Headline May21,2012 / Hacking Humblings

HACKING HUMBLINGS 
Respectful Dedication Leo Tolstoy - Dr. Kenichi Ohmae / MIT - 
Walter Wriston / Citicorp/Citibank

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Leo Tolstoy

MIT Mckinsey&Company

Walter Wriston

It is now known far and wide that James' elevation to the formal number 3 job was hotly and bitterly negotiated with his father. As CEO of Sky James had the relative autonomy of running an independent company. Albeit one controlled by News Corp ; brought into News Corp itself , he was subject to the political infighting that sidelined his brother. His new position was a subject of gnashing of teeth among the four adult Murdoch siblings. They were reluctantly reconciled to James ascension - with resentment held in check - and aware this was the first move in their mutual efforts to inherit the company. And, even if James was the Chief Executive Officer, the company would be controlled by the 4 votes of the adult Murdoch children.

Strangely there was no tie breaking mechanism. Indeed, part of the deal James negotiated with his father was to get Rupert's agreement to buy the whole of sky,which would allow James to consolidate his control of Europe and Asia with Sky's much larger revenue stream.

Therefore, James was, in his new role, a formidable force. And , within a short time he had become quite a hated person. One executive close to Rupert commented on this as thus ; " Only James could make LACHLAN look good ". Therefore, dear readers, it was in this culture, and background, and with all the negative underpinnings that hacking or the hacking cover up began to profile.

Faced with the alignment of forces within the company, at about this point of inflexion James Murdoch must've looked and determined that Skulduggery in the whapping News room seemed pathetic and small timed. He wanted to come up trumps.

James Murdoch authorized £1m payment to keep Gordon Taylor from talking and to keep other powers at News Corporation from tangling up with him.

Then, Milly Dowler revelations broke thru !!!

Thanks to !WOW! for research. Don't miss morrow's post as we continue to delight you with never-wrecking subjects. It's never easy to build a better world!

Good night and God bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless!

Light Powered Bionic Eye Invented

Stanford University, California :  A bionic eye (retinal implant) - which is powered by light has been invented. However, Current retinal implants are limited to being powered by a battery.

This powers the implant and sends the information which could help a patient see. Diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinal pigmentosa result in the death of cells which can detect light in the eye.Eventually this leads to blindness.

Retinal implants stimulate the nerves in the back of the eye, which will help patients to see. It works in a similar way to a solar panel, is fitted in the back of the eye.

A pair of glasses fitted with a video camera records what is happening before a patient's eyes and fires beams of near infrared light on to the retinal chip. This creates an electrical signal which is passed on to nerves.Natural light is 1,000 times too weak to power the implant.

Teens jobless as Youth Day marked amid controversy in Turkey

Unemployment rate between age of 15 and 24 in Turkey was 18.4 percent, the Turkish Statistical data shows. Figures get worse when farm sector excluded and for females. The same survey says the youth is happier than adults


Some 12.5 million 15- to 24-year-olds in Turkey are unemployed, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) revealed yesterday, on the eve of the May 19 youth celebrations. However, the TÜİK survey also showed that young people are happier than their elders. According to the statistics, Turkish youth constitutes 16.8 percent of the total national population.

The unemployment rate among young Turks is 18.4 percent, or 22.1 percent when the farm sector is excluded. The labor force participation rate for youth is only 39.3 percent. The figures paint a bleak picture, despite Turkey’s success story in economic growth and falling public debt in recent years, which government officials often boast about.

The number of unemployed people among the working-age population who have given up looking for a job exceeded 900,000 for the first time since December 2007, said Faik Öztrak, the vice president of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) yesterday.

“Data show that women are again opting to stay at home. The number of women engaged in domestic work has increased by 387,000 in the last year. This is the highest increase since July 2008,” Öztrak said.

The figures may herald “quickly approaching economic stagnation,” if the apparent slowdown in employment opportunities does not stem from statistical techniques, he said.

The overall unemployment rate in the January-February-March period fell 1.1 points to 10.4, compared with the same period last year, but was up from the previous period, when the figure was 10.2 percent.

Educated and unemployed

Unemployment rates are staggering at the high school and university graduate levels, and are even worse among women. The unemployment rate among male high school graduates is 18.6 percent, and jumps to 27.3 percent among women high school graduates.

Some 30 percent of youth who have benefited from higher education are unemployed. The rate of unemployment among men in this group is 24 percent, while the rate is 35.6 percent among women.

The official name of the May 19 holiday is the “Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day,” and it marks landing of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, in the northern coastal province of Samsun on May 19, 1919. That date has been celebrated as the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence in official history since 1938.

Youth happier than adults

Despite high rates of unemployment, young Turks seem very optimistic and hopeful for the future, TÜİK’s data shows.

The rate of youth saying they are happy is 69.6 percent, while the rate is 60.8 percent among adults.

More than 84 percent of the youth define their health condition as “good” or “very good,” but this plunges to 59.3 percent among adults. More than 82 percent of youth say they are hopeful for the future, while the rate is close to 74 percent among adults.

The TÜİK survey also shows that young Turks spend more time reading books than their elders do, at an average of 5 hours 18 minutes versus 2 hours 14 minutes each month. Another highlight of the survey is that about 76.5 percent of young people choose their spouses from among family circles or neighbors. The rate of cross-cousin marriage is 21.2 percent.

