COMPUTING IN 2011

Computers and computing are going to see sea change in the coming year of 2011.

Google has announced computers without operating system and they may cost even 25% less in India in 2011.

Most of the hardware is going to be cheaper day by day.

The printers – dot matrices, inkjets and lasers – have come down in prices.

They are cheap nowadays compared to the prices of yesteryears.

When I bought a hp inkjet printer eight years ago, it was Rs. 12,000/- but now I can buy one for Rs. 3000/-

This is only an example.

The CDs, DVDs, pen drives and portable hard discs are sold at throw away prices today.

It appears that they are going to be still cheaper in due course of time probably by 2011.

Cloud computing and virtualization are the attractive terms used in the Information Technology arena today.

I was curious to know the meaning of these fancy terms.

Someone said that people can store their data in a common hard disc and download them whenever needed as we do the websites.

Also it is said that every thing will be in on line so there is no need to download and store them in our hard disc and CDs.

It makes much simpler for companies, government departments and even for individuals to compute cheaply provided we have an efficient broadband system.

The broad band is very fast and efficient in advanced countries like the US.

The downloading, uploading and browsing the net are fast to very fast.

Therefore on e of the pre-requisites for cloud computing is going to be a fast broadband network which is unfortunately not available in India and other developing countries at present.’

So cloud computing in India may take long time.

Since data are going to a common pool, in cloud computing, people suspect the safety of their data.

It is also easy for a hacker to reach the central data store easily.

WikiLeaks has already sent out a clear message.

So it is going to be the biggest threat for the progress of cloud computing in future.

However, one of the advantages everyone feels is that organizations need not invest in hard wares and associated establishments and thus can save huge amount of money. 

Amazon, the biggest book seller giant on-line already provides the so-called ‘cloud computing service’ by renting out some of the thousands of computers used to run its online store.

Let us see as we march through 2011, what cloud computing is going to offer and also the innumerable electronic accessories of computers are going to change our way of thinking and life-style.

15 December 2010

VIEWPOINT...

"India is a curious mixture of scientific advance and traditional superstitions.

Superstitions are deeply ingrained and cannot be eliminated overnight.

They can be countered by rational arguments."

-Jayant V. Narlikar

FUNNY PICTURES...

FORGOTTON? ... WHAT..?

TRAVELER...

SEDUCING WITH ICECREAM?

REAL ESTATE SCAM?

'Q' FOR CANDIDATE TICKET?

ASTROLOGY MAY HELP!

SLEEPING OFFICE BOY

FUNNY WOMAN

INDIA TODAY...

Whether the critiques like it or not, the ruling party is continuing with its governance in India.

There are security lapses, want of JPC, no parliament session, WikiLeaks digging up something nasty everyday, natural calamities like flood in some states, escalating food prices, increase in petrol price and what not?

Innumerable problems are tapping the doors of the Prime Minister and the UPA Chairperson almost everyday.

The opposition parties are very happy to see the pressure under which UPA government is operating.

All opposition parties big or small are putting pressure on the UPA from all angles.

What is the real idea behind all these pressures?

I try to understand the intricacies of all these incidents like many other people in our country.

No one has a correct answer to offer.

The lawyer-spokespersons of each party talk good about their party and bad about the ruling party in loud voices.

Is it democracy?

They say it is.

The public money is swindled by everyone who is in the top positions like Central Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers of States, bank CEOs, politicians, and journalists and even the civil servants and defense personals.

In order to catch these thieves, again the government is spending huge amount of public money in searches, advocate fees, commissions, stalling parliamentary proceedings for whole winter session.

I feel it’s sheer non-sense!

India is considered to be one of the corrupt nations in the world, next to China of course!

Remember, both are heavily populated countries.

Is it not a shame on the part of the responsible leaders our country to waste the public money and tell the people that they are taking care of the corrupt.

How long such things can happen in India?

I hope, sooner some bright economist or judge will come forward to give a solution for this tricky problem.

What the President of India doing?

No word from her so far!

Who will solve these ugly problems?

I do not know.

Do you?

21December 2010

FLOWERS ON SHOW

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Products are things we use.

Most of them are bought for a price.

Some of these products are indispensable and more important for life.

Products like food items, costumes, medicines are indispensable and without which it is impossible to survive.

At the same time there are products which are less important and also there are products which are least important.

People look for less important products too when they have money to buy them.

They even look for least important ones also when they have too much money.

The desire for all these product-acquisition comes from one’s mind.

New products come in the market almost everyday and publicized through attractive advertisements.

People come to know and a desire is created in the minds of almost all and they plan to buy such new products either with cash or a bank loan.

These products are every where – vehicles, TV, mobile phones, computers, camcorders, cameras, washing machines, refrigerators, micro-ovens, air conditioners – there is no end to this list.

Such products are needed by people and produced by the manufacturers investing millions of dollars and sold through out the world.

Money helps us to buy all these items which are readily available in the market.

Innumerable products in the show cases of super-markets attract us and tempt us to buy.

However, we forget one important thing which is basic to the production, transportation and marketing.

All these processes to produce the products are the service we get from the manufactures and marketing people.

Variety of products advertised on line for the benefit of people who can order by their telephone dialing toll free numbers.

The products reach on the door-steps in a day or two.

In fact, we forget the service attached to each and every product we buy from various sources.

