Laptops can ruin your health

Laptops are becoming increasingly popular and cheaper by the day, but don't think this doesn't come at a price. Studies show that with the boom in sales of laptops, there has been an increase in number of people being affected by back and muscle problems.

What makes the laptop more dangerous than the computer, is that many people maintain poor posture while using a laptop. Professionals tend to look down at their laptops and this done for many hours together can damage the neck muscles, say doctors. "It is advisable to use the laptop kept on a table and make sure you take a break every half an hour and walk around,".

The symptoms of computer related ailments are aching fingers or hands, paining shoulders and an aching neck or back. "If you use the mouse or keypad in a laptop a lot, you can develop what is called radiating pain in your hands. If you get a strain in your neck or shoulders, your muscles will get weak and you will constantly feel discomfort,".

Another problem related to using laptops is that you strain your shoulder and back while carrying the laptop from place to place.

"I have suffered from this problem myself," admits Subhash Kaul, head neurophysician, NIMS. He also reveals that he sees at least per day one patient complaining of this problem and most of them work in Hi Tech City. "Posture related problems because of being on the computer too long are extremely common," he says. Pushpanjali Rao who works in TCS says she has experienced pain in her hands.

"Another dangerous sign is when your hand starts hurting while using the mouse. It has been found that if the wrist is bent constantly to use the mouse, it puts pressure on the nerves and can cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which can cause permanent damage to the hand. It is recommended that you take a break every 15 minutes to prevent this,".

Visit www.hp.com/ergo to find out what precautions to take while using laptops. "Here you will find the wrist angle, proper back and neck positions etc," .
Source: DC

SANIA BREAKS FRENCH OPEN JINX

Paris: Sania Mirza recorded her maiden singles win at the French Open by beating Italian Alberta Brianti in the first round here on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old Indian, who had stumbled at the first hurdle in her earlier two attempts, thrashed Brianti 6-1, 6-1 to storm into the second round at the Roland Garros.

The Hyderabadi girl saved two breakpoints in the opening game but that was the only time she found herself in trouble in the match that last only 54 minutes.

The first Indian to win a WTA title slammed 54 winners, as against Brianti's 30, and three aces.

Sania's win was all the more creditable as she came into the tournament with a 0-2 win-loss record since returning from a 2-1/2 month-long injury lay-off. She got her first break by hitting an on-the-run forehand winner down the line to go up 3-0.

Brianti, who had a 1-0 head-to-head record against her rival before the game, held her serve then to register her name on the score sheet. But it was a while before she tasted success again.

Sania was in scorching form, belting winners on both flanks and won the next seven consecutive games.

After winning her match against Brianti, Sania said she would never abandon India despite the intense pressure of being one her country's most high profile stars.

The 20-year-old pin-up has been encouraged to base herself in the United States to train and to also escape the weight of expectancy on her shoulders after her rise in the women's game.

But she said she will never leave her Hyderabad home. "Everything I am today, I am because of India," she said. "Of course there are lots of times when you just want your privacy. It's hard when you are one in a billion," added Mirza.

"Clay is not my favourite surface but it was great to get a feel for the surface. It's my first win in singles here and I played a great match.

"I'm happy to be back on the court. There are few things more depressing than being in a wheelchair which I was after surgery.

"But I was lucky in that the injury wasn't as bad as it could have been. If it had been worse I could have been out for six to eight months. It was also a blessing in disguise as I had time to spend with my family and friends." She next faces Serbia's Ana Ivanovic who beat Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-0.

Andhra Pradesh Bags 25 of the top 100 ranks in IIT-JEE 2007

AP Bags 25 of the top 100 ranks: Hundreds of students from the State have performed well in IIT-JEE 2007, the common entrance test for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology and affiliated institutions.

Nearly one fourth of the first 100 ranks were from Andhra Pradesh. At least 40 per cent of the total 7,000-odd students who qualified in IIT-JEE were from the State.

Almost 2,000 students of the State passed the test, the results of which were released on Wednesday. Last year, only 600 students from the State had qualified.

Narayana Educational Institutions claimed its students had got 1,064 ranks, Sri Chaitanya 603 ranks, FIIT-JEE 150 ranks, Ramaiah IIT study circle 115 and Delta Academy 41 ranks.



