Many people won't be aware of Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1895, but one man doesn't just know about the battle - he claims to have lived through it.
Retired farmer Dhaqabo Ebba, from Ethiopia, says he is a staggering 160 years old, which would make him the world's oldest living man.
He claims to have clear memories of Italy's invasion of his country in the 19th century - however, there is no birth certificate to prove his age.
In a statement to Oromiya TV, he provided so much detail on the history of his local area that reporter Mohammed Ademo became convinced that Mr Ebba must be at least 160 years old.
This would make him 46 years older than the oldest ever recorded man.
'When Italy invaded Ethiopia I had two wives,and my son was old enough to herd cattle', said Mr Ebba.
He then recounted his eight-day horseback rides to Addis Ababa as a child - a journey that takes only a few hours today.
As Mr Ebba grew up in an oral society, there is no paper trail and no living witnesses to verify his age.
However, if his claim can be medically confirmed, he would oust 115-year-old Misao Okawa, who is currently recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person.
He would also overtake French woman Jeanne Calment as the oldest person to have ever lived.
Ms Calment died in 1997 at the age of 122.
The last man confirmed to have lived in the 19th century was Jiroemon Kimura, who was born in Japan on April 19, 1897.
He died in June this year at the age of 116 - making him the longest-living man in history.
Mr Kimura, who lived in Kyotango, Japan, left behind seven children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great-grandchildren.
According to 2011 government data, Japan has more than 50,000 centenarians, reinforcing its reputation for longevity.
Eagleclopedia is one of the fastest growing blog in the World with lot of exciting, inspiring, entertaining, scientific and motivational stories.....
Wednesday, 11 September 2013
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
30 fact you need to know
1
A goldfish's attention span is three seconds.
2
Animals that lay eggs don't have belly buttons.
3
Beavers can hold their breath for 45 minutes under water.
4
Slugs have four noses.
5
Camels have three eyelids.
6
A honey bee can fly at 15mph.
7
A queen bee can lay 800-1,500 eggs per day.
8
A bee has five eyelids.
9
The average speedofa housefly is 4.5 mph.
10
Mosquitoes are attracted to people who just ate bananas.
11
Flamingos turn pink from eating shrimp.
12
Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backward.
13
Cats have over 100 vocal chords.
14
Camel's milk does not curdle.
15
All porcupines float in water.
16
The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1.
17
A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
18
A jellyfish is 95% water.
19
Children grow faster in the spring.
20
Broccoli is the only vegetable that is also a flower.
21
Almonds are partofthe peach family.
22Alaska has the highest percentageofpeople who walk to work.
23The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile national monument.
24
The stateofMaine has 62 lighthouses.
25
The only food that does not spoil is honey.
26
The Hawaiian alphabet only has 12 letters.
27
A ballofglass will bounce higher than a ballofrubber.
28Chewing gum while peeling onions will prevent you from crying.
29On average a human will spend up to 2 weeks kissing in his/her lifetime.
30
Fish have eyelids.
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
10 InterestingFacts About Russia
Russia, located in Eurasia (the combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia), is one of the most popular countries in the world. The official languageis Russian but there are 27other languages co-official in various regions throughout the country. Most people are aware of where Russia is located and what types of people live there, but there are many little known facts about this country and its culture that are really quiteinteresting.
Here are 10 cool facts about Russia:
1. World’s Longest Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway spans almost all the way across the county,making it the single longestrailway in the world. The 9200 kilometer (or 5700 mile) railway departs in moscow (located in European Russia) and crosses into Asia. It then makes its way to the PacificOcean port of Vladivostok where it reaches the end ofits incredible journey. The entire journey non-stop will take you 152 hours and27 minutes to complete.2. World’s Largest McDonalds
If you’re a fan of the famous golden arches, Russia is the place to go. The country is home to the largest McDonalds restaurant in the world. With 700 seats. A larger building, seating 1,500, was constructed for the 2012 Olympics in London, England but it was a temporary location and wasdissembled six weeks afterthe doors opened (once theOlympics had come to an end)3. Women vs. Men
There are approximately 10 million more women in Russia than there are men. The imbalance was initially believed to the result of somany men dying during World War II.4. Wedding RingTradition
For many Russians, it is tradition to wear your wedding ring on your ring finger of your right hand. Countries like Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, Germany, Spain, Austria, India and Greece have a similar tradition of wearing the wedding ring on the right hand.5. Flower Superstition
A dozen roses? No thanks!In Russia, men never give an even amount of flowers to a women. It is consideredbad luck and is associated with funerals.6. Largest Country by Area
Russia is the largest country in the world by area. It’s total area is 17,075,400 square kilometers and it covers more than a ninth of the Earth’s land area. The area of the land in Russia is 1.8 times larger than the total size of the United States.7. Home to Many Billionaires
Moscow has more billionaireresidents than any other city in the world. There area total of 74 billionaires living in the popular city, which is exactly 3 more than the second-place city,New York.8. Second-Largest Oil Producer in the World
As of 2012, Russia is second largest producer ofoil in the world, producing an average of 9,900,000 barrels of crude per day. Saudi Arabia landed the topposition with 10,900,000 barrels per day, however, it is estimated that the US will surpass both Russa and Saudi Arabia by 2020 to become the world’s largest oil producer (the USis currently in third position).9. Fastest Means of Transportation
Moscow’s amazing metro system is the fastest means of transport. During rush hour, trains are scheduled for every 90 seconds. It is estimated that over 9 million passengers ride the Meto every day. The Metro of St.Petersburg is also the deepest subway in the world, clocking in at a whopping 100m deep.10. Shaking Hand Superstition
Russian’s will never shake hands over a doorway. It isbelieved to be a bad omen and most Russians are convinced the action will lead to an argument.Source:escape here
Monday, 1 July 2013
$15 million yacht can be controlled by an iPad
With her curved 'wings,' long pointed nose, and gleaming underbelly proppedhigh above the waves, this space-age yacht might be better suited to the sky than the sea.
Just a few square meters ofthe futuristic vessel -- valued at $15 million -- actually touch the surface ofthe water, allowing it to skimacross the waves with ease.
The innovative design, along with high-tech features such as an iPad-controller, helped glossy "Adastra" win three prizes at last week's prestigious ShowBoats Design Awards in Monaco, including Best Naval Architecture.
The yachting world is clearlyimpressed. The honor follows a prize for the Most Innovative Design at the 2013 World Superyacht Awards earlier this year.
So could this alien shape -- resembling something between a spaceship and the Concorde supersonic plane -- be the future of superyacht design?
"The superyacht industry ispretty traditional," designer John Shuttleworth, told CNN."But the establishment has given a 'yes' to this idea which is a huge step forward."
"Inevitably, there has to be a trend for reducing fuel consumption -- and I think superyachts will have to look something like this in the future. Initially I don't think economics will drive it -- these are wealthy owners and cost isn't an issue. Instead, it will be froman ethical, environmental point of view."
Billionaire's toys
Billionaire shipping magnate Anton Marden is believed to be the proud owner of the plush 42.5-meter vessel, which took more than five years to design and build.
The Hong Kong-based moguland wife Elaine will be able to remotely control their luxury yacht from up to 50 meters away, simply by sweeping their hand over an iPad. If you want to appeal to the mega rich, such flashy gadgets -- and room to house them -- are now an essential part of superyachtarchitecture.
"We have recently seen an increase in new and excitingsuperyacht toys on the market and clients are increasingly looking for more space to house these," said co-exterior designer Orion Shuttleworth.
"Our new designs incorporate lots of space to accommodate jet skis, sailing boats, kayaks, paddle boards and other toys."
Speed machine
With just 20% of the enormous 52-ton boat submerged in water, Adastra is able to glide along the waves without thesame drag as traditional superyachts, hitting up to 43 kilometers per hour.
It also means the vessel, made from a super-light glass and carbon material, consumes a lot less fuel -- around 14% of a conventional superyacht thesame size.
"Adastra's longer, slender main hull has extremely low drag, which is why she is sofuel efficient," explained Orion.
"The smooth, seamless, unbroken surfaces also helpto reduce weight," he said of the boat, which can travelup to 6,400 kilometers -- the same distance from London to New York -- without refueling.
In fact, the three-pronged design -- featuring a slim hull and two 'wings' -- is similar to the world's fastestsailboat Hydroptere, which broke the speed record in 2009 at 95 kilometers per hour. Source: http://cnnmobile.com/primary/fullarticle?topic=newsarticle&category=tech&pageSize=10&pageNo=1&articleId=urn:newsml:CNN.com:20130701:is-this-space-age-ipad-superyacht:1
Journalists keep up Mandela reports
Johannesburg - It was quiet on Mondayafternoon outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital, in Pretoria, where former president Nelson Mandela remains in acritical condition.
Passers-by took pictures of get-well messages left on thewall of the hospital on Celliers Street in Sunnyside.
International journalists, who have set camp along the street, continuedto broadcast live from there.
Residents in nearby flats moved up and down the street trying to get the latest news on Mandela from journalists.
"How is he [Mandela] doing? I thought you guys will be the first to know," said Angie Makge.
She said she wanted to know whether the former president's health was improving.
Media reports on Monday were not clear about Mandela's condition, she said.
On Monday, which was Mandela's 24th day in hospital, the presidency said his condition was still critical, but stable.
"We remind all South Africans to begin planning for Madiba'sbirthday on 18 July,"President Jacob Zuma said in a statement.
"We must all be able to do something goodfor humanity on this day, in tribute to ourformer president."
Zuma thanked everyone who had kept Mandela and hisfamily in their thoughts and prayers.. http://m.news24.com/news24/SouthAfrica/News/Journalists-keep-up-Mandela-reports-20130701
Now you can send your own personalised spacecraft to themoon for just £99- and monitor it as it travels through space
Always wanted to land on the moon?
Well now you can come close, with a new project that lets you design, build and launch your own personalised spacecraft and send it to the moon.
The Pocket Spacecraft projectis on a mission to raise funds via the website Kickstarter sothat thousands of people can send a CD-sized space craft into orbit.
The spacecrafts themselves are polyimide disks withflexible electronics, smaller than a CD and as thin as a piece of paper. They are madefrom the same material as flexible circuit boards.Explorers pay upwards of £99to personalise a spacecraft byadding a picture or message from their favourite social media site - or they can create a unique design.
The tiny spacecrafts will be loaded into anInterplanetary CubeSat mothership and will hitch a ride into space on a commercial rocket.
The mothershipwill then set off to the moon and when it arrives many months later, the fleet of Pocket Spacecraft will be photographed as they are released to land on the moon to complete their mission.
But it is rather a race against time to complete the mission:The project must raise at least £290,000 in 60 days on the crowd-funding website to go ahead - but it has currently attracted just over £7,000.