Meanwhile, following the government’s controversial initiative to curb military presence in celebrations marking national holidays, authorities have denied a number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and opposition politicians permission to stage such ceremonies on the anniversary of May 19.  (Hürriyet Daily News)

Japan’s first police cat

Kyoto has employed the nation’s first police cat, Iemon (pronounced “ee-eh-mon”). The  abandoned stray who was found at only two weeks old, and shortly after unofficially joined the force.

He spends most of his days on top the service counter, serving to provide a friendlier, more welcoming image to the Yoro Police Station. Roughly 30% of the households in the city are elderly residents over the age of 65, so this means there’s very little opportunity for Iemon to participate in stakeouts or high-speed car chases. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own work to do. Usually the cat accompanies a sergeant when he gives presentations to the locals about watching out for phone scams, which heavily target Japan’s elderly generations. The police warn the people to watch out for calls where the person on the other line gives vague statements, like “it’s me, I’m in trouble!” followed by “please send money,” but the locals say it’s comforting to see Iemon and he helps keep them at ease when listening to officer’s warnings.

It’s pretty clear that the cat is more useful as the police mascot, rather than a crime-fighter. However, he certainly looks the part, with his custom-made uniform and hat, topped with his cute paw-print badge. While he may not carry handcuffs to deal with troublemakers, he hasn’t been de-clawed either.

Audi Develops 50 Mph, Smartphone-Controlled Bicycle

German auto giants Audi have unveiled a concept e-bike with an electronic-assisted 'tail-wind' that helps riders reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
The Wörthersee is so hi-tech it comes equipped with Wi-Fi, allows users lock and unlock it using their smartphones and select a 'wheelie mode' that helps riders perform stunts.

The bike, being dubbed the world's most powerful e-bike, launched in Germany on May 11.
Unlike other electronic bikes, it comes with five modes, ranging from 'Pure', which allows riders to pedal it like any other bike - to 'Pedelec' mode, which is electronically-assisted and allows riders to reach a top speed of 50 miles per hour, with a range of 31 to 44 miles.
The entire bike, made of ultralight carbon fibre, weighs just 46 pounds.

And Audi promises the battery can be recharged from a 230-volt supply in about 2.5 hours, or swapped out with a fully-charged replacement.
Although it was created with efficiency in mind - there are no shortage of fun features.
Besides the 'wheelie mode' there's a touchscreen trip computer that allows riders to record trick sequences and track speed, distance and even connect to Facebook.

Climber Falls 1,100 Feet To His Death

A climber has died of injuries after falling during a climb of Alaska's Mount McKinley, North America's highest mountain, said Denali National Park and Preserve's official.

A park release Saturday says the climber fell about 1,100-feet Friday, while following the West Buttress route to the summit. Witnesses say the climber fell at about 16,200-feet. He was trying to recover a backpack that had started to slide downhill.

A park service mountaineering patrol was behind the climber's three-person team and called for a helicopter. The victim's body was flown to Talkeetna, Alaska, after rangers confirmed that the climber had died of injuries.

The victim's identity has not been released pending notification of family members overseas.


Friday's fatal fall is the first serious incident on McKinley during the 2012 mountaineering season.

Beauty winner found to be a man

Brighton, UK : Angkookrat Warangnam beat 200 women to make it into the Brighton's Next Hot Model contest - and then shocked organisers by revealing she was a man.

Known as Toon, the lady boy sailed through the preliminary rounds, wowing judges with her deep brown eyes, long dark hair and slimline figure.After being given the green light by every member of the panel, the Lady Boys of Bangkok star, 26, revealed that she was born a man.

Organiser Scott Woolgar said: "During the selection process it did not cross any of our minds for a minute that she was a man. "

"We believe beauty is more than skin deep and would be honoured to have Toon in our final."

Toon said: "I feel humbled to make it through to the final and to be recognised as a woman."

"I'm excited and nervous about how hard it will be to win the whole thing.I saw a couple of beautiful girls when I went to the heats so I know there will be lots of competition. I wil try my best to win."

Deadly earthquake hits Italy

Bologna, Itlay: An earthquake of magnitude 6 has killed at least four people and caused serious damage to buildings in several towns, in Northern part of the country.

The quake struck in the middle of the night, about 35km (22 miles) causing significant damage to cultural heritage.

It was the worst tremor to rock Italy with its epicenter in the plains near Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of the Po river valley, and the tremor was felt as far west as Liguria, bordering France, and the Friuli region bordering Slovenia.

The four victims were killed by falling masonry. Italian media report two more quake-related deaths.The culture ministry said firefighters and civil protection workers were now examining damaged historic buildings.

The Italian government said it would declare a state of emergency, freeing up funds for reconstruction.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Gustavus Adolphus College to Recognize Newly Tenured Faculty

Gustavus Adolphus College will recognize seven newly tenured faculty members during its 10 a.m. daily worship service in Christ Chapel on Monday, May 21.

The faculty members who will be recognized are Joel Carlin (Biology and Environmental Studies), Maria Kalbermatten (Spanish and LALACS), Martin Lang ’95 (Communication Studies), Mary McHugh (Classics), David Obermiller (History), So Young Park (English), and Brandy Russell (Chemistry).

Carlin has taught at Gustavus since 2006 and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, a master’s degree from Louisiana State University, and a Ph.D. from Florida University. His research interests involve phylogeography and conservation genetics, particularly in benthic fishes. He is currently investigating the genetic impacts of offshore petroleum drilling and mapping reproduction and migration in commercially valuable marine fish.

