2006 October | Women Blog

Although the concept of customized search engines is not unique or mushroomed overnight, it has taken on new significance after Google’s free sitesearch , Yahoo! Search Builder and Swiki community powered search engine have debuted. We have implemented our own Swiki woman centric search engine earlier.

All such custom engines basically offered search results based on user-set criteria. You initiate a search engine through one of the publicly offered services based on your preferred set of URLs. You can tweak the search results pages and enhance the listings as you go along in the case of Swiki. As the name implies, it takes a life of its own when more collaborators or partners in your community join in and refine the search results.

Google has unveiled its own Google Custom Search Engine ( you will find more details and comments by Google’s Matt Cutts here:

review-custom-search-engine)

What does it offer ?

Does it offer something unique which is not offered elsewhere ?

We wanted to find out for ourselves and what better way than trying it out. It took us barely a few minutes to head to the Google coop and define our own search engine. We rolled out a spanking new custom search engine – Woman centric search engine – powered by Google. You can try this Woman-Centric Search Engine here: Custom Woman Centric Search Engine

As far as we could see in the initial test run, the results are mainly sourced from the regular Google index with perhaps a couple of results thrown in from the preferred list. We deliberately kept our preferred list to 2. You guessed it right – we used our own URL as the first in the list. You can access the preferred list from the control panel -> sites.

We have seeded the search results with keyword phrases which would refine the results to women centered sites, though the results are not in consonance with the avowed motto – provide consistent search results primarily targeted at women. It is only the beginning and so would wait for more collaborators to join in and add to the refinement.

We have been getting quite some positive feedback and referrals from Swiki. Swiki offers easy to customize search results. We are still in the process of evaluating the new Google custom engine. We will share our results in this blog.

My partner has long been complaining about the bird’s nest of networking cables behind her main computer. She has a simple enough set up – 3 desktops and a couple of Laptops equipped with Wifi. But the growth of networking cable and the constant changing of settings in her main computer was getting on our nerves.

So it was finally decided that I ought to sort out this problem with minimal interruption. A quick look at the available options was bewildering. What she needed was a sure-fire quick solution, which required easy setting up, and the route has to be the least complicated.

To cut a long story short, I decided on a Wireless router with a few LAN Ports thrown in. It needs to have a basic firewall as well. This is not a tall order and there are hundreds of products available. A call to the local store revealed that they have many brands to choose and I selected DLINK DI 524 router for this task. The selection process was not based on any obscure logic. It was a matter of availability and ease of use.

The existing set up used an Ethernet Switch and all computers shared the internet access through the main computer’s ICS ( Internet Connection Sharing). Windows 2000 and Windows XP allow you to share your internet connection with other networked computers. Windows XP also ships with built-in firewall. I had installed an additional Network Card to handle the external cable modem and the first NIC (Network Interface card) was configured as the gateway for the rest of the computers.

So I unpacked the DI 524 from its box and connected the mains supply. Nothing much happened, of course, save for the front green LEDs lighting up. All 3 computers were connected to the Ports. DI 524 comes with a 4-port Ethernet switch and a DHCP server. As we have manually setup the individual IP addresses for all the computers and there are not too many computers around, the use of DHCP was not enabled.

DI 524 is ideally suited for a small home office (SOHO) networking needs. It has the usual hardware Webserver to administer the router. It is based on 802.11g which operates on 2.4 GHz frequency. Not much of a choice when you go by the standard 802.11b/g as they use this frequency, which is also used by some cordless phones and microwave ovens. This would become an issue with women and laptops in the wrong place – kitchens. Fortunately as it turned out, my partner’s microwave or the Wireless router or the partner never complained about each other – at least to me.

With its stub 4 inch antenna, the unit provided excellent connectivity up to the lawn – about 100 feet away.

When connected to the webserver through a browser – http://192.168.0.1/ you get a nice crisp screen of menu. There is a wizard to help you along the way, which I didn’t use as I wanted to set up everything manually. I like the hard way in everything I do.

You can do it in any order. But I went straight to the LAN.
Click on LAN and set up the IP address of the router. I set up the IP address to 192.168.0.100 as already the main computer has its internal IP set to 192.168.0.1
Use the default subnet mask at 255.255.255.0 and click on apply. This router is like Windows – it loves to reboot after every move.

Now point your browser to http://192.168.0.100/- and continue.

