tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89363985908779095192024-03-08T21:55:19.869+05:30Techno WhizTo, For and By TechnologistsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-38298703048815626282007-05-11T09:10:00.000+05:302007-05-11T09:32:01.763+05:30Moved to Another Location<span style="font-weight: bold;">WHERE : </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><a href="http://sodidi.blogspot.com">zLeas </a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">(http://sodidi.blogspot.com)<br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />WHY:</span> Thanks to all of you who were visiting this blog from across the world. It has been a great experience to have you all over here at Techno Whizz. I also have another blog, where I will be moving to, which I update very regularly. It is very difficult for me to maintain two active blogs. Apart from that, technology fits in very well with the concept of <a href="http://sodidi.blogspot.com">zLeas .</a>Hence this decision to move.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HOW: </span>Ok, I know you will might not be interested in reading all the stuff I write over there. Just like you technology is my passion. I have a Label "<a href="http://sodidi.blogspot.com/search/label/Technology">Technology</a>" where you can find all the posts of the kind that you find here.<br /><br />I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused because of this. However, I am sure in the long run its mutually beneficial. So see you at <a href="http://sodidi.blogspot.com">zLeas.</a><br /><span id="fullpost"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-82499391240490269692007-01-15T12:43:00.000+05:302007-01-15T13:25:03.166+05:30iPhone and New world Order<a href="http://www.apple.com/">Apple </a>oh! My <a href="http://www.apple.com/">Apple</a>, known for some of the groundbreaking incidents of the twentieth century has come up with its second offering at the dawn of the 21st century. I am talking about <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/">iPhone </a>which was recently announced. A <a href="http://youtube.com/results?search_query=iPhone&search=Search">search </a>on <a href="http://youtube.com/">YouTube </a>gives you an idea of the buzz this yet to released has created.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />I would not discuss the features of iPhone here as is the case. What I will talk of is some of the technologies that Apple is using and why they will create a new order. A beautiful <a href="http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/RDM.Tech.Q1.07/4DD0941D-9097-4FAE-A3BB-29DA5CA07199.html">series </a><a href="http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/RDM.Tech.Q1.07/4DD0941D-9097-4FAE-A3BB-29DA5CA07199.html">on iPhone</a> is available at <a href="http://www.roughlydrafted.com/">RDM (Roughly Drafted Magazine)</a>. Go through it for an indepth analysis of various aspects of iPhone. (I would say slightly biased towards iPhone).<br /><br />Coming to some of the features that I mentioned earlier, let us have look at each of them and why they will effect the way we do things today.<br /><br />The touch screen display is the most disruptive of the features. Not that touch screen displays don't exist, but the way one interacts with iPhone using fingers will go a long way in spawning more innovative devices based on this technology. I just am waiting to land my hands. Though I still cannot imagine how easy or difficult it will be to use the key board for smsing, I am still game for this.<br /><br />The next is the its support for wi-fi and bluetooth. Though many have cannibalized it for its lack of support to 3G, in my opinion that does not matter as at least in the foreseeable future 3G does not come anywhere near wi-fi. But what excites me is that I can happily network my phone, laptop, desktop, and possibly the wii. It's crazy but I can see more and more portables with wi-fi support.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5puMn5-rFQI"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5puMn5-rFQI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Apple has redefined the user interface for handhelds with iPhone, just as what Mac and iPod have done to the PC and music industry. I am sure it's time for all the mobile phone guys to pull up their socks. Folks better acknowledge the fact that Apple did a great job and see what you can do. Don't get into the denial mode and get relegated.<br /><br />Known for the aesthetics, elegant and simple design Apple has done a phenomenal job with iPhone. I am sure they seriously believe in the tag line "Think Different", unlike many companies where a tag line is just their because all companies have one. Now how is this changing the world order you might ask. If Apple comes up with one more disruptive product in the future and not rest on its laurels from iPod and potential laurels from iPhone, I am sure they will be a go a long way as a company that understands the customers what they need.<br /><br />Lot of other features like the motion sensors, video voice mail, a great web browsing facility all sound obvious in retrospect. Only see how many of the existing folks provide you with these facilities in spite of being so obvious.<br /><br />Finally, I have great respect for Jobs, for the maverick showman he is, he's got the users in mind(from the days he hacked the AT&T's telephones). I am sure he's got some more tricks up his sleeve for iPhone which in itself will create a new order all over again.<br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-28577978978450619172007-01-11T13:01:00.000+05:302007-01-11T21:45:28.920+05:30Model it on Your DesktopMy first post after a long time here, and first post for 2007. Hope this year sees more and more technological innovations like last year.<br />Coming back to the topic on hand, No, I am not talking of your computer desktop, I am referring to the good old desk top. How many times did you abandon a great idea because you could not do the model at your convenience and your pace? How many times did you abandon that pet project of yours because of the the prohibitive costs? If you fall into any of this or more on similar lines, what I am writing here should alleviate your spirits.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />A few folks at Cornell have addressed just this problem. They have come up with a desktop fabricator which will set you back by about 2500$. Yes, you heard it right. No more heart breaks over the price. Coming to the capabilities it sounds pretty good to me. It can build 3-D models of from plastic like materials. One can use it for building 3-D prototypes.