Steve Jobs: An Inspiring Story

When Steve Jobs was born February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California , his unwed mother decided to put him for adoption because she wanted a girl. So in the middle of the night, his mother called a lawyer named Paul Jobs and said, “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?”

His mother felt very strongly that he should be adopted by college graduates and when she found out that both his future parents had never graduated from colleges, she refused to sign the adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when his future parents promised that they would send Jobs to college.

He went to college but decided to drop out because it was too expensive. Recalling his time there he said,

I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple.

Jobs and Apple

At 20, he and a friend (Steve Wozniak) started a company in a garage on April 1, 1976. Later that year, the duo debuted the Apple I at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California. A local store offered to buy 50 machines and to finance the production, the duo had to sell their most expensive possesions. Jobs sold his Volkswagen van while Wozniak sold his Hewlett-Packard scientific calculator.

Jobs named their company – Apple in memory of a happy summer he had spent as an orchard worker in Oregon.

By 1982 however, his company sales sagged in the face of competition from IBM’s new PC. Jobs and Wozniak unveiled their new creation, Lisa to increase the company’s bottom line, only to be another expensive failure.

Not wanting to dwell on these successive failures, they worked on a new machine called the Macintosh. Jobs was reported to commandeered the project, ruthlessly pushing its computer engineers and flying a pirate flag above the building where the team worked.

By 1986 the Mac, which Jobs promised to be ‘insanely great’ was a huge success. After 10 years, starting from 2 kids working in a garage, Apple computer had grown into a $2 billion dollar company with over 4000 employees.

At 30 Jobs, however, was fired from the company he co-founded with Steve Wozniak. He left the company after losing a bitter battle over control with Apple’s CEO John Sculley (whom Jobs had recruited from Pepsi Cola).

After Apple 

Apparently both have different views of how the company should be handled and in one meeting Sculley had told security analysts in a meeting that Jobs would have no role in the operations of the company “now or in the future.” When Jobs heard of the message he said, “You’ve probably had somebody punch you in the stomach and it knocks the wind out you and you cannot breathe. The harder you try to breathe, the more you cannot breathe. And you know that the only thing you can do is just relax so you can start breathing again.”

Jobs sold over $20 million of his Apple stock, spent days bicycling along the beach, feeling sad and lost, toured Paris, and journeyed on to Italy.

Recalling this publicly heartbreaking episode Jobs said,

‘I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.’

During the next five years he started two companies – NeXTStep and Pixar.

NeXTStep which produces NeXT, $9,995 cube-shaped workstation which aimed to create a workstation for research and higher, didn’t do as well as Jobs had dreamed for. It did poorly and Jobs pulled the plug in 1993.

Pixar, however was a success story. The company started the first computer-animated film, the Toy Story and when Pixar’s stock went public, Jobs became an instant billionaire.

Jobs, back with a vengence

Meanwhile, his old company, Apple was under immense pressure from rival Microsoft and in 1996 posted billions of dollars in losses.

In December 1996 Jobs convinced Apple to buy NeXT and make its software the foundation of the next-generation Mac OS. The technology he developed at NeXT became the catalyst of Apple’s comeback. Initially appointed as Apple’s adviser, Steve Jobs was named Apple’s interim CEO in 1997.

In 2004 he was diagnosed with cancer on his pancreas. Jobs was told that the cancer was incurable and he would only live for another three to six months. Later, a biopsy showed that he actually had a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. He had the surgery and survives.

Under his leadership, Apple returned to profitability and introduced innovations such as the iPod.

Steven P. Jobs passed away on October 5th, 2011 after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was just 56 years old.
He was the reason many of us got into this industry, or even care about technology at all. He made the computer personal, and the smartphone fun. Bill Gates may have put a computer on every office desk, but it was Steve Jobs who put one in every dorm room and bedroom and living room. And then, years later, he repeated the trick, putting one in every bag and every pocket, thanks to the iPad and iPhone. If you use a computer or smartphone today, it is either one he created, or an imitation of his genius.He changed the way movies are made, the way music is sold, the way stories are told, the very way we interact with the world around us. He helped us work, and gave us new ways to play. He was a myth made man.

Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

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Mobile portability - Process of Changing your telephone operator

change your mobile operator in just one sms. Charge for that is 19rs. 

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Airtel's New Logo & Ringtone Launched : Download

The verdict on Airtel's new logo has been mixed so far. While a lot of voices on Twitter have welcomed Airtel's new logo, a significant number have voiced their discontent, too. 

Of all the tweets for and against Airtel's new logo, one sentiment was loud and clear, summed up nice tweet: Airtel shouldn't sit pretty and bask on its current glory, but work towards improving its service. And Airtel's 3G launch will be a good first step on that path.

New Airtel Signature Tune Composed by AR Rahman: Click here to Download

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Mobile Number Portability Service To Start From November 1

Mobile number portability is the ability to retain one's phone number despite changing service providers. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has already missed two deadlines for implementing this service.
Mobile number portability, a service we've been needing for AGES, is finally here. The service is being rolled out in 11 circles across the country, and the first place to have the service is Haryana. The service in the rest of the 11 circles would be implemented by December 20th. On November 1st, however, an announcement will be made to confirm implementation status in these 11 circles.

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1G, 2G, 3G and 4G telecome technology

Cell phones are used millions and billions of users worldwide. How may of us know the technology behind cell phones that is used for our communication? I have also intrigued about the type of technology used in my phone. What are 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G technologies? I would like to share some of these thoughts in this article

1G, 2G, 3G & 4G ("G" stands for "Generation") are the generations of wireless telecom connectivity

1G (Time Division Multiple Access and Frequency Division Multiple Access ) was the initial wireless telecom network system. It's out-dated now . The analog “brick phones” and “bag phones” are under 1G technology. Cell phones era began with 1G.

The next era, 2G has taken its place of 1G. Cell phones received their first major upgrade when they went from 1G to 2G. This leap effectively took cell phones from analog to digital. 2G and 2.5G were versions of the GSM and CDMA connections. And GSM is still the most popular technology, but with no internet. Fortunately, GPRS, an additional service, is provided over GSM for the purpose of internet access. GPRS has been developed and thus, EGPRS was created . It's more secure and faster than GPRS. 

Then 3G came, the new Wireless CDMA technology. It is the first wireless telecom technology that provides broadband-speed internet connection on mobile phones. It has been specially made for the demand of internet on smart phones. Further development led to the creation of 3.5G, which provides blazing fast internet connection on phones, up to the speed of 7.2 MBPS. A smart phone can be connected to a PC to share its internet connection and 3G and 3.5G are ideal for this. But, as this WCDMA technology is not available in all regions, its not as popular as GSM yet. Before making the major leap from 2G to 3G wireless networks, the lesser-known 2.5G was an interim standard that bridged the gap. Following 2.5G, 3G ushered in faster data-transmission speeds so you could use your cell phone in more data-demanding ways. This has meant streaming video (i.e. movie trailers and television), audio and much more. Cell phone companies today are spending a lot of money to brand to you the importance of their 3G network.

4G, which is also known as “beyond 3G” or “fourth-generation” cell phone technology, refers to the entirely new evolution. Developers are now going for 4G (OFDMA), which will provide internet upto the speed of 1 GBPS! It is said to be able to overcome the problems of weak network strength and should provide a much wider network, making sure that the users get high-speed connectivity anytime anywhere. No doubt, 4G will open new doors of revolutionary internet technologies, but for now, 3G and 3.5G are the best. 4G will allow for speeds of up to 100Mbps. 4G promises voice, data and high-quality multimedia in real-time form all the time and anywhere.
Whatever technology that comes or goes, I am still using only 2G technology phone which is cheaper and more comfortable for me

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Relay Design and Operation

Basics of Relay:

A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism, but other operating principles are also used. Relays find applications where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal, or where several circuits must be controlled by one signal. The first relays were used in long distance telegraph circuits, repeating the signal coming in from one circuit and re-transmitting it to another. Relays found extensive use in telephone exchanges and early computers to perform logical operations. A type of relay that can handle the high power required to directly drive an electric motor is called a contactor. Solid-state relays control power circuits with no moving parts, instead using a semiconductor device to perform switching. Relays with calibrated operating characteristics and sometimes multiple operating coils are used to protect electrical circuits from overload or faults; in modern electric power systems these functions are performed by digital instruments still called "protection relays".

