Estonia enter the Euro zone

Estonia will be the 17th country using the Euro from tomorrow, January 1, 2011.

The euro zone is growing up.

Welcome Estonia

Translate with just one click

Translate words or phrases, without leaving the page you are viewing without having to copy and paste the text you want translated to another site specialized in translation.

The site http://www.markerr.com/ allows you to install a button on the toolbar of the browser and from there, just select the text you want and click on the button "Translate" installed.

To install this button, go to the site above. The installation is done by dragging the green button EASY TRANSLATE to the toolbar.


On the toolbar, you'll see a button similar to what is shown in the figure below.

To translate, select the text you want translated and then click the button installed in the browser bar. A box similar to the following appears.

Choose which language you want to translate (if that is not the default) and click translate.

The language of the written text is automatically detected.

Like all online translators individual words are translated very well. In complete sentences, there must be some tolerance with the suggested translation.

Data about Portugal

If you are interested in data about Portugal, there is a site dedicated to it. There are a lot of themes that you can search: population, health system, education, social protection, culture, ....

"PORDATA is a public service and inclusive project devised for a large number of users who share an interest in discovering more about Portugal."

Try it Pordata

Gmail Contacts lost - Restore them

If for any reason you loose your Gmail Contacts, don't despair. There is an easy way to restore them. The procedure is as follows:

1) Go to your Gmail Account
2) Select Contacts and then More Actions.

3) In the Drop Down Menu select Restore Contacts.
A form similar to the one at the left will appear.

Select the date and time to where you want your contacts to be restored.

Press the Restore button.

At the end of the process, a message will be shown indicating that your contacts have been restored to the desired date.

A different search engine Wolfram | Alpha

This search engine allows you to find the answer to questions and the response is obtained from a structured databases.

While traditional search engines typically return a list of places where you can obtain information on the research done, Wolfram | alpha directly answer the question.

As a result of this approach, if you enter a calculation, the answer is the resolution of that calculation. For example if you enter the equation x ^ 2-2x +5 = 0, Wolfram |Alpha shows the results of that equation, its graphical representation and how it was obtained. A good way to learn math.

If we type the name of two companies, we get a table where financial and statistical data about these companies are compared.

Try it.

Game Control: Mowie already makes furor in Minho Portugal (video)

With Mowie, a simple camera can interpret the movement, color and size of people up to 100 meters away.

The solution created in the Minho University promises to revolutionize video games.

The Mowie is based on an algorithm that allows one or more people to interact with a game or a computer environment with body movements.

Mowie has no restrictions regarding the lighting and can be used for a virtually unlimited number of users.

The new solution, which can operate with a camera without major technical requirements, may also proveuseful in building management and video surveillance systems.

The Mowie made the first public presentation during last Friday at the Center Utopia, Dreams and Projects (CUSP), Braga Portugal

Fonte: Exame Informática

Quantum machine was the discovery of the year

The creation of the first bridge between the quantum universe from the infinitely small and the visible world was considered the most significant discovery in 2010, according to U.S. magazine Science. The magazine Nature had revealed last March, the discovery of this machine.

Before this discovery, the description of the movements of the machines was carried out according to the laws of classical mechanics.

Andrew Cleland, John Martinis achieved a quantum effect on a large piece of metal that could be observed without the aid of any instrument. Through the use of superconducting electric circuit, they could observe the piece of metal with small and big vibrations at the same time - this effect is only possible under the laws of quantum mechanics.

Now would be a matter of time until they can observe the same object in two different places at the same time - said Adrian Cho, a journalist from Science.

Unlock PDF Files

If you protected your PDF file and forgot the password, do not despair. It is the right time for PDF Unlocker.

PDF Unlocker is a free utility that works by trying  various combinations to guess the password that is protecting the file. 

After selecting the original file, and specified the location and name for the new file, just press the Unlock PDF button. A new file with the contents of the original but unlocked will be created at the location specified by you. The original file remains unchanged.

This utility unprotected files that have been protected for:
editing
printing 
copying
extracting.

This is a tools for your toolbox.

Safe use of Smartphones

The increasingly intensive use of smartphones in our day to day, led the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) to study the risks of their use and make several recommendations on data security in these devices.

 
The main risks include spyware, weak data cleaning when the phones are recycled, accidental data loss and unauthorized telephone calls and SMS value-added.

The most important results of the report are the list of risks and recommending, a comprehensive set of strategies for maintaining the smartphone safer.

 
In summary, the recommendations are:

RECOMMENDATIONS

General Consumers:

• Automatic lock: set up your smartphone so that it locks automatically after a few minutes.
• Check the reputation: before installing or using the new smartphone applications and services, check their reputation. Never install any software for the device unless it is from a trusted source or that has been requested by you.
• Check permission requests: review requests for permission to install of applications or services on the smartphone.
• Reset and clear: Before disposing of or recycling their phones, wipe all data and settings.

Employees:

• Decommissioning: before being transferred to another user or recycled, carefully review all the data you have in your phone and delete them permanently.
•  Installing App: If sensitive corporate data are handled on the phone, or if the corporate network is available to your smartphone, you should define the list of approved applications (whitelist app) that can access company data.
• Confidentiality: use data encryption for data on your smartphone memory and removable devices.

Senior officials:

• No local data: do not store sensitive data locally and only allow online access to confidential data from a smartphone that does not keep data in cache.
• Cryptographic software: to use highly confidential, use encryption software for SMS and calls.
• Periodic Reload: smartphones should be periodically cleaned (using secure deletion) and reloaded with a disk image, specially prepared and tested.

This is a summary of a report from  ENISA. To read the full report click here.

Microsoft Fix It Center

Microsoft Fix It Center is a tool developed by Microsoft to help users solve problems on Windows. 

It can act preventively (running the various options before even you feel the problem) or repairing existing damage. Everything works with one click.
After installing, the use of this application is in fact very simple. Select the option where you feel the problems in Windows. If it is the first time you are using the option, click install and then click Run. After first use, just click Run at right of the option.
This utility works for Windows XP, Vista and Server.

A good night sleep

A study by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows that after a good night's sleep, people become more attractive and healthier. It is the first time a scientific study proves what was known as "beauty sleep".
The study was conducted by asking a group of observers to compare the photos of the volunteers before and after 8 hours sleep. The conclusion revealed that people with sleep have a less healthy, less attractive, with potential implications in decisions and social behavior.
Read the study in English here.