2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder

The world debut of the 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder at the Los Angeles Auto Show is designed to build on the success of the coupe version, which was launched in early 2008.

According to Lamborghini president and CEO Stephan Winkelmann, "With the Spyder, we are now unveiling a car that is quite simply a new dimension of the latest Gallardo range."


Underpinning the car is the same mechanical package of the coupe — a brawny V-10 engine that produces 560 bhp, delivered to all four wheels. In addition to delivering 40 more horsepower than the previous-generation Gallardo, the new generation model is also lighter, further improving the car's power-to-weight ratio. The drivetrain includes Lamborghini's e.gear automated manual that has an automatic mode or can be shifted manually via steering wheel-mounted paddles. Improvements to the e.gear transmission have reduced shift times by 40 percent.


Lamborghini claims a 0–100 km/h (62mph) acceleration of just 4.0 seconds and 0–200 km/h (124 mph) in 13.1. Top speed is listed at 201 mph.


Unlike the trend toward retractable hardtops, the Gallardo LP 540-4 Spyder employs a soft top that when in place, nicely integrates with the lines of the car. Although the styling is similar to the coupe's, the Spyder looks slightly more aggressive and muscular thanks to its more prominent haunches that house the convertible mechanism. The power top takes just 20 seconds to open or close. One unique feature of the top: The backlight functions as a wind blocker when the roof is stowed.

2009 Ferrari California

Talk about dragging the launch of a car out! The first official photos of the Ferrari California were published months ago. But here at the Paris show is the California's true world premier. And it's worth the wait to see it in the flesh. From a fully retractable hardtop to a dual-clutch transmission to the first-ever production Ferrari with a front-mounted V-8, the Ferrari California is packed with the latest and greatest from the engineers in Maranello...despite the fact the California is not Ferrari's flagship model.


Ferrari says the California "is aimed at owners who desire a car which embodies everything the Prancing Horse represents in terms of sporty design and innovation, but also seek a car with greater versatility than ever." This newest prancing horse is not a "baby Ferrari." It is, in fact, a brand-new model complementing, and similar in size to, the racier F430 — except the California has more flexibility in packaging. In addition to having a power retractable hardtop, the California can be ordered in a 2+2 configuration — children seating only — or for more storage space for weekend outings. There is even a trunk pass-through for skis for those who want to hit the slopes in the winter.


Despite a raft of new technologies, the California doesn't forget Ferrari's past. The car's styling uses several nostalgic elements from the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Those elements include the large air intake on the hood, the side gills just aft of the front wheels, near identical grillework and similarly swoopy rear fenders. And photos don't do this car justice — we must say, the Ferrari California looks absolutely stunning in person.


Unlike the Ferrari Superamerica from a few years back, which featured a roof that simply flipped backward, the California will come only as a true retractable hardtop; when the top is down, the rear deck is completely flat — just like the Mercedes-Benz SL. The top is slick in its operation, and only takes 14 seconds to go from open to fully closed.


As with any Ferrari, the engine is the star. The 4.3-liter direct-injected flat-crank V-8 produces 460 bhp. Even more important is the car's use of Ferrari's first dual-clutch gearbox with not six speeds, as on every other recent Ferrari, but seven forward gears. Ferrari claims the California will be able to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 4 seconds.


In another dramatic move, Ferrari has swapped out its traditional double-wishbone suspension at the rear for a multilink setup on the California. And those amazing (but incredibly expensive, lightweight and fade-resistant) Brembo carbon-ceramic brake discs seen on so many Ferraris these days? Standard issue on the California.


Ferrari started production of the California late this summer in a brand-new building in Maranello. It will be on sale in Europe by the end of the year. U.S. sales will follow later, probably as a 2009 model and priced in the range of the F430

2009 Aston Martin DBS Touchtronic 2

The range-topping Aston Martin DBS — which made its North American debut in L.A. — is further refined with the addition of the Touchtronic 2, a 6-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission.


The Touchtronic 2 is a revised version of the same ZF automatic transaxle used in the DB9, but with enhancements to accommodate the DBS' 510-bhp 6.0-liter V-12. The gearbox has been reworked to provide more aggressive shifts and increased flexibility to match the wide powerband of the DBS V-12. In addition, the final-drive has been changed from 3.15:1 to 3.46:1 to provide quicker acceleration. This allows the automatic-equipped DBS to match the manual's 0–100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration of 4.3 seconds.


The Touchtronic 2 operates in either a fully automatic or sequential manual shift mode and also has a sport setting, which features even more aggressive upshifts and rev-matching downshifts. The sport mode also remaps the electronic throttle to match the quicker shift strategy.


The DBS also features a new Bang & Olufsen BeoSound system developed specifically for Aston Martin. With a total power output of 1000 watts, the entertainment system delivers a total of 13 channels of sound across 10 speaker locations.


While the DBS was launched as a 2-seater, a new 2+2 configuration has been added to the line in response to customer demand. The two covered rear storage spaces of the standard DBS can be replaced with two small jump seats.

French say they need biggest condoms

The French say they need the largest condoms in Europe while Greeks get by on smaller ones, according to a Europe-wide study by a German consultancy that provides advice on condoms.

The study by the Singen-based Institute of Condom Consultancy was done by asking 10,500 men in 25 countries to measure their penis and enter the number into a database.

The results show Frenchmen on average claim to need 15.48-cm (6.09-inch) long condoms, about 3 cm longer than Greeks, whose condom-size requirement was the most modest.

Jan Vinzenz Krause, the institute's director, told Reuters Friday the data was collected over a period of eight months.

He did not want to comment on how honest he thought the Frenchmen had been in reporting the data.

The survey was aimed at educating youngsters about the importance of effective contraception.

The institute also offers online condom-size advice and hosts "Pimp Your Condom" -- an annual fair organised in cooperation with the national Aids Trust -- with the aim of educating teens about sexually transmitted diseases.

Krause was in the spotlight in the past when he produced a prototype of the "spray-on condom" -- an aerosol can which contains latex that creates a perfectly fitting condom. But the idea was not developed further.

'Babies Stressed Out By Buggies'

Babies pushed in buggies facing away from their parents could suffer lasting psychological damage, scientists claim.



Children made to face away from their carers are more likely to end up anxious adults, the first ever study on the effects of buggies has revealed.


The away-facing babies in the research were "emotionally impoverished", laughed less, talked less and suffered more stress than those facing their parent.


Almost 3,000 parent-infant pairs were studied as part of the research by Dundee University for the Talk To Your Baby early language campaign of the National Literacy Trust.


In one experiment, 20 babies were pushed for a mile, half the journey spent in an away-facing buggy and the other in a toward-facing one.


A quarter of parents using face-to-face buggies talked to their baby - more than twice as many as those using away-facing buggies.


Babies facing towards the buggy-pusher enjoyed a reduced heart rate and were twice as likely to fall asleep.


Only one baby in the group of 20 laughed during the away-facing journey, while half laughed during the face-to-face journey.


Dr Suzanne Zeedyk, from Dundee University's School of Psychology, said: "If babies are spending significant amounts of time in a baby buggy, that undermines their ability to communicate easily with their parent.


"Our data suggests that for many babies today, life in a buggy is emotionally impoverished and possibly stressful. Stressed babies grow into anxious adults."

Boy Died After Spraying Deodorant

A 12-year-old boy died when his heart failed after he sprayed on too much deodorant, an inquest has been told.

Daniel Hurley, from Sandiacre, Derbyshire, was found collapsed in his bathroom by his father Robert Hurley after using Lynx Vice deodorant.

Derby Coroner's Court heard that use of the spray in a confined space led to Daniel suffering a cardiac arrhythmia.

Mr Hurley tried to revive his son but he died at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham on January 12, five days after he was found.

Mr Hurley told the inquest: "He was always putting gel on his hair and spraying deodorant and it was quite common for him to spray his clothing as well.

"The bathroom is adjacent to the kitchen and I made some tea and shouted into the bathroom to see if he was OK.

"I heard nothing so I shouted again but did not get a reply. I forced the door open and found Daniel in the bath."

Consultant pathologist Dr Andrew Hitchcock, who carried out the post mortem examination on Daniel, told the inquest there was no evidence he had abused alcohol or drugs.

Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner Dr Robert Hunter said manufacturer Unilever provided adequate warnings on cans of the deodorant that large amounts should not be used in a confined space.

He said: "It seems the presence of a volatile agent caused the cardiac arrhythmia. Daniel copiously used deodorant in the bathroom.

"I do not know how many people read the warnings about exposure awareness.
"But people need to know about the risks that these products have on the cardio-vascular system."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.

'The Car That Makes Parking Easy'

A car which rotates 360 degrees and a driveable armchair are among the cars of the future now on display in London


The Nissan PIVO 2 can pivot on its wheels, meaning drivers never need reverse park again.
You simply drive into the space, turn the car around and drive straight out again.


Its designers have also added a built in pop-up robot to the dashboard which reads the facial expressions of the driver.


If the driver appears stressed or confused the robot will talk to them and offer advice.
And while this car is still only an idea, the team behind it believe it could provide a real insight into the future of road transport.


But if a rotating car still sounds like too much work, the Toyota i-REAL could be the answer.
Its manufacturers describe it as a new step in personal mobility - although to the untrained eye it's a motorised armchair.


Complete with a fingertip control panel, the i-REAL is designed to travel on roads and pavements. It also interacts with other i-REALS nearby.


Both vehicles are part of a new display of Japanese cars at the Science Museum in London.
The exhibition's curator, Kenya Hara, said: "Japan's cars have their own unique characteristics and individuality."


Other more practical designs include an electric car which can be charged overnight using a domestic plug.


After seven hours of charging the car can then be driven for about 100 miles.


Shigeru Ban, a Japanese architect and designer, said: "Cars are not the only industry that represents Japan, but the one which best reflects Japanese society.


"Today Japanese car design also deeply relates to global environmental issues."

Japanese man releases hundreds of worms in train

A Japanese man was arrested for releasing hundreds of beetle larvae inside a moving express train to try to scare female passengers, police said Tuesday.

"I wanted to see women get scared and shake their legs," police quoted 35-year-old Manabu Mizuta as saying.

He was arrested on the spot by a patrolling police officer after releasing the creatures on the Keihan line in Osaka prefecture.

"He would go close to women on the train, any woman, and pour out the worms from containers," said a police spokesman.

Local police had been on alert after 18 similar cases of released worms had been reported this month by the same train operator.

"When the arrest was made, the man had nearly emptied a container, which is believed to have held 200 worms," he said. "You cannot count them because there are so many."
Mizuta had 10 containers in his backpack estimated to contain a total of 3,600 worms, police said.

"We have the worms sitting inside the police station right now," the spokesman said. "You see them wriggling inside their clear cases. It's really disgusting."

Fishermen find ancient boat in Black Sea

SOFIA, Bulgaria – A well-preserved ancient wooden dugout canoe has been discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea, scientists said Saturday.

The vessel was discovered by fishermen trailing nets along the sea bottom some 15 miles off the coast, said Dimitar Nedkov, head of the Archaeological Museum in the port city of Sozopol.

"The dugout is 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) long and 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) wide, and it is made most probably of oak," Nedkov told The Associated Press.

Bulgarian explorers have found four ancient vessels in remarkably good condition in the Black Sea, whose oxygen-depleted deep water preserves wrecks without the worm damage and deterioration that normally affects wooden vessels.

"Nowhere else can you find similar dugouts, as well as any kind of wooden vessels over 300 years old, because water rots the wood away," said Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of the National Museum of History. "In the Black Sea, however, there is dissolved hydrogen sulfide below a certain depth which preserves all organic materials."

Major source of Internet spam pulled off the Web

Chicago (IL) – There is a good chance that the spam volume hitting your email inbox could drop drastically. A web hosting firm was identified earlier in the week by the computer security community as a major host of organizations that were engaging in spam activity. The web hosting firm was pulled from the Web.

Located in a 30-story office tower in the heart of Silicon Valley, in downtown San Jose, a relatively small firm was involved in a full scale cyber crime network. The McColo Corporation operated the servers located within the building, and they were involved in hosting services for all types of firms that compromised computers to advertise counterfeit designer goods, pharmaceuticals, fake Internet security products and even child pornography by way of e-mail.

Viewing the company’s website is no longer possible, two Internet providers cut off McColo’s connectivity to the Internet. Almost instantaneously, security companies noticed a tremendous drop in the global volume of spam. E-mail security firm IronPort said that spam levels had fallen by almost 66% as of Tuesday evening.

Spam watchdog Spamcop.net stated that there was a decline of 10 - 40 spam emails per second.

At this time, it is not known whether McColo be legally responsible will be for the activities of their clients. At this time there is no confirmation that the company has been charged with a crime.

Private security researcher Jart Armin has been documenting the activity of McColo. She mentioned that currently McColo is hosted at a minimum 40 different child pornography websites, or sites that collect payment for the content. A traffic analysis of one of the sites proved that each one of these sites were generating between 15,000 and 25,000 visitors daily.

For several months, cyber criminals have been utilizing servers at McColo to manage websites that send out new versions of the “Torpig” or “Sinowal” Trojan horse program that is one of the most stealthy malware programs in existence currently.

