Generation Next, Express Money

It's the day after christmas, and gifts have been given, and a lot of affections changed. I like Christmas, I am not a christian, but I like Christmas.

The New year is still around and gifts for your loved ones, can still be given, here are 5 Gadgets, i think that make a lot of sense this year, and in the year to come, check out my article Tech 2.0 in Express money, this week with 5 new gadgets. To view it online, click here, or Alternatively grab a copy of the Indian Express on Monday 26th of December 2005, India Wide.

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Whisper from e-traction

I think the biggest benefit of technology today is to work out methods to save fossil fuels, the Hybrid car, the electric car and the others have all been a great example of it. I was watching a TV program the other day and saw a brief on the Whisper, and found it worthwhile to share. It uses four wheels, yes all bussess do, but here the wheel is active, it has an engine (electric on it's own), and the bus is one of the most energy efficient busses around.

The debut of this bus was done on March 30th 2005 and it has been in tests. I think India shoudl get a couple of these, as it makes an attractive option to reduce polution in india. Just to share some figures, it can do 6.3 Kilometers per liter of diesel, that means it is 2.5 times more efficient than other energy efficient busses, and and compare this to an average 1 to 2 kilometers per liter of diesel that regular busses do, this is going to be a boon.

For those of you who want to read more about it, click here.

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Single or Bundled, Express Money

MFP's yes, the same old devices which came out at the dawn of convergence, everyone, had written them off, well why would you need a device that was 3 in one, and still costed the same, why not have 3 devices.. Anyway, times have changed and so has technology, and MFP's have evolved. To read my take on it, make sure you grab a copy of the Indian Express on Monday 12th of December 2005, or click here to read the online Edition.

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Look Closely, it's a Tape Dispenser

You must be wondering what is a Tape dispenser doing on a site dedicated to technology and gadgets, well this is something that the fairer sex may like, and since we cant' live without em, well we have to cover something for them. But anyway, it's cute.

This is called Mr. P and is available at Wrapables an online gift store. It's 3"x6" in size and is made of Stainless Stell and Plastic.

Though it makes me feel like someone is pulling out Mr. P's tounge, but well It's kind a cute.

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Paint of my dreams !

About 2 or 3 years back Jeremy Clarkson of the famous Top Gear show on BBC did a special episode on India, and I remember his words clearly, "You can't find a car in India, that is not scratched or bumped or nicked", well the Jeremy Clarkson, here is something that will hopefully prove that Indian's will finally have a car that is scratch proof.

Nissan has come out with a paint that can remove the scratches and heal itself, so your car is shiny new. As per nissan's press release

The coating, which Tokyo-based Nissan Motor Co. says is the first of its kind in the world, contains elastic resin, similar to a rubbery surface, and can repair itself of slight scratches caused by car-washing, off-road driving and fingernails.

Now.. you buy an X-Trail, that is approximately Rs. 20 Lacs that supposedly has unbreakable bumpers and you Pay about Rs. 5000 (I am guessing they will charge approximately US$ 100 additional for it), and you can go out and prove it to Mr. Clarkson, that India does have cars, that are not scratched and bumpers are not broken.

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Demistifying the GPS!

GPS's have been around for a long time, and everyone who sees me using one, comes up with a question on whether they should buy one or not. From a few select friends who are very similar to me in nature, in not stopping to ask someone for directions, to geek friends who love technology. This week in the Indian Express, I cover the basics of GPS and what to buy.

To read "A Pathfinder in your pocket", my article in Express Money on 5th December 2005, with Indian Express, Click Here.

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The All New Sony Playstation3

 
Sony's launch of their playstation gave the gamers all around the world a new experience of gaming.Sony is now all set to launch their latest version of the playstation THE SONY PS3.

The playstation3 is expected to be released in March2006 and the cost of which would be about $300.(may exceed due to some new features such as the 2HDMI outputs and 3 Gigabit RJ45 LAN connections) But i think it is a fair amount for all the gamers world wide.

These are some of the technical specifications of the Sony Playstation3 taken directly from Sony :-


CPU:-
Cell Processor
PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz
1 VMX vector unit per core
512KB L2 cache
7 x SPE @3.2GHz
7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
* 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy
total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS

GPU:-
RSX @550MHz
1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines

Sound:-
Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell- base processing)
Memory
256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz

System Bandwidth:-
Main RAM 25.6GB/s
VRAM 22.4GB/s
RSX 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s (read)
SB< 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)

System Floating Point Performance :-
2 TFLOPS

Storage :-
Detachable 2.5" HDD slot x 1

I/O:-
USB Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
Memory Stick standard/Duo, PRO x 1
SD standard/mini x 1
CompactFlash (Type I, II) x 1

Communication :-
Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)

Controller :-
Bluetooth (up to 7)
USB 2.0 (wired)
Wi-Fi (PSP)
Network (over IP)

AV Output :-
Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI: HDMI out x 2
Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1

Disc Media :-
CD PlayStation CD-ROM, PlayStation 2 CD-ROM, CD-DA, CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW, SACD, SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD, DualDisc, DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)
DVD: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM, PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW
Blu-ray Disc: PlayStation 3 BD-ROM, BD-Video, BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE

Although the PS3 is coming out much later than the xbox360(already launched) which has presently about 200 game titles,i would not mind waiting a little more for the PS3 which will have more titles than the xbox360. 

