VISHWA....go GREEN && go OPEN

Three new elements make it to the Periodic Table. . .

2012-01-17T19:25:00.000+05:30

Darmstadtium (Ds), Roentgenium (Rg) and Copernicium (Cn) are the three new elements numbered 110, 111, and 112 in the periodic table. These three elements have the phenomenon of Radioactivity.

Darmstadtium (Ds), Roentgenium (Rg) were discovered a long time ago in November 1994 and December 1994 respectively. Copernicium (Cn) was discovered in 2009.

It was approved by The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) at a meeting held at the Institute of Physics (IOP) in London in November 2011.

Copernicium (Cn) was named after a famous Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus, as a honour to him.

So now the Periodic Table is left with only five elements with atomic numbers 113 to 117, which have been discovered but not yet named.

Lets wait and see how long it takes for the remaining five elements to be named

OMAP 5 is here. . .

2012-01-17T19:23:00.000+05:30

OMAP 5 is the 5th generation of Application Processors from Texas Instruments.The OMAP 5 advanced multi-core architecture includes a variety of cores, including ARM general-purpose processors, multiple graphics cores and several application-specific processors for a balance of programmability, performance and power.
There are two OMAP 5 devices targeted to serve different customers’ needs. Both of these devices use a TI-defined, low-power 28 nanometer fabrication process.

OMAP5430 is targeted for products such as Smartphones that demand the smallest size supporting dual-channel, LPDDR2 Package-on-Package (PoP) memory
OMAP5432 is targeted for mobile computing and consumer products that are more cost-sensitive, without the extreme size constraint, supporting dual-channel DDR3/DDR3L memory.

The OMAP 5 platform supports the latest TI WiLink wireless connectivity devices to ensure multi-mode operation and access to a variety of wireless network connections for service any time, anywhere on a variety of wireless networks.

The OMAP 5 platform integrates TI’s industry-leading SmartReflex 3 technologies to enable high performance at low power. SmartReflex 3 technologies combine intelligent and adaptive silicon, circuit design and software to solve power and performance management challenges at smaller process nodes, enabling OEMs to offer sleeker, multimedia-enabled mobile devices with long battery life and less heat dissipation. The OMAP 5 platform also includes support for a power management companion device that is optimized to provide the specific power needs for the OMAP 5 applications processors.

The OMAP 5 platform integrates a TI audio management device that provides low-power head-set, speakers, vibrators, amplifiers and microphone interface support. New energy-efficient amplifier support will extend audio play times further.

The industry-leading OMAP 5 applications processors combined with this open source software deliver breakthrough multimedia improvements over today’s most popular mobile devices, including full 1080p60 multi-standard HD record and playback or 1080p30 stereoscopic 3D record and playback, up to 24-megapixel imaging, PC-like Internet browsing, 3D graphics enabled user interfaces and best-in-class power management technology with SmartReflex 3 technologies.

Strengthening the OMAP 5 platform’s value, TI leverages its open source community involvement to benefit customer product development. TI’s pre-integrated software packages for popular Linux-based distributions help manufacturers achieve maximum system-level performance while driving a faster time-to-market.

Texas Instruments is doing a revolution with the OMAP Processors.

2011-08-04T12:32:00.003+05:30

OPEN MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS PLATFORM

OMAP4 is a new platform of Processors from Texas Instruments…

OMAP4 succeeds its predecessors OMAP1,OMAP2,OMAP3 with a huge leap.OMAP4 is planned to hit the market soon to bring the next generation of smartphones and Mobile Internet Devices, PDAs..

OMAP4 platform delivers the best combination of high performance and Ultra –low power consumption.

The future of Mobile Computing is up here with OMAP 4 processors, because it offers the programmability and performance headroom to support new & emerging applications & standards. Not only will the OMAP4 platform accelerate time to market and reduce R&D time & costs for handset manufacturers, but its flexibility and openness will enable manufacturers to deliver innovative applications at breakthrough mobile computing performance.

OMAP4 platform is based on 45nm CMOS technology,which reduces the Processor chip size.OMAP4 platform is a powerful system-on-chip that includes the perfect balance of power efficiency and high performance.

Texas Instruments OMAP4 mobile applications platform will redefine the mobile phone of tomorrow with new, innovative user experiences driven by PC-like web browsing, 1080p full HD video record and playback, intuitive user interfaces, location-based services and next-generation social networking applications.

OMAP 4 platform leverages the most advanced and effective power management techniques in the market.

Till date,the great majority of smart phones running HLOS(Hig Level Operating Systems) today are based on the OMAP platform.

OMAP4’s 4 main Engines:

OMAP4 processors comprises of an inbulit ARM-MCU,Programmable floating point DSP, IVA Accelerator, Image Signal Processor.

The OMAP 4 processor balances processing across four main engines:

a programmable multimedia engine based on TI’s C64x DSP

power-efficient, multi-format hardware accelerators

general-purpose processing based on the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore supporting Symmetric

MultiProcessing (SMP)which can clock 1 GHz per core

a high-performance programmable graphics engine,an Image Signal Processor (ISP) for unparalleled video

and imaging performance.

OMAP4’s SMP(Symmetric MultiProcessing)

OMAP4 applications processor is one of the first dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore based architectures and employs parallel processing for higher performance and efficiency.

OMAP4 SUPPORT:

OMAP 4 platform supports the leading mobile High-Level Operating System (HLOS) platforms, including Microsoft Windows Mobile, Android, Symbian & Linux(Angstrom,LiMo,etc).OMAP4 supports a very high resolution of HD 1080p with 20MegaPixel Imaging.

The OMAP4 platform also includes support for the power management device to help maximize battery life.

OMAP4 has got Pre-defined Connectivity standards for Wi-Fi,Wi-Max,Bluetooth,GPS.

Hope this OMAP4 Platform makes it to the market soon and creates a revolution among Smartphones…

LEOPARD BOARD - low cost board for VIDEO Imaging Application Development

2011-08-04T12:26:00.000+05:30

LeopardBoard

After Beagleboard and Hawkboard have made a huge impact on Open Source Development with the OMAP processors ,there comes yet another board based on TI’s Da-Vinci Platform namely LeopardBoard for Digital Media Application development exclusively for Video Imaging manufactured by Leopard Imaging.

The Leopard Board is a full featured, ultra low cost, small form factor, high performance development system which includes TMS320DM355 Processor board and a VGA camera board to provide VGA resolution video capture.

The Leopard Board DM355 is a standalone development platform that enables users to evaluate and develop applications for the DM355 processor.

TMS320355 is a processor from Texas Instruments based on Da-Vinci Platform exclusively meant for Digital Media Application development on Video Imaging.TMS320355 is a Digital Media System on Chip.

The TMS320DM355 based application board enables developers to start immediate evaluation of DaVinci processors and begin building digital video applications such as IP security cameras, digital photo frames, digital still cameras, video doorbells, portable medical and portable digital video products that have yet to be invented.

The Leopardboard 365 is enhanced with more HD Video codecs, Face Detection and HD Video output with TMS320DM365.

This board also allows developers to write production-ready application code for the ARM and provides access to the MJCP coprocessor core using DaVinci APIs to begin immediate application development for the TMS320DM355 digital media processors.

Why TMS320DM355 is used in LEOPARD board???

High-performance Digital Media System on Chip
ARM926EJ-S core
Video Processing Subsystem (VPSS)
DM355 combines high performance MPEG4 HD (720p) codecs and JPEG codecs up to 50M pixels per second, high quality, and low power consumption at a very low price point.
Seamless interface to most additional external devices required for a complete digital camera implementation

HARDWARE

Processor : TMS320DM355 Processor
NAND Flash : 2Gb Micron NAND Flash (256MB)
DDR2 SDRAM : 1Gb Micron DDR2 SDRAM (128MB)
Camera Interface :VGA CMOS Image Sensor by Default, Optional: 1.3M, 2M, 3M and 5 Megapixel CMOS Sensors
supported
Audio In/Out :AIC3104I Audio chip, Stereo Audio In/Out, 2.5mm Stereo Plug connector
JTAG Port : JTAG Debugging Port
Serial Port : RS-232 UART Debugging Port, 2.5mm Stereo Plug connector
USB 2.0 Port : USB 2.0 HS (Device can be powered by USB port)
SD Card Slot : SD/MMC Slot
Power Management: TPS65053 Power management chip
Power Input : +5V Power Input, 2.1mm I.D. x 5.5mm O.D. x 12mm Female
Video Output Port : PAL/NTSC Output
Network Interface : 10/100 Ethernet
LCD/DVI Interface : LCD/DVI Interface through adapter board
Expansion Port (NotPopulated) : SD/MMC, I2C, UART, McBSP, GPIO, 3.3V power supply
PCB Board Mechanical : 3” x 2.5” (76.2mm x 63.5mm)

SOFTWARE

Currently, Leopard Board comes with the following software installed on the board:

Linux Kernel 2.6.10 (Monta Vista Linux 4.0)
U-boot 1.2.0
IP net cam demo. Requires 5M imager board LI-LBCM5M1 or LI-5M03 to run 720p at 30fps.

Leopard board is yet another board for Open Source Application development on TI’s Da-Vinci Platform of Processors. Leopardboard with TMS320DM355 processor can do upto 50Megapixel Imaging persecond with the JPEG codecs and can do 720p video imaging with MPEG 4 codecs.

