Biometric security is both easy to use and hard to defeat, so its no surprise that finger scanners are popping up on notebooks and as PC peripherals. But once you have swiped them, anyone can use the computer.
Fujitsu has taken the biometric protection concept one step further making it continuous. Its done so with its PalmSecure mouse, which has an infrared scanner that reads the pattern of the veins in your palm as you hold the mouse, all without adding more desktop clutter or replacing your biometric-less laptop.
Fujitsu has had its PalmSecure technology available for a while, but only in a version that required an authentication server. That tended to limit its users to enterprises such as hospitals, where users might work on multiple PCs during the day.
PalmSecure has not yet begun selling the PC login kit, but keep in mind that the PalmSecure works only on Windows XP and Vista. If you want to have managed multi-user authentication across an enterprise’s PCs, you’ll need the authentication server edition.
How Does It Work?
The Palm is first illuminated by an infrared light. The veins just beneath the skin of the palm then emits a black reflection, giving a picture of the veins in the palm.
Using a proprietary Fujitsu algorithm, the pattern is then extracted from this picture and is checked against patterns stored in the system. If there is a match, the person’s identity is confirmed.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Palm Security| PC| Fujitsu| New Technologies
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Force India| Kingfisher| Vijay Mallya| Fisichella
Fisichella to drive for Force India 
It has been learnt that Fisichella's name was finalised for the second seat primarily because of the experience he brings to the team. The Renault driver will be partnering Adrian Sutil, who drove for Force India's earlier avatar - Spyker. Fisichella had tested for Force India during the winter testing programme in Spain and faced competition from six other contenders. The contenders list included heavyweight candidate Ralf Schumacher, who later ruled himself out.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A1| Grand Prix| Narain Karthikeyan| India
First win for A1 Team India
Sunday, December 16, 2007 
A1 Team India’s Narain Karthikeyan paid tribute to his superb pit crew taking his and the team’s first-ever A1GP race win in an incident-packed Feature race at Zhuhai International Circuit in China.
Karthikeyan was joined on the podium by New Zealand’s Jonny Reid, who started from tenth on the grid, and South Africa’s Adrian Zaugg, who finished third.
The 30-year-old Indian driver, who started from third on the grid, took the lead from New Zealand during the second pit stop window on lap 29. Despite a huge amount of pressure and some excellent racing from Reid, Karthikeyan held off the New Zealander’s Black Beauty racecar and crossed the line to score India’s first A1GP success.
After the race, a delighted Karthikeyan said: ‘The team has been working really hard at pit stop practices and they’ve done a really good job this weekend. Both the pit stops were excellent. Unfortunately I got stuck behind Pakistan on the out lap of my second stop, so I couldn’t push, but I came out just ahead of Jonny. There was a lot of pressure towards the end but then his tyres went off as well as mine and then we were equal - after that I just got the job done.’
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Alonso| Fernando| Renault| 2008 F1
Alonso to partner Piquet at Renault for 2008
Fernando Alonso will race for Renault next season alongside Nelson Piquet Jr, it was confirmed on Monday. The move marks Alonso’s return to the team with whom he won two world titles and follows a troubled 2007 season with McLaren.
Piquet’s promotion from test driver to race seat means Renault will field an all-new line-up for next season - and leaves current stars Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen without confirmed drives for 2008.
“I am delighted to be returning to Renault,” said Alonso. “This is the team where I grew up as a driver in Formula One. Now it is time for us to begin a new chapter together. I am very excited about working with this great team once more, and confident that together we can move back to the front of the field. Renault had a difficult year in 2007, but I know that the team has real strength in depth. I am confident they can produce a fast and competitive car and be back at the top in 2008.”
“Fernando and Nelsinho will form one of the most exciting driver line-up of 2008,” commented Renault team principal Flavio Briatore. “We are delighted to be welcoming Fernando back home to the team where he enjoyed his greatest success. His abilities as a driver and a team leader are well known, and we look forward to forging another strong partnership. What’s more, he knows the team well and how we operate; he will feel comfortable straight away in this environment.
