Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Thanks to my friend Vish (Visveswaran) for sharing this through an e-mail.

Purchasing a personal computer today is both easy and complex. You can walk into any big store and pick a computer off-the-shelf - the way you buy any gadget.

You even have it delivered to your home without much ado - warranties, guarantees intact. Second, you have finance schemes, which will help you pay for the PC with a down payment and equated monthly installments (EMIs).

The complexity starts with PC configurations. Should you buy an Intel or AMD PC; a Celeron, Pentium 4, Athlon, a dual core or Core 2 Duo; how much Random Access Memory (RAM), and the like?

For users, who simply want to surf the Net, use Word (to type and print documents) and access email, an Intel Celeron D (2.8 Ghz) or Pentium 4 processor (2.66 Ghz) should suffice.

There's hardly any configuration worth mentioning that's lower than this. The price of such a PC (including a mouse, onboard integrated graphics, combo CD-DVD drive) would range anywhere between Rs 18,000-25,000 (varies with every brand).

Mid-level users may do with the same configuration but will need additional RAM (typically DDR2 - around 512 MB). More RAM helps software applications to load faster on the machine and comes in very handy if you want to play games or use image-editing software like PhotoShop or vector-drawing packages like CorelDraw. It also pays to have a good hard-drive.

A 60-80 GB SATA drive with 7,200 RPM (loads data faster than a 5,200 RPM hard-drive) should do the trick. A decent branded machine with these specifications would cost around Rs 23,000-30,000.

Advanced users are hardcore gamers (they prefer seeing crisp and shrap images), developers or users of 3D software (rendering of images can take an awful lot of time on slower machines).

The RAM would be always 1 GB and above, the hard-disk capacity around 80-160 GB to store more multimedia files, a CD-DVD combo writer, a 17- or 19-inch TFT (flat screens for a better experience), 3-4 USB slots, a premium cabinet with extra fans to cool the advanced processors than can generate a lot of heat.

These processors comprise the Dual Core, Core 2 Duo (both from Intel) or the Athlon 64 X2 (from arch-rival AMD). Of course, hardcore games will need proper gaming cards - either from Nvidia or ATI. The high-end gaming cards themselves could cost anywhere from Rs 15,000-40,000 taking the cost of such computers to Rs 75,000 -100,000.

In sum, any PC with a Dual Core or an Athlon XP 3600+ is powerful enough for most users. Add around 512 GB of memory and your machine will rock for most tasks. But if Vista (Microsoft's latest operating system - OS) is on your mind - how many of you are still using Windows 98 anyway - you will require at least 512 MB RAM (we would recommend 1GB) and surely a Duo Core (at least) processor.

The Athlon 64 X2 3000+ would be a good buy since the Core 2 Duo (the architecture is called Core, processor family is Core 2, and the product names are Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme - they are said to be up to 40 per cent faster and over 40 per cent more energy-efficient) may not be full value for money till the prices drop over the coming months.

Do remember these are broad guidelines. PC buying is simple when it comes to low-end machines but as your needs increase, you may be tempted to buy higher-end ones.

Before flushing money down the drain, ensure that you read good online computer hardware sites like Tom's Hardware and Anand Tech and I can assure you that the journey will be as exciting as we find it. Wish you the best.
 
posted by Raghavan alias Saravanan M at Wednesday, December 13, 2006 | 0 comments
Friday, December 08, 2006

I am sure its gonna help you reduce/control your angriness. Read further...


A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint.

The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands into a pulp as punishment. When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.

Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy's hands. When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, "Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck." Then he asked, "but when are my fingers going to grow back?"

The father went home and committed suicide.

Think about the story the next time you see someone spill milk at a dinner table or hear a baby crying. Think first before you lose your patience with someone u love. Trucks can be repaired. Broken bones & hurt feelings often can't. Too often we fail to recognize the difference between the person and the performance. People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

Pause and ponder. Think before you act. Be patient. Understand and love.


Love deeply and passionately.You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely....


Thanks to my friend Archana Muralidharan for sharing this through an email.

 
posted by Raghavan alias Saravanan M at Friday, December 08, 2006 | 0 comments
Thursday, December 07, 2006
I feel its really worth reading the message. I thank my friend Balaji Sundaram for sharing it via an electronic mail.


Subject: Parents are precious - TRY TO GIVE THEM THE BEST AND BEST WILL FLOW BACK

Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father, his maiden flight, brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.*

* *

*My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Jet Airways. The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things.*

* *

*As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him.*

* *

*When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc.

Irrespective of their affordability, they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us? Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young. It is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.*

* *

*Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments.*

* *

*Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care needs to be given to our parents and elders. Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes.*

* *

Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too.*

* *

*Take care of your parents. THEY ARE PRECIOUS.*



----

I am sure you also would have felt it TRUE while reading it. You would agree very much with the last paragraph as i do. Aint I?
 
posted by Raghavan alias Saravanan M at Thursday, December 07, 2006 | 13 comments
Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Yesterday one of my friends named Padmini asked about the MICR code of my account for the online money transfer!

