RONAK SHAH

Wacky Telephone Car Guy Causes Tussle in My Backyard

2009-04-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Telephone Car guy, who I didn't know existed until today, was busy this weekend one town over from where I live pissing off curious tourists and comparing this thing of his to a Corvette. Created by business owner Howard Davis as a way to promote his telephone company, he parked the car outside of the Somerville Theatre to help promote the flick "Auto-Morphosis" which screened at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25. Folks were plopping their kids on the car and trying to take photos. One couple, who somehow fit their entire family and friends on top of the mobile, got into a verbal confrontation with the Phone Car guy. "You should have put signs up," yelled an angry mother after Davis admonished them to get off his car. "You have a tourist attraction and you expect people not to sit on it?" Davis' response, "Would you sit on someone's Corvette?" The family still seemed ticked off. Lastly, some free advice from your friendly neighborhood Gizmodo Contributing Editor: Don't fuck with a guy who wears a super hero costume and drives around in a freaking telephone.

--As seen on Gizmoguide.com

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

2009-02-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

Four months have passed since its announcement in October 2008 and the 5800 XpressMusic has finally landed in Singapore. It is the first touchscreen smartphone that runs on the Series60 (S60) 5th Edition platform and bundled with an unlimited music download service, Comes With Music (CWM).

Meanwhile, Nokia has already announced the N97, its second touchscreen S60 model, in December last year. That is expected to be available worldwide in the first half of 2009. Samsung, too, has shown off its Omnia HD based on the same software at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Editors' note:

As this is the first handset that runs on the S60 5th Edition platform and bundled with CWM, we are taking a different approach for the review of the 5800 XpressMusic. Our evaluation will be split into three main sections looking at the software, service and hardware before ending with our usual performance tests and conclusion.

S60 5th Edition Software

Naturally, the highlight of this device is the touchscreen-enabled S60 interface. This is an extension of the current S60 3rd Edition UI, dubbed the S60 5th Edition. What happened to "4", you might ask. Without elaborating too much, Tuula Rytila-Uotila, vice president for Live, GoToMarket, said the company traditionally doesn't use that number in its products. In the Asian context, the number 4 is considered unlucky.

The 5800 doesn't have a directional pad or an Enter button, but is instead fully controlled using the touchscreen and the three hardware keys below the display. The resistive LCD which allows you to use your fingers or a stylus for input requires a little more pressure to tap compared with capacitive screens.

Going with the music theme, Nokia has even included a plectrum--normally used with a guitar for plucking or strumming--as an alternative pointing device. Making up for the absence of tactility associated with hardware buttons is onboard haptic feedback.

User Interface
A lot of what you expect on an S60 phone has been retained, including the ability to bring up a list of running applications by holding down the menu button. To quit any application, just press and hold the corresponding icon and a context menu will pop up for you to do so. Additional shortcuts have also been added to capitalize on the touch interface. You can set an alarm by tapping on the time or switch from Silent to General by hitting on the profile. The battery indicator, on the other hand, brings up the connection manager.

The key takeaway with the touch interface is the inconsistency with scrolling and tapping gestures in the software. It's not a deal-breaker, at worst marring the initial experience with the device. The irregularity makes it seem like Nokia hasn't put much thought into what it wants to deliver with the 5800.

For instance, you slide your finger down in the menus to scroll down, but you "push" a page up in the Web browser instead. The swiping finger gesture is also implemented only in selected applications. One example is the picture gallery.

Applications need only one tap to activate, while other menu options require you to tap twice. Granted that a possible reason for implementing a second click is to prevent accidental presses, the constant switch between single and double taps is something which takes getting used to.

The Home screen with three preset contacts' faces.
(Click for larger image)

While we like the overall "stickiness" of the interface, it doesn't beat the iPhone in terms of fluidity. Given an option, we would have preferred the rim that runs around the circumference of the device to be flush with the display instead. That will make it easier to scroll pages using the onscreen bars at the sides.

The Home screen on the 5800 prominently shows pictures or avatars of those contacts you want quick access to. Tapping on their pictures, you can then see your recent activity log with them on the screen and conveniently call or message them. Vital information like your RSS feeds and calendar appointments are also easily accessible via this Home screen.

Alternatively, you can switch back to the standard Shortcuts bar which you can customize with four frequently accessed applications. The icons are noticeably bigger to cater for finger-based inputs.

On the top right corner, a touch-sensitive "button" above the LCD brings up a shortcut dropdown column which allows you to access your music, videos, pictures and the Internet browser quickly.

Text Input
Various text input methods have been implemented including a full QWERTY for landscape mode use, a mini QWERTY if you'd rather thumb type in portrait format, the good old onscreen numeric keypad for one-hand operation, and handwriting recognition.

L to R: Alphanumeric keypad, full QWERTY, mini QWERTY.
(click for larger images)

There is haptic feedback for every action, a useful feature when you don't have the tactility of physical keys. You can adjust the intensity, and we found that keeping it to the minimal, so that the vibration was subtle, gave us the best experience overall.

During our review, the mini QWERTY input was much too small to be useful. On the flipside, the full QWERTY and numeric keypads both take up the entire screen so you can't see the screen you are on. That may also cause problems in some cases where you have to type in something while referring to text or images on the display at the same time.

While we fully understand the need for these onscreen keypads to be large for accessibility, some size compromise could have been implemented so you can still see part of the original page. That said, we got up to speed typing on the full QWERTY the moment we picked up the phone and it was our preferred mode of text input.

Applications
According to Rytila-Uotila, programs created for current S60 phones will also work on the S60 5th Edition, though many of them have not been formatted for the 5800's 640 x 360 display and may look odd. The software development kit (SDK) for the S60 5th Edition has been released to developers and they will be able to tweak their current applications for this UI and create new ones, too.

Bear in mind that there are still very limited applications that are fully compatible with the 5800. Preinstalled are the Web browser, Maps 2.0, music player, file manager, calculator, converter, voice recorder, FM radio, Podcast, RealPlayer and your usual Calendar, Contacts and Messaging facilities. Missing are Quick Office and a PDF reader which would have been useful for document handling. Mail for Exchange, one of our favorite free apps for syncing with Microsoft Exchange, worked perfectly fine on our review unit though.

The Web browser hasn't seen much improvement, so it's basically still the Webkit version, but with touch capabilities. It's a pity because Nokia could have taken the opportunity to make it more polished than the Safari browser on the iPhone. What's good is that the browser supports Flash and Java.

The 5800 is preinstalled with two games--Bounce and Global Race-Raging Thunder. Interestingly, only the racing game makes use of the onboard accelerometer for steering the vehicle in-game.

Comes With Music

Also a big part of the 5800, other than the new software, is Comes With Music (CWM), Nokia's unlimited music download service. According to the company, Singapore is the first market to get the 5800 bundled with CWM for S$798 (US$534.03). For comparison's sake, a local export set without CWM is priced at S$560 (US$374.76).

Here's the proposition of CWM's unlimited premise. You can download as many songs as you want, within 12 months, from the Nokia Music Store and you get to keep or re-download the tracks after the service period. So far, tunes from EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music, Universal Music Group and local labels including Rock Records and Ocean Butterflies are available from the store.

Laying out the bundled accessories.
(click for larger image)

Music downloaded from the store are encoded with a 192kbps bitrate in WMA format and are shackled with Windows Media DRM. This means you cannot copy the tracks to another MP3 player, for example, an iPod. Burning music onto a CD also requires additional rights which you must pay for. You can, however, transfer the songs you've downloaded to a new PC within three years of purchasing the CWM handset.

So is this for you? Depends, but the price-for-feature ratio is rather compelling. In the four days that our CWM service was activated, we downloaded over 700 songs, though we would chalk that number to our initial enthusiasm over downloading whatever that's readily available. That brings us to the next point.

What we find most appealing about CWM is the instant gratification it offers. The only thing to watch out for if you are downloading from the device are the airtime charges incurred, which means you'll need to factor in a data plan with decent bandwidth. What would have been great complements to the service are a music recognition app like Track ID on Sony Ericsson mobiles and a feature that pulls the lyrics of the song you are listening to off the Web.

A few other things to note about CWM are that after the initial phase of downloading all the music available on the storefront, it comes to a point where you either search for a particular album or track that you want, or wait for Nokia to refresh the store's page so you can pick from there again.

The downloading speed is also dependant on the network which can make or break the user experience. Mass downloads are best on a PC (no support for Mac) and single tracks on the handset. Syncing between the PC and device is only via the bundled micro-USB cable connection (no Bluetooth). A nice feature to have is the ability to charge via micro-USB.

We did encounter a few errors during downloading where the songs couldn't be found and albums couldn't be downloaded fully. A Nokia representative said that could be due to our network connection as she didn't encounter the problems we noticed on her end. There were instances where we resume the download though that doesn't work all the time.

he 5800 XpressMusic

The 640 x 360-pixel display on the 5800 may seem strange at first because it's not the VGA (640 x 480) screens we are more used to seeing. The reason for this becomes clear when you think about its 16:9 aspect ratio. 640 x 360 is exactly one-quarter of 1,280 x 720, the minimum resolution for something to be classified as high definition (HD).

Laying out the bundled accessories.
(click for larger image)

If you visit video-sharing sites like Vimeo which allows you to upload HD clips, you will notice that the streaming clips are displayed at 640 x 360 within the browser. For a media-centric mobile phone like the 5800, this is ideal for watching movies and television clips originally formatted for HD displays. You may also want to know that the 5800 has 50 percent more pixels than the iPhone 3G, but has a smaller display which measures 3.2 inches diagonally.

The choice of a plastic chassis may irk users who are used to the metallic accents on premium handsets, but we found the build quality impressionable overall. The SIM card, once inserted, is difficult to remove without a prodding stick (stylus), but that's not an issue unless you swap SIM cards often. A keylock switch is found on the right edge of the 5800 and it was indispensable for quick locking of the touchscreen.

Internally, there's little to gripe about. This handset comes with HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS and a touchscreen display. An 8GB card is included as standard and the microSD card slot supports up to 16GB and even 32GB cards when the latter becomes commercially available.

Having lots of storage is, of course, important to a music-focused mobile phone, and that's further complemented by its built-in speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack so you can plug in your favorite headphones. This same jack also lets you to output the sound and screen onto an external display using a TV-out cable that's included by default.

Performance

Overall, we found the 5800's performance to be snappy and there weren't any issues with call quality. Audio playback via the onboard speakers was also surprisingly good. If you own a pair of decent earphones, the 5800 is a very good alternative to standalone MP3 players.

Test shot with Lab setup.
(click to download original image)

The 3.2-megapixel camera wasn't fantastic, although it would suffice for occasional snapshot moments.

On average, the 5800 lasted two days with combined Web browsing, music playback, calls and text messages. Your experience with the device may vary depending on your usage pattern.

Nokia rates the 5800 for up to 9 hours of talktime and 35 hours for music playback.

Conclusion

Though we expected Nokia's first touchscreen UI to appear on a high-end device like one of its Nseries or Eseries products, the birth of the S60 5th Edition on a mass market phone like the 5800 has its advantages, too. For one, it has an amazing price of 279 euros (about US$386). That's phenomenal considering the features you get--a comparable Windows Mobile phone is easily 50 percent more expensive than that. With Comes With Music, the additional premium puts the device in the midrange portfolio.