This is such a powerful Open Source Application Development board for the enthusiasts of Image Processing and Video Imaging.

The package of Leopard board (TMS320Dm355 ) with Aptina 5MP CMOS camera board,Mini USB cable, Univeral 5VDC Power Supply costs $153 .

Source : https://www.leopardimaging.com

NVIDIA CUDA Architecture and OpenCL, a way for New world of Gaming and Graphics

2011-08-04T12:23:00.002+05:30

OpenCL: OpenCL is Open Computing Language,a framework for Cross-Compilation(a framework for writing programs that execute across heterogeneous platforms consisting of CPUs, GPUs, and other processors).

OpenCL includes a C language for writing kernels(functions that execute on OpenCL devices), plus APIs that are used to define and then control the platforms. OpenCL provides parallel computing using task-based and data-based parallelism.

Nvidia offers OpenCL as equal choice to its Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) in its drivers.CUDA provides both a low level API and a higher level API. CUDA (an acronym for Compute Unified Device Architecture) is a parallel computing architecture developed by NVIDIA.

CUDA is the computing engine in NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) that is accessible to software developers through variants of industry standard programming languages.Programmers use ‘C for CUDA’ (C with NVIDIA extensions and certain restrictions), compiled through a PathScale Open64 C compiler, to code algorithms for execution on the GPU.

CUDA architecture shares a range of computational interfaces with two competitors -the Khronos Group’s Open Computing Language and Microsoft’s DirectCompute.Third party wrappers are also available for Python, Perl, Fortran, Java, Ruby, Lua, MATLAB and IDL.

CUDA gives developers access to the virtual instruction set and memory of the parallel computational elements in CUDA GPUs. Using CUDA, the latest NVIDIA GPUs become accessible for computation like CPUs. Unlike CPUs however, GPUs have a parallel throughput architecture that emphasizes executing many concurrent threads slowly, rather than executing a single thread very quickly.This approach of solving general purpose problems on GPUs is known as GPGPU.

OpenCLs architecture shares a range of computational interfaces with both CUDA and Microsoft’s competitor DirectCompute. OpenCL gives any application access to the Graphics Processing Unit for non-graphical computing. Thus, OpenCL extends the power of the Graphics Processing Unit beyond graphics (General-purpose computing on graphics processing units). OpenCL is analogous to the open industry standards OpenGL and OpenAL, for 3D graphics and computer audio, respectively.

Also NVIDIA provides an Opportunity for budding Embedded Developers to make themselves strong in Programming Graphics Processing Unit(GPUs) through an International Certification “NVIDIA CUDA C Programmer”. Its one of the toughest Certifications in this Arena. .

Hope this CUDA Architecture with OpenCL paves way for a new World of Gaming and Graphical Development. .

Wavin' Flag from K'Naan.....Wavin'Flag.. Waves even when there is No WIND

2010-06-15T13:33:00.003+05:30

Wavin' Flag from K'Naan...the song which i ever dreamt to be good..See how K'Naan feels when he sings...Real situation what they face in Somalia...chaa....Hatz off K'Naan....

When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag

When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back

Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
But Violent prone, poor people zone
But it’s my home, all I have known
Where I got grown, streets we would roam
But out of the darkness, I came the farthest
Among the hardest survival
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak
Except no defeat, surrender retreat

So we struggling, fighting to eat and
We wondering when we’ll be free
So we patiently wait, for that fateful day
It’s not far away, so for now we say

When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back

So many wars, settling scores
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor
I heard them say, love is the way
Love is the answer, that’s what they say,
But look how they treat us, make us believers
We fight their battles, then they deceive us
Try to control us, they couldn’t hold us
Cause we just move forward like Buffalo Soldiers

But we struggling, fighting to eat
And we wondering, when we’ll be free
So we patiently wait, for that faithful day
It’s not far away, but for now we say

When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back

(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And everybody will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And you and I will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And we all will be singing it
(Ohhh Ohh Ohh Ohh)

When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back

When I get older, when I get older
I will be stronger, just like a Waving Flag
Just like a Waving Flag, just like a Waving flag
Flag, flag, Just like a Waving Flag.

Boring dayz...triggered me to get out of my Regularity....1st month Life as a FRESHER

2010-06-14T19:48:00.007+05:30

Boring dayz are those which i 'm up here right after i have finished my 4yrs of Engineering.These dayz make me get irregular out of my Irregular plans.
After 2weeks have passed , me getting out of the college, i started feeling like missing something which was never known to anyone, i have kept it a Secret for these years at College..
Also i had lot of plans to be done in this Hols....Thought of developing a lot in this vacations but i can never concentrate as if i did in my past.
Few of my friends told me, I was not looking like as i was in these days at College. I had lot many in my mind and i could not think of what the problem they might look for in me..The very next night i started dreaming of what that reason might be?.. and the very next morning i ended up with a reason and i tried to get rid of that. After that i felt like regaining something...That made me feel comfortable for the moment.
These days have made me to Sleep late in d early morning, Having something for my digestive sac twice a day instead of thrice a day, Messaging even at un time...But at times due to compulsion, i try to change myself a lot to be regular as if i was in my primaries.But these days ruin me a lot and i'm fed up with Holidays.So now i feel like i should not get Holidays like this in future.

What i reap out of this Holidays is "Boredom"...Feeling the boredom to the core...

Started helping my Mom , 24*7 chat with friends, Playin Cricket,etc........and even i felt boring with Internet....Even i dreamt of finding a way to Push my day and i didn't result with a viable option..
Tried a lot to get me out of Boredom..but whatever i do, at last i end up with boredom...
So again i started my work of getting into the Internet with FB,Orkut, Twitter,etc.........

Now a month have passed after the last exam of my 4yr Engineering....

This days will remain in my Memory till i reach the Final Destination...erasing it, kinda impossible as if that of CD-ROM....

Hope to get a call soon from Cognizant Technology Solutions....

HAWKBOARD....a BEAGLE++

2010-03-07T19:11:00.007+05:30

Hawkboard is a new Board for ARM/DSP developers.

The main use of DSPs in this board is to make ARM9 work better

Similiar to BEAGLEBOARD, HAWKBOARD is entirely Open source .Again here in HAWKBOARD, there is an OMAP L 138, a simple but powerful Application Processor with an ARM 9 and a floating point DSP(C674x) which can do process any of the DSP Algorithms.

Hawkboard has a SATA port, USB OTG, HDMI, serial port, Audio IN and Audio OUT,JTAG, etc...Compared to the price of Beagleboard, Hawkboard is very cost effective. Hawkboard can run Angstrom, Android, bla bla bla.. Hatz off to d Hawkboard team.....

Google Technology User Group Madurai [GTUG-MADURAI] is here....

2010-02-16T21:42:00.002+05:30

Welcome to the Google Technology User Group,Madurai chapter.

The main focus of GTUG is to promote Google Applications,Free Open Source Softwares and the spirit of co-operation among students with the free Open Source software community. GTUG contributes to the community in the form of awareness meetings and sessions.The GTUG - MADURAI is the Google forum started @ K.L.N. College of Information Technology.

Inauguration of GTUG-MADURAI is here on 17 FEB 2k10..

Mr.Joe Steeve,Director ,HiPro IT soutions, inaugurates it.

visit http://www.madurai.gtugs.org

End of a Chapter in Indian Politics..Hatz off to one of my Grand Paa....

2010-01-17T21:22:00.006+05:30

I got tears in my eye on hearing the bad news of the death of Jyoti Basu, a great leader in Indian Politics.

Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu passed away ,after suffering from multi organ failure,aged 95, at 11.47 am, sunday, January 17, 2010..

The death of the veteran leader marked an END of a Chapter in Indian Politics. No one can replace him in Indian politics.

He has hold his position as a Chief Minister of West Bengal for a record 23years. Itz very clear from this record , the service done by him.."Nearly Seventy years of public life and political activity"..No chance ....

Everyone would get stunned at his record.

To his respect, the West Bengal Government on Sunday evening announced a three-day state mourning.Jyoti Basu was not only the former chief minister of West Bengal, was an able orator, administrator.

But such a great administrator was refused to be given a Prime Minister post.This Block was influenced by the Present General secretary of CPI-M, Prakash Karat.

This makes me feel a lot.Some times i get tears in my eye.

Even Former Prime minister Indira Gandhi had a Great respect for Jyoti Basu.She would be asking for his advice in each and every matter she handled.

I was very much impressed by the way he speaks.Still his voice sounds in my Tympanum.

So now I'm missing a great leader. No No.. certainly INDIA is missing him...

He should have completed his Century before laying his life.Just 5 short..

BSNL moves well ahead of TIME

2010-01-03T21:12:00.005+05:30

Yesterday(January 2 2k10), when I checked my Broadband Account usage in www.data.bsnl.in,I was shocked to see the Fault done by BSNL stating that d account usage has been made to count till JAN 22 - 2k10 which is well ahead of 19days.

Immediately i lodged a complaint abt this to Head office Mumbai.Now i'm waiting for a reply frm them.

After that in a hurry to lodge dis complaint in BSNL Broadband & EVDO forum in Orkut community,

I found that there was a Post already posted regarding this Fault counting..

I found that i was too late, on seeing many who have already posted abt their fault counting done by BSNL..

