World's fastest supercomputer

The World’s Fastest Supercomputer Now Belongs to China.

The computer, known as Tianhe-1A, gives China the edge over the United States, whose fastest machine, the Jaguar, is housed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The Tianhe-1A sits at the National University of Defence Technology in Tianjin.

China is investing in supercomputers to improve research and to undertake the complicated and long calculations needed for climate modelling, genetic research, seismic imaging and defence.

According to Nvidia, a technology company that supplied parts for the Chinese computer, the Tianhe-1A was clocked at 2.507 petaflops, or more than two quadrillion calculations per second. It has the power of 175,000 high-end laptops.

System Name	Tianhe-1
Site	National SuperComputer Center in Tianjin/NUDT
System Family	NUDT Cluster
System Model	NUDT TH-1 Cluster
Computer	NUDT TH-1 Cluster, Xeon E5540/E5450, ATI Radeon HD 4870 2, Infiniband
Vendor	NUDT
Application area	Research
Main Memory	98304 GB
Installation Year	2009
Operating System	Linux
Memory	98304 GB
Interconnect	Infinband DDR 4x
Processor	Intel EM64T Xeon E55xx (Nehalem-EP) 2530 MHz (10.12 GFlops)

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk & http://top500.org

The Social Network Movie

The Social Network (Facebook Movie)


Directed by : David Fincher

Produced by:
Scott Rudin
Kevin Spacey
Michael DeLuca

Written by:Aaron Sorkin

Starring:
Jesse Eisenberg
Justin Timberlake
Brenda Song
Andrew Garfield
Armie Hammer
Max Minghella
Rooney Mara
Dakota Johnson

Cinematography:Jeff Cronenweth

Distributed by:Columbia Pictures

Release date(s):October 15, 2010

Country:United States

Language: English

Budget: $47 million

ABOUT THIS MOVIE..

The Social Network is an upcoming 2010 comedy-drama film directed by David Fincher about the founding of Facebook. The film features an ensemble cast which consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Brenda Song, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara and Armie Hammer. The film was written by Aaron Sorkin and adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 novel The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding Of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal. The film is distributed by Columbia Pictures and is set for an October 15, 2010 release.
None of the Facebook staff, including founder Mark Zuckerberg, will be involved with the project. One of the co-founders, Eduardo Saverin, was a consultant for Mezrich's book.

Filming

Filming for The Social Network began in October 2009 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Scenes were filmed around the campuses of two Massachusetts prep schools, Phillips Academy and Milton Academy. Filming took place on the Keyser and Wyman quadrangles in the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University from November 2–4. Johns Hopkins doubles for Harvard University in the film. From November 16 to 22, 2009 scenes were filmed at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Casting

Casting began in early August 2009, open auditions were held in various states. Shia Labeouf and Michael Cera were previously considered for the role of Mark Zuckerberg, one of the film's protagonists. Jesse Eisenberg was first announced to be attached to the project in September 2009. Several days later, Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield were confirmed to portray the roles of Sean Parker and Eduardo Saverin. In October 2009, Brenda Song, Rooney Mara and Armie Hammer were cast in the film. Max Minghella and Dakota Johnson were also confirmed to star in the film by the Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly. In a 2009 interview with the Baltimore Sun Eisenberg said, "even though I've gotten to be in some wonderful movies, this character seems so much more overtly insensitive in so many ways that seem more real to me in the best way. I don't often get cast as insensitive people so it feels very comfortable: fresh and exciting, as if you never have to worry about the audience. Not that I worry about the audience anyway - it should be just the furthest thing from your mind. The Social Network is the biggest relief I've ever had in a movie."

Response

The Cardin Courier stated that the film was about "greed, obsession, unpredictability and sex" and asked "although there are over 300 million Facebook users, does this mean Facebook can become a profitable blockbuster movie?".

ICT at AL exams from 2009

ICT at AL exams from 2009

Information Communication Technology (ICT) will be included as a
subject in the Advanced Level examination curriculum from 2009, said
Secretary to the Ministry of Education Ariyarathne Hewage.

He said approval for the ICT policy for education will be obtained
soon and it will help develop capacity, train teachers, set up ICT
centres and build private public partnerships.

