21.12.2012: End of the world?

21.12.2012: End of the world?

With the so-called Doomsday around the corner, youngsters in the city are rooting for partying rather than crying about it. 

Stop planning your career, don't bother buying a house, and be sure to spend the last days of your life doing something you always wanted to do but never had the time. Now you have the time, four days to be precise, to enjoy yourselves before... the end. 

The dreaded date will soon be upon us when the world will go dark. The Mayans may have predicted the end of the world and believers may even be going to pray. Many believe that in some way, shape or form, the Earth (or at least a large portion of humans on the planet) will cease to exist. 

Your view depends on whether you believe in a much-publicized but debunked interpretation of the Mayan calendar, or you don't. After all, the date is not likely to be repeated. And, so, all around the world people are getting ready to party. How could our city folk be behind? But the big question is what will Chennai be doing on 21.12.2012? 

Chennaiites are being given an opportunity to remember this day by letting their hair down. Party-goers and some disco-cum-lounges have organized dos, aimed mainly at drawing in the younger set. 

According to Lemuel Herbert, Associate Vice President and Area General Manager of a star hotel in the city, "21.12.12 can be looked at as the end, or the beginning of a whole new world. We are the key and nemesis of ourselves. Whether tomorrow dies or not, we live on to party!" 

The hotel will be organizing a 'Hennessy artistry' party on the day and many have already confirmed that they will be attending it. "I will be there for sure. If the world ends, I don't want to be stuck at home. I might as well party," says Sumedha, a college student. 

Of course, it is not the only party in the city. Saurabh, a college student, is organizing a party at his beach house and has invited all his friends there to witness Doomsday. And, what is his idea behind the party? "If we are going to go, we are going to go jumping, screaming and letting the future know that we existed," he says. 

Karthik has a different approach looking at Doomsday. "It's supposed to be the end of the world and I want to dance till I drop — whether I drop because of the exhaustion or the world ending. If I am going to die, then how does it matter what I died doing? All that will matter is that I was having a time of my life when I did." 

So the verdict is out. If it's going to be the end of the world, the city wants to party and party hard. If the world is going to end on December 21, 2012, partying is the better alternative than crying about it.

Disapperaing Dust : Still Mystery To NASA..!!

Disapperaing Dust : Still Mystery To NASA..!!

• Imagine if the rings of Saturn suddenly disappeared. Astronomers have witnessed the equivalent around a young sun-like star called TYC 8241 2652. Enormous amounts of dust known to circle the star are unexpectedly nowhere to be found.

• "It's like the classic magician's trick: now you see it, now you don't. Only in this case we're talking about enough dust to fill an inner solar system and it really is gone!" said Carl Melis of the university of California, San Diego, who led the new study appearing in the July 5 issue of the journal Nature.

• A dusty disk around TYC 8241 2652 was first seen by the NASA infra red Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in 1983, and continued to glow brightly for 25 years. The dust was thought to be due to collisions between forming planets, a normal part of planet formation. Like Earth, warm dust absorbs the energy of visible starlight and reradiates that energy as infrared, or heat, radiation.

• The first strong indication of the disk's disappearence came from images taken in January 2010 by NASA's Wide-field InfraredSurvey Explorer, or WISE. An infrared image obtained at the Gemini telescope in chile on May 1, 2012, confirmed that the dust has now been gone for two-and-a-half years.

New Theory on TIME TRAVEL by Sir Stephan Hawking...!!

New Theory on TIME TRAVEL by Sir Stephan Hawking...!!

• Hawking suspects radiation feedback would collapse any wormholes scientists managed to expand to useable sizes, rendering them useless for actual travel. But there's another way -- navigating the variable rivers of time.

• "Time flows like a river and it seems as if each of us is carried relentlessly along by time's current. But time is like a river in another way. It flows at different speeds in different places and that is the key to traveling into the future," Hawking writes.

• Albert Einstein first proposed this idea 100 years ago that there should be places where time slows down, and others where time speeds up, notes Hawking. "He was absolutely right."

• The proof, says Hawking, lies in the global positioning System satellite network, which in addition to helping us navigate on Earth, reveals that time runs faster in space.

• "Inside each spacecraft is a very precise clock. But despite being so accurate, they all gain around a third of a billionth of a second every day. The system has to correct for the drift, otherwise that tiny difference would upset the whole system, causing every gps device on Earth to go out by about six miles a day," Hawking writes.

• The clocks aren't faulty -- it's the pull of Earth that's to blame.

• "Einstein realized that matter drags on time and slows it down like the slow part of a river. The heavier the object, the more it drags on time," Hawking writes. "And this startling reality is what opens the door to the possibility of time travel to the future."

