Twitter releases “Suggestions for You”

With a community that’s as big as 100 million users, finding someone who shares the same interest is just like looking for a needle in a haystack! That’s just the case with Twitter.

Out of 100 million users, there might be a couple thousand users who are worth following, and out of those couple thousand worth-following users, only a couple hundred might share the activities that you are interested in.

So far the only option was to browse for users based on a optic, or search a 3rd party twitter directory.

Twitter just announced a new feature, “Suggestions for you,” that will help users follow people who are more relevant to their network, interests, etc..

The new tab is added to “Find People” page on your twitter account. Simply click on “Suggestion For You” and you will see the list of people who you might be interested in following. These suggestions are based on people who you following and people who are followed by people you follow.

Click here to try it out.

Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid - $600000

Porsche confirmed on Wednesday that it will build the sensational 918 Spyder, first seen earlier this year as a concept at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show.

The high-performance hybrid will be built in limited numbers outside Stuttgart. The 918 Spyder is rumored to be priced above $600,000.

The automaker said the production version of the high-performance hybrid will be assembled in limited numbers at its home plant in Zuffenhausen, just outside Stuttgart.

An official statement released Wednesday said the company has received an "overwhelming response" from the public to the 918 Spyder concept. Earlier reports indicated Porsche had received expressions of interest from more than 900 buyers.

Porsche did not specify a production start-up date or a price tag, although widespread media reports in Europe have suggested the sticker could exceed $600,000.

Michael Macht, Porsche AG president and chairman of the board of management, said: "Production of the 918 Spyder in a limited series proves that we are taking the right approach with Porsche Intelligent Performance, featuring the combination of supreme performance and efficient drivetrain concepts."

Comparing iPhone 2, iPhone3, iPhone3GS, iPhone4

Four Generations of the iPhone from Chris Pinnock on Vimeo.

Church plans to burn Quran on 9/11

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville is hosting "International Burn a Quran Day" on the 9th anniversary of September 11th!

The Church and its senior pastor Terry Jones says that Islam is "a violent and oppressive religion that is trying to mascarade itself as a religion of peace, seeking to deceive our society." He believes that all non-violent, non-oppressive religions celebrate peace by burning the holy books of other churches (sic).

The protest comes about a year after the Church put up a crude "Islam is of the Devil" sign out front. Incidently, Jones has written an entire book of the same name which includes ten handy reasons why it's totally cool to burn Korans.

The church has set up a Facebook page for the group, which for has already attracted a number of comments posting anti-semitic images.

While Jones mainly seems to be set on hating on Muslim, he occasionally finds time to hate gays too. Gainesville recently elected openly gay politician Craig Lowe as Mayor, and of course Dove World campaigned hard against him. On his inauguration day they'll be hosting a "No Homo Mayor" protest at city hall.

As for the Quran burning, we just have to wonder if Sarah Palin will ask peace-seeking Christians to "refudiate" the protest, as it's unnecessary provocation that stabs hearts or will this be the beginning of a new unrest in the country!

Rafael Nadal,Iker Casillas on Freedom Flotilla 2 to Palestine!

The FIFA World Cup had once again introduced us to global unity. Entire communities joined one another to celebrate victories or share grief over bitter losses. People from the West met people from the East and together they waved the same flags and sang the same chants. For thirty days, people put aside their differences and took advantage of the unity that appeared to transcend socio-political borders. The FIFA World Cup had a tendency to always work wonders.

But these wonders haven’t yet faded away. Just ask Iker Casillas, captain and goalkeeper for Spain’s World Cup-winning national team.

Casillas is among many World Cup athletes who feel a connection with the Palestinians besieged in the Gaza Strip. In light of his team’s championship win, Casillas opted out from taking part in celebrations throughout central Madrid. “It’s unthinkable that people take part [in celebrations] and laugh after seeing what is going on in the Gaza Strip,” said Casillas to al-Hayat, a London-based newspaper.

His activist doesn’t just end there. It’s been reported that Casillas will most likely join other famous athletes on the forthcoming Freedom Flotilla 2, an ambitious and noble seaborne mission to break the siege on Gaza and deliver much-needed humanitarian aid. Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal is expected to be part of Flotilla 2 as well.

