WORLD UPDATES 24x7

Vadivelu - world cup Still

2011-05-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

Away from Java, PHP: Top 7 languages techies turn to

2010-10-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

If you are a programmer, you would not take the risk of not knowing the popular programming languages like Java or say PHP. By this it does not mean that these are the only languages on which every programmer or coder would depend to provide solutions to increasingly common problems. If one would think out of the box, there are several programming languages that have proved themselves capable to solve the common problems in programming, reports Peter Wayner of InfoWorld.

Variety is the spice of life and this also applies to programming languages too. And why shouldn't programmers opt for newer languages to adopt new and various other features which the dominant languages do not offer? The fact is, programmers depend heavily on popularly used languages to exist in the dominant paradigm.

Now let's take a look at some of the niche languages on which the enterprises are depending. The seven programming languages that are being adopted by enterprises are enlisted below:

1) PYTHON: Now when organizations are in plans to shift their applications to the cloud, Python could be the niche language they were longing for. Python has the kind of structure that is easily scalable in the cloud. Python is supposed to be the most preferred programming language for two kinds of people-one who hate using brackets and those who hate scientists. Brackets helped in the creation of Python by building a version of Perl, that is easier to read as it does not involve many opening and closing of brackets.This language never offered any data structures or elements explicitly tuned to meet the needs of scientists.

2) RUBY: Like Python, Ruby is another promising tool often pushed to the margin despite many arguing about Ruby and Python not being niche languages.Ruby is becoming popular for prototyping.Its entrance was marked with the Web 2.0 explosion and during this time many websites experimented on Ruby. Ruby on Rails sites are devoted to cataloging data that can be stored in tables. Well-known examples include Web applications like Basecamp, Backcamp, and Campfire from 37Signals, a collection of websites that knits together group discussions, debates, and schedules.

3) MATLAB: Due to the large volumes of data which the organizations need to analyze, Matlab which has been built for mathematicians to solve systems of linear equations, has found rising interest in the enterprise . Many of the more sophisticated statistical techniques that match people with advertisements, songs, or Web pages depend upon the power of algorithms like those solved by Matlab. MathWorks, the company behind Matlab, offers a diverse set of whitepapers showing how engineers are searching for statistical answers.

4) JAVA SCRIPT: Java is supposed to be the most compiled language on Earth. Every browser downloads the code and recompiles it every time someone loads a Web page. The increasing dominance of AJAX-savvy Web pages, JavaScript is rarely thought of as a language that runs on the big iron. Netscape tried to make JavaScript the common language on its server platform back in 1996, but ended up establishing it only in the browser.

5) ERLANG: Erlang is an an open source language first created by scientists at Ericsson Computing Laboratory, excels at various tasks like responding to different independent messages concurrently and it addresses the most difficult part of enterprise computing. The niche language mixes traditional facets of functional programming with a virtual machine that compiles down to machine code. Through this language, the programmer is compelled to build something that is easier to spread across multiple cores and multiple machines.

6) COBOL: It once used to be a dominant language in almost every enterprise and so it would not be fair to tag it as a niche language.This language has been enhanced hundreds of times since its inception. Cobol jockeys get to play with object-oriented extensions, self-modifying code, and practically every other gimmick. Cobol has got a programmer friendly syntax that is more similar to actual nouns and verbs that form clauses and sentences.

7) CUDA EXTENSIONS: CUDA extensions are not technically a language they are just extensions to C. CUDA extensions include machine vision, massive simulations, and huge statistical computations. Many problems of data analysis are naturally massively parallel, making GPU processors worth a look.

To adopt some variety in programming, programmers are adopting many other niche programming languages that offer unique features those are not found in the any other programming language. As days will advance, programmers will have variety programming languages which will help them to deal with some of the common problems faced by enterprises.

10 ways to retain your employees

2010-10-20T05:24:00.000-07:00

Info Tech companies are the ones that suffer from high attrition rates and the growing demand for trained professionals. During and after the global economic recession, enterprises find it difficult to effectively deploy their human resource and systematically plan a workforce infrastructure. This is where employee retention becomes instrumental to the firm.

Key employee retention is critical to the long term health and success of an enterprise. Apart from the usual ways employed by the firm to retain employees like increasing the organization's level of professionalism and transparency and conventional ways of measuring employee satisfaction, mentioned here are some 10 ways to effectively retain your employees:

1. Ensuring employee satisfaction - An unhappy and insecure employ is worse than your biggest competitor. In the long run for competition and meeting project deadlines, IT firms miss out on the comfort level of their employees. A comfortable employee knows clearly what is expected from him every day at work. The firm should provide an ambience where the employee can voice his opinion freely and appreciate their efforts, thereby making them comfortable.

2. Ensuring proper feedback - Clarity and feedback is an important area where executives go wrong. Hence employees complaint about lack of clarity of expectations and earning potential, lack of feedback about performance and failure to provide a framework within which the employee perceives he can succeed. These flaws should be handled effectively.

3. Promoting employees from within - A company that constantly fills vacancies by hiring from outside is certain to face retention problems. Employees who realize that they are unlikely to be promoted to fill the vacancies will leave the organization. Promoting employees from within is a sound retention strategy.

4. Balancing Individual and organizational goals - Many companies fall into the trap of expecting their employees to subsume their individual objectives before the organizational one which forces employees to leave. This should be balanced by offering them acquire new skills and providing comprehensive knowledge on projects which at least promotes a feeling that their objectives are satisfied to an extent.

