How big is your red zone?

Every activity worth doing has a learning curve. Riding a bike, learning to read, using Facebook... the early days are rarely nothing but fun.

Take a look at this three part chart. The first shows how much joy someone gets out of an activity. Over time, as we discover new things and get better at it, our satisfaction increases. At some point, there's a bump when we get quite good at it, and then, in most activities, it fades because we get bored. (In the top graph I've also added the Dip, showing the extra joy from being an expert, but that's irrelevant to this discussion).

The second graph shows the hassle of that same activity. Riding a bike, for example, is horrible at first. Skinned knees, bruised egos. Twitter is really easy to use the first few times, so not so much red ink there.

The third graph is just the two overlaid. That zone on the left, the red zone, is the gap between the initial hassle and the initial joy. My contention is that the only reason we ever get through that gap is that someone on the other side (the little green circle) is rooting us on, or telling us stories of how great it is on the other side.

The bigger your red zone, the louder your green dot needs to be. Every successful product or passion is either easy to get started on or comes with a built-in motivator to keep you moving until you're in. This is so easy to overlook, because of course you're already in...

Oh what a Hopeless Life it has been...!!!

This is exactly what any engineer would say warming his chair in a building totally devastating the environment by producing ozone pro gases and not to mention , the same air that we breathe in and out for around 8 hours in our cubicle, just to make sure that we are not living healthy for few bucks that we earn.

Let alone other factors and emotions, This one statement proves, once stated by any individual, means that we are not doing justice to our life and that we ought to seek more life outside.

We have chosen this mode and living and evidently this has been a disastrous journey ever since.



Its better Late, than Never. Yes, it is absolutely better to be late than to have never ended up doing anything.

I always wondered, what if we didn't have to travel to work, What if we didn't have to work and still make some money (interesting isn't it!!!).

All these thoughts not just provide an insight into one's mind, but they also show just how vulnerable we all are, when it comes to daily chores of life.

Now,

If you have just read the article above, it has no beginning and no end and that exactly how life is everyday. Unless we start planning our everyday life, we will be in a continous loop and it is never going to end.

So Everyday, make sure you say this Statement, which will in turn help you realize that you are not alone, and start kicking the daily chores of your life with full energy and enthusiasm.

Good Code

Here's how to write a good code. In case you are a programmer, you gotta follow this. Remember to KISS [Keep It Sweet n Simple]

src: www.xkcd.com/844

Absolute Nonsense by Mr Gill, Our abased Sports Minister!

"Formula 1 is not a sport and India does not Need it"- M.S.Gill(Sports Minister of India)

This was exactly the response when our beloved Dr. Vijay Mallya, proposed and introduced Formula One to this country stricken by corruption, poverty and everything bad. We all have seen What sports in India is after CWG. I damn sure and I know what sports means to these ministers.

One can always, What good is Cricket and Why does India need Cricket? Maybe Mr Gill has some personal profits and privilege arising from Cricket.

What a shame and a ridicule, we as Indians have to face, because of One such Minister's individual opinion!!!
Since when did we start following communist policies and I believed, ours was a Democratic Government.

One cannot consider this response by an Nonathletic, Unsporting Sport minister as a sign of Humility, but in fact displays how obsequious this individual is and the manner of such lowly conduct and knowledge he possesses about Sports.

No wonder, our generation has not seen sports, the way we should have seen it.
No wonder, our athletes are ridiculed for there ability in sports.
Its the root that has decayed and not the abilities of our hardworking athletes and sportsmen.

Perhaps, before making such a statement, he should read through the History of F1, which addresses such a magnanimous growth technology, never to be dreamed before, and how sports could become a Major factor in the growth of technology.

Of course its a costly sporting event, by it does not mean, we should be ridden from it.
Imagine what Formula 1 could sponsor, if it is hosted in India: Introduction to New Technology, our Book mugging engineer would start thinking in practical terms and Start applying the technology, rather than reading or seeing the technology. This would factor in many such innovations, although we are late by a century compared to other countries.

Why isn't our Minister thinking about this?

Whatever the argument is, I am sure, our Bloody sports minister is thinking about his personal gains and benefits of holding his chair as A Sport Minister and this is all it takes to initiate corruption.

