Monday, August 31, 2009

MASTERING MAC OSX


Mastering Mac OS X
by Kirk McElhearn, Todd Stauffer

Covers OS X v.10.3, Panther!
On the Prowl for In-Depth, Step-by-Step, Mac OS X Coverage? Your Search Is Over
Whether you're new to the Mac, upgrading from a previous Mac OS version, or converting from Windows or Unix, Mastering Mac OS X, Third Edition is your one-stop resource for Apple's powerhouse operating system. Filled with detailed explanations, step-by-step instructions, and thorough examples for newbies and old-timers alike, this book answers all your questions and shows you how to take advantage of every aspect of Mac OS X. Expert authors Stauffer and McElhearn divulge their Mac OS X troubleshooting and problem-solving know-how. Over 900 pages of coverage includes:
Personalizing Mac OS X: Dock, Desktop, and Finder
Using the latest features including iChat AV, FontBook, FileVault and Exposé
Encrypting data, storing passwords, and using built-in applications
Connecting to, troubleshooting, and securing your Internet connection
Using, automating, and securing e-mail from viruses
Using QuickTime 6, QuickTime Pro, and iMovie to play, edit, and export movie files
Burning audio and data CDs and playing MP3s, Internet radio, and DVD movies
Importing, exporting, and editing digital images using iPhoto
Building a secure network and sharing files locally and over the Internet
Using Windows and Unix documents, networking protocols, and applications
Working with Terminal and Darwin command lines and Darwin applications
Backing up and recovering data, managing your disks and peripherals
Configuring and tweaking Apache, FTP serving, PHP, and MySQL
Quickly diagnosing and solvingcommon system-level problems
Troubleshooting Classic and native applications

LINK:
http://rapidshare.com/files/164229170/ebook.Mastering_Mac_Reg_OS_X_Mastering.0782142834.zip

HARRY POTTER BOOKS COLLECTION

DESCRIPTION:

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter, together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The central story arc concerns Harry's struggle against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents in his quest to conquer the wizarding world and subjugate non-magical (Muggle) people to his rule. Several successful derivative films, video games and other themed merchandise have been based upon the series.

Since the 1997 release of the first novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. As of June 2008, the book series has sold more than 400 million copies and has been translated into 67 languages, and the last four books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history.

English-language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia, and Raincoast Books in Canada. Thus far, the first six books have been made into a series of motion pictures by Warner Bros., with the sixth, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released on 15 July 2009.The series also originated much tie-in merchandise, making the Harry Potter brand worth £15 billion.


LIST OF BOOKS:

1.harry potter and the sorceres stone.

2.harry potter and the chamber of secrets.

3.harry potter and the prisoner of Azkaban.

4.harry potter and the goblet of fire.

5.harry potter and the order of phoenix.

6.harry potter and the half blood prince.

7.harry potter and the deathly hallows.

STORY:

The novels revolve around Harry Potter, an orphan who discovers that he is a wizard. Wizard ability is inborn, but children are sent to wizarding school to learn the magical skills necessary to succeed in the wizarding world. Harry is invited to attend the boarding school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life, and most of the events take place at Hogwarts. As he struggles through adolescence, Harry learns to overcome many magical, social and emotional hurdles.

links:

rs:

http://rapidshare.com/files/214724459/Harry_Potter_1-7_eBook_Collection.rar

mu:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7C9OCC5F

Mediafire DDL:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/cknd7gwwjxu/Harry%20Potter%201-7%20eBook%20Collection.rar

USE HJ SPLIT TO JOIN FILES

USE WIN RAR TO EXTRACT THE FILES




K-Lite Video Conversion Pack


K-Lite Video Conversion Pack will allow you to convert video files into various formats. It even allows creation of your own DVDs with custom menus. This is a software pack containing three tools. A powerful video conversion tool, a DVD authoring tool, and a burn tool. With this you can create for example your own DVDs.

This pack contains the following applications:
• Avidemux [version 2.4.4 (r4576)]
• ImgBurn [version 2.4.3.0]
• DVDStyler [version 1.7.2]

Avidemux is a very powerful tool for editing video files. It supports almost every type of video file as input. It can do lots of things: cut, remux, convert, etc. It contains its own decoders and encoders for all common audio and video formats, so it does not need any codecs.

