New processor computes at light speed

A superfast computing processor that uses light, not electrons, to perform calculations has gone on sale for the first time. Lenslet, the Israeli company that developed the processor, say its light speed calculations deliver the power of a supercomputer in a single device.

The device is called Enlight and can perform 8000 billion arithmetic operations per second, about 1000 times faster than a standard processor. Previously this type of processor was only available to highly financed government laboratories.

EnLight will be useful across a broad range of applications, from military projects to compressing high definition video images. Enlight is not a general purpose processor like a Pentium. Instead, each processor will be custom-built to perform a specific set of tasks, and will not be programmable.

Much research has been done to try to exploit the much faster speed at which light travels compared to electronic signals, but most commercial work in this area has focused mainly on optical interfaces. These devices allow fibre optic and related systems to communicate with traditional electronic systems.

Strictly speaking, EnLight is a hybrid device, housing both electronic and optical circuits, but it is the optical processing that make it so fast. It allows you to do a massive level of operations in parallel.

The processing in the Enlight device is carried out using a process called vector matrix-multiplication, which allows calculations to be performed on 256 optical inputs.

The beams from 256 lasers are added or multiplied together when shone on a matrix device called a spatial light modulator. The outputs are then read by an array of light detectors.

Lenslet would not put a precise price on how much an EnLight processor would cost, because each will be made to order.

Pluto mission lifts off

A probe named New Horizons was launched on January 21, 2006 to explore the only unexplored of the solar system, Pluto.Its on a trek of 9 and 1/2 years and is the fastest object to ever leave the earth's atmosphere at 58000km/h or 16km/sec.New Horizons is the size of a toy piano. It'll slingshot off Jupiter's gravity to add another 145000km/h boost.If successful, the probe will reach Pluto, and Charon, its largest moon, in July 2015.The ashes of Clyde Tombaugh, the asronomer who discovered Pluto have been placed aboard New Horizons.

Hindi-vital for US national security

Bush Administration has identified Hindi among half a dozen critical foreign languages vital for its national security. It now plans to spend millions of dollars in the coming years to recruit experts of these languages — Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Persian and Hindi — to teach students from kindergarten to universities.

The National Security Language Initiative aimed to strengthen the national security and prosperity in 21st century was launched by the US President, George Bush, at the US University Presidents Summit on International Education, on Wednesday.

With an initial proposed budget of $114 million in 2007, the National Security Language Initiative, the project has three broader goals. First is to expand the number of Americans mastering "critical need" languages and start at a younger age.

Second is to increase the number of advanced-level speakers of foreign languages with an emphasis on "critical needs" languages.

By 2009 it aims to produce 2,000 advance speakers of Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Persian, Hindi and Central Asian languages.

Finally, the initiative aims to increase number of foreign language teachers and resources by establishing the National Language Service Corps for Americans with proficiencies in critical languages to serve the nation.

Croc jaws

The jaws of a crocodile are powerful enough to crush the bones of a small animal, but so weak in opening that they can be hel together by hand.

Porn in Pockets, thank the iPod

Sex even sells in tiny packages, especially when its portable.

An online social network of amateur pinup girls said that it logged 50000 downloads of sexy featurettes-three to five minute video clips- in the first 24 hours targetting the new iPod-toting crowd.

Apple Computer Inc's new video-playing iPod unvieled the viewing of vidoe flicks, whose use has been largely restricted to the privacy of homes and theatres, in open public of parks and mass transit, by all ages. Porn is no doubt a big business on the Web.

The internet accounted for $2.5 billion of the adult industy's $i4 billion in US revenues last year, which is the same as revenues from cable and satellite pay-per-view showings. Now, the adult video producers like Vivid Entertainment are offering high resolution skin flicks specifically for use on iPod and other portables.

iTunes online already features several hot and heavy podcasts, audio downloads geared to portability. The Apple officials have even refused requests for interviews on whether they might offer adult content on iTunes for iPod owners.

Children are much quicker to grasp technology that their parents, and thus its now easier than ever for minors to view X-rated content on portabes like Sony PlayStation Portable, iPod. The arena is wide open, unfiltered, unrestricted, for adult content. Children are very aware of where it is and how to down load it.

But I think its fine.

Slide show

After a long steady climb upwards for over a year, the rupee seemed to be depreciating against the dollar just after mid-year.

From Rs 43.37 to a dollar on August 1, the currency steadily slipped to 43.92 on September 14, 44.3 on October 3 and now to 45.84 (November 23). Some analysts, mainly foreign, have hinted at a lower band of 48 in the next few months. Does this mean that foreign investors with their deep wallets have found better pastures to graze? Will the stockmarket fall back to its mundane levels? Is the party finally, finally over?

Prompted by the falling rupee, the FIIs were net sellers of equities worth over Rs 2,250 crore in October. High growth and rising external deficits should continue to put pressure on the rupee, which could in turn lead to self-reinforcing capital outflows from equity and cash markets, forcing the currency down further. The virtuous cycle of strong flows, low rates, rising consumption, higher growth and strong corporate fundamentals will likely end.But the RBI is okay with rupee's decline, has hardly intervened by selling dollars. Nor has it talked it up with rhetoric.

