A to Z of world

Apple release the world’s smallest digital music player at just $79, the 1GB iPod shuffle from Apple lets you wear up to 240 songs on your sleeve. Or your lapel. Or your belt. Clip on iPod shuffle and wear it as a badge of musical devotion.

One size fits all

You know what they say about good things and small packages. But when something 1.62 inches long and about half an ounce holds up to 240 songs, “good” and “small” don’t quite cut it. Especially when you can listen to your music for up to 12 continuous hours. In fact, Apple's iPod shuffle just may be the biggest thing in small.

Ready to wear

Clip it to your coin pocket. Clip it to your bag. No matter where you clip your skip-free iPod shuffle, you’ll have instant access to music. And iPod shuffle’s anodized aluminum enclosure goes with absolutely everything. Put it on, turn it up, and turn some heads.

Sync to fit

The first step to wearing 240 songs on your iPod shuffle is downloading Apple's iTunes — free. Then you can download 99¢ songs from the iTunes Store or import music from your CDs. When it’s time to sync, plug the included dock into your Mac or PC’s USB port and transfer your music from iTunes just by docking iPod shuffle.

Remix and match

Got more than 240 songs in your iTunes library? No problem. Let iTunes autofill your iPod shuffle and get a new musical experience every time. Pop follows jazz. Rock follows rap. iPod shuffle loves to improvise. Take the Shuffle switch, for instance. Even if you’ve synced a particular playlist, you can shuffle songs with a flick.

Source: apple.com

Tags: iPod iTunes ipod Shuffle Apple Gadgets Music

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Sony Corp. said on Thursday it is developing a video-capable Walkman, playing catch-up with Apple Computer Inc.'s market-leading iPod. Sony created the market for portable music players with its epoch-making Walkman more than a quarter of a century ago, but in recent years it has trailed far behind Apple, whose iPod holds more than half the global digital media player market. "We are developing a product that handles images, but I cannot make any comment on specific plans," Sony Senior Vice President Hiroshi Yoshioka told a news conference that unveiled upcoming Walkman models.

Apple launched a video-enabled iPod last October.

Yoshioka also said on the sidelines of the news conference that he aims to double Walkman's share in the global portable digital music player market from the current 10 percent, without elaborating. Sony and any other portable music player makers are expected to face a new and potentially formidable rival next month as Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, launches its Zune music player, further stoking competition. Sony also said it will start rolling out five new models of a flash-memory-based Walkman, shaped like a perfume bottle, towards the end of the year at home and abroad. A 4-gigabyte model with a noise-reduction function is expected to sell for around 29,000 yen ($240) in Japan, Sony said.

Tag: Video Sony Technology Gadget

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A look at some of the coolest gadgets and technologies coming soon.

Dancing robots, underwater "dolphin" vehicles and a solar panel car that can run in below-freezing temperatures may be technologies for tomorrow, but they're being talked about today. These and other products were just some of the gadgets on display at WIRED NextFest, a showcase of tech gear for the future that opened Friday and runs through Sunday in New York. The show drew visitors ranging from techies to school children. Some of the exhibits were just plain cool - one of the robots featured actually does the Robot dance. And while not all the products are commercially available, from the doctor's office to the airport, several of the technologies have a real-life application today.

5 technologies ready for today

High-tech boarding passes: These passes developed by Symbol Technologies, which was recently bought by Motorola , are designed to make flying safer and more convenient. When you check-in, a scan of your face is taken and stored in an RFID tag embedded on your boarding pass. When you go through security, a gateway scanner reads the tag and makes sure you are who you say you are.

Costs include the tags themselves, which run about 50 cents each, to the gate scanners that read the chips. Now it's up to the airlines to implement the technology, said Timothy Heffernan, director of government relations and public policy at Symbol Tech.

VeinViewer: Giving blood could be a less painful and less time consuming affair in the future. According to the makers of the VeinViewer, it takes about 2.4 attempts and 23 minutes for medical personnel to find a patient's vein today. The VeinViewer, which uses near-infrared light to makes veins visible at the surface, is designed to increase the chances of a "successful stick."

The VeinViewer costs about $25,000. In comparison, a hospital bed alone runs about $12,000.

MindBall: Living in a more connected and tech-focused world can result in added stress, and MindBall's biofeedback system may soon become a regular way to monitor and manage stress levels.

If you're going to win MindBall, a game designed by the Interactive Institute, you've got to be relaxed. Two players sit across from each other at a table wearing headbands that monitor their brain activity. Their brainwaves control a ball on the table, and the most relaxed player wins.

The Hug shirt: With the development of video conferencing and Web cameras, maintaining a long-distance relationship has never been easier. Now there's a way to bring touch into the picture.

The Hug shirt, using Bluetooth technology and embedded sensors, makes it possible to send a hug to another wearer of a Hug shirt over distance. An added bonus: The shirts are machine washable. But the cost of a hug can be pricey - the shirts are expected to retail for around $500 to $700 apiece.

Bionic dolphin: Forget swimming with dolphins, why not be one? The bionic dolphin, an underwater vehicle, can reach up to 40 mph. Doc Rowe, the developer of the vehicle, got most of his ideas watching dolphins and penguins move in the water and designed the vehicle so it "flies" through water.

In addition to a two-seater model, Rowe said his team is working on a vehicle that carries five passengers. Rowe said he's hoping to sell the dolphins to resorts, which means the bionic dolphin could come to a vacation near you.

Posted by chandu at 5:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

Janjaap Ruijssenaars has always been interested in the concept of gravity. The Dutch architect says it is this that helped him decide to enter the profession. "Gravity is at the center of what pulls architects together," he said. But it was another force of nature -- magnetism -- that helped Ruijssenaars create his 1.2 million euro ($1.5 million) floating bed, attracting international acclaim when it was showcased at this year's Millionaire Fair in Belgium. "I started with gravity and then thought about another power, magnetism, and went from there, beginning with cardboard and small refrigerator magnets." His design has the base of the bed "floating" 40 centimeters above the ground, thanks to a system of magnets in both the floor under the bed and the bed itself.

Posted by chandu at 5:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

Social networking site MySpace is to block users from uploading copyrighted music to its pages. It will use a file-filtering application to scan old and new content to weed out any unauthorised material. Illegal files, the company said, would be removed and persistent offenders would be banned from the site. Online sites are coming under increasing pressure from the music industry to stop copyright infringment on their pages. Last week Google, new owners of video-sharing site YouTube, vowed the company would not tolerate any copyright violations.

Selling downloads

MySpace, which reportedly has over 90 million users, is to use technology from a company called Gracenote to review and identify copyright files on its site. MySpace CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe said: "MySpace is staunchly committed to protecting artists' rights, whether those artists are on major labels or are independent acts. This is another important step we're taking to ensure artists control the content they create."

MySpace will also soon be allowing unsigned musicians to sell music downloads from their pages. It eventually aims to begin selling copyright-protected songs from major record labels.

Tag: MySpace

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Witherspoon, 30, and Phillippe, 32, reportedly met at her 21st birthday party before working together on the 1999 film "Cruel Intentions." They married in June of that year and have two children, 7-year-old daughter Ava and 3-year-old son Deacon. The publicists gave no more details about the split but the celebrity Web site TMZ.com, which broke the story, reported that Witherspoon has contacted the divorce lawyer who represented Jennifer Aniston, Roseanne Barr and Lisa Marie Presley. TMZ quoted one unidentified source as saying the breakup was not triggered by any single event but rather by "cumulative" circumstances.

In the past 10 years, six of the nine Academy Award winners for best actress ended up splitting from the husbands or boyfriends they thanked on Oscar night: Witherspoon, Swank, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Helen Hunt. (The exceptions are Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand and Nicole Kidman, who was unattached when she won.)

Witherspoon established herself as a major box-office draw as star of the 2001 comedy "Legally Blonde" and scored a follow-up hit with "Sweet Home Alabama." She went on to win a best-actress Oscar earlier this year for her role as Johnny Cash's country-singing sweetheart June Carter in "Walk the Line." Phillippe is currently starring in Clint Eastwood's latest film "Flags of Our Fathers" as Navy Corpsman John "Doc" Bradley, one of the U.S. servicemen who raised the Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi during World War Two. ("Flags" review)

Newly disclosed court documents show Witherspoon recently settled a lawsuit she brought in June accusing Star magazine of falsely reporting that she was pregnant with her third child. The court papers did not reveal terms of the settlement. "The true facts are that plaintiff (Witherspoon) is not pregnant, does not have a baby bump and has not otherwise gained weight such that she has had to resort to wearing empire waist dresses," the lawsuit said.

Tag: Reese Witherspoon Ryan Phillippe star split

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Midway Games' "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon," now available for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, boasts a full roster of playable characters. "Armageddon" is the first in the series to feature every character from the 14-year-old "Mortal Kombat" universe. There are more than 50 3-D fighters in all including Scorpion, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero and Motaro. Like any good fighting game, however, only a handful of characters are available at the start. Part of the fun is unlocking the rest, each of whom has a unique look, fighting style and weapon preference.

And if you don't want to go with a preexisting character, "Armageddon" is the first "Mortal Kombat" game with a "Kreate-a-Fighter" mode. You can select from thousands of physical features and attributes to design a custom fighter, give him or her a name, and then start a game to test their skills against others. The fighting, which is fast-paced, requires mastery in three key areas: hand-to-hand combat, weapons and magic. Learning how to punch, kick, jump and spin -- not to mention linking successive moves into "combos" -- takes some time to get right. Therefore, you won't get very far in this title if you try your luck by random "button mashing." It's also fun to learn how to fight in the air with the many aerial moves offered in this game.

