SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY

“You see this fan, ma’am? When this turns, air is sent into a compression chamber. The compressed air is then mixed with fuel that is sent through the fuel injectors and the mixture is ignited. The resultant hot gas provides a thrust for the turbines to turn." Walrus Overhaul (Pic: HAL museum) I nodded my head eagerly as Ranjan, the guide at the HAL Aerospace museum, explained the mechanics of turbo fan engine which is used in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) built by HAL. We were standing in front of the engine model in the HAL museum and vague…

I am very much against the vans that add to the traffic of the city, cruising past with various products being marketed. But once in a while, the product does intrigue me!I saw this van near my home recently: The idea seems to be an interesting one; it's claimed to be 'free' at one point, and it also says 'pay for what you consume' at another!Everything is "i" these days....iPod, iPhone...and now, iHot...!But the really ironic thing is that if this driver sleeps like this on duty, he is going to be in iHot water himself, soon!If I didn't already have…

The Ambedkar Community Computer Centre is situated in a slum area in the New Guruppanapalya, off Bannerghatta road, Bengaluru. In this IT city of multinationals, it is only one of the many slums in the interiors of Bangalore that is not well known outside. On the 13th December, the slum had a unique visitor who is well known in every part of the world as the founder of the Free Software Foundation. Richard M Stallman's visit turned the attention of IT professionals and media persons to the otherwise not-so-well-known slum. The Ambedkar team with Stallman. Pic: Aravind.Ambedkar Community Computing Center…

Ambedkar Community Computing Center (AC3) is a centre set up in the slum area of Sudharshan Layout by members of Ambedkar Youth Sanga, Stree Jagruthi Samithi (a women's organization fighting for women's rights and child rights, for increasing the wages of house maids, et cetra), volunteers from AID (Association for India's Development) and by volunteers of the free software movement.Mani, a student at the Ambedkar computer centreMore information on AC3 can be found here.The idea of setting up the centre was to equip the children in the nearby areas with the basic computer skills, using quality software which is available…

It was an unusual way to end a predominantly techie meet...the FOSS.in (Free and Open Source Software annual meet which happens at the J N Tata Auditorium) closed with a keynote address by Kalyan Varma, who is well-known in software,photography, and wildlife circles.The tagline for this year's meet was, "Talk is cheap. Show me the code"!After the "workouts" discussions and reports were over, the well-"connected" audience settled down for the keynote address:Kalyan, about whom I have written in Citizen Matters here and here , put the finishing touches to his presentation:He then talked about "Free World:Sharing and Caring".He started out…

Bengaluru made international headlines with the successful Chandrayaan operation, the first unmanned mission to moon by India. And the institution responsible for Chandrayaan's initiation and monitoring is none other Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In the same league as ISRO are the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Jawaharlal Nehru Pl anetarium (JNP) and so on. Indeed, among the many feathers in the city's cap are some ofthese renowned science institutions. But how many of us, especially students and scientifically-inclined citizens are aware of the opportunities for the local public at these major institutions? Not many,…

In J P Nagar today, BSNL was conducting a Telephone Mela, with both new connections, mobile phones and internet connections being offered at a considerable discount.Here's the sign:Another view of the shamiana:The place was abuzz with people, and the staff were extremely courteous and helpful.Here are some of them, including Ms. Nagarathnamma (fittingly, speaking on the telephone), whom I have personally found very capable and helpful on several occasions:What a difference from the days when one had to make huge deposits, and wait several years for a telephone connection! It is good to see Government agencies being so proactive. I…

Believe it or not, Bangalore does have a traffic control room. It is called the Traffic Management Centre and is situated on the first floor of Ashok Nagar Police Station. As you enter the air-conditioned room, you will see five LCD screens mounted on the wall. All of them are connected to computers. The screens show a grid of nine small screens with traffic movements captured through cameras. Any one of the junctions from the screen can be enlarged and seen in particular. LCD screens with a grid of traffic various junctions (Pic: Supriya Khandekar)The system uses two types of…

Being involved in a community project in colleges through which we try to empower students to make an informed decision of whether to start their own company after they pass out of college, a thought struck my mind a couple of months ago. Students can do this only if they know the ground realities of being an entrepreneur - which is best achieved by talking to one. Part 1 of "Startup Savvy" People say a picture is worth thousand words, I thought, so why not make a documentary film on the life of entrepreneurs? A movie that will not only…

Friends, Bloggers, Citizens, and others. This April, bloggers in the nation will unite for a seven-day blogging epic to get together and voice our concern, opinion and solutions to matters of social importance that India faces every day. One week where we, as responsible citizens, take time out of our daily lives to address issues of social importance using our favourite mode of expression - the blogs. A week where India got together with the rest of blogosphere, and blogged. Unveiling Blogathon India, coming to the Indian blogosphere in April, 2008. Get the word out and be part of something…