1 ) You have your antivirus updated, browser version is latest, and don't browse porn or other so-called dangerous sites. So you are sure you are safe online. Not really!
Though the above things definitely help you in guarding against cyber crime, they do not ensure 100% safety. The increasing proliferation of business activities on Internet has also made it a haven for criminals.
2 ) If you are among those who still believe that you have never been under malware attack, read this. According to the Sophos report, many web users may not even know if they are under constant malware attack.
The attacks are designed to steal personal information and passwords or use your machine for distributing spam, malware or inappropriate content without your knowledge.
3 ) If you think only porn and gambling sites are home to hackers, here's a reason to worry. According to the report, the majority of infected sites are websites that you trust and visit almost daily. The report says, hijacked trusted sites represent more than 83% of malware hosting sites.
4 ) Being a computer expert is not a sure shot formula to prevent you from falling victim to any cyber attack. Many attacks happen silently without any user involvement.
According to the report, malware from drive-by downloads happens automatically without any user action, other than visiting the site. Therefore, it doesn't matter what level of computer expertise you may have.
5 ) For those who assume that only downloading content makes them vulnerable to cyber threats, need to get facts checked.
The report says, most malware infections now occur through a “drive-by” download. Hackers inject the malicious code into the actual Web page content, then it downloads and executes automatically within the browser as a by-product of simply viewing the Web page. The malware is typically part of a professional exploit kit marketed and sold to hackers that leverages known exploits in the browser, operating system or plug-ins to infect the computer and download more malware.
And this happens without a user having to do anything other than visit a hijacked Web site.
6 ) There is no fool-proof browser that can prevent you from falling prey to hackers' trap.
The report highlights, all browsers are equally at risk because all browsers are essentially an execution environment for JavaScript, which is the programming language of the Web and therefore used by all malware authors to initiate an attack.
In addition, many exploits leverage plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat reader software, which runs across all browsers. Although the more popular browsers may get more publicity about unpatched exploits, it's the unpublicized exploits you should be most concerned about.
7 ) When the lock icon appears in the browser, many of us believe we are opening a secure site. This is because the lock icon indicates there is an SSL encrypted connection between the browser and the server to protect the interception of personal sensitive information. However, the report says it does not provide any security from malware.
In fact, it's the opposite because most Web security products are completely blind to encrypted connections: it's the perfect vehicle for malware to infiltrate a machine.
There have been many cases where hackers emulate bank, credit card sites complete with spoofed SSL certificates that are difficult for a user to identify as fraudulent.
8 ) While the internet has become a mission critical tool for many job functions, whether it's Facebook for HR or Twitter for PR, it's completely unnecessary to create a trade-off between access and security. A suitable web security solution provides the freedom to grant access to sites that your users need while keeping your organization secure. Policy settings for groups or individuals don’t need to be complex -— a few quick steps through a wizard are all a user needs to secure and enable your organization.
When evaluating a Web security solution, be sure to focus on the administration tasks you will use most often, such as establishing special policies for users or groups. How easy are these tasks? How much time do they take? How many steps are involved? Is documentation required to navigate through the process? Ask these questions and more.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Paradise Is At the Feet of Mothers
A man once consulted the Prophet Muhammad about taking part in a military campaign. The Prophet asked the man if his mother was still living. When told that she was alive, the Prophet said: "(Then) stay with her, for Paradise is at her feet." (Al-Tirmidhi)
On another occasion, the Prophet said: "God has forbidden for you to be undutiful to your mothers." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
One of the things I have always appreciated about my adopted faith is not only its emphasis on maintaining the bonds of kinship, but also the high regard in which women, particularly mothers, are held. The Quran, Islam's revealed text, states: "And revere the wombs that bore you, for God is ever watchful over you." (4:1)
It should be obvious that our parents deserve our utmost respect and devotion - second only to God. Speaking in the Quran, God ays: "Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents; to Me is thy final Goal." (31:14)
The fact that God has mentioned parents in the same verse as Himself shows the extent to which we should strive in our efforts to serve the mothers and fathers who sacrificed so much for us. Doing so will help us to become better people.
In that same verse, God says: "We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him."
In other words, the debt we owe to our mothers is magnified due to the difficult nature of pregnancy - not to mention the nurturing and attention paid to us in infancy.
