Beware! That laptop could make you infertile!

New York: Just give a second thought before you perch the laptop computer on your lap - it can affect your fertility. Researchers in the United States have carried out a study and found that the heat generated by the laptops raises the risk of infertility in men who balance the machines on their lap, the 'WebMD' reported.

 

"Working on laptop computers in a laptop position causes significant scrotal temperature elevation as a result of heat exposure and posture-related effects," according to lead researcher Prof Yefim Sheynkin. Working on laptop computers in a laptop position causes significant scrotal (the pouch of skin that contains the testes) temperature elevation as a result of heat exposure and posture-related effects, say experts

 

Prof Sheynkin and his fellow researchers at the State University of New York came to the conclusion after studying 29 healthy young men aged between 21 and 35 for two, one-hour sessions in a climate-controlled room.

 

Participants were all similarly dressed in casual wears. After having their body temperature taken and standing in the room for 15 minutes to adjust to the room's internal temperature, they sat down and were given working and non-working laptop computers. The men balanced the computers on their laps.

 

The researchers then removed the nonworking computers, instructing the participants to hold the position for the rest of the session. Participants with working laptop computers kept the computers in place throughout the session.

 

The men's scrotal temperature was recorded every three minutes. The temperature on the bottom of the working laptops was also monitored. According to their findings, scrotal temperature rose with the working and non-working computers. The working ones prompted a greater increase in scrotal temperature - around 2.7 degrees Celsius - enough to cause infertility.

A thumb scan device to test blood sugar level

For diabetics, the daily routine of pricking their finger to check blood-sugar levels can be an annoying and inconvenient task. But now, a US researcher at Baylor University has developed an electromagnetic sensor that could provide diabetics a non-invasive alternative to reading their blood glucose levels.

"We are definitely excited," said Dr Randall Jean, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor. "This is a relatively new area the market is exploring and we've demonstrated that using microwave energy can work."

The sensor uses electromagnetic waves to measure blood glucose levels in the body. As the energy goes from the sensor through the skin and back to the sensor, the glucose level is measured through the transfer of energy.

Jean said the microwave frequency range is wide enough to isolate the effect of sugar in the blood and minimise the characteristics of other things like body fat and bone, which could alter accurate readings. He also said using electromagnetic waves is relatively safe because they do not ionise the body's molecules like X-rays can do.

To measure glucose levels, users must press their thumb against the sensor, and a new study by the Baylor researchers shows that the sensor is accurate. Researchers took samples of 20 people and compared those samples to levels measured by an over-the-counter commercial sensor.

The researchers found Baylor's non-invasive sensor has the potential of achieving the same or even better accuracy than current commercial sensors, many of which prick the finger to sample blood.

"The sensor passed its first simple quantitative test," Jean said. "It can provide useful information to help the user decide what course of action they should take."

A ‘transparent’ touch-screen device

While touchscreen devices are increasing in popularity, the small screen sizes are proving to be a problem because users' fingers block the graphical elements he wishes to work with. Now, a US researcher at Microsoft has created an interface that gives the user a semi-transparent view of the device, thus providing easier navigation.

Researcher Patrick Baudisch demonstrated his 'LucidTouch' technology at TechFest, Microsoft's annual display of experimental technology in Redmond on Tuesday.

LucidTouch allows users of touch-screen devices, such as GPS units or mobile phones, to perform operations from behind the device, so their actions do not block their view of the display.
The device currently uses a camera mounted behind the unit; but the researcher is planning to integrate the necessary sensors into the back panel.

"The key to making this usable is what we call pseudo-transparency," said Baudisch. "By overlaying an image of the user's hands onto the screen, we create the illusion of the mobile device itself being semi-transparent. This pseudo-transparency allows users to accurately acquire targets while not occluding the screen with their fingers and hand.

LucidTouch also supports multi-touch input, allowing users to operate the device simultaneously with all 10 fingers.

