Google Ditching Microsoft OS

Web is ablaze with the news of Google ditching Microsoft OS in favor of Mac OS / Linux. This seems to be a bold step, not sure how many others will follow Google in this step. I wonder how Google plans to test the windows OS based apps like Google Earth, Desktop Search etc. without the Windows OS?

Beauty myths busted!

Something worthwhile from Femina.in....

Myth No 1: Sun block should be applied directly on the skin.
Fact- If you think you’ve applied your sun block, and you’re good to go, you are living in a false illusion! Never apply lotions with SPF alone. Sun block ideally needs to form a protective film between the sun’s harmful rays and your skin. So to ensure that they do not block the pores on your skin, apply a moisturizer first as a base followed by the sunscreen lotion. Also a sunscreen with a high SPF number is not necessarily better, it is more important that the sun block has a wider spectrum to protect your skin from ageing or burning.

Myth No 2: Regular application of bleach can make you fair.
Fact- Bleach doesn’t change the colour of your skin. It just de-pigments the facial hair and reduces the melanin. Also, bleaching dehydrates the skin to a great extent. So moisturizing the skin later on is very important. We suggest instead of abusing your skin with chemicals, if you have a smooth, dusky complexion, flaunt it off with élan like our sexy beauties Bipasha Basu and Priyanka Chopra.Myth No 3: Conditioners need to be applied evenly throughout.
Fact-Only shampoos work on the scalp. A conditioner needs to be applied mid length and at the ends. Also, ensure that there is no friction while you apply the conditioner; instead follow a combing action.

Myth No 4: Nail Art can be crafted directly on the nails.
Fact-Nail Art requires the application of a base coat first. So put on a nail strengthener, then the nail polish, followed by a top coat. Vaidehi explains, “The base coat protects the nails from directly coming in contact with the enamel, while in turn the enamel lasts longer due to the top coat.” Apart from this, do go in for manicures and pedicures every fortnight to maintain hygiene along with good looks.

Myth No 5: A haircut is essential only for styling your hair or for reducing the length.
Fact- A haircut is crucial for maintaining healthy tresses. You don’t need to go for a complete haircut each time. Just get your hair trimmed regularly to reduce the chances of split ends and frizzy ends. This also promotes healthy hair growth.

Stay Informed Stay healthy....

Best and Worst Tech Gadgets of 2009...Quite Interesting...

Just read something on yahoo which was so interesting from the headline itself...initially reported by Business Week mag....

Best Gadgets of 2009

1. Kindle 2 International Edition

When it was released last year, Amazon's Kindle quickly outshone the previously released Sony e-book reader, thanks to the inclusion of free, high-speed wireless access that lets users download books on the go.

2. Windows 7

Windows 7 fixes many of the problems that plagued Vista, the preceding version of Windows. Available on most new PCs, Win 7 boots faster than Vista and performs snappily, with more intuitive features than ever before.

3. Samsung 8500 Series LED Television

Never content to be a follower, Samsung rocked competitors with a new line of superthin high-definition televisions that use energy-sipping light-emitting diodes as their primary light source instead of traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamps. The top-of-the-line 8500 Series measures just 1.6-inches thick and processes pictures at a faster rate than older sets to reduce motion blur and create video-like images. The LED sets also include Internet connections that let users download content off the Web.

4. IdeaPad S12 Netbook

It has a 12.1-in. screen sporting a high-definition 1280-by-800 resolution display. The IdeaPad is one of the first netbooks to sport Nvidia's (NVDA) high-end Ion graphics chip to support HD streaming video without the stuttering playback that's plagued other netbooks. Excellent stereo speakers, a relatively speedy Intel (INTC) Atom processor, and a six-hour battery make the S12 a shoo-in for our favorite netbook of the year.

5. Dual-View TL220 Digital Camera

Say you want to snap a picture of yourself and the family but don't have the time to set up a tripod or will to bother a passerby. Simply tap the front of the 12.2-megapixel TL220 to engage a 1.5-inch view screen that lets you frame yourself in the picture quickly and easily. There's even a child mode that displays built-in animations to keep the kid occupied while you line up a shot. With a wide-angle lens and the ability to shoot short HD movies, the Samsung Dual-View sets a new standard for point-and-shoot cameras.


