Archive for October, 2008

‘Digital Dark Age’ may make digital pics unreadable for future PCs

October 28th, 2008 No Comments

An expert at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says that rapid digitising may ultimately lead to a “digital dark age”, where digital photographs will become unreadable to future computers.

Jerome P. McDonough, an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the university, says that the issue of a looming digital dark age originates from the mass of data spawned by the ever-growing information economy – including electronic records, tax files, e-mail, music and photos.

He is afraid that data produced with ever-shifting platforms and file formats may eventually fall into a black hole of inaccessibility.

“If we can’t keep today’s information alive for future generations, we will lose a lot of our culture,” he said.

“Even over the course of 10 years, you can have a rapid enough evolution in the ways people store digital information and the programs they use to access it that file formats can fall out of date,” he added.

McDonough highlighted the fact that a “huge amount” of content was being developed in digital formats only.

“E-mail is a classic example of that. It runs both the modern business world and government. If that information is lost, you’ve lost the archive of what has actually happened in the modern world. We’ve seen a couple of examples of this so far,” he said.

He also cited the missing White House e-mail archive from the run-up to the Iraq War, a violation of the Presidential Records Act.

“With the current state of the technology, data is vulnerable to both accidental and deliberate erasure. What we would like to see is an environment where we can make sure that data does not die due to accidents, malicious intent or even benign neglect,” he said.

He said that Barack Obama’s political advertising inside the latest editions of the popular videogames “Burnout Paradise” and “NBA Live” ought to be preserved for future generations, but all that could possibly be lost because of the proprietary nature of videogames and videogame platforms.

“It’s not a matter of just preserving the game itself. There are whole parts of popular and political culture that we won’t be able to preserve if we can’t preserve what’s going on inside the gaming world,” he said.

According to him, there would also be an economic effect to the loss of data from a digital dark age.

“We would essentially be burning money because we would lose the huge economic investment libraries and archives have made digitising materials to make them accessible. Governments are likewise investing huge sums to make documents available to the public in electronic form,” he said.

McDonough said that a digital dark age could be avoided if experts figure out the best way to keep valuable data alive and accessible by using a multi-prong approach of migrating data to new formats, devising methods of getting old software to work on existing platforms, using open-source file formats and software, and creating data that’s “media-independent.”

“Reliance on open standards is certainly a huge part, but it’s not the only part. If we want information to survive, we really need to avoid formats that depend on a particular media type. Commercial DVDs that employ protection schemes make it impossible for libraries to legally transfer the content to new media. When the old media dies, the information dies with it,” he said. (ANI)

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Posted in Computers, For Parents, Information and Technology, Latest News, Technical

Deepawali – the Biggest Festival of India

October 24th, 2008 No Comments

Why is Deepawali Celebrated?

Deepawali is the much-awaited festival of Hindus in India. It is the blissful celebration of sparkling lights and the overthrowing of shadows of darkness. According to the Indian mythology, the festival is the biggest testimony ever of the victory of truth over the unjust. It is believed that Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya on this day after 14 years of exile. According to another legend, Deepawali is the auspicious commencement of the Hindu calendar and usually marks the beginning of the harvest season.

Traditional Way of Celebration

Deepawali is celebrated with full vigor and enthusiasm in each and every Hindu family of India. People lit continuous series of earthen diyas and candles signifying the victory of good over evil. The deity of wealth and prosperity, Goddess Lakshmi, is believed to shower luck and happiness on the people on this auspicious day, and therefore the puja of the goddess forms an inseparable part of the entire occasion. Lord Ganesha, who is believed to bestow wisdom to a person, is also worshipped. People also visit their friends and relatives and give them sweets and gifts

Deepawali of Modern Times

Deepawali in modern times has surpassed the conventional way of its celebration. Now it is not just about diyas and sweets, but the celebration has gone modern with times. People decorate their houses with modern lightings and also enjoy firecrackers in the night. Sounds of firecrackers can be heard till midnight in the major cities of the country. On the whole, Deepawali is the biggest festival of India.

 

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Posted in For Parents, Latest News, Mangalore

Chandrayaan-I launched successfully

October 22nd, 2008 No Comments

Chandrayaan-1, India’s maiden moon spacecraft, was on Wednesday put into Transfer Orbit around the earth by the Polar Launch Vehicle PSLVC11 about 19 minutes after it blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre he.

