Science & Technology

Take a Tour of Nokia Factory

2010-06-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

Baikonur Space launch facility

2010-02-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Apple iPad Specifications | Specs and Review

2010-01-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

The moment of truth for d’ Apple-kingdom has finally arrived, like we said on our predicaments before, this will yield a half-full/half-empty approach for the investors/critiques/future buyers and to the rest of the majority.

When we said, that Apple needs to put some “insane” features if they want this tablet to become a game-changer, we couldn’t be more correct than that statement. From the unveiling of the official name, up to the disadvantages of the new tablet. Here’s a summarize Apple Tablet 101 course for you.Officials

The official name of the tablet is iPad (Huwaat?) Okay, maybe you’re one of the guys who voted for the name iSlate, iTablet, iJoy etc. But hey! It’s already here, so iThink just savor the name for it’s already imbued on the tablet.
In the Beginning…

What more good way to start the presentation than beginning it with a biblical-inspired statement from WSJ? My take? It gave me some spine-tingling goosebumps!

“Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it”
And this bragging statement protruded by our CEO of the decade, never failed to make the presentation even more exhilarating.

“Way better than a laptop, way better then a phone. You can turn it any way you want. To see the whole page is phenomenal.”

So let’s proceed to the good stuffs now, shall we?

On a nutshell the specs of the Apple iPad is impressive:

- SPECS: 9.7 inch IPS display, 0.5 inches thin, 1.5 pounds in weight.

- Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768

- MEMORY SIZE: 16, 32, or 64 GB SSDs (solid state hard drives)

- CHIP: 1 GHz Apple A4 chip. A new customized in-house Apple chip

- PLATFORM: Runs on iPhone OS 3.2

- Wi-Fi: 802.11n

- BATTERY LIFE: 10 hours

- Includes Speaker, Microphone, 30-pin connector, Accelerometer, and compass

- Will run all native iPhone Apps and you can even choose the resolution on how you want the apps to appear on the BIG screen of the tablet

Core Details:

Speed

The capability of the iPad Tablet in terms of speed, is pretty amazing. Try to think of the iPhone running on steroids. Although, the clamored ‘multitasking’ capability didn’t pushed-through for this one.
iBooks

Okay, this won’t be a new iDevice without some new Apps to flaunt, would it? On a nutshell the iBook is an application enabling you to carry thousands of books on your tablet making the iPad a very good contender against the Kindle device. Although there’s some caveats that we’ll introduce later why the iPad may not be able to beat the Amazon Kindle.
Pricing/Plans

If you have gotten yourself with some early dose of tablet rumors, suggesting that the new tablet will be around 1,000 USD, then its official price of 500 USD will really be an eye-opener for you. As Mr. Jobs had said, “Grab the iPad that’s in the kitchen,”.

Note: 16 GIG Tablet WiFi only @ 499 USD. 32GB and 64 GB both WiFi only @ 599 USD and 699 USD *respectively*
If you want some 3G+WiFi loving with your iPad, the price gets steeper: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB @ $629, $729, $829 *respectively*. Now, I don’t know how much you have compared WiFi and 3G before, but you should know that you have the advantage if you choose the 3G+WiFi package here.
Connectivity/Network Carrier

It seems the rumors that this will be unveiled on a carrier with 3G capability didn’t materialize that much. Actually, this will be on AT&T again! Hurray isn’t? Okay before you get red-hot, there’s a new pricing solution for the iPad tablet.

Although it’ll use AT&T as the network carrier, the plan will be prepaid-based:

$14.99 for up to 250MB, and $29.99 for Unlimited Data (iThink you know what does that means, don’t you?) and some bonus unli-wifi on AT&T hotspots, should you choose the latter deal.
Added to the statement, , Steve Jobs did mention that the iPad is unlocked and supports micro-SIMS – this means if your carrier supports micro-SIMS, there’s no real reason for the inability to connect to the Internet..
Apple iPad’s Disadvantages

Like any alpha-device presentation, those anti-hype issues will always surface. The question is, how deep is your threshold, for handling flaws for a device? Honestly, we are a bit disappointed with some of the things that didn’t push-through for the tablet.

1) Solar Powered Cells, Multi Tasking, Open for other Network Carriers.

I say it’s all mythbusted! As good as these things may have sounded, all of them are just a fig of your imagination. Gee! I’m sure some of you may have your hopes too ups for these features to happen. Sniff**

2) According to engadget: “No camera. None, nada. Zip. No video conferencing here folks. Hell, it doesn’t have an SMS app”

I don’t know what does Steve Jobs means when he said, “this will be better than your netbook, and way better than your smartphone” Certainly, these lack of features is a BIG setback for the new tablet.

And OMG – No Camera? I mean, why? Is Apple doing this for the sake of marketing the 2nd Gen of iPads? (You bet they will!)

3) Insane games at par with “WII”..?

The prediction that the new tablet will have customized games, didn’t push through that much, at least not on the presentation. Although, Apple co-developers manage to put some pretty impressive demos of the games, pretty sure, we didn’t feel the ‘insane wii experience’ here.

4) No Adobe Flash

A Big “F*ck you” to users, who are dreaming of watching flash-based videos, games, and apps on the iPad. So far, flash capability is still a fantasy. Again, this is a little bit ironic to the statement of Mr. Jobs that “That the new tablet holds the best way to browse a website”

5) What happened to the built-in GPS?

“The Wi-Fi-only versions flat out have no GPS support whatsoever. The 3G versions have Assisted GPS, which makes use of the cellular connection to help pinpoint your location.” – If you have your iPod Touch 2G, then theiPad tablet’s GPS functionality works more like that.

6) As usual, not external memory slot.

If you have been dreaming that Apple will someday create a product, that will have some micro-sd capability, then I guess you can be assure that iPad is certainly not the device for that. Seeing it shipping with the usual Small,medium,large storage capacity, makes you want to think twice before buying this gadget.

I mean, seriously? Who needs a tablet with only a 16GB of capacity? – I think it’s kind of moot in my opinion.

7) Not the most fantastic ebook reader

Okay so it has iBook, some boombastic graphic enhancers, and some fast procs to handle thousands of e-books. But comparing it to the Kindle – The iPad doesn’t have a e-ink (the one that makes the brightness of the screen, close to being like a real pages of a book)
The new tablet may have a 10 hours of battery lifespan (reduced on 3G mode), but compare it to the kindle, it can go for as long as one week!

