Maulik's TechnoBlog

China hitting India via Net worm?

2010-10-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

The deadly Stuxnet internet worm, which was thought to be targeting Iran's nuclear programme, might actually have been aimed at India by none other than China.

Providing a fresh twist in the tale, well-known American cyber warfare expert Jeffrey Carr, who specialises in investigations of cyber attacks against government, told TOI that China, more than any other country, was likely to have written the worm which has terrorised the world since June.

While Chinese hackers are known to target Indian government websites, the scale and sophistication of Stuxnet suggests that only a government no less than that of countries like US, Israel or China could have done it. "I think it's more likely that China is behind Stuxnet than any other country," Carr told TOI, adding that he would provide more details at the upcoming NASSCOM DSCI Security Conclave in Chennai in December.

Attributing the partial failure of ISRO's INSAT 4B satellite a few months ago -- the exact reason for which is not yet known -- to Stuxnet, Carr said it was China which gained from the satellite failure.

Carr, however, made it clear that he had not arrived at any definite conclusion till now. He said he was pointing out that there were alternative targets in countries other than Iran that also made sense and served another nation's interest to attack -- namely India's Space Research Organisation which uses the exact Siemens software targeted by Stuxnet.

"Further, the satellite in question (INSAT 4B) suffered the power `glitch' in an unexplained fashion, and it's failure served another state's advantage -- in this case China," he said.

Alongwith Indonesia and Iran, India has had the maximum number of infections from Stuxnet which affects Windows computers and gets transmitted through USB sticks. While Iran and Indonesia had about 60,000 and 13,000 Stuxnet infections respectively till late September, India was at the third position with over 6,000 infections. However, it infects only those computers which use certain Siemens software systems. Siemens software systems are used in many Indian government agencies including ISRO.

As it had impacted Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, it was thought that Iran might have been the intended target. Israel, in fact, had emerged as the prime suspect.

According to Carr, the Siemens software in use in ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre is S7-400 PLC and SIMATIC WinCC, both of which, he said, would activate the Stuxnet worm. The Stuxnet worm was first discovered in June this year, a month before INSAT 4B was hit by the mysterious power failure.
Courtesy:The Times Of India.

Soon, cell phones to be powered by conversations!

2010-10-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

The more you talk, the longer your cell phone battery will last - that's the future scientists have predicted with a new technology that converts sound to electricity.Scientists from Korea have turned the main ingredient of calamine lotion into a tiny material that converts sound waves into electricity, reports Discovery News.The research could lead to panels that can charge a cell phone from a conversation or provide a boost of energy to the nation's electrical grid generated by the noise during rush hour traffic.Using zinc oxide, the main ingredient in calamine lotion, Young Jun Park, Sang-Woo Kim and their colleagues created a field of nanowires sandwiched between two electrodes.The researchers blasted that sandwich with sound waves, which at 100 decibels were not quite as loud as a rock concert. A normal conversation is about 60-70 decibels.The sound waves produced a mild electrical current of about 50 millivolts. The average cell phone requires a few volts to operate, several times the power this technology can currently produce."Just as speakers transform electric signals into sound, the opposite process-of turning sound into a source of electrical power -- is possible," Discovery News quoted Young Jun Park and Sang-Woo Kim, the two corresponding authors of the new article, as saying."Sound power can be used for various novel applications including mobile phones that can be charged during conversations and sound-insulating walls near highways that generate electricity from the sound of passing vehicles," the co-authors added.The study has been published in the journal Advanced Materials.

Courtesy:ANI.

Touchscreen phone with 3D user interface

2010-10-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

With touchscreens commanding more and more attention from young and old alike, manufacturers have started bringing out touchscreen phones on a budget. After Samsung launched its "Champ" touchscreen phone at the under Rs 5,000 price, more manufacturers have joined in and started launching budget touchscreen phones. Micromax has launched its dual-SIM X550 Cube touchscreen device with a range of features that are not available to consumers at its price.

The X550 cube looks very urban and would attract young students who are looking at a budget touchscreen device. The phone has a smooth matte finish across the body with a 3.2" resistive touchscreen dominating the front. There is a single button (in shiny purple) on the front under the display that functions as the back button and on the right side are the volume keys and camera shutter key. At the base is a microUSB port and a 3.5 mm audio port. The power/hold button is at the top, and its a bit too small and poorly nested in the body for comfortable use.

Coming to the user-interface, the home-screen has animated wallpapers that are touch sensitive almost like the ones found on Android devices. There is a quick application launcher at the bottom, but it has a few select applications to choose from. At the bottom itself is a menu icon and a back icon for easy navigation. The main menu area is the actual cube interface by which the phone's name has been inspired.

A single touch on the icon and the 4 menu pages show up in a cube format which can be rotated easily to quickly move through menu pages. The main menu can also be navigated by pressing on the display and moving the finger left or right. This way it the navigation occurs in a 3D wall motion. The interesting part is that the UI on the whole is very zippy and quick to respond. The only issue we had was with the lock screen as it requires the user to move the lock slider upto 75% of the display to unlock the screen which is a pain.

Typing an SMS is another major issue we faced. The onscreen QWERTY keyboard is one of the things that cripples the value of the phone. First of all the onscreen keys are too small to comfortably use with fingers and secondly, instead of the standard 3 row QWERTY keyboard, the phone divides the keyboard in 4 rows, thus making it extremely difficult to use.