Another narration, or "Hadith," from the life of the Prophet Muhammad again shows us just how much we owe to our mothers.
A man once asked the Prophet to whom he should show the most kindness. The Prophet replied: "Your mother, next your mother, next your mother, and then your father." (Sunan of Abu-Dawood) In other words, we must treat our mothers in a manner befitting their exalted position - and, again, revere the wombs that bore us.
The Arabic word for womb is "rahem." Rahem is derived from the word for mercy. In Islamic tradition, one of God's 99 names is "Al-Raheem," or "the Most Merciful."
There exists, therefore, a unique connection between God and the womb. Through the womb, we get a glimpse of the Almighty's qualities and attributes. It nurtures, feeds and shelters us in the early stages of life. The womb can be viewed as one manifestation of divinity in the world.
One cannot help but make the parallel between a Loving God and a compassionate Mother. Interestingly, the Quran does not portray God as exclusively male or female. As a matter of fact, by revering our mothers, we are paying respect to God.
Each of us should appreciate what we have in our mothers. They are our teachers and our role models. Every day with them is an opportunity to grow as a person. Every day away from them is a missed opportunity.
On another occasion, the Prophet said: "God has forbidden for you to be undutiful to your mothers." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
One of the things I have always appreciated about my adopted faith is not only its emphasis on maintaining the bonds of kinship, but also the high regard in which women, particularly mothers, are held. The Quran, Islam's revealed text, states: "And revere the wombs that bore you, for God is ever watchful over you." (4:1)
It should be obvious that our parents deserve our utmost respect and devotion - second only to God. Speaking in the Quran, God ays: "Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents; to Me is thy final Goal." (31:14)
The fact that God has mentioned parents in the same verse as Himself shows the extent to which we should strive in our efforts to serve the mothers and fathers who sacrificed so much for us. Doing so will help us to become better people.
In that same verse, God says: "We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him."
In other words, the debt we owe to our mothers is magnified due to the difficult nature of pregnancy - not to mention the nurturing and attention paid to us in infancy.
Another narration, or "Hadith," from the life of the Prophet Muhammad again shows us just how much we owe to our mothers.
A man once asked the Prophet to whom he should show the most kindness. The Prophet replied: "Your mother, next your mother, next your mother, and then your father." (Sunan of Abu-Dawood) In other words, we must treat our mothers in a manner befitting their exalted position - and, again, revere the wombs that bore us.
The Arabic word for womb is "rahem." Rahem is derived from the word for mercy. In Islamic tradition, one of God's 99 names is "Al-Raheem," or "the Most Merciful."
There exists, therefore, a unique connection between God and the womb. Through the womb, we get a glimpse of the Almighty's qualities and attributes. It nurtures, feeds and shelters us in the early stages of life. The womb can be viewed as one manifestation of divinity in the world.
One cannot help but make the parallel between a Loving God and a compassionate Mother. Interestingly, the Quran does not portray God as exclusively male or female. As a matter of fact, by revering our mothers, we are paying respect to God.
Each of us should appreciate what we have in our mothers. They are our teachers and our role models. Every day with them is an opportunity to grow as a person. Every day away from them is a missed opportunity.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passes away
Legendary vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, who enthralled generations of connoisseurs with his renditions of Hindustani classical music, passed away at a city hospital on Monday after a prolonged illness.
He was 87. A recipient of Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, Joshi had been put on life support system following old age- related ailments leading to kidney and respiratory failure after his admission to hospital on December 31, his family said.
Joshi, the most-celebrated exponent of 'Kirana gharana' of Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan, leaves behind three sons and a daughter.
A pall of gloom descended on the city as the news of his demise spread with people making a beeline to his residence to pay their last respects to the singer who was the most powerful figure on the Hindustani music concert platform of 'khayal gayki'.
Born on February 4, 1922 at Gadag in Dharwad district of Karnataka, Joshi got a boost to his career during a concert in Pune in January 1946 on the occasion of the 60th birthday of his guru Sawai Gandharva.
What distinguished him from the ordinary was his powerful voice, amazing breath control, fine musical sensibility and unwavering grasp of the fundamentals that made him the supreme Hindustani vocalist, representing a subtle fusion of intelligence and passion that imparted life and excitement to his music.
