Varun Goswami

Indian History - Important events

2023-07-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

History of India . An overview : The people of India have had a continuous civilization since 2500 B.C., when the inhabitants of the Indus River valley developed an urban culture based on commerce and sustained by agricultural trade. This civilization declined around 1500 B.C., probably due to ecological changes.

During the second millennium B.C., pastoral, Aryan-speaking tribes migrated from the northwest into the subcontinent. As they settled in the middle Ganges River valley, they adapted to antecedent cultures.

The political map of ancient and medieval India was made up of myriad kingdoms with fluctuating boundaries. In the 4th and 5th centuries A.D., northern India was unified under the Gupta Dynasty. During this period, known as India's Golden Age, Hindu culture and political administration reached new heights.

Islam spread across the Indian subcontinent over a period of 500 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established sultanates in Delhi. In the early 16th century, descendants of Genghis Khan swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal (Mogul) Dynasty, which lasted for 200 years. From the 11th to the 15th centuries, southern India was dominated by Hindu Chola and Vijayanagar Dynasties. During this time, the two systems--the prevailing Hindu and Muslim--mingled, leaving lasting cultural influences on each other.

The first British outpost in South Asia was established in 1619 at Surat on the northwestern coast. Later in the century, the East India Company opened permanent trading stations at Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta, each under the protection of native rulers.

The British expanded their influence from these footholds until, by the 1850s, they controlled most of present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In 1857, a rebellion in north India led by mutinous Indian soldiers caused the British Parliament to transfer all political power from the East India Company to the Crown. Great Britain began administering most of India directly while controlling the rest through treaties with local rulers.

In the late 1800s, the first steps were taken toward self-government in British India with the appointment of Indian councilors to advise the British viceroy and the establishment of provincial councils with Indian members; the British subsequently widened participation in legislative councils. Beginning in 1920, Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi transformed the Indian National Congress political party into a mass movement to campaign against British colonial rule. The party used both parliamentary and nonviolent resistance and non-cooperation to achieve independence.

On August 15, 1947, India became a dominion within the Commonwealth, with Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister. Enmity between Hindus and Muslims led the British to partition British India, creating East and West Pakistan, where there were Muslim majorities. India became a republic within the Commonwealth after promulgating its constitution on January 26, 1950.

After independence, the Congress Party, the party of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, ruled India under the influence first of Nehru and then his daughter and grandson, with the exception of two brief periods in the 1970s and 1980s.

Prime Minister Nehru governed India until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri, who also died in office. In 1966, power passed to Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977. In 1975, beset with deepening political and economic problems, Mrs. Gandhi declared a state of emergency and suspended many civil liberties. Seeking a mandate at the polls for her policies, she called for elections in 1977, only to be defeated by Moraji Desai, who headed the Janata Party, an amalgam of five opposition parties.

In 1979, Desai's Government crumbled. Charan Singh formed an interim government, which was followed by Mrs. Gandhi's return to power in January 1980. On October 31, 1984, Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated, and her son, Rajiv, was chosen by the Congress (I)--for "Indira"--Party to take her place. His government was brought down in 1989 by allegations of corruption and was followed by V.P. Singh and then Chandra Shekhar.

In the 1989 elections, although Rajiv Gandhi and Congress won more seats in the 1989 elections than any other single party, he was unable to form a government with a clear majority. The Janata Dal, a union of opposition parties, was able to form a government with the help of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the right and the communists on the left. This loose coalition collapsed in November 1990, and the government was controlled for a short period by a breakaway Janata Dal group supported by Congress (I), with Chandra Shekhar as Prime Minister. That alliance also collapsed, resulting in national elections in June 1991.

On May 27, 1991, while campaigning in Tamil Nadu on behalf of Congress (I), Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, apparently by Tamil extremists from Sri Lanka. In the elections, Congress (I) won 213 parliamentary seats and put together a coalition, returning to power under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao. This Congress-led government, which served a full 5-year term, initiated a gradual process of economic liberalization and reform, which has opened the Indian economy to global trade and investment. India's domestic politics also took new shape, as traditional alignments by caste, creed, and ethnicity gave way to a plethora of small, regionally based political parties.

The final months of the Rao-led government in the spring of 1996 were marred by several major political corruption scandals, which contributed to the worst electoral performance by the Congress Party in its history. The Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged from the May 1996 national elections as the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha but without enough strength to prove a majority on the floor of that Parliament. Under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP coalition lasted in power 13 days. With all political parties wishing to avoid another round of elections, a 14-party coalition led by the Janata Dal emerged to form a government known as the United Front, under the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, H.D. Deve Gowda. His government lasted less than a year, as the leader of the Congress Party withdrew his support in March 1997. Inder Kumar Gujral replaced Deve Gowda as the consensus choice for Prime Minister of a 16-party United Front coalition.

In November 1997, the Congress Party in India again withdrew support for the United Front. New elections in February 1998 brought the BJP the largest number of seats in Parliament--182--but fell far short of a majority. On March 20, 1998, the President inaugurated a BJP-led coalition government with Vajpayee again serving as Prime Minister. On May 11 and 13, 1998, this government conducted a series of underground nuclear tests forcing U.S. President Clinton to impose economic sanctions on India pursuant to the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act.

In April 1999, the BJP-led coalition government fell apart, leading to fresh elections in September. The National Democratic Alliance-a new coalition led by the BJP-gained a majority to form the government with Vajpayee as Prime Minister in October 1999.

Port Forwarding of Nokia Siemens Residential Router 1600 Bsnl

2023-07-21T13:28:00.003-07:00

I have found many people searching around for a tutorial for Nokia Siemens Residential wlan router –1600 ( i. e. Sl2- 141 type B ) port forwarding. I also had some problem in past time that’s why i think to write down a tutorial. So here it is step by step tutorial for port forwarding.
What I am using:
Nokia Siemens Residential Wlan Router-1600 ( or SL2-141 Type -B)
OS => Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit
Browser => Firefox 3.5
Utorrent 1.8.5
Step 1:-
First of all Connect your modem to your lan card and open your browser. In address bar enterhttp://192.168.1.1/main.html like the picture below.

It is important to use exact url as in picture. It will ask you to enter your password and username like picture below

Default User Name and Password is ‘ admin ’ enter it and click on ok Button.
Step 2:-
After clicking on ok button you will be welcomed by your router configuration advanced menu like Below

Now click on Advance Setup and you will have screen something like below

Step 3:-
Now click on NAT and after that DMZ HOST now you have screen like below

Now enter Desired IP Address in DMZ Host IP Address ( Enter IP Address only of your computer on which you want port forwarding . You can check it in your tcp/IP Setting) and click onSave/Apply button. Wait for 1or 2 minute and Switch off and switch on your Router.
If every thing gone fine you will see a green light ( Please wait at least 2 min )of joy in your torrent client.

If you want to confirm in another way go to option menu and select speed guide or click on green light.

click on Test if port is forwarded properly you will get something like this in your browser window

It is end of mine tutorial hope you visitors like it please comment whatever you think.
If you want to contact me or want to suggest any new tutorial for me to write down, please gotoTuffclassified.com.com

5 Shows You Must See On The Discovery Channel

2023-07-21T13:28:00.002-07:00

By Sheila Dollarsby

Are you tired of all the trash on television? If so, then why not switch to the Discovery Channel America's #1 television station for quality informative information. Since its inception the Discovery Channel's programming, has been widely imitated but never duplicated. It seems that when you are successful, everyone wants to model your success.

This season's most watched new show is The Colony. Similar to what you may have seen in the CBS show LOST, this particular television program focuses on the aftermath of an outbreak of a deadly virus where only ten people of various races and religions survive. After surviving, they hunker down in a large warehouse where they find all the basics of life including a limited supply of food items.

The really neat thing about the show is that it is very realistic. The characters are forced to handle real world scenarios like the time when they were attacked by a band of thugs who were intently focused on gaining access to the warehouse to steal their supplies. If you are not careful, like a black hole in space, you'll quickly be sucked in to this intriguing show. The show is incredibly informative because you could learn a lot by simply watching the cast make clean water generate electricity and fight for their lives.

