The farthest Galaxy of our universe...

Making it a breakthrough the astronomers, powered with NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes and one of nature’s own natural “zoom lenses” in space, have discovered the most distant Galaxy ever seen in the Universe.

The galaxy appears as a diminutive blob that is only a tiny fraction of the size of our Milky Way Galaxy. It offers a peek back into a time when the universe was 3 per cent of its present age of 13.7 billion years.

This galaxy named as MACS0647-JD, was observed 420 million years after the big bang, the theorized beginning of the universe. Its light has traveled 13.3 billion years to reach Earth. This finding is the latest from a program that uses natural zoom lenses to reveal distant Galaxies in the early Universe.

Along the way, 8 billion years into its journey, light from MACS0647-JD took a detour along multiple paths around the massive Galaxy cluster. Without the cluster’s magnification powers, astronomers would not have seen this remote Galaxy. Because of gravitational lensing, The Cluster Lensing and Supernova Survey with Hubble (CLASH) research team was able to observe three magnified images of MACS0647-JD with the Hubble telescope. The cluster’s gravity boosted the light from the faraway galaxy, making the images appear about eight, seven, and two times brighter than they otherwise would that enabled Astronomers to detect the galaxy more efficiently and with greater confidence. As per Marc Postman of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore,“This cluster does what no man-made telescope can do. Without the magnification, it would require a Herculean effort to observe this galaxy,”

MACS0647-JD is so small it may be in the first steps of forming a larger galaxy. An analysis shows the galaxy is less than 600 light-years wide. Based on observations of somewhat closer galaxies, astronomers estimate that a typical galaxy of a similar age should be about 2,000 light-years wide. For comparison, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy companion to the Milky Way, is 14,000 light-years wide. Our Milky Way is 150,000 light-years across.

Matured Android now occupies 3 out of 4 smartphones in market

Ever since the inception of this revolutionary mobile platform, Android have always been on the peak of buyer's mind. Now after a few years, when Android has become a matured platform across the markets, the total market occupancy has increased even further making it almost 75%.

As per the latest report, almost three out of four of smart phones around the world are now running the Android mobile operating system. Here are the detailed analysis of this report.

According to IT market research firm Gartner, Google's mobile OS now has a 72.4% share of the market for mobile operating systems, a massive increase from the 52.5% it held a year ago. Samsung's wildly popular smartphones accounted for a big portion of that gain, with the South Korean tech giant shipping 55 million units, the majority of which run on Android.

According to the survey, Apple, whose devices run on its own proprietary iOS software, sold around 23.5 million phones over the same period, the third quarter of 2012. That was up from 17.3 million a year ago, but the rise was not enough to stop the market share of the Silicon Valley company's operating system slipping from 15% to 13.9%. The survey also said that the fall in Apple's market share could have been a result of users around the world waiting for the release of the iPhone 5 in their countries.

Though, with the recent launch of iPhone 5, Gartner analysts expect iOS share will grow strongly in the fourth quarter of 2012 because users held on to their replacements in many markets ahead of the iPhone 5 wider roll out.

Think before you do, you are being Googled!

Google, the search giant introduced its first transparency report in 2009 and since then the number of inquiries across the globe has risen by around 37 percent. Governments all around the world are increasingly using Google as a key surveillance tool.

According to Google :

Government surveillance is on the rise... Government demands for user data have increased steadily since we first launched the Transparency Report. In the first half of 2012, there were 20,938 inquiries from government entities around the world. Those requests were for information about 34,614 accounts.

Google surveillance is definitely a global issue, but even here the US government is in the forefront. Brazil, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom each generated more than 1,000 government-related requests for user data. India was more inquisitive, with 2,319 requests. The US issued almost as many requests as those countries put together: 7,969.

With the introduction of transparency, the charge is also on when it came to requesting the removal of content from Google, with a total of 273 removal requests, including a number of being court orders.

Before completely despairing of user privacy, it's worth putting these figures in context. Google claims to have more than 400 million Gmail users alone. If the total number of Google accounts is, say, half a billion, then your chances of being subject to a request for user data is still only 25,000 to one.

Of course, most of us lead lives of much less interest to government authorities. For enterprises, the concern should probably be less about spying, and more about negligence. If Google, Microsoft, or Amazon complies with an agency's request to hand over enterprise data, what becomes of it? Is it securely protected in the hands of law enforcement? Is it securely disposed of once the investigation is over? If it's obtained without a warrant, will you even know that your data is being examined?

These are just further questions for individuals and organizations to consider before committing sensitive and confidential information to what is, in effect, the cloud. The government across the globe might be having an eye on all you commit.

Amazing Micromax Android Smart Stick

The new product Smart Stick, launched today by Micromax can convert your ordinary TV into an Android based smartTV. Dongles, which convert ordinary TV into an Android device are a recent phenomenon and players like Amkette, Razer Bee and Portronics have already launched them as smart TV boxes in India. But none of them could launch dongles as small as that of Micromax Smart Stick.

The basic idea behind the launch of the Smart Stick is very commendable since the device will allow users to watch not just TV programs but also to surf the net, play games and everything else that can be done on an Android tablet including downloading and using all the apps on Google Play store on TV screens.

