Ram's

Tirumala Tirupati Unseen Old Images

2015-02-11T16:26:00.002+02:00

Looking for a pilgrim spot in South India that is located in mother nature that could give you peace of mind through awakening the divinity in you. One could opt you only Tirumala Tirupati of Andhra Pradesh as a destination for your need where the Kaliyuga Daivam Lord Venkateshwara Swami has resided.

Standing still at an height of 2799 feet above the sea level this temple is visited daily by half a million to a million pilgrims Every day and this number increases gradually at the time of “Brahmostavas” and other Occasions. On a average 30 to 40 million devotees visit the temple to have a glimpse of the Idol of the “Swamy”. Having been visited by this many pilgrims, donations and Offerings made have put this Seven Hills Temple of Venkateshwara Swamy as one of the richest temples in the world.

After the Advancements in technology the layout of Tirumala have changed dramatically. But if you wish to see how Tirumala Tirupati looked some decades ago will definitely surprise you. Here are some of such black and white photos that resembles the past of this ultimate destination of devotion.

Pilgrims who go choose foot way to climb to the temple need to start here, yes this is an actual image of Alipiri Mandapam of Tirumala where your journey starts after the Security check in..

1. Alipiri mandapam of Tirumala.

2. Bommala Gopuram ( Doesn’t exist anymore. Dismantled )

3. Lord Krishna Idol from Tirumala

4. Mahadeva Gopuram

5. Padmavathi Amma Nidhi

6. Krishna Devaraya with his Queens

7. Prathima Mandapam

8. View of Hills from Tirupathi

9. Lord Hanuma Temple in Tirumala

10. Walk Way to Tirumala Temple

11. A Temple Street of Tirupati

12. Lord Venkateshwara’s Dwaram

13. Buses at Tirupati to Transport Pilgrims to Tirumala

14. Puskarini of Swamy

15. Steps Way to Tirumala

16. Kapila Teertham Waterfall at Tirupati

17. Srivari Raja Gopuram

18. Bus Stand at Tirupati with fleet to Tirumala

19. Ghat Road as it was built with Basic Engineering

20. Sri Venkateshwara’s Swamy Vari Ratham

21. Steps to Tirumala from Tirupati.

22. Sannidhi Veedhi

23. Garbha Gudi of Tirumala Temple

24. Sri Venkateshwara Swami’s Utsava Statues

25. The Lord Venkateshwara Swami Himself.!

Installing Windows 8 on your old PC could turn it into Greased Lightning

2012-08-21T07:15:00.004+02:00

I've known ZDNet columnist Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols going on 16 years now. Along with Mary Jo Foley, who I've known for the same amount of time, he's a writer I have utmost respect for, particuarly when it comes to writing about Open Source and Networking technologies.
In many instances, we agree about a lot of things. But over the years Steven has become shall we say... not particularly enamored with Microsoft. He's focused a lot of his writing in recent years about Linux, and he's the closest thing we have here on ZDNet to being a pure Open Source evangelist.
This is not a bad thing, this is just simply stating what he is. Saying that Steven is an Open Source evangelist and dislikes and distrusts Microsoft is like saying that Seals, which subsist on a diet of fish and crustaceans, have developed an extreme dislike for Great White Sharks.
Sorry, I spent most of my free time watching the Discovery Channel this weekend.
So when Steven tells you that Windows 8 "belongs on older PCs like a fish needs a bicycle" you should regard this as coming from a position of extreme prejudice.
Be it as it may I also am a Linux advocate. I wrote about it exclusively in print for ten years.
However, I also make my living integrating large scale multi-vendor systems for the largest IT services company in the world, so I can't afford to hate Microsoft. It's not a position I would enjoy being in anyway.
And despite the fact I have been known to throw a couple of grenades at Redmond from time to time, I actually enjoy using their products.
So the question remains -- does Windows 8 belong on older PCs? It really depends on what you define as "Old" and what lengths you are willing to go through to gain the benefits from the new operating system.
I want to first discard the notion that the new Windows 8 user interface (that we just got used to calling "Metro" but apparently we can't call it that anymore) is bad. It isn't bad, it's just different.
And yes, it requires a considerable amount of user adjustment in order to be productive with it, even for a veteran PC user like myself.
Whether the new UI will succeed in its current form and what Microsoft may have to do if it doesn't is another discussion entirely. But let's just take that off the table for a moment and return to the subject if upgrading to the new OS is appropriate for an older PC.
So in addition to catching up with Shark Week on my DVR, I decided to install Windows 8 on several older PCs this weekend.
My victims were a 12" Lenovo X200 Centrino 2 ultralight laptop, my primary circa-2009 dual quad-Opteron "Frankenputer" workstation, my wife's Dell Studio 17" laptop (a Vista-certified system that was purchased just prior to Windows 7's release) and a Dell Precision 530 desktop with an Intel Core 2 Quad which I originally purchased from Costco for the express purposes of testing Windows Vista four years ago.
None of these machines are current or state of the art. In fact I would say they are a decent representative sample of the type and vintage of Windows PC that most people actually own.
Every single one of these machines installed Windows 8's release code without a hitch -- all the devices on the machines were recognized with the exception of two external peripherals -- an Epson wireless MFD Printer/Scanner that needed the usual 3rd-party Windows 7 drivers and a portable Lenovo USB Displaylink 2nd monitor for my laptop which actually had beta drivers avaliable on the Displaylink.org web site.
Even the on-board Authentec fingerprint scanner for biometric login on my Lenovo X200 was automatically recognized.
