Driven by computer and computer component sectors, the Indian electronics industry is poised to take off at growth rates surpassing even those of China, according to a report released Wednesday by In Stat.
However, Indias total electronics market will remain well behind Chinas electronics industry, which was worth $272 billion in 2004, compared with Indias $11.5 billion for the same year. It is the expected growth rate of Indias electronic segment that caught the eye of the market research firm.

Labour and raw material costs are clearly a factor in this projected growth but it appears that the countrys substantial population will also help spur electronics sales.

Major challenges facing the Indian electronics manufacturing market are…

Managers who believe worker productivity could fall as employees listen to iPods and other miniature digital music players face a greater threat from these devices, pilfered data.
Its a potential criminal tool, says Purdue University associate professor Marcus Rogers, a researcher at the Indiana schools Center for Education and Research in Information and Security.

Is nothing safe anymore?

Companies and individuals alike are forever having to take new measures to protect what is rightly theirs…where will it stop I wonder?

Rogers cautions that digital players can swiftly and effortlessly download immense amounts of information. Cyberthieves merely need a small cable to connect the devices to a PC tied to a corporate system. He characterizes iPods and similar gadgets as the 21st century equivalent of a lock pick and getaway vehicle.

What should companies do?

A California state appeals court late last month found Borders the online arm of bookseller Borders Group, liable for $167,000 in taxes from April 1998 to September 1999, because it had commingled operations of its online subsidiary and its stores in that state.

Does this mean that we will now be expected to pay sales tax on online purchases?

Scott L. Brandman, a lawyer whose firm represented Borders in the California case, said the courts decision could be used by states to reach out to new levels they havent reached out to before

But they have also become a touchy subject for some bloggers and their employers.
The popular online journals may contain everything from someones musings about their daily life to heated diatribes about the bloggers employer.
But through the Internet, the information may be viewed by countless people, shared on other blogs or even find its way to the mainstream media.

So, Do you blog at work or about your work?
Should your employer be concerned?

Well it appears employers are even if you are not.

They are concerned about the companys image and reputation and often even that trade secrets or other sensitive information may find its way to millions of blog readers.
As a result, some bloggers have lost their jobs because of information they have posted

There have been several high-profile cases regarding bloggers….read on

An employee of an Indian call center attempted to sell the personal details of 1,000 British customers to an undercover reporter. The confidential information included details of bank accounts, credit cards, passports and medical bills, and would have enabled fraudsters to clone cards, buy goods over the Internet and access accounts.

Not a day goes past without a fresh report coming out about another attempt, successful or otherwise, of people trying to profit from selling or gaining access to personal information.

Regulators are unable to keep tabs on the growing number of overseas call centers handing sensitive data, a British consumer watchdog has said.

An employee of an Indian call center attempted to sell the personal details of 1,000 Britons to an undercover reporter