If you are someone who can't get enough of unscripted reality television, then you will love Storm Chasers. With what begin in 2007 as a unique look deep inside some of the deadliest storms on earth, has now turned into a cult phenomenon. Watch as these brave but sometimes foolish scientists head directly into the eye of hurricanes or drive right into the path of a raging tornado. There is no room for the weak willed on this journey. You'll travel with them in their armored vehicles as they tempt fate and death at every turn.

Are you an Leonardo DaVinci lover? If so then you will absolutely have to see the next episode of Doing DaVinci. This show is really fun because many so called experts of today's art and architectural world attempt to remake many of his inventions. The best part is that there is no modern technology available for their use. That's right; participants are forced to utilize only materials and tools that would have been available during DaVinci's time. If you have been watching, you've witnessed the building of some phenomenal items like chariots, tanks and ladders.

If you are into horror flicks then you'll absolutely flip out when you see the new hit Verminators. As a featured show on the Discovery Channel, Verminators takes you deep into the underground world of pest control. Watch as experienced exterminators tackle some of the most interesting and bizarre bugs and animals. Don't be surprised if you see bats, mice, snakes and countless other vermin.

For those of you who are fans of Planet Earth, get ready to dig your teeth into another Discovery Channel masterpiece, Nature's Most Amazing Events. If you are ready to witness the most amazing natural and animal events that you've never seen then hold on to your hats. Never before will you be so close to the action. Watch as Humpback Whales migrate through the islands of Hawaii. Then sit stunned as you see the great salmon run or the overflowing of the Okavango Delta in Africa.

About the Author:

Sheila Dollarsby loves watching the Discovery Channel, but she also like shopping at the Discovery Channel Store. Not only can she purchase the dvds of her favorite shows from the Discovery Channel Store, but she can also find really cool gifts for her kids and other family members.

Origin of the Earth's core and first atmosphere

2023-07-21T13:28:00.001-07:00

Origin of the Earth's core and first atmosphere
See also: Planetary differentiation

The Proto-Earth grew by accretion, until the inner part of the protoplanet was hot enough to melt the heavy, siderophile metals. Such liquid metals, with now higher densities, began to sink to the Earth's center of mass. This so called iron catastrophe resulted in the separation of a primitive mantle and a (metallic) core only 10 million years after the Earth began to form, producing the layered structure of Earth and setting up the formation of Earth's magnetic field.

During the accretion of material to the protoplanet, a cloud of gaseous silica must have surrounded the Earth, to condense afterwards as solid rocks on the surface. What was left surrounding the planet was an early atmosphere of light (atmophile) elements from the solar nebula, mostly hydrogen and helium, but the solar wind and Earth's heat would have driven off this atmosphere.

This changed when Earth accreted to about 40% its present radius, and gravitational attraction retained an atmosphere which included water.
[edit]
The giant impact hypothesis
Main articles: Origin and evolution of the Moon and Giant impact hypothesis

The Earth's relatively large natural satellite, the Moon, is unique.[nb 2] During the Apollo program, rocks from the Moon's surface were brought to Earth. Radiometric dating of these rocks has shown the Moon to be 4527 ± 10 million years old,[17] about 30 to 55 million years younger than other bodies in the solar system.[18] (New evidence suggests the Moon formed even later, 4.48±0.02 Ga, or 70–110 Ma after the start of the Solar System.[5]) Another notable feature is the relatively low density of the Moon, which must mean it does not have a large metallic core, like all other terrestrial bodies in the solar system. The Moon has a bulk composition closely resembling the Earth's mantle and crust together, without the Earth's core. This has led to the giant impact hypothesis, the idea that the Moon was formed during a giant impact of the proto-Earth with another protoplanet by accretion of the material blown off the mantles of the proto-Earth and impactor.[19][8]

The impactor, sometimes named Theia, is thought to have been a little smaller than the current planet Mars. It could have formed by accretion of matter about 150 million kilometres from the Sun and Earth, at their fourth or fifth Lagrangian point. Its orbit may have been stable at first, but destabilized as Theia's mass increased due to the accretion of matter. Theia oscillated in larger and larger orbits around the Lagrangian point until it finally collided with Earth about 4.533 Ga.[7][nb 1] Models reveal that when an impactor this size struck the proto-Earth at a low angle and relatively low speed (8–20 km/sec), much material from the mantles and crusts of the proto-Earth and the impactor was ejected into space, where much of it stayed in orbit around the Earth. This material would eventually form the Moon. However, the metallic cores of the impactor would have sunk through the Earth's mantle to fuse with the Earth's core, depleting the Moon of metallic material.[20] The giant impact hypothesis thus explains the Moon's abnormal composition.[21] The ejecta in orbit around the Earth could have condensed into a single body within a couple of weeks. Under the influence of its own gravity, the ejected material became a more spherical body: the Moon.[22]

The radiometric ages show the Earth existed already for at least 10 million years before the impact, enough time to allow for differentiation of the Earth's primitive mantle and core. Then, when the impact occurred, only material from the mantle was ejected, leaving the Earth's core of heavy siderophile elements untouched.

The impact had some important consequences for the young Earth. It released an enormous amount of energy, causing both the Earth and Moon to be completely molten. Immediately after the impact, the Earth's mantle was vigorously convecting, the surface was a large magma ocean. The planet's first atmosphere must have been completely blown away by the impact.[23] The impact is also thought to have changed Earth’s axis to produce the large 23.5° axial tilt that is responsible for Earth’s seasons (a simple, ideal model of the planets’ origins would have axial tilts of 0° with no recognizable seasons). It may also have sped up Earth’s rotation.

Palestinians more skeptical about Mideast talks

2023-07-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian officials said Saturday that Israel's dismissive response to President Barack Obama's new Mideast peace proposal proves there's not enough common ground for meaningful negotiations.

Despite such skepticism, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas seemed in no hurry to announce his next move. He instructed his advisers to avoid public comment, presumably to keep attention focused on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who appears to be set on a collision course with Obama.

The U.S. president said this week that Israeli-Palestinian border talks should be based on Israel's pre-1967 war lines, with mutually agreed land swaps, adopting a formula long sought by the Palestinians, but rejected by Netanyahu.

In finally presenting his own vision of the rough outlines of a peace deal, Obama stepped deeper into the Mideast fray after more than two years on the sidelines. However, he did not present a plan of action with his ideas, and the responses from both sides indicated that chances for renewing talks, largely on hold since 2008, are increasingly remote.

Obama and Netanyahu are to address the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC on Sunday and Monday, respectively. The Israeli leader also plans to address Congress on Tuesday. A White House spokesman has said Obama will speak of the strong bond between Israel and the U.S., but not deliver a policy speech.

The strain in the relationship became apparent on Friday, after a two-hour White House meeting between Obama and Netanyahu. In front of TV cameras, Netanyahu at times seemed to lecture Obama, and suggested the president's ideas are unrealistic, saying that "peace based on illusions" will quickly fail.

Among Abbas' senior aides, meanwhile, there seemed to be some disagreement over tactics.

Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said it's best for the Palestinians to keep quiet and let Netanyahu do the talking.

"We accept two states based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps ... and we want Mr. Netanyahu to say this sentence," Erekat said. "We hope to hear it in front of Congress, at AIPAC, in Hebrew, in Arabic, in Chinese, in any language."

Erekat said it's premature to talk about what to do should Obama fail to renew peace talks. Abbas' aides have been preparing to bypass negotiations, with a bid in September to win U.N. recognition of a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, the territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War.

Another senior aide, Nabil Shaath, said he expects Abbas to renew his support for the U.N. option in coming days — unless Obama somehow persuades Netanyahu to change course and accept the 1967 borders as a baseline.

"It's very clear that Obama's attempt (to restart talks) was shot down by Mr. Netanyahu," Shaath said Saturday, adding that unless there's an Israeli reversal, "we will continue our work for September and will continue to seek countries that recognize Palestine."

It's unlikely Netanyahu will change course, since he answers to a right-wing coalition at home and told Obama on Friday that the 1967 borders would be "indefensible." Netanyahu did not address the idea of swaps, which would presumably enable Israel to annex parts of the West Bank with large Jewish settlements, provided it compensates the Palestinians with the same amount of Israeli land.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said he is willing to resume negotiations, but Abbas has said he won't do so as long as Israel keeps building homes for Jews in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Since Obama's speech on Thursday, Abbas has been consulting with Arab foreign ministers on the phone and headed to Jordan on Saturday for talks with King Abdullah II. He also is to meet with leaders of the PLO and his Fatah movement and has asked for a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers later this month, Erekat said.

