Got a Webcam? Then just login to your Windows by just looking at it or blinking at it ;)

Hey people..

I know its been really long that i’ve updated my blog.. well i believe i’ll now update the blog only for usefull and happening stuffs instead of just spamming with all Tech news

Today I came accross a new software which reminded me of Saif Ali Khan’s add for HP laptops (if am not wrong) which boasted about its proprietary software and it was a Face Recognition software which allowed its users to Login to their Windows’s Account just by looking at the webcam / screen. It also showed Saif with heavy beard and still was able to log in.. lol

Well, screw the proprietary crap and here we have today a freeware from Luxand and its the same Face Recognition software which allows users to login just by looking at the screen or blinking at it. This software is also able to detect your face even when u have a new Haircut, Unshaved, Shaved, Different Styled Beard, Heavy Beard, Glasses, Contacts, etc etc..

Its a small software around 8.3mb and i dloaded the software and installed it. The software installation is very simple for any computer newbie can do it. Once you finish installing the software, you have to follow a couple of steps in the wizard where it asks u to sit in front of the computer normally (as u always do) and then look at the screen and then click Next to start the face scan. It’ll will also ask you to turn your face from Left to Right slowly for better results of Face Recognition at the time of logins. Sadly, as per Luxand this software works with 32bits of Windows only (or does not support 64bits of Windows as of now).

A detailed look at the software from Luxand’s Website:

Login to Your PC by Simply Looking!

 

 

Logging into Windows has never been easier! Just look into a webcam for a moment, and you’ll be logged into your account before you notice. Blink! employs advanced face recognition technologies to provide automatic, quick and reliable login to one or many computer users.

Reliable Login under Varying Conditions

With Blink!, you can login day or night. Sophisticated face recognition algorithms adjust for varying lighting conditions automatically, making login possible without additional training no matter whether window or artificial lighting is being used.

 

Changed Haircut? Swapped Glasses for Contacts? No Problem!

Advanced biometric identification algorithms used in Blink! help it cope with changes of your personal appearance. Grow or shave off beard and mustaches, use makeup or dye you hair, wear or remove glasses or contact lenses – Blink! will let you in to your PC no matter what.

Improved Security

No one remembers those long, complex passwords demanded by your corporate security policy? They don’t have to! With Blink!, users sign into their accounts by simply looking at a webcam. There are no false positives and no delays in letting authorized users into their accounts.

Catch Identity Thieves

Blink! provides additional security benefits by making it simpler to computer users to automatically unlock their PCs by simply looking into a webcam. Stolen passwords are becoming less of an issue as Blink! photographs and timestamps users every time they log in, no matter whether they use a password or biometric sign-in. Journaling account logins helps identify hijacked accounts and find out about who logged in using stolen credentials.

Download Luxand Blink! for Windows

Try it now, and you won’t want to type your passwords ever again! 

DOWNLOAD LINK!

Luxand Blink! 2.0, released on 02/09/2010  
File size: 8.3 MB
Supported OS: Windows Vista and Seven 32bit only

Chrome OS … Assisin of MS ??

Google Says:

“the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web” “so it is our effort to re-think what operating systems should be”

Well we have bn seeing OS since the age where there was no Internet or rather Internet was not a cup of tea for all. There has always been a debate on Microsoft Windows Operating systems and Open source community and perhaps same debate and “fight” has been going on between the Microsoft OS users and Open Source OS users. Well anyway, now the greatest excitement is apart from all these and the great success of Google Chrome browser now they’ve announced about the Chrome OS.

Not just this, but Chrome OS is also going to be an Open Source based Operating system. Google Chrome OS could prove itself to be an Assasin of MS world. We all have been using Microsoft Products and mainly its OS, so the whole perspective of an Operating System is different for us or perhaps all of us. There has always been a race of who wins the market Open source or Microsoft which is not going anywhere for its obvious reasons.