Kalbermatten has taught at Gustavus since 2006 and holds a bachelor’s degree from Catholic University of Santa Fe, Argentina and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include applied linguistics, cognitive linguistics, and conversational analysis and pragmatics. She is also focused on developing strategies to help students improve their writing skills in Spanish.

Martin Lang teaches in the Communication Studies Department at Gustavus.

Lang has taught at Gustavus since 2005 and holds a bachelor’s degree from Gustavus and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Lang’s academic work focuses on the ways that mass media shape our individual and collective senses of identity, especially in relation to gender, race, socioeconomic class, and sexuality. He also works closely with the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies program and will serve as director of the Social Justice, Peace and Development semester abroad program in India for Fall 2013.

McHugh taught as a visiting assistant professor at Gustavus in 2004-05 and returned to Gustavus as a tenure track professor in 2007. McHugh holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College, a master’s degree from Tufts University, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Her areas of expertise include ancient Greek philosophy, Roman history and historiography, especially the Roman historian Tacitus, and Greek and Roman art history and archaeology. Her current research interests include the relationships of women with the soldiers of the Roman army, street food in antiquity, and the work of the first-century C.E. inventor, Hero of Alexandria. She teaches a wide range of courses in the Classics department, including a J-term course on Roman history and culture from the perspective of food and foodways.

Obermiller has taught at Gustavus since 2008 and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. His special interests include U.S.-East Asian relations, East Asian film, gender and war, war and revolution in Asia, and political economy of East Asia.

Park has taught at Gustavus since 2008 and holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Columbia University. She teaches courses in 19th-century British literature and culture, especially Victorian fiction. Her teaching interests include Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, narrative theory, gender studies, and film adaptation. Her current research focuses on women artists of the 1890s.

Russell has taught at Gustavus since 2005 and holds a bachelor’s degree from Alfred University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester. She teaches courses in introductory chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and the chemistry of cooking. She is highly engaged in student research and conducts most of her research in collaboration with Gustavus students. Her areas of research expertise include bioinorganic chemistry, NMR spectroscopy or paramagnetic compounds, and protein folding.

University Press Release here.

Trinity Researchers Establish How Super Strong Insect Legs Are

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have shown that insects are made from one of the toughest natural materials in the world. The study’s findings have been recently published in the leading international biomechanics publication, ‘Journal of Experimental Biology’.

“All insects are made from a material called cuticle,” said Dr Jan-Henning Dirks, who studied the properties of this amazing material together with Professor of Mechanical Engineering David Taylor at the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.

Grasshopper

Insect cuticle is the second most common natural material in the world after wood, and it is one of the most versatile. “The whole outer body of the insect is made from cuticle.” said Dirks. “Imagine an entire house built out of one single material: the roof, the walls, the windows, even the door joints. The versatility of cuticle is amazing. We are surrounded by it every day, yet we know almost nothing about its properties.”

The hind legs of grasshoppers were one of the first samples the two researchers looked at in detail. “During jumping and kicking, grasshopper legs have to withstand very large forces,” said Taylor. “Thus we were wondering whether the legs were in any way special?”

The two researchers then measured the force needed to bend and break single grasshopper legs. They found that although the legs are not very stiff, surprisingly they can withstand remarkably high forces before actually braking, even when small cuts were introduced to deliberately weaken them. “Usually if you want a high fracture toughness you have a high stiffness,” said Dirks. However, their experiments show that grasshopper legs have an almost unique combination of relatively low stiffness with a high toughness.

“The toughness we measured for the grasshopper leg is amongst the highest of any biological material,” said Taylor. “The cuticle is tougher than bone, and as good as antlers or horn.” This gives the insect leg an exceptional ability to tolerate defects such as cracks and damage, which might occur during jumping or fighting.

The experiments also revealed that stiffness and toughness of the grasshopper legs strongly depend on the amount of water in the material, with a trade-off between both properties. With less water the cuticle becomes stiffer, however also more brittle. “Now we know how remarkably tough cuticle can be, we want to understand how exactly it achieves this toughness.” said Dirks. “This might help us to develop bioinspired new lightweight and durable materials.”

University Press Release here.

Allegheny College: Commencement Honors 456 Graduates, Four Distinguished Leaders: Dionne, Glazer, Palmer, Ridge

Allegheny College today honored 456 graduates and four distinguished leaders at the college’s 193rd commencement ceremony. Washington Post columnist and political commentator E.J. Dionne, who was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters at the ceremony, delivered the commencement address.

In his address Dionne challenged the Class of 2012 to become “the next great reforming generation in our country’s history.”

“The great reforming generations marry their aspirations to service with the possibilities of politics,” Dionne said. “They harness the good work done one-on-one, in local communities, to larger movements for change in our nation and in our world. They remember what the philosopher Michael Sandel has taught us, that ‘when politics goes well, we can know a good in common that we cannot know alone.’ Your generation has a chance to get us beyond the wreckage of the old culture wars and to sweep aside the debris of prejudice on the grounds of race, gender and sexual preference. Your generation has the opportunity to restore faith in public life and in public action.”

He further challenged the Class of 2012 to “never lose your desire to transform charity into justice, division into civility, selfishness into generosity, cynicism into hope.”

