Archive for the ‘IT world’ Category

Almost all good news: 100 days of Windows 7

February 8th, 2010 No Comments

Unlike politicians, operating systems (OS) don’t get a honeymoon with the general public. Windows 7 has been on the market for almost 100 days now, so – as in politics – it’s a good time to review how the software has performed so far. The results are largely positive.

First and foremost, Microsoft has to be pleased with sales, which have been brisk. Just a week after the Windows 7 launch Oct 22, 2009, the sales figures had already bested the company’s expectations. “Compared with the start of Windows Vista, five times as many consumers have opted for the new operating system in the first five days,” Microsoft reported.

Even better: despite millions of new installations, no major problems have been reported. “There have been astonishingly few problems with Windows 7,” says Axel Vahldiek from German computer magazine c’t. He’d know: his magazine fields questions from readers. Unlike the OS’s predecessor, Windows Vista, the questions received by c’t general involve minor issues.

That said, even the little things can rub nerves the wrong way. “The biggest problems are coming from older hardware,” says Axel Vahldiek. If the manufacturer doesn’t produce Windows 7-ready drivers, then the device will either refuse to work under the new OS or offer limited functionality. The difficulties are most prevalent in peripheral devices like scanners with SCSI ports.

The blame shouldn’t necessarily be laid at Microsoft’s door, though. The device makers sometimes make things difficult by design, Vahldiek explains. They might be speculating that those affected by problems will buy new hardware and throw their old devices out if they don’t offer enough functionality. The hardware inside the PC usually works without a problem.

No major security holes have been identified yet. Microsoft clearly learned its lesson from the painful introduction of earlier operating systems. “From a security standpoint, Microsoft’s Windows 7 has made significant progress over its prior versions XP and Vista,” reports the German Federal Agency for Security in Information Technology (BSI). Attacks on the system itself have become so difficult that viruses are instead focusing on vulnerabilities in third-party applications.

The experts at the BSI nevertheless still see some room for improvement: given the strong protection mechanisms in Windows 7, it’s a shame that Microsoft fails to preset all user accounts as “restricted”.

The typical procedure instead requires that an administrator account be set up. This allows potentially vulnerable applications an unnecessarily high level of permissions. “The administrator account that Microsoft has conveniently added for managing user accounts nevertheless fails to represent an effective barrier here.”

The BSI’s grades for Windows 7 are better for the protection of user data using the BitLocker hard drive encryption function. This has been reworked to be significantly more user friendly. Then again, it is also only available in the two most expensive versions of Windows 7: Ultimate and Enterprise.

Because bugs are an inherent part of any software release, especially for software as complicated as modern operating systems, users can expect updates and improvements to start arriving shortly after publication.

In the past, Microsoft has typically rolled up the improvements into multiple Service Packs (SP). No information is available yet on when “SP1″ for Windows 7 can be expected, says Microsoft spokeswoman Irene Nadler.

That’s okay for now, though. Unlike with XP and Vista, users of the new system can also get by just fine with the existing product until SP1 arrives.

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

20 yr old Indian unveils portable Operating System

January 22nd, 2010 No Comments
The 20-year old engineering student Niket Chandrashekar from New Horizon College in Bangalore, has developed a portable Operating System (OS) that can be stored and operated on any device. This has been developed almost entirely with open source tools and with Wine, which allows any Windows-based applications to run on other operating systems, reports Deccan Herald.
LinuXP, developed on the Linux kernel and tuned up to support Windows XP, Vista and 7, is shown to be useful in performing certain tasks such as recovering lost files, locating and installing drivers for printers and other connected devices. It also lets users carry their work on pen drives/cell phones to be ported and extracted through a laptop and work.
“I was thinking of creating a smaller programme that can work like an OS while studying certain innate limitations of the existing operating systems,” said Chandrashekar. Also, the software developed by Chandrashekar, has a folder locking feature which not only protects the folder but also hides it from view. The student, who released similar software that works with XP some months ago, has plans to put the software online to let everyone use it.
“Since the whole of this software – with whatever work one has done on it – can be saved in portable storage devices without changes to the format or design, you can retrieve them on any laptop or desktop without having to worry about things like formatting,” Chandrashekar said and added, “Also, even while used on someone’s device, you can make sure the data it carries is safe.”
Chandrashekar said there is no licensing or IP concerns in using the software. “It took about seven months for me to develop this software, which can step in and perform the tasks of an OS, in case the system does not have one and contains important files,” he said, while demonstrating the software. He also said that the college management and teachers of his department were helpful in his effort to develop the software.