Worst Gadgets of 2009

1. Aspire EasyStore H340 NAS Server

We loved the idea: a low-priced machine that lets you store up to 500,000 digital photos, 300,000 MP3 files, and 4,285 hours of movies, and then send and share the information with devices in the home and on the road. The Aspire is slick, has a powerful Intel Atom processor, and is relatively easy to set up and install. The desktop software is the deal breaker; it includes McAfee (MFE) antivirus software that can't be removed and at times significantly slows your PC's operations. Also, if you lose the installation disc, there's no way to download it from Acer's Web site.



2. Windows Mobile 6.5 Operating System

Microsoft has been working hard to put its Windows Mobile operating system on par with Android, Palm's webOS, and the software running Apple's iPhone. But Windows Mobile 6.5 doesn't quite get there. Sure, it's zippy and more stable than previous generations, but the touchscreen interface needs work, and the overall experience seems Stone Age compared to its rivals.

3. Twitter Peek

With Twitter available on so many smartphones, you'd better make a dedicated mobile Twitter device good. This isn't. Its shortcomings are legion. It doesn't display full 140-character messages on the home screen, and there's no way to include multiple Twitter accounts or even get Tweets from one account if you power the device off and turn it back on.

4. PoGo Instant Digital Camera

We liked the idea of a digital camera that can instantly print out images on the run. But overall, the camera was too heavy to carry around for extended periods of time, its tiny prints yielded washed-out or uneven colors, and the tradeoff between novelty and value was too high at a time when a point-and-shoot digital camera at twice the resolution can be had for $40 to $70 less.

5. AT&T 3G Network

Spotty 3G coverage and overloaded networks have hobbled Apple's iPhone and App Store in some big cities and kept us from adding the iPhone 3GS to the list of this year's best gadgets. A delay in offering multimedia text messaging (while still charging for it) also merits a bucket of coal.


Copyrighted, Business Week. All rights reserved.

Joke on Computers - Male or Female...

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
- "House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa". "Pencil", however, is masculine: "el lápiz."
A student asked what gender is 'computer? Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ("el computador"), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
The women won."

Few of the best Origami pics forwarded in mails..

Movie Pick : The Trial of Old Drum (2000) - 3/5

A cute family movie...specially for seeing with kids
its kind of a little slow but enjoyable...

In the 1950s, 11-year-old Charlie (Bobby Edner) must clear the good name of his golden retriever, Drum, when Charlie's uncle (John Schuck) accuses the dog of killing sheep. Drum is swiftly taken away to be executed, but Charlie's dad (Ron Perlman) hires attorney George Graham Vest (Scott Bakula) to defend the canine before a judge and jury. Sean McNamara directs this spirited film, which is based on a true story, and Randy Travis co-stars.

The Great - Hearted Monkey - Kids Story

Today's Story : The Great - Hearted Monkey

In a forest glade, by the side of River Ganges, high on the mountains there lived about eighty thousand monkeys along with their giant monkey king. And by the side of the clear gushing water stood a tall shady tree bearing big beautiful juicy golden fruits commonly called mangoes.

All the monkeys just loved these mangoes and ate them off almost as soon as they had ripened. Which was a very good thing as their wise giant king had warned them not to let a single juicy fruit fall into the river. Because if the current carried even one of these fruits down the river to the land where the men lived, they would surely come in search of this delicious fruit and destroy the peace in the land of the monkeys.

It so happened that a branch of this tree hung low over the river and a mango that was hidden behind an ant's nest ripened and fell off without anyone's knowledge. It was taken down south by the rapid flow of the river and reached the city of Benaras.

One fine morning when King Brahmadutta of Benaras was bathing in the river between two nets, a couple of fishermen found a bright golden fruit caught in the mesh of the net. Very excited they took it to show the King. The King examined the fruit carefully and asked where it had come from and what it was called. The fishermen did not know much about it but guessed that it must have flowed down the river from the valleys of the far-flung Himalayas.

He then asked them to cut the mango and tasted a slice. It was simply delicious. He shared the rest of it with his ministers and Queen who loved its divine flavour.

A few days passed, but the King could not get this exotic fruit out of his mind. He could not work; rest or sleep for want of some more. Finally he could bear it no longer and set sail in search of it. He organised a fleet of rafts and sailed up the river accompanied by his men and a few fishermen.

Many days and many nights went by and they passed many valleys until they finally came to the one where the mango tree stood. Mission accomplished, the King was delighted and began enjoying the mangoes to his heart's content. Finally, that night, the King lay down to sleep under the mango tree while his faithful soldiers stood guard. Fires were lit on either side for protection against wild animals.