What would happen to our weather without the Moon?

What would happen to our weather without the Moon?

• It’s difficult to know exactly what would happen to our weather if the Moon were destroyed, but it wouldn’t be good. 
• The Moon powers Earth’s tides, which in turn influence our weather systems. In addition, the loss of the Moon would affect the Earth’srotation – how it spins on its axis.
• The presenceof the Moon creates a sort of drag, so its loss would probably speed up the rotation, changing the length of day and night. In addition it would alter the tilt of the Earth too, which causes the changes in our seasons.
•  Some places would be much colder while others would become much hotter. Let’s not neglect the impact of the actual destruction, either; that much debriswould block out the Sunand rain down on Earth,causing massive loss of life. 
• Huge chunks that hit the ocean could cause great tidal waves,for instance

Earthquakes

Earthquakes

• Earthquakes are the phenomena experienced during sudden movements of the Earth's crust. Under the Earth's crust lies the asthenosphere, the upper part of the mantle composed of liquid rock. 
• The plates of the Earth's crust essentially "float" on top of this layer, and can be forced to shift as the upwelling molten material below moves. As the plates shift (and thus interact with each other), an enormous amount of energy is released in the form of waves. 
• Although they can occur anywhere on the planet with little or no warning, the most extreme earthquakes occur near plate boundaries, as the plates converge (collide), diverge (move away from another), or shear (grind past one another). Moving rock and magma within volcanoes can also trigger earthquakes. 
• In all of these cases, large sections of the crust can fracture and move to-and-fro to dissipate the released energy. 
• This "shaking" is the sensation felt during an earthquake. The energy released is often described in terms of "magnitude," a logarithmic scale used to describe how energetic an earthquake was; a quake of magnitude 2 is hardly noticeable without special monitoring equipment, while quakes over magnitude 8 may actually cause the ground to visibly heave and roll.
•  Since the scale is logarithmic, a magnitude 8 quake is not four times more energetic than a magnitude 2 quake, but one billion times more energetic

What Is "Induction Cooking"?

Induction Cooking:
How It Works

What Is "Induction Cooking"?

Here's the Basic Idea

"Cooking" is the application of heat to food. Indoor cooking is almost entirely done either in an oven or on a cooktop of some sort, though occasionally a grill or griddle is used.

Cooktops--which may be part of a range/oven combination or independent built-in units (and which are known outside the U.S.A. as "hobs")--are commonly considered to be broadly divided into gas and electric types, but that is an unfortunate oversimplification.

In reality, there are several very different methods of "electric" heating, which have little in common save that their energy input is electricity. Such methods include, among others, coil elements (the most common and familiar kind of "electric" cooker), halogen heaters, and induction. Further complicating the issue is the sad habit of referring to several very different kinds of electric cookers collectively as "smoothtops," even though there can be wildly different heat sources under those smooth, glassy tops.

As we said, cooking is the application of heat to food. Food being prepared in the home is very rarely if ever cooked on a rangetop except in or on a cooking vessel of some sort--pot, pan, whatever. Thus, the job of the cooker is not to heat the food but to heat the cooking vessel--which in turn heats and cooks the food. That not only allows the convenient holding of the food--which may be a liquid--it also allows, when we want it, a more gradual or more uniform application of heat to the food by proper design of the cooking vessel.

Cooking has therefore always consisted in generating substantial heat in a way and place that makes it easy to transfer most of that heat to a conveniently placed cooking vessel. Starting from the open fire, mankind has evolved many ways to generate such heat. The two basic methods in modern times have been the chemical and the electrical: one either burns some combustible substance--such as wood, coal, or gas--or one runs an electrical current through a resistance element (that, for instance, is how toasters work), whether in a "coil" or, more recently, inside a halogen-filled bulb.

How Induction Cooking Works:

1. The element's electronics power a coil (the red lines) that produces a high-frequency electromagnetic field (represented by the orange lines).
2. That field penetrates the metal of the ferrous (magnetic-material) cooking vessel and sets up a circulating electric current, which generates heat. (But see the note below.)
3. The heat generated in the cooking vessel is transferred to the vessel's contents.
4. Nothing outside the vessel is affected by the field--as soon as the vessel is removed from the element, or the element turned off, heat generation stops.
   
