Google targets Facebook with new social service - Google Plus

Google Inc, frustrated by a string of failed attempts to crack social networking, is taking another stab at fending off Facebook and other hot social sites with a new service called Google Plus.

Google designed the service, unveiled on Tuesday, to tie together all of its online properties, laying the foundation for a full-fledged social network. It is the company's biggest foray into social networking since co-founder Larry Page took over as chief executive in April.

Page has made social networking a top priority at the world's No 1 Internet search engine, whose position as the main gateway to online information could be at risk as people spend more time on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

To set its service apart from Facebook, which has more than 500 million users, Google is betting on what it says is a better approach to privacy, a hot-button issue that has burned Facebook, as well as Google, in the past.

Central to Google Plus are so-called ‘circles’ of friends and acquaintances. Users can organize contacts into different customized circles – family members, co-workers or college friends, say – and share photos, videos or other information only within those smaller groups.

"In the online world there's this ‘share box’ and you type into it and you have no idea who is going to get that, or where it's going to land, or how it's going to embarrass you six months from now," said Google Vice President of Product Management Bradley Horowitz.

"For us, privacy isn't buried six panels deep," he added.

Facebook, which has been criticized for confusing privacy controls, introduced a feature last year that lets users create smaller groups of friends. Google, without mentioning Facebook by name, said other social networking services’ attempts to create groups were ‘bolt-on’ efforts that do not work as well.

Google Plus will be rolled out to a limited number of users in what the company is calling a field trial. Only those invited to join will initially be able to use the service. Google did not say when it would be more widely available.

Google Plus seems designed to make its online properties a pervasive part of the daily online experience, rather than being spots where Web surfers occasionally check in to search for a website or check email.

As with Facebook's service, Google Plus has a central Web page that displays an ever-updating stream of the comments, photos and links being shared by friends and contacts.

A toolbar across the top of most of Google's sites – such as its main search page, its Gmail site and its Maps site – allows users to access their personalized data feed. They can then contribute their own information to the stream.

Google Plus will also offer a special video chat feature, in which up to 10 people can jump on a conference call. And Google will automatically store photos taken on cell phones on its Internet servers, allowing a Google Plus user to access the photos from any computer and share them.

When asked if he expected people to switch from Facebook to Google Plus, Google Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra said people may decide to use both.

"People today use multiple tools. I think what we're offering here offers some very distinct advantages around some basic needs," he said.

US spends $20 bn a year on air conditioning its Iraq, Afghan bases

The US military spends nearly 20 billion dollars a year just for air-conditioning its bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, a retired senior officer has claimed.

Brigadier General Steve Anderson, who served as chief logistician to General David Petraeus in Iraq, said that the American Department of Defense (DOD) was shockingly inefficient in its energy use.

“In essence what we're doing is we're air conditioning the desert over there in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places,” the Telegraph quoted Anderson, as saying.

Taking into account raw fuel, transport and security, “DOD will spend about 20 billion dollars annually to air-condition tents and temporary structures,” he added.

Anderson said that the fuel used to power air conditioners in Afghanistan’s remote bases is shipped into Pakistan, before being transported by land for more than two weeks.

It must cross 800 miles of roads, many little more than "improved goat trails", and areas where insurgents will use roadside bombs to target troops serving the US war effort, he said.

According to official government figures, the US has spent about 1.2 trillion dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, though the true cost is likely to be much greater, the paper said.

As Barack Obama announced last week that 33,000 US troops would leave Afghanistan by the end of next summer, opponents pointed out that the war was still costing ten billion dollars a month.

Green Card Sponsors in 2011

Working visa is just the first step to achieve your American dream. You want your employer to sponsor your green card! Which companies still sponsor green card for their hard working employees in 2011?

During the first half of fiscal year 2011, US employers submitted 43,407 permanent labor certificates under PERM for Green Card, 6,763 of them were denied and 1,530 were withdrawn.

