Insert a coin into the vending machine, grab your bottle, sit down and take advantage of the drink as well as get connected to the free Wi-Fi. If you are in Japan, you can do this all day long.

Asahi Soft Drinks has devised a vending machine that not only offers drinks but also free Wi-Fi, if you are within the 50m range from the machine.

You don’t have to pay anything to access Wi-Fi. You don’t even have to buy a drink to enjoy free Wi-Fi. Sit anywhere near the vending machine, use your smartphone, tablet, any Wi-Fi enabled device to connect to the Wi-Fi — it’s that simple!

The vending machine will automatically cut off the Wi-Fi signal after 30 minutes; this is to avoid people sitting forever near the vending machine and wrecking the speed like a true freeloader. Such 30 minute browsing limit can bring in more number of people, ultimately increasing the sales.

Emily has a valid statement on why Japan will embrace the Wi-Fi vending machine. For one, there is “a growing need for Wi-Fi” and such “vending machine hotspots will allow people to get connected in more areas.” Even if the consumers are ready to wholeheartedly accept the notion of free Wi-Fi, these fledgling vending machine will see the light only in 2012, as Asahi plans to install around 1000 of them in eminent areas of Japan.

In the US, Skype offered free Wi-Fi at over 50 airports for a week. A week of free Wi-Fi access, that too only in the airport, doesn’t benefit the major part of the audience who are away from the airport. Perhaps stores like Starbucks and McDonalds should introduce free Wi-Fi for its paying customers.

You can read the original blog post here Free Wi-Fi Access With Vending Machine is a Reality!.

The TiE Entrepreneurial Summit will be held in Lalit Ashok Hotel, Bangalore, to help you garner crucial tips from successful entrepreneurs and familiarize yourself with the entrepreneurship culture.

The simple theory to be successful is to learn from the experts. And when we have over hundred speakers taking over forty entrepreneurship sessions, under one roof for two consecutive days, you will be walking out with vast amount of knowledge that can probably change the way you think and do business forever.

TES 2011 event to be held on December 15th and 16th is dedicated to bring successful entrepreneur together and create a vibrant environment in Lalit Ashok Hotel for two days.

There’s also GuruTalks session that brings stellar names of the industry together where they will interact and answer your questions. While you are at it, you also have the opportunity to network with like-minded entrepreneurs.

Overall, if you are knitting ideas for your next start-up and don’t know how and where to begin with, or if you are not able to scale your business to newer heights, then this event can certainly spawn motivation and help you generate, revisit your business goals.

I’ll be attending this event. Let’s connect.

Venue: Lalit Ashok Hotel, Bangalore.
Registration: Rs. 5000 for regular members; Rs. 10000 for non-members.
More details: TES 2011 Website.

You can read the original blog post here TES 2011 Event in Lalit Ashok Hotel, Bangalore.

For those who want to run Windows on your Mac, check out VMware Fusion 4, which is the latest installation of VMware’s virtualization product. Touted as the best way to install Windows on Mac, VMware Fusion has been knitted with 90 new features and performance tweaks.

VMware Fusion 4 also runs seamlessly on Apple’s Mac OS X Lion.

Features of VMware Fusion

As VMware Fusion has been engineered to run seamlessly on Mac OS X Lion, it welcomes better performance and has a more mac-like experience. Also, for users running OS X in a virtual machine, VMware Fusion offers a host of useful features.

VMware Fusion 3 users upgrading to this newer version will notice a change in library and snapshot menu. If you haven’t upgraded yet, launch VMware Fusion and check for updates now.

The latest version of VMware Fusion also runs Windows 8.

Price of VMware Fusion 4

Although the product is normally priced at $79.99, but the promotion offer discounts $30 from the original price. So, it all comes down to $49.99.

The limited promotion extends till the end of this year. You can register a license copy of VMware Fusion 4 from VMware’s official website.

You can read the original blog post here Latest VMware Fusion 4 Works on Mac OS X Lion.

Samsung has been a company that has always managed to inspire the world of technology with their advancements made in every possible field.

