Hyderabad, December 5, 2007. The team from SSS Singhania School, Mumbai,
has won the national finals of `Aqua Regia', an inter-school
quiz competition conducted by the Triumphant Institute of Management
Education Pvt Ltd (T.I.M.E) here on Monday. The teams of New Greenfield
(Saket), New Delhi, and Little Flower High School, Hyderabad, ended up
as first and second runners-up respectively, according to a news report*
in the Hindu Business Line.



(Source: *The Hindu Business Line, Thursday, December 6, 2007,
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/06/stories/2007120652052300.\
htm, accessed: December 7, 2007).



Dr D.C.Misra

December 7, 2007



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Event:

Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG),
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of
India has been very successfully organizing a National Conference on
E-governance (NCEG) every year. Many serving civil servants and some
retired civil servants like me always look forward to this annual event.
The DARPG needs to be congratulated for organising the next conference
early next year.


The XIth National Conference on e-Governance will be held on
February 7-8, 2008 in Panchkula, Haryana

in co-operation with the Department of Information Technology,
Government of India and Government of Haryana, according to an
announcement.

The theme of the conference is:
Integrated Citizen Services – Issues and Challenges.

For details, check the website:
http://darpg.nic.in/arpg-website/egov_conf.htm

--Dr D.C.Misra
November 10, 2007



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In rti4ngo@yahoogroups.com, Dhirendra Krishna
<dhirendrakrishna@...> wrote:

Dear Shri Habibullah,

   I have not been able to find specific mention of implementation of
RTI in the eGovernance plans of GOI. You may be surprised that in
internet forums regarding eGovernance, there was recently exchange
of emails whether there is any link between eGovernance and RTI
Act.  There is a lack of clarity, on this subject.

   It would have been better  if   (i) Imlementations of RTI Act is
prominently stated as one of the objectives of eGovernance, (ii)
Persons working on eGovernance projects and providing content to web
site of public authorities are aware of the legal requirement of RTI
Act and  (iii) Training program of such personnel has focus on
administrative advantages of  transparency and decentralised public
accountability arising from RTI Act and  thereby lead to positive
approach towards RTIAct.

   In the absence of these basic administrative measures, it is
likely that eGovernance projects may  not result in effective
implementation of RTI Act. Two years have passed, since RTI Act was
operationalised.. If any eGovernance project has led to
implementation of RTI Act, it should be given due publicity by
Central and State Governments, to restore confidence in their
sincerity towards transparency and enhanced public accountability.


                                     Dhirendra Krishna

   ...................................................................
..........................................................
whabibullah@... wrote:
   Computerisation falls under the e-governance plan of DoAR &PG
Wajahat
> --- In rti4ngo@yahoogroups.com, "Dhirendra Krishna"
> wrote:
>
> Friends,
>
> The message placed below highlights the recent circulars issued by
> DOPT. It is unfortunate that DOPT continues to overlook the most
> significant aspects of RTI Act: Sections 4(1)(a), 4(2) and 25.
> Moreover there is no mention of financial outlay for implementation
> of RTI Act; no executive action plan can get executed without
> dedicated budget provisions.
>
> Section 4(1)(a) makes it obligatory to computerise records and make
> them accessable to public.
>
> Section 4(2) envisages suo moto disclosure of information required
> by the citizens to minimise their resort to RTI Act.
>
> Section 25 talks of educational programs, to enable citizens to use
> the RTI Act.
>
> Implementation of aforesaid programs needs dedicated budget
> allocations. DOPT is displaying their blatant lack of sincerity
> towards implementation of RTI act by ignoring these aspects.
>
> Dhirendra Krishna
> ................................................................
>
> Dear All
> I came across a couple of circulars issued by the Ministry of
> Personnel and Administrative Reforms qiute recently for
> implementation of various provisions of RTI Act. I am sorry for
> posting these circulars again, if these circulars have already been
> discussed.There are six new circulars, that I came across, on the
> DoPT's RTI website and these can be found on following link:
> http://righttoinfor mation.gov. in/Circulars/ CirIndex. htm.
>
> First circular is related to foreign visits of State Information
> Commissioners. This circular dated 05th October 2007 clarifies that
> the approval of DoPT is not necessary for the foreign visits of
> State Chief Information Commission and other State Information
> Commission. Only the approval of the state Governor and the
> requisite clearance of the Ministry of Home affairs and Ministry of
> Foreign affairs is necessary. This circular is available on
> following link:
> http://righttoinfor mation.gov. in/Circulars/ 4_16_2007( IR).pdf
>
> Second circular is a bad circular. It is an explanation of section
8
> (1) (j) to deny the disclosure of the Annual Confidential Report
> (ACR) under the RTI Act. ACR, as per this circular, is a
> confidential document and the Official Secrets Act 1923 applies on
> it. RTI Act, as the circular states, does not supersede the
Official
> Secrets Act completely. The disclosure of the ACR is an unwarranted
> invasion in the privacy of the officer, whose character, capability
> and other attributes are recorded in the ACR. Therefore, the PIO
> should be very careful and the disclosure of the ACRs should be
done
> only after the approval of the competent authority only on the
> ground that the disclosure has a larger public interest, the
> circular says. This circular has been issued after the consultation
> of the Ministry of Law and Company Affairs. This circular can be
> seen on the website at the following link:
> http://righttoinfor mation.gov. in/Circulars/ 10_20_2006_ IR.pdf
>
> Third circular id related to the publication and updation of the
> records by the public authorities under section 4 of the RTI Act.
> The Circular mandates the Public Authorities, who have not yet
> complied with section 4 of the RTI Act to publish the details at
the
> earliest and to update it every year thereafter. The circular can
be
> seen on the following link:
> http://righttoinfor mation.gov. in/Circulars/ 1_18_2007_ IR.pdf
>
> Fourth circular is a very important one. This underlines the
problem
> of disposal of appeals by the First Appellate Authority. The AA,
> while disposing the appeals, they do not act judiciously and they
> also express the agreement with the PIO. They also take more time
to
> dispose the appeal off. Further there are cases, where the PIO does
> not comply with the orders of the AA. DoPT has suggested to dispose
> of the appeal within 30 days by the AA and in an exceptional case,
> in not more than 45 days- reason of which should be recorded in the
> decision. Further, it has also suggested that as the action of the
> AA is a quasi judicial one, it should be ensured that the justice
> is not only done, but it should appear to have been done. For the
> implementation of the orders of the AA, the circular suggests that
> the AA should be an officer higher to the rank of PIO and the AA
> should also take the assistance of the even higher officer in the
> department for implementation of its order, in case the PIO does
not
> obey his orders. The circular is available on following link:
> http://righttoinfor mation.gov. in/Circulars/ 10_23_2007_ IR.pdf
>
> Fifth circular is based on the recommendation of the first report
of
> the Second Administrative Reforms Commission and it directs all
> Central Government offices to prepare an inventory of the Public
> Authorities under RTI Act and such an inventory is required to be
> posted on the website www.rit.gov. in. This circular also requires
> the ministry to prepare the list of NGOs which take grant from the
> government and are covered under the definition of the "Public
> Authority". This circular is available on the following link:
> http://righttoinfor mation.gov. in/Circulars/ 1_12_2007_ IR.pdf
>
> The last circular is also a good one. It is related to non
> implementation of provisions of RTI Act and it directs the Public
> Authorities to appoint immediately the PIOs and APIOs in the
> department, if the same has not been done. It also directs them to
> accept the fees through Postal Orders and other means of payment of
> fees as per the Fee Rules under RTI Act. The Drafts/ Postal Orders
> payable to the Accounts Officer of the concerned department now can
> not be denied by these Public Authorities as the Circular directs
> them to ensure that the instruments payable to such account are
> accepted. It also directs them not to reject the application under
> RTI Act on the ground that it is not in the format. The circular
can
> be seen on following link:
> http://righttoinfor mation.gov. in/Circulars/ 1_2_2007_ IR.pdf
>
> Thanking you,
>
> DIvyaJyoti Jaipuriar
> Advocate
> Public Cause Research Foundation
> (A Parivartan Initiative)
> Delhi
>
> --
> DivyaJyoti Jaipuriar, Advocate
> www.parivartan. com
> jaipuriar@gmail. com
> +91 9868002365
> Visit my blogs also:
> http://jaipuriar. blogspot. com
> http://jaipuriar. blog.com
>
> --- End forwarded message ---
>
>
>





