Microsoft researchers may be looking for a way to best Google Street View, and, we admit, its Street Slide project comes close. Google and Bing utilize what are known as “bubbles,” discrete units of perspective that allow you to virtually explore a 360-degree view for a given chunk of space. But, as most seasoned Street View users know, you must click through each “bubble” to advance your perspective in one way or another.

Microsoft’s Street Slide combines panoramic views of streets with the 360-degree capabilities of Street View, allowing you to see whole (and even multiple) city blocks at a time. The downside is that you get a very thin panoramic slice when you zoom out too far, for which the researchers have tried to compensate by adding business logos, street numbers and directional information. A pretty interesting development to be sure, but, unless you’re a Thomas Pynchon fan or an astronomer, all the talk of parallaxes may put you to sleep. We suggest that non-nerds only listen to the snooze-worthy narration if you’re interested in “efficient browsing of building façades.” Check out the demo of the project, which is still in the early development phase, after the break.

[Via - Switched]

In the year 1905,  partition of Bengal took place in order to suppress the Bengal Hindus participation in the governance,  but this  triggered an religious rift between Hindu’s and Muslims.  It almost created a national anti-British movement that involved non-violent and violent protests, this was undone in the year 1911 by the new governor, Charles Hardinge.  This was the first action of retract, though the turmoil still existed in people they were slowly realizing the strength in united struggle.  In parallel, the thought process of people in Bengal was also being influenced by the writings  of Aurobindo and Baghvan Das whose articles delivered a message of not only a non-violent struggle  but also the need for unity among Hindus and Muslims. These are just a record of  few events which happened during that time.

Just imagine the state of mind of the people when they got a chance to play against the British team.  Today just a cricket test match is enough for us to stay awake at night, wonder what level of anxiousness the viewers had who watched the game ! And the happiness of the victory they had felt, it was just not about the game; it was about their Freedom!

He echoes my sentiment, “European Stress Test is a total waste.” Zero Hedge has a better take on his latest appearance on CNBS Europe :

A “cheeky” Jim Rogers appeared earlier on CNBC Europe (which incidentally is orders of magnitude better than its US equivalent), and confirmed the depths to which the once relevant and informative TV station has now fallen. In a discussion over the European Stress BS, the topic turned to the role of PR agencies when it comes to shaping popular perceptions, at which point this slipped: “The whole purpose of PR is to make stocks go higher. That’s what CNBC and many many PR agencies are all about. Yes, they make things look better for a while. Are they really better? No.” Propaganda, in other words. And in the corporatist circle jerk world, advertisers still flock to it, even as the broader public reaches levels of skepticism never before seen courtesy precisely of such blatantly fraudulent media contraptions, and vacates the GE soon to be spin off in unprecedented quantities. The American public may be lazy, but it sure is getting more intelligent, and wiser to the tricks of the media propaganda trade.

Just now a CD is released based on Jonnavithula gari geyams from Telugu Vedam. Telugu people shall be fortunate that the great Karnatic Stalwart Dr M Balamuralikrishna composed and sung these verses.

More information can be found at:

http://muzigle.com/#album/telugu_samkharavam

or http://jonnavithula.muzigle.com

According to me I believe that though you always have a choice from which you decide, we look at it as a single option.  Though we consider decision making as a “VARAM”  the ability to use it is always a tough task.  To stay back in US or go back to India are two choices we have,  But we consider them as only one option i.e what are we presently used to and what would we loose if we leave US.  Cant one think that this is an opportunity to gain back what they have lost?  those are the only precious and  priceless things which we have lost during the journey to the false paradise !

The other day I had listened to a talk given by Sheena Iyengar in TED about art of choosing (I have given the website link below) and was really surprised about the people’s perspective of looking at their choices. I wondered if its related to our decision to stay back and yet have a dissatisfaction of not being in our country.  Though the statement can be implied other way too !

Satisfaction and Happiness is something more than comfort and enjoyment.  I would like the readers to give it a small thought !