Another "Mortal Kombat" calling card is the notorious "fatality" move, which refers to the way one fighter can kill the other. In "Armageddon," a new Kreate-a-Fatality system gives players the ability to create custom fatalities by stringing together button combinations. Midway has also expanded a few of its game modes. Aside from the single-player game (against the game's artificial intelligence) and a two-player mode (on the same television), "Armageddon" also offers a deeper Konquest game (a story-based adventure) and expanded online play for head-to-head matches over the Internet - with faster response times than found in 2004's "Mortal Kombat: Deception," and the ability to play your custom fighter in cyberspace.

But even with all of these additions, "Mortal Kombat" is still the same old 3-D fighting game: Each player picks a character and fights in a number of different environments. In other words, "Armageddon" just gives the player a lot more of the same stuff. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; but if you are looking for a revolutionary new game, this is not it. Also, while this game's graphics look OK (better on the Xbox than the PlayStation 2), it doesn't compare to fighting games on the Xbox 360 such as Tecmo's "Dead or Alive 4."

"Mortal Kombat" fans can pick up "Armageddon" for $39.95, or they may opt for the Premium Edition ($49.95), which also includes a playable version of the original "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3," more than 60 minutes of bonus DVD video content, a collectible metal case (with four unique box fronts in total), and an animation cell cover art autographed by franchise co-creator Ed Boon.

Review By Marc Saltzman
Gannett News Service

Tag: Mortal Kombat Armageddon Midway Games Computer Games

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High dosage

When sperm are being made in the body in a process called spermatogenesis they sit next to other cells, called Sertoli cells, which nurse and help them grow. If the connection between these two cell types is broken, infertility can result in men. In the study authors used a recently developed molecule called Adjudin to dislodge the developing sperm from the Sertoli cells.

However Adjudin is also known to be toxic at high doses.

To get round this, the researchers linked it chemically to a hormone, called FSH, which acts in the testicles where sperm are made. The FSH, which the researchers made inactive so it would merely act as a carrier and not cause any effect itself, delivered Adjudin to where it was needed, allowing much lower doses to be given. This made the developing sperm cells "fall off" too early, before they were properly mature, resulting in complete but temporary loss of fertility in the rats. More research is needed to assess if the same approach could work in humans.

But the researchers, led by Dr Dolores Mruk, from the Center For Biomedical Research in New York, said: "We anticipate that this compound could become a male contraceptive for human use."

'Promising' research

Dr Richard Anderson, from the University of Edinburgh, who has been investigating hormonal male contraceptives in the UK, said: "This is very promising. "A non-hormonal approach to male contraception using a drug which specifically targets a process in spermatogenesis has long been a very attractive option, as it leaves hormone production by the testis intact." He said it appeared the drug effects could be fully reversible, although only a single dose was given in the study. "Clearly there are enormous amounts of work needed to translate this to humans. "Adjudin may be ineffective in men, as the biochemistry of the cell junctions it targets may be different, and the precise molecular basis of its mechanism of action is unknown. "However, perhaps the most important aspect of this study is the demonstration that using FSH targeting, drugs that are otherwise too toxic, can be delivered in safe yet effective doses."

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After dropping nearly 8 percent in 2005, IBM's mainframe revenue is up 10 percent this year. That includes a 25 percent gain in the most recent quarter. Mainframes were IBM's fastest-growing hardware segment after the microchip division, which is enjoying a nice ride making microprocessors for the top three video game consoles. IBM does not release precise figures, but analysts estimate mainframe revenue at roughly $2.3 billion in the first nine months of 2006. While that is a small chunk of IBM's overall sales of $65 billion so far this year, mainframe revenue is especially precious because the machines drive huge software and maintenance deals, making them IBM's most profitable line of hardware.

Of course, the huge third-quarter boost is unlikely to be sustained. IBM is benefiting from having released two new mainframes in the past year, and sales eventually should taper until an upgrade comes, at least a year from now. Such ups and downs are typical: Unisys Corp., a much smaller vendor, has seen mainframe sales drop this year, but spokesman Brian Daly said the numbers strengthened in the third quarter with the release of a new model.

Still, for IBM to be having success with mainframes at all is somewhat surprising. Because if you were to break modern computing history into its simplest terms, it would go something like this: There was the centralized-mainframe era, and then there was the distributed-computing era. And the former ended a while ago. Mainframes emerged in the 1950s as room-sized hubs that did it all. They crunched numbers, administered transactions, ran simulations and stored data. By the 1980s and '90s, however, information technology was flourishing with flexible and smaller pieces of hardware that took on traditional mainframe duties. Cheaper server computers could calculate stuff and serve up Web pages. New communications gear ferried information around networks. Separate storage machines made more efficient use of memory. Millions of desktop computers flowered.

Sun Microsystems Inc., a leading maker of servers, denigrated mainframes as "dinosaurs," prompting IBM to call its next mainframe line the "T-Rex." As mainframes ceased to be the center of gravity, they mainly lived on in government agencies, banks or complex networks like airline travel systems. Many such places needed mainframes' heavy-duty security and processing ability, but others were locked into the specialized programs they had written in mainframes' unique language. "Where the mainframe still has a long-term home is running long-term code," said John Parker, chief information officer for A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., a financial services firm that recently dropped its French-made mainframe but still runs key functions on a mainframe operated by a third-party hosting service. "Every industry has it, in my experience." Since inertia is not growth, the market for mainframes and servers costing more than $500,000 dropped from $19 billion in 2000 to less than $12 billion last year, according to analysts at IDC.

One huge challenge has been the machines' old-school reputation. Programming mainframes still involves typing code on a green screen, much like early versions of DOS, the operating system that dominated PCs before the visual "windows" approach. To try to encourage younger software developers to write programs for the machines, IBM recently announced a $100 million effort to simplify and modernize mainframe programming. Earlier it began encouraging customers to run Linux, Java and other low-intensity software on mainframes, in hopes of keeping the machines from falling deeper into specialized niches. IBM also is trying to get creative in luring customers. In April it launched a "business-class" mainframe that costs $100,000 and up, targeted at smaller companies that want mainframes' high level of security and reliability.

One key pitch is that mainframes can do so many tasks at once that they are more energy efficient and take up less space than a comparable cluster of smaller servers. "For every application, many times it takes five servers in a distributed environment," said Jim Stallings, who runs IBM's mainframe division. "Many customers are saying, 'I can't deal with the complexity."' The University of Toronto recently bought a business-class mainframe to manage enrollment and other administrative functions. Eugene Siciunas, director of computing services, said the main attraction was flexible pricing. The university saved money upfront by selecting a mainframe that runs at less than top capacity. Then on days when computing loads are heavier, the school can buy a short-term boost of extra processing power. Network managers call IBM, which remotely tunes the mainframe to deliver better performance.

Hoplon, the Brazilian company, is using a mainframe's processing might to build a complex "massively multiplayer" online game. But rather than shelling out precious startup capital to own a mainframe, Hoplon is remotely accessing one stashed in an IBM data center in Brazil. The same machine manages a retirement fund for IBM's Brazilian employees and handles operations for a building-tools manufacturer. Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT Inc., said IBM has had to adopt such sales methods to "maintain the platform's viability." "The company has done a good job of continuing to gain leverage out of the mainframe," King said. "For a platform that a lot of folks have claimed is essentially moribund or headed into a very dark, bad future, it's got remarkable legs."

Tag : Mainframes Computer IBM

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Here's Borat doing some last minute promo for his new movie. This is the opening skit to SNL, and it's a good one. In case you were wondering, that's NOT wool that Borat is holding. Not even close.


(watch video here)

Tag: Borat

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I found some cute pictures of Halloween in BBC posted by some people and they are reallyyyy... mmm.... cute... no..no.. they are scary cute:). They are really celebrating Halloween. The place where I belong to does not have any such event or holiday like Halloween. When I first heard about Halloween a few years back I thought it would be awful to dress up like that. But as I observed the Halloween costumes and kids going around to strangers it is sort of cool and funky. I saw a lot of views on this habit of Halloween kids going to strangers. People say that they do not want their kids going to strangers. Well, for the "Halloween hint" or "Halloween fact" take this. There are no strangers in the world...they are just people whom you did not meet yet.

Tag : Halloween

Posted by chandu at 2:51 AM | Permalink | Comments

Demonstrators and riot police have again clashed in the Mexican city of Oaxaca, the scene of five months of protests against the state governor, Ulises Ruiz. Several thousand protesters converged on the main square, vowing to retake the city centre after police moved in at the weekend to restore order. Striking teachers and leftist activists are demanding that Governor Ulises Ruiz be sacked for abuse of power. Mexico's lawmakers have urged Mr Ruiz to quit, but he says he will stay on. Senators unanimously approved a resolution calling on him to "consider resigning from office to help restore law and order" in Oaxaca. The Senate's motion came hours after a similar measure was approved by the lower house of the congress.

Calls for Mr Ruiz's resignation have been at the heart of a drawn-out protest by Mexican teachers and left-wing activists, who accuse him of authoritarianism and corruption. Over the weekend, some 4,000 riot police entered Oaxaca, removing demonstrators from the city centre. One man was reported to have died in the operation.

Mexican President Vicente Fox ordered the action on Saturday, a day after unidentified gunmen killed three people, including a US journalist.