The 1,380 kg Chandrayaan-1, carrying 11 payloads, was released into a Tansfer Orbit at a perigee (nearest point to earth) of about 250 km and apogee (farthest point from the earth) of about 23,000 km, 18.2 minutes after the PSLV-C11 blasted off as the scientists broke into jubilation at the mission control centre

After a series of procedures over the next two weeks, the spacecraft would reach its desired Lunar orbit and placed at a height of 100 km from the Lunar surface, marking the operational phase of the mission which would put India in the elite lunar club.

Earlier, at the end of the 49-hour countdown, the 44.4 meter tall four-stage PSLV-11 lifted off from the second launch pad into a cloudy sky.

This is the 14th flight of ISRO’s workhorse PSLV, which had launched 29 satellites into a variety of orbits since 1993, and 13th successive one in a row.

Chandrayaan-1 is carrying 11 payloads, five entirely designed and developed in India, three from European Space Agency, one from Bulgaria and two from US, which would explore the Moon over the next two years.

“It is a historic moment as far as India is concerned. We have started our journey for the moon and the first leg of the journey has gone perfectly well,” Nair said seconds after the successful completion of the launch.
“It is a remarkable performance by the launch vehicle,” he said.

It is a perfect launch. Now it will be orbiting the earth, he said, adding that today “what we have started is a remarkable journey for the Indian spacecraft to go to the moon and try to unravel the mysteries of the moon”.

“We have been fighting against all odds,” the noted scientist said explaining that heavy rains and cloudy skies over the last four days had led to a lot of worries about the launch.

“Fortunately, we had clear skies today and we would be completing the remaining part of the journey within 15 days,” Nair said.

Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair described the successful launch as a historic moment in India’s space programme.

“The launch was perfect and precise. The satellite has been placed in the earth orbit. With this, we have completed the first leg of the mission and it will take 15 days to reach the lunar orbit,” Nair announced in the mission control centre shortly after PSLV-C11 put the spacecraft in a transfer orbit.

After circling the earth in its highly elliptical Transfer Orbit for a while, Chandrayaan-1 would be taken into more elliptical orbits by repeated firing of the spacecraft’s Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) at opportune moments.

Subsequently, the LAM would be again fired to take the spacecraft to the vicinity of the moon by following a Lunar Transfer Trajectory (LTT) path, whose apogee lies at 3,87,000 km.

Later, when Chandrayaan-1 reaches the vicinity of the moon, its LAM would be fired again so as to slow down the spacecraft sufficiently to enable the gravity of the moon to capture it into an elliptical orbit. The next step would be to reduce the height of the spacecraft orbit around the moon in various steps.

After some more procedures, Chandrayaan-1′s orbit would be finally lowered to its intended 100 km height from the lunar surface, which was expected to take place around November 8.

Later, the Moon Impact Probe would be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 in a chosen area following which the cameras and other payloads would be turned on and thoroughly tested, marking the operational phase of the mission.

 

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Posted in IT world, Information and Technology, Latest News

Water Drops-no Doubt More Precious Than Diamonds!!!

October 21st, 2008 No Comments

‘Water’ having molecular formula of H2O comprises of 2 atoms of hydrogen with an atom of oxygen covering almost one-third of our Earth’s surface. The basic need of all living beings! not only a need actually a basic building block of our Planet. Our  planet Earth  is composed of four main elements Fire, Soil, Air and Water.Water is the main constituent element of our World.

The question is could anyone of us imagine of surviving without this blessing of nature? The answer is certainly not! none of the living beings can survive without it as it’s the most essential need of our body and not only our body requirements almost all the work we carry out through out our routein lives are mostly carried out by water. Water is undoubtedly being used at a huge amount every single day. 

The idea is actually we can survive without a precious and extremely expensive stone Diamond but not water. As diamonds are considered precious and all of us would try to keep them ass safe as possible but have we ever bothered ourselves on  the importance and need of SAVING WATER!!! .Actually neglected reality and a truly serious problem to be considered by each of the individual.

Predicted by a number of scientists that future wars may take place on water deficiency issues still we don’t bother and if yet we don’t bother may it would be too late to work the serious matter out. 

No-Doubt each drop of water is much more precious than a diamond stone!!!

