SUN + MySQL= New Era

At last, SUN Microsystems completes acquisition of MySQL (open source database). SUN paid a whooping $1bn for the acquisition, which is the biggest ever of any open source software company. MySQL offers a free community edition, whereas its enterprise edition costs $595/server/year.

SUN's top Open Source Softwares include

• OpenSolaris (Operating System)
  
• OpenOffice (Office Software)
• Java (Software Development Kit/Runtime Environment)
• NetBeans IDE (Software Development Environment Tool)
• Glass Fish (Open Source Application Server)
• MySQL (Open Source Database Engine)
  

All these softwares are free to download under GNU General Public License.

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~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Longhorn Server 2008 Launched

Windows Server 2008 a.k.a Longhorn Server has at last been launched after 5 years of gap (after the release of Windows Server 2003). Microsoft launched its new Operating System with great fanfare. Analysts say that it is an incremental update rather than a giant leap forward.

Windows Server 2008 is expected to be more admin friendly with the ability to manage remote servers, a complete command line kit (like Unix), optimization and much more. But, Hyper-V, a promised feature is absent from this release. Hyper-V provides a facility to have many virtual computers like QEmu and Virtual-PC.

Along with this, Microsoft launched Visual Studio 2008. But, the much awaited launch of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 was pushed to third quarter. Microsoft confirmed that it would launch the Service Pack1 of Longhorn Client (a.k.a Windows Vista) early next month. So, let's wait and see what Microsoft has under its shelf...

read more...

Product Overview: Click Here

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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No more paper air tickets from June 1

After June 1, paper tickets would be a history as airlines world-wide would issue only e-ticket. Airlines is going to benefit by 10 times by evading paper tickets.
It's a boon to passengers as they need not wait for paper tickets to arrive by post.
Simply, at the click of the button passengers get e-tickets printed for them.

read more...

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Google Indic Transliteration

Google Rocks Again! Words are less to speak about this "INTERNET" major. There's yet another excellent tool from Google Labs: Google Indic Transliteration.

Google Indic Transliteration for Indian languages is now available in the following languages:

• हिन्दी (Hindi)
  
• தமிழ் (Tamil)
  
• తెలుగు (Telugu)
  
• ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  
• മലയാളം (Malayalam)
  

Tips:

• To get context sensitive help, type a word and enter space. Now select the word and just click once using the left mouse button. Select "EDIT" from the option menu and you will find a keyboard icon, just click it and the keyboard is displayed.
  

Cons:

• It would have been good if the keyboard was readily available rather than having to go through that big process to get the keyboard.
  

Visit: Google Indic Transliteration


Information Source: మనోజ్ బొందుగుల (Manoj Bondugula)

Article by: రవిందర్ (Ravinder)

రవిందర్

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Nokia demos bendable cell phone

Nokia proves that it is no less than "Polymer Vision's Readius". Nokia and the University of Cambridge are showing off a new stretchable and flexible mobile device of the future called Morph.

read more...

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Cartoonster

Are you interested in animation?
Then this article is for you!

Cartoonster tells you how to create animations. It has a very interesting GUI and a wonderful tutorial. Even though this site is targeted at children and young people, it is worth trying if you are a newbie. It explains in detail how cartoons are made.

You can bookmark this site if you are interested in creating cartoons as the future edition of the tutorial is supposed to be on "Creating computer animation".

Visit: www.cartoonster.com

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
There's much more... keep visiting!

Walmart: An Experience to Ponder

The other day, I and my friend, Manoj, went to Walmart to purchase mats and some other stuff. We found mats for $4.98 and we thought it was worth buying them. We also took two cutlery plates for $1 each. It was a good deal that day.

We went to the billing counter and our billing was done. To our utter shock, we noticed that the mats were priced at $14.98 instead of $4.98 and the plates were priced at $2 instead of $1, but the remaining stuff was billed properly. When we asked the billing counter agent, right then, she directed us to Customer Care Centre (CCC). Then we went to the CCC and narrated the whole story. The CCC Agent was quick enough to understand the problem and readily fixed it. The refund amount was instantly credited into my credit card without any delays. Thanks to Walmart!!!

But, hadn't we noticed the incorrect billing we would have lost about $14.00. When we asked them the same question, they readily accepted the mistake and said that it would be corrected.

I would suggest one and all to at least cross check the bill before leaving the counter, even though these kinds of situations are very uncommon in USA.


~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
There's much more... Keep visiting!!!

GMail Dot Blindness

Is your GMail Account something like "user.name@gmail.com" ?
Then you must read this interesting GMail dot blindness.

