Among top 10 transport trends in 2010, I like cars that drive (and stop) on their own: autonomous cars! Even Google is on this. http://ping.fm/6ceI4

For free software, visit www.giveawayoftheday.com daily. They give away one software FREE every day. They give games free too. Enjoy.....

The 10 Things That Science Fiction Promised That DID HAPPEN in 2010 Are Here. Enjoy a thrilling read. http://ping.fm/g5M9w

Here is how Malawi succeeded in putting behind drought and becoming a food-surplus nation. http://ping.fm/WJBBn

A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step. In case of food security, Malawi has shown the way with success in cropping management

Forrester has named EmPower Research among one of the "vendors with proprietary social analytics tools and professional consulting teams that write custom research reports based on social media data".

Great news to end 2010 with and to begin 2011 with. Read on here for more. http://ping.fm/Goozo

Forrester rates EmPower Research as a vendor with proprietary social analytics tools and professional consulting teams for custom research.

Here is hoping stem cell transplants become as common as band-aid in the future so that more diseases can be cured predictably. http://ping.fm/nCniQ

New York, are you ready to welcome the new taxi in your city? Bye bye, Ford Crown Victory..we will miss you. http://ping.fm/AoutW

The "Rasputin" of Boney M is no more. RIP, Daddy Cool. http://ping.fm/I7FcF

Stem-cell transplant cures man of HIV - for the first time in the world. Great news. What next? http://ping.fm/kkm0J

The next 5 predictions to watch out for - says IBM. Here is hoping these become reality rather than wishful thinking! http://bit.ly/iiKsfw

Sahara can fuel 50% of world's electricity if these two solar power projects take-off. Let's hope they do! http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-sahara-aims-power-world.html

Hilarious take on one's personality basis the email client used. http://ping.fm/GBnAg

DYK that comp-aided "algorithm" trading makes up 70% of volume on Wall St. Wow - that is so scary! AI alert! http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff_ai_flashtrading/

Now man makes a machine that mimics how plants break down sunlight. This can transform energy acquisition, going forward. Kudos! http://ping.fm/t1nAE

Hats off to JK Rowling. The sport that she wrote about - Quidditch, is now going mainstream. Amazing to see that. http://ping.fm/ndcqT

DYK that computer-aided "algorithm" trading accounts for about 70% of trade volume on Wall Street. Wow - that is so scary! AI alert! http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff_ai_flashtrading/

Want to know what fidgetal, misApp, wikisqueak, dreadsheet or disgracebook mean? Read on. Hilarious take on new words! http://ping.fm/uLLdL

Moving into a new larger office is just a GREAT FEELING. Congrats EmPower on another SMILESTONE! Here is a toast to many more in the offing!

Was appalled to see poor service on Shatabdi Exp. from Mysore to Blr. Sadly, rlwy employees don't know what premium service means! Awful!

An excellent article on the hits and misses of futurologists in the past. Amazing to see how man thought about the future. http://ping.fm/Q318G

Assange showed us how politicians lead two lives & exposed the science of diplomatic trickery. Sadly, this will continue! Thick skin helps!

Global economic giants woo India as they look for more business. Sadly, India is not able to manage to keep its house in order! http://ping.fm/5YAtU

A lunar eclipse that was the first to fall on the winter solstice since 1638. The next solstice eclipse won’t be until 2094. WOW! http://ping.fm/84HrD

Btw, BT stands for Behavioral Targeting in my last post. Could not fit it in thanks to Twitter-Logic.

I pity the ad industry. When they target all, they are penalized for spamming. When they do BT, they are told to behave. Not funny at all!

Just coming to terms with the fact that ADs are a HUGE unwanted part of life now. 30-35% or more of my daily time is spent dodging ads. WTF?

Inception - Explained. Nice graphic approach! http://ping.fm/kLhSq

Interesting to see how IBM's Watson supercomp will perform against men in Jeopardy quiz on 14th Feb. http://ping.fm/pNtz7

How would Facebook look on a global map? Try this. http://ping.fm/coQ97

Want to know how our lives could change? Check this video out - this firm has been purchased by RIM now! Amazing is not enough!! http://ping.fm/fbq0g

DYK the mother of PC demos happened 42 years ago? Many features that we have now were shown then. Doug Engelbart, take a bow! http://ping.fm/CN4sc

Another idea for solar power - this time the panels go on TOP of the freeway. Wherever they are, tapping the sun is important. http://ping.fm/h1551

Wondering if in the future, Facebook/Orkut/MySpace ID will be used for identity verification? Think about it...may be a good idea. Thoughts?

Played Business after years yesterday. Nice game...very relaxing....it used to be called Trade when we used to play it...ah nostalgia!

