the building blocks of our bodies - DNA - to be the structure of next-generation microchips.

As chipmakers compete to develop ever-smaller chips at cheaper prices, designers are struggling to cut costs. Artificial DNA nanostructures, or "DNA origami" may provide a cheap framework on which to build tiny microchips, according to a paper published on Sunday in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Microchips are used in computers, cell phones and other electronic devices. "This is the first demonstration of using biological molecules to help with processing in the semiconductor industry," said IBM Research Manager Spike Narayan.

"Basically, this is telling us that biological structures like DNA actually offer some very reproducible, repetitive kinds of patterns that we can actually leverage in semiconductor processes," he said.

The research was a joint undertaking by scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center and the California Institute of Technology. Right now, the tinier the chip, the more expensive the equipment. Narayan said that if the DNA origami process scales to production-level, manufacturers could trade hundreds of millions of dollars in complex tools for less than a million dollars of polymers, DNA solutions, and heating implements.

"The savings across many fronts could add up significantly," he said. But the new processes are at least 10 years out. Narayan said that while the DNA origami could allow chipmakers to build frameworks that are far smaller than possible with conventional tools, the technique still needs years of experimentation and testing.

India’s 15 biggest IT companies

The fiscal year 2008-09 has been a tough year for IT companies globally. The turmoil in the BFSI sector and US the biggest market for IT companies has hit them hard. For the first time in many years some companies in the DQ Top 20 club witnessed single-digit growth. 

While many though could sustain double-digit growth, the slowdown pangs were clearly visible in their growth chart and guidance. The biggest lesson of the slowdown has been not to put all eggs in one basket. The spending squeeze in the global markets has suddenly awakened IT companies to the potential of the domestic market. Today, all IT companies in India are aggressively looking at the Indian market to insulate their growth. 

Here’s looking into the biggest 15 IT companies in India as per their year 2008-09 revenues.

Tata Consultancy Services

Tata group-owned Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the country's no. 1 IT company. During the year 2008-09, the company clocked Rs 25,894 crore in revenues. 

Like all its peers the company too was hit by slowdown pangs. The turmoil in the BFSI sector in the US hurt the company which has a huge exposure to the segment. It also had to write off some dues of Lehman Brothers and was hit by the bankruptcy of auto major General Motors and telecom giant Nortel. 

However, the company made impressible gains in other sectors like manufacturing, healthcare and engineering services to grow by 22% year on year. Geographically, the company continued its expansion in Latin America, setting up its third delivery centre in Mexico. On acquisitions front, the company bought Citibank's BPO unit for $505 million. 

The company which got 8% of its revenues from the domestic segment expanded its focus beyond government. It provided backend connectivity to Rajathan Royal's team during IPL season 2.

Wipro

At no. 2 is Bangalore-based Wipro. The company beat its larger rivals TCS and Infosys to post a revenue growth of 41% (excluding BPO). The company recorded revenues of Rs 23,882 crore during the fiscal 2008-09 which saw its two divisions Wipro Technologies and Wipro Infotech synergies better for total outsourcing deals. 

The company fought the likes of IBM and HP on the domestic turf to wrestle Aircel, Wnitech Wireless and ESIC deals. The company's Middles East operations grew by over 280%. 

The restructuring at the top level was followed by the departure of several senior executives of the company. The company was also hit by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and General Motors. The news that it Wipro has been barred by World Bank also created a small flutter.

Infosys

The third biggest IT company in India is Infosys with 2008-09 revenues of Rs 20,392 crore. The company closed the year with a 31% growth, with Europe and the US contributing 90% of the total revenues. 

The turmoil in the US economy hit the company which had little focus on the domestic market. Only 1% of the company's revenues came from the domestic market. 

However, the recession in the US seems to have wisened the company who is now focusing aggressively on the domestic market. Bharti Airtel and SBI were two of its big wins in the domestic market during the year. 

Geographically, the company also expanded in Central Europe, Latin America and South America. The company also opened a new development centre in Mexico. 

Last quarter saw the company laying off almost 1500 people on the grounds of non-performance.

HP India

The fourth largest IT company is Hewlett Packard India. Slowdown seems to have hurt the company badly, which grew by mere 2% in the fiscal 2008-09. 

However, the company's slow growth was not company wide. While TSG grew by a good 33%, largely led by services and enterprise software, the PSG and IPG divisions saw a big hit in their numbers due to the general hit in the consumer sentiment. 

Parent company's acquisition of EDS helped solidify HP's services business in the Indian market, with 18% of the revenues coming from the domestic segment. 

