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2011-02-09T13:54:00.000-05:00

Why does the Moon look so huge on the horizon? | Bad Astronomy

2010-05-14T01:11:00.001-04:00

I love illusions, and I love astronomy. So what could be better than combining the two?

If you’ve ever seen the Moon rising over the horizon, looking so fat and looming that you felt like you could fall right into it, then you’ve been a victim of the famous Moon Illusion. And it is an illusion, a pervasive and persuasive one.

So, how does this thing work? Ah, step right up.

One of my favorite brain-benders is the Ponzo Illusion. You’ve seen it: the simplest case is with two short horizontal lines, one above the other, between two slanting but near-vertical lines. The upper line looks longer than the lower line, even though they’re the same length.

The illusion works because our brains are a bit wonky. The slanted lines make us think that anything near the top is farther away; the lines force our brain to think those lines are parallel but receding in the distance (like railroad tracks). The two horizontal lines are physically the same length, but our brain thinks the upper one is farther away. If it’s farther away, then duh, our brain says to itself, it must be bigger than the lower one. So we perceive it that way.

While procrastinating on reddit, (you do look at reddit, don’t you, especially the science section?) I found this beautiful example of Ponzo:

Heehee! You’d swear up and down^* that the red vertical line on the right is much longer than the one on the left, wouldn’t you? It looks almost twice as long to me. It’s a very powerful perception.

But they’re not! I cut out the two red lines and put them side by side. They’re pretty much exactly the same length (well, they’re off by a bit due to resolution issues in the image, but not by nearly as much as your brain likes to think).

This example is a great one because it uses a real-life image. You can see the wall tiles getting smaller with distance, and the horizontal layout of them, complete with the lines between them, forces your brain to see the line on the right as farther away. Bang! Ponzo.

This illusion plays out all the time… including when the Moon is rising (you were wondering when I’d get back to that, weren’t you?). The Moon Illusion is in part due to this same effect, but weirdly, you also need to understand how we perceive the sky.

If I were to ask you what shape the sky is above your head, you’d probably answer "a hemisphere". But in fact, almost everyone perceives it as an inverted bowl, flattened at the top. Put it this way: if the sky were a hemisphere above you, you’d say the horizon was as far away as the zenith. But in fact most people perceive the horizon being farther away than the point straight over their heads; test after test has shown this. This isn’t too surprising; think of a cloudy day. The clouds over your head are maybe two or three kilometers above, but near the horizon they may be 100 kilometers away!

See where I’m going with this? When the Moon is on the horizon, your brain thinks it’s far away, much farther than when it’s overhead. So the Ponzo Illusion kicks in: your brain sees the Moon as being huge, and it looks like you could fall into it. The Illusion works for the Sun, too. In fact, years ago I saw Orion rising over a parking lot, and it looked like it was spread across half the sky. It’s an incredibly powerful illusion.

Oddly enough, when it’s on the horizon, the Moon actually is farther away than when it’s overhead. Not by much, really, just a few thousand kilometers (compared to the Moon’s overall distance of about 400,000 kilometers). Behold my Photoshop skillz:

The guy at the top of the Earth in the diagram sees the Moon on his horizon, and the guy on the side of the Earth sees it overhead. But you can tell the distances aren’t the same: the Moon is closer to the guy who sees it as overhead (by an amount roughly equal to the Earth’s radius). That’s no illusion! That’s science, baby.

So the Moon Illusion is just that. It’s not the air acting like a lens, or foreground objects making it look big by comparison. It’s just the way we see the shape of the sky together with the well-known Ponzo Illusion.

Hmmm, is there a metaphor I’m sniffing here? Science taking something we perceive as real, breaking it down, and showing it to be an interesting but decidedly unreal illusion? Well, that’s what science does! It helps us not only understand the world better, but it also makes the world cooler, too.

In the glossary of a programming textbook

2010-04-30T02:18:00.001-04:00

In the glossary of a programming textbook

(via Reddit)

http://www.google.ca/search?q=recursion

Weightlifting: ANT lifting 100 times its weight

2010-02-22T11:22:00.000-05:00

Weightlifting ant is photo winner

Ants change the size of their feet to help them lift

An amazing image of an ant lifting 100 times its body weight has won first prize in a science photography contest.

The image shows an Asian weaver ant hanging upside down on a glass-like surface and holding a 500mg (0.02oz) weight in its jaws.

It was taken by zoology specialist Dr Thomas Endlein of Cambridge University as he researched insects' sticky feet.

Dr Endlein won £700 in photographic vouchers from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

The research shows how ants change the size and shape of the pads on their feet to enable them to carry heavier loads.

He hopes it could help scientists develop better glues.

"The pads on ants' feet are self-cleaning and can stick to almost any type of surface," he said.

"No man-made glue or adhesive system can match this. Understanding how animals can control their adhesive systems should help us come up with clever adhesives in the future."

Courtesy : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8526086.stm

10 Technologies That Will Rock 2010

2010-01-04T23:35:00.000-05:00

Looking back at 2009, we can say that it was the most interesting times for the web technology despite the harsh economy. The year 2009 boosted the potential of mobile gadgets and exhibited the value of mobile devices in today’s networked society. We can call it the rise of social awareness towards the value of connecting and communicating.
So when we look ahead in 2010, we can see that the innovation have just begun. So here is the list of technologies, which I think, will make its breakthrough in the industry in the year 2010. Most of these technologies are related to online media and the Internet.
1. Apple’s Tablet
The noise and speculation are too loud to ignore the presence of Apple’s Tablet. If all the rumors are authentic and, if by all means Apple launches the iSlate on 25^th January, then it’s going to be the thing to talk about in 2010.
We all must admit that a tablet is a concept that has been around us for a very long time. But it still hasn’t entered the main line consumer devices. But after the increase in sales and demand of Amazon Kindle and Nook, the market is pretty sure that a tablet is soon to be the device to have. So at this time, if Apple can bring the device with the interface that people are looking for then that’s it – We have our new iPOD.
The reason I say this is because, Online Reading is something that every Internet users do and Tablet provides the best way to consume the Internet content. Though we might still be working on a Laptop, Tablet will be the way to consume the digital content.
2. NetPhone

We are already seeing the usefulness of Google Voice, which many Americans have enjoyed. We already have software like Skype which allows you to communicate through the data line.
This shows that people are still comfortable with voice communication and it is not something that will die. We would still want to call our friends and family and communicate. Hence, we might see more advancement over VOIP and its strength.
Though mobile network provider would have to play a hard battle with the VOIP services, the conflict between these two models will end once we have more and more VOIP services running in our mobile devices.
3. Net Neutrality
The rise of Smartphone have suddenly put lot of pressure on the mobile network providers. The online content consumption and communication have stressed out the network providers. One of the prominent example is the failure of At&T to meet the iPhone’s demand. This have forced the content provider and distributors into two opposite poles.
Content providers like Google (YouTube for video content) consumes lot of bandwidth and this is not good for the network providers because they have to face the burden of handling the requests. On the other hand, content providers doesn’t have to pay anything to the distributor. As a result, Network providers would have to charge the users for more. Now this brings a great conflict between the consumer, provider and distributor. Net neutrality is all about giving full access to the Internet without any restriction. But we still need to make some breakthroughs in the communication between the provider and the distributor. Hence, we might be able to see some breakthroughs on Net Neutrality in 2010 and this should solve the current problem.
4. Social Profile Management(Advanced Analytics)
Online Social Networking have blasted the news channel on each opportunity in 2009 and it will continue to do so in 2010. More and more real time content would be distributed online and consumed by people. Online networking will see more than just sharing information.
2009 had an overwhelming reaction towards social media which created a lot of junk in the Internet. Currently, so many in formations and contents goes to waste and doesn’t make its way towards the targeted audience.
2010 will see a revolution towards social profile management with advanced analytics. This will be applying spam control over your network and strengthening the efficiency of your network connections. Profile search will also be a big thing, as sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook gets employed in professional hiring. Social network provides a best way to reach out to potential business and hence search (not for content) but for people should be big. Hence, social profile management with advance analytics will be the next big thing for social networks
5. Virtualization
Client desktop computing is surely the new way towards connecting people to offices. Virtual desktop
or Virtual machines will soon be employed in many offices providing better flexibility to hardware and software selection. This will reduce all the hardware cost of servers and desktops CPU maintenance in office. This will also reduce the cost of software as most will be deployed in the virtual machine. This is a key to cutting costs, lowering complexity, as well as increasing agility as needs shift.
6. Online TV
YouTube and other online video sharing sites have almost killed the TV. The new generation prefer Internet over TV channels. As with the music industry, TV channels have understood and going online is the only way towards future and they have to jump into this bandwagon before it’s too late. There are already many commercial channels shifting their attention from TV to Youtube or other sites like Hulu. Further, Google have already announced its paid content over Youtube and the new video advertising technology.
Along with TV, advertising also has to make its way to the eco-system and we already know of many rumors over Apple and Google coming with ways to prevent viewers from skipping the ads. This makes TV programs the best way to enter into Internet. Hence 2010 will certainly see the hand and hand cooperation of the Internet providers and the Online TV channels.
7. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing will be the new way of doing business over the internet. It will be more of virtual resources management, where company can optimize his/her resources according to needs and dynamic adaption to changes. This will allow companies to greatly enhance their products and services. Cloud computing will also leverage the potential of web application in the Internet and we might be seeing some great online applications for users and also enterprise solutions.

8. Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is going to blow people’s mind in 2010. With the help of mobile computing, GPS technology, mobile camera and Google maps, mobile application is going to have much more power to bring the experience to the user.
Further, the core of the technology will be the mobile camera and the placement of processed information on top of live streaming content from the camera.
We are already seeing some of it with mobile GPS applications, but 2010 will be clearly put these applications on the top shelf of mobile apps. This will allows users to get every information by integrating physical reality and virtual world.
9. Online Microsoft Office
Microsoft did face a lot of failures in 2009 starting with its slow rise of Bing and failure of Windows Mobile 6.5. So 2009 was not the year for Microsoft, but we could expect more from Microsoft in 2010. It’s Windows 7 have received good reviews, hence in 2010 we may get to read more about it. Windows Mobile 7 is also on its way, it might help Microsoft gain over their Smartphone market share.
But above all, we might get to read about Microsoft’s online OS. Yes, the Word and Excel. With the strength of today’s computing power over internet, the time is right for the Online Office. We have already seen the success of the Google Docs, so the speculation is high for Online Office. Hopefully this will reduce their cost and avoid nagging updates. The new competition is obviously on the Internet.
10. Mobile Transaction (Mobile Banking)
We all surely need to get rid of credit cards and debit cards. Once the mobile becomes more than just a communication platform but your financial manager, we will see a huge potential of mobile transactions and mobile banking.
Mobile application builders have already started making applications for enterprise solution by making it enterprise friendly. For mobile banking and transaction to be successful we need an enterprise solution over the mobile network similar to RIM’s Blackberry which will confirm security over the mobile transaction.
The year 2010 will certainly see the glimpse of future’s monetary transaction.

ripped from : globalthoughtz.com

Geek Gang Signs

2009-11-30T12:07:00.002-05:00

Evolution

2009-08-07T15:58:00.005-04:00

The most awesome animated gif I think I have ever found.

