Sourish Dey Live!

2006-10-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

Check out latest computer news and downloads at the Computer Society International (Orkut) blog at http://computersocietyinternational.blogspot.com .

2006-04-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

Sony and Google has launched a series of online games to promote the launch of The Da Vinci Code next month. The games which began on Monday, lead to a final game on May 19, (the film`s release date) where one U.S. winner will receive first-class vacations to New York, Paris, London and Rome, as well as a package of electronics from Sony.
Da Vince Code Quest
There are quite attractive prizes on offer but only if you are from the US, UK or Australia.
The winner will receive first-class vacations to New York, Paris, London and Rome, as well as a package of electronics from Sony.
Read more about the contest here.
Doing this Google adds some entertainment vlue to its search engine. This will also translate into revenue for the company. And for Columbia Pictures this will add to the enthusiasm among the core fans who are the target audience in this effort.

Yesterday I was bit bored. With nothing new to do I was just surfing idly. Thats when I came across a website on Bill Gates' home. Google Earth takes you the nearest you can. Click here.

Google gets voice search patent

2006-04-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

Sergey Brin,co-founder of Google along with three other persons have been granted a US patent for a voice interface for search engines. That is great news for Google. I think they are working on these lines for quite some time now.
So when Google comes out with this product users will be able to say aloud their search requests instead of typing them or maybe phone in their search requests.
But skeptics have already voiced their concerns over individual privacy. But that will surely not stop Google from carrying on research to bring out something as revolutionary as 'voice enabled search.'

And you can read the reviews on the latest Windows Vista build here.
Meanwhile Intel and Baidu, top search engine from China has joined hands to work together to develop search apllications for the Chinese market.Never heard of Baidu but read in afew articles that the MP3 search offered by them is the speciality of their popular search engine.

Moving on to something off the subject in this blog for the first time.
Amir Khan made a remarkable gesture by joining the protesters of the ongoing Narmada Bachao Andolon led by Medha Patkar giving the movement a much needed momentum after Medha was hospitalised. Hats off to Amir Khan. You can do your bit signing an online petition at http://petitions.aidindia.org/narmada/
I have created a quiz contest (without prizes) for my Orkut community Computer Solutions India at http://csiorkut.blogspot.com

Google Calendar launched

2006-04-14T03:57:00.000-07:00

Google finally launched its long rumoured Google Calendar tool which allows users to create and track appointments through a Web-based interface accessible from any computer connected to the Internet. I checked in but yet to use it. But it has a neat and clean interface and I am sure there must be some cool features to make it special.
Calendaring is one of those problems where we felt like it hadn't been done right before, and we felt we could add some value to it," says Carl Sjogreen, Google's product manager for the calendar project.
Google Calendar promisses to be simpler than desktop tools available. But in this effort Google will also face competition from existing web based calendar services like Kiko and 30 Boxes, and it joins a raft of other free tools for personal organization and time management, such as Upcoming, Gootodo and GTDTiddlyWiki.

Computer Solutions India - My Orkut community

2006-04-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

Computer Solutions India, the Orkut community I created and am still moderating has crossed the 400 members mark! At present it has 423 members and the growth rate is amazing.
The community was earlier called Computer Solutions Kolkata, but as we grew larger I changed the name to the present one. The community is now a wealth of information and is one of the most active computer related communitites inside Orkut.
We at CSI exchange ideas, debate on the latest technologies, clear our doubts and help others solve theirs.
We had a refreshing debate on IE or Firefox. Subratam Biswas, a cool guy from Kolkata who has now made it to Microsoft Corp. participated in it. That added an unexpected zing. Subratam gave us a few valid reasonings and I personally enjoyed reading the posts. Sure the others also loved it.
To read the entire debate click here.
Its a fun place to be.

Moving on to some news that made me stop and read...
India says no to Google Earth`s peering
The Indian government has decided to mask some of the satellite images made available by Google Earth.
Minister of State Prithviraj Chauhan said the prime minister`s office on Thursday instructed the country`s defense and science and technology ministries to evaluate images of sensitive Indian locations and proceed with measures for masking them.
To read more click here.

