The Stories behind Halloween

Knock, Knock, Knock..... You open the door and there stands little spiderman, bat man, superman, Harry Potter, iron man or some or other sort of costume, highly excited and all screaming at the top of their voice...."TRICK or TREAT", without knowing the meaning of what they are saying or doing.

It was surprising for me first time when I saw local families who appeared public (shopping malls, transits,schools,hospitals and even in offices!)with traditional Halloween dresses. This is my third experience; still this day gives me lot of excite and fun! In many parts of US this night used to be known as 'Mischief Night', which meant that people were free to go around the town playing harmless mischiefs without fear of being punished.

Where is the Origin?

The history of Halloween can be traced back 2,000 years it seems! This is not an American origin festival. Farmeres in  Europe celebrated the beginning of winter on the evening of October 31st. November 1st was the first day of their new year and it also marked the first day of winter. They believed that death was strongly linked to the long and bitter winter. The other story was related to Christianity. The word, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows (Scary) Evening. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. Ok, don’t want to get in to this story loops. Today most of them who celebrate this only for fun!

Today in United States,this day will be celebrated with lots of attractions like large pumpkins were hollowed out, carved with faces, and placed in windows to get away evil spirits, play trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films. For this season in Phoenix there was 'Hunted House' attraction, where guests will be greeted by scary characters that freely roam the Ghost House! And I believe that this type of scary house will be there through out the states. Do not miss your chance. Book your tickets for a guaranteed screaming.

What is the belief behind?

It is interesting to go behind believes of all festivals. Halloween also has interesting tails. On that day, the spirits of all those who had died throughout the last year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. But we the living bodies don’t wanted to be possessed by those ghosts. So we dressed up in costumes and roam around the streets making loud noises to confuse and frighten the spirits away! Also when dead return to their original homes, if food and shelter were not provided, these evil spirits would angry toward those failing to fulfill their requests and scare them. 

What is “Trick or treat?”

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween day. This means "Give me something, or tonight I will curse you." Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. Example of trick- sings a song or tells a ghost story, or start crying! to earn their treats. Our Mexican neighbor in the apartment told, In Mexico  it is called calaverita (Spanish for "little skull") instead of "trick or treat", children ask "me da mi calaverita?" ("Can you give me my little skull?"). The whole this procedure is called "guising" because of the disguises or costumes worn by the children.

Why Pumpkins, Why not potato or honey dew?

Why pumpkins? Why can’t be other vegetables? The answer is simple, carving of pumpkins is very easy and it is one of the vegetable which you can get it cheaply. Many families that celebrate Halloween carve a pumpkin into a frightening or comical face and place it on their doorstep after dark. As we told this is to scare the evil spirits.

In America it's a pumpkin, but in Europe it was often a turnip, large beet, potato, rutabaga or even a skull with a candle in it. The fearsome face of the jack-o-lantern was representative of the god of the dead! Black and orange are the traditional Halloween colors and represent the darkness of night and the color of bonfires, autumn leaves, and jack-o'-lanterns.

So what you are waiting for. Go and have a blast on this evening. Have a scary night ahead with a dozen of ghosts and lots of screams!!

US Midterm Elections 2010

United States Midterm Elections 2010 is due on Tuesday, Nov. 2 and the Election Day is only 7 days off .Being an outsider I don’t have to do anything with the elections here, but wanted know what is going on around me and would like to share my experience with Midterm elections in United States. That is what all about this weblog.

In India this is the time for Municipal Elections in some states including mine. I am just missing the campaign efforts in my town. It’s a real colorful festival there. Here we don’t see all those colors , mike announcements and house to house visits for votes! But there will be banners on all most all intersections which are neatly displayed. You can’t enjoy your favorite ones speech, standing on the road, for that you has to go to parks and in house debates.

What are the mid-terms? And why it is called so?

The elections are called mid-terms because they come halfway through the four-year term served by the president. But actually the polls are in fact for Congress - the two houses of the US legislature - and for some state governorship including Arizona.

