Basically the principle it works on is simple if not the technology itself. The tips of the fingers send out weak electrical impulses that when interfered by objects give the finger the location of the object. Something like electrical sonar. The Intel researchers are presently calling it Pre-Touch. Wired.com has nicknamed it "Sixth-sense" which does have a catchier tune to it.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Robotic Hand with sixth sense
Researchers at Intel have developed a robotic hand, well claw, that can sense the general shape of objects before they grasp it.
Basically the principle it works on is simple if not the technology itself. The tips of the fingers send out weak electrical impulses that when interfered by objects give the finger the location of the object. Something like electrical sonar. The Intel researchers are presently calling it Pre-Touch. Wired.com has nicknamed it "Sixth-sense" which does have a catchier tune to it.
Basically the principle it works on is simple if not the technology itself. The tips of the fingers send out weak electrical impulses that when interfered by objects give the finger the location of the object. Something like electrical sonar. The Intel researchers are presently calling it Pre-Touch. Wired.com has nicknamed it "Sixth-sense" which does have a catchier tune to it.
College Admissions Go Online in Mumbai
Students seeking admission in first year junior college (and their parents) can breathe a sigh of relief. Now they will not have to go about visiting every college to get the admission forms, at least in Maharashtra.
The state government of Maharashtra has a launched a new website 'www.mumbaiapplication.com' that will offer online admission form submission facility for first year junior college across over 500 colleges that are affiliated to the University of Mumbai, reports IANS.
Students will have to create an account to get started with filling the admission applications online. The registration will include the personal details that are usually asked by the college, which will save the hassle of typing the details every time while filling the form. The system will auto-complete information in the application as you type.
In addition, if the student has passed SSC from Maharashtra Board this year, they will only need to submit their seat number of the SSC exam, after which their name, caste, and marks will be automatically picked up from the SSC results. For other boards, students will have to enter the data manually, as well as also upload scanned images of their marklists and school leaving certificates.
After registration, students can select the colleges of their choice and pay the application fees online itself. A online receipt of the payment made will be sent through email as well as on the mobile phone mentioned in the registration form.
However, those who still want to follow the traditional process can go ahead and follow the manual process of scurrying from one college to another followed by standing in queues for submission of their application forms.
The state government of Maharashtra has a launched a new website 'www.mumbaiapplication.com' that will offer online admission form submission facility for first year junior college across over 500 colleges that are affiliated to the University of Mumbai, reports IANS.
Students will have to create an account to get started with filling the admission applications online. The registration will include the personal details that are usually asked by the college, which will save the hassle of typing the details every time while filling the form. The system will auto-complete information in the application as you type.
In addition, if the student has passed SSC from Maharashtra Board this year, they will only need to submit their seat number of the SSC exam, after which their name, caste, and marks will be automatically picked up from the SSC results. For other boards, students will have to enter the data manually, as well as also upload scanned images of their marklists and school leaving certificates.
After registration, students can select the colleges of their choice and pay the application fees online itself. A online receipt of the payment made will be sent through email as well as on the mobile phone mentioned in the registration form.
However, those who still want to follow the traditional process can go ahead and follow the manual process of scurrying from one college to another followed by standing in queues for submission of their application forms.
Spice S-525 Launched in India
The Spice Mobile phone company has a launched a new low-priced music phone, the S-525. The handset comes with an FM recording feature that allows users to record their favorite songs at the click of a button, while listening to them on the radio station.
The mobile phone weighs 77g and measures 103.1 x 43.4 x 17.8mm. It sports a 65-K colour TFT screen and has several features such as scheduled on/off, sing-tones, 500 phone-book contacts, speaker phones, among others.
The phone also comes with the "mobile tracker" feature which is useful in case this phone gets stolen. It sends an SMS containing the thief's mobile phone number on another mobile number pre-defined by the owner. In addition, the mobile phone allows users to blacklist certain numbers to stop receiving calls from them.
The S-525 claims to offer up to 4 hours of talk time and up to 200 hours of standby time. Spice S-525 is available for a price of Rs. 2, 099 with a 1-year warranty, with conditions applied.
The mobile phone weighs 77g and measures 103.1 x 43.4 x 17.8mm. It sports a 65-K colour TFT screen and has several features such as scheduled on/off, sing-tones, 500 phone-book contacts, speaker phones, among others.
The phone also comes with the "mobile tracker" feature which is useful in case this phone gets stolen. It sends an SMS containing the thief's mobile phone number on another mobile number pre-defined by the owner. In addition, the mobile phone allows users to blacklist certain numbers to stop receiving calls from them.
The S-525 claims to offer up to 4 hours of talk time and up to 200 hours of standby time. Spice S-525 is available for a price of Rs. 2, 099 with a 1-year warranty, with conditions applied.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Rediff's New Toolbar for Firefox 3
Rediff.com has introduced a toolbar for Firefox 3. The new toolbar allows users to search the Web and access popular vertical searches for fares, jobs, products, images, videos, ringtones, and languages.
