January 2007 – TheOS.IN

Download of the day: VMware Converter 3.0 to covert physical system to Virtual Machines

Now you can covert physical Machines to Virtual Machines with free VMware Converter 3.0 software.

From the product page:
Use the intuitive wizard-driven interface of VMware Converter to convert your physical machines to virtual machines. VMware Converter quickly converts Microsoft Windows based physical machines and third party image formats to VMware virtual machines. It also converts virtual machines between VMware platforms. Automate and simplify physical to virtual machine conversions as well as conversions between virtual machine formats with VMware Converter.

Benefits

=> Disaster recovery : Clone and backup physical machines to virtual machines as part of your disaster recovery plan.

=> Ease of use : Quickly and reliably convert local and remote physical machines into virtual machines without any disruption or downtime.

Woot! :)

Download link

Download VMware Converter 3.0

Mac OS X remap or rename keyboard keys

So how do you remap or rename keyboard keys under Mac OS X?

Simply use DoubleCommand software.

It is a free program

DoubleCommand is software for Mac OS X (a kernel extension) that lets you remap keys, in other words change the way your keyboard works. Often used to make a PC keyboard more comfortable with a Mac, swapping the Alt (Option) and Windows (Command or Apple) keys, since they are in swapped positions on Mac and PC keyboards. DoubleCommand is a quick and easy way to fix this if you use a PC keyboard with your Mac.

Download DoubleCommand

Free certifications from Brainbench till 31st Jan

Through January 31, over two-dozen Brainbench certifications are available to you at no cost!

These tests include:

* C#
* ASP.NET
* MS Excel 2003 Fundamentals
* Medical Transcription (US)
* Accounts Payable Fundamentals
* Macromedia Director MX 2004
* Network Technical Support
* Human Resources Concepts (UK)
* Listening/Reading Comprehension – Spanish
* and many more.

Typically $49.95, these tests are available to you absolutely free! Upgrade your resume – impress your boss – show off to your friends – and it will cost you nothing but your own time investment.

Visit brainbench to take free test…

OSCAR – The Academy Awards nominations for 2006

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. See wikipedia article for more information.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center

From the Yahoo article:
The dream of the top Academy Award is gone for the musical “Dreamgirls.” It got eight Oscar nominations Tuesday, but not best picture \u2014 leaving the main prize up for grabs.

Will it be the sprawling global drama “Babel,” which placed second with seven nominations, or the mob epic “The Departed”? Could the palace tale “The Queen” be crowned best picture, or even “Little Miss Sunshine,” a road-trip romp that became last year’s independent-cinema darling?

The complete nominations list

Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 7 downloaded 100 Million times

MSDN blog reports that the final version of IE 7 downloaded 100 Million times in last 3 months. IE 7 was launched 3 months back.

From the blog page:
I’m pleased to report that on January 8th, we had the 100 millionth IE7 installation. However, even more important than installations is usage. According to WebSideStory (the company we use to measure browser usage), as of this week, over 25% of all visitors to websites in the US were using IE7, making IE7 the second most used browser after IE6. We expect these numbers to continue to rise as we complete our final localized versions, scale up AU distribution, and with the consumer availability of Windows Vista on January 30, 2007.

World’s first 2.5″ SCSI hard drive with platters spinning at 15k

World's first 2.5" SCSI hard drive with platters spinning at 15,000k

Seagate has announced a 2.5″ SCSI hard drive that spins at an amazing 15,000RPM :D

From the article:
Today Seagate announces the latest addition to its Savvio line, and this one’s rather special. The new Savvio 15K is not only the world’s first 2.5″ hard drive with platters spinning at 15,000 RPM, Seagate also says it’s 10% faster than 3.5″ 15K-RPM drives, making it the world’s fastest hard drive. That’s a bold claim to make, but the drive’s 2.5″ form factor could actually help it on this front. Even with perpendicular recording, Seagate can only squeeze 36GB onto the Savvio 15K’s platters.

Shilpa Shetty facing racism abuse on Celebrity Big Brother show

Media is making big news about Shilpa Shetty. She is abused on Big Brother reality show and Bollywood is protesting against Channel 4.

Channel 4 and TV regulator Ofcom have had more than 21,000 complaints about treatment of Shetty. Other contestants have made fun of the A-list Bollywood actress’s name, her eating habits and her Indian background. She was called a “dog”. In Indian society educated people don’t use word “dog” for women.

However according to the BBC news, Channel 4 has denied claims that Celebrity Big Brother contestant Shilpa Shetty has suffered racist bullying.

There had been a “cultural and class clash” between three other housemates and the Indian star, the channel said.

According to Shetty’s mother, Sunanda – “Her daughter was tough and she would be able to handle the situation.“.

I haven’t seen the show so I can’t comment more here. Or is it a publicity stunt? What do you think?

What lions eat

The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four “big cats” in the genus Panthera. The lion is the second largest feline species, after the tiger. The male lion, easily recognized by his mane, weighs between 150â€“250 kg (330â€“500 lb). Females range 120â€“150 kg (260â€“330 lb).[2] In the wild, lions live for around 10â€“14 years, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. Though they were once found throughout much of Africa, Asia and Europe, lions presently exist in the wild only in Africa and India. They enjoy hot climates, and hunt in groups.

Lion – Diet and hunting

Female lions usually hunt at night or dawn and in packs. Their prey consists mainly of large mammals, such as antelopes, gazelles, warthogs, wildebeest, buffalos and zebras, but smaller animals like hares and birds are also taken occasionally. Carrion is readily taken and often recovered from other predators like hyenas and wild dogs. In some areas, lions specialise on rather atypical prey-species; this is the case at the Savuti river, where they constantly prey on young elephants, and at the Linyanti, where they hunt hippos.

An adult female lion needs about 5 kg (11 lbs) of meat per day, a male about 7 kg (15 lbs).

=> This article includes information from wikipedia article Lion.

The President of India asks a question at Yahoo Answers

The question is – What should we do to free our planet from terrorism?

Yup, this is really the President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. I am totally surprised by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam using yahoo to ask question. Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India, having received honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. His focus is on igniting young minds for national development and transforming India into a developed nation by 2020. Can it get bigger and better than this?

You will also see answers from famous personalities including
=> Kiran Bedi

=> Akum Longchari

=> Leander Paes

=> Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

All of them providing their own thoughts on the subject.

You can also view the President’s video before you decide to answer his question.

You can also win some cool goodies by answering the question – The latest , fully loaded. Tablet PC with a high end webcam :D