The US mid-term elections are definitely an "interim appraisal" of the incumbent government and The President, Usually don't turn out well for the party of the president;

Apart from this Mid Term in US they have Presidential Election for the President and Vice President and Off-Year election which is held in odd numbered years. (Apart from houses the vast majority of these off-year elections are held at the municipal level)The Senate was planned as a more reflective body, and each state has two senators regardless of its size. Senators serve for six years. Every two years, a third of them face re-election.

Why not elect everybody at the same time? Why are the mid-terms important?

Unlike India, once we selected we don’t have any control on the ruling government whatever they does, The American system is designed to be overlapping, both in terms of the powers of the different bodies and in terms of when people are elected to them. The idea was for it to directly and quickly reflect the public mood, which is why the members face election every two years.  

Here is the logic behind, if you don’t like what your President does, come forward and vote against his party in mid-term election. Once his majority lose in houses he will have a tough time to pass the bills on his own wishes. For example if you don’t like Obama’s Health care policies or Economic reforms cast your vote for Republican’s. Once they get majority in house eventually President have to listen them.

What is Tea Party Movement?

We might listen this many times on channels and it is not a joke; initially I thought a kind of party something like dinner party or lunch party. And when Sara Palin came to Tempe last week for ‘Tea Party express’ luckily I did not went for a possible cup of Tea!

Tea Party Movement is a Political movement in United States that emerged in 2009 through a series of locally and nationally co ordinate protests! The main punch for the movement is "just vote those (Democrats) out." "Tea Party" forces played a "loss of hope" or disappointment card, and strive to change the setup with the Democrats control of the Lower House and Senate majority. President Obama and his Democrats, however, are trying to convince the voters to continue to see more "hope" and to consolidate the power base.

What are the Parties in race?

The United States has two main parties–the Democrats and the Republicans (GOP- is the nickname for the Republican Party. Per the GOP website, GOP originally stood for "Gallant Old Party). Though we usually only hear about these two parties, there are also other lesser-known political parties, such as the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Peace & Freedom Party, the American Party, the Socialist Party and the Natural Law Party.

What are the Election Issues?

This time midterm elections remains roughly focused on U.S. economy and social security, national defense, education, environmental protection, Un Employment, Health Care reform, 2009 Stimulate package, Immigration reform, The War in Afghan and Iraq, Gulf Oil Leak, The Deficit and Tax Cuts and other domestic issues. May be you can keep adding your on contributions to it.

Fall Colors...

The time to end one more summer.Good bye to those days which posts temperature between 100-120 °F . If you are lucky, you live in one of those parts of the world where nature has one last fling before settling down into winter's sleep. In those lucky places, the green colors will transform to red, orange, gold and browns before leaf fall off the trees. This time we planned to enjoy this beautiful color dance by the mother earth. Some of our friends suggested, Flagstaff which is a nearby city to us where we can enjoy so called fall colors!

The phenomenon is commonly called fall colors and autumn colors, nothing but viewing of a tree or forest whose leaves have undergone the change. Each year in the autumn (fall) many trees shed their leaves in preparation for winter. This shedding often preceded by a spectacular display of color.

Did you ever wonder how and why a fall leaf changes colors?

To start with we have to go back to our school days. What is photosynthesis? To explain the fall color, I need to tell this first, nothing but, Plants take water from the ground through their roots and absorb carbon dioxide from the air. Now leaves use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose, nothing but sugar, basic building blocks for growing any kind of life. A chemical called chlorophyll (Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color.) helps make photosynthesis happen. All these process is called photosynthesis. Pasting the formula here.

x CO2 + y H2O	light	x O2 + Cx(H2O)y
	-------->
	chlorophyll

When autumn comes and winter is on its way, you’ll notice that it doesn’t stay light outside as long as it did during the summer. That means the leaves don’t get enough sun light as they used to, for cooking food! This way the trees realize that winter is near and begins to get ready. In winter those trees have to rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their kitchens (leafs). The veins that carry fluids into and out of the leaf gradually close off. So no more water is going to come into the leaf! Without the water, the green chlorophyll starts to disappear and the other colors in the leaf -- the yellow purple and the orange packages -- can finally be seen.

Why only Yellow, Red and brown why not white or black?

Well,I agree all these process but why only yellow,purple,red,gray etc why it can't be black or my favourate color: white  ?

Interesting.Lets look in to each color codes ,see how they came and what they want to express.

