When EARS Speak!!!

1. Do you any of the following :

(a) That your ears make sound?

(b) That these are know as otoacoustic emissions?

(c) That this has a biometric angle?

(d) That any two persons always have different otoacoustic emissions?

2. I am sure most of you don't because the exploitation of this fact has been recently discovered.Although it has been known from quite some time, that our ear makes sounds of its own, sometimes due to a scientific principle called otoacoustic emissions1, other times in protest to the loud music we listen to. In either case, the sounds are too weak to detect using normal microphones.Although scientists knew about these sounds since the 1940s, it was only with improvements in microphone technology in the 1970s, that it became possible to detect these otoacoustic emissions (OAE).

3. Recently though it has been suggested that such sounds may in-fact be used for biometric security devices of tomorrow. The variations in each person's OAE can be used as a metric for determining one's identity. The technology is as simple as a microphone!

4. A good enough microphone embedded in any device can be used to detect these sounds, and accordingly confirm ones identity, and be eventually used by banks to confirm the identity of a person over the phone, or by the phones themselves before they allow someone to make a call!

5. So for example,as on date when u speak to a customer service at a bank...u r supposed to tell you DOB,Phone number or street address for verification before you actually demand a solution to your account query...not so will be required in near future...wherein your phone set will be able to detecty the sound in your ear and verify your identity...nothing to memorise....plain simple unique identification.

6. Otoacoustic emissions can be clinically important as they are the basis of a simple, non-invasive, test for hearing defects in newborn babies and in children who are too young to cooperate in conventional hearing tests.

7. The good thing is that dead people do not emanate otoacoustic emissions.So unlike Hollywood movies...wherein a cut thumb or extracted eye have broken the identity procedures...this one won't....

Charge cell phones by using Radio-Waves

1. Here comes another first from NOKIA...no more charging from your mobile chargers...no more that last minute search to find that hidden mobile charger....now charge from a mixture of 78.03% nitrogen, 20.99% oxygen, 0.94% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, 0.01% hydrogen, 0.00123% Neon, 0.0004% helium, 0.00005% krypton, 0.000006% xenon or more simply AIR!!!!!!

2. Nokia says that in a few years time, they will be able to charge cell phones by utilizing close radio waves. This conniving and shaking up technology could lead to brobdingnagian reductions in energy demand if every cell phone could pull a charge of juice out of thin air.

3. Researchers at the Nokia Research Centre in Cambridge in the UK are working hard on a technology that can harvest small amounts of energy from ambient radio and TV waves. The cell phone would pick up radio wave frequencies as low as 500 megahertz up to 10 gigahertz, which includes television broadcasts, microwave ovens, mobile phones, wireless LAN, bluetooth, GPS, and two-way radios. In theory, two circuits would be capable of receiving and then converting the free energy to an electrical current to charge the battery of a cell phone.

4. Hopefully, it would be enough energy to keep the phone charged in standby mode; although at first it won’t be adequate to charge the phone while in use, or to full battery capacity. So far, the device can collect up to 5 milliwatts of power, and the short term goal is to collect 20 milliwatts of power, which is just enough to keep the phone charged in standby mode. Ultimately, 50 milliwatts of power would be ideal and could help slowly recharge the battery.

5. This technology could be applied to other electronic equipment as well. Radio waves could be used to charge MP3 players, handheld devices, Kindles, portable game players, etc. Nokia isn’t relying on this type of technology alone to power their phones, they are also looking at integrated solar cells to work in conjunction with this new development. Deployment of this feature in Nokia phones is still at least 3 years away. We’ll be standing by with our waning cell phones waiting for word.

6. Thanks http://technochest.com

HP in the racists scoooop!!!

1. Phenominal is the pace at which the IT Sector is growing and Interesting are the ways in which few errors happen one of which I am mentioning down.....

2. The issue has attracted worldwide attention this month, when a US Black man known as "Black Desi" posted a YouTube video that showed his HP webcam built in to its new computers refusing to track his face but on the other hand it could do so just fine for his white friend Wanda.Titled "HP computers are racist", the YouTube video quickly attracted more then 500,000 hits and showed Black Desi's webcam working as it should when his work colleague "White Wanda" stepped in front of the camera, but when "Black Desi" got in front, no face recognition took place.

3. What does HP have to say about it?

""

"We thank Desi, and the people who have seen and commented on his video, for bringing this subject to our attention," it said in a blog on its help page.

"The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty 'seeing' contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting," the blog added.

""

4. So what would have happened is like this !!!!!HP would have conducted all QC tests in their labs which in all probablity would have involved only the whites......HP by now mut have enrolled few Blacks for better QC of their products in their labs......well that was just in good humour....

