"Genius" DVDs can harm babies

Watching DVDs
Depending on your child's age, 'genius' DVDs can either slow their ability to learn new words, or have no effect at all DVDs and videos said to stimulate babies' brains can slow vocabulary development if they are overused, US researchers report.

For every hour a day spent watching such recordings, infants aged 8 to 16 months understand an average six to eight fewer words than babies who do not watch them, says Associate Professor Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington and colleagues.

Older toddlers are not harmed or helped by the videos, the researchers report in the Journal of Pediatrics.

"The most important fact to come from this study is there is no clear evidence of a benefit coming from baby DVDs and videos, and there is some suggestion of harm," Zimmerman says.

"The bottom line is the more a child watches baby DVDs and videos, the bigger the effect. The amount of viewing does matter."

Zimmerman and colleagues conducted random telephone interviews with more than 1000 families with babies and asked detailed questions about television and video viewing.

Parents of the 8- to 16-month-olds were asked how many words like choo-choo, mummy and nose their child understood.

Parents of the toddlers were asked how many words like truck, cookie and balloon their children knew.

"The results surprised us, but they make sense. There are only a fixed number of hours that young babies are awake and alert," says Professor Andrew Meltzoff, a psychologist who worked on the study.

"If the 'alert time' is spent in front of DVDs and TV, instead of with people speaking in 'parentese' - that melodic speech we use with little ones - the babies are not getting the same linguistic experience," Meltzoff adds.

"Parents and caretakers are the baby's first and best teachers. They instinctively adjust their speech, eye gaze and social signals to support language acquisition.

"Watching attention-getting DVDs and TV may not be an even swap for warm social human interaction at this age. Old kids may be different, but the youngest babies seem to learn language best from people."

Dr Dimitri Christakis, a paediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute who worked on the study, says parents frequently ask him about the value of such videos.

"The evidence is mounting that they are of no value and may in fact be harmful," Christakis says.

Red and Blue Foods Are The Cancer Fighters

· Health properties detected in new laboratory tests
· Pigment can slow growth or even kill tumour cells

* Ian Sample, science correspondent

Natural pigments that give certain fruit and vegetables a rich red, purple or blue colour act as powerful anti-cancer agents, according to a study by American scientists.

The compounds, found in foods such as aubergines, red cabbage, elderberries and bilberries, restricted the growth of cancer cells and in some cases killed them off entirely, leaving healthy cells unharmed.

The study combined laboratory tests on human cancer cells with experiments on animals that were designed to see whether a diet rich in the foods made a difference to their risk of developing cancer.

Foods with the highest levels of the compounds were most effective at slowing cancer growth, with exotic purple corn and chokeberries stopping the growth of colon cancer cells and killing 20% in lab tests. Foods less enriched with the pigments, such as radishes and black carrots, slowed the growth of colon cancer cells by 50% to 80%.

The findings bring scientists closer to unravelling the key ingredients responsible for giving fruit and vegetables their cancer-fighting properties.

Because the pigments, which belong to a class of antioxidant compounds known as anthocyanins, are not easily absorbed by the bloodstream, they travel through the stomach to the gastrointestinal tract, where they are taken up by surrounding tissues.

Their survival through to the lower part of the intestine may be the key to their role in preventing cancers in the tract, the scientists believe.

Researchers led by Monica Giusti, an expert in plant nutrients at Ohio State University, extracted anthocyanins from a variety of exotic and more common fruits and vegetables that all had a deep red, blue or purple hue and added them to flasks containing a suspension of human colon cancer cells.

When the team calculated how much of each extract was needed to reduce cancer cell growth by 50%, they found anthocyanin from purple corn to be the most potent. Chokeberries and bilberries were nearly as effective, while radish anthocyanin required nine times as much - or 131 micrograms per millilitre of cancer cell solution to cut cell growth by half.

In a second study, the researchers fed rats with colon cancer a diet of anthocyanin extracts from bilberries and chokeberries, which are most often used as flavourings in jams and fruit drinks. Colon tumours in the rats fell by 60% to 70% compared with a control group that were not given anthocyanin.

"All fruits and vegetables that are rich in anthocyanins have compounds that can slow down the growth of colon cancer cells, whether in experiments in laboratory dishes or inside the body."
The team are now investigating whether it is possible to modify the structure of the pigment compounds to make them even more potent. Tentative results so far suggest that grafting an extra sugar or acid molecule to the anthocyanins improved their effectiveness.
The work is part of a long-term investigation aimed at a greater understanding of the 600 anthocyanins found in nature. "We're just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding how the body absorbs and uses these different structures," Dr Giusti said.

