Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is the latest Android version that is available for phones. Its source code was released on 14 November, and Google debuted it in Hong Kong. Google’s goal is unifying the smartphone and the tablet, and this update offers a massive redesign to the user interface and also adds a lot of new features. |
An entirely new typeface optimised for high-resolution screens improves readability and brings a polished, modern feel to the user interface. Some of the highlights include an NFC-enabled feature called Android Beam, offline search in Gmail, new lock screen features and a fancy unlocking method called “Face Unlock,” which uses facial recognition to ensure strangers can’t use your phone without permission.
You can insert live application content directly from the home screens through interactive widgets, which let you check email, flip through a calendar, play music and check social streams. Widgets are resizable, so you can expand them to show more content or shrink them to save space. The Settings app has colourful charts which show the total data usage on each network type (mobile or Wi-Fi), as well as the amount of data used by each running application.
Another interesting new feature is the People app, which offers richer profile information, including a large profile picture, phone numbers, addresses and accounts, status updates, events and a new button for connecting on integrated social networks. Today, thanks to mobile technologies, keeping in touch is very easy, both for business and in private life.
A Business Book by Sir Richard Branson
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On 8 September 2011, Sir Richard Branson, a hugely successful international entrepreneur, cut the ribbon at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean in Montego Bay. The Centre in Jamaica is the first facility of its kind in the region and is operated by Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, and lead business sponsor Virgin Holidays, the UK’s number one long haul holiday company. It will provide aspiring entrepreneurs with a launch pad for their businesses and a platform for job creation across the Caribbean, helping destinations like Jamaica – where unemployment rose to an eight year high of 12.9 per cent earlier this year – to prosper. |
Screw Business as Usual is the latest book by Sir Richard for the new wave of emerging entrepreneurs as well as for existing business people who are transforming their organisations. The author thinks that there is no incompatibility between doing business in an ethical and transparent manner and achieving good financial results: the driving force behind capitalism shouldn’t be making a profit but caring about people, communities and the planet.
In support of his ideas, Richard Branson gives the example of Fabio Barbosa, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and former CEO of Santander Brazil. In an interview with Upsides magazine, Fabio Barbosa said that the social and environmental risk analysis at Santander has shown that, in the long run, companies with adequate environmental policies, well-defined labour relations and a balanced relationship with the community end up achieving more consistent financial results and establishing a more attractive brand name. It is in the company’s own interest to adopt corporate governance policies in line with the development of the country.