India is Great !!!

 

The Parliament Secretariat has decided to sanction (maximum of) Rs 50,000 to buy an Apple iPad 2 or Samsung Galaxy Tab for Members of Parliament (IBN).

iPad2 in India

This comes at a time when government should be eating its own dog food, i.e. the $35 tablet.

Given the IAC (India Against Corruption) timeline, we couldn’t help ask these questions to decision makers:

• Does an iPad improve your productivity?
• iPad is a ‘media consumption’ device (primarily). Why do MPs need it? To play Angry Birds?
• Why not use an Indian company’s product, maybe Notion Ink?

We are actually shocked with this decision, as it involves tax payers’ money. The good news (we are making this up) is that this decision will open up the possibilities of digital world to otherwise technology-challenged politicians, who hopefully will use technology to improve the state of their constituency (read: Kerala CM Makes The Perfect Use of Technology–Installs Webcam In His Office).

Otherwise, this is a wastage of taxpayer’s money. What’s your opinion?

Startups | Techgig

See, what could make Internet super-fast - The Times of India

 

British scientists have devised a way of using graphene, the thinnest material in the world, to capture and convert more light than previously, paving the way for advances in high-speed Internet and other optical communications.
In a study in the journal Nature Communication, the team -- which included last year's Nobel Prize-winning scientists Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov -- found that by combining graphene with metallic nanostructures, there was a 20-fold enhancement in the amount of light the graphene could harvest and convert into electrical power.
Graphene is a form of carbon just one atom thick and yet 100 times stronger than steel.
"Many leading electronics companies consider graphene for the next generation of devices. This work certainly boosts graphene's chances even further," said Novoselov, a Russian-born scientist who with Geim won the 2010 Nobel Prize for physics for research work on graphene.
Previous research has shown that electrical power can be generated by putting two closely-spaced metallic wires on top of graphene and shining light on the whole structure, effectively making a simple solar cell.
The researchers explained that due to the particularly high mobility and velocity of the electrons in graphene, such graphene cell devices can be incredibly fast -- tens or potentially hundreds of times faster than communication rates in the fastest Internet cables currently in use.
The main stumbling block to practical applications has so far been the cell devices' low efficiency, the researchers said. The problem is that graphene absorbs little light -- only around 3 per cent -- with the rest going through without contributing to the electrical power.
In a collaboration between the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge, Novoselov's team found they could solve this problem by combining graphene with tiny metallic structures known as plasmonic nanostructures, which are specially arranged on top of graphene.
By using the plasmonic enhancement, the light-harvesting performance of graphene was boosted by 20 times without sacrificing any of its speed, they wrote in their study. Future efficiency could be improved even more, they said.
"We expected that plasmonic nanostructures could improve the efficiency of graphene-based devices but it has come as a pleasant surprise that the improvements can be so dramatic," said Alexander Grigorenko, an expert in plasmonics and a leading member of the team. "Graphene seems a natural companion for plasmonics."
Andrea Ferrari of Cambridge University's engineering department, who also worked on the team, said the findings show graphene's great potential in photonics and in developing electronic devices that channel and control light. He said the combination of its special optical and electronic properties with plasmonic nanostructures could be fully exploited.

See, what could make Internet super-fast - The Times of India

How to block unwated spam SMSes

 

If you start waiting for the TRAI to figure out an effective way to single out spam messages, you're in for a long wait. It makes more sense to take matters into your own hands - for now at least.
I should mention at the outset that if you have an iPhone, you're plain out of luck currently, there is no way to block spam because of the way the operating system works - it's all locked down.
Android users however, will be happy to learn that not only is an effective blocking tool available, they won't have to spend a single Rupee to get it. Just head to the Android Market from your phone and search for 'SMS Blocker Optinno' - the app has been developed in India by Pune-based Optinno Technologies and it uses a built in database and algorithm to automatically identify and block all spam messages automatically.
The app keeps a log of all the blocked messages and you can check them at any time to make sure that no legit messages have been blocked. Messages from anyone in your contact list are automatically delivered and you can choose to add specific senders/names to the white (allow) or block list.
The same app is also available for Symbian from www.smsblocker.in - even though Symbian users have to pay Rs 199, the price is well worth it. BlackBerry users also have a built in option - just head to the Options/Settings area and navigate to Security > Firewall.
The built in Firewall in BlackBerry OS can be setup to block messages or email - just enable it, check the box marked contacts in 'Exceptions' and also whatever other numbers you want in the 'allow' list.
Note that if you forget to allow your contacts or add other exceptions, every message will be blocked and there is no way to retrieve them.