The 20-year old engineering student Niket Chandrashekar from New Horizon College in Bangalore, has developed a portable Operating System (OS) that can be stored and operated on any device. This has been developed almost entirely with open source tools and with Wine, which allows any Windows-based applications to run on other operating systems, reports Deccan Herald.

LinuXP, developed on the Linux kernel and tuned up to support Windows XP, Vista and 7, is shown to be useful in performing certain tasks such as recovering lost files, locating and installing drivers for printers and other connected devices. It also lets users carry their work on pen drives/cell phones to be ported and extracted through a laptop and work.
“I was thinking of creating a smaller programme that can work like an OS while studying certain innate limitations of the existing operating systems,” said Chandrashekar. Also, the software developed by Chandrashekar, has a folder locking feature which not only protects the folder but also hides it from view. The student, who released similar software that works with XP some months ago, has plans to put the software online to let everyone use it.
“Since the whole of this software – with whatever work one has done on it – can be saved in portable storage devices without changes to the format or design, you can retrieve them on any laptop or desktop without having to worry about things like formatting,” Chandrashekar said and added, “Also, even while used on someone’s device, you can make sure the data it carries is safe.”
Chandrashekar said there is no licensing or IP concerns in using the software. “It took about seven months for me to develop this software, which can step in and perform the tasks of an OS, in case the system does not have one and contains important files,” he said, while demonstrating the software. He also said that the college management and teachers of his department were helpful in his effort to develop the software.

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Google Bids Adieu To Gears, Welcomes HTML 5

December 10th, 2009 No Comments

A few years back, Google had developed a desktop utility called Gears. This was a part of Google’s effort to prove that Web applications such as Gmail and Google Docs could be as sophisticated as desktop apps. It was essentially a Firefox and Internet Explorer extension that allowed the users to navigate through the compatible websites offline and synchronize when going back online. It offered features like offline caching of emails and drag-and-drop file uploading. Interestingly, a number of these features have been included in HTML5, latest standard programming language that powers the Web. The technology is built into Google’s Chrome browser.

Google is all set to launch the first version of Chrome for the Mac and at the same time they have decided to withdraw the Gears project. According to a Google spokesman,

We are excited that much of the technology in Gears, including offline support and geolocation APIs, are being incorporated into the HTML5 spec as an open standard supported across browsers, and see that as the logical next step for developers looking to include these features in their websites,

Still Google has a lot of ground to cover, as HTML5 is not ready and none of the commercially available browsers support it. In some versions of Firefox and Apple’s Safari, geolocation has already been implemented. This will allow the browsers to access an approximate GPS location and pinpoint your device on a map, especially beneficial for mobile apps.

A big reason for not including Gears in Chrome for Mac in the interim, as we wait for HTML5 to solidify, is a technical hurdle. Gears is not compatible with the newest version of the Mac operating system -Snow Leopard. Google’s shift to focus on HTML5 was driven by change in Snow Leopard. Google next year’s release of Google Chrome OS is expected to support HTML5. At the same time it Google considers the fact that Gears would be incompatible for newer Apple computers, whereas HTML5 will assuredly be ready to go in Mac browsers even before the final draft of the language is complete.

According to the sources, Google would continue to support Gears so that nothing breaks for sites that use it. However, it expects the developers to use HTML5 for these features moving forward as it’s a standards-based approach that will be available across all browsers.

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Posted in Computers, IT world, Information and Technology

Google expects new operating system to be running low-cost computers by 2010 holiday season

November 20th, 2009 No Comments

SAN FRANCISCO — Consumers will have to wait until next year’s holiday shopping season to find out if Google Inc.’s new operating system can deliver on its promise to make low-cost computers run faster.

Google set the late 2010 target date Thursday during its first preview of a much-anticipated operating system that eventually may mount a challenge to Microsoft Corp.’s Windows — the foundation for most personal computers since the 1990s.

The Internet search leader announced plans in July for an operating system named after its Chrome Web browser. At the time, Google said Chrome OS would be ready during the second half of 2010. That left open the possibility that Chrome OS computers could be on sale as early as next summer.

But Google is taking its time so outside programmers can contribute to Chrome OS, which is being developed under an open-source model in which anyone can help with development and share improvements. Google also intends to work closely with computer manufacturers to ensure they meet the Chrome OS’s requirements.