Even for a new user, it would take some time to get used to the keyboard. The handwriting recognition worked fine, but then it affects the input speed as it recognised one character at a time and not whole words.

In terms of multimedia features, the X550 Cube has FM Radio with recording and the phone was able to catch all radio stations in auto search with good clarity. The recording worked great as well and provided options to record audio in high quality .wav format.

The MP3 player worked great as well, though it did take a few minutes to get all songs on the memory card in first scan. The X550 comes with a basic 2 MP camera and lacks any flash. The camera does provide various settings such as banding, effects, white balance, night mode etc.

The volume output from external and in-ear speakers from the phone is extremely loud and clear, though at maximum volume the loudspeaker started blaring. The phone also has Bluetooth with A2DP and comes loaded with applications such as Opera, Nimbuzz and Snaptu.

Overall, the Micromax X550 Cube is a great entry-level touchscreen phone. However, its quirks in respect to the onscreenkeypad, poor camera and the lock screen makes it loose out in terms of ease of usage and features.

At its price of Rs 5,999, the phone faces stiff competition from the Fly E145 which sports a similar 3.2" display, 2MP camera, handwriting recognition alongwith dual SIM capabilities with a motion sensor added in the mix and comes at Rs 5,499.

Courtesy:CyberMedia

Facebook's new way to sort friends, copy

2010-10-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

After the initial basic interactive rush, wherein Facebook provided the social networking tool, the company is now looking to make itself more user-friendly.Facebook is introducing tools that will make it easier for people to separate their online friendships into different groups and copy all the personal information they have posted on the website.The new features will start rolling out to Facebook's more than 500 million worldwide users today.Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the changes during a press conference that marked his first public appearance since last Friday's debut of "The Social Network," a movie tracing Facebook's origins and evolution.The movie depicts Zuckerberg as an isolated, treacherous genius. Zuckerberg told reporters he wouldn't discuss the critically acclaimed film, which has drawn large audiences so far.He has previously scoffed at the movie as a gross exaggeration of his 6-year-old company's history.

Courtesy:yahoo.

Six Technologies To Cure Bad Driving

2010-09-30T16:48:00.001-07:00

Enlarge Photo Six Technologies To Cure Bad Driving

Maureen Farrell, Forbes.com

The roads are alive with the sound of honking horns and crunching metal.

While the number of traffic fatalities in the U.S. has dropped to about 34,000 annually (the lowest level since 1954), pushing that number lower will only get tougher: Nearly 8 out of 10 seniors aged 70 years and up--the most crash-prone demographic--have drivers' licenses, more than ever before, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

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That's why car makers, parts suppliers and startup companies are betting on a host of new technologies--from simulation software to boost drivers' reaction speeds to night-piercing cameras to anti-slumber seats--to make the roads safer (and to put more vehicles on them). The U.S. government, too, is stepping on the gas with IntelliDrive, a five-year, $500 million research program focused on using mobile technology to make cars communicate with and react to their surroundings.

The ultimate vision, says Roderick MacKenzie, chief technical officer at ITS America, an intelligent-transportation-systems trade group in Washington, D.C.: "These are small steps toward an eventual goal of having fully autonomous vehicles that essentially drive themselves."

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Even the most optimistic futurists say autonomous vehicles are 20 years away, but brakes that take over in an emergency and cars that can talk to each other are on deck in the next five years. "The newest trend is [software] that predicts what's going to happen and what the driver will do," says Thilo Koslowski, vice president of automotive and vehicle research at Gartner.

Herewith, a sample of some of the newest technology coming down the pike.

Advanced Warnings Mobileye has created a camera-based warning system that alerts drivers if a collision is imminent. Dashboard-mounted, monitor-and-beep hardware that takes the guesswork out of parallel parking has been in cars for some time. Up ahead: Mobileye Chief Executive Skip Kinford says his next-generation systems will automatically take over a car's brakes in an emergency. For now, camera-sensor retrofits go for $800 per car.

Skill Tests Are you a good driver? GreenRoads thinks it can tell you. Using a barrage of sensors wired to your car, its software monitors habits like changing lanes without signaling and stopping suddenly at traffic lights. The company delivers updates over the Web. For now, GreenRoads sells its services to automobile fleet companies. (It won't disclose pricing.) Down the road, Chief Executive Dan Steere aims to sell monthly subscriptions to individual drivers.

Brain Games Posit Science aims to sharpen the minds of older drivers. Using brain fitness research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the company's DriveSharp videogame software increases an older person's ability to process what comes into her "useful field of view," or the 180-degree area in a driver's sightline. National Institute of Health research estimated that DriveSharp reduces accident risk in older adults by 50%. Insurers All-State and The Hartford will write $50 and $25 checks, respectively, to seniors who spend 10 hours using the software, which costs $89.

Night Vision Flir Systems, maker of infrared cameras, has teamed up Autoliv, an autoparts company, to give drivers the same kind of night vision as troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Flir's cameras use thermal sensors to capture images five times further away than those able to be seen with bright headlights and flash them on a screen in a car's dashboard. BMW, Audi and Rolls Royce offer the systems as an option for about $2,200, but Flir Chief Executive Andy Teich hopes to get the price down below $800 in the next few years. (For more, check out Flir Systems Sees Growth In The Dark.)