It’s nice to see that the spirit of the World Cup lives on even after the final match. Its aim is to promote unity through good sportsmanship and moral character. Casillas’s aim is to promote it even further. He’s already shown us that he’s the world’s best goalkeeper, and now he gets to show us how much he cares for humanity.

India Announces $35 Laptops, Might Eventually Sell It For $10!

It’s hard to believe a brand new laptop retailing for $35 or anything less even if it’s just meant to be a basic computer. Let alone a laptop or a tablet computer, not even a black and white e-Reader can be available at that price. 

In such a market scenario, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Kapil Sibal, announced that the Indian government is already working on a $35 laptop which would be made available for students nationwide, once it is launched in 2011.

Initially, these laptops for students will be sold at $35 (or approximately 1500INR) through various educational institutions across the states sprawling the country. However, the government plans to subsidize the price to $20 later on, and will ultimately sell it for $10-a-piece.

These low cost Indian laptops are unnamed as of yet, and its motherboard is reported to be designed by a student at VIT following which the PCB was finalized at MIT. A prototype of the device was highlighted during the official announcement made by the HRD.

The $10 laptop features a touchscreen color display, integrated web browser that also supports Youtube video playback, a USB port, Wii-Fi connectivity, 2GB memory and presumably the flavor-of-the-season Android OS.

Other speculated features include a built-in PDF readers that will enable students to read e-books – a most sought replacement for traditional paper books. Also, an open source document editor like Open Office, Remote device management capability and multimedia input-out interface options.

About 8,500 colleges are expected to sign up for the first phase of roll-out. Reportedly, the Manipur Government has already announced its order of 75,000 low cost laptops that it hopes to provide each student of its state. A lot of other states are expected to follow the trail once the laptop becomes commonly available in the market.

The $35 tablet for students is certainly a breakthrough idea, but let’s just hope it does not get shelved or falls before the flight just when we are cherishing the hopes of seeing a much brighter and technology-savoring India.

Watch the below video to see the device in action:

Teen creates free Internet Access application for iPhone

A 15-year-old boy managed to dupe Apple Inc. by creating an iPhone application that connects to the Internet for free but it is no longer available.

To access the web through the iPhone costs around 13 pounds a month.

Nick Lee designed a application which at first glance appears to allow users to change the colour of their screen. It was charged at less than a dollar to upload from the Apple iTunes online music store.

However, the application contains a hidden code that allows people to use their iPhone as a modem and access the Internet without paying, the Telegraph reported.

The application was removed as soon as news of its true nature appeared online. Those who downloaded it, however, can keep enjoying its benefits.

"I'm going to use this little gem of an application to my heart's content. I'm typing on it now, and I'm going to see just how much data I can use all afternoon. I was able to get download speeds of roughly 2.5 Mbps," an online user who downloaded the application before it was removed said.

Life In A Day-a global experiment to create the world's largest user-generated feature film shot in a single day!

Every day, nearly 6.7 billion people view the world through their own unique lens. Imagine if there was a way to collect all of these perspectives, to aggregate and mold them into the cohesive story of a single day on earth.

Life In A Day is a historic global experiment to create the world's largest user-generated feature film: a documentary, shot in a single day, by you. On July 24, you have 24 hours to capture a glimpse of your life on camera. The most compelling and distinctive footage will be edited into an experimental documentary film, executive produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Kevin Macdonald.

Check out the video below for a  better idea on the project.

For more information, visit youtube.com/lifeinaday.

France - The 'moment of the 'veil' is here

UPDATE: French police scuffle with a lady over burqa



Out of France's estimated 5 million muslims, hardly 2500 wear the full-face Islamic veil.

Yet this micro-minority alrams os much the mighty French Republic that it's politicians have united in the fight against the veil! As is usual in such cases, where  many bully the few, the majority are likely to have their way.

On July 13, the National Assembly passed a draft law (335-1 vote) declaring that no one in public space can wear clothing intended to hide the face. Critics of the veil, say it is oppressive to women. But it seems approximately all of the 2500+ women who wear the veil do it voluntarily and on their own desires.