Tense stand-off

"Murderers! Murderers!" chanted the demonstrators, as they rallied near the police cordon in the central square of the state capital. "The mood is very tense. We're standing with the protesters in front of police barricades and they have lit bonfire, are tossing fireworks," told Mark Stevenson, an Associated Press reporter.

One policeman was reportedly injured by fireworks and taken to hospital. Police responded with volleys of teargas and used water cannons to extinguish the fires. Despite the growing pressure both from the protesters and the federal lawmakers, Mr Ruiz - who rejects the accusations against him - said he would not step down. "Within the next few hours we expect life will return to normal in the state capital," he told reporters on Monday. The governor also said the Mexican federal parliament had no control over Oaxaca.

Schools shut

The protests began in May, virtually paralysing the city. The teachers initially staged the walk-out to demand higher pay and better working conditions. However, after police attacked one of their demonstrations in June, they extended their demands to include a call for the governor's resignation. The teachers were then joined in their protest by left-wing groups. Thousands of schools have been closed since the strike began, leaving 1.3 million children out of school.

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A spokesman for Warner said the senator read the report over the weekend in preparation for a meeting Tuesday with Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Warner, who requested the report in May, "believes it is essential that Congress and the American people continue to be kept informed by the inspector general on the equipping and logistical capabilities of the Iraqi army and security forces, since these represent an important component of overall readiness," said Warner spokesman John Ullyot.

The inspector general's office released its report Sunday in a series of three audits finding that:

* Nearly one of every 25 weapons the military bought for Iraqi security forces is missing. Many others cannot be repaired because parts or technical manuals are lacking.

* "Significant challenges remain that put at risk" the U.S. military's goal of strengthening Iraqi security forces by transferring all logistics operations to the defense ministry by the end of 2007.

* "The unstable security environment in Iraq touches every aspect" of the Provincial Reconstruction Team program, in which U.S. government experts help Iraqis develop regional governmental institutions.

The Pentagon cannot account for 14,030 weapons -- almost 4 percent of the semiautomatic pistols, assault rifles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other weapons it has been supplying to Iraq since the end of 2003. The missing weapons will not be tracked easily: The Defense Department registered the serial numbers of only about 10,000 of the 370,251 weapons it provided -- less than 3 percent. Missing from the Defense Department's inventory books were 13,180 semiautomatic pistols, 751 assault rifles and 99 machine guns.

The audit on logistics capabilities said there is a "significant risk" that the Iraqi interior ministry "will not be capable of assuming and sustaining logistics support for the Iraqi local and national police forces in the near term." That support includes equipment maintenance, transportation of people and gear and health resources for soldiers and police.

The audit on Provincial Reconstruction Teams said that, because of security issues, they "have varying degrees of ability to carry out their missions." Auditors reviewed nine teams and four satellite offices and found "4 were generally able, 4 were somewhat able, 3 were less able and 2 were generally unable" to accomplish their goals.

Posted by chandu at 2:37 AM | Permalink | Comments

When the session began, al-Dulaimi filed 12 requests, including that the court should allow foreign lawyers to attend the trial without prior court permission. Al-Dulaimi had said Sunday that he was ending his boycott in order to make the requests. Chief judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa denied the requests, prompting al-Dulaimi to say: "I inform the court that I'm withdrawing." The judge replied: "I allow you to withdraw. Go ahead."

Al-Dulaimi has said that if Hussein is condemned to death in a separate trial, where he is charged with killing nearly 150 people from the town of Dujail, it could provoke civil war in Iraq and unrest throughout the Middle East. The verdict in the Dujail trial is expected November 5. Hussein and seven others are charged with crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Muslim Shiites after an attempt to assassinate him in Dujail in 1982. Al-Dulaimi said Sunday he had written to U.S. President George W. Bush to warn him of the consequences of a death sentence against Hussein.

"I warned him against the death penalty and against any other decision that would inflame a civil war in Iraq and send fire throughout the region," al-Dulaimi said in a phone interview from Baghdad. He did not say when he sent the letter to Bush. In the Kurdish trial, the defense team had boycotted the proceeding since September 24 after the dismissal of a chief judge who was criticized as being too soft on Hussein. The lawyers said later they also were protesting the court's refusal to give them more time to review about 10,000 documents in the trial. Prosecutors say the military offensive against the Kurds, Operation Anfal, killed 180,000 people.

Posted by chandu at 2:29 AM | Permalink | Comments

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, currently in Pune, filming A Mighty Heart, have applied to adopt a baby from an Indian orphanage. There is likely to be another happy addition to the Jolie-Pitt family. The couple hopes to take the newest member home to Los Angeles at the latest by Christmas. Jolie–who gave birth to Shiloh Nouvel, Pitt’s biological daughter in May of this year–adopted Cambodian-born Maddox in 2002 and an Ethiopian-born Zahara in 2005. A source quoted in the Mail has said: "Brad would prefer a boy no older than 18 months to even the sexes, but Angie has told him she cannot guarantee that she won’t fall in love with a little girl." The name of the child, they have decided, would be India, irrespective of whether they adopt a boy or girl. Jolie (31) has declared that she wants children from all over the world. She said: "I want to create a rainbow family. That is, children of different religions and cultures from different countries." "I believe I’m meant to find my children in the world and not necessarily have them genetically," she added.

Posted by chandu at 1:47 AM | Permalink | Comments

The row over Madonna's adoption of an African baby is refusing to die down. The father of the 13-month-old David Banda has come out in support of the singer. Yohane Banda appeared in a Malawi court room as human rights groups attempted to block the adoption process. Mr Banda said he could not understand why anyone was unhappy about the superstar adopting his child. "If he is brought back it will be bad for me and my family because we can't afford to look after him," he said. The coalition of rights groups says the government broke its own laws which forbid adoption of any Malawian child by a non-resident. Madonna brought the child to her luxury London home and has given a number of television interviews hitting back at her critics.

Posted by chandu at 1:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

Pop star Madonna seems to be so in love with 1-year-old David Banda - a Malawian orphan she is going to adopt[Edited: Madonna reached NY on 29th with David: The Picture is taken in the airport], that she is making sure that the little one leads a luxurious life. The 'Material Girl' recently spent a fortune on the tot's winter wardrobe. She called trendy Los Angeles baby store Petit Tresor at the beginning of the week and ordered the best cashmere winter clothes from designers like CV and Larucci. "She wanted very high-end, luxury winter products and items; very subtle European classic designs made of the finest materials and fabrics... It's the luxury of all luxuries," Contactmusic quoted Nina Takesh, Petit Tresor's co-owner, as saying.

Posted by chandu at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 1,203,212 people from around the globe.

* From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.

* You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents.

* The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world currency, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online currency exchanges.

Tag: Second Life

Posted by chandu at 1:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

In his column in the N.Y. Times today, Paul Krugman describes the five stages of housing grief. Here is the article.

1. Housing bubble? What housing bubble? “A national severe price distortion [in housing] seems most unlikely in the United States.” (Alan Greenspan, October 2004)

2. “There’s a little froth in this market,” but “we don’t perceive that there is a national bubble.” (Alan Greenspan, May 2005)

3. Housing is slumping, but “despite what you hear from some of the Eeyores in the analytical community, a recession is not visible on the horizon.” (Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, August 2006)

4. Well, that was a lousy quarter, but “I feel good about the U.S. economy, I really do.” (Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary, last Friday)

5. Insert expletive here.

We’ve now reached stage 4. Will we move on to stage 5?

But the housing boom became a bubble, fueled by a surge of irresponsible bank lending, which continues even now. (Yesterday’s Denver Post tells of a runaway prisoner who managed to borrow enough to buy three expensive houses while on the lam, then bought two more while in prison.) The question now is how much pain the bursting bubble will inflict.

But I think the pessimists have a stronger case. There’s a lot of evidence that home prices, although they’ve started to decline, are still way out of line. Spending on home construction remains abnormally high as a percentage of G.D.P., because banks are still lending freely in spite of rapidly rising foreclosure rates.

This means that home sales probably still have a long way to fall. And you don’t want to make too much of the fact that some housing indicators have turned up; those indicators tend to bounce around a lot from month to month.

Moreover, much of the good news in the latest economic report is unsustainable at best, suspect at worst. Almost half of last quarter’s estimated growth was the result of a reported surge in automobile output, which some observers think was a statistical illusion, not something that really happened.

So this is probably just the beginning. How bad can it get? Well, you don’t have to go far to find grim forecasts: Merrill Lynch predicts that the unemployment rate will rise from 4.6 percent now to 5.8 percent by the end of next year.

In case you’re wondering, I don’t blame the Bush administration for the latest bad economic numbers. If anyone is to blame for the current situation, it’s Mr. Greenspan, who pooh-poohed warnings about an emerging bubble and did nothing to crack down on irresponsible lending.

Tags : Paul Krugman, Housing Bubble, Alan Greenspan

Posted by chandu at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

With more and more men and women having cyber affairs, Internet infidelity seems to have arrived in India and for that matter to the whole world. The faithful are trying to catch their techno-savvy unfaithful partners red-handed in cyber space, some by keeping pace with technology, others by reading self-help books. Some others are seeking professional help to cope with their agony. Casual Internet affairs, which usually last up to a few weeks, are increasingly souring real-life relationships. Anoop (name changed) works from home on his PC and promptly logs off around 7 p.m. when it's time for his wife to get back home. "My wife hates to catch me chatting on the Internet. So instead of having a long fight, I just log off," Anoop told on the Messenger. Anoop insists that the women he chats with are just "friends". "Once in a while I may also flirt with them," he said.