And I found it here.

WTH are they trying to convey :)

2009-05-22T12:36:00.000-04:00

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan (center), son Abhishek Bachchan (right), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (2nd from left) and Jaya Bachchan display their ink-stained fingers after casting votes at a polling center in Mumbai April 30, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer)

photo courtsey - The Big Picture
Nalla Kudumbam ;)

55 Ways to Get More Energy

2009-05-19T17:34:00.000-04:00

If you’re tired all the time, a change in what you eat (diet) or what you do all day (activity pattern) may be all you need to turn things around 180°.
You won’t be able to do everything on this list all the time — you’d tire yourself out trying to get more energy — but do try them all to see which ones work for you and your schedule. Add a few of these tips to your regular routine. Or mix them up to keep things interesting.
1. Change your socks for refreshment.
It’s an amazing trick. Bring a change of socks to work, and change your socks midway through the day (say, after lunch). You’ll be amazed at how much fresher you’ll feel. This trick is especially handy on days with lots of walking — like during a hike or family outing to the amusement park.
2. Rock out loud.
Whether you work alone or in a room with coworkers, a quick one-song rock out loud session is an effective way to beat back exhaustion.
In a cube farm? Get everyone to sing along! The key is to choose a song that everyone can sing along with. (I like Kokomo.) The energy boosting effect comes from bobbing your head and singing out loud. One song, 3 minutes. That’s a quick boost of adrenaline that lasts for a bit. You’ll be singing to yourself the rest of the never ending project delivery night.
3. Get rid of the stuffy nose.
If allergies have your sinuses blocked, you may be feeling more tired and cranky. An over-the-counter allergy medication should clear up your sinuses (and your mind).
4. Work with your body’s clock.
There is a natural ebb and flow of energy throughout the day. We start off sluggish after waking up, even after a solid 8 hours of sleep. Our energy peaks mid-morning, and it’s natural to want a siesta in the afternoon. We get a second spike of energy in the early evening, followed by our lowest energy point just before bedtime. Once you understand this natural rhythm of energy throughout the day, you can work on the important tasks during your peak hours and avoid early afternoon snoozefests (meetings).
5. Have a piece of chocolate.
Not too much, but if you’re going to have some candy, it might as well be chocolate. We get an endorphin buzz from chocolate (not to mention the energy boost from the slight bit of caffeine chocolate contains). Dark chocolate has more caffeine than milk chocolate.

An afternoon snack of yogurt, berries, and nuts will provide the boost of energy to carry you through the day. Photo by lepiaf.geo / Flickr

6. Have an afternoon power snack.
A small healthy snack that is low in sugar and has protein and/or fiber a couple hours after lunch helps you finish off the day strong. Some suggestions:

mixed nuts
nonfat yogurt
apple and peanut butter
frozen berrie smoothie
trail mix
granola bar

7. Hit up the water cooler for inconsequential banter.
A little midday gossip and random banter is a great pick-me-up for your tired mind. It works because it gets your mind on zero-stress thoughts for a while. The mental break for just a few minutes will revitalize you.
8. Eat lots of berries.
Especially berries that are blue, red, or purple. The color comes from anthocyanins, a powerful antioxidant, that boosts energy. Any kind of berry will contain tons.

All types of berries help fight fatigue and are delicious to boot! Photo by Zabowski / Flickr

9. Wear brighter colors.
This trick is related to the mood you project to people, and the reciprocating mood they project towards you. If you wear dark, somber colors, you project a dark, somber attitude, and people will respond to you with a somber attitude. If you wear bright, happy colors, you’ll get that attitude projected towards you, which will boost your own mood and energy levels.
10. Take a power nap.
But do it in your chair. Don’t lie down on the sofa or you won’t get back up. Keep it short: 5-10 minutes max. Any longer and it will have the opposite effect of knocking you out for the rest of the day.
11. Flirt.
It’s fun, it’s harmless (keep it innocent), and it’s effective. Nothing quite gets the heart pumping like a little flirting.

Amore gets the blood flowing. Flirt for more energy. Photo by Kjunstorm / Flickr

12. Aromatherapy with lavender.
Research has shown that the lavender scent increases alertness. Test subjects were given math tests before and after 3 minutes of lavender aromatherapy. The group completed the tests faster and more accurately after aromatherapy.
13. Wake up at the same time everyday.
Including weekends. This sets your body clock. Otherwise, you’ll be wide awake when you should be asleep. Or worse, asleep when you should be awake (dozing off in a meeting is embarrassing). The key is to go to bed at the same time every night. If you need to reset your sleep cycle in one day, stop eating for the 16 hours before the time you want to wake up.
14. Drink lots of water.
Dehydration is a sinister cause of fatigue because it slowly creeps up on you. If you consistently drink less than 8 cups of water a day, you may be sluggish all the time. Get a 32 oz (1 quart, 4 cups) water bottle. Your goal is to polish off 2 of those a day. Try it for a week and see if your general energy level increases.
15. Use caffeine wisely.
Coffee and caffeinated sodas can boost your alertness, but be careful about letting it be a habitual crutch. The temptation to drink more caffeine to get even more energy will be strong. Eventually you’ll be downing 5 double-shot espressos a day just to function. Drink coffee earlier in the day to avoid insomnia, which will make the next day worse.

Use caffeine in moderation. Coffee provides a shot of energy, but can also become a counterproductive dependence. Photo by visualpanic / Flickr

16. Avoid energy drinks.
Energy drinks provide a near-instant hyperactivity boost, but they always result in a crash. Energy drinks are like energy credit cards — you’re spending future energy to get short-term energy. The resulting energy deficit gets worse until you hit energy bankruptcy.
17. Eat low glycemic (low or complex carb) foods.
Trade in good, complex carbohydrates (low glycemic index) for the bad, simple carbs (sugar). Carbohydrates with a high glycemic index means the sugar is more easily digested by your body. That results in a spike in energy followed by a low-sugar crash.
High glycemic index foods to avoid include white bread, potato, and high sugar foods (like sodas). Low glycemic foods (the good carb foods) include fruits and vegetables, grains (eg., whole wheat bread), low-carb foods (eg., meats), and pasta. Check this chart of foods and their glycemic index before your next trip to the grocery store.
18. Eat more soluble fiber.
Soluble fiber is the kind that slows down the rate of absorption of sugars. It evens out your energy levels by preventing a sugar high and crash. (By the way, insoluble fiber is the kind that prevents constipation.) Don’t worry too much about which kind of fiber you’re getting — they’re both good for you. Rotate more high soluble fiber foods like nuts, grains, fruits, plant matter (vegetables), beans, and oats into your diet.

Eat and sniff more citrus fruits for an energy boost. Photo by Steven Fernandez / Flickr

19. Get your Vitamin C.
Get a daily dose of citrus fruits (eg., orange juice in the morning) or a vitamin C tablet. Study after study shows the correlation between citric acid deficiency and chronic fatigue. Vitamin C also helps you absorb more nutrients from food.
20. Sniff some citrus.
In addition to the Vitamin C, citrus scents (like orange, lemon and lime) stimulate alertness. So lather on some of that lemon scented lotion.
21. Cover the B Vitamins.
B vitamins cover a range of bodily functions, but most B vitamins are involved in the process of converting blood sugar into usable energy. To ensure you get the proper amount of B vitamins, eat a balanced diet.
22. Quit smoking.
Ex-smokers frequently report an energy boost of 2-3x when they quit smoking. Nicotine affects your sleep, so you don’t get as good a night’s sleep. That makes you cranky, frustrated and tired the next day. Which leads to more smoking. It’s a vicious energy sapping cycle.
23. Play to relax.
Playing a game keeps your mind working (versus, say, watching TV), but doesn’t have any of the energy-sapping stresses of work. Go ahead and play that quick game of Scrabble on Facebook, but have a strict time limit if you don’t want your boss to say something.

Play a game to relax. It keeps your mind active without the debilitating stress. Photo by Sukanto Debnath / Flickr

24. Eat smaller, more frequent meals.
Snack throughout the day. By eating smaller but more frequent “meals”, you will maintain a steady dose of energy instead of experiencing food comas. Don’t snack on fatty and sugar laden junk food though. You may get a short 30 minute burst of hyperalertness, but it’ll be quickly followed by a debilitating crash.
25. Enjoy a cup of tea.
In a recent study, University College London researchers noted that drinking a cup of tea 4-6 time a day reduces stress hormone levels in your body. The study’s results suggest “drinking black tea may speed up our recovery from the daily stresses in life.”
26. Splash some water on your face.
Just letting the cool water hit your face washes off the grime and stresses of the day. You could also jump in the pool or take a shower for the same effect. Showers stimulates the circulatory system and metabolism. Get wet to feel more energetic.

Get wet to freshen up and get a shot of energy. Photo by Liz Noise / Flickr

27. Stand up, stretch and take a couple of deep breaths.
Stretch your arms, back, legs, and neck. Take a deep breath through your nose, hold it, and let it out slowly and forcefully. Repeat several times. This will take 30 seconds and will be an instant fix. When you sit back down, you’ll have the clear head and fresh feeling needed to power through the tough/boring task in front of you.
28. Get your world organized.
When your world is organized, you don’t have to expend mental energy keeping track of a million things. Here’s how to take back control of your time and productivity:

The Getting Things Done (GTD) FAQ - Beginner’s guide to GTD
Zen to Done (ZTD): The Ultimate Simple Productivity System - Leo’s even simpler system
7 Productivity Tips for People that Hate GTD

Zen desk = less stress = more energy. Photo by Laure Wayaffe / Flickr

29. Look on the bright side.
A generally upbeat and optimistic outlook on life will keep your energy level up. Yes, the worst thing that can happen might actually happen, but giving it too much worry will only drain you. Look for the positive in every situation and you won’t be so tired.
30. Take a mini-vacation.
Take one day and just do whatever you want. No work, no chores, no errands. Enjoy your one full day of vacation, then come back to work more motivated and energetic.
31. Eat a satisfying breakfast but a light lunch.
A heavy lunch, especially one with lots of carbs or fat (like a burger combo) will hit you as soon as you get back to the office. And it’ll be a sluggishness that lasts to the end of the day. Eat a big breakfast instead. It provides the fuel you need for the day, at the time when your body needs it the most. Not only will you avoid the afternoon food coma, the big breakfast will make you more productive in the mornings. Double win.