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Posted in For Parents, Friends, Information and Technology, Latest News, Mangalore

Learning Time Management Skills: Helpful Advice to People Learning Time Management Skills

October 21st, 2008 No Comments

Learning time management skills should be one of our most important priorities. The amount of distraction and clutter we get on a daily basis calls for effective planning and focused action; hence, learning time management skills is vital.

We get so many distractions from advertisements online that at times, it can be difficult to remain focused on what we are doing. Just reading through emails and seeing an irresistible offer can mean several minutes of wasted time. The self-discipline we need to keep gets even more difficult by the day. But does it have to be this way? Of course not!

Learning time management skills can be compared to a diet. Your willingness to cut carbs and exercise will be extremely hard at the beginning; but if you work one step at a time, the momentum will build up.

 

Managing your time can be very difficult at first; however, once you start to continue studying and applying proven time management principles, the easier it is for you to manage your schedules and finish your tasks rapidly and efficiently.

 

One of the most effective steps in learning time management skills is to start by asking: “What gives you the most amounts of distractions when it is time for you to work?” Once you ask yourself such question, you should be able to come up with a lot of answers which you can evaluate and work on improving.

 

Another question you could ask yourself is: “At what times will I be distracted the most?” By asking yourself such question, you raise your own conclusions on what needs to be done when you are planning to work, and avoid any potential up-ahead distraction that arrives later on.

 

Learning time management skills is crucial because it improves your daily life by knowing how to cope with, and eliminate, distractions.

 

In conclusion, before you start any venture or activity, evaluate your skills in time management. This will help you calculate how much time it will take you to achieve your goals and even to avoid possible frustrations. Learning time management skills is something you should learn if you want to be on top of the success chain, so it’s time to act now.

 

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Posted in Computers, For Parents, Friends, Information and Technology, Jobs, Latest News

Tips for Life : Living with Internet…

October 17th, 2008 No Comments

When I think about the blessings that god has given me I feel grateful to almighty. He has blessed me with so many things in life. Good parents, good education, good family life with gift of kids and many more and one particular gift I should mention is computer.

And when I count on the thrones in my life there are many and one particular problem I should mention is computer.

Yes I want to put my computer in both the baskets in my blessings and problems in life.

When my friend Anand first came to gulf, to realize the dreams of his life, he was happy and sad. Happy because his dreams of earning good money, and giving good life to his family back home ,are coming in to reality. Sad because he has to leave behind loved ones in India. In the beginning he used to call India once a week and that was a luxury.

But after he got a computer with internet he talks to his loved once, everyday for hours together. And this is possible because of the cheap VOIP Phone calls through internet. And using the software’s like google talk or MSN messenger he stays in touch with his net savvy friends 24 hours a day.

Some times I wonder how we used to live when there was no computer and internet. When Kiran got a job offer from gulf his newly married wife Asha came to gulf along with him, Working and staying in gulf became an extended honeymoon for them. Kiran says “Our life was so difficult, new place new people. We used to do lot of our house hold work in slow motion. Day to day work was less organized and more enjoyed. Life was in for a change albeit slowly when the day computer entered our home. Life stated changing. Browsing internet was added as one more activity of daily activities that we do.”

In the beginning browsing was a pleasurable experience and was a good time pass. Then as time passed they realized that they can get all the news from India by browsing the news web sites. They can get any news not only from India from anywhere in the world just with the click of a mouse. Now Asha can just try any delicious dish she wishes by visiting any cooking web site.

When their first kid was born they were overjoyed with the new gift from god. And also totally confused about how to bring up the child, in an alien land with minimum resources. No guidance from elder members of the family it was difficult job at hand. Again the internet helped a lot. They register for some of the parental web sites and get every day – day to day advice on child growth. This is really wonderful. You know where you stand. This is really helpful for couple struggling to bring up children in nuclear families, where there is no experienced advice from elders.

When children grow they learn from experiences. On the internet there are lots of nursery rhyme web sites which teach children nursery rhymes offhand, which is very useful when they start going to school. Learning nursery rhymes with picture video animation really adds to a Childs capacity of grasping things fast.

For elder kids learning school subjects on the net can be a pleasurable and informative experience. You have any doubt about any of your school subjects go to any search engines and get lot more information about it. Also Wikipedia like websites have become authentic information sources on the net.

All type of computer games can be downloaded from different web sites and can do a wonderful job in entertainment at home. Some games like Tetris increase the memory capacity of humans and then some are very good in wasting the precious time given by almighty.