Posted by chandu at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

She rules the hearts of millions and is touted as one of the most beautiful actresses ever to grace Indian cinema. Aishwarya Rai, who turns 33 Wednesday, returns to the marquee after a long hiatus - playing a courtesan in "Umrao Jaan" and an oomph girl in "Dhoom 2". The actress, who is said to be dating Abhishek Bachchan, will reportedly announce her engagement on her birthday. According to insiders, Abhishek's ailing grandmother Teji Bachchan is eager to see him married, and the couple is said to be planning to tie the knot early next year. But Aishwarya, who is apparently attending family dinners and get-togethers at the Bachchan household, is tight-lipped about her relationship. She is currently busy promoting her two films. In Yash Raj Films' upcoming "Dhoom 2", Aishwarya plays a hi-tech thief along with Hrithik Roshan, while in J.P. Dutta's "Umrao Jaan", a screen adaptation of Mirza Mohammed Haadi Ruswa's Urdu novel "Umrao Jaan Ada" and a tragic historical, she plays a courtesan. "When Dutta narrated the script to me, I told him that if you get Aishwarya to play the role of Umrao Jaan only then make the film, else drop it. According to me, the character requires an enigmatic quality to it. This is what I feel Aishwarya's personality symbolises," said well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar on the actress.

Posted by chandu at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

Dubai's Emirates Airline said it is canceling an order for 10 large jetliners from Airbus and will use Boeing models instead, according to a published report Sunday. Emirates President Tim Clark said his airline would not take the Airbus A340-600 jetliners it had ordered and is sending auditors to assess the European plane maker's progress on building its A380 superjumbo. Emirates will instead order 777 models from Boeing Co., Emirates Executive Vice Chairman Maurice Flanagan said, the Journal reported. The switch that follows Clark's complaints last year about the high operating cost of the A340 family of planes, shows how Boeing is benefiting from troubles at Airbus, a unit of Franco-German European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht said she had no information about cancellations.

Posted by chandu at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise is denying rumours that he got so angry during a phone conversation while riding in a limousine that he destroyed a car seat. According to contactmusic.com, a driver for the New York limousine service has been telling passengers about the alleged incident. A passenger said: "He told us he was driving Tom Cruise recently and he was talking animatedly on his cell phone. When the discussion became heated, he punched the seat with a pen he was holding and put a hole in it." The driver claimed that he argued with Cruise about the damage and the actor offered to pay for the repairs. But Cruise's spokesman said the story is not true saying, "I've never even heard of that car company."

Posted by chandu at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

A local teachers’ union and other groups have held protests throughout the city of Oaxaca as a result of labor and other disputes with the local government. Demonstrators have occupied or closed government facilities, and have closed several roads throughout the city. Demonstrations have been marked by mounting violence, including at least two reported fatalities. The possibility for violence continues and the situation remains tense. Vandalism, arrests, and injuries continue as a result of the ongoing confrontations. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City has received reports of robberies and assaults in areas of the city not normally known to pose a high crime risk.

Posted by chandu at 7:42 AM | Permalink | Comments

Firefighters aided by dying winds appeared to be winning the battle Sunday against a 63-square-mile wildfire that killed four of their own and destroyed more than 30 homes. The 40,450-acre blaze, which authorities say was set by an arsonist, was 70 percent contained four days after blowtorch gusts overran a U.S. Forest Service crew. Four members were killed and a fifth was left clinging to life with burns over most of his body. The blaze was still threatening a wilderness area plagued by drought and filled with dead trees, but fire officials were confident that if they could keep it out of that area they could have it under control by Tuesday night.

"It's the bottom of the ninth, so we want to make sure we hit it out of the park and win this thing," said Mike Wakoski, an incident commander for the Forest Service.

As firefighters were getting the upper hand on that blaze, another broke out Sunday in Warner Springs, about 70 miles northeast of San Diego. That fire began about noon and quickly blackened about 100 acres, forcing the evacuation of several homes, said Capt. David Janssen of the California Department of Forestry.

More than 200 firefighters, five helicopters and an air tanker rushed to the scene to save about 14 homes in the blaze's path, which was moving east toward the Los Coyotes Indian reservation. The cause was under investigation. One firefighter was injured, though his condition was unclear Sunday afternoon.

Church vigils were held across Southern California on Sunday for the families of the four firefighters who were killed and for firefighter Pablo Cerda, who was badly injured. Cerda, 23, was still in critical condition Sunday after surgery Friday to remove damaged skin.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he attended one of the services before stopping by a fire command center in Beaumont on Sunday afternoon to offer words of encouragement to the more than 2,800 firefighters on the front lines.

"It makes me, as governor, really proud to know that we have the best of the best firefighters and law enforcement people in the world working to put this fire out," he said.

Fire officials were still concerned Sunday with the blaze's eastern flank, which borders a wilderness area that hasn't burned in more than 30 years and has been devastated by a bark beetle infestation that has killed hundreds of trees.

"This is the only place the infrared shows any activity at all. This is also the place with the heaviest fuels we have," said fire analyst Timothy Chavez.

The weather could play a role in their stand there. Unless there is a return of the Santa Ana winds, which quickly whipped the fire out of control on Thursday, firefighters expect to surround the last of the blaze quickly. Investigators believe it was such a gust that engulfed the firefighters Thursday.

In all, the fire has destroyed 54 structures - the 34 homes and 20 other buildings.

The fire was set shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday at the base of a slope in the desert city of Cabazon, about 10 miles northwest of Palm Springs.

Cabazon residents said they saw two young men leaving the fire's ignition point, and authorities quickly declared it an act of arson. They have withheld details of any evidence they have, but have acknowledged receiving hundreds of tips.

"We're keeping a real tight lid on the investigation," said Michael Jarvis, a forestry department spokesman. "We're just asking people to call in with their tips."

While fire crews made progress on the blaze, evacuees began returning to their homes over the weekend, often to find nothing left. They were allowed in only briefly on Saturday and Sunday to retrieve belongings and feed or remove pets.

Carol Hurley stood Saturday at the still-smoldering wreckage of a neighbor's house in Twin Pines but couldn't bear to look at what was left of her dream home.

"I'm not ready to see it," said Hurley, 68. "I just want to remember it like it was."

Three of her children and a grandson dug through piles of concrete searching for jewelry and other valuables but found little more than a blackened fork and knife and remnants of her china.

Posted by chandu at 7:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

The unwanted exposure that Wee Shu Min got with her response to Derek Wee's post on web compelled her father to make a public statement about the counselling he did to his daughter. In his words - "We are disappointed with Wee Shu Min's comments on Mr Derek Wee's posting on the Web. We have counseled Shu Min and have conveyed to her the importance of sensitivity and empathy, qualities that she should have exercised in her response to Mr Wee. We are confident that she has learn from this experience and will be the wiser for it."

The news went beyond blogs and web. It appeared in all most all the print media too and some news papers have shown it in front pages too. The funny thing is that most people (who does not know about blogs) did not quite get what had happened.

Posted by chandu at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments

Halloween is one of the more strange holidays celebrated in the United States. Although American parents discourage talking to strangers and worship of the occult, parents allow their children to visit stranger's homes and accept candy and even allow children to dress up as ghosts and ghouls. The holiday and the way of celebrating has changed over the years because of the merging of cultures and celebrations.

History of Halloween

* The Celts believed that souls of the dead visited the earth every October 31.
* All Hallows Eve was the evening before All Saints Day which is celebrated on November 1.
* In Mexico, they celebrate El Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead starting the evening of October 31.
* Halloween also marks the end of harvest season. The end of October marks the time that pastures and fields dry up. The animals were brought in from the pasture to be butchered and the remaining vegetables left in fields and gardens were left to rot. This part of the season often brought about reminisce of loved ones that were lost.
* In 1800's people started to have parties. Part of the celebrations included costumes, fortune telling and games such as bobbing for apples.
* At the turn of the century, cities were overcrowded and Halloween marked the time to let off steam by playing practical jokes such as turning over out houses. By the 1930's things had gotten out of hand and serious damage was being done on Halloween. There was a movement to have children go door to door and ask for candy as an alternative to vandalism.

Traditional Observance of Halloween

* Home owners display decorations on their house such as Jack O'lanterns (a carved, the lit pumpkin), scare crows, fake cemeteries, spider webs and other decorations. Some even play spooky music that can be heard in their yards.
* Trick or Treating
In the evening children dress up in costumes, and they go door to door in their neighborhoods. When the homeowner opens the door, they say "Trick or Treat". The home owner gives the children candy.
* Costume Parties
People attend costume parties and dress to disguise their appearance. Often there are prizes for the best costume.
* Some people do mischievous things on Halloween such as spraying other people with shaving cream, throwing eggs, or TPing (covering with toilet paper) houses and trees. Damaging another's person property or assault is illegal in the United States.

When and on What date Halloween celebrated

Halloween is celebrated every October 31st.