5. Acknowledging your employees - A common place grievance during an exit interview is that the employee never felt senior executives knew he existed. Its challenging since IT is a highly structured hierarchy. But senior officials should see to it that employees are met with and briefed periodically.

6. Fresh Workplace ambience - Employees are as much family people as they are workers. A firm sans fun environment may lead to attrition. Also a thickly packed project, a cubicle or office space may add to their woes. A fresh office space will in turn make the workplace more fun.

7. Ensuring a match between authority and accountability - Decentralization of task is synonymous to an IT project. Most companies fall into the trap of holding a project leader accountable for a specific activity without empowering them with the authority to perform it well. Even worse, another employee assigned the same task may be left unaccountable which will add only to the attrition rate.

8. Involving employees in the decision-making process - People like to work in organizations where their opinions count. Employee's involvement in decision-making is directly proportional to the organization's retention-level. A participative decision-making process is good and total empowerment, better.

9. Making performance appraisals objective - Employees like to know how, when, and by whom their performance is going to be measured. An appraisal process that lists objective and measurable criteria for performance appraisal removes the uncertainty in the minds of employees that their superiors can rate their performance any which way they please.

10. Competitive pay package - Pay hike comes last in the list for me let alone ESOPs. Money isn't a motivator, but it is an effective de-motivator. While organizations that pay best-in-industry salaries may find themselves unable to use that fact to motivate their employees, those that do not could find their best employees leaving.

Thank You : SiliconIndia

Industry assurance goes down a tad: CII survey

2010-10-19T01:37:00.001-07:00

A latest survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) found that the domestic industry expects GDP to grow at 8 percent in the current fiscal year, and thus create a lack of confidence among the country's business community about the economy's overall prospects. CII's 74th Business Outlook Survey (BCI) for October-December quarter based on responses of 150 firms showed that the Business Confidence Index (BCI) is lower for the manufacturing and services sector.
Industry assurance goes down a tad: CII survey

BCI, which measures entrepreneurial optimism, for October-December 2010-11 fell by 1.4 points to 66.2 from 67.6 in the previous quarter. "These results are consistent with the fact that the overall high inflation is likely to make domestic consumers frugal and hence affect demand, while a slump in the global growth rate in the later half of 2010 is likely to hit global demand," said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.

Survey also found that the lower business confidence for the services and manufacturing can be explained by the growing concern on the inflationary condition and the tightening of monetary policy that is likely to affect the availability of credit. The recent U.S. policy development that intends to cut tax incentives to American companies that outsource jobs is also likely to affect the domestic services sector, given that 61 per cent of India's IT-BPO exports are towards the U.S., the survey identified inflation and high interest rates as the main concerns.

Nakido - Fast And Easy File-sharing Service Offering Free Direct Download Links

2010-10-18T05:33:00.000-07:00

Nakido a new entrant into one-click file-hosting arena, hosts your files for free and provides a direct download link which you can share with others allowing single click download. Nakido also features an innovative web-based download manager "Nakido Flag" which utilizes peer-to-peer technology to make file-sharing faster, Nakido Flag gives you the ability to resume broken downloads and allows you to use the web-based download manager features like queuing of multiple files to the download list which gets downloaded to your computer automatically.
Nakido Flag

Nakido makes it easy to share files in Twitter and Facebook. You can share any files you want - photos, videos, documents, music, archived files, even HD videos. Nakido has no limit on the size of the file you upload, which means you can upload a large file directly to Nakido without having to split it into many small parts due to the limitation of file size per file. Sharing files is also very simple, just select the file you want to share, upload to Nakido, then copy the short URL (e.g. NK.DO/A1C), enter your Twitter text, and tweet it on your Twitter account. By clicking on the short URL, your friends/followers would be able to download the file to their computer.

U.S. search engine rankings for September 2010: Google Sites lead

2010-10-17T02:20:00.001-07:00

Reston : Google Sites have led the core search market in the U.S. for the month of September with 66.1 percent of search conducted, reveals a study by Internet marketing research firm comScore. According to its monthly 'comScore qSearch' analysis of the U.S. search marketplace, the core search of Google has increased 0.7 share points from 65.4 percent in August this year.

Google is followed by Yahoo! Sites with 16.7 percent and Microsoft sites with 11.2 percent. Ask Network has captured the fourth place with 3.7 percent of explicit core searches, while AOL LLC Network stands at fifth place with 2.3 percent.

Over 16 billion explicit core searches were conducted in September, out of which 10.6 billion searches are belonged to Google Sites. Yahoo! Sites are in second with 2.7 billion and Microsoft Sites in third with 1.8 billion. Ask Network accounted for 593 million explicit core searches followed by AOL LLC Network with 362 million.

Of total core search queries conducted, Google Sites accounted for 62.9 percent followed by Yahoo! Sites with 19.2 percent and Microsoft Sites with 12.5 percent. Ask Network captured 3.4 percent of total search queries, followed by AOL LLC with 2.0 percent.

Out of 17.7 billion total core search queries conducted in September, Google Sites lead with 11.1 billion searches, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 3.4 billion and Microsoft Sites with 2.2 billion.

Recently, Google introduced its new feature named Google Instant Search that delivers results in real-time while users type their query. comScore's September 2010 qSearch figures reflect the impact of Google Instant Search.

Now, viewers turn away from TV for social networking

2010-10-17T02:17:00.001-07:00

Mumbai: Most of the youngsters among the prime time viewers of television channels are now switching to social networking sites and the internet, reports Priyanka Joshi from the Business Standard.