Person of such a lowly conduct should have never been appointed as a Minister, let alone Sports department.

However, having said all of the above, it is my personal opinion and i believe, there's not much difference when it comes to Opinions and Arse-H#@l@s, Both Stink!!!!

My n'th Encounter with Viruses !!

I seem to have developed an affinity towards Virus.  Well, I am referring to computer virus here and certainly not an issue with my personal immunity.

I recently encountered an virus attack and I was amazed and surprised by this beautiful virus.
Here's the scenario of the virus attack:

I have a Flash drive of 4GB which i recently used at a local photocopy vendor someplace. When i gave it to him, I had all my contents intact in the drive and then after the photocopy boy took a print of the file i had intended to take and Viola- All my contents of the drive, expect the file, had Gone.. Yeah.. Zuuuup!!! .. I had absolutely no idea about whatsoever had happened to my device. Contents just disappeared.

Of-Course, as any other conman common man would ;) , I panicked and Started thinking of a recovery method. After a bit of research, I pity this guy who had introduced this virus, because, it fell in the Right hands of the wrong person. :). Firstly, Poor creator of this virus had chosen the mighty VB Script for this virus, which is the first mistake, while writing the virus because it's easily breakable. Secondly, he had left a contact number, which he should have never mentioned.

After a bit of thinking and some recovery methods, I cracked this virus in matter of minutes .

I was ashamed and surprised at the level and severity of the virus and the way in which he had chose to write it.  This bugger who created a virus, left a bloody cell phone number and despite many efforts trying to call him, he never bothered to pick my call. Not sure if that was out of fear or something else.

I just wanted to tell him how silly his virus was and complex a virus can be written in future and 2 minutes of his computers access could ruin his entire life's efforts. (I mean it!!! ) :)

Moral of this post is : " If you create a virus, It better be Fast, It better be robust, It better be strong and invincible" And My advice : "Never ever ever leave a phone number within the virus "- This could help tracking the person down and cracking his skull :) :P

Happy hacking :)

Magic Lantern

If you've got one of Canon's amazing video-capable DSLRs, you know you've got a powerful camera. What you may not know is that you can add some incredible features, for free, with an open-source firmware add-on called Magic Lantern. Here's how.


Magic Lantern probably best explained by its creators in the video below, but it is essentially an enhancement that works on top of Canon's firmware to provide great new features to your video-capable Canon DSLR that you'd expect to see on a professional video camera. For example, you have much finer control over audio, can overlay a zebra pattern to see overexposed areas of the frame, add custom crop marks for various aspect ratios (like 2.35:1), set up programmable focus, and more. It's incredibly easy to install (which we'll walk you through in a minute) and will let you do things with a DSLR that have generally only been possible with cameras that may cost more than your yearly wages. To get more information directly from the source, download the firmware; you can check compatibility with your particular Canon DSLR at the Magic Lantern Wiki. Now that you know what it's capable of and where to get it, let's dive into installing and using it.



Magic Lantern introduction from Trammell Hudson on Vimeo.

For more information, please follow the links below:
Where to get Magic : http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki
For more about the product: Magic Lamp
Featured on LifeHacker by author Adam Dachis

Who's Suing Whom?

Critical Thinking

Here's an exclusive design which represents the current market scenario for all the top jobs where critical thinking is a basic requirement.

This info graphic makes a complex data such as the Jobs and their respective salaries so relevant and easy to read.

Found on Thinkwatson.com

One Minute on Facebook

One Minute on Facebook

Its interesting to see what all happens within a minute, or say 60 seconds of Facebook. Its really amazing to see how Facebook handles such a dynamic data and works efficiently, without notable crashing.

Here's another info-graphic for those people who are obsessed with Facebook :)

Full Story on Mashable

Evolution of the Bat MOBILE

Here's a post dedicated to all the Batman fans
It represents the evolution of the Bat Mobil over a period of 70 years.

Phew!!! :)

Top 50 companies to work for!!!

Recently Glassdoor.com, a very good website to find out reviews and information about the companies, announced a List of Top 50 companies to work for.  


The ratings are based on Employee satisfaction which plays an integral role for a company to succeed in all aspects. Here's a snapshot of all the Top 50 companies that one can wish to work for.