A mail sent to "username@gmail.com" would be typically delivered to "user.name@gmail.com". Moreover, a mail sent to the following

• user.na.me@gmail.com
• u.s.e.r.n.a.m.e@gmail.com

will all be delivered only to "user.name@gmail.com", because, GMail does not recognize dots at all!

If a GMail account like "user.name@gmail.com" already exists, registration of "username@gmail.com" would fail.

Inspite of all these, you cannot login using "username" if your GMail account is "user.name" as Google Applications recognize dots during login.

You can test this feature(bug) by sending a mail to "username@gmail.com" and you will receive it. Now, click "show details" on the mail, you can find "Yes, this is you" in the To field.

read more

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Google SMS abuse prevention

Since the time I posted the Free SMS to US (using Google), I was only thinking about users who may become victims of unwanted messages. I'm sure many of you also might have thought about this. After googling for sometime, I found this on Google site itself :
How can I prevent Google text messages from being delivered to my phone?

"The best way to keep text messages from reaching your phone is have your carrier block our address (sms-extension-user@google.com). You can do this either by calling your carrier directly, or, in many newer phones, by using an option in the phone itself.

If you'd like to report abusive or unwanted messages, please write to us at extensions-sms@google.com."

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Join files without using any third party softwares

Joining files is simple with our Windows command/Unix command.
No third-party software is required.
Use "type" for Windows and "cat" for Unix command to join files.

Follow these steps to join file1.txt and file2.txt on Windows :

1. Go to Start->All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt (alternatively, type cmd from run).
2. Go to the file location (say, C:\Ravinder).
3. Use the following command
1. type file1.txt file2.txt > newfile.txt
   
4. The above command creates a new file output in the current directory (C:\Ravinder).
5. That's it... Very simple, Right!!!

You can join even video files or for that matter any file.
Do away with third-party softwares like HJ-Split to join files.

Screenshot:



~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Free SMS to US

Try Free SMS to US using Google SMS. It works!!!
No wonder, this internet major is going to rock the world.

Beware... as most of the Cell phone operators charge for incoming SMS too.

Click this to know about Google SMS abuse prevention

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Free SMS to India

Send FREE SMS to India through krify. I have tried it and it works.
SMS reached the destination in 5 to 10 minutes.
There is no registration hurdle. Just try it.

Screen Shot:

• Go to Krify.
• Select the first four digits of the mobile number and enter the remaining digits.
• Enter you your name, mail-id, and message.
• For Send Confirmation, select yes or no. I tried selecting YES, but I didn’t receive any confirmation email.
• Click “SEND SMS”.

Also try:

• http://www.160by2.com
• http://www.youmint.com
  

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Vista SP1 prerequisite updates send some PCs into endless reboot

Windows Vista makes users cry...
Last week Microsoft sent a few updates of Vista to their users so as to complete the prerequisites for the Vista SP1 updates (which will be sent the next month). These prerequisite updates made systems to reboot indefinitely.
God save Microsoft users.

read more...

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Google Street View

Google! the name itself speaks of creative ideas, technology, state-of-the-art software and that too free. Yep!!! The internet major Google has developed Street View for their maps.

Google Street View gives 360° Panoramic view for the streets. Initially only 23 cities are included in this street view. Click this to view Times Square, NYC. Use arrow keys, "Page UP", "Page Down" keys for navigation. Amazing, right!!!

read more...

Information Source: Bhaskar
Article by: Ravinder

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Qlock: Multiple timezones on your desktop

Most of us, at one time or the other in our chat sessions with friends/family would have asked "What time is it in your place?" Yep!! It was the same with me too!
Earlier, I used to do a Google search to get the clock of that place, but always thought that it would be great to have something on my desktop which tells me what time it is in the other part of the world. Thanks to my Sydney Uncle who suggested "Qlock" to me.

Qlock provides multiple timezones on your desktop. It has a beautiful User Interface and no wonder it's FREE. Download qlock from http://www.qlock.com/download. After visiting this link, scroll down and click the link which shows "Download Qlock (free)"

Looking at the picture, you must be wondering it may appear like cluttering the desktop :), but it isn't as I have posted low-resolution pictures to save your bandwidth.

You can drag and drop any of the "Qlock" cities and place it anywhere on the desktop. Moreover, you can even delete or add Qlocks. You can customize qlock to the choice of your color, size, format and transparency.

