Saturday, May 09, 2009
HP and VLC at logger heads?
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
WORK : New Definition
1. The Center for Disease Control has issued a medical alert about a highly contagious, potentially dangerous virus that is transmitted orally, by hand, and even electronically. This virus is called Weekly Overload Recreational Killer (WORK). If you receive WORK from your boss, any of your colleagues or anyone else via any means whatsoever -DO NOT TOUCH IT!!!This virus will wipe out your private life entirely. If you should come into contact with WORK you should immediately leave the premises and do the following :
a. Take two good friends to the nearest liquor store and purchase one or both of the antidotes
i. Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE)
ii. Bothersome Employer Elimination Re-booter (BEER).
b. Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Briefcase PC
1. Now this is likely going to be the longest one till date in terms of what I write since a lot of work and effort has gone into it. The idea had been obsessing me for months now about fitting a PC into a brief case. I got the mite of this possibility from one of my senior colleagues Baiju last year. Some how I thought with a year down the lane, with a much better form factor available now a days I would be able to squeeze “More in Less”. So when I got the official permission from my honcho in the office, I was quick in exercising the same.
2. Where to start from ? So the first question came to my mind about where to start from. Whether I start from selecting the mother board or first I select the most lilliputian brief case available in the market or the smallest monitor or what? So I googled a good deal on if any one can give me lead on this ,but what I generally got from the web was assembled lot of pc essentials with a cobweb of wires. So I came back round round to where I was primitively of the search.
3. By now I had started having a feeling of thriftlessness as I had invested or should I appositely say wasted about 5-6 days on the issue of where to start from? So eventually cogitated to start from the smallest mother board. So the recent Digit magazine and Amod Sir(big boss of IT related issues in my circle) suggested that go for the recently launched atom processor based essential series mother board.
So when I finally got one on my table it looked like in set. A real treat to start with. Ideate a mother board with processor that encroaches only 7 inch by 7 inch area. So I was happy to start with this and finally made it final for selection.
4. Some thing about the mother board. Now this one is designed to support Internet-centric computing for the new flexible Mini-ITX form factor. Following features are inbuilt :
(b) Energy-efficient solution for home users as well as for unique vertical market needs.
(c) Designed with Intel's leading edge 45nm Hi-k metal gate processor,
(d) Provides incredible opportunities to communicate, listen, watch, play via Internet connectivity.
(e) 4 USB Drives
(f) Lan port
(g) COM1/LPT1
(h) Regular interfaces for Mouse and Keyboard ie PS/2 etc
6. Choice of the SMPS : The SMPS was a choice to be made from a sea full of resources. Right from Chotu and Tambi of Zebronics make who do not have fans but are able to make it thru fins only to the MICRO ATX cabinet of i-ball ,I called all of them one by one in my office and then finally settled with the iball one with the fan on lower side.I was some how keen on keeping the fan facing down in the briefcase. So went ahead with it.Although Tambi and Chotu were quiet keen on making it inside my briefcase owing to the beautiful and very bewitching form factor.
7. Key board : Now was the choice of the keyboard. I had no time wasting in this. I was sure about the flexible keyboard of Icom worth Rs 350/- only .Now this one is a thing to watch out for those who have not seen and heard of .I first saw it in the hands of Patil Sir.So first impression of it carried for about a year or so. Although I had another option of trying the laser keyboard,but some how the cost kept me on the back foot.The grey market cost of the same ex secunderabad is Rs 4500/-.So to be economical for the first time,I played safe with the cheap and trust worthy flexible icom Keyboard.
8. DVD Drive : Now what is left? The DVD drive, mouse and the briefcase. So when I embarked on surveying about the DVD drive.I had a choice between the small 3.5” dvd drive of LG/Samsung and the normal DVD drive. So instead of trammeling and constricting to use of the smaller DVDs I went ahead with the normal drive size. To be precise I plowed ahead with LG Combo drive DVD-R/RW.
9. Briefcase : So for now I had the masala in form of all the actors and actresses to star in the movie, I mean the hardware. So now I had to choose a brief case which can take it all. First I surveyed the local make briefcases available in jalandhar.I got many choices, but some how people around me actuated me to go for the trademarked ones to obviate any breakage and ensure a strong casing for protection. So the cheapest I could home on was of make Safari 21”.Why Safari and why not a VIP? Simply because Safari is a trusted cheaper brand. Although I could have attempted to fit all in a 17” one,but for sake of safety I thought…..21” is better.I was correct in deciding this as I agnized later.
10. So all at the table now. How to earmark the land to the hardware in the available land space inside the briefcase ? Tried few combinations and then more combinations and then was finally able to home on the layout as shown in the pic inset.