Sub 800$ Laptop Options (India)

The world over there was a trend of getting the PC to come under a 1000$ and then to a PC under 500$, today MIT Labs is talking of a 100$ Laptop, India is still fighting with a pricing that is not consumer sensitive. The primary reason you think maybe the exchange rates, but the duty on the import of these devices adds up to another bulk (Since there are no indian manufacturers at small scale that maybe hampered, duty on imports of Laptops / Notebook computers etc should be abolished or brought to minimum), anyway.

This week in my Indian Express / Express Money article, I look at the sub Rs. 40,000 laptops available in India, from IBM, Compaq, Toshiba and Acer, and choose the winner out of them.

Want to read my verdict, catch it in Print with Indian Express on Monday, 28th November 2005, or click here to read it online.

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iPod G6....G7...G8... what more :)

Breaking News !!! STEVE JOBS, my fav guy for today (well I wrote about him in my Indian Express column also today), anyway he just came out with a New iPod, the iPod Micro, the iPod Pequeno, and the iPod Invisa. Don't believe me, check out the movie from the TV Release. To download the movie, right click this link and select save target as, and watch it.. enjoy.

I think by the time you watch this, Steve Jobs will be out announcing another version.. anyway..

Movie courtsey Saturday Night Live. Full Article on Mac Mischief.

Just Kidding

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FM Transmiter for your DAP

My Ed at Indian Express always says, talk in terms that people understand and not in acronyms that only you geeks know, so to fill you in DAP = Digital Audio Player, more commonly known as MP3 Players.

Was the iTrip the primary reason for you to buy an iPod over others. What is an iTrip, it is a device that let's you transmit your music collection from your iPod to your car stereo wirelessly, so that you can enjoy your music while driving, I know of a lot of people who bought the iPod cos iTrip was available.

Well for those of you mortal souls, Logitec of Japan has taken out car ciggarette lighter charged FM Transmitters, that can work with any Digital Audio Player, Ahem, MP3 Players, that have an earphone plug.

Please note, this is not Logitech the popular company, but Logitec in Japan.

Enjoy.. PS: I hope Gizmodo does not run after me, the last three articles, are all reference Gizmodo.

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Something truly for me !

For those of you who know me personally and know how scared I am of water and swimming, well you know why I said this is for me. Back in 2001 for our annual office picnic, we had all gone downhill at Sona (near Gurgaon) in an inflatable ball at someone's farm. The ride was 50 bucks at that time per person, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all the staff including me, I ever since have had my eye on one of these.

Today I saw this on Gizmodo and found it worth a mention, this ball currently only available in Australia, can make you walk on water, or roll on water, so you could wear your business suit, and cross the river, without even getting wet.. now what do we do about claustrophobic people.

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The Perfect Christmas Tree for Xmas 2005

Ever since the first USB connected appliance came out and people realised that they could draw power from the USB port without damaging the internals of the PC, there was a spate of things you could do, from charging your cellphone, to a USB light for your laptop, to USB nail dryers and what not. But what I just saw on Gizmodo, I think this is one of the finest gadgets to hit USB for a very long time.

A USB powered Christmas tree, which lights up, blows styrofoam snow around and plays 4 popular Christmas songs, amazing right.

Out in US Stores this christmas. (Santa, send me one)

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Video ga ga...the video was new

The iPod video has caught up like wild fire with every gadget freak and the social circle on page 3, wherever you go, everyone is talking about it. Especially the world has made finally accepted Steve Jobs as the best man in town.

So what makes the iPod video a great deal, when you have things like Creative Zen Vision and the Archos PVR available, why and how the Apple story continues.

Read my article in print with the Indian Express this monday on 21st November 2005 in Express money, or click here to read the online version.

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India is Finally Shining !

First it was the spate of Miss Worlds and then the campaign by BJP about India Shining, well India is finally shining. If you have seen the recent ads' on television by British Airways about "The world is waiting for India", to last nights interview of Virgin boss, Richard Branson on CNBC about his upcoming investments in India, well you are missing out on what is the India factor at this time.

Good news for the average Indian is the fact that technology companies are now looking at India, and Indianization. From Open Office coming out in Hindi and Punjabi, the Microsoft Bhasha project and then Opera in Punjabi, and now the Nokia 1110, and 1600 series of phones with talking alarm clocks in Hindi, Tamil, Gujrati, Marathi and Bengali, it is time to wake up.. Jago India Jago.

Two great phones, good features and good prices, something I think I shall buy for the cute alarm clock that says, "samay hai, chey bajkar paanch minute".. Jago.

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Return of the chics!

 

No I did not mis-spell the word chicks, and I am no where talking of women, though that is one of my fav topics, but hey.. this is serious stuff.

