'Nano' Technology

I cried. I laughed and then was stuck by the Technology behind it. This review was one of its kind, for the latest iPod Nano. For long, I wondered what makes the iPod an iPod. I've broken open, Walkmans, TV Remote Controls, and Radios as I traced my quest as a budding electronics engineer. I've studied about the EEPROMs and RISC architecture.

But now, it was this review that gave me an insight on what went into the iPod Nano. Memory Chips, Processors and even the awesome thin stip of printed circuit behind the 'Click Wheel' caught me unaware. We had seen and wondered the beauty of the pencil-thick Nano. And now this insight review... We jus dont know, how far the technology can grow and what lies in our future.

Not withstanding the extreme review, Apple has admitted that there was some fault in Nano's LCD screen that made LCDs in some of the Nanos crack and break. However, Apple also maintained that it was a quality problem and not a design problem in Nano.

Even then, who wouldnt want to try their hands on the best tech gig the world has ever seen - 'iPod Nano'.

UPDATE: The Word Verification for comments is now turned 'ON' in this blog. Jus now, I removed three comment spams that sprang up jus minutes after we posted. Hope, at least the pain of typing the word for verification would turn down those spamming the blog. Keep Posting everyone. Cheers. Magnus.

7

The number. It’s the number of notes in the musical scale, colors in the rainbow, number of days in a week. It is said that God took rest on the seventh day after creating this world. It’s the number of the deadly sins which human race should not succumb to. When rolling two standard six-sided dice, you are statistically more likely to roll a seven than any other number. It’s on 7th of some month that the ESPN Sports channel was launched. Seven is considered a lucky number in many western cultures. I am not sure the actual reason for 7 being considered a lucky number. But definitely September 7, 1998 was definitely a lucky day for everyone on the WWW. That was Google’s official founding date. Did you know that September was the seventh month of the Roman calendar until 153 BC?

Google celebrates its 7th birthday this September.

Happy Birthday Google!!!

Here is some thing real fun, have a look at the holiday logos of Google, which you see time and again in the google page.

Holiday Logos

PS: - Did anyone say that the individual digits of the year Google was launched adds up to 7.

Why

Agent Smith: why have you joined this 2050: A Journey?
Pal: Because I choose to.

Yours Semper Fi,
Pal

PS: This post was inspired by this blog post by Phoenix.

Poverty Tourism

Poverty Tourism

This is the new buzzword people. Poverty tourism is the breakthrough concept that is going to make the Indian Tourism industry really boom! Remember Munna Bhai (Pooor People, Reeeeel People)?

There is an article about it here.

Though the phrase sounds somewhat derogatory, the general attitude of whoever writes about this issue seems to be politically correct, but I think its just to avoid flaming.

I think Poverty Tourism, in the long run, will make the so called first-worlders more sensitive to international poverty and will force a rethink on poverty in their home country.

Your thoughts guys and girls?

Rita...

Rita seems to be scaring the hell out of the Texas population.. Many of my close friends are there in that state and it is giving me the jitters thinking about whats going on out there.. Well, nothing much can be done to prevent whats going to happen today evening, but all that we can do is pray that life comes back to normal pretty soon.... A close friend of mine, Bhavani, has written about whats going on there.. You can read that here...



Take care people!!!

Vikram.

SAVE A CHILD, SUPPORT CRY WALK 2005

At CRY America, we believe in creating peoples' movements to make a lasting difference to underprivileged children. We believe that each of us, as individuals and organizations, can contribute. All it takes is the belief that “Change is possible, because I'll make it possible”. CRY America's strength therefore lies in its supporters the volunteers, donors and partners who have come together to change the situation of the underprivileged child.

Aimed at providing people with an avenue to support child rights and change the situation of underprivileged children, CRY America has organized a national event called WALK 2005 for Child fundamental rights.

CRY requests you to participate in the CRY Walk held on October 2nd in Santa Monica, CA and help in changing the faces and lives of Underprivileged Children.

The walk includes a Walk Tshirt for every participant, Snacks from Annapurna Cuisine, Kids event and live music by CRY Band 2005 on the scenic Santa Monica Ocean Front. AND what’s more, it’s for a good cause!

For a fun filled October 2nd Sunday afternoon, Click here to RSVP to the evite and register online.

If you can’t participate in the walk, Please consider pledging a donation for the walk. Click here for a Walk Pledge. Go on, your good deed for the day is just a click away! :-)

Please email this information to your friends and family and help spread the word about CRY 'Child Relief and You'.

