http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2008/08/03/tech.htm
The 2008 Beijing Olympics is on full throttle as the top athletes from all the countries in the world fight it out in the Chinese capital. But this Olympics is more than the athleticism, sportsmanship or team work it is also a technological marvel, and this week, in Tech Wise, we will have a sneak peek at the hi-tech stuff in use in this year’s Olympics.
Chinese Surveillance-
Taking a hand
from the West!
IN what is surely the most surprising of moves and yet the most sensible one China has made, the officials ate Beijing are taking the help of some of the top US Surveillance firms to make sure that everything goes down calm and peaceful in the grand event. With the threat of Tibetan protestors and also a looming threat from international terrorism, it is only obvious that this step was needed. While China prides itself on home-grown technology, ego has not come in the way of Chinese making sure that all is safe and serene at Beijing. China is taking the help of major Chinese firms such as Honeywell, General Electric, United Technologies and I.B.M. to ensure that no unwarranted event happens in during the celebration of human excellence.
Speedo LZR: Seamless
wonder streaming in the Cube!
THE suit is seamless and reduces drag because of that very reason. Less drag in water means more speed. Drag only slows us down as it is nothing but friction in fluids. The swimsuit in fact has no seam as the costume’s material is welded together to give the effect of having no seams. This top-notch suit is being put to the ultimate test in the grand Water Cube in the games and without doubt all eyes are on Phelps who is there to claim another bunch of gold medals in Beijing.
Only thing raining at the Olympics
is Medals!
IT looks that nothing is impossible for the Chinese to achieve even if it means manipulating the rainfall. To ensure that the Olympic Games become a fair weather event, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau claims to have succeeded in their experiments in stopping the rain. Silver iodide, a seeding agent will be used to increase the rate of collision and coalescence of droplets in clouds above zero degrees producing a downdraft that prevents cloud formation. Another method involves firing seeding agents into clouds from anti-aircraft guns before the clouds could reach the games stadium losing all its perspiration at the periphery of the games arena. The Chinese want no dampener on their grand event!
Bird’s Nest and Water Cube- Architecture Extraordinaire!
THE main stadium for this year’s Beijing Olympics is, quite simply, stunning and is an amazing piece of architecture and design. If China has set out to impress the world with the 2008 Olympics, the stadium and its attendant buildings - the Aquatics Centre (aka the Water Cube) and the main stadium are just the right note to start the grand tune off. The Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube are breathtaking venues and provide the perfect stage for the Olympic drama to unfold. In essence, the Water Cube is a big, £50m steel and concrete box containing a huge swimming pool flanked by 17,000 seats. But what an extraordinary box it is. The pattern of the structure has been designed to hold huge pillows of ETFE, a lightweight substitute for glass. The pattern is based on the natural formation of soap bubbles to give a random, organic appearance.
A million dollar bikefor that one priceless
Olympic gold!
KOGA Miyata has designed this million dollar bike for the Olympic qualifier from Holland, Theo Bos. The bicycle has been designed with a budget of million dollars and one would pretty much feel that it is not too modest. It is a seamless piece of technological marvel. It has no brakes and can cut through the air without drag, much like hot knife through butter. Apparently no ordinary man can handle this mean machine and that is understandable. Keep an eye out and see if Theo Bos does indeed bring home the gold to the Dutch.
Nike BMX Bike:
A grand debut at the games
IN action sports, the mantra is “I want to be different, just like everybody else,” says John Martin, global creative director for Nike Action Sports. So Americans will help inaugurate the new Olympic discipline of BMX racing in NIKE ULTRALIGHT bike “leathers” that keep riders cool with high-tech “zoned venting,” but are styled for BMX culture. A grand expressive entrance for the modern sport on the grandest stage of them all!
PROFESSOR at Carnegie Mellon, who inspired millions, dies at 47
Dumbell Shaped Sports Bottle Gives You a Thirst Quenching Workout
THERE’S the all new Dell Inspiron series — Inspiron 13 which starts under $800 (BDT 56,000 approx.), with a 13-inch “high definition display,” touch controls, and a slot-loading DVD drive. 
SimpleTech [re]drive is a 500GB Green Machine
Freecom Mobile Drive XXS Is the Smallest, Lightest 2.5-inch Hard Drive
The American Center known to many of us for its library and student counseling facilities had come up with a very noble program of providing micro-scholarships to madrassah students for learning English language. The Access program was launched in Fall 2004 and since then the US State Department has funded English Language Training programs for 215 students in four batches aged between 14 to 18 years. Language Proficiency Center (LPC) along with the local partner PA is giving the best there can be to these access students for learning English. The students are divided into small groups and are expected to meet three times a week for a period of 18 months at the LPC.