Obama has warned the Palestinians that a U.N. bid would not get them a state.

However, Abbas might not be able to abort the move because of mounting expectations at home, said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee. "I personally predict public opinion is bent on going to the U.N.," Ashrawi said. "Netanyahu managed to undermine every single attempt at launching serious negotiations."

There seems to be some confusion over what the U.N. General Assembly could offer the Palestinians if a recognition bid is vetoed by the U.S. in the Security Council. An internal Palestinian document said the Palestinians should then ask the General Assembly to establish a U.N. trusteeship in the Israeli-occupied territories, while Shaath suggested the Palestinians could at best win an upgraded observer status.

In Israel, senior officials played down the potential damage to Israeli-U.S. relations following the clash over Obama's peace vision.

"I think that when we hear all the details, it will be clear that the meeting was less dramatic than it was made out to be," Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a centrist, told Israel TV's Channel 2. "I don't think the president said you have to go back to the '67 lines. He said you need to talk about borders based on the '67 lines with the appropriate swaps."

Still, Netanyahu's blunt rejection of much of Obama's vision seemed to further isolate Israel.

The Quartet of Mideast negotiators comprising the U.S., the United Nations, the European Union and Russia said it supports the president's parameters and is in "full agreement about the urgent need" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
tuffclassified.com

Can A Virtual Pbx Service Improve Your Business

2011-03-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

By Brian Griffin

If you have been in business for a while, you know that you have to make sales to keep afloat. You can't make a name for yourself without making your customer a priority. As your business grows you'll constantly need to upgrade your equipment to stay with current trends in your industry and be more productive. If you haven't heard a virtual pbx service is one of the popular trends that will help you.

You can get access to your customers through any phone number that you choose. You do not have to remain in your office. You will never worry about missing an important phone call again. Internet access is also another feature. You will have peace of mind and productivity will rise. Customers are your number one priority and you will be able to give them all the attention they need.

Cost is always a factor to any business decision. Whoever says that money is not an object has never run a successful business. Your daily coffee addiction costs more than it takes to get started. You can get top of the line phone system that will pay for itself. You won't have to cut costs elsewhere. And it is probably a better service than what you currently have. You will instantly be in the black in your record books.

What type of business do you have? Any business wants to be seen in a favorable light to their customer. You do not want to come across as a mom and pop operation no matter how many people are in your company. You'll have the same type of system minus the high cost. You or a current employee can operate the system at no additional expense. You get to pick what you need.

Keep all your options open for your purchase. You do not want to make the mistake of get a crappy service that makes you lose customers. This is supposed to improve your business not decrease it.

The best benefit of all is that a virtual pbx service can grow with your business. You can add additional lines or extensions as your company needs them. You won't be stuck with a service that is too bulky and too expensive for your needs. If you don't have one you are simply throwing money down the drain.

About the Author:
Next, check out the Review of RingCentral Fax and RingCentral Online from real business people who have tried out these services in real business situations and share the good and bad.

Tips For Saving On The High Cost Of Driving

2011-02-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

We all know that Gas goes up almost every day here. It is like we just filled up, drove away from the gas station and turns the corner and the next gas station has a higher price than the last one. This is the problems we face these days, and so many people are starting to struggle more and more - which is why you may want to find out about learning to drive to save money.

You might think that this is impossible, but in actual fact you can save money by what is known as hypermiling. This kind of driving is done by taking it easy and not being aggressive when you drive. Speeding up to much or slowing down too quickly can all take more gas than is necessary. The best way to save money when are driving is to keep your speed constant and to also drive easily.

If you also avoid accelerating rapidly and breaking rapidly you will further reduce your gas mileage by 33 percent if you are on the highway. An aggressive driver will pay the penalties, so learning to calm down on the road, will allow you to save more than 80 gallons of gas per year or about $260.

A well tuned car cuts gas cost, so start there, check that your oil filter is well cleaned, make sure that you have the manufacturers required air pressure in your tires, and here already you will have save up to 20 per cent on your gas bill. Drive slower, as we all know, driving slower means that we use less gas, start off slow and drive slow and always plan your trips and find out if you can carpool your shopping trips with a neighbor or friend.

Sharing A Car Can Help You Save On Driving Expenses.

If you are looking to save a bit of cash on your fuel bill this month, and for month to come there is no need for calculators, there is no need to extra hard thought, all you need to do, if you have a friend in your neighborhood, if to car pool. Think about it, if you go to the store you will usually just jump in your car, go out to the mall, which will be around the corner, do your shopping, and it is all good, drive back home, and your are done for the day.

Later on you will look out of your window to see that you friend from across the street is going out to the mall too, and she or he will come back a few minutes later with a few groceries. There is a simple solution for both of you, car pool to the mall.

If you need to go to the mall, make up a shopping list, this way you do not need to come home to find out that you forgot something, which means that you will have to go back to the mall later that day. If you need to go to the mall, make sure that you are not the only one going, see if a friend needs to go. Make sure it is a friend that lives in your street, or there will be no use. Then you can take her or his car the one day and then your car the next day you need to be at the mall. This way you save money on fuel, not only are you saving but you are helping your friend save too.

Mukesh Ambani’s new house – Antilla

2011-02-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

Thought it will be interesting to cover the house being constructed in Mumbai’s Altamount Road by the world’s richest man – Mukesh Ambani. Yep, he’s officially the richest now with the skyrocketing share prices of RIL.

The house (called Antilla) is being valued at Rupees 4000 crores and will be 173 metres tall. Normally that is the equivalent of a 60 storeyed tower, but in this case each floor is more than twice the height of a normal floor, with the result that the building will only have 27 floors when completed. Given the prevailing state of skyscrapers in Mumbai, this building will be more than twice as tall as the earlier tallest buiilding. The view from the top will be breathtaking, no doubt.

Some other absurd facts about this ‘house’..
3 helipads on top. Mumbai corporation has not given permission for making this operational yet.
Hanging gardens within the structure
Swimming pool within the structure
A two storey Health centre
Parking space for 168 cars (6 floors). I initially thought that meant there will be a mini office in the building but apparently that is not the case. All these cars will belong to Mukesh Ambani! Just in case you are interested, he drives a 5 crore Maybach now.
A floor exclusively for servicing these automobiles within the building.
A floor for Home theatre – sitting capacity of 50

Most absurd of all, the house will have a staff of 600 (sic) to do the maintenance activities. That gives a ratio of 1:100 for people living in the house and those who are paid to take care of it. The six lucky (?) ones are the man himself, his wife, his 3 children and his mother Kokilaben. The family will be moving in from their old home ‘Sea Wind’ which was a 14 floor building at Cuffe Parade.

In fairness, Mukesh bought the property in 2002. So he has not spent anywhere close to the $1 billion people are now valuing the property at. And it is not just him, plenty of other rich tycoons have indulged in their residences. Two people who immediately come to mind are Mittal & Gates.

UK-based steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal (he is still an Indian citizen though) bought the most expensive house in London last year, paying £60m for a place in Kensington Palace Gardens.Microsoft founder Bill Gates had his house built as technology showpiece several years back. The house is reputed to have cost upwards of $100 million. I will write about this particular property sometime in the future. It is much more interesting than the Ambani house, because Gates tried to implement many new, yet to be proven technologies in his blueprint.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Launched

2011-02-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play smartphone has 4-inch capacitive multi-touch display that supports FWVGA 480X854-pixel resolution. Xperia Play's display slides out to reveal the action buttons, Directional Pad, Touch Pad and selection buttons. The phone also has two shoulder buttons. In short, the flat panel when slided out works as PlayStation controller. The corners are rounded.
Under the chassis, the Xperia Play has 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with Adreno 205 GPU. This smartphone will come preloaded with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which will carry the TimeScape UI on top of it. Sony promises basic 3D gameplay at 60 frames per second on the smartphone.
Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, and Digital Compass. Since it runs Gingerbread, one would be able turn Xperia Play into a mobile hotspot for connecting up to 5 Wi-Fi devices.
Xperia Play would be introduced in GSM and CDMA versions for select markets. For GSM networks, Xperia Play would support Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and quad-band UMTS HSPA for faster and better telephony.

