Few details about Credit cards

The origin of the Credit card industry can be traced back to as far as 1914. The Credit cards have definitely come a long way since.
For many the Credit card has become a necessity - Be it paying for your lunch in a restaurant or buying clothes at a designer outlet or getting your hands on the latest gadgets, nothing compares to credit card when it comes to convenience.

A Credit card today provides you with not only shopping convenience and safety, but also offers you privileges like discount coupons, invitations to events, bonus points, cash-back and even a free insurance.

If you have one, great- find the next one that can address your needs better and if you haven't then what are you waiting for!

But how do you select the right credit card With so many variants available and numerous offers and promotions, choosing a card can be very difficult.
But mostly, it comes down to how you plan to use your Credit card.

For those who are new to the world of Credit card, let's find out some basics of a Credit card.
• When deciding on a card, always remember to get something that suits you best and fits well into your needs. The innovations are fast and coming and are never-ending.
• Do not rush. Look around and compare aspects like credit limit, grace period, renewal/annual fees, initial membership fee and other such services.
• Asking your friends about the cards they use might help too.

When you apply for a Credit card, the application you submit is carefully analyzed and the documents you provide are verified. Then a credit limit for your card is set for you, based on your net income, your credit history and other such factors.

Credit limit is the total amount that you may spend with your card while paying for services. Consider the lowest limit that would fit your needs, and not your lifestyle.

Most Credit cards offer a grace period of 15- 25 days before the interest is charged on the purchase. But some may not. So find one with the longest grace period. The longer, the better.
Most banks charge annual fee, renewal fee, membership fee etc. You should always ask for these to be waived off of. Also do read the terms and conditions carefully.

Do figure out the interest rate (APR) that you would be charged and try to get the card with the lowest possible rates. Most companies charge about 2% - 3% per month, which per year comes to around 35% - 45%.

You can either pay your bills by clearing all your dues as soon as you get your monthly billing statement or you could pay in monthly installments.Make sure you settle your bills on time and do not leave any outstanding balance (i.e. do not revolve on your card). You do not want to end up paying interest on your outstanding balance. Non-payment or default in repayment could also adversely affect your credit history.

If your credit history is good, you could request for an increment on your credit limits.
If there are cards you may not be using anymore, you might want to cancel them. If you have multiple cards from the same issuing bank, you could also ask for the credit limit to be consolidated into just one card.

Eventually, the decision to choose a Credit card is yours to make. Avail a card that fits your needs. And don't forget the interest rates, the grace period, the free offers, the discounts and the likes.

Here are few features that you should not miss.

Add-on Card
Add-on card is more of an additional Credit card that you apply in the name of your family members (father, mother, sister, brother, spouse, children), within the overall credit limit. Family members applying for Add-on cards have to be 18 years and above. All the payments for the services made from Add-on card(s) is done by you. Most banks allows for at least two Add-on cards.

Global Card
Global cards are accepted in over 200 countries. You can also use it as an ATM card.
It also gives you the flexibility of using your card instead of using cash or traveler's checks.
If you are a frequent traveler, abroad, then it is best to make your Credit card, Global.

Photo Card
If your card comes with your imprinted photo, then it is a Photo card. This type of card is considered safer as it is easier to identify the Credit card user. It also serves as your identity card.

Some safety measures to be taken
• Sign your card as soon as you receive it.
• You will also receive the PIN number after a few days. Keep your PIN/account number safe.
• Every time you use your card, be aware when your card is being swiped by the cashier so as to ensure no misuse of your card takes place.
• When making payment with your card, make sure you check if it is your credit card that the cashier has returned.
• Do not forget to verify your purchases with your billing statements.
• After using your card at an ATM, do not throw your receipt behind.
• Also do not discard your Credit card statements or receipt that has your PIN or account number. Shredding or burning them would be wise. Here are few features that you should not miss.
• Never give your Credit card information over the phone, unless you are really sure you can trust them. Same in the case while purchasing online.
• Save receipts of payments made through Credit card and check monthly statements and check for billing errors, if any.
• If your Credit card is damaged, destroy it and request for a duplicate card.
• Incase you lose your card, inform your Credit card company as soon as possible. Also make a police complaint.

Credit cards are for your convenience, so it is very wise to use them within your limits.

Credit cards can temp one into overspending, but if you manage it properly, it could turn out to be your best money lender.

Different Types Of Credit Cards

These days marketing ploys are resulting in an amazing bouquet of credit cards. From a simple form of plastic money, credit cards have metamorphosed into cards that give grocery discounts, clock travel miles, and add points to travel miles, offer online facilities, and more.

Before you apply for a card you need to know your needs and what is on offer in the market.

• Standard Credit Cards are the oldest kind and offered by banks and financial institutions. These are unsecured and can be: low interest cards, balance transfer credit cards, and reward program credit cards.

• Airline Mile Cards are frequent flier cards that offer airline mile credits whenever you use the card. Once sufficient points accrue you can convert the points into tickets.

• Cash back credit cards are unique and they offer you say 5% cash back on purchases. The higher your usage the more the rewards. Such cards charge an annual fee that can range from USD 50—USD 100.

• Reward Cards offer incentives where by you can adjust points against purchases or get gas rebates, discount booklets, tickets to movies at reduced rates and so on.

• Credit Repair Cards are for people with bad credit and who need debt consolidation or management. Such cards offer introductory APRs and help in rebuilding credit history.

• Secured credit cards are those that ask for a security deposit. These are issued against collaterals like a house, car, boat, securities, and jewelry and so on.

• Prepaid Credit Cards are a form of debt card. Where the amount is already in deposit with a bank. This protects against credit card debt.

• Specialty Credit Cards are for students, children, and business users.

• Business credit cards are regular cards but they keep business expenses separate from personal expenses, offer business rewards and savings, give expense management reports, offer cards to groups, employees, and give higher credit limits.

• Student Credit cards are simple and meant for use by students who have no credit history. They protect a student when he or she is away from home.

Before applying you need to read the terms and conditions offered and find out which institution will give you competitive terms.

Today one can apply for cards online and do comparisons before applying. Make a list of questions to ask before accepting a card. Think carefully do I really need one? What am I going to use it for? Remember card companies are run by masters in marketing and will bombard you with what seem to be “sops.” These are just lollies to tempt you to use their cards. You need to be clever and stay away from the traps they set.

Credit Cards are useful if used right. So study the world of credit cards before owning one.

Nothing is life is free is true with credit card companies too. They are in the business for profit and charge high rates of interest as well as fees. Always check the fine print and find out what the benefits and pitfalls of owning a card are.

Tips For Finding The Right Credit Card

Once you've made the decision to obtain a credit card you should take some time to decide which credit card is right for your needs. Believe it or not, not all cards are created equal and you must do your homework to discover all the details about each one.

