Professional Documents
Culture Documents
120
Profile
56
59
Tech lends Wings to Couture Culture
Technology in Communication
73 Entertainment – When You Want It
74 Futuristic Wearable Technology
77 Redefining Kitchen Experience
88
90
5 Innovations that Changed Our Life
Access Total 24
Different Sites
contents 101 Tech in Vogue for lifestyle buffs
tech tip
to Suit Different
Moods
october 2009
62 My KidZui4: Safe Browsing for Kids
27
Ideas for Modern
Home Décor
41
Style IT
69
70
Embellish photos with paint.net
Finerday: Where families connect
71 Soundsnap: Explore the sound library
72 Bomomo: Art on Digital Canvas
118
Star Diary
how to Founder
Vishwa Nath (1917-2002)
106 Watch Multiple Computers through Netflix
Editor, Publisher & Printer
108 How to hide or show genius bar in iTunes8 Paresh Nath
80
De-print and print
spice IT
13 Buzz Byte
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Road, Bangalore - 560052,
36 Snapshots Phone: 26577845
Personal Safety System for Women 130 Shopper’s Guide Mumbai: A 4, Shriram Industrial Estate,
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126 Radio Control Helicopter & Car & 131 Q&A Phones: 65766302, 65766303
129
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Whether at school, college, workplace or at home, IT has become an inextricable part of our life.
And yet, many of us know so little about it beyond the basic uses.
Over the last year, therefore, in these pages of Live IT, we have tried to bring you closer to fast-
evolving technologies and make you more aware of the innumerable nuances of the digital
world – all of which can help us live a more wholesome life.
From travel to education, gaming to entertainment, nano technology to Web 2.0, our
endeavour has been to demystify the world of IT and present it to you in simple and lucid writing.
And now as we have completed the first year of Live IT, we bring to you a special issue
dedicated to the underlying philosophy behind the magazine, that of bringing together IT and
trendy living.
In this issue, we explore the various ways in which IT is seamlessly becoming a part of our
emerging fashionable lifestyle. Be it fashion, home décor, tech gadgets, shopping, health or
travel, through a curious mix of overt and covert ways, IT is seeping through all the different
aspects of what constitutes our trendy lifestyle.
This issue talks about the interesting ways that detail how our IT quotient can push up our chic
quotient, and what all one should look out for in the coming times from the digital world, which
would make for our smart living.
Hope you enjoy reading this special issue of Live IT and find some fascinating ideas that provide
a true blend of IT and lifestyle.
Anant Nath
Managing Editor
News
KING M A X C O M E S W IT H A
DIWA L I E D IT IO N O F M IN I
FLASH DRIVE glob al man ufac ture r and supplier of DRAM and Flash
products, has launched the Diwali edit
sure
ion of
ly seems a
Kingma x, a lead ing the economic slow dow n, this
k Min i USB flash driv e (4 GB) to celebrate the festival of lights. After Gan esha key chai n.
Super Stic y is also gifting a Lord
to wish cons ume rs a bett er year . Along with the product, the compan Diw ali furth er, Kin gma x’s
nice way echo the spirit of
er Stic k Min i is wate rpro of and ensures high speed data transfer. To nesh a is the mos t
The Sup p of Lord Ganesha. “Ga
l firework package and a golden stam
design team has rolled out a colourfu mpl ishm ents, his ‘puja’ is a must,” stated Law
rence
s of deit ies. To ensu re smo oth passage on the road to acco top thre e bran ds in India
auspiciou become one of the
Pres iden t of Kin gma x. “Wi th his blessings, we believe that our aim to
Chang,
will become a reality.”
T R IM S FAT T Y IN T E R FACE
FACEBOOK
For those using cell phon
es or dial-up connectio ns, op eni ng Fac
sio n
ebo
tha
ok
t
may not have been a ligh
cut s down on the graphical
tning-fast experience. So
clutter. And for the status
‘Li te’ ver
h a limited debut of its
Facebook has come up wit sque tagging twist. the slimmed-down versio
n. It
the soc ial net wo rki ng site is giving a Twitter-e eri menting with the looks of
updates, ers , is cur ren tly exp
n 250 million memb
Facebook, with more tha
, as it has
looks a bit heavy though
popular
added a feature which is
with a much-hyped short
iments
messaging service. Exper
ok Lite,
are, thus, on with Facebo
that has
a leaner-looking interface
USA
gone live last month in the
sion has
and India. The ‘light’ ver
for those
been especially designed
slower
parts of the world with
s is what
Internet speeds. Now thi the home page, including
those
the new-look Facebook
aims to
den pag es an d rem ove some toolbar areas from w lin ks to
d speed of graphics-la that sho
do: Increase the downloa normal Facebook pages
age s. Wh ite spa ce wil l dominate the areas of
and im
for status updates, links d advertising.
tio ns, vid eos & ph otos posted by friends an
applica
aptop skins are resistant to tears, sunlight and water as with the press of a button. If this is not enough, hold your
L chemicals are injected into these skins to tackle radiation,
chemical corrosion and extreme heat and cold.
breath! The building will be 313 metres in height with
68 floors. What’s more, the building will be highly energy
efficient as it will be powered by wind and solar energy. Huh!
ut of the 160 billion e-mail messages sent out daily, Such a stunning tower should have some great designer
O 97% happen to be spam. behind it. And that designer is David Fisher.
acebook leads photo uploads by hosting more than he Bahrain World Trade Center is considered the largest
F 10 billion photographs while Flickr is a distant second
and hosts only 3 billion photographs.
T wind-powered design built into a huge building. It has
three massive wind turbines planted between its two towers
that form the main building. The towers are designed in such
uilding with plastic actually saves the environment a way that the air around accelerates each of the 80 ft
B because it is energy efficient. More than 50 plastic
varieties are used in the construction industry for different
turbines, thus generating enormous power supply.
purposes and nearly 20% of the plastic materials used in arth is surely facing some stiff competition
Europe are later utilised in building products. Second only to
transport, housing sector is one of the biggest energy
E from other planets. Virgin
Group and Google Inc.
?
consumers. But plastic products help increase energy
w
efficiency as they happen to be really good sealers and
o
insulators. They also help reduce the harmful CO2
n
emissions to a great extent. So all that is
k
plastic is not bad!
did U
total of 1.4 billion Apple iPhones were sold between
are launching Virgle Inc., a jointly owned
and managed project that will work on human
settlement on Mars. Virgle Inc. has a 100-year plan with
various short-team goals including Virgle pioneer
selection (2008-2010), the first journey of man to Mars
(2016), development of the first permanent Martian
municipality, the Virgle City (2050), and finally, the
creation of a self-sustaining Martian civilisation with a
A June and October, 2007. But there were 2,50,000
missing phones which were not activated to run on AT&T’s
population of more than one lakh (2108).
wireless network. It is believed that owners of these missing arlier, IMAX Adlabs in Mumbai was considered the
phones plan to unlock them so that they can be used on other
cellular networks.
E world’s largest screen. Now Prasad IMAX in Hyderabad
has been crowned the single most popular theatre in the
world. It features a 95 ft wide and 75 ft high screen with a
lthough Google uses around 15 billion kWh of 12,000 watt sound system and a seating capacity of 635.
A electricity every year, it generates a lot of power by
using solar panels for its operations.
Prasad IMAX came into the limelight when people crowded
the theatre to watch Spiderman and the Harry Potter series
on the giant screen.
ubai has been creating waves for its architectural
D breakthroughs like the Burj al-Arab (Tower of the
Arabs), which is the world’s tallest hotel. The next in row is I n 1968, IM David Levy challenged John McCarthy, a
researcher in Artificial Intelligence at Stanford, that the
the Rotating Tower, a bigger technical and structural wonder. former could win any computer-versus-human game for the
Thanks to some mind-blowing technologies, the floors of this next 10 years. And guess what? He won the game. Now that’s
tower will rotate continuously and the view can be changed a cool bet to win. I
A Web is the best possible way to dig up the information you need?
Well, if you are always glued to your system or checking online stuff on
your smartphone, chances are you are quite conversant with the Net
and its pros & cons. Here are SEVEN brain teasers to test how you work, play and
interact on the Net. Take this quiz and find out yourself.
Q application is Mee
bo?
What kind of Web
aring.
A. Online video sh
aring.
B. Online photo sh
messaging.
C. Online instant
Q ultilingual?
Is Google Maps m
Q your tim e online spent in lookin
g at the latest
A. Diamonds and
Spades
Is most of ?
ts coming out soon B. Hearts and Spad
es
electronic produc
ub s
track of such things
. C. Hearts and Cl
A. No, I don’t keep
.
B. Yes, occasionally
I try to research more. Check out the next page to
C. Always, and see how well you scored!
Congratulations!
You finished the quiz! Now, calculate your score. A carries 1,
B carries 2 and C carries 3 points. Did you check mostly A, B or C?
:
If your score is b-
ce w it h th e In ternet and We
Between 0-7 xperien . Learn about th
e
in n e r. Yo u h a ve very little e o n th e th e o ry
You are a beg you need to b
rush up
d se rv ic e s. M a y b e
e n joy in g the enormous so
ena b le
st y le te c h n o logies and st a rt
a lo t o f tip s a nd information
basics of life gives
e a n d offline. Live IT gies.
opportunit ie s o n lin
b out th e e v o lving technolo
now more a
that you may k
Between 8-15
You are compe
titive. Internet
explore so mu is a wonderful
ch. With the ad medium that a
vancing techn llows you to
you may need ologies and life
to learn more style applicatio
to learn them, of the tricks an ns,
you are sure to d tips. If you are
get to know m find a lot of reso keen
ore through Liv urces online. S
e IT articles. o
B etween 16-2
1
g a n d g e t th e best of it.
rfin
nerd! Enjoy su ls to harness th
e
Yep, you are a g e a n d sk il st a
Improve your
k nowle d
to re a d , w ri te, shop or po
in
ne tools. Log with lot more
powerful onli h e s o u r li v e s
hnology enric
comment. Tec
. Excel!
fun and magic
W
hat do you do when you have a health complaint? support of interacting with other patients diagnosed with the
The most obvious answer would be that you go to a same condition throughout the world.
doctor, get tests done, if required, get diagnosed When it comes to evaluating the usefulness of this system,
and follow the prescribed treatment. But it has been estimated that nearly one-third of the 100
technology today – specifically the Internet – is revolutionising million Americans who have looked for health information
conventional approaches to medicine. One such concept is Health online say that they or the people they know have found the
2.0, a system that involves telemedicine, electronic medical reports sources on the Internet significantly useful, but this study
and the use of the Internet by patients through such avenues as only considers the broader use of the Internet for health
weblogs, message boards, RSS feeds, wikis, podcasts, etc. The management rather than Health 2.0 in particular. Little
general idea is to enable patients to have greater insight into, and empirical evidence exists to understand how much Web 2.0
control over, their medical information. is being used in general.
An example of this increased engagement of a patient in A study examining physician practice in the USA has
his/her treatment will be as follows: A patient visits a general suggested that a segment of 245,000 American doctors are using
physician. The doctor may make a diagnosis or send the patient Web 2.0 for their practice, indicating that the use of the system
for some tests. These test results will be transmitted directly to is beyond the early stages. In fact, as part of the provisions of
the patient’s individual electronic medical record, which will be President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and
accessible by him/her. Before a second appointment (in cases Reinvestment Act, physicians throughout the USA will be
where one is required), the patient will have time to research eligible for a payment of around $45,000 for increasing
(through the Internet) what the test results may mean and what adoption of electronic health records by 2014.
It has been noted that the traditional model of healthcare, cooler chats” of yesteryear that allowed doctors to exchange
where physicians act as gatekeepers to patients’ information, knowledge across specialisations.
sharing their test results only when and if it was deemed Neil Seeman, who runs a health-strategy innovation group at the
necessary, operates relatively well in situations such as acute care, University of Toronto’s Massey College, says that “Health 2.0” is
where information about specific blood results will be of little important “because it reinvents how we identify opinion leaders
use to a lay person, or in general practice where results were and exploit disruptive innovation.” His research has shown that the
generally benign. But, in the case of complex chronic diseases, most active communities on social networks, such as MySpace,
psychiatric disorders, or diseases of unknown etiology, Health concentrate not on celebrity gossip or sport but on chronic illness –
2.0 proves more useful and allows the patient to seek greater especially stigmatised conditions like depression.
knowledge about his/her condition. In conclusion, the arrival of digital medicine in full force is
On a Website called PatientsLikeMe, members from across expected to serve as a vital tool in tackling the great healthcare
the globe swap stories about their ailments and discuss subjects challenges of this century. That is, dealing with the cost of chronic
like adverse drug interactions, dosing strategies, new drugs and care for the ageing population of the rich world and helping the
trials for more than a dozen diseases. A report by the California weak health systems in poor countries tackle deadly diseases.
Health Care Foundation, a think-tank, argues that in dealing
with multiple sclerosis, a neurological disorder for which there is Want to try Health 2.0?
no cure as yet, “the collective wisdom on this Website may rival There are a horde of Health 2.0 Websites available for use but
the body of information that any single medical school or some of them – the ones related to personal health records and
pharmaceutical company has assembled in the field.” financial services for healthcare – are restricted to use within the
However, it is easy to be sceptical about such online US and other countries. However, the following well-known
communities. A fatal illness will not be cured, for example, by health portals and communities are well worth a visit if you
“
Twittering about it. And for many people, nothing will replace would like to experience Health 2.0 for yourself.
the personal relationship between a
patient and his doctor. Health 2.0 Health portals
has also been criticised since the Patients are www.lifemojo.com: Helps you achieve
use of Google and other search your health and fitness goals, by making
engines as diagnostic tools may be going online to get you eat right, stay fit, track your progress
effective only for conditions with
unique symptoms and signs that
more information and stay motivated.
www.myfamilyhealth.com:
can easily be used as search terms.
Also, there are concerns over the
on their illness and Connect with your relatives to
record and track an accurate and
effects on patients obtaining to see what other up-to-date family health history. Find
information online, such as the out which health conditions run in
consumers think of
”
possibility of the patient delaying a your family.
visit to the doctor thinking that the www.healthcaremagic.com:
Net will help him self-diagnose and new medications. Connect with doctors online, join a live
treat the condition. There is also chat session with doctors if you have any
the question of how much of the user-generated information is health/medical/fitness problem or query.
factually accurate? One study has suggested that in certain
support groups only six per cent of the information is wrong and Healthcare communities
that only three per cent people reported that online advice had www.myhealthexperience.com: Network of patient
caused serious harm. Nonetheless, there is still a risk of communities, offering help and emotional support.
dangerous misdiagnoses. www.dailystrength.com: Provides online support groups
There are also issues regarding ownership and privacy of for various illnesses.
people’s personal information as well as loss of control over it. www.psychcentral.com: The oldest and largest mental
But, despite all this, it seems clear that patients are going health social network.
online to get more information on their illness and to see what www.inspire.com: Find health-related information and
other consumers think of new medications and to get emotional discussion in 733,263 member posts.
support from fellow sufferers.
Even doctors, who may seem to have the most to lose from Health advisory services
such patient-centred digital medicine, increasingly support the www.healthdialog.com
move online. Many of them are keen users of secure medical www.health2.info
chat rooms. Thomas Lee of Partners Community Healthcare Remember, though, that these Websites are in no way an
thinks such social networking helps make up for the “water- alternative to consulting a medical professional. I
Nap Shell
Take a break, get a power nap and take your Bugs Bunny
with you in this relaxation capsule. There is room for two;
there is air conditioning, an ergonomic mattress and
Dolby Surround. The bed is just right, whatever be your
height or body type. The Nap Shell is the result of
extensive research which guarantees a relaxing sleeping
position for both spine and back. Now you know how to
spend it when you have the next windfall.
Twilight Umbrellas
Plastic, polyester and aluminum – the lightest of
materials go into the making of these twilight umbrellas.
There is an automatic open button and the handle has
to be switched on to control the coloured lights. It’s
conveniently sized and requires three AAA batteries.
Garlic Zoom
Tired of the garlic smell on your fingers? This little
gadget is just what you need, if you are long on
patience and short of knife skills. Just push peeled
garlic, one pod at a time, and hey presto, here is
what the chef ordered. It’s cute, easy to clean and
gets your food prep done without a crib.