HTC launched 5 new smartphones and tablets

2011-02-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

HTC unveiled on Tuesday two social networking phone models introducing its first tablet computer to a crowded marketplace.
Along with this the world's fifth-largest smartphone maker also introduced new versions of its hit models Desire, Wildfire and Incredible. All six new devices will run Google's Android software, which ended the 10-year reign of Nokia's Symbian as the pre-eminent smartphone platform last quarter.
HTC joined the throng of tablet makers with its Flyer model, which comes with a 7-inch screen and a separate stylus.
HTC positioned the tablet in the premium price category, but said it was ready to sell new social networking phones at keenly competitive price levels.
HTC's new social networking models come with a dedicated hard-key for Facebook, enabling users to post information to their Facebook account with just one keystroke.

Cultural History of India

2011-02-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

India has a rich cultural history and continues to preserve it beautifully. India has accepted gracefully the good qualities of different religions which led to the rise of many different cultures in this mystical sub-continent. Different rulers and empires came here and ruled and left behind a rich legacy of their cultural heritage. The Indian cultural history is very rich and has carved a niche of its own. It continues to inspire other cultures of the world. Every state in India has a culture of its own and even then they all stand unified and form one single culture of India. Read about the cultural history of India.

Many religions took birth India like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, etc. These religions influenced not just our country but nations all over the world. With Islamic rule in India, Islam became one of the religions in India. Ancient architectural specimens and monuments of India stand testimony to the confluence of different religions in India. The Hindus and Muslims took inspiration from each other and formed new architectural styles like rounded domes and construction of pillars.

Art developed right from the Stone Age when early man used to draw animal figures and paint them in caves. This developed to a much more refined formed of painting as time went by like decorating the front porch of the house. This custom is still followed in modern India in many homes in the southern regions. Music and dance developed from a crude form to a beautiful refined form and took the form of present classical music and dance forms like Carnatic, Hindustani, Kathak, Bharatanatyam, etc. With the development of regions and states, they developed their own folk dances that were exclusive to one particular region.

There was great advancement in literature since ancient times. India has been the birth land of great thinkers, philosophers and scholars. This is evident in great literary works like Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc. which are considered no less than holy epics. With time, languages developed and many great literary masterpieces and plays were written like Shakuntalam, Shilpadhikaram, etc. With the culmination of different religions, different cuisines came into the limelight that are now considered to be the traditional food of India. The culture of India is truly the blend of some of the best cultures of this world and is one of those very few cultures that are surviving since ancient times.

Abhayanand and Anand Kumar freee IIT-JEE Coaching Classes

2011-02-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

Patna: The Ashok Rajpath Street in Patna is where one can find literally hundreds of coaching centers.

It is in fact, a haunt for many young people in Bihar hoping to crack various entrance exams and secure a bright future for themselves.

However, there is another coaching institute in Patna that is a league apart from all these.

The students attending it are mostly poor, are housed, fed and coached for free. And it boasts a success rate of almost 95 per cent in the IIT JEE.

It is called the Super 30 and it is run by an IPS officer Abhayanand and a mathematics teacher, Anand Kumar.

Abhayanand, a 1977 batch IPS officer, is currently posted as Inspector General, Economic Offences, with the Bihar government. Two years ago, while coaching his own children for the IIT entrance tests—both IITians now—he thought of the many underprivileged students who didn’t have access to such facilities. Yet many could make it with just a little help. That’s when it occurred that he could start a tutorial for poor rural students.

"I felt it was time for me to pay back to society in some way or the other. I took up the challenge," recalls Abhayanand.

His idea was seconded by Anand Kumar, a mathematics teacher. He too came from a poor family and was conversant with the struggles of deprived students. Kumar runs his own coaching institute but was keen on the project. In 2002, the duo began Super 30—a free tutorial to coach 30 bright youngsters from underprivileged families of rural Bihar for the IIT entrance test.

Abhayanand, 50, says coaching the students was a challenge but he was confident of success. A BSc physics topper from Patna Science College, the IG spends his free time with the students and says he has had to brush up on his physics before taking on the assignment.

The Super 30 are selected after rigorous screening and aptitude tests. Anand Kumar, who bears the entire expenses, has set aside a part of his house in Mithapur, Patna, for the centre. Food expenses come to Rs 1,000 per month per student. Yet, the frugal lifestyle has not deterred them.

“We wanted to help the children who were intelligent but who did not have enough money to pay the IIT coaching fees as they are quite expensive,” says Anand Kumar. The two of them consulted teachers, principals and schools before short listing their first batch of 30 deserving candidates.

Most of the students who enrolled were the children of marginal farmers and from panchayat schools.

They were brought to Patna, provided food, lodging and coaching under one roof and free of cost.

And the results speak for themselves - when the entrance results for 2003 were announced, 18 of the 30 had made it. And this year, 28 students made it to IITs.

But as a testament to the teaching methodology at Super 30, the students compete not on the basis of caste or quota, but sheer competence.

And every year, battling funds crunch and poaching by rival coaching institutes, Abhay Anand and Anand Kumar make sure that at least 30 deserving students like get a shot at making their dreams a reality.

The History of Google

2011-02-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows the name Google. Whether young or old, computer smart or not this name will pop up in any conversation about computers. Google has created some very impressive milestones of its time and continues to grow rapidly every day. It all started when Larry Page and Sergey Brin met in Stanford. Larry was 22 and a graduate of University of Michigan was there considering attending the school. And low and behold Sergey, who was 21, was there to show him around. Talk about a match made in heaven!

However, according to some they disagreed on just about everything during their first meeting. In 1996, now firm friends and both of them computer science grad students, began developing a search engine called BackRub. This search engine had operated on Stanford servers for just a little over a year when it started taking up to much bandwidth to suite Stanford. So they decided to switch servers and renamed the search engine in 1997, calling it Google. The name comes from a mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zero’s. The use of the term reflects their mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.

In august of 2008, Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim writes them a check for $100,000 to a company that didn’t even exist yet. It was at this very moment that they realized what they had and went and incorporated the name Google Inc. Their knowledge was great, but not great enough to impress the money boys or the major internet portals. Oh how they wish they invested in them now! So they began struggling for financial support. Andy was one of the few to see true potential of what these boys had created. During their presentation to him, Andy said he had to duck out for another meeting and offered to write them a check. The check was for $100,000 and that indeed had got things moving for them.

In September the boys moved into the their workspace in Susan Wojcicki’s garage at 232 Santa Margarita, Menlo Park, CA. They then went on to file for incorporation in California on September 4 1998. Shortly after completing this important task, the boys went an opened a bank account in the name of Google Inc., their newly established company, and deposited the $100,000 dollar check Andy Bechtolsheim had given them. Shortly after they have established there new business they began hiring employees. There first one was Craig Silverstein, a fellow grad student from Stanford as well.

In December of 1998 PC Magazine wrote: “The 25 million pages currently catalogued seem to be good choices. The site has uncanny knack for returning extremely relevant results. There’s much more to come from Google, but even in its prototype form it’s a great search engine.” . They went on to say that Google had made its mark as one off the Top 100 websites for 1998. Even at the very beginning they received only the best reviews.

They then went on to become the most successful internet company ever. Early in 1999 they struck a deal with Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins for $25 million. In November 1999 Charlie Ayers joined Google as the company’s first chef. In April of 2000. Google announced the MentalPlex program, which envisages the software’s ability to read your mind as you visualize the search results you want. In June of 2000, Google partnered with Yahoo! to become their default search provider. Also in June they announced the first billion URL index, making Google become the world’s largest search engine. In September of 2000 they started offering searches in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean , bringing their total number of supported languages to 15. In December 2000 Google toolbar was released.

They have been going strong ever since, making them the largest and best search engine site today, with multiple enhancements. They will continue to be at the top of their game for years to come.