The positioning of the phone also makes sense if you take into account the competition the 5800 faces. Most manufacturers are already into their second- or third-generation touchscreen handsets. For Nokia to come in at this price point and with a laundry list of features, it will force other makers to revisit their lineup.

That's not all. The Finnish outfit is also going all out with Ovi, its online portal for a range of services. In the case of the 5800, the Comes With Music is key. Building a tightly integrated ecosystem is pertinent to a successful product. The Apple iPhone clearly showed the way with iTunes. BlackBerry is catching up and Nokia is obviously not far behind.

The 5800 isn't without misses, too. There aren't that many third-party apps right now, though that will change down the road. Plus the touch user interface isn't consistent, which is what the company should urgently address. We were close to giving the 5800 our Editors' Choice award but felt that this aspect caused it to miss the mark slightly.

Overall, it's hard to find a touchscreen smartphone that matches the 5800 in terms of price and features.

According to Nokia, the red and blue versions of the 5800 XpressMusic bundled with a grey plectrum will be available on February 28 in Singapore. A silver-black model will come in mid-March. Nokia added that a standalone 5800 XpressMusic without CWM won't be available at launch, but didn't comment on whether its decision will change in the future.

Physical design

Phone type

Candy bar

Dimensions (W x D x H)

111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm

Weight

109g

Secondary display resolution

x pixels

Input method(s)

Touch screen

Available colours

Silver--Black, Red, Blue

Phone

Network

Quadband

Network type(s)

GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900

Connectivity options

3G, GPRS, GPS, HSDPA, Bluetooth, A2DP, USB, WLAN

Calling Features

Video calls

General

LCD display size

3.2-inch 640 x 360-pixel, up to 16 million colors

Color LCD?

Yes

Performance

Operating system

Symbian OS

Max. talktime (in hours)

9 hours

Max. standby time (in hours)

408 hours

Internal memory

81 MB

Expansion slot(s)

TransFlash / microSD

Included accessories

Handset with stylus, extra pen stylus, stylus plectrum, headset, 8GB microSD card, carrying case, portable stand, video-out cable

Multimedia

Built-in digital camera?

Yes

Maximum camera resolution

3.2 megapixels

Cnet Video:-http://asia.cnet.com/tv/tech/mobile-tech/0,39067331,44099571p,00.htm

MOTOSURF A3100

2009-02-27T13:05:00.000-08:00

Motorola has been a longtime licensee of Microsoft's Windows Mobile (WM) but it hasn't been too prolific when it comes to making touchscreen phones based on that operating system. On Tuesday, the company announced the Motorola MOTOSURF A3100, a touchscreen handheld with no keypad, putting it in direct competition with products like the ASUS P552w and HTC Touch 3G. Let's have a quick look at what the MOTOSURF offers.

Upside

While some may balk at the liberal use of curves on the A3100, it's actually a refreshing departure from all the predominantly black or silver devices with straight edges. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but will be a good option for those bored with the more serious-looking phones.

Connectivity options on the A3100 are comprehensive and include HSDPA/HSUPA for high-speed cellular data transfer. There's also Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well as GPS for satellite navigation.

Like almost every other WM PDA-phone these days, the A3100 comes with a custom Home screen to replace the default one. The stock images show a finger-friendly interface with large icons and essential informa

tion clearly presented in one screen. That said, we do need to get a unit in our hands to determine if it's as useful as HTC or Sony Ericsson's implementations.

Downside

Even though they cover most bases, the specifications of the A3100 are boring. They are the same as any midrange WM device, so nothing really stands out. The screen has a pedestrian 320 x 240-pixel resolution--VGA or above would have been better appreciated.

Outlook

Motorola will make the MOTOSURF available in Asia in Q1 but no price has been announced. With strong competition from the likes of HTC, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, the A3100 will have to be priced very competitively if it is to stand a chance. That's unless it has one or two compelling features that make it stand out. As of now, it's hard to tell if this Moto has anything special aside from the design. So we are looking forward to getting our mitts on a unit for a proper assessment.

Physical design

Form factor:Pad

Dimensions:110 x 59.7 x 13.7 mm

Weight w/battery:119 g

Primary display resolution:320 x 240 pixels

Phone

Phone type:Quadband

Networks:GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900

Connectivity:3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, USB

Messaging features:SMS, MMS, Email

Multimedia

Built-in digital camera?:Yes

Maximum camera resolution:3 megapixels

Additional multimedia features:Bluetooth stereo A2DP; secondary VGA camera; Assisted-GPS

PDA

Operating system:Windows Mobile 6

Main processor type:Qualcomm MSM 7201A

RAM:128 MB

ROM:256 MB

Rated battery life:6.8 hours

Display

Monochrome or color:Color

Touch screen:Yes

Living Green: LG unveils solar-powered cell phone

2009-02-19T20:10:00.001-08:00

Not to be outdone by Samsung's new Blue Earth handset, LG Electronics has announced its own new solar powered cell phone. The surprisingly attractive handset features an array of tiny solar panels built into the cover of the phone.

According to LG, exposing the solar panel to the sun for a mere ten minutes will charge the phone with enough juice to make a three-minute call. No pricing or release date have been announced, but if these recent moves by Samsung and LG are true indicators of energy trends, our gadget future will indeed be a lot more eco-friendly.

Courtesy: device.com

HTC Magic brings Google's Android to another phone

2009-02-19T20:07:00.000-08:00

Until now, Google's Android mobile OS has only been found on the G1. Now, the second "Google Phone" has been announced: the HTC Magic. A slick-looking touchscreen phone, this model takes aim squarely at the iPhone.

Featuring a 3.2-inch touch screen and a trackball, it shares a good deal in common with the iPhone's form factor while retaining its own look and personality. It's a touch wider than the iPhone, but weighs less and is a little shorter. There's a 3.2-megapixel camera with video capabilities, and it has full 3G connectivity. Unfortunately, it's due to hit European shores first, with no word on a US release date.

Courtesy: device.com

Wheego Whip electric car coming to America in May for $19K

2009-02-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

This tiny, all-electric Wheego Whip minicar is destined for U.S. shores this May, beating out a gaggle of other electric cars that might not even make it here by the end of 2010. The $19K plug-in Whip goes 50 miles per charge with a 60 mph top speed, and judging from the performance of its prototype in the video after the jump, its acceleration and speed appear to be sufficiently sprightly for American roads.

The catch? It'll be limited to a poky 35 mph until the U.S. government checks its crashworthiness, and will be designated a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) until it gets its U.S. mommy's approval. That might not happen until, alas, the seemingly magic date for electro-cars: 2010.

Built by Shuanghuan Automobile in China, the Whip's body will be familiar to Chinese drivers — it's known as an E-Noble in its native land. It's hard to believe this car will be available for sale in 50 dealers three months from now. Given the sorry shape of the U.S. auto industry, this microcar might whip a few car companies into shape.

View the Video here

KDDI minimalist concept phone captures solar rays, doubles as dark matter

2009-02-19T19:54:00.000-08:00

We've uncovered more ecologically friendly goodies from KDDI's Design Project. The latest is a concept device is aptly named the GEM and looks as though it was carved out of a single slab of obsidian with an oddly organic form factor.

The creator, Japanese designer Takumi Ota, doesn't offer much in the way of details in terms of how the handset would work other than to detail its ability to charge itself via a set of rather sexy solar panels. It's a sure bet that if Blackberry's looked like this, there would be less debate among the iPhone refuseniks about what smartphone to get.

Courtesy: device.com

LG-GD900 transparent cellphone: Why would you want it?

2009-02-19T19:52:00.000-08:00

The LG-GD900 cellphone, which was unveiled a couple of days ago, has one of the most striking designs we've seen. Its head-turning innovation: The softly illuminated keypad is transparent. The phone is slated for a spring 2009 release. We can't wait until someone designs a phone that's entirely clear.

However, we have to ask, how practical is this? Do you really want to see a hairy cheek pressed up against the glass? It reminds me of the old Jelly shoes. Cute, until you see someone's butt-ugly toes smooshed up against the plastic.

Really, why would you want a see-through phone? Tell us in the comments.

Courtesy: device.com

SHIFT: Is Obama a tech friend or foe?

2009-02-19T19:44:00.000-08:00

While President Barack Obama's honeymoon rages on, those of us who like to see technological progress are keeping a close eye on the horizon, looking for either dark clouds or silver linings.

So far we're seeing a mixed bag. During the 2008 presidential election campaign, Obama sang the praises of technological progress, but some of his appointees aren't singing from the same hymnal.

At stake is the unfettered Internet, unlimited bandwidth, file sharing without government snoops breathing down our necks, and freedom to record what we want on our own DVRs. All of it could be at risk as some of the new officials move into their high offices in the Obama administration.

Questionable Appointees

The president has the final say in whatever decisions are made, but he could be influenced by his appointees, some of whom have repeatedly proven that they're no friends of technological progress. That's stoking our techno-fears.

First on the list is Vice President Joe Biden. Obama's VP has a long history of aligning himself with the recording industry. At one point he wanted to make it a felony to create a device capable of circumventing copy-protecting DRM (digital rights management).

Then there's the Department of Justice. Industry watchdogs say associate deputy Donald Verrilli and associate attorney general Tom Perrelli are "the RIAA's favorite lawyers." Add to them Neil MacBride, who before he was appointed associate deputy attorney general, was vice president of anti-piracy and general counsel at the Business Software Alliance (BSA). He headed up the practice of paying off people who report suspected software piracy to that organization. This is not looking good.

If Obama appointed these recording and movie industry advocates, who might he choose as head of the Federal Communications Commission? Former FCC chair Kevin Martin rejected the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) scheme to put recording blocks onto every DVR in the country. Now that Martin's gone, the MPAA is back knocking on the FCC's door, trying to put the squeeze on temporary FCC chairman Michael Copps. Will the FCC cave, letting the MPAA decide what we can record on our own TiVos? Will Obama appoint an FCC chairman who fights for the rights of Internet service providers, or for the users of those services?

Friends of Progress

Despite those questionable appointments, all is not lost, tech lovers. There's some good news, too. For instance, when California Senator Dianne Feinstein tried to slip in a provision for "network management," allowing Internet service providers to filter broadband streams looking for copyrighted materials under the guise of protecting us from child porn, the idea was shot down before it could slither into the stimulus bill.

More good news: The economic stimulus bill's $9 billion to fund wireless broadband networks in under-served areas was on its way toward oblivion, but after all the haggling was done, the cash ended up staying in, albeit at a diminished $7.2 billion. Someone must have agreed with Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, who said a $10 billion broadband stimulus would create 498,000 new jobs. Good call.

The President's Say

There have been boatloads of alarm spread all over the Internet this past week about the diminishing role of tech in the economic stimulus bill, and most of that alarm turned out to be overwrought. The tech-smart and BlackBerry-carrying President Obama craves consensus, so he's not going to make it easy for file-sharing pirates to swipe movies and software, nor is he going to allow broadband providers to suck the life out of our crucial information conduits.

Let's hope the new president keeps a close eye on some of these record-industry and movie-business appointees of his, making sure that his fondness for Net neutrality and tech freedom isn't stomped down by greedy industry insiders who suddenly find themselves drunk on power.