Facebook, rated No 1 Company to work for, is indubitably, the Leader in this segment and has managed to beat Google, which stands at No 30. Based on this results, one would certainly agree with the fact about the kind of revolution Facebook has created and also provides the belief that, there is potentially no end to creativity in technology. 

Facebook or rather Mark Zukerberg has set himself as the right example to prove the fact that, Technology can become outdated, but never obsolete and this forms the fundamental rule and a basis for our survival in near future. There is no end to technology until the human race ceases to exist. We are in the core of the Revolution called "The Social Networking" and there are many more such revolutions expected in future. 

Source :www.glassdoor.com

My Next DIY Project : Ugly Duckling Study Lamp

Hey ya'll,

 Was thinking of buying a study lamp for myself, as I had to have one at home.  So when i started researching the variety of study lamps available in today's market, I bumped into this awesome creation by a Hong Kong based designer Karmic To. 

This is an awesome interpretation of a literary story, wherein a ugly duckling who matures into a swan. You will be amazed at how simple this design is and how creative one can get with simplicity. 

Its wonderful to see how To has interpreted this idea using PVC pipes, which are so commonly available and a material often leftover from construction or renovation. He uses the pipe in combination with discarded plastic bottles to create these beautiful, yet ugly :), aesthetic table lamps. 

The design itself represents in a way, the neck and head of swan, which provides an aesthetically appealing piece of art, just composed out of some ugly resources. Hence the name Ugly Duckling ;) 

Designer karmic has certainly inspired me to do this as my next DIY Project and will post the shots of my new Ugly Duckling Study/Table Lamp asap. 


Source : Design Boom

Why graphic designers are Hard to Date!!!!

;)  :)

How much is a PetaByte

The preceding infographic, provided by the online storage site Mozy, is an intense look at all the qualities of a petabyte, which is equal to one quadrillion bytes. Quite a lot of memory, right? To put things into perspective, one single petabyte is equal to 20 million four-drawer filing cabinets filled with text, as the graphic notes. It’s also equal to 13.3 years of HD-TV video. So, how much are 1.5 petabytes equal to?  That’s the size of 10 billion photos on Facebook. When you start getting into 20 petabytes, you begin looking at crazy numbers, for 20 petabytes is the amount of data that Google processes on a single day. And get this, the total manufactured hardrive space in 1995 was equal to about 20 petabytes.  Ready for  a stat sure to shake you out of your boots? 50 petabytes, only 30 more than 20 obviously, is equal to the entire written collection of work by all of mankind (in all languages) since the dawn of civilization.  So, when you consider that Google processes 20 petabytes in a single day, it’s not inconceivable at all to think it will one day have records of every single text in human history. I mean, they are already processing more than 50 petabytes of data in a given week.

Since this graphic was created by Mozy, you might be wondering how many petabytes Mozy has stored, and the answer to that question is roughly 15 petabytes.  The graphic contains many intriguing facts, such as the fact that that worldwide datacenters now annually consume as much energy as Sweden. Hardrives are getting larger and larger, but they remain affordable because the price of them continues to go down. In 2007, Hitachi announced the world’s first terabyte hard drive which holds 1000 Gigabytes.  One company, Colossal storage, predicts that it will have a 1.2 petabyte hard drive on the market in the next 2-5 years.