After smetime i got an idea to get it published in THE HINDU news paper.

Immediately i mailed the Editor in chief of THE HINDU ,Mr.N.Ram and requested him to publish it, so that the Public wud b well aware of this.

Hope to see that to getting published in the daily THE HINDU in near future...

World's Best SNIPER....

2009-11-07T20:24:00.003+05:30

Captain Vasily Grigorevich Zaytsev was a Soviet sniper during World War II, notable particularly for his activities between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers.

He had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin-Nagant rifle.Between October 1942 and January 1943, Zaytsev had made 242 verified kills, but the real number may be much higher;some argue it might have been as many as 500.

Zaytsev was nearly killed by an enemy sniper.

He has trained nearly 12 best SNIPERS...

Booting,Major problem to Embedded Processors too.

2009-11-01T21:52:00.006+05:30

BOOTING ??

When you ask a Person, "What a Booting is?"

Without knowing the Difficulty,He/She will simply reply that Booting is a process of starting a work.

All Humans have a starting problem.

Most of us think that Machines can do anything if humans can program it for what they are deviced, ie,. Machines can rule the World in near Future..

But a Good news is awaiting for Humans that even Embedded Processors feel difficult with BOOTING.

Humans can solve their Booting problem with their Experience, But this is not inthe case of Processors.

To better know the Fundamentals of Booting of Embedded Processors..

just click the link below.....

http://www.industrialcontroldesignline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=220100921

UBUNTU 9.10 makes software installation easy..

2009-11-01T21:29:00.003+05:30

UBUNTU 9.10 KARMIC KOALA

Ubuntu is an increasingly popular version of Linux today, and it seems easier for new users to sink their teeth into this free operating system with each new release. The latest was made available for download last Thursday ( www.ubuntu.com).

One of new features of the latest version, Ubuntu 9.10, which might appeal to an average user, is the ease with which the software can be added and removed. Some users might have found this process difficult about Linux distributions generally. Ubuntu has been making improvements on this front over the years.

Still, with the previous version, one had different options for adding and removing software like the ‘Add/Remove Applications’ feature and the ‘Synaptic Package Manager.’ Removing already installed software and handling certain types of packages also meant the use of different options.

The latest version, KARMIC KOALA(Ubuntu 9.10), comes with the new Ubuntu Software Center, which makes software handling a breeze. Users without any knowledge of software installation in Linux — those who do not know what a repository or package is all about or what’s special about a .deb file — should find the going easy. All they need to do is navigate through the lists of software packages available and select and install these with a click or two (users need to be connected to the Internet to download the packages). And what await them are lists of hundreds of free software programmes in a number of categories.

A survey conducted last year revealed that India accounted for the largest number of UBUNTU SERVER USERS among the various countries surveyed. This trend should be valid for the desktop version too.

Those who download Ubuntu need to know how to burn the downloaded ‘image’ file on to a CD or DVD. Once this is done, the operating system can be tried out without an installation on the computer’s hard drive. But if the installation option is chosen, basic precautions like backing up key files have to be taken.
“Generally it works with all hardware, especially lower end hardware; drivers for just about all peripherals are available on the installation DVD/CD. As it relies on the free software platform, there is no threat of action for copying and distributing the DVD/CDs”

its free....

2 order ur free CD..click d link below

https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

BeagleBoard. Better offer for DSP Developers

2009-10-27T22:12:00.002+05:30

BeagleBoard
It is great to know that IDA systems gonna ship beagleboards in India for just Rs 8999 http://www.idasystems.net/beagle_board

In the past beagleboards were available for 12500 Rs, thanks for Gerald Coley, CircuitCo and IDA to work together in getting the cost down for India.IDA systems is also announced as official distributor for Beagleboards
http://beagleboard.org/buy
So any one in India can get local support for beagleboards and shipping should be fast with no lead times like before.Good Luck to IDA and beagle board India users.

Specifications
•Package on Package POP CPU/Memory chip.
•TI OMAP3530 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 core o 'HD capable' TMS320C64x+ core
Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX 2D/3D processor
•256MB LPDDR RAM memory o 256MB NAND Flash memory
Peripheral connections
•DVI-D (HDMI connector 1280x1024) , S-Video, USB OTG USB, SD/MMC card slot
•Stereo in and out jack plug sockets
•RS232 port
•JTAG connections
•Power socket (5V barrel connector type)
Development
•Boot code store in ROM
•Boots from NAND memory, SD/MMC, USB, or Serial
•Alternative Boot source button.
•Has been demonstrated using Android, Angstrom Linux, Ubuntu, Gentoo and Maemo Linux distributions, the Win CE operating system and a development version of RISC OS5.

Some things we don't know about dreams

2009-10-21T11:58:00.000+05:30

Blind People Dream
Those who become blind after birth can see images in their dreams. People who are born blind do not see any images, but have dreams equally vivid involving their other senses of sound, smell, touch and emotion. It is hard for a seeing person to imagine, but the body need for sleep is so strong that it is able to handle virtually all physical situations to make it happen.

You Forget 90% of your Dreams
Within 5 minutes of waking, half of your dream is forgotten. Within 10, 90% is gone. The famous poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, woke one morning having had a fantastic dream (likely opium induced) - he put pen to paper and began to describe his vision in a dream in what has become one of English most famous poems: Kubla Khan. Part way through (54 lines in fact) he was interrupted by a Person from Porlock. Coleridge returned to his poem but could not remember the rest of his dream. The poem was never completed. Curiously, Robert Louis Stevenson came up with the story of Doctor Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde whilst he was dreaming.

You are paralyzed while you sleep
Believe it or not, your body is virtually paralyzed during your sleep - most likely to prevent your body from acting out aspects of your dreams. According to the Wikipedia article on dreaming, Glands begin to secrete a hormone that helps induce sleep and neurons send signals to the spinal cord which cause the body to relax and later become essentially paralyzed.
Everybody Dreams
Every human being dreams (except in cases of extreme psychological disorder) but men and women have different dreams and different physical reactions. Men tend to dream more about other men, while women tend to dream equally about men and women. In addition, both men and women experience sexually related physical reactions to their dreams regardless of whether the dream is sexual in nature; males experience erections and females experience increased vaginal blood flow.

Dreams Prevent Psychosis
In a recent sleep study, students who were awakened at the beginning of each dream, but still allowed their 8 hours of sleep, all experienced difficulty in concentration, irritability, hallucinations, and signs of psychosis after only 3 days. When finally allowed their REM sleep the studentÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s brains made up for lost time by greatly increasing the percentage of sleep spent in the REM stage
We Only Dream of What We Know
Our dreams are frequently full of strangers who play out certain parts - did you know that your mind is not inventing those faces - they are real faces of real people that you have seen during your life but may not know or remember? The evil killer in your latest dream may be the guy who pumped petrol in to your Dad car when you were just a little kid. We have all seen hundreds of thousands of faces through our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters for our brain to utilize during our dreams.

Not Everyone Dreams in Color
A full 12% of sighted people dream exclusively in black and white. The remaining number dream in full color. People also tend to have common themes in dreams, which are situations relating to school, being chased, running slowly/in place, sexual experiences, falling, arriving too late, a person now alive being dead, teeth falling out, flying, failing an examination, or a car accident. It is unknown whether the impact of a dream relating to violence or death is more emotionally charged for a person who dreams in color than one who dreams in black and white

Dreams are not about what they are about
If you dream about some particular subject it is not often that the dream is about that. Dreams speak in a deeply symbolic language. The unconscious mind tries to compare your dream to something else, which is similar. Its like writing a poem and saying that a group of ants were like machines that never stop. But you would never compare something to itself, for example: That beautiful sunset was like a beautiful sunset. So whatever symbol your dream picks on it is most unlikely to be a symbol for itself.

Quitters have more vivid dreams
People who have smoked cigarettes for a long time who stop, have reported much more vivid dreams than they would normally experience. Additionally, according to the Journal of Abnormal Psychology: 293 smokers abstinent for between 1 and 4 weeks, 33% reported having at least 1 dream about smoking. In most dreams, subjects caught themselves smoking and felt strong negative emotions, such as panic and guilt. Dreams about smoking were the result of tobacco withdrawal, as 97% of subjects did not have them while smoking, and their occurrence was significantly related to the duration of abstinence. They were rated as more vivid than the usual dreams and were as common as most major tobacco withdrawal symptoms.

External Stimuli Invade our Dreams
This is called Dream Incorporation and it is the experience that most of us have had where a sound from reality is heard in our dream and incorporated in some way. A similar (though less external) example would be when you are physically thirsty and your mind incorporates that feeling in to your dream. My own experience of this includes repeatedly drinking a large glass of water in the dream which satisfies me, only to find the thirst returning shortly after - this thirst drink thirst loop often recurs until I wake up and have a real drink. The famous painting above (Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening) by Salvador Dali, depicts this concept.

2009-10-21T11:53:00.001+05:30

Color is normally thought of as a fundamental attribute of an object: a red Corvette, a blue lake, a pink flamingo. Yet despite this popular notion, new research suggests that our perception of color is malleable, and relies heavily on biological processes of the eye and brain.

The brain's neural mechanisms keep straight which color belongs to what object, so one doesn't mistakenly see a blue flamingo in a pink lake. But what happens when a color loses the object to which it is linked? Research at the University of Chicago has demonstrated, for the first time, that instead of disappearing along with the lost object, the color latches onto a region of some other object in view – a finding that reveals a new basic property of sight.

