Linux OS : Get to know it !!

I have been thinking of giving a specific direction to the " Tech Tuesday " posts. We have discussed a number of " well heard but not fully understood " technologies like the one on wifi, dSLR cameras, megapixel and images, touchscreen, netbooks and so on....

The big question is what is it we will be discussing then. Let's break the news : It will be Linux OS (atleast for a number of Tuesdays ).

Since this is the first post in this direction, let's keep it simple.

All of us have heard about Linux and many of us might be thinking of trying it or taking a plunge into the world of Linux. But there are a few myths that keep us from doing it.

Linux and Unix : What's the difference ?

Unix is an operating system developed by AT&T in 1969. Official trademark of Unix is with " The Open Group ".
It's a text based ( terminal ) OS and not the graphic based Windows and Macs we are used to.

Linux : Linux is a Unix like OS developed by free and open source software collaboration. Linus Torvalds wrote the original Linux Kernel ( read system files) in 1991 while rest of the utilities and libraries come from GNU OS by Richard Stallman ( hence the name GNU/Linux).

It's cliche but true : Linux is not Unix.

Do we need technical and programming experience to use it ?

No, the Linux distributions ( different versions since it's open source ) now a days like Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, Debian and the likes comes with graphical user interface ( X window interface ) much like the Windows and Macs and in some cases even better.

Just have a look at the 3d linux desktop

Earlier Linux was mostly used as a server and programming purposes . Those willing can really see what goes on under the hood of an OS. Programming from scratch with ease has been it's USP.

Now it's really commonplace with a number of laptops and desktops coming with Linux distros

The very fact that it's open source ( the source codes are open to public to develop it) means it's updating all the time.

I have been using Fedora Linux (Fedora 4 onwards ) and let me tell you it's a beauty. It's like having a fully customised OS of your own. It's this " control in the hands of user " aspect that makes Linux special.

I also carry with myself Knoppix Linux live CD. Just boot with it into any system and it becomes your own, do your work and get going.

Once you discover the world of Linux, you will be hooked. Much of my Tech Tuesday future posts will be in the direction of getting you hooked to THE OS and simplifying the how to use part.

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Wi-Fi and Bluetooth : Simple to learn Wireless !!

Wireless networks are the future of seamless connectivity. Already we are used to various Bluetooth enabled gadgets and accessing internet in Wi-Fi enabled zones. In this post let's try to simplify these technologies for a better understanding.

is for resident equipment and its applications and is intended as a replacement for cabling for general local area network access in work areas. The category of applications is outlined as WLAN, the wireless local area networks.

Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance for certified products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices.

Wi-Fi is often used for wireless internet (WLAN ), but actually every product does not have the Wi-Fi certification and hence not all WLAN's are Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi is supported by most personal computer operating systems, many game consoles, laptops, smartphones, printers, and other peripherals.

Through interconnected access points (hotspots) Wi-Fi can lead to connectivity over large square miles of area, though a typical Wi-Fi home router has a range of 32 m indoors and 95 m outdoors.

Bluetooth is an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs).

Bluetooth is intended for non resident equipment and its applications. The category of applications is outlined as the wireless personal area network (WPAN). Bluetooth is a replacement for cabling in a variety of personally carried applications.

Bluetooth has a range of less than 10m for gadegts we use (class II device), but it can go upto 100m (class I device). The current version of Bluetooth is 2.1

Next version Bluetooth 3.0 (codename Seattle ) is expected to be released this year which will allow use of Bluetooth over UltraWideBand ( UWB) radio, and data transfer upto 480 Mbit/s.

I guess it's enough for the day. Now we can keep an eye on the future developments in Wireless Connectivity in a more informed way !!

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Know the Digicam : Point and Shoot or dSLR !!

Digital Camera is one must have gadget. The luxury to go on clicking without worrying about film rolls and everything getting automatically saved on that tiny Memory Card having 1 gb, 2gb or more space is something, really. So, lets try to know the digicam in a Simple to learn way.

Basically there are two types of digicam :

1. Point and shoot digital camera : Small and portable camera with Live Preview capabilities and limited motion video features mostly used for taking Snapshots.