History of Computers

2011-02-15T11:52:00.001-08:00

The development of the modern day computer was the result of advances in technologies and man's need to quantify. Papyrus helped early man to record language and numbers. The abacus was one of the first counting machines..
Some of the earlier mechanical counting machines lacked the technology to make the design work. For instance, some had parts made of wood prior to metal manipulation and manufacturing. Imagine the wear on wooden gears. This history of computers site includes the names of early pioneers of math and computing and links to related sites about the History of Computers, for further study. This site would be a good Web adjunct to accompany any book on the History of Computers or Introduction to Computers. The "H" Section includes a link to the History of the Web Beginning at CERN which includes Bibliography and Related Links. Hitmill.com strives to always include related links for a broader educational experience.
Hitmill.com has a blog for students about Computers, Internet, Digital Graphics, and the History of Computers, with weekly blogs at http://galcalia.wordpress.com. The I.T. Twitter where we tweet to students is http://www.twitter.com/Calgalia.
Why we are not on Facebook: Facebook has huge security issues in which personal security of each individual is frequently breeched and in protest, we are not participating by having a Facebook link... people running the company need more coursework in ethics, and computer server security, and how to protect the indivdual information of their clients. A company should never ask a user to opt out of a general plan when the user may not even be aware of the change. The company has a committment to allow a user to "opt-in" to the plan instead, and to advertise the availability of the plan, once, to users. Facebook is not allowing the user to decide who gets their personal information. If you have a friend's list and any member of that list is gaming, facebook states they can use your personal information and photographs, by association. Read privacy rules before playing any Facebook game. It is the personal belief of this site, that the Facebook social network is not ethical. We opt to not join Facebook because we disagree with their decisions about people's privacy.

Indian History - Important events

2011-02-15T11:48:00.000-08:00

History of India . An overview : The people of India have had a continuous civilization since 2500 B.C., when the inhabitants of the Indus River valley developed an urban culture based on commerce and sustained by agricultural trade. This civilization declined around 1500 B.C., probably due to ecological changes.

During the second millennium B.C., pastoral, Aryan-speaking tribes migrated from the northwest into the subcontinent. As they settled in the middle Ganges River valley, they adapted to antecedent cultures.

The political map of ancient and medieval India was made up of myriad kingdoms with fluctuating boundaries. In the 4th and 5th centuries A.D., northern India was unified under the Gupta Dynasty. During this period, known as India's Golden Age, Hindu culture and political administration reached new heights.

Islam spread across the Indian subcontinent over a period of 500 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established sultanates in Delhi. In the early 16th century, descendants of Genghis Khan swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal (Mogul) Dynasty, which lasted for 200 years. From the 11th to the 15th centuries, southern India was dominated by Hindu Chola and Vijayanagar Dynasties. During this time, the two systems--the prevailing Hindu and Muslim--mingled, leaving lasting cultural influences on each other.

The first British outpost in South Asia was established in 1619 at Surat on the northwestern coast. Later in the century, the East India Company opened permanent trading stations at Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta, each under the protection of native rulers.
The British expanded their influence from these footholds until, by the 1850s, they controlled most of present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In 1857, a rebellion in north India led by mutinous Indian soldiers caused the British Parliament to transfer all political power from the East India Company to the Crown. Great Britain began administering most of India directly while controlling the rest through treaties with local rulers.

In the late 1800s, the first steps were taken toward self-government in British India with the appointment of Indian councilors to advise the British viceroy and the establishment of provincial councils with Indian members; the British subsequently widened participation in legislative councils. Beginning in 1920, Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi transformed the Indian National Congress political party into a mass movement to campaign against British colonial rule. The party used both parliamentary and nonviolent resistance and non-cooperation to achieve independence.

On August 15, 1947, India became a dominion within the Commonwealth, with Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister. Enmity between Hindus and Muslims led the British to partition British India, creating East and West Pakistan, where there were Muslim majorities. India became a republic within the Commonwealth after promulgating its constitution on January 26, 1950.

After independence, the Congress Party, the party of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, ruled India under the influence first of Nehru and then his daughter and grandson, with the exception of two brief periods in the 1970s and 1980s.

Prime Minister Nehru governed India until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri, who also died in office. In 1966, power passed to Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977. In 1975, beset with deepening political and economic problems, Mrs. Gandhi declared a state of emergency and suspended many civil liberties. Seeking a mandate at the polls for her policies, she called for elections in 1977, only to be defeated by Moraji Desai, who headed the Janata Party, an amalgam of five opposition parties.

In 1979, Desai's Government crumbled. Charan Singh formed an interim government, which was followed by Mrs. Gandhi's return to power in January 1980. On October 31, 1984, Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated, and her son, Rajiv, was chosen by the Congress (I)--for "Indira"--Party to take her place. His government was brought down in 1989 by allegations of corruption and was followed by V.P. Singh and then Chandra Shekhar.

In the 1989 elections, although Rajiv Gandhi and Congress won more seats in the 1989 elections than any other single party, he was unable to form a government with a clear majority. The Janata Dal, a union of opposition parties, was able to form a government with the help of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the right and the communists on the left. This loose coalition collapsed in November 1990, and the government was controlled for a short period by a breakaway Janata Dal group supported by Congress (I), with Chandra Shekhar as Prime Minister. That alliance also collapsed, resulting in national elections in June 1991.

On May 27, 1991, while campaigning in Tamil Nadu on behalf of Congress (I), Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, apparently by Tamil extremists from Sri Lanka. In the elections, Congress (I) won 213 parliamentary seats and put together a coalition, returning to power under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao. This Congress-led government, which served a full 5-year term, initiated a gradual process of economic liberalization and reform, which has opened the Indian economy to global trade and investment. India's domestic politics also took new shape, as traditional alignments by caste, creed, and ethnicity gave way to a plethora of small, regionally based political parties.

History of the Internet

2011-02-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

The History of the Internet has precursors that date back to the 19th century, especially the telegraph system, more than a century before the digital Internet became widely used in the second half of the 1990s. The concept of data communication - transmitting data between two different places, connected via some kind of electromagnetic medium, such as radio or an electrical wire - actually predates the introduction of the first computers. Such communication systems were typically limited to point to point communication between two end devices. Telegraph systems and telex machines can be considered early precursors of this kind of communication. The earlier computers used the technology available at the time to allow communication between the central processing unit and remote terminals. As the technology evolved new systems were devised to allow communication over longer distances (for terminals) or with higher speed (for interconnection of local devices) that were necessary for the mainframe computer model. Using these technologies it was possible to exchange data (such as files) between remote computers. However, the point to point communication model was limited, as it did not allow for direct communication between any two arbitrary systems; a physical link was necessary. The technology was also deemed as inherently unsafe for strategic and military use, because there were no alternative paths for the communication in case of an enemy attack.

As a response, several research programs started to explore and articulate principles of communications between physically separate systems, leading to the development of the packet switching model of digital networking. These research efforts included those of the laboratories of Vinton G. Cerf at Stanford University, Donald Davies (NPL), Paul Baran (RAND Corporation), and Leonard Kleinrock at MIT and at UCLA. The research led to the development of several packet-switched networking solutions in the late 1960s and 1970s, including ARPANET, Telenet, and the X.25 protocols. Additionally, public access and hobbyist networking systems grew in popularity, including unix-to-unix copy (UUCP) and FidoNet. They were however still disjointed separate networks, served only by limited gateways between networks. This led to the application of packet switching to develop a protocol for internetworking, where multiple different networks could be joined together into a super-framework of networks. By defining a simple common network system, the Internet Protocol Suite, the concept of the network could be separated from its physical implementation. This spread of internetworking began to form into the idea of a global network that would be called the Internet, based on standardized protocols officially implemented in 1982. Adoption and interconnection occurred quickly across the advanced telecommunication networks of the western world, and then began to penetrate into the rest of the world as it became the de-facto international standard for the global network. However, the disparity of growth between advanced nations and the third-world countries led to a digital divide that is still a concern today.

Following commercialization and introduction of privately run Internet service providers in the 1980s, and the Internet's expansion for popular use in the 1990s, the Internet has had a drastic impact on culture and commerce. This includes the rise of near instant communication by electronic mail (e-mail), text based discussion forums, and the World Wide Web. Investor speculation in new markets provided by these innovations would also lead to the inflation and subsequent collapse of the Dot-com bubble. But despite this, the Internet continues to grow, driven by commerce, greater amounts of online information and knowledge and social networking known as Web 2.0.

History of Valentines Day

2011-02-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

Every year, the fourteenth day of the month of February has millions across the world presenting their loved ones with candy, flowers, chocolates and other lovely gifts. In many countries, restaurants and eateries are seen to be filled with couples who are eager to celebrate their relationship and the joy of their togetherness through delicious cuisines. There hardly seems to be a young man or woman who is not keen to make the most of the day.