The new Rediff toolbar also allows users to use the search bar as an address bar, where the toolbar intelligently identifies the 'url' keywords and directs the user to the website instead of displaying search results.
Another feature of the toolbar, available on Firefox as well as Internet Explorer, is quick access to all the updated news on business, sports, movies and cricket; this is available on the toolbar itself as snapshot view without having to actually visit any news site.
The toolbar works around the POP UP blocker feature inside the Firefox browser environment, allowing users to conveniently use the blocker feature from the toolbar itself, instead of getting into the settings, says Rediff.
In addition, the toolbar offers access to all regular Rediff services like Rediffmail and Rediff Bol, the Instant Messenger. Though it's designed to compliment Firefox 3, the toolbar provides consumer friendly applications for all versions of both browsers, the Internet Explorer and Firefox.
The new Rediff toolbar also allows users to use the search bar as an address bar, where the toolbar intelligently identifies the 'url' keywords and directs the user to the website instead of displaying search results.
Another feature of the toolbar, available on Firefox as well as Internet Explorer, is quick access to all the updated news on business, sports, movies and cricket; this is available on the toolbar itself as snapshot view without having to actually visit any news site.
The toolbar works around the POP UP blocker feature inside the Firefox browser environment, allowing users to conveniently use the blocker feature from the toolbar itself, instead of getting into the settings, says Rediff.
In addition, the toolbar offers access to all regular Rediff services like Rediffmail and Rediff Bol, the Instant Messenger. Though it's designed to compliment Firefox 3, the toolbar provides consumer friendly applications for all versions of both browsers, the Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
22 Best Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials
Typography means a lot in any medium kind of presentation. Whether it’s a logo, banner or just a title; being able to inject creativity into it not only help in delivering the message across, it also leaves solid impression on the viewer. Good typography design is not easy, or should I say getting the type match and speaks for the product is often a very challenging job.
Here are some of the best Photoshop text effects tutorials on the web, and as usual it’s the creativity that counts. Full content after jump.
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‘Bee Movie’ Text Effect
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Metal Text Effect
Really metallic chrome effect.
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Grass Text Effect
Cool looking grass-text effect using a photo of grass, the pen tool and a bit of patience.
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Leopard ‘X’ Effect
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Exploding Text Effect
9 Steps in creating an exploding text.
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Reflective Liquid Effect
Realistic text made from water drops.
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Slow Shutter Text Effect
Learn how to create this stunning slow shutter text effect using just Photoshop.
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Flaming Meteor Text Effect
Take typography one step further by having text falling from the sky in a burning inferno.
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Smooth Glass Effect
Nice looking translucent glass type that’ll work great on any background, made completely with layer styles.
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Soft Stylized 3D Type
Basics of creating polished 3D type using Illustrator and Photoshop.
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Fire Burning Text Effect
How to use a photograph of fire to set text to the match.
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Text Graffiti
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Bling Text Effect
How to make a realistic bling bling gold and diamond text.
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Supernatural Text Effect
Creating a smoky night effect on text to give it an eerie supernatural sort of feel.
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3D Typographic Effects
How to add the wow factor to 3D text using Photoshop’s art tools.
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Chain Text
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Smooth Chrome Text
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Starcraft Text
How to create a nice StarCraft style wallpaper.
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Advance Glow Effect
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Old School Type
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Grunge Rubber Stamp
Simple method to create grunge brushes, and to detail how these brushes can be used to reproduce realism in our rubber-stamped logos.
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Swirl Text
Useful for creating a unique logo for your website.
Israeli co invents see through device
Military and rescue operations around the globe will now get a tad easier with the invention of a radar that can see through walls. An Israeli firm, Camero, has developed this technology and already sold it to several army and police forces. The company feels that the device can be beneficial for special unit soldiers or for human operations like locating people trapped in burning buildings, the daily Haaretz reported.
"The idea of seeing through walls has been around since the 1960s, but modern technology is now ripe enough to enable it to happen," Camero's technology director Amir Beeri said. "When we established the company in 2004, we intended to develop sufficiently high vision resolution to allow an untrained user to see through a wall," Beeri said.
Camero's unique radar utilises Ultra Wide Band (UWB), a technology that has come of age recently and with the use of special algorithms can process data picked up by the detector to give a reasonable image of anything behind the wall.
The system made by its competitor, Time Domain, lacks imaging algorithms and is able to reveal only whether there is someone on the other side of the wall, the report said.
The firm's earlier version of the system weighed about 10 kgs and was too clumsy for use, but the new system is smaller, light in weight and meant for use as a quick-to-use tactical tool. The system is capable of penetrating various types of walls, but not solid metal ones like the walls of shipping containers.