5. To errrrrr is human.....and to IT errrrr is HP.

2010

This number is not to be connected with any Microprocessor or any IT equipment......this comes to wish you all a VERI

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

BIDI makes LCD touchscreen A PASSE past

1. This is definitely going to be some thing new for most of the readers.....the following article makes the present touchscreen a PASSEE by introducing the BIDI.

2. The BiDi Screen is an example of a new type of I/O device that possesses the ability to both capture images and display them. This thin, bidirectional screen extends the latest trend in LCD devices, which has seen the incorporation of photo-diodes into every display pixel. Using a novel optical masking technique developed at the Media Lab, the BiDi Screen can capture lightfield-like quantities, unlocking a wide array of applications from 3-D gesture interaction with CE devices, to seamless video communication.The BiDi Screen uses a sensor layer, separated by a small distance from a normal LCD display. A mask image is displayed on the LCD. When the bare sensor layer views the world through the mask, information about the distance to objects in front of the screen can be captured and decoded by a computer.

3. This allows a typical LCD screen working by interpreting hand gestures, without touching the screen.This allows viewers to control on-screen objects by waving their arms in the air without touching the screen, let alone a mouse or keyboard.Although users can touch the screen to activate controls on the display but as soon as they lift their finger off the screen, the system can interpret their gestures in the 3-D.

4. "This is a level of interaction that nobody's ever been able to do before," New Scientist quoted Ramesh Raskar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, as saying.The screen - dubbed BiDi, short for bi-directional - allows users to manipulate or interact with objects on the screen in three dimensions.

5. It will also function as a 3D scanner, he adds. "If you spin an object in front of screen, the software will stitch together a 3D image."The new system uses an array of optical sensors that are arranged behind a grid of liquid crystals, similar to those used in LCD displays. They physically control how much light passes from the display's backlight.In the new system a regular grid of hundreds of pixels spread across the screen use their liquid crystals to create a tiny hole that acts as a pinhole camera lens, focusing an image of the scene in front onto a thin translucent film a few centimetres behind the LCD.

6. Those images are detected by a camera inside BiDi, allowing the device to know what is happening before it.

7. Thanks http://infotech.indiatimes.com and http://web.media.mit.edu/~mhirsch/bidi/

Y2K Bug!!!!Do u remember the time?

1. I was just wondering about the time when the much-hyped Y2K crisis had come in with a long, sustained roar and went out with a mewl.While the world excogitated dire predictions of massive global infrastructure failures -- everything from elevators to air traffic control systems was rumored to be vulnerable , the specter of a total paralysis of business operations resulting from cascading Y2K failures galvanized organizations into a frenzy of activity. For many CIOs, the unprecedented size and scope of addressing Y2K problems was the biggest project of their careers.

And then it was over. On Dec. 31, 1999, the world held its breath and nothing happened. Jan. 1, 2000 came in just like any other day. There were no major failures to report anywhere.

2. Today after 10 years....I feel the time has just rolled like a ball....so quickly we are a decade ahead of that night....the night that was a wakeup call for every one who felt that there is no need of IT then....the night that showed how heavily we r banked on the IT......

3. Thanks to http://www.computerworld.com for making me remember that.

Google Binged!!!! - My 100th Post

1. For so many days wanting to upload some post but just could'nt find anthing so interesting before I read about this.

2. From the time Bing was introduced and pitted against arch rival Google,there have been talks and forums across proving each others superiority over each other.Now for the first time some one Big has come up with this.....it follows down..please read!!!

3. A Mozilla official today advised Firefox users to the extension that adds Microsoft's Bing to the list of the browser's search engines after Google's CEO downplayed consumers' privacy concerns.

4. Citing a clip from a CNBC broadcast shown below, during which Google chief executive Eric Schmidt discussed online privacy, During the interview, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt was asked: "People are treating Google like their most trusted friend...should they be?" It was Schmidt's answer that motivated Dotzler to show users how to drop Google, Firefox's default search engine, for rival Bing.

"IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW, MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE," SCHMIDT TOLD CNBC. "IF YOU REALLY NEED THAT KIND OF PRIVACY, THE REALITY IS THAT SEARCH ENGINES, INCLUDING GOOGLE, DO RETAIN THIS INFORMATION FOR SOME TIME AND IT'S IMPORTANT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE ARE ALL SUBJECT IN THE UNITED STATES TO THE PATRIOT ACT AND IT IS POSSIBLE THAT ALL THAT INFORMATION COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE AUTHORITIES," ADDED SCHMIDT.

5. Asa Dotzler, Mozilla's director of community development, then on provided a link to the Firefox extension that adds Bing to Firefox's search engine list.