The reason behind all of this is a kindly cleric named Valentine who died more than a thousand years ago.

It is not exactly known why the 14th of February is known as Valentine's Day or if the noble Valentine really had any relation to this day. The history of Valentine's Day is impossible to be obtained from any archive and the veil of centuries gone by has made the origin behind this day more difficult to trace. It is only some legends that are our source for the history of Valentine's Day.

The modern St. Valentine's Day celebrations are said to have been derived from both ancient Christian and Roman tradition. As per one legend, the holiday has originated from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalis/Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that used to observed annually on February 15. But the rise of Christianity in Europe saw many pagan holidays being renamed for and dedicated to the early Christian martyrs. Lupercalia was no exception. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius turned Lupercalia into a Christian feast day and set its observance a day earlier, on February 14. He proclaimed February 14 to be the feast day in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century. It is this St. Valentine whom the modern Valentine's Day honors.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by the name of Valentine. While one was a priest in Rome, another was a bishop in Terni. Nothing is known about the third St. Valentine except that he met his end in Africa. Surprisingly, all three of them were said to have been martyred on 14th February.

It is clear that Pope Gelasius intended to honor the first of these three aforementioned men. Most scholars believe that this St. Valentine was a priest who lived around 270 AD in Rome and attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II who ruled during this time.

The story of St. Valentine has two different versions - the Protestant and the Catholic one. Both versions agree upon Saint Valentine being a bishop who held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers in opposition to Claudius II who had prohibited marriage for young men and was executed by the latter. During the lifetime of Valentine, the golden era of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Education declined, taxation increased and trade witnessed a very bad time. The Roman empire faced crisis from all sides, from the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asia. The empire had grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Naturally, more and more capable men were required to to be recruited as soldiers and officers to protect the nation from takeover. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he issued an edict forbidding marriage to assure quality soldiers.

The ban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. But they dared not voice their protest against the mighty emperor. The kindly bishop Valentine also realized the injustice of the decree. He saw the trauma of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage. He planned to counter the monarch's orders in secrecy. Whenever lovers thought of marrying, they went to Valentine who met them afterwards in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. And thus he secretly performed many marriages for young lovers. But such things cannot remain hidden for long. It was only a matter of time before Claudius came to know of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested.

While awaiting his sentence in prison, Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius. It was said that Valentine had some saintly abilities and one of them granted him the power to heal people. Asterius had a blind daughter and knowing of the miraculous powers of Valentine he requested the latter to restore the sight of his blind daughter. The Catholic legend has it that Valentine did this through the vehicle of his strong faith, a phenomenon refuted by the Protestant version which agrees otherwise with the Catholic one. Whatever the fact, it appears that Valentine in some way did succeed to help Asterius' blind daughter.

When Claudius II met Valentine, he was said to have been impressed by the dignity and conviction of the latter. However, Valentine refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage. It is also said that the emperor tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods but was unsuccesful in his efforts. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. This angered Claudius II who gave the order of execution of Valentine.

Meanwhile, a deep friendship had been formed between Valentine and Asterius' daughter. It caused great grief to the young girl to hear of his friend's imminent death. It is said that just before his execution, Valentine asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after. As per another legend, Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his jailer during his imprisonment. However, this legend is not given much importance by historians. The most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not centered on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14, 270 AD.

Thus 14th February became a day for all lovers and Valentine became its Patron Saint. It began to be annually observed by young Romans who offered handwritten greetings of affection, known as Valentines, on this day to the women they admired. With the coming of Christianity, the day came to be known as St. Valentine's Day.

But it was only during the 14th century that St. Valentine's Day became definitively associated with love. UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of "Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine", credits Chaucer as the one who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance. In medieval France and England it was believed that birds mated on February 14. Hence, Chaucer used the image of birds as the symbol of lovers in poems dedicated to the day. In Chaucer's "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are related:

"For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate."

By the Middle Ages, Valentine became as popular as to become one of the most popular saints in England and France. Despite attempts by the Christian church to sanctify the holiday, the association of Valentine’s Day with romance and courtship continued through the Middle Ages. The holiday evolved over the centuries. By the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts began to be created on this day and handed over to the man or woman one loved. This tradition eventually spread to the American colonies. It was not until the 1840s that Valentine's Day greeting cards began to be commercially produced in the U.S. The first American Valentine's Day greeting cards were created by Esther A. Howlanda Mount Holyoke, a graduate and native of Worcester. Mass. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap". It was when Howland began Valentine's cards in a large scale that the tradition really caught on in the United States.

Today, Valentine's Day is one of the major holidays in the U.S. and has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are "valentine"s. The "valentines", as Valentine's Day cards are better known as, are often designed with hearts to symbolize love. The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest valentines was sent in 1415 AD by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.

There may be doubts regarding the actual identity of Valentine, but we know that he really existed because archaeologists have recently unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to a Saint Valentine.

World Trade Center History of the Manhattan Landmark Destroyed on September 11, 2001

2011-02-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

The two identical 110-story towers of the World Trade Center opened in 1973 and went on to become New York City icons and key elements of Manhattan's famous skyline. Once home to almost 500 businesses and approximately 50,000 employees, the World Trade Center towers were tragically destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Origins of the the World Trade Center
In 1946, the New York State Legislature authorized the development of a "world trade mart" in downtown Manhattan, the branchild of real estate developer David Sholtz.

However, it wasn't until 1958 that Chase Manhattan Bank vice chair David Rockefeller announced plans to build a multi-million-square-foot complex on Lower Manhattan's east side. The original proposal was for only one 70-story building, not the final Twin Towers design. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agreed to oversee the building project.

Protests and Changing Plans
Protests soon arose from residents and businesses in the Lower Manhattan neighborhoods slated for demolition to make way for the World Trade Center. These protests delayed construction for four years.

Final building plans were eventually approved and unveiled by principal architect Minoru Yamasaki in 1964. The new plans called for a World Trade Center consisting of 15 million square feet distributed among seven buildings. The standout design features were two towers that would each exceed the Empire State Building's height by 100 feet and become the world's tallest buildings.

Building the World Trade Center
Construction of the World Trade center began in 1966. The south tower was completed first in 1971. The Towers were built using a new drywall system reinforced by steel cores, making them the first skycrapers ever built without the use of masonry. The two towers -- at 1368 and 1362 feet and 110 stories each -- bested the Empire State Building to become the tallest buildings in the world.

The World Trade Center -- including the Twin Towers and four other buildings -- officially opened in 1973.

A New York City Landmark
In 1974, French high-wire artist Philippe Petit made headlines by walking across a cable strung between the tops of the two towers using no safety net. The world-famous restaurant, Windows on the World, opened on the top floors of the north tower in 1976. The restaurant was hailed by critics as one of the finest in the world and offered some of the most breathtaking views in New York City. In the South Tower, the public observation deck called "Top of the World" offered similar views for New Yorkers and visitors.

The World Trade Center also starred in many movies -- including memorable roles in Escape from New York, the 1976 remake of King Kong, and Superman.

Terror and Tragedy at the World Trade Center
In 1993, a group of terrorists left a van loaded with explosives in an underground parking garage of the north tower. The resulting explosion killed six and wounded more than a thousand, but caused no major damage to the World Trade Center.

Sadly, the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, caused much greater destruction. Terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Center towers, causing massive explosions, the destruction of the towers, and the deaths of 2,749 people.

Today, the World Trade Center remains a New York City icon years after its destruction.

Further information on the World Trade Center:

Modern Marvels: World Trade Center (DVD) -- This is the original documentary that aired on the History Channel in 2001 before the attacks. It was initially called "Modern Marvels", but has since been renamed "In Memoriam". It's a fascinating, comprehensive look at the center's construction and inner workings. Because it was made before the attacks, it's one of the few documentaries that spends time focusing on the history rather than the tragedy.

The World Trade Center: Rise And Fall Of An American Icon (DVD) -- Another fantastic History Channel documentary on the towers.

The World Trade Center Remembered (Paperback) -- A beautiful book filled with spectacular images of the pre-9/11 WTC. Photographs by Sonja Bullaty and Angelo Lomeo. Text by Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for the New Yorker.