Chics (the Bamboo blinds) have caught on the rage in the upper middle class homes as the in thing for window blinds, in place of curtains. With the new variants of block printed, color coordinated these do make your home look good, for a long time I had these hanging in my office as well, but then I went overboard, and got mauve colored curtains in place.

My last browsing session to inhabitat (for those of you reading my blog for the nth time, know that I like this site quite a bit), I saw a very functional and practical design, called the Re:Form Energy Curtain.

What is interesting about this is that the Energy Curtain is a window shade woven with solar-collecting and light-emitting materials that store sunlight during the day and emit it at night.

Interested, read more at Inhabitat

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Can Someone do something about this !

I hate it when companies use pretty, smiling models for a thing that causes hurt to people and business around. Airtel has done the cheap story again, back in 2002, when Airtel launched their private telephone service under the name of Touchtel, the numbers were 7 digits, and started with 8, then the government decided, that the number regime had to change, so we all changed our numbers to an 8 digit regime, and the numbers started with 5 for Airtel, 5 for Tata, 3 for Reliance and 2 for MTNL / BSNL. Now for what reason did the DOT or so called providers accept 5 for both Airtel and Tata I am not sure, It was bound to happen (either they assumed one of them will buy out the other, or one will run away from the service), but we were in for a shock that the numbers would run short.

Any person who know's number schemes could have told them that the maximum number of customers they could have with 51 as starting code (as 51 is delhi, 50 is haryana etc), was 99,9999 and they would run short of it.

Well a recent announcement has made me sit and really scream now they are planning to change numbers for airtel to start with 4. That means new set of stationery for the office, informing everyone that your numbers have changed, and a new set of numbers to remember.. sad... very sad.. can someone do something about it.

Atleast my friends at Airtel, please remove those smiley faces from your website, there is nothing to smile about here.

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The Desi Jugaad :)

I drop my phone one too many a time, and with my sad ending of the Nokia 6600 (I think one of the most expensive phones I personally picked up in recent times), I dont' want to spend a lot of money on cellphones, sure the new variants look interesting and smart, but I am happy with my basic Candy bar phone that can give me speakerphone, gprs, and bluetooth capabilities.

Similar thoughts have evoked from the Geek community about the so called buy me gadgets, but priced high, much beyond a geeks' dreams :).. An Indian Friend (this is only from the name that I can tell you), called Suraj Patel is trying to make his own cellphone, how practical, I can't say.. but definately jugaad

Read more here.

Now, should you be inspired to make one for yourself, send me a mail.. let's see what comes out of it :)

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Screen them Right !

With the prices of LCD monitors falling day by day and the manufacturers offering more and more variants, with features so many, opting for a TFT / LCD monitor with your computer is now the in thing. But are all the monitors same, do they match up, or is there a difference that you should notice.

Which one leads, and how, to read more click here, or catch my Article Screen them Right in the Indian Express on Monday November 14, 2005 in Express Money.

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It's Black, red, and has the monogram of a Ferari, but it is not a car !

Acer and it's new obsession ferari, in a new avtaar, yes an Acer LCD Monitor, so what if it's not a car, it still is a ferrari. This limited edition Acer Branded Ferrari LCD monitors, available in 19 and 20inch screen sizes, have a high contrast ratio of 500:1 (19"), 800:1 (20") and include stereo speakers.

These monitors mimic the Ferrari design, and the red and black and the yellow monogram make it an awsome sexy looking display. The limited edition makes sure your table always has everyone's attention. From what i hear these will be priced at about 800$ and Acer shall release only about a 1000 of these babies. (If they get them to India, call me)

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Philips LED Lighting !

I can remember from as long as I was a kid, I have always been fascinated with the LED Lights, the moment I saw one, from my first few electronics tinkering projects, to make an LED Glow, then make it blink to what not, I believe I must have spent an enormous amount of time and money to make LED based projects.

Today LED's are not what they used to be, well they actually are, but the applications are changing. About 6 years or so back, when I saw the first LED Light based cluster I was amazed to the possibilities that existed.

If I am boring you with tech, let me get back to the subject, the pictures above are again from the Philips Sense and Simplicity theme, this is a light wall with LED Lights, that can be turned around and they change colors, yes they do.

I dont' know when they come out, or when I will be able to lay my hands on a bundle of these, but this has gotten me interested.

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Plants for a Geek !

Go Ahead, what are you waiting for, yes, it won't hurt.. yes go on now click the picture.. still wondering what are plants doing on a geek's website, well well..

Philips, yes the company that makes so many things (have you lately seen that they are even advertisimg MRI machines on TV, now do doctors buy machines looking at TV Ads ?), anyway.. as a part of their on going campaign of "Sense and Simplicity", have devoted quite a bit of time and money in making our lives easier. (I like that)

The "Herbarium" that makes growing herbs as easy as making a cup of coffee, even for people like me who do not have green fingers.

These are a self contained unit, solar powered, creating a micro climate for the plant pads (yes pads), that contain everything that these herbs need to grow with. The plant growth is monitored electronically and the Herbarium ensures proper growth conditions.