Last year, Dionne joined the national advisory panel for the selection of the inaugural Allegheny College Prize for Civility in Public Life, which was awarded to New York Times columnist David Brooks and syndicated columnist Mark Shields in February 2012. By searching for exemplars of civility in its truest form and lauding them, Dionne and his advisory panel colleagues worked to help change the cultural norm of highlighting acts of incivility.

A nationally known commentator on politics who has been named among the 25 most influential Washington journalists by the National Journal, Dionne appears weekly on National Public Radio and regularly on MSNBC. He is a frequent contributor to MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” and has also appeared on PBS “NewsHour” with Jim Lehrer.

Honorary doctorates of humane letters also were conferred on Carol Glazer, the president of the National Organization on Disability, and two distinguished Pennsylvanians: golf legend Arnold Palmer and statesman and former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. Ridge and Palmer became close friends during Ridge’s tenure as governor of Pennsylvania. They golf together frequently and Ridge has even caddied for Palmer.

Since 2008 Glazer has been president of NOD, a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the full participation in all aspects of life of America’s 54 million people with disabilities. Ridge chairs the NOD board.

Saturday’s ceremony concluded with Allegheny president James H. Mullen Jr.’s charge to the class of 2012. He called on graduates to achieve at the highest level as professionals and as citizens, to employ the full measure of their promise and potential in the pursuit of excellence and in the service of others, to live lives of courage and conviction, and to see and appreciate beauty even where others may not.

“I charge you to love this place that has been your home for the last four years,” said Mullen. “As it approaches its third century, I ask you to help it as it sets the standard of excellence for liberal arts learning in America.” The 32nd oldest college in the nation, Allegheny College will celebrate its bicentennial in 2015.

University Press Release here.

Writer-in-residence Offers Students Rare Glimpse into German History

This academic year, the German department welcomed award-winning writer Utz Rachowski to their staff. With a unique cultural background, Rachowski shared his first hand account as a political prisoner in East Germany with Gettysburg students. Rachowski designed German 306, Introduction to German Literature, to reflect his extensive knowledge on the subject of German social and political systems.

Several of his students have praised the course and teaching methodology. Carter McClintock ’12 believes that “Prof. Rachowski has helped to create a more vibrant discussion surrounding the East German government, focusing on modern issues and drawing students to German studies.”

The course focuses specifically on the literary representations of National Socialism and the German Democratic Republic and its impact on individual lives. Rachowski has offered eyewitness accounts and insight into the East German dictatorship and his experiences as a political prisoner in the East and exile in the West until the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Sarah Hayes ’14 said Rachowski is “unlike most professors” due to his ability to provide first-hand accounts of the conflicts and historical issues examined in German 306. For instance, when discussing the Stasi in the German Democratic Republic, Hayes explains that “he isn’t just reading us a list of facts, but rather it’s his own life we’re discussing.”

Rachowski first visited Gettysburg College four years ago when he gave a public reading. The German department invited Rachowski to bring his personal knowledge of German literature “as a writer of contemporary German literature, as someone personally familiar with other contemporary writers, and as a critical reader of German literature,” according to German Prof. Laurel Cohen-Pfister.

Rachowski was a dissident writer in East Germany who spent one and a half years as a political prisoner in the former socialist state before he was released to West Germany through the efforts of Amnesty International. He is a vocal advocate for victims of East Germany’s secret police. As an award-winning writer and an eyewitness to East German history and culture, Rachowski enriches the cultural program of the German Department in a way that its academically trained faculty cannot. Students are excited at the opportunity to learn from his life story and his literature, and to learn about German literature of the twentieth and twenty-first century from his insider perspective.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Source article here.

Furman’s Commuter Challenge: Professor encourages campus to bike to work

Almost 80 percent of Americans drive alone to work. Another 10 percent carpool, five percent use public transportation, and three percent walk to work. These figures from a 2009 U.S. Census Bureau report also say that a paltry 1.8 percent “use other means,” like cycling, to reach their places of work.

In a move to boost the number of bike commuters on campus, Furman sociology professor Ken Kolb masterminded the “April Commuter Challenge.” By ratcheting up the numbers of bike commuters, he aims to accomplish a couple of things: (1) help folks connect the dots between active lifestyles and healthcare costs, and (2) create a more friendly carbon footprint.

Sixteen Furman faculty and staff members saddled up and made a commitment to bike to work a least once per week during the month of April. Collectively, the participants logged close to 1,200 miles, averaged nine round trips per person, and saved a total of 50 gallons of gas. A 50-gallon gas savings is significant, but what’s even more remarkable is that savings equates to blocking more than 1,000 pounds of ozone-depleting CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Kolb says the reasons folks sign up for the challenge are multi-faceted. He says most are already inclined to bike to work—they have the equipment and desire to do it—but just need a motivational nudge to get going. Besides the joy of getting outdoors instead of riding to work in a cocoon on wheels, Kolb says bike commuters want to achieve a healthier, more active lifestyle while being kind to the environment.The response to the challenge was so encouraging Kolb set out to build on the idea with a summer-long program called – you guessed it – the “Summer Commuter Challenge.” Kolb hopes to get a boost from initiatives of the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) which has dubbed May National Bike Month. LAB sponsors a bike-to-work week which is capped off by a national bike-to-work day.

Source article here.

China to Google: Android must remain open

In giving the thumbs-up to Google's acquisition of Motorola, regulators in China stipulated that Google must make Android free and open for five years, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed.