   There is thus one point about induction: with current technology, induction cookers require thatall your countertop cooking vessels be of a "ferrous" metal (one, such as iron, that will readily sustain a magnetic field). Materials like aluminum, copper, and pyrex are not usable on an induction cooker. But all that means is that you need iron or steel pots and pans. And that is no drawback in absolute terms, for it includes the best kinds of cookware in the world--every top line is full of cookware of all sizes and shapes suitable for use on induction cookers (and virtually all of the lines will boast of it, because induction is so popular with discerning cooks). Nor do you have to go to top-of-the-line names like All-Clad or Le Creuset, for many very reasonably priced cookware lines are also perfectly suited for induction cooking. But if you are considering induction and have a lot invested, literally or emotionally, in non-ferrous cookware, you do need to know the fact
   
   
   

   So How Much Power Is What?

   
   
   
   Perhaps the most useful way to use that conversion datum is to see what good gas-cooker BTU values are and work back to what induction-cooker kW values would have to be to correspond. But what are good gas-cooker BTU values? Here too, opinions will vary. As a sort of baseline, we can look at what typical mid-line gas ranges look like. As numerous sources report, a typical "ordinary" home gas range will usually have its burners in these power ranges, give or take only a little: a small burner of about 5,000 Btu/hour; two medium-level burners of about 9,000 Btu/hour; and (depending on width, 30 inches or 36 inches) either one or two large burners of anywhere from 12,000 to 16,000 BTU/hour
   
   
   as four 15,000-BTU/hour burners and two 18,000-BTU/hour burners). One expert source remarked of such gear: Most commercial-style home ranges offer 15,000 BTUs per burner, which is perfectly adequate for most at-home cooks. You won't always need all that heat, but if you want to caramelize a bell pepper in seconds, or blacken a redfish like a pro, well, you'll need all the heat you can get. My advice: Go for the big-time BTUs (which, in the tests he was discussing, was that 18,000 BTU/hour level).
   So let's summarize by showing representative gas-power levels and their induction-power equivalents (remember, calculated quite conservatively):
   

   • Typical home stove:
     
     • small: 5,000 BTU/hour gas = 0.70 kW induction
     • medium: 9,000 BTU/hour gas = 1.25 kW induction
     • large: 12,000 BTU/hour gas = 1.70 kW induction; or 15,000 BTU/hour gas = 2.10 kW induction
       
   • Typical "pro style" stove:
     
     • medium: 15,000 BTU/hour gas = 2.10 kW induction
     • large: 18,000 BTU/hour gas = 2.50 kW induction

   (Even for wok cooking, the most power-hungry kind there is, experts consider 10,000 BTU/hour good and 12,000 BTU/hour "hot".)
   So how do actual real-world, on-the-market induction cooktops stack up against gas?
   It's an almost comic mismatch. Sticking to build-in units (as opposed to little free-standing countertop convenience units), it is difficult, perhaps by now impossible, to find a unit with any element having less than 1.2 kW power--which puts the smallest induction element to be found equal to the average "medium" burner on a gas stove. The least-expensive 30-inch (four-element) induction cooktop has:
   

   • a 1.3-kW small element (between 9,000 and 9,500 BTU/hour),
   • two elements of 1.85 kW each (well over 13,000 BTU/hour), and
   • one element of 2.4 kW (over 17,000 BTU/hour).

   The least-expensive 36-inch (five-element) induction cooktop has:
   

   • a 1.2-kW small element (8,500 BTU/hour),
   • a medium element of 1.8 kW (13,000 BTU/hour),
   • a larger element of 2.2 kW (16,000 BTU/hour),
   • and two elements of 2.4 kW (over 17,000 BTU/hour).

   The very highest-power gas burner to be found in the residential market is 22,000 BTU/hour, and that's a sort of freak monster, whereas a 3.6-kW and 3.7-kW element--which is around 26,000 BTU/hour of gas!--is found in many induction cooktops. (Moreover, the elements on some induction units can share power with one another, so that if not every element is already in use, a given one can be "boosted" beyond its normal power level, for uses such as bringing a large pot of water to a boil, or pre-heating a fry skillet.)
   So, in sum, induction is not "as powerful as gas"--it's miles ahead.

What is the God particle?

What is the God particle?

• Recently we get to know about the news regarding nuclear physics... GOD PARTICLE.. This article gives a brief detail about what is it...
• The "God particle" is the nickname of a subatomic particle called the Higgs boson. In layman’s terms, different subatomic particles are responsible for giving matter different properties. One of the most mysterious and important properties is mass. Some particles, like protons and neutrons, have mass. Others, like photons, do not. The Higgs boson, or “God particle,” is believed to be the particle which gives mass to matter. The “God particle” nickname grew out of the long, drawn-out struggles of physicists to find this elusive piece of the cosmic puzzle. What follows is a very brief, very simplified explanation of how the Higgs boson fits into modern physics, and how science is attempting to study it.