Some others have even pointed that the burqa is antithetical to the French culture! This seems very intolerant of a nation that is known for its acceptance of art and style of other cultures.

If veiled French women are forced to reveal their faces on the street, it will be a sad day for that nation in particular and Europe in general.

Facebook Crosses 500 Million Active Users

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that 'Facebook' passed 500 million active users.

In a blog post on the Facebook site, Zuckerberg writes about the milestone: "As of this morning, 500 million people all around the world are actively using Facebook to stay connected with their friends and the people around them."

It's worth nothing that Facebook's metric for user counts is active users, someone who has logged into the Facebook site within the past 30 days. This makes the metric that much more impressive, as the 500 million user count can be seen as people who are actively using the site, discounting those who have registered and never returned.

Facebook's growth continues at a prodigious rate. The site passed 250 million users nearly a year ago to date, announcing that milestone on July 15, 2009. As part of the 500 million mark, Facebook is soliciting stories from its users about how the site has made a difference in their lives.

Recently, a Hollywood movie was actually announced that will be based on Facebook! Click here to check the trailer.

An application that wipes off all about your ex on Facebook

Relationships come. Relationships go. Sometimes relationships outstay their welcome. But that doesn't mean that scars aren't left and bruises aren't felt, in deep recesses, for days, nay, years.Here’s some good news for those who want no connection with their ex anymore—an application called ‘Ex-blocker’.

The application heals broken hearts by deleting any mention of a person’s previous flame on Facebook and other social networking sites.

“They won’t know that you’re doing it. Only you will know,” the New York Daily News quoted Leslie Bradshaw, president of interactive agency JESS3, which developed the free ‘Ex-Blocker’ browser plugin, as saying.

Users of Firefox and Chrome can type in the names and social networking usernames of up to five exes and install the blocker, making their every image and mention disappear.

The Ex-blocker plugin will banish errant Google search results and random postings on friends' Facebook pages.

It’s really easy to uninstall - just in case you end up getting back together,” said Bradshaw.

More than 900 despised lovers have downloaded the plug-in from the website blockyourex.com since it was opened two weeks ago.

“Sometimes late at night, our minds take us places that we know we just shouldn''t go,” said Marine Park landscaper Chris McCormick.

“We can all use a little filtering every now and then,” he added.

Online Password Managers and Generators!

Experts recommend that we do not assign the same password for two or more online accounts – something easier said than done. Assigning different passwords to various accounts and then managing them is not exactly an easy task as we cannot risk losing any password otherwise we lose our account as well (password recovery is possible but its a tedious procedure).

As a remedy for all this, some of us employ online password managers. Online password managers are good because they can be accessed from any computer through the internet. Storing our passwords in a secure online container ensures none of our site accounts’ passwords are lost. In other words, online password managers protect us from losing our online accounts.

Here are some useful password managers:

Clipperz

Clipperz  not only stores web passwords but also sensitive information like, bank account number, burglar alarm code, or any other pin we might forget.


The site also deals with security in a unique way: before being uploaded on to Clipperz, our data in encrypted – all Clipperz gets is a bunch of code which it cannot decode unless we log in again to view our accounts. The site also lets users keep an offline copy of their data; this can be carried on a flash drive for maximum accessibility. Clipperz is a free tool and also offers Firefox and Opera plugins for easy accessibility.

Click here to visit Clipperz.

SuperGenPass

SuperGenPass is primarily used as a bookmarklet on almost all web browsers. Instead of storing our passwords on the site, we use this bookmarklet to generate a complex password for any site we log into.

SuperGenPass offers a mobile UI which makes it easy for anyone to access it form mobile phones as well.

Click here to visit SuperGenPass.

Mitto

Although the interface is modern and new, Mitto is more of a traditional online password manager when compare to the above entries. It lets us sign up for an account, then add passwords for our accounts on other website. Mitto has a bookmarklet that keeps our Mitto account always within reach.Click here to visit Mitto.