The project only works with mass participation and needs at least 2,000 people to take part.THE FIVE MISSION PHASES
*.The mission is divided intofive phases and will take approximately three years
*.Customers will design and personalise their Scout spacecraft
*.They will be built, tested and loaded onto the Interplanetary CubeSat mothership
*.The mothership will be launched into a suitable orbit where Earth Scouts will be released.If they landin once piece they will be tracked and recovered by volunteers
*.Pocket Spacecraft will then engage the mothership's propulsion system and fly the Lunar Scouts to an unstable low lunar orbit
*.The Lunar Scouts will be photographed and released. They will hopefully then land at a very high speed on the moon
*.Customers will be able to track their scout's journeyusing the Mission Control app
The ultra thin and lightweight disks act as very small solar sails and move about in space.
The mission is expected to take approximately three years from design until landing and there are two types of scouts available.
Earth Scouts, which coast upwards of £99, will be released in orbit with the aim of re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, while Lunar Scouts, which start at £199, will attempt to land on the moon.
Both scouts are solar sail disks less than 80mm in diameter and average less than atwentieth of a millimetrethick, with solar cells, computer, radio transceiver and instruments all on-board.They are described by the company as a low cost, open source, mass space exploration system that are 'small enough to fit in your pocket physically and financially.'
Tech-savvy participants can pay extra to write software and customise on-board hardware to conduct their ownexperiments such as mapping solar wind or playing laser tagin space.
Everyone who chooses to take part will be able to monitor their progress throughout the ambitious mission with a Pocket Mission Control app.
The app will follow the pocket craft from its design and creation in the lab to its journey through space.
Participants will also be able to follow their scout's journey with blogs, monthly video diaries and quarterly webinars.
There will also be cameras in the labs when the spacecraft are being built, test facilities and in mission control.
This is not the first space mission for the global team of scientists, engineers and designers behind Pocket Spacecraft.They have already created 24open space projects since 2009 and are supported by over 100 volunteers from 20 countries, led by mission control in Bristol as well as California.
Michael Johnson, founder of Pocket Spacecraft, co-foundedthe first space mission fundedon Kickstarter.
KickSat was designed to let anyone put their own satellite into orbit and send signals from space for just $300 and is due to be launched by Nasalater this year.
Mr Johnsonsaid: 'By backing this mission people will revolutionise space exploration and space science.
'By democratising interplanetary space exploration we will create a generation of young explorers who can use the same affordable methods to explore Mars, Venus and beyond. We’re building tools so that one day every child will be able to send their own spacecraft on a robotic field trip in space.'
The organisers hope that in the future it can attempt missions elsewhere in the solar system, including Mars, Venus and some asteroids.
Teenager beats tech giants to launch world's first smart WATCH that makes calls and comes with a built-in camera
A group of college students from India - including a designer who is just 17 yearsold - has beaten the likes of Apple, Google and Sony to launch the world's first fully-featured smartwatch.
Called Androidly, the device comes with Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and a camera built-in.
The £150 watch can also be used as a phone to make callsand send texts using a phoneSIM card and packs up to 16GBof storage.ANDROIDLY SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 160 g
Dimensions:6.4 x 4.2 x 1.4 cm
Operating System:Android 2.2
Processor:416 MhZ
Memory:256 MB RAM
Removable Storage:8 GB SD. Up to 16 GB SD
Phone:2.5 GSM network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Wireless:Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi B/G
Camera:2MP
GPS:GPS with A-GPS
Sensor:Accelerometer
Screen:2inch capacitive touchscreen
Resolution:320x240
Although other smart watches,including the Pebble and Sony's Live Watch, can wirelessly connect with mobile phones, Androidly is the first to come with the operating system fully integrated.
Androidlyhas a 2inch screen and comes with a 2MP camera.It runs on an older version ofthe Android operating system called Android 2.2 Froyo.
A speaker, camera and microphone are built into the device and it can be plugged into a USB socket to be used as a storage device.
It can also be used to charge the phone.
Androidly is the brainchild of four students from India - software developer Ankit Pradhan, communications professional Pavneet Singh Puri and lawyer Apurva Sukant plus teenager SiddhantVats.
Sukant said: 'There are other such products in the market, but they mostly sync with a smartphone and are not phones in themselves.
'We have ported Android on to a much smaller board and built a wearable phone.'
Puri added: 'We have all been friends for years now'I was a member of my college student council then and was getting a lot of calls regardingthe college festival.
'That day, my phone rang at atime when my hands were dripping with chicken curry and I just couldn't retrieve it from my pocket.'
'Later, over dessert, we discussed the episode and figured that things can be made much easier if the device is always within reach, accessible and visible.
'Making it a wristwatch seemedto be the most practical solution', continued Vats.
The Androidly watch was originally a Kickstarter campaign - a fundraising and investment site.
The devices can now be ordered, in black or white, from the Android.ly site for £150 each.
The £90 Pebble watch was thefirst device to be classed as a'smartwatch' and similarly launched following a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year.
The Pebble smartwatch syncs wirelessly with a smartphone allowing users to receive emails and Facebook messages, control their music and even see who is calling them.Users can also downloads apps to their watch to upgrade its capabilities.
It works by connecting to an iPhone or Android device via Bluetooth, then downloading the Pebble app to transmit software updates.
Apple is also rumoured to be developing a smartwatch, although the firm has refused to comment on the plans.
Google is also known to be investigating the area.
Explaining the potential of Androidly, the site explains: 'Multi-task like a super hero. Reach out for that refreshing drink in middle of an email, with full confidence.
'Read through your documents, with references onyour wrist and a coffee in your hand!
'Cook with the recipe handy, or manage your stocks with a live ticker always at hand.
'Switch between the digital andthe real world effortlessly, without putting anything up or down! source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2352647/Teenager-beats-tech-giants-launch-worlds-smart-WATCH-makes-calls-comes-built-camera.html
Horrific video shows Syrian Catholic priest being 'beheaded by jihadist fighters in front of cheering crowd'
A Syrian Catholic priest has been beheaded by jihadist fighters in Syria, it has been claimed.
The death of Franciscan Father Francois Murad has been confirmed bythe official Vatican news agency.
The gruesome killing has raised further concerns aboutthe West arming rebels in the fight againstthe regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Grainyfootage purported to show the 49-year-old’s deathhas been posted on the internet.
Father Francois, was killed on23 June in Gassanieh, in northern Syria.
He had been staying in the convent of the Custody of the Holy Land.
Catholic.orglinked to the video and reported: 'Syrian terrorists have beheaded a Catholic priest who they accused of collaborating with the Assad regime. Those accusations have not yet been verified.'
Fides News Agencysaid: 'According to local sources, the monastery where Fr. Murad was staying was attacked by militants linked to the jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra.'
Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the Front for the Protectionof the Syrian People, is an Al Qaeda associated group, described as 'the most aggressive and successful arm of the rebel force.'
In the video, filmed on a camera phone and posted on LiveLeak, three men - including a man reported to beFather Francois -are seen sitting on the dusty ground asa crowd around them cheers.The man, wearing a brown robe, is filmed sitting cross-legged with his hands apparently bound.
He is pulled forward and laid face down on the grass as thecrowd chant 'Allahu akbar' andtake photos.
He is then decapitated, using what looks like a rudimentary kitchen knife.
Dozens of camera phones are shoved forward by the bayingcrowd as the scene turns more bloody.
Fides News Agency says the 'circumstances of the death are not fully understood' but said his death has been confirmed by the Custos of theHoly Land - the convent whereFather Francois had been staying.
It has not been confirmedFather Francois was beheaded.
Assad's forces pounded SunniMuslim rebels in the city of Homs with artillery and from the air on Sunday, the secondday of their offensive in central Syria, activists said.
They said rebels defending the old centre of Homs and five adjacent Sunni districts had largely repelled a ground attack on Saturday by Assad'sforces, backed by guerrillas from the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, but reportedclashes and deaths within the city on Sunday.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2352251/Horrific-video-shows-Syrian-Catholic-priest-beheaded-jihadist-fighters-cheering-crowd.html
Anti-smoking clinics fail to help China kick the habit
Beijing,In a country of 300 million smokers and where two trillion cigarettes are produced every year, "smoking cessation clinics" seemed to be a promising business. But the results such clinics have produced show how far off the mark such an effort was.
According to the latest figures, 600,000 people develop lung cancer every year in China, accounting forone-third of the world's total.
The smoking cessation clinic at the Chongqing Fifth People's Hospital in Chongqing metropolis received only 10 patients last year, down from 100 in 2008 when the clinic was set up, Xinhua reported.
In Beijing, where 29 percent of 20 million residents are smokers, most of the city's hospitals have shut down their smoking cessation clinics.
A doctor in Chongqing said one course of treatment costs about 2,000 yuan (around $320). That may seem like a lot, but is actually less than what a heavy smoker might spend on cigarettes each year.
However, many smokers, even after successfully kicking the habit after receiving treatment, eventually start smoking again, he said.
To promote tobacco control and help smokers quit, Beijing's municipal health bureau announced this month that the costs of smoking cessation treatments will be covered inthe public health insurance programme.
With nearly two trillion cigarettes produced in 2011,China is the world's top producer and consumer of tobacco.
The country is also home to over 300 million smokers, and about 740 million people are subject to passive smoking through inhalation of second-hand smoke.
However, there is no national legislation on tobacco control in China.
Although a government regulation issued in 2011 bans smoking in enclosed public spaces, enforcement of the regulation has been considered very poor because it does not stipulateany penalties for offenders.(IANS)
Official: 19 firefighters dead in Arizona
Nineteen firefighters were killed Sunday battling a blaze in Arizona, the state forestry division said.
The vast majority were fromPrescott, said Wade Ward with the Prescott Fire Department.
State forestry official Art Morrison said the firefighters were members of a "hotshot" crew, tasked with digging a fire line and creating an escape route.
"In normal circumstances, when you're digging fire line, you make sure you have a good escape route, and you have a safety zoneset up," Morrison said. "Evidently, their safety zone wasn't big enough, andthe fire just overtook them."
The crew was fighting the Yarnell Hill fire, which broke out Friday northwest of Phoenix. The fire has grownto 1,000 acres, damaged three homes and forced the evacuations of residents in the communities of Peeples Valley and Yarnell, Morrisonsaid.
Authorities believe lightning sparked the blaze.
Not including the 19 deaths reported in Arizona, there have been 43 firefighter fatalities reported so far in 2013, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. A total of83 firefighters died last year while on duty.
A Facebook page in memory of the Arizona firefighters was created Sunday night.
People left their condolencesand messages of support.
"Such a tragic loss. My heartaches for these brave souls, and for their families and friends," wrote one.source:CNN
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Shockwave from the 10,000 tonne Russian meteor was so powerful it 'travelled TWICE around the earth'
The shockwave from a meteorthat exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains was so powerful that it travelled twice around the earth, scientists have said.