ImgBurn is a versatile tool for burning DVDs.

DVDStyler is a basic DVD authoring tool. With this you can create your own video DVD, complete with a custom menu.

Usage example: Converting an AVI file to DVD
1) Use Avidemux to convert your file into a DVD compatible format: MPEG-2 video, AC3 audio, MPEG-PS container format
2) Drag&drop the converted file(s) into DVDStyler and create a custom menu. For example just a simple button to start the movie. Select the "Burn DVD..." option in the menu to generate an ISO file.
3) Burn the resulting ISO file with ImgBurn.


version:

version 1.5.0

size:

17.0 MB

release date:

August 24th 2009

LINK:
http://www.codecguide.com/video_conversion_pack.htm



Thursday, August 20, 2009

Nasa

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, pronounced /ˈnæsə/) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958 from its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).[ NASA has led U.S. efforts for space exploration ever since, resulting in the Apollo missions to the Moon, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. Currently NASA is supporting the International Space Station and developing new Ares I and IV launch vehicles.

In addition to the space program, it is also responsible for long-term civilian and military aerospace research. NASA Science is focused on better understanding Earth itself through the Earth Observing System, advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program, exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic missions such as New Horizons,and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs. Since February 2006 NASA's self-described mission statement is to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research."

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Windows XP Timesaving Techniques BOOK


Computers were supposed to save us time, but Windows XP users know how often the opposite seems to be true. What if you could get a list of shortcuts that would save you time every single day? Windows XP Timesaving Techniques For Dummies, 2nd Edition includes 70 of them, great tips and tricks that make Windows work faster, more reliably, and more like the way you work.

Collected and tested by Windows guru Woody Leonhard, these timesavers are organized into groups of related tasks so you can quickly find the ones that will help you at any given time. You can set up your desktop and launch your programs in the way that makes sense for you, take back control of the Internet and e-mail, manage your music and visual media, and protect your system in a few simple steps. You’ll find no-nonsense advice on

* Eliminating irritating programs that start automatically
* Speeding up the restart or shutdown process
* Streamlining searches, the Start menu, and Outlook Express
* Strengthening your firewall and zapping scumware
* Adjusting your monitor to reduce eyestrain
* Reducing download time for photos
* Enhancing the performance of your network
* Making online shopping faster as well as safer
* Scheduling maintenance chores to run while you sleep

From the most basic to somewhat advanced tricks designed for power users, this grocery list of timesavers has something for every Windows XP user— including you!


DOWNLOAD LINK:


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

NORTON ANTIVIRUS 2010 BETA



INFO:
This beta test version of Norton AntiVirus 2010 is the fastest, most proactive protection against viruses, Trojans and worms we have ever offered. The 2010 version of Norton AntiVirus offers superior performance, improved protection, and tools to help preserve the performance of your PC.

SCREENSHOT:





Highlight key features of Norton Anti-Virus 2010 Beta:

  • Scans only files and processes at risk using Norton Insight.
  • Installs in under one minute on average, requires less than 8 MB of memory.
  • Delivers up-to-the-minute protection with rapid pulse updates every 5 to 15 minutes.
  • Provides multi layered security through the Norton Protection System.
  • Prevents bots from taking control of your PC.
  • Detects and automatically removes malicious threats.
  • Defends against Web-based attacks.
  • Automatically detects and removes spyware, viruses, Trojans, bots and Internet worms.
  • Recovery tool boots and repairs badly infected PCs. Delivers our most complete, deep cleaning scan possible.
  • Norton Ongoing Protection provides continuous protection updates and new product features as they become available throughout your product subscription period, helping to keep your computer protected against the latest Internet threats and risks.
  • Norton Automatic Renewal Service helps to ensure that you’re protected by automatically renewing your product subscription before it expires.
  • Automatically schedules scans and updates to occur while PC is idle.
  • Review the security status of every process on your PC.
  • Silent mode helps ensures movies and games are never interrupted.
  • Maps your wireless home network.


