e - OAzIS [English]

How Tech Companies Got Their Name

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:20:00 +0530

Adobe: Adobe was named after the Adobe Creek in Los Altos, California, which ran behind the home of co-founder John Warnock.

Apple Computers: The first slogan of this company was "Bite into an Apple", while its more famous slogan is "Think Different". Probably thinking differently, the founder, Steve Jobs, named this company "Apple Computers" while he was driving along with Steve Wozniak between Palo Alto and Los Altos. Jobs and his friends used to work on a community farm cultivating apples while he was working in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Jobs was three months late in filing a name for the business, and he threatened to call his company Apple Computers if his colleagues didn't suggest a better name. As you can guess, they didn't come up with anything better and the rest is history. Other theories are that Jobs wanted his company to feature before Atari in the phone book, while yet another suggestion is that it was a tribute to Apple Records, which was the music label of the Beatles.

Cisco: Even though its current headquarters is in San Jose, California, this company was founded in San Francisco, California in 1984 and took the last five letters of the name of this city for the company name. This is the reason why the company's engineers insisted on using the name in lower case as "cisco" previously rather than "Cisco" as it is now known. The company logo also has the stylized Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco.

Google: The name of this company started as a jockey boast about the amount of information the search-engine would be able to search. The word "Google" is a misspelling of the word "Googol", which means a number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. After founders - Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their project to an angel investor and received a cheque made out to "Google". The search engine of this company was originally nicknamed "BackRub" because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site and rank it in the search.

Hewlett-Packard: HP or Hewlett-Packard got its name from the founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, but the story of its name is nonetheless interesting. Hewlett and Packard could not agree as to whether the company should be named Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett, so they decided to resolve the matter by tossing a coin. Packard won the toss and decided to name it Hewlett-Packard Company in 1939.

Hotmail: The founder of this company, Jack Smith, came up with the idea of accessing email via the web from a computer anywhere in the world without having the prevailing restrictive system of having to use the email server provided by the ISP. When the other founder, Sabeer Bhatia came up with the business plan for the mail service, he tried all kinds of names ending with 'mail', and finally settled for Hotmail, as it included the letters "HTML", which is Hyper Text Markup Language - the programming language used to write web pages. Launched on July 4, 1996, it was initially referred to as HoTMaiL with selective upper casing.

Intel: At its inception, founders Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company "Moore Noyce" but discovered that this name was already trademarked by a hotel chain. Also, they felt that it didn't sound nice as the pronunciation was eerily similar to 'more noise', which is not suitable for a semiconductor company. They used the name NM Electronics for the first year before arriving at Intel, which is the acronym of INTegrated Electronics and that is how the company has been known since.

Lotus: Founder, Mitch Kapor, christened this company as Lotus, inspired by the "padmasana" or the yoga asana with a lotus position. The roots to this choice of name could be the fact that Kapor used to be a teacher of Transcendental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Microsoft: The word Microsoft is derived from the words Microcomputer and Software and it has an interesting history. Bill Gates used the word Micro-Soft in a letter he wrote to Paul Allen, the other co-founder of this company on November 29, 1975 and they later registered this company in this name on November 26, 1976. The hyphen was eventually removed and it came to be known from then on as Microsoft.

Motorola: This company started as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, manufacturing battery eliminators. Founder Paul Galvin came up with the name Motorola when this company started manufacturing radios for cars in 1930. The name is a combination of the word "motor" and "Victrola", which was a popular radio company at the time.

Oracle: Larry Ellison and Bob Oats were working on a consulting project for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) while at Ampex Corporation. The code name for the project was called Oracle, because the CIA saw this as something like a system to give answers to all questions much like the mythical Oracles of the ancient world.

Red Hat: This Linux distro that released in 1994 has an interesting history. Marc Ewing, who created this distro had been given the Cornell lacrosse team cap (with red and white stripes) while at college by his grandfather. However, he lost it and despite looking for it did not find it. The information is revealed in the manual of the beta version of Red Hat Linux, which had an appeal to readers to return his Red Hat if found by anyone. Interesting, isn't it?

SAP: SAP is an acronym for "Systems, Applications, Products in Data Processing" and was formed by four ex-IBM employees who used to work in the 'Systems/Applications/Projects' group of IBM.

Sony: Formerly known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K., the co-founder of this company, Akio Morita realized that Americans had difficulty pronouncing this name while on a business trip to the US. He therefore tried to find a Romanized name for this company, which would be appealing to Americans and would also embody the spirit of the company. After trying out different names, they arrived at a decision to use "Sony" as the name. This word has been derived from the Latin word Sonus meaning sound, and Sonny a slang used by Americans to refer to a bright youngster. They chose this word as this did not exist in any other language. Another theory suggests that the name was derived from the word Sun, because Japan is known as the Land of the Rising Sun and also the place of origin of this company.

Sun Microsystems: Stanford University graduate Andy Bechtolsheim designed what would become the first Unix workstation by Sun Microsystems, known as Sun 1 workstation for a project as a personal CAD workstation. The name SUN is an acronym of Stanford University Network that got stuck to the company from then on and Andy Bechtolsheim was one of the four founders.

Xerox: This company started as The Haloid Company in Rochester in 1906 when it manufactured photographic paper and equipment. It later changed its name to Haloid Xerox in 1958 and then dropped Haloid to become simply known as Xerox in 1961. The word Xerox has its roots in the Greek language, where "xer" means dry. Chestor Carlson, the inventor of dry copying named it thus to emphasize the fact that this process was dry and different from the prevailing wet copying method.

Yahoo!Originally named "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web", this company was renamed to Yahoo! in April 1994. Yahoo is the official backronym of "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle" and it is also a word invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book Gulliver's Travels. It represents a person who is rude, uncouth and unsophisticated, something which Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo considered they were.

Thanks : http://www.techtree.com

Holiday and Events – Google style!

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:40:00 +0530

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Improvements to Realtime Search

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:01:00 +0530

The blogosphere is a dynamic environment that changes almost as quickly as the world that we live in. And as access to information becomes more widespread and more immediate, the blogosphere is steadily closing that gap. That’s why the Blogger Team is excited to spread the word about Google’s new improvements to Realtime Search, which provide richer and fresher results than ever before.

From the new Realtime Search homepage, you can search live updates, recently-published blog posts, and news from around the web in brand new ways. Now you can restrict your search to include just updates from a specific geographic region or just nearby you. You can also check out complete conversations from Twitter. You can also now set up custom alerts for Realtime updates to be sent directly to your inbox once a day or week, or as soon as the happen for instant blog post fodder.

For more information about Realtime’s new features, please visit

www.google.com/landing/realtime.

Super Simple: Your Creative Canvas

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:00:00 +0530

When it comes to design, sometimes less can be more. This is the mantra behind our newest variant Super Simple, freshly-released to the Template Designer this week. We’ve taken the original Simple variant and stripped it down to the bare essentials, putting your actual blog content front and center on the page.

As with all of our variants, you are free to tweak all of the individual elements and styles to your liking. And if you are looking to design a fancy blog template from scratch, the Super Simple variant is also a great frame to build upon.

You can check out the new variant right now in the Template Designer, under the Simplecategory. As always, our ears are open to your feedback, so please feel free to let us know what you think.

Get Related Content for Your Blog with the Zemanta Gadget

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:00:00 +0530

Guest post by Boštjan 'Bos' Špetič, Zemanta CEO

About a year ago this blog featured Zemanta, a tool that helps you get more out of blogging. Previously, Blogger users could install a Zemanta browser plugin to recommend content while you blog, enabling you to:

Read news to learn more about the topic
Link articles to improve the value of your post
Use pictures to make your post richer

Today we are pleased to announce that we've teamed up with Blogger to make it easier to use Zemanta on Blogger. To use Zemanta, just follow these three easy steps:

1. Click this link: Add Zemanta gadget. It will take you to a page to add the Zemanta gadget to your blog:

2. Select one of your blogs in the drop-down box, and click Add Zemanta. This will add the gadget to the post editor for your selected blog, and take you to a new post page.