The stipulation would seem to be designed to keep Google from denying Motorola's handset competitors access to the mobile operating system, or from giving Motorola an advantage of some sort -- such as integration between its handsets and Android that's tighter than connections between rival phones and the OS.

From the beginning, Google has taken an open approach with Android, making it free and available to any hardware manufacturer -- a strategy that's helped to quickly make Android the No. 1 mobile OS globally.

"Many hardware partners have contributed to Android's success and we look forward to continuing our work with all of them on an equal basis to deliver outstanding user experiences," Google CEO Larry Page said during a conference call last August, at the time the intended acquisition was announced. "We built Android as an open-source platform and it will stay that way."

Still, despite the offering of such olive branches, and despite Android's great success as an open OS, Motorola rivals may well have been nervous. "Any way (Google) tries to couch this, there's no doubt Motorola is the most favored player," Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg in August. "If I'm a third-party vendor, I have some real concerns here."

That's in part because it could have at least crossed Google's mind to integrate its software and services more tightly with the Motorola hardware, following Apple's end-to-end approach with its own hardware and services.

Apple uses the sale of its iPhones and iPads to drive sales of iTunes, the App store, iCloud, and other offerings. Google, of course, has its own services -- Google Drive, Google+, and so on -- and a Google-focused Android device could further push subscribers to them. Ultimately, it's these services that are the money-makers for Google. Fragmentation of Android is another concern, and a dominant, tightly integrated Android handset might help to address that.

What, then, would rival phone makers do? There aren't many alternatives to Android. Windows Phone might become a more attractive option, but then, Microsoft has a cozy relationship with Nokia, so it could be deja vu all over again. Here's what Maggie Reardon had to say back in August, in a discussion of the merger's possible impact on consumers:

What is likely to happen is that HTC, LG, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung will remain Android partners, but they may have to find new ways to differentiate their products from Motorola's more Google-centric hardware. This may mean that HTC offers more advancements for its Sense software, which rides on top of the Android software. And Samsung may develop more TouchWiz customizations.

For consumers this could either be a good thing or a bad thing. If executed well, it will offer consumers more variety in device capabilities as well as look and feel. But if it's not executed well, it could just mean more fragmentation in the Android ecosystem.

Reardon also wrote that the merger would probably lead to more-advanced devices from Google, a good thing for consumers.

With the stipulation from China's regulators (which was reported earlier today by several media outlets), all this may have become moot. And if Google is to be believed, it may not have been an issue anyway.

A company representative told that Google's "stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed and we look forward to closing the deal."

So, had it crossed Google's mind to tie Android tightly to Motorola handsets? We might have to wait five years to find out. And who knows what the landscape will look like then?

Source

Twitter banned in Pakistan over contentious material

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan blocked the social networking website Twitter on Sunday because it refused to remove material considered offensive to Islam, said one of the country’s top telecommunications officials.

The material was promoting a competition on Facebook to post images of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), said Mohammad Yaseen, chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication’s Authority. Many Muslims regard depictions of the prophet, even favorable ones, as blasphemous.

Yaseen said Facebook agreed to address Pakistan’s concerns about the competition, but officials have failed to get Twitter to do the same.

”We have been negotiating with them until last night, but they did not agree to remove the stuff, so we had to block it,” said Yaseen.

Instructions to block the site came from Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology, said Yaseen.

”The ministry officials are still trying to make them (Twitter) agree, and once they remove that stuff, the site will be unblocked,” said Yaseen.
Officials from Twitter and Facebook were not immediately available for comment.

A top court in Pakistan ordered a ban on Facebook in 2010 amid anger over a similar competition. The ban was lifted about two weeks later, after Facebook blocked the particular page in Pakistan.

The Pakistani government said at the time that it would continue to monitor other major websites for anti-Islamic links and content.

The 2010 Facebook controversy sparked a handful of protests across Pakistan, many by student members of radical Islamic groups. Some of the protesters carried signs advocating holy war against the website for allowing the page.

It also sparked a good deal of soul-searching, especially among commentators, who questioned why Pakistanis could not be entrusted to decide for themselves whether or not to look at a website. Some observers noted that Pakistan had gone further than several other Muslim countries by banning Facebook, and said it showed the rise of conservative Islam in the country.

Source

A Mercedes-Benz hydrogen SUV or sedan in the works

The hydrogen highway is still unrealized, but when it comes, Mercedes-Benz is planning a lineup of fuel cell vehicles to ride it.

The auto manufacturer plans to release two new hydrogen vehicles in the next few years, according to an Automotive News article. Mercedes-Benz currently leases an F-Cell hydrogen-fueled vehicle based on the compact B-Class model in a handful of states. The F-Cell has a 240-mile driving range, emits only water vapor when driven, and can be leased for $849 per month.

To date, the company has leased approximately 35 F-Cells in Southern California where the lion's share of hydrogen fueling stations are being built, and plans to put another couple dozen hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road by the end of the year. California is expected to have 46 hydrogen refueling stations built by 2014.

By the time the two-year leases are up in 2014, there should be a second-generation F-Cell vehicle on the market. The next-gen F-Cell will also be based on the B-Class, but will include additional options and upgraded telematics systems.

In addition to the F-Cell, Mercedes-Benz has a larger fuel-cell vehicle in the pipeline. The company hasn't decided if that larger car will be a sedan or SUV, but says it will be based on an existing model that's larger than the C-class platform. The Canadian-built fuel cell stacks that will propel these upcoming cars are suited to power B-Class and the larger E-Class vehicles, according to an article in WorldCarFans.com. The larger hydrogen-fueled car is expected to debut a couple of years after the second-generation F-Cell in 2014.