Qlock provides the following features:

• Multiple time zones
• Multiple time format (12/24)
• Smaller Icons
• Transparency
  
• Alarm
• Notes
  

How to Customize

Size: To change the qlock to a smaller icon, right click on any of the Qlocks and click "Set Skin" and select small, as show in picture below.






Once you select small, you should be seeing something like the picture on the right.








Clock Format: Change the format by Right clicking on any of the Qlocks and clicking "Set Format". Set it to either 24 hr/12hr.

Transparency: Even though the pic shows that it is a "PRO" feature, this can be adjusted. Now, don't ask me how is it possible?? You can try other "PRO" features too... for FREE.






Set City: On clicking the Set City option, a window pops up and you can select the choice of your city from the left navigation bar.

Set Alarm: I found this feature very useful especially for my pre-scheduled chat sessions with friends/family. You can set five different alarms concurrently.

Set Notes: You can attach notes for your tasks.

Learn More...

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
There's much more to come... keep visiting.

TCS in Russia

Indian IT-giant expands to Russia

By March 2008 the company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Indian largest software developer and IT-service provider, intends to open its representative office in Russia, Gabriel Rozman, the company’s chief executive director, told at a press conference in Mumbai. ‘Russia is our main priority, - the Indian N&I Agency DNA refers to Gabriel Rozman. – We have already implemented several projects in Russia, but have no representation office in the given country’. According to Mr. Rozman, TCS has… read more...

Source: CNews

~ R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Google Campus@Hyderabad

Everybody knows that Hyderabad is on Global Map, which eventually Google too noticed. There is good news for Google lovers and those who have Google as their dream company.

Google, the internet major, will setup its first Campus in India at Hyderabad :). The Govt. of Andhra Pradesh has alloted 20 acres of land to Google.

But we need to wait until Google announces about the operations that it would be carrying out at Hyderabad. No wonder it could be yet another research center. Let's wait and see.

read more...

Information Source: Piyush
Article by: Ravinder

TCS launches Synergy Park, the second and largest campus in Hyderabad

Synergy Park... we have known this word since a long time and there were speculations that it was already operational. Not sure.. why TCS made it operational first and now has launched it.

Yep!!! Synergy Park was launched by TCS and inaugurated on Tuesday by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S.Rajashekar Reddy. Synergy Park is built on 50 acres of land with a capacity of 8000 people. Synergy Park is the second and largest Global Development Center (GDC) of TCS Hyderabad.

S. Ramdorai, CEO of TCS, said that the first phase is already operational and the second phase is scheduled for April this year.

~R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R

Monitor the temperature of your processor

Ever wondered how to monitor the temperature of your processor? Ever thought that there should have been a tool to tell you when your laptop gets heated up due to various processes (either background or fore-ground)? Does your system shut down due to over-heating?

Here we go.... PC Wizard (http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php).

PC Wizard not only lets you know the temperature of your PC but also gives statistics of complete hardware. Try PC Wizard and I am sure you will just love it. You will be happy to know that it is a freeware :) (no license fee, runs forever).

The good part about PC Wizard is that it puts statistical information about your PC on Desktop... don't worry it's just the text (It appears like some text on a wall). It continuously gets updated and gives accurate information. You can customize the text with a color that appeals to you according to the background :)

Once you find that your PC goes beyond the maximum temperature limit you can either stop some of the processes or minimize the appropriate application (yes... minimizing reduces the cpu cycles and memory consumed). On an HP laptop, you can easily understand when your laptop gets heated up, simply by the apparent increase in the pitch of the fan. HP sucks, i have an HP :(

Visit:(http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php) for more information and to download.

Screenshot:


By: R.A.V.I.N.D.E.R
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Various ways to file US Tax returns

These are the options that I came across. Better to have alternatives. Can take estimates from different sources and go with the best option.

1. IBSN – Will charge you 80$ for State and Federal Tax filing and an additional 12.5% on extra returns that we get beyond the default. Need to schedule an interview online to give all the expense details.
2. H&RBlock – Can take an appointment with Uma Pansari (a consultant in H&RBlock) to file the tax. Charges you around 82$ and probably an additional charge on extra returns which we get.
3. Turbo Tax - Federal tax filing is free and state tax filing costs around 25$.
4. Tax Act – Both the federal and state tax cost around 13$. Requires US based IDs like driving license or state ID or US Passport.

Source: Radhika

Story of a Carpenter

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back. You are the carpenter.

Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the "house" you live in tomorrow.

Build wisely!

Remember....
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody is watching.