Courtesy: device.com

Advanced robot assisted therapy gives serious stroke sufferers a helping hand

2009-02-19T19:35:00.000-08:00

The University of California at Irvine is leading a study on how robots can help long-term stroke victims regain their mobility. 15 patients, who averaged around 61 years of age and suffered a stroke at least 10 years before undergoing the robot assisted therapy, were taught to grip and gesture thanks to a robotic arm that cradled their hands.

The robotic cradle helps shape the hand into the positions it needs to be in to perform various tasks, helping work the appropriate muscles and reform the connections the brain needs to make to tell the hand to operate.

After a few months undergoing the therapy, the patients all improved — though those who had more mobility to begin with showed rapid gains. Understandably, the patients with more disability would take longer to improve, but it does show that robotic assistance is a viable way to help people regain mobility through therapy.

A video of the robotic therapy can be found by Clicking here

Courtesy: device.com

Pantech Matrix Pro: Dual-slider smartphone for touchscreen haters

2009-02-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

Remember the Helio Ocean? That landmark phone was world's first dual slider — one with both a slide-out keypad and a separate, slide-out QWERTY keyboard. A little-reported fact about the Ocean was that it was actually made by Pantech, which used the dual-sliding design for its Matrix, released last fall. Following up quickly, Pantech just announced the Matrix Pro.

Besides boasting the dual-sliding form factor, the Matrix Pro is a full-fledged smartphone, running Windows Mobile 6.1 and supporting Outlook/Office. The expandable memory supports microSD cards up to 32GB, the LCD screen measures a could-be-bigger 2.4 inches, and there's 3G (HSDPA) connectivity, too.

Checking out the Matrix Pro in Vegas last month, I thought it was a little thick for my taste (its 0.9 inches deep, compared with the iPhone's 0.48 inches), though the dual-sliding design is addicting. The gun-metal color is pretty sleek, too. There's plenty here to satisfy Windows Mobile fans (whoever they may be) who don't like touchscreens. The Matrix Pro should be available at AT&T stores in the next few days for $180.

Blackberry Storm-Maybe the iPhone Killer

2008-10-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

BlackBerry recently announced a new smart phone that could turn out to be the iPhone killer. This new smart phone by BlackBerry has been named as ‘BlackBerry Storm’. With this phone, BlackBerry seems to have changed the way they have been developing and designing their phones. BlackBerry Storm is a sleek, powerful phone which supports touch technology. It has all the ingredients required to become an iPhone killer. BlackBerry Storm has a great user interface, sleek design, brilliant resolution and stunning glass touchscreen along with support for great applications.

Some of the features of BlackBerry Storm are –
Navigation via Touch ScreenThe Storm supports the touch technology. The glass screen is the keyboard and all you need to do is to touch the displayed letters so as to make them appear in your message. For navigation, you need to use your finger to move the cursor.
CameraIt comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera, which supports features like auto focus and auto click. You can also make video recording with the help of the camera.
BlackBerry Maps & GPSBlackBerry Storm supports the built-in GPS system which has been developed to work with the BlackBerry Maps. You can use these features to determine the route to reach a particular place. You can also use these features to determine your current location.
StreamingBlackBerry Storm allows you to watch news, videos from YouTube, television, and other media sites while you’re on the move. You can even enjoy streamed music broadcasts with this phone.

Advanced FeaturesThe phone is equipped with some great features. With this phone, you can take calls while responding to, sending email and even while surfing websites. You can also snap the picture perfect and send it while being in a call. Powerful applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint are also supported and you can use these applications while being in a call. It also supports fantastic applications like BlackBerry Enterprise Server support, BlackBerry Professional Software, BlackBerry Internet Service and more.
Other Interesting FeaturesThe phone supports wireless email, access to social networking sites, voice activated calling, voicemail attachment playback along with the support for basic functions of a phone.
All in all, the phone looks good enough to become the iPhone Killer but that can only be confirmed once the BlackBerry launches this phone. As of now, the release date has not been announced. However, the phone is expected to be available soon either in October end or in early days of November. In case, you want to experience it before making up your mind then you can try out the BlackBerry Storm Simulator available on the BlackBerry website.

A Letter to Mother Nature From Max More (August 1999)

2008-10-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Mother Nature:
Sorry to disturb you, but we humans—your offspring—come to you with some things to say. (Perhaps you could pass this on to Father, since we never seem to see him around.) We want to thank you for the many wonderful qualities you have bestowed on us with your slow but massive, distributed intelligence. You have raised us from simple self-replicating chemicals to trillion-celled mammals. You have given us free rein of the planet. You have given us a life span longer than that of almost any other animal. You have endowed us with a complex brain giving us the capacity for language, reason, foresight, curiosity, and creativity. You have given us the capacity for self-understanding as well as empathy for others.
Mother Nature, truly we are grateful for what you have made us. No doubt you did the best you could. However, with all due respect, we must say that you have in many ways done a poor job with the human constitution. You have made us vulnerable to disease and damage. You compel us to age and die—just as we’re beginning to attain wisdom. You were miserly in the extent to which you gave us awareness of our somatic, cognitive, and emotional processes. You held out on us by giving the sharpest senses to other animals. You made us functional only under narrow environmental conditions. You gave us limited memory, poor impulse control, and tribalistic, xenophobic urges. And, you forgot to give us the operating manual for ourselves!
What you have made us is glorious, yet deeply flawed. You seem to have lost interest in our further evolution some 100,000 years ago. Or perhaps you have been biding your time, waiting for us to take the next step ourselves. Either way, we have reached our childhood’s end.
We have decided that it is time to amend the human constitution.
We do not do this lightly, carelessly, or disrespectfully, but cautiously, intelligently, and in pursuit of excellence. We intend to make you proud of us. Over the coming decades we will pursue a series of changes to our own constitution, initiated with the tools of biotechnology guided by critical and creative thinking. In particular, we declare the following seven amendments to the human constitution:
Amendment No.1: We will no longer tolerate the tyranny of aging and death. Through genetic alterations, cellular manipulations, synthetic organs, and any necessary means, we will endow ourselves with enduring vitality and remove our expiration date. We will each decide for ourselves how long we shall live.
Amendment No.2: We will expand our perceptual range through biotechnological and computational means. We seek to exceed the perceptual abilities of any other creature and to devise novel senses to expand our appreciation and understanding of the world around us.
Amendment No.3: We will improve on our neural organization and capacity, expanding our working memory, and enhancing our intelligence.
Amendment No.4: We will supplement the neocortex with a "metabrain". This distributed network of sensors, information processors, and intelligence will increase our degree of self-awareness and allow us to modulate our emotions.
Amendment No. 5: We will no longer be slaves to our genes. We will take charge over our genetic programming and achieve mastery over our biological, and neurological processes. We will fix all individual and species defects left over from evolution by natural selection. Not content with that, we will seek complete choice of our bodily form and function, refining and augmenting our physical and intellectual abilities beyond those of any human in history.
Amendment No.6: We will cautiously yet boldly reshape our motivational patterns and emotional responses in ways we, as individuals, deem healthy. We will seek to improve upon typical human emotional excesses, bringing about refined emotions. We will strengthen ourselves so we can let go of unhealthy needs for dogmatic certainty, removing emotional barriers to rational self-correction.
Amendment No.7: We recognize your genius in using carbon-based compounds to develop us. Yet we will not limit our physical, intellectual, or emotional capacities by remaining purely biological organisms. While we pursue mastery of our own biochemistry, we will increasingly integrate our advancing technologies into our selves.
These amendments to our constitution will move us from a human to an ultrahuman condition as individuals. We believe that individual ultrahumanizing will also allow us to form relationships, cultures, and polities of unprecedented innovation, richness, freedom, and responsibility.
We reserve the right to make further amendments collectively and individually. Rather than seeking a state of final perfection, we will continue to pursue new forms of excellence according to our own values, and as technology allows.
Your ambitious human offspring.

Long time Guys Sorry for no Updates.....

2008-10-16T10:29:00.001-07:00

So just completed my two months in USA.........kinda of an accomplishment for me as never ever stayed alone........i always remeber home and donno not able to study as i had though i would feeling very much lonlier than ever as have habbit of staying in crowds.........here u have assignmets, tests, and ofcourse how can u forget job and cooking..........still have to manage have cooked uptil now 2-3 sabzi and khichdi, pulav and kadi........lets see where life take but from deep of my heart i will tell u INDIA rocks guys.........

Leaveing for NY on 13th.......

2008-07-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Guys Gonna go to George Mason University...........Confirmed

GOING TO GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY.......

2008-06-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

GUYS ME MOST PROBABLY WILL BE GOING TO GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY FOR MS IN BIOINORMATICS AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY....HEARD ABT IT THEM TELL ME ABT IT SITE IS www.gmu.edu and www.binf.gmu.edu mail me at rons.shah@gmail.com

Results of my project

2008-06-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

Figure 3.6: Polyacralamide gel depicting the protein pattern on different medium (Bands from left to right). 1. Molecular marker. 2, 3. Fungus in Potato Dextrose Broth (PDB). 3, 4. Fungus in Chitin. 4, 5. Fungus in Starch(copyright@ronakshah)

Figure 3.5: HPLC profile of extract of Fusarium moniliforme grown on different medium(copyright@ronakshah)

Figure 3.4: Protein estimation graph of Fusarium moniliforme with reference to protein concentration vs. absorbance (630nm) [Red line is the Standard Protein and black line is the estimated protein](copyright@ronakshah)

Figure 3.3: Growth of Fusarium moniliforme on a. Czapek-Dox Agar (CDA). b. Minimal Media (MM).(copyright@RonakShah)

Figure 3.1: a. Growth of F.moniliforme at Room Temperature. b. Growth of F.moniliforme at 25○C. c. Growth of F.moniliforme at 300○C. d. Growth of F.moniliforme at 40 ○C.(Copyright@RONAKSHAH)

Figure 3.2: Growth of Fusarium moniliforme at different pH (COPYRIGHT@RONAKSHAH)

Visa Process

2008-06-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

1)Advise from me For visa matter
2)Go to nearest HDFC Bank with zerox of your passport and pay around Rs five thousand five hundred approximately. Not all HDFC does take US student visa fees, you have to check
3)Collect student visa fees receipt. Keep the receipts three original copies that you get at safe place ( Most Important) . Make it point it has bar code on that.
4)Take out 04 photographs of 50mmX 50mm with white background.
5)After three working days after HDFC receipt you can log on to www.vfs-usa.co.in to fill the non immigration visa form. However you can see the available nonimmigrant visa dates without HDFC receipt but cannot fill the form.
6)To take the date you need at least one admit (I-20) in hand. You can take the date on any available I-20. However you can change I-20 of other college 10 days prior visa interview. However you can change the college before visa interview.
7)You can also reschedule the visa interview date at any point of time only thing is that it should be latest 10 days ahead of your earlier visa date.
8)Five working days prior to visa interview you have to submit following documents at VFS US VISA center ground floor, tirupati apartment diagonal opposite to Mahalaxmi temple, near Nalli show room
a)Copy of Visa Form online you filled with photo. Form number DS156 has two pages which you have to print back to back ., 157 you can print seperatelyb)Zerox of I-20c)Zerox of Passportd)Sevis Fee Receipt ( not mandatory but mandatory during visa intere)view)f)HDFC Receipt g)On line appointment proof you got while taking date online
7) Sevis Fee Receipt you can get online printed by logging to fmjfee.com using credit card for 100 USD. But Sevis fees is to paid only when you finalize the university of your choice. Sevis fee is mandatory as per USA immigration law to be paid by the student.

