Airtel Plannin gto Cut Sms Cost to 2 ps

There is a good news to us all..After Vodafone,airtel has decided to reduce the price of its sms packge by 8 paisa,bring the cost of sms to just 2 ps, it also plans to reduce the calling rates of which the data is not so authentic, but since the government has made the initiatives to reduce the call rates..it seems the good old days of cheap sms are coming to live again

Gud Newws Guys :TRAI Allows Differential Tariffs

ubscibers and operators of mobile services can now rejoice! The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), not to ban mobile operators from offering customers intra-network discounts. TRAI says that its move is in the best interests of consumers.

Across the globe, operators offer lower tariffs to subscribers for calls terminating within their own networks. In India too, most mobile operators follow the same tradition.
For example, Airtel-to-Airtel local calls cost Re 1 per minute, while Hutch-to-Hutch local calls cost 50 paise per minute under their "Talk 299" scheme. Reliance Infocomm charges 40 paise per minute, for calls made to its own network. Further, large mobile operators charge lower STD calls for intra-circle networks.

Earlier DoT had planned to issue a directive, asking telecom operators to withdraw discriminating tariffs for intra-network calls. If such a directive had indeed been issued, over 60m mobile subscribers would have suffered the burden of increased tariffs.

Regarding its latest ruling, TRAI told DoT that it had analysed the tariff plans of various service providers and the resultant findings were that these tariff plans are both consumer friendly and increase competition.

TRAI said that its decision was in keeping with the objectives of DoT and that if a directive against intra-network discounts had been allowed, there would be a demand for similar discounts with respect to fixed-mobile and fixed-fixed calls.

According to official sources, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has directed DoT not to bypass TRAI and to seek its prior approval before going ahead with any tariff-related directive.

IPL Tickets for Sale

yea, due to the huge demand by my visitors for the info of the site to book the ipl tickets, here is the link

www.ticketspro.in/ipl

Our Nano?

Seldom do we see cars that rewrite the history books even before they are seen running around on the roads. And hardly ever do we see cars that vow to put the nation on four wheels. The Tata Nano is one such car – a car that has been in the news for quite a few years, for reasons good and evil. Nano is a car which has breathed into life due to one man. Give credit to Mr. Ratan Tata for his determination to build a low cost family car that has come true, finally! Took long it did, but the Nano came in a beautiful form. Touted as world’s cheapest car by a far cry, Nano has been the talk of the town around the globe. Head honchos of big organizations have been pouring in by numbers to have a look at this engineering masterpiece. We bring you some interesting bits.

Looks:

Numbers first.
Length – 3100mm
Width – 1500mm
Height – 1600mm
Wheelbase – 2230mm.
Ground Clearance – 180mm

You will be wondering why I am talking about the dimensions of the Nano, since all of you know that it is a rather compact and tiny machine. It is because I have good reason to talk about the dimensions. You see, the Nano is going to be faced with Maruti 800 as its main rival. But you could throw in the Alto and Zen Estilo to mark out some design and packaging aspects. Just to get things in perspective, Nano is over 230mm shorter than 800 in overall length but the wheelbase advantage of 155mm over the offering from Maruti makes sure that the Nano is more accommodating than the 800. Tata has managed to squeeze out a 60mm advantage in width and Maruti 800 falls short of about 100mm in height. So in essence, you get more legroom, better shoulder room and room more than enough for a turban, if you wear one! But before you enter inside, you are bound to gape in admiration at the beautifully crafted curves of this micro car. I personally feel that the front has a lot of Zen Estilo written on it, but manages to look really funky and cool.

The mono-volume design establishes a sea of change from the two-box layout of the 800. What it ensures the Nano with is extremely short overhangs and tight packaging. For a car of this size and image, the Nano is an extremely sexy looking car with futuristic design cues. The bonnet line is steep and unites together with the bumper in a seamless way. Though there is no ‘grille’ per se, the front has a smiling look which accentuates the ‘happy’ feeling. The fog lamps are incorporated in the bumper which has a distinct air dam running across in between them. In profile, the Nano resembles Mitsubishi’s latest small car ‘i’. The rear of the Nano is somewhat recognizable. The tail lamps are inspired from elder sister, Indica. So this is a very compact hatchback, yes? No my friend, you are massively wrong. Even I was dumbfounded when I discovered that the Nano cannot be called a hatchback – a word so true to the way the small cars are. The reason for this is because it does not have a hatch! The tail gate cannot be opened owing to it being joined together with the boot sill. This makes accessing the engine a pain in the bottom. But a hatchback it will be called still. The back side of the Nano is made attractive by the mid mounted exhaust pipe which peeps out of the aggressively designed bumper.