USB Handbag
Flash Drives
Bored to death because of the same old
shape that flash drives come in? Here is
some variety to cheer you up. This handbag-
shaped USB Flash drive is made of silica gel
and barely weighs 15 grams. You just need
to plug in and play; it’s compatible to your
regular Windows, Linux, Mac or any other
new-generation operating system.
chatroom
“When su rf in g, yo u ar e led from on
e page to
re
an o th
member all th
er th rough interest
e links?”
ing links.
el l d o yo u ar Biswal
How w Santosh Kum
Amisha Shah
Computer graphics
professional
As most of my work is related
to computer graphics, I visit a
lot of related Websites. And
while browsing or
downloading data, I do find
some useful links as well.
Since I come across too many
Websites every day, I tend to
forget the page links. But if I
really like the pages and want
to visit them again, I simply
bookmark them. That’s easier
than remembering a long list.
Amrita Lalwani
Information analyst
Aarti Shah While browsing the Internet, I
Tarot reader don’t pay much attention to
other links except for the ones
If I am searching through
I am looking for. In case
Websites and come across
something is striking, I may
something interesting, I
check it out. But most of the
usually remember the links.
times, I don’t remember those
For example, if I come
links later.
across tarot or astrology-
related links, I will definitely
check them out. Otherwise,
“ Once, clicking
I click on the links that are
eye-catching and if the
landing Websites are useful,
I remember them. on a link led to the
installation of some
“
unwanted software
in my PC
liveit.in 22 October ‘09
“
es
If I really like the pag “
m again,
and want to visit the
em
I simply bookmark th
Ansy Austin
Student
People browse the Net
much too frequently
and there is too much
content which one can
hardly remember. So I
just read the content
and move on to other
sites. I may remember
the page or bookmark it
if I need it for future
reference.
Sujata Garud
Management student
Priya Panwekar I had some bad experience,
MBA student thanks to some of those
If I am browsing the Internet interesting links. At times, when
during my free time, I also click I am waiting for the next page
on other links that I come to load, I get messages like
across. But once I had a bad “You have won” or “You have
experience. When I clicked a a good home-based work
link, it led to the installation of opportunity.” Initially, when I
some unwanted software in my was an amateur Internet user, I
PC. After that, I have been very fell for some of these links and
careful. As I surf the Web a lot, even ended up infecting my PC
I remember the regulars like the with some unknown virus.
shaadi.com ad, monster.com Now, I just take note of the
ad, MTV Roadies etc. I often links that are reliable and useful
check these links as they help – like banking sites, movie
me understand branding which reviews, games, contests etc.
is a part of my studies.
Do you use any video editing software to put together your audio & video files? Share your
experience with us. Send us your entries, with your photograph, to editor.liveit@delhipress.in
Different Sites to
Suit Different Moods
Look at the right place to match your mood
W
hen we define the Internet as a veritable treasure airline or train reservations to hotel bookings, from hiring cabs
trove of information, it is a simple statement with a to finalising sightseeing itineraries. Even if armchair travelling is
world of meaning within. The World Wide Web more your style, these websites have descriptions and videos to
may be just a network of computers and servers satisfy your travel cravings without moving a muscle. Besides,
connected to each other. But today, it caters to the myriad needs you can locate a large number of booking agents and travel
of people from all walks of life. Let’s say, websites. Now there companies too. Bon voyage!
are websites to provide all the information that one can possibly http://www.lonelyplanet.com/
imagine. In fact, saying that there is a website available to satisfy http://www.makemytrip.com/
every possible human mood is not an exaggeration. More and http://www.cleartrip.com/
more people quite literally live online. Of course, the sheer size http://www.yatra.com/
of the Internet is daunting and using the power of the Web to http://www.tripadvisor.com/
the maximum advantage appears difficult, to say the least. But
help, as usual, is at hand – because this is where we take you Looking forward to
through a few websites to satisfy each of your moods. A organising a party?
disclaimer is in order here. Although the list is as comprehensive Always envied that friend who is the
as possible, some websites and moods may have been missed out perfect hostess at perfectly planned and executed
simply owing to space constraint. parties? Well, the good ol’ Web is here to help. Take your pick
So, let’s begin a journey through our various moods and from any of the several websites that allow you to plan the best
websites that would suit them … so, what’s your mood today? parties ever. From venues to menus and recipes to catering
services, from setting a table and stocking the bar to renting
Try some of these for a gourmet experience crockery and cutlery and arranging games for all ages – the
You want to rustle up something great tasting for the family? complete whys and wherefores of parties are here to make you
We all love food, don’t we? It is a fact quite easily proved by the the best host ever!
plethora of cookery websites present on the Web. Search for a http://www.mypartyplanner.com/
specific recipe and not only will you get a list of websites giving http://www.evite.com/
you the exact tried and tested versions complete with cooking http://www.passion-for-parties.com/index.html
times, calorie counts et al., but you will also see several results http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/
with videos and the history of the recipe. Also, there are websites http://www.allpartyideas.com/
that give you a list of ingredients and terms used in cooking,
along with images, meanings and translations in different Get fit and healthy
languages. Do you have a medical problem and want to know more about
http://www.bettycrocker.com/ it? Or have you recently vowed to cut out the fattening fried
http://www.top-indian-recipes.com/ food you’ve forever indulged in and want to know how many
http://allrecipes.com/Default.aspx calories that goody chocolate cake has? Or
http://www.recipe4all.com/ what the Atkins diet actually is? Maybe
http://www.epicurious.com/ you want to know about aerobics and
Tai Chi. How about pictorials and
Travelling to that dream videos of some yoga exercises for that
destination of yours? backache? Or a comprehensive list of
Even as the world turns into a global village, home remedies for the common cold?
travelling, too, is getting easier and comfortable. Several websites Or some advice on dealing with
together allow you to plan your complete travel online – from morning sickness during pregnancy?
A
n Englishman’s home is his castle, a private house is Tudor cottage on the Isle of Wight sends a Tweet or alert
the emblem of the American dream and home message if the energy or water usage goes up suddenly –
means much more than a mere abode in India – it is indicating that he may have left a light on or a tap running.
a part of one’s lifestyle and cultural heritage. As the But putting together a smart home also requires smart
market is flooded with latest technologies and high-end gadgets, thinking and the necessary installations and upgradations must
it is only natural for the upwardly mobile to look for housing be done with diligence. Splurging on trendy ideas – just because
options where the latest in technology use is, by far, the USP. your friends or neighbours have opted for the same – may not
Whether you are building or buying new-age homes or simply serve your purpose in the long run. Because new trends go out
upgrading the one you live in, integrating tech with home décor of style quickly and products need frequent upgrades, you have
will definitely cost you more than the traditional fitting- to learn the difference between what you like and what actually
furniture-furnishing. But the blueprints of future homes redefine works for you. Start small and cheap; test the gadget’s usability
our previous experiences and open up new horizons, never and gauge your own requirements. Buying the basic (and,
imagined before. therefore, less expensive) version can be a smart idea, if you do
Thanks to the technological evolution, there has been a not need all the add-on features right now. Most importantly,
holistic change in the construction and the home décor segments these technologies/gadgets should be user-friendly and must fit
during the recent years. Now you can plan a luxury escape to a into the scheme of the house.
rooftop swimming pool or squash court; install a mini Purchasing new gadgets and technologies for the house should
amphitheatre; opt for motion sensor-based lighting; build rooms be considered with great sagacity and integrated holistically.
without columns & beams and introduce modular fixtures for This not only enhances your lifestyle, but also brings down
design innovations. Most of your home gadgets can be operated unnecessary expenditure. Only integrate ideas and concepts
via your mobile while audio-visual and biometric systems keep a which are essential for a good life and meet your goals. Buying a
wary watch on your security. coffeemaker does not make much sense if you are not an avid
Owning a hi-tech, future-perfect home might have been on coffee drinker. On the other hand, if the concept suits your life
your wish-list for some time. It can be similar to the one owned and style, get it, by all means, and explore its untapped
by the IBM head of invention Andy Stanford-Clark who has potentials. It will be most exciting and also give you a rare sense
installed hundreds of sensors that inform him when the food is of self-fulfilment. Don’t hesitate to live Hi-Tech. Just tweak the
ready, a visitor is at the door or a mouse trap is triggered. His technology and make it your own!
B
immediately taking to it. For home technologies to become
movie exhibited ideas in hi-tech lifestyle and living popular, consumers will need to see some practicality in the
which were beyond our imagination. The movie was applications. In other words, consumers probably don't want to
utterly fascinating which illustrated possibilities of a sit in front of the computer to turn the lights on. That said,
flying car, hi-tech security system in houses and television there are opportunities using the same technology to do useful
screens which allowed you to interact with individuals from the things, like saving energy or keeping people healthy for long.
future. Today, this remote possibility is likely to come true and it
won’t be long before we find these facilities in our homes. Applications which make sense
Some day, our mirrors could be giving us fashion advice when Energy Saving Devices: Tech-Savvy devices which allow the
we have to go all dressed up for a party, by scanning our user to adjust heating and cooling settings using a computer or a
wardrobes and accessories and creating make-over images cell phone are already available in the market. Leonardelli
before we get dressed up. We might hold our clothes up to our explains, “Homes also can be programmed so that if the security
bedroom mirror for a computer to scan instead of digging into system is disarmed, the system will turn on the lights.” GPS-
our closets. Using radio-frequency identification technology, our enabled cell phones may some day signal when we're getting
electronic fashion stylist would then offer suggestions based on close to home, and allow the home owner to signal the network
what's in our closet or pair up and create designs which will be to adjust heating, turn on lights and unlock a door.
up to the latest fashion tastes. Soon, home energy consumption could be monitored just as
Jonathan Cluts, director of strategic prototyping at Microsoft, we would in a hybrid car. Companies are already experimenting
said in an interview, “The technology required to do it is pretty and working on creating zero-energy homes or, even better,
much available today.” The feature can be seen in action at a homes that actually make more energy than they consume.
Microsoft concept home in Redmond, Wash, and a variation is in Networking Designs: While saving energy is a priority, in
a new prototype home in Disneyland. As time passes, we will see the near future we will have a large retired population which
more innovations and upgradations in technology which will be would require technological support. “New technologies will
included in our homes, experts say. These upgradations in our help people delay institutionalisation and allow them to live
homes will be dictated by our personal preferences and needs. independently for a longer time,” said Majd Alwan, director
The most important factor to initiate technological of the Washington-based Center for Aging Services
developments in creating a hi-tech home is networking. This will Technologies (agingtech.org).
allow all electronic items like
computers and phones to be
connected, enabling them to
communicate with each other.
Networking will allow people to
manage their technological
equipment together from one master
unit. All music and movie files could
be fed onto one media server so they
can be heard or watched in any
connected room. Networking will
allow an individual to control the
security, lighting, thermostat and
windows, ovens, kitchen, etc. by
touching a button.
Ten years ago, this was the
domain of the rich. Wired and
wireless technologies are now
being considered by the average
home owner, as they become
cheaper. Even then, because the
price of home automation is slowly
declining, it doesn’t mean people are
It’s green actually integrate standard or ‘mood lighting’ with the furniture
Eco-conscious consumers are keen to opt for green designs pieces in use – a never-before experience for most of us. Try the
where natural colours and plants are integrated into the ‘luminotherapy’ bed or chair that constantly changes colours or
furniture piece itself. This adds a twist to the otherwise normal you can just stick to the one of your choice. The unique piece
designs and leaves your guests amazed and wondering. comes with a remote so that you can control the colour and
Designing it ‘green’ does not mean keeping a plant or a rock change the home ambience at the touch of a button.
garden in a corner or displaying exquisite flowers in a vase. The furniture item, most commonly used for experimen-
Instead, creepers or such other plants can be grown inside tation, is the bed – the snooze island where you can relax, curl
transparent pieces of furniture which will look just great. up and fall asleep without a care. And the varieties on offer are
Similarly, coffee tables, kitchen furniture, or even washroom simply mind-boggling. From the more conventional foldable
appliances can be enmeshed or treated, thus adding green beds to well-hidden, fold-out wall beds and the futuristic
dimensions to your immediate surroundings. floaters – each concept has evolved from out-of-box thinking
Do you have enough time and patience when it comes to and stands in sharp contrast to your current boxy bedroom.
furniture shopping? If the answer is yes, ask your designer to Although hide-a-beds were not immediately popular, clever
shape living trees into exquisite furniture pieces like chairs, designing and great space-saving made them quite trendy.
tables or even mirror frames. If you are one of those who love to Home-owners today also opt for floating beds which are folded
relax in the garden – leaning against a tree and quietly reading a into ceiling space and rolled down for use. Instead of folding it
book – this grow-it-yourself, natural wood furniture concept out from the wall, the bed is pulled down from the ceiling but
might readily take root in your imagination. Best of all, you can still leaves enough room for the objects underneath – a rare feat
watch your favourite new seat grow right up from the ground in that most of the convertible couch-beds or similar bed designs
your backyard or on the patio/porch. cannot manage.
Designed by Austrian student Stefan Buchberger, Flatshare is The ratchet furniture designed by Harry Hasson is the best
another terrific idea to keep food fresh and handy the way you example in this category. The pressure from the ratchet straps
want it. It features interlocking refrigerator sections, scalable up wrapped around the units is enough to keep them from falling apart,
to a full-size fridge and contains four stackable modules on the thus eliminating the need for other permanent fasteners, small
top of a base. Customisation is easy as you can choose your accessory pieces or complex metal hardware like nails, screws or
colours, patterns etc. and also include add-ons like bottle glue. So get creative and redesign your storage devices the way you
openers or a whiteboard. The refrigerator can be dragged want it to give your dream home a new look and feel. Your family
anywhere and its size can be manipulated according to your and friends cannot but appreciate all the efforts you have taken.
convenience. The Flatshare fridge was one of the nine finalists
in the Electrolux Design Lab contest.
there is simply nothing to plug in. Just expose the gadgets to the people glued to their laptops and working long hours. If you are
sun as long as possible and the solar energy will be stored in the burning the midnight oil for that all-important project but want
solar batteries. Fully charged solar lights can power up lighting to snatch a few minutes of sleep, here is the perfect solution. Just
for a maximum of 10 hours. These are increasingly used to light close your laptop and the pillow on the top of your laptop will be
up the exteriors, especially the big yards or garden space, as a filled with warm air. The iSleep is attached to the laptop’s
good number of lights are necessary to brighten up these areas. exhaust vent and the warm air inflates it to provide some nice
So tap the free & clean energy from the sun to light up your padding for your weary head. Not only is the pillow warm, but it
home and go green in the process. has an integrated speaker that will play music and lull you to
Wall sconces: They are coming back in vogue as sleep. And there is an alarm clock as well, to wake you up when
individuals want to marry technology with traditional look and needed. This can be an integral part of the iSleep or you may
feel. If you are renovating the house, it is the best time to install have to programme your laptop for the wake-up call. The
electric wall sconces. But sconces can be solar-powered too, if product will hit the market soon and provide a much-needed rest
they are used for outdoor lighting. Wall sconces are available in a zone for sleep-starved executives, married to their laptops.
wide choice of styles, colours, shapes and designs. There are
three basic points to consider here: lighting type, placement and Sensor garbage bin
style. The sconce can be a standalone unit used to light up dimly Sensor garbage bins are 100% hands-free, wireless and lidded
lit areas like hallways. And how you place them can actually waste disposal systems. There is a built-in artificial intelligent
determine how well they can light up a room. (AI) smart chip which knows when you need to open the trash
For general lighting, sconces should not be placed lower than can, and will do all the openings and closings for you.
5.5 ft from the ground. The actual height will depend on the Invisible infrared technology (harmless, of course) is used to
overall room height and the height of the users, of course. For make these motion sensor trash cans. When anything comes
higher ceilings, move the sconces up to get reflection from the within six inches of the infrared sensor placed near the lid,
ceiling, but not so high that the down light is lost. Another position the lid opens up instantly. Dispose of the garbage fast as the
can be along the wall where sconces are placed in pairs or more. lid closes automatically after three seconds. There are two
front buttons to open and close the lid manually and an
Sensor pillow on/off switch at the back of the trash can. The automated
Sensor pillows happen to be the ultimate in luxury and utility in garbage bin is a welcome relief as it helps maintain a germ-
a gadget-rich bedroom. They not only provide great comfort, free, odour-free environment. It is hygienic too, as you need
but also act as doctors, play music and help minimise snoring. As not touch any part of the trash can. I
scientists and manufacturers try to incorporate innovative
technologies and ensure better relaxation for the human body,
new gadgets with better offerings come up every day. Pillows to
measure sleep quality have been manufactured in Japan (Loft)
and are quite a rage. They record the depth and quality of your
sleep by measuring the movements of your head. It stands on
the theory that the less you fidget, the better you sleep.