Unsnarled Roads Traffic drained $87 billion from the U.S. economy in 2009, causing drivers to waste 4.2 billion hours per year, according to the Texas Transportation Institute. Worse, moving at a snail's pace encourages people to send text messages, making the roads even more treacherous. INRIX aims to eliminate the "I got stuck in traffic" excuse. The company takes real-time traffic information from the vehicles of partner companies like UPS and Ford to generate predictive traffic patterns. Motorists looking to know how it will take to get to a destination via different routes can pay $10 per year for a mobile phone application (running on the iPhone, and soon on Google's Android). INRIX plans to ink deals with more car companies to get their systems in cars by 2013.

Anti-Slumber Seats Much like ridges in the road before a toll both, engineers are looking for ways to shake drivers awake when they start to drift off. Teams at Daimler, Berlin's Fraunhofer Institute and George Washington University are testing new anti-slumber devices that do just that--say, by using sensors that measure pupil sizes and heart rate to trigger a series of warning beeps. Gartner's Koslowski says to expect these systems in the next three to five years.

3DS hits games giant Nintendo

2010-09-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Nintendo's struggle to bring its hotly anticipated 3D-capable player to the market has sparked concerns over the outlook for the company, with sales of its existing products sliding in key U.S. and European markets.

Nintendo shares fell more than 9 percent on Thursday after the video game maker slashed its profit forecast for the year and said its new 3D-capable handheld player would miss the crucial year-end shopping season.

We had been expecting a November launch for Japan, so the news was a disappointment, said Singapore-based analyst Atul Goyal of CLSA. With a delayed product launch, the stock should be in a twilight zone, where it may not do much for the next five-to-six months.

Many analysts had factored in a 2011 launch for the United States, but were taken aback by the late Japan sales date, set for late February.

Nintendo blamed the strong yen and lack of hit software for its existing handheld DS and Wii home game consoles, as well as the late launch of the new product, for a downward revision to its profit forecasts.

The new Nintendo 3DS, boasting a display that can be used without special glasses, set gamers abuzz at the E3 gameshow earlier in the year and was seen as key to reviving the company's sagging sales.

Nintendo shares were down 9.3 percent at 20,870 yen at 0503 GMT, heading for their biggest one-day drop in nearly 20 months. Volume spiked to 2.7 million shares, already 4 times the daily average over the past three months.

The stock fell as low as 20,770 yen, a level last seen in Dec. 2009.

The launch delay will put the pre-holiday spotlight on rivals Sony Corp and Microsoft Corp, whose new motion-controlled gaming accessories will be in stores in time for the peak shopping season in all major markets.

Based on Thomson Reuters StarMine's Analysts Revision Model, a measure of change in analyst sentiment, Nintendo ranks in the bottom percentile, placing it below Sony and Microsoft.

RED FLAGS

Nintendo will not launch the new version of its DS until Feb. 26 in Japan and March in the United States, by far the biggest market for the game machine maker.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata blamed the delay on inability to meet anticipated demand within the year.

They are struggling with product transitions, said Jay Defibaugh, a game sector analyst at MF Global in Tokyo.

Those are struggles that will be ongoing for the next couple years for their Wii and 3DS, and I think that raises red flags among investors for the company's fundamentals over the medium term.

At 25,000 yen ($299), the new model is also priced substantially higher than existing DS models, raising some doubts about likely sales volumes.

Nintendo's Thursday stock tumble was an extension of a 3.7-percent fall on Wednesday in a late-day sell-off triggered by the announcement of the product delay in the last few minutes of trade. Shares in Mitsumi Electric, a maker of parts for Nintendo games, also fell 6.1 percent to 1,295 yen on Thursday. ($1=83.71 Yen)

Motorola launches dual sim handsets

2010-09-30T16:43:00.001-07:00

Mobile phone manufacturer Motorola on Thursday said it has launched two dual sim handsets in the price range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000.The Motorola EX115 is a new, dual-SIM QWERTY keypad phone and the Motorola EX128 is a stylish touch screen dual-SIM phone, the company said in a statement.The Motorola EX128 is priced at Rs 5,990 (MRP Rs 6,990) and the Motorola EX115 is available at Rs 4,990 (MRP Rs 5,990), the company said."One of our key focus segments is the dual-SIM market, a rapidly evolving market in India," Motorola Mobility Country Head of India Faisal Siddiqui said.According to the research firm IDC, multi-SIM capability, which is a common feature offered by the Indian handset makers, constituted nearly 39 per cent of the sales in the June quarter, up significantly from just one per cent in the corresponding quarter the previous year.It also stated that the Indian mobile market saw a unique trend of multi-SIM phones capturing 38.5 per cent of the market. This could be attributed to several new service providers responding with highly competitive tariff plans to a price sensitive mobile telephony user market.According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), telecom operators added 17 million subscribers in July this year and have been adding similar numbers over the last several months.

Twitter hack: Made in Japan?

2010-09-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

This week's Twitter attack that caused a widespread headache for the micro-blogging service appears to have been triggered by a Japanese computer hacker who says he was only trying to help. The attack, which emerged and was shut down within hours Tuesday morning, involved a "cross-site scripting" flaw that allowed users to run JavaScript programs on other computers.

The originator is believed to be someone who uses the name "Masato Kinugawa" in cyberspace and acknowledges creating the Twitter account "RainbowTwtr" that demonstrated the vulnerability. Through his Twitter account and personal blog, Kinugawa regularly tracks down possible computer security loopholes and notifies companies of their existence.

