Amazing e-spy on the hunt

The defence counsel in Pravin Mahajan's case had to look high and low for a software expert, but the next there is a report of a cyber crime, help is just a phone call away. Thanks to an institute called e-Forensics.
This software expert group was instrumental in Pravin Mahajan's trial. e-Forensics demonstrated to a sessions court in Mumbai that it is possible to tamper an mobile text message.
If Pramod Mahajan's cell phone had been put in evidence collector bag by the police, the controversy about the SMS being tampered with simply would not have arisen for the bag completely blocks the signals coming into the mobile.
National Institute of e-Forensics (NIEF) in Mumbai uses many state-of-the-art tools to investigate cyber crimes. Much of these high-end equipments will be used to help people who call on the institutes's toll free number with their electronic grievances.
Though the service has just been started, the institute has been flooded with work requesting investigations into all kinds of cyber crimes —from credit card fraud to women getting obscene calls.

Amazing 7 medical myths busted, use your brains

London: Reading in dim light won’t damage your eyes, you don’t need eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy and shaving your legs won’t make the hair grow back faster.
These well-worn theories are among seven "medical myths" exposed in a paper published on Friday in the British Medical Journal, which traditionally carries light-hearted features in its Christmas edition. Two US researchers took seven common beliefs and searched the archives for evidence to support them.
Despite frequent mentions in the popular press of the need to drink eight glasses of water, they found no scientific basis for the claim.
The other six "myths" are:
Reading in dim light ruins eyesight : The majority of experts believe it is unlikely to do any permanent damage, but it may make you squint and blink more
Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser: It has no effect on the thickness or rate of hair regrowth, studies say.
Eating turkey makes you drowsy: It does contain an amino acid called tryptophan that is involved in sleep and mood control. But turkey has no more of the acid than chicken or minced beef.
We use only 10% of our brains: This myth arose as early as 1907 but imaging shows no area of the brain is silent or completely inactive.
Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death: This idea may stem from ghoulish novels. The researchers said the skin dries out and retracts after death, giving the appearance of longer hair or nails.
Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals: Despite widespread concerns, studies have found minimal interference with medical equipment.

Amitabh Bachchan's mother Teji passes away

Actor Amitabh Bachchan's 93-year-old mother Teji Bachchan passed away on Friday due to ill-health.
She had been in and out of Lilavati Hospital over the past one year for various ailments.
On November 7, Teji Bachchan was shifted to the intensive care unit of Lilavati Hospital. Her condition was reported to be critical and a spokesperson for the hospital said her health had suddenly worsened.
Amitabh Bachchan's son Abhishek's high-profile wedding to actor and former beauty queen Aishwarya Rai in February this year had been kept low key due to Teji Bachchan's

Al-Qaida email threatens terror at Delhi HC, Taj

The Delhi High Court on Thursday said it received a threatening email from terrorist outfit al-Qaida a few days after the serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh district courts last month.
According to court sources, the email was forwarded to the Home Ministry following which the security in the High Court was beefed up.
Delhi Police, which has taken the threat seriously and intensified security, has launched an investigation to trace the culprits and check the authenticity of the email.
According to court sources, the Delhi High Court's security department received the email about 10 days ago.
Refusing to disclose the contents of the email, the sources said it had issued threats to the High Court, Parliament and the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Denying the receipt of any fresh threat mail, they said a meeting of the Delhi Police officers as well as court officials has been convened on Thursday.
Delhi Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh and senior police officials reviewed security arrangements at both the courts.
Staff in the court complexes was asked to remain in uniform and wear identity cards. Directions were issued to allow nobody inside the premises without the necessary passes and a mandatory security check-up. Metal detectors were also put in place.
"We have taken unprecedented security measures and are fully prepared. Bomb disposal squads and dog squads have been put on high alert. Additional police personnel have been deployed around the Supreme Court and high court premises," a police official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

Zoo tigress attacks visitor, severs hand

A man's excursion to the zoo here along with his family turned into a tragedy when he was killed by a tigress after crossing the barrier and went near the animal's enclosure this afternoon to take photographs.
Zoo divisional forest officer Narayan Mahanta said 50-year-old Jai Prakash Bezbarua, who had gone to the zoo with his family, had crossed the line outside the enclosure for tigers from where visitors see the animals at Assam State Zoo.
He gave a slip to the guards on duty, who had stopped him from venturing near the barrier, and crossed to reach the last level from where the iron grills start to take photographs of tigers basking in the sun, he said.
As soon as the man put his hand inside the iron grill with his camera, the tigress, named 'Divya', caught it and was immediately joined by another tiger 'Gobardhan'.
Together, they severed Bezbarua's hand from his shoulder within a few seconds. Bezbaruah was rushed to Guwahati Medical College Hospital

Green dream bust? Delhi chokes on CNG

The green colour on autorickshaws is perhaps an indicator that Delhi is the only city to have introduced the CNG and made it mandatory on public transport .
But Delhi is more polluted today than it was five years ago when the CNG was introduced. A latest analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) finds that pollution levels are on the upswing again after a few years of control.
In 2002, when CNG programme was initiated, RSPM or respirable suspended matter stood at 143 microgram per cubic metre. In 2005, they dropped to 115 microgram per cubic metre
In 2006, the levels of RSPM in winters were as high as 350 microgram per cubic metre - which means, more than double.
So what has offset the benefits of CNG? Delhi has more than four million registered vehicles and adds about 1,000 vehicles to its roads every day. Cars fueled by petrol and diesel- fossil fuels that emit toxic gases in Delhi's air.