Mashed Life

Like the other entries, Mashed Life is another free online password manager. In addition to having the simple feature of storing our account details, we can get the site’s bookmarklet added to our bookmarks toolbar.

The bookmarklet’s function is to automatically fill in our login information (username plus password) whenever we are on the login page of a website which we have added to our Mashed Life account. This way we never have to type our information on login pages again.

Click here to visit Mashed Life.

Brammo Empulse - Electric Bike, 100+ mph,100 miles/charge

With the world trying to reduce it dependency on oil, Brammo comes out with a revolutionary vehicle - Empulse.

Brammo’s new Empulse electric motorcycle is impressive in a quite few ways. It’s a relatively  affordable vehicle, ranging between $10,000 and $14,000 in price. Every model has a top speed of 100mph, with a totally respectable amount of horsepower and torque. And the Empulse, the older brother of theEnertia, can run for up to 100 miles on a single charge–on average. Keep in on a low speed, as in city driving, and you could hit 130 miles.

The Empulse comes in three different models: A 6kw version (averages 60 miles per charge), 8kw (80 miles per charge), and 10kw (100 miles per charge), which will cost $9,995, $11,995, and $13,995, respectively. You’ll even be eligible for tax credits for the use of an EV.

If the Empulse has a downfall, it might be its charging time. With a standard 110v outlet, the 10kw version of the Empulse could well require overnight charging. This is not a bike built for road-tripping. But for city use, you get a lot more bang for your buck than a moped.

And in its styling and construction, it draws inspiration more from traditional heavy-metal bikes than from scooters. Says the source, a magazine called “Hell for Leather,” which gives you an idea how seriously these people take their motorcycles:

The rest of the motorcycle is surprisingly conventional. That huge extruded aluminum frame connects the swingarm pivot to the headstock and supports the batter packs. Front suspension is upside down forks holding radial Nissin brake calipers and there’s a full-adjustable rear shock. Brammo chose to go for a streetfighter-inspired look with the Empulse as most riders will be using them in urban environments. While this pre-production model has clip-ons, they’ll likely be optional on the production bike with taller handlebars standard.
Check out a video  below:

Buy iPhone 4 Bumper Case Before They Go Out-of-Stock and Get Full Refund Later!

Apple admitted to the antenna issues at the recent press event, however, Steve called it an industry wide issue not just iPhone 4’s!

Steve, showed pictures of the handsets from several manufacturer, most notably Nokia and BlackBerry suggesting these phones are affected by the same issue.

The presentation mentioned some numbers which went on to show that iPhone 4 is much better than iPhone 3GS in many ways as only 1.7% customers returned their phones when compared to 6% for iPhone 3GS. The presentation also stated that iPhone 4 customers are having a better experience compared to previous iPhones.

That said, Apple will be giving away free bumper cases to all iPhone 4 users who purchase their iPhone’s through September this year. It is unclear what will change after September but the situation will be reassessed.

Details of how one would get a free bumper case are not released yet but it is clear that there aren’t enough bumper cases for each iPhone 4 user. In case bumper cases clear out before you get your hands on one, Apple will give you a third-party case to go with it.

We called an Apple store to find out about the bumper case and how we can get one for free. As expected, we were informed that the details are expected by mid or end of next week.

So better hurry before you are left to take a third-party case home! Just buy a bumper case now and get a refund in a weeks’ time. Cases might go out of stock as soon as the details are announced, this way you surely get your hands on a bumper case.

Line2 - Make free calls on iPhone

A few months back, I read an iPhone app called Line2. Here’s a brief summary of that review:

“Line2 gives your iPhone a second phone number — a second phone line, complete with its own contacts list, voice mail, and so on. But that’s not the best part. Line2 also turns the iPhone into a dual-mode phone. That is, it can make and receive calls using either the AT&T airwaves as usual, or over the Internet. Any time you’re in a wireless hot spot, Line2 places its calls over Wi-Fi instead of AT&T’s network."

That’s a game-changer. Where, after all, is cellphone reception generally the worst? Right — indoors. In your house or your office building, precisely where you have Wi-Fi. Line2 in Wi-Fi means rock-solid, confident reception indoors.