Earlier this year, he pointed out several scripting problems to Japanese Internet company Livedoor, which thanked him with a 15,000 yen ($177) gift certificate. Kinugawa says he contacted Twitter about the weakness on Aug.

14 but in vain. "Twitter had not fixed this critical issue long after it had been notified," Kinugawa tweeted.

"Twitter left this vulnerability exposed, and its recognition of this problem was low. Rather than have someone maliciously abuse this under the radar, I decided it would be better to urgently expose this as a serious problem and have it be addressed.

" The account, which displayed messages in colors of the rainbow, spurred others like Australian teenager Pearce Delphin of Melbourne to spread the word about the vulnerability. "RainbowTwtr" has since been suspended.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press on Thursday, Delphin said he analyzed the code within the "rainbow tweets" and realized it could be tweaked to make a pop-up window appear just by moving a cursor over a message. Other users quickly picked up on Delphin's discovery and made their own changes, infecting unsuspecting accounts around the world.

San Francisco-based Twitter said it does not believe that any user information was compromised and that the "vast majority" of the breaches were pranks or promotions. The company said the attack began when a user, whom it did not identify, noticed a security hole and "took advantage of it.

" "First, someone created an account that exploited the issue by turning tweets different colors and causing a pop-up box with text to appear when someone hovered over the link in the tweet," the company said. The White House's official Twitter feed followed by 1.8 million users was among those affected, though the offending message was quickly taken down.

Security breaches were common in Twitter's early days, but the company has since worked to beef up its vigilance and the problems have become less common. Tuesday's hack coincided with Twitter's ongoing rollout of a redesign of its website, which tries to streamline users' Twitter feeds and make it easier to see photos and videos directly on the site, without having to click on a link to YouTube or Flickr.

Twitter said it discovered and fixed this problem last month, and that a recent site update unrelated to the redesign was responsible for its return. ___ Associated Press writers Kristen Gelineau in Sydney and Barbara Ortutay in New York contributed to this report.

How to get more attention on Facebook

2010-09-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Not getting enough comments on your Facebook status updates? Well, post a photo on Friday and you'll be bombarded with those much-loved likes and comments, says a new study.

In a study released by social media management company, Vitrue, how much attention your Facebook posts are receiving is dependent on what you posted and when you posted it, reports News.com.au.

The report offered a How-to Guide for the attention-starved Facebooker, claiming that image and video are "superior to text-only posts".

And the study proved the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words-it was found that an image will get 22 per cent more likes and comments than video and 54 per cent more than a text-based post.

Fridays get the most interaction, while weekends get the least.

The engagement increases 65 per cent if the post is made before noon, may be because people check Facebook over their morning coffee.

The lack of activity on the weekend suggests that outside of Facebook, people possibly do still have a life, if not a work ethic.

The report was created for marketers and analysed posts for more than 100 randomly selected streams or pages, representing 42.6 million Facebook fans and 32,000 posts.

Mobile application on Common Wealth Games launched

2010-09-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Zoomi, a Mobile Application that will provide up-to-date latest information on the Commonwealth Games, has been launched here.

It has been developed by Smile of India, a knowledge services firm headquartered in Ahmedabad in partnership with KPMG, the leading global professional services firm.

'From information on participating Commonwealth nations to photographs and achievements of past Games to details about Delhi and India to latest and breaking news, the application would have it all in a Rich Visual format,' a company spokesman said.(Courtesy: yahoo)

Now, futuristic car that uses body as battery

2010-09-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Manufacturers of hybrid and electric cars face a seemingly insurmountable problem -- heavy batteries that add weight and bulk to vehicle design without boosting its efficiency. Now, Volvo is developing a prototype that uses its body to act as a rechargeable battery.

The futuristic car would be able to store braking energy while it is being driven and also store energy when it is plugged in overnight to recharge.

The three-year project to develop the car was launched earlier this year among Volvo, Imperial College in London and seven other European institutes, reports the Daily Mail.

Imperial College is working on a composite blend of carbon fibres and polymer resin that can store and charge more energy faster than conventional batteries.

The material is extremely strong and pliant, which means it can be shaped for use in building the car's body panels.

Volvo claims that the car's weight can be reduced by 15 percent if steel body panels are replaced with the new material.

Scientists are developing the composite material so it can store more energy and are studying ways of producing the material on an industrial scale. Only in the final stage of the project will the battery be fitted to a car.

'Our role is to contribute expertise on how this technology can be integrated in the future and to input ideas about the advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost and user-friendliness,' says Per-Ivar Sellergren, development engineer at the Volvo Cars Materials Centre.

Initially, the car's spare wheel recess will be converted into a composite battery.

'This is a relatively large structure that is easy to replace. Not sufficiently large to power the entire car, but enough to switch the engine off and on when the car is at a standstill, for instance at traffic lights,' said Sellergren.

If the project is successful, there are many possible application areas.

Mobile phones could be as thin as credit cards and laptops will last far longer without needing to be recharged.(Courtesy: yahoo)

RIM may launch tablet device next week

2010-09-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Research In Motion may use a developers' conference next week to announce plans for a tablet computer to compete with Apple's iPad and Amazon's, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

RIM, the company that makes the BlackBerry smartphone, has been widely expected to join the tablet market this year with a product dubbed BlackPad. RIM recently claimed the www.blackpad.com domain name, fueling the speculation.

Tablet computers fill a niche between smartphones and laptops. Most models lack a keyboard but enable users to download books and video, browse the Internet and send email.