The research shows that the brain processes the shape of an object and its color in two separate pathways and, though the object's shape and color normally are linked, the neural representation of the color can survive alone. When that happens, the brain establishes a new link that binds the color to another visible shape.

"Color is in the brain. It is constructed, just as the meanings of words are constructed. Without the neural processes of the brain, we wouldn't be able to understand colors of objects any more than we could understand words of a language we hear but don't know," said Steven Shevell, a University of Chicago psychologist who specializes on color and vision.

Shevell's findings are reported in a paper, "Color-Binding Errors During Rivalrous Suppression of Form," in the current issue of Psychological Science. Wook Hong, who received his Ph.D. at UChicago and is now a post-doctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University, joined Shevell in writing the paper and conducting the research.

Their work expands the understanding of how the brain is able to integrate the multiple features of an object, such as shape, color, location and velocity, into a unified whole.

"An aspect of human vision that we normally don't appreciate is that different features of an object, including color and shape, can be represented in different parts of the brain," said Shevell, the Eliakim Hastings Moore Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology and Ophthalmology & Visual Science.

If a person sees a basketball coming, it is perceived as having a particular color, shape and velocity. "The knitting together, or what can be called 'neural gluing,' of all those different features so we see a unified object is a complex function done by the brain. Our research focused on how the brain does that," Shevell explained.

To study how the brain represents the color of objects, the researchers used a technique called binocular rivalry. The technique presents a different image to each eye and thus pits signals from the right eye against signals from the left.

"The brain has difficulty integrating the two eyes' incompatible signals. When the signals from the two eyes are different enough, the brain resolves the conflicting information by suppressing the information from one of the eyes," Shevell said. "We exploited this feature of the brain with a method that caused the shape from one eye to be suppressed but not its color."

The researchers first showed subjects vertically oriented green stripes in the left eye and a horizontally oriented set of red stripes in the right eye. "The brain cannot fuse them in a way that makes sense. So the brain sees only horizontal or vertical," Shevell said. For their study, the researchers developed a new form of the technique that allowed the horizontal pattern to be suppressed without eliminating its red color, which continued on to the brain.

At this point, the brain has a musical chairs problem. Both the red and green colors reach consciousness but with only the one vertical pattern—one object but two colors. The surprising result was that the "disembodied red, which originated from the unseen horizontal pattern in one eye, glued itself to parts of the consciously seen vertical pattern from the other eye. That proves the idea of neural binding or neural gluing, where the color is connected to the object in an active neural process," Shevell said.

"To us it seems automatic," Shevell added. "Every basketball has a color. Every shirt has a color, but the brain must link each object's color to its shape."

The research is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Beagle Board,,.a boon to DSP Developers.........

2009-07-19T21:47:00.001+05:30

Beagle Board

The Beagle Board is a low-power, low-cost Single-board computer produced by Texas Instruments in association withDigi-Key, designed with open source development in mind, to demonstrate the Texas Instrument's OMAP3530 system-on-a-chip.

The board was developed by a small team of TI engineers.

Features

The Beagle Board measures approximately 3" by 3" and has all the functionality of a basic computer.

The OMAP3530 includes

1) an ARM Cortex-A8CPU (can run eitherWindows CEor Linux),

2) a TMS320C64x+ DSP for accelerated video and audio decoding, and

3) an Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX530 GPU to provide accelerated 2D and 3D rendering that supports OpenGL ES 2.0.

Video out is provided through separate S-Video andHDMI connections.

A singleSD/MMC card slot supporting SDIO,

1) a USB On-the-Go port,

2) anRS-232 serial connection,

3) a JTAG connection, and

4) two stereo 3.5mm jacks for audio in/out are provided.

Built-in storage, memory is provided through a PoP chip that includes 256MB of NANDflash memory and 256MB ofRAM.

The board uses Power up to 2W and can be powered from either a USB connection, or a separate 5v power supply.

Because of the efficient power consumption the board requires no additional cooling.

GATE syllabus EC

2009-07-02T20:41:00.002+05:30

GATE Syllabus for Electronics and Communication Engineering - EC
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ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS
Linear Algebra: Matrix Algebra, Systems of linear equations, Eigen values and eigen vectors.
Calculus: Mean value theorems, Theorems of integral calculus, Evaluation of definite and improper integrals, Partial Derivatives, Maxima and minima, Multiple integrals, Fourier series. Vector identities, Directional derivatives, Line, Surface and Volume integrals, Stokes, Gauss and Green's theorems
Differential equations: First order equation (linear and nonlinear), Higher order linear differential equations with constant coefficients, Method of variation of parameters, Cauchy's and Euler's equations, Initial and boundary value problems, Partial Differential Equations and variable separable method.
Complex variables: Analytic functions, Cauchy's integral theorem and integral formula, Taylor's and Laurent' series, Residue theorem, solution integrals.
Probability and Statistics: Sampling theorems, Conditional probability, Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Discrete and continuous distributions, Poisson, Normal and Binomial distribution, Correlation and regression analysis.
Numerical Methods: Solutions of non-linear algebraic equations, single and multi-step methods for differential equations.
Transform Theory: Fourier transform, Laplace transform, Z-transform.

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ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Networks: Network graphs: matrices associated with graphs; incidence, fundamental cut set and fundamental circuit matrices. Solution methods: nodal and mesh analysis. Network theorems: superposition, Thevenin and Norton's maximum power transfer, Wye-Delta transformation. Steady state sinusoidal analysis using phasors. Linear constant coefficient differential equations; time domain analysis of simple RLC circuits, Solution of network equations using Laplace transform: frequency domain analysis of RLC circuits. 2-port network parameters: driving point and transfer functions. State equations for networks.

Electronic Devices: Energy bands in silicon, intrinsic and extrinsic silicon. Carrier transport in silicon: diffusion current, drift current, mobility, and resistivity. Generation and recombination of carriers. p-n junction diode, Zener diode, tunnel diode, BJT, JFET, MOS capacitor, MOSFET, LED, p-I-n and avalanche photo diode, Basics of LASERs. Device technology: integrated circuits fabrication process, oxidation, diffusion, ion implantation, photolithography, n-tub, p-tub and twin-tub CMOS process.

Analog Circuits: Small Signal Equivalent circuits of diodes, BJTs, MOSFETs and analog CMOS. Simple diode circuits, clipping, clamping, rectifier. Biasing and bias stability of transistor and FET amplifiers. Amplifiers: single-and multi-stage, differential and operational, feedback, and power. Frequency response of amplifiers. Simple op-amp circuits. Filters. Sinusoidal oscillators; criterion for oscillation; single-transistor and op-amp configurations. Function generators and wave-shaping circuits, 555 Timers. Power supplies.

Digital circuits: Boolean algebra, minimization of Boolean functions; logic gates; digital IC families (DTL, TTL, ECL, MOS, CMOS). Combinatorial circuits: arithmetic circuits, code converters, multiplexers, decoders, PROMs and PLAs. Sequential circuits: latches and flip-flops, counters and shift-registers. Sample and hold circuits, ADCs, DACs. Semiconductor memories.
Microprocessor(8085): architecture, programming, memory and I/O interfacing.

Signals and Systems: Definitions and properties of Laplace transform, continuous-time and discrete-time Fourier series, continuous-time and discrete-time Fourier Transform, DFT and FFT, z-transform. Sampling theorem. Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) Systems: definitions and properties; causality, stability, impulse response, convolution, poles and zeros, parallel and cascade structure, frequency response, group delay, phase delay. Signal transmission through LTI systems.

Control Systems: Basic control system components; block diagrammatic description, reduction of block diagrams. Open loop and closed loop (feedback) systems and stability analysis of these systems. Signal flow graphs and their use in determining transfer functions of systems; transient and steady state analysis of LTI control systems and frequency response. Tools and techniques for LTI control system analysis: root loci, Routh-Hurwitz criterion, Bode and Nyquist plots. Control system compensators: elements of lead and lag compensation, elements of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control. State variable representation and solution of state equation of LTI control systems.

Communications: Random signals and noise: probability, random variables, probability density function, autocorrelation, power spectral density. Analog communication systems: amplitude and angle modulation and demodulation systems, spectral analysis of these operations, superheterodyne receivers; elements of hardware, realizations of analog communication systems; signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) calculations for amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) for low noise conditions. Fundamentals of information theory and channel capacity theorem. Digital communication systems: pulse code modulation (PCM), differential pulse code modulation (DPCM), digital modulation schemes: amplitude, phase and frequency shift keying schemes (ASK, PSK, FSK), matched filter receivers, bandwidth consideration and probability of error calculations for these schemes. Basics of TDMA, FDMA and CDMA and GSM.

Electromagnetics: Elements of vector calculus: divergence and curl; Gauss and Stokes theorems, Maxwell's equations: differential and integral forms. Wave equation, Poynting vector. Plane waves: propagation through various media; reflection and refraction; phase and group velocity; skin depth. Transmission lines: characteristic impedance; impedance transformation; Smith chart; impedance matching; S parameters, pulse excitation. Waveguides: modes in rectangular waveguides; boundary conditions; cut-off frequencies; dispersion relations. Basics of propagation in dielectric waveguide and optical fibers. Basics of Antennas: Dipole antennas; radiation pattern; antenna gain.
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8051 uC And EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

2009-06-29T07:44:00.001+05:30

U can DOWNLOAD d book frm d link given below.............