Thank you for showing that you care and extending your support either by pledging a donation or by registering for the walk. - On behalf of the CRY SoCal Team

Please note that this participation is completely voluntary. [a.k.a - act now! :-) ]

Over rated?????

Again i knew Ekantha would get the wrong idea of ME being the most selfish person in the world......I want men to be Philanthropist rather than being phileartheists. Any way, i aint gonna talk much on this as two people talking in two different ways doesnt get us any where.....

But , when my pal mentioned about the Ten biggest ideas of the world....The ten biggest things of the philosophical world would surely include NON-VIOLENCE. Now, this is one concpet which boils me. Does any one know the idea behind being non-violent? It is to stop and avoid BLOOD,GORE, and of course VIOLENCE all together.But, who was the creator of NON-VIOLENCE??? The most violent, arrogant, frustrating Gandhi. He surely wasnt using non-violence to curb violence.He was using it as a weapon to get india free. And killed so many so many people who believed him like god and showed their head to the british cannons without protesting. (Including Gotse's family).

Now, the bottom line: i know people with raised eye-brows telling me " But the britishers werent right".... All right! If gandhi was a man who believed in PEACE he must have tried convincing the britishers by talking to them.Not BY frustrating and irritating a tiger(Th british) and make them Kill more and make them blood thristy. Okey! If only gandhi had solved all the issues with non-violence VERY GUD! India becmae INDIA AND PAKISTAN. Family man Gotse became familyless Murderer Gotse........

I am not criticisng Gandhi here...I am just telling u Non-Violence ( as a weapon) is not a solution for EARTH 2050....Non-violence must be preached TO EVERY ONE(EVERY ONE in this earth)...and not used by one community to frustrate another community.....

AMEN

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

-John Lennon-

* Probably the best anti-war song ever written.

24 things to always remember

1. Your presence is a present to the world.
2. You are unique and one of a kind.
3. Your life can be what you want it to be.
4. Take the days just one at a time.
5. Count your blessings, not your troubles.
6. You will make it through whatever comes along.
7. Within you are so many answers.
8. Understand, have courage, be strong.
9. Do not put limits on yourself.
10. So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
11. Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
12. Reach for your peak, your goal and you prize.
13. Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
14. The longer one carries a problem the heavier it gets.
15. Do not take things too seriously.
16. Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.
17. Remember that a little love goes a long way.
18. Remember that a lot … goes forever.
19. Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
20. Life's treasure are people together.
21. Realize that it is never too late.
22. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
23. Have hearth and hope and happiness.
24. Take the time to wish upon a star.

The world's 10 biggest ideas

The world's 10 biggest ideas
17 September 2005
NewScientist.com news service

Certain questions define the way we see the world. How did the universe begin? What is matter made of? What shaped our planet? How did the amazing diversity of life arise? We take many of the answers for granted, but maybe we shouldn't.
When we asked 10 of the biggest names in science to explain the significance of their discipline we were surprised by their response: who would have thought understanding quantum theory was relevant to the abortion debate? Or that a diamond ring can take you back to Pangaea? Set your mind spinning with our guide to the World's 10 Biggest Ideas...

1. The big bang
2. Evolution
3. Quantum mechanics
4. The theory of everything
5. Risk
6. Chaos
7. Relativity
8. Climate change
9. Tectonics
10. Science

[*] the full article is for full subscribers only. I'll make it available at the CosmicCode.

What's in a name?

[Lotsa thought-provoking writeups being posted here. But honestly, serious stuff scares me. :) Thought I'd do my bit to lighten up the mood a little.. So flicked an old post of mine from my blog. Hope you don't mind!]

Once upon a time,
Lived the legendary Ruffs
Who embraced a life of crime,
Of fraud, deception and bluffs.

They had only one desire,
Which was to be known for aeons,
As being a notch higher,
Than the immortal Corleones.

David Ruff, the grand old man,
Had been the first to take the plunge,
To start building a Mafia Clan,
Creating polished crime from grunge.

David had an able son,
His only successor named Dustin.
For his dad, he'd wield the gun,
Without a single question.

Though the Ruffs soon grew in stature,
They had a fear, leaving them feeling riled.
They began to panic about their future,
When Dustin grew older, still without a child.

Finally one day, Dustin's efforts paid off, :)
And brought the Family euphoric joy.
The Grand Old Man could finally laugh
In happiness, looking at the baby boy.

The family decided to name him
While David was still in town.
The old man, acting on a whim,
Named him after Dan Brown.

That was when tragedy struck,
And the Old Man realised his mistake.
He'd landed his family in deep muck,
With family prestige at stake!

