A 2009 technology wish list

Wish lists often accompany celebrations around the beginning of a new year. And why not?

There’s a lot to hope for — especially in the world of technology, which has always promised to help us do more with less.

Too often, though, technology ends up getting in our way rather than paving the path to our success. Here are some wishes for how technology could live up to its promise this year.
Read the PDF version

New Year Will Come a Second Later

Cellphones and computers will automatically reset by picking the new time signals from the internet.

New Year revellers will have to hold their drinks a second longer to usher in year 2009. This is because an extra second will be added to our standard time measurements, which are based on atomic clocks, on the cusp of 2009 to bring it in sync with the rotation of te Earth.

The International Earth Rotation Service, which measures Earth's rotation, will determine the time when the leap happens. The correction is done with a software. Cellphones and computers will automatically reset by picking the new time signals from the internet.

While atomic clocks are accurate, the rotation of the Earth is not. Over a period of time, the time taken by the Earth to rotate around its axis is falling behind by a fraction of a second due to various natural factors such as solar wind, magnetic storms, the atmosphere and even disturbances like earthquakes. This necessitates a correction.

UK's official timekeepers at the National Physical Laboratory consider their atomic clocks more than a million times more stable than the Earth's rotation. "The two methods of measuring time slowly drift apart and we occasionally have to add or subtract a leap second to the atomic clocks to make sure astronomical and atomic time remain synchronised," says a researcher.

While adding leap seconds to clocks and computer systems is expensive and time consuming, it cannot be avoided. As Peter Whibberley of the National Physical Laboratory notes, if leap seconds were scrapped, over hundreds of years the time of night and day would drift away from the time shown by our clocks. So, one day our clocks would show night happening at midday!

Leap second corrections have come about every 18 months with the last correction done at the end of 2005.

Those interested in witnessing the event can visit time.gov just before the update and click on their time zone.

By Techtree

Anni sworn in as Maldives 4th President

Mohamed Nasheed (Anni), leader of Maldivan Democratic Party-MDP has been sworn in as the new President of Maldives in a special session of the People’s Majlis, this morning held at Dharubaaruge.

Congratulations and best wishes to H.E. Mohamed Nasheed on the occasion of assumption of office of the President of the Republic of Maldives, wish you all the best Mr. President.

Welcome to Aneh Dhivehi Rajje

Yeah Guys its party time...Anni won back the nation from a brutal dictatorship.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2008 PROVISIONAL RESULT (official)

Mohamed Nasheed (Anni), Kenereege, Male'
54.21 %
[97,222 votes]

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Ma.Kinbigasdhoshuge, Male'
45.79 %
[82,121 votes]

For more details visit the election commission's web portal :results

Wathan Edhey Gothah - CHANGE The DICTATORSHIP

Asia's longest-serving dictator faces a unified opposition backing his oldest political rival on Tuesday in a run-off presidential election in the Maldives.

Tommorow's run off comes after Maldivians voted on Oct. 9 in what were the country's first-ever multiparty polls, the culmination of years of agitation for democratic reforms.

Meanwhile the oppositions support is growing rapidly as the country faces the final challenge after 30 years of cruel dictatorship by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who still got his auto "bots" in the parliament.

So its our duty this time to work hard to remove this barabric 30 years old regime from power to save this country from corruption and for a better future!.

We at TMT urges all the citizens to work to end this dictatorship and work for a smooth changeover. Thirty years is more than enough for any ruler to bring anything he wants to any place - its enough and its a real shame for a small country to keep a dictatorship in this way!

The Last EID & Moon for Mau'moon as president

This Eid is perhaps the most remarkable Eid for our dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom as we are celebrating the final days of this cruel man as our president!

So we welcome all Maldivians to take part of this remarkable event and enjoy the the final goodbye of our so called Golhaabo who served us with iron fist rule for almost 30 years.

Pic: Baghdad - 1980: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom meeting with Saddam Hussain

Golhaa can’t accept that people genuinely hate him now

It’s amazing how Golhaabo cannot get into his thick demented head that people are protesting against him across the country because they genuinely hate his guts and want nothing more than see him removed from power. In fact, most people would love to see him dragged naked through the streets of Male’.

In the past couple of weeks, the ‘Demented One’ has been touring the country campaigning to muster support for the upcoming presidential election, in which the people of Maldives for the first time will get the opportunity to vote for a candidate of their choice rather than endorse or reject a chosen candidate, as in the past few decades.

Golhaabo and his camp faced a huge crowd of protestors in the capital of Huvadhoo Atoll South, Thinadhoo this week. They shouted abuse at him and called for his resignation. It is because after 30 years of dictatorship under this cruel and selfish man, the people have somehow got their rights to free expression and assembly now. And, they will continue to do so.

Read More from DO review blog.

>>Join to stop Maumoon using public funds to run his own party<<