Sundar Pichai: the new CEO of Google

The senior vice-president of product will lead a ‘slimmed down’ Google as Page will head Alphabet, the new parent company announced on Monday.





When Google announced a surprise restructuring on Monday, a very big spotlight suddenly shone on Sundar Pichai, the executive who will replace Larry Page as Google’s CEO.

Pichai’s appointment is part of restructuring that will end with a “slimmed-down” company. This smaller, search-focused Google will be the largest subsidiary of a new parent company called Alphabet. With Page leaving to head Alphabet, the position of Google CEO became available.

Page said Pichai was the natural choice to lead Google.

Pichai “has really stepped up since October of last year, when he took on product and engineering responsibility for our internet businesses. Sergey and I have been super excited about his progress and dedication to the company,” Page said in a blogpost.

“I feel very fortunate to have someone as talented as him to run the slightly slimmed down Google and this frees up time for me to continue to scale our aspirations. I have been spending quite a bit of time with Sundar, helping him and the company in any way I can, and I will of course continue to do that.”

Page went on to say that Pichai will continue to stretch boundaries and ensure that Google “can continue to make big strides on our core mission to organize the world’s information”.

Colin Gillis, technology analyst at BGC Partners in New York, said Pichai’s appointment was a smart move given the current fight for talent in technology. With Twitter and others looking for new bosses, the former Android and Chrome executive is at the top of many head hunters’ lists.

“My sense is he is someone in high demand,” said Gillis. Offering him the top job at Google may keep him in the fold.

Pichai, 43, previously served as senior vice-president of product at Google.

“Since joining Google in 2004, Sundar has led a number of key consumer products which are now used by hundreds of millions of people and, prior to his current role, served as Google’s SVP of Android, Chrome and Apps,” according to the documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has bachelor’s degree from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, a master’s degree from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Eric Schmidt, who was executive chairman at the old Google and will now become the executive chairman of Alphabet, tweeted the announcement: “Really excited about the vision and brilliance of Sundar .. he’s going to be a great CEO!”

“I would challenge you to find anyone at Google who doesn’t like Sundar or who thinks Sundar is a jerk,” Caesar Sengupta, a vice-president who has worked with Pichai for eight years, told Bloomberg last year.

“If there’s anybody that could take over as CEO one day, I would see Sundar as being a great choice for doing that,” Maarten Hooft, partner at the venture capital firm Quest Venture Partners told Business Insider last year. Hooft and Pichai worked together for six years between 2006 and 2012. “There’s a lot of smart people [at Google], but in terms of the consumer products he’s worked on so far, I doubt they would be as successful without Sundar being there.”

In addition to being well liked, Pichai has been previously described as the “most powerful man in mobile” and the “man behind Google’s most important products”. 

Microsoft launches Windows 10

Microsoft is counting on Windows 10 to undo woes from Windows 8 and prove PC still has a role.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Microsoft's new Windows 10 operating system debuts Wednesday, as the longtime leader in PC software struggles to carve out a new role in a world where people increasingly rely on smartphones, tablets and information stored online.

No one's expected to line up overnight for Windows 10, the way people did 20 years ago for Windows 95. But Microsoft is counting on tens or even hundreds of millions of people to download its latest release for free in the coming months. The launch will be accompanied by a global marketing campaign for an event the company hopes will be pivotal — both for its own future and for a vast audience of computer users around the world.

Windows 10 is coming to PCs and tablets first, but it's also designed to run phones, game consoles and even holographic headsets. It has new features, a streamlined Web browser called Edge and a desktop version of Cortana, the online assistant that is Microsoft's answer to Google Now and Apple's Siri.

Still, the company insists Windows 10 will seem familiar to users of Windows 7, the six-year-old operating system still running on most PCs. Microsoft and PC makers want to erase the memory of the last big update, 2012's Windows 8, which alienated many with its jarring, unwieldy design.

Microsoft skipped the name Windows 9, as if to distance itself further from the last release. While many analysts believe Windows 8 made sagging PC sales even worse, it's unclear if Windows 10 will spur the industry back to growth.

Here's a look at the launch and why it matters:

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Q: What happens this week?

A: Microsoft    plans promotional events in several cities Wednesday, tied to a global ad campaign and a series of charitable donations. About 5 million people who enrolled in an earlier test program will be able to download Windows 10 right away.