The latest version in this range is i-sleep, a soft and comfortable
pillow attached to your laptop. Currently designed by Ivonne
Dippmann, this i-pillow aims to improve the sleep quality of
1 2
I
n old days, our ancestors
feasted on food rich in fat
and carbs, and then went out
to hunt wild game or work
on the farmland all day long. A
nice cycle of calorie-burning, a
win-win situation – you have to
agree. But it is not possible any
more to retain that strategy.
Thanks to our sedentary, time-
strapped lifestyle, it is actually
becoming tougher to follow a regular
fitness regime. Either you are too tired to
go to gym everyday or you hate to go
jogging because of crowd and pollution.
The only other option left can only be
enjoyed by a privileged few. Because it
is expensive and time-consuming to
visit a spa or a salon on a regular basis. This is
exactly where fitness gadgets come in – keeping you
healthy and beautiful without costing a fortune. Here
is a list of products and reviews that will have you
rushing to work out and thus pamper your body!
style it Glam
Gadgets
Nokia 5800
XpressMusic
Take home this music and
entertainment device
complemented by a touch
interface. The phone features
a ‘Media Bar’, a handy drop-
down menu that provides
direct access to music,
entertainment, the Web and
online sharing. Besides, you
get all the music essentials,
including a graphic equalizer,
8 GB memory, built-in surround
sound and a 3.5 mm jack.
Bluetooth Stereo &
Hands-free
This is a completely wireless
Bluetooth-enabled, hands-free
headphone. Take calls and also
listen to music in just one go. It
can be easily connected to any
Bluetooth-enabled device
including mobile phone, PC,
MP3 player, and many more.
Combines great look with reallly
cool sound quality.
Style IT
VAIO-P (Pocket
Style PC)
Surf the web or play
songs quickly in ‘instant
mode’, video chat and
blog on the go. Once
you are done, just shut it
off and keep it in your
back pocket. As they
say, it’s truly a small
wonder.
S3-MP3 Player
Carry music, videos, text,
and games in this
portable MP3 player from
Samsung. This is simply
stylish and comes with
amazing features like
three screen savers, five
flashy colours, and five in-
built games that will keep
you engaged always.
Style IT
Optical Mouse
SSD-OM-320
This is a three-button optical
mouse with transparent body
and retractable cable, 800
dpi , best suited for laptops.
What’s more, it sports a stylish
USB as well. It requires no
cleaning or a mouse pad
and its magic roller button lets
you assign various features like
easy jump, auto planning and
zoom in & out functions.
Scarlet
Enjoy beautiful picture quality and
unparalled sound with the sedating
new Scarlet – one of the thinnest LCD
TVs in the world. It is an appeal to
viewers who want a TV that is
attractive to look at as well as to
watch. Available in four different sizes,
Scarlet includes intelligent sensor
technology which detects the
surrounding light level and provides
just the perfect picture.
Feature
W
orldwide recession might have hit swanky G 24x7 facility: The changing lifestyle and immense work
shopping malls across the globe. But shopaholics pressure often leave us little time for family and friends. E-
are still on a buying spree, although on a different shopping is open 24x7 which means you are not time-bound
platform, and online shopping sites are making to carry out this chore. Shop at your leisure and free up quality
fast bucks as never before. According to a MasterCard time – so that you can spend time with your family, visit
Worldwide survey, shoppers shopped more frequently through people, pursue a hobby or simply relax after a hard day’s work.
online portals in the last quarter of 2008 than in 2007. And the G One-stop shopping: Several e-commerce sites offer
average frequency of online purchases in India increased to 2.9 multiple products such as clothes, jewellery, accessories,
per cent in Q4, as against 2.6 per cent in 2007. gadgets, home appliances books, CD’s and much more.
Shopping online offers several pluses like variety, convenience, Then there are the virtual malls (some even boast 3D effects)
speed and, best of all, the advantage of price comparison. Just a where you can buy what you want, choose from multiple
few clicks of your mouse and the shopping cart are loaded with brands, compare the pricing and read reviews to ensure best
your choice products, all set for the final way out – the payment value for money.
process. In a few days, the goods are delivered at your doorstep For those looking for more resources or a shopping 2.0
(you can track their movement throughout) and the shipping costs experience, there are the social shopping Websites like
24x7 Shopp
Advantages of e-shopping in a nutshell
are minimal, too. Simply put, Internet shopping is easy and fun, ProductWiki, Kaboodle, MyItThings, Zebo or Iliketotallyloveit.
especially if you want to break free from the traditional shopping These dynamic sites not only highlight the latest and the most
done at brick-and-mortar stores. So let us take a close look at e- popular products but also feature tips, reviews, polls, ratings,
shopping advantages before you embark on festival shopping. purchase displays and product discussions with other social
G It’s convenient: The very idea grabs your attention and shoppers. In short, it is a virtual world where you can hang out
gets you going! When you shop online, you can avoid with friends in real time, hunt for best deals, interact with other
chaotic traffic and long queues at the supermarket counters shoppers and catch up on the latest gossip.
or shopping malls – thus saving on time and travelling G Money-saver: Shopping online is also about saving money in
expenses. Online shops are particularly a boon for those not this period of economic slowdown. As everything else takes a
residing in the metros as people from tier II cities, small backseat to price, retailers now come up with steep discounts,
towns or rural areas seldom have access to vast varieties of special promotional offers and free gifts – those which are
products. E-shopping is also time-saving because you don’t generally not available in regular shops. Joby John, a busy
have to roam from shop to shop till you find your choice professional who often shops online, says, “I shop online
product. Shopping at your convenience and from the safety because it offers the best deals. Instead of going to a shop and
& comfort of your home exactly fit the bill if you are hard-
pressed for time and want to avoid the bustling crowd.
Dorai Thodla, CTO at iMorph Inc., says, “Some times
it is easier to shop on the Internet. Here, you can
easily search for a wide selection of merchandise
such as books and music. Real shops, on the other
hand, tend to be a bit disorganised. If you know
what you want and can wait for a couple of days,
e-shopping always beats real shopping. But for
certain items, like clothes, e-shopping is obviously
not that great.”
ing!
Resmi Jaimon
“I have made my purchases from quite a few “secure shopping G Try to maintain a separate credit card for online shopping.
sites” in India and ended up losing my money,” she complains G Do not respond to any e-mail message asking you to confirm
bitterly. “Most of the times, we don’t get the product we have account details, personal information etc. It can be a ploy
ordered. And when asked to clarify, the person at the other end for identity theft.
says that it is out of stock and an alternative has been sent. G Keep separate passwords for logging on to your
Another time, I was trying to send a birthday gift to a friend and Internet/network, shopping, banking etc. Never
a day after the scheduled delivery, I found out that the order had share passwords with anyone and change them at
not been confirmed. When questioned, the e-shop team said regular intervals.
that the gift had not been delivered but they would send it the G Last but not the least, trust your gut feeling. If something
next day. What’s the point in sending a gift two days after the somewhere seems wrong, try and check with your family,
D-day?” she asks. friends and colleagues who may help you out.
Although e-shopping glitches exist and may affect Net Now enjoy your online shopping (with caution)! I
shoppers, a simple checklist containing a few safety rules can
actually shield you against any online fraud. So here are 15 ‘dos
and don’ts’ before you start online shopping.
G Secure your PC with a firewall, anti-virus protection
and spam protection. Make sure that these are on and
up to date.
G Choose your shopping site wisely and look for trust marks
such as VeriSign or Secured Seal. Colour-coded address
bars are a part of the EV SSL certificates,
which ensure site authenticity.
G Beware if you are asked too many
questions. You only need to give your
name, shipping address, billing address,
credit card type, credit card number, PIN, CVV
number and expiration date. Do not provide any
information about your PAN card, bank account
numbers, driving license numbers or your mother’s
maiden name.
G Shop only from known and reputable vendors.
Check the seller’s rating, if possible, as well as
customer’s feedback (many of the sites carry
this information).
G Be extra careful when you buy expensive items such
as high-end gadgets, jewellery, designer brands etc.
G Read the terms & conditions, privacy policy,
warranties, return policy and other related information
before you start shopping. If you don’t feel comfortable,
opt for another site.
G Read carefully the shipping methods, rates, carrier details,
tracking procedure and insurance policy. Also try to find out
whether goods are sent from outside the country as this will
incur custom duty and may result into delayed delivery.
G Choose a secure method of payment. Opt for COD (cash
on delivery) if possible.
G Type the URL of the payment service manually in the
address bar.
G The shopping site should use secure technology. When you
enter crucial information (credit card details or other
personal information), make sure that the Web address of
the page begins with https and not http.
G Check for the locked padlock icon in the browser
window frame.
“T
here is a fickle, teasing Goddess – fantastic in her
tastes, playful in adornment, who at every season
seems to flee, return and rise again. Proteus was her
father, her name is Fashion.”
Since fashion mantra is bound to change every season as the
famous Voltaire quotation so rightly indicates, fashionistas across
the globe passionately hunt for all that is new and trendy. The
dictates of the vibrant fashion market are much too demanding
than meet the eye. And even star designers spend sleepless nights to
come up with new creations that will wow all.
India’s burgeoning fashion industry is already creating waves
in the international market while top designers like Ritu Kumar,
Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal, Manish Arora, and Ritu Beri are in
great demand all over the world. Most importantly, our textile
varieties, ethnic styling, exotic patterns, vibrant dyes and age-old
craft & cultural heritage play a key role in
“
making India a fashion powerhouse. But
like any other field, haute couture has gone Designers are
hi-tech and the latest fusion of information getting tech-savvy
technology (IT) and fashion gets you better
to ensure better
results at the click of a mouse.
Fashion designers today make optimum
use of IT in various aspects of garment
output and greater
“
and apparel designing. Thanks to latest efficiency
technologies and software programmes,
they can visualise designs and surface treatments; choose cuts
and patterns; select colours and fabrics; and quickly come up
with a virtual edition of the final output.
Then, there are other areas of the fashion industry, like e-sourcing,
mass customisation and e-retailing, which require a robust IT
outfits and accessories without paying an astronomical sum. opportunity to work with popular international brands – an
In this new business model, manufacturers link the individual advantage that gives them enough exposure. So how do our
customer with the production line and employ an extensive range designers react to the hi-tech environment that may soon
of IT tools to produce ‘bespoke’ suits. With the help of computer- dominate our couture culture?
controlled manufacturing, companies can easily change the size, “Indian designers are slowly moving towards the hi-tech
design, colour and fabric of any ‘standard’ outfit as per the culture but we still have to go a long way,” says Neeta Bhargava,
consumer’s choice and requirements. The best thing about the IT- a Delhi-based professional. “We only have five or six fashion
powered production system is that you can be based anywhere weeks a year. So there’s not much scope to think of innovations.”
across the globe and still get the same kind of personal attention According to Bhargava, the designer fraternity gets
from your ‘virtual’ designer that you used to get from your tailor. tremendous support from the government in countries like
If we consider the entire process from pre-production through to Japan, England and France. “The Indian government has now
cutting, the ‘made-to-measure’ stage most certainly demands high- come forward to support the fashion industry in every respect
end technologies for the success of the concept. Non-contact, but designers are still waiting for their big lot. However, our
three-dimensional body scanners such as Cyberware or Hammatin, brands can easily compete with the international counterparts.”
Wicks and Wilson or Telmath are used to measure customers and Neeta Malhotra, a professor at NIFD, feels that Indian
the body measurements are recorded in seconds. The software then professionals catering to the domestic market rely less on
converts the data into readable format and transmits the same to technology as on-the-spot design changes have to be made
the factory. Markers can be produced automatically on these sometimes. “High-end technology are more suited for export
measurements and the fabric is cut, using a single ply cutter. orders as these are sold in bulk, are standardised and require little
Once the measurement is taken, the computer can choose the alteration,” she says.
design and the style from the menu. Here the customer gets an option
to change the fabric and colour as per his/her choice. The
manufacturer then checks the fabric availability (online or offline) and
the status is instantly conveyed to the customer. In case the material is
not available, the customer can choose another alternative.
Fabric cutting can also be automated, carried out by a
computer-controlled machine. For instance, the Macpi Group
company, Ima, has created a quick-change cradle feed system for
cloth roll management and coupled it to a computer-controlled
static spreading machine, which is integrated on to a conveyorised
table that feeds any automatic single ply cutter. However,
information control lies at the core of this system as it is required to
interface with Mainframe, CAD, cloth ware and other subsystems.
The Mainframe receives work orders, CAD does prior checking of
marker availability and relative length, cloth ware is for fabric
availability and roll selection. The data are then fed and co-
ordinated together to make it a well-integrated production process. Designer Payal Jain seconds Malhotra. “Although we use tech
Since computer-controlled designing and cutting have been tools for some of our work, we prefer to do the sketching and
introduced in the fashion world, digital fabric printing is touted designing manually. Switching from hand sketching to CAD is
to be the most revolutionary technology of the day. In this definitely a big leap for the entire fashion industry. But the new
method, no screens, plates or films are used. Instead, designs are software programmes are expensive and not all of us can use them.”
directly printed on to the cloth by inkjet or other printer by Designer Kavita Bhartia sounds a bit sceptical, though. “We
using the digital method. This system of fabric printing was first are certainly using applications like Photoshop, CorelDraw and
used in 1995 by Stork Textiles Printing Group of Holland. The Illustrator for the designing part and Flash for the final
new technology has gained in popularity as it is more flexible, presentation. But when it comes to dyeing or embroidery, it must
cheaper and faster than the traditional printing methods. The be handmade. That is why Indian products are so valued here
method is simple, though. Any design, photograph or picture and abroad. Plus, there is a catch when it comes to using hi-tech
can be scanned into a computer and the colour, design, etc. can tools. Most of the advanced software used by international
be changed, if required, before printing it on the desired fabric. fashion fraternity are yet to reach India.”
Leading designer Ritu Kumar is, however, happy with the
IT enhances fashion … or does it? growth of the Indian fashion industry. “Bridging the gap
Judging by the current trends, it seems that we will soon require a between Europe and India would take some time since our
chain of application stores brimming with cutting-edge tools at par industry is quite young. But India is catching up well in every
with the global studios. Also, young Indian designers are getting an respect and it will only get better,” she concludes. I
Technology in
Communication Sai Narasimhan
The newest ways of communication to stay in touch
T
echnology is the practical application of scientific evening television news anchors giggled nervously and he was
advancement in an effort to 'improve' our lives. We use the butt end of many a late-night comedian's jokes. What no
technology all the time and don't even realise it. When one seemed to realise was that he was right (and I am no
you turn a tap and get running water, you are using apologist for the former President of the USA, even less so for
technology. When your alarm wakes you up, you are using his Vice-President, Dan Quayle).
technology. And when you cannot fall asleep and pop a pill, you Just the act of swiping a bar code using lasers (two volumes on
are using technology. In fact, every time you simply turn on the Optics, one volume on Mechanics), translating the bar code into
light, you are using technology. numbers (IC chip at the check-out counter doing real-time
But here we are talking about all technologies together. It translation of the bar code into binary transistors – one volume),
would take a few books and thousands of trees to get something integrated circuitry and chip making (a few bookshelves),
like that printed. This is about technology as we see it around us transmitting the bar code to a central system (data transmission
and how it affects our daily life. There are cell phones, TCP/IP – two books), electricity (one volume), having the price
televisions and interactive booths – high-end technology of the item retrieved from the system (databases – two volumes)
applications that attempt to simplify our life. and sending it back to the scanning device to be displayed on the
To digress a little, I remember when George H.W. Bush went screen (LED or LCD technology – a few volumes) – we have
to a grocery store and was wonderstruck at the technology being already filled quite a few shelves with just the science of how this
used while checking out his purchases. The news media laughed, works. The technology part is not even scratched.