3. You will see Zemanta is already turned on, waiting for you to start using it.

That's it! You are now all set up to boost your blogging. Simply write a couple of sentences and the recommendations will show up automatically. You can preview them and then simply click on an item to add it to the post.

To learn more about how best to use Zemanta, check out this video, browse through our tutorials, read about our selection as one of ReadWriteWeb's "Top 10 Semantic Web products" last year, or just get started and play around with it. We would love to hear your feedback or suggestions.

Happy blogging!

* Notes: Adding Zemanta gadget will automatically update your blog's post editor to the New Editor; Also, this feature is currently available only for English-locale users.

How Blogger Inspired The Creation Of BlogWorld & New Media Expo

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:59:00 +0530

Guest post by Rick Calvert, CEO of BlogWorld & New Media Expo

When the Google Blogger team asked me to write a guest post for the Blogger Blog, I really didn’t know where to start. Today it occurred to me that the story of how I found Blogger might be a good place.

I have been reading and commenting on blogs since the year 2000. I am a news and political junkie so most of the blogs I read were political. Tons of them were hosted right here on Blogger. I was amazed at the original news being reported; the insightful commentary and opinion; the incredibly moving personal stories from Milbloggers and their families and yes the crazy conspiracy theories. This Blogging thing was really incredible. Who were all these smart people?

So many times I wished I could be a blogger, but I wasn’t a techie or a geek and it just seemed like it would be too difficult. Fast forward to 2005; I was in the middle of my two-hour daily commute home on the 91 freeway out of Los Angeles and listening to center right talk radio guy Hugh Hewitt. He said something that got me worked up so I called in. I don’t remember what we talked about but at the end of the conversation he said “you should start a blog.” So that night I went home and Googled “how to start a blog.” Blogger was the first result. So I clicked through and found the message you have all seen and the message that changed my life forever “Create Your Blog Now.” I had no idea how easy it was to start a blog! It only took me five minutes to do something I had been longing to do for nearly five years!

Things started moving very quickly from there—someone actually read my blog. How the heck did they find me? I wondered. Top political bloggers from both sides of the aisle were linking to me. TO ME! Every political pundit I asked to interview said yes! Other bloggers were selling books on their site through Amazon. I thought to myself, I read a lot of books; I should sell the books I like on my blog. A friend helped me sign up as an Amazon Associate and I was off to the races. Then one day an Ad Network contacted me and wanted to sell ads on my blog.

I had so many questions. How much money could I make blogging? How do I add things like widgets and blog rolls to my blog? Can I do audio and video posts? So I started looking for the “Blogging Tradeshow.” Being a tradeshow and conference organizer for the last 15 years I knew there was a tradeshow for every industry. I was stunned when I realized no such conference existed. I asked my blogger friends if they would ever attend the “Blogging Tradeshow.” They all said yes. I asked my tradeshow friends if they thought it was a good idea. They all said yes.

And so BlogWorld & New Media Expo was born in November of 2006. We held our first event in November of 2007 with 1,600 attendees! This October 14-16 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas we will host the fourth annual BlogWorld & New Media Expo. Over 4,000 bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, internet radio, and TV broadcasters will be attending and things have come full circle.

We are thrilled that for the first time the blog platform that changed my life, Blogger, will be exhibiting at BlogWorld. We have had folks from Blogger speak at the conference every year, and this year Product Manager Chang Kim will be speaking on “The Future of Blogging Platforms.” And now for the first time all of you can visit the Blogger booth (# 308) and ask your own questions. Or just stop by to say hi and meet the Blogger team, or like me stop by and give them a huge THANK YOU for changing your life.

By the way if you still need to register for the show, as a member of the Blogger community you can use this special code for 20% off of any registration package at BlogWorld 2010:BLOGGER20

Viglink: Easier Way to Monetize Links On Your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:59:00 +0530

Guest post by Oliver Roup, VigLink CEO

If you spend as much time working on your blog as we do, you wonder if there's a way to get paid. Many bloggers monetize by selling ads on their site but now there is a way to get paid for your actual content rather than just the ads that go around it.

Any time you write about a product or service, you're connecting your audience to that product. If someone makes a purchase, the seller benefits from your written word—you influenced a purchase. There are thousands of websites that will pay you a fee for any business you bring them through a form of online advertising called affiliate marketing. With affiliate ads, web publishers are compensated for driving online actions.

VigLink is a content monetization company that makes affiliate marketing very easy for bloggers. We offer a simple snippet of code you can install in your blog that automatically and transparently does all the work for you. We've catalogued and signed up for more than 12,500 affiliate programs and we collect all the performance information and deliver you a single integrated payment. In return, VigLink takes 25% of the incremental revenue you earn.

There are no other costs or fees and nothing changes about how your site looks or behaves.Join VigLink and enroll your blog in less than a minute or learn more by watching this two minute video.

Oliver Roup is the CEO and co-founder of VigLink, a content monetization company backed by Google Ventures.

Great wall of customers greets iPhone 4 in China

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:58:00 +0530

On a faster boat to China.

(Credit: Apple)

Despite a somewhat tepid reception last year for an earlier version of the iPhone, customers in China turned out in force Saturday to try to get their hands on the latest incarnation, the iPhone 4, as it made its debut in the country.

According to various reports, more than 1,000 people mobbed the new Apple Store in Beijing's Joy City shopping mall Saturday, and carrier China Unicom said it had taken almost 50,000 preorders for the device in one day. That compares with a mere 5,000 iPhones sold last year during the first weekend that the earlier version of the gadget was available in China.

That version was 3G only, with Wi-Fi disabled because of Chinese regulations prohibiting gadgets that don't use the country's WAPI (Wired Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) wireless standard. The iPhone 4, however, has been made Wi-Fi-ready for the Chinese market--Apple having acquired a network access license in the country in July.

The price, too, has come down. A 16GB iPhone 4 is selling for about $743 and the 32GB version for about $892 without a contract at Apple Stores in China, the company said on Monday. (The phone will also be available through China Unicom with a two-year contract at prices Apple did not detail.) Last year's iPhone 3--Wi-Fi-less in China--went on sale in the country at about $732 for an 8GB model and about $1,025 for a 32GB version.

Apple is no doubt pleased by the seeming uptick in iPhone love among the Chinese--the country is the world's largest mobile market. The company opened two new Apple Stores there Saturday, according to an item in The Wall Street Journal: the Joy City location, and another across town at a mall called The Village. That doubles the number of Apple's Chinese retail outlets. The company plans to open 25 Apple Stores in China by the end of next year, the Journal said. Apple also began selling its iPad in the country on September 17.

Still, there's a ways to go. When the iPhone 4 debuted in the United States earlier this year, it sold, according to Apple, 1.7 million units in three days, the company's most successful product launch ever. And Apple was only the fifth-largest smartphone seller in China as of the second quarter of this year, according to figures quoted by the Journal. Nokia held the top spot.

On a side note, Apple may be able to duck iPhone 4 "Antennagate" issues in China--China Unicom said last month that the device would be sold with a free case there.

Thanks :- http://news.cnet.com/

Studio executives discuss potential of 3D

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:58:00 +0530

James Cameron's "Avatar" did boffo box office and sparked the current 3D craze.

(Credit: 20th Century Fox)

NEW YORK--That famously off-the-mark wisecrack, made when the Warner Bros. co-founder was confronted by the advent of talking pictures, was given an airing Friday at the 3D Experience Executive Forum here. Likened to current naysaying about 3D movies and TV, the quote was referenced by David Naranjo, director of product development for Mitsubishi Digital Electronics, along with several other ill-fated predictions in entertainment--as if to say: They'll eat those words!