According online audience measurement agecy, the highest activity on the internet is recorded between 6 pm and 10 pm. "We found that users between 15 and 24 years are most active on social media sites like Facebook and Orkut between 5 pm and 9 pm, indicating they are logging in from home PCs. While users in the 25-35 year age group are most active on social sites at around 3 pm, indicating extensive use of social networks at work," says Amit Bhartiya, Business Head, ViziSense.

Even if numbers tilt in favor of the TV industry, capturing a slice of the online audience and mobile subscribers is getting critical for broadcasters. "Social networking is finding users beyond the top eight metros. In fact, almost 60 per cent of users on social media sites come from outside of the metros and that explains how engaging the platforms are for youth," added Bhartiya.

Facebook, LinkedIn and Ibibo remain the top social networking sites, where an average Indian internet user spends the most time.

'ராஜீவ் கொலை வழக்கிலிருந்து பிரபாகரன் விடுவிக்கப்படவில்லை!' - சிபிஐ

2010-10-17T02:14:00.001-07:00

டெல்லி: போர்க்களத்தில் கொல்லப்பட்டார் என இலங்கையும் இந்தியாவும் மாறி மாறி பிரபாகரன் மரணம் குறித்து கூறி வந்தபோதிலும், ராஜீவ் காந்தியின் கொலை வழக்கிலிருந்து பிரபாகரன் இன்னமும் விடுவிக்கப்படவில்லை.

தகவல் பெறும் உரிமைச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் கேள்வி எழுப்பிய ஒருவருக்கு அளித்த பதில் மூலம் இதனை சிபிஐ உறுதிப்படுத்தியுள்ளது.

தமிழ் ஈழ விடுதலைப் போராட்டத்தில் இராணுவத்துக்கு எதிரான போரில், விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் தலைவர் பிரபாகரன் சுட்டுக்கொல்லப்பட்டதாக கடந்த 2009 ஆம் ஆண்டு மே 17ஆம் தேதி இலங்கை அரசு அறிவித்தது. இதனை இந்தியாவும் ஏற்றுக் கொண்டது.

அதே நேரம், இந்தியாவின் முன்னாள் பிரதமர் ராஜீவ் கொலை வழக்கில், பிரபாகரன் குற்றவாளியாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும் நிலையில், அவர் இறந்ததாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டதால், முதன்மைக் குற்றவாளிகளாக சேர்க்கப்பட்டுள்ள பிரபாகரன், பொட்டு அம்மான் பெயர்கள் வழக்கிலிருந்து விடுவிக்கப்படுமா என்ற கேள்வி எழுந்தது.

ஆனால், இதுவரை பிரபாகரன் பெயர் ராஜீவ் கொலை வழக்கில் இருந்து விடுவிக்கப்படவில்லை என்ற தகவல், சி.பி.ஐ.யிடம் இருந்து தகவல் அறியும் உரிமைச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் பெறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

திருப்பூர், குத்தூஸ்புரத்தை சேர்ந்த மணி என்பவர், சி.பி.ஐ.,யிடம் தகவல் அறியும் உரிமைச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் சில தகவல்களை கோரி இருந்தார். அதில்,

விடுதலைப் புலிகள் தலைவர் பிரபாகரன், ராஜீவ் கொலை வழக்கில் குற்றவாளியாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளாரா?

இலங்கை அரசு, பிரபாகரன் சுட்டுக்கொல்லப்பட்டதாக அதிகாரபூர்வமாக அறிவித்துள்ளதா?

இது தொடர்பாக அரசு ரீதியான தகவல் இலங்கை அரசிடம் இருந்து பெறப்பட்டுள்ளதா?

பிரபாகரனின் இறப்புச் சான்றிதழ் இலங்கை அரசிடம் இருந்து பெறப்பட்டுள்ளதா?

ராஜீவ் கொலை வழக்கில் பிரபாகரன் விடுவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளாரா?

என்ற கேள்விகளை எழுப்பி, தகவல் கோரியிருந்தார்.

இந்நிலையில் இக்கேள்விகளுக்கு கடந்த செப்டம்பர் 20 ஆம் தேகதி சி.பி.ஐ., பதில் அளித்துள்ளது.

அந்த பதிலில், ராஜீவ் கொலை வழக்கில் விடுதலைப்புலிகள் தலைவர் பிரபாகரன் குற்றவாளிதான் எனவும், பிரபாகரன் இறந்து விட்டதாக, இலங்கை அதிகாரிகள் தகவல் தெரிவித்திருப்பதாகவும், அரசு ரீதியான தகவல் பெறப்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும், பதில் அளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

அதே சமயம் இறப்புச் சான்றிதழ் தொடர்பான கேள்விக்கு, அலுவலக ரீதியாக உறுதிப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது என்று மட்டும் பதில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மேலும், ராஜீவ் கொலை வழக்கில் இருந்து பிரபாகரன் விடுவிக்கப்படவில்லை என்றும் சிபிஐ தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

2010-10-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Gandhi A Life In Pictures

View more presentations from Gandhi Foundation.

Gandhi Jayanti Quotes

2010-10-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.”

“There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever”

“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.”

Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.”

“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles”

17K employees left Satyam, now others fear pink slips

2010-10-01T00:35:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad: Mahindra Satyam employees appear to be more apprehensive about their future in the company now after the announcement of the firm's FY10 results on Wednesday. As Satyam-Tech Mahindra merger is nearing, new concerns of pink slip are creeping in among the employees. The IT firm, formerly Satyam Computer Services, reported that as many as 17,000 employees left the company in the last two fiscals.

