Technology

Radiant Images Novo Camera

2013-04-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

While the GoPro Hero3 has without a doubt made its mark for its durability and convenience for shooting in environments that won’t accommodate more delicate cameras, many users are finding more and more ways to apply the pocket-sized camera for cinematic purposes. With these users in mind, Radiant Images has released its Novo Camera, a rehoused and enhanced Hero3 with a variety of options that enable it to perform beyond the scope of the original. 20% thinner, the Novo retains the high-res 12MP sensor, LCD touchscreen, Wi-Fi, shooting modes and backpack expansion options of the original inside a lightweight aluminum shell instead that features five different mounting points.

Xperia Tablet Z

2013-04-22T10:35:00.001-07:00

So brilliantly vivid, you feel like you’re there

Think about the sharpest, most vivid TV picture. Now imagine it on a tablet. Xperia Tablet Z delivers the kind of immersive viewing you’d normally only get with an HDTV. Created by the people behind BRAVIA® TVs, Xperia Tablet Z brings Sony’s expertise to an Android tablet. The brilliant 10.1” Reality Display is powered by Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2, which enhances the clarity and richness of every image. This HD tablet boasts the fullest colour display, too. For bluer blues, greener greens and seriously killer sunsets. With Xperia Tablet Z you meet a world so vivid, everything else pales in comparison.

Heavy-duty features in an ultra-light package

At just 6.9 mm and weighing under 500 grams, Xperia™ Tablet Z is beautifully light for a 10.1” tablet. But don’t let the feel of it fool you. This premium tablet may be slim and light, but it’s no lightweight!

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100
		LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2013, February
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2013, Q2

BODY	Dimensions	266 x 172 x 6.9 mm (10.47 x 6.77 x 0.27 in)
	Weight	495 g (1.09 lb)
		- IP57 certified - dust proof and water resistant

DISPLAY	Type	LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	1200 x 1920 pixels, 10.1 inches (~224 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes, up to 10 fingers
	Protection	Shatter proof and scratch-resistant glass
		- Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2

SOUND	Alert types	N\A
	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	Yes
		- 3D surround sound enhancement

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
MEMORY	Internal	16 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Up to 107 kbps
	EDGE	Up to 296 kbps
	Speed	HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.8 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
	NFC	Yes
	Infrared port	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL)

CAMERA	Primary	8.1 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, HDR
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, HDR
	Secondary	Yes, 2.2 MP, 1080p@30fps

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), planned upgrade to v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064
	CPU	Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait
	GPU	Adreno 320
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, compass
	Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White
		- SNS integration - TV-out (via MHL A/V link) - Xvid/DivX/MKV/WMV/MP4/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FLAC player - Organizer - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Voice memo - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Po 6000 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 1230 h (2G) / Up to 1270 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 10 h (multimedia)
	Music play	Up to 110 h

Pebble

2013-04-20T07:48:00.003-07:00

The Pebble smart watch, a bit of a Kickstarter legend, is now ready to ship. It is essentially an E-Paper watch which uses technologies such as Bluetooth and accelerometers to act as a wrist-mounted extension of your phone, as well as being a very cool customisable watch.

It's waterproofed to 5 atmospheres and is intended to be as tough as possible, allowing you to use the watch with apps such as RunKeeper, which will be coming about a month after launch. Android 2.3.3 and iOS 5 or later are required to use the Pebble app. Once you have it installed, then the app will allow over the air installation of elements such as new watch faces and added functionality.

Meditation can increase your body temperature

2013-04-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Feeling cold? Try meditation!Meditation can make you feel warmer, a new study conducted in Tibet suggests, which found the core body temperature can be controlled by the brain.

Researchers led by Associate Professor Maria Kozhevnikov from the Department of Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences showed, for the first time, that it is possible for core body temperature to be controlled by the brain.

The scientists found that core body temperature increases can be achieved using certain meditation techniques (g-tummo) which could help in boosting immunity to fight infectious diseases or immunodeficiency.

