A hotel in space 

Russian company Orbital Technologies reckons it'll be sending tourists into space as early as next year. Guests would zoom up to the Commercial Space Station on a rocket, then spend their time in one of the station's four cabins enjoying zero gravity and watching earth through the ship's giant portholes. And this is only the beginning: Mashable has totted up nine commercial companies planning to send normal people into space over the next decade or so.

successful new technologies is a risky business - for every iPad or light bulb, there's also a portable travel hammock or an Apple Newton. With that caveat in mind, we've collected together a list of the technologies that we think will make a splash next year, and even, in a few cases, change the way we live. 

I've been predicting that these will be A Big Deal for over a year, and have partly included them because I just think they're really cool. But as with many new technologies, several sets of researchers are currently working to make transparent solar panels better and cheaper, which means that next year could be the year consumers finally get hold of them. Once on the market, they could invisibly collect solar power on phone and computer screens, and even on windows.

Development services

First Sensor specializes in the development and manufacture of custom sensors, electronics, modules and complex systems. As a solution provider the company offers complete development services from a first draft and proof of concept up to the development of prototypes and finally serial production. Custom sensors and complex systems from First Sensor allow OEM device manufacturers to shorten their design cycle, save development costs and achieve competitive advantages as well as fast innovations to the market.

First Sensor offers comprehensive development expertise, state-of-the-art packaging technologies and production capacities in clean rooms from ISO class 8 to 5. From thick-film technology to the processing of bare dice and mounting of active or passive electronic components up to the encapsulation and sealing in hermetic housings all modular technology steps will be optimized to enable a cost efficient production process. Further, First Sensor performs custom and application specific calibrations as well as test procedures such as design margin testing, screening and qualification according to industrial standards. The company has many years of application experience from development projects in the medical, industrial, aerospace and automotive market. From custom specific development up to serial production all processes at First Sensor are subject to different quality management systems certified according to e.g. EN ISO 13485 (medical device standard), ISO/TS 16949 (automotive industry) or EN 9100 (aerospace standard).

Custom sensors and complex systems from First Sensor are successfully used e.g. in medical ventilators, camera systems, computed tomography systems, driver assistance systems, LIDAR systems, baggage scanners and space probes.

First Sensor is the right partner for OEM device manufacturers when their own development and production capacities are not sufficient, cost and technology risks should be limited or they decide to concentrate on their core tasks.

Infosys to open 1 lakh sq m campus in Noida

Come 2015, Noida is set to get an IT landmark — an Infosys campus. Uttar Pradesh infrastructure and industrial development commissioner (IIDC) Alok Ranjan said the IT giant was headed for Noida with an investment of Rs 1,354 crore. Land has already been allotted and the company is set to begin operations within a year.

"We had reserved 3,04,000 sq m of land for industrial development," Ranjan said at a meeting with the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities. "We expect the industries coming here to generate nearly 40,000 jobs and bring investments worth Rs 28,000 crore," Ranjan said. "This will not only improve infrastructure but also improve industrial growth in the state."

Infosys has been allotted 1,00,000 sq m of the earmarked land. "The allotment process is almost complete," the chairman of the three authorities, Rama Raman, said. "The value of the land allotted to Infosys is Rs 100 crore while the cost of the total 3,04,000 sq m is Rs 2,600 crore."

Besides Infosys, 14 others will be allotted land. In all, 37 companies sent in applications . Those approved include JDS Apparels (Ritu Wears), Kent, Havells, Mothersons and National Buildings Construction Corporation.

"Talks are on with IBM, Samsung and others keen to invest in UP. We expect talks to materialize over the next few months," Raman said

Contemplating career change? Know what to do and what not to do?

While making crucial decisions such as career change, people often tend to focus on the symptom and fail to realise the cause, hence make wrong assumptions. So, be sure and admit to yourself that you need a change in your career. 

What to do?

Vijay Kumar, founder & CEO, Peepal Technology & Management Consulting shares with us 5 key pointers to consider while contemplating a career change:

• Understand your motivations for making this decision; be sure you want a change in career and not just a change of environment.
• Start investigating the possibilities based on your dreams. Be realistic and practical.
• Learn from your mistakes, write down the things you hated the most in your previous job and look for alternatives.
• Make a comprehensive list of all the associated risks and formulate ways to avoid them. Have a very strong back up plan, just in case your plan ‘A’ fails. This is particularly important if you have people dependant on you. 
• Finally, ensure that you have thoroughly explored your new career choice because it is more likely that your new career isn't any more fulfilling than your old career. 
• What no to do?

Any wise decision is incomplete, unless you know what to avoid. Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do. Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak Advisors alerted us on 5 things one should avoid to make unsuccessful career changes: 

• Making too frequent changes (changing jobs every 5 years or earlier) without any clear rationale.
• Making a job change primarily to get more money, even if the earlier job offers good working environment and adequate professional satisfaction.
• Making a job change, to change sectors, simply because of the attractiveness of that new sector, rather than on the basis of having more relevant skills for the new sector.
• Inability/unwillingness to spend enough time in understanding the culture and strengths/weaknesses of the new employer.
• Inability/unwillingness to invest in personal time and effort in upgrading personal knowledge and skills set from time to time, and instead, leaving this entirely on the employer to do so, through training programs.

Microsoft CEO race: Ford chief Mulally pulls out

Microsoft is closer to naming a new CEO, but it lost a front-runner candidate when Ford chief Alan Mulally pulled out from the race.

Microsoft is closer to naming a new chief executive, according to a source familiar with the board's thinking, but it lost a front-runner candidate on Tuesday when Ford Motor's chief, Alan Mulally, said he would not be going to the software giant.

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(Microsoft is closer to naming…)

Microsoft is closer to naming a new chief executive, according to a source familiar with the board's thinking, but it lost a front-runner candidate on Tuesday when Ford Motor's chief, Alan Mulally, said he would not be going to the software giant.

Mulally's comments reignited the guessing game over who will take over at Microsoft, following the 

WINDOWS9

With Windows 8.1 floundering, Windows 9 rumors have picked up steam. What can you expect from the next version of Windows?

7 Mistakes Microsoft Made In 2013

After keeping a low profile at last week's International Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft is back in the headlines this week, thanks to a flurry of reports about Windows 9.

Based on its tepid usage share, Windows 8.1 isn't persuading many people to upgrade. Windows 9 will allegedly offer at least two improvements that could help Microsoft turn things around: the return of the Start menu, and the ability to run windowed Modern apps on the desktop. But if those items sound enticing, you'll have to be patient. The update isn't expected to appear until spring of 2015. Here is what to expect:

1. Windows 9 will introduce not only new features, but also a simpler Windows lineupAs mentioned, Windows 9 is expected to restore the Start menu, which has been absent since the original version of Windows 8. It will also allow Modern apps, currently confined to the tile-oriented Start screen, to be run in floating windows on the desktop, presumably just like legacy applications.

Windows 8.1 brought back Windows 7's start button and added a boot-to-desktop mode that allowed PC users to bypass the tablet-oriented Start screen. The changes haven't been enough to tempt longtime customers into upgrading, let alone into buying new PCs. Perhaps Windows 9's nods to the mouse-and-keyboard crowd will be better received.

To some users' chagrin, Windows 8.1 brought back the Start button but not the Start menu.

Windows 9 will also likely introduce a more unified code base among Microsoft's various Windows platforms. With assets such as SkyDrive, Windows 8 already enables users to seamlessly translate data across various devices and services. Windows 9's common code should only advance this agenda.