Nearly half of these certificates were filed for IT positions. The other hot occupations include Financial Analyst, Research Associate, Cook and Chef, etc. Microsoft(3,724) and Cognizant Technologies(1,386) are again the top 2 green card sponsors.

Surprisingly, hundreds of small restaurants had their labor certificates certified as well!

Tata Nano - Now available in Nepal

Tata Nano, launched its sale in the Himalayan republic of Nepal at an introductory price of NRS 7.98 (almost Rs.5 lakh).

The introductory offer would be open for 10 days with the delivery of the first consignment scheduled in July-end. While unlike in India, where the car's price varies from state to state, in Nepal, there would be one single price for a model.

Besides fuel efficiency and safety features, Tata Nano will be the first car in Nepal to come with a four-year warrantee for 90,000 km, Ommen said.

While in Mumbai, the Nano Standard costs about Rs.1.51 lakh, in Nepal, the price escalation is due to a whopping 240 percent taxes. These include 76 percent customs duty, 60 percent excise duty, 13 percent value addition tax, 5 percent road tax as well as an annual NRS 16,500 road tax.

However, it will still be the cheapest car in Nepal and Ommen said his company hopes to create a new segment in Nepal that will draw two-wheeler owners wanting to graduate to four-wheelers, first-time jobbers, young couples and small families.

"The Tata Nano still offers magical price value in Nepal," Ommen told IANS. "Many people who could not think of four-wheelers can now think of a magic car."

There have been over 5,000 queries already coming after the Tata Nano went on a Nepal yatra this month to test-drive the model in Nepal's difficult terrain.The booking started after 6,000 km of the 40,000 km test-ride was completed.

Nepal becomes the second international destination for Tata Nano after Sri Lanka. Ommen said there are plans for further expansion. Bhutan could be one of the next destinations if the assessments being made in the Buddhist kingdom are favourable.

The Nano CX can be booked for NRS 20,000 and the Nano LX for NRS 30,000.

Rescued Pakistan sailors love India

Five Pakistani sailors, who are put up in a police station in south Mumbai after being rescued from the seas since March and will soon be moving back to their homeland, on Friday said they were touched by the ‘love, kindness and help’ extended to them in India.

The sailors, who had been rescued by the Indian Navy from the high sea said that they would take the ‘mohabbat ka paigam’ (message of love) to Pakistan from India.

The five sailors – Aurangzeb Nabi Bakhsh Balloch (24), his younger brother Sajjad Ali Balloch (19), Lal Bakhsh Murid Khan (20), Farhad Aalam Khan (24) and Mohammed Umair (18) – spoke to reporters after an officer from the Pakistani Consulate met them on Friday morning and informed them that they would be taken back to Pakistan in the coming few days.

Aurangazeb said they were treated very well during the three months they were in the police station.

"I cannot forget the moments that I have spent in India. I am happy that I am going to my country, but also sad that I am leaving India," he said.

Nasscom Common Entrance Test (CET) made mandatory for IT jobs in India

Students from engineering and arts and science colleges in India who want to join any top IT company will have to take up a common online entrance test (CET) to be conducted by industry body Nasscom.

While students of arts and science colleges will have to take a Nasscom assessment competency test, those in engineering colleges will go through Nasscom assessment competency technology test.

“The common test will be held from this academic year and colleges that want to tap leading IT firms must ensure that their students take up this test before campus recruitment begins,” said Dr Sandhya Chintala, senior director, Nasscom Education Initiative.

There are over 30,000 engineering, arts and science colleges in the country with nearly one crore students. Generally, campus selections begin around January-February in arts colleges and during the eighth semester (November-December) in engineering colleges.

The exam curriculum, being devised by Nasscom, will test the student’s ability in mathematics, etiquette, analytical thinking and logical reasoning.

“This is a completely industry-driven decision who are looking for talent ready for deployment,” said Dr K. Purushothaman, regional director, Nasscom, TN & Kerala.

Lauding the initiative, Lt. Col. Jayakumar, registrar of IIT (Design & Manufacturing), Kancheepuram and former deputy registrar of training and placement in IIT-Madras, said, “This will benefit recruiters in a big way as it will result in saving of money and time, besides standardising training material.”