Yahoo! Groups Links






---------------------------------
  For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good
this month.

--- End forwarded message ---

happy diwali to you all from...
   POOJA & Rishi


---------------------------------
  Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger.  Click here

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi
   Good Morning
   Happy Diwali
   &
   New Year
   Mrs. & Mr. K T Gandhi


SCOW R-Link: http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/srcitizensofworld
I A G M site: http://in.geocities.com/nk_ktg/iagm01.html or 02 or 03
   Related Link: http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/nk_ktg
Post message: nk_ktg@... India - Gujarat


---------------------------------
  Messenger blocked? Want to chat? Here is the solution.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Figure 46k should read as 460,000.

Error is regretted.

Dr D.C.Misra

As a lay person, I feel either the statistics could be wrong... for all you
know there might be a printing mistake in the publishing of figures... or it
could be that the 46K subscribers could not afford to keep the connection..
hence surrendered!

On 10/31/07, Dr D.C.Misra <dcmisra@...> wrote:
>
>
> While checking the figures of Internet penetration in India, to-day, I
> have come across these two figures:*
>
> Number of Internet Subscribers in India:
>
> (i) For quarter ending March 2007 (Q1): 92.71 million
>
> (ii) For quarter ending June 2007 (Q2): 92.25 million (-46K)
>
> Questions:
>
> (a) Where have the 46k subscribers gone? Does it mean 46k persons
> subscribed to Internet and then, finding it not useful, surrendered the
> connection?
>
> (b) Who could be these subscribers- individuals, organizations or cyber
> café owners?
>
> (c) Does it indicate any short-term aberration in the growth of Internet
> in India or indicates a long-term secular trend of Internet plateauing
> in India?
>
> (d) Does it mean that Internet is not meeting any felt needs of
> individuals, etc. and thus is being abandoned by old subscribers?
>
> (e) Are any statistics available any where which indicate Internet
> unsubscription in India (typically camouflaged in new subscriber data)?
> (ISPs may have them)
>
> (f) Are the statistics wrong (some technical glitch in
> collection/compilation of data) or am I missing something?
>
> Dr D.C.Misra
>
> October 31, 2007
>
> __________________________________________________________
>
> * http://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/Reports/37/ReportQE1.pdf, Annex
> 3.2, Chart II, p-35.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

While checking the figures of Internet penetration in India, to-day, I
have come across these two figures:*

Number of Internet Subscribers in India:

(i)  For quarter ending March 2007 (Q1): 92.71 million

(ii) For quarter ending June    2007 (Q2): 92.25 million (-46K)

Questions:

(a) Where have the 46k subscribers gone? Does it mean 46k persons
subscribed to Internet and then, finding it not useful, surrendered the
connection?

(b) Who could be these subscribers- individuals, organizations or cyber
café owners?

(c) Does it indicate any short-term aberration in the growth of Internet
in India or indicates a long-term secular trend of Internet plateauing
in India?

(d) Does it mean that Internet is not meeting any felt needs of
individuals, etc. and thus is being abandoned by old subscribers?

(e) Are any statistics available any where which indicate Internet
unsubscription in India (typically camouflaged in new subscriber data)?
(ISPs may have them)

(f) Are the statistics wrong (some technical glitch in
collection/compilation of data) or am I  missing something?

Dr D.C.Misra

October 31, 2007

_______________________________________________________________________

* http://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/Reports/37/ReportQE1.pdf, Annex
3.2, Chart II, p-35.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Once in a while a news item* appears which uplifts your spirits. This is
one such time. Whosoever thought of this scheme deserves our kudos. Read
on.



Dr D.C.Misra

October 26, 2007

________________________________________________________________________

*A lakh scholarships of Rs 1 lakh each



Modalities Of  Selecting Meritorious Students From Science Stream Yet To
Be Decided



Rajat Guha & Rajeev Jayaswal NEW DELHI




IF YOU figure in the list of meritorious 1 lakh students, you will get
Rs 1 lakh annually for pursuing university education in science stream
and the amount may continue up to five years. The government is planning
to institute scholarships to encourage education in science and
technology. While modalities of selecting meritorious students are yet
to be worked out, it is proposed that the future scientists would be
caught young in the 12th class itself.



The financial assistance would be given to such students while pursuing
BSc and MSc courses. "We have proposed to give adequate financial
support to sufficient number of students to foster talent in scientific
research. The government is considering to award 1 lakh scholarships of
Rs 1 lakh each. Meritorious students pursuing university education in
science stream would be eligible for the award. The proposal is expected
to be incorporated in the 11th Five-Year Plan, and expected to be
announced in the forthcoming National Development Council (NDC)
meeting," a source in the government said.



It is understood that the proposed scholarship would be modelled on the
line of INSPIRE programme mooted by the department of science &
technology (DST). INSPIRE stands for innovations in science pursuit for
inspired research. The programme aims at reaching out to the young
talent and help them to pursue their interest in science.



"It is also an intervention devised to redress low entry of students
into science and technology streams," a DST source said. After the
programme would get a formal approval, the selection procedure for the
meritorious students would be announced.
The scholarship is proposed to be instituted to strengthen India's
position as global knowledge hub and maintain the leadership position
which it enjoys currently, an official said. There have been some
concerns as most of the students were opting for management degrees and
moved away from undertaking research to the multi national companies
(MNCs).



It is expected that the budget allocation of scientific departments
would be enhanced significantly in the 11th Plan. The plan allocation
has been doubled from about Rs 12,000 crore in the 9th Plan to about Rs
25,000 crore in the 10 Plan and it is planned to increased it
approximately four fold in the 11th Plan, official sources said.



(Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, October 26, 2007, Friday, p-10,
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/daily/skins/ET/navigator.asp?login=drdcmi\
sra, accessed: October 26, 2007).





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

According to a news report* NIE Fun-da-mental quiz will be held on
October 30, 2007 from 8-30 a.m. at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi.



Dr D.C.Misra

October 26, 2007

_______________________________________

NIE Fun-da-mental quiz on October 30





New Delhi: Get geared up for The Times NIE Fun-da-mental Quiz 2007-08,
which promises to be the biggest battle of wits in the Capital. The quiz
is being organised by Times of India in association with Zipouch. The
contest will be held on October 30 at Siri Fort Auditorium starting from
8.30 am and shall witness over 700 member schools taking part, in the
event hosted by quiz master Derek O' Brian.