Interiors:

As attractive as the Nano is on the outside, the same cannot be said for the interior. The plastics feel cheap and it is here that you begin to feel the concern towards the price that Tata was aiming at. The rudimentary knobs and switches point towards the use of materials which would be better off in tractors twenty years old! Dreary and uninspiring by any measure, that’s what one can say about the interior quality and looks. What impressed me though was the layout. Spacious and functional, the dashboard has a curved look which can prove beneficial when it comes to storing items. The Chevy Spark started it for the small cars and the Nano continues on what seems to be the current trend. The instrument binnacle is mid-mounted and the centre console has a swooping form which houses all the important knobs and air con vents. Speakers for the audio system have been incorporated on the rear bench just under the seat area.

The speedo is calibrated to a top whack of 120kmph though we shall reserve our statements on that till we test the car thoroughly. Cash saving activity has gone a bit too far with the sun visor, there’s only one! Please Tata, please, have mercy on the people who will sit on the passenger seat, only to find no sun visor to protect their skin from sun or no vanity mirror for women (men too, going by the current fashion!) to put the make-up on. The centre console, forming a crest in the middle of the dash, can be worrisome if you happen to be as tall as Rajpal Yadav. The seats have integrated head restraints, like in the hugely popular, Hyundai i10. Yes the Nano will be deprived of a lot of creature comforts but to satisfy your salivating mouth, Tata will offer the top end version with air con, power windows and power steering. This car is destined to be exported too, so provision for ABS and airbags will also be there for sure. The floor mounted four-speed gearbox wasn’t smooth as silk but would give the 800 something to take inspiration from. Roominess is what this compact car from Tata is all about. Four average sized Indians will find themselves enjoying their ride.

Mechanicals:

Everyone, and it does not discount the motoring journos, expected the ‘One Lakh Car’ to have a plastic body. But boy did Tata play it big there! Contrary to everyone’s belief, the Nano is a metal-bodied car with four full-blown doors to ease the ingress and egress. This is a uni-body construction but makes use of a sub-frame which adds to the strength in addition to providing support for drivetrain and suspension units. The suspension has a story of its own altogether! Well, Tata engineers said that since the rear-biased weight distribution led to some scary moments while testing the car, they had to optimize the suspension setup and add a fair amount of other eccentric but equally helpful technical add-ons like fatter rear tyre while the battery box and fuel tank are placed right underneath the arse of front occupants.

The engine is what has been the buzz word around the car. It is an all-aluminum two cylinder engine displacing 624cc with two valves per cylinder driven by a single overhead camshaft. The bore and stroke are nearly similar giving it a ‘square’ form. Making the Nano move will be the power of 33 horses which will peak out at 5500rpm while 48Nm of turning force will be supplied at a meager 2500rpm which should help the drivability of the car. The Nano will transmit its small amount of power via a 4-speed cable operated gearbox with the fourth being an overdriven ratio. Tata is working on developing an automatic gearbox as well but that will not be available when the car gets launched later this year. In addition to the 624cc petrol engine, the Indian auto giant might also bring out a common-rail diesel engine (700cc) which might be of the same architecture as the one seen on Tata Ace.

As it was famous, Tata’s One Lakh Car will not exactly be that. Not a one lakh rupee car it will be. The base version, when it will come to a parking halt will see you shed close to 1.2lakh while the one which will sit in between with some necessary creature comforts will be priced in the vicinity of 1.5lakh. The top end might retail for close to 2.0lakh, we speculate.

Quick Specs:

Price: 1.2lakh onwards
Engine: 624cc, in-line, twin-cylinder
Power: 34PS@5500rpm
Torque: 48Nm@2500rpm
Gearbox: 4-speed manual; Cable operated
Top Speed: 95-100kmph (Speculated)
Fuel Efficiency: 20kmpl (claimed)
Length: 3100mm
Width: 1500mm
Height: 1600mm
Wheelbase: 2230mm
Ground Clearance: 180mm
Fuel Tank Capacity: 15lt.
Kerb Weight: ~ 600kg.

Their Space . . . Or Yours? Internet Issues teens concerned

The popularity of social networking sites, such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com, raise important issues for camp directors intent on protecting their campers—and their camps—from the dark side of the online world.

Traditional concerns about youth and the Internet took a high-tech turn with the advent of this new breed of the "local" hangout—places where young people post personal information often accompanied by pictures of themselves and their (perhaps unwitting) friends.

Free to all comers, such forums provide easy and anonymous access to anyone searching for e-mail addresses, cell phone numbers, or details about body type, sexual preferences, or alcoholic beverages of choice. And the information flow doesn’t stop there. A recent Dateline NBC investigation of teen pages found scenes of binge drinking, apparent drug use, and sex acts.

So concerned are school officials that some are considering banning the posting of personal pages by their students. And so concerned are law enforcement officials that at least one state, Connecticut, is investigating the link between these sites and incidents of sexual assault.