DOWNLOAD:



MY VIDEO CONVERTER



My Video Converter is a powerful video tool to convert all popular video formats to AVI, MPEG, VCD, DVD, WMV formats.It can convert almost all video formats, e.g. AVI/DIVX/XVID/DIV, MPEG/MPG/DAT, WMV/ASF/ASX, RM/RMVB, MOV/QT, 3GP/3G2, MP4/M4V, and FLV. The main features include: adjust output video quality, adjust 4:3 or 16:9 video aspect, all encoders/codec are built-in and any supported conversion can be done once you downloading the software .Fast conversion speeds and high quality , simple GUI and very EASY to use.

Key Features of My Video Converter
Video source supports AVI/DIVX/XVID/DIV, MPEG/MPG/DAT, WMV/ASF/ASX, RM/RMVB, MOV/QT, 3GP/3G2, MP4/M4V, and FLV.
Convert video to AVI/DIVX/XVID format.
Convert video to MPEG1/MPEG2 format.
Convert video to VCD/SVCD/DVD compatible MPEG format.
Convert video to WMV/ASF format.
All encoders/codec are built-in and any supported conversion can be done once you downloading the software.
Batch files conversion.
Output size adjustment, output quality adjustment.
NTSC/PAL setting options for DVD, VCD, SVCD exporting.
Custom define the output audio volume.
Add letterbox to keep the original aspect ratio.
Support large video file, even large then 2GB.
Fast conversion speeds.
Make excellent output quality.

SCREEN SHOT:


DOWNLOAD:

BABYLON 8










Babylon Pro 8 is the ultimate all-in-one translation solution operated by a single click on your mouse. Simply click on a word or text in any desktop application and get instant translation results into 75 languages. Translation of full texts, Web pages and comprehensive documents is supported by 31 languages. All these features and more, like the integration into Microsoft Office Speller menu, contextual access, language detection, currencies and units conversion, are accessible without interrupting your work flow. Babylon 8 comes with a new dictionary pack, including updated Babylon dictionaries and 17 new Wikipedia titles. You may enhance your translation experience with premium content dictionaries from acclaimed publishing houses such as Oxford, Britannica, Merriam-Webster, Larousse, Vox, Langenscheidt, Pons, and Duden. With Babylon 8, understanding, reading and writing in all languages is easier, faster, and more efficient than ever before.

Version 8.0 r20 features translation of full Web pages and documents, seamless integration into Microsoft Office Speller, easier access and new dictionaries.

Babylon Pro 8 features:
• Single Click activation
• Text translation - in 31 languages
• Results from the world's leading publishers
• Encyclopedias including Wikipedia content
• Translations in more than 75 languages
• Unit Conversions - Convert currencies, measurements and time
• Writing Tools for English
• Spelling Alternatives
• Technical Requirement

• Single Click Activation
Babylon online dictionary is a simple and intuitive tool operated by a single click. Just click on any text written in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, emails, web pages, instant messages or any other desktop application. A small window will instantly appear containing the translation results, as well as any information or conversion that you require. You can also easily copy/paste to and from Babylon. Actually, once installed in your computer, Babylon will become a powerful and innovative reference tool of easy use that will allow you immediate online access to dictionaries and encyclopedias covering all topics and themes.

• Text Translation
Text translations in 31 languages, all in a single click. Text translation has never been easier; no need for additional browsers or copy/paste. Just click any word in the text you want to translate and Babylon will automatically identify the inserted text passage and translate it. Despite the fact, that no machine translation is 100% accurate or delivers results equal to human translation, this great new feature, based on the most advanced text translation technology, helps you understand texts in languages you are less familiar with.

Babylon's text translation is available in the following languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Hebrew, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, Russian, Korean, Turkish, Arabic, Farsi, Polish and Ukrainian.

• Results from the world's leading publishers
Get single click results from the world's leading dictionaries and encyclopedias for a small additional fee. Babylon offers its users a wide range of titles from the world's premier publishing houses: Britannica, Oxford, Merriam Webster, Pons, Larousse, Langenscheidt, Taishukan, Michaelis, Van-Dale and many more. View a list of all the dictionaries and encyclopedias that Babylon offers.