The 10,000 tonne rock, measuring around 55 feet in diameter, created a huge hole in a frozen lake when it crashed into the ground in February and is said to have injured almost 1,500 people.
The tremors from the explosion aboveChelyabinsk citywere recorded at around 20 monitoring stations across the world, it has today been revealed.The stations are part of the International Monitoring System network operated by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation.
They are designed to detect nuclear weapon tests, and look for ultra-low frequency waves known as infrasound, the Independent reports.
The findings were published inthe journal Geophysical Research Letters,.
It said it was the first time the stations had ever noted 'multiple arrivals involving waves that travelled twice round the globe' and teams said it was the 'most powerful ever recorded'.Since it crashed to earth in February,scientists have found more than 50 tiny fragments of the meteor, allowing them to uncover information about its contents.
Local residents have been more interested in the black market value of the fragmentssince the dramatic incident, asa 'gold mine' has been kickstarted for the valuable pieces.
As they search for their own pieces of the meteor, rocks have already been put on the internet for sale, and police are warning all purchasers to prepare for possible fraud.
The meteor injured nearly 1,500 people and caused widespread property damage in Chelyabinsk city.
The debris narrowly missed a direct and devastating hit on the industrial city which has a population of 1.13 million but spread panic through its streets as the sky above lit up with a blinding flash.As it raced through the sky, the 50-foot wide chunk of space rock compressed the air ahead of it, creating the enormous temperatures that meant it exploded in a fireball somewhere between 18 and 32 miles above the ground at around 9.20am local time on Friday.
Although some debris fell to earth, ‘whipping up a pillar of ice, water and steam’ and creating a 20-foot-wide crater, the damage in nearby towns was actually caused byshockwaves created by the meteor breaking the sound barrier and then exploding.
Why people have different colours of hair.
In addition to corneous protein,a small amount of water and fat,hair contains more than ten metallic element,such as sulphur,carbon,phosphorus,calcium,iron,lead,zinc,copper,manganese and cobalt.The colour of the hair is determined by the amount of these various elements.if the hair contains more than the usual amounts of copper and iron,the hair will be black.If the hair contain a lot of titanium,it will be blond,if their is a lot of molybdenum in the hair,MU be dark-brown,and if the hair contain a lot of copper,iron and cobalt,the hair will be reddish-brown.
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Vine for Android updated with front camera support, new upload manager
Android users can now record 6 second selfies on Vine according to a recent tweet.The company also stated that it has added some enhancements that will make Vine run faster.The full Vine 1.2.0 for Android has the following updates:• Front-facing camera• New upload manager for un submitted posts• Improvements to settingsf• Improvements to camera loading time and support for more devices• Speed improvements overall• Bug fixes and UI improvementsThe app is trying to catch up to its iOS equivalent that was released in January and received front-facing camera support in April 2013. Since its launch in January this year Vine has already amassed 13 million users on iOS. Vine for Android was launched by Twitter earlier this month and has given rapid updates since then. This new update comes after the addition of hashtags and Facebook sharing features a few weeks back. However Vine is available only for Android users who have 4.0 ICS OS or higher. The new version is available for download fromGoogle Play.
Friday, 28 June 2013
The Greedy Gourdmand
Don't be a gourmand
Who eats beyond his belly-band.
If you get over fed
You may fall sick in bed.
And that will not be good.
For we eat only to live,
We do not live to eat.
So be wise and stop
When you eat just enough
And don't hurt yourself.
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Not too flashy for a ticket! Tron-like Lamborghini that 'glows in the dark' is seized in London after Qatari driver is pulled over for driving without a licence
Police seized a 'glow-in-the-dark' supercar from a London street after its wealthy Qatari owner was stopped for not having a licence or the correctinsurance.
The £350,000Lamborghini Aventador - with a paint job that made it look like something out of the sci-fi filmTron - was impounded near Harrod's in Knightsbridge yesterday.
It is understood its owner is 24-year-old Nasser Al-Thani,a member of Qatar's ruling family
Not too flashy for a ticket! Tron-like Lamborghini that 'glows in the dark' is seized in London after Qatari driver is pulled over for driving without a licence
Police seized a 'glow-in-the-dark' supercar from a London street after its wealthy Qatari owner was stopped for not having a licence or the correctinsurance.
The £350,000Lamborghini Aventador - with a paint job that made it look like something out of the sci-fi filmTron - was impounded near Harrod's in Knightsbridge yesterday.
It is understood its owner is 24-year-old Nasser Al-Thani,a member of Qatar's ruling family
Blevopedia: Global Warming!
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its pr...
WISDOM AND VISION. Things to do to be an achiever.
Vision is your targets,dream,goals what you want to achieve.
while wisdom is what you need to do to achieve that vision.
many of us have good visions,big dreams.but we lack the wisdom to do this things,believe it or not if you don't have wisdom your dreams,vision,target will always be far from you.
Take for example, a boy want's to be a good runner will have to practice daily and be under a good coach to achieve his aim.but what some of us do is the opposite,you want to come out of the university with first-class yet we don't have time for our books.
That vision will remain a vision it will never become reality.
THING TO DO TO ACHIEVE YOUR VISION.
1.Gather information about your vision,look for the wisdom to that vision.
2.Follow direction an instructions your vision demand.
3.Steps of faith towards your visions.
4.seasons of sacrifices;
you have to sacrifice and let go of somethings that will not favour your vision.
5.Patience;
be patience things take time to happen with time your.
NOTE: pls leave a comment if this article have been helpful.
No sanctuary for Syria's female refugees
Feet stumbling in the pitch darkness over the uneven ground we make our way with a group of women to one of the bathrooms in the Zaatari camp.
"There is no light, if we come in here there could be a guy hiding or something." one woman says.
None of them want to be identified. They carry fear of the regime with them, even as they seek refuge across the border in Jordan.
But "safety" is a relative term. For Syria's female refugee population, it has meant trading fear of death in their homeland for fear ofsomething many consider to be worse: rape.
There have been various stories of sexual harassment and rape in Zaatari camp -- teeming withmasses who continue to stream across the border.
This dark underbelly of crisis has led to a disturbinggrowing phenomenon: "sutra" marriages, or marriages for protection.
Families who feel like they are unable to safeguard their female family members,their daughters, are marrying them off to protect them.
In a culture where conserving honor is central,everyone says they had no other choice.
In one trailer we meet 13-year-old Najwa. She curls back in the corner next to her husband, 19-year-old Khaled, and her mother, hardly saying a word.
Najwa is the youngest of three, her two older sisters in their late teens are also recently married.source: CNN
Nelson Mandela ison life support and 'family has the option to switch off', claim South African sources
In South Africa's Eastern Cape province, where Mandela grewup, a traditional leader said the time was near for Mandela, who is also known by his clan name, Madiba.
'I am of the view that if Madiba is no longer enjoying life, and is on life support systems, and is not appreciating what is happening around him, I think the good Lord should take the decision to put him out of his suffering,' said the tribal chief, Phathekile Holomisa.
'I did speak to two of his family members, and of course, they are in a lot of pain, and wish that a miracle might happen, that he recovers again, and he becomes his old self again,' hesaid.
'But at the same time they are aware there is a limit to what miracles you can have.'
A South African newspaper has also reportedthe anti-Apartheid icon is on life support,citing numerous sources close to the family.
The Citizen newspaper says Mandela has a team of doctors supporting him at a Pretoria hospital.
One source was quoted as saying that Mr Mandela's family had the option to switch off the ventilator.
South African President Jacob Zuma cancelled a trip to neighbouring Mozambique, intensifying speculation about the deterioration of Mandela's life.
Zuma made his decision not to leave the country after visiting the 94-year-old late yesterday in the Pretoria hospital where he has been receiving treatment for a lung infection for nearly three weeks.
'Clearly the issue of seriousness has been such that President Jacob Zuma hascancelled his trip,' presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told Talk Radio 702.
He declined to comment on reports that Mandela was on life support, saying: 'I cannot confirm any clinical details.'CNNalso reported that the former president could no longer breathe unaided, quotingan official who 'had been briefed in detail on his condition'.
George Bizos, one of Mr Mandela's closest friends and his former lawyer, told The Daily Telegraph that they had never discussed his wishes towards the end of hislife.'We can only hope for the best, and that is what the doctors decide to do,' he said.'I am sure that the members ofthe family are discussing the matter with the doctors but it should probably be primarily the doctors in consultation with the family if the situation is critical.'
Last night a leading clergyman visited Nelson Mandela's bedside to offer prayers for his 'peaceful, perfect end'.
Thabo Makgoba, the Archbishop of Cape Town, issued an emotional statement asking that the former president of South Africa, whois in a critical condition, be released from pain and suffering.
However, Mr Mandela apparently opened his eyes and smiled when he was told about Barack Obama's forth coming visit to the country, according to his daughter.
Mr Makgoba posted a message on Facebook asked for courage to be granted to Mr Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, and others who love him 'at this hard time of watching and waiting'.
He added: 'May your blessing rest upon Madiba now and always. Grant him, we pray, a quiet night and a peaceful, perfect, end.'Uphold all of us with your steadfast love so that we maybe filled with gratitude for all the good that he has done forus and for our nation, and may honour his legacy through our lives.'
The 94-year-old statesman isin a critical condition in hospital in Pretoria, but nonetheless was able to showhis pleasure at hearing of the U.S. President's visit.
Mr Obama is believed to be keen to meet Mr Mandela, but given the delicate condition of the African leader he will not do so unless he is invited by the Mandela family.
Visit: Mr Mandela's ex-wife Winnie, centre, and daughter Zindzi, right, arrive at the hospital today
Relatives: The leader's grandchildren Ndaba, left, and Nkileka, right, also paid visits to him today
That prospect appeared to bemore likely yesterday after MrMandela's daughter Zindzi described how she told her father that Mr Obama would betouring South Africa.
After she told him 'Obama is coming,' she said, 'He opened his eyes and gave me a smile.'
The U.S. President is travelling to Senegal today and will arrive in South Africa on Friday during his second trip to Africa since taking office.
Mr Mandela has been in hospital being treated for a lung infection since June 8, and over the weekend his condition was downgraded from 'serious' to 'critical'.
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Mandela critical, days before Obama visit
From CNN Throughout the night, crowds of people stood outside the hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela isbeing treated, and among the balloons, posters and cards early Tuesday were dozens of news crews and broadcast vans.
More than 40 vehicles crowded the parking spacesoutside the Medi-Clinic HeartHospital in Pretoria, the South African Press Association reported. Generators hummed and the area was brightly lit for the news organizations doing regular live broadcasts.
