Techlogixe

GPS Tracking Key: Track Your Friends & Foes

2008-05-24T00:00:00.001+05:30

Ethics aside, imagine a little weather-resistant device that will ensure that no unknown vehicular activities are carried out under your nose.
Measuring 3.8 inches in length and 1.46 inches in width (about the size of a slim mobile phone), the magnetic GPS Tracking Key by LandAirSea can be mounted onto your car (even underneath) instantly to receive signals from the twenty-four Department of Defense GPS satellites orbiting the earth to give you precise information on where a person traveled, how fast they drove, where they stopped and for how long.
Well, this is not to say that you are supposed to use it to monitor the whereabouts of anyone in real-time. (Thank God!) The recorded data, accurate up to 2.5 metres, can be downloaded and displayed over web applications like Google Earth simply by plugging the USB device straight into your computer.
I say this little thing is good for long distance road travel. If you’re someone who needs to know exactly ALL the details of your next road trip. You never know when this information come in handy, eh?
The LandAirSea Tracking Key runs on two AAA batteries and can last for approximately two weeks based on driving activity of 2 hours per day and alkaline batteries. Using lithium batteries would buy you even more tracking life.
See also: Software Demo.

Triple Your Wi-Fi’s Signal Strength With Wi-Fire

2008-05-23T23:59:00.002+05:30

hField Technologies’ Wi-Fire is a compact high-performance USB Wi-Fi Adapter for Mac and PC that extends the Wi-Fi range upwards of 1,000 feet. Being a college student, I am blessed with a blanketed campus, offering a strong Wi-Fi signal wherever I go, right? â€¦. Well, wrong. Dreaded dead spots exist and, to my dismay, my dorm room seems to be the epicenter of a dead spot, a barren wasteland of former Wi-Fi signal.
My solutions included hardwiringâ€”too easy. Setting up a router? Forbidden. And as this epic conundrum reached a head, an epiphany hit me like a ton of bricks (as they tend to do). However, this epiphany came in the form of a small device called the Wi-Fire from a startup company that I had never heard of. The device triples the power of the internal receptor, making it virtually impossible not to get a signal, regardless of where you are.
On my current winter break, my internet cut out on me and, although I am not condoning it, I continued surfing without a problem off of an unsecured network down the street. The device uses a directional antenna with an arrow to ensure a strong signal. According to hField’s site, “the Wi-Fire provides interoperability with any 802.11 b/g access point and multiplies the effectiveness of wireless networks allowing users to connect to a WiFi network from up to 1,000 feet, more than three times the range of Airport cards and other 802.11 adapters, at significantly higher speeds, and even in locations where no wireless signal could be detected previously.”
If you’re looking to improve your internet connectivity and thereby improve your efficiency in any setting whether it’s the airport, park or even dorm room, look no further than this valuable gizmo from hField Technologies, Inc.
The device is 3 x 4 x 3/8 inches in size. It folds up for transportation and connects to the Mac and PC using USB. The device retails for $79 in the U.S.

Claudia Mitchell, First Woman to Receive a Bionic Arm

2008-05-23T23:50:00.001+05:30

Claudia Mitchell, 26, lost her left arm some time ago from a motorcycle accident. It is a painful experience as she describes how it changed her life, such as having to overcome something as simple as peeling a banana.
Now, her life is getting a dramatic change again, but for the better. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has funded the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago with $50 million and created for Mitchell a “bionic” arm. The arm, wired to her chest muscles’ nerves, is able to react to the muscles’ movement and move like her now-missing limb.
Mitchell can now peel a banana with ease by simply willing her bionic arm to hold the banana. Although she is not the first person to receive a bionic arm, she is very first woman in the world to be granted one.
Right now, Mitchell is preparing for the next “upgrade” of her arm, which adds the ability to “feel”. By wiring to her skin above her left breast, her arm would be able to send signals of “touches” to her brain.

Nissan Pivo 2: A Peek into the (Near) Future of Automobiles

2008-05-23T23:44:00.002+05:30

Once again, the Japanese have placed themselves right there at the forefront of cutting-edge technology – style included. Check out Nissan’s newest breakthrough concept, Pivo 2.
Here’s what I gathered from the recent interview with their designer and technical development engineer:

-Fuel cell vehicle (Read: Eco-friendly!)
-Rotating three-seater cabin: Achieved through electric “by-wire” technology, downsizing mechanical parts and completely eliminating others.
-Frontal door: No more conventional engines remember?
-In-Wheel Motor: Conventional axle and steering mechanisms eliminated, allowing the Metamo system to move the tires in any angle. (Read: No more embarrassing parking situations!)
-Robotic Agent: Interactive interface that monitors and accumulates driver’s information and responds like a little boy would, promoting bonding between driver and the car. (Wow!)