The quiz will comprise a written preliminary round to be followed by
semi-finals and a live Final round. Adding zing and glamour to the
contest will be the `celebrity round' of questions, where
personalities from diverse fields will pose questions to the audience
and fetch attractive prizes. Co-sponsor Zipouch is manufactured by Flex
and is one of the finest household storage solutions, that provides a
unique combination of ultimate convenience and diverse utilities as it
can fit into any storing requirement of the consumer. Flex has pioneered
revolutionary concepts for home storage of foods. TNN





(Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, October 26, 2007, Friday, p-7,

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=CAP&l\
ogin=drdcmisra&AW=1185441624796, accessed: October 26, 2007)





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Claimed to be the world's premier student technology competition,
Imagine Cup, now in its fifth year, has grown to be a global event. In
2007, more than 100,000 students from 100 countries entered the Imagine
Cup competition. The theme of the Imagine Cup 2008 "Imagine a world
where technology enables a sustainable environment." Organised by
Microsoft, 213 competitors from 112 teams representing 56 countries
attended the worldwide finals in Seoul, South Korea for the 2007
competition. Finals for 2006 competition were held in India. Check the
details of Imagine Cup 2008 at:



http://imaginecup.com/default.aspx



Dr D.C.Misra

October 24, 2007







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Cyber Quiz: List-133: Top Ten Useful Websites

_________________________________________________

1.      Google Web Search http://www.google.com

2.      Internet Movie Database (IMDb) http://imdb.com/

3.      Amazon http://amazon.com/

4.      Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org/

5.      Techmeme http://www.techmeme.com:80/

6.      Tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com:80/

7.      Google Maps http://maps.google.com:80/

8.      Online Conversions http://www.onlineconversion.com:80/

9.      How Stuff Works http://www.howstuffworks.com:80/

10.     Download.com http://www.download.com/

__________________________________________________

Source: http://www.pandia.com/sew/544-web-sites.html,

accesed : October 22, 2007)

Dr D.C.Misra

October 22, 2007



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In rti4ngo@yahoogroups.com, "Dhirendra Krishna"
<dhirendrakrishna@...> wrote:

Friends,

News item for Canada placed below may be of interest to the Members of
rti4ngo. Despite the fact that the freedom of information legislation
is 15 years old and literacy level in Canada is quite high, there is
dissatisfaction regarding its implementation.

In India, RTI Act is only two years old. We have vast public
administration system: the administrative measures leading to its
implementation are quite complex. Official reluctance towards
effective transparency and public accountability is evident.

Sustained public pressure is essential. Several citizen groups have
already emerged in India, to enforce implementation of RTI Act.

Dhirendra Krishna


......................................................................
FOI legislation has failed, pioneer says Act has not fostered a
'culture of openness,' with public information still being withheld :
Vancouver Sun: Saturday, October 06, 2007

The politician who spearheaded the creation of the B.C. Freedom of
Information Act says the 15-year-old legislation has failed to blunt
government's natural instinct to withhold public information.

Former NDP attorney-general Colin Gabelmann said Friday the act was
designed to "foster a culture of openness" so that government
officials would automatically release information as long as it wasn't
violating privacy requirements.

"But that hasn't happened," Gabelmann said in an interview after
speaking to the B.C. Information Summit in Vancouver. The legislation
was intended to allow citizens to request copies of government records
and reports, and to receive them in a timely and affordable manner.
Gabelmann said there have been advances since the act's passage in
1992, but that the reluctance of provincial governments to be open has
become "worse over time."

The former attorney-general said funding for the handling of
freedom-of-information requests has been steadily reduced, starting in
1998 with the Glen Clark NDP government and continuing "in spades"
under Gordon Campbell's Liberal administration.

"They just don't have the staff to do the job effectively, and that's
how they throttle it."

Gabelmann said government officials and civil servants have "a need
just to keep everything to themselves. I think it's because knowledge
is power." David Loukidelis, B.C.'s information and privacy
commissioner, said delays in the responses to freedom-of-information
requests has become unacceptable. He said the act requires that
requests be answered within 30 business days but that the average
response time is now 37 days.

"We should be in a situation where they are routinely responded to in
a period of time less than the statutory requirement."

Darrell Evans of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Association of
B.C. said Campbell's attitude to the public's right to government
information has changed since he was in opposition and his caucus was
filing more FOI requests than any other group.

"Now that he's in government, everything changes, and the Freedom of
Information Act is no longer in their interests. They don't want to
feed their critics or the opposition or the media."

dward@...


© The Vancouver Sun 2007

--- End forwarded message ---

Cyber Quiz: List-132: Top Ten America's Techiest Metro Areas 2007

_______________________________________________________________________

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif (71,426 / 8.3%)

2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va (170,429 / 6.1%)

3. Raleigh-Cary, N.C. (27,020 / 5.3%)

4. Boulder, Colo. (7,925 / 5.2%)

5. Huntsville, Ala. (9,390 / 5.2%)

6. Bloomington-Normal, Ill (4,216 / 5.0%)

7. Trenton-Ewing, N.J.( 8,519 / 4.8%)

8. Austin-Round Rock, Texas (37,206 / 4.8%)

9. Manchester-Nashua, N.H.( 9,814 / 4.5%)

10. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash (75,557 / 4.5%)

_______________________________________________________________________

Note: First figure in parentheses indicates total IT workers and the
second percentage of workforce

[Compiled from U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey]

(Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&\
articleId=9039699, October 2, 2007, accessed : October 5, 2007).


Dr D.C.Misra
October 5, 2007



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top Ten Promising Outsourcing Cities Worldwide 2007

_______________________________________________________________

1. Chennai India

2. Hyderabad India

3. Pune India

4. Cebu City Philippines

5. Kolkata India

6. Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

7. Colombo Sri Lanka

8. Shanghai China

9. Chandigarh India

10. Beijing China

_________________________________________________________________

(Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, September 28, 2007, p-15,
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/222424.html, accessed : September 30,
2007)



Dr D.C.Misra

September 30, 2007



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is a good acievement* by a young girl from Gujarat. Our
congratulations.



Dr D.C.Misra

September 26, 2007



________________________________________________________________________\
_

*Guj girl to present paper on Indian font recognistion software



Ahmedabad, Sept 25 (PTI) A young computer wiz from Gujarat will present
a paper on Indian font recognition softwares at a global conference in
the US next month.


Sandhya Sitaraman (20), studying national language processing at an
institute in Surat, is the only representative from India invited to
present a paper at the forum, which is specially for undergraduate women
pursuing careers in computer sciences.

Personal computers and laptops have become an everyday tool for
professionals in all walks of life across India for some years now but
the lack of adequate font recognition softwares has limited their usage
mostly to those who understand English.

Sitaraman is gearing up to overcome this handicap and will present a
paper on "Artificial Intelligence Recognition for Indian languages" at
the conference at Carnegie Mellon University.

"I was very happy that my paper has been selected and I will be given
time to talk about my subject amid such a recognised panel of experts in
the computer field," Sitaraman told PTI.