Come February, Samsung will be showcasing to the world the best of their super slim range of laptops that is sure to give buyers one of the most light weight and cutting edge pieces of technology that has helped a lot of people grow professionally as well as on an entertainment level.

The new Series 9 Samsung Laptops promise to be the next generation of computing where they offer the best of slim casings to accommodate some of the best notebook hardware around.

Specifications of the Samsung laptops are expected to be sized at a 14.5 inch screen that is clubbed with a LED Backlight display, a 12GB SSD Card and more. Additionally, the notebooks are expected to run with a 1.4Ghz Core Processor and a respectable memory slot.

While buyers can expect this to be priced at around $1500, it can be an expensive masterpiece but it will certainly break the monotony of Apple’s Macbook dominance in the market.

You can read the original blog post here Samsung to Unveil Ultra Thin Laptops.

2010 is almost over – hard to believe, but true. This year flew past faster than data through a broadband connection, and we’ve seen a great deal of progress happening on the tech front.

The year started with a bang when Apple introduced the world to the next great iGadget, the iPad, and effectively started a new paradigm shift on the bookstore and reading front. However, their evolutionary iPhone 4, whilst including some impressive improvements, came with some major flaws. Google continued its smartphone onslaught with Android, and replied to Apple’s iPad with Chrome OS, the company’s own operating system with heavy emphasis on cloud computing.

Sony and Microsoft joined the immersion movement in gaming with the PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect, ready to take on Nintendo’s Wii. Facebook introduced its geo-location service Places and a site redesign, and Mark Zuckerberg promised to put an end to email with a major change to Facebook Messages, introducing a “one inbox fits all” product. Research in Motion announced their competitor to the iPad, targeted at the business crowd, in the form of the BlackBerry Playbook. Oh, and Apple also introduced a Mac App Store.

I’ve decided to compile a list of my top tech advances of 2010. This list spans hardware products to software services; the core aim is to define the technological products and services that will or have improved our daily lives.

10. Android

Google’s Android mobile operating system has grown exponentially since it was introduced to the world in October 2008. Now powering hundreds of different devices, and coming in a wide variety of flavors, the open-source system has proved a deadly threat to both Research in Motion’s Blackberry OS (which dominates the business world) and the popular Apple iOS.

For us consumers, Android is a great competition instigator that, being open source, allows for innovation to occur and pushes the boundaries of mobile computing, meaning that at the end of the day, we get the best products developed by all mobile companies.

9. Facebook Redesign

Every time Facebook introduces a site overhaul, it’s met with widespread criticism. However, with this latest revamp of the popular social network, the new Facebook Profile displays vital information in a direct manner, and emphasizes the important aspects of the site (viz. Photos and bio’s).

The inclusion of being able to add what projects one has worked on, and the cleaner look of the Profile means that navigating the site, and spending time on the desktop version of Facebook is a lot easier than before. Plus, the redesign asserts the fact that Facebook takes its desktop site seriously – a good thing for future updates.

8. 3D Printing

2010 has certainly been the “year of 3D”. As The New York Times has pointed out earlier this year, 3D printing – the art and science of “printing” 3D models – has taken off, with companies in New York offering the services of printing real-life models of designs users have created on their home computers using free software like Google’s SketchUp.

3D printing is certainly taking off, and cheaper printers like MakerBot are paving the way for this technology to make its inroads into the mainstream consumer market. It’s a sure signal of what the future of consumer technology will look like, and opens up new opportunities for home industries.

7. Kinect

Microsoft’s Kinect poses the biggest threat Nintendo’s Wii has ever seen. It’s concept of doing away with the traditional controller altogether, and instead using the body as the controller, sounds like something out of a Bond movie. Yet the technology is now commercially available, and allows a new dimension into immersing one’s self in a game.

Already, tech pundits are predicting uses for Kinect’s technology outside the gaming world; it seems like motion-activated control is going to be the “next big thing” after the touch revolution brought on by Apple’s iOS devices. One thing’s for sure: Kinect is set to change the way we perceive computing in the not too distant future.