Resisting 3D may be futile, but we still don't know to what extent 3D will invade our lives. That was what executives gathered to discuss. Will 3D be a part of every screen, from TVs to ATMs, as predicted by Jim Chabin, CEO of the International 3D Society? Will it be a staple of learning tools in the classroom, as predicted by Michael P. Guillory of Texas Instruments? Or will it simply be the thing kids get excited about at the movies because it makes dinosaur tails come flying toward their noses?

Chabin said 3D will be omnipresent on all displays because "the cost of making a screen 3D is the same as making it color. It's nothing. It's just another chip and a little more gas." What holds up adoption is consumer confusion. The lack of a standard for 3D glasses is confusing enough, but couple that with the fact that most consumers don't understand that a 3D TV is also a 2D TV and what is left is an adoption cul-de-sac. Studios and hardware manufacturers love the potential. Consumers don't know what to think.

Much like high-definition TV, consumers may not initially understand the need to pay more for 3D content through their cable boxes. Delivering 3D content will heavily tax the Internet service provider, even if the format is properly compressed, meaning that already-pricey cable TV will be even pricier with 3D channels.

Of course, content is king, but the format is too nascent and, at times, too kitschy.

"You can't take a bad movie, turn it into 3D, and make it a good movie," said Richard Gelfond, CEO of IMAX Corporation.

What you can do is convert 2D content into 3D content, but not everyone thinks that approach produces the best results. 3D purists think movies should be conceptualized and shot in 3D from the get-go. Others think conversion is an essential way to jump-start the 3D brand.

"There is generally about 15 to 30 percent savings when you shoot in 2D and convert to 3D," said Dr. Barry Sandrew, president of Legend 3D.

Though 2D conversion is expensive and time consuming, the fact that consumers pay more for tickets to 3D movies provides some incentive. But in the theater, 3D is a novel outing. At home, 3D can be a distraction. You can't multitask while watching a 3D film, and you can't wear any glasses besides those intended for the specific television set you purchased.

"Will consumers wear glasses in the home?" asked Robert Mayson, president of RealD. "Speaking as someone who has worn glasses in the home since 11 years of age, the answer is yes. But the content has to be good enough."

Just because Mayson is willing to wear another set of glasses doesn't mean everyone will be. And don't hold your breath for a glasses-free 3D TV anytime soon.

"Autostereo, or glasses-free, is of course the holy grail, but you have to get there at the right quality," said Mayson. "Nobody really knows when that will come. My personal opinion is that it has to do with quality of image--and when that happens at a price us mere mortals can afford."

Thanks :- http://news.cnet.com/

Zuckerberg on Oprah: More than crisis PR

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:57:00 +0530

Zuckerberg and Oprah. They go together like steak and custard. At least in the eyes of many, perhaps slightly jaundiced, observers.

The story goes that the Facebook CEO's appearance Friday on Oprah Winfrey's show was a vast, cynical attempt to blunt any ill effects from the launch of a movie that portrays him as a sleazy little nerd with slightly less than one scruple.

That story, of course, may be true. The grand gesture of a $100 million donation to schools in New Jersey certainly offers a counterweight to a movie in which only billions seem to matter.

But perhaps this appearance had far more value than mere temporary crisis management.

This was Zuckerberg's first real appearance before real people. This was the first time that those whose children spend far more time on his site than they do, say, talking to their moms, got to see who was behind this weirdly addictive phenomenon.

And what the Facebook CEO did so well was to appear awkward, uncomfortable and almost painfully human.

Mark Zuckerberg on Oprah from Cindy W on Vimeo.

He is not a natural Oprah-embracer.

His attempt at a hug was beautifully clumsy. The look in his eyes that said: "How many more minutes of this must I endure?" was quite precious. His answer to the question of why he chose to donate vast sums of money to New Jersey lacked a little conviction (answer should have been: "Oh, come on, New Jersey always needs help. Even Carmelo Anthony doesn't really want to go there").

But he presented his face to those who really matter.

Those who really matter are not people in the tech world who rightly criticize him for his obvious, cynical obfuscations on the subject of privacy.

The people whom Zuckerberg must now present himself to are the real people out there who use his site, not understanding all the implications of their participation.

Recently, tech CEOs are coming to realize that their real constituency is not those with whom they feel strangely comfortable--their own kind--but those real humans who rely on their products every day. It is not coincidence that Google CEO Eric Schmidt is now trying to tell jokes.

And while Zuckerberg may have gone kicking and screaming onto Oprah, no doubt wriggling and screeching as that jacket was forced around his shoulders by several large bouncers, he may have to do more of that endearing deer-in-headlights public presentation.

Facebook is the most human site of all. Unlike Google, it is not about cold, hard information. It is about the warm, cuddly aspects of humanity. You know, friendship, kinship, and telling your ex that your ship has sailed.

Zuckerberg's human, awkward, steady-relationship, girlfriend-kissing, house-renting, Chinese-learning self is surely fundamental to making real people feel a little more comfortable about his brand and its motivations.

Not merely at a time when he might perceive a PR crisis, but for a much longer term, and purpose.

Thanks :- http://news.cnet.com

Newark hopes Facebook gift translates to results

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:57:00 +0530

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey has already thrown enough money at its largest school district to make it among the nation's best-funded, yet it remains in the pits. Can a $100 million gift from the founder of Facebook really turn it around?

The money hasn't even arrived, but it's already creating a buzz in Newark, where three out of five third-graders can't read and write at their grade level. Barely half the students who begin high school manage to graduate, and most of them do so without passing the state's standard graduation exam.

"This money makes us feel good about ourselves, that we're being noticed," said 15-year-old Estephany Balbuena, a student at Newark's Arts High School. "There's a bad reputation of Newark, but it's not true. Some of us are successful."

The three players seeking to turn the windfall into a renaissance — a 26-year-old Internet wunderkind, a Democratic mayor described by Oprah Winfrey as a "rock star" and a Republican governor drawing criticism and acclaim for his budget-slashing ways — announced their plans Friday on Winfrey's talk show.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said he would donate $100 million worth of Facebook stock over the next five years through his new Startup: Education foundation. Gov. Chris Christie said he would give Mayor Cory Booker a major role in overseeing any major changes in the district, which the state took over in 1995 because of persistently low test scores and wasteful spending.

Booker pledged to raise an additional $150 million for the effort.

"What's the alternative? Is it to continue what we're doing now, with nearly a 50 percent dropout rate?" Christie said. "I'm much more willing to take risks and take chances when it comes to this."

Zuckerberg paid a visit to Newark on Saturday, spending time with Booker and holding a press conference with the mayor and the governor at a downtown hotel. The three were short on specifics, saying that a key first step of the process would be getting community input on changes that need to be made.

Recounting how his grandmother had been a teacher and his parents had worked hard to give himself and his three sisters a good education, Zuckerberg said he hoped to do the same, not just for thousands of Newark students, but to help create a new model for successful public education that could be replicated nationwide. He dismissed questions about the timing of his donation, which coincides with the release of a movie about Facebook that portrays him in a less than flattering light.

"This (donation) is something that's going to play out for years," he said.

New Jersey's Supreme Court has found in rulings over the past two decades that urban schools were underfunded and ordered the government to fund the most impoverished districts as well as its most affluent suburban schools. The court has also pushed the state to spend billions to upgrade school buildings in cities and provide free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.

While some areas have seen gains, most of those schools still fall far short on measures such as standardized tests and graduation rates.

Money alone doesn't seem to be the answer, but money is what wealthy funders can offer.

Through his foundation, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates — like Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout — awarded $290 million in education grants in November 2009, including $100 million to the school system that includes Tampa, Fla., and $90 million for the Memphis, Tenn., district. The foundation has also given $150 million to the New York City schools over the past eight years.