Design and Operation:

A simple electromagnetic relay, such as the one taken from a car in the first picture, is an adaptation of an electromagnet. It consists of a coil of wire surrounding a soft iron core, an iron yoke, which provides a low reluctance path for magnetic flux, a movable iron armature, and a set, or sets, of contacts; two in the relay pictured. The armature is hinged to the yoke and mechanically linked to a moving contact or contacts. It is held in place by a spring so that when the relay is de-energized there is an air gap in the magnetic circuit. In this condition, one of the two sets of contacts in the relay pictured is closed, and the other set is open. Other relays may have more or fewer sets of contacts depending on their function. The relay in the picture also has a wire connecting the armature to the yoke. This ensures continuity of the circuit between the moving contacts on the armature, and the circuit track on the printed circuit board (PCB) via the yoke, which is soldered to the PCB.

When an electric current is passed through the coil, the resulting magnetic field attracts the armature, and the consequent movement of the movable contact or contacts either makes or breaks a connection with a fixed contact. If the set of contacts was closed when the relay was De-energized, then the movement opens the contacts and breaks the connection, and vice versa if the contacts were open. When the current to the coil is switched off, the armature is returned by a force, approximately half as strong as the magnetic force, to its relaxed position. Usually this force is provided by a spring, but gravity is also used commonly in industrial motor starters. Most relays are manufactured to operate quickly. In a low voltage application, this is to reduce noise. In a high voltage or high current application, this is to reduce arcing.

If the coil is energized with DC, a diode is frequently installed across the coil, to dissipate the energy from the collapsing magnetic field at deactivation, which would otherwise generate a voltage spike dangerous to circuit components. Some automotive relays already include a diode inside the relay case. Alternatively a contact protection network, consisting of a capacitor and resistor in series, may absorb the surge. If the coil is designed to be energized with AC, a small copper ring can be crimped to the end of the solenoid. This "shading ring" creates a small out-of-phase current, which increases the minimum pull on the armature during the AC cycle

By analogy with the functions of the original electromagnetic device, a solid-state relay is made with a thyristor or other solid-state switching device. To achieve electrical isolation an optocoupler can be used which is a light-emitting diode (LED) coupled with a photo transistor.

Applications

Relays are used to and for:

• Control a high-voltage circuit with a low-voltage signal, as in some types of modems or audio amplifiers,

• Control a high-current circuit with a low-current signal, as in the starter solenoid of an automobile,

• Detect and isolate faults on transmission and distribution lines by opening and closing circuit breakers (protection relays)

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Why is a cell phone called a cell phone?

One of the most interesting things about a cell phone is that it is really a radio. Before cell phones, people who needed mobile communications ability installedradio telephones in their cars. In the radio telephone system, there was one central antenna tower per city, and perhaps 25 channels available on that tower. The cellular phone system divides the area of a city into small cells of hexagonal shape(see fig).Each hexagonal cell is installed with a Base Station Tower.

Technorati Tags: cellphone,base station,radio transmitter

This allows extensive frequency reuse across a city, so that millions of people can use cell phones simultaneously.

Here's how it works: The carrier chops up an area, such as a city, into cells. Each cell is typically sized at about 10 square miles (perhaps 3 miles x 3 miles). Cells are normally thought of as hexagons on a big hexagonal grid. Each cell has a base station that consists of a tower and a small building containing the radio equipment. Cell phones have low-power transmitters in them and the base station is also transmitting at low power. Low-power transmitters have two advantages:

• The power consumption of the cell phone, which is normally battery-operated, is relatively low. Low power means small batteries, and this is what has made handheld cellular phones possible.                                                                                      
• The transmissions of a base station and the phones within its cell do not make it very far outside that cell. Therefore, cells can use the same 56 frequencies. The same frequencies can be reused extensively across the city.

