The worst scanner in the world
I bought a UMAX Scanner 3400 after some months before its launch. And to tell you the truth, the scanner is a real looser in terms of its build quality.

Within the first 10 months of the scanner, it gave me all sorts of patches on the scanned documents. After giving it to the assembler he repaired it and gave it to me as it was in warranty.

But to my surprise this same thing occurred again after few months, And today my scanner is just a space occupier (NPA) on my desk.

When searching on the net for the problem, i came across thousands of users who had this same problem with their Umax scanner.

Hence i would suggest that please avoid buying an UMAX Scanner. Instead go in for BENQ (Acer formerly) or HP.

- This review is also published by me on Mouthshut.

64-Bit computing:Do we need it?

The question Why we need 64-bit computing? is often asked, but rarely answered satisfactorily. That this is so evidenced by the fact that the question keeps coming up again and again in online discussions. There are good reasons for the confusion surrounding the question, 1) how does the server and workstation world will use 64-bit computing, and 2) what use would the consumer world have for 64-bit computing. Does 64-bit computing really matter for a home or a office PC user. Agreed that 64-bit computing will change the face of desktop computing, but in this case the saying "Necessity is the mother of Invention" goes false. Will a layman bother to go in for a 64-bit processor. Itanium and Opteron's specs and performance sound great on paper, but considering the real world applications does they hold true? Are there any 64-bit software that can truely unleash the power of 64-bit computing. No doubt AMD Opteron's lower cost-of-entry will attact users who want to run memory-intensive applications like ERP or database management solutions but can't afford to scrap their existing x86 infrastructure, which is predominantly based on 32-bit computing. But other hand that I think that 64-bit computing is for classes and not for masses. Untill the market is full of 64-bit applications and the user will get these processors at the now 32-bit processor prices, I don't think the End-User will even be dreaming of a 64-bit Desktop machine.

It's good-bye to MP3.com
With around 40 million subscribers, MP3.com which was started in 1997 will go dark on December 2, 2003.

The worlds number one MP3 music site is bought over by San-Fransisco based CNet. CNet will be shutting down all the MP3.com operations and will scrub MP3.com servers.

Mobile for the 'blind'



The first mobile phone designed specifically for blind and partially sighted people has gone on show in the UK.

Spanish company, Owasys - pronounced oasis - has developed the phone.
It has no visual display at all but uses a speech synthesiser to read everything that would normally appear on the screen.

The phone is on display at the Royal National Institute of the Blind's Techshare exhibition in Birmingham and goes on sale in Spain next week.

As well as giving audio feedback from button presses, the 22C can send and receive text messages and will speak the name or number of incoming callers.

The mobile will retail at around £250.

The company - formed by ex-employees of Ericsson - consulted blind and partially sighted users throughout the development phase.

A number of people just want a simple device that's easy to use and friendly.

Half-Naked driver faces Net charge

A half-naked man found driving on a city street was arrested and charged with child porn offences this week in the first Canadian case involving wireless Internet signal piracy. The bizarre case began when a Toronto police officer spotted a motorist going the wrong way down a one-way street in a residential neighbourhood.

After pulling the man over, Sgt. Don Woods discovered the man was naked from the waist down as he downloaded images on a laptop computer of a young girl involved in a sex act with an adult.

The man had hooked into a wireless computer network at a nearby house to gain access to a resident's Internet connection and download images from child pornography websites.

The scheme, known as "war driving," allows a computer with wireless Internet capability to tap into a wireless home network and access the World Wide Web, usually without fear of discovery.

Gillespie said it will take 20 to 40 hours to forensically examine each computer, but so far, investigators have been exposed to some of the worst child pornography they've ever seen.

Walter Nowakowski, 36, of Delhi, is charged with possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography, distributing child pornography, making child pornography and theft of telecommunications.

He was being held in custody and was scheduled for a bail hearing Monday.

WAR DRIVERS:The Modus Operandi
So-called "war drivers" employ a laptop and a special wireless adaptor card with antenna, point it at a home or business and pick up transmissions from a router that will allow them to use computer equipment and access the Internet without permission.