Watch Sheena Iyengar’s TED talk below:

As a part of my initial effort to write an article,  I would like to thank TG for giving me this opportunity. I hope  you find my first article interesting ! 

It’s likely the first move by a major manufacturer to push finger controls for screen manipulation on a desktop computer, and while most desktop users probably aren’t ready to ditch their mouse entirely, it will be interesting to see what develops, and if the idea of using a trackpad rather than a mouse takes hold.

Apple’s certainly designed their Magic Trackpad with side-by-side in mind, as the device lines up at the same angle as their Bluetooth keyboard. Read up on the Magic Trackpad at Apple’s store and at Gizmodo, and tell us whether your desktop experience could make room for a trackpad in the comments.

[Via - Lifehacker]

Though it is large — more than 30,000 students and nearly 3,000 faculty — the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that employees at the Virginia university maintain a high rate of job satisfaction.

Full list at Huffington Post

It really hurts me to say that I agree with Newt Gingrich, but I agree with him in calling Obama administration being “incompetent,” with respect to firing Shirley Sherrod.

It hurts me even more to agree with Fix News: “The fact is, Obama Administration forced Sherrod to quit.” True. Based on what? Based on some fringe elements taking her video-taped comments about a white farmer summer out of context. Mr. President, if you can’t even stand for your own people, what do you stand for? You are really afraid of that lunatic Glenn Beck, aren’t you? It shows, sir!

“If Obama Administration is this afraid of Glenn Beck, how do they deal with Iranians?” Well said Newt! Again, it hurts for me to say that you even got a point – which you rarely do!

I could not embed the video. Watch it here.

In the CEO’s words:

The Epic Browser is the first-ever web browser for India and the first product from the software company Hidden Reflex.

Hidden Reflex is a software product startup founded by Alok Bhardwaj in 2007 and based in Bangalore. Alok, who was raised in the U.S., was inspired by the success of open source software and web 2.0 innovations. Hidden Reflex began as a team of three but soon progressed and now has dedicated teams working on two products simultaneously – the Epic Browser and NewsDrink. The company also has three patents pending related to its product innovations.

The company’s vision is to become the first globally recognized, consumer-oriented software product company in India. According to Alok Bhardwaj, CEO and Founder of Hidden Reflex, “We want to prove that India can be a hub for innovation in software and technology.”

Our mission with the Epic browser is to create the most secure, most productive and most “Indian” browsing experience of any web browser!

PC world’s review:

An Indian startup company Hidden Reflex has launched first ever web browser from India. Epic has been stuffed with many features and applications. It has something which we have never heard of before, an integrated antivirus protection in a browser. The built in antivirus and antispyware is powered by ESET. The browser has a sidebar with lot of widgets already installed such as skins, maps, jobs, news, gmail, yahoo, games and many more. Epic claims to have around 1500 free applications which can be added in the browser.

Related News

• Android Gets Opera Mini 5.1
• Firefox 4 Beta 1: Overview
• The Battle of Browsers: Firefox 4 Beta vs. Chrome
• Firefox Beta 4 Launched by Mozilla
• Google Chrome Integrates Flash

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Orkut are also included in the sidebar. You can log in to your account and on the same time continue working on other things. There are many utility functions in the Epic Browser which I liked. It has a free word processor, a to do tool, snippet app, timer and most importantly it allows you to access your files and folder from the browser itself. It also has an application called Indic which allows you to type in many Indian languages. Hidden Reflex claims that the browser supports 12 Indian languages currently. The browser also allows you to watch videos from YouTube in a small window, so that you can browse other websites while watching videos.

Epic Web Browser is build on Mozilla Firefox and is customized for the taste of Indian users. We liked the look, feel and speed of the browser and is definitely worth trying. Get the browser here.

