Wednesday, November 9, 2011

2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR unveiled - BBC Top Gear

2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR unveiled - BBC Top Gear


Time for a bit of racing eye-candy. Porsche has just given us pictures of this - it's called the 911 GT3 RSR and it's available to buy NOW.

Built to conform to A.C.O. "LM" GTE regulations, it lunges into the 2012 racing season with lots of shiny modifications, the most obvious of which being the body. Width has grown by 48 anabolic millimeters from the outgoing version, allowing Porsche to squeeze 12-inch-wide wheels in astern. Engine wise, there's a 4.0-litre boxer six in the boot, which produces 454bhp through a sequential six-speed.We'd like one. But we can't afford one. The pricetag's an astronomical £515,000. Looks like we - and probably you - will just have to stare at these pictures instead.

Amazing kid with amazing future


Thomas Suarez is in the 6th grade at a middle school in the South Bay. And while most of his peers are probably fussing over new soccer kleets or watching the Disney channel, he’s creating iOS apps and giving TED Talks.
Suarez, whose not even old enough to have a Facebook account, has been fascinated by computers and technology since before kindergarten. He’s established his own company, CarrotCorp and has made two iOS apps that are currently in the App Store: Earth Fortune, which displays different colors of Earth depending on what your fortune is and his most successful- Bustin Jieber, a Whac-a-Mole for Justin Bieber.
“A lot of kids these days like to play games, but now they want to make them,” he says. “And it’s difficult because not many kids know where to go find out how to make a program…And not many parents have written apps.” Suarez, inspired by Steve Jobs, started an App Club at school where any student can come to learn to design an app. In the future, Suarez wants to create more apps, more games and get into Android programming and development. He plans on continuing his app club and find other ways for students to share knowledge with others.
Knowing that human beings such as Suarez exist makes me really hopeful and excited for the future. Watch his TED Talk from the recent TEDx conference in Manhattan Beach here:

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

War is not over in Libya. It just started....

Libya won't be the same anymore. It can never be the same. In fact its going to be worse than iraq or Afghanistan. People are going to die everyday. It won't be a safe land for anyone any time anymore. Nobody will be able to trust anyone. Such a pity. Its a shame that their own people couldn't understand anything  about their own country. Brainless fools. Whatever they say, at the end of the day it is nothing other than foolishness.

Just have a look at what cnn says:



The Libyan war may be over, but rivalries rage on among some regional militias, leading to a mutual distrust that poses a challenge to the new leadership.

Earlier this week, the rivalry was evident when dozens of fighters clashed at a Tripoli hospital in what residents said was the biggest armed confrontation in the capital in weeks.

Clashes erupted at 2 a.m. Monday when a half dozen former rebels from Zintan city in the western mountains stormed the hospital, according to doctors.

Some of the former rebels were drunk, and demanded staff hand over a wounded fighter shot earlier that day, according to the doctors, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
The patient and the body of a dead fighter had been taken to the hospital earlier, the doctors said, and the former rebels wanted to kill the wounded man.R

Hospital staff declined to hand over the patient, who was undergoing surgery.

Tripoli fighters in charge of hospital security forced them out , but not before the returning fighters shot rounds in the hospital.

Both groups called for backup, which arrived as fighting raged around the hospital grounds until 5 a.m. Witnesses said both sides were using heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns.

Walls near a hospital entrance were riddled with bullets holes, and nearby glass doors and windows were shattered. Across the street, bullets pierced through the walls of two buildings.

There were no deaths from gunshots, but medical staff said three patients died of stress-related causes that they linked to the fighting.

At least three of the Tripoli fighters were wounded in the clashes, according to Salem Abaza, who is in charge of hospital security. He described it as the most serious incident of infighting so far.

Accounts differed over how the three-hour battle concluded, but at least three witnesses said it ended after calls from a local imam and senior commanders from both groups talked by phone with their men.

Tripoli fighters said Tuesday they are concerned about the rising tensions among the various groups, which are increasingly divided along regional allegiances.

"We are concerned, as you can see, every day there is fighting between the rebels, this is something we don't want, we want a united Libya," said fighter Tammam Basheer.

The scene on Tripoli's streets these days -- heavily armed men brandishing guns and racing across the city with no central command and little or no accountability -- has raised concerns among residents.

"There are no security forces, everyone is running their own group, their own brigade, and they all control Tripoli," said Tripoli militia member Taha, who did not provide a second name.

Disarming tens of thousands of fighters who brought down ruler Moammar Gadhafi and bringing them under control is a top challenge for the fledgling interim government.

Acting Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib is expected to present his Cabinet within two weeks.

Military officials downplayed the tensions among the various militias, and say their biggest challenge is rebuilding the military.

"We would like to reorganize our army again," said Col. Ahmed Bani, the National Transitional Council's military spokesman. "When we have a great and strong army, we are safe. We will save our dreams, we will save our democracy, our borders."