Mandela's daughter Makaziwe Mandela left the hospital Monday night, SAPA reported. Other family members, including ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and daughters Zindzi Mandela-Motlhajwa and Zenani Mandela-Dlamini, left earlier in the day.
Government officials paid visits as well.
Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, spends every night at the hospital, where the former president has been since June 8 for a recurring lung infection. Previously, authorities had described his condition as serious but stable.
But over the weekend, his health took a turn for the worse, with the South African president's office saying he was in critical condition.
"The doctors are doing everything possible to ensure his well-being and comfort," President Jacob Zuma told the nation Monday.
The former president's health will not affect U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to the country this week, Zuma said, according to the press association.
Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail over the years and has not appearedin public since South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010.
Outside the hospital Monday, a security wall was awash with get-well cards, balloons, flowers, cards andpaintings, the press association reported.
Smartphone app that could replace your credit card: Banks claim new service will protect consumers from fraud
Culled from; dailymail Millions of shoppers will soon be able to pay at the till with their mobile phone, thanks to a new app.
Britain’s biggest banks have backed Zapp, which will launchearly next year. The system is designed to work with the apps already offered by HSBC,Natwest, Nationwide and Lloyds, among others.
When they reach the checkoutof a shop that accepts Zapp payments, customers will havea special code sent to their mobile phone. They will then confirm the transaction with one tap of the finger.
Banks claim the technology willbe safer than using a debit card, as the unique code for that purchase will expire afterthree minutes.
In addition, only retailers signed up to the scheme will be able to generate the codes.
And unlike chip and pin cards, Zapp will never hand over sensitive information such as card numbers and expiry dates that can be used by criminals to commit fraud.
Peter Keenan, Zapp’s chief executive, said the app ‘will allow millions to leave their wallets at home’.
He added: ‘When you pay witha card in a shop or online, you give the merchant all sorts of details that would be dangerous in the hands of a fraudster. With Zapp, nothing is revealed, so it’s much moresecure.’
However, experts warn it is too early to rule out safety fears.Justin Modray, of finance website Candid Money, said: ‘Paying by smartphone obviously appeals to some and is growing in popularity.
‘However, it remains to be seen whether this throws up any major security issues.
‘The new technology will haveto be extremely fool-proof or it will cause more problems than it solves.’The success of Zapp will rely on shops, restaurants, and small businesses signing up tothe scheme.
The app, which is still in development, will follow in the footsteps of Pingit, a similar service run by Barclays Bank.
Pingit has more than a million users and allows customers tosend money another person or business by text message.
Brazil leader Dilma Rousseff promises reform referendum
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has proposed a referendum on political reforms in an effort to tackle protests that have swept the country.
She also promised to boostspending on public transport and focus on health and education as part of what she called "five pacts" with the people.
She later met regional mayors and governors, who agreed to her plans.
But some activists promised to carry on with the largest protests Brazil has seen for at least two decades.
Ms Rousseff said the reforms would be broad and focus on five areas:
*.Fiscal responsibility: guaranteeing economic stability and curbing inflation
*.Education: investing 100% of Brazil's oil royalties in education
*.Health: hiring foreign doctors to provide medical services in remote and under-developed areas
*.Constituent Assembly: establishing an assembly to eventually amend Brazil's constitutionto ensure reforms make it "from paper to practice"
*.Public transport: investing more than 50 billion reias ($25bn, £16bn) for new investments in urban mobility projects and to improve public transport
Mayara Longo Vivian, a leader of the Free Fare Movement, said there had been "concrete measures" among the president's proposals and that the "fight would continue".
Analysis
ByGary Duffy
Executive editor, BBC Brasil, Sao Paulo
The most headline-catching part of her proposals was to suggest a referendum to establish a constitutional assemblyto consider political reform. It has the advantage of handing a decision back to the people, but is also a commitment to what will be a long drawn out process that will allow the government time todraw breath.
It is either a bold moveor a very clever one.
Some are already arguing it could be unconstitutional - others are complaining that political reform didn't need such an elaborate proposal andcould have been done more effectively and with greater speed. In a country plagued by dodgy deals few are going to argue with theidea of making corruption a more serious offence. However Brazilians aremore likely to be impressed when the corrupt are actually convicted and jailed.
Brazil leader plays hand over protests
On Monday evening, there were fresh demonstrationsin several cities, although they appeared to be smaller than those that ledto clashes with police last week.
The BBC's Julia Carneiro inRio de Janeiro says exactly a week ago 100,000 people marched down the city's Rio Branco Avenue, but on Monday just a few dozen were chanting in front of the Candelaria church.
More people joined in as they marched, and soon a few thousand demonstrators had poppedup and were occupying thecity centre's main avenue.
Street vendors were selling Brazilian flags and Anonymous masks for those who came unprepared, she says.
In other protests, hundreds of people blocked the main road to Brazil's busiest port, Santos, and hundreds more came out to protest against corruption in the capital, Brasilia.
Two women were killed at a protest in the central state of Goias, not far fromBrasilia. Police said they were killed by a driver who sped through a roadblock they had set up with other protesters.
The deaths bring to four the total number of lives lost in the unrest.
Brazil leader Dilma Rousseff promises reform referendum
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has proposed a referendum on political reforms in an effort to tackle protests that have swept the country.
She also promised to boostspending on public transport and focus on health and education as part of what she called "five pacts" with the people.
She later met regional mayors and governors, who agreed to her plans.
But some activists promised to carry on with the largest protests Brazil has seen for at least two decades.
Ms Rousseff said the reforms would be broad and focus on five areas:
*.Fiscal responsibility: guaranteeing economic stability and curbing inflation
*.Education: investing 100% of Brazil's oil royalties in education
*.Health: hiring foreign doctors to provide medical services in remote and under-developed areas
*.Constituent Assembly: establishing an assembly to eventually amend Brazil's constitutionto ensure reforms make it "from paper to practice"
*.Public transport: investing more than 50 billion reias ($25bn, £16bn) for new investments in urban mobility projects and to improve public transport
Mayara Longo Vivian, a leader of the Free Fare Movement, said there had been "concrete measures" among the president's proposals and that the "fight would continue".
Analysis
ByGary Duffy
Executive editor, BBC Brasil, Sao Paulo
The most headline-catching part of her proposals was to suggest a referendum to establish a constitutional assemblyto consider political reform. It has the advantage of handing a decision back to the people, but is also a commitment to what will be a long drawn out process that will allow the government time todraw breath.
It is either a bold moveor a very clever one.
Some are already arguing it could be unconstitutional - others are complaining that political reform didn't need such an elaborate proposal andcould have been done more effectively and with greater speed. In a country plagued by dodgy deals few are going to argue with theidea of making corruption a more serious offence. However Brazilians aremore likely to be impressed when the corrupt are actually convicted and jailed.
Brazil leader plays hand over protests
On Monday evening, there were fresh demonstrationsin several cities, although they appeared to be smaller than those that ledto clashes with police last week.
The BBC's Julia Carneiro inRio de Janeiro says exactly a week ago 100,000 people marched down the city's Rio Branco Avenue, but on Monday just a few dozen were chanting in front of the Candelaria church.
More people joined in as they marched, and soon a few thousand demonstrators had poppedup and were occupying thecity centre's main avenue.
Street vendors were selling Brazilian flags and Anonymous masks for those who came unprepared, she says.
In other protests, hundreds of people blocked the main road to Brazil's busiest port, Santos, and hundreds more came out to protest against corruption in the capital, Brasilia.
Two women were killed at a protest in the central state of Goias, not far fromBrasilia. Police said they were killed by a driver who sped through a roadblock they had set up with other protesters.
The deaths bring to four the total number of lives lost in the unrest.
Monday, 24 June 2013
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Sunday, 23 June 2013
Maximizing Android battery life
For a new addicted android user, battery life became a serious issue. At default setting, Android need more power than it should be. So, we must make new adjusment to our Android.
1.
Adjust screen brightness
Change your screen brightness can save a lot ofpower. Change brightness level to lowest acceptable level.
*.Go to Setting
*.Select Display
*.Choose brightnes
2.
Disable WiFi when you don`t use it
Turn On WiFi in non Wifi / hotspot area makes our phone at always searching state and it will consume ourbattery life span. Turn Off the Wifi
*.Go to setting
*.Select Wireless & Network settings
*.Turn Off Wifi
3.
Disable Bluetooth when you don`t use it
If you don`t use wireless headset, there is no reasonyou turn on the bluetooth. Just turn them off.
*.Go to setting
*.Select Wireless & Network settings
*.Turn Off bluetooth
4.
Disable Application that sync constantly
Push E-mail and social networking require connection that means need looking for nearest Wifi or using a sim card. If it`s not to important to get constant update, do manualy or set sycn less.
For email:
*.Open Email Application
*.Go to Account setting
*.Change Check Email Frequency
For social network it`s almost same with email, just change the refresh interval/update interval
5.
Disable GPS location
Not only for navigation, application like twitter or weather using gps too. This will suck your battery.
*.Go to setting
*.Select Location & security setting
*.Turn off GPS satellite (when you dont need it)
6.
Disable Animated Wallpaper
7.
Disable Unused Home screen Widget
8.
Disable or remove unecessary applications
9.
Keep Battery from heat
Additional Note:
Some people suggest using Airplane mode, it`s okey that if you want no body to bothering you. In Airplane mode not only Wifi and bluetooth had been turn off, but also prevent in and out going call or message.
Andabsolutely not to using task killers
Advantages and Disadvantages Android mobile phone
Google’sAndroidOperating System in Mobile phones are still relatively new, however,AndroidOperating System hasbeen progressing quite rapidly. Conceived as a counterpoint IOS,Androidis a graph showing a significant development, it certainly can not be separated from supports major mobile phone manufacturers who participated to bring mobile-phone operating system Android.
Advantage Android
1.Multitasking– Yups, Androidphones can run many applications, it means you can browse, Facebook while listened to the song.
2.Ease of Notification– Any SMS, Email, or even the latest articles from an RSS Reader, there will always bea notification on the Home Screen Android phone, do not miss the LED indicator is blinking, so you will not missa single SMS, Email or even Misscall .
3.Easy access to thousands of applications via the Google Android Android App Market– When you love to install applications or games, through Google’s Android App Market, Agan can download applications for free. There are many thousands of applications and games that are ready for download on Android phones You.
4.Phone options are diverse– Talk Android phone, it will feel ‘different’ than the IOS, if the IOS is limited to the iPhone from Apple, then Android is available on mobile phones from various manufacturers, from Sony Ericsson, Motorola, HTCto Samsung. And each handsetmanufacturer also presents an Android phone in the style of each, such as Motorola with its Motoblur, Sony Ericsson with its Timescape. So You can freely choose the Android phone in accordance with the ‘brand’ favorite.
5.Can install a modified ROM– not satisfied with the standard view of Android, do not worry there are many custom ROM that can be used in your mobile phones Android .