See video here.

Sony's designs on your computer

Sony’s new laptops aim to look as good as they perform, and not cost the Earth. Matt Warman examines their chances in a cut-throat market.

Sony has had a torrid time of late, but with a new range of laptops joining impressive mobile phones and the PlayStation Vita console, it may finally be turning the corner.

The new E, S and T Series computers included, with the T, Sony’s first official 'ultrabook’ laptop, allowing it to join the club currently dominated by Asus, Dell and HP, of ultraslim, ultralight laptops that combine long battery lives with top performance.

Nonetheless, under new chief executive Kaz Hirai, the Japanese electronics manufacturer announced its fourth straight year of losses and said in 2011 alone it lost more than £3.5billion.

Hirai added, however, that he anticipated a return to profitability in this financial year, and crucial to that will be the new laptops, phones and top video games, as well as movies and music from the firm’s entertainment divisions.

So these new laptops mark a conscious return to Sony’s heritage: they are solid and elegant, with a sense of style that makes them identifiably Sony in a way which consumers have long found attractive. It’s a testament to the power of the brand that in surveys more Britons think the company is a sponsor of the London Olympics than rival companies that actually are.

The new devices, however, take a different approach to the ultrabook idea: where companies such as Asus and Apple have adopted very slim, tapering wedge shapes for their products, Sony’s £750 T adopts a much more rectangular design that is rather more functional. That allows it to pack in more ports, such as VGA and HDMI, so connectivity is considerably better than its rivals. Its aluminium and magnesium chassis makes it feel robust, too, while the battery runs for nine hours on some models thanks in part to the low voltage processors. The T also adds the handy option to charge gadgets via USB even when the laptop is not turned on.

The S series, meanwhile, adopts a similar approach but adds the sorely-missed optical drive, while the E adopts a stylish wraparound design for its casing and aims at the student or family market. Sony also envisages more use of docks and wireless keyboards so that laptops can be connected to multiple screens.

At the top of the range, for now, is Sony’s Vaio Z series, whose price can go up to £3,000. When Windows 8 launches later in the year, it will be replaced with an equally thin, premium product. For now, however, Sony’s latest laptops demonstrate that while companies such as Apple dominate in certain markets, there is room for neatly designed products with plenty of ports. That mass market focus means Sony is set to be around for a good while yet.

Specifications:

Specifications:

(Basic models; available from June; prices vary by reseller)

S Series

Processor

Intel Core i7-3612QM Processor

Memory

8GB DDR3 1333MHz SDRAM

Drive

1000GB HDD 5400rpm

Screen

39.5cm (15.5”) LCD (1920x1080) with wide (16:9) aspect ratio

Graphics

Hybrid NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE GPU + Intel® HD Graphics 4000

Optical drive

None

Dimensions (DxHxW)

Approx. 255.4 x 23.9 x 380mm

Weight

Approx. 2kg (with standard supplied battery)

E Series

Processor

Intel Core™ i5-2450M Processor

Memory

6GB DDR3 1333MHz SDRAM

Drive

750GB HDD 5400rpm

Screen

39.5cm (15.5”) VAIO Display (1366x768) with wide (16:9) aspect ratio

Graphics

AMD Radeon™ HD 7650M (1GB VRAM)

Optical drive

DVD±RW/±R DL/RAM

Dimensions (DxHxW)

Approx. 253.5 x 25.3-35.1 x 371.9 mm

Weight

Approx. 2.7kg (with standard supplied battery)

T Series

Processor

Intel Core™ i3-2367M Processor

Memory

4GB DDR3 1333MHz SDRAM

Storage

Hybrid storage 320GB HDD 5400rpm + 32GB SSD (The SSD module is dedicated for system responsiveness and not available for file storage)

Screen

33.7cm (13.3”) VAIO Display (1366x768) with wide (16:9) aspect ratio

Graphics

Intel HD Graphics 3000

Optical drive

None

Dimensions (DxHxW)

Approx. 226 x 17.8 x 323 mm

Weight

Approx. 1.6kg (with standard supplied battery)

Tipp-ex for the modern world – just hit 'unprint'

Engineers have developed a way of using lasers to remove ink from paper so it can be reused in printers and photocopiers

It is a Tipp-Ex for the computer age. Engineers have developed a way of using lasers to remove ink from paper so it can be reused in printers and photocopiers.

The researchers at the University of Cambridge used short pulses of laser light to delete words and images that have been printed onto paper.

The laser vaporises the toner ink without damaging the paper and opens up the prospect of future computer printers and photocopiers having an "unprint" function to allow paper to be reused.

Dr Julian Allwood, who led the research team, said it could drastically reduce the number of trees cut down to produce paper and even provide a cheaper alternative to recycling.

He said: "The process works on a wide range of toners. It does not damage the paper so the feasibility for reusing paper in the office is there."

He added that he has now been approached by several commercial firms expressing interest in producing the first "unprint" devices.

The researchers, whose work is published in the scientific journalProceedings of The Royal Society A, found they could remove toner ink from a range of printers and photocopiers by heating it with short pulses of laser light lasting just four billionths of a second.

They found that while lasers that used ultraviolet light and infrared light were all effective at removing the ink, the most efficient was using a visible green laser.