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7426064/The-8051-Micro-Controller-and-Embedded-Systems-Using-Assembly-and-C2ndEd?autodown=pdf

MOVIE REVIEW: TERMINATOR SALVATION

2009-06-24T06:25:00.001+05:30

TERMINATOR SALVATION is a big dull, predictable dud that counts on monotonous action sequences far too often, while making characters and story secondary. As Star Trek proved only two weeks earlier, story isn’t always important as long as you create entertaining characters and put them in exciting circumstances. Too bad Terminator Salvation has characters such as Christian Bale growling in his Batman voice, bringing absolutely nothing to a character we are meant to believe is the savior of the world, as he battles mindless CG-animated robots. To top it off, you know there’s trouble when the emotional core of the film revolves around a robot and that robot isn’t named WALL•E.

Set in 2018, we are introduced to a post-apocalyptic world in which the surviving humans are battling the machine-controlled Skynet and its army of robots. It’s like watching a poor man’s Matrix Revolutions without any back-story. You would have thought if they were going to rip-off The Matrix they would have at least chosen the better of the three films. As it turns out nothing about this film feels new, including Skynet’s Blade Runner-esque skyline and a similar Matrix-style computer code, shown as some sort of computer DNA.

The worst part of it all is the story has absolutely nowhere to go but down the already beaten path. The set up from the beginning includes the mention of a robot kill list which contains both the names of John Connor (Bale) and Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), two names any Terminator junky is sure to recognize immediately. As a result, the humans, known as the Resistance, have found a way to combat the machines that may end the war. But the sudden appearance of a man going by the name of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) changes their entire approach — but not really.

Christian Bale playing John Connor is a complete letdown. Early on he is barking his lines offering little more than background noise. He softens his tone when dealing with his wife Kate Connor played by Bryce Dallas Howard, whose pregnancy goes unexplained for the entire film making her appearance worthless unless something major is planned for follow-up films.

As Marcus, Worthington does just fine, but the role is so limited to say any acting was done would be a real stretch. The same could really be said for everyone as the script written by John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris is so boring you just hope the next turn in the plot will manage to surprise you until you finally realize it never will.

The troubles with this film are numerous, but it goes beyond the writing and the acting as director McG did absolutely nothing with the money he was given outside of blowing things up. Seriously, there is a tree line explosion so reminiscent of Tropic Thunder it is the first time I have actually laughed at an explosion in an action film. His use of rain and fire places him above Michael Bay on the list of director’s enamored by the use of inexplicable explosions and environmental emotional cues. His action set pieces are fantastic until they are ruined by monotony and coincidental happenings. Had they been anywhere near exciting in the first place I might not have minded, but as it stands it is just one more head slapper as you wonder, What were they thinking? *

There are, however, a couple of bright spots, but unfortunately they are all superficial and don’t benefit a film unless what they are gussying up is worth the polish. The production design of Terminator Salvation is spectacular. Shane Hurlbut, the cinematographer that suffered the wrath of Christian Bale in the widely heard on-set rant, shot a very good-looking film. Occasionally the world shown on screen reminded me of images painted in Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” as a gray hue was used to dim the post-apocalyptic set in which this boring action film takes place. To build on that, the effects are quite fancy and I enjoyed seeing the evolution of the Terminator machines (including one surprise appearance), but all that is secondary to what should have been a motivating story. The problem is, there wasn’t much to go on.

This all begs the question, where does the Terminator franchise go from here? Quite honestly it could go anywhere since all Terminator Salvation does is establish new actors for characters you are already familiar with. Very little is accomplished in this film and once you get to the end you are no better off than you were in the beginning. This is one of those few times I am giving a low grade to a film I don’t have any kind of animosity toward as much as I have no interest. Terminator Salvation bored me. After about 20 minutes I was beginning to think, “Uh oh,” and when the friend I was with turned to me 10 minutes later and said, “This is awful!” I knew I wasn’t the only one wondering what went wrong.

MOVIE REVIEW: ANGELS and DEMONS

2009-06-24T06:22:00.001+05:30

Clearly there are far more demons than angels among the ranks of critics reviewing Ron Howard's Angels & Demons, the sequel to his The Da Vinci Code (which most of them also condemned). Claudia Puig in USA Today comments that the dialogue in the movie "reeks of cliché." Michael Sragow in the Baltimore Sun describes it as "glib and hollow." And John Anderson in the Washington Post says that the whole plot "is such a slab of cheese it ought to come with a box of crackers." Damning it with faint praise, A.O. Scott in the New York Times writes, "This movie, without being particularly good, is nonetheless far less hysterical than Da Vinci. ... Mr. Howard's direction combines the visual charm of mass-produced postcards with the mental stimulation of an easy Monday crossword puzzle. It could be worse." Similarly Liam Lacey says in the Toronto Globe & Mail: "Angels & Demons is no less preposterous than The Da Vinci Code, but it's a serviceable summer action movie." But Tom Maurstad remarks in the Dallas Morning News: "Saying that Angels & Demons is a lot better than its predecessor, The Da Vinci Code, is like saying that this swine flu outbreak isn't nearly as bad as the last. It is better, but that still doesn't necessarily make it good." And Wesley Morris comments in the Boston Globe: "Asking whether the new movie is better than the first is natural if moot. Would you prefer to drown in a swimming pool or an ocean?" On the other hand Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times awards the film three stars and remarks that the movie unspools "at breakneck speed, with little subtlety, but with fabulous production values." And Kyle Smith concludes in the New York Post: "Angels & Demons has some exciting sequences, a spectacular ending with a terrific twist and a grounding in the debate about science versus religion that could hardly be more timely. It's got enough going on to sustain five blockbuster thrillers. That is its blessing and its curse."

ECO FRIENDLY LAPTOP by ASUS Tech..

2009-06-23T07:22:00.002+05:30

ECO FRIENDLY LAPTOP

GREEN THROUGHOUT: The bamboo notebook launched by ASUS Technology.

CHENNAI: Bamboo remains one of the most versatile grasses. It has increasingly been replacing plastics and wood products. It has also entered the world of computers. Here is an end-to-end eco-friendly bamboo notebook or laptop, an innovation in green computing. It is green throughout its life cycle — from conception and production, to recycling and disposal.

These notebooks, launched by ASUS Technology (India), are exquisitely designed with real bamboo to give a personalised and exclusive feel. It complies with RoHS (restriction of hazardous substances) and WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) standards.

Stanley Wu, country manager (notebook business), ASUS India, says the gadgets have been made through a green procurement process. It has restricted the use of 37 hazardous substances which are opposed by the RoHS directive. Also, the notebooks use super hybrid engine that can extend the battery life by 35 to 70 per cent compared to other notebooks. This saving is achieved by intelligent monitoring of the power requirements of the components and automatically adjusting power levels.

Mr. Wu says the notebook is made from the Moso species of bamboo. With the advantage of eco friendliness, the notebook offers great performance with its premium configuration. It is light at just 1.57 kg. ASUS offers a two-year global warranty for the product.

The track pad is also made of bamboo. Each touch of the bamboo laptop brings you closer to nature. The entire panelling of the ASUS U6V and the mouse bundled along with it are made of bamboo. Every piece can be further enhanced with treatments that yield different colours, or by laser-etching distinctive designs on the bamboo-clad cover.

The notebook uses super hybrid engine that reduces the yearly carbon dioxide emission by 12.3 kg a piece. The company has so far shipped approximately six million notebooks a year. This works out to a massive reduction of 73.8 million kg of CO2 emission per year, equal to saving 36 million trees annually.

The ASUS U6V bamboo is priced at Rs. 1,10,000 in India. The company offers a 2-year global warranty for the product. Mr. Wu is confident that the notebook will usher in a new era of green computing.

RTOS introduction

2009-06-06T18:02:00.001+05:30

Real-time operating system

A Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) is a multitasking operating system intended for real-time applications. Such applications include embedded systems (programmable thermostats, household appliance controllers), industrial robots, spacecraft, industrial control and scientific research equipment.

A RTOS facilitates the creation of a real-time system, but does not guarantee the final result will be real-time; this requires correct development of the software.
An RTOS does not necessarily have high throughput; rather, an RTOS provides facilities which, if used properly, guarantee deadlines can be met generally (soft real-time) or deterministically (hard real-time).
An RTOS will typically use specialized scheduling algorithms in order to provide the real-time developer with the tools necessary to produce deterministic behavior in the final system.
An RTOS is valued more for how quickly and/or predictably it can respond to a particular event than for the amount of work it can perform over a given period of time. Key factors in an RTOS are therefore a minimal interrupt latency and a minimal thread switching latency.

An early example of a large-scale real-time operating system was Transaction Processing Facility developed by American Airlines and IBM for the Sabre Airline Reservations System.

Two basic designs exist:

Event-driven (priority scheduling) designs switch tasks only when an event of higher priority needs service, called pre-emptive priority.
Time-sharing designs switch tasks on a clock interrupt, and on events, called round robin.
Time-sharing designs switch tasks more often than is strictly needed, but give smoother, more deterministic multitasking, giving the illusion that a process or user has sole use of a machine.
Early CPU designs needed many cycles to switch tasks, during which the CPU could do nothing useful, so early OSes tried to minimize wasting CPU time by maximally avoiding unnecessary task-switches.
More recent CPUs take far less time to switch from one task to another; the extreme case is barrel processors that switch from one task to the next in zero cycles. Newer RTOSes almost invariably implement time-sharing scheduling with priority driven pre-emptive scheduling.