Also the price of the Kindle, rangers from 250-300 USD, which is way less than the price of the cheapest iPad Tablet (500 USD)
Minutes to Burn?

Here’s an 8 minute video describing the availability of the apple-tablet. 60-90 days is the time-frame for this one, folks!

Wrap-up:

Beyond the doubt, the Apple tablet is one, if not the best tablet at this moment. But ‘it’, beating the high-rollers of the e-book/netbook kingdom, is still a little bit out of reach.

As I keep on saying, it depends on your preferences, if you want a tablet for your day to day life. But let me tell you, if you already have a high-end smartphone (iPhone 3GS, N1 phone, HTC high-rollers) resting on your pocket, and have a laptop at your home. My credo is, sleep over it before buying this one.

Also, there’s a chance that this first-release *just like the iPhone* will be held under scrutiny and may have the tendency to be half-baked – iPad: No camera, No flash capability, No Built-in GPS etc.

I don’t like to see you as that person who will buy this tablet, then after a couple of months you will get infuriated seeing that the 2G model will arrive fixing all these flaws. Half a grand isn’t too cheap, is it?

So the question remains, are you going to buy the iPad now, or not?

(images: engadget)

Ideas From : Pinoytutorial.com

Jet Scooter: The Next Gen Flying Machine

2010-01-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

You can remember that Jules Vern wrote the story on “Nautilus”, that famous submarine invented by a scientist who stays in abandoned island and the submarine named against the unit of speed under water “Knot”. He wrote this about 200 years prior to the actual submarine invented. Looking to this “Jet Scooter” an excellent digital art, bring me that same impression. Jet Scooter is the most advance and superb futuristic concept created in digital art by this designer Peanuts23.

Actually I think this should be the perfect shaped individual carrier to be come up for our use in very near future, may be by next century! It should be the perfect transportation for this fast moving world, where the time would be really precious and to match the atmosphere too where pollution free to be great concern, will fly with the help of Jet fuel and take to your place with a blink of eye. Though by the name it’s my guess that it will fly with the help of fuel as nowadays the Jet planes are moving but looking to the structure it seems that it can fly based on magnetic force too and which should be the ideal for pollution free world.

With an excellent color combination, the day this jet scooter hits the road or sky, people will watch it with their jaws dropped on the floor. I mean, who wouldn’t want to have a ride of this killer scooter which has taken the aesthetic features of a normal scooter to a new level. A perfect blend of old scooters and side wings which are there to keep the balance of this scooter in the air with a front round plane like shape to help it to give it enough speed to cut through the wind.

This is the most exotic popular design created which should be desirable for all but sad part its just design now and we can hope to get the dream materialize very soon.

Light Touch Holographic Laser Projector

2010-01-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

This holographic laser projector (HLP) projects images onto curved and tilted surfaces. Its Holographic Laser Projection(HLP) technology inside which creates a bright, high-quality video images in WVGA resolution – 10.1? virtual touch screen, so the user can use projected image as a touchscreen with virtual keyboards and touching the image.
Via: DVICE and
Light Blue Optics

How Kids Could Have Prevented the California Wildfires

2010-01-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

As the California wildfires ravaged the Golden State, inhabitants of America’s west coast saw their property engulfed and homes annihilated, while also suffering hundreds of casualties. Just last August, two firefighters died after their vehicle was overrun by flames north of Los Angeles. Yet in the scorched and blackened aftermath of the forest fires, the startling truth is that all this damage, loss and destruction could have been prevented by a group of kids.
The key to combating wildfires ripping through bone dry forests and bringing about untold harm is detection. Where there’s smoke there’s fire is a saying that trips easily off the tongue, but with wildfires the tough reality is that the smoke itself is often out of sight. Detecting these potentially deadly blazes while they are still smouldering can help stop them reaching catastrophic proportions.
It was this basic principle of detection that got a team of young people in California thinking about how to reduce the soaring numbers of wildfires that have become an issue not just in their neck of the woods but around the globe – especially given the massive amount of CO2 that gets released into the air. In an age of web cams and camera phones, it’s perhaps small wonder that the answer was surveillance.
Named the FIRST Lego League Forest Guards, the youngsters, in partnership with Sony Europe, came up with the concept of an early wildfire detection system. The idea was to identify large forest fires more quickly using a network of solar powered CCTV cameras mounted on poles, linked to citizen fire watchers over the web, to offer a picture of the warning signs of wildfires before they manage to spread.
Testing
for the idea is already underway at the Forestry Commission’s site at Alice Holt, Surrey, UK and near the children’s home at Tahoe, California. The kids have first-hand experience of being evacuated from their homes because of wildfires, so were well placed to see the need for a fast and effective system of detection, where more eyes keeping watch would be better equipped to foresee future infernos.
For their efforts, the fresh-faced Forest Guards won an International Children’s Climate Call competition in Copenhagen earlier this year organised by LEGO and FIRST, a non-profit organisation that inspires students in science. Since then, their idea has since been realised by Sony Europe, with the upshot that the prototype – complete with R2D2-esque camera domes – is now being developed and tested.
Although there is an interest in using satellite technology as well as other digital imaging technology to detect fires, none of it is generally used. This new idea is also the first to include solar-powered CCTV cameras dispersed throughout the forest that allow the pictures of this environment to be broadcast over the Internet and from there be downloaded by anyone in the form of a website or screensaver.
Morgan David, Director of Research and Development for Sony Europe, who led the development team, explained some of the difficulties involved: “With image analysis, the smoke is difficult to differentiate from steam or clouds. But as a result of a lot of long hours put in, we have a pragmatic solution. And the real magic is the hundreds of thousands of eyes out there on the Net attracted by nice imagery.”
Yet it was more than just a case of visualising wildfires over the web. Working with the forestry people in Tahoe, the kids gained an understanding of how important it is to see not just in certain places but many – hence the idea of a network. And Sony Europe has further combined the network and camera technology with imaging software written by them. “Innovation isn’t easy,” concedes David. But it is possible.
The technology was presented at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last week, with the princes of Sweden and Denmark among those who dropped by the Forest Guard stand. If such interest is maintained, the wildfire detection system will let fire fighters know immediately when a wildfire is breaking out in their area – and so prevent future wildfires in California and elsewhere in the world.