Imagine the view on the road when you travel to work in the future, with fresh air might I add. Baby blue, pink, yellow, round electric cars bobbing along on the road! Oh, I’m really pretty tickled at my own imagination. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not being sarcastic at all.
More cute Pivo imageries below.

New Light Source that can Last 12 Years

2008-05-23T23:41:00.002+05:30

Very soon, Cyalume sticks (aka glow sticks) will be history. MPK CO. has invented a new kind of light source called Litroenergy that acts somewhat like a glow stick, but lasts more than 12 years without ever needing a recharge. No electricity nor solar exposure required!
“The Litrospheres are not effected by heat or cold, and are 5,000-pound crush resistant. They can be injection molded or added to paint. The fill rate of Litroenergy micro particles in plastic injection molding material or paint is about 20%. The constant light gives off no U.V. rays, and can be designed to emit almost any color of light desired.”

Safe, consistent, and eco-friendly. Litroenergy could possibly save billions of dollars for the world.
But smart netizens has dug out Litroenergy’s patent application, and it says the active ingredient used is Tritium. That is the tricky part - United States has a ban on the import of Tritium, probably due to its radioactive nature.
Do you think this product will ever materialize?

Microsoft Releases Windows XP SP3

2008-05-13T11:51:00.002+05:30

Microsoft finally releases its highly anticipated Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Windows XP today. But not without some hiccups.

SP3 was found to be incompatible for users running Microsoft Dynamics RMS, hence, an official release on Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update is not available at this time.

But, you can still grab the service pack from their download.windowsupdate.com domain:
Chinese (Hong Kong), Czech, English, French, German (Deutsch), Hebrew, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Simplified (Chinese), Spanish, and Traditional Chinese.

As long as you are not running Microsoft Dynamics RMS, it is perfectly safe to install SP3 now. But, beware of undiscovered bugs that often haunts any major software updates.

Windows XP SP3 Overview

SP3 includes the hundreds of updates and fixes released since SP2. And it includes four features that are backported from Windows Vista. Nothing too exciting for the average consumers though.

NAP is a policy enforcement platform meant for enterprise use that blocks systems attempting to access a network until they meet whatever security criteria the corporation has in place.
“Black Hole” Router Detection helps detect and protect end users from a router that drops packets without returning the specified Internet Control Message Protocol response.
Microsoft Kernel Cryptographic Module incorporates cryptographic algorithms in a single module other kernel mode drivers are capable of hooking into and accessing.
The new Product Activation module allows users to install XP without entering a product key at installation.

Other new features include:

A more descriptive Security Options control panel user interface.
Enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries.

For more in-depth details on SP3, download Overview of Windows XP Service Pack 3.pdf from Microsoft.

Google Takes a Splash into the Deep Blue

2008-05-13T11:46:00.002+05:30

Dive operators, dive guides and seasoned divers may soon have a new “toy” to play with - contributing details of diving hot spots around the world right down to the water conditions and maybe, just maybe to the species of corals and the residents living there.

Rumor has it that Google is brewing an exciting 3D ocean map with the help of marine experts and in selected areas, providing us with high-resolution pictures.

Google’s foray into the ocean comes as no surprise really - with the (Google) Earth and (Google) Sky already covered, it’s probably the next best extension of the project.

I’d say the guys behind Asia Dive Site would definitely have plenty to contribute. So would many, many other websites.

And for those who do not fancy descending 70 feet into the deep blue sea, it’s time to get ready to take a tour underwater - all dry.

Honda Walking Assistance for Elderly & Disabled

2008-05-13T11:44:00.002+05:30

Honda is well known for its cars and motorcycles. What is less known is its research in robotics technology, as seen in the Honda ASIMO robot. Since the company is capable of making ASIMO walk “reliably” on its own, why not extend the technology to help humans in walking?

And thus, Honda’s new Walking Assist Device is born. Available in three sizes, the device is worn around the hips and thighs to assist walking for the elderly and other people with weakened leg muscles. Unfortunately, it is designed to assist only people who can already walk on their own.

It uses brushless DC motors powered by lithium ion batteries, allowing up to two hours of walking assistance per battery charge.

Honda will be showcasing the device at the International Trade Fair on Barrier Free Equipments & Rehabilitation for the Elderly & the Disabled (BARRIER FREE 2008), which will be held at Intex Osaka, April 25-27, 2008.

iPhone Washes Up Asian Shores

2008-05-13T11:23:00.002+05:30

Apple has signed deals with four major telecommunication companies in four countries to help the company surpass its iPhone sales goal of 10 million units by the end of 2008.

Singapore’s SingTel, India’s Bharti Airtel, Phillipines’ Globe Telecom, and Australia’s Optus, will begin carrying the iPhone “later this year.” A specific date has yet to be announced.

And it is safe to assume that the model would be a new 3G-enabled one, since 3G is the industry standard for this part of the world.

Good news for you patient ones still waiting for its official launch.

Ever Wondered What 128GB of RAM Looks Like?