6.Widget– absolutely right, with the widgets on the homescreen, You can easily access a variety of settingsquickly and easily.
7.Google Maniac– If you are aloyal user of Google services ranging from Gmail to Google Reader Android phone has integrated with Google services, so you canquickly check e-mail from Gmail.
Disadvantage Android
1.Continuous Internet connection– Yups, most Android phones require a simultaneous Internet connection alias continuously active. that means must be prepared to subscribe Agan GPRS packetthat suits your needs.
2.Advertising– Application in the Android phones can indeed be obtained easily and for free, but the consequences in each of these applications, will always be ads on display, either the top or bottom of the application
Gunmen Kill TouristsIn Pakistan
Gunmen have killed nine foreign tourists after storming a hotel in aremote area of northern Pakistan, say police.
"Unknown people entered a hotel where foreign tourists were staying last night and opened fire," said Ali Sher, a senior police officer in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan province.
The gunmen fled after the attack.
Five Ukrainians, three Chinese, a Russian and their guide were killed in the attack near the base camp for the snow-covered Nanga Parbat mountain, a popular destination for trekkers, officials said.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
A senior government official said a large number of security personnel had been sent to the area.
"Since the area is very remote with noroads or transport, their bodies will have to be retrieved by helicopter," the official said.
Gilgit-Baltistan province - famous for its natural beauty - had been considered one of the more secure areas of Pakistan but in recent years has witnessed a spate of attacks by militants targeting members of Pakistan's Shi'ite minority in recent years.
It was the first timeforeign tourists hadbeen attacked in the province, which is famous for its natural beauty.
Pakistan receives few foreign tourists, but a trickle of visitors is tempted by the spectacular mountain scenery inits northern areas, where the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya mountain ranges converge.
Why Facebook is 'cloning' ideas
Facebook has been on a cloning tear recently.
On Thursday, the social media company announced that its photo app Instagramwas adding support for 15-second videos, a la Twitter's hit Vine app.
There are a few minor differences: Vine is only 6 seconds; Instagram has filters; Vine loops; Instagram lets you delete a clip. But they are essentiallythe same tool.
This is not the first time Facebook has tried replicating another company's features. It imitated Foursquare with its Places check-ins, Instagram with the Camera app, Twitterwith profiles you can follow and Snapchat with the Poke app. Last week, Facebook finally added hashtags, another creation started on Twitter, though the outrage seems to be more that it took so long.
While perhaps disappointing, it is unsurprising that a minor feature gets so much media coverage (Yes. This is my third article on the topic). Facebook has more than a billion users around the world. Instagram says 130 million people use the photo-sharing service every month, and most will be excited to get a cool newfeature like video. In just 24hours, 5 million videos wereuploaded to the service, according to Instagram.
What happens on these tools, even when they are tiny, has an immediate impact on a huge amount of people.
"Facebook is a very important company in the world," said Brian Singerman, a partner at the Founders Fund investment firm. "Anything Facebook does impacts a billion people. That in and of itself,becoming a communications platform for a billion people, is a pretty impressive feat in the world."
The small features can also have big effects for the company itself. Originality is risky, and Facebook is now a public company tasked with making investors money after a particularly harrowing first year on the stock market.
For Facebook, advertising, particularly on mobile devices, is where that money will come from. In 2012, 84% of Facebook's revenue came from advertising, and videos aregoing to play a bigger role in future online advertising revenue.
There are no paid ads on Instagram, but it is very brand-savvy. A handful of major companies seem to have been given early access to the new feature and posted promotional videos on the service. Major companies to post such videos include Burberry, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gap and MTV.
U.S. seeks Snowden extradition in NSA case
The United States has contacted authorities in Hong Kong to seek the extradition of Edward Snowden, the man who admitted leaking top-secret details about U.S. surveillance programs, a senior U.S. administration official said Saturday.
Federal prosecutors charged Snowden with espionage and theft of government property, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in Virginia on Friday.
The United States based theextradition request on the criminal complaint and a treaty between the United States and Hong Kong that covers the surrender of "fugitive offenders" and their extradition.
Washington already asked Hong Kong, where Snowden is believed to be in hiding, to detain the former NationalSecurity Agency contract analyst on a provisional arrest warrant, The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
"If Hong Kong doesn't act soon, it will complicate our bilateral relations and raise questions about Hong Kong's commitment to the rule of law," the administration official said.
The complaint charges Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorized person. The latter two allegations amount to espionage under the federal Espionage Act.
Snowden, 30, has admitted in interviews he was the source behind the leaking ofclassified documents about the NSA's surveillance programs. Those leaks werethe basis of reports in Britain's Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post this month.The Guardian revealed Snowden's identify at his request.
The documents revealed theexistence of top-secret surveillance programs that collect records of domestic telephone calls in the United States and monitor the Internet activity of overseas residents.
There is a question about whether the espionage charges will be considered political offenses. The U.S. agreement with Hong Kong makes an exception for political offenses, in which case the treaty would not apply to Snowden.
Prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz, a professor at Harvard Law School, said the espionage charge complicates the case.
More Than 25,000 Bees Die in Oregon
The mystery of why thousands of bees fell from the sky has been solved, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
The department announced Friday that it has determined an insecticide caused the deaths this week of 25,000 bees in Wilsonville, Ore.
The bees were found scattered across a parking lot earlier this week.
Mace Vaughn and his partner Rich Hatfield of the non-profit environmental group the Xerces Society worked with the Oregon Department of Agriculture to discover the cause by painstakingly picking up specimens of dead bees.
“We’ve lost a hundred, ahundred fifty colonies at least just from this area — just wiped them out,” Vaughn told ABCNews.com affiliate KATU-TVin Portland.
On Friday, the Oregon Department of Agriculture determined the beeswerekilled by an insecticide called Safari used to kill aphids. The trees where the insecticide was used are being netted to protect any surviving bees that might wander into the area.
The death of the bees in Oregon comes as colony collapse disorderthreatens honey bee populations across the U.S.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,beekeepers have been reported losing between 30 to 90 percent of their colonies since 2006. There is no known cause for the disorder, in which bees abruptly leave the hive.
Friday, 21 June 2013
Plants 'seen doing quantum physics'
The idea that plants make use of quantum physics to harvest light more efficiently has received a boost.
Plants gather packets of light called photons, shuttling them deep into their cells where their energy is converted with extraordinary efficiency.
A report in Sciencejournal adds weight to the idea that an effect called a "coherence" helps determine the most efficient path for the photons.
Experts have called the work "a nice proof" of some contentious ideas.
Prior work has shown weaker evidence that these coherences existed in relatively large samples from plants.
But the new study has been done painstakingly, aiming lasers at single molecules of the light-harvesting machinery to show how light is funnelledto the so-called reaction centres within plants where light energy is converted into chemical energy.
What has surprised even the researchers behind the research is not only that these coherences do indeed exist, but that theyalso seem to change character, always permitting photons to take the most efficient path into the reaction centres.
Until very recently, quantum mechanics - a frequently arcane branch of physics most often probed in laboratory settings at the coldest temperatures and lowest pressures - would not have been expected in biological settings.
The fact that plants and animals are extremely warm and soft by comparison would suggest that delicate quantum states should disappear inliving things, leaving behaviour explicable by the more familiar "classical physics" that is taught in school.
But the new results join the ranks of a field that seems finally to be gaining ground: quantum biology.
'Something shocking'
Niek van Hulst of the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Castelldefels, Spain, and colleagues studied the light-harvesting complexes of purple bacteria to addressthe question.
The weird world ofquantum mechanics
Quantum mechanicsstarts with the simple idea that energy does not come in just any amount; it comes in discrete chunks, calledquanta. But deeper intothe theory, some truly surprising - and useful- effects crop up
*.Superposition:A particle exists in a number of possible statesor locations simultaneously - strictly, an electron might be in the tip of your finger andin the furthest corner of the Universe at thesame time. It is only when we observe the particle that it 'chooses' one particular state
*.Entanglement:Two particlescan become entangled so that their properties depend on each other - no matter how far apart they get. A measurement of one seems to affect the measurement of the other instantaneously - an idea even Einstein called "spooky"
*.Tunnelling:Aparticle can break through an energy barrier, seeming to disappear on one side of it and reappear on the other. Lots of modern electronics andimaging depends on this effect
These are literally like antennas that gather up light, and are arranged like adjacent rings.
When laser light is shone on just one isolated ring, some of it is re-released in the form of what is called fluorescence.
But what the team saw is that over time, that amountof fluorescence rose and fell - a sign that the energy was coming and going elsewhere: a coherence.
This is linked to the quantum mechanical notion of a "superposition": that aparticle can effectively be in multiple places at once -or try multiple paths simultaneously.
"What you see here is thisphoton comes in, and it sees many energy pathways," explained Prof van Hulst.
"Where does it go? It goesto the one that's most efficient, the one where this quantum effect tells you it has the highest probability (of being put to use)," he told BBC News.
But the soft, flexible, warmconditions at room temperature mean that, as things move and jiggle - as life tends to do - that most efficient path can change. Remarkably, so didthe evident path along the rings.
"Nature is very robust at keeping this up no matter what happens - this for meis something shocking," Prof van Hulst continued.
"The result is that this fluffy stuff at room temperature where everything is variable, it just works - with an efficiency of 90%: way, waybetter than any solar cell we can make ourselves."
Long-lost medieval stone with mysterious carvings discoveredin Wales
In a small Welsh village, Nikki Vousden and Roderick Bale were enjoying an evening stroll in the woods when a rock with strange carvings bythe side of a stream caught their attention. Both archeologists, they knew it was no ordinary slab.
It took a late night in the library and a call with an expert to realize they had discovered a long-lost medieval stone with religious significance
Supermoon will rise in weekend night sky
The largest full moon of 2013,a so-called "supermoon," will light up the night sky this weekend, but there's more to this lunar delight than meets the eye.
On Sunday, June 23, at 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT), the moon will arrive at perigee — the point in its orbit its orbit bringing it closest to Earth), a distance of 221,824 miles. Now the moon typically reaches perigee once each month (and on some occasions twice), withtheir respective distances to Earth varying by 3 percent.
But Sunday's lunar perigee willbe the moon's closest to Earthof 2013. And 32 minutes later, the moon will officially turn full.The close timing of the moon'sperigee and its full phase are what will bring about the biggest full moon of the year, a celestial event popularly defined by some as a " supermoon."
£1m to help identifyenergy links
A million pounds will be spent examining how to link the energy grids of Scotland and Ireland, Scotland's First Minister has announced.
Ministers attending the British Irish Council summit in Derry-Londonderry have committed to work together to potentially transfer power between Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland through a project called Isles (Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study).
Alex Salmond said: "It is vital that we have the infrastructure in place to transfer the energy that is generated to whereit is needed.
