Australian girl changes blood group, immune system
CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian teenage girl has become the world’s first known transplant patient to change blood groups and take on the immune system of her organ donor, doctors said on Friday, calling her a “one-in-six-billion miracle.”

Demi-Lee Brennan, now 15, received a donor liver when she was 9 years old and her own liver failed.

“It’s like my second chance at life,” Brennan told local media, recounting how her body achieved what doctors said was the holy grail of transplant surgery. “It’s kind of hard to believe.”

More »

Orbiting U.S. spy satellite could crash to Earth

Reuters) - A U.S. intelligence satellite has lost power and could fall to Earth sometime in February or March, a government official said on Saturday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the spy satellite can no longer be controlled and it was not known where on the planet it might come down.

More »

Hindi Songs

Punjabi Songs

The PDA Computer

Microprocessors and Memory

Like standard desktop and laptop computers, PDAs are powered by microprocessors. The microprocessor is the brain of the PDA, and it coordinates all of the functions according to programmed instructions. Unlike desktop PCs and laptops, PDAs use smaller, cheaper microprocessors. Although these microprocessors tend to be slower than their PC counterparts, they’re adequate for the tasks that PDAs perform. The benefits of small size and price outweigh the cost of slow speeds.

The parts that can make up a PDA

A PDA doesn’t have a hard disk. It stores basic programs (address book, calendar, memo pad and operating system) in a read-only memory (ROM) chip, which remains intact even when the machine shuts down. Your data and any programs you add later are stored in the device’s random-access memory (RAM). Information in RAM is only available when the device is on. Due to their design, PDAs keep data in RAM safe because they continue to draw a small amount of power from the batteries even when you turn the device off.

Less powerful PDAs have lower amounts of RAM. However, many application programs take up significant memory space, so most models have more memory. Also, Pocket PC devices generally require more resources and have even more RAM. To provide additional memory, many PDAs accept removable flash media add-on cards. These are handy for storing large files or multimedia content, such as digital photos.

Some newer PDAs, such as the Palm Tungsten E2, use flash memory instead of RAM. Flash memory is non-volatile, which means it preserves the data and applications it stores — even when all battery power is depleted.

Operating Systems

The operating system contains the pre-programmed instructions that tell the microprocessor what to do. The operating systems used by PDAs are not as complex as those used by PCs. They have fewer instructions, which require less memory.

Here’s an inside view of a PDA. The circuit board folds away from the screen. In the middle of the single-layer circuit board is the microprocessor, and to the left and above are the memory chips.

PDAs and smartphones typically have one of two types of operating systems: Palm OS or Windows Mobile. However, RIM makes a specific OS for its BlackBerry devices, and the Symbian OS operates some smartphones.

Sales fall spells gloom for music industry

The music industry faced more bleak news yesterday as official figures showed that revenues from all recorded music shrank 10 per cent last year.

The data released by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the industry trade body, show that the growth in digital downloads slowed in 2007 and failed to compensate for crashing CD sales.

The figures will make depressing reading for music executives as they gather for MIDEM, the industry’s biggest annual conference in Cannes tonight.

  More »

 Sony Ericsson unveils two new handsets

Mobile handset manufacturer Sony Ericsson on Thursday unveiled its two entry level handsets — ‘R300i’ and ‘R306i’ — that will be launched in the Indian market in the second half of 2008. The company also said it would increase the number of retail outlets to 300 by 2009. Addressing a press conference, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communication General Manager Sudhin Mathur said the two handsets, priced between Rs. 3,500 and Rs. 5,000, had been designed exclusively for India and would be manufactured at its Chennai plant. The new ‘radio phones’ would provide advanced features, including radio recording, VGA/1.3 megapixel camera, bluetooth and GPRS.

According to Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Head (Asia Pacific) Lennard Hoornik: “India is an important market for us. In 2007, we announced plans for manufacturing and R&D in India. To continue the momentum, and to further our commitment in India, I am pleased to announce our very first models designed for the Indian consumer and manufactured in India.” The company had earlier said its manufacturing capacity will touch one crore units by 2009. It now manufactures its J110i, J120i, J121i and W200i models in its Indian facility.

Dell Offers More Ubuntu Linux Laptops

More laptop computers preloaded with Ubuntu Linux are coming from Dell Inc. in response to demand from potential customers around the world.

Starting Wednesday, Dell will offer Ubuntu Linux 7.10 on its XPS 1330 laptops in France, Germany, Spain and the U.K., the company said on its Direct2Dell blog. U.S. customers will be able to order the machines in “a week or so,” the company said.

For customers in Spain, this will be the first time that Dell has offered a pre-loaded computer for sale with Ubuntu Linux. Pricing details for the U.S. machines were not available.

More »

Closer Look: Beta Windows Vista Service Pack 1

With dissatisfaction over the Vista operating system persistent, can Microsoft right the OS’s wrongs with its upcoming Vista service pack?

Microsoft made the latest beta of Vista SP1 available to the public earlier this month, and after informally testing it for a couple of days, I find my PC is working more reliably–and some tasks especially file copying, take less time. But I was hoping for more out of SP1, such as bigger system performance gains and fixes for Vista annoyances including the oft-criticized User Account Control feature.

More »

A Clearer View of Vista

There are times when I feel like I’m in a tiny minority of people who don’t hate Windows Vista.

Vista arrived in stores and on consumer PCs at the end of last January, after years of delay. But as Windows XP’s successor nears its first birthday, few customers seem inclined to celebrate.

For other software companies, Vista would be a blockbuster. But Microsoft has a tougher standard to meet: the success of previous Windows updates. Compared with XP and Windows 95, each of which had a comparable marketing push, Vista is a disappointment.

More »