The cellular approach requires a large number of base stations in a city of any size. A typical large city can have hundreds of towers. But because so many people are using cell phones, costs remain fairly low per user. Each carrier in each city also runs one central office called the Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO). This office handles all of the phone connections to the normal land-based phone system, and controls all of the base stations in the region. 
As you move toward the edge of your cell, your cell's base station will note that your signal strength is diminishing. Meanwhile, the base station in the cell you are moving toward (which is listening and measuring signal strength on all frequencies, not just its own one-seventh) will be able to see your phone's signal stre ngth increasing. The two base stations coordinate themselves through the MTSO, and at some point, your phone gets a signal on a control channel telling it to change frequencies. This hand off switches your phone to the new cell.

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White LED

Until recently, though, the price of an LED lighting system was too high for most residential use. With sales rising and prices steadily decreasing, it's been said that whoever makes the best white LED will open a goldmine.
White LED lighting has been used for years by the RV and boating crowd, running off direct current (DC) battery systems. It then got popular in off-the-grid houses, powered by photovoltaic cells. It used to be that white LED was possible only by "rainbow" groups of three LEDs -- red, green, and blue -- and controlling the current to each to yield an overall white light. Now a blue indium gallium chip with a phosphor coating is used to create the wave shift necessary to emit white light from a single diode. This process is much less expensive for the amount of light generated.
Each diode is about 1/4 inch and consumes about ten milliamps (a tenth of a watt). Lamps come in various arrangements of diodes on a circuit board. Standard arrays are three, six, 12, or 18 diodes, or custom sizes -- factories can incorporate these into custom-built down lights, sconces and surface-mounted fixtures. With an inexpensive transformer, they run on standard 120-volt alternating current (AC), albeit with a slight (about 15% to 20%) power loss. They are also available as screw-in lamps to replace incandescent. A 1.2 watt white LED light cluster is as bright as a 20-watt incandescent lamp.

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Nanotechnology

Definition
Nanotechnology is defined as fabrication of devices with atomic or molecular scale precision. Devices with minimum feature sizes less than 100 nanometers (nm) are considered to be products of nanotechnology. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter (10-9 m) and is the unit of length that is generally most appropriate for describing the size of single molecules. The nanoscale marks the nebulous boundary between the classical and quantum mechanical worlds; thus, realization of nanotechnology promises to bring revolutionary capabilities. Fabrication of nanomachines, nanoelectronics and other nanodevices will undoubtedly solve an enormous amount of the problems faced by mankind today.
Nanotechnology is currently in a very infantile stage. However, we now have the ability to organize matter on the atomic scale and there are already numerous products available as a direct result of our rapidly increasing ability to fabricate and characterize feature sizes less than 100 nm. Mirrors that don't fog, biomimetic paint with a contact angle near 180°, gene chips and fat soluble vitamins in aqueous beverages are some of the first manifestations of nanotechnology. However, immenant breakthroughs in computer science and medicine will be where the real potential of nanotechnology will first be achieved.
Nanoscience is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to bring about mature nanotechnology. Focusing on the nanoscale intersection of fields such as physics, biology, engineering, chemistry, computer science and more, nanoscience is rapidly expanding. Nanotechnology centers are popping up around the world as more funding is provided and nanotechnology market share increases. The rapid progress is apparent by the increasing appearance of the prefix "nano" in scientific journals and the news. Thus, as we increase our ability to fabricate computer chips with smaller features and improve our ability to cure disease at the molecular level, nanotechnology is here.


History of Nanotechnology
The amount of space available to us for information storage (or other uses) is enormous. As first described in a lecture titled, 'There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom' in 1959 by Richard P. Feynman, there is nothing besides our clumsy size that keeps us from using this space. In his time, it was not possible for us to manipulate single atoms or molecules because they were far too small for our tools. Thus, his 
speech was completely theoretical and seemingly fantastic. He described how the laws of physics do not limit our ability to manipulate single atoms and molecules. Instead, it was our lack of the appropriate methods for doing so. However, he correctly predicted that the time would come in which atomically precise manipulation of matter would inevitably arrive.
Prof. Feynman described such atomic scale fabrication as a bottom-up approach, as opposed to the top-down approach that we are accustomed to. The current top-down method for manufacturing involves the construction of parts through methods such as cutting, carving and molding.

