Verizon Strike: Shameless comments on India

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/verizon_workers_to_rally_today.html
Members of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers carried picket signs and shouted, "No contract, no work!"

I care less of USA but care more about of India.
It is appalling that India has to face shameless comments from Americans who cant solve their backdoor problems. India is an outsourcing destination at its own rights and not at the cost of stikes from Verizon.

Look at some of the comments , some are unfortunately disguised whites acting as Indians.
http://www.wallstrip.com/2008/07/28/verizon-strike/

JIm White One day ago
The shareholders should strike! Flat and diminishing returns caused by a management that is dazed and confused by inferior cable products which outsell and outpace Verizon quality products in growth and revenue. Why? because happy cable customers brag about the superior customer service from the “US reps and SIMPLE if NON EXISTANT computer girl that answers the phone”. VECTORING SYSTEMS which in and of themselves cause customers to become “detractors” and eliminate jobs. Why pay a US worker to answer the phone when a computer can kinda do it. Then there is the India answering connection. We all know that customers are much happier when their problems are address by someone who CAN’T SPEAK ENGLISH or SPANISH!!!!!!!!! Not to mention Verizon management or “lack there of” in marketing. These marketing people are totally incompetent vs. cables cutting-edge creative marketing. They came up with turtles, Verizon answered with a bucket guy.Lastly, BOB is fool if he thinks Verizon management has more university degrees that the union employees. Actually from what I have read BOB is simply a fool.

fios sales One month ago
Hey Bob you would not have job without union your job would be done by somebody in India. management should not only bow down to us they should be gratefull we are the reason they have jobs without union India would have it all. I will also assure you Verizon will give in and I will be laughing at you when I get free medical and full pension I allso willnot have to worry about job security when will they RIFF u

CWA1105 member One day ago
If it wasn’t for the CWA union, every single one of the utilities including Verizon will outsource every job to India. That is why our country’s economy is in the toilet.
So Florence, is you think management is so grand, why don’t promote yourself to management. SO we can then applaud when you are rift!!!!!


Kumar One day ago " The American white collar stooge"
Dank you verizon, TaTa consulting is waiting in the wings for all your jobs. We took over IT and work for 5 dollar an hour even though it takes us 3 times to get anything correct. We just nod our heads and say yes and smile.Notice your ceo get’s a raise every year event though the stock price has stayed basically the same.The I in verIzon stands for India!

Sitemeter platform change

Sitemeter in its blog has said the platform is being migrated to the new platform , the counter display will not be a part of the tracking code. rather it will be available as a seperate piece of code which you paste on the site.

The irony is that the shift of platform for sitemeter has caused several blogsites to crash. Arguably these site hits wont be ever recorded and it could be hypothesized that sitemeter team knew this. They must have given a code that would not fail in case sitemeter is not up.

Both Hot Air and Michelle Malkin sites have been affected. Gawker Media network including Gawker, Valleywag, Gizmodo and Lifehacker, as well as ProBlogger have been reported as affected.

Initial reports suggested that only IE7 was affected but it appears it is beyond web browsers. The IE error says "internet explorer cannot open the internet site operation aborted"



http://weblog.sitemeter.com/
"Visit or Page View Counter DisplayJuly 31st, 2008
For those of you who currently use the SiteMeter Icon that displays the total visitors to your site we wanted to let you know about some forthcoming changes to this feature.
Following the migration of all our SiteMeter customers to the new platform the counter display image will no longer be part of the tracking code. It will instead be available through a separate piece of code which you paste on your site just like you do with our statistics tracking code.
We’ve done this for a few reasons –
1 – It offers a slight improvement to performance and page load times.2 – It gives you the option of having it displayed on as few or as many pages as you want.3 – It allows you to place the code on any page you want, visible to site visitors or on a page only accessible by you the site owner.4 – It allows you to now have the option of displaying either Total Visits OR Total PageViews.
Our plan is that all SiteMeter customers currently using the icon with the counter display image will be have their icons changed to the static default SiteMeter icon following the migration to the new platform. After the migration you can then log into the new system, grab the new counter code at your leisure, select whether you want Visits or PageViews displayed and paste it on only the pages you desire.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but we hope the new features and benefits will be appreciated.
Sincerely,The SiteMeter Team"

Latest Virus and Trojans

Please see the latest virus and trojans . Check the recent threats and current threats.

Downloader-UA.h

India will use All Call query method for Mobile portability

Mobile license protability has no established best practice worldwide . The department of Telecommunaction will provide a unique Routing Number(RN) to each access provider to enable porting within MNP ones. This is also known as All Call Query (ACQ) and is highly efficient and scalable. All operators will have a local copy of this and they will instantly know whom to port. In case of multiple operators, The responsibility of routing lies with N-1 operator.