Coolest Steampunk Gadgets

2009-12-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

Steampunk is a speculative intersection of technology and romance where the future meets the past: Victorian era inventions clash with often dark alternate realities. What started as a literary genre has since evolved into an amazing urban art form which delights in making real-life inventions that are a blend of the modern and anachronistic. Meet some of the coolest steampunk gadgets we've seen!

Steampunk Headphones

A guy from Chicago who calls himself Nicrosin made this “Mechanical Aural Communication Device” as a prop with “sculpey, rubber, and… various pocket watch parts,” the earpieces have a suede lining. Unfortunatly, this awesome set of Steampunk headphones that you see pictured above is actually just a non-functional model. Pretty cool anyways.

Steampunk Toilet

Yes! A steampunk toilet, created by Patrick Brawley — the “antique toilet of the future.” Awesome! It boasts a control panel and laser pointing mechanism. The perfect throne for any steampunk king or queen.

Steampunk Vibrator

Ani Niow asked the question “What happens when you're an engineering student with a minor in sexuality and you find yourself funemployed?” The answer, makesteampunk vibrator, of course. It weights about a pound, is smooth to the touch, and, yes, it sorta works. When Ani tried it with steam, apparently it got too hot to touch, and I presume this meant too hot for the goonies. That said, it does work off of compressed air. If you happen to know of or have a more powerful boiler than a pressure cooker that is available, she would be interested.

Steampunk Copper USB Drive

This fun steampunk USB drive is handcrafted using some vintage watch gearing, copper and a few other brass parts, it comes with 2GB of storage, and even features some copper piping along the side with some brass bolts on the end. If you want one of these cool Steampunk Copper USB drives you had better be quick as there is only one available from Qacreate, priced at $50.

Steampunk R2D2

This beer-barrel R2D2 sculpture comes from Deviant Art's Amoebabloke, who's hoping to find a buyer who isn't just a rich collector.

Steampunk Mouse

How'd you like a mouse like this connected to your PC? Looking like a mix between an electric shaver and some sort of mini tank, this Steampunk pointer definitely stands out from the pack. For some reason, this thing doesn't look very ergonomically friendly, but then again, I never saw the word “comfortable” anywhere in the definition of Steampunk.

Steampunk Laptop

This may look like a Victorian music box, but inside this intricately hand-crafted wooden case lives a Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 laptop that runs both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. It features an elaborate display of clockworks under glass, engravedbrass accents, claw feet, an antiqued copper keyboard and mouse, leather wrist pads, and customized wireless network card. The machine turns on with an antique clock-winding key by way of a custom-built ratcheting switch made from old clock parts.

Steampunk Cake

This fun geeky cake was created by Karen from Babycakes for one of their customers who wanted a Steampunk cake. Extremely geek but looks delicious.

Steampunk iPod (by Neal Bridgens)

This handcrafted ‘steampunk mini mod' by Neal Bridgens is made from copper, brass, and wood (Oak in particular) with some valves on it. Though heavy, this steampunkish iPod is definitely worth the effort. So, if you are inclined towards products that go/look beyond the orthodox – you sure would like it!

Steampunk Jewelry

Each piece is hand made from specifically selected watch movements of the finest craftsmanship from Switzerland, France and across the globe.

Steampunk Pac-Gentleman

This custom made toy by artist/sculptor Doktor A is a wondrous tribute to the classic arcade game, Pac-Man. The one-of-a-kind sculptural toy is entitled “The Secret History of Video Games: Pac Gentleman”. It almost reads like a steampunk version of the 1980s dot-muncher, what with its crank-driven game play and wooden and metallic accents.

Steampunk Brass Switch Plates

The fabrication process of these cool switch plates involves soldering recycled brass parts on to brass switch plates, then running a blow torch over the assembled pieces, and finally, aging them by using ammonia.

New technology developed by Microsoft for photography DNA Image

2009-12-20T08:57:00.001-08:00

Microsoft together with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has innovated a New Image DNA Technology to fight against child abuse. Microsoft has done withe their own dedicated Microsoft Research section and Dartmouth College. This Technology is a revolutionary step in the mission of stopping child abuse.

With this Technology of Image DNA, the system fetches the images that resemble each other, no matter whether they have been edited, resized, etc. and then logs them. The images are then matched using a certain methodology. This process involves the inspection of several aspects like monochrome of the image, chopping the image into smaller bits and the intensity gradients are turned into a signature. Despite of any edition the signatures will still retain originality. Thus, facilitating the system in looking for its replicates. there may be some similarities that could do comparison of the QR codes, thereby allowing the same cells to compare their images. Hence, this process aids the system in finding the images with similar gradients and duplicates of the Image across the web world.

The ISP’s are then provided with all the signatures, data strings to map the counterparts of the Image. To take full advantage of this Technology, government needs to issue a policy so as to do the authorization of the ISPs and content providers in order to enable to use this Technique of Image DNA. Microsoft is donating this Technology to the NCMEC, that later on will be licenced to other law enforcement agencies all over the world. Besides that this methodology of Image DNA can be efficiently used in indoor, internal networks of law enforcement for identifying the same victim at multiple station, this system could even be used to

While this could well be used in closed, internal networks of law enforcement to determine the same victim across multiple situations and abusers, this system could also be enabled to disentangle the Internet and ISP networks for its replicated data. With the invention of the New Image DNA Technology, Microsoft again has led the society in mission of fighting against child abuse and harassment cases.

Ref : http://blogs.zdnet.com/igeneration/?p=3655

Human and Robots: Visions of the Future

2009-12-14T04:19:00.000-08:00

The future is not written yet and who knows weather robots are dangerous or not. What is for sure is that humans, being the curious beings, will develop new advanced generations of robots. Robots and other high-performance inventions have always been of a vast interest for humanity. A great number of scientists have spent the whole life in their laboratories with one aim – to work out innovative schemes, develop them and create some highest qualitative ranking robot. This engrossing process has reached its peak with the technical push that took place due to the endeavors of a number of brilliant and clear intellects of scientists all over the world.

The most striking fantasies in this sphere are brought successfully into reality and a great number of robots are in service of people in order to make the process of work or manufacturing automatic. It happens so that people and robots go together in this life side by side, in some spheres of life they are even interchangeable and who knows into what this opposition “Human and Robots” will translate.

There are two perceivable outcomes:

Robots and humans that live and prosper together…Or robots realize they don’t need as that much…

For now it is up to out fantasy to express what we think will happen in human-robot relations in the future. This is a collection of 3d images of various creative 3d artists that shows their vision of that future. Some of the coolest visions of our future with robots is by Franz Stainer and his Personal Robot series of works.