Clearing the air about artificial intelligence (AI), Sitaraman said
"Many people have the misconception that AI is all about cyborgs and
inserting chips into human beings which is not true. A lot of AI today
is just about fields like human computer interaction and natural
language processing to make communication smoother to help solve complex
problems easily." PTI



(Source:
http://www.ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/$all/42F2CAA40DC13F41652573610017\
DA61, accessed : September 26, 2007)



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Launched in 2002 by Mumbai-based Geodesic Information Systems Limited
(GISL), founded in 1999 by four individuals — Pankaj Kumar, Mahesh
Murthy, Prashant Mulekar and Kiran Kulkarni, it is an interoperable IM
tool, which "enables people to communicate with one another
instantly on different platforms. The product caters to Internet and
mobile phone users alike." For details, check the article* below.

Dr D.C.Misra
September 24, 2007
_____________________________________________________________________
*Talking Tech

With its Mundu IM (instant messaging) software, Geodesic Information
Systems has entered the big league of global communications technology

PARAMITA CHATTERJEE

NOTHING succeeds like the power of a great idea that's just right
for its time. The founders of Geodesic Information Systems Limited
(GISL) too started with this belief. It's no wonder that the company
that grew out of an apartment in Mumbai in 1999, with four individuals
— Pankaj Kumar, Mahesh Murthy, Prashant Mulekar and Kiran Kulkarni
— has been able to withstand the tech meltdown and every other
hurdle that came its way.

Eight years on, GISL, with a headcount of 300 employees and annual
turnover of Rs 167 crore (FY '07) is considered a leading provider
of communication and collaboration products on the Internet and on
mobile phones. Geodesic has developed an integrated information,
communication and entertainment stack for desktops, web and mobile
platforms that's based on instant messaging (IM) and real-time
collaboration. Says Kiran Kulkarni, managing director, GISL, "We
wanted to cash in on India's intelligence potential and break the
notion that our companies cannot create premium software."

Coming from a technology background has definitely helped these
first-time entrepreneurs develop such software in India.

For an organisation that initially sold software and provided
consultancy services to enterprises, the journey has been rather
eventful. "We wanted to so something different and decided to tap
the IM space at a time when most small companies wanted to cash in on
the internet boom," says Kulkarni.

From supplying the IM platform to various enterprises — the Times of
India group's Indiatimes.com was one of the first companies to have
adopted Geodesic's software — the company is today riding on the
success of its own brand Mundu IM. Launched in 2002, this interoperable IM tool
enables people to communicate with one another instantly on different platforms.
The product caters to Internet and mobile phone users alike.

Geodesic has already sold its software to several companies in India,
but what's more phenomenal is that in this short span of time, it
has also been successful in making a mark abroad. Apart from its tieups with
Taiwan-based global electronic major BenQ and Swedish Gothenburg Post, Geodesic
has recently announced a partnership with Mio Technology Limited, a leading
maker of GPS devices. Under this partnership, Mundu IM will be preloaded onto
the Mio DigiWalker A702 GPS PDA phone, which is scheduled for launch in Asia and
Europe by the end of this year. "This tie-up will give us an opportunity to
share Mundu IM with a new crop of users," says Kulkarni. "We are happy to have
brought in this revolution for mobile phone users in India".

To use this software, explains Kulkarni, people with Palm OS, Windows
smart phones and iPhones (Beta) can download the application on their
cell-phones directly from www.mundu.com or Geodesic's partner
websites download.com, motricity.com and palmgear.com. The company has
recently acquired Chandamama to drive content over the Mundu IM
platform. "We are constantly working on partnerships and looking for
companies with business/product synergy to further Geodesic's
prospects in the retail space," says Kulkarni.

Mundu IM has also caught on in India with more than 5 lakh users
currently using this software on their mobile phones. In July 2007,
Mundu Radio was recognised as one of top 100 applications by Webware
– A C|Net property. Also, Mundu released for iPhone has been
acclaimed as one of top applications for the iPhone by tech gurus and
users alike. "Perhaps this is the first time a software made in
India has won such recognition," says Kulkarni.

Geodesic is also the first company in India to have brought Internet
radio to mobile phones. Launched in 2006 last year, the mobile Internet radio
service has brought free access to unlimited music to people on their mobile
phones.

(Source: Chatterji, Parmita (2007): Talking Tech, The Economic Times,
New Delhi, September 24, Monday,
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/daily/skins/ET/navigator.asp?login=drdcmisra/,
accessed: September 24, 2007)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Makes an interesting reading.*

Dr D.C.Misra
September 23, 2007
______________________________________________________

*Investing virtually: New Delhi is India's First City on Second Life

Siddhartha Sarma

Posted online: Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 0000 hrs
<http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/220104.html>

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 22: Mumbai may be the country's financial
capital but it is Delhiites who rule virtual reality finance. Of the
over 12,000 active users of Second Life, the net-based virtual reality
(VR) world, from India, nearly 9,000 are from Delhi. And about 90 per
cent of the accounts registered from Delhi are engaged in some serious
financial investments.

Under the Second Life programme, people can register using different
names as "avatars", customising their VR appearances and profiles. They can join
online communities, VR townships, operate businesses, buy and sell real estate,
just like in the real world. The users can even create their own content, like
furniture, vehicles and
buildings.

More importantly, Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life, has a
currency exchange as well, where real world currencies can be exchanged for
virtual currency called Linden Dollars and vice versa. At the current exchange
rate, one US dollar is equivalent to 270 Linden Dollars.

The number of active Indian "residents" — those who build,
trade and invest on the site — has shot up from about 3,300 in the
beginning of the year to over 12,000. "We have been informed that
the ratio of active residents to registered users is one of the highest in India
and China," said Joe Miller, vice-president, platform and technology, Linden
Labs.

One of the more common ways of investing in Second Life is to buy
virtual real estate. Then, like in the real world, the user can wait for
property prices to escalate, before selling at a profit. The entire transaction
is carried out in Linden Dollars, which can be converted into real world
currencies on the exchange.

"Only estimated figures are available because of the confidential
nature of transactions, but the number of users who visit our VR
business solutions on the Second Life system has also shot up,"
revealed Daniel Dias, director, Research Lab, IBM India, one of the
companies with a massive presence on the system. "More than 90 per
cent of the active users, mostly form the National Capital Region, are
also investing in the currency exchange," he added.

what is second life

• Second Life is an online virtual reality world, launched by Linden
Research Inc in 2003. Unlike gaming sites, users don't just play and
win. Focus is on functioning like in the real world

• To register, users can log on to www.secondlife.com. Whie
registration is free, transactions can be carried out through any credit
card that supports international currencies.

• Users can create their virtual personalities called avatars, as
well as clothes, cars, furniture.

• Active "residents' can buy land and modify it, owning up
to 512 sq m without paying any additional fees. The currency used is
Linden Dollar (270L$=Rs 39). Further real esate purchases come with fees based
on tier systems.

• Among those present are Reuters, Ford and IBM.

(Source: Sarma, Siddhartha (2007): Investing virtually: New Delhi is
India's First City on Second Life, The Sunday Express, New Delhi,
September 23, 2007, p-1,
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/220104.html, accessed
September 23, 2007).

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Quizzers,

Checkout my latest Quiz post at: http://quizomaniac.blogspot.com/

Here goes the answers for Quiz#12 :
==========================

1) Earth day.
2) Ayngaran International (NRI movie maniac's God).
3) TNEB or the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.
4) X = Web log ; Y = blog.
5) The picture on the left is the logo of "Direction software
solutions" which is run by Arun Nair. The pic on the right is the
poster of the movie "Bedazzled" in which Arun nair's wife Liz Hurley
acted.
6) Arvind Swamy.
7) UNICEF.
8) Henry Irwin, famous for designing the Chennai Central Station and
premises.
9) pencil sharpener.
10) Kremlin Russia.