2. dSLR (digital single lens reflex) digital camera: The reflex design scheme is a major difference between a dSLR and an ordinary digital point and shoot camera, which typically exposes the sensor constantly to the light projected by the lens, allowing the camera's screen to be used as an electronic viewfinder.

There is also the Bridge / SLR ( Single Lens Reflex ) digicam often confused for a true dSLR Digicam. It has small sensors and Livepreview just like Point and Shoot digicam and shares a few features with dSLR but it's not a true dSLR.

Points on which dSLR digicam scores over Point and Shoot digicam :

1. Optical viewfinders which tend to be more comfortable and efficient, especially for action photography and in low-light conditions.

2. Accurate preview of framing close to the moment of exposure

3. Larger sensors : similar depths of field and picture angle to film formats.

4. Choose from a variety of interchangeable lenses

5. Less shutter lag, faster autofocus systems, and faster frame rates

6. Ability to attach additional accessories. A good dSLR can really be customised.

Now, points on which Point and Shoot digital camera scores over a dSLR digicam:

1. Generally smaller size and weight.

2. Generally lesser cost and if chosen wisely, a great value for money.

3. Few DSLRs with a video mode, while this has become a standard feature of compact digital cameras.

4. Most DSLR models lack live preview on their LCDs, a nearly universal feature among compact digital cameras (many newer DSLRs do offer this).

5. Noisier (audio) operation, due to the SLR mirror mechanism.

6. Small digicams generally can focus on closer objects than typical DSLR lenses.

Simply put, if you really have keen interest in photography go for a dSLR

Also if you have money to splurge and videos are not a priority then go for a dSLR.

On the other hand if you want to strike a balance between cost and performance go for the compact Point and Shoot digicam. There are some real good ones in 6 MP TO 10 MP range. But as I pointed out in last Tuesday's Tech post, Megapixels are not everything.

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Hard Disk Recovery : Simple to Learn !!

In Brief : Can't believe I just recovered my external USB hard disk drive partition. I have a 250 gb Western digital external hard disk, with 4 partitions one of which got corrupted recently. It seemed like I would end up losing 80 gb worth of movies and software. But after numerous attempts I discovered the simplest partition recovery software of all.

Testdisk 6.10 is a freeware and an amazingly simple software. It can run on almost all operating systems. The console look might be a turn-off for some but believe me it's really simple to learn.
Here's how I did it -


The green highlight belowis the lost partition.


There are a host of other recovery softwares we can go for. For a complete list of such softwares click below to read more :

In Detail :
Comprehensive review list of recovery softwares !!

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Top ten "Science" breakthroughs: Stem Cell Research tops !!

In Brief : The journal "Science" listed its top 10 scientific breakthroughs of 2008.

1. A technique that allows stem cells to be created without the need to destroy embryos has been named as the scientific breakthrough of the year.
2. Exoplanets
3. Expanding the catalog of cancer genes
4. New mystery materials
5. Watching Proteins At work
6. Toward renewable energy on demand
7. The video embryo
8. "Good" fat, illuminated
9. Calculating the weight of the World
10. Faster, cheaper genome sequencing
The latest areas of interest for the year 2009 includes plants genomics, the elusive Higgs boson, speciation genes, ocean acidification, and neuroscience in court.

In Detail :
The top choice, cellular reprogramming, opened a new field of biology almost overnight and holds out hope of life-saving medical advancesThe other top nine achievements are :
Exoplanets : Using a special telescope techniques, for the first time the astronomers were able to directly observe planets orbiting other stars.
Expanding the catalog of cancer genes: Researchers have been able to sequence genes from two deadliest cancer cells, pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma. They turned up dozens of mutations that remove the brakes on cell division and send the cell down the path to cancer.
New mystery materials: An entirely new second family of high-temperature superconductors were discovered. These materials consisted of iron compounds instead of copper-and-oxygen-compounds.
Watching Proteins At work: It was a pleasant suprise for the Biochemists to watch proteins bind to their targets, switch a cell’s metabolic state and contribute to a tissue’s properties.
Toward renewable energy on demand: Inorder to store excess energy generated from part-time sources like wind and solar power, researchers have found a new promising tool using a cobalt-phosphorus catalyst.
The video embryo: In 2008, researchers observed in unprecedented detail the dance of cells in a developing embryo, recording and analyzing movies that trace the movements of the roughly 16,000 cells that make up the zebrafish embryo by the end of its first day of development.
"Good" fat, illuminated: Scientists have been able to morph "good" brown fat, which burns "bad" white fat to generate heat for the body, into muscle and vice versa. This has led to a new approach to treat obesity .
Calculating the weight of the World: Physicists have been successful in calculating the mass of proton and Neutron from the standard model which describes most of the visible universe’s particles and their interactions.
Faster, cheaper genome sequencing: Researchers have been able to report a sequencing technology that is much cheaper and speedier. The technique can be applied from woolly mammoths to human cancer patients.