With the launch of Smart Stick dongle, Micromax has ventured into a new segment to increase its user base. Smart Stick dongle is a small device that converts an ordinary TV with HDMI port into a large Android tablet.

Micromax Smart Stick after being plugged into a TV with HDMI slot converts the ordinary TV into an Android tablets where it uses the TV's screen as display. But one has to connect the dongle to a power socket as it doesn't have an internal battery.

At the first glance, the tagged price of Rs 4,990 seems to be a bit high for a Smart Stick dongle which doesn't have a screen of its own or even an internal battery. But looking at the features and the remote possibility of price down with time, this still seems to be a good buy.

Google to develop map apps for apple devices

People pining for a Google Maps app on their Apple devices will get one eventually, but likely not for another couple months or so.

Google is developing a maps application for iPhone and iPad that it is seeking to finish by the end of the year, according to people involved with the effort who declined to be named because of the nature of their work. There has been widespread speculation about whether and when Google would release a maps application for Apple devices since Apple released a new version of its iOS operating system with an Apple-made maps service.

One reason that it will take Google some time to build the iPhone app: it expected the app with Google’s maps to remain on the iPhone for some time, based on the contract between the two companies, and was caught off guard when Apple decided to build a new application to replace the old one.

Apple’s service has been widely ridiculed for inaccuracies in addresses, mislabeled landmarks and other mistakes. It has been compared unfavorably to Google Maps, which previously supplied mapping services to iOS users through an app Apple bundled with the devices. Apple has said its new service will improve over time.

Publicly, Google has been cagey about whether it will provide Google Maps for iOS devices as an app, beyond saying that it wants to provide its maps to users on any device they use. On Tuesday in Tokyo, Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, said the company had made no move to submit a Google Maps app for the iPhone.

But Google does intend to build a Google Maps app for iOS, according to people who have been involved in an effort to create the app. There are several complicating factors to Google’s development of the app. Google’s contract with Apple to keep the maps app on the iPhone had more time remaining, and Google did not know that Apple had changed its mind until Apple said publicly in June that it would replace the app with its new maps app, according to two people briefed on the decision. Google is now navigating business relationships with Apple that grow more tricky by the day.

Another complication, according to a person with knowledge of Google Maps: Google would likely prefer to release a maps app that includes 3-D imagery so it is comparable to Apple’s. But Google has 3-D images in Google Earth, which is a separate app with a separate code base from Google Maps, so it would take some time to combine the two.

A handy solution to "USB device not detected"

Problem:
This is a very common problem people face while using their pen drive with the computer. A most common problem with students as well as professionals :

• Windows XP does not recognize USB Mass Storage Drives OR
•  Device is detected and listed with an exclamation mark in Device Manager

After a lot of experiments, this is what I found to be most accurate and simple steps to resolve this with a sure shot. Hope you all will find this useful

Solution:
Please follow these steps to get rid of this problem :

1. Delete following file: C:\Windows\inf\infcache.1

2. Go to windows\inf folder and see if you have read/write permissions for following files:

• usbstor.inf
• usbstor.pnf

If not, open security settings for above files and add your username for read/write access.

3. Open registry editor and delete following keys:
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\ <read all keys and delete all those saying USB Mass Storage Driver>

Add following keys:
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Usb. Add a new DWoRD Value and name it "DisableSelectiveSuspend". Give it value 1

4. Make sure you have USBSTOR.SYS file in your windows\system32\drivers folder. If it is not there google it and download it and place it at the said location.

If your problem still persists (there are very few chances), then post your exact problem. :)

Laser system that can show what lies behind the walls

According to a research led by an Indian-origin scientist. you can now see what's behind walls using a laser system which recreates 3-D images of the hidden objects. The researchers were inspired by the erratic behavior of photons zooming around and bouncing off objects and walls inside a room and they combine this with advanced optics to enable people “see” what’s hidden around the corners or even behind the walls.

As per Otkrist Gupta, MIT graduate student who led the study, photon particles keep bouncing right off the walls and down a corridor and around a corner. The particles that hit an object are reflected back and when this happens, the data about the time they take to move around and bounce back can be used to get information about its geometry. Using advanced optics, with this concept, in the form of an ultra-fast laser and a 2-D specialized camera, the team exploited being able to capture billions of images per second to demonstrate the technology’s ability to “see” objects by analyzing the light moving around a corner or through water bottle.

There is no doubt that this technique, developed by the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Harvard, Wisconsin and Rice Universities, may prove invaluable in disaster recovery situations, as well as in non-invasive biomedical imaging applications.

Imagine a house collapsing situation where we have to rescue people trapped inside, the technology can be conveniently used and save a number of lives. It is also ideal for use in fire disaster situation, in which you need to find out what’s going on inside and around corners-but don’t want to risk sending someone inside because of dangerous or hazardous conditions. You could use this technology to greatly reduce risking rescue workers’ lives.

As per Gupta, the technology is likely to take at least another five to 10 years before it becomes commercially available.