Happy Quizzing,
Danny.

It is Ray Tomlinson, a programmer who implemented an email system in
1971, who is credited to have invented the icon "@" of
cyberspace in 1972. Now comes Professor Fahlman claiming that he
invented the world's most popular emoticon ":-)" 25 years
ago in 1982. Check this interesting news item.*

Dr D.C.Misra

September 19, 2007

_____________________________________________________________________

WORLD'S MOST POPULAR 'EMOTIONAL ICON'

Smiley face turns 25.Are you:-)

Pittsburgh



IT WAS a serious contribution to the electronic lexicon.



Twenty-five years ago, Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E.
Fah1man says, he was the first to use three keystrokes - a colon
followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis - as a horizontal "smiley face"
in a computer message. To mark the anniversary on Wednesday Fahlman and
his colleagues are starting an annual student contest for innovation in
technology-assisted, person-to-person communication. The Smiley Award,
sponsored by Yahoo Inc
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=19_09_2007_00\
1_021&kword=&mode=1> ., carries a $500 (about Rs 20,000) cash prize.
Language experts say the smiley face and other emotional icons, known as
emoticons, have given people a concise way in e-mail and other
electronic messages of expressing sentiments that otherwise would be
difficult to decipher.



Fah1man posted the emoticon in a message to an electronic bulletin board
at 11.04 am on September l9, 1982, during a discussion about the limits
of online humour and how to denote comments meant to be taken lightly.



"I propose the following character sequence for joke markers: :-),"
wrote Fahlman. "Read it sideways."



The suggestion gave computer users
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=19_09_2007_00\
1_021&kword=&mode=1>  a way to convey humour or positive feelings with a
smile - or the opposite sentiments by reversing the parenthesis to form
a frown.



Carnegie Mellon said Fah1man's smileys
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=19_09_2007_00\
1_021&kword=&mode=1>  spread front its campus to businesses to around
the world as the internet gained popularity. "I've never seen any hard
evidence that the :-) sequence was in use before my original post, and
I've never run into anyone who actually claims to have invented it
before I did,"  Fahlman said. AP



(Source: Hindustan Times, New Delhi, September 19, 2007, Wednesday, p-1,
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=19_09_2007_001\
_021&kword=&mode=1, accessed: September 19, 2007).



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is an interesting write-up* on the vulnerabilities of residential
wi-fi.

Dr D.C.Misra

September 19, 2007

________________________________________________________________________

*Code red! Hackers now hit the road for mischief



Network Leakages At Residences Offer WarDrivers Easy Hotspots



Shelley Singh NEW DELHI




EVER done WarDriving? This isn't about driving into a war zone.
Rather, it's circling the city with a WiFi laptop sniffing out
wireless networks to gain illicit internet access. You may have got a
WiFi access point at home, but someone else could be happily surfing or
making free calls on your internet connection.



And chances are that a WarDriver hacking a bank may get away with it,
leaving the WiFi owner the suspect. Thousands of clueless people,
including those in tony apartments with wireless internet, have leaky
networks—allowing anyone on the road easy access to the Web.



Driving around in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and other cities
with a WiFi laptop will throw up many `hotspots', though
officially there may be none. That's thanks to the many unsecured
residential WiFi access points, which send signals beyond the apartment
walls. These in effect allow pranksters and hackers to piggyback on
others' wireless internet network.



Twenty-six-year-old Delhi IT professional Sumit Grover often goes
WarDriving when off from work. He routinely comes across home networks
that anyone can use. "The actual users don't even know that
someone else is on their network, surfing the Net for free,'' says
Mr Grover. Downloading heavy files may impact the unsecured person's
speed of internet access, but a routine email check won't slow the
home network. And the intrusion could go unnoticed with most
`victims' suffering no loss, unless a hacker is on the job.



Incidentally, WarDriving was named after the term wardialing from the
1983 film WarGames, which involved searching for computer systems with
software that dialled numbers randomly to see which ones were connected
to a computer or fax machine.

Some expert speak

HERE'S some expert speak to help check those villains riding on your
WiFi. "WiFi has multiple levels of encryption (digital
passwords)—from no encryption to 64-bit to 128-bit encryption. For
secure internet access, users need to make use of the security features.
Home networks can be broken into by hackers, as users may not be that
aware or concerned about an infringement," says Bangalore-based
Tejas Networks' marketing head Siva Ramamoorthy.



There are no official figures available but experts reckon that about
10-15% of India's 2.5-million-odd broadband users have wireless
networks at home. And this market is growing at 20-25% a year.



Many of these unsecured networks (where encryption is poor or
non-existent) can be misused with owners caught unawares. A home WiFi
access hub with built-in security features are available for Rs 3,000 to
Rs 6,000 with vendors like Linksys, D-Link, NetGear among the leading
players. Some unbranded access hubs are available at cheaper
rates—for about Rs 1,000—but these often don't lack security
features.



Says Cisco India's national business development manager for
wireless Paramjit Puri, "I believe that one out of every 10
broadband homes in India have WiFi. Home networks may not be as secure
as enterprise networks, leading to spillage. Also, home users may not
have the resources to put ghost checks or random checks to detect any
misuse."



Agrees Tulip IT Services director Deepinder Bedi: "Laptops come with
built-in WiFi.

Access points are easy to get. Most people at home use basic security
which can be broken into, compromising documents and leading to identity
thefts. The problem is often not with the equipment, which manufacturers
claim, has improved over the last 12-18 months, but with the lack of
awareness about securing the home wireless network. A more trusty method
would be to use data cards and USB modems, suggests Tata Teleservices
COO (Delhi-NCR region) Debashis Sur. "A lock code ensures 100%
privacy while providing a wider access,'' says Mr Sur.



For those opting for WiFi, better encryption and random checks could
help keep hackers and freeloaders at bay. Occasionally engaging friendly
WarDrivers to check for wireless leakages may also be a good idea.



(Source: The Econmic Times, New Delhi, September 19, 2007, Wednesday, pp
1&23,
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/daily/skins/ET/navigator.asp?login=drdcmi\
sra, accessed: September 19, 2007)





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

What a sea-change in computer scene!. There was a time when the U.S. had
banned export of supercomputer to India. This was followed by Pune-based
C-DAC coming out with its own Param series of computers. Now a private
company in India is going to launch* a supercomputer. We surely are
living in exciting times.



Dr D.C.Misra

September 12, 2007



________________________________________________________________________\
_

*Wipro ready to unveil supercomp this week

Mini Joseph Tejaswi | TNN



Bangalore: Wipro will launch a supercomputer that can perform billions
of operations in a second later this week. This is the first time that
an Indian private company will be introducing such a machine.



Targeted at various uses such as weather forecast, satellite launch,
clinical trials, drug development, nanoresearch, defence, avionics and
other high-end R&D, the supercomputer is designed and developed in
association with C-DAC in Pune.



``The supercomputer series will be named after different flowers
and they will bear competitive price tags. Wipro is making a clear
distinction in the computing space by getting into the supercomputer
segment,'' said an industry source. Wipro will customise these
computers for customer requirements. Wipro has long been into computer
hardware and is a significant player in the Indian PC and peripherals
market.



