IT ostracized!!!!!

1.         Few days back a petition was filed at the Bombay High Court calling for a ban on Google Earth citing that terrorists used this mapping service to plan attacks on key emplacements in Mumbai, on 26/11. It reminded me of a similar instance of army wherein few years back Pen Drives were banned following some breach of security information.

2.         “ Mindset” comes as the key to such pudden-head and dullard bans. Such Mindset is linked to the low IQ and literacy level of such decision seekers. I have also read articles wherein similar bans were asked for WiFi connectivity at various places.Now moving on these lines I have a few sample bans which should also be taken care of to eliminate security breach:

a.         Why not ban manufacturing Vehicles in which the terrorists or the offender moved from the source          location to the destination location quickly?

b.         Why not ban mobile phones across India so that they cannot plan further?

c.         Why not ban manufacturing or accessing computers in this country owing to which all this is taking place?

d.         Why not ban manufacturing Guns/Rifles and ammunition?

e.         Why not simply ban INTERNET in India?

3.         So why just pendrives or google earth? It is indeed staggering the way decisions are being made and sought in this country. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to me if access to Google Earth is banned in this region in some time.

4.         What we actually need is to find a way out to tackle these…elimination is not the solution.

5.         The IT quotient of aam aadmi (which indeed hold the majority) needs to actually improve before it gets too late.Be it the defence or the civil.Till the time the defence General saab knows what can be more lethal then pen drive,till the time judge saab of the court knows what power IT holds today…what decision will he be able to make?However big they may be in terms of respectable positions and appointments,they would still form the TAO group(harayana wala) who still believe ke bhayaa ye computer shamputer kuch na karkey dega…karna sabko khud padega…………!!!!!!!

Fighting LIGHTSCRIBE !!!

1. I bought my laptop few years back and I had exploited all its features including Blue Tooth,WiFi,Web cam,running high processing softwares to test its 2GB RAM,CD/DVD Writting etc but not LightScribing.

 2. This term in easy terms would mean printing on CD/DVD just like you take a printout on paper…..will get more clearer from the picture inset…..I had read some theory on this on how it works and what is the procedure of doing the light scribe but practical always remained a backlog till last week when I got the opportunity to do some thing on it.

 3. LightScribe is an innovative technology that uses a special disc drive, special media, and label-making software to burn labels directly onto CDs and DVDs. These have a limitation of being in Black & White only as on date. Because the labels are laser-etched—not printed—there's no ink, no smudging, and no peeling. Your labels can be whatever you want them to be. Create one-of-a-kind designs with your own photos, text, and artwork using your label-making software. Or choose from the many free templates available on the net.

4. The first thing I required was the light scribe DVD.Now finding lightscribe DVD in a small town (..I hope the jalandharite’s don’t mind on that....)is also a problem . Shopkeepers have to be explained N number of times of what it is ? and still they never understand. You usually get comments like “kya saaab....matlab cd pe screen  printing ha ha ha....That apart I finally got one opportunity on leave to visit the IT hub Nehru Place in New Delhi.

5. At Nehru Place,I got to know of the variety of Light Scribe DVDs available.They range from Rs 400/- to Rs 1800/- for a set of 10.To find out the reason of difference in price it was not the company or brand,but something to do with the quality of laser coating on the DVD.The costlier the DVD,the better would be the contrast and the cheapest of them would give you a relatively darker burn but would be good enough to see the image you have burned.So I went ahead with the Rs 400/- to experiment with.

6. Next thing was the software. My laptop came preloaded with Home Vista Basic which made its way to heaven immediately on arrival since I wanted it to work with Vista Ultimate. So the preloaded Light scribe HP software was gone and I thought of installing it from the SWSETUP/LSHSI folder.As i started it , I got the message “UPDATE_SHELL_COMMAND” property must be set on the command line”…so straight I asked god!!!…(Has google become God?)..so came many answers and threads to solutions but nothing could solve it.So I started looking and experimenting with numerous third party software’s and I tried “Sure Thing CD Labeler”. The name of the software went with the meaning and solved my problem. Easy Installation, Easy Writing, No Hassles,No DLL’s missing and no message to mess with ““UPDATE_SHELL_COMMAND”.So got my first LIGHTSCRIBE as shown in pic.

INTEL & BIKE

1. When I first got to know of the joint embarking between Intel & OCC ie Orange County Choppers,global manufacturers of rugged & custom choppers(….we call bikes). I read the whole article once again to believe it and leaped 15 years back …of course in memoirs…when I got my first bike Hero Honda SPLENDOR.This bike ruled the Indian roads for a good 5-6 years with no stiff competitors around till 2001 when Bajaj PULSAR was launched with the DTSI 150/180cc with the option of a DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER….the first of its kind in the bike segment in INDIAN context.

2. The kind of spark this created to the bike customers was stupefying.In no time Pulsar swept over the bike segment complete in all aspects. Marketing, sales, roads….colleges, schools, offices….Pulsar made its comportment every where just because of its Male look(..as advertised) and of course a small  contributing factor was the electronic speedometer which made Bikies like me think then if ever computer will do something with bike. 

3. So it first happened about 2 years back when Intel® and Orange County Choppers got together to build an Intel® themed masterpiece. They needed a computer that could take all the abuse the bike would dish out and still be flexible, portable, and powerful enough to power all the systems of the bike.Black Diamond Advanced Technology (Black Diamond), a technology development firm specializing in the design and implementation of rugged electronic systems, provided engineering support to create a fully computerized Intel® themed motorcycle by Orange County Choppers.The following are the key features of interest :

a.         “Sunlight Viewable Detachable dashboard” and fully computerized processes on the motorcycle such as keyless ignition and electronically controlled kickstand activation.Keyless ignition is replaced by finger print recognition software. The figure shows a pictorial representation of how the dash board looks like.

b.         Designed to meet military specifications to endure shock, vibrations, dirt, water and extreme temperatures). PC features a custom module that allows for easy portability of the computer, which is mounted between the handlebars on the motorcycle.Portability means you can take the detachable dashboard from the parking stands to your office and open Microsoft Word and do some office work after attaching the keyboard.

c.         Rear-mounted cameras that replace standard rear-view mirrors,so web cam time is no more confined to your desktops and laptops...it has started making presence felt in vehicle infotainment.

d.         Audio and video systems integrated with the handlebars and headset in the helmet 

e. Wireless connectivity including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS.

f.        Processor details includes 1.0 GHz Intel® Celeron® M processor, 1GB of 400 MHz DDR2 and can run Windows XP, Vista, CE, Mobile or Linux, packing the power of a desktop PC in a lightweight, handheld rugged form factor.