The company bagged several new clients including Indian Railways, Tata Motors, Durgapur Steel and Raymonds. HP India continued to be the no. 1 vendor in notebooks and desktops across all four quarters according to IDC.

IBM India

At no. 5 is IBM India. With revenues of Rs 12,048 crore, the company grew by a decent 36% during the fiscal 2008-09 (excluding BPO business). The FY ‘09 saw the share of domestic revenue in the overall pie increase to 48%, from the previous year's 42%. 

The company's big wins included SAP implementation deals from Torrent Pharma and Star India. It also won some key deals from Bharti Retail, Bharat Bijlee, LANCO Infratech, Cavincare, HDFC Bank, Max NewYork Life and Sun Direct. 

The company was hit by its aggressive focus on the retail and real estate segments, as the two sectors are among the worst hit sectors. 

The company's image as a hire and fire employer too is said to be there due to the layoffs it announced early last year.

Cognizant Technology Services

The sixth largest IT company in India is Cognizant Technology Services. Surprisingly, the company which gets four-fifth of its revenues from the US and half of this from the BFSI sector grew by almost 49% during the fiscal year 2008-09. With this the company recorded highest growth among all IT companies in the country for the third year in a row. 

At a time when almost all companies announced layoffs, Cognizant claimed to have added 10% to its workforce between April ‘08 to March ‘09. 

Cognizant also increased its penetration in the non-US markets, growing by over 71% in Europe and 142% in APAC. The company also made some inroads into the German market. The year also marked Cognizant’s entry into the domestic market.

Ingram Micro

IT distributor Ingram Micro is the seventh biggest IT company in the country. The year saw slowdown straining the company's revenues. The worst hit was the company's non-IT business, which includes mobiles and consumer electronics. 

Incidentally, the company witnessed healthy growth in the first half of fiscal 2008-09, however, the poor showing in the second half wiped out the gains of the first half. 

Computing systems including, notebooks, servers and desktops continue to be the biggest revenue generator for the company. In the computing segment, Ingram got maximum revenue from HP products followed by Acer. Lenovo's declining fortunes continue to trouble Ingram. 

While printers and other peripherals did show slowdown pangs, the company's component business did well showing impressive performance from Intel.

HCL Technologies

At no. 8 is HCL Technologies. The company grew by 41% to clock revenues of Rs 8,764 crore. The biggest highlight of the fiscal 2008-09 for the company was its acquisition of UK-based Axon for which it pipped rival Infosys technologies. 

The $658 million Axon buy was the biggest acquisition in the history of Indian IT. The company said that the acquisition was the part of its Blue Ocean strategy, which aims to expand in high-potential areas with low competition. 

The year saw the company expanding its footprint in the APAC market. Some big deals included, UTI, MTV Networks, Misys and Serena Software. 

The company's two major clients were among the worst hit BFSI companies.

HCL Infosystems

The ninth largest Indian IT company is HCL Infosystems. With Rs 8,089 crore revenues, the company grew by almost 60% during the fiscal 2008-09 largely riding on its services business. 

BFSI segment showed the most activity, with the company acquiring a cooperative banking software vendor NTPL. The company bagged orders from BSNL in the telecom space. 

The company ventured into physical security space launching Safe State to offer security and surveillance solutions. Some big launches of the year include mobile POS solutions and high-speed Infiniti challenger series workstations. 

However, the company's marketshare in the PC/laptop market continues to lag at a lowly 11-13%.

Redington India

The tenth largest IT company in India is Redington. Slowdown hit the company badly during the fiscal 2008-09, with growth slipping to 5% from 25% in the previous year. 

The company's revenues during the year stood at Rs 6,576 crore. Peripheral and systems were the biggest spoilers for the company during the year, with both businesses shrinking. 

On the positive side, the company added nine new vendors including some niche principals like Philips LCD and Belkin accessories. Focusing on large deals and guarding it cash reserves helped the company.

Cisco Systems

At no. 11 is Cisco Systems. In its 14-year history in the country, for the first time Cisco recorded single-digit growth. The company grew by mere 4% to record revenues of Rs 6,084 crore. 

During the year, the company increased focus on the SMB market by launching 0% finance schemes. It also entered into an agreement with EMC and RSA to build security solutions. The company also signed a deal with TCS to help customers build next-gen data centres. 

The company which claimed to have added some 850 people during the fiscal made India the launch pad for its Global talent Acceleration Program in Asia Pacific.

Oracle India

The fiscal year 2008-09 saw Oracle record revenues of Rs 5,962 crore to emerge as the 12th biggest IT company in the country. The Indian subsidiary of the US-based IT behemoth grew by a mere 3% during the year. However, Oracle Financial Services, which bough iFlex Solutions, grew by a healthy 23% to gross revenues of Rs 2,213 crore. 