Baudisch envisions myriad uses for the device, from navigation tools and personal computing to graphic design and video games. For instance, gamers can control multiple units in a strategy game. Two gamers may put the tablet between them and each play one side in a sports game.

At this year's Techfest, forty new technologies were displayed, showing how computing enables new experiences, and how the basic tools of computer science are evolving to help all sciences advance more rapidly.

How To Restore Desktop Icon In Quick Launch Bar

Have ever lost the "Show Desktop" incon from the quick lunch bar?

 

Follow the steps below and you'll restore your lost icon back in no time.

1. Open Notepad and type the following in the text area.

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Now save it as "Desktop Icon.SCF" (without the quotes) on your dektop. This new file will look like the Desktop Icon. Now, all you need to do is copy/paste this file in

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Note: username in the above location is your own User Account name. It differs on very computer.

Now open your Quick Launch bar and see. The desktop icon will be there now. Drag and drop at whatever position you want.

Computer ( Male or Female?)

A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike

English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

 

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.'

 

'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

 

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'

 

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves

 

whether computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun.  Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

 

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:

 

 

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

 

2. The  native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

 

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

 

4. As  soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

 

(THIS GETS BETTER!)

 

 

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:

 

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

 

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

 

3. They  are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

 

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

 

Subservient Programmer

Some friend of mine sent me this link

 

Connect to this link in Internet Explorer. You will see a person sitting in front of the computer.

Type the words like "LAUGH" and then hit the button "dispatch". The person will do that action!

Like that you type "CLEAN, CRY, DANCE, DRAW, RUN, THROW, BREAK, STAND, VOMIT, EAT, DRINK, PISS, etc...Whatever you like, but it should be a single word.

http://www.subservientprogrammer.com/main.aspx

 

Please do it on internet explorer.
 

How To Release More Memory

So you have 15 icons in your system tray.

 

So what?

 

So they're eating your computer's memory like rats

chewing through Internet cables.

 

System Tray:???

Its That area "down there" in the lower right corner of your screen

where the clock sits. See it??

 

Each icon represents a program that's running silently in the background.

 

A "TSR"... Terminate and Stay Resident.

 

A "TSR" is a program that starts up when you turn on your computer,

then terminates (you don't see it) but stays resident in memory.

 

And it uses up resources!

(A resource is a special place in memory that is easily wasted.)

 

Check your resources now.

For Win 98/ME users ...

Right click on My Computer,

choose "Properties" ,

then click the "Performance" tab.

 

 

For XP users ...
Use the Windows Task Manager ...

On your keyboard Click on Ctrl + Alt + Delete at the same time.

A window pops up.

Click on 'performance.

What is the percentage of free resources?

 

45? 65? 80?

 

If your computer is like most folks, you'll have maybe 45 percent free.

 

Which of course means over half of your system's brains

are being clogged. And that's why

your system may

 

freeze up,

lock up,

fall apart, or

collapse.

 

No amount of CPR or Advanced Computer Life Support will cure it.

 

The only way to "fix" your computer's resource problem is to reboot...

that is, restart.

 

How can you stop all the "TSR"s from loading when you power up?

Now you are talking ....

 

If you have Windows 98 (not XP), you can use MSCONFIG.

Instead of writing a lengthy bit asking how to use it,

just send a blank email to: msconfig@newbieclub .com

 

You'll get our report on how to use the Utility,

as well as a link to a site that tells you what you can disable.

 

By "Utility" I don't mean Pacific Gas and Electric.

 

I mean MSCONFIG.

It's called a utility.

It's a little program that does big things for you.

 

Or XP/98 users can grab this great free program

called Process Explorer at the Microsoft Site ...

http://www.sysinter nals.com/ Utilities/ ProcessExplorer. html

 

It works for all Windows versions.

Happy Computing ....

Robo-pen for blind

British researchers have developed a robotic pen that they say may enable blind people to write clearly and consistently.

All that one will have to do to use McSig – as the "force-feedback" pen has been named – is to gently guide one's hand.

