BarCamp @ Techfest 2008 – IIT Bombay………!!!

So you have attended seminars, workshops and even conferences…….How about an un-conference ???

Yes, this is what Barcamp is all about ……….UN-CONFERENCE !!!

Welcome to BarCamp @ Techfest 2008

A place where you discuss and brain-storm ideas, where you meet with people working on the same ideas which interests you……..and all those geeky stuff !!! A place where you get an open environment to learn…!

At Barcamp…..come face to face with —

Mr. Atul Chitnis: Founder of FOSS.IN (One of Asia’s Largest FOSS Conferences)

Jon “madogg” Hall: Executive Director of Linux International.

and many more to come………

Till date 78 Camper’s have already registered…………… DON’T MISS IT !!!

Visit: http://barcamp.org/techfest

A GUI tool to view Linux(ext2, ext3, reiserfs) filesystem from Windows !!

Experimenting with files, somehow i corrupted my Linux partition last night. Being a novice user the only option left was a fresh Linux re-install, but before that i needed a backup of the files i created on the Linux partition.

X-Server not starting and i need a backup of the files (Simply, copying the files to Windows partition would do…..tried a lot but of no use -> Windows (NTFS partition !!))

Finally, found a GUI tool Explore2fs which could recognize the Linux partition from Windows………. and got the work done !!

Hope it helps !!

PS: The tool is to be installed on Windows only !!

Online material from IIT and IISc Professors !!

Hey friends, a lot of you must not be a book worm but would definitely be an E-Book worm, like me ! Having a collection of e-books in your system…good work, but don’t you think…what if your system crashes !!!

Voila !! There is a remedy for the same…Check out http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/ where you get access to the best materials on any topic, a joint venture by seven IITs and IIsc. The materials being uploaded by eminent professors from the institutes.

Your part of work: Just register yourself and get access to the pool of knowledge…

Spread the word and help in enhancing the quality of education in INDIA……

What more to expect ???

Cyborg(Cybernetic Organism): Part human, part machine

Meet Mr.Kevin Warwick , the first HUMAN CYBORG. Being a Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England, he carries out research in artificial intelligence, control, robotics and biomedical engineering.

What makes him unique is that: He has been fitted with cyborg technology, enabling his nervous system to be linked to a computer. Surgeons have fitted a small silicon chip into his left wrist and its electrodes are connected to the median nerve. Connecting wires are implanted under the skin of the forearm and are fed to the computer through a small puncture on the wrist. The wires are linked to a transmitter/receiver device to relay nerve messages to a computer by radio signal. These signals, encoding movements like movement of fingers and feelings like shock and pain, will be transmitted to a computer and recorded for the first time.

Further Reading: His official website

Videos (Plays in Quick Time)

“perCushion” PillowPhone

Alright, this thing isn’t technically a phone — it’s just a Bluetooth handsfree….!!

The PillowPhone makes it even easier than usual to nod off while chatting with boring peeps thanks to an integrated loudspeaker and a rather comfy-looking design.

Power is provided by a rechargeable battery so you don’t have any unsightly wires following the accessory into bed with you.

Maybe designer Urban Tool puts it best when it says that the perCushion takes us back to a time when “communication with a close friend stood for something emotional and touching” — and sleepy, Urban Tool. Don’t forget that part.

Look for the “perCushion” to make the courageous leap from concept to production in 2008.