DVD HD Blueray resolutions and connectors

Found these tables on Internet and found it useful for everyone.

TV Resolutions:



Video Connectors:

BMTC Volvo - Rs.1 Ride in Bangalore.

"Luxury ride on Volvo Bus for Rs.1 only", is the newest BMTC offer to Bangalore commuters for 4 days (11-Sep-2008 to 14-Sep-2008). Usually, the fare for a travel between Koramangala Water Tank to Electronics City is Rs.30. It costs BMTC Rs 52 per km to operate Volvo. Minimum ticket is Rs 10 (Refer - BMTC Volvo - Route Details and Fare Chart). On Thursday(11-Sep), 154 Volvos, with a seating capacity of 43 each, plied. BMTC’s chief traffic manager Dastagir Sharief said on the first day, 72,000 tickets were sold. The second day yielded sales of 97,000 tickets. The numbers are expected to be higher on Saturday(13-Sep) and Sunday(14-Sep).

BMTC’s offer of selling Volvo tickets at Rs. 1 (Rupee One only) for the next three days in a bid to encourage more passengers to take to the public transport system was a super hit with the people. BMTC hopes to lure more people into travelling by bus to ease traffic and tempt passengers with a luxury travel experience. But most said once the rates became normal, they will not be able to afford it and would be back to their two-wheelers.

This four-day initiative of the government has clearly created an opportunity for common man to take up public transport. I believe that this will help a great deal in improving traffic conditions of the city.

The Auto-rickshaw customers are reduced and it has This initiative has created problem to the income of Auto-rickshaw drivers, who are more customers.

The BMTC has no plans of extending the offer, which has pinched the organization by over Rs 5 lakh per day. Please note that this offer is not applicable on BMTC Volvo towards Bengaluru International Airport.

Thanks to the BMTC Volvo team to provide such promotional offer, which is one of its first kind in Bangalore.

Source of News/Pictures: Times of India

Ganesha Festival 2008 - Greetings

Wishing all the readers of my blog - A Happy Gowri Ganesha Festival. Ganesha Chaturthi or Ganesha Festival is a day on which Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chavithi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, Chavath in Konkani and as Chathaa in Nepal Bhasa. It is celebrated as it is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. (Wiki)

This year, the festival came on 03-Sep-2008 and it was a holiday for us in Bangalore.

Google releases its new browser - Chrome

The Innovative Company never stops innovations. Google's newest innovation is its new product, which is none other than - Chrome. Chrome is a browser, ready to enter the war of existing war of Internet Explorer and FireFox browsers.

I installed Chrome at home and tried it to browse some sites. So far not found any major innovation in it. However, found few issues - which will may make users go crazy. I will soon be adding the screenshots.


1. Installation Experience:
The setup file is 475KB, but its not the complete executable. Once you run this, it will download the remaining files and install Chrome on your PC. On my 256kbps broadband, it took around 5 minutes to complete the installation. The installation didn't ask the Location of application. I could not find it in C:\Program Files directory. From the shortcut icon, I could locate its correct path under c:\Document and Settings of the logged-in user. Here's the screen shot:

What was more surprising that after couple of site visit, this folder size grew to 61MB.

2. Look & Feel
The browser is having very simple(compact) look, without any toolbars. The tabs are located on the top and its functions are similar to IE7/Firefox. Screen shot:


3. File Downloads
Tried to download a driver file from MSI website. The file download status is shown at bottom left side of browser. There is a arrow icon to open the menu, which I found it dangerous.



As soon as you click the menu, your mouse will be on the "Cancel" option of the menu.



There are more likely chances that you may unknowingly click the Cancel button. I was the victim of this, which made me start the download from beginning.

More reviews will be added later... Also, I plan to deploy IE8 Beta and check its new features too...

Google has hosted a comic book explaining Google Chrome.

Links - Official Google Chrome news

CBI's move against corruption

Central Bureau of Investigation, the country’s premier investigation agency, has started a nation-wide campaign to involve the people in its fight against corruption. The campaign is multi-folded. The agency is sending SMS messages inviting complaints and information from people about babus, who demand bribes or have huge assets. People can send information about them through letters, faxes, e-mails, SMS and phone calls. Besides they can post information on the CBI website or meet the officials in person. The scale of the campaign is huge. In Karnataka, the CBI has tied up with the BSNL and sent SMS to all its 18.5 lakh mobile subscribes in a single stroke.