How to block unwated spam SMSes - The Times of India

Facebook hires NIT Warangal student for Rs 45 lakh - The Times of India

 

Facebook hires NIT Warangal student for Rs 45 lakh - The Times of India

BlackBerry Curve smartphones All run the latest BlackBerry 7 OS

Research in Motion today announced three new BlackBerry Curve smartphones running the latest BlackBerry 7 mobile operating system with its faster Web browsing experience.

The BlackBerry Curve 9350, Curve 9360 and Curve 9370 should be available in Canada in August and from carriers in other countries in September, RIM said, without naming carriers or pricing.

All three phones share the same look, with differences primarily in internal radios for different wireless networks used around the globe. All three come with a 2.44-in. screen (with 480 x 360 pixel resolution) above a traditional BlackBerry physical Qwerty keyboard.

All three have GPS and Wi-Fi, as well as a 5-megapixel camera with flash and video support and a MicroSD card slot to support up to 32 GB memory cards.

RIM described the devices as ideal for customers who want to upgrade from a feature phone to a smartphone or from an older Curve to get an "affordable, socially connected smartphone experience."

While analysts have noted the BlackBerry 7 OS is a marked improvement over previous versions, mainly for its improved browser, they say that most of RIM's hopes for success will depend on new devices running the QNX operating system. RIM expects smartphones running QNX to appear in 2012. That OS is already featured in RIM's PlayBook tablet.

RIM announced two BlackBerry Bold smartphones, the 9900 and 9930, in May, each running the BlackBerry 7 OS.

The BlackBerry 7 OS also offers voice-activated universal searching and is pre-loaded with a Documents to Go and BlackBerry Messenger.

All three of the new Curves measure 4.3 in. x 2.36 in. x .43 in., according to RIM's spec sheets. The 9350 and 9360 each have 512 MB of internal memory, while the 9370 has 1 GB.

In terms of differences in networks that each model serves, the 9350 is intended for CDMA/EVDO Rev. A networks, while the 9360 is intended for GSM and HSPA networks. The 9370 functions in both GSM and CDMA networks, with four radio bands for GSM and two for CDMA..

Wear a computer as an electronic tattoo

Latest advances in science are leading to the rise of a new generation of super-smart and nano scale computing machines, which tend to blur the distinction between electronics and biology. These machines are as flexible as human skin or the tissue. Instead of existing outside the body, they become part of the body’s intrinsic biological system, and make all kinds of computing functionalities available to the user.  
An international team of scientists from USA, China and Singapore have developed an epidermal electronic system (EES), which is basically an electronic patch of thin rubbery substrate that can easily adhere to the skin like any temporary tattoo. In the EES, the advanced electronic circuits include sensors, light-emitting diodes, transistors, radio frequency capacitors, wireless antennas, conductive coils and solar cells.
The EES is a wireless device with hardly any height. It is less than 50-microns thick, which makes it slightly thinner than a human hair. It requires so little power that it can fuel it self through miniature solar collectors, or even from the electromagnetic impulses that get generated in or around the body. It does not need any glue to stick to the skin; the normal electrostatic impulse is enough to bond the EES to the skin.  
Experts are of the opinion that this device could have a significant impact in the fields of medical sensing, computer gaming and even spy operations. We can easily envisage the rise of a new generation of wearable electronics. How about a smartphone that can be bonded to the skin of your hand or is firmly embedded to it! As it is part of your body, it could connect you to the cyber world and also the parts of real world in ways that we can’t possible imagine right now.
The EES technology has maximum potential in the field of health. We could have a simple stick-on circuit monitor that will keep track of a human being’s heart rate and muscle movements and other vital functions. As it is weightless, it does not encumber the user in anyway, and it is virtually undetectable. It is also possible to have an EES that gets connected to a person’s throat, around the larynx, and transmits a person’s speech even if he is not making any discernible sound.
Of course, a device this small can also be used for spying. An EES capable of recording and transmitting all kinds of information can be implanted on a target. Perhaps in future this is going to be the more popular way by which anyone can spy on his or her partner. There is no doubt a weightless undetectable machine like EES can pose risk to privacy, but that is one side effect that we have to learn to live with.
The work on perfecting the design of the EES has been going on for last six years.  Advanced electronic circuitry for a patch that is as soft as the human skin has already been developed; now the focus is on adding battery power and other energy options. John Rogers and Todd Coleman, two of the scientists who have been working on the project say that the EES is a big step in erasing the divide that separates machine and human.