Personal Robot 04

Author: Franz Steiner
Software: 3ds max
Artist page

Who will win in this game of chess? When there is the opposition of the mechanical creature and the human intellect it is not easy to predict the outcome of the game. You can make books, but you will never be sure about the results, they are unpredictable.

Personal Robot 08

Author: Franz Steiner
Software: 3ds max
Artist page

In the process of the humming work robots can be of a great use for people. With them less time would be spend for the most complicated tasks and the crunch times would take place not so often. The only question that is left – to find such a robot.

MU morning

Author: David Cabrera
Software: Photoshop
Artist page

Early in the morning when you are still sleeping on foot and can not utter distinctly a word this buzzing cute little machine will treat you with strong aromatic coffee. If you only wish, it can add some spices to your taste, for example cinnamon or a peck of red pepper.

Personal Robot 07

Author: Franz Steiner
Software: 3ds max
Artist page

When you touch gently the lips of your beloved your heart begins to beat speedily, the mind is hazed with pleasant feelings and you fly away. These minutes can fly not so that you’d notice, but they are so sweet and inimitable.

Personal Robot 05

Author: Franz Steiner
Software: 3ds max
Artist page

Love is a curious thing – never knows when it happens so that you will be overtaken with this feeling and who will be the matter of your sleepless nights. It can be a bonny girl from the next door, a handsome boy from the night-club or… even a cyber creature.

I’m Robot

Author: Widyantara
Artist page

Some time ago, when I was a human being I was dreaming about the perennial youth, the thoughts that were so peculiar for every woman. My dreams turned into life immediately after my death and I have obtained the desired eternity – now I’m a robot.

Mecha

Author: tinypants
Artist page

This robot looks like the one that was made either in correspondence to the model of a human being or using the human’s corpus as the basis. A little bit creepy and at the same time intriguing. Anyway, the excellent model and the great work!

Personal Robot 02

Author: Franz Steiner
Software: 3ds max
Artist page

I’m not sure that it is more pleasant to work in the company of robots, but it definitely has certain advantages. One of the main is the high efficiency of the process of work, furthermore not a lot of time is spent for the idle talks, spreading silly rumors and gossiping.

I Repair Your Broken Cyborgs

Author: Randis Albion
Software: 3ds max, Photoshop
Artist page

Here is the workshop of a person how knows a thing about robots. When something happens with their artificial integrity or perfectly done schemes he always set for help. He is the very person who can repair each mere trifle and adjust the trouble.

Robot Girl

Author: luisramos
Software: Maya
Artist page

Here is a refreshing variation on a girl’s theme. This robot renders the girl, the cyber one. Interesting concept and well-done model. Its author should have spent not one hour to create such a good example of a robot.

Personal Robot 06

Author: Franz Steiner
Software: 3ds max
Artist page

This robot looks like a housekeeper who takes care of everything around. In its duties are household activities and it copes with all the everyday duties without any difficulties in a short time and without procrastinations.

World's Longest Keyboard

2009-12-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

Jean Shin who design this interactive sculpture simply gave the name TEXTile. As the name suggest it's as smooth as the clothe made in Textile Mill.

The design includes more than 22,528 computers and 192 custom keycap which are attached with fabric, a custom keyboard and software assets as well as interactive video projection and painted aluminum frames. It sets out line by line transcript of the electronic communication that the artist and manufacturing in creating enabling it to sculpture in its own archives!

The sculpture was created as a comment on the extent of the impact that e-mail and other virtual communication has had on our lives I suppose if a banner saying "e-mail is a good thing" would have made the too!
The first three ranks of the civil e-mails key assets that allow visitors to type in their own messages that are projected onto the opposite end of the fabric.This amazing invention (world’s longest keypad) is placed at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia.

Space Tourism: SpaceShipTwo by Virgin Galactic

2009-12-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Richard Branson from Virgin Galatic has unveiled the amazing SpaceShipTwo space tourism vehicle. SpaceShipTwo will carry 6 tourists at a time to 65 miles above the surface of the earth, beyond the Apogee of where our atmosphere ends and space begins. Passengers will experience the full weightlessness of space and unparalleled views of the Earth before returning safely to land. While SpaceShipTwo has not yet been live tested, its completion and introduction to the press is a significant step toward public space travel.

SpaceShipTwo will be carried by a mother ship, the WhiteNightTwo, to a suborbital altitude of 9.5 miles before it undocks and launches its own thrusters into pure black space. Not long after, it’s final altitude will be reached and its passengers will join the lucky few to have ever entered the expansive reaches of space. The ticket price for travel into this final frontier is suggested to run at $200,000 each for a trip that lasts roughly two-and-a-half hours. While it’ll be a few years until SpaceShipTwo’s voyage, We here at TheBlogIsMine dot Com have an opportunity to start saving money for the space travel.

Space Images The Best of Hubble’s Shots

2009-11-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by the Space Shuttle Discovery in April 1990. It is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble. Although not the first space telescope, the Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is well-known as both a vital research tool and a public relations boon for astronomy. The HST is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency, and is one of NASA’s Great Observatories, along with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope.

During it’s period of operation, the Hubble has recorded tons of fascinating images that never stop to amaze people. You simply can’t stay untouched looking at these images. To some these images represent beautiful natures work of arts, physicist may say that they provide us with an insight in our universe, mathematicians may be impressed by forms created by specific mathematical rules, architects look at the beauty of the expression, and you might even say that this is a definite sign that god has created the universe.

No matter which group you belong to, you’ll be amazed by these out-of-this-world pictures. The images that have not been seen by bare human eye, and there may pass many more decades before that happens, if ever. Meanwhile, we have Hubble’s electronic eye to keep us entertained.

10 Coolest USB Flash Drives

2009-11-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

USB Flash Drive + Bottle Opener

The TrekStor SB-Stick with Bottle Opener ($43.71) will not only quench your storage thirst with its 25MB/s read speed and 12 MB/s write speed, but is also sure to have you sipping suds at your desk thanks to the bottle opener that’s built into the device’s brushed aluminium housing. A USB 2.0 connector port features at the sober end of the device and storage fans can pick the unit up in 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 GB capacities.

Hamburger USB Flash Drive

Hungry? Get the Hamburger USB Flash Drive ($19.99) and eat up to 1GB of information. This "freshly baked" product will certainly be a conversation starter and a convenient reminder of what you'll be having for lunch.