In the forays he made outside the classical fold, Joshi lent is voice as a "dhrupad" singer for a Bengali film based on the life of Tansen and later sang as a playback singer for Marathi film "Gulacha Ganapati", produced and directed by celebrated Marathi humorist "Pu La" Deshpande in addition to Hindi movies "Basant Bahar" and "Bhairavi".
But it was his 'Sant Vani' recitals, which bore the flair of Marathi 'Bhakti Sangeet' that added immensely to his popularity in both Maharashtra and Karnataka which have had a long succession of saint-poets.
He was honoured with the Padma Shri (1972), Sangeet Natak Akademi award for Hindustani vocal music (1975), Padma Bhushan (1985) and Madhya Pradesh government's "Tansen Samman" in 1992. Bharat Ratna was bestowed on him in 2008.
Joshi had undergone a surgery for removal of a brain tumor in 1999 followed by a cervical spine operation in 2005.
The maestro's last surprise public performance that regaled the audience was during 2007 'Sawai Gandharva' annual music festival which he himself had started to commemorate the memory of his guru.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Number portability: 10 things to know
The long-awaited mobile number portability (MNP) is finally here! The facility allows customers to change their cellphone operator without losing their phone numbers.
The MNP launch, which was deferred four times due to reasons ranging from operators not being ready with their networks to security concerns, promises to open a new chapter for India's burgeoning mobile population.
As the country’s mobile customers gear up to this new-found freedom, here's a ready reckoner on MNP that endeavours to answer all queries about MNP. Can a CDMA subscriber change to GSM network? What will be the cost of changing my service provider? How long will the transition take? This and many more such crucial queries on MNP are answered below.
So, here’s all that you wanted to know (and should know) about MNP.
1) Balance on prepaid cards. Similarly, in case it is a platform shift you will have to change handsets. This means if you decide to move from CDMA-to-GSM or vice-versa, you will also have to change your handset.
2) A subscriber can stay within same technology, GSM/CDMA. Also, change to CDMA or vice versa. Both post-paid and prepaid subscribers can go for it.
3) Seven working days. Fifteen working days in J&K, North-east.
4) Changing your mobile service provider will cost Rs 19. This will be collected by new service provider.
5) No. You can’t change circles. This means subscribers cannot take their Delhi number to an operator in Mumbai. They can only change their operator within Delhi.
6) A subscriber must be with a provider for at least three months. Next number change not before 90 days.
7) Analysts believe that this is likely to happen only if operators believe that the churn out of their subscriber base is so high that they need to improve their service or customer care, etc.
8) However, surveys have revealed that the net effect of number portability is practically negligible. This means most large operators gain and lose roughly the same number of subscribers, taking away any incentive to dramatically change quality of service or customer care or pricing owing to the threat of losing subscribers or the option of gaining subscribers.
9) Mobile phone tariffs in India are already extremely competitive and so moving to a dramatically lower bill is unlikely. Some consumers who are frequent callers, an equivalent of closed user group-or family members who are currently on different networks could now move to single network to take advantage of attractive tariff packages, including free calls within the same network, etc.
10) However, before you make any switch check whether your operator is providing a similar option.
Post-paid tariffs may drop. Telcos may offer discounted handsets.
Trai figures say only 1.4 lakh subscribers, or 0.6%, in Haryana used MNP since November.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Patience, Perseverance, and Prayer
During times of deep trial, despair, and sadness, Muslims seek comfort and guidance in the words of Allah in the Qur'an. Allah reminds us that all people will be tried and tested in life, and calls upon Muslims to bear these trials with "patient perseverance and prayer." Indeed, Allah reminds us that many people before us have suffered and had their faith tested; so too will we be tried and tested in this life.