• The “standard model” of particle physics is a system that attempts to describe the forces, components, and reactions of the basic particles that make up matter. It not only deals with atoms and their components, but the pieces that compose some subatomic particles. This model does have some major gaps, including gravity, and some experimental contradictions. The standard model is still a very good method of understanding particle physics, and it continues to improve. The model predicts that there are certain elementary particles even smaller than protons and neutrons. As of the date of this writing, the only particle predicted by the model which has not been experimentally verified is the “Higgs boson,” jokingly referred to as the “God particle.”

• Each of the subatomic particles contributes to the forces that cause all matter interactions. One of the most important, but least understood, aspects of matter is mass. Science is not entirely sure why some particles seem mass-less, like photons, and others are “massive.” The standard model predicts that there is an elementary particle, the Higgs boson, which would produce the effect of mass. Confirmation of the Higgs boson would be a major milestone in our understanding of physics.

• The “God particle” nickname actually arose when the book The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? by Leon Lederman was published. Since then, it’s taken on a life of its own, in part because of the monumental questions about matter that the God particle might be able to answer. The man who first proposed the Higgs boson’s existence, Peter Higgs, isn’t all that amused by the nickname “God particle,” as he’s an avowed atheist. All the same, there isn’t really any religious intention behind the nickname.

• Currently, efforts are under way to confirm the Higgs boson using the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator in Switzerland, which should be able to confirm or refute the existence of the God particle. As with any scientific discovery, God’s amazing creation becomes more and more impressive as we learn more about it. Either result—that the Higgs boson exists, or does not exist—represents a step forward in human knowledge and another step forward in our appreciation of God’s awe-inspiring universe. Whether or not there is a “God particle,” we know this about Christ: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible . . . all things were created by him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

Physicists celebrate evidence of 'God particle

'

• To cheers and standing ovations, scientists at the world's biggest atom smasher claimed the discovery of a new subatomic particle on Wednesday, calling it "consistent" with the long-sought Higgs boson — popularly known as the " God particle" — that helps explain what gives all matter in the universesize and shape.

• "We have now found the missing cornerstone of particle physics," Rolf Heuer, director of theEuropean Center for Nuclear Research(CERN), told scientists.

• He said the newly discovered subatomic particle is a boson, but he stopped just shy of claiming outright that it is the Higgs boson itself — an extremely fine distinction.

• ``As a layman, I think we did it,'' he told the elated crowd. ``We have a discovery. We have observed a new particle that is consistent with a Higgs boson.''

• The Higgs boson, which until now has been a theoretical particle, is seen as the key to understanding why matter has mass, which combines with gravity to give an object weight. The idea is much like gravity and Isaac Newton's discovery of it: Gravity was there all the time before Newton explained it. But now scientists have seen something very much like the Higgs boson and can put that knowledge to further use.

• CERN's atom smasher, the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider on the Swiss-French border, has been creating high-energy collisions of protons to investigate dark matter, antimatter and the creation of the universe, which many theorize occurred in a massive explosion known as the Big Bang.

• Two independent teams at CERN said on Wednesday they have both "observed" a new subatomic particle — a boson. Heuer called it "most probably a Higgs boson, but we have to find out what kind of Higgs boson it is."

Asked whether the find is a discovery, Heuer answered, "As a layman, I think we have it. But as a scientist, I have to say, "What do we have?"

The leaders of the two CERN teams — Joe Incandela, head of CMS with 2,100 scientists, and Fabiola Gianotti, head of ATLAS with 3,000 scientists — each presented in complicated scientific terms what was essentially extremely strong evidence of a new particle.

Incandela said it was too soon to say definitively whether it is the ``standard model'' Higgs that Scottish physicist Peter Higgs and others predicted in the 1960s — part of a standard model theory of physics involving an energy field where particles interact with a key particle, the Higgs boson.

"The" Higgs or "a" Higgs — that was the question on Wednesday.

``It is consistent with a Higgs boson as is needed for the standard model,'' Heuer said. ``We can only call it a Higgs boson — not the Higgs boson.''

Higgs, who was invited to be in the audience, said he also could not yet say if it was part of the standard model. But he told the audience the discovery appears to be very close to what he predicted.

``It is an incredible thing that it has happened in my lifetime,'' he said, calling it a huge achievement for the proton-smashing collider built in a 27-km underground tunnel.

The stunning work elicited standing ovations and frequent applause at a packed auditorium in CERN as Gianotti and Incandela each took their turn.

