Google out with another Whimisical Trick

In the spirit of the Google “barrel roll,” the company has another tricky search result today: Search the words “let it snow” and watch what happens.

Of course, your Google search results will contain videos of that old favorite song, but what’s that? Snowflakes falling in your browser? Frost on the Google bar? Could this be some mistake?

Watch your browser fill up with snow, and then skate around with your mouse, where your browser acts just like a frozen lake, showing the path your cursor has taken. Want to start over? Simply click the “defrost” button and again you’ll see a clear screen, adorned by that easy wind and downy flake filling it up anew.

It has also come with another whimsical trick: type in "Hanukkah", wait and observe the outcome of the same. Google’s also celebrating Hanukkah! Type the word “Hanukkah” on the Google search form and you’ll see a special surprise.

Bhuwan: An Indian Version of Google Maps

ISRO launched the beta version of its web-based 3D satellite imagery tool, Bhuvan, on August 12, 2009. Bhuvan offers more detailed imagery of Indian locations compared to other Virtual Globe software, with spatial resolutions ranging from 5 to 100 metres. Locations can be viewed from different perspectives, and the software will also provide functionality for the measurement of distances. The Bhuvan portal is designed to run on slow Internet connections. The images available do not include any military installations in India, due to security concerns.

Bhuvan has a number of other features, which include weather information and administrative boundaries of all states and districts in India. Bhuvan provides images of the entire globe, but resolution is currently best in India. On the Indian subcontinent, Bhuvan will be able to display pictures from a perceived altitude of 10 metres, at which height a commuter moving on a road can easily be spotted.

Bhuvan allows users to view 2D and 3D images, along with information on soil, wasteland and water resources on the Indian subcontinent. Users can superimpose administrative boundaries of their choice, from a selection of boundaries available, on images as required. Bhuvan also allows visualization of AWS (Automatic Weather Station) data in the graphic view, as well as in tabular form. Users can "fly" from one location to another, and also navigate using the 3D view pop-up menu (with fly-in, fly out, jump in, jump around and view point controls).

Since the initial, buggy beta release, a more stable version has been released, with which users have reported fewer problems. A discussion forum has also been started for users experiencing difficulties.

Visit the app at BHUWAN

HzO technology: Make your smartphone waterproof

In the future, you may not need a protective case to use your phone in the pool. Go ahead, toss it in--the HzO nano technology will protect it from the H20.HzO demonstrated its technology that waterproofs electronic devices at a press preview for the "Consumer Electronics Show" in New York on Nov. 8.
HzO President and CEO Paul S. Clayson used a Samsung Galaxy S2 handset outfitted with the company's WaterBlock technology to show how the phone could maintain function while being submerged underwater. "It is a very exciting technology that we feel will be able to change the durability and life-time value of your smartphone as well as other mobile electronic devices as these units tend to fail quickly with moderate exposure to water and/or moisture," said HzO Head of Business Development Scott Gordon.

The below video shows how HzO works:


He explained that HzO's "nano-scale film barrier" bonds so tightly to the interior and exterior of a smartphone or other electronic device that the units are completely protected from water. As he dunked a working Samsung Galaxy S smartphone protected HzO technology into the bowl of water, the unit continued functioning even as it filled with water. He even placed a call to the phone, which rang normally. He said the vapor-coating technology also works on other materials like paper, which he showed off by dropping a protected business card into the water.
The HzO technology will be included in upcoming products from Zagg, which markets its own "skins" and other protective gear. Zagg has announced that it will be offering limited-edition "WaterBlocked" versions of the iPod touch, iPod shuffle and iPod nano with the HzO sealing technology inside.

Demo:

JaxtrSMS: A free sms thing

Jaxtr, set up by Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia and Yogesh Patel, today announced the launch of JaxtrSMS, an open texting application which allows users to send free SMSes across the world.
"JaxtrSMS is completely unique in terms that a mobile user can send a text SMS to any mobile phone in the world without requiring the receiver to have the JaxtrSMS application installed on their phone," the company said in a statement.
This 'open' facet of JaxtrSMS distinguishes it from other free mobile messaging applications where messages can only be sent within a closed network to people who also have the same app installed, the company claimed.
Jaxtr Inc CEO and Co-Founder Sabeer Bhatia said, "Now, mobile users can leverage our free and open application to send messages to their contacts anywhere across the world without having to pay anything.

Difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7

Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 CPUs have been around for over a year now, but some buyers still get stumped whenever they attempt to build their own systems and are forced to choose among the three. With the more recent Sandy Bridge architecture now on store shelves, we expect the latest wave of buyers to ask the same kind of questions.

Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 — the difference in a nutshell

If you want a plain and simple answer, then generally speaking, Core i7s are better than Core i5s, which are in turn better than Core i3s. Nope, Core i7 does not have seven cores nor does Core i3 have three cores. The numbers are simply indicative of their relative processing powers.

Their relative levels of processing power are also signified by their Intel Processor Star Ratings, which are based on a collection of criteria involving their number of cores, clockspeed (in GHz), size of cache, as well as some new Intel technologies like Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading.

Core i3s are rated with three stars, i5s have four stars, and i7s have five. If you’re wondering why the ratings start with three, well they actually don’t. The entry-level Intel CPUs — Celeron and Pentium — get one and two stars respectively.

Number of cores

The more cores there are, the more tasks (known as threads) can be served at the same time. The lowest number of cores can be found in Core i3 CPUs, i.e., which have only two cores. Currently, all Core i3s are dual-core processors.

Currently all Core i5 processors, except for the i5-661, are quad cores in Australia. The Core i5-661 is only a dual-core processor with a clockspeed of 3.33 GHz. Remember that all Core i3s are also dual cores. Furthermore, the i3-560 is also 3.33GHz, yet a lot cheaper. Sounds like it might be a better buy than the i5. What gives?

At this point, I’d like to grab the opportunity to illustrate how a number of factors affect the overall processing power of a

Even if the i5-661 normally runs at the same clockspeed as Core i3-560, and even if they all have the same number of cores, the i5-661 benefits from a technology known as Turbo Boost.

CPU and determine whether it should be considered an i3, an i5, or an i7.

Intel Turbo Boost

The Intel Turbo Boost Technology allows a processor to dynamically increase its clockspeed whenever the need arises. The maximum amount that Turbo Boost can raise clockspeed at any given time is dependent on the number of active cores, the estimated current consumption, the estimated power consumption, and the processor temperature.

For the Core i5-661, its maximum allowable processor frequency is 3.6 GHz. Because none of the Core i3 CPUs have Turbo Boost, the i5-661 can outrun them when it needs to. Because all Core i5 processors are equipped with the latest version of this technology — Turbo Boost 2.0 — all of them can outrun any Core i3.

Cache size

Whenever the CPU finds that it keeps on using the same data over and over, it stores that data in its cache. Cache is just like RAM, only faster — because it’s built into the CPU itself. Both RAM and cache serve as holding areas for frequently used data. Without them, the CPU would have to keep on reading from the hard disk drive, which would take a lot more time.

Basically,

RAM minimises interaction with the hard disk, while cache minimises interaction with the RAM. Obviously, with a larger cache, more data can be accessed quickly. All Core i3 processors have 3MB of cache. All Core i5s, except again for the 661 (only 4MB), have 6MB of cache. Finally, all Core i7 CPUs have 8MB of cache. This is clearly one reason why an i7 outperforms an i5 — and why an i5 outperforms an i3.

Hyper-Threading

Strictly speaking, only one thread can be served by one core at a time. So if a CPU is a dual core, then supposedly only two threads can be served simultaneously. However, Intel has introduced a technology called Hyper-Threading. This enables a single core to serve multiple threads.

For instance, a Core i3, which is only a dual core, can actually serve two threads per core. In other words, a total of four threads can run simultaneously. Thus, even if Core i5 processors are quad cores, since they don’t support Hyper-Threading (again, except the i5-661) the number of threads they can serve at the same time is just about equal to those of their Core i3 counterparts.

This is one of the many reasons why Core i7 processors are the creme de la creme. Not only are they quad cores, they also support Hyper-Threading. Thus, a total of eight threads can run on them at the same time. Combine that with 8MB of cache and Intel Turbo Boost Technology, which all of them have, and you’ll see what sets the Core i7 apart from its siblings.

The upshot is that if you do a lot of things at the same time on your PC, then it might be worth forking out a bit more for an i5 or i7. However, if you use your PC to check emails, do some banking, read the news, and download a bit of music, you might be equally served by the cheaper i3.

Another factor in this deliberation is that more and more programs are being released with multithread capability. That is they can use more than one CPU thread to execute a single command. So things happen more quickly. Some photo editors and video editing programs are multi-threaded, for example. However, the Internet browser you use to access Netbank or your email client is not, and is unlikely to be in the foreseeable future.

After Aakash, Gear Up for Aakash-2

With an enormous buzz of Aakash followed by its successful release, its time for Aakash-2.

Come February 2012, a better and more efficient Aakash-2, world’s cheapest tablet computer, would be available at price of version 1, Rs 2,276 or US $ 49. Indian Institute of Technology, Rajasthan, has finalized improvements in Aakash-1 launched on October 5. “We expect to launch the new version of Aakash by January-February next year,” said HRD minister Kapil Sibal, who has been overwhelmed by international response to Aakash, showcased as device for “children of the world, at a recent United Nations conference in Paris.