A great friend of mine was very much fond of Hindi movies. . When he was in India he was literally the encyclopedia of Hindi movies. He never used to miss a movie release. But when he got a dream offer from promised land of gulf all that changed. After landing in the gulf he was out of place regarding Hindi movies. He used to pay lot of money for renting movie cassettes. But a Good Samaritan gave him the idea of Torrent portals. Today he has bit Torrent on his computer. This piece of software downloads latest Hindi movies from torrent portals. At some lucky times he watches movies before they are released.
Recently I came across a wonderful application of internet in everyday life. One of my friend couple leave their kid with the maid and go to office as it happens in the gulf when both parents are working. Once they leave the house kid is at maid’s mercy. They were always worried about the kids. So they set up a web cam on their computer with streaming software and now they can monitor what is happening at home from their office or anywhere else. Recently when they went on annual leave they monitored they home using the same technology.
There are lots of Indian bank where you can get instant access to your accounts. Sitting anywhere in the world you can operate your bank account, transfer money or remit money back to India with the easy click of mouse.

Also you are interested in share dealing using proper channels you can deal with shares of companies from anywhere and do a lot of research of your own on the net about different market trends. Invest your money in more proper channels for optimum returns.

Then there are programs like google earth where you can visit virtually any part of the world sitting inside your home. Next time when you plan for your vacation you can book your ticket online with any travel sites or airline sites and visit the place in advance and get a glimpse of what to expect by visiting online map sites like google earth.

In many ways internet has changed the way how we live, some times I wonder, how was our life before internet?. It will be like someone asking the question, “How people used to live before electricity? “ Yes you can live with out electricity or Internet, but you can live better with electricity and internet.

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Posted in Computers, IT world, Information and Technology, Technical

Keep your Kids Safe Online..

October 17th, 2008 No Comments

The Big day has already come. You have decided to get a computer for your small one because kids have to study computer subject in school, they need a good hands on experience on computers. From your point of view it is a wise decision, for kids this day is very exciting day since they have their own computer they can do Home work on computer, also when time permits they can play computer games.

But wait a minute! When you got computer along with lot of advantages you have got home lot of disadvantages also. Especially if you have decided to have a internet connection along with your purchase. It all depends on what steps you have taken to protect your loved ones from the BAD BAD world there.

Here are some of the steps you can take to protect your kids intern protect your self from online misadventures.

1. Get a Firewall

We all have read in history how the Great Wall of China protected the kingdom. Before the wall there were Invasions on china. Zhou Dynasty, which was in the 11th century BC decided and constructed the great wall, china was able to protect itself.

Same is true for your computer get a software called Firewall which acts like a wall between you and the outside world of Internet and monitors and protects every actions and warn you of any illegal attempt to attach your system from outside.

2. Make Sure to Download Operating System Updates and Patches

A large number of people use Microsoft windows on their computers. And this software is famous for security holes. To counter the security breach of your computer Microsoft releases updates. Activate and keep the updates on your machine from control panel.

This will keep windows system up-to-date and plug the security holes and secure your system from virus and other malicious software code.

3. Install Antivirus Software.

A virus is a software that gets into your computer and copies itself and distributes itself to other computers and creates unwanted experience on your computer.

It mainly comes :

From a removable disk
From an attachment to an e-mail message
From a download while surfing the web
From a worm through a known hole or flaw in your operating system

Antivirus software is software that you use to protect yourself from computer viruses. It can detect and remove known computer viruses. There are many excellent antivirus packages available that are relatively inexpensive. There are also several excellent antivirus packages available for free for home, non-commercial use. Use them

4. Install Anti-Spyware Software

Adware is any software that displays advertisements on your computer screen, either through banner advertisements within an application, or through pop-up windows. Spyware, which may also be known as a spybot, or tracking software, is computer technology installed on an individual’s PC that gathers information about them and their computer use. Adware and spyware removal software, or anti-spyware software, is software that is installed on your computer to combat the threats of adware and spyware. It will search your computer’s memory, file system, system registry, and browser caches for the existence of adware and spyware. It will then remove or quarantine any items that it finds. Adware and spyware removal software may also monitor for, and actively block, the downloading of spyware applications.