Yellow and Orange - These are always present in small amounts, but they become more visible when the green color starts to fade.

Red and Purple - These are formed by chemical reactions that usually take place as the weather starts to change in the fall. Leftover food (glucose) in a leaf can also make a leaf look red.

Brown: The leaf is dying or already dead.

All of these colors can combine to form even more colors. That is why you might see so many different colors on the trees in your yard, or even on a single tree. The green chlorophyll dies first, but the yellow and orange packages die too. When all of the packages are gone, the leaf is dead and brown.

The leaves don't really "turn" a certain color -- they just lose their green.

What happens to all those fallen leaves?

Needles and leaves that fall are not wasted. They decompose and restock the soil with nutrients and make up part of the nature recycle system. Fallen leaves also become food for numerous soil organisms vital to the forest ecosystem.

When is the best time to see autumn color?

Unfortunately, autumn color is not very predictable, especially in the long term. It generally starts in late September to October and last only few days. In the Coconino national forest, the visitors center directed us to the possible places where we can see the colors. They told us this colors will come and stay only for a week time So we have to keep polling them to get the idea of the current time status in each year.

Hey, why all trees not changing color?

Well, There are two types of trees it seems -- deciduous trees and evergreen trees.

Deciduous trees are the ones we've been talking about. They change their leaf colors and lose their leaves in the autumn to prepare for the winter.

Evergreen trees stay green all year long. The needles don't freeze in winter and they don't lose water as quickly as other kinds of leaves. By holding onto the water inside them, they stay alive and green -- even in the winter!

What are the trees which participate in fall?

Nature's autumn palette will expected to paint on oaks, maples, beeches, sweet gums, yellow-poplars, dogwoods, hickories, and others. Your own neighborhood may be planted with special trees that were selected for their autumn color.

Where can we see fall (autumn) colors?

Being in United States, We can find autumn color in parks and woodlands, in the cities, countryside, and mountains - anywhere you find deciduous broadleaved trees, the ones that drop their leaves in the autumn. In east coast it might be more beautiful. And In India , I believe we have very beautiful fall colors in Himalaya.

Coming back to our fall colors experience in Coconino national forest, we were not enough blessed to see the real color festival. But we really enjoyed the little color sketches that created especially for us! Thanks for the cute color gift! Thanks for reading my experience with fall colors.

Generations of Wireless Technologies

It was one of our coffee table discussions and someone from our team bought up a point regarding mobile wireless standards. He was asking “Hey what are this 3G, 4G, 5G standards and how it is differ from each other”? “And how they impact me”?

We all might have heard about all hese standards, and even consuming thease from long time. Me too. But with the rapid enhancement of technology there is lot of confusion what’s 3G what’s 4G and so on. To answer him maybe we can tell something like “Bandwidth is matters the difference”. Yes it is somewhat true, but it is always better to know little more, right? Here we are trying to understand what is going on with this technologies,what are the difference and where they are taking us, with the help of few questions.

Ok. To start with I wanted to show the first mobile which I owned - Nokia 3310 GSM Cell (2G). I used this one almost 4 years. Bulky, but still I love this model! Doesn’t matter, here comes the first question:

Why mobile phone was called cell phone?

A cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver known as a cell site or base station. Cell is short for Cellular. Cell phones companies distribute an area or a city in several grids called cells. See the image on left. Whenever you are at a certain spot, your phone will be receiving or transmitting through the towers located in that local grid. As you keep moving from "cell" to "cell" the respective towers pick up signals from your phone. This is also the reason that you can locate a person using a cell phone quite easily using this grid triangulation system (or something of that sort).

The telecommunication service in World had a great jump within last few years. 8 billion or more people own mobile phones it seems. We are going to see the various main generations of cellular from 1st generation to 5th generation .In the present time, there are four generations in the mobile industry. These are respectively 1G the first generation, 2G the second generation, 3G the third generation, and then the 4G the fourth generation and an upcoming 5G. The nomenclature of the generations generally refers to a change in the fundamental nature of the service, non-backwards compatible transmission technology and new frequency bands. This article details the differences between the major cell phone technologies

So who define this (1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G) stands?

It's an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard.

What’s different between these technologies and how do they impact you?

