Forex GRE GMAT IELTS and Technology news

Send attachments while offline

2009-11-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

One of the most requested features for Offline Gmail has been the ability to include attachments in messages composed while offline. Starting today, attachments work just the way you would expect them to whether you are online or offline (with the exception that when you're offline you won't be able to include inline images). Just add the attachment and send your message.

If you have Offline Gmail enabled, you'll notice that all your mail now goes through the outbox, regardless of whether you're online or offline. This allows Gmail to capture all attachments, even if you suddenly get disconnected from network. If you're online, your mail will quickly be sent along to its destination.

If you haven't tried offline access yet, visit the Labs tab and follow these instructions to get started:

1.Select Enable next to Offline Gmail.

2.Click Save Changes.

3.After your browser reloads, you'll see a new "Offline" link in the upper righthand corner of the Gmail page, next to your username.Click this link to start the offline set up process and download Gears if you don't already have it.

Source :- the official Gmail blog gmailblog.blogspot.com

What happens to your email account after you die?

2009-11-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Melbourne, Nov 4 (ANI): Saving that parting e-mail from your first love in your inbox? Well, chances are, after you pass away, your spouse and the entire family will know about the long held secret.

This is because web email services like Hotmail and Gmail do not let users specify what should happen to their messages when they die.

In fact, email services owned by Internet giants like Google and Microsoft have a policy of keeping your data after you die and letting your next of kin or the executor of your estate access it.hese services can hold tens of thousands of messages.

Accounts with Google's Gmail can hold up to 7GB - or roughly 70,000 emails with a small to medium picture attached to each and they archive the messages you've written as well as received.

When it comes to deleting the data, Microsoft's Hotmail will remove an account if it is inactive for 270 days, while Gmail leaves the responsibility to the next of kin.

Of the top three providers, only Yahoo! refuses to supply emails to anyone after the user has died. The user's next of kin can ask for the account to be closed, but cannot gain access to it.

A Yahoo! spokesperson said the only exception to this rule would be if the user specified otherwise in their will.

Meanwhile, social-networking site Facebook has recently publicised a feature called memorialisation that lets the family of deceased users keep their profile page online as a virtual tribute.

MySpace, on the other hand, says it addresses the issue of family access to sensitive data on a "case by case basis".

A spokesperson for MySpace could not rule out letting a user's next of kin log into their profile - potentially giving them access to private messages. (ANI)

Source:- http://in.news.yahoo.com

How an Android phone can change your life?

2009-10-29T03:07:00.000-07:00

In the past few months several mobile devices have en mass taken to Google's mobile operating system and launched Android-enabled handsets. In this season of heavy activity around Android phones, comes the big announcement of the launch of version 2.0 of the operating system, also code-named Eclair.

A number of enhancements have been added to the previous version including the much talked-about multi-touch feature and sync. Here's how the Android can up your tech quotient with these new capabilities:

* Communicate instantly by tapping on the contact, and choosing from all available communication options (Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, etc)

* Availability of an accounts management API to store centrally account-credential information on the device

* Supports devices with various screen sizes and resolutions, with three different screens of each of the applications

* Multiple email account synchronization, that combines all account into a single email inbox with option of exchange support

* New virtual keyboard layout for faster and more accurate typing. The multi-touch ensures that all keys pressed during typing are not skipped.

* Bluetooth API allows the device to connect to other nearby devices. This capabilities includes the integration of features of social-interaction and P2P communication

* Improved camera controls with digital zoom, a scene mode, white balance controls, macro focus and colour effects

* Upgraded search and navigation features, with the addition of text and multimedia message search.

Now, you can get your hands on the Android 2.0 version through Verizon's Motorola Droid, which was released today and among the first phones to implement the Android 2.0 version. Alternatively you can also download the Android 2.0 software development kit and experience its features through an emulator.

SOURCE:- in.news.yahoo.com

MBA Remains Strong, Despite Economic Meltdown

2009-10-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

The number of applications to MBA Institutes this year has risen by a staggering amount. To put it simply, the increase is as sharp as 65%.

Given the high investment of both time and money that an MBA demands, the increase counter intuitive. Among various explanations, the one which seems most feasible is that professionals are looking at MBA as an opportunity for personal and professional growth. In an era where lay offs are commonplace, a 2 year stint in a good business school does seem like a good bet to outlast the recession and to rebound with great professional growth.

Another interesting trend is the dip in the number of Indians who have applied to US Business Schools for MBA Programs. This dip is accompanied by a spike in the number of applications by Indians to Business Schools in Canada & Europe. The change in preference is explained by an uncertain VISA scenario, coupled with the lack of financial assistance in the US. This is contrasted by a more welcoming outlook that Canada and European countries have (w.r.t. VISA) and better financial aid opportunities and most importantly, more affordable fees.

Whether it’s a good idea to enroll in a 2 year MBA or not, is a question that only time can answer. However, for the moment, it does seem like a really good bet!

Source:- gmat.learnhub.com

WORLD FOREX: Euro Hits 2-Month High Vs Yen On Higher Stocks

2009-10-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The euro rose to a more-than two-month high of Y137.83 in Asia on Friday as stronger regional share markets prompted hedge funds and other short-term players to buy the risk-sensitive unit.

If equities in Europe and the U.S. also rally later, the common currency could end the week even higher, possibly reaching a four-month high of Y139.00, dealers said.

The high-yielding, risk-sensitive Australian dollar also rose against the yen, breaking Y85.00 for the first time in more than a year. Demand grew for the resource-linked Aussie on the view that further rises in oil prices presaged more gains in the broader commodity market, dealers said. December crude futures rose 47 cents to $81.66 per barrel, nearing a one-year high at $82.00.

“The rise in commodities has encouraged many investors to seek riskier assets today, and that has lifted the euro and Australian dollar against the yen," said Shinichi Hayashi, a senior dealer at Shinkin Central Bank.

That trend could persist throughout the day if European economic data and U.S. corporate earnings later come in strong, said Minoru Shioiri, chief manager of foreign exchange trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

Encouraging data and earnings would likely buoy share prices, prompting market participants to try to push the euro up to a more-than four month high around Y139.00, Shioiri said. At 0450 GMT, the euro traded hands at Y137.66 compared with Y137.20 late Thursday in New York.

The German Ifo business sentiment index for October, due at 0800 GMT, may rise to 96.2 from 95.7 in September, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll. Players will also be watching the 0830 GMT release of the U.K.'s July-September gross domestic product, tipped up 0.1% on quarter. That would be the first such rise since the first quarter of 2008, likely supporting share markets to the benefit of the euro as well as the British pound, dealers said.

Positive U.S. corporate earnings could have the same effect, with the spotlight on Microsoft Corp.’s release due at the start of New York trade, said Shinkin Central Bank’s Hayashi.

“U.S. earnings have been comparatively good, and if they continue to be so, higher stocks could support further euro rises against the dollar as well," Hayashi said. The common currency hit $1.5061 in the morning session, renewing a 14-month high, and could do so again by rising to $1.5100 later in the global day, he said. At 0450 GMT, the euro stood at $1.5036 compared with $1.5031 late Thursday in New York.

Elsewhere, the dollar was at Y91.57 from Y91.28, as a slight rise in long-term U.S. interest rates overnight buoyed the greenback. But heavy selling by Japanese exporters is likely to cap any further rises above Y92, said Mitsubishi UFJ Securities’ Shioiri.

The Dollar Index, a trade-weighted basket of six currencies, was at 75.07, unchanged from late Thursday in New York.

SOURCE:- www.marketwatch.com By Andrew Monahan

Delta's TOEFL® Test cd downloads

2009-10-20T20:30:00.002-07:00

Delta's Key to the Next Generation TOEFL® Test: Advanced Skill Practice for the iBT is a new series of high-quality practice materials for students preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign LanguageЁ after September 2005.

Advanced Skill Practice for the iBT Coursebook

* A complete TOEFL preparation course for high intermediate and advanced students
* 36 skill units in reading, listening, speaking, and writing
* Four full-length practice tests
* Over 1,200 questions in the format of the Internet-based test (iBT)
*

* Complete answer key and audio scripts
* Charts to record progress on quizzes and tests
* Enough material for 15 weeks of study
Advanced Skill Practice for the iBT Audio CDs
* Companion audio texts for all listening activities in the coursebook
* Over 9 hours of material on 10 compact disks

What is new about the TOEFL test and Delta's Key?

The next generation TOEFL test is an Internet-based test being introduced in September 2005. This new test replaces the earlier computer-based test known as the TOEFL CBT. The next generation TOEFL test assesses proficiency in the four language skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The most important changes in the test are:

* Speaking skills are evaluated.
* Some tasks involve integrated skills, such as reading-listening-writing.
* Knowledge of grammar is not tested separately but is assessed indirectly throughout the test.

Delta's Key to the Next Generation TOEFL® Test is an all-new program designed specifically for the new version of the test. The course provides ample practice in the English skills evaluated by the new test, along with useful strategies and practical ideas for individual, pair and group activities.

Reading and listening content includes explanation of new item types, such as questions about pragmatics, paraphrasing, and summarizing information from across a text. Speaking and writing content includes practice in integrated-skills tasks, such as developing a topic, taking notes, and connecting information from two sources.

Download
Book:

http://rapidshare.com/files/19579114/DeltaKeyTOEFLiBT.PDF.rar

Audio:
ogg 250 KBs avg

Note : To play *.ogg files download this Audio Player Foobar2000

http://rapidshare.com/files/24424501/CD01-listening.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24430383/CD02-listening.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24437581/CD03-listening.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24445646/CD04-listening.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24457087/CD05-speaking.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24484539/CD06-speaking_writing.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24498243/CD07-test1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24513016/CD08-test2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24519388/CD09-test3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/24418089/CD10-test4.rar

CD1: http://www.zshare.net/download/cd1-listening-rar.html
CD2: http://www.divshare.com/download/546622-45a
CD3: http://rapidfolder.com/?RHDRD
CD4: http://rapidfolder.com/?G3B99
CD5: http://rapidfolder.com/?TR658
CD6: http://www.zshare.net/download/cd6-speaking-writing-rar.html
CD7: http://www.zshare.net/download/cd7-test1-rar.html
CD8: http://www.divshare.com/download/546859-a63
CD9: http://www.zshare.net/download/cd9-test3-rar.html
CD10: http://www.zshare.net/download/cd10-test4-rar.html

Ebook:
http://www.mediafire.com/?5mlnfmmkdyw

Password :
kidfantasynba

TOEFL ® DOWNLOAD LINKS

2009-10-20T20:30:00.001-07:00

TOEFL® ibt - download here guys
heres some info guys....

barrons toefl essays(book):

http://rapidshare.com/files/6700121/How2Prepare4TOEFL_essay.part2.rar.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/6699505/How2Prepare4TOEFL_essay.part1.rar.html

long man:

http://rapidshare.com/files/108691/LongMan_TOEFL_iBT.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/108695/LongMan_TOEFL_iBT.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/108696/LongMan_TOEFL_iBT.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/108692/LongMan_TOEFL_iBT.part4.rar

Kaplan toefl ibt:

http://rapidshare.com/files/108866/KL-TOEFLPaper-P1.pdf
http://rapidshare.com/files/108865/KL-TOEFLPaper-P2.pdf

or

http://rapidshare.com/files/6233286/TOEFL_IBT_CD1.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/6275280/TOEFL_IBT_CD1.part2.rar

Audio CDs
http://rapidshare.com/files/108352/TOEFLPaper-CD1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/108367/TOEFLPaper-CD2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/108348/TOEFLPaper-CD3.rar

toefl ibt 2007-2008 kaplan:

http://rapidshare.com/files/21055713/KAPLAN.RAR.html
http://www.zshare.net/download/kaplan-rar.html

Barrons toefl ibt cds:

http://rapidshare.com/files/20259808/Passkey_CD1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/20245213/Passkey_CD2.rar

suppressed contents
http: // rapidshare.com /files /108970 /LM-iBT -CD1. ZIP
http: // rapidshare.com /files /108966 /LM-iBT -CD2. ZIP
http: // rapidshare.com /files /109014 /LM-iBT -CD3. ZIP
http: // rapidshare.com /files /109018 /LM-iBT -CD4. ZIP
http: // rapidshare.com /files /109019 /LM-iBT -CD5. ZIP
http: // rapidshare.com /files /108942 /LM-iBT -CD6. ZIP
http: // rapidshare.com /files /108940 /LM-iBT -CD7. ZIP
http: // rapidshare.com /files /108978 /LM-iBT -CD8. ZIP

Drastic Decrease In Number of GRE Takers in India

2009-10-17T23:02:00.001-07:00

The global financial meltdown, coupled with racial attacks against Indian students have impacted the net number of GRE takers in India. Reports reveal that in 2008, 75,000 students appeared for the GRE, while in 2009, the number has slipped to around 55,000 only. This figure is comparable to the number of GRE takers in China. Overall, it is believed that students are worried about future prospects and therefore not very keen about studying abroad.