This is just one more successful move in the government’s quest to go more seriously after spammers. Last month, the FTC seized the assets of Herbal King that was in the business of selling counterfeit prescription drugs. This network was deemed the largest “spam gang” in the world. The spammers utilized the Mega-D botnet, which reportedly was able to send 10 billion e-mail messages per day.

PhD Studentships England

PhD Studentships, Institute of Cancer Research, LondonPhD studentships are available to prospective students to carry out research at the Institute of Cancer Research, London UK.

Deadline : 1st December 2008

Admissions Criteria
A first or upper second class honours degree in a relevant subject (either expected or obtained.)Overseas qualification to the equivalent level.Experience of laboratory or research work. One of your referees must be able to comment on your research experience.A TOEFL score of 650 (paper based), 280 (computer based) or 109 (Internet based). OR an IELTS score of at least 7. Students without TOEFL or IETLS score should have either education experience in English (min 1 year) or work experience (min 18 months)

Application Guidelines
All applications must be made via the online form.A completed application consists of:An online application form, where you have uploaded a summary of a research project and your degree transcript if you are from overseas.Two references (one of whom must be able to comment on your research abilities.)Your referees will be contacted immediately. They will be emailed a link to a form which they complete. You will receive an email when they have done this. If you do not receive this email, you should contact your referees: it is your responsibility to ensure that we receive your references.The deadline for applications is 1st December 2008. The deadline for receiving two references is 5th December 2008. (Please note that the deadline for applications is 1st December 2008. Successful applicants should be available for interview 2nd - 4th February 2009.)

Funding
Studentships funded by The Institute of Cancer Research, Cancer Research UK or MRC will be supported for four years. The non-taxable stipend, which for 2009/10 is £19,096 (inner London - Chester Beatty Laboratories, Fulham Road) or £17,770 (outer London - Sutton Campus), is increased annually in-line with the increase in cost-of-living.

Further Information and online ApplicationFor detailed further information and to apply for these studentships, please follow the link below:
http://www.icr.ac.uk/education/phd_studentships/available_studentships/index.shtml

LA SHOW: Nissan shows all-new "Z"

In the first full redesign of the Nissan Z since its re-introduction in 2003 (as 350Z), the new 370Z now sports a shorter wheelbase, greater use of lightweight body materials, new engine with more horsepower and a new 7-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, as well as the world's first synchronised down/up shift rev control system for the manual transmission.

Nissan is also keen to point out that the Nissan 370Z pays homage to the original 1970 240Z with its upswept line on the new rear quarter window.

"The fresh character of the Nissan 370Z is immediately apparent in the crisp new exterior design, which is sportier yet still immensely identifiable as a Z," said Pierre Loing, Nissan's European Vice President for Product Planning.

"The new 370Z builds on the best features of both the first and last generation's Z-cars - respectful but not retro, simple yet sophisticated, and unmistakeably Z.

"The new Z's wheelbase is nearly 100mm shorter than the previous generation Z (2550mm versus 2650mm), accomplished by moving the rear wheels forward in the 2nd generation FM platform, while overall length is reduced by 70mm (4250mm versus 4320mm). At the same time, the overall width has been increased by 33mm and the rear track by 55mm.

The more compact exterior dimensions and expanded use of lightweight materials help reduce weight, while at the same time the body structure has been extensively reinforced, improving rigidity.

Nissan says the exterior design incorporates intentional 240Z styling cues, a sleek aerodynamic shape, a 'dynamic motion' feel with a dramatic cantilevered roof (with Nissan GT-R styling cues) and a 'low visual gravity'.

As its new moniker suggests, the new 370Z is now powered by a 3.7-litre VQ37VHR engine with VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift). Along with its larger displacement, the new engine gives better power delivery all the way to the 7,000rpm redline, improved low-end power and more high-end torque, creating an entirely new driving experience, Nissan says.

Approximately 35 percent of the engine's parts are new, versus the previous design. Power is rated at 331PS, while torque is 366Nm. Engine output figures for Europe are subject to homologation.

The new engine is backed by a choice of two new advanced transmissions, both designed to improve driver performance. The newly improved close-ratio 6-speed manual gearbox includes the world's first synchronised down/up shift rev control system, which allows drivers of any skill level to experience perfectly smooth gear shifts every time. The 'Synchro Rev Control' function automatically adjusts engine speed when changing gear to the exact speed of the next gear position, essentially 'blipping' the throttle to smooth out any down/up shifts.

"This exciting new Z represents the essence of the Nissan brand, just as the original 240Z did nearly 40 years before," said Loing. "It provides passionate performance at an excellent value - just what was needed then and just what sports car enthusiasts are looking for today."

Hostages said dead in Mumbai Jewish center

MUMBAI, India – Commandos who stormed the Mumbai headquarters of an ultra-orthodox Jewish group found the bodies of five hostages inside, including a New York rabbi and his wife, officials said, as a fresh battle raged at the luxury Taj Mahal hotel and other Indian forces ended a siege at another five-star hotel.

More than 150 people have been killed since gunmen attacked 10 sites across India's financial capital starting Wednesday night, including 22 foreigners — four of them Americans, officials said.

Early Friday night, Indian commandos emerged from a besieged Jewish center with rifles raised in an apparent sign of victory after a daylong siege that saw a team rappel from helicopters and a series of explosions and fire rock the building and blow giant holes in the wall.
Inside, though, were five dead hostages.

A delegation from Israel's ZAKA emergency medical services unit entered the building after the raid and reported through an Indian aide that five hostages and two gunmen were dead, a ZAKA spokesman in Israel said. The spokesman had no information on the hostages' identities or whether there were wounded inside.
Jewish law requires the burial of a dead person's entire body, and the mission of the ultra-Orthodox ZAKA volunteers is to rescue the living — and in the case of the dead, carry out the task of gathering up all collectable pieces of flesh and blood.

Numerous local media reports, quoting top military officials, also said five hostages and two gunmen had been killed in the Jewish center.

The airborne assault on the center run by the Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch was punctuated by gunshots and explosions as forces cleared it floor by floor.

Late Friday, Rabbi Zalman Schmotkin, a spokesman for the Chabad Lubavitch movement, said that Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, were among the dead.

The couple's toddler son, Moshe Holtzberg, was smuggled out of the center by an employee, and is now with his grandparents.

By Friday evening, at least nine gunmen had been killed and one had been arrested, said R. Patil, a top official in Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is the capital. Media reports said one or two were thought to still be in the Taj Mahal.

Patil said a total of more than 150 people had been killed and 370 injured.

After hours of intermittent gunfire and explosions Friday at the Taj Mahal, a hotel with 565 rooms, the battle heated up at dusk when Indian forces began launching grenades at the hotel, where at least one militant was believed to be holed up inside a ballroom, officials said.

Commandos had killed the two last gunmen inside the nearby Oberoi earlier in the day.

"The hotel is under our control," J.K. Dutt, director general of India's elite National Security Guard commando unit, told reporters, adding that 24 bodies had been found. Dozens of people — including a man clutching a baby — had been evacuated from Oberoi earlier Friday.

Security officials said their operations were almost over.

"It's just a matter of a few hours that we'll be able to wrap up things," Lt. Gen. N. Thamburaj told reporters Friday morning.

The group rescued from the Oberoi, many holding passports, included at least two Americans, a Briton, two Japanese nationals and several Indians. Some carried luggage with Canadian flags. One man in a chef's uniform was holding a small baby. About 20 airline crew members were freed, including staff from Lufthansa and Air France.

"I'm going home, I'm going to see my wife," said Mark Abell, with a huge smile on his face after emerging from the hotel. Abell, from Britain, had locked himself in his room during the siege.

The well-coordinated strikes by small bands of gunmen starting Wednesday night left the city shell-shocked.
Late Thursday, after about 400 people had been brought out of the Taj hotel, officials said it had been cleared of gunmen, but they later said two to three more were still inside with about 15 civilians.

Early Friday, Thamburaj, the security official, said at least one gunman was still alive inside the hotel and had cut of electricity on the floor where he was hiding. Shortly after that announcement, another round of explosions and gunfire were heard coming from the hotel.

On Friday, India's foreign minister pointed an accusing finger across the border at rival Pakistan.
"According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for Mumbai terror attacks," Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in the western city of Jodhpur.

"Proof cannot be disclosed at this time," he said, adding that Pakistan had assured New Delhi it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against India. India has long accused Islamabad of allowing militant Muslim groups, particularly those fighting in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, to train and take shelter in Pakistan. Mukherjee's carefully phrased comments appeared to indicate he was accusing Pakistan-based groups of staging the attack, and not Pakistan itself.

Earlier Friday, Pakistan's Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, in Islamabad, denied involvement by his country: "I will say in very categoric terms that Pakistan is not involved in these gory incidents."

Indian home minister Jaiprakash Jaiswal said a captured gunmen had been identified as a Pakistani and Patil, the Maharashtra state official, said: "It is very clear that the terrorists are from Pakistan. We have enough evidence that they are from Pakistan."

Neither provided further details.

Pakistan's government said Friday that it will send its spy chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, to India to help probe the attacks.

The gunmen apparently came to Mumbai by boat, and Indian forces expanded their investigation to the sea. Authorities stopped a cargo ship off the western coast of Gujarat that had sailed from Saudi Arabia and handed it over to police for investigation, said Navy Capt. Manohar Nambiar.

They also stopped a cargo ship that had come to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan, but released it when nothing suspicious was found on board.

The British government, meanwhile, was investigating whether some of the attackers could be British citizens with links to Pakistan or the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir, a British security official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his work.

The gunmen were well-prepared, apparently scouting some targets ahead of time and carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy.

"It's obvious they were trained somewhere ... Not everyone can handle the AK series of weapons or throw grenades like that," an unidentified member of India's Marine Commando unit told reporters, his face wrapped in a black mask. He said the men were "very determined and remorseless" and ready for a long siege. One backpack they found had 400 rounds of ammunition inside.

He said the Taj was filled with terrified civilians, making it very difficult for the commandos to fire on the gunmen.
"To try and avoid civilian casualties we had to be so much more careful," he said, adding that hotel was a grim sight. "Bodies were strewn all over the place, and there was blood everywhere."

A U.S. investigative team was heading to Mumbai, a State Department official said Thursday evening, speaking on condition of anonymity because the U.S. and Indian governments were still working out final details.

India has been shaken repeatedly by terror attacks blamed on Muslim militants in recent years, but most were bombings striking crowded places: markets, street corners, parks. Mumbai — one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million people — was hit by a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.
These attacks were more sophisticated — and more brazen.

They began at about 9:20 p.m. with shooters spraying gunfire across the Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station, one of the world's busiest terminals. For the next two hours, there was an attack roughly every 15 minutes — the Jewish center, a tourist restaurant, one hotel, then another, and two attacks on hospitals. There were 10 targets in all

Somali pirates hijack ship, British guards escape

NAIROBI, Kenya – Somali pirates hijacked a chemical tanker with dozens of Indian crew members Friday and a helicopter rescued three British security guards who had jumped into the sea, officials said.

A warship on patrol nearby sent helicopters to intervene in the attack, but they arrived after pirates had taken control of the Liberian-flagged ship, according to Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

The ship master had sent a distress call to the piracy reporting center, which relayed the alert to international forces policing Somali waters, Choong said. No details about how the pirates attacked or the condition of the crew were available immediately.

Choong said the ship was being operated out of Singapore.

Still on board were 25 Indian and two Bangladeshi crew members, said diplomats who could not be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The British security guards escaped by jumping into the water, said a news release issued by their company, Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions.

The company said it was aware of the incident on the chemical tanker it identified as M/V BISCAGLIA.

"We have been informed by coalition military authorities that three of our unarmed security staff were rescued from the water by a coalition helicopter and are currently on board a coalition warship in the Gulf of Aden," the company statement said.

German Defense Ministry spokesman Thomas Raabe confirmed that a naval helicopter lifted three people out of the water in the Gulf of Aden at about 4 a.m. Friday morning and deposited them on a French ship.

Germany and France have ships in the area as part of a NATO fleet which, along with warships from Denmark, India, Malaysia, Russia and the U.S., have started patrolling the vast maritime corridor. They escort some merchant ships and respond to distress calls.

The ship hijacked Friday was the 97th vessel to be attacked this year off Somalia, where an Islamic insurgency and lack of effective government have contributed to an increase in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden.

Ships "must continue to maintain a 24-hour vigil and radar watch so they can take early measures to escape pirates. Even though there are patrols, the warships cannot be everywhere at the same time," Choong said.

Pirates have become increasingly brazen in the Gulf, a major international shipping lane through which about 20 tankers sail daily.

Forty ships have been hijacked this year, including a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil Nov. 15.

Pirates demanding multimillion-dollar ransoms hold 15 ships and nearly 300 crew, Choong said.
Somalia, an impoverished nation in the Horn of Africa, has not had a functioning government since 1991.

Associated Press Writer Sean Yoong contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bamboo Laptop by Asustek to Debut Saturday Nov 29

Asustek Computer plans to debut a nature-friendly laptop PC with a casing made of bamboo on Saturday at Taiwan's IT Month exhibition.