Let’s take PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). This was a term of luxury car manufacturers offering iDocks as options
invented by John Sculley in the 1980s (Yeah, I know. But it’s available in their cars.
been a long time for most of today's readers). He was then the So is it all accolades all the way? Not really. The iPod ties you
CEO of Apple, having ousted Steve Jobs and taken over his down in more ways that most fans would like to admit. The
post. He believed that he had found the next idea that would prime example is the way you are 'forced' to use iTunes to do
light a fire under Apple's stock – and the invention was called anything meaningful with your music collection. Don't get me
the Newton. These days, no one even remembers it. But that wrong – iTunes is a great application. But to be tied down to it
Newton was the genesis of today's iPhone and BlackBerry. really irritates me. It may be good enough for the end-user. But
The Newton PDA was revolutionary for its time. You may also the DRM (Digital Rights Management) that is implicitly added
say that it was ahead of its time in many ways. The key things to your collection is unsettling. I prefer to have no one poking
that a PDA was supposed to do were to a) store (and retrieve) their noses on my PC. And, God forbid that you have an OS
information for a person about other people; b) store other than Windows or the Mac's! You have no help! You cannot
information about places; c) provide a calendar that could be purchase anything from the iTunes store. And your iTunes
used to associate people and/or places with times; d) provide collection cannot be synced with a Linux PC. This is sad.
small utilities like a calculator, scratch pad, drawing utilities and Okay, now let us move on to the iPhone – the NEXT big
sync itself up with a desktop computer. The Newton PDA did thing from Apple. The iPhone in its latest avatar – the iPhone
this admirably – but the cost was battery life and the weight. It 3GS – is set to blow your socks off. What? You don't think
was simply too much, too soon. there is any difference compared to the older iPhone 3G? Well,
It was followed by the Palm Pilot, the Sharp Zaurus and how about the added memory? 32 GB is plenty and enough to
numerous other variants. All of them provided the user with keep you going for some time. The performance is noticeably
similar applications and touted various incremental changes in faster compared to the older model. Consequently, the gaming
technology – sharper screens, better resolution, better contrast, experience is peppy. Simple things like map redrawing
better battery life, more memory and better applications. proceeds at a much faster pace, making the browsing
But these changes did little to redeem the geeky image of a experience more realistic.
PDA. The variants of the PDA were in two broad categories. The higher pixelled camera also makes the pictures better
You had the touchscreen interface of the Palm Pilot and (three megapixels). As always, the iPhone's photo editing makes
Windows CE based PDA (Sony's Clie is a great example of such it such a pleasure to use that you hardly realise you are using
a device). The other was one with a keyboard attached – and some software – it just seems too natural! And yes – you can now
here is where the BlackBerry shines. shoot videos (VGA – 640x480) with your iPhone and also edit
But the category killer came in the form of a mind-blowing the videos right on the iPhone itself. But beware of making the
piece of innovation from Apple – the iPod. The iPod has come edits! It is a one-way street, with no 'undo' and no way to save a
to epitomise everything – from the touch and feel (smooth and copy of the original. There are applications galore and this
cold all over) to headphone colour and the interface. It started article would replicate a book if you see a list of them here along
off as a music device and it still serves as the workhorse that has with their features.
moved us away from the Sony Walkman to the next mobile The iPhone is the logical extension of the iPod. This is true
entertainment device. even though the iTouch has been touted by Apple as the
The iPod has become the electronic item that can also make a extension of the iPod! From a practical point of view, the
fashion statement. Although launched nearly eight years ago, it iTouch is similar to the iPod in that its primary purpose is to let
still looks cool. How many accessories can say that even six you listen to music. But once you see that the OS is the same as
months post-launch? that of the iPhone and so is the look and feel, and the
The iPod has a few things going for it. It has the charisma of applications carry over, it becomes obvious that the iTouch is
being an Apple product. It has the simplicity that makes only a crippled iPhone.
everyone feel like a genius. And it has looks to die for. The next With the iPhone, the user continues to make a fashion
best example is a bunch of also-rans including Microsoft's Zune statement. Once again, the touch is smooth. The interface is so
and the Sansa. The clunkiness of the competition makes the intuitive that anyone can pick one up and begin to use it right
iPod look like pure perfection. away. When you see where Steve Jobs is coming from, the
The iPod has evolved into a sub-industry of its own and has Macintosh, the NeXT computer and the iPod, it becomes
spawned a mini-ecosystem around itself (the New York Times obvious that usability is the primary and most critical element
categorised it that way). As of 2006, for every $3 spent on an in the design of any new Apple product. It will probably
iPod, $1 was being spent on an accessory. Whether it is the remain the same in the not-too-distant future as well, when the
iDock or additional mini speakers for the iPod, the industry next widget comes from Apple – whether it is a book reader or
around it proves the market dominance of the product. Even a net book or a tablet or even the next 'newspaper' using e-
the Sony Walkman, the next comparable product, didn't have paper – it will be the most usable kind of technical gadget that
such a fan following. The ultimate statement came in the form you can ever imagine.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/090209-iphone-
app-tracks-swine-flu.html?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_am_20
09-09-03 that can show you where the latest outbreaks of H1N1
and any other more 'popular' diseases are breaking out).
And when Apple leads, can MS be far behind? Sony Ericsson
Xperia X1 was released late last year and X2 will be out soon.
Last year, the X1 did everything that iPhone 3GS is doing this
year. But it loses out on the oomph and the Brand Apple factor.
Note: I still do not own an iPod. I am not an Apple fan and
believe in keeping my desktop and accessories as free of DRM
as possible. But the iPod phenomenon is something that has me
fascinated. So many otherwise rational people are simply
hooked on to the Apple bandwagon. There must be something
to it. Maybe I should buy an iPhone3Gs. Or will it be the N97?
Well. Let's see who gives me the best breaks. I
http://www.kidzui.com/down
load/firefox. Once this
browser is safely installed in
your computer, your child will
have a safe, easy and
entertaining access to the
world of Internet.
The company behind
KidZui is relatively young.
KidZui came into being in
2006 when Vidar Vignisson
was trying to figure out a safe
and easy way for his own
children to use the Internet. He
decided to come up with a
product himself and teamed
up with Cliff Boro and
Thomas Broadhead. The beta
testing for the product with kids
began in 2006 itself. Finally, it
was released to public in 2008.
Since then, there have been
many reviews from parents and
kids alike in favour of the
KidZui browser. I
F
or those who just can’t do without their share of talking on the phone, a free calling facility
to any part of the world must seem like a nirvana of some kind. Too bad, such facility is
still far from becoming a reality. But PokeTALK, with its absurdly low rates, does come
very close to being almost free. To indulge in PokeTALK, you have to begin by opening
an account at www.poketalk.com. By the way, this website offers the facility of calling over
70 per cent of the world for free. But the problem is that India does not figure in the list;
we belong to the other 30 per cent who have to pay a small amount of fee.
To make a call using PokeTALK, you have to enter your number and the number you
want to call, and then wait for few moments for the website to connect you. But before
that, you have to sign up. The process is simple. All you need to do is to enter your e-
mail, your full name and from a drop-down list, you have to select the name of your
nation; another drop-down list lets you enter your time zone. You also have to enter your
occupation, date of birth and other minor details. After that, you can click on the sign
up button to be awarded a lifetime license to talk for free or at very low prices.
As of now, calls originating from 15 countries in North America and Western
Europe and going to a list of another 55 countries are free. India is not there in
the list, so the desi users have no other option but to take recourse to the
PokeTALK Pro version. When you click on the PokeTALK Pro button,
you are immediately transferred to a page that has a rate calculator. Let’s
say, you want to make a call from India to the UK. The rate calculator
answers within moments that you have got to pay $0.0402 per minute for
making this type of call.
Similarly, you can find out the rates for making calls to the USA, to Sweden or any
other country. The rates are not very high, but as the payment has to be made in
dollars, you will have to pay by your international credit card and that will entail some
kind of currency conversion charges. So you might end up paying more than the rate
that PokeTALK is advertising. Despite these small glitches, this is a really interesting
website and one can only hope that sooner or later, India will start featuring in the list
of countries that can make and receive free PokeTALK calls. I
ow about a PC that costs just Rs. 7999! You can have video games. But on the positive side, a Net PC consumes only 5-
H
ow about touching up those digital photos a bit? And how? Enter MakeUpPilot from the ensemble of Two Pilots. It is
basically an image editing software, which can be used to touch up your photos. So, you can happily bid adieu to the small
defects on your cherished pictures.
Sounds good? Here’s more. MakeUpPilot can be used as an image correction tool to get rid of minor skin blemishes and other
defects from digital photographs. The programme is extremely simple to use, mostly due to the fact that it lacks any options or
configurations – just point the cursor at the blemishes and click to remove them, one by one. There are options that enable you to
touch up skin imperfection, whiten teeth, apply make-up and rouge and also enhance or change eye colour. What’s more, you can
even try your hand at image resising, cropping and brightness/contrast adjustments.
You ‘play’ with a palette of tools to get the desired result, anything from a light smoothing out to complete coverage. Even
‘applying’ makeup is a breeze. And, whenever you have the slightest difficulty, demonstration examples are there to walk you
through. If you need to, nothing is easier than returning to a previous stage and redoing your corrections; you can even revise your
corrections in a small part of the picture only using your ‘undo brush.’
The programme works on Windows 98/ME/2000/XP platforms and it can be installed as standalone and a plug-in as well.
MakeUpPilot costs $29.95 for a single-user license. But there’s a trial version too, which you can always use before you shell out the
money for the real stuff. More information about MakeUpPilot can be obtained from http://www.colorpilot.com.
So, don’t be too upset next time your skin doesn’t look perfect on a photo. If you have the MakeUpPilot programme, you can be
sure your pictures will eventually look better. I
I
f you are really paranoid about your credit card details getting offering Visa cards in virtual format, but Master and Amex virtual
stolen while you are indulging in online shopping, you can cards are also in the pipeline. Another private sector credit card
decide to opt for a virtual credit card with flexi-limit. issuer, HDFC bank, is also offering virtual cards. The HDFC
Currently, ICICI Bank, India’s biggest issuer of credit cards, is virtual card is called NetSafe. It enables you to generate a unique
offering a virtual credit card to its customers. If you have a physical virtual card number by using your physical Visa or MasterCard
credit card from ICICI Bank, you are already eligible for a virtual debit or credit card. Unlike the ICICI bank virtual card, the
one. The main advantage of this kind of virtual credit card is that NetSafe cards from HDFC are temporary.
it allows you to do online shopping without having to divulge the This means that for each new transaction that you wish to make
details of your original credit card, whose credit limit must be online, you have to generate a new virtual card. For example, if you
much higher. wish to make a purchase of Rs. 2000, you will have to log in to the
Let’s say, you wish to make an online purchase of around HDFC bank website and generate a virtual card of Rs. 2000 only.
Rs. 4000. You can set the limit of your virtual credit card for And if you fail to use your newly generated NetSafe card for some
Rs. 5000 only and do your shopping. Even if your credit card reason, the card will fade away automatically in 24 hours and the
details get stolen, which is extremely unlikely unless you have been money will return to your primary credit card. On a single day, you
very careless, you will lose a very small amount of money as can generate up to five NetSafe cards at HDFC bank website. And
compared to what you will lose if your primary card details get the best part? These cards are free of cost. I
compromised. You don’t have to fill up a new form, or call
customer care in order to get hold of a new virtual credit card. All
you need is to log in to your credit card account. Here you will find
a link that says, “Click here to apply for Virtual Credit Card.”
On clicking this link, you will be taken to a page that has an
online application form. Out here, you have to enter your existing
credit card number, your e-mail ID, your mobile number and,
finally, your Internet banking transaction password. Click Submit.
Your online card will get generated within two working days and it
will exist only in the cyberspace. You will have its number, its CVV
number and its expiry date. You can then log in to your ICICI
bank account to set the credit limit of this new credit card
according to your need.
The credit limit, as set by you, will be restored during every
billing cycle irrespective of the payment made, subject to the
overall limit on your primary card. As of now, ICICI bank is only
RBI Norms for
Safe Shopping
fraud protection policies that a
Security tips for online shopping credit card usually has.
I
f you prefer to shop online, you have a reason to cheer. RBI While placing your order, you should not divulge more
has now come up with a new set of guidelines that have made 5 information than is absolutely necessary.
online shopping with your credit or debit card much safer Visit only reputed sites that are being run by authentic
than it ever was. Now users have to input some additional 6 companies which enjoy impeccable reputation. You
information that is not mentioned on their credit card to have should check online ratings and reviews from other customers
their transactions cleared. The additional information could be and take red flags seriously.
in the form of a password, your home address, or a PAM Never select the ‘remember my password’ option and
(Personal Assurance Message). With such a foolproof system in 7 avoid saving your password on your PC; it is the first
place, it is definitely time for you to start splurging online. thing a hacker will target. Malware can be used to search your
Here are some tips that will make your online shopping PC for stored passwords. Avoid using the same password on
experience really safe and fruitful: multiple sites or writing it down on a post-it note or scrap of
Make sure that the browser you are using is the latest paper that can be easily intercepted. Finally, change all your
1 version. If you are using Firefox, you have to update it to passwords every two to three months.
the latest version. In case of Internet Explorer, it is the IE8 that Clean your computer of all kind of spyware and
happens to be the latest version. 8 malware that you might have accumulated during the
The address of the website where you intend to do your course of browsing.
2 shopping should begin with an ‘https’. There is an extra Do not open e-mail attachments or download links unless
‘s’ out here that indicates that there is an encrypted connection 9 you are absolutely sure about the sender’s credentials.
between your browser and the website. If the website’s URL Never pay bills, bank, shop or conduct financial transactions
does not have an “https”, you should not enter your credit card 10 on a public or shared computer or over a public wireless
details in it. network. If you do log on to public computers, look for computers
You should also look out for the ‘padlock sign’ in the status on networks that require a password, which increases security.
3 bar. The ‘padlock sign’ indicates that the site is secure. Review your credit card and bank account details every
Preferably you should do your shopping with a credit 11 month. If you notice any discrepancy, inform the
4 card. Because a debit card does not have the kind of customer care immediately. I
A
re you still wondering how to embellish your digital each pixel is allowed to have. Inverting colours can lead to very
photographs with some kind of special effects? It is time interesting results. But the greatest fun is to use the ‘Artistic’
you made a voyage of discovery at paint.net. This 1.3 options where you can change your photo to look like an ink
MB feature-rich image editing software doesn’t cost a drawing, a pencil drawing or an oil pastel. You can rotate and
single rupee and it can be downloaded from http://www.paint. resize your images. The entire interface is embellished with
net. If you are conversant with Photoshop, you can start using the clear, well-sized buttons that provide access to a wide range of
software directly. But if that is not the case, then you may have to options without looking cluttered or messy.
spend a few hours going through the detailed help document that But the best thing about paint.net is the open source
comes with the software. In any case, the interface is extremely community that supports it. They are really passionate about
intuitive and it is easy for anyone to master. developing new add-ons and improvements. One thing is for
All the basic things that most amateur photographers need to sure – Paint.net is far more advanced than Microsoft Paint,
correct in their photos can be done very easily by using this which most of us have been using till now. It is definitely a
software. For instance, Red-Eye removal is a breeze. You can must have for anyone who needs to improve the quality of
adjust the depth of every shade; you can also modify the colour his images. I
range of an image.
The brightness and
contrast can be
tampered with. The
hue and saturation
can be modified. The
software has an
efficient cloning tool
with which you can
remove slight
imperfections in any
photo. Then there
are the wonderful
colour editing tools
that are easy to use
and are completely
geared to improve
the visual quality of
any picture.
You can turn your
picture into a black &
white image at the
click of a mouse. You
can give it a sepia
rendering or you can
posterise it by
decreasing the
number of colours
S
ocial networking is clearly the big thing on the Internet process is complete, you can start inviting other members of your
these days. Entities like MySpace and Facebook have family. There is no limit to the number of persons you can invite.
already made a huge mark on the networking scene and Once the family is united on the Finerday interface, the website’s
they boast of millions of users from all over the world. So, systems can be used to send e-mail, text messages or even to make
where was the need for another networking site? But the truth is a video call to anyone. If anything, the system is replete with
that Finerday is a networking site with a difference. Rather than options that make it quite convenient for people to keep in touch
targeting at individuals, something what Facebook and MySpace with each other. Now it is time to pop up the important question –
are doing, Finerday targets families. who are the founders of this innovative service? Two people, Lilla
You can check out this networking site by pointing your Harris, a qualified nurse, and Howard Bashford, an executive with
browser at www.finerday.com. This service was launched on 4th a technology company, are the main force behind Finerday.
