Did you know that you still have time to get the best deals and gift ideas this holiday season at Amazon.com? Do not forget- 2 days left to order for Christmas with FREE Super Saver Shipping! We’ve compiled these popular deals below from all types of categories, ranging from toys, to electronics, to jewelry:

• Windows 7 Netbooks Under Starting $350: Find the biggest selection of netbooks with Windows 7 Starter in the Amazon.com netbooks store. http://www.amazon.com/notebooks-laptop-computers/b/?ie=UTF8&node=679517011&tag=meetingcontin-20
• Blu-ray Players Under $200: The high-def experience doesn’t have to be expensive. Amazon.com has Blu-ray players from brands such as LG, Samsung, and Sony with prices below $200. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000445341&tag=meetingcontin-20
• Great savings on new cutting-edge HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One Printer: The world’s first web-connected home printer powered by touch. Quickly print movie tickets, maps, coupons, lab-quality photos and more. All without a computer and now at a very low price. http://www.amazon.com/Photosmart-Premium-TouchSmart-All-Printer/dp/B002MCZIUG/?tag=meetingcontin-20
• Movies & TV Gift and Boxed Set Sale : To find that last minute gift without breaking the bank, shop our Movies & TV Gift and Boxed Set Sale with savings of up to 60% off select DVD and Blu-ray, from Dec. 2 – Dec. 22, 2009 while supplies last. http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/?node=509168&tag=meetingcontin-20
• Up to 40% Off Kitchen & Home Gifts: Save up to 40% on perfect gift for everyone on your list, from the Master Chef to the Home Decorator to the One Who Has It All. Plus, check out our editor’s picks to discover the hottest gifts this season. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse-/1063504?tag=meetingcontin-20
• Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device: 6” E-ink® Display with Global Wireless : Kindle is Amazon’s most wished for, most gifted and #1 bestselling product. This year, give them what they really want and have it delivered in time for the holidays! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015T963C/?tag=meetingcontin-20
• Top Holiday Deals & Frustration-Free Packaging in Toys : Shop our top holiday deals in Toys and find great savings on toys, games, puzzles, and more. Also save on toys in Frustration-Free Packaging. Say no to wrap rage- Amazon.com is now offering over 100 bestselling toys, electronics, and household items in easy-to-open Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging. They’re the same great products at the same great prices–just less packaging. http://www.amazon.com/Toys-Holiday-Event/b/?ie=UTF8&node=360960011&tag=meetingcontin-20
• Bestselling AT&T Phones from $.01 : Check out the incredible prices on AT&T devices. Upgrade to bestsellers like the BlackBerry Curve 8900 or the LG Xenon GR500 Phone for only a penny (with new service plan). http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?&docId=1000447551&tag=meetingcontin-20
• Extra Discounts on Magazine Subscriptions: Magazines make great gifts, and during December some are as low as $5 after instant discounts including Disney FamilyFun, Redbook, Country Living and more. http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/?node=604932&tag=meetingcontin-20
• Save over 30% off the Canon PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer: While supplies last, get the Canon PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer for only $169.99—that’s over 30% off! The rugged, compact iP100 Mobile Printer delivers remarkable quality and print-anywhere portability. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012W9APQ?tag=meetingcontin-20
• Diamond Stud Earrings- Best Deals of the Season: ‘Tis the season for diamond studs. For a limited time, shop our best prices of the season on select diamond stud earrings sold by Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=2237565011&tag=meetingcontin-20
• Video Games- 18 Days, 18 Deals: Now is the time of year when anticipation builds more with each passing day. It’s also the time of year when Amazon Video Games has scores of fantastic deals happening all at once. There is no better way to celebrate the season than with a mashup of daily anticipation and fabulous deals! Starting Tuesday, December 1 and continuing for 18 consecutive days, Amazon Video Games will be featuring one new, terrific deal for your gaming pleasure. Quantities will be limited! http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=409566&tag=meetingcontin-20

When it comes to Christmas shopping, many of us approach this annual chore with dread. There is all the stress and strain of trying to find an convenient gift for relatives and friends plus the hassle of the shopping itself. No wonder that online, internet shopping has seen such growth in the last few years.

However, shopping online can be fraught with problems, as an experience online retailer we have compiled our ten top tips to help internet shoppers avoid some of the pitfalls and hopefully help guarantee shoppers a hassle free Christmas shopping experience.