A question you should be asking yourself before you decide to apply for a credit card is why you need one in the first place. Maybe you are looking for the benefits and ease that a credit card offers consumers. You might want a convenient way to track your spending and wish to reap the many rewards that credit card companies are offering their customers. Or you might already have a few credit cards and you are looking to decrease your interest rate and transfer your balances to one card.

Another point to consider is the amount of spending you will require on your credit card. If this is your first time applying for a credit card you may want to consider a smaller line of credit at first. It is a good idea to gauge your own habits before you become involved in a high limit credit card. The higher limit cards can get you into too much trouble too quickly. Or maybe you just want one in case of emergencies. We all have those times in our lives when the car breaks down and we don't have the money available for the repair right away. A credit card provides you a way to get your car repaired and pay it off at a later date when you are more able to pay.

Different cards offer different payment structures. You may be the kind of person who plans to pay off their card at the end of each month. You might want to look for a credit card that rewards this kind of behavior.

All of these considerations are important factors when considering which card to apply for. The obtaining of a credit card is a serious business and requires your careful thought and planning. Understand your habits and your ability to pay back your balances. When you are choosing a credit card you must know yourself and whether a high limit credit card is too much of a temptation for you. Choose wisely and take advantage of any special perks the credit card companies may be offering to get your business. It can be a sound financial decision.

An interview with Ana Ivanovic

Q. You played a very good match, but there were some ragged moments both with Svetlana and yourself. Was it a good preparation for a semi?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, sure it was. It was a very tough match. Everything was happening quite fast. First set was, I would say, a little bit strange. I played some really good tennis. I was aggressive. And, I guess, she was a little bit nervous.

But in the second set, still I had some chances. I broke her back, and on 3-2, I was serving, and I just lost a little bit tension in my serve and my strokes. So she used that opportunity very well.

But I was really happy that from the beginning of the third, I could pull back and start being more aggressive again, and put pressure on her. And, yeah, I used the opportunities I had.

Q. Did you feel coming into the tournament that you could go this far? Did you have a good feeling about it this week?

ANA IVANOVIC: To be honest, I didn't think much about it. I just was really enjoying my game. And I felt fit, and I felt ready to compete against the top players. I'm really excited to get so far, and tournament is still not over. I am going to try and play my best each match I have.

Q. You're working here with have a Sven Groenefeld, what can you say about him?

ANA IVANOVIC: He's a great coach, and he's been really helpful. He was with me also in Berlin and here. And I can learn a lot from him. He was on the tour for a very long time, and he's very experienced. So it's been great to have such a coach on my side.

And obviously it's tough when I play against side of this player, because he can't interfere, and he can't talk to me about matches. But still there is a few opponents that we can talk about and discuss. And we worked a lot on my serve, and I can see improvement in that. So it's very exciting.

Q. In the first set, did you play the best tennis you have ever played?

ANA IVANOVIC: Everything was happening very fast, so I didn't think much about it. I just tried to move forward and be aggressive, and stay low. And I didn't make -- I hadn't made any errors, so I would say I was pretty good.

Q. Back to Sven. So you hope Sharapova will win?

ANA IVANOVIC: Oh, well, maybe it will be easier so he can advise me. But it's still, no matter against who I play, I'm going to try to play the best I can. And I had so many matches behind me now that I just want to go out there and enjoy it.

And, I mean, it was great two weeks for me, and I feel I improved a lot. And also I got some experience. So no matter against who I play, I'm going to try and play the best.

Q. Players always like to think just one match ahead. But is it impossible not to think about an Ivanovic/Jankovic final?

ANA IVANOVIC: That would be very exciting. We never had. That didn't ever happen before, so I would be very happy if that happens. But as you said, it is important to take it match by match. And then, obviously, there is a lot of emotions involved. And it's very important for me that I keep that aside, playing semifinal, just to think more technically what I have to do in order to win.

And, as I said, I play a lot of matches lately, so that's going to help me a lot.

Q. Is the foot injury you had in the Berlin final, is that completely gone?

ANA IVANOVIC: Well, I still feel it a little bit, time to time, also the other day after a tough match. But I do a lot of recovery and a lot of treatments. And it's getting better. I still wear braces just for protection until I get my full strength back.

Q. But it's not affecting your movement?

ANA IVANOVIC: No, no, no.

Q. You reached quarterfinals here a couple of years ago. How do you think you've improved as a player to make that jump to the semis over the past couple of years?

ANA IVANOVIC: Two years ago when I reached quarterfinal that was my first year on the tour. Since then, I think I improved a lot on my game. And my fitness, a big difference. And also, a lot of experience because I played so many matches since then. Also, I'm playing on Center Court. It helps a lot because those are all situations you will have to deal with when you have to play further in the tournament. But that experience helped me a lot and made me more calm today.

Q. How much time do you spend between the tournaments in Switzerland nowadays?

ANA IVANOVIC: Very little. It's very hard because I travel so much. And also, I went to Barcelona to practice, so I haven't really been to Switzerland for a very long time now.

Q. Kind of a magic moment. Why Serbia, why now? Is it a supernatural thing, what's going on?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it's very exciting to see all of us doing so well. Especially we are all very young, so we all have many years in front of us and many possibilities. So it's very exciting, and I'm sure people back home are very proud of us, and that makes us feel very good.

Q. Do you talk with Novak much?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, we speak and we catch up. It's nice to see, because I've known him for a very long time, so it's nice to catch up.

As I said, as I mentioned before, I can learn also from watching him play, because men's game is different than women's, so I can learn watching him. And he is a great player. He can achieve a lot.

Q. Can you speak as freely with Jelena as you can with Novak, because you're not competing with Novak?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, exactly, it's the same we play, so it's very hard to speak that way with her. But, I mean, we can all learn from each other, and we can all use other's successes and motivation extra for myself. So it's very exciting to see so many of us doing well.

Q. How come you play always so well in Paris? Is there anything special here for you?

ANA IVANOVIC: I like a lot of Paris, and obviously, my first memories I had from the reaching quarters here was an unbelievable experience. And I always like coming back here. And now I feel more comfortable playing on the clay as well. And I feel I improved my movements which helps a lot on the clay, because there is a lot of running, and a lot of, yeah, a lot of running to do.

So it's a great tournament for me, and the crowd, it's always great support. And I'm very excited to be here and to -- I always look forward to coming back here.

Q. Is clay your favorite surface now?

ANA IVANOVIC: It's becoming, yeah. Yeah, sure.

Q. Would you describe your relationship with Jelena? Are you just casual acquaintances? Good friends?

ANA IVANOVIC: Well, when we start playing tennis, she was -- she's two years older than me, so we never played many tournaments together back home, and we lived in different parts of the city. So we never practiced with each other. And then she went to America and went to Switzerland. So kind of we had different ways, different roads, so we never really had a chance to practice with each other.

And even now, we both have our own teams and our own things we like to do. And it's a little bit different. And we are both a bit -- we both found our way, and we are both doing well, so that's the most important thing.