In the middle of the night when the guards had dozed off to sleep, the monkeys came and finished off all the mangoes that were left on the tree. The King awoke with all the noise and ordered his guards to shoot at the monkeys so that they could feast on monkey flesh along with the mangoes.

On hearing this, the monkeys trembled with fear and escaped to inform their King. They told him what had happened and he promised to save them. But for that he had to come up with a plan.

So he climbed up the tree and swung across the river with the help of a branch. He found a bamboo shoot which he measured and cut carefully, and then tied one end of it around his waist. The other end he tied around a tree trunk. He had decided to leap back to the mango tree and help the rest of the monkeys across over the bridge that he had made with the help of the bamboo shoot.

But alas... he had not taken into account the portion that he had tied around his waist. So when the monkey king sprang back into the mango grove he was just able to cling to a branch of the mango tree. He quickly summoned his monkeys to climb over his back and onto the reed in order to escape to the other side. In this way, eighty thousand monkeys climbed over his back one by one and made it to safety.

But unfortunately there was one evil monkey who hated his leader and wanted to destroy him. His name was Devadutta. This mean monkey purposely jumped hard over his poor king's back and broke it, while he himself escaped to the other bank.

King Brahmadutta, who had been awake for awhile, had observed this whole episode. He felt extremely sorry for the monkey king and asked his men to help lower him to the ground. He then had him gently bathed and wrapped in a soft yellow cloth and asked him why he had sacrificed himself for his tribe. The great monkey answered that as he was their guide and chief, they were his children and it was his sacred duty to protect them. He had absolutely no regrets as he had ensured their safety. He also went on to say that the King should always be mindful of his subjects' welfare even at the cost of his own. Saying this the monkey king died at peace with himself.

King Brahmadutta had learnt a great deal that day. He ordered his men to organise a funeral fit for a King. He then built a shrine in the monkey king's memory where he offered flowers and lit candles and incense.

On returning to Benaras, he built another shrine there and asked his people to pay homage to this great soul. He always remembered the last words of the monkey king and ruled his subjects with wisdom and compassion. The people in his kingdom were eternally grateful to the great-hearted monkey

The Crows and the Black Snake - Kids Story

Another Story we read today....


Once upon a time a family of crows lived in a huge banyan tree. There was a Father Crow, a Mother Crow, and many baby crows.

One day a huge snake came to live in the hole at the bottom of the tree. The crows were unhappy about this, but could do nothing.

Soon Mother Crow hatched a few more eggs and some more baby crows were born. When the crows flew out in search of food, the snake ate up the babies. When the crows returned, they could not find their babies. They hunted high and low, but to no avail.

After a few months, Mother Crow gave birth to some more baby crows. This time Mother Crow stayed home when Father Crow went out in search of food. Ignoring the fact that Mother Crow was keeping a watchful eye on her babies, the snake still slithered up the tree and attacked the babies. Mother Crow tried to fight the snake off, but she was not strong enough. Other crows came to her aid, but the snake had already eaten the little ones and crawled back into its hole.

When Father Crow returned, he found all the crows weeping. He consoled his wife who wanted to leave the tree house immediately. Father Crow said that this tree had been their home for many years and they must live here. He thought of asking a wise old fox for help in order to get rid of the snake.

The old fox came up with a brilliant plan. He told them to go to the river bank the next morning where the ladies of the royal family would be bathing. Their clothes and valuables would be kept on the river bank while the servants would be watching over them from a distance.

The fox asked the crows to pick up a necklace and while away making a raucous noise. This would make the servants chase them to the tree where the crows would drop the necklace into the snake's hole.

So the next morning when the crows flew to the river bank, Mother Crow picked up a pearl necklace and flew off as Father Crow cawed loudly to attract the servants' attention. The servants ran after Mother Crow and reached the banyan tree where they saw her drop the necklace into the snake hole. As the servants were trying to take the necklace out with the help of a long stick, the snake came out of the hole and hissed at them menacingly. The servants beat the snake to death. And so Mother and Father Crow lived happily ever after in the banyan tree.

The Monkey and the Crocodile...a lovely kids story

This is one of my and my sons fav story from Panchtantra...

Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red rose apples. He was very happy.

One fine day, a crocodile swam up to that tree and told the monkey that he had travelled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey happily agreed.

The crocodile returned the next day. And the next. And the next one after that. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends and family, like all friends do.
The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the river. So the kind monkey offered him some extra rose apples to take home to his wife. The crocodile's wife loved the rose apples and made her husband promise to get her some every day.

Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the crocodile deepened as they spent more and more time together. The crocodile's wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he and the monkey shared a true friendship. The crocodile's wife thought to herself that if the monkey lived on a diet of rose monkeys, his flesh would be very sweet. So she asked the crocodile to invite the monkey to their house.

The crocodile was not happy about this. He tried to make the excuse that it would be difficult to get the monkey across the river. But his wife was determined to eat the monkey's flesh. So she thought of a plan.

One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the crocodile that the doctor said that she would only recover if she ate a monkey's heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must bring her his friend's heart.

The crocodile was aghast. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he loved his friend. On the other, he could not possibly let his wife die. The crocodile's wife threatened him saying that if he did not get her the monkey's heart, she would surely die.

So the crocodile went to the rose apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his wife. He told the monkey that he could ride across the river on the crocodile's back. The monkey happily agreed. As they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that. The crocodile explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife's life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to save the life of the crocodile's wife, but he had left his heart behind in the rose apple tree. He asked the crocodile to make haste and turn back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree.

The silly crocodile quickly swam back to the rose apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the crocodile to tell his wicked wife that she had married the biggest fool in the world.

Google Goggles on Nexus One

This is the best feature of all ....

Google Goggles an amazing application that can recognize and image then perform a Google search based on the contents of the image. It will work for barcodes, books, landmarks, products, and more. As you can see from the video, the application works well most of the time, but often has trouble with products.

To watch the video for Google Goggles on Nexus One please refer the following link...

http://pocketnow.com/software-1/google-goggles-demo-on-nexus-one

Green Tea Miracle

A cup of green tea has powerful healing properties and is a soothing accompaniment to any meal. Here's a look at the magic it can do.

The buzz around this ancient beverage has been doing the rounds for quite a while now. At first sip, green tea definitely cleanses the palate, but it’s true power comes from the antioxidants it contains. In fact, you could call it the King Kong of antioxidants.

Green tea is chock-full of cathechin polyphenols, mainly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is its main fighting ingredient. It’s believed that EGCG prevents cancer by targeting cancerous cells. It also lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, prevents the formation of abnormal blood clots that cause heart attacks or strokes, prevents inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis, builds up the immune system and provides resistance to various infections. Whew! That’s one powerful ingredient.

A Simple Green Tea drink...

Add 2 cups water, some ginger and some lemon peel in a saucepan with few spoons of sweetner ..boil it chill it...mix it with club soda and garnish with mint leaves....ENJOY !!

Why Preschoolers Think They Have All the Answers - A Must Read I fealt

Just a few glimpses of this must read article at parents.com

1 ) They Have a Desperate Need to Win

3.5 to 4 year-olds are starting to compare themselves with others. They're tempted to cheat at games in order to win-so they can brag, "I'm better at this than you are!" Because preschoolers have the vocabulary to share information in a way they couldn't when they were younger, knowing something, or saying they do, gives them a competitive edge.

2 ) To Them, it Makes Perfect Sense

Why they can tell London is just too close to new York
Preschoolers' knowledge is based on concrete information, and they have difficulty grasping abstract concepts. If you show a 4-year-old two lines and ask which one is longer, for example, he'll be able to tell you, but most 4-year-olds can't visualize concepts such as more, larger, or longer

3)They Have Very Active Imaginations

If they're telling a story and there are gaps in their knowledge, they just add fantasy material.

4) They Get Overloaded With Information
Sometimes kids act as if they want to know everything when they really just want a basic grasp of it

5) They Want to be Grown-Up

If they say, 'I know -- even if they don't -- they feel smart and grown-up.They don't want you to realize that they don't know something.

Movie Pick : Born to be Wild (1995) - 4/5

When teenager Rick's (Wil Horneff) scientist mother punishes him by forcing him to clean up her animal lab, he doesn't expect to form a tight bond with a gorilla named Katie who's housed there. But he does, and when Katie's rightful owner tries to wrest her away to make her part of a dubious performing act, Rick "kidnaps" Katie and embarks on a whirlwind trip to freedom.

Movie pick - The Code (2009) - 3.5/5

Deeply in debt to the Russian mob, master jewel thief Ripley (Morgan Freeman) recruits a talented burglar (Antonio Banderas) to help him pull off one more daring heist: filching two gem-encrusted Fabergé eggs worth a cool $20 million each. The stakes stack up when Ripley's criminal creditors threaten to kill his goddaughter (Radha Mitchell), while the cop (Robert Forster) who's been trying to nail Ripley for years is hot on his trail.