The company is also offering Windows 10 as a free download, any time over the next year, to anyone who has the Home or Pro versions of Windows 7 or 8 (but not the Enterprise versions used by big organizations). Some may not get it the first day; Microsoft says it will deliver downloads in waves, to ensure things go smoothly, but it hasn't said how long that will take. Details on how to upgrade are here: http://bit.ly/1eNCySl .

Q: Why is Microsoft giving Windows 10 for free?

A: The company wants to get the new software on as many devices as possible. Microsoft needs a large pool of users to convince independent programmers that it's worth their time to build useful or entertaining apps for Windows 10 devices. Executives also believe that if people are exposed to the latest and best Windows, they're more likely to try other Microsoft products on PCs and mobile devices.

CEO Satya Nadella  .says he wants to have 1 billion devices running Windows 10 in three years. Microsoft estimates there are 1.5 billion people who currently use some kind of Windows. Rather than charging them to upgrade, as Microsoft used to do, it's embracing the free download model pioneered by Apple and Google.

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Q: How will Microsoft make money?

A: Microsoft will still collect licensing fees from PC makers that install Windows 10 on new machines. In recent years, most consumers have waited until they bought a new computer to get the latest Windows. Microsoft also makes money from selling Windows and other software to large businesses and organizations.

In addition, Microsoft is counting on Windows 10 to spur more use of other services. Microsoft makes money from selling advertising for its Bing search engine, and Windows 10 comes with many apps that steer people to Bing. The company also collects fees from people who use premium versions of its Office software, OneDrive cloud storage and Skype.

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Q: Why does this matter to consumers?

A: Microsoft says Windows 10 is designed for the way people use computers today — with a faster Web browser and features that make it easier to start tasks on a PC and then switch to a hand-held device. (Apple and Google tout similar features in their software.)

Windows 10 also lets users log in with their face, iris or thumbprint, instead of remembering passwords, though this works only with computers equipped with the right hardware.

Most PC users are still working with Windows 7, thanks to Windows 8's unpopularity. But Microsoft plans to phase out maintenance and security support for Windows 7 over the next five years, and for Windows 8 by 2023, as it did with the older Windows XP. Still, there's no need to panic about upgrading right away.

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Q: Why is it important to the tech industry?

A: The growth in mobile devices has caused PC sales to decline for more than three years, hurting manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard and companies like Microsoft and Intel, whose products are used with PCs.

Windows 10 won't make people give up their hand-held gadgets, but it's part of Nadella's strategy to reposition Microsoft for a world where people use multiple devices. PC makers are hoping he succeeds.

Jeff Barney, who runs Toshiba's consumer PC business, said the new software is easier to use than Windows 8 and will complement hardware advances in Toshiba's newest machines. Although Barney isn't expecting a big rush to stores Wednesday, "over time, I think we're going to see a positive trend in sales."

This Device Could Make It Easier To Find Your Veins

This Device Could Make It Easier To Find Your Veins

Scientists have discovered a way to find your veins before poking around half a dozen times to find the spot. Now the Australian Red Cross Blood service is using the near infrared light device that locates blood to study whether being able to locate hard to find veins will result in reduced anxiety and thus make it more likely these types of donors will come back and donate again.

The Blood Service says it will test 300 first timers and 600 returning blood donors between ages 18-30 on different devices from two separate Australian providers. The hope is that if this works on younger donors they will become lifelong contributors to the Red Cross.

The vein visualization device works by waving a near infrared light source over naturally deoxygenated hemoglobin in the body. The deoxygenated hemoglobin absorbs that light and your veins show up in glowing green.

The machines should be safe unless you stare directly at them (so don’t do that). They can also be adjusted for individual differences.

LASER :Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation .

• It is a device that harnesses light to produce an intense beam of a radiation of a very pure and single color.
• Invented by : CHARLES H. TOWENS (U.S.A.).
• Year : 1960

APPLE : Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment.

INTERNET:
The U.S. dominated world's largest network of computer networks is available in its full blown versions in the country from AUGUST 15, 1995.

• Service has been ushered in India by Videsh S anchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) .
• Internet services are opened for private participations since NOVEMBER ,1998.
• till 2011 , there were about 10 crores internet users in India.