Pakistani Windows 8 App Gets More than 70,000 Downloads

G Maps, an unofficial but free app for Google Maps, has been downloaded by more than 70,000 Windows 8 users with-in a week of its launch at Windows 8 marketplace.

This Ultimate Google Maps app for Windows 8 with Street View, Weather, Live Traffic and Photo stream support is is Developed by Data Arc, a Lahore based startup specializing in software development for mobile and tablets for iOS, Android and Windows. Software firm claim to be amongst the the first companies that had submitted Windows 8 Apps from Pakistan.

Point to this url to get to Windows Website store to know more about G Maps

Windows 8 marketplace offers tremendous potential for individuals and firms to get their apps going on the store. This model, which is arguably derived from Apple’s app store, can get humongous in size in coming months and years due to number of Windows users and developers.

Microsoft said that they are consistently engaging developers and students to offer them with all the necessary tools and information required to develop Windows 8 apps in particular and apps for other windows platforms in general.

Developers who want to remain in touch with Microsoft Pakistan, to know details of various trainings, workshops, development events and related information can email their details (name, email addresses, phone numbers, work experience, areas of interest and so on) to mscommunity@live.com to get them-selves registered.

 

News Detail: ProPakistani.Pk

Arfa Karim Honored with LADIESFUND® Khushhalibank Idol Award

Late Arfa Karim Randhawa, the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional from Pakistan, was honored with LADIESFUND® Khushh­alibank Idol Award in 4th Ladies Fund Awards 2012 ceremony held at Mohatta Palace Karachi.

Speaking on this occasion, Ghalib Nishtar, President Khushhalibank said that Khushhalibank was privileged to sponsor the LADIESFUND® KHUSHALLIBANK Idol Award as a tribute to the women of Pakistan. “This year’s award is dedicated to Arfa Karim, who sadly left us earlier this year. Arfa Karim is and will continue to be an inspiration for the coming generations of Pakistan. This Award is an acknowledgement of her courage and commitment in pursuit of excellence and endeavor to create a positive image of Pakistan. Overall, the sponsorship of this award is our humble contribution to acknowledge and celebrate the top female role models of the country, particularly those women who are determined to succeed against all odds”.

LADIESFUND Awards are given each year to those Pakistani women who perform outstandingly in their respective fields. Arfa Karim, was one of the many talented individuals honored at the grand award ceremony. It was the unanimous decision of the judges’ panel to posthumously dedicate the LADIESFUND Khushhalibank Idol award in her memory. The parents of late Arfa Karim received her posthumous award in the ceremony.

News Details: Khushh­alibankOfficial Site

NUST Launches Pakistan’s Fastest Supercomputer

National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) inaugurated its fastest supercomputing facility in a ceremony held on Tuesday at its Research Centre for Modeling and Simulation (RCMS).

The supercomputer installed in NUST is the fastest GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) based parallel computing system operating in any organization/academic institution in Pakistan till date.

The supercomputer can perform parallel computation at a peak speed of 132 Teraflops (132 Trillion Operations per second).  It is equipped with multi-core processors and graphics co-processors with inter-processor communication speed of 40 Gbps

Techinical Specifications:

Computer’s Cluster configuration:
66 NODE supercomputer with 30,992 processor cores
2 Head Node (16 Processor Cores)
32 Dual Quad Core Computer Nodes (256 Processor Cores)
32 Nvidia Computing Processors
Each processor has 960 Processor Cores (30,720 processor Cores)
QDR Infiniband Interconnection
21.6TB SAN storage

Imaginational ceremony was presided over by Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Javaid Laghari.

Speaking at the ceremony, Principal RCMS Engr Sikandar Hayat highlighted some of the unique features of this state-of-the-art computing facility recently acquired by Nust through financial grant by Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

Hayat said that besides the supercomputer’s extensive utilisation in the computation-intensive research projects in the areas of Fluid Dynamics and Biosciences, this massively parallel facility can also be utilized to handle huge data processing applications of social sciences such as Flood and Weather Forecasting, Oil and Gas Exploration, energy efficient building designs and national transportation management.

Addressing the event, Laghari appreciated the efforts of the entire team associated with the project and encouraged all institutions to come forward and benefit from the facility acquired by Nust. He assured HEC’s full support in this regard.

Rector Nust Engr Muhammad Asghar, in his welcome address, sharing his vision, specifically mentioned that the acquisition of the supercomputing facility would be a source of inspiration for PhD scholars, abroad, to return to Pakistan.

“This will give an impetus for collaborative research between universities and other research organizations within the country and abroad.”

Dr Imran Akhtar, the key note speaker, gave a highly motivating and thought provoking speech on the occasion, encouraging young researchers to come forward and utilize the facility in solving national challenges in the areas of engineering, bio-informatics, political science, psychology and social sciences.

News Details:  Pro Pakistani

IT park being set up in Peshawar

 File Photo

PESHAWAR: The provincial information technology department  acquired 25,000 square feet space in Peshawar’s Deans Trade Centre for setting up an information technology park.