The firm's CEO, Aharon Aharon, is optimistic about the future of the technology and says, "Like the Israeli army's night vision system, which was once an expensive product and eventually came into broad, general use, we hope that our radar too will become standard issue for all military units."
Opera 9.5 RC 1 Now Download-able
Internet browsers trying to play catch-up again! Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner has released Opera 9.5 release candidate 1 (RC 1) for desktops five days after Mozilla released Firefox 3 RC 2. Opera 9.5 RC 1 is now available for download from the Opera Web site.
Opera 9.5 RC 1 attempts to bolster security with anti-phishing and anti-malware technology. For instance, Opera users will now get warning messages upon visiting hacked Web sites carrying Trojans and malicious code as part of the 'Fraud Protection' feature that draws on the likes of Haute Secure, Netcraft, PhishTank, and Google. Meanwhile, Firefox 3 RC 2 downloads an updated blacklist of malicious Web sites provided by Stopbadware.org, a group co-founded by Google.
Apart from enhanced security, Opera 9.5 RC 1 includes a new skin for Windows and Mac platforms along with a fix for all POP accounts to download email messages. There's also a new 'Opera Link' feature in RC 1 that enables easy synchronization of bookmarks between different devices running different versions of Opera.
Opera 9.5 RC 1 attempts to bolster security with anti-phishing and anti-malware technology. For instance, Opera users will now get warning messages upon visiting hacked Web sites carrying Trojans and malicious code as part of the 'Fraud Protection' feature that draws on the likes of Haute Secure, Netcraft, PhishTank, and Google. Meanwhile, Firefox 3 RC 2 downloads an updated blacklist of malicious Web sites provided by Stopbadware.org, a group co-founded by Google.
Apart from enhanced security, Opera 9.5 RC 1 includes a new skin for Windows and Mac platforms along with a fix for all POP accounts to download email messages. There's also a new 'Opera Link' feature in RC 1 that enables easy synchronization of bookmarks between different devices running different versions of Opera.
Asus rolls out the stylish M930 SmartPhone in India
Aimed at users who need ‘mobile office’, Asus, a leading brand in handhelds and laptops, has released the stylish new ‘chic’ M930 smartphone in Mumbai, India.
The clamshell smartphone comes equipped with a QWERTY keyboard for intuitive input, an ultra-wide WQVGA screen that also facilitates landscape display that goes easy on eyes. It provides support to GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi and USB 2.0.
3.5G connectivity ensures faster download of Video, MP3 data. It also features one-step Quick Modem Setting that connects to Internet faster via the plug and play auto network configuration that lets the user plug in the SIM card and have a complete Internet setting.
M930 is a smartphone powered by Windows Mobile 6 Standard operating system, also featuring ActiveSync, MSN and the new Windows Live Spaces.
The highlight of the M930 is that the feature-packed phone comes with elegant and stylish ‘mirror reflective surfaces and sleek metal keys and lines’ unlike the bulky handhelds.
“The M930 is ASUS’ first communicator smart phone which is surprisingly compact when compared to other communicators in the market. Earlier, business professionals needed to carry bulky communicators for executive functions but now they have a better option in the form of the ASUS M930. The keyboard layout of the M930 is just like a laptop facilitating quicker and more convenient operation. It is also the only communicator with a web cam which we call ‘iCAM’ because you can type SMS, listen to music, write e-mails etc. while using the iCAM. Business professionals can also use the iCAM to have a video conference. ASUS has always believed in thinking from the customer’s point of view and this phone personifies that ideology, leading to the creation of the best smart phone for all end users,” said Mr. Edward Wang – Business Head, Mobile Communication Business, ASUS (India) on the launch of ASUS M930.
Other technical specifications of the Asus M930 smartphone include:
Business Applications include:
The Asus M930 smartphone is priced at Rs. 27,900/- (approximately) and is available across the country via India Digital Lifestyle Distributors Pvt. Ltd. (IDLDPL).
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Everything Over IP
Ever since the popularity of VoIP, the whole business of communications over IP has undergone a sea change. In this story, we look at everything that can be carried over IP, including fragrances
Saturday, April 05, 2008
It's well known how IP has changed the way people communicate. After data communication the buzz was VoIP. Now VoIP has become an integral part of our lives and people are hooked on to VoIP without even realizing. Now the latest buzz is Video over IP as well as on mobiles. In this story we look at some of the hot communication trends taking place over IP and some of latest developments which will pave the way to what we like to call 'Everything over IP.'
TV on the move
The announcement by MTNL to offer a bouquet of interactive personalized television and video phone services in Mumbai and Delhi has had two effects-for one, it has served as a wake up call to the telecom industry that the time is ripe to converge telephony, TV and Internet to create a new slate of value added offerings to Indian customers. The second, larger effect is to tell consumers that they've entered a new era where video and TV can reach to them anywhere, anytime through Internet. When Vint Cerf, regarded as the father of the Internet and co-inventor of TCP/IP visited India last year, he sported a Tee which said, "IP on everything", a rather rude message with a serious thought that Internet Protocol had already become the single most pervasive standard to communicate data and entertain world's connected billions. Hand in hand with its recent mobile TV offering, MTNL has also launched, in partnership with Aksh Optifibre, a new service called V Spyk, a video phone service in Mumbai and Delhi. For Rs 499, subscribers are being offered IPTV, VoIP as well as 50 MB broadband services.