In order to see the impact of generations we only have to see what was there in each generation. The "explosive growth in bursty traffic" changes the network dynamics and requires a good evaluation of various classes of service when designing an access network. Here we will go through each major generation to understand what the fundamental change is and how it is impacting as a normal user.

1G - The first generation

1G refers to the first-generation of wireless telephone technology, mobile telecommunications. It was using analog telecommunications standards that were introduced in the 1980s. It has the ability to transfer calls from one site to the next as the user travelled between cells during a conversation, as 1G was based on Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) for transfer between cells. It was very vague and had a low capacity. These services are provided with circuit switching. This allows users to make voice calls in 1 country.

2G -The second generation

In the 1990s, the 'second generation' mobile phone systems emerged; primarily using the GSM standard. It was their first major upgrade when they went from 1G to 2G. This leap effectively took cell phones from analog to digital. With this second generation introduced a new variant of communication called SMS or text messaging. Across the world, many operators adopted the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) standard, which used Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

• Planned for voice transmission with digital signal and the speeds up to 64kbps

• 2G was the digital handsets that we are used today, with 2.5G representing handsets with data capabilities over GPRS

3G - The third generation

As the use of 2G phones became more widespread and people began to utilize mobile phones in their daily lives, it became clear that demand for data services (such as access to the internet) was growing. If we can expect 3- 5 mbps of speed, which is actually equal to cable/DSL kind of speed in to a moving device! That’s what all about 3G. This enabled faster data-transmission speeds, greater network capacity and more advanced network services, basically turns your cell phones to a mini computer.

Another thing to be noted in case of 3G is that Wide Band Voice Channel, by this the world has been contracted to a little village because a person can contact with other person located in any part of the world and can even send messages too. 3G gives clarity of voice as well can talk without any disturbance simultaneously. Not only these but also have entertainments such as Fast Communication, Internet, Mobile T.V, Video Conferencing, Video Calls, Multi Media Messaging Service (MMS), 3D gaming, Multi-Gaming etc are also available with 3G phones. It does this by using High speed downlink packet access and universal mobile telephone system.

• Developed in the late 1990s until present day.

• Japan is the first country having introduced 3G nationally.

• It gives Global roaming facility.

• Superior voice quality and video conference

• Data always add–on services (e-mail, personal organizer, etc.)

• Information for web surfing, music, news, corporate intranet, transportation service etc.

• On-line shopping facility.

• Transmission speeds from 125kbps to 2Mbps

• In 2005, 3G is ready to live up to its performance in computer networking (WCDMA, WLAN and Bluetooth) and mobile devices area (cell phone and GPS)

What are the issues on 3G?

Basically the main drawback is the high input fees for 3G service licenses. Also for the many telecommunication companies it is still a challenge to build the necessary infrastructure for 3G. Some people argue on the health aspects of the effects of electromagnetic waves using in 3g signals. More over 3g phones are expensive bulk , and less coverage area as still it is in development phase in many countries.

4G - The fourth generation

4G is an entirely different animal. As more features become available through the Internet, so raises the need to create a faster and more reliable Internet connection. This is where Fourth Generation Internet comes in. Some of the additional features such as Multi-Media Newspapers, also to watch T.V programs with the clarity as to that of an ordinary T.V. In addition, we can send Data much faster that of the previous generations. It allows multitasking like, while surfing on net you can continue talking in a faster way. 4G system is expected to provide a comprehensive and secure all-IP based solution where facilities such as IP telephony, ultra-broadband Internet access, gaming services and streamed multimedia may be provided to users. 4G Internet is the next generation of web service, and is four times faster than 3G. See some of the bullet points.

• Streaming high definition movies.

• Playing graphically intensive games online.

• 4G is a conceptual framework and a discussion point to address future needs of a high speed wireless network.

• It offer both cellular and broadband multimedia services everywhere

• Expected to emerged around 2010 - 2015

• 4G should be able to provided very smooth global roaming ubiquitously with lower cost

• Theoretically, 4G is set to deliver 100mbps to a roaming mobile device globally, and up to 1Gbps to a stationary device. With this in mind, it allows for video conferencing, streaming picture perfect video (i.e. tele-medicine, tele-geo processing application etc.)

