Share your PC’s internet wirelessly WITHOUT ROUTER!!

When it comes to our PC we have no other option
than to share the internet connection available to us by LAN cable using a router.
Today i’m gonna tell you how to share your PCs internet connection.

Prerequirements

1. PC/laptop with wifi (windows xp/vista/7/8)
2. Working internet connection
3. Connectify Software. Get it here!
4. Brain 

Step1
Download and install Connectify from the official website (or search for a pirated version :P).
Step2
After it has been successfully installed, run the software. Enter the SSID name of your hotspot under hot-spot name and set the password(if needed)
Step3
Select the active internet connection which is to be shared
Step4
Under Advanced Settings, select Share Over Wi-Fi (or your lan driver if you want to share the internet connection via lan cable) and select the sharing mode
Step5
Click on start hotspot below.
Step6
That’s it you are done!! Wasn’t that easy   You can now connect any wifi supporting device to your PC/laptop as if it was connecting to a router!
You can also restrict access to internet to particular clients.

Facebook Silently Launches Free Voice Calling in India

Facebook has yet again given its Indian users a new feature – A voice calling option.
While it still makes no sense whatsoever, why exactly is this not making headlines, but the news is that Facebook has launched its free voice calling service in India. Facebook has finally started rolling-out its Messenger voice-calling feature to other nations, with the service now available in India. The company quietly updated the Messenger service over the weekend to bring the functionality, which was first introduced in the US and Canada in January last year.

The voice calling service in India is available via the Facebook Messenger, introduced only for Android and iOS as of now. The newly introduced voice-calling service will let users call their Facebook contacts for free, using either mobile data or Wi-Fi, similar to other VoIP ( Voice over Internet Protocol)  services like Skype.Within the Facebook Messenger Android app, users can initiate a voice call by selecting a friend, tapping the menu option, and selecting the “Free Call” option. Within the iOS app, users can initiate a voice call by selecting a friend from their conversation list and tapping the three dots (or “i” icon if you have an older version) in the upper right hand corner, which reveals a “Call” option.

Facebook Voice Calling Feature in iOS and Android

That said, users won’t receive a normal phone call. Instead they’ll receive a push notification on their screens with the caller’s name. Also, users can only connect with a conversation partner who also has Facebook Messenger for Android installed on their phone.

On Android devices, an incoming call shows up like a normal phone call with the calling party’s full screen picture. On an iPhone, the call is denoted by a push notification. Calls can only be made between users who have the Facebook or Facebook Messenger app installed on their phone. It is not available on the web version of Facebook Messenger.
Users cannot ring up a Facebook friend who is logged in through the website or mobile without the messenger.

Landline numbers cannot be dialled using this new voice-calling feature.

Earlier this month, Facebook finally introduced its Messenger app for the Windows Phone platform, specifically Windows Phone 8. The Facebook Messenger app for Windows 8 notably doesn’t support a few features available for other platforms, such as voice messaging, and chat heads.In late February, the company announced the closure of its Facebook Messenger service for Windows and Firefox platforms.

While this move clearly indicates that the social networking giant is taking its Indian market seriously, tell us what you feel about this move in the comments section below.

Micromax Canvas Knight A350: Worth a buy

By Devang Jhaveri From D.J.Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai India's second largest Smartphone Company Micromax recently launched its new flagship product: Canvas Knight A350. Termed as a 'local company', the fact is that Micromax manages to capture 16% of the India's Smartphone market beating companies like Sony and Nokia. Micromax always has the perception of producing Smartphones which are affordable but not necessarily top class. It basically lacks in what we call as a 'brand value'. But in the recent past, Micromax has striven hard to change this image by launching phones like Canvas HD, Canvas 4 and now the Canvas Knight A350. Known for producing budget Smartphones, Micromax is selling the Canvas Knight A350 for Rs. 19,999. But the question is 'Why would anyone buy a Micromax for 20K?' Well its astonishing features might prove alluring to do so. The Knight is the first Micromax phone to come with an Octa core processor capable of running on a speed of 2 GHz. In reality, no application is really capable of utilizing all the eight cores simultaneously in the processor. The key factor here is the 2GHz speed. The processor is backed by 2GB of random access memory and 32 GB of inbuilt internal memory. The dual sim Smartphone comes with a 16 megapixel primary camera but the 8MP front camera ensures we get a good selfie. The A350 is powered by an older version of Android, Jelly bean-4.2.2 but that doesn't make much of a difference. The 5-inch display screen is the best in its class. Though not of Gorilla quality, it provides enough toughness and resolution to amuse. The competition: The Canvas Knight A350 has to compete with the Google Nexus 4 and the recently launched Moto X in the 20K market. After the stupendous success of Moto G, its advanced version Moto X is also expected to have the same influence on the market. But Micromax has always managed to convince consumers in the past and hopefully will do the same this time. In a nutshell, the Canvas Knight A350 falls in one of the best phones that will offer value for money and an 8-core processor coupled with a good speed. But the issue of relying on Micromax will always be a concern! Want to blog for us? Please click here. source: http://teckfreeks.com/