How to talk like a beer snob

We keep wondering what beer & "KICK" is all about. Here's a info graphic representation on How to Learn the language of Beer. 

~~~

\m/ (*1*) \m/

Via : Infographics showcase

Volvo with a Volt

Here's one problem companies face when trying to build practical electric cars: Batteries are heavy. If you want to give an electric car more range, that means you need a bigger battery, which means a heavier car, which means it takes more energy to move it. It's a tricky problem.

Volvo might have a solution. The Swedish car company recently announced that it has been working with Imperial College in London to develop a "composite blend of carbon fibers and polymer resin" that can serve as a car's body panels while also functioning as a battery, storing and releasing energy. Future Volvos could be literally made out of batteries. The company's press release candidly admits that "at the moment this is just a fascinating idea," but it does add that "tests are currently under way to see if the vision can be transformed into reality."

If it can, electric cars might get a whole lot cheaper, and the same material could be used to shrink the size of anything that requires a battery: think cell phones and laptops.

Source: https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/enhanced/en-gb/media/preview.aspx?mediaid=35026

Smart Fingers

Heard of Smart Chips, Smart Eyes, Smart Cells. How about Smart Fingers, 

Go back into the history of measurements and we know that in the ancient times, body parts used to be the standard for measurements; hence ‘a foot’. The need for uniformity paved way for the metric and imperial systems that are now commonly used. However our basic instincts still make us want to use ‘a span’, ‘two finger spaces’ or ‘an arm’s length’; old habits die hard I guess! To resolve this and bridge the gap between digital accuracy and human approximations is the Smart Finger. It is a device that caps your thumb and forefinger (or any 2 fingers) and uses the signals relayed between the two finger points to calculate the measurement.

• The Smart Finger is made from silicon to offer a comfortable fit to any finger size.
• It can help measure length, breadth, and volume in a very intuitive way through simple button operations.
• The distance (measurement) is calculated on the basis of the time taken by the signal to beam from one finger tip to the other and back.
• The measured distance is displayed through LED.
• The device sports 2 buttons that help display the measurements in different units, record and store the measurement, calculate volume and area plus view the information in text format (details on how to operate are explained in the images).

Energy Server

Yes, It is an Energy Server and it produces Electricity! 


There have been many companies which have been and will be working to get to the zenith of fuel technology. But very few have surpassed the labyrinth of obstacles to be the most efficient energy provider. 


Here is one such company, Bloom Energy, based out in Sunnyvale, California. Co-founded by an Indian Scientist working as an Advisor for NASA, KR Sridhar. 


So what is this product called Bloom Box and what makes it one of the most sought after energy efficient device by most huge corporations? Accordingly, Bloom Box is like an industrial-sized refrigerator, that sucks up oxygen on one side and fuel (natural gas, biomass, etc) on the other. Reports say that Bloom Energy bakes sand and cuts it into little squares that are turned into a ceramic, which are then coated with green and black “inks.” Using a special process,  Bloom Energy creates these ceramic discs and stacks them together interspersed with metal plates of “a cheap metal alloy.” The bigger the stack the more power the Bloom Box will create. Below is a video of how Bloom Box looks like:





For more visit, 
http://www.bloomenergy.com/products/

Dirpy -- Very Useful Web Utility

Dirpy Studio, 

Dirpy Studio, which is currently in beta, is a tool that lets you download or convert your favorite YouTube videos to high quality mp3s in real-time. Dirpy Studio provides many useful features like real-time transcoding, id3 metadata tags, offsets, support for high quality formats (including HD), and more.

Dirpy also provides a powerful file search tool to help you find audio, video, archive, and executable files hosted in open directories across the web.

This is an amazing tool for those Web Monkeys who keep downloading YouTube Videos in different Video format.  This will provide the utility of converting any Video files to High Quality MP3's. 

They Say, Necessity is the Mother of Invention, Thanks to people who Uploaded Audio Songs in the form of Videos, ( People go Bonkers for Piracy !! :P ), Otherwise, DIRPY would never have been invented. 

Go DIRPY'ing around Yipee!! Cheers!!!

Most Physically and Cryptographically Secure USB Flash Drive

Always wondered How to Protect Data if  it stored in USB Flash Drives, & if it's Stolen! 

Some of the ways we can think of protecting the data would be to Simply Destroy it, without letting the information to be transmitted later. Here we are talking about a Device something similar to the one's we've seen in Hollywood Flicks like Matrix or Mission Impossible, Batman. 

The device destroys itself after the eject sequence is initiated or If any Data is being hacked. Poof !! & the Device corrupts the data. This seems like the Device has a mind of its own , well rather a Destructive mind at that. 