• 4G will bring almost perfect real world wireless or called “WWWW: World Wide Wireless Web

5G - The fifth generation

Wireless systems becoming an important infrastructure in our society. A virtual global system is a good solution that can efficiently connect many dedicated wireless systems including 2G to 4G cellular systems, wireless LAN, broadcasting systems, etc. Here comes the 5G for you...

5G technologies which are on hand held phone offering more power and features than at least 1000 lunar modules. A user can also hook their 5G technology cell phone with their Laptop to get broadband internet access. 5G technology including camera, MP3 recording, video player, large phone memory, dialing speed, audio player and much more you never imagine. With this a user being sitting in India proficient to get access to Germany phone as a local phone. With the coming out of cell phone alike to PDA now your whole office in your finger tips or in your phone. 5G technology has extraordinary data capabilities and has ability to tie together unrestricted call volumes and infinite data broadcast within latest mobile operating system

• 5G is a completed wireless communication with almost no limitation; somehow people called it REAL wireless world

• 5G wireless system is only theory and not real.

The ultimate aim is to communicate any type of Information with anyone at anytime anywhere with no time. In this journey we have seen some of the major generation of wireless networks and there benefits .I am sure we have missed out lot of internal topics here to limit our scope. Anyway Thanks for reading this.

A day at Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, one of the first national parks in the United States.

One of the breathtaking wonder of geology, having properties of ONE MILE DEEP (6000 feet), ten miles wide, 277 miles (446 km) long, covering 1.2 million acres in northern Arizona, Great architect of the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River is the second longest river in the United States.

If you take a trekking here you will be lucky enough to pass through 11 layers of ancient rocks, ranging from 250 million years to two billion years old!! – Nearly half of the age of earth!!!

We are in Phoenix (AZ), staying close to Grand Canyon and it is one day trip for us to enjoy this beautiful place. Phoenix to Grand Canyon (233 Miles; 4 hrs 20 min). Take I-17 north to I-40. Take I-40 west to Highway 64. Take Highway 64 north directly to the South Rim. I love the 4.5 hour drive from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon. I recommend planning your travel so you arrive via one entrance and exit via the other. Mostly preferred to enter via the Southern Entrance Station, and exit via the Eastern Entrance Station.

Anyone who is visiting here or heard about Grand Canyon will have one default question. How this mysterious natural wonders of the world formed?

How was the Grand Canyon Formed?

Well, this question has yet to be answered definitively. But geologists have been able to piece together a general theory. The story somewhat what I understood is like this –

Prior to the formation of the Grand Canyon, the area was believed to be occupied by a chain of mountain ranges. These mountains after a span of millions of years had become plain due to water and wind erosion. Meanwhile, due to the sudden climatic changes, the oceans moved over these areas and deposited rock layers. This process was repeated many times, resulting in the deposition of several rock layers. Now Colorado River who has major role of current shape of Grand Canyon came into picture. About 16-17 million years ago, the Colorado reviver was uplifted due to pressure under the Earth's crust and movement of the tectonic plates.  Apart from the erosive activity of the Colorado River, the debris flow (fast flowing mass of rocks and boulders resulted from flash flood) played a major role in the widening and deepening of the Grand Canyon. 

All these factors contributed to the formation of the Grand Canyon. It is an intriguing feature, especially to geologists as it exposes rocks that are billions of years old. The rock layers of the Grand Canyon, as we have seen, are due to the depositions by the oceans and seas. So definitely this is much more than what the common people come here and enjoys the view here. But for me the scope is only limited to WYSIWYG-What You See Is What You Get!

South, North, West and East rims
When we were planning to visit Grand Canyon the initial confusion was the four rims of it which can be access from three states (Arizona AZ, Nevada NV, Utah UT) of United States. Which one should I visit and what are the attractions on each rim. After initial research I found that South rim will be more interesting and thanks god it was easily accessible for me form phoenix AZ.The above maps will give you a fare idea about the location and access points.                                                     

The South rim is so popular (7,000 feet above sea level) rafting, hiking, running and helicopter tours are especially popular. The floor of the valley is accessible by walking, mule back, or by boat or raft from upriver. The trucking is dangerous because of the distance, steep and rocky trails, change in elevation, and danger of heat exhaustion from the much higher temperatures at the bottom. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon attracting visitors because it is the most accessible and provides the most amenities. When you arrive at the Rim, park your vehicle at one of the many parking areas and take advantage shuttles which available every 15 minutes! The South rim is divided in to 3 main areas: Grand Canyon Village, Hermit Road, and Desert View Drive. All these provide access to Scenic views.