The newspaper, citing unidentified people familiar with RIM's plans, said the device will have a 7-inch touchscreen, one or two cameras and Bluetooth and broadband connections. It will only be able to connect to cellular networks through a BlackBerry smartphone.

RIM will use a completely new operating system built by QNX Software Systems, the newspaper said.

RIM bought QNX earlier this year. QNX's open platform operating system is deployed across multiple business sectors including automotive, industrial, telecommunications, medical, defense, and aerospace.

The RIM tablet is being manufactured by Quanta Computer Inc of Taiwan, and will run on semiconductors from Santa Clara, California-based Marvell Technology Group Inc, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the tablet's manufacturing.

A spokeswoman for RIM declined to comment on the tablet device when contacted by Reuters on Tuesday.

But company executives have said the DevCon event, traditionally focused on RIM's community of developers, will provide insights into the company's strategic direction.

DevCon takes place in San Francisco from Sept. 27-30.

Korea's Samsung Electronics is one of the latest entrants to the tablet market, having struck deals with four U.S. carriers to begin selling a tablet running on Google's Android operating system during the coming holiday season.

(Courtesy: yahoo)

Google damaging users' brain by offering quick assistance

2010-09-17T12:10:00.001-07:00

An author has claimed that Google is damaging the brain of its users by providing information almost instantly, leading people to lose their intellectual capacity to store information.

Nicolas Carr, The author of 'The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains', claimed that the web was depriving our mental faculties of the regular workouts they need.arr, who is behind the 'Rough Type' blog, argued that to improve concentration sites such as Google should be made more difficult to use, a theory which contradicts software designers who compete to make their programmes simpler.

The comments came not long after Google launched Google Instant, which delivers search results before you finish typing.

"In many ways I admire Google, but I think they have a narrow view of the way we should be using our minds," the Telegraph quoted him as telling the BBC News.

"They have this... view that everything's about how efficiently you can find that particular bit of information you need - and then move on to the next," he added.

The author singled out Google Books for criticism saying it did not "engage" people "in a long narrative".

Carr added that satellite-navigation meant people would begin to easily forget routes they had taken before.

He said that GPS devices would diminish the part of the brain that stores mental images of space.

Super-light car bags $5m fuel efficiency prize

2010-09-17T12:08:00.001-07:00

The main prize of a 10-million-dollar challenge to design a car capable of 100 miles per gallon (mpg) has gone to the makers of a futuristic-looking vehicle that weighs half as much as a Smart Car.

The contest, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X prize, was meant to spur the development of a new generation of super-efficient cars with mass-market potential. A Toyota Prius hybrid can get to about 51 mpg, but the main prize went to a design that opted for an internal combustion motor, rather than an electric engine.

The Edison2 Very Light Car Number 98, made by a Virginia company, took home 5m dollars for its use of lightweight materials and superior aerodynamics.

The car is powered by a single-cylinder motorcycle engine, which burns a mix of 85 pc ethanol and 15 pc gasoline, mounted at the back of an extremely lightweight frame. The designers, mainly former racing-car drivers, opted for an internal combustion engine rather than an electric car, because batteries add weight.

"Electric cars have real issues. Batteries are heavy, big and costly ... cars get heavier, performance suffers and costs go up," the Guardian quoted The Edison2 blog as saying.

The entire car, which some have likened to a helicopter or an egg on wheels, weighs 377kg (830lb). The Smart Car is about 726kg. The four-seater is entered via the window, like a racecar.

It has the basics: a top speed of 100mph, enough acceleration to cope with traffic, a heater and basic air conditioning, great fuel economy and, according to Edison2's owner, a realistic price tag.

Oliver Kuttner, a race car driver, said it is made of low-cost and recylcable materials and could potentially go on sale for 20,000 dollars.

'Ban US firms from Indian e-gov projects'

2010-09-17T12:06:00.001-07:00

Taking a strong stand against protectionist measures taken by the US administration, Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) today said American companies should not be allowed to participate in Indian e-governance projects.

"Presently the major beneficiaries of the e-governance projects outsourced by the Union and state governments are US companies like Microsoft, IBM and Oracle," ESC said in a statement.

ESC added that such restrictions from the Indian side will immensely benefit Indian ICT firms, particularly those in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector.

The state of Ohio has banned outsourcing of government information technology and back-office projects to locations such as India.

"The adverse impact on SMEs on account of the ban is more severe and if the situation is allowed to drift, it would also result in wiping out of the SME sector in India," ESC Executive Director D K Sareen said.

He urged the Union Commerce Minister to impress upon their counterparts that protectionist measures will not help in the development of bilateral trade and investment.

"There should be expressed provisions in the e-governance contracts that certain percentage of business should be earmarked for the SMEs and this should be implemented in letter and spirit," ESC said.

ESC said it was a misconception that outsourcing is a zero sum game for the US corporations.

"The truth is that USD 30 billion export of software and related exports to the US has benefitted the country in as much terms as India has gained," ESC said.

Mobile phones 'to be recharged wirelessly from 2012'

2010-09-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Cell phone users may soon be able to recharge their devices wirelessly.

Japanese technology company Fujitsu has developed a system capable of simultaneously charging multiple portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras and laptop computers without the need for cable connections.

Electric cars users may also eventually be able to charge their vehicles wirelessly using the same technology according to Fujitsu, which unveiled a prototype system at an Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers conference at Osaka Prefecture University.