Q. Are you looking forward to play Fed Cup with Jelena one day or not?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I think we have very good chance. We have a good team, and we deserve a place in the world group, and that would be a great step for our country. I would love to play a Fed Cup, and, yeah, play for my country again.

Q. You and Jelena both come in here and you kind of light up the room. You have great humor. You're happy and bubbly. Is this a national characteristic?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, we are happy people. Yeah, people back home, they're very friendly and open. And, yeah, we like to have fun. And that's something, yeah, I guess we are just born like that and we bring that from home.

So it's -- I think it's important to be positive and to have a smile.

Part of Infosys mysore(Replica of mysore palace)...

Shooting @ Kochi Cognizant Technology Solutions

Bill Gates to sign off at Microsoft

Bill Gates is spending his last day at Microsoft Friday before turning his attention full time to philanthropy after decades spent building the US software colossus.

The Microsoft co-founder, 52, known for his boyish face and nerdy manner, will spend his final day at the software giant he helped found over 30 years ago.

Paul Allen, who teamed up with Gates to start Microsoft in a garage in 1975, will be among those “roasting” his childhood friend at a gala dinner on Friday night.

After decades devoted to Microsoft, Gates plans to turn his attention full time to the philanthropic Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation he established with his wife.

Gates leaves Microsoft to wrestle with a fast-changing computer era and growing challenges from Internet juggernaut Google and longtime rival Apple, which makes Macintosh computers.

Three people will essentially fill the void Gates leaves behind at Microsoft.

Gates’s job as chief software architect is being handled by Ray Ozzie.

Craig Mundie inherited Gates’s chief research and strategy officer duties, while former Harvard University classmate Steve Ballmer is chief executive officer of the Redmond, Washington-based software firm.

Gates remains chairman of the Microsoft board of directors and its largest shareholder.

Microsoft is losing Gates at a time when “cloud computing” is shaking the packaged software foundation on which the company’s fortune is built.

Cloud computing refers to a trend in which firms such as Google and Salesforce.com let people use programs on the Internet instead of having to install and maintain software on their own computers.

Microsoft competes in the “software as a service” arena but tends to combine offerings with packaged products in a “software-plus” marketing model, according to analysts.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system released in January of 2007 has flopped with customers, many of whom are clinging to its predecessor Windows XP.

Vista loathing is heightening interest in free Linux open-source software and Macintosh computers, which use operating systems built by Apple.

Rivalry between Microsoft and Apple is legendary in Silicon Valley. Apple ads and press conferences take swipes at Microsoft, and devotees of competing systems routinely swap barbs in cafes and other social venues.

The culture-shifting popularity of Apple’s iPods and iPhones is credited with increasing interest in Macintosh machines.

While Windows is still used on 90 percent of the world’s computers, Macintosh computers have grown to more than five percent of the market.

Microsoft began selling Zune brand MP3 players in September of 2006 to compete with Apple’s market-dominating iPods, but the devices haven’t been a hit with customers.

Microsoft appears to have failed in a recent bid to buy Yahoo for nearly 50 billion dollars in order to combine online resources to better battle Google in the booming Internet search and advertising sectors.

Microsoft’s server and tools division is its most profitable unit. Its entertainment unit, which sells Xbox videogame consoles and gaming software, has yet to make a profit.

Gates is expected to maintain the ears of Microsoft leaders.

“At some point the firm has to take the essence of what made Bill Gates successful and make sure that is preserved,” said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.

Can Chiranjeevi create history like NTR

Chiranjeevi was dragged into political discussions by fans and media even though he doesn’t utter a single word on his political motives. According to rumours, Chiranjeevi is in consultation with his close aides regarding his political plans and he may announce his new party after Sankranthi festival. As per sources, he wants to start a political party with new agenda with the help of young and dynamic leaders. But political hopefuls and opposition leaders are trying to place “Kapu card” on Chiranjeevi. It is interesting to see how Chiranjeevi can handle this caste image which was imposed on him even before he enters into politics. Political observers are asking few interesting questions:

1. Is there any space left for new political outfit?

In 1983, NTR easily came to power just within 9 months of Telugu Desam inception due to huge political vacuum.

But Chiranjeevi can win if he can successfully mobilise “unhappy communities” with new agenda. He may face problems in Rayalaseema and Telangana but he may emerge as largest party in coastal Andhra. It will be difficult for him to sweep polls as NTR did in 1983.

2. Can Chiranjeevi emulate NTR?

NTR used his charisma, exceptional oratory skills, media and political vacuum to the maximum to decimate Congress party. Congress leaders underestimated NTR’s ability and paid the price.
But this time, TDP and Congress are not underestimating Chiranjeevi. But Chiranjeevi created good image among people through his social activities like blood banks and eye banks.

Chiranjeevi may not get media support as it was enjoyed by NTR in 1983. Congress and TDP may do anything to spoil his political aspirations.

3. Can BCs support Chiranjeevi?

NTR came to power by successfully combining Kamma’s money power and BCs statistical power (number). Can Kapu + BC alliance come to power? We have to wait and watch.

4. Can he get support from non-Kapu fans?

It is the most crucial question. If fans from other castes (except Kapu and BC) support him politically, he may easily win 2009 assembly elections.

According to my small survey in Ongole, 30% of fans from other castes are not supporting his political ambitions. They want to see him as “Andarivadu” but not as “Kondarivadu”.

5. Available time:

NTR had just 9 months in 1982 but Chiranjeevi has 18 months to win next Assembly elections.

6. Political rivals:

NTR has lesser rivals in the state in 1983 but he faced charismatic leader like Indira Gandhi. Chiranjeevi has to face strong local leaders like Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu in the state to win polls.

We have to wait and watch his political moves before coming to conclusion. Will Chiranjeevi really enter politics?

Telugu Actor Chiranjeevi into Andhra Pradesh Politics

Andhra Pradesh politics are hot with the latest rumours about Telugu movie Megastar Chiranjeevi's political entrance. As per rumours, If Telangana is separated from Andhra Pradesh, Chiranjeevi will enter into politics with a new regional party.

Hyderabad political circles are discussing pros and cons even before his announcement. So, I am discussing here about the political fortunes of Chiranjeevi.