2007-11-27T22:59:00.000+05:30

Feeling all pimped out with your Alienware with 4GB RAM? Or your Mac Pro with 16GB RAM? Well, move aside, for they are nothing compared to this 128GB RAM monster built by Xenon Systems for the Monash Cluster Computing group.

The setup runs on 8 x 2.8GHz dual-core AMD Opterons, which are tucked away somewhere underneath all the seemingly endless rows of RAMs. And the system is supposedly extremely loud when running. Not something you’ll want in your bedroom.

Then again, who needs sleep when you have something like this?

Gadget To Heal Broken Bones Twice As Fast

2007-11-27T22:52:00.000+05:30

Any breakthrough technology that helps our body and health is technology worth mentioning. A new project by Queensland University of Technology has created a device that can speed up the time taken to heal fractured and broken bones by two times. Figuring out how bone cells heal is the key.
“This device is about trying to grow bone tissue in the same environment our body grows bones. I have taken bone cells and put them in the physical environment they would experience in the body, and then varied the stimulants to extract a beneficial environment for tissue growth,” he said.
In other words, they have not tried it on a human yet. Let us hope it’ll be completed before we all get old and start slipping on our bathroom floor, breaking bones here and there.

Computers Can Soon Transform 2D Images Into 3D

2007-11-27T22:49:00.000+05:30

Creating 3D animations from regular 2D images has long been thought impossible by researchers since three decades ago. Describing the geometry of objects to a computer was no easy task back then. Even research computers are so much slower than our current home computers.
But the time is different now. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University has announced that they’ve found a way to help computers learn the geometric context of a 2D image automatically. Not only will we be able to generate 3D scenes from a single 2D image, the technology could also be used with gadgets and robots to better comprehend what their “eyes” see.
The transformation is accomplished by teaching the computer to spot visual cues to differentiate horizontal and vertical surfaces in outdoor scenes. For example, the sky is always blue and cars will likely be resting on flat grounds. From the video below, the technology is looking really promising.

How far do you think we are, from an age where robots roam the street and behave just like everyone of us?

O2 Cocoon Designer Cellphone

2007-11-27T22:45:00.000+05:30

O2 Cocoon is the latest on the growing list of designer cellphones. Phones that do not offer much in terms of feature, but sport really nice designs, such as the Nokia 8600 Luna, Nokia 8800, and the Vertu series. This one stands out from the crowd though, with its clean curves and attractive black-and-white color scheme. It’s hard not to like the looks of it!

Features:
-2-megapixel camera with flash, digital zoom and auto-focus
-2GB on-board memory
-3G and videocalling
-MP3 player for up to 500 songs
-LED front display
-Docking station called the Nest
-External storage via microSD memory cards

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the phone is the hidden LED display on its outer shell. It displays “HELLO” when it starts up, shows who’s calling/texting, what music’s playing, or even the time. Neat!
Price from O2:
-Free with £35/month, 18 month tariff
-£159.99 with £25/month, 18 Month tariff
-£299.99

Convert your cell phone into BlackBerry

2007-11-25T13:55:00.000+05:30

There is a good news for Mobile Users in India. Those who don't have blackberry phones now can use their regular phones and have the blackberry features.

Consilient (former partner of RIM) entered the Indian market with their free push e-mail service that will bring your GMail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail or any other POP3 / IMAP mail right on the cell phone screen.

Consilient Push Mail also supports most file attachments including PDF, ZIP, Excel and Word.

Here is the excerpt from their press release on 2nd May 2007.

"From Mumbai to Bangalore and all across India, a free* version of the popular mobile email application, Consilient Pushª is now available. This marks the first time the Canadian company Consilient®, with regional offices in Singapore, has made a free version of their technology available in India. The mobile application is available at www.consilient.com. "

You can have upto 5 Email account access: personal and corporate in single application (One email account access for BlackBerry® and Windows Mobile devices only). You can lock your phone if lost or stolen.

Consilient's underlying technology is push-based and is designed to be easy-to-use on popular mobile phones including Nokia, Samsung and Windows Mobile devices. No email or passwords are stored with Consilient - the technology acts as an instant relay pushing email out in real-time. The Push application can be quickly downloaded onto most popular mobile phones in seconds. * requires data plan or Wi-Fi access

Registering to the the site is pretty easy. You just have to visit their website www.consilient.com and fill out the simple form. Once you submit the form, you will get an SMS on your phone. Click on the link in the SMS and complete the simple setup.

This service is free. You don't have to pay anything except the data plan (from your operator). You need a data plan to use Consilient Push on your mobile phone.

The only catch is : Consilient is supported by advertising and at the time of signing up, it's mandatory for you to pick upto 5 areas of interests. Ads will be embedded within the Consilient application, and will not be delivered to the inbox.

But who cares if we are getting this services free. Even Gmail displays ads in our inboxes.

