FAT is getting fatter! Time for something else!

So, now that microsoft has suddenly realized that many people are depending on their FAT filesystem, they want to start charging manufacturers for using their patented invention, showing us again, that real progress of computers is not their real aim, but making money - at our cost, (of course!) is the only aim of this giant company.

While, players like Google and even Yahoo give out a lot of useful software for free... I would assume that FAT would be free for use - because it automatically glues people to their shitty operating systems!

I have a serious call to make to all consumers, manufacturers and the geeks worldover - we need to change the filesystem used by these devices, and also prepare seamles drivers for them to work with shitty operating systems like windows - so the cost of licensing does not have to go to either the company or to us. Enough is enough.

We need open source drivers because microsoft does not have the expertise (n)or willingness to keep up with the rest of the world.

I'd only like to tell this company one little thing - "Behaving a leech is only going to make you get called a leech..."

Reference and Links:

http://www.fs-driver.org/


https://sourceforge.net/projects/ffsdrv/

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0312/03120403microsoftisfat.asp

Intelligent Beings on Mars

Today Pritam was watching TV... probably some show on the Discovery Channel... so it is obvious there would be some new revelation today.

The show was about physics, and it said that if a body of mass about 1 kilogram travels with the speed of light, through air, it would become infinitely heavy and the resulting friction would create so much heat that it could burn the air.

So after discussing the possibilities, Pritam, Amit and I realized something really interesting:

Long long ago (that long is really long, really!), very intelligent beings roamed the face of Planet Mars. They too studied physics and believed that they would be able to travel through time... so after centuries of research, they built a small aircraft that could travel at the speed of light.

The idea was to make the aircraft travel around Mars and capture the video of past unfolding again, then return back to normal time and enjoy the success.

The moment of truth came... it was T minus 10 seconds for launch; one scientist came running into the control room, but slipped on a banana peel and fell unconscious. People rushed to help him. In the meanwhile the aircraft was launched. As it gathered speed, it becamed very heavy and started heating up the environment of Mars as it went around.

The system went out of control and the aircraft kept going around, faster and faster... eventually burning everything that once was a lively planet Mars. The oceans dried up (see what NASA says about this) and the air was used up in the mass combustion (research data shows more carbon dioxide and less oxygen on mars). What was left behind was Mars as we know it today.

Anyway, if you are curious, let me tell you a secret - the scientist had come to warn about this impending doom.

Moral of the story - always put the banana peels in the dustbin. Your actions could save or destroy the world.

Almost free bare-bones GPS

While toying with my new cellphone (yeah, had to get one... lost the previous one - and yes I'm going to try and trace the previous one - or at least block it.) anyway... where was I? yeah.. while toying with my new cellphone today, I noticed that it can store the broadcast messages like the cellular tower's location. Example: "Market Yard", "CBS", "Savedi", "Pune Road"... now if the company would transmit the GPS coordinates of the tower, I guess there should be a way to access these broadcast messages on the phone and download a map of the location.

If that is possible, it would be a lot helpful to the tourists and even new people! Else, there can be a special number say for example: "9999" where you can send a SMS "gps". The message is interepted (because it is sent to the special number) and the station itself replies with the GPS coordinates.

I guess for the safety of the tower (everybody in the management would like that - whether it really helps or not...) the GPS coordinates can be offset by a small random value - so that the exact location of the tower is not revealed to everyone (I dont know why I am thinking like this... because technologies like Google Earth already make this "security plan" seem like a joke.)

Anyway, there's also this issue - sometimes when you are on the edge of two or more cells, you can be registered under any one of them - like my cellphone says that it is registered under "Kapad Bazar" cell, then after a while, "Cantonment" and then "Nr Zendi Gate" and sometmies even "Sarjepura". People who know Ahmednagar would recognize these areas... and that they are not exactly very close. So this barebones/ rudimentary GPS system might actually be a pain too...

The only use I can see is perhaps while on the highways... you could download a map (using J2ME/MDIP application) and look for hotels, restaurants, hospitals and possibly even traffic jams.

I would love to work on this project... given the resources and time. Hey cellular companies... are ya listening? Your next killer app - location based content - the technology for which is actually embedded and ready to be exploited in almost all cellphones "as we speak".

A similar but more easy idea is to make service providers pay for their advertisements (not your usual ads... mind you) and people will be able to choose what content they want to receive as they move through the city... maybe a person could go out shopping and choose to receive the special offers from the shops - and choose the next destination based on the fresh content!