The country is divided into two MNP zones. Seperate Experienced foreign players upto 26% equity are called in to establish theframework for MNP per zone. It will be on Build, operate on transfer basis and license is valid for 10 years. It will evolve study traffic and services to be given MCH ( Mobile Number Clearing House) Number Portability Data base (NPDB)satabase query system. The Licensee has to arrange all those equipment and solutions (tools and testers) needd for efficient working from time to time for all operators in their zones areas and MNP zone.
Chennai with CTMS operators is a complex zone service area also has to contend with UMS operability. All CMTS operators alos have to implement MNP.


Mobile Number Portability (MNP) allows subscribers to retain their existing telephone number when they switch from one service provider to another or from one technology to another of the same service provider. The Guidelines for grant of MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY (MNP) SERVICE LICENCE in the country was announced today by Thiru A. Raja, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology at a press conference in New Delhi. Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology was also present. The salient features of these guidelines are as below: • MNP zones: For the purpose of grant of Licenses for MNP operation in India, the whole country is divided into 2 MNP zones (Zone 1 & zone 2) consisting of 11 Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) each with 2 Metro service areas in each zone. • • There shall be only one licensee for MNP services in each MNP zone. • No single company/ legal person / the MNP License applicant or MNP Licensee Company either directly or indirectly will have any equity, in any of the telecom service provider licensee company (Basic service, UAS, CMTS, NLD and/or ILD licensees) and vice-versa. • • Initially MNP is to be implemented in all Metro and category ‘A’ service areas within 6 month of award of the License for MNP services. • Direct Solution i.e. All Call Query method be implemented for mobile number portability in India. • Total time to port should not exceed two working days initially and shall be upgradable to much faster levels. Customer shall approach the recipient operator for porting his/her number. • Paid up capital: The applicant Company shall have a minimum paid up capital of an amount Rs 10 Crores on the date of the application. • Networth: The applicant Company and its equity holders shall have a combined net-worth of atleast Rs. 100 Crores (in proportion to their direct equity). • Foreign equity: FDI shall be subject to extant guidelines and regulations. However, equity of the foreign partner in the company should not be less than 26%. • Experience: The Applicant / bidder should have implemented and operating successfully NP solution for a mobile subscriber base of not less than 25 million in one or more countries for at least 2 years. Either the applicant Company or its share equity holders having direct equity of 26 % or more in the Company shall have required experience. • There shall be a lock in period of 3 years for the equity share holders having equity share capital of 26% or more in the MNP Licensee Company. • Entry Fee: One time, non-refundable, Entry Fee of Rs. 1 (one) Crore is required to be paid for grant of MNP services license. • License Fees: The Licensee shall also pay License fee annually @ 1 (one) % of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the licensee Company. There shall be a moratorium of license fee payment for first two years from effective date of the license. • Method of Selection: The pre-qualified applicant(s)/ bidder(s) shall be subjected to a ‘Techno-Economic Evaluation’ for final selection. • The bid documents containing detailed terms and conditions shall be issued separately. • Detailed Guidelines for MNP Service License will be available on the website http://www.dot.gov.in/2008/Aug%202008/mnp_1.pdf

India's 3G policy with slots in 2.1GHZ frequency

Indian government has come out with a new 3G policy. Under the new policy, overseas players would be allowed to bid for 3G spectrum, while per circle five players would initially be permitted for 3G rollout.


http://www.dot.gov.in/



The minimum reserve price has been set at Rs 2,020 crore, Telecom Minister A Raja said. While there would be no spectrum charge for the first year for 3G, from second year it would be 1 per cent of gross revenue. Three slots for 3G spectrum have been awarded to CDMA players.
BSNL and MTNL would be allotted one slot across the board for 3G, Raja said, adding that the state-owned BSNL and MTNL need not participate in bidding.



http://www.wpc.dot.gov.in/DocFiles/Guidelines%20for%203G%20services%20and%20Broadband%20Wireless%20Access%20(BWA)services.doc

