Science & Technology

The future of newspaper: Paper or plastic?

Sat November 7, 2009 - 1:40pm BdST

Environmentalists have always dreamed of a world where humans no longer need to cut down trees for paper. Sometimes, even literacy comes at a cost. In view of saving the endangered trees of the planet, more and more offices around the world are moving towards paperless endeavours by computerising most of their transactions, for example through online banking and using email and SMS for sharing documents and information.

Digital signature important for digitisation drive

Sat November 7, 2009 - 1:30pm BdST

Digital society aims to make life easier by saving time and energy and stopping misappropriation in the everyday life. Moreover, the systems of tax return, the filing of information in the government offices, procurement and tender, applying for any license can be introduced with electronic or digital signature and digital certificate to transform Bangladesh into digital, the participants said at a seminar in the city recently.

Bangladesh Bank offers wide online banking

Mon November 2, 2009 - 4:38pm BdST

Bangladesh Bank on Monday offered broad use of online banking service facilitating subscribers of all the commercial banks of the country. To this effect, Bangladesh Bank issued a circular today.

Internet addresses set for change

Sat October 31, 2009 - 12:42am BdST

The internet regulator has approved plans to allow non-Latin-script web addresses, in a move that is set to transform the online world. The board of Icann voted at its annual meeting in Seoul to allow domain names in Arabic, Chinese and other scripts. More than half of the 1.6 billion people who use the internet speak languages with non-Latin scripts. It is being described as the biggest change to the way the internet works since it was created 40 years ago.

Cisco sees education link vital to digital era in Bangladesh

Sat October 31, 2009 - 12:09am BdST

Connectivity in education is key for Bangladesh to step in to the digital era, says a top regional official of Cisco Systems, a leading global supplier of networking equipment and network management. In an exclusive interview with bdnews24.com, Amit Malik, vice president for Eastern India and the SAARC region, said the country needs an 'inclusive growth'-focused objective for going fully digital. It also needs to ensure that the rural areas have the same opportunity as their urban counterparts to access education, he added. Education will open up opportunities for growing in any and every aspect, according to the Cisco official.

Facebook challenges financial regulators

Fri October 30, 2009 - 11:43pm BdST

Social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn raise ‘serious new challenges’ for financial regulators, the head of the largest US independent securities regulator said on Tuesday. Wall Street bankers and analysts increasingly want to use social networking to connect and interact with customers, Richard Ketchum, the chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said.

GP subscribers near 22 million

Fri October 30, 2009 - 11:38pm BdST

Grameenphone Ltd, the country’s leading cell phone operator, has added almost one million new subscribers in the third quarter of 2009, pushing up the total number of subscribers close to 22 million.

NASA rocket launch advances Moon mission dream

Thu October 29, 2009 - 4:09pm BdST

NASA successfully launched Wednesday the prototype for a new generation of space rocket, advancing its plans to return man to the Moon by 2020. The Ares I-X, the tallest rocket ever built, blasted off at 11:30 am (1530 GMT) from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying with it the US space agency's lofty ambitions for human space flight.

No new mobile operators for now

Thu October 29, 2009 - 12:13pm BdST

No new mobile operators will be allowed for the time being, telecommunications minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju told parliament on Wednesday. "There are currently six operators serving the country. No new operators will get licences," the minister told a question-answer session. "However, features and facilities of state-run Teletalk will be developed so that it can become the number one mobile operator in the country," he said.

'Scrap MRP project, introduce electronic passports'

Wed October 28, 2009 - 8:03pm BdST

A parliamentary body on Wednesday asked the government to cancel the project for issuing machine-readable passports (MRPs) and take steps for introduction of electronic passports to save crore of public money. Apart from passport issue, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Planning Ministry also made a set of recommendations including relocation of Kamlapur Railway station to Tongi to ease terrific traffic congestion in the capital city.