Muslim fingerprints in Obama's history

2011-02-15T10:50:00.001-08:00

I've misspoken before. I've misspoken before on national television. I've mixed up words, reversed orders, but I have never once misspoken concerning my faith and the God in whom I trust. Even in the most heated debate on Islam, never did I ever utter the words "my Muslim faith." Nor, even when talking about Buddhism, have I ever slipped up and referred to "my Buddhist faith." Ever. Why? Because my Christianity is so ingrained in me, so a part of who I am, that the thought of adhering to a false religion is so foreign, so blasphemous, that the words would never cross my lips.

Not the case for Mr. Obama. On ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, Obama said:

"Let's not play games, what I was suggesting – you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you're absolutely right that that has not come."

Watch it online.

Matthew 12:34 says: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

Notice that Obama didn't correct himself. He was "corrected" by George Stephanopoulos who interrupted Obama, with the words: "Christian faith."
Let's just say he misspoke. Did Obama misspeak when he told the New York Times that blasphemy was one of the "prettiest sounds on earth at sunset"?

That's right. In a Feb. 27, 2007, interview with the New York Times' Nicholos Kristof, that's how Obama described the Muslim call to prayer. That prayer, which Obama recited with a "first-class [Arabic] accent," begins with this:
Allah is supreme!
Allah is supreme!
Allah is supreme! Allah is supreme!
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that Muhammad is his prophet ...

Really? No god but the false god Allah is the prettiest sound on earth? Really.

Speaking of slip-ups, here's the clip of Obama saying he's visited 57 states. He's such a "global citizen," perhaps the 57 member states of the "Organization of the Islamic Conference" was more second nature to him than our own 50 U.S. states.

While Obama's campaign site declares: "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim" and "was not raised as a Muslim," the records say differently.

As was documented by Jerome Corsi in his best-selling book, "The Obama Nation," in January 1968, Obama was registered as a Muslim at his primary school under the name Barry Soetoro. Even the Associated Press has released a photocopy of the document where Barack Obama is registered as an Indonesian citizen of the Muslim religion. (Listen to Dr. Corsi on yesterday's Faith2Action radio program at www.f2a.org discussing it).

Obama also claimed he never attended a mosque. Not so, according to eyewitnesses. As was reported in WorldNetDaily, childhood friends and even his school principal said they saw Obama attend the mosque with their own eyes. In response, the Obama campaign issued another statement: Instead of claiming Obama was never a Muslim, as they had previously posted, they then claimed he "has never been a practicing Muslim."

Even in Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," he called his school "a Muslim school" and admits he studied the Quran during his formative years from age 6 to age 10: "In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Quranic studies."

He could have never made faces in Quranic studies if he wasn't studying the Quran.

So this weekend on national television, he referred to his "Muslim faith." Last year he said that praising Allah as the one true god was the prettiest sound on earth. He said he was never a mosque-attending Muslim, but eyewitnesses say otherwise. Despite what Obama and his campaign have claimed, by his own admission, he studied the Quran.

Add to the fact that on June 13, 2008, Obama's half brother, Malik Obama, who lives in Kenya, told the Jerusalem Post that "if elected his brother will be a good president for the Jewish people despite his Muslim background."

In that same article was a picture of Malik with his half brother Barack in traditional Somali elder dress with a turban on his head in 1985. Like many pictures of Obama in Muslim attire readily available on the Internet, he was not between the ages of 6 and 10 when the photos were taken.

Let's pretend all of this is just part of some smear campaign. Forget everything that I've said and take a look of who's backing this guy.

According to Islamic expert Brigitte Gabriel, author of "Because They Hate, A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America" and her new book, "They Must be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It," there are some very interesting campaign supporters of Barack Obama. Beyond the support of unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, Obama has backing from some other notorious groups, from "al-Qaida to Hamas, to Hezbollah," to "Islamic Jihad" to the "Muslim Brotherhood," to "all the terrorists organizations" who "are coming out in force for Obama for president," stated Gabriel on the Sept. 3, 2008, Faith2Action radio program (on the "Archives" section of www.f2a.org).

On the same program, she spoke of the Muslim Brotherhood project for North America, in 1982, whose plans were to get Muslims actively involved in politics.

Gabriel claims that the Islamic websites and terrorist organizations are calling Obama the "first Muslim president of the United States."

As far as they are concerned, said Gabriel, these groups claim "Obama can say anything he wants to get elected – he is a Muslim." They claim that if he had renounced his Muslim affiliation declared early in life, he would have changed his Muslim name.

What is interesting is the Islamic world has not renounced Obama for becoming a Christian – a capital offense under Shariah law.

What is perhaps more interesting is that Sen. Barack Hussein Obama has never renounced his Muslim ties. He was too busy pretending they didn't exist until the documents and eyewitness accounts surfaced recently.

Let's not play games. By way of review, on national television Obama "misspoke" about "his Muslim faith." Last year he said the words "there is no god but Allah" were "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset." Then he said that he's been to "all 57 states" (57 states coincidently belong to the "Organization of the Islamic Conference"). According to eyewitnesses, he was a mosque-going, Quran-learning, Muslim (according to official documents released by the AP). His friends say so. His principal said so. His own brother said so. He wears the Muslim turban and Somali elder dress for photo-ops, apparently for fun. While he hasn't renounced any of this, not one Islamic extremist has called for his death as an apostate from Islam.

Obama is right about one thing. Sen. John McCain isn't talking about Obama's Muslim faith. But the rest of the country is beginning to.

Asus Announces New GT 440 Graphics Card

2011-02-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

Asus is adding NVIDIA’s latest GPU, the GT440, to its lineup. The new ASUS GT440 is factory overclocked by Asus to run at 822MHz. The Asus GT440 utilizes Super Alloy Power technology to help lower operating temperatures, extend product lifespan, and improve overall performance. The GT440 also uses Asus' Dust-proof Fan design and supports HDMI 1.4a.

Fremont, CA (February 1, 2011) - ASUS, the world’s number #1 motherboard manufacturer and leading innovator in graphics cards, is proud to introduce NVIDIA’s latest GPU, the GT440 Graphical Processing Unit (GPU). An instant upgrade over today’s integrated graphics options, the new ASUS GT440 graphics card is ideal for powering today’s media centric PC. The ASUS GT440 offers improved visual quality, reduced processor utilization and hardware accelerated performance for a wide range of online video content, applications and Blu-ray titles.

In addition the ASUS GT440 provides significantly improved gaming experience compared to the latest integrated graphics solutions allowing for an increase in image quality, frame rates and resolution to provide a more immersive gaming experience. Rounding out its full range of functionality is support for NVIDIA PhysX® technology and for NVIDIA 3D Vision™ offering the next level of immersion on the PC with the latest Blu-ray or online HD content.

Product highlights
ASUS factory overclocks the GT440 to 822MHz providing better than reference performance out of the box.
The ASUS GT440 includes Super Alloy Power technology, featuring a special alloy formula used in power delivery components such as capacitors, chokes and MOSFETs. It instantly lowers average operating temperatures up to 35°C*, extends product lifespan 2.5 times* and improves overall performance up to 15%*. This gives users access to greater overclocking potential, as the GT440 can withstand higher operating temperatures than its reference counterparts.
Taking advantage of the improved power delivery system offered by the Super Alloy Power design, ASUS’ exclusive and award winning overvolting technology Voltage Tweak is capable of adjusting and increasing core voltage to improve overclocking scaling that provides superior frame rates in today’s latest games.
ASUS continues to lead the industry in protective design measures on graphics cards. The GT440 features protective designs such as our Dust-proof Fan design ensuring up to 25%* longer fan lifespan than generic offerings due to its double-sealed design, which repels dust and other debris to improve cooling and longevity. ASUS GPU Guard doubles the printed circuit board strength through a special reinforced bonding process, helping to protect the card against fracturing and cracking. This can occur due to the rapid temperature changes within today’s PCs. ASUS also implements the class leading Fuse Protection that is a current protection mechanism offering protection against over-current which can damage the GPU, reduce or degrade performance and induce dangerous temperature levels.
The GT440 offers full support for HDMI 1.4a, a unified standard for delivering high quality audio and video along with full support and compliance for 3D content. The GT440 offers full hardware acceleration to ensure smooth playback of Blu-ray 3D or other 1080P high-definition content. High-definition 24-bit multi-channel audio up to 192KHz along with lossless DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD audio bit-streaming ensures an immersive sound experience.

