Considering all the ATM hacking that's been going on of late, it's not all that surprising to see those "uber-secure" fingerprint readers hitting mini-banks in Japan and Columbia, and now a pilot program is getting set to install 15 biometric ATMs at "village kiosks in five districts across southern India." The fingerprint-reading machines are expected to serve around 100,000 workers, primarily farmers and other laborers, who will finally be able to withdraw funds directly from a machine rather than suffering through the corrupt hand-me-down process that often steals money away from already poor workers. AGS Infotech, who is supplying the first batch of systems for the trial, is interested in seeing if the system actually works out, as many villagers have trouble interacting with any type of computing interface, and because many villages have their own dialects, making a UI that can communicate to everyone is difficult. Of course, there are individuals who suggest that these systems will only incite crime, as thieves look to new methods (read: hacking a thumb or two) to extract funds, but proponents of the system say that this is no different than armed criminals forcing someone to give up their PIN number at gunpoint. Nevertheless, the trial is slated to start soon, and there's quite a few outsiders watching intently to gauge its eventual success or failure, as analysts predict that "over 100,000 ATMs" could be necessary to handle India's booming economy in the next few years

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Data Mining Add-ins for Office 2007 (Data Mining Add-ins) allow you take advantage of SQL Server 2005 predictive analytics in Office Excel 2007 and Office Visio 2007. Download the same here.

D-Link quietly kicked out the DSM-750 MediaLounge Wireless Media Player, a new digital media adapter with draft 802.11n WiFi. By now you probably know how these things work, this one let's you stream internet radio and supports playback of h.264 and VC-1 video files (and we presume several other major video and audio formats as well, though the release doesn't get too specific). Also has Ethernet, HDMI, component video, digital audio, and composite A/V connectors, and a USB 2.0 port for connecting up an USB mass storage drive.

Windows Live for TV beta

Microsoft has launched a beta of its new Windows Live for TV

Check out the features added:

• Redesigned, smarter contact cards give you more data about and easier access to your friends
• Your display name, status and personalization roam with you to any computer
• Try PC-to-phone calling with two free calls to virtually any phone in the world*
• Better server performance
• Improvements to automatic updates
• Improved sign-in performance

Google New Year’s Logos

I think the above 2007 logo is the second good-looking new year’s logo design from Google, along with the 2005 one...

Happy New Year 2007

Have a great new year ahead. Please watch out for some posts...

I am back to Blog

Hey Guys, I am back now, after nearly 1.6 months away from Blog site. Due to some personal reasons. Many things to share with you, but more in coming posts.
For now, it feels good to sit in front of Internet and a faster computer and excellent download speed. I am sure I have lots and lots to catch up on things that took place in last 1.6 months..