The laptop, first announced last year, is part of Asus's efforts to use renewable materials in products. The shell of the laptop is made of real bamboo, which grows fast and is used widely throughout Asia in furniture, as well as construction scaffolding, food for pandas, and in artworks.

The company on Thursday displayed the first bamboo laptop that's ready for the market. The device is part of Asus's U6V series of notebook PCs and sports a 12.1-inch screen, Intel Core 2 Duo microprocessor, and Microsoft's Windows Vista OS.

Asus plans to sell them at the Taipei IT show for NT$59,900 (US$1,802) each.
The company will launch the bamboo laptops in the U.S. and Europe at a later date, but has not decided exactly when, an Asustek representative said.

IT Month in Taiwan is a time for companies to display products and normally ends up with bargains on IT gear for consumers. The exhibition is hosted in four major cities on the island, including at the Taipei World Trade Center exhibition halls from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7.

ASUS Spurs Green Computing Revolution with Bamboo Series Notebook

Taipei, Taiwan, August 28, 2008 – ASUS, recognized as a highly environmental friendly company in the Computers and Peripherals Industry by oekom in 2007*, today launched the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook, a groundbreaking bamboo-clad product that is truly green throughout every phase of its life – from its conception, production and use to its eventual recycling and disposal. In developing the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook, ASUS staff at all levels leveraged the full spectrum of environmental expertise that the company has accumulated since 2002 when it initiated its Green ASUS drive – before the RoHS and WEEE directives were enforced – and utilized the comprehensive green product design and management tools specifically created to encourage the disciplined adherence to green principles at a systemic level.

The ASUS Bamboo Series is a major milestone for ASUS and the IT industry at large, as it signals the coming of age of green technologies that are no longer confined to the conceptual realm, and that are implementable on a mass production scale. It also serves as a tangible manifestation of ASUS' commitment to continually bolstering its green capabilities. Finally, it is proof positive that meeting the demands of modern computing can be reconciled with the need to preserve the Earth, especially when a green mentality has become deeply ingrained in the solution provider's culture – just as it has at ASUS.

The ASUS Bamboo Series notebook: A Seamless Marriage of Art and Engineering

The first thing about the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook that commands immediate and unfailing attention is its artisan-grade Moso bamboo paneling, which is crafted with the precision and care typically associated with bamboo instruments and arts and crafts. The organic tactility, refreshing scent and minimalist aesthetics of bamboo lend the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook an arresting aura of spirituality, warmth and old world charm that synthetic materials and cold, impersonal metals will struggle to replicate. With every touch, users will be able to feel the difference – the bamboo gives an instant sense of familiarity, just like the sensation one would get from running one's fingertips across furniture. The sensation of being close to nature is even conveyed when users use the touch pad. The genuine bamboo fiber patterns on the touch pad create the sensation of touching live bamboo. Furthermore – like any piece of original art – every ASUS Bamboo Series notebook is unique, each with its own natural patterning that is brought out beautifully by ASUS' proprietary manufacturing process. The air of individuality of each piece can be further enhanced by several treatments that yield different colors, or by laser etching distinctive designs onto the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook's bamboo-clad cover.

The ultra slim ASUS Bamboo Series notebook is currently available in two versions: a 12.1" model that weighs 1.57kg and an 11.1" model that weighs a mere 1.25kg. Both house Intel® Core™2 Duo processors and are fitted with DDRII RAM.

ASUS Super Hybrid Engine: A Next Generation Breakthrough in Power Efficiency

All of the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook's power does not come at the expense of the environment. On the contrary, the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook – as with the new generation of ASUS notebooks released to market from the second half of 2008 – is remarkably energy-efficient, thanks to the implementation of ASUS' exclusive Super Hybrid Engine technology, which is the product of a comprehensive redesigning of the hardware, software and BIOS on the part of ASUS' engineers.

The most remarkable breakthrough of Super Hybrid Engine is that it accords users the control they need to obtain their desired level of performance – either improving power efficiency or boosting performance by the same technology core. In terms of power efficiency improvement, Super Hybrid Engine can extend battery life between 35% and 70% as compared to notebooks with the same specifications but without the technology, and yet enable users to boost their systems' performance by up to 23%. It achieves this by intelligently monitoring the power requirements of the notebook's components and automatically adjusting the power levels in real-time to match the current consumption needs, thus optimizing both system performance and power efficiency. Users are also given the option of selecting from a number of presets manually to ensure that the notebook conforms to the owner's usage demands.

With the accrued power savings, Super Hybrid Engine reduces yearly CO2 emission by 12.3kg per notebook. Given that ASUS ships approximately 6 million notebooks per year, this works out to a massive 73.8 million kilograms of CO2 emission reduced per year, which equates to saving 36 million trees annually.

Bamboo as an Alternative Material: The Natural Choice

ASUS has achieved international renown for its research into, and inspired use of, biodegradable materials such as leather in its products, but its decision to embrace bamboo is nothing short of ingenious. Through the use of bamboo which has an immense tensile strength that rivals that of many metal alloys, the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook is highly resilient – an attribute proven conclusively by the fact that it is the first notebook to have survived the unforgiving conditions of snow-capped Qomolangma Peak, which stands at a staggering height of 8,848 meters (29,028 feet). Bamboo also has a renewal rate that no other plant can match. It has been known to grow 60cm in just 24 hours, reaching its maximum height in several years. Bamboo is also capable of regenerating itself upon harvesting without necessitating replanting, making it possibly the perfect renewable resource.

It's Easy Being Green

The crux of the message borne by the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook is that “it's easy being green". This message resonates at both the consumer and solution provider strata. For consumers, being green is a simple matter of making smart, environmentally-conscious purchasing decisions. Choosing the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook – or any of ASUS' notebooks, all of which were designed and manufactured in strict adherence to the same rigorous green policies and standards that governed the development of the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook – over less green alternatives, will help to preserve the Earth in no small measure.

For solution providers, the key to going green entails looking beyond mere legal compliance and proactively inculcating green values among staff. ASUS is the beacon of success for this approach. In relation to the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook for instance, staff spanning the research and development, strategy development, manufacturing, procurement, quality control, sales and marketing and even administrative departments rallied behind a common raft of green principles set by a steering committee headed by the Chairman of ASUSTek Computer Inc., Jonney Shih. This was only made possible by the company-wide green design, manufacturing and procurement systems that ASUS has in place, as well as its considerable investment into green-oriented e-learning platforms and staff education programs.

ASUS Bamboo Series notebook Specifications

12.1"

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9400/P8600/P8400 Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5100

Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate

Genuine Windows Vista® Business

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic

DDR2 800 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SODIMM socket for expansion up to 4GB SDRAM

12.1" WXGA LED-backlit LCD with Color Shine (Glare-type), Crystal Shine (High brightness) and ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology

NVIDIA® GeForce® 9300M GS External 256MB VRAM

2.5" 9.5mm SATA 320/250/160GB

Hybrid with 256MB flash

DVD Super Multi Double Layer: Ultra Slim

8-in-1 card reader: SD,MMC,MS,MS-Pro,xD, Smart Media, mini SD with adapter, MS-Duo, MS-Pro Duo via adapter

0.3 Mega Pixel web camera

3/6/9 cells: 2400/4800/7800 mAh,

30 x 22 x 2.53 - 3.16 cm (W x D x H)

1.57 kg, with 3 cell battery pack

11.1"

Intel® Core™ Duo Processor U7600

Mobile Intel® GM965 Express Chipset

Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN or Intel®

PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection(optional)

Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate

Genuine Windows Vista® Business

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic

DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SODIMM socket for expansion up to 4GB SDRAM

11.1" WXGA LED-backlit LCD with Color Shine (Glare-type) and ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology

Embedded Intel® GMA X3100

1.8" 9.5mm PATA 80/100/120GB

32GB SSD

DVD Super Multi Double Layer

8-in-1 card reader: SD,MMC,MS,MS-Pro, mini SD with adapter, MS-Duo, MS-Pro Duo via adapter

0.3 Mega Pixel web camera

3/6/9 cells: 2400/4800/7800 mAh, 26.6/53/80 Whrs

27.7 x 19.4 x 2.49 ~ 2.9 cm (W x D x H)

1.25 kg, with 3 cell battery, SSD

ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era. With a global staff of more than eight thousand and a world-class R&D design team, the company's turnover for 2007 was 6.9 billion U.S. dollars. ASUS ranks among the top 10 IT companies in BusinessWeek's "InfoTech 100", and has been on the listing for 11 consecutive years. ASUS was also selected by the Wall Street Journal Asia as No.1 in quality and service in Taiwan.

What is Skype ?

A lot of people have been commenting on my "Skype on PSP" video asking questions like: "What is Skype?", "Is is free?", "Do I need a microphone?", "How can people call me?", "How do I get Skype on my PSP?", "Why can't I get Skype on my PSP?". Well, this post aims to answer all those questions.


What is Skype?Skype allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet to other Skype users free of charge and to landlines and cell phones for a fee.


Is it free?Yes and no. Calling other Skype users on their computers, PSPs, and other Skype enabled devices is absolutely free. On the other hand, calling landlines and cell phones costs a small amount of moola.


Do I need a microphone?Yes, you need the PSP headset and remote. The remote came with the original PSP but not the Slim. You can buy the PSP Headset Kit for Skype at Gamestop or Amazon, which includes both the headset and remote.


How can people call me?There are two different ways people can call you. The first way is calling you from Skype on their computer, PSP, or other Skype device. Secondly, people can call your SkypeIn number from any phone, which is basically the same as a regular phone number, but this feature will cost extra.


How do I get Skype on my PSP?Skype is included in the latest PSP Slim/2000 firmware update. If you have WiFi then you can update by going to the settings on your PSP and clicking "Network Update". If you don't have WiFi then you can update by going here and following the instrcutions at the bottom of the page (This requires either the PSP USB cable or a Memory Stick Duo reader).


Why can't I get Skype on my PSP?If you can't get it on your PSP then you most probably don't have a Slim/2000 series PSP. It will not work with the old PSP 1000 series PSPs. You probably think it's because Sony doesn't care about the people that bought the original PSP. Well, that's not the case. The reason it doesn't work is that the original PSP doesn't have enough RAM to run Skype.

Enta El Ghaly by Amr Diab

Mitsubishi's 405hp EVO X FQ 400

The latest iteration of the Evo line has been well received - especially in comparison to its arch rival, the Subaru Impreza, which has gone all hatchback on those legions of fans who like their Japanese would-be rally cars as saloons. Seen here in concept guise, this new car is covered in new cooling ducts which we are assured are very much necessary - and not just for show-off purposes. There is also a very nifty little hole just to the right of the bonnet opener, while the air scoops on the bonnet itself are significantly more pronounced on the more down to earth - yet still fairly extreme - Evos. Moving to the side, check out those twin ducts just forward of the front wheels, which this time are to keep the brakes cool and functioning - and just for good measure, yet another blow-hole a bit further down the bodykit. Road RocketMoving around to the back, feast your eyes on that giant carbon-fibre diffuser, and the enhanced 'vortex generator' which is the jaggedy thing on the top of the roof - all of which are designed to keep this 405hp, 400NM of torque rocketship on the road. The exhaust gets the special treatment too - a twin in normal Evos, these are scrapped in favour of one single fat central exhaust, Lamborghini Murcielago-style. The car gets a rather old-school sounding five-speed manual gearbox, which sounds good for power but may ensure fuel economy figures that are... not quite as good as they might be.A 0 to 60 time of 3.5 seconds is mooted, making this car as fast as a Porsche 911 Turbo. Like all Evos it will be limited to 155mph.Pricing will see a hike from £38,000 for the current top-of-the-range FQ-360 to around £50,000 for this version. A UK-only special edition - us Brits just love these cars it seems - expect a formal unveiling early in 2009, with cars on the road shortly thereafter. Those taken with the idea of having this licence-losing rally car on their drive should drop a line to their nearest Mitsubishi dealer sharpish; since this car will be available as a strictly a limited edition run - credit crunch or not - it may be sold out before it even goes on sale.

Alltel To Launch New Motorola Hint QA30 Slider Phone

The largest American wireless network, Alltel Wireless, and Motorola have announced the new handset built for social connectivity brings convenience and full music experience - Motorola Hint QA30, the vertical slider phone that keeps users in touch with their wide social circle in a variety of ways, aiming to provide users a complete mobile experience.

“Wireless customers communicate in so many different ways, and they want their cell phones to be a portal to their social networks and the Internet,” said Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy at Alltel Wireless. “The Motorola Hint gives them a fun and sophisticated way to stay in touch with the people who matter most.”