Great street food in Mumbai - no surprises here....read and drool!! http://ping.fm/KUoYS

DYK that humming birds cannot walk. That was quite an eye opener to me!!

Global remittances cross $410B in 2010. India leads the pack at $55B. http://ping.fm/xvPql

This is a rare disease that is scary and aspirational at the same time. Imagine if you slept for 10 days at a time! You like that? http://ping.fm/yqBPi

BlackBerry store on CMH Road repaired my Curve but chipped part of the device. WTF? Is this Airtel service that AR Rahman croons about? Bad!

FedEx/Ketchum study says corporates spent 5-15% of overall external comms budgets on social media programs in 2010. Interesting statistic!

Saw an hoarding on Chrome today while on my way to office. Set me thinking - OOH for a browser? Game changer or desperation by Google?

MFIs in India under pressure as borrower defaults and political intervention question their survival. http://ping.fm/OKJRA

A new biz model - Facebook as a platform for collecting loyalty points in rewards programs. Will be interesting to see if it works. http://ping.fm/4US67

Interesting discovery that can help repair Multiple sclerosis damage found. A definite ray of hope for MS patients. http://ping.fm/f2Bzr

Broadband can bridge the economic divide by improving areas like health, commerce & governance. This report says it all. http://ping.fm/zzGTN

Now this Italian city follows a best practice that I want to see recreated EVERYWHERE. A wind-win situation sums it up well. http://ping.fm/ks8my

How Google Translate helps you find food....very interesting......thanks @basrur http://ping.fm/v0wBv

Interesting to note how a potato-only diet is still healthy! Surprised? Click away. http://ping.fm/3eNsU

Wonder why P2P services like lending, car sharing, etc do not enjoy mainstream status? Is it becoz we are slaves to big brands? Intriguing!

Scientists are trying to charge an automobile on the go using IPT (inductive power transfer) - this will be a killer app if perfected. http://ping.fm/jgko4

Funny to note how cos. launch variants of a product eg. Tablet, Kindle, in succession. What abt IP? Smells like co-optition/cartel to me.

DYK fastest way of adding nos. is by avoiding 9. So, 13+15=1+3+1+5=1+0=1. Faster way is by avoiding 3+1+5=9, hence total is 1. Try it!!

DYK that a duck's quacks don't echo! Similarly, kangaroos and emus cannot walk backwards......interesting to know.....isn't it?

The flip side of expressing anger on Twitter exposed!! Caveat Emptor, Twitter People. The law is not amused. http://ping.fm/KyGPk

DYK what's common between a computer and a sugar cube? Read on to find out. You will be amazed! http://ping.fm/0gFPP

DYK 90% of our brains develop when we are between 0-6 years old. The mental make-up happens quite early! Quite interesting.

Indians command much respect among MNCs - nice to see that. How to translate this among ourselves is a tough one! http://ping.fm/P7wIl

If Mukesh Ambani chose to switch spending on his new $1B home to saving tigers, they could thrive for another 12 years! Wishful thinking?

A shortfall of $35M per year seen in conserving tigers. Hoping that some of the world's billionaires will help here. http://ping.fm/Wtphj

Why can't man respect nature? To kill a majestic animal for unproven medicinal powers is so disgusting. http://ping.fm/poJKF

DYK that the human brain can store about 4TB of data. This equals the space in 935 DVDs. Cool, isnt it?

DYK that chewing gum can make your heart beat faster? Surprised? So am I......

Planning to move to charge for online news? These newspapers did and lost 87% of readership. Lessons learnt - keep it nice & easy! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11671984

Want to understand the web behavior better? These tools will come in handy! http://ping.fm/VCOKl

DYK the web banner ad that now generates $24B every year, was born 16 years ago? Wired claims the prize. http://ping.fm/oAsZs

Waiting for the day when one can review/correct online content directly with a pen on the screen!! Yes, it is possible. http://ping.fm/g9a38

DYK the annual economic impact of man's abuse on Mother Nature? The GDP of UK/Italy or higher. Thanks, Teeb. http://ping.fm/kbE3y

DYK the annual economic impact of man's abuse on Earth? It equals the GDP of UK/Italy PER YEAR. Thanks, Teeb. http://ping.fm/kbE3y

Electric airplane, anybody? Good for learning and easy on the pocket! http://ping.fm/VCfAk

Churchill's sins are out. How he starved Bengal in 1943, is a chilling fact. Great leaders have flaws 2! http://ping.fm/LtqIL

Cloning is the last option to maintain Earth's biodiversity. Awesome approach. Better than extinction. http://ping.fm/54Vlo

Evidence of time travel under scrutiny in an old Charlie Chaplin movie....Spooky!! http://ping.fm/30YkB