Sattellite image of Rashtrapati Bhavan complex, New Delhi - Google Earth

An interesting point to note is that A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India, himself has vocally criticized the availability of satellite images of sensitive areas in India being available through Google Earth.
There is surely reason to be concerned because the software porovides high resolution images and it is also possible to make calculations to get approximate distances. India is not alone as South Korea, Russia, Thailand and Australia has also voiced similar concerns.

Google India Code Jam lures 14,000 developers
Google India Code Jam 2006, a coding contest for developers, had more than 14,000 participants, Google Inc. announced Friday. It also named the contest's winners.
This is the second year that Mountain View, Calif.-based Google has organized this contest in India. A spin-off benefit from the contest is that it can help to identify top programmers who could be hired for the company's research and development organization.
The contest was open to programmers from South East Asia. Both last year and this year, the top prize went to Ardian Kristanto Poernomo from Nanyang Technology University in Singapore.
To read the full story click here.
Conrats Ardian! What do these guys eat for breakfast? Codes?

Google has snapped up new search technology Orion
"Google has purchased the assets of Orion and Ori Allon is now an employee," said Barry Schnitt, a Google spokesperson. "We're thrilled to have him here."
Orion, according to many is set to revolutionize the way people search.
Ori Allon, who developed the algorithm, is a 26-year-old PhD student at University of New South Wales. The deal was struck between Google and the University but the sum was not disclosed.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the university retains the intellectual property rights to Orion, "and that could mean a steady flow of royalty payments if the process is eventually integrated into Google's search engine."
To read more click here.

Cyberbabe Lara Croft has made it into the coveted Guinness Book of World Record as the "most successful human video game heroine," according to Eidos Interactive, publisher of the blockbuster "Tomb Raider" games that made the digital hottie famous.
Lara Croft has sold more than 28 million copies over the last 10 years! Being in the reckoning for a decade is a huge achievement in the constantly evolving gaming scenario!

Back!

2006-04-02T06:01:00.000-07:00

I didnt get time to blog for quite a number of days! But here I am back again with quite a numbe of stories...
Apple has launched a slew of new products in India.
The new products are iMac, iPod Radio Remote, new Mac mini, iPod Hi-Fi, iLife'06, MacBook, iWork'06 and a new 1GB iPod.

Am interested in the Ipod - "New 1GB iPod nano offers the same features as the 2GB and 4GB iPod nano models and holds up to 240 songs or 15,000 photos. The new 1GB iPod nano's ultra-portable design is thinner than a #2 pencil and features Apple's patent pending Click Wheel." -- Reports CIOL
The new Ipod will be available at all Apple Authorized Resellers for a maximum retail price of Rs 9,700. The basic Ipod Shuffle will now cost only Rs 4,700! Hmmm..Makes me think.
This launch was made just a a week ahead of Steve Jobs planned visit to India. He is said to coming for the launch of a tech support center at Bangalore. An interesting fact is that Jobs spent four years in the 1970's as a 'hippie spiritual tourist' visiting holy places in India.
This is the second Asian country Jobs will visit in official capacity after Japan.

Telecommunications equipment maker Nortel Networks and wireless chip manufacturer Qualcomm said Friday that they have set a new download speed record using so-called 3.5G wireless technology. To read the full stoy click here.

Microsoft is planning to label PCs "Windows Vista ready" if they can handle the new operating system going on sale in January. Microsoft is yet to announce the minimum-hardware requirements for full versions of Vista.

Joga.com is now public. With the World Cup in Germany exactly 67 days to go the timing to launch this networking website for soccer fans can only be perfect. It integrates well with Orkut but the sad part is that although you can see list of Orkut communities you are part of at Joga you have to login again to access them.

I registered myself as a Linux User. So decided to share my ID.
I have enrolled for the Red Hat Certified Engineer Course.

Google Pages and Writely.com invitations!

2006-03-23T03:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a lucky day. I got invitations to Google Pages and from Writely.com. I registered into them both.
I created a temporary page with Google Pages and published it. I am still testing it. It has 100 MB to offer which is quite good and creating pages is a breeze. It has a number of templates to choose from.
Writely.com has a nice interface and almost all the tools required for daily word processing. But am still testing it.
Computer Solutions Kolkata, my community at Orkut crossed the 200 members mark. I changed the name to Computer Solutions India to bring in more members. I think the change has been well appreciated as the community has seen a lot of action of late.