Hey guys now lately i am busy with my pro working on fusarium spp

2008-06-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

Characterization of Entemopathogenic Fungus Fusarium Moniliforme

1. Introduction

The really basic division among life forms is between the simpler Prokaryotes and the more complex Eukaryotes. Look at the diagram below: it shows the way in which we think the Kingdoms evolved. It is based on molecular evidence: base sequences from ribosomal RNA.

Figure 1:Evolution of Kingdoms

The earliest forms of life, which appeared about 3,500 - 3,800 million years ago, were prokaryotes. We tend to define them by their relative morphological simplicity, and by the absence of many features found in more modern cells. Although their modern descendants have a single chromosome, this is not found inside a nucleus, and their cytoplasm contains no mitochondria or plastids (cytoplasmic organelles). These organisms make up the baseline Kingdoms Archaebacteria and Eubacteria (These are sometimes called Domains, and regarded as having equal 'rank' with the whole of the Eukaryota). It is also now believed that the earliest cells swapped genes in lateral transfers before the three domains became distinct. Most gene-swapping now takes place within, rather than among, domains, which is one reason they are still recognizable entities.
The prokaryotes had the world to themselves for 1,500 million years (they did, however, invent photosynthesis during that time). Not until about 2 billion years ago did life take the next giant step, the evolution of the eukaryotic cell. Many, perhaps most, biologists now believe that this arose as a result of the mutually beneficial symbiotic union of several different kinds of prokaryote within another host prokaryote. At least two kinds of modern organelle have been found to retain some of their original independent DNA: (1) Mitochondria, which specialize in the oxidation of 3-carbon organic acids (the Krebs cycle), providing an immediately available energy supply in the form of ATP; and (2) Plastids, which may contain photosynthetic pigments and enzymes (chloroplasts), or may store food. Some biologists also think that flagella were once free-living prokaryotes.

Eukaryotic cells also have their DNA organized into a number of discrete chromosomes, which are found inside a membrane-bounded nucleus. Cell division in eukaryotes involves a complex process called mitosis. The nuclear membrane breaks down, a mitotic spindle of microtubules develops, and the chromosomes are duplicated. Then the daughter chromosomes separate and are pulled to opposite poles by the contracting spindle fibres. Each set of chromosomes then becomes enclosed by a new nuclear membrane, and the cell finally divides into two.

Prokaryotic cells have only a single, usually circular chromosome, and do not undergo mitosis. They usually divide by a much simpler process called binary fission. Mitosis, with its very accurate duplication and sharing of the genetic material, seems to have been a crucial invention. Only eukaryotic cells, with their precisely regulated genetic mechanisms, apparently had the potential to evolve into more complex, multicellular organisms in which cells are organized into different tissues and organs. All prokaryotes are still microbes.

Now look at the Kingdom diagram again (above). The Archaebacteria and the Eubacteria are prokaryotes. The eukaryotes encompass the other five Kingdoms, and it is in these other Kingdoms that the dazzling evolutionary explosion of new taxa has occurred. The diagram shows five eukaryote Kingdoms: Protista (now often called Protozoa), Chromista, Plantae, Animalia and Eumycota.

The burst of eukaryote evolution was made possible by, among other things, a modified form of mitosis called meiosis or reduction division. In many organisms this produces special sex cells called gametes. Each of these cells has a single set of chromosomes (we say that the cells are haploid). When two gametes from compatible parent organisms fuse, the resulting cell (the zygote) has two sets of chromosomes (we call this condition diploid). In plants and animals, zygotes develop into diploid, multicellular organisms, but in most fungi the vegetative phase is always haploid, so meiosis must take place in the zygote. Whether meiosis happens in the zygote, or at the other end of the life cycle, during the formation of gametes, it is responsible for the reassortment of the genetic information built into the chromosomes. New features are constantly being added to the pool of genetic material by the process of mutation, but sexual reproduction is the mechanism by which this pool is recombined each generation in most eukaryotic organisms, producing an endless supply of variation upon which the processes of natural selection can work. This is one of the key secrets of eukaryote diversity.

The radiation of the two largely unicellular Kingdoms (Protozoa and Chromista) shows how the evolution of the eukaryotic cell expanded life's horizons. But the full potential of the new teamwork -- we call it that, since several prokaryotes cooperate to make one functional eukaryotic cell -- was not realized until cells, as well as cell components, began to cooperate. When organisms became multicellular, different cells could assume different, specialised functions. This division of labour eventually led to the development of tissues and organs, and ultimately permitted the evolution of complex beings like ourselves, beings with almost infinitely expanded capabilities (both wonderful and terrible).

Three new multicellular Kingdoms arose, exemplifying three different ways of life. Multicellular organisms which could photosynthesize -- make their own food from simple inorganic precursors -- were eaten by other multicellular organisms that lacked this talent, and both were recycled after death by a third group. These groups we call producers, consumers and decomposers -- the plants, the animals and the fungi. We recognize about 9 phyla of plants, about 32 phyla of animals, and 6 phyla of fungi (2 chromistan and 4 eumycotan).

The world being what it is, the picture is not as simple as we might like. Some of the divergent paths of evolution have come together again, almost as they did at the birth of the eukaryotes, and many organisms that seem unitary are in fact partnerships or even consortia. Lichens, for example, always incorporate both an alga (eukaryotic or prokaryotic) and a fungus.

1.1 Five Kingdom Classification System

Once upon a time, all living things were lumped together into two kingdoms, namely plants and animals (at least, that's how I learned it). Animals included every living thing that moved, ate, and grew to a certain size and stopped growing. Plants included every living thing that did not move or eat and that continued to grow throughout life. It became very difficult to group some living things into one or the other, so early in the past century the two kingdoms were expanded into five kingdoms: Protista (the single-celled eukaryotes); Fungi (fungus and related organisms); Plantae (the plants); Animalia (the animals); Monera (the prokaryotes). Many biologists now recognize six distinct kingdoms, dividing Monera into the Eubacteria and Archeobacteria.

All I can say is that the sytem holds true for this week, at least. It might even hold up for a century or two. Accepted systems of classification have changed at a far faster pace than the species have taken to evolve, that's for certain.

Kingdoms are divided into categories called phyla, each phylum is divided into classes, each class into orders, each order into families, each family into genera, and each genus into species. A species represents one type of organism, such as dog, tiger shark, Ameoba proteus (the common amoeba), Homo sapiens (us), or Acer palmatum (Japanese maple). Note that species names should be underlined or written in italics.

Classifying larger organisms into kingdoms is usually easy, but in a microenvironment it can be tricky. If you have had a little biology, a good exercise is to describe individual living things, and to try to classify them as to kingdom.

1.1.1 Kingdom Monera (includes Eubacteria and Archeobacteria)

Individuals are single-celled, may or may not move, have a cell wall, have no chloroplasts or other organelles, and have no nucleus. Monera are usually very tiny, although one type, namely the blue-green bacteria, look like algae. They are filamentous and quite long, green, but have no visible structure inside the cells. No visible feeding mechanism. They absorb nutrients through the cell wall or produce their own by photosynthesis.

1.1.2 Kingdom Protista

Protists are single-celled and usually move by cilia, flagella, or by amoeboid mechanisms. There is usually no cell wall, although some forms may have a cell wall. They have organelles including a nucleus and may have chloroplasts, so some will be green and others won't be. They are small, although many are big enough to be recognized in a dissecting microscope or even with a magnifying glass. Nutrients are acquired by photosynthesis, ingestion of other organisms, or both.

1.1.3 Kingdom Fungi

Fungi are multicellular,with a cell wall, organelles including a nucleus, but no chloroplasts. They have no mechanisms for locomotion. Fungi range in size from microscopic to very large ( such as mushrooms). Nutrients are acquired by absorption. For the most part, fungi acquire nutrients from decaying material.

1.1.4 Kingdom Plantae

Plants are multicellular and most don't move, although gametes of some plants move using cilia or flagella. Organelles including nucleus, chloroplasts are present, and cell walls are present. Nutrients are acquired by photosynthesis (they all require sunlight).

1.1.5 Kingdom Animalia

Animals are multicellular, and move with the aid of cilia, flagella, or muscular organs based on contractile proteins. They have organelles including a nucleus, but no chloroplasts or cell walls. Animals acquire nutrients by ingestion.

2. Kingdom Fungi

The organisms of the fungal lineage include mushrooms, rusts, smuts, puffballs, truffles, morels, molds, and yeasts, as well as many less well-known organisms. More than 70,000 species of fungi have been described; however, some estimates of total numbers suggest that 1.5 million species may exist.

As the sister group of animals and part of the eukaryotic crown group that radiated about a billion years ago, the fungi constitute an independent group equal in rank to that of plants and animals. They share with animals the ability to export hydrolytic enzymes that break down biopolymers, which can be absorbed for nutrition. Rather than requiring a stomach to accomplish digestion, fungi live in their own food supply and simply grow into new food as the local environment becomes nutrient depleted.

Most biologists have seen dense filamentous fungal colonies growing on rich nutrient agar plates, but in nature the filaments can be much longer and the colonies less dense. When one of the filaments contacts a food supply, the entire colony mobilizes and reallocates resources to exploit the new food. Should all food become depleted, sporulation is triggered. Although the fungal filaments and spores are microscopic, the colony can be very large with individuals of some species rivaling the mass of the largest animals or plants.

Figure 2: Hyphae of a wood-decaying fungus found growing on the underside of a fallen log. The metabolically active hyphae have secreted droplets on their surfaces. Copyright © M. Blackwell 1996.

Prior to mating in sexual reproduction, individual fungi communicate with other individuals chemically via pheromones. In every phylum at least one pheromone has been characterized, and they range from sesquiterpines and derivatives of the carotenoid pathway in chytridiomycetes and zygomycetes to oligopeptides in ascomycetes and basidiomycetes.

Within their varied natural habitats fungi usually are the primary decomposer organisms present. Many species are free-living saprobes (users of carbon fixed by other organisms) in woody substrates, soils, leaf litter, dead animals, and animal exudates. The large cavities eaten out of living trees by wood-decaying fungi provide nest holes for a variety of animals, and extinction of the ivory billed woodpecker was due in large part to loss, through human activity, of nesting trees in bottom land hardwoods. In some low nitrogen environments several independent groups of fungi have adaptations such as nooses and sticky knobs with which to trap and degrade nematodes and other small animals. A number of references on fungal ecology are available.

However, many other fungi are biotrophs, and in this role a number of successful groups form symbiotic associations with plants (including algae), animals (especially arthropods), and prokaryotes. Examples are lichens, mycorrhizae, and leaf and stem endophytes. Although lichens may seem infrequent in polluted cities, they can form the dominant vegetation in nordic environments, and there is a better than 80% chance that any plant you find is mycorrhizal. Leaf and stem endophytes are a more recent discovery, and some of these fungi can protect the plants they inhabit from herbivory and even influence flowering and other aspects of plant reproductive biology. Fungi are our most important plant pathogens, and include rusts, smuts, and many ascomycetes such as the agents of Dutch elm disease and chestnut blight. Among the other well known associations are fungal parasites of animals. Humans, for example, may succumb to diseases caused by Pneumocystis (a type of pneumonia that affects individuals with supressed immune systems), Coccidioides (valley fever), Ajellomyces (blastomycosis and histoplasmosis), and Cryptococcus (cryptococcosis).

