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.

MY WINDOWS 7 HOUSE PARTY PACK : THANK YOU MICROSOFT

1. Two months back I had registered to host a house party on the occasion of launch of WINDOWS 7( :-)...the secret known to beta testers) ...the next generation windows OS after answering a few FAQs on Windows 7 without realising that I would end up as a winner of the signature edition of the house party pack including the original Windows 7.I got the confirmation from microsoft two weeks back......still then I had thought of it being some spam mail....till I got the tracker ID from DHL....so since last two weeks have been waiting to get that pack of Windows 7....and finally today I got the pack today......and it looks like this .......grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr8...thanks Microsoft for the dabba.....so happy to use a genuine edition of a Windows OS for the first time!!!!!ha ha ha!!!!that to on my name direct from the US of A.

...thanks Microsoft again....and lets meet u guys at the webinar day after!!!!

RADIATION EFFECTS & UR MOBILE - QUANTIFIED

1. We all hear about how the radiations emitted from our mobiles keep effecting us on the wrong side……but what are the specifications laid down for quantification of these effecting variables? What are these variables ?How much do they effect us? Do separate mobile handsets effect us in different ways?Are their any safe limits in these? What are the available standards?

2. The first and the most significant variable is the Specific absorption rate (SAR) , a measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field. It is defined as the power absorbed per mass of tissue and has units of watts per kilogram. SAR is usually averaged either over the whole body, or over a small sample volume (typically 1 g or 10 g of tissue). The value cited is then the maximum level measured in the body part studied over the stated volume or mass.

3. SAR is used to measure exposure to fields between 100 kHz and 10 GHz. It is commonly used to measure power absorbed from mobile phones and during MRI scans. Few specifications of good and bad mobiles as found rated from TOI site at their INFOTECH tab are shown below with details :

SAMSUNG IMPRESSION : GOOD

Maximum radiation: 0.35 Watts per kilogram (W/kg) (based on reported radiation level when held up to your ear)

SAR when held at the ear: 0.35 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.83 W/kg

MOTOROLA RAZR V8 : GOOD

Maximum radiation: 0.36 W/kg

SAR when held at the ear: 0.36 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.86 W/kg

SAMSUNG SGH-T229 : GOOD

Maximum radiation: 0.38 W/kg

SAR when held at the ear: 0.38 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.69 W/kg

MOTOROLA MOTO VU204 : WORST

Maximum radiation: 1.55 W/kg

SAR when held at the ear: 1.55 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.58 W/kg

BLACKBERRY CURVE 8330 : WORST

Maximum radiation: 1.54 W/kg

SAR when held at the ear 1.54 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body 0.99 W/kg

4. United States: The FCC requires that phones sold have a SAR level at or below 1.6 watts per kilogram (W/kg) taken over a volume of 10 gram of tissue while European Union specify SAR limits within 2 Watts/kg taken over a volume of 10 gram

5. So next times some one asks you or even mentions about radiation effect of mobiles on health….just make the aspect more clear of weather of not his/her mobiles in meeting the S.A.R norms or not?

6. Thanks Wiki,Tech gadgets and TOI.

THE FUTURE OF OSs : MICROSOFT VERSION

1. Microsoft's involvement in playing a key role in the field of future operating systems can be gauged from the fact deciphered below in successive paragraphs.

2. So when Microsoft tries working on the futuristic versions of operating systems...the surprise is that windows does not come in the discussion....windows is out...yessss!!!it is terms like MIDORI,SINGULARITY,BARRELFISH,HELEOS.....the names must be sounding french to people like me....just read ahead!!!

MIDORI

3. Midori based on their Singularity operating system research project is an experimental operating system, in which all code, even device drivers, and the kernel itself are written in managed code, making the operating system much safer. The operating system also has a large focus on concurrency.Midori is in incubation, which means it is a little closer to market than most Microsoft Research projects, but not yet close enough to be available in any kind of early preview form to users.

BARRELFISH

4. Barrelfish, an OS written specifically for multicore environments. It hopes to improve the performance of boxes with such chips by creating a network bus and calls itself a multi-kernel operating system. Its focus is on leveraging the increasing number of cores in desktop processors. The mainstream operating systems today, Windows, and Linux, have both been designed for single-core computers, with multi-processing support added on later. 

5. The Barrelfish project instead tries to redefine the entire operating system keeping in mind that multi-core is here is stay. Today we have dual-core, quad-core, and even hexa-core, but given a decade, we may be looking at hecto-, kilo-, or even mega-core computers! These will require a rethinking of the very organization of the operating system.

6. Barrlefish does just that. It treats the multi-core processor environment as a collection of networked processor cores, and applies the concepts used with distributed computing to manage the execution of the computer's processes. This has the effect of making the system much more scalable. An interesting part of this approach is also 

that the processor cores need not be homogeneous! The multiple kernels could all be running on processors of different architectures, one kernel might be executing on an ARM, while another on a x86, and a third on a GPU!