P. Santosh Kumar, a student of Narayana, got the 15th rank in the open category, which is highest for a student of the State. K. Venkatesh from the same college got second rank in the physically handicapped category, while Gowrav of Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutions got 11th rank in the scheduled tribe category.

T. Varun, a student of Ramaiah IIT study circle, got the 18th rank in the open category and B.T. Satish Kumar of same institute got 7th rank in SC category.

S. Nitesh, who studied in Delhi branch of Narayana, got the all India second rank in IIT-JEE, while Ankit Garg of Bhatinda in Punjab got the sixth rank.

Sri Chaitanya students Hridil got the all-India 11th rank, Vijay Karthik got 16th, Naga Pratyusha 21st, Ankush 28th, and Achyut 37th rank.

Academic experts said more number from the State qualified for the IIT-JEE because the exam pattern was changed to objective type. The coaching institutes are completely oriented towards objective type questions.

The total number of students who qualified across the country increased to 7,000 in view of the IITs deciding to set up the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research and Indian Institute of Science and Technology. Admissions to these institutes are also being made through the IIT-JEE test.

The recent tragedy of BE III student Jay Bharadwaj from the State committing suicide in Kanpur IIT seems to have left an impact on the students.

"Tarun and several other students will easily get in Kanpur because of their rank but they are too scared to go there," said IIT guru Ch. Ramaiah even as Tarun nodded in agreement.

Mr Ramaiah was of the view that Kanpur had the best infrastructure and its tie-up with US universities would also help students. He said Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy also wrote to the authorities concerned to complete the inquiry and submit the report.

New running time schedule of APSRTC city buses

The road accidents are sure to increase in Hyderabad with the new running time schedule of APSRTC city buses. The RTC management, which is keen to earn more profits, has directed its 7,000 drivers to follow the revised running time schedule, which will enable the corporation to pick up more passengers with extra trips.

Hyderabad city region earns Rs 1.32 crore per day with its fleet of 2,895 buses. Approximately, 36 lakh passengers travel every day in RTC buses. However, the buses are proved to be insufficient as they will provide public transport for only 31 per cent of the total commuters. RTC, which is unable to add additional buses, decided to utilise the existing fleet for optimum level with the new schedule. For instance, a bus driver has to cover 19.5 kilometre distance between Falaknuma and Sanat Nagar in just one hour after stopping the bus in all the 20 bus stops for picking up the passengers. It's not so easy if we consider our road and traffic conditions.



The studies of several organi sations such as Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) reveal that the present average speed of the vehicles is only 12 kilometres per hour. But the RTC authorities are reportedly forcing the drivers to run the buses at 20 km ph on an average. It means, the drivers have to struggle a lot to meet the new deadlines in spite of the heavy congestion and traffic jams. "Several old buses are not in good condition. The accidents will occur if we run those unconditioned buses with heavy speed as per the new schedule," said M. Prabhakara Rao, a bus driver.

As many as 100 persons are being knocked down every year due to rash and negligent driving of the buses. As per the statistics of APSRTC, 100 persons died due to city buses in 2004-2005. The death toll was increased to 105 in 2005-2006. And 107 persons died in fatal accidents due to RTC buses in 2006-2007. In the last four months, 27 were knocked down by city buses in twin cities.

The drivers and conductors who are up in the arms against the APSRTC on Tuesday launched their agitation in 21 depots by wearing black badges. And they raised slogans against the management as part of lunch hour demonstrations.

"We will continue to fight until the management is ready to revise the timings after considering the city traffic and congestion," said Syed Mohammad, general secretary of National Mazdoor Union.

The running time schedule will create difficulties to the passengers particularly women, children and senior citizens since the buses will not stay in the bus stops even for 10 seconds.

"Sometimes, we fall down on roads as we are unable to catch the running buses, which are always jam-packed" said K. Prameela, a traveller. "With the new schedule, the bus will fly with jet speed. Hence we have to depend on auto rickshaws by paying more fare," she added.

However RTC officials argue by saying that the new timings were fixed to benefit the passengers. "Thousands of passengers are waiting in the bus stops. They cannot catch the bus unless a specific schedule is given," said an official of APSRTC city region.

"If the running time is increased, some trips will have to be cancelled and passengers will be put to hardship in peak hours" he added.