I consider that the cost of each item we buy in fact includes the cost for the service too, although it is hidden in every product.

Another important thing we avail in our life is the service itself.

Education, health care, road, rail, airways, electricity, sports, telephone, administration, defense, security – and similar services are generally provided by both private and public organizations to the citizens of a country.

Some such services are free and some others are paid.

Infra-structure facilities created for the citizens are great services.

The tax we pay to the Nation is used for all these services.

A country’s progress depends on the infrastructure services built by the private and public organizations.

Education for example is needed for everyone in a country.

Schools, colleges and universities are needed in large numbers to cater the requirements of ever growing population.  

These institutions provide education for all.

It is a great service we have to appreciate.

It also creates employments for teachers and associated staff.

Likewise health care services are needed for those who are unwell.

It is again essential service for the patients.

Free and paid services are available in every country.

Private services are costly and not affordable for the poor.

Public services are free but the service provided is not up-to-the mark as in private health services.

There are hospitals run and maintained by religious organizations in every country.

The intention is to treat all human beings at par.

Similarly we can expand the various services available for us.

Products and services are essential for every one of us.

Free or paid, these two are the foundations for our life.

Hence, let us understand the significance of the use of products and services in our life.

_________________________________________________________________________

15 December 2010

MARINE LIFE

I had a good fortune to visit some of the most important oceans of the world.

Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Pacific Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean are the ones I have seen from their shores.

They were fascinating for me and I felt sad for those who had no chance of visiting these oceans that comprise about 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface.

These brackish water bodies are being crossed by humans in boats, ships, submarines and many other modes of transport.

The deep sea kept me wondering about the under-water world in which microscopic living organisms including zooplankton and phytoplankton to huge mammals like whales which grow up to a length of 48 meters.

Although, I have not gone deep into the ocean, I could get a chance to see the various organisms living under water in Discovery Channel.

The TV channel has videotaped the under water pictures so elegantly and broadcast to the world.

Specialists in seafaring are trained for diving from ships and observe and capture the video images of the living organisms under water.

It is unimaginable that the salty sea water to the depth of the oceanic trenches of 10,000 meters deep is the home for coral reefs, kelp forests, and tide pools, muddy, sandy and rocky bottom.

No one knows how much species of life forms live and die in such a deep sea.

Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean whereas marine ecology focuses on how these organisms interact with each other and the environment.

These scientific studies have in fact revealed lot of information hidden in the deep sea over years.

Marine life is a vast resource, providing food, medicine and raw materials in addition to helping to support recreation and tourism all over the world.

Life in the sea is less known to us like the life in the forest.

Large areas beneath the ocean surface still remain unexplored.

Adaptation to the salty environment is still a wonderful aspect of marine life.

The sea water is so rich in chemicals like sodium and calcium chloride.

Iodine is also a component of sea salt.

Sea water when evaporated in salt-pans with the help of sun’s energy, we get sea salt which is used in our daily food.

How such salt water is supporting the lives of innumerable organisms? – is still a mystery for most of us.

Microscopic life includes viruses; phytoplankton (also called as blue-green algae/bacteria) consists of cyanobacteria, various types of algae (brown and yellow green), diatoms, dinoflagellates, euglenoids, chlorophytes etc.

 Zooplankton like protozoa and some dinoflagellates are also phytoplankton.

The macroscopic algae like the sea weeds create kelp forests.

Sea weeds are being harvested and used as growth promoters for land plants.

Invertebrate sea life includes jelly fish and sea anemones.

Shell fish, squid and octopus are some of the inhabitant of sea water.

Fish is much evolved large organism live in the ocean.

Fish breathe by extracting oxygen from water through their gills and the fins of fish propel and stabilize them in water.

One of the more popular sea fish is sardine which is the cheapest sold in the local market.

Sharks are the big ones with serrated teeth predate on small fishes. 

In addition to fish, the marine life includes reptiles like sea snakes, sea turtles and salt water crocodile.

Penguins and sea gulls are sea birds adapted to living in marine environment.

There are marine mammals too in the sea.

They are whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions and sea otter.

Ocean habitats are very beautiful landscape within ocean.

Coral reef especially tropical coral reefs are built up by corals and other calcium – depositing animals, usually on top of a rocky out crop on the ocean floor.

The ocean reefs support large community of life including corals.

At the deep sea trenches (Mariana Trench near about 10,924 meter deep in Philippines) water pressure is very high and there will not be sunlight, but life was found to still exist.

Most of the organisms live at these depths have the ability to create their own light known as bio-luminescence.

What a wonderful world that is hidden in the deep sea about which we know very little.

More can be learned by exploring the deep sea and I wish to appreciate Nature’s hidden mystery.

Only brave ones come forward to explore the hidden part of deep sea and tell us about the marine life it supports.

Marine life in saline water is still a wonder for people like us.

Adventurers and marine scientists are the human beings with good knowledge of the deep sea involve themselves to travel in ocean and also deep into trenches sometimes to explore the hidden part of the ocean.

Such activities cannot be performed by everyone, but only people with commitment and interest can enter these adventurous activities.

They require great deal of training in marine science and operation in deep sea.  

I consider those people are the real eye opener for us to tell about the deep sea secrets.

In fact, we need to salute such people who give us knowledge of the marine life.

16 December 2010