Windows Vs Ubuntu

I have met a lot of people who confidently said “I have received my free CD. I am ditching Windows and switching to Ubuntu”. Ubuntu is good when it comes to uniqueness and free doorstep delivery. I am a Ubuntu fan, and I too admire it’s uniqueness. It’s Open Source, has a great GUI, features are good enough and is also capable of  performing many activities that a Windows operating system can perform. But, as of now it’s not yet stable. And that’s what the development stage is all about.

It’s true that Ubuntu has a long way to go to grow into a “complete operating system” to actually compete with the “accessible capabilities” of Windows OS. When I first heard of Ubtuntu and other similar linux operating systems, i too was excited to try them out. I haven’t tried many linux operating systems but among all i found Ubuntu more accessible and user friendly. But, I had a terrible time using Gutsy Gibbon, Hardy Heron, Intrepid Ibex and even Jaunty Jackalope. Try accessing the General Help section on the ubuntu forum , you’ll know what i mean. And I am referring to issues related to stability only.

At this point Windows users cannot totally migrate to Ubuntu as the most common issues like stability(i’ve mentioned this above) and compatibility will creep in. Atleast for now, I am using Ubuntu for learning purpose only. Windows XP is still my primary OS.

What are your thoughts on Ubtunu and Windows?

Gas molecules are trapped in regular ice

Over the past couple of years, the necessity of finding sustainable alternative fuels to replace coal, oil, and natural gas for the next decades has become abundantly clear to everyone with a bit of common sense. Researchers from various universities and institutes have taken it upon themselves to come up with solutions, and efficient wind turbines, solar panels, fuel cells, and electric motors have been shortly after created. However, a small part of this initiative has focused its efforts on the most unlikely place to find something that burns – ice sheets.

Methane ice could offer some much needed relief for all countries, while they switch their energy production from fossil fuels to alternative sources

Their research on the vast stretches of ice did not come from their desire to uselessly spend the money they got as funding, but because these regions contained potentially the vastest unexploited energy resource in the world, namely methane ice. More formally known as methane clathrate, the solid clathrate compound features large amounts of methane, trapped within the crystal structure of water ice. The stuff was originally thought to only belong to the outer regions of the solar system, where temperatures were very low, and large amounts of water ice already existed.

However, careful investigations of the planet’s oceans have revealed vast deposits of methane ice immediately beneath a superficial layer of sediments on the ocean floors. According to the most recent and scientifically founded estimates of the amounts of methane clathrate in the Earth’s oceans, we could benefit from one quadrillion to five quadrillion cubic meters of the stuff.

This is equivalent to 500 to 2,500 gigatonnes carbon (Gt C) of energy, as opposed to the some 230 Gt C natural gas reserves estimated to have remained around the globe. As for other fossil fuels, an estimated 5,000 Gt C are left, including yet undiscovered deposits, those under miles of ice or in rough seas, as well as those locked in tar sands at high latitudes.

Some countries, including the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Canada, have already begun to take steps towards exploiting their methane ice reserves. According to the South Koreans, their deposits could meet all the energy demands of the country for the next 30 years. Plans are to bring the first operational plant online by 2015. The great difficulty that lies ahead now is to figure out the best way to extract them, without polluting the environment in the process, such as while extracting oil from tar sands.

Source: Softpedia News

Some tricks to try at home

Water Proof Pen Drive from Supertalent

This is the third time when my pen drive has been actually revived from being drowned in a water and it hasn’t been the first time when i forgot my pen drive in my pants and sent it for laundry. Duh! me. Here in India, the traditional way to wash clothes is by soaking them up in soap water and later beating up the clothes by a hard wooden rod so that  the stains go away easily. Thanks to the house maid who discovered the pen drive before beating it up to pieces. Now hold on, my pen drive isn’t still in usable condition.

Fixing a Wet Pen Drive:

• Preserve the pen drive in sunlight for a day so that all the moisture evaporate away. Now try using the pen drive, it should start working!

If your pen drive has already passed away, you can try bringing it back to life. These tricks may or may not work, depending upon the severity of damage on the device.

Ways to Fix a Dead Pen Drive:

• Drop It – Yeah, this trick has worked for many,
• Hit it – Similar to above,
• Freeze it – This trick is used to retrieve data from hard drives (works for larger hard disks). Wrap it in a plastic bag and put it in a deep freezer. After freezing it for about 6-7 hours, you can try plugging it back to retrieve the data.

These are some ways that i have learnt and tried to revive damaged pen drives. I hope this article helps you. If you have any questions, feel free to drop in a comment.