Start your day with a powerful breakfast that provides the fuel you need for the day. Photo by Charles Chan / Flickr

32. Choose protein over fat or carbs.
Foods with lean (low fat) protein help you feel fuller for longer. It also prevents blood sugar spikes, giving you more steady energy. Lean protein foods include fish and other seafood, lean pork, or chicken breasts (”white meat”).
33. Shed a few pounds.
The things you do to lose weight — exercise, drink water, avoid simple sugars — are actions that also have a positive effect on your energy level. Even better, the actual loss of excess fat provides an energy boost of its own. You’ll feel “lighter” and things that use to make you breathless will now seem much easier. Losing weight provides a double-impact to boosting your energy.
But be careful with fad and/or crash diets. Cutting out too many calories (ie., energy your body needs) too fast will cause you to be even more tired. Take small steps, and make it a lifestyle change so you shed the fat for life.
34. Listen to tunes while you work.
It’s well known that our brain’s pleasure centers light up when we hear music. Throwing on the headphones and listening to any music you like while working will give you a productivity boost.
35. Start exercising.
If you have a fairly sedentary life, just the idea of starting an intense exercise program is exhausting. But if you go slow, literally taking one step at a time, you can go from being sedentary to becoming a runner just like Leo.

Get moving! Getting some exercise will lift your energy levels all day. Photo by Hamed Saber / Flickr

36. Eliminate stress.
Stress is draining. Sometimes it’s worth it, like when you’re on a deadline to delivery a big project. Sometimes it’s just a waste of energy. Leo says,

Certain things in our life just cause us to be more exhausted than others, with less value. Identify them, and cut them out. You’ll have much more energy and much less stress. Happiness ensues.

Here’s how to eliminate stress from your life.
37. Have more sex.
Talk about an endorphin rush! If you keep those endorphins flowing regularly, you’ll have more natural energy. Literally, more bounce to your step.
38. Move gym time to the morning.
A lot of people go to the gym after work. Try going to the gym in the morning instead to get energy that lasts all day. Sure, you’ll have to wake up an hour or two earlier, but you get that time back at night. That exercise in the morning gets the endorphins flowing, which keeps you happy and productive the rest of the day. By exercising in the morning instead of at night, you spend the same amount of time at the gym, but get the added benefit of having more energy at work.
39. Purge low-value tasks from your todo list.
If you have a ridiculously long todo list that is impossible to get all the way through, you’ll feel tired just thinking about the todo list. If you want to actually cross off tasks from your todo list, you’ll need to throw out the crap tasks that you don’t want/need to deal with. Either delegate those tasks, move them into a second “nice but not critical” list, or just admit that they’re probably never going to get done and move them to the “maybe/someday” list. Shortening your todo list to just the most critical, must-do tasks will give you the “energy” to start knocking out those tasks.
40. Avoid the mid-day cocktail.
If you want to function in the afternoon, avoid alcohol at lunch. Even if it’s just one beer. Alcohol’s sedative effects will take hours to recover from, killing the rest of your afternoon.

Skip the alcohol at lunch if you want to make it to 5:00. Photo by ktylerconk / Flickr

41. Get a massage.
Loosen up those tight muscles and you’ll feel more relaxed. A more relaxed you means a happier and more productive you. Trade a quick shoulder rub with a coworker after lunch to perk both of you up for the rest of the afternoon.
42. Dress up.
Feeling better about yourself has a magical way of giving you more energy. Put just a tad more effort into looking your best for work, and you’ll get compliments from coworkers that will make you feel better — and make you a perkier, more energetic worker bee.
43. Don’t drink yourself to sleep.
Alcohol keeps your body from entering deep sleep, so even if you get the same hours of sleep, you won’t feel as rested. Limit alcohol the hours before bedtime to get the best night’s sleep.
44. Get a thyroid test from your doctor.
If you are chronically fatigued, it may be a symptom of hypothyroidism. That’s when not enough thyroid hormone is produced, with fatigue as one of its symptoms. Visit the doctor if you’ve been tired for a long time and haven’t had a checkup in a while.
45. Take a walk outside.
Getting outside for some fresh air, a change of scenery, and a quick walk to get your blood going will do wonders for your mood and motivation. Seeing the sun is a signal to your body that it’s not bedtime yet.

Take a walk outside to clear your head. Photo by vshioshvili / Flickr

46. Lower your blood pressure.
Besides being a risk factor for a heart attack, high blood pressure makes you fatigued. If you haven’t seen your doctor lately, go in and get your blood pressure checked.
47. Rotate yogurt into your diet.
Yogurt with live cultures keep your digestive system clean, which helps your body absorb all the nutrients from food. That makes you healthier and more energetic. Yogurt is also a good low-fat snack.
48. Have a laugh.
Laughter is great medicine for exhaustion. Make sure you laugh regularly to keep your mood up. Seek out funny people or subscribe to a daily email joke. I like the geeky comic xkcd for a quick smile. What’s your favorite quick funny pick-me-up?
49. Add more cardio to your gym time.
The aerobic exercise gets your blood pumping. It builds stamina and endurance, which is useful for both triathalons and neverending department meetings.
50. Take up yoga.
The stretching, slow controlled movements, and focus on breathing reduces tension (and stress). The benefits include better sleep, feeling more relaxed, and being mentally sharper.
51. Eat eggs.
When people have eggs (mostly protein) for breakfast, versus bagels (all carbs), they feel more energy and eat less at the next meal. Protein makes you feel fuller without feeling stuffed, and they provide a steady stream of energy for your body (versus the quick high and crash of carbohydrates). Eggs are a great for breakfast or as an addition to a lunch salad.
52. Get a good night’s sleep.
We need 7-8 hours of sleep to be fully rested. Consistently sleeping less than 6 hours a night builds up a “sleep debt” that is hard to recover from. If you’re getting enough sleep, it should take you up to 30 minutes to fall asleep. If you’re falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow (or while sitting at your desk), that’s a symptom of sleep deprivation.
53. Get more ginseng.
Ginseng is well-known to have energy boosting properties. It is an adaptogen, which means it build resistance to stress and boosts energy. A ginseng supplement or sipping tea with ginseng can help improve energy.
54. Socialize.
Turn off the Internet and go socialize with friends. Humans are social animals, and we need regular socializing to keep ourselves in peak health and energy.

Go out and play with your friends! Photo by Strocchi / Flickr

55. Get on your toes.
Roll up and down on your toes. This stimulates your circulatory system, which will deliver much-needed oxygen and fuel (glucose) throughout your body. You’ll be more energized and sharper. You can do this right now.
What’s your secret for getting more energy? Share it in the comments!
For more terrific ways to improve your life without spending a fortune, check out Wise Bread’s new book 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget. The book includes guest contributions from Zen Habits, Get Rich Slowly, The Simple Dollar, Digerati Life, and the Frugal Duchess.
Buy the book today (by Monday 11:59pm PDT) and get a $15 Ebates bonus and a chance to win a Flip Cam.

The Clock Clock by humans since 1982

2009-05-18T10:54:00.001-04:00

Swedish designers Humans since 1982 have created a digital clock made of 24 analogue clocks, which spell out the time with their hands.

The designers have also developed a typeface derived from letter forms created by banks of clocks.

See demonstrations of the Clock Clock on YouTube here and here.

The prototype Clock Clock will be exhibited at the Rhösska design museum in Göteborg from June till mid August 2009.

Here’s some text from humans since 1982:
–
we are designstudents at HDK Göteborg in Sweden and gathered under the name “humans since 1982″.

After having successfully launched our “Surveillance Light” and our lounger “Celebrating the cross 1″ we now developed a prototype of a wall clock: we call it “The clock clock”. Hereby 24 manual alarm clocks show the time in a digital manner.

We also have developed a typefont on this basis. This prototype will be shown at Rhösska design-museum in Göteborg from june till mid of august 2009.

ripped from: t r a c k b a c k

Secretly Tweet at Work with New Fake Spreadsheet App

2009-04-20T10:22:00.000-04:00

Yes, Twitter is now officially inescapable, especially now that the one-and-only Oprah has blessed the wildly popular (and hyped) microblogging service with her magic touch. Even if you're using Twitter on your phone, it's not easy to tweet while at work; Twitter's now-iconic page design is instantly recognizable from across a large room. Fortunately for you cubicle dwellers out there, a free new app (pictured above) melds the boss-appealing and productivity-enhancing visual appeal of spreadsheets with -- what else -- Twitter.

Spreadtweet converts your twittering activity into a mundane Microsoft Excel-esque spreadsheet, and we've been hard at work testing the app out here at the office. Our research shows that unless you're a few inches away from the monitor, there's no way to tell the spreadsheet is actually a Twitter client. The dock icon even looks like Excel! This saves us from having to perform the highly suspicious-looking "minimize all open windows" routine whenever anyone walks by.

Ready to dive in? Spreadtweet is an Adobe AIR application, which means it will run on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and, even better, you can choose from the smooth look of Office for OS X, retro Office 2003 (Windows), or the seemingly ubiquitous Office 2007 (Windows).

Coutesey :switched.com

What is google like .... for you

2009-04-15T11:32:00.000-04:00

A snapshot of what Twitter users think about Google (in 140 characters or less).

mishxx: Using Google is like ctrl+f'ing the world.

Psqrd: Google is like the internet dial tone. It is always there.

mcpont: Google is like the Disney of the internet!

justjody: Surfing the Internet without Google is like driving without a steering wheel.

Ideaity: Ranking in Google is like playing a game designed by a 3 year old -- the rules keep changing and rarely make sense.

granholm: Quote: "Google is like Coca-Cola. Only two people know how it's made, and they're not telling".

JodaThongnopnua: Google is like Virgil from the divine comedy, [it] leads you to some strange places.

catlionv: "Google is like the Roman Empire that continues to expand its territory into every market and niche."

csuspect: "Google is like a public toilet, they're always there when you need them" - Danny Sullivan

marymetcalf: colleague says: Google is like santa 2.0

hitzarekin: Google is like walking on a giant's shoulders.

PUMA .. Check it out

2009-04-07T16:43:00.001-04:00

Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project (P.U.M.A.)- A car or a Rickshaw or a motocycle or a kind of 6 wheeler ;) or a kind of Auto(Indian Motorised Richshaw see below) which can accommodate only one

ok .. enough of kidding around, PUMA, The self-balancing Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, Project PUMA can reach top speeds of 35 MPH, has a lithium battery that lasts up to 35 miles with a single charge, and features vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication for potentially reducing the number of accidents.
A project with GM and Segway's joint venture.

Coutesey :endgadget.com

Lights made from water bottles

2009-04-03T17:24:00.000-04:00

Use a 2-Liter Bottle as a 50 Watt Light Bulb lightbulb hack

Courtesey: Make Magazine

Worlds First Flying Hotel - Hotelicopter

2009-03-30T16:08:00.000-04:00

Since 2004, the company behind the Hotelicopter has been working to modify a Soviet-made Mil V-12 into two world firsts: the "world's biggest helicopter" and the "world's first flying hotel."

As you might have guessed, the experience on board the Hotelicopter is far from your standard Motel 6. This gigantic flying ~~Titanic~~ machine features everything you would expect from a 5-star hotel—from private entertainment systems and room service to extras like spa treatments, yoga classes, gaming and a tea garden.
If you were wondering just how big and powerful this flying hotel really is, check out the specs:

* Dimensions Length: 42 m (137 ft)
* Height: 14m (45 ft)
* Maximum Takeoff Weight: 105850 kg (232,870 lb)
* Maximum speed: 255 km/h (137 kt) (158 miles/h)
* Cruising speed: 237 km/h (127 kt) (147 miles/h)
* Original Mi Range: 515 km (320 mi)
* Our augmented Mi Range - 1,030 km (640 mi)

The inaugural flight is set to take place on June 26th for an undisclosed price. Obviously, only the affluent need apply—but anyone that is interested can head on over to the Hotelicopter website to get more info about setting up a reservation. [Hotelicopter Thanks Zlooop!]