Free calls with Freekall

 

By Sweta Nair From Christ University , Bangalore What do I pay for this call? Nothing at all! Gone are the days when we needed the magic of internet to connect to our friends for apparently free web run apps. These free apps, run by not so free or cheap internet recharges, might soon crash and burn when Freekall hits the market after a month. Let us go back to the beginning. One fine day, a group of four engineers-- Yashas Shekhar, Sandesh E, Vijay Umaluti and Sabari Jagadeesan- left their jobs. Not just any jobs, lucrative salary and corporate perks to give shape to new ideas. They thought big and started small. From developing web based applications for small companies, they gradually began shaping and giving form to Freekall. And as history has seen it several times before and future will see many a times ahead, there emerged a story that the writers like us love to write. These Bangalore based basketball lovers spent a liberal chunk of a year moulding their plan into action until December last year. Freekall is an app that will allow the users to give calls any where any time without being charged. It brings voice over internet (VoIP) to people who do not have access to internet. All one has to do is give a missed call to the Freekall number. They would then receive a call from the company server enabling them to dial any number and talk for as long as the caller wants. As of now this app successfully offered 600,000 free calls in a span of 5 days during its trial run. Image credit: cdn1.yourstory.com The only catch, though, is that the users will have to listen to the advertisements every two minutes. This should not be much of a problem for us. We Indians, after all, love the free stuff, don't we? It won't be wrong to say that we are the kind who watch and read advertisements the moment we see the word 'FREE' written anywhere around them. The world is filled with people who buy a Rs 500 pack of detergent, even though they don't need it, just because they will get a free Tupperware. As of now, the plan is to provide around million calls a day and are expected to achieve their target revenue of Rs185 crores through advertisements. In December, last year, Ranjit Cherickal, former head of Nokia Siemens, Africa, poured in an investment of ten lakhs into this innovative concept. For sure millions of users would welcome the advertisements for a limitless call free of any charges. Also these advertisements would add more topics to talk upon. It certainly is too early to predict the success or failure of this app but it will without a doubt turn heads when properly out in the market. Want to blog for us? Please click here. Image credit: qph.is.quoracdn.net

Google Launches a Spy-Free Gmail through Emails' Encryption

 

By The CoolAge Reporter From Buzz@Bangalore, Bangalore In a bid to stop snooping on its users, Google has overhauled its Gmail service in a big way - encrypting every single email you send or receive. According to the firm, "this ensures that your messages are safe not only when they move between you and Gmail's servers, but also as they move between Google's data centres", said the firm. Gmail now always uses an encrypted HTTPS connection when you check or send email and it can not be turned off. "No one can listen in on your messages as they go back and forth between you and Gmail's servers," the firm said in a press release. Your email is important to you and making sure it stays safe and always available is important to us, said Google. As you go about your day reading, writing and checking messages, there are tonnes of security measures running behind the scenes to keep your email safe, secure, and there whenever you need it, said the firm officials. The effort is in the wake of the revelations made last year when National Security Agency (NSA) whistle-blower Edward Snowden told the world that the NSA had access to Google's servers. According to Google, new change means that no one can listen in on your messages no matter if you are using public WiFi or logging in from your computer, phone or tablet. Want to write for us? Please click here