Chrome OS claims that it is going to change the whole idea and the perspective by which an OS is viewed and has been viewed by its users through out the world. For us OS is just a piece of software on the Hard Drive inside our computer chassis but Chrome OS is going to be completely a new idea. With Chrome OS the new era of  “Total Integration with Web” will be brought in, in Chrome OS of course the  earlier paradigm of an OS will be taken care off, but the main idea of Chrome is that, it will be completely Integrated with the Web. As per them and the analysis, it is said that earlier paradigm of Operating Systems (the way we are using and what we are using today) will be getting thinner and will vanish completely someday.

Now the question is how much successfull and usefull Chrome OS will be? Will this be welcomed by users like us, who just not only stay online on the web but also use their computers for more activities like, Gaming, Multimedia, Movies, etc. Will today’s community of gamers and mutimedia users welcome Chrome OS? or will it just repeat the same scenario of arguements that we have even today between Microsoft OS and Apple OS and Open Source Linux / Unix OS? As said by google, this Chrome OS will be supported on both x86 systems and ARM based systems.

What will be the next step by Microsoft? (we are not considering Linux here as they are in their own good world for now).. what will Microsoft get in their next product Windows 8? What will be the scenario of Chrome OS in many under developed and developing countries like India, etc?? In India still cheaper broadband and 24/7 Internet usage is not so cheap for many Indians even in today’s life here.. Well thats a completely different issue.

…Lets wait and watch what really happens with Chrome OS and more details behind the whole idea of Total Integration with WEB thingy.. Will they conside other facts of the OS which are pointed out by its users today?? What will happen with the big talks about Apple-Google? Or is it just going to be another Linux based open source wanna be operating system??

Journey through 125 Years old Wireless Technology.

We all are so fascinated by this wireless technology that it just gets interesting to know about its history and origin. Wireless technology made our lives so convinient when they started using the wireless in the form of Remot Controls then getting on other hope appliances.

Well y’day i was just watching my Television and i came accross just a random show on Discovery channel where they were showing about some old Technologies used in communications (wireless) used in olden days and also how they used to use it during World War days.  I just came online today morning and came accross this beautiful simple and easy resourcefull article of Wireless Technology and its origin / discovery and the journey till date and i really felt that i should be putting this up on my blog.

So, What is Wireless Technology? Define Wireless Technology Communication: In layman’s language it can be described as using technology to transfer information over a distance without using any wires. Wireless communication is not new and has been in use for well over 125 years now. Through this article we trace the origin of this technology and its evolution to its present form. Here is the timeline of wireless technology.

 So now, lets see how amazing it was to have this wireless technology discoved 125years back and since then the implementation of this Awesome Technology.

1887: The principle of wireless communication was presented by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in the year 1887. Hertz demonstrated how electromagnetic waves could be transmitted across free space. This was an expansion of the theory of electromagnetic theory of light put forth earlier by James Maxwell and Michael Faraday. Though Hertz managed to demonstrate it, he never tried to take it any further, even remarking that it would be of no significance.

 1897: Guglielmo Marconi is awarded the British Patent for ‘Improvements in transmitting electrical impulses and signals and in apparatus there-for’. What this effectively means is that he was granted the rights to the Radio.

1898: Nikola Tesla demonstrates a remote control boat. It would be amusing to know that people watching this demonstration thought Tesla was controlling the boat using his mind, as nobody seemed to have any information about radio waves at that time.

1906: Amplitide Modulation (AM) is used by Reginald Fessenden to broadcast his voice over the North Atlantic. This mode of radio transmission is the same as Shortwave and Medium wave in use today.

1915: First transatlantic transmission takes place. AT&T achieves this radio transmission from Arlington, Virginia to Paris using the Eiffel Tower to hold the receiving antenna.

1919: Radio Corporation of America (RCA) is incorporated by General Electric (GE) on Oct. 17 specifically to acquire the assets of the wireless radio company American Marconi from British Marconi.

1921: Shortwave (SW) radio is developed. It is called Shortwave because the wavelength of light is shorter than visible light due to the higher frequency. Shortwave Radio (also known as High Frequency or HF radio) has a frequency of 2.310 Megahertz to 25.820 Megahertz. The benefit of Shortwave radio is that the waves can bounce off the ionosphere (the layer of atmosphere consisting of ions or charged particles), enabling transmission to the other side of the world without actually having a direct line of sight.