Rumour: iPhone 5 Coming in September, iPad 3 too on the way

Apple's next-generation iPhone will debut its next mobile operating system, iOS 5, boast the iPad 2's powerful A5 processor, come with an 8-megapixel camera, and launch in September, alleged sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

At the same time Bloomberg said Apple is testing a third-generation iPad with higher resolution than the iPad 2, something closer to the pixel density on the iPhone 4's 3.5-inch, 960x640 screen. It didn't mention timing, but earlier this month research firm CLSA told the Wall Street Journal that the "iPad 3" might launch just before Christmas.

iOS 5 will supposedly support full 1080p video, which would work well with the alleged 8-megapixel feature Sony CEO Howard Stringer hinted at back in April.


On Tuesday, Boy Genius Report's also reported that the next iPhone will have a "radical" new shape, perhaps something like the teardrop-shaped profile pitched by This Is My Next last April. With less certainty, Geller's sources guessed that Apple would make the announcement in August or at its annual iTunes conference in September.

Meanwhile last Thursday, AppleInsider reported that Apple was withholding the next iPhone and iPod Touch until it finalized a bundled version of iOS 5 and iCloud.

As far as timing of the next iPhone's launch, last week Apple began selling an unlocked, unsubsidized iPhone 4, immediately fueling speculation that Apple was purposely creating a high-cost barrier on the year-old iPhone 4 so people would wait and eventually purchase a subsidized fifth-generation iPhone this fall.

Hurricane Beatriz lashes Pacific resorts in Mexico

Hurricane Beatriz is threatening some of Mexico's most popular resorts, leaving tourists sheltering in their hotels. The Pacific ports of Acapulco, Manzanillo and Zihuatanejo are closed.

The US National Hurricane Center said winds rose to 150km/h (90mph), with the storm moving over the coast. The first Pacific hurricane formed earlier this month, causing no damage, but forecasters predict a busier hurricane season over the Atlantic.

So far casualties have been light. One tourist is reported to have been injured by a falling tree in Acapulco.

The Mexican government issued a red alert for areas around the resort city of Manzanillo.And hurricane warnings were issued along coast from Lazaro Cardenas north to Cabo Corrientes.

Australians Take A$2,100 Cab Rides

Australians swamped hotels, took A$2,100 ($2,225) car rides or canceled trips as Volcanic ash forced airlines to cut flights at the nation’s busiest airports.

Qantas Airways planned to halt domestic Sydney flights until at least 2 p.m., flights serving Melbourne until 11 a.m. and all New Zealand routes from 7 a.m., according to an update late yesterday on its website. The airline canceled at least 200 flights yesterday, affecting more than 20,000 passengers.

“We are packed to the rafters,” said Michael Fish, a spokesman for the Hyatt Hotel Canberra. ‘We have had some who can’t leave, some who have been stranded and some who haven’t arrived.’’

Services may also be affected tomorrow, said Qantas, some of whose executives drove the about 290 kilometers (180 miles) to Canberra from its Sydney head office yesterday because of flight cancellations. The ash is disrupting operations in Australia for a second week after being blown one-and-a-half times round the world from a volcano in Chile.

Aerial Capital Group Pty., which has 300 taxis and limousines, sent five cars to Melbourne from Canberra, a journey of about 650 kilometers. The fares, negotiated with drivers, cost as much as A$2,100, Operations Manager Shane Stephens said by phone.

“I’d never had anyone who wanted us to drive them to Melbourne,” said Stephens, who has worked for the Canberra- based company for 10 years. “We are completely booked out.”

Apple cuts cord on the PC

One of the most significant announcements that Apple made at its Worldwide Developers Conference was that iOS devices were going to have their cords cut. Up to now, users of the iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad have needed have needed to connect their new devices to a Mac or PC and then activate them via iTunes. But with the release of iOS 5 this fall, those devices can be used right out of the box, with no need for iTunes to be part of the experience.