Other Names for Halloween
All Hallows Eve
Samhain
All Hallowtide
The Feast of the Dead

Common Misspellings for Halloween:
Haloween
Holloween
Holoween

Posted by chandu at 6:23 AM | Permalink | Comments

'No time to wait'

The report says that without action, up to 200 million people could become refugees as their homes are hit by drought or flood. "Whilst there is much more we need to understand - both in science and economics - we know enough now to be clear about the magnitude of the risks, the timescale for action and how to act effectively," Sir Nicholas said.
"That's why I'm optimistic - having done this review - that we have the time and knowledge to act. But only if we act internationally, strongly and urgently." Mr Blair said the consequences for the planet of inaction were "literally disastrous". "This disaster is not set to happen in some science fiction future many years ahead, but in our lifetime," he said. "Investment now will pay us back many times in the future, not just environmentally but economically as well." "For every £1 invested now we can save £5, or possibly more, by acting now. We can't wait the five years it took to negotiate Kyoto - we simply don't have the time. We accept we have to go further (than Kyoto)."

Large risks

Sir Nicholas, a former chief economist of the World Bank, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Unless it's international, we will not make the reductions on the scale which will be required." He went on: "What we have shown is the magnitude of these risks is very large and has to be taken into account in the kind of investments the world makes today and the consumption patterns it has." The Stern Review forecasts that 1% of global gross domestic product (GDP) must be spent on tackling climate change immediately.

It warns that if no action is taken:

* Floods from rising sea levels could displace up to 100 million people

* Melting glaciers could cause water shortages for 1 in 6 of the world's population

* Wildlife will be harmed; at worst up to 40% of species could become extinct

* Droughts may create tens or even hundreds of millions of "climate refugees"

Clear objectives

The study is the first major contribution to the global warming debate by an economist, rather than a scientist. Mr Brown, who commissioned the report, has also recruited former US Vice President Al Gore as an environment adviser. Environment Secretary David Miliband is considering a range of taxes designed to change people's behaviour to offset global warming. "In the 20th century our national economic ambitions were the twin objectives of achieving stable economic growth and full employment," Mr Brown said. "Now in the 21st century our new objectives are clear, they are threefold: growth, full employment and environmental care." He said the green challenge was also an opportunity "for new markets, for new jobs, new technologies, new exports where companies, universities and social enterprises in Britain can lead the world". "And then there is the greatest opportunity of all, the prize of securing and safeguarding the planet for our generations to come." Mr Brown called for a long-term framework of a worldwide carbon market that would lead to "a low-carbon global economy".
Among his plans are:

* Reducing European-wide emissions by 30% by 2020, and at least 60% by 2050

* By 2010, having 5% of all UK vehicles running on biofuels

* Creating an independent environmental authority to work with the government

* Establishing trade links with Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica to ensure sustainable forestry

* Working with China on clean coal technologie

Posted by chandu at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

US scientists have cracked the entire genetic code of breast and colon cancers, offering new treatment hopes. The genetic map shows that nearly 200 mutated genes, most previously unknown, help tumours emerge, grow and spread. The discovery could also lead to better ways to diagnose cancer in its early, most treatable stages, and personalised treatments, Science magazine reports. The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center says the findings suggest cancer is more complex than experts had believed.

Posted by chandu at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

'Reintroduction program'

John Ellis, the Zoological Society of London's Curator of Birds, said: "This is an enormous success for London Zoo and a real tribute to the hard work and expertise of our keepers. "I would like to think that this captive breeding success marks a change in the fortunes of the Socorro dove, and we are delighted to be playing our part in the reintroduction programme." The species died out after falling prey to a rising number of feral cats. They were hunted by humans for food and overgrazing by sheep also destroyed much of their forest floor habitat. As part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria breeding programme, it is hoped Arnie's descendants will eventually be reintroduced into the forests of Socorro.

Posted by chandu at 5:39 AM | Permalink | Comments

Bloggers are being asked to show their support for freedom of expression by Amnesty International. The human rights group also wants web log writers to highlight the plight of fellow bloggers jailed for what they wrote in their online journals. The organisation said fundamental rights such as free speech faced graver threats than ever before. The campaign coincides with the start of a week-long UN-organised conference that will debate the future of the net.

Posted by chandu at 5:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

The future of the net is the ambitious topic under discussion at the first global Internet Governance Forum, being held in Athens over the next five days. It has been set up by the UN to give governments, companies, organisations and individuals space for debate. Nitin Desai, chair of the organising body for IGF, has said the forum needed "dialogue in good faith". He warned that the biggest challenge in making the IGF successful was a "potential culture clash". In a column for the BBC News website, Mr Desai said: "The forum will give voice to the citizens of the global net and help identify emerging issues which need to be tackled in the formal processes." The forum is not a decision-making body but instead is designed to give stakeholders in the internet a chance to form consensus around key areas. More than 1,500 delegates from the around the world will be attending the meeting. The four key agendas for the conference are security, diversity, openness and access.

Posted by chandu at 5:23 AM | Permalink | Comments

A new aquatic vehicle that can take passengers beneath the surface of the water, revolve 360 degrees and stand upright like a dolphin, may be released as early as next year, according to its developer. Thomas "Doc" Rowe, creator of the so-called "bionic dolphin," said he hopes to get the watercraft in resorts in 2007 and thinks the vehicle could have a broad array of applications in the future, including rescuing people in harsh ocean conditions. "There's going to be a lot of utility found in this besides having a good time," he said, adding that the government of Bermuda has expressed interest in using the dolphin, which can travel 300 miles without refueling, as a water taxi. But it takes more than an appealing idea to get a product to market.

Posted by chandu at 5:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

Howling Northeast winds tore into trees and power lines, plunging thousands of homes into the dark and contributed to least two deaths. More than 100,000 utility customers throughout the region, including 44,000 in Maine and 38,000 in upstate New York, were left without power Sunday by winds gusting up to 60 mph. "The leaves are coming off the trees and the voting signs are on the ground," said Dawn Banks, a resident of Mattydale in Onondaga County. The Halloween headstones on her lawn, each weighing between 10 to 15 pounds, were "blowing about pretty good," Banks said.

Posted by chandu at 5:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

U.S. military deaths in Iraq in October reached 100 Monday, making this the deadliest month for American troops in a year. The death toll mounted as militias and al Qaeda staged fierce battles in Baghdad and other parts of the country, despite a four-month security crackdown in the capital and additional U.S. troops on the ground. The spike in the unrelenting violence has been blamed on the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when attacks generally rise, and on increased patrols in tense areas. The Pentagon also said that insurgents fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces were motivated by the November 7 congressional elections in the United States.

Posted by chandu at 5:10 AM | Permalink | Comments

At least 80 militants have been killed in an air strike by Pakistani forces on a madrassa (religious school) used as a militant training camp, the army says. The army said the madrassa in the tribal area of Bajaur bordering Afghanistan was destroyed by helicopter gunships early on Monday. One eyewitness told that 70-80 students were inside. A leading local politician says the dead were innocent. Pakistan has deployed nearly 80,000 troops along the border. They are there to hunt militants who sought refuge in the rugged tribal terrain after the ousting of the Taleban in Afghanistan in late 2001. President Pervez Musharraf has pledged to reform madrassas after many were criticised for supporting Islamic militancy.

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Posted by chandu at 3:29 AM | Permalink | Comments

They may have ruled the land and the seas 75 million years ago but even dinosaurs fell prey to the lowest of the low -- gut worms, scientists reported. An unusually well-preserved fossil of a duck-billed dinosaur dug up in Montana has revealed great detail of the animal's insides, including what appear to be tiny burrows that would have been made by worms, the team at the University of Colorado at Boulder found. They found more than 200 suspected parasite burrows that most likely were made by tiny worms similar to annelids and nematodes that infest animals today, said assistant geology professor Karen Chin.

Posted by chandu at 2:39 AM | Permalink | Comments

The UK is one of 27 countries signed up to the US Visa Waiver Program, which demands that all passports issued after 26 October 2006 must contain a machine readable chip with the passport holder's details and a biometric identifier, such as a digital photograph of the holder.
The authorities say this is primarily to beat passport fraud, and a security officer will still compare the digital photo with physical photo and the passport holder. But technology already exists for checks to be automated - a passenger will look into a camera at border control and a computer will check the map of key points on the face with those recorded in the passport chip, confirming their identity. This is just one example of how biometrics are being applied. Firms are developing the technology to be used in anything from hand-held devices to building access, street surveillance and the "war on terror".

Access - doing away with employees' cards and keys and the risk of them being lost, stolen or misused - is a major focus for the industry, many of whose companies were exhibiting at the Biometrics 2006 conference in London last week. A4 Vision are among those taking the 2D facial technology being used in the biometric passports - also known as ePassports - to the next dimension. Within seconds, the system maps 40,000 points on the face, based on the geometric features curvature of the face, slope of the nose etc., to create a 3D image - which is then stored with personal details and access permissions.

Portable devices

At the Pictet and Cie Swiss bank in Geneva, for example, registered employees need only look at the camera on the security turnstiles to be allowed into the building. Facial recognition can also be used to monitor individuals remotely - whether in crowds, clubs or public gatherings. Some systems pick out faces in a crowd and compare them to a stored database. CrossMatch's FaceCheck is being used in casinos in Europe to identify unwanted or banned customers, and even gambling addicts who want to be stopped when temptation gets the better of them. "It is not as good as iris or fingerprint but it is good enough to alert security who can then do another check," says Thomas Buss, of CrossMatch.

US military working in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cuba, Bosnia and other areas of conflict are already using portable iris enrolment and recognition devices to record and identify suspects. The US defence department has now put in a $10m (£6m) order for the latest multi-modal devices which incorporate iris, finger and face biometrics. "The soldiers carry them in their packs. And if they kick down a door in Falluja or wherever, they can line the suspects up and check their IDs to see if they are on the database," says Tim Johnson, of Securimetrics. "Every prison camp in Iraq is using them for incoming and outgoing prisoners. It is a useful tool - they can see if someone has been arrested before, where they were and what they had done."
The iris systems were used to enrol election workers and recruits for the Iraqi police force. Similar systems are also being used in the US in prisons, military bases and civil plants.

