Natpac moots modern track for training drivers : (24/05/03)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - A `driving training track' with a road network system, mini roundabout and a small bridge has been mooted by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (Natpac) in the central region of the State to familiarise the motorists with the road and traffic conditions and to infuse confidence in them. Read more >>

(Courtesy The Hindu dated 24/05/03)

Sony's One Alliance goes off Asianet cable : (04/05/03)

KOCHI - If you are planning to catch Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, or Winona Ryder’s Girl, Interrupted or Luc Besson’s Joan of Arc on HBO this weekend, forget it. For Sony’s One Alliance which provides a bouquet of eight channels including Sony, Sony Max, HBO, AXN and Discovery has gone off the cable network of Asianet Satellite Communications Ltd in the state, signalling fresh spat in the crisis-ridden cable industry. Non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 3 crore has been cited by the One Alliance for its decision to go off the air. Read more >>

(Courtesy The New Indian Express dated 04/05/03)

AMD eases the cultural shock of 64-bit computing : (03/05/03)

BANGALORE - This week's launch of its new 64-bit Opteron processor in India may be a canny move by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to address the worry of the owners of current PCs and servers — overwhelmingly based on 32-bit chips — how to make a painless transition to 64-bit systems. At today's unveiling here of the new AMD range, engineers underlined the compelling USP: users could still seamlessly run all their current 32-bit applications on the 64-bit Opterons; but the extra 32 bits would supercharge their machines as and when they choose to move into the new 64-bit regime. The argument for moving to a new era where computers gobbled data in gulps of 64 bits rather than 32 bits at a time, was evident: the most memory that a machine could address with a 32 bit address was 2 raised to the power of 32 — in practice something below 4 gigabytes. But widen the "byte'' or computer word to 64 bits and the potential memory capacity vastly increased (to be exact, 2 to the power 64). Independent observers say the change is overdue. Read more >>

(Courtesy The Hindu dated 03/05/03)

Professionals are toppers in Civil Services examinations : (02/05/03)

NEW DELHI - Professionals walked away with almost half of the top 20 seats of this year's Civil Services examinations, including the top slot, which has been bagged by Ankur Garg, an engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, in his first attempt. Less than a week after the Lok Sabha witnessed a heated discussion on whether professionals should be allowed to appear for the Civil Services examinations, the results announced today shows a clear trend towards professionals making a mark. The top 20 of this year's list include four engineers, two doctors, two lawyers and an MBA professional. Read more >>

(Courtesy The Hindu dated 02/05/03)

Incoming calls on cell phones free from today : (01/05/03)

NEW DELHI APRIL 30. All incoming calls on cellular phones will be free from tomorrow irrespective of whether they are from another cellphone or from landline. And, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will begin rewarding its high usage fixed line customers for the first time by offering alternate tariff packages that entail higher rentals but many more free calls and lower local call rates. Read more >>

(Courtesy The Hindu dated 01/05/03)