Most of the funding in New York has gone toward the creation of smaller schools that aim to boost graduation rates for the most academically challenged students; several teachers also participate in a foundation-led training program. One recent study of Gates' efforts found that graduation rates in those schools had improved.

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Saturday that Gates, among a roster of current and new donors, had expressed interest in donating to the Newark initiative. Booker would not confirm the donation but said several donors had made pledges since Zuckerberg's announcement, and that he would release details soon.

Florida's Hillsborough County district, the nation's eighth-largest, is designing a way to pay teachers, in part, by using a system that includes measuring gains with standardized tests, along with observations by principals and evaluations by other teachers. The money is also being used to train veteran teachers to mentor others.

The evaluation program is just beginning, so it's too early to tell how it will work, district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said. The district, though, has gotten positive comments from new teachers about the mentoring program, she said.

Similar measures are under way in Memphis, where school officials are working out how to identify, reward and retain effective teachers.

"We are seeing results of our plan," said Superintendent Kriner Cash. "We are right on target."

Education advocates in New Jersey call for similar steps to be taken in Newark, where more money is spent per pupil than any other city in a state that ranks near the top in per-pupil funding.

Newark was once booming, with its 1940s population of about 430,000 working in good-paying jobs in the teeming textile and manufacturing industries. But after World War II, the city began a postwar descent into racial unrest, white flight, crime and corruption. Its population suffered — it's now down to around 275,000 — along with its schools.

Few steps on Newark's path are clear beyond hiring a new superintendent. On her show, Winfrey endorsed current Washington, D.C., Chancellor Michelle Rhee, who has implemented changes popular among school reform advocates. Rhee wasn't available to comment to The Associated Press.

Joseph De Pierro, education dean at New Jersey's Seton Hall University, said his advice would be for Newark first to consider hiring back at least some of the educators laid off this year.

Students say they've seen the effects, with some sports teams eliminated and classes growing.

"There are now 40 students in my math class; it's suffocating," said Balbuena, the Arts High student.

De Pierro would also find a way to pay the best teachers more and buy better equipment and materials. And he noted that better training would be key.

"It would not be the standard kind of stuff after school and in the summer," he said. "It would be something that takes place in their classroom when they're teaching."

Derrell Bradford, executive director of Excellent Education for Everyone, a Newark-based group that is pushing to broaden school choice in New Jersey, said some of the steps he would take in Newark wouldn't cost much.

For instance, he would give charter schools unused space in traditional public schools and set up virtual learning programs in which the best teachers could come into contact — online, at least — with more children. He said he would also look for a way to pay top teachers more and exempt them from union work rules.

Any major changes might require buy-in from union members who have vehemently opposed Christie's school cuts. Newark Teachers Union President Joseph Del Grosso said he hopes the decision makers will consult with teachers about their plans — but said he is excited about the gift.

Christie had choice words Saturday for the unions and others he said have been an obstacle to education reforms in New Jersey.

"We're about yes, they're about no. We're about tomorrow, they're about yesterday. We're about the kids; they're about their paychecks," he said.

David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center, which advocates for students in the state's poorest cities, said he worries the new measures could undo the progress that's already been made. The city has developed one of the nation's best early childhood education programs, and middle and high schools are improving, he said.

"The question is how to make sure this money is used to enhance the reforms that have been made and not to undermine them," he said.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Samantha Henry and David Porter in Newark, Angelique Yack in Philadelphia, Nafeesa Syeed in Washington, Bill Kaczor in Tallahassee, Fla., Randall Dickerson in Nashville, Tenn., and Amy Westfeldt in New York.

Thanks:- www.google.com

FCC Approves White-Space Use for Unlicensed 'Super WiFi'

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:56:00 +0530

News Analysis: The FCC’s move is only the first step in making broadband wireless generally available on unused former television buffer frequencies.

When the Federal Communications Commission issued its press release about the approval of additional unlicensed spectrum in what are called “white spaces,” it referred to the coming technologies as “Super WiFi.”

In reality, it’s not clear that this previously unavailable set of unused frequencies will necessarily become anything that resembles WiFi. As the FCC points out in its statement, this is spectrum space that’s going to be available to a wide range of technologies, of which wireless broadband is only one. Even if this turns out to be a significant use of these white space frequencies, it’s not clear whether WiFi (or something like it) will be related in any way.

The white space decision allows the use for a variety of unlicensed services of the former guard bands between television channels. These guard bands were there to protect the signals from one station against being interfered with by an adjacent station. Because analog television signals were a combination of an AM signal and an FM signal, the required bandwidth could be slightly unpredictable. In addition, the technology at the time, especially in the old analog television sets, really didn’t have the ability to zero in on one channel and block out transmissions that were close to the same frequency.

Now that television has moved to digital signals, this has all changed. Those guard bands are less necessary, and interference is less of a problem. But that’s not the same thing as saying there’s no possibility of interference with commercial broadcasting, because there is. As a result, the FCC has to make sure the devices that use these frequencies meet certain standards in terms of power output, frequency accuracy, transmission type, etc. In addition, because there won’t be unlimited spectrum available, the FCC has to determine what the best use of a particular set of frequencies might be.

In the case of data communications, or the “Super WiFi” that the FCC talks about, this could mean, among other things, that the FCC might require interoperability among the carriers providing this service. So just as any WiFi device has the ability to connect to a WiFi access point, the FCC might decide the best use of the limited spectrum is to let any white space device communicate with services on those frequencies.

On the other hand, it’s possible that the FCC might sell this spectrum to mobile carriers, perpetuating the four closed-carrier systems that persist in the United States now. Right now, while the FCC is trumpeting its achievement at getting all sides to agree on ways to avoid interference with existing licensed services on these frequencies, the fact is that we don’t really know any details about how this will ultimately shake out.

When Clint Boulton wrote about the FCC’s White Space decision, he quoted Google’s counsel expressing delight at the event. But what the FCC needs to ensure is that these frequencies aren’t made the exclusive domain of Google, Microsoft or any other specific entity. Right now, both companies are experimenting with content delivery in the white-space frequencies, but they’re using it for fairly proprietary purposes. If this resource is really going to contribute to the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, what needs to exist on these frequencies is free and open access to high speed Internet connectivity.

Note that by free, I don’t mean it won’t cost anything. What I mean is that it should be free of restrictions. Google shouldn’t be able to tie up a set of frequencies for its exclusive use, and neither should any other company. If these frequencies are to achieve their intended purpose as stated by the FCC when it agreed to open them to unlicensed use, then they need to be available to anyone with the right device.

For this to work, there must be standards, much like those the WiFi Alliance has created for WiFi use. The reason WiFi has been so successful is because the standards require interoperability. New versions of WiFi are backward-compatible with older versions, an old 802.11b device can still communicate with an 802.11n access point. These standards mean that you don’t have to buy a particular wireless device to work with a specific access point. Instead, everything works together.

Right now the FCC’s new white space proposal doesn’t include any requirement for standardization. In fact, right now there really aren’t any specific rules or guidelines beyond some that protect broadcasters and wireless microphone makers. It’s possible that some industry group will step in and create a set of standards and a certification process, which is what happened with WiFi. It’s even possible that the WiFi Alliance will take this on, since they at least know how to make this work.

But at this point, none of this has happened. While the FCC’s action is cause to be hopeful, it’s hardly cause for celebration. First, we have to find out the details of what the FCC has in mind.

Thanks:- http://www.eweek.com

Facebook outage spotlights social media addiction

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:56:00 +0530

Computerworld - After Facebook went down on Thursday, one thing was certain: People don't like to go without their favorite social networking site.

Industry watchers say Facebook users suffering through the two-and-a-half-hour outage were like drug addicts going through withdrawal. Facebook's more than 500 million users have grown accustomed to sharing updates about their cats and colleagues, and posting funny pictures of drunken friends and kids acting silly. They certainly don't like it when the social networking site goes down.

