Read more on Tips and Tricks, Travel and Holiday
High-Tech Airport Crime
Millions of travelers never have trouble, but thieves are out there -- especially in international airports. Watch out for "shoulder surfers" -- one crook pretends to videotape friends while zooming in over your shoulder to steal your mobile phone or credit-card numbers. Another trick: One thief stalls the metal-detector line with keys, change and other metallic objects, distracting everyone while an accomplice steals carry-ons from the other end of the conveyor belt.
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Do you know WHO is Thoof?
It has been reported that Thoof is spreading wildly within the blogosphere and there have been lots of rumors about the meaning of the word "Thoof". I couldn't digest any of the explanations and so I took the next flight out to Egypt to research on the word in St. Catherine Monastry's Library. After going through tons of books over a period of 14 sleepless days, I finally succeeded in finding out the meaning of the term "Thoof".
It turned out to be the name of a mythological giant man-dog which lived in Rome between c.1025 BC and c.32 BC and played an important role in Julius Caesar's civil war. Thoof had the body of a dog but the mind and speaking ability of a human being. Thoof was named Thoof because he had a nasty habit of showering saliva (Thook in Hindi) from his mouth while barking. It seems he was named so by his master who was an Indian immigrant living in Hispania.
During the years in which he lived, there were no news channels or blogosphere that provided information to people. So, he became famous for providing personalized news to individuals. It is said that Thoof provided vital news about the opposition party's strategies to both Caesar and Pompey.
What I found most interesting about Thoof was that he was gifted with the ability to prioritize news according to its relevance to the individual person's interests and the number of people who liked listening to the news, using a highly sophisticated and complex algorithm during those times called ThoofRank.
The founders of Thoof.com are commendable for choosing a name with such a deep meaning, which is highly relevant to their service and yet unique. And unlike the man-dog this Thoof can spread the news across the globe and hopefully will never die!
If you already don't know... Thoof.com also has the ability to prioritize news according to its relevance to your interests and the number of people who liked reading that news item. And if you have asked Thoof to spread your news item to the world, don't forget to append a ThoofRank Badge to your post or news item for readers to inform Thoof that they liked reading your news.
One thing I still don't understand is their revenue model. How do the founders plan to make a living out of it? Or are the founders planning to do some social service by making this social bookmarking service ads-free - the delicious way? » Continue reading
It turned out to be the name of a mythological giant man-dog which lived in Rome between c.1025 BC and c.32 BC and played an important role in Julius Caesar's civil war. Thoof had the body of a dog but the mind and speaking ability of a human being. Thoof was named Thoof because he had a nasty habit of showering saliva (Thook in Hindi) from his mouth while barking. It seems he was named so by his master who was an Indian immigrant living in Hispania.
During the years in which he lived, there were no news channels or blogosphere that provided information to people. So, he became famous for providing personalized news to individuals. It is said that Thoof provided vital news about the opposition party's strategies to both Caesar and Pompey.
What I found most interesting about Thoof was that he was gifted with the ability to prioritize news according to its relevance to the individual person's interests and the number of people who liked listening to the news, using a highly sophisticated and complex algorithm during those times called ThoofRank.
The founders of Thoof.com are commendable for choosing a name with such a deep meaning, which is highly relevant to their service and yet unique. And unlike the man-dog this Thoof can spread the news across the globe and hopefully will never die!
If you already don't know... Thoof.com also has the ability to prioritize news according to its relevance to your interests and the number of people who liked reading that news item. And if you have asked Thoof to spread your news item to the world, don't forget to append a ThoofRank Badge to your post or news item for readers to inform Thoof that they liked reading your news.
One thing I still don't understand is their revenue model. How do the founders plan to make a living out of it? Or are the founders planning to do some social service by making this social bookmarking service ads-free - the delicious way? » Continue reading
What's that drum doing under your table?
Don't be surprised when you find a drum like thing on or under your friend's desk. It could very much be Spotswood Custom Computers' custom built PC cabinet specially and individually handcrafted from high quality raw maple veneer plywood shell/cylinder, to replicate a bass drum.Spotswood's Computer Cabinets are built from the scratch and are not modified versions of pre-made drums. Its available in seven stained colors - Natural, Light Oak, Dark Oak, Candy Apple Red, Golden Yellow, Blue and Purple.
The L-20 and C-20 Models are large enough to house two of the extremely long (10.5") graphics cards that are currently on the market. Equivalent to a conventional, full-tower size rectangular case, it has enough room to house an ATX form factor motherboard, power supply, four to five internal 3.5" drives and either one external slimline/notebook CD/DVD drive or two 5.25" external CD/DVD drives. A 3.5" I/O panel on the front of the case contains four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, one headphone and one microphone connection.
L-18 and C-18 on the other hand can accomodate only three internal 3.5" drives and one external slimline/notebook CD/DVD drive. The L-18 has even received a '100% KICKASS' review rating from 3dGameMan.com.
The heat generated within the case is expelled by a rear 120mm exhaust fan, a 120mm blowhole fan, and a side 140mm intake LED fan.
Optional features include choice of the number of external drive bays, side panel colors, fans, hard drive activity and power LED colors, lugs, motherboard trays and wood stain colors.
You might worry the "Drum" like custom PC cabinets may emit sounds as loud as the drum. But Spotswood claims that their PC cases are "actually quieter than a metal case".
A perfect product for a Home Theater PC case, the L-Series and C-Series is, as the Computer Source Magazine puts it, "...a truly unique piece of work and is a fantastic gift for the music lover and computer geek alike."
If you have used this cabinet or gifted it to someone, do hash out your review about the Spotswood Custom Drum PC Case/Cabinet. » Continue reading
Read more on Computers, Gifts, Lifestyle, Technology
Fix your tech gadgets online for free!
Have a broken computer or is the picture tube in your TV giving strange pictures? Is your manufacturer or the local service engineer making use of this opportunity to share the weight of your wallet? Before you give in, try Fixya. It's a community of consumers and engineers who are willing to help each other mend their consumer goods or use their products - free of charge!Being a technology geek, quite often I receive calls from friends seeking solutions to problems related to their computer or electronic devices. I am sure they can now find solutions to their problems within hours on Fixya.
You can even find answers to your problem almost instantly from the knowledge base of previous problems and solutions.
The Question-and-Answer system on Fixya might look similar to Yahoo Answers or LinkedIn Answers but the advantage of using Fixya for consumer goods related problems is you are less likely to get deviated from the topic and more likely to find a solution to your problem from an expert in that particular field. BitWine is another such service but then it's pay-per-minute peer help community.
Other services provided by Fixya include Repair Service to find a repairman or an engineer nearest to you and a manufacturer directory to locate brand-specific products and user manuals. » Continue reading
Real Mates vs Roommates
Symptoms of depression are more common among the single and divorced than among married couples, says American sociologist Patrick McKenry, who analyzed surveys from 5991 people aged between 19 and 80. Tying the knot provides a "protection effect." And men and women living together but unmarried score the same on a depression scale as single people.
Why doesn't cohabitation grant the same benefits that marriage vows do? McKenry speculates that unmarried couples may lack the institutional and familial support, and the commitment that gives married couples a greater sense of well-being. » Continue reading
Why doesn't cohabitation grant the same benefits that marriage vows do? McKenry speculates that unmarried couples may lack the institutional and familial support, and the commitment that gives married couples a greater sense of well-being. » Continue reading
Read more on Relationships
Plan to Relax
Vacations should reduce -- not induce -- stress. Take these steps to get the best out of your days away.
- Put your work in order and allow time to decompress before taking off.
- Review your vacation goals. What do you really want -- time in the backyard to read a book or an exotic getaway?
- Be flexible. You may have a mental image about how your time off should go, but chance will intervene. Consider vacations a little more like "adventures."
- Leave your work at work. Resist calls and emails. Your job is to relax and have fun.
- Plan re-entry. Give yourself a transition day before returning to the job.
Read more on Travel and Holiday
Safe online shopping with Webcard
Buying stuff on the internet isn't popular because of the growing incidence of credit card fraud.
Enter the "webcard" -- already available in the UK from the Internet bank Cahoot. Each time you want to buy something, you log on to your Cahoot account and it issues you with a credit card number you can use for your purchase. Unlike a normal credit card, this number is different every time -- so it can't be used again if it falls into the wrong hands. You can even specify a spending limit to prevent a site from over charging you. More information and a demo at www.cahoot.co.uk » Continue reading
Enter the "webcard" -- already available in the UK from the Internet bank Cahoot. Each time you want to buy something, you log on to your Cahoot account and it issues you with a credit card number you can use for your purchase. Unlike a normal credit card, this number is different every time -- so it can't be used again if it falls into the wrong hands. You can even specify a spending limit to prevent a site from over charging you. More information and a demo at www.cahoot.co.uk » Continue reading
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