Karbonn unveils world's first JellyBean tablet

Being an Indian, I personally feel great with the way two companies namely Micromax and Karbonn are bringing out tech gadgets to the market specially the most popular android smartphones and tablets.

Micromax, was not even known to people for first few years after its inception in 1991. Few years back, in 2008, company entered the smartphone market in India and since then it never turned back. At the same time another India company Karbonn mobiles was founded in March 2009 and since then it has always been committed to bring revolutionary technology to the Indian technological eco-sphere.

Today, with the launch of Smart Tab I tablet, Karbonn mobiles became the first company to present the world's first Smart Tab loaded with the revolutionary Android 'Jelly Bean' technology which is an industry-first in itself. According to Karbonn, the tablet will be available for pre-booking on the Karbonn home site. The company will provide a free upgrade to the consumers from their pre-loaded Android 4.0.3 ( Ice Cream Sandwich) platform to Android 4.1 ( Jelly Bean) platform.

The tablet has a 17.8 cm 5-point touch screen, powered by a 3,700 mAh battery. The device, priced at Rs 6990 runs on a 1.2 GHz processor and is said to feature a 3D gravity sensor, Wi-Fi and 3G support through USB dongle. The tablet has a 2MP front camera and pre-embedded applications such as the Karbonn Smart Browser and Karbonn Smart games, local apps including the Times of India and Economic Times app, Facebook.

Massive Samsung tablet with retina display-like resolution

Apple Samsung saga for the fight regarding the smartphone and tablet device is being picked up by almost tech bloggers. In fact, this story is like a hen giving golden eggs to them. The same saga has unearthed a skeleton in Samsung's closet - its plans for a huge 11.8-inch tablet with Retina Display-like resolution.

Though, we all know this is not the first time when the news of a large Samsung tablet has surfaced, the rumor was spread earlier this year but now have official confirmation (albeit indirectly) from the company itself.

Known as P10, the tablet would possess a pixel density of 256ppi with a resolution of 2,560x1,600. It would also come with LTE connectivity. But it would be one of the biggest slates available -- Toshiba introduced the 13-inch Excite 13 earlier this year -- which could hinder its commercial possibilities.

Though Apple is hyping the Retina Display feature for its latest iPad and special edition of MacBook Pro, the basic concept of pushing more pixels into fewer inches isn't proprietary, so it should come as no surprise that its competitors will join in with similar ultra-high-resolution displays of their own. What is a bit surprising is that Samsung would attempt it in a tablet that's 2 inches bigger than the iPad's 9.7-inch form factor.

Given that the time frame for the P10 seems to have been pushed back from BGR's initial report, perhaps Samsung is planning to adapt the concept to a convertible laptop/tablet hybrid for Windows 8. Or perhaps its display technology just hasn't been perfected yet. In any event, it looks like you should be expecting a Samsung 11.8-inch Retina-like display on a portable computer sometime this year.

Satellite revealed huge meltdown at Greenland

There is another horrifying news, just a few days after NASA satellite imagery revealed that a massive iceberg, twice the size of Manhattan, had broken off a glacier in Greenland.

As per the latest news, a massive ice sheet in Greenland has melted this month over an unusually larger area, which was detected after analysing radar data from the Indian Space Research Organization's ( ISRO) Oceansat-2 satellite. The 'unprecedented' melting is found to be highest ever in three decades of satellite observation. Melting even occurred at Greenland's coldest and highest place, Summit station. The thawed ice area jumped from 40% of the ice sheet to 97% in just four days from July 8 to July 12. Although about half of Greenland's ice sheet normally melts over the summer months, the speed and scale of this year's melting surprised scientists, who described the phenomenon as "extraordinary".

Son Nghiem of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, was analysing radar data from the ISRO's Oceansat-2 satellite last week when he noticed that most of Greenland appeared to have undergone surface melting on July 12. This event was so extraordinary that at first scientists questioned the result: if it was real or was it due to some data error. Nasa said that nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its centre, which is 3 km thick, experienced some degree of melting at its surface.

NASA is not yet able to determine if this is a natural but rare event, or if it has been sparked by man-made global warming. Scientists believe much of Greenland's ice was already freezing again.

Until now, the most extensive melting seen by satellites in the past three decades was about 55% of the area, but this time it reached 97% - much more severe than earlier. Ice last melted at Summit station before this took place long back in 1889.

These events, one after another, are strict warning to the mankind to avoid the calamity due to global warming.

Google launches its own scientific calculator

What actually you love to use among the bunch of popular Google Web Services : Google search, Gmail, Google+, Picasa albums or YouTube or something else. Here is another small web service from Google that you wil fall in love with - Its own scientific calculator.

Next time, you need to do a quick calculation, you can head to Google. The search giant has added this new scientific calculator to its varied array of features. The company's new 34-button calculator appears the moment you type in the word "calculator" or a mathematical expression say "4x5" into the search box.

The calculator gives users ability to do everything from arithmetic to trigonometric calculations. The calculator has functions for calculating sines, cosines, square roots and tangents as well as also dedicated buttons for Pi and Euler's number.