On every single one of these systems, the performance improvement over Windows 7 is noticeable. Boot up is much, much faster as well as general application and network responsiveness, particularly with the new Internet Explorer 10 browser. And all of my Windows 7-compatible application software is working perfectly.
A Fish with bicycle wheels? Hell, this upgrade is automatic, it's systematic, it's hydromatic. It will turn your old PC into Greased Lightning.
The amount of work that has gone into improving core components and introducing new technology and features with this release is considerable, and Microsoft should be commended for their work, issues with the Metro UI notwithstanding.
IE 10, the new cloud integration and the fully integrated anti-malware suite in the new Windows Defender which completely eliminates the need for 3rd-party antivirus and antispyware programs are worth the price of admission alone.
Now, the one thing that all of these systems I installed the software on had in common is that they had (at least) 4GB of RAM. I've heard of people using Windows 8 systems with less, but if you are going to bite the bullet on the upgrade -- which is a whole $40 regardless of whether you own a license of XP, any variant of Vista or Windows 7 -- you might as well boost your RAM to as much as you can reasonably afford and your system will permit.
Most 4GB DDR2 upgrade kits sell for about $60, so with the $40 for the Windows 8 software, you're looking at about $100 to supercharge your older PC. If you want to take advantage of the multi-touch stuff in the new UI, you'll also want to pick up a mouse that supports the new touch gestures.
Now, as to whether end-users will do this upgrade in the volumes that Microsoft wants and if the challanges of user acceptance actually has a negative impact on the OS's adoption rate I really have no idea. But this has no bearing whatsoever on "appropriateness" to the target hardware.
Clearly, they've made the upgrade attractively inexpensive, which is a far cry from Vista, which was actually prohibitive in my opinion because not only was the software not cheap, but a great deal of legacy hardware compatibility got left behind and most PCs just weren't powerful enough to run them.
That's just not the case with Windows 8. Four year-old machines are running on it swimmingly.
If you've got a Vista or newer-era machine with 4GB of RAM, by all means, do this upgrade, particularly if you consider yourself in the class of "enthusiast" and want to inject new life into your PC, and you want to take advantage of the new software technology Microsoft is introducing and are willing to undertake the UI adaptation process.
On the other hand, if you or have friends and family members that are perfectly happy with their Windows 7 machine, and you'd rather not take all sorts of calls when they freak out about the new Start menu and the new UI, then leave their PC alone.
Have you undertaken the Windows 8 upgrade process yet? Talk Back and Let Me Know.

Now, a smartphone app that recognises stress from your voice

2012-08-21T07:07:00.002+02:00

London: Your smartphone may soon be able to tell you when you are most stressed, with the help of a new software that can identify stress from the patterns in your voice.

The app called 'StressSense' is first trained to recognise a person's unstressed voice.

For that, users must relax and read a 3-minute passage from a book into their phones.

The system then compares this recording to its pre-programmed knowledge of the physiological changes that stress induces like speaking at a faster rate and a clipped frequency spectrum.

The application then takes note of any instances of stress it detects in the voice.

"Our stress model also adapts to different background noise environments," New Scientist quoted Hong Lu of Intel in Santa Clara, California, who developed the system, as saying.

In tests that included putting volunteers through mock job interviews, the researchers found their prototype's stress-recognition accuracy to be 81 percent indoors and 76 percent outdoors, where sound quality wasn't as good.

The team plans to make the system a plug-in to an Android application called BeWell, which uses a phone's accelerometers and Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors to record users' activity and sleep levels.

Smartphone users will be able to set StressSense to either listen to their voice throughout the day, or only to activate when they are having a phone conversation.

The app will be presented at the Ubicomp conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, next month.

New Synaptics Tech Could Make Windows 8 More Touchy-Feely

2012-08-21T06:57:00.002+02:00

Synaptics has developed a new PC input technology that may debut in upcoming Intel Ultrabooks. The ForcePad is a large touchpad device that can sense input from up to five fingers simultaneously. It resembles the touchpad found on Apple MacBooks. However, the ForcePad contains no moving parts and can detect differences in finger pressure.

Facebook told to set up warning system after new sex scam

2012-08-21T06:43:00.005+02:00

Custom Trophy & Shields. Wide Range Of Designs & Low Prices.

A major computer security firm urged Facebook to set up an early-warning system after hundreds of thousands of users were hit by a new wave of fake sex-video attacks.
British-based virus fighter Sophos warned users of the world's biggest social networking site to be on guard against any posting entitled "distracting beach babes", which contains a movie thumbnail of a bikini-clad woman.

In a press statement, Sophos said the malicious posts appear as if they are coming from Facebook users' friends, but it urged recipients not to click on the thumbnail.
By clicking on it, users are taken to a rogue Facebook application informing them that they do not have the right player software installed, Sophos said.

