Etcetera
Gmail released a storage software update that introduced an unexpected bug which wiped out information from select accounts.
HOW THINGS WORK
All is not well with Gmail?
If you were one of the 17,000 Gmail users who, last fortnight, logged into their accounts to find it empty, here's what happened, how the missing mails were later retrieved, and how to back-up Gmail: CAUSE: Gmail released a storage software update that introduced an unexpected bug which wiped out information from select accounts.
How: Gmail's disaster recovery solution is its live replication, which means every action on Gmail is simultaneously sent to two data centres at once. Most times, if one centre fails, there is always the other as back-up. However, in this rare case, the software bug affected several copies of transferred data. The team at Gmail needed almost a week to restore the information.
Back-up: Apart from the two centres, Gmail also creates back-up on tapes that are offline. But while recovering mail from the online data centres is an almost instantaneous process, delving into offline back-up takes much longer.
DIY: To access your e-mail even when offline, select a programme that saves your e-mails to a hard drive or a secure storage site by using Gmail back-up or Fetchmail. Set up 'archive' e-mail, enable Gmail "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" in your settings, and select the option to download your mails. Save your changes after choosing to either let Gmail keep a copy or delete your e-mails once you've downloaded them.
JUST WONDERING
Steely resolve melts
What happened to ArcelorMittal's Rs 80,000 crore worth promises? The world's largest steel manufacturer had promised to bring in the biggestever foreign investment to set up two steel plants with a total capacity of 12 mt, one each in Jharkhand and Orissa. But the Jharkhand government has so far offered only a minuscule part of the 10,000 acres of land required by ArcelorMittal. The Orissa project, too, has not picked up yet. Now, there is news that the steel giant is downsizing its investment by as much as 50 per cent for the first phase of its Indian projects. ArcelorMittal's competitor, South Korean steel giant Posco had to wait for six controversy-ridden years before it got approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests this January to set up its own plant. Since 2005, almost 200 MOUs have been signed by mineral-rich states like Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, for projects with a total planned capacity of around 243 mt at a proposed investment of over Rs 5.14 lakh crore, but only a tiny number of them have taken off.
QUIRKY
Number game
Unlike Eathen Hunt in the Mission Impossible series, you do not need a prosthetic mask to get yourself a new identity. Nor do you need to pinch passports of unsuspecting tourists. All you require is the humble photocopier, Department of Telecommunications offi cials discovered. At fi rst they were stumped when they found that a Delhi-based woman had 117 mobile connections in her name. A probe revealed the woman had not even applied for a mobile connection. All she did was get her voter ID photocopied at the neighbourhood Xerox shop. More copies were made than she asked for, and were surreptitiously passed on. And voila! Soon there were over 117 mobile connections in her name. All thanks to the photocopies.
SNOOT CORNER
Cigars
Traditionally, few things showcased masculinity as well as smoking a cigar did. Cigars lend an air of sophistication to the smoker and point to a refi ned lifestyle. They come in two distinctive shapes. Parejo cigars are rectangular with one slightly rounded end, while the Figurado ones are cylindrical and have a pointed cap. Figurados are more expensive. Even today, high-end cigars are rolled by hand. Cuba provides the best climate for growing good tobacco as well as the best artisans to craft cigars. Hence the tag that the best cigars are Cuban.
All is not well with Gmail?
If you were one of the 17,000 Gmail users who, last fortnight, logged into their accounts to find it empty, here's what happened, how the missing mails were later retrieved, and how to back-up Gmail: CAUSE: Gmail released a storage software update that introduced an unexpected bug which wiped out information from select accounts.
How: Gmail's disaster recovery solution is its live replication, which means every action on Gmail is simultaneously sent to two data centres at once. Most times, if one centre fails, there is always the other as back-up. However, in this rare case, the software bug affected several copies of transferred data. The team at Gmail needed almost a week to restore the information.
Back-up: Apart from the two centres, Gmail also creates back-up on tapes that are offline. But while recovering mail from the online data centres is an almost instantaneous process, delving into offline back-up takes much longer.
DIY: To access your e-mail even when offline, select a programme that saves your e-mails to a hard drive or a secure storage site by using Gmail back-up or Fetchmail. Set up 'archive' e-mail, enable Gmail "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" in your settings, and select the option to download your mails. Save your changes after choosing to either let Gmail keep a copy or delete your e-mails once you've downloaded them.
JUST WONDERING
Steely resolve melts
What happened to ArcelorMittal's Rs 80,000 crore worth promises? The world's largest steel manufacturer had promised to bring in the biggestever foreign investment to set up two steel plants with a total capacity of 12 mt, one each in Jharkhand and Orissa. But the Jharkhand government has so far offered only a minuscule part of the 10,000 acres of land required by ArcelorMittal. The Orissa project, too, has not picked up yet. Now, there is news that the steel giant is downsizing its investment by as much as 50 per cent for the first phase of its Indian projects. ArcelorMittal's competitor, South Korean steel giant Posco had to wait for six controversy-ridden years before it got approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests this January to set up its own plant. Since 2005, almost 200 MOUs have been signed by mineral-rich states like Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, for projects with a total planned capacity of around 243 mt at a proposed investment of over Rs 5.14 lakh crore, but only a tiny number of them have taken off.
QUIRKY
Number game
Unlike Eathen Hunt in the Mission Impossible series, you do not need a prosthetic mask to get yourself a new identity. Nor do you need to pinch passports of unsuspecting tourists. All you require is the humble photocopier, Department of Telecommunications offi cials discovered. At fi rst they were stumped when they found that a Delhi-based woman had 117 mobile connections in her name. A probe revealed the woman had not even applied for a mobile connection. All she did was get her voter ID photocopied at the neighbourhood Xerox shop. More copies were made than she asked for, and were surreptitiously passed on. And voila! Soon there were over 117 mobile connections in her name. All thanks to the photocopies.
SNOOT CORNER
Cigars
Traditionally, few things showcased masculinity as well as smoking a cigar did. Cigars lend an air of sophistication to the smoker and point to a refi ned lifestyle. They come in two distinctive shapes. Parejo cigars are rectangular with one slightly rounded end, while the Figurado ones are cylindrical and have a pointed cap. Figurados are more expensive. Even today, high-end cigars are rolled by hand. Cuba provides the best climate for growing good tobacco as well as the best artisans to craft cigars. Hence the tag that the best cigars are Cuban.