Line2 also runs on the iPod Touch. When you’re in a Wi-Fi hot spot, your Touch is now a full-blown cellphone, and you don’t owe AT&T a penny.

It turns out Wi-Fi calls don’t use up any AT&T minutes. You can talk all day long, without ever worrying about going over your monthly allotment of minutes. Wi-Fi calls are free forever!

For this luxury, the reviewer wrote, we pay $15 a month — but you could still wind up saving money, because if you make most of your calls in Wi-Fi areas, you can downgrade your AT&T talk-time plan to a cheaper one with fewer minutes.

There were some drawbacks to Line2, though. “The dialing pad doesn’t make touch-tone sounds as you tap the keys. There’s no Favorites list within the Line2 app. You can’t get or send text messages on your Line2 line. (The company says it will fix all this soon.)”

Worst of all,  there’s a complexity when it comes to incoming calls. “If the Line2 app is open at the time, you’re connected via Wi-Fi, if available. If it’s not running, the call comes in through AT&T, so you lose the benefits of Wi-Fi calling. In short, until Apple blesses the iPhone with multitasking software, you have to leave Line2 open whenever you put the phone to sleep!”

I’m happy to report that most of these improvements have now come true. The app now makes touch-tone sounds when you dial. There is now a Favorites list.

Best of all, Apple made iOS4 multitasking. So now, Line2 does not have to be open when calls come in. Even if your phone is asleep, it rings normally when someone dials your Line2 number. You tap either Answer or Voicemail. If you’re in a hot spot, the call automatically comes in over Wi-Fi, so you don’t use any AT&T minutes.

The company says that later this summer, yet another upgrade will let you send and receive text messages in the United States from your Line2 number at no extra charge. (International text messages are 10 cents each.)

Seems Line2 will succeed unless some company decides to file a law suit against its usage!

Consumer Reports Refuses to Recommend iPhone 4

Steve Jobs mentioned that iPhone 4 was the most successful product launch in Apple’s history, but today could very well be one of the worst day for iPhone 4 and Apple as Consumer Reports confirms the antenna issues related to iPhone 4 and a judge grants a class action monopoly lawsuit againstApple and ATT.

Consumer Reports published their findings and suggested that the alleged iPhone 4 antenna problems are genuine. Based on their lab tests and findings the report says if a finger is placed on the side gap in the bottom left corner of the phone, the reception drops enough for a dropped call.

Consumer Report refuses to recommend iPhone 4 unless Apple comes up with a fix for the, now confirmed design flaw.

Watch the following video to see the Consumer Reports test in action:

FIFA '10 Champions : SPAIN

In a testy, often ill-tempered final that was further ruined by English referee Howard Webb whose trigger-happy fingers pulled out a total of 14 yellow cards and one red and awarded free kicks at the slightest provocation, Andres Iniesta – struck a dramatic winner with just four minutes to go in extra time to give Spain their first FIFA World Cup and burdened the Dutch with their third loss.

The Dutch were visibly upset and angry over Webb’s failure on several occasions during the match.

The Spanish could not be denied as overall they looked the better side and played the more attractive football although any rhythm to the game was often interrupted by Webb’s whistle with one football fan claiming his performance in the match was even worse than the England team in the World Cup itself.

Despite playing with ten men after a tacky second yellow card resulted in the sending off of John Heitinga the Dutch had their chances but failed to make them count.

The Dutch, who lost in the 1974 and 1978 finals, were bidding to become the first side since Brazil in 1970 to go through qualifying and the World Cup unbeaten.

It was from a deft through ball by the Arsenal midfielder Fabregas that Iniesta struck as Spain became the first team to win a World Cup after losing their opening game of the tournament. 

Statistics showed that Spain also became the first team to win to World Cup having scored the least number of goals with only eight in seven matches. 

If anything the finals was a comparative disappointment after Spain dominated possession in the opening minutes and seemed to have rattled a nervous Dutch backline. Ramos almost put them ahead after just four minutes but for his thunderous header.

While there was some obvious justification for referee Webb’s yellow card splurge with some nasty tackles it was hard to understand his failure to give Nigel de Jong a straight red card after he planted his boot in the chest of Xabi Alonso.