11. Sealing : After the regular slots were made for the motherboard interface, SMPS power supply plug, SMPS fan, DVD drive, another problem that was standing upright was the case of sealing. How do I seal the brief case from outside detritus?Should I use the cheap looking tape or should I use the cut pieces of the briefcase or wax it? I fortunately got in contact with one civil carpenter who prefaced me to a type of sealing which is actually a gel and when you fill it in the empty space to be sealed, it gradually takes into the form of rubber overnight. Jet black in color. How does it look like? Shown in set. So I decided to try this. And I got what I wanted but some how I was dysphoric with the final finish.
12. Monitor : Oh!How can I forget the monitor. No fights and confusions on that. Actually wanted to go for a 14” TFT since it would encroach lesser area,but some how I found that 14” TFT is not available easily and at the place it is available, it is even costlier then the 15” one. Seems like manufacturers have kiboshed making this size. Since I had ample of space for this one too,I went ahead with a 15” TFT LG make.
13. Fitment : How to make the DVD drive, Hard disk, SMPS and the mother board stick to the base of the briefcase? The first thought that came to my mind was to stick all with good quality thick Velcro. But some how was hesitant in going ahead with this.The second option was screw and nut, a stronger alternative!!So I opened up the bottom screws from DVD Drive and screwed them again from bottom with the briefcase base in between, it came out nicely intact and neat. Similarly for the SMPS and the motherboard. For the mother board one small forethought was to place cut to size small rubber pads to maintain a distinct air gap between the motherboard bottom and the briefcase. For the hard disk I went for a thick Velcro since it would be the most prone for changing at times and I have to experiment it replacing with a pendrive!!!!!!!Monitor was difficult to decide upon w.r.t fitment. Velcro would not have been able to take on the load, bolting is not possible, fiddling with back cover is not advisable……now what? So came a solution from the house hold queen of my life, my wife. She recommended trying it with a sliding drawer rail fitted on both sides of the monitor. And……….it worked like the rails were made for the monitor to fit in. Problem solved. See the fitment in set.
14. Extra’s : Just to take care of the additional risk of placing motherboard in open I covered the inside briefcase with a cut to size transparent acrylic fiber sheet screwed on aluminum channels if u can notice in the pic below with keyboard on top.
15. Ratiocination : All items fitted, fitment done, repair tool kit inside, sealing done, connections made, the thing of assembling the pc inside a briefcase is over. But that felicitousness from within has not come since I am still failing at making a bootable pen drive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Nehru Place : The hub
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Recession Laptop
1. Now a days working on making a recession laptop…all by my self.The idea is not original,but the work is.What is Recession Laptop? Just a Buzz word to make people hear and turn back. Recession is the key word now a days every where…be it industries, employment, export, import, IT, real estate and so many other things…
2. Recession laptop is actually PC in a brief case….yes…in a easily available SAFARI make suitcase….GAREEB ka Laptop actually.
3. Will post all all details soon….i hope some one see’s and reads it!!!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
GUIYU : THE CONNECTION WITH E-WASTE
1. Have you ever thought where have all the 486 and Pentium machines vanished from your desktops at home and offices, what happens after your ink cartridge gets over and is thrown in the garbage, what happens to the discarded keyboards, mouse’s and all electronic accessories that u reject being obsolete. In 90% of the cases, they often end up in GUIYU, which may be the electronic-waste capital of the globe. Guiyu (pronounced GWAY-yoo), a few hours' drive northeast of Hong Kong, is by far China's biggest e-waste scrap heap. The city comprises 21 villages with City businesses processing 1.5 million tons of e-waste a year. As much as 80 percent of it comes from overseas.
3. This obscure Chinese rice village is now the e-waste capital of the world - a place where bona fide mountains of keyboards and circuit boards tower over its inhabitants. The water here is undrinkable - it has been for years. Most of Guiyu makes their living by trashing outdated Dells with their bare hands. To access the cooking needs, for example, they roast circuit boards over coal-fired grills. Gold is obtained using acid strippers, whose sludge is later dumped into the local river.
5. "If you burn it, you can tell what kind of plastic it is," said the man, who gave only his surname, Wang. "They smell different. There are many kinds of plastic, probably 60 or 70 types."Six of Guiyu's villages specialize in circuit board disassembly, seven in plastics and metals reprocessing, and two in wire and cable disassembly.An average computer yields only $1.50 to $2 worth of commodities such as shredded plastic, copper and aluminum.
6. The biggest obligation lies in the developed countries that export e-waste, instead of doing something about the problem ,they are just dumping the same in underdeveloped and developing countries. JUST TRANSFERING THE TRASH AND GETTING AWAY.