1. Start Early

The best way to avoid any last minute rush to purchase gifts is to start thinking about your gift ideas as early as possible. Most diaries and other note books have a couple of pages at the back of them for notes and other such items. Reserve a page in your diary for writing down Christmas gift ideas. A double page spread is best. Simply write the name of the person on the left-hand page and on the right-hand side make a note of any possible gift ideas and suggestions that may come up. Always leave a space at the bottom as you may want to add new people to your gift list, remember colleagues at work and have you accounted for all your nieces and nephews?

2. Take Time to Listen and Observe

You have at least 365 days a year to consider potential Christmas gifts. Listen out to what a loved one might say, have they commented about something they saw in a magazine, did you over hear them saying how much they enjoyed reading a book by a certain author, did they mention a TV series that they liked in conversation? All good grist to the mill, when it comes for searching for gift ideas. Books, DVDs and such like can all be purchased online. Don’t forget to write down these potential gift ideas on your special Christmas list diary page.

3. Ask parents about Children’s Gift Ideas

Abstain getting the wrong thing at Christmas for fickle children by having a quite word with their parents, before hand. You can learn from them what to buy and what to avoid, especially helpful when looking for clothing or educational toys. You would not want to give the child something that the parents might object to. This can always be a reciprocal arrangement and one that can reduce the hassle factor for both sets of parents. You may also agree a budget for the gift purchases.

4. Split your Shopping Up into Online and High Street

Conscious Christmas shoppers split their Christmas gift shopping list into two distinct categories, those items that can be purchased online and those that could be purchased from the High Street. Usually Christmas presents can be bought via either medium, if you start early enough you can find the items are interchangeable. Nevertheless, items like books and toys may be purchased online more conveniently, especially if there is a danger of a especially popular Christmas gift item becoming out of stock on the high street.

5. Online shopping at Night – Hide from the Kids

One of the benefits of Christmas shopping online, particularly when you have young children of your own is to do your shopping online in the evening. Your kids can be safely tucked up in bed whilst you surf away to your heart’s content looking for Christmas presents. Also, if you are permitted to do so at work and you have a pc, it can be helpful to have a quick look in your lunch hour. No chance of you being caught out by your partner if you surf when they are not around. Do notbe tempted to purchase online whilst at work, your server may be Internet Explorer Six or older and this internet package can have problems coping with more modern online shopping facilities.

6. Choose a Reputable Retailer

Unfortunately it is all to easy to get caught out when shopping online. Ask family and friends to recommend sites that they have used and try to find out a little about the company you wish to buy from before you start parting with your credit/debit card details. Have you heard of the company?

Clues that can give you purchasing confidence:

(a) Can you contact the company, not just by email but are business address and telephone numbers provided?

(b) Is there a customer service helpline, not just a “contact us email”, but can you talk to a real person?

(c) What security is offered for purchasing online, how secure is the website?

(d) Are customer testimonials provided and are they genuinely from previous customers?

7. Contact the Company Before you Buy

Try contacting the company before you make a purchase. This is always handy if you want to check the suitability of a product, if a phone number is provided, try a quick telephone call, if not email the company, monitor the time for a response to come back to you. How helpful and knowledgeable was the reply?

8. Beware the “Stocking Monster”

Unfortunately many companies are interested in getting your cash rather than fulfilling your order. As a result, items are shown online and made available for purchase, even though they may not actually be in stock. Keep a couple of addresses of websites you want to purchase from handy in your notebook, does the site change over a few days, are new products added? These are all clues to whether the company is very active in managing its stock and inventory. You can always enquire about a product and request that they reserve one for you, chances are if it is a reputable company they will do this for you, without any fuss.Do not add the websites to your “favourites” as this is a sure fire giveaway to anyone else using your home pc. You don’t want to spoil the surprise.

9. Use the Blogosphere

One way to check on the reputation of a company and how hard they work is to to check out any blog sites, there may be adverse comments about them on a blog and a quick check on Google blogs, can reveal all sorts of information. You may also use blogs to research product reviews, these can provide a variety of useful insight and advice such as product reviews, user comments etc. Also, if the online shop has a blog, take the time and trouble to visit it. A blog can usually tell you a lot about a company and their attitude. Is the blog frequently updated, does it contain a variety of articles? A company blog that has not got any fresh articles for 6 months or more, should be avoided. After all, if they can’t be bothered to update their blog, how reliable are they going to be when despatching your present?

