Steve Jobs had a liver transplant but it unraveled the flaws in Organ Transplant System

It is the geographic division that came in the forefront when Steve Jobs CEO of Apple got operated for liver transplant when he flew from California to Memphis. What does the geographic division of liver transplant means? It simply highlights the fact that a patient who has only few months to live can be denied a liver while a healthier person can get a liver transplant just because he is in a position to fly. 

It is in Memphis that the lists for liver transplant patients are shorter than that in California. The organ sharing network divides US into 11 regions and according to a rule most livers are allocated by using MELD (Model for end stage liver disease) system. MELD assigns scores to liver functions and overall health. Higher scores in the range of 6 to 40 imply those patients get priority to receiving a liver.

In the year 2008, about 17,000 American patients were on the list of liver transplant but only 6000 were lucky to get them. It is the organ system’s regional disparities on the access of liver are highly criticized by many doctors. 

The patients who can fly get themselves enlisted at multiple transplant centers in an attempt to get the liver transplantation done quickly by increasing the chances of receiving the organ. There is a need to change the local and regional organ distributing system.

The case of Steve Jobs only highlighted the issue of DISPARITY!!!

Nandan Nilekani makes a difference yet again: Takes up the ambitious Govt UIC Project

Nandan Manohar Nilekani takes up the central government’s ‘Unique Identification Card’ (UIC) Project, quitting Infosys Technologies Ltd as a Co-chairman and board of directors, after  co-founding  and serving the company for 28 successful years. His resignation would be effective from July 9, 2009. He has been assigned the status of cabinet minister while he heads the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). He has mammoth shareholdings worth Rs 3,476 crore in Infosys.

What exactly is UIC project?

The Rs150,000 crore project aims to equip every Indian with a Biometric Unique Identification Card, similar to social security number in the US. This would assign a permanent unique number which will remain the permanent identifier of the person right from birth till death of the individual. It will rule out the need to have different identification card like PAN Card, ration card, Electoral Identity Card etc. Also it will take away the worry of producing multiple documentary proofs of identity to avail different government and private services like opening a bank account or buying a new SIM card or while taking any health benefits etc. It is also expected to play an important role to curb terrorism. This ambitious project is expected to be completed in 3 years.

What will the card have?

The card will contain the details like Name, Date of Birth, sex, address, marital status, photo, finger print and a chip which will have all the necessary personal data of the card-holder.

This will be based on a sophisticated application called SCOSTA. An electronic device used for keeping the information which can be viewed only by authorized people.

The card is designed by the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmadabad capturing the essence of India, taking inspiration from various motifs and rangoli patterns, blending it with various colours of Indian textile and Indian ethos.

This project is ranked at par with the Sam Pitroda’s telecom project, which subsequently turned into the IT and telecom revolution.

As we see, the history being revisited and the 54 year old leader take a different turn in his career to bring in another revolution in India, Nandan Nilekani’s mentor N R Narayana Murthy, co-founder, Infosys says “I feel it’s like a younger brother going out of home, seeking nobler aspirations. It’s a big loss to Infosys. But our mindset is such that we expect our people to put the interests of the country ahead of the company’s or the individuals.”

With the project being led by a man of such high business acumen and rich experience, people’s expectation would be to see this UIC project to be a success.

iPhone 3GS is here- Check out on its improvements!

 With Apple’s CEO Steve jobs recuperating and is about to resume work there is no dearth of ideas and innovation to get launched and connected with people. After the initial success and buzz of Apple’s iPhone, the company has thought to launch an upgraded version with higher network speed, more memory storage capacity and definitely extended battery life and a mirror image of Apple iPhone 3G. It is iPhone 3G S that is now storming in news and views. Again, the launch of iPhone 3GS definitely coincides with the release of iPhone OS 3.0.

 But one must know that iPhone 3G S is indistinguishable from iPhone 3G if you keep both the handsets next to one another with face up. However, it is the phone internals that have undergone changes. Remember that the S in iPhone 3G S stands for Speed.

 iPhone 3G S is redesigned with additional features with gaming capabilities scoring really high. One can now enjoy the cell phone features now in iPhone 3GS such as the voice dialing, video recording and multimedia messaging. From 2 megapixels, the iPhone 3G S is equipped with 3 megapixel camera and definitely improved imaging experience. RAM is doubled from 128MB to almost 256MB.  

The phone is available in the market with two memory capacities, 16GB and 32GB. However some of the flip sides to this smartphone is the call quality that is still uneven as 3G reception remains bumpy. USB transfer or storage device is still a far cry. No multitasking, no flash, no java in Apple iPhone 3GS. 