7. Perniciousness is only one reason that recycling electronics is costly in the United States. Another is poor design. U.S. manufacturers haven't made products to facilitate disassembly. A report advises that investing $1 more in design costs per computer could save $4 for American recyclers in disassembly costs. Nor have manufacturers gone very far in finding "green" materials to replace toxic flame retardants.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
IRON KEY : World's Most Secure Pen Drives
1. Pen drives are dangerous and have even been banned by few organizations including the prestigious armed forces after one scandal of security leak came to light few years back in navy.Is that the solution? Now it is like marta kya na karta wali baat….”i don’t have control over it so better ban it”.Good News for those who still desire to use pendrives in a much much safer way then available in the market.IRON KEYS have come to take care of the security issue of pendrives.What is IRON KEY? Read on……..
2. The IronKey drives are very small, very portable, and very convenient. They come in configurations of 1Gb, 2Gb, 4Gb, and 8 Gb’s. IronKey’s Secure Flash Drive is similar to an iPod, as its hardware, software and online service all rolled into one product. The IronKey Cryptochip uses US government-approved AES, CBC-mode, 128-bit encryption at the hardware level.
4. IronKey has a password generator that can create passwords up to 99 characters in length at either normal strength with alphanumeric characters or stronger strength, which includes all keyboard characters. To use the IronKey flash drive, you need to activate an online account. This is a necessary step to enable certain services -- such as online password backup, device and software updates and to access IronKey's encrypted Web-surfing service, which uses Mozilla's Firefox. Besides creating an online username and password, you are asked to supply answers to three supplemental authentication questions that will verify your identity in case you ever lose your username or password. Failing to answer the questions accurately will lock you out of your account permanently.
5. IronKey e-mails an activation code that you must enter in a window to complete your online setup. IronKey allows you to change personal security information at any time by accessing account settings. If someone does happen to gain access to your flash drive and they fail to type in the correct password more than 10 times, IronKey will self-destruct, permanently locking out users and wiping out all the data on the drive.
6. From a speed standpoint, IronKey is fast. Hd Tach tests showed speeds well above the competition: IronKey's speed is 31MB/sec. burst speed; an average read rate of 29.6MB/sec., and a 6-millisecond random access rate. The CPU utilization rate is vastly higher than any other driver on the market by as much as 22%. SLC memory lasts about 100,000 write cycles and MLC memory lasts about 10,000 writes.
7. Special Solutions USA is an exclusive distributor of IronKey Secure USB flash drives for the Indian market.
8. More on https://www.ironkey.com/
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Download video from Magazines/Billboard: MMCC
1. Imagination is one key to success today. Had we never imagined things, things would not have come up as they have today.Today I read this article on Indiatimes.com/ InfoTech Tab about Mobile Multi-Colour Composite (MMCC) 2D-Barcode.Now it looks like just another IT dictionary term which has a complex name but a simple function and utility. It goes like this……
3. The MMCC is a color 2D barcode designed for storing high capacity data on printed media and displays, tailor made for camera mobile phone applications. Using the MMCC, the user can retrieve digital content to their camera mobile phone directly from the barcode by capturing an image of the barcode and decoding it on their mobile. According to the scientists, by taking a photo of the barcode, users can download complex information, such as videos, voice recordings or text, instantly to their mobile.
6. In Japan the 2D Barcode has even been placed on Billboards(picture inset).[Source: http://cootieshot.wordpress.com]
The visitor takes a picture of the Barcode on the Billboard and their phone brings up more information about the deceased person, pictures of them or any other content the family or pre-deceased and now occupant so chooses. In spain they are being used to contain detailed train maps to make travel easier and most interestingly in a recent Holland Inovation Fair placed a code on each visitor’s badge and each presentor’s tent. The visitors didn’t have to exchange business cards if they wanted to learn more about eachother’s ideas. They simply scanned the other person’s barcode and their information was sent to their cellphone through SMS.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
THE LINK : BJP & OPEN SOURCE!!
1. Rajnitee and IT ?Do they share a relation in our country? Do they meet anywhere in Indian scenario?Have you ever heard a technical IT buzz word shooting from any of the mantri’s mouth.I am sure in most cases the answer would be NO.
2. Recently I read this article at the http://infotech.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4272163.cms wherein it adverted that Mr L.K.Advani has said that if his party comes to power, it will actively promote opensource software and internet telephony. Now irrespective of whether Mr Advani knows what open source software is or not,or whether he just recited what he was told to by IT savvy speech writer,the good good news is that IT is buzzing now in politics.
4. Open source software (OSS) is defined as computer software for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that meets the Open Source Definition or that is in the public domain. This permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified forms. It is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. The term open source software originated as part of a marketing campaign for free software. A report states that adoption of open source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.(…thanks wiki)
5. So Mr L K Advani’s party seems to be the first to realize the power hidden in this.Good!Isn’t it…….Now why open source doesn’t seem to be a success in India?One line answer….may I attempt?........”because Microsoft’s Cracked Windows Xp and Vista are available for free in any gali,mohalla of the Hindustan.So the next motto for a political party would be to crack those crackers!!!!!!!!!!For now its INDIA SHINING!