There have been concerns that finger biometric systems can be problematic for people with feint prints, or wet or dry hands. They have also been shown to be susceptible to fraud as prints could be easily copied - a Japanese scientist famously used jelly sweets to reproduce a machine-readable fingerprint.

But technology to secure systems moves on.

Skin deep

New Mexico-based Lumidigm generates fingerprints by using wavelengths of light to probe fingers for information both at the surface and beneath the skin. It highlights characteristics such as skin layers and collagen fibres that are part of what makes a fingerprint unique.

Current technologies have an error rate of up to 16% but Lumidigm says its technology reduces this to less than 1%. They also have a "liveness" detection to avoid the Hollywood scenario of digits being cut from hands to be used by criminals. In the real world, the sensors are being used in a theme park in the US to allow customers to access rides and attractions according to their tickets. Behind some public reluctance to give fingerprints is the belief that prints will be kept on file and stored and could then be passed on. Most companies insist the sample print is never kept - it is encoded and made into a template or algorithm so future scans compare code with code, not print with print.

Dr Leopold Gallner, of ekey Biometric Systems, believes biometrics can be applied to the everyday uses such as opening your front door. Keyholes can be replaced with finger sensors that can register up to 99 fingers - enough for a family or small business. "You don't need cards or keys, you have your finger with you all the time," says Dr Leopold. "Most people store their left and right fingerprint in case they have an accident or, as usually happens, you get home carrying bags and you have the wrong hand free." Other aspects of what make one person physiologically different to another are also being tapped into - from the veins in your hand to how you speak.

VoiceVault's voice recognition system is based on a customer's unique voice print - made up from 117 characteristics of vocal tract, sinuses nasal cavity and trachea. "It enables identification over the phone or internet - people are fed up with PINs and passwords," says VoiceVault's head of marketing Nigel Phillips. He says speech recognition is based on what someone is saying, but voice recognition recognises who is saying it. The unique voiceprint means the system can reject a recording or impersonation, but will recognise someone's voice even if they have a cold or are sounding a bit rough. The system is being used by ABN AMRO bank in the Netherlands to make telephone banking more secure and by farmers in Ireland to replenish stock by phone.

Smart guns

Some of the systems are still at the development stage, but still attract interest and investment from governments and organisations. Six PhD students from the University of Twente are developing the Smart-gun for the Dutch police. The system uses pressure pattern recognition to ascertain the way a person grips a gun to verify the user and allow its use.
Ilean Buhan says the idea emerged from the figures that around 16% of US police officers killed in the line of duty were shot with their own weapon.

"This system means that someone who grabs an officer's gun can't use it to shoot its owner," she said. "It also makes it safer to store the gun at home as anyone else who picks it up - like a child - won't be able to use it." Exhibition organiser Mark Lockie says the events of 11 September accelerated what was happening in the industry. "What's happening is that there's been a lot of research and development taking place on the standards front, on developing better sensors - they're more accurate," he said. "Commercial organisations are now looking at the technology, and saying 'Well, if it's good enough for the government, then maybe it's good enough for us'."

Dr Fred Preston, of Motorola, says biometrics will be used more and more in law enforcement but also in everyday applications. He says acceptance of the user is key. "It has to be easy to use and possible to use and the user has to be willing to use it as well," he says. "It will come with time and familiarity - a lot like Chip and Pin."

Posted by chandu at 2:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

A 58-year old billionaire software engineer is set to join the growing but still exclusive club of space tourists. Hungarian-born Charles Simonyi, who led the development of Microsoft's Word and Excel, will blast off onboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on 09 March 2007. On completion of training, Dr Simonyi will become the fifth amateur cosmonaut and 450th person in space. However, he believes on at least one count his trip may be unique: "I might be the first nerd in space," he said.

Essential reading

Dr Simonyi, now based in the US, will lift-off from Baikonaur in Kazakhstan with the fifteenth ISS crew in March next year. Like those before him, Dr Simonyi's $20-25 million dollar trip has been arranged by US-based Space Adventures. After an exhilarating eight minute ride to escape the Earth's atmosphere, Dr Simonyi and the two Russian crew members will spend two days reaching the ISS. He will spend eight days onboard, completing 160 orbits of the Earth and covering 4 million miles (6.5 million km) in the process. The return journey, accompanied by the fourteenth ISS crew already onboard, will take just two hours. Mr Simonyi hopes the whole trip will accomplish a number of things.

"I have three goals," he said. "One of them is to advance civilian spaceflight, the second to assist space station research and the third to involve kids in space sciences." He has started a website, charlesinspace.com, aimed at promoting his aims. Dr Simonyi also plans to start a library on the ISS, leaving copies of science fiction novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Henlein and Goethe's Faust.

Learning curve

Dr Simonyi will now spend the next 5 months training for his mission at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia and at Baikonaur in Kazakhstan.
Unlike some of his predecessors the engineer is already well qualified to undertake the mission.

He holds pilot licenses for jets and helicopters and has more than 2,000 hours of flying time under his belt. However, he will still have to undergo a gruelling physical and technical regime to complete the mission. Throughout, he will be required to pass strict medical tests to continually monitor his suitability for the flight.

Dr Simonyi has also taken it upon himself to learn Russian and the complex systems on board the Soyuz spacecraft. "I consider it an essential benefit of this whole undertaking to learn those things," he told the BBC News website.

"Learning about the systems is part of my engineering curiosity and makes the whole experience so much more interesting when I understand exactly what is going on and, for example, why the flight is safe."

Fantasy idea

Space Adventures has previously sent four private explorers to space.

In 2001, American Dennis Tito was the first space tourist. He was followed by South African Mark Shuttleworth the year after, and American Greg Olsen last year.
Iranian-born US businesswoman Anousheh Ansari became the first ever female space tourist in September this year. She was a last minute replacement for or Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto who failed his medical tests. "Space Adventures has created more astronauts than 98% of nations on Earth," said Eric Anderson, co-founder of Space Adventures. "We've turned space tourism from a fantasy, into an idea, that became an industry." It was people like Dr Simonyi that deserved the credit for this, he said. "It's not the dreamers, it's the doers that have created this new market."

Posted by chandu at 1:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

Fans of World of Warcraft will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on the long-awaited expansion of the hugely popular game. Blizzard has announced the release of the Burning Crusade expansion pack is now being delayed until January 2007. The expansion, which gives players new races, territories and more powerful characters, was scheduled to appear in late 2006. But Blizzard said more time was needed to "further refine" the extras. Since it launched in 2004, the massively-multiplayer online fantasy role-playing game has proved a huge hit. Now more than six million people have signed up to play the game and send their warriors, warlocks, rogues and other characters questing in Azeroth.

Posted by chandu at 1:47 AM | Permalink | Comments

The top two browsing programs of net users got a big update this month as Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) and Mozilla unleashed Firefox 2.0. Microsoft's IE7 program is the beefier of the two browsers with the download package weighing in at 14.8 megabytes (MB). By contrast Firefox is a svelte 5.4MB. However, neither should tax a broadband connection. Differences start to show up once the software is downloaded. Once it is done installing, IE7 demands a re-start before you can use it. Firefox installs without that need. It's a minor difference and a minor inconvenience for those that choose Internet Explorer. Both take about the same amount of time to install and get started-up but once they are running more subtle differences start to become apparent.

Posted by chandu at 1:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

Fire teams in Southern California early Friday had gained a small measure of control over a raging wildfire near Palm Springs -- a fire that has killed four firefighters, forced mandatory evacuations and doubled in size. By early Friday, the fire was 5 percent contained as crews worked to secure the blaze's perimeter. The size of the blaze had doubled from 10,000 acres Thursday to nearly 24,000 acres early Friday. A fire official said the blaze was the work of an arsonist and could lead to murder charges against whoever is responsible. "This is a deliberately set arson fire," said John Hawkins of the Riverside County Fire Department. "An arson fire that leads to the death of anyone constitutes murder."

Posted by chandu at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

In a bid to provide further support to the high-risk population vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation today announced an assistance of 23 million dollars to India for better programme management and technical capacity building. An agreement to this effect was signed here between the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and the Foundation. "This announcement comes at a critical juncture because of the epidemic's current trajectory which demonstrates the need to scale-up prevention efforts," Union Health Secretary P K Hota said. Tadataka Yamada, President of the Gates Foundation's Global Health programme, announced that the foundation will invest 23 million dollars over the next three years to enhance the capacity of India's HIV prevention response.

Posted by chandu at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

I got this information from a friend of mine and I did not know the trueness of this matter of fact even my friend does not know whether it work or not. This information is only for the residents of India but IMEI number exists for all the mobile phones throughout India. No matter from which part of the world you are, if you think you own a costly and nice mobile phone or wireless gadgets it is recommended to go for mobile phone insurance.

An IMEI number: The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number is an international identity number used to uniquely identify a mobile phone. The 15-digit IMEI number is an electronic fingerprint transmitted every time a phone is used, which reveals the identity of the mobile handset.

How can I find out my IMEI number? IMEI numbers are independent of the phone number and are usually written underneath the battery or on the back of the handset. Mobile phone users can also check their 15 digit IMEI number by dialling *#06# on their mobile handset. Mobile phone owners should make a note of their IMEI number and keep the details in a safe place.

