Google tracks – ‘Flu’

God google has embarked into yet another avatar (Incarnation!!) Least one would have expected that search engine could be used as a barometer to track flu spreading fast. With mountains of past data available, google engineers seemed to have found few keywords which would indicate spread of flu.
Check it out – http://www.google.org/flutrends/
(SOurce google.org)
Technology is from Google Inc, but donated to Google.org – its philanthropic arm(I personally feel it more than just that! Investing $$ in alternative fuel resource is no mean task !)

They have tested the results and compared it with National medical database of the past & it seemed to work “very very” well in their own words !

Technology to common man & more a conundrum to many of them – I am definitely one illiterate among them. But this feat is really amazing !!

Next time u sneeze ,mind that  you are one of them they are after !! But little typed “Sneeze” would be of more help please! Adds to public database too .. Cool .. oh, shud I say cold !!

Indian Innovation – $100 PC !

Accidentally yesterday when I was seeing History channel – “indian innovation” programme I came across this excellent innovation.

 Imagine indian version of $100 PC. Just all you have to pay is 4500/ & you own a PC. Though this differs from conventional PC, it can do all a PC would do.

Amazing stuff.

 

Driven by Novatium, driven by innovation from Prof of ECE IIT-Chennai – Dr.Ashok Jhunjunwalla.

 

http://www.novatium .com/technology. htm

 

These innovations are the one’s which take technology to common man. Thought this would be useful for all who wish to take technology to common man especially the underpreviliged & unaccessible rural areas !!

 

Nova Net PC is one such answer !

Women in IFS !!

     India’s diplomat’s though the front face of our country in foreign land, they are hardly known to Indians, except the exceptions !! And more so is the case of Women in India Foreign Service(IFS). Very heartening to see the this recent article in Outlook magazine   . No doubt the fair sex have been outperforming men in many fields considered to be men ONLY turf. IFS was definitely one among them, tradtionally women not opting it with enthusiam. Reason could have been understandable, but convention no more relevant. After the 1970’s there has been slow but steady progress.

 One good point made by diplomat Ruchi Ghanashyam (India’s high commissioner to Ghana) adds value to this disucssion “a matter of pride that I live in India House at No. 1 Jawaharlal Nehru Road in Accra. As a young girl growing up in Bhopal, I didn’t even know we had women diplomats“

 Even in the past it is not that they made no impression. World turned around to see the aggressive Indian diplomacy of famous Ms.Arundathi Gosh in 1996 who thundered in Committee on Disarment(CoD) “India will not sign the CTBT . Not now, not ever!!”(she was ofcourse referring to onde sided treaty – holds good even today !!) . Ms.Chokila Iyer became the first foreign secretary. But now the trend is growing.

 Given India’s stand today, it is good to see more women diplomats being given important position is good for the country – so for the wold !!

North-East Rocks !!

Bombs rock North-East India ! Hardly few would be surprised. But it did surprise me to learn about Shillong where people have been rocking for past 35 years on Bob Dylan’s birthday ! Hmm that’s intresting. This article from NYTimes did catch my attention :

NYTimes Article – Town in India Rocks
Very heartening to see these masses involving in musical sojourn despite very hard times there. The timing also seems significant when we are trying to promote North East.
One of them remarks “So relevant to our area,” he remembered thinking. “No drum, nothing, just guitar. Paddy field. Cows. Looking at the buffalo. So matching our area.”

A rocker, even says ” We will bring Bob Dylan one day to these woods !” That would be some day ! Until them let’s leave them to rock !!

Xobni – Outlook utility

Came across this superb “Outlook express” utility ! Cool features ! Try it out ! It’s free !

Downolad at : www.xobni.com

The rank # feature is good & few other statistics is also amazing ! Don’t let ur boss see ur stats ! Might reveal more of you !!

Enjoy the free utility !

Blog on pakistan

 A very nice blog on Pak. Very different from the same old rivalry perspective. Could not resist giving a pat to Mayank, who has created this blog.

            http://pakistanpaindabad.blogspot.com/

Refreshing side of what he calls “Positive Pak”.. Good read!!

Middle east rocks!