The student sentiment is one of apprehension, with a majority fearing that they won’t have the opportunity of settling down in the US. Students feel that it is necessary to work internationally for a few years after studying abroad, in order to recover the steep initial financial investment. Coaching institutes have felt this impact keenly, with a decline in the number of enrollments.
While redressal measures are few, it is noteworthy to mention that a number of orientation programs are on the cards, for encouraging Indian students for education in USA.

Source : - learnhub

GMAT Vs GRE: The Battle Continues

2009-10-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

The Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the GRE, is taking aim at the lucrative business school market by pitching the GRE, which is used by a wider range of graduate schools, as an alternative to the GMAT. In September, ETS began placing advertisements in publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education with the message that MBA can stand for “More Business School Applicants” should B-schools choose to use the GRE.

ETS points out a handful of benefits to using the GRE: It has more test centers around the world, making the exam more accessible than the GMAT; it’s cheaper-$140 vs. the $250 GMAT fee that brought in a total of close to $80 million in revenue last year to GMAC; and its status as the general standardized test for other graduate programs could attract more of the applicants business schools are clamoring for-women, minorities, and candidates with liberal arts backgrounds.

Source : - learnhub.com

GMAT Vs GRE: GMAT Wins The Battle For B-School Admissions

2009-10-17T22:55:00.001-07:00

Kaplan conducts an annual survey of business school admissions officers. This year’s survey of admissions officers at 260 of the nation’s top business schools as rated by U.S. News & World Report, including 17 of the nations most selective MBA programs revealed that more than two-thirds of business schools surveyed reported an increase in applications this year compared to last year and 44 percent of admissions officers listed a low GMAT score as the biggest “application killer” thus making GMAT the key for B-School admissions.
Also half of the business schools surveyed reported seeing an increase in the number of applicants who report they are currently unemployed.

Source : - gmat.learnhub.com

Can free broadband be a reality in India?

2009-10-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

The internet has become an integral part of human life and further validation of this assertion comes from the fact that Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband Internet access a right for every Finnish citizen.

Yes, Finland has just passed a law that makes access to broadband a legal right for its citizens. Come July 2010, every person in Finland, which has a population of around 5.3 million, will have the guaranteed right to a one-megabit broadband connection.

This law could pave the way for India to start looking at broadband connection or even basic internet connection as its citizens' legal right, just like freedom of speech and expression.

India is emerging as a hub for information technology and global companies invariably looks toward India to meet their research and development needs and software production demands. So should India go ahead and make this a legal right for its citizens?

"While the internet savvy user of India will hail this move, let's not forget that Finland's total population is 5.5 million, which is 5 per cent of ours. Our primary concern right now should not be broadband access being a legal right, but childhood (and education) being the legal right of every child in the country and tougher laws on child labour. Can we please emulate Babar Ali, the world's youngest headmaster, and ensure that children have a right to be children before they're made to be earning members of the family?" says Jayashree S, a child rights activist.

Yes, it sounds true as it would be very unfair to compare India to Finland, given the gross discrepancies.

But not all think of it in the same way. Nancy, an avid netizen, says, "Internet is a way of life in India now. It is not just the youngsters who are hooked - people from all walks of life have started using the net to their benefit and are paying high prices for the same. It would be good if the rates are lesser, and yes, if it's free in Finland, even if it's 1mbps, why not here too?"

A vast majority in India feels that making a broadband connection a legal right is too farfetched a dream. "Broadband connection should not be a legal right as we have more important issues to deal with. We are lagging in providing even the basic amenities like water or electricity, thinking of legalising broadband is still very far," says Tarun, who works with a leading media house.

It might be too early to start a debate on whether broadband internet can be a natural extension to our legal rights in India. But kudos to the Finnish government for this landmark law. Who knows, this might just be the beginning of a new fight for our rights.

Source:- in.news.yahoo.com

Forex reserves at $280.340 billion as on Oct 2

2009-10-09T18:05:00.000-07:00

9 Oct 2009, 1928 hrs IST, REUTERS

MUMBAI: Foreign exchange reserves rose to $280.340 billion as on Oct 2, from $279.910 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank said in its weekly statistical supplement on Friday.

Changes in foreign currency assets, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in its reserves such as the euro, pound sterling and yen, the Reserve Bank of India said.

Foreign exchange reserves include India's Reserve Tranche position in the International Monetary Fund, the Reserve Bank of India said.

Source :- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Forex reserves down at USD 279.91 billion

2009-10-03T00:53:00.000-07:00

MUMBAI: India's foreign exchange reserves fell further to USD 279.91-billion for the week ended September 25 as compared to USD 280.77-billion in
the previous week.The foreign currency assets (FCA) declined to USD 263.498-billion, falling by USD 855-million, from USD 264.353-billion the week before, Reserve Bank said in its weekly report today.

Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies (such as Euro, Sterling, Yen) held in reserves, the central bank said.

During the week, the gold reserves stood unchanged at USD 9.828-billion while Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) dropped marginally to USD 5.220-billion from USD 5.224-billion the week before, RBI said.

The country's reserves position in the International Monetary Fund stood at USD 1.364-billion during the period, RBI said.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Forex: Euro recovers further against the Dollar

2009-09-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

FXstreet.com (Córdoba) – Dollar weakened across the board in the last hour. EUR/USD continues to approach to the 1.4600 zone and recently rose to 1.4590. The pair is still down for the day, 0.17% below the opening price, but managed to recover from 1.4525 (two-week low). On the upside the next resistance lies at 1.4635.

Despite falling to the Dollar, the Euro is stronger against the Yen and the Swiss Franc. EUR/JPY is back above 131.00 and currently trades at 131.37/42, which is 0.24% above the opening price. EUR/CHF is rising on Tuesday. The pair rose sharply during the European session peaking at 1.5127 but then pulled back to 1.5105.

Source:- FXstreet.com

The GRE: A Cheaper Alternative For Business School

2009-09-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

While the GMAT is the standard test for business graduate schools, the GRE is the standard test for most other majors and can be used for many business schools as well. So if the business school you are applying to accepts GRE scores, take this test instead if you want to get a second master's degree or change majors. The best part is, you won't need to pay for a high-dollar prep course because you can get all the help you need from lower-priced tutors and free and inexpensive software.

Does Your Business School Accept GRE Scores?
This is the most important question before you consider taking the GRE instead of the GMAT. Call all the universities you are considering attending before deciding to take the GRE. If the answer is no, then any further debate over which test to take is futile.

You should take the GRE instead of the GMAT if the schools you are applying to accept test results from both and you answer yes to the following two questions:

* Are you thinking about getting another degree other than an MBA?
* Is there potential for getting a different degree at a later date? Will the business schools you are applying for accept GRE scores in place of GMAT scores?

The GMAT is More Expensive
In 2008/2009, the rate to take the GMAT was $250.The rate for 2008/2009 school year for the GRE was $140.

You can also save money on the GRE by buying software programs instead of full-blown test preparation courses. Read reviews on the internet to choose which one is right for you. You could save a lot of money by spending $40-60 on a software program instead of several hundred on a test preparation course. To sweeten the deal on your savings, supplement your studying with test materials from the official websites of the test you decide to take.

Conclusion
There are reasons to take both the GRE and the GMAT. Take the GMAT if you feel more comfortable with statistics than geometry. After all, if you don't get the score you need in order to get into business school, the higher price and the lack of flexibility, if you decide to pursue a non-business major, is irrelevant.

However, if you feel comfortable with the material the GRE covers – and the school of your choice accepts GRE scores for admittance - take the GRE. You'll spend over a hundred dollars less and have the ability to pursue other degrees or a dual-degree with a major outside of the business college.

Source:- investopedia.com

Intel: SSDs are coming - Technology News

2009-09-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

At a technical briefing at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday, an Intel researcher said mass corporate take-up of solid-state disk drives was almost upon us.

Although most discussion about SSDs has focused on high-performance servers, the breakthrough in adoption would take place in clients because of the cloud model of IT services, according to Christopher Saleski, initiatives manager of Intel's Storage Technology Group.

"Hard disks have the lowest price per gigabyte," Saleski said, "but a high floor cost [the minimum price of a drive, regardless of capacity]. Because of networked software and services, companies can have quite low client storage needs, depending on their IT environments.

"SSDs can be much cheaper for small capacities. We're about to enter an inflection point where, at the right capacity, SSDs will cross the floor price of hard disks, driving mass adoption into the corporate market."

At that point, said Saleski, SSDs' lower power, smaller size and increased robustness would be particularly attractive.

The claim came during a briefing that covered many of Intel's latest findings about the development of SSDs. Knut Grimsrud, Intel fellow and director of storage architecture, said the increasing popularity of SSDs had revealed a number of areas where performance was being compromised by outdated assumptions. "Existing chipsets, interfaces and drivers were all designed with hard disks in mind," he said, "and SSDs are sensitive to very different things."

He quoted examples of plugging SSDs into different apparently identical Sata interfaces on motherboards, which resulted in a 3.5-times performance improvement, with small changes in driver configuration producing equivalent changes. "Driver efficiencies can have small effects on hard disks, but can have a substantial impact on SSDs," he said.

Similarly, Grimsrud added, operating system optimisations for hard disks could actively hinder SSDs. He said Windows 7, which attempts to detect SSDs by their performance rating, reconfigured itself to avoid automatic defragmentation and data pre-fetching — two hard disk techniques that can slow down SSDs and increase their power consumption. "I'm very impressed with Windows 7. It's very encouraging," he said.

Saleski also demonstrated an experimental system, where seven SSDs with PCI Express interfaces were accessed in parallel and delivered over a million data requests per second — a throughput of around 4Gbps — to a dual-socket Intel Xeon 5500 server. "The same performance from hard disks would require some 5,000 devices and would take 50KW," he said. "This setup is taking under 400W."

Source:- Posted on ZDNet News

Google acquires reCAPTCHA

2009-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

The image above is a CAPTCHA — you can read it, but computers have a harder time interpreting the letters. We tried to make it hard for computers to recognize because we wanted to give humans the scoop first, but we're happy to announce to everybody now that Google has acquired reCAPTCHA, a company that provides CAPTCHAs to help protect more than 100,000 websites from spam and fraud.

Since computers have trouble reading squiggly words like these, CAPTCHAs are designed to allow humans in but prevent malicious programs from scalping tickets or obtain millions of email accounts for spamming. But there’s a twist — the words in

many of the CAPTCHAs provided by reCAPTCHA come from scanned archival newspapers and old books. Computers find it hard to recognize these words because the ink and paper have degraded over time, but by typing them in as a CAPTCHA, crowds teach computers to read the scanned text.

In this way, reCAPTCHA’s unique technology improves the process that converts scanned images into plain text, known as Optical Character Recognition (OCR). This technology also powers large scale text scanning projects like Google Books and Google News Archive Search. Having the text version of documents is important because plain text can be searched, easily rendered on mobile devices and displayed to visually impaired users. So we'll be applying the technology within Google not only to increase fraud and spam protection for Google products but also to improve our books and newspaper scanning process.

That's why we're excited to welcome the reCAPTCHA team to Google, and we're committed to delivering the same high level of performance that websites using reCAPTCHA have come to expect. Improving the availability and accessibility of all the information on the Internet is really important to us, so we're looking forward to advancing this technology with the reCAPTCHA team.

Source:- http://googleblog.blogspot.com

Posted by Luis von Ahn, co-founder of reCAPTCHA, and Will Cathcart, Google Product Manager

Information Technology News - 'Team Earth' comes online to save rainforests

2009-09-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

Campaigners plan to announce on Monday the formation of the social network with the hope of battling tropical deforestation

Martinne Geller

NEW YORK, USA: Environmental activists are taking to the Internet in a new bid to help save the world's rainforests with the help of major corporations including Starbucks Corp and Dell Inc.

