Using Google effectively

Did u know that you could use Google for mathematical calculations?
[Try typing in 5*2 and hit Enter. Or a more complicated sin (90 degrees)]

You can also use it to convert currencies. [Try 5 USD in euros]

Like the result?
Wait...there's more!

A little known feature is the wildcard operator * which may be used as a placeholder for unknown terms.
[Try Einstein invented * on the *]

If you are looking for something specific on a particular website, you could always try the site: keyword.
For instance, inflation site:www.time.com returns pages on inflation from www.time.com.
Notice that there is no space after site:
You can also use this keyword to filter out results from specific domains. Let's say you wish to find results only from India - all you have to do is type in inflation site:.in

But my favorite feature is the define keyword to improve my vocabulary.
[e.g. define falafel]

You could do a lot more with your favorite search engine.
Try this link for more.

Do let me know if you discover anything interesting...

Very soon, you'll be intuitively forming groups over the internet by skipping structures.
In other words, you'll just have your own circle of friends with similar tastes (likes / dislikes) across websites. At least Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg thinks so.
He recently outlined his 'Open Graph' vision which is similar to what semantic recognition technologies like Glue do to simplify social networking.
In Zuckerberg's words , "...the web can become a set of personally and semantically meaningful connections between people and things."

Read the full story here: 
Zuckerberg outlines Facebook's 'Open Graph' vision

Machine networks: The future?
Internet of things to come
Sounds like a sci-fi movie!

Firefox 3.6 has been released. It is more than 20 percent faster than Firefox 3.5
To download, just visit http://www.mozilla.com/
To check out what's new, visit  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Q9tuSaCYA

Life logs?

Have you ever felt like archiving your entire life - every moment of it?
Would u like to create a life log rather than a blog?

If yes, here's a gadget that will help you do that. A camera you can wear as a pendant to record your life.
Read the entire story here.

My favorite browser, Mozilla Firefox has crossed 1 billion downloads. This is amazing. Btw, Firefox holds the world record for most downloads in a day.
You may download the latest version here.

The best media player out there is VLC media player. Just drag and drop any file in any damn format and it will play it for you.

VideoLAN is a software project, which produces free and open source software for multimedia, released under the GNU General Public License.

Version 1.0.0 is out and you may download it here.
Enjoy!

Have a DVD player? Do you know ur player really well?

Here is a blog on DVD players worth reading:
http://technophobik.blogspot.com

Have you bought a new cell phone this Diwali, SAR?

Yes. Good!

If not are you planning to upgrade your cell phone?

What features would you look for in your future mobile?

I guess the things you would consider apart from your budget would be features like an MP3 player, a 3.0 Megapixel camera, Bluetooth, MMS, expandable memory, etc. Right?

But let me ask you this. Would you look for the SAR levels of the cell phone?

Chances are that you won't.

My guess is that you've heard this sometime, somewhere but don't recall and if at all you recall something you don't know much about it.
That's what an average consumer knows anyway.


So what's all this sour talk about SAR?

SAR stands for Specific Absorption Rate, which is the unit of measurement for the amount of RF energy absorbed by the body when using a mobile phone.
There are some standard permissible limits defined for SAR in most countries other than India.

"Now why should I know this?" must be your obvious question.
You should know it because it's related to your health.

The SAR levels vary as per your distance from the mobile base station, which means that the closer you are to the BTS, the lower is the RF emitted and therefore lower is the SAR.

SAR information for all Nokia phone models can be found at this link or here.

Largely unknown, and often ignored even by the most mobile-savvy , 'specific
absorption rate' or SAR is a count that specifies whether your mobile
radiates more or less than the permissible limit for radio waves. Knowing that doesn't improve your phone's capabilities, but it does have a vague correlation with your health. Vague, because the correlation is more suspected than proved medically. But since it relates to your health, it may be worthwhile knowing it because you carry your mobile and keep it beside you even while you are sleeping.


I have heard my friends say "A person's sperm count is related to the mobile phone's SAR!"
"What roobish!", I would say in Geoffrey Boycott style.

But it's scary, isn't it? But you don't have to worry yet. Because it hasn't been proven medically so far, although researchers are working on it.

According to an article in the ET,

US Std 1.6 Watts/Kg averaged over ten grams of tissue.
European Std 2.0 Watts/Kg averaged over ten grams of tissue.



For instance, no cellphone can officially be sold in the US if its SAR level exceeds the 1.6 W/kg (watts per kg) threshold fixed by FCC. In Europe, manufacturers have to ensure the maximum SAR level of a cellphone does not exceed 2W/kg — the safety limit fixed by the EU Council for public exposure from mobile phones.

It's worth mentioning that the use of device accessories and enhancements may result in different SAR values.

Therefore, unlike the US or Europe, the department of telecommunications (DoT), still not come out with safety standards on cellular radiation levels
Refer this link.
Although there is no scientific evidence yet to prove any considerable harm to the body, we can not rule out the effect of the radio waves' radiation.

So the next time you keep ur cell phone in your crotch, just give it a 2nd thought.