It tricks users into installing adware, a software package that automatically plays, displays or downloads advertisements to their computer, and the video link is spread further across the network.

Sophos said that "hundreds of thousands" of Facebook users were believed to have received the posts over the past weekend.
It followed a similar scam that spread on Facebook the week before involving a fake posting tagged as the "sexiest video ever".
"It's time for Facebook to set up an early warning system on their network, through which they can warn their almost 500 million users about breaking threats as they happen," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
"A simple message appearing on all users' screens warning them of the outbreak would have helped in halting the attack," he said.
"Unless something is done, it won't be surprising if there is another widespread attack this coming weekend, affecting thousands more users."
The social networking site is already under fire for revealing users' information too freely on the internet.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday that the website "missed the mark" with its complex privacy controls and would reveal simpler features in the coming weeks.

Here come the drones: Hacks/Hackers takes to the skies (not quite yet)

2012-04-13T12:09:00.001+02:00

Journalists are often called on to report on events where a view from above would be useful. And local TV news shows have long had their own eyes in the sky with helicopters reporting on traffic or car chases.

With the costs of remote-controlled aircraft dropping, along with smaller cameras and better wireless technology, the idea of using drones for journalism has become an emerging topic among the future of journalism crowd -- and was the hot button issue at the latest Hacks/Hackers Bay Area event Thursday evening at Storify's offices.

Drone Journalism: Reporting from above (with Wired's Chris ...

Drones aren't just for the military anymore. ... Hacks and Hackers ... Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief, Wired magazine: Anderson to...

Not a thing. RT @MJ_Coren: Drones can fly over people with new permits. What could possibly go wrong. @mattwaite. #hackshackers

One of the most well-known remote aircraft is the Parrot AR drone, which has a camera and can be controlled from an iPhone.

But that's just a novelty, for now, and a small hint of what's to come. The key to the rapidly evolving field is that the technology that had previously been available only to the military is now going open source, meaning anyone can assemble their own devices, said Chris Anderson, the editor in chief of Wired magazine who is also a drone expert and creator of the DIYDrones community.

DIY Drones

The largest amateur Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) community on the web. Quadcopters, robot planes and more!

Diydrones

"We're open-sourcing the military-industrial complex." @chr1sa at @HacksHackers on DIY drones.

Chris Anderson (@chr1sa) on drone development: "Game changer is open source. The technology is commoditized & democratized; cheap and easy"

Still, that doesn't mean progress with the technology will come so fast. Making drones feasible will require advances in materials and batteries, said Tyler Brown, who is working on the Occucopter project. On the software side, drones aren't aware of their environment and can't fly well autonomously, which requires advanced sensors and learning algorithms. Because of the difficulty in flying accurately, drones are involved in frequent crashes and require constant repairs.

One safer option for getting aerial views cheaply and easily for the moment is to simply to use a camera tethered to a weather balloon.

"Want to document a protest? Attach a camera to a balloon. The rules are changed when you have a string attached." - @chr1sa #hackshackers

"if you want to monitor a protest, tether a balloon. Takes care of *all* the problems...it's safe, it's legal"

Drone multicopter #hackshackers journo discussion @ Storify HQ instagr.am/p/IyNa0BMd2Y/

'BrowserQuest' Shows HTML5 Could Slay Flash

2012-04-13T11:44:00.000+02:00

Mozilla's "Browser Quest" online game may look crude by cutting-edge, hardcore gaming standards, but it's intended as a simple showcase for how technologies like HTML5 can be used to create cross-platform games and apps. The growing sophistication of HTML5 could spell trouble for Adobe Flash.

The Mozilla Foundation on Wednesday released BrowserQuest, a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game written in HTML5, JavaScript and other open source languages. [*Correction - March 29, 2012]

"BrowserQuest"

"BrowserQuest is a showcase of how open Web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript, CSS (cascading style sheets) and WebSockets can be used to create a multiplayer game that scales up to thousands of users," Christian Heilmann, principal developer evangelist at Mozilla, told TechNewsWorld.
"Its main purpose is to prove that the Web is a platform for gaming as much as it is a platform for apps and documents," Heilmann continued. "It also shows that JavaScript can be used server-side with node.js to allow for scalable architectures without resorting to non-Web technologies and plugins."

Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for building fast, scalable network applications. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking input/out model that makes it both lightweight and efficient. This is suitable for running data-intensive real-time applications running across distributed devices such as MMO games.