10. Check Postage Terms and Dates

After your research and careful product selection it would be such a shame to order an item only for it not to turn up in time for Christmas. Check the company’s delivery terms and conditions. How quickly for example, do they despatch goods? If you want something for Christmas the golden rule when shopping via the internet is to shop early and buy early. Christmas means that postal services are stretched and last day postal service announcements are there to act as a ready reckoner to help avoid disappointment. Do not forget, just because a website has a dot.com address it does not mean that it is based in the United States. Not knowing the country from which the item is being despatched can lead to serious misconceptions about posting and delivery times.

I hope these ten simple tips will help online shoppers enjoy a hassle free and straightforward shopping experience.

WebShoppingBag.com: Worldwide Online Shopping for Computers, Electronics, Apparel, Books, DVDs & more. Check out our top Christmas deals today!

The freshest release of Microsoft’s flagship software Windows has been been launched on Thursday. There are a great many changes to the OS, which has already been described by one analyst as “a shining release of Windows Vista”.

Windows 7 – Fresh start

From the very start, then: installation. Windows 7 is configured to be a markedly less bulky and resource-intensive operating system, so the installation should be relatively quick, and there’s a especially lightweight version for netbooks. The 1st thing to note is that it doesn’t sound all that different from Vista.

How to upgrade to Windows 7?

The troubles that plagued upgrades from XP to Vista are gone, since the structure of Windows 7 builds on the changes made in Vista. Evenly, however, that will make upgrading from XP difficult.

If you are aiming to upgrade immediately from Windows XP to Windows 7, be aware that Microsoft doesn’t recommend it. Not only is it probably to take significantly longer, the directory structure is different between the two and many applications may not work if not run after a “fresh” installation.

The release offers many new personalisation choices like desktop PCs. If installing Windows 7 on an older computer, it’s likely best to check with the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor program to see whether your PC is compatible or if you are likely to see the improvements in speed that the OS can in essence offer.

For the most part, software that runs on Vista will run on Windows 7; many big-name software vendors of programs that don’t upgrade easily have free of charge upgrades available on the web.

Microsoft promises that its Windows Easy Transfer will smooth the process of moving your files from an older machine to your new Windows 7 computer.

However, be aware that many simple programs for handling things like instant messaging are missing from Windows 7 on install; instead, the idea is that users will begin to use the cloud-based services that form Windows Live.

First Look at Windows 7

With Windows 7 installed, the first thing to note is that it doesn’t look – or, on startup, sound – all that different from Vista. One quickly noticeable difference is that the desktop widgets, or Gadgets, can now be placed wherever you like on the desktop. The taskbar along the bottom of the screen has had a few new features added to it: hover over the Internet Explorer bar, for instance, and up pop small previews of all the open Explorer windows, even if they’re running live video at the time.

Thumbnail previews of open windows

Hover over the previews, and just that window will pop up in full size, with all other windows minimised.
Carrying on the theme of simplifying your workspace, the stylistic “Aero” features first shown off in Vista have been explored, leading to new features. Too many windows open? Grab the bar at the top of a window, give it a shake with the mouse, and all other windows minimise. Repeat the action to re-maximise the other windows.

Aero Peek isn’t really a feature per se – a little patch of the right of the taskbar executes the function of the prior “show desktop” icon – but it simply makes the windows transparent, leaving behind their outlines.
Some of these features will be familiar to Apple users and have been available in similar forms in various Mac operating systems.

Increased networking opportunity

Microsoft has added a few new bells and whistles for home networking, too. Each computer that is running Windows 7 on a network can dictate what kinds of files will be shared – documents, music, or videos – and which will continue private.

The release allows detailed control of files shared on a home network. Also, there is new functionality in the “Play To” menu for media: users can play a multimedia out to other computers in the network or even an XBox. Microsoft has also refined the search function that was wholly revamped for Vista. As before, it searches across all hard drives, and keeps a running tally so that results are displayed more or less instantly, as you type – reminiscent of Apple Mac’s search. In Windows 7, the search results are broken down into sub-lists by type, such as documents, multimedia, programs, and so forth.

Users can also create “libraries” of certain types of files – not unlike Mac OS’s “smart folders”: a kind of virtual directory that contains for instance all of your image files, regardless of the folders where they actually reside.

Finally, Windows incorporates some familiar tricks having to do with “multitouch” functions, either on a mousepad or a touchscreen device, should you have one. Nevertheless, these multi-touch features work with all application programs. Holding one finger down on an icon while tapping with another functions like a right-click and two fingers can be used to zoom in and out of images or webpages, or rotate them.

