Skype Video for Mac users

Skype today released the preview version of "skype video."

It is a pre-beta version and still in testing.

I promptly downloaded it and made a video call to one of my friends using skype on windows PC. After half an hour of trouble shooting we were finally able to see each other. The problem - web cam being used by another application on my friends PC!!!

Then my friend tried to adjust the image quality of his web cam to match the quality of what he was seeing (i.e. from my isight). This turned out to be a futile!

After having a video conference for more than an hour - I can say that skype video for mac works extremely well inspite of its "preview" tag.

However, the quality of ichat is definitely superior as my friend noticed lags in rendering of the video frames which is very minimal when using ichat.

Technorati Tags: conferencing, skype, ichat, video

Why can't IM be like email?

Microsoft just announced that today marks the first day that interoperability between its IM client and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice is available.

Windows Live Messenger is the newest version of MSN Messenger. Yahoo! Messenger with Voice is the newest IM client from Yahoo!

TechCrunch

IM interoperability still has a long way to go. Many functions are lost on using 3rd party software to connect to different IM clients. All companies need to get together and work out a common platform to support a standard set of features and interoperability.

Btw is this interoperability only for text message or does it include voice chat and video conferencing?

Medicine and Man in its own domain!

Medicine and Man has been shifted to its own domain and hosting service.

The plan is to develop a medical portal containing information for both medical professionals and laymen. Also the entire blog from Google's blogger has been has been transferred there.

Please update your bookmarks and keep visiting.

Exciting times ahead for Medicine and Man.

My Favorite 5 Mac freeware

1. Quicksilver - Mac OS X on steroids.

2. Adium - Best multi-protocol instant messenger

3. Growl - System wide notification utility

4. VLC Player - Plays everything under the sun (...well almost)

5. MacJanitor - One touch system maintenance

Freemacware has an excellent list of freeware and adds one great iApp daily.

Another list can be found here.

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Forbes 20 most important tools - ever

1. Knife
2. Abacus
3. Compass
4. Pencil
5. Harness
6. Scythe
7. Rifle
8. Sword
9. Eyeglasses
10. Saw
11. Watch
12. Lathe
13. Needle
14. Candle
15. Scale
16. Pot
17. Telescope
18. Level
19. Fish Hook
20. Chisel

Reference - Forbes

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Best Accidental Discoveries

1. Viagra
2. LSD
3. X-Rays
4. Penicillin
5. Artificial Sweeteners
6. Microwave Ovens
7. Brandy
8. Vulcanized rubber
9. Silly Putty
10. Potato chips

From Wired

Alien Rain responsible for origin of life

A paper to appear in a scientific journal claims a strange red rain might have dumped microbes from space onto Earth four years ago.
But the report is meeting with a shower of skepticism from scientists who say extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof—and this one hasn’t got it.

The scientists agree on two points, though. The things look like cells, at least superficially. And no one is sure what they are.

“These particles have much similarity with biological cells though they are devoid of DNA,” wrote Godfrey Louis and A. Santhosh Kumar of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam, India, in the controversial paper.

“Are these cell-like particles a kind of alternate life from space?”

The mystery began when the scarlet showers containing the red specks hit parts of India in 2001. Researchers said the particles might be dust or a fungus, but it remained unclear.

The new paper includes a chemical analysis of the particles, a description of their appearance under microscopes and a survey of where they fell. It assesses various explanations for them and concludes that the specks, which vaguely resemble red blood cells, might have come from a meteor.

A peer-reviewed research journal, Astrophysics and Space Science, has agreed to publish the paper. The journal sometimes publishes unconventional findings, but rarely if ever ventures into generally acknowledged fringe science such as claims of extraterrestrial visitors.

If the particles do represent alien life forms, said Louis and Kumar, this would fit with a longstanding theory called panspermia, which holds that life forms could travel around the universe inside comets and meteors.

Reference - World Science

Procrastrination: Road to being unsuccessful

Procrastination
Pronunciation: pr&-'kras-t&-"nAt, prO-
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): -nat·ed; -nat·ing
Etymology: Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare, from pro- forward + crastinus of tomorrow, from cras tomorrow
transitive senses : to put off intentionally and habitually
intransitive senses : to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done
synonym - DELAY

From Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

Psychology Today has an interesting article on how people who procrastinate "put obstacles in their own path" thereby ensuring that they avoid success.

The interesting revelations from the article are:-

1. Procrastinators are generally as good in time management as others. The difference is that they are too optimistic.

2. "Procrastinators are made not born. It is one response to an autoritarian parenting style."

3. Procrastinators can change their behaviour.

Read the entire article here.