History of Friendship Day!

History of Friendship Day

It all started in 1935 and the credit goes to US Congress which decided to dedicate one special day to celebrate the special bond you share with your special friends. Although the exact reason behind Congress’ decision is still not clear but knowing the war situation during those times between various nations, the step was worth complementing. The day has been celebrated in many contries for many years but according to wikipedia first friendship day was officialy celebrated in Paraguay in 1958.

Actually Friendship day originated in 1930 and it was promoted by the founder of Hallmark cards-Joyce Hall who intended to dedicate a day when people send greeting cards to friends. From then on the tradition of exchanging cards started though it faced criticism from time to time by various communities.

In 1988, winnie the Pooh was named as Worlds ambassdor of friendship day by Kofi Annan’s wife, the then UN Secretary General. From then on its popularity began rising and with social networking sites and boon in technologies, the day is now acknowledged by almost every individual nowadays.There is also one foundation that is meant for promoting friendship and fellowship among all human beings as one. The foundation is known as the world Friendship Crusade and it has celebrated July 30th as International friendship day, though different nations celebrate friendship day on different dates.No matter at what date it is celebrated, the motive behind the day to unite people around the globe will be fullfilled as far as we continue to feel the essence of the day and cherish it with every being irrespective of nationality, caste  and creed.

Source : http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Friendship_Day

Microsoft Office now on Android phones!

Microsoft is bringing a pared-down version of its Office software to Android phones, but it won't work on Android tablets just as it doesn't on iPads. 

The software will be available starting July 31. It requires a $100-a-year subscription to Office and won't be sold separately. 

Image Credit: doocab.com

The new offering follows the release of an iPhone version in June and brings an Office app to phones running the most widely used operating system on new smartphones. 

Microsoft is trying to make its Office 365 subscription more compelling, without removing an advantage that tablet computers running Microsoft's Windows system now have - the ability to run popular Office programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. 

"The release of this app shows that we're committed to keep providing additional value for Office 365 subscribers,'' the company wrote in a blog post. "Office 365 subscribers will now be able to access, view, and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents with Windows Phone, iPhone and Android phones.'' 

Microsoft is pushing subscriptions as a way to get customers to keep paying for a product that was historically sold in a single purchase. The company touts such benefits as the ability to run the package on multiple computers and get updates for free on a regular basis. However, a subscription can be more expensive than buying the package outright for just one or two computers. 

Microsoft said it designed Office Mobile for Android phones specifically for small-screen devices, even though many people will prefer editing documents on a tablet's larger screen. The company has a version for iPads and Android tablets, called Office Web Apps, but that runs on a Web browser and requires a constant online connection. The new Android software is an app that gets installed on the phone and can work offline. 

With a subscription, customers typically get to use Office on up to 10 devices. Five of them can be Windows or Mac computers or Windows tablets. The other five can be iPhones or Android phones. Windows phones come with Office installed and do not count toward the limit. 

In keeping the software off the iPad, the top-selling tablet computer, Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder has estimated that Microsoft is potentially ceding $1.4 billion a year in revenue, based on 10 percent of the 140 million iPad owners paying for a $100 subscription. Gownder said failure to provide it on the iPad or Android tablets gives incentives for users to explore competing offerings such as QuickOffice from Google and iWork from Apple. 

Like the other mobile versions, the new Android software is designed for lightweight use. For example, you can use it to view and edit an attachment sent by email. But it's not meant to create a complex spreadsheet from scratch. 

The new software requires Android 4.0 or later - the Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean flavors of Google's operating system. It's available through Google's online Play store. At first, it's available only in the US, though Microsoft plans to expand to 117 markets with versions in more than 30 languages. 

Microsoft did not announce any plans for BlackBerry phones.

Source: TechGIG