According to a source, Wipro has deployed these computer giants for
several
clients including defence and aviation. "Wipro has been exploring
the possibility of introducing a product like this for sometime now as
it has seen huge market opportunity among multiple business
verticals," said the source.



These teraflop computer clusters will have a different look and feel,
compared to Wipro's regular PCs, and will be the last-mile access
points for high-speed, super-memory, mission-critical computing.
IBM's Blue Gene is the latest supercomputer available in market. It
has a calculating speed of 135.5 teraflops.



Globally, supercomputers are used for heavy stuff like weather maps,
atom bombs, finding oil, earthquake prediction, and sciences where a lot
of calculations are required. They are also used to help governments
eavesdrop on anything passing through telephone, data lines, e-mail, or
radio waves.



(Source: Tejaswi, Mini Joseph (2007): Wipro ready to unveil supercomp
this week, The Times of India, New Delhi, September 12, Wednesday,
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=CAP&l\
ogin=drdcmisra&AW=1185441624796, accessed: September 12, 2007).





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Manthan Award Fellows/Awardees for 2007



Mr Osama Manzar informs that the event for best e-content will take
place on September 21-22, 2007 at India Islamic Culture Centre (IIIC),
Lodhi Road, New Delhi. Check for details:



www.manthanaward.org/iconecs/index.asp
<http://www.manthanaward.org/iconecs/index.asp>



Dr D.C.Misra

September 12, 2007





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Cyber Quiz: List-133: Seven Wonders of the IT World



Who hasn't heard of the seven wonders of the world? This was perhaps
our first exposure to the wonder our world is in our childhood. The one
which has survived with me as a wonder till date is the hanging garden
of the Babylon! Now of course we have new seven wonders of the world
voted on, where else, the Internet.



But have you heard of the seven wonders of the IT world? No?



Mr G.C.Lynch, CIO, has compiled the following list* of seven wonders of
IT world:

________________________________________________________________________

1. Computer Closest to the North Pole: Webcam #1

2. Computer farthest from Earth: NASA's Voyager 1 satellite

3. World's most intriguing data center: Google
<http://www.cio.com/article/135700/subject/Google+Inc.>

4. World's largest scientific grid computing project:

      The E-sciencE II (EGEE-II) project

5. World's fastest supercomputer: IBM BlueGene/L
<http://www.cio.com/article/135700/subject/IBM+BlueGene>  (BGL)

6. Smallest PC to run Windows Vista: OQO
<http://www.cio.com/article/135700/subject/OQO+Inc.> , Model 02

7. Biggest Paradigm Change in Enterprise Software: Linux kernel

_______________________________________________________________________



Do check his fact-laden write-up at:

http://www.cio.com/article/print/135700
<http://www.cio.com/article/print/135700>





However, the list has not gone unchallenged. Check the readers'
comments at

http://comments.cio.com/node/135700#comment-7146
<http://comments.cio.com/node/135700#comment-7146>





and also at

http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/09/10/1849217.shtml
<http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/09/10/1849217.shtml>



And thank you Mr Lynch.



Dr D.C.Misra

September 11, 2007



_______________________________________________________________________

(*Source: Lynch, C.G. (2007): Seven Wonders of the IT World, September
7, http://www.cio.com/article/print/135700, accessed: September 11,
2007).











[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Going by such reports,* it appears that quantum computing is for real
and not merely a theoretical construct.



Dr D.C.Misra

September 11, 2007



*Einstein's `spooky' quantum computing, now for real



US physicists have coaxed two separate atoms to communicate with a sort
of quantum intuition that Albert Einstein (above) called "spooky." In
doing so, they have made an advance toward super-fast quantum computing



PHYSICISTS AT the University of Michigan have made an advance toward
super-fast quantum computing, which could also pave the way for making
quantum Internet
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=11_09_2007_01\
6_012&kword=&mode=1>  a reality .

The scientists coaxed two separate atoms to communicate with a sort of
quantum intuition that Albert Einstein had called "spooky".

They used light to establish what's called "entanglement" between two
atoms, which were trapped a metre apart in separate enclosures.

"This linkage between remote atoms could be the fundamental piece of a
radically new quantum computer architecture
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=11_09_2007_01\
6_012&kword=&mode=1> ," said Professor Christopher Monroe, the principal
investigator who did this research while at UM, but is now at the
University of Maryland.

"Now that the technique has been demonstrated, it should be possible to
scale it up to networks
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=11_09_2007_01\
6_012&kword=&mode=1>  of many interconnected components that will
eventually be necessary for quantum information processing," he said.

The lead author of the paper, David Moehring, now at the
Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany, said the most
important feature of the experiment was the distance between the two
atoms.

"The separation of the qubits in our entangled state is the most
important feature. Localised entanglement has been performed in ion trap
qubits in the past, but if one desires to build a scalable quantum
computer network
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=11_09_2007_01\
6_012&kword=&mode=1>  (or a quantum Internet), the creation of
entanglement schemes between remotely entangled qubit memories is
necessary," said Moehring.

In the experiment, the researchers used two atoms to function as qubits,
or quantum bits, storing a piece of information in their electron
configuration.

They then excited each atom, inducing electrons to fall into a lower
energy state and emit one photon, or one particle of light, in the
process.

The atoms, which were actually ions of the rare-earth element ytterbium,
are capable of emitting two different types of photon of different
wavelengths.

The type of photon released by each atom indicates the particular state
of the atom.

Because of this, each photon was entangled with its atom.

By manipulating the photons emitted from each of the two atoms and
guiding them to interact along a fibre optic
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=11_09_2007_01\
6_012&kword=&mode=1>  thread, the researchers were able to detect the
resulting photon clicks and entangle the atoms.

A paper on the findings appears the journal Nature

(Source: The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, September 11, 2007, Tuesday,
p-16,
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=11_09_2007_016\
_012&kword=&mode=1, accessed: September 11, 2007)







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is an interesting write-up* on "The Singularity Summit 2007 and
the Future of humanity" held in San Francisco, CA on September 8-9,
2007. Singularity has been defined as "the technological creation of
smarter-than-humanintelligence"
(http://www.singinst.org/overview/whatisthesingularity/).

Singularists point out that human evolution from primates has resulted
only in threefold increase in brain capacity. By contrast, the number of
transistors on a chip of the computer has grown manifold during last 50
years. By 2029, so it is predicted, smarter-than-human intelligence
machines will be a reality!

Dr D.C.Misra

September 10, 2007



________________________________________________________________________

*Are computers becoming smarter than humans?

Technology is hurtling toward a point where machines will become smarter
than their makers, altering what it means to be human

Marcus Wohlsen,

San Francisco, September 9

AT THE center of a black hole there lies a point called a singularity
where the laws of physics no longer make sense.

In a similar way, according to futurists gathered on Saturday for a
conference
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=10_09_2007_02\
0_009&kword=&mode=1> , information technology is hurtling toward a point
where machines will become smarter than their makers, altering what it
means to be human in ways almost impossible to conceive.

The Singularity Summit: AI and the future of humanity brought together
hundreds of Silicon Valley techies and scientists to imagine a future of
self-programming computers
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=10_09_2007_02\
0_009&kword=&mode=1>  and brain implants that would allow humans to
think at speeds nearing microprocessors.