July 2008 and it already has a substantial number of members Both of them say that while starting Finerday, they have been
to its credit. The purported aim of Finerday is to link all of your motivated by the desire to make a difference in the lives of numerous
family, whatever be their age. The interface of the website is older people. So, if you want to make a real difference to the life of
neatly designed, with several enlarged icons to help less frequent your grandpa and grandma, who might not be that Internet savvy,
users of keyboards and mouse keep up with their more you can take a leaf out of the ideas promoted by these two
computer-savvy younger family members. entrepreneurs. Just introduce them to the online world of Finerday
Basically, this is something that can prove more beneficial to and make it a step easier for them to be in touch with you. I
Y
ouTube videos are clearly in vogue; everyone who is
well versed with doing things the digital way is out homepage and choose between MP3, WAV or AIF. To listen to
there creating them. But one problem often a sound before downloading it, just click on the orange/grey
encountered is the lack of right kind of sound effects. player on the left. The good thing is that merely listening to the
Let’s say, you are creating a video on ghosts and you need really sounds is not going to affect your download counter.
eerie kind of sounds to run in the background. One way out is And if you want to go in for a Soundsnap Pro membership,
that you and your friends can caterwaul and scream, but that you can use your credit card or PayPal account for the signup
might not lend a realistic touch to it, something that will impress process. The price for the membership usually starts from
the global audience. Enter SoundSnap – a repository of sound around $29 per month. However, after getting the sound from
effects from all over the world. Soundsnap, you are not allowed to copy them on a CD and
This community-driven online sound library boasts of more resell them. That would constitute a gross violation of the terms
than 100,000 high quality sound effects and music loops from of the contract. So, now you have learned about a good way of
Hollywood sound designers and cutting-edge music producers. spicing up your videos, games, applications or just making the
Alas, the website is not totally free. What should warm the system alerts a little more hilarious by downloading sound effects
cockles of your heart is the fact that you are allowed to from this fabulous website.
download five free sounds every month, but thereafter you have By the way, this website also offers an incredible way of
to pay by signing up for the Soundsnap Pro membership. The making some extra money on the side. If you own some sounds,
sounds that are available on the website are royalty free, which you can try to upload them to this website and every time your
means that you can use them in commercial or non-commercial sounds get downloaded by other users, Soundsnap is going to
applications without any problem. pay you a commission. But Soundsnap is only interested in the
In order to download the sounds, you have to be a registered best sounds, music loops and sound art out there, and so the
user. The signup is free. All you need to create an account is screening process is quite tough. You should not try to upload
come up with a suitable user name and password. Once this is sounds that are not recorded with pro equipment and that are
done, you can be on your way to download the five free sounds not mastered or edited properly, because this website believes in
that you are entitled to. In order to search for sounds, you can go taking only the best. I
S
o you think that modern art with its vast array of floating circles into conjuring a different kind of design. Press
flamboyant lines and shapes is incomprehensible? any button and then place your cursor on the area of the screen
You will be bound to change your opinion if you where the floating circles are located. Press the shift key and start
can churn out your own modern art. The good moving the cursor in the manner of creating a design. The
thing about the digital age is that you don’t need paint, circles will start moving on the screen and in their wake, they
brush or canvas in order to churn out modern art. All you will leave delightful designs.
need is a PC connected to the Internet. Point your browser The designs that pop up on the screen first look exceedingly
to http://bomomo.com and you will find yourself looking at a intriguing but with some practice, you may even be able to make
starkly bare screen, which looks suspiciously like an artist’s sense out of it. Few artists around the world are using
empty canvas. Bomomo to come up with designs for modernistic
In the middle of this empty digital canvas, there are few wallpapers, wrapping papers and many other objects. So, if
round circles floating. At the bottom of it, there are 20 you are planning to change the wallpaper in your house,
buttons. Each one of these buttons is geared to inspire the then you can turn to Bomomo for inspiration. Good luck! I
Entertainment –
When you
want it Priyanka Dey
W
e often don’t have ‘time’ even for the simple television in the living room’ kind of a system, there are often
pleasures in life. With so much happening to keep brawls and tensions among the family members as to who gets to
us occupied, there’s hardly any space left for control the television.
leisure. From taking the children to the school, Many of us have also been stuck in situations where you can
preparing drafts for the office presentation noon to making only view the last few minutes of your favourite soap opera,
arrangements for your parents’ wedding anniversary considering the erratic schedules in which most of us function.
celebrations – we have to do it all. We live and work in a fast- This hoopla definitely raises a cause for concern and given a
paced world carrying the new age mantra up our sleeves where chance, we will do anything for our right on the television.
‘time is money and money is time’. Fortunately, in this digital era, science and technology play a
Talking about leisure and the simple joys of life, as much as we decisive role in solving most of our woes. One such provision in
would love to deny it, most of us dig our television sets in our the market is the DTH industry that has made quite an impact
leisure time. Call it the idiot box or the information source for the on television viewing.
knowledge hungry, watching television is still regarded as one of It is not just the homemaker who has reason to rejoice but also
the favourite past times for many. Whether it’s watching that the working woman. With Tata Sky, there is a discernible shift in
romantic comedy on a lazy Sunday afternoon or screaming with Indian television viewing. Quips Tara Sehgal, 27, Client
joy at India winning that crucial cricket match, television is Servicing with an advertising agency, “I generally come home
certainly an integral part of our lives! But, as they say, everything very late and end up missing most of my favourite shows. With
has a catch to it and television viewing is no exception. Tata Sky+ installed, I can now record my favourite soaps and
For a long time now, women are known to spend more time movie flicks. No matter how late I come back, I know I can
glued to the idiot box and are more likely to fight over the catch up on my favourite shows and unwind myself completely. I
remote control with their significant others. So much so that can watch it all at my own time and convenience. It’s a great
women at times get into short-term depression if any of their stress buster for me.”
saas-bhau episode is missed out. As most houses have ‘one One more on the list is Namrata Sharma who works for an
FMCG company. “My husband and I both are working
professionals who come home late. As a result, we end up
missing out on most of our shows. Not just that, there are
times when we have third world wars on who will take
charge of the remote. But from the time we have started
using the Tata Sky+, things have definitely taken a positive
turn. Now there are no meaningless fights between me and
my hubby as the innovative product helps me record my
shows while I am still away at work. This way, I can watch
my favourite shows at my leisure.
With all this transition, one can only claim without any doubt
that television viewing in India has recorded a sea change. With
Direct-to-Home services like Tata Sky+, entertainment is round-
the-clock, at your service. So get ready to experience the world
of entertainment like never before. I
Technology
I can hear some grumbling in the background.
Let me try to explain with a few examples.
As common people, we have seen the advent
of the PDA as a brick, then shimmying down in
size to something that can sit in a shirt pocket
while increasing its functionality.
We have seen luggable computers with Sai Narasimhan
monitors that were a mere 4 inches
diagonally, and processors so large that they
weighed a neat 20 kg. And now we have
netbooks that have more computing power
than most early computers – put together. I
don’t even want to mention earlier computers
that occupied entire floors. I should know. I
have worked with mainframes that had less
computing power than today’s wrist watch
and were used to process inventory, payroll
and other such documents.
Then we saw the compaction of the spool
tapes, to LP records, to audio cassettes, to CDs
to DVDs and then to MP4 players. Never mind
the loss in fidelity – people seem to like
portability more than anything else. I will try to
dwell on this particular trend in a future column.
“
Televisions have
increased in resolution, Computing
moved from analogue
to digital and
power roughly
increased in size as doubles every
well. They have also
become WiFi aware,
providing us with a
24 months or so
for a given
“
variety of input and physical size
turning us into addicts.
Moreover, we have moved from broadcast channels, to cable Telephones have moved from land lines (which took decades
channels, to a veritable infinitude of channels beamed to us to get installed) to brick-sized cellular phones to pocket-sized cell
directly from space. And, finally, we are able to record television phones that can be bought and activated within minutes.
programmes and view them at our convenience. We can now Streaming video onto cell phones appears to be the present and
pause ‘live’ TV, rewind it, watch multiple channels on a single the future – nearly guaranteeing more accidents while people
screen at one time, remotely set up devices to record live watch and drive.
programmes and then view them from either home or from an We are communicating in unprecedented ways. It is the norm,
entirely different location. these days, to communicate what is going on from moment to
Head-mounted displays are eye-opening – or should I say Again, when the wearer meets someone, the camera uses its
head opening? And I am not talking about the stuff that gamers face recognition software to identify the person and projects the
go ga-ga over. Although you could say that it had its origins information. Suddenly you have someone whispering who the
person is in front of you! For the absent-minded lot, this will be
a gift from heaven.
And what if you wanted to ‘touch’ something that was
projected in front of you? Simple! Use your fingers – and the
touch is conveyed to the software. Want to know the time?
Simply draw a circle on the wrist and you see an image of a
clock with the current time.
As you may imagine, the possibilities are endless. And the cost
of all this magic? Pranav Mistry revealed that this is doable
today and all the pieces cost about $350. How about that for a
technology that is alive, here and now?
Let us look at the way things have progressed. We used to
need keyboards to control computers. These soon gave way to
mouse. Close on its heels followed the touch pad, the touch
screen, voice commands and now, gestures in mid air. But these
require muscles to move them! With some enhancements, eye
gestures can be used to control computers.
But the next frontier is direct brain manipulation of
computers. Well, so far this has been impeded by the
requirement that electrodes be placed on the skull. This requires
shaving the head – at least in parts. You can use a gel to directly
there. The concept is as follows: projecting maps in front of you connect the head, without requiring shaving – but try telling that
so that you are ‘immersed’ into the environment being to the hairstyle crazy youth of today! A company called Emotiv
projected. When you start interacting with it, you are, effectively, claims that its headset can detect the brain waves of smiles,
on a Star Trek holodeck! Such experiences can be delivered
today. With such displays, where pictures are projected in front
of you (virtually), you can have a ‘mashup’ of the real world
with data which have been gathered by (say) intelligence and
known data of friendly forces to see. Streets will suddenly have
names on them. This is where such technologies will be first put
to use. But soon after, we can imagine the same technology
being used in cars to project directions in front of you – the
heads-up display mode – so that you know where to go without
ever having to let your eyes stray from the road ahead.
I am sure you must have at least heard of the ‘sixth sense’
demonstration at this year’s TED conference. If not, that is one
presentation that is a must-see. Here is the link www.ted.com/talks/
pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html. If it doesn’t blow your Pranav Mistry
mind, I am sure you already have a workable sixth sense.
To those who haven’t seen the demo, allow me to plug away. winks and other expressions. These can help gamers’ avatars
The wearer has a camera on his tie, a small projector and a interact perfectly with their counterparts in their games.
small cell phone (probably an iPhone). At this time the wearer There has also been the case of a researcher ‘tweeting’ his
also has to wear different coloured stickers on the finger-tips so thoughts using, well, just his thoughts. You can read further at
that the computer can recognise those. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/04/21/rese
When the wearer is in front of a product (for example, tissue archer-updates-his-twitter-feed-using-only-brainwaves/
paper box), the camera scans the bar code, goes online using the On the whole, we are living in exciting times, where
cell phone’s Web connection, gets the best prices and lets you technology is changing quicker than people can keep up with.
know what will be a good price. This information is projected on Live it up and enjoy it. Because a lot of it may be extinct before
any surface in front of the wearer. Voila! The same thing is done your children grow up. I wonder how we will be able to keep this
with a book. It can also bring up reviews, ratings and a host of knowledge for posterity? Maybe that is fodder for another
additional information that you might be looking for. column. Until next time, this is Sai! I
F
or ages, the kitchen has been the very heart of one’s of course, quick,” quips Meera Arvind, a busy interior designer
home; but nowadays you can easily say that it is the jewel and a gadget gal, who loves to rustle up healthy meals for her
in the crown. A new-age kitchen with modular fittings, family. She spent a fortune getting a high-end modular kitchen
hi-tech gadgets, chic cookware and beautiful tableware is and all the accessories and kitchen appliances that money could
the pride of the owner and a work of art. buy. Meera is not the only one who believes in redefining the
“I have a modular kitchen with all the high-end gadgets and kitchen experience; a lot of men and women are busting up big
cookware to make the process of cooking more enjoyable and, bucks to keep their kitchen up-to-date on the technology front.
Feature
Cookware: Gone are the days when women toiled for long the kitchen without my food processor, microwave and thermo
hours, cooking every meal from scratch in black-bottomed woks. pot,” gushes Maya Nair, an HR Executive, who likes to cook for
The ancient brass, copper and aluminium pots and pans have her family, but on budget time. Quick, simple-to-use and
been stowed away and in their place, titanium pots, non-stick reliable, these appliances are the best kitchen mates that a
pans and stainless steel tableware gleam from the kitchen shelves. cooking enthusiast can ask for.
There are plenty of good companies that manufacture an You don’t have to depend on your domestic help to turn up on
array of non-stick cookware. From big woks for cooking a feast time to help you chop the vegetables or grind the spices. Just turn
to small pans for rustling up an omelette, cook-and-serve pots to on your food processor and get together all the raw materials you
slotted spoons and spatulas – the non-stick range has a lot to need for your meal. With the microwave in your kitchen, you
offer if you are cooking at home. The best part about non-stick don’t have to spend hours near to the stove – heating or cooking
cookware is that you can cook with minimum oil and do not a meal. Just pop a dish into the microwave, press the right buttons
have to worry about scraping the food off the base while you are and dig into the meal within a few minutes. You can even make
preparing a dish. Give your cookware a little TLC and you can optimum use of other features and cook an entire meal from
happily use it for quite some time. scratch in a microwave. And, of course, the next time you want
Apart from the Teflon-coated version, there’s the titanium to eat homemade cookies, cakes, buns or biscuits, use the
range with glittering accolades to its credit. “It is tougher, rust- convection mode to make some in your own kitchen.
proof, and does not form toxic salts by reacting with food,” says There are other kitchen appliances that you can drool over. The
Kaveri Mahajan, a homemaker, who swears by her titanium cook- cooking range with gas and electric options is ideal for the prolific
and-serve utensils. Titanium cookware has a plethora of other cook. You can cook, grill or bake with one of these high-tech
advantages – it is strong yet lightweight; it is healthy and safe since appliances. Some of the other appliances that are popular with
it is non-porous; it has non-stick properties; and, you need less high-tech home cooks are blenders, warming drawers, sophisticated
water to cook your food as the vegetables will cook in their own
juices. Your food will taste more delicious, and the utensils will be
more durable. Titanium cookware is available in a large variety.
From sauté pans to grill pans, stockpots to saucepans, skillet pans
to frying pans, there is a whole range of cookware to choose from.
There are also other enamel-coated cook-and-serve dishes, Pyrex
baking bowls and an assortment of microwave-proof cookware that
can make cooking fast, fun and aesthetically appealing.
he car flew through the cloud-laden sky. Manjula “We are going to be home in a couple of minutes,” Manjula said.
“Alright,” sighed Sita. Alongside their car, there were many “Yes it is. The coordinates of this place exactly match the
other cars of all shapes and sizes that were flying. Soon they coordinates of your house,” said the metallic feminine voice
reached a large roundabout that was stationary in the air and emanating from a speaker installed in the car’s control panel. “I
on top of it a police control tower for flying vehicles was have brought you to the right place.”
built. Robotic cops could be seen standing around the “But this is not our home,” cried Sita.
roundabout; it was their job to ensure a smooth flow of Manjula, however, was confused. Every other thing on the street
traffic through the air. Just because the cars had taken to the looked familiar. The only thing that had changed was her house.
air, it didn’t mean that they could fly erratically. They were But she had left her house only four hours ago. How could they
expected to fly within the stipulated speed limit, and maintain change an entire house in just four hours? Who could have done it?
a strict lane discipline. “Mom, look,” Sita, who had followed her mother out of the
After navigating the roundabout, the car carrying Manjula car, said excitedly pointing in one direction. “Bunty and Monica
and Sita took the lane that led to the locality where they lived. are skating on the sidewalk.”