In typical designs, a task has three states:
1) running,
2) ready,
3) blocked.

Most tasks are blocked, most of the time. Only one task per CPU is running. In simpler systems, the ready list is usually short, two or three tasks at most.

The real key is designing the scheduler. Usually the data structure of the ready list in the scheduler is designed to minimize the worst-case length of time spent in the scheduler's critical section, during which preemption is inhibited, and, in some cases, all interrupts are disabled. But, the choice of data structure depends also on the maximum number of tasks that can be on the ready list.
If there are never more than a few tasks on the ready list, then a simple unsorted bidirectional linked list of ready tasks is likely optimal. If the ready list usually contains only a few tasks but occasionally contains more, then the list should be sorted by priority, so that finding the highest priority task to run does not require iterating through the entire list. Inserting a task then requires walking the ready list until reaching either the end of the list, or a task of lower priority than that of the task being inserted. Care must be taken not to inhibit preemption during this entire search; the otherwise-long critical section should probably be divided into small pieces, so that if, during the insertion of a low priority task, an interrupt occurs that makes a high priority task ready, that high priority task can be inserted and run immediately (before the low priority task is inserted).

The critical response time, sometimes called the flyback time, is the time it takes to queue a new ready task and restore the state of the highest priority task. In a well-designed RTOS, readying a new task will take 3-20 instructions per ready queue entry, and restoration of the highest-priority ready task will take 5-30 instructions. On a 20MHz 68000 processor, task switch times run about 20 microseconds with two tasks ready. 100 MHz ARM CPUs switch in a few microseconds.
In more advanced real-time systems, real-time tasks share computing resources with many non-real-time tasks, and the ready list can be arbitrarily long. In such systems, a scheduler ready list implemented as a linked list would be inadequate.

Some commonly used RTOS scheduling algorithms are:
Cooperative scheduling
Round-robin scheduling
Preemptive scheduling
Fixed priority pre-emptive scheduling, an implementation of preemptive time slicing
Critical section preemptive scheduling
Static time scheduling
Earliest Deadline First approach
Advanced scheduling using the stochastic and MTG

Multitasking systems must manage sharing data and hardware resources among multiple tasks. It is usually "unsafe" for two tasks to access the same specific data or hardware resource simultaneously. ("Unsafe" means the results are inconsistent or unpredictable, particularly when one task is in the midst of changing a data collection. The view by another task is best done either before any change begins, or after changes are completely finished.) There are three common approaches to resolve this problem:
Temporarily masking/disabling interrupts
Binary semaphores
Message passing

General-purpose operating systems usually do not allow user programs to mask (disable) interrupts, because the user program could control the CPU for as long as it wished. Modern CPUs make the interrupt disable control bit (or instruction) inaccessible in user mode to allow operating systems to prevent user tasks from doing this. Many embedded systems and RTOSs, however, allow the application itself to run in kernel mode for greater system call efficiency and also to permit the application to have greater control of the operating environment without requiring OS intervention.

On single-processor systems, if the application runs in kernel mode and can mask interrupts, often that is the best (lowest overhead) solution to preventing simultaneous access to a shared resource. While interrupts are masked, the current task has exclusive use of the CPU; no other task or interrupt can take control, so the critical section is effectively protected. When the task exits its critical section, it must unmask interrupts; pending interrupts, if any, will then execute. Temporarily masking interrupts should only be done when the longest path through the critical section is shorter than the desired maximum interrupt latency, or else this method will increase the system's maximum interrupt latency. Typically this method of protection is used only when the critical section is just a few source code lines long and contains no loops. This method is ideal for protecting hardware bitmapped registers when the bits are controlled by different tasks.

When the critical section is longer than a few source code lines or involves lengthy looping, an embedded/real-time programmer must resort to using mechanisms identical or similar to those available on general-purpose operating systems, such as semaphores and OS-supervised interprocess messaging. Such mechanisms involve system calls, and usually invoke the OS's dispatcher code on exit, so they can take many hundreds of CPU instructions to execute, while masking interrupts may take as few as three instructions on some processors. But for longer critical sections, there may be no choice; interrupts cannot be masked for long periods without increasing the system's interrupt latency.

A binary semaphore is either locked or unlocked. When it is locked, a queue of tasks can wait for the semaphore. Typically a task can set a timeout on its wait for a semaphore. Problems with semaphore based designs are well known: priority inversion and deadlocks.
In priority inversion, a high priority task waits because a low priority task has a semaphore. A typical solution is to have the task that has a semaphore run at (inherit) the priority of the highest waiting task. But this simplistic approach fails when there are multiple levels of waiting (A waits for a binary semaphore locked by B, which waits for a binary semaphore locked by C). Handling multiple levels of inheritance without introducing instability in cycles is not straightforward.
In a deadlock, two or more tasks lock a number of binary semaphores and then wait forever (no timeout) for other binary semaphores, creating a cyclic dependency graph. The simplest deadlock scenario occurs when two tasks lock two semaphores in lockstep, but in the opposite order. Deadlock is usually prevented by careful design, or by having floored semaphores (which pass control of a semaphore to the higher priority task on defined conditions).

The other approach to resource sharing is for tasks to send messages. In this paradigm, the resource is managed directly by only one task; when another task wants to interrogate or manipulate the resource, it sends a message to the managing task. This paradigm suffers from similar problems as binary semaphores: Priority inversion occurs when a task is working on a low-priority message, and ignores a higher-priority message (or a message originating indirectly from a high priority task) in its in-box. Protocol deadlocks occur when two or more tasks wait for each other to send response messages.
Although their real-time behavior is less crisp than semaphore systems, simple message-based systems usually do not have protocol deadlock hazards, and are generally better-behaved than semaphore systems.
[edit]Interrupt handlers and the scheduler

Since an interrupt handler blocks the highest priority task from running, and since real time operating systems are designed to keep thread latency to a minimum, interrupt handlers are typically kept as short as possible. The interrupt handler defers all interaction with the hardware as long as possible; typically all that is necessary is to acknowledge or disable the interrupt (so that it won't occur again when the interrupt handler returns). The interrupt handler then queues work to be done at a lower priority level, often by unblocking a driver task (through releasing a semaphore or sending a message). The scheduler often provides the ability to unblock a task from interrupt handler context.
[edit]Memory allocation

Memory allocation is even more critical in an RTOS than in other operating systems.

First, speed of allocation is important. A standard memory allocation scheme scans a linked list of indeterminate length to find a suitable free memory block; however, this is unacceptable as memory allocation has to occur in a fixed time in an RTOS.
Second, memory can become fragmented as free regions become separated by regions that are in use. This can cause a program to stall, unable to get memory, even though there is theoretically enough available. Memory allocation algorithms that slowly accumulate fragmentation may work fine for desktop machines—when rebooted every month or so—but are unacceptable for embedded systems that often run for years without rebooting.

The simple fixed-size-blocks algorithm works astonishingly well for simple embedded systems.
Another real strength of fixed size blocks is for DSP systems particularly where one core is performing one section of the pipeline and the next section is being done on another core. In this case, fixed size buffer management with one core filling the buffers and another set of cores returning the buffers is very efficient. A DSP optimized RTOS like Unison Operating System or DSPnano RTOS provides these features.

These are the best known, most widely deployed real-time operating systems. See List of real-time operating systems for a comprehensive list. Also, see List of operating systems for all types of operating systems.
QNX
RTLinux
VxWorks
Windows CE

LINK 4 OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARES frm SUN uSYS

2009-05-07T08:43:00.001+05:30

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARES can b D/W ded frm here

http://developers.sun.com/students/free_software.jsp

Brain ImaginTech:Observing Our Brain At Work

2009-04-22T23:55:00.000+05:30

Brain Imaging Technology: Observing Our Brain At Work

Our skull protects our brain, but it also serves as a barrier to the direct observation of cognitive activity and our brain's organization and development. Scientists who studied brain properties and functions 20 years ago were thus forced to experiment on animal brains, to study autopsied brains of people who had various cognitive and/or motor impairments, and to compare the behavior of people with normal and abnormal brains. It was a difficult and principally inferential process.
Recent advances in computerized imaging technology have made it possible to technologically pass through the skull and brain tissue and observe, amplify, record, rapidly analyze, and graphically display the brain substances and signals that reflect activity in very specific brain regions. This technology has revolutionized brain and mind research, and the diagnosis and treatment of many brain-related diseases and malfunctions.
The first imaging technologies, the X-ray and EEG (electroencephalogram), were primitive by today's standards, but both have been considerably improved—and they provided the conceptual base of the other amazing imaging technologies that have recently emerged.