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Electromagnetic bomb(E-Bomb)

Electromagnetic bomb(E-Bomb)

An electromagnetic bomb or E-bomb is a weapon designed to disable electronics with an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that can couple with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges by electromagnetic induction. The effects are usually not noticeable beyond 10 km of the blast radius unless the device is nuclear or specifically designed to produce an electromagnetic pulse. Small nuclear weapons detonated at high altitudes can produce a strong enough signal to disrupt or damage electronics many miles from the focus of the explosion. During a nuclear EMP, the magnetic flux lines of the Earth alter the dispersion of energy so that it radiates very little to the North, but spreads out East, West, and South of the blast. The signal is divided into several time components, and can result in thousands of volts per meter of electromagnetic energy ranging from extreme negative to extreme positive polarities. This energy can travel long distances on power lines and through the air.

Effects

These weapons are not directly responsible for the loss of lives, but can disable some of the electronic systems on which industrialized nations are highly dependent.

Devices that are susceptible to EMP damage, from most to least vulnerable:

1. Integrated circuits (ICs), CPUs, silicon chips.
2. Transistors and diodes.
3. Inductors, electric motors
4. Vacuum tubes: also known as thermionic valves, gold-coated tubes can easily survive and are commonly found in "hardened" electronics like MIG fighter jets' control systems.

Transistor technology is likely to fail and old vacuum equipment survive. However, different types of transistors and ICs show different sensitivity to electromagnetism; bipolar ICs and transistors are much less sensitive than FETs and especially MOSFETs. To protect sensitive electronics, a Faraday cage must be placed around the item. Some makeshift Faraday cages have been suggested, such as aluminium foil, although such a cage would be rendered useless if any conductors passed through, such as power cords or antennas. A Faraday cage is meant to harmlessly route the signal around the electronics inside, but the conductors on the inside must be insulated from spurious currents that are induced as the signal passes around the surface of the cage. Hardened buildings employ the use of special EM gasketing on doors, special attention to conductive surfaces on the outside, and optical isolators on antennas. The electrical supply to a hardened building must be located at a surprising depth underground in order not to "couple" with the signal, and if the electrical supply is connected to a standard power grid, the EMP will send a large surge (large enough to burn out lightning arrestors) into the power supplies of sensitive electronics.

members of the United States EMP Commission.

History

The electromagnetic pulse was first observed during high-altitude nuclear weapon detonations.

Electromagnetic weapons are still mostly classified and research surrounding them is highly secret. Military speculators and experts generally think that E-bombs use explosively pumped flux compression generator technology as their power source, though a relatively small (10 kt) nuclear bomb, exploded between 30 and 300 miles in the atmosphere could send out enough power to damage electronics from coast to coast in the US. The US Army Corps of Engineers issued a publicly available pamphlet in the late 1990s that discusses in detail how to harden a facility against "HEMP" - high frequency electromagnetic pulse. It describes how water pipes, antennas, electrical lines, and windows allow EMP to enter a building.

According to some reports, the U.S. Navy used experimental E-bombs during the 1991 Gulf War. These bombs utilized warheads that converted the energy of conventional explosives into a pulse of radio energy. CBS News also reported that the U.S. dropped an E-bomb on Iraqi TV during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but this has not been confirmed.

The Soviet Union conducted significant research into producing nuclear weapons specially designed for upper atmospheric detonations, a decision that was later followed by the United States and the United Kingdom. Only the Soviets ultimately produced any significant quantity of such warheads, most of which were disarmed following the Reagan-era arms talks. EMP-specialized nuclear weapon designs belong to the third generation of nuclear weapons.

Anyone who's been through a prolonged power outage knows that it's an extremely trying experience. Within an hour of losing electricity, you develop a healthy appreciation of all the electrical devices you rely on in life. A couple hours later, you start pacing around your house. After a few days without lights, electric heat or TV, your stress level shoots through the roof.

But in the grand scheme of things, that's nothing. If an outage hits an entire city, and there aren't adequate emergency resources, people may die from exposure, companies may suffer huge productivity losses and millions of dollars of food may spoil. If a power outage hit on a much larger scale, it could shut down the electronic networks that keep governments and militaries running. We are utterly dependent on power, and when it's gone, things get very bad, very fast.