Ariyarathne was addressing the academia career guidance pre meet
organised by the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA)
which will host the National ICT Capacity Summit and National ICT
Career Fair (NICS 2007) from September 1-2 in Colombo.

Ariyarathne said information technology and computer science has
grown at a phenomenal rate to a US$ 1 trillion industry but the
country has not been able to keep pace with developments due to the
lack of skilled IT personnel. The challenge today is to get IT
professionals for the market. The IT workforce grew by 10,000 during
2004-2006.

Over 14,000 IT workers are required to meet the industry needs in
the next two years. This year 5,755 graduates are needed for the
industry, he said.

The attrition rate for the IT workforce in the country has doubled
from 6.6 percent in 2004 to 13 percent in 2006. Fixation is an
obstacle to the growth of the IT industry.

Parents and teachers want their students to become doctors and
engineers and not IT professionals. Students are directed to sit for
examinations to enter universities without providing them career
guidance.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has volunteered to support Sri Lanka
to develop capacity building in Information Communication Technology
(ICT) by setting up a microsoft centre for excellence in the
country.

The Ministry of Education has introduced several programs to develop
IT in the country and the e-village concept is one such program to
bridge the digital divide.

The village program was launched in Mahawilachchiya, Nihiluwa,
Mahalakotuwa, Pitakumbura, Nikawewa and Dhamana.

General Manager Virtusa, Madu Ratnayake said with the shift from an
industry based economy to a knowledge based economy world dependence
on IT has grown tremendously.

The BPO industry in Asia is growing at a rapid pace. According to a
survey by AT Kearney Global Service Ltd. Sri Lanka is ranked 29
among the top 50 countries in outsourcing. India which is ranked
first has a vibrant IT industry which contributes 5-6 percent of the
GDP.

ICT will be the next growth wave for jobs and wealth creation in the
country, he said.

source: http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/06/17/fin03.asp

IT as a subject for GCE A/L

Information Technology (IT) will be included for the G.C.E. Advanced Level as a subject from this year to enhance the knowledge in softaware of students. This follows a decision of Education Minister Susil Premajayantha.
Nearly 50,000 IT teachers have been trained by the Education Ministry and moves are afoot to increase the number up to 100,000. In addition, the Ministry will impart basic knowledge to teachers who are starved of computer knowledge..

From 2011; students will be able to answer the IT paper at the Advanced Level Examination for the first time.

However, the Education Ministry is exploring possibilities to convert the ‘Ruwanpura College of Education’ as a centre for training IT teachers since it has been reported that there is a shortage of IT teachers who can teach IT as an Advanced Level subject.

source: www.news.lk

Sinhala, Tamil domains from December 7

Sinhala, Tamil domains from December 7

From December 7 onwards, people will be able to register domains names with the “.lanka” (in Sinhala) and the “.illange” (in Tamil) suffixes as opposed to current scenario where they can only register domain names under the almost 20 years old “.lk” domain, the only country designation currently on offer, according to Prof. Gihan Dias, the head of LK Domain Registry, the organization charged with offering these Sri Lanka specific domains.

This was revealed at a recent, inaugral edition of “Most Favourite Sri Lanka Website” awards, a competition organized by LK Domain Registry with the objective of promoting locally based websites and ultimately raising the number of LK Domain Registry subscribers.

Winners in the eight categories making up these inaugural awards included http://www.elakiri.lk/ and http://www.music.lk/ (joint winners in the English category), http://www.worldpeople.lk/ (Sinhala category), http://www.parliament.lk/ (Tamil and Government categories), http://www.odel.lk/ (e-commerce and Best Design & content categories), http://www.films.lk/ (Entertainment category), and Affno (Best Developer). Other websites showcased over the course of the evening included http://www.airforce.lk/ , http://www.news.lk/ , http://www.keellssuper.lk/ , http://www.singers.lk/ , http://www.derana.lk/ , http://www.hitzbox.lk/ , www.lankapuvath.lk/sinhala , http://www.my-blog.lk/ , http://www.nimnaya.lk/ , http://www.adaderana.lk/ , http://www.enews.lk/ and http://www.railwaymuseum.lk/ . A full list of websites recognized at the awards is available online at http://www.bestweb.lk/

Windows 7 Launch

Windows 7 Launch ( Oct 22, 2009 Thursday )

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Microsoft’s much-heralded Windows 7 operating system made its global debut on Thursday. By the time the day was a minute old, Microsoft workers were handing out Windows 7 software as gifts at a party the US technology giant held at a San Francisco night club to coincide with a Web 2.0 Summit here.