Guidelines for 3G Services:
Ø The 3G (3rd generation) mobile telecommunications is the generic name for the next generation of mobile networks that will combine wireless mobile technology with high data rate transmission capabilities. The 3G networks will be capable of providing higher data rates and will also be capable of supporting a variety of services such as high- resolution video and multi media services in addition to voice, fax and conventional data services.
Ø 3G spectrum will be permitted in the 2.1 GHz band.
Ø The 3G licences would be granted through a controlled, simultaneous ascending e-auction, by a specialised agency to ensure transparency in the selection process.
Ø Besides the initial, one time spectrum charge, it has been decided that the successful service provider would pay additional spectrum charge of 0.5 % of their total Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), as the recurring annual spectrum charge. This additional revenue share is proposed to be 1% of AGR after 3 years from the date of spectrum assignment.
Ø The roll out requirements, including rural roll-out, as well as stiff penalties for non compliance of the same has been stipulated.
Ø Mergers will not be allowed during the initial five years. No trading/ reselling of spectrum is allowed.
Ø The CDMA spectrum in 800 MHz band for EV-DO applications would be treated separately from 2.1 GHz spectrum. If the CDMA based service provider(s) ask for the EV-DO carrier of 2 x 1.25 MHz, they would have to pay an amount proportionate to the highest bid for spectrum in 2.1 GHz band.





DoT plans separate 3G policy for CDMA players
It would be a major sign of relief for the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile players as Department of Telecommunication (DoT), as per sources said was planning to launch a separate policy for 3G spectrum allocation for CDMA players.Earlier, ‘there was nothing for the CDMA players in 3G spectrum policy. E-mail Article Printer Friendly Text-Size DoT had not allocated any specific spectrum for CDMA.’ as CDMA major players said on the government’s previous proposal of 3G spectrum policy. ‘This new move of government will enable the development of CDMA players in the country,’ as CDMA service providers believe. DoT in its new move has decided to make new guidelines for the CDMA players in which the CDMA players, who would bid successfully, get the spectrum bandwidths within 450 Mega Hertz (MHz) and 800 MHz spectrums. At present, Reliance Telecom, Tata Tele Services, state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Sistema backed Shyam Telelink are the major CDMA players in the country. According to DoT, there are only 2 slots in 800 MHz band width while CDMA players are four in numbers. So, DoT has decided to introduce an auction process for receiving the best slot as per their bids for CDMA players in 800 MHz band. The 450 MHz and 800 MHz spectrums are usually uses in the world by the CDMA players, which are the optimum bandwidths for them. At present, CDMA players are sharing the bandwidth of 2.1 GHz, which had been basically allocated for GSM players in the 2G spectrums. After entering in the third generation of mobile service, the quality of voice, data connectivity on handsets and several new values added services would dramatically improve, as experts believe.


Guidelines for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services
The Government has also issued guidelines for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services. With this the level of broadband penetration in the country, especially in rural areas, will be addressed. Introduction of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services will enhance the penetration as well as growth in broadband subscribers.
Guidelines for BWA Services
Ø To begin with BWA services will be permitted in the 2.5 GHz band by UASL and Category ‘A’ ISPs, besides BSNL/MTNL.
Ø Each service provider will be allotted spectrum upto 2 x 10 MHz in 2.5 GHz band, for use by the service provider in FDD (paired) or TDD mode.
Ø The BWA services would be permitted through a controlled, simultaneous ascending e-auction, by a specialised agency to ensure transparency in the selection process.
Ø The base/ reserve price would be 25% of amount for 3G spectrum.
Ø Besides the initial, one time spectrum charge, additional spectrum charge of 0.5 % of total Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), will be levied as the recurring annual spectrum charge. This additional revenue share is proposed to be 1% of AGR after 3 years from the time of spectrum assignment.
Ø The roll out conditions, including rural roll-out, as well as stiff penalties for non-compliance of the same has been stipulated. .
Ø Mergers will not be allowed during the initial five years. No trading/ reselling of spectrum is allowed.
Ø Other service providers will be considered for spectrum allotment for BWA services in the 2.3 GHz band and 3.3 – 3.4 GHz band.
Ø After assessing the compatibility with satellite based services, the allotment of spectrum in the 3.4 – 3.6 GHz band will be considered.



3G Policy for GSM and CDMA. CDMA players will prefer EVDO which is a mix of time division and code division methologies, thus closing in on GSM and CDMA technology convergence

EVDO is Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data only. See http://freewareindia.blogspot.com/2008/07/whats-beyond-3g.html