See The Hotelicopter in action!

View Larger Video.

Where in America ?? - Immigration Explorer

2009-03-11T17:45:00.003-04:00

Immigration Explorer

Select a foreign-born group to see how they settled across the United States.

Sources: Social Explorer, www.socialexplorer.com; Minnesota Population Center; U.S. Census Bureau

t-r-a-ck-b-a-c-k

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2009-02-16T17:20:00.003-05:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Familytree - Family history

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities

PhotoSynth - Experiment at Gasparilla Parade- Tampa

2009-02-09T12:17:00.026-05:00

Creating Panoramic - 3D had never been so easy, just click it on your camera and upload it

The differences as far as i have seen taking pictures for Panoramic view Vs Photosynth are,

1. For Panoramic view you need a few pictures say 4 to 5 which covers the whole area and a good stitching tool for e.g. i use Hugin, which is an open source software and really stitches well, comparatively Photosynth needs more pictures, so that it can really get an effect of the 3D, especially the zooming in and zooming out and can cover details of various subjects.

2. Using Continous shots really helped especially in a parade, as the subject(s) in the frame were changing too much otherwise, and where i really dont have a control of them, whereas it was not needed for a panoramic view.

When I tried the same set of pictures to create Panoramic view as well as Photosynth 3D, photosynth just gave me a 55% synthy but Panoramic view was looking better.

Clearwater Beach Photosynth

Picture stitched with Hugin was perfectly fine for this

From Beach

Gasparilla Parade PhotoSynth's
I used a continous shoot, and just took shots around me(almost 180'), and here you go .. the results of it.. got a 100% synthy on 2 of them and 94% on 1 of them.

GasParilla Parade - Tampa Downtown - 02/07/2009

GasParilla Parade Budweiser- Tampa Downtown - 02/07/2009

GasParilla Parade - Tampa Downtown - 02/07/2009

Other Photo Synths

Shammu Show at SanAntonio (TX)

Nine Consecutive wins and still Roaring ....

2009-02-05T13:36:00.105-05:00

After today's(02-05-2009) win, India has made a dramatic 9 consecutive wins and i am pretty sure that i am going to change the title to say "10 ...." on (02-08-2009), well done India, had never seen India playing like this before. You guys have given an all round performance in all categories of the game and completely whitewashed your opponents.

Many Congragulations to Mahendar Singh Dhoni, Virendar Shewag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh for their extraordinary performances

and others too .. for having made this possible,

I am so sorry for Tendulakar for being a victim of wrong umpire decisions on first three matches against Srilanka, probably the umpires are

under more pressure than the bowlers when Tendulkar plays, to make some hasty and wrong decisions.

cant wait to see you guys top the ICC Cricket rankings.

4th ODI Against Srilanka- Consecutive Win # 9	3rd ODI Against SriLanka- Consecutive Win # 8	2nd ODI Against SriLanka- Consecutive Win # 7	1st ODI Against SriLanka- Consecutive Win # 6
5th ODI Against England - Consecutive Win # 5	4th ODI Against England - Consecutive Win # 4	3rd ODI Against England - Consecutive Win # 3	2nd ODI Against England - Consecutive Win # 2

1st ODI Against England - Consecutive Win # 1

more pics ...

Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

2009-02-02T14:02:00.014-05:00

A ranking of countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist.

A picture is worth a 1000 words :)

ripped from :http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/22/corruption-perceptions-index-biz-corruption09-cx_tp_0122map.html

Help reduce corrruption,
We started it and lets KILL it, I know its not that easy unless use the Big 'E' E for Effort more information

A.R.Rahman ... You Rock

2009-01-16T16:57:00.004-05:00


	“A.R.Rahman, I am so proud to put a few words about you in my blog. you had been inspiring me so much since the day I came to know about you or from the day i hear your first composition in DD's 'Spirit of Unity Concerts', Wow you are really a Genius, and i am proud be a fan of you and many Congratulations and wish you get more such awards like this and make India and fellow Indians proud of you." A.R.R. ...... YOU ROCK !!!!

Shared from One more fan like me
Shared by Pradeep:


	“//On 11th January, 2009 he (Rahman) became the first Indian to win a Golden Globe award. He won Best Original Score for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire at the 66th Golden Globe Awards.// ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._R._Rahman. Thalaiva, what a journey! Proud of you! Rahman's Acceptance Speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOKTX0WgGpc”

How the Satyam disaster unfolded

2009-01-07T10:59:00.003-05:00

Following is the chronological summary of events which saw IT major Satyam Computer Services, founded in 1987, on its path to disaster:

1. December 16: Satyam gets board's approval for acquisition of Maytas Infrastructure and Maytas Properties for $1.6 billion.
2. December 17: Defers Maytas' acquisition on stiff investor resistance.
3. December 18: Schedules board meet for the proposal of buyback of shares on December 29.
4. December 18: British mobile solution provider Upaid files a law suit against Satyam in a district Court in the US over Maytas deal.
5. December 24: World Bank bans Satyam for 8 years on charges of data-theft.
6. December 25: Satyam objects to World Bank's statements; asks Bank to apologise to the company or face legal action.
7. December 25: Mangalam Srinivasan, non-executive and independent director resigns from board.

8. December 27: Postpones board meeting to January 10, 2009 to consider buyback of shares.

9. December 27: Promoters disclose that their entire holding in Satyam pledged with institutional lenders since 2006.
10. December 28: Two independent directors - Krishna G Palepu, Vinod K Dham - resign from the board.
11. December 29: M Rammohan Rao, another independent director, resigns from board.
12. January 1: Satyam-Upaid case hearing over the Maytas deal in Texas court on January 7.
13. January 2: Promoter holding in Satyam drops to 5.31 per cent from 8.27 per cent after sale of pledged shares by lenders.
14. January 5: Satyam brings up old report by research firm Forrester complimenting company's innovation strategy.
15. January 6: IL&FS Trust company sales 2.45 crore shares of Satyam pledged to institutional investors by the promoters
16. January 6: Raju family holding in Satyam falls to 3.16 per cent after sale of pledged share by lenders
17. January 7: Satyam Chairman Ramalinga Raju sends letter to board tendering his resignation and admitting to fraud in accounting books.
18. January 7: Satyam Managing Director B Rama Raju also resigns.
19. January 7: DSP Merrill Lynch terminated its advisory engagement with company.
ripped from:http://specials.rediff.com/money/2009/jan/07sld5-raju-can-get-a-7-year-jail-term.htm

AfterMath

Employees of Satyam Computer were in disarray following their Chairman B Ramalinga Raju's resignation after the firm admitted to financial wrong-doing, leaving the entire business world of the country shell-shocked.

Panic-stricken employees were seen in small groups outside the corporate office, discussing the issue.
However, they remained tight-lipped before the media. A team leader Raghu K said the resignations have not "surprised us," but the news attached to it is worrying.
He said the top management has not yet made any communication with the employees in this regard.
When asked about their (employees) reaction to Raju's resignation, he said, "There is panic among the employees. But daily work has not been affected."
"We (employees) are now worried about the jobs. We hope whoever takes over the company will put things right," he added.
Most of the employees are also worried about their financial commitments like payment loan dues.
C R Aravinda, a junior employee, said, "The only thing we can do is to work hard. We are serving clients as usual." He, however, said he was not aware about the developments.
B Ramalinga Raju, along with his brother Rama Raju, who is also MD of the company, resigned today following a two-week-long row over the Satyam-Maytas episode.

ripped from http://specials.rediff.com/money/2009/jan/07sld2-raju-can-get-a-7-year-jail-term.htm

The resignation Letter from Satyam CEo can be downloaded here "Download PDF"

Uploading to MicroSoft live - SkyDrive 25Gig made easy - Gladinet

2008-12-17T16:43:00.007-05:00

Access SkyDrive from Gladinet

Gladinet announced its support to 25G skydrive support through its cloud desktop program which maps drive(z: normally) in your computer which connects to online services like Google(Docs, picasa), Skydrive, Amazon S3.
After skydrive bumped up the storage capacity to 25G, Gladinet wasnt able to support the new version, but today they are fast enough to fix their code to support the new 25GB skydrive.
.... HAPPY UPLOADING ......
Download Gladinet

Virtual Directory Manager, helps set up a new drive

Explorer shows the new drive(z:) Mapped to online services.

here is a excerpt from their blog.(visit here for more info )

Cloud Desktop build 47 was released today. The source control number is 2086. Build 44 (Beta 1)'s source control number is 2046. So it takes us 40 check-ins to get SkyDrive support back to work again.

It is still not completed yet. For example, public folder or folder with shared property is empty. That will take another week to fix. Also if you open the SkyDrive folder quicker than the background login process finishes, you will see access denied and empty page. These are all fixable next week. Anyway it is workable now and will get better over time.

During the SkyDrive fix, we also fixed one issue related to ampersand '&' in Google Docs. When you have folder name or filename that has '&' in, you weren't able to mount Google Docs virtual folder before and now you can. We will shift the focus to Google Docs this week and fix major issues in beta 1.

There is also an Amazon S3 support regression that will be fixed shortly in build 48. If you are not using Amazon S3, build 47 and build 48 are the same.

Improving, One step at a time.

Biggest Full Moon in 15 Years Photographed

2008-12-17T10:16:00.011-05:00

Tried to capture moon when it was in its Biggest ever size visible from Northern hemisphere

Was browsing throught this site, and came to know that Moon would be visible in its Biggest ever size from the northern Hemisphere and thought this is the time to test my photographic skills.

Sh..it ..... i dont have a tripod, which is the basic thing needed for taking long distant night shots, thought let me give it a try without it, and god the results came out well, atleast looks to me that it has come out well ;)

I have a Canon S2 IS, with a killer 12x Zoom, googled to see how to take pictures of moon with this model, and found out the ways to do it.

Here are some tips that i used while taking the picture.

- Used "P", "AV" and "TV" modes

- Once you have set the Mode to "P", half-click(do not take a picture yet) the capture button, and use the Jump button, keep toggling it to have a proper focus on the subject.

- once you have the focus set, you would be able to see the moon as you see with your naked eye.

- set the ISO to 50 thru 400

- set the white balance to "Evalvuate White Balance" and then click on "Set" button to have the camera identify the white balance,

- All set, dont shake, your hands :)

- i actually took these pictures from my patio,I had my hands placed towards the pillar so that it doesnt move too much, problably i should have had another camera to take a picture of myself taking the picture of moon ;)

- lastly have set the camera to take simulataneous shots, with multiple pictres mode, start clicking.

here are the result ...