• Wikipedia content
Babylon online dictionary's single click intuitive technology now offers its users results from Wikipedia, The Web Free Encyclopedia, a multilingual web-based encyclopedia in 13 languages covering more than 2.2 million articles and definitions that are constantly updated according to the current events and science latest innovations. The combined use of online applications such as Babylon and Wikipedia, are today imperative tools for pupils, students and professional translators.

• Translation in more than 75 languages
Babylon's translation and dictionary software offers results from a database of 1,300 sources in more than 75 languages. The database includes 25 professional dictionaries in 31 languages developed by Babylon's own linguistic team: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Hebrew, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, Russian, Korean and Swedish. In fact, Babylon has developed a unique instant computerized translation tool that will eventually replace your traditional printed dictionaries, offering an immediate and online access to Internet information sources and a wide range of online dictionaries and glossaries that are constantly updated.

• Units & Measures Conversion
Babylon converts currencies, measurements and time-units, just click on any value in any desktop application to get instant conversions. Babylon online dictionary will automatically identify the required conversion type, based on unit symbols that appear next to the numbers. There is no more need to contact the bank or surf the web, an advanced conversion technology will allow you to find out online, at a single click, actual timetables and currency values, which are automatically updated on a daily basis.

• Writing Tools for English
In addition to text translation, Babylon online dictionary also offers its users tools for finding the exact word they are looking for and guarantee a correct verbal conjugation. Given that many words may be translated in several ways, Babylon enables its users to see each possible translation with its equivalent translation, in the user's native language. Babylon also shows all possible conjugations, enabling thus the correct usage of the term.

• Spelling Alternatives
An automatic spelling feature available in Babylon provides solutions for common typos, misspellings and wording problems.

Multilingual: English, Spanish French, Italian, Japanese, Portugués, German, etc
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

SCREENSHOTS:



WebcamMax




Key Features:
*Work for all webcam programs
* Add a variety of effects over webcam
* Download thousands of online effects
* Record video with effects and broadcast on YouTube or your Blog
* Share your screen with friends
* Play movie for friends or trick them with a fake video
* Select Webcam, Screen, Movie or Picture as PinP Source
* Paint on the video box directly

Record Video
Virtual Webcam
Enable PinP
Enable Doodling

DOWLOAD:































































































Friday, August 14, 2009

Bhuvan By ISRO {Watch Ur Home Pics From Space}



Bhuvan, (Sanskrit: भुवन, lit: Earth), is a satellite mapping tool similar to Google Earth and Wikimapia. It was developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It offers resolution up to 5 metres and is considered as a rival to Google Earth and Wikimapia.

A prototype (beta) of this application was launched on 12th August 2009.

Overview

ISRO launched the beta version of its web-based 3-D satellite imagery tool, Bhuvan, on August 12, 2009. Bhuvan will offer superior imagery of Indian locations compared to other Virtual Globe software with spatial resolutions ranging from 6 m to 55 m. Locations can be viewed from different perspectives and will allow for the measurement of distances. The Bhuvan portal is designed to run on slow Internet connections. The imagery would steer clear of all sensitive military installations in India for security concerns.

Bhuvan displays better images of India than the ones relayed by Google Earth along with a number of other interesting features which include weather information and even administrative boundaries of all states and districts, relevant only to the country. Bhuvan is equally capable of offering images of the globe, but the best resolution area includes India at the moment. In the Indian subcontinent, Bhuvan will be able to display a picture from ten meters away that is; a commuter moving on the road can be easily spotted.

National Remote Sensing Agency played an important role in the creation of this product. ISRO has used data provided by satellites including Resourcesat-1, Cartosat-1 and Cartosat-2 to get the best possible imagery for India. ISRO claims that the application can provide imagery of up to 10 metres for major Indian cities compared to 200 meters provided by Google Earth.