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Mobile web : Have you explored it !!

In Brief : Wikipedia launched it's mobile version yesterday. I too launched the mobile version ( http://simple2learn.mofuse.mobi/) of my blog yesterday, thanks to mofuse.com

I have been using a nokia N70 (Symbian 60 v2 OS) since last one year and it has been 4 months since I have been a regular mobile-internet user . The speed ranges from ok to good . It might sound improbable to many but I have been downloading full movies on my mobile with the help of Opera/Netfront browsers and Fget downloader. And yes, I watched the movie Max Payne on my mobile. What I have been doing on a Symbian 60 v2 mobile can be done even better on the Symbian v3+, Windows mobile and iphone.

The point is that mobile internet has come a long way. Everyday there is a significant advance in technology. With 3G supposed to be implemented in India, and mobiles with larger screens hitting the market, it's time to focus on mobile web. Already mobile blogging and monetizing projects are coming up in big way. The major players have all launched their respective mobile versions which load faster and are really easy to use. I guess it's the right time to join the mobile-web bandwagon. Read in detail for my mobile bookmarks...

In Detail :
http://m.google.com
http://m.youtube.com
http://m.yahoo.com
http://m.orkut.com
http://peperonity.com : the ultimate mobile host. numerous user pages. http://moviesmobile.net : all the hollywood/bollywood movies for mobile
http://mjelly.com/ : the best mobile links directory
http://wapedia.mobi : lets you view websites in mobile compatible version

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Netbook or notebook : Know what you need !!

In Brief : Netbooks have given mobility an all new meaning. Bridging the gap between handheld devices and laptops, they are creating quite a buzz.

Netbook : A very small, light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient laptop, primarily used for internet based services such as web browsing, e-mailing and instant messaging. They are also suitable for light use running office and educational software
Subnotebook : A small and lightweight laptop.They generally are found to run full desktop operating systems such as Windows or Linux, rather than specialized software such as Windows CE, Palm OS or Internet Tablet OS.Subnotebooks are smaller than laptops but larger than handheld computers. They often have smaller-sized screens, less than 14 inches, and weigh less than typical laptops, usually being less than 2 kg (4.4 lbs). The savings in size and weight are usually achieved partly by omitting ports or having removable media or optical disc drives.

Notebook : Nothing but the laptop. We all know what a laptop is, right?
Top 10 netbooks....
Having difficulty in choosing a netbook. Read in detail
In Detail : http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12673233

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Beer from Space : it's cosmic !!

In Brief : Japanese beer brewed from barley which was grown on the international space station orbiting the Earth, has finally been tasted.

The space-beverage was the result of a five-month mission during which barley was grown for the first time in a Russian laboratory on board the International Space Station (ISS).
Sapporo Breweries, one of Japan's major breweries, went on to use the crop of barley grown in space to create 100 litres of a 5.5 per cent proof beer ­ aptly named "Space Barley".
The space brew was the result of a collaboration between the Russian Academy of Science, Okayama University in Japan and Sapporo Breweries , one of the oldest brewers in the country.
The barley was grown as the result of an on-going crop growing project on board ISS, with other products including wheat, lettuce and peas. In the furute, potatoes could also be grown in space.
Cosmonaut Dr Boris Morukov who spent 11 days in space says potatoes may one day be grown, but not to make space vodka.
While the current batch of space beer will not be sold commercially, 30 couples selected from among the public by lottery will be invited to a special tasting event in Tokyo next month.
Although beer has previously been off space menus due to its alcohol and gas content, breweries are hoping that the newly-created space beer may eventually become available for astronauts to enjoy in space.

In Detail
Want to know more...