Campaigners plan to announce on Monday the formation of "Team Earth," a social network that includes businesses, nongovernmental organizations, students and politicians with the hope of battling tropical deforestation.

Team Earth will launch in November, but its organizers wanted to spread the word this week, as world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

"This is a moment when leaders around the world need to take action. We cannot afford for our representatives ... not to take action, so we're mobilizing the public," said Peter Seligmann, chief executive of Conservation International, which is spearheading the effort.

Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz said he joined forces with Conservation International over shared concerns over "divergent efforts of many separate parties -- NGOs, corporations, politicians and individuals -- trying to do something in which perhaps the sum of the parts could be greater if there was collective action."

Schultz said it makes business sense for companies to take serious action against social and environmental issues because it is important to employees and customers.

"In order to make a sustainable enduring business that's profitable, you're also going to have to create a balance between profitability and a social conscience," Schultz said in an interview.

Some of Starbucks' existing environmental targets include having all of its new company-operated stores meeting green building standards starting in 2010 and having all of its cups recyclable by 2012.

Actor Harrison Ford, a Conservation International board member best known as the star of the "Indiana Jones" films, is supporting the effort, and told Reuters that large-scale cooperation was best.

"Our individual efforts have been fruitful but history shows that real change is not accomplished through individual efforts but through movements," Ford said, noting that governments and corporations must also be involved.

Team Earth will use social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter, along with its own site, to gather support for its causes, which also include climate change, water conservation and health

Source:- www.ciol.com

A Review of the Forex Ambush 2.0 Forex Trading System

2009-09-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

The Foreign Exchange Market has generated quite a buzz that easily spills over the trading circles and right into the sight of everyday individuals who are hoping to make some extra money on their own.

Unfortunately, as many beginners soon realize, locating a profitable Forex opportunity can be a very tricky quest. You may very well find that using pieces of technology to streamline the process can give a far better chance at being profitable. Forex Ambush is one such technological advantage that is available, and you can get a good look at what it offers with this Forex Ambush 2.0 review.

The first question you may have when reading this Forex Ambush 2.0 review will likely be: What makes Forex Ambush so valuable? Well, consider this. If you are just getting started with trading currencies you will soon learn that you are at a great informational disadvantage to the much larger and seasoned traders.

As beginners, we don't possess this advantage. However, by using this foreign exchange currency trading system, you can effectively level the playing field. This program uses an intelligence system to replicate the knowledge of professional traders. That means you'll see the very trades that the professionals are like to make.

The next point I would like to make in this Forex Ambush 2.0 review concerns a matter of simplicity. Have you ever looked at other Forex guides or systems? Have you ever noticed how they each hit you with a wave of signals to watch?

One guide will tell you to look at this signal and that signal. Another ebook will tell you that you should also consider some completely different signals as well. Worse yet, some guides will just offer some wishy-washy advice that is so vague, you may have no idea how to get started.

With Forex Ambush, the system is broken down to the most very basic process. Via email or SMS text, you get real time alerts. These alerts tell you precisely what to buy and any relevant details, such as trailing stops.

Source:- ezinearticles.com By Marlie Parsons

FOREX-Dollar rises broadly, off 1-yr low vs euro

2009-09-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

The U.S. currency gained some reprieve on Friday as global equities fell and investors trimmed their positions ahead of holidays in Japan and Singapore next week, although the trend for broad dollar weakness was seen as likely to persist.

"It's a risk-driven move for now. Overnight equities didn't perform as well. That is obviously weighing on markets for now. It remains to be seen whether that is sustained," said Geoffrey Yu, currency strategist at UBS in London.

"It's possible on Friday people are taking profits. It's too early to tell whether it marks the beginning of a trend because there's been no notable catalyst for now but if things do pick up again up ahead, as in outflows from risk markets pick up, then it may mark the start of something more significant."

The euro dipped 0.2 percent from late U.S. trading on Thursday to $1.4705 EUR= by 1012 GMT.

The euro, which hit a one-year high of $1.4768 on trading platform EBS on Thursday, has risen about 2.8 percent in the past two weeks.

Data showing German August producer prices rose by 0.5 percent month-on-month, beating forecasts for a 0.2 percent rise, had little effect on the market. [ID:nBAF001792]

The dollar index, which measures the dollar's value against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.35 percent to 76.455 .DXY, having bounced off Thursday's one-year low of 76.010.

Comments by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that there was no threat to the United States from many reserve currencies also had little immediate effect on the market. [ID:nLI168886]

"We've obviously had a fairly big move. There's not much in terms of news or catalyst to drive the market further ... It's just time for a period of consolidation after some big moves," said Derek Halpenny, European head of currency research at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ in London.

Source:- in.reuters.com

Forex reserves rise by $1.28 billion

2009-09-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

Mumbai, Sept. 11 The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.28 billion to touch $277.64 billion for the week ended September 4, according to the figures released in the Reserve Bank of India’s Weekly Statistical Supplement.

This is the third consecutive week that forex exchange reserves have increased.

The rise in reserves was mainly on account of currency revaluation, said a forex dealer. In the week ended August 28, forex reserves had increased by $4.4 billion to $276.3 billion.

In the week under consideration, foreign currency assets increased by $1.13 billion to touch $261.65 billion. Gold increased by $157 million to touch $9.828 billion. SDRs went down by $3 million to $4.818 billion.

The country’s reserve position in the IMF fell by $1 million to $1.346 million

Next week the rupee could see levels of 48.20, but ultimately it will depreciate. “The factors to watch out for are the euro, which is due for a correction and the domestic stock market which has gained substantially,” said the dealer.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

How Intel turned failure into success

2009-09-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

It is one that started nine years ago with a failure that threatened to derail the career of Dadi Perlmutter, the very same Intel executive who has been just been promoted to managing product development for all processors. Indeed, he has now seen as a leading contender for chief executive, once Paul Otellini steps down.

That failure was Timna, a design that evolved under Perlmutter's leadership at the turn of the century in Intel's development center in Haifa, Israel. Perlmutter hoped Timna would put the center on the map. Which it did, but not in a good way, at first.

Timna was a system-on-a-chip (SoC) design, which combined a processor with some of the other components necessary to build a PC. SoC in itself is no bad thing, and the key integrated component of Timna, a memory controller, is a very good thing to include on the same silicon as the processor itself.

How a processor uses memory is absolutely key to its performance: AMD has made a lot of hay by putting its HyperTransport memory circuitry on-chip. There are a lot of performance benefits if that integration is done right. It is also cheaper to make single chips, and cheaper to design them into computers.

Timna, however, had issues. There were three major flaws with the design — two conceptual, one practical.

The biggest one was a gamble that went wrong: Intel predicted that a new high-performance memory technology, RDRAM, would become popular and therefore cheap. The full story of RDRAM is for another day: it is enough to note that while it had plenty of technical promise, some very questionable business decisions by the technology's owner left it high and dry and overpriced long enough for other, more mainstream memory designs to catch up.

By the time Timna was coming to fruition, it was becoming clear that RDRAM was not going to be anything like competitive enough for the low-cost sector.

Then there was Timna's positioning. Timna was intended to strengthen Intel's hand in the low-end PC market, where it would compete mostly with Intel itself. That is a decision which is very hard to make, and just as hard to stick to. In general, it takes an outside force to make such moves happen, even in a company such as Intel that has some history of making market-changing moves on its own initiative.

If RDRAM had proved to be a potent, cheap technology, and Timna had given Intel a unique foothold in cheap, high-performing PCs, then the decision would have been seen as a bold move to forestall the external competition. Without those results, it became an exercise in killing the company's own margins.

Which brings us to the third terror of Timna: it did not work properly. The memory controller was reputedly flawed and flawed in a way that could not easily be fixed. The systems worked after a fashion — by the time Timna was canned in October 2000, there were already motherboards being shown off, and preparations for launch were well underway.

Intel has never talked about exactly what happened: the most persuasive rumor is that with RDRAM failing to take off, the system had to work well with more standard parts, and part of the design just wasn't cutting the mustard. It was designed to be high performance and thus took a lot of power — but did not deliver. Instead, the company looked at the market, looked at the chip, and decided that enough was enough.

Which was bad news for Haifa and Perlmutter, who suddenly saw their future as just another satellite of Santa Clara. But Intel is at heart an engineering company, and good engineers learn from their mistakes.

The design team mulled over the lessons from Timna, in particular those about picking a high-margin market and designing for high performance at low power, and made some bold predictions.

Then they went into negotiations with Otellini, a process vividly described four years ago by Intel manager Shmuel Eden, also part of the push. "We did it the Israeli way; we argued our case to death," Eden is quoted by Bloomberg as saying. "You know what an exchange of opinions is in Israel? You come to the meeting with your opinion, and you leave with mine."

Two years later, they delivered Banias, the first proper notebook processor and the building block for the hideously successful Centrino platform. It was also the start of Intel's strategic move from speed demon to a company with an appreciation of efficiency. This move had long been mooted, but was harder to act on than accept.

he move now looks a company lifesaver. The lessons learned from Centrino have been absorbed into the mainstream Core 2 design and have seen their most extreme evolution in the Atom. They are now key to all of Intel's target sectors, from embedded systems through netbooks to high-performance server parts. And just in time: with ARM starting its assault on servers, and the mobile revolution gaining pace, the world is mutating faster than Intel's roadmaps — and it's low power all the way.

No wonder Perlmutter's star is in the ascent.

Source:- ZDNet, UK

Firm for Analyzing Web Traffic Bought by Adobe for $1.8 Billion

2009-09-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

Adobe Systems said it would buy the Web analytics software company Omniture for about $1.8 billion, giving the maker of content-creation software a way to let marketers monitor the effectiveness of such content.

Adobe, based in San Jose, Calif., will pay $21.50 a share in cash, a premium of 24 percent over Omniture’s closing stock price Tuesday. Omniture shares jumped nearly 26 percent in after-hours trading.

Adobe also said it had earned $136 million, or 26 cents a share, in the fiscal third quarter that ended in August, down 29 percent from the same time a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Adobe earned 35 cents a share, a penny above what analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

Adobe, the maker of Photoshop, Flash and Acrobat software, said its revenue fell 21 percent to $697.5 million.

Omniture, based in Orem, Utah, offers a variety of Web traffic analysis tools and other products for companies to improve their marketing over the Internet. The acquisition would marry Adobe’s tools for creating Web sites and ads with Omniture’s services for figuring how to best deliver messages.

Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with Global Equities Research, said the planned acquisition would allow Adobe to create new streams of revenue even as its existing businesses declined.

Though he called the deal “timely,” Mr. Chowdhry said Adobe was overpaying. He said $12 to $13 a share, rather than $21.50, would have been a fair value.

Source:- nytimes.com

How much money should you have in your FOREX acount in order to earn an income?

2009-09-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

Question :- I am planning to add funds to my online FOREX account and I am wondering what would be the appropriate amount of money to start off with in the account to where I can generate enough revenue to earn an income off my profits. I know you need at least $1000 just to play in the market but that amount is not enough to make money on. What would I need to have in my account to where I can start compounding the little profits that I make here and there?

Answer:-
Earning a living with Forex is dependent on three factors. First, your starting account balance. Second, your actual performance level. And third, your living requirements.

If you are opening an account with $500...the answer is no...you will not be able to make a living at Forex. Even $1000, $5000, $10,000 or $25,000 would not be enough of an initial account size to make a comfortable living in the Forex market.

The next area of importance is your skill as a Forex trader or the effectiveness of the strategy that you follow. If you are a 50/50 trader and win on half of your trades and lose the other half you cannot make a living at Forex. If you have the time, the patience, the discipline and the knowledge to make at least 20 pips in 4 out of 5 days of daily trading you may have a good shot at making a living from the Forex market.

Source:- http://answers.yahoo.com/

Forex Trading

2009-09-14T18:51:00.001-07:00

The auto Forex trading can work 24/7. Hence, you don’t get the profit when the market opens and brings in the breaking news about the foreign exchange market, but when the news breaks even before the market opens. As mentioned above, choosing the right software will not only ensure safe trading but also more chance of profits on your investment. For Forex auto trade, you need to be a smart worker instead of a hard worker.

