| Tutorial: How to back up your Linux install Posted: 01 Jun 2012 11:31 AM PDT CNETAnalysis: How to back up your Linux install You’ve probably suffered data loss at some point, whether it was an unrecoverable camera memory card or a hard drive that gave up the ghost. There’s nothing like the sensation of crawling dread when you realise what you’ve lost, and it’s a feeling that continues to haunt you in the weeks and months that follow. But computers are data – they’re built for duplication. In the past, backing up your system could be slow and arduous, but it doesn’t need to be now. A couple of hours spent creating an automatic and foolproof backup procedure using Linux could save days and weeks of pain later – and it’s easy. We’re going to build a system that will back up your local files and can be modified to include data from machines on your LAN without typing any commands. It can even be expanded to include remote and off-site storage. This is a solution that’s flexible enough to fit your needs, regardless of whether you’re sat at home with a single machine, or are working in an office with 20. D  |
| Rawalpindi protesters set WAPDA office on fire Posted: 01 Jun 2012 11:19 AM PDT
Staff Report RAWALPINDI: Residents of the city staged a protest against unscheduled power load shedding on Friday. Violent protesters also set the WAPDA office on fire. Protesting at IGP Road, load shedding hit people chanted slogans against Wapda. They demanded smooth supply of electricity for their normal lives. It is to be mentioned here that people all over the country face huge trouble as long power outages have become routine. SAMAA 
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| Week in Tech: Chrome PCs, Apple TVs and techno teeth Posted: 01 Jun 2012 09:14 AM PDT 
CNETAnalysis: Google’s released so many new things this week you’d probably need a special Google Map to find them all: there was new hardware, new software, more new hardware, a bit more hardware and a new online service. The biggest announcement was the new version of Chrome OS, Google’s alternative operating system. As Patrick Goss reports, it’s a bold new vision with some room for improvement, and the new Chrome-running, Mac Mini-esque Chromebox PC “could carve itself a nice little niche in the desktop market.” There are new Chromebook laptops from Samsung and Acer too, and Google promises more from other firms too . The most obvious new thing in Chrome OS is a desktop, which Gary Marshall reckons “is worth a titter at the very least… what we’ve ended up with looks considerably less radical than Microsoft’s Metro interface for Windows 8 “. For Marshall, Chrome is an OS designed for “a big but fairly dull market: the locked-down boxes you’ll find in hotel internet suites, on check-in desks and in giant corporations’ offices”. For consumers “it appears to be the Google+ of operating systems, the answer to a question somebody else has already answered”. Chrome OS and Android to merge One Chrome device you won’t see is a tablet, because Chrome and Android will ultimately merge . “We are not working on a Chrome OS tablet,” Google says. Google certainly is working on an Android tablet, though: the Nexus 7, which has shown up online and appears to be made by Asus. It’s a quad-core, seven-inch job that should run Android 4.1, and we’re expecting to hear much more about it at next month’s Google I/O event, along with details of Google Glasses, the augmented reality eyewear that Sergey Brin hints will be released next year . Google is mainly an online services company, of course, and its latest! wheeze is Google+ Local , a location-based section of its social network that will compete with the likes of Yelp, Urban Spoon and even “a significant chunk of TripAdvisor”. It’s part of Google’s ongoing process of integrating everything with everything else, so, for example, it integrates Google+, Google Maps, the Google-owned Zagat restaurant guide, Circles, Hangouts and businesses’ Google+ pages. Apple is lurking With WWDC 2012 just over a week away we’re about to enter the annual Apple news frenzy, and it kicked off early this week when CEO Tim Cook took to the stage at the AllThingsD conference to talk about Apple’s past, present and future . TV is an “area of intense interest”, Cook said, all but confirming that Apple is working on a TV; at the very least we reckon the WWDC event will unveil iOS-style apps for the existing Apple TV device. Cook also slammed hybrid tablet/laptop devices and gave Microsoft’s tablet plans a good kick, suggesting that combining PC and tablet was like combining a toaster and a fridge. Gary Marshall felt that the interview showed Cook stepping out from the late Steve Jobs’ shadow . “In among the assertions of Apple’s general awesomeness, there was some real substance to the interview,” he says, noting that Cook promised a more open Apple (but not about future products) and improved corporate responsibility, suggested that the ill-fated Ping social network is on borrowed time and strongly hinted at imminent Facebook integration. When Cook promised great things from Apple this year, Marshall wasn’t “detecting a reality distortion field. Roll on WWDC.” Praise for Jobs Cook praised Steve Jobs during his interview, and he wasn’t the only one to do so this week: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison called the late Apple founder the Henry Ford of the tech industry, while Pixar’s Ed Catmull said that, in his final years, Jobs “was very kind. There was a notion of fairness that wa! sn’ ;t there in the early years.” From the sublime to the utterly ridiculous: this week we discovered the existence of the Play-A-Grill, a piece of jewellery that doubles as a tongue-controlled MP3 player. Marc Chacksfield couldn’t resist . “Wonder who will wear it first?,” he asked. “Queen La-teether, Tooth-pac Shakur or Root canal Manuva?”