HTML5 vs Adobe Flash

"It will take time for HTML5 to improve in many aspects," Lewis Ward, a research manager at IDC, told TechNewsWorld.
Audio is one of the weakest parts of HTML5, Ward pointed out. "Some of the HTML5 applications out there still use the Flash Player plugin behind the scenes to handle the audio because the audio pieces of HTML5 aren't robust enough to really do quality audio," he added.
However, HTML5 may continue to gain ground as a development platform in the wake of Adobe's (Nasdaq: ADBE) introduction of new premium features for Flash Player that developers and publishers will have to pay for if their net revenues from the games, minus taxes and fees, add up to more than $50,000.
That's for the lifetime of the game, Adobe spokesperson Alex Dewey told TechNewsWorld.
Having to pay may prove unpopular among many game makers.
"Adobe has a strong position, and there's a large market for Flash-based applications, but without more effective strategies to gain ground on alternatives such as HTML5, the future for Flash and the premium player strategy is not terribly bright," Eric Leland, a partner at FivePaths, told TechNewsWorld.
"We honestly cannot see a model whereby developers are consciously choosing a pay model when they have perfectly viable tools like HTML5," Mike Ricci, vice president of Webtrends' digital solutions group, told TechNewsWorld. "This seems like more of a matter of putting a thumb in the large hole that has sprung in the Adobe dike and trying to salvage some of the games developers who have continued to use Flash."

Is this the future of Windows 8 ultrabooks?

2012-04-13T11:23:00.001+02:00

Intel thinks the Windows 8 hybrid ultra book is the way to go. Is it?

Intel showed off the latest hybrid ultrabook concept at company confab this week. But it's been preaching this best-of-both-worlds religion for a while now.

Intel's new PC business chief, Kirk Skaugen, is making the case for hybrids this week in Beijing at an Intel conference. But CEO Paul Otellini has been proselytizing the hybrid experience since last fall and other Intel executives, like Erik Reid, have been chiming in at every opportunity too.

Here's the pitch: in "consumption" mode, it's a tablet (see photos) and in productivity mode it's a standard laptop. And throw in the fact that hybrids use the latest high-performance Intel Ivy Bridge processors and run the Windows 8 Metro interface.

The linchpin is Windows 8. The hybrid experience won't work on Windows 7. Just ask Dell. Its Inspiron Duo hybrid was not a success, mostly because it was burdened with Windows 7 (and ran that demanding operating system on top of a underpowered Intel Atom processor).
The should change with Windows 8 on Ivy Bridge. Mark Skaugen's words. When showing off the Lenovo Yoga hybrid running on that processor, he said: "[It has] the Windows 8 experience and all of the responsiveness of that." Translation: it's a much better touch interface than Windows 7.
So, is this a viable future for the Windows 8 laptop? Or is better to go with more purist tablet and ultrabook designs?

Newborn baby in trash – OMG

2012-02-14T15:27:00.000+02:00

With the tears, I’m sharing the pictures I got ‘em somehow. Today this thing is being so common, and this message is for those who even think of doing it so I simply want to remind you that there is a GOD, and fear!

There are so many NGO’s who is actually taking care of child abandoned children.

Have a fear! If someone has did the same thing to you, you wouldn’t be reading this!

For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto them of old with clear proofs but afterwards lo! many of them became prodigals in the earth.

WE CONDEMN THESE HUMAN ACT!

Related Links!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57346169/newborn-baby-found-in-box-on-philadelphia-street/

http://www.wtoc.com/story/16204166/mother-of-newborn-baby

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/newborn-baby-found-in-convenience-store-toilet-trash-can

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Baby-Thrown-Down-Trash-Compactor-122417029.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/30/newborn-baby-girl-found-d_n_1120704.html

Apex body of Indian technology companies likely to forecast slowdown in Indian software exports in 2012-13

2012-02-01T08:20:00.001+02:00

NEW DELHI/BANGALORE: The apex body of Indian technology companies is likely to forecast a slowdown in software exports in 2012-13, as corporations keep a wary eye on the global economic uncertainty and control expenses on information technology outsourcing.
"As of now, two things are certain: we might not be able to beat the upper end of this year's forecast, and it's unlikely the industry will grow any faster next year," said an official.

"Double-digit growth for financial year ending March 2013 would be a safe prediction," the official added.
Its members, which include companies such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro are struggling to provide clarity about demand. In a normal year, officials are more or less certain about the growth forecast by the end of January. But this time companies are still negotiating with customers on outsourcing budgets.
Usually, compiles forecasts from member companies, both Indian and multinationals, by January, and polls top analysts before giving its annual growth projection for the Indian IT industry sometime in February.
"It doesn't look as robust. The picture is hazy this year. You can't see the goal unless the road is clear. We might revise it upwards during the year, if the picture becomes clearer," said another official. He added that companies are yet to submit revenue forecasts for the year, so an accurate prediction is not possible now.
India's IT services and BPO exports were predicted to grow 16-18% in 2011-12 to $70 billion. The industry is likely to meet the target.
V Balakrishnan, chief financial officer of Infosys, said clients have become cautious because of the uncertainty. Even though they have the budgets to spend, they may not do so, leading to fluctuations in forecasts by companies.
"In such an environment, forecasting becomes a problem more than anything else because unlike earlier, growth does not come in a straight line," he said.
Research firm Gartner has lowered its IT spend forecast from 4.6% to 3.7%.

US, EUROPE STILL IN TURMOIL
"US dollar-based IT spending in western Europe will contract in 2012 as the ongoing political uncertainty and a mild recession lead businesses and consumers in Europe to be cautious in the coming months about spending on IT products and services," said Richard Gordon of Gartner.
Mid-sized tech company MindTree is of the view that the depreciation of the rupee is hitting multinational software outsourcing firms, which contribute a significant portion of India's total IT exports.
"If you look at most of the large Indian IT companies, they are growing at the upper end, so the problem is not there. What is impacting overall growth is that for multinationals and large US companies' captives, growth has been impacted because of the significant rupee depreciation," CFO Rostow Ravanan said.