Artificial intelligence (AI) researchers at the summit warned that now
is the time to develop ethical guidelines for ensuring these advances
help rather than harm. "We and our world won't be us anymore," Rodney
Brooks, a robotics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=10_09_2007_02\
0_009&kword=&mode=1> , said. When it comes to computers, he said, "who
is us and who is them is going to become a different sort of question."

Eliezer Yudkowsky, cofounder of the Palo Alto-based Singularity
Institute for Artificial Intelligence, focuses his research on the
development of so-called "friendly artificial intelligence." His
greatest fear, he said, is that a brilliant inventor creates a
self-improving but amoral artificial intelligence that turns hostile.
The first use of the term "singularity" to describe this kind of
fundamental technological transformation is credited to Vernor Vinge, a
California mathematician and science-fiction author High-tech
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=10_09_2007_02\
0_009&kword=&mode=1>  entrepreneur Ray Kurzweil raised the profile of
the singularity concept in his 2005 book The Singularity is Near, in
which he argues that the exponential pace of technological progress
makes the emergence of smarter-than-human intelligence the future's only
logical outcome.

Kurzweil, director of the Singularity Institute, is so confident in his
predictions of the singularity that he has even set a date: 2029. Most
"singularists" feel they have strong evidence to support their claims,
citing the dramatic advances in computing technology that have already
occurred over the last 50 years. In 1965, Intel
<http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=10_09_2007_02\
0_009&kword=&mode=1>  co-founder Gordon Moore accurately predicted that
the number of transistors on a chip should double about every two years.
By comparison, singularists point out, the entire evolution of modern
humans from primates has resulted in only a threefold increase in brain
capacity. With advances in biotechnology and information technology,
they say, there's no scientific reason that human thinking couldn't be
pushed to speeds up to a million times faster (AP).

(Source: Hindustan Times, New Delhi, September 10, 2007, Monday, p-20,
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=10_09_2007_020\
_009&kword=&mode=1, accessed: September 10, 2007).



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In rti4ngo@yahoogroups.com, "Dhirendra Krishna"
<dhirendrakrishna@...> wrote:

Friends,

CBI cases in the Court result in conviction of the Accused in 50%
cases and the "success rate" of other Police agencies is far lower.
CBI  and Police are unable to secure conviction in large number of
cases, due the either inadequate evidence to substantiate the charges
OR the Accused is able to produce evidence that was overlooked by the
investigating agency.

The moot question is whether an Accused should be allowed to use RTI
Act 2005 to get copies of public records that may enable him to defend
his position. Typically, CBI /Police  would fight tooth and nail, to
prevent use of RTI Act that may weaken the case prepared by them.

In " V.K.Puri's Digest of CIC Decisions under RTI Act 2005" by Prakash
Kumar IAS and Dr. K.B.Rai, out of 510 cases summarised by them
(i)There are 57 cases pertaining to Service Matters, (ii) 28 cases on
Vigilance Matter and Enquiry Reports and (iii) 28 cases of "Court
Cases and Subjudice Matters." Perusal of these cases indicates
divergent views of CIC / Information Commissioner, depending upon the
fact of each  case.

RTI Act is two years old and on the basis of ratio of decisions of CIC
and SICs, some common principles can be derived, such as:

(a) The only exemption from RTI Act in sub-judice matters is regarding
what has been expressly forbidden by the Court or would amount to
contempt of court.

(b)Where judicial authority is seized of the matter and passed order
regarding impugned  documents, RTI Act cannot be used to obtain such
documents.

(c)Documents pertaining to matter under investigation should not be
given under RTI Act.

(d) Where proceedings in a case are at advanced stage, inspection of
file of CBI/Police may impede the prosecution and such documents may
impede the prosecution; such public records are exempt from disclosure
under the RTI Act.

(e) Copy of all public documents that are used against an accused,
(including the Investigation Report and related documents)which result
in  framing charges are to be given to him. However if his defence
lies in records not considered by the investigating officer to arrive
at wrong conclusions, public records that enables him to defend his
stand should also be provided to him under RTI Act 2005.

(f) Daily Diary of Police, which discloses the names of informant,
witnesses and other contacts, should not by disclosed, as it would
impede the investigation process.

(g) In sub-judice matters, prosecution is deemed to start only after
the Charges are framed by the Court.  Before the framing of charges,
exemption under section 8(1)(h) is not applicable

These are few illustrations where existing "case laws" should be
examined by Police / CBI  /CVC  to arrive at suitable administrative
instructions.  CIC / SICs  are not vested with powers to issue
administrative directives and the onus lies on the concerned Public
Authorities.

In my humble opinion, Police Authorities may prefer to allow the
existing mess in criminal jurisprudence to continue, as it provides
vast powers to them. Transparency, accountability and clarity reduces
their powers. However, it is in public interest to reduce unnecessary
  burden on judicial system, if criminal cases initiated by the Police
/CBI are based on incorrect factual premises. In relation of
corruption elated cases, CVC is in the nodal position to issue
instructions regarding impact of RTI Act in anti-corruption /
vigilance machinery. Public interest lies in clarity and transparency.

Dhirendra Krishna IA&AS (Retired)

--- End forwarded message ---

This is an interesting news item* on Robocon Asia Pacific 2008.



Dr D.C.Misra

September 6, 2007



*`Robot Govindas' to break handi in 2008

Express News Service

Posted online: Thursday, September 06, 2007 at 0000 hrs



PUNE, September 5: Maharashtra's popular Janmashtami festival and
the practice of breaking the dahi handi is all set to go high-tech.



In September 2008, the `Govindas', who form the human pyramid to
break the dahi handi in cities like Pune and Mumbai, will be joined by
robots from 20 countries across the Asia Pacific.



The Robocon Asia Pacific 2008, a robotics competition, organised
internationally by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasters Union (ABU), will have
manual and automatic robots designed by engineering students from
various countries performing set tasks modelled on the lines of the dahi
handi practice.



Robocon, which began in 2002 to foster good relations between the Asia
Pacific nations, is usually based on a specific theme unique to the
culture and traditions of the host country. This year it is being hosted
in Pune by the Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) and Doordarshan
(DD). With MIT's official selection as a host in August 2007, the
theme has been announced to be dahi handi.



"We wanted the competition to be based on an Indian mythological
event that could also be converted into a game. After contemplating a
number of ideas, we finally settled on dahi handi," said Sunil
Karad, executive director of MIT and chief convenor of Robocon 2008. The
robotic version will be a symbolic dahi handi, where automatic and
remote-controlled robots from two opposing teams will be required to
retrieve butter cubes.



"There will be a manual zone for the remote-controlled robots and an
automatic zone for the automatic robots," said Karad. While
intermediate rounds will be held in the participating countries between
January and May 2008, the final round will be held in Pune between
August and September 2008.



(Source: Indian Express, New Delhi, Thursday, September 06, 2007, p-9,
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/214688.html, accessed: September 6,
2007)



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It is now the turn of ClassMatePC (CMPC)! Wishing it all the best on
Teacher's Day.



This is a good write-up* on Teacher's Day (Who can forget them
despite our growing up? And the contribution they made in what or where
we are today). And it is good to see too that the promise, the children
will have a computer at reasonable cost, comes from Intel. But such
announcements continue to be made from time to time! When will they
actually materialize? I am yet to see a low cost PC and surely would
love to have one.



Check it at www.classmatepc.com <http://www.classmatepc.com/> .



The site says that pilots will be running in more than 30 countries by
end of 2007.