USB Hidden Flash Drive Watch

Bond, James Bond. For wanna-be spies, the USB Hidden Flash Drive Watch ($49.99) features an ample 4GB capacity USB flash drive that slips neatly into the watch case. Simply remove, add data and then re-insert and you're ready to conduct secret missions to building B on the other side of campus. The watch itself has a Japanese movement, plastic case covered by stainless steel mask with brushed silver finish and convex mineral glass.

World's Tiniest USB Flash Drive

Barely bigger than the tip of your pinky, the Pico USB Flash Drive ($24.99) is less than 4mm thick. The polished chrome finish is certainly shiny, but at 8 gigabytes, it’s redonkulously teeny.
USB Flash Drive + Lighter

Electronics and fire have never been friends and you could even say they are essentially sworn enemies. But in the case of the USB Flash Drive Lighter ($50.00) they have decided to call a truce. Long standing differences have been put aside to create a product that is both practical and very unique. This flash drive has an ample 8GB capacity and the lighter is refillable. The USB connector slides out of the bottom of the metal case, using a small slider lever located on the side of the lighter. The lighter has a polished chrome finish and an adjustable flame. Baby, light my flash drive!
Football USB Flash Drive

Touchdown some gigabytes with the Football USB Drive ($19.99). This Super Bowl must-have is 1GB and weights less than 6 ounces.
Pizza USB Flash Drive

More on food department: the Pizza Flash Drive ($19.99) makes for a great gift, or a quick dinner.
USB Flash Drive + Eraser

Want to make a flash drive that nobody in a modern office would even think about taking? Hide it in your Eraser USB Memory Stick ($10.99) and keep it forever on this digital age. After all, nobody uses erasers anymore.
USB Flash Drive Wrist band

No longer do you have to have a lanyard around your neck if you want to wear your flash drive around since this USB Flash Drive Wrist band ($13.99) disguises itself as a wristband that comes in six different colors of red, yellow, blue, green, orange and purple. The USB port doubles as the connector to hold the strap together when wearing it and it sounds fairly durable as the catalog page boasts that the drive is shockproof and moisture proof (we’re assuming moisture from sweat).
Light Bulb USB Drive

Attention Edison's Fans. The Light Bulb USB Drive ($19.99) has got 1GB to light up your info.

HTC Touch 2 first communicator on Windows 6.5

2009-11-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

Press office of the company High Tech Computer (HTC) has officially announced the launch of the smartphone HTC Touch2 (T3333) with a full touch screen control, which is one of the first products of this kind, using as an operating system platform for new Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional. In terms of functionality debutant refers to the apparatus of the middle class and, if it is relatively inexpensive, may well be a massive decision. The device is made in the form of an elegant design monoblock without alphanumeric keyboard and is equipped with a proprietary user interface TouchFLO. This product specifications look so ...
Ability to work in networks WCDMA / HSPA (900/2100 MHz) and GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1800/ 1900 MHz);
Processor Qualcomm MSM7225 CPU running at 528 MHz;
512 MB of ROM memory and 256 MB of memory RAM;
Slot for removable storage standard microSD;
2.8-inch touch screen TFT-display with QVGA-resolution;
Integrated GPS-receiver;
Modules Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (A2DP) and Wi-Fi 802.11b / g; 3.5-mm jack for connecting the headphone jack and HTC ExtUSB;
Mounted 3.2-megapixel digital camera;
Built-in media player, which operates the formats AAC / AAC + / eAAC + / AMR-NB/QCP/MP3/ WMA/WAV/MIDI/ M4A and WMV/ASF/MP4/ 3GP/3G2/M4V/ AVI;
Lithium-Ion Battery 1100 mAh, a charge which is enough for 370 (WCDMA) / 440 (GSM) minutes of continuous negotiations, or 500 (WCDMA) / 370 (GSM) hours of autonomous operation in standby mode;
Overall dimensions are 104 x 55 x 12.9 mm; Weight is 110 g.

It is expected that the sale of novelty received 6 October this year and will be available for purchase in many countries in Europe and Asia.

Kingston's 256GB USB flash drive

2009-11-05T00:58:00.000-08:00

Kingston Technology Europe announced the launch of the world's first 256GB USB flash drive, the DataTraveler 300.

The company had earlier released the DataTraveler 200, a 128 GB USB flash drive.

"The DataTraveler 300 will enable users to carry huge volumes of data with them everywhere they go – up to 365 CDs for example," said Kirsty Miller, product marketing manager – consumer, Kingston Technology Europe.

The USB flash drive is available only in 256GB.

It is built to order only; customers who wish to purchase the drive can place an order with resellers and e-tailers.

Specifications:

1. Capacity: 256 GB
2. Speed: Data transfer rates of up to 20 MB/sec read and 10 MB/sec write
3. Includes Password Traveler security software for Windows
4. Does not require administrator rights to access the privacy zone
5. Dimensions: 2.78" x 0.67" x 0.87" (70.68 mm x 16.90 mm x 21.99 mm)
6. Operating temperature: 0 to 60 degree Celsius
7. Storage temperature: -20 to 85 degree Celsius
8. Enhanced for Windows ReadyBoost on Vista-based systems

The 33 Most Deadly Substances On Earth

2009-10-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

1. Amanitas – Destroying Angel

Location: Europe and in the United States.

In Europe, the blossoms vary in color from pale-green or yellow-olive and along both the east and west coasts in the United States. However, they range from white to light brown in the rest of the United States.

Amanitin can be detected in the blood almost immediately. The first physical symptoms are usually nausea, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. After an early feeling of slight discomfort, there is a sudden onset of extreme stomach pain, violent vomiting, intense thirst, and cyanosis of the extremities. Jaundice of the eyes and skin can also occur if the liver is badly affected. The patient remains conscious almost to the end, with only brief intervals of unconsciousness occurring between long lucid periods before lapsing into a coma followed by death.

Antidotes and Treatments: There are no known antidotes for Amanita poisoning; however, victims have survived after receiving liver transplants.
2. Pufferfish

Toxicity Level: There is a fifty percent mortality rate among pufferfish victims.

Location: The pufferfish is commonly found in warm or temperate regions around the world including the west coast of Central America, throughout the Indo-Pacific, around Japan, and from Australia to South Africa.