"During the period under review (FY'08-09 and FY'09-10), the company's has changed from almost 44,000 to 27,000," Mahindra Satyam Chairman Vineet Nayyar said.

The image of Satyam Computer, rebranded as Mahindra Satyam after the acquisition by Tech Mahindra, took a severe beating after its founder chairman B Ramalinga Raju admitted to cooking up the company's accounts in January 2009.

The company added 44 new clients during the period under review.

The company announced audited financial results for FY'09 and FY'10, reporting a consolidated loss of Rs 124.60 crore for year ended March 2010. The entity did not come up with its financial numbers for nearly two years, due to the scam.
Meanwhile, sources claimed that the Mahindras have been hinting at slashing manpower in since the beginning of this financial year. First the management sacked more than 50 senior associates (vice-president level) of the firm and then withheld the appraisals and promotions of most managerial-level employees.

Tech Mahindra took over reins of the company in April 2009 and rebranded it as Mahindra Satyam.

"For the period that we are discussing because their is so much of voluntary and involuntary attrition," Nayyar added.

The company is running a virtual pool programme for the employees.

"In terms of hiring, the company is actively going to all business schools, campuses and is actively hiring through our buddy what is known as the referral programme," Nayyar added.

Nayyar further added that company wants to hire in excess of 3000 through 'for our buddy' programme, which has been internally posted on the job portal for employees to refer their friends in the industry.

The company's campus hire is also going to be significantly higher than previous years.

During the period under review, the company has added 44 new clients, taking its customers to 500.

"One of our largest losses were in the financial services sector and now one of our major additions has been in the financial services sector," he said.

"We have got a large accounts in North America, we have a large bank in Australia. There have been additions in manufacturing, healthcare and public sector," he added.

The company had also secured an extension of contracts with existing clients such as GE and GlaxoSmithKline.

It has also worked on projects associated with the Fifa World Cup. Mahindra Satyam was the 2010 FIFA World Cup official IT services provider.

Fair Ayodhya judgement: Land divided into 3 parts

2010-10-01T00:32:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: The wait of 61 years has come to a fair conclusion with the judges aptly passing on a verdict which makes none a loser. The 2.3 acres land has been equally divided in three parts. One-third part of the disputed land is given to the Sunni Waqf Board, one-third to the Nirmohi Akhara and one-third to the party for 'Ram Lalla'.

Considering the ancestry, the court has kept the Central dome for the Hindu Mahasabha, as the Hindu idols were placed in 1949 in the land prior to the Babri masjid and again in 1992 after the masjid was demolished. Though they have considered the land to be a Ramjanmasthan, Justices SU Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and DV Sharma maintained that Babar didn't build Babri Masjid demolishing a temple rather on the remains of a temple.

There were many anticipation on the judgement with everyone expecting a rule whereby a complete different entity might be allowed, which would by no means connote any religion, yet people see this to be a conducive decision. "Though I expected an entity like an academic institution or a hospital to be set up in the place, yet the decision looks sane. Three parts of the land ensures that the land has become a part of all religion and should no more arouse any conflicts," says Ela B., a home-maker.

However, the reaction to the eventful judgement is quite deem in the corporate world. When there should have been messages on peace and acceptance floating around in the social sites, the zero responses from any top corporate leader shows a thick-skinned attitude.

Will Satyam be able to bring back its lost shine?

2010-09-28T23:16:00.001-07:00

After two years, Mahindra Satyam is going to announce its first financial statements. Now, the employees, investors and customers are keeping their fingers crossed and are expecting that the company will be able to get new business and clarify about the company's financial health, reports Sreekala G and Pankaj Mishra of the Economic Times.

"For me, tomorrow is the moment of truthwe will have something to show to our customers , both existing and potential," said Akshay Prakash, a 33-year-old project manager at Mahindra Satyam. Since two years, Satyam has been struggling to retain customers and its key employees. The company's SAP practice which was serving top customers like GE, GM and Nestle has been among the worst hit. The employee count from January 2009 has come down to 800 professionals from initial count of around 4,500 staff. Even the unit head Manish Mehta had quit to join Patni.

"Financials are key to business and I believe that is the last tick mark left for the new management to do. It will open floodgates and we are ready to face it. For us, numbers are just another milestone. It will give more clarity to our customers and will help rebuild confidence and attract new talent to the company,"said Bhanu Murthy Sattiraju, Vice-President of the company's digital convergence business unit.

Investors and experts hope that the new management would give a clear disclosure of quarterly results after two years. In January 2009, Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted to a fraud of inflating the company's revenues to the tune of 7,136 crore. Later, Tech Mahindra acquired a 43 percent stake in the company through a government-controlled auction.

Now, an Indian among the youngest profs in Cambridge

2010-09-28T23:15:00.001-07:00

Vikram Deshpande, an IIT-Bombay alumnus is all set to join the league of the eminent professors at the Cambridge University. What sets him apart in the prestigious professors group is his age. At 38, this Mumbai lad is set to be one of the youngest professors at Cambridge when he joins the university on October 1, reports Anahita Mukherji of Times News Network.

Deshpande will also be one among the few Indian professors in the university. Deshpande said, "It's important to pursue a career in a field that you are passionate about. Only then can you work hard at it." He is presently posted as a reader in the engineering faculty at Cambridge.

Deshpande did his schooling in Bombay Scottish School, Mahim. His father, Sudhir Deshpande, shares Deshpande's childhood and says he was very mischievous as a kid. He said, "Vikram was very bright but everyone thought his elder brother was cleverer at studies than he was."