Here is, still not giving up the hope of one day low cost PC
materialising, wishing the CMPC all the best.



Dr D.C.Misra

September 5, 2007

(Teacher's Day)





CLASSMATE PC NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

This laptop for children targets the next billion new computer users in
the world, with a full feature-laden machine for under Rs10,000

B Y N IYAM B HUSHAN ·························

Can you use a pen? This new kind of laptop uses a normal-looking pen
that writes with real ink on real paper.

Yet, as you scrawl on paper, a  software "auto-magically" pops up on the
screen and digitally recreates whatever you are penning down.

It is perfect for schoolchildren who are comfortable with a pen but who
may never have touched a computer, and it is coming as an education
project. The other thing most comfortable about the ClassMate PC,
(CMPC), is the price tag.

The initial launch may start at Rs18,000 as formally announced by HCL.
But, with various other players intending to enter the fray, industry
estimates put the price tag between $180 and $225 (Rs7,380-Rs9,225).

A 7" colour LCD screen provides high-resolution graphics.

The integrated keyboard and "mousetracker" are ergonomically designed
for the hands of a child. However, an adult can also tap away on it.

Impressively, high-speed wireless Internet is available on the computer
through built-in Wi-Fi. The embedded speakers provide disappointing
sound reproduction but, at that price, offering built-in speakers is
commendable. The ports for a separate microphone and headphones are more
promising. I plugged in my reference headphones and streamed CDquality
Internet radio through the laptop to find the quality quite acceptable.

I could envision children making free phone calls all over the world to
friends and family, using a plugged-in microphone and free software such
as Skype or Ekiga.

Two USB ports allow children to connect a wide variety of off-the-shelf
peripherals such as a webcam for videoconferencing, an external CD/ DVD
burner, a desktop colour printer, a digital camera, a scanner for
digitizing documents, an iPod or MP3 player, and much more. A built-in
Ethernet port allows for connection to a wired network, and Microsoft
Windows XP or Linux powers this neat gizmo. The battery lasts about four
hours.

You can discover more about the CMPC on www.classmatepc.com.

Intriguingly, the laptop makes no sound. Even when I pushed it to
extreme tasks, I did not hear the mechanical whirring of a spinning hard
disk or a cooling fan.

The CMPC is designed to have no moving parts inside.

This allows it to withstand the shocks and drops expected from a child.
A 1GB or 2GB flash disk does the storage in place of a traditional hard
disk.

The CMPC is designed to be a networked, rather than a stand-alone,
computer. What this may eventually do is change the way we think about
installing our software applications and storing our data.

Digital school bag This is not a toy but a real laptop, a significant
evolution that is hiding itself among children.

In fact, though the CMPC platform is slated to be shipped in India from
this month by HCL, Wipro, Zenith, and Edge, you cannot go and buy it as
an individual user.

"It is an education project, not a laptop project," declares Nicholas
Negroponte, referring to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project that he
founded. OLPC was the initial idea and rival laptop that sparked off the
CMPC.

Negroponte, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's famous Media
Lab in Boston, provoked the new thinking with his OLPC, targeting a
sofar elusive price tag of below $100. You can get more details at
www.laptop.org.

The site expresses the profound challenge faced by developing worlds for
their children: "Most of the nearly twobillion children in the
developing world are inadequately educated or receive no education at
all. One in three does not complete the fifth grade."

Realizing this higher goal and its inherent challenges and
opportunities, both the OLPC and the CMPC joined hands for a larger
cause.

Market boom The CMPC is thus sold exclusively to schools and, according
to John McClure, Intel's South Asia director of marketing, "as a
fully-managed service model with hardware, software, networking, and
support". The business model is also innovative. "We could model the
pricing into a nominal incremental increase in the per month fee of the
students. We are in dialogue with about 25 schools all over the country
and expect to have 3,000-5,000 PCs in nine to 12 months," says Rajendra
Kumar, executive vice-president of HCL Infosystems Ltd.

Education and learning content is provided by all vendors through
individual tie-ins with Educomp Solutions Ltd, NIIT, Microsoft, Edurite
Technologies and various other education content providers, and conforms
to India's education board standards.

More than 30 pilot projects across schools around the world are being
launched, with three in India alone: Delhi Public School, Vasundhara;
Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) in Faridabad near New Delhi and Padma
Sheshadri Bal Bhavan in Bangalore.

According to H.N.S. Rao, deputy commissioner of NVS, students and
teachers can submit and check assignments from anywhere on the campus,
thanks to the wireless network.

However, they do not find the courseware entirely sufficient, so
teachers are encouraged to develop their own course material. McClure
points to the other challenges teachers face, with the blackboard giving
way to presentations and chats streaming to laptops, and a classroom
with no eye contact as students pore over their screens. However, he
sums up the CMPC's impact in pilot projects worldwide: "Dropout rates in
schools have gone down and classroom participation is up."

But the CMPC will eventually impact mainstream laptop-users as well.
McClure says this is inevitable. Asustech has already launched laptops
globally, starting at $225 for ordinary end-users. Check out the
presentations at www.eeepc.com.

Different strokes McClure also foretells the launch in India of "a wave
of products from November to March". The interesting offshoot of the
CMPC is its support not just for Windows XP but Linux as well.

"When ordinary children can use Linux so easily, the myth of Linux not
being user-friendly can finally be laid to rest, paving the way for an
exponential adoption of this OS," says Valsa Williams, Asia strategy
manager, Linux and OpenSource, at Intel. "Currently, the CMPC has been
known to run all the major flavours of Linux, including popular
distributions in India such as Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu and Mandriva," she
adds.

"Specific flavours of Linux from Brazil and from Argentina are also
known to run. Therefore, I look forward to India-specific Linux-distros
on the CMPC."

The adoption of both Windows and Linux also opens up opportunities for
individuals, entrepreneurs and organizations to author and contribute
education and learning material using OpenSource values.

A nation's most precious resource is its children. By next Teachers'
Day-5 September 2008-we'll know how many lives light up to learning on
an LCD screen.

CMPC HARDWARE CONFIGURATION

Processor: Intel Mobile Processor ULV 900MHz, Zero L2 cache, 400MHz FSB
Memory: DDR-II 256M SO-DIMM Storage device: 1GB/2GB NAND Flash Operating
system: Windows XP Pro or Linux LCD: 7" 800x480, LVDS Interface, LED B/L
Audio: Stereo 2 channel audio, built-in speakers and microphone, jack
for external output and microphone input Power solution: Battery with
adapter–SIX cells, approximately four hours LAN/WLAN: 10/100M
Ethernet+WLAN 802.11 b/g w/ antenna Chipset: Intel 915GMS+ICH6-M
Keyboard: Integrated keyboard with hot keys Touch pad: Cycle touch pad
with left and right buttons Digital pen (optional): Wireless pen to take
digital notes Weight: Less than 1.3kg

(Source:
http://epaper.livemint.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=05_09_2007_012_002&m\
ode=undefined, accessed: September 5, 2007)













[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

hi
   Jayshreekrishna
   Happy Birth day to Lord Krishna
   Happy Birth day to Gopala
   KRISHNAKANT GANDHI
   Sr. Citizen of India


SCOW R-Link: http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/srcitizensofworld
I A G M site: http://in.geocities.com/nk_ktg/iagm01.html or 02 or 03
   Related Link: http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/nk_ktg
Post message: nk_ktg@... India - Gujarat


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