Figure 3: The fluffy white hyphae of the mycorrhizal fungus Rhizopogon rubescens has enveloped the smaller roots of a Virginia pine seedling. Note that some of the mycelium extends out into the surrounding environment. Copyright © J. B. Anderson 1996.

Figure 4: Entomophthora, "destroyer of insects", is the agent of a fungual infection that kills flies. After their death the fungal growth erupts through the fly cuticle, and dispersal by forcible spore discharge is a source of inoculum for infection of new flies. Copyright © G. L. Barron 1996.

Fungal spores may be actively or passively released for dispersal by several effective methods. The air we breathe is filled with spores of species that are air dispersed. These usually are species that produce large numbers of spores, and examples include many species pathogenic on agricultural crops and trees. Other species are adapted for dispersal within or on the surfaces of animals (particularly arthropods). Some fungi are rain splash or flowing water dispersed. In a few cases the forcible release of spores is sufficient to serve as the dispersal method as well. The function of some spores is not primarily for dispersal, but to allow the organisms to survive as resistant cells during periods when the conditions of the environment are not conducive to growth.

Figure 5: Diversity of Spores among Fungi.

Fungi are vital for their ecosystem functions, some of which we have reviewed in the previous paragraphs. In addition a number of fungi are used in the processing and flavoring of foods (baker's and brewer's yeasts, Penicillia in cheese-making) and in production of antibiotics and organic acids. Other fungi produce secondary metabolites such as aflatoxins that may be potent toxins and carcinogens in food of birds, fish, humans, and other mammals.

A few species are studied as model organisms that can be used to gain knowledge of basic processes such as genetics, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology with results that are applicable to many organisms. Some of the fungi that have been intensively studied in this way include Saccharomyces cereviseae, Neurospora crassa, and Ustilago maydis.

Most phyla appear to be terrestrial in origin, although all major groups have invaded marine and freshwater habitats. An exception to this generality is the flagellum-bearing phyla Chytridiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, and Neocallimastigomycota (collectively referred to as chytrids), which probably had an aquatic origin. Extant chytrid species also occur in terrestrial environments as plant pathogenic fungi, soil fungi, and even as anaerobic inhabitants of the guts of herbivores such as cows (all Neocallimastigomycota).

2.1 Characteristics

Fungi are characterized by non-motile bodies (thalli) constructed of apically elongating walled filaments (hyphae), a life cycle with sexual and asexual reproduction, usually from a common thallus, haploid thalli resulting from zygotic meiosis, and heterotrophic nutrition. Spindle pole bodies, not centrioles, usually are associated with the nuclear envelope during cell division. The characteristic wall components are chitin (beta-1,4-linked homopolymers of N-acetylglucosamine in microcrystalline state) and glucans primarily alpha-glucans (alpha-1,3- and alpha-1,6- linkages).

Figure 6: Portion of a hypha of a zygomycete stained with a blue dye to show the many nuclei present. Many other fungi have septations that devide the hyphae into compartments that usually contain one to several nuclei per compartment. Copyright © M. Blackwell 1996.

Figure 7: Transmission electron micrograph showing duplicated spindle pole body of a prophase I meiotic nucleus of a basidiomycete Exobasidium. Only chytrids among fungi have centrioles and lack spindle pole bodies. Copyright © Beth Richardson 1996.

Exceptions to this characterization of fungi are well known, and include the following: Most species of chytrids have cells with a single, smooth, posteriorly inserted flagellum at some stage in the life cycle, and centrioles are associated with nuclear division. The life cycles of most chytrids are poorly studied, but some (Blastocladiomycota) are known to have zygotic meiosis (therefore, alternation between haploid and diploid generations). Certain members of Mucoromycotina, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota may lack hyphal growth during part or all of their life cycles, and, instead, produce budding yeast cells. Most fungal species with yeast growth forms contain only minute amounts of chitin in the walls of the yeast cells. A few species of Ascomycota (Ophiostomataceae) have cellulose in their walls, and certain members of Blastocladiomycota and Entomophthoromycotina lack walls during part of their life cycle.

2.2 Fossil Record

Based on the available fossil record, fungi are presumed to have been present in Late Proterozoic (900-570 mya). Terrestrial forms of purported ascomycetes are reported in associations with microarthropods in the Silurian Period (438-408 mya). Fossil hyphae in association with wood decay and fossil chytrids and Glomales-Endogonales representatives associated with plants of the Rhynie Chert are reported from the Devonian Period (408-360 mya). Fungal fossil diversity increased throughout the Paleozoic Era with all modern classes reported in the Pennsylvanian Epoch (320-286 mya).

A first attempt to match molecular data on fungal phylogeny to the geological record shows general agreement, but does point out some conflicts between the two types of data.

2.4 Biogeography

Wherever adequate moisture, temperature, and organic substrates are available, fungi are present. Although we normally think of fungi as growing in warm, moist forests, many species occur in habitats that are cold, periodically arid, or otherwise seemingly inhospitable. It is important to recognize that optimum conditions for growth and reproduction vary widely with fungal species. Diversity of most groups of fungi tends to increase in tropical regions, but detailed studies are only in their infancy .

Although many saprobic and plant pathogenic species with low substrate specificity and effective dispersal systems have broad distributions, gene flow appears to be restricted in many fungi. For these species large bodies of water such as the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans create barriers to gene exchange. Some distributions are limited by substrate availability, and dramatic examples come from parasites of Gondowanan plants; one of these is the Southern Hemisphere distribution of the ascomycete Cyttaria, corresponding with part of the distribution of its host plant Nothofagus. The fossil record shows that fungi were present in Antarctica, as is the case for other organisms with Gondwanan distributions. Arthropod associates also may show distributions throughout part or all of a host range, and some fungal species (ex. wood wasp associates) occur outside the range of the associated arthropod.

2.5 Kingdom Fungi Classification

All living things can be classified into one of five fundamental Kingdoms of life, and the term fungus refers generically to all members of the Kingdom Fungi. There are more than a million species of fungi, but only about 400 cause diseases relevant to man, animals, or plants. The majority of the pathogenic species are classified within the Phyla Zygomycota, Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, or the form group Fungi Imperfecti. Fungi (the singular form is 'fungus'), including those pathogenic to humans and animals, are eukaryotic microorganisms.

Figure 8: Classification of Fungi.

2.5.1 Phylogeny Based Classification
Figure 9: Phylogeny modified from James et al., 2006a, 2006b; Liu et al., 2006; Seif et al., 2005; Steenkamp et al., 2006.
2.5.1.1 Basidomycota
The Basidiomycota contains about 30,000 described species, which is 37% of the described species of true Fungi. The most conspicuous and familiar Basidiomycota are those that produce mushrooms, which are sexual reproductive structures. The Basidiomycota also includes yeasts (single-celled forms; Fell et al. 2001) and asexual species. Basidiomycota are found in virtually all terrestrial ecosystems, as well as freshwater and marine habitats.
Basidiomycota have a huge impact on human affairs and ecosystem functioning. Many Basidiomycota obtain nutrition by decaying dead organic matter, including wood and leaf litter. Thus, Basidiomycota play a significant role in the carbon cycle. Unfortunately, Basidiomycota frequently attack the wood in buildings and other structures, which has negative economic consequences for humans.
Symbiotic lifestyles (intimate associations with other living organisms) are well developed in the Basidiomycota. Symbiotic Basidiomycota include important plant pathogens, such as "rusts" (Uredinales) and "smuts" (Ustilaginales), which attack wheat and other crops. Other symbiotic Basidiomycota cause diseases in animals, including humans. Not all symbiotic Basidiomycota cause obvious harm to their partners, however. For example, some Basidiomycota, as well as a handful of Ascomycota, form ectomycorrhizae, which are associations with the roots of vascular plants (principally forest trees such as oaks, pines, dipterocarps, and eucalypts. Ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycota help their plant partners obtain mineral nutrients from the soil, and in return they receive sugars that the plants produce through photosynthesis. Other symbiotic Basidiomycota form associations with insects, including leaf-cutter ants, termites, scale insects, woodwasps, and bark beetles.

Humans have found diverse uses for Basidiomycota. Mushrooms, both cultivated and wild, are eaten in many countries. For the untrained, mushroom-hunting is a risky endeavor, because some Basidiomycota produce deadly toxins. The basidiomycete toxin phalloidin (from the mushroom Amanita phalloides) binds actin, which is a component of microfilaments. Fluorescent stains that incorporate phalloidin are used by cell biologists to visualize the cytoskeleton. Other "toxins" produced by Basidiomycota include hallucinogens, which are produced by members of the genus Psilocybe (and other groups). Species of Psilocybe have traditionally been used in Central American indigenous cultures as a spiritual tool, and are now cultivated for the illicit drug trade. Other biochemical compounds of Basidiomycota that have practical uses include astaxanthin, a red pigment produced by the basidiomycetous yeast Phaffia (used to add color to farmed salmon), and certain enzymes from wood-decaying Basidiomycota that have potential applications in paper production and bioremediation (decontamination of polluted environments using biological agents).
Figure 10: SEM of the surface of a mushroom gill (Coprinus cinereus: Agaricomycotina) showing several basidia, some with four basidiospores attached.(From McLaughlin, et al. 1985; used with permission © McLaughlin, Beckett and Yoon 1985.)
2.5.1.2 Ascomycota
The Ascomycota, or sac fungi, is monophyletic and accounts for approximately 75% of all described fungi. It includes most of the fungi that combine with algae to form lichens, and the majority of fungi that lack morphological evidence of sexual reproduction. Among the Ascomycota are some famous fungi: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast of commerce and foundation of the baking and brewing industries (not to mention molecular developmental biology), Penicillium chrysogenum, producer of penicillin, Morchella esculentum, the edible morel, and Neurospora crassa, the "one-gene-one-enzyme" organism. There are also some infamous Ascomycota, a few of the worst being: Aspergillus flavus, producer of aflatoxin, the fungal contaminant of nuts and stored grain that is both a toxin and the most potent known natural carcinogen, Candida albicans, cause of thrush, diaper rash and vaginitis, and Cryphonectria parasitica, responsible for the demise of 4 billion chestnut trees in the eastern USA.Asexual Ascomycota, such as Penicillium or Candida species, used to be classified separately in the Deuteromycota because sexual characters were necessary for Ascomycota classification. However, the comparison of nucleic acid sequence, as well as nonsexual phenotypic characters, have permitted the integration of asexual fungi into the Ascomycota. The Deuteromycota is no longer recognized as a formal taxon in fungal systematics.

Figure 11: In hyphal Ascomycota, the youngest, terminal hyphal segments develop into 8-spored asci. Asci of a hyphal Ascomycota (Pezizomycotina), Podospora , © R. Vilgalys 1996. Ascus of a yeast (Saccharomycotina), Saccharomyces, © J. Taylor 1996.

2.5.1.3 Glomeromycota
Although the Glomeromycota comprise a group of fungi virtually unknown to the broad public, they are essential for terrestrial ecosystem function. Members of this group are mutualistic symbionts that form arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) associations intracellularly within the roots of the vast majority of herbaceous plants and tropical trees. This type of symbiosis is termed mutualistic because the fungus and host plant both benefit from this intimate association. The fungal symbiont receives carbohydrates from the plant in exchange for functioning as an extended root system, thereby dramatically improving mineral uptake by the plant roots. Although there are various types of mycorrhizas, involving different fungal and plant symbionts, the arbuscular mycorrhiza type is the most widespread. The phylum Glomeromycota currently comprises approximately 150 described species distributed among ten genera, most of which are defined primarily by spore morphology. Recently, DNA sequences have also been used to circumscribe taxa.
Figure 12: Spores of Scutellospora castanea (isolate BEG1, photo © Annemarie Brennwald). Spore diameter approximately 220 µm.