Teaching Through Cartoons

Shaunak Samvatsar is a budding political cartoonist, who has illustrated a few books for Karadi Tales, and has a gag comic strip, 'Phuskuman', in Tinkle. He has also worked in the pre production design for animated films like Tripura: The Three Cities of Maya and Swami Ayyappan. Growing up in Aurangabad, Samvatsar was a voracious reader thanks to a local lending library. He read a lot of poetry, story books and comics and also dabbled in cartooning and doodling. All this has helped him make unique observations and come up with enjoyable narratives. His father, a mechanical engineer, had a flair for working with machines and his mother had her own industrial unit at Aurangabad. This was one of the reasons for Samvatsar to study mechanical engineering at Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College in the city. He then worked in sales for an engineering company before joining IIT-Bombay for the master of design programme. He was a keen Judoka (one who practices Judo), which has taught him the importance of teamwork and how to deflect an opponent's attack. Samvatsar's i-SAW Ventures creates awareness and conducts training on Information Security (defending information from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction), using eye-catching animated artwork. His schoolmate and co-founder, Ashwin Gangakhedkar, understood the need for effective communication in the field of IS and they started contributing cartoons to the ISACA (international association focused on IT governance) Journal that addressed many e-security concerns. The readers had never seen such animated content before, and loved their work. That even artists could understand such a complex topic and explain it to a layman, made their work much sought after. Their artwork-powered programmes have become a boon for IT companies, BPOs and banks, where the percolation of IS awareness to the last node is often missing. Their posters and screensavers greatly reduce the IS risks that cannot be addressed by software and hardware policies, and is a fun way of learning for the employees of their customers. They are also creating interactive animations, based on extensive research on IS pain points faced by companies that can be deployed to give a better learning experience to the employees. "My stint in the creative world taught me that good communication leads to an effective product. Design is about self expression as much as it is about understanding what one wants to communicate. I had to improve my skills in this area," recounts Samvatsar, who also teaches at the Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune. - rohit@learnbizsolutions.com

Vedic Math

Digital roots can also be used to check our multiplication answers. Just as for addition and subtraction, we do the problem, then find the product of the digital roots of the numbers multiplied and compare it with the digital root of the product obtained. Example: Multiply 345 x 26 and check the answer. ■ 345 x 26 = 8970 ■ Digital root of 345 is 3 ■ Digital root of 26 is 8 ■ Product of the digital roots is 3 x 8 = 24 = 6 ■ Digital root of 8970, the answer obtained, is 6 ■ Since the product of the digital roots of the given problem is equal to the digital root of the answer our calculation is correct. Let us summarise what we have learned about digital roots in the last articles: - To check an addition result, add the digital roots and compare with the digital root of the answer. - To check a subtraction result, subtract the digital roots and compare with the digital root of the answer. In case you need to subtract a bigger number from a smaller one add 9 to the smaller number and continue. - To check multiplication results, multiply the digital roots and compare with the digital root of the answer. The next operation that we often use and need to check is division. Normally we check by multiplying the quotient and divisor and adding the remainder, which should give us the dividend. To be more specific: Quotient (Q) Divisor (D) Dividend (P) Remainder (R) Q x D + R should equal P We can do the same checking using digital roots. This makes our calculation easier. Example: Divide 4521 by 6 and check the answer. 7 5 3 (Q) Our problem is 6 4 5 2 1 done like this, 4 2 3 2 3 0 2 1 1 8 3 (R) In the traditional method, we can check our calculations as shown below: 753 x 6 + 3 = 4521 However, the digital roots method is much easier. ■ Digital root of 753 is 6 ■ So instead of multiplying 753 by 6 multiply its digital root by 6, so that 6 x 6 = 36 which can be further reduced as 3 + 6 = 9. ■ Then 9 + 3 = 12 = 3 ■ The digital root of 4521 is 3 ■ Since the digital roots are the same, our answer is correct. Example: 6549 / 28 Dividend (P) is 6549, divisor (D) is 28, quotient (Q) is 233 and remainder (R) is 25. Traditional checking: 233 x 28 + 25 = 6549 Checking with digital roots: ■ Digital root of 233 is 8 ■ Digital root of 28 is 1 ■ 8 x 1 + 7 = 6 ■ Digital root of 6549 is 6 So our answer is correct.

