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Friday, November 07, 2008

Awesome pictures of Indian Weapon Systems

Defense correspondent, Shiv Aroor has been posting some really cool and pretty hi-res pictures of various Indian Weapon Systems on his blog. These pictures were taken at an Air show organized for the Defence minister to review the work done at HAL.

Check these out:

Saras, Multi-purpose civilian aircraft

Hawk, Advance Jet Trainer assembled by HAL

The indigenously developed Intermediate Jet Trainer

Light Combat Aircraft Tejas

Weaponised Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv

unrelated

IAF’s Suryakirans paint China red!

Godspeed

http://www.shubhspace.com/2008/11/awesome-pictures-of-indian-weapon.html#links


Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Convert RSS feeds into magazine-style PDF files with Tabbloid

Tabbloid Came across Tabbloid, a service that converts RSS feeds into PDF files and sends them to your email account.

Requires no registration – just enter the site’s addresses, your email id and the time at which you want the PDF files. At the set time, it will send you a PDF file containing the posts of the site you had selected.

If multiple sites had been selected, then it arranges them in order of their publishing date – latest on top and so on.

With all the ads and other distractions removed, reading from the PDF file was a lot more convenient than the normal feed. The two-column layout makes it that much more convenient to read. Can also take it around for reading on other computers – thumbs up.

You can also make instant PDF copies with Tabbloid. However the PDF files does not include any images, even if present in the feed – bummer!!.

Since the service is still pretty new and backed by pedigree, more features may be added in future. Just prepared my small wish list

  • Include images in the PDF files
  • Enable making PDF copies of specific posts from their feed URL (preferably their normal URL)
  • Allow customization of the PDF layout

If you want the ability to jump to specific posts in the PDF file, then you can make similar documents using RSS 2 PDF that also adds bookmarks to the posts. It however does not have the feature of sending PDF files automatically to your inbox – it manual one time/every time conversion.

Godspeed

http://www.shubhspace.com/2008/11/convert-rss-feeds-into-magazine-style.html#links


Sunday, November 02, 2008

Automate the Setup of Gmail and Google Apps IMAP account in Thunderbird

20081102imap01 If you are using POP3 with your Gmail account then setting it up in Thunderbird is a breeze – just select the Gmail option and enter your username and password. Thunderbird will do the rest.

However if you choose the IMAP option you will have to manually set up the account with all its individual settings – an inconvenient process.

Gmail IMAP Account Setup is a Thunderbird addon that automates this process of setting up your Gmail and Google Apps IMAP account in Thunderbird. Just install the addon and the next time you create a new email account you will be shown the option to setup an IMAP account [previously not shown]. Select it and Thunderbird will take it from there and setup the account for you.

The Developer’s website

Google Apps is a service provided by Google where you can use Gmail with your own domain name (example abc@xyz.com). Here though you are using a Gmail account, your email id will not show @gmail.com but your choice of domain name @xyz.com

If you want to set up Gmail with your own unique domain name, you may take a look at this post:

Creating your own, unique email id - Google Apps

If Microsoft you worship:

Creating your own, unique email id - Microsoft's Live Domain

Godspeed


Saturday, November 01, 2008

Funny spam, Spammy fun

Visited Vadim Makarov’s site. On one of his pages, he has listed out some of the more creative and hilarious spam he has received so far.

This one is my pick.

Subject: The Invisible Killer!
From: DHMO
Sent: 9. juni 1999 02:29
The Invisible Killer

Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.

Dihydrogen monoxide:
is also known as hydroxl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
may cause severe burns.
contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.
Contamination Is Reaching Epidemic Proportions!

Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage in the US.

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:
as an industrial solvent and coolant.
in nuclear power plants.
in the production of styrofoam.
as a fire retardant.
in many forms of cruel animal research.
in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.
as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.
Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!

The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use of this damaging chemical due to its "importance to the economic health of this nation." In fact, the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use.

The Horror Must Be Stopped!

Act NOW to prevent further contamination. Find out more about this dangerous chemical. What you don't know can hurt you and others throughout the world.

Please Send $3.00, or whatever amount you wish to:

~address removed by me (just in case....)~

Please include your email address for fastest response!

Under Bill S.1618 TITLE III passed by the 105th U.S. Congress this letter can not be considered spam as long as we offer you a no-cost way to remove your name and email from our listserver address book.

To be removed from this listserver address book, please email remove@dhmo.org and we'll promptly honor your remove request.

If you haven’t yet figured it out yet (OMFG WTF R U!!??) - Dihydrogen (H2) Monoxide (O) is Water (H2O)

Apparently this chain mail was pretty widespread till a few years back and spread very rapidly evoking widespread reactions from people. You can read about the other hilarious spam messages he receives here.

Godpeed