5. Think About Privacy Software

As you use your computer, and surf the web, traces of your activity get left behind, stored on your computer in lists, temporary files, and caches. The best case is that these “leftovers” can clutter up your PC, and, with time, degrade its performance. The worst case is that someone who gains unauthorized access to your PC can read these files and learn a fair amount about you, potentially helping them to steal your identity.

Privacy software removes all traces of your PC and Internet activity, helping to protect your privacy.

As with antivirus software and anti-spyware software, privacy software should be run on a regular basis. It, too, can be setup to run automatically on a regular basis so that an end-user does not have to do anything to protect their privacy
6. Think Before You Click

When you visit websites on internet there are lot of attractions and distractions and many time you are tempted to click on the advertisement or the message appears. WAIT! Think before you click. The link may download an virus, a spyware or privacy software which will help some one out there to do Identity theft. And use your identity like your name personal information email address phone number credit card number to do illegal activities on your name.

Protecting Your Kids

Now that you have taken care of the basics and protected you PC, it is time to specifically worry about keeping your kids safe. When trying to protect your children, it is important to:

Set expectations
Monitor and control what your children do online
Use some common sense

Setting Online Expectations

It is important for you as a parent to be clear with your children what you expect of them when they are using the PC. You need to be clear about what you consider to be appropriate online behavior, as well as what is and is not appropriate to be accessing online. Children should be taught:

* That they should never give out personal information such as their name, address, e-mail address, phone number, or age to anyone over the Internet without your express permission.
* That they should never fill out forms without your permission.
* That they should tell you if they come across anything or anyone online that they feel is not appropriate or that makes them uncomfortable.
* That they should ask before downloading or installing software on a PC.
* That they should never, under any circumstances, arrange to meet alone with someone who they have met online. This can be especially important for your teenage children who may feel that they have met the boy or girl of their dreams online. If they feel that they absolutely must meet this individual, then they should arrange to do it with a responsible adult present. You should remind them that it is very easy for someone to masquerade as someone else online.

Monitor and Control What Your Children Do Online

The PC that your children use should be setup in a public location where it is easy for you to monitor what your children are doing. It is very difficult for a child to engage in questionable online activities when everyone in the family can easily look over their shoulder. If you have children who participate in chat rooms or use instant messaging software you should regularly ask them who they are communicating with. If they are evasive or do not tell you, take away their computer privileges. Having a safe mad child is better than having an unsafe happy one.

There is also software that can help parents protect their children. Software to help keep children safe comes in two forms: monitoring software, and parental control software.

Monitoring software allows parents to monitor activity on the family PC. Many packages will allow you to monitor computer activity including web surfing activity, e-mail messages, chat, and instant messaging. Some software will even allow screen shots to be taken at predetermined increments of time. Many of these packages will operate in stealth mode, meaning that no one will know that the software is even installed and running. Of course telling your children that you have software that is monitoring their activity may also act a a deterrent. Monitoring software typically does not filter out any bad content. It simply lets you know if someone is accessing things that are inappropriate.
Use Some Common Sense

You should be aware if your child becomes secretive about what they are doing online. Averting a computer monitor, or quickly turning it off whenever someone walks into the room is not normal computer behavior. It is, however, the behavior of an individual who is trying to hide something. If your child is exhibiting “odd” computer behavior question them. If you get no answers or you do not like the answers, take away their computer privileges and/or get software that monitors their activity. As has already been stated, a mad safe child is better than a happy unsafe one.
by Anson Sequeira

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Posted in For Parents, IT world, Information and Technology

Lehman’s Crisis : Lesson for life

October 15th, 2008 No Comments

 

LATELY, I have been thinking a lot about the Lehman crisis. Spending money that they didn't have and going beyond their means is one of the main reasons for their situation today. In fact thatli is the cause for the current economic crisis in the US.

When I see this entire happening, I can only remember the good old days. Then, karz was bad. People looked down upon those who took loans. Parents would not give their daughter's hand in marriage to a man with loans

But of course, the times have changed now. Everyone I know has a loan. The buzzword is EMI (equated monthly installment) . Today, you can buy everything on EMI - a house, a television, an i-Pod. In fact I know of someone who just bought a fancy BMW 3 series on EMI, instead of buying a cheaper car outright with cash. I mostly prefer to take public transport, but then I am an old man with old thoughts!
Anyway, coming back to what caused the crisis. Imagine having Rs 2 lakh in your bank account, no regular income, yet buying a house worth Rs 65 lakh, in the hope of selling it for a higher price. Even if the price of the house fell by just 5 per cent (that is Rs 3 lakh), you will go bankrupt.  