For more information about Windows 7 check this website : Introducing Windows 7

This week Facebook announced a new version of Facebook, namely “Facebook Lite“. According to a note posted on the site, the new version is a quicker, easier way to keep in contact with your pals.  This version has very less graphics and applications compared to the Facebook original version.

One can use the current page with same login Id and password which were using for prior Facebook application.The newly made Facebook Lite is offering pages to check and comment. Having 5248 fans on Sep 12th 2009, and daily comments are coming from people to build up this new version of facebook in far better way. Countless comments are there to understand the new lighter version with less applications. Some has appreciated this is best for smart telephone users.

The feedback shows that this version is less complicated, faster and fast. People who are having slow speed broadband are liking this version.Simultaneously, Some users demand discuss, some wants to link to websites like You Tube and Twitter from the lighter version and a lot of them need video uploading.

The Facebook Lite team is also concerned with the users and commenting on their feedback. Here are the 2 comments on the face book Lite from the Facebook Lite team members,You asked us to make Facebook Lite more generally available, and we are pleased to help. Lite is now available to anyone that uses Facebook in English. Keep your feedback coming!

The Idea behind the launch of Facebook Lite is to reach people who have slow internet connectivity and low internet broadband. We have also discovered that people who are new to Facebook are most interested by a faster experience, concentrate on creating their network of pals and conversing with them by writing on their walls, sending messages, and taking a look at footage.

The site isn’t finished yet but now opens for the users and anybody can use it rather than regular facebook. Tons of work is still left to be done on to the site but the social networking site wants the user to use and give feedback to build it miles better way.

Moreover the excellent news is if users wants to change over the lighter version of facebook than all of the sharing, standing info will be retained .Not only this your connected mates and pictures and videos too will remain intact.

Many folks have assumed that facebook Lite is somehow a copy of twitter or friendfeed but it is just different comparing it with these sites isn’t right.

You may test Facebook Lite yourself  by clickking the link http://lite.facebook.com/

The Greek prophesier of yore, Nostradamus, had predicted that the 21st century would be dominated by something with an inherent relation to the satanic numbers 666. It doesn’t come as a surprise then that the Hebrew interpretation of 666 is, what else, www – the World Wide Web!

IT (we don’t really have to explain that it stands for Information Technology, do we?) means different things to different people. To some, it might mean the whole lot of activities that revolve around the ubiquitous computers, to others, “pure” IT might mean only hardware or programming jobs, and to some, even producing content for the Web might be a part of this vast and ever-increasing field called IT.

With the Internet, very literally, encompassing all in its “web”, the scope this field offers to people entering it from any point and in any of it’s hugely-varying sectors, is truly mind boggling. Entries can be made as programmers, systems analysts, web developer, E- commerce specialists.

The only thing you need to have to be successful in this sector is focus, you need to have your goals determined and your path defined. Since most of the work to be found in this sector are in the private sector, and promotions and appraisals will almost always be performance-based, you have to be constantly on your toes. The quality of your work will always count, for remember – this is a hugely competitive field, with thousands, if not millions making entries into it everyday. Having said that, it also needs to be emphasized that the opportunities are also immense and ever-increasing.

So you with the logical mind and the ability to grasp retain and stay abreast of all the innovations being made in this field everyday – IT is looking for you!

Personal Factor

Hardware: Hardware engineers must have good technical knowledge and management skills. Maintenance staff are qualified and experienced with a logical mind, patience, interest and ability to work for long hours.

Software: Systems Programmers and Software Engineers are problem solvers and must approach problems systematically and logically to provide effective solutions. Patience and determination are vital for the job to be carried through to a successful result. A good level of intellectual ability is required, together with excellent mathematical skills and technical knowledge. Creativity, imagination and resourcefulness are important. Management skills are necessary for those in supervisory positions. It is also important to be articulate and aware of the users’ environment and problems.

Systems Analysts must have an excellent understanding of business methods and a sound knowledge of the availability of computer hardware and software when working at the design stage. System analysis is very much a peoples job. Success depends on the ability to form good working relationships with clients and other colleagues. Systems analysis involves investigation and questioning, hence analysts must be patient and diplomatic in extracting relevant information. Excellent communication skills are necessary since analysts have to sell a system to a client. A good analytical mind and project management skills are necessary. Systems Analysts must also be imaginative and creative in providing solutions. The work requires accuracy and the ability to work methodically with attention to detail as inaccurate work can cost the client money and result in on-going problems.