Published in science journal PLOS ONE, the study documented reliable core body temperature increases for the first time in Tibetan nuns practising g-tummo meditation.

The g-tummo meditative practise controls "inner energy" and is considered by Tibetan practitioners as one of the most sacred spiritual practises in the region, researchers said.

Monasteries maintaining g-tummo traditions are very rare and are mostly located in the remote areas of eastern Tibet.

The researchers collected data during the unique ceremony in Tibet, where nuns were able to raise their core body temperature and dry up wet sheets wrapped around their bodies in the cold Himalayan weather (-25 degree Celsius) while meditating.

Using electroencephalography (EEG) recordings and temperature measures, the team observed increases in core body temperature up to 38.3 degree Celsius.

A second study was conducted with Western participants who used a breathing technique of the g-tummo meditative practise and they were also able to increase their core body temperature, within limits.

The findings showed that specific aspects of the meditation techniques can be used by non-meditators to regulate their body temperature through breathing and mental imagery.

The techniques could potentially allow practitioners to adapt to and function in cold environments, improve resistance to infections, boost cognitive performance by speeding up response time and reduce performance problems associated with decreased body temperature.

Google clears another step in EU antitrust case

2013-04-20T07:22:00.002-07:00

Google has taken another step toward settling a European antitrust investigation focusing on whether the Internet giant is abusing its dominant position of online search and advertising markets.

Google Inc. has submitted a list of remedies in legally binding form to address the concerns voiced by the European Commission, which acts as the 27-nation bloc’s antitrust authority, the body’s spokesman Antoine Colombani said on Monday.

The Commission is probing whether Google unfairly favors its own services in its Internet search results. Google’s search engine the world’s most influential gateway to online information and commerce enjoys a near-monopoly in Europe.

The major concession offered by Google is widely expected to center on more clearly labeling search results stemming from its own services such as YouTube, Google Maps or its shopping search function.

In addition, Google is supposed to offer remedies on the three other main areas the Commission has criticized. Those centered on how Google displays content from other websites, how it manages the ads appearing next to its search results, and how its actions affect marketers’ ability to buy ads on rival networks.

Both, Google and the Commission, have declined to spell out what remedies the Mountain View, California, company is proposing pending the official announcement of the market test.

Without reaching a settlement to which both sides are committed the Commission would likely formally file a case against Google, setting the stage for a lengthy process that could result in the company being fined up to 10 percent of its annual revenue.

The EU Commission has often taken a harder line with U.S. tech companies than its American counterparts, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department. Google settled a similar antitrust complaint on its search business with the FTC in January without making any major concessions on how it runs its search engine.

Separately, major tech companies led by Microsoft last week filed another EU antitrust complaint against Google, alleging the company uses the dominant position of its Android smartphone operating system to illegitimately promote its own array of internet services.

Microsoft Corp., which has been a leading player in the complaints against Google, has had its own protracted run-ins with the EU Commission. The Redmond, Washington, company has paid 2.2 billion euros in various fines since investigations began in 1998.

Russia launches bio-satellite

2013-04-20T06:22:00.001-07:00

Russia on Friday launched an “orbital Noah's Ark” to space — a bio-satellite packed with an array of mice and other small creatures to study the effects of long flights on living organisms.

Russia’s latest BION-M1 biological research capsule carrying 45 mice, eight Mongolian gerbils, 15 geckos, snails, fish eggs, micro-organisms and plants blasted off aboard the modernised Soyuz 2 rocket from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan.

During the 30-day flight the “crew” will take part in more than 70 genetic, physiological and biological experiments that should help prepare better for flights to Mars and other planets.

The results will be analysed when the capsule with the animals returns to Earth on May 18.

Shortly before the flight a “crew” of three mice had to be replaced when stressed males fought each other and killed one of them. One of the experiments will probe the theory of extra-terrestrial origin of life on Earth.