Impressive Highlights Of Motorola Hint From Alltel Wireless:

Full QWERTY keyboard with dedicated keys for the 2 megapixel camera, MP3 player and Web access

Large 2.5-inch QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) display screen

Preloaded with popular applications, including Alltel Navigation powered by Telenav, XM Radio Mobile and Aricent Celltop

Stereo Bluetooth and advanced voice recognition dialing capabilities

USB high speed port and 3.5 mm headset jack

External music keys that allow for easy playback control and browsing of song files

High speed EVDO internet compatibility

microSD memory card slot upto 8gb

Talk time: 4.5 hours ; Standby time: 15.6 days

The new compact Motorola Hint which measures 3.23 x 2.43 x 0.67-inches and weighs just 4.23 oz will be available through Alltel Wireless starting November 28th, retailing for $99.99 after two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate.

Lives of innocent people disrupted by Mumbai Terror Attacks

A policeman gives water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai November 26, 2008. At least 10 people were killed and 26 wounded in a series of shootings around India's financial capital Mumbai on Wednesday night, with two five-star hotels among the targets in what police called a terror attack. Maharahstra state police chief A.N. Roy said attackers had fired automatic weapons indiscriminately, and used grenades, adding that they were still holed up in some buildings

TV grab from Indian TV via Sky News shows people crying at the Mumbai hospital after a series of attacks in Mumbai. Nearly 60 people were killed in a series of attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai late Wednesday, with five-star hotels among the targets of gunmen armed with powerful assault rifles and grenades

A man injured in a gunbattle is carried to a hospital, at the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008. Gunmen targeted luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least seven attacks in India's financial capital Thursday, wounding 25 people, police and witnesses said. A.N Roy police commissioner of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said several people had been wounded in the attacks and police were battling the gunmen.

Mumbai rocked by attacks

Gunmen kill at least 78 in attacks across Mumbai

MUMBAI, India – Teams of heavily armed gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital Wednesday night, killing at least 78 people and taking Westerners hostage, police said. An explosion followed by a raging fire struck one of the hotels, the landmark Taj Mahal, early Thursday. Screams could be heard and enormous clouds of black smoke rose from the at the century-old edifice on Mumbai's waterfront. Firefighters were spraying water at the blaze.

The attackers specifically targeted Britons and Americans, witnesses said. Fires burned and gunfire was heard for hours. Officials said at least 200 people were wounded.

The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2007 that killed 187 people.

An Indian media report said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets.
Police reported hostages being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, two of the best-known upscale destinations in this crowded but wealthy city.

Gunmen who burst into the Taj "were targeting foreigners. They kept shouting: `Who has U.S. or U.K. passports?'" said Ashok Patel, a British citizen who fled from the hotel.

Authorities believed seven to 15 foreigners were prisoners at the Taj Mahal, but it was not immediately clear if hostages at the Oberoi were Indians or foreigners, said Anees Ahmed, a top state official.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said U.S. officials were not aware of any American casualties, but were still checking. He said he could not address reports that Westerners might be among the hostages.

"We condemn these attacks and the loss of innocent life," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

Johnny Joseph, chief secretary for Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said 78 people had been killed and 200 had been wounded.

Blood smeared the floor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji rail station, where attackers sprayed bullets into the crowded terminal. Press Trust of India quoted the chief of the Mumbai railway police, A.K. Sharma, as saying several men armed with rifles and grenades were holed up at the station.
Other gunmen attacked Leopold's restaurant, a landmark popular with foreigners, and the police headquarters in southern Mumbai, the area where most of the attacks took place. The restaurant was riddled with bullet holes and there were blood on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers.

A British citizen who was dining at the Oberoi hotel told Sky News television that the gunmen who struck there singled out Britons and Americans.

Alex Chamberlain said a gunman, a young man of 22 or 23, ushered 30 or 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and ordered everyone to put up their hands. He said the gunman spoke in Hindi or Urdu.

"They were talking about British and Americans specifically. There was an Italian guy, who, you know, they said: 'Where are you from?" and he said he's from Italy and they said 'fine' and they left him alone. And I thought: 'Fine, they're going to shoot me if they ask me anything — and thank God they didn't," he said.

Chamberlain said he managed to slip away as the patrons were forced to walk up stairs, but he thought much of the group was being held hostage.

Early Thursday, several European lawmakers were among people who barricaded themselves inside the Taj, a century-old seaside hotel complex and one of the city's best-known destinations.
"I was in the main lobby and there was all of a sudden a lot of firing outside," said Sajjad Karim, part of a delegation of European lawmakers visiting Mumbai ahead of a European Union-India summit.

As he turned to get away, "all of a sudden another gunmen appeared in front of us, carrying machine gun-type weapons. And he just started firing at us ... I just turned and ran in the opposite direction," he told The Associated Press over his mobile phone.

Hours later, Karim remained holed up in a hotel restaurant, unsure if it was safe to come out.
The British Foreign Office said it was advising all British citizens in Mumbai to stay indoors.
Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, strongly condemned the attacks. "Today's attacks in Mumbai which have claimed many innocent victims remind us, yet again, of the threat we face from violent extremists," Miliband said in a statement.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.0.68 BETA

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ESET solutions are built on ESET’s one-of-a-kind ThreatSense technology. This advanced heuristics engine enables proactive detection of malware not covered by even the most frequently updated signature-based products by decoding and analyzing executable code in real time, using an emulated environment. By allowing malware to execute in a secure virtual world, ESET is able to clearly differentiate between benign files and even the most sophisticated and cleverly-disguised malware.

Users of Microsoft® Windows® can experience the power and elegance of NOD32's ThreatSense Technology with ease and comfort. Our single optimized engine offers the best protection from viruses, spyware, adware, phishing attacks, and more. Keep tomorrow's threats at bay with our proactive detection technology.

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Dying Boy Makes Final Wish to Feed Homeless

11-Year-Old Brenden Foster Leaves Legacy; Inspires Food Drives Nationwide

Just imagine what you might do if a doctor said you have only two weeks left to live.

For 11-year-old Brenden Foster of Bothell, Wash., who was given that prognosis earlier this year after learning he was suffering from leukemia last December, the answer was probably not what you'd expect.

"He's always thought about the better of others, wanting to help others," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "He's never complained about having to go through this, ever."

In just two weeks, an 11-year-old boy, too sick to even work a paper route, has raised tens of thousands of dollars and brought in truckloads of donations to local food pantries.

He's left a legacy and he's 11," his mother said. "He's done more than most people ever dream of doing just by making a wish and speaking his mind."

"We're going to get together tonight with about 15 people and make 200 sandwiches and then bring them downtown tomorrow," said Jennifer Morrison, one of the volunteers.
It was just the beginning. His story touched people so deeply that it spread, inspiring food drives from Los Angeles to Pensacola, Fla., to a school in Ohio -- all in this past week alone.

Foster lived long enough to see his dream come alive, before dying in his mother's arms Friday morning.

"Follow your dreams, don't let anything stop you," Foster said.

At the Union Rescue Mission, 2,500 meals have been served in Foster's honor. On the paper bags, volunteers write, "Love, Brenden" in marker to keep his legacy alive.

"When I told him he was dying, he cried," his mother recalled. "And he said, 'When I get to heaven I'm going to ask God why it had to be so soon because I had so much more I wanted to do.' Everything that he wanted to do was to help others and to benefit others."

THE TALE OF THE ARAB FLIGHT CREW

THE TALE OF THE ARAB FLIGHT CREW

Written by To The Point News

Friday, 16 May 2008

The brand spanking new Airbus 340-600, the largest passenger airplane ever built, sat in its hangar in Toulouse , France without a single hour of airtime. Enter the Arab flight crew of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) on November 15, 2007 to conduct pre-delivery tests on the ground, such as engine run-ups, prior to delivery to Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi

The ADAT crew taxied the A340-600 to the run-up area. Then they took all four engines to takeoff power with a virtually empty aircraft. Not having read the run-up manuals, they had no clue just how light an empty A340-600 really is.

The takeoff warning horn was blaring away in the cockpit because they had all 4 engines at full power. The aircraft computers thought they were trying to takeoff but it had not been configured properly (flaps/slats, etc.) Then one of the ADAT crew decided to pull the circuit breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence the alarm

These fools the aircraft into thinking it is in the air.

The computers automatically released all the brakes and set the aircraft rocketing forward. The ADAT crew had no idea that this is a safety feature so that pilots can't land with the brakes on.

Not one member of the seven-man Arab crew was smart enough to throttle back the engines from their max power20setting, so the $200 million brand-new aircraft crashed into a blast barrier, totaling it.

The extent of injuries to the crew is unknown, for there has been a news blackout in the major media in France and elsewhere. Coverage of the story was deemed insulting to Arabs. Finally, the photos are starting to leak out.....

New Zealand International Undergraduate Scholarships

The New Zealand International Undergraduate Fees Scholarships (NZIUFS) provides financial support in the form of tuition fees for eligible international students. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit.

Up to 28 scholarships a year will be awarded to students undertaking undergraduate study in New Zealand. Students are to submit their applications to the designated agency in their country of citizenship. The agency will then nominate a number of candidates to Education New Zealand for final selection.The scholarships are funded by the New Zealand Government and administered by Education New Zealand.All candidates for the NZIUFS must meet the eligibility criteria set out in the terms and conditions.

Please note that additional country-specific criteria may apply.

Read The Term and Conditions before aply

If you have questions about the NZIUFS scholarships,
please contact the Education New Zealand Scholarships Managerscholarships@educationnz.org.nz

Why hijack a plane when you can seize a supertanker?

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – When pirates armed with little more than AK-47s and rope ladders seized a supertanker last week, they showed how simple it is to storm a ship -- a vulnerability that al Qaeda could exploit to attack the global economy.

Security analysts say the ease with which Somali pirates have captured a huge range of vessels illustrates how much more at risk global shipping is to terrorist attack than the airline industry, which massively improved security after September 2001.

Al Qaeda has launched or planned several seaborne attacks in the past decade -- notably the suicide bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, which killed 17 American sailors, and a similar attack two years later on the French supertanker Limburg, which killed one crewman and spilled 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden.

"There had been an argument that terrorist groups don't have the nautical skills required to capture a ship. But the Somali experience shows you don't need a high degree of skills," said Ian Storey, a fellow at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and an expert on piracy. "It shows how easy it can be."

It's a lesson al Qaeda had already learned. After the Limburg bombing it issued a statement boasting that a major vessel had been crippled by a low-tech attack:

"If a boat which didn't even cost $1,000 managed to devastate an oil tanker ... imagine the extent of the danger that threatens the West's commercial lifeline, which is petroleum."
Peter Chalk, a terrorism-risk analyst at the Rand Corporation think tank, said in a report on piracy and terrorism in June that "there has been a modest yet highly discernable spike in high-profile terrorist incidents at sea over the past six years."

Pakistan gets $7.6 billion loan package from IMF

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan, the front-line state in the battle against Islamist terrorism, has won final approval for a $7.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help stave off a possible economic meltdown.

The IMF said a first installment of $3.1 billion will be transferred immediately to the nuclear-armed country, which is battling surging violence by Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants and is increasingly seen in the West as key to stabilizing neighboring Afghanistan.
The IMF said the Pakistani economy had been badly hit by the worsening security situation, higher oil and food import prices and the global financial and credit crisis.
"By providing large financial support to Pakistan, the IMF is sending a strong signal to the donor community about the country's improved macroeconomic prospects," said IMF acting Chairman Takatoshi Kato in a statement released after the decision Monday in Washington, where the fund is based.

Pakistan's young government had been reluctant to go to the IMF but had little choice after close allies — the United States, China and Saudi Arabia — turned down pleas for significant bilateral aid.
In mid-November, the IMF announced it had reached a preliminary agreement on the deal.
Opposition and nationalist lawmakers have criticized the government for turning to the fund, saying the IMF will impose austerity measures that will hurt ordinary Pakistanis, two-thirds of whom live on $2 dollar a day or less.
"This IMF loan the government is getting is in fact poison, and the nation has been forced to drink it," said Javed Hashmi, a senior figure in the main opposition party, told reporters

The loan removes the most pressing risk facing the country — that it would not be able to repay dollar-denominated government bonds due to mature early next year, said Muzammil Aslam, an economist at the Pakistani securities firm KASB.
Aslam and other economists said Pakistan's government had already made some tough decisions, such as hiking the prices of fuel and electricity.
Many Pakistani economists and commentators argued that the country had no choice but to turn to the IMF. They say it is now critical that the money is well spent — always a worry in corruption-prone and chaotic Pakistan.

The loan will immediately boost Pakistan's foreign currency reserves, which have seen a rapid decline that has seen the value of the rupee fall some 20 percent since March, and enable it to pay off foreign-denominated debt due to mature soon.
The currency has clawed back some ground in recent weeks as it became clear that the IMF would step in.
T
he country is also wracked by power cuts, the costs of essential goods are soaring and the stock market has plummeted amid waning investor confidence.
Pakistan is one of a number of countries including Hungary and Ukraine that has sought IMF assistance in the wake of the global credit crunch. However, its strategic importance in the U.S.-led war against terrorism makes its financial and political stability particularly critical for the international community.

U.S. officials say that militants sheltering in its lawless northwest are behind much of the violence in Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban threaten the success of the U.S.-led mission there seven years after the invasion.

CARMAKERS TO CUT SPORTS SPONSORSHIP

Singapore - Carmakers are the driving force behind some of the world's most lucrative golf tournaments but nose-diving demand and anaemic earnings amid the global financial crisis has put the brakes on sponsorship spending.

Car sales have plunged and the 'Big Three' car makers in the United States, General Motors , Ford and Chrysler LLC, may need a financial lifeline from the Federal Reserve to weather the storm.

GM, which has warned it will run desperately short of cash by early next year without support, spends heavily in golf mostly through its Buick brand but deep cuts in its advertising and promotional budgets means that money could soon dry up."Everything is fair game right now and we're taking a hard look at it all," Larry Peck, Buick and Pontiac promotions manager for GM, said in a telephone interview."Obviously, we are looking to reduce our overall marketing expenses and our advertising and promotional budgets have been reduced, and there's continual pressure on that."GM is the title sponsor of two PGA Tour events, the Buick Open and Buick Invitational. Both tournaments are on the schedule for 2009 and their contracts run through 2010."We're certainly trying to spend our money more efficiently there. In particular the Buick Invitational that's upcoming in February, really we've trimmed back all the back-of-the-house kind of stuff... no dealer contests, no hospitality, all that is cut back," said Peck."You'll still see products on television and advertising that will promote the products through the broadcast, but any of the entertainment, hospitality type of activities have been cancelled."Peck said that despite the current hardships, the car maker was still committed to promoting itself through golf."We have still a very large involvement in the sport of golf from a General Motors standpoint, specifically from a Buick standpoint."America's world number three Phil Mickelson acknowledged that car makers' woes could have a trickle down impact on sponsorship."I think the biggest impact for the US PGA tours is more with the auto manufacturers.

As we have seen, General Motors has been hurting and has reported that they may run out of cash by the end of the year," he said ahead of last weekend's Singapore Open."We have so many sponsors in the automotive industry, that we will start feeling it shortly. Certainly when our next contract is up, we will have to find new sponsors unless there's a turnaround fairly quickly."BMW, which pumps millions of dollars into golf tours worldwide, has slashed production and scrapped earnings forecasts this month as quarterly profits tanked 60%.

The carmaker sponsors several big-money events in the United States and Europe but the BMW Asian Open, which was founded in 2001 and co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, is a notable absentee from the 2009 schedule.Japanese carmakers, also heavy hitters in the sponsorship world, appear set on a prudent approach.Shares of Toyota plunged this month after the carmaker warned its profits this year would hit a 13-year low amid the global economic downturn, while Honda is also suffering as wild fluctuations in the Japanese yen make business extremely volatile.

A Toyota spokeswoman said that given the current financial climate, sports sponsorship would be under review. Toyota spends millions of dollars to support the Lexus Cup, an annual ladies event between Asian and International teams.Chris Higgs, senior vice president of the US women's tour, told Reuters he was unsure whether Lexus would be continuing their sponsorship of the event after the current contract expires.

Honda, which sponsors the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, said sponsorships were determined on a region-by-region basis and they did not have a system under which headquarters would put out a blanket directive to cut back spending.

All new Honda City 2009 Specifications

The all new Honda City comes with a dynamic style which is truly path-breaking. The Arrow Shot Form, responsible for the refined aero dynamics of the car amplifies its presence wherever it goes.The front face of the car running from the grill to the headlight creates a bold and distinctive look.

The all new Honda City is longer, wider and sturdier. It measures 4420 mm in length (5 mm longer than its predecessor if license plate is excluded) and 1695 mm in width (5 mm wider) While maintaining the same ground clearance and same head clearance, the height has been lowered by 15 mm to 1480 mm delivering a sleeker and sturdier body shape which gives the City a refined driving position. With its wheelbase extended by an additional 100 mm, efficient use of space has been made for both driver and occupants to create a spacious cabin interior.

The interiors of the car look very attractive with the advanced looking meter design and soothing colour contrasts of the new City promises its consumers with a stylish, spacious and comfortable lounge. The City boasts marvelous interiors ¬ luxurious and relaxing. Whether you are in the driver's seat or just along for the ride, your experience in the City can only be enjoyable. Indulge yourself in the sumptuous interiors, where every detail is crafted with precision engineering for immaculate perfection

The new CITY has been designed to meet the needs of daily life, providing a variety of convenient, multi-purpose storage areas.

The City is equipped with a powerful and very effective air conditioning system with heater to instantly transform the cabin into your comfort zone. The powerful blower with special and advanced compressor, along with under-seat ducts for the rear seat passengers, provides an unforgettable experience of total comfort.

During a frontal collision, when the sensors detect an impact that exceeds a preset threshold, the airbags are instantly deployed and then gradually deflated to reduce head and chest injuries. At the same time, when seatbelt load exceeds a certain preset threshold, the 3-point ELR front seatbelts with load-limiting pretensioner immediately rewind and tighten, then loosen again to reduce chest and shoulder injuries.

systems work to prevent wheel lock in an emergency braking situation or when braking on slippery road surfaces. ABS stabilizes the vehicle while braking so the driver can better control it and avoid obstacles ahead. The Brake Assist system helps the driver when braking, leading to increased brake force in emergency situations.

Honda's unique G-Force Control Technology controls impact energy (G-CON) in the event of a collision and limits injuries. Honda has enhanced collision safety through real-world collision safety research, including car-to-car crash testing at the world's first indoor Omni directional crash test safety facility.

To protect occupants in case of a collision, Honda has worked to enhance self-protection while striving to reduce damage to the other vehicle involved. The external body structure of the new Honda City ensures advanced pedestrian safety features. An advanced security system that effectively prohibits theft without the key specific to the vehicle, providing a warning with the horn and hazard lights getting activated.

Safety of passengers and pedestrians is a first priority for Honda. The new Honda City comes fully loaded with all active and passive safety features including ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) with Brake Assist (BA), Dual SRS airbags, pre-tensioner seat belts and G-CON (G-Force Control Technology) body with a crush-proof survival zone. The front body structure of the new Honda City ensures advanced pedestrian safety features. With the new City, these safety features are now a standard offering across the entire range of Honda in the Indian market.

The all new Honda City is engineered at its best. The new 1.5 L i-VTEC engine delivers 118PS, while being extremely fuel efficient. The 5-speed automatic transmission with paddle shift keeps the control in your hands for a smooth and exciting drive. The all new Honda City is E10 ready.Stress-free acceleration and swift response to throttle inputs assure comfortable starts and passing ability on the highway.The joy of driving that only Honda can provide and the New City's superior riding comfort certainly will satisfy the requirements for next-generation quality.

In pursuit of Class-leading output and excellent fuel efficiency, the New CITY is powered by the highly developed i-VTEC engine.The New CITY's i-VTEC engine is developed for all-round performance. It delivers high output, fuel efficiency and environmental-friendly performance.Intake valve timing and valve lift settings switch to meet both low- and high-speed driving requirements. Optimized valve overlap in the low-, mid- and high-speed ranges enhances intake and exhaust efficiency for excellent performance with plenty of torque throughout all speed ranges. The meter panel features a fuel consumption indicator presenting instant and average fuel consumption, and estimated remaining driving range, supporting the driver to drive in a fuel efficient way

AT with Paddle Shift The unique Paddle Shift gear option allows you to switch gears without using the clutch pedal. The 5AT (Automatic Transmission) allow you to change gear ratios automatically-freeing you from having to shift gears manually. The right paddle is for shifting up while the left paddle is for shifting down, which is the same as for an F1 machine. In D-range mode, the driver can shift up and down by using the paddles, while automatically returning to normal AT driving mode when a sensor determines the car is cruising. On the other hand, in S-range, the mode does not revert automatically to AT driving mode, which allows the driver to enjoy a manual transmission-like driving feel.

Manual TransmissionThe All New City boasts of a smoother wire type manual transmission gear shift with hydraulic clutch. As compared to a rod type, wire type operating system makes for a much smoother gear shift. The gear shift has good moderate stiffness, and thanks to a shortening of the sleeve stroke of the synchronizer, is also much lighter. What's more, the clutch utilizes hydraulic pressure to reduce the force needed during operation and to provide a fatigue-free driving experience.

Front Suspension- Mc Pherson strut An optimised compliance bush placement with a larger capacity makes lower bush springs possible to provide a supple riding feel.

Rear Suspension: H-Shaped Torsion BeamA reduced spring lever ratio and increased trailing arm bush capacity provide more supple riding comfort.

New City 2009

current city prices in Thailand(in thai bhats)

A MT 484,000

A AT 521,000

V MT 526,000

V AT 563,000

SV AT 610,000

SV AT(AS) 645,000

Pakistani City

City Manual Transmission 1.3 L PKR 985,000.00

City CVT VARIO 1.3 L PKR 1,050,000.00

1Thai Bhat = 2.28PKR

Convert the prices ur self. According to these figures new city ll be around 1.3 million in Pakistan.

Yuvvraaj - PDVD Rip - 1CD - Xvid - 2008

Yuvvraaj Movie Download Links : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

New 50 megapixels camera from Kodak !!!

And you thought your 12 megapixel camera is overkill: Kodak announced a new flagship product for its full frame CCD sensors, which creates digital images with a resolution of 50.1 megapixels. Hasselblad will be the first manufacturer to integrate the sensor in its cameras and yes, the camera will have a lunar price.

The new KAF-50100 image sensor replaces the nearly three year old 39 megapixel KAF-39000 as the highest performing image sensor Kodak sells. The CCD measures 49.8 x 36.8 mm, which is twice the size of a regular high-end DSLR CCD, but the same size as the KAF-39000 CCD. The new model includes a total of 51.6 million square pixels measures 6.0 μm x 6.0 μm, which is substantially smaller than the 6.8 μm pixels of the KAF-39000.

The resulting images are nothing less than impressive. Kodak says that at 50 megapixels, you could easily detect an object the size of a notebook computer in an image that is covering a width of 1.5 miles. Not surprisingly, the main application field of the chip will be industrial and aerial photography. Pricing of the chip was withheld. However, industry sources recently told us that the KAF-39000 CCD is priced north of $1000.

Hasselblad confirmed that it will be using the new Kodak chip for a new flagship camera of its H3DII series. The already announced H3DII-50, scheduled for a release later this year, will create 65 MB RAW or 150 MB TIFF image files at a rate of 1.1 images per second and 33 images per minute. Images can be stored on U-DMA CF cards, a 100 GB hard drive solution or a directly connected Mac or PC.

The camera weighs 2290 grams, more than four pounds, and will be priced above the 39 megapixel model: Hasselblad said that the H3DII-50 will be available in October of this year for $39,995.

Now WEAR a kidney if yours fail, especially for people on dialysis

Kidneys are an important part of the human body -- as the body's filtration system, they keep harmful pollutants from building up in the blood stream and causing problems which can, if left untreated, become fatal. When kidneys fail, modern medical technology generally relies on dialysis.Hemodialysis is typically the common means of treatment, and it involves externally removing toxins from the blood via machinery. The process takes four hours, three times weekly, causing a great deal of stress in the patient's life and body. As the treatment only occurs every few days, harmful substances build up in the blood stream, and when they are all filtered out in the span of several hours, along with the addition of anticoagulants used to prevent filtering blood from clotting, it causes a shock to the patient's body.However, thanks to Martin Roberts and David B. N. Lee of the UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, cumbersome dialysis may be a thing of the past for many patients. They have designed a peritoneal, wearable kidney which could replace the function of a patient's own failing organs.There are many benefits to the automated, wearable artificial kidney, or AWAK. Foremost is that rather than spending hours on a machine several times a week; much like a regular kidney, the AWAK functions continuously. This will allow patients to go about their lives in a much more unaffected manner than presently available.Another is the efficiency of the device. Typically, dialysate, the fluid of pollutants and other chemicals removed from blood during dialysis, is simply disposed. The AWAK can reuse the fluid and proteins contained in the dialysate, reducing protein and eliminating water loss during the filtration process."Dialysis-on-the-go, made possible by AWAK's 'wearability' and automation, frees end-stage renal failure patients from the servitude that is demanded by the current dialytic regimentations," stated Robert and Lee in a Clinical and Experimental Nephrology article about the device. Certainly the device will improve the quality of life for many dialysis patients should it see widespread use.

Oasis of the seas is five times larger than Titanic

It is supposed to be the largest cruise ship ever built, in these days big seems to sell. Future tickets are being sold now without discount.In 2009 the ship will leave docks for the first time. Five times bigger than the Titanic it will offer room for 5400 passengers.The ship will carry 4 swimming pools, climbing wall, surf simulator, ice park, sand beach and a park with real treas.The first trip is planned in the end of 2009. In the mean time the construction on the 900 million euro ship is ongoing in Finland under tight scheduling.Tickets from 1500 euro to upward 10,000 euro's for luxury suites.Royal Caribbean is convinced that all tickets will be sold on its maiden voyage from Southampton to her home port in the Caribbean.

Save electric bills by 30%‏

Services available in Pakistan Only !

We are the sole distributor in Pakistan of power factor based on German Technology which reduces your electricity bills by 30% guaranteed by reducing the ampere load of your appliances. It is working in Pakistan since 2 years ago.