Claiming to be the world's first of its kind, the technology works on the basis of the transmission of electricity using magnetic fields between the charger and the electronic device.

The system enables wireless charging at distances of up to several metres, with the ultimate aim of installing public "charging spots" on the streets in order to enable easy charging around the clock.

Scientists at Fujitsu Laboratories are planning to commercially sell products incorporating the new wireless charging system as early as 2012 but did not disclose how much they would cost.

"This technology paves the way to integrating compact wireless charging functions into mobile phones and enabling multiple portable devices to be charged simultaneously without any restrictions on their position with respect to the charger," the Telegraph quoted the company as saying in a statement.

FACTBOX - Who might be hacking your Blackberry?

2010-09-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

A person is seen holding a Blackberry in the basement of his offices in Herzliya

Rows over whether several emerging countries can effectively intercept Blackberry smartphone messaging have turned attention to how state spy agencies access electronic communications.

For business users, the main question is not whether messages can be read but whether that information will then be used for commercial ends.

Unsurprisingly, nations almost invariably refuse to comment on how intelligence information is used.

Reuters has spoken to a range of industry analysts and former intelligence officers. Below is a summary of some of their views on how key states use electronic surveillance.

INDIA

India last month became the latest country to prompt Canadian firm Research in Motion to give its security agencies access to encrypted Blackberry smartphones. The move, part of a broader Indian electronic security crackdown, was triggered by the country's concerns that highly-secure unmonitored and data communication could help militants in planning attacks.

Most analysts see the risks to Western corporates that commercially sensitive material could leak to their rivals as being much lower than in some other countries.

"I see India as fairly strongly tilting in the free market direction," said Eurasia's Bremmer. "It's very hard to have state capitalism in a system that is already so diffuse and decentralised, even if it may be a temptation for Delhi as they start competing more directly with China."

RUSSIA

From the days of the Tsarist secret police, Russian security agencies have had a reputation for closely monitoring foreigners and their communications. Security experts say many hotel rooms are rigged with bugs and outside corporates should be extremely wary about what information they take into the country.

The Russian rollout of Blackberry smartphone was delayed for two years while the FSB negotiated security access.

"In Russia, journalists are well aware that their e-mail is intercepted," says Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. "Given the amount of money involved, there will always be someone spying on foreign corporates.

The (security service) FSB has the resources and it might as well use them. There's not much that can be done other than to write e-mails knowing they could be stolen."

Some oligarchs are seen as having particularly close security service links, and Russia has made it clear it sees some economic sectors -- particularly energy -- as strategic.

CHINA

China heavily restricts use of some communications technologies and controls access to the Internet behind its "great firewall" in what analysts say is in part an attempt to stifle dissent and the spread of words, ideas and images anathema to the ruling Communist Party. China blocks multiple websites and some communications tools such as Skype.

In part due to its relative conventional military imbalance compared to the United States, China is seen as having put particular effort into building its cyber warfare capacity.

It has also been repeatedly suspected of cyber attacks on U.S. companies -- a factor in Google's decision to withdraw from mainland China earlier this year.

Google did not say whether it believed China's government was behind the hacker attacks that prompted its move. But a U.S. congressional advisory panel said in Nov. 2009 China's government appeared increasingly to be piercing U.S. government and defence industry networks to gather data for its military.

China has repeatedly denied the government sponsors hacking.

"The Chinese have the resources to put maybe 100 agents or resources on to a problem that MI6 or the CIA could only devote five or six to," said former U.S. counterterrorism agent Fred Burton, now vice president for consultancy Stratfor.

"They are particularly interested in targeting firms with emerging defence technologies, going after intellectual property. They will be looking to get projects at a very early stage of development."

Many firms are closely tied to the state, but that closeness may not always translate to access to commercial intelligence.

"In China, I don't think corporates should assume that everything they write is handed directly to their commercial rivals," says Eurasia's Bremmer.

"Not every Chinese company has the connections to the security officials who have that kind of electronic access."

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have their own disputes with Research in Motion over Blackberry messaging, but have rolled back on threats to shut the service altogether.

In general, analysts say, the main priority of the Middle East and Gulf states when it comes to electronic surveillance is tackling militancy, political dissent and "immoral behaviour" rather than commercial espionage.

Gulf-based information security expert Ali Jahangeri says he believes one potential solution could involve having two separate BlackBerry systems, one for local users that could be easily monitored and a more secure system for high end international clients who value confidentiality. "In effect, they will set up multilayered security," he said.

AFRICA

African security services are seen as relatively low-tech compared to their counterparts elsewhere, although Stratfor's Burton warns Western corporates could face spying from other foreign intelligence services with good African partnerships.

That could put Western firms at a disadvantage compared to foreign rivals from countries such as China. Nigeria has so far said it has no plans to seek access to Blackberry devices.

Experts say African countries spying on foreign companies tend to use more traditional methods such as tailing managers or buying information from drivers, cleaners and local staff.

Press freedom campaigners in South Africa have accused China of selling electronic surveillance equipment to several authoritarian African governments including Zimbabwe where they say it is used to target the press and human rights activists.

WESTERN COUNTRIES

Most Western states have powerful spy agencies that can read most domestic traffic, and sometimes overseas messages as well. How this functions is controlled by legislation, although this varies and it is impossible to tell how tightly it is followed.