A meteorite-type heat-resistant material with tiny holes carrying various bacteria and fungi has been attached to the outer skin of the satellite. The microbes will be exposed to freezing temperatures, space vacuum and re-entry heat to see if they can survive travel through space. Russia has resumed biological satellite launches after a break of 15 years. The BION-M satellite has new sophisticated lift-support systems, more powerful solar cell panels and larger fuel tanks that allow for flights of up to three months.

Panasonic's SC-NP10 wireless speaker

2013-04-18T19:23:00.003-07:00

A spanking new wireless speaker to persuade those who have always wanted to go wireless in their homes and offices, but never really managed to find the time to do so, not to mention getting the best deal out there? Well, Panasonic has just announced their latest SC-NP10 wireless speaker which was specially designed for the masses as an optimal surround sound system which is extremely suitable for tablet viewing and listening. It will be able to see action with just about any Bluetooth-enabled tablet device, where the Panasonic SC-NP10 will see users prop their tablet instead of taking the traditional docking method, while wirelessly stream music or movie sound. Considering the fact that this is not a “docking station”, it will play nice with a variety of different tablet models as well as sizes.

We got up close and personal with Panasonic's SC-NP10 wireless speaker during the madness of CES, but came away without any details on the unit's price or release date. As of today, the company's $200 Bluetooth box is up for sale. While Panasonic bills this 2.1 channel rig as a one size fits all tablet stand, its lack of a charging dock might see your slate running dry before you finish gorging on that first season of Lost you've been avoiding all these years.

Leap Motion and HP come together for embedded 3D motion-control technology

2013-04-17T10:03:00.003-07:00

When you have two names – Leap Motion as well as computer manufacturer HP team up, you know for sure that you are in for quite an adventure, and this assumption has proven right yet again. This particular deal between both companies is said to have been in development for over a year already, and it marks a significant step in delivering touch-free, intuitive computing to the masses. In a nutshell, this particular agreement will see the Leap Motion Controller come bundled with select HP personal computers later this summer, and will also eventually come to encompass a range of unique HP devices that are embedded with Leap Motion’s technology, although the folks over at HP are keeping mum about such HP devices at the moment.

Not only that, HP’s software, including Airspace which is their app store, will be pre-loaded on Leap Motion-integrated HP devices. The reason behind this move is to offer a tremendous opportunity for the developer community in order to make a mark by garnering an even larger global audience of users. Do bear in mind that this embedding deal is different from the one that Leap Motion announced with Asus, as that was a bundling deal in the past, and it signifies another significant endorsement of Leap Motion’s technology.

What Leap Motion wants to do is this – to deliver 3D motion-control technology to the world without burning a hole in your wallet, and to do so as long as there is a computer in the vicinity, which is why they decided to form a collaboration with the folks over at HP to maximize their chances of fulfilling such a vision.

Leap Motion co-founder and CEO Michael Buckwald, said, “Our focus at Leap Motion is to fundamentally improve how people interact with their devices, and offer as many ways as possible to achieve that vision. The possibilities for innovation are incredible, when you think about what will come from this collaboration between two respected global leaders in their fields – HP, the world’s largest technology company and Leap Motion, creator of the world’s most powerful 3-D motion-control technology.”

Camera which can click 3D pics from a km away

2013-04-17T08:10:00.002-07:00

LONDON: Researchers have developed a new laser powered camera system that creates high-resolution 3D images of objects from up to a kilometre away. A standard camera takes flat, 2D pictures. To get 3D information, such as the distance to a far-away object, scientists can bounce a laser beam off the object and measure how long it takes the light to travel back to a detector.

The technique, called time-of-flight (ToF) navigation systems for autonomous vehicles, and other applications , but many current systems have a relatively short range and struggle to image objects that do not reflect laser light. Researchers have tackled these limitations and reported their findings in the journal Optics Express.

The research team, led by Gerald Buller, professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, describes a ToF imaging system that can gather high-resolution , 3D information about objects that are typically very difficult to image, from up to a kilometre away.