Bhuvan is based on TeraExplorer software a product of Skylinesoft company

Features



  • Bhuvan allows users to access, explore and visualize 2D and 3D image data along with rich thematic information on soil, wasteland, water resources etc in the Indian subcontinent.
  • It displays multi-resolution, multi-sensor, multi-temporal image data.
  • Users can superpose administrative boundaries of choice on images as required.
  • It allows visualization of AWS(Automatic Weather Stations) data in a graphic view and use tabular weather data of user choice .
  • Fly to locations (Enables users to fly from the current location directly to the selected location)
  • It features a Heads-Up Display(HUD) navigation controls (Tilt slider, north indicator, opacity, compass ring, zoom slider)
  • Allows navigation using the 3D view Pop-up menu (Fly-in, Fly out, jump in, jump around, view point)
  • 3D Fly through (3D view to fly to locations, objects in the terrain, and navigate freely using the mouse or keyboard)
  • Drawing 2D objects (Text labels, polylines, polygons, rectangles, 2D arrows, circles, ellipse)
  • Drawing 3D Objects (placing of expressive 3D models, 3D polygons, boxes)
  • Snapshot creation (copies the 3D view to a floating window and allows to save to a external file)
  • Measurement tools (Horizontal distance, aerial distance, vertical distance, measure area)
  • Shadow Analysis (it sets the sun position based on the given time creating shadows and effects the lighting on the terrain)

There would be many more value added functions and facilities which will be added into the package from time to time. Particular interest of ISRO/DOS would be to provide such functionalities to common man so that they can adopt participatory approach with scientists to solve simple problems easily and interactively.

Some of the advanced functionalities to be provided in future versions:

  • Urban Design Tools (to build roads, junctions and traffic lights in an urban setting)
  • Contour map (Displays a colorized terrain map and contour lines)
  • Terrain profile (Displays the terrain elevation profile along a path)
  • Draw tools (Creates simple markers, free hand lines, urban designs)
  • Navigation map (to jump to and view locations in the 3D India)

Technical Requirements

The Beta version of Bhuvan can run only on windows system and is optimized for Internet Explorer 6. or higher.

Hardware and software requirement:

  • Operating System: Windows XP/Vista
  • CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz+ or AMD 2400xp+
  • System Memory (RAM): 512MB
  • Hard Disk: 2GB free space
  • Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec
  • Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM
  • Screen: 1280x1024, 32-bit True Color
to use register at
http://bhuvan2.nrsc.gov.in/Bhuvan/WebClient/PresentationLayer/WebClient/usr_reg.asp

download set up:
http://rapidshare.com/files/266776224/BhuvanSetup.exe

swine flu

INTRODUCTION:

The 2009 flu pandemic is a global outbreak of a new strain of a influenza A virus subtype H1N1, officially named the "new H1N1", first identified in April 2009, and commonly called "Swine flu." It is thought to be a reassortment of four known strains of influenza A virus[98]: one endemic in (normally infecting) humans, one endemic in birds, and two endemic in pigs (swine). Transmission of the new strain is human-to-human, with cooked pork products safe to eat as the virus cannot be transmitted by eating foods.

The outbreak began in Mexico, with evidence that Mexico was already in the midst of an epidemic for months before the outbreak was recognized[citation needed]. Soon after Barack Obama's visit to the country, its government closed down most of Mexico City's public and private offices and facilities to help contain the spread. In early June, as the virus spread around the planet, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak to be a pandemic, but also noted that most illnesses were of "moderate severity."

The virus has since spread to the Southern Hemisphere which entered its winter flu season, and to many less developed countries with limited healthcare systems. Because the virus was spreading with "unprecedented speed", and many clinics were overwhelmed testing and treating patients, WHO stopped requiring countries to report all cases, but is still monitoring unusually large outbreaks.[99][100]

Like any other flu, the virus typically spreads from coughs and sneezes or by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the nose or mouth. Symptoms, which can last up to a week, are similar to those of seasonal flu, and may include fever, sneezes, sore throat, coughs, headache, and muscle or joint pains. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that most cases worldwide are usually mild, and most hospitalizations and deaths have been of persons that also had underlying conditions such as asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or a weakened immune system. The CDC's Anne Schuchat states, "this is a virus that's capable of causing a spectrum of illness that includes severe complications and death. . . It's very important we take this virus seriously".[101]As the virus spreads easily between people, through the air or surface contact, those who get the flu are recommended to stay home from school or work and avoid crowds to avoid spreading the infection further.

