List of companies hit by backdating scandal is growing day by day. Aug 11, 2006 issue of EETimes was full of companies hit by Backdating Issue. 

Seems like few executive did not realize that they are doing anything wrong. Few Execs, who realized that it is wrong practice, still went ahead because of sheer greed. Anyway  they still have to pay for their greed. Within the past 48 hours, the U.S. Department of Justice has brought charges against former executives of Comverse Technology and filed additional charges against two former Brocade leaders.

Several companies, including electronics industry superstar Apple Computer, have filed notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission that they will be forced to delay filing quarterly regulatory filings while they investigate options issues. Expect implicated companies to continue paying for sins of the past, in one form or another, for some time to come.

Anyway, I'll be adding list of companies hit by backdating scandal here in one form or another!

Please note: Companies, included in this list may not have followed stock backdating option and may have done nothing wrong. They are included here becauase they are affected by scandal in one way or another. 

Hi Everybody, I am back from amazing Alaska. Will be posting photographs and travel experience. Thanks, stay tuned and meanwhile enjoy Mt. McKinley...

Nerd, as a stereotypical or archetypal designation, refers to somebody who pursues intellectual interests at the expense of skills that are useful in a social setting, such as communication, fashion, or physical fitness.

I was just reading an EE Times Article (See What drives you? Pick your brain), and my conclusion was that research indicated in the article can be applied to explain/understand Nerd(-iness).

Basic observation, made in the research is that brains have a systemizing mechanism which allows brain to digest predictable (systemic) information in rather simple manner. However, as the systemizing levels increase, the individual's ability to cope with spontaneous change severely decreases. Social settings like "the way people move around at a cocktail party" is entirely unpredictable and hyper-systemic brains are at loss in handling such situations.

Nerds, as popularly known, are good at intellectual pursuits and feel awkward at social events. See the connection!

Though experience (and I believe) have shown that this may not be the only reason. There is one interesting read @ Why Nerds are Unpopular by Paul Graham in this regards. Argument, put forward in this article is

Nerds aren't the only losers in the popularity rat race. Nerds are unpopular because they're distracted OR smart kids are unpopular because they don't waste their time on the dumb stuff you need to do to be popular.

I kind of agree with above argument!

Bottom Line: Our genes may define the directions for our journey but we may still choose to take detour on the road! 

Cool Stuff!! 

Building your own hot computer is also a valuable learning experience, one you'd do well to consider taking advantage of before PCs become like today's cars, with few user-serviceable parts inside.

In this article, we'll build a system around a dual-core Athlon X2 processor from AMD. In a future article, we'll construct a separate box using a dual-core Pentium D from Intel.

Read @ Building a dual-core PC without busting budget

In 2001, an American spy plane collided in the air with a Chinese fighter and was forced to land on Chinese island. Since then, researchers have been looking for a way to quickly erase computer hard drives to deny access to sensitive intelligence data.

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta), working with L-3 Communications Corp. (New York), said they have developed a technique for quickly erasing hard-disk drives. The team reports development of a prototype fast-erasure system to prevent sensitive information from reaching enemy eyes.

At the time of the U.S.-China incident, there was no way the U.S. crew could quickly erase hard drives on the surveillance aircraft before landing on Chinese soil. The Chinese eventually gained access to U.S. military secrets.

 Read Full Article @ Technique takes flight to quickly erase hard drives.

I would not have believed this but news is from trusted source. Anyway story goes like ...

The heated ring set fire to the basket of clothes which, in turn, heated a nearby bag of shopping that his sister had left for her brother earlier in the day.

And that caused a can of Sure deodorant to explode with such force that it not only blew out windows but cracked a wall and even, briefly, lifted the roof off the bungalow.

"In this case, the force of the blast was so great that some of the window frames were pushed right out and a crack was put in the building.

"We would advise families never to expose aerosol cans to any heat."

Read Full story @ Teenage boy blows up the house with deodorant.

I wonder if somebody is sniffing for class action law suit on this, in case, appropriate warning was not there, or not written in prominant letters