Computerized brain imaging technologies now measure and display the variations in chemical composition, blood-flow patterns, and electromagnetic fields that occur in normal and/or abnormal brains. Each of the several current forms of brain imaging technology has strengths and weaknesses, and new developments are continually making the technology faster, more powerful, less invasive, and less expensive. Imaging technology was primarily used in medical diagnosis initially, but it is being increasingly used in pure neuroscience and psychological research.
Educational researchers are just beginning to use imaging technologies, but this use will dramatically increase in the coming years. It will revolutionize educational research and many elements of educational policy and practice.
The various computerized imaging technologies differ, but the following analogy demonstrates how someone can examine internal differences in something (a brain) that has a protective cover (a skull): Imagine that you're looking for similarities, differences, and imperfections in successive slices of a thinly sliced apple or potato. A brain-imaging machine is basically a camera that can rapidly and successively change its focus as it photographs and digitally stores successive thin slices of a brain in order to create a comprehensive three-dimensional image of selected properties of the entire brain
The graphic displays in imaging technology typically use the color spectrum gradations to represent the activity levels of the various brain areas in a scan (the red end of the spectrum representing a high level of activity in a brain area, the purple end representing low activity, and the other colors representing intermediate levels). Topographical maps similarly use different colors to represent elevations (mountains, valleys, etc). A scan of a slice of brain thus graphically indicates which brain areas were active and inactive during the time interval of the scan.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (commonly written fMRI) measures brain blood flow patterns and metabolic changes. Although almost a dozen different kinds of imaging technologies exist, fMRI is perhaps the currently most important of the group for cognitive neuroscience researchers. fMRI permits them to identify specific brain regions that are active when the subject is carrying out a task, such as reading a text, making a decision, or moving a finger. Scientists can thus compare the brain anatomy and activity of people who read well and poorly, or who make appropriate and inappropriate decisions. Much of what we've learned recently about cognition has been carried out with fMRI technology.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is another important imaging technology. Scientists using PET insert a small amount of radioactively tagged glucose (or other compound) into the bloodstream of the experimental subject. Since glucose is the brain's principal food, the PET scans of subjects will reveal the brain areas that are the most active (those with the most glucose) when, for example, the subjects are asked to say the first verb that comes to mind when they hear a specific noun—such as cut or slice when they hear the noun knife.
Emerging major advances in EEG (electroencephalogram) technology may provide the best initial and potential venue for educational researchers. EEG is the least invasive, cheapest, and most portable of the imaging technologies. For example, since fMRI uses powerful magnets and PET uses radioactive isotopes, and both require expensive equipment in specialized laboratory settings, their use in educational research has been limited by ethical and financial considerations. Conversely, EEG measures electrical brain waves via electrodes placed on the skull, and so it's no more invasive than a blood pressure sleeve. Further, the electrodes can now be placed inside a cap where they send wireless signals to a nearby computer, so a researcher could eventually observe brain activity in non-laboratory settings, such as within a classroom.

Although we're excited about the potential use of imaging technologies in our understanding of many current cognitive mysteries, and in the diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities, worrisome issues exist. Imaging technologies can also become potentially superb lie detectors, and so their use and possible misuse in government, business, and our criminal justice system poses serious issues about the nature of privacy. For example, if police can't enter a suspect's house without a warrant, can they technologically enter a suspect's skull in search of evidence without the equivalent of a warrant?
Each recent technological and biological advance has brought both promise and concern. Brain imaging technology thus joins recent advances in genetics, medicine, and computer technology as another element of what promises to be an intellectually stimulating and challenging era .....

BRAIN IMAGING TECHNOLOGY

2009-04-22T23:45:00.000+05:30

Brain Imaging Technology Can Reveal What A Person Is Thinking About ....................

Powerful brain imaging technology is allowing researchers to actually tell what a person is thinking before they even say it.

A study, published in the November issue of the international Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, has shown that it is possible for researchers to look at brain imaging data and determine whether a person is imagining a face or a place.
"With the technology available to us today, we are now able to identify the content of a person's thought, albeit in a very limited context," says Dr. Kathleen O'Craven, a cognitive neuroscientist who led the study at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. O'Craven is now with Toronto's Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.
In the study, six women and two men, aged 20 to 39, were put through two cognitive exercises: one involved looking at pictures of faces, and a second involved looking at pictures of places or landscapes. Later these same adults were asked to mentally 'imagine' the faces and the places they had earlier seen. During both tests, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were taken of their brains.
Many previous studies have shown that brain areas can be selective for processing a particular type of visual information. In the cortical brain regions associated with mental processing, the 'fusiform' face area responds strongly to faces while the 'parahippocampal' place area responds strongly to indoor and outdoor scenes depicting the layout of local space.
In this study, Dr. O'Craven and colleague Dr. Nancy Kanwisher of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found the strongest evidence yet that this specialization holds true even when participants were given no visual stimulus and were simply asked to 'imagine' a face or a place. They also found that the magnitude of activity in these two brain areas is much livelier or stronger when one is seeing the picture (physically present in front of them) compared with just imagining it.
The most fascinating finding, however, is when 'data coders' (researchers who interpret data) were asked to look at fMRI scans and guess whether the study participant was thinking of a face or place. They were able to accurately report what the participant was thinking about on 85 percent of the trials!
"What we've shown is that we can actually tell, on a moment-by-moment basis, what an individual is thinking about, by measuring brain activity rather than having the person tell us," says Dr. O'Craven. "Of course, this can be done only in a limited context -- we've been able to demonstrate it for differentiating between faces and places -- but the implications are far-reaching."
She says the technique could be used to gain some insight into what is happening in the minds of people who are unable to communicate because they are suffering from an injury or disorder that makes speech impossible.
"We may someday be able to get a glimpse of what a patient is able to comprehend, even when that person can't answer questions directly. We could show them pictures of faces and places and, using fMRI technology, see whether their visual system is processing them. In addition, if these brain areas respond differentially to the 'spoken' names of people and places, we may be able to infer that they understand."

Watching the brain in action

2009-04-22T23:43:00.000+05:30

WATCHIN d BRAIN in Action :

Dr. Steffany Bennett is talking about a powerful computer-controlled laser microscope that allows researchers to watch brain cells react in real time.n assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, Bennett uses this technology to research what causes brain cells (neurons) to die.

"My whole goal is to keep neurons from dying prematurely," she says.

For example, an aspect of Alzheimer's disease called "seeding" produces a protein called beta amyloid in the brain. This, in turn, triggers an inflammatory reaction, involving the same receptors the brain uses to exchange information among brain cells. The reaction, if prolonged enough, not only affects how nearby brain cells communicate, but it also can permanently damage or kill them, resulting in impaired brain functions.

Bennett and other researchers are looking for ways to separate the receptors which are involved in brain cell communication from those involved in the inflammatory reaction which can trigger brain cell death, so that brain cell damage is not spread through the normal process of brain cell communication.

Bennett is also working on related research with gap junction proteins, a key part of the mechanism which allow neurons to fuse temporarily, then come apart again. Bennett says the heart is a good example of this process.

"The cells, that is the cardiomyoctes, must be synchronized for the heart to beat." She adds gap junction proteins are only now starting to be studied in detail in the central nervous system. Researchers have already found that in Alzheimer's, gap junction proteins can be "aberrantly expressed," Bennett says, so the neurons are "thinking wrongly."

Bennett discovered recently, following a New Investigator presentation of her research on gap junction proteins, that a number of other local researchers are working in the area.

"People came up to me afterwards and said, 'We're doing this and we just started too,'" Bennett explains.

They include researchers at both the University of Ottawa and the National Research Council.

Even though she's a member of the faculty at the University of Ottawa and at Harvard, Bennett is still a new investigator. She completed her post-doctoral work about a year ago at Harvard, after obtaining her PhD from the University of Ottawa in 1995. She maintains her Harvard connection for "three or four days every couple of months" so that she can continue her research work there.

Harvard is where the powerful computer-controlled laser microscope that allows researchers to watch brain cells react in real time is located.

"It's really cool," Bennett says enthusiastically.

Even though she enjoys her continued collaboration with her Harvard colleagues, she would like to stay in Canada to pursue her research full time. That's one reason why she's part of a grant application to the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. The money would be used to purchase a similar computer-controlled laser microscope for use by Bennett and other Ottawa-based researchers.

In addition to being funded as a New Investigator by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation, Bennett also receives research funding from the Roher Foundation/Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada, which renewed their support for her work in a presentation last November.

MIND READIN VIDEO......a must see video.......

2009-04-22T23:25:00.000+05:30

Watch CBS Videos Online

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING(MRI)

2009-04-06T18:35:00.003+05:30

MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses radio-frequency waves and a strong magnetic field rather than x-rays to provide remarkably clear and detailed 2-D and 3-D pictures of internal organs and tissues.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive diagnostic technology that produces physiologic images based on the use of magnetic and radio frequency (RF) fields. The MRI system uses powerful magnets to create a magnetic field which forces hydrogen atoms in the body into a particular alignment (resonance). Radio frequency energy is then distributed over the patient, which is disrupted by body tissue. The disruptions correspond to varying return signals which, when processed, create the image.

The accurate processing of these signals is key to obtaining high quality images. A key system consideration for the receive channel is high SNR. The return signals have narrow bandwidths with an IF location directly dependent on the main magnet s strength. Some systems use high-speed pipeline ADCs with wideband amplifiers to directly sample the IF, leaving large headroom for post-processing gain by a digital down converter or FPGA. Other systems mix the IF to baseband where lower-speed, higher-resolution SAR and delta-sigma ADCs can be used.