There was also Steve Jobs’s comment that the Macintosh has now been demoted to “just another device” that’s no longer the “hub of the consumer digital experience.” Instead, the hub is data stored on the Internet, in “the cloud.”

What it all adds up to is this: Apple is pushing the Post-PC era forward in a big way, and there’s going to be a lot of fallout.

Apple’s announcement and vision, expressed by Jobs at WWDC, changes the equation as to what role the PC will play in the future, and how users will interact with their devices. With a new set of cloud-based services to allow application purchase history, management of music through an online service, and added synchronization among devices, Apple has united its ecosystem and its long-term vision into a coherent whole. While the Mac has been demoted, iOS has been promoted to a new level of prominence.

The removal of the requirement to connect to iTunes doesn’t just mean that Apple can now sell iOS devices into households with no PC. It also means people have even less of a reason to turn to the PC for many day-to-day tasks. New features in iOS such as basic photo editing, a more robust mail and browsing experience, and seamless connection to the TV screen (via Apple TV) boost the versatility of these devices, which will lead to increased sales.

Apple’s message is clear: If one Apple device is good, two are better and three even more so.

Kochi synagogue up for sale, Jews across the world protest

If you have a yen for historical monuments and a hefty purse, then you can purchase a synagogue - a Jewish house of worship - in Kochi.

A section of the Jewish community in Kochi has already started efforts to sell off the centuries-old Thekkumbagom Synagogue.

Though there were moves to sell off the synagogues a few years ago, the state government intervened and stopped it after it got a mass petition opposing it from 50 Jews of Kerala who now live in Israel.

This time too, the scattered Jewish community is worried about the sale attempt and the lack of any move from the authorities to take over the monuments officially.

“Illegal attempts are being made by some members of our community in Kochi to sell the Thekkumbagom synagogue,” said 64 year-old Jacob Ben-Eliahu, who now lives in Israel.

“These were given to our community as a gift by the Maharajas of Cochin State and no one has the right to sell it.”

He added that the government was not doing anything to restore this. “How can the authorities let someone sell a place of worship?” he asked.

“'These synagogues are the only roots we possess in Kerala and we request the authorities to protect and declare them as heritage monuments,” said Mr Ben-Eliahu.

How nutritious are ice creams, yoghurts and snow cones?

They may be the best heat quenchers on a sultry afternoon, but the variedly flavoured ice creams and yoghurts may not fair well on the nutritional and rehydration scale.

According to an analysis by national food expert Suzy Weems, of Baylor University, ice creams are ‘not the most nutrient-rich source, but a source.’

“It does have calcium along with Vitamin D, Vitamin A and some of the B-vitamins to help with energy release, along with about 2.5 to 3 grams of protein, not much, but more than none,” she said.

However, there’s the question of whether it’s worth the calories, about 145 for a half-cup of vanilla, 160 for chocolate chip, depending on the brand and richness.

Weems revealed that frozen yoghurt is pretty much the same when it comes to health value, despite carrying fewer calories, almost 117 for a half cup of vanilla, a little more calcium and protein.

“Sweetness doesn’t quench your thirst, but few people are going to drink water after a snow cone,” Weems added.

For those who relish the frozen treats, the snow cone contains ninety calories per ounce of syrup while the sugar-free syrup has only about 3.5 calories.

For diehard snow cone lovers, though, Weems suggested the pickle-juice cone, as sour taste triggers the craving to drink, and when the thermometer climbs, “the more you drink, the more you sweat. When sweat evaporates, you’re cooler,” She said.

FIFA bans Iran for Hijab!

The recent news that the Iranian women’s football team are to be banned from competing at the London 2012 Olympics by FIFA should raise questions on what is and what is not acceptable for teams to wear and what are the boundaries in what kind of attire can be worn on the pitch.

Iran were assigned to play Jordan in Amman on Friday 3rd June in a London 2012 Olympic qualifier, but a FIFA organiser called the game off due to their ‘‘hijab’’ style of clothing, as it does not conform to Law 4 – Players’ Equipment, that was laid out by international football’s governing body.