The upcoming third generation (3G) policy, which the government is slated to announce shortly, is likely to leave CDMA operators in the lurch. The policy will state that CDMA majors like Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices can offer 3G services in the 450 MHz, 800 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency bands, but with a rider — ‘as and when these frequencies become available’. Put simply, there will be no auction of spectrum in these frequency bands during the 3G auctions. “At most, the government may manage to free up one slot in the 800 MHz band and 450 MHz band. But, this is unlikely. The 1900 MHz band is ruled out for the considerable future. This means, CDMA players will have to bid for 3G spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band which favors GSM operators,” explained an industry source. Telecom regulator Trai in its recommendations for CDMA operators for 3G services had asked the government to set aside radio frequencies in the 450 MHz and also two additional carriers the 800 Mhz, which they already use for providing 2G services—the mobile technology used at present. However, with the Department of Telecom issuing new licenses with CDMA technology, it has allotted frequencies in the 800 MHz to these new entrants for 2G services. This implies, spectrum in the 800 MHz is unlikely to be available during the upcoming 3G auctions. The DoT has also decided against allocating the 450 MHz frequency for two reasons — this band is currently occupied by state agencies, and internationally, this has not been allotted for 3G services. CDMA operators say that the country’s telecom growth, particularly that in rural India will be compromised if the DoT fails to release 3G spectrum in the 450 MHz. CDMA operators therefore say that the 3G policy would discriminate against them because they do not have network equipment in 2.1 GHz and handsets which will work with the present 800 Mhz (where they currently offer 2G services). With regard to the 1900 MHz frequency band, Trai had said that the DoT should “verify technical feasibility of coexistence of mixed band allocation, and if this was found feasible, this should be refarmed for allocation to telecom service operators with CDMA technology’. Last year, AUSPI had completed field trails to establish that coexistence is possible with GSM players.

Images: Dark Clouds interspersed with Solar Eclipse

Amazing pics I got to see from live NASA real time. The feature of this blog is the pictures of the solar eclipse with solar eclipse


Clear Solar eclipse

Clear Solar eclipse with dark clouds on one side

Clear Solar eclipse with dark clouds covering half of the sun.

Orange picture of the SUN



You can see the flares for solar eclipse




Clouds Interspersed with Sun and the Lunar planetary object


Clear Sky , no clouds in view for the solar eclipse




Clouds, the NEw moon and The solar eclipse now Partial.

did Solar eclipse influence Veteran "Harkishan Singh Surjeet "?

Veteran Communist leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet died on Friday following a prolonged illness. He was 93. Flags at all party offices would fly at half-mast, Harkishan's Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said in a statement. Born in Punjab, Surjeet was the general secretary of the CPI-M from 1992 to 2005. He was a member of the CPI-M from 1964.
Despite his Communist background, Surjeet was a consummate player of the democratic political game and was instrumental in the formation of three coalition governments at the Centre.

The interplanetary forces are known to influence humans. Many old people are believed to have breathed last during the amavasya or New moon days. Solar eclipse can also influence old people. The death of Harkishan Singh Surjeet who was a big peace broker for Indian government formation in 2005 cannot be incidental.

he was born on 23 March 1916 . 1916 also saw a total solar eclipse on Feb 3, 1916. ome may call it incidental but nevertheless these things cannot be left to the concept of incidentality. You may recall that Earth is the only planet known to have eclipses given the relative size and nearness of the moon.

Born to a Bassi Jat family in Bandala, Jalandhar district, Surjeet started his political career in the national liberation movement in his early teens, as a follower of Bhagat Singh. In 1930 he joined the movement of Bhagat Singh, Naujawan Bharat Sabha. On the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Surjeet hoisted the Indian tricolour at the court in Hoshiarpur, an action during which he was shot two times. Later he was punished by the colonial regime. In court he stated his name as London Tod Singh (one who breaks London). In 1936, Surjeet joined the Communist Party of India. He was a co-founder of the Kisan Sabha (Peasants Union) in Punjab. In the pre-war years he started publishing Dukhi Duniya and Chingari. During the war, Surjeet was imprisoned by the colonial authorities. When India became independent and partitioned in 1947, Surjeet was the General Secretary of CPI in Punjab.

Water found in Mars

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."

Mars has confirmed the water can exist in another planet.
Time for ISRO to play catch game before China, USA and EU amke the Mars their next stop over.

With enticing results so far and the spacecraft in good shape, NASA also announced operational funding for the mission will extend through Sept. 30. The original prime mission of three months ends in late August. The mission extension adds five weeks to the 90 days of the prime mission.

The soil sample came from a trench approximately 2 inches deep. When the robotic arm first reached that depth, it hit a hard layer of frozen soil. Two attempts to deliver samples of icy soil on days when fresh material was exposed were foiled when the samples became stuck inside the scoop. Most of the material in Wednesday's sample had been exposed to the air for two days, letting some of the water in the sample vaporize away and making the soil easier to handle. "Mars is giving us some surprises," said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona. "We're excited because surprises are where discoveries come from. One surprise is how the soil is behaving. The ice-rich layers stick to the scoop when poised in the sun above the deck, different from what we expected from all the Mars simulation testing we've done. That has presented challenges for delivering samples, but we're finding ways to work with it and we're gathering lots of information to help us understand this soil."

