BeingSoft

2013 has been an eventful year globally for the IT industry with newer, better and more progressive technological advancements taking place. Big Data was the buzz word in the IT sector all across with companies now focusing on how to create an online environment robust enough to actually move businesses from legacy IT data storage infrastructure to a 24/7 and always available online solution. Mobile manufacturers were ahead of the game and have now packed the newer smart phones with power equivalent to a desktop computer, in the palm of your hands. Pakistan, in 2013, remained where it was in 2012, mostly. First of all we got ourselves a new IT Minister, Ms. Anusha Rahman and a new PTA chairman, Dr. Suleman Shah. A lot is expected from Mr. Shah as his reputation and qualification for a person in this position is perfect. We can all hope that he is able to bypass the government red tape and finally at least able to auction 3G licenses. The software exports fromPakistangrew by 22% ov...

The economic conditions of Pakistan have deteriorated at a very fast pace during the last three years. We were liberated from the controls of IMF in 2005 after a long struggle of 15 years and today we are again back to square one and there seems no hope for our financial survival. IT industry is one sector which failed to flourish here when the world was investing in it. India focused on its software industry from the start. Their official software exports in 1985 were US $4 million that soared to US $5.3 billion in year 2000. Today they are generating US $71.6 billion from this sector. If Pakistan has to survive as an independent state, the young minds of this nation need to be steered towards software industry. This is the only sector that requires very little investment and no raw materials. It is solely dependent upon the intellectual abilities of the young minds and can generate revenues more than our total exports to the world, helping us liberate ourselves ...

Apple implemented the Urdu language keyboard across mobile devices in its iOS 8 update in mid-September. But persistence of a few Urdu speakers has now forced the IT giant to consider adopting the native typeface of Urdu language, Nastaleeq, along with the current Naskh font. The Cupertino-based company had launched iOS 8 on September 17 in what was termed their biggest software update to date, boasting a whole host of features for those using modern Apple mobile devices. Hidden among those upgrades was the implementation of the Urdu keyboard across the system. This enables users of Apple’s popular iPhone, iTouch and iPad devices to type in Urdu while using texts, email, social media and other interaction. This functionality was previously available only through language-specific apps such as  Urdu Writer . The downside for some in this new feature, though, is that it follows the Naskh typeface derived from Arabic Unicode, rather than Nastaleeq. This prompted the creator o...