The latest from the land of obscurity, this time a man with a tail. Mr. Oram is worshipped by locals as The GOD, but he is yet to find a real match, according to a news report by PTI. Full story is here.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
World's fastes processor
Here comes teh news today that IBM/Georgia Tech Univ developed a Si-Ge based chip that is as fast as 500GHz! The whopping number is actually so fast that we, the regular PC users can not even imagine. Read the full story here.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
The most versatile copycat bird
I came accross this link from on eof th ephotog sites today. Watch the video and see the the best copycat bird I have ever seen. thank got, there is not copyright law in bird kingdom.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Wengo Phone
Ever heard about calling your loved ones in India for almost free ? Well, that almost came true last week when people got in th ebandwagon of Wengo, a VOIP provider from France. The voice quality was (yes, teh service is down from yesterday) top notch. As of now, no one knows if it wil be up again and/or we will be reimbursed for our 13 bucks.
ABC of mutual fund investing
Volatility
Modern Portfolio Theory is an investment approach that explores how investors can design portfolios to seek the best potential return for an assumed level of portfolio risk. The theory also quantifies the benefits of asset allocation, which is the practice of seeking to reduce investment risk by strategically dividing assets among several different asset classes. The asset allocation process starts by considering time horizon, return objectives and risk tolerance. Though asset allocation cannot eliminate investment risk or losses, it may provide opportunities to lessen a portfolio's volatility.
Using a number of statistical measures, an investor can use modern portfolio theory to classify or estimate the amount of assumed risk and potential reward in a portfolio. The statistics provided in the Mutual Fund Center are based on the fund's performance over the time periods noted.
Alpha
Measures the difference between a fund's actual returns and its expected performance, given its level of risk (as measured by Beta). Alpha combines the volatility the fund's price has experienced relative to the market and the returns the fund has generated relative to the market, to define the "excessive risk" of the fund. A negative Alpha means a fund has underperformed its index relative to how much volatility has been shown.
Beta
Measures the fund's sensitivity to market movements. A portfolio with a Beta greater than 1.00 is more volatile than the market, and a portfolio with a Beta less than 1.00 is less volatile than the market. Therefore, the higher the Beta, the more sharply the fund's price has moved in relation to the market's movement.
Standard Deviation
A statistical measure of the volatility of the fund's returns. The higher the fund's standard deviation, the greater its volatility has been.
Sharpe Ratio
A measure that uses the standard deviation and excess return to determine reward per unit of risk. The Sharpe Ratio is a measurement of risk-adjusted performance calculated by dividing the excess return of a portfolio above the risk-free rate by its standard deviation. High values indicate greater return per unit of risk.
R-squared
A measure that reflects the percentage of a fund's movements that are explained by movements in its benchmark index, showing the degree of correlation between the fund and the benchmark. R-squared measures how closely correlated the fund's performance was to the index. The higher the R-squared statistic (out of a possible 100), the more relevant the Alpha and Beta figures may be.
(courtsey, Wellsfargo bank)
Modern Portfolio Theory is an investment approach that explores how investors can design portfolios to seek the best potential return for an assumed level of portfolio risk. The theory also quantifies the benefits of asset allocation, which is the practice of seeking to reduce investment risk by strategically dividing assets among several different asset classes. The asset allocation process starts by considering time horizon, return objectives and risk tolerance. Though asset allocation cannot eliminate investment risk or losses, it may provide opportunities to lessen a portfolio's volatility.
Using a number of statistical measures, an investor can use modern portfolio theory to classify or estimate the amount of assumed risk and potential reward in a portfolio. The statistics provided in the Mutual Fund Center are based on the fund's performance over the time periods noted.
Alpha
Measures the difference between a fund's actual returns and its expected performance, given its level of risk (as measured by Beta). Alpha combines the volatility the fund's price has experienced relative to the market and the returns the fund has generated relative to the market, to define the "excessive risk" of the fund. A negative Alpha means a fund has underperformed its index relative to how much volatility has been shown.
Beta
Measures the fund's sensitivity to market movements. A portfolio with a Beta greater than 1.00 is more volatile than the market, and a portfolio with a Beta less than 1.00 is less volatile than the market. Therefore, the higher the Beta, the more sharply the fund's price has moved in relation to the market's movement.
Standard Deviation
A statistical measure of the volatility of the fund's returns. The higher the fund's standard deviation, the greater its volatility has been.
Sharpe Ratio
A measure that uses the standard deviation and excess return to determine reward per unit of risk. The Sharpe Ratio is a measurement of risk-adjusted performance calculated by dividing the excess return of a portfolio above the risk-free rate by its standard deviation. High values indicate greater return per unit of risk.
R-squared
A measure that reflects the percentage of a fund's movements that are explained by movements in its benchmark index, showing the degree of correlation between the fund and the benchmark. R-squared measures how closely correlated the fund's performance was to the index. The higher the R-squared statistic (out of a possible 100), the more relevant the Alpha and Beta figures may be.
(courtsey, Wellsfargo bank)
Monday, June 12, 2006
linksys Pap2 dialing plan: Mystry resolved
Dial plans can be a bit tricky to master at first, but offer great flexibility when you understand them. Here is an explanation of the sipura spa dial plan structure, and sample dial plans.
Common notations
() opening and closing brackets - the entire dial plan string is enclosed in brackets.
| each dial plan is separated from the next by the pipe |, but the first and last part of the dial plan only have an opening and closing bracket respectively.
The dial plan can include specific individual keys 0 to 9 (inclusive), * and #
x any numeric digit from 0 to 9
. repetition eg x. means any numeric digit (x) repeated 0 or more times.
Other things:
Substitution: replace 03 with 613 by writing <03:613>
Outside line: inset a comma , between digits for an outside line dial tone eg 9,03xxxxxxxx means dial 9 then you will get an outside dial tone until you press 0.
Barring numbers: put a ! at the end of a sequence to prevent it being dialed.
Immediate dial S0 - (capital S zero) immediately dial the numbers after you've matched the dial plan sequence. For example: 000S0
Gateways Spa 3k only: dial out through a gateway by adding <:@gw1> to the dial plan for gateway 1; or <:@gw0> for gateway 0 (PSTN) etc
Limited choice 1 If your dial plan contains [579]xxx then it will match with any four digit sequence starting with either 5, 7 or 9
Limited choice 2 If your dial plan contains [5-9]xxx then it will match with any four digit sequence starting with either 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9
Simple dial plan:
(000S0<:@gw0>|<#9:>xx.< :@gw0>|<0:61>xxxxxxxxx|< :613>xxxxxxxx|<:03>[23567 ]xxxxxxx<:@gw2>)
Explanation:
000S0<:@gw0> This will dial 000 by the PSTN gateway (Spa3k only) immediately after you've pressed the third zero.
<#9:>xx.<:@gw0> You dial #9 then any phone number and it will dial the phone number through the PSTN gateway (over the POTS line) - Spa3k only
<0:61>xxxxxxxxx You dial, for example, 02 9678 5555 and the unit will convert this to 612 9678 5555 and dial out over Line 1 (voip)
<:613>xxxxxxxx You dial, for example, 9678 5555 and the unit will convert this to 613 9678 5555 and dial out over Line 1 (voip).
<:03>[23567]xxxxxxx<:@gw2> (Spa3k only) You dial, for example 5678 5678 and the unit will convert this to 03 5678 5678 and dial out through gateway 2 (which you will have set up with another provider). This sequence will only match when you dial a number that starts with either 2,3,5,6 or 7.
A more complex dial plan
(000S0<:@gw0>|<#9:>xx.< :@gw0>|<0:61>[23][89? ]xxxxxxx|<:613>[89]xxxxxxx|< 026:6126>[12]xxxxxxx|<073:6173> xxxxxxx|<08:618>[67]xxxxxxx|< 088:6188>[1-4]xxxxxx|<089:6189> [2-4]xxxxxx|<04:614>xxxxxxxx|< 0011:>xx.|<1800:611800>xx.|< 13:6113>xx.|89[89]060xx.|<:03> [23567]xxxxxxx<:@gw2>|0[2378 ][2-7]xxxxxxx<:@gw2>|<#2:> xx.<:<@gw2>|<060:0661> ? xxxxxxxxx|<06:06613>xxxxxxxx|< 090:0961>xxxxxxxxx|<09:09613> xxxxxxxx|<090011:>xx.|<#1 13:0516113>xx.<:@gw1>|< #10:05161>xx? xxxxxxxS0<:@gw1|<#1:051613> ? [5-9]xxxxxxxS0<:@gw1)
Common notations
() opening and closing brackets - the entire dial plan string is enclosed in brackets.
| each dial plan is separated from the next by the pipe |, but the first and last part of the dial plan only have an opening and closing bracket respectively.
The dial plan can include specific individual keys 0 to 9 (inclusive), * and #
x any numeric digit from 0 to 9
. repetition eg x. means any numeric digit (x) repeated 0 or more times.
Other things:
Substitution: replace 03 with 613 by writing <03:613>
Outside line: inset a comma , between digits for an outside line dial tone eg 9,03xxxxxxxx means dial 9 then you will get an outside dial tone until you press 0.
Barring numbers: put a ! at the end of a sequence to prevent it being dialed.
Immediate dial S0 - (capital S zero) immediately dial the numbers after you've matched the dial plan sequence. For example: 000S0
Gateways Spa 3k only: dial out through a gateway by adding <:@gw1> to the dial plan for gateway 1; or <:@gw0> for gateway 0 (PSTN) etc
Limited choice 1 If your dial plan contains [579]xxx then it will match with any four digit sequence starting with either 5, 7 or 9
Limited choice 2 If your dial plan contains [5-9]xxx then it will match with any four digit sequence starting with either 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9
Simple dial plan:
(000S0<:@gw0>|<#9:>xx.< :@gw0>|<0:61>xxxxxxxxx|< :613>xxxxxxxx|<:03>[23567 ]xxxxxxx<:@gw2>)
Explanation:
000S0<:@gw0> This will dial 000 by the PSTN gateway (Spa3k only) immediately after you've pressed the third zero.
<#9:>xx.<:@gw0> You dial #9 then any phone number and it will dial the phone number through the PSTN gateway (over the POTS line) - Spa3k only
<0:61>xxxxxxxxx You dial, for example, 02 9678 5555 and the unit will convert this to 612 9678 5555 and dial out over Line 1 (voip)
<:613>xxxxxxxx You dial, for example, 9678 5555 and the unit will convert this to 613 9678 5555 and dial out over Line 1 (voip).
<:03>[23567]xxxxxxx<:@gw2> (Spa3k only) You dial, for example 5678 5678 and the unit will convert this to 03 5678 5678 and dial out through gateway 2 (which you will have set up with another provider). This sequence will only match when you dial a number that starts with either 2,3,5,6 or 7.
A more complex dial plan
(000S0<:@gw0>|<#9:>xx.< :@gw0>|<0:61>[23][89? ]xxxxxxx|<:613>[89]xxxxxxx|< 026:6126>[12]xxxxxxx|<073:6173> xxxxxxx|<08:618>[67]xxxxxxx|< 088:6188>[1-4]xxxxxx|<089:6189> [2-4]xxxxxx|<04:614>xxxxxxxx|< 0011:>xx.|<1800:611800>xx.|< 13:6113>xx.|89[89]060xx.|<:03> [23567]xxxxxxx<:@gw2>|0[2378 ][2-7]xxxxxxx<:@gw2>|<#2:> xx.<:<@gw2>|<060:0661> ? xxxxxxxxx|<06:06613>xxxxxxxx|< 090:0961>xxxxxxxxx|<09:09613> xxxxxxxx|<090011:>xx.|<#1 13:0516113>xx.<:@gw1>|< #10:05161>xx? xxxxxxxS0<:@gw1|<#1:051613> ? [5-9]xxxxxxxS0<:@gw1)
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Voipcheap.com, excellent voipbuster clone
Ever heard about voipbuster? It was one of the gimicky free VOIp service. They finally stopped free calls around US and so I ended up with their sister site voipcheap.com. Setup is pretty simple.
