Amos Tamam - a great actor

The cinema field is tough field for a person to establish himself. There are some people who get the fame and money in the cine field solely because of their hard work. Amos Tamam is one such person who has reached heights in the cinema industry because of hard work. He was born on 6th September, 1977 and has acted in many super hit films Srugim,Giborim Ktanim, Shalosh Ima’ot etc. His birthday is next week and let us all wish him a great future in the industry.

Mac OSX Leopard on my PC !!!

I am passionate about computers and always liked to try out different things in it, especially trying out various OSes. I have worked with many OSes, right from Win 95 to Vista and also with Ubuntu and Sun Solaris. But, i have never got a chance to work with Mac OS X and i fell in love with that OS after watching the Leopard guided tour from Apple. But, buying a Mac is out of my reach and so i wanted to try the Mac OS X Leopard on my PC. The only way i could do, is by the OSX86 project. I have downloaded almost every version of the OSX dvd and finally found Leo4All working fine for my configuration. After many failures and lot of formatting of my hard drive, i finally succeeded in dual booting Mac OS X with the same old Windows XP. Dual booting dint work for me with Vista. Once i logged in, i must say that I was like new born baby unknowing of what to do. Everything was different in Mac OS X and i couldn't even figure out the keys like option key, command key with the windows keyboard etc. The toughest of all was installing the sound driver and i installed the driver finally too. Now, i can hear to songs on iTunes. :) After many attempts i was able to connect to the internet. I can learn to use this great OS from the internet. Am yet to learn a lot of things about this Mac and am hoping that i learn quick so that i can make the Leopard, my default OS.

My View on Google Chrome

Google Chrome – almost every Internet user is talking about it. I never knew about this browser until morning when I saw the newspaper which said that Chrome was available for download on Tuesday. I wanted to know how this browser performs and so I downloaded and installed it on my system. When I launched the browser, the first thing that attracted me is the sleek design of the browser. Unlike the other browsers, Chrome has the design of all with just a tab bar and the address bar. This kind of design gave me a better view of the webpage. The thumbnails of most visited pages on the start page of the browser is an useful feature. The history search box, recently closed tabs list are displayed when you open a new tab are also useful features. The auto search for sites while you type in the address bar is also useful for those who don’t remember the exact name of the site. Pulling a tab out of the tab bar makes the tab open in a new window and vice versa is a new and great feature found in this browser. The Incognito window which is similar to Porn Mode in IE8 is a useful feature for private browsings. Another cool feature seen in Chrome is creating the application shortcut.

The best feature found in Chrome is using the Task Manager to close the tab that doesn't respond rather than closing the entire window. This saves the other working tabs from closing.

Looking at the performance section, I think google has concentrated more on security. Apart from google related sites, other sites loaded slower for me. If I disable the some of the security options, the pages loaded somewhat better for me. But, the page load speeds were slow when compared with firefox or internet explorer. To be honest, I was not satisfied with the performance of Chrome, as heavy sites took me a lot of time to load. Even my blog took about a minute to load completely where as in firefox it takes less than 10 seconds to load completely. My friends said that few websites doesnot load properly for them. No add ons for this browser yet.

I use Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, K-meleon, Flock in my system. Comparing with all these browsers, Chrome was only an underperformer. May be the looks feel good with some useful options. But, for a person like me for whom speed is the only requirement, Chrome was not in the list. May be, if there are some tweaks for this browser may make it faster. Until, I find those tweaks, Chrome is out of my system. And this browser is still in its beta stage and so i am keeping my fingers crossed for a better stable version in the future.

P.S : This is my experience with Chrome and I did not support any browser in particular. If you have something to say about Chrome, do say it in the comments section.