Even Deshpande's guide at IIT-Bombay, MSC Bose vouches for his credibility when he says, "Over the past 25 years, at IIT-Bombay I have had more than 50 BTech project students. It is safe to say that Mr Deshpande is the star of this group.... (he) is a gifted student, has expertise in computer analysis and optimal design of automobile systems. There is no doubt in my mind that he will become an outstanding teacher and researcher."

Deshpande rose to new heights seven years ago when he was awarded the Philip Leverhulme prize worth 50,000 pounds. The prize is awarded to scholars in UK institutions for outstanding research achievements.

Deshpande earned his PhD from Cambridge University and a research fellowship at Brown University in the U.S. He was then appointed as an assistant lecturer at Cambridge in October 1999. In the last ten years, Deshpande also had a brief stint as associate professor at the University of California.

India's first Super Hercules plane readies for maiden flight

2010-09-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

Washington: The first of India's six C-130J Super Hercules airlifters, considered the world's most advanced transport aircraft, is being prepared for its maiden flight early next month.

The first C-130J that donned Indian Air Force (IAF) colours in June ran its engines for the first time Tuesday, its manufacturer Lockheed Martin said, releasing an image of the plane at its Marietta plant in Georgia.

Purchased from the US in a $1 billion deal, India's six stretched-fuselage C-130J-30s would provide the Indian Army and Indian Air Force "new special operations capabilities using the world's most advanced airlifter", according to Lockheed.

Equipped with India-unique operational equipment, including an infrared detection set (IDS), the aircraft for the first time will provide the IAF an ability to conduct precision low-level flying operations, airdrops and landings in blackout conditions.

To ensure 80 percent availability of the aircraft at any given time, Lockheed Martin has offered a long-term maintenance contract to the IAF on the lines of the ones it has with the US Air Force and the air forces of Australia, Britain and Canada.

The C-130J primarily performs the tactical portion of an airlift mission. The aircraft is capable of operating from rough, dirt strips and is the prime transport for air dropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.

The flexible design of the Super Hercules enables it to be configured for many different missions, allowing for one aircraft to perform the role of many. Much of the special mission equipment added to the Super Hercules is removable, allowing the aircraft to quickly switch between roles.

The C-130J Super Hercules, a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft, is a comprehensive update of the venerable Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems.

The aircraft can also be configured with the "enhanced cargo handling system". The system consists of a computerised loadmaster's station from where the user can remotely control the under floor winch.

The cargo compartment is approximately 41 feet long, 9 feet high, and 10 feet wide, and loading is from the rear of the fuselage. Initially developed for the USAF, this system enables rapid role changes to be carried out and so extends the C-130J's time available to complete tasks.

These combined changes have improved performance over its C-130E/H siblings, such as 40 percent greater range, 21 percent higher maximum speed, and 41 percent shorter take-off distance.

அமெரிக்காவில் விஷ ஊசி போட்டு 41 வயதுப் பெண்ணுக்கு மரண தண்டனை

2010-09-24T06:33:00.001-07:00

ஜராட் (அமெரிக்கா): அமெரிக்காவில் 41 வயதுப் பெண்ணுக்கு விஷ ஊசி போட்டு மரண தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது.

கடந்த ஐந்து ஆண்டுகளில் அமெரிக்காவில் மரண தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்பட்ட முதல் நபர் இவர்தான். விர்ஜீனியாவைச் சேர்ந்த அவரது பெயர் தெரசா லூயிஸ். இவர் தனது கணவரின் இன்சூரன்ஸ் பணத்தை (இரண்டரை லட்சம் டாலர்) பெறுவற்காக அவரையும், வளர்ப்பு மகனையும் கொன்றதாக கைது செய்யப்பட்டார்.

விசாரணைக்குப் பின்னர் அவருக்கு மரண தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டது. இதையடுத்து விஷ ஊசி போட்டு அவருக்குத் தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்ற ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்யப்பட்டன. ஆனால் இதற்கு அமெரிக்காவிலும், பிற நாடுகளிலும் கடும் எதிர்ப்பு எழுந்தது.

இருப்பினும் இந்த எதிர்ப்பைப் பொருட்படுத்தாமல் தற்போது தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்றி விட்டனர். உள்ளூர் நேரப்படி, விர்ஜீனியாவில் காலை 9.13 மணிக்கு அவருக்க விஷ ஊசி போட்டு தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்றினர்.

கடந்த ஐந்து ஆண்டுகளில் இப்போதுதான் முதல் முறையாக ஒருவருக்கு அமெரிக்காவில் மரண தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது. அதேசமயம், விர்ஜீனியாவைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு பெண்ணுக்கு தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டிருப்பது கடந்த நூறு ஆண்டுகளில் இதுதான் முதல் முறையாகும்.

கிரீன்ஸ்வில்லி சீர்திருத்த மையத்தில் தெரசாவுக்கு விஷ ஊசி போட்டு கொல்லும் நிகழ்ச்சியை அவரது உறவினர்களும், குடும்பத்தினரும் நேரில் பார்த்தனர்.

கணவர் மற்றும் வளர்ப்பு மகனைக் கொன்றதாக கைதாகி தற்போது மரண தண்டனைக்குள்ளான தெரசாவுக்கு உடந்தையாக இருந்ததாக 2 பேர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டனர். அவர்களுக்கு ஆயுள் தண்டனை வழங்கப்பட்டது. அவர்களில் ஒருவர் கடந்த 2006ம் ஆண்டு தற்கொலை செய்து கொண்டு விட்டார்.