A Premium version of Consilient Push is available for $5 USD/month. Consilient Push uses open standards (LEMONADE/P-IMAP) and is available in a scalable version for mobile operators and ISPs.

So give it a try and let us know how did it go. Sign up for your mobile push email

Broadband in India would be free?

2007-11-25T13:54:00.001+05:30

Internet users in India reached 37 million in the month of September 2006. During the same period the number of active users rose to 25 million, according to recently released survey reports from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI-IMRB).The future estimated projection of Internet users is the following:

-Sept 2006: 37m ever users and 25m active users
-March 2007: 42m ever users and 28m active users
-March 2008: 54m ever users and 43m active users

"Active user" is defined as someone who has used the Iternet at least once in the last 30 days, while "ever user" is someone who has used the Internet at least once.

So imagine what would be the future of Indian internet if the broadband connection becomes free in India !!

Yes you heard it right, there are plans to make broadband connection free in India.

The government proposes to offer all citizens of India free, high-speed broadband connectivity by 2009, through the state-owned telecom service providers BSNL and MTNL. While consumers would cheer, the move holds the potential to kill the telecom business as we know it.

The government of India plans to achieve free broadband connectivity at a speed of 2 MB per second across the country. Senior government officials expect to be able to achieve this goal spending only a portion of the corpus of the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

All telecom operators contribute 5% of their revenues every year to USOF. It is estimated that the unutilised sum from the USOF has touched Rs 9,194.12 crore by March, 2007-end.

The department of telecom (DoT) will be taking a series of steps to make its plans for free broadband a reality. These include, using the USOF to set an extensive optic cable network across the country, opening up the long-distance sectors to further competition, allowing free and fair access to cable landing stations, permitting the resale of bandwidth, setting up web hosting facilities within the country and asking all internet service providers to connect to the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).
Source:(Economic Times)

Long back, Rajiv Gandhi had a dream that he wanted a TV in each house of India. May be after this "Free Broadband" we will have internet in each house of India. Not bad.

Go India !!

AOL joins the race to India after Yahoo

2007-11-25T13:51:00.001+05:30

According to a Credit Suisse report, Indian GDP at the current price level of the rupee (Rs 40.76 per $) stands at $1trillion. The strengthening rupee has now made India the 12th country to achieve this milestone.

With the Rupee appreciating to below 41 against the US dollar on Wednesday, it was the first day for the economy to be a trillion-dollar economy.
We can see the global companies rush to India now a days (to find a gold mine in this booming economy). AOL is one of them. Why should they left behind when every single Internet Giant is launching its own "presence" in India.

AOL launched their own portal in India yesterday. AOL’s India portal - AOL.in has gone live - offering a host of services that, well, we’ve heard of before from other players - email, instant messaging, local news and information.

They’ve also launched AOL Messenger, and incorporated content focusing on Bollywood, Cricket, Hollywood, News, Sports and International music.

There’s a mobile component, with a suite offers email access via WAP, instant messaging via SMS and the usual downloads like wallpapers, ringtones and games. The website is "www.aol.in". And the funny thing is, AOL and Yahoo both are operating in the same city in India.

But I don't see anything "New" in this AOL India Launch. Yahoo India has all these features, Rediff has that, Times Of India has that, Sify.com has that. So whats new ? Do they just want their presence in Indian Internet Industry?

I can see a tough competition now in India between the "Local Giants" and "Global Giants". From the users perspective, I would like to say that Indian "Local Giants" sucks big time as far as the design and "user friendliness" is concern.

If you go to Rediff.com, Sify.com or IndiaTimes.com you will see lot of popups, animated images and moving text. It just freaks me out. They should learn from these global internet companies how to design pages. Now don't get me into details about design and user friendliness. :-)

That reminds me an article that I read on WebYantra.net few days back. There is a compilation of Indian websites (on the Delhi Linux User group website -- http://www.lug-delhi.org/) that don’t work on Linux or Firefox (work only on IE). Rediff’s name is not there but a few prominent establishments or companies certainly find mention in this infamous list.

Let me get back to the topic. So the point is, there is one more Internet site for you to kill your time. And read the same news over and over again. :-)

Whats your say on this ?

Kerala Postman will ride Electric Cars

2007-11-25T13:47:00.000+05:30

Kerala's postman is all set for a makeover. Come April, he will switch from his usual mode of service - walking and cycling - to riding an electric car for speed post delivery.The Kerala Postal Service (KPS) has tied up with Bangalore-based Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) Ltd to use the indigenous car in Thiruvananthapuram. Three customised electric cars were delivered to KPS Wednesday. Painted in the post office red colour, the cars will cover 60 km daily and carry 70 kg of load (articles) with a driver and postman in tow."The Indian Postal Service (IPS) is the most widely distributed post office system in the world. The emission free battery operated vehicles will enable the postman to improve the quality of service and become efficient," Reva chairman S.K. Maini said on the sidelines of a national conference of postal circles here Wednesday. (Source:ChennaiVision)

Bandra Worli Sealink

2007-11-25T13:46:00.001+05:30

The picture above is "Bandra Worli Sealink" project. Bandra Worli Sea Link Project has been one of the most highly recommended project of all the transport studies done for the metropolitan region during the last forty years.
At present, Mahim causeway is the only link connecting western suburbs to island city of Mumbai. The existing north south western corridor is highly congested and during the peak hours results in a bottleneck at Mahim Causeway.