Megastar's Advantages :

1. Chiranjeevi is the most popular telugu cine hero and commands a huge popularity.

2. His social activities like (Blood donation and Eye donation) helped so many poor people.

3. He is a legend in his Kapu community and very popular in in some BC Communities like Balija.

4. He is a rare cine personality who little egoism and mingles well with all sections.

5. Chiranjeevi commands huge fan following in the whole state especially in the coastal belt.

6. In the politically active Godavari districts, He can get maximum seats.

7. His clean image may help for his party to get more neutral votes.

Chiranjeevi's Disadvantages :

1. There is no political vaccum in the Andhra Pradesh with Telugu Desam and Congress have permanent vote banks.

2. He is not that much popular with elders and rural people compared to youth.

3. He is not that popular in other communities compared to Kapu caste people.

4. All fans may not like him politically as caste combinations came into prominence.

5. His Cola ads and other controversies may gain prominence once he enters into politics.

6. It may be difficult for his party to get honest candidates to contest elections.

7. His political inexperience may cost him in today's dirty politics.

the Indo-US nuclear deal hold for the corporate sector in India

Over 400 companies in India may get a share of the total pie of nuke business, estimated at over $100 billion, over the next five years, if the country succeeds to clinch the civil nuclear deal with the US. Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Tata Power, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), Godrej and Boyce, Bharat Forge, Infosys, Wipro and TCS, which were already accorded Raksha Udyog Ratna (RUR) status by the ministry of defence, could be front-runners in engaging at various stages of building nuke power plants. Some articles are referring to this RUR as Raksha Utpadak Ratna status. I leave it to you to find out the correct version.

In opening the door to nuclear commerce with India, Washington has confirmed how much an alliance with New Delhi is worth to it. But is anybody on the Indian side doing the math?


IN THE fullness of time, last week's nuclear agreement between India and the United States will be seen as one of those decisive moments in international politics when two powers who have been courting each other for some time decide finally to cross the point of no return. The U.S. and India have `come out', so to speak, and the world will never be the same again.

Every world order needs rules in order to sustain itself but sometimes the rules can become a hindrance to the hegemonic strength of the power that underpins that order. Following India's nuclear tests in 1998, the U.S. had two options: continuing to believe the Indian nuclear genie could be put back, or harnessing India's evident strategic weight for its own geopolitical aims before that power grows too immense or is harnessed by others like Europe or China. The U.S. has chosen the latter option, and the joint statement released by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 18 is the most dramatic textual manifestation of what Washington is attempting to do.

India too, had a choice. It could use its nuclear weapons status as a lever to push for a multipolar world system as well as for global restraints on the development of weapons of mass destruction. Or it could use its status as an instrument to help perpetuate an order based on the production of insecurity and violence in which it eventually hoped to be accommodated as a junior partner. The erstwhile Vajpayee Government was never interested in the former option and longed desperately for the latter. The fact that Dr. Singh has managed this is the real source of the BJP's bitterness, not the fact that India's nuclear weapons capability is to be capped (which it is not).

Those in India who marvel at how Mr. Bush could blithely walk away from 40 years of non-proliferation policy do not understand the tectonic shift that is taking place in the bilateral relationship as a result of increasing fears in U.S. business and strategic circles about China. Giving India anything less, or insisting that it cap or scrap its nuclear weapons, is seen by Washington's neo-conservatives as tantamount to strengthening China in the emerging balance of power in Asia. "By integrating India into the non-proliferation order at the cost of capping the size of its eventual nuclear deterrent," Ashley Tellis argued in a recent monograph, "[the U.S. would] threaten to place New Delhi at a severe disadvantage vis-à-vis Beijing, a situation that could not only undermine Indian security but also U.S. interests in Asia in the face of the prospective rise of Chinese power over the long term" (India as a New Global Power: An Action Agenda for the United States, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005). This, then, is the real value of the deal in American eyes and the Indian public should be aware of it.

Predictably, critics in the U.S. have raised objections of one type or another. The non-proliferation lobby argues that President Bush's decision to sell nuclear technology and equipment to India will encourage other countries to go down the nuclear path. Not so say the advocates. Mr. Tellis — a former RAND Corporation analyst who served as an advisor to Robert Blackwill when he was U.S. Ambassador to India — is most forthright. He acknowledges the contradiction between the two goals of U.S. foreign policy — building India up as a counter to China and upholding the non-proliferation regime — but says the circle can be squared. His solution: don't jettison the regime "but, rather, selectively [apply] it in practice." In other words, different countries should be treated differently "based on their friendship and value to the U.S." With one stroke of the Presidential pen, India has become something more than a `major non-Nato ally' of the U.S. It has joined the Free World. It has gone from being a victim of nuclear discrimination to a beneficiary. India is not alone. Israel is already there to give it company.

From a strategic perspective, one of the most puzzling aspects of the joint statement was the inclusion of a reiteration by India of its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing without the U.S. making an explicit reciprocal commitment to abide by its own 1992 moratorium. At stake is not a formal question of protocol but the very real danger that the U.S. might go down the path of testing at some point in the future.

The 2002 Nuclear Posture Review was quite explicit on this point: "The United States has not conducted nuclear tests since 1992 and supports the continued observance of the testing moratorium. While the U.S. is making every effort to maintain the stockpile without additional nuclear testing, this may not be possible for the indefinite future." Stockpile safety is, of course, a ruse, given the fact that the U.S. is running active research programmes on a new generation of smaller and `smarter' nuclear weapons like `mini-nukes' and deep earth penetrators. Earlier this month, in fact, the U.S. Senate voted to keep alive the bunker-buster programme in the face of demands that it be scrapped.

The development of deadly new nuclear weapons by the U.S. should be a matter of great concern to India for their eventual deployment will degrade the security environment in the world and Asia. The same is true of the U.S. missile defence programme, which India, regrettably, will continue to remain engaged with. The Pentagon's goal in developing a missile shield is 'full-spectrum dominance,' including the weaponisation of space. Preventing this has been a major goal of most countries at the Conference on Disarmament (CD), with China insisting that a treaty on the prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS) is as important as the fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT) , which would place no effective constraint on the U.S. or Russian arsenal because of their huge stockpiles of fissile material. In agreeing to "work with the U.S." on an FMCT, India has accorded primacy to this treaty over PAROS and other long-standing Indian goals at the CD such as negative security assurances and comprehensive disarmament where the U.S. is dragging its feet.

Apple launch new iPhone 3G

Apple have announced the release of their new iPhone 3G, the UK launch date has been scheduled for 11th July 2008, industry rumours of the new iPhone started back in April as we reported O2 had reduced the price of the current iPhone model.
The official announcement from Apple pitches the iPhone as “Twice as fast, Half the price” , this will delight many of us who have been eagerly anticipating its arrival that finally addresses key issues such as battery life, cost and the long awaited 3G functionality, it will also be available in white as well as black.
Current O2 iPhone customers can upgrade to the brand new iPhone 3G absolutely free by agreeing a new 18 month contract, for others the cost of the new iPhone’s are expected to be £99 (8gb) and £169 (16gb) however depending on your tariff choice you can get the handset free, tariffs are expected to range from £30 - £75 a month.

So what’s new in Apple’s new iPhone 3G?
3G Technology, faster access to the Internet and email, the official word is you can expect access to be 2.4x more than the 2G Edge networks enabling you to do more on the move, surf, download email, get directions, watch a video.

Maps with GPS, on foot or driving around you’ll never be lost again, get directions, fast fix on your location and interactively track your progress as you go.

App Store, accessing the App Store offers applications in a host of categories, games, business, entertainment all available to download and access straight away.