Since landing on May 25, Phoenix has been studying soil with a chemistry lab, TEGA, a microscope, a conductivity probe and cameras. Besides confirming the 2002 finding from orbit of water ice near the surface and deciphering the newly observed stickiness, the science team is trying to determine whether the water ice ever thaws enough to be available for biology and if carbon-containing chemicals and other raw materials for life are present. The mission is examining the sky as well as the ground. A Canadian instrument is using a laser beam to study dust and clouds overhead. "It's a 30-watt light bulb giving us a laser show on Mars," said Victoria Hipkin of the Canadian Space Agency. A full-circle, color panorama of Phoenix's surroundings also has been completed by the spacecraft. "The details and patterns we see in the ground show an ice-dominated terrain as far as the eye can see," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, lead scientist for Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager camera. "They help us plan measurements we're making within reach of the robotic arm and interpret those measurements on a wider scale." The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and development partnership at Lockheed Martin in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark; the Max Planck Institute in Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080731.html

Demat transfer between two BOs in India across or within same depositaries

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has granted registration to two depositories -- the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) and the Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL) under the Depository Act (1996). This provided the capital markets with superior technology, complex securities processing and rock solid accounting and portfolio management system.

NSDL charges a minimum fee of Rs 15 per debit transaction, which means the seller will have to pay Rs 15 for every deal, irrespective of the amount. In addition, NSDL also charges a Rs 0.75 custody fee per entry per month, equivalent to Rs 9 per year. CDSL has proposed to charge a fee of 0.01 per cent, subject to a minimum of Rs 5 and maximum of Rs 12, per debit deal. CDSL has also kept a Rs 100 monthly fee per depository participant or the actual bill for a month, which ever is higher. NSDL is still leading with around 80 per cent market share. CDSL charges less than NDSL. These charges, sometimes restrict small investor to opt for depository services.


What is an Inter Depository transfer?
Any transfer of securities between two BOs not having demat accounts with the same depository is termed as an "Inter Depository" transfer.


What are the transaction charges in respect of transfer of demat securities?
Transaction charges for each debit in a BO account is levied by CDSL and collected by DPs. DPs after adding their mark up, if any, fix a composite charge which is intimated by them to their clients.


What is an On Market and Off Market transaction?
a) Any transaction for sale and purchase of securities through a broker on the stock exchange to be settled through Clearing Corporation / Clearing House is generally termed as On Market transaction.
b) Off Market transaction is one which is settled directly between two BOs with or without using the broker and where no Clearing Corporation / Clearing House is involved.

At the time of opening demat account with X bank he must have given you a transaction slip book ( like a cheque book). Fill the details of your Y bank in that transaction slip and sign and hand it over to the X bank. If the signature is tallied then X bank will transfer all the shares listed in the transaction slip to your Y demat account. The ISIN nos required to fill in this slip are available in the Demat statement of X bank Demat account.The normal time period is 3 days.

Demat accounts are for crediting shares and other securities in non physical form i.e.electronic form. Suppose if you have 100 shares of a company you need not hold it in paper from, it will be credited to your demat accounts (dematerialisation). You can sell the shares by giving a debit instruction slip(like a cheque).

Is your demat account safe? Take care!
http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/may/08spec2.htm


BOs should take the following precautions with respect to instruction slips:-
a) Ensure that the DP issues Debit Instruction Slip (DIS) book.
b) Ensure that instruction slip numbers are pre-printed on each DIS.
c) Ensure that the demat account number is prestamped.
d) If only one entry is made in the DIS, strike out remaining space to prevent misuse.
e) All details like target account ID, quantity, ISIN, etc. to be furnished in the DIS should be filled in by BO himself.
f) Use separate DIS for confirming On Market / Off Market / Inter depository obligations / transfers and also for Delivery and Receipt Instructions.
g) In case of a Joint Account, all the account holders must sign the DIS
h) Submit the DIS in duplicate and obtain the DP's acknowledgment / receipt stamp on the copy of the DIS and retain the same in safe custody.
i) Keep the DIS book in proper custody under lock and key when not in use. In case of any loss / misplacement of DIS, the same should be intimated to the DP immediately.
j) Should never sign and keep a blank DIS.
k) All the holders must confirm any alteration, correction or cancellation made on the DIS with their signatures.

Oriental Bank site is a re-direct site

https://www.obconline.co.in/ . it gets confusing when you type directly.

Oriental Bank of Commerce

remember the https instead of http and www