But alas, the damage was done,
The kid, as suggested, was named.
A terrible thing to do to his grandson,
The Old Man felt ashamed.

David was filled with sorrow and dread,
A sense of shame overwhelming enough,
To make him wish he were dead,
After having named the kid, DAN D. RUFF!!

Children of 2005...Leaders in 2050

While we eagerly await to see what the world would look like in 2050, we have to remember that it's the Children of today who will be the leaders in 2050. It is our responsibility to restore the right to a childhood to the millions of children around the world, who do not have a single meal to eat, who live on the streets, who are harassed child laborers, who are abused...who do not have their basic rights to a childhood ....only then can we even dream about 2050.

There are numerous non profit organizations working to help under privileged Children.

As my first post on Earth2050, I would like to present CRY - Child Relief And You America Inc., that is working to restore the basic rights of Children. Find out about CRY America Inc.

Show your support for Child Rights NOW!
CRY America Inc. is organizing Walk 2005, a fundraiser in 6 cities across the United States. Find out more about CRY America Walk 2005. Please let your friends who live in these cities know so that they have the opportunity to be part of this noble cause.

Not able to participate in the Walk? You can still help through Walk Pledges.

Dream a little dream for me...
Children of 2005, Leaders in 2050.

~CB~ :?)

History X

About 30 miles from my hometown, there's a place called the Bujang Valley, where the ancient Indians from India landed in the state of Kedah, Malaysia and started a long lasting civilization nearly a thousand years ago. No clear research have been done to find out why the ancient 'Kedah Tua' civilization became extinct. Archeological digs was started probably by British colonists in the early 20th century and many of these temple's called Chandi's were recovered. The snap below is of one of the biggest temple ruins there, all the temples were removed from their original spots and rebuilds. Many Malaysian have only heard of the valleys name, some have visited along their school trips and such. But the majority of Malaysians doesn't bother much of ruins such as this. Forgotten historical sites are common in the South East Asia region and lest we remmeber them, then there wont be any left to remind us of out past cultural and civilizational emergence.

You can click the link (the title of the post or the photo) and visit the photos I snapped some years back.

Have anyone been to the Angkor Wat or the ancient ruins in Greece? Please share your experience and photo's.

-gp2005-

P/s: Welcome to all the new team members and please invite your friends to join along. Please forgive us for any inconvenience as a result of changes in the blog template, were still tweaking to have a standard and nice 2050 template. And when you post in the site, please DONT align the text to 'Justify Full', just leave it with the 'Left' alignment. Thank you.

Why stop with 2050?

Well, 2050's as good a place as any to start, and that's probably about the time (give or take a few decades) that many of us can expect to live to, given a natural lifetime.

If any of you would like to continue this into the more distant future...say, 50,000 years...you may want to spill some e-ink at this site. It's the KEO Project, which essentially is a mega-blog that will be put into a satellite and launched into a long-term trajectory, to return to Earth in approximately 50 millenia. Yowza.

My personal feelings about the KEO Project are that it will be lucky to come to fruition, luckier still to survive 50K years in space, even luckier to be recovered. Its launch date has already been pushed back several years, giving the impression that it may turn into vaporware. The satellite is a passive object with no energy usage, so how our descendants will even know it's up there, or that it has returned, or where it will land (70% chance it'll hit the ocean), is anyone's guess. Still, it's a very interesting idea, and a good twist on the ol' time-capsule concept.

So what would you say to the people of 50,000 years into the future? Imagine how far we've come in the past 50 millenia and you might get an idea how utterly alien the world will be then. In 50,000 years it is virtually inconceivable that any nation now in existence would still exist then. Ditto for religions and languages. In 50,000 years no one will have any idea who George Bush, Jesus Christ, or any other name known to us now is. In 50,000 years humanity will reach unimaginable heights and suffer innumerable cataclysms. Civilizations will rise and fall multiple times. Perhaps in that time (I'm hoping much, much sooner--as in my lifetime) humans will learn to overcome our biological limits, our petty squabbles, and our Earthbound status.

I think in 50,000 years the human race may be utterly alien to us now, physically, culturally, linguistically, technologically, etc. But I am optimistic that in one form or another, we'll still be around. Here's hoping.

P.S. Thanks GP for the invite!

To Restore the Pagoda tree

A Bit of information about Ancient India for I thought its my duty to tell the world what Real India is.

Many people know that India was the richest country in the world, in terms of culture as well as economy before the Mid-Easterners and Europeans ravaged through India. People searched for ways to reach India only for the treasure in the form of Gold it had in abundance. They were not only very much successfull in that, whereas they also acted as agents in suppressing the glorious Indian culture.