1931: Frequency Modulation or FM is developed by Edwin H. Armstrong. FM transmission is less prone to noise associated with AM transmission and therefore results in a clearer broadcast. Also, it is possible to transmit stereo signals, making it suitable for musical radio broadcasts.

1982: The GSM (Groupe Special Mobile) group is formed and decides on a digital system for its cellular systems.

1983: After decades of stagnation in wireless communication technology, 802.3 standard is created by IEEE and additions to its specifications are made regularly.

 1987: GSM Technical details are worked out in this year. A narrowband time division multiple access (TDMA) system is also planned.

 1990: L-band radio is demonstrated (digital radio). The Global Positioning System (GPS) operates in the L-Band. Also, first GSM specifications are released.

 1991: The first GSM call is made in Finland (March) on the Radiolinja network, which got its GSM license in 1990. This is the precursor to Wi-Fi developed by NCR Corporation in the Netherlands with speeds up to 1-2 Mb/s.

 1992: First GSM network outside Europe network is launched in Australia on April 27 providing service to 53% of the Australian population.

 1997: IEEE 802.11 (also known as Wi-Fi) standard is created. This original 802.11 specification has a maximum bandwidth of 2 Mb/s.

 1998: The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was formed in September of 1998 by Ericsson, Intel, IBM, Toshiba and Nokia. The formal announcement of the SIG takes place next year on May 20, 1999.

 1999: IEEE 802.11b is added to the 802.11 standard. Transmission speeds up to 11 Mb/s are possible. Bluetooth 1.0 (IEEE 802.15.1) specification is released. In this, all hardware identifies itself in the handshake process and renders anonymous data reception and transmission impossible. EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized) is developed by Qualcomm.

 2000: The first consumer Bluetooth product – a wireless headset and phone adapter for mobile phones is released by Ericsson.

 2001: The first 3G network is commercially launched in September by NTT DoCoMo, Japan. In December, IEEE 802.16 standard, also known as WiMAX, is created.

 2002: The first UMTS network is launched allowing high-speed applications such as mobile TV and video calling.

 2003: EDGE is deployed by AT&T on Singular network in the USA. IEEE 802.11g is added to the 802.11 standard, allowing transmission speeds up to 54 Mb/s. Bluetooth specification 1.2 is released. This new specification includes Adaptive Frequency-hopping (AFH), which reduces RF interference.

 2004: Newest version of IEEE 802.16 is added and it completely changes the WiMAX standard. This has a new scheduling algorithm, which makes WiMAX much more scalable than Wi-Fi. Instead of the random way in which subscribers compete in Wi-Fi, they compete once for a time to call when they connect to the network, thereby reducing collisions when transmission occurs at specified times. Bluetooth specification 2.0 is released. This new specification is not only backward compatible but also introduces Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), which allows transmission of data up to 3 MB/s.

 2009: 802.11n – the latest in Wi-Fi standards will be formally approved in November 2009 (although devices sporting this standard are already available, they are not necessarily conformant with the final specifications). 

Source: TechTree.

Intel’s New Products Series (i3, i5 & i7) and their Name Solution.

Intel recently unveiled their revised branding structure for their multitude of processors. The new scheme plans to do away with superfluous brand names, and unite their product line into their most popular “hero” brand Intel Core.

 

The rebranding strategy is designed around the segregating their product lines according to which product is “good” which is “better” and which is the “best”. They will continue with their Celeron and Pentium brands, however other brands will be united under the Intel Core Brand, as i3, i5, or i7 based on the feature set and specifications.

 

Simple?
Not quite! According to Intel, i3, i5, and i7 are modifiers to their Core brand, and dont form brands of their own. Intel Core i3 will represent their entry-level products, Core i5 will be mid-level, and Core i7 represents the high-level products regardless of architecture. Their upcoming “Lynfield” chip for example will come in both Core i5 and Core i7 flavors.