The new system works by sweeping a low-power infrared laser beam rapidly over an object. It records, pixel-bypixel , the round-trip flight time of the photons in the beam as they bounce off the object and arrive back at the source. The system can resolve depth on the millimetre scale over long distances using a detector that can "count" individual photons.

The ability of the new system to image objects like items of clothing that do not easily reflect laser pulses makes it useful in a wider variety of field situations, said Aongus McCarthy, the first author of the study. "Our approach gives a low-power route to the depth imaging of ordinary, small targets at very long range," McCarthy said.

The primary use of the system is likely to be scanning static, human-made targets, such as vehicles. With some modifications to the imageprocessing software, it could also determine their

14 injured in blast near Bangalore BJP office

2013-04-17T07:39:00.002-07:00

An explosion near the BJP office in Malleswaram injured at least 14 people, including eight policemen, who were in a KSRP van stationed near the office for election security duty, here on Wednesday morning.

Two cars and 2 two-wheelers were completely gutted, while the KSRP van was damaged in the explosion, which occurred around 10.20 am in the crowded residential locality.

Police Commissioner Raghavendra H. Auradkar confirmed that the blast was triggered by an explosive device on a bike parked between the two cars. Initial reports suggested that the explosion was caused by an LPG cylinder blast from a Maruti Omni van, owned by a BJP party worker.

The last blast reported in Bangalore was exactly three years ago, on the same date, ahead of an IPL match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Senior police sources said initial investigations have revealed that a "timer-based, IED (improvised explosive device) fitted on a blue Suzuki bike" caused the blast. The police suspect that the bike was parked there overnight. Police sources also said that CCTV footage from cameras installed outside the BJP office may aid the investigation.

Meanwhile, L.R. Pachau, Director-General and Inspector-General of Police, told reporters that currently only the blast could be confirmed. "The police are still investigating into the kind of explosive that was used."

Glass and smoke everywhere

The site of the blast is covered with glass pieces, from the shattered window panes of vehicles in the area. Venkateshaiah, a KSRP head constable, who was having breakfast inside the van when the blast occurred, told The Hindu that the impact of the blast was huge.

"We heard a loud explosion, and before we knew it our window panes shattered and there was thick black smoke everywhere. We couldn't see anything initially but somehow made our way out of the van," he said. When the smoke cleared up a bit he saw people lying on the road, most of whom had either collapsed due to the smoke or had been injured by the glass pieces from the shattered window panes.

Among the injured was Nisha, a II PUC student, who was returning home after her tuition classes. The injured were rushed to KC General Hospital. Authorities at the hospital confirmed that none of those brought in were critical.

Mr. Venkateshaiah added that the police van had just been moved there - about 500 metres from the BJP party office - an hour back after the party workers complained that it was obstructing traffic there.

The entire street has been cordoned off. The bomb squad, the National Investigative Agency and IB officers are all present at the spot. Home Minister R. Ashok also visited the party office and inspected the blast site.

Boston bombings: Home-grown terrorists suspected

2013-04-16T19:39:00.003-07:00

FBI and Homeland Security agents on Tuesday carried out searches at a high-rise apartment building in Boston seeking clues to unravel the plot behind the twin blasts, suspected to have been carried out by home-grown terrorists that killed three people and injured over 140 during the Boston Marathon.

Early on Tuesday, investigators descended on a high-rise apartment building in Revere and conducted a search, for nearly nine hours, related to the investigation into the first large-scale bombing in US since the 9/11 attacks. “FBI and Homeland Security agents were seen entering the Water’s Edge apartment complex at 364 Ocean Ave,” Boston Globe reported.

The Revere Fire department wrote on its Facebook page that this was a search for “a person of interest”.

CBS News reported that the apartment search was related to a man who is reportedly under guard at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The man is a Saudi national who is in the US on a student visa. Several bags were removed from the scene around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, but authorities would not comment on the search.

President Barack Obama, who said any “responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice” did not call the explosions an act of terror but a little later a White House official said they were approaching the blasts as an act of terror.

Some terrorism experts warned that it will be “fool hardy” to speculate but other analysts believe that it was unlikely that an international terror network was behind the explosions.

