Be prepared to witness Google Chrome Operating System soon......

It's been an exciting nine months since google launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. Google designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. Google has announced a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's googles's attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. Google is designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, google is going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

Google hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

One thing for sure it will pose a great challenge to windows operating system..........................

NextUp Talker software - a miracle for dumb

NextUp Talker 1.019 is a Text To Speech product from talkforme.com.It Allows those with vocal impairments to communicate with others using a windows PC or Tablet PC. Provides common phrase shortcuts. NextUp Talker is a Text To Speech software specifically designed for people who have temporarily or permanently lost their voice. With natural, human sounding voices and handy shortcuts to quickly enter commonly used sentences and phrases, NextUp Talker allows you to easily communicate with others despite vocal impairments using a Windows PC or Tablet PC.

Whether due to ALS, Cancer, Stroke, aphasia, or any of the other all too common problems causing loss of speech, NextUp Talker should help you regain an important part of your life by allowing you to "talk" with others. It's goal is to provide high-quality but affordable speech solutions for those in need.

NextUp Talker Benefits:

#Specifically designed for use in conversation

#More pleasant conversations using latest generation, high-quality, Natural sounding voices.

#Easy use with either mouse or keyboard.

#Smooth conversation flow with less delays due to typing by using predefined, often used

#phrases and user created abbreviations.

#Adapts to your style and speed with options to speak each word as typed, each sentence, each paragraph, or on demand.

#Ability to insert actual sound files along with speech. These can help make kids more comfortable talking with an adult using a computer.

Goal of NextUp Talker

Over the past 5 years, talkforme.com have developed the world's most popular Text To Speech program, called TextAloud. It is a general consumer product used for listening to email, web pages, and documents. During that time we've had thousands of users who have lost their voice and have trouble communicating with others. TextAloud and other PC based programs have never worked very well as conversation tools, because they simply aren't designed in that way. So until now, the best option has been to use dedicated hardware devices for voice replacement. These can cost up to $3000 and typically have very mechanical sounding voices. Our goal with the release of NextUp Talker is to use all of the advances in computer based voices and what we've learned from our customers to offer an affordable product for people who have either temporarily or permanently lost their voice.

Designing for Conversation

One problem with using computers for conversation is the delay during entry of messages. NextUp Talker attempted several things to help with this:

#Predefined Phrases

#NextUp Talker let's you create an unlimited number of phrases you often use. These are arranged in a multi-level menu system. So, for example, you might have a menu of phrases you typically use with the telephone. You might have a phrases named "Greeting" that has the text

"Hi. This is John. I'm using a computer to talk with you, so please be patient as I type my responses. If you don't understand the voice or need me to repeat something, just let me know".

So, when you answer the phone, you could access that phrase quickly and have it spoken without typing it.

# Phrases can also have parameters within them, for cases where you need to customize the phrase. For example, you may have a phrase named "How Are You" that has the text

"Hi %name%. How are you today"

When you choose this phrase, NextUp Talker will prompt you for what you want to say for %name% then speak the phrase. So you access the "How Are You" phrase, NextUp Talker will popup a window asking you for the name, you type in "Betty", then NextUp Talker will speak "Hi Betty, How are you"

#Predefined phrases can be quickly accessed during conversations by

Double-clicking the phrase on the left side of the software

Using shortcut key combinations you define

From a right-click popup menu in the typing area

From the Insert Menu.

Abbreviations and ShortHand

#NextUp Talker includes an Abbreviations and ShortHand editor. With this, you can define short strings to represent longer phrases or sentences. So for example, if you frequently say something like "Could you bring me something to drink please", you could define an abbreviation of "gdrink" to be that full string. Then, when typing text into NextUp Talker, if you simply type "gdrink" the software will speak "Could you bring me something to drink please". Over time as you get used to using the program, you'll develop your own version of shorthand that will speed up your typing.

Inserting Sound Files

NextUp Talker can also mix in actual sound files into speech. You can insert a link to a sound file using the insert menu. For some users who have warning before losing their voice, such as is the case often with surgery, you can use your computer to record various sound files saying things like "I love you", or answering the phone. These recordings can then be intermixed with text to speech. Another neat use is inserting sound effects. There are a huge number of free sound files on the internet. A common use for these might be to include some funny sound effects with your speech. This is especially helpful when speaking with children. The funny sounds often help children become more comfortable when talking with someone who has to use a computer.

Access for those with physical limitations

Especially for those with ALS who have lost their voice, they face the additional challenge of losing muscle control and having difficulty fully using a mouse and keyboard. Talkforme.com attempted to design NextUp Talker to work well with either a mouse or keyboard, and hopefully work with "virtual keyboards". We haven't done a lot of testing in these areas yet, so we would appreciate any and all feedback to help us continue to improve.

Natural Sounding Voices

A computer will never replace the voice you've lost. However, in recent years, computer voices have become more and more human like. Choosing one or more computer voices that you like and that you feel comfortable with is important. This will become YOUR voice to friends and family. We sell a variety of optional voices for use with NextUp Talker.

click here to download a free trial - www.softsea.com/download/NextUp-Talker.html

Here comes india's fastest wireless broadband !!!