Not just this, Users can also use Google's voice search feature -- found in mobile version and in Chrome browser -- to do calculations without actually touching keyboard.

Intel is porting JellyBean to work on its devices

Making a move to reach the top position for the new smartphones and tablets platform, the hardware giant - Intel is reportedly porting the latest version of Android - Jelly Bean to work on tablets and smartphones powered by Intel's Atom processor. The chip-maker has not given any time-frame for the porting to finish or when it will actually arrive in the devices.

As said by Intel spokesperson, Intel continues to work closely with Google to enable future versions of Android, including Jelly Bean, on our family of low power Atom processors.

Smartphones with Intel processors on-board are currently selling with Gingerbread, although they are expected to get an update to Ice Cream Sandwich in the near future. Indian manufacturer Lava, Lenovo, and European telecom operator Orange are among the top companies to release Intel powered device so-far.

Intel is betting big on Android, as tries to gain market share in smartphone/tablet chips, which are traditionally dominated by ARM architecture.

Intel, the leading chip manufacturers, still dominating laptop and personal computers domain, will must be eying this move to take it to the top in the smartphone/tablet domain as well.

10 questions we wish somebody would ask Sachin

There is only one thing more boring than a Sachin Tendulkar interview, and that is a self-proclaimed Sachin fan ‘defending’ the man from the 0.00001% of the media that dares to criticise him. I would like to share a list of 10 questions that people would like somebody to ask him.

So Sachin, here are the 10 questions:

1. In 1999-2000, Indian cricket was rocked by the match-fixing scandal. You were a key member of the team that was captained by Mohammed Azharuddin, and Ajay Jadeja was your teammate. But you didn’t say a word. When asked why you remained silent, you said: “The only reason I did not speak about it is that I didn’t know anything about it. I would have given a statement if I knew something.” So are you lying, or are you being a cretin when you say that you had no clue about match-fixing going on?

2. The whole world knows that you (and subsequently MS Dhoni) are the reason the BCCI has been stonewalling the ICC’s move to make DRS (Decision Referral System) mandatory in all international fixtures. What exactly do you have against the DRS? Is it that, without technology, the benefit of the doubt (especially on LBWs) goes to the batsman, and you, knowing that there will be far more LBWs with DRS than without, don’t want technology messing with your averages and milestone-hunting?

3. You are richer than anybody can ever want to be. Why then are you forever, and shamelessly, asking or accepting favours from the government? Be it having to change the law (Customs Act) so you don’t have to pay duty on an obscenely expensive luxury vehicle, or petitioning the government to relax the FSI regulations for your bungalow in Bandra, why can’t you just graciously accept the rules that apply to everyone else instead of cashing in on your celebrity status to seek favours?

4. For most, nay, all, of your adult life, you have been a very influential person, with access to the highest corridors of power. Yet, not once in your life have you ever taken a stand on any issue — not even on sporting ones. Do you then seriously expect to make a meaningful contribution to any of the debates in the Rajya Sabha? If not, why did you agree to become a Rajya Sabha MP?

5. And having become a Rajya Sabha MP, you say ‘cricket comes first?!!’ What were you thinking? That being a Member of Parliament is a nice hobby or what?

6. Why is your captaincy record so abysmal? If your cricketing intelligence is so great, and if you are a thorough professional, and if you are a nice guy, how can you not be even an average captain, like, say, Anil Kumble was? You’ve got to have something that the other guys don’t have for you to be such an extraordinarily poor captain. What could this be? You ever think about that?

7. Against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup this year, you crawled to your 100th hundred (114 in 147 balls on a flat track against a bovinely gentle attack) at 4.5 runs an over, and actually slowed down in the slog overs when the team’s interests dictated that you score faster. And it was because of your milestone obsession that we lost the match to Bangladesh, which cost us a place in the final. This is not a one-off incident, but the culminating irony of a long career marked by the relentless deployment of individual talent for individual glory, though last I checked, cricket was a team game. Now that you’ve got every record in the book, will you, at least in the last remaining matches of your career, either stop playing for records, or stop paying lip service to how you are a team player — because it’s too brazenly hypocritical to do both?

8. Why is it that when the chips are down, and India is chasing, you never (save the Sharjah hundreds way back in 1998 on a flat track) ever take India home? Don’t say, ‘check the records’ — because the records tell me very clearly that you’ve never single-handedly (like Dravid did in Adelaide or Laxman did while batting with a number 11 to take India home against the Aussies) taken India past the finishing line in your 22-plus years of international cricket. And what kills me is that you had the ability to do exactly that — if Yuvraj could, Laxman could, and Dravid could, so could you. But you never did. You just cannot bat for the team under pressure, is that it? Or is it that you never cared for the team as much as you claim to?

9. I’ve been pondering this one for ages. How did you become such a boring person — open your mouth and everyone goes to sleep?

10. This is an easy one. Do you like journalists who suck up to you?

Samsung Galaxy Chat : Sensational social networkng budget phone

Scrolling down the Galaxy lineup, the new Samsung Galaxy Chat can be seen seated on the lower end of the shelf. Going by the specifications sheet, it’s a very basic smartphone crafted for those who find themselves texting or chatting quite frequently.