Click on WAN and set up the cable modem details as you would normally in the main computer. It pays to note down the exact IP address, subnet mask, ISP gateway IP address and the DNS IP addresses. Now click on apply and it will whir for a couple of seconds and say rebooted.

It is not over yet. You still need to set up the firewall before anyone can see anyone inside or outside. You can build complicated firewall rules later when you need them. I added one bit of line – called as action – normal – and allowed LAN complete access to WAN. Not a bright idea when you set up a firewall. You simply bypass the firewall with this rule. But then we just want to rig the unit up as quickly as possible. We will write elaborate firewall rules as we cross this stage.

Voila. We are done and we can see that all machines can access the Net without any machine using ICS.

Now time to set up the Wireless section. Here is a snippet from the device’s help file:

Network ID(SSID) :Network ID is used for identifying the WLAN. Client stations can roam freely over this product and other Access Points that have the same Network ID.
(The factory setting is default)

Channel :The radio channel number. The permissible channels depend on the Regulatory Domain.
(The factory setting is channel 6)

Security :This device supports four different types of security for wireless network.

Wire Equivalence Protection (WEP) :This is a security feature to secure wireless data transmission. Enable WEP encryption to protect your data while it is transferred from one station to another. Select from 64, or 128-bit WEP encryption. 64-bit WEP requires 10 hexadecimal digits, 128-bit WEP requires 26 hexadecimal digits. Hexadecimal digits consist of numbers (0-9) and alphabet characters(a-f).
802.1X (Authenticate with Radius Server) :If the users want to use this security-type.At least,a radius for authentication or WEP for data Encryption. Enter the IP address of Radius server.Then select the encryption bit (64 or 128) and RADIUS Shared Key.
WPA-PSK :Another encryption options for WPA-PSK, TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol). enter a password in the WPA-PSK field between 8 and 63 characters long for ASCII. 64 characters(0~9,a~f) for HEX.
WPA (Authenticate with Radius Server) :The users have to get a access form RADIUS server by performing user authentication. Enter the IP address of Radius server and RADIUS Shared Key.
WPA2-PSK(AES) :Accept WPA2 clients only and Pre-share key (encryption key) must be entered manually. You can input either 32 ASCII characters or 64 Hexadecimal digits asPre-share key.
WPA2(AES) :Accept WPA2 clients only and work simultaneously with RADIUS Server. The encryption key is got from RADIUS Server dynamically.
WPA-PSK / WPA2-PSK :Accept WPA1 or WPA2 clients to connect simultaneously and Pre-share key (encryption key) must be entered manually. You can input either 32 ASCII characters or 64 Hexadecimal digits as Pre-share key.

To keep things simple, I opted for WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) with 128 bit WEP key by using a string of 26 Hexadecimal (Hex) characters and the Laptops can access the network with similar combination of WEP key. I have followed the dictum – KISS – Keep it simple Stupid. You can always add complexity later as you go along. But this is a hands-on on a painless way to set up a Wireless Router.

For a device barely costing about $30, it provides all the basic functionality.

Time to brew a strong coffee from the microwave ….

Hair continues to be an obsession with us. Whether it is to choose the right hairstyle or treating hair loss or opting for various hair treatments, women are always in a tizzy about the condition of their hair and choice of haistyles.

What goes into making a natural hairstyle? The hair cut must ideally be suited to the length, texture and color of the hair. A good hairstyle must complement face shape and features. Choose a hairstyle that goes well with your age and lifestyle. Messy large hairdos don’t find place in a corporate environment. An updo is ideal for prom night or a wedding party.

If you are a working woman, look for a natural hairstyle that has a clean cut and easy to maintain. Learn to wear your hair in many simple ways. Try them out first with your hairstylist. Don’t forget to go in for regular trims to keep your hairstyle looking great.

If your hair is very thick, you may need to go in for layering to achieve a pleasing overall effect. High maintenance hairstyles are fine if you have lots of time, patience and inclination towards all the curling, blow drying and all that goes into heavy duty hairstyle care. Hair sprays are no longer in. Instead go in for gel or mousse to achieve fullness and for styling. Look for volume building products if you have fine hair.

Women have taken to hair straightening with a vengeance. With thermal reconditioning products, curly unruly locks are a thing of the past! You can sport straight silken tresses by subjecting your hair to hair straightening treatment. But this means that your hair will require TLC to prevent it suffering from the harsh chemicals and heavy ironing.