  A refreshingly different story in stirf torn middle east. Come what may
we will rock say’s these “Heavy metal Rockers”.
No regrets to say I am NO  fan of rockers. Never shy’d from blaming them for
cracks in my walls not to mention the splitting headaches they accompany.

But my perception hanged here when one of the drummers mentioned , youth in the conflict zone see this as a vent. Well I cannot complain! These poor guys were rocked by cruel bombs, tleast now they are being their won self.
Very courageous team. Why ?? Because officially banned there & still
these people ‘rock’ I say .
 Enjoy the video

Bored reading my blog.
Consider reading this & u will very much apreciate whay freedom of speech is !!
As a blogger i strongly advocate his release

http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/middle.east/blog/ (Check Feb 26 story)

Trust me, we are given too much freedom to blog!!

Statistics – made simple!

One of the things that keep people miles aways from statistics is its volume, lenghty table, obnoxious terms. Even when we try to interpret at times it “Herculean Task” .

But believe me this site is damn intersting! The way the guys explains the stats is simply amazing.

What more they are advocating brining data to an open platform for greater good! Hope this goes a longway in educating the importance of information avalability.

Take a look at this video:(A must watch!?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w

http://www.gapminder.org/ has more for ethusiasts. It definitely took a great chunk of my time! Get ready to be trasported into world of data presentation!!

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Pak goes to polls!!

Call it a long standing dream come true. Wary of internal war people whose bare minimum expectation today is, at the least a non-working democracy than a mindless dictatorship, look forward to the polls. Any sane minded person of Pakistan would agree they deserve that, for that matter any human being. UN charter on human rights advocates right to life(but whatever it means?) . But history has taught us that any institution cannot exist in vacuum but for their deep rooted traditions, be it cultural or political.

EU observers doubt the nature of polls. But I think some credit must be given to the masses whose long ordeal with military rule has been frustrating. Self-belief is the key to freedom & I guess civil society does understand that.

As an ardent advocate of non-interference India always sought to distance itself from the happenings their, but for the occasional statement of “We are monitoring the situation.” Track-2 diplomacy should be revived in full swing. We would like to see India lending hand in rebuilding lives in tribal /rual areas. It’s not that diplomacy is always conducted across tables.

Whatever be the outcome, we will have to live with that. May the almighty give strength in them to fight what they believe in. Assuming the polls are not rigged, the outcome is what they decided for themselves.

After all its for their own good they are seeking!

Nano – Great Indian Dream !!

Not many times have Indian product design being vowed like this one. And you would least expect that too in auto design. Tata’s managed just that ! Would have been ‘Despite Mamta’ car has generally been given a good review – for its design & cost. Above all to the design team who rose against a seemingly improbable idea. Tata’s dream is best explained by Hindustan Times

“Every couple of decades, one man’s personal dream defies convention to transform the aspirations of millions of people all over the planet. Ratan Tata is such a man. His daring, passion and commitment has not only stretched the boundaries of how ordinary Indians view their lives, but in one epiphanous moment revolutionised how they would see India“

Usually shy Mr.Ratan Tata, took exception recently at the Auto Expo. A flamboyant opening with “2001 a space odyssey” said it all. Because its tune is very indicative of “Future Indian Auto Odyssey”. Also uncharacteristic Tata taking on the environmental critics – be her director for govt research centre or director general of TERI

Two things which attract me

1) Simple & Elegant design – The design has 33 patents filed. Young
team of design engineers from India did this.
(Read this interesting story at ET“)

2) Gives ‘Aam Admi’ a chance to own a car. Ofcourse quote of a
police constable doing the rounds as testimony.

Debates on roads getting clogged, environment, fuel availability is in full swing. One way to disturb govt’s slumber. It is challenges like these make governance more active. Sure any govt
will be voted out if they say, small car’s would flood the roads. If we understand vote bank, then this assumption is almost correct. Tata seemed to have indirectly triggered govt to start thinking on those lines also.

But direct benefit to the country is generation of employment – for production, spares, service centers. Tata is contemplating idea of inviting young entrepreneurs to assemble car’s locally. This is definitely a novel idea.

No doubt the roads will get more clogged, but alteast we can bear some cost towards egalitarian society!

Finally- against its name opening was a mega one & by no means Nano !!
Well a fitting title to be tagged – A Great Indian Dream !

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