Wiredsafety.org, an online safety, education, and help group, points out that while users sometimes share their personal information in order to find romance, this is not okay for kids. Indeed, the Santa Cruz Sentinel recently reported the arrest of a twenty-six-year-old California man on charges of felony child molestation of a fourteen-year-old he met on Myspace.com.

But child predators aren’t the only problem—and harm to youth not the only risk.

A review of Myspace.com reveals "group" pages created by teens and incorporating the name, and sometimes the logo, of their school or camp. These virtual campfires allow for cyberbullying and the unsupervised exchange of often-inappropriate ideas and pictures that would never be tolerated within the confines of a classroom or cabin.

In some instances, content amounts to sexual innuendo and in others not-so-subtle sexual solicitation. Also featured are photos of kissing, fondling, and groping and dialogue about getting high, getting wasted, or just plain getting mad. And all of this under the banner of organizations committed to education, youth development, and safety.

A natural reaction might be to simply ban teen participation in online networking. But attempting to deny campers’ access may not be the best approach—and may ultimately fail anyway. There are, however, other important steps we can take to keep our campers and our camps safe.

Keeping Campers and Camps Safe
So, what’s a camp director to do?

• Establish and disseminate policies regarding the posting of personal information online.
• Prohibit the use of images (pictures or logos) of or from your camp.
• Visit the sites to monitor compliance.
• Notify campers and their parents about violations of your policy.
• Follow through with consequences.

Educating Parents and Teens
Camps can also play a valuable role in educating families about the threats posed by social networking sites. Wiredsafety.org offers some online safety guidelines for parents.

• Personal information stays personal.
• Make sure your child doesn't spend all of his or her time on the computer.
• Keep the computer in a family room, kitchen, or living room, not in your child's bedroom. Knowing you are watching, kids are less likely to put themselves in risky situations, and you can safely oversee what's going on.
• Learn enough about computers so you can enjoy them together with your kids.
• Watch your children when they're online and see where they go.
• Make sure that your children feel comfortable coming to you with questions.
• Keep kids out of chat rooms unless they are monitored.
• Discuss these rules, get your children to agree to adhere to them, and post them near the computer as a reminder.
• Help them find a balance between computing and other activities.
• Remember to monitor their compliance with these rules, especially when it comes to the amount of time your children spend on the computer.
• Get to know their "online friends" just as you get to know all of their other friends.
• Warn them that people may not be what they seem to be. Predators often pose as children to gain our children's trust.

Developing Protocols for Staff
Camps might also develop protocols for their staff, prohibiting, for example, any online exchange that would be considered a violation of existing personnel policies and the posting of any inappropriate information or photos that can be accessed by campers. Finally, camps may wish to consider using these sites as screening tools when hiring counselors.

Don Schroeder, an employment lawyer in the Boston office of Mintz Levin, says, "While you may not be able to keep people from doing what they want on the Internet, you can certainly take action if you don’t like what you see," including dismissing, or not rehiring, any staff member found to be in violation of the policies you have created.

As with most things Internet, social networking sites offer content both bad and good. At worst, they perpetuate bawdy exhibitionism. At best, they provide a place for the meaningful exchange of creative ideas, memories, and dialogue, keeping young people connected to the friends and experiences that matter most.

In that way, your space is their space, too.

• High school and middle school students overwhelmingly say their parents are or will be the biggest influence on their driving behaviors:
  
  • Nearly 60 percent of high school students and 69 percent of middle school students
    
    
• Adult driving habits, as observed by their teens, suggest parents are modeling risky behaviors:
  
  • Almost two thirds of high school teens (62 percent) say their parents talk on a cell phone while driving; almost half (48 percent) say their parents speed; and a third (31 percent) say their parents don’t wear a safety belt.
    
    
• Teens say they now, or expect to, follow similar driving practices as their parents:
  
  • 62 percent of high school drivers say they talk on a cell phone while driving, and approximately half of both high school teens who don’t yet drive (52 percent) and middle school students (47 percent) say they will.
    
    
  • 67 percent of high school drivers say they speed. Interestingly, most high school teens who don’t yet drive (65 percent) and middle school students (79 percent) say they won’t.
  
  
  
  • 33 percent of high school drivers say they don’t wear their safety belts. High school teens who don’t yet drive (28 percent) and middle school students (20 percent) are less likely to say they won’t.
    
    
• Nine out of ten (89 percent) teens consider themselves "safe" drivers. Yet many teens don’t consider risky behaviors dangerous.
  
  • 27 percent of all high school students and 33 percent of middle school students think speeding is safe.
    
    
  • 25 percent of all high school students and 29 percent of middle school students think driving without a safety belt is safe.
    
    
  • 24 percent of all high school students and 32 percent of middle school students think driving while talking on a cell phone is safe.
    
    
• Why are these driving behaviors dangerous?
  
  • Speeding is a factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes, killing an average 1,000 Americans each month (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety).
    