While private telecom providers are still reeling from the head start that public sector companies seem to have achieved, it seems like TRAI may object to MTNL's IPTV service since they are a basic service operator while IPTV is a value added service. Meanwhile, IP is being harnessed in creative ways to move video and TV content, releasing it from constraints of place and time. The most compelling product in this space is Slingbox (a creation of India based engineers of Sling Media), a set top box which allows users to transfer all TV feeds from cable or satellite operators to any PC, laptop or mobile phone, anywhere in the world via Internet.
A competing product is Hava from another India-based developer, Monsoon Multimedia, which adds Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) to provide wireless home networking capability. Even without these add on devices, it is possible to receive a variety of TV feeds via the Internet. The most compelling of these free web services is Joost, a creation of Niklas Zennstromand and Janus Friis, inventors, who in an earlier era, invented P2P with Kazaa. Joost has already tied up with a 100 TV channels including MTV, CNN and Sony Pictures, and in the months to come, the Net is slated to become the chosen vehicle to reach television content to customers wherever they are.
A recent report of Springboard Research conducted across 6 metros in India found that over 85% of mobile phone users in the country were ready to invest in new handsets to be able to get their most popular TV content on-the-move. With Indians buying mobile phones at 8 million a month, it is clear that the potential for IPTV in India may become one of the fastest growing markets for mobile and Net based services.
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| With vendors launching cell phones that support Mobile TV, it is all set to become the next big thing |
Telepresence
Ever since Cisco launched its Telepresence solution to provide real life experience in video conferencing, there has been a lot of buzz around such solutions and other vendors have also joined the bandwagon. HP came out with its Halo telepresence solution, Nortel has started providing telepresence services and so are many other video conferencing companies such as Polycom and Lifesize.
HP this month launched its new telepresence offering called Halo Collaboration Studio. The product is meant for enterprises with geographically dispersed workforce and the product can be easily installed at remote locations without the need for any expertise. Just like other Halo products, this solution too uses Halo Video Exchange Network with a dedicated collaboration channel that consists of an HP collaboration software and a high-definition collaboration screen. Since Halo is a managed end to end solution, enterprises do not have to worry about maintenance and upgradation of their infrastructure.
In India too telepresence is catching up, and March 08 saw Polycom launching its RealPresence Experience High Definition solution and Tata Communications launching Cisco-certified TelePresence network services in India.
Video conferencing on mobiles
Modern cellphones enable you to do everything a regular desktop PC does, with the added advantage of mobility. Lately the buzz has been around technologies that allow video conferencing between two cellphones, and between a cellphone and a PC. The latter happens over the Internet. Now many of the latest camera-equipped cellphones are ready for video conferencing as they are designed with a rotating camera. Some also ship with a compact stand which houses a camera lens. You can mount a cellphone and initiate a conference call. You will be able to see the participant and yourself on the cellphone screen. Your images will be transmitted to the viewer on the other side via the camera on the stand.
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| Scent-Dome devices come with a cartridge containing 20 scents. By mixing these, the device creates fragrances according to the content |
Mobile video conferencing is no longer limited to mobile phones. Vendors are also launching similar portable mobile video conferencing solutions. Tandberg has come out with a device called FieldView which is meant to provide real time collaboration amongst experts and field agents. This can help enterprises in making quick decisions and get expert advice instantly on the situation. The company is targeting companies in manufacturing, education, research and development.
IP storage for video surveillance
Demand for video surveillance has increased considerably in enterprises. This has been due to reasons such as the need to meet compliance standards or the fact that enterprises can easily deploy IP cameras and use their existing cabling for carrying video signals. Enterprises are readily deploying web based IP surveillance solutions as they provide several advantages over traditional CCTV solutions. Administrators can remotely view and manage IP surveillance systems, the system itself is fast, ease of use, etc. Further, IP video surveillance is also being used as proof in lawsuits and at times is required to meet compliance. However, it also causes problems such as storing images generated from IP video surveillance, as even a single IP camera can generate more than 20 GB of data in a single day. Also, as a video surveillance system performs constant write operations on a storage disk, using common storage devices such as NAS can degrade the performance of a video surveillance system as these devices are designed for environments where balanced read/write operations take place.
To solve such issues vendors are now offering dedicated storage solutions for video surveillance. These storage solutions are designed to work with existing infrastructure of an enterprise and can support thousands of cameras working together. They support features such as replication, clustering, thin provisioning, load balancing and failover. Vendors are now also providing a complete solution for video surveillance which includes everything from an IP camera to a media server as well as a storage solution.