In an attempt to slow the spread of the illness, a number of countries, especially in Asia, have quarantined airline passengers with flu symptoms, while some are also pre-screening passengers. WHO does not expect to have a full vaccine before the end of 2009, and vaccines available sooner may be limited and given first to healthcare workers, pregnant women, and other higher risk groups. Two or three injections will be required for maximum immunity from both the swine flu and seasonal flu.[citation needed] The World Health Organization is also concerned if the new virus mutates further, it could become more virulent and less susceptible to any new vaccine.


HISTORY:


Influenza surveillance information "answers the questions of where, when, and what influenza viruses are circulating. It can be used to determine if influenza activity is increasing or decreasing, but cannot be used to ascertain how many people have become ill with influenza".[102] Estimating deaths from influenza is also a complicated process. In 2005 influenza only appeared on the death certificates of 1,812 people (USA only). The average annual toll from flu is, however, estimated to be 36,000[103] (USA only). The CDC explains[97] that "…influenza is infrequently listed on death certificates of people who die from flu-related complications." and furthermore that "Only counting deaths where influenza was included on a death certificate would be a gross underestimation of influenza’s true impact."

The last WHO update, issued on July 6, showed 94,512 confirmed cases in 122 countries, with 429 deaths. Many epidemiologists have pointed out that, in reality, millions of people have had swine flu, usually in a mild form, so the numbers of laboratory-confirmed cases were actually meaningless.[100] Partly as a result, on July 16, WHO announced that it "will no longer issue the global tables showing the numbers of confirmed cases for all countries".[99] Instead, national health authorities from all countries should inform WHO on a weekly basis of their qualitative assessment of the geographical spread, trend of cases, intensity of disease, impact on the health‐care system, and deaths.[104]

In the U.S. as of July 17, the number of confirmed infections was 40,617, with 263 deaths, according to the CDC. But the agency believes that more than one million people have been infected and weren't tested for the virus or didn't visit a doctor. Since the disease has now become so widespread, the CDC says it too will "probably" suspend counting cases within the next few weeks and focus instead on tracking clusters, severe cases, deaths and other unusual events.[105]

Early reports

The initial outbreak received a week of near-constant media attention.[106] Epidemiologists cautioned that the number of cases reported in the early days of an outbreak can be very inaccurate and deceptive due to several causes, among them selection bias, media bias, and incorrect reporting by governments.[107] Inaccuracies could also be caused by authorities in different countries looking at differing population groups.[107] Furthermore, countries with poor health care systems and older laboratory facilities may take longer to identify or report cases.[108]

The CDC in late May stated that counting confirmed cases had become "largely irrelevant," and switched instead to its traditional surveillance systems for monitoring flu-like symptoms by looking for patterns, clusters and changes in flu activity nationwide. According to the CDC, surveillance methods, along with rapid isolation and treatment, only makes sense at the very earliest stage of an outbreak, and "becomes irrelevant" once the virus is spreading widely within the community, as it is in the United States.[109]

In some instances, governments accused other countries of intentionally underreporting cases. Moscow, for instance, hinted that the Dominican Republic was under-reporting cases to "boost tourism." [110] In early May, Cuba's Fidel Castro accused Mexico of hiding the scope of the epidemic until after President Obama visited the country in April.[111]

In the U.S. data accuracy has also become an issue, with some school districts deciding to keep the names of students and schools that have reported infections confidential, one stating that "it would not be fair to single out one school," since doing so would be likely to trigger requests by parents to have their children tested despite their health not being in danger, and the schools lacking the ability to test everyone.[112] Dr. Hector Gonzalez, Director of the Laredo Health Department, said that according to CDC guidelines, physicians only need to submit samples for testing if the patient is a child under 5 years of age, is pregnant, has an underlying medical condition or is suffering from respiratory distress requiring urgent care.[113]