The bookings continued after the break and the contest occasionally threatened to boil over as the tension appeared to affect the players.

When Heitinger became the fifth man to be sent off in a World Cup final after he pulled back Iniesta on the edge of the area, Webb had little choice but to hand him a second caution - a move which spurred Spain on for a final effort.

Joris Mathijsen headed over for the Netherlands in what was their only good chance of extra-time before Iniesta struck his late and decisive blow.  Spain was through...

But there was more. The Football World had allied with Spain this time.

With Cannavaro in the stands, the latter lifted the heavy cup four years ago, Casillas screamed champions!. In the hands of Blatter, at 23:17 hours, and all players wearing the champion’s star on the chest, on the shield, Spain showed the world that is the best. Holland was a great runner. It would have been perhaps a fair champion, but much less than the other two times when the glory was denied. And not just champion as Spain. Without the noise of others, firmly, and soccer style, stood in the final and became champion. In Holland, as well, football is what would have appreciated less. 

Thanks Spain. Thanks Paul. Thank you fans, thank you for everything.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Final officially ends with the victory of Spain. 

Click Here to See the Highlights.

After Wireless, the Computer Mouse Goes Invisible!!!

Researchers at MIT have found a way to let users click and scroll exactly the same way they would with a computer mouse, without the device actually being there.

Cup your palm, move it around on a table and a cursor on the screen hovers. Tap on the table like you would click a real mouse, and the computer responds. It’s one step beyond cordless, it’s an invisible mouse.

The project, called “Mouseless,” uses an infrared laser beam and camera to track the movements of the palm and fingers and translate them into computer commands.

“Like many other projects in the past, including the Nintendo Power Glove and the Fingerworks iGesture Pad, this attempts to see how we can use new technology to control old technology,” says Daniel Wigdor, a user experience architect for Microsoft who hasn’t worked directly on the project. “It’s just an intermediate step to where we want to be.”

Though new user interfaces such as touchscreens and voice recognition systems have become popular, the two-button mouse still reigns among computer users. Many technology experts think the precision pointing that a cursor offers is extremely difficult to replicate through technologies such as touch and speech.

In the case of the Mouseless project, the infrared laser and camera are embedded in the computer. When a user cups their hand as if a physical mouse was present under their palm, the laser beam lights up the hand that is in contact with the table. The infrared camera detects this and interprets the movements.

A working prototype of the Mouseless system costs approximately $20 to build, says Pranav Mistry, who is leading the project.

Mistry is one of the star researchers in the area of creating new user experiences. He previously developed the “Sixth Sense” project, a wearable gestural interface that lets users wave their hands in front of them and interact with maps and other virtual objects — much like Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

The Mouseless idea is not as big a breakthrough as Sixth Sense. Though it is fun, it is difficult to see a real-world case for getting rid of hardware while keeping interaction the same. User interfaces are going beyond the point-and-click interaction that the computer mouse demands. And mouse hardware itself is cheap, so there’s not much of a cost saving here.

Check out this fun, partly animated video to what the Mouseless can really do and how it works:

Solar Plane Lasts All Night Long

Swiss researchers recently marked a major milestone in the development of a solar-powered, single-pilot aircraft that they hope will eventually circumnavigate the globe. They kept their craft aloft through an entire night on stored solar energy.

Into the night sky: Solar Impulse's solar-powered, single-pilot aircraft flew through an entire night on stored solar energy. Credit: Francis Demange, Solar Impulse

In the wake of the event, the pilot, André Borschberg--CEO and cofounder of the Solar Impulse project--declared: "I have just flown more than 26 hours without using a drop of fuel and without causing any pollution!" 

Of course, it is a long way from this stunt to an aviation industry that isn't reliant on energy-dense jet fuel to hoist hundreds of thousands of pounds of cargo and passengers to cruising altitude. Unlike cars--which can today drive respectable distances on stored electrical energy--commercial aircraft seem to be dependent on liquid fuels for a some more time.