Chrome OS is initially expected to be limited to people looking for inexpensive, lightweight computers designed for Web surfing. None of the so-called “netbooks” running Google’s operating system will have a hard drive, and they will need Internet access to run applications.

That could limit interest among users who need their machines on the go and might find pockets of time without Internet service on planes or trains.

Still, Google views the Chrome OS netbooks as a supplement to fully loaded computers that run applications on a hard drive. Google believes the Chrome OS could get heavy usage, given that most people spend most of their computer time connected to the Internet anyway.

Suggested retail prices for the Chrome OS computers won’t be set until closer to their debut. Google executives, though, indicated the Chrome OS should be in the same $300 to $400 range of other netbooks, even though the company isn’t charging manufacturers to use its system.

The computer manufacturers that have expressed an interest in using the Chrome OS include Acer Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

The Chrome OS also is an important step in Google’s crusade to get people more comfortable with “cloud computing,” the idea of keeping their applications and data on remote computers operated by a third party such as Google.

Underscoring Google’s commitment to cloud computing, the Chrome OS machines won’t even have a hard drive. By leaving out that and other components, Google is promising the Chrome OS machines will seem more like a television than a computer because they will be ready to use within a few seconds of turning on the power button. Even the sleekest of Windows-powered machines typically require 30 seconds to 1 minute before applications can be opened.

Google’s foray into computer operating systems represents one of the most daring challenges yet in its escalating duel with Microsoft.

While Google has been trying to attack Microsoft’s software franchise, Microsoft has been trying to undermine Google’s dominance of the Internet search and advertising market. Neither has made a significant dent so far.

With their low price tags, Chrome OS also could potentially undercut Apple Inc.’s Mac computers. The increasing competition between Google and Apple prompted Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to resign from Apple’s board just a few weeks after the Chrome OS was announced.

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Pressure Points for Headaches

August 28th, 2009 No Comments

All of us have experienced headaches some time in our life. That headache normally could be for any reason – tension, not eating right and many others. Depending on the severity and frequency there could be other major underlying causes of headache. But this article is not going to deal with these headaches, which are symptoms of serious health problems, leading to melodramatic situations!

For dealing with normal day to day headaches, apart from the artificial pain killers, there are natural remedies to get rid of those frustrating headaches. One of such remedy is applying pressure on the pressure points for headaches. These pressure points are either straight from the books of acupressure and general points around the temple, which are believed to work wonders against headaches. The following is a list of such pressure points.

Pressure Points to Cure Headaches

Basically the acupressure technique involves the usage of two fingers, and it pressing until it hurts not more than you can tolerate. The trick is that it should be slightly uncomfortable but not painful. So, now that the technique is clear, lets get to the pressure points for headaches according to acupressure.

GB20: If there is a pain in the temporal regions and sides of your head, then this is the accurate point. For this point, check out the depression at the back of your head, at the base of your skull. Then, once you get that, run your fingers starting from the center point of the back of your neck to past the first large muscle you can sense. The bottom line is that the fingers should slide in that depression. Press slightly up and in until you feel a tender point. Then massage by making circular motions with the fingers.

Point CO4: This is an all purpose pressure point. This is a point some of you might be even aware of. This point has its location in the webbing of the hand between the thumb and the first finger. To see how useful this point is, place your thumb on the top of your hand and your first finger on the side of the palm. Until you come across a tender spot, continue pressing. Apply small circular motions to obtain headache relief. Switch hands for better outcome.

Point LV3: Now, this pressure point is located between the big toe and first toe, on top of the foot. Find a depression between the bones and a soft spot. Again, hold and apply a small circular motion.

There are some more points, which are not exactly from acupressure books, but effective nevertheless, for tackling headaches.

Temples: Feel your temples with your thumbs and gently massage them. However, remember that you should barely touch the skin. Massage clockwise for around 20 seconds to a minute. This relaxes the individual undergoing headache. There is another point, which is somewhat the midpoint of the distance between two ears. Massage for around 10 to 40 seconds with the tips of your middle finger or by thumbs.

Eyebrows: There are a few pressure points to cure headaches near the inside ends of eyebrows. Now using tips of your middle fingers massage these points. One of the points is above the eye brows and one of them is on both the eyebrows, where eyebrows connect to the nose bridge. The massage should involve strong, circular motions. It is advisable to massage for around 20 to 40 seconds at one go.

There are a few more pressure points for headaches. However, the above are the most easiest to locate and effective for curing headache.