HELEOS

7. Heleos, another research OS in MS labs and their latest revelation, takes the concept of heterogeneous multiprocessing further, and introduces "satellite kernels".It explains that current operating systems are designed with a homogeneous running environments in mind. For this reason, an operating system is written for either an IA64, or an x86, or a PPC, or an ARM platform, however it cannot leverage all of them. Our computers however are no longer homogeneous. We have CPUs and GPUs of different architectures, each with multiple cores. The GPU is highly optimized for a vector processing, and has an architecture which vastly differs from that of the CPU, with a completely different instruction set and performance characteristics. 

8. The Helios project introduces satellite kernels, which essentially presents the developers with a "single,uniform set of OS abstractions across CPUs of disparate architectures and performance characteristics." This satellite kernel is a micro-kernel, and runs all other services and drivers in individual processes.

9. With Singularity and Barrelfish both available as open source releases, it seems Microsoft might just be headed for a more open future. 

10. Thanks DIGIT and Microsoft for the updates.

DUAL SCREEN CAMERA : SAMSUNG ST 550 & ST 500

1. Earlier I had discussed about one dual screen laptop....then we all know about big touch screens on mobiles in so many versions,shapes and sizes.Ever wondered what purpose would a dual screen serve in a typical digital camera.Just scroll down and see the pics to get the concept...i am sure u will appreciate it!!!!

2. Delivering an unrivalled user experience, the 1.5 inch LCD screen located on the front of the camera now allows consumers to take first-rate photos by themselves in addition to the one who is busy clicking.

3. Thanks http://www.samsung.com/sg/news/newsPreviewRead.do?news_seq=14419

SECURITY ESSENTIALS : NO MORE "MORRO"

1. So it has been launched finally after a long wait...a few debates...a few hues and a not so lots of publicity....the microsoft antivirus "SECURITY ESSENTIALS". I downloaded it today and saw thats it is veri light at least as on date and has been able to capture the regular worms and malwares that were present in my desktop.

2. One problem for most of the Hindustani's......it only works on genuine microsoft windows....since prior to installation it checks if you have a genuine windows...if NOT ..then it comes out in between installation without procedding ahead....

MORRO : THE MICROSOFT SIDE OF ANTIVIRUS

1. Impregnable news is coming in that Microsoft is ready to launch its free anti-virus software called Morro for personal computers. This is a huge competition in making for security software leaders like Symantec Norton Antivirus and McAfee Anitvirus software.To address the growing need for a PC security solution tailored to the demands of emerging markets, smaller PC form factors and rapid increases in the incidence of malware, Microsoft Corp. plans to offer this to the new consumer security offering focused on core anti-malware protection.

2. Code-named “Morro,” this streamlined solution will be available in the last quarter of 2009 and is likely to allow comprehensive security from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. 

3. The surprising news is that Microsoft isn't bundling Morro with Windows.Currently in beta testing, it was available for download to the first 75,000 people in the United States, Israel, People's Republic of China and Brazil.

4. Morro” will take advantage of the same core anti-malware technology that fuels the company’s current line of security products, which have received the VB100 award from Virus Bulletin, Checkmark Certification from West Coast Labs and certification from the International Computer Security Association Labs. 

5. “Morro” will be available as a stand-alone download and offer malware protection for the Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems. When used in conjunction with the ongoing security and privacy enhancements of Windows and Internet Explorer, this new solution will offer consumers a robust, no-cost security solution to help protect against the majority of online threats.

6. Microsoft in an open source mooood!!!!!!!!!!

LIGHT PEAK TECHNOLOGY : INTEL

1. Your internet connection at home and office would be happy biting at 10 or 100 Mbps, how about being able to get upgraded to 100Gbps over the decade! yes...INTEL has thrown some light on this vide the new Light Peak technology that uses light instead of electric signals to transmit data, meaning faster speeds, smaller cables, and less signal loss. The subject technology is already in use in data-centers, but has not been able to gate crash into mainstream computing yet. 

2. In the coming year Intel plans to release this technology for use in consumer devices and mainstream computing, for the first time giving people the taste of transfer speeds up to 10Gbps. Light Peak is the code-name for a new high-speed optical cable technology designed to connect electronic devices to each other while allowing high bandwidth starting at 10Gb/s with the potential ability to scale to 100Gb/s over the next decade.

3. Light Peak consists of a controller chip and an optical module that would be included in platforms supporting this technology. The optical module performs the conversion from electricity to light and vice versa, using miniature lasers and photo detectors. 

4. Since this as optical technology, multiplexing multiple connections over a single cable will be much simpler, and thus a single cable cold be used to connect your computer to multiple "peripherals, workstations, displays, disk drives, docking stations, and more."

5. Light Peak is designed to be cheap, and in fact claims to be smaller and cheaper than current telecom modules. The Light Peak optical modules are up to 120 times smaller and up to 30 times cheaper than current telecom modules! The optical fibres used in it are in fact nearly as thin as human hair, and use LASER chips called VCSEL (Vertical Cavity, Surface Emmiting LASER) which are a mere 250 microns by 250 microns.

6. Comeeeeeeeeee ON....what r we heading for in next 50 years....our generation is the lucky one to see all this quick transition from files,postman to emails and Light peak transfer rate.No other generation other then the present one would see this difference....kids today are born without seeing a postman in their galiiiii....born with computers and laptops in hands of ma and pa..

7. Thanks DIGIT & www.engadget.com