IT professional grooms tops popularity chart

IT grooms are back in demand in the country and Hyderabadis seem to endorse the view. A recent survey maintained that the IT professionals are the ones who are mostly sought after with young girls and their parents preferring prospective grooms from this sector. The survey also said that 70 per cent of youngsters prefer arranged marriages.

The marriage bureaus in the city agree that IT men top the ‘most wanted' list. Fat pay package, better career prospects, and chances of settling abroad contribute to their being so much in demand. Tara Reddy of Reddy's Marriage bureau said, "Even today so many girls want to settle abroad, especially the US. Parents have this notion that once your daughter is settled there, she won't be lacking in anything, atleast as far as the financial aspect goes. So IT guys fit their bill since they are the ones who settle abroad maximum."

A lucrative salary is definitely the main thing that makes IT professionals the most coveted grooms when compared to others. Also they mostly work five days a week, unlike so many people, especially those from the media or even banking sectors. Antara Mallorkar of Bharat Matrimonial in Hyderabad said, "When the girls and their family look for grooms, they first make enquiry of the family and financial background. If the family is ok, what more can you want from a guy who earns a fat salary and also has offs on weekends? It is 101 per cent true that IT grooms are mostly in demand."

18-year-old Jenny Singavarapu is also of the opinion that IT is definitely the most "happening" sector and she too feels that it is the pay scale that attracts both the girls and the parents.

Asra Adeni, a homemaker and a mother of two said, "Though I would not like to generalise, I think it is natural for parents to go prefer IT grooms. It is reassuring for them to know that their son-in-law is doing well and in all probability will continue to do well in future."

IT sector is also one of the largest industries in the country with a large number of people employed in it. So even girls working in this industry opt for men from the same sector. "Many people go in for arranged marriages with a person from the same field," said Swetha D, a 24-yearold professional working in TCS.

In this rat race for choosing the perfect groom, when the IT guys emerge as clear winners, what do the guys have to say? Debadeep Ray, software professional with Accenture Service said, "I must say it is quite flattering! Even my mother tells me that whenever she says that her son is an IT professional in some social gathering, parents of girls express interest. At times though it gets irritating to get calls from innumerable people coming up with marriage proposals, I agree its flattering."

IT guys, it clearly seems are enjoying all the attention!
Source:DC

Hyderabadi Youngsters on a not so joy ride

Youngsters travel on the footboard of an RTC bus endangering their lives on Tank Bund. There is every chance of the youth slipping and falling under the wheels of oncoming vehicles. Also, the traffic police turns a blind eye to sucb traffic violations in the city.

Young Generation are clueless on brands origin.

Misidentifying the country of origin of certain brands may not really re flect on our general knowledge but it shows our ignorance about brands that we hanker after. Most of us use a Nokia cellphone but does anyone know from where it actu ally originated.? Many youngsters mistake this Finnish brand for a Japanese one.








As for jeans, be it Pepe jeans or a Levis, we take pride in showing off the label. But some youngsters think that Levis originated from London whereas it was actually created in the US.

Generation X has a vast knowledge about the configuration that is required for a fast and efficient sys tem, but do they care to know from where their user-friendly laptops were invented? The answer is a big ‘no'.








It's summer time and we need protection from the sweltering heat in the city. One of the protective measures can be a sunglass. The first brand that comes to an Indian mind is the Rayban sunglasses or the Fast Track ones, but hard ly anybody knows the name of the country, which created the most soughtafter Rayban sunglasses. Rayban sunglasses originated from Hong Kong.

Indian girls use many cosmetic products from L'Oreal but does anyone know where it came from? Many thinks that L'Oreal is a French brand whereas it originated in the US. One of the most famous brands in India is the Adidas. Well, a youngster, thinks that it's an US brand whereas it is actually from Germany.

Though Hyderabadis are educated consumers, they either have no clue or they just assume that everything is from America, United Kingdom or Japan.


But many bluntly says, "I don't care about which country created which brand. All that matters to me is the quality of the brand and how well it fits."

The raising temperature is becomming hot for animals too in Hyderabad

With mercury levels soaring in the city, not only people but animals too are having a tough time.

The city's veterinary doctors are each treating at least five animals a day for sunstroke. According to them, most animals are sensitive to extreme heat conditions and often fall ill. "Exotic animals like white tigers, orangutans, chimpanzees, columbus monkeys, elephants and pumas are highly sensitive to heat. Birds are the worst hit as they can't tolerate the rise in temperatures," says Dr. Md. Abdul Hakeem, Assistant Director, Nehru Zoological Park.