6. 3D TV and 3D Cinemas

As I mentioned above, 2010 has been the year of 3D. Riding on the runaway success of James Cameron’s epic blockbuster Avatar, more and more film studios are buying in to the “3D gimmick”. And so it only makes sense that TV makers the likes of Sony and Samsung are developing 3D televisions.

Whilst I (like quite a few others) feel that 3D is a huge gimmick, the fact is that 3D films sell. And this it’s justified to take the technology into the home theater.

3D TVs may be expensive now, but as demand increases for the new technology, and competition between manufacturers ramps up, we’re sure to see prices decelerate.

5. Geo-Services

Facebook and Twitter, the two most popular social networking sites, have introduced GPS services to track one’s location, and “geo-social” “games” such as Gowalla and foursquare have continued to up their services. Geo-location has become an important part of social networking, and another way that visionaries are integrating the “real world” with the “virtual world”. It’s big technology that’s definitely going to get more prominence as our favorite networks continue to update their services.

4. Mac App Store

It’ll be released in January 2011, and like the App Store before it, the Mac App Store will revolutionize the way we obtain software for our computers. It carries that trademark and unmistakable “Revolutionary Apple” feel to it – I can expect Microsoft and others to jump on this bandwagon with their own version of an “app store” for desktop applications.

The Mac App Store has the potential to revolutionize the way we discover, purchase and share desktop applications.

3. Chrome OS

We’re not quite sure whether it’s an OS or a glorified web browser (okay, it really is an OS, but seriously, it’s just Chrome on top of Linux) but Chrome OS sure looks interesting. A different take on using a computer, this Google operating system emphasizes the best of cloud computing.

I can see it becoming popular with students in Internet-connected countries where one can work on a document wherever there’s an internet connection, regardless what device one uses to write that doc with. Chrome OS introduces the world to a new way of using computers, and for that, we applaud Google on their endeavor.

2. Facebook Messages

In a bold move, TIME Person of the Year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced late 2010 that he plans to “kill” email with the introduction of a single inbox for all messages – from instant texts, to SMS, to the traditional email messages we’ve become accustomed to. I see this as a phenomenal move in the way we communicate, and it represents, for me, the future of connecting with people.

1. iPad

Whilst Facebook Messages represents a drastic change in the way we communicate, the medium of communication – the computer – is still the most important. And for that, first prize of the best tech product for 2010 undoubtedly goes to Apple’s “magical” iPad. It is already doing to books and magazines what the iPod did to music. And it is constantly changing the way we access information, and consume rich content from pictures to video to text.

The iPad shaped the personal computing horizon for 2010 by drastically influencing the competition: rivals like Samsung and HP began scrambling to develop a device worthy of competing with the iPad – but they were too late; the iPad had already captured the hearts of millions around the world, and it has, like its brothers before it, become a symbol of digital content consumption for the new era in computing.

The above is just my opinions of the best tech for 2010; what’s yours? Drop a line or two in the comments!

You can read the original blog post here My Top 10 Tech for 2010.

We have probably seen these in on the big screen where Sci-Fi heroes share data along with others with a simple flick of their hands. Soon enough, Pioneer will be bringing it into reality as they get ready to launch their all new discussion table.

While many may say that they table is just one large iPad, there is much more that meets the eye when it comes to features. The Pioneer Discussion table is not in its launch phase as yet and hence, we do not know much about the device and what it holds up to.

For now, we do know that it has coffee table sized multi touch screen with custom firmware that is yet unknown and probably patented by Pioneer itself. It supports a Core i7 based processor which is backed up by a Windows Embedded Standard 7 Edition interface and that is only the base model of coding that we know.

Technically speaking, there aren’t words to describe The Pioneer Discussion Table as you need to see it to believe it. Check out the video to see how technology is going to change the way businesses will communicate with each other.

It supports a one page scanner that is fitted on a side and also comes with TransferJet to share media wirelessly. The video shows how it seamlessly integrates with other devices and how the multi-touch interface works that seems to be one device that will revolutionize business meetings.