So what's the solution?
“We need to do something to restrict the number of personal cars. It is really ironical that the public transport meets 60-70 per cent of the transport demand. Our policies are not encouraging public transport. In fact the tax burden on a person traveling in a bus is much higher than one traveling in a car. We are building flyovers for car owners and are not thinking about moving people but moving cars,” says Anumita Roy Chowdhary of CSE.
The automobile industry continues to add flashy models on the roads each day with little thought to how much carbon they emit. Until the government considers a tax for polluting vehicles, Delhi will continue choke in this toxic gas chamber.

India eyes 10 pc growth by 2012, US spoiler a risk

India's economy could be growing by 10 per cent a year by 2012 with the right set of policies, but the US subprime crisis might trim exports and capital flows, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday.
Annual growth dipped to 8.9 per cent in the September quarter, falling below 9 per cent for the first time in three quarters, as industrial output slowed due to monetary tightening designed to trim inflation.
Top officials are confident they can maintain growth momentum despite a surge in the value of the rupee against the dollar this year, which is hurting exporters, and high interest rates.
"It is possible that with the correct set of policies... we will not only be able to maintain this momentum of high growth into the near future but may be able to raise it to 10 per cent," Manmohan Singh told top policy makers.
India, the world's fastest-growing major economy after China, grew 9.4 per cent in the last fiscal year, its strongest in 18 years.
Its surging expansion has attracted global investors, fuelling a stock market boom and pushing firms to expand capacity.
"This high growth rate has become possible because of the historically high savings and investment rates which we are witnessing," Singh said at a meeting of the National Development Council set to approve a policies for the 5 years to 2012.
"Our savings rate after stagnating for almost two decades has touched 34 percent of GDP and the investment rate has crossed 35 per cent. These high rates... are likely to go up in future because of our young population profile."
Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday expansion in the 2007/08 fiscal year to March 31 would be in excess of 9 per cent, and analysts say the central bank's forecast of 8.5 per cent should be met in Asia's third-largest economy.
The PM said global credit worries would not completely skirt India's economy, despite it being largely driven by domestic demand. "There are some clouds on global financial markets following the subprime lending crisis. There are worries that the growth of the US and other leading economies may slow down and some may even go into a recession," he said.
"This may impact both our exports as well as capital flows."
Such concerns mean India must redouble efforts to maintain domestic drivers of growth, the Prime Minister said. The government is discussing ways to minimise the impact of the rupee's appreciation on exporters, who have seen their margins squeezed by a 12 per cent rise in the currency this year.
The Reserve Bank of India, keen to cool price pressures and stop the economy from overheating, raised interest rates five times between mid-2006 and March this year, but has since held them steady.
Many economists now expect the next move to be down.

Britney Spear's sister Jamie is pregnant at 16

Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister, who stars as a schoolgirl in Nickelodeon's popular TV show Zoey 101, is pregnant.
The cable channel confirmed a report in the forthcoming edition of celebrity gossip magazine OK! that Jamie Lynn Spears is expecting a child.
"We respect Jamie Lynn's decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right now is for Jamie Lynn's well being," Nickelodeon said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.
A high school student who lives in Louisiana, Jamie Lynn Spears reportedly met the father, Casey Aldridge, the son of a Tennessee papermill worker, at church.
Jamie Lynn Spears' personal publicist was not available for comment.
Her big sister, Britney Spears, may not be the best source of parenting advice.
The 26-year-old pop star lost primary custody of her two sons, aged 2 and 1, to ex-husband Kevin Federline after their divorce last year and is engaged in a bitter custody battle that has shone a harsh spotlight on her maternal shortcomings.
Zoey 101, which wrapped production on its fourth and final season in September, revolves around a headstrong student at a co-ed boarding school in California.
Fresh episodes will air through 2008, a spokeswoman for the Viacom Inc-owned network said.

Amazing Body scanner that sizes you up for perfect fit

Amazing Technology plays an integral part in fashion, right from the sketching board to your closet — clothes that glow and sparkle and designs that change with your touch. That is the latest technology from Philips.
Philips has developed a glass chamber called the Intellifit Body Scanner. It works just like your neighborhood tailor, except it sizes you up with radio waves instead of a measuring tape. That means, perfect fitting clothes every time. And this is coming soon to a mall near you.
The best part is Intellifit issues a smart card that stores all your measurements so it can be used every time you shop. Or if you want your boyfriend or someone else to shop for you online, just give them your user name and password to access your size details.
For the problem of the stores that don't stock your size, this is the perfect solution. Shop floor arguments will soon be history with a radio frequency chip, with everything there is to know about a piece of garment recorded inside the chip. Tagged to every garment, the salesperson will know immediately if they have your size and where exactly in the store to find it.
CEO Avaana Software Bimal Sareen, says “RFID will allow the shopkeeper to recognize the clothes you take into the changing room, and flash matching accessories on the mirror for you that have been matched by a designer.”
Of course, fashion and technology are much deeply intertwined. What once took hours of sketching is today achieved in minutes on a designer's desktop.
Fashion Designer JJ Valaya,says, “Software like Photoshop and CorelDraw allow us to see many versions of a drawing with we couldn't do earlier. It now helps us to produce much faster.”
Once a design is completed, it’s uploaded onto the web through software like WFX. After global partners approve it, it’s then sent to the factory floor, where the smallest of details like, cut, color, measurements are faithfully reproduced. Thus, every garment that reaches the shop floor ends up exactly the way the designer wanted it.
Director, WFX, Jatin Paul, adds, “It is not uncommon for large brands like Nike or Gap to cancel million dollars worth of Shipments because a sleeve is too long or a pocket manufactured is crooked. Technology like WFX stops this from happening. “
Who knew so much technology was involved in helping one select the perfect outfit.