"This innovative, cross-border study is examining how we can establish an offshore electricity grid to make this transference of energy easier, supporting our flourishing renewables industry by powering the nationand allowing the surplus energy it generates to be exported to other markets.
"The first part of Isles demonstrated that an offshore grid of this type was both technically feasible and economically viable.
"Today's announcement thatIsles has been awarded £1 million in European fundingto identify and, where possible, break down the barriers to cross-border energy trading is another extremely welcome development and a fantastic example of how forums such as the British Irish Council bring administrations together to tackle issues of mutual interest in a positive, collaborative fashion.
"The timing of the Isles funding is even more apt, coming as it does just days after SSE confirmed that the potential for renewable energy output on Scotland's islands had led it to submit a needs case to Ofgem for its £780 million subsea cable link to the Western Isles."
He added: "Taken together, these announcements offer hugely encouraging progress on the infrastructure that we need to secure to ensure the burgeoning renewables industry, in marketsacross these islands, is allowed to reach its full potential."
Northern Ireland Energy Minister Arlene Foster said: "This project has the potential to send important investment signals to private sector companies who are considering investing in offshore grids as it will allow them to position their projects favourably when bidding for funding from Europe."
Pat Rabbitte, Ireland's Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Minister, said: "It can potentially deliver arange of wider economic, environmental and market-related benefits to both Ireland and the UK."
Nissan introduces electric racing car for La Mans 2014
ZEOD-RC, with the capability to reach speeds of more than 300km/h, is set to prove its abilities in next year’s La Mans race, it was announced today.
ZEOD RC, standing for the Zero Emission on Demand Racing Car, will provide Nissan with an opportunity totest innovative electric technologies including variants of electric drive power train. In 2014, it is going to compete in the world’s oldest 24-hour sports car race near the French town of La Mans in thecategory of innovative vehicles.
"Nissan has become a global leader in the development of zero emission automotive technology and the Nissan ZEOD RC will allow us to further develop those capabilities using the toughest endurance race in the world as a mobile test bed for our planned La Mans Prototype 1 (LM P1) power train," said Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President andExecutive Committee member at Nissan Motor Company Limited.
Nissan has become a global leader in the electric-car market after introducing its Nissan LEAF (standing for Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car) in 2010.
"The Nissan ZEOD RC is a natural progression that follows on from the development of the Nissan LEAF road car and the LEAF RC race car prototype. The technologies developed through the programme will form part of future innovations for road cars,” Palmer said.
Nissan LEAF uses an 80kW front mounted engine, the same that is being used in the Nissan LEAF RC race car. However, the current batterytechnology of LEAF doesn’t suffice the needs of an electric racing car competing at a Le Mans type of event. Ben Bowlby, the designer of ZEOD RC, believes the development of the racing carwill help to tackle the obstacles on the way to ‘electrification’ of motorsport. Drop your comment.
Samsung Announces All in One PC
Samsung Electronics West Africa, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Company Ltd, a global giant in digital media and convergence technologies, has announced the availability of the all new All-In-One PC Series 7 into the Nigerian market.
The new All in One (AIO) PC builds on the premium aspects of the Samsung Series 9 Notebook with advanced engineering, craftsmanship and stylish design.
Beyond high performance, the new AIO PC Series 7 has been crafted to deliver an entirely new AIO PC experience. Driven by a 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i5-3470T Processor, 6GB RAM, dedicated AMD Radeon HD graphics and a Full HD display with resolution of 1920 x 1080, the new AIO PCSeries 7 embodies innovative sense recognitionfeatures such as 10-finger multi-touch screen control and hand gesture commands.
According toHead, IT Solutions, Samsung Electronics West Africa,Folashade Oyelayo, "The new All-in-One PC packages the best of Samsung's precision engineering and premium design with top class performance and functionality. With its unique craftsmanship and boasting of the latest hardware and software, we predict that this new product will be accepted by discerning consumers. It offers a maximized home entertainment
experience and is a perfect device for a family PC or desktop replacement. We feel that the All-in-One PC market carries enormous growth potential by taking convergence technologies tothe next level."
With the upcoming new Windows 8 platform, demand in All-In-One PC is expected to increase further as AIOs will have stronger as well asmore convenient features, which is expected to replace the existing desktop PC in the market. To provide such true 'user benefits', Samsung has perfected not only the hardware but also the software aspects to offer never seen before experiences.
For an unlimited premium user experience, Samsung AIO PC Series 7 has been equipped with a 10-finger multi-touch screen - a technological leap in interactivity, surpassing traditional two-finger multi-touch by providing full touch control using all ten fingers on an AIO PC. Its enhanced sensitivity enables users to enjoy the full capabilities of the latest entertainment applications or perform complicated content editing
To enjoy its full capabilities as a home entertainment system, the new AIO PC has a viewing angle of 178 degrees vertically and horizontally, which makes watching a movie with friends a true pleasure.
To further expand user benefits, the new AIO PCs have five hand gesture recognition features that conveniently let users control the device with just aflick of the wrist from up to ameter away, perfect for enjoying home entertainment.For example, swipe right or left to turn the pages of an e-book or rotate your palm clockwise or counter-clockwise to change the volume while watching a movie. You can simply close your hand to click on an option in a programme and stop watching a movie by just waving your hands. These features definitely offer more convenience to consumers.
Power and performance are ensured with a 3rd generationIntel Core i5 processor and 6GB RAM.A powerful AMD Radeon HD7690Mgraphics processor, Blu-ray drive, and up to 1TBHDD ensure content in a widearray of formats is readily available in no time, and enable seamless playback, editing, creating and saving of content.
To further expand the true all-in-one experience, the new devices are equipped with 14-Watt speakers whileTweeter and Dolby sound deliver rich sound quality in any environment. Also the latestFull HDdisplay featuring 1920x1080 resolutions delivers crisp, clear and all-encompassing viewing experience. Users are now able to fit more windows into a single screenwithout compromising on scale. Browsing online while simultaneously watching a movie is no longer an issue.
Accentuate your home with a modern and minimalistic look. Samsung's AIO PC Series 7's clutter-free and space-saving design features a uniquely stylish metallic arch stand, an ultra-slim display with a durable metal edge, and an edge-to-edge glossyblack screen. This elegant new AIO PC adds a premium look to any living space or office.
EAGLECLOPEDIA
We want to acknowledge all Eagleclopedia fans to always dim it fit to drop a comment and we want every one of you to subscribe to our newsletter. Happy Reading. By: Olarewajub
Infertile men may be at greater risk for developing cancer
Infertile men who have significantly limited levels of sperm production may be at an increased risk for developing an even more serious health condition: cancer.
In a new study led by urologists from the Stanford University School of Medicine, men under the age of 30 who were diagnosed with azoospermia – a form of infertility in which there are nomeasurable levels of sperm inthe ejaculate – had an eight-fold cancer risk compared to the general population.
“The thought was that if the testicles don’t develop correctly, and they can’t produce sperm… the normal pathways get dysregulated, which perhaps leads to cancer,” lead author Dr. Michael Eisenberg, assistant professor of urology at Stanford and director of male reproductive medicine and surgery at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, told FoxNews.com.
Infertility is a fairly common condition in the United States, affecting 4 million men. Of thisgroup, 5 to 10 percent are diagnosed as azoospermatic, and about 600,000 of these men are of reproductive age.
There are two main reasons for the occurrence of azoospermia. In obstructive azoospermia, a blockage in the vas deferens, epididymis, or ejaculatory duct prohibits sperm from being released. Fortunately microsurgical reconstruction can help restore sperm into the man’s semen, allowing them reproduce normally. But in non-obstructive azoospermia,there is an unknown issue with sperm production, leadingto undetectable levels of sperm in the semen. While some treatments can help to extract the sperm for in vitro fertilization, therapies for thiskind of infertility are limited.
Humans in 100,000 years: What will we look like?
Modern-day humans may someday evolve to have larger eyes, more pigmented skin and a thicker eyelids, thanks to genetic engineering technology. Here's how they'll change.(Nickolay Lamm / MyVoucherCodes.co.uk)
In 20,000 years, in a world where genetic engineering is commonplace and humans have established colonies in space, human knowledge of the universe will increase andas such, the size of the brain will increase, Dr. Alan Kwan theorizes. As a result, the human head will have to become larger to accommodatethe larger brain size.(Nickolay Lamm / MyVoucherCodes.co.uk)
In 60,000 years, Dr. Alan Kwanstates that after millennia of traveling through space, zygotic genome engineering will be used to create humans with larger eyes, more pigmented skin and a thicker eyelids. This will be done in order to see better in the dimmer environment of space, to shield humans from the UV rays and alleviate the effects of low to no gravity like today’s astronauts on the International Space Station.(Nickolay Lamm / MyVoucherCodes.co.uk)
100,000 years from now, Dr. Alan Kwan believes that futurehumans will have much larger eyes and “eye-shine” due to the tapetum lucidum, a layer oftissue behind the retina of theeye. This would be done to help protect our eyes from cosmic rays.(Nickolay Lamm / MyVoucherCodes.co.uk
Scientists moving 15-ton magnet from New York to Chicago
June 4, 2013: A red stabilizingapparatus that will be used to transport a 50-foot-wide electromagnet storage ring, atBrookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., on eastern Long Island. The ring,which will capture subatomic particles that live only 2.2 millionths of a second, will be transported in one piece, and moved flat, to its new home atthe U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill.(AP Photo/Brookhaven National Laboratory)
June 11, 2013: A 50-foot-wideelectromagnet storage ring, atBrookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., on eastern Long Island. The ring,which will capture subatomic particles that live only 2.2 millionths of a second, will be transported in one piece, and moved flat, to its new home atthe U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill.(AP Photo/Brookhaven National Laboratory)
New language discovered in northern Australia
A new language, one that combines elements of English with traditional indigenous speech, has been discovered in northern Australia, according to a new study.
The language, now known as Light Warlpiri, is spoken by approximately 600 people in aremote desert community about 400 miles from Katherine, a town located in Australia's Northern Territory, said Carmel O'Shannessy, a professor in the department of linguistics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. O'Shannessy documented the discovery of Light Warlpiri in a study published online today in the journal Language.
Light Warlpiri is known as a "mixed language," because it blends elements from multiple languages: Traditional Warlpiri, which is spoken by about 6,000 people in indigenous communities scattered throughout the Tanami Desert in the NorthernTerritory; Kriol, an English-based Creole language spoken in various regions of Australia; and English. [ 10 Things That Make Humans Special]
"The striking thing about LightWarlpiri is that most of the verbs come from English or Kriol, but most of the other grammatical elements in the sentence come from Warlpiri," O'Shannessy told LiveScience.