People who are aware of money making schemes through foreign currency exchange will usually do all the guesswork themselves to make essential profits. This can be very time consuming and due to the ever changing exchange rates in this recessional climate, the worker needs to be on his toes. This vital ‘guesswork’ phase i.e. manual trading of the process is done by the Forex trading system. The system does this by comparing common trends in the exchange rates that are already programmed in the software with the live exchange rates and makes decisions accordingly. The common trend is programmed by experts in Forex trading. So better the software, better the ‘guesswork’.

Therefore, Automated Forex System Trading is very good alternative for stock market. The profits in both markets are huge if things are done in a right way but there are more chances of profits through foreign exchange rates and this Forex trading system which will get you profits with minimal manual process.

Source: - My friend Malay

Automated Forex Trading

2009-09-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Automated Forex Trading is a very efficient way of making profits by dealing in currency trading. Instead of using the stock market, foreign currency exchange is used. Accurate decisions made during the rise and falls of currency rates lead to profits. In making these decisions, the Automated Forex System Trading software comes into practice.

The software predicts rise and fall of currency rates and makes profitable trading decisions. People who have very little knowledge about how the foreign currency exchange market works seems to be the most profitable. All they have to do is turn on the program and see their profits rise. But this also depends on the software package itself. Some programs might have worked well during testing but when used in live trades, they would not give their optimum performance. Therefore choosing the right software package is very important.

Source :- My friend Malay

Forex Market Information Easily Accessible

2009-09-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

Information about stocks is abundant, but so are the stocks. Finding a trade opportunity in the equities markets may mean sifting through data on thousands of stocks, while the forex trader has only six major currencies to research. Additionally, the vital information that moves equity markets, such as revenues and profits, is proprietary and private. In contrast, virtually all of the news that bears on the forex market is in publicly disseminated reports from governments or research institutions, and released to everybody at the same time.

Forex

2009-09-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

foreign exchange market (currency, forex, or FX) trades currencies. It lets banks and other institutions easily buy and sell currencies.
The purpose of the foreign exchange market is to help international trade and investment. A foreign exchange market helps businesses convert one currency to another. For example, it permits a U.S. business to import European goods and pay Euros, even though the business's income is in U.S. dollars.

Forex is the largest and most happening financial market of the world

2009-09-13T03:53:00.001-07:00

Forex is the largest and most happening financial market of the world. It is the venue where one currency is traded for the other. The market place is distinguished from the rest because of its high trading volume and geographical dispersion. A trader with sound knowledge of currency trading can earn substantial profit in forex market. Along with the knowledge of trading, he should have access to a few tools of forex trading. TThese tools are made to strengthen the confidence of a trader and can prove out to be a great help for a winning currency trading in forex. Being an awakened trader of forex market, you should remain aware about every latest happening of currency trading. Therefore, it’s important for you to have access to daily forex trading summary for important currencies and currency pairs. Add to this, a weekly forex trading summary is also beneficial as it will encompass detailed analysis of your sought subject. Tools that help you to access and monitor the interest rates, financial calendar, glossary database are also worthwhile. Apart from the above, there are several other tools of currency trading available around you. Several software containing detailed analysis and information about currency trading are also available at your disposal. All these tools and software packs are important for a successful forex trading. With access to such tools, a trader can easily execute his trading. Now, how to get these tools easily and satisfactorily? Well, it’s easy. With the availability of internet, you need not to get out of your home to access these tools and software packs. Just a single click and you can access valuable information and tools regarding currency trading in forex. Several online forex firms have been established only to offer you tools and software packs for forex trading. Some of them may charge money from you to download or access the software packs and tools. If you are not at all interested to cut your pocket, go for those forex firms, who offer free download facility. Online forex firms are beneficial in many ways. They not only offer you currency trading tools and software but also keen to give you an insight into the latest incidents of forex market. They also publish economic reports and influential topics on their websites with an aim to update a trader about what matter in currency trading. You can also access live charts of the forex market and trading secrets from such online firms. These forex firms are usually run by experienced professional, who own years of experience in currency trading. So, you can trust them. Thus trading in forex market has become easy with the availability of tools and software packs. And the advent of internet has made it easier. Today any one from any corner of the world can access forex trading tools for simplifying his currency trading.

How to Trade the Forex Market - Take Off the Training Wheels

2009-09-13T03:52:00.001-07:00

I know that when you are first start to learn about how to trade the forex market, people tend to really go "indicator crazy". This means they will put any kind of indicator on their charts. It doesn't matter if they don't have a clue about how to use it or even understand what's the purpose of it.

I suppose using these indicators provides some kind of reassurance to the trader. I can safely say that when I first started to trade I was suffering from the indicator fever. I used to be the kind of trader that would spend all day on forex forums trying to get my hands on new proprietary indicators.

But something eventually dawned on me. While all these indicators looked really pretty on my chart, I didn't have the first clue about how to actually trade the forex market. After all, I was just blindly following these indicators as the sole reason to enter and exit a trade.

This is what I like to call the training phase of a trader. It's somewhat akin to when you first learn how to ride a bike. Nobody knows how to ride a bike the first time they get on one, so they put training wheels. In this metaphor, the training wheels are the indicators.

But just like when you are riding a bike that is on training wheels, it may seem like you are really riding the bike. But in the back of your mind, you KNOW that you aren't really riding a bike unless you are unassisted.

It's the same exact thing in trading.

You can't call yourself a trader unless you can say with great certainty, you understand what is going in the market, and I hate to say it, but you can't really do that with indicators. The reason is, because you are using the indicators to tell you what is going on in the market, instead of you understanding it for yourself.

Million Dollar Trader - Trade Forex From Home

2009-09-13T03:50:00.002-07:00

Million Dollar Traders was on BBC2 last night. What a great introduction to city traders and how unpredictable the Stock market can be! So thats why I trade the Forex and not the Stock Market then!

Some of the trainees have aspirations to trade full time including a retired man who was interviewed stating that he wanted to use his savings to trade from home after the series had finished. With the availability of great trading from home facilities avaialble to anyone, anywhere in the world and anytime day or night - trading from home, especially within the Forex market is a real possibility.

Well I guess it was pretty bad timing as the program was filmed last year when Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced financial meltdown in the US so the newbies couldn't be trading at a worse time! However the familiar 'frozen finger' inability to place a trade was prevalent so too was emotional attachment and emotional reactions, loss of confidence etc to trading which most newbies go through - including myself.......oh yes some good 'ol roller-coaster days but have managed to keep it together long enough to have learnt and come through the other side.

Having said that I haven't been able to do it trading the UK Stock market - Forex is where its at as far as I'm concerned so hats off to the guys in the program for trading the UK Stock market through one of the most difficult periods in a generation.

Trading psychology and risk management as emphaised in the program are essential key factors to get right when trading any market. Building this into your strategy, giving yourself targets such as the '3 srikes and your out' rule will make this easier to deal with. Don't allow yourself more than 3 trades to go against you in one trading period. If that happens finish for the day there.

Trading any market has the ability to wipe out your money, savings and future. As the Million Dollar Trader program is showing, trading without strategies is like playing with fire. Formulate a good solid trading strategy before you open any position - it will also make you more confident as knowing you have done your homework is good for your trading mindset.

Source:- BBC and BBC2

Forex trading news

2009-09-13T03:48:00.001-07:00

News trading is possible because the Forex market is always open, unlike many financial markets. In a financial market, securities trades of certain stocks are suspended when an important company announcement is being made. These announcements are usually made after the market has closed for the day. However, because the Foreign Exchange market is open 24 hours, any economic announcement will have direct affects on the currency of that country, and maybe others as well. In the Forex market, there are eight major currencies that are traded, as well as over seventeen derivatives to be traded as well. This means that on any given day, there will always be economic announcements from any of the major traded currencies. The major trader currencies are as follows:

U.S. Dollar (USD)

Great British Pound (GBP)

Euro (EUR)

Japanese Yen (JPY)

Australian Dollar (AUD)

Swiss Franc (CHF)

Canadian Dollar (CAD)

New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

Because of the availability of each currency, currency pairs, and its derivatives, such as USD/JPY, EUR/USD, AUD/USD, as well as several others, each currency can be traded at any given time because these currencies are globally traded.

FOREX news

2009-09-13T03:45:00.001-07:00

Traders on the Foreign Exchange market, Forex market for short, can potentially make thousands of dollars based on the volatility and fluctuations of a country’s currency. To better themselves and have a leading advantage over other traders, some Forex traders and investors participate in a practice known as news trading. The risks are very high, but the potential gains can be worth thousands of dollars and many traders and investors use this technique.
The technique of news trading is quite simple. It is the trading of foreign currency immediately before or after an important economic news announcement. After such announcements, there is a high possibility that market prices will fluctuate, either for the better or worse, depending on the announcement. For example, if the U. S. Federal Reserve announces another increase of the interest rate, many traders might invest in the U.S. dollar as it is expected that its value will appreciate. The main advantage of news trading is the potential for a country’s currency to make huge gains or losses in very little time. Within minutes of an economic announcement, a country’s currency can gain or lose one hundred points almost instantly. The potential of huge profits attracts Foreign Exchange traders and investors, however there are various risks associated with news trading.
Like any investment, there is always a risk, and news trading on the Forex market is no different. Though the potential profits are huge, the losses are also equally as large. The dangers of news trading come from the fact that a trade must be made quickly or else you are going to lose. If you are caught on the bad side of a trade, your money will be gone quicker than you can blink your eye. You will lose money so fast that there won’t even be time for you to manually close your trades, leaving you with nothing. Stop-loss orders are also potentially dangerous as there is a high probability of slippage because of the sudden price fluctuation.

What is Forex (Foreign Exchange)?

2009-09-13T03:44:00.001-07:00

Foreign Exchange (FOREX) is the arena where a nation's currency is exchanged for that of another. The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with the equivalent of over $1.9 trillion changing hands daily; more than three times the aggregate amount of the US Equity and Treasury markets combined. Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market has no physical location and no central exchange (off-exchange). It operates through a global network of banks, corporations and individuals trading one currency for another. The lack of a physical exchange enables the Forex market to operate on a 24-hour basis, spanning from one zone to another in all the major financial centers.

MG now operating in over 100 countries, serves all manner of clients, comprising speculators and strategic traders. Whether it’s day-traders looking for short-term gains, or fund managers wanting to hedge their non-US assets, MG's DealStation™ allows them to participate in FOREX trading by providing a combination of live quotes, Real-Time charts, and news and analysis that attracts traders with an orientation towards fundamental and/or technical analysis.

Inesun

2009-09-12T06:23:00.001-07:00

inesun security cameras
china wholesale digital electronics wholesale cctv security cameras
Many digital electronics items

www.inesun.com

Security Camera Installed

2009-09-11T19:11:00.001-07:00

Pa. city blankets streets with security cameras
By PATRICK WALTERS (AP)

LANCASTER, Pa. — Horses drawing buggies regularly clop down the roads approaching Lancaster, a peaceful city in the heart of Amish country that had only three murders last year and relatively low crime.

But if the community sounds reminiscent of the past, it also has some distinctly modern technology: 165 surveillance cameras that will keep watch over thousands of residents around the clock.

When it is complete, the surveillance system will be bigger than those in large cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco and Boston. And the fact that it will be monitored by ordinary citizens has raised privacy concerns.

"They are using fear to sell the cameras as much as possible," said Charlie Crystle, a member of a fledgling citizens group that opposes the cameras and is trying to raise public awareness about them. "There's just a huge potential for personal and political abuse."

Officials in the city of 54,000 say the cameras have deterred crimes and helped solve them.

The white, domed cameras sit atop utility poles in public spaces, business districts and some residential areas. They are monitored 18 to 24 hours a day by employees of the Lancaster Community Safety Coalition, a nonprofit board with workers who report suspected crimes to police.

Lancaster is the seat of Lancaster County, a popular and peaceful tourist destination known for having one of the nation's largest Amish populations. Horses and buggies are common on surrounding roads.

The safety coalition, directed by City Councilman Joseph Morales, screens prospective monitors and provides training about racial profiling and how to spot trouble. The group has seven monitors, all paid. The coalition does not release their names.

Monitors sit in a room with two 42-inch plasma screens and six smaller ones, each divided into views of different cameras. A joystick allows them to zoom in or move the cameras if they see something unusual. If they do, they call police.

"What they are typically seeing is people in their everyday life going through their business," Morales said. "They're looking for anything out of the ordinary."

A special commission recommended the $2.7 million camera system in 2001 in response to a spike in some crimes. Police Chief Keith Sadler strongly supports having citizens monitor the cameras because he does not have the manpower to do it with a force of 159 officers, about 20 fewer than two years ago.

"In this economy, nobody has the luxury to take cops off the street," Sadler said. "You are probably watched more by non-police agencies than you are by us."

Lancaster has seen some declines in property crimes since the cameras went up, but those numbers have fluctuated — along with the totals for violent crimes.

Despite inconclusive statistical evidence, police and the commission say the cameras are providing officers with a new tool. Last year, commission workers called police 492 times and provided video to police 305 times. That work led to 82 arrests and 86 citations, as well as 18 charges pending.

Police also credit the cameras with helping to solve a murder in which a man was shot outside a restaurant and the shooting was caught on tape.

Other small cities have also invested in surveillance cameras, though not as heavily as Lancaster.

In Wilmington, Del., the city of about 73,000 developed a network of 21 publicly owned cameras and networked them with more than 200 private cameras owned by businesses.

That city also has 37 neighborhood cameras, and the combined system is monitored by a nonprofit group, which refers calls to the police.

Wilkes-Barre, a northeastern Pennsylvania city even smaller than Lancaster, is planning to install 150 cameras this year, also monitored by a nonprofit.

Some research has cast doubt on just how much surveillance systems reduce crime.

A January study by the University of California, Berkeley, found that cameras did not reduce homicide in San Francisco but did help reduce the number of burglaries and some thefts. A New York University study found that cameras did not do much to deter crime in some public housing projects.

Those findings and others are part of why Crystle and other critics do not think the effort is worth the risk in a small town like Lancaster.

He also points to examples such as Cambridge, Mass., where officials decided in February against adding surveillance cameras because of privacy concerns.

Crystle and others in Lancaster say they have done nothing to warrant being watched. Nick Boots, who owns a barber shop near a camera, said he thinks the city is using fear to gain support for the cameras.

"Through the fear of the perceived threat, people are willing to give up certain rights," Boots said. "You got to think of Lancaster now being like an open-air prison. Who's the warden?"

Others praise the project, including Francisco Cruz, 65, owner of Cruz Barber Shop, who said he's seen less drug dealing and fewer prostitutes outside his shop since cameras went up.

"I don't care if they put one right here in the shop," Cruz said.

The American Civil Liberties Union also objects to the project, especially since it covers the entire city — not just high-crime areas.

"When you have a blanket network of surveillance, you are no longer about solving crime," said ACLU attorney Mary Catherine Roper, citing studies that show cameras mainly help solve just small crimes. "Now you're talking about a surveillance community."

Source:- www.google.com/hostednews

Security Cameras

2009-09-11T19:09:00.001-07:00

CHICAGO - The Chicago Transit Authority now plans to install high-resolution security cameras at all 144 of its rapid transit train stations.

The agency's board approved Wednesday a $4.3 million contract with Teleste Corp. of Georgetown, Texas, to install cameras and related equipment.

CTA president Richard Rodriguez says the first new cameras will be installed by the end of the year at 17 stations on the Green Line where there is a high incidence of pickpocketing and other crimes.

Next in line are 12 Red Line stations that will be monitored by cameras by the end of next May.

The CTA already has cameras at 45 of its stations.

Source:- www.chicagotribune.com

SAT and GRE and TOEFL exam link

2009-09-10T07:51:00.001-07:00

http://rapidshare.com/files/49906663/Learning_Express_-_Sat_Math_Essentials.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890804/SAT_Math_Essentials.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890803/ACT_Exam_Success.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890802/Acing_the_GRE.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890801/GMAT_Exam_Success.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890800/CBEST_2e.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890799/THEA.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890798/501_Challenging_Logic_Reasoning_2e.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890797/10_Sec___SAT_Writing_.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890796/How_To_Study_2e.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890795/RS___TOEFL.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890804/SAT_Math_Essentials.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890949/Acing_the_SAT_2006.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890948/BS___TOEFL_Exam___Critical_Thinking.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/890947/Acing_the_GED_Exams.rar

Foreign Exchange - Forex Basics

2009-09-10T06:10:00.001-07:00

Foreign Exchange

The simultaneous transaction of one currency for another.

Foreign Exchange Market

The Foreign exchange market is a large, growing and liquid financial market that operates 24 hours a day. It is not a market in the traditional sense because there is no central trading location or “exchange". Most of the trading is conducted by telephone or through electronic trading networks. The primary market for currencies is the “interbank market” where banks, insurance companies, large corporations and other large financial institutions manage the risks associated with fluctuations in currency rates.

Spot Market

The market for buying and selling currencies at the current market rate.

Rollover

A spot transaction is generally due for settlement within two business days (the value date). The cost of rolling over a transaction is based on the interest rate differential between the two currencies in a transaction. If you are long (bought) the currency with a higher rate of interest you will earn interest. If you are short (sold) the currency with a higher rate of interest you will pay interest. Most brokers will automatically roll over your open positions allowing you to hold your position indefinitely.

•How to calculate rollover interest
•Rollovers in Forex
Exchange Rate

The value of one currency expressed in terms of another. For example, if EUR/USD is 1.3200, 1 Euro is worth US$1.3200.

Currency Pair

The two currencies that make up an exchange rate. When one is bought, the other is sold, and vice versa.

Base Currency

The first currency in the pair. Also the currency your account is denominated in.

Counter Currency

The second currency in the pair. Also known as the terms currency.

ISO Currency Codes

USD = US Dollar
EUR = Euro
JPY = Japanese Yen
GBP = British Pound
CHF = Swiss Franc
CAD = Canadian Dollar
AUD = Australian Dollar
NZD = New Zealand Dollar

Source:- www.goforex.net

How to Trade Forex

2009-09-10T06:08:00.001-07:00

Trading foreign exchange is exciting and potentially very profitable, but there are also significant risk factors. It is crucially important that you fully understand the implications of margin trading and the particular pitfalls and opportunities that foreign exchange trading offers. On these pages, we offer you a brief introduction to the Forex markets as well as their participants and some strategies that you can apply. However, if you are ever in doubt about any aspect of a trade, you can always discuss the matter in-depth with one of our dealers. They are available 24 hours a day on the Saxo Bank online trading system, SaxoTrader.

The benchmark of its service is efficient execution, concise analysis and expertise – all achieved whilst maintaining an attractive and competitive cost structure. Today, Saxo Bank offers one of Europe's premier all-round services for trading in derivative products and foreign exchange. We count amongst our employees numerous dealers and analysts, each of whom has many years experience and a wide and varied knowledge of the markets – gained both in our home countries and in international financial centres. When trading foreign exchange, futures and other derivative products, we offer 24-hour service, extensive daily analysis, individual access to our Research & Analysis department for specific queries, and immediate execution of trades through our international network of banks and brokers. All at a price considerably lower than that which most companies and private investors normally have access to.

The combination of our strong emphasis on customer service, our strategy and trading recommendations, our strategic and individual hedging programmes, along with the availability to our clients of the latest news and information builds a strong case for trading an individual account through Saxo Bank.

Terms of trading are agreed individually depending on the volume of your transactions, but are generally much lower in cost when compared to banks and brokers. Your margin deposit can be cash or government securities, bank guarantees etc. Large corporate or institutional clients may be offered trading facilities on the strength of their balance sheet. The minimum deposit accepted for an individual trading account depends on the account type. Trade confirmations and real-time account overview are built into SaxoTrader, while further account information can be produced in accordance with your specific requirements.

Source:- www.forextrading.com

Online Newspaper

2009-09-10T06:07:00.001-07:00

An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, is a newspaper that exists on the World Wide Web or Internet, either separately or as an online version of a printed periodical.

Going online created more opportunities for newspapers, such as competing with broadcast journalism in presenting breaking news in a more timely manner. The credibility and strong brand recognition of well-established newspapers, and the close relationships they have with advertisers, are also seen by many in the newspaper industry as strengthening their chances of survival. The movement away from the printing process can also help decrease costs.

Professional journalists have some advantages over blogs, as editors are normally aware of the potential for legal problems.

Online newspapers are much like hard-copy newspapers and have the same legal boundaries, such as laws regarding libel, privacy and copyright,also apply to online publications in most countries, like in the UK. Also in the UK the Data Protection Act applies to online newspapers and news pages. As well as the PCC rules in the UK. But the distinction was not very clear to the public in the UK as to what was a blog or forum site and what was an online newspaper. In 2007, a ruling was passed to formally regulate UK based online newspapers, news audio, and news video websites covering the responsibilities expected of them and to clear up what is, and what isn't, an online publication.

News reporters are being taught to shoot video and to write in the succinct manner necessary for the Internet news pages. Many are learning how to implement blogs and the ruling by the UK's PCC should help this development of the internet.

Journalism students in schools around the world are being taught about the "convergence" of all media and the need to have knowledge and skills involving print, broadcast and web.

Some newspapers have attempted to integrate the internet into every aspect of their operations, i.e., reporters writing stories for both print and online, and classified advertisements appearing in both media; others operate websites that are more distinct from the printed newspaper. The Newspaper National Network LP is an online advertising sales partnership of the Newspaper Association of America and 25 major newspaper companies.

Source:- From Wikipedia

FOREX- Credit Card Vs Debit Card

2009-09-09T10:04:00.001-07:00

For consumers, the difference between a "debit card" and a "credit card" is that the debit card deducts the balance from a deposit account, like a checking account, whereas the credit card allows the consumer to spend money on credit to the issuing bank. In other words, a debit card uses the money you have and a credit card uses the money you don't have. "Debit cards" which are linked directly to a checking account are sometimes dual-purpose, so that they can be used as a credit card, and can be charged by merchants using the traditional credit networks. A merchant will ask for "credit or debit?" if the card is a combined credit+debit card. If the payee chooses "credit", the credit balance will be debited the amount of the purchase; if the payee chooses "debit", the bank account balance will be debited the amount of the purchase.

The "debit" networks usually require that a personal identification number be supplied. The "credit" networks typically require that purchases be made in person and often allow cards to be charged with only a signature, and/or picture ID. However, most merchant agreements in the United States forbid picture ID as a requirement to use a Credit Card.

Source:- From Wikipedia

Debit Card

2009-09-09T10:03:00.001-07:00

A debit card (also known as a bank card or check card) is a plastic card that provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. Functionally, it can be called an electronic check, as the funds are withdrawn directly from either the bank account, or from the remaining balance on the card. In some cases, the cards are designed exclusively for use on the Internet, and so there is no physical card.[1][2]

The use of debit cards has become widespread in many countries and has overtaken the check, and in some instances cash transactions by volume. Like credit cards, debit cards are used widely for telephone and Internet purchases, and unlike credit cards the funds are transferred from the bearer's bank account instead of having the bearer to pay back on a later date.

Debit cards can also allow for instant withdrawal of cash, acting as the ATM card for withdrawing cash and as a cheque guarantee card. Merchants can also offer "cashback"/"cashout" facilities to customers, where a customer can withdraw cash along with their purchase.

Source:- From Wikipedia

FOREX and World Currency Unit

2009-09-09T09:03:00.003-07:00

The World Currency Unit (WCU) is an indexed unit of account (unit of account) that stands for a unit of real global purchasing power. Proposed by Lok Sang Ho of Lingnan University, Hong Kong, it was first intended to be the basis for denominating global bonds, a debt instrument that is issued globally and subscribable by people and institutions around the world. Since each unit by design represents a stable unit of purchasing power, the stipulated interest rate on WCU-denominated bonds represents a real interest rate. In principle, the common denomination of bonds by issuers from different parts of the world using the WCU, as well as the greater transparency of real interest rates, will produce more efficient capital markets, as savers and borrowers around the world converge in their understanding of what each basis point of interest means and are protected against two key sources of uncertainty, namely inflation and exchange loss risks.

Irving Fisher in his 1911 book The Purchasing Power of Money had advised that, to serve as a unit of account, a trusted medium of exchange, and a reliable store of value, the purchasing power of money should be stable. Unfortunately, substances that exist by the bounty of nature, such as gold or silver, cannot have such property since their values fluctuate with changing supply and demand. This is the main motivation behind indexed units of account, of which Robert Shiller of Yale University is a principal proponent.