Today even in India we are having tough time accepting what this Indian culture is !! Thanks to Adengappa, fellow blogger for bringing into light this Article here. Its got loads of information on how these traitors from the west succeeded in satisfying their selfish greed at the cost of civilization.

It has been estimated that the total amount of treasure that the British looted from India had already reached £1,000,000,000 (£1Billion) by 1901. Taking into consideration interest rates and inflation this would be worth close to $1,000,000,000,000 ($1Trillion) in real-terms today.

The invaders discovered that as long as Indians holded on to their tradition it would be difficult to exploit the wealth from this country. A small peek into the education system as analysed by the britishers in ancient India is breathtaking. During a survey taken in 1822, Bengal presidency had 1 lakh schools, there was not a single village in Madras without a school and the education system was based on the highly intelligent sanskrit language handled by qualified brahmins. In present day because of the western influence, the brahmins are oblivious of their system of living.

In one of his letters to his Dad, Lord Macaulay writes

"Our English schools are flourishing wonderfully; we find it difficult to provide instruction to all. The effect of this education on Hindus is prodigious. No Hindu who has received an English education ever remains sincerely attached to his religion. It is my firm belief that if our plans of education are followed up, there will not be a single idolater among the respected classes 30 years hence. And this will be effected without our efforts to proselytize; I heartily rejoice in the prospect'

The end result is that the world understands that the Brits made the Indians civilized. What kind of information do we written in the history texts. Now there are great people who have testimonials for the Indian culture. Indian culture is a serious study in the west. People are exploring the fields of Yoga, Indian scriptures, occult practices and Philosophy.

Its the duty of each and every sincere Indian to live upto the ideals and restore the Pagoda tree.

Where Will I Be in 2050?

Will this blog indeed be online in 2050? One thing's for sure: I won't. But where WILL I be on 2050? In heaven? In Hades? In Nirvana? In another incarnation? In a hole in the ground? Back in the matrix? But at least my daughters will be able to check if this blog is still around. I don't envy them. Should we feel sorry for having out children in a world like this?

One thing's for sure: GP will be a wise old man who's been to Mars and back.

Fred

That Something....

Now I know there is problem in not writing precisely....Most of u did not get the message. And some extra ordinary, obnoxious reactions....But there was something really striking here.

Ekantha saying..... "And when something doesn't just belong to you ". I hope she wasn't reffering to the earth.But,Unfortunately she was. And that was the most funniest thing.

When there is a something called A. And some other thing called B uses it and B is the only thing using it. Imagine, A might be a mighty,powerful thing, But without B. I dont think it matters whether A existed or not.

Similar analogy. I dont think there is in any way the earth doesnt belong to us.Imagine an earth without us (and other living things). Meaningless. The sole purpose of earth is to house living things.

What I am trying to tell u here is, The earth doesn’t want u to take care of it. All it wants is for U take care of urself(I know we could very well do off without ozone depleting and global warming and stuff)...But that is the next issue.’ Man for man' is the sole purpose of living. The earth has lived so many years and will live till the expanding universe and sun suck it. So I don’t think all these small problems man causes to earth bothers it(Unless it is a problem for man himself).

That is exactly why I wanted man to spend on research and fundamentals...Read this (Another striking issue).

Yes! Accepted ekanta we need to be careful. But all we need to be is careful and Not too careful.

A fictional book on 2050

Jeremiah Dwyer's book -"Zoron Space Odyssey 2050" is a much awaited release.

Enthusiasts are preodering the book which is due to hit the bookshops around early November.

Click here to know more.

Beholding the candle.......

A compass pointing towards a new horizon
Isn't this a time for all fears to be fully shun
Life is a candle that burns on both its sides
One lights future and other, the past it hides
As time merges the future, present and past
Take it in your stride while it moves so fast
Let us await a new world of endless smiles
Every step of ours towards the victory miles
Let there be toast and wine and a content sigh
let the world take a step towards a spirited high

Let us all together hope for a better world and a better place to live as we make our journey towards 2050
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks GP for the invite

World is not even near ENOUGH

Guys...How long are u going to keep talking about datas of mother country and ur mother country resisting mother nature......Every body knows the earth is a biological entity...And like every other biological entry, the earth has death....And u guys know the effects of ageing,So allow mother earth to undergo the problems of ageing..(Tsunami, volcanoes...etc.....). Would u find ways to fightiing ur mother when she vomits as part of ageing.
Yes!Disaster management,Risk management, etc. yes! Upto some extent....But please dont make these things an issue.Every body knows they are dying, Every body knows the earth is dying.....Do u live all ur life in the hospital....Not walking on the roads because u will meet up with an accident...Not u take those small risks to make small meaning to these lives....Not like shakespeare who sits under the tree and researches and death and writes down (WE WILL ALL DIE THERE IS NO MEANING IN LIFE)....And lives...hahahahahahahahahaha......Let us all work on education,Relation, Men and find bliss from life..Let us all live life....Probably we should get back to investing money on Research and IT(as much as we did on two years back)...And put the remaining money into what MIGHT happen and what not WILL happen......