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| Finance minister presents budget 2012-13 Posted: 01 Jun 2012 07:19 AM PDT
Staff Report ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh presented the budget in the National Assembly session here on Friday amid indiscipline by the opposition parties. National Asembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza chaired the budget meeting. Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh said that he was delighted to present 5th budget of the democratic President showed good leadership despite challenges, the minister said. We have taken the country out of economic crisis and increased economic growth, Sheikh said. The minister said ‘We returned 1.2 bln to IMF. No loans taken from IMF in last two years.’ The government regularized thousands of the contractual employees, benefited 3.5 families through BISP, he said. Tax collection target is Rs 3234 and federal budget volume is Rs 262960 bln, he said. “All items which have a GST tax of more than 16%, efforts are being done to bring their tax down to 16%.” “We have decided to lessen the customs duty… All customs item which were in the maximum range of 35% will be brought down to 30%,” said Shaikh. The finance minister says that Rs183 billion has been allocated to deal with the energy crisis. 20% increase in salaries and pension was also announced in the speech by the finance minister. SAMAA 
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| RIM cleared to use BBM name Posted: 01 Jun 2012 05:26 AM PDT CNETAnalysis: Some good news at last for RIM – the troubled BlackBerry maker has been granted permission to use the name BBM for its instant messaging service. Blackberry Messenger has been known as BBM for some time and advertised as such, but a Canadian company with the same name accused it of infringing its trademark. BBM Canada measures television and radio audiences. It wanted to stop RIM advertising using the initialism BBM, instead using BlackBerry Messenger. But now a court has ruled RIM is free to continue. “We are pleased that the Federal Court of Canada sided with RIM and confirmed that RIM’s use of BBM does not infringe the trademark rights of BBM Canada as they had alleged,” the company said in a statement. A rare win It’s a rare victory for RIM, which has been struggling of late. Its chief legal officer left earlier this week , and it’s predicted to lose thousands more jobs today. At least 2,000 employees are expected to be cut, but the number could be as many as 6,000, if one estimate is correct. What’s more, the company didn’t show off any new handsets at this year’s BlackBerry World, instead pinning its hopes on its BlackBerry 10 OS . The radio and TV audience measuring company, BBM, was established in 1944 as the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement. It shortened its name to BBM in the 1960s, then BBM Canada in the 1990s. Related Stories RIM’s chief legal officer quits ahead of job cuts Posted by: Maryum
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| 5 die in Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway vehicle crash Posted: 01 Jun 2012 03:48 AM PDT
Staff Report ISLAMABAD: Five people, including two cousins, were killed and one child was wounded on Friday when a vehicle they were riding in turned turtle on Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway. According to reports, a Mardan-to-Peshawar van carrying wedding guests overturned due to overspeed near Peshawar on Motorway. Five people aboard the van died on the spot. While the child, who also sustained mior wounds, was discharged from hospital after getting medical treatment. SAMAA 
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| Ex-president of Pakistan Fazal Ilahiâs anniversary today Posted: 01 Jun 2012 12:48 AM PDT
Staff Report
KARACHI: Former president of Pakistan, Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry who earlier worked in numerous government positions, is being remembered on his death anniversary today (Friday). Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was born in a Gujjar family in Marala village, near the city of Kharian, Gujrat District in Punjab province on January 1, 1904. He joined the Muslim League in 1942. After Independence, he was given the post of Parliamentary Secretary. He was later appointed Minister for Education and Health. In 1951, he contested the elections of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on the Muslim League ticket and was elected as a member of the Punjab Assembly. In 1952, he represented Pakistan in the United Nations. In the 1956 elections, he was elected as member of the Assembly and later as the Speaker of the National Assembly. He remained as Speaker till 1958. In 1962, when Ayub Khan announced the elections, he was selected as the Deputy Opposition Leader of the House on the basis of his experience and knowledge about parliamentary proceedings. He joined the Convention Muslim League, and after the 1956 elections, he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. He was elected as member of the National Assembly in 1970 on the ticket of Pakistan People’s Party and was later elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly. After the 1973 Constitution, Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was made the President of Pakistan for five years on August 14, 1973. On July 5, 1977, the army took over the reigns of power in the country. Fazal Ilahi, however, completed his tenure as President of Pakistan. He died on June 2, 1982. SAMAA 