There are over ninety species of puffer-fish all belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. When disturbed, the fish inflates itself and becomes globular in form. The poison, tetraodontoxin, is found in the ovaries of the pufferfish and is not destroyed by cooking. However, the pufferfish is usually harmless if the entrails completely are removed and the if cavity is washed thoroughly prior to cooking.

Effects and Symptoms: Difficulty talking, and rapid onset of paralysis of the respiratory system, followed by paralysis of the central nervous system. The cause of death is most often convulsions or respiratory arrest, which occur within one to two hours of ingesting the poison.

Case Study: This toxin was used in the movie The Serpent and the Rainbow to slow the respiration of the victim so that it appeared as if he was dead. After a quick burial, the victim was exhumed and continued to be fed the drug at a lesser dose so that while his body functioned, his mind did not. As a result, he became a zombie or "the living dead."
3. Castor Bean

Toxicity Level: Even two beans, well chewed, can be fatal.

Location: The castor-oil plant was found exclusively in Africa and India for both ornamental and commercial use. It is now found in North America and most tropical regions. It is most often grown for ornamental purposes.

Effects and Symptoms: Burning in mouth, nausea, vomiting, cramps, drowsiness, cyanosis, stupor, circulatory collapse, blood in urine, convulsions, coma, and death; the toxic agent causes hemolysis (breaking up) of red blood cells even at extreme dilution, severe hemorrhaging results. The castor bean can also induce labor in pregnant women. Autopsies of patients who died from castor bean poisoning show that vomit and stool samples contain blood.
4. Belladonna Atwpa belladonna

Also known as English nightshade, black nightshade, nightshade, banewort, deadly nightshade, dwale, sleeping nightshade, belladonna lily, Barbados lily, cape belladonna, lirio, naked lady lily, and azuncena de Mejico (found near the U.S.-Mexican border).

In Italian, the word belladonna means "beautiful woman." During the Renaissance period, women applied an extract of the belladonna plant to their eyes to dilate their pupils and give a wide-eyed, beautiful appearance.

All parts of this plant are deadly, especially its roots, leaves, and berries. They work by paralyzing the parasympathetic nervous system, blocking the nerve endings. While this is a highly toxic plant, it also has its benefits. The medical alkaloids atropine, scopolamine, hyoscyamine, hyoscine, and belladonna also come from this plant. Atropine and various synthetic substances also stimulate the central nervous system. Atropine is eliminated almost entirely by the kidneys, which must be working normally in order to process the drug.
5. Adder Venom

Location: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Benin and Niger in the western part of the continent and portions of east Africa as well.

Often an adder bite goes unnoticed or is confused with an insect sting until the ensuing pain gets the victim’s attention. Unfortunately, at that point, administering anti-venom may be too late. Adder venom attacks the blood and nervous system. The venom of an adder bite is less toxic than that of a puff-adder, but it is far more toxic when injected intravenously. .

Effects and Symptoms: Victims of viper bites exhibit the same symptoms as victims of cobra bites. In addition to bleeding from the gums, chills and fever, severe poisoning is indicated by swelling or haemorrhaging above the elbows or knees. These symptoms normally appear within two hours of the bite. Following a bite on the hand, the entire arm will become swollen within a half hour and skin will become purple. The victim will perspire heavily, vomit blood, and collapse within an hour. The nose and eyes bleed and loss of vision occurs, with subsequent loss of consciousness. Death, caused by cardio-respiratory arrest is inevitable if the anti-venom is not administered quickly.
6. Barbados Nut

Location: The Barbados nut is a highly poisonous plant. Although it is most commonly found in Mexico, Central and South America, Asia, and Africa, it has made its way tropical areas of the United States such as South Florida and Hawaii.

The threat of ivy like plant lies in the deceptively pleasant taste of the seeds. They are so delectable that anyone who tastes one will instinctively eat more of them. However, the delicious taste is highly deceptive because these tasty morsels pack a powerful punch. Each seed is made up of at least 55 percent "Hell oil," which is far more potent than castor oil. The poison inhibits protein synthesis in intestinal wall cells and can result in death.

Case Studies: Barbados nut poisonings of children living in the tropical areas where the plant is found are frequent. Unfortunately, because children’s systems are so sensitive, many cases in children have fatal results.
7. Hemlock

The hemlock is native to Europe and Asia, that has found a home in the United States. It is a common sight in unattended, pristine locales around farm buildings, especially in the states along the eastern and western seaboards.

Effects and Symptoms: The first symptom is a gradual weakening of muscle power over the entire body, followed by a rapid and weakened pulse. There is also a significant amount of muscle pain as they atrophy, deteriorate and eventually die. Although the mind remains clear, the eyesight is often diminished or lost, until death occurs as a result of a paralysis of the lungs. The hemlock is often confused with the water hemlock a different plant altogether, causes convulsions.

Case Study: Plato wrote that Socrates drank a cup of hemlock cup and walked about until his legs felt heavy. After a while, he lay down and simply allowed the drug to take hold of him. Plato reported that it numbed and eventually paralyzed his entire body, creeping up from his lower extremities until it reached his heart and killed him.

8. Cobra Venom

Cobras are vipers that expand their neck ribs to form a hood. The king cobra or hamadryad (Ophiophagus hannah or Naja hannah) is the world’s largest venomous snake. King cobras have been known to grow up to eighteen feet long. However, the average cobra grows to a length of a little more twelve feet. The king cobra’s bite is lethal about ten percent of the time.

Effects and Symptoms: Symptoms start fifteen to thirty minutes after the bite, and are characterized by pain within ten minutes of the bite with slow onset of swelling around the location of the bite. In addition, the victim’s blood pressure will fall. Convulsions are another effect that may appear as well. Lung paralysis can occur up to ten days after a bite by an elapid (member of the cobra family). Death usually comes about by means of respiratory failure.

Case Study: One person who was bitten by a cobra said, "I was sinking into a state that could not be called unconsciousness, but one in which I was no longer aware of what was going on about me … I felt no anxiety; I felt no pain; it didn’t even strike me as strange that the darkness was closing in on the light… I am certain I did not lose consciousness entirely at any time; I only felt a complete and utter lassitude in which nothing seemed to matter —not at all unpleasant if this is the way death comes from cobra poisoning."
9. Jimsonweed

Location: Jimson weed is usually found in warm climates. While it is not native to Britain, it can now be found growing in the gardens of southern England.

Jimsonweed was originally called Jamestown weed because the soldiers sent to quell "Bacon’s Rebellion" in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1666 ate the berries when food ran out and mass poisoning resulted. Another man was poisoned after he drank an herbal tea brewed from the leaves of this plant.