To be meaningful in terms of stable global purchasing power, a WCU will have to represent a basket of global output. By definition, according to the initial proposal by Ho, the WCU represents the sum of the gross domestic products of key market economies in the world, namely the USA, the Eurozone and UK, Japan, Canada, and Australia. Addition of these GDPs, each in a separate currency, is done by converting all GDPs into US dollar values in the base year.

The sum of these GDPs are then scaled down to equal $100 in the base year. The scaling factor then becomes part of the definition of the WCU, as it defines the size of the GDP basket. It is envisaged that every 5 or 10 years, the WCU can be rebased, with the new series using a new base year spliced to the old series much like consumer price indices with different base years are spliced to form a continuous series.

The nominal value of this unit would rise with inflation in each economy. Moreover, the nominal value of this unit would rise if other currencies represented in the basket appreciate against the US dollar. Savers purchasing such bonds would not only enjoy protection against inflation, but would benefit from the diversification of exchange risks.

The WCU could be used for the pricing of commodities such as oil, precious metals, and agricultural products, which are typically quoted in US dollars. Of course, historical prices of commodities quoted in US dollars could also be converted into prices in WCUs to provide indications on trends in the real prices of these commodities.

SOURCE:- From Wikipedia

FOREX World currency

2009-09-09T09:01:00.001-07:00

The US dollar and euro are by far the most used currencies in terms of global reserves.In the foreign exchange market and international finance, a world currency, supranational currency, or global currency refers to a currency in which the vast majority of international transactions take place and which serves as the world's primary reserve currency. In March 2009, as a result of the global economic crisis, China and Russia have pressed for urgent consideration of a global currency and a UN panel has proposed greatly expanding the IMF's SDRs or Special Drawing Rights.

Currencies have many forms depending on several properties: type of issuance, type of issuer and type of backing. The particular configuration of those properties leads to different types of money. The pros and cons of a currency are strongly influenced by the type proposed. Consider, for example, the properties of a complementary currency.

SOURCE:- From Wikipedia

FOREX News

2009-09-09T08:54:00.001-07:00

Dollar hits low for year as gold breaches $1,000

NEW YORK: The dollar fell to a low for the year on Tuesday against the euro and a basket of major currencies as gold prices shot past $1,000 an Where Re comes from & goes
How to identify fake notes
NRI investments in India
ounce for the first time since February.

Rising stock markets in Europe and Asia helped propel stocks higher, analysts said, after commitments from global leaders this weekend to continue underwriting the global recovery.

The 16-nation euro rose as high as $1.4493, its strongest level this year, in European trading, from $1.4337 late Monday. New York markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

The British pound rose to $1.6560 from $1.6335, while the dollar dropped to 92.16 Japanese yen from 92.96 yen.

The dollar index fell as low as 77.14 against a basket of six major world currencies that includes the euro, yen, Canadian dollar, British pound, Swedish krona and Swiss franc. That's its lowest point since last September.

Markets have been rising on the back of weekend announcements by finance officials from the Group of 20 leading economies.

The officials welcomed improvements in economic growth but warned recovery was not sustainable without continued government help in the form of deficit spending, low interest rates and efforts to expand the money supply.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

FOREX

2009-09-09T08:51:00.001-07:00

The foreign exchange market (currency, forex, or FX) trades currencies. It lets banks and other institutions easily buy and sell currencies.

The purpose of the foreign exchange market is to help international trade and investment. A foreign exchange market helps businesses convert one currency to another. For example, it permits a U.S. business to import European goods and pay Euros, even though the business's income is in U.S. dollars.

In a typical foreign exchange transaction a party purchases a quantity of one currency by paying a quantity of another currency. The modern foreign exchange market started forming during the 1970s when countries gradually switched to floating exchange rates from the previous exchange rate regime, which remained fixed as per the Bretton Woods system.

The foreign exchange market is unique because of

its trading volumes,
the extreme liquidity of the market,
its geographical dispersion,
its long trading hours: 24 hours a day except on weekends (from 22:00 UTC on Sunday until 22:00 UTC Friday),
the variety of factors that affect exchange rates.
the low margins of profit compared with other markets of fixed income (but profits can be high due to very large trading volumes)
the use of leverage
As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal perfect competition, notwithstanding market manipulation by central banks. According to the Bank for International Settlements,[2] average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion. Trading in the world's main financial markets accounted for $3.21 trillion of this. This approximately $3.21 trillion in main foreign exchange market turnover was broken down as follows:

$1.005 trillion in spot transactions
$362 billion in outright forwards
$1.714 trillion in foreign exchange swaps
$129 billion estimated gaps in reporting

Sourc:- Wikipedia

GMAT EXAM MATERIAL LINKS

2009-09-09T06:04:00.001-07:00

1 GMAT official guide 11th Edition pdf 36.23 MBrapidshare.com/files/.../GMAT_official_guide_11th_Edition.pdf

2 GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE 11 edition SC pdf 29.56 MB rapidshare.com/files/.../GMAT_OFFICIAL_GUIDE__11_edition-SC.pdf

3 GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE 11 edition RC pdf 34.64 MB rapidshare.com/files/.../GMAT_OFFICIAL_GUIDE__11_edition_-_RC.pdf

4 GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE 11 edition MATH pdf 11.12 MB rapidshare.com/files/.../GMAT_OFFICIAL_GUIDE__11_edition-_MATH.pdf

5 GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE 11 edition CR pdf 41.86 MB rapidshare.com/files/.../GMAT_OFFICIAL_GUIDE__11_edition_-_CR.pdf

6 GMAT Official Guide 10th edition rar 1.69 MB rapidshare.com/files/.../GMAT_Official_Guide_10th_edition.rar

7 Gmat Official Guide 10Th Edition rar 1.79 MBrapidshare.com/files/.../Gmat_Official_Guide_10Th_Edition.rar

8 GMAT official guide 11th Edition rar 34.51 MB rapidshare.com/files/.../GMAT_official_guide_11th_Edition.rar

9 GMAT Official Guide 11th Ed pdf 36.23 MB rapidshare.com/files/.../GMAT_Official_Guide_11th_Ed.pdf

10 The Official Guide for GMAT Review rar 15.69 MB rapidshare.com/files/.../The_Official_Guide_for_GMAT_Review.rar

IIT-CAT MBA

2009-09-08T07:27:00.001-07:00

http://www.indianmba.com/Newsflash/News398/news398.html

Prometric bags $40 mn deal from IIM
30 Apr 2009

NEW DELHI: Prometric, the world's leading provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment services, announced that it has been awarded an exclusive, 40 million dollars contract by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) to computerize the prestigious Common Admissions Test (CAT).

To efficiently deliver the first ever computerized version of the exam to over 250,000 Indian students this fall, Prometric will accelerate plans to further build out its people, services and technology infrastructure in India.

In assuming responsibility for all aspects of the CAT program, including item authoring, test development, test administration and scoring and reporting services, Prometric will add resources, including dedicated test development and support staff, in India.

Complementing the 185 employees, test center network and other assets Prometric already operates in India, these additional new resources will provide a more powerful and rigorous means for the CAT, and any other test publishers looking at expansion in India, to leverage for growth.

The CAT is the premiere admissions test used in the selection process for admission to the Indian Institutes of Management, a network of India's most prestigious business schools based in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Shillong.

Of the 250,000 students that take the exam each year, ultimately just over 1,500 are admitted to one of the IIMs. It is therefore one of the most competitive and high profile admission exam administrations in the world, requiring tight execution and secure exam delivery.

For the first time in history, instead of testing only one day a year, candidates will be able to test during a 10-day testing window across 23 Indian cities where secure computer-based testing centers specially prepared for the CAT exam are strategically positioned throughout the country.

The longer window and wider availability will provide candidates greater flexibility when choosing a testing date, time or location as well as near-ubiquitous access to testing locations. In addition, computerization of the CAT will result in faster score processing, enabling the IIMs and more than a hundred other Indian business schools that rely on the results to more quickly make their admissions decisions.

"The breadth of Prometric's business is truly global, which means that our most valuable assets, our skilled employees, test center network, data centers and call centers - are distributed across many countries around the world; this is a huge advantage to all our clients and one they will never find with any other provider," said Michael Brannick, President and CEO of Prometric.

"Our commitment to making global infrastructure investments that support our growth strategy has not waned at all, and creates a win-win situation for us and our clients," added Brannick.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

GMAT BOOKS AND SOFTWARES

2009-09-08T07:09:00.001-07:00

The Official Guide for GMAT Review - 11th Edition (Latest)
Price: Rs. 1800
Published by: GMAC

Published by the people who administer the GMAT. It is probably the most authentic source of GMAT preparation. The questions in this book are actual GMAT questions. It is a must buy if you are serious about GMAT.

Arco's Master the GMAT CAT With CD
Price: Rs. 895
Published by: Arco

A comprehensive guide available for students preparing to take the GMAT. It comes with an interactive CD-ROM that creates exams just like the real GMAT CAT. Good value for money.

Cracking the GMAT With CD
Price: Rs. 595
Published by: The Princeton Review

The book has techniques and strategies to score high on the GMAT. It comes with a CD that has five computer based tests like the actual GMAT. Good value for money.

Crack-GMAT
Offers five full-length practice tests and tutorials for all sections of the GMAT.

This includes :

FREE full-length GMAT practice test
GMAT Verbal Tutorial with practice exercises
GMAT Quantitative Tutorial with practice exercises
GMAT AWA Tutorial

GMAT Buster
Offers free practice questions and preparation tips.

GMAT-CAT Answers to The Real Essay Questions
Price: Rs. 495
Published by: Arco

The only book that has sample essays for almost all 230 GMAT AWA topics. It is the most exhaustive book available for GMAT AWA preparation. Excellent value for money.

IELTS

2009-09-08T07:06:00.001-07:00

IELTS LINKS
IELTS or the International English Language Testing System is an internationally recognised direct English language assessment test. It is primarily used by those seeking international education and / or professional recognition. This page contains some of our favourite links to some of the best IELTS related websites.

IELTS Advice and Sample Test Papers

The Official IELTS Website

Online for IELTS

IELTS Test Preparation Tips

The IELTS Exam Preparation Website

Comparing IELTS Scores with the CEF Grading System. Also CEF Language Levels

IELTS Test Sample Tests

Listening Test Reading Test Writing test Speaking Test

IELTS

2009-09-08T07:00:00.001-07:00

Important Links for IELTS

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/elc/elc/facilities/sac_iel...
http://abcasiapacific.com/studyenglish/
http://www.askynz.com/ielts/preparation.htm
http://international.holmesglen.vic.edu.au/ie.cfm
http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/ielts/
http://www.longman.com/exams/ielts/index.html
http://www.onestopenglish.com/Exams/IELTS/index.ht...
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teach/ielts/index.cfm...
http://www.ielts.org/

GMAT Studies for a New Exam

2009-09-07T19:29:00.001-07:00

source:- http://www.businessweek.com

That's not to say that GMAC is sitting on the sidelines while ETS makes inroads into the testing arena. The group is hard at work on developing a new-generation GMAT exam. GMAC recently asked 740 business school faculty around the world about how the exam could be enhanced and improved. The results of the redesign will be unveiled in 2013, Wilson says, and will result in a test that is "better tied to skills students need in this new era."

For now, it appears that the majority of business schools are still playing it safe, with most of GMAT's 1,700 member schools using the GMAT exclusively. But hundreds of business schools are watching carefully from the sidelines to see how the turf war between ETS and GMAC plays out.

Stuart Lipper, dean of Fordham University's Graduate School of Business(Fordham Full-Time MBA Profile)—which allows applicants to submit only the GMAT for admissions—is one of these spectators. For now, he says the school is taking a "wait-and-see attitude" about allowing students to submit the GRE.

"I think you have some of the leading schools that can afford to play around a little," Lipper says. "We can't afford to do that. At a school like ours, I think we feel we sort of have to play by the rules a little more."

GRE v. GMAT: Battle of the B-School Gatekeepers

2009-09-07T19:27:00.001-07:00

Source:- http://www.businessweek.com/

With Harvard, Wharton, and other top schools planning to accept the GRE for admissions, cracks are beginning to show in the GMAT monopoly By Alison Damast

The battle between two of the largest graduate school testing giants has been heating up recently as more business schools warm to the idea of providing students with an alternative to the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). Now another top-ranked business school is weighing in. The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School(Wharton Full-Time MBA Profile) plans to allow MBA applicants to submit the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), for admission in the fall of 2010, says Admissions Director J.J. Cutler. It's part of a move by the school to attract a broader applicant pool, including dual-degree students, younger applicants, and international applicants from far-flung countries without GMAT access.