“Now is the start; now we see if real people love Windows,” Microsoft general manager of Windows Live business group said on the eve of the launch. Feedback from millions of test users of Windows 7 has Microsoft confident they have hit the mark with the new-generation operating system, which reportedly logged more pre-orders in Britain than did the final Harry Potter book.

“This is the most customer excitement we’ve had in a long time for a Windows release,” Hall said.

Microsoft is also celebrating the availability of Windows 7 with parties and by opening its first retail shop in the US city of Scottsdale, Arizona. The shop features laptops, netbooks, personal computers, Zune players, Xbox 360 videogame consoles, and mobile phones running on Microsoft software. A second Microsoft store will open in Northern California next week.

“Our customers have told us they want choice, better value and great service when shopping for technology, and that is what we will deliver through our Microsoft stores,” said Microsoft corporate vice president of retail David Porter.

Microsoft hired Porter, a retail industry veteran, in February to open retail stores that challenge the successful chain of Apple Stores operated by the maker of iPhones, iPods, and Macintosh computers. The launch of Windows 7 is expected to open the flood gates for low-priced, feature-rich personal computers based on the operating system.

“We have great PCs (personal computers) coming out for Windows 7,” Hall said.

“For most people, Windows is a thing that runs their PC. So when they get a great PC at a great price that works with the other devices they have, that’s a win for Windows.”

Microsoft releases Windows 7 to the world as it tries to regain its stride after an embarrassing stumble with the previous generation operating system Vista.

“It’s a big deal for Microsoft,” analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley said of the Windows 7 launch. “Windows Vista was a train wreck.”

While computer users may not give much thought to operating systems that serve as the brains of their machines, the programs are at the heart of Microsoft’s global software empire. Microsoft operating systems run more than 90 percent of the computers on Earth. Microsoft apparently learned a lesson from Vista and worked closely with computer makers, users and software developers while crafting Windows 7.

More than eight million people have dabbled with Windows 7 since Microsoft began a beta test phase in January, according to Parri Munsell, director of consumer product management for the Windows client group. Early reviews praise Windows 7 for being everything Vista should have been.

Source: www.yahoo.com

Microsoft Launches Windows 7 Operating System

Microsoft launched its Windows 7 operating system – the last version of Microsoft Windows for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PC and media center PCs.
Windows 7 was released to manufacturers on July 22, with general retail availability set for October 22, less than three years after the release predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7’s server counterpart; Windows Server 2008 R2, was released in parallel to the global product launch held recently.
Windows 7 is projected to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being fully compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista is already compatible. Manoji Samararatne, Marketing Director for Microsoft Sri Lanka said, “The introduction of Microsoft Windows 7, built fully around customer feedback, highlights Microsoft’s commitment towards our faithful customers and their requirements. Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest and most engaging version of Windows yet.”
Produced to the theme “Your PC Simplified”, users of Windows 7 will enjoy better ways to find and manage files, through the Jump Lists functions and improved taskbar previews, previews, bigger icons, pinning, and creative easy to personalize help the user to speed through everyday tasks. Added features like Windows Media Center and Windows Touch make are new features introduced to the customer. Windows 7 supports the latest advances in PC hardware, like 64-bit computing and multi-core processors, and improved memory utilization helps your hardware reach its full performance potential.
With Windows 7, consumers across the world will experience more simplicity, more choice, and more value than any launch of an OS. Improvements in the user interface, performance and reliability translate to a wider range of innovations on PCs that run Windows 7. The taskbar has seen the biggest visual changes, where the quick launch toolbar has bell replaced with pinning applications to the taskbar.


Source: Sunday observer – October 25, 2009 (Sri Lanka)

Airtel in Sri Lanka

Welcome to the world of Airtel

Every moment, life calls out to you in many wonderful ways. Asking you to speak freely, reach out to people, share all the joy and happiness in the world. Airtel ensures you never let a moment go unspoken. Constantly creating innovative ways to help you give words to every feeling, a voice to every view, and an expression to every emotion.


