Alan Izhar-Bodner, an Israeli inventor, has developed a way for divers to breathe Aunderwater without cumbersome oxygen tanks. His apparatus makes use of the air that is dissolved in water, just like fish does. The system uses the "Henry Law" which states that the amount of gas that can be dissolved in a liquid is proportional to the pressure on the liquid. Raising the pressure - more gas can be dissolved into liquid. Decreasing the pressure - gas dissolved in the liquid releases the gas. This is exactly what happens when you open a can of soda; carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the liquid and is under pressure in the can. Open the can, releasing the pressure, and the gas fizzes out. Bodner's system apparently uses a centrifuge to lower pressure in part of a small amount of seawater taken into the system; dissolved gas is extracted. The patent abstract reads: A self-contained open-circuit breathing apparatus for use within a body of water naturally containing dissolved air. The apparatus is adapted to provide breathable air. The apparatus comprises an inlet means for extracting a quantity of water from the body of water. It further comprises a separator for separating the dissolved air from the quantity of water, thereby obtaining the breathable air. The apparatus further comprises a first outlet means for expelling the separated water back into the body of water, and a second outlet means for removing the breathable air and supplying it for breathing. The air is supplied so as to enable it to be expelled back into the body of water after it has been breathed. Human beings have been thinking about how to breathe underwater since they started swimming. This long-held desire plays an important part in one of the first great science fiction novels, Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. It consists of a reservoir of thick iron plates, in which air under a pressure of fifty atmospheres is stored. This reservoir is fixed on the back by means of braces, like a soldier's knapsack. Right from the evolution, man has always thought of diving in and exploring the world under water. After years of development, oxygen cylinders were discovered but man still had to carry heavy oxygen cylinders on their back like a soldeir's knapsack and that too even with many limitations. With this recent development which is far more compact, light in weight and durable, has lead him to make his dream come true. With the rapid development in technology one can even think of having it as small as a mobile phone so heroes need not have to think about their own lives before diving in to save anyone or even this could be assumed that people won't need anybody to save themselves at sea-shores and swimming pools as they will be soon carrying a gadget which will filter breathable oxygen for them from the oxygen dissolved in water. Kumar Sawan BA (Journo, Psy and Eng) Like it or not but just like any other operating system from LMicrosoft,even windows vista is slated to replace windows xp and eventually everyone will move to the new os. The question is whether you should go ahead and upgrade to vista immediately when you are happy with windows xp. Vista's biggest for today is windows xp,it's going as strong as ever with better support and easy adoption,users don't have a concrete reason to upgrade today.we suggest you wait for at least a quarter,let service pack 1.0 roll out;this will fix many security issues along with better support for gaming andperformance of the os. In case you are buying a new pc ,you have little choice with most of the vendors offering windows vista as the de facto os. Upgrading to vista as of today will not offer any significant real world benefits apart from the slightly elaborate security and the shiny new GUI which initially catches your attention with all the the eye-candy thrown in.gaming enthusiasts waiting with the latest direct x 10 hardware and windows vista ultimate loaded on their PCs will have to wait for good titles on DX10 platform.let's hope titles like crisis touted to be a revolutionary shooter with ultra realistic graphics and game play make the wait worthwhile. 1. Power that an ordinary computer consumes: 90 W + 100 W(monitor). st 2. Memory size of 1 IBM PC: 16 KB. 3. Hans Lippershey invented telescope in 1608. 4. Richard Jordan Gadling invented the machine gun in 1861. 5. Benjamin Franklin invented lighting conductor. 6. First adding machine was invented in 1885. 7. Industrial robot was the major invention in 1976. 8. Scientists have recently invented a wheel-chair which is operated by brain directly. 9. Dieters now-a-days send their diet's snaps to the doctors before eating through gprs and edge. 10. Doctor-Bots might be the forerunners of tomorrow's medical robots. Kumar Sawan BA (Journo, Psy and Eng) Wouldn't it be good to get your own web page where you could publish comments, Winteresting links you find, turn it into a daily journal of thoughts and ideas and make the whole thing available to the world? Well you can do that, and if you do, you'll be joining the phenomenon that has become 'blogging'. Blogging has become a phenomenon in the last few years and some bloggers - especially those who have been at it for a while - have earned notoriety from their weblogs. A blog is a journal that is available on the web. Bloggers post stories, poems, pictures, rants, and links to other web sites on their blogs. The growing power of Weblogs, or "blogs," has hardly gone unnoticed. Bloggers have been credited with helping to topple governments, with inflaming debate over issues like the Iraq war, and with boosting democracy around the world. Suddenly, it seems, everyone from Donald Trump (Donald Trump blogs at the Trump Blog, which provides business and marketing advice.) to guynext- door has been swept into the blogosphere. But blogs aren't as new as you may think. They have actually been around since the early days of the Internet. In the strictest sense, a blog is someone's online record of the Web sites he or she visits. Why blog? Blogging sharpens your intellect, it refines your thinking. It helps clarify your thoughts so that you communicate them better. It helps etch more clearly in that unreliable brain things that you might want to remember more clearly. And it puts you in the position of You Blog, Therefore You Are "creator" rather than passive consumer of content. I strongly believe in the power of weblogs to transform both writers and readers from "audience" to "public" and from "consumer" to "creator." Weblogs are no panacea for the crippling effects of a media-saturated culture, but I believe they are one antidote. Just imagine - your own, free place on the net to record your thoughts, to place your bookmarks, to rant and scream about all the things that annoy you. A place to pretend you're someone else, or to put all those poems and stories you've been writing over the years. Blogging and democracy An odd crescendo is building on the Internet, one that resembles a fastgrowing series of vibrations, at times as dissonant as its many voices, but also powerful and influential when similar interests converge: the constantly growing online criticism of seemingly omnipotent regimes and authorities charged with upholding morals. In societies where official censorship is rampant and freedom of speech often curbed, they transport forbidden opinions and knowledge considered taboo to people who wouldn't otherwise get access to such information. Indeed, by connecting and encouraging individual dissidents, they also become a tool of revolution. Bloggers are able to react with lightning speed to events as they unfold. A case in point is the flow of information the Burmese citizens were sharing with the world depicting the violent crackdown on monks and other peaceful demonstrators until the internet connection in Myanmar was cut. Blogging and business A blog, can be a boon to business. There's money in words; real value, real worth. The consumer and citizen are potentially better informed through corportate blogs and this can only be good for the long-term health of societies and economies. Blogs also have potential to help the organization develop stronger relationships and brand loyalty with its customers, as they interact with the 'human face' of the organization through blogs. Corporate blogging is like any other business communication that represents the company. Blogging and society Blogs play distinctly different roles for different groups. Communities of teen bloggers may view the phenomenon differently from journalist bloggers. And journalist bloggers may view the phenomenon differently from gossip bloggers. Big blogs, with huge readerships, tend towards that example of opensource journalism, bringing stories to the surface that would never make it onto CNN for one reason or another. GCC World, October 2007 40 Technology Buzz The vast majority of blogs, I think, serve a different purpose altogether: the recreation of the backyard fence or the office water cooler. They create likeminded communities for small-group discussion of a given topic. The advantage is that they allow for greater documentation and more careful presentation of ideas. The downside is that they create echo chambers. Weblogs give a voice to those who would have none otherwise. They introduce competition to the journalistic and media marketplace. They act as a counterbalance and fact checking service to big, commercial media. They give a voice to consumers who wish to share opinions about products and experiences with companies. They are a vehicle for political and social activism. They are a pure form of self-expression, beholden to no one. Aiswath Najwa Waheed BA (Journo, Psy and Eng) Generation Y is moving at a fast pace. It is not surprising Gtherefore to see how the world is being transformed almost at the blink of an eye. Hrithik Roshan 'dhooming' his way to the zenith of Bollywood or the master strokes of Sania Mirza are no longer topics of interest. Even King Khan who was almost assured a permanent throne has lost his place to the unfathomable rival in town. The rival in question is the undisputed youth icon of the year-Orkut. Orkut, one among innumerable community and friends' network, has earned the numero uno status by the love and unflinching support provided by the dedicated netizens all over India (and even beyond). Though beginning its invasion along with competitors such as Hi5, Orkut has undoubtedly gone far ahead in the ensuing rat race. Bearing a small sapling of forming a friends chain, Orkut has successfully extended its branches across and beyond the oriental horizon and has borne the fruits of unending chain and network of friends irrespective of caste, creed, age, sex etc. The home page alone justifies the point as one gets to see pictures of fair, brown, yellow faces symbolizing universality. It is wonderful to see that here is a place common to people of different religions-Protestants, Catholics, Hindus and Muslims. Once the necessary details are fed in the access boxes, one gets transported instantly to the colourful world of Orkut and connected to more than a million people. The page offers innumerable options and accessories such as scraps, messages, videos, communities and lots more. In simple terms, scrapping is the cell phone version of messaging a friend whether online or offline. However, the scraps are accessible to all thus allowing others to know their friends. The site also allows viewing and exchanging of interesting videos. One has the liberty to create his/her own community where people having common interests join a particular community and either work productively for a common goal or get an opportunity to step out of the limited square of his/her life. One can find The Art of Living community where members stay connected and work productively. Says Aarthi Rajkumar, a student: “I am an active member of Harry Porter community and it is through this that as community members we discuss about the latest books or movies of Harry Potter. In fact, we have even held a discussion on the climax of the latest book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Being in the community has definitely widened my imagination. At this point even I am tempted to share my community experience with the readers. Being a member of a community called Nilofer, I have had one of the rarest and memorable experience of being acquainted with many others bearing the same name beyond the dotted boundaries. It is interesting to know how a single name binds people of entirely different character and persona. It is undeniable that Orkut has wildly captured the imagination of the youth. I thas started the trend where being an Orkut member adds an extra bonus to one's status. Those professing novelty to new media are viewed as the Adam and Eve of the present generation, an outlook similar to one without mobile phones. It is perhaps incongruous to see how most of the fair maidens of today are more keen to be on Orkut than go window shopping for a constant supply of the latest designs to their externally hungry wardrobes. The craze is such that it has even given birth to a new lingo. Having met a long lost friend, a couple of days back and searching for a pen and notepad for her number in a frenzy, she looked at me and asked in a relaxed tone-Do you Orkut? The only meaning I have personally deciphered from this incident is that you are 'In' as long as you follow the crowd 'or cut'. (Or- kut) off from the mob if you don't. In a positive light, the fact is true as Annie Gupta says: “It is this community website which has opened my eyes to the fact that till now, unconsciously though, I was unaware or in sum way cut off from the rest of the people belonging to different caste or communities. I harboured certain misconceptions which after such a healthy discussion have been broken.” It is my hope that Orkut will successful in spreading the positive message across and is among the contributing factors in uniting people. Long Live Orkut! Nilofer M.Sc. Electronic Media