Synthesized Scent over IP
There has been a lot of talk about how soon physical interactions over IP would be possible and also a lot of research has been going on this subject, to provide Touch-to-Touch, Motion-to-Motion and similar interactions. Last year a project called touch (http://phy2phy.wikidot.com/touch) demonstrated a device which allows two users to touch each other's fingers over the Internet. However, when these products would be commercially available, is hard to say at this point. There have been a few commercial products launched that deliver aroma over your desktop. A company called TriSenx has created a device called Scent Dome which has cartridges of 20 scents and by cleverly mixing these; it releases fragrances that provide a unique experience to users. So, whenever a user goes to a Scent Enabled Website (SEC), the device will spray the fragrance into the air as specified in the content, thus bringing a tinge of reality to the otherwise virtual experience. Another company, called Telewest, is soon going to release ScentMail which will use the same device to let users send fragrant email.
Similarly, another company, called AromaJet, is creating a device called Pinoke which will provide a new gaming experience by spraying aroma according to the environment in a particular game. As aromas trigger new emotions in human beings, such devices could make games even more addictive.
Teredo Tunneling
NAT has been used to overcome ipv4 address shortage as it acts as an interface between Internet and the local network. It translates private address of local network to the public address of ISP. Now that ipv6 is a reality, overcoming the ipv4 to ipv6 transition is an important issue. This issue was resolved to certain extent by 6to4 protocol, that could be implemented on NAS.
Teredo Tunneling is a protocol that gives ipv6 connectivity to nodes that connect through NAT devices that do not understand ipv6. In this protocol, ipv6 packets are encapsulated into ipv4 UDP datagrams that can route through NAT and ipv4 Internet. Teredo was introduced because 6to4 protocol, that is most common ipv6 over ipv4 protocol, was economically and technically difficult to implement on most NAT devices. Teredo in turn is implemented on nodes itself that can easily understand the encapsulated packets and thus gain ipv6 connectivity without NAT being ipv6 aware.
Microsoft Site Leak Hints at 2009 Release for Office 14
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 2:10 PM PDT
A leak on a Microsoft Web site referring to a product in the Office suite hints at a 2009 release for the next version of the productivity suite, currently code-named Office 14.
On Monday, Microsoft revealed a podcasting kit for Office SharePoint Server, the portal product in the Office family, with an accompanying question-and-answer article on its Codeplex site for developers that includes information about the product.
The site made reference to Office SharePoint 2009, which hints that the next version of Office will be named Office 2009 and released that year. Microsoft has not officially revealed a timeline for Office 14.
The site no longer has a reference to SharePoint 2009, however. Once the reference was reported on, Microsoft changed the wording on the site to erase it. In addition, the author of the post tacked on a note to the blogger who first reported about the information, saying the Q&A was a transcript from a conversation with customers and was not accurate about the name of the next version of Office.
"I honestly have no idea how the next release of SharePoint will be named, I promise," said the note, which was signed "Ludo" for Ludo Fourrage, a Microsoft group product manager. "Thanks for your interest in PKS." PKS, or Podcasting Kit for SharePoint, is an open-source initiative that helps customers develop and deploy podcasts using SharePoint.
Microsoft has released scant details about Office 14, the follow-up to the current Office 2007 software, and its release date is not one of them.
Last month, the company said it would support the latest specification for the XML-based file format Open Office XML (OOXML) in Office 14. OOXML is a rival to Open Document Format; both have been approved as international standards by the International Organization for Standardization, although OOXML's approval is being contested by some countries' standards bodies.McAfee names Hong Kong most dangerous domain on the Web
Hong Kong domain has jumped 28 places as the most dangerous place to surf and search on the web according to a new McAfee report called "Mapping the Mal Web Revisited"
"Just like the real world, the virtual threats and risks are constantly changing. As our research shows, Web sites that are safe today can be dangerous tomorrow. Surfing the Web based or conventional wisdom is not enough to avoid risk online," said Jeff Green, Senior Vice President of Product Development...
"Just like the real world, the virtual threats and risks are constantly changing. As our research shows, Web sites that are safe today can be dangerous tomorrow. Surfing the Web based or conventional wisdom is not enough to avoid risk online," said Jeff Green, Senior Vice President of Product Development...
Hard Drive Withstands Fire And Water Submersion
Auburn (CA) - Most small businesses and consumers do not have elaborate disaster recovery plans in place, which means that their data may be at risk, especially if backups are stored nearby. Fire and water can wipe out at least portions of the contents stored on hard drives in a matter of seconds. ioSafe announced new hard drives that promise to withstand fire and water and offer a type of product for all those who don’t invest in off-site storage.
ioSafe claims that it is the first company to offer fire- and waterproof hard drives, which may be worth a look not just for businesses, but also families who are looking for ways to keep those digital family pictures safe, even when a house burns down. The company uses 2.5" drives within 3.5" enclosures are specially equipped with heat and water barriers.