தெரசாவைக் காப்பாற்றுவதற்காக கிட்டத்தட்ட 7300 அப்பீல் மனுக்கள் மாகாண ஆளுநருக்குப் பறந்தன. ஆனால் அனைத்தும் நிராகரிக்கப்பட்டு விட்டன என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

தொழில்நுட்பக் கோளாறு-கிளம்பாமலேயே பிருத்வி-2 சோதனை தோல்வி

2010-09-24T06:29:00.001-07:00

'யூசர் டிரையல்' எனப்படும் பயன்பாட்டு பரிசோதனைக்காக இன்று பிருத்வி-2 ஏவுகணையை ஏவ முயற்சித்தபோது அது தொழில்நுட்பக் கோளாறு காரணமாக கிளம்பவே இல்லை.

முற்றிலும் இந்தியத் தொழில்நுட்பத்துடன் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட அணு ஆயுதங்களை ஏந்திச் சென்று தாக்கக் கூடிய திறன் படைத்த ஏவுகணைதான் பிருத்வி-2. பலமுறை பரிசோதிக்கப்பட்ட இந்த ஏவுகணை இன்று யூசர் டிரையலுக்கு விடப்பட்டது. ஆனால் ஏவுகணை கிளம்பவே இல்லை. தொழில்நுட்பக் கோளாறு காரணமாக ஏவுகணை கிளம்பவில்லை என்று தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.

சந்திப்பூரில் உள்ள ஒருங்கிணைந்த ஏவுகணைப் பரிசோதனை மையத்தில் இன்று காலை இந்த சோதனைக்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தது.

இதுகுறித்து அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கூறுகையில், ஏவுகணையிலோ அல்லது லாஞ்சரிலோ ஏற்பட்ட தொழில்நுட்பக் கோளாறு காரணமாகவே ஏவுகணை கிளம்பவில்லை என்று சந்தேகிக்கிறோம்.

காமன்வெல்த் போட்டிகளின்போது லஷ்கர் இ தொய்பா தாக்கலாம்-அமெரிக்கா எச்சரிக்கை

2010-09-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

வாஷிங்டன்: காமன்வெல்த் போட்டிகளின்போது லஷ்கர் இ தொய்பா தாக்குதல் நடத்தும் வாய்ப்புகள் அதிகம் இருப்பதாக அமெரிக்கா எச்சரித்துள்ளது.

இதுகுறித்து அமெரிக்க தேசிய தீவிரவாத தடுப்பு மையத்தின் இயக்குநர் மைக்கேல் லீட்டர் கூறுகையில், டெல்லி காமன்வெல்த் போட்டியை லஷ்கர் இ தொய்பா தீவிரவாதிகள் குறி வைக்கக் கூடும் என்று எதிர்பார்க்கிறோம். அதற்கான வாய்ப்புகள் அதிகம் உள்ளன.

இந்தப் போட்டிகள் இந்தியாவுக்கு மிக முக்கியமானவை என்பதால் அதை சீர்குலைக்க லஷ்கர் முயலலாம்.

நாளுக்கு நாள் இந்த தாக்குதல் அபாயத்தின் அளவு அதிகரித்துக் கொண்டே போகிறது. எனவே இந்தியா மிகுந்த கவனத்துடன் இருக்க வேண்டியது அவசியமாகும் என்றார்.

இதை இந்திய அரசும் ஊகித்தே உள்ளது. இதனால்தான் எந்த வகையான தாக்குதலையும் சமாளிக்கக் கூடிய வகையில் பாதுகாப்பு ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்யப்பட்டிருப்பதாக மத்திய உள்துறை தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

காமன்வெல்த் போட்டிக்கு மட்டும் 80,000 போலீஸார் பாதுகாப்புப் பணியில் ஈடுபடுத்தப்படவுள்ளனர். இவர்கள் போக 17,500 புற ராணுவப் படையினர், 3000 கமாண்டோக்கள், 100 சதி முறியடிப்புப் படையினரும் டெல்லியில் குவிக்கப்படுகின்றனர்.

லீட்டர் தொடர்ந்து கூறுகையில், காஷ்மீரிலும் நாட்டின் பிற பகுதிகளிலும் லஷ்கர் இயக்கம் தனது ஆதிக்கத்தை ஏற்கனவே பலமுறை நிலைநாட்டியுள்ளது. இது டெல்லி காமன்வெல்த் போட்டியிலும் எதிரொலிக்கக் கூடும் என்று எதிர்பார்க்கிறோம்.

தெற்காசிய பாதுகாப்புக்கு மிகப் பெரிய மிரட்டலாக உருவெடுத்துள்ளது லஷ்கர் இ தொய்பா என்றார் லீட்டர்.

அயோத்தி தீர்ப்பு-உஷார்படுத்தப்பட்ட தமிழகம்

2010-09-23T06:43:00.001-07:00

நாளை அயோத்தி தீர்ப்பு அளிக்கப்படும் என்று அறிவிக்கப்பட்டதைத் தொடர்ந்து தமிழகத்தின் முக்கிய நகரங்கள் அனைத்திலும் உஷார்படுத்தப்பட்ட போலீஸார் தற்போது நிம்மதிப் பெருமூச்சு விட்டுள்ளனர்.