AMD's Revenge

For nearly two years, the only GPUs I recommended were made by Nvidia. After the AMD-led acquisition, ATI was simply no longer competitive in the graphics business. The ATI that obliterated Nvidia with its Radeon 9700 was long forgotten, and Nvidia had been doing so well that we didn’t even really notice. Nvidia’s product releases were good enough that we didn’t even pick up on the fact that we were suffering because of a lack of competition (more on that in a bit).
The first sign of competition from ATI came with the RV670, the basis for the Radeon HD 3850 and 3870. Nvidia preempted the RV670’s launch by releasing one of the best values in PC graphics I’ve ever seen: the GeForce 8800 GT. Nvidia rained on ATI’s parade, and although the RV670 was competitive, it merely got an honorable mention as it was good but not great. Our review on Anand Tech of the 8800 GT was aptly titled, “The Only Card That Matters.” ATI really hated that.
During Nvidia’s launch of its successor to the G80 (the GPU that was the basis for the GeForce 8800 GTX), we began to get the feeling that something may be wrong. While Nvidia’s GT200 is a tremendously impressive GPU, it is simply priced too high. The GeForce GTX 280 carries a $650 price tag and is generally outperformed by Nvidia’s own $500 GeForce 9800 GX2. The GT200 is also a strictly high-end GPU, leaving the 8800 GT and the new 9800 GTX to occupy the $200 and $300 price points, respectively.
Then came AMD’s revenge.
The RV770 is a much larger, faster, and improved version of the RV670. But speed alone doesn’t tell the whole story here; the RV770 launched as the Radeon HD 4850 and 4870, priced at $199 and $299, respectively. The main differences between the two are clock speeds and memory bandwidth, but at these prices AMD as completely reset performance expectations—even more than Nvidia did with the 8800 GT last year.
The $199 Radeon HD 4850 is generally faster than Nvidia’s GeForce 9800 GTX. It is so fast, in fact, that Nvidia had to drop the price of its 9800 GTX from $299 down to $199 to remain competitive. But even with the 9800 GTX’s lower price, the Radeon HD 4850 is still the better overall buy.
The Radeon HD 4870, at $299, now finds itself without a competitor from Nvidia. It is clearly faster than the 9800 GTX and in many cases out performs the GTX 260, priced at $399.
Herein lies the benefit of competition that we were missing with AMD/ATI not putting much pressure on Nvidia for the past couple years. While Nvidia continued to advance technology, the only reason the GeForce 9800 GTX moved to $199 when it did was pressure from RV770. And I suspect that the GeForce GTX 260 is going to have to move down to $299 very quickly.
At the end of last year, AMD saw a hole in Nvidia’s product line and went after it with the Radeon HD 3850 and 3870. Fortunately for Nvidia, it had a flexible enough chip at the time that it could scale, target, and respond to the AMD threat with the GeForce 8800 GT. This time around, Nvidia is caught in the middle of a couple transitions: First, GT200 just started shipping and it will be a while before it can be cost-reduced, and second, Nvidia just began shipping 55nm GPUs. While it’s completely within Nvidia’s ability to respond to the threat posed by RV770, AMD’s timing has ensured that any response will be after the Radeon HD 4800 series has had a chance to do well in the market.
If you need a new graphics card and plan on spending either $199 or $299, the Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 are the best you can get.

Source : Computer Power User

Mac OS X taking over Windows?

2008 is looking to be the year of Mac OS X. According to industry analyst Net Applications, Mac OS X’s share of the global OS market has jumped roughly 32% from last year. In June 2008, Mac OS X powered 7.94% of the computers accessing the 40,000 Web sites that Net Applications monitors for research purposes. A year ago, Mac OS X was juicing just 6.03% of those sites. Microsoft, meanwhile, saw Vista’s usage share for June 2008 climb 8% from June 2007. Unfortunately, Windows overall usage share total for June fell 2.45% from 2007. So, Is Mac OS X really taking over Windwos' Vista? Along with the iPhone 3G release, Apple has seen a tremendous progress within a short period. Will it continue to progress? Well, we have to wait and watch, while Microsoft tries something different to catch up with Apple's progress.

Intel's Bioelectronic chip for Chemical Detection

Imagine if you could get a lab test in the doctor’s office and see the results before you left. The Intel Bioelectronic chip might one day make that possible. The chip was an experimental project that the world’s biggest chip maker showed off at its annual Research@Intel day. The chip resembles diagnostic chips that companies such as Affymetrix already make. But the chip doesn’t use optical technology to sort through various chemicals it comes into contact with. Rather, it uses silicon electrical sensors with something called a field effect device to detect DNA or other chemical traits more easily. Udi Virobnik, the Intel researcher behind it, said that such chips could be used as universal diagnostic machines, detecting a wide range of health risks, rather than just a single-test diagnosis, as is the case with chips already in use.

Greatest show on Earth - Olympics 2008

Acrobats virtually walked on air. Choreography scored a perfect ten. And fireworks exploded in the sky like works of art. Ina breath taking spectacle that left a global television audience of 4 billion gasping, ancient china, determined to be a modern power, marched on to the global stage in the presence of a galaxy of world leaders.

The opening ceremony on Friday of the 29^th edition of the Modern Olympics was as much a celebration of the host nation’s ancient culture and civilization as an emphatic statement of its intent: China can do the impossible. And it almost did. Statistics can never explain the jaw dropping nature of the marathon four hour show that began exactly at 8pm (local time) on 08.08.08 at the Bird’s Nest. Chinese consider number eight to be lucky. Choreographed by master class Chinese director Zhang Yimou ( House of Flying Daggers ), the show had 29,000 rounds of fireworks. Overall, China has invested $43 billion for the 16 day sporting event attended by over 200 countries.

Suzuki's superbike in India

Recently, Yamaha launched its superbike Yamaha R15 with 150cc in India. Bajaj Pulsar, TVS Apache, Honda Unicorn were the competitors in the 150cc market with pulsar leading in the front. But, one great manufacturer who has manufactured the dream bike of the youngsters, Hayabusa hasn’t set foot in the 150cc market. Now, Suzuki has decided to get into the competition as well. Rumors spread that Suzuki has planned to release its FXR 150 in India. But, that’s not true. Suzuki’s 150cc bike will not look like yamaha’s R15. Rather, it looks like more of pulsar. It is NOT FXR 150. Like all other 150cc bikes in the market, suzuki’s new bike has self start, alloy wheels, disc brakes etc. Pursuing Yamaha’s R15, Suzuki’s bike also has six speed gears. This bike will not have Fuel Injection engine. It is guessed that the power would be around 16bhp. This bike is expected to be released this October or November. And another treat waits for the bike loves and youngsters of India. Suzuki may release the dream bike, Hayabusa along with its new 150cc bike this October or November. So, guys get ready for some serious riding.