Fire protection is provided by the firm’s "DataCast endothermic insulation technology", which the manufacturer claims forms a chemical bond with water molecules that, at temperature above 160 degrees Fahrenheit, releases water vapor to limit the internal temperature of the unit. Combined with the insulation, ioSafe claims that the drive can sustain outside temperatures of up to 1400 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 15 minutes and short term peak temperatures of up to 1700 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the case of a fire, the plastic tabs on the inside of the 3.5" casing will melt at a temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit, closing the drive and blocking airflow. The manufacturer said that the inside of the 2.5" drive should not get hotter than 210 degrees Fahrenheit during a fire, as 98% of radiant heat can be deflected. Typical house fires reach a heat of about 1100 degrees Fahrenheit with 3 to 5 minutes.
There was no detailed information on the water protection technology, other than the claim that the drive will be protected from fresh or salt water damage, both in full submersion and spray/splash scenarios. Full submersion protection is guaranteed for up to 24 hours in up to 5 ft of water.
Just in case the drive is damaged, ioSafe offers an optional data recovery plan that is activated through the registration of a product. The service, which is offered free of charge, provides access to data recovery experts and includes up to $2500 payment by ioSafe to a third-party data extraction service plus replacement product, if required.
Not surprisingly, ioSafe’s hard drives come at a premium over regular hard drives. The price list ranges from $330 for a 5400 rpm 80 GB drive to $460 for a 7200 rpm 200 GB drive. The highest capacity is offered by a 320 GB 5400 rpm model for $450.
ioSafe claims that it is the first company to offer fire- and waterproof hard drives, which may be worth a look not just for businesses, but also families who are looking for ways to keep those digital family pictures safe, even when a house burns down. The company uses 2.5" drives within 3.5" enclosures are specially equipped with heat and water barriers.
Fire protection is provided by the firm’s "DataCast endothermic insulation technology", which the manufacturer claims forms a chemical bond with water molecules that, at temperature above 160 degrees Fahrenheit, releases water vapor to limit the internal temperature of the unit. Combined with the insulation, ioSafe claims that the drive can sustain outside temperatures of up to 1400 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 15 minutes and short term peak temperatures of up to 1700 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the case of a fire, the plastic tabs on the inside of the 3.5" casing will melt at a temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit, closing the drive and blocking airflow. The manufacturer said that the inside of the 2.5" drive should not get hotter than 210 degrees Fahrenheit during a fire, as 98% of radiant heat can be deflected. Typical house fires reach a heat of about 1100 degrees Fahrenheit with 3 to 5 minutes.
There was no detailed information on the water protection technology, other than the claim that the drive will be protected from fresh or salt water damage, both in full submersion and spray/splash scenarios. Full submersion protection is guaranteed for up to 24 hours in up to 5 ft of water.
Just in case the drive is damaged, ioSafe offers an optional data recovery plan that is activated through the registration of a product. The service, which is offered free of charge, provides access to data recovery experts and includes up to $2500 payment by ioSafe to a third-party data extraction service plus replacement product, if required.
Not surprisingly, ioSafe’s hard drives come at a premium over regular hard drives. The price list ranges from $330 for a 5400 rpm 80 GB drive to $460 for a 7200 rpm 200 GB drive. The highest capacity is offered by a 320 GB 5400 rpm model for $450.
Microsoft Warns Against Using Safari
Microsoft on Friday warned of a serious risk to people who use Safari on Windows XP or Vista, going so far as to suggest people "restrict use of Safari as a web browser until an appropriate update is available from Microsoft and/or Apple."
Good news is that according to Redmond there aren't yet any known attacks against the flaw. Bad news is that if anyone does create such an attack, a crook could install any software he wished - such as 'bot' malware that allows for complete remote control - on a victim PC.
The threat targets two separate flaws, one in Safari and one in IE, and you'd have to first browse a malicious site with Safari. Doing so would download unwanted software onto your desktop, which could then be executed without your permission by triggering a separate flaw in IE (and you wouldn't have to start IE to get hit). In its security advisory, Microsoft acknowledges the critical risk of 'remote code execution,' which is as bad as it gets.
Apple, on the other hand, says "we are not treating this as a security issue," according to a quoted e-mail posted by stopbadware.org. Not a good move, if you ask me.
If you do use Safari, Microsoft says you can apply a workaround to protect yourself. Change the default download location (normally the desktop) in Safari with the following steps:
Launch Safari. Under the Edit menu select Preferences.
At the option where it states Save Downloaded Files to:, select a different location on the local drive.
Source : http://www.pcworld.com/
Good news is that according to Redmond there aren't yet any known attacks against the flaw. Bad news is that if anyone does create such an attack, a crook could install any software he wished - such as 'bot' malware that allows for complete remote control - on a victim PC.