There are some devices in the Market which have the capability of corrupting the data by means of Encrypting it or perhaps by Asking for necessary validations for a limited number of times. But all these can be Cracked & Hacked. 

Of late, I have been thinking about an Agent on a device which can perhaps do the Job of Destructing the Device if it gets stolen.  

Say we have a GSM compatible Data Storage USB Flash Drive. 

The name says it all, The Device can Simply Communicate by sending signals from the Client Machine on which it is used,  To a Server or the Cell Phone which will authorize the Authenticity. In this case the Cell Phone could receive an SMS, which when Replied back with the Right Password will authorize the Owner. 

Lets imagine the Scenario, If the Device gets Stolen and Data has been tried to access or being Formatted.

In this case, The device sends an SMS to the Owner for Verification and If the Owner is aware that the data is being Stolen, then the Device alerts him by an SMS. Now there is a Situation which demands to have Two Passkeys/ Password: One for the Actual owner to use the Device & Secondly The Password to be used To Corrupt the Data. 

In this case if the Owner Replies the Second Password/ Passkey, which corrupts the Data, The the Device which is stolen Just goes POOF!!! & the Data is Corrupted permanently. 

This scenario explains the various technologies that can be used to develop these Agents, which do Wonderful things to these Machines. It's a Great world of Cryptography and Tremendous Opportunity for the Human Race to work upon something Real.  

There are many such Companies which just do the Encryption & Decryption part the Hardware Device, But none of them which Aims to Provide the Real Security. Below is one such device which claims to be the World Most Physically & Cryptographically Secure USB Device;

IronKey S200 is the First and Only USB Storage Device to Achieve FIPS 140-2, Level 3 Validation; Delivers Advanced Cryptochip Featuring AES-256, Tamper-Resistance and Self-Destruction Circuitry

 Highlights of IronKey S200:

• The first and only USB flash drive to meet the rigorous government security requirements of FIPS 140-2, Security Level 3.
• Hardware-based AES 256-bit encryption in CBC mode.
• Tamper-resistant and tamper-evident rugged metal case.
• Secure management of encryption keys.
• Anti-malware capabilities in hardware provide an unprecedented layer of protection from malware and prevent its spread onto enterprise and government networks.
• AutoRun lock-down protects against worms.
• Read-only mode prevents malware on infected hosts from infecting IronKey devices.
• Trusted network restrictions prevent IronKey devices from unlocking on uncontrolled PCs.
• Optional anti-virus/anti-malware scanning cleans the devices in the background.
• Dual-channel architecture enables significant performance when writing large and small files to the drive.
• Includes extended-life flash memory capable of running high-bandwidth applications such as data backups, virtual machines, or bootable mobile desktops.
• Enterprise Management Cloud Service over the Internet for the enforcement of security policies, security and anti-malware updates, and the tracking and auditing of hundreds or thousands of devices.
• Optional Enterprise Management Server that customers can host themselves.

IronKey FIPS 140-2, Level 3 Validation:

• The IronKey S200 USB flash drive has been awarded FIPS certificate 1149.
• IronKey S200 includes the ability to prevent intruders from gaining access to Critical Security Parameters (CSPs ) held within the cryptographic module.
• The physical security mechanisms required at Security Level 3 validate that IronKey thumb drives can detect and respond to attempts of physical access, use or modification of the cryptographic module.
• IronKey includes the physical security mechanisms required for the validation including the use of production-grade components, hard potting material to encapsulate the chip circuitry and a hard metallic enclosure.

Enterprise Management Service Enhancements:

• Mac support for Silver Bullet service provides remote wipe, comprehensive tracking and rich reporting capabilities.
• Configurable time-out policy enables the ability to automatically lock devices after a specified period of inactivity.
• Search capabilities help to locate device information by user name, email address, serial number or other specific information.
• Enhanced backup and recovery capabilities from previous Password Manager to the Identity Manager.
• Management capabilities are available as cloud-based SaaS or on-premise server software for flexibility in meeting organizational requirements.

Nature's Fury

Name : Geo Sink Hole "hundimiento"

Size : 20 meters deep and 15 meters wide

Location : Guatemala, 15º 30' N and 90º 15' W  [ Located in Central America and lies between Honduras and Belize ]

Root Cause Analysis : Overwhelming saturation of rains from tropical storm Agatha. { Not Photoshop, sadly }

Autonomous Flying Drones

Robotics developers at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich's Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control have built autonomous robots that drive, dock with their peers on the ground, then fly into the air in coordinated swarms....all of this without human direction. In fact, the vehicles can drive around on the ground as individual, autonomous units, but "it is not until they assemble that they are able to fly," according to the researchers:

These modules are organized as distributed computational units with minimal sensory input. This is a complex system that is rich in dynamics with much room to explore various strategies of distributed estimation and control.

More about the little buggers here, on the researchers' project website.

Video: Distributed Flight Array (YouTube video from The Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control)

Report on the project here, at Wired Danger Room.

How it all works, in an infographic that follows...

The ABC of Ssl: Super Duper Encrypted Security in an Age of Internet Commerce

You have most probably viewed a digital SSL certificate in action by visiting sites where an “s” appears in the http:// of an address bar. The “s” stands for “secure” and indicates that data being exchanged by the web site and your Internet browser has been coded or encrypted. Additional proof of a secure web connection is provided through the appearance of a little padlock at the bottom of the browser. Internet Explorer 7 provides the added advantage of confirming a secure status through a color-coded address bar .

In case you have wondered how all this is articulated, wonder no more because we are here to tell you how.

Simple Definition

The abbreviation “SSL” stands for “secure socket layer” which is one of the many ways to code, scramble or encrypt online data. This form and level of encryption is achieved through the use of complex algorithms. Today, the standard level of encryption used when transmitting sensitive data over the Internet is called 256 bit SSL encryption. This form of digital data protection ensures that communication between a web site and your browser is first scrambled and coded at the point of departure and then subsequently decoded when it arrives at its chosen destination. In other words, even if the data is intercepted by a malicious software application or by a live individual, the data is not compromised in any way, shape or form.

SSL Certificate Wish List

Like everything technical, SSL certificates come in various strengths and combinations. Which SSL certificate is best for you depends largely on the type of e-commerce company you operate, your transaction volume and the level of browser access you wish to provide to your customers. Your SSL certificate vendor is in a position to perform a needs assessment on your site and recommend the right digital SSL certificate for you.

Standard SSL Certificate

For starters, there is the simple, garden variety vanilla SSL certificate which provides protection only to a single domain also known as FDQN or Fully Qualified Domain name. The most popular versions of web browsers currently in use such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Safari are fully compatible with this certificate. This SSL certificate is incompatible with sub-domains. If you have more than one sub-domain which you need to secure, you have a better option available which we will explore in a moment.

SGC SSL Certificate

The second category of digital SSL certificates is called the SGC certificate. SGC stands for server gated cryptography and essentially allows you or your online customers to use old 40 bit legacy browsers to step up to 128 or 256 bit capacity and thus provide an added layer of security. This SSL certificate costs much more than the starter SSL certificate described above and may not be worth the extra expense.

EV SSL Certificate

EV SSL certificates provide an unprecedented level of security and protection through confirmed identity assurance. Until the advent of this certificate, your customers had no visible indication on the browser to confirm that you were a legitimate and a verified enterprise. EV SSL certificates work in tandem with all popular browsers and indicate through a symbol of trust, a green address bar or even a clearly spelled out message, that your corporate identity has been verified by the SSL certificate authority. This process of verification is implemented by asking you to submit corporate documentation such as licenses, articles of incorporation, bank statements, phone bills and other forms of verifiable evidence. Internet Explorer 7 currently provides the maximum amount of information to site visitors about the nature of this SSL protection. The address bar in Internet Explorer 7 has been programmed to change colors to reflect the security level of the connection. The address bar turns green when the SSL encryption is fully in place. Additionally, this browser also displays the name of the SSL certificate provider as well as the name of the certifying authority. Since these attributes are available only in EV SSL certificates in conjunction with Internet Explorer 7, investing in this class of SSL certificates is worth a serious consideration. If you happen to be an established Internet commerce company and have the funds to invest in this class of SSL certificates, this might be the right protection package for you and your customers.

Wildcard SSL Certificate

A wildcard digital SSL certificate is ideal for you if you have a need to secure a primary domain and a host of sub-domains through data encryption. Under normal circumstances, SSL certificates tend to secure only a single primary domain or a sub-domain. For instance, if you had one primary domain such as http://mybook.com and two sub-domains such as http://library.mybook.com and http://research.mybook.com, you would have to invest in three separate SSL certificates. A single wildcard SSL certificate, on the other hand, can protect not only the primary domain but an unlimited number of sub-domains. This results in significant cost savings for those who need this level and quality of protection.