I am sorry if i did not communicate what i wanted to...mostly dont....For those of u who got the meaning....Well and gud

Leaps of an young nation, India!

A Little over an hour ago, the 30-scrip Sensex (Sensitive-Index) of the Bombay Stock Exchange at Mumbai, India crossed yet another milestone in its 19 year history. Little do we remember of that horrible crash of the bourses on the Black Monday an year ago on May 17, 2004. Today, at 10.12am IST, the Sensex leaped and bounced to its new high crossing 8000 points. The sensex was at 4050 on Black Monday.

From 5000 to 6000 Sensex, took 118 days, from 6000 to 7000, it took 216 days and from 7000 to 8000 it has taken just a couple of days less than 80! It may be odd that the sensex has gone to new level, given the rising inflation and surging oil prices after the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, USA. But, Sensex and Indian Economy, both are on the rise, indication of the strong growth rate of India, in the past few years. Considering all the current developed nations and camparing them, one would easily understand that India, with a short history of independence of just 58 years has come a long way trying to be on par with those nations on all fields of technological advancements as well as economic growth. And, it has a long way to go, on its positive note today.

Prisoners in their own country

When I wrote Is there? I forgot to add

Is there a country which can withstand mother natures fury?

In the wake of Katrina, just 9 months after the tsunami - there’s a sparing difference. In one we saw ppl coming together, acting as fast and tough as possible, governments actually trying to make a difference. Then we heard cries, promises and taunts that we Asians weren’t doing a good job of having precautions set. And what did world class precautions help people of New Orleans? Nothing.

Despite knowing there was a huge calamity, not enough was done. Despite just seeing what nature can do, just 9 months back, nothing was done. Despite knowing in dire, all help must be utilised, nothing was done.

Not getting enough help - hungry victims were shot and called looters; waiting to be saved in vain - a women died, with her, hope went as well.

Did we actually learn anything from the tsunami?

Prisoners in their own country, god bless them. May the trapped be rescued soon.


Ps : Wrote this yesterday, wanted to post it later but read Uma’s.

Hallow

Yo! I am seriously not able to precisely understand what is happening here...But one thing i know is that it's something about making the soceity look better if possible ...the best soceity by 2050....If that is so, then the vampire is always there having his head on heels.....Any way guys i am krishna and i was invited by the Ghost Particle...SO elaborate me on this Earth 2050 and .... nothing else will post more after i get comfortable here.....

How To Change the World by 2015: The Millennium Development Goals

Hi all,

While we have a 45 year goal for the 2050 Project, the Earth Institute at Columbia U has underlined a project to the year 2015 called the Millenium Development Goals. Among others, the goals are to reduce poverty, ensure universal primary education, gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating AIDS and other dangerous diseases and environmental sustainability. (click on the link above and head to the page to view the goals in detail)

[+] The Earth Institute

[+] The UN Millennium Project

[+] The Millennium Village Project

[+] The Earth Institute Crosscutting Themes
-gp-

2050 - An age without censorship?

Censorship. everybody hates it. Everybody seems to want it.

Definition


Censoring: counterintelligence achieved by banning or deleting any information of value to the enemy.

Source: Google Definition function.

Censoring doesn't and has never had a good track record is doing what it is supposed to do, prevent damaging content from getting to sensitive people.

As the definition above shows, censoring is just a tool in the hands of the powerful, used and abused in order to further the ambitions of the powerful.

Censorship as a concept is essentially biased towards the powerful and exists everywhere, in all kinds of media, from newspapers to books, from TV to cinema. Even the mobile content that is supposed to be on the "internet", so to speak, is censored.

What is the last frontier against this hypocritical concept of censorship? An immediate answer would be the Internet, of course. But is that really true? Can you publish anything you want on the Internet and not be censored (have your page removed, threatened etc.)?

The answer is a resounding NO. Here is the most recent example of repressive censorship.

And as always, here is a way to bypass the censorship.

Let us hope that 2050 sees an enlightened society that doesn't see the need to censor its citizens.