The bottomline therefore is should you buy this smartphone? also when there are other options like Nokia N97 

Need to read on more to take a well informed decision.  

The pop star Michael Jackson dies due to cardiac arrest. He was rushed to UCLA Medical Center in an unconscious state. It is said that some one from his rented residence at Holmby Hills dialled 911 and when paramedics arrived they found no pulse and that pulse never came back. He is survived by his three children.

 The world is shocked and his fans are hysteric…

His last public performance was in the month of March where he announced about his comeback Tour in UK where a series of 50 concerts was slated to begin from July 13^th.

 The news of the death of a legend has sent shockwaves not only in US but all over the world.

 Born in the year 1958, the legendary pop icon rose to fame with his all time best music album Thriller in the 1980s. He is known for his dancing maneuvers and on stage electrifying energy. However, his career was tainted with sex abuse scandal, financial calamity and many a times he made headlines for the wrong reason.

 After a period of recluse he wished to comeback with his performance once again.

But the candle flickered and the flame was put off as destined. 

 Nokia launches N86 with 8 MP Carl Zeiss 

Did you check on the latest Nokia N86 slider phone endowed with 8MP camera posing competition to the digital cameras? It is not just an addition to the behemoth N series or another 3G handset. It calls for greater show so check out this smart phone from the Finnish mobile maker Nokia.

 Most importantly this phone is equipped with 8 megapixel camera with wide angle Carl Zeiss Tessar lens, autofocus and LED flash light. With Carl Zeiss technology you can be rest assured of crystal clear picture and you will not be surprised to find that this handset has won for best Mobile Imaging Device, the Technical Image Press Association 2009 award.

Watch the pictures and videos on 2.6 inch OLED screen. The handset is also equipped with 3.5mm audio jack and FM radio. Nokia maps are also additional feature in Nokia N86. What about the storage capacity? It’s a winner here too as it has 8GB memory space and memory can be enhanced up to 16GB with extended memory card slot.

This 3G touchscreen phone reflects a stylish look and supports WiFi and GPS.  

Keep posting your comments if you like Nokia N97  better but I feel Nokia N86 reflects similarity in appearance and function with Nokia N95.

Innovation at its best :

Why cant we create something like this !

Web 3.0

What is Web 3.0? It is still in a very nascent stage. The growth of Web 3.0 can be visualised if we take the different lines of debate on the definition of Web 3.0. Some says it is the future of World Wide Web, while others argue it as a mere development above Web 2.0, making the Web 3.0 more mature and durable. If we start from the start say Where Web 1.0 was a “read-only” web, where content was produced mostly by the organizations backing any given site, and with Web 2.0 it was an extension into the “read-write” web that engaged users in more participatory role, Web 3.0 could extend this one step further by using more intelligent software that utilize more semantic data. Some often says that the Semantic web will transform the web and lead to new possibilities in artificial intelligence. However other techies, journalists and visionaries believe that internet connection speed and modular graphics will dominate and play key roles.

In lay man’s language Web 3.0 is not about search, entertainment and shopping, it will generate business application. It will radically change the organisations where you work and can change your career path too. It is divided into three layers.

So expectedly Web 3.0 will eventually transform the whole Web into a database or distributed databases to create ‘World Wide Databases’. Web 3.0 will be evolutionary path to artificial intelligence, giving more ways to explore and bundle the Semantic Web and SOA, and it also revolutionize 3D and will enhance ‘Second Life’. API services forms the foundation layer of Web 3.0 topology. Aggregation Services form the middle layer and the application services form the top layer.

On the other hand, Web 3.0 also being talked about as possible convergence between Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and semantic web. Nova Spivack thinks Web 3.0 to be the web of third decade which will include transformation of the web, ubiquitous connectivity, network computing, open technologies, distributed databases and intelligent applications.

Recently in a summit Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google mentioned “Web 2.0 is a marketing term, and I think you’ve just invented Web 3.0. But if I were to guess what Web 3.0 is, I would tell you that it’s a different way of building applications… My prediction would be that Web 3.0 will ultimately be seen as applications which are pieced together. There are a number of characteristics: the applications are relatively small, the data is in the cloud, the applications can run on any device, PC or mobile phone, the applications are very fast and they’re very customizable. Furthermore, the applications are distributed virally: literally by social networks, by email….”

If we are heading towards more versions of web beyond ‘Web 3.0’ and would go to ‘Web n.0’ or not, well… for that you need to check my posts … frequently.