Photo information

Cloudy- White Balance, with Spot Metering

Digitally Zoomed version of the above pictures

View the full album here

FYI, i deleted atleast 20 pictures before i could take a few without shaking, and i had to do a lot of experiments while shooting these to get a better image, best of luck.

Pctools Internet Security 2009 for free

2008-12-11T15:46:00.001-05:00

Pctools Internet Security 2009 for free - Only today PC Tool Internet Security 2009 is all in one security program . This program including anti virus, firewall, anti spyware, and spam protection. Use Pc tool internet security make your computer safe from virus, worm , malware, trojan, keylogger and other dangerous programs.

Now you can get free PC Tool Internet Security 2009 license for 1 year,

1. go to http://www.pctools.com/internet-security/free/promo/PCADVISOR0809/

2. completer the registration form, use valid email.

3. use LE8ATR for promo code.

4. after all form complete , click Request Free license. and if success you will see notification and ask us to check email that contain PC Tool Internet Security 2009 license number.

5. download the installer , and then register with your license number.

ripped from
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=1072580

Major Rebate Processor Files For Bankruptcy: Deal Rebates May Be Affected

2008-12-10T15:19:00.002-05:00

You may have already read or heard, that there is a problem with a relatively large rebate processor, known as Continental Promotion Group, Inc (further CPG) who has filed for bankruptcy today.

Since we have posted quite a few deals that take advantage of rebates on Slickdeals.net, it’s important for us to keep our visitors informed. As not all of our visitors frequent the forums, we wrote this blog post to try to reach a broader audience so that they are informed of the situation and possible consequences.

Who is affected?

The easiest way to see if you are affected, is to check copies of rebate materials you have submitted recently, which have not yet been fulfilled. You keep copies, right? Take a look at the destination address. The department and name of the recepient will vary depending on the brand of the product that carried the rebate, but the address will most likely have the following in it:

P.O. Box 52900 (or P.O. Box 52911)
Phoenix, AZ 85072-2900

CPG main website for checking upon your rebate is www.rebatestatus.com. If you see this site as point of contact on the rebate, you may be affected.

If you do not have a site or address listed on the rebate form, you may use the known phone numbers below to figure out if you may be affected:

877-776-1280 (Antec rebates)
877-776-2676 (XFX rebates)
866-678-7025 (Acronis rebates)
866-533-6885 (AVG Rebates)
888-864-6781 (Canon rebates)
866-533-6880 (Logitech rebates)
866-256-9991 (Smith Micro rebates)
877-776-4631 (TRENDNet rebates)

Last, but not least, the following companies are known to have used CPG as their rebate processor in the recent months. We do not have a full list of the companies which have used CPG as their rebate clearing house, however, here is the list we have so far, compiled with the help of our users:

We have linked the names for companies which we have had recent Front Page Deals involving rebates. Click on the link to see those deals.

Abbott Laboratories (Freestyle Meters)
Acronis Software
ACTIVSION
Adaware
Adobe
Advance Auto Parts
Antec
ArchBrook Laguna (Magellan Refurbished Rebate from Pep Boys)
Atdec (wall mounts)
AVG
Bed Bath & Beyond
BIC Corporations US - Shaver Division
BFG
Bridgevine
Canon
Casio
Checker / Schuck’s / Kragen Auto Parts
Citibank
Core
Costco
DBL Distributing LLC (Harman Kardon)
DeLorme
Freestyle Meter
Fujitsu
JC Penney (select items)
Joe’s Sports
Kensington
HIS (video cards)
Home Depot
Logitech
Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America (MDEA)
Motorola (Surfboard cable modems)
Murray’s Discount Auto Parts
Natures Earth Products
Newegg (for certain products, other than Rosewill)
Panasonic (select products, most recently - bluetooth headphones)
Panda Distribution
Pandigital
PC Tools
Pentax Imaging
Ping
PriceGrabber
Rosewill (Newegg house brand)
Rustoleum (Menard’s July $4 Door Paint Rebate)
Samsung (printers)
Smith Micro Software
Spot
Tabletops Unlimited
TomTom
TrendNET
Westinghouse
Windstream
XFX
XM Satellite Radio
ZeroTherm
Zyxel

If the company is not linked above, you may still have purchased something from our forums, most recently - ZeroTherm coolers so make sure you double check all/most of your recently submitted and unfulfilled rebates.

I think I am affected, what should I do?

First and foremost, if you have recently received the check, and have not cashed it yet, DO NOT CASH IT. The check will bounce, and you will probably be hit with a non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee [varies by bank]. If you have deposited it, it may be worth your time to call your bank, and see if they have attempted to collect on it, and if so - see if they can reverse the attempt. Most banks will work with proactive customers like you, and you may get brownie points for that.

If you have recently made a purchase (such as ZeroTherm coolers) which had a rebate that was going to CPG, and have not yet submitted - DO NOT SUBMIT IT. Instead, contact the place of purchase, and request a return authorization, since you will no longer be able to get the item at the advertised price.

Do not try to contact the rebate processor using any of the known phone numbers. Chances are, it won’t help you, and you probably won’t even get an answer.

Keep copies of every rebates you have - do not assume they are a lost cause just yet. As time progresses, there may be alternative solutions available which may allow you to collect your rebate(s).

We recommend that you do not contact the company that manufactured the product immediately. There are many users like you, and chances are that some have already done it for you, and posted their findings. [On a personal note, I have approximately $400 in rebates outstanding from CPG ]

Companies that have taken action and informed their customers so far

TRENDNet
PriceGrabber
Costco
Canon
BFG (via email)
Newegg (via email)
HIS (via web)
Smith Micro (via email)
Core-Learning (via email)
Logitech (via support forums)
AVG (via email)
Panda Security (via email)
Antec (via website)

Companies that have issued brief updates so far

Logitech (via support forums)
ZEROTherm (via email)
Checker / Schuck’s / Kragen Auto Parts + response about cashing issued checks(via email)
Antec (via email)
Antec #2 (via email)
Bed Bath and Beyond (via email)
PC Tools (via email)
CSK Auto (via email)
Home Depot (via email)
PC Tools (via email)
Adobe (via email)
Bridgevine (via email)
Samsung (via email)
TRENDNet (via support request)
Abbott (via support request)
X-Rite (via support request)
Grisoft (via email)
Mitsubishi/MDEA (via email)

Companies that issued new rebate forms

ZEROTherm (via WorldWideRebates.com)
Logitech (via www.logitech-rebates.com)

Manufacturers whose rebate checks should be safe to deposit

Logitech
BFG (US checks only)

What’s next?

At this time, we have a very large and active thread discussing the issue. Click here to view it and join in the discussion, and share your findings, insights, and ideas.

Bookmark this blog post. We will keep it updated as much as possible with new bits of information, as well as issue short blog updates as information becomes available and more clear. Heading into the weekend, do not expect much news to be posted over that time, as most manufacturers will not be available.

Be patient. We will attempt to do all we can to help and hopefully resolve this matter as soon as possible. Realize, that chances are that manufacturers themselves may have lost a portion (or all) of their rebate resources with this bankruptcy, as rebate companies usually take advance payments for certain services they provide

Stay tuned.

Source:

http://blog.slickdeals.net/index.php/2008/11/14/major-rebate-processor-files-for-bankruptcy-a-number-of-recent-deals-with-rebates-may-be-affected

AnVir Task Manager (Full) Free Today Only

2008-12-05T11:15:00.007-05:00

Windows only: AnVir Task Manager, a veritable Leatherman multi-tool of a system utility, is available in its full edition today through the Giveaway of the Day web site. The app, available until 3 a.m. EST on Dec. 6, features all of the abilities and tools, but adds a few unique features, most noticably "improved memory usage" and a built-in database of Windows processes and what they do, along with on-the-spot, up-to-date virus checking. Even if you only run once to fine-tune your newly-installed system, AnVir is worth the slim download. AnVir Task Manager is for Windows systems only; the Giveaway protocol requires downloading, installing, and activating the software before the offer expiration.

Personal reviews:

Tweaking the statup items, for eg, if you install a new software there is 99% chance that it would be added to the system startup, so this software monitors the startup items either at the time when a new software tries to add itself to the system starup and prompts you to either allow or quarntine, disable, it also shows the list of software/prcesses that would startup during system startup. This can also be viewed by running the following command on windows
Start -> run -> type in "msconfig" you must see a tab called "Start up" where in all the software/processes which starts during the system start up are listed.

CPU usage of various processes, with icons which clearly shows and easily understandable for any-one to know what processes are running.

Delayed startup of non critical processes, which really helps boost the system startup time.

Window Right click options is a real killer, use it to know it :)

Download here : AnVir Task Manager 5.4.1

Other Features:

Monitor your system and replace Windows Task Manager

Information about processes, startup programs, services, internet connections, drivers
Integrated database with Descriptions for 70 000+ startup programs, Internet Explorer toolbars and services
Icons in the tray that indicate CPU, disk, network, memory and battery

Get rid of viruses, Trojans and spyware that your antivirus missed

Security risk rating for each active process and startup program
Get notification when any program tries to add itself to startup

Enhance and tune up XP or Vista

Tweaker that gives access to hundreds of XP / Vista settings
Click on the title of any application to minimize window to system tray
List of recently used folders in Open / Save dialogs
Drive’s free space as a colored horizontal bar in Windows ‘My Computer’

Speed up your PC and Windows startup

“Delayed Startup” lets you set up any startup program to run few minutes later after Windows startup
Run startup programs minimized to system tray, or as a floating icon
Balance CPU usage

Free Norton Antivirus 2009 with 360 Days Subscription without Activation Code

2008-12-04T14:19:00.001-05:00

Norton Antivirus 2009 has been released with lots of improved features. For instance, faster of scanning speed, installation time being reduced to average of one minute with small memory foot print of less than 8 MB, up-to-minutes protection with rapid pulse update every 5 to 15 minutes, prevent bots from taking control of your PC, recovery tool boots and repairs badly infected PC, automatically schedules scans and updates while PC is idle, movies and games are never interrupted in silent mode and much more. If you are Norton Antivirus lover or would like to switch from other antivirus due to certain reason, now you can get it for 360 days without the need to pay any single cent.

The price of Norton Antivirus 2009 is $39.99 for 1 year protection per PC. There are total of 3 OEM versions of Norton Antivirus 2009 which are free for subscription with up to 90, 90 and 180 days respectively. To enjoy for 360 days free of subscription, you can install the first package which is last for 90 days before it expires. Once after expiration, just install the second package which will also provide additional 90 days free subscription period. Finally install the third package which provides another round of 180 days free subscription period. One thing to note here is that the third package is in German language whereas the other 2 packages are in English language. The good thing about OEM version is you will not be requested to enter any activation code in order to use any one of them. What you need to do is just to download and install it, then sign up for Norton account for securely manage information and subscription online.