A Toast-Dropping Toaster!!!
The researchers at Purdue University are just full of bright ideas these days, and this time, it was no exception. Thanks to a major breakthrough, they may have overcome a major obstacle for “solid state lighting,” which laymen like to call LED (light emitting diode). That obstacle? Cost. LEDs are expensive, mostly because their innards are created on a substrate of sapphire. That means only a few gadgets and luxury cars headlights have benefited from the tech so far. Purdue researchers solved the conundrum with a technique that creates the LEDs on low-cost, metal-coated silicon wafers. This is great news for energy conservation, because while LEDs are much more efficient than their incandescent brethren, they are also 20 times more expensive to produce.
Hi-Tech Shoes For Ladies Have Heel Height Extenders
On 1st May of this year, I received an email titled ‘Notification of Acceptance’ from the Convener of the conference, Dr. Md. Mozaffor Hossain notifying me of my paper being accepted for publication at the conference. It was titled A Study on Different Models for the Analysis of Rayleigh Fading Channels, based on my undergraduate thesis work at BRAC University. It was my first accepted paper, and naturally enough, I felt extremely delighted at the news. I started looking forward to the day when I would be presenting my paper in the conference. This would be my first trip to Rajshahi, a place widely known for its succulent mangoes and the serene beauty beside the river Padma. Soon enough, I submitted the camera-ready copy of my paper and registered myself for attending the conference.
‘This international conference will be considered as a milestone for this country and its relevant sector to prepare national ICT Principles. It will also aid the government to prepare national ICT policies because the research papers which are being presented here are of a very high quality,’ said Professor Nazrul Islam, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, Bangladesh in his speech as the Chief Guest in the inauguration programme at the Senate Bhaban of Rajshahi University (RU). He also mentioned that the present government is keen to invest on research related to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Prof. Bozlul Mobin Chawdhury, Vice Chancellor of Independent University of Bangladesh was present as the special guest while Chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Dr. Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan and Treasurer of RU Professor M. Mozammel Hoque were present as the guest of honour at the inaugural session. RU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Mamnunul Keramat was present as the chief patron of the programme.
Applications of Publicly Available Satellite Imagery for Planning Roads, and Monitoring Rivers, Deforestation, and Drainage, authored by Shahriar Khan, Associate Professor of the School of Engineering and Computer Science, Independent University, Bangladesh talks about how freely accessible satellite imagery available in websites such as Google Earth can help the government take important decisions about road planning and river monitoring and other similar purposes. In his presentation, Dr. Khan stated that compared to the usual practice of using a political map to make such decisions, publicly available interwoven satellite images would give the decision makers a better alternative with more precise and updated information. In the Q&A session, I asked him about how Google Earth’s images maybe so useful, specially in context to Bangladesh, where the images are not quite so ‘updated’. In reply to that, Dr. Khan explained that for the majority of the purposes, the layout of roads in urban areas, paths of river flow, and forests, do not change significantly over a period of a few years. So these interwoven satellite images are indeed quite useful and helpful.
There were also papers for efficient and automated license plate recognition, development of E-universities in Bangladesh and E-governance in the existing ones. There were also papers on digital encoding, Wi-Fi Network in Bangladesh, and various other topics.
On 29th June, the last day of the conference, it was officially brought to an end at the Physics Gallery of Rajshahi University. Dean of Social Science of RU, Professor Abul Hashem was present as the chief guest. Director of Institute for Radio Science, India Professor O.P.N. Calla, Senior Deputy Director of National Physical Laboratory, India Professor Dr. P. Banarjee, Professor of Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics Professor Animesh Maitra, Professor B.C. Ray Scientist of National Physical Laboratory, India, Professor S. C. Garg and others also spoke in the occasion. The program was presided over by Professor Md. Mozaffor Hossain, Convener of Bangladesh Electronics Society, Rajshahi.
Animesh Maitra
THE Inaugural Session of the IEEE (Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers) Student Branch at BRAC University was held on the 6th of July at the Indoor Games room of BRAC University. The whole session turned out to be more interesting and informative than I had expected it to be. Members and non-members alike found the event to be educational and yet enjoyable with the range of different topics that came up in the speeches from the distinguished guests. 
Twist and Squeeze Remote Concept Requires Two Hands
Eclair Car with a Fiber Silicon Exterior