Centered on social networking, the device sports a full QWERTY keypad as well as a 3-inch, 240 x 320p TFT LCD touchscreen which surfaces a virtual keyboard with Swype technology. It is powered by Android 4.0 and an 850MHz application processor. The 4GB of internal memory can be expanded up to 32GB via a microSD card and there’s a 1,200mAh battery providing all the steam.

“Navigating the phone’s app menus is a breeze with more visual icons incorporating 3D effects, a fully customizable Favorites tray, and widgets that you can resize or reposition according to your preferences. You also have the ability to launch the camera or view your notifications directly from the lock screen; and multitasking is made even easier with features such as the ability to swipe apps to instantly dismiss them,” says Samsung.

Navigating the Touchwiz UX, users should be able to access various Google Mobile services as well as Samsung applications. For business-centric requirements, the Quick Office app is present to allow opening and editing of Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents. On the connectivity front, this Samsung phone has been loaded with USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0.

Even though the company hasn’t been very forthcoming with the Samsung Galaxy Chat price, we do know that it will start rolling out in Spain in July. Latin America, Europe, Middle East, China, Southeast Asia and Southwest Asia will welcome it thereafter.

Plants that trap and eat their prey beneath the ground

Three new carnivorous plant species have been discovered in Brazilian savannah which trap and devour its prey, especially worms, underground. Philcoxia minensis, Philcoxia goiasensis and Philcoxia bahiensis -- are all found in the Brazilian high savannah. They are extremely rare and were first described by Kew botanist Peter Taylor.

These plants, which are actually relatives of the popular snapdragon garden flowers, have an unusual network of sticky leaves underground. These leaves allow the plants to trap and digest worms, and possibly other creatures, that stray onto their sticky surfaces in the soil.

While there are many species of carnivorous plants that use insects, frogs and even small mammals to supplement the nutrients they need to grow, none have ever been found to trap their prey beneath the ground. With this discovery, botanists now believe there could be many other plants that use this previously unrecognized method of killing and consuming animals. The researchers who took a closer look at the plants found there were the remains of worms stuck to the upper surfaces of the leaves underground.

Most common carnivorous plants use leaves above the ground to trap their prey. Pitcher plants fold their leaves into containers that hold a digestive soup which insects fall into, while the Venus Fly trap snaps its leaves shut on prey that walk onto them. But, the kind of trapping these plants use is quite different.

As per the researchers Dr Peter Fritsch, "The first time I saw these plants I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I have never seen anything like them before. The soil they grow in is very poor and sandy. Their roots basically just provide support but they have leaves that grow underground too."

Scientist are now looking forward for some genetic population work to find other related species.

Microsoft Surface Pro to supersede Surface RT

As announced by Microsoft, it will hardly take another 90 days, when the successor of recent release Microsoft Surface RT will come into the market.

The new release to be called as Microsoft Surface Pro will be powered by Intel third generation processor and Windows 8 operating system. In addition to this, the new release will also come with better battery life and double storage capacity. Here is the key specifications of the expected new tablet from Microsoft.

Surface (Windows Pro) tablet key specs

• Windows 8 operating system
• Intel third-generation Core i CPU
• 13.5mm thick
• 903 grams/31.85 ounces
• 10.6-inch ClearType "Full HD" Display
• 42 watt hour battery
• Ports: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort video
• Storage options: 64GB and 128GB
• Front- and rear-facing "HD" cameras

Microsoft enters the tablet market with Surface RT

Surface table with the innovative magnetically attached touch pad

The tablet wars are no longer a head-to-head collision between Apple and Google, with Microsoft entering into this domain. Announcing this at Los Angeles today, Microsoft unveiled Surface, a line of tablet devices running the company's next-generation Windows operating system. 

The Surface tablets feature 10.6-inch touch-screens wrapped in a magnesium case that Microsoft calls VaporMg (pronounced "Vapor mag"). The distinctive feature of the new tablets is a magnetically-attached, 3mm-thich Touch Cover that folds down and functions as a full touchscreen keyboard. Another cover option, the 5-mm thick Type Cover, has a built-in track pad. The keyboards power down when they're folded back against the tablet thanks to a built-in accelerometer.

The Surface tablets will be available in two distinct versions. The Windows RT version -- which is effectively the "light" version of Windows 8 -- will launch with Windows 8 in the fall, and run on an ARM CPU. While it won't have the full desktop version of Windows 8 (it runs only the "Metro" apps available through the Windows app store), it will include a version of Microsoft Office at no additional charge. 

Surface RT tablet key specs

• Windows RT operating system
• Nvidia ARM CPU
• 9.3mm thick
• 676 grams/23.85 ounces
• 10.6-inch ClearType HD Display
• 31.5 watt hour battery
• Ports: microSD, USB 2.0, micro HD video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
• Storage options: 32GB and 64GB for Windows RT
• Front and rear-facing "HD" camera 

Facebook acquires Face.com

Facebook, the most popular social networking site, has acquired Face.com, the facial recognition software company whose products power Facebook's photo tagging suggestions. Rumors of this acquisition began to circulate in late May itself.