FIFA’s course of action is based on Iran wearing a full-body kit with added headscarf to keep in touch with their religious beliefs. This decision appears to show a lack of consistency on FIFA’s part especially if comments made by Ali Kafashian , head of Iran’s Football Federation, are to be believed. Kafashian, quoted in an Arman newspaper, said, ‘‘the (Iranian) Football Federation had already discussed with FIFA director (Sepp Blatter ) for Iranian women’s participation with full Islamic hijab. We managed to acquire Blatter’s consent on this matter.’’

FIFA have refuted this claim and said that both party’s had agreed in the spring of 2010 that the women’s team were permitted to wearing a cap that covers the head to their hairline, but that would not extend below the ears – in keeping with the Laws of the Game. Maybe it is because of this ‘reassurance’ that Marzieh Akbarabadi , Iran’s official in charge of women’s sports, feels the move is politically motivated.

The FIFA official who inflicted this ban is a Bahraini national and Akbarabadi detects that something else may be on the agenda. He contradicted FIFA’s assertion and said that the team’s kit was ‘‘of the same style that FIFA had approved,’’ but senses that, because of a recent crackdown on Shiite protesters in Iran by the Sunni rulers of Bahrain , the Bahraini official ‘‘took advantage of an international event.’’ After all the recent fuss over Blatter’s re-election – if you can class it an election – as FIFA President, this is all they need, dealing with an issue that is much more than being about football. 

According to some media reports, FIFA seems to be hijacked by Western governments to try to put pressure on Iran. This seems to idea that stems from the recent successful movie 'Invictus'  where the people and the country in general were denied their rights by oppressive parties.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the long run as there are more Islamic nations with female teams playing in FIFA.

NGO to help SRK to quit smoking

Shah Rukh is idealized by many youngsters. But he has the bad habit of smoking, which he needs to quit not only for himself but for his fans as well.

The media titled 'King Khan' has tried to quit smoking many times, but couldn't succeed. Now an NGO Hriday has come to his assistance.

Buzz has it that the NGO has sent a set of nicotine replacement therapy (NRTs) patches to him to quit smoking. They have even sent a two-page note on how to give up the bad habit!

Blackberry, iPad can disengage Auto-Pilot in a plane!

A leaked study has warned that using just one mobile phone or electronic device during a flight can cause a complete systematic failure of the plane.

Testers discovered that a single Blackberry or iPad could cause the autopilot to disengage and critical warning lights to come on. Even the instruments that guide pilots in bad weather can also be damaged by the electrical signals from such devices, leading to catastrophic consequences.

The confidential study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) found that over six years there were 75 separate incidents, which caused concern. But a previous probe by the UK Civil Aviation Authority found just 35 safety alerts blamed on phones over the same time scale, reports the Daily Mail.

According to ABC News, out of the 75 incidents, 26 affected the flight controls including the autopilot and landing gear whilst seventeen affected navigation systems. Some 15 caused problems for communication systems and 13 produced electronic warnings, including some for the engine.

IATA experts have called for passengers to stop ignoring warnings about electronic devices.

Man tortured for embracing Islam in Pakistan

Asghar Maseeh Bhatti, who along with his wife and three children embraced Islam recently, has appealed to the authorities to protect him from the injustices of his elders and rivals.

Talking to reporters outside the Peshawar Press Club on Friday, Asghar Maseeh, now Sheikh Abdur Rehman, showed signs of torture on his body, saying that his elders had not only expelled him from service but also tortured him for embracing Islam.

Sheikh Abdur Rehman, who has done his FSc, said he decided to embrace Islam after listening to speeches of Maulana Tariq Jamil and Dr Zakir Naik. His wife, also agreed but now her parents and elders of the community were creating hurdles for them by dragging them in the court of law.

“She also recorded her statement in the court that she was willing to live with me,” he said.

He appealed to the chief justice to protect him from the injustices of his elders, including Robert Aiqeul and Robert Paul, who, he alleged, had taken him into their headquarters in Islamabad and tortured him. He said the minorities enjoyed equal rights in the country but they were not ready to accept his decision of embracing Islam.