SSL Certificate Bottom Line

Digital SSL certificates can start from as low as $70 and can go all the way up to several thousand dollars depending on the class and strength of certificates you require. SSL certificates have a dated validity and usually expire in one year. To save money, it is best to purchase certificates with multiple year validity and shop around carefully during renewal time. The price for an SSL certificate typically includes the cost of customer support, trouble shooting and a warranty to cover losses arising out of protection failure in rare instances.

To Buy or not to Buy

Everyone knows that the Internet has created new avenues and opportunities for e-commerce. Unfortunately, this unbridled growth has also stirred up the criminal element. Until now Internet commerce companies did not have a viable solution to this rather serious problem, but now we do in the form of potent digital SSL technology which guarantees unparalleled cyber protection to one and all. More information about SSL with Purpose can be found athttp://ssl.live2support.com

Via : Technology Blog

Save Money By Not Spending It … on IT

Whether your business is traditional or Internet-based, every entrepreneur should understand that a business exists to earn profits. To earn profits, a business can do either or both of these two things: increase revenue, or cut down costs. Of these two, cutting on costs is definitely much easier than increasing income.

Use Best Practices:

1. Use Skype to cut your phone bill. Work smarter, get more done, talk more to your clients, cut your phone bill. Free calls, video and instant messaging, all-in-one.

2. Get free software. Ubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need – a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.

3. Stop paying for software: switch to Open Source software. Business software is outrageously expensive, but there is an option. Open source computer software is free, available all over the internet, and often performs better than big label programs. For example: use OpenOffice instead of MS office.

4. Cut costs when setting up your online store. Think going online has to cost an arm and a leg? You can start out by selling items for next to nothing on online auction sites like eBay and Yahoo! Auctions.

5. Use Linkedin and Facebook. Don’t waste money on recruiters. Get inside of linkedin and Facebook and start looking for people-it works better anyway.

6. Use Skype. For about $40/year, you can use Skype and call any number in the US and Canada, anytime.

7. Ask for a better price. Negotiate everything. When you’re shopping for any type of goods or services for your business, always ask for a better price. The worst that can happen is the supplier will say no–but they might say yes …  By merely asking, you can oftentimes purchase at a discount.

Source : Technology Blog

Internet Speed Problems – 4 Simple Ways to Speed Up Your Internet Surfing

Surfing the Internet is becoming an essential thing in most of peoples life. Unfortunately, more and more PC users battle with an awfully slow internet speed. The sluggish internet speed will cause much inconvenience to computer users. With the poor speed, you can do nothing but just waste your precious time. Here, I would like to discuss some easy ways to improve internet speed with you guys.

1. Internet Speed Problems caused by Binding too many Agreements on Network Card

Slow internet surfing speed is a usual problem among LAN users because there are too many agreements binding on the Network Card. If a NIC is bound lots of agreements then the computer has to spend more time on identifying which agreement would transmit a certain group of data that passes it. PC users will feel uncomfortable at the moment when they are surfing the Internet. Here is a solution for this situation:

a. Use a Network Card to run only PPPOE agreement to connect ADSL; this will provide the exterior connection of internet. b. Use another one to run other agreements in order to boost its performance so that the speed of internet surfing would be improved obviously.

2. Internet Speed Problems caused by Unbound TCP/IP Agreement.

Unbound TCP (Transport Control Protocol)/IP (international agreement) may be caused by reasons as follow: a. the driver of Network Card is installed incorrectly. b. There is a problem with quality of Network Card. c. PCI slot is broken. Solution for this situation: You should uninstall NIC driver in the Device Manager at first—-reinstall the driver after you reboot your computer. If you still fail to improve the internet speed with this solution, please change a PCI slot for Network Card or change a new one.

3. Internet Speed Problems caused by low quality of telephone line.

If the phone line is affected by some bad extraneous factors, network device will adjust client access rate automatically and dynamically according by the quality of line and transmission distance. The Internet surfing Speed also will be affected by the export bandwidth, the website line from opponents and the device configuration if you try to visit foreign website.

4. Internet Speed Problems caused by too much installed Internet Explorer plug-ins.

Internet Explorer plug-ins would be installed or loaded on your computer automatically when you open Internet Explorer and visit website. Surfing speed of course will be slowed down by too much Internet Explorer plug-ins.