Microsoft Exchange, with the introduction of iPhone 2.0 software the iPhone now supports Microsoft Exchange, push email, calendar, and contacts, it also gives mobile users secure access to corporate resources with VPN and network services.


We will have the latest Apple iPhone 3G deals on site ready for the 11th July release, meanwhile keep an eye on our Apple iPhone 3G reviews as they come in.
iPhone 3G release date 11th July 2008
Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA
Images from Apple.com - All trademarks and logos within are acknowledged as properties of their respective owners and are used here for promotional purposes only.

Furniture Living Room

Furniture in your living room, in my opinion, should be the most comfortable piece of furniture next to your bed. When I’m watching a movie on television, I want to relax and enjoy my stay in the living room. Does buying comfortable furniture for your living room mean that it wont look stylish or modern?

How can you not want this piece of furniture for your living room? This Nest Low Circle Chair provides a balanced combination of style in a round cushion of comfort and beauty! This cozy piece of living room furniture comes in many colors and is eco-friendly.

History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis

In a time when the whole future of how music is distributed is in question, maybe we should look at the history of music for a guide.
Many of us find music is a part of our everyday life; both in terms of listening and making it. I have an egroup on the archaeology of prehistoric men. Music seems to have been part of what distinguishes men for other beats. The discovery of a bone hollowed out to make a flute by Neanderthals has made many speculate that music is one of the oldest “preoccupations” that didn’t actually produce survival rewards.
We picture men with low foreheads sitting around the campfire playing bone flutes and beating on hollow logs. The man who was good on the flute had to be subsidized by the other hunters. In the Sahara Arab culture the women are the make the music. There are ancient Egyptian drawing of people playing stringed instruments, The god Mot is said to have had music in his temples. The ancient Greeks had a very well developed theory of 5 tone music as well.
In the European tradition what is called “church music” was actually scripted in a staff in 8 tones during the medieval era. In both church and secular life music was an everyday entertainment and some people spent their lives as singers in the Jewish Cantor tradition. At this time a distinction between “holy” and profane (dance) music seems to have been made.
The age of reason gave us Bach fugues and well tempered music with twelve major tones instead of just 8. Keyboard instruments appeared in churches and the drawing rooms of the rich and famous. Europe was a center of world culture in the arts and sciences with university courses being taught in music theory.
Revolt against this almost always pleasant sounding music turned up in the form of Schönberg and his ideas of twelve tone sequences. Others experimented with expressionism and what they called “tone color” in trying to match the music and art of a puzzling modern world.
But little known to the European intellectuals a new music form came to life in America based on a African folk form and being fostered by the black community quite by itself. Jazz was a free form music where chord forms called progressions were used and many of the people playing the music couldn’t read sheet music at all. It involved syncopation, drums and rhythm fugues as well as multi-melodies in an ad lib setting. It was involved in moods as the blues and dance in terms of swing and jitter-bug and was considered profane in many white communities. Until recording and radio it was pretty much played for free in clubs where blacks went at night . But even as simple as the chord progression were it displaced classical forms in the hearts of most of the world’s population in less than 50 years form Rag time in 1900 to the 1950’s Rock and Roll. In the materialistic society success came with money and records by these artists sold so well that they became the new rich of the 20th century.
In the ’60’s I met a black sargent (hard stiriper) in Army who did this odd kind of poetic singing that he called rap. We all scorned him because we knew that Rock and Roll was king and it was here to stay. Again out of the sub-community of the black in a America and off shot of funk music used as backing for this rap singing came out of seeming nowhere in the 90’s to become a real musical movement world wide. The poor black was angry: he had been promised “equal rights”, but he got welfare and lingering on street corners while dope dealers preyed on him and his community.
Urban renewal meant that he was shoved out of his generational neighborhoods so that up town whites could have new condos closer to work. Gangs took control of streets and whole communities and had shooting wars while the mostly white police forces hid in their substations until the shooting stopped. As far as I know there has been little reform in response to this widely popular music style and the angry and profane words involved.
Another trend in music has been multi-tonality. Everyone knows listening to a slide trombone that there are an infinite scale of notes possible to music. Mostly we think in terms of a scale based on powers of two. The twelve tone scale came about when the Greek pentatonic scale was rationalized with the church 8 tone scale. Adding an C flat and an F flat (or two more sharps) seems to even out the keyboard in 14 tones instead of 12. The Arab musical intellectuals who were influenced by ancient Indian musical theory added twelve “between” tones and special Indian like tuning forms. To western ears Indian and Arab music has a unique blue or “color tonal” feel to it that is attractive to a mind tired out by a limited tone scale of 12 tones.
In the early 20th century an electronic instrument called a Theremin was invented using the electronics that came with shortwave and AM radio. This instrument involved producing tones of all kinds of sine waves. By the 50’s this kind of music found it’s way into science fiction classics as Alien music.
In the 60’s with the use of computers the digital slicing and dicing of sound had started. The result as we all know is the compressed digital sound file called the mp3, but electronic music had become more than this ! From digital midi sequencing and interfaces that captured keyboard notes as score notes on an electronic staff to distortion electronics that could make a guitar sound completely different with feedback and reverberation effects, new music that had never been heard by human ears before was being invented and circulated. Like rap music, it wasn’t at first very easy to get such music to the mass audience, but the European “House” dance music of night clubs began to change that in the 80’s. Here a century long decline in European music began to turn around, so that the German school of electronic music is a leader in innovation and Americans seem to be trailing behind?
The conversion of the CD digital formate files (Aiff and wave) to mp3 in the 90’s by Classic Mac SoundJam which was taken over by Mac and called iTunes made upload of digital files to the Internet easy. People began to share their favorite music internationally. Downloads of digital music even at several megabytes each became very common.
The recording Industry being on the back end of this movement and historically behind in the innovation curve was caught unprepared. They began suing private citizens (college students who are the poor). For the rich to be openly prosecuting the poor for the crime of “downloading” became the democratically most unpopular move in ages.
It is the royalty money from the sale of recoded media that has made the new music rich like the Beetles. The failure of recording industry executives to find a way to plug this hole in revenues seems to signal a decline in such music as a way of passing music around that has been popular since the 1920’s and AM radio started it off. Before that it was sheet music that passed the music from one place to another.
The result of this crisis is that we are faced with a change in how music is given to the public. From my own experiences the recording industry corporate model hasn’t been a perfect one. We are looking at an art form where their are several kinds of artists who need to support their families: composers, performers and song lyrics writers. If these people “suffer”, then the listeners will be affected shortly after in not being able to get music that they want.
Survival and eating are usually a little above making music on the daily calendar.

