The Martian View

Italian professor challenges to Google

2012-02-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

An Italian computer science professor whose research helped inspire Google launched a new search engine and social media network on Monday that he hopes will challenge the US technology giant. The new site entitled ‘Volunia’ allows users to view the components of particular websites to find the subject of interest more quickly and to interact with registered users who might be looking at the

Quran in Songs

2012-01-23T10:58:00.000-05:00

Blogged by Nahk. Over the course of last few weeks, I was privileged to have meaningful conversations with a few of my acquaintances, most of whom were Muslims. I'm not quite sure how the topic exactly started but soon we were all involved in a dialogue over the permissibility of Quranic Ayahs in mainstream Bollywood songs as well as some local forms of arts like 'Qawalli' & 'Shayri'.

Rajinikanth website runs without internet

2012-01-20T12:25:00.003-05:00

It may sound like another Rajinikanth joke, but a new website dedicated to the superstar runs 'without an internet connection'! Visitors to www.allaboutrajni.com are greeted with a warning that ‘He is no ordinary man, this is no ordinary website. It runs on Rajini Power’ and are advised to switch off their internet connection to enter the website. Only when the web is disconnected, one is

Qatar Bans Alcohol

2012-01-17T11:25:00.001-05:00

Qatar has banned the sale of alcohol, a move expected to be followed by other Muslim countries in the Arab Gulf.“Qatar is hardly the first Gulf state in which the local population has expressed its concerns over the sale of alcohol,” Guy Wilkinson, managing partner at Dubai hospitality consultancy, Viability, told Arabian Business.“Following the Arab Spring, I expect Muslim parties to have

A cell phone with a battery life of 15 years!

2012-01-15T18:47:00.002-05:00

SpareOne's mobile phone comes with a battery life of 15 years, whether you charge it or not and is designed for emergencies. It runs on one AA battery, and claims to keep its charge for up to 15 years, something unthinkable for feature-laden phones with batteries that last only a few days. The SpareOne can be programmed for instant access to phone numbers of key contacts, including emergency

Sony Music Entertainment to file trademark for "Kolaveri Di"

2012-01-15T01:38:00.000-05:00

Viral super hit " Why this kolaveri di" may soon become the first song in India to have its first line trademarked. Why? Perhaps because Sony Music wants to use the world-famous phrase as a brand, and definitely because it wants to stop others from doing it. Sony Music Entertainment India, which recorded the Tamil-English song that has become an international YouTube hit, filed for trademark

More Android devices activated every day than babies born

2012-01-15T00:16:00.002-05:00

More Android handsets are activated every day than babies are born on earth, it has been claimed. Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s head of content, told the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that in December last year 700,000 Android handsets were activated every day. The United Nations statistics has revealed that around 300,000 babies are born worldwide every day. Kyncl joked that Google would

Why This Kolaveri Di?

2012-01-13T10:34:00.002-05:00

The most liked and viewed song of last year and still going strong is not 'Friday' by Rebecca Black. That distinction goes to 'Why this Kolaveri Di' by Dhanush. The song in a South Indian language (tamil) is now a viral hit has inspired a new kind of "youthspeak" for a generation of Indians raised on Hindi and English. "Kolaveri," or "Murderous Rage," is written in "Tamglish" -- a street

Bajaj India release cheapest car

2012-01-03T08:29:00.002-05:00

Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto unveiled an ultra-low-cost car on Tuesday, its first foray into the four-wheel market, pitching the vehicle as a solution to urban pollution and congestion. The group displayed the compact 'RE60' at a presentation in New Delhi, stressing the car's high fuel efficiency and low carbon dioxide emissions, but it did not release a price tag. "At Bajaj Auto, we believe

Professor's Propose New Universal Calender

2011-12-29T10:41:00.002-05:00

Imagine a future in which you always know the date of cricket's opening day. Or that your birthday is always on a Monday. Or that New Year's Eve is always on a Saturday!As the people of the world prepare to hang their 2012 calendars, two professors at Johns Hopkins University are proposing one you can keep forever, as each date falls on the same day of the week as it did the year

Samoa to lose December 30th 2011

2011-12-29T09:20:00.001-05:00

At midnight on Thursday, the Pacific island nation of Samoa is doing the exact opposite of what it did in 1892, when it switched to the East of the international dateline and celebrated July 4 twice in order to fall more closely in line with Californian clocks. At the time, that made trading sense.Today, though, “we do a lot more business with New Zealand and Australia, China, and Pacific Rim

China Activates GPS System

2011-12-28T15:06:00.001-05:00

China has switched on its own satellite navigation system, marking a big step forward for a nation eager to reduce its reliance on the West for key strategic technologies.The Beidou system — whose name translates as "Big Dipper" — began providing positioning and navigation services on Tuesday (Dec. 27), according to state news reports. The emergence of Beidou will make China less dependent on

How to Control the past of Facebook Timelime?