A new revolution in electricity power factor save your electricity bills by 30%

No meter Alteration;
No cable installation;
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Not slowing down your meter reading;
Increase your power efficiency;
Stabilize your voltage and current;
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Reduce you electricity bills by controlling torque load.

As we know that electric pressure fluctuates according to the peak and valley state of electric current, but these are not perfect cycles

They come with many instabilities, our product has resolved this problem by lowering these cycles, hence saving us electricity, money and extending the life of our appliances

* What is the fundamental logic.?
Power factor serves to stabilize voltage, to reduce phase difference between current and voltage, to increase power factor, to decrease current, and thus to reduce power wastage and save power.

Technical Parameter:
Rated Voltage: 90V - 250V
Rated frequency: 50Hz - 60Hz
Useful Load: 25KW – 2000KW

*It’s an opportunity to save your money hence saving country’s electricity.!

For further details please contact us at (rco.engineering@gmail.com)

Shanghai tower named year's best skyscraper

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Shanghai World Financial Center, the world's second-tallest building that some say resembles an elegant bottle opener, was named on Thursday by architects as the best skyscraper completed this year.
"The simplicity of its form as well as its size dramatizes the idea of the skyscraper," said Carol Willis of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, an international group of architects and engineers.
The Shanghai tower was design by architectural firm Kohn Pederson Fox Associates, which was founded in New York and has offices worldwide.
Architect Tim Johnson, who led the council's selection committee, cited the building's innovative structural design. Steel trusses gird against the forces of wind and earthquake and "made the building lighter, made it use less steel, and contributed to its sustainability," he said in an interview.
The tower's tapered form creates the impression it is dissolving into the heavens, he added.

Now 400 GB LAPTOP hard disks from Toshiba

Toshiba just bested its own 320GB hard drive with a 400GB offering in the same 9.5-mm height form factor favored by most thin laptops.

That's as good as it gets unless you can track down Sammy's elusive 500GB Spinpoint M6. The MK4058GSX spins just 2 platters which means the disk sports an impressive 477Mbit/mm2 (308Gbpsi) areal density while consuming 20% less power (0.0015W/GB energy consumption efficiency) and 2dB less noise than its own 320GB predecessor. Rounding out the specs are a 12-ms average seek and 8MB cache. Toshiba also boosted the rest of its 9.5-mm, 2.5-inch, 3.0Gbps SATA disk lineup to 7,200rpm including the 320GB MK3254GSY. Mass production of the 400GB slab is expected to begin in September while the 7,200 HDDs will hit the market in August. No prices announced yet.

e=mc2: 103 years later, Einstein's proven right

PARIS (AFP) – It's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been corroborated, thanks to a heroic computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists.

A brainpower consortium led by Laurent Lellouch of France's Centre for Theoretical Physics, using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, have set down the calculations for estimating the mass of protons and neutrons, the particles at the nucleus of atoms.
According to the conventional model of particle physics, protons and neutrons comprise smaller particles known as quarks, which in turn are bound by gluons.

The odd thing is this: the mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks is only five percent. Where, therefore, is the missing 95 percent?
The answer, according to the study published in the US journal Science on Thursday, comes from the energy from the movements and interactions of quarks and gluons.
In other words, energy and mass are equivalent, as Einstein proposed in his Special Theory of Relativity in 1905.

5 Reasons Why You Guys Are Still Single

Do you find yourself wondering why most of your buddies have steady dates, yet you can barely secure a first date, let alone a second (and, playing a regular game of Mahjong and Canasta with your grandparents and their friends doesn't count)? Guys, if so, it's time to ask yourself a few Foxy questions...

Do you... have a problem with eye contact? Even if you love everything about this other person, it won't matter, if you can't take your eyes off their body parts. They'll likely think you're out for one thing, or that you're just kind of creepy. Sure, they might be wearing something revealing, but that's no excuse to stare all night long. Get a grip and get comfortable with eye contact, which creates a much better bond.

Do you... eat like a caveman? Utensils are there for a reason -- so you can eat like a gentleman. Shoveling food into your mouth is not something you should subject your date to. Same goes for talking while chewing. Not only is it unpleasant to watch at a time when your job is to be easy on the eyes, it's a red flag that says you're a little short on self-awareness -- an important characteristic in a mate.

Do you... trim your toenails? Not that your date will necessarily see your toenails right away, but when they do end up eyeballing them, unkept toenails are a guaranteed huge turnoff. It means you don't take care of yourself, and valuing yourself is an important part of a healthy relationship. Plus, let's not forget the damage they can do to the other person's leg when you're snuggling up on the sofa watching movies

Do you... order "everything on the side" at a restaurant? In other words, do you order like a girl? Please don't. Because if your date has to be tortured by, "I'll have the Cobb salad, but no cheese, avocado, or bacon, and dressing on the side, and the pasta, but no oil please, and extra light on the pinenuts," they may be forced to hide under the table or at least wonder what kind of demanding partner you could be. If you have dietary restrictions, do your best, just don't get into what will happen to your belly if you don't follow them.

Do you... assume you're going to strike out? The Secret said it once but we'll say it again: In a lot of ways, you manifest your own destiny. So, if you have lots of thoughts about being unlucky in love, you may be pushing people away in ways you may not even know. If you assume the worst of the world and yourself, spend a few minutes before your date making a mental list of why you're looking for a relationship and why you are an incredible a catch.

Intel launched its most advanced processor ever

Intel launched this Monday its most advanced processor ever, the Intel Core i7, the first member of the Nehalem family, but also the fastest and most sophisticated processor in the world. The announcement was made during an event held in San Francisco.The Core i7 processor was designed to deliver incredible speed and performance without increasing power consumption. This is especially remarkable at times when the IT world needs to provide more energy efficiency and energy smart power management features, something that Intel has shown great interest in.The first Nehalem processor speeds up video editing, gaming and any other activity on the computer or Internet by almost 40 percent, the company revealed, making it the fastest processor in the world, and meeting the needs of the most demanding users.As Patrick Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel?s Digital Enterprise Group pointed out in a statement, the Core i7 combines Intel?s biggest leap in chip design with incredible innovations in its solid state drives (based on multi-level cell NAND flash technology, which the company introduced earlier in September), thus redefining the computer of tomorrow.As a proof of that, the Core i7 scored a whooping 117 on the SPECint_base_rate2006 benchmark test (which measures the processor?s performance), holding a world record as the first processor to score more than 100 points.With the help of the Turbo Boost Technology, which accelerates performance to adjust to the user?s needs and workloads, as well as the on-die power control unit and the ?power gate? transistors based on the advanced 45 nanometer, high-k metal gate process, the Core i7 meets the demands of all users, and was highly appreciated in reviews. In addition to ensuring the ultimate power-saving technology, the Core i7 also more than doubles the memory bandwidth of the previous Intel Extreme platform, the company explained, speeding up the transfer of computer bits and bites in and out of the processor with the help of the Quickpath technology. For all the game-addicts out there, Core i7 delivers the ultimate gaming experience, 40 percent faster than that offered by any previous high-performance processor, according to the 3DMark Vantage CPU physics and AI tests measurements for gaming performance. The company introduced 3 models: the Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition, 3.20 GHz clock speed, 6.4 QPI speed, at $999; the Intel Core i7-940, 2.93 GHz clock speed, 4.8 QPI speed, at $562; and the Intel Core i7-920, 2.66 GHz clock speed, 4.8 QPI speed, at $284. All three models come with 8MB level 3 cache, DDR3-1066 memory speed support for best performance on any desktop platform, and are based on the Nehalem 45nm microarchitecture. The Core i7 Extreme Edition also removes overspeed protection, allowing knowledgeable customers or hobbyists to further increase the chip's speed, the company explained.

Benefit of suger

Researchers believe that sweet drinks give people a sugar rush that helps supply the brain with the fuel needed to suppress outspoken opinions.A group of students was given a group of students lemonade, some with sugar, and some with an artificial sweetener.They were then shown a picture of Sammy, a young man said to be gay, and asked to write for five minutes about his typical day.Using a list of 58 stereotypes associated with gay men, the researchers then counted the number of times they were written.Those who had drunk the sugary drink used far fewer stereotypes in their essays than those who had the artificial sweetener, leading to a theory that people can use restraint to keep objectionable thoughts to themselves when they have higher amounts of glucose in their body.The report said: "The findings suggest a link between glucose levels and the expression of prejudice and the use of stereotypes."People with lower glucose levels are more likely to use stereotypes when describing others and, if they are high in prejudice, are more likely to make derogatory statements."The researchers from Amsterdam University and Florida State University added: "When people engage in the act of trying to control public expressions of prejudice or the use of stereotypes, they consume the energy required for self-regulation."However, once the energy source is restored to normal levels, people regain the ability to control conscious responses towards others."Because self-control depends on processes that consume glucose as an energy source, people who have lower levels of blood glucose may be more likely to express prejudice."The report is published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Titanic Damaged by Tourists, Salvagers, Expedition Finds

The Titanic has significantly deteriorated since its discovery in 1986, explorer Robert D. Ballard announced yesterday during a telephone press conference from a research ship above the wreck in the North Atlantic.

Ballard found the Titanic in 1986. He is currently leading an expedition to assess how the wreck has changed since then and to ensure its future protection.

Though only about halfway through the mission, Ballard was already able to determine that the mainmast of the ship has been ruined and that large areas of the deck have been damaged.
"The mainmast of the ship has been bashed down and destroyed. Objects—the ship's bell, the ship's light—have been torn off of that," Ballard said. He attributes the damage to treasure hunters who have salvaged the wreck for artifacts.
The current expedition has also uncovered holes in the deck that Ballard says have been caused by the 100 to 200 deep-sea tourists who have visited the wreck via submarines. "The visitors that have come to this site have been in very large submarines," said Ballard, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence.
"When [submarines] bump into things, they can do damage. When they land, they can do damage," he said. "You can clearly see, all over the ship, where the common landing sites are knocking the holes in the deck."

Partly to avoid inflicting further damage, the Ballard team is using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), not submarines.
Diving from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel Ronald H. Brown, these "robots" provide massive spotlights, cameras, and easy maneuverability along the wreck, which is 12,000 feet (3,650 meters) underwater and 325 miles (523 kilometers) from Newfoundland. The new expedition is funded by the National Geographic Society and NOAA, among other organizations.

Thousands of Artifacts Missing
Many of the submarine tourists have taken invaluable pieces of jewelry, porcelain, and glasses, among other Titanic relics. "Does that diminish it as you run along and you've had 8,000 to 9,000 objects recovered from that debris field that are not there to be seen? Does that diminish the experience? Absolutely, it does, particularly when many of these objects were not at peril," Ballard said.
Another problem has been litter. Many support ships that bring submarines full of tourists have been dumping debris into the ocean and the Titanic.
"This isn't any toxic kind of thing, but they're working on a piece of line and they throw it over the side, or they've got a bolt that doesn't work anymore and they chuck it over the side," Ballard said.

M&M eyes Chrysler’s Jeep, Dodge brands

There could be another global acquisition brewing in the auto industry, that too, with an Indian player in the fray. Jeep and Dodge are the target and NDTV has learnt that Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) could be in the mood to buy. After losing out on Land Rover, M&M might be quick to follow the Tata example of a high profile global acquisition.In the heels of a collapse of merger talks between Chrysler and General Motors, M&M is likely to make a bid for parts of the Detroit based automotive giant Chrysler. However, sources indicate that M&M will most likely bid for the Jeep or Dodge lines of business as it would strengthen the Indian company's UV capability.The big question, however, is—what is driving this possibility and how will the global financial turmoil impact such an acquisition?Well, sources have it that after merger talks with GM fell through, Cerberus which owns Chrysler, is now looking at selling the brands and that’s where Mahindra steps in.Cerberus is likely to sell the Chrysler brand and Dodge-Jeep brands.It has identified potential buyers for Jeep-Dodge from India, China, Russia and the Middle East and most importantly, Mahindra's name is included as a possible suitor.The buy would benefit M&M in a number of ways. Since Jeep and Dodge products share platforms, they would strengthen M&M's UV capability. As also M&M wants to become a global player, acquiring these brands would give it a strong network in the US—a market that it wants to address seriously post 2010. Moreover, since Dodge and Jeep also sell in Europe and Latin America, M&M would also get access to a distribution network in those regions.Meanwhile, Cerberus is also in preliminary talks with Renault-Nissan and Fiat, but both the automotive giants lack strong utility capabilities, especially Fiat.However, Hyundai has shown some interest, though only in the Chrysler brand— which is where the idea of splitting the portfolio originated.Hence another big advantage for M&M would also be smaller liabilities since the Jeep and Dodge assets on ground are smaller as compared to those of Chrysler.It also means a smaller workforce to deal with, since job cuts are unlikely to be permissible and the option of developing and selling its own vehicles in the US, since low-end models are missing from the Dodge and Jeep portfolio.Thus, there is another big race in the making. Although M&M is likely to face a stiff competition for the brands, with a focused bid on Jeep and Dodge only, in addition to the synergies with its global strategy, it could see a financial backing coming through.

Chinese car-maker may set up plant in Pakistan

Saturday, November 15, 2008ISLAMABAD: Chinese car manufacturers have expressed their willingness to establish an eight-seater car manufacturing plant in Pakistan.

