Bill Gates loses 'World's richest' crown replaced by Carlos Slim

A Mexican telecoms tycoon has dethroned Bill Gates as the World's richest man.

According to forbes, Carlos Slim Helu ended Gates's 13-year reign thanks to a 26 per cent surge in the stock price of his company America Movil during the second quarter. Slim boosted his personal net worth to $67.8bn compared to last year’s $30bn.

Slim's fortune is equivalent to eight per cent of Mexico's gross domestic product, according to Común. For Gates to be worth eight per cent of the US economy, he'd have to increase his wealth by 17 times to $13tn.

Slim paved the way for overtaking Gates last year by expanding his stake in wireless operator America Movil after selling his holdings in MCI and Altria. This deal that netted more than $6bn and earned Slim the title Latin America's richest man.

In April this year Slim overtook the World's second richest person Warren Buffett, the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway and philanthropist who has dedicated himself to giving away most of his fortune through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. ®

Wireless gadget maker to offer on-the-move internet for free

"Canadian mobile internet gadget maker DataWind is coming to Europe this month on the back of the second generation of its Pocket Surfer wireless web browser, Register reported. And it's promising "the internet anywhere... for free".

The Pocket Surfer 2's specifications aren't known, but the first version of the device, currently available to buy in Canada and the US, is a clamshell gadget with a 640 x 240 colour display and a QWERTY keypad and cursor control built into the screen cover. The device measures 13.8 x 6.9 x 1.5cm and weighs 96.4g. DataWind pitches the price of the hardware low - just $200 for the device - but it also requires a $10 monthly fee for the company's internet connectivity service. You can skip the regular payment with a one-off device purchase of $300.

DataWind's USP as an ISP is its server-side data compression, which it claims significantly reduces the amount of data it sends out to the handheld. It claims that "a customer can easily save over 200MB in bandwidth with the DataWind solution, in 20 hours of usage over a month - which could result in $20-80 in carrier data charges". Pocket Surfer has no cellular connectivity of its own, relying instead on a Bluetooth link to your phone.

Apple launched its iPhone

Apple's hugely anticipated iPhone is finally a reality. As expected, it makes calls and supports a digital-music player that syncs with iTunes. The thin design is dominated by a vivid touch screen that showcases videos and photos beautifully. You'll also note a lack of buttons and controls as all menu navigation and data entry from typing messages to dialing phone numbers is done on the touch screen. Other features include quad-band world phone support, a 2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, e-mail and a Safari Web browser. Memory caps out at 8MB and there's no 3G support or wireless downloads, but the iPhone will garner interest simply because it exists. It's available June 29, exclusively from AT n T, for $499 or $599 depending on the memory size.

Despite some important missing features, a slow data network, and call quality that doesn't always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated cell phone and MP3 player. Remember, the iPhone functions as an iPod as well as a phone.

Specs: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband), Up to 480 min, With digital camera/digital player, 2.4 in x 0.7 in x 4.5 in, 4.8 oz

Google's new version of online Docs, Spreadsheets, Folders

"It's only a matter of time before Google unveils a full-fledged online operating system" according to Cade Metz in register.uk. Google rolled out a new version of Docs & Spreadsheets - its online answer to MS Word & Excel - adding Windows-like folders, an improved search engine, and an all-around interface.

Previously, Docs & Spreadsheets organised files using a tagging method reminiscent of Gmail, Google's web-based email client. With the addition of folders, the service feels much more like a classic desktop GUI. You can even move documents from folder to folder via drag and drop.

"Almost from the day we launched people have been clamoring for folders," wrote technical lead Ron Schneider, on the official Google Docs & Spreadsheets blog. In other words, they weren't into the tags thing. One user summed it up quite nicely on the Google discussion forum. "Folders is a great move," he said. "Everyone knows what folders are, but tags/labels still don't make sense to my Dad and others."

If you're already using the service, your old document tags are automatically converted into folders. But there's one aspect of the old paradigm that's still around. In much the same way you could attach the same file to multiple tags under the original interface, you can now store the same file in multiple folders. You'll also find specialized folders that give you quick access to all the documents you've created (as opposed to those created by someone else) and to the documents you've shared with others. The new search engine suggests possible matches as you type - much like the Google Suggest beta that ties into the company's main web search engine. Docs & Spreadsheets new look-and-feel - including revamped icons and organisational controls - is also an improvement, but some users still have complaints.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said the company will eventually add a PowerPoint-like presentation builder to its online office suite. Over the past two weeks, the company added a PowerPoint viewer to Gmail and announced the acquisition of Zenter, a startup with an existing online presentation tool."

IBM create worlds most powerful supercomputer

World's computer giant manufacture the first supercomputer capable of crunching through a thousand trillion mathematical operations every second has been announced by IBM. This is roughly equivalent to the combined processing power of a 2.4-kilometre-high pile of laptop computers.

Blue Gene/P will be capable of a peak performance of 3000 trillion calculations, or floating point operations, per second (3 petaflops). But its sustained performance is expected to level out at around 1 petaflop.

Each processing chip inside the machines contains 4 unique processor cores. There are 32 of these processors in every circuit board, and 32 circuit boards in every rack. With a total of 216 racks, the full machine features 884,736 unique processor cores.

The first Blue Gene/P machine will be installed at the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, US, later in 2007. It will be used primarily to perform nuclear weapons simulations at that laboratory. Other systems will then be installed in Germany, the UK and elsewhere in the US.

Microsoft to hawk PCs to India's kids

"Microsoft plans to sell a PC for kids and launch an educational channel on its MSN portal in India as the next step in a worldwide 'Unlimited Potential' program" Reported by Austin Modine in Mountain View.

Aimed a target of Rs.40,875,000/- at school students, Microsoft's new IQ PC will be built on AMD hardware and vended by Zenith Computers. The computers will cost Rs.21,000/- ($514).

Microsoft will also open the doors on the MSN IQ Beta Education Channel. The new channel will feature tutoring, exam coaching, and other educational tools for students.

"The task that we have today is to make technology pervasive and useful in the everyday lives of more and more people," Microsoft India chairman Ravi Venkatesan said. India ranks as one of the largest emerging markets in the world, but Microsoft is eager to whip that Indian pony into a gallop. Best to get 'em while they're young.

"The currency growth of IT penetration in India might be rapid, but it is not rapid enough. Affordability is critical and goes far beyond low-cost hardware," Venkatesan said. Microsoft plans to test the waters for IQ at 10 retail outlets in Bangalore and Prun for three months beginning in July, before expanding the offer based on market response. The IQ PC comes loaded with Windows, Office, Encarta and specialized educational programs such as tutorials for competitive exams and homework helpers.

Microsoft will have to hope the software package will ease a price point that, while relatively inexpensive, is not on the low end of the PC market in India, where customers can pick one up for under $400. Microsoft India is also battling computer vendors who make a habit of installing pirated copies of Windows for no extra charge.

In July, India rejected the One Laptop Per Child project, which aims to provide kids in developing countries with a simple $100 machine. India's education ministry said that currently the country needs classrooms and teachers more than computers for children.

Microsoft's Unlimited Potential spokesperson Rachel MacGillivray said the Rs.20,000/- offering is an initial pilot, and Microsoft will work to bring the price down further as the program scales out. Microsoft's Unlimited Potential campaign aims to get PC access for 1 billion people worldwide by 2015 — which just so happens to be the same target year as the United Nations' eight.