# Wireless Broadband for laptop & desktop

# 20 times faster with speed upto 3.1Mbps on the move

# Fastest uploads at a speed of upto 1.8 Mbps

# Downward compatible with Reliance High Speed 1X network to ensure seamless connectivity across 20000 towns & 5 lakh villages, as well as along major highways, railway routes, airport lounges and remote locations in India

# Optimized for running rich media / heavy applications such as video conferencing, video streaming, electronic surveillance, online multiplayer gaming and heavy file transfers.

# Simply plug & play

# Some other service prroviders such as tata have released their tata photon + with same fratures as mentioned above but currently available in less than 5 cities whereas reliance's is avalaible across 35 cities in india

# Only disadvantage is that only available in selected cities

Speed up your browsing of Windows XP machines

1.Here's a great tip to speed up your browsing of Windows XP machines. Its actually a fix to a bug installed as default in Windows 2000 that scans shared files for Scheduled Tasks. And it turns out that you can experience a delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows 2000 is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Note that though the fix is originally intended for only those affected, Windows 2000 users will experience that the actual browsing speed of both the Internet & Windows Explorers improve significantly after applying it since it doesn't search for Scheduled Tasks anymore. Here's how :

Open up the Registry and go to :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Under that branch, select the key :

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

and delete it.

This is key that instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks. If you like you may want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if necessary.

This fix is so effective that it doesn't require a reboot and you can almost immediately determine yourself how much it speeds up your browsing processes.

2.When you connect to a web site your computer sends information back and forth. Some of this information deals with resolving the site name to an IP address, the stuff that TCP/IP really deals with, not words. This is DNS information and is used so that you will not need to ask for the site location each and every time you visit the site. Although Windows XP and Windows XP have a pretty efficient DNS cache, you can increase its overall performance by increasing its size. You can do this with the registry entries below:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]

"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001

"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180

"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00

"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d

Make a new text file and rename it to dnscache.reg. Then copy and paste the above into it and save it. Merge it into the registry.

NTFS V/S FAT

To NTFS or not to NTFS—that is the question. But unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System.

#FAT16

The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists.

#FAT32

The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.

#The Advantages of NTFS

The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.

The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.

#When to Use FAT or FAT32?

If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer, you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems.

Bing - latest search engine by microsoft

Bing is a decision (search) engine from Microsoft officially announced on May 28, 2009. It combines technology from the Farecast and Powerset acquisitions, as well as new algorithms and a more colorful page design, to attempt to understand the context behind the search, which Microsoft claims gives users better results.

Bing as a brand is also an attempt to eliminate the confusion caused by Microsoft’s “Windows Live” branding. Bing is now everything “search” related, whereas Windows Live encompasses the remnants of Microsoft’s consumer software products.

Microsoft says its just an improvement over windows live search

While it has overtaken google in some areas but still you can say "GOOGLE SEARCH " is the ultimate winner when both are compared.

Some further improvement in it can pose a great challenge to google search

You can experience bing at www.bing.com.

!!!!! DTH BOOM IN INDIA !!!!!

What is dth ?
DTH stands for Direct-To-Home television. DTH is defined as the reception of satellite programmes with a personal dish in an individual home.
DTH does away with the need for the local cable operator and puts the broadcaster directly in touch with the consumer. Only cable operators can receive satellite programmes and they then distribute them to individual homes.

How does DTH work ?

DTH network consists of a broadcasting centre, satellites, encoders, multiplexers, modulators and DTH receivers.

A DTH service provider has to lease Ku-band transponders from the satellite. The encoder converts the audio, video and data signals into the digital format and the multiplexer mixes these signals. At the user end, there will be a small dish antenna and set-top boxes to decode and view numerous channels. On the user's end, receiving dishes can be as small as 45 cm in diametre.
DTH is an encrypted transmission that travels to the consumer directly through a satellite. DTH transmission is received directly by the consumer at his end through the small dish antenna. A set-top box, unlike the regular cable connection, decodes the encrypted transmission.
In simple terms the service provider broadcasts the signal that is sent to the satellite that then transmits the signal back to earth which is picked up by your dish antenna and fed to your television set.

What is the history of DTH in India?

DTH services were first proposed in India in 1996. But they did not pass approval because there were concerns over national security and a cultural invasion. In 1997, the government even imposed a ban when the Rupert Murdoch-owned Indian Sky Broadcasting (ISkyB) was about to launch its DTH services in India.
Finally in 2000, DTH was allowed. The new policy requires all operators to set up earth stations in India within 12 months of getting a license. DTH licenses in India will cost $2.14 million and will be valid for 10 years. The companies offering DTH service will have to have an Indian chief and foreign equity has been capped at 49 per cent. There is no limit on the number of companies that can apply for the DTH license.