Construction of the project link will provide an additional fast moving outlet from the island city to the western suburbs & thereby providing much needed relief to the congested Mahim Causeway. This link will also form a part of the western freeway.

The latest available statistics from the World Bank indicate that India's gross domestic product has seen annual growth of 8.5%—more than doubling the 4% of 2000. Reflecting this growth and the country's increasing presence on the international stage as an IT and economic powerhouse, the nation's leading companies, including Wipro (WIT), Infosys (INFY), and Tata Consultancy Services are constructing new corporate campuses. (source:BusinessWeek

Cool Gadget site for India

2007-11-25T13:39:00.002+05:30

Are you guys cool Gadget freak like me? I love electronics, new technology and the importantly absolutely love to use these gadgets.There are many sites like sify.com, rediff.com, indiatimes who has online shopping. But recently I came across this site called GadgetGuru. Cool Gadgets for Indians. One site where you can see all the electronics cool gadgets, latest and greatest.You can compare prices with the similar product, register to their RSS feed. Here is their service statement (slogan): CUSTOMERS ARE NOT GODS,THEY ARE YOUR CHILDREN, CARE FOR THEM, SATISFY THEM, EDUCATE THEM AND LOVE THEM AND YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THEM

WHAT IS GADGETSGURU.COM ALL ABOUT...
THE LEADER
-NO°1 in INDIA for internet sales of consumer electronic goods.
-Hundreds satisfied customers.
-More than 350 collaborators present in with the list growing each day.

THE SERVICE
An international team of customer service representatives at your service 6 days a week,

providing product advice and a detailed follow up of the sales process
The assurance of the biggest name brands at the best price: Nokia, Nikon, Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Pioneer, Kodak, JVC, Olympus, Apple, LG, Logitech, Motorola, Hitachi and more …
Product Guaranties from 1 to 3 years, assured by Gadgets guru and its suppliers.
Extended warranties for 3 and 5 years
Your product reimbursed 100% if it has manufacturing defects within the specified time.
Buyer’s Guides to help you choose the exact product you need
Coming Soon a pick-up store in Mumbai open 6 days a week.
An absolute quality of service thanks to the efficient follow-up of each order: at every instant, operators are verifying the stock and are overseeing the process up to the delivery of your package to your door.

Google Vision - Future

2007-11-25T13:39:00.001+05:30

Young Designer From The U.K Is Developing A System That Will Have Tag And Name Exactly What Your Staring At. Google Vision Is A Conceptual Product Developed By Callum Peden, For The Worlds Favorite Search Engine. The Product Provides The User With A Truly Unique Information Hub By Combining Gps, Oled Technology And Advanced Image Recognition In The Form Of A Retractable Screen Device.
The Global Positioning System Will See The End Of Wondering The Streets Asking For Directions And The Small Roller Ball Will Allow For Easy Navigation Of The Flexible Screen. Brilliant For Identifying Landmarks Whilst On Holidays, Google Vision Acts As A Personal; Tour Guide.

Wi-Fi locations in India

2007-11-25T13:36:00.000+05:30

How many of you uses Wireless internet? India has started getting exposure to Wi-Fi world. Its still not that easily available like other countries but we will get there.

So I was trying to find out how many wi-fi spots we have in India. When I do google search I found out this website which is basically wi-fi hotspot directory. The website is JiWire.com.

Below are the list of indian wifi spots. Looks like Karnataka has the highest wi-fi spots

2007-11-25T13:34:00.001+05:30

Reliance International SMS Charge -- Rs. 3.00/sms

Airtel International SMS Charges -- Rs. 5.00/sms

Want to make free SMS to USA ??

Then here is the site which does that for you. I tried the site and works like a charm. You can send single SMS or Bulk SMS to USA mobile. IMJunky.com is a site that allows you to send your friends and/or enemies various amounts of text messages to their cell phone, for free.

All you have to do is

Enter your friend and/or enemies ;) mobile number
Enter the title
Enter the message
Select the number of text msg & select the operator
Hit "Send Message(s)"

You dont need any SMS software. Send SMS message now.

Send SMS Now

Online Movie Rental in India

2007-11-25T13:32:00.000+05:30

The online DVD movie rental business in India is on the verge of taking off.
There are several online DVD rental services in India, all running their own delivery systems and logistics.