Did you notice the small lights, that read sage, basil and thyme, well this is because once the plant pads are "planted", the herb name is illuminated on the rim, so you dont' mistake sage for basil :)

Now this is really really interesting

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Nokia Does it again ! N80

I am a big fan of this finnish company, I prefer using their cellphones over anybody else. Having washed my hands on a Samsung, Ericsson, Sony, Motorola and a number of Nokia's I think I was made for Nokia, or they were made for me. The announcement this week from them made me get up and take notice (once again).

Nokia announced, the first UPnP enabled (Universal Plug and Play) smartphone. Announced side by side to the N80 is the N92 (TV Smartphone), and a Multimedia Oriented N71.

What is interesting in the N80 ?

At a paltry weight of 138 gms, and a footprint the size of a credit card, this is the first smartphone from nokia, that has 3G and Quad Band support, also throwing in EDGE for high speed data transfers for non 3G networks.

The UPnP support will allow the media (images, videos, songs) stored on the phone to be accessible via a media extender connected with your TV in your living room, without the need of any addons.

The N80 (also the N71, and N92), support the new Nokia browser with mini map, providing a semi transparent zoomed out overall view of the web pages.

The N80has a 3 Megapixel camera which outperforms that of the N90 by a full Megapixel. The N80 may not have the Carl Zeiss lens and autofocus of the N90, yet is able to record stills as well as video at CIF resolution, storing content either to the 40 MB of non-volatile onboard memory or miniSD memory expansion cards which can be had in capacities of up to 2 GB at the time of writing.

Also benefiting from miniSD cards is the music player of the N80, which supports MP3 and WMA formats as well as AAC. Rounding out the feature list is a stereo FM radio with Nokia's Visual Radio client present, as well as USB 2.0 for high-speed wired data transfers and the presence of a front-mounted 0.3 MP camera to enable video calls.

And if you are wondering, yes the phone has Wifi access. It is slated for a launch in the first quarter of 2006, and may be priced around 500 Euros.

via [Infosyncworld]

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Web Browser !

Well yes there is a browser war happening, with Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla all going free why not.. this will happen, but I am talking of another Web browser. For those of you who liked the concept of the Nokia Webpad, I bring you another innovation, the Pepper Pad. Well what is it ?

Right in time for the christmas, priced all of US$889 (well why could they not make it 900 or 800 ?), weighing in at just 2.3 lbs, it's a pad that can do almost all that you want, including, surf the web, email, IM, download, store and play music, also organise it, edit store and share pictures, watch videos, maybe keep a journal, edit your blog, or control your TV.

It has it's own mozilla based browser, a spyware resistant email client, and an AOL compatible IM client.

Running on the Intel XScale PXA270 (624 Mhz) processor, with 20 GB of hard Disk space, it connects wirelessly to your home network, and runs on Two rechargeable lithium batteries offering hours of use.

Now this is something that I want this christmas :)

Want more info, click here.
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Play it Right !

Choosing a DVD Player is no more a big thing than spending how much you like. From the arcane days when DVD's were just about starting to replace LD players (Laser Disks for those of you who are new to these buzzwords), they used to cost a bomb.

Today a player is available at your chosen price, from either a Chinese OEM, or a Branded Manufacturer with Warranty and everything. And they are loaded with features, well too many compared to what the original boxes shipped with. Anyway.

Here is my take in choosing and helping you find your best player, also looking at the winner in the segment of entry level branded DVD players in India. Want more info on it,

Catch it with the Indian Express, in Supplement Express Money on Monday the 7th of November 2005, or click here to read the online version.

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Recycle !

We all produce waste, plastic waste. The world is becoming a faster paced machine, and we love junk food. Everytime we buy food, it's packed in plastic. We buy a box it has some plastic in it. When I cross Delhi to go over to Punjab or up north, I cross Delhi's dump yard, and it smells bad.. what you see is plastic.. and plastic.. things that can't be recycled, being dumped.. this is a topic I am close to, but have not talked or done much about. While reading this article, on Inhabitat, I found it interesting eough to share.

Plnatic Technologies, an Australian company has developed a fully biodegradable, corn based material that can be used as pacakaging to carry cupcakes or chocolates, so no more plastic trays in those boxes. These trays look like conventional plastic trays, till you get them wet, and then they dissolve.

Voila.. Want to read more, click on either of the links above.

And hey, recycle..

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Something for your Toddlers !!

When I was 3, I was entrusted with the care of my younger brother. With my mom doing her education, and her research at the same time, I had to take charge. I was too young to know what to do when, so my mom taught me to read the clock, the small hand at 3 meant, I had to feed my brother, the small hand at 5 meant, mom will be home anytime, those were simple days, mom and dad were out for a fixed amount of time, socializing meant, you take your kids along, baby sitters were not an in thing.

Now I look at my sister, with her two sweet little daughters, the elder one though is a brat at times, but she has to entrust her 3 year old to look after her baby sister. This device is neat, and i think you will find it of utility too. I dont know if it's going to be available here in India, but JIC...