CIO-on-Demand service

CIO-on-Demand service or an ‘Outsourced CIO’ may be a fairly new terminology in the Indian scenario and it may sound conceptually similar
to outsourcing the IT needs of an organisation, but the difference lies in the core essence of the service rendered.
The service provides an affordable way to inject a blue chip CIO’s leadership to the business of an SME that cannot afford a full-timeCIO, as part of an interim management.
The service works with the business to manage the demand for technology needs in a timely manner. It is an on-going management service for SMEs in need of direction to bridge the gap between business and technology. It helps organisations align themselves between business strategy and IT strategy by providing a roadmap for the IT function of an organisation backed by an offshore team to guide it forward
The need for CIO-on-Demand services
Every organisation needs somebody who can join in on calls for vendor or service provider selection, to make sure that the organisation’s interest is been looked after Most SMEs do not require a full-time IT Head. Even if they hire a full-time CIO, the technical requirement is not sufficient to keep the CIO occupied full-time; hence he is often also assigned non-technical responsibilities, which in turn diminishes the core job profile of a CIO.
On a broader scope, the services offered by a seasoned CIO range from strategy planning to defining a roadmap for IT acceleration, to defining the annual IT budget that is aligned with business priorities, to something as simple as to helping select and implement a project. Categorically, the consultancy services offered by a CIO for a product’s core could include: Business process review to identify the gaps in processes and increase overall
productivity. Business-effective infrastructure readiness assessment for the need to simplify. Automate and standardise processes to improve service levels, increase performance while reducing downtime and cost. IT service desk for consistent, efficient service management issue resolution. Datacentremanagement for increased productivity, efficiency through better SLA management to upkeep/maintain uptime of power, servers, applications, database, security solutions, network, etc.
End user support to provide a heterogeneous environment, resulting from silo-focused system deployment. Database services/management for secure and accessible services without building additional infrastructure or increasing administrative workload. Application management servicesfrom
SLA maintenance of application availability to cross integration for better productivity, delivery and performance.
IT project management for achievement of business goals. Managed security services to increase responsiveness, scalability, flexibility for ensured data privacy in an increasingly complex and dynamic security threat environment. Network management for monitoring multi-location activities; maintain heterogeneous network topology for improved availability of the business systems. Inventory management for monitoring and managing IT assets for optimised cost and better utilisation. Develop and manage an annual IT budget plan that is aligned with business priorities.
Changes in the IT department over time
In the ‘90s, IT was merely an ElectricalData Processing centrewithin each department (the EDP section), which reported to line managers from middle management, who reported to top management.
The command flowed from top to bottom and in reverse order. EDP’s core job was handling MIS and looking after hardware issues ofthe organisation.
This approach changed in 2000 when the IT department became a facilitator towards achieving the strategic goals of the business. This was when Organisational Integrated Application was implemented; all departments were on a single platform and monitored accordingly. The IT Head came into the picture and now worked on guidelines given by top management, in tandem with peers.
Today, IT is a full-fledged department which reports to the CIO who is part of top management.
SMEs to a certain extent still followthe historical IT approach, although some have adopted other approaches. It is not feasible or affordable for an SME to adopt a layered approach. And this is where an outsourced CIO comes in — a modern-day IT approach.
The outsourced CIO is an outside entity executing the role and all the responsibilities of a full-time CIO, working in tandem with the top management and not as part of a business approach layer; working in conjunction with the business owner / share holder to meet and streamline the IT roadmap to meet the strategic business goals.
The Business Value of a CIO on Demand
From an operational point of view, an organisation gets quick answersto questions on what products or applications to opt for and getsproper feedback pertaining to them.
They help the organisation gain access to knowledgeable worldwide and industry-specific resources. They serve as a ready performance reference for a service provider’s assessment and deployment of services. With hands-on project management, licensing and pricing policy of vendors, they provide the best technology decision support.
With a vast experience pool, they package best practices to handle specific projects based on discussions with peers of the organisation on past project handling techniques. They enhance the business value of the implemented project by implementing project portfolio management techniques which ultimately helps the organisation move towards a leaner, meaner IT organisation.
On the strategic front, they act as a catalyst that helps devise a long-term IT strategy roadmap, aligned with technological needs, to serve the business.
They conduct a pencil review of strategic documents by organising IT and Business Integration sessions. They help chart a service provider’s relationship roadmap based on SLA terms with the business.
The ultimate outcome of their services is package implementation of total cost of ownership to position the business value of the technology investment.

London unrest spreads via cellphones, social media

Here is how one message posted by a looter on a popular social media goes, “If you're down for making money, we're about to go hard in east London.” There are many other posts that get even more specific, as they direct the looters precisely to the stores that sell expensive stereo equipment, designer clothes, alcohol, bicycles and much else.