Early reports suggest that the devices were crudely made - otherwise, they probably would have killed many more people - making it unlikely that they were the work of a foreign government or global terrorist group, such as alQaeda, the experts were quoted as saying by the Globe.

They said the Boston Marathon is an unusually public event, giving hundreds of thousands of people easy access to the 26-mile route, and the bombs could have been set off by radical Islamists from the US influenced by events or clerics in the Middle East, local extremists on either the left or right, or deranged killers with no ideological agenda.

Radical Muslims “will be everyone’s favourite suspect, but there are many other possibilities,” said Brian Michael Jenkins, a terrorism specialist at the Rand Corp.

The FBI issued a statement saying it “remains too early to establish the cause and motivation” of the attack, though the FBI agent overseeing the Boston office, Richard DesLauriers, called it a “potential terrorist investigation”.

The two blasts occurred within seconds on a sidewalk along the 42-kilometre route of the Boston Marathon, where thousands of people had lined up to cheer on the marathoners on Monday.

Hospitals reported at least 144 people are being treated, with at least 17 of them in critical condition and 25 in serious condition. At least eight of the patients are children.

Among the dead was an 8-year-old boy.

The authorities also found two devices at two other locations in the city, but they did not explode.

Several mega cities in the US, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, have been put on alert.

FBI special agent in charge Richard DesLauriers told reporters here that the investigation into the blasts is an “ongoing and criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.”

Media reports quoted a law enforcement advisory as saying that investigators have warned police to be on the lookout for a “darker-skinned or black male” with a possible foreign accent in connection with the attack.

The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion near the finish line of the annual Boston marathon yesterday afternoon, CNN said.

President Obama was briefed on the explosions by Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco. Obama cautioned that “people should not jump to conclusions before we have all the facts.”

“But make no mistake; we will get to the bottom of this. And we will find out who did this and we’ll find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice,” Mr. Obama said.

Nuclear-powered rockets can take humans to Mars

2013-04-13T20:09:00.001-07:00

Astronauts have inched closer to sending humans to Mars, our nearest planetary neighbour, through a unique manipulation of nuclear fusion - the same energy that powers the Sun and stars.

University of Washington researchers and scientists at a Redmond-based space-propulsion company are building components of a fusion-powered rocket aimed to clear many of the hurdles that block deep space travel, including long times in transit, exorbitant costs and health risks in a NASA funded project.

"Using existing rocket fuels, it's nearly impossible for humans to explore much beyond Earth," said lead researcher John Slough, professor of aeronautics and astronautics.

"We are hoping to give us a much more powerful source of energy in space that could eventually lead to making interplanetary travel commonplace," Slough said.

Last month at a symposium, Slough and his team presented their mission analysis for a trip to Mars, along with detailed computer modelling and initial experimental results.

NASA estimates a round-trip human expedition to Mars would take more than four years using current technology. The sheer amount of chemical rocket fuel needed in space would be extremely expensive - the launch costs alone would be more than USD 12 billion.

Slough and his team have published papers calculating the potential for 30- and 90-day expeditions to Mars using a rocket powered by fusion, which would make the trip more practical and less costly.

They have demonstrated successful lab tests of all portions of the process. Now, the key will be combining each isolated test into a final experiment that produces fusion using this technology, Slough said in a university statement.

The research team has developed a type of plasma that is encased in its own magnetic field. Nuclear fusion occurs when this plasma is compressed to high pressure with a magnetic field. The team has successfully tested this technique in lab.

Only a small amount of fusion is needed to power a rocket - a small grain of sand of this material has the same energy content as 1 gallon of rocket fuel.

To power a rocket, the team has devised a system in which a powerful magnetic field causes large metal rings to implode around this plasma, compressing it to a fusion state. The converging rings merge to form a shell that ignites the fusion, but only for a few microseconds.

Even though the compression time is very short, enough energy is released from the fusion reactions to quickly heat and ionise the shell. This super-heated, ionised metal is ejected out of the rocket nozzle at a high velocity.