Twitterverse can predict stock market mood, a study finds. Very interesting. http://ping.fm/GXtlH

This CaMEL is a robot that hauls luggage for the army and.. has a remote-controlled M2 gun. http://ping.fm/C6WRM

The world's most famous astrologer is no more. Goodbye, Paul. RIP. Many football teams will NOT miss you! http://ping.fm/TSthi

Driverless vans complete epic journey, thanks to technology. A new paradigm in the making? http://ping.fm/fmdr7

You have heard "Walk like an Egyptian"...ever seen "Walk Like a Dolphin?" Take a look! http://ping.fm/1tTHn

test Testing Ping.fm out.

Who is the greatest footballer? Pele. Why? Becoz he DID NOT cheat like Maradona! http://ping.fm/LYj5v

Social web application innovations to be harnessed thru the sFund by FB, Zynga and Amazon. Will it work? http://ping.fm/1fLzv

How one person's ambition to help his mother bore fruit after years of effort is worth reading. http://ping.fm/hQtz6

Telecommuting wins as 3 in 5 workers say they can do better from home - thanks to a new Cisco study. http://ping.fm/5TflD

China playing big brother in rare earth space. Western world, watch out. http://ping.fm/D7lmk

The journey of a 1000 miles begins with the single step (read first pedal). Man is learning ro change!! http://ping.fm/J99hq

Interesting POV by a baby boomer - their gen have led a good life. Now they want death - incl. how and when! http://ping.fm/S5zSU

Fiji loses its "birth certificate" - the legal Independence Order presented by Prince Charles in 1970. Funny! http://ping.fm/iFRTr

Another journey for the mathematically inclined - fractals. Examples of fractals include clouds and pine trees...thanks, Benoit Mandelbrot

Optical illusions is such a fascinating and educational journey for the brain! Amazing. http://ping.fm/Y91Ol

Social Networking Is Going & Growing LOCALLY. Tencent Has > IM Users In China Than FB Global Footprint. http://ping.fm/qLwdp

Steep 2012 Olympics ticket prices. Is it worthwhile? There are better causes to support globally. http://ping.fm/JBRb9

Developed world to face native wrath as they seek immigrants to keep the growth ticking. Germany is one case. http://ping.fm/kWUdt

DYK your morning cup of coffee consumes 140 ltrs of water in its creation? Tea drinkers are nicer - their cup requires 35 ltrs only. Scary!

How countries use water globally explained. A must-read to understand the elixir of life better. http://ping.fm/IpIgK

borninseptember.org is an inspirational site that helps clean water discovery in African villages. Very noble cause.

Truly Inspirational

borninseptember.org is a charity site that helps clean water discovery in African villages. Very noble cause.

Awesome airplane paint jobs revealed. Enjoy the 10 best creations. Amazing! http://ping.fm/Ukb1k

India is far behind in gender equality.....buck up! http://ping.fm/lbGZ0

Noise changes our tasting ability - funny but true. Now u know y airlines food is bland? http://ping.fm/2AmnV

33 is the new lucky #. 33 miners, drilling took 33 days and the drive to hospital took 33 minutes. Howz that for coincidence? Quite amazing!

Chile shows the world how to manage a crisis and emerges victorious! Are you there, BP? http://ping.fm/jfmv4

The master nonstop flyer were here 65M years ago! Take a bow, Pterosaur! http://ping.fm/LGFjX

The reason why spamsters succeed is simply becoz WE OPEN THEIR MAILS! Stop doing it! http://ping.fm/RD6kl

Top 50 Start-Ups - Mobile and information discovery players rank high http://ping.fm/xTwaV

Planning some R&R at Honey Valley in Coorg during Diwali......should be fun doing NOTHING for once! http://ping.fm/nJ4YC

Jai Ho - this is truly inspirational. http://ping.fm/m0D45

GM does a volte-face on Volt. Its a hybrid after all - not an EV. http://ping.fm/t4JUS

Facebook allows you to divide and conquer via groups. Segment your social network! http://ping.fm/Yw8gn

All that tweets is not gold!! 71% of them are ignored..http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/10/its-not-just-you-71-percent-of-tweets-are-ignored/

Finished reading Rashmi Bansal's "Connect The Dots". Quite inspiring but the choices of entreprenuers could have been better. What say all?