Blackberry, Apple ban DUI apps. Google doesn't flinch

In an update of its App Store review guidelines Wednesday, the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant explicitly banned apps that warn drivers of DUI checkpoints not disclosed publicly by police.

"Apps which contain DUI checkpoints that are not published by law enforcement agencies, or encourage and enable drunk driving, will be rejected," the new guidelines now read, according to MacRumors.

The revision comes a few months after four U.S. senators -- Harry Reid of Nevada, Tom Udall of New Mexico, Charles Schumer of New York and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey -- sent letters to Apple and rivals Google and Research in Motion asking them to stop selling apps that help drivers pinpoint police drunk driving checkpoints.

"We know that your companies share our desire to end the scourge of drunk driving, and we therefore would ask you to remove these applications from your store unless they are altered to remove the DUI/DWI checkpoint functionality," the letter said.

Blackberry-maker Research in Motion pulled the apps soon after. Google, maker of the Android operating system for smartphones and tablet computers, did not.

UK to India , Indonesia , Philippines : Come here, work and go back!

As part of continuing efforts to reduce migration from India and other countries outside the European Union, the David Cameron government today announced proposals that seek to prevent foreign professionals from settling here permanently.

The proposals, announced in a consultation exercise, will affect Indian skilled workers as well as domestic workers such as cooks and 'ayahs', who travel to Britain with their employers.

Immigration minister Damian Green said: "We want the brightest and best workers to come to the UK, make a strong contribution to our economy while they are here, and then return home."

Campaign groups said that if foreign professionals were not allowed to settle here permanently, they would rather migrate to countries such as Canada and Australia.

Amit Kapadia of the Highly Skilled Migrants Forum said that it will launch a protest against the plans.

India is among three countries mentioned in the consultation document from where the most number of overseas domestic workers come to Britain; the other two are the Philippines and Indonesia.

Under current rules, migrants who work in Britain for five years are allowed to settle here permanently.

A School for 5-month-olds!

Schooling for infants between 5 and 15 months, broadly classified as Nidos, and for kids within 3 years, grouped as toddlers, can be started under the Montessori method of education.

Such Nido and toddler schools, which are quite popular in the US and Europe is slowly catching up in India too. And Chennai is all set to get its first such Montessori school next week.

“We hope to be an extended support for working parents who spend less time with their kids,” says Shankari Subbiah, principal of Redwood Montessori School, which hopes to train infants. “There is no teaching but only letting the child to discover its skills by experience. Even concepts such as colour is conceptualised,” says Madhura Kumar, another partner in the school.

Children start responding to adults from 5 months and so they need a lot of communication at this age, says Shankari. With most mothers joining work as early as three months these days, these schools will help them a lot, she feels.

“There is greater awareness among young parents who want something new for their children,” says Uma Shanker, director, Centre for Montessori Training in Chennai. “The system has gained lot of popularity owing to awareness and we train about 40-45 teachers a month,” she adds.

On Nido training, Uma says, “Though Dr Montessori had developed a training system that covers from birth till 18 years, only primary concept is most popular in India. But if infants are given a conducive environment, there is bound to be a lot of positive changes in them.”

Details of Every H1B Visa Application Filed in 2011 Now Available!

During the first half of fiscal year 2011, US employers submitted 154,833 Labor Condition Applications for H1B Visa.

Among thos applications, 133,422 were certified, 12,978 were denied, 4,501 were withdrawn. Software Programmer, Business Analyst, Research Associate, Physical Therapist and Accountant are still on the list of hottest H1B Visa jobs. Microsoft, Deloitte Consulting, Cognizant Technologies, Tata Consultancy, Wipro and Intel are the top 6 visa sponsors. It seems that if you live in New York, Philadelphia, Huston or Chicago , you are more likely to get a H1B Visa job!

Employers are changing their hiring and sponsoring policies, we suggest you search and review the latest 2011 H1B Visa applications ASAP and adjust your job searching strategy accordingly.

