Robotic systems assist in performing delicate, precise surgeries, including laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, types. In robot-assisted surgery, surgeons make small incisions and place ports in the patient through which they run tubes. These carry cameras and surgical instruments that improve visualization and control in hard-to-reach places inside the patient. The surgeon uses a console to control the arms, offering a safer and more efficient alternative to the traditional open surgery with its larger incisions and increased risk.see the video robotic surgery

Indeed, so efficient is the nascent robotic-surgery movement there is already a strong local footprint in its deployment. Among the institutions using surgical robotics are Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Boston, and Massachusetts General Hospital. The robots there assist in urological, cardiac, gynecological and other laparoscopic procedures.

Despite their newness, cost, big size and special training requirements, these systems are helping physicians, observed Hiep Nguyen, a urologist at Children’s Hospital. Since 2001, specially trained surgeons at Children’s have been deploying robots in complicated procedures. With robotic procedures, surgeons are more effective and patients recover faster and endure less pain, among other benefits, he said.

As an example, it would normally take a proficient surgeon about two to three minutes to tie a knot with conventional laparoscopy. However, with the robot, it can take just 10 to 30 seconds. A standard laparoscopic pyeloplasty — kidney operation — can take four to five hours, but with the robot it may take only one to two hours. His research has also indicated that the quality of the surgery performed by the robot is superior to that of manual laparoscopy.

Those benefits have resulted at a growth rate of 50 percent annually since 2004 for the leading surgical robotic system, according to Mark Manasas, manager of the surgical and interventional products group at Boston-based Cambridge Consultants Inc. The firm offers consulting services for engineering and technology development, including the field of robotic surgery.

“It’s part of a big tide,” said Kathleen Hagan, president of Watertown-based management consultancy Hagan & Co., who oversaw a study of the Massachusetts robotics industry last year. “The fact that it’s gotten so big so fast tells you the market is here.”

New England — and the Boston area, in particular, with its considerable academic, hospital, and other robotic research development resources — is in an excellent position to reap the benefits of the surgical robotics movement, said Nguyen. Yet the biggest robotics player by far is Intuitive Surgical Inc., based in Sunnyvale, Calif. Its da Vinci robotic-assisted systems and procedures have locked in about 70 percent of the existing market, according to estimates. In 2004, there were 286 da Vincis in the field, while for 2009 Cambridge Consultants expects the installed total to be about 1,300. There is nothing like it in Massachusetts, where no company has yet fielded a product, said Nguyen, who is also co-director of the Center for Robotic Surgery and director of Robotic Surgery Research and Training at Children’s.

Intuitive said that da Vincis have been used in tens of thousands of operations, including general, urologic, gynecologic, thoracoscopic, and thoracoscopically assisted cardiotomy procedures.

One interesting local company is Westwood-based startup HeartLander Surgical Inc., which is developing a device that can be deployed on the surface of a beating heart. The company is still pre-clinical, according to CEO Richard Berenson. “Lots more animals to go before we are ready for people,” he said in an e-mail response to questions.

No other homegrown product is even close to the marketplace, said Nguyen. Nevertheless, there are smaller, less visible ventures ongoing for a variety of robotic applications. For instance, Children’s is working with small companies to bring various technologies to market, including a system for treating trauma of the abdomen, said Nguyen.

The experts acknowledged the problems, which include educating investors on the potential of the field. Moreover, a lot of questions remain. The robotic surgery industry is begging for proof that there are long-term benefits to the patient. “The problem here is you’ve got to do a study over five years or nine years, to show the benefits last longer than what is already on the market,” said Manasas.

“The true utility to patient outcomes is still being defined,” said Peter Dunn, executive medical director of the operating room at Mass. General Hospital. Most of the statistical benefits are from the robotic vendors themselves and not third parties. “I would say we’re in the infancy of the technology.”

Despite the obstacles, one thing in favor of robotics is that patients see it as a plus, said Dunn. In fact, some patients will only go to the hospital that provides the technology, he said.

Given that demand will grow, there is going to be opportunity for investors and inventors, said experts. The question remains, however, if the New England investment and invention community will get much of a share of that opportunity or leave it to other players.

Opera Software was founded as an independent company on August 30, 1995 by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir Ivarsøy.^[4] The company was created to continue what was originally a research project at Telenor, the largest Norwegian telecommunications company.

Opera Software’s first product, the Opera web browser version 2.1 for Windows, was released in 1997. Opera Software had an IPO in February 2004, and was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange March 11, 2004.