6. Google chief executive Eric Schmidt would be now trying to undo his statement in some form but the arrow has been shot….and the dent on the google is seen……so googler’s Be ware now on!!!!!!

7. Thanks http://www.computerworld.com

LAPTOP Face Recognition falls FLAT!!!!

1. Now this is one interesting thing to read.All those claims by Saif Ali Khan in his ad promoting one company for face recognition feature introduction had made its way out of the IT World.....well....so it seems!!!!read ON.........

2. Experts from Bkis Internet Security in Vietnam have proven how easy it is to defeat this.In front of technology experts, authors and press representatives from different countries participating in an internet security conference, Bkis experts demonstrated the vulnerabilities in Face recognition function on Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba laptops. Even when set at the highest security level, the laptop could not prevent Bkis expert Mr Nguyen Minh Duc from breaking into the system. With some technical tricks, Duc in turn logged onto Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba computer at the amazement and continuous applause from the audience. Everyone was really surprised to see how a famous and trusted security technique could be broken so easily.A Pic is shown below from actual demo loc.In some cases,even the owners of Facebook profile photo could be printed and used.

3. What the researchers found is that the technology just isn't that hard to fool. Even photographs that have previously been digitized and distributed, like those on Web pages or transmitted through videophone conversations, will do the job.The model exploits the flaw in image processing. In other words, it uses a photo of a person instead of his/her real face. It works because the algorithms will process in effect digital information.Provided those conditions, an attacker might take some photos of one user within the system, perform some image editing, regenerate “special pictures” and penetrate into the system.

4. Now the worry point is that Biometric data, including facial recognition, is increasingly being built into passports, drivers licenses and other forms of ID. Australia and Germany both use facial recognition to control access and determine identity at border crossings, and the U.S. and other countries are moving in that direction. So....ab kya hogaaaa?

5. Thanks http://www.examiner.com,http://www.bkis.com and Chip magazine.

Green Dam Youth Escort : What's that?

1. The title suggests that it has got something to do with college unions doing thier bit contribution in saving some water or fighting over some water dam issue.But its nothing like that.It is the name of a firewall which is a first of its kind official government imposed content-control software developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under a directive from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) , it is mandatory to have either the software, or its setup files accompanied on a compact disc or pre-installed on all new personal computers sold in mainland China, including those imported from abroad. 

2. The firewall software is to be made a mandatory pre-requisite for new computers sold in the country, as a meaure to help stamp out pornography and other vile elements on the Web. The move thus has been widely criticised by industry groups and officials as rash, politically intrusive, technically ineffective and commercially unfair.Few of the features of the software are enumerated below :

• Designed to work with Microsoft Windows operating systems,the software is specifically aimed at restricting online pornography but could be used for other purposes.
• Green Dam Youth Escort automatically downloads the latest updates of a list of prohibited sites from an online database, and also collects private user data. 
• Green Dam recognizes pornographic images by analyzing skin-coloured regions, complemented by human face recognition. The software is incapable of recognizing pictures of nudity featuring black- or red-skinned characters but sensitive enough to images with large patches of yellow that it censors promotional images of the film Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. 
• The software's misrecognition of "inappropriate contents" in applications including Microsoft Word can lead it to forcefully close those applications without notifying the user, and so cause data losses.
• The software runs only on Microsoft Windows x86, so Microsoft Windows x86-64, Mac and Linux users are ignored. Even on Microsoft Windows, the software is known to interfere with Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, and is incompatible with Mozilla Firefox.
• Some computers sold in China already come with parental-control software, but it isn't government-mandated.
  

3. The latest good news for the chinese people is that for the time being the compulory shipping and installation by the user has been put on hold.

4. Thanks http://www.circleid.com and off course wiki like always!!!!

D-ROLL : No end to imagination

The tashan of modern gadgets which apart from being fashionable are getting smaller, slimmer ,sleaker and smarter day by day . And the latest creation to catch eye is “D-roll” or “digital roll,” the new device works like a regular laptop, but rolls up to be a side bag or even a backpack for easy transportation. Designed like an artist’s tube, the D-roll Laptop features a roll up OLED screen and a slide out keyboard, together with a mouse and a detachable webcam that can be worn on your wrist when not attached to the system. The mouse and web camera can also be used as the end caps for the laptop case, while the straps double as ports to plug in your USB devices. 

RDM : Rival for BLU RAY?

1. Even before Blu ray product's have been able to reach the consumer,a new rival by the name of RDM(...in short for Royal Digital Media) has come out with HD VMD(Versatile Multilayer Disc) and CH-DVD(China Blue High-definition Disc) -- all set to tittupp into town to challange BLU Ray. Royal Digital Media has introduced its bona fide Blu-ray rival... while casually forgetting to name it. These "high-definition discs" will be able to store up to 100GB and will boast military-grade encryption. RDM's format "will transform perceptions of high-definition," as it is able to "display the next generation of high-definition: 1920p."