2006-03-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

Google and Nikefootball.com has quitely launched Joga.com, a social networking site for soccer crazy fans!
"Joga is a place to meet other soccer players, share your own soccer experiences and enjoy photos and videos from around the world."
Wait wait...it is still invitation only. But you can request a invite there. I did that and am waiting.
The site has a fresh look and quite different from what Google sites usually look like! Thats the Nike effect I think!
To know more about this exciting new site click here.

If you are thinking what is this plant doing here , let me point out..it is actually a speaker. And I am not taking you for a ride! It is a cool new product from MJB Audio.
"These faux terracotta pots have been cleverly designed to function as a regular planter, complete with drainage but with the addition of a high quality speaker system, sealed in the base, that delivers remarkable sound quality outdoor.The Tubthumper™ can be left outdoors all year round, permanently wired to your HiFi system indoors. Your plants will benefit too; as many gardeners will tell you that singing to your plants helps them to grow! Why not buy two, and make a stereo pair?"
http://www.mjbaudio.co.uk/tubthumper.html

2006-03-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

Google News fooled by a 15 year old!
I came across this bit of news while one of my regular trips across the World Wide Web! A 15 year old boy, Paul Vandetta submitted an atricle at a free news publishing website that he has just been hired by Google as its youngest employee. The news came up at Google News!
Read more here or here.

2006-03-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

Google has just launched Google Mars. You can use your web browser to look on the Martian surface! Something like Google Maps. Check out the About Google Mars page for more information.

Stop Press!

2006-03-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

Google has just confirmed their acquisition of upstartle.com , a online word processor. The news is 48 minutes old according to Google!
Techworld says "Google's acquisition of Upstartle, announced on Thursday, will give the search giant new resources for its blogging and advertising efforts, as well as providing a potential rival to Microsoft Office, according to industry observers."
I just checked. Site registration is closed for the time being as they shift to Google technologies which will help them tackle millions of users. (They should do that quickly. I will really like to check it out.) And as the norm goes with all Google technolgies they have immediately labelled Upstartle 'BETA.'
Hey! This is another indication to Google launching an online OS! Microsoft has to do something simply stupendous before that!
Man, I will really love to login to my desktop from wherever I like!
Currently am listening to Fossils (Hard Rock Bangla Band) and that is pumping in more adrenaline and thats making me jump in my seat and impossible to wait get a peek into Google OS! I badly eagerly and seriously want to be a beta-tester for this Google OS! Get me a job at Google! Google GOD are you listening!!??

Sabeer Bhatia's new venture

2006-03-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Sabeer Bhatia has now come up with this new website...I came to know about this from an interview he gave to NDTV. He is currently in India promoting this website and other business.
Sabeer's last venture Arzoo flopped. Now he has put his bet on Blogeverywhere.com. He has reportedly invested $5 million of his own fortune to develop Blogeverywhere for the last 2 years.
"Blogeverywhere’s toolbar will download unread e-mail messages and store them in a local cache while a first message is being read. Users will then be able to access unread messages from their computer’s own memory instead of having to retrieve them from the internet.Mr Bhatia believes the technology will cut down the lag time internet-based e-mail users experience in developing markets such as India where high-speed internet access is not widely available for the country’s estimated 250m online users."
I think the site is not fully functional. My opinion is that he has come up with too little too late. Toolbars are annyoing as they cutdown your actual browser space.

Samsung has announced plans to launch its SGH-i310, a 8GB Windows Mobile-based cell phone, in the second half of 2006. The phone is expected to be unveiled at the Cebit Show beginning Thursday.
And if you thought this is too much click here. I was Googled to find what other handsets offered similar hard disk spaces and found this. This is an interesting article about how British nanotechnologists forward on new microchips which could lead to 100GB of storage for mobile phones! Where are we heading, guys?

Now I come back to my favourite Google...In a powerpoint presentation last week Google said that it envisages a future with 'infinite storage, bandwidth, and CPU power.' According to Google they will make the data stord online more secure than that stored in the local maching. So the online data will be somthing like the 'golden copy' and the data in the local machine will be only cache for ready use!
I think this again hints that Google is working on a online OS of their own!
Read about the Google Operating System or GooOS here and here.

Cool Links and Microsoft rumours

2006-03-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

WIPRO is all set to come for campussing on Saturday..So I am a bit busy! Still was around in the net enough to find a few great links and stories that may be of interest.