An electromagnetic bomb, or e-bomb, is a weapon designed to take advantage of this dependency. But instead of simply cutting off power in an area, an e-bomb would actually destroy most machines that use electricity. Generators would be useless, cars wouldn't run, and there would be no chance of making a phone call. In a matter of seconds, a big enough e-bomb could thrust an entire city back 200 years or cripple a military unit.

The U.S. military has been pursuing the idea of an e-bomb for decades, and many believe it now has such a weapon in its arsenal. On the other end of the scale, terrorist groups could be building low-tech e-bombs to inflict massive damage on the United States.

The Basic Idea
The basic idea of an e-bomb -- or more broadly, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon -- is pretty simple. These sorts of weapons are designed to overwhelm electrical circuitry with an intense electromagnetic field.

If you've read How Radio Works or How Electromagnets Work, then you know an electromagnetic field in itself is nothing special. The radio signals that transmit AM, FM, television and cell phone calls are all electromagnetic energy, as is ordinary light, microwaves and x-rays.

For our purposes, the most important thing to understand about electromagnetism is that electric current generates magnetic fields and changing magnetic fields can induce electric current. This page from How Radio Works explains that a simple radio transmitter generates a magnetic field by fluctuating electrical current in a circuit. This magnetic field, in turn, can induce an electrical current in another conductor, such as a radio receiver antenna. If the fluctuating electrical signal represents particular information, the receiver can decode it.

A low intensity radio transmission only induces sufficient electrical current to pass on a signal to a receiver. But if you greatly increased the intensity of the signal (the magnetic field), it would induce a much larger electrical current. A big enough current would fry the semiconductor components in the radio, disintegrating it beyond repair.

Picking up a new radio would be the least of your concerns, of course. The intense fluctuating magnetic field could induce a massive current in just about any other electrically conductive object -- for example phone lines, power lines and even metal pipes. These unintentional antennas would pass the current spike on to any other electrical components down the line (say, a network of computers hooked up to phone lines). A big enough surge could burn out semiconductor devices, melt wiring, fry batteries and even explode transformers.

There are a number of possible ways of generating and "delivering" such a magnetic field. In the next section, we'll look at a few possible EMP weaponry concepts.

E-Bomb Effects
The United States is drawn to EMP technology because it is potentially non-lethal, but is still highly destructive. An E-bomb attack would leave buildings standing and spare lives, but it could destroy a sizeable military.

There is a range of possible attack scenarios. Low-level electromagnetic pulses would temporarily jam electronics systems, more intense pulses would corrupt important computer data and very powerful bursts would completely fry electric and electronic equipment.

In modern warfare, the various levels of attack could accomplish a number of important combat missions without racking up many casualties. For example, an e-bomb could effectively neutralize:

* vehicle control systems
* targeting systems, on the ground and on missiles and bombs
* communications systems
* navigation systems
* long and short-range sensor systems

EMP weapons could be especially useful in an invasion of Iraq, because a pulse might effectively neutralize underground bunkers. Most of Iraq's underground bunkers are hard to reach with conventional bombs and missiles. A nuclear blast could effectively demolish many of these bunkers, but this would take a devastating toll on surrounding areas. An electromagnetic pulse could pass through the ground, knocking out the bunker's lights, ventilation systems, communications -- even electric doors. The bunker would be completely uninhabitable.

U.S. forces are also highly vulnerable to EMP attack, however. In recent years, the U.S. military has added sophisticated electronics to the full range of its arsenal. This electronic technology is largely built around consumer-grade semiconductor devices, which are highly sensitive to any power surge. More rudimentary vacuum tube technology would actually stand a better chance of surviving an e-bomb attack.

A widespread EMP attack in any country would compromise a military's ability to organize itself. Ground troops might have perfectly functioning non-electric weapons (like machine guns), but they wouldn't have the equipment to plan an attack or locate the enemy. Effectively, an EMP attack could reduce any military unit into a guerilla-type army.