Stephen Brewster, an expert at the University of Glasgow, says the system uses an off-the-shelf haptic device by US-based SensAble Technologies, called the Phantom Omni – a stylus mounted at the end of a motorised arm, which is capable of moving and resisting movement in three dimensions.

Under the guidance of a teacher, Brewster and his colleagues tested the system on eight visually impaired children: three of whom were partially sighted, and five were completely blind.
The teacher first wrote a letter on a touch-sensitive computer screen using a normal pen.

The Phantom re-enacted the motion required to write the letter as the pupil held the stylus and, thus, gave them a sense of how to move a pen to produce a letter.

Besides haptic feedback, the system also provides audio cues using stereo sound to guide students as to how they should move the pen.

The system pans the sound from left to right as the pen moves horizontally, and increases and decreases the pitch to signify forward and backward movements.

After a practice of about 20 minutes on the haptic device, the students tried writing with a regular pen on a plastic film known as Dutch drawing paper, which creates an imprint that can be felt after writing.

The students – all of whom were unable to write before the training – started to write recognisable letters after the practice session.

The researchers now plan to conduct longer-term trials with the new device.

"Even though we don't write cheques any more, it is surprising how often you are asked to sign and date a form," says Sile O'Modhrain, a visually impaired haptics expert at Queen's University Belfast in Ireland, who was not involved in the study.

"Besides, there is something demeaning about having to ask someone to sign something on your behalf and thereby become a proxy for you," she adds.

Talking about the significance of the new device, Brewster says: "The nice thing about our tool is the teacher can create stencils so the kids can practice any time."

While the Phantom device is costly, the researchers believe that similar software may lead to cheaper models costing about $100 (Rs 4,000 approx).

The results of the study were presented at the 26th Computer and Human Interaction conference in Florence, Italy.

FREE 1 Year Kaspersky Anti-Virus Genuine License Key

Follow the steps below to get your free 1 year Kaspersky Anti-Virus serial number.

1. Go to China Kaspersky forum registration page.

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3. Fill up the forum registration form.

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5. Enter your e-mail address, select any one from the drop down box and click the red color button

 

6. Check your email now. You should get an email from kaba365. If it's not in your inbox after a few minutes, check your junk/spam folder. The email contains a link that will generate a 1 year Kaspersky Anti-Virus serial number for you.

7. Voila! You get a free 1 year genuine Kaspersky Anti-Virus serial number!
 

8. Download Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0 and install.

9. After installation, you'll be asked to activate your copy of Kaspersky. Make sure "Activate using the activation code" is selected and click Next. The page page is where you get to enter the Kaspersky activation code that you got from kaba365.

Enjoy using the best antivirus to protect your computer from viruses for the whole year

 

 

Hi-tech toothbrush makes oral hygiene a game

London: Researcher at the National Taiwan University have developed a hi-tech toothbrush to make it fun for children to brush their teeth.

They added three LEDs to the end of a toothbrush, which can be tracked using computer vision technology.

Using a Web cam mounted above the sink, the movements of the "Playful Toothbrush" can be tracked in three dimensions and the data fed into a computer.

The computer distinguishes the orientation of the brush, and can also track its X-axis "roll" and Z-axis "yaw".

The researchers say the data can be used to to determine which teeth the bristles are in contact with. The system can distinguish 24 different areas in the mouth.

They have also added a simple computer game to their toothbrush, which uses sound and vision to encourage children to scrub colourful dirt from a set of virtual teeth shown on a screen.

As the children clean their own teeth, they see an instant impact on the virtual teeth.

Tests found that kindergarten children were twice as effective at cleaning their teeth after five days of trial with the new system.

"I was confident it would work, based on 25 years' clinical experience with children. But the results are beyond my expectations," says Jin-Ling Lo, an occupational therapist on Chu's team.

The researchers are now targeting older children.

"For older children or adults, the design may be a bit different. Users could download their preferred games according to their age and gender," Chu says.