Here comes the sun toodoo...in a hovercraft! Awesome! http://ping.fm/XiT8X

A sustainability vision that PROMISES to DELIVER....kudos, P&G! http://ping.fm/iHVkU

Graphene, the most awesome form of carbon, won its inventors a Nobel prize. http://ping.fm/CsOvr

Nice tally with India at #2 position. Jai Ho! http://ping.fm/GlZ8i

Why Volkswagon calls itself "Das Auto" explained! Awesome performance! http://ping.fm/JqU3S

Economist bets on India....over China......nice to know...http://ping.fm/Lymh3

Thanks BIOS - RIP! Welcome UEFI - thanks for helping PCs boot within seconds starting 2011. http://ping.fm/mwVdF

Super-cheap price for large volumes = Mantra for developing nations to enable quick progress. http://ping.fm/Vic47

Smartphone photos especially from the iPhone can be cool too......take a look for yourselves! http://ping.fm/TZkKZ

Did you know who was the first woman to be awarded a patent? Hats off, Mary Kies, a black woman at that! http://ping.fm/crBwh

Intelligent individuals don’t make groups SMARTER - sensitivity is a CSF. http://ping.fm/9ejXR

Social media tracking is now a business MANDATE. EmPower Research can help cos. here! http://ping.fm/J24Kn

BRIC countries require $800B in investments by 2015 to meet water needs - world in water peril. http://ping.fm/bPGB7

7 skills that one needs to know in the Information Age....Superb List.....http://ping.fm/ySFJt

The critical success factors that have made Apple the darling of the media revealed. http://ping.fm/iYGlk

Solar panels on roads can fix the grid and create a new paradigm. Brilliant idea http://t.co/LAbxIzO

Top 10 unanswerable questions of all time revealed. Some of them are bang on! Brace yourselves. Here they come...http://ping.fm/idzD4

RIM takes on iPad with Playbook. PB looks good - will it win the battle? My money is on RIM! http://ping.fm/O3JQH

What if the colour scheme of nature was different? Red leaves, yellow sky, blue mud, green branches? Hmmmmmm

Wow, did you know that it requires 4000 litres to make a shirt? The virtual water concept is still a matter of debate - wonder when we will learn from it. http://ping.fm/pUQ1d

One of my all time favourites....what a rendition!! Mark Knopfler - you rock! http://ping.fm/94hPd

Why lions roar and wildcats miaow - interesting story.
http://ping.fm/LrvuA

Trying ping for posts...lets see how it goes...

When will ping.fm be available on BlackBerry? Hope it happens soon!

New Technology

Handheld devices could soon have pressure-sensitive touch-screens and
keys, thanks to a UK firm's material that exploits a quantum physics
trick.

The technology allows, for example, scrolling down a long list or
webpage faster as more pressure is applied.

A division of Samsung that distributes mobile phone components to
several handset manufacturers has now licensed the "Quantum Tunnelling
Composite".

The approach could find use in devices from phones to games to GPS handsets.

In January, Japanese touch-screen maker Nissha also licensed the
approach from Yorkshire-based Peratech, who make the composite
material QTC.

However, as part of the licensing agreements, Peratech could not
reveal the phone, gaming, and device makers that could soon be using
the technology to bring pressure sensitivity to a raft of new devices.

Quantum mace

The composite works by using spiky conducting nanoparticles, similar
to tiny medieval maces, dispersed evenly in a polymer.

None of these spiky balls actually touch, but the closer they get to
each other, the more likely they are to undergo a quantum physics
phenomenon known as tunnelling.

Tunnelling is one of several effects in quantum mechanics that defies
explanation in terms of the "classical" physics that preceded it.

Simply put, quantum mechanics says that there is a tiny probability
that a particle shot at a wall will pass through it in an effect known
as tunnelling.
QTC-enabled handset
The pressure-sensitive key can already be found in an available handset

Similarly, the material that surrounds the spiky balls acts like a
wall to electric current. But as the balls draw closer together, when
squashed or deformed by a finger's pressure, the probability of a
charge tunnelling through increases.

The net result is that pressing harder on the material leads to a
smooth increase in the current through it.

There are a number of ways to make switches or screens
pressure-sensitive, such as using mechanical switches.

However, the QTC approach is particularly suited to making thin
devices. Pressure-sensitive QTC switches can be made 70 micrometers
thick - about the thickness of a human hair.

QTC is better than switches based on so-called "conducting polymers",
because they conduct no electricity until they are pressed, leading to
better overall efficiency.

Samsung Electro-mechanics has now incorporated the QTC into the
navigation switch familiar on smartphones - in addition to the up,
down, left, right and centre button, the up and down functions are
pressure-sensitive.

This is useful for scrolling more or less quickly through, for
example, a long list of emails.

"That same model can be used in many other ways, like in games: to
control how hard I want to jump or run for example," said Peratech's
chief executive Philip Taysom.

"Electronics are being given the ability to sense something that we
take for granted, which is how much we're touching and applying
force," he told BBC News.