The acupressure points, though will need a consultation in pregnancy and any chronic medical condition. So, it will be ideal to consult your doctor because these pressure points to cure headaches are contraindicated for some conditions.

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Posted in Health, IT world

Korean Engineers Improve Lithium Batteries Efficiency By 90%

November 14th, 2008 No Comments

South Korean researchers have developed a new technology that makes lithium batteries 90 percent more energy efficient than existing products, a Korean research team said. The team led by Cho Jae-phil, an applied chemistry professor at Hanyang University, claimed that the battery life of laptop computers and cellular phones can be extended eight times longer than conventional batteries with the new technology.
Source: TMCnet.com

Battery
The team replaced graphite as the main material of the negative electrode with three-dimensional porous silicon particles made of silica and hydrogen fluoride.
Scientists had already known about silicon as a prospective material to make re-chargeable batteries, but had made no breakthroughs previously because silicon tends to expand when in contact with lithium.
In its findings, published in the latest online issue of the Angewante Chemie journal, the team claimed it was able to overcome that critical shortcoming of silicon with porous particles.
The team has applied for four basic technology patents related to the battery in South Korea, the United States and the European Union, and commercial production could begin in four to five years, said Cho.
He added that work is currently being conducted to merge the technology with solar panels.

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Posted in IT world, Information and Technology

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

November 9th, 2008 No Comments

The Information Technology industry in India is powering economic growth and boosting export earnings through solutions and services churned out by the knowledge based sector. The IT industry is experiencing steady growth, thanks to increased spends across key markets in the US and Western Europe, and strong growth in emerging markets. Outsourcing continued to be the primary growth engine with global delivery forming an integral part of the strategies adopted by both customers and service providers.

While Indian IT majors have started building notable presence outside the country – through overseas
acquisitions, onshore contract wins and organic growth in other low-cost locations, global players have been ramping up their offshore delivery capabilities, mostly in India.

SOFTWARE

The Software industry is riding the wave of success with aggregate sales increasing by over 40% and net profit margins over 20%. Joining the celebrations is the Hardware sector, posting a healthy growth trend. With massive investments in this domain, the Information Technology sector is continuing its impressive run year after year.

Karnataka’s software industry – the 4th largest Technology Cluster in the World (After Silicon Valley, Boston & London) has shown a steady expansion rate. This sector employs 3,00,000 professionals with exports of over INR 37,600 crores (USD 8.4 billion) during 2005-06 with projections of INR 50,000 crores (USD 10 billion) during the next fiscal.

The Nasscom – McKinsey Report 2005 estimates a 25% year on year growth for this sector in Karnataka, with exports touching INR 75,000 crores (about 18 billion USD) by 2010, employing around 1 million professionals.


HARDWARE
The Hardware sector continues to account for a major share of the domestic IT-ITES spends and is expected to grow at 22% in the current fiscal. Key verticals driving growth include Telecom, BPO, BFSI, Manufacturing and Education.
Computer Hardware and peripherals sector continue to attract huge investments in view of the huge growth potential arising out of lower penetration and increasing IT expenditure. This is reflected by the interest evinced by global majors like Dell, Cisco, APC, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard to set up operations in India.

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Posted in BPO, Computers, IT world, Information and Technology, Jobs, Mangalore, Technical

Free Microsoft Software for Indian Students

November 8th, 2008 No Comments

The Microsoft DreamSpark Student Program, that gives free software to college and high school students worldwide, has now expanded to India. Bill Gates announced the initiative at IIT Delhi today.

Microsoft DreamSpark enables students to download Microsoft developer and design tools at no charge. Visit the Microsoft program partners like NIIT, Aptech and Hughes Net Fusion Centers – Simply show your college identity card and collect your free DVD containing the Microsoft software. Thats it!

If you prefer the online way – Visit http://www.dreamspark.com sign in with your Windows Live ID and get verified as a student (The system is linked to schools and organizations around the world that can confirm student status).

Some free Microsoft Software available now are
* Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
* Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
* XNA Game Studio 2.0
* Microsoft Expression Studio
* SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
* Windows Server, Standard Edition
* Virtual PC 2007

Add to that the 12-month free Academic membership in the XNA Creators Club. If you are an Indian student, what are you waiting for – take advantage of this offer and download free Microsoft software on your computer.