In June, market researchers reported that sales of anthocyanin-rich blueberries had doubled in the past two years. The berries joined a growing list of what associations marketing the products call "superfoods", alongside oily fish, brazil nuts and tomatoes. Anthocyanins have previously been linked to helping towards a healthy heart and with treating skin conditions.

Source : www.guardian.co.uk

Get Your Custom Laptop Design by NVousPC

With the prevalence of laptop thefts around, here’s a good way to distinguish your laptop from the rest of the pack. NVousPC lets you design your own paint job on your own laptop or one that’s bought from them. Its a pretty cool thing since the design is basically painted on and its unlike those custom designed stickers that could be peeled off easily . Here is the design example, its awesome.

NVousPC offers its notebooks in two base models, the 14.1” Mercury and the 15.4” Ether. Both versions come with a minimum of 1GB of RAM, the option to upgrade to an Intel Core2Duo T7600 CPU, and Windows Vista. Additionally, NVousPC offers after market custom painting for consumers that already own a notebook.

For more information visit http://www.nvouspc.com

Windows vs. Linux

When make a platform decision, many organizations focus on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), reliability, and support. Here is the chart can help put these key criteria in perspective as you compare the advantages and disadvantages of Windows Server versus Red Hat commercial Linux.

How To Preventing Credit/Debit Card Fraud

By taking certain precautions, a user can prevent their credit or debit card from being misused both online and offline :

1. Do not provide photocopies of both the sides of the credit card to anyone. The card verification value (CVV) which is required for online transactions is printed on the reverse of the card. Anyone can use the card for online purchases if the information is available with them.



2. Do not click on links in email seeking details of your account, they could be phishing emails from fraudsters. Most reputed companies will ask you to visit their website directly.



3. While using a credit card for making payments online, check if the website is secure The CVV will also be required.



4. Do not give any information to persons seeking credit card information over phone



5. Notify your bank / credit card issuer if you do not receive the monthly credit card statement on time. If a credit card is misplaced or lost, get it cancelled immediately.

Top 10 Most Popular Cellular Cellphones

RIM BlackBerry Curve (aka BlackBerry 8300)
Though it doesn't bring Wi-Fi or 3G support, the BlackBerry Curve offers a best-of-breed design and a well-rounded set of features to make it an attractive device for consumers and mobile professionals alike.

Specs : Up to 240 min, BlackBerry Handheld Software, GSM 850/1900

Check Prices :
199.99 - 199.99




AT&T 8525
For the ultimate road warrior, the 3G-enabled AT&T 8525 provides the speed, the power, and the productivity tools to get your work done on the go.


Specs : 64 MB, Cingular Wireless, Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, GSM 850/900/1800/1900 / UMTS 850/1900/2100

Check Prices :
299.99 - 299.99




Nokia N95 (Unlocked)
With a 5-megapixel camera, advanced multimedia capabilities, and GPS, there's no doubt that the Nokia N95 is one of the most feature-packed smart phones to date, but poor battery life and sluggish performance make it hard to justify the high price tag.

Specs : Up to 390 min

Check Prices :
619.99 - 740.99




Samsung BlackJack
The Samsung BlackJack heralds another 3G-enabled smart phone to Cingular's lineup. While it supports the carrier's video and music service, some design and performance issues trip up this otherwise sexy device.

Specs : Up to 330 min, 64 MB, Cingular Wireless, Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Check Prices :
99.99 - 99.99




HTC Mogul PPC-6800 (Sprint)
The Sprint Mogul by HTC brings some needed design and feature updates to its predecessor, and refreshes the carrier's staid lineup of smart phones. It has some performance issues, but is worth the upgrade.

Check Prices :
299.99 - 299.99




Motorola Razr2 V9m (Sprint)
In a Razr-weary world, the Motorola Razr2 V9m surpassed our expectations by offering a fresh and dynamic new approach to the Razr line. Video performance was below par but the phone succeeded on other fronts.

Specs : 0.3 lbs, Up to 220 min, CDMA 850/1900, With digital camera / digital player

Check Prices :
249.99 - 249.99




RIM BlackBerry Pearl (T-Mobile)
Though nothing revolutionary, the addition of multimedia features and the already solid e-mail capabilities make the RIM BlackBerry Pearl an attractive device for business users and consumers alike.

Specs : 210 min, 64 MB, BlackBerry Handheld Software, GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Check Prices :
149.99 - 299.99





LG VX8300 (Verizon Wireless)
The LG V8300 is a well-designed and high-performing EV-DO phone for Verizon Wireless.