01. Getting Started
Simply walk into any Airtel store or Airtel retail outlet, with the relevant documents and walk out as a member of the Airtel family.

To start using the services, you would need to recharge your prepaid account. Your Airtel prepaid may also come with an initial calling value & validity which can by simply dialing 567 and selecting the balance enquiry option.

Making a Local Call
To call a landline in Colombo dials the relevant area code followed by the number,

Eg: Dial 0112 XXX XXX for the SLT in Colombo
Dial 0114 XXX XXX for the Suntel in Colombo
Dial 0115 XXX XXX for the Lanka Bell in Colombo
Dial 060X XXX XXX for the SLT CITY LINK in Colombo
Dial 0117 XXX XXX for the DIALOG CDMA in Colombo

To call a Mobile, dial the 10-digits number.

Eg: Dial 075 X XXX XXX for Airtel
Dial 077 X XXX XXX for Dialog
Dial 071 X XXX XXX for Mobitel
Dial 078 X XXX XXX for Hutch
Dial 072 X XXX XXX for Tigo

Making a IDD call
To a landline or a mobile

Dial 00 (International Access Code) or +, Followed by the country code and the telephone number.

Eg: If you want to call 444555666 in Australia, you must dial
00 61 444 555 666 or + 61 444 555 666

International Roaming


Airtel prepaid makes sure you stay connected while you roam the world. You’ll always be easily accessible to your loved ones and can make or receive calls & send or receive SMS. Callers need not know your location, or dial any extra IDD code, to get in touch.

02. Recharging your prepaid account
You can recharge your account at anytime, through our recharge cards or our reload facility available throughout the country in all our retail outlets.

Reload
You have the complete freedom to recharge to any value, anytime, anywhere. With our reload facility you can recharge as much as you need, starting from Rs.10.

Recharge Card
Gently scratch the shaded area on the reverse of the recharge coupon to reveal your 16 digit PIN number.
To recharge via USSD, type *567# followed by the PIN number # and press the send key.

OR

Dial ‘567’ and choose your preferred language.
Follow the voice prompt and enter the 16 digit PIN number, when requested.
Your prepaid account will be automatically recharged with the calling value of your coupon.

Calling Value
The calling value on your phone has to be utilized within a specific period of time as per your recharge amount.

When your calling value falls below a certain limit, a voice announcement plays your account balance before connecting you to the dialed number. During a call if you start running out of Talk time, an electronic beep alerts you that your account balance will soon be reduced to Zero & your call will be disconnected.
In case your recharge within the expiry period & the existing value of your account is greater than the validity of recharge, you will get the benefit of a higher validity period.

Instant Balance Enquiry
To check account balance and validity, simply dial ‘567’ and listen the voice prompt.

Balance on Demand
You can also find out your account balance by simply dialing *550# and then pressing ‘OK’ or the ‘YES’ button. Your account balance will be displayed on the screen of your handset.

Balance on the Screen
At the end of each chargeable call your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset.






03. Help, Close at hand. Everywhere.

Customer care
Airtel customer service is accessible from anywhere in the country. For any queries or requests simply dial 555 from your Airtel Mobile or dial 075 5 555 555 from any other network.

Airtel Website
For detailed information about products and services, Visit www.airtel.lk


Welcome to Airtel VAS world!

Have you tried?
Dial 7551 for welcome Tunes.
Monthly subscription: Rs.30 + tax & tune activation charges apply

Dial 7552 for Airtel Live Voice Portal
Dial 7553 for music on Demand

Call charges: Rs:2 +tax per minute apply for above services

Information at your Fingertips

Breaking News SMS : ACT<>NEWS to 7544
Business News SMS : ACT <> BNEWS to 7544
Daily Jokes SMS : ACT<>JOKES to 7544
Daily Astrology SMS : ACT <> ASTRO to 7544
Daily Lottery Results SMS : ACT <> LOTTERY to 7544
Daily Sports Up-date SMS : ACT <> SPORTS to 7544

Monthly Subscriptions: Rs.30 + tax

All in one VAS Dial *999#
Welcome tunes Dial *888#

Airtel