The threat targets two separate flaws, one in Safari and one in IE, and you'd have to first browse a malicious site with Safari. Doing so would download unwanted software onto your desktop, which could then be executed without your permission by triggering a separate flaw in IE (and you wouldn't have to start IE to get hit). In its security advisory, Microsoft acknowledges the critical risk of 'remote code execution,' which is as bad as it gets.
Apple, on the other hand, says "we are not treating this as a security issue," according to a quoted e-mail posted by stopbadware.org. Not a good move, if you ask me.
If you do use Safari, Microsoft says you can apply a workaround to protect yourself. Change the default download location (normally the desktop) in Safari with the following steps:
Launch Safari. Under the Edit menu select Preferences.
At the option where it states Save Downloaded Files to:, select a different location on the local drive.
Source : http://www.pcworld.com/
Internet Explorer 8 Coming in August
Microsoft said yesterday it is planning on releasing yet another test version (Beta 2) of its Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8) Web browser in August.
In March this year, the company released IE 8 Beta 1 offering Web developers/designers a preview of the latest iteration of its popular Web browser. Also in March, the company revealed some of the new features IE 8 sports: for instance 'Activities' that lets you highlight text on a Web page and then take that passage to another Web service.
Microsoft said the upcoming IE 8 Beta 2 would be targeted more at ordinary Web users, and that it would have almost all of the features of the final-version IE 8 browser. Microsoft has given no official release date yet for IE8.
In March this year, the company released IE 8 Beta 1 offering Web developers/designers a preview of the latest iteration of its popular Web browser. Also in March, the company revealed some of the new features IE 8 sports: for instance 'Activities' that lets you highlight text on a Web page and then take that passage to another Web service.
Microsoft said the upcoming IE 8 Beta 2 would be targeted more at ordinary Web users, and that it would have almost all of the features of the final-version IE 8 browser. Microsoft has given no official release date yet for IE8.
Rediff Enhances Product Search
Catering to users who like to shop offline but compare features online, Rediff has introduced an enhanced version of its popular Product Search. This service from Rediff aims to offer consumers a one-stop destination to compare shopping across various categories of products and make a better informed decision.
The new enhanced service allows users to compare products across brands, features, price points, user ratings, and check availability in their city along with complete contact details. Rediff Product Search now covers more than 16 product categories under electronics, and has also introduced cars and bikes as new categories.
Users can now also get a grid view of products under different brands and can find and do feature-based comparison of products by brands, by latest price points, or by most popular products to help them make a better informed decision.
One of the new unique features of the service is the actual market price history of the product, which covers the price movement for a period of over 6 months. This feature also lets users set a price alert by just entering their email address and setting their target price; the system then automatically sends them an alert as soon as the price is close to the set target price.
And if the user chooses to be contacted by the seller representative to get further information about the product, they can send a free SMS to the seller expressing their interest from the system itself. This feature is particularly useful when one is comparing a bike or a car -- as the user can use the SMS service to ask for a free test-drive of the vehicle.
Rediff says that based on consumers' needs to do comparison-shopping, their Product Search offers users all the information they need before they zero down on a particular product. Rediff adds that users find this service extremely useful especially for electronic products like digital cameras, mobile phones, laptops, mp3 players, home appliances, and storage devices as there are unlimited options available for each of these products at a variety of price points offered by several brands.
Meanwhile, the service is designed to bridge the gap between offline sellers and consumers who want to buy products offline but cannot decide on which product to buy and from where, claims Rediff.
The new enhanced service allows users to compare products across brands, features, price points, user ratings, and check availability in their city along with complete contact details. Rediff Product Search now covers more than 16 product categories under electronics, and has also introduced cars and bikes as new categories.
Users can now also get a grid view of products under different brands and can find and do feature-based comparison of products by brands, by latest price points, or by most popular products to help them make a better informed decision.
One of the new unique features of the service is the actual market price history of the product, which covers the price movement for a period of over 6 months. This feature also lets users set a price alert by just entering their email address and setting their target price; the system then automatically sends them an alert as soon as the price is close to the set target price.
And if the user chooses to be contacted by the seller representative to get further information about the product, they can send a free SMS to the seller expressing their interest from the system itself. This feature is particularly useful when one is comparing a bike or a car -- as the user can use the SMS service to ask for a free test-drive of the vehicle.
Rediff says that based on consumers' needs to do comparison-shopping, their Product Search offers users all the information they need before they zero down on a particular product. Rediff adds that users find this service extremely useful especially for electronic products like digital cameras, mobile phones, laptops, mp3 players, home appliances, and storage devices as there are unlimited options available for each of these products at a variety of price points offered by several brands.
Meanwhile, the service is designed to bridge the gap between offline sellers and consumers who want to buy products offline but cannot decide on which product to buy and from where, claims Rediff.