Cars produced in this plant would be sold on cheaper rates as compared to cars of other companies, King Ping, Chairman of Chinese Mini Car Manufacturing Company told the Minister of State for Industries and Production, Ayatullah Durrani, during a meeting here on Friday.

King Ping is heading a Chinese manufacturing delegation to Pakistan. “In the beginning we will bring one thousand cars to the Pakistani market for introduction and after that we will start manufacturing here,” he said adding that the production capacity of the plant would be 1,000 cars per month.

On the occasion, the minister told the delegation that there was a great scope for investment in Gwadar as the government was providing complete security to the foreign investors.

Durrani assured the delegation that if they set up a car manufacturing plant in Gwadar, the government of Balochistan will provide complete security and land at cheep rates to them. He said that the government has also declared free tax zone to the industrial sector in Gwadar adding that the future of Gwadar was very bright as it would open new vistas for trade and economic activities in Pakistan.

He informed the delegation that many Chinese manufacturing companies were also in touch with the Pak-Government to seek industrial plots in Gwadar. He said that the government would provide all kinds of opportunities to the investors who invest in Pakistan and provide new technology.

Lucky Chow, Trade representative of Shihao Jiche, Mini Car Company and High officials of the Ministry of Industries and Production also attended the meeting.

BENTLEY'S FLAGSHIP AZURE

BENTLEY'S FLAGSHIP AZURE Could Bentley's new Azure T be the "world's most elegant convertible"? It breaks out at the upcoming LA Auto Show. Bentley has taken the very stately Azure convertible and given it extra clout. But while it has a greater focus on performance than the 336 kW/875 Nm Azure, this convertible is also endowed with the ability to transport four adults in absolute first-class luxury. Using Crewe's hand-made twin-turbocharged 6¾-litre V8 that in Azure T produces 373 kW at 4 200 r/min and a pounding 1 000 Nm of torque at 3 200 r/min, this is one quick cruiser. Power and torque are transmitted through a six-speed automatic transmission with three performance modes while the sports suspension can also be altered by using the Sport button on the dashboard. From standstill, acceleration 0-100 km/h is possible in 5.5 seconds while Bentley says top speed is 288 km/h.But this Azure T offers show to go along with its, well, go. "Le Mans" front wing vents, 20-inch five-spoke alloys, "jewel" fuel filler cap made from billet aluminium, a new infotainment system with a larger display and a retractable Flying B mascot form part of the car's package. Twenty-five interior hides and 42 exterior colours along with a seemingly infinite range of options allows owners to choose the convertible of their dreams. According to Bentley, the folding soft-top is very functional too. Made from triple-layer canvas, it is operated hydraulically and slides beneath the rear parcel shelf in 25 seconds. However, since the roof has its own storage area, there is no encroaching on Azure T's bootspace that has been designed to hold two sets of golf clubs and hand luggage.

EURO CAR OF THE YEAR NAMED

The 2009 European Car of the Year has been named as the Opel Insignia, beating the Ford Fiesta by a single point.“This is the closest car of the year competition for years,” comments Ray Hutton, president of the 59-strong jury of senior motoring journalists drawn from 23 European countries. “Car of the Year has often been decided narrowly, but it is eight years since another Ford, the Mondeo, was beaten by a single point by Alfa Romeo’s 147.”The Insignia received the most votes from 20 of the jurors scoring 321 points, while the Fiesta was placed first by 19 of them.“The market’s the toughest we’ve seen for 20 years," says Steve Cropley, editor-in-chief of sponsoring magazine Autocar, "but nothing alters the fact that the Insignia is a great car. "However, this result is undoubtedly something of an upset. The Ford Fiesta seemed to many a winning contender. But in the end, the Insignia deserved to triumph and it did.”

The results:

Opel Insignia - 321 points

Ford Fiesta - 320 points

Volkswagen Golf - 223 points

Citroen C5 - 198 points

Alfa Romeo MiTo - 148 points

Skoda Superb - 144 points

Renault Megane - 121 points

Ford set to sell 20% Mazda stake

Troubled US carmaker Ford Motor is selling a 20% stake in Japan's carmaker Mazda Motor, the Japanese company has said.
Ford owns a 33.4% stake in Mazda. The move will reduce it to just over 13%.
Ford has been hit hard by falling sales around the world and is seeking to raise cash along with its Detroit competitors.
Shares in Mazda jumped 6.4% on Tuesday on reports about the possibility of the stake sale.
General Motors has sold its 3% stake in Japanese carmaker Suzuki for $230m (£156m).
Declining value
The possible sale of a 20% stake in Mazda was first reported more than a month ago.
At that moment, the stake was valued at $850m. However, based on Mazda's share price on Tuesday, the value of the holding has fallen to $543m.
Ford first bought a stake in Mazda in 1979. It took control of the Japanese carmaker in 1996, saving it from potential bankruptcy.
According to media reports, Ford's stake in Mazda may be bought by trading houses Sumitomo and Itochu, Japanese insurance companies, car parts maker Denso, as well as by Mazda itself.
The "Big Three" US car firms Chrysler, Ford and GM are seeking a total $25bn in emergency US government loan.

HTC Touch Pro (Sprint)

Reviews of the HTC Touch Pro (Sprint)





The Good: The HTC Touch Pro offers a full QWERTY keyboard and a gorgeous touch screen. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone also offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and EV-DO Rev. A support as well a nice mix of productivity and multimedia features.



The Bad: The Touch Pro is sluggish at times. The smartphone is bulky, and there's no standard headphone jack or dedicated camera key.



The Bottom Line: Despite some performance issues, the HTC Touch Pro is one of Sprint's most feature-packed and powerful smartphones for business users.

Telecom
Data services E-Mail, WWW, SMS, MMS
Modem Integrated Wireless cellular modem
Service provider Sprint PCS
Cellular enhancement protocol EDGE, HSUPA, GPRS, GSM, HSDPA

General
Dimensions (W x D x H) 2 in x 0.7 in x 4 in
Weight 5.8 oz
Features Sliding
Standby time Up to 462 h

Operating System / Software
OS provided Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

Memory
Installed RAM 288 MB
Installed ROM 512 MB

Processor
Processor QUALCOMM 528 MHzMSM7201A

Input Device
Input device type TouchFLO 3D touch-screen, QWERTY keyboard

Audio
Digital audio standards supported WMA, MIDI, WAV, AAC +, MP3, AMR, AAC
Audio input type Microphone
Audio output type Speaker(s)

Display
Display type 2.8 in TFT active matrix
Max resolution 480 x 640

Power
Battery installed ( max ) 1
Talk time Up to 419 min
Power supply device Power adapter
Power device type Power adapter

Expansion / Connectivity
Wireless connectivity IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
Port / Connector Type:Interface 1Video / audio / USB
Connector Provided 11 pin HTC ExtUSB
Expansion slot(s) total (free) 1 MicroSD

Physical Characteristics
Width 2 in
Depth 0.7 in
Height 4 in
GPS
GPS System / GPS Navigation GPS receiver

EMI

EMi ~ (2008) ~ HQ ~ MP3 ~ 320 Kbps ~ VBR

DOWNLOAD LINK : http://rapidshare.com/files/147094584/EMI__320KBPS-VBR-2008-DMF_.rar.html

Roadside Romeo ~ (2008) ~ HQ ~ MP3 ~ 320 Kbps ~ VBR

DOWNLOAD LINK : http://rapidshare.com/files/149715823/ROADSIDE_ROMEO_MP3-VBR-2008-DMF_RELEASE_.rar.html

GHAJINI - GUZARISH TRACK 320 Kbps VBR

Movie : GHAJINI

Track : Hai Guzarish

Year : 2008

Time : 4.01 mins.

Codec : LameMp3

BitRate : 320Kbps

VBRSize : 9.19 mb

Realeser : DMF

Download

'Ruthless' Trojan horse steals 500k bank, credit card log-ons

A sophisticated cybercrime group that has maintained an especially devious Trojan horse for nearly three years has stolen the log-ons to more than 300,000 online bank accounts and almost as many credit cards during that time, a security company said today.
Researchers at RSA Security Inc.'s FraudAction Research Labs tracked the Sinowal Trojan horse, also known as Mebroot and Torpig, to a drop server that contained the stolen credentials, said Sean Brady, the product marketing manager at RSA's ID and access assurance group.
"The sheer enormity of this makes this unique," said Brady. "And the scale is very unusual." All told, the gang behind Sinowal managed to obtain access to nearly half a million bank accounts and credit cards, a volume RSA dubbed "ruthless" and "extraordinary."
"And the fact that the Trojan was managed by one group through its history and maintained for nearly three years is also very unusual," Brady said. RSA uncovered records that showed the Trojan horse had been in active operation since at least February 2006. "In malware life cycles, that's ancient, and to keep it up required a high degree of resources and effort."

Flaming Laptop Batteries Prompt Sony Recall

Sony has issued yet another recall for some of its laptop batteries, citing burn and fire hazards. Most of the batteries in question are found in HP laptops, though Dell and Toshiba notebooks are also affected. Over the last few years, overheating Sony laptop batteries have led to recalls of millions of units worldwide.
Sony issued a recall Friday for roughly 100,000 notebook batteries. Conducted in partnership with the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission (USCPSC), the recall affects laptop users worldwide. The lithium-ion batteries can overheat and pose a fire and burn hazard to users.
There have been 19 reports of batteries overheating, including 17 instances in which flames or fire were reported, according to the USCPSC. Two consumers received minor burns as a result.
The news follows massive battery recalls that began in 2006 when some 9.6 million Sony laptop batteries had to be returned.
"Batteries have always been a tough area of systems, given power and heat issues," said David Daoud, an IDC analyst, told TechNewsWorld. "Battery makers have not really been under pressure enough to address the quality problem, but we will see growing pressure on them. But in the meanwhile, and until we have proven technology, I don't rule out more incidents to come."

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/65014.html?wlc=1226860112

Tsunami warning follows strong quake off Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A powerful earthquake struck waters off eastern Indonesia early Monday, generating tsunami warnings for coastlines within 600 miles of the epicenter.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's preliminary magnitude at 7.5 and said it struck 13 miles beneath the sea. It was centered 54 miles from Gorantalo, a coastal town on Sulawesi island.

Fauzi, an official with the local geological agency who goes by only one name, put the magnitude at 7.7. He did not have any immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake had the potential to generate a destructive tsunami along coasts within 600 miles of the epicenter.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
In December 2004, a massive earthquake off Indonesia's Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that battered much of the Indian Ocean coastline and killed more than 230,000 people — 131,000 of them in Indonesia's Aceh province alone.
A tsunami off Java island last year killed nearly 5,000.

Tricks to over come windows annoying messages

Ever had such annoying messages(found below) given by Windows? Cannot delete file: Access is denied There has been a sharing violation. The source or destination file may be in use. The file is in use by another program or user. Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use. Unlocker is the solution! Unlocker is an Windows Explorer extension allowing you with a simple right-click on a file or folder to get rid of error message such as error deleting file or folder, cannot delete folder: it's being used by another person or program. 1. Simply right click the folder or file and select Unlocker 2. If the folder or file is locked, a window listing of lockers will appear 3. Simply click Unlock All and you are done! Reasons to choose Unlocker compared to other similar progs... Unlocker can: Close handle Kill process Unload DLL Delete index.dat Delete, Rename, Move Remove/Rename Invalid Names -n- all this can be done witout reboot....Usually, reboot isn't required... VERY SIMPLE TO USE....Moreover, it is free... Rating: Excellent (4.7/5) Download Unlocker with link below...File Size: 190 KB http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/unlocker1.8.5.exe

India celebrates planting its flag on moon

NEW DELHI – India rejoiced Saturday at joining an elite club by planting its flag on the moon as the country's space agency released the first pictures of the cratered surface taken by its maiden lunar mission.
A probe sent late Friday from the orbiting mother spacecraft took pictures and gathered other data India needs for a future moon landing as it plummeted to a crash-landing at the moon's south pole, said Indian Space Research Organization spokesman B.R. Guruprasad.
The box-shaped probe was painted with India's saffron, white and green flag, sparking celebrations in the country that is striving to become a world power.
"The tricolor has landed," the Hindustan Times said in a banner headline, while The Asian Age proclaimed "India is big cheese."
As India's economy has boomed in recent years, it has sought to convert its newfound wealth — built on the nation's high-tech sector — into political and military clout. The moon mission comes just months after it finalized a deal with the United States that recognizes India as a nuclear power, and leaders hope the mission will further enhance its prestige.
"This momentous achievement shall be etched in the history of India as a grateful tribute to our scientific community for their resolute efforts to take India to a global leadership position," said Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party.
To date only the U.S., Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China — and now India — have sent missions to the moon.
But while the celebrations conjured up images akin to that of the U.S. flag unfurled on the moon by Apollo astronauts, India's flag is most likely scattered over a wide swath of the moon's Shackleton crater after the probe slammed into the surface at more than 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) per hour.
The violent landing was planned and Indian scientists hope to study the images and data sent back by the probe during its 25-minute descent to prepare for a future "soft" landing, Guruprasad told The Associated Press. It carried a video imaging system, a radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer.
The video imaging system took pictures of the moon's surface, while the altimeter measured the rate of descent of the probe and the mass spectrometer studied the extremely thin lunar atmosphere.
Guruprasad said the pictures that were released were raw images and that scientists had not yet analyzed the information sent by the probe.
It was the first stage of a two-year mission aimed at measuring not only the surface of the moon, but what lies beneath. The probe was one of 11 payloads on the spacecraft Chandrayaan-1. Chandrayaan means "moon craft" in ancient Sanskrit.
India plans to follow the mission by landing a rover on the moon in 2011 and, eventually, with a manned space program, though this has not been authorized yet.