How India Almost Lost the Taj

The Mughals treated their architectural labours with an indifference which was quite surprising considering all the money and effort that went into the construction of monuments. After the demise of the owner of the monument or the person to whom the tomb was dedicated, it was allowed to fall into disrepair. The British went a step further and approached them with an intent to maim or destroy. The magnificent forts of Agra and Delhi were turned into military garrisons. Marble reliefs were torn down, gardens were destroyed and lines of barracks were erected in their place. In the Delhi fort, the hall of public audience was turned into an arsenal, the arches of the outer colonnades were bricked over or replaced with wooden windows. In 1876, in an effort to brighten up the fort for a visit from the Prince of Wales, the entire hall was covered with a coat of whitewash. After the mutiny, it was proposed that the Jama Masjid be destroyed and a government building constructed in its place. Thankfully, this plan was shelved. By the 19th century, the grounds of the Taj Mahal had become a favourite haunt for young English gentlemen and their ladies. Open air balls were held on the marble terrace in front of the main door and beneath Shah Jahan's lotus dome, brass bands played as lords and ladies danced the night away. The minarets became a favourite place for suicide leaps and the mosques on either side of the Taj were rented out to honeymooners. Picnic parties were held in the gardens of the Taj and it was not uncommon for revellers to arm themselves with hammer and chisel and wile away the afternoons chipping out the fragments of agate and carnelian from the cenotaphs of the emperor and his queen. The Taj became the preferred drinking haunt of Englishmen and its parks were strewn with the figures of inebriated British soldiers. Mobs of careless Indians vied with the British in contriving ways to exhibit their disrespect for the souls of the dead Queen and King. The Indians held fairs in the grounds, sullying the premises with orange peels and other debris. Lord William Bentinck, the governor general of Bengal from 1828 to 33 and later the Governor General of India, took scorn for native arts to a new high when he announced plans to demolish the best Mughal monuments in Agra and Delhi and remove their marble facades, which would be shipped to London where they would be sold to members of the landed gentry who wished to embellish their estates. Several of Shah Jahan's pavilions in the Red Fort were indeed stripped to the brick and shipped off to England. In fact, part of the shipment included pieces for George IV himself. Finally, plans were made to dismantle the Taj Mahal and wrecking machinery was moved into the garden grounds. Luckily, just as the demolition crew was getting to work, word came in from London that the first auction was a failure and all further sales stood cancelled. It was not worth the money to demolish the Taj Mahal. However, despite this condemnable attitude to the monuments, there were many visitors who were struck by the Taj's beauty. As far away as London, symmetrical walkways and marble fountains sprang up in parks, domes became more bulbous, gardens took on the characteristics of Persian arabesques, cupolas and kiosks and appeared on the fronts of government offices and even in America, in official buildings such as the Capitol Building of Rhode Island, one can discern an outline suspiciously reminiscent of the Taj. Clearly, the beauty of the Taj was infectious. Lord Curzon loved the Taj. Shocked at the monument's dilapidated state, he restored it to its present condition. With his encouragement, by the beginning of the 1900s there was a growing interest in Indian art. In Delhi and Agra, more than £50,000 was spent on renovating the dilapidated monuments. Military units were evacuated from the forts of both cities and a multitude of marble mosques and tombs, which had been turned into police stations, ticket offices and kitchens were returned to their proper use.