Face.com not only provides technology for photo tagging suggestion, but also provides branded Facebook apps. One such application, Photo Tagger is very similar to the native Facebook app, while another app Photo Finder, the company's first app, helps users find untagged photos of themselves. Face.com offers an API (application programming interface) that powers third-party apps including CelebrityFindr, which allows users to search for photos of celebrities on Twitter using facial recognition technology.

According to the announcement, Face.com, even after being occupied, will continue to support third-party developers. Since, lots of developers use the technology to power various apps and make wonderful products, hence Face.com might have decided to support the third party developers even after the acquisition. Although the announcement did not reveal any specifics about what Facebook will do with the app company, but as per exerts Facebook may look to tailor Face.com's technology to craft a mobile experience.

Mobile, definitely being the next most important platform, Facebook will be concerned about, because the key to getting faces online is tapping the many cameras on mobile phones. After acquiring Face.com, Facebook will definitely take steps towards monetizing mobile users as effectively as it does desktop users. In that case, Facebook might also be interested in acquiring Face.com facial database.

Do plants really talk to each other?

Plants have been known for reacting to light by growing towards them. Earlier this year, Exeter University even found cabbage plants emit a volatile gas to warn others of danger such as caterpillars or garden shears. But do they really communicate to each other producing human inaudible sound?

Researching the possible conversation between plants, scientists at Bristol University used powerful loudspeakers to listen to corn saplings, and heard clicking sounds coming from their roots. To verify the same, when they suspended their roots in water and played a continuous noise at a similar frequency to the clicks, they found the plants grew towards it. As per the researchers, this is their first solid evidence that plants have their own language of noises, inaudible to human ears, the Daily Mail reported. As per the research, sound and vibration play an important role in the life of plants.

Thinking logically, it makes sense for plants to produce and respond to sound vibrations, as it gives them information about the environment around them. Moreover, sound waves can travel easily through soil and it could be a way of picking up threats such as drought from their neighbours further away.

So, next time when you see plants around you swaying in breeze, don't take it in a usual way, they may actually be conversing with each other as they not only respond to sound but also communicate actively by 'clicking' noises.

Hats off to the new Rajya Sabha MP

Sachin has always been known for his honesty and dedication both on the field and off the field. Today, he proved it once again.

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar today refused to accept the government bungalow he is entitled to as Rajya Sabha member, saying such a stay would be a waste of taxpayer's money.

In his words - "I am not keen on staying in any govt bungalow when I will be in Delhi for only a few days. I feel this would be a waste of tax payers money and it would be better if the bungalow is allotted to someone else who needs the bungalow more than me. For me the honor of being nominated as a Rajya Sabha MP matters much more than the perks and privileges like being given a govt bungalow."

Tendulkar, who took oath as MP on Monday, said he would prefer to stay in a hotel in Delhi every time he is in Delhi. Ever since his nomination, there have been questions over whether he would be able to devote time for Parliament over his cricketing commitments.Replying the same Sachin said, "Not taking a government bungalow would not affect my responsibilities as Rajya Sabha MP. I do hope to attend few days of parliament in every session."

Samsung plans for Galaxy S3 successor

In the past few months, we have seen a number of android smartphones from various manufacturers. Samsung has been on the top of these companies preceding HTC and LG. With such quick releases, one after another, users don't even get time to explore his new handset before its new version gets launched.

Following the same trend, Samsung ups the ante by planning to launch a variant of its new flagship, the Galaxy S3. The international variant ships with a 1.4 Ghz Exynos processor and 1GB RAM. The Korean mobile company is set to bring out a new Galaxy smartphone with the same processor but with 2GB RAM.

The recent release S3 runs on the new Android 4.0 and features Samsung’s revamped Android interface, the TouchWiz 4.0,

According to the reports, the newer model merges the best of both the variants that are being released around the world. This new version of the S3 will retain the acclaimed 4.8 inch Super AMOLED HD screen along with similar features like the S-Voice, Smart Stay and Pop-and-Play.

The major variant in the European and Asian markets features the Exynos processor clocked at 1.4 GHz while the US Edition of the S3 sports a dual-core 1.5 GHZ Snapdragon S4 processor and 2GB of RAM.

LinkedIn joins hands with FBI on password theft

LinkedIn Corp is working with the FBI as the social network for job seekers and professionals investigates the theft of 6.4 million member passwords.

A spokeswoman with the FBI declined to comment stating that LinkedIn is still in the early stages of the investigation. As per the investigation team, it was not yet determined whether the email addresses that corresponded to the hacked passwords were also stolen or just the LinkedIn accounts.

Earlier, on Wednesday, LinkedIn confirmed that millions of passwords were stolen. Taking immediate action,  the company sent affected members emails explaining how to change their passwords.

Several security experts said that LinkedIn's stolen passwords had not been adequately secured and that the company did not employ best practices utilized by the world's largest websites. Whereas LinkedIn officials said that LinkedIn had already boosted the security of its database and they place the highest value on the security of our members' data.