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Posted in Computers, For Parents, IT world, Information and Technology

New software to prevent car collision

November 5th, 2008 No Comments

A pedestrian chasing a pet dog suddenly steps in the path of your speeding car 15 metres away. There is no way you can avoid hitting him. The string of cars following you crash behind one another. In future, a new software programme will mitigate or even eliminate such an eventuality

“In dangerous situations, the cars can independently perform coordinated manoeuvres…. In this way, they can quickly and safely avoid one another,” explained Thomas Batz, who developed the software with his colleagues at Fraunhofer Institute (Germany) for Information and Data Processing IITB in Karlsruhe and at Karlsruhe University’s chair for interactive real-time systems.

Researchers are making use of cognitive automobiles that are autonomously driven for short periods of time. The vehicles are equipped with car-to-car communication and integrated sensors such as cameras, GPS and radar systems so that they can autonomously recognise their surroundings and avoid any potential obstacles.

The vehicles form cooperative groups that can act in unison. These groups are made up of cars that are travelling in the same direction and are in radio range of one another. Since their speeds and destinations vary, they are constantly re-grouped, according to a Fraunhofer release.

Every vehicle in a group automatically transmits its current position and driving situation to a car that has been designated as the group coordinator. This car gathers the information from all the other cars in its group and draws up a common relevant picture of the group’s situation.

Sudden dangers, such as a child running onto the road, are recognised not only by the car directly affected but also by the group coordinator. If the car in question can neither brake nor swerve because there is another car on the lane to the right, the group coordinator steps in.

It orders both vehicles to swerve to the right in a coordinated manoeuvre in order to avoid an accident with the child and a collision with one another. Unlike in current driver assistance systems such as the anti-lock braking system (ABS), control of the car is taken over automatically.

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Posted in IT world, Information and Technology, Latest News, Technical

Home, Car Loans to get Cheaper

November 2nd, 2008 No Comments

Interest rates could fall soon, making loans cheaper and saving less attractive, following a slew of measures by the RBI on Saturday. The  central bank cut the rate at which it lends short-term funds to banks by half a percentage point and infusing an extra Rs 1,20,000 crore into the banking system.

Pressure on banks to cut rates has risen sharply in the past few days with the RBI making clear the crisis could only be resolved if banks followed up with measures to boost demand and sustain spending.

This would mean home, car and other consumer loans becoming cheaper by half a percentage point. Companies too can look forward to similarly lower lending rates. But, for depositors, the flipside of a rate cut is lower interest rates on savings.

Senior officials of public sector banks unanimously told STOI that rate cuts would follow very soon, perhaps within the week. They said they would follow through on the RBI’s move to contain the slowdown, even though they face a severe liquidity crunch because the central bank continues to suck cash worth $500 million every day in order to support the rupee. Punjab National Bank chairman KC Chakrabarty said that banks are likely to take their cue from RBI’s decision to cut rates.

On Saturday, the RBI in its mid-term review of policy announced that the repo rate — the rate at which banks can borrow short-term funds from RBI — will fall from 8% to 7.5% from November 3. This would make it easier for banks to cut interest rates for consumers.

Simultaneously, there will be a two-stage cut by November 8 of the cash reserve ratio (CRR) — the proportion of deposits banks have to maintain in cash with the RBI. It will fall from 6.5% to 5.5%.This will give banks access to an additional Rs 40,000 crore to lend.

In another liquidity infusing measure, RBI in effect brought down the statutory liquidity ratio — the proportion of deposit money that banks mandatorily have to invest in government securities — by two percentage points.

While the SLR is formally currently at 25%, various temporary relaxations that allowed banks to borrow from RBI against their holdings of government securities meant that it is effectively at 23.5%. Further relaxations announced on Saturday brought down the effective SLR to 21.5%, though the formal rate has been reduced only to 24%. 
 
The effective two percentage point cut means an addition of Rs 80,000 crore to the kitty available to banks for lending. With the CRR cut, that makes a total of Rs 120,000 crore in extra liquidity. One of the key relaxations was that banks can now borrow up to 1.5% of their deposit base from RBI to lend to mutual funds and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) facing shortage of funds to repay their investors.

Non-deposit taking NBFCs that are deemed to be “systemically important” have also been allowed to get short-term foreign currency loans from abroad subject to their meeting certain prudential norms and getting approval from RBI.

Reacting to the RBI’s announcement, Union Bank of India chairman M V Nair pointed out that this was the second time that RBI had cut the repo rate within a fortnight. Prior to this, RBI had cut the repo rate by one percentage point to 8%. Since banks will find their cost of funds going down, he said they will pass on the benefit to the customer.

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Posted in IT world, Latest News

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

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

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