There are dozens upon dozens of verses that remind Muslims to be patient and trust in Allah during these times of trial. Among them:
"Seek Allah's help with patient perseverance and prayer. It is indeed hard except for those who are humble." (2:45)
"Oh you who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer, for God is with those who patiently persevere." (2:153)
"Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives, and the fruits of your toil. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Those who say, when afflicted with calamity, 'To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.' They are those on whom descend blessings from their Lord, and mercy. They are the ones who receive guidance." (2:155-157)
"Oh you who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy. Vie in such perseverance, strengthen each other, and be pious, that you may prosper." (3:200)
"And be steadfast in patience, for verily Allah will not suffer the reward of the righteous to perish." (11:115)
"Be patient, for your patience is with the help of Allah." (16:127)
"Patiently, then, persevere - for the Promise of Allah is true, and ask forgiveness for your faults, and celebrate the praises of your Lord in the evening and in the morning." (40:55)
"No one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint, none but persons of the greatest good fortune." (41:35)
"Verily man is in loss, except such as have faith, and do righteous deeds, and join together in the mutual enjoining of truth, and of patience and constancy." (103:2-3)
As Muslims, we should not let our emotions get the better of us. It is certainly difficult for a person to look at the tragedies of the world today and not feel helpless and sad. But believers are called to put their trust in their Lord, and not to fall into despair or hopelessness. We must continue to do what Allah has called us to do: put our trust in Him, perform good deeds, and stand as witnesses for justice and truth.
"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West.
But it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day,
And the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers;
To spend of your substance, out of love for Him,
For your kin, for orphans, for the needy,
for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves;
To be steadfast in prayer
And give in charity;
To fulfill the contracts which you have made;
And to be firm and patient, in pain and adversity
And throughout all periods of panic.
Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing.
Qur'an 2:177
Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.
Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.
Qur'an 94:5-6
Converts to Islam double in Britain, says study Read more: Converts to Islam double in Britain, says study
The number of Britons choosing to become Muslims has nearly doubled in the past decade, according to a study by an inter-faith think tank.
The study by think tank Faith Matters attempts to estimate how many people have embraced Islam.
Despite the "often negative" portrayal of Islam, thousands of Britons are adopting the religion every year, The Independent reported.
Estimating the number of converts living in Britain has always been difficult because census data does not differentiate between whether a religious person has adopted a new faith or was born into it.
Previous estimates placed the number of Muslim converts at between 14,000 and 25,000.
But the new study by Faith Matters suggests the real figure could be as high as 100,000, with as many as 5,000 new conversions nationwide each year.
The researchers used data from the Scottish 2001 census - which is the only survey to ask respondents what their religion was at birth as well as at the time of the survey.
The experts broke down what proportion of Muslim converts there were in Scotland and then extrapolated the figures for Britain as a whole.
In all, they estimated there were 60,699 converts living in Britain in 2001.
The researchers polled mosques in London to try to calculate how many conversions take place a year.
The results gave a figure of 1,400 conversions in the capital in the past 12 months which, when extrapolated nationwide, would mean approximately 5,200 people adopting Islam every year.
The figures are comparable with studies in Germany and France which found that there were around 4,000 conversions a year.
Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters, said that coming up with a reliable estimate of the number of converts to Islam was "notoriously difficult".
"This report is the best intellectual 'guestimate' using census numbers, local authority data and polling from mosques. Either way few people doubt that the number adopting Islam in the UK has risen dramatically in the past 10 years," he said.
Batool al-Toma, an Irish-born convert who works at the Islamic Foundation and runs the New Muslims Project, a group to help converts, said she believed the new figures were "a little on the high side".
Inayat Bunglawala, founder of Muslims4UK, which promotes active Muslim engagement in British society, said the figures were "not implausible".
"It would mean that around one in 600 Britons is a convert to the faith," he said.
Read comments
The study by think tank Faith Matters attempts to estimate how many people have embraced Islam.
Despite the "often negative" portrayal of Islam, thousands of Britons are adopting the religion every year, The Independent reported.
Estimating the number of converts living in Britain has always been difficult because census data does not differentiate between whether a religious person has adopted a new faith or was born into it.
Previous estimates placed the number of Muslim converts at between 14,000 and 25,000.
But the new study by Faith Matters suggests the real figure could be as high as 100,000, with as many as 5,000 new conversions nationwide each year.
The researchers used data from the Scottish 2001 census - which is the only survey to ask respondents what their religion was at birth as well as at the time of the survey.
The experts broke down what proportion of Muslim converts there were in Scotland and then extrapolated the figures for Britain as a whole.