While EMP weapons are generally considered non-lethal, they could easily kill people if they were directed towards particular targets. If an EMP knocked out a hospital's electricity, for example, any patient on life support would die immediately. An EMP weapon could also neutralize vehicles, including aircraft, causing catastrophic accidents.

In the end, the most far-reaching effect of an e-bomb could be psychological. A full-scale EMP attack in a developed country would instantly bring modern life to a screeching halt. There would be plenty of survivors, but they would find themselves in a very different world.

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TOUCH SCREEN MONITORS

Introduction
A touch screen is an easy to use input device that allows users to control PC software and DVD video by touching the display screen. A touch screen can be used with most PC systems as easily as other input devices such as track balls or touch pads.

Why Touch Technology?
 Touch screens enable people to use computers instantly, without any training whatsoever. 
 Touch screens virtually eliminate operator errors because users select from clearly defined menus. 
 Touch screens eliminate keyboards and mice, which many find intimidating and cumbersome to use.
 Touch screens are rugged enough to stand up to harsh environments where keyboards and mice often get damaged. 
 Touch screens provide fast access to any and all types of digital media, with no text-bound interface getting in the way. 
 Touch screens ensure that no space - on the desktop or elsewhere - is wasted, as the input device is completely integrated in to the monitors.

How Does a Touch Screen Works?
 Touch Screen Sensor: It is a clear glass panel with a touch responsive surface. The touch sensor/panel is placed over a display screen so that the responsive area of the panel covers the viewable area of the video screen. 
 Controller: I t is a small PC card that connects between the touch sensor and the PC. It takes information from the touch sensor and translates it into information that PC can understand. 
 Software Driver: The driver is a software update for the PC system that allows the touch screen and computer to work together. It tells the computer's operating system how to interpret the touch event information that is sent from the controller. 

Types of Touch Screen Technology
 Resistive
 Capacitive
 Surface acoustic wave
 Infrared

Resistive
Two types:
 4 wire resistive type
 5 wire resistive type

Advantages 
 High touch resolution 
 Pressure sensitive, works with any stylus 
 Not affected by dirt, dust, water, or light 
 Affordable touch screen technology
Disadvantages 
 75 % clarity 
 Resistive layers can be damaged by a sharp object 
 Less durable then 5-Wire Resistive technology

Captive
Two types
 Capacitive technology
 Pentouch Capacitive

Advantages
 High touch resolution
 High image clarity
 Not affected by dirt ,grease, moisture 
Disadvantages
 Must be touched by finger, will not work with any non conductive input.


Surface Wave
Advantages
 High touch resolution
 Highest image clarity
 All glass panel, no coatings
Disadvantages
 Must be touched by finger, gloved hand, or soft-tip stylus. Something hard like a pen won’t work.
 Not completely scalable, can be affected by large amounts of dirt, dust and water in the environment.

Infrared Touch Screen
This is the only type of touch technology that is available for large displays such as Plasma screens. It is a durable technology that offers high image clarity. Responds to any input device or stylus. 
Advantages
 Best image quality as there is no overlay
 Impervious to scratching
Disadvantages
 Low resolution
 May cause unintended activation of target proir to finger contact with CRT caused by IR light beam location above surface of CRT.
 Dust, oil or grease buildup on frame that impedes light beam may cause malfunction

Applications
 Public Information Displays
Tourism displays, trade show displays, and other electronic displays are used by many people that have little or no computing experience.
 Customer self-service
Customers can quickly place their own orders or check themselves in or out, saving them time, and decreasing wait times for other customers. Example: ATM 
 Computer Based Training
Since the touch screen interface is more user-friendly than other input devices, overall training time for computer novices and therefore training expense can be reduced. Also make learning more interactive and fun.
 Other applications include computerized gaming, student registration systems, financial and scientific applications.

Benefits
 Fast, faster, fastest 
 Touch makes everyone an expert
 Reduced cost
 Compact & handy
 Durable and easy to clean
 When ease of use is required

Conclusion
A touch screen is the simplest, most direct way for a person to interact with a computer. The basic way users interact with a touch screen is age-old. You point to what you want. It's intuitive for virtually every child and adult in the world today.

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