The North rim is located just south of AZ / Utah boarder. Visitors with respiratory or heart problems may experience difficulties. All walking at this elevation can be strenuous.

Grand Canyon West is famous for  Sky walk . The Skywalk has seen mixed reviews since the site is only accessible by driving down a 14-mile (23 km) dirt road, costs a minimum of $85 in total for reservation fees, a tour package and admission to the Skywalk itself and the fact that cameras or other personal equipment are not permitted on the Skywalk at any time due to the hazard of damaging the glass if dropped. Any way the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West has quickly become one of the best day trip destinations from Las Vegas, NV from March 2007.

Not many even realize there is a Grand Canyon East including maps. There is an "East Entrance" to the South Rim which is called Desert View which begins a 26 mile scenic drive along the edges of the canyon on Desert View drive which takes you all the way to the Grand Canyon Village which is the heart of the South Rim. The beauty of the East Canyon is people typically visit inside the canyon seeing the views up close rather than from high above at overlook view points.

If you prefer to drive your own vehicle along the rim, there are many overlooks accessible by car that offers spectacular views of the Canyon. Make your way to Desert View Drive which follows closely along the Rim for 26 miles east of Grand Canyon Village to Desert View which is the East Rim Entrance to the South Rim.

What is Vishnu schist? How did Vishnu schist get its name?

Being a non-geologist I was not at all interested on 11 layers or rock layer science. But when they told the name of one rock layer is called Vishnu schist it was surprising for me. The Vishnu Group of the Grand Canyon consists of the Vishnu, the Brahma and the Rama schist it seems! In India we have many rocks named Vishnu Rama and Seetha etc. But what God Vishnu is doing here in United States!! That too having the name of 1.75 billion to 1.73 billion years ago rocks! I am curious why they are given Hindu Gods name.  Hindu myths are trying to draw line between the birth of Vishnu and the age of rock. Both are almost same it seems! Come on … give me a break. Let’s talk in terms of facts:- 

Each of the rock layers that you mention derived their name from nearby canyon buttes and mesas. Geologists frequently name rock layers after surrounding landmarks (especially if the landmark is near an outcrop of the layer that is a good representation of the type). For example, the Hermit Shale layer in the canyon is named for Hermit Canyon where that rock layer is easily reached and where it was first scientifically described in detail. 

Likewise Vishnu Schist was named by geologist in 1880s after Vishnu Temple, a prominent rock formation on the north side of the canyon near Cape Royale. The Brahma Schist was named in the 1930s after Brahma Temple, a butte overlooking Bright Angel Canyon. And likewise Rama Schist probably derived its name from Rama Temple, a rock spire near Vishnu Temple. All of these landmarks can be seen from the major overlooks on the South Rim. 

Concluding this, Grand Canyon National Park is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, a designated World Heritage Site, and one of the Crown Jewels of the National Park System and ultimate American travel destination. Never miss this chance if you are in United States.
Thanks for reading this.The idea here was to share my experience and believes this piece of information will be helpful for those who are looking for basic level of informations regarding Grand canyon.So I would suggest to take it as a quick start and please keep googling for  more detailed and specific informations.Have a wonderful time here!

                   

BlackBerry VS National Security

RIM / BlackBerry?

BlackBerry is a line of mobile e-mail and Smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) since 1996. All BlackBerry traffic runs through RIM data centers, which help manage the devices. It also runs through BlackBerry servers, which encrypt and unscramble messages.

What makes BlackBerry popular?

Most companies use encrypted connections for their corporate e-mails, at least if employees need to access e-mail outside the office through virtual private networks and other secure systems. One of the reasons Research In Motion Ltd. has been so successful with its BlackBerry phones is that it brought that level of security to e-mail-capable phones. The Smartphone used by nearly a million customers in India!