The Buddy Bear Phone is actually a handset being aimed at kids between 3 and 10 years old, with the ability to call just four pre-programmed phone numbers or send a pre-programmed SMS (we don’t want kids making up their own SMS messages, now do we?) to four different people. To make sure parents have full control of the bear, it can be remotely controlled with a PIN number in case it’s lost or stolen and even turned into a makeshift remote baby monitor, so you can eavesdrop on your child’s conversation.

Retailing at about 130 Euros or Rs. 9000 this is an expensive, but I think a useful buy. Available both in Pink and Blue, sadly it's just a Dual band phone, but then that can work with major networks here in India.

[Available at], via [Gizmodo]

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5 Gifts a Geek Suggests this Diwali

It's that time of the year, when you get loads of presents. Sadly for me, this year, Diwali is a no no, My Grandma passed away this saturday, and my wife had lost her uncle earlier on this year at holi. Two big Indian Holiday's, two very respected and loved people lost in life. But life moves on, as the zen master Osho said, Life and Death are like breathing, you breathe in, it's Life, you breathe out, it's Death. It's a cycle, that goes on.

Diwali is celebrated with big bang, but we still give gifts, which hold nothing much to value, than the necessity of doing it. I have tried to stay away from gifting at Diwali's to friends, and family, but this year, when My Editor called me to say, let's do an article on Diwali Gifts, I thought to myself, what would be the Gifts I would love to recieve as a Geek, and then I said, well this is something I can give too.. yippeee.. and we had an article.

Enjoy life, to the fullest, you dont know when and where it will end, and hey, wish you a very Happy Diwali.

To read my article Happy Diwali, click here, or grab a copy of the Indian Express this Monday, October 31st, 2005.

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X-Ray Vision - Really True, no Lies

Kaya Optics, a company specialising in optical devices, claims to have newly developed product called the "Infrared See-Through Filter PF". The PF is a special optical device that helps to visually penetrate an object's surface in order to view whatever lies below, or what you and I would commonly call as X-Ray Vision.

The picture above is from their website taken using A mannequin dressed in a thin black dress, A sony camcorder with night vision (specific model used: TR250PK), and a PF (don't even ask me what that means). Anyway, the picture on top shows (in anticlockwise order), top left - the mannequin in black dress, Bottom left and right, a card with kaya written on it, being inserted inside the dress, and then the camera in action.

Now stop thinking that I am a perv.. it is just that these two three things happened together :)

Anyway, I know you are interested, but I can't say how true it is, or is it one of those claims doing the rounds of the Internet, but I feel it's serious, so it was worth a mention.

Checkout the details for yourself.

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The big O!

If by any chance you are a fan of Carrie Bradshaw and the soap Sex and the City, your mind would have run to a single thought, this guy is a perv.. well with a name like G-Spot for my blog and me speaking of the Big O, I dont' blame you, but look at it from the geek's world, the Big O is the Opera Software, the Norwegian company that has grown to be a big big big competitor in the Browser market (Which was largely free for sometime, and is now free again), till they recently annouced that Oprea is now Free :)

Opera's vision is to deliver the best Internet experience on any device. Opera's key business objective is to earn global leadership in the market for PC/desktops and embedded products. Opera's main business strategy is to provide a browser that operates across devices, platforms and operating systems, and can deliver a faster, more stable and flexible Internet experience than its competitors.....[from Opera's website]

On 17th October, they made a big big announement, making Opera the only browser to support Hindi & Punjabi (Currently the only browser supporting both languages). As per them nearly 700 million people speak hindi, and another 100 million punjabi.

For me, the only browser and email client I have known for a long time now is Opera. The M2, though misses out on some features, but is still one of the best email clients I have worked with.

Keep it up opera.. Great going guys..Best wishes

For all of you who want the language files, for opera, please visit http://www.opera.com/download/languagefiles/.

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World's Smallest Car !!

What is it with me and car's today ? Well nothing. Just amazed to see stuff around the internet. Anyway, from an article on Exterme Tech, this breaking news.

The researchers at Rice university have developed the nanocar. It's just 4 nm (nanometer) long, and is just a single molecule. There are 4 independent rotating axles, built-in suspension, and oversized wheels that enables it to move forward and backward.

See the image above, that is just an artistes illustration, but this is the next step to nano technology, the new buzzword with everyone. So.. u dont' want the sky car.. well how about the nano car :)

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Your Next Car / Maybe !!

You think this is a joke right. Well no, it is not.. Go check it out for yourself, a Car, actually a plane.. .hmm.. no a skycar.. that can do 350+ miles per hour, in development since the 1960s, Vertical takeoff and landing, three wheeled, folding wing design for safety and affordability to be used as an automobile, and yes Delivery NOT Included.

Price Tag: 3.5 Million US$ (no jokes)

You want one, well you need to fill out an online order form at [Neiman Marcus]

Go check it for yourself.

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The Nokia E Series

Well nokia bites the dust, with Palm and microsoft announcing a phone, and nokia still without a phone that compares to the blackberry and or the palm phones (in looks, not features), Nokia announced the E Series. Sadly I can't translate this page for you.