<br /><br />"Malone and Lipson the people behind Fab@Home hope that this will grow into a community of enthusiasts who share designs for 3D objects and even modify the machines for themselves. This will prompt the emergence of widespread personal fabrication, Lipson hopes.", says a <a href="http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=dn10922&feedId=tech_rss20">report </a>on <a href="http://www.newscientisttech.com/">New Scientist</a>. I got hold of this <a href="http://docinthemachine.com/2007/01/10/fabricator/">article </a>from <a href="http://docinthemachine.com/">DocintheMachine.</a> Check out a <a href="http://web.mae.cornell.edu/ccsl/temp/EvanMalone/FabAtHome/SqueezeBulbDemoMovie.wmv">video </a>on how this Fab@Home <a href="http://web.mae.cornell.edu/ccsl/temp/EvanMalone/FabAtHome/SqueezeBulbDemoMovie.wmv">constructs a silicone bulb</a>.<br /><br />What fascinates me is if the machine is half as good as what they say, it might churn a revolution in the way things are manufactured. I might as well setup a small scale unit in my house making a few hundred models for the markets around me or I might even scale it up for making a few thousand models. I am excited to have a look at it and see it's capabilities. It's the time for back to home workshops aka the pre-industrial era.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"History repeats it self", How true.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-54561370993803675802006-12-05T11:50:00.000+05:302006-12-05T12:05:15.953+05:30The Emotion MachineI could not resist posting this here. <a href="http://web.media.mit.edu/%7Eminsky/">Marvin Minsky</a> a professor at MIT and a legend in his own rights has published after over 20 years. In his new book called "The Emotion Machine", he argues that emotions are a different way of thinking and hence are not different from rational thought.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />This doesn't surprise me, it gives words to what I have been struggling to give a form. Many a times I felt emotions have a place, not every thing is based on logic as we think, but could never find an explanation for this feeling. Marvin's idea leads me on to a whole different gamut of thoughts.<br /><br />Coming back to the news about the book, you can read his <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2006/12/04/minsky_talks_about_life_love_in_the_age_of_artificial_intelligence/">interview </a>of his at "<a href="http://www.boston.com/">boston.com</a>". I present a few excerpts from that over here.<br /><br />"<strong>Q</strong> So here you are, a pioneer of artificial intelligence, writing a book about emotions. What's going on?<br /><br /><strong>A </strong>Somehow, most theories of how the mind works have gotten confused by trying to divide the mind in a simple way.<p>My view is that the reason we're so good at things is not that we have the best way but because we have so many ways, so when any one of them fails, you can switch to another way of thinking. So instead of thinking of the mind as basically a rational process which is distorted by emotion, or colored and made more exciting by emotion -- that's the conventional view -- emotions themselves are different ways to think. Being angry is a very useful way to solve problems, for instance, by intimidating an opponent or getting rid of people who bother you.</p><p>The theme of the book is really resourcefulness and why are people so much better at controlling the world than animals are? The argument is: because they have far more different ways to think than any competitor.<span id="fullpost">"</span></p><p>"<strong>Q</strong> What, then, is the most important thing for us to understand about our own thinking?</p><p><strong>A</strong> Your mind can work on several levels at once so, when you think about any particular subject, you also can think about the way you've been thinking -- and then use that experience to change yourself. Similarly, when you admire some teacher or leader, you can try to imitate their ways to think -- instead of just learning the things that they say."</p><p>It's a paradigm shift for all of us. Grab it and address beautiful problems for humankind.</p></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-15891512550486892462006-12-01T15:09:00.001+05:302006-12-01T15:09:10.642+05:30Pharmacogenomics: Biochip<p style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The world's first pharmacogenetic microarray for personalized prescriptions </span></span></p> <div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><img src="http://www.medgadget.com/archives/img/amplichip.jpg" height="200" width="200"></div><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </p><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The new technology combines chemistry, physics and biology to develop electronic devices able to reach diagnostic conclusions. Roche has combined its polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology for putting genetic information on a chip. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> When two people take the same dose of a drug, their bodies may metabolize it so differently that the amount of it that can act on its target varies tremendously. Some people may have an especially efficient form of an enzyme that breaks down a drug; others may have a less functional version. People with genetic variations that give them less efficient versions of the enzymes, known as poor metabolizers, could have high levels of a drug in their body for a longer period, increasing the potential for side effects. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><img alt="dont mix with grapefruit" src="http://www.medgadget.com/archives/img/amplichip2.jpg" width="260"> </p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The AmpliChip CYP450 Test provides comprehensive coverage of gene variations - including deletions and duplications - for the CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genes, which play a major role in the metabolism of an estimated 25% of all prescription drugs. It is intended to be an aid for physicians in individualizing treatment selection and dosing for drugs metabolized through these genes. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> It is intended to be an aid for physicians in individualizing treatment selection and dosing for drugs metabolized through these genes.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Source: <a href="http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2006/11/amplichip_for_p.html" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2006/11/amplichip_for_p.html</a></span></p><span class="sg"> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span> </span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-48531242523378224502006-11-19T16:35:00.000+05:302006-11-19T17:37:08.229+05:30Weekly RonudUpSorry all folks out there, it is really getting tough to be regular. Any way, for this weeks roundup, we have lot of hands on stuff. Not any theory, or theories in the making. We are going to see some pretty real stuff. Its people like these who give make use of all the technology that comes up. From discussion on various electricity standards around the world, to glitch art and paper art we have some amazing things made by some amazing people.