But the Solar Impulse plane does include some novel engineering feats. Its wings are covered with 11,000 solar cells, and it uses lightweight composite structural parts and has a wingspan of 210 feet, not far from that of the world's biggest commercial jet, the Airbus A380, which has a wingspan of 260 feet. Keeping the plane's weight down to 3,500 pounds required optimizing electrical components in order to keep battery size as small as possible. 

"It's good engineering, as you would expect from a Swiss team," said John Hansman, professor of aeronautics at MIT. But while the project is interesting, he says: "Solar will be a niche application for aircraft. It's hard to have enough energy capture to use for transportation, and solar cell efficiency is not high enough."

Despite their dubious commercial potential, lightweight solar-powered planes could be crucial to conducting long-term surveillance, and that's why various governments have been researching the technology.  

In 1999, the leader of the Solar Impulse project, Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, became the first person (along with his copilot) to fly nonstop around the world in a balloon. "This is a highly symbolic moment," he said in a statement yesterday. "Flying by night using solely solar power is a stunning manifestation of the potential that clean technologies offer today to reduce the dependency of our society on fossil fuels."

iPhone 4 software fix will NOT solve reception issues

Given Apple's carefully worded statement on July 2, we weren't expecting that the coming software update would fix the ongoing reception issues with the iPhone 4's antenna. So it wasn't surprising that an Apple Care representative confirmed that belief this afternoon.

Recently, an Apple Care representative said the update would address only how bars are displayed in the signal meter on the handset's screen. As he put it, it would fix a problem where more bars are mistakenly shown when users are in areas with poor AT&T reception. As for the other problems of audio cut-outs and slower data speeds that we've experienced with the handset, the Apple Care representative could offer no promises at this point of time!

So for now that leaves us with the advice that Apple has already offered: Don't touch the iPhone's antenna near the gap on the lower left side!

Paul the Octopus deals a death blow to all astrologers!!!

Blogged by PrimeRose.

Paul the octopus has put pyschics, astrologers and football experts including the German team to shame with his accurate predictions this World Cup. From his aquarium in the Sea Life public aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, this two-year-old common octopus, born in England, Paul, has rightly predicted the winners of all the six matches that Germany has played in FIFA this year. While Paul has managed to fascinate millions around the world with his powers, not everyone is happy with him.

Irate soccer fans wanted to kill and eat him after he predicted that their teams would loose to Germany and some German fans are annoyed that he messed with their teams’ head psychologically when he chose Spain as the semi-final winner.

The centre's Tanja Munzig, who looks after the creature, said: "For the European Championship in 2008 Paul's success rate was more than 80% for Germany games. So far, he is perfect at the World Cup!"

Not everyone is a fan of Paul, but the octopus will be pleased to know that he is a global phenomena and everybody has an opininon him.

While a few soccer fans are irritated that people are now blindly believing in an octopus, some girls wish men were like Paul. Why? Well, apart from being delicious to eat, octopus are said to be talented in many different ways. Having eight arms is a great advantage, imagine how much good they can do to a girl. They also have three hearts and a huge brain. So move over vampires and werewolves (No offense to Edward fans!), here comes the octopus. It’s time to dive into the ocean or in Paul’s case, the aquarium.

Apple covering up the real problem with its iPhone?

A few days ago Apple sent an open letter to iPhone 4 owners. The letter was in response to earlier reports of iPhone users having reception issues when holding the iPhone 4 the wrong way.

The crazy part about the latest round, though, is that instead of Apple admitting to a hardware flaw, the company is now saying that it has been misreporting signal strength since the original iPhone.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars.

So, what does all of this really mean? For starters, I can’t help but think that Apple was just caught doing something slimy. I remember when we were using the first generation iPhone and had reception issues in areas where my other phones were working great. At the time, Apple was blaming AT&T but my other AT&T phones were performing perfectly in that same area where I was dropping calls. Then Apple issued an update which fixed the reception issues, or so it claimed. It seemed that I had more bars “in more places”, but that I still didn’t have the solid coverage I should have been experiencing, given all of the bars I was seeing.