Establishment of a similar park is also planned in Abbottabad. To this effect, the IT department signed a memorandum of understanding with the Deans Trade Centre and another with Comsats Institute of Information Technology.

A cheque of initial payment was also given to chief executive officer of Deans Trade Centre Abdul Khaliq.

The function was held at the head office of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB).

The government had announced establishment of the two IT parks last year to diversify its investment portfolio and promote information technology sector.

KPITB managing director Amjad Shahid Afridi told participants that the government had allocated Rs1 billion for the project for the next five years and agreed to release it at once to prevent the project from possible interruptions in case of any change in political dispensation.

Mr Afridi said the government would subsidise 80 per cent of power and air conditioning costs, while Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited would provide free broadband services to startups in the two IT parks.

He said around 25,000 square feet of space had been acquired for the establishment of the IT park at Deans Trade Centre Peshawar and that would later be increased to around 100,000 square feet or a whole floor of the building.

He said investors could set up call centres and business process outsourcing and software houses in the two parks but vendors and other services were not included it.

The KPITB managing director said the government would try to keep the whole operation as one window to facilitate investors.

Provincial science and information technology secretary Mohammad Humayun told participants that the government consulted around 30 IT companies in Islamabad before going ahead with the project in light of their advice.

News Details: Dawn.Com

Sikander Baloch, another genius of Pakistan

ABBOTTABAD: After the late Arfa Karim raised the nation’s pride by becoming the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, another Pakistani wonder child has made history after creating seven Microsoft and Google certified computer operating systems in a suburb of Abbottabad.

The 14-year-old student, Sikandar Mehmood Baloch, lives in Bilal Town in Abbottabad. Sikandar not only became a certified expert of 107 computer engineering languages at a young age but has also received certificates of his achievements from Microsoft and performed work for Google.

He has also received 25 certificates as acknowledgement of his unique work performed for Google, the biggest search engine in the world. Sikandar is studying in the 9th grade in a local school and has made many Linux.

Systems (From VVS1 to VVS7) and developed an indigenous anti-virus system as well. He created a world record at the age of nine after making his first operating system. He works with many websites and earns over $70 dollars daily.

News Details: The News

Pakistan Military to Manufacture Handheld Tablets

Pakistan Military is reportedly in process of developing a handheld tablet, a market dominated by the likes of Apple, Amazon and Samsung, reported Express Tribune the other day.

A rather surprising report said that the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra has started up a new commercial venture with a Chinese company to manufacture smart tablets to strengthen national economy.

It is said that venture may produce several products starting with a computing tablet, a notebook and an eBook reader.

Details suggest that products are initially being marketed in Rawalpindi, but modalities needed to be finalized so it could expand to other cities including Lahore and Karachi.

The competitively priced products, he said, have several benefits because they are being manufactured in Kamra.

“It comes with a joint one-year warranty of PAC and Innavtek. Because PAC is producing it, it will ensure quality. We will also provide backup support,” the official said an official.

Update:

Okay we have got this information, according to which there are two devices (a tablet and e-reader) available for sale. Notebook will be made available in March 2012. Keep reading for more details:

E-Reader: PAC Pad1

• Portable eBook Reader
• 7” TFT Screen
• 480 x 800 Resolution
• 10 Hours Battery time
• Media supported: AVI, MKV, MP4, MP3, PDF, EPUB
• DRM Compliance
• USB Connector
• Price: Rs. 8500

Tablet: PAC eBook 1

• 1 GHz processor
• 7” Capacitive Multi-touch screen
• 1920 x 1280 resolution
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• 256 MB Ram
• 5 Hours Battery time
• Android 2.3.3
• 4 GB NAND Flash included
• External SD Card upto 32 GB
• Price: Rs. 15,500

Notebook: PAC nBook1

• 11” Screen
• 1920 x 1280 resolution
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• 1.33 Ghz processor
• 1 GB ram
• 5 Hours battery time
• 120 GB hard disk
• HDMI support
• Price: Rs. 25,500

PAC claims that all products are co-produces and assembled locally, and are sold after quality assurance.

All products come with 1 year warranty.

Where to Buy:

Currently these products are available at PAC Kamra, however, PAC is making arrangements to make these products available in open market, throughout Pakistan.

News details: ProPakistani

Mardan boy develops SMS-based portal

PESHAWAR: Mardan’s 18-year-old Shahzad has developed a social networking portal that does not require an internet connection – “Smile SMS”. The SMS-based social networking service enables users to gather local and international information on their phones, free of cost, without using the internet.

IT-savvy Shahzad has been into developing programmes and websites ever since he was in grade six. This hobby transformed into passion and helped him achieve a lot at a very young age.

Sajjad Khan, one of the users of the service said that in his village, hundreds of students don’t have internet access to use this service. “This is the first time that such a service has been launched in K-P. It is benefitting a lot of people, said Khan.

News Details:  GoodNews.PK

Same Story is Covered in Al-Jazeera too.