Application programmers – Like people in the information technology industry, applications programmers must also be numerate, logical, meticulous, and clear minded. They should be able to work systematically through programs, particularly when running tests or implementing modifications. Programmers are involved with customers as the end users and, hence, need to communicate effectively and be able to explain computer systems to nonspecific staff. Applications Programmers generally work as part of a team and so it is important to be able to get along with other people and work to prescribed deadlines.

The prospects

• Hardware jobs: Hardware jobs are in manufacturing of computers and ancillaries, assembly, marketing and maintenance. The best opportunities are bagged by candidates passing out of premier engineering and technology institutes such as the IITs, Roorkee Engineering College, BITS Pilani and some Regional Engineering Colleges.
• Software jobs: In the software segment there are openings with software design houses and in installing business systems .The job is in software systems and applications, software design and development, system analysis and application. Professionals such as Systems Analysts and Administrators, Analyst programmers, Application Programmers, Information Systems Managers, Systems maintenance analysts, Software Quality managers, Computer Operations Manager, Operations Research Analysts, Electronic Data Processing managers, Database managers are involved in customising and facilitating the use of software and managing the flow of data. Opportunities are in advertising, mass communication, and design. An art/visual communication background is required.
• Consultancy: Computer consultants specialise in any or all of the following areas of work- project management, hardware and software selection, information/database management, optimisation of computer operations, data communications,trouble shooting and security, computer operations and telecommunications.
• Computer Operations involves data entry, desk top publishing,etc.
• Marketing: Market Research, Market Analysis requires computer professionals with a marketing background.

Growth Prospects

With the increasing use of telecommunication engineering, the industry will now require hybrid engineers who have a combination of telecom and software engineering skills. They will be in demand for the post of network engineers who can be compared to the systems programmers working on computer mainframes. Software engineers or Information engineers will be required for companies relying on on-line transactions processing using clients and servers in geographically different places, a high degree of reliability is essential. Also, performance bottlenecks, have to be quickly identified. Information engineers will be required to find generic solutions to specific problem, hardware – oriented to software, processor bias to telecommunication bias.

In this rapidly growing field of Information technology Cyber-Engineers will work with Cyber-Technicians, Cyber-Businessman, Cyber-Lawyers, Cyber-Psychologists and Cyber-Linguists. The technical areas of operation will be in Computer systems, Distributed Systems, Software engineering, Data and Knowledge Engineering. Training in ERP offers tremendous potential to professionals intending to join consultancies to offer ERP services. E- Commerce offers opportunities for marketing professionals with training in Web designing and management.

The Net suffered a number of slowdowns as folks across the world rushed to determine accounts of Michael Jackson’s death. Search giant Google confirmed  that when the news first broke it feared it was under attack.

Thousands of people who searched for the star’s name on Google Stories were met with a mistake page. It warned users “your question looks like automated requests from a virus or malicious software application”.

“It’s right that between approximately 2.40PM Pacific and 3.15PM Pacific, some Google Stories users experienced difficulty accessing search results for questions related to Michael Jackson and saw the blunder page,” declared Google spokesperson Gabriel Stricker.

It was around this time that the crooner was officially confirmed dead. Google’s trends page proved that searches for Michael Jackson had reached such a volume that in its so called “hotness” gauge the subject was ranked “volcanic”. The BBC stories web site said that traffic to the site at the time of Jackson’s death was 72% higher than standard. Google wasn’t the sole company overpowered by the general public’s clamour for info.

The microblogging service Twitter crashed with the sheer volume of folk using the service. Page last updated at 08:17 GMT, Fri. , twenty-six June 2009 09:17 UK E-mail this to a chum Printable version Web slows after Jackson’s death.

Many millions of people who searched for the star’s name on Google Reports were met with a mistake page. It warned users “your question looks like automated requests from a virus or adware application”.

“It’s right that between roughly 2.40PM Pacific and 3.15PM Pacific, some Google Reports users experienced difficulty accessing search results for questions related to Michael Jackson and saw the mistake page,” asserted Google spokesperson Gabriel Stricker. It was around this time the frontman was officially confirmed dead.

Google’s trends page showed clearly that searches for Michael Jackson had reached such a volume that in its so called “hotness” gauge the subject was ranked “volcanic”.

The microblogging service Twitter crashed with the sheer volume of folk using the service. Google user graph Searches for subjects related to Michael Jackson topped at 3PM Pacific Questions about the star soon rocketed to the top of its updates and searches. But the quantity of traffic meant it suffered one of its well known outages.