The company's database business continued to grow, contributing most to the revenue pie. The company enjoyed 63% marketshare in the RDBMS space, also three times of its nearest competitor. 

The year saw several top-level executives leaving the company. The company also continues to lag behind SAP in the business apps space.

Intel India

At no. 13 is Intel India. The slowdown in the PC market affected the company's business in the country. The fiscal year 2008-09 saw the company growing by a mere 9% to record revenues of Rs 4,698 crore. 

The notebook market and the growing consumer market were the only saviours for the company during the torrid year. The company's over dependence on the enterprise market hit it badly. 

The year saw the company launch its Connected India drive, which is an industry-wide partnership aimed at increasing connectivity in India. On the products side, it launched Core 2 Quad mobile processors and Mobile 4 Series Express Chipsets for use in 45 nm Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel Core 2 Quad mobile processors. 

Other launches include Intel Core i7 processor and Quad Core Xeon processors.

Accenture India

The 14th largest IT company in the country is Accenture. The company witnessed a growth of 16% to record revenues of Rs 4,400 crore during the fiscal year 2008-09. 

The company failed to meet its much-publicised target of 50,000 people in India by August (company's financial year end). 

The slowdown pangs made the company introduce an Indian component to most of its deals. The company failed to bag any major deals in the Indian market, making it rework its India strategy of chasing only a select few deals. The company also restructured its India business along global lines.

SAP India

With revenues of Rs 4,320 crore, SAP India is the 15th largest IT company. The company grew by an impressive 33% in the fiscal 2008-09, with India becoming the seventh largest subsidiary for SAP globally, beating China. 

The company got large revenues from Business Intelligence, adding almost 500 clients to its kitty. The company also managed to win back the Vodafone deal from Oracle. 

On the weakness front, the company still has low traction in the real estate and retail space.

Dell unveils Nickelodeon PC for kids

Dell Inc on Tuesday unveiled a line of Nickelodeon co-branded personal computer for children, the first in a series of branding 

deals intended to galvanize its consumer business. 

Dell's move is the latest example of PC makers using design and targeting particular demographies to stand apart from rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co and Acer Inc in an increasingly commoditized industry. The Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition will come clad in the Viacom Inc channel's trademark "green slime" design, with additional designs based on programs such as "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "iCarly." 

The 10-inch netbook has wireless Internet access, weighs less than 3 pounds and comes loaded with entertainment and educational content. It will also feature a personalized user interface with Nickelodeon-branded desktop wallpaper and icons, and easy access to the channel's online content. 

Michael Tatelman, vice president of global consumer sales and marketing for Dell, said the Nickelodeon netbook is just the start of its co-branding effort as it pushes into areas such as college students and pro sports. "The PC, like the smartphone, has become a 21st century symbol of self-expression. People are identified by what they carry, and people identify with what they carry," he said. 

Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon and Viacom consumer products, said the "sweet spot" for the PC was the so-called "tween" market. "This really is not a toy. This is the real deal," she said. The world's No. 2 PC maker did not announce pricing for the netbook, which will be available in October in the United States through Dell's online store, and at Wal-Mart Stores Inc outlets and Walmart.com. The Nickelodeon PC is based on Dell's Inspiron Mini 10v, which starts at $300.

College e-textbooks go to class in iPhones

US and Canadian college students can pack textbooks into their pockets instead of spine-bending backpacks courtesy of an iPhone 

The northern California supplier of electronic textbooks on Tuesday released free software that makes digitized forms of college textbooks available on Apple's ubiquitous iPhone or iPod Touch devices. 

"We've seen significant demand from student customers for the ability to get required textbook content in electronic form on an iPhone or iPod Touch," said CourseSmart executive vice president Frank Lyman. 

"We see incredible potential for iPhone and iPod Touch applications in education." 

Students that buy "eTextbooks" from CourseSmart can view them from any Internet-linked computers and are able to print out pages or copy sections into custom study guides. 

Instead of lugging old-fashioned ink and paper books to classes, students can use iPhones of iPod Touch devices to access textbooks online for reference during classes. 

"It's important to students to be able to access textbook content in color with the same page layout as a printed textbook and now the eTextbooks App allows them to do that," Lyman said. 

CourseSmart began offering eTextbooks in 2007 and as of Tuesday had reportedly sold copies to students in slightly more than 5,900 schools. 

CourseSmart said it works with a dozen major textbook publishers to stay current with electronic versions mandated by professors for classes and claims its prices are typically about half that of print versions. 

The CourseSmart iPhone program is available at Apple's online App Store.