Mat Rove Meri Ma - Kissa Veer Hakikat Rai

2011-02-02T21:04:00.001-08:00

Haqiqat Rai was born at Sialkot in 1724 to Mata Durga Devi and Bhag Mal ji. Haqiqat Rai was very sharp in studies as well as in his bravery. In those days of Muslim rule Hindus used to read Urdu and Persian from Muslim maulvis. Haqiqat Rai used to go to local school and was the only Hindu in a class while his other classmates were Muslims. He used to pass with top rank and so was dear to everyone. One day, some of his Muslim classmates who were jealous of his studies ridiculed Hindu goddess Devi Ma. Haqiqat Rai first remained silent but after repeated abuses the brave boy dared his classmates and tried to stop them but as he was alone he was overpowered. They did not stop using abusive languages for Hindu Goddess and he responded finally by ridiculing Fatima, daughter of Prophet Muhammad.
The Muslim boys complained to the maulvis about Haqiqat Rai blaspheming the prophet and Islam, which enraged the maulvis. Maulvis first punished Haqiqat Rai and then had him arrested by the local police.
Haqiqat Rai was arrested and sent to Amir Beg, the administrator of Sialkot. Those were the days of Muslim rule, Hindus were frequently targeted by Muslims and they were having inferior status in society. There was no one to listen to this young Hindu boy. Amir who was known for his cruelty immediately ordered killing of innocent Hindu boy. He did not even spare time to hear the pleas of Haqiqat Rai. Haqiqat Rai's parents started weeping and asked for sparing his life. Amir said Haqiqat Rai had committed a sin and he can be pardoned only if he accepts Islam as punishment for blasphemy. Haqiqat Rai refused conversion to Islam. Haqiqat Rai's parents tried to change his mind. They said, if he accepts Islam, his life will be saved. The Brave boy Haqiqat accepted death but not Islam. He was then sent to Zakaria Khan, the Governor of Lahore. But Haqiqat Rai did not agree to convert even under further torture. His 10 year old wife Laxmi Devi also arrived and pleaded for his life but no one under the Muslim rule listened to Hindus. Haqiqat Rai was executed by the orders of the Governor on 20 January, 1735 at the tender age of 12.
The day of his execution used to be marked by a 'mela' (fair) on Vasant Panchami day in Lahore, around his 'samadhi' (Baway di marrhi), before India's partition. It appears his 'samadhi' was wrecked during riots in Lahore.
The young boy died for his religion. Today he is an idol for us all what we can do is to observe but not give up Vedic dharma whole heartedly and propagate it throughout the world.

The Intemperate Engineer, Adrian Vaughan (Allan)

2011-02-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

Drawing on the letters and diaries of Isamabard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), published here for the first time, this biography follows his development through his railway engineering projects and reveals the private man behind the public figure, challenging the ‘Brunel myth’ that has presided since 1957.
Lesley Blanch, Anne Boston (John Murray)
Lesley Blanch, author of The Wilder Shores of Love, died in 2007, aged 102. This biography draws on publishers’ archives, unpublished journals and interviews to tell the story of the life of the British writer.
The Fireside Conversations, Lawrence W. Levine and Cornelia R. Levine (University of California Press)
Following his decision to close all American banks, two days after his inauguration, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his series of Fireside Chats, during which he used the intimacy of radio to share his plans directly with the people. This book charts the period from 1933 to 1938, setting each of the Fireside Chats in context and reprinting a selection of the letters that the president received from a huge variety of ordinary Americans.
Inside Room 40: The Codebreakers of World War 1, Paul Gannon (Allan)
This study of the codebreakers of the First World War provides an account of the Zimmerman affair, when the decoders of Room 40 successfully decoded a German proposal to Mexico to join them in declaring war on the USA, and profiles the key figures who went on from Room 40 to work at Bletchley Park, including Dilly Knox, Alastair Denniston and Nigel De Grey.

Discovery of Ancient City of Mahenjodaro and Harappa

2011-02-02T08:41:00.001-08:00

The year was 1922. Initial forays in delving into India’s past began when Dr R D Banerjee found the ancient city of Mohenjodaro (literally, `city of the dead’) in Larkana district of Sindh, now in Pakistan.

A little later, archeological remains of another city, quite similar in planning and age, were dug up by Sir Daya Ram Sawhney in Harappa, in the Montgomery district of the Punjab. Sir John Marshall, who was the then chairperson of the Archeology department, decided this was a thing well worth looking into. Under his supervision, teams of archeologists worked in other areas of the Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of present Pakistan. What they came up with astounded the world.

The Post Maurya Period

2011-02-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

In the post Maurya period, three dynasties jostled, came and went with astonishing speed on the Magadhan throne.
The first among these were the Sungas, under whom the country made certain progress.
The Sunga rulers were also quite successful in checking foreign invasions. Art and culture also flourished considerably under the Sungas who were particularly known to be great patrons of both.
They were followed by the Kanvas who were almost like a blip in the scene of Indian history, lasting only 45 years in all. The other important dynasty of this Post-Mauryan confusion was the andhras or the Satavahanas.

According to traditional sources, they were apparently Dasyus (as opposed to Aryans) from south India. Even in Ashoka's time, this dynasty had risen to quite a bit of prominence along the southwest regions.
We are told that it had 30 kings, however we get to names only with Simukha (235-213BC), who has been credited with founding the dynasty although his claim is in dispute – by historians that is. Simukha himself, one presumes, is now beyond caring. One of the most famous rulers of this dynasty was Sri Satkarni (194-184BC), who had a kingdom covering almost all of south India, down to the andhra region and around with his capital as the present Aurangabad.

Collaborationist French Trains

2011-02-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

During the German occupation of France, the French train company SNCF helped to transport over 75,000 Jews to German death camps. Now bidding to win a deal to build high-speed trains in California, Kathryn Hadley explains how the SNCF has been forced to fully explain its role in the Holocaust.This week, on Tuesday January 25^th, the president of the French train company SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français), Guillaume Pepy, and the mayor of Bobigny, Catherine Peyge, signed an agreement to work together to transform the town’s former goods train station into a memorial to Holocaust victims. In 1943 and 1944, twenty-one convoys departed from Bobigny in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, transporting over 22,400 Jews, interned in Drancy deportation camp, to German concentration camps. On Tuesday, the SNCF officially handed over the site to the town of Bobigny and agreed to help finance the construction of a memorial.
During the Second World War, the SNCF participated in the transportation of over 75,000 Jews to German death camps. Over the past years, the company has gradually been forced to research and explain its role in the Holocaust. The SNCF has been put on trial several times. In 1996, it published a report outlining its role and responsibilities during the Holocaust; four years later, it officially opened its archives to the public. On December 13^th, 2010, the SNCF signed an agreement with the Memorial de la Shoah in Paris to support the memorial in its development of educational material and activities. In return, the memorial agreed to assist and support the SNCF in its historical research.
The SNCF made the news again at the end of 2010 as it is one of the main companies bidding to win a deal to build several high-speed trains in California. As part of the bid, the Californian state government has insisted that the SNCF agrees to fully disclose its archives relating to the Second World War and to outline a series of measures to compensate the families of the victims. In response, the SNCF recently launched a website in English which includes a section about the company’s history, notably during the Second World War.
The introduction to the ‘Heritage’ section of the website outlines how:

‘Because we are new to America, many people are not yet familiar with SNCF. It is understandable that they may have questions about us and our history. In particular, questions have been raised recently about the company during the World War II era, when Nazi Germany invaded and occupied France. In this section you will find information about our earliest days, the war years, and post-war periods.’

It also explains that ‘over the years, SNCF has demonstrated its determination to shed light on the various aspects of its history during World War II. It initiated the examination of its past in a spirit of full disclosure and transparency.’
The website describes the German occupation of France as a time of ‘struggle for the French who had to fight for their very survival while often also struggling with questions of conscience.’ It explains how, in accordance with article 13 of the Armistice agreement, the SNCF was placed under the control of the German authorities; ‘the constraints imposed by the Nazi occupying forces on SNCF were horrific.’