Specs : 3.9 oz, Up to 210 min, CDMA2000 1X 1900/800, Verizon Wireless, With digital camera / digital player

Check Prices :
49.99 - 49.99





LG Prada (aka KE850)
While the LG Prada is a gorgeous phone with a stunning touch screen display, its simple feature set may not justify its hefty price tag. That said, if you want one of the most fashionable phones available, the LG Prada is definitely the phone to get.

Check Prices :
599.99 - 599.99





Motorola Krzr K1 (AT&T)
Though the GSM Motorola Krzr K1 has a more attractive color scheme than the CDMA Krzr K1m, some feature differences make it mostly comparable with its sibling.

Specs : 3.6 oz, Up to 390 min, GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband), With digital camera / digital player

Check Prices :
99.99 - 192.88

Cara Mencuri Data Kartu Kredit

Artikel ini tidak ditujukan untuk mengajari anda gimana mencuri data kartu kredit, tapi ingin memberitahu anda supaya di kemudian hari anda bisa terhindari dari kejahatan pencurian data kartu kredit. Istilah kejahatan kartu kredit yang biasa di istilahkan "carding" sejak adanya internet meningkat ratusan persen. Ironisnya Indonesia masuk dalam jajaran top 10 (sempat di peringkat pertama) sehingga kartu kredit terbitan Bank-Bank Indonesia ditolak ketika belanja online di situs luar negeri.

Para hacker sangat suka sekali kejahatan yang satu ini, kenapa? Karena kalau cuma nge-hack website atau deface (merubah tampilan/link website) merupakan sesuatu yang tidak ada untungnya. Dan hal ini bisa ke deteksi dan pelaku kejahatan bisa ketangkap dengan mudah kalau sites yang dia masuki memiliki TRACKER (program pelacak ip/link) atau LOG FILE (file yang mencatat aktivitas user/ip yang masuk ke website). Kalau carding mereka bisa bebas tanpa jejak dan juga kadang-kadang setelah mendapatkan datanya, mereka sebarkan antar hacker sehingga susah dilacak orang pertama yang mencuri data kartu kredit. Kejadian baru-baru ini yaitu situs internet teroris Indonesia juga di register dari hasil carding.
Ada beberapa cara yang digunakan oleh hacker dalam mencuri kartu kredit, antara lain:

1. Paket sniffer, cara ini adalah cara yang paling cepat untuk mendapatkan data apa saja. Konsep kerjanya mereka cukup memakai program yang dapat melihat atau membuat logging file dari data yang dikirim oleh website e-commerce (penjualan online) yang mereka incar. Pada umumnya mereka mengincar website yang tidak dilengkapi security encryption atau situs yang tidak memiliki security yang bagus.

2. Membuat program spyware, trojan, worm dan sejenisnya yang berfungsi seperti keylogger (keyboard logger, program mencatat aktifitas keyboard) dan program ini disebar lewat E-mail Spamming (taruh file-nya di attachment), mirc (chatting), messenger (yahoo, MSN), atau situs-situs tertentu dengan icon atau iming-iming yang menarik netter untuk mendownload dan membuka file tersebut. Program ini akan mencatat semua aktivitas komputer anda ke dalam sebuah file, dan akan mengirimnya ke email hacker. Kadang-kadang program ini dapat dijalankan langsung kalau anda masuk ke situs yang di buat hacker atau situs porno.

3. Membuat situs phising, yaitu situs sejenis atau kelihatan sama seperti situs aslinya. contoh di Indonesia ketika itu situs klik bca (www.klikbca.com), pernah mengalami hal yang sama. situs tersebut tampilannya sama seperti klikbca tetapi alamatnya dibikin beberapa yang berbeda seperti www.clikbca.com, www.kikbca.com, dll, jadi kalau netter yang salah ketik, akan nyasar ke situs tersebut. Untungnya orang yang membuat situs tersebut katanya tidak bermaksud jahat. Nah kalau hacker carding yang buat tuh situs, siap-siap deh kartu kredit anda bakal jebol.

4. Menjebol situs e-commerce itu langsung dan mencuri semua data para pelanggannya. Cara ini agak sulit dan perlu pakar hacker atau hacker yang sudah pengalaman untuk melakukannya. Pada umumnya mereka memakai metode injection (memasukan script yang dapat dijalankan oleh situs/server) bagi situs yang memiliki firewall. Ada beberapa cara injection antara lain yang umum digunakan html injection dan SQL injection. Bagi situs yang tidak memiliki security atau firewall, siap-siaplah dikerjain abis-abisan.

Ada beberapa cara lagi yang dilakukan para hacker, tapi cara-cara di atas adalah cara yang paling umum dilakukan hacker untuk carding. Untuk itu dalam menjelajahi hutan internet, hendaknya kita selalu WASPADA seperti pesan Bang Napi he...he...he....