 

2. DreamStream is the first company to implement a 2,048-bit encryption in consumer media. AES encryption, used in Sony's Blu-ray discs, relies on only a 128-bit system. 

3. For consumers, RDM's increase in storage capacity allows for a single disc to hold approximately four hours of video content at 1920p resolution. 

4. Because RDM's system is based on inexpensive red laser technology, their players are expected to sell for much less than Sony's, which routinely sell for hundreds of dollars. The retail prices for RDM's players and discs are expected to "equal those of the traditional DVD format, greatly undercutting Blu-ray," .

5. RDM's technology can be implemented into existing DVD production processes through the integration of a proprietary software and firmware system. The only potential hardware modification is, "at most, the simple replacement of a single chip," said Levich. As such, existing DVD manufacturers will be able to integrate RDM's technology with only minor modifications to their production processes. 

6. RDM's players are backwards compatible and able to read traditional CDs and DVDs. Moreover, an innovation in data processing enables RDM's players to "drastically enhance the playback quality of regular DVD content," said Diebel. 

7. The incorporation of DreamStream's encryption into RDM's system will thwart the piracy of digital content. The content of RDM's discs will only be able to be read by RDM's players. Thus, ensuring that the content cannot be copied and illegally distributed. Will it really?....so many claims till date on such issues have been found cracked a day after launch…well for now ALL THE BEST for the new BLU ray rival.

8. Thanks http://dreamstream.info

KINDLE : WELCOME TO INDIA

1. Kindle has finally reached the shores of Hindustan.For those of you,who are puzzled of what KINDLE is all about  what be able to judge a fair idea from the pics below.An e book storage and reading device. 

2. Capable of  wirelessly downloading  books, magazines, newspapers and personal documents ,the Kindle screen has no backlight, so it doesn't give out the glare a normal screen would. The navigation is fairly simple and all the text content is custom formatted.  

3. The device features a 2,50,000 word dictionary that can be accessed independently to look up a word, or from within text. It can also play MP3 but the quality of sound takes rating  this on the back foot.The  battery life that comes due to the electronic ink display. On a single charge it can last up to two weeks without the wireless network on. And 2-4 days with wireless! 

 4. Indian users can avail of a catalogue of 2,80,000 books, each downloaded in about a minute over 3G GSM or EDGE. There are no data charges for downloading a book, the service for which is provided globally by AT&T and its international partners.  

5. Kindle is weighs around 290 grams, almost the weight of advanced mobile phones. The display specifications include 6″ diagonal E-Ink® electronic paper display, 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 16-level gray scale. The Kindle offers  2Gb of Memory Storage though 1.4Gb would be available to the user and they dont have to connect it to a PC if they need to transfer ebooks because it has inbuilt 3G connectivity & Wi-Fi connectivity. 

6. However, the Kindle does not have any sort of content filtration or rating system, so there is the risk of mature content being easily accessible to minors. So, will the Kindle tinkle in India? Well a few things go against it. First is the price tag …sources put it at about Rs 20,000/-.

7. Thanks www.thinkdigit.com and www.amitbhawani.com for info.

1 MBPS BROAD BAND CONNECTION : HUMAN RIGHT IN FINLAND

1. If there was any further proof needed of how much the Internet is affecting human lives and can help enrich it, just look towards Finland. The country has become the first in the world to make broadband Internet access a human right, making us consider whether we should move there or not.

2. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has stated that starting next July, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection. That’s right, 1Mbps. And here in India, we start jumping around when the same is offered for upwards of Rs. 1,500.

3. The biggest kicker, though, is that in another six years, the Finnish government wants to make 100Mbps speeds the mandatory minimum for all its 5.5 million citizens. Granted, that’s a small population, but it still throws a poor light on almost all other governments across the world.

4. And yes, some variations of the above will be allowed if connectivity can be managed on mobile phone networks.

5. It’s unfair to compare India to Finland, given the gross discrepancies, but doesn’t this make your blood boil? There’s hardly any broadband penetration in India, Internet speeds are a joke and let’s not even get started on 3G.

6. Thanks Indiatimes.com for the info

NIKON S1000PJ : DIGITAL CAMERA WITH INBUILT PROJECTOR

1. The thing that was till now thought of as futuristic has finally arrived...and that too at a reasonable and worthy price....the title says it all...DIGITAL CAMERA with a inbuilt PROJECTOR.

2. The first one to attempt this and allowing the consumers to exploit this is NIKON...vide model NIKON S1000PJ as shown in pic and video below.