IEEE India Bulletin  Vol. 12 No. 8  August  2002

Dear Fellow Member,
As you are already aware, IEEE and IETE of India had signed a Memo-randum of Under-standing (MoU) in 1995 for mutual co-operation between the two professional bodies for benefit of their members in respect of technical activities, seminars, exchange of technical literature, membership discount, etc. which was last year extended upto December 2004. I hope members are taking advantage of this MoU. On the same lines, a MoU has been finalised between IEEE and the Institution of Engineers (India) which is going to be signed in October 2002 in USA by the President, IEEE and President of IE(I).This could be possible with the initiative and efforts of our Calcutta Section Chairman Prof. Nirmalendu Chatterjee. I would like to congratulate Prof. Chatterjee for this significant achievement.IEEE members, I hope, will be benefitted from co-operation with IE(I) which is the largest professional body in India.
Our newsletter "IEEE India Bulletin" which is in 12th year of continuous publication, is doing a commendable job as a communication channel between the India Council and the members. Its regular and timely publication every month and mailing to almost 8,000 members in India is a herculean task. The Editor, Shri N T Nair and his editorial team deserve full appreciation for their efforts and hard work. I, however, feel, the newsletter can be made still more interesting and purposeful if inputs in the form of feedback, news and views are contributed by members also to make it a two way communication.I as well as the Editorial Board would be looking forward to receiving inputs from you.
I would like to remind you that Calcutta Section is organising the ACE 2002 on December 20 & 21, 2002 at Kolkata.The theme of the conference, EPIC (Entertainment, Power, Information Technology & Communication) already announced is very relevant in today's environment and should evoke keen interest among engineers for contribution as well as participation.All of us should try to make the ACE 2002 a big success.
With best wishes,

E-mail : pks@ieee.org

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The other day I was sitting with a senior person in the corporate HQ of a leading organisation, discussing some schemes. Every new idea, plan or concept put forth was shot down by him, finding out some lame reason, to say why it won't work. For him, always the glass was half-empty, the roses are with thorns and the like. After about 15 minutes of interactions I realised that I may also slowly fall into that negative syndrome and soon prevented that situation by cutting short the meeting under some guise.
Are we all not falling victims of this negativity quite often and spoiling the new opportunities coming in our way? As practitioners of technologies, we can not afford to simply brush aside any new idea as unworkable. There are hundreds of stories of eminent scientists and leaders ridiculing new inventions which were later made realities. For example, when news of innovators trying to fly the first airplane spread, Lord Kelvin, President of Royal Society commented that 'heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible'. But we all fly blissfully, today.
Let us have the wisdom to welcome every new suggestion and also to see a thorn as that coming with beautiful, fragrant flowers.

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by

IEEE HYDERABAD SECTION

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Direct net access for phone consumers

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) is testing a new system, Direct Internet access Service (DIS), that will slash the Internet access costs for its telephone customers. The DIS uses the capacity of the telephone copper wires to provide both voice and data services, similar to Digital Subscriber Line(DSL). The customers will not have to bear the local call charges while using any dial-up connection for the net, which currently is in the range of Rs 24 per hour for use of the land line.
Under the DIS plan, a modem will be installed at the customer's premises that will enable them to avail of unlimited Internet without paying for the land line use. High access speeds like 128 kilobits per second (kbps) can be enjoyed in this way. However, the most attractive feature of the new scheme is that it allows a customer to use the phone line for voice, while simultaneously surfing the net. But at such times, the data transfer speed will come down to 64 kbps. A monthly rental of around Rs 1800 is indicated, in addition to one time charges for modem and service activation. BSNL is also planning to introduce the same service, it is understood. A big threat to cable operators giving net services ?

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SIXTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON OPTOELECTRONICS,
FIBRE OPTICS AND PHOTONICS

Web site: http://ph2002.tifr.res.in/ Mumbai, India
Tutorials : December 14, 2002 Conference : December 16-18, 2002
Organized by:
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research & Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay
This conference is technically co-sponsored by the
IEEE LEOS and EDS societies
Major areas
* Optoelectronics, Integrated optics, Nonlinear optics
* Fibres, components and devices, Communications and networks
* Optical signal processing, Information storage and displays
* Bio-photonics, Organic electronics, Optical and quantum computing
Please visit the website: ph2002.tifr.res.in
for Abstract submission, registration, tutorials and accommodation details
Contact Address:

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Happiness - Different Perceptions

Henry Ford bought flowers for his wife from a shop every Friday evening. Once he asked the old florist, "Gentleman, you have a good shop. Why not open a branch?"
Florist : "Sir, then what?"
Henry Ford : "You will then have several branches in Detroit"
Florist : "Sir, then what?"
Henry Ford : "Then all over the USA"
Florist : "Sir, then what?"
Henry Ford : (angrily) "Damn it, you will then be happy"
Florist : "That is what I am now!"
Ford walked away sheepishly.

Fill nitrogen & increase tyre life

It is estimated that use of nitrogen instead of air to inflate tyres can lower fuel consumption of the vehicle by 4 to 5 %. Better safety (road grip), more even tread wear, less likely to explode etc. are other benefits sited. Tyres filled with Nitrogen will maintain their correct pressure for longer periods, because Nitrogen doesn't leak through the tyre's structure. Normal compressed air contains oxygen and water vapour, both of which permeate through the tyre casing.

A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans.
Saint Peter addresses the guy, "Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?"
The guy replies, "I'm Joe Cohen, taxi driver, of Noo Yawk City."
Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
The taxi driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and it's the minister's turn.
He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Saint Mary's for the last forty-three years."
Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
"Just a minute!" says the minister.
"That man was a taxi driver and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?"
"Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter.
"While you preached, people slept. While he drove, people prayed."

Harbans L. Bajaj

Shri Harbans L. Bajaj, Past Director IEEE Region 10, Past Chairman, India Council and Past Chairman, Delhi Section, has taken over as Chairman, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) & Ex-Officio Secretary, Government of India
with effect from 1st July 2002. Earlier he was Director (Commercial) National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.
Our heartiest congratulations to Shri Bajaj !!

IEEE India Bulletin Website:
http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r10/india_council

"We, the members of the IEEE … do hereby … agree to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others"

- IEEE Code of Ethics

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