1. 90 Days English Norton Antivirus 2009 Subscription: NAV2009_16.0_Build_0000001_OEM90_Microsoft.exe
2. 90 Days English Norton Antivirus 2009 Subscription: PRNAV2009-90ML.exe
3. 180 Days German Norton Antivirus 2009 Subscription: NAVPCWelt180.exe

Tune Up Utilities 2007 Free Licensed version from tuneup

2008-12-04T12:33:00.003-05:00

Tune, tweak, optimise and get the most from your PC with this full commercial tool

TuneUp Utilities 2007

Clean, tune, tweak and optimise your PC with this full commercial tool worth £30

Written by Chris Wiles

vnunet.com, 01 Dec 2008

Download

Type:full commercial application
Platform:Windows 98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista
Manufacturer:TuneUp Distribution GmbH
Size:10.1MB
Number of downloads:
2500
Review Rating:
Average User Rating:
Rate this download
Price:Full commercial software
Download

Configuring Windows to behave exactly the way you'd like isn't always easy. Just finding the setting you need can be frustrating. Is it in the Control Panel? In a right-click context menu? Buried deep in the Registry?

TuneUp Utilities 2007 takes care of all these concerns by bringing all the best Windows tweaks together in one program. And there are plenty of powerful features on offer.

The TuneUp Styler 2, for instance, offers many ways to customise the way Windows looks. You're able to change just about any system icon, change the icon spacing on your desktop or remove the arrow from shortcuts. A Repair function rebuilds the appropriate cache if your icons aren't displaying properly. And you can install new boot or logon screens, visual styles or icon sets. If you don't have any suitable images yourself then it's even possible to download free images or icons from the TuneUp Utilities site.

If you're more interested in practical features then try the DiskCleaner to remove redundant files from your hard drive, or perhaps wipe away invalid Registry entries with the Registry Cleaner. Another tool will defragment the Registry to improve performance, while the System Optimizer applies a range of tricks to speed up your desktop, hard drives, Internet connection and browser.

Occasionally it looks like the TuneUp Utilities are simply reproducing existing Windows utilities, but look more closely and you'll find these versions have their advantages. For example, the TuneUp Registry Editor comes with a far better Find tool than REGEDIT, allowing you to use wildcards, or restrict your search to particular key types or a specific area of the Registry. It could justify installing the program all on its own.

Important - Serial Code

You need a serial code to use TuneUp Utilities 2007. Enter code JMNCG-FKNGR-WMAMT-FRTQL-BLYJB-XDYMX with your name to register the software. Note that Incisive Media are authorised to provide this full commercial software to our web users. Do not spread the software nor link directly to the download.

Upgrade Offer - Upgrade to TuneUp Utilities 2009

Move to the latest version of the TuneUp Utilities and you'll gain a new drive defragger that intelligently reorganises your files for the best possible performance. A TuneUp Repair Wizard can fix many common PC problems in a few clicks (missing icons, broken files, malfunctioning services, more). The One-Click maintenance tool now fixes even more problems with a single click, and a revamped interface means the whole program is now even easier to use. TuneUp Utilities 2009 normally costs £29.99, but as a registered owner of the 2007 version you need only pay £17.99. Point your browser at www.tuneup-software.co.uk/order/ to find out more.

Verdict

Give your PC a speed boost by using this full commercial tool to optimise your system

Ten Best Bets for this Black Friday

2008-11-26T15:52:00.001-05:00

It takes some pretty spectacular deals to pry Americans out of their recliners late every Turkey Day and send them out into blistering cold parking lots to camp for hours, but retailers have it figured it out with Black Friday. And if you're looking to score a big-screen TV for half of what it normally runs for, get a printer bundled with your camera for free, or pick up an MP3 player for the cost of a cup of coffee, you'll be out there too. With the economy forcing consumers to pinch their pennies even more this year, and retailers trying even harder to open those cautiously held wallets, the deals are ripe for the picking. Here are a few of our favorite picks for this year.

Tom Tom One Third Edition Nav System
$69.99 at Pep Boys

Just like last year, Pep Boys remains the place to go if you're looking for the absolute cheapest GPS system out there on Black Friday. Though the price drop from last year isn't earth-shattering, the good news is that you're actually ending up with a respectable name brand unit this year. TomTom's One v.3 may be a no-frills system, but it's compact, it's in color, and it works.

HP Pavilion G50-112NR Notebook
$349.99 at Office Depot

Though some people will be disappointed that the price on budget notebooks hasn't seemed to budge much further south this year, the hardware you get for the price has taken a huge leap forward. For the first time ever, $350 will buy you a notebook that not only has a dual-core Intel processor, but 3GB of RAM as well, which should be more than adequate for most peoples' needs. And though it's an obscure sale model, it carries the HP name as well.

Panasonic 42-inch 1080p VIERA Plasma HDTV
$899.99 at Circuit City

Skip all the ultra-budgets sets with names you've never heard of, and bag this model (which is bound to be a lot less disappointing in two months) instead. At $400 off MSRP, you're still getting a huge discount, but with a much better quality TV. Panasonic's plasma TVs are renowned for their black levels, and this particular set has received great reviews.

Magnavox NB500MG9 Blu-Ray Player
$128 at Wal-Mart

Nearly a year after HD-DVD bit the bullet, Blu-Ray players are finally falling out of the hands of the home theater elite and into commodity territory. For $128, pretty much anyone with the change for a 1080p television should be able to pick one of these up. It might not be quite as sleek or feature-laden as players twice and three times as expensive, but unless you bust out test patterns and start pulling side-by-side characteristics, most users will never be able to tell the difference.

Nikon Coolpix P60 + Epson Workforce 30 Inkjet Printer
$119.99 at OfficeMax

A respectable camera and respectable printer for less than what one alone should cost? Sold. If you know someone who loves taking photos but hasn't gone digital yet because they want them all printed out, this is your chance to give them the whole package on the cheap.

Mio Moov 500 GPS
$149.99 at RadioShack

For those who would like more features than the rock-bottom TomTom GPS offered at Pep Boys, this Mio offers a significant step up. It has a much larger 4.7-inch screen, text-to-speech capability for spoken street names, and 3.5 million points of interest. Mio systems consistently offer a great blend of function and affordability — and even more so when you can snag one for $100 off retail price.

Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Bundle for Wii
$69.99 at Target

Hot game, hot price. You won't see the same game any cheaper this holiday season, or likely for a long time to come. If you've been holding out on the whole Guitar Hero phenomenon, here's your chance to get in for far less than everybody else paid.

Acer 22-inch LCD Monitor
$129.99 at Office Depot [AL2216Wbd]

Whether you're still clinging to that old CRT and waiting for LCDs to come down in price, or just need to upgrade from the 17-incher that came with your PC, the price is right for 22 inches of glorious desktop space. This one has solid stats, including 1680 x 1050 resolution and 5ms response times, and has received generally positive reviews, too. Already own a huge monitor? How about dual display? Triple? C'mon...

Aiptek A-HD 8-Megapixel Camcorder
$79.99 at Walgreens

You're not going to shoot the next Star Wars on here, but for what it is, it's hard to argue with such an inexpensive and compact camcorder. Just pop in an SD card (if you don't have one, they can be had for practically nothing in other Black Friday sales and elsewhere) and you're good to shoot 720p high-def video at 30 frames per second, and 8-megapixel stills. At this price, you can get one for the kids, one to shoot those slightly precarious extreme sports videos that end up on YouTube, and one to duct tape to the dog.

HP AMD Phenom X4 Quad-Core System
$599.96 at Best Buy

Notebook computers seem to sop up the majority of attention on Black Friday, but this happens to be one powerful and well-accessorized desktop for the money. Under the hood, you'll find a AMD Phenom X4 Quad-Core processor clocked at 2.2GHz, 6GB of DDR2 memory, and a 640GB hard drive. Add to that a 21.6-inch display and Canon inkjet printer, and you have $1089.96 worth of PC for almost half the price.

Black Friday Coupons

2008-11-22T22:39:00.001-05:00

Sears $5/30
http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/coupons.action?coupon=save_5_on_purchase

Avenue - 25% off purchase
http://www.avenue.com/avenue/html/Nov08BDayCoupon.html?ovchn=OTHER&ovcpn=BIRTHDAY&ovtac=EMAIL&cmpid=emailNov08BDay&utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=birthdayemail

Lane Bryant - $25/75 or $50/$150
http://www.lanebryant.com/pagebuilder/122607_webRegGiftCheque

Childrens Place - 15% off your entire purchase
http://www.childrensplace.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/EmailJump?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&jumpId=NovemberBCC&age=4&CodeId=CLUBEJEUNKQA8&cm_ven=Emails&cm_cat=110108&cm_pla=NovemberBirthdayClub&cm_ite=CouponT

True Value - $5/25
http://www.startrightstarthere.com/print_coupon.aspx?zip=06492&email=mominct@comcast.net

Pep Boys - $5/30 (great deals if you get the $10 GC on BF for being the first 50!)
http://localstores.pepboys.com/images/Ling_Page_November_2008/q_coupon_localstores_5OFF.jpg

Kmart - $5/50
http://content.kmart.com/ue/home/KMC_102408_layaway.pdf

Yankee Candle - $10/25 expires 12/20/08
http://www.yankeecandle.com/yc/images/retail/email/registrationEmailInStoreOfferCoupons.gif

Casual Male - $20/75 (expires 11/29/08)
http://shop.casualmale.com/state.php

Bath & Body Works - $10/30 (expires 12/31/08)
http://sweepsform.com/thepamperedlife/coupon.pdf

CompUSA- $10/100
http://images.revtrax.com/RevTrax/couponPrePrint.jsp?viewType=viewFull&programId=10001425&merchantId=10001405&affiliateId=10001792&subId=0

Dicks Sporting Goods - $15/75
http://secsports.com/doc_lib/sec_dsg_coupon2.pdf

Dicks Sporting Goods - $10/50
http://dcsg.qualtrics.com/SE/?u1=851764-2-0-&SID=SV_eLP5EFgl3Wn7PTK&SVID=Prod

Dress Barn - 10% off entire purchase
http://images.dressbarn.com/images/SU08-CC01CouponCCHdr11.gif

Easy Spirit Store (not outlet) - $10/50
http://f.chtah.com/i/15/1906176126/ES_11.5_Coup.HTML

Finish Line - $10/60
http://www.finishline.com/store/catalog/fragments/coupon.jsp

Reebok Outlet - 20% off entire purchase, including sale items
http://www.rbkoutlet.com/promo/joincoupon.asp

Champs Sport $15/50 with VIP card
http://content.4at5.net/email_domains/flc/29556/flc_29556.html

Crabtree & Evelyn - $10/50
http://f.mailings.crabtree-evelyn.com/s/24/687101299/crabtree_welcome.html

Staples $5/25 (expires 11/29/08)
http://reg.e.staples.com/c/s/tagfrm/hBJFJdNB7SHGCB7W$Q0$Yni1krI/coupon.html?storeId=10001&jspStoreDir=Staples&AID=10422268&SID=dl-63321-s&PID=2138476&n=101

Famous Footwear $10/50
http://email.famousfootwear.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=a801ba8c838d38f52240aeb32eec4546&CID=1160436012&ch=40FF5B822AB7217225EB134DE0B0D472