So lets get started with these sites. India's first online DVD movie rental service Clixflix started in 2004, and was followed by several others like MovieMart, Homeview.In, Madhouse, SeventyMM, CineSprite, CatchFlix and LazyGenie, ... (phew !! I know !!) in no particular order.

Lets start with ClixFlix.com -- It covers the whole of Mumbai and has 7000 members. It offers a choice of 6000 Blockbuster movie titles and its monthly charges are Rs 399 for 6 DVDs or Rs 799 for unlimited nos.

Then comes the SeventyMM.com -- this startup has commenced operations in March 2006. It has raised Rs 100MN in seed funding from Draper Fischer and is unarguably, the best positioned amongst the current lot, to scale operations nationally. At present, it covers only Bangalore. It offers 10,000 titles in nine Indian languages (including English).

Even though it started last year March, its getting the highest traffic (data from Alexa.com) among all these other websites. Good marketing sure can do wonders !!

2007-11-25T13:28:00.000+05:30

Mobile handset manufacturer Motorola is ready to unveil its smart phone Q in India around the second quarter this year.

This would be a slim CDMA version, based on Windows platform. Lloyd Mathias, director marketing-India for Mobile Devices, Motorola told CyberMedia News that he expects Q to be a big hit. “The email market in mobiles is much larger. CDMA as a technology enables better data saving capabilities. We have always been a technology-oriented brand and are now empowering as a consumer brand too. Our product basket in India increasingly reflects the strategy.”

The MOTO Q is a Windows-based mobile phone and e-mail device that fits in your pocket. Fully tricked-out, it can duplicate many of the functions of a computer, including MS document processing, handling business and personal e-mail, accessing the Internet, playing music, movies, and more.

According to user reviews, the Motorola Q has earned the “BlackBerry Killer” alias, is smart, light (half of the Treo 700w thickness), has good text speeds and interiors, and a reasonable pace for messaging.

According to earlier reports, Motorola intended to launch both the CDMA and the GSM versions of the Q phone in India while Tata and Reliance Communications were reported to be in negotiations with Motorola. The CDMA-Q is likely to be followed by the GSM version (EDGE and HSDPA) later. (source: CIOL)

CNet has a detail review of Motorola Q here which is having 7.0/10 rating.

Below is the Motorola Q review from Youtube.

2007-11-25T13:24:00.000+05:30

If you are in India and if you have a smart phone with data package, you can use google maps to access Indian City maps.

I found out the google maps website for mobile users, Google Maps Mobile where you can download the .CAB file (for Windows Mobile Platform) or .prc file (for Palm OS).

Once you download and install the file, you would be able to see Google Maps application in your Applications list.

I was able to see Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and all major cities maps on my mobile. The application is pretty slick.

Interactive maps let you zoom in or out, and move in all directions so you can orient yourself visually. You can also get a satellite images for the maps as well.

They also offer real time traffic information, local business listings and driving directions but is not available for India yet. Currently all these features are available only for Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Well for India at least we can see the city maps. Another good feature about this application is Insta-KB-o-meter, where you can see the real time information about your data usage so that you can find out how much its going to cost you.

Another good thing is, if you have GPS receiver for your smart phone, you can use this application as GPS device. Isn't that cool ?

Here is the link for an interactive "Take a Tour"

How to find address using reliance cellphone number

2007-11-25T13:21:00.000+05:30

Well I don't know how many of you guys use this feature and whether its still available or not but I found it interesting that using Reliance RIM Directory you can find out person's address from its phone number. This is limited to only for Reliance mobile numbers.

Its definitely possible to know another RIM user's no. or the address from a RIM No. I will describe how you can do this using your reliance cellphone.

1. Go to R-World on your handset.

2. Select "R- Guide" or "Guides"

3. Select "RIM Dir"

Scenario:1

Now if you know the RIM number of a person and need to find the address from the number.

Select "Name-Address"
Type the RIM Number for whose address you are searching for, SAVE
Select SEARCH
If the RIM number is listed, it will pop up there.

Scenario 2:

If you want to know the RIM number of a person staying in your vicinity
Select "Local Number"
Type the "Surname" or "First Name" or "Location" of the person
Select SEARCH
Try and be very specific in typing the Surname or First Name otherwise you will find tons of results and it would be difficult for you to find out the person you are looking for. For example if you type in only "Raj" it will list thousands of records.

Scenario:3

If you want to know the RIM number of a person staying outside your City
select the apt "State"
Enter the City name
Select the correct City Name
and then follow steps of Scenario 2.

Few things to keep in mind

-- If you want to get listed in the directory, you need to call customer support and do that.
-- If you want to remove your information from the directory, you can do so from within your phone. I think there is an option that you can select to unsubscribe you from the directory.

-- If you select to unsubscribe from the directory, you can not get listed back again from within your phone. You need to contact customer support for that.

So give it a try and see what happens.