India: File your income tax returns online

Hereafter, you can file your Indian income tax returns online by visiting https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
After a year long struggle, Govt. of India has finally released fully functional e-filing facility. But there is another glitch that you need to purchase the digital signature from authorized authorities like TCS, National Informatics Centre, IDRB, MTNL etc..,
more...

~Ravinder
Much more to come... keep visiting.

Notable Inventions and Discoveries

Date Invention Or Discovery Inventor Or Discoverer Nationality 1250 Magnifying glass Roger Bacon English 1450 Printing press Johann Gutenberg German 1504 Pocket watch Peter Henlein German 1590 Compound microscope Zacharias Janssen Dutch 1593 Water thermometer Galileo Italian 1608 Telescope Hans Lippershey Dutch 1625 Blood transfusion Jean-Baptiste Denys French 1629 Steam turbine Giovanni Branca Italian 1642 Adding machine Blaise Pascal French 1643 Barometer Evangelista Torricelli Italian 1650 Air pump Otto von Guericke German 1656 Pendulum clock Christiaan Huygens Dutch 1661 Methanol Robert Boyle Irish 1668 Reflecting telescope Isaac Newton English 1671 Calculating machine Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz German 1698 Steam pump Thomas Savery English 1701 Seed drill Jethro Tull English 1710 Piano Bartolomeo Cristofori Italian 1712 Steam engine Thomas Newcomen British 1714 Mercury thermometer Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit German 1717 Diving bell Edmund Halley English 1725 Stereotyping William Ged Scottish 1745 Leyden jar (condenser) E.G. von Kleist German 1752 Lightning rod Benjamin Franklin American 1758 Achromatic lens John Dollond British 1759 Marine chronometer John Harrison British 1764 Spinning jenny James Hargreaves British 1769 Spinning frame R. Arkwright English 1769 Steam engine (with separate condenser) James Watt British 1769 Automobile Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot French 1775 Submarine David Bushnell American 1780 Steel pen Samuel Harrison English 1780 Bifocal lens Benjamin Franklin American 1783 Balloon Joseph Michel Montgolfier and Jacques �tienne Montgolfier French 1784 Threshing machine Andrew Meikle British 1785 Power loom Edmund Cartwright British 1786 Steamboat John Fitch American 1788 Flyball governor James Watt British 1791 Gas turbine John Barber British 1792 Illuminating gas William Murdock Scottish 1793 Cotton gin Eli Whitney American 1795 Hydraulic press Joseph Bramah English 1796 Lithography Aloys Senefelder German 1796 Smallpox vaccination Edward Jenner British 1799 Fourdrinier machine (papermaking) Louis Robert French 1800 Jacquard loom Joseph Marie Jacquard French 1800 Electric battery Count Alessandro Volta Italian 1801 Pattern loom Joseph Marie Jacquard French 1804 Screw propeller John Stevens American 1804 Solid-fuel rocket William Congreve British 1804 Steam locomotive Richard Trevithick British 1805 Electroplating Luigi Gasparo Brugnatelli Italian 1810 Food preservation (by sterilization and exclusion of air) Fran�ois Appert French 1810 Printing press Frederick Koenig German 1814 Railroad locomotive George Stephenson British 1815 Safety lamp Sir Humphry Davy British 1816 Bicycle (no pedals) Karl D. Sauerbronn German 1819 Stethoscope Ren�-Th�ophile-Hyacinthe La�nnec French 1820 Hygrometer J.F. Daniell English 1820 Galvanometer Johann Salomo Cristoph Schweigger German 1821 Electric motor Michael Faraday British 1823 Silicon J�ns Jakob Berzelius Swedish 1823 Electromagnet William Sturgeon British 1824 Portland cement

~R.a.v.i.n.d.e.r.: There's much more... keep visiting.
"Curiosity is the key quality in an innovator. Contrary to what one may suppose, it is not intelligence."

Breathtaking photos from NASA

Contributed by: Raghavendra

Looking for a good download accelerator software?

I guess most of us are sick with the slow download rate, and would have always thought of a download accelerator software. Here we go: Free Download Manager (FDM).
This is the best free download accelerator software found on the web. It comes with a GNU GPL License and is free to use. I have been using it for about 3 years and there has been no problem with it.

Download it from www.freedownloadmanager.org.

After installation, one can configure it to open as many connections as you want (the best is 20) to open with the server.

Bittorrent protocol support: Yep! FDM supports bittorrents.

~R.a.v.i.n.d.e.r

Where to find articles on IT?

I found this website (http://www.theitarticles.com/) very interesting.
Visit this link for any article on IT, be it software, hardware, database or programming. :)