Archaeologists say they found lost Maya city hidden for centuries in Mexican jungle
A team of archeologists say they have found an ancient Maya city that was hidden for centuries in the rainforests ofMexico in a remote nature reserve.
Reuters reports the team, led byIvan Sprajc, an associate professor at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts,dubbed the city "Chactun," which means "Red Rock" or "Large Rock."
They hope studying the remains could reveal new information about why the ancient civilization collapsed around 1,000 years ago.
The team found 15 pyramids, ball courts, plazas and other structures characteristic of Maya civilizations. As many as40,000 people may have livedthere, likely duringthe late Classic period of Maya civilization between 600 and 900 A.D., Sprajc tells Reuters.
The team first spotted the citywhen viewing aerial photographs of the nature reserve. They then spent six weeks creating a 10-mile trail to get to the city.
However, Sprajc tells Reuters they found evidence other people had been to the site only a few decades earlier.
"Lumberjacks and gum extractors were certainly already there, because we saw cuts on the trees," Sprajcsaid. "What happened is they never told anyone."
He hopes the find could shed new light on relations betweendifferent regions of the Maya empire during that period.
Michael Jackson went 60 days without sleep
From CNN. Michael Jackson died while preparing to set a world record for the most successful concert run ever, but he unknowingly set another record that led to his death.
Jackson may be the only human ever to go two months without REM -- RapidEye Movement -- sleep, which is vital to keep the brain and body alive. The 60 nights of propofol infusions Dr. Conrad Murray said he gave Jackson to treat his insomnia is something a sleep expert says no one had ever undergone.
Propofol disrupts the normalsleep cycle and offers no REM sleep, yet it leaves a patient feeling refreshed as if they had experienced genuine sleep, according to Dr. Charles Czeisler, a Harvard Medical School sleep expert testifying at the wrongful death trial of concert promoter AEG LIve.
If the singer had not died onJune 25, 2009, of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic, the lack of REM sleep may have soon taken his life anyway, according toan opinion by Czeisler.
Lab rats die after five weeks of getting no REM sleep, he said. It was never tried on a human until Dr. Murray gave Michael Jackson nightly propofol infusions for two months.
Czeisler -- who serves as a sleep consultant to NASA, the CIA and the Rolling Stones -- testified Thursday that the "drug induced coma" induced by propofol leaves a patient with the same refreshed feeling of a good sleep, but without the benefits that genuine sleep delivers in repairing brain cells and thebody.
"It would be like eating somesort of cellulose pellets instead of dinner," he said. "Your stomach would be fulland you would not be hungry, but it would be zerocalories and not fulfill any ofyour nutrition needs."
Depriving someone of REM sleep for a long period of time makes them paranoid, anxiety-filled, depressed, unable to learn, distracted, and sloppy, Czeisler testified. They lose their balance and appetite, while their physical reflexes get 10 times slower and their emotional responses 10 times stronger, he said.
Those symptoms are strikingly similar to descriptions of Jackson in his last weeks as described in e-mails from show producers and testimony by witnesses in the trial.
Jackson's mother and children are suing AEG Live, contending the company is liable in his death because ithired, retained or supervised Dr. Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. They argue the promoter pressured Dr. Murray to getJackson to rehearsals, whilefailing to get Jackson help despite numerous red flags warning that he was in trouble.
More on Samsung Ativ Q combines Windows with Android
A range of manufacturers including Lenovo and Dell have offered combined tablets and laptops, while Acer has also developed devices running both Windows and Android.
The hinged Ativ Q allows users to lay the display flat over the keyboard for tabletmode; raise the display upright to type as on a laptop; ‘float’ and adjust thedisplay to a comfortable viewing angle; or flip the display to place in the stand mode to watch movies. It weighs 1.29kg and measuresonly 13.9mm, while offering what Samsung claims is the world’s highest resolution, QHD+ display. It uses 3200x1800pixels, with a 13.3-inch touch screen providing 275ppi, which is 2.8 times higher pixel density.
Other devices announced bySamsung included the successor to the Series 9 laptop, the Ativ Book 9 Plus, featuring a similar resolutiondisplay but in a standard Windows 8 touchscreen laptop format and claiming 12hours of battery life in a 1.39kg package. The cheaper Ativ Book 9 Lite offers a touchscreen as an optional extra.
Samsung's Galaxy S4 Zoom features an optical zoom on a Galaxy S4 Mini body
Samsung also announced a new all-in-one PC, the Ativ One5, and a Windows 8 tablet called the Ativ Tab 3. It also confirmed the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom camera and introduced an Android-powered, 4G-enabled interchangeable lens 20.3MP camera called the Galaxy NX.
The Galaxy NX offers Android and interchangeable lenses
Pricing and availability were not confirmed.
Samsung Ativ Q combines Windowswith Android Samsung's Ativ Q hybrid tablet runs Windows 8 and Android
A raft of new Samsung products include the convertible Ativ Q tablet andlaptop that runs both Windows an Android.
The device is the technologyindustry’s latest bid to combine laptop with tablet, and works in four different configurations.
“Addressing a common desire among PC users to beable to access Android apps on a Windows-based PC, theATIV Q allows you to now experience both Windows 8 and Android Jellybean 4.2.2 on the same device,” Samsung said. “Not only will you get access to Android apps via Google Play, but you will also be able to transfer files or share folders and files from Windows 8 to Android.”
Hackers 'using webcams to spy on people in their own homes'
Computer hackers have been gaining access to users' webcams and spying on their victims in their own homes, an investigation has found.
A BBC Radio 5 Liveprobe uncovered an underground market for selling footage of people who have been filmed without their knowledge through a process known as 'ratting'.
Hackers involved in this practise usually target young women, but the report also states that Paedophiles have used the technique to target children.
Victims - referred to as 'slaves' - are tricked into installing a rogue piece of software called a remote administration tool (RAT), which is usually disguised as alink to download music, view pictures or access an article.
The sender is granted access to theuser's computer, including its webcam, if the rogue programme is successfully installed.
Computer security experts have offeredadvice on how users can protect themselves against ratting, suggesting that webcams be covered up when not in use and all PCs equipped with anti-virus software.
Tony Neate, of the Government's Get Safe Online campaign, said: "As more cases of "ratting" come to light, there is a serious need to educate the public about the methods hackers use to access the private lives of innocent people.
"The most at-risk computers are those running older software, and those without up-to-date anti-virus software installed."
Gaining remote accessto another person's machine without their knowledge is a criminal offence underthe terms of the Computer Misuse Act
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Facts About World Records
The fastest bird is the peregrine falcon. It can fly at aspeed of 168-217 miles per hour.
Hans Langseth had the longest beard at a record length of 17 1/2 feet long! When he died, his beard was given to the Smithsonian Institute.
The deadliest disease was thepneumonic form of the Black Death of 1347-1351. It had death rate of 100%.
The largest egg laid by a living bird is that of the North African Ostrich. It is 6 to 8 inches in length and 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The smallest is that of the hummingbird. It is less than 0.39 inches in diameter.
The hottest continent on earthis Africa, where a record high of 136.4 degrees F was once recorded.
Antarctica is the coldest continent on earth, where a temperature of 126.9 degrees F below zero was once recorded. Chicago is home to three of the five tallest buildings in the world — the Sears Tower, Standard Oil Building, and John Hancock Center.
The hottest place on earth is in Dallol, Ethiopia, which is a sizzling 94 degrees in the shade on a typical day!
Angel Falls in Venezuela is 20 times taller than Niagara Falls.
The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived (it couldreach 100 feet long and weight up to 150 tons!)
Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a basketball game in 1962, when he played for the Philadelphia Warriors.
The longest bout of hiccups lasted 69 years!
The longest conga to this dateincluded 119,986 people.
The smallest cat is the Singapuras and weighs only 4 pounds.
The longest movie made lasts 85 hours and is fittingly titled “The Cure for Insomnia.”
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, standing 29,028 feet high.
Did you know that there is a world record for seeing how many times you can attempt a world record?!
The smallest dog recorded was a Yorkie and was only 4 inches tall. The biggest dog weighed 344 pounds- more than two full grown men!
The largest baby to be born so far weighed in at 15 pounds, 5 ounces!
The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.
Facebook IS adding video to its Instagram app to rival Vine by letting users record and share clips
Rumours suggest that Facebook is about to add video tools to the photo-sharing app Instagram, which it bought last year. The new tools will compete with Vine, which lets users record and share six-second clips.
Shameless smirk of the paedophile teacher: Jeremy Forrest leaves court after being found guilty of abducting schoolgirl lover, 15
The jury at Lewes Crown Court took less than two hours to find him guilty of one charge of child abduction, and the disgraced 30-year-old (pictured today) now faces jail.Forrest then persistently seduced the child in her school uniform, first kissing her in a classroom and within weeks had told her: 'I love you', his victim said. Over the next four months they had sex in his car, home and at hotels, sometimes up to eight times a night, and often without contraception, before he took the teenager to France in September last year.before he left her.
One has won! Delighted Queen celebrates with Beatrice and Eugenie as her horse romps to Gold Cup victory at Ascot
The Queen became the first reigning monarch in history to win the Gold Cup as her dark bay thoroughbred filly Estimate, an 80th birthday present from the Aga Khan and the 7/2 favourite, won the prestigious race by a length today. The Queen's grandson Peter Phillips revealed that Her Majesty was 'thrilled' to have won the race, fulfilling a long-held ambition. Joining the Queen in the Royal box at Ascot were her granddaughters Beatrice and Eugenie who looked thrilled to see the win, with Beatrice leaping up and down as she roared the horse on.
Hackers 'using webcams to spy on people in their own homes'
Computer hackers have been gaining access to users' webcams and spying on their victims in their own homes, an investigation has found.
A BBC Radio 5 Liveprobe uncovered an underground market for selling footage of people who have been filmed without their knowledge through a process known as 'ratting'.
Hackers involved in this practise usually target young women, but the report also states that Paedophiles have used the technique to target children.
Victims - referred to as 'slaves' - are tricked into installing a rogue piece of software called a remote administration tool (RAT), which is usually disguised as alink to download music, view pictures or access an article.
The sender is granted access to theuser's computer, including its webcam, if the rogue programme is successfully installed.
Computer security experts have offeredadvice on how users can protect themselves against ratting, suggesting that webcams be covered up when not in use and all PCs equipped with anti-virus software.
Tony Neate, of the Government's Get Safe Online campaign, said: "As more cases of "ratting" come to light, there is a serious need to educate the public about the methods hackers use to access the private lives of innocent people.
"The most at-risk computers are those running older software, and those without up-to-date anti-virus software installed."
Gaining remote accessto another person's machine without their knowledge is a criminal offence underthe terms of the Computer Misuse Act.