Incandela called it ``a Higgs-like particle'' and said ``we know it must be a boson and it's the heaviest boson ever found.''

``Thanks, nature!'' Gianotti said to laughs, giving thanks for the discovery.

Later, she told reporters that ``the standard model (of physics) is not complete'' but that ``the dream is to find an ultimate theory that explains everything — we are far from that.''

The phrase ``God particle'' was coined by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman but is used by laymen, not physicists, as an easier way of explaining how the subatomic universe works and got started.

Incandela said the last undiscovered piece of the standard model could be a variant of the Higgs that was predicted or something else that entirely changes the way scientists think about how matter is formed.

``This boson is a very profound thing we have found,'' he said. ``We're reaching into the fabric of the universe in a way we never have done before. We've kind of completed one particle's story ... now, we're way out on the edge of exploration.''

Facebook quietly removes 'test' friend-finding feature

Facebook has quietly removed a controversial feature that would let users on mobile devices find other Facebook users nearby, even if they weren't friends with them on the popular social network.

That feature, which Facebook said it was "testing" with users in a roll-out yesterday, became the topic of controversy earlier today when a company called Friendthem accused Facebook of stealing the idea. In a release provided to CNET and other outlets, Friendthem's CEO said the company was mulling a lawsuit.

A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment on the removal of the feature. In an earlier statement, the company said the feature was not "a formal release," and instead was something "a few engineers were testing."

"With all tests, some get released as full products, others don't," the company said.

Sony Xperia Ion review (AT&T)

Sony Xperia Ion review (AT&T)

• It's not that the Xperia Ion doesn't try to impress in other ways. Besides its swift LTE data connection, it links into Sony's large library of music and movie content. But even those attributes are overshadowed by its aging Android Gingerbread software and an old Snapdragon S3 processor. The same goes for the Ion's camera performance, which isn't as capable as I had hoped. To catch fire in the U.S. market and compete with other successful phone makers, Sony really needs to step up its game with a lust-worthy halo device. Unfortunately, the Xperia Ion isn't it.

Design

• A glossy black monolith of a smartphone, the new Sony Xperia Ion is handsomely styled. While it lacks the daring design elements of its European cousins, namely the Xperia NXT series, the Xperia Ion does flaunt an elegant if sober look. For instance, the handset doesn't have the futuristic notification bar that splits the Xperia P, S, and U's base in half. Translucent, that bar illuminates to alert you when important system events occur such as new messages and missed calls. It's a shame it's only found on the international Xperia models.
• That said, the Xperia Ion has a sophisticated feel enhanced by its curved metal back and soft-touch trim coating the phone's rear top and bottom edges. Further lending to the phone's premium aesthetic is its hefty 5.1-ounce weight. Both the metallic backing and large 4.55-inch (1,280x720-pixel resolution) LCD screen however smudge easily and are fingerprint magnets.
• In addition, I'm not a big fan of the Xperia Ion's display, which is dark and has a bluish cast, resulting in inconsistent colors. Photos on Web pages looked muted, while details in dimly lit sections of video were lost. I especially noticed the Ion's poor display when I viewed it next to HTC's superphone on AT&T, the HTC One X. The One X's screen (4.7-inch, 1,280x720 HD Super LCD) was noticeably brighter (with both phones set at maximum brightness) and it's viewing angles were much wider than the Xperia's. The HTC One X also painted colors with a warmer, more pleasing palette.
• Another drawback to the Xperia Ion's design is its lack of a removable battery, though the phone does have a microSD card slot to add more storage. Above the screen is a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera (720p) for vanity shots and video chat. Below the display are four traditional Android Gingerbread symbols for Menu, Home, Back, and Search. Don't be fooled, these symbols aren't actual buttons, merely pictures drawn onto the device.
• Below the icons sit the real keys, thin white lines, which provide haptic feedback and are also backlit. Unfortunately, the icons don't illuminate, so picking them out in the dark isn't easy. Neither is tapping the keys accurately since your instinct is to hit the symbols themselves. I ran into this annoyance every time I picked up the phone and I feel it is a major oversight.
• Other buttons include a small power key and trim volume bar on the Xperia Ion's right side. There's a dedicated camera button here as well, which unlike on many Android handsets will wake the phone up from sleep and fire up the camera. By default the phone will even snap a picture immediately after the camera is activated. Running along the Xperia Ion's left edge is a flap cover hiding a Micro-USB port plus an HDMI connection so you can view content on compatible HDTVs.
• Sony doesn't bundle any fancy text entry methods like Swype or other one-handed keyboard software. By default the stock Android Gingerbread layout is selected, but you can choose the Xperia keyboard, which is similar but has wider spacing between keys.