Indian Institute of Science buys IBM SuperComputer

2007-11-25T13:17:00.000+05:30

Bangalore based Indian Institute of Science has just purchased a supercomputer from IBM.This supercomputer will be used for high-end research projects. The full Blue Gene/L machine was designed and built in collaboration with the Department of Energy's NNSA/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, and has a peak speed of 360 Teraflops. Blue Gene systems occupy the #1 (Blue Gene/L) and #3 (Blue Gene Watson) positions in the TOP500 supercomputer list announced in November 2006 and a total of 27 of the top 150.

"The four-rack supercomputer being bought would be the largest outside Japan," according to Dr C. Mohan, Chief Scientist, IBM India, speaking at the India Innovation Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the city. The price per rack of IBM's machine is about $2 million. (The Hindu)Blue Gene/L supercomputer is unique in the following aspects:
Trade the speed of processors for low power consumption.
Dual processor per node with two working modes: co-processor (1 user process/node: computation and communication work is shared by two processors) and virtual node (2 user processes/node)
system-on-a-chip design
a large number of nodes (scalable in increments of 1024 up to at least 65,536)
three-dimensional torus interconnect with auxiliary networks for global communications, I/O, and management
Lightweight OS per node for minimum system overhead (computational noise) (WikiPedia)
You can see more pictures about this supercomputer at IBM's website.

Google Maps now shows exit numbers for major highways

2007-11-25T13:15:00.000+05:30

Till few months back, Google maps were not showing exit numbers on their maps for major highways. I think till that point, google maps had only couple of features that were missing. One was this exit numbers and the second one is showing Shortest/Fastest routes for the driving directions.

Yes, the reason why I mentioned "One was.." because now Google maps shows exit numbers for major highways. This exit numbers are shown as green circle with white color exit numbers.
Previously, Google maps users were frustrated by the fact that, when simply browsing maps rather than obtaining specific driving directions, freeway exit numbers were never displayed, as many other mapping applications like Yahoo Maps and Map Quest where showing these information.So this is definitely a must have feature that google maps finally included after a long time. If you are living in USA, you might want to check out your city maps and see whether its showing up or not. I checked New York, Illinois, New Jersey, California, Texas. So it should be available for all over USA.

Exit numbers doesn't show up on Google Maps mobile version though. It would be wonderful to see exit numbers on Google Maps for Mobile too.

Delhi Airtel customers now can track their mobile phone

2007-11-25T13:14:00.000+05:30

Its an application which helps you track your mobile phone if its stolen. The application is called Micro LMTS which is developed by Micro Technologies, a mumbai based firm.Recently, The Hindu has reported that Micro Technologies has agreed to offer this technology to Bharti Airtel in Delhi. Airtel subsrcibers will be able to use this tracking service."This tie-up would be beneficial for all. While Airtel subscribers will experience a high-end technology, the company will expand its reach to a large number of mobile subscribers," said a release from Micro Tech

RailTel will soon provide Internet in running trains

2007-11-24T20:41:00.000+05:30

RailTel Corporation of India, a Public Sector Company Undertaking by Ministry of Indian Railways is all over the news portals recently. The Economic Times recently published this news that RailTel is planning to install wi-fi at near about 500 Railway Stations. But this news was published back in Oct. 2006 on RailTel's website. Right after this news, RailTel also published a news about providing internet access on running trains. According to the site, RailTel has successfully carried out tests on a few long distance trains and the results says that passengers could experience seamless connectivity on running trains.

The targetted trains would be Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express and Jan Shatabdi Express. "With the help of local area network (LAN), Railtel hopes to provide Internet services to passengers in all important mail and express trains," said a senior RailTel offical. The company also proposed to start Cyber Cafes on stations. One of the Cyber Cafe has already been launched at Gorakhpur Railway Station.Under the new system, a wireless LAN is to be created in the coaches through a transmitter placed inside them. Besides, a roof-mounted antenna would catch the signal from towers which are to be set up at railway stations. Thus, passengers can use their own laptops to login as well.If this happens, business class passengers would be benifited from this feature. Stay connected all time. Cities, trains, stations are becoming wi-fi enabled. But the question is, when are we getting the actual broadband connection in households? People are still suffering from low bandwidth and slow internet connections.

Spice Telecom Launches Radio Service - Spice My FM

2007-11-24T20:40:00.000+05:30

Spice Telecom launched their music-based service "Spice My FM Radio" in colloboration with My FM. This service is available for both pre-paid and post-paid customers.

Using this service, customers would be able to listen to non-stop songs and create their own music albums. This service will provide songs from Bollywood movies, devotional songs, ghazals and pop music.

The service comes at a cost of Rs 99 per month for subscribers and non-subscribers can listen to songs at a rate of Rs 6 per minute by dialling 57011.