The SMS:
“Please inform CBI-Bangalore about officials of government of India/PSUs demanding bribe or being in possession of huge assets at 080-2333 2726 or 94480 44355.’’

What an informant can do ?
Log on to www.cbi.nic.in and go to ‘contact us’ page Send an e-mail to the ID spacblr@cbi.gov.in, with the words ‘complaint-information’ in the subject line Send a fax to 080-23331026 Write to The SP, Anti-Corruption, CBI, Bellary Road, Ganganagar, Bangalore-32. You can also meet Komar at his office at the same address.

Source: Times of India, Front Page 03-Sep-2008

Not exercising - Whats your excuse?

Are you prone to putting off exercise? BT tells you how to get started without those unnecessary delays that hamper progress

Your friends have hit the gym but there's something that's stopping you? If you are busy justifying your excuse by saying — everyone has reasons why they can't start, then there must be enough reason why you need to overcome your excuses and hit the treadmill instead. Understand that it's never too late! Here are some easy tips to overcome those exercise excuses:

NOT ENOUGH TIME:

Start with breaking your exercise regime into smaller segments. At home, just multitask. You can try and do crunches while watching television. If you have a long day at work then try to adjust your schedule — get up half an hour earlier to walk. Make it a non-negotiable routine and stick to it. Tell your friends not to plan any gettogethers during that hour.

SLOW AND STEADY:

Everyone gets excited about a workout, especially at the beginning. But remember to take it slow and steady. Start with a comfortable amount of activity and add a little more each day.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY:

Don't exercise to the point of exhaustion; you should always be able to carry on a conversation. If a body part aches, make sure you tell your instructor the next day itself. Keep going though. If you've got minor aches, take it easier the next day but don't stop altogether. Gentle movement helps sore muscles recover.

IT's NOT WORKING:

If your month-long regime has not shown any positive results, then perhaps you haven't found the right kind of exercise yet. Focus on adding more lifestyle exercise to your day.

RECORD IT:

Use your diary to record your thoughts and feelings around exercise—they can help you find a way around your exercise demons. So, what's stopping you? Get going.

Source: Times of India (Bangalore Times Supplement) 19-Jul-2008

Gmail Labs - Latest Experience by Google

Google is inviting Gmail users to participate in the testing of new features for the free messaging service. The idea behind Labs is that any engineer can go to lunch, come up with a cool idea, code it up, and ship it as a Labs feature. To tens of millions of users. No design reviews, no product analysis, and to be honest, not that much testing. Some of the Labs features will occasionally break. The 13 features include: Quick Links, Signature tweaks, Superstars, Pictures in Gchat, Hide unread count, Custom keyboard shortcuts, Mouse gestures, Random signatures, Custom date format, Muzzle, Snake game, Email addict and Fixed-width fonts. Gmail Labs was created out of the desire to get more features to users faster. Google did something similar last October when it launched Google Enterprise Labs to hasten the availability of search innovations for Google's business customers. Labs is now out to all English users (US and UK), and administrators using Google Apps can choose to enable Labs by checking the "Turn on new features" box in Domain Settings.
Links:
About Gmail Labs
Gmail Official Blog

Browsers - NextGen

There has been high competition with Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 (for Web Developers and Designers) is available to download on Microsoft Website. At the same time, Firefox has come up with Firefox 3 (Release Candidate) on 16-May-2008.

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 is a developer preview for web designers and developers to help prepare their websites for the launch of Internet Explorer 8. Some of the new features designed for developers include a developer toolbar and improved interoperability and compatibility. Internet Explorer 8 is designed to work in standard mode out of this box. However, Microsoft provides a way for users to browse the web in a way similar to Internet Explorer 7 by using the emulate Internet Explorer 7 button on the chrome.

Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 33 months. Building on the previous release, Gecko 1.9 has more than 14,000 updates including some major re-architecting to provide improved performance, stability, rendering correctness, and code simplification and sustainability. Firefox 3 has been built on top of this new platform resulting in a more secure, easier to use, more personal product with a lot more under the hood to offer website and Firefox add-on developers. Complete list of features are documented in the Release Notes.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is now available for download and install via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center. Windows XP SP3 includes all previously released updates for the operating system, in addition to a small number of new updates. Windows XP SP3 will not significantly change the Windows XP experience.
Installation media and documentation on disc for Windows XP SP3 may sometimes refer to Windows XP SP2. Windows XP SP2 installation guide instructions apply to Windows XP SP3.
Windows XP SP3 is available for both Technet and Non-Technet subscribers. For more details, click here.