First the links nmag.cn - Has a great collection of current popular magazines in .pdf format for download...The site is down sometimes so be patient.
Then we have bdcomics.net or bdcomics.blogspot.com which has a great collection of comics for you to enjoy!
Check out Index of /CalvinHobbes for huge collection of Calvin Hobbes comic strip! I tell you it is great fun to read these small strips!

Now the stories that attracted my attention : -

Want to read e-mail with your feet? Microsoft is working on it.
Microsoft is working on a way to use your feet to interact with your computer.
"Don't expect to see it at the local computer store this weekend. But the general concept could someday make its way into Microsoft products. The researchers will be showing the "Step User Interface" prototypes to the company's product teams today, primarily to spark ideas and get them thinking about ways that feet could be used to interact with a PC." To read the full story click here.

We move on to another Microsoft Story...

I read in a few blogs and in an Orkut community that Microsoft is going to launch a revolutionary new thing that will 'change your life!' Microsoft Origami Project as it is called has its website at http://www.origamiproject.com/ . The site does not have any content but it is expected that it will be launched on March 2!
I read at Engadget that it is about a portable device. Not much news is out there about what are its specifications! Rumour is that it may be...may be the MS answer to the Ipod!
To read the Engadget story click here.

And folks, check out the Download section! The link is in the sidebar ------->

Aromatic Therapy or Mind Cell Therapy

2006-02-26T04:43:00.000-08:00

Now you have a USB fragrance oil burner! ( Someday we will cook food in our computer).
"The USB Fragrance Oil Burner houses a small stainless steel hot plate where you can warm up scented oils or pastilles, one of which is included with the burner. ........ The $19 burner weighs only three ounces and comes with a five foot USB cable." Read the full story at Gizmodo.com.

I read in an article that the Japanese Government has banned all electronic goods bought before 2001 illegal to be sold in the second hand market! The reason given was security! But it is actually to add spice to the already booming electronics industry there.

Sudoku (www.sudoku.com)
You sure heard about this brain teasing mathematical logic game! I have quite a few friends addicted to Sudoku..I myself prefer to stay away from anything that taxes my brain.
What I wanted to write about is that this game has now developed into a mini-industry! New forms of the puzzle are coming up in the digital format at a fast rate..The advantage is that simple code and formulas can generate vast number of puzzles. The programs are small and can be put into mobile phones even.
Sudokumo.com recently launched a mobile sudoku game that can be downloaded to most cell phones. The company, based in Guildford, U.K., says it has sold 7,500 games worldwide. Sudokumo's mobile sudoku has tutoring tools that help players identify the correct answer or tell them when they've entered the wrong one.
Astraware.com also has Sudoku puzzle games to offer.
I wanted a simple sudoku game and I found out this remotely hosted sudoku based on java script. Click here to play Sudoku online! I am already addicted.

A new gadget that can make news:-

First, this is said to be a prototype of wearable, always on, no larger than 10-inches, connected through 3G networks, pen-based mobiles developed by Microsoft. It is expected to retail for less than $500. If you are already bending down on the monitor..Hang on, this thing according to Microsoft will run a full version of Windows! Hmm.. Apple..get ready to face some micro soft music if this is true!

A cell for your Dog::::MP3 Surround

2006-02-24T23:37:00.000-08:00

2 things that attracted me while surfing the web which I will like to blog about now!

Wired.com is always there to surprise me with the strange things that is going on in the world of technology! But this one is really absurd..Yes abusrd! What else will come into your mind if you come to know that someone manufactures cell phones for your dog?
To read the full story click here.
"Hung off Fido's collar, the PetCell is a bone-shaped cell phone that will let dog owners talk to their best friend over a two-way speaker." Well, well...what about a cell phone to talk to my gold fishes..I sometimes feel he is drunk!
Read on and you will know that " The PetCell will ship in early 2006 and will sell for $350 to $400, the company said." Hmmm...I will like to know what is the cost for getting add-ons like GPRS service if my dog wants to check out the online dating service!

Moving on to serious things...Have you tried out the new MP3 Surround format? Thomson that licenses the MP3 format has come up with this new format to save MP3 before its too late considering the challenge it is facing from AAC and other formats! This new feature packs in the missing punch but the files remain small.
To try out this new format you must have the playback software installed. Download it from all4mp3.com . Am not much of an audiophile but I like this format...The sound is considerably better than plain MP3s.
Read a BBC article on this new format here .