"We are trying to open up a little bit the different types of people that we want to apply to business school and we don't want to create additional hurdles for them to do so," Cutler says.

More B-Schools Embrace the GRE
Wharton is following closely on the heels of Harvard Business School(Harvard Full-Time MBA Profile), which made waves this spring when it announced that it would allow applicants to submit the GRE for admissions. The institutions are joining the ranks of a small but rapidly growing number of business schools that are embracing the GRE, a standardized exam that students use to apply to a wide variety of graduate schools. The movement comes at a time when younger applicants—fresh out of college or just a year or two after graduation—are showing an increased interest in business school. For these applicants, many of whom have already taken the GRE, business schools that accept the test allow them to transition into an MBA program without studying for and taking another exam.

There are now more than 250 MBA programs that allow students, some on a case-by-case basis, to submit GRE scores with their applications, including most recently the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business(Darden Full-Time MBA Profile), Queen's School of Business(Queen's Full-Time MBA Profile) and Tulane's Freeman School of Business (Tulane Full-Time MBA Profile). While most of the schools say they still prefer most applicants to use the GMAT, they say the GRE is becoming a valuable tool in attracting sought-after and unconventional business school candidates who might not otherwise apply.

"The GMAT is a very successful standard for business schools, but that is certainly not the only standard," says Bill Sandefer, director of graduate admissions at Tulane's Freeman School.

This type of attitude represents a seismic shift in business school admissions. For decades, the GMAT test, given by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), has been the undisputed king of the management education world. The exam has been used since 1954 by business school admissions officers to evaluate candidates on their math, verbal, and critical-thinking skills.

Opening the Door to Competition
Up until recently, the GMAT exam had a virtual monopoly over business school standardized exams. That all changed on Jan. 1, 2006, when GMAC cut its ties with the Educational Testing Service (ETS), with whom it had a decades-long partnership to develop and deliver the GMAT exam, moving instead to a new testing administrator, Pearson VUE. The severing of ties meant that ETS no longer had to abide by a noncompete clause with GMAC, giving it the green light to court business school admissions officers and promote the GRE as an alternative exam. Under the previous agreement between ETS and GMAC, this type of activity was forbidden.

"Once they ended the contract with us, we were able to move into this market," says David Payne, head of the GRE program for ETS.

To capitalize on the opportunity, ETS has been aggressively marketing the GRE to B-school admissions officers in recent months, placing advertising campaigns in key business publications, paying visits to business schools admissions teams, and developing new testing tools that it hopes will convince more schools to use the GRE, says Payne. ETS has also been promoting the exam as a more affordable option for students; it costs $150 to take the GRE, versus $250 for the GMAT.

Top Schools Sign Up for GRE
ETS made headway several years ago when the Stanford Graduate School of Business(Stanford Full-Time MBA Profile) and MIT's Sloan School of Management(MIT Sloan Full-Time MBA Profile) announced they'd allow students to submit the GRE instead of the GMAT. The testing group's most significant coup to date was convincing Harvard Business School this spring to accept the exam for its MBA, as well its 2+2 Program, which accepts students straight out of college on the condition that they get two years of work experience before enrolling. Payne hopes that will have a ripple effect in the business school community.

GRE AND TOEFL LINKS

2009-09-07T19:13:00.001-07:00

SOURCE:- www.studentshangout.com

BARRON GRE http://www.oxyshare.com/d/WsTYuprAd7Y/BARRONS.zip.htmlBig

BOOK http://www.oxyshare.com/d/GP3hI5hlRhF/BigBookWL.mdb.htmlhttp://storeandserve.com/download/180591/BigBookWords.zip.htmlhttp://esnips.com/web/GREKAPLAN
GRE http://www.uploading.com/?get=SVTNWVETPrinceton
GRE http://www.oxyshare.com/d/GYSIevvgsMl/PrincetonGRE.ISO.htmlCambridge GRE http://www.oxyshare.com/d/gOFD6KwHseZ/CambridgeGre.zip.htmlhttp://rapidshare.de/files/14602089/Cambridge_Gre.zip.htmlCliff's GRE http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S97HA34Jhttp://www.uploading.com/?get=RT7869IDGURU's GRE http://www.oxyshare.com/d/mHxvCF16PJe/Guru'sGREWordList.zip.htmlPRINCE GRE http://www.oxyshare.com/d/B117ZabIeBg/Prince.zip.htmlADMINGREhttp://www.oxyshare.com/d/AiuXGoMH29P/ADMINGRE.zip.htmlhttp://www.uploading.com/?get=XOLHF4YQGRE tests http://storeandserve.com/download/180598/gre_tests.zip.htmlBarrons TOEFL http://storeandserve.com/download/167919/Barrons_TOFEL.rar.htmlKAPLAN TOEFL http://www.oxyshare.com/d/Czg0F0QZjbH/KPLNTFL.ziphttp://storeandserve.com/download/177583/KAPLAN_TOEFL.zip.htmlCambridge TOEFL http://www.sendspace.com/file/rsaidwhttp://storeandserve.com/download/168512/Cam_TFL.ISO.htmlpowerprep TOEFL http://www.oxyshare.com/d/8Pbpk4kjjMY/SetUp.zip.htmlArco GRE+TOEFL http://rapidshare.de/files/14763251/Arco.zip.htmlhttp://storeandserve.com/download/188974/AGRE.zip.htmlTOEFL audio http://storeandserve.com/download/164406/listening.zip.htmlsome testing softy+audio wordlist+flashcard http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z6999H0DVocabulary Builder http://www.oxyshare.com/d/TKXLDAQE0yv/VocabularyBuilder.zipWordweb dictionary http://www.oxyshare.com/d/QDK3y2SVvSp/Dictionary.zip.html----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.dethi.net/default1.htmhttp://englishtips.orghttp://www.onesmartclick.com/exams/gre-gmat-tofel-sat.html http://forum.koobe.net/index.php?act=Search&CODE=show&searchid=850771297671207ad3f385141190fe17&search_in=posts&result_type=topics&highlite=grehttp://rapidshare.de/users/LFYXUOhttp://rapidshare.de/users/X1A3UL

There’s no use crying over spilled milk in Japan. Not when it can be converted into biogas

2009-06-22T07:05:00.001-07:00

As the alternative energy movement picks up steam, researchers are increasingly looking to their local communities for tons of organic waste that could be transformed into more environmentally friendly biofuels. At the Nigata Institute of Technology in Kashiwazaki, Japan, that mindset has spurred scientists to give new life to spoiled milk and rotting jellyfish. At the University of California at Davis, engineers have repurposed table scraps from swank Bay Area restaurants. And at the United Kingdom’s University of Birmingham, researchers have diverted gooey nougat, caramel and other confectionary waste from the nearby Cadbury Schweppes plant.Who knew that Cadbury Creme Eggs could be good for the environment?Food crops such as corn and sugarcane have been tapped as major sources of energy production around the world, especially for distilling ethanol. Amid growing concerns of potential food-or-fuel competitions, other companies are tinkering with oils made from flowering plants and algae or hoping to exploit the energy-rich biomass of fast-growing switchgrass to create biofuel. With mountains of discarded food slated for landfills or incinerators, however, researchers also are discovering that a little ingenuity can turn the world's abundant garbage into a whole lot of power.A new report by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., in fact, suggests that garbage could play a big role in helping the Pacific Northwest produce up to 15 percent of its own biofuel from locally available resources. In particular, waste-derived biogases such as hydrogen and methane can be fed into turbines to generate electricity and heat, compressed to power fuel cells, or concentrated into a form of natural gas. Methane is among the "greenhouse gases" blamed for global warming, though when burned it releases significantly less carbon dioxide — the main warming culprit — than other fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Alternatives to fossil fuels Nigata Institute of Technology, said hydrogen gas is gaining popularity as a fossil fuel alternative. “But how do we get hydrogen economically? It’s one of the problems.”Serendipitously,as it was explained during a presentation at last month’s annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Japan has been plagued recently discarded milk. Exactly why isn’t clear; perhaps schoolchildren prefer sodas and other aerated drinks over milk.With a friend whose company transports spoiled milk to a local incinerator,they have hit upon the idea of diverting the cargo and putting some of the curdled cow juice to good use.The professor and his colleagues began their two-step conversion process by brewing a batch of sugar-spiked solution mimicking the bacteria-friendly confines of wastewater. Their small bioreactor relied on heat-loving microbes to digest the sludge in the absence of oxygen at a toasty 131 degrees Fahrenheit, approximating the conditions within some landfills and creating methane as well as carbon dioxide .Professor’s team added a portion of the digested glop to a second container filled with rancid milk. When the solution was starved of oxygen and kept at a relatively neutral pH, it yielded eight times its own volume in biogas over a one-week period. Half the captured biogas was hydrogen, the other half carbon dioxide. (scientists consider the carbon dioxide release “carbon-neutral” because its escape into the atmosphere is balanced by what had been taken in during photosynthesis by the grass or corn that fed the dairy cows).By periodically replacing part of the bacteria-laden sludge with milk and making sure the solution remained at the right pH, they found that the system continuously produced biogas until he stopped it 100 days later. By then, the solution was yielding more than five times its own volume in biogas every two days.Using the same technology, there is a hope to harness the power of other school lunch castaways, whether pushed-aside carrots, detested peas, the tomato. The nearby presence of one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants has presented another unexpected bounty that might be similarly harvested: jellyfish.Like many other coastal installations, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant uses seawater as a coolant. “Sometimes, many jellyfish come near the power plant,” Professor said especially when they become stuck in the cooling system. “In summertime, the jellyfish are producing a bad smell,” he said. One creative solution suggested by his bioreactor would use the power of bacteria to turn the gelatinous muck into methane, a potential boon for the surprising number of nuclear power plants around the world with similar jellyfish-induced headaches