“First, they de-printed the old house and then printed a new The hammering, sawing, drilling and bricklaying that once
house in its place,” Bunty added. upon a time had been entailed in the process of building a
“And may I ask who were they?” Manjula snapped. house, had in the year 2050 been replaced by giant room sized
“I have no idea,” said Monica. “But my mom would know. printers that used rapid prototyping techniques to print walls,
Should I call her?” complete with brick, plaster, windows, insulation and conduits
But Manjula would not wait. With hurried steps she started for wires and pipes. The technique was used to make the walls
marching towards the entrance of the new house. On the door stronger and functional. It also vastly speeded up the process of
there lay a large bouquet of flowers to which a gaily printed construction. These days it was quite normal for state-of-the-art
note was attached. Hurriedly Manjula opened the note. It said, printers to create a new two- or three-storey house with many
“Congratulations for your new home. For Hi-Tech Builders it rooms within a couple of hours. In cases where an old house
has been a great pleasure to de-print your old house and print a had to be pulled down and a new one built in its place, the
new version in its place. We hope that you and your family will de-printers entered the scene first.
These de-printers worked by breaking the house into small about the large hall. It was not as if the house was poorly
nano-particles that would be sucked inside their storage constructed; the exterior design was good and the interiors, too,
chamber by means of sophisticated vacuum pumps. Four or five seemed to be tastefully done. The floor was made out of white
de-printers could clear a three-storey house in less than 30 marble, the walls had pleasant wallpaper on them, and the roof
minutes without causing even a speck of the debris to fall in the had a bewitching chandelier dropping from it. But in order to
surrounding area. Once the area was cleared of the old house, build this new fashionable house, they had obliterated everything
few printers would move in and they operated by squeezing out that was stored in her old house. Who gave them the right to
drops of moist toothpaste-like building material in a manner destroy every bit of clothing that her family possessed? Her
similar to that of a large ink-jet printer. The toothpaste-like daughter’s toys were gone. Her husband’s collection of old
material would be designed to harden within moments in the air stamps, his books, everything that he had kept in this house was
and turn into strong walls, floor and roof of a house where gone. Everything de-printed!
people could live safely and securely. This system had become Now she needed to inform her husband about what had
very popular, because it was much cheaper, it saved time, and it happened. She quickly pulled out her mobile phone from her
had very little environmental impact. pocket and dialed her husband’s number. He picked up instantly.
After her first peek inside the starkly empty indoors of the “Hey, are you back? Have you picked up Sita?” Aditya checked
house, Manjula stepped out into the small garden. She could with his wife.
hear the sound of the three kids cheering as they scampered “Yeah, I came back a few minutes ago. Listen, I wanted to tell
you something important.”
“Is something wrong?”
“It is. Our house is gone.”
“What do you mean by our house
is gone?”
“When I left about four hours
ago, to do some shopping and pick
up Sita from her school, our old
house was still standing there. But
when I returned, I found a new,
much bigger house, standing in its
place. It seems a crew from Hi-Tech
Builders was here; they de-printed
our old house and printed a new
one in its place.”
“But how is that possible,” Aditya
sounded absolutely shocked. “What
about the things that we had inside
our house? I hope they had the
sense to remove our things.”
“Everything has been de-
printed,” Manjula replied tersely.
“And where is Sita?”
“She is playing inside the house
with her friends. She is too young to
understand the terrible wrong that
has been done to us.”
“Ok, I will be there in a few
minutes. We have to get to the
bottom of this. Whoever has de-
printed our old house, is going to
pay a heavy price. I will see to it.”
With these words, Aditya
disconnected the line. Manjula
could not bring herself to even
enter the house; she simply did
not empathize with this new
Imagine life without the Internet. It may well be an isolated existence without the instant
connectivity that keeps you linked to the rest of the world. Considering the role(s) Internet
plays to make life simpler, easier and a little more than comfortable, it will be a tad difficult
to think of living without it. From bill payment to banking and shopping, and from data
hunting and e-communication to virtual officing and online dating, there’s no area of our
life that remains untouched by the Internet. In brief, just like the Industrial Revolution 200
years ago, the Digital Revolution called the Internet and its all-embracing reach-out have
changed our life beyond recognition.
Internet @
Fascinating past, amazing future
Sanghamitra Mandal
M
ore than a billion users worldwide are connected research on packet switching – the network communication method
today – but just 40 years ago, global network of transferring data by splitting it up into small chunks. As the USA
connections were simply non-existent. Efforts were had no packet switching network working at that time, Arpa agreed
on to create an open network for exchanging to provide the basic Arpanet hardware and fund a transatlantic link
information. The US government was all too enthusiastic about to Norway if the UK could pay for a line. On their part, although
the potential outcome and Leonard Kleinrock, along with his the British research funding council refused to fund the project and
colleagues, was asked to develop the Advanced Research Projects the Department of Trade and Industry demanded business
Agency Network (Arpanet), an experimental military network. involvement, UCL computer scientist Peter Kirstein decided to go
On September 2, 1969, two computers at the University of ahead and the link went live, via Norway, in July 1973.
California, Los Angeles, exchanged data in the first test of So far, the history of the Internet remains an unbelievable
Arpanet. But real success was met with on October 29 when feat of physics and industry that has been holding true for the
Kleinrock managed to send a message from UCLA to the last 40 years. In 1971, Ray Tomlinson, an engineer with BBN
second node at Stanford Research Institute Menlo Park, Technologies, sent the first network e-mail, choosing the
California. It was an extremely brief communication, though, as @ symbol to separate the user’s name from the host computer.
Kleinrock tried to type ‘logon’ and the network crashed after the But why so? “Mostly because it seemed like a neat idea,” he
first two letters were written. But it “was the first breath of life later commented.
the Internet ever took,” according to Kleinroc. But with the computer networking evolving on a global scale,
more innovations were required to draw up even the basic
Global flourish specifications to swap data across different types of networks. So
In 1970, the Arpanet expanded further and got the East Coast in 1973-74, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf at Arpanet came up
node at Bolt, Beranek and Newman in Cambridge. However, with the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet
only universities with connections to the US Department of Protocol (TCPIP) that would allow seamless integration of
Defense had access to it. As the cutting-edge advantages of multiple networks, thus creating a true Internet. After years of
computer networking became apparent, other universities began intense testing and some tough competition from rival network
developing their own networks. The exclusive US phenomenon languages, the concept has split into the TCP/IP that powers the
ultimately took the shape of an international network in July Net to this day. In 1983, another important feature, namely, the
1973, when the University College London (UCL) and Norway’s domain name system, was also proposed. Creation of suffixes
National Defence Research Establishment joined via dedicated such as .com, .gov and .edu came a year later.
phone lines, running at a mighty 9.6 kilobits per second.
The transatlantic link happened as a result of discussions between Internet comes live, first worm crawls
Larry Roberts, the driving force behind the Arpanet, and British The online experience became more intriguing when
scientist Donald Davies. The latter had already done pioneering CompuServe and The Source offered Internet services for the
4
certainly made the W3 more acceptable to the world.
5 innovations that
Connectivity – unlimited
It is an age and time when insignificance is the new
significance. So letting the world know what you have for
I
f you have ever flown on Emirates, you would know that the back to the mid-1990s. The idea was simple enough –
company is a class apart when it comes to offering a great travel bringing like-minded people on to a common platform. But
experience. But apart from being a fantastic air carrier, it is also the foresight and novelty of the concept notwithstanding,
known for some brilliant advertising campaigns. The firm’s most early ventures like Sixdegrees.com failed miserably. It was not
catchy commercial says: When was the last time you did something until 2002 when bootstrapping on the increasing number of
for the first time? The message is simple, effective and thought- Internet users, sites like Facebook, Myspace, Orkut, Tagged
provoking. So when I ponder over the Internet spin-offs that have and Twitter became an integral part of our daily life. Today, if
changed our life, I cannot help remembering that tagline. you don’t scrap a friend in some obscure land, check your
I still remember the day when the first television came home. neighbours’ photo albums or play a round of Farmville before
It was a momentous incident. Soon after, our lives started hitting the sack, the day is very much incomplete.
revolving around the television. Then again, consider the
excitement that the first telephone evoked. The very ringing of Internet on the go
the phone sent our pulse racing to such an extent that it did not Imagine the twist in Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ if the hero
matter who was at the other end. were marooned on the island with a mobile phone. Crusoe could
Today, amazing innovations are churned out almost every day have used GPRS on his handset to figure out his co-ordinates and
and the technology frontier is being constantly pushed as zealous made a call to someone on the mainland about his whereabouts. A
entrepreneurs at the coalface wait for the next big thing. So it is steamer would find him a day later, waving his white shirt and the
now really difficult to come up with a laundry list of five things credits would roll as he made his way back to civilisation. One
which have changed the way we work, socialise and live. But I thing is for sure, we would never have had an interesting piece of
will try, nevertheless, and here we go. literature if Crusoe had a cell phone.
cash box
W
protect your account document, go to the Tools menu, select
ith Access Total, it is possible to create a Security and define password for the database. In the security
database in an easy manner so that one has tab, the user can also choose to opt between user’s account or
complete control over his/her accounts. In this group and cryptographer.
manner, companies or businesses can have an The calculations effected in the consultation are not stored
estimate of how much to invest or can make a detailed in the base table.
assessment of their expenses. To control accounts in any field, Access uses a formula
A rigid control over expenditure gives businesses the which uses updated values. The formulas used to create an
opportunity to become more competitive in the market. automatic function are similar to those used in Microsoft
While starting the account, it is important that the database has Excel. However, if VBA is used as the function
a starting balance or an existing balance in the account before the constructor, they may be a little different. It is possible to
current day begins. At the end of the day, one has to enter the create boxes of errors or a function that does not allow
value of incoming and outgoing figures for the calculation of the database continuity, if the inserted value is not formatted
final balance to be done automatically by the programme. correctly. Personalised calculations allow accounts to
In order to prevent intruders from accessing this document, acquire all the figures involved, dates and texts, taking as
the software allows you to save it with a password. To password base one or more fields.
1 - Open the software. In case it is the first time you are using 2 - Following this, a window called New Database File will
it, click on the option Create a new file. A window will appear which will give you the option to save the data. Insert a
appear similar to the image above, in which you will select the name for the file (in this case Control of accounts) and click
option Blank Access database. on Create.
5 - Save the table by clicking on the X symbol to the right 6 - Double-click on the file created that should be listed in the
of the screen (option that is also used to close) or select Tables field. The table with fields that you have created will be
File menu, Save. Now choose a name for the file and opened. Enter the day, opening balance, receipts and outgoings.
click on OK. Save it and close the file.
7 - Go to the initial database screen, click on the Worksheet. 8 - In the window Assistant of simple data, select
The next step is to click on the option Create datasheet available fields and move them to Selected Fields, with
using the assistant. the help of the arrow. Click on Continue.
11 - Double-click on the entry file that has been created. 12 - Select the button with the icon pencil and setsquare
Maximise it for better visualisation. named View and click on the Structure Mode option.
13 - In the field on the expenditure side, write the 14 - It is now time to create the formula. For this, select
formula: Final Balance: [Starting Balance] + the object formula and click on Create formula using
[Receipts] - [Expenditure] and select the checkbox the assistant.
(square located in the line View). Save it and close the file.
15 - In the Tables/Entries option, select the created 16 - Insert new fields available in the square for Selected
entry that has the formula of Final Balance. fields. Click on the Continue button.
17 - In this new window, it is possible to select the type of 18 - Now, you will have the option to choose the style that you
layout that you prefer. For this type of database, it is prefer: there are 10 alternative styles for the database
recommended that you choose the tab Column and click background. Choose one and click on Continue.
on Continue.
19 - Name the formula and verify if the option Open 20 - Double-click on the formula created and verify that
the formula to view or to insert information is the formula is functioning. Create a formula for each
selected. Click on Finish. month to have total control over your accounts.
N
eed to send e-mail messages to all your clients but not fields of a record (for example, the main data of each
sure how to create labels? Access, just like Word, allows business client).
you to create them with ease, using the wizard that To create labels, read the next few pages and follow the
helps both in level creation and formatting. step-by-step guide. Remember that in this tutorial, we have
Gone are the days when you had to write out clients’ taken into consideration that you do not possess a database
addresses, one by one, or type them out on an old typewriter. with all your client information. Nevertheless, it is possible to
now you can create a species of special report, in the form of use a database with your client data. To do this, just start the
a label, used for identifying envelopes, product packages, etc. tutorial from Step 6.
On creating labels from a table or a query, one can We also assume that you have the basic ability and minimum
easily obtain a series of labels, each with a part or all the knowledge of Microsoft Word in order to edit the labels.
Features Content
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TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Household
chores made
easy …
Women today no longer
believe in waging the battle
against domestic odds.
Thanks to a wide range of
kitchen and home
appliances from global
brands like Phillips, LG,
Samsung, Videocon and
many more, domestic duties consume less time now and one can competition – to prove her worth. But once there, she realises
actually opt for some effective multitasking. Think about fitting the need for self-grooming – to make her presence felt. She must
up a workstation next to the kitchen space and preparing that have a glowing appearance; her pearly smile should exude
all-important presentation while the mutton is in the microwave. confidence and her silky tresses should be as shining and smooth
Or you can simply relax and listen to your favourite music while as Rapunzel’s. Woman today needs the physique of a warrior, as
the laundry is being taken care of (by your fully automated many a battle awaits her in the professional field, and she must
washing machine). shed that roundness to gain the agility of a tigress. Yet, her
Kitchen gadgets today are quick, energy-saving and easy to warm nature and graceful behaviour should please all. If you
use – designed and developed to give you maximum satisfaction. find that a tall order, help is at hand. There is a plethora of
Combination steam ovens, integrated microwaves, ceramic and beauty gizmos which will add that ‘extra’ shine to your life. All
induction hobs, deep fryers and griddles, refrigerators and you need to do is to get into the right frame of mind and pick up
freezers, hot & cold drinks processors, built-in laundry the right gadget that meets your requirements.
equipment and labour-saving dishwashers are often found in the
modern kitchens nowadays. So let us have a look at these Her skin should
fantastic items that will help you out at home. shine ...
A face can launch a thousand
ships and a little care goes a
Refrigerator long way to keep you looking
Imagine a fridge, a freezer and everything else
in between. forever young. If you are too
busy to maintain an elaborate
beauty regime, it is time to
Cooking range opt for Baby Quasar, a small-
Complete your kitchen with a sized gadget that rejuvenates
range that delivers three-fan the skin without any hassle. Baby Quasar was originally
true convection cooking, introduced to overcome such skin problems as acne and aging. It
SteamQuick™ technology for is the first light-therapy device, designed to provide flawless
speedy cleaning, 5.9 cubic feet beauty to home-based users. Recommended by renowned
of space and even a warmer dermatologists, Baby Quasar uses four wavelengths of natural
drawer to keep food at just the light to treat aging, acne, skin shrink and enlarged pores.
right temperature. Use it and feel the difference it makes in terms of glowing,
healthy skin.
Pic and information courtesy: www.BabyQuasar.co.uk
the back. The gadget can weigh the user and analyse the data to Motorola Red SLVR cell phone for women
make a nutrition schedule and choose on a diet. The slender, lightweight SLVR set in trendy ‘loud’ colours is the
prefect pick for the woman sporting a distinct fashion statement.
HP Chameleon The Motorola Red SLVR cell phone for women is designed to
It’s an amazing model that can change its colour to match the hue enhance entertainment and make the most of cutting-edge
of the user’s dress. Two built-in cameras scan the colour of the customisation options.
user’s clothes and the laptop colour automatically changes to flaunt Motorola Red SLVR offers iTunes functionality – the ability
the same tint. To live up to its name, the gadget is scaled like the to carry up to seven hours of music or 100 songs. Like its
chameleon’s skin. The surface feels like velveteen – soft and plush predecessor, the SLVR Black, the Red SLVR is less than half-an-
to the touch. Before coming up with this lifestyle gadget, the inch thick and weighs only 3.5 ounces.
designers of HP Chameleon had actually interacted and worked
with women – common users whose unique creativity and great Siemens CL75 for women
sense of humour went a long way to make this a fabulous product. The Siemens CL75 is one of the few cell phones that combine
elegance and technology. One version of the Siemens clamshell
mobile sports a colourful floral motif on the case. On the inside, a
Try out trendy watches large color display doubles as a pocket mirror (makeup not included).