This is what Lehman Brothers did; with around USD 20 billion they went and bought assets worth over USD 600 billion. Isn't it suicidal and simply foolish?  

 

I am sure things would have been different, had I been the head of Lehman brothers. But who wants an old conservative man like me to head a complex financial institution.  

 

But there are a few lessons that we can learn:
1.Live a balanced life and avoid overspending.
2.Don’t buy things we don't need.
3.Don’t buy Branded good’s.
4.Don’t buy excess Food, Cloths, Cosmetics, Footwear, electronics and Fashion accuracies just think before you buy.  

 

Tip: World still has a lot of growth ahead and the future holds immense opportunities for us. Let us make the most of it and save and invest it wisely instead of wasting our precious little on things we don't need.  

 

5.Try to balance life with work (No one is happy to work in their profession’s) .  

 

6. Don’t stress out your self, after work try to do some extra activities like swimming, yoga, walking, running where you can divert your mind from stress.  

 

A thumb rule: Health is more important than money.  

 

7.Try to understand each other (Wife and Husband) in financial matter’s and help each other.  

 

Tip: As soon as you get your monthly salary, set aside a fixed amount, usually 35 per cent, for insurance, savings and investments. You can then spend the rest.  

 

8. Not all loans are bad. Loans that are 'need based' (home loans, education loans) can always find a place in your finances against those that are largely 'want based' (Credit cards, personal loans, car loans).  

 

9. Borrow only if repayment is financially comfortable.  

 

A thumb rule: Keep EMIs within 35 to 45 per cent of your monthly income  

 

In that respect, there is one American who I really respect - WARREN BUFFET. He has lived in the same ordinary house for over three decades, drives his own medium sized car and leads an extremely regular 'middle class' life. If that's all it takes for the richest person on earth to be happy, why do all of us need to take extra stress just so that we can get things which aren't even essential?

 

It's interesting article by Yogesh Chhabria.

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Posted in For Parents, IT world, Information and Technology, Latest News

The uses of computer and information technology in daily life?

October 14th, 2008 No Comments

Information Technology has had a great effect on the evolution of education. 1) it has allowed for more advanced home teaching. 2) it has made teaching in remote areas easier 3) now that it is taught from an early age, it makes life easier when in the work place. 4) schools, colleges and universities can now share information, which can lead to higher standards in education and resources.

Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.” IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.

Today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term is more recognizable than ever before. The information technology umbrella can be quite large, covering many fields. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems.

When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or “infotech”. Information Technology (IT) is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.

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Posted in Technical

Tips to Improve Essay Writing and Formatting!

October 14th, 2008 No Comments

Essay writing is a technical process; it is not as easy as it seems. People perceive essay’s importance and technicality to be very trivial but it is not like that. Unless and until a person writes an essay of his own he can not understand its importance, methodology and mechanics. If a person needs to improve his essay writing and formatting style he needs to follow some tips with which he can make a drastic difference in writing style. Following is the discussion about the tips to improve essay writing and formatting:

First of all there should be a brief introduction of the essay topic which is an overview of the whole custom essay. Introduction is the mirror of essay through which the reader can see the whole essay, so it should be given special attention. After intro, the discussion should wrap up thorough information about the topic. Discussion not only needs information but it also needs critical analysis of the topic along with your personal comments whether you agree or disagree. The criticism should be healthy; it should not be written in such a way that it hurts any body’s ego because people may have a different opinion. Finally a conclusion or sum-up paragraph has an importance of its own; it also needs future recommendations. Writing style and language should be easy and simple that it can be easily understood by the readers.

Finally comes the formatting, if words and sentences are the food of essay, formatting is the clothing; it makes an essay presentable which can attract the readers. There are certain types of formatting; for example: APA, MLA, CHICAGO, TURBIAN etc; formatting can easily be learned by some practice and it is very interesting to learn. Apart from referencing you can also incorporate a bibliography page in order to give credit to those whose books you used for information.

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Posted in Technical

Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on Society

October 14th, 2008 No Comments

In low tech local environment where an overwhelming majority is still struggling to access and find required information, there are some high end-users who are already complaining of information overload.