In an attempt to capitalize on the emerging market for Internet-connected handheld devices, a project to port the Opera browser to more platforms was started in 1998.Opera 4.0, released in 2000, included a new cross-platform core that facilitated creation of editions of Opera for multiple operating systems and platforms.

Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, chief executive officer

Up to this point, the Opera browser was trialware and had to be purchased after the trial period ended. But version 5.0 (released in 2000) saw the end of the trial period requirement. Instead, Opera became ad-sponsored, displaying advertisements to users without a license. Users could still buy licenses for several years, however. Later versions of Opera gave the user the choice of seeing banner ads or targeted text advertisements from Google.

On January 12, 2005, Opera Software announced that it would offer free licenses to higher education institutions — a change from the previous cost of $1,000 USD for unlimited licenses. Schools that opted for the free license included Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, University of Oxford, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Duke University. Opera was commonly criticized for having been ad-sponsored, since this was seen as a barrier to gaining market share. In the newer versions the user was allowed a choice of generic graphical banners, or text-based targeted advertisements provided by Google based upon the page being viewed. Users could pay a license fee to remove the advertisement bar.

With version 8.5 (released in 2005) the advertisements were removed entirely and primary financial support came through revenue from Google (which is by contract Opera’s default search engine).

The introduction in August 2005 of “Opera Mini“, a Java ME based web browser for mobile phones marketed not to end users but to mobile network operators, possibly marks a new direction towards directly revenue-generating business, making the company less dependent on give-away and advertising-based Internet software.

Håkon Wium Lie, chief technical officer

On September 20, 2005, Opera announced that it would remove the advertising from its browser and remain free of charge. Although Opera was free to download and use before this change, it had previously displayed an advertising banner unless the user purchased a license. The move was made in the hope that it would prompt more users to switch to the Opera browser. However, Opera does continue to charge for its “Opera Mobile” product which runs on many Mobile devices.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_Software

by: Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation. Info@fstc.co.uk

Reservoirs

By far, the most original Muslim reservoirs are to be found in tmhe region of Qayrawan in Tunisia. A lengthy (about 270 pages) account of such structures is offered by the French Solignac.(endnote 26) These reservoirs, possibly for their high aesthetics, and like many other Islamic achievements,(endnote 27) were attributed, despite all evidence,(endnote 28) to both Phoenicians(endnote 29) and Romans.(endnote 30) Such erroneous views were adopted by a number of scholars until modern archaeological excavations and advanced studies proved the Islamic origin of such structures. These reservoirs have two basins, one used for decantation, one as a reserve, and at times a third one for drawing water out of it. Other than their impressive numbers, over two hundred and fifty in the region, such reservoirs also offer a great attraction in their form and structure.

The photograph of the `Basin des Aghlabides,’ built in the ninth century by Abu Ibrahim Ahmed reveals, indeed, a sort of temple of water, it is hoped, still preserved in its majesty.

Water Management

Water management in all its intricacies, from Andalusia to Afghanistan, Bolens reminds, was the basis of agriculture, and source of all life. All the Kitab al-Filahat (books of agriculture), whatever their origin, Maghribian, Andalusian; Egyptian, Iraqi; Persian or Yemenite, insist, and meticulously, on the deployment of equipment and on the control of water.(endnote 31) The authorities of the time played a crucial role in that, too. In Iraq, as a rule, hydraulic tasks of a vast nature were left to the state, while the local population focussed its efforts on lesser ones.(endnote 32)

In Egypt, a more elaborate picture comes out.(endnote 33) There, indeed, the management of The Nile waters was most crucial to every single aspect of life, and dams responded to such necessity. Both al-Nuwayri(endnote 34) and al-Makrizi(endnote 35) stressed the role of maintenance of dams and waterways of the Nile for maximum benefits. It was the responsibility for both sultans and holders of large holdings, under both Ayyubids and Mamelouks, to dig and clean canals and maintain dams. As in Iraq the sultan took over the larger structures, and the people the lesser ones. Most distinguished Amirs and officials were also made chief supervisors of such works.(endnote 36) Under the Mamluks there was even an officer for the inspection of dams for each province of Egypt: the Kashif al-Djusur.(endnote 37)

Water Storage

Dams are used to store water, and this has major implications on economic and social life. Smith observes that `not only do dams represent some of the most impressive achievements of engineers over the centuries, but their vital role in supplying water to towns and cities, irrigating dry lands, providing a source of power and controlling floods is more than sufficient to rank dam building amongst the most essential aspects of man’s attempt to harness, control and improve his environment.(endnote 38) Effective storage and use of water for irrigation, for instance, can have dramat ic repercussions, in cheapening the process and bringing into use lands that were hitherto impossible or uneconomic to irrigate.(endnote 39)