The Pioneer Discussion Table seems nowhere close to being within a price range for everyone to afford, but only time will tell. For now, it seems like business operations and meeting rooms will need an all new investment. May 2011 should reveal more.

You can read the original blog post here The Pioneer Discussion Table Will Blow Your Mind.

The “world’s youngest billionaire”, 26-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, announced on the show 60 Minutes, and his fellow Facebooker Josh Wiseman posted it on the company blog, the arrival of yet another redesign to the world’s favorite social network.

The redesign, which is launching in phases across the site’s 500 million-plus addicted users, is set to focus primarily on the prominence of Facebook’s most famous feature, Photos. Also on the cards is the consolidation of user information, in a bid to emphasize and personalize the Profile.

Hot on the trail of The Social Network, a brilliant and to some, controversial film of the creation of this behemoth network, Zuckerberg’s product has undergone yet another revamp in the hopes of enhancing the experience to a site that has managed to sustain itself in the highly volatile Web 2.0 market that has emerged so rapidly in the past few years.

The “new” Facebook is being rolled-out in phases to users, in a bid to stifle the usual protests from a small group of the 500 million users worldwide who always complain about a change to the user interface or experience to the site. In my opinion, however, this redesign is welcomed; it’s a nice change from having to use the (now old) tabbed interface for over two years.

The redesign displays a news feed of sorts of a user’s latest photos underneath a compilation of pertinent information relating to the individual. This information now includes interesting features such as allowing one to add projects which they’ve worked on, education information, relationship status, location data, and company/work-related tags. You can even add what languages you speak, and the courses you’ve studied/are studying at university or school.

This emphasis on a user’s information is seen as a move by the company to emphasize the individual, allow friends to access the most critical information as quick as possible, and to streamline the overall look and feel of the site.

Photos are an integral part of Facebook, and as such there’s a “reel” of the individual’s latest photos that appear underneath the user’s critical information.

A cool new feature (that to some may be controversial…) is the ability to allow users to display “featured friends”. According to Wiseman in the blog post introducing the feature, “You can now highlight the friends who are important to you, such as your family, best friends or teammates. Create new groups of friends, or feature existing friends lists.” Sounds cool, but it may turn a few faces sour at not being featured on there, so be warned!

I quite like this new redesign. The prominence of information related to the individual, especially tags relating to work experience, projects one has worked on, and education and courses one is or has been involved in, opens up the possibility to creating “new experiences” (as Wiseman noted in the blog post). Some will resent it, but hey, change is good if we want a better experience from the social network that has revolutionised the way we connect.

The changes are being rolled-out in phases, so not everyone will have the “New Facebook” right away. Check your profile periodically to see if it’s been updated.

You can read the original blog post here Say Hello to the New Facebook.

This was a bumper week for every body’s favorite social networking site, Facebook. For one, there was that nasty hours-long outage that left many a crop-growing FarmVille fundi raging catatonic at the prospect that their crops might just die out because they couldn’t access the site.

Then there was the little business about the Facebook Phone: is it an actual mobile phone set to compete with iPhone and BlackBerry, a new mobile operating system with “social” embedded in its core DNA, a set of new apps to link Facebook data with your mobile experience, or none of the above? In fact, what the Zuckerberg is this thing everyone’s been talking about?!

Well, a lengthy transcript of an interview between TechCrunch editor Mike Arrington proved that, no, Facebook is not interested in manufacturing a mobile phone under its branding. Neither is it developing its own operating system.

Essentially, the central idea to the company, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is to make everything social. We’ve seen this business plan effective especially this year with the Social Graph API announcements and Facebook Connect.

What really is happening is that a small mobile phone developer, INQ, who has previously built touch-screen phones with Facebook integration, is currently developing a new Facebook phone with integration to the social site.

Idea like this on the onset do sound captivating. Imagine switching on your mobile, logging in once with your Facebook account, and being able to instantly access all your social networks from one place; a sort of Facebook Connect for your mobile phone. And as the whole world is going mobile, this sounds like a good idea.