    
  • Speeding is a factor in 37 percent of all young driver deaths (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Nearly four in five drivers (79 percent) in the U.S. wore their safety belts in 2003, yet safety belt use was only 60 percent in vehicle crashes involving fatalities (NHTSA).
    
    
  • Drivers in a self-reported study by NHTSA estimated nearly 300,000 crashes from 1998-2002 were the result of cell phone use.
    
    
• Additional study findings that support Graduated Drivers Licensing:
  
  • According to NHTSA, young drivers make up less than 7 percent of the driving population yet account for nearly 15 percent of the drivers involved in fatal crashes. These statistics are traditionally attributed to the combination of young driver inexperience, adolescent impulsiveness and great risk exposure (driving at night, and with multiple passengers).
    
    
  • Graduated licensing is a system designed to "phase in" young, beginning drivers to full driving privileges as they mature and develop their driving skills. Graduated licensing has been introduced in many U.S. states, yet the IIHS only rates nine states as having "good" young driver licensing laws.
    
    
  • Effective graduated licensing laws include a minimum six month learner’s permit, followed by restrictions on the time of day teens can drive (no later than 10 p.m. and no earlier than 5 a.m.), and the number of passengers allowed when unsupervised.
    
    
  • Piling In:
    
    • Driving at night is common among nearly all high school drivers (93 percent), yet very few young people (5 percent of high school students and 10 percent of middle school students) consider night driving "unsafe."
      
      
    • According to the IIHS’ most recent study (1999) on crash rates by the number of passengers across different age groups, the more people in a car the greater the likelihood of a crash, especially for the youngest, most inexperienced drivers (16- and 17-year-olds):
      
      

      Crashes per 10,000 trips
      # of passengers:	0	1	2	3
      16/17-year-olds	1.6	2.3	3.3	6.3
      18/19-year-olds				2.1

      
      
  • Driving at Night:
    
    • Nearly two in three high school teen drivers (64 percent) say they drive with more than three people in the car, and 28 percent think this is "safe."
      
      
    • According to the 2002 IIHS data, 41 percent of all teen driving deaths, ages 16-19, occur between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Studies show nighttime driving restrictions for teens are associated with crash reductions of up to 60 percent during restricted hours.
      
      
• Methodology
  
  • Data compiled from results of nearly 3,600 self-administered surveys of middle and high school students, grades 6-12.
    
    
  • Students represented 41 schools (21 middle, 20 high) countrywide.
    
    
• The Partners
  • Liberty Mutual and SADD have been partners in teen driving safety since the early 1990s with the inception of the "Avoiding Collisions" program – a video, brochure and teacher’s kit that focuses on four areas of safety: speeding, safety belt use, driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, and night driving.
    
    
  • The "Avoiding Collisions" video is available free by calling 1-800-4-LIBERTY.
    
    

Three Tips for Teen Transitions

1. Identify important teen transitions.
   
   
2. Communicate about or recognize and celebrate these important life events.
   
   
3. Encourage your teen to explore healthy growth opportunities.

Identify significant teen transitions.
Important transitions in adolescence can be a one-time thing, such as a first date, first job, or first driver’s license, or the gradual progression toward maturity, including physical, social, and emotional change. Figuring out which transitions are most important to your teen is a critical first step in helping him or her move to adulthood. What "counts" for one teen may not matter much to another teen. Here are some things to keep in mind.

• Tune in to the things that seem important in his daily life.
  
  
• Notice how she spends her days so you can flag changes.
  
  
• Ask how he feels about different transitions.
  
  
• Note how he talks about transitions with friends.
  
  
• Talk about important transitions in your own adolescence.
  
  
• Watch for signs of happiness, joy, stress, anxiety, or depression surrounding change.

Communicate about and recognize or celebrate important life events.
Sending the message that you are "dialed in" to your teen as he takes significant steps along the path to adulthood is an important way to say "I love you, I care about you, and I hear you!" Teens look for signals that they are making real progress toward becoming adults and care very much what you think about them, even if they don’t always show it. Here is what you can do.

• Talk regularly – and casually (teens hate "the big talk") – about the transitions you see him tackling.
  
  
• Recognize these transitions through small gifts, privileges, words, or deeds.
  
  
• Celebrate with a party, a family dinner, or just a special time alone.

Encourage your teen to explore healthy growth opportunities.
In the middle of a society that pays little attention to adolescent transition stand some time-tested organizations that offer teens real opportunities for achievement and reward. Here are some ways you can help.

• Point him toward structured, goal-oriented activities where recognition and appreciation are built in.
  
  
• Identify extracurricular opportunities that will promote her development through the progression of skills or contributions. Some organizations such as summer camps, service-learning clubs, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have embedded rites of passage.
  
  
• Encourage him to invest time and effort in clubs, activities, or athletics with a clear path toward advancement.