Iparty - 15% off entire purchase
http://www.funatiparty.com/promotions/coupon.asp

Radio Shack $10/40
http://www.divshare.com/download/5052686-ffb

Sherwin Williams $10/50
http://baton.com/common/images/SW_Right2.gif

Black Friday AD Scans

Black Friday All deals Compiled Excel/Google Spreadsheet

Black Friday AdScans (updated 11/24)

2008-11-14T15:23:00.016-05:00

Black Friday 2008 Ad Scans

Just Right click and "save link as" or "Save Target as" and download to your computer. you need a Acrobat PDF reader to view the downloaded document, you can download Acrobat reader from this link

Store	File Type	File Size
Ace Hardware	PDF	2.65MB
Babies R Us
Bass Pro Shops	PDF	2.06MB
Bass Pro Shops Thanksgiving
Bealls	PDF	12.4 MB
Best Buy	PDF	5.81MB
Big Lots
BJs Wholesale Club	PDF	3.76MB
Burlington Coat Factory	PDF	3.75MB
Cabelas	PDF	3.13MB
Circuit City	PDF	9MB
Costco	PDF	.99MB
CVS	PDF	5.24MB
Dell Home	PDF	.825MB
Dicks Sporting Goods	PDF	4.07MB
Express
Freds
F.Y.E.
Gander Mountain	PDF	.83MB
Harbor Freight	PDF	2.09MB
Hhgregg	HTML
Home Depot	PDF	6.64MB
Ikea	PDF	1.46MB
Joann	PDF	3MB
JCPenney
KB Toys
Kohls	PDF	11.3MB
Kmart Black friday	PDF	2.25MB
Kmart Thanksgiving Sale	PDF	2.94MB
Longs Drugs
Lowes	PDF	1.78MB
Macy’s	PDF	15MB
Meijer	PDF	2.7MB
Meijer Thanksgiving	PDF	2.15MB
Meijer Saturday	PDF	1.08MB
Menards	PDF	10MB
Micro Center
Navy Exchange	PDF	6.55MB
Office Depot	PDF	.88MB
Office Max	PDF	.819MB
Old Navy	PDF	3.11MB
Pep Boys	PDF	2.88MB
Radio Shack	PDF	2.8MB
Rite Aid	PDF	.84MB
Ritz Camera	PDF	6.6MB
Sams Club	PDF	6.35MB
Sears	PDF	9.52MB
Sports Authority	PDF	2.96MB
Staples	PDF	1.5MB
Target	PDF	1.02MB
Toys R US
Tractor Supply Co.	PDF	4.5MB
Walgreens	PDF	7.96MB
Walmart	PDF	3.5MB

ripped from http://www.blackfday.com/black-friday-2008-ad-scans/

Compiled Version in Google Doc

Black Friday Coupons

Black Friday 2008 Deals updated 11/24

2008-11-14T13:30:00.017-05:00


	”I have created this spreadsheet to help with my Black Friday shopping, I have found it very useful and I hope you will as well. Essentially, it is a spreadsheet that lists all the major Black Friday store ads in a format that can be sorted by store, product, price, etc. . This is a work in progress and more ad information will be added as it becomes available..... This is a Google Spreadsheet, and there is not download needed, and you dont need Office software to view it. Change Log: 11/15 - Walgreens and Sports Authority - more coming this weekend. 11/16 - Added Circuit City and Radio Shack .....still more to come. 11/16 - Added Office Max, Target and Ace Hardware .....more updates are coming. 11/16 - Added Dicks Sporting Goods and KMart....still more to come. 11/20 - Added Staples and Meijer's Thursday Ad....more coming over the next few days. 11/21 - Added Walmart 11/23 - Mega Update - Added Bass Pro, Blockbuster, Burlington Coat, Dell, GameStop, hhgregg, Home Depot, KB Toys, JC Penney and Office Depot 11/23 - Added Costco, KOHLS, Meijer, Ritz Camera, Toys R Us. 11/23 - Added Macys Link1(updated 11/24) Link2(new) - Mirror of Link 1 Link2 Excel Viewer(Direct Link will start downloading Excel Viewer from Microsoft directly) MS Excel Format : Constantly updated: easy to sort, and categorize based on products and brands view screenshot before download. Download Here or Here ”

Ad Scans of differnt Stores

Black Friday Coupons

Extenal Link: Master Index of all BF Ad's

AAFES
ACE Hardware
Bass Pro Shop
Best Buy
BJ's
Cabela's
Burlington Coat Factory
Carter's
Circuit City (old)
Costco
CVS (ECB)
Dell Home
Dick's Sporting Goods
GameStop
Gander Mountain
HHGregg
Harbor Freight
Home Depot
Ikea
JCPenney
Joann
KB Toys
Kmart (Thanksgiving Day Sale)
Kohl's
Lowe's
Macy's
Meijer
Menard's
Office Max
Office Depot (old)
Old Navy
Osh Kosh B Gosh
Pep Boys
Navy Exchange
Radio Shack
Rite Aid (Rebates)
Sam's Club
Sears
Sports Authority
Staples
Target
Toys'R'Us
Toys'R'Us Big Book
Tractor Supply
Walgreens
Wal-Mart
Whole Foods

3 Free Test from Microsoft

2008-11-13T11:37:00.001-05:00

3 free Microsoft Cert Exams at Prometric Centers for testing Virtual Lab-Based Exams

Hey folks,

Got this in my email this morning from Microsoft:

Update: Registration for the New Virtual Lab-based Exam Extended to December 17, 2008 (Worldwide)

The new pilot exam, 70-113: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring, tests candidates' abilities to actually perform tasks and solve problems like they would on the job. Due to popular demand, the beta period for this exam has been extended. Customers should register by December 17 and complete the exam by December 31.

The first 3,000 candidates to complete the exam will receive three free exam vouchers that can be used for any Microsoft Certification exam delivered at Prometric. This pilot exam will not be added to candidates' transcripts, and they must take the exam in its released form in order to be awarded the credential.

This Virtual Lab--based pilot is available worldwide, with high concentrations of test centers ready to receive registrations in Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, the United States, India, Eastern Europe, Russia (Moscow), and China.

1.Go to the Prometric Web site.
2.Schedule an appointment at your local exam provider for Microsoft Exam 70-113: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring.
3.On the Payment Information page, under Promotion Code or Voucher, click Yes. Select Promotion Code, and type H640 (promo code is active until December 31).
Please send your opinion about this exam experience to pbexam@microsoft.com.

So, you spend 20 minutes taking a test, even if you fail. They'll send you vouchers for 3 other certification exams. Each exam is a $125 value. Enjoy.

Height of Outsourcing

2008-11-05T11:48:00.003-05:00

Barack Obama puppet outsourced to Mumbai

Press Trust of India

Wednesday, November 05, 2008 7:37 PM(Mumbai)

US President-elect Barack Obama may be opposed to outsourcing goods and services but his own puppet is being outsourced from Mumbai.

Well-known ventriloquist Ramdas Padhye, who has made puppets of several famous personalities including current US President George W Bush, recently put together an Obama puppet.

"US-based ventroloquist and puppeteer Doris Baker had seen my puppets of George Bush. He liked my work and so he asked me to design an Obama puppet," Padhye said.

"Baker is planning to use the puppet for his stage shows. He is also planning a TV show with puppets on US TV networks," Padhye added.

Padhye, whose puppet 'Ardhavatrao' has become household name in Maharashtra, has earlier made puppets of Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, as well as international celebrities like Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe and former US President Bill Clinton.

His puppets have also starred in flims: Marathi film 'Zapatlela' ('Possessed') had a Padhey-designed puppet playing the villain.

Also, his puppets have featured in Amitabh Bachchan-starrer 'Mahan' and Preity Zinta-starrer 'Dil Hai Tumhara'. Padhye, along with his wife Aparna, has some 9,000 puppet shows to his creditso far.

from :

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/uspolls2008/Election_Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080071469&

2008 Trend Micro Internet Security Suite - FREE - NoMORE - DEAD

2008-11-03T11:33:00.001-05:00

Now available for

Subscription Information

If necessary, you may edit the information below.

Software: Trend Micro Internet Security
Serial number: PF@EP-99@91-74@36-49@97-15@45
Expiration date: November 15, 2008
-------
-------
-------

(@ symbol deliberately added by me)

this is what i am getting it today now after installation. going to uninstall it.

CONFIRMED - Everyone's subscription terminated, 3 years became less than 2 weeks!

Yup, they decided to terminate everyone's subscription. Mine suddenly expired today out of nowhere without warning. This, without a single e-mail or any
type of notice from them at all. The 3 year subscription turned out to be less than 2 weeks. I can understand them taking some sort of action such as
reducing everyone's subscription to 6 months or 3 months or at least e-mailing everyone a week ahead of time that they would no longer be protected from
security threats, but to just cancel everyone's subscription like this in less than 2 weeks by retiring the code is extremely inappropriate.

	2008 Trend Micro Internet Security Suite NOW AVAILABLE! More PC Protection For FREE All HTC residential internet customers can now update or install FREE Trend Micro Internet Security Suite – a $49.95 value. Protect against viruses, spyware, identity theft, unwanted changes to operating system and critical software, wireless home network intrusion, and other security threats with the latest version of Trend Micro PC-cillin. Trend Micro 2008 Internet Security Suite also stops spam that in the past has gotten past security disguised as an image. Plus, coming in a near future release, Trend Micro Security 2008 will protect PCs from suspect and risky websites that are included in emails or during surfing.
	New 2008 PC-cillin Download
	1. The NEW 2008 version requires: Operating System: • Windows Vista® Home Basic (32/64bit) • Windows Vista® Home Premium (32/64bit) • Windows Vista® Home Ultimate (32/64bit) • Windows™ XP Professional or Home Edition with Service Pack 1 or 2 • Windows™ 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4 • Windows™ XP Media Center Edition 2004 or 2005 • Windows™ XP Tablet PC Edition 2004 or 2005 Not compatible with Macintosh computers. Hardware Requirement: • Windows Vista® Ultimate, Business Home Premium or Home Basic (32/64bit) CPU needs to be: Intel Pentium 800MHz (1 GHz recommended) • Windows™ XP Home/Professional or Tablet Edition CPU needs to be: Intel Pentium 350MHz Required Memory: • 256MB minimum (512MB recommended) for Windows XP • 512MB minimum (1 GB recommended) for Windows Vista Home Basic • 1 GB minimum for Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate Required Disk Space: • 300MB available for installation Windows XP Required Monitor: • 1024 x 768 (XGA) minimum with high color Browsers: • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 2 - Microsoft Windows XP only • Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 • Mozilla Firefox 2.0 2. Record this Product Registration/Serial Number for use in the installation process once the software is downloaded to your PC. Uninstall any existing Trend Micro or other security software before downloading the NEW 2008 version. 2008 PC-cillin Reg/Serial Number: PFEP-9991-7436-4997-1545 3. Click the button to begin downloading the software. Be sure to record the Product Registration/Serial Number for use in installing the software once it is downloaded to your PC. 2008 PC-cillin Reg/Serial Number: PFEP-9991-7436-4997-1545 If you have any difficulties during or after the installation, give our Technical Support Staff a call, they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at: 369-8745. *Security Suite not recommended for commercially networked computers. Not compatible with Macintosh computers.
	2007 PC-cillin Download
	1. The 2007 version requires: Operating System: • Windows Vista® Home Basic (32/64bit) • Windows Vista® Home Premium (32/64bit) • Windows Vista® Home Ultimate (32/64bit) • Windows™ XP Professional or Home Edition with Service Pack 1 or 2 • Windows™ 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4 • Windows™ XP Media Center Edition 2004 or 2005 • Windows™ XP Tablet PC Edition 2004 or 2005 Not compatible with Macintosh computers. Browsers: • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0 with Service Pack 2 • AOL Browser 9.0 Security Edition • Mozilla Firefox 1.5 • Netscape 7.2 2. Record this Product Registration/Serial Number for use in the installation process once the software is downloaded to your PC. Be sure to uninstall your existing 2006 version prior to doing a new download and registration. 2007 PC-cillin Reg/Serial Number: POEP-9993-0619-6897-3543 3. Click the button to begin downloading the software. Be sure to record the Product Registration/Serial Number for use in installing the software once it is downloaded to your PC. 2007 PC-cillin Reg/Serial Number: POEP-9993-0619-6897-3543 If you have any difficulties during or after the installation, give our Technical Support Staff a call, they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at: 369-8745. *Security Suite not recommended for commercially networked computers. Not compatible with Macintosh computers.