Hmm... this crazy "thoughts on rails" thing goes on once it starts... I need to apply brakes to my imagination and put my time to something that gives more immidiate joy - like listening to music!

Good night world.

Electronic Pendant

So what did we (as in Amit and me) cook up today?

How about a geeky pendant hanging down your neck? A elegant yet cool idea - have an electronic component embedded in amber or glass.

I am sure it would look nice enough, but on close inspection would tell about the 'geek inside' :)

That's all for today.

Fun With Ultra Violet

I found a handy toy today. An ultra-violet LED! This toy opens up new avenues for crazy photography. Yay! Will post the experiments soon :)

P.S. I found an old envelope that I had received from SDF back in June 2003. :)

Why Does The Moon Appear Larger Near The Horizon?

We have learnt that the green-house gases trap heat. And we have learnt that things expand when heated. So... when the moon is near the horizon, we see it through hot gases, hence it appears large. When it rises up, it is seen through colder layers of air, which make the image contract in size.

Also, Doc. Amit added... "Everyone starts the race in a big way... but later the steam wears off." Which also proves that the moon appears smaller due to loss of heat.

Smart, isn't it?

Disclaimer: This post is a joke. Please use your common-sense or if you lack that, then use google-sense to find out the right answers.

Technology: Dynamic Multi-cylinder Vehicles

While riding on my motorcycle with my brother, he told me about his idea of having a vehicle in which you can choose the number of cylinders you'd like to use before you start up.

So here's a fine tuned version of the same idea :) of course, credits for the creativity first go to Pritam Sharma.

Imagine you are standing with the keys to a 6 cylinder motorcycle... and yes you are right next to the beast. All you need to do is turn the ignition key, wait for the engine to warm up nicely and softly raise the accelerator and shift gears till you reach a comfortable speed.

Simple eh?

Let's peek at what's happening in the bakground... a software is constantly monitoring the 'load' on the engine. When you start it, all 6 cylinders start working by default. Then as the computer notices that there's hardly any load (while idling)... it opens up a large valve on each piston chamber and shuts down the fuel supply to those particular cylinders. Finally the engine is working on just one cylinder, using one sixth of the usual fuel consumption.

You decide it's time to blast off... you give the accelerator a little nudge... program brings up one more cylinder, and the bike starts moving with two pistons pushing it. You are on a smooth road and the program does not decide that you would need any moer cylinders. Suddenly you notice a bunch of wannabe bikers riding past you ;) just like the movies... you think hmm... how about a quick race?

Your bike is ready for it... just needs to know that you are willing to burn some rubber. You lower the gear and raise the accelerator, pump the clutch a bit... bike knows this behaviour and the program instantly shutd the large valves, fires up the remaining 4 cylinders and signals the same on the console.

Next, you are riding calmly, knowing that the punks you just met will remember a nice bike that went vrooooooom... vanish! Your ego floating in the air. And as you approach a signal, your engine returns to normal one cylinder, and begins saving fuel for the next sprint.

Technology: Petrol Powered Laptop

I'm excited about putting forth my latest idea :) It's all about maximum mobility in the most insane places. It struck me when talking to Ashutosh and Pritam today afternoon.

The title itself reveals the complete idea... that is to have a military strength laptop and a petrol (gasoline) powered electricity generator in one package!

Those could be used anywhere on earth! Imagine being on the Everest and sending an email to all your friends right from the top! (assuming that you have a satellite Internet connection) The warmth of the engine (again, assuming it starts up) can be used in right proportion to keep the computer warm enough to run smoothly, and the electricity generated can be used to power the laptop for long hours!

Since a petrol engine is lighter than a few battery packs (though might need a bit more space) and you can 'recharge' the engine instantly with a little petrol almost anywhere, it makes a great companion for long trips... especially if they are in insane places :-)

Practically speaking, it is a good idea to develop a petrol based generator that can be used with current laptops. Even is it is possible to generate 12 volts with enough Amperes, it should be fairly easy to develop adapters to suit each different breed of laptops/ handhelds.

I'm sure many people use large generators at camps, but I'm thinking of something small and light enough be carried in the baggage. Yeah, permanent magnets are painfully heavy, but then again, what do we have scientists and engineers for? They are the brilliant mass who can find an answer to the little questions that this idea raises and make it possible :)