Broadband speed in Mobiles

SPRINT AND Clearwire have agreed to form a joint venture that will deliver wired broadband speeds to mobile users, perhaps by late 2008. The companies had charted separate paths to roll out mobile WiMax, a form of mobile broadband previously deployed in scattered places around the world. Widespread deployment of WiMax is about two years behind early predictions. Sprint and Clearwire’s WiMax rollout will likely offer speeds well above 5 mbps. 

Pricing isn’t set.WiMax adapters should proliferate by 2009. Intel has backed WiMax since deciding in 2004 that existing cellular 3G plans could not meet its needs. Intel will build Centrino chips that have WiMax and Wi-Fi capability built in. Companies such as Motorola, Samsung, and Zyxel are committed to building fixed receivers for residences and businesses, as well as laptop and desktop adapters like PC Cards and ExpressCards. Ben Wolf  , the CEO of the new service, estimates that Clearwire will be available to 120 to 140 million people by 2010. By then AT&T and Verizon should be rolling out LTE (Long Term Evolution), their 4G flavor, which will offer comparable speeds.

The future RAM

HP RESEARCHERS have developed a working unit of a once-theoretical memory circuit called a memristor, which may someday re place RAM and make PCs smarter. Memristor technology could enable PCs to make decisions by understanding patterns of collected data, much as ahuman brain collects and understands data on a series of events.For example, a memristor could adjust a microwave’s heating time for a potato based on whether the oven overcooked a potato the last time, says HP senior fellow Stanley Williams. Memristors could reach the commercial semiconductor market in five years, he says.A memristor circuit uses lower voltage and turns on faster than memory types such as DRAM and flash. Denser cells allow memristor circuits to store more data than flash memory, too. The memristor is the fourth basic circuitry element, joining three, the resistor, the capacitor, and the inductor. That science has known about for 150 years,Williams says.

Hybrid Car in India

With the Toyota's hybrid car Prius, getting a grand welcome in US, its rival in hybrid manufacture Honda has planned to target India. But it is not going to release a new model rather it is going to bring in the hybrid technology to the Honda Civic. The Honda Civic hybrid is no different from the ordinary Civic in its external appearence. They have a made a small changes like bigger tyres for better grip etc. Civic hybrid is 1399cc 94 bhp a lot lesser compared to the ordinary civic ( 1799cc 130bhp ) but the Civic hybrid has got a 20bhp electric motor. So, its net power comes to 114bhp. It is 80 kg more than the ordinary model. Interiors are the same like the ordinary version. But since the battery is behind the seats, the boot space has been reduced.
To save fuel, Honda has introduced a new method. When the car is stopped at one place, the engine is autmatically shut down. So, again when you press the accelerator, the car gets turned on. Even after turning off the engine, the AC works in Civic hybrid. When compared in performance, the ordinary civic gets the credit. But for city riding, the Civic hybrid is the right choice.
With all these merits one should feel happy to buy this car. But on hearing the price some may back off because it is much costly than the ordinary civic. So, if you have a heavy pocket, you could definitely buy this car not just for fuel efficiency but also for a greener earth.

Indian designs a Flying Saucer

Here is what i read in the local newspaper.
A scientist of indian origin from the university of Florida in the US has conceptualized the design for a plasma propelled flying saucer. The scientist in question is Subrata Roy, University of Florida mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor. Roy has submitted a patent application for a circular, spinning aircraft design reminiscent of the spaceships seen in countless hollywood films. He calls his design a "wingless electromagnetic air vehicle" or "WEAV". The proposed prototype is small, the aircraft will measure less than six inches across and will be efficient enough to be powered by on board batteries. The propulsion system for Roy's saucer sprouts from his extensive US airforce funded plasma actuator research.
According to Roy, the design can be scaled up and theoretically should work in a much larger form. Even in miniature, though, the design has many uses. The most obvious functions would be surveillance and navigation. The aircraft could be designed to carry a camera and light and be controlled remotely at great distances.
Well, if he does succeed in creating the flying saucers, then the Martians can expect UFO's in their planet. LOL!!!

Yamaha R15 in India

Shocked? Yes. Yamaha is going to launch its superbike Yamaha R15 in India on June 14. When the company announced its idea of releasing R15 in India, bike lovers were overjoyed and some people even booked for it without even knowing its price and specifications. But now yamaha has announced the release date as June 14. But it hasn't revealed the engine power of the bike. Some of the info's says that it might be 20-22 bhp but not sure about it. Yamaha R15 has some great features like aerodynamic design, rear disc brake, fuel injection system, oil cooled engine etc. With all these great features available, the rate of yamaha R15 might hit Rs.1 lakh. But still youngsters are looking forward for it. With the release of R15 around the corner, the other competitiors like Bajaj's Pulsar and TVS' Apache are planning to release new models to cope up with the competition from Yamaha. Can they do it? Have to wait and watch.