Apple iPhone India launch likely in Sep 2008

Indians will no longer need to illegally buy, unlock and then use the most-desired item on gadget lovers' lists -- the Apple iPhone. Its much-awaited and delayed India launch is expected with telecom operator Vodafone in the first week of September.
The Cupertino, California-based company, according to Apple retail sources, said initially the 8 GB version of the much-hyped touchscreen device -- which combines Wi-Fi capabilities with a powerful email client, TV feeds, online music store and map-based location guide -- will be launched at a price ranging between Rs 27,200 and Rs 28,000.
Based on buyer response, the launch of the 16 GB version will be staggered to the middle of 2009.
Apple sources in Singapore, when contacted last month, had maintained that the India launch would happen in 2008, but were tight-lipped on the exact date.
Apple reportedly claims to have shipped four million iPhones this January since its US launch on June 29 last year, and its chief Steve Jobs has targeted sales of 10 million units by December 2008.
The tie-up is an exclusive arrangement with AT&T. Initial sales targets for the iPhone in India or unit numbers at the time of launch are as yet unavailable, with Apple wary of grey market sales in India.
Complete News Link at Rediff Business News

Microsoft Press Free eBook Offers

Microsoft eLearning is providing following free eBooks on their website. For those who are eagar to learn the new technologies using eBooks, go and grab them!

Introducing Microsoft LINQ by Paolo Pialorsi and Marco Russo / ISBN: 9780735623910
Introducing Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX by Dino Esposito / ISBN: 9780735624139
Introducing Microsoft Silverlight 1.0 by Laurence Moroney / ISBN: 9780735625396
Download link for above 3 eBooks.

Introducing Windows Server 2008 by Mitch Tulloch with the Microsoft Windows Server Team / ISBN: 9780735624214
Microsoft Windows PowerShell Step by Step by Ed Wilson / ISBN: 9780735623958
Register and Download link for above 2 eBooks and goto the "Special Offers" section.

BEWARE! - Worm in Orkut Scrap

Recently I received some common scarps from my friends on Orkut. I suspected a worm and carefully read its messages and acted upon. The scrap message says:


The click here link takes to the profile of a female - [BANI :) => I AM "MTV ROADIES" GIRL ]. And the About me section contains the following information:

And now comes the tricky part - this message shows a trick to open anyone's locked photo album and instructs the user to copy/paste a javascript line of code. If anyone tries these steps, then this javascript sends similar scrap to his/her friends list. This way, the worm keeps spreading from one Orkut user to another. The javascript code [orkut0.js] hosted on a public site, which can become a threat to Orkut community. A quick code review of this JS file, revealed the following:

1) It makes use of XMLHTTP calls and the javascript code contains some text about YoutTube and SQL Injection related stuff.

2) Finally, it internally calls the loadFriends() javascript function, which starts its work.

3) loadFriends() function composes a new scrap message.

4) and runs the SendScrapToAll() function, which sends the same message again to other Orkut friends.

As this javascript runs on the same browser instance, it smartly makes use of the User Session and does not require any additional authentication.

With this post of mine, I would urge all the Internet users to be alert w.r.t communities like Orkut and other spoof mails which provides you a link to click.

Microsoft bags Business Intelligence top ranking from Gartner

Business Objects, Cognos, and Microsoft were placed among the leaders in Gartner's just-released Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms, 2008. But the research firm placed Microsoft above the other two in its ability to execute, including the competitiveness and success of its BI goods and services, its viability and investment in BI, and the execution of its sales and pricing. In last year's BI platform report, Gartner put Microsoft in the challenger quadrant.

Source:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206104502&subSection=News

Blu-Ray to replace HD-DVD

Toshiba has made it official by announcing that they will be discontinuing their HD DVD business. With Warner’s recent departure from HD DVD as the first strong blow to the format in January, followed by a quick jab from Best Buy early last week and a one-two combination by Netflix and Wal-Mart later that week, Toshiba has conceded that HD DVD is not going to prevail.

HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.

Internet Party Video with Google, MySpace, FaceBook, eBay, Amazon and more...

Check this interesting piece of video starring all the websites... The characters speak about their websites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgQMTLKmwrA

Microsoft bid for Yahoo! for $44.6 billion

If this bid becomes success, then it can become one of the largest technology merger and this can become a big threat to Google.