Even pet dogs and cats are vulnerable to sunstroke. The symptoms of sunstroke in animals are severe fever, vomiting, salivation and sudden unconsciousness. "This year many cases of sunstroke were reported because the city has become a concrete jungle and temperatures are rising year after year," says Dr. Krishna, Claws and Paws clinic.

Animals feel better in the evenings as it is relatively cooler. "Since our dogs are inactive all day in summers, doctors advised us to keep them in a cool place. So we let them sleep in an air-conditioned room," said N.S.J. Srikar, a resident of Tirumalgiri. However, stray dogs and cats are resistant to extreme heat conditions.

Meanwhile in the zoo, officials maintained that no animal deaths due to heat were reported this year. "We have installed sprinklers in cages and even air-coolers to keep the temperature under control. We have also roofed the cages of birds with tunga grass, to keep away the heat and the roof is regularly watered. Adequate drinking water is being supplied to the animals," Mr. Md. Abdul Hakeem said.

However, he admitted that some animals have fallen ill this year and are being treated at the Zoo but are being looked after. In the case of pet animals suffering from sunstroke, doctors blame the pet owners. They complained that most people leave their pets outdoors when they are at work, which results in severe discomfort to the animals. Dr. Jacob Mathew, Good Shepherd Poly clinic in Tirumalgiri advises that pets should be given vitamin supplements to keep them active in summers.

Source: Deccan Chronicle

Parking crisis hits commuters in Hyderabad.

Lack of adequate parking space in malls, multiplexes and other commercial complex es is causing great inconvenience to the people of the city. The crisis gets aggravated on holidays when these places witness larger crowds.



Parking is a huge problem in the city with commercial complexes and multiplexes having inadequate space. And if it's peak hours then there is no end to the problem, as you have to take your car or two-wheeler to a nearby by-lane and park therein. Some of the places in the city where there are parking problems are Lifestyle, Care Hospital, Banjara Hills, City Centre, Hyderabad Central, IMAX, etc.

T. Srikanth, deputy general manager, operations of IMAX claims that they have the biggest parking place for a theatre and mall. He says that at any point of time around 2,000 cars and 2,000 two-wheelers are parked in their own parking place, beside the mall and the cellar. "Huda has also provided a car parking area right in front of the mall having a parking space of 200 cars. However we agree that with the huge crowd coming in to Prasads and IMAX daily, we do face a parking crisis. But it is not possible for us to increase the parking space any further," he says.

Anil Awasthi, an employee of Bambino Industries says that parking is a regular problem in Hyderabad. "Even on M.G. Road and R.P. Road in Secunderabad, there is a parking problem with shops lined on both sides of the roads. Once I had gone to R.P. Road for some work in the evening and had to go all the way to Paradise to park my vehicle and then walked all the way back to take my vehicle. Sometimes the parking place is inadequate and most of the times, the cops present ask you not to park your vehicle as the parking place is full and to take your vehicle ahead and find a suitable place," he says.

Majority of the commuters have faced similar problems at some point of time and say that they have had a harrowing experience. Sometimes they have even had to park their vehicles on the roads, which causes problems for commuters. Venkat Ramdass, who shops regularly at Ameerpet says, "Most of the times, we have to park our vehicles on the roadside, as there is no parking place in the smaller malls."

T. Ramsudhakar, traffic, ACP II says that malls have to get their plan approved by MCH.

"Most of the times they don't keep adequate parking areas and hence people have to park their cars on the road, which adds to traffic woes. The problem is worse at Aditya Trade Centre in Ameerpet and other places. Such places should take up alternative parking places to ease the problem," he adds.

Even in Hyderabad Central though there is space in the basement there is a crisis on weekends when there is a huge inflow of people. Uday Kumar of Hyderabad Central, says that as parking problem is getting worse, they are working on suitable options.

Source: DC

Cool Pictures of Latest Nokia N 95 Phone

Nseries WOM World

WOM World is a Nokia™ sponsored resource providing latest news, comment and feedback on all things about the Nokia Nseries from the world of social media and beyond.

Nokia Keyboard



Media Keys



KeyPad


USB Port


Backside