Google God and Apple God

2006-02-24T19:52:00.000-08:00

Google has started a free web hosting service aimed for people like me who dont know web-design but will like to have a website of their own! They offer a cool 100 MB storage.
"Google Page Creator is a free tool that lets you create web pages right in your browser and publish them to the web with one click. There's no software to download and no web designer to hire. The pages you create are hosted on Google servers and are available at http://yourgmailusername.googlepages.com for the world to see."
I am unlucky this time also..The Beta Testing service was closed down before I could join! I signed up in the waiting list though.
The same happened with me when I tried registering for the Google Analytics Service.

"Google Analytics tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. You'll be able to focus your marketing resources on campaigns and initiatives that deliver ROI, and improve your site to convert more visitors."
Google Analytics, formerly known as Urchin on Demand, lets users monitor visits to their Web sites to track, for example, the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns and to determine how to modify Web pages to improve sales conversions.
Its a free service but then also I was lated..Signed up for the waiting list and still waiting...Hope Google God looks down on me soon!

Moving on to another story...A global revolution in the music industry has started already as an unsuspecting 16-year-old from Michigan made history on the iTunes website by downloading Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" - which cost him 99 cents.
And this guy, Alex, in addition to receiving the track, Alex has received an iMac computer, 10 iPods and a $10,000 (£5,700) gift card for the iTunes store from Apple!
Apple GodApple God...if I download the 10 billionth song some day in the future promise me you will give me 10 times this!
Ipod is creating wonders for Apple..But it's co-founder Steve Wozniak reportedly said in an interview in New Zealand that he does not like Apple making Ipods as its core focus is computing! I thought its making money and standing up to the competition from Microsoft, Google et al.
An Ipod Nano tops my wish list at the moment!

Windows Vista

2006-02-24T06:51:00.000-08:00

The Feb CTP of Windows Vista was released today. Brad Goldberg, General Manager of Windows Client Product Management announced the availability of the enterprise CTP today.
The official Windows Vista website is at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/.
To get a clearer picture about whats inside this Feb CTP click here. Here you will find a number of screenshots into Windows Vista. It sure looks great!
The Feb CTP has a built-in encryption tool called Bit Locker which allows to encrypt your personal data so that multiple users on the same machine can't access your work. And it also has bundled speech recognition software with which you can open and close programs via voice. The calendar sure looks good!

*Windows Starter 2007
* Windows Vista Home Basic
* Windows Vista Home Basic N
* Windows Vista Home Premium
* Windows Vista Business
* Windows Vista Business N
* Windows Vista Ultimate
* Windows Vista Enterprise
I read in an article that the new Vista will have 8versions! There will be a basic verison with limitted features, the Started edition which will be the cheapest and aimed to cutdown piracy! The European version won't have Media Player bundled with it marked 'N.'
There are number of Windows Vista communities at Orkut some of the news about Vista are leaked in these communities first!
I personally dont think Windows Vista will be anything special that you need to wait for! I am satisfied with XP and nothing dramatic will crop up in Win Vista that will force me to change! But no doubt I will love to try it out!

Get Set Go

2006-02-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

Hi! I am starting a new blog with a new look beacause it is going to be different from the blogs I previously had! This is going to be a Technology Blog! Now I finally have my own desktop at home (Was tired of using Dad's Laptop). And I was itching to have my own domain once again (I had sdey.org which is now registered by some strange company in Kenya!! God knows why??)...Friends at college keep asking me about what happened to the website! So I am going to have my own domain name pretty soon!
[I just got a free .tk domain name for my personal homepage. You can check it out at www.sourishdey.tk. I am still working on all these websites..So there may be a problem sometimes!]
The previous website is now in a bad state (It is still online!) and so I thought of starting afresh! I will now focus on new technology..new gizmos, computers, softwares sometimes...I love trying out different things in my computer..Will write about them too! ' Dhire dhire parda uthega! ' There is going to be much much more!
I hope you like this look! And check out the Downloads section (when it is online) for ringtones, videos and softwares that I downlaoded!
Have fun! And keep making use of the comments feature!