With fashion getting so glitzy, simple timepieces have given way
to personal style statements. Current trends indicate a perfect The camera connection
combo of innovation, beauty and functionality – so that there is Weighing in at 90 grams, this chic Siemens phone comes with a
a wrist watch out there for every personality, mood or occasion. built-in digital camera for clicking snaps or video recording. The
A stylish bracelet watch strikes the right balance between mobile camera has been a great hit among women but there is
everyday utility wear and exquisite evening showpiece. Fitted in reason enough.
a matching bracelet instead of sporting the traditional leather or According to M:Metrics, 25 per cent women own camera
metal strap, these phones in the USA as compared to 21 per cent men. And 60 per
attractive watches cent women use their camera feature occasionally or frequently
are an ideal choice while only 40 per cent men use it that often.
for the fashion-
conscious lady. Nokia fashion collections: ‘Distinctly bold’
Get, set and go The Distinctly Bold Collection features a set of high-fashion
with these Nokia cell phones for women. The ensemble includes four
ravishing bracelet currently available handsets – Nokia 7610, Nokia 7280, Nokia
watches (there are 7270 and Nokia 6170, all with cameras, stylish straps and
bejewelled ones carrying pouches.
and designer
brands as well, which none can resist). Modern-day women The L’Amour collection
can no longer afford to sit idle or while away the time. So one It is another unique bouquet of fashion phones for women –
can easily tune in to these luxurious time trackers and never from the House of Nokia. The collection features Nokia 7370
go off-target again. Also, what’s more precious than spending and Nokia 7380 cell phones, plus three new fashion phones.
some quality time with the special people in your life? The
new line of lifestyle watches will gently guide you towards a Samsung SGH-E530
heady work-life concoction so that you can make the most of for women
today and live your dreams. Perhaps the most feature-rich cell
phone for women, Samsung’s
It’s talk time, baby! SGH-E530 combines image, style
Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset in pink and functionality in a fashionable
To complement the Motorola SLVR L7 Pink Phone in colour handset which is launched in the
and functionality, the company has designed the H500 Pink Middle East.
Bluetooth Headset. When paired with a Bluetooth-enabled The E530 is a digital-zoom
mobile like the Motorola SLVR, the Motorola H500 Pink helps camera phone in a sleek clamshell
ensure hassle-proof, hands-free communication. body loaded with some of the latest
Weighing less than 17 grams, the H500 Pink Bluetooth Headset features – MP3 player, MPEG4
is one of the lightest in the industry. It features up to eight hours video recorder, multimedia
of talk time or 200 hours of standby time, allowing users to messaging, 64 polyphonic ring tones
connect even when they are 30 ft away from their mobiles. and Bluetooth. I
Watch Multiple
Computers
N
etflix is the ‘real’
thing for movie buffs.
Those who use it will
swear by the
quickness and quality of
entertainment it offers. But for
those who have just heard of
Netflix and want to know more,
here is more to chew. Netflix is
one of the world’s largest online
movie rental services that
satiates the entertainment thirst
of more than 10 million
members. According to
Netflix, it “ships an average of
2.2 million DVDs to their
members” across the USA.
Netflix was first established in
1997 and since then, the
collection has gone up to
100,000 titles. The company
has about 100 shipping points
in the country and several
members receive their videos
within one business day.
through Netflix
VC-1 videos. There are more than 12,000 titles available
through this service.
W
ho doesn’t love listening to music?
Let’s face it; music is the essence of For those who are still not familiar with iTunes, here’s
life. There are soft numbers we like to information to dig. This is a free application from
play at work; jazz or rock when we Apple for PC and MAC users, for playing digital
want to let our hair down and enjoy; instrumental for music and video. It syncs content to your iPod, iPhone
a candle light dinner or meditation; and peppy and Apple TV. So, in a nutshell, you can turn to
numbers for partying. Some of us play music while on iTunes for all your entertainment needs, at any time
the go, or when exercising, working, studying and and from anywhere.
partying. For such music aficionados, iTunes will be With iTunes, you don’t have to rifle through the piles
manna from heaven! of CDs or surf channels as you get your entire video
and music collection at the click of a button. You can
spend the rest of your time playing, browsing and
organising songs from your MAC or PC. Find out what
you can do with iTunes:
G You can browse through your library by rating, year,
episode, album or artist. Save on precious hours by
searching quickly through your collection.
G Turn your favourite CD collection into digital music
and import them to iTunes. You can then organise
your collection with custom playlists.
G Shuffle songs from other computers on your network
or play videos using onscreen controls.
G Sync videos, music, contacts and calendars on your
iPhone or iPod. And guess what? Wireless syncing
to Apple TV puts music and video from your
iTunes library on the big screen. So with iTunes,
you’ve got all the entertainment you want, right at
your fingertips.
Genius Playlists
As if this isn’t enough, the ‘Genius’ feature lets you create
that perfect playlist. Just select a song and click the
Genius button. iTunes will generate a playlist from your
library that goes great with the song. Choose the number
of songs you want on this playlist, and voila! You have
the results.
Genius Sidebar
iTunes8 has something called a ‘genius sidebar’ that
will show you the music in the iTunes store – the
songs will be similar to the tunes or songs you have
selected. You may want to hide or show the bar. In
such a case, don’t fret the small stuff because it just
requires a small step and half a second to do so. Here
is how it works.
T
his is for all you voracious readers, who like to cart bathroom, a few crammed inside your leather tote and a few
around a stack of books, wherever you go. You have to latest titles in your drawer at your workstation. You just have to
have a towering pile of novels on your bedside table, pick up the latest titles from the corner bookshop, and for you,
half-a-dozen more books and periodicals in the an ideal weekend is one where you get to spend endless hours
Keyboard shortcuts
for punctuation marks
in Kindle 2
Chandana Banerjee
browsing in your favourite bookstore. Books mean the world to turning buttons are on both sides, letting you to read and turn
you, and you love to read in every spare moment that you have. pages comfortably with one hand from any position. Also,
Amazon.com’s Kindle 2 is just for such readers, who need to these buttons flex inward to prevent any accidental page turns
have books every moment that they breathe. that can happen while picking up or handling Kindle. It also
has a new easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-
What is Kindle 2? screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking
It is a software and hardware platform developed by Amazon, up words.
Kindle 2 can be used to read e-books and other digital media. And now we come to the meaty part – the part about the
It’s absolutely portable at 8” x 5.3” x 0.36” and weighs just 10.2 books that you can carry around with you in this 10.2 ounce
ounces. You don’t need a computer to use this, and can store ‘book holder.’ Well, just carry along your entire collection or
about 2GB of content. Once charged, you can read for almost even your library if you desire. You can not only cart around
four days with the wireless on. And sans the wireless? Read on more than 1,500 books, but can also download more anytime. A
for two weeks. copy of every book you have bought from the Kindle Store has
Another striking feature about Kindle 2 is that it is lighter an online backup at Amazon.com - just in case you ever need to
than a paperback, and as slim as a magazine. You can carry it download it again. You can wirelessly re-download books for
around wherever you go and read your books on the move. free any time.
Ah! You don’t have to worry about eye strain or anything that Another feature that makes Kindle 2 so popular with avid
you associate with reading e-books on the computer. Kindle 2 readers is the paper-like quality of the screen. The 6” screen is
has been designed with long-form reading in mind. The page- crisp black and white, and looks as well as reads like printed
paper. You don’t have worry about backlight or glare, and can
read just as naturally as you do when you pick up hard copies of
books. The images are sharper, with 16 shades of gray. You can
even read your books in the sun, without worrying about glare
or other readability issues.
With just a push of a button you can adjust the font size, and
if you wish, you can use the new text-to-speech feature to let
Kindle read books, blogs, magazines and newspapers for you.
And when you use the QWERTY keyboard, you can add
annotations to the text (‘write in the margins’ sort of thing). The
5-way controller lets you highlight and clip passages and
bookmark pages for future use. The built-in dictionary, wireless
access to Wikipedia, and search features, make reading through
Kindle an overall enriching experience.
G , (comma): ALT+7
G : (colon): ALT+8
G ‘ (apostrophe): ALT+0
Armed with these tips, you can jot down your notes in a jiffy
and get back to your reading quickly. I
G
one are the days when children would skip out to play
hide-and-seek and hopscotch. Today, they prefer to Wii has revolutionised the gaming experience, and most game
get hold of their gaming consoles and play buffs will ask you to try it yourself to understand the magic of it all.
technologically designed games to their hearts’ And these games are not just for children or moody teenagers;
content. But why kids, even grown-ups like us enjoy Wii games these can be relished by the whole family – from busy moms and
more than a game of lawn tennis or croquet. It is because we don’t dads to feisty grandmas. All you need is a Wii Remote and
need to step out of the house or drive to the club for our gaming Nunchuk (which are quite simple to use) to enjoy this social gaming
experience. Just a gaming console and a stack of interesting games experience with your friends and loved ones.
How to disable
the Rumble Effect
on Wii Remote Chandana Banerjee
Have patience
This works best if time is not an issue and if the parents do not mind the brandishing camera.
Newborns tend to have their own timetables and needs. So when the shoot gets interrupted
because the baby’s diaper needs to be changed or it needs to be fed, you can continue to shoot if
the parents have no objections. Wrap the mom and the baby with a soft blanket and prop them
up with a pillow. Now you can snap a few pictures of the mother and the baby peeping out of
the blanket. However, if the parents and the baby need their time, it’s best to refrain from
shooting rather than compel them to have their private lives documented.
Be creative
Baby shops are filled with stuff that you can use as great props for your
photography – from those fancy-looking danglers on trolleys to divert the
baby’s attention, to fancy clothes, caps, wigs, sunglasses and even bedsheets
and shawls. Also, find fun props that you can use to hide diapers. Try and
get disposable changing pads ready for the newborn in case certain fluids
come out while props are being changed.
Plan ahead
Sometimes, it’s best to plan ahead. This can be done by meeting the parents
first and understanding the baby’s eating, sleeping and maybe crying and
laughing habits. Once you have a fair idea of what to expect, you can plan
your shoot accordingly. It’s important to have the mother around during all
your shoots, since the baby needs to be taken care of and there should be
a familiar face around to whom it can relate. I
Tech Career
I
magine a day without your laptop. Think of a day when the the cumulative annual growth rate in the number of professionals
World Wide Web stops working. How about sending your boss joining the field being 23.6%. With employers like Wipro and Infosys
those vital files via post, which might take a week’s time? What if on the list, the figures are sure to go higher up.
there is nothing called cellular connectivity? If you call this The nitty-gritties of the highly complicated systems are often
nightmarish gibberish, let me tell you my friend that such was our befuddling enough for their users. Their proper maintenance
world only a few decades back. Technology has become such an necessitates specialized attention and hence a group of hardware
indispensable part of modern existence that it might seem quite specialists and mechanics came into being. The 2008 Nasscom
hard to believe that we could ever manage a fair living without it. reports suggest an immediate requirement of more than four lakh
Whether machine has made man mechanical or whether it is man professionals to join this field. As V. Rishi Kumar, CEO and
who has succeeded in making machine humane is a rather Managing director, Aptech Limited suggested in one of his
contentious issue, but be it sending an important document across interviews that the country’s hardware industry has the potentials
borders within a few seconds or a refreshing chitchat over the cell to reach a whooping $62 million mark by the next year. That this
phone at the end of a day’s work; a life away from technology growing industry needs human resource is perhaps needless to say.
seems as bizarre as living in a cave for today’s folks. The extensive use of technology has also made fields like BPO,
The change has been rather networking and animations also
Tech
drastic in India. The last two feasible. Geographical realities
decades witnessed a radical make- have been severely challenged.
over of the entire scenario. The Working for an organisation with
nineties ushered in computers. By its headquarters at New York City
1995 BSNL brought in Internet to while staying in Bangalore is not
the country. Typewriters and fax far-fetched to believe anymore,
machines were now obsolete. Fast courtesy, outsourcing. Prince
communication was a prerequisite
for the global village to run smooth.
Kentucky and Calcutta were just
minutes away. With informations
to the Monteiro, a 21-year-old commerce
graduate from Kolkata is presently
one amongst the BPO workforce
from the country. Prince points out
T e
from around the globe now being while it could have been difficult
readily accessible life would never be for a man to earn well only with a
the same again. The easy going graduate degree a few years back,
Indians took to a jet set lifestyle and outsourcing has made it possible
what was a country known for its for him to take home an impressive
blasé and blissful nonchalance salary at the end of the month.
became a smart IT hub with A consistent growth of the
professionals on their toes only over Indian IT industry is now a matter
a few years’ time. Technology of getting the right people to join
brought along with it job prospects the workforce; the more the
in a rich galore. While some found
Priyanka Mukherjee number of specially qualified
both lucre and joy in further technical advancement, others were experts stepping into the arena, the higher the prospects of the
happy applying technology to their own work field. industry to reach further expansion. Proper training to groom the
The tech boom created work opportunities primarily in three upcoming joiners of the field is a pressing need of the time. While
forms: While some work towards further technical development, many complain that IT education in India is yet to come out of its
some others found their jobs in the maintenance of the systems, and infancy, initiatives have been taken by both the public and the
last but not the least is the huge pool of professionals applying private sector in the recent past to compensate for the lack. The
technology to their specific fields of work. The need for a steady Department of Youth Affairs, Government of India has come up
technological improvement made a vast array of jobs available before with various plans to extend computer education amongst the
the skilled techies, who with their knack for innovation and brains for youth across different social strata. Private institutes like Aptech,
scientific precision could come up with ideas for further NIIT, Arena and various others also introduced various courses to
improvisations in using technology. The technical requirements across suit different requirements and budgets. These courses are tailor-
different disciplines had to be looked after and thus came in the need made to meet the demands of the students who wish to specialize
for software developers who would take care to prepare software in a specific area.
suited for professionals from different arenas of work. Nasscom or With companies such as IBM, Tata Consultancy Services or
National Association of Software and Service companies reports that TCS, Cognizant and Polaris, the IT industry of India carries the
it was by the fiscal year of 2004-05 that the indigenous IT industry potential of creating ample recruitment opportunities for
crossed the benchmark of employing one million software experts, thousands in a year. The BPOs and the KPOs received a blow as
Amrita Rao
The cute Bollywood actress who first came to notice in ‘Ishq Vishq’ and later tasted big commercial suc-
cess with ‘Vivah’, requested an e-mail interview on her love for tech rather than chatting with ‘Live IT’ on
the phone. And she started her mail with the following message: Technicism will ultimately allow humanity
to control the entirety of existence using technology. Some day, human beings will be able to master all
problems and may even control the future with the help of technology. In many societies, technology has
helped develop today’s global economy and has allowed the rise of a leisure class.” And now, we come
to our Q&A session that reveals her love for tech, along with a balanced approach.
Are you a tech junkie or a novice? Phones and computers crash often. How would you
Neither. I have a balanced approach. While I appreciate and deal with a catastrophe like data loss?
understand tech, I am not addicted to it. I generally keep a backup on pen drives and DVD’s. So a
catastrophe like that wouldn’t mean much. Moreover, a
Is technology a man’s thing? maintenance executive comes regularly to keep them shipshape.
Technology is definitely unisex. With the economy getting a
boost once again, women are now open to experimenting with Which sites do you frequently visit on the World
hi-tech gadgets. Moreover, technology is topical and directly Wide Web?
related to one’s personal choice. I and my sister Preeta research a lot on Google during our spare
time. Otherwise, there are Style Kandy, Rediff, e-Bay, MSN,
What’s the most expensive tech toy that you have Yahoo and FTV for my daily updates.
purchased till date?
It is the Osim Uspace with seven in-built massage routines for Your take on Facebook and the social networking
the body and heated seats with sensors that automatically detect phenomena – is it a boon or a bane?
the acupressure points of the body. It’s an imported system and Well, I must admit that I have joined Facebook and Twitter quite
an industry friend gave it to me to celebrate the success of recently so that my friends and fans can keep track of my day-to-
‘Perfect Bride’, a reality show on ‘Star Plus’ (she currently judges day activities instead of getting it all wrong from source-generated
the show). It has been gifted to me so that I can unwind at home stories. I think such social networking sites are a fantastic way of
after my hectic day trips to Karjat where the shooting takes keeping in touch with folks around the globe in real time. They
place. It is easier this way instead of paying a visit to the beauty have great privacy features, too, and you can block users who seem
spa. The whole thing costs around Rs. 4 lakh. to be fraudulent. Also, fans can connect with their favourite stars
via the blogs. It’s basically an electronic version of fan mail.
T
ruth matters, but the best way to get at truth is to allow an
open contest of ideas. That’s why we need freedom of speech.
And that’s precisely how Ajay Sharma has managed his sales
teams over the years. “I believe in freestyle execution and
don’t force my sales team to do something if they are happy doing
something else if the deliveries are in place.” says the 51-year-old.