Some gangs in London have been detected using encrypted messages sent via BlackBerry smartphones to tell their members where they have to gather in the city for the next round of mayhem.
RIM’s BlackBerry seems to have become very popular among the youths in all parts of Europe, primarily because they are cheap, compatible with multimedia and private. For the looters and rioters of Tottenham, Enfield and Brixton, the communications tool of choice has apparently been BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). In many instances, BBM has acted as the private, encrypted social network to spread rumours and fuel more violence.
The system of encrypted messages gives troublemakers an added benefit: cops are not able to immediately trace the handset from where the message has originated. Even non-BlackBerry smartphones, like the ones that run Android OS, are being used to spread rumours through normal text messages or through Facebook and Twitter.
During the Jasmine revolution in Arab countries earlier this year, social media like Facebook and Twitter had come in for lot of praise. They were being seen as tools that facilitate the spread of political reform and democracy. But the London riots have started conjuring a different kind of impression.
It is ironic that in Arab countries the youths used social media to spread the ideas of openness, in London the same technologies are being used to orchestrate violence, arson and loot. Some youngsters in London have already been detained for using social media to encourage violence.
However, there is another side to the story. There are many instances where social networks and BlackBerry messaging services have provided refuge for fearful residents and shop owners who say police efforts have been feeble and slow. Twitter is proving to be particularly helpful in pinpointing areas of violence. Social organisations are also using Facebook and Twitter to organize community cleanup groups and alert people of alternative routes they can use.
It is time for us to recognise the basic fact that the modern technology is merely a tool. How this tool gets used depends on the ethical values of the user. So lets not fall into the trap of blaming cell phones or social media for the violence. The ones to blame are the hoodlums who misuse technology for their myopic political or personal agenda.

This Study was recently circulated to all Microsoft employees by their CEO.

What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India
Few months ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of a multinational in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.
It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner  (in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.
Was it the stress?
A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.
The Real Reason
However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out':
http://connect.in.com/ranjan-das/play-video-boss-day-out-ranjan-das-of-sap-india-229111-807ecfcf1ad966036c289b3ba6c376f2530d7484.html
Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep (and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled).
The Evidence
Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.
Some Excerpts:
· Short sleep duration (<5 or 5-6 hours) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500%  compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009.
As you know, high BP kills.
· Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high BP  if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.
· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks . Paper published in 1999.
· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!
· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease . Paper published in 2004.
· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase  in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.
Ideal Sleep
For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation  while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding . During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.
The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.
For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep , you are mentally irritable throughout the day ( lack of REM sleep ). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours , your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep),  you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down (I’ve been there, done that L )
Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.
If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

Interpretation : Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line )
In conclusion:
Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising (marathoning!), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep (7 hours), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.
I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep. J
Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail to as many of your colleagues as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.

India saw 117 Government websites being defaced between January and June 2011

The Government of India has said that 117 websites ofvarious departments and agencies were defaced by hackers between January and June 2011. Website defacement is an attack on a website that changes the visual appearance of the site or a webpage.
“All the affected organisations and departments were requested to provide web server logs of hacked websites for analysis and identifying the nature and type of attack and vulnerabilities exploited by the hacker," Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha

Research In Motion unveils five new BlackBerrys running on new BlackBerry 7 OS

The new smart phones include two new BlackBerry Bold models and three new BlackBerry Torch models. 


The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 will be the thinnest smart phones ever and introduce an all-new, all-touch design featuring the largest display on a BlackBerry smartphone to date. 

"This is the largest global launch of BlackBerry smart phones in our history," RIM president and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said at the RIM headquarters at Waterloo near Toronto. 

With its aging handsets contributing to massive decline in its market share in North America, RIM said it was rolling out the new devices in conjunction with 225 wireless carriers globally. 

The announcement by the top Canadian technology company comes at a time when the it faces declining market share, shrinking revenue and profit warnings. 

The company has sunk from top to the third spot in the US smart phone market in a matter of months under onslaught from Apple's iPhone and Google Android devices. 

Its stock has sunk more than 60 percent this year, currently trading at about $24 - the lowest in six years.

 

Gmail Phone Calling: Now Cheaper and in 38 Languages

Google has expanded the scope of Gmail’s phone calling feature, reducing the cost of international phone calls and making the feature available in 38 languages.

The product, which is powered by Google Voice, will be rolling out across the world in the next few days. A green phone icon will appear in a user’s Gmail account once the voice calling feature is available in his or her country. The search giant introduced voice calling in Gmail last August.