The India story is still strong and moving investor hearts. As a result, the long-term tendency of the rupee is to appreciate. Clearly, the recent gyrations of the rupee are a result of allowing market forces to take over, especially the build-up of a current account deficit, and partly owing to build-up of seasonal expectations like the arrival of harvests, festival demand and FII profitbooking. It's also a way of the RBI to test its resilience.

freedom-fate

It is true that we are compelled to move within the circumstances we have created in the past and the conditions which we have inherited in the present, but it is also true that we are quite free to modify them. Freedom exists at the heart of man, that is in his Overself. Fate exists on the surface life of man, that is in his personality. And as man himself is a compound of both these beings, neither the absolute fatalist nor the absolute free-will positionis wholly correct and his external life must also be a compound of freedom and fate.

BSE index new high-9057.97

BSE benchmark index got as high as 9057.97 points today. The Foreign Institutional Investors have been pouring in money pretty generously. During the first three days of the week about Rs 674 crores were pumped in. During November itself, hefty net investments of Rs 4449 crores were recorded.  Infosys, ICICI, ONGC, L&T, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, HDFC, BHEL, SBI, Hindustan Liver Ltd etc were remarkably higher on fresh buying support.
Sustained FI inflow has been occuring since the past 10or so months which is proving really nice for the India Inc.

Is global warming really a threat?

Absolutely, respond most scientists, but they have only recently been able to approach a basic agreement about our changing climate.

First, the Earth has gotten warmer. Since 1850, average global temperatures have risen about .6 degres Celcius. The most likely culprits are the greenhouse gases, such as carbondioxide, released by humans burning fossil fuels, and clearly of lands. Sera levels have also risen about 4 to 8 inches during the past century.

Second, the concentration of greenhouse gases (or GHG) in the atmosphere is near its highest point in recorded history. Since the Industrial Revolution, concentrations of carbon dioxide have risen 30%.

Based on studies of air trapped in ancient ice, today's level are higher than any time in the last 420000 years. If GHG concentrations rise, as expected, concentrations could cross a dangerous threshold, although that designation is contentious.

Finally, almost every scientist agrees upon one thing that the future is highly uncertain.

Projections state a rise of 1.4 to 5.8 degree Celcius by 2100. Other scientific concensus shows cracks beyond this point.

The Earth system has more unknowns that we are generally willing to acknowledge

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The United Nations establishes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1988. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere reach 350 parts per million from the pre-industrial level of 280 ppm. Carbon dioxide levels above 500 ppm are thought to pose a "dangerous" level of interference with the climate system, according to the United Nations.

In 1990, the IPCC presents its First Assessment Report, stating that human activities are substantially increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Two years later, the United States, along with more than 100 other countries, sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It recognizes the climate system as a shared resource and launches efforts to curb climate change.

The Kyoto Protocol is negotiated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences publishes a report in 2001. The panel declares "temperatures are, in fact, rising" and human activity is the likely culprit, although it does not define the influence of natural climate variability. Predictions of a 3 degree Celsius warming are called "consistent" with climate science.

The Kyoto Protocol enters into force on February 16. The treaty was ratified by more than 140 countries. Concentration of carbon dioxide now stands at 372 parts per million, higher than at any time in at least the past 420,000 years, according to David King, chief science adviser to the British government.

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This is a matter of great concern. I'm worried.

God, No God

Being religious is not what is really required. Incarnates pray to God for wisdom, knowledge, courage, wealth, health. The *one* who is considered the almighty is worshipped to help the one praying get all that he needs or wants. And the religious beliefs drive our incarnate to things better than that he is actually involved with. What that really means is that God is just a reason to give for all the good things that he does or atleast tries to do. The rituals etc. are a path to get close to the almighty.

If the one called God doesn't really exist *somewhere* but exists everywhere then *Everywhere* includes *inside* of the person who is praying and that is the closest distance he can ever get to to attain what he really wants, God, or more precisely all the worldly necessities.

But can the one who prays attain the real God? What will he get when he really reaches that *somewhere*?

Because one is praying to God, which resides *everywhere*, including the *place* inside the one who prays, and that *place* is the closest to where he can ever get to the *one* he prays. If one's praying to himself then why give it a new name-God.

I'm a realist and do not believe in God. I believe rituals only cause troubles. I don't pray at all. I don't believe if one prays for something, one'll get it.

The only thing that is required is *faith*. Faith in oneself. Faith in one's own abilities. Faith in our own confidence and determination. Faith in the hope that one carries when failure overwhelms him.

Faith ofcourse tightly coupled with toiling hard and striving to reach the destiny.

An internal optimist, I always feel blessed. I trust my mind, my heart, my intelligence, and my sensibilities, and they've never let me down and never ever will. When I feel frustrated or angry, I just take a deep breath and move on. I'm absolutely allergic to negative energies.

If the way to get all the positive energy required is through God, I say that my way to attain all the positive energy required is by having *faith* in one's own self. I'm my own God.