Routers that link wireless systems can pick up a signal from 30 to 300 metres away.

Wireless systems that can be purchased for as little as $100 have built-in security features, but people often forget to activate them when setting up.

Jargon of the Day
Cyberspace
Coined by William Gibson in his book 'Neuromnuer', Cyberspace refers to the digital world of any network, but is commonly used to refer to the Net.

The word " Cyber space' is currently used to describe the whole range of information resources available through computer networks.

Number Jumble for CDMA users
With the subscriber base of almost over 7 mn, CDMA operators trying to catch up their counterparts, GSM operators, have made the consumers suffer yet again.

CDMA users may have new telephone numbers very soon. The present 8-digit number system, which comprises of the STD code followed by the number, will be changed to a 10-digit system like that of GSM. While one has to prefix a "0" before the number when making a long distance call in GSM, the system followed by CDMA is very lengthy and complicated.

The present numbering scheme for CDMA mobile is meant for a short distance charging area (SDCA), since it was introduced as a limited mobility service and is the same as that for the landlines.

My gosh!!! How much will the poor CDMA consumer suffer!

PayPal spoof e-mail virus spread slowing: expert

A virus that poses as an e-mail from online payment provider PayPal and tries to trick people into sending out credit card and social security numbers is slowing its spread, an anti-virus expert said.

The Mimail. J virus, which showed up on Monday, is rated a low risk but is significant because exposed information could be used to steal money from accounts or the victim's identity, said Craig Schmugar, a virus research engineer at Network Associates Inc.

There could be another variant of the virus, given that 10 have already been circulated since the original version first surfaced in August, he said.

The virus e-mail tells recipients that their accounts are about to expire unless they provide the information in a form included in an attachment. Once the information is sent, the victim receives a confirmation message that also looks like it comes from PayPal.

What made the virus notable was the fact that it combined a scam, spam and virus propagation, which is the ability to send itself to e-mail addresses harvested from a victim computer, he said.

Other e-mail scams that have tried to entice people to give up sensitive information have been merely spam e-mails and often they have the victim visit a Web site that looks like it is a legitimate site of the spoofed company, according to Schmugar.

Companies that have been spoofed include Amazon.com, eBay Inc., which owns PayPal, and Citibank.

Buy Supari Online
This is not the Supari that we chew and sometimes spitt it out. This is the movie Supari directed by Padam Kumar.

Overseas bollywood fans can now download the full length movie through Kazaa, a P2P application for just US $2.99.

Ofcourse this is a legal download, seems unlikely, as users worldwide use these kinds of P2P software for trading files and music.

Kazaa also offers free movie trailers, production footage and music videos, as well as purchase songs from the movie soundtrack for 90 cents each.

This is the first of the kind event in the history of Bollywood. Hope more movie makers follow suit and make the overseas audience happy. Gone are the days of finding overseas distributor to showcase Bollywood flicks.

New Worm Steals User Data
A new Internet worm that steals information from users' computers and tries to shut down two Web sites is spreading.

The worm, Mimail.C, is a variant of the W32.Mimail worm that surfaced in August. The worm is been rated as "medium" level threat by major Anti-virus companies.

How does Mimail.C spread
Discovered on Friday, Mimail.C arrives as an e-mail nessage with "our private photos" in the subject line and an attached .zip archive file called "photos.zip."

The sender's address is faked to be "james" at the receiver's domain and the body of the message promises revealing photos of a girl at a beach, the antivirus vendors say.

Opening Activates
Infection starts when the recipient unpacks the "PHOTOS.JPG.EXE" file from the attachment and runs it. The worm will harvest e-mail addresses from the user's PC to mail copies itself to additional recipients. It will also send information captured from applications the user has open to certain e-mail addresses programmed into the malicious code, the antivirus companies say.

Reliance to launch Pre-paid Mobiles
Reliance India Mobile who generated a lot of hype and hoopla with their lauch of WLL phones are now in the test phase of launching their Pre-paid Mobile in the market.

With their services level of customer dissatisfaction, there is no doubt that these services will also fail. But then, time will tell.