Features and software

• Android addicts will no doubt have a major beef with the fact that the Sony Xperia Ion isn't running the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich. Instead of version 4.0, the Ion runs Android Gingerbread 2.3.7. Even so, Sony is quick to point out that it has added many of the popular features ICS brings to the table.
• This is more than what we like...

Microsoft Enters Tablet Arena With New Surface Devices

Microsoft Enters Tablet Arena With New Surface Devices

• Microsoft has unveiled a pair of tablet computers dubbed "Surface" in a bold move that thrusts the world's largest software company into uncharted hardware waters.
• The company said the tablets would be sold in Microsoft retail stores in the US and through select online Microsoft stores, but did not specifically mention plans for channel sales.

• The announcement, coming after days of speculation about Microsoft's press event in Los Angeles, will put the software developer on a collision course with Apple and its popular iPad -- and possibly with Microsoft's own hardware manufacturer partners.

• "It embodies hardware and software working together," said Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft, unveiling the new products. Emphasizing that the new Surface tablets are designed for workplace and home use, Ballmer said, "People want to work and to play. They want to be on their desk and on the go. Surface fulfils that dream."

• Microsoft is introducing two tablet products: Surface for Windows 8 Pro, an Intel Core-based tablet that runs the edition of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system designed for Intel-based PCs; and Surface for Windows RT, a tablet running on ARM microprocessors.

• Microsoft is counting on the tablet products to help it make up ground in the booming tablet market where the Apple iPad and tablets running Google's Android operating system dominate. While there are some tablet products running Windows 7 on the market, Microsoft has been counting heavily on Windows 8 and Windows RT to help get it into the game.

• While Microsoft has generally left it to hardware partners such as Samsung and Lenovo to build hardware to run Microsoft software, the company apparently decided that it needed to move on its own to become a tablet market player.
• That move, however, carries risks, noted Michael Cusumano, Professor, Management and Engineering Systems, MIT's Sloan School of Management. Launching its own tablet could dangerously pit Microsoft against its own OEM partners, which have already invested heavily in hardware for Windows RT.

• "Personally, I do not think it's a good idea because it creates conflict with [Microsoft’s] partners," Cusumano told CRN. "It's a big risk for Microsoft."

• He also pointed to the software giant's mixed track record in developing its own hardware. While the Xbox game controller has been a success, its home-grown Zune MP3 player never gained the traction it needed to compete seriously against Apple's iPod and quickly fizzled out.

• That said, Cusumano added, Microsoft could be taking a cue from Apple, which employs a more be-all, do-all model by producing both its hardware and software platforms in-house. "Microsoft may have realized they were out-innovated by Apple," Cusumano said. "But Apple made sure the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

• Microsoft seemed to bear out that view: In its press materials for the tablets, Microsoft said the new products were "conceived, designed and engineered entirely by Microsoft employees," making it clear that this was a Microsoft project from beginning to end.

• Other factors that will determine whether the surface tablets succeed or fail will include the number of third-party applications Microsoft can attract to Windows RT and the Surface tablets' price tags.

• Microsoft said it would disclose suggested retail pricing at a date closer to the products' availability. But the company said pricing would be "competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel ultrabook-class PC." Microsoft also said "OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT."

• The Surface tablets sport a 10.6-inch touch display, a built-in keyboard and a built-in kickstand. The casing is manufactured using a process Microsoft calls "Vapor-Mag." Surface for Windows RT weighs 676 grams while Surface for Windows 8 Pro weighs 903 grams.

Monorail and Metro Rail

Monorail and Metro Rail

Difference Between Monorail and Metro Rail

For the past few years where ever we move in chennai there are people digging n constructing something and they name it as chennai metro rail..... few months back ruling party announce plan for mono rail... i'm here come up with some info abt metro n mono rail... get to knw to clear ur doubt.. :)

