People started wearing shoes around 40,000 years ago, according to a study on recently excavated small toe bones that belonged to an individual from China who apparently loved shoes.
Month: January 2008
Categories
Massive WiMax network for India
“State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is leaning on Soma Networks to build the broadband-speed network in response to government requirement that 20 million broadband lines be in service by 2010. Soma says it’s shipping thousands of base stations to get the network operational at full speed, and that when it’s done, 400 Indian cities will be covered, with downstream speeds of 1.5 megabits per seconds.” – Engadget
“The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed U.S. interest rates (the overnight rate at which banks lend each other) by a hefty three-quarters of a percentage point, the biggest rate cut in more than 23 years, in an emergency bid to lend support to a U.S. economy some fear is on the verge of recession… The last time there was a rate cut of at least three-quarters of a point was in October 1984.” – Reuters
The interest rate cut has steadied the global markets which were previously in a free fall.
As a result of Fed’s rate cut, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) (so-called stock market fear gauge) spiked to its highest level seen since the end of the previous bear market before paring gains, as the major stock market indexes bounced off earlier lows.
Forbes publishes an annual list of 2000 world’s biggest companies. They are ranked according to 4 criteria – sales, profits, assets and market capitalization. The current list reflects 2007’s biggest companies, however, expect 2008’s landscape to be fairly different with companies like PetroChina making it towards the top of the list where as Citigroup and other banks probably tumbling down a few places. (List published towards the end of March.)
The Global 2000 (world’s largest public companies)
Related: PetroChina becomes world’s biggest company by market cap
According to Gizmodo, details of ThinkPad X300 have been leaked:
“It appears that Lenovo have themselves a new ultralight X300 series Thinkpad—and outside of the price and release date, we have all of the specs that you need to know. At a glance, some of the major features include: a 13.3-inch LED backlit 1440X900 screen, an ultralight 2.5 pound form factor, and Intel Merom Santa Rosa Dual Core CPU (2.0 Ghz / 880 Mhz ), a 64 GB SSD, up to 4GB of DDR2 PC2-5300 memory, and 4 hours of battery life. Hit the gallery for the full details.” – Gizmodo
This is some competition from Lenovo for Apple’s latest offering MacBook Air (world’s thinnest laptop), and a new ray of hope for ThinkPad/Windows fans. It may not be as thin as Air (unconfirmed) but has a better screen resolution (1440×900 vs 1280×800) and is half a pound lighter.
Ultralight Lenovo X300 Series Thinkpad Leaked
Update: Also see a specwise comparison of MacBook Air with other laptops in the ultra portable category (Dell XPS M1330, Toshiba Protege R500, Fujitsu Lifebook S2210 and Sony Vaio TZ150N).
“The most-talked-about car at the Detroit auto show this year isn’t even present: Tata Motors Ltd.’s $2,500 Nano.
With the U.S. market coming off its slowest year in a decade, sales down in Japan and Western Europe stagnating, GM, Toyota Motor Corp. and other automakers are turning to emerging markets such as India and China, where sales are growing more than 10 percent a year.
For GM, Toyota and other automakers the Tata entry means “pressure to come down to that price and play in that field,” Bragman said. ” – Bloomberg
India’s $2,500 Car Stirs Detroit Show, Isn’t There
Related: Tata Nano Unveiled!
“The mainland has leapfrogged past Japan to become the world’s second-largest stock market in terms of capitalisation, thanks to robust trading and a rash of mega listings.
Bloomberg’s tally put the total market value of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges yesterday at the equivalent of US$4.72 trillion. While the financial news service does not have an updated version of Japan’s stock market value, the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s website logged a total yesterday of 441.84 trillion yen (HK$32 trillion), translating to just US$4.11 trillion.”
“Blogging is one of the most effective ways for small companies to create credibility, marketing experts now think.
It’s a development that probably surprises more than a few executives accustomed to dread the flow of misinformation and mischief that the blogosphere can incubate.
But it has to be done right, in the spirit of blogging and not of advertising, and you can’t just task the intern with the job.” – Reuters
As a survey reveals that 75 per cent of women would marry for money, a Times correspondent describes the pitfalls of life with a busy big earner. – Times Online
Related post: Money won’t buy you happiness