The Aakash-2 based on feedback from over 500 users of Aakash-1 in IITs and other institutions will have a new microprocessor of 800 megahertz as compared to 366 megahertz processor. It would fasten the tablet computer and would enable downloading of videos from youtube.

The Random Access Memory (RAM) of the new version would be enhanced to one gigabytes (GB) from 256 megabytes in Aakash-1, which restricted multi-tasking.

A senior professor IIT Rajasthan professor, who is heading the Aakash team, said the changes will increase the “functionality of the tablet” and will be more “competitive” to existing tablets in the market.

To make Aakash-2 more attractive the IIT Rajasthan has also decided that the new version will have an in-built camera on the front for online video chatting or use of Skype and a better seven-inch touch screen.

This comes after the IIT students, who are testing Aakash-1, citied overheating within 30 minutes, frequent hanging, poor sound quality, absence of support for all formats, and inability to install free software available online as some of the problems with the device. “Aakash is much below our expectations,” said an IIT student, who has used the device for last one month.

Although the better Aakash would be ready by February 2012, its manufacturing to meet the government’s inspirational target of providing the tablet to two million students is still a challenge.

“We have to evolve an eco-system of several vendors and its testing by IITs and other institutes to provide an Aakash to each child by 2017 (end of 12th plan),” a senior HRD ministry official said.

Like in case of Aakash one, where three companies – London based Datawind, India based Quad --- came together the government believes that Aakash-2 will see a bigger collaboration of Indian and foreign information technology companies.

This collaboration would be necessary, as Sibal said that several Prime Ministers and World Bank have shown interest in purchasing Aakash for children around the world. “There is lot of global buzz about Aakash and we have to meet the global expectation,” the minister, who has been marketing the device since its launch, said.

Why tablets are considered more advantageous than netbooks

2011 has been dubbed "The Year of the Tablet", and rightly so because so many of these ultra-compact computing devices have been launched this year. A tablet PC was considered unviable as a computing device a few years ago, but tablets today pack in a lot of firepower to be able to handle almost any normal computing task. Here is a list of the reasons why tablets can potentially replace netbooks in the near future.

1) Ultra-portability
While netbooks have been termed ultra-portable, tablets are even more so, thanks to their structure as a single slate, rather than a hinged design like a netbook. Tablets are usually much lighter than netbooks, and their size lets you take them anywhere. Even their chargers are more portable, making it easier to carry the whole thing anywhere.

2) Price
Tablets have come a long way from being too expensive to dirt-cheap, with high end exceptions such as the iPad 2 and the Galaxy Tab. Low end tablets start at around Rs 7000, and pack in a decent performance for daily computing tasks. Netbooks, on the other hand, rarely breach the Rs 12,000 mark, and most are priced above Rs 15,000.

3) Versatility
Most tablets come with Google Android operating system, which gives them access to a huge repository of apps from the Android Market, many of them being free. These apps allow the tablet to do just about anything, thanks to the creativity of the app developers. The above also applies for other tablet OSes such as iOS and BlackBerry OS. This versatility is not so easy to achieve for a netbook.

4) Battery Life
The battery life of a tablet is simply incomparable to that of the netbook. A tablet can easily last for more than half a day on a single charge, while a netbook struggles to make it past four or five hours of normal usage. The better battery life lets you take it anywhere without having to worry much about losing charge in the middle of your work.

5) Internet Connectivity Options
While Wi-Fi is the standard connectivity options on all tablets, they often come with 3G connectivity options using a mobile SIM card. Wi-Fi hotspots are hard to find in India, making 3G connectivity more feasible to stay connected no matter where you take the device. This is a major advantage of tablets over netbooks, which come with only Wi-Fi option.

6) User Interface
Being touch-screen devices, the user interface of tablets is usually refined, intuitive, and user friendly. Not only is the operating system designed to allow for efficient interaction with the user, but also the applications sport a user friendly interface. For those who miss a QWERTY keyboard of the netbook, there are inexpensive keyboards available, which can work with any tablet.

7) Virus-free
Ever heard of viruses attacking tablets? Tablets have so far remain insulated from such attacks. Although it cannot be said that it will remain so forever, it is considerably safe as of now to work on a tablet than on a netbook with Windows, which has always been a prime target of viruses.

That is not all. While this may not really be related to computing, the GPS unit built in many tablets helps use it as an inexpensive navigational tool when it is not being used as a tablet. Netbooks may have been in vogue a couple of years ago, but tablets seem to be set to rule the future.