• Monorail and Metro rail are limited to a few cities of the world. These are the means of transportation. Many people of the world may have not seen them. Both Monorail and Metro Rail are the efficient and fast means of public transport. However both are different in design, cost and infrastructure.
• Both the system originated due to congestion of traffic in big cities and due to inefficiency to deal with traditional railway system. In big cities of the world, population has increased many folds. As a result there are problems of traffic. People cannot reach their destination in time. Both monorails and metro rails are helpful in solving this problem. Both the systems are independent system and avoid congestion of road traffic. They run at a very high speed without getting late. So, both are very popular means of public transportation.
• Monorail is a transport system which runs on single rail. Metro rail runs on two parallel rails just as traditional rails. Monorail runs on a single line laid on a beam in the air. Metrorail too has an independent rail track but it has two rails and may not be high in the air. The track of monorail is narrower than the train itself. That is what makes a difference.
• Monorails were developed in order to connect two places where material must be transported without any delay and obstacle. It originated in the 50’s. However, they could not progress fast because of it high cost and availability of vehicles. First of all Japan developed it further in order to solve the problem of heavy traffic jams. Hundreds of thousand passengers travel in monorail daily in Tokyo. The train is originated in Germany. It is called magnetic levitation as the train looks to be running in the air. There looks a gap between wheels ate the rail. It is the fastest running train in the world. Its speed is 500kmph.
• Metro rail is mean of public transport in many big cities of the world. It runs underground, on ground and over the ground. It uses two rails to run. Electricity is used as energy to run it. Some cities of the world which have very successful system of Metro Rail include Shanghai, London, New York, and Delhi. It is called metro as it runs mostly in metro cities of the world.
• Both Mono Rail and Metro rails are good and popular means of public transport. Both are helpful in solving the problem of traffic congestion. However there are some technical differences between the two. The major difference between Mono Rail and Metro Rail is regarding their rails. Metro train uses two rails while mono rail uses a single rail. Mono rail uses the principal of magnetic levitation while metro rail uses the traditional approach. However it uses independent line. Metro rails runs slower than monorail.

How Touch Screens Work

How Touch Screens Work....??

Capacitive Sensing Technology:

• This is one of the most widely used techniques for touch screens. This technology is based on the capacitor coupling effects. It has been used in devices like MP3 players, computer monitors, mobile phone displays and so on. As this technology has advantages like detecting the correct position at a very small time, less cost in production, and also a very unique human—device interface, it is widely used. It also has properties like multiple touch sensing and also gesture based touch screens. 
• The latest and most famous gadget to be released with this technology is the Apple i-Pod click wheel. This mechanism is more advantageous than the resistive sensing because it can transmit to a maximum of 90% of the light from the monitor. Thus a much better vision can be obtained from these screens.
• Here also, a glass panel is arranged on top of which a layer that is able to store electrical charge is kept. When the monitor is touched by the user, the charge begins to move from the layer to our body. 
• This decrease in the charge on the conductive layer is measured with the help of electronic circuits which are placed inside the monitor. As the electronic circuits are placed on each corner of the monitor the difference in charge attained at each corner is calculated by the computer and the exact position of the touch is obtained. 

This information is then passed on to the touch-screen driver software

Lamborghini to enter the ultra-premium cellphone market

Lamborghini to enter the ultra-premium 


cellphone market:

Not sure if its a good idea... Lamborghini to enter the ultra-premium cellphone market later this year.....

If Porsche is making moves in the United States with the launch of their largest Design shop yet, then the car-loving Russians are in for a treat of their own thanks to Lamborghini.

 The Italian supercar brand will soon be launching its new range of luxury phones and a tablet exclusively for the Russian market flaunting completely gold bodies, large VGA resolution displays, and rear and front-facing cameras. With a covers so luxurious, you can’t have just any old casing; thankfully, each phone comes with a handmade leather or crocodile skin backing.

No matter how you look at it, these Lamborghini phones are pricey for the features included, but there will always be a market for anything associated with the Italian Stallion.

RICHEST COUNTRIES

Top 10 Richest Countries in the World per Capita

Top 10 Richest Countries in the World per Capita!
Ever wondered what the Top 10 Richest Countries are? Well, here you have come tothe right place! Top 10 Richest Countries in the World per Capita was determined by the International Monetary Fund. Here are the Top 10 Richest Countries in the World per Capita! 

•  10. Netherlands - $40,765 per Capita
• 9. Switzerland - $41,633 per Capita 
• 8. Hong Kong - $45,736 per Capita 
• 7. United States - $47,284 per Capita 
• 6. United Arab Emirates - $48,821 per Capita 
• 5. Brunei - $48,892 per Capita
•  4. Norway - $52,013 per Capita
•  3. Singapore - $56,522 per Capita
•  2. Luxembourg - $81,383 per Capita 
• 1. Qatar - $88,559 per Capita

Amazing Battery to Recharge your Mobile

Amazing Battery to Recharge your Mobile

1- Worried about the mobile battery while in travel. 2- Another concept for your needs. 3- Continuance is a set of batteries with a USB interface. 4- These batteries are rechargeable plus is Handy, compact and a totally do-able concept! 5- Kudos to the concept designer. Continuance is an iF concept design entry for 2011. Designers: Haimo Bao, Hailong Piao, Yuancheng Liu & Xiameng Hu