The funnel-shaped flowers of the jimsonweed plant are white or purple. The entire plant has an unpleasant odor, and the fruit, which appears in autumn, is prickly, ovoid or globular, and contains numerous wrinkled black seeds.

Effects and Symptoms: People who ingest parts of the jimsonweed plant will experience headache, vertigo, extreme thirst, dry burning sensation of skin, dilated pupils, blurred vision, loss of sight, involuntary motion, mania, delirium, drowsiness, weak pulse, convulsions, and coma. These symptoms, if left not treated properly can result in the death of the patient.
10. Lily of the Valley

Location: The lily of the valley is found in western North America, mainly in the northern Rocky Mountain States along the Pacific Coast, in the Midwest, and in Canada. This spring-flowering plant is also native to Britain, especially in the eastern parts.

The white bell-shaped flowers of the lily of the valley are well known, however, the plant occasionally bears orange-red, fleshy berries, which are lesser known to the general public.

Effects and Symptoms: Symptoms of ingesting the berries produced by the lily of the valley include hot flushes, tense irritability, headache, hallucinations, red skin patches, cold clammy skin, dilated pupils, vomiting, stomach pains, nausea, excess salivation, slow heartbeat, sometimes leading to coma and death from heart failure.
11. Monkshood

Monkshood is found throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Western monkshood is found at higher altitudes in the northern Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast states.

Effects and Symptoms: The poison contained in monkshood can enter into the system through ingestion by mouth or absorbed through the skin. The first signs of monkshood poisoning appear almost immediately. They include burning and tingling; numbness of the tongue, throat, and face; followed by nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, prickly skin, paralysis of the respiratory system, gradual loss of vision, low blood pressure, slow and weak pulse, chest pain, giddiness, sweating, and convulsions. As the poison gradually spreads, the body temperature will gradually drop, producing a pronounced feeling of cold. The patient will feel as if there is ice water flowing through their veins. At the end, severe pain occurs, associated with the paralysis of facial muscles. Breathing is at first rapid, then slow, and finally there is respiratory arrest. Slow paralysis of the heart muscle causes death. Patients often remain conscious until the very end. Some victims complain of yellow-green vision and tinnitus. Death can occur as quickly as ten minutes after initial contact to a few hours.
12. Rhododendron

Location: The rhododendron is found just about everywhere. Rhododendron plants are evergreen shrubs often forming dense growths in Canada and in the United States. They are found in the Appalachians and West Coast. It is the state flower of two US states, West Virginia and Washington, and is quite common in Great Britain as well.

Effects and Symptoms: The victim can experience nausea, irritation, drooling, vomiting, increased tear formation, paralysis, slowing of pulse, lowering of blood pressure, diarrhea, seizure, coma, and death.

Case Studies: Children have been poisoned by sucking nectar from the blossoms or by drinking making tea made from the leaves of the rhododendron plant. The Greeks found that honey from bees that have fed on azaleas, rhododendrons, oleander, or dwarf laurel is also poisonous.
13. Tubarine

Injectable. The drug is supplied as a chloride salt in ampules that must be mixed with sterile water before injection. It is a curare alkaloid derived from the South American plant.

Effects and Symptoms: Accidental overdose causes hypertension and respiratory failure. A rather high concentration of the drug remains in the liver for a short while after death.

Case Studies: Turbarine is a poison most often used by medical personnel and those who have access to restricted hospital drugs. The use of Tubarine as a homicidal poison was suspected in a series of eastern United States hospital deaths. The victims supposedly all had heart attacks, but when an empty Tubarine vial was found in an intern’s locker, the bodies were exhumed and tested for presence of the drug. The drug was detected in decomposed tissue and the intern was arrested, tried and convicted of first degree murder.
14. Rhubarb

Effects and Symptoms: The rhubarb itself, is harmless and even healthy. However, if a the leaf is accidently cooked along with the rhubarb, the digestive irritant may cause stomach pains, nausea, vomiting, hemorrhage, weakness, difficulty breathing, burning of mouth and throat, kidney irritation, and anuria, which then leads to a drop in the calcium content of the blood and cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Case Study: A woman in the first trimester of a pregnancy aborted her fetus before dying from rhubarb poisoning herself.
15. Gila monster

Location: The Gila monster is found in the desert areas of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The Mexican Gila monster is normally found in the dense forests of southern Mexico. The Gila monster is a tenacious biter. Quite often, the victim must be cut free from this aggressive lizard.

Effects and Symptoms: Patients who have the misfortune of being bitten by a Gila monster experience severe pain at the site of the bite. Systemic symptoms include blue-tinged skin; respiratory problems such as shallow, rapid breathing; irregular heartbeat; ringing in the ears; fainting; nausea; vertigo; and weakness. If a fatal bite is received, patients will go into respiratory arrest and die.
16. Croton oil

It is said ten drops of croton, taken internally, will have fatal results. If allowed to come into contact with the skin, croton oil causes blistering and painful skin irritation which can last up to three weeks. When taken internally, croton oil produces burning pain in the mouth and stomach, bloody diarrhea, violent purging, tachycardia, coma, and death.

Case Study: Autopsy results show blood in the stool as well as in the urine.
17. Fox Glove

Location: Although it is sometimes cultivated in gardens, foxglove is frequently found wild in north central and north-eastern United States, as well as along the Pacific Coast, and in Hawaii.

All parts of the fox glove plant are toxic. Digitalis purpurea is a heteroside. The leaves contain digitalin, digitoxin, and digitonin. Severe poisoning comes about as a result of eating the leaves —either dried or fresh — which do not lose their toxicity through cooking.

Effects and Symptoms: Headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, delirium, slow or irregular pulse, distortion of colors, and death. Death is usually caused by ventricular fibrillation, excessively increasing the force of the heart’s contractions which in turn irritates the heart and stimulates the central nervous system.
18. Codeine

Codeine is a nearly transparent, odorless substance with a fairly bitter taste that is available in either powder or liquid form.

Effects and Symptoms: Codeine is an addictive sedative and analgesic. It’s side effects include sleepiness, a floating sensation, giddiness, unsteady walking, slowing of the heart rate, respiratory difficulty, coma, and death. As with some other toxic substances, codeine has its benefits. Since this drug suppresses the body’s natural reflexes, it is often used for medicinal purposes as a cough suppressant.