The most destructive batsman Gayle returns back to WI playing squad

Former captain Chris Gayle has been chosen by West Indies for the first time in 14 months as part of their one-day squad to tour England later this month. The 32-year-old opener, whose public spat with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) resulted in him being ineligible for nearly a year, was included in a 15-man squad announced on Monday for the three-match series that begins on June 16.

The powerful Jamaican left-hander is the most prolific West Indian century-maker in ODIs, with 19 hundreds in 228 matches since his debut in 1999. But Gayle played his last match for West Indies on March 23, 2011, the quarter-final defeat to Pakistan in the World Cup.

He was critical of the WICB in a radio interview in April 2011 after being omitted from the subsequent one-day series at home against Pakistan. Those comments, many hostile to current coach Ottis Gibson, led to his lengthy spell out of the team. Gayle instead played lucrative Twenty20 tournaments in India, Zimbabwe, Australia and Bangladesh.

Last March, a meeting between Gayle and the WICB, facilitated by CARICOM government ministers, cleared the way for his return. Last Sunday, the few residual matters in the long-running impasse were sorted out to clear the way for his return.

Arctic warms as tundra shrubs grow upto trees

We have always known Tundra as a cold, treeless region in the Arctic. Due to the harsh weather at the region, tree growth is stunted. But in the recent decade, scientists have observed shrubs and willows in some part of the region, some of them even growing upwards to the height of a tree. As per the scientists, the growth of these shrubs is really linked to temperatures. Therefore they are considering the sudden growth of trees in this treeless region as an indication of warming climate in such regions. This change first came to the attention of scientists, when nomadic reindeer herdsmen, the indigenous Nenets, said they were losing sight of their reindeer in the new trees.

Roughly 30 years ago, trees were nearly unknown in the region, but about 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the land in the southern part of the north-western Eurasian tundra, which stretches between Finland and western Siberia, is now covered by new tree-size shrubs, which stand higher than 6.6 feet, new research has found. These shrubs are even growing further responding to the rise in temperature due to global warming.

To better understand the climate dynamics associated with the increase in growth in the north-western Eurasian tundra, Macias-Fauria and team studied information from the herdsmen’s observations, temperature data, growth rings in the wood of shrubs and satellite data, including observations of how much green covers the landscape during the growing season. The researchers, who detailed their work in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that the shrubs grew most in years with warm Julys.

This a clear indication and a warning note for all of us towards the rate at which global warming is booming across the globe.

Fraud websites coming up by the name Satyamev Jayate

Topping the small screen performance chart within a few weeks by just telecasting 3 episodes of Satyamev Jayate, Aamir Khan productions has started leaving its impact on the peoples of India, and making them aware of what’s going around their locality, so that they can take some major steps to stop and to get into the rid of it.

Due to this very popular show, floods of visitors have come to visit the official website of the show at http://satyamevjayate.in/. After the very first episode of the show was telecasted on 6th May, the official website literally crashed due to unexpected overload on its server. But in this course of time, many fake websites with the show’s logo, look and feel, have cropped up, misleading surfers. Having no connection with the official website of the show, the fakes have similar names such as satyamevjayateindia.org and satyamev-jayate.in, with content about the show.

As per the Star India, the telecasting channel, "Some unscrupulous persons have in an unauthorized manner, hosted websites in relation to the program. These people have gone to great lengths to ensure that the look and feel of their fake website is an exact copy of our official website. It is obvious that the fake sites have been hosted to dupe innocent viewers to extract money. We shall not leave any stone unturned to take strong legal action." 

As a  result of the same copycat issue, the cautionary statements have also been issued in papers and on the website, by the Star India Television channel. Whoever are behind this shameful act, must stop this misdeed, as this copycat is against a very noble cause. They should realize their deeds as a very disgraceful step to ruin a generous effort.

Selecting the right job to start off a successful career

In this present scenario, when you have numerous MNCs offering competitive packages, selecting the right job is always a difficult, but at the same time, very important task, specially for a fresher whose career begins with his/her first job selection.

Let us first be clear about what is job and what is career. A lot of people look at a job and a career as the same thing, but they aren’t. A job is usually where you work, such as “I work at Google,” whereas a career is your profession such as “I am an engineer.” 

Chances are, you will not have your ideal job right away because you are probably looking for a job that will bring tons of money, happiness, and power. If you are one of those people who is looking for a successful career, here is what you should be looking for in your first few jobs:

Size – you may like working for a small company, but it’s in your best interest to work for large companies with thousands of employees. Think of it as a networking opportunity because the more people you get to know on a personal level, the better chances you have for success in the future. If you decide to work for a large company at first one of the easiest ways you can network is to get to know one new person a day.

Title – instead of taking a job based on pay, you should think about taking a job based on your title. You may get paid more as a mid level engineer at Boeing, but it is probably better to take a management position at Exxon even if it pays a bit less. In the future you are more likely to get better jobs if you are an engineer and had a management position compared to if you were just an engineer.

Opportunities – your potential isn’t unlimited, it is actually limited by your job. Some companies will not allow you to go to industry conferences or even create your own blog, which will hinder the growth of your personal brand. The last thing you want to do is take a job that will hinder your future and limit your options.