In all, they estimated there were 60,699 converts living in Britain in 2001.
The researchers polled mosques in London to try to calculate how many conversions take place a year.
The results gave a figure of 1,400 conversions in the capital in the past 12 months which, when extrapolated nationwide, would mean approximately 5,200 people adopting Islam every year.
The figures are comparable with studies in Germany and France which found that there were around 4,000 conversions a year.
Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters, said that coming up with a reliable estimate of the number of converts to Islam was "notoriously difficult".
"This report is the best intellectual 'guestimate' using census numbers, local authority data and polling from mosques. Either way few people doubt that the number adopting Islam in the UK has risen dramatically in the past 10 years," he said.
Batool al-Toma, an Irish-born convert who works at the Islamic Foundation and runs the New Muslims Project, a group to help converts, said she believed the new figures were "a little on the high side".
Inayat Bunglawala, founder of Muslims4UK, which promotes active Muslim engagement in British society, said the figures were "not implausible".
"It would mean that around one in 600 Britons is a convert to the faith," he said.
Read comments
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
History of Photography
Photography has a much longer history than you may think and it is full of innovation and discovery. These pages will guide you through the journey that has led to our current photographic world.
A Brief History of Photography
Major Leaps in Photography
Beginnings
Photography started with a camera and the basic idea has been around since about the 5th Century B.C. For centuries these were just ideas until an Iraqi scientist developed something called the camera obscura sometime in the 11th Century. Even then, the camera did not actually record images, they simply projected them onto another surface. The images were also upside down. The first camera obscuras used a pinhole in a tent to project an image from outside the tent into the darkened area. It took until the 17th Century for camera obscuras to be made small enough to be portable and basic lenses to be added.
Permanent Images
Photography as we know it today began in the late 1830s in France when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used a portable camera obscura to expose a pewter plate coated with bitumen to light. This is the first recorded image that did not fade quickly.
Daguerreotype
This experiment led to collaboration between Niépce and Louis Daguerre that resulted in the creation of the Daguerreotype. Daguerreotypes were the forerunners to our modern film. A copper plate was coated with silver and exposed to iodine vapor before it was exposed to light. To create the image on the plate, the earlier Daguerreotypes had to be exposed to light for up to 15 minutes. The Daguerreotype was very popular until it was replaced in the late 1850s by emulsion plates.
Emulsion Plates
Emulsion plates, or wet plates, were less expensive than Daguerreotypes and took only two or three seconds of exposure time. This made them much more suited to portrait photography, which was the most common photography at the time. These wet plates used an emulsion process called the Collodion process, rather than a simple coating on the image plate. Two of these emulsion plates were ambrotype and tintype. Ambrotypes used a glass plate instead of the copper plate of the Daguerreotypes. Tintypes used a tin plate. While these plates were much more sensitive to light, they had to be developed quickly. It was during this time that bellows were added to cameras to help with focusing.
Dry Plates
In the 1870s, photography took another huge leap forward. Richard Maddox improved on a previous invention to make dry gelatine plates that were nearly equal with wet plates for speed and quality. These dry plates could be stored rather than made as needed. This allowed photographers much more freedom in taking photographs. Cameras were also able to be smaller so that they could be hand-held. As exposure times decreased, the first camera with a mechanical shutter was developed.
Cameras for Everyone
Photography was only for professionals or the very rich until George Eastman started a company called Kodak in the 1880s. Eastman created a flexible roll film that did not require the constant changing of solid plates. This allowed him to develop a self-contained box camera that held 100 exposures of film. This camera had a small single lens with no focusing adjustment. The consumer would take pictures and then send the camera back to the factory to for the film to be developed, much like our disposable cameras today. This was the first camera inexpensive enough for the average person to afford. The film was still large in comparison to today's 35mm film. It took until the late 1940s for 35mm film to become cheap enough for most people to afford.
The Horrors of War
Around 1930, Henri-Cartier Bresson and other photographers began to use small 35mm cameras to capture images of life as it occurred rather than staged portrait shots. When World War II started in 1939, many photojournalists adopted this style. The posed portraits of World War I soldiers gave way to graphic images of war and its aftermath. These images, such as Joel Rosenthal's photograph, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima brought the reality of war across the ocean and helped galvanize the American people like never before. This style of capturing decisive moments shaped the face of photography forever.