Nehru Knew He Was Not What He Appeared to Be

A crucial issue - garnering almost no attention and remaining undebated - is Mahatma Gandhi's suggestion to dissolve the Congress and turn it into a Lok Seva Sangh. Why did he wish that? The Congress, during the Gandhi era, inspired thousands to practise purity and probity. Freedom fighters and Congress workers were almost synonymous. Gandhi was not oblivious to ambitions; he was aware that cut-throat competition and hypocrisy existed in the Congress. He was afraid that thousands of workers, trained in the anti-imperialist struggle to fight for righteousness, who had inculcated the characteristic of renouncement, would either become irrelevant or be co-opted into a venal system. Gandhi's vision for struggle was not confined to 'transfer of power' or a change of guard on the Delhi throne. He believed these trained idealists should be used to create democratic consciousness in society, which he considered the best way to curb absolutism. He was the first modern Indian politician who drifted from western-style politics and institutions. He was a critic of Westminster democracy and sharply criticised the nature and role of Parliament. Gandhi drew his intellectual and moral strength from our traditional system of knowledge and concept of kingship. In our history, it is those kings who renounced the most, based their rule on justice and preferred merit over kinship who are venerated as ideal rulers. Vikramaditya is revered for his commitment to larger interests. Gandhi expected political actors to follow the principle of life based on minimum materialism and maximum renouncement. The extravagance of 'swadeshi' rulers and their joy upon the transfer of power, even as thousands were being massacred and millions going homeless and breadless, stunned Gandhi. He wrote to Nehru, "We are adopting British extravagance, which the country cannot afford" and proposed to Nehru that "the Viceroy should reside in an unpretentious house and the present palace (later to be known as Rashtrapati Bhavan) should be more usefully used". Mountbatten happily accepted Gandhi's proposal and the latter wrote back, "May I say how deeply I have appreciated your wish to go to an unpretentious house as the chosen Governor General of millions of the half-famished villagers of the nation." But this proposal was a discomfort for 'socialist' Nehru and he informed Gandhi of "difficulty in finding suitable accommodation and making arrangements for changing over, when we are so busy". Why Nehru suppressed the proposal was revealed by his own action. Soon after the Mahatma's demise, he shifted from his 'small' residence, 17 York Road, in the capital to Teen Murti House (spread over almost 22 acres), former residence of the British commander-in-chief of the Indian Army. Michael Edwards wrote that Nehru had moved into a luxurious house "surrounding himself with guards, large cars, bodyguards on prancing horses, pomp and protocol". Nehru was not what he appeared to be, a fact he himself was aware of. He wrote in Modern Review (November 1937) under the anonymous name 'Rashtrapati' that he had a tendency to become dictatorial and needed to be checked. After Independence, when the Congress was grappling with internal democracy Nehru shrewdly created a psychological halo among party workers that he alone could save it from tottering. A national leader like Harekrushna Mahatab issued a press statement urging the 'need' for Nehru's dictatorship in the interest of the Congress and country. During the first general election, S K Sinha from Bihar proposed that Nehru should be solely authorised to select all 4,000 candidates for the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies. The subversion of democracy began with proxies of Nehru inside the Congress. It is a paradox that despite knowing Nehru's proclivities, Gandhi favoured him.

Yoga through the ages

It's not just for a bunch of old people or fitness freaks or aspiring models. Pragya Bhatt dispels some myths about yoga, as she puts forth its benefits for a lifetime. There are many misconceptions about yoga. From "yoga will kill my sex drive" to "yoga is for a bunch of oldies wheezing together in a park". The benefits of yoga for your sex drive and breathing are numerous, and the stuff would make another article! For now, let's look at how relevant yoga is through different stages of your life. A new born is given an oil massage every day to ensure that the joints and bones are strong and healthy. But as we grow older, life catches up and we end up neglecting our bodies, until those rusty joints and bones start to groan with aches and pains! And that's when the visits to the doctors and physiotherapists start. Prevention is better than cure. And yoga is a preventative measure against many diseases and conditions associated with lifestyle disorders and diseases. Here is how yoga can help you through the ages: In your teensLots of emotional and physical changes occur during your teens. On an emotional level there's pressure to fit in, stress because of studies, anxiety about the future and what not. On a physical level, the body becomes a hormonal battle ground. Teenage yoga practitioners learn to accept the changes their bodies are going through and this prevents common issues such as eating disorders, body image issues, low self esteem, depression, and anger associated with teenage. The practice of Pranayama and meditation help to keep teens grounded and also in thinking calmly about the emotional changes they are undergoing. In your 20sThe 20s are a time for exploration and discovery: work, new friends, love, marriage and even babies. The practice of yoga is also associated with longevity and a fantastic quality of life. Therefore, 20s is a great time to cultivate a regular yoga practice. Most people start their first jobs in their 20s. With this come the back aches, weight gain, stress and other disorders. Smoking and binge drinking to unwind and 'let my hair down' becomes frequent. However, prolonged 'let my hair down' ensures that the hair stays down. So, many 20-somethings have bald spots and salt and pepper hair! Women experience difficulties with their menses and irregular or absent periods. The Moola Bandha helps in maintaining the health of the uterus and treats many problems associated with menstruation. It also helps in releasing stress from the body. Practising the Anulom Bilom Pranayam helps in eliminating stress. Inverted asanas such as the Adhomukha Svanasana help in hair growth. Practicing yoga for an hour, three times a week during your 20s, helps in fighting lifestyle-related diseases that creep up on you whilst you're too busy gazing into your laptop. In your 30sThe vitality of your body starts to decrease when you reach your 30s. Skin starts to lose its elasticity and wrinkles appear. Men and women both will notice a decrease in muscle tissue and an increase in loose fat. The pot belly which started in the late 20s is a permanent fixture now. The 30s are frequently about jam-packed calendars, all-night meetings, adapting to different time-zones, increased familial responsibilities, handling difficult children and the list goes on... Issues such as diabetes and thyroid are common. Strengthening asanas such as Chaturanga, Parsavakonasana and Ardha Chandrasana will help you in maintaining a healthy bone density, as well as building muscle mass which will help in increasing a flagging metabolism. The Jalandhar Bandha and asanas like the Setu Bandha Asana will help in stimulating your thyroid gland. Asanas such as the Virbhadrasana will help in stimulating your reproductive organs, important for those who have opted for a late pregnancy. In your 40sFor many, the 40s are about depression. Metabolism decreases and women tend to put on weight and find it harder to take it off. Added to this is the onset of heart disease, arthritis and osteoporosis. This is also the perimenopause stage for most women. Eyesight tends to weaken. Women who have been practicing yoga in their 20s and 30s will experience less of these issues as compared to their sedentary counterparts. However, it's never too late to start yoga. A regular yoga practice will also help in reducing the risk of injuries and increasing the rate of recovery from injuries, which is very important as we age. Practising meditation, breathing exercises, and simple stretches will ensure that you can handle the rigours of life in your 40s with élan. 50s and beyondMenopause marks the era of the 50s. The changes your body experiences are new, bewildering and unsettling. Yoga will help you overcome the emotional and physical trauma that can besiege a person due to the changing lives and times. Inverted asanas can help in preventing glaucoma and cataracts, other by-products of old age. Also, yoga works on the mind-body complex, which enables people to maintain an alert mind and body. So, you see, it's never too late to start practising yoga and make a health commitment to yourself.(The writer is a yoga instructor from Bangalore)

A click to save the world?

"Look mummy, we're changing the world one tweet at a time," will be the slogan of every child in this digital age. A single link gets several hits and a single tweet gets retweeted umpteen number of times. It indicates a strong conviction that people are willing to make an effort, albeit a minimal one. The world is a global village today. Internet has ushered in many advances on the technological front, one of them being social networking. Social media has given rise to a phenomenon called slacktivism. You can "like" and "share" a picture to let your "FB friends" know you care about a cause. Twitter has a hashtag for every cause. But what is the actual effect of these actions? Sure, to induce change, a small first step is necessary. It can then be taken to the next level that may be more time-consuming or resource-intensive. Social networks certainly allow the easy spread of information. But the problem arises when the only support for a cause is a photo with a few thousand