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Electricity around the world:</span> We all at least those of you who have traveled in more than one country have faced this issue. Your laptop charger or your mobile charger does not fit into the point there. And even if it fits, you may be witness to some great fireworks if there is some difference in the specifications. Now we have a <a href="http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm">site </a>which brings out all the <a href="http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm">world standards</a> at a glance. Next time you travel you know what to carry or at least what to expect. This <a href="http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/index.htm">website </a>by Conrad H. McGregor also contains more information on the driving sense in different countries, the international paper sizes, international bar codes and so on. Its really a must for all those travellers out there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/bookcut/images/image_3_JPG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 192px;" src="http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/bookcut/images/image_3_JPG.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paper Art:</span> <a href="http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/contact.htm">Su Blackwell </a>has an amazing work of art. See for yourself this beautiful piece made from book cuts. For more of his masterpieces go to his site at http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/index.htm.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.beflix.com/img/bbb/leafexp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 174px;" src="http://www.beflix.com/img/bbb/leafexp.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Glitch Art:</span> Looks like art is the flavor of the day. How many of us have seen glitches on screens, be it be TV, your calculator, that new camera or the inseparable monitor. Ant Scott turns this glitches into art. A good collection of glitches and he goes on to explain the story behind each. Impressive I would say.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">History: </span>Continuing in the same vein, let us see two sites which offer an insight into the past. One titled <a href="http://www.messybeast.com/history/history.htm">Historical Photos</a>, contains a very nice collection of aero engines, dog breeds, steam engines and many more from the past. One more site that caught my attention was <a href="http://members.chello.nl/%7Eh.dijkstra19/">The Cathode Ray Tube Site</a>. This site has on display the history of various tubes. It has nicely divided the tubes into CRTs, Camera tubes,X-ray tubes and so on. Thus providing us with an easy navigation. An informative site and a must for all tube enthusiasts.<br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-80042878779294311262006-11-18T12:54:00.001+05:302006-11-18T12:54:52.419+05:30Rapid detection of Viruses: Silver Nanorods<p style="text-align: left; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">Silver bullet: UGA researchers use laser, nanotechnology to rapidly detect viruses</span> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Athens</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Waiting a day or more to get lab results back from the doctor's office soon could become a thing of a past. Using nanotechnology, a team of University of Georgia researchers has developed a diagnostic test that can detect viruses as diverse as <span style="font-weight: bold;">influenza, HIV and RSV in 60 seconds</span> or less.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In addition to saving time, the technique – which is detailed in the November issue of the journal Nano Letters – could save lives by rapidly detecting a naturally occurring disease outbreak or bioterrorism attack. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">"You could actually apply it to a person walking off a plane and know if they're infected." </span></i></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Technology behind it:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> The technique, called <span style="font-weight: bold;">surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)</span>, works by measuring the change in frequency of a near-infrared laser as it scatters off viral DNA or RNA. This change in frequency, named the Raman shift for the scientist who discovered it in 1928, is as distinct as a fingerprint. It is interesting to note that the findings of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Indian Pioneer of Science, Sir Raman</span> is coming handy in latest nanotechnology applications.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> This phenomenon is well known, but Tripp explained that previous attempts to use Raman spectroscopy to diagnose viruses failed because the signal produced is inherently weak. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-family: Arial;">But UGA physics professor Yiping Zhao and UGA chemistry professor Richard Dluhy experimented with several different metals and methods and found a way to significantly amplify the signal. Using a method they've patented, they place rows of silver nanorods 10,000 times finer than the width of a human hair on the glass slides that hold the sample. And, like someone positioning a TV antenna to get the best reception, they tried several angles until they found that the signal is best amplified when the nanorods are arranged at an 86-degree angle. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tripp said the technique is so powerful that it has the potential to detect a single virus particle and can also discern virus subtypes and those with mutations such as gene insertions and deletions. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The researchers have shown that the technique works with viruses isolated from infected cells grown in a lab, and the next step is to study its use in biological samples such as blood, feces or nasal swabs. Tripp said preliminary results are so promising that the researchers are currently working to create an online encyclopedia of Raman shift values. With that information, a technician could readily reference a Raman shift for a particular virus to identify an unknown virus. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Next year, they plan on moving their enterprise to the Georgia BioBusiness Center, an UGA incubator for startup bio-science companies. </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Limitations of Existing Techniques</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-family: Arial;"> Presently, viruses are first diagnosed with methods that detect the antibodies a person produces in response to an infection. Tripp explained that these tests are prone to false positives because a person can still have antibodies in their system from a related infection decades ago. The tests are also prone to false negatives because some people don't produce high levels of antibodies. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Because of these limitations, antibody based tests often must be confirmed with a test known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which detects the virus itself by copying it many times. The test can take anywhere from several days to two weeks. Tripp said the latter is clearly too long, especially in light of emerging threats such as H5N1 avian influenza. </span></p><span class="sg"> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-86347813274713024622006-11-18T12:02:00.001+05:302006-11-18T12:02:43.679+05:30Dialogues from Shawshank redemption<p style="text-align: left; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">This one is from Leo (he posted it on his personal blog). It has got nothing to do with technology. But then the reason technology exists is because of us humans. This movie amazes me every time I think of it. And am sure all those who haven't watched it must see it. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">For now please sail through the famous dialogues. <br></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">The most famous dialogues of the Best Movie ever Made : SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION </span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none dotted; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 3pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> Can anyone forget Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman in Shawshank??...at least I cant..coz this one movie taught me a lot..read through these dialogues carefully..each line has a story to tell you..to teach you..!! </span></p> </div> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> RED: Andy? I guess we're getting' to be friends, ain't we? </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> ANDY: I suppose we are. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: I ask a question? Why'd you do it? </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">ANDY: I'm innocent, remember? Just like everybody else here. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">ANDY: What are you in for, Red? </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: Murder. Same as you. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">ANDY: Innocent? </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <div style="border-style: none none dotted; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 3pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: The only guilty man in Shawshank. </span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </div> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> RED: Heywood, enough. Ain't nothing wrong with Brooksie. He's just institutionalized, that's all. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">HEYWOOD: Institutionalized, my ass. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: Man's been here fifty years. This place is all he knows. In here, he's an important man, an educated man. A librarian. Out there, he's nothing but a used-up old con with arthritis in both hands. Couldn't even get a library card if he applied. You see what I'm saying? </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">FLOYD: Red, I do believe you're talking out of your ass. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: Believe what you want. These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. After long enough, you get so you depend on 'em. That's "institutionalized." </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">JIGGER: Shit. I could never get that way. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">ERNIE: Say that when you been inside as long as Brooks has. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none dotted; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 3pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: Goddamn right. They send you here for life, and that's just what they take. Part that counts, anyway. </span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </div> <div style="border-style: dotted none; border-color: windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-width: 3pt medium; padding: 1pt 0in; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: I have no idea to this day what them two Italian ladies were singin' about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they were singin' about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared. Higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away... and for the briefest of moments -- every last man at Shawshank felt free. </span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </div> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> ANDY: Here's where it makes most sense. We need it so we don't forget. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> RED: Forget? </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">ANDY: That there are things in this world not carved out of gray stone. That there's a small place inside of us they can never lock away, and that place is called hope. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none dotted; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 3pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a man insane. </span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </div> <div style="border-style: dotted none; border-color: windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-width: 3pt medium; padding: 1pt 0in; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">ANDY: You're right. It's down there, and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying.</span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </div> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, a million years of mountain-building there, plates of bedrock grinding against each other over a span of millennia... Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure and time. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none dotted; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 3pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </div> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <div style="border-style: none none dotted; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 3pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">RED: I like to think the last thing that went through his head... other than that bullet... was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him. </span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </div> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <div style="border-style: none none dotted; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 3pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;">ANDY: Dear Red. If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy. </span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </div> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> RED: I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain... I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. </span></p><span class="sg"> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span> </span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-88278377981407467702006-11-16T20:00:00.000+05:302006-11-16T20:01:02.245+05:30BioPen<br><br><span class="gmail_quote"></span><span style="font-size: 180%;">BioPen Senses BioThreats</span> <hr><br><p><a href="http://www.tfot.info/mambots/editors/spaw/empty.html#" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><table style="float: left;" height="1" width="1"><tbody><tr width="1"> <td align="center" valign="top"><img alt="Bioluminescent fiber-optic bio-reporter biosensor to environmental toxicant" src="http://www.tfot.info/images/stories/bio-pen_fights_bio-terror/Bio-pen-fiber-small.jpg" align="left" height="150" width="200"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-size: 12px;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Bioluminescent fiber-optic bio-reporter biosensor to environmental toxicant</span></td></tr></tbody></table></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> A novel pen-like device, capable of rapidly detecting biowarfare agents on the battlefield, is being developed by a team of Israeli scientists at Ben Gurion University in the Negev. The BioPen or "Lab-in-a-Pen", as it has also been dubbed, could be used additionally as a point-of-care test tool for examining patients and to assist in the accurate, rapid, and on-the-spot diagnosis of a variety of diseases. </div> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p><hr> <p><a href="http://www.tfot.info/mambots/editors/spaw/empty.html#" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><table style="float: right;" height="1" width="1"> <tbody><tr width="1"><td align="center" valign="top"><img alt="Image of BioPen concept CAD (computer aided design) " src="http://www.tfot.info/images/stories/bio-pen_fights_bio-terror/BioPen-small.jpg" align="right" height="192" width="250"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-size: 12px;" align="center">Image of BioPen concept CAD (computer aided design) </td></tr></tbody></table></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The BioPen has been designed to help soldiers on the battlefield determine whether they have been exposed to dangerous biological agents in under 20 minutes. The novel diagnostic device – equipped with a small LCD screen – is user-friendly, does not require the user to have any preliminary training, and is self-sufficient. In addition, it can be used to check whether water is drinkable, to detect environmental toxins, and to diagnose various common infections such as Hepatitis B and C, and even several types of cancer, more accurately and efficiently than tests currently in use. This amazing feat is achieved by a special method devised by the Ben Gurion University team for antigen detection, which is an adaptation of the widely employed Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). </p><span class="sg"> </span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-80076506197823842942006-11-15T18:58:00.000+05:302006-11-15T19:23:30.489+05:30Wiztec in Your LanguageThanks to so many enterprising souls on the net, now those of you in various parts of the world (at least 9 languages and those countries that speak these languages) will be able to get it in your <a href="http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/11/add-google-translation-flags-to-your.html">language</a>. I won't write much here, except credit all the people who played a role in current status of wiztec.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />Let me start with <a href="http://hackosphere.blogspot.com/">Hackosphere</a>, this guy Ramani has really helped me with my blog (without knowing that). If I could include some features in my blog without any effort worth mentioning the credit goes to him.<br /><br />Now comes <a href="http://hackosphere.blogspot.com/">cOOL HOOp</a>, Leo as I know him is with me at Nirmalabs, a biotechnologist, he is one of the contributors to this blog. Check out his blog, he has some cool stuff. Check out <a href="http://wiztec.blogspot.com/">wiztec</a> for more of Leo.<br /><br />There are other people(the links point to there blogs), <a href="http://beta.blogger.com/ashish-sinha.blogspot.com/">Ashish Sinha</a> from <a href="http://ashish-sinha.blogspot.com/">iDea Labs</a>, <a href="http://bloggeruniversity.blogspot.com/">Annie </a>from <a href="http://bloggeruniversity.blogspot.com/">BlogU</a>, then we have <a href="http://labnol.blogspot.com/">Amit Agarwal</a> from <a href="http://labnol.blogspot.com/">Digital Inspirations</a>. Many other blogs and sites have helped me with the posts here, and I have credited most of the sites/persons in the posts.<br /><br />To end with, we assure you that we will try to be more regular with the posts, updating you on whats happening. If you want to here, or there is a topic that you want us at <a href="http://wiztec.blogspot.com">wiztec </a>to post, do write to us. We will be too happy to take your feedback.<br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-72669814342184502542006-11-14T02:02:00.000+05:302006-11-14T02:20:10.267+05:30Back In TimeHow nice it would be if we can go back in time to those good olden days, get nostalgic about those days. Now you may have to wait for a few more decades or centuries for time travel (in more than one direction) to be a reality. For now Google maps let you go back and check how your world looked at that time.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />Courtesy to another <a href="http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/11/google_earth_17.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890">blog post</a> on <a href="http://www.makezine.com/">Makezine, </a>I am made aware of this cool tool from google. If it were to be only about this particular feature, this article would not have deserved any mention here on my blog. <a href="http://www.makezine.com/">Make </a>also gives us direction to a host of other links, which allow you to play with Google Maps. Now the ball is in your court.<br /><br />F</span><span id="fullpost">or all those who got excited of time travel, you may need to hold your reins as we have a few restrictions. </span><span id="fullpost">In a blog on <a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/">Zdnet</a> by <a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/bio.php#rogers">Garett</a> which was the source for the post on Make, we also get to see the exact nature of the maps available. Please visit this <a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=387">Google Earth in 4D</a> for details.