Length of hair is a very personal issue. While long hair is a part of many cultures, these days women sport trendy hairstyles that can range from layered bobs to long fringes or even short pageboy look.

But all this works on hair that is intrinsically healthy and glowing. Now that makes a subject for another day. After all healthy hair never goes out of style! Take a tip or two from our articles on haistyles:

Virtual Hairstyle

Hair Makeover

Hair Perm

Hairstyle Updo

Easy Hairstyle

Whilst on the topic of slimming and weight reduction, one must take a peek into why there are so many fad diets and unhealthy unnatural slimming options than ever before. It is true that sedentary lifestyles and improper eating habits have led to higher instances of obesity and there is a need to be fit and healthy. But let us also look at the other side of the picture. What drives women and young girls to the eternal quest of getting slimmer and looking younger?

Female pictures that stare at us out of various advertising media revolve around ultra slim nubile bodies with enviable vital statistics. Fashion and beauty industry lays standards for what society considers as ‘beauty’. Without our being aware of it, women are led to believe in the culture of thinness, to the point of changing the body appearance, be it by diet plans, exercise or cosmetic surgery. In fact, the average woman is also judged by the standards laid down by the beauty industry.

Over time, these stereotypes have stuck….leading millions of women worldwide to become unhappy over their appearance and go through drastic measures to modify it. This also manifests as negative perceptions about how you look and even feel about your own body.

I had mentioned yesterday that I had cooked CDs and DVDs just to see the sparkle effects on them. Do NOT try them at home. It could result in serious fire hazard or permanent damage to your microwave oven.

I just wanted to show you here how a DVD looks after sitting inside a microwave for only 5 seconds. The image below shows a normal “raw” uncooked DVD.

Observe the random pattern burnt on the surface and the colorful effects around the burn mark. In fact you will not see any dark tell-tale burnt mark on the DVD. It is all in golden hue.

This heading might raise eyebrows as is expected.  It takes long hours of hard work to run servers and portals. Like most of you, I make do with pizzas and takeaways half the time. But the ubiquitous microwave sitting on the shelves of our office, finally induced me to spruce up some snack when I am famished. Apart from the gallons of coffee it could brew and the standard cup-of-noodles kind of snacks it could so easily deliver, it could do a whole lot of things we never imagined – at least I never even imagined.

The following is an exercise into the world of microwave cooking with a difference – we look at all aspects – technical and practical as well.

Technical View: If you are one of those who think that technology is best left to techies and nerds, skip to the practical section. Let us be practical.

Microwave ovens use magnetrons to generate electromagnetic waves at a frequency of 2450 MHz to induce heat in water, fat and sugar molecules in the food.  Magnetrons require about 600 – 700 Watts of energy to drive them. The various power settings on the control panel actually turns the magnetron on or off as per the settings. Mercifully, the power is fed to the magnetron through a simple transformer and a power diode. Do not try to open up an unit if it fails or out of curiosity. The voltage doubler capacitor may have enough power stored in it to give a lethal shock even after switching off the mains supply. The magnetron lives close to the food chamber and its supply feeds carry enough amperes to make a toast of you.  For your safety as well as all around you, opening up the internals of a microwave oven is best left in the hands of qualified service personnels. 

If the required power were derived from a chopper power supply or to use the computer parlance – switch mode power supply, the resulting harmonics would have inundated the spectrum.  Still microwave ovens emit enough low level power to swamp around the 2450 MHz frequency. Many cordless phones operating out of this frequency spectrum are not too happy sitting around in the same room with a microwave.

Practical View: This method of cooking works because of dielectric heating, which penetrates food deeper, depending upon the composition. As there is little distance between the source of heat and the food, the food is cooked faster. As a corollary, the nutrients are retained better with microwave cooking than through conventional means.Equally, there is a flip side too – the food does not get to that stage of appetizing browning or has the time to develop that delicious golden crust. Meat cooked over a slow fire laced with spices and herbs is always delicious. It is one of the reasons why microwave ovens are more used to reheat and pop corn kernels than regular cooking by many.There is one more use to which microwave ovens can be used about which many people are unaware – zapping microbes so ubiquitous in our kitchen. Our cutting board is easily contaminated with bacteria present in the meat being sliced. You will need to wash them with hot soap water after every use normally. After cleaning, splash water over them and keep them inside microwave for a couple of minutes for zapping the unseen microbes. Table linen and cloth tablemats can be sterilized inside microwaves. However, ensure that there is water on them for real results.