Both Spain and Sicily offer good illustrations of that. Water is also stored for the aim of providing power for milling. In Khuzistan, at the Pul-I-Bulaiti dam on the Ab-i-Gargar, the mills were installed in tunnels cut through the rock at each side of the channel, constituting one of the earliest examples of hydro-power dams, and not the only one in the Muslim world.(endnote 40) Another example is the bridge-dam at Dizful, which was used to provide power to operate a noria that was fifty cubits in diameter, which supplied all the houses of the town.(endnote 41) Many such hydraulic works can still be seen today.(endnote 42)

Transfer of Hydraulic Technology to Europe

The Islamic mastery of hydraulic technology is far more advanced than acknowledged by some of the sources many writers are too keen to follow. Some references are keen to distort the exact role of Muslim engineering skills. Indeed, to the likes of Gimpel(endnote 43) and White,(endnote 44) the Muslims hardly made any contributions in such a field. Reality, however, is far the opposite. First and foremost, the hydraulic works of the Ancients were found by the Muslims in a terrible state of decay and ruin,(endnote 45) and they did not just repair them, but also added considerable skills of their own. To Spain, for instance, the Muslims brought irrigation techniques which not only laid the foundations for the prosperity of the country, but also with nothing as elaborate and as efficient seen before in Europe.(endnote 46)

After the country was retaken by Christian forces, the Muslims, masters of great skills then, were allowed to retain their functions and serve the new crown. Alongside builders, paper and textile makers, manufacturers of iron and experts of all sorts, the Spaniards also retained and used Muslim irrigation works, their attendant rules and even regulations.(endnote 47) And as soon as the Muslims, who refusing to be baptized as Christians were expelled, or massacred, economic ruin, and famine always followed.(endnote 48) And Spain never recovered its former prosperity and levels of advancement once the Muslims had been eliminated from its land. Hill also notes that the introduction of desilting sluices, the arch dam, and hydropower made their first appearances in the Islamic world, observing that it is `difficult to see how these can be other than Muslim inventions.’(endnote 49)

Further illustration of Islamic impact in the field is not just obvious through the works of Hill, Pacey, Smith and others, it is also visible via the works of Muslim engineers themselves as can still be observed through the remains of old age storage structures all over the Islamic land. Furthermore, White’s, Gimpel’s and their followers’ argument lacks historical backing, for the major changes that took place in Europe, and not just in terms of hydraulic technology, but all others,(endnote 50) did, and without one single exception, at the time the Europeans came into contact with the flourishing Islamic civilisation (twelfth-thirteenth centuries), and not the centuries before. Also, the fact that Western technology in nearly every respect is identical to the Islamic one offers further evidence of such impact.

by: FSTC Limited, Sun 30 December, 2001

DSGi, one of the UK’s biggest computer retailers, said that they have had more pre-orders for Windows 7 in the past 3 weeks than they had for Windows Vista in a year!

Windows 7 free upgrade from Vista – The argument

As long time readers will know, I believe Windows 7 should be given to Windows Vista users, as a free upgrade.

Many Windows Vista users feel they were unpaid beta testers and that Microsoft has used their time and their error reporting with Vista, to help them produce Windows 7.  I agree!  In fact, many people have suggested that Windows 7 should have been rolled out as a Service pack for Vista.

These users should either get a free copy of Windows 7 OR AT LEAST a massively discounted copy.

Microsoft’s Windows 7 PR blunder

Microsoft’s latest OS is superb and if you are a Widows user, you will almost certainly love it.  It’s just a pity that Microsoft didn’t use the launch of Windows 7, to win back some good faith from millions of angry Vista users.  These people are now using an inferior OS and have to cough-up if they want to use an OS, which I believe they deserve for free.  I blogged about this here.

What do you think?

Should you have to pay for Windows 7, if you already own Vista?

The app comes just shy of a month after the release of the company’s application for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users, which quickly became the top free application in the App Store and grabbed a million downloads within a week of its release.

The version for Android shares the same, simple editing UI as the iPhone/iPod version, both of which let users make edits by sliding their fingers across the screen and undo any changes made. It also features some very basic photo editing tools like crop, rotate, and image flip, as well as controls for adjusting exposure and tweaking color tint and saturation. Android users even get one new tool that iPhone/iPod users don’t even have yet, which lets them straighten a shot against a grid.