Busy executives, decision makers and other people taking advantage of computing in work and meaningful pursuits need all the quality information they can get. They turn to the web because it has amassed huge amounts of information in almost all areas of human activities. But what is information in the first place? Technically speaking, “information is stimuli that have meaning in some context for its receiver. When information is entered into and stored in a computer, it is generally referred to as data – information translated into a form that is more convenient to move or process. When information is packaged or used for understanding or doing something, it is known as knowledge – to an enterprise or an individual, the possession of information or the ability to quickly locate it.” For the purpose here, I think the term ‘information’ is the correct description of some of what is available on the web, rather than knowledge or wisdom.

Advances in web technologies and their growing usage have made the production, distribution, and sharing of information so much easier than what it was only a decade ago. It has reduced the time span of business practices and processes, which would otherwise have taken very long time to be implemented on ground. But information comes with an additional excess of irrelevant junk, unclear and inaccurate data, even conflicting, making it becomes difficult to sift what is important from what is not. This “excess information beyond what is desired or needed by any user requiring non productive processing” is called information overload. The number of work hours available and the inherent human capacity to absorb information have remained almost same over years whereas the need to access, understand and digest information had gone up many times.

Local market scouting reveals that most economic concerns have yet not fully appreciated possibilities offered by IT. Notable exceptions apart, computer technologies have not been integrated within corporate systems as of yet.

For many a CEO, president and chairman of companies the connected computers set on their tables are just another part of office equipment only to be used by others. But for inspiring examples that have taken the initiative and employed the technology, information is moving from being a marginal, specialist responsibility to being a central part of every business operation. Demand for executives, managers and employees, in these futuristic organisations, to become more aware of and prepared for handling the opportunities being offered by growing information has increased.

In this milieu, high end users are getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of information from multiple sources. What is more, sometime the required information is not at the surface. It is often difficult to understand if a web article is just a sales-pitch, self-serving opinion, a research study skewed by producers and sponsors with something to gain or is it factual. There is a lot of crap in other forms. Even search engines are selling result placements.

Having quality information in time is good and productive. With more and more information coming from so many different sources, users must be able to determine the quality of information before putting it to use. But determining quality can be tough. Many users are not particularly good at managing and filtering information that comes their way. Technologies so far can handle quantity but are still not mature enough to recognize quality of information. Which is why information overload gets unhelpful for those who are facing it? The avalanche of information, as per experts, in extreme cases may lead to unwanted results in the form of stress, frustration or physical illness.

“The situation is worst where organizations are in transition – changing from the old style of handling information to IT or where IT dependent new generation of executives is taking over family business enterprises,” says Dr. Norbert, an architect who uses the internet to do businesses in field of call centres. “I have to keep up to date on the technology sector. I have to review feedback from clients and also see what competitors are doing by visiting their web sites, reading online press releases and newsletters.

What gets done, gets done, what not – oh, well! I avoid time suckers such as surfing the internet (I go to sites where I have business and finish quickly), no forums, chats, very little TV. Radio is a favourite because does not tie me up.” The first step to combat possible information overload is to identify the needs and take control. There is no universal formula fitting for users of different areas of interest therefore everyone may make own road map and shortcuts. “Knowing what is needed and cutting out unnecessary clutter outside the desired scope saves a lot of time,” says Dr. Norbert. Then users should decide what is manageable while taking into account time availability, ability to absorb and retain information. This involves establishing limits to the information hunting process and allows doing first thing first. The users should also realize when to stop gathering information and move on to making use of it. And acknowledge that none can get to know everything.

Information has made a huge difference in the world of business in particular, and chances are that it will continue to. Those who are using it purposefully can sure make their way with it and combat the information overload.

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Posted in Technical

Economic slowdown to change campus placement trends

October 9th, 2008 No Comments

The economic slowdown is going to impact education, especially campus recruitments. Both immediate and long-term effects are being predicted, which include change in pay packages, profiles and hiring strategies. Additionally, students are likely to opt for more qualifications after graduation, instead of entering the job market.

“On one hand, the high-end pay packages will take a backseat with investment banks withdrawing from the placement process. Last year, Lehman Brothers made an offer of Rs 18 lakhs to a Delhi University (DU) graduate and this year they have backed out,” said Seema Parihar, chairperson, Central Placement Cell, DU.

“Other companies that were taking up global projects will also reduce recruitment, as they may not get as many projects now. As the economic slowdown will also affect the use of credit cards, the BPO sector — call centres in particular — will also reduce recruitment,” she added.