For controlling the magnetic and RF energy in the MRI, high-resolution, high-speed DACs are needed. High resolution is required to accurately define the area of the patient to be scanned. High-speed is necessary to match the high IFs being generated by the main magnet. DSPs can be used to provide gradient processor control used for properly controlling the magnets in the MRI system. A DSP can also take care of preprocessing the signal before it reaches the image reconstruction engine.

A wide variety of TI products are available for MRI systems and equipment manufacturers, including op amps, DSPs, multi-channel high- and low-speed data converters, clocking distribution, interface, and power management.

AYAN REVIEW

2009-04-06T18:15:00.003+05:30

Ayan is an average film. It could have been much better if the director had put some serious effort in creating a heartwarming story, than concentrating too much on how criminals carry out drug trafficking. The problem is, Ayan won’t touch your heart. Everything else is good.
The story itself is not so catchy. It loses pace when songs arrive. The songs incorporated make the film drag from the main story.
Even though there were fans for the music done by Harris Jayaraj, the visualization and narration of film was not good enough. The script is not tight.
In Ayan Surya is an international smuggler working under Prabhu. The good thing is that it wasn’t soo cinematic. In the second part he works for the law. The scene in which Surya is introduced starts with a poor surprise.
Viewers get educated about how criminals are smuggling diamonds and drugs. Director has taken strain on doing research on the subject.
Some scenes in the first part and the climax are taken in

Congo

, Africa. In the second half there is chase scene which takes place in

Malaysia

.
Thamanna’s acting is not good enough. She acts as if taken for a joy ride. If this is the best from Thamanna then her future in acting career looks bleak.
The acting exercises of talking to oneself, acting foolish and innocent were carried out by Surya as in every Tamil movie.

The outstanding thing to be said about the movie is its stunt sequence and graphics. Especially the first stunt which takes place in

Congo

is extraordinary.

The crossing of train just before interval makes viewers spellbound. Even though the villain is ok, his character could have been developed more. The mother son relationship shown is making less impact.

Prabhu has acted well. The character he plays suits him. Even if we realize this film is lengthy, when people get out of theatre they feel that they missed something miserably, and that’s a real story that have crux.
What if a film is good in bits and pieces?
Rating Average : 4/5

OSUM--OPEN SOURCE UNIVERSITY MEETUP

2009-03-23T19:55:00.000+05:30

OSUM

Join OSUM Community Now and connect with tens of thousands of student developers and over 900 student clubs from over 80 countries. Change (Y) Our World.

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http://osum.sun.com/

VB.NET THE COMPLETE REFERENCE

2009-03-19T22:05:00.001+05:30

The Complete Reference :

Visual Basic .NET

download it here...........
http://fliiby.com/file/16916/9fy1kam9gb.html

Open Solaris from SUN MICROSYSTEMS

2009-03-19T22:02:00.000+05:30

OPEN SOLARIS

OpenSolaris is an open source operating system based on Sun Microsystems' Solaris. It is also the name of the project initiated by Sun to build a developer and user community around it.

OpenSolaris is derived from the Unix System V Release 4 codebase, with significant modifications made by Sun since it bought the rights to that code in 1994. It is the only open source System V derivative available.Open sourced components are snapshots of the latest Solaris release under development.Sun has announced that future versions of its commercial Solaris operating system will be based on technology from the OpenSolaris project.

2009-03-18T22:16:00.000+05:30

Avira AntiVir Premium 9.0.0.420

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WATCHING d BRAIN in action

2009-03-15T23:23:00.001+05:30

New Technology with Clinical Applications

Scientists at Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have created a powerful new technology for viewing the brain at work. Using high-speed networks to link an MRI scanner with a supercomputer, they've made it possible to convert scan data almost instantaneously into an animated 3-D image showing what parts of the brain "light up" during mental activity.

"Using the CRAY T3E and high-speed networking," says PSC neural scientist Nigel Goddard, "processing that used to take more than a day takes about 10 seconds, and we're working to get it under a second."

Typically, techniques that provide pictures of the functioning brain involve a substantial delay, a day or more, between gathering data and the availability of high-quality 3-D images. The Pittsburgh team has cut this to seconds.

"We expect that this technology will set the stage to use brain-mapping as a clinical tool in diagnosis and treatment of brain pathology," says Dr. Jonathan Cohen, who codirects the Laboratory for Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience, a joint venture of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon. Real-time capability will aid neurosurgeons in precision surgical planning, and it can be used to test and diagnose cognitive dysfunctions such as schizophrenia, amnesia and epilepsy. With high-speed networking, doctors at locations distant from the MRI scanner can actively consult in patient testing.

Mapping the Brain

For several years, Cohen and his colleagues have used a technique known as functional MRI (fMRI) to do "brain-mapping" experiments that investigate and map the brain regions involved in a particular kind of memory activity known as "working memory." Data from an MRI scanner shows what sites in a subject's brain are active during mental activity. These experiments generate huge amounts of information quickly, and initially it took days to process the data into a high-resolution 3-D image.

o eliminate this bottleneck, the researchers turned to PSC. Carnegie Mellon statistician William Eddy and UPMC physicist Doug Noll worked in collaboration with Goddard and PSC research programmer Greg Hood to exploit the CRAY T3E, a highly parallel system that divides the computing among many processors. In November 1996, the researchers reduced processing time so that a realistic 3-D image of the brain could be viewed live, while the subject was in the scanner, with a delay between mental activity and image availability of about six minutes. The team has now cut this delay to seconds, and they are working to get it under a second, which will allow an improvement in image quality.

In demonstrations of this real-time brain-mapping capability, a test subject - one of the researchers - lies inside an MRI scanner at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and performs a simple mental task. The MRI scanner records data from her brain and transmits it via high-speed network to PSC's CRAY T3E, which converts the raw fMRI data into 3-D images, compensates for head movement and identifies active areas of the brain. From the T3E, the data travels to a remote location via high-speed network, where observers see the subject's brain as a translucent animation showing what regions "light up" as she does the mental task.

Movies of the Brain at Work

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center		The MRI scanner records data from a region of the brain and transmits it via high-speed network to PSC's CRAY T3E, where a series of computations converts the raw MRI data into a 3-D animated format. First, mathematical data from the scanner is transformed to a representation of physical space. Next, the data is registered to compensate for head movement. Finally, the data is statistically analyzed to determine regions of activity. The 3-D representation is transmitted via high-speed network and "volume rendered" for screen display on the visualization platform. .	Remote Location
High Bandwidth Network			High Bandwidth Network

Reconstruction
Fourier
Image

Head
Movement
Correction

Determine
Activation
Regions

REVIEW---YAAVARUM NALAM

2009-03-15T21:44:00.000+05:30

Thriller or horror movies are a rarity in Tamil cinema. Even the little made are loaded with Computer Graphic generated visuals far from convincing the audience. Filling the void is 'Yaavarum Nalam’. All credit to director Vikram Kumar, who has come out an engrossing thriller in the lines of classic horrors by Alfred Hitchcock. An engrossing screenplay with no lagging moments bringing the audience to their seat-edges sums up 'Yaavarum Nalam'.

Madhavan, who the audience got accustomed watching him romancing the heroines and much recently bashing baddies, play a different role. He plays a male protagonist who strives to save his family from the hands of a super natural power. As a caring hubby and a loving son in a joint family, one can see a refreshing Madhavan. He looks dashing with his sophisticated looks. Looking at ease on screen, he is casual in his dialogue delivery and his body language. He bubbles with enthusiasm in the first half and brings out the frightened look well towards the climax.

Bollywood actor Neetu Chandra makes her debut in Tamil playing a bubbly young wife of Madhavan. Though she has nothing much to do in the movie, she does full justice to her role. Saranya, who plays Madhavan’s mother come out good. She resembles women in the average household watching almost all the mega-serials that are being aired on the satellite channels. She sympathises with the character with innocence evokes applause.

Manohar (Madhavan), is a civil engineer who lives in a joint family. His brother (Hari Nair) and his wife (Ameetha) and Manohar and his wife (Neetu Chandra) live happily together without any qualms. The brothers buy a flat 13 B in a huge apartment. They move to the flat with their mega-serial addict mother (Saranya). Strange things start to happen as they occupy the flat. Manohar’s image captured on his mobile appears distorted. The lift doesn’t work when Manohar steps in. But he gets more shock when he watches a mega-serial ‘Yaavarum Nalam’ on a private satellite channel. Whatever things that unfolds in the serial starts to happen in his real life. This hocks him. He comes across Dr Balu (Sachin Khanderkar), who speaks about paranormal things.

A curious Manohar sets out to find the mystery behind the mega-serial’s story but is shocked to know that it was available only in his house. He with the help of a cop Shiva (Ravi Babu) begins research. The mystery gets unfolded. The sequences in the mega-serial are nothing but real-life incidents that happened three decades ago. The spirits of those who perished in a murder are back to avenge the real-killers. Did Manohar save his family from the spirits and who the real culprit gets unfolded in a riveting climax.

P C Sreeram’s cinematography adds pep to the screenplay. Though shaky at many places, the tone and texture deserve mention. Tubbi Parik’s background score is good bringing audience to their seat-edges. Neelu Ayappan’s dialogues are crisp and simple. In the flip side, one wonders when Manohar can identify events on the serial with his daily life, how his family missed it out? Otherwise, it is a movie that is refreshingly different.