2011-12-24T10:44:00.001-05:00

With Facebook's new Timeline now rolled out to everyone, it is very important to know that the default privacy settings of all your past posts updates can be done with a single click. For most people, it is not psychically possible to go around and change each post individually. With this option you can limit the audience of all your past posts on your Timeline to only friends. Which

IBM predicts 'mind-controlled' PCs, disappearance of passwords within 5 years

2011-12-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

Technology company IBM predicts that mind-controlled computers will be on the market within five years. Apple, Google and Microsoft are already investigating voice-controlled gadgets - or gadgets controlled by moving your body in front of a camera. But IBM thinks the tech giants might be a little shortsighted. "Mind-reading has been wishful thinking for science fiction fans for decades, but

Facebook Virus - Unwanted Links on your Profile?

2011-12-18T12:45:00.001-05:00

It has been a little more than 6 weeks that we first heard reports about a unique but annoying virus being spread around facebook by unsuspecting users. The virus appears on your wall as a 'post by a friend' or on your newsfeed. The link contains images of nudity, torture to animals or plain photo-shopped pictures of celebrities. If you receive such a message on your Facebook wall DO NOT click

Facebook to sue Mark Zuckerberg?

2011-12-17T12:33:00.001-05:00

According to media reports, an Israeli changes his name to Mark Zuckerberg.Reports claim that Israeli entrepreneur Rotem Guez says he has legally changed his name to that of Facebook's CEO, a gimmick meant to persuade the social networking site to back down from what he says are threats to take legal action against him. He's telling Facebook: "If you want to sue me, you're going to have to sue

Comet Lovejoy survives trip to the sun

2011-12-16T14:59:00.002-05:00

Lovejoy, a comet survived what astronomers figured would be a sure death when it danced uncomfortably close to the broiling sun. The comet, which was only discovered a couple of weeks ago, was supposed to melt Thursday night when it came close to where temperatures hit almost a million degrees. Astronomers had tracked 2,000 other sun-grazing comets make the same trip. None had ever survived.

Property in India 33% cheaper for Indians in UAE

2011-12-16T10:39:00.000-05:00

A large number of Indian expatriates in the UAE are expected to sift through 300 projects worth $5 billion showcased at the ongoing Indian Property Show in Dubai as an all-time weak rupee affords their dirham the power to buy bigger and better properties in their home countries. “The scope for Indian real estate market is simply unlimited. It does not resemble a bubble that will burst. An

Facebook Changes UI - Again

2011-12-15T22:57:00.003-05:00

Timeline, Facebook's most significant layout change yet, was made available to the social network's 800 million users worldwide today."We wanted to make Timeline a place you were proud to call your home. Timeline is a completely new aesthetic for Facebook," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.The concept has been in the works since Zuckerberg was still at Harvard in 2004, when he would discuss the

3 Google Execs = 8 Jet Planes!

2011-12-12T23:58:00.003-05:00

Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt have eight jets between the three of them, reports Mercury News.They want to pay $33 million to help finish renovation of Moffett Federal Field, a joint civilian/military airport located between Mountain View and Sunnyvale.In exchange, they want to be able to use upto 65% of the floorspace to house their eight aircraft.The proposal has no official

Android Apps - 10 Billion Downloads!

2011-12-08T14:51:00.001-05:00

Cars worth £2.6 million crash in Japan

2011-12-05T12:31:00.001-05:00

Japanese police are blaming the destruction of eight Ferraris and a Lamborghini in a £2.6 million, 14-car crash on Sunday on excessive speed. A witness told Japanese television that he saw the parade of supercars travelling at speeds of up to 100mph, which was double the speed limit on the Chugoku Expressway, in southern Japan, due to heavy rain that had made the surface slick. “A group of

‘Pawar slap song’ a hit on YouTube

2011-11-28T23:14:00.001-05:00

The ‘Pawar Slap Song’ is the latest hit-adaptation of Dhanush’s Kolaveri and has scored about six lakh hits on the YouTube since being posted by its 28-year-old creator Prakash Vijay on November 25, the day after Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was slapped by Harvinder Singh. The song showing lip-syncs done within photographs of Singh and Pawar has the video of the sardar slapping

Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach

2011-11-27T15:50:00.001-05:00

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autoweek that the underperforming Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013. The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development

Power - The Temptation

2011-11-23T12:29:00.001-05:00

An edit of the Soundtree Remix by The Temptations: