Archive for February, 2009

The New Revolution In Media Duplications

Friday, February 27th, 2009

The modern technologies have enabled us to store a huge amount of data in a Blue Ray Disk. The capacity of storing data of the BD-Rs is grater than the DVDs. If you want to duplicate the BD-Rs then there are hundreds of Blue Ray Duplicators available in the market but you need to know more about the parts and operation of your machine. The availability of the parts is one of the vital things you need to focus on before you order for the Blue Ray Duplicator.

The Tower DVD Duplicators has the ability of creating, editing and duplicating both the single and dual layer Blue Ray Discs in a single machine. The Tower DVD Duplicators are the best selling disc duplicators in the market. The special features of the systems allow the user to store the data in their hard drive for future usage. They have a capacity to use up to 500 GB hard drive. It can duplicate around 15 disks at a time. The systems have a strong integrated cooling system which enhances the performance and allows you to work longer.

The Standalone DVD Duplicators are the revolutionary products which can work without a computer attached to it. It also has USB ports which enables you to duplicate any data from an external USB device.

The Smart Aviation Headsets

Friday, February 27th, 2009

The aviation headsets are a must have for every pilot. It not only helps in noise reduction, but is also equally helpful for effective land-air communication. Telex aviation headset is a dependable headset from the world’s leading communication company. Telex aviation headset offers different range of lightweight high performance headsets such as the popular Airman 750 and Airman 850; Airman ANR 500; Pilot Earset; HTW-2A Twinset; 5×5 Pro III and many more. David Clark is another reputed manufacturer of the aviation headsets. David Clark H10 is a lightweight model that also comes with a certified noise reduction rating of 23 dB.

The headset is packed with reduced headband force, Flo-Fit Gel Ear Seals and M-7A noise-canceling microphone. David Clark H10 is synonymous with impeccable clarity, crystal clear audio quality, extremely low impedance, and easy to wear. Another equally popular model of headset from David Clark is David Clark 13.4. The headset is loaded with features such as double-foam head pad, gel-filled ear seals and much more. With David Clark 13.4 on the pilot’s head, there is no way he can hear the cock pit noise. The best thing about the headset is that its ear cups are cushioned well to give the pilots a comfortable wear.

Online IT training with CBT

Friday, February 27th, 2009

IT is a very vast field, with changes seen almost every now and then. It is very difficult to keep up the pace with the rest of the herd, especially if you are working or studying. Attending course classes is not possible for many as they are tired and they have no legs to take any step further. This is the time computer based training plays an important role in your life.

Yes you can keep up with the pace of this fast moving world from your own house. With the help of internet you can now learn everything about IT from your home. You no longer have to sacrifice your time, money and energy behind conventional classes.

K alliance has appointed professionals in the business of IT for your assistance; also everything is kept up to date meaning nothing you should be worrying about. K alliance is ideal for business organizations that want to train their staff. After all they are going to like the concept of learning everything online. As for you your business can benefit thanks to K alliance. So make sure that you choose CBT over conventional methods of learning to achieve your goals.

France to maintain ban on Monsanto GMO maize: PM

Saturday, February 14th, 2009

France will keep a ban on genetically modified maize from US biotech giant Monsanto until the environmental risks are clarified, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Thursday.

“France is maintaining the suspension while it awaits a (European) Commission decision which it will respect,” Fillon said at a joint press conference with commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels.

His comments came shortly after France’s food watchdog said it had concluded that the GMO maize is safe, contradicting an earlier report that led to the French ban.

“The decision to suspend the growing (of the maize) was taken as a precaution due to the potential environmental risks associated with a contamination of non-GMO crops,” Fillon said.

The watchdog report concerns the health aspect, rather than the environmental risk, he argued.

The AFSSA watchdog report, which became public after it was revealed in the daily Le Figaro, angered environmentalists and embarrassed President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government which had resorted to a special EU measure to outlaw the crop.

The agency said there was no evidence to support the view that MON810, the only strain of GM maize under cultivation in France before the ban, posed a health risk.

In 2007, 22,000 hectares (55,000 acres) were sown with MON810 — less than one percent of the sown acreage for corn in France.

The earlier expert report said evidence had emerged that the genetically modified crop had an effect on insects, a species of earthworm and micro-organisms.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has called on France, as well as Austria, Greece and Hungary, to lift their safeguard measures against EU-approved GM crops.

“We remain open to dialogue,” Barroso said, adding that there would be a meeting in Brussels on Monday on food security in EU member states.

Officials will look in particular at France and Greece’s actions in the matter and could ask EU environment ministers to come to a decision.

Regarding the original French report which declared risks associated with the Monsanto GM maize, 12 of the 15 scientists who compiled it later issued a statement complaining that their findings had been misrepresented.

Chewing gum helpful in treating kidney, cardio disease

Friday, February 13th, 2009

Chewing gum with a phosphate-binding ingredient can help treat high phosphate levels in dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study.

The results suggest that this simple step could maintain proper phosphate levels and also help prevent cardiovascular disease in these patients.

Hyperphosphatemia (high levels of phosphate in the blood) commonly occurs in CKD patients on dialysis. Even when patients take medications to reduce phosphate acquired through their diet, about half of them cannot reduce phosphate to recommended levels.

Because hyperphosphatemia patients also have high levels of phosphate in their saliva, researchers tested whether there might be a benefit to binding salivary phosphate during periods of fasting, in addition to using phosphate binders with meals.

Vincenzo Savica and Lorenzo A. Cal? of the Universities of Messina and Padova, Italy, respectively, and colleagues recruited 13 dialysis patients with high blood phosphate levels to chew 20 mg of phosphate-binding chewing gum twice daily for two weeks between meals, in addition to their prescribed phosphate-binding regimen.

Savica and Cal?’s team found that salivary phosphate and blood phosphate levels decreased during the first week of chewing, and by a fortnight, salivary phosphate decreased 55 percent and blood phosphate decreased 31 percent from levels measured at the start of the study.

Salivary phosphate returned to its original level by day 15 after discontinuing the chewing gum, whereas blood phosphate took 30 days to return to its original value, said a Messina-Padova joint release.

While these observations are preliminary and require confirmation in a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study with more participants, the findings indicate that this chewing regimen might help control phosphate levels in patients with CKD.

These findings were published in March issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology

“Guitar Hero” fails to save Activision

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

The economy is so bad that even the company behind “Guitar Hero,” the hottest video game franchise in the world, couldn’t muster a profit in the holiday quarter.

Activision Blizzard on Wednesday posted a $72 million net loss in the fourth quarter, compared with an $86 million profit last year. It was the first full quarter for the company since its merger with Vivendi’s game unit, so the comparison isn’t perfect.

Excluding deferred revenue and some charges, the company would have earned $429 million on net revenue of $1.64 billion. Those numbers beat Wall Street forecasts, but Activision Blizzard offered gloomy 2009 guidance, causing the stock to fall 4% in after-hours trading after rising 1% to $9.48 in the regular session.

Activision Blizzard predicted revenue this year of $4.7 billion, about $500 million shy of what analysts were estimating.

The recession, though, could provide acquisition opportunities in the near future, executives said on a conference call with analysts Wednesday. Video game stocks have been pummeled along with the rest of the market in the past six months: The biggest, Electronic Arts, is down 65%, and THQ is off 81%.

Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick noted that in 2008 “we had four of the top 10 best-selling games worldwide.”

With “Guitar Hero,” Activision Blizzard spawned the music genre for video games, which accounts for about 11% of the industry’s software sales.

Last year, “Guitar Hero” was the world’s biggest-selling franchise, and “Guitar Hero World Tour” was the best-selling video game globally over the Christmas holiday.

The company’s underwhelming guidance appeared to catch some experts by surprise, given the strength of its lineup this year.

Guitar Hero Metallica” will hit shelves this quarter, as will “Monsters vs. Aliens,” based on the 3-D movie from DreamWorks Animation.

Metallica has sold 100 million records worldwide and is set to be inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame next month. The new game features music from Metallica and 20 other bands chosen by them.

Later this year are games tied to the films “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Ice Age: The Meltdown.” There is also a “DJ” extension for “Guitar Hero” in the works as well as a greatest-hits version of the franchise due this year.

A vibrating hand for the pianist, please

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Talk about a helping hand.

Georgia Tech researchers are trying to reinvent how students learn to play the piano by developing a glove that vibrates to cue a budding musician which finger needs to be played at a given moment. The goal is to fuse music with muscle memory to teach pianists their craft.

“You can literally feel the notes,” said Kevin Huang, the Georgia Tech graduate student who came up with the idea.

His early design is basically a golf glove powered by a battery that’s hooked into five vibrating motors. The glove has a wireless link to a PC, and sends a tiny jolt through the motors to prompt each suggested tap of a piano key.

The glove’s software links to only a handful of songs now, but developers say it can be synchronized with iPods or other music players. That means a student wouldn’t have to be sitting at a piano to begin building the muscle memory of how songs are played.

