india

Sometimes Google Earth can help you find your way home after decades of not knowing where home is.

That is what apparently happened for an Indian man who was separated from his family as a 5-year-old. Saroo Brierley tells BBC magazine that he was accompanying his older brother on a train trip in 1986 when he fell asleep and awoke 14 hours later in the notorious slum of Calcutta. Without his brother.

At first, he lived on the streets, joining legions of children begging for their livelihood. Brierley would eventually be taken in by an orphanage and adopted by a … Read more

Microsoft has been given a reprieve in an Indian Web censorship case against several online companies.

The software giant today was told by the Delhi High Court that it will not face charges in the criminal censorship case after the company argued that no formal allegations were brought against it. Microsoft's departure from the case comes after Yahoo was also allowed out.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the news.

The India case is focusing on Google and Facebook. Last week, the Journal reported that the companies were forced to head to trial in India after … Read more

In India, Web censorship is a huge concern. Google and Facebook are learning that the hard way.

The companies, as of today, are on trial in India over claims that they didn't censor content posted on their respective Web sites. According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the case, Indian journalist Vinay Rai brought a criminal complaint against the Web giants, along with 10 other firms, alleging that their lack of censorship "will corrupt minds."

Censorship demands have long presented legal issues for Google and Facebook. Many countries have requested that the companies censor … Read more

Indian authorities are revising their ambitions over the country's Aakash budget tablet project, after the pilot run missed expectations. The government plans to launch a new tender and is also considering raising the price from $35 to $50.

In a report today, Indian Express said the country's Union Human Resource Development Ministry was looking at upgrading specifications for the tablet, including a "capacitive" touch-screen display.

The news daily cited a "highly placed official" who revealed that the ministry had so far been insisting on a $35 price tag, but now plans to revise the … Read more

Microsoft's online store in India was hacked on Sunday, resulting in the theft of usernames and passwords of the site's customers.

A Chinese group of hackers calling itself Evil Shadow Team took credit for the hack, posting screenshots of obscured usernames and passwords that it found unencrypted on the site, according to Reuters. The group touted the attack on its own blog (here's an English translation). posting a screenshot of the hacked Web site with the message: "Unsafe system will be baptized."

Microsoft has since taken down the hacked site and replaced it with a … Read more

Hackers thought to have stolen source code from the Symantec's extended network have threatened to release the source code for Norton Antivirus on Tuesday, but the company says such a release poses no threat.

The hackers, who call themselves "Yama Tough" and employ the "Anonymous" mask in its Twitter avatar, said in a tweet Saturday that they would release the 1.7GB source code on Tuesday. "The rest will follow...," they added.

Several reports surfaced earlier this month that hackers had managed to access the source code for certain Symantec products. Symantec identified … Read more

Last year, when Ford announced its smallest EcoBoost engine yet, we fully expected the new mill to find its way under the hood of a Ford Fiesta. Turns out that we were only partially correct.

Today, Ford announced that it would be unveiling the all-new Ford EcoSport at the New Delhi Auto Expo. This small crossover--which looks like a ruggedized, upright version of the Fiesta hatchback--will be powered by the smallest of the EcoBoost family, the turbocharged and direct-injected, 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine.

Ford claims that with an output of about 118 converted horsepower (120 PS), this mighty mite of … Read more

The Indian government is demanding Web and social media companies, including Google and Facebook, prescreen user content in the country and remove disparaging, inflammatory, or defamatory material before any of it goes online.

Top executives from the Indian offices of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Yahoo will be meeting with Kapil Sibal, India's acting telecommunications minister to discuss the issue, according to two of three unnamed representatives from Internet companies, The New York Times reported yesterday. (See also: "ZDNet: Indian govt. piggybacks on religion to censor the Web.")

This would mark the third in a series of meetings … Read more

The iPhone 4S will soon hit the world's second largest mobile market.

Offered by two of India's major carriers, Apple's new iPhone will start selling there November 25.

Bharti Airtel has been identified by sources as one of the carriers, according to a recent story in The Times of India, though the company itself provided no news or announcements about the phone on its Web site.

However, An Airtel spokesperson confirmed the launch of the iPhone 4S to CNET, saying that the phone will be available starting midnight on November 25 with preorders to kick off this … Read more