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Nokia completes Symbian acquisition...terrific news!!

In Brief : Nokia has completed its acquisition of mobile platform company Symbian. The acquisition, which was announced earlier this year, will enable Nokia to continue moving forward with its plans to liberate the Symbian source code and transform the platform into a community-driven open source software project.

After the software is audited to ensure that there are no licensing problems, it will be made available to the general public under the open source Eclipse Public License (EPL). Nokia expects this process to take roughly 2 years.
The completion of Nokia's Symbian acquisition marks a major turning point for the Symbian mobile operating system.
Although Symbian is currently the dominant platform on mobile phone handsets, its relevance is beginning to decline as Apple and Linux-based alternatives gain popularity.
Opening the platform and transitioning to a radically different development model could potentially attract a new development community to the software and make it more attractive to handset makers.
The move is part of Nokia's broader software strategy, which is now dominated by open source.
Nokia also recently acquired Trolltech and has brought the company's Qt framework to Symbian. A Qt preview release for S60 was announced in October for developers who wanted to get an early start. Qt is also supported on Windows Mobile and a variety of Linux-based mobile platforms, so it provides developers with a lot of portability across the entire mobile ecosystem.
It will also enrich the S60 software ecosystem by making it possible to port over existing Qt applications from the desktop.

My experience with Nokia N-Series...there is nothing like Symbian OS...open source model ensures that there are numerous third party softwares to do practically everything you would do on your personal computer right from web browsing/blogging to playing 3d games !!
Read More....
To know more about Symbian OS....
http://www.s60.com/
http://www.symbian.com/
www.allaboutsymbian.com

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IBM unveils 5 futuristic innovations !!

In Brief : unveiled its annual "IBM Five in Five" list in which the company details some of the most striking innovations which it thinks has the potential to change the way we live in the next five years.
This is the third edition.
The 2008 list is before you....
1. Solar technology to become ubiquitous
With energy-saving technology a prime concern in the days of the current economic downtrend, the future looks bright for alternative energy sources.

2. Medical soothsayers
For less than $200, you will be able to predict your medical future.
This technology can go a long way in dramatically altering our lifestyles!

3. Converse with the web in voice
A miracle for the trillions who can't read or write.
4. Digital Shopping Assistants : coming soon !!
This not about the mundane, currently very un-interactive online shopping experience you're used to.

5. Forgot something? Hit Search!
In the future, it is possible that our activity will be recorded by cameras and microphones all around us. All these data will be continuously fed to a personal computer, which will keep all our "records" making them available instantly whenever you need it!

Read More...

source : http://www.techtree.com/

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Speculation time: Microsoft Live Search to be Kumo !!

In Brief : Rumours have it that Microsoft intends to re-brand its Live Search into Kumo next year.
The company has allegedly already acquired the domain Kumo.com last week
It has been also securing all the other variants of Kumo (.net, .jp, .fr and so on).
All these domains are now being held by CSC Corporate Domains, Microsoft's domain registrar of choice at the moment.
CSC Corporate reportedly picked the domain up from semiconductor equipment supplier Schlumberger, which renounced at the domain a few years ago.
Kumo is the Japanese term for "spider" and "cloud," both words fitting the general idea of search technology.
The acquiring of Kumo.com and other domains for Kumo sparked speculation that Microsoft is making a second re-branding after MSN and Live.com.
Another hint that Microsoft is taking measures to boost Live Search is that it has recently hired Sean Suchter, currently Yahoo's vice president of search technology.
According to the latest data provided by ComScore and Citi Investment Research,

• Microsoft’s Live Search : 8.9 %
• Google : 63 % (of search market)
• Yahoo : 20 %

The big question here is whether Kumo.com will have more success that Live.com, which reached a dead end and hasn’t grown in the past few months despite Microsoft’s programs to actually pay users for using the service.

source : http://www.efluxmedia.com/
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Next is what : Internet in outer space !!

In Brief : Imagine Cyberspace being extended to outer space !!

Nasa has successfully transmitted images to and from a spacecraft 20 million miles away with a communications system based on the net.
The Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) technology is designed to work across vast distances where response times can be measured in days.
Further tests of DTN are due to take place on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2009.
Read more ... and more...