This process is repeated every minute or so, propelling the spacecraft.

"I think everybody was pleased to see confirmation of the principal mechanism that we're using to compress the plasma," Slough said.

Japan scientists can 'read' dreams

2013-04-13T20:08:00.002-07:00

Scientists in Japan said on Friday they had found a way to "read" people's dreams, usingMRI scanners to unlock some of the secrets of the unconscious mind.

Researchers have managed what they said was "the world's first decoding" of night-time visions, the subject of centuries of speculation that have captivated humanity since ancient times.

In the study, published in the journal Science, researchers at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, in Kyoto, western Japan, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to locate exactly which part of the brain was active during the first moments of sleep.

The scientists then woke up the dreamers and asked them what images they had seen, a process that was repeated 200 times.

These answers were compared with the brain maps that had been produced by the MRI scanner, the researchers said, adding that they later built a database, based on the results.

On subsequent attempts they were able to predict what images the volunteers had seen with a 60 percent accuracy rate, rising to more than 70 percent with around 15 specific items including men, words and books, they said.

"We have concluded that we successfully decoded some kinds of dreams with a distinctively high success rate," said Yukiyasu Kamitani, a senior researcher at the laboratories and head of the study team.

"Dreams have fascinated people since ancient times, but their function and meaning has remained closed," Kamitani told AFP. "I believe this result was a key step towards reading dreams more precisely."

His team is now trying to predict other dream experiences such as smells, colours and emotion, as well as entire stories in people's dreams.

"We would like to introduce a more accurate method so that we can work on a way of visualising dreams," he said.

Kamitani, however, admits that there is still a long way to go before they are anywhere near understanding a whole dream.

He said the decoding patterns differ for individuals and the database they have developed cannot be applied generally, rather it has to be generated for each person.

The experiment also only used the images the subjects were seeing right before they were woken up. Deep sleep, where subjects have more vivid dreams, remains a mystery.

"There are still a lot of things that are unknown," he added.

Kamitani's experiment is the latest in a government-led brain study programme aimed at applying the science to medical and welfare services, government officials said.

"Our expectations from the dream study are quite high," said an official of the science and technology ministry's brain research promotion programme.

The ministry spent around 3.4 billion yen ($35 million) on the dream and other neuroscience studies for the fiscal year that ended on March 31.

"This technology may help disabled people to be able to move artificial limbs with their brain, or it may lead to a remedy for dementia or other brain-related diseases in the future," the official said.

"But we are looking carefully at the ethical aspects of the technology, which may allow a third person to look at somebody else's thoughts in the future," she said.

In 2011, a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, used an MRI system to capture images from the brains of subjects who were awake and later reconstructed them as video clips.

Google launches Drive, offers 5GB free space in cloud

2012-04-25T12:43:00.001-07:00

After weeks of speculation, Google launched Drive, a cloud-based storage, on Tuesday. The service, which would compete with popular apps like Dropbox, Microsoft's Sky Drive and Apple's iCloud, would allow users to store up to 5GB data in Google's servers for free.

Initially, Google Drive would be available forAndroid devices, PC and Mac. The company said that support for iPhone and iPad would be added later.

"Just like the Loch Ness Monster, you may have heard the rumors about Google Drive. It turns out, one of the two actually does exist," Sundar Pichai, Google's vice president for Chrome and apps, wrote on official blog. "Today, we're introducing Google Drive - a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond."

According to Pichai, Google Drive will work with Google Docs, hence giving users ability to edit or create documents within the app itself. This will give Google an advantage over Dropbox, an extremely popular cloud-based service, through which users can only sync their files.

Google said that users who want more space would be able to upgrade. "You can choose to upgrade to 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month or even 1TB for $49.99/month. When you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage will also expand to 25GB," Pichai wrote.

Agni-V propels India into elite ICBM club

2012-04-25T12:25:00.001-07:00

India propelled itself into an elite club of nations with Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) technology by successfully test-firing nuclear-capable Agni-V, which covered a range of more than 5,000 km.