President of the United States Barack Obama became known for his dependence on a BlackBerry device for communication during his 2008 presidential campaign. Despite the security issues, he insisted on using it and becoming the first President of the United States to use mobile e-mail.And BlackBerry celebrates this!!

How does BlackBerry's security system work?

RIM uses powerful codes to scramble, or encrypt, messages as they travel between a BlackBerry server and the BlackBerry device. If a worker loses their BlackBerry, RIM is able to remotely wipe all messages on the device and de active it.RIM says even they themselves cannot unscramble data of its large business and government clients because the servers that handle that task are located on the premises of its customers.

Why it is a security threat?

Encryption, however, poses a problem for law enforcement officials. With the current status they can intercept encrypted messages, but can't read them unless the encryption is poor and agents have vast computer resources to use in unscrambling them. Traditional investigative tools such as wiretaps don't work. Canada's RIM and other technology companies stress that they agree to legal requests from law enforcement, but in RIM's case, it can't decrypt the messages on its corporate e-mail service. The latest development indicates that security agencies are finding it difficult to intercept or decipher messages sent through BlackBerry phones, which use codes with an encryption of 256 bits. This encryption code first scrambles the emails sent from a BlackBerry device and unscrambles it when the message reaches its target.According to the authorities, the way Blackberry data is managed and stored means some Blackberry applications allow people to misuse the service. This could cause serious social, judicial and national security repercussions.They also claims it has become one of the terrorist plots.

I will put it in a simple way, the Enforcement /Police can tap your phone, but if the people talking are speaking in code, the federal agents still won't be able to understand what they're saying. So there is no use if only getting access to the server rather than will be able to decode what is going on!

What are the countries involved. What is India’s role?

As of now the governments of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, India, Lebanon, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates are involved in this and I bet you more countries will line up as this is going to directly hit their national security.

Although an issue previously, Indian security concerns were heightened after the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008. That attack was coordinated using mobile phones, satellite phones and VOIP. We cannot compromise on our security for any reasons. It clearly shows government’s inability to eavesdrop on encrypted communications. So now the providers are responsible for giving a back door entry to these encrypted messages.

Why there is a defense from the BlackBerry?

As we discussed one of the reason for its popularity is the level of security to e-mail-capable phones. So once they lost this and allowed to access for a third party to see all these secrets Blackberry will be same as ordinary like other Rivals, including Apple Inc, Google Inc, Nokia and Microsoft Corp, design their products so they communicate directly with ordinary email servers.

Whether RIM grants such access to other countries, including the United States?

U.S. authorities can seek a court order to tap BlackBerry traffic, giving them access to messages sent over the network. Officials with Research in Motion declined to talk about how they provide such access. It is possible that the government provides such requests directly to RIM's customers. And as far as India and some Middle East countries concern they are not enjoying this freedom.

What are the demands from National Security Agencies ?

Enforcement agencies demand is simple. Authorities need to put an mechanism on the BlackBerry server, whether run by RIM itself or one of its customers, that has the key for descrambling the messages.

Why only BlackBerry Why not Google Skype and VPN?

Yes it is. going ahead, After mobile phone maker BlackBerry, the government will issue notices to search engine Google, internet phone call provider Skype, service provider Virtual Private Network ( VPN is a network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization's network) and a few other entities to make available their services to law enforcement agencies. The data travelling through Google, Skype, VPN and a few other networks will be accessible by security agencies in the country in future.

What is US involvement in this?

Lets discuss the United States involvent in this issue.US have alredy in touch with countries like India, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia over their concerns with regard to the security features of BlackBerry. The Obama Administration is getting itself entangled in the disputes and concerns between Canadian BlackBerry Smartphone maker Research in Motion and the governments of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, India, Lebanon, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Some countries have announced that they may ban the Smartphone while the UAE has already issued a ban beginning October, restricting BlackBerry use to just voice communications.US is working with these countries "to understand the security concerns and see if we can't work collaboratively to find solutions.”

But what ever may be finally to continue there service in any contries they are forced to sit with enforcement agencies and work out a solutions which is acceptable for both.And in future more contries are going to line up with the same demand.No one can compermise there National security.

These are some of the questions I was asking myself to understand this issue, Hope this help you too If you have more questions /answeres or any inputs you are most welcome.