Epic — first ever web browser for India, from India!

Indians are highly skillful and innovative, and the recently released Epic web browser provides an excellent example. The Epic browser is said to be the first-ever web browser for India. It is also the first product from Bangalore-based Hidden Reflex, a software company. Hidden Reflex is a software product start-up founded by Alok Bhardwaj in 2007.

Epic incidentally comes with a built-in anti-virus scanner. Some privacy features include one-click private data deletion, one-click private browsing, and flash cookie deletion built-in (Epic claims to be the first browser ever to kill them!).

The Epic web browser.

Quite nice and easy to use and surf the web, Epic has loads of sidebar applications — a huge plus point! You can type in any Indian language. Next, you can skin your Epic browser.

I selected Sunil Gavaskar, the famous Indian cricketer, as my skin (see top of image) for multiple reasons. One, I feel that he’s the one man who changed the way India plays cricket today, starting from his epic performances in the West Indies in 1971! Two, whatever anyone wishes to say, he is India’s greatest test cricket batsman ever! The other choice was Bruce Lee, but I could not locate him!

Next, there’s an application that lets you edit and save as text or HTML. There’s another application called Snippets, which lets you highlight text, images, etc., and drag and drop into the sidebar to create a snippet. I tried developing one and it works quite well.

Users would be interested to know about a video sidebar. You can perform a YouTube search while working, and find and watch the video you like! The My Computer application opens all folders you’d like to see. So, you can open any folder and directly open any file or files, while surfing on the browser. Another application lets you create a To Do list, to remind you of the chores you need to do! Yet another interesting application has a timer, alerts and stopwatch.

There are direct links to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, as well as to Gmail and Yahoo — all on the browser’s sidebar. Okay, there’s a Maps application as well. You can use the built in Google Map to locate places, find directions, etc.

There’s a travel application, which allows you to book air tickets via Yatra, Cleartrip, etc. I clicked on the Trains, which showed up Cleartrip. Wish that Epic can add the IRCTC website as well at the earliest.

There’s a sidebar application on Jobs as well! I tried it out, and again, it works well! Games is yet another application of interest! I didn’t try that out, lest I get sidetracked!

Obama strikes right chords for science and technology!

Finally, the USA has Barack Obama as its 44th president! There are bound to be lots of expectations from the new president of the United States.

Very interestingly, and aptly, Obama referred to science and technology in his inaugural speech. Surely, it is not a place for any US president to detail his policy, but from what everyone heard, the new President struck the right chords.

Savor some of these extracts from his inaugural speech:

“The state of the economy calls for action—bold and swift—and we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids, and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.”

“We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost.”

“We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.”

Wonderful! The US President clearly hinted at the role science will play during his tenure. Also, his suggestion of ‘harnessing the sun and the winds’ points to the growing importance of renewable energy, hybrid cars, and of course, solar photovoltaics.

I’ve indicated in an earlier blog post that Obama’s, “New Energy for America Plan” could have a significant impact on the US solar industry.

The plan’s provisions include:
• A federal renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that requires 10 percent of electricity consumed in the US to come from renewable sources by 2012.
• A $150 billion investment over 10 years in research, technologydemonstration and commercial deployment of clean energy technology.
• Extension of production tax credits for five years to encourage renewable energy production.
• A cap-and-trade system of carbon credits to provide an incentive for businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The focus on healthcare could see more attention on medical electronics — just my guess — and use it to provide affordable healthcare services.

I’d be very interested to see even more activity on hybrid cars. Closer to home we have had two great prototypes of hybrid/fuel-efficient cars last year — the Chimera, said to be India’s first plug-in hybrid car, and the Garuda.

As I am about to unwind for the day, I received a press release from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), USA, where the CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro congratulated Barack Obama on becoming the 44th President of the United States of America, saying: “On behalf of its 2,200 consumer technology member companies, CEA congratulates President Obama, our first digital president, on his inauguration.”

Indeed, Obama is the USA’s and the world’s first digital president! I’d go on to add that he’s the world’s first Web 2.0 president! For instance, the amount of activity on Facebook has been overwhelming. Oh, in case you happen to visit the White House web site, it’s brand new! The site says: “WhiteHouse.gov will be a central part of President Obama’s pledge to make his the most transparent and accountable administration in American history.”