Kalam asks experts in medicine to develop new technology

2012-02-01T08:13:00.000+02:00

Former President inaugurates laser surgery machine at Maxivision Eye Care

Former President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam said here on Tuesday that the country's best talent in the field of medicine should strive to develop innovative technology so that the needy could afford the fruits of modern medicine. On Tuesday, Dr. Kalam inaugurated VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Cataract Surgery machine at Maxivision Eye Care, Somajiguda.

“I call upon the Maxivision eye surgeons to form a team of experts who can explore the multidimensional uses of Femtosecond laser in treating various eye ailments. We need to utilise the technology and help people who can't afford modern medical care,” Dr. Kalam said.

The former President said that the multiple applications of the Femtosecond laser would help doctors treat a host of eye ailments.

Immediately after the inauguration, the renowned nuclear scientist also interacted with the eye surgeons of Maxivision and enquired about the newly acquired laser surgery machine.

The officials of Maxivision said that the new machine had been under test from November 2010.

Already, the eye surgeons had completed close to 450 eye surgeries by using the new laser machine. The surgeons pointed out that not a single case had reported complications after the surgery.

The VICTUS platform, essentially, helped doctors conduct cataract, refractive and therapeutic procedures of the eye on a single platform. The laser machine would help surgeons perform computer controlled precise, accurate and reproducible incisions compared to current manual procedures. The success rate for such surgery was 100 per cent, doctors added.

“This is the first such laser machine in the World and I would like to congratulate Maxivision for this accomplishment,” founder and chairman of GVK, G. V. K. Reddy said.

Chairman of L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Dr. G. N. Rao, Founder of Maxivision Eye Hospitals, Dr. Kasu Prasad Reddy, Film Producer D. Ramanaidu and several other doctors were present.

Banks, Internet companies team up to fight spam

2012-01-30T13:45:00.000+02:00

(Reuters) - Some of the world's biggest Internet companies and financial services firms have developed a new approach to fighting email spam that they hope will reduce online scams.
Facebook, Google Inc (GOOG.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) have joined with financial firms Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Fidelity Investments and eBay Inc's (EBAY.O) PayPal to create a set of industry standards for preventing criminals from sending out spam emails that appear to come from corporate email addresses.
Fraudsters often pose as banks and other trusted firms in attempts to persuade email recipients to provide payment card numbers, bank account information and other personal data or click on links that infect computers with malicious software.
The new approach calls for email providers and businesses to attack spammers by coordinating on a massive scale the use of two existing technologies for email authentication known by the acronyms SPF and DKIM, which have yet to be widely adopted.
PayPal is one company that currently uses SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) technology standards to fight email spoofing, but only through partnerships with Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) and Google, said Brett McDowell, a security manager at PayPal who serves as chairman of the group that developed the new standard.
The group goes by the name DMARC.org, which stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance.
If Yahoo or Google get an email claiming to come from PayPal that is not properly authenticated with SPF or DKIM, the email is not delivered, he said. But if fraudsters send spoofed PayPal email to other email providers, it might get through.
"What we need is an Internet standard that allows this level of protection to work at scale - without any discussion, without any partner agreements," McDowell said. "That is what DMARC does."
Other companies involved in the group include American Greetings Corp (AM.N), LinkedIn Corp (LNKD.N) and Yahoo as well as privately held Agari, Cloudmark, eCert, Return Path and the Trusted Domain Project.
IDC security analyst Michael Versace said that the approach recommended by the group appeared to be effective and inexpensive to implement.
Yet he said that the industry should keep developing new technologies to fight spammers because he expects that cyber criminals will eventually figure out how to circumvent the DMARC protections.

'Solar bullet' to hit Earth

2012-01-24T11:33:00.000+02:00

Cape Town - Charged particles from the sun will strike the Earth on Tuesday after a huge solar flare erupted on Monday.

The M9-class solar flare was observed by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory and erupted from a sunspot on Monday at 03:59 GMT,SpaceWeather.com reported.

The coronal mass ejection or CME is travelling to Earth at 2 200km/s which means that it could potentially cause communications disruptions to networks on the planet that could include disabling satellites in its path.

In the polar regions people could observe spectacular auroras, that may even be visible at lower latitudes.

The CME may have a particular impact in South Africa because of the South Atlantic Anomaly where the Earth's magnetic field is weakest.

The CME is scheduled to hit at about 14:18 GMT on Tuesday and South Africans should take care to avoid being exposed directly to the sun.

hey came from outer space--and you can have one! Genuine meteorites are now on sale in the Space Weather Store.

RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: Solar protons accelerated by this morning's M9-class solar flare are streaming past Earth. On the NOAA scale of radiation storms, this one ranks S3, which means it could, e.g., cause isolated reboots of computers onboard Earth-orbiting satellites and interfere with polar radio communications. An example of satellite effects: The "snow" in this SOHO coronagraph movie is caused by protons hitting the observatory's onboard camera.