Source: DNAIndia

Spice Telecom also announced to launch the GSM phone that will cost less than Rs. 1,000. The company is also planning to launch a movie-phone with an in-built DVD player by first half of 2008. (DNA India)

Watch Ball by Ball Cricket Scorecard on your Mobile for Free

2007-11-24T20:37:00.000+05:30

This is going to be an interesting post. I think this is one of the most interesting post for the last few weeks. Just last saturday I was watching Twenty20 match (India-Australia) and we had a discussion about Cricinfo and how its so cool and gives ball by ball information about the match and scorecard. CricInfo which was recently bought by ESPN, now has introduced the same ball by ball scorecard for mobile users.

The condition is that you should have GPRS enabled on your phone. The features of this mobile website includes, ball-by-ball commentry Pushed to your phone with every ball. You dont need SMS and the biggest point is, the site is available world wide. The site supports over 500 mobile phones and best of all, ITS FREE!! Hold on guys, I am giving you that website address in a moment. I know your excitement.

CricInfo is offering this service in association with Plusmo, a USA based company which provides FREE service that lets you run cool mobile widgets on your phone. And now I am going to tell you the address of that website. Are you guys excited? The website is called http://ci.plusmo.com.

Once you point your mobile browser to ci.plusmo.com, you will be give an option to download the application. You can either download the application or can use its WAP enabled site to see your live scorecards. The application is called CricInfo MobiCast. I just downloaded the application and I must say, this is amazing. The application works great and gives real time information with scrolling text as well as highlighting 4s and 6s. This is just amazing.

Get your hands on this application. ITS a MUST HAVE application. Get CricInfo MobiCast

Watch Live TV On Your Mobile with BSNL

2007-11-24T20:33:00.000+05:30

Mobile industry has been continously exploring new ways to generate revenue beyond its telephony business. In the coming years, one could watch breaking news over their mobile handsets. It doesn't seem far from reality. Five of the world's largest mobile phone makers are already collaborating on specifications to deliver broadcast services to wireless handsets.

BSNL has started a new trend in India. BSNL along with Apalya Technologies Pvt. launched an end to end mobile video solution for providing world class TV through GSM mobile handsets called MiMobi.tv for BSNL EDGE/GPRS customers. The service is launched in Andhra Pradesh and looks like it would roll out to other states soon.

Nokia N81: Music Junkies Will Love This Phone

2007-11-24T20:30:00.000+05:30

Unlike the N9x series cellphones which are designed for multimedia of all sorts, the new Nokia N81 is focused on music. It does not have any fancy Carl Zeiss lens or GPS, but it does sport really loud stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack, 8GB of internal memory for all your tunes, 3G, and WiFi.
It can be a decent gaming phone too, with its support for landscape orientation games and a D-pad suited for gaming.
Lastly, the Nokia N81 is configured to find and buy music and games from the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage games service. Sounds like a great integrated entertainment solution.

Price and Availability
US$499 for 2GB removable microSD memory model, US$599 for 8GB internal memory model. Fourth quarter of 2007.

Official Press Release
Nokia N81 and Nokia N81 8GB: Entertainment made simpleWith dedicated music and gaming keys, 3.5 mm headphone connector and 3G and WLAN connectivity, the Nokia N81 multimedia computer is a true mobile entertainment powerhouse. With a sleek, polished surface and keys that light up when you activate them, accessing content on the 3D multimedia menu is fast and intuitive. Equally impressive, the Nokia N81 is configured to find, buy, manage and play music and games purchased from the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage games service. The estimated retail price of the Nokia N81 is 360 EUR before subsidies or taxes. The Nokia N81 8GB is expected to retail for 430 EUR before subsidies or taxes. Both versions are expected to begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Artificial Cornea Gives Hope To The Blind

2007-11-24T20:26:00.000+05:30

Major advancements in technology like this one are what makes the future worth looking forward to. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have invented an artificial cornea that may well be the key to restoring sight for our people with damaged corneas.

“Our artificial corneas are based on a commercially available polymer which absorbs no water and allows no cells to grow on it,” says IAP project manager Dr. Joachim Storsberg. “Once our partner Dr. Schmidt Intraokularlinsen GmbH has suitably shaped the polymers, we selectively coat the implants: We lay masks on them and apply a special protein to the edge of the cornea, which the cells of the natural cornea can latch onto. In this way, the cornea implant can firmly connect with the natural part of the cornea, while the center remains free of cells and therefore clear.” What is special about this protein is that it can survive the later thermal sterilization of the artificial cornea without being damaged, as it does not have the three-dimensional structure typical of large proteins. Such a structure would be destroyed during the sterilization process, leading to changes in the material’s properties. The optical front part of the implant is coated with a hydrophilic polymer, so that it is constantly moistened with tear fluid.
Researchers in Dr. Karin Kobuch’s working group at Regensburg University Hospital have already tested these corneas in the laboratory and found that their cells graft very well at the edge and cease growing where the coating stops. The optical center of the implant thus remains clear. The first implants have already been tested in rabbits’ eyes - with promising results. If further tests are successful, the technology will be tried on humans in 2008.”