"This shows how integrated these tools have become to our everyday lives," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group. "It has become nearly an addiction, and it is difficult for most of us to turn them off. Social networks have a status aspect to them, and we are hardwired to need status so they are very easy to become addicted to."

While Enderle said sites like Facebook have "nearly" become an addiction, others go even further.

This past summer, a report from The Oxygen Media Insights Group, which is part of a company that focuses on Web sites for women, noted that a majority of the women in a survey said they are addicted to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

More than half (57%) of the women polled said they communicate with people more online than they do face to face, and 39% called themselves Facebook addicts.

And analysts say social media's addictive qualities aren't only catnip for women. Men are also posting, uploading and checking out news feeds throughout the day.

That was evident on Friday, when Facebook suffered its second outage in as many days.

With Facebook offline, frustrated users flocked to vent their frustrations on Twitter and even resorted to e-mail, which has been viewed as retro since the advent of social networking.

One commenter, going by the name Thenar, tweeted, "@facebook You can't be down...it's unthinkable. Life IS FB for too many people. Redundancy is the key, guys. Now get to it."

Someone named BugFrog tweeted, "Congress considering emergency funds to help out Farmville farmers hurt by Facebook outage," while maxxhendriks joked, "Facebook is down! Users are roaming the streets shoving photos in people's faces and screaming "DO YOU LIKE THIS? DO YOU?"

While some users joked that U.S. worker productivity might skyrocket without Facebook, others said that instead of focusing on work, they spent their time complaining about the outage.

"Non-productive! Spent time: Googling problem, Tweeting-complaining," noted dstatler on Twitter.

Augie Ray, an analyst at Forrester Research, said he was in the same boat.

"I'm not sure I was more productive," he told Computerworld. "I used the Facebook outage as an opportunity for humor on Twitter. I tweeted things like, 'I feel so lonely & isolated all of a sudden. I was forced to have an actual face2face conversation with someone! #facebookdown.' And 'Did you know when you talk to a real person, their mouth moves? I'm used to chatting w/ profile pics & avatars! #facebookdown.' OK, I didn't say it was good humor!"

But Ray said the outage, and users' reactions to it, makes clear how connected people are with the site and with the friends and family they communicate with on it.

Thanks:- http://www.computerworld.com

Air Force launches surveillance satellite from Ca.

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:55:00 +0530

The Associated Press

Posted: 09/25/2010 10:31:12 PM PDT

Updated: 09/25/2010 10:42:37 PM PDT

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—A U.S. space surveillance satellite was launched late Saturday from the central California coast, the Air Force said.

A Minotaur 4 rocket carrying the Space Based Space Surveillance satellite blasted off at 9:41 p.m. Pacific time and headed toward orbit, officials from Vandenberg Air Force Base said in a news release.

The satellite was designed to detect and monitor debris, satellites and other space objects that could be a threat to national security, communications and weather satellites.

Monitoring from space avoids the limitations that ground observing systems experience due to weather, the atmosphere and time of day.

Col. Richard Boltz, commander of the 30th Space Wing, said in a written statement that the satellite will "greatly enhance our existing space situational awareness," a move that is "vital to protecting our space-based assets."

"This evening's launch was our third in eight days," Boltz said. "I am extremely proud."

The satellite will be operated from Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.

The Boeing Co. is the overall program manager. The satellite was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo.

Minotaur launch vehicles are built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dalles, Va., using rocket motors from decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Thanks:- http://www.mercurynews.com

The world of Internet security and how it works

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:55:00 +0530

Today dear readers we will be delving into a world that you most likely know quite a bit about. Any one of you out there reading this today has most likely had problems with your computer at one time or another. Maybe you had a bad virus that crashed your computer? Or maybe too much spam clogged the computer’s memory and you had to re-format. If this sounds familiar to you then take a seat and read on because Internet security is the basic topic of discussion today. We will discuss some of the well known threats that are out there as well as how you as someone who might not be so computer savy can protect your computer on your own with a firewall!

We will also touch on the topic of your email and making sure that it is safe and that no-one has gotten their paws on your information. Finally we will be discussing passwords and just how important they are to you and your computerfor avoiding identity theft, face it people, you might not need to protect your wireless computer from someone who lives with you, but you will need to protect it from hackers. Now, onwards we go. We will start off with what we know are the most common things that can threaten the welfare of your hard drive. Remember that this is not a part time thing, this is something that you should exercise, every time and all the time! Mind you, there are some computers like PC or MAC that already have their firewalls inside to protect aginst hackers and are all hooked up and ready to go.

Another thing that will help to keep your computer safe is your browser (believe it or not). There are certain settings that you can implement that will keep out all of the spy ware, ad ware and those nasty pop ups that keep trying to find a way into your hard drive to cause chaos. Think of your computer as a country that has to be protected at all costs from invaders. In this case, your front line of defense (the guys on foot with guns), would be what is known as a fire wall.

All computers that are hooked up to the Internet, whether it be via high speed, wireless or even dial-up have fire walls built in just for this purpose. They are your front line of defense. When the fire wall is turned on, it will only let certain actions (actions that YOU allow) to happen. The second line of your defense would be your spy ware and Anti-virus software. I won’t mention any brands here and now but there are different places that you can go online to download some pretty good programs, or you can even ask your computer maintenance guy to get it for you.

The way that a virus works is that it comes in like a bug riding into an open window on files that you download or even pages that you are viewing. From there, once the virus gets comfy, it tends to go nuts on your hard drive. It will destroy important system files, damage other applications that you have in your computer and even copy passwords that you have stored. It’s a total mess! Next we have to examine the security of your email itself. Be sure that you take every threat seriously. Never click on any links or attachments from someone that you don’t know because half the time it is what is known as a phishing email. This is one of the viruses that come in when clicked and copy passwords and other important information.

And now we are on to the whole privacy issue, many of you are surely aware that just about every Internet site that you will ever visit will require you to register and enter a password. Take this little bit of advice, NEVER USE THE SAME PASSWORD!! Keep changing it, because these hackers are good and they don’t take long to catch on to other people’s dodging tricks. Finally, remember that if you notice that you are constantly finding viruses or threats of any kind in your computer’s hard drive, the best thing for you to do would be to upgrade to a better anti virus program, and always, always check for updates.

Facing the challenges of Internet Security

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:55:00 +0530

The Internet has now a very important tool in everyday life. Several decades ago, people have a come though the Internet an excellent way of connecting systems. Now it is this very same thing that puts networks and systems into danger. With its ever increasing popularity, people are now faced with more challenges in Internet security, like identity theft. In the wee days of the Internet,networks were most self-contained and securing them, are not a difficult task. As time passed, Internet users became more mature and experienced; the Internet also has become more complex. Simple devices and single-layer security are now inapplicable.

Being anonymous when browsing is a way. Challenges of Internet security can be tackled by considering the foundation of information security. This includes discretion, reliability and accessibility. Discretion refers to making sure that sensitive data is safe. Such information ranges form personal identifiable information to keystrokes. Many companies and organization depend on the Internet for communication. The big challenge is keeping their network systems form being hacked and exposed. Serious threats can come in the form of leakage of information to deletion of an entire database.

Data reliability is very essential to two end-users. This guarantees that a message bring transmitted remains unchanged. Though this may seem a light concern, it is very important to consider the reliability of a data. Take for instance, email messages can be intercepted. As a result, it may not reach its destination or arrives incorrectly.

Last of the foundations is the availability of information. The Internet is largely dependent on the accessibility of data. Without this, no transaction, business and functions can be done. A major challenge associated with information ability is denial of service attacks from hackers. This attack has the ability to flood a system with unsolicited traffic such that no one will be able to access it. Online systems must be properly tested as slight misconfigurations can lead to such attacks.