Exporting Outlook mail messages

I ran into a whole new problem a week ago when my six years old computer stopped working. The “Old Faithful” had served me for years, but now she finally wanted to get retired. Well, that was something she certainly had deserved after all these precious moments. I now look her sadly kicking her heels on the floor and waiting for a new life as spare parts somewhere else. The new and energetic beauty hums silently and dignified on my desk at the very same place the Old Lady was sitting before only a few days ago.
She runs on Windows Vista, which is quite a beauty but not a beast. The old wrinkly ran Windows XP, but already showed exhaustion under the too heavy workload. Now everything is changed, even my mail application turned from Outlook 2000 into a brand new Windows Mail.
Shifting from XP to Vista raised a bunch of new and unpredictable problems to solve. First of all was my new mail client. It works like a charm and that’s why I wanted to move my six-years-old email message archive from Outlook to this new client, but everything didn’t go as planned. Windows Mail could not interact with Outlook 2000 despite I set Outlook as my default mail client. This path came to its dead-end and I needed completely new approach.
My programming background was a relief as I understood that I can write a small VBA script to rescue my old messages. After thorough investigation I decided to individually save each mail message as an eml file. This format is widely understood by many different mail clients, so it was an excellent choice.
Unfortunately native Outlook 2000 lacks ability to export in eml format. Actually the format follows strictly RFC 822 specification, so writing such a script wouldn’t be too complicated. But I waited a second before rushing to code.
A quick search with my favorite search engine gave me pain relief. I found an Outlook Redemption library on the net, which would answer all my questions exporting messages from Outlook PST storage as single files. Redemption object library gives new functions thus expanding the basic Outlook object model. One of these important functions is saving a message as RFC 822 format. This is exactly what I was looking for, so writing a short script was merely whistling and wheeling.
First we need to download the Redemption object library. It’s free for development purposes and this would be enough for our sample. The second stage is unpacking the zipped file. After that the installation is just registering the library in the command prompt as follows:
regsvr32.exe C:[full path]redemption.dll
The example above assumes that you unzip the package on your hard disk in a folder you specify replacing [full path] placeholder. Finally, we need to make a reference to this library in Outlook Visual Basic editor. To do so, select Tools / References and tick the checkbox next to Redemption Outlook Library. All the objects will be exposed to the project as soon as you click OK. The following code snippet shows the basic idea on how to save the first message in Inbox as test.eml file.
Dim o As Redemption.SafeMailItemdim i As Outlook.ExplorerSet i = ThisOutlookSession.Explorers.Item(1).ExplorerSet o = CreateObject(”Redemption.SafeMailItem”)
o.Item = i.CurrentFolder.Items.Item(1)o.SaveAs “test.eml”, Redemption.rdoSaveAsType.olRFC822Set o = NothingSet i = Nothing
Knitting the rest of the code should be relatively easy. A loop would do the most of the task while it recursively loops through the messages in Outlook folders. Each mail item is saved with unique name on the disk. Restoring these messages to Windows Mail is just dragging and dropping the files into the appropriate folders. So, thanks to Redemption for giving me these great tools to export my Outlook mail message into Windows Mail.

Two Words from a Greek Painter

Yanna Brouzou is a talented Greek painter. She is also a member of my Yahoo Group. She said me: I am a classical painter (I do sculpture as well) and I am in search of a manager. There is no such thing over here! But that is all I need, you see artists usually are terrible sales people.
How many times I heard similar words… it is the typical condition of the artist, between two worlds, sometimes unable to reach completely one of them.
I paint as they used to paint. I do not use electronic tools, it is just me and my painting.
Yanna is a traditional painter, she sent me a portrait and an ink sketch (high resolution images, download to your desktop and notice the details). Beautiful samples! We have to help her! Send her a message to congratulate and to tell her your ideas about how we could promote her. You can leave also a comment here.
And now, read her words, her two words… about painting, Art and being artists.
Two Words from a Greek Painter
All I am attempting by these few words is to give you a true picture … of classical art, something almost obsolete and misinterpreted, but the little existing today is truly magical.
So let’s start from the beginning of time, when the artist in the caveman society was something like a magus. In those days, the dawn of men, instincts were unspoiled and true. These primitive people were in touch with the Universal Order of Things and they approved of any link that would uplift them. This uplifting is the reason of our evolution after all.
We should analyze what exactly is done by a classical painter/artist. We should analyze what it means to have inspiration, or to be vague of the environment while working, or why we think that it is quite normal for a classical painter/artist to be a little strange, hard to comprehend, but liked…
Well, it is quite simple really, you see these people live standing upon two worlds at the same time, one foot on one and the other on the other. I know this sounds ridicules, but follow me for a little longer, and think of your reaction when you visit an Art Museum. If you have not then do it, because if taken as it should it is a priceless experience.
Now let yourself free, and fall into the pictures. It may be a sunset, a clear day near the water, or the most moving of all a person feeling and transferring to you these feelings through time, always inspiring you to see something you may never have felt before, or to join you with something you are feeling.
This world of feelings is exclusive and by invitation only, invitation by the artist, and exclusive to the ones who are able to feel. You see this world belongs to higher frequencies and the artist is the link, the vehicle that can take you there, where the Universal Status of Things exist, where there is all we call transcendental, where you are inspired, uplifted and able to contact all and everyone you want.
That is all really, the artist is only a link in the chain, connecting transcendental with what you see around you. That is all… but, when you can see the transcendental then perhaps you can comprehend your world a little better.

Cricket- Eleven standout bowling performances in ODIs

Gary Gilmour, 6 for 14 v England, Headingley, 1975



This was Gilmour's game. He led Australia home with the bat in a low-scoring encounter, and in the first part of the match he caused most of England's problems as Headingley lived up to its reputation. Gilmour's swing was too much for England's top order: he removed the first six wickets to leave the home side on 34 for 6. "Bowling a full length, over the wicket, he not only swung the ball in the heavy atmosphere, but he moved it both ways after pitching," said Wisden. "Bringing the ball back after pitching on the off stump, he had Amiss, Fletcher, Hayes and Knott lbw - Fletcher without playing a shot - and all played back." After such a performance you would have expected Gilmour to be a one-day fixture, but he played only two more matches before a combination of form loss, a foot problem and attitude lost him his place.



Colin Croft, 6 for 15 v England, St Vincent, 1981



England didn't have much joy against West Indies during the 1980s, and even when they were in control, it was only for fleeting moments. On a tricky Sabina Park surface England bowled the home side out for 127, but anything their attack could do West Indies could do better. Particularly Croft. England were soon 15 for 4 after he grabbed three, then after a stand of 65 between David Gower and Ian Botham he returned to take out the middle order. Ten of the runs he conceded came from one over of aggression from Botham and David Bairstow.
Winston Davis, 7 for 51 v Australia, Headingley, 1983



If he hadn't played at a time when West Indies had a production line of high quality quicks, Davis would have had a much longer international career. As it was, he had to settle for more a fill-in role. One of his early assignments was the 1983 World Cup, during which he hit the headlines with a standout performance against Australia, tearing through them with steepling bounce and searing pace. The Australians were handily placed on 114 for 2 before Davis started his work, but from there they folded to 151 all out. Davis only played 35 ODIs in total (and 15 Tests) and ten years after his retirement he was paralysed after falling out of a tree.
Viv Richards, 6 for 41 v India, Delhi, 1989



More often than not Richards would be picked out for his batting, but this was an occasion where his occasional offspin proved the match-winner. He had hit 44 off 42 balls to help a West Indies recovery, but India were well placed on 91 for 2 chasing 197. Richards then removed Mohinder Amarnath before working his way through the middle order. Mohammad Azharuddin, Ravi Shastri and Kapil Dev were an impressive trio of victims and Richards fittingly wrapped up the victory with his sixth wicket.