Vaibhav Sharma, member, Placement Cell, Delhi School of Economics (DSE), also predicts a change in the profile of recruiters and the jobs that would be offered. “It will be product-centric companies rather than the people-centric ones that would emerge as top recruiters. These include companies dealing with manufacturing, insurance and telecom. Within consultancy firms, the hiring would be directed towards talent management and talent retention profiles instead of strategic planning,” he said. Sharma also believes that students would now have to settle for Indian companies, with fewer MNCs coming forward.

Veer Singh, vice-chancellor, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, is waiting for the recruitment process to begin before drawing any conclusions. However, he believes legal services would witness a positive change. “I think the demand for lawyers is going to increase, as the present situation would require a great amount of documentation with drastic changes taking place at the top-level in organisations,” he added.

And would the market slowdown affect recruitment at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) as well? Sanjay Dhande, director, IIT-Kanpur, thinks otherwise. “Every year, top companies visit the IITs and this will not change. However, in the long term, the market slowdown may affect postgraduate education with students opting for additional qualifications, instead of settling for just one,” he said.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Peter Cappelli, professor of management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, US, said: “This would be a good time to sit out the downturn by going to business school and picking up a qualification while the economy is down. This way, you won’t miss anything.” Students, too, believe they have little to fear.

While some have drawn their own market estimates and are planning accordingly, others have decided to wait and see how companies’ respond. “We don’t think there is any reason to panic before the placement process begins. The scenario can only be gauged by the summer placements for first-year students,” says Akshay Sinha, second-year student, XLRI-Jamshedpur

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Posted in BPO, Jobs, Technical

Google launches ‘Mail Goggles’ to block boozy e-mails

October 9th, 2008 No Comments

Google has come up with “Mail Goggles” that can prevent people from sending stupid e-mails, especially at particular hours when they are most likely to be inebriated and at risk of making a complete idiot of themselves.

Mail Goggles throw five maths problems up on the screen when a user presses the “send” button. The problems have to be solved within a limited period of time.

Being able to do so would cause the system to presume that the user’s mental state is sound enough to send appropriate mails.

Even if a person is very good at solving mathematical problems, there is an option to ramp up the difficulty of the questions.

However, the questions remain in the arithmetic realm, and do not drift into interesting algebra or calculus.

The default setting enables the system between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Internet users can change it in accordance with their preferences, reports CBS News.

Mail Goggles can be activated by going into Gmail’s settings, and turning on Mail Goggles in the “Labs” tab.

One can adjust how and when it works in the “General” tab

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Posted in BPO, Technical

Is India slipping on the outsourcing graph?

October 7th, 2008 No Comments

Published media reports quoting a recent study claims that India could well be on the way to losing its top position in the outsourcing industry to emerging giants like China and the Philippines.

A study conducted by Global Services-Tholons has ranked the top 50 emerging global outsourcing cities which indicates that China with six takes top honours over India and Philippines with four cities each.

However, Philippines edges past India due to the fact that the list boasts of two new cities in the top-50 list including Quezon and Mandaluyong, while in the case of India only Jaipur figures as the new choice.

It may be recalled that India had topped the 2007 rankings with six new cities in the Top-50 list, though the study now says that outsourcing clients are getting increasingly sophisticated while making their choice of locations.

Instead of making their outsourcing decision on the overall strength of countries, they are closely looking at the strengths of individual cities, even those considered tier-II and tier-III, to ship their work, a report published in the Deccan Herald has said.

According to the report, India also lost out its top spot in the top-10 elite list of emerging global cities where three cities from CHina feature while India and Philippines could manage only one city each. Last year, India had five cities in this elite list with Chennai emerging as the world’s top emerging destination, the position going to Cebu (Philippines) this year.

The newspaper report quotes un-named analysts to state that India’s position is likely to get weaker as other countries begin aggressively promoting their destinations. The latest top-10 list has cities from Vietnam, Poland. Egypt, Brazil and Argentina, the report says.

It adds that Indian cities are drawing negative publicity due to poor governance issues like the infrastructure woes of Bangalore and the lack of trained manpower in some of the smaller destinations. However, India continues to hold the pole position with respect to the list of established outsourcing centres, claiming six of the top-eight current destinations.

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Posted in BPO, Jobs, Technical
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