Just add your user name and password under PAP2 adaptor. Set the SIP server as sip.voipcheap.com and thats it.
Just add your user name and password under PAP2 adaptor. Set the SIP server as sip.voipcheap.com and thats it.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Tired of Activation? Just use a floppy
Create the Activation Status Floppy Diskette
Navigate to %systemroot%\system32 folder.
Copy the wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files to the floppy diskette.
Reinstall Windows XP
Reinstall XP in the normal manner. After the install is completed and the XP Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) appears where you'd normally activate the product, decline to activate and let the installation complete.
Activate the XP Reinstallation
Restart the computer and use the F8 key to bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu.
Select Minimal Safe Mode using Up and Down Arrow Keys and press Enter.
Navigate to %systemroot%\system32 folder.
Rename the existing wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files.
Using the floppy diskette, copy the previously backed up wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files to the %systemroot%\system32 folder.
Reboot the computer
Here we go!
Navigate to %systemroot%\system32 folder.
Copy the wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files to the floppy diskette.
Reinstall Windows XP
Reinstall XP in the normal manner. After the install is completed and the XP Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) appears where you'd normally activate the product, decline to activate and let the installation complete.
Activate the XP Reinstallation
Restart the computer and use the F8 key to bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu.
Select Minimal Safe Mode using Up and Down Arrow Keys and press Enter.
Navigate to %systemroot%\system32 folder.
Rename the existing wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files.
Using the floppy diskette, copy the previously backed up wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files to the %systemroot%\system32 folder.
Reboot the computer
Here we go!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Nikon CoolScan II (LS 20) under Windows XP
It's sad that Nikon no longer supports their early breed of film scanners, such as Coolscan LS-20. However, that seems good for me as I got a LS-20 off ebay for less than 30 bucks. Amazing, they used to cost more than 500 bucks sometime ago.
Installation was not straightforward for these old dog. I have to install SCSI adaptor card and ASPI layer from Adaptec. Shut down the computer, connected my LS-20 and powered on. Windows started up smoothly with the initial hang of SCSI card's booting messages. Now, XP SP2 can see the scanner but Nikon (oh moron!) did not provide a driver to go with XP for LS-20. So I have to resort to VueScan, the standalone masterpiece programe that access the scanner from some native level.
Here is a copy of my 3 pass scan from LS-20. Original was taken on a Elitechrome. I had to cut down exposure from the original scan, to minimize teh appearence of grain/noise and adjusted the level/curve in PS.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
IE7 pre beta release
Microsoft released the pre beta version of IE7. Not to mention, it is full of bugs. Like as of now I can not see what I am typing in my blog! Cool huh!
Well, I was just trying to edit my post and all of a sudden the fonts actually become viscible. Apart from these small glitches it facing hecuva lot of trouble with bitstream player. I don't know when website admins will update their pages to make them compatible with IE7.
Well, I was just trying to edit my post and all of a sudden the fonts actually become viscible. Apart from these small glitches it facing hecuva lot of trouble with bitstream player. I don't know when website admins will update their pages to make them compatible with IE7.
Friday, December 09, 2005
I love snow; actually not.
East coast is acting weird these days. When I gone to bed yesterday night, it was fairly clear all around outside. And today morning, when I woke up at 6 it was almost a whitewash outside. I immediately picked up the phone and call my office. Hurray!! we will be open from 11am. Sweet. Bitter thing is, it will not be easy to get to office at 11 either since it is still snowing with a mix of rain. Now that is the worst thing since the rain will freeze up at night and make out live horrible tomorrow morning. Anyway, its time for me to read the news and sip in my glass of coffee.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
How do you get scammed by A/V retailer?
The answer is easy, ask them a dumb question, that you need a coaxial cable? Circuitcity guy will be happy enough to throw you a $20 cable for your digical adventure. Basically a coaxial output contains RAW audio data from a source an dthat has to be decoded via DA decoder to get audible sound. Now what I found, is plain and simple, any RCA cable will just do fine as a coaxial cable, period. Shame on me, I did not know that before and spend $$ to buy a so called digital co-axial cable.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
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