I had already asked my friend Prabhu regarding the same when being asked from one of my juniors. But dint remember the full context this time except that it belongs to a part of the Cheque. I told her what i remembered and said i would probably check and get back.

Then just googled and gathered some information on the same.

To be precise,

(a) MICR stands Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, a 9 digit number printed/present in the bottom middle portion of any financial documents (for ex, cheque).

This picture might help you to understand better. [courtesy: Standard Chartered Bank FAQ site, which you can find in the bottom where the links are provided].


(b) The main purpose of MICR is to uniquely identify the {BankName,BankLocation,Customer Account Number} with the single number.

(c) It is printed by the Magnetic Ink or Toner.

Since 1956 its in progress for effectively processing the documents for electronic capturing due to its reliability, durability and cost effectiveness.

The Printers having the capability to print the MICR code (with Magnetic Ink or Toner) would have the label 'MICR Enabled'.

Some related good links are here:

(1) MICR FAQ in Standard Charetered site is here.

(2) FAQ site on Marinter Systems Pvt Ltd is here

(3) MICR Repository gives you some good articles, sources, resources and history about it as well.

Hope it gives you some information about MICR. Some banks mandate the MICR code while doing an online transfer. Of course, seems to be saving the purpose of validation and/or authentication which is one more level than that of having to do with just the account number.

Thank you Padmini for providing me an opportunity to revise the known thing & to get some extra info abt it today!
 
posted by Raghavan alias Saravanan M at Wednesday, December 06, 2006 | 0 comments
WHEREVER YOU ARE, BE THERE

A delightful story is told about a young man who applied for a job as a telegraph operator. He answered an ad in the newspaper and went to the telegraph office to await an interview. Though he knew Morse Code and was qualified in every other way, seven other applicants were also waiting in the large, noisy office.

He saw customers coming and going and heard a telegraph clacking away in the background. He also noticed a sign on the receptionist's counter instructing applicants to fill out a form and wait to besummoned to an inner office for an interview. He filled out the form and sat down to wait.

After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering why he had been so bold. They talked among themselves and finally determined that, since nobody had been summoned to interview yet, the man would likely be reprimanded for not following instructions and possibly disqualified for the job.

Within a few minutes, however, the young man emerged from the inner office escorted by the interviewer, who announced to the other applicants, "Thank you all very much for coming, but the job has just been filled."

They were all confused and one man spoke up: "Wait a minute -- I don't understand. We've been waiting longer than he and we never even got a chance to be interviewed."The employer responded, "All the time you've been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message: 'If you understand this, then come right in. The job is yours.'"

This man knew a valuable life-lesson that most people miss: Wherever You Are, Be There. If you're there physically, also be there emotionally. Be there mentally. Be there attentively. Be there asfully as you can.

It's about being present and fully alive in the moment. Wherever you are, be there. Give your full attention to others (is there really a better gift?). Give yourself fully to the task at hand or to the present moment. When you're completely present, you'll make the most of every minute. And minutes lived fully add up to a life lived magnificently.

Hope you enjoyed reading this and had some resolution within YOU! If so, the purpose of this post is saved .....!

Courtesy: Thanks to my friend Viji Rajesh for sharing this through an e-mail.
 
posted by Raghavan alias Saravanan M at Wednesday, December 06, 2006 | 0 comments
Friday, December 01, 2006
Today is WAD!!

World's AIDS Day..

Happened to read about the History of AIDS and the situation for about 10 years till today in one of the blogs at PONS Blog!. Its in tamil but good collection of information.

Whoever has set their Default HomePage as Google would have got a chance to see and click on the Red Flag/Ribbon (sometimes back now its changed to text rather than image) and read something about it.

Here are some sites to gather whats going around..

http://www.worldaidsday.org/
http://www.worldaidscampaign.info/


"The World promised to stop AIDS by 2015. What will you do?"

Several possible options to contribute towards a noble cause..

(1) Can spend some time to read the information given in the sites..

(2) Some information about the campaign is available here

There are several sub-sections to be worth browsed..

(3) You can register yourself in the community here

(4) You can show your support by having a Red Ribbon either by collecting and wearing a physical one or having a virtual one (VRR - Virtual Red Ribbon) in your web pages / blogs/ email signatures. The same can be downloaded here

(5) You can get involved by clicking this Link

(6) This thread gives the detailed and step by step by information for "How to stop AIDS in an efficient Way?".



Come on ..
Lets work together to stop AIDS and have a beautiful world...

Atleast make your friends and near & dear ones aware of this ..

You can see the same reflected in my blog (on the right side).

 
posted by Raghavan alias Saravanan M at Friday, December 01, 2006 | 0 comments