In addition to the international rollout, phone calls will be getting cheaper for calls to more than 150 locations around the world. “For example, it’s now only $0.10 (or €0.08) per minute to call mobile phones in the U.K., France or Germany (landlines are $0.02/min), $0.15/minute to call mobile phones in Mexico and $0.02/min to call any phone number in China and India,” Google product manager Pierre Lebeau explained in a blog post.

For those of you who use Gmail phone calling to call your friends or colleagues in the U.S., you don’t have to worry; phone calls within the U.S. and Canada will remain free until the end of 2011.

Apple wows with record iPhone and iPad sales, largest revenues

Apple has reported a record number of iPhone and iPad sales in the second quarter of 2011, powering revenue of $28.6 billion, also a record.

RFID-based cashless car-parking system developed

Car parks can be a hassle – you have to roll down your car window and reach out to get a ticket from the dispenser on the way in, and then have to reach over and pay the cashier on the way out. The engineers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, however, have come up with something easier. They’ve developed an RFID (radio-frequency identification) tag system that allows drivers to pass unimpeded in and out of car parks, with parking fees being automatically deducted from an online account... 

5 simple steps to greening your enterprise

Measure and record: Organisations should start measuring the power consumption across the company. Dig out the power bill for the company for the past three months, and compare it with those of earlier quarters. Dig deeper to find out who the biggest guzzlers are. Make an energy map based on this research.
Powering off: Standby mode is the one of biggest tragedies that could have happened to computing. It is estimated that close to 40% of employees keep their PCs on standby mode when leaving for home. The solution is to tweak the system to go into a shut off mode after a fixed time span. Usually this can be done at the network level itself and poses no technical challenge.
Virtual is real: Data centres use massive amounts of electricity; large ones can use megawatts of power. The interesting thing about these data centres is that a bulk of the power, around 60% of it, goes not in the processing of information but in the cooling of the equipment. The key words here are: consolidate and virtualise to reduce power consumption.
Take the soft(ware) road: While it might not be popular yet, but there are lots of software application that aid and abet green. Ideally, once the energy consumption pattern has been mapped, and virtualisation done, the next step is to go in for software solutions that help better manage the existing infrastructure. One of the most common approaches is to host applications on the cloud. This is not only cost effective but also carbon effective.
Purchase green: Buy green should be the new mantra. So, whenever any RFP is floated make sure it has some green parameters in it as well. Also, whenever you are asked to evaluate a product or a technology solution dig deeper into the carbon footprint of the product, the disposal, and other things. Make it a point to make green an important and integral part of your evaluation

This new service promises to improve page loading times for end users by as much as 25 to 60 percent.

Google unveils Page Speed

Are you still using a paper calendar?

These days most people have been won over by electronic calendars, but there could be a few who are still hovering between paper and smartphone-based calendar apps. A cloud based digital calendar can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. Obviously, you don’t enjoy the same advantage with a paper calendar. Perhaps the biggest drawback of using a paper calendar is that you have to write with a pencil or pen.

In the digital age, most people are more comfortable using the keypad or the keyboard. Wielding a pen is hardly as convenient. Of course, if something changes, you have to go through the inconvenience of erasing and updating the entries in the paper calendar.

In the unfortunate event of your paper calendar getting lost, your entire schedule for the coming week goes haywire. Now you can’t remember about the meetings that you are scheduled for tomorrow. Are there some urgent tasks left unfinished at office! On the personal side, are there any important errands to run? You are clueless about how you are going to spend your weekend. A paper calendar can also be damaged too easily.

Digital calendars, many of which can be accessed through a plethora of devices - smartphone, tablet or PC – are a convenient and a much safer option.

There is no dearth of those who swear by Google Calendar or Outlook. They can be instantly updated, and the new information can be set to automatically sync. It is so easy to seamlessly integrate personal and professional into a harmoniously unified oneness. When a meeting request comes via Outlook to your smartphone, it gets automatically sent to your calendar. As the information can be password protected in most calendar apps, there is little danger of the details of your personal activities falling into the wrong hands.

Our gadgets have taken control of such a large aspect of our personal and professional lives. A random search for calendar in the Android market place gives dozens of results. Many of these calendars are free and they are capable of fulfilling every kind of requirement. The users of Apple products – iPhone, iPad or the Mac systems – have access to a wonderful array of digital calendars, which are easy to access and update. You don’t even need to sit down in front of your PC or laptop to do your calendaring; your handheld device does the needful.  

As everything you put on the Calendar app gets backed up online, there is no danger of the information being lost in the unfortunate event of the device getting lost or damaged. The need of some people to keep putting pen to paper is understandable. It is an old habit that just refuses to go away, even though there is ample evidence to suggest that modern technology can do a much better job of scheduling anyone’s appointments.