If u lost your mobile, send an e-mail to cop@vsnl.net with the following info.
Your name:
Address:
Phone model:
Make:
Last used No.:
E-mail for communication:
Missed date:
IMEI No.:

"No need to go to police station"

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How's this for blurring the lines between virtual and real? A real Reuters reporter reports a real news story about Congress considering taxing real income earned on a virtual web site, where the reporter writes under a fake name as his real-life employer's (Reuters) new chief of a virtual news bureau. Huh? Welcome to Second Life, the popular and growing parallel universe on the Internet. Maybe you've read something about Second Life and thought it's just another online game. It is definitely social, but if you define a game as something that's played, won, and finished, this isn't it.

The latest news is that Reuters did indeed open a news bureau in Linden, the virtual city on Second Life, called SL by its virtual residents, which number more than 900,000. London-based correspondent Adam Pasick writes as Adam Reuters on the site. Curious? Here's a look at Second Life, and how the popular virtual world is attracting real-world companies and entrepreneurs, which may be a sign of how business will be conducted on the web.

What is it and who is there in SecondLife Online Game?

Think Sim City, only bigger, with the limits set only by the imagination and creativy of those who enter SL. More than 900,000 users have signed up to build homes, neighborhoods, and businesses in the free 3D online world. Some build virtual businesses, making clothes for avatars, for example; others sell plots of land. Some real businesses are joining, too. Starwood Hotels has built a virtual version of a new hotel chain in SL that it plans to unveil in RL (real life) in 2008. Some companies are conducting training sessions and meetings in Second Life.

Real money for fake things that sometimes turn into real things:

Something else that sets Second Life apart from other online games is it allows "residents" to retain full ownership of virtual creations, which has fueled Linden's market economy.

Somewhere between $350,000 and $500,000 in real U.S. dollars is spent user-to-user on Second Life every day. Players buy and sell goods and services using "Linden Dollars," which can be converted to currency in real U.S. dollars. The IRS truly is interested in this, and Congressional economists are looking into how to tax digital assets accrued in games such as Second Life and World of Warcraft.

Sometimes, popular online commodities in Second Life make the leap to Real Life. Creators of popular games in SL have licensed their games to flesh-and-blood video game companies.

Expect to stay awhile:

Reading accounts of others who have jumped into this unique online world, I've figured out it's easy to spend many hours there, learning how to walk, jump, teleport, and fly—yes you fly in SL—and jumping disorientedly from one venue to another.

I have yet to create my avatar and fly around Linden. Fellow blogger Robin and I have talked about meeting in SL, though we're both wondering how we'll find time for a second life when our first ones are pretty darn full.

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Looks like all the rumors were true. Say hello to the new special edition red iPod Nano. Bono, Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities have partnered with Apple Computer on a special red-colored iPod Nano to help raise money for a new charity aimed at battling AIDS in Africa called PRODUCT RED. To help promote the new red iPod, both Oprah and Bono bought 10 red iPods at Apple’s retail store in Chicago. The video aired last Friday on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. Apple has agreed to donate $10 from the sale of each red iPod to the PRODUCT RED charity to help women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. The PRODUCT RED charity was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA. They hope to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world’s most iconic brands to produce PRODUCT RED branded products. Other companies that plan on offering special PRODUCT RED items include the Gap, Converse, Armani, American Express and Motorola.

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Yahoo third-quarter net income drops from a year ago. Yahoo posted third-quarter results in line with lowered forecasts, with net income dropping greatly from a year ago on higher stock compensation expenses and lower than expected ad sales. Net income, including stock compensation expenses, was $159 million, or 11 cents a share. That compares with a year-ago figure of $254 million, or 17 cents a share. Yahoo had $80 million of stock-based compensation expense. Revenue for the quarter, which ended Sept. 30, was $1.12 billion, excluding traffic acquisition costs, which are fees shared with content partners. That is a 20 percent increase from the $932 million in revenue recorded a year earlier.

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If you get a chance, head over to YouTube.com today. The number one video is something called “Internet Killed the Video Star” by the ClipBandits - the world’s first YouTube only band. There are currently only 3 members in ClipBandits - J-Pe$o, Girl Bass Player and ClipBandit. They don’t even know each others real names, just their YouTube IDs, and have never met in person. They also live in 3 different states, California, New York and Texas. So how does an Internet only band practice or play gigs together? Easy. They do it all via YouTube. J-Pe$o and Girl Bass Player record their separate parts and upload their clips to YouTube. Then the ClipBandit syncs up their clips on several large video screens in his recording studio and plays his part live. He then uploads the final product to YouTube.

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Film stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have arrived in India where the actress will be working in a film on murdered US journalist Daniel Pearl. The Mighty Heart, directed by Michael Winterbottom, is based on a memoir of the journalist by his widow, Mariane. Jolie plays Mrs Pearl. The Hollywood couple flew into the western city of Pune on Thursday along with their three children, reports say.

"Mass hysteria is mounting in Pune...", said the Hindustan Times newspaper. "The city has not witnessed a shoot of this scale," the newspaper said. Local media said Jolie and Pitt flew into Pune in a private Bombardier jet owned by a leading Indian businessmen. The Hollywood couple were wearing "white colour full-sleeve T-shirts and trousers and exchanged greetings with the airport staff before boarding a white Mercedes van," The Times of India newspaper reported.

Avoiding the media

The newspaper quoted a Pune airport official "who was among a few to get a close look at the star couple" that Pitt was holding Shiloh-Nouvel, the youngest of their three children while Maddox, who was fast asleep, was carried to the car by one of the attendants". The couple drove in driving rain to a five-star hotel where "six luxury suites have been booked", one report said. The star couple managed to avoid the media which had been waiting at the Pune airport since early Thursday morning by exiting from a cargo terminal gate.

A Mighty Heart, is based on the eponymous book, written by Mariane Pearl after her husband was kidnapped in Karachi and murdered while investigating al-Qaeda. The film will examine his reasons for being in Pakistan, his abduction and his wife's attempts to find him. Mariane has said she is "delighted" that Jolie "will be playing my role in the adaptation of my book". Dan Futterman plays the role of the journalist. Leading Indian actor Irfan Khan also stars in the film. The outskirts of the busting western city of Pune will serve as the backdrop of the film and recreate places in Pakistan.

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The dengue outbreak in recent weeks has claimed 98 lives in India and the number of people reporting symptoms is steadily growing, latest reports say. Chikungunya, another viral disease, has hit mostly southern states and some pockets in the west and north of the country.

At least 4,809 people are being treated for dengue across the nation. The diseases are spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. A break up of the dengue scene shows 28 people have died from the disease in Delhi - 1,281 others are being treated for symptoms. While Gujarat has reported 441 cases, West Bengal has reported 405 cases. The number of cases reported in other parts of India are : Uttar Pradesh 418, Tamil Nadu 307, Punjab 250, Haryana 100,Karnataka 90, Kerala 794, Rajasthan 456, Maharashtra 240 and 27 cases in Andhra Pradesh.

As many as 1,610 cases of chikungunya have been reported. While 679 cases have been reported in Maharashtra, 294 have been reported in Karnataka. Two hundred and forty eight in Andhra Pradesh, 145 in Gujarat, 111 in Tamil Nadu, 62 in Madhya Pradesh, 38 in Kerala and 9 cases in Puducherry have also been reported.

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www.msdewey.com (a talkative search engine) provides an unboring hot user friendly search engine. Hot??? Well visit it you will find it. But don't get lost with the word "Hot". Even kids can use this. Not sure but it looks like the site is using google APIs to give search results. Its cool black dominated interface is done using flash.

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Pakistan have withdrawn fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from the Champions Trophy in India after testing positive for nandrolone. The tests were carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board three weeks ago and showed positive results for the performance-enhancing steroid.

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At least 90 navy personnel are feared dead in a Tamil Tiger suicide attack on a military bus convoy in northern Sri Lanka, the military says. Military officials told the BBC that they had already recovered 67 bodies near the town of Digampathana. They say that at least 60 others were injured in a "huge explosion" involving an "explosive-laden vehicle". At least 2,000 people have been killed in violence this year in Sri Lanka, the military and ceasefire monitors say.

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Things were returning to normal in Hawaii early Monday after a strong earthquake Sunday cut power to much of the 50th state. Hawaiian Electric Inc. reported it had restored power to more than two-thirds of its customers by late Sunday, according to a report on the Web site of The Honolulu Advertiser. All of Maui and 99 percent of the Big Island, epicenter of Sunday's 6.6 magnitude temblor, had power by late Sunday, the Advertiser said.

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In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.

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Presidents of China and South Korea met Friday to discuss possible sanctions against North Korea for its claimed nuclear test, as Japan passed a new set of penalties against the Asian country.

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The same strain of deadly bacteria that sickened dozens of people nationwide has been found at a cattle ranch in California's Salinas Valley within a mile of spinach fields, investigators said Thursday.

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Bangladeshi microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their work in advancing economic and social opportunities for the poor, particularly women.

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The last radar picture of Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle's plane showed the single-engine craft at 500 feet in a left turn a quarter-mile north of the building it eventually struck, a National Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman said Thursday.

The NTSB's Debbie Hersman said the Cirrus Design SR20 aircraft was traveling 112 mph at 700 feet when it reached 70th Street and began the turn. The plane slammed into the Belaire condominium building on 72nd Street moments later.

