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Canonical may have failed to meet the crowd-funding goals for the ambitious Ubuntu Edge but that hasn’t prevented them from coming into the smartphone market with other partners.
The company has announced that the first phones running on its Ubuntu Touch OS will hit the market later this year.
The first manufacturers who will get this honour will be Meizu and BQ Readers. Those are both small, aspiring manufacturers but the company promises that more establish names will take notice in 2015.
The reason, as cited by the founder Mark Shuttleworth in choosing these amateur players of the industry is because of their stronghold in rising territories.
The initial phones are said to come with latest hardware, while the OS itself will get support from the makers of top 50 apps on other platforms.

“The mobile industry has long been looking for a viable alternative to those that reign today.
Ubuntu puts the control back into the hands of our partners and presents an exciting platform for consumers, delivering an experience which departs from the tired app icon grid of Android and iOS and provides a fluid, content-rich experience for all.” Mark Shuttleworth

The goal, while ambitious, still seems like a moonshot since the market is full of strong leaders desperate for market share and young groups battling out it out in lower grounds. Still, you should never rule anyone out as we sure have seen stranger things happen.

About Ubuntu EDGE Phone

EDGE comes with great specs, necessary of course to boot Ubuntu desktop.
It will have a 4.5 inch 720p HD display which they think is just fine and not an overkill like Full HD. The display trades glass for pure sapphire crystal, a surface which could be scratched only by diamonds. The phone is made by “cool, textured amorphous metal” metal.
Below that display, you’ll get an unspecified processor with the “fastest available multi-core processor”, 4 GB RAM and a mammoth, 128 GBs of storage. At the back you get an 8 megapixel camera. For connectivity, the phone will have Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band Wifi and 4G LTE. The battery uses the advanced Silicon-anode technology.
Here are the full specs of the Ubuntu Edge:

• Dual boot Ubuntu mobile OS and Android
• Fully integrated Ubuntu desktop PC when docked
• Fastest multi-core CPU, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage
• 4.5in 1,280 x 720 HD sapphire crystal display
• 8mp low-light rear camera, 2mp front camera
• Dual-LTE, dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4, NFC
• GPS, accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, compass, barometer
• Stereo speakers with HD audio, dual-mic recording, Active Noise Cancellation
• MHL connector, 3.5mm jack
• Silicon-anode Li-Ion battery
• Size: 64 x 9 x 124mm

“We are going to table a comprehensive Cyber crime bill before the cabinet. Which has been prepared in consultation with all stakeholders over the last 3 years. International best practices have been taken in to consideration while drafting it”, said Ms. Anusha Rahman, State Minister for IT & Telecom.
The State Minister was chairing a meeting last Friday to review the final Draft of Prevention of E-Crimes Bill 2014 .
Mr. Akhlaq A. Tarrar, Secretary IT,Amir Malik  Member (IT), Mr. Yasir Qadir, Member (Telecom) and representatives from Ministry of law, PTA, FIA and representative of ISPAK, PASHA and Barrister Zahid Jamil were also present in the meeting.
The objective of the meeting was to discuss the final draft of The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill before its submission to the cabinet expected early this week.
This cyber crime bill was long pending as country was running without any legislation available for the crimes committed over internet.
NR3C – a law enforcement agency that works under FIA and look after cyber crimes in the country — will be empowered to deal with all cyber crimes once the much-awaited Electronic Crime Bill is passed.
Currently NR3C relies on Pakistan Penal Code and various other regulations that don’t give the agency enough ability to peruse cyber crimes.
It must be noted that after Cyber Crime bill is passed, masses are likely to remain unsafe. As only law is not not we require in Pakistan, instead awareness amongst the masses and more vigilance from NR3C and its collaboration with internet companies is mandatory to minimize the chances of Cyber Crimes in the country.