Alonso, 26, previously drove for Renault between 2003 and 2006, during which time he scored 15 Grand Prix victories and won two drivers’ championships, in 2005 and 2006.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Brazilian Piquet spent 2007 as Renault’s test and reserve driver, after finishing runner-up in the 2006 GP2 series championship. The Brazilian will now make his Formula One debut at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix.
“First of all, I want to thank Flavio and Renault for putting their confidence in me for 2008,” said Piquet. “It is a fantastic opportunity to make my Formula One debut with one of the top teams on the grid, and alongside one of the very best drivers in the sport. This drive is something I have been working towards since the end of 2006, and I am proud that my performances as test driver have earned me this position. I am looking forward to teaming up with Fernando, and learning from him. As a rookie, there is no better way to start your career than to have a double world champion as your reference point.”
Briatore added: “Nelsinho is one of the most promising young talents in motorsport. After his success in GP2, he has spent a year learning the ropes as our test driver and getting to know the team; he is now ready to step up to the next level.”
Alonso and Piquet will be supported by Frenchman Romain Grosjean, reigning 2007 F3 Euroseries Champion and a product of Renault’s driver development scheme, in the role of test driver.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Understanding F1| Aerodynamics| Brakes| Cockpit| Driver fitness| Engine| Fuel| Overtaking
Understanding the Sport - F1
Aerodynamics
A modern Formula One car has almost as much in common with a jet fighter as it does with an ordinary road car. Aerodynamics have become key to success in the sport and teams spend tens of millions of dollars on research and development in the field each year.
Brakes
When it comes to the business of slowing down, Formula One cars are surprisingly closely related to their road-going cousins. Indeed as ABS anti-skid systems have been banned from Formula One racing, most modern road cars can lay claim to having considerably cleverer retardation.
Cockpit / safety
At the heart of the modern Formula One car lies the immensely strong 'monocoque' structure, often referred to as the 'tub'. This incorporates the cockpit and the driver's 'survival cell', but also forms the principal component of the car's chassis, with the engine and the front.
Cornering
Cornering is vital to the business of racing cars, and Formula One is no exception. On straights the battle tends to be determined by the power of engine and brakes, but come the corners and the driver's skill becomes more immediately apparent.
Driver fitness
Formula One drivers are some of the most highly conditioned athletes on earth, their bodies specifically adapted to the very exacting requirements of top-flight single-seater motor racing.
Drivers' clothing
Formula One helmets are designed around the clear need to protect drivers' heads from the risk of major impacts. But the rest of his clothing has an equally serious purpose: offering the best possible defence against the risks of fire.
Engine / gearbox
The engine and transmission of a modern Formula One car are some of the most highly stressed pieces of machinery on the planet, and the competition to have the most power on the grid is still intense.
Flags
Marshals at various points around the circuit are issued with a number of standard flags, all used to communicate vital messages to the drivers as they race around the track. A special display in each driver’s cockpit - known as a GPS marshalling system also lights up when the flags are on.
Fuel
Surprising but true, despite the vast amounts of technical effort spent developing a Formula One car, the fuel it runs on is surprisingly close to the composition of ordinary, commercially available petrol.
HANS
HANS stands for the Head and Neck Support system, an innovative safety device that has been seen in other codes of motorsport for years, but which became mandatory in Formula One for the first time in 2003. Its purpose is simple: to massively reduce the loadings caused to a driver.
Helmets
One of the most important safety devices in Formula One racing is the driver's helmet. Although its fundamental shape may look very similar to those worn by drivers in the 1980s and even the 1970s, the underlying design and construction technology has changed radically over the years.