"Sabka Spice" for Rural India
Punjab's premier telecom service provider Spice Telecom has today launched a handset combo offer comprising a handset plus Spice connection. The offer is called "Sabka Spice", and will be made available at just Rs 599 in a bid to make mobile telephony accessible to the rural populace. Under the "Sabka Spice" offer, the handset comes with a three-years warranty and a choice of Spice prepaid or postpaid connection.
The stylish Spice S 300 handset includes features such as: long battery life with promised talk time of 3.5 to 4 hours and stand-by time of 250 to 300 hours; Intelligent Audio Interface System that substitutes for LCD (alerts on the mobile are called out through this mechanism, meaning even those people who can't read can use the phone just by following audio alerts); choice of languages including English, Hindi, and Punjabi (even semi-literate rural consumers can use the phone with ease); speaker-phone that allows the phone to be operated even in noisy environments; universal charger (the phone can be charged using any mobile phone charger); speed dial that allows consumers to store oft-used numbers which could then be dialed with a simple push of the button; and intelligent LEDs comprising Red LED (on full charge, the color changes to green and missed calls are represented by blinking five times a second) and Blue LED (for network availability).
If the consumer opts for a prepaid connection, he/she gets the Spice S 300 handset along with three-years warranty. Additionally, he/she gets a Spice prepaid connection with SIM worth Rs 101, one-year validity worth Rs 198, or zero rental for one year worth Rs 148. Spice to Spice local calls cost 50 paise per minute; calls from Spice to other local GSM numbers cost 65 paise per minute; and calls from Spice to other local numbers cost Rs 1.10 per minute.
In the event the consumer opts for a postpaid connection, he/she gets the Spice S 300 handset with three-years warranty. In addition, he/she needs to pay a monthly fixed charge of Rs 35. Spice to Spice local calls cost 10 paise per minute while calls from Spice to other local numbers cost 75 paise per minute.
The stylish Spice S 300 handset includes features such as: long battery life with promised talk time of 3.5 to 4 hours and stand-by time of 250 to 300 hours; Intelligent Audio Interface System that substitutes for LCD (alerts on the mobile are called out through this mechanism, meaning even those people who can't read can use the phone just by following audio alerts); choice of languages including English, Hindi, and Punjabi (even semi-literate rural consumers can use the phone with ease); speaker-phone that allows the phone to be operated even in noisy environments; universal charger (the phone can be charged using any mobile phone charger); speed dial that allows consumers to store oft-used numbers which could then be dialed with a simple push of the button; and intelligent LEDs comprising Red LED (on full charge, the color changes to green and missed calls are represented by blinking five times a second) and Blue LED (for network availability).
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If the consumer opts for a prepaid connection, he/she gets the Spice S 300 handset along with three-years warranty. Additionally, he/she gets a Spice prepaid connection with SIM worth Rs 101, one-year validity worth Rs 198, or zero rental for one year worth Rs 148. Spice to Spice local calls cost 50 paise per minute; calls from Spice to other local GSM numbers cost 65 paise per minute; and calls from Spice to other local numbers cost Rs 1.10 per minute.
In the event the consumer opts for a postpaid connection, he/she gets the Spice S 300 handset with three-years warranty. In addition, he/she needs to pay a monthly fixed charge of Rs 35. Spice to Spice local calls cost 10 paise per minute while calls from Spice to other local numbers cost 75 paise per minute.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Blackmail ransomware returns with 1024-bit encryption key
Virus analysts at Kaspersky Lab intercepted a new variant of Gpcode, a malicious virus that encrypts important files on an infected desktop and demands payment for a key to recover the data.
The biggest change in this variant of the ransomeware is the use of RSA encryption algorithm with a 1024-bit key, making it impossible to crack without without the author’s key. Here’s the explanation:
We recently started getting reports from infected victims, analysed a sample, and added detection for Gpcode.ak to our antivirus databases yesterday, on June 4th. However, although we detect the virus itself, we can’t currently decrypt files encrypted by Gpcode.ak – the RSA encryption implemented in the malware uses a very strong, 1024 bit key.
The RSA encryption algorithm uses two keys: a public key and a private key. Messages can be encrypted using the public key, but can only be decrypted using the private key. And this is how Gpcode works: it encrypts files on victim machines using the public key which is coded into its body. Once encrypted, files can only be decrypted by someone who has the private key – in this case, the author or the owner of the malicious program.
After Gpcode encrypts files on the victim machine, it adds ._CRYPT to the extension of the encrypted files and places a text file named !_READ_ME_!.txt in the same folder. In the text file the criminal tells the victims that the file has been encrypted and offers to sell them a “decryptor”:
«Your files are encrypted with RSA-1024 algorithm.
To recovery your files you need to buy our decryptor.
To buy decrypting tool contact us at: ********@yahoo.com»
There are three Yahoo e-mail addresses associated with the new version of the ransomware.
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