By Madiha  Javed from Wah Cantt
Pakistan’s call center industry has established itself to be one of the most popular and successful sector of the country. The reason behind this success is that it has created vast employment opportunities for youngsters who have very little or no work experience and skills.
In a country like Pakistan, where unemployment rate is high, such job opportunities are bound to be welcomed by job seeking individuals.
Fresh graduates take this opportunity as sunshine towards a bright future. Call center jobs are easily accessible and act as a good starter to generate income. If you have strong communication skills and feel you can talk to people over the phone with authority and confidence then that’s all what you need to get a job with a call centrer.
Once you get the job things look quite exiting. Till the trainings are undergone it remains a fun, but once that’s over the real work begins. It does get boring and frustrating in a few weeks as you start the routine of answering one call after the other. Especially when most of the times customers are calling in to abuse you over different issues including balance deduction without his/her knowledge, network issues and so on.
When you are unemployed and get a chance to work at a BPO, your communication skills are enhanced and you learn tactics to handle calls efficiently, but still when the pros and cons are compared, its long term benefits are far less.
The repetitive nature of most call centers can be both good and bad simultaneously. If you’re feeling down and don’t want to go to work any day, the repetition can help you as you will not have to put in too much effort in your work. The negative side is that, at some point you will get bored of the monotonous nature of the BPO or call center industry.
I still remember the days when I worked at a call center and used to come home after work. I simply hated answering calls from anyone or even seeing someone’s name appear on my cell phone’s screen. I became rude, irritated, and began hating myself. There were severe impacts on my family life and I had to practically abandon my friends circle.
Job seekers take this opportunity as a first step towards the corporate world, but unfortunately only a few actually end up successfully shifting to a better job; most of them remain stuck in this job forever.
Long hours of work, permanent night shifts, incredibly high work targets and loss of identity are amongst some of the major factors adversely affecting the lives of employees affiliated with the call center industry in Pakistan.
The nature of work in call centers is such that an agent is made to work on a chair, continuously for nine hours, whereby he/she is forced to read a pre-scripted document at the start of a call for every customer. This tedious routine literary made me a psycho, insomniac, and rude individual with a disturbing my life as a whole. It’s one of the looniest jobs in the world as you are surrounded by your colleagues and friends constantly talking on the phone in 8 to 9 hour long shifts, with just 15 minute tea breaks and 30 minute lunch breaks in between.
This frustration, tension and depressive nature of a call center job is driving our youth into adoption of unusual and abnormal behaviors and poses a serious threat to the society and is weakening our roots and culture.
In my opinion, the worst part about working at a call center is the overly strict rules and regulations. Generally, if you are more than a few minutes late you receive a negative ‘point’. If you get a certain number of ‘points’ you will be fired instantly regardless of how good you are at your job.
In some cases things are even worse than words can describe. I myself worked at a call center of a cellular company in Pakistan and I and was deprived of any employee benefits besides my salary. In addition to this, we were also dispossessed of basic employee rights, for instance, we were not given a single penny for working on public holidays. Taking a day off even for medical reasons is an uphill task there.
We worked in 9 hour long shifts and were given just a single day off after 6 days of work which is extremely tough; other call centers generally give at least two days off weekly.
It is indeed a challenging job that requires tackling different customers which include good, bad, abusive, moody and at times aggressive clients. You require a tactful approach to address the needs and issues of the customer.
A lot of sacrifice and commitment is required from an agent to work during night shifts and to alter his/her life to adapt to a new lifestyle; hence I salute all CSO’s (Customer Support Officers) for adjusting to such a tough lifestyle.
One year work experience with this industry is enough. A CSO gets far away from his social life and develops habits of rudeness and frustration in life. A CSO requires a lot of patience even when a customer is annoying and using abusive language. You end up taking out this frustration in your life outside your work place which impacts your relationship with your friends and family; please keep in mind that no job is worth more than these closely knit relationships.
Opting for a job in a call center might not be the best job in the world, but it is better than being unemployed and sitting at home. However, I sincerely request youngsters not to consider it as a long term carrier.