Test accuracy

In early June, WHO and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledged that a new laboratory test used to identify the virus was about 90 per cent accurate, [114] while rapid diagnostic tests have an accuracy of 50-70%. To be safe, some experts suggest, anyone who exhibits flu like symptoms (sore throat, cough, fever), should be presumed to have swine flu until there is concrete evidence to the contrary.[115]

Historical context

Annual influenza epidemics are estimated to affect 5–15% of the global population. Although most cases are mild, this still causes severe illness in 3–5 million people and around 250,000–500,000 deaths worldwide. In industrialized countries severe illness and deaths occur mainly in the high-risk populations of infants, the elderly, and chronically ill patients.[116]

In addition to these annual epidemics, Influenza A virus strains caused three major global epidemics during the 20th century: the Spanish flu in 1918, Asian flu in 1957 and Hong Kong flu in 1968–69. These pandemics were caused by strains of Influenza A virus that had undergone major genetic changes and for which the population did not possess significant immunity.[116][117] The overall effects of these pandemics and epidemics are summarized in the table below.


Vaccination Recommendations

With the new H1N1 virus continuing to cause illness, hospitalizations and deaths in the US during the normally flu-free summer months and some uncertainty and about what the upcoming flu season might bring, CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has taken an important step in preparations for a voluntary novel H1N1 vaccination effort to counter a possibly severe upcoming flu season. On July 29, ACIP met to consider who should receive novel H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available.


FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THIS PLEASE VISIT

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

SUGGESTIONS:

Citizens are hereby informed to wear msaks while roaming in the places where chances of infection are high


Google TV BOX 2009 (Watch TV on ur PC)


Deep in the Googleplex there is an engineering team thinking about how to extend Google’s reach into your TV.The Work of these experts has Taken a shape Now and The result is google Tv box 2oo9

CREDITS:
No need for satellite dish or cable. Sports, action, documentaries,
chat, music and much more. Media player included within the software.
Free lifetime channel updates. You can also listen to online radio.

LINK:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mmdjjtxvzhn
Its work goes way beyond the Google TV ads currently being tested by EchoStar (and targeted with help from Nielsen). It even goes way beyond the development of a Google set-top box, which has been hinted at in the past. In fact, Google may very well want to do to the set-top box what it is trying to do to the mobile phone with its Android operating system—create an open-source hardware platform and attract developers to build applications on top of it. At least that is the unconfirmed rumor I’ve heard from two knowledgeable industry sources.

“That’s been a persistent rumor, yeah,” says Peter Barrett, chief technology officer for Microsoft TV (and the only source willing to be attributed by name). “You would have to ask them about whether they are doing anything like that and whether it is a good idea or not,” he adds. So I put the question to Vincent Dureau, the head of Google’s TV technology team and the former chief technology officer at OpenTV, who was hired by Google two years ago. “There are rumors about what Google does all the time,” he says. “We have been totally focused on advertising so far.” Google’s policy is not to comment on future products. But Dureau never denies the rumor outright. He couches his response with phrases like “so far” and “at this stage.” And, when pressed, he does allow that there is “a lot of potential” for turning the TV set-top box into a platform for applications, but insists, “I have no insights as to what form of applications will be deployed on those set-top boxes or not.” Perhaps. Or perhaps he just doesn’t have any insights he is willing to share with us. Fair enough.

Let’s read through the tea leaves ourselves then. So far, Google’s aspiration has been to change the way advertising is sold on TV. Through its partnership with EchoStar, it is automating the way TV ads are bought and sold, and changing the way they are measured (by studying the second-by-second logs from millions of set-top boxes in an anonymous fashion). But why stop there? The modern set-top boxes you get from your cable or satellite TV provider are basically computers. They are loaded with a few limited applications—a program guide, DVR menu, customer-service messaging, and not much else. They are closed boxes, tightly controlled by the cable and satellite TV companies. For the most part, there are not a lot of interesting applications that run on set-top boxes.