Today, Sharma has crossed many sales channels and only developed new markets in Turkey, Spain, Poland and Greece within a
emerged stronger every time. As the country head of HTC India span of four years. The next engagement was also one of his longest
that manufactures and markets its own brand of PDAs, – from 1994 to 2003. And he had worked for the leather export
smartphones and touchscreen devices, he has, indeed, come a long division – procuring and exporting garments, bags and accessories.
way. From pump sets to fuel injection equipment, pistons and rings, Just when the telecom industry was booming in India, Sharma’s
electric fans, mixer grinders, electric irons, detergent powders, company decided to launch its own brand of mobile phones. So,
shaving creams and leather products – Sharma can sell just about as the senior general manager of Usha Lexus Electronics, he
anything with his kind of selling expertise. However, corporate entered a completely new domain for three years. In the middle
honchos are often pushed to a corner where they are left with only of 2006, Sharma decided to move to a new company – Dopod
two options: hit back or let the pressure go. “I just lie down and International Corp. – a brand selling high-end PDAs and
close my eyes,” he says with great candour. “It doesn’t matter if the smartphones. But in May, 2007, the company was acquired by
TV is at full volume. I am able to separate myself and take it to Taiwan’s High Tech Computer Corp. Since then, Sharma has
another level of consciousness.” been a part of HTC. His job involves setting up India operations
What’s the mark of a good salesman? A person who can sell including sales team hiring, service operations implementation,
umbrellas to Eskimos? With Sharma, it goes beyond that. Armed distribution and other related functions.
with an MBA with specialisation in marketing, Sharma joined the Today, he has more than 29 years of experience in sales and
Shriram Group as a trainee sales officer in 1980. His job was to sell marketing. His valuable exposure at home and abroad has helped
Usha pump sets in Rajasthan. him evolve as a great visionary and motivator. At least that is what his
“It was straining, both physically and mentally,” he recalls. “Right colleagues at HTC think. “People value innovation, so our business is
from lead generation and tracking potential customer to file all about innovation,” he says, sitting at his wood-and-glass-panelled
processing, meeting the banker, getting the files approved, getting the Delhi office that overlooks one of the five star hotels in Saket – The
diesel engine ready and closing the deal – it was a long and tedious Sheraton. On Sharma’s work desk lie his three-year-old Toshiba
process. There was no ready-made customer hawking. You had to laptop and magazines on the mobile phone industry while his
find your customer every day, which meant travelling to remote areas drawers are filled with key samples of HTC devices. On the white
and meeting people in their farms.” board, there are action items to be done in the next couple of days.
After various stints in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Sharma However, work at HTC is more than just a 9–5 routine for
was absorbed by General Sales (Usha Intercontinental) as senior Sharma. It’s about building relationships and retaining those. The
export manager. Says he: “From domestic, I had moved to exports reason HTC is able to offer more and more innovative offerings to
where my job was to execute orders for detergent powders, shaving customers is due to its co-partners. “We value partners – distributors,
creams, dyes and dye intermediates. My responsibilities included mobile operators, software vendors … the list is pretty extensive,”
handling order executions, price negotiations, ensuring quality says Sharma. “We tend to carry our relationship one step ahead. We
standards and timely product delivery.” keep our customers and partners with us as much as possible.” True,
That’s when the USSR broke up and the CIS came into existence. indeed. Since its inception, HTC Taiwan has led the smartphone
The political upheaval also changed the business focus of the market through partnerships with Microsoft, Intel, Texas
company where Sharma worked. “We ventured out to general Instruments, Qualcomm, Orange, 02, T-Mobile, Vodafone,
currency markets. I was assigned to find new markets for dyes and Cingular, Verizon, Sprint, NTT DoCoMo, Palm and HP.
dye-intermediates (required for making dyes) used in the textile, The company has a rich heritage of device ‘firsts’. They
leather and paper industries.” In his new avatar, Sharma had developed the first colour palm-size PC way back in 1999 and the
“
treat India as a second-rung market, but we and to the customer because you can’t take a
treat it as a first-rung market and the result is short-term strategy and tell untruths,
there for you to see.” Unless you try to be especially when companies today are
So what’s so path-breaking about HTC? the first and take the lead holding on to their customers. Secondly, you
“Everything. HTC has always been a in offering the newest and need to be optimistic. You will have good
trendsetter,” affirms Sharma. “We are and bad times. In the end, what counts is
”
10,000-strong and one-fourth of the staff is
the best, you would never how you steel your nerve. You need to be
engaged in research and development. Our get noticed true to yourself. If you tried your best, that
people are learning about what people on should be consolation enough. Third, hold
the other side want. Our R&D team translates that into devices on to your customer and your sales team. When it gets difficult, lead
which are user-friendly and interesting.” from the front. If pressures are too high and you feel your team
Agreed. Sample the HTC Touch Diamond 2. You will find that cannot do it, take it upon yourself. Otherwise, the team will break.”
e-mail messages and sms-es from one person will be in one place, His way of de-stressing is simple – spending time with wife & kids
like a threaded conversation. So how does this help a go-getting and reading fictions & management books. “I read books like ‘Men
CEO of a multinational? He only has to ask the person on the of Steel’ to try and see what has been the differentiator for others
smartphone to hang on, press the e-mail icon on the phone’s and how they achieved so much success so quickly,” says Sharma.
keypad, access all his e-mail and give him an answer right away. He vacations also, twice a year. And his favourite haunts are the hills
The feedback time has reduced compared to those days when he of North India and the East countries like Malaysia, Thailand,
had to disconnect the phone, search his inbox for the specific mail, Singapore and Taiwan. But while at home, he is much too happy
read it and then call back. watching Discovery, Animal Planet and slapstick TV programmes.
With so much available right now, what’s going to be the future That’s not all. “I play some funny board games with kids including
like? “Once the 3G technology sweeps India in a big way, it will snakes & ladders and ludo. I just go back to the basics and it helps,”
make your life even simpler,” says Sharma. “For example, if you says Sharma. “I run through old pictures of mine. It de-stresses me a
turn the phone upside down, the phone will stop ringing. It will be lot. I also call up old friends to check what they are up to. It gives you
little things like these that will make the consumer experience more a good feeling. You start feeling younger after that phone call.”
simple, easy, interesting and enjoyable at the same time.” So what tops his phone wish list? “I wish I could control my home
Do great cooks memorise countless recipes? No. They have a with the help of my cell phone. Or access my CCTV camera via cell
grasp of basic ingredients and the ratios of ingredients that make to find out if the door lock is in place.”
great food. A similar principle works with Sharma. He owes much Who knows, HTC might achieve this feat soon. After all, HTC is
of this acumen, thanks to his early days at Usha. “The company is a master of tech innovations. And Sharma is its India captain. I
The Young
Web Designer
Resmi Jaimon
D
ozens of accredits at a very young age can sound like Now, the eleven-year-old Aquarian is eagerly persuing her
a distant dream for a young child but Sreelakshmi passion for designing websites like a true professional.
Suresh has proved that through hard work, one can Sreelakshmi’s stint with the computer started when she was
achieve success early. At the tender age of eight, she just two or three year old. Her father would let her sit on his
held record for being the youngest Web designer in the world. lap and work on Microsoft Paint. To start with Suresh,
“
decided to launch the website. My instruction from my father) that I
parents, teachers as well as my complete all my school work before
friends motivated me enough to Recognition starting with designing work. Once I
complete the project succesfully,” finish my homework, I spend time doing
says Sreelakshmi. The website was
has made me other things comfortably. Usually I spent
conscious about the
”
formally launched on January 15, around two hours a day for work, but on
2007. She describes the day as “the holidays I get more time to work on my
proudest day” of her life.
quality of my work websites.” Sreelakshmi is the only child of
In the last one-and-a-half years, she Suresh Menon, an advocate by profession,
has designed ten websites and is currently working on three. and Viju Suresh, a mathematics teacher in a local government
However, Sreelakshmi’s prime focus remains her studies. school. Sreelakshmi is passionate about travelling but with
Which is perhaps why she is not taking extra effort to market Suresh’s rigorous schedule, her holidays have usually been
her services. restricted to two- to three-days’ break.
Like other girls of her age, she digs on cartoons and loves
Latest projects to play with her friends. Growing up, she hopes to become a
Sreelakashmi recently launched her project software engineer. She is also studying animation and hopes
www.stateofkerala.in. The website gives important to create her personalized animated character some day. One
information about the state of Kerala. There is a “World of her poem, “Rain,” was published in the school magazine.
Malayali Directory” where Keralites can add their name and She is currently attempting her hand at glass painting too.
details free of cost. For content, she depends on periodicals
and other websites. Prominent figures like Kiran Ravindran Challenges
(film director) and Srinath Girish are some of her esteemed Sounds easy though but it isn’t easy for her to make difference
contributors. Famous cartoonist, Sadanandan (of ‘Balarama’ between the real and fake mails, related to enquiries about web
and ‘Manorama’ fame) has agreed to do ‘cartoon of the designing charges. “I am too young to differentiate between
week’ strip. what is real and what is fake. Sometimes, I do lose out on serious
She is also working on her next venture – enquiries,” she says candidly. Another problem she faces is in
www.tinylogo.com – is a logo-based search engine where all preparation of content and she depends on her clients to
companies or firms are permitted to upload their logo with a provide content for the site.
profile page. The website provides searching for brands Overcoming the odds, the young Sreelakshmi sails on with her
according to category. “It is an experiment but I am web design projects and is enjoting every bit of her journey.
Magic Keyboard
Want to carry your favourite keyboard wherever you go? You
can do that with a little bit of magic. That’s the Magic
Keyboard. It is foldable, washable, cleanable and dust-resistant.
So, the next time you depart on a vacation or on an office tour,
don’t forget to take your folding keyboard along. Working on it
feels much better than tapping on those clunky laptop keys.
Available at:
http://www.homeshop18.com
Price: Rs. 1099
Personal Safety
System for Women
In this big bad world, where purse-snatchers are lurking at
every corner, safety of one’s belongings is always a key
issue. Your attention wavers for a moment and a hoodlum
gets a chance to run away with your purse. Such a
scenario is too common everywhere. But there is one nifty
way to protect your belongings. It comes in the form of a
‘Personal Safety System’ that can be worn around your
neck for easy access when you are shopping, jogging or
travelling all alone. In a theft attempt, the activated alarm
stays attached to the stolen item and calls attention to
the thief.
Radio Control
Helicopter & Car
For families who have young kids growing up,
toys like the radio-controlled helicopter and
car can be good entertainment option. The
infrared-controlled helicopter is embellished
with a unique rotor-blade mechanism that
provides strong and steady lifting power for
flying. Its sophisticated design on rudder
mechanism enables it to hover steadily in the
air. The remote control car is naturally the
dream of every young child.
Mobile Express
Card Reader Everyday we meet a number of
people. With some we exchange
business cards and over a period of
time, we manage to gather a plethora
of cards. Now, keeping them all
together is the first concern. Enter the
Mobile Express Card Reader. This
device is uniquely capable of taking
down all the data from any business
card and storing it for your further
reference. So, there’s absolutely no
need to gather cards; you can now let
your reader do the job for you.
Q. How to get rid of temporary product key with the tool available at this link:
Internet files? http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328874.
Every browser that stores temporary Internet The last option is to format your PC. You can
files or cache has options to delete the same. consult your computer dealer if your PC is
For Internet Explorer 7.0, go to Tools> still under warranty.
Internet Options>General>Browsing History
>Settings. Here you can modify the temp file Q. I have downloaded some
settings. In order to delete temp files, just click YouTube videos but when I try to
‘delete’ under the ‘browsing history’ tab. play them, they don’t work. What
For Firefox, go to Tools>Options>Privacy should I do?
>Private Data>Settings. Again, here you can Most of the YouTube videos that are
modify the settings as per your needs. Click downloaded are in FLV format. So you can
‘clear now’ under the ‘private data tab’ to only play these videos using an FLV player.
delete temp files. VLC, GOM or Moyea are some of the media
players that let you play all kinds of videos.
Q. Are deleted files erased Klite Codec Pack is also a good package to
completely? install and play flv, as well as other video
Any data in the recycle bin can be restored. types. Otherwise you need to convert them
Any data that you delete even from the recycle into .avi or .mpg to play those on your media
bin can be traced easily with the right player. Some Websites or Firefox plug-ins let
software. The data that get deleted remain you to download the converted videos directly
hidden in the hard drive in such a way that but they are very heavy files and take a lot of
the PC cannot search for it. Basically, the time to download.
computer loses the file hierarchy to find such a
file in the system. But in order to erase data Q. When I try to login to a
completely without leaving a trace, it has to be Website, I get the following
overwritten. The computer eventually error message: Login failed:
overwrites these files completely when it fails Could not connect to server.
to find the hierarchy for a long time and space How can I connect?
is needed to write new data. File-erasing Try logging in again after some time and see if
software applications are also available that you can connect. In case you cannot, try out
overwrite the deleted data. the following:
Check your Internet connection and find
Q. I am getting this error out if it is working or not.
message every time I start my If you have recently installed an anti-virus
Windows XP: You may be victim programme or a firewall, it might be
of software counterfeiting. My blocking the access. Change the settings of
task manager is disabled as well. your security software if access to the
I have administrator rights but Website is blocked.
the system still asks for the If P2P software is open, it can also create
administrator when I press sudden disconnections.
Alt+Ctrl+Del. What should I do? If you are connected through a proxy server
This may be happening because you are which only allows HTTP data, it can be the
using an illegal copy of the software or you root cause. In such a case, you need to
may not have activated the software. On it configure the proxy server. If you are
might have been caused by a virus or unable to make changes, contact your ISP
spyware. You can run a full system scan or an for help. I
anti-spyware scan. Also, run the Windows
genuine copy validation tool (available at: If you have any queries, write to us at:
http://www.microsoft.com/ genuine/) to
editor.liveit@delhipress.in
check your Windows authenticity. If the
or mail your queries to
validation fails, you may have to purchase a
Live IT,
legal copy of the Windows XP. If you have
E-3, Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi - 110055
the Windows serial key, you can change the
Geekspeak
The amount of data
And most of the pictures on your that can be sent through
computer screen are raster a network or modem
API (Application graphics. More number of pixels will connection. The bigger the
Program Interface) ensure better image quality. But bandwidth is, the greater the
Refers to a set of commands, larger images definitely consume amount of data will be that
protocols and functions used more disk space. The image gets can be transferred within
by programmers to build distorted when it is scaled to a a stipulated time.
software for specific operating bigger size and to avoid such
systems. The end user is also situations, vector graphics
benefited as programmes are used.
Blu-Ray
using the same API will Similar to a CD or
have a similar user DVD, these are discs used
Captcha
interface. to record or playback high
Short for ‘Completely
Automated Public Turing definition (HD) video and a
Test to Tell Computers and huge chunk of data. A single
Blended Threat Humans Apart.’ It is a blu-ray disc can store 25GB of
It is a huge attack caused programme used to verify data while a dual-layered
by a combination of Trojan whether a computer or a blu-ray disc can store a
horses, viruses, worms and whopping 50 GB.
human is entering the data in
malicious codes that can
order to avoid automated
severely damage a
computer. programmes that fill
online forms.
Web Hosting
It is a service that provides
Open
Open Source server space and Web services
Refers to software tools
Media
to people or companies who
Any audio, video or text
that allow the end user to wish to lease Web presence
content that can be
modify them as per their without maintaining their own
shared on the Internet
requirements. Many of these servers. Internet Service
comes under open media.
applications come for free. Also, Providers (ISPs) usually provide
The software applications
higher versions or patches are Web hosting services.
are usually distributed
usually created by end users who under GPL or Creative
work on open source Commons licenses
applications and upgrade
the same for better Authenticity
FoiP
efficiency. Laptop Skin Describes authentic
Short for Fax
Stickers used to certifications or in
over Internet
customise your laptop social media, real
Protocol. You
Trojan Horse body. The adhesive layer people showing
can transmit fax
These are viruses ensures that the laptop skin online presence via
messages over a
posing as utility stays fastened onto the laptop blogs or social
VoIP line with this
applications. But when cover. Usually, a good networking
technology.
installed or run on a adhesive layer will allow for profiles.
computer, the Trojan easy and clean removal
Horse can definitely of the skin from the
damage your surface.
system.