	2006 PC-cillin Download
	1. The 2006 version requires: Operating System: • Windows 98 of higher Browsers: • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 with Service Pack 2 for Windows 98, 98SE, or ME • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 2 for Windows XP AOL Browser 9.0 Security Edition • Mozilla Firefox 1.5 • Netscape 7.2 2. Record this Product Registration/Serial Number for use in the installation process once the software is downloaded to your PC. 2006 PC-cillin Reg/Serial Number: PKEP-9995-4598-8905-9555 3. Click the button to begin downloading the software. Be sure to record the Product Registration/Serial Number for use in installing the software once it is downloaded to your PC. 2006 PC-cillin Reg/Serial Number: PKEP-9995-4598-8905-9555 If you have any difficulties during or after the installation, give our Technical Support Staff a call, they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at: 369-8745. *Security Suite not recommended for commercially networked computers. Not compatible with Macintosh computers.

Ripped from
http://www.sccoast.net/tools/internetsecurity/download.php

Google Analytics

2008-10-31T16:42:00.000-04:00


	“Hard to belive, but still its possible, i was astonished to see the reports that could be generated on the fly with a 5 line java script. picture is worth a thousand words, Here are some snapshots of my blogspot visitor trending, eventhoug i dont use it for selling any stuff, think if i am going to use the same tool on an ecommerce site, BINGO you have a great report of customer trending and you can manipulate your articles and stuff that you sell just based on that”

Dashboard:

Visitor Trending:

Site Overlay: to see the percent/cost of each link that is benig clicked.

Content trending:


	“Have just mentioned a few , there are lot more to explore and lot more to learn. visit the official blogspot for more tutorial on Google Analytics here http://analytics.blogspot.com/ ”

More enterprise features
Google Analytics now makes the features that experts demand easy to use for everyone. Gain rich insights into your website traffic with Advanced Segmentation, Custom Reporting, Motion Charts, and more.
Improve your online results
Learn more about where your visitors come from and how they interact with your site. You'll get the information you need to write better ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives, and create higher-converting websites. Learn more about thebenefits. Google Analytics is free to everyone, whether you are an advertiser, publisher, or site owner.
Test your website and increase conversions.
You can now use your Google Analytics login to access Website Optimizer. Find out which page designs, headlines, and graphics convert the most visitors

Bee attack

2008-10-31T15:35:00.001-04:00

Umpire Billy Bowden (Centre- bottom) watches as India and Australia cricketers lie down on the ground to avoid bees during the third day of the third Test match at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on October 31, 2008.

Microsoft Office Comes to the Browser (Finally)

2008-10-28T15:45:00.000-04:00

Microsoft announced this morning at its PDC conference that the next release of Microsoft Office will include browser-based versions of some of its main office software products - Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. These will be "lightweight versions", but Microsoft told us yesterday that they'll still have rich functionality and will be comparable to Google's suite of online office applications.
The apps will enable users to create, edit and collaborate on Microsoft Office documents through the browser. The apps will work in IE, Firefox and Safari browsers (no word on whether Google Chrome will be supported). Update: Microsoft clarified in an email that these apps will use HTML and AJAX, but also Silverlight components.

The online versions will share the same names as their desktop counterparts (Word, Excel, etc), although unfortunately they don't fully escape the awkward and confusing branding that Microsoft gives to most of its Internet apps. The collective name for these apps is "Office Web Applications". To remind you, there is also an Office Online (a separate Microsoft site where users can download templates) and an Office Live Workspace (for sharing office files between desktop and Web - our coverage).

The "Office Web applications" will be available to consumers through Office Live, a service which has both ad-funded and subscription options. Business users will be offered Office Web applications as a hosted subscription service and through existing "volume licensing agreements". There will be a private technology preview of the Office Web applications later this year.

Last month we ran a poll asking which word processing tool you primarily use. We got over 2,600 separate votes and a resounding 49% of people still use Microsoft Word as their main word processing tool. Its open source desktop equivalent OpenOffice got 16%. Google Docs was the best placed Web Office app, with 15%.

The results showed that there is still a big place for desktop Office apps. Nevertheless, with theannouncement yesterday of Microsoft Azure - a so-called cloud computing OS - Microsoft is clearly serving a growing demand for browser-based office software. We expect these apps to become more full featured over time.

Linux- Ubuntu - Voice and Video chat with Google talk- UPDATED 08/19

2008-10-23T10:16:00.002-04:00

Voice chat with Google talk user using Empathy

Hi

Want to voice chat with Google Talk user!!
On Ubuntu 8.04 Empathy can be used to voice chat with Googletalk users.

On an updated Ubuntu 8.04; Using Synaptic Package Manager add the following third party repository and install the packages given below.

Instructions:
System --> Administration --> Synaptic Package Manager

Go to Settings->Repositories
Go to Third Party Software --> Add;
Enter the following line in APT line:

Code:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/telepathy/ubuntu hardy main

Close and Reload

Search and mark the following packages for install:
Empathy
telepathy-gabble
telepathy-mission-control
telepathy-stream-engine

and Apply i.e. install.

Use the latest packages as older packages do not allow Gtalk/Jingle VOIP.

References:

UPDATED - 08/19

Windows/Mac/Linux: Pidgin has long been an easy way to use lots of different chat systems on your desktop. With its 2.6 release, Pidgin's finally catching up to the video, audio, and file transfer offerings of Google Talk, Yahoo, and others.
The big new feature in the 2.6 releases—already at a bug-fixing 2.6.1 as this is written—is video and voice chat support over XMPP, known primarily as the Jabber/Google Talk protocol. Unfortunately, that video and audio chat support isn't working on Windows at the moment (kind of a big target to miss, no?), but the Pidgin team says it's coming soon. In other areas, Pidgin improved its Yahoo file transfer powers, added rough support for theming, and made a whole bunch of other changes.
Pdigin's 2.6.1 release is available as a source download at the moment, but pre-compiled versions for Windows, Linux, and Mac (if you're not in the Adium camp) should be rolling out soon. Update: Ubuntu and Debian Linux users can grab pre-compiled packages at GetDeb. It's a free download.

Pidgin [via Lazy Ubuntu]

Concept of Bankruptcy...

2008-10-16T10:29:00.001-04:00

If you could read patiently and understand, its a great knowledge!

Once there was a little island country. The land of this country was the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around.

1) There were 3 citizens living on this island country. A owned the land. B and C each owned 1 dollar.

2) B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and C own 1 dollar each while B owned a piece of land that is worth 1 dollar.

* The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.

3) Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1 dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.

*A has a loan to C of 1 dollar, so his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B sold his land and got 2 dollars, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C owned the piece of land worth 2 dollars but with his 1 dollar debt to A, his net residual asset is 1 dollar.
* Thus, the net asset of the country = 4 dollars.

4) A saw that the land he once owned has risen in value. He regretted having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3 dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C. As a result, A now owned a piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owed B 2 dollars, his net asset is 1 dollar.

* B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. A bubble is building up.

(5) B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan to A.

* As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owned a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a debt of 2 dollars with C, his net Asset is 2 dollars.
* C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.

* The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.

(6) Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.

(7) One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C's mind. "Hey, what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no more."

(8) A also thought the same way.

(9) Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.

* So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owed C 2 dollars and the land he owned which he thought worth 4 dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.
* C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his net asset is still 2 dollars, his Heart is palpitating.
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.

(10) So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country ? Of course, before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars. Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was 6 dollars on paper. B's net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is palpitating.

(11) B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which is worth 1 dollar now.

* A owns the 2 coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B is bankrupt, his net asset is 0 dollar. ( he lost everything )
* C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar

* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars.

************ **End of the story; BUT ************ ********* ******

There is however a redistribution of wealth.
A is the winner, B is the loser, C is lucky that he is spared.
A few points worth noting -

(1) when a bubble is building up, the debt of individuals to one another in a country is also building up.
(2) This story of the island is a closed system whereby there is no other country and hence no foreign debt. The worth of the asset can only be calculated using the island's own currency. Hence, there is no net loss.
(3) An over-damped system is assumed when the bubble burst, meaning the land's value did not go down to below 1 dollar.
(4) When the bubble burst, the fellow with cash is the winner. The fellows having the land or extending loan to others are the losers. The asset could shrink or in worst case, they go bankrupt.
(5) If there is another citizen D either holding a dollar or another piece of land but refrains from taking part in the game, he will neither win nor lose. But he will see the value of his money or land go up and down like a see saw.
(6) When the bubble was in the growing phase, everybody made money.
(7) If you are smart and know that you are living in a growing bubble, it is worthwhile to borrow money (like A ) and take part in the game. But you must know when you should change everything back to cash.
(8) As in the case of land, the above phenomenon applies to stocks as well.
(9) The actual worth of land or stocks depends largely on psychology.

Investment Idea on a side note

2008-10-16T10:23:00.001-04:00

*_Investment Ideas!_*

If you purchased Rs 1,00,000 of Morgan Stanley stock 1 year ago, you

would have Rs 4,900 today.

If you purchased Rs 1,00,000 of AIG stock 1 year ago, you would have Rs

3,300 today.

If you purchased Rs 1,00,000 of Lehman Brothers stock 1 year ago, you

would have Rs 0.0 today.

But, if you purchased Rs 1,00,000 worth of beer 1 year ago, drank all the

beer, returned the aluminum cans for a recycling refund, you would have

Rs 21,400!!!

Spread the word ....

Social networking ChaatWaala

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Linux- Ubuntu - Voice and Video chat with Google talk- UPDATED 08/19

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