Open source seems to be of great help in competing against the biggies in the browser market. Microsoft‘s Internet Explorer seems to be on its way down with a combination of bugs, regulatory bodies asking MS to have a browser ballot and other browsers gaining market share. Apple’s Safari, Google’s Chrome, Opera, Mozilla’s Firefox, and Internet Explorer are some of the web browsers jostling for a share of the pie and gain share.

I am extremely happy that summer is here, but sad that it is so quickly coming to an end.  Living through the cold, somewhat dreary midwestern winter has given me a new appreciation for warmth and sunshine.  I grew up in Colorado, where there was never any shortage of sunshine, and I always took it for granted.  In the Midwest, sunshine is a commodity in the winter.  Generally, the outside world is gray, and it is the type of weather that makes me want to stay in bed all day.  Unfortunately, I’m in school, so winter hibernation is never a feasible option for me.  I get up every day and drag myself to school, cursing as the wind blows through my five layers of clothing and gnaws at my bones, and all the while, I’m wishing that summer would get here faster.

There is something magical about the warm weather and the feeling of freedom that I always associate with summer.  That might have something to do with the fact that I’ve never had a full-time job.  For me, summer has always meant a welcome change from the drudgery of the rest of the year.  Whether it is liberation from the strict schedule of school or the prospect of an exciting adventure, summer has always been my favorite time of the year.  This year is no different.  I’ve been looking forward to the summer since last November, eagerly anticipating all the fun I’ll have and all the new things I’ll learn.

I always try to be outside as much as I can during the summer.  It makes me happy to see the bright sunshine and enjoy its warmth.  I can’t quite tell if that is the Vitamin D starvation talking or a genuine love of the sunshine, but either way, I am much happier and more energetic during the summer than I am at any other time of year.  The city is alive and I feel more like a person and less like a skeleton wrapped in twenty pounds of insulation.

Now that the summer is nearing its end, I feel like I haven’t enjoyed my vacation to its fullest.  I’ve been busy working and doing other things that are required of me, or so I tell myself.  As school comes into sight, I realize that I’m not ready to go back to the bitter cold and long days of studying inside our dungeon of a library.  So, I’ve come to a decision.  No, I’m not moving to the Bahamas.  I’m going to make a vow to do one hour of fun things a day that I will not be able to do after school starts.  Whether it be reading a book on the beach or playing tennis outdoors, I’m going to store up some summer happiness to get me through the rest of the year.

It is estimated that over 30% of adults in the United States are Vitamin D deficient*.  Deficiency can cause symptoms of lethargy and depression.  Getting a few minutes of sunshine every day can help your body produce sufficient Vitamin D.  So, I hope you’ll enjoy the warmth and sunshine of summer while they last!

*Holick, MF. High prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and implications for health. Mayo Clinic Proc. 2006; 81(3): 297-299.

1. Go to http://blog.foradian.com
2. Download the Font and copy/paste it into Fonts folder in your Control Panel
3. Go to MS-Word and select Rupee Foradian font and tilt character (just above the TAB key) is mapped to print the Rupee symbol.
4. Now, you can copy and paste the Rupee symbol from WinWord to any application that supports Unicode

Studio N Interview:
Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=642a8qejPGc
Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmJx7gtt63o
Part3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGlYBumFxBk
Part4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FgCrHXYHLs
Part5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_CjUq4RPLQ
Part6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2y8koKuX6g
Part7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfSG3bVXZrQ
Part8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSgrLzgrL2M

TV9 Interview:
Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=513Il_2nstM
Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxbwZ3da3nc

NTV Interview:
Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkLFis-U6tI
Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWWWhDiBJdU
Part3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWR0Y1uArnc

ABN Andhra Jyothy:
Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oeTJ8TyPhM
Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqjR1Q-bodg

Save Andhra Pradesh!

Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.myteluguroots.com/
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/

Click here to read from the engadget
Click here for Gizmodo take

Via engadget

What do you think of the phone after watching the previews ? Would you buy the phones ? I doubt you will have TORI on it anytime .
Comment away.