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/ & http://www.sciam.com/

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Searchwiki : google takes search customization to another level !!

In Brief : Google's SearchWiki service enables users to get more involved in the system’s search results.

[[[ A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.

Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.

Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work".]]]

The new customization process lets users change the results’ ranking and also add comments and annotations.
With just a single click you can move the results you like to the top or add a new site.
You can also write notes attached to a particular site and remove results that you don't feel belong. These modifications will be shown to you every time you do the same search in the future. SearchWiki is available to signed-in Google users.
For now, Google users can only change their own search results, but all the notes can be publicly viewed.

In order to edit and customize the search results, users will have to be signed in to their Google accounts. From that point on, all the new features will become available, allowing the complete rearrangement of the search results, the deletion of unhelpful results and also the remarks on the search’s usefulness.
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The Power of "Touch " : know the touchscreen !!

In Brief : Touchscreen is a display which can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area.

The term generally refers to touch or contact to the display of the device by a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus.

However, if the object sensed is active, as with a light pen, the term touchscreen is generally not applicable.
The ability to interact directly with a display typically indicates the presence of a touchscreen.
Earlier, most consumer touchscreens could only sense one point of contact at a time, and few have had the capability to sense how hard one is touching. This is starting to change with the commercialisation of multi-touch technology.
The touchscreen has two main attributes :
First, it enables you to interact with what is displayed directly on the screen, where it is displayed, rather than indirectly with a mouse or touchpad.
Secondly, it lets one do so without requiring any intermediate device, again, such as a stylus that needs to be held in the hand.
Such displays can be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances such as the personal digital assistant (PDA), satellite navigation devices and mobile phones.
Problem 1 : stress on human fingers.
Solution : Use fingernails as stylus.
Problem 2 : fingerprints on the display
Solution : use optical coating to prevent finger oils to stick.
Problem 3 : "Gorilla Arm" effect- Cramps in finger and arm.

Solution : horizontally oriented touchscreen minimises it, but it remains an issue.
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Google updates SMS service in India !!

In Brief : Google has launched a newer version of SMS search !!

It comes with new numbers and a host of other features.

Just SMS your query to 9773300000 and get your answers at the cost of a regular text message.

Search anything right from finding the local atm machine to confirming your PNR status !!

SMS help to 9773300000 to get started !!

get going : http://www.google.co.in/mobile/default/sms/

source - http://www.techshout.com/
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Intel launches i7 processor in India !!

In Brief : Intel launched it's Core i7 processor in India ....

Intel has released three different models of the Core i7 - all quad core variants with hyper-threading :


* Core i7 920 clocked at 2.66 GHz priced at $284 (approximately Rs.14,063),
* Core i7 940 clocked at 2.93 GHz priced at $562 (approximately Rs.27,830),
* Core i7 965 XE (Extreme Edition) clocked at 3.2 GHz priced at $999 (approximately Rs.49,470)

The Core i7 processors are markedly different from their predecessors and have many advantages over them.

• There is the increased parallelism with the processor being capable of executing 33% more concurrent micro-ops simultaneously.
• There is also the faster unaligned cache access and faster synchronization primitives. Intel has also implemented a new 2nd level branch predictor to avoid situations when execution units stand idle.
• Yet another improvement is the cache sub-system that has been redesigned from scratch.
• The Core i7 processor also marks an end of the legendary FSB (Front Side Bus). These processors feature the new Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) bus, which is Intel's answer to AMD's Hypertransport 3.0 and a three channel memory controller supporting 1066 MHz DDR3 memory is present on-chip.
• Multi-threading technology (similar to hyper-threading of the NetBurst architecture processors) is also featured on these CPUs with SSE 4.2 instructions. These are capable of handling up to eight software threads on four processor cores.
• Turbo Boost technology allows the cores to bump up the clock speeds when deemed necessary.
• This quad-core chip is manufactured using the 45nm process, sporting 731 million transistors.
• Combined with the Intel X58 chipset-based motherboards with LGA1366 socket, these are incompatible with older motherboards. Currently, these can only be used with motherboards based on the Intel X58 chipset.

Update : For the technologically inclined ... http://www.pcworld.com/article/154361/getting_to_the_core_of_intels_new_core_i7_cpus.html

source : http://www.techtree.com/
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