Source: MyVisaJobs

Urdu binds Hindu girls with Bihar Madrasa in India

Non-Muslim girls, mostly Hindus, are taking to madarsa education in Bihar these days. Many of them have done exceedingly well in the Urdu- medium examinations this year.

Thirty students in the Fauqania ( equivalent to matriculation) and sixteen students in the Maulvi ( intermediate), who have topped the examinations, belong to non- Muslim communities.

Mohd Mustafa Hussain Mansuri, secretary of the Bihar State Madarsa Examination Board ( BSMEB), said that non- Muslim candidates had performed very well in the Fauqania and Maulvi examinations the results of which were declared on Wednesday.

Among the non- Muslim students, Sanjay Kumar has secured the top position in the Maulvi examination having secured 893 out of the total of 1000 marks while amongst the girls Anjali Raj topped with 805 marks. It is the girls who have bagged the maximum number of top positions. Among the 12 non- Muslim students who secured high marks, ten are girls from Hindu families.

Sanam, daughter of a farmer and one of the toppers from Champaran aspires to become an Urdu teacher in future.

Mansuri said Sanjay Kumar wants to pursue the Alim ( equivalent of graduation) course. He pointed out that the students from other communities had been opting for madarsa examinations primarily because of the large- scale job opportunities for Urdu teachers created in the state.

This is a symbol of communal harmony, Mansuri added.“ There is a provision for one teacher for every 40 students and an Urdu teacher for every ten students in the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan ,” he said. “ This has created a large number of vacancies for them.” In Bihar, ten per cent of vacancies were earlier reserved for Urdu teachers.

Google : GMail Hacked!

Google says hundreds of personal gmail accounts, including those of some senior US government officials and military personnel, were hacked as a result of a massive phishing originating from China.

The account hijackings were a result of stolen passwords, likely by malware installed on victims' computers or through victims' responses to e-mails from malicious hackers posing as trusted sources, or what is known as phishing.

Gmail's security systems themselves were not compromised, Google said.

The company believes the phishing attack emanated from Jinan, China. In addition to the US government personnel, other targets included South Korean government officials and federal workers of several other Asian countries, Chinese political activists, military personnel and journalists.

"The Department of Homeland Security is aware of Google's message to its customers," CNN quoted Chris Ortman, a spokesman for the agency as saying.

CNN said a Google spokesman declined to comment on how the company obtained the information about the recent hack.

Public information, user reports and a third-party hacking blog called Contagio was used to determine the scope, targets and source of the attack.

Source: IANS, Chicago

Just Married 9 times!

A woman in Britain, in search of a perfect soulmate, has married for the ninth time as all her previous attempts failed miserably.

The longest of 56-year-old Pat Higgins' marriages lasted five years and the shortest just five days. She spent 8,000 pounds (over $13,000) on her eighth wedding, which lasted just two months.

This time Pat has married a toyboy who is 32 years junior to her reported. Mark Sanderson is a supermarket worker.

Interestingly, Pat is seven years elder than Mark's mother and had been married three times before her groom was born. And despite her earlier attempts at securing wedded bliss, Pat vowed: "This time it's forever.

Nokia denies Microsoft takeover rumour

Nokia has moved to quash speculation that its partnership with Microsoft could lead to a takeover by the US technology group.

Nokia described rumors that Microsoft was planning a bid for its core devices business as “completely baseless” and people close to both companies said there had been no talks about such a deal.

Speculation over a possible bid for Nokia has intensified after its shares plunged by nearly 18 per cent on Tuesday when the company warned that sales and profit margins would be “substantially below” previous expectations in the second quarter.

The stock fell a further 10 per cent on Wednesday morning to its lowest level since 1998 but it recovered most of its losses by the close of trading as rumors of a Microsoft bid gained momentum.

The two companies agreed in February to form an alliance that will see Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system embedded in Nokia phones in an attempt to create a powerful rival to the Apple iPhone and devices using Google’s Android platform.