How to configure your mail account in Outlook Express:

Outlook Express Here's how to configure your mail account in Outlook Express: Open your Microsoft Mail client and select "Tools > Accounts." Select the Mail tab and click the "Add" button. Enter the information as given, replacing the sample with your email address and domain name. Outgoing Mail (SMTP): smtp.yourdomain.com Incoming Mail (POP 3): pop.yourdomain.com My incoming server is a: POP3 Account name: you%yourdomain.com Password: ******** It is important to note that the Account Name uses a % symbol and not the @ character

The Yahoo! SMTP server requires Authentication to properly send emails. To turn this setting on:

From the Tools menu, choose "Accounts." Select the "Mail" tab. Double-click the account labeled "pop.mail.yahoo.com" Select the "Servers" tab. Check the box next to "My Server Requires Authentication." Click "OK." Important: For security purposes, and to prevent unauthorized use, our mail server requires that you check your mail before you send outgoing messages. Unfortunately, some Microsoft email programs such as Outlook do not perform this task. For this reason, some Outlook users will need to use their Internet Service Providers (ISP) outgoing mail server (SMTP) setting. If you do not know the setting to use, please contact your ISP and ask them for the appropriate SMTP setting to send mail. Click "OK" when you are finished. The other configurable items are optional. See the Help area of the software for more information.

If you are having trouble with outgoing email, please try adding in the following settings as well:

Open Outlook Express and go to "Tools > Accounts > Mail." Select "Mail Account > Properties > Servers." At the bottom of the Servers window there is a check box. It says "My server requires Authentication." Once you have checked the box, click on the "Settings" tab. Select the button that says "Log on Using." Then input your user name in the corresponding box and your password in its corresponding box. This extra option will help in authenticating the email account with our servers.

How to Recover deleted data

Recover My Files data recovery software will easily recover deleted files emptied from the Windows Recycle Bin, or lost due to the format or corruption of a hard drive, virus or Trojan infection, unexpected system shutdown or software failure.

What it can do: Recover files even if emptied from the Recycle Bin Unformat hard drives, even if you have reinstalled Windows! Disk recovery after a hard disk crash Get back files after a partitioning error Recover documents, photos, video music and email. Recover from hard drive, camera card, USB, Zip, floppy disk or other media

Recover My Files is fast and easy. No technical or data recovery software skill are required to undelete files. Use Recover My Files to perform hard drive data recovery, or recover data from floppy disk, zip drive, smart media, compact flash or other removable media. It is easy disk recovery software to undelete files and get data back

Recover My Files data recovery software will find any type of file, but includes specific support for more than 200 file types in the following broad categories:

* Recover deleted email
* Recover deleted documents
* Recover deleted archives
* Digital Photo recovery
* Recover deleted music and video

Recover My Files is compatible with Windows 98/ME/2000/2003/XP and Vista and works with FAT 12, FAT 16, FAT 32, NTFS and NTFS5 file-systems.

With a deleted file the data content of the file is rarely destroyed. Even if Windows file reference information has been destroyed, this data recovery software scans the data at a low level to locate "Lost Files" by their internal file structure. This allows Recover My Files to recover deleted files that other data recovery software can never know exist

Here is the download link.

http://www.megashare.com/223201

Amphibious water Bus

Windows Secret - Instant Win in Solitaire

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win

Secret - Draw single cards in a Draw Three game
Instructions - Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one.

Mathematics of Hazrat Ali (A.S.)

One
One Day a person came to Ali (A.S.), thinking that since Ali thinks he is too smart, I'll ask him such a tough question that he won't be able to answer it and I'll have the chance to embarrass him in front of all the Arabs. He asked 'Ali (A.S.), tell me a number, that if we divide it by any number from 1-10 the answer will always come in the form of a whole number and not as a fraction.' Hazrat Ali (A.S.) Looked back at him and said, 'Take the number of days in a year and multiply it with the number of days in a week and you will have your answer.'The person got astonished but as he was a Mushrik he still didn't believe Ali (A.S.). He calculated the answer Ali (A.S.) gave him. To his amazement he came across the following results:

The number of Days in a Year = 360 (in Arabic Calendar)The Number of Days in a Week = 7The product of the two numbers = 2520

2520 divide by 1 = 2520
2520 divide by 2 = 1260
2520 divide by 3 = 840
2520 divide by 4 = 630
2520 divide by 5 = 504
2520 divide by 6 = 420
2520 divide by 7 = 360
2520 divide by 8 = 315
2520 divide by 9 = 280

Second
One day a person came to Ali (A.S.). He was planning to ask Ali (A.S.) such a question which would take Ali (A.S.) a long time to answer and because of that his Maghrib Prayers would be delayed. He asked, 'Ali you say you know everything in the world, then tell me which animals lay eggs and which animals give birth to their young ones Hazrat Ali (A.S.) looked back at him smiled and said, 'The animals who have their 'EARS' outside their body give birth to their young ones and the animals who have their 'EARS' inside their body lay eggs.'

Third
A person was about to die, and before dying he wrote his Will which went as follows 'I have 17 Camels, and I have three sons. Divide my Camels in such a way that My eldest son gets half of them, the second one gets 1/3rd of the total and my youngest son gets 1/9th of the total number of Camels' After his death when the relatives read his will they got extremely perplexed and said to each other that how can we divide 17 camels like this? So after a long hard thought they decided that there was only one man in Arabia who could help them: 'Ali Ibne Abi Taalib.' So they all came to the door of Ali (A.S.) and put forward their problem.Hazrat Ali (A.S.) said, 'Ok. I will divide the camels as per the man's will.'

He said, 'I will lend one of my camels to the total which makes it 18
(17+1=18), now lets divide as per his will'
The Eldest gets 1/2 of 18 = 9
The second one gets 1/3 of 18 = 6
and The Youngest gets 1/9 of 18 = 2
Now the total number of camels = 17
Then Hazrat Ali (A.S.) said, 'Now I will take my Camel back.'This was the genius that Hazrat Ali was in his time.

BEFORE MARRIAGE WIFE LOOKS SNOW WHITE

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PRESS CTRL+A
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AND HOW SHE LOOKS BEFORE MARRIAGE

Hoax email about child helpline confuses many

Some Important notice for your health

Reduce volume of tea intake
Stay a distance from your charger
Drink more water in the morning, less at night
Do not drink coffee twice a day
Reduce your volume of oily food
Best sleeping time is from 10 at night to 6 at the morning
Do not have HUGE meals after 5pm
Do not take alcohol more than a cup daily
Do not take capsules with cold water
Do not lie down immediately after taking medicine before sleeping
Have 8 hours sleep. Lack of it will make a person stupid
People who get used to napping will not get old easily
If you can't get on early morning runs, 5-8 in the afternoon is a great time for jogging
When battery left last grid, do not answer the phone. The radiation is 1000 times
Answer the phone with your left ear. It'll spoil your brain directly if you use your right ear
Do not use earphone for long time. Rest your ear a while after 1 hour

Cuteness

Most expensive Pen

Swiss company Caran d’Ache made ‘La Modernista Diamonds’ a pen that was sold in Harrods, London, for $265,000. Created in memory of architect Antonio Gaudi, the rhodium-coated solid silver pen has an 18-karat gold pen point and is pave-set with 5,072 diamonds and 96 half-cut rubies.

Why do we read Quran, even if we can't understand a single Arabic word???? This is a beautiful story.

An old American Muslim lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Quran. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Quran just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the Quran. What good does reading the Qur'an do?" The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water." The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!" "So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. "Son, that's what happens when you read the Qur'an. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Allah in our lives."

Floating Chair Inspired By Star Wars

A UK designer is about to take the wraps off a unique floating chair/recliner called The Lounger, inspired by the Landspeeder from Star Wars.
Designed by 40-year Keith Dixon from Middleton, the futuristic looking Lounger has taken 5 years to create and allows you to float above the base thanks to the use of repelling magnetic forces in the base and the lounger itself.
We are not talking a few centimetres off the base either but up to 14ins so that you get that whole ‘floating sensation’. That of course depends on how much you weigh. If you’re close to the 266lbs [19 stone] limit then maybe you should drop that to 4ins or less.
There are restraining rods to prevent the seat from shooting off to the sides and users are warned to keep it at least 5 feet from the telly. And make sure you don’t have a pacemaker.
Apart from that, you’re good to float from March 16 when The Lounger goes on sale for a cool £5,875. That should bring some people back to Earth with a bump.-Martin Lynch

Mobile Phone Projector Takes Big Step Closer

We covered Texas Instruments’ (IT's) phone-based DLP Pico projector last year, including this cool, short video of it in action, but until now it’s been a prototype. That’s all changed now as IT announced production availability of its miniature DLP Pico chipset at the 2008 Mobile World Congress Show in Barcelona.
The chipset will go on sale this summer and will herald the arrival - most likely in 2009 - of mobile phones with fully-functioning DLP-based projectors.
"Texas Instruments is making headway in an untapped market and appears to be forging a leadership position. We expect projection within handset devices to start appearing in 2009, in a market where significant volumes are expected over the next five years." said Bill Coggshall, founder of independent projector market research experts Pacific Media Associates. "This is an exciting time for the projection industry and IT is leading the way.”
Not only will these things be handy for the odd, impromptu business presentation but couple this with a decent multimedia phone crammed with movies or music videos, Wi-If and – like the new Nokia N96 – in-built TV receiver, and you’re looking at a whole cinema and more in your pocket.-Martin Lynch

Nokia Unveil Bendy Concept Phone

Ever wanted to wear your mobile phone as a bracelet? It sounds unlikely, but new designs suggest this could be the future.

Wear your phone as a bracelet
Phones could be morphed into different shapes, folded into a pocket or twisted round your wrist thanks to hi-tech flexible materials.
Nokia have released images of their Morph concept phone which demonstrates what nanotechnology is set to deliver over the next few years.
Based on the principle behind spider silk, Nokia claim its nanotechnology could mean phones have transparent electronics, solar charging and self-cleaning plastics.
Joe Svetlik, news editor of T3 magazine, says the concept will excite the mobile phone industry but he remains unconvinced shoppers will see this sort of technology in shops any time soon.

Nokia Morph concept design
"Looking at the images, it looks very much like this is just a concept," Mr Svetlik told Sky News Online.
"I'm not sure how realistic it is but this is is something new that no one else seems to be doing, so that makes it an exciting development."
The Swedish firm predict parts of this technology will be incorporated into handsets by 2015.
The concept designs were developed with the Cambridge Nanoscience Centre and are currently on display at the Museum Of Modern Art in New York.

Wear Video Glasses for the Mobile

At the risk of looking like some Star Trek cast-off, video glasses are just one of those technologies that have not yet captured the mainstream punters wallet.
Of course, there’s a reason for this, not least because most of them are crap. The concept still outweighs the execution, expecially at the low-end of the market: low-res images, bulky, expensive etc. However, more are arriving at a much faster rate so let’s hope things pick up since watching movies on some tiny postage-stamp LCD is as much fun as squinting into the sun.
The iWear for iPod Video is the latest attempt. They look nice enough and weigh just 4ozs, with removable earphones. They connect directly to the iPod dock connector, which does away with extra cables, and project a 44in screen – as viewed from 9ft away. Makers Icuiti, claim that they only draw the same power as the iPod’s own screen so battery life should stay the same.
However, the claim that there are “twin high-resolution 320x240 (230,000 pixels) LCD Displays” is a bit alarming. Since when did 320x240 pixels become high res? The least you should expect for video glasses is 640x480. Expect to pay around £170. The similar iTheater glasses will set you back £145.

Holide HX-2142: World's Smallest DV? Perhaps World's Crappiest, Too

This is probably just a piece of junk, but at least it's small—the Holide HX-2142 digital video recorder and camera is called "the smallest DV in the world." No dimensions are given, but judging from the size of its USB plug, this is truly tiny and thin camcorder that's down to spycam size.

There's just 2MB of onboard memory, but it has an SD/MMC flash memory slot, so conceivably you could record quite a bit of 12fps video at 640x480. The specs say a 64MB SD card can hold 20 minutes of its video. But hey, it's the world's smallest DV! No word on what "DV" strands for in this instance.
Don't expect broadcast quality, but this might be able to give you video as good as most cellphones are capable of delivering. Yuck. No pricing or availability were forthcoming, but if it costs more than $30, this must be some kind of joke.

Y - V - Need - F.R.I.E.N.D.S‏