2.5.1.4 Zygomycota

The Zygomycota contains approximately 1% of the described species of true Fungi (~900 described species; Kirk et al. 2001). The most familiar representatives include the fast-growing molds that we encounter on spoiled strawberries (Figure 1) and other fruits high in sugar content. Although these fungi are common in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, they are rarely noticed by humans because they are of microscopic size. Colonial growth and the taxonomically informative asexual reproductive structures Zygomycota produce are typically studied after culturing on various agar media. Direct microscopic observation of suitable substrates is required for those species that either have not or cannot be cultured. Fewer than half of the species have been cultured and the majority of these are members of the Mucorales, a group that includes some of the fastest growing fungi.
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Figure 13: Moldy strawberries covered with Rhizopus mycelium. Photo K. O'Donnell.

Zygomycota are defined and distinguished from all other fungi by sexual reproduction via zygospores following gametangial fusion (Figure 14A,B) and asexual reproduction by uni-to-multispored sporangia (Figure 15A,B) within which nonmotile, single-celled sporangiospores are produced. The phylum comprises at least seven phylogenetically diverse orders. Monophyly of the phylum and interrelationships among orders are currently under intensive investigation using multilocus DNA sequence data. This introduction to the Zygomycota does not include the order comprising the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, the Glomales, because it has been elevated to the rank of phylum, the Glomeromycota (Schüßler et al. 2001). One other group, the Microsporidia, were previously considered protozoa, however, DNA, biochemistry, and morphology suggest these highly reduced, obligate, intracellular parasites may have evolved from a zygomycete-like ancestor.

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Figure 14: Sexual reproduction. (A) Scanning electron micrograph of gametangial fusion in Mucor mucedo. (B) Highly ornamented zygosporangium of Mycotypha africana. (From O'Donnell 1979).

Figure 15: Asexual reproduction. (A) Scanning electron micrograph of unispored sporangia of Benjaminiella poitrasii and (B) dehisced multispored sporangium of Gilbertella persicaria releasing sporangiospores. (From O'Donnell 1979).
Zygomycota are arguably the most ecologically diverse group of fungi, functioning as saprophytes on substrates such as fruit, soil, and dung (Mucorales), as harmless inhabitants of arthropod guts (Harpellales), as plant mutualists forming ectomycorrhizae (Endogonales), and as pathogens of animals, plants, amoebae, and especially other fungi (all Dimargaritales and some Zoopagales are mycoparasites). A number of species are used in Asian food fermentations, such as Rhizopus oligosporus in the Indonesian staple tempeh, and Actinomucor elegans in Chinese cheese or sufu.
Conversely, some species have a negative economic impact on human affairs by causing storage rots of fruits (particularly strawberries by Rhizopus stolonifer [Figure 13]), as agents of plant disease (e.g., Choanephora cucurbitarum flower rot of curcurbits), while other species can cause life-threatening opportunistic infections of diabetic, immuno-suppressed, and immuno-compromised patients. In addition to some Mucorales that attack immuno-suppressed humans, several species of microsporidia cause serious human infections. Some zygomycetes are regularly isolated by veterinarians from domesticated animals in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including the US gulf states.
2.5.1.5 Blastocladiomycota
The Blastocladiomycota were previously considered a taxonomic clade within the Chytridiomycota. Recent molecular data and ultrastructural characteristics, however, place the Blastocladiomycota as a sister clade to the Zygomycota, Glomeromycota, and Dikarya (Ascomycota and Basiomycota). The blastocladiomycetes are fungi that are saprotrophs and parasites of all eukaryotic groups and undergo sporic meiosis unlike their close relatives, the chytrids, which mostly exhibit zygotic meiosis.
Figure 16: Blastocladiella asperosperma

2.5.1.6 Chytridiomycota
The Phylum Chytridiomycota (chytrids) includes two classes, Chytridiomycetes and Monoblepharidomycetes, each of which is monophyletic based on molecular analyses. Because of their genetic and morphological divergence, two groups of zoosporic fungi once included among chytrids are now classified as separate Phyla, Blastocladiomycota and Neocallimastigomycota. The Chytridiomycetes are currently separated into five orders [Chytridiales , Rhizophydiales , Spizellomycetales, Rhizophlyctidales, and Lobulomycetales] . Molecular phylogenetic analyses have demonstrated that each of these orders is monophyletic, except for the current circumscription of the Chytridiales. Work is progressing on characterization of clades for groups formerly included in the Chytridiales. These groups, which do not cluster with recognized members of the Chytridiales, are listed here as provisional orders. Molecular analyses place two genera assigned to the Spizellomycetales outside of the core chytrid clade. The genus Rozella appears basal to the core chytrids and Olpidium brassicae radiates among zygomycetes. Thus, their classification is uncertain at this time (incertae sedis).

Figure 17: Catenochytridium sp.on Eriocaulon
2.5.1.7 Neocallimastigomycota
The Neocallimastigomycota were earlier placed in the phylum Chytridomycota. Members of this small phylum are anaerobic organisms, living in the digestive system of larger herbivorous mammals and possibly in other terrestrial and aquatic environments. They lack mitochondria but contain hydrogenosomes of mitochondrial origin. As the related chrytrids, neocallimastigomycetes form zoospores that are posteriorly uniflagellate or polyflagellate.

3. Importance of Fungi

3.1 Fungi are agents of biodegradation and biodeterioration

Saprotropic fungi utilise dead organic materials as sources of nutrients and are responsible for the biodegradation of organic materials in our environment, particularly plant materials in the form of leaf litter and other plant debris. Such fungi play a vital role in recycling essential elements, particularly carbon.

Figure 18: Basidocarps of wood roting fungus developing on tree stump (From Fungionline).

Fungi are very effective and efficient biodegraders because of the wide range of extracellular enzymes they produce, which are capable of degrading complex polymers, such as cellulose, proteins and lignins. Unfortunately, their excellent biodegradative abilities mean that many saprotrophic fungi are capable of contaminating our food sources or destroying many consumer goods we manufacture from natural raw organic materials. For example, some saprotrophic fungi are particulalry dangerous contaminants of seeds and grains because they produce metabolites known as Mycotoxins (fungal toxins). When ingested mycotoxins cause toxic or carcinogenic symptoms in humans and other animals. Some Aspergillus species produce a group of chemically related mycotoxins called Aflatoxins. A second example is provided by the 'dry rot' fungus, Serpula lacrymans, which attacks wood and can be a very costly, potentially dangerous and certainly most unwelcome visitor when it attacks timbers used in the construction of buildings (e.g. floor and wall joists or roof timbers).

3.2 Fungi are responsible for the majority of plant diseases and several diseases of animals (including humans)

For example, Phytophthora infestans is the causal agent of late blight disease in potatoes. The disease reached epidemic proportions across Europe in the mid 19th century and resulted in the Irish potato famine.
Figure 19: Potato tubers exhibiting symptoms of late blight disease caused by Phytopthora infestans (from Fungionline).

Some fungi are actively parasitic in humans and other animals, while others induce severe allergic reactions if their spores are inhaled - resulting in attacks of asthma or hay-fever.
Figure 20: Symptoms of Ringworm Infection on wrist (From Fungionline).

3.3 Fungi are used in industrial fermentation processes
Yeasts and mycelial fungi are used in a variety of industrial fermentation processes. For example, Saccharomyces species are used extensively in brewing beers and wines, as well as in bread-making.
3.4 Many fungi provide us with a direct source of food
Some yeasts and mycelial fungi are cultured on a large scale and then undergo further processing to provide various protein-rich food products for human or livestock consumption. For example, Quorn™ mycoprotein is produced commercially from the mycelial fungus Fusarium venanatum. The mycelium is harvested and processed to provide a protein-rich meat substitute in a range of convenience foods.
Some species are cultivated for their edible fruiting bodies, e.g. the basidiocarps of Agaricus bisporus.

3.5 Fungi are used in bioremediation
Some species of yeasts and mycelial fungi are used in processes aimed at reducing the concentrations and toxicities of waste materials, particularly from industrial processes, before those wastes are released into the environment - a process known as bioremediation. For example, Aspergillus niger is used to breakdown tannins in tannery effluents to less toxic compounds.
3.6 Some fungi prove highly beneficial in agriculture, horticulture and forestry
For example, some species form symbiotic relationships with the roots of plants, known as MYCORRHIZAS. Mycorrhizas significantly improve plant growth and vigour, resulting in increased yields in crop plants. Other fungal species are used in the biological control of insect and nematode pests, weeds and pathogenic microorganisms. For example, the fungus Beauvaria bassiana is used to control a number of insect pests.