ALMOST-X FLARE AND CME (UPDATED): This morning, Jan. 23rd around 0359 UT, big sunspot 1402 erupted, producing a long-duration M9-class solar flare. The explosion's M9-ranking puts it on the threshold of being an X-flare, the most powerful kind. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the flare's extreme ultraviolet flash:

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft detected a CME rapidly emerging from the blast site: movie. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab say the leading edge of the CME will reach Earth on Jan. 24 at 14:18UT (+/- 7 hours). Their animated forecast track shows that Mars is in the line of fire, too; the CME will hit the Red Planet during the late hours of Jan. 25.

This is a relatively substantial and fast-moving (2200 km/s) CME. Spacecraft in geosynchronous, polar and other orbits passing through Earth's ring current and auroral regions could be affected by the cloud's arrival. In addition, strong geomagnetic storms are possible, so high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Magnetic storm alerts: text, voice.

JAN. 22ND CME IMPACT: Arriving a little later than expected, a coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field at 0617 UT on Jan. 22nd. According to analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME strongly compressed Earth's magnetic field and briefly exposed satellites in geosynchronous orbit to solar wind plasma. For the next 24 hours, Earth's magnetic field reverberated from the impact, stirring bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. Bjørn Jørgensen observed this display from Tromsø, Norway:

This was amazing," he says. "It was a wonderful experience to see these stunning auroras."

NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% - 25% chance of continued geomagnetic storms tonight as effects from the CME impact subside. The odds will increase again on Jan. 24-25 as a new CME (from today's M9-clare) approaches Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

UPDATED: January 2012 Aurora Gallery
[previous Januaries: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004]

The Jan. 22nd CME also disturbed Earth's ionosphere. In Atlanta, Georgia, radio engineer Pieter Ibelings monitored a 4.5 MHz CODAR (coastal radar) signal as it bounced off layers of ionization along the US east coast. "The moment of impact can be clearly seen on the CODAR radar plot," he points out:

"The CODAR transmitters are located all around the coast and are used for mapping the ocean currents to a distance of about 200 miles," Ibelings explains. "These signals also propagate through the ionosphere so they can be picked up all around the world. The signals are almost perfect for ionospheric sounding since they are linear chirps. I capture the chirp with a receiver locked to GPS both in frequency and time. I then de-chirp the waveform so I can extract the time of arrival information at my location."

The CODAR echoes show ionization layers shifting vertical position by some hundreds of kilometers, changes that surely affected the propagation of HF radio signals in the aftermath of the impact. More information about Ibelings' observations may be found here.

AI to predict sun's next attack on Earth

2011-12-21T14:02:00.000+02:00

Solar storms can wreak havoc on Earth, but if we can predict them, vital infrastructure could be saved

JUST before noon on 1 September 1859, an English solar astronomer named Richard Carrington witnessed the biggest solar flare ever recorded. About 18 hours later, an intense magnetic storm hit Earth. Currents induced in telegraph wires in Europe and North America sparked fires.

If the 1859 event were to occur today, it could devastate our modern technological infrastructure. So researchers are now turning to automated image-processing and artificial intelligence to better forecast the sun's behaviour and give us time to prepare for a solar onslaught.

Over the past two decades, several solar flares and magnetic storms of varying intensity have hit Earth. Solar flares are surges of X-rays, gamma rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation, and they can damage electric grids, fry satellite electronics and endanger astronauts in space. Even passengers and pilots on aircraft flying over the poles are at risk. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which cause magnetic storms, can strike even closer to home (see "Shock wave blackout").

Shock wave blackout

Solar flares are not the only danger from the sun. They are often accompanied by eruptions of the sun's plasma, known as coronal mass ejections. CMEs, which can take a few days to reach Earth, are magnetic shock waves that can disrupt Earth's magnetic field and induce currents in electricity transmission lines and oil pipelines, causing blackouts and fires. In March 1989, a CME-induced magnetic storm took out Hydro-Quebec's electricity grid, causing major power outages in Canada. "Companies didn't want to believe that [the cause] could be something as far away as the sun," says Piet Martens of Montana State University in Bozeman. "It took quite a while to convince them." for more please see this link http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228424.800-ai-to-predict-suns-next-attack-on-earth.html

What is a Security Wipe and when should I use it?

2011-12-07T15:08:00.001+02:00

You may have noticed more how to/help related content on Inside BlackBerry recently. This is all in ramp up to something coming to our happy blog family a little later in September. Stay tuned, and for now enjoy Ty’s great post! – ed.)

In his previous post 5 BlackBerry Safety Tips to Protect your Personal Information, my fellow blogger Alex M. talked about protecting personal information on your BlackBerry® smartphone. The first suggestion he made was to ensure a security wipe is performed before moving to a new device, and I’d like to expand on that a bit.

Before using this function, it is recommended that you back up any data and applications that you like to use on your new BlackBerry smartphone. For information on how to back up and restore your smartphone using BlackBerry® Desktop Software for Windows® or Mac, review the product documentation for your specific version of BlackBerry Desktop Software at http://docs.blackberry.com.