<br /><br />I am sure the day is not far of when another Web2.0 company sells you prime real estate from the past !!<br /><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-59452274025174347582006-11-05T02:24:00.001+05:302007-03-22T08:59:34.518+05:30Weekly Round UpI have a lot to write. However, my schedule prevents me from doing it the way I would have wanted to. I was pressed to find a solution? The solution, publish a summary of things that I felt was interesting and would interest you. Until I can write regularly or we have more people contributing this space, this might be the arrangement. Please continue reading for the first ever<a href="http://wiztec.blogspot.com/"> wiztec</a> weekly roundup.<br /><span id="fullpost"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />FTIR</span>: This is about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Internal_Reflection">FTIR </a>(Frustrated Total Internal Reflection), nothing new but something very interesting with promise. <a href="http://cs.nyu.edu/%7Ejhan/ftirsense/">Read </a>on what Han a researcher at New York University's <a href="http://www.cims.nyu.edu/">Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences</a> <span id="fullpost">has to say about it. The touch driven interface is so lovely. Catch Han in a video on <a href="http://ted.com/">TED</a> in </span><a href="http://ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=j_han&flashEnabled=1"><i>TEDTalks in Monterey</i></a>. (source <a href="http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/30/0325217&from=rss">Slashdot.org</a>)<br />Update: Check this <a href="http://infosthetics.com/archives/2007/03/even_more_multitouch_screen.html">video</a> by Han at TED 2007.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Virtual Fabric:</span> Another thing that interested be was this <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/04/haptics-research-underway-so-you-can-virtually-feel-fabrics/">blog </a>on <a href="http://www.engadget.com/">Engadget</a>. There is a research going on in University of Geneva that will incorporate touch into your online shopping. Now will that not be fantastic. Now will it be a success !! Whatever happened to online aroma sensing, that I last heard of when I was in college.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Penny Powered LED:</span> Have you ever wondered what you would do with all your old coins that have piled up since your fad for coin collection passed. Of course you can always display it to no one in particular or give it to your child who does not need it. Now you need not worry about all this, <a href="http://www.makezine.com/">Makezine</a> brings you an interesting way to power a LED. Check this following <a href="http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/11/pennypowered_le.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890">link </a>on one of the many ways to put those pennies to use.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alien World:</span> Since you are already on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">flickr</a>, have a look at the following pics in the album <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/88473611@N00/sets/72157594356838589/detail/">Halloween 2006</a>. Those of you who shudder at the thought of aliens please refrain from clicking this link.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Visual Search:</span> <a href="http://www.gadgetell.com/">Gadgetell </a>brings to us a search engine "<a href="http://www.quintura.com/">Quintura</a>". One more search engine, yes it is, but it might hold your interest for a few more seconds than that one more search engine. What appeals to me is the following <a href="http://www.gadgetell.com/2006/04/quintura-the-way-people-search/">features </a>it has to offer. "Context Management", "Dynamic Data Clustering", "Visual Symantic Map" all these coupled with a friendly clean interface. The search results themselves look very impressive, though I cannot comment much until I put it to extensive use.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">First Speaker Phone:</span> Many a times the past looks more beautiful than the present and the future. More so when it is presented in a elegant manner. Another one from <a href="http://www.makezine.com/">Makezine</a> is a post on "<a href="http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/11/first_speaker_p.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890">First Speaker Phone</a>". The phone for sure is impressive. However, what hooked me is the blog itself. This blog named <a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/">Modern Mechanix</a>, has the history of many things, categorising them under various heads of Automation, Computers, Aviation, Cool and so on. Its is a must in the feeds of all blogdicts.<br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-86040521473996498462006-11-02T00:28:00.000+05:302006-11-02T02:52:06.734+05:30On Fast and Single PhotographyLooks like the flavor of the season is photography. In my previous post I was talking about a company which produced an 8.6Gigapixel photo. Now I bring you the news of a few geeks come up with the photograph of fastest waves ever. The second from the other end of the spectrum, a camera which works with just a single pixel.<br /><br /><a href="http://slasdot.org/">Slashdot </a>as was the case with the earlier post is the source for this post on <a href="http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/31/2256209">"Fastest Waves Ever Photographed"</a>. Now this many of you may ask, I take a photo in light, so I am taking photograph of light, so what big deal about this. Yes there is nothing wrong in your understanding. Only you should realise that you do not take the photo of light. The content of this post talks about photographing particles that travel very near the speed of light, 99.997% to quote the <a href="http://www.aps.org/meet/DPP06/baps/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=78234">lay language paper</a> describing the research. You read a more details at this <a href="http://physicsbuzz.blogspot.com/2006/10/fastest-waves-ever-photographed.html">post</a> on <a href="http://physicsbuzz.blogspot.com/">Physics Buzz.</a><br /><br />From what I gather with my little understanding of particle physics, the above research might provide a breakthrough in the area particle accelerators (table top accelerators might be a reality). Hopefully this will pave way for taking the research to the next level, on the lines of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck">Planck's</a> Quantum theory kicking a new era in the area of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics">Quantum mechanics</a>.<br /><br />The second one may not spawn a new era. However, it might address some of the shortcomings of the current day technology. This is called <a href="http://physicsbuzz.blogspot.com/2006/10/single-pixel-camera.html">Single Pixel Camera</a> and falls in a new category of <a href="http://www.dsp.ece.rice.edu/cs/cscam-SPIEJan06.pdf">Compressive Imaging</a>, the source for this is post is <a href="http://physicsbuzz.blogspot.com/">Physics Buzz</a>. The concept is very simple, instead of an array of pixels capturing the picture use a single pixel to capture the whole picture. What I understand from the <a href="http://www.dsp.ece.rice.edu/cs/cscam-SPIEJan06.pdf">research </a>of some physicists at <a href="http://www.rice.edu/">Rice University</a> in Houston is like this analogy. It is like philosophy. You actually get the whole gist in one go, later the more thought you spend on it, the better you understand it. We first capture the image, then you apply the algorithms to recover the signal.<br /><br />The best part about the above technique, is you can improve the quality of an image in retrospect. That is if I decide to enhance the resolution of an image after an year, I can do it. This is one more technology that will host a range of products in the times to come.<br /><br />PS: Being alien to the above mentioned technologies at this stage, I might have misunderstood or mis-communicated some things. Please educate me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-75947866471346367082006-10-30T20:08:00.000+05:302006-10-30T20:53:25.070+05:30Its 8.6GigaPixel Whoosh!!"How many mega pixels?", its a typical question from anybody who sees a digital camera these days. I just came across a blog, it was talking about some one creating a 8.6Gigapixel photo. Big deal I have a 8.1 Mega pixel camera. Hold on! Hold on! he's talking of 8.6 Giga that's a thousand times bigger than what I currently have and for sure a thousand times bigger than that offered by any other commercial camera available.<br /><br />I just could not hold my excitement to let you all out there know of this little large wonder. Please go to this <a href="http://haltadefinizione.deagostini.it/">site(http://haltadefinizione.deagostini.it/)</a> and see for your self what they have created. The source for the above information is this <a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/06/10/29/2239224.shtml">post </a>on <a href="http://slashdot.org/">slashdot</a>. Its interesting to see the details of the making of the above picture. I am not sure, you will have the time to refer to another link, so I will copy the slashdot post over here. Please do visit this site, it has some amazing posts.<br /><br /><h3><a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/06/10/29/2239224.shtml"> The Largest Digital Photo (From Slashdot)</a></h3><a href="http://www.haltadefinizione.com/" rel="nofollow">Gigapixel</a> writes to point us to what is claimed to be the <a href="http://www.haltadefinizione.com/">largest digital photo on the Net</a>, at 8.6 Gigapixel. It is a composite photo of the "Parete Gaudenziana," a fresco painted by Gaudenzio Ferrari, dated 1513. This fresco is in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in the convent of Varallo Sesia, diocese of Novara and Province of Vercelli, Italy. The site uses Flash to let you explore the fresco over a zoom range of more than 180 to 1. The photo is made up of 1145 images, each 12.2 Mpixel and 16 bits per color channel. Read on for more technical specs of the photo. <div class="ad6"><!-- placeholder for ad position 6 --></div> <div class="full"> <p> Photo Shots: 1,145<br />Computed Data: 84 Gigabyte<br />Computed Pixels: 13,982,996,480<br />Color Depth: 16 bit per channel<br /><br />Cropped Image Size: 8,604,431,000 (w. 96,679 x h. 89,000) pixel<br />Image Size before the final crop: 10,293,864,000 pixel (w. 103,560 x h. 99,400) pixel<br />Size on Hard Disk of the 3x16 bit final image: 51,625,586,000 byte<br /><br />Size of Photographed Scene: 10.80 m x 9.94 m (35.43 ft x 32.61 ft), corresponding to 107.35 m<sup>2</sup> (1155.37 ft<sup>2</sup>).<br /><br />True Scale Resolution: 227 dpi<br />Pixel Density: 80 pixel/mm<sup>2</sup><br />Linear Pixel Density: 9 pixel/mm<br /><br />Hard Disk space dedicated to 16 bit computing: 1.8 Terabyte<br />Ram: 16 Gigabyte<br />Processors: 4 x AMD Opteron(TM) 885 Dual Core 64 bit<br /><br />Shooting on January 30, 2006<br />Shooting time: 13 hours<br />Computing time: 3 months<br />Final Image generated on June 15, 2006</p>-------------------------(Slashdot post ends)-----------------------------<br /><br />The size of the above photo is about a big one BHK(Bedroom-Hall-Kitchen) or infact a small two BHK in the city of Bangalore. Now surprising how much time and resources it took them to make it. May be I will ask these guys at <a href="http://www.haltadefinizione.com/">Gigapixel </a>for a photo of mine at 8.6GigaPixel (I still can't imagine) .<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-2830518716203746932006-10-27T00:03:00.000+05:302006-10-31T10:53:53.541+05:30Cool Blog Apps<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/1090868968613026/1600/untitled.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 202px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/1090868968613026/320/untitled.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Now, technology needn't mean something that has to do with physical products. What I am going to present is about one such virtual entity that has taken us all by storm. I am talking about blog and the all the technologies that made it possible. If we are happy with that, that would have been the end of the story.<br /><br />However, humans can never be satiated. And that's the reason we keep getting so many new things day in and day out. I here present a few things that I have come across today. These are Websites as Graphs, and few other apps for your blogs. I should thank <a href="http://ashish-sinha.blogspot.com/">Ashish Sinha</a> for all the wonderful stuff he has on his blog.<br /><br />What do you think is the picture on the right. If you don't get it in spite of the huge hint early on in the post, its not my fault. To end the suspense it is the web graph of my <a href="http://sodidi.blogspot.com/">other blog</a> . For more detailed explanation please go to the following <a href="http://ashish-sinha.blogspot.com/2006/08/graphical-represenatation-of-your.html">post </a>by Ashish. I know you are a bit impatient, you may do well to first check out the site which lets you do this. Please visit "<a href="http://www.aharef.info/static/htmlgraph/">Websites as Graphs</a>".<br /><br />All of us bloggers, sorry there, many of us. I am excluding all those who just blog, but do not care for any other blogs. Are always curious and feel good to know who has linked back to us.<br /><a href="http://kr.webzari.search.yahoo.com/search/webzari">Webzari</a> is a cool way of checking on all those who link to you. If the link is a bit to work initially, that is because it is from Yahoo! Korea and their are high chances the language displayed is Korean (assuming it is really Korean and you have the right fonts installed), else their is a high chance of it being not more than gibberish. Either way it should not deter you from entering the blog site address in the box. (what did you think they have it for). Isn't it a cool.<br /><br />Now there are two more apps that Ashish describes in this <a href="http://ashish-sinha.blogspot.com/2006/08/look-ma-she-is-winking-and-linking-at.html">post </a>of his. Kartoo is very promising to me but I have decided against discussing it here for some not so very obvious reasons. Since I have come to discuss some of the apps for blogs, let me go ahead and mention here a very useful tool for all those bloggers like me, who have little or not traffic at all to their blogs. This is a site called <a href="http://www.blurb.com/">Blurb</a>. This guy Ashish is going to kill me but I don't have a choice but to link to one more of his <a href="http://ashish-sinha.blogspot.com/2006/09/publish-your-own-book-bypass.html">post</a>. (You tell me, is there any point reinventing the wheel -:) ). Coming back, I sure some of you might love to get your blog published. I am thinking the omnibus I am going to publish. (Height's of optimism).<br /><br />Please post a comment here on the cool apps that you know for blogs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-78251664530699395792006-10-24T09:58:00.000+05:302006-10-25T11:45:54.060+05:30Robots RevisitedFrom the days of Isaac Asimov, robots have fascinated me. It took long time for me to realise that all the huge machines used in assembly lines are also robots. For me the robot word used to conjure up an image of a bipedal with mechanical movement and a squeaky voice. Though we are far from the kind of Robots Asimov has written of, nevertheless we making a good progress. I am sure with nano computing or quantum computing around the corner in a few decades, androids will be a reality.<br /><br />Now what is it that triggered this sudden interest in robots. I have come across this blog on <a href="http://www.engadget.com/">Engadget</a> where they talk about robotic Olympics. The idea of Olympics is not what exited me, its the robots and the small cute things they could do. For more information you can check this <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/23/the-rb2000-robot-gymnast-the-next-step-to-real-robot-olympics/">blog</a>.<br />If you feel too lazy to check out the link, watch the video over here.<br /><center><object height="350" width="425"><br /><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_V57DG52BHs" name="movie"><br /><param value="transparent" name="wmode"><embed wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_V57DG52BHs" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></center><br />Though not in the same league as above this is an interesting post on <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com/">Gizmodo</a>. This <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/robots/robotic-hand-plays-beethoven-209610.php">post</a> talks about a robot that plays Beethoven. Any talk on robots will be incomplete without Aibo from Sony. To talk about <a href="http://sony.net/Products/aibo/">Aibo </a>is not possible here. Pages and pages are sufficient to write about this technological wonder from <a href="http://sony.com/">Sony</a>. You can have a preview to Aibo in this video (For more just search Aibo on youtube).<br /><center><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HTqKqm_f754"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HTqKqm_f754" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></center><br />Now if you are in love with it and want to get one, I am sorry to say it may not be possible considering Sony decided to stop its production for economic reasons. How, I envy all those proud Aibo owners.<br /><br />What will be next in this world of robots, just wait and watch. All those geeks out there are going to surprise you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-34972357797404106242006-10-21T11:40:00.000+05:302006-10-21T12:19:18.410+05:30Concept of KanceptJust came across this concept of <a href="http://www.kancept.com">Kancept</a>. <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2006/10/wacky-designs-hot-or-not.html">The New Scientist Technology Blog</a> points is where I picked it up. Now this is what I call cool, I am not worried about the fesability of many of the things that they suggested.<br /><br />Now going one step ahead, why would it not be good if we have a place where we can have outlandish conepts on display. What those outlandish things can be, a phone with wings, which will fly to you where ever you are after locating your presence over GPS. If that is not enough how about a personal screen which uses air as the display device by illuminating the air molecules with a light source.<br /><br />If I spend some more time I possibly can go on. I am sure you folks out there can exceed my imaginations. Any way to summarise, take this "Kancept" forward.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936398590877909519.post-11114026232573562072006-10-20T00:45:00.000+05:302006-10-20T01:07:14.965+05:30Laws of the Intellectual Land: An additionWhat a coincidence, or is it divine Providence. Just today I wrote"<a href="http://sodidi.blogspot.com/2006/10/laws-of-intellectual-land-patents-for.html">Laws of the Intellectual Land: Patents for Dummies</a>". I google to figure out what to write in my first tech blog. I land up at <a href="http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/">Geoff's blog</a>. His post on 19th (Thursday, October 19th, 2006) catches my attention. I wish him all the best and hope he finds some investors.<br /><br />Now though there is nothing technical to it, I put it here for a reason. At the time of writing this, I am pretty tired from my days work and lot of travelling on the dusty roads. But, this bug of blogging has caught up with me, would it not be great that I have this device to which I can dictate (Voice recognition), it then connects to my computer wirelessly, logs on to my blog and publishes it. Now isn't that tech enough?<br /><br />In my current physical state where I am half asleep, nothing can be better than such a device. On second thoughts a good application for <a href="http://www.chumby.com">chumby</a>(<a href="http://sodidi.blogspot.com/2006/10/nextgen.html">read my post on another blog</a>). <br /><br />Geoff if you reading this hope you try to have the above invention up your sleeve.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02901927393500279944noreply@blogger.com0