Aaqib Javed, 7 for 37 v India, Sharjah, 1991


For large parts of his career Javed performed alongside Wasim and Waqar, so it's easy to see why he is sometimes the forgotten man. However, he too was capable of devastating swing bowling. Just ask the Indians who faced him in 1991. Coming into the attack after Wasim and Imran Khan shared the new ball, Javed claimed a hat-trick in his third over which included Shastri, Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar - all lbw. He wasn't finished either. Four more wickets followed in his ten overs as he set a new benchmark for ODI figures.
Phil Simmons, 4 for 3 v Pakistan, Sydney, 1992


Not known for his bowling, Simmons was more than handy with his swinging medium pace, but this return against Pakistan was remarkable. Opening the attack alongside Curtly Ambrose, he zipped through the top order to leave Pakistan floundering on 14 for 5. The rest of the Pakistan innings was a tortuous affair as Simmons bowled eight maidens (alongside 11 others), and their overall scoring-rate was just 1.68 through 48 overs. Simmons' figures remain the most economical in ODIs.
Mark Ealham, 5 for 15 v Zimbabwe, Kimberley, 2000


The figures themselves from Ealham are outstanding - and for five years were England's best in ODIs - but the most noteworthy aspect was that all five were lbw. Bowling on a slow surface, Ealham stuck to a strict wicket-to-wicket line and the Zimbabweans kept missing the ball. This wasn't a hotchpotch Zimbabwe side either: it had the likes of Murray Goodwin, the Flower brothers and Neil Johnson, signalling the peak of Zimbabwe's cricketing powers. But five batsmen got hit on the pad, and each was given out by David Orchard. It goes to show that the coaches are right when they advise bowling straight.
Farveez Maharoof, 6 for 14 v West Indies, Mumbai, 2006


There are so many one-dayers with dubious value that performances can easily be lost, so the key for a player is to perform in the global events. Maharoof picked the Champions Trophy as the stage on which to make his mark, destroying West Indies. Brian Lara and Wavell Hinds were just beginning to turn around a poor start when Maharoof struck in his second over to trap Lara lbw. He then grabbed five more in his next six overs as West Indies crumbled to 80 all out. "Even he was at a slight loss to explain it, saying only: 'I kept it simple,'" reported Wisden. "But simple, with a touch of seam movement, was enough on a pitch so slow that the wicketkeepers took many balls on the second bounce."


Shane Bond, 6 for 23 v Australia, Port Elizabeth, 2003
His international career appears to have been brought to an abrupt end and it is performances like this against Australia that show what New Zealand are missing. Even though it was ultimately in a losing cause, Bond made the all-powerful Australians look human. Operating at 90mph with late swing, he dispatched the top three, then came back with three more in the middle. But from 84 for 7, Australia somehow managed to get 208 (or rather Andy Bichel and Michael Bevan did), which New Zealand got nowhere near. "Bond's analysis thus became the most individually fruitful, yet collectively fruitless, in World Cup annals," said Wisden.
Chaminda Vaas, 8 for 19 v Zimbabwe, Colombo, 2003
Even with the caveat that these figures came against Zimbabwe, it was a great feat by Vaas to claim eight wickets. They were the first eight to fall in the innings before Muttiah Muralitharan claimed the last two. It puts Vaas on top of the one-day bowling figures table and will take some beating. In fact, Zimbabwe were still a decent side at this time, including the likes of the Flowers, Heath Streak and Stuart Carlisle. But they were all easy meat for Vaas, who began with a wicket first ball of the match and swifty made his way through the line-up. He was on track for an incredible all ten, but when Vaas was eight overs into his quota, Muralitharan struck twice with his first four balls to end the innings.
Andy Bichel, 7 for 20 v England, Port Elizabeth, 2003
Occasionally a cricketer has a day where the force is with him and he becomes unstoppable. Often for Australians those days come against England. Bichel never won the same acclaim as the likes of Glenn McGrath or Brett Lee, but his role in the 2003 World Cup triumph was as important as anyone else's. And never more so than in the group match against England in Port Elizabeth. Australia were comfortably qualifying, but no game against the old enemy is taken lightly. Bichel halted a lightning England start and proceeded to demolish the order with seven wickets. Just to cap it off, he then combined with Michael Bevan in a match-winning stand of 73 after Australia had been 135 for 8. It was one of those days.

'India needs to improve food product standards'

NEW DELHI: India needs to improve the standards of its food products to acquire a competitive edge in the global market, says Sanjay Dave, the first Indian vice-chair of the Rome-based Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), an international organisation that aims at promoting food safety globally. Dave, also the director of India's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), feels that his tenure as CAC vice-chair would see continuous deliberations to meet emerging challenges at home and abroad. "There is no scope for any complacency when it comes to dealing with the issue of food product standards. International and domestic consumers are quite quality conscious. India and other developing nations need to improve standards of food products," Dave said in an interview. India's farm and processed food products' exports have grown from Rs 647 crore in 1999-2000 to Rs 2,412 crore in 2006-07. Major importers of Indian products like pomegranates, mangoes, onions and basmati rice are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Italy, Germany, Australia, Jordan, Bahrain, and Malaysia. As capacity building is the key to ensuring food standards, the CAC intends to provide technical assistance to the developing nations so that the quality aspect is addressed right from the field. "From proper monitoring of pesticide residue to the processing units, there is a need to be vigilant at all levels so that the end product is healthy and well received by consumers," Dave maintained. Dave said he would act aggressively to implement Codex Plan-2008-13, a vision document that speaks of consensus building and understanding food safety needs. "For me, the vice-chair of CAC does not mean just holding a few meetings. I am committed to holding meeting and deliberating with all stakeholders throughout the year," he said. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) created the Codex Alimentarius (Latin for food law or code) in 1963. The CAC aims at developing food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the food standards programme of FAO and WHO, two bodies under the aegis of the United Nations. His new position, however, does not mean that he will have less time for APEDA, the organisation he has headed for long. "APEDA stands to benefit a lot from CAC and vice versa. Our great work at APEDA in managing quality of processed foods and agricultural products played a decisive role in my election," he said. APEDA is an autonomous body under India's ministry of commerce and industry dealing with quality management of agricultural and processed foods, and promoting their export. Dave was elected to the coveted post for a one-year tenure during CAC's 31st session in June 30-July 4. He polled 108 votes. The two other vice-chairs - Ben Manyindo from Uganda and Knud Ostergaard from Denmark - got 106 and 102 votes respectively. "In the name of the election campaign, I explained India's efforts in protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in food trade, and how we have adopted Codex guidelines," he said.