Huang and his professors were encouraged by a pilot study that showed it helped some users learn basic songs quicker. Eventually he hopes to turn the glove into a wristband that could teach users to play woodwind instruments as well.

Piano instructors need not worry: The glove won’t squeeze out traditional teaching methods.

“It’s not a replacement,” Huang said. “If somebody wanted to learn in a traditional way, they still can. This just augments it. It provides a new, alternative way to learn the piano for people who don’t have time for the traditional, vigorous process.”

Electronic Checks

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

It’s been a while since we did enter the age of limitless opportunities and an infinite gathering of technology. This is the age which can very well be titled as the cyber age and the Internet plays a major role in shaping up such a society. Banking and checks are also being handled through the Internet and things like eChecks, EFT Payment and ACH Processing are also gradually gaining prominence alongside the usual as well as existing modes of payments. Such modern modes of payments like eChecks, eChecks and ACH Processing are immensely popular in the United States of America. The available and current figures all indicate that about 20% of every transaction done through online procedures are usually based on checks. Approximately there are more than 75 million Americans who do not own a credit card however this shouldn’t create a problem as their respective business ventures can rightfully accept online checks. There are several benefits that one can get through Internet checks. Some of the benefits are as follows:-

# the days for waiting for the mail ceases completely.

# there is no ‘card not present’ fees.

# a virtual check terminal is present that totally integrates it with ALL the online shopping carts

Unmanned Russian cargo ship heads to space station

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

An unmanned Russian cargo ship is carrying supplies and a space suit to the international space station and its three-member crew.

The Progress M-66 spacecraft lifted off atop a Soyuz-U rocket from Russia’s launch facility in Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said the launch went well and the spacecraft entered orbit without a hitch. It is to dock with the station on Friday.

Lyndin said the Progress is carrying food, fuel, oxygen and other supplies as well as a second new Russian-made, computerized space suit for space walks.

American astronauts Michael Fincke and Sandra Magnus are aboard the station along with Russian Yuri Lonchakov. The crew size will be doubled to six members later this year.

Solid surprises from small video-game publishers

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Every gamer knows the names of the heavy hitters in electronic entertainment: Electronic Arts, Activision, Ubisoft and the rest. They’re the companies that can spend big bucks on state-of-the-art production, expensive licenses and elaborate promotional campaigns.

Then there are the dozens of smaller game publishers striving to make a buck in a crowded marketplace. Some sell their products exclusively as online downloads; others fight for space on retail store shelves.

Games from publishers in the latter category can be tough to find. Your local store may put in an order for a single copy. But here are some indie gems worth tracking down while you’re waiting, say, for “Resident Evil 5” to come out.

_”Big Bang Mini” (Southpeak, for the DS, $19.99): SouthPeak’s track record has been spotty, with games ranging from awful (”Two Worlds“) to amusing (”Ninjatown”). “Big Bang Mini” lands on the positive end of that scale, offering a fresh twist on the classic “Space Invaders”-style shoot-em-up.

The gimmick is that you shoot fireworks at enemies by flicking the stylus upward on the DS touch screen. (It’s kind of like lighting a match.) You also have to move around a tiny ship, avoiding debris and collecting falling stars. As the game progresses, you learn more useful skills and meet weirder enemies — here come the parachuting turtles! — so almost every level offers something new. “BBM” is one of the best bargains for the DS. Three stars out of four.

_”Moon” (Mastiff, for the DS, $29.99): Mastiff is best known for a pair of strategy games, “La Pucelle Tactics” and “Gurumin.” Now the company is branching out into the first-person shooter, inviting players to investigate a mysterious hatch discovered on the moon.

Most of “Moon” involves exploring the underground structure, shooting alien probes and trying to find out what happened to the other astronauts who vanished from the labyrinth. The atmosphere is appropriately claustrophobic and comes across surprisingly well on the DS. And thanks to Renegade Kid, whose previous project was the horror shooter “Dementium: The Ward,” the controls are sharp, again proving that this genre can work on Nintendo’s portable. Three stars.

_”My World My Way” (Atlus, for the DS, $29.99): Atlus’ reputation is based on its translations of weird Japanese role-playing games, particularly the brilliant “Persona” series. “My World My Way” doesn’t live up to that standard, although it’s built on a quirky premise: A spoiled princess named Elise is out to prove her heroism to a handsome adventurer.

By pouting, Elise can get the jump on enemies or even change the landscape. She also has a magic parrot and a shape-shifting blob to help out. Combat is somewhat bland, though, and the quests get repetitious. Nonetheless, Elise remains a beguiling companion on this lighthearted trek. Two-and-a-half stars.