It is highly recommended to use some optimization tools to optimize your speed of Internet and clean some disused Internet Explorer plug-ins to speed up Internet surfing.

Source : Technology Blog 

RSA Cracked!!! Yipeee

1024-bit RSA encryption cracked by carefully starving CPU of electricity !!!

Since 1977, RSA public-key encryption has protected privacy and verified authenticity when using computers, gadgets and web browsers around the globe, with only the most brutish of brute force efforts (and 1,500 years of processing time) felling its 768-bit variety earlier this year. Now, three eggheads (or Wolverines, as it were) at the University of Michigan claim they can break it simply by tweaking a device's power supply. By fluctuating the voltage to the CPU such that it generated a single hardware error per clock cycle, they found that they could cause the server to flip single bits of the private key at a time, allowing them to slowly piece together the password. With a small cluster of 81 Pentium 4 chips and 104 hours of processing time, they were able to successfully hack 1024-bit encryption in OpenSSL on a SPARC-based system, without damaging the computer, leaving a single trace or ending human life as we know it. That's why they're presenting a paper at the Design, Automation and Test conference this week in Europe, and that's why -- until RSA hopefully fixes the flaw -- you should keep a close eye on your server room's power supply.

The Register, TechWorld University of Michigan

Programmer's Naming their Childern

You can always tell what language a programmer works with by the way they names their kids.

• COBOL programmers give their kids long hyphenated names … like ANNA-MARIA, MARIE-CLAIRE, or HORATIO-ALOYSIUS.
• RPG programmers give their kids short names … like BOB, SUE, JOE, or AL.
• C programmers don’t name their kids … they just point to them.

If you’re not a programmer, you probably won’t get it.!! :)

Why did the Chicken cross the Road!!!

GEORGE W BUSH

We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL

Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

To die in the rain. Alone.

MAHATMA GANDHI

The Chicken crossing the Road was an Act of Non Violence to demonstrate Peace. We Shall also Cross!!

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR

I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question.

GRANDPA

In my day, we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS

Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

JOHN LENNON

Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together – in peace.

ARISTOTLE

It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

KARL MARX

It was an historic inevitability.

BARRACK OBAMA

To boldly go where no chicken has ever gone before.

SIGMUND FREUD

The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity.

BILL GATES

I have just witnessed eChicken2003, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet explorer is an integral part of eChicken.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the
chicken?

BILL CLINTON

I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE

I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS

Did I miss one?

DONALD RUMSFELD

We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY

Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it!

HILLARY CLINTON

No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS

Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

Trustworthiness is in the Beard!!!!

Dark Future of Dating ...:)

Malamanteau

visit : www.xkcd.com for more..

Your Eye's "megapixel" Resolution

Ever wondered How many Mega Pixel is our God gifted Eye made up of ..? Well here's some thought for that.. 

The average human retina has five million cone receptors on it. Since the cones are responsible for colour vision, you might suppose that this equates to a five megapixel equivilant for the human eye.

But there are also a hundred million rods that detect monochrome contrast, which plays an important role in the sharpness of the image you see. And even this 105MP is an underestimate because the eye is not a still camera.

You have two eyes (no kidding!) :)  and they continually flick around to cover a much larger area than your field of view and the composite image is assembled in the brain - not unlike stitching together a panoramic photo. In good light, you can distinguish two fine lines if they are seperate by at least 0.6 arc-minutes (0.01.Degrees).

This gives an equivilant pixel size of 0.3 arc-minutes. If you take a conservative 120 degrees as your horizontal field of view and 60 degrees in the vertical plane, this translates to ...

576 megapixels of available image data.

Curiously - as a counterpoint to this - most people cannot distinguish the difference in quality between a 300dpi and a 150dpi photo when printed at 6x4", when viewed at normal viewing distances.

So: although the human eye and brain when combined can resolve massive amounts of data, for imaging purposes, 150dpi output is more than enough to provide adequate data for us to accept the result as photographic quality.

But don't forget that women have more cones and men have more rods - I kid you not. Therefore the ladies see colours brighter than gents but can't see as well when it gets dark. Yipee.. We have an Advantage.. heheh .. :) 


See Good things :   www.flickr.com/photos/vabiosis 
Listen to Good things : http://listen.grooveshark.com
Talk good things :   :D No websites for that ...:)