Nick Jones of Gartner said Nokia’s transition to the Windows Phone operating system was proving more painful than expected as the company’s existing Symbian range of smartphones lose market share at an accelerating pace.

“When you say something is dead, it’s always going to be hard to persuade people to buy it,” he said, referring to Nokia’s efforts to continue selling Symbian phones after announcing that the platform would be gradually phased out.

Nokia is planning to launch its first Windows Phone device by the end of this year but a complete portfolio of products is not expected until deep into 2012, leaving the company heavily exposed to decline in its Symbian handsets for at least another year.

Samsung demands Apple in court for next-gen iPhone and iPad

Samsung Electronics has asked a U.S. court to force Apple Inc to hand over its next-generation models of the iPhone and iPad in the latest volley in a series of patent infringement suits between the two technology companies.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh ordered Samsung to give Apple copies of several models of its Galaxy mobile phones and tablets, as well as other products.
"It would put Samsung at a significant disadvantage in this litigation if the Court allowed Apple access to Samsung's future products ... but prevented Samsung from gaining access to Apple's future products so that it could prepare its defense," Samsung argued in a motion filed on Friday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Apple sued Samsung last month, claiming Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copies the iPhone and iPad. Samsung followed with its own lawsuit, alleging that Apple was the company doing the copying.

Apple was Samsung's second-biggest customer last year, mostly for semiconductors. The iPhone maker's claims against Samsung focus on Galaxy's design features, such as the look of its screen icons.

Samsung declined to comment, and Apple could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.

Twitter broadens reach with 'Follow' buttons

Twitter on Tuesday broadened its reach by letting websites add ‘Follow’ buttons that visitors can click to begin tracking posts at the globally popular microblogging service.

Twitter billed the button as "a new way to follow Twitter accounts directly from the websites you visit every day."

The feature was rolled out the same day Web advertising company AdGrok announced it has been bought by San Francisco-based Twitter.

"When Twitter approached us and asked if we'd be interested in working on their monetization platform, we realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we just couldn't pass up," AdGrok said in a blog post.

"Starting today, we will be working full-time on Twitter's revenue engineering team."

Websites that took part in the Follow button launch included online venues for pop stars Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears as well as news, sports, and videos.

"More than 50 sites have added the Follow Button as part of Wednesday's launch, making it easy for people to discover the Twitter accounts of their favorite reporters, athletes, celebrities, and other personalities," Twitter said.

Twitter took in $45 million in global advertising revenue in 2010 and was on track to more than triple that figure this year, according to industry tracker eMarketer.

Approximately 20.6 million people in the United States will use Twitter at least once a month this year in a 26 per cent increase from activity seen at the microblogging service in 2010, eMarketer reported.

Mother of two married daughters scales Mt Everest

Premlata Agarwal is not just another woman who climbed Mt Everest – she is the mother of two married daughters. At 45, she is also the oldest Indian woman to scale the highest mountain in the world.

What started off as an adventure in 2000 in the form of a hill climbing competition in Jamshedpur, ended at the altitude of more than 29000 feet.

Premlata said, “When I spoke to my daughters and husband for the first time fter creating the record, I told them that I have been able to fulfill their expectations.”

Premlata has also scaled the peaks of Kilimanjaro and Karakoram. But she wasn’t quite sure she could conquer Everest. And when she lost her gloves, just an hour before she reached the top, Premlata thought luck was not on her side.

“My gloves flew away just when I was about to reach and I thought I might have to return back as it wasn’t possible to continue without the gloves. Just then I saw a pair of gloves lying there which someone had left by mistake.”

Her mentor and trainer couldn’t be more proud. Bachendri Pal herself has the distinction of being the first Indian woman to climb Mt Everest way back in 1984. At a time when everyone told Premlata she was trying to achieve the impossible her coach knew there wasn’t any mountain high enough that her student couldn’t climb.

Premlata has today emerged as a hero for women who want to scale new heights, quite literally. And for the coach who passed on her legacy to her protege, it doesn’t get any better than this.