Gates regains richest title from Buffett

Software czar Bill Gates has regained his position as America's richest person with a networth of $57 billion after losing this place for a few months to his friend and legendary investor Warren Buffett.

In its latest list of the 400 Richest Americans, US business magazine Forbes has ranked Bill Gates on the top, followed by Buffett at the second position with a networth of $ 50 billion.

The last list of the world's richest billionaires, published in March this year, Forbes had ranked Buffett on the top with a networth of 62 billion dollars, followed by Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu at the second and Gates at the third positions with fortunes of $ 60 billion and $58 billion respectively.

While Slim has not been included in the latest list for being a Mexican citizen, both Gates and Buffett have seen their networth taking a dip from the worldwide list. However, the fall is much larger for Buffett at $12 billion compared to $1 billion for Gates. Reuters

Gates and Buffett are followed by Oracle's Larry Ellison ($ 27 billion), Jim Walton ($ 23.4 billion).

Ref: FinancialExpress, Sep 19, 2008.

Google among top ten brands in the world

SYDNEY: Internet search engine "Google" has jumped ten spots to reach at number 10 in the list of the "Best Global Brands 2008". Google, which has built on its dominance in internet searches to expand into software, video, mapping and web browsing, was "the undisputed king of the internet world", and its brand value had shot up by 43 per cent, from 21.9 billion dollars to 31.5 billion dollars, said a report in news.com.au. According to the report, the annual study on the hottest brands in the world showed that tech companies put on the strongest showing, financial companies were the weakest, in. Besides Google, Apple was the second brand which was the biggest mover in Interbrand's "definitive" 2008 Best Global Brands. Apple jumped 9 spots to 24. To qualify for inclusion in the Best Global Brands 2008 list, each brand must derive at least a third of its earnings outside its home country, be recognisable outside of its base of customers, and have publicly available marketing and financial data. Coca-Cola took the top spot for the eighth year in a row thanks to its famous ad campaigns and knack for reinvention. IBM pushed ahead of Microsoft for the first change to the top four since at least 2001. GE held onto fourth position.

The top ten brands, according to the "Best Global Brands 2008" list are:

1. Coca-Cola

2. IBM

3. Microsoft

4. GE

5. Nokia

6. Toyota

7. Intel

8. McDonald's

9. Disney

10. Google

Ref:-Indiatimes,19 sep 08.

Advantages of Wi-Fi

• Unlike packet radio systems, Wi-Fi uses unlicensed radio spectrum and does not require regulatory approval for individual deployers.

• Allows LANs to be deployed without cabling, potentially reducing the costs of network deployment and expansion. Spaces where cables cannot be run, such as outdoor areas and historical buildings, can host wireless LANs.

• Wi-Fi products are widely available in the market. Different brands of access points and client network interfaces are interoperable at a basic level of service.

• Competition amongst vendors has lowered prices considerably since their inception.

• Wi-Fi networks support roaming, in which a mobile client station such as a laptop computer can move from one access point to another as the user moves around a building or area.

• Many access points and network interfaces support various degrees of encryption to protect traffic from interception.

• Wi-Fi is a global set of standards. Unlike cellular carriers, the same Wi-Fi client works in different countries around the world.

To know more about Wi-Fi, visit http://www.wilcorpinc.com/wifi_history.htm
WiFi brief history : http://www.marcus-spectrum.com/documents/economist.pdf

Bluetooth Technology Turns "10"

Bluetooth technology turned 10-years-old in 2008. It is still a youngster in terms of age, but is used the world over.

Bluetooth is one of the fastest growing brands ever – with nearly 2 billion devices using the short range wireless standard.

Bluetooth technology is in mobile phones, printers, cars, TVs and many of those popular wireless gaming controllers.

To mark the 10th birthday of Bluetooth technology, members of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) can submit short stories. We want to hear about your best Bluetooth moments.

In the fourth installment of the Best Bluetooth Moments stories, Sensory Inc. CEO Todd Mozer discusses the intersection of Bluetooth and speech technologies and how his company is taking hands-free to a new level with voice controlled Bluetooth headsets - perfect timing for all the new Bluetooth users complying with recent hands-free legislation.

TOP TEN BLUETOOTH MUSIC MAKERS

1. Samsung YP-P2 Widescreen Music Player
2. Motorola MOTOROKR S9
3. Samsung BlackJack
4. Motorola Bluetooth DJ Headphones S805
5. Samsung YP-T9B Music Player
6. Nokia BH-501 Bluetooth Stereo Headset
7. Jabra BT620s
8. Logitech FreePulse Wireless Headphones
9. SonyEricsson MBS-100 Portable Speaker
10.TIE: Ford SYNC, Powered by Microsoft and Nokia MD-5W Bluetooth Speakers

Ref: http://www.bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/SIG/highlights