DIET-LOSE WEIGHT

DIET-LOSE WEIGHT: Want to Lose weight by Negative Calorie Foods ? (take a min to read it) Negative Calories Foods : A list of vegetable n Fruits that need more calories(Energy) to get Digested than the amount of energy they give to the Body after digestion and absorption .. So the Extra calories that your body has to spend usually comes from the Breakdown of Body Fats. For Example : 100 gram of Broccoli needs 80 calories to get Digested,and after Digestion it gives only 25 calories to the Body. so extra 55 calories come from Breaking down of Body fats. Same way CUCUMBER breaks down Body Fats. Here is a list of some Negative-calorie Foods -Apple - carrots - Beets - Orange - Onion -Papaya -Chili -Cauliflower -Spinach - Turnip - Lemons Etc... All these break down your Body Fats and make you lose weight :)))

BLUETOOTH

BLUETOOTH

Why is it called Bluetooth? The communication technology called Bluetooth wasn’t named by accident. Bluetooth actually has a very regal background. It is named for Harold “Bluetooth” Gormsson who united three Danish tribes into a single kingdom. By naming the product Bluetooth, the company is saying that its technology does the same thing with communications protocols, uniting them into one universal standard. But why Bluetooth? It turns out that Harold I of Denmark (Bluetooth to his friends) was very, very fond of blueberries and his teeth were permanently stained blue. Even the very familiar Bluetooth logo hearkens back to our king with the blue grin; it’s a combination of the Danish runes Hagall (ᚼ) and Bjarkan (ᛒ), King Harold’s Initials.

UNKNOWN FACTs

UNKNOWN FACTS 

1. The Statue of Liberty's index finger is eight feet long. 

2. Rain has never been recorded in some parts of the Atacama Desert in Chile. 

3. A 75 year old person will have slept about 23 years. 

4. Boeing 747's wing span is longer than the Wright brother's first flight. The Wright brother's invented the airplane.

 5. There are as many chickens on earth as there are humans.

 6. One type of hummingbird weighs less than a penny.

 7. The word "set" has the most number of definitions in the English language; 192 Slugs have four noses. 

8. Sharks can live up to 100 years. 

9. Mosquitos are more attracted to the color blue than any other color. 

10. Kangaroos can't walk backwards. 

11. About 75 acres of pizza are eaten in in the U.S. everyday.

 12. The largest recorded snowflake was 15 Inch wide and 8 Inch thick. It fell in Montana in 1887. 

13. The tip of a bullwhip moves so fast that the sound it makes is actually a tiny sonic boom. 

14. Former president Bill Clinton only sent 2 emails in his entire 8 year presidency. 

15. Koalas and humans are the only animals that have finger prints. 

16. There are 200,000,000 insects for every one human. 

17. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery had in it to begin with.

 18. The world's largest Montessori school is in India, with 26,312 students in 2002.

 19. Octopus have three hearts. 

20. If you ate too many carrots, you would turn orange.

 21. The average person spends two weeks waiting for a traffic light to change. 

22. 1 in 2,000,000,000 people will live to be 116 or old. 

23. The body has 2-3 million sweat glands. 

24. Sperm whales have the biggest brains; 20 lbs.

 25. Tiger shark embroyos fight each other in their mother's womb. The survivor is born. 

26. Most cats are left pawed. 

27. 250 people have fallen off the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

28. A Blue whale's tongue weighs more than an elephant. 

29. You use 14 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. Keep Smiling! 

 30. Bamboo can grow up to 3 ft in 24 hours.

Artificial island

Maldives Airport On Artificial Island

:: This is truely Amazing Fact......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Airport of Maldives is situated on Artificially created Island in Indian Ocean.....

DRIVERLESS CAR @GOOGLE

DRIVERLESS CAR @GOOGLE

This new technology sounds as if it is right out of a science fiction movie, and that’s because it’s not far off. Over the past several years Google engineers and scientists have been working tirelessly at Stanford Laboratories to develop a technology that will change the way we live in the upcoming decades: the Google Car.


This car is completely driverless. It combines information from Goggle Street View with artificial intelligence software that communicates with a sensor on top of the car, which in turn speaks to the wheels and steering wheel to drive the car without any human interference. So far the car has clocked over 175,000 miles and had zero accidents.


In fact, the technology has caught on so fast that the state of Nevada has passed the first laws allowing for automated cars!


To see a Google Car in action check out the video below! Are you excited or hesitant about driverless cars? Let usb know in the comments