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TOI : PUNE: The next time you visit a restaurant and are in the process of placing your order, do not be surprised to see a captain jotting down the orders not on his customary notepad, but on his PDA - personal digital assistant for the uninitiated.

The technology boom has permeated the society, with upgradation being the buzzword and this has not left the hotel industry untouched.

Now, many a hotel in the outskirts of the city has the captain - the person who takes your orders, noting down your delectable selections on his PDA. The moment this is done, within seconds the order gets directly placed in the kitchen, with the chefs starting the food-preparations from the word go.

The technology was introduced in Pune by city-based Wings inet technologies Pvt Ltd in August 2007, with around seven hotels using it currently.

The instrument - PDA, is connected to a server by a special Wi-Fi network, working through antennae on the hotel premises. The moment an order is jotted down with a stylus, not only is it transmitted instantly to the kitchen - along with references of the table number, but also flashes on the accountant’s system.

This technology is essentially being adopted in expansive hotels with a large set up, including a lounge, a garden area and an air-conditioned segment. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: Orkut, the popular social networking site, is in the news again. The cyber cell of the city police crime branch has arrested Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid (22), an IT professional of Gurgaon, Haryana, for allegedly uploading obscene and derogatory text about Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi on Orkut.

Congress activist Amol Bhokare (28) of Pune, who saw the message, lodged a complaint at the Deccan Gymkhana police in December, 2007. Vaid was found guilty under section 67 of the IT Act.

According to assistant commissioner of police (cell) Netaji Shinde, Vaid, who was working with PC solutions, an IT company in Gurgaon, had added the derogatory text in a community named’I hate Soniya Gandhi’ on Orkut, last year. He uploaded the text while working at office.

Shinde said that the police had first asked Google to provide the IP address of the person who posted the message. They learnt that the accused was connected to the net through Bharati Airtel and Sify Internet in Chennai.

It was also learnt that the message was circulated through the email address’rahulvaidindia@gmail.com’. The police then sought information about the user of this email address from the internet service provider and learnt that it was the address of Rahul Vaid, a resident of Chakarpur in Gurgaon.

The police nabbed Vaid at his residence on Friday. He admitted to having posted the message. The accused was produced before the Shivajinagar court on Saturday and remanded to custody till May 21.

Interestingly, the person who formed the community’I hate Soniya Gandhi’ is not guilty as per the law. ACP N. Shinde said hating Sonia Gandhi is the personal opinion of the person who formed the community. Having a personal opinion about someone is not an offence as per the law. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: Mohan K. Dongare, scientist, catalysis and inorganic chemistry division, National Chemical Laboratory, has won the silver medal of’FICCI-Lokheed Martin India innovation growth programme’ for the development of an environmentally benign process for the manufacture of nitrobenzene using solid acid catalyst.

The innovation was selected from amongst 465 entries from India.

The programme is funded by the Lockheed Martin Corporation, US, and developed with the assistance of the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas and FICCI for identifying and supporting innovations from India with a potential for commercialisation.

The award carries a silver medal and a citation. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: The Warje police on Thursday night arrested five people and foiled an attempt of dacoity in Karvenagar.

The suspects were identified as Piram Sing (22) of F.C. Road, Uday Thapa (30) of Model Colony, Lalsing Parihar (28) of Khadaki, and Suresh Thapa (33) and Khemraj Parihar (26) of Karvenagar.

All the suspects, hailing from Nepal, were working as watchmen in different societies and used to break into houses at night.

According to senior inspector Shyam Mohite, on Thursday night an unidentified person informed the Warje police that five-six men were planning to break into a bungalow at Karvenagar.

The police laid a trap near the bungalow and caught Piram Sing and Uday Thapa. Three others were nabbed after a brief chase by sub-inspector Jagtap and his team. The police seized a screwdriver, hacksaw and a sharp weapon from the suspects. They were remanded to police custody till May 20, Mohite said. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : SANGRUR: A 14-year-old Dalit girl prepares to rock the cradle of her baby. The class VI student and a victim of rape, the girl is in Mehsampur village of Punjab and is six months pregnant.

Her condition came to light two days back when her family lodged a complaint with the police. While two persons were booked for rape, the victim’s family is preparing for the delivery.

The incident occurred in November, 2007, when the victim was sent by her father, a poor labourer, to get food from a house where a wedding was taking place.

On seeing the girl alone, the accused Bahadur Singh raped her. Bahadur’s uncle Darshan Singh also joined in the crime.

They then threatened the victim with dire consequences if she spoke of it to anyone, said the police. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More