The significance of the success lies in the fact that Agni-V is the most formidable missile in India's arsenal, with the longest range. With this grand success, India joins the U.S., Russia, France and China, which have ICBM capability. With India's policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, Agni-V will provide the country with depth in deterrence.

India’s key to elite nuclear club (PDF)

In a flawless mission, Agni-V, painted in white and black with an orange ribbon across, lifted off majestically from a rail mobile launcher at 8.04 a.m. from the Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast. After a 20-minute flight, the missile's nose-cone carrying a dummy payload impacted near the pre-designated target area with an accuracy of few metres between Australia and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

After the lift-off, it cut a ballistic path across the sky reaching a height of 600 km, before rapidly descending. The mission was so smooth that the missile's three stages ignited on time and decoupled with clockwork precision before the re-entry vehicle was injected into the atmosphere at an altitude of 100 km with a velocity of 6,000 metres per second. The re-entry vehicle withstood scorching temperatures of about 3,000 degree Celsius as it sliced into the atmosphere at a remarkably accurate angle.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed and developed Agni-V. Although DRDO officials claim that Agni-V “is not any country-specific,” the fact remains that the missile can reach most parts of China. The three-stage, 17-metre tall Agni-V, weighing 50 tonnes, is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead of 1.1 tonnes.

During the final, pre-launch moments, there was an air of anxiety and expectation in the Mission Control Room as V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, and other missile technologists sat in front of computer consoles.

Moments after the mission's success, Dr. Saraswat told The Hindu: “Today, we have made history. We are a major missile power.” India was among the select group of countries to have the capability to design, develop, build and manufacture a long-range missile of this class and technological complexity. “The versatile capability of this missile will enable India to leapfrog into areas of Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs), anti-satellite weapons and the capability to launch satellites on demand. This will usher in a new era of missile development in India,” he asserted.

“Fantastic mission”

Avinash Chander, Chief Controller (Missiles and Strategic Systems), DRDO, and Programme Director, Agni-V, called it a “fantastic mission, which has achieved a range of more than 5,000 km.” The success gave India the confidence to go ahead with a larger number of missiles and longer ranges, he added.

V.G. Sekaran, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory, Hyderabad, described the success as “overwhelming.”

A hundred books for free on your laptop

2012-04-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

Reading has acquired a new dimension. Instead of flipping through pages, “scrolling down” is the new way as e-books have stormed the market.

Most of those who have shifted loyalties to e-books have done so particularly for reasons of economy —— may be space too. Instead of spending on a book, they can log in to a website and download one for free in less than an hour. All they need is to have an account in the myriad websites that offer free reading. As the e-books can be saved in PDF format, one can have an entire library in a laptop.

Vijay Arjundas, who works for a computer manufacturing company, said: “e-books have revived my passion for reading. Finding time to read was never easy earlier; but with e-books, I read novels on my iPad even during work hours.”

A few others cited larger reasons for the shift. As Alresh Mendezes (32) put it, e-books are also environment-friendly.

However, for those who swear by traditional books, like psychologist Komal Anil, the experience of holding one — feeling and even smelling the pages — is irreplaceable.

Right now, bookstore owners are not too perturbed by the increasing dominance of digital reading even though they admit sales have been dented. Ravi Menezes, owner of Goobe's Book Republic, said: “There is a fall of about 5 per cent in the sale of books now because they are available free online. But there is nothing that can be compared to the traditional book.” While there is a slow tilt toward the digital format, authors appear to have learnt to embrace the digital development, albeit hesitantly. Writer Shashi Deshpande, author of works such as The Dark Holds No Terror and If I Die Today, said, “I have a Kindle account too, but the feeling of possessing your book and writing your name on it is something different. However, it depends on readers as to how they would prefer to read.”

Soon, solar powered clothes from natural fabric to charge cell phones

2012-04-25T11:15:00.002-07:00

A team of designers, including one of Indian-origin, is developing solar-powered clothes from natural fibres that can charge a number of devices, including phones, tablets and GPS units.