 

Over time they wish to evolve to this new naming convention while phasing out old brand names. One of the casualties of this evolution being their Centrino chipset range, which will be phased out slowly, by first “transitioning” the Centrino brand to their WiFi and WiMAX product offerings.

 

So let’s see what we have here. We have Atom for notebooks and smartbooks, Celeron for “good” computing, Pentium for “better” computing, and there range of Core products for “best” computing. Of course their Core line is again divided into entry-level with Core i3, mid-level with Core i5 and high-level with Core i7. Certainly more structured, but not so much simplified!

 

For one it is difficult to tell at a glance what will fall in where, however considering that this is a naming structure for products that haven’t come out yet it is difficult to see how effective it’ll be. As for this evolution, it has already begun, Intel Core i7 processors have been available for quite some time now, and this year we will begin to see some Core i5s, and Core i3 will be available early next year.

 

With a brand structure built like this it will be easier for people to judge relate merits while buying a computer. The purpose of this structure seems to be simplifying selection by clearly branding products as netry / mid / high level instead on nomenclature like Core 2, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad which is bound to leave some confused. By having a peek at the specification of any computer of tomorrow yuou may be able to ascertain whether it is an entry-level, mid or high, just by seeing if it’s driven be an i3, i5, or i7. Till that happens though, we have some confusing times ahead!

 

Source: TDigit.

Dino blood extracted from ancient bone… Wow.. Whts gonna be Next?

NEW YORK: Paleontologists have extracted the “first dinosaur blood” from its bone, a finding they claim could resolve doubts about a previous report
that also claimed to have extracted dino tissue from fossils.

A team at North Carolina State University extracted a mix of proteins and microstructures, resembling cells from a plant-eating hadrosaur’s bone, which has been buried for 80 million years, the ‘New Scientist’ reported.

Proteins such as collagen are far more durable than DNA, but they had not been expected to last the 65 million years since the dinosaurs died out.

So, the team attracted attention when they reported finding first soft tissue and collagen from Tyrannosaurus rex leg bone that was intact until it’s broken during excavation. They then took a look at the pristine leg bone that had been encased in sandstone for 80 million years.

The paleontologists exhaustively tested the sample, sequencing the proteins they found with a new and better mass spectrometer and sending samples to two other laboratories for verification.

Now, they have reported recovering not just collagen – which conveys little evolutionary information because it is the same in almost all animals, but also hemoglobin, elastin and laminin, as well as cell-like structures resembling blood and bone cells.

According to the paleontologists, the proteins should reveal more about dinosaur evolution as they vary much more between species.

The findings are published in the ‘Science’ journal.

Source

Wow.. now whts gonna be the next thing from the Paleontologists?? A Dino TestTube baby?? Woah! i wonder who’ll be the Mom??? THey could also try mutating the tissues and DNA obtained from this blood with the Humans and we can have Dino-Human! or rather a DinoMan (or Woman). GUess.. that would be a Human with Dino characteristics? or a Dino with human characteristics??? or the best.. A Human with DIno transformation capability??? Like ur a HUman.. and when ur hungry or angry.. u can transform into a Dino??

PS: I know i added up lame crap

Official: Windows 7 RC publicly available May 5th???

There certainly has been a lot of discussion about Windows 7 in the last few weeks. A lot of folks want to know when they can get their hands on the official RC, when we are going to RTM, and what I had for breakfast.

I’m pleased to share that the RC is on track for April 30th for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th.

On behalf of everyone here, I would to thank all of our beta testers for helping us get to this point. You guys have been busy. At the peak of the feedback cycle, we were receiving a “Send Feedback” report every 15 seconds for an entire week. Since then, the engineering team has been busy analyzing the feedback, fixing bugs, and working hard to improve the overall experience. Many of your suggestions helped us refine the new and improved taskbar, the behavior of Aero Peek, Touch, Windows Media Player, and much more.

You can check on its some more features here and here

Sources: Uncle Google and some Windows 7 official news sources.