These three aspects of information are essentially what are at stake. Internet security may encompass one or all of these aspects. The ever changing threats to these foundations are the ultimate challenge in the aspect of security. This challenge entails the realization of security to achieve and preserve these aspects of information.

The various challenges of Internet security can essentially be overcame by considering a wide range of security approaches. These approaches include services that can regulate user access to a system, blocking of applications, prevention technologies, and many others. It is also important that whatever approach is implemented, it should also be properly managed and maintained. Many tools are now available to overcome such security issues. These includeanti-virus software, firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention, network infrastructures, access control, secure WLANS and data encryption.

Antivirus software is utilized to counter malwares. On the other hand, firewalls can monitor traffic and alert a user of an unauthorized program. Intrusion and prevention tools protect a system from post scans and DoS. The proper use of switches, routers, also help in establishing secure connectivity, identification services and network management. Data encryption is what the most essential. The protection of data is the very essence of security. Anything unsecured paves a way for thieves to steal very important data.

Challenges in security are forever changing. Just as how people have come with the Internet, they will also come up with solutions as to how these challenges can be confronted and solved. With the proper approach and techniques, any challenge that will come in the future will be eventually solved.

Secure information: prevent Identity Theft

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:54:00 +0530

Theft is another term for fraud when someone tries to steal another person’s identity and use it for personal gain like stealing money and many others. The term identity theft maybe surprising for some people because no one can literally steal someone’s identity, but only to use it. The person whose identity has been stolen may experience a lot of unlikely situations having to pay for the theft’s actions. Online identity theft happens when your personal information like name, social security number or credit card information has been stolen and used by someone else without your permission.

Although this can be relatively new, a great deal of security measures is now being put into practice. A lot of efforts, studies and use of technology has been and continuously being put together to prevent online identity theft from happening. In some countries, it is a criminal offense to steal and use someone else’s identity for personal benefit. In the United States, federal agencies formed a task force that will increase capacity of finding out occurrence of identity theft. It is expected that through this joint effort, a decreasing number of theft report will likely be recorded.

Any form of theft is likely to happen when control and wireless security measure is not held into practice. Remember that stealing crops the mind of a theft whenever there is a chance. A great deal of privacy and security policy should be considered by corporate offices and even individuals. A simple negligence can result to harm when someone else’s privacy is intruded. Always consider personal information as confidential files therefore keep it in places where only a few authorized people has access to it. Shred important files that might contain personal information before throwing it into trash. Make sure to maintain high level of security on network (using best firewalls) use to prevent hackers from stealing information thru the net. Make necessary actions when you believe that your security procedure has been compromised. Be vigilant and make sure to report to proper authorities as soon as you realize that a possible theft occurred.

Criminal minds have their ways and means of getting information to get your identity. A simple stealing of mails can lead to this criminal act. Many high-tech gadgets are now being used for unlawful acts. Gadgets are now invented for the purpose of hacking information from remote places. Keep in mind that the end result for computer spyware, phishing and hackers is to steal identity. While using your credit card or bank cards, your credit information can be monitored and hacked by a gadget from a distant place. When transacting in commercial establishment, you may never know when someone is eavesdropping from behind you to get information.

The secret to all this is to become vigilant and proactive to take the extra step.

Thanks:- http://sendanonymousemail.com

Knowing some anti spam appliances

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:52:00 +0530

Are you supposed to go check your email now to see what time you are supposed to pick up your wife’s sister at the airport and are you dreading to do so because you know there will be a ton of emails you will have to wade through to find the right one? Are these emails from other family and friends or are the majority of the emails just spam that you really did not ask for? If so, welcome to the club. Most of us do or did until they followed the advice of the smarter once among us. You do not want all that crap so make sure you do not have to see it. It is more than time for you to install an anti spam for Outlook Expressappliance. It will solve your problem and relieve your headache.

This solution becomes even more important if you have your phone set up to receive your email so you can read it while living your day away from your computer. An anti spam appliance will select automatically the emails you probably want to see and send everything else to your spam folder. Sure, you can check your spam folder if there is anything from someone that you must see anyway. That is up to you. You have the option available at the click of a mouse. You can avoid having important emails going to your spam folderoccasionally by adding worthy correspondents to your contact list however. An anti spam appliance is very important as an antispam stretegy. It prevents you from accidently clicking on one of these emails and opening it. Keep in mind that many of these spam emails are being sent out by dubious companies with bad intentions.

Some of them use emails to make your computer sick by sending you a virus. Opening those emails will give you major headaches because of repair costs to ensure that you can still use your computer win an anti spam software. Very often the computer technician will not be able to solve the problem entirely and you will keep some inconveniences when you use your computer. A huge amount of annoying pop-ups can also be the result of accidently opening a spam email. And you should not completely ignore the possibility that someone tries to invade your computer by hacking into it and stealing your identity. You might not even realize that this is happening until you apply for a mortgage or a car loan and you get denied because someone has built up a load of bad debt under your name.

Thanks:- http://sendanonymousemail.com

Understanding the need for firewalls

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:46:00 +0530

Internet and applications largely dependent on it have greatly created a different aspect of information management and delivery. Information is easily accessed. The complexity of the Web has also increased human productivity and resourcefulness. There is currently an observed greater demand for Internet-reliant services. Coming with these demands are the rise of attackers that are primarily motivated to steal data and disrupt services. It is here where importance of a firewall is realized.

A firewall is primarily created to regulate the access to a system for safetyprecautions and to protect computers against hackers. It can be a program, a device or both that checks data passing trough connections in a computer. A firewall will prompt a user for a program or information trying to access a computer. It will only allow the passage of information which the user gave his consent to.

With the growing number of threats in the Internet, the school’s firewalls cannot be ignored. It is not an optional feature but rather a must. There are hundred of potential threats and tools that hackers can utilize to gain access to a computer. Once this happens, a computer can now be used as a bot. It can be commanded to attack other systems, perform port scans, send spammed messages, or in denial of service attacks.

The importance of a firewall can be gauged as to what type the firewall is. Personal firewalls provide the best protection. They can essentially lock most type of threats. Such type of firewall is expected to provide heavy barriers. Other firewalls are classified as software firewalls. These type also provide enough protection but it be can be turned off. Setting up a software firewall is also easy and it just provides the necessary protection a user need, i.e. Windows XP Firewall. Hardwares such as routers also have their own firewalls called router firewalls. The type of firewall used is not a factor. The use of a firewall guarantees the protection from man attacks.

There are a lot of available firewalls free for download. These include KasperskyInternet Security, Avast Antivirus, Eset Smart Security and many others. These applications are usually combination of an antivirus and a firewall. Such is also a mode of double protection. Installing these softwares would however require turning off software firewalls such as the Windows XP Firewall. Keeping two firewalls is not a good habit. One is enough. Either way, all of these firewalls can efficiently block attacks.

Once a firewall is installed and properly configured, there’s no need to check it very often. It is able to work independently and silently. However, some firewalls may prompt a user for programs that needs user consent prior to running. Others may also prompt a user of a particular site or traffic trying to access his system. The system may also prompt a user in case his firewall got disabled. The importance of firewalls should never be taken for granted. It is one best security measures a user can take. After all, sensitive information that ranges from personal files, personal identifiable information, system stability and a lot more are greatly at stake.

Thanks:- http://sendanonymousemail.com

The basics of Anonymous Proxy Servers

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:46:00 +0530

In the field of networking, a proxy server is defined as a system or a program that process the requests of clients and by forwarding queries and request to other systems or servers. There are many types of proxy server, and one of this is the anonymous proxy server, a.k.a. anonymizer. This type of server can turn Internet activities untraceable. It will access the Internet on a user’s behalf without revealing the user’s information. In essence, this type of server can secure a user by not revealing the computer’s information.