But the real question is, do we need a “Facebook Phone”?

I, for one, am quite happy with my BlackBerry. Having an omniscient system in place — a sandbox — that I can add and remove apps from at my own will, and essentially choose my online social life, is far better than being force-fed the Facebook Kool-Aid. Sure, if you’re a die hard Facebook fan the prospect of carrying the social network’s phone with you would be great.

I just find that, as it currently is, Facebook is doing great, and this is not the time for them to be side-tracked by smaller projects like a mobile phone that could deter the fundamental user experience of the core site. In other words, stick to what you know best, and build on that success.

What’s your take on this? Would you buy a Facebook Phone if it ever released? Let us know in the comments section!

You can read the original blog post here Do We Really Need a Facebook Phone?.

It looks like Yahoo has finally woken up to the fact that its mail service is on a downward spiral at the moment. This is evident from the fact that this fall Yahoo Mail will be revamped. Yahoo! not only aims to bring in more users with this much needed facelift but also plans to improve browsing experience on slow connections.

The new Yahoo mail project is code-named (and quite appropriately too!) ‘Minty’, will improve the web based email service. The Wall Street Journal reports that the new Yahoo Mail will look like the iPad and Android versions of the service. Yahoo is also reportedly looking at a sleeker design and improved integration with social networking websites.

And these changes may be necessary for Yahoo to make sure that it does not lose ground to either Gmail or Hotmail. Though Yahoo leads the both of them by more than a country mile in the US, the number of total Yahoo users has been going down, as has been reported by a ComScore study. Yahoo has lost about 10 million users in the period of one year, while worldwide; it has lost 7% of its user-base.

In the same period Hotmail has gained 3% and Gmail has gained a whopping 22%, more users than last year. But these numbers are not the only source of worry for Yahoo.

It has been reported that people in US spend more time on Facebook than Yahoo and Gmail. So there is a threat from these social networking services, which allow users to communicate without the need for email.

Instead of trying to combat the tide, Yahoo has taken the wise option of riding with it. The company is having a partnership with Facebook, to give Mail users the power to update Facebook status from a Yahoo inbox.

And then Yahoo has to address the rise of smartphones powered by Google’s Android, which usually are preloaded with Gmail. Android apps for Yahoo Mail and Messenger have been launched very recently and their impact is not yet known fully.

So, it looks like a lot depends on this ‘Minty’ update!

You can read the original blog post here Yahoo! to improve Yahoo Mail Service. Project Codename: Minty!.

Right, this is what you call off-beat tech news! You have surely tried on thousands of headphones at stores, but have you tried one via the web? Probably not! And that is the reason why you need to check out the Skullcandy virtual ‘dressing room’ for the Roc Nation Aviator on-ear headphones.

This cool new website has been launched by Skullcandy in collaboration with Stance and is definitely a first as far as headphones are concerned. The key to making this happen is ‘augmented reality’ something which you may have heard of in the context of 3D technology.

What you need, is a functional webcam and a plug-in which has to be downloaded onto your system. Then once you enter the Skullcandy virtual room, the the software will track your face and make necessary calculations required to fit the virtual model of the Roc headphone on you.

The plug-in you download, will use your webcam to track your facial movement (actually head movement!) and displays footage on screen, of you wearing the headphones. So, whichever way you look the 3D model replicates the movement!

This kind of virtual 3D room viewer, has been utilized in very few areas till date. It should be noted here, that Rain, a leading mobile app and web development firm deserves credit for the successful implementation of this technology.

So, this time before you buy a pair of headphones, you can actually see how you look like wearing them! For on-ear headphones, this is important, because you surely don’t want to look like a character out a 70’s sci-fi movie while chatting with your current heartthrob. The new Skullcandy virtual room ensures that you look cool, because just good sound is not enough.

Do take some time out to visit the Skullcandy website! That is the only way to find out whether this is actually enhancing your buying experience.

You can read the original blog post here Try Virtual Headphone With the New Skullcandy Virtual Room!.