New yahoo

Wonder if you guys noticed this. I just did. Yahoo mail has this awesome hyperlink pop up prompts for place names; click on the pop up and you get a map and other information about the city or country thus linked.
I wish I could've illustrated it with a screen shot, but wth, you can check out your yahoo mail.

*****

Very interesting site I came across today. They're very well laid out, including their statement of accounts on the home page too!

Free Software is a matter of freedom, not cost. It is a matter of liberty, not price. The word `free' in Free Software has a similar meaning as in free speech, free people and free country and should not be confused with its other meaning associated with zero-cost. Think of Free Software as software which is free of encumbrances, not necessarily free of cost. Think of it as swatantra software.

FSF India is a non-profit organisation committed to advocating, promoting and propagating the use and development of swatantra software in India. Our goal is to ensure the long term adoption of Free Software, and aim for the day when all software will be free. This includes educating people about software freedom and convincing them that it is the freedom that matters. We regard non-free software as a problem to be solved, not as a solution to any problem.

Sounds good huh? But what about Intellectual Property Rights? Yes,I'd like to fancy code-writing needs no intellectual protection, but then, I don't write codes. Anyways, first things first: I'd like to know who is fighting for Open Source Software. And to that mill, I will add more grist.

Some good news

I don't think so many people have been so eagerly waiting for a roll off the assembly line ever before. Not even for the poor man's car - MAruti 800.
The super-cheap laptop has just been launched in China. They say some finetuning is required, and currently costs Rs.135 USD, but eventually the price is to dip to 100 USD.
At 100 USD, it's literally a steal.Imagine the huge ramifications it will have for India, provided affordability and access are not given a byepass. Finally, then, finally on the path to a knowledge-driven society? Let's lap it up!

*****

Defence Minister Pranab Mukerjee told the Parliament sometime ago that e-passports will be introduced soon. These electronic documents already in use in international travel will contain biometric information (pupil/fingerprint scanning) along with other essential details in travel documents. Via Deccan Chronicle...
Diplomats and bureaucrats are going to be the guinea pigs, the Defence Minister said. Fair enough. If anything goes wrong, at least they have immunity!

*****

I actually won a Philips camera phone in online photo contest. YEah, you've seen this before here... But it is amazing that prizes are actually given out in these instances. They came over to office, gave me the phone and actually took a pic of it...Hopefully, my luck's changing! :)