Beware of shift work

Working in shifts and frequent shift changes are quite common in today's globalised business scenario, more so with the advent of business process outsourcing, especially here in India where call centers have sprung up in huge numbers.

If you regularly switch between day and night work, it could be harming your health. A study of oil-rig workers found that alternating weekly shifts put the blood's levels of sleep-regulating melatonin out of sync: the men were drowsier at work and had heightened levels of fatty acids in their blood after meals, raising their risk of heart disease and diabetes. » Continue reading

Read more on Health, Lifestyle, Tid Bits

Linksys WAP4400N Wireless-N access point

The Linksys Wireless-N access point, WAP4400N, with power over Ethernet capability is designed and developed specifically for the small business environment.

Built based on the 802.11n draft specification, the WAP4400N supports Wireless-N (802.11n), Wireless-G (802.11g), Wireless-B (802.11b) and wired network devices so as to allow addition of PCs to the network without cabling hassle. Power-over-Ethernet support makes it easy to install allowing it to be mounted anywhere, even without ready access to a power plug.

In addition, the integrated QoS features provide consistent voice and video quality on both the wired and wireless networks, enabling the deployment of business quality VoIP and video applications.

To protect data and privacy, the Linksys Wireless-N access point supports both wired equivalent privacy and the industrial strength wireless security of Wi-Fi protected access, encoding all wireless transmissions with powerful encryption.

The Linksys WAP4400N Wireless-N access point is available for US $149.99 at xPCGear.com or just search for it on Amazon. » Continue reading

Read more on Computers, Gadgets, Technology

Ancient Images

Behold the granddaddy of cameras! The 1839-model daguerreotype camera in the picture was the first camera to be sold commercially.

In a daguereotype the image is exposed directly onto a polished silver plate. It is a direct image-making process with no 'negatives' involved. It produced images 16.5 cm × 21.5 cm.

Named after French cmist Louis J. M. Daguerre, dagueeeotypes are preserved by sealing them in vacuum-sealed glass cases filled with nitrogen.

The warrantee label on the side of the camera was signed by Daguerre himself.

Photo courtesy of the JCII Camera Museum. » Continue reading

Read more on Digital Cameras, Gadgets, Photography

ASUS R2H ultra-mobile PC

ASUS Technology's seven-inch ultra compact R2H ultra-mobile PC with built-in high-resolution webcam, incorporated global positioning system (GPS) and biometric fingerprint authentication is designed to fulfill the need for an all-in-one mobile device that enables professionals to stay connected.

For business travelers the R2H offers total data protection. Protected computing starts with fingerprint authentication that grants strict access only to the designated owner. For the most accurate reading, the electronic imaging mechanism scans fingerprint patter from the live layer of the skin, bypassing any common skin surface conditions. ASUS Security Protect Managment (ASPM) guards access to the device and network. Users can choose to set-up multi-factor authentication requirements for different security levels while enjoying the Single Sigh On (SSO) one-time login convenience without compromising security integrity.

The R2H runs on windows XP tablet PC edition with Touch Pack software and ergonomic hardware interface designs. With all function keys laid out on both sides of the front panel, users can enjoy comfortable operation of control keys, including mouse, scroll buttons hot keys as well as on-screen keypad, all at the finger tips.

R2H is packed with computing, multimedia and connectivity functions. Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), WLAN 802.11 a/b/g and high-resolution wecam offer extensive high-speed connection and wire-free video communication. In addtiion, satellite GPS provides a comprehensive travel guide.

The ASUS R2H ultra-mobile PC is available for $1,023.36 on SHOP.COM
or check out the price on Amazon. » Continue reading

Read more on Computers, Gadgets, Technology

Are you annoyed with unsolicited SMS (Texts) advertisements on your mobile phone?

If yes, you will no longer be annoyed as you can get paid for receiving such messages.

mGinger.com pays you to read ads on your cellphone! Moreover these ads will only be about your interests. Not only that, you get to decide what time you want to receive these ads.

mGinger pays 20 paise for every message you receive. It sends a maximum of 10 messages a day. However, you can further reduce this number if you like. But who would want to reduce ones earnings? You can further increase your earnings by referring others to mGinger so that when they sign up, you get 10 paise for every message they receive and when they refer others, you get 5 paise for every message your friend's friends receive.

TIP: If you want to increase the chances of receiving maximum number of messages in a day, select as many interests as possible and time slot as long as possible. Ofcourse, you need to select the Maximum Ads per day as 10 (or whatever the maximum number is available from time to time.)

This service is still in beta. That is you will not receive any ads as of now. But since this is going to be the next big boom, you can take the advantage of signing up right now and building up a network so that as soon as the service is rolled out of beta you start making the money. This is not a get rich quick scheme or something where you can earn at home but based on my calculations you can easily make enough money to free up your cell phone bill. The sky is the limit to earning more as it depends on how successful you are in building your own network of referrals. So get started now as it's still too early.

Have fun calculating how much you can make... and sign up. You're sure to like it.

NOTE: This service is currently available only to subscribers in India. » Continue reading

Read more on Cell Phones, Gadgets, India, Marketing and Advertising

SanDisk's 32GB SSD for notebooks

SanDisk Corporation's 32GB, 1.8-inch solid-state drive (SSD) is a replacement for the standard mechanical hard disk drive (HDD). SanDisk SSD offers field-proven durability to keep mobile PCs working in the toughest of conditions and improves the overall user experience.

Earlier military, aerospace and telecom industries had only been using the large capacity flash-based drives as these segments demand high performance and reliability under challenging environmental conditions. But the constant decline in the cost of NAND flash memory has been making SSD a viable and economical alternative in a wide variety of applications, including mobile PCs aimed at enterprise and consumer users. SanDisk plans to further increase the adoption of SSDs by reducing the cost of flash memory in the coming years.

The 32GB SSD represents the fifth generation of flash-based SSDs developed by Msystems, which was recently acquired by SanDisk.

SanDisk SSD 1.8-inch 32GB SSD is currently available only for original equipment manufacturers.

Now just take a quick look at a 5MB hard disk drive of 1956. » Continue reading

Read more on Computers, Gadgets, Storage Media, Technology

Junkie's haven

Seems like Holland believes in the addict's dictum: don't drink and drive; smoke weed and fly! After legalising euthanasia and prostitution, the country has now cleared the sale of marijuana in medical stores.

Prescribed as an appetite enhancer and painkiller for people with AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Tourette's syndrome, the drug is distributed by Maripharm, which advertises its products as "standardised, vacuum-packed and bearing patient infromation and does advice." While marijuana prices vary from $50 to $400 an ounce on the streets, Maripharm sells it at $225 an ounce.

What else? Buyers and sellers are lobbying for medical insurers to underwrite marijuana bills! » Continue reading

Read more on Featured, Health, Lifestyle, Tid Bits, Travel and Holiday