This removed the ink without causing any physical damage to the paper or discolouration. Filters can be used to capture the vaporised ink, which is given off as a gas.

Dr Allwood and his colleagues estimate it would cost £19,000 to build a prototype unprinter but that the costs would come down as technology improves and it is commercialised.

They calculate that reducing the cost to £16,000 would make the device valuable in most offices by reducing the need to buy paper.

They also believe that it could be kinder to the environment by reducing the need to use as many chemicals to recycle paper and cutting carbon emissions savings of up to 79 per cent.

Steve Wozniak hired as 'tutor' on Steve Jobs film biopic

Having formed what is now the world's largest company, Steve Wozniak is to offer guidence for a film on his former partner Steve Jobs

Ahead of production of Sony’s upcoming Steve Jobs biopic, new reports have revealed that the film’s creators have hired fellow Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to aid in the narrative of his former friend and colleague.

Whilst Ashton Kutcher has made headlines in recent weeks for his high-profile undertaking of Jobs in a rival flick of the Apple mastermind, Sony’s film based on the recent Walter Isaacson penned biography is to gain added true-to-life accuracies from the involvement of Job’s former partner.

Undertaking the role of “tutor”, it is reported that Wozniak will help screenplay writer Aaron Sorkin add to Isaacson’s book and extended notes to provide a more anecdotal description of the man behind the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Having written such biopic movie hits as Moneyball and the Facebook themed Social Network, Sorkin is to once again pen a seemingly sure-fire hit as he employees the insider knowledge of Wozniak to help transform Jobs’ life to the big screen.

“I know so little about what I am going to write,” Sorkin said of the Steve Jobs themed film in a recent interview. “I know what I am not going to write. It can’t be a straight ahead biography because it’s very difficult to shake the cradle-to-grave structure of a biography.”

Would you be interested in seeing a film of the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs or do you feel it is still too close to his death to truly appreciate the man’s contributions to the world? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Dubai International in Olympic focus

Dubai International, together with British Council, the UAE National Olympics Committee and the UAE National Paralympics Committee, today unveiled a photographic exhibition by British artist Gabriella Sancisi celebrating the UAE’s top sportsmen and women most likely to represent their country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London in July.

The exhibition was officially opened by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports and CEO of Emirates Group, at an event attended by Guy Warrington, British Consul General to Dubai; Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths; Richard Cotton, Country Director British Council; and several of the Olympians featured in the photographs.

The exhibition contains a total of 24 portraits – 19 Para-Olympians and five Olympians including HH Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum – taken by Sancisi during a visit to the UAE last year. The larger than life portraits are displayed on 13 two-metre high structures with each photograph accompanied by a quotation by the athlete, allowing the viewer to share their aspirations.

In total, 18 Olympians were nominated by the UAE National Olympics Committee and 20 Para-Olympians by the UAE National Paralympics Committee, to represent the UAE at the Games.

Open to the public, the photographs will be showcased in Dubai International’s Emirates Terminal 3 Departures Hall from 1st May to 31st July 2012 and is the latest stop on a year-long tour of the UAE.

“This exhibition is a great tribute to the young men and women who will carry the hopes of an entire nation when they represent the UAE at the Olympics and Paralympics in London later this year. Representing your country on the world stage is not only a great honour but a huge responsibility. The exhibition allows the millions of passengers that pass through our airport to share in this great achievement and support our athletes as they embark on this journey,” said Sheikh Ahmed.

“The exhibition is a tremendous demonstration of the sporting, artistic and cultural links between the UAE and the United Kingdom. The UK is buzzing with excitement as it prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer and this event is a wonderful prelude to that. This is a very proud time for all those participating in the Olympic and Paralympic Games and I wish all the UAE athletes the very best of luck in London this summer,” said Mr Warrington.

The artist’s previous artworks include developing the project Frontrunners for the Photographers’ Gallery in London that mixed text and images to record the sporting aspirations of youth living in the London boroughs bordering the London Olympic site. She was commissioned by the British Council to produce a similar series of portraits of young British athletes for the 2011 PhotoEspana Festival in Madrid, followed by a similar set of images of young Argentinean footballers, before being invited by the British Council to undertake the photography exhibition in the UAE.

  

Olympians is organised by British Council, in collaboration with the UAE National Olympic Committee and the UAE National Paralympic Committee, and in partnership with British Embassy, UK Trade and Investment, Emirates Foundation and BBC Arabic.

Berry to take her paparazzi row to Obama

LOS ANGELES: The Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry says she will go directly to President Obama to seek help passing laws to protect children from paparazzi after an incident last week in which she lost her cool when photographers came uncomfortably close to her daughter, Nahla.

The Hollywood actress was caught on camera as she lost her temper outside a school, yelling at photographers, "I'm doing something honorable. I'm not harassing people."

Berry, 45, has since said that she regrets losing her temper, but also revealed her new plan to take her plight straight to the top of the federal government.

"There are no laws here that protect our children and, as a mom coming to the school ... not only my child, but all the children that are there. It's just wrong, wrong, wrong," Berry told "Extra."

"You know, I think I'm going to call Obama and say, 'Look, can you help us? I know this seems like a little issue right now, but it's a big issue in our lives and our lives at the school and our children being protected,'" she added.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

A riveting family saga, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle explores the deep and ancient alliance between humans and dogs, and the power of fate through one boy’s epic journey into the wild.