Eulanda Sanders and Ajoy Sarkar in Colorado State University’s Department of Design and Merchandising, as well as four of their students, are making prototypes for solar-charging apparel that can be worn while biking, snowboarding, skiing or hiking.

Clothing with solar panels has been developed before, but these duds usually rely on petroleum—based materials rather than natural fibres, Discovery News reported.

A prime example is California-based Silvrlining’s GO Solar Power Collection, which puts solar power into microsuede sportswear. While certainly cool-looking, the director’s jacket costs 1,180 dollars.

Instead, Sanders and Sarkar want to produce clothes from cotton and linen that are safe and strong enough to handle the elements. According to the university, the group was able to modify natural materials to make them more durable. From there, they incorporated flexible solar panels within the apparel.

Their goal with these greener clothes is ultimately to make solar clothing that’s not only comfortable and cool looking but also highly functional and easy to clean. With help from a 15,000-dollar grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the CSU group has already made several prototype jackets and a vest. This weekend, that apparel will go on display at the EPA’s National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington, DC. The team has also entered a sustainable design competition there, competing with entries from across the nation. Winning means a shot at taking their solar clothing to the market.

New iPad 3 Concept Features

2012-04-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

iPhone 5 Will Have Amazing 3D Capabilities

2012-04-25T10:06:00.001-07:00

The Apple iPhone 5 release date hasn’t been announced yet, but new rumors suggest that 3D features may be included on the phone when it finally hits the market. Delving into the world of 3D tech wouldn’t be an unprecedented move in the smartphone market, as the LG Optimus and the HTC Evo have both had 3D displays for some time now.

Another rumor trending is that the latest design can actually increase the screen size and make it 4-inchs by simply stretching the screen to a 16:9 ratio while keeping the resolution same. Apple hasn’t come out and said that it is pursuing the 3D technology with any intention of including it on its iPhone 5, and Apple fans may end up seeing it on the forthcoming Apple iTV or a follow-up to the New iPad "3" instead of on the company's flagship phone.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Release Update: VP Says S2 Sequel is the Galaxy Note

2012-04-24T20:32:00.002-07:00

http://au.tv.ibtimes.com/samsung-galaxy-s3-release-update-vp-says-s2-sequel-is-the-galaxy-note/4749.html

Have Samsung enthusiasts been so wrapped up in the Samsung S3 rumors that they failed to consider the Galaxy Note as the S2's sequel? Simon Stanford, who is the VP of Samsung Telecommunications and Networks for Samsung UK and Ireland told CNET in an exclusive interview that the Galaxy Note is an all in one device, which he now uses instead of his Galaxy S2 and his tablet.

Stanford said quote, "The evolution in S2 is already here, it's there, it's Galaxy Note and that is a really strong device for Samsung, globally as well as in the UK. People don't have to have a tablet and smart phone -- it can be done all in one device -- which is exactly what people are using it for." With no official release date confirmed by Samsung, Galaxy fans are speculating the theoretical S3 to be released anytime between now and the summer.

Most fans are unconvinced that the Galaxy Note is the actual sequel of the S2. The S2 was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) last year, and then launched in April, which spurred rumors that the S3 would be out at the same time. But Samsung has said that Galaxy enthusiasts shouldn't hold their breath for a March release, as the phone is likely to come in the middle of the year, closer to the summer, according to a report obtained by News Sizzle. The success of the S2 is said to be one of the biggest reasons behind the S3's delay; but, experts in the industry say the delay has also been caused by the slow roll out of the Ice Cream Sandwich software on the S2.

Airtel launches 4G services in Kolkata, first in India

2012-04-23T20:31:00.002-07:00

KOLKATA: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Tuesday launched broadband wireless access (BWA) services based on 4G technology here.

With this launch, the firm became the first player to launch the 4G service in India.

The high speed service was inaugurated here by Union communications minister Kapil Sibal.