Instant Images
At the same time 35mm cameras were becoming popular, Polaroid introduced the Model 95. Model 95 used a secret chemical process to develop film inside the camera in less than a minute. This new camera was fairly expensive but the novelty of instant images caught the public's attention. By the mid 1960s, Polaroid had many models on the market and the price had dropped so that even more people could afford it.
Image Control
While the French introduced the permanent image, the Japanese brought easy control of their images to the photographer. In the 1950s Asahi, which later became Pentax, introduced the Asahiflex and Nikon introduced its Nikon F camera. These were both SLR-type cameras and the Nikon F allowed for interchangeable lenses and other accessories. For the next 30 years SLR-type cameras remained the camera of choice and many improvements were introduced to both the cameras and the film itself.
Smart Cameras
In the late 1970s and early 1980s compact cameras that were capable of making image control decisions on their own were introduced. These "point and shoot" cameras calculated shutter speed, aperture, and focus; leaving photographers free to concentrate on composition. While these cameras became immensely popular with casual photographers, professionals and serious amateurs continued to prefer to make their own adjustments to image control.
The Digital Age
In the 1980s and 1990s, numerous manufacturers worked on cameras that stored images electronically. The first of these were point and shoot cameras that used digital media instead of film. By 1991, Kodak had produced the first digital camera advanced enough to be used successfully by professionals. Other manufacturers quickly followed and today Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and other manufacturers all offer advanced digital SLR cameras. Even the most basic point and shoot camera now takes higher quality images than Niépce’s pewter plate.
A Brief History of Photography
Major Leaps in Photography
Beginnings
Photography started with a camera and the basic idea has been around since about the 5th Century B.C. For centuries these were just ideas until an Iraqi scientist developed something called the camera obscura sometime in the 11th Century. Even then, the camera did not actually record images, they simply projected them onto another surface. The images were also upside down. The first camera obscuras used a pinhole in a tent to project an image from outside the tent into the darkened area. It took until the 17th Century for camera obscuras to be made small enough to be portable and basic lenses to be added.
Permanent Images
Photography as we know it today began in the late 1830s in France when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used a portable camera obscura to expose a pewter plate coated with bitumen to light. This is the first recorded image that did not fade quickly.
Daguerreotype
This experiment led to collaboration between Niépce and Louis Daguerre that resulted in the creation of the Daguerreotype. Daguerreotypes were the forerunners to our modern film. A copper plate was coated with silver and exposed to iodine vapor before it was exposed to light. To create the image on the plate, the earlier Daguerreotypes had to be exposed to light for up to 15 minutes. The Daguerreotype was very popular until it was replaced in the late 1850s by emulsion plates.
Emulsion Plates
Emulsion plates, or wet plates, were less expensive than Daguerreotypes and took only two or three seconds of exposure time. This made them much more suited to portrait photography, which was the most common photography at the time. These wet plates used an emulsion process called the Collodion process, rather than a simple coating on the image plate. Two of these emulsion plates were ambrotype and tintype. Ambrotypes used a glass plate instead of the copper plate of the Daguerreotypes. Tintypes used a tin plate. While these plates were much more sensitive to light, they had to be developed quickly. It was during this time that bellows were added to cameras to help with focusing.
Dry Plates
In the 1870s, photography took another huge leap forward. Richard Maddox improved on a previous invention to make dry gelatine plates that were nearly equal with wet plates for speed and quality. These dry plates could be stored rather than made as needed. This allowed photographers much more freedom in taking photographs. Cameras were also able to be smaller so that they could be hand-held. As exposure times decreased, the first camera with a mechanical shutter was developed.
Cameras for Everyone
Photography was only for professionals or the very rich until George Eastman started a company called Kodak in the 1880s. Eastman created a flexible roll film that did not require the constant changing of solid plates. This allowed him to develop a self-contained box camera that held 100 exposures of film. This camera had a small single lens with no focusing adjustment. The consumer would take pictures and then send the camera back to the factory to for the film to be developed, much like our disposable cameras today. This was the first camera inexpensive enough for the average person to afford. The film was still large in comparison to today's 35mm film. It took until the late 1940s for 35mm film to become cheap enough for most people to afford.
The Horrors of War
Around 1930, Henri-Cartier Bresson and other photographers began to use small 35mm cameras to capture images of life as it occurred rather than staged portrait shots. When World War II started in 1939, many photojournalists adopted this style. The posed portraits of World War I soldiers gave way to graphic images of war and its aftermath. These images, such as Joel Rosenthal's photograph, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima brought the reality of war across the ocean and helped galvanize the American people like never before. This style of capturing decisive moments shaped the face of photography forever.
Instant Images
At the same time 35mm cameras were becoming popular, Polaroid introduced the Model 95. Model 95 used a secret chemical process to develop film inside the camera in less than a minute. This new camera was fairly expensive but the novelty of instant images caught the public's attention. By the mid 1960s, Polaroid had many models on the market and the price had dropped so that even more people could afford it.
Image Control
While the French introduced the permanent image, the Japanese brought easy control of their images to the photographer. In the 1950s Asahi, which later became Pentax, introduced the Asahiflex and Nikon introduced its Nikon F camera. These were both SLR-type cameras and the Nikon F allowed for interchangeable lenses and other accessories. For the next 30 years SLR-type cameras remained the camera of choice and many improvements were introduced to both the cameras and the film itself.
Smart Cameras
In the late 1970s and early 1980s compact cameras that were capable of making image control decisions on their own were introduced. These "point and shoot" cameras calculated shutter speed, aperture, and focus; leaving photographers free to concentrate on composition. While these cameras became immensely popular with casual photographers, professionals and serious amateurs continued to prefer to make their own adjustments to image control.
The Digital Age
In the 1980s and 1990s, numerous manufacturers worked on cameras that stored images electronically. The first of these were point and shoot cameras that used digital media instead of film. By 1991, Kodak had produced the first digital camera advanced enough to be used successfully by professionals. Other manufacturers quickly followed and today Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and other manufacturers all offer advanced digital SLR cameras. Even the most basic point and shoot camera now takes higher quality images than Niépce’s pewter plate.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Islamic Prayer Timings
Muslims observe five formal prayers each day. The timings of these prayers are spaced fairly evenly throughout the day, so that one is constantly reminded of God and given opportunities to seek His guidance and forgiveness.
Muslims observe the formal prayers at the following times:
Fajr (pre-dawn): This prayer starts off the day with the remembrance of God; it is performed before sunrise.
Dhuhr (noon): After the day's work has begun, one breaks shortly after noon to again remember God and seek His guidance.
'Asr (afternoon): In the late afternoon, people are usually busy wrapping up the day's work, getting kids home from school, etc. It is an important time to take a few minutes to remember God and the greater meaning of our lives.
Maghrib (sunset): Just after the sun goes down, Muslims remember God again as the day begins to come to a close.
'Isha (evening): Before retiring for the night, Muslims again take time to remember God's presence, guidance, mercy, and forgiveness.
In Muslim communities, people are reminded of the daily prayer times through the calling of the adhan. For those in Muslim-minority communities, computerized adhan programs are available.
In ancient times, one merely looked at the sun to determine the various times of day for prayer. In more modern times, daily prayer schedules are often printed which precisely pinpoint the beginning of each prayer time.
Muslims observe the formal prayers at the following times:
Fajr (pre-dawn): This prayer starts off the day with the remembrance of God; it is performed before sunrise.
Dhuhr (noon): After the day's work has begun, one breaks shortly after noon to again remember God and seek His guidance.
'Asr (afternoon): In the late afternoon, people are usually busy wrapping up the day's work, getting kids home from school, etc. It is an important time to take a few minutes to remember God and the greater meaning of our lives.
Maghrib (sunset): Just after the sun goes down, Muslims remember God again as the day begins to come to a close.
'Isha (evening): Before retiring for the night, Muslims again take time to remember God's presence, guidance, mercy, and forgiveness.
In Muslim communities, people are reminded of the daily prayer times through the calling of the adhan. For those in Muslim-minority communities, computerized adhan programs are available.
In ancient times, one merely looked at the sun to determine the various times of day for prayer. In more modern times, daily prayer schedules are often printed which precisely pinpoint the beginning of each prayer time.
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