The ESeries is designed for the business user, with baseline features including Blackberry services, QVGA or better display, WiFi, VoIP, Bluetooth, Edge, 3G High Speed Data, and Push to Talk. Hmm...drooling already, well these are not going to be available till atleast the first quarter of 2006.

And yes, I dont know.. if Nokia still has the problem with the Symbian virus with this series or not, but they will be running on Symbian OS 9.1.

Personally speaking, I like the design of the Nokia E61, same one that is linked above, but let's wait and see.. Whether the Nokia or the Moto Q takes my attention when they are available.

For More Info [Engadget]

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The Lipstick Reinvented - Nokia

Remember the fashion accessory phones that the giant Nokia came out with (Models 7280, 7270 , 7260). Well Nokia realised before everyone else, that people are carrying multiple phones, depending on the mood and the style, and they are accessorising with phones. The latest (well still to come out sometime in the First quarter of 2006) from Nokia, the L'Amour collection, poses to be a big threat to your pocket, every woman with a fashion statement to make will want these. So if you are one of those cassanova types with a girlfriend in every city, watch out man.

The phones are simplist in features, but offer a camera with upto 2 megapixels camera (depending on model) a swivel body (only nokia 730), these are the new oomph machines.

Though one thing, the site is made beautifully, for more information goto Nokia.

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A frog styled humidifier !!

Something I found on a usual trip around the web, one humidifier that I would love to use, shows how we are obsessed with good looking things.

Froggy Style Humidifier, via Akhiabara

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Cellphone theft !!

It is on the rise, if you haven't had one stolen, you will in a few days. I have been a victim of it, but sadly due to my own mistake, I left it in the dash of my car, and gave it to a vallet to park at a wedding, obviouslly it was gone.. I still loved that phone (sad) we had to part with it, but I know of a lot of people, who have their phones stolen. Sometimes kids, sometimes young people, in the world of have's and have not's this is going to happen.

A UK based company Karrysafe makes bags and carry pouches for things that you need to be bothered about and need to secure. On their site a few days back I saw two things, that caught my attention (yes I know, what you are thinking, there was a semi nude woman, to make sure I don't loose my attention, but na.. that's not it.. )

Two innovative products from them, the body safe (for all those girlies) and the phone safe (can be used while jogging or out for a walk), though I dont' think the latter will catch on with the fashion gurus, the first one, though may still stand a chance, give you a way to store your phone, so that people can't steal it from you.. Want to check them out.. well go on

Bodysafe, & Phone safe

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Google - The Big Thing about it !!!

Why is everyone so scared of google, after all, all that they do is put things together. They did it with the best search engine, yes, I prefer it over anything else, I could swear by altavista in the early days, but the day it googled, I haven't seen the face of another engine.. .so are they scary. The recent battles between microsoft and google, and then other companies going on and on about google, is creating quite a bit of hate for them, but are they to be scared about ?

2 Days back President Kalam, made a statement about Google Earth, and everyone, on all news channels was talking about how google earth can give way to terrorists to mark targets and see our milltary bases. Well just to share my point, this information was always available, I remember about 3 years back there wa s a front page story about Indian Satellite images coming from Russian Satellites amongst others for a price, and these being available at the underground markets. I was never able to find them. Personally speaking, Google earth has helped me a lot in planning my trips, directions and at times my Wireless Installations and I think it is a good tool. How will the government go about banning it.. well I dont know.. but It sure does put you to think can it be used by evil minds.

BTW, for my friends at the science and technology department, and people who are tihnking of working ways to stop google earth, another few things to worry abouat MSN Virtual Earth and World Wind from NASA, though they dont' have much data at the moment, and are not as friendly and easy to use as Google Earth (Now that is what makes them big), they will be the cause of your worries in a few days !!!

The governments of South Korea and Thailand and lawmakers in the Netherlands have expressed similar concerns. South Korean newspapers said Google Earth provides images of the presidential Blue House and military bases in the country, which remains technically at war with communist North Korea. The North's main nuclear facility at Yongbyon is among sites in that country displayed on the service.

The Google site contains clear aerial photos of India's parliament building, the president's house and surrounding government offices in New Delhi. There are also some clear shots of Indian defense establishments.

Debbie Frost, spokewoman for Mountain View, California, Google, noted that the software uses information already available from public sources and the images displayed are about one to two years old, not shown in real time.

Another article on wired tells you how a movie director was able to do a better script on his movie, by searching google for they keywords "how to kill a person", wow.. it returns about 37,700,000 results related to my search, now should we go out and ban google ?

I dont' think so, I dont' think the internet can be policed, should be policed, if it happens, someone will come up with another network, to share information. All of us are hungry for knowledge, hungry !

A few things, that you may not know about google, but I would love to share, yes I know I keep harping about their translation capabilities, but well to know more, see http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

BTW.. did you know, tihs blog is powered by Google :)

Yipeee... Hooray to Google, we share the G

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Microwave me :)

If you are a tech, you think I am talking about Microwaves to communicate, well nah.. not this time.. am talking something that all of us want.. a microwave oven, we have one, we want the second one, we dont' have one.. we are working to get one..