Before the corporation’s servers crashed, TweetVolume observed that “Michael Jackson” appeared in more than 66,500 Twitter updates. According to initial data from Trendrr, a Web service that tracks activity on social media sites, the number of Twitter posts Thursday afternoon containing “Michael Jackson” totaled more than 100,000 an hour. That put stories of Jackson’s death at the very least on par with the Iran protests, as Twitter posts about Iran topped 100,000 an hour on June sixteen and at last climbed to 220,000 an hour.

The new Apple iPhone 3GS has double the onboard storage, a new cut’n'paste cut & paste function and video recording. The 3 megapixel camera has a double tap zoom feature, and a remotely operated find or erase function for lost or robbed devices. Also, the handset has multi-media messaging and the power to use the 3GS as a modem for PC connectivity.

Scott Forstall, senior VP of iPhone Software, revealed a new tool to help application developers generate extra income. “In App Purchase permits developers to make monetary transactions right from inside the app,” he said. “This unlocks stuff like mag subscriptions. It also permits folks like game developers to sell extra game packs,” he explained.

Mr Forstall went on to claim that twenty-two operators in 42 states will support the features like this one when the handset goes on sale. However, the US network ATT will not support all features from the outset, which drew derision from some quarters. ”

ATT has known about these features for months. So why they haven’t begun to address them with their preferred device – which has driven so many customers to them – is mystifying,” claimed Jason Snell, editorial executive at MacWorld.com.

Apple’s competitors are beginning to catch up too, with the latterly released Palm Pre being called the best iPhone alternative yet. Except for the Apple handset has fifty thousand apps at its disposal, compared to only a scattering for the Pre and similar smart telephones.

Microsoft on Monday silently took the wraps off Bing, it’s new Web search engine. The service, showcased last week at the WSJ’s D : All Things Digital meeting in Carslbad, California, wasn’t meant to make its debut till Wednesday.

Microsoft attempts to provide answers to questions, instead of simply a catalogue of blue links. Their video search service lets you watch video from some place else online without leaving Bing, as an example. You may skip around from one video to another in a 2nd or 2, which can create some entertaining time wasting possibilities. ( try looking for maniacal laugh, as an example. )

A key part of the design is obviously to keep you lurking around Bing as long as possible without ever leaving ; you can shop Bing, watch Bing, hear Bing and read Bing. Even if you’re a complete Google or Yahoo worshipper, you check it out.

We believe Microsoft has done some good work here ; whether or not they can nibble away at Google’s giant share of the market is yet to be seen.

Google apologized for what it called a “traffic jam” that led to slow service or even interruption online search giant’s main page. Gmail and Google’s reports site were also reported as “sluggish” or unavailable to millions of users for roughly an hour. This isn’t the 1st time the Firm has faced such issues. “An blunder in one of our systems made us direct some of our traffic through Asia,” said Urs Hoelzle, a spokesperson for the company.

“We’ve been working diligently to make our services ultrafast and ‘always on’, so it’s particularly embarrassing when a glitch like this one occurs.

“We’re awfully sorry that it occurred, and you can be certain that we’ll be working even harder to make certain a similar problem will not occur again,” claimed Mr Hoelzle, Google’s senior VP of operations. The outage has was critical of the trustworthiness of net-based services.

Google’s “efforts to have some of their services, especially their apps, and to a less extent Gmail, treated as heavy business services that one can use rather than regionally installed and maintained apps may be seriously enfeebled by a major outage like that,” declared Ezra Gottheil, a researcher with Technology Business Research. “This is bad news for Google’s attempts to build up Apps, and to a less extent, Gmail, as urgent business tools.

Other industry watchers say the interruption may possibly cause companies to rethink using these services. On the microblogging service Twitter the service failure turned into a major subject of discussion. In Jan , the Net company was hit by technical issues leading to users being not able to access search results.

Image source: www.thetechherald.co

Electronics giant Sony has reported its first yearly loss in fourteen years, after being hit by a massive drop in sales.

Sony reported a loss of 98.9bn yen ( $1.04bn ; £685m ) for the year to the end of March, compared to a profit of 369.4bn yen the year before. The company blamed the worldwide downturn and the powerful yen for the loss.

It had formerly announced it might be cutting eight thousand of its 185,000 workforce and closing ten percent of its factories. However, the loss wasn’t as bad as Sony had predicted. It had predicted a loss of 150bn yen back in Jan. Sony’s shares closed down 6.8% at 2,400 yen before the result.