ALL ABOUT CAPTCHA YOU WANT TO KNOW

2009-06-22T07:03:00.001-07:00

In those early days before Google and Yahoo, there were two ways of getting a website or URL listed in Internet search engine databases; through web crawlers which automatically 'surfed' the net for URLs or through URL submission.
In order to prevent the search engine from being overloaded with URLs posted by automated systems, a means had to be found to ensure that the entity doing the listing was a human being, which led to the development of graphic puzzles as a test.
In 2000, Yahoo asked the Carnegie Mellon University to create a means to prevent bots from infiltrating its chat rooms. A team composed of Carnegie Mellon researchers developed a series of cognitive puzzles and called it 'CAPTCHA.' Although Yahoo was the first to make major use of CAPTCHA, others soon followed.
CAPTCHA stands for“ Completely Automated Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart”
It was given its name in the year 2000 in its birth place by Luis von Ahn, Manuel Blum, Nicholas Hopper and John Langford of Carnegie Mellon University.
CAPTCHA tests are dynamically generated by computers, in contrast to the standard Turing test which is administered by a human. This characteristic allows them to be widely used for practical security reasons.
The big fishes like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo use the CAPTCHA to ensure if the user performing the registration for a free e-mail id is a human and is not a bot.
When we talk about the world wide web consortium there are many insecurities prevailing there. The HTTP displays its vulnerability in not being able to distinguish among the human users and the machine users, better known as bots. The HTTP or the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) cannot guarantee complete security to the client software. The SSL are cryptographic protocols which provide secure communications on the net for eg: chats, e-mail etc.
The malicious bots can be anonymous and are distributed on the internet. The sites which have exclusive data and which receive payments for sharing their data are the worst hit. Copyright infringement is an issue which is of mega concern on the internet.
Some of the applications of CAPTCHA’s are as follows:
Preventing Comment Spam in Blogs.
Most bloggers are familiar with programs that submit bogus comments, usually for the purpose of raising search engine ranks of some website (e.g., "buy penny stocks here"). This is called comment spam. By using a CAPTCHA, only humans can enter comments on a blog. There is no need to make users sign up before they enter a comment, and no legitimate comments are ever lost.
Protecting Website Registration.
Several companies (Yahoo!, Microsoft, etc.) offer free email services. Up until a few years ago, most of these services suffered from a specific type of attack: "bots" that would sign up for thousands of email accounts every minute. The solution to this problem was to use CAPTCHAs to ensure that only humans obtain free accounts. In general, free services should be protected with a CAPTCHA in order to prevent abuse by automated scripts.
Protecting Email Addresses From Scrapers.
Spammers crawl the Web in search of email addresses posted in clear text. CAPTCHAs provide an effective mechanism to hide your email address from Web scrapers. The idea is to require users to solve a CAPTCHA before showing your email address.
Online Polls.
In November 1999, http://www.slashdot.org released an online poll asking which was the best graduate school in computer science ( a dangerous question to ask over the web!). As is the case with most online polls, IP addresses of voters were recorded in order to prevent single users from voting more than once. However, students at Carnegie Mellon found a way to stuff the ballots using programs that voted for CMU thousands of times. CMU's score started growing rapidly. The next day, students at MIT wrote their own program and the poll became a contest between voting "bots." MIT finished with 21,156 votes, Carnegie Mellon with 21,032 and every other school with less than 1,000. Can the result of any online poll be trusted? Not unless the poll ensures that only humans can vote.
Preventing Dictionary Attacks
CAPTCHAs can also be used to prevent dictionary attacks in password systems. The idea is simple: prevent a computer from being able to iterate through the entire space of passwords by requiring it to solve a CAPTCHA after a certain number of unsuccessful logins. This is better than the classic approach of locking an account after a sequence of unsuccessful logins, since doing so allows an attacker to lock accounts at will.
Search Engine Bots.
It is sometimes desirable to keep web pages unindexed to prevent others from finding them easily. There is an html tag to prevent search engine bots from reading web pages. The tag, however, doesn't guarantee that bots won't read a web page; it only serves to say "no bots, please." Search engine bots, since they usually belong to large companies, respect web pages that don't want to allow them in. However, in order to truly guarantee that bots won't enter a web site, CAPTCHAs are needed.
Worms and Spam
CAPTCHAs also offer a plausible solution against email worms and spam: "I will only accept an email if I know there is a human behind the other computer." A few companies are already marketing this idea.
Thus CAPTCHA’s have found a very important role in the various internet applications. The CAPTCHA’s have enhanced the role of the Artificial Intelligence fraternity. It’s a win-win situation. Many hackers try and crack the CAPTCHA’s so it’s a constant combat between them. If the CAPTCHA is solved then the bots win then a very difficult problem pertaining to the artificial intelligence is solved and it advances a step further or else if it is not solved then stenographic cryptography wins. Thus the CAPTCHA’s have given the Artificial Intelligence fraternity a big boost.
There are certain types of CAPTCHA’s they are presented as follows:
GIMPY:
Gimpy gives the images of the distorted text. In the current version you can see five pairs of overlapping words , in which the user needs to identify three words.

Gimpy basically includes random placement, font distortion, background pattern.
BONGO:
It is a visual puzzle. Computer can generate and display but not solve it.

The bongo CAPTCHA is basically named after the M. M Bongard who published a book on pattern recognition. One of the disadvantages of Bongo puzzle is if the number of choices is more then there are chances that the human beings may get it wrong and if the number of choices are not sufficient then the computers can be effective in making random guesses.
PIX:
Pix CAPTCHA works on the principle of photo recognition.

In this instead of typing the letters you authenticate yourself as a human by recognizing what object is common in a set of images this was the first example of a CAPTCHA based on image recognition.
SPEECH CAPTCHA:
It usually spells out one-time passwords in synthesized or recorded voices. It is used with image CAPTCHA for increased accessibility.

BAFFLE TEXT:
Scientists at the Palo Alto Research Center have designed a new breed of CAPTCHA called Baffle ext that follows the same approach as GIMPY but distorts the image much more than GIMPY.

They put image and scan it back in or apply a technique called threshold—transferring the image from color to black and white and back again. This changes gray levels and adds random noise to the image. The image deteriorates until pattern recognition systems fail. Further, Baffle ext unlike the earlier GIMPY, uses only nonsense words.
MAPTCHA :
There have been various attempts at creating CAPTCHAs that are more accessible. Attempts include the use of JavaScript, mathematical questions ("what is 1+1" -- also known as a MAPTCHA, or Mathematical CAPTCHA), or "common sense" questions ("what color is the sky").
COMPUTER CHARACTER RECOGNITION:
A number of research projects have attempted (often with success) to beat visual CAPTCHAs by creating programs that contain the following functionality:
Removal of background clutter, for example with color filters and detection of thin lines Extraction of the image from the web page.
Segmentation, i.e. splitting the image into regions each containing a single letter.Identifying the letter for each region.
Steps 1, 2, and 4 are easy tasks for computers The only part where humans still outperform computers is segmentation. If the background clutter consists of shapes similar to letter shapes, and the letters are connected by this clutter, the segmentation becomes nearly impossible with current software. Hence, an effective CAPTCHA should focus on the segmentation.Several research projects have broken real world CAPTCHAs, including one of Yahoo's early CAPTCHAs called "EZ-Gimpy"and the CAPTCHA used by popular sites such as Paypal and LiveJournal as well as open source software such as phpBB. In January 2008 Network Security Research released their program for automated Yahoo! CAPTCHA recognition.In February 2008 it was reported that spammers had achieved a success rate of 30% to 35%, using a bot, in responding to CAPTCHAs for Microsoft's Live Mail service.
HUMAN SOLVERS:
CAPTCHA is vulnerable to a relay attack that uses humans to solve the puzzles. One approach involves relaying the puzzles to a sweatshop of human operators who can solve CAPTCHAs. In this scheme, a computer fills out a form and when it reaches a CAPTCHA, it gives the CAPTCHA to the human operator to solve. If the humans are dedicated employees who receive minimum wage this is not likely to be viableAnother variation of this technique involves copying the CAPTCHA images and using them as CAPTCHAs for a high-traffic site owned by the attacker. With enough traffic, the attacker can get a solution to the CAPTCHA puzzle in time to relay it back to the target site In October 2007, a piece of malware appeared in the wild which enticed users to solve CAPTCHAs in order to see progressively further into a series of "striptease" images.
3D:
A future generation of 3D captcha will be coming into picture.

SAPTCHA:
SAPTCHA stands for Semi Automatic Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart.SAPTCHA is proposed as more accessible alternative to CAPTCHA that may replace CAPTCHA in services such as most blogs and forums. SAPTCHA works as lightweight CAPTCHA.
The concept follows from observation that there is many cases where automated generation of unique test question or image does not add much to prevention of abuse - spammer do not need to pass test more than once on same forum or blog anyway. Often, there's no human spammer interacting with website at all [who wouldn't love to think that his site is so important that it is spammed personally :-)]; in such cases static question is not worse at stopping bot than dynamic. Human generated questions has much broader diversity and is thus harder for computer to answer. It must be also noted that CAPTCHA itself is not really "completely automatic" - human has to write and maintain test software, which will not change often but is costly to develop.
John had one thousand apples and five oranges. He ate as many of his apples as there is letters in word "apple". Also he ate two bananas :-). How many apples John have?
Your answer:

CONCLUSION:
CAPTCHA implies a win-win situation; either the CAPTCHA is not broken and there is a way to differentiate humans from computers, or the CAPTCHA is broken and an useful Artificial Intelligence problem is solved.This approach has the beneficial side effect of inducing security researchers, as well as otherwise malicious programmers, to advance the field of AI..

GOOGLE TACKLED ON EMAIL SECURITY -- BBC NEWS UK

2009-06-22T07:02:00.001-07:00

Google has been asked to explain why it is not making its Gmail e-mail service more secure. Google has been asked to explain why it is not making its Gmail e-mail service more secure. In an open letter to Google boss Eric Schmidt, security experts, lawyers, and privacy advocates ask why Gmail users are "needlessly" being put at risk. The 38 signatories want Google to start using the secure version of the HTTP protocol to protect Gmail users. In response, Google said it was considering trials of the secure system with a select group of users. Secure session"As more of us end up using insecure internet access - such as wi-fi in coffee shops, libraries, and so forth - there's a real risk of session hijacking," said Ben Edelman, a signatory of the letter and assistant professor at Harvard Business School. When users sign on to Gmail, their login name and password are encrypted as the data passes back and forth using the secure version of HTTP known as HTTPS. However, said Mr Edelman, this is turned off once sign-on is completed. A similar system works for Google Docs and Calendar. The risk, he said, was from hi-tech criminals who snoop on the unencrypted data passing back and forth to steal ID files called "session cookies" generated when these applications start being used. Mr Edelman said that using the cookies could let a criminal pose as a user. In Gmail's case, this could mean they might send e-mails in the owner's name, abuse their identity, change a password, or hijack an account. As data moves to the cloud more people will be at risk"It's a frightening prospect," said Mr Edelman. The open letter pointed out that Google used HTTPS to protect the data of users of its Health and Voice applications. While Google does make it possible to use HTTPS all the time when signed on to Gmail, Docs, or Calendar the option was so hard to find that few would use it, suggested the letter. It pointed out that most users retain default options and were likely to be leaving themselves at risk. "...unless the security issue is well known and salient to consumers, they will not take steps to protect themselves by enabling HTTPS," said the letter. If Google took the step to turn on HTTPS all the time, the risks would be removed. In response, Google said it was looking into whether it made sense to use HTTPS all the time in Gmail. But, it said, before it did so it wanted to be sure that the average user experience of Gmail was not markedly changed by turning it on. It feared that enabling the encryption would slow down response times as data was scrambled and unscrambled on a PC and Google's mail servers. "We're planning a trial in which we'll move small samples of different types of Gmail users to HTTPS to see what their experience is, and whether it affects the performance of their e-mail," said Google. Mr Edelman said it was not just Google that was putting users at risk. Every webmail company faced the same problem and should do more to protect the its users . He said it was a problem that would get more acute as services move towards so called "cloud computing". "Many of the systems we have built for authentication and session maintenance assume no man-in-the-middle attack," he said.

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has suffered server loss involving customer data once again in barely two months.

2009-06-22T07:00:00.001-07:00

A computer server containing transaction data of about 159,000 customer accounts was discovered to be missing from one of the HSBC’s branch which was undergoing renovation at that time in Hong Kong on Apr. 26, the bank disclosed Wednesday in a company statement.According to the sources, the lost information included customer names, account numbers as well as transaction types and amounts. Customer PINs , user IDs and passwords were not captured on the server, HSBC added.The bank said the risk of data leakage and fraudulent transactions was low because the missing server was protected by multiple levels of security. HSBC also said it has since put in place preventive measures to avoid a similar occurrence.This is the second incident where the bank reported losing customer data in as many months.

INDIAN CONTEST FOR RUPEE SYMBOL

2009-06-22T06:58:00.001-07:00

The rupee is generally shortened to Rs or INRThe Indian finance ministry has begun a public competition to select a design for the symbol of the rupee.Unlike the major currencies of the world like the dollar, the pound, the yen and the euro, the rupee does not have a globally recognised symbol.The new symbol would be the "identity of the Indian currency," a finance ministry official told the BBC.The contest, which closes on 15 April, is open only to resident Indians, a release on the ministry website says.'Ethos of India'The rupee is generally shortened to Rs or sometimes the currency is described as INR (Indian rupee).But, the government says, these are not symbols, they are mere abbreviations for rupee.To get an internationally-accepted symbol, the finance ministry has invited entries from the public."The symbol should represent the historical and cultural ethos of India," the deputy secretary in the finance ministry's coin and currency department, BS Rawat, told the BBC."The entries can be in any of the Indian languages. They can even be in English which is also an accepted language of use by the government," Mr Rawat said.Each entry has to be accompanied by a fee of 500 rupees ($10) and a participant can send a maximum of two entries.The rules also say that the "symbol should be applicable to the standard [computer] keyboard".Officials say the winning entry will be chosen by a seven-member jury of experts drawn from various art institutes, the government and India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India.Five shortlisted entries for the final selection will be awarded a prize of 25,000 rupees ($500) and the winner will take 250,000 rupees ($5,000)."The final selected symbol will become the property of the government and the designer will have no rights over it any more," Mr Rawat said.Experts say implementing a new currency symbol can be an expensive exercise.According to one estimate, when the euro was introduced in 1999 it cost Europe's biggest companies more than $50bn to update their computer systems to deal with the changeover."We have not thought about the costs yet," Mr Rawat said. "First, we'll select a symbol and then we'll do the costing," he added.The contest closes on 15 April at 1300 local time (0730G).Detailed guidelines on how to prepare the entries have been put up on the finance ministry's website.