Another thing to note is that this process may take about an hour to complete if the BlackBerry smartphone has encryption enabled. If this is the case, review the user guide for your particular device to identify how to disable encryption before completing these steps.

To initiate a security wipe, complete the following steps:

On the BlackBerry smartphone, select Options from the home screen.
Select Security Settings, then Security Wipe.
Specify what items will be wiped during this process by checking off the boxes.
Enter “blackberry” (field is not case-sensitive) and select Wipe.
The BlackBerry smartphone will reset a few times, and after this process is complete, it will no longer contain any of your personal data.

If you are replacing or upgrading your device and you have a carrier BlackBerry email account, you will need to contact your wireless service provider to disassociate the account from the smartphone in order to prevent messages from being sent to your old device.

Do you have a question about your BlackBerry smartphone or would like to see a specific topic discussed? If so, please leave a comment!

Another United Nations Web Site Hacked, Barack Obama info Leaked !

2011-12-07T15:00:00.001+02:00

http://thehackernews.com/2011/12/another-united-nations-web-site-hacked.html

Hackers of Team Sector 404 have breached the Spanish Web site for the United Nations Refugee Agency ACNUR. Group claims to be working with Anonymous. Hackers was able to breach site withSQL Injection vulnerability.

They leaked Barack Obama’s email address, username, password (not in clear text), personal phone number and a login ID as shown. Other individuals whose information was leaked are Dirk Wildt from Die Netzmacher and Schaffstein from a non-profit organization called TYPO3 .Info of Other United Nation members also leaked from database.

The team of hackers include PHANTOM, RAWR, IO93, V, ZD4P50N, SPECTRUS, ANONGUS, FIBO,HACKW32, ADREX,NEKA, JJ, & ESCUADRON SPY PEOPLE Y HACKERSMX219 involve in this Hack as Sector 404.

Tablets reign at Asia's biggest technology show

2011-11-14T10:51:00.001+02:00

Tablet computers are stealing the show at Asia's largest computer fair, Computex, as competitors to Apple's Ipad vie for attention.

From Taiwan, the BBC's Cindy Sui reports on how tablets are changing the industry.

Facebook 'to seek consent for privacy changes'

2011-11-14T10:44:00.001+02:00

Privacy campaigners have welcomed a report that Facebook is to ask users to opt into any changes in the way it uses their personal information.

The social network previously announced alterations to its members' settings without asking for fresh consent.

The website is changing its policy after an investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Facebook is not commenting on the story at this time.

The report suggests the site has also agreed to privacy audits by an independent organisation over the next 20 years.

However, it says the FTC does not prescribe how consent should be obtained. click to view full story

Hacking Victim Becomes Web Sex Star

2011-11-11T12:17:00.001+02:00

Hey girls please be safe with your photos and videos posted by you and may be Hacked by some one

Example: Angie Varona's private photos were hacked years ago, but consequences linger. watch the video

NASA readies launch of 'dream machine' to Mars

2011-11-11T11:55:00.001+02:00

The US space agency is getting ready to launch later this month the biggest, most expensive robotic vehicle ever built to explore Mars for signs that life may once have existed. The rover named Curiosity is set to be launched on November 25. Click to watch the video

How to Get the Internet on Your Car Stereo

2011-11-11T11:41:00.001+02:00

Unless you're driving a tricked-out late model BMW or Mini, you're unlikely to have Internet-based media streaming options built into your vehicle. However, there are ways to replicate that Internet media experience -- just without the integrated controls. The basic premise is to use your smartphone. [More...]

Apple's iPhone 4S scores consumer approval

2011-11-10T16:22:00.002+02:00

Consumer Reports, the influential magazine for product reviews, gave a thumbs up to Apple's new iPhone, citing the newest model performed well in tests and doesn't suffer the reception problems found in its predecessor.

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks in front of an image of an iPhone 4S at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California October 4, 2011. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

CUPERTINO, CA - OCTOBER 04: Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller discusses the new iPhone 4s at the company’s headquarters October 4, 2011 in Cupertino, California. The announcement marks the first time new CEO Tim Cook introduced a new product since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs resigned in August.

Apple's iPhone 4S breaks early order record Click See more.....

BMW unveils new hybrid concept cars

2011-11-10T16:05:00.004+02:00

BMW unveiled a pair of concept cars on Nov. 9, one a hybrid and one electric, made of light-weight carbon fiber and a see-through glass exterior. The cars are expected to go into production within the next two to three years.