Flexibility – some companies only allow you to work on specific things while others like Google let you do whatever you want 20% of the time. If you can find a firm that is flexible enough to take in your creativity and let you do whatever you want 20% of the time it can tremendously help your career. Wouldn’t it be great to say that you created X for company Y on your resume?

People – let’s face it, you are whom you surround yourself with. If you surround yourself with successful entrepreneurs then hopefully one day you will be a successful entrepreneur. It is easier said then done to surround yourself with great people, so make sure you get a job that is filled with tons of smart and talented individuals.

Environment – the atmosphere at your work place will affect how you perform. Working in a fun and entertaining environment will probably make you more productive compared to working in a dull environment. This may not make sense, but you are more likely to work harder and longer when you are having fun.

Management – hopefully your boss will not be a pain in the ass. It is important to work for someone who is fun, encouraging, and most importantly still gets the job done. There will be times when you need something from upper management and the only way you will be able to get it is by going through the chain of command.

These are just some of the things that should affect which job you take in the short term because it will have a big impact on your career and your future goals. Whatever your career goals may be, don’t get lured by the lucrative offers of various companies at present, instead look for your career path in near and far future.

Ross Levinsohn becomes 4th person to lead Yahoo in last eight months

Yahoo swept out Scott Thompson as CEO Sunday in an effort to clean up a mess created by an exaggeration about his education that destroyed his credibility as he set out to turn the long-troubled Internet company around.

Ross Levinsohn, who oversees Yahoo's content and advertising services, is taking over as interim CEO. He becomes the fourth person to run Yahoo in eight months.

Yahoo hired Thompson, the former head of eBay's PayPal, in January to orchestrate a reversal. Though Yahoo is one of the Internet's most-visited websites, the company has struggled to grow in the face of competition from the likes of Google and Facebook. The company's difficulties have irked investors. Thompson took the helm as Yahoo's fourth chief executive in less than five years.

Thompson's abrupt exit after just four months on the job came as part of the latest shake-up on Yahoo's board of directors, which has been in a state of flux for several months. Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and four other directors who had already announced plans to step down at the company's annual meeting later this year are leaving the board immediately.

The internet giant has been witnessing complete hurricane in its core members in last few months, which must not continue any longer for the company to maintain its position and reputation in the IT market.

Viswanathan Anand, the GOD of Indian Chess

They might not enjoy the same levels of adulation, but in the world of chess India's Viswanathan Anand is every bit as accomplished as fellow countryman Sachin Tendulkar is at cricket.

Both Anand, 42, and Tendulkar, 39, rose to the top of their game while teenagers and have stayed at the highest level for decades, lauded by their fellow players at home and abroad for their talent and polite charm. And while Tendulkar, one of the finest cricketers ever to play the game, is worshipped by millions of adoring fans and often considered India's top international competitor, some suggest Anand's record is actually superior.

"Anand is, quite simply, the greatest sportsman India has ever produced," declares the website of the Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation started in 2001 to support the country's world-class stars.

Anand, the undisputed world chess champion since 2007, embarks Friday on one of the biggest tests of his career as he defends his crown against Israeli Boris Gelfand in the $2.5 million series in Moscow.

Dubbed the "lightning kid" for his ability to make quick moves, he has been in a hurry all his life. He became an international master at 15, was crowned Indian champion at 16, won the world junior title at 17 and became the country's first grandmaster at 18.

The Indian government, taking note of the young man's rapid rise, conferred on him India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, a few months short of his 19th birthday. In 1992, Anand became the first recipient of India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, and the country's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, came his way in 2007.

The Tamil Nadu-born wizard, who lives in Spain with wife Aruna and one-year-old son, is seen as a star not only of today's game but of all time.

Anand started solving chess puzzles displayed on television as a six-year-old child. He, with his mother, solved all these puzzles and sent in our answers, and at one point, they just said ... don't send any more entries so that others get a chance.

Anand's game is built on belligerent attack that catches opponents off-guard, but his unflustered approach ensures that he has the right defence in place when the going gets tough. If anyone is close to perfection in chess, then that's him.

Look out for Transit of Venus this June

Get ready to witness a very rare astronomical event which will occur on June 5 and 6 this year. The event will be caused by planet Venus which will pass directly between the earth and the sun, appearing as a small dot travelling across the disk of the sun.

The NASA scientists have called this as Transit of Venus. The time span of this planetary alignment called the 'Transit of Venus' will occur during a 6-hour time period.

The frequency of this rare event can be decided with the fact that this will not happen again until 2117. So one will be able to see such event only once in his/her lifetime. Checking out the records from past, only six such events have occurred since the invention of the telescope in 1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and 2004.

Residents of Delhi will have to wake up early on June 6 to witness the once-in-a-lifetime-event- the transition will begin at 3.39 am and continue till 10.22 am according to local time. NASA suggests watchers to find a clear eastern horizon to witness the event clearly.

Whereas, on the other side of the earth, residents of North America will be able to watch the event during sunset on June 5.