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong companion. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelle's once-peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm – and into Edgar's mother’s affections.

Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires, spectacularly. Edgar flees into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm. He comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father’s murderer, and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs, turn Edgar ever homeward.

Wroblewski is a master storyteller, and his breathtaking scenes – the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a ghost made of falling rain – create a family saga that is at once a brilliantly inventive retelling of Hamlet, an exploration of the limits of language, and a compulsively readable modern classic.

Beyond the Black Rainbow

Beyond the Black Rainbow is a 2010 science fiction film written and directed by Panos Cosmatos, his feature film debut. The film stars Michael Rogers as "Dr. Barry Nyle". It was produced and filmed in Vancouver, and premiered at the 2010 Whistler Film Festival. It also showed at several film festivals throughout 2011, including Tribeca in New York City and Fantasia in Montreal. Magnet Releasing, the genre division of Magnolia Pictures, has picked up the film for US theatrical release.

Synopsis: Deep within the mysterious Arboria Institute, a beautiful girl (Eva Allan) is held captive by a scientist, Dr. Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers). Her mind is controlled by a sinister technology (a mysterious diamond-shaped light). Speechlessly, she waits for her next session with the deranged Dr. Nyle. If she hopes to escape, she must escape her cell and the watchful eye for Dr. Nyle peering through video monitors, and a caretaker. She must journey through the darkest reaches of the Institute but Nyle wonʼt easily part with his most gifted and dangerous creation.

While the program for the Boston Independent Film Festival described Dr. Nyle's motivation as a search for "spiritual enlightenment," it is more accurately a story of a mad scientist hopelessly imprisoned by his oedipal desires.

Dior and Chanel among designers set for Cannes fashion show

Alexander Wang, Balenciaga and Roberto Cavalli are just some of the big names contributing looks to a Carine Roitfeld-curated fashion show at the upcoming amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS gala during the Cannes Film Festival.

The annual fundraising event is always a highlight of the festival, and will for the first time feature a full-scale fashion show based around former French Vogue editor Roitfeld's concept of the perfect black wardrobe. Some 20 designers are contributing to the show, ranging from classic French labels Christian Dior and Chanel to rising talents such as Scotland's Christopher Kane.

WWD reports May 16 that the entire collection will be auctioned off as a single lot during the May 24 gala at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden Roc in Cap d'Antibes, where Roitfeld joins the likes of Milla Jovovich and Karl Lagerfeld as an event chair. Stars including Janet Jackson and Kylie Minogue will provide musical entertainment.

Other hotly anticipated events at this year's Cannes, which runs May 16-27, include the Women in Film event in collaboration with Calvin Klein on May 17 and the Trophée Chopard ceremony, also on May 17 which annually honors the talent of two rising actors.

VISHNU STANDS TALL !!!

Vishnu Chaitanya is hereby honoured by joining up as SAM's first India founder, lovingly called Vishnu who is basically a technology nerd would soon be delighting us by adding one full page of International news from India. SAM Founders welcome him and give him a standing ovation for his courageous decision. Here he's seen in the photogrpah in the motorbike which he loves very much.

SAM Founders

Rabo Sultan discovers gold

Rabia Sultan lovingly called Rabo by all SAM Founders brought great honours by accomplishing a gold medal for all round outstanding performance at the National Univeristy of Sciences & Technology.Rabia Sultan is the Chief Executive of  Student Angel Mother  and the founder chairperson of "World Students Society of Computers, Internet & Wireless." "World Students Society of Computers, Internet & Wireless." (!WOW!) he founders gave her a standing ovation and we hope all readers will rejoice in her achieving more accomplishments in the days ahead.


SAM Founders

Djokovic downs Federer to set up Nadal final

(Reuters) - World number one Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in straight sets on Saturday and will play Rafa Nadal in the Rome Masters final for the second year in a row.

Defending champion Djokovic ended Federer's hopes of back- to-back claycourt titles with a gutsy 6-2 7-6 victory over the Swiss.

Five-times Rome champion Nadal wore down fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6 6-0 to reach his 70th career final.

In their first meeting since last year's U.S. Open semi- final, which Djokovic won, the Serb broke twice to win the first set. Read full story here

CHELSEA WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Dieder Drogba celebrates the equaliser

Chelsea completed the unlikeliest of triumphs as Dieder Drogba scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout, after the striker had equalised in the last minutes.

Bayren dominated the attack and created many chances in the 1st half, including a superb save from Petr Cech on Arjen Robben's shot and a couple of missed shots from Mario Gomez.

Bayren continued the attack in the 2nd half. Frank Ribery was disallowed a goal for being offside by just an inch. Thomas Muller finally scored the opener on 83 minutes and it looked that the goal won the hosts the trophy.

Muller headed the ball downwards in at the far post. It bounced at Cech's feet, he couldn't keep the ball out, and the ball bounced up into the roof of the net!

Just 5 minuted later Dieder Drogba scored the equaliser through the header at the near post on Juan Mata's corner.

As the match went to the extra time Robben missed a penalty, awarded for Drogba's unfair challenge on Ribery. It was a poor penalty from Robben, low to Cech's left, too close to the centre. Cech didn't saved it cleanly, but managed to gather at the second attempt just before Robben could follow up.

The final went down to the thrilling penalty shootout which begin with Mata missing the penalty. Drogba had scored the winning penaltty after Olic and Schweinsteiger missed the consecutive penaltics from Bayren Munich's side.