So, how do you compare a microwave from well, another microwave oven.. need some advice.. logon and click here to read "The right ingredients", my column this week in Express Money, in Print Monday 24th October 2005, with the Indian Express, country wide.

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Sony and It's new Obsession - Location Free TV

Do you have a laptop ? < Obviouslly, Wireless, here.. now I am asking stupid questions. Well did you enjoy the freedom wireless was to bring to you, I difinitely did. Anyway, this is not wifi mumbo jumbo again, but something I just stumbled on at Sony Japans' Website (thanks to google translate again), anyway.. If you have had a dekko at the PSP from sony you know the display is one of the best, and the ability to play DVD movies (portable UMD's that sony's come out with), they are still not available everywhere, but then should this restrict you. Well not really

Sony plans to come out very soon (or it should be out by the time you read this), with a product called LF-PK1 That allows you to plugin your DVD player and your TV Cable into the box and stream it over wifi to either your Laptop or to PSP's running software version higher than 2.0

No prices as yet, but this is interesting, imagine, not only can you play games anywhere in the house, now you can also get your favourite movie on your Portable.. so you still dont' have wifi you said.. go go.. get one..

Sony

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The Indian E-Retail Space

When the dot com boom came along, every one in India wanted to be online. I remember our venture called Aapka Bazaar back in 1996, it was too early for it's days and it died out, logistics and payments were a problem. Over the following years a lot of companies ventured into the online teritory from selling Books, to Bindi's, Innerwear to Outerwear and what not.

The Dot com baloon busted and left a lot of companies, online and offline looking at their models again, it was the time of M&A's (Mergers' and Acquisitions) and a lot of them combined with each other.

Lately the only solid online seller / marketplace (Bazee) was picked up by ebay for a hefty amount.

But is this all an eyewash. Are the online market places offering deals. I personally when looking for things to buy abroad, or asking a relative to bring in something, would rather go through froogle and then land up buying it with my credit card.. would something like this happen in India.

Well I am not sure, I can go on and on about this topic but the market will define itself.

This week in the Indian express money, I look at deal hunting for whitegoods online (Can it happen). If you think you want to konw more, click here, to read Devil in the details, my article this week, or grab a print copy of the Indian Express on Monday October 17, 2005, Nationwide in India.

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Locks for the New Age

What do you expect.. .remote controlled pad locks (US$ 18 per piece), and the Liquor combination lock to save your spirits (really) at GB£ 15 a piece.

Two things, I dont' think a lot of people will need.. atleast not for the thing that they are meant for (to lock).

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My PC is Acting Up - Print (Indian Express)

Do you have a PC. Well i think you do, since you are here.. anyway.. do you have your set of problems, don't we all with our pcs. My take on 5 most common problems, and some solutions for them, in the Indian Express (Supplement Express Money), on 3rd October 2005, Monday (Country wide)

Online: Click Here

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Love Thy Dog !!

You love your dog, like any other crazy person on the face of this earth, obsessed with pets. Well dont' you want to have your dog go on a vaccation with you What if you were headed camping, how would your dog sleep, where.. in what.. are you thinking of the same questions.. did you see the picture above.

Firstrax, sells the first ever inflatable doghouse, that boasts of 10 times more insulation power than any available plastic doghouse.Includes Door & Insulated Foam Floor for added comfort, protection and value for your dog.

Interested, visit their website at http://www.firstrax.net/petnation/kodiak.html

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Dream Phone !!

It is very difficult for me to classify the Uniden ELBT595 as either a Desk phone or a cellphone, but I can describe it as the most flexible phone I have come across tlil now. It allows you to make and accept phone calls both on your cellular network and on your landline from a single hand set. Users looking at minimizing the clutter of electronics and phone lines on their table will be the most suitable buyers for this product. At US$ 232 for a piece (www.walmart.com), it is an expensive buy.

The ELBT595 comes with a speakerphone / answering machine base station that plugs into your standard analog phone line and a 5.8-GHz cordless flip-style handset. (You can purchase and connect as many as ten handsets to a single base station.) The handset looks like a cell phone and has many of the same features.

Both the handset and base are Bluetooth enabled; easily link to your Bluetooth enabled cell phone. It uses electronics to store the voice recording messages, and hence no hassle of tapes and them running out.

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The Megapixel War continues - Introducing the FZ30 from Panasonic

I am sorry vikas, well yes I am. He called me a few days back for a good deal on a camera and I pointed him to the FZ20, well in less than a fortnight the FZ30 is here, and it is a drool machine. I have sadly not put one to test as yet, as It just got available on the underground in India, but here are some specs for all you megapixel wannabe's.

Effective Megapixels: 8.0, 12x optical zoom (equivalent to 35mm to 420mm on a 35mm film camera), and MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) the Panasonic's much touted helper.

It has 5 Autofocus modes, and if you still think you need more, it features a ring that lets you manually adjust the focus from 0.98 feet (0.3m) to infinity.

The interesting part is the free-Angle 2.0" Diagonal High-Resolution LCD monitor that you can turn anyway you like, thus giving you a flexibility to catch a high angle shot over a crowd.