4. Fusarium Species
Fusarium species have been important for many years as plant pathogens causing diseases such as crown rot, head blight, and scab on cereal grains; vascular wilts on a wide range of horticultural crops; root rots; cankers; and other diseases such as pokkah-boeng on sugarcane and bakanae disease of rice. In the last 20 years, Fusarium species have been studied extensively because the mycotoxins they produce can be a threat to animal and human health. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi that are associated with a variety of animal diseases and some human health problems. More recently, Fusarium species have become important as pathogens of human patients with compromised immune systems. Fusarium species are widely distributed in soil and on subterranean and aerial plant parts, plant debris, and other organic substrates. They are common in tropical and temperate regions and are also found in desert, alpine, and arctic areas, where harsh climatic conditions prevail. Many Fusarium species are abundant in fertile cultivated and rangeland soils but are relatively uncommon in forest soils. Fusarium species are often regarded as soilborne fungi because of their abundance in soil and their frequent association with plant roots, as either parasites or saprophytes. However, many have active or passive means of dispersal in the atmosphere and are common colonizers of aerial plant parts, where they may result in diseases of considerable economic importance. Some of these airborne Fusarium species are encountered rarely in isolations of cultures from soil or roots. The widespread distribution of Fusarium species may be attributed to the ability of these fungi to grow on a wide range of substrates and their efficient mechanisms for dispersal.
4.1 TAXONOMY
Many species, populations within species, and unidentified populations in the genus Fusarium exhibit a remarkable degree of variation with respect to morphological, cultural, and physiological characteristics. This capacity for variation may explain, in part, the ability of Fusarium species to colonize diverse ecological niches in most geographic areas of the world. However, variation has led to considerable difficulties in the development of a stable and widely accepted taxonomic system for the genus. The proliferation in the number of species described prior to 1900 can be attributed in part to variability in many Fusarium populations as well as to inadequate criteria for delimiting taxa. During the last decade, mycologists and plant pathologists have reached a reasonable degree of consensus on the taxonomy of Fusarium species. The basic approach proposed and illustrated by Nelson et al and Burgess et al has been accepted by many workers and is based largely on Die Fusarien . Since 1982, several new species have been recognized and some species have been emended or transferred to another genus [e.g., F. stoveri Booth to Michrodochium stoveri (Booth) Samuels and Hallett]. It is not surprising that additional populations of Fusarium species distinctive enough to be recognized as new taxa have been identified, as it is only in the last 20 years that intensive and extensive surveys of Fusarium populations associated with various crops and soils in the hot semiarid and subtropical regions of the world have been completed (34, 35, 120). Prior to the completion of these surveys, Fusarium taxonomy had been based mainly on material collected in cool temperate regions, although Reinking and Wollenweber, Wollenweber and Reinking, Gordon and Booth did have access to cultures collected from some tropical regions. It is likely that other populations will be differentiated as further systematic surveys of Fusarium species are completed in arid and tropical regions, where information on the nature and distribution of Fusarium populations is limited. The genus Fusarium is divided into sections. A section is used for genera with a large number of species to group species with similar morphological characteristics. In some sections in Fusarium such as Elegans and Spicarioides, there is only one species per section. In other sections, such as Gibbosum and Discolor, there may be five to ten species per section.
4.2 General Characteristics of Fusarium Species
Fusarium species may produce three types of spores called macroconidia, microconidia, and chlamydospores (SubFig. 2 to 13 in Figure 21). Some species produce all three types of spores, while other species do not. The macroconidia are produced in a specialized structure called a sporodochium in which the spore mass is supported by a superficial cushionlike mass of short monophialides bearing the macroconidia (85). The sporodochium sometimes may be encased in slime. Macroconidia may also be produced on monophialides and polyphialides in the aerial mycelium (SubFig. 14 to 20 in Figure 22). A monophialide is a condiophore with only one opening or pore through which endoconidia are extruded, while a polyphialide has two or more such openings or pores. Some conidia are intermediate in size and shape, and these have been referred to as both macroconidia (154) and mesoconidia (168). These intermediate conidia are found primarily in F. semitectum Berk. & Rav., F. avenaceum, and F. subglutinans (Wollenw. & Reinking) Nelson, Toussoun & Marasas. Until more cultures of each species are studied thoroughly, the use of the term mesoconidia is questionable. Microconidia are produced in the aerial mycelium but not in sporodochia. They may be produced in false heads only or in false heads and chains (Fig. 21) on either monophialides or polyphialides. False heads occur when a drop of moisture forms on the tip of the conidiophore and contains the endoconidia as they are produced. Microconidia are of various shapes and sizes (Fig. 22), and those produced in chains have a truncate base (Fig. 22). The third type of spore formed by Fusarium species is a chlamydospore, which is a thick-walled spore filled with lipid like material that serves to carry the fungus over winter in soil when a suitable host is not available. The chlamydospores may be borne singly, in pairs, in clumps, or in chains, and the outer wall may be smooth or rough (Fig. 10 to 12).
Figure 21:SUBFIG. 2-7. Macroconidia of several Fusarium species: 2, F. culmorum; 3, F. solani; 4, F. equiseti; 5, F graminearum; 6, F longipes; 7, F. avenaceumn. Magnification (each), X950.SUBFIG. 8, 9, 13. Microconidia of several Fusarium species: 8, F. scirpi (magnification, x 1,000); 9, F moniliforme (magnification, x 1,000); 13, F solani (magnification, x950). SUBFIG. 10-12. Chlamydospores of several Fusarium species: 10, F. oxysporum; 11, F. equiseti (magnification, x 1,000); 12, F. solani (magnification, x950).()
Figure 22:SUBFIG. 14-17. Monophialides of several Fusarium species: 14, F. poae; 15, F. solani; 16, F. moniliforme; 17, F. oxysporum. Magnification (each), (x970). SUBFIG. 18-20. Polyphialides of several Fusarium species: 18, F. subglutinans; 19, F. scirpi; 20, F. proliferatum. Magnification (each), (X970). SUBFIG. 21. Microconidia of F. moniliforme formed in long chains. Magnification, X109.
4.3 Primary Characters Used To Separate Species in Fusarium Taxonomy
Morphology of the macroconidia. The morphology of the macroconidia is the key characteristic for characterization not only of the species but also of the genus Fusarium. Macroconidia of Fusarium species are of various shapes and sizes (SubFig. 2 to 7), but the shape of the macroconidia formed in sporodochia for a given species is a relatively consistent and stable feature when the fungus is grown on natural substrates under standard conditions (33, 154, 252). Dimensions of the macroconidia may show considerable variation within individual species and should be used cautiously as taxonomic criteria. Microconidia. The presence or absence of microconidia is a primary character in Fusarium taxonomy. If microconidia are present, the features considered are the shape (Fig. 23) and the mode of formation, whether it be singly, in false heads only, or in false heads and chains (SubfigFig. 21). The mode of formation of microconidia is best observed in situ on a natural substrate agar medium such as carnation leaf agar (54). Microconidiophores. The morphology of the conidiophores bearing the microconidia is a primary taxonomic character. These conidiophores may be either monophialides only (SubFig. 14 to 17) or both monophialides and polyphialides (SubFig. 18 to 20) in a given species producing microconidia. Chlamydospores. The presence or absence of chlamydospores is a primary character in Fusanium taxonomy. If chlamydospores are present, they may be formed singly, in pairs, in clumps, or in chains, with either rough or smooth walls.
Figure 23: Shapes of microconidia of various Fusanum species: a, fusiform; b, oval; c, obovoid; d, obovoid with a truncate base indicating that the microconidia were formed in a chain; e, allantoid; f, napiform; g, pyriform; h, turbinate.

4.4 Secondary Characters Useful in Separating Species in Fusarium Taxonomy
The following secondary characteristics are useful in describing a species when the cultures are grown under standard environmental conditions of light, temperature, and substrate (33, 154) but should not be regarded as suitable criteria for differentiation of a species: the morphology and pigmentation of the colony, including the presence or absence of sporodochia, sclerotia, or stroma. The pigmentation of colonies grown on carbohydrate-rich media is variable in some species. The pigmentation of the colony may be helpful to someone with experience in Fusanium taxonomy but quickly can lead those without prior experience in this area astray. The linear growth rate of the fungus under controlled conditions was used as a taxonomic characteristic by Booth (28) and others (33) but must also be used with caution. Isolates within a species may vary considerably with respect to the secondary characters. The degree of variation shown by a particular secondary character may differ between species. Although the shape of the macroconidia formed in sporodochia on carnation leaf agar is a reliable character, the length and width of the macroconidia are less stable features and should be regarded as secondary characters. The macroconidia of a wide range of isolates of F. culmorum (W. G. Smith) Sacc. are relatively uniform in length, whereas the length of macroconidia of F. equiseti (Corda) Sacc. varies widely between isolates, even among those from the same geographic location.

Refrences
http://www.doctorfungus.org/
http://www.mycolog.com/CHAP1.htm
http://www.tolweb.org/Fungi
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/studies/invertebrates/kingdoms.html
http://www.fungionline.org.uk/1intro/4classification.html
http://www.mycolog.com/CHAP3a.htm

Recommended Universities For USA

2007-12-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

Recommended Universities:They don't represent rankings. But Recommended programs by graduates hotline.
# Princeton University
# Stanford University
# University of Southern California
# Cornell University# University of Colorado
# Oregon State University (VLSI-excellent)
# Purdue University
# University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
# University of Massachusetts at Amherst
# Rice University# University of Michigan
# University of Wisconsin-Madison
# University of Minnesota# Harvard
# University of California-Berkeley
# University of Rhode Island
# Johns Hopkins University
# University of Notre Dame
# Carnegie Mellon University
# Yale University
# University of California-San Diego
# California Institute Technology
# University of California-Irvine
# Northwestern University
# Virginia Polytechnic Inst & State University
# University of Wisconsin-Madison
# University of Virginia# University of Iowa# University of Washington
# Vanderbilt University
# Case Western Reserve University
# Ohio State University# University of Texas at Austin# Washington University
# North Carolina State University
# University of Rochester
# University of Pennsylvania
# Massachusetts Inst of Technology
# University of California-Santa Barbara# University of Minnesota
# Drexel University
# Texas A&M University
# Brown University
# Arizona State University
# University of Maryland College Park
# Colorado State University
# Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst# Pennsylvania State University
# University of Florida# Michigan State University
# Clarkson University
# University of Arizona# University of Utah
# University of California-Los Angeles
# University of Cincinnati# Duke University
# Lehigh University
# Georgia Institute of Technology
# Columbia University
# Louisiana State U & A&M College
# Northeastern University
# University of California-Davis
# Boston University
# Worcester Polytechnic Inst
# Clemson University
# Rutgers State University-New Brunswick
# University of Illinois at Chicago# Iowa State University
# Washington State University# University of Houston
# University of Missouri-Columbia# University of Delaware
# University of Tennessee-Knoxville# University of Pittsburgh
# George Washington University# New Jersey Inst of Technology
# Stevens Inst of Technology# Texas Tech University
# University of Missouri-Rolla
# University of Mass-Lowell# Syracuse University
# Illinois Institute of Technology
# San Jose State University (EE/CS)
# SDSU (EE/CS)
# Utah State (EE/Civil)
# Portland State (EE)
# Wayne State University
# George Mason (EE/CS)
# University of Kansas
# Kansas State University
# University of Dayton
# University of Toledo
# University of California Santa Cruz
# University of North Carolina Chapel Hill# Oregon Graduate Institute Science & Tech
# University of Kentucky
# University of Alabama Huntsville
# West Virginia University
# State U of New York-Stony Brook
# Auburn University
# University of Arkansas-Fayetteville (Mech)
# State University of New York-Buffalo
# Colorado State University
# University of Connecticut
# University of Alabama-Birmingham (Biomedical)
# University of Akron (Biomedical)
# University of Oklahoma
# University of Texas Arlington
# University of Texas Dallas
# Brigham Young University
# RIT (CS)
# Harvey Mudd College
# Seattle University (CS)
# Cal Poly?San Luis Obispo# Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.
# Temple University(CS)
# University of Maryland Baltimore County
# University of Mass Lowell

Nokia 8800 Arte/ Arte Sapphire

2007-12-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

When is a Nokia 8800 not a Nokia 8800? When it's a Nokia 8800 Arte. This is much more than a slightly warmed over version of the Nokia 8800 Sirocco - it's a completely new handset, effectively the Mark III version of the original Nokia 8800, with quite a lot of features taken from the 8600 Luna. And it's certainly not as hideous as the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold Edition.

There are two variants of the Nokia 8800 Arte, the standard one and the Sapphire Arte which features a gemstone navigation key and a soft leather finish. We kid you not.

Ignoring the rather bonkers Sapphire edition, the Nokia 8800 Arte is a much improved device over its predecessor. This is a 3G phone with a 2 inch 240 x 320 (QVGA) pixel OLED display, a 3.2 megapixel camera and 1GB of internal memory. Add in Bluetooth and a multimedia player, and the 8800 Arte is pretty much on-the-button for a contemporary 3G phone.

Here's the catch - the Nokia 8800 Arte costs a whopping €1000 (£700) and if you want the Sapphire edition then that will set you back €1150 (£815) before tax and subsidy. For those basic specs, you can get a 3G phone an awful lot cheaper - so what is it that sets the 8800 Arte apart from a run-of-the-mill handset?

The answer is, the 8800 Arte follows in the tradition of other 8000 series Nokias by paying very close attention to detail and the quality of construction. The 8800 Arte is constructed from steel and glass, at a time when most phones are made primarily of plastic. The non-stick surface on this new 8800 is a feature that many owners of "glossy" phones will see the need for, and there's a smooth sliding mechanism designed to give the 8800 Arte an air of quality.