Japan government eyes risks of coloured contact lenses

TOKYO -- Many young Japanese women are as happy to change their eye colour as to change their shoes, but the government may slap restrictions on the sale of the trendy coloured contact lenses they use, after a series of cases of eye damage.
In a study backed by the industry ministry, optometrists reported about 170 cases of eye damage over a two-and-a-half year period among those who used non-prescription coloured contacts.
Several cases required the patients to stay overnight in hospital and some users risked losing their eyesight, according to a statement from the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation.


Coloured contacts are sold in many countries, but millions of pairs are in circulation in Japan, where young women often use them to try to make their eyes look larger. They are currently sold in cosmetics stores and over the Internet, rather than by licensed opticians.
"We see foreigners who have many different eye colours, but Japanese people only have brown or black eyes," said Kanako Tsutsumi, a 20-year-old student who used to wear the lenses.
"I liked coloured contacts because I had black hair and I thought grey contacts would look more fashionable," she said.
She stopped using them after she found they hurt her eyes.
"People assume that if non-prescription lenses are made by the same companies that make regulated prescription contacts, they are applying the same standard to coloured contacts," said Satoshi Nagata, a researcher at NITE. "The results of this study showed otherwise," he said.
The health ministry and the ministry of industry have both decided to regulate coloured lenses under pharmaceutical law within this year, he said.
Under the present law, opticians have to supervise any sale of prescription contact lenses in Japan. However, non-prescription coloured contacts are not subject to such restrictions because they are classified as "beauty goods."
About 30 of the total 170 cases of eye damage in the study were caused by quality problems, such as colour leaking from the lenses. Most of the cheaper colour contacts sold in Japan are imported from South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Report On Colored Contact Lenses


Colored contact lenses will be placed under similar regulations to lenses for correcting eyesight after a string of reports that colored lenses have damaged some people's eyes, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to revise the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law to regulate quality and vending of the fashionable lenses as medical equipment.
Colored lenses alter the color of pupils and are available without a doctor's prescription.
About 5 million such lenses--many coming from South Korea or Singapore--are sold annually.
Under the plan, vendors will require permission from prefectural governors to sell colored lenses. Stores would also be required to have supervisors give customers information on the risks involved in using such lenses.


Survey


At least 167 people's eyes have been damaged by colored contact lenses in the past 2-1/2 years, according to a report released Thursday by the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE).
Only 145 out of about 13,000 opticians surveyed nationwide responded to the NITE survey. Despite the low response rate, 21 people were found to have seriously damaged their eyes and 146 were found to have suffered minor damage from wearing colored lenses.
"Because only a few opticians responded [to the survey], there must be many more cases of people damaging [their eyes]," a NITE spokesman said.
The spokesman also suggested the ministry should regulate colored lenses in a similar way to corrective lenses by making it obligatory for vendors to give customers explanations of risks involved.
After comparing approval regulations for 10 brands of colored lenses with those of corrective lenses, NITE found that colored lenses did not meet thickness standards and--even within the same brand--lens curvature and diameter were inconsistent.
NITE is an independent administrative body that provides technological evaluations of consumer products.


Contact lenses that boost your sight while you sleep


For anyone who wears contact lenses, the rule is simple: remove them before going to bed, or risk a nasty eye infection.
Now there are new contact lenses designed to be worn only at night.
What's more, the lenses promise to correct your sight overnight, so you won't need to wear contact lenses or glasses the next day.

The lenses, designed for people with short sight, work by gently pressing on the eye to restore it to the shape of someone with normal vision.
Around 12 million people in the UK are short-sighted - where distant objects appear blurred - and of them, three million wear contact lenses.
In people with normal vision, light rays pass into the eye through the cornea - the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris and pupil. The light passes through the lens (responsible for focusing) and towards the retina at the back of the eye.
The retina then transforms this light into image-forming signals which are sent to the brain.
With short-sighted people, the cornea is either too curved, or the eyeball too long. This means the light rays from distant objects focus in front of the retina, rather than directly on it, making objects seem fuzzy.
Overnight lenses are made from a special hard type of plastic lens, called gas permeable. These are already available as day lenses, but most people wear soft lenses as these are more comfortable.
The harder, overnight lenses work for both types of short-sightedness by gently pressing on the cornea, reducing its curvature, and thereby refocusing the light directly on to the retina. It also effectively shortens the eyeball.
The reshaping is temporary, however, because the cornea will gradually spring back to its original shape, so the lenses must be worn every night. (The lenses aren't suitable for people who are long-sighted - where nearby objects are blurred - as their corneas are too flat.)
To get the right pressure, the curvature of the eye is measured - a procedure known as corneal topography. The lenses are then shaped to these contours, so pressure is applied evenly over the front of the eye.
The cornea is usually flattened slightly more than it needs to be. 'By overcompensating, this avoids sight deteriorating past perfect vision during the day as the cornea springs back to its original shape,' says Shelley Bansal, an independent optician in Middlesex, who advises one overnight lens manufacturer.

It's thought the Chinese slept with small weights on their eyelids to reduce short-sightedness

The lenses are also made to the patient's prescription in case they wake up in the night and need to see.
Although they should be worn every night, it takes a few days for the effects to wear off completely. In theory, you could avoid wearing them for a night or two, although your vision would gradually deteriorate.
This technique, known as orthokeratology, has existed for centuries. It's thought the Chinese slept with small weights or sandbags on their eyelids to reduce short-sightedness.
'But until recently,' says Dr Susan Blakeney, optometric adviser to the College of Optometrists, 'it has been considered unreliable, as there was never any guarantee the lenses would work.
'Since then, techniques such as corneal topography - where the curve of the cornea is measured - have developed. This means lenses can be made to fit the curve of each person's eye very accurately.'
An independent review of overnight lenses in general, published in the prestigious journal Clinical And Experimental Optometry, found the new generation of overnight lenses can improve vision by around 70 per cent after one night, often correcting sight fully within a week.
Short-sightedness is usually picked up in childhood or the early teenage years, so it is hoped overnight lenses could at least prevent further deterioration. There are even hopes that, over time, such lenses could permanently repair vision in children.
This comes after scientists at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University suggested these lenses could actually slow the elongation of the eyeball associated with short-sightedness.
One of the latest types of overnight lens is called i-GO, which are said to treat a larger area of the eye than previous designs, meaning sight can be corrected more accurately.
'If this is the case, it's good news,' says Professor David Gartry, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital and The London Clinic.
'Essentially this is a rehash on an existing principle - but if they flatten more of the cornea, the lens will be more effective.'
Overnight lenses are not suitable for diabetics, long-sighted people or those with eye diseases. They are also suitable only for people with a prescription of -5 or less, which accounts for 65 per cent of short-sighted people.