How does DTH really differ from cable TV?
The way DTH reaches a consumer's home is different from the way cable TV does. In DTH, TV channels would be transmitted from the satellite to a small dish antenna mounted on the window or rooftop of the subscriber's home. So the broadcaster directly connects to the user. The middlemen like local cable operators are not there in the picture.
DTH can also reach the remotest of areas since it does away with the intermediate step of a cable operator and the wires (cables) that come from the cable operator to your house. As we explained above, in DTH signals directly come from the satellite to your DTH dish.Direct to home is different in the way of size of the antenna require is much smaller, the city will have less wires from one building to another you have the flexibility of moving without changing ot searching for new cable operators. You do not have to deal with the local cable operator
Also, with DTH, a user can scan nearly thousands of channels!

Does one need to put two dish antennae and pay double subscription per month if one has two TVs?
For multiple connections in the same premises, one can use the same connection. However, every television set will need to have an individual STB.
Also, DTH is a national service and the STBs enable a viewer to change service providers without changing the STB, even if one moves from one city to another.
Can a CAS set-top box be used for DTH?
No, these are different set-top boxes.

Why is DTH is being discussed now?

Several private operators such as TATASKY, RELIANCE BIG TV , AIRTEL DIGITAL TV , DISH TV & SUN'S DTH are now in the market along with Doordarshan's direcr to home.The competition is similar to that of cellphone operators in India wherein the customer is the winner.More base subscription of more than 100 channels are being offered for as low as Rs. 100/month.Customer is allowed to pay for only what he wants to watch.

Is DTH superior to cable TV?

Yes. DTH offers better quality picture than cable TV. This is because cable TV in India is analog. Despite digital transmission and reception, the cable transmission is still analog. DTH offers stereophonic sound effects. It can also reach remote areas where terrestrial transmission and cable TV have failed to penetrate. Apart from enhanced picture quality, DTH can support interactive TV services such as movie-on-demand, Internet access, video conferencing and e-mail. But the thing that DTH has going for it is that the powerful broadcasting companies like Star, Zee, Reliance,etc are pushing for it.

So why are broadcasters pushing for DTH?

In DTH, the payments will be made directly by the subscriber to the satellite company offering the service.
A big problem that broadcasters face in India is the issue of under-reporting of subscribers by cable operators.
Consider the cable operators pyramid. Right at the top is the broadcaster. Next comes the Multi Service Cable Operator (MSOs) like Siticable, InCable, etc. Below them are the Access Cable Operators (ACOs) or your local cable guy who actually lays the wires to your house.
The local cable operators or the ACOs then allegedly under-report the number of subscribers they have bagged because they have to pay the MSOs something like Rs 30-45 per household. Showing a lesser number of households benefits ACOs.
With no way to actually cross check, the MSOs and the broadcasters lose a lot. Broadcasters do not earn much in subscription fees and are mostly dependent on advertisement revenue to cover their costs, which is not sustainable and does not offer high growth in revenues for broadcasters.
The way out of this is to use a set-top box so that it will be clear how many households are actually using cable or going for DTH where broadcasters directly connect to consumers and can actually grow revenues with a growth in the subscriber base.

Why do Doordarshan, Zee, Star,Tata, Reliance,Sun think DTH will work in India?
Today, broadcasters believe that the market is ripe for DTH. The prices of the dish and the set-top box have come down significantly. Overall investments required in putting up a DTH infrastructure has dropped and customers are also reaping the benefits of more attractive tariffs.Set top boxes are being offered free.
The major thing that DTH operators are betting on is that the service is coming at a time when the government is pushing for CAS (conditional access system), which will make cable television more expensive, narrowing the tariff gap between DTH and cable.

Will DTH be cheaper than cable or more expensive?
DTH will be definitely more expensive than cable as it exists today.
A set-top box is a must for DTH. Earlier, when CAS made set-top box mandatory for households, the costs between DTH and cable would not have been too wide.
But CAS on the backburner now -- which means no set-top box (a must for DTH), the price gap between DTH and cable will be wide.
In Oct 2002, Siticable, which is owned by Zee, said that the cost of the installation equipment, which includes the receiver dish and the set-top box, would be priced at around Rs 3,900. Siticable is looking to rope in 1 million subscribers in 15 months.
Other estimates say that digital cable set-top box may cost Rs 4,000, a DTH decoder dish is unlikely to cost less than 4000
DTH's maxi package subscription could be priced around Rs 450 per month.

So, what's the buzz? Will DTH finally be the one that rules?
The cable system is well entrenched in India and is showing quite rapid growth. If DTH had come to India in 1996-97 (like Star had originally attempted), then it could have made a significant breakthrough.
Europe is an example of this. DTH developed there before cable and now controls nearly 80 per cent of the total satellite television subscriber base. But in US, cable rules because it came before DTH.
DTH will definitely cut into the existing cable user base. It will make the local cable operator less important and take business away from him. It will give consumers greater choice.
But it is likely to be an up market premium product and most middle class households will stick to cable