Overtaking
As only one driver can ever sit on pole position for a race, and the entire grid wants to finish on the top step of the podium, overtaking is of vital importance to the business of racing. Simplified to its most basic form overtaking is nothing more than gaining track position.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
F1| Formula One| Schumi | About F1 Cars| F1 technology| Micheal Schumacher| F1 Mechanism
Some Interesting Facts - Formula1 Racing
01. An F1 car is made up of 80,000 components, if it were assembled 99.9% correctly, it would still start the race with 80 things wrong!
02. Formula 1 cars have over a kilometre of cable, linked to about 100 sensors and actuators which monitor and control many parts of the car.
03. An F1 car can go from 0 to 160 kph AND back to 0 in FOUR seconds !!!!!!!
04. F1 car engines last only for about 2 hours of racing mostly before blowing up on the other hand we expect our engines to last us for a decent 20yrs on an average and they quite faithfully DO....thats the extent to which the engines r pushed to perform...
05. When an F1 driver hits the brakes on his car he experiences retardation or deceleration comparable to a regular car driving through a BRICK wall at 300kmph !!!
06. An average F1 driver looses about 4kgs of weight after just one race due to the prolonged exposure to high G forces and temperatures for little over an hour (Yeah thats right!!!)
07. At 550kg a F1 car is less than half the weight of a Mini.
08. In an F1 car the engine typically revs upto 18000 rpm,(the piston travelling up and down 300 times a second!!) wheres cars like the palio, maruti 800,indica rev only upto 6000 rpm at max. Thats 3 times slower.
09. The brake discs in an F1 car have an operating temperature of approx 1000 degees Centigrade and they attain that temp while braking before almost every turn...that is why they r not made of steel but of carbon fibre which is much more harder and resistant to wear
and tear and most of all has a higher melting point.
10. If a water hose were to blow off, the complete cooling system would empty in just over a second.
11. Gear cogs or ratios are used only for one race, and are replaced regularly to prevent failure, as they are subjected to very high degrees of stress.
12. The fit in the cockpit is so tight that the steering wheel must be removed for the driver to get in or out of the car. A small latch behind the wheel releases it from the column. Levers or paddles for changing gear are located on the back of the wheel. So no gearstick! The clutch levers are also on the steering wheel, located below the gear paddles.
13. To give you an idea of just how important aerodynamic design and added downforce can be, small planes can take off at slower speeds than F1 cars travel on the track.
14. Without aerodynamic downforce, high-performance racing cars have sufficient power to produce wheel spin and loss of control at 160 kph. They usually race at over 300 kph.
15. The amount of aerodynamic downforce produced by the front and rear wings and the car underbody is amazing. Once the car is travelling over 160 kph, an F1 car can generate enough downforce to equal it's own weight. That means it could actually hold itself to the CEILING of a tunnel and drive UPSIDE down!
16. In a street course race like the monaco grand prix, the downforce provides enough suction to lift manhole covers. Before the race all of the manhole covers on the streets have to be welded down to prevent this from happening!
17. The refuelers used in F1 can supply 12 litres of fuel per second. This means it would take just 4 seconds to fill the tank of an average 50 litre family car.They use the same refueling rigs used on US military helicopters today.
18. TOP F1 pit crews can refuel and change tyres in around 3 seconds. & 8 sec to read above point.
19. Race car tyres don't have air in them like normal car tyres. Most racing tyres have nitrogen in the tyres because nitrogen has a more consistent pressure compared to normal air. Air typically contains varying amounts of water vapour in it, which affects its expansion and
contraction as a function of temperature, making the tyre pressure unpredictable.
20. During the race the tyres lose weight! Each tyre loses about 0.5 kg in weight due to wear.
21. Normal tyres last 60 000 - 100 000 km. Racing tyres are designed to last 90 - 120 km (That's Khandala and back).
22. A dry-weather F1 tyre reaches peak operating performance (best grip) when tread temperature is between 900C and 1200C.(Water boils boils at 100C remember) At top speed, F1 tyres rotate 50 times a second.
So Formula Driving is not piece of cake, DEAR!!! No Wonder, thats why Michael Schumacher is the world richest Sports Person!!!!
