This Week I Learned - Week #158

This Week I Learned -

* REST, or Representational State Transfer, in the JSON/Atom Custom Search API is somewhat different from traditional REST. Instead of providing access to resources, the API provides access to a service. As a result, the API provides a single URI that acts as the service endpoint. Google has also provided a Nuget package Google.Apis.Customsearch.v1 for .NET client.

* Did you know that you can securely and easily take Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) exams online from the comfort of your home or office? [YouTube video] You will need a computer with a microphone & webcam for an online proctored exam

* ICICI Bank has launched iWork@home, an initiative that allows women employees to work from home for up to a year. The technology platform for this programme has been developed in-house by ICICI Bank in partnership with students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. To ensure that data security and privacy are upheld, facial recognition technology would be used to scan the face to ascertain no intruder accesses the office system - Business Standard

* Windows NT has formed the basis of every major Windows operating system since 1993. Win 10 is NT

* Dave Cutler, 74, ...still comes to his office each day on Microsoft’s sprawling Redmond, Washington, campus, has shaped entire eras: from his work developing the VMS operating system for Digital Equipment Corporation in the late ‘70s, his central role in the development of Windows NT – the basis for all major versions of Windows since 1993 – to his more recent experiences in developing the Microsoft Azure cloud operating system and the hypervisor for Xbox One that allows the console to be more than just for gaming. Work on Azure / Red Dog (the project’s code name) started in 2006. Cutler’s role was to develop the hypervisor for the cloud operating system. On Oct. 27, 2008, Ozzie stood on stage at the company’s Professional Developer’s Conference in Los Angeles and announced a technology preview of Windows Azure. Dave also designed and wrote the hypervisor for Xbox One

* Your butt muscles, or "glutes," include the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. The gluteus maximus, one of your butt muscles, is the largest muscle in the human body — and it's big for a reason. It's got a lot of responsibility: it helps keep your trunk erect while standing and kicks in some anti-gravity action when you're taking the stairs! - Go Ask Alice!

* National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) has launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which is expected to make e-commerce transactions easier, and facilitate micropayments and person-to-person payments. UPI runs on the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) platform, the service will be available real-time and 24x7. 

* Some of the famous varieties of coconuts (grown in the West and East Godavari districts) are Godavari Ganga, Gautami Ganga, Kera Sankara and Kera Bastar. Ganga Bondam is the noted variety which is known for tender coconuts in Konaseema area. Kerala coconuts, which are bigger in size compared to AP, are dominating the local market - The Hindu

* Concerned with the write offs of Rs.1.14 lakh crore of bad debts between 2013 and 2015 by the Public Sector Banks (PSB) and the growing amount of Stressed Assets in the banking sector, the Supreme court (SC) had asked the Reserve Bank of India in February 2016 to furnish a list of the borrowers which are in default of loans by the banks and financial institutions in excess of Rs 500 crore ..RBI had submitted the required information in a sealed cover to SC in end March 2016. Two points stick out jarringly in RBI’s submissions. Firstly, the RBI made a fervent plea that the information should be kept secret else it would destroy public confidence in the banking system, dent the “fiduciary relationship” between the RBI, banks and the borrowers and adversely affect the economy. Secondly, it conceded before the SC that it does not have information about loan accounts, involving Rs 500 crore or more, which were restructured before June 2014 - Times of India

* One Person Company is a new type of business entity that allows a single entrepreneur to operate a corporate entity with limited liability protection. Before the One Person Company (OPC) was introduced through the Companies Act, 2013, a minimum of two persons were required to started a Company or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). A OPC must be converted into a Private Limited Company if it crosses an annual turnover of Rs.2 crores and must file audited financial statements with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs at the end of each Financial Year. 

* "All the people like us are We, and everyone else is They" - Rudyard Kipling

*  "For me, home is really a state of mind, where you feel comfortable, needed and..wanted" - Dr Abraham Verghese