Intercept intelligence appears to be heavily exchanged between the main Anglo-Saxon powers -- Britain and the United States, and also Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

A 2010 book "The Secret State" by academic Peter Hennessy says 50 to 80 percent of intelligence discussed at Britain's weekly joint intelligence committee briefing is of U.S. origin.

Continental European states often suspect Anglo-Saxon powers of spying for business ends. All European Blackberry traffic goes through UK or Canadian servers and partly as a result many European governments are reluctant to use the system.

Most security experts believe Western powers occasionally use spy services for commercial ends but their main focus is on tackling militant threats and fighting economic crime.

Some security experts say they believe the greatest state threat Western corporates face even in their host countries is electronic infiltration from powers such as Russia and China.

"America's real crown jewels are not our government secrets but our intellectual property," writes former White House cyber security adviser Richard Clarke in a 2010 book "Cyber War".

"China steals results for pennies... and then takes the results to market. The only real economic edge that the U.S. enjoyed ... is disappearing as a result of cyber espionage."

Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation

Hyundai shows off SKorea's first electric car

2010-09-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hyundai shows off SKorea's first electric car, 1st Ld-Writethru, AS

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Hyundai Motor unveiled its first electric car Thursday the BlueOn as it moves to catch up with Japanese rivals that have jumped ahead in the field. Hyundai showed off the car on the grounds of Seoul's hillside Blue House, the office and residence of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who took it for a spin while Cabinet ministers, officials and electric-vehicle industry representatives looked on.South Korea's biggest automaker said that it invested about 40 billion won ($34.3 million) over one year to create the vehicle, which is based on the automaker's small i10 hatchback. Hyundai, which hailed the car as South Korea's first full-speed electric vehicle, said that it plans to deliver 30 of them on a test basis to various South Korean government organizations by October and aims to manufacture 2,500 by the end of 2012."We are proud to introduce the world to BlueOn, which was fully developed in Korea and displays Hyundai's latest technological advancements," Lee Hyun-Soon, vice chairman at the automaker's research and development center, said in a release. "Consumers' interests and demand for eco-friendly cars are rising and securing such advanced technology is critical in becoming an industry leader," he said.Hyundai has in recent years won strong reviews for quality and design as it increased market share and brand recognition worldwide, but Japanese rivals have pushed ahead in electric vehicles. Mitsubishi Motors Corp.already manufactures the iMiEV electric car, while Nissan Motor Co. plans to mass produce its Leaf electric vehicle during this fiscal year.

The 2,500 cars Hyundai aims to produce will include retail sales in South Korea, said Song Meeyoung, a company spokeswoman. She could not say exactly when consumer sales would begin.As for overseas sales, she said it was "too early too discuss potential export markets at the moment.".

How to Hide annoying Apps, updates and notifications for Cleaner Facebook

2010-09-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

FaceBook needs no introduction, its the best social networking website to get in touch with your family and friends. FaceBook wall brings us closer to your friends by status updates and follow up comments but lately I had to hunt for a genuine wall update due to annoying applications, quizzes and page like notifications which actually flooded my FaceBook wall. Now Here are two must have GreasesMonkey script for a clean and tidy FaceBook experience.

Before we start there are two points you sure be sure with:-

You have to be a FireFox, Chrome , Opera or Safari user in order to make the trick work.

Install GreaseMonkey add-on to your Firefox, GreaseMetal for Chrome, JS Utilizer for Opera or GreaseMonkey for Safari.

Now just download the two scripts mentioned below to experience all new FaceBook F.B. Purity- This script removes application messages (FarmVille, MafiaWars etc), system messages (X likes Y, X joined group Y etc) from the news stream and advertisement and suggestion boxes from the sidebar.

Once you Install this script all such spam wall notification will be hidden leaving behind just the standard FaceBook apps such as status updates, wall posts, links, notes, photos, etc. If by any chance you wish to see the filtered notifications you can do so from the F.B. Purity notification section placed on top of your wall.

FaceBook Improved Notification Script

The function of this script is to remove the Repeat notifications of the notification menu. For example: When many of your friends comment the same Photo, you get one notification per comment, this script deletes them and only leaves the newest notification of each photo, wall comments, etc.

Conclusion

The above two scripts will surely enhance your FaceBook by cleaning and filtering all the junk and delivering to you what best for you. Now share the trick with your FaceBook friends gifting them a better FaceBook.

Google Hacks Tool to find MP3, Videos, eBooks Direct Download Links

2010-09-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

Everything is available on Internet, only thing is you need to know “How to find it”. Google is obvious answer to all questions and needs so, it can be exploited to find anything anywhere on web using keywords intelligently. You can see the incredible power of Google Search when used with Hack Tool to search documents, movies, Music, Videos or eBooks.

Google Hacks is a small tool which can let you find things on Google search which you are not supposed to. It is a compilation of carefully crafted Google searches that expose novel functionality from Google’s search and map services. This tool is a Gem that encompasses a multitude of keyword controls through which we look for direct links to Music, Movies, Videos, e books, Lyrics, Torrent, Software, Mobile applications, Torrents, Fonts and Hacks.

Open the tool, Type the keyword you want to find direct links to download. This will open a Google Search page with relevant results which otherwise you wouldn’t have found by regular search method. Clicking on any result will open a FTP or Index of that site to get direct downloads.

Facebook's new security feature: remote logouts

2010-09-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Facebook is rolling out a new security feature that lets users log out of their accounts remotely from another computer.