Now we’ll see an update to the iPhone that will properly report the signal strength. The reason for the misreporting all of these years is apparently a bad formula used to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display. So, one software fix and we’ll all see the proper representation of bars. The scary part of all of this, though, is that now instead of people reporting that they saw their bars drop from 5 to 0 when holding their iPhone 4, we’ll be hearing how the phone hardly gets any bars at all.

I think the end result will be Apple and AT&T both being at fault. Apple with a design flaw, though they’ll never admit it, and AT&T with coverage issues. So, we’ll be back to the world blaming AT&T’s network, and the focus will move off of Apple once again.

I still can’t help but think that Apple pushed out an update long ago, for the original iPhone, that the company knew was misreporting the signal strength. Now that everyone is complaining, they figure they’ll adjust it to report the true representation of the signal strength, and then deal with the aftermath.

In the end the iPhone customer loses. The iPhone 4 will have to be held a certain way, and now iPhone users around the world will suddenly see just how poor their cellular signal really is.

Official BlackBerry Twitter Application

It seems like just yesterday that RIM revealed its first beta version of an official Twitter client for BlackBerry, and then rounded out the features with a notable upgrade.

On Tuesday, the BlackBerry-maker announced its readiness to take the app from public beta to its first full release, which RIM will start rolling out to BlackBerry App World by region beginning Tuesday night.

Twitter for BlackBerry 1.0 will get one more feature--the ability to dive into anyone's profile from any screen. It will also launch with support for seven additional languages: Dutch, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (European), Russian, and Turkish. 
Apart from that, the features appear to be identical to the most recent beta update, and include key capabilities such as editing retweets, shortening URLs, displaying photos, and automatically completing a username from your personal list of people you follow when you begin typing a few characters after an "@" sign. 

FREE WIFI @ Starbucks

Starbucks is now offering free, unlimited Wi-Fi access at nearly 7,000 company-operated locations across the United States. The policy change came into effect Thursday a little over two years after Starbucks began offering two hours of free Wi-Fi to Starbucks card holders. Now, however, the time limits are gone, and you can enjoy unlimited free Wi-Fi at your local Starbucks any time you like for as long as you like.

Starbucks is offering free Wi-Fi at all of its company-operated locations, which means most of the Starbucks locations you visit on a daily basis will have free Wi-Fi. The exceptions will be the stores inside special locations such as airports, Target stores and Barnes & Noble locations. Free Wi-Fi access at these locations may vary. You can use theStarbucks Store Locator to find the closest shop near you.

How to Get Online

Before you get started, make sure you are connected to the right Wi-Fi hotspot. Typically, Starbucks access points are called attwifi--AT&T is the hotspot provider for Starbucks. If you are unsure which access point to use, ask a Starbucks staff member for help or call AT&T technical support at 1-888-888-7520.

After you're on the right network, all you have to do is fire up your browser and you'll arrive at a landing page similar to the one you see above. Just check the box that says you agree to Starbucks' Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy, click 'Connect' and you're off and running.

Landing Page

Your first stop once you connect will be Starbucks' free Wi-Fi landing page that includes videos, blogs and other content from Starbucks. 

So enjoy your cup of coffee while browsing the internet. But do remember that this is a public accessible network and security precautions must be taken while browisng.

Compare Two Text Files Online - Google Docs

WinMerge, Beyond Compare, ExamDiff and Altova Diffdog are some popular utilities that help you visually compare differences in two files but these software work only on the desktop (offline).

Since there are no online file comparison services available yet, we can use the Google Docs to locate differences between two text files or files that contain programming source code.

Here are the step involved for comparing two files with Google Docs:

Step 1. Create a new document in Google Docs and paste the contents of the first text file into this document. Save.

Step 2. Open your second text file in notepad and copy its content to the clipboard. Now open the Google Document created in Step 1 and overwrite everything with content from the clipboard. Save.

Step 3. Go to the Revision tab of Google Docs, select the two file versions and click "Compare Checked". You should see the differences highlighted on the next screen as shown below.

The highlighting may not be as good as the desktop counterparts but still handy. And this Google Docs file comparison trick will work best in situations when you have to compare two text files that contain only minor variations.