An open-source operating system like Android for the set-top box could change that. If creating applications for set-top boxes was more like creating applications for the Web, we’d be able to do a lot more things with our TVs—especially if those set-top boxes were also connected to the Web. Want instant messaging and caller ID on your TV? No problem. Want customized information widgets for the TV that scroll breaking news, weather, sports scores or stock quotes from sources you choose in your own ticker at the bottom of the screen? No problem. Want to turn that annoying ticker off? No problem. Want to control the camera angles on that basketball game? No problem. Want to add the live video stream from your friend’s cell phone who is at the game? No problem. Want to create your own video mashup of fight scenes from various movies that you can edit right on your TV and share with others on their TVs? No problem.

Oh, and what about new forms of advertising? Inserting ads into pay-per-view or triggering them when someone presses fast-forward on their DVR require applications of a different sort. You might not like that, but the TV industry would. Any new video ad unit that starts to gain traction on the Web could be ported over to regular TVs—clickable overlays, contextual video ads, unobtrusive sponsorship icons. Why not even let viewers program their own ads with a laundry list of categories and companies to choose from? They might actually watch them.

When it comes to advertising, Google is not shy about stating its ambitions. “We are confident we are going to revive the television advertising industry,” says Dureau, “by bringing new advertising to it.” Already, Google is trying to make TV ads more relevant, easier to target, and cheaper to deploy. As a result, Google thinks it can attract more ad dollars from smaller businesses that may not have been advertising on TV before.

“In many ways,” says Dureau, “we think that television is becoming like the Internet in that there is a multiplication of channels. This creates challenges for viewers, advertisers and creators.” He is already addressing the concerns of advertisers. An Android-like project for the set-top box could help address the concerns of viewers and creators by giving people more control over their TV viewing experience. And making the set-top box more useful by opening it up to a bounty of applications could mean more advertising opportunities. Those apps would be yet another way to keep viewers glued to their TV sets.

Before Google announced Android, many people thought Google was developing its own mobile phone. But the point of Android is to get other companies to build the phones and a new set of applications for them. Google wants to supply the underlying technology to make it happen, and finally bring the mobile world into the Web age. It should be obvious by now that Google is much happier when it is creating technology platforms—for mobile apps, for social apps, for advertising— than one-off consumer products. Why should it be any different when it comes to television? (And remember, Andy Rubin and others on Google’s Android team used to work at WebTV and TV software startup Moxi Digital, although Android is not officially part of Dureau’s group).

In any case, Google would not be the first to try this. Some of the hypothetical applications I describe above are already being developed for Microsoft’s IPTV set-top boxes, which runs Microsoft Mediaroom. Anyone can write an application for Mediaroom on the PC and easily make it work on an IPTV set-top box (or an Xbox or an HD-DVD drive, both of which come with Ethernet jacks). There are only about 50 or so third-party apps for Mediaroom right now, however, because making TV apps easier to build is not enough. Getting cable or satellite TV providers to put those apps on their set-top boxes is the bigger battle.

“Service providers are open to good rich apps on their network if they do emerge,” says Microsoft’s Barrett. Not surprisingly he does not think that an open-source, Android approach is the way to go. “Trying to make a level playing field,” he says, “really is not in the service provider’s interest. It is in Google’s. But if you just throw the doors open, the TV or the phone becomes unusable pretty quickly.” The same argument is why Apple is cautious about allowing third-party apps on the iPhone. You don’t want some random app crashing your cell phone or your TV. But that just means device makers or carriers need to certify that the apps are safe. The still-closed mobile world is moving in this direction despite these issues.

The prospect of opening up the TV to Web-like applications holds a lot of promise, especially if those same apps can run on the Web or mobile phones with a few tweaks. Whether people will want those apps on their TVs is another question entirely. So far, the answer has been no. But that could just be because it has been too difficult to get apps onto those set-top boxes. For this to work, Google would have to convince at least one cable or satellite TV provider to let viewers try out the resulting apps on its service. Google already has a strong relationship with EchoStar, which I hear is for sale. My understanding is that Google is in the early stages of developing its Android set-top box strategy. It may end up deciding not to pursue it. But it is the type of thorny problem that Google engineers (and ad sales executives) thrive on.