It's more than just the build quality, Nokia have gone to some effort to create a whole "8800 Arte" experience. The musical themes for this handset have been created by Kruder & Dorfmeister (check out the soundtrack on the 8800 Arte's launch page), it comes with something called "living wallpapers" and a nice touch is that if you flip over the phone when ringing, it goes mute. There's a desk-stand included in the sales package too, along with a Bluetooth headset as standard.

Although the inclusion of 3G, QVGA and an improved camera are certainly improvements, there are still a few shortcomings with the Nokia 8800 Arte. For starters, this is not a smartphone - the 8800 Arte runs the standard S40 operating system found in Nokia's "dumb" phones. There's no WiFi, the camera lacks a flash and there's no expandable memory either. Video capture is a lowly 177 x 144 pixels, and the 8800 Arte also lacks GPS.. and even though SatNav is a bit of a luxury, the 8800 Arte is a luxury phone. It's only a tri-band GSM phone, so the the 8800 Arte isn't really suitable for the US market,

So, it's quite a lot of money and not as feature packed as the N95 8GB or E90, but the Nokia 8800 Arte is certainly a very desirable phone. Nokia say that the Arte should be available during Q4 2007, and the Arte Sapphire is anticipated for Q1 2008.

Nokia 8800 Arte/ Arte Sapphire at a glance
Available: Q4 2007 - Q1 2008
Network:GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900UMTS 2100
Data:GPRS + EDGE + UMTS (3G)
Screen:240x320 pixels, 16m colours
Camera:3.2 megapixels
Size:Large slider109 x 46 x 15mm / 150 grams
Bluetooth:Yes
Memory card:No
Infra-red:No
Polyphonic:No
Java:Yes
Battery life:3 hours talk / 12 days standby

Nokia N82

2007-12-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

How do you follow up a success like the Nokia N95? Well, one way to do it is to follow the path of the Nokia N95 8GB and give it more memory and a larger screen. If you wanted to go further, then you'd probably dream up something even more superlative than the N95 and call it the Nokia N96. So, the Nokia N82 is a surprise, because it's not really what we would imagine a successor to the N95 to be like.

The very first thing that strikes you about the Nokia N82 is just how ordinary it looks. Where the N95 was frankly a bit mad with its two-way slider, the N82 is a straightforward monoblock design with an uncluttered keypad and large QVGA display.

Pretty much everything from the original N95 has been directly ported over to the N82. There's a five megapixel camera with Xenon flash, autofocus and a Carl Zeiss lens, 3G support with HSDPA, WiFi, microSD expandable memory (with 2GB in the sales package), A-GPS (Assisted GPS), a video calling camera, FM radio and stereo Bluetooth.

This is a Symbian S60 smartphone, so it comes with a web browser, email client, document viewer, advanced multimedia player and the N82 also has a set of personal information management (PIM) applications. Nokia Maps is preinstalled for basic GPS use, although expect to pay a fee for more advanced mapping functions. Video capture is an impressive 640x480 pixels at 30 frames per second.

Because this is based on the N95, you can expect everything to work well (yes, some of the early N95s were buggy, but owners can easily update their phone's firmware now). The camera quality should be excellent, and that's mostly down to good optics rather than raw megapixels.

One nice new feature is an iPhone-style sensor that changes the screen orientation when the phone is rotated.

There are a couple of drawbacks. The uncluttered look of the Nokia N82 means that there are no dedicated multimedia keys, and the display is smaller at 2.4" in size, compared to 2.6" on the N95 (and 2.8" on the N95 8GB). We anticipate that the newer Nokia N95 8GB will continue to be sold alongside the N82 as the N95 8GB is somewhat more highly specified.

The model name is a bit of a giveaway - Nokia are positioning the N82 in a slightly lower product range along with the new N81. This leaves the N95 8GB and Nokia E90 as the flagship devices in Nokia's lineup.

Perhaps the Nokia N82 is a little disappointing in some respects. If you already own a Nokia N95 then there's no real reason to change your handset. However, if you're in the market for a quality 3G phone with a first rate camera, then the Nokia N82 is going to be very hard to beat.

Nokia say that the N82 is available now from selected retailers at an unsubsidised cost of around €450 (or approximately £300).

Nokia N82 at a glance
Available: Q4 2007
Network:GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 UMTS 2100
Data:GPRS + EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA + WiFi
Screen:240x320 pixels, 16m colours
Camera:5 megapixels
Size:Medium monoblock112 x 50 x 17mm / 114 grams
Bluetooth:Yes
Memory card:microSD
Infra-red:No
Polyphonic:Yes
Java:Yes
Battery life:3 hours talk / 8 days standby (3G)4 hours talk / 9 days standby (2G)

JCB TOUGHPHONE

2007-12-08T07:24:00.000-08:00

This unusual looking handset is the JCB TOUGHPHONE (yes, it really is spelled all in capitals). There are no prizes for guessing what the TOUGHPHONE's main sales proposition is - but in case you haven't guessed it, the clue is in the TOUGHPHONE's name.

The TOUGHPHONE is rated to at least IP52 specifications* which doesn't mean much to us, but it does mean that the handset is very resistant to dust, shock, moisture and impact. The handset should survive being dropped onto a concrete floor while in use, and it can also cope with temperatures ranging from -20 degrees to +40 degrees celsius to. It's pretty clear that the TOUGHPHONE actually is a tough as it looks.

The distributors of the JCB TOUGHPHONE are pitching the handset at trades such as construction, farming, transport and any other application where robustness is useful. It should also survive most outdoor leisure pursuits, or possibly even a trip down to the pub.

There's a glare and scratch resistant screen, and the TOUGHPHONE also has a very loud Dual Speaker phone for use in noisy environments, it has a WAP browser and Bluetooth. The standard sales package also includes a USB cable and belt clip. It's a pretty large handset at 113 x 50 x 22mm, mostly down to the chunky design. The TOUGHPHONE isn't all work and no play though - there are some fun JCB style graphics and an exclusive ringtone that sounds like a JCB digger starting up (although this is possibly less useful if you happen to work with diggers!)

One of the TOUGHPHONE's other strong points is its Push-To-Talk support (PTT or PoC). If you have a tariff that supports it, the TOUGHPHONE can be used as walkie-talkie and it can be integrated with other PTT/PoC solutions.

The JCB TOUGHPHONE is actually manufactured by Sonim Technologies as the Sonim XP1. Sonim aren't some nameless third-tier manufacturer, they are actually specialists in enterprise and industrial communications systems.
On the negative side, the screen is only 128 x 160 pixels in resolution, and the TOUGHPHONE lacks a camera or multimedia capabilities. What you do get though is an extremely rugged and durable handset, backed by a no quibble three year guarantee.

The JCB TOUGHPHONE will be availabe from Phones4U during November (where it is free on a contract of £25/month or more), and also Speedy Hire and Plumb Center stores with other retailers following from February 2008 onwards. We also understand that Vodafone themselves will be carrying their own variant of the Sonim XP1 during 2008. The Sonim XP1 is also currently available SIM free for around £200 / €300.

JCB TOUGHPHONE at a glance
Available: Q4 2007
Network: GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Data: GPRS
Screen: 128x160 pixels, 65k colours
Camera: No
Size: Large monoblock113 x 50 x 22mm / 130 grams approx
Bluetooth: Yes
Memory card: No
Infra-red: No
Polyphonic: Yes
Java: No
Battery life: 4 hours talk / 8 days standby

Sagem my150X

2007-12-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

A slightly more upmarket version of the Sagem my150X, the Sagem my220X is a very lightweight and incredibly inexpensive phone that looks like it costs a lot more than it actually does.

Let's not beat about the bush - this is a really cheap phone, coming in at less than £15 (€25) for a prepay handset. What you get for your money is a very elegant device that's just 10mm thick and weighs only 65 grams, with easy-to-use menus, a speakerphone, built-in polyphonic ringtones and a colour screen.

The screen is a simple 128 x 128 pixel CSTN panel in 65,000 colours. As with the my150X, the Sagem my220X has funky backlights on the keypad too. The standard colour is chrome/black, but Sagem also have a gold version (as pictured) which should be available in the shops.

Talktime is a reasonable 3 hours with up to 10 days standby time. Yes, there are phones will greater battery life, but then at 65 grams this is certainly one of the lightest devices around, partly down to the slimline power cell.

We like the my150X a lot - and the Sagem my220X is basically the same handset with a conventional colour screen. It certainly looks like an expensive phone and the sleek design will attract some admiring glances.. and it's a handset that could definitely make a good Christmas gift.

Sagem my220X at a glance
Available: Q4 2007Network:GSM 900 /1800
Data:No
Screen:128x128 pixels, 65k colours
Camera:No
Size:Slim monoblock107 x 47 x 10 / 65 grams
Bluetooth:No
Memory card:No
Infra-red:No
Polyphonic:Yes
Java:No
Battery life:3 hours talk / 10 days standby

Nokia 3110 Evolve

2007-12-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

If you're the sort of person who thinks that not using a plastic bag for your shopping is actually some meaningful way to save the planet, then the Nokia 3110 Evolve is for you.

Based on an unremarkable and fairly inexpensive handset launched earlier this year, the 3110 Evolve is a basic tri-band GSM phone with a 128 x 160 pixel display, 1.3 megapixel camera, FM stereo radio, microSD expandable memory and an MP3 player, plus Bluetooth and USB connectivity.

It's a pretty lightweight handset at 87 grams, but you can tell by the specification that the screen is the 3110 Evolve's biggest weakness.

So what makes this different from a standard 3110? Well, Nokia say that there is "bio-sourced material on the covers", and they also say that the cover material is 50% renewable - so we guess that it uses some sort of plant-based hydrocarbon compound rather than plastic from fossil fuels. The Nokia 3110 Evolve comes in a much smaller sales package consisting of 60% recycled content, and there's a new more efficient phone charger. Nokia say that the charger uses "94% less energy than the Energy Star requirements" but does not give any figures comparing it to a standard unit.

In other words, the Nokia 3110 Evolve uses less plastic, is more efficient to transport and uses less power than a standard 3110. These are all good things, but add them together and they are hardly going to counteract all the billions of tons of carbon dioxide that humans are pumping into the atmosphere. Sure, getting a slightly greener phone (and using less plastic bags) is a good thing - but real change will require much harder lifestyle choices than this. And surely this sort of approach from manufacturers is the very least we should expect.

We think that there is a fatal flaw in Nokia's thinking - the Nokia 3110 Evolve is not the sort of phone that you'll want to hang onto for a few years. The limitations of the low-resolution screen will probably drive many people to replace it quite early. Our advice is this - buy a better phone, and keep it for longer. Then when you've finished with it, recycle it and raise some money for a worthwhile charity. Oh, and unplugging your phone charger when not in use is a good thing too.

The Nokia 3110 Evolve should be available during Q1 2008. No pricing was available at the time of going to press.

Nokia 3110 Evolve at a glance
Available: Q1 2008
Network:GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Data:GPRS + EDGE
Screen:128x160 pixels, 262k colours
Camera:1.3 megapixels
Size:Lightweight monoblock 109 x 46 x 16mm / 87 grams
Bluetooth:Yes
Memory card:microSD
Infra-red:Yes
Polyphonic:Yes
Java:Yes
Battery life:3.5 hours talk / 16 days standby