Proxy servers can serve a lot of purpose, i. e. lowering risks. They can also be utilized in rendering violations in human rights (i.e. expression). With a server, users need not worry losing their reputation. These servers also prevent false identity claim, and they can also protect browsing histories from being exposed to the public. Despite the protection it offers; anonymous servers are not perfectly safe. If the server has the ability to store logs of arriving and outgoing connections, then it is unavoidable that experts can reverse the ability of the server to reveal the users that used that particular server. This also applies to server that re located in countries where it can be tested to warrant searches.

Web-based anonymous proxy servers have “man in the middle” ability attacks. The server may opt to modify the message the user is forwarding. It ma add and remove content. The server can also screen, block, and keep track of unsecured data such as username, passwords, credit card information, and other personal information. This can be avoided by ensuring that the information to be requested is encrypted. Also, as much as possible communications involving sensitive information should be kept outside of the serer.

Even the finest servers have loopholes. No matter how secure, an anonymizer cannot screen malicious data that may give a clue on the indentity of a user. Safety precautions should be properly observed to avoid leakage of information. Such servers are also common targets, especially public anonymous proxy servers. Anonymous proxy servers can be protocol specific or protocol independent. Protocol-specific server can only work with a single protocol. A plus in the use of the said type is that it needs no extra software. An operation starts when a user makes a connection to the server. Instructions are transported via a message. The server will then contact the source indicated in the message and relay with the command exposed.

On the other hand, protocol-independent servers use tunneling. The protocols that can be used by the server include SOCKS, OpenVPN, and PPTP. In this type, the application requested should be capable of supporting a tunneling protocol. If not, software that would force the connections in the tunnel should be installed.

Free anonymous proxy servers, such as SOCKS and HTTP proxies, are typically operated without the consent of the serve owner. Malwares are the ones that usually the ones that installs such service. These servers can be used to track passwords, generate advertisements, or cause any severe damage to a server owner. This is the indirect consequence of a high bandwidth used by the breach in security.

Thanks:- http://sendanonymousemail.com

Your Two Most Important Meals of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:45:00 +0530

As it turns out, your mother was right all along: breakfast is in fact the most important meal of the day!

However, not just any breakfast will do. The choices you make for breakfast can influence your job performance, your energy levels, and more!

Breakfast

One of my favorite websites, RealAge.com had a nice article recently on not just making breakfast an integral part of your day, but food choices that make it the right breakfast. Indeed,the food choices you make for breakfast can go a long way in how sharp you think throughout the day, how well your immune system fights off infection, and how the right choices can trigger your body to burn more fat.

There really isn’t much magic in it at all: whole grains; wholesome fruits; and low fat dairy are the key ingredients; but do check out their helpful article for specific menus to improve the value of your most important meal of the day!

Close behind, the second most important meal of the day is Your Post Exercise Nutrition, otherwise known as a recovery meal.

After exercise, your body is, at a minimum, in a state of depletion.

You might even be fatigued if your workout was an intense workout. Energy stores have been reduced, lactic acid has accumulated in muscle tissues, and you have an empty stomach. Blood pressure, heart rate, and metabolism, while somewhat reduced though a proper cool down, remain elevated for an hour or more.

In short, your body is starving for nutrients, and how you respond effects how well you recover for your next workout!

Recognize that there is a critical 30 – 60 minute window of opportunity following exercise within which the adsorption of nutrients is more efficient than at any other time. Your body is literally a sponge, so feed it well and help your body recover!

Exactly what you eat actually depends on the type of exercise you’ve just completed. You’ll recover differently from a long, slowcardio event than you would from a resistance training event. And different recoveries beg for different recovery meals.

Recovery Guidelines for Cardiovascular Exercise

A meal high in carbohydrate content is appropriate for extended or high intensity cardio activities where larger amounts of carbohydrates are spent. A well well recognized formula for cardiovascular recovery is a meal rich in carbohydrates, but with some protein. Many experts recommend 200 to 400 calories, depending on your body weight, in a ratio of 4 parts carbohydrate to 1 part protein (4:1). A good, wholesome food that fits this almost perfectly is chocolate milk, and fruit based yogurts.

Recovery Guidelines for Resistance Exercise

For most resistance training, however, including a typical Fitness Together session, a balanced meal a bit higher in protein is best. Muscle tissues have been broken down with resistance training, and the pace of our sessions makes them somewhat aerobic. If your training session is prior to 3:00PM, we would recommend a 400-500 calorie meal of 35% protein, 60%carbs, and 5%. If you’re on the run and won’t have a chance to eat a proper meal for an hour or more, a quality protein supplement may suffice. Otherwise, a small chicken breast sandwich with a small salad and yogurt is one way.

If you train later in the day, say after 6:00 pm, you’ll want to reduce your starchy carbohydrate intake, replacing them with simple carbohydrates (primarily fruits & vegetables). A large vinaigrette & olive oil salad with nuts, a piece (or 2) of fish/chicken breast, and some fruit is perfect : 45% protein, 45% (non starchy) carbohydrates, and 10% fat.

And if this all sounds too confusing, ask me about our new Nutrition Together program!

Or, tune in next week for a primer on protein and protein supplements!

Thanks:- http://www.examiner.com

Wireless computer security and network privacy

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:45:00 +0530

Computer network security is important but the truth is, full security is unattainable as of present time even using firewalls. However, the level of security is increased when using a wireless computer network. As compared to wired networks, wireless computer networks have an additional point of complexity. Though wireless networking does not completely prevent interception, it is secure enough to be used in homes and even businesses. Wireless networks have security features such as 128-bit WEP and WPA that can encrypt network traffic making it difficult to be deciphered. In addition to that, routers which are wireless as well as the access points include access control tools like MAC address filtering. This does not permit network request coming from unwanted sources. All these features amplify the security of your network but it can be further improved.

Changing the default administrator passwords (for surfing anonymously) including usernames is one of the basic things you can do to have a computer security. Most hackers know the default logins of various equipments so changing this information adds security to your network. Turning on the WEP and WPA Encryption for your wireless connection helps too. Encryption further scrambles information and messages that are sent via wireless networks so intercepting and deciphering them will be prevented. The stronger encryption you have, the better security.

When configuring a wireless security in your network to protect your computer, try to change the default SSID of your routers and access points. SSID is the network name provided by the manufacturer and this is usually the same. Even though knowing the SSID does not allow hackers to hack into your system, configuring your own SSID makes your network less prone to interception. Disabling SSID broadcast is a step in line with enhancing security. SSID broadcast is a feature commonly used in businesses but in home networks, it is not really needed.

Avoid connecting to open Wi-Fi networks because it raises security risks on your computer network. Most computers now have a setting which automatically enables connection without the need of notification to the user. Try to check this and disable it if it’s present in the setting. The positions of access points or routers also play a part in wireless computer security. Wireless signals often reach outside the house to the streets and these can be detected. Try to place the router or access point in closed area that is far from windows and open spaces. An ideal location would be the center of the house. This does not really prevent wireless signals from going out but leakage is definitely minimized. As earlier mentioned, total “network privacy” isn’t possible yet but you can get a better shot at it by having a wireless computer security.

Thanks:- http://sendanonymousemail.com

Large Birds Can Live 75 years or More

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:44:00 +0530

Exotics Specialist Veterinarian Care

It is absolutely necessary for a bird parent to research in advance and keep on hand the following information: name, location, office hours, after-hours emergency facility and pets’ records. When you adopt a bird from Jerry atAustin Avian Rescue and Rehabilitation, he will provide a local quality exotic veterinarian.

Nutrition The best diet for most birds consists mostly of pellets, supplemented with "table food”. They require foods from the bread/cereal, vegetable and protein (meat) groups - just as humans do. Caffeine is not good for birds to consume.