Visitors view the BMW i8 concept car at the 64th International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, September 17, 2011. The world's biggest auto show is open to the public and runs until September 25. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski (GERMANY - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)

In this image provided by BMW, form left, BMW i3 Concept and BMW i8 Concept are shown. BMW is showing off a pair of new hybrid and electric concept cars expected to reach dealer showrooms in the next few years. The German automaker gave journalists in New York a sneak peak of its i3 city car and i8 sports car Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. The cars will officially debut at the Los Angeles auto show next week. Both feature carbon fiber construction, ...more
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 14: BMW Concept car i-8 is pictured during the press days at the IAA Frankfurt Auto Show on September 14, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The IAA will be open to the public from September 17 through September 25. (Photo by Thorsten Wagner/Getty Images)
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 14: BMW Concept car i-8 is pictured during the press days at the IAA Frankfurt Auto Show on September 14, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The IAA will be open to the public from September 17 through September 25. (Photo by Thorsten Wagner/Getty Images)
Chief Executive of German luxury carmaker BMW Norbert Reithofer poses inside a BMW i8 Concept car during the presentation of the 'BMW i3 Concept' and 'BMW i8 Concept' cars at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, September 13, 2011. The world's biggest auto show runs until September 25. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski (GERMANY - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: The BMW i8 concept vehicle is displayed at a sneak preview of the car along with the BMW i3 on November 9, 2011 in New York City. The fully electric BMW i3 and the hybrid BMW i8 are the first electric and hybrid-electric vehicles to use primarily carbon fiber that is a strong and lightweight material that that could significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Both vehicles will make their official North ...more
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: The interior of the BMW i8 concept vehicle is displayed at a sneak preview of the car along with the BMW i3 on November 9, 2011 in New York City. The fully electric BMW i3 and the hybrid BMW i8 are the first electric and hybrid-electric vehicles to use primarily carbon fiber that is a strong and lightweight material that that could significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Both vehicles will make their ...more
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: The back of the BMW i8 concept vehicle is displayed at a sneak preview of the car along with the BMW i3 on November 9, 2011 in New York City. The fully electric BMW i3 and the hybrid BMW i8 are the first electric and hybrid-electric vehicles to use primarily carbon fiber that is a strong and lightweight material that that could significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Both vehicles will make their official...more
Visitors look at the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car at an exhibition stand during the Johannesburg International Motor Show at Nasrec in Johannesburg, October 6 2011. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)
Visitors view the BMW i8 concept car at the 64th International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, September 17, 2011. The world's biggest auto show is open to the public and runs until September 25. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski (GERMANY - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)

HTC's Anti-Apple Strategy Wins in U.S. Smartphones

2011-11-10T13:41:00.002+02:00

HTC has become the top seller of smartphones in the U.S. with a strategy that's precisely the opposite of Apple's

Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg said he is eager to recruit student talent for his hugely popular social networking site, and he’s interested in building a major presence in the Boston area.

2011-11-10T12:14:00.000+02:00

Ram's

Tirumala Tirupati Unseen Old Images

Installing Windows 8 on your old PC could turn it into Greased Lightning

Now, a smartphone app that recognises stress from your voice

New Synaptics Tech Could Make Windows 8 More Touchy-Feely

Facebook told to set up warning system after new sex scam

Here come the drones: Hacks/Hackers takes to the skies (not quite yet)

'BrowserQuest' Shows HTML5 Could Slay Flash

HTML5 vs Adobe Flash

Is this the future of Windows 8 ultrabooks?

Newborn baby in trash – OMG

Apex body of Indian technology companies likely to forecast slowdown in Indian software exports in 2012-13

Kalam asks experts in medicine to develop new technology

Banks, Internet companies team up to fight spam

'Solar bullet' to hit Earth

AI to predict sun's next attack on Earth

Shock wave blackout

What is a Security Wipe and when should I use it?

Related Posts

Another United Nations Web Site Hacked, Barack Obama info Leaked !

Tablets reign at Asia's biggest technology show

Facebook 'to seek consent for privacy changes'

Hacking Victim Becomes Web Sex Star

NASA readies launch of 'dream machine' to Mars

How to Get the Internet on Your Car Stereo

Apple's iPhone 4S scores consumer approval

Consumer Reports, the influential magazine for product reviews, gave a thumbs up to Apple's new iPhone, citing the newest model performed well in tests and doesn't suffer the reception problems found in its predecessor.

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks in front of an image of an iPhone 4S at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California October 4, 2011. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Apple's iPhone 4S breaks early order record Click See more.....

BMW unveils new hybrid concept cars

BMW unveiled a pair of concept cars on Nov. 9, one a hybrid and one electric, made of light-weight carbon fiber and a see-through glass exterior. The cars are expected to go into production within the next two to three years.

Visitors view the BMW i8 concept car at the 64th International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, September 17, 2011. The world's biggest auto show is open to the public and runs until September 25. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski (GERMANY - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 14: BMW Concept car i-8 is pictured during the press days at the IAA Frankfurt Auto Show on September 14, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The IAA will be open to the public from September 17 through September 25. (Photo by Thorsten Wagner/Getty Images)

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 14: BMW Concept car i-8 is pictured during the press days at the IAA Frankfurt Auto Show on September 14, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The IAA will be open to the public from September 17 through September 25. (Photo by Thorsten Wagner/Getty Images)

Visitors look at the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car at an exhibition stand during the Johannesburg International Motor Show at Nasrec in Johannesburg, October 6 2011. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)

Visitors view the BMW i8 concept car at the 64th International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, September 17, 2011. The world's biggest auto show is open to the public and runs until September 25. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski (GERMANY - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)

HTC's Anti-Apple Strategy Wins in U.S. Smartphones

Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg said he is eager to recruit student talent for his hugely popular social networking site, and he’s interested in building a major presence in the Boston area.