At the Tripoli hospital, staff spoke of other recent incidents of intimidation by armed militiamen and called on authorities to provide protection and pull the weapons off the streets.

"We are really afraid, we do not want stethoscopes to be fighting guns," Dr. Ali Osman said.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Apple Awarded Patent For 'Slide To Unlock'


If you remember the event when Steve Jobs revealed the first original iPhone back in 2007, you'll remember how the whole crowd was completely awestruck when Steve slided his fingers over the Slide To Unlock text to show off his greatest creation to the world. Now that tiny Slide To Unlock gesture is exclusive to Apple. 
Here is what Steve Jobs said about Slide To Unlock back in 2007:
To unlock the phone, I just take my finger and slide it across. Wanna see that again? We wanted something you couldn’t do by accident in your pocket. Just slide it across – BOOM
Head of iOS Scott Forstall is named as one of the inventors alongside a slew of other Apple engineers including Imran Chaudhri, Bas Ording, Freddy Allen Anzures, Marcel Van Os, Stephen O. Lemay and Greg Christie.

The patent application for Slide To Unlock was filed by Apple in December 2005, over an year before the original iPhone was revealed in 2007. Now no other company will be able to use this gesture unless and until this patent is said to be invalid by court.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Boeing 787


Boeing's first 787 Dreamliner made its first commercial flight today. After years of delays the future of aviation has arrived. And according to reviews, it was a totally pleasant flight. Even if the 787 can't totally fix flying, it might make it a whole lot better.





Okay, so all that happened is that a plane took off from Tokyo and landed in Hong Kong. Happens every day. But passengers aboard the Dreamliner's inaugural commercial flight found themselves actuallyenjoying the experience. The Telegraph's Peter Hughes positively gushed about the plane's creature comforts. And who can blame him: The Dreamliner has higher ceilings and bigger windows and increased cabin pressure, along with softer LED lighting. The 787 is in many noticeable ways a more comfortable aircraft. It sounds awesome.


A lot of people are understandably excited about the plane—Hughes reports that one American fanboy shelled out $31,781 on eBay for a ticket. The plane is much cheaper to operate than its predecessors. Even if the savings aren't passed on to us, passengers will see more non-stop flights on lower-demand routes, which means fewer connections and ameliorated congestion at huge regional hubs.


On top of all of that, it's nice to hear first hand that the plane is a plush ride. Congratulations to the engineers at Boeing for building a commodious and technologically-advanced flying machine. [The Telegraph; Image: Boeing]


India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America



The Indian government thinks the $35 Aakash Android tablet has the power to change the world. The device (whose name means “Sky” in Hindi) was produced entirely in India — a point of pride for the Indian government.


The 7-inch Android-based device will be distributed at a government subsidized price of $35, making it the world’s cheapest Android device. The general retail price will be $60, which is still remarkably cheap for such a powerful device. A contract between the Indian government and Canadian development partner DataWind, should put between 10 and 12 million devices in the hands of students across India by the end of 2012, according to Computer World.




And next month, the first Aakash tablets will go on sale throughout India, and millions of children will be able to join the tablet revolution that is transforming education, communication and entertainment across the world.

Indian Army needs Rs 41,000 crore to rev up waning firepower



The Navy and IAF may be on the modernization track at a pace that's much slower than desired, but it's the Army which seems to be floundering. The 1.13-million-strong force needs as much as Rs 41,000 crore to meet even existing shortages in equipment and ammunition.

The Army has painted a grim picture in its 11th Plan (2007-2012) review, pointing at operational gaps artillery, aviation, air defence & nightfighting capabilities, ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles), PGMs (precision-guided munitions) and specialized tank and rifle ammunition, say sources.

Holding that the "hollowness" in ammunition and equipment is "still critical", the 11th Plan review to the defence ministry says around Rs 41,000 crore will be required "to make up current deficiencies". This, when both China and Pakistan are rapidly modernizing their forces.

Incidentally, the Army itself has projected the remote but nevertheless plausible eventuality of a simultaneous "two-front war" in a worst-case scenario, as was first reported by TOI earlier.

But the force is nowhere near 100% operational capability, which an earlier projection held would be possible only by the end of the 14th Plan in 2027.

Take, for instance, ATGMs. While "authorized holding" for these missiles is over 80,000, just about half that number is actually held by the infantry, mechanized infantry and armoured corps, say sources. Similarly, the Bofors ghost is yet to be exorcised, with the force failing to induct any new 155mm howitzers since the infamous 1980s scandal.

A senior official, however, said, "Deficiencies are being made up. The Defence Acquisitions Council and Cabinet Committee on Security have cleared some major contracts. It will take some time for the equipment to reach troops."

The Bofors ghost is yet to be exorcised, with the force failing to induct any new 155mm howitzers since the 1980s scam.