bT Square Peg :: News

GRIHA v/s LEED – which is the better system

vistasp — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:34:39 +0000

This article from ConstructionWeek is sure to fuel a debate that could go on forever with proponents of both systems backing their favourite. Any rating system can be manipulated and, in this regard, GRIHA scores higher because there is lot less scope to fudge it. More importantly, LEED gives points for, say, high-tech systems to save air-conditioning costs whereas GRIHA rewards you for passive cooling that does away with the air-conditioning in the first place – a far more appropriate strategy in a country that is chronically short of power.

At the end of the day, I just use the GRIHA checklist to do a self-analysis and see if there is some way to improve the design.

See :: Will GRIHA take the lead?

Making Secure Sites More Prominent in Firefox

vistasp — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:47:25 +0000

I hate that I have to check for the “s” after http to make sure a site is secure. Firefox does show a blue colour behind the site’s icon but it’s hardly noticeable. That’s easily changed – have a look at what Amazon’s secure site now looks like to me.

To see how it’s done, go to :: ghacks.net

Virus Masquerading as Home Planning Software

vistasp — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:05:59 +0000

If you’ve received an email supposedly from IKEA telling you about a fantastic new and free Home Planning Software, please note that it is (surprise, surprise!) a virus. Ralph Grabowski of WorldCAD Access received just such a mail and has posted a screenshot. IKEA, meanwhile have clearly stated that this email is a fake and a scam. Given that it installs a trojan on your system, I’d say it’s far worse…

Lakhs and Crores using Open Office

vistasp — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:09:59 +0000

In an earlier post I talked about a formula that could be used in Ooo Calc or MS Excel to group numbers according to the Indian system of lakhs and crores. Now, Open Office 3.x has the possibility built into it. All you have to do is make sure your locale settings (in Ooo) refer to India or Bhutan.

Save Ink by Using EcoFont

vistasp — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:40:38 +0000

This isn’t something most people look into but a company called spranq in has created this font which saves ~20% of your ink. They recommend a laser printer for best results but, since I don’t have one, I tried it on my regular inkjet and didn’t find any degradation of quality upto 14pt at least. However, on screen as you can see in the attached image, it starts to get irritating. Ecofont is free although the developers do take donations.

Get it from :: Ecofont

We Are Back!

vistasp — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:15:33 +0000

Yesterday, while trying to update this WordPress installation things went crazy and the entire news section failed. Had to do a restore from backup this morning and, so far, everything seems to be back in place.

Concrete’s Contribution to Global Warming

vistasp — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:39:17 +0000

I’ve railed against the unnecessary use of concrete for years but I was not aware that it is such a huge contributor to Carbon Dioxide emissions – 10% of the worldwide total according to some estimates.

Here’s an interesting article because it gives a few alternatives to the use of concrete – most of them are not available here but, nonetheless, the article is worth reading.

Go to :: Concrete: a ‘Burning’ Issue

Website Dedicated to Intellicad Users

vistasp — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:48:03 +0000

Trying to bring users of different flavours of IntelliCAD together to interact about all things IntelliCAD, Deelip Menezes has launched IntelliCAD.net. The intention is to:

Use the forums to ask and offer help.
Post on the IntelliCAD.net network blog.
Create or join groups of members.
Share photos and videos.
Post events such as user meetings, tradeshows, etc.

If you’re an IntelliCAD user, head over to IntelliCAD.net a.s.a.p.

Stairs, Stairs and Only Stairs

vistasp — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:04:56 +0000

Not exactly a name I’d choose for a website, but never mind. The content is wonderful.

Stair Porn via :: TreeHugger

Solar Powered Air Conditioners Released

vistasp — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:36:42 +0000

This is the ideal air conditioner – the hotter the sun gets the better the a/c works. Still, there have been drawbacks that made such machines non-viable. Now, a company called GreenCore Air has released a hybrid unit that claims to have solved the inefficiency problem.

Go to :: GreenCore via :: MetaEfficient