EnvironmentProviding the right bird cage, perches, dishes, and other cage accessories will help your bird have a happy, healthy environment. Toys should be plentiful and alternated. Toys are what will occupy the bird through the largest part of the day while the owners are away. Other bird accessories are:

A cage cover

A carrier cage for visits to the veterinarian

A play area for the larger birds

Misters and showers

UV lighting

Parents should research each of their species to identify the specific needs for housing, feeding, and socialization. Jerry will be more than happy to provide you with guidelines on where to place the cage, number of hours required for socializing and cage cleaning.

Bathing

Make bathing a happy time for your pet bird even though he may seem wary and scared at first. Remember, your bird is used to bathing by himself in the wild and for you to take him to the shower or use a water sprayer will seem very unnatural and intimidating to him at first. Gently initiate him on the joys of bathing and make it seem like play. Soon he will be stretching his wings and appreciating the fresh cool water you are spraying on him.

Regular bathing is good for your bird as it controls dander and applies moisture to his dry and itchy skin, softening his feathers and allowing him to preen. It also cleans and removes any pollutants from his body that may cause him to ingest toxic elements.

To view birds ready to be adopted into a forever home visit Stories Of Multiple Pets.

Thanks :- http://www.examiner.com

Scientists still concerned about dying honey bees

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:44:00 +0530

For the better part of a decade, honey bees have been disappearing in many areas of the world and scientists are still trying to discover why.

In the face of global warming, economic recovery, unemployment, and the instability of our current political system, people may ask: What’s the big deal about a few missing bees?

It is a very big deal.

European honey bees, act as nature’s propagator’s of 75% of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and most everything that is fresh-harvested for human consumption. Approximately 100 crops are dependent upon pollination by bees or else they would fail to produce anything more than foliage.

According to beekeepers in the Western regions, there has been a gradual reduction of bee hive populations for years, but in 2007 a massive die-off got the world’s attention. It was reported to be a loss of 30-70% of hives of European honey bee colonies in the U.S. and parts of Canada.

The phenomenon was labeled Colony Collapse Disorder.

According to a recent PBS report, CCD has now spread to China, South America, and India.

Scientists now believe that CCD is a syndrome, rather than a disease and it may be caused by a combination of environmental and physiological factors.

Furthermore, in 2009, scientists discovered that an indicator for an impaired protein production is a common denominator in bees affected by CCD. It is still undetermined what may cure the problem.

Empty hives not only bode poorly for agriculture, but an entire industry of beekeepers, who make their living with contracts to transfer their hives to fields and orchards for the pollination services the worker-bees provide--have been economically devastated.

In some areas of England, stealing hives for the black market has begun to take hold. In Staffordshire a theft of 18 hives—about 800,000 bees, was stolen, depriving the owner of income from pollinating services and honey sales.

In addition, on September 15, 2010, about $10,000 worth of honey was stolen from David Neel of Freeland, Washington, depriving him and his family of that income. All of his bees were left, but trays full of honey were taken and empty trays were left in their place, leaving authorities to believe that another experienced bee keeper stole the honey. The honey will most likely be sold under another label, making it difficult to track the thief.

The loss of honey bees could have an enormous horticultural and economic affect on the world’s food supply.

In a related situation, bats have been disappearing, with a similar mysterious type of colony collapse. Bats eat tons of insects that can cause extensive damage to agricultural crops.

According to a 2010 study by the British Beekeepers Association, 80% of the bee population in their region made it through the severe winter, which offers some good news, but many experts agree that if the bees and bats were to disappear--the impact on the human race would be catastrophic.

Thanks:- http://www.examiner.com

WHAT IS VOIP AND HOW IT WORKS ?

noreply@blogger.com (eSBee) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:43:00 +0530

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is simply the transmission of voice traffic over IP-based networks.

The Internet Protocol (IP) was originally designed for data networking. The success of IP in becoming a world standard for data networking has led to its adaptation to voice networking.

Some background history:

Although VoIP has been creating quite a stir in the press recently, it’s actually not a new idea at all. VoIP has been around in one form or another since 1973 when it began as an experiment by the US Department of Defense.

Why VoIP is better ?

The number one reason to switch to VoIP technology for telephone service is cost reduction. VoIP has become popular largely because of the cost advantages to consumers over traditional telepone networks. VoIP slashes your monthly phone bill by a whopping fifty percent. Let's put some light over these claims.

It offers cheaper international long distance rates which are generally one-tenth of what is charged by traditional phone companies. Its portability makes it a very good option and one could avoid expensive hotel phone charges and cell phone roaming charges. What one requires is just a high speed connection where one could plug the adapter into and people could reach you at your local number irrespective of your location.

Most Internet connections are charged using a flat monthly fee structure. Using the Internet connection for both data traffic and voice calls can allow consumers to get rid of one monthly payment. In addition, VoIP plans do not charge a per-minute fee for long distance.

By making VoIP calls using internet enabled cell phones one could avoid wireless roaming fees and long distance rates which generally touch north. Most of the times in-network calls to other VoIP service subscribers are free even if the calling parties are located in different parts of the world.

How does it work?

Just to confuse people, there are many kinds of VoIP. Using voice chat in MSN , G Talk or Yahoo messenger could be regarded as VoIP, so could the highly publicised Skype; but these are all proprietary systems. To talk to someone using MSN, the person at the other end also needs MSN. The same applies to Yahoo and, to a great extent, to Skype. They use their own special system that isn't open and won't connect to other systems easily.

True VoIP should really be based on the SIP system which is the recognized standard. Any SIP compatible device can talk to any other; you don't even use a PC. Any SIP telephone can call another right over the internet, you don't need any additional equipment or even a phone provider. Just plug your SIP phone into the internet connection, configure it and then dial the other person right over the internet.

In all VoIP systems, your voice is converted into packets of data, like little files, and then transmitted to the recipient over the internet and decoded back into your voice at the other end. To make it quicker, these packets are compressed before transmission, a bit like zipping a file.

Actual Cost of VoIP:

The promise of free international calls whenever you want them probably sounds a little too good to be true – there must be a catch, right? Well, yes and no. Provided you only wish to use VoIP to communicate with other VoIP users, everything is very straightforward. If however you want to be able to use VoIP to make and receive calls to and from people who don’t have VoIP, you’ll need to subscribe to a gateway service that provides a bridge between VoIP and the conventional phone networks.

Getting Started with VoIP :

Getting started with VoIP could hardly be simpler. Assuming you already have the two most important ingredients (a Windows or Mac computer and a broadband Internet connection), all you need to get started is the following:

Some free phone or messaging software.

A microphone.

Headphones or speakers (headphones are best because they won’t cause as much feedback).

An alternative to a microphone and headphones is an integrated headset, as this will leave your hands free.

When it comes to choosing which software to use, it’s worth considering whom you plan to call, since most VoIP software is proprietary. Check with any friends or relatives who already use VoIP and see what they’re using. If you plan to use VoIP to call people who use different software, you may need to install more than one program!

Examples of VoIP software you might choose to use are MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, SkyPe and ICQ, all of which are available as free downloads. All of these are designed to be beginner-friendly, so follow the installation instructions and you’ll be ready to go in a matter of minutes.

So what's the catch?

Obviously nothing is ever as simple as it sounds. New technologies aren't perfect and pricing often reflects this, if it wasn't cheaper nobody would switch.

The main problem with VoIP applications is bandwidth contention. This complicated term isn't as difficult as it sounds. You might have anything from a 512Kb broadband connection to 8Mb and beyond, dial-up isn't suitable for VoIP. It doesn't matter how big this connection is, it can still get busy.

VoIP phone call requires at least 100Kb or dedicated bandwidth and without this, you may find your phone calls less than satisfactory. To resolve this problem, there are now ranges of internet routers to use with your existing cable or DSL connection. These are VoIP aware and will dedicate the bandwidth to your phone call when you need it but free up all the bandwidth for other use when you're not on the phone. Some VoIP service providers will supply a compatible router with your connection package, it's essential.

Thanks:- http://faq.programmerworld.net