Here’s the bad news though: Android users are getting a slightly-less featured version than those who use it on iPhones or iPods. The Android version is missing a whole menu full of filter effects, which can be one of the most enjoyable aspects of using the app. It’s also missing the sketch tool, which can add a neat cartoonish effect to photos.

There is one feature that could make up for these omissions though, and that is the inclusion of an auto-uploader that can automatically send any photo you take on your Android device to Photoshop.com’s cloud storage. Users just need to turn the option in within the app, and it will do it whether they have the app running or not. The only downside to this, is that just like on the iPhone/iPod version, you can only enter the Photoshop app’s editing mode on photos that are stored locally.

Photoshop for Android can be found right now on the Android Marketplace

Why do people have to shout?
My ears still hear the same!
OK! So I’ve done things wrong
And I’m the one to blame.

But even then, why must they shout?
It doesn’t help me much
I need a gentle word that guides
And someone’s cuddly touch!

So if politely you could try
To tell me and explain
That’s a better start to help me
Not do it again.

I want to be a good Muslim
Please help me every time
So do not grumble, shout or mumble
Be a bit more kind!

(www.Islam4kids.com)

Active Form

In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.

[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]

Passive Form

In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action.

[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing action]

Active / Passive Overview

Before you begin the verb tense lessons, it is extremely important to understand that NOT all English verbs are the same. English verbs are divided into three groups: Normal Verbs, Non-Continuous Verbs, and Mixed Verbs.

Group I Normal Verbs

Most verbs are “Normal Verbs.” These verbs are usually physical actions which you can see somebody doing. These verbs can be used in all tenses.

Normal Verbs

to run, to walk, to eat, to fly, to go, to say, to touch, etc.

Group II Non-Continuous Verbs

The second group, called “Non-Continuous Verbs,” is smaller. These verbs are usually things you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in continuous tenses. They include:

Abstract Verbs

to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to contain, to owe, to exist…

Possession Verbs

to possess, to own, to belong…

Emotion Verbs

to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to envy, to mind…

Group III Mixed Verbs

The third group, called “Mixed Verbs,” is the smallest group. These verbs have more than one meaning. In a way, each meaning is a unique verb. Some meanings behave like “Non-Continuous Verbs,” while other meanings behave like “Normal Verbs.”

Mixed Verbs

to appear, to feel, to have, to hear, to look, to see, to weigh…

List of Mixed Verbs with Examples and Definitions:

to appear:

Donna appears confused. Non-Continuous Verb
Donna seems confused.
My favorite singer is appearing at the jazz club tonight. Normal Verb
My favorite singer is giving a performance at the jazz club tonight.

to have:

I have a dollar now. Non-Continuous Verb
I possess a dollar.
I am having fun now. Normal Verb
I am experiencing fun now.

to hear:

She hears the music. Non-Continuous Verb
She hears the music with her ears.
She is hearing voices. Normal Verb
She hears something others cannot hear. She is hearing voices in her mind.

to look:

Nancy looks tired. Non-Continuous Verb
She seems tired.
Farah is looking at the pictures. Normal Verb
She is looking with her eyes.

to miss:

John misses Sally. Non-Continuous Verb
He is sad because she is not there.
Debbie is missing her favorite TV program. Normal Verb
She is not there to see her favorite program.

to see:

I see her. Non-Continuous Verb
I see her with my eyes.
I am seeing the doctor. Normal Verb
I am visiting or consulting with a doctor. (Also used with dentist and lawyer.)
I am seeing her. Normal Verb
I am having a relationship with her.
He is seeing ghosts at night. Normal Verb
He sees something others cannot see. For example ghosts, aura, a vision of the future, etc.

to smell:

The coffee smells good. Non-Continuous Verb
The coffee has a good smell.
I am smelling the flowers. Normal Verb
I am sniffing the flowers to see what their smell is like.

to taste:

The coffee tastes good. Non-Continuous Verb
The coffee has a good taste.
I am tasting the cake. Normal Verb
I am trying the cake to see what it tastes like.

to think:

He thinks the test is easy. Non-Continuous Verb
He considers the test to be easy.
She is thinking about the question. Normal Verb
She is pondering the question, going over it in her mind.

to weigh:

The table weighs a lot. Non-Continuous Verb
The table is heavy.
She is weighing herself. Normal Verb
She is determining her weight.

Some Verbs Can Be Especially Confusing:

to be:

Joe is American. Non-Continuous Verb
Joe is an American citizen.
Joe is being very American. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving like a stereotypical American.
Joe is being very rude. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving very rudely. Usually he is not rude.
Joe is being very formal. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving very formally. Usually he is not formal.