New Battery Made From Wood Is Environmentally Friendly
Researchers at the Universityof Tokyo's Ishikawa Oku Labhave been hard at work on a camera system that can track fast moving objects incredibly well, and the technology may change the way sports like baseball and soccer are televised. Recently, the team building the system has entered the next phase of testing: taking it outside, to see if will perform as well as ithas in a lab setting. If all goesaccording to plan, they expectit'll be ready for broadcast use in roughly two years.
Demos of the tech are pretty impressive, as you can see inthe video below showing the (warning: not recommended watching for those easily prone to motion sickness). To get the ping-pong ball-centric shots, the system uses a group of lenses and two small mirrors that pan, tilt and moveso the camera itself doesn't have to. The mirrors rely on aspeedy image tracking systemthat follows movement, rather than predicting it. Swapping the camera out for a projectoralso has some interesting applications -- it can paint digital pictures on whatever its tracking. Sounds like the perfect gadget for folks who wish their table tennis balls looked like emoji.
Children and lollipop lady injured after horror crash outside school
South Wales Police have described the the "major incident" near Rhoose Primary School in the Valeof Glamorgan as "very serious".
Among the casualties is the school's lollipop lady, named locally as Karin Williams.
Witnesses claim Karin wasploughed down by the caras she helped children cross the road minutes before school began this morning.
Barry Cooksley, 77, who lives close to the school, said: "I walked past and saw the car upside down on the pavement.
"It had hit the lollipop lady, Karin. She's been badly injured after someone lost control of their car.
"She's been the lollipop lady for about 20 years. She lives just around the corner. She's a lovely lady. We always wave to her when we go past."
Parents have flocked to the scene desperate for information about which pupils were involved in the crash.
At the scene, a black Audiwas on its roof on the pavement, sandwiched between a green car and a line of trees, just yardsfrom a pelican crossing near the school.A lollipop stick lay on the ground nearby and various pieces of clothingwere strewn across the pavement.
Eyewitness Glenys Watson, who works at a cafe on the same road as the school, said the scenewas "like a war zone."
"I've never seen so manypolice cars," she added.
She said there were reports of the car hitting a bollard and "going up inthe air" adding: "Parents heard the bang and thought it was a gun. They didn't know what happened.
Michael Dimond, 71, who lives close the scene said: "I heard what I thought were sea gulls but then realised it was children screaming.
"I went outside and saw Karin lying on the ground.She wasn't moving and was in the recovery position. People were treating Karin.
"The ambulances turned up with spinal boards. Someone told me she been knocked over and went on top of the car."
A South Wales Police spokesman said the ages of those involved are notyet known.
Microsoft Apologizes, but Is It Too Late?
Realizing that consumer sentiment was turning against its Xbox One gaming console in favor ofSony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4, the software giant is scaling back on the publisher-friendly initiatives that are rubbing die-hard gamers the wrong way.
*.The requirement that an Xbox One connect with Microsoft's servers at leastonce every 24 hours is toast. After a one-time system setup that registersthe console, online players can play any disc-based game without having to dealwith Mr. Softy's authoritative ways.
*.Just as Sony received a rousing round of applauseafter announcing that gamers will be able to trade in, lend, resell, gift, and rent games on disc the way that they are currently able to on the PS3, Microsoft is backing away from the limitations that it was allowing publishers to take advantage of in order to curb profitless software exchanges.
*.Xbox One games will also be able to play on any XboxOne console no matter where that Xbox One may be. Regional restrictions have been zapped.
Microsoft Apologizes, but Is It Too Late?
Realizing that consumer sentiment was turning against its Xbox One gaming console in favor ofSony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4, the software giant is scaling back on the publisher-friendly initiatives that are rubbing die-hard gamers the wrong way.
*.The requirement that an Xbox One connect with Microsoft's servers at leastonce every 24 hours is toast. After a one-time system setup that registersthe console, online players can play any disc-based game without having to dealwith Mr. Softy's authoritative ways.
*.Just as Sony received a rousing round of applauseafter announcing that gamers will be able to trade in, lend, resell, gift, and rent games on disc the way that they are currently able to on the PS3, Microsoft is backing away from the limitations that it was allowing publishers to take advantage of in order to curb profitless software exchanges.
*.Xbox One games will also be able to play on any XboxOne console no matter where that Xbox One may be. Regional restrictions have been zapped.
Obama commits to tough push on global warming
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is planning a major push using executive powers to tackle the pollutionblamed for global warming in an effort to make good on promises he made at the start of his second term. "Weknow we have to do more — and we will do more," Obama said Wednesday in Berlin.
Obama's senior energy and climate adviser, Heather Zichal, said the plan would boost energy efficiency of appliances and buildings, plusexpand renewable energy. She also said the Environmental Protection Agency was preparing to use its authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants.
"The EPA has been working very hard on rules that focusspecifically on greenhouse gases from the coal sector," Zichal said.
Zichal, speaking at a forum hosted by The New Republic in Washington, said that noneof the proposals would require new funding or actionfrom Congress. It has shown no appetite for legislation that would put a price on carbon dioxide after a White House-backed bill to set up amarket-based system died in Obama's first term with Democrats in charge.
iPhone 5
Five million units in the first three days of release[7]PredecessoriPhone 4SRelatediPod Touch (5th generation)TypeSmartphoneForm factorBarDimensions123.8 mm (4.87 in) H
58.6 mm (2.31 in) W
7.6 mm (0.30 in) DWeight112 g (3.95 oz)Operating systemOriginal OS:iOS 6
Current OS:iOS 6.1.4, released May 2, 2013 (2013-05-02)SoCApple A6CPU1.3 GHzdual coreGPUPowerVRSGX543MP3Memory1GBLPDDR2-1066RAMStorage16, 32 or 64 GBBattery3.8 V, 5.45 Wh (1,440 mAh)[8]Data inputsMulti-touchtouchscreendisplay
Triplemicrophoneconfiguration
3-axisgyroscope
3-axisaccelerometer
Digitalcompass
Proximity sensor
Ambient lightsensorDisplay4 in (100 mm) diagonal
(16:9 aspect ratio),
multi-touch display,
LED backlitIPS TFT LCD,
640 × 1,136 pixelsat 326 ppi,
800:1contrast ratio(typical),
500 cd/m2max. brightness (typical),Fingerprint-resistantoleophobiccoatingon frontRear camera8MPback-side illuminated sensor,HD video(1080p)Front camera1.2MP,HD video(720p)SoundSpeaker, 3.5mmaudio jackConnectivity
All models:
Wi-Fi(802.11a/b/g/n) (802.11n: 2.4 and 5 GHz),Bluetooth 4.0,GPS&GLONASS,Quad-bandGSM/GPRS/EDGE(850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), Quad-bandUMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA(850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz). •GSM model (A1428):
Dual-bandLTE(Bands 4, 17: 1700 (AWS), 700b MHz). •GSM model (A1429):
Tri-band LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5: 2100, 1800, 850 MHz). •CDMA model (A1429):
Tri-band2GCDMA(800 (CDMA overESMR), 850, 1900 MHz).
Dual-band3GCDMA/EV-DO Rev. AandRev. B(850, 1900 MHz).
Penta-band LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 13, 25: 2100, 1800, 850, 700c, 1900 MHz).OtherTalk time: Up to 8 hours
Standby time: Up to 225 hours (9 days, 9 hours)
Internet use: Up to 8 hours (3G), up to 8 hours (LTE), up to 10 hours (Wi-Fi)
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 40 hours (1 day, 16 hours)Websitewww.apple.com/iphone
TheiPhone 5is atouchscreen-basedsmartphonedeveloped byApple Inc.. It is thesixth generationof theiPhoneand succeeds theiPhone 4S. The phone is a slimmer, lighter model that introduces a higher-resolution, 4-inch screen to the series with16:9widescreenaspect ratio. The phone also includes a custom-designedARMv7processor called theApple A6, an update to Apple's mobile operating system known asiOS 6, and support forLTE.
Apple held an event to formally introduce the phone on September 12, 2012. Apple began taking pre-orders on September 14, 2012, and over two million were received within 24 hours. Initial demand for the iPhone 5 exceeded the supply available at launch on September 21, 2012, and has been described by Apple as "extraordinary", with pre-orders having sold twenty times faster than its predecessors. Following the launch, Samsung filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the iPhone 5 infringes eight of its patents.
While reception to the iPhone 5 has been generally positive, the newMapsapplication featured on iOS 6 was negatively received and was reported to contain many serious errors. Consumers and reviewers have noted hardware issues, such as an unintended purple hue in photos taken by the iPhone 5, the phone's coating being prone to chipping, and the presence of light leaks on white variants of the device. Incompatibilities with LTE networks in some regions have also been noted.
10 Super Gadgets For Four High-Tech Home
There's a reason we flip through Skymall every time we board a flight, dog-earing catalogue pageswith giant floating trampolines and vibrating bath mats.
We love novelty, and now we expect it from our gadgets, too.
We carry around a ton of digital capability in our smartphones, so now we demand the same intelligence from our homes. These 10 gadgets will optimize, simplify and beautify your home ? that is, if you can afford the price tags. Yeesh.
What is your favorite tech device for the home? Share your go-to products in the comments below.
Scientists use 3D printer to create microbatteries smaller than a single GRAIN of sand, paving the way for high-powered flying robot insects and mini medical implants
The revolutionary technology behind 3D-printed car parts, food and guns can also be used to print batteries smallerthan a grain of sand.
Scientists have used a 3D printer to make linthium-ion microbatteries that can fit into tiny devices that had previously stumped engineerslooking to power them for longer periods.
The batteries were constructed from interlaced stacks of tiny battery electrodes, which conduct electricity, that are each smaller than the width of a single human hair.Scientists from Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reported the results of their efforts in the journal Advanced Materials.
'Not only did we demonstrate for the first time that we can 3D-print a battery; we demonstrated it in the most rigorous way,' said the seniorauthor of the study, Jennifer A Lewis, according to a press release by Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, where Lewis is a professor.Many engineers have developed miniaturized electronic devices, such as miniscule medical implants, insect-like flying robots and audio and visual recorders that can fit on a pair of glasses.
The batteries normally used to power such gadgets were too large, so manufacturers would use ultra-thin films of solid materials to build the electrodes. But these didn't provide enough power.
Lewis and her colleagues realized they could pack more energy on a small scale if theycould create stacks of interlaced, ultra-thin electrodes built from plane.
They knew 3D printing would allow them to precisely build the battery. The team expanded on the functional 'inks' the printer uses, designing some with useful chemical and electrical properties.
The inks Lewis' group createdhad to function as electrochemically active materials, while also being capable of exiting a 3D printer's fine nozzle and hardening in its final form.
The ink they developed for the anode part of the battery--or the 'negative' side in a Duracell--is made with nanoparticles of one lithium metal oxide compound. Ink for the cathode--the 'positive' side--was made from another compound.
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