Yahoo Inc, on Friday acknowledged the receipt of an unsolicited acquisition proposal from Microsoft Corp. and said its board plans to 'carefully and promptly' evaluate the offer.

Microsoft's proposal would allow Yahoo shareholders to elect to receive cash or a fixed number of Microsoft common shares, with the total consideration payable to Yahoo shareholders consisting of one-half cash and one-half Microsoft common stock.

Microsoft and Yahoo are estimated to have about 10,000 employees in India, collectively. With Microsoft today making a 44.6 billion dollar takeover bid for acquiring worldwide operations of Yahoo, it could not be immediately ascertained, what would be the impact of such a deal on India operations of the two companies, including on the job front.

Brahmin's Coffee Bar - Best Idly & Chutney in Bangalore

Brahmin's Coffee bar is THE place to go for the Best Idly's & Chutney. They make very delicious green chutney, which goes well with both idly and khara bhaat.

If you are in Bangalore and like to explore for good eat-outs, then please visit this small restaurant, which is open from 6am to 12pm and 3pm to 7pm (Sunday Holiday).

There are very few limited item's available, but they maintain the same good taste & quality.

Idly - Rs.10

Vada - Rs.9

Kesri Bhaat - Rs.9

Khara Bhaat - Rs.9

Tea/Coffee/Milk - Rs.7

You can refill the green chutney multiple times. This place is located near to Bull Temple Road (less than 1 KM from Ramkrishna Ashram). While coming from Bull Temple, take the right turn at Shanti Sagar junction. Click here for the map. Let me warn the Saambaar fans that you don't get any Saambaar at this place. So you only need to Go for Green chutney!

Last Blog of 2007

Its 11:30pm in India and we are hardly 30 minutes away from 2008. When I look behind today, I can see that the year 2007 passed away so fast.

2007 was called as Year of Broadband. The number of broadband users increased massively and the world of Dial-up Internet is almost dead in Internet. Thanks to the various ISPs including BSNL, AirTel, Tata. Apart from Broadband Internet, this year also saw a good progress in following area's:

1) Broadband
2) DTH (and... coming soon the IPTV)
3) Retail shops (RelianceFresh, Staples...)

I leave this post with some blank spaces to fill in later in 2008... :-) Hoping to blog more in 2008 and create more usefull posts to all my Internet friends.

Wishing you all a Happy & Prosperous New Year 2008.

World AIDS Day - 01-Dec-2007

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, with an estimated 38.6 million people living with HIV, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million (between 2.8 and 3.6 million) lives in 2005, of which more than half a million (570,000) were children.

Wearing the red ribbon is a powerful symbol of your support for people living with HIV.

The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008 is “LEADERSHIP”. This theme will continue to be promoted with the campaigning slogan, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” To know more about the theme, click here.

The Yahoo! India Red Ribbon is a small effort to spread a message against AIDS. As a Yahoo! India user, all you need to do is type your name and message and be a part of the giant Yahoo! India Red Ribbon, which will be displayed at the Exhibition Grounds (Pragati Maidan, New Delhi) on December 1, World AIDS Day for everyone to see. Click here to visit the Yahoo! India Red Ribbon website.

AIDS Movies - Philadelphia, Phir Milenge, My Brother Nikhil - these are some of the movies that tackled the AIDS theme.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, or UNAIDS, is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV epidemic. UNAIDS' mission is to lead, strengthen and support an expanded response to HIV and AIDS that includes preventing transmission of HIV, providing care and support to those already living with the virus, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV and alleviating the impact of the epidemic. Five major components make up the role of UNAIDS:

• Leadership and advocacy for effective action on the epidemic


• Strategic information and technical support to guide efforts against AIDS worldwide


• Tracking, monitoring and evaluation of the epidemic and of responses to it


• Civil society engagement and the development of strategic partnerships


• Mobilization of resources to support an effective response

GMail introduces Group Chat and New Emoticons

The new Gmail Seattle team is happy to announce two additions to Gmail's built-in chat capabilities: group chat and enhanced emoticons.

To start a group chat, click "Group chat" from the "Options" menu when chatting. Enter the names of the people you want to add, and, bingo, you're in your very own chat room. All the familiar features such as chat archiving and taking the chat off the record still work as well.

These features only work with the latest version of Gmail, which we are still rolling out to IE6, international and Google Apps users.

I would like to see the same features to be provided to GTalk users too in near future.

Official Link