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| Federal Budget 2012-13 to be presented today Posted: 31 May 2012 08:17 PM PDT 
CNewsworld All the preparations had been finalized for the presentation of the national budget for the fiscal year 2012-13. Both the Houses of the Parliament have been fully prepared for today’s budget sessions separately. A lot of hue and cry from opposition benches, especially from lawmakers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is expected against Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani after his conviction from the Supreme Court in contempt of court case against him. Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh while responding to questions on the occasion of release of Survey of Pakistan Report 2011-12, asked the reporters not to end all of their questions as he would have to respond to them day after tomorrow. Both the Houses of the Parliament were summoned to meet separately by the Acting President Nayyar Hussain Bokhari almost on week ago. It is the 42nd session of the 5th Parliamentary year of the incumbent National Assembly. It will be the fifth and last budget of the sitting coalition government led by PPP and will be laid before the National Assembly by Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh. Similarly, as per agenda of the Upper House of the Parliament, copies of the finance bill containing the Annual Budget Statement, for making recommendations, if any, thereon to the National Assembly, will be presented in the House. Sources said that both the Houses would be adjourned for next two days after budget speech by the Finance Minister. Well placed sources informed that PM L-N members of the National Assembly of would continue their protest against Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani so lot of hue and cry is expected during budget speech of Finance Minister, however, PML-N Senators are likely to maintain their prestige and sanctity in today’s session.
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| Microsoft launching Office 365 for Government Posted: 31 May 2012 06:33 PM PDT 
CNETAnalysis: With Microsoft’s announcement of Office 365 for Government , the software giant is ensuring that working in the cloud isn’t just for civilians anymore. Like the vanilla Office 365 , the government edition offers cloud access to Microsoft’s productivity apps like Exchange Online, Lync Online, SharePoint Online, and Office Professional Plus. What makes Office 365 for Government special is that it will store all of its U.S. government data in what Microsoft calls a “segregated community cloud.” Cloud security is a top priority Now, it doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to worry about storing important government documents in the cloud. To help ease those concerns, Microsoft issued assurances that Office 365 for Government “supports the most rigorous global and regional standards” when it comes to security. That includes ISO 27001, SAS70 Type II, the US Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), and a handful of other global security acts and protocols. Steps are also being taken to soon support the Criminal Justice Information Security policies. By September Microsoft plans to have it also support IPv6 to help future-proof its cloud app service. Office 365 isn’t the only cloud-based app service getting involved at the federal level, as it will be competing against the already available Google Apps for Government. In our own review of Office 365 last year, we found it to be more streamlined and with better integrated services than Google Apps, though at a higher cost and with a strict Windows OS requirement. It’s a tradeoff that’s easier to justify at an individual or even a business level, but we’ve yet to see if it’s one the government is willing to make.
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| Apple set to buy Redmatica start-up to boost GarageBand Posted: 31 May 2012 02:44 PM PDT CNETAnalysis: Apple may have bought a small music editing company to boost its own GarageBand and Logic Pro software offerings. TechCrunch reckons Apple has earmarked some of its massive cash-hoard to buy Redmatica , an Italian start-up that creates digital music apps. The company’s most notable product is the Keymap Pro Advanced Sampled Instruments Editor which it describes as “photoshop for sampled instruments.” However, the company which pushes four Mac-centric products in total, is still in its early stages and only brought in income of about £20,000 ($32,000) last year. Mac-centric If the reports are true, it may be that Apple plans to integrate some of the features into its own popular pieces of editing software. Beyond that, it may be an acqui-hire, meaning Apple has taken a fancy to one or more of Redmatica’s workforce. Apple is yet to confirm the purchase.
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