Priced about Rs. 30,000 on the Gray market.. .I think this is a great buy.

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The Right Toy for this Generation - Robosapien

I Want this.. I dont know.. if kids 3 year old want it or not.. but I want it.. :).. Perfect friend for a Lan Party !! as hasbro says...

"RoboSapien Junior knows all the right moves. He's a slick looking robot with a silly attitude--a buddy who spins, bumps off walls, and wages goofy battles with others of his kind."

Robosapien is built around the "Bump-n-Giggle" technology, that allows him (see i already have made it a person)..go ouch ouch, dance to it's own music, light up it's eyes, and delivery zanny sound effects.

Now how do i get one....

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Turn your head.. not so much !!!

At the Tokyo motorshow which opens to us morsels on the 20th of October this year, Nissan will be showcasing their concept car called the PIVO. This 3 seater electric car, is a great boon when you have to park in markets like GK in delhi, where space is on big crunch.

And yes, for all of you who have a trouble reversing the car, well no problem, the top body turns 180 degrees, to give you a front and back feel, and you are always driving forward in a way (Btw.. what do we do about bad drivers, and that road rage).. hmmm..

Well I am sure for one thing, this car is a head turner. Round and White..

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The 100$ Laptop, Yes it's True

Before you get your hopes too high, read this. It is not really something you can buy even if you wanted to !

This week most of the blog sites, that have something to do with technology are talking about the 100$ Laptop, yes it is becoming a reality. The program started by Nicholas Negroponte (The founder of MIT Media Labs), has detailed specifications for this machine.

Now your question is, how would it work in the destined countries, where there is no power, well the machine actually works with wind up power. Confused.. no problem, you remember that toy you could wind up, and it would run, well that is wind up technology, and it can be used to power devices. There have been in the past wind up radios and other devices, and this will be one of the first times that it is being used in a laptop. (Ref. In an earlier news, a Girl in an Indian village had made a washing machine, with a cycle attached to it, for wind up power)..

"Negroponte, who laid out his original proposal at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, said MIT and his nonprofit group, called One Laptop Per Child, is in discussions with five countries--Brazil, China, Thailand, Egypt and South Africa--to distribute up to 15 million test systems to children."

The proposed design of the machines calls for a 500MHz processor, 1GB of memory and an innovative dual-mode display that can be used in full-color mode, or in a black-and-white sunlight-readable mode. The display makes the laptop "both an electronic book and a laptop".

Want to read more about this, visit the website at MIT Media Labs, by clicking here.

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On the move, yet online

Have you felt the need to connect to the Internet when you are on the road, or travelling. Maybe for that important email that needs a review, or to send out a quote to a customer. I have a lot of this need. I try to answer your questions on alternatives on how to do this in my latest article in Indian Express Money.

Online, and in Print on the 26th of September 2005 with Indian Express.

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Phones.. how smart !!!

When i saw people carrying the O2, i thought now that is a sleaze machine to own, then came around the O2 mini. My problem with them, the lack of a keyboard, keep pressing the screen.. now that is not the most frendiliest way to work with things for me. I am more of a keyboard guy. Anyway... when I saw the reviews for the O2 Xda Exec, I got interested (Add to wishlist :) ), anyway the problem, it is currently only available with a contract from O2, now they are not here in India, so my choices are limited. Well are you interested in a phone like this, look at the i-mate JASJAR ( Approx: 50K INR), the phone is a great buy (Well so I can say, till my lay my hands on one and actually test it out), anyway.. Just to tell you the features

Windows Mobile 5.0
Wireless LAN 802.11b (11 mbps.. good.. but not the best)
Tri-Band 900/ 1800/ 1900 MHz, + WCDMA(UMTS) (2100MHz)* - Hmm.. Interesting
v1.2 Bluetooth
MMC / SDIO Memory Slot
Push Email Service - Similar to Blackbery's
Two Cameras
Built-In 62 Key QWERTY keyboard
Integrated Video and Music Players
Stereo Loudspeaker

Now that is a sleaze machine.. i am already drooling

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Blu-Ray... the hot topic in town !!!

With the television and news paper shouting out blu ray (actually the way they have been writing it, it is blue ray), but hey what's in a name :), blu-ray seems to be the next kid attraction. How hot is it, and what is the techonlogy, let me answer some questions for you.

What is blu-ray ?

Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA),PC companies (like Apple, Dell, LG, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and others..). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25GB, which can be used to record over 2 hours of HDTV or more than 13 hours of standard-definition TV. There are also dual-layer versions of the discs that can hold 50GB.

How does it make a difference to you ?

Hmm.. remember there used to be records, and then came cassettes, and then CD's and now DVD's, well Blu-ray is the next thing for you. Imagine able to store multiple movies (say all of Alfred Hitchcock movies - about 67 of them all on one disc), all with subtitles, high definition quality and multiple angles. Now that seems interesting, atleast for couch potatoes.

When will it come out ?

Well some of the companies have their players and recorders out in the market, some of them are working on stability issues, and a price point product. So wait and see what happens.

Want more information, well see http://www.blu-ray.com/info/

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