நாளை அயோத்தி தீர்ப்பு வெளியாகும் என அறிவிக்கப்பட்டிருந்ததால், தமிழகத்தில் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட வேண்டிய பாதுகாப்பு ஏற்பாடுகள் குறித்து தலைமைச் செயலாளர் மாலதி நேற்று அவசர ஆலோசனைக் கூட்டத்தைக் கூட்டியிருந்தார். இந்த உயர் மட்டக் கூட்டத்தில் உள்துறை செயலாளர், பொதுத் துறை செயலாளர், டிஜிபி, சட்டம் ஒழுங்கு கூடுதல் டிஜிபி, சென்னை, மதுரை, கோவை உள்ளிட்ட நகரங்களின் காவல்துறை ஆணையர்கள், மண்டல ஐஜிக்கள் உள்ளிட்டோர் கலந்து கொண்டனர்.

பாதுகாப்புப் பணியில் 1 லட்சம் பேர்:

இக்கூட்டத்தில் அனைத்து மாவட்டங்கள், பெருநகரங்களிலும் விரிவான பாதுகாப்பு ஏற்பாடுகளை செய்யுமாறு அனைவருக்கும் மாலதி அறிவுறுத்தினார். பாதுகாப்புப் பணியில் 90 ஆயிரம் போலீஸார் மற்றும் 10 ஆயிரம் அதிகாரிகள் என 1 லட்சம் பேர் ஈடுபடுத்தப்படவுள்ளனர் என்றும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது.

வாகன சோதனை, 24 மணி நேர கண்காணிப்பு, தீவிர ரோந்துப் பணி, முக்கிய இடங்களில் போலீஸ் படைகள் குவிப்பு, வெடிகுண்டுகளை கண்டுபிடித்து செயலிழக்க வைக்கும் படையினர் என அனைத்து வகையான பாதுகாப்பு ஏற்பாடுகளும் செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தன.

போலீஸாருக்கு விடுமுறை ரத்து:

தமிழகம் முழுவதும் போலீஸாருக்கு விடுமுறை ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தது. அனைவரும் பணியில் ஈடுபட ஆயத்த நிலையில் இருக்குமாறும் அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டிருந்தது. மறுஉத்தரவு வரும் வரை இது அமலில் இருக்கும் எனவும் டிஜிபி லத்திகாசரண் தெரிவித்திருந்தார்.

பஸ் நிலையங்கள், ரயில் நிலையங்கள், விமான நிலையங்கள், சந்தைகள், வழிபாட்டுத் தலங்கள், முக்கிய வணிக வளாகங்கள், மக்கள் அதிகம் கூடும் பகுதிகள் என அனைத்து இடங்களில் ரகசியக் கேமரா கண்காணிப்பு மூலம் பலத்த பாதுகாப்பும், கண்காணிப்பும் மேற்கொள்ளப்படும் என அறிவிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது.

தமிழகத்தில் 15 பட்டாலியன் தமிழ்நாடு சிறப்புப் படை போலீஸார் பாதுகாப்புப் பணியில் ஈடுபடுத்தப்படவுள்ளனர் என்று கூறப்பட்டிருந்தது.

தமிழகம் முழுவதும் அமைதி ஊர்வலமோ பிற ஊர்வலங்களோ நடத்தக் கூடாது என தடை செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தது. போலீஸ் தடைச் சட்டமும் பிரயோகிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது.

கோவை நகரில் பலத்த பாதுகாப்பு:

மத ரீதியாக பதட்டமான நகரமான கோவையில் கூடுதல் பாதுகாப்புக்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தது. 3000 போலீஸார் பாதுகாப்புப் பணியில் ஈடுபடுத்தப்பட்டிருந்தனர்.

நெல்லை, தூத்துக்குடி மாவட்டங்களில் முக்கிய இடங்களில் சோதனைச் சாவடிகள் அமைத்து போலீசார் சோதனை நடத்தி வந்தனர்.

இரு மாவட்டங்களிலும் 6 ஆயிரம் போலீசார் பாதுகாப்பு பணியில் ஈடுபட்டிருந்தனர். நெல்லையில் 6 இடங்களில் சோதனைச் சாவடிகள் அமைத்து சோதனை நடத்தப்பட்டது. மேலப்பாளையத்தில் பாதுகாப்பு பலப்படுத்தப்பட்டிருந்தது.

அதேபோல கர்நாடக மாநிலத் தலைநகர் பெங்களூர் முழுவதும் 144 போலீஸ் தடை உத்தரவும் பிறப்பிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது. மதுக் கடைகளை மூடவும், பள்ளி, கல்லூரிகளை மூடவும் மாநில அரசு நடவடிக்கை எடுத்திருந்தது.

12-year old Indian origin a Math genius

2010-09-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Bangalore: A very unlikely, and the most awe-inspiring, delegate made her presence at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) 2010. 12-year-old Kaavya Jayram, who presented a paper on her results in the area of integer partitioning - expressing numbers as the sum of other numbers, was the youngest person at the International Congress of Women Mathematicians, a satellite conference that preceded the ICM reports Indian Express.

Her paper will be published by the International Journal of Number Theory. Parimala Raman, an invited speaker at ICM and one of India's most well-known experts in algebra who is now the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Mathematics at Emory University, U.S. said, "She is really good and she is way ahead of her age. She is interested in problem solving and research, taking great courses at Stanford. She was at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in December when I gave a talk. We've been in touch."

Kaavya took a fancy to number theory after attending a definitive lecture on the subject at IIT Kanpur by Professor Manindra Agrawal who heads the institute's computer science department.

She was home schooled by her mother as she had attained the tag of a 'problem child' at school, thanks to her intelligence. She decided she would be a mathematician, when eight, and began taking courses at the San Jose State University and Stanford University, the latter at the invitation of noted number theorist Kannan Soundararajan.