NOTICE: Only rarely is “to be” used in a continuous form. This is most commonly done when a person is temporarily behaving badly or stereotypically. It can also be used when someone’s behavior is noticeably different.

to feel:

The massage feels great. Non-Continuous Verb
The massage has a pleasing feeling.
I don’t feel well today. Sometimes used as Non-Continuous Verb
I am a little sick.
I am not feeling well today. Sometimes used as Normal Verb
I am a little sick.

Incoming Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison became the first Muslim member of the U.S. Congress January 4, 2007. swearing his oath of office on a copy of the Quran that belonged to the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. “Look at that. That’s something else,” Ellison, D-Minn., said as officials from the Library of Congress showed him the two-volume Quran, which was published in London in 1764.

Ellison took the ceremonial oath with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at his side. So many of Ellison’s family members attended the ceremony that it was done in two takes.

Ellison had already planned to be sworn in using a Quran, rather than a Bible. He learned recently about Jefferson’s Quran, with its multicolored cover and brown leather binding, and arranged to borrow it.

In a recent interview, Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert said the choice of Jefferson’s Quran was significant because it “dates religious tolerance back to the time of our founding fathers.”

“Jefferson was … one of the more profound thinkers of the time, who recognized even then that there was nothing to fear, and in fact there was strength in recognizing religious tolerance,” he said.

Although the Library of Congress is right across the street from the Capitol, library officials took extra precautions in delivering the Quran for the ceremony. To protect it from the elements, they placed the Quran in a rectangular box and handled it with a green felt wrapper once inside the Capitol.

Instead of using surface streets, they walked it over via a series of winding, underground tunnels – a trip that took more than 15 minutes. Guards then ran the book through security machines at the Capitol.

The Quran was acquired in 1815 as part of a more than 6,400-volume collection that Jefferson sold for $24,000 to replace the congressional library that had been burned by British troops the year before, in the War of 1812. Jefferson, the nation’s third president, was a collector of books in all topics and languages.

The book’s leather binding was added in 1919. Inside, it reads, “The Koran”, Jefferson marked his ownership by writing the letter “J” next to the letter “T” that was already at the bottom of pages, according to Mark Dimunation, chief of the Library of Congress’ rare book and special collections division.

Ellison, the first black member of Congress from Minnesota, was born in Detroit and converted to Islam in college. He said earlier this week that he chose to use this Quran because it showed that a visionary like Jefferson believed that wisdom could be gleaned from many sources.

Some critics have argued that only a Bible should be used for the swearing-in. Last month, Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., warned that unless immigration is tightened, “many more Muslims” will be elected and follow Ellison’s lead.

Ellison approached Goode on the House floor Thursday, introducing himself and offering to meet for coffee. According to Ellison, Goode said he’d be interested in doing that. The subject of Goode’s comments didn’t come up, Ellison said.

“Look, we’re trying to build bridges,” Ellison said. “We’re trying to help bring about understanding. We don’t want issues of misunderstanding and division to exist if they don’t have to.”

Jefferson’s 6,000-volume personal library was the largest in North America at the turn of the 19th century.  He obtained his English translation of the Quran in 1765 as he was finishing his law studies at the College of William and Mary.  The translation by British historian and solicitor George Sale first was published in 1734.  The Quran, along with the rest of Jefferson’s books, became the basis of the Library of Congress after British troops burned the U.S. Capitol, destroying the old congressional collection in the War of 1812.

While Jefferson is best known for writing the Declaration of Independence, he also penned the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which served as a basis for the religion clauses in the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

In the Virginia statute, he wrote, “Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry.”  He went on to say that denying a person the ability to hold an office of trust or declaring him unworthy of public confidence based on his religious beliefs was a violation of natural rights.

The document demanded “that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.”

It is believed that Jefferson was inspired by the teaching of the Quran, prohibiting compulsion in religion and forcing religious doctrines.  Also the foundation for “all men are created Equal” and “men are born free” are some of the indications for the Quran as a source for guidance “no compulsion in religion” Quran 2:256.

The Qur’an is “definitely an important historical document in our national history and demonstrates that Jefferson was a broad visionary thinker who not only possessed a Qur’an, but read it,” Ellison said in an interview with the Free Press. “It would have been something that contributed to his own thinking.”  Ellison also said that Jefferson’s Qur’an “shows that from the earliest times of this republic, the Qur’an was in the consciousness of people who brought about democracy.”

The statute was one of Jefferson’s proudest achievements.  He instructed that his tombstone should not refer to him as president of the United States but should remember him only as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the founder of the University of Virginia.