Lidle, 34, and flight instructor Tyler Stanger, 26, were killed Wednesday afternoon in the fiery crash that stirred chilling memories of Sept. 11, 2001, in many Upper East Siders.

Hersman said the plane left New Jersey's Teterboro Regional Airport flying north, made a right turn to fly south along the New Jersey shore of the Hudson River and then made a 180-degree turn around the Statue of Liberty to fly north up the East River.

Hersman said investigators had not yet determined which man was piloting the plane, which was registered to Lidle. She said investigators found a memory chip that could provide information about the flight at the time of the crash, but Cirrus Design spokesman Bill King said that will depend on the condition of the chip. "This is not black box technology," he said. "It's going to give general information [such as] how hard the engine was working. It won't show speed. [But] this airplane took a significant hit. Depending on how badly damaged it is, they may or may not have any information on it."

Hersman said investigators also found a global positioning system device.
Stanger didn't take Cirrus' training course. Lidle had 88 hours of flight time, 47 of those as a "pilot in command," Hersman said, citing his logbook, which was recovered at the scene. Stanger had never gone through Cirrus Design's own pilot certification program, according to the Duluth, Minnesota, company's Web site and a source close to the investigation. The program consists of a rigorous weeklong training course involving classroom work and hands-on air time, the Web site says. King said the company highly recommends the course. Pilots must take it yearly to be re-certified. "We have a rigid standard for our customer base who will go to market and look for these certified instructors," King said.

In Lidle and Stanger's last known contact with air traffic control, they told Teterboro not to transfer them to New York air traffic control because they were "just going to fly up and down the river" under visual flight rules, Hersman said.

The Hudson and East River corridors are governed by VFR [visual flight rules], meaning a pilot cannot fly in the clouds and must navigate by visible landmarks. It also means that general aviation aircraft cannot fly above 1,100 feet and are not required to be in contact with air traffic control. The area around the Belaire remained closed Thursday as investigators searched for parts of the plane, marking their location and transporting them to a single location, Hersman told reporters. She said investigators hoped to complete that phase of the investigation in "about 24 hours" and release the scene.

"The debris field is scattered," she said. "Parts of the aircraft are on the 40th floor, parts are on the ground and parts are on other buildings." Witnesses saw a huge fireball when the place hit and fears of September 11, 2001, were briefly ignited. Eleven apartments in the Belaire building remain closed off, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, and people trying to gain access to the street in front of the building must show identification so police can cut down on the number of onlookers.

Some residents of the building were being allowed back into their homes after engineers determined the structure is sound, he said. Earlier Thursday, Kelly identified Stanger, the owner of Stang-AIR in La Verne, California. Stanger first met Lidle last year in Pomona, California, according to The New York Times.

Stanger told the newspaper in a September 8 article that Lidle learned to fly very quickly and had a "huge desire" to learn. In a 2004 article in the San Gabriel Valley (California) Tribune, Stanger said that flying is very safe. "The most dangerous part about flying is the drive to the airport," he said. "It's a wing. It's very safe. It's the wing that flies, it's not the engine."

That fact that Lidle's logbook showed he had 88 hours of flight time -- 47 of which were as "pilot in command" -- "does not necessarily mean he was solo; that means he was a pilot in command of the aircraft for 47 hours," Hersman said. Hersman said the NTSB's investigation would also consider whether there are any safety or security issues with flying in New York City's airspace.
A player mourned

Lidle had just finished the 2006 baseball season with a 12-10 record. Over the course of his nine-year career, he amassed an 82-72 record. He joined the Yankees just two months ago from the Philadelphia Phillies. He earned his pilot's license in February and bought his plane several months later. Lidle, born in Hollywood, California, married Melanie Varela in 1997. The couple's son, Christopher Taylor Lidle, is 6. Yankees manager Joe Torre called Wednesday's accident "a terrible shock.""Cory's time with the Yankees was short, but he was a good teammate and a great competitor," he said. "My heart goes out to his family."

Lidle's twin brother Kevin told CNN's "Larry King Live" that learning of his brother's death was "unbelievable," adding that he had yet to have an emotional release. "I guess I'm in some kind of state of shock," he said. "The first thing that really hit me hard was ... I saw a picture of him [on television] and underneath it said 1972-2006. I just thought, 'That does not look right.' " The Lidle brothers played high school baseball together, along with New York Yankee Jason Giambi and his brother, Jeremy Giambi of the Chicago White Sox.

Posted by chandu at 5:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

Canadian troops fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan have stumbled across an unexpected and potent enemy -- almost impenetrable forests of marijuana plants 10 feet tall.

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Using DNA testing, scientists have discovered what is believed to be the first terrestrial mammal found in Europe in decades: a mouse with a big head, ears, eyes and teeth that lives in a mountainous area of Cyprus.

The mouse was native to the eastern Mediterranean island, survived the arrival of man on Cyprus and could be considered a "living fossil," experts said.

"New mammal species are mainly discovered in hot spots of biodiversity like Southeast Asia, and it was generally believed that every species of mammal in Europe had been identified," said Thomas Cucchi, a research fellow at Durham University in northeast England.

"This is why the discovery of a new species of mouse on Cyprus was so unexpected and exciting," he said in an interview Thursday.

The mouse mainly lives in the Troodos Mountain in the west of the island, Cucchi said, favoring vineyards, grassy fields and bushes. Genetic tests confirmed the mouse was a new species and it was named Mus cypriacus, or the Cypriot mouse. The findings appeared in Zootaxa, an international journal for animal taxonomists. The biodiversity of Europe has been reviewed extensively since Victorian times, and new mammal species are rarely found on the continent.

Cucchi said a bat discovered in Hungary and Greece in 2001 was the last new living mammal found in Europe. No new terrestrial mammal has been found on the continent for decades, he said. Recent discoveries elsewhere have included a new tree rat in Brazil, a new primate in Tanzania and another new mouse in the Philippines. In Cyprus, Cucchi and other scientists he was working with compared the new mouse's teeth to those of mouse fossils. The comparison showed the new mouse had colonized and adapted to the Cypriot environment several thousand years before the arrival of man, Durham University said in a statement.

The discovery indicated the mouse survived man's arrival on the island and now lives alongside common European house mice, whose ancestors went to Cyprus during the Neolithic period, the university said. "All other endemic mammals of Mediterranean islands died out following the arrival of man, with the exception of two species of shrew. The new mouse of Cyprus is the only endemic rodent still alive, and as such can be considered as a living fossil," said Cucchi. Shrews resemble mice but have a long, pointed snout and eat insects.

Cucchi, an archaeologist, found the new species while working in Cyprus in 2004. He was examining the remains of mice teeth from the Neolithic period and comparing them to those of four modern-day European mice species to determine if the house mouse was the unwelcome byproduct of human colonization of the island 10,000 years ago, the university said.

"The discovery of this new species and the riddle behind its survival offers a new area of study for scientists studying the evolutionary process of mammals and the ecological consequences of human activities on island biodiversity," Cucchi said. Another scientist involved was Eleftherios Hadjisterkotis, an officer of the Game and Fauna Service of the Interior Ministry of Cyprus.

In an interview in Nicosia, Hadjisterkotis said that for years he had been collecting the remains of mice that had been eaten by owls and noticing unusual characteristics in some of the body parts. "The jaws looked different. I knew we had something different," he said. But Hadjisterkotis said that he and the other scientists weren't sure they were handling a new mammal until the DNA testing conducted by the University of Montpellier, France.

Posted by chandu at 4:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

The University of Wisconsin has agreed to take part in Google Inc.'s bid to scan book collections of the world's great libraries, joining a second wave of backers for the controversial project, the two organizations said late on Wednesday.

Posted by chandu at 4:44 AM | Permalink | Comments

Google is buying video-sharing website YouTube for $1.65bn (£883m) in shares after a weekend of speculation that a deal was in the offing. The two companies will continue to operate independently, Google said as it announced the news on Monday.

YouTube, launched in February 2005, has grown quickly into one of the most popular websites on the internet. It has 100 million videos viewed every day and an estimated 72 million individual visitors each month.

'Natural partners'

"The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said in a statement. He said the two companies were "natural partners" to offer a media entertainment service to users, content owners and advertisers. "Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media" said Chad Hurley.

Mr Schmidt also told investors that YouTube will be "one of many investments" Google plans to make in the video field. However, the company will keep operating its own Google Video as a separate operation. YouTube will retain its brand, and its 67 staff, including co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, will keep their jobs. "Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating a new clip culture," said Mr Hurley. "By joining forces with Google, we can benefit from its global reach and technology leadership to deliver a more comprehensive entertainment experience for our users and to create new opportunities for our partners."

According to Comscore World Metrix, YouTube's audience has soared from 2.8 million unique users one year ago to 72 million users in August 2006.

Music tie-ups

The announcement came after a day of distribution deals drawn up by the pair. Universal Music Group has signed a distribution deal with YouTube, which will protect the rights of the music firm's artists. YouTube also says it has signed a deal with CBS, which will offer short-form video programming, including news, sport and entertainment on YouTube.

Google has also signed distribution deals of its own, with Sony BMG and Warner Music to offer music videos. The Google deals should enable internet users in the US to view music videos, artist interviews, and other footage from the two firms on Google video for free from this month. The content is sponsored through a Google advertising-supported revenue-sharing agreement.

Google also said that in addition to the advertising-supported video content, music videos from Warner would be available for purchase as downloads at $1.99 each. As part of YouTube's deal with CBS, the companies will share revenue from advertising sponsorship of CBS Videos.

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