shares. Are you one of those people who would get on the ground and participate in a protest for a positive change? Or would you rather "fix the issue" using social media, say by joining a Facebook group for environmental enthusiasts? Vasudev Balasubramanian, a software consultant, says, "The effectiveness of online petitions is something I've always been skeptical about. Given how signatures are gathered with no verification of the person's identity, I don't know how seriously those in power are likely to take these petitions. However, I too participate in slacktivism sometimes. Why not? If it does some good, it's worth it. If not, that's just a minute of my life wasted. It's worth the chance. I guess the point is that we care about these causes. But we just don't care enough to do anything ourselves. Honestly, this may just be for a feel-good factor about oneself." Online activities are sometimes elusive or short-lived and so, may not effectively reach the authorities in time to influence any formal decision-making. Shilpa Kalyan, a media studies professor, believes, "Slacktivism is like a fashion trend. You start your own group and get people to like it. It makes you feel like a crusader and it's more to do with instant gratification of having done something. Though in reality, sitting in front of the computer and just clicking on the 'like' button or joining a dedicated cause online hardly makes any difference. It allows users an easy way to associate with nonprofit missions without helping to provide the essential resources to keep them afloat." Don't call it activismActivism is a well-known term and it includes any effort to support and direct a change or a societal cause. Slacktivism is comparatively a new idea, said to be coined in the 1990s by Dwight Ozard and Fred Clark. It initially had a positive connotation, but of late, there are quite a few critics giving it a dubious undertone. Malcolm Gladwell, the famous New Yorker journalist, had once berated those who compare social media 'revolutions' with actual activism that challenges the status quo ante. Slacktivism is a portmanteau word combining slacker and activism. It refers to simple measures used to support an issue or a social cause, which involves virtually no effort on behalf of the participants. Habitually synonymous with actions such as signing online petitions, copying social network statuses and joining cause-related social networking groups, these actions could be merely for participant gratification as they lack engagement and commitment. They may or may not produce any tangible effect in terms of promoting a cause. So, anytime you endorse a cause on social media without taking any corollary action outside the digital world (like donating money or volunteering), you're guilty of slacktivism. Slacktivism underratedIt may not be able to affect any major social change on its own, but considering the discourse that slacktivism inspires on various issues, it can become the gateway into more direct, informative and effective forms of activism. After all, creating awareness and making people opinionated is slacktivism's forte. Without awareness, no one can actually solve an issue. Avaaz.org is a website for connecting citizens and decision-makers around the world. Anyone can start a worthwhile petition and the site mobilises users offline as well. What the world needs is better engagement from individual citizens, and such sites help in this regard. Even simple measures such as signing petitions, tweeting and sharing opinions on matters of import are small, yet critical steps in the right direction. For 20 years, the Tanzanian government had been trying to evict a Maasai community from its traditional lands to make room for a big game hunting company to bring in tourists to shoot wildlife. 1.7 million people signed a petition on Avaaz along with the Maasai group and rallied the international media, getting CNN and Al Jazeera to visit the area and break the story to the world. Due to the pressure built on the government, Tanzanian PM finally told the Maasai that they won't be evicted. Back home, a case in point is the 2011 Anna Hazare India Against Corruption campaign. Lakhs of people pledged support for Anna's cause by "liking" the initiative, tweeting their endorsement, and participating in phone campaigns. It created a new wave of citizen participation, even if on a slackerly note. Passive, but not uselessThey get a bad name for lacking real commitment, for caring only about self-satisfaction, and for not contributing actively. They are labelled as lightweight social activists. But sometimes, what appears to be slacker efforts lead to more substantive support for worthy social causes. A football cheerleading alumni team of Philadelphia uploaded a YouTube video showing them performing their old moves. The organisers found a sponsor willing to donate money to breast cancer research based on the number of times the video gets viewed. They raised around $1,00,000! "There is no golden rule that one who signs online petitions for one cause, won't donate for another. Sometimes what starts off as a casual contribution gives a beacon of hope for bigger changes in the world. Online petition is not an end in itself, of course. But it definitely educates the public about issues of concern," maintains Vivek Kannan, a student. When everything is just a click away, it's only natural, perhaps, to feel that we can change the world, armed with a smartphone or tablet. It isn't that awful, is it?As Edmund Burke, the 18th century Irish philosopher, had rightly said, "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." For it's little drops of rain that make a mighty ocean.

Back pain, weight loss? Be warned, it could be TB

Acute back pain, unexplained weight loss, fever and night sweats: If they persist beyond a week, there is cause to worry, health experts caution. Such symptoms are synonymous with spinal tuberculosis, which accounts almost 50 percent of musculo-skeletal TB in developing countries, the experts say. "Spinal tuberculosis, also known as Pott spine, is one of the most common spinal diseases in India. It represents almost 50 percent of the musculo-skeletal tuberculosis in the developing countries," Shashi Baliyan, managing director, of Clearmedi Healthcare Private Limited, a multidimensional service provider, told IANS. TB in humans is caused by the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis bacteria.