Kaavya says of her fancy for numbers, "What I like about number theory is there are so many unsolved problems which seem simple but have stumped mathematicians for years."

Presently the family is based in California's Bay Area and is in India for a year. After this, Kaavya will go to university full time, perhaps to Berkeley or Stanford.

INDIA RANKED THIRD AMONG MOST POWERFUL NATIONS

2010-09-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

India is listed as the third most powerful country in the world after the U.S. and China and the fourth most powerful bloc after the U.S., China and the European Union in a new official U.S. report.

The new global power lineup for 2010 also predicted that New Delhi's clout in the world will further rise by 2025, according to "Global Governance 2025" jointly issued by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of the US and the European Union's Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).

Using the insights of a host of experts from Brazil, Russia, India and China, among others, and fictionalised scenarios, the report illustrates what could happen over the next 25 years in terms of global governance.

In 2010, the U.S. tops the list of powerful countries/regions, accounting for nearly 22 percent of the global power.

The U.S. is followed by China with European Union at 16 percent and India at eight percent. India is followed by Japan, Russia and Brazil with less than five percent each.

According to this international futures model, by 2025 the power of the U.S., EU, Japan and Russia will decline while that of China, India and Brazil will increase, even though there will be no change in this listing.

By 2025, the U.S. will still be the most powerful country of the world, but it will have a little over 18 percent of the global power.

The U.S. will be closely followed by China with 16 percent, European Union with 14 percent and India with 10 per cent.

"The growing number of issues on the international agenda, and their complexity, is outpacing the ability of international organizations and national governments to cope," the report warns.

This critical turning point includes issues of climate change, ethnic and regional conflicts, new technology, and the managing of natural resources.

The report also highlights the challenges proponents of effective global governance face.

On one hand, rapid globalization, economic and otherwise, has led to an intertwining of domestic politics and international issues and fueled the need for more cooperation and more effective leadership.

But on the other hand, an increasingly multipolar world, often dominated by non-state actors, have put a snag in progress toward effectual global governance, it said.

PARLIAMENT CANTEEN'S MENU CARD

2010-09-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine a vegetarian thali lunch for Rs.12.50 or a katori (small bowl) of dal at Rs.1.50, and chapatis for a rupee each at a time when the prices of essential commodities are touching the sky?

Yes it is possible, even if food is getting out of the reach of the poor in the country. Welcome to the Parliament House canteen - where delectable dishes will never act pricey.

A series of catering units run by Indian Railways at Parliament House, including at the library and the annexe building, serve food at rates which are a good decade old but are hard to digest for a newcomer.

MPs, who are seen shouting at each other and castigating the government over the rising food prices, definitely relish the cheap canteen food. But, mind you, the facility is not for them only. Parliament staff, low-paid security personnel and accredited journalists too enjoy the delicacies at rates which an ordinary citizen outside cannot even think of.
Dal, considered to be the poor man's food in India and which is now getting too expensive to even fit his bowl, costs just Rs.1.50 for a katori.

Low rates make the desserts sweeter. A katori of kheer at Rs.5.50 will never taste bitter. So will a small fruit cake at Rs.9.50 and a helping of fruit salad at Rs.7.

If you want to have soup, enjoy a bowl full at Rs.5.50, and for a heaped plate of cooked rice you need to shell out just Rs.2. Dosa is available at Rs.4.

And, yes, a cup of piping hot tea is available for just Rs.1 -- not in the canteen but along a parliament corridor at a tea board.

Where does this come from? Remember, behind the cheap commodity there is a subsidy. All this costs the government a huge amount of tax payers' money.

The gap between the actual cost and what MPs, journalists and others have to pay, is bridged with a food budget set aside by parliament.

"Over Rs.5.3 crore has been allocated during the current financial year for the canteens. The Lok Sabha pays some Rs.3.55 crore and the Rajya Sabha shares the amount to over Rs.1.77 crore," said an official.

"Not only MPs, we serve food to everybody who is allowed inside parliament. They also include workers, gardeners and labourers," the official told IANS, defending the low prices.

The food prices were last revised in 2004.

A 15-member joint parliamentary committee on food management headed by then MP K. Yerranaidu of the Telugu Desam Party was constituted in 2005 to consider revision of the rates and the service.

"The committee didn't give any report and the rates were not revised," the official said.

During the just-concluded winter session, on an average "3,000 people were served lunch in the canteen daily", a caterer said, but strongly pleaded anonymity as "we have been told not to speak to the media without permission".

Parliament House Canteen Food Rates

Tea Re. 1

Soup Rs.5.50

Dal - one katori Rs.1.50

Veg thali (dal, subzi,4 chapatis, rice/pulao, curd and salad) Rs.12.50

Non-veg thali Rs.22

Curd rice Rs.11

Veg pulao Rs.8

Chicken biryani Rs.34

Fish curry and rice Rs.13

Rajma rice Rs.7

Tomato rice Rs.7

Fish fry Rs.17

Chicken curry Rs.20.50

Chicken masala Rs.24.50

Butter chicken Rs.27

Chapati Re.1 a piece

One plate rice Rs.2

Dosa Rs.4

Kheer - one katori Rs.5.50

Fruit cake Rs.9.50

Fruit salad Rs.7

Stop fighting with each other friends, its time to stop trusting politicians blindly, they all are enjoying their lives, and the only people suffering are Poor and Aam Aadmi, while the politicians fill themselves up to the brim with this cheap food so that they have sufficient energy to throw slippers and make perfect asses of themselves inside the venerable Parliament.