To do this, go to "account settings" on your Facebook page and click on "change" next to "account security." There, you'll see where else your Facebook account is logged in, including the type of device and the city it's in or near. To log out of any of them, click "end activity."

Facebook is making this available over the next couple of weeks. It will be accessible on computers, but not mobile devices.

The feature is similar to what Google Inc.'s Gmail offers to its users, and Facebook says it's designed to help users keep their logins secure.

Govt officials meet to decide on BlackBerry ban

2010-08-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

Indian officials meet on Monday to decide whether to ban some of Research In Motion's BlackBerry services, a day before the deadline runs out for the firm to give security agencies access to its secure data.

Government sources have said the Aug. 31 deadline could be extended if Research In Motion says it has a solution to allowing monitoring of emails and asks for more time to avoid disruption of its services in the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market.

Monday's meeting will consider a technical report prepared after two days of talks last week between RIM officials and Indian security agencies. The report, sources said, contains some suggestions on how a secure email on BlackBerry may be accessed.

A final decision will be taken after considering all aspects and national security interests, a source in the interior ministry told Reuters. The outcome of the meeting may not be announced on Monday. The sources asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

The meeting is due to start at 5 p.m. local (1130 GMT).

India says it wants the means to fully track and read BlackBerry's secure email and instant messaging services that officials fear could be misused by militants.

India could become the first country to ban the services, even though several governments have raised concerns about the popular device over activities from terrorism to peddling pornography.

Saudi Arabia, fretful over online services like pornography, has reached a deal with RIM on the messenger service, a consumer product outside of the secure corporate domain. India too has reached a deal till November on Messenger service, according to government sources.

Such concerns have also been raised by Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, with the latter giving RIM an Oct. 11 deadline.

Analysts see no easy fix to the standoff as RIM says it has no way of intercepting the data that countries want access to. RIM has denied media reports that say it provided unique wireless services or access to any one country.

A shutdown would affect about 1 million users in India out of a total 41 million BlackBerry users worldwide, allowing them to use the devices only for calls and Internet browsing.

Facebook alternative Diaspora to be launched on Sept 15

2010-08-28T10:36:00.001-07:00

Diaspora, an open alternative to Facebook, is set to be launched, say developers of the project.

Diaspora, which describes itself, as a "privacy-aware, personally-controlled" social network will be launched on 15 September.

The open-source project came into the limelight earlier this year when Facebook was forced to simplify its privacy settings, after they were criticised for being overly complex and confusing.

The project, developed by four US students, raised 200,000 dollar.

"We have Diaspora working, we like it, and it will be open-sourced on September 15th," the BBC quoted the team as writing on their blog.

The team said they had spent the summer "building clear, contextual sharing".

"That means an intuitive way for users to decide, and not notice deciding, what content goes to their co-workers and what goes to their drinking buddies. We know that's a hard [user interface] problem and we take it seriously."

New unmanned helicopter can cut US troop losses in war zones

2010-08-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

An unmanned helicopter that is expected to reduce US troop losses in war zones is being developed.

The Kaman K-MAX helicopter has been adapted by defence company Lockheed Martin to fly without a pilot and can carry up to 6,000lbs of cargo - more than the aircraft's empty weight, reports the BBC.

Transporting equipment to troops at Forward Operating Bases on the frontline would be the K-MAX's primary use.

It would help reduce the need for large vehicle convoys lowering the risk of soldiers being ambushed or injured by IEDs (improvised explosive devices).

And it can be flown into under-fire areas without risk to aircrew.

A ground-based operator using a laptop is able to control the aircraft. They can input a flight plan detailing the destination and route.

It can also be flown hands-on from the cockpit if necessary and uses counter-rotating intermeshing rotor blades to generate its lifting power.

The adapted K-MAX can winch four different loads on its cargo hook and each can be programmed to release at different times. Its maximum airspeed with an external load is 80 knots (92mph).

It can also fly in weather conditions that would ground other helicopters and could also be used to lighten the workload of aircrew ensuring they get enough rest.

The helicopter is being developed for the US Army's 'Autonomous Technologies for Unmanned Air Systems' (ATUAS) programme.

However the US Marine Corps could make use of the aircraft.

In Lockheed Martin's contract to develop the helicopter the US military describes the project as having an "indefinite delivery" of an "indefinite quantity", so a precise deployment date is currently unknown.

But if testing goes to plan it's thought it could be sent to Afghanistan for assessment sometime towards the end of 2011.

Now, humanoid robots that can perform hip-hop!

2010-08-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

Who says only Michael Jackson could do the perfect moonwalk? If scientists in Sydney are to be believed, then even robots may soon burn the dance floor.

Mary-Anne Williams and her colleagues at the University of Technology are building and programming a group of humanoid robots to dance - the agile automatons already have mastered hip-hop.

"It's all about having precise control over a robot's body. We need to be able to do that better if we want to have robots in our home. We don't want them bumping into things," Stuff.co.nz quoted Williams as saying.

Making robots dance is no cakewalk though, because humans are the only animals that dance to music, said Williams.

Computer scientist Benjamin Johnston developed a programming language to make it easier to direct the robots' movements.

He spent hours watching small sections of the choreographed dance video, then placed the robots in the appropriate dance position, storing the data in their memory. Each musical beat was then matched to a dance move.

Finally, the robots' clocks were synchronised so they dance in unison.

"I would say it takes about two hours [to program] every five seconds of dance," he said.