When taken in excess, death from respiratory failure may occur immediately after intravenous overdose or within two to four hours after oral or subcutaneous administration. The reaction time and dosage is completely dependent upon the patient’s size, health condition, and drug tolerance.
19. Bivalve shellfish

Location: Bi-valve shellfish, such as mussels, clams, oysters, scallops, cockles, and other shellfish that naturally have two hinged shells thrive in many US marine locations such as New England, the Pacific Coast, and Alaska, as well as the Mexican and Canadian coasts. They can become poisonous during warm seasons when they feed on certain dinoflagellates, microscopic cellular beings, as Gony-aulax catenella, which carry potent nerve poisons.

Effects and Symptoms: A nitrogenous compound in the shellfish produces curarelike muscular paralysis. After ingesting infested bi-valves, numbness, tingling of lips, tongue, face, and extremities can occur; followed by nausea, vomiting and sometimes even convulsions. Symptoms can often progress to respiratory paralysis and death. The symptoms start within a half hour of ingestion. Recovery is likely if the victim survives the first twelve hours. Fatalities occur in approximately ten percent of all cases.

Government agencies sometimes issue warnings advising people not to eat particular shellfish during certain times of the year. The mortality rate of those consuming toxic shellfish is sometimes quite high, with mussels producing the highest death rate of all the bivalve shellfish.
20. Blue-Ringed Octopus

Its brown-speckled coloration is distinguished by the blue bands around its tentacles which give it its name. This small animal can be very dangerous, but it gives a warning signal in advance. When the bands around the tentacles glow blue, poison is about to be released. The blue-ringed octopus almost never bothers humans unless provoked, but since it is so small, many people think it is harmless. No more than six inches across, this venomous sea creature has a true octopus shape.

Case Study: In 1967, a young soldier held an octopus on the back of his hand for a minute or two and had no sensation of a bite. But after putting the creature down, he noticed blood on his hand. Just a few minutes later he felt a prickling sensation around his mouth, which rapidly spread over his whole body. Within just fifteen minutes, he was almost completely paralyzed and barely able to breathe. After an hour, this healthy young sailor began to vomit and soon went into convulsions. One hour after the bite, he was taken to the hospital, still breathing, fully conscious but completely paralyzed with no muscle tone and no reflexes. He couldn’t even talk. In another hour, stopped breathing and was put on a heart-lung machine. Miraculously, he eventually survived the ordeal.
21. Dimethyl sulfate

Used in the manufacture of dyes, drugs, perfumes, and pesticides, most poisonings from dimethyl sulphate come from the leakage of liquid and/or vapors. The poisoning and effects can be worsened if alcohol is present.

Immediate effects of vapor exposure include tearing; runny nose; swelling of mouth, lips, and throat tissues; sore throat; hoarseness; dyspnea; cyanosis; and death. Eye irritation causes conjunctivitis (pink eye), perforation of the nasal septum through the sinuses, much like one might see in a patient who is addicted to cocaine, and permanent vision problems. Liver and kidney damage may also occur.

23. Stonefish

The stonefish looks like an irregular lump of flesh. It has a large upturned mouth that it uses to suck in its prey. Closely related to the scorpionfish, the stonefish is sedentary, and usually hides itself partially buried in the debris of a coral reef or in mud flats. Its colors are subdued, making it possible for most stonefish to somewhat match their backgrounds. Their dorsal fins become erect at the least disturbance. If an unlucky swimmer or diver steps on the fish, there is an immediate, painfully venomous sting.

Effects and Symptoms: Marked swelling, convulsions, and intense pain may continue for hours, disabling the victim and even causing unconsciousness. Convulsions and unconsciousness, incredible pain, and paralysis of limbs can cause swimmers to drown. Death occurs when cardiac arrest takes place.
24. Hydrogen Sulphide

Hydrogen sulphide is created naturally whenever vegetable or animal matter becomes putrefied. Heavier than air, this noxious gas can be found in manure pits, sewers, and other places where it can easily reach fatal concentrations.

Effects and Symptoms: Hydrogen sulphide has reduces the body’s oxygen supply and in doing so, directly damages the cells of the nervous system and paralyzes the respiratory system. Very high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide can cause immediate coma, followed quickly by sudden death.
25. Oleander

Location: A native of Asia, the oleander plant was introduced as an ornamental shrub in southern United States. In the northern United States, it is grown as a house plant. Oleander is an evergreen summer favorite worldwide. It can grow almost anywhere, but favors temperate climates like Greece, India, Italy, the southern United States and California. In Italy, oleander is used as a funeral plant. More or less fragrant, the evergreen shrub has narrow leaves; milky sap; and white, pink, or red blossoms.

All parts of the oleander plant, including the nectar of the flower, are poisonous, as well as smoke from the burning plant and the water in which the cut flowers are placed. Using the twigs for skewered meat or for children’s whistles may result in serious poisoning. The poison contains cardiac glycosides, oldendrin, and nerioside.
26. PCP phencyclidine

PCP is most frequently found in crystal or granular form. It is also sometimes found as a white powder, liquid, tablet, or leaf mixture, and sometimes contained in a capsule. PCP can be ingested, smoked, or snorted and is occasionally injected intravenously. The powder form is usually the purest. When sold as a leaf mixture, PCP is often combined with oregano, parsley, or mint and rolled in cigarette paper.

Symptoms of PCP exposure can persist over several days, as the drug excretes itself into the stomach, and then reabsorbed through the intestines.

Users have been known to snap handcuffs and, unarmed, attack large groups of people or police. The loss of fear leads victims to try such bizarre actions as attempting to stop a train by standing in front of it, grossly mutilating themselves and others, or jumping from windows or cliffs. One woman even cooked her baby in oil when she was high on PCP.
27. Parathion

Parathion, also a nerve gas, is fatal upon contact with the skin. It is absorbed through the lungs as well. The victim of parathion poisoning dies a torturous death with tremors, muscle spasms, and convulsions.

Sarin, another relative of parathion, and a highly toxic nerve gas as well, can kill a man in fifteen minutes with only a small drop on the skin. The liquid does not injure the skin but rapidly penetrates the skin and is absorbed in the blood and organs. Sarin is also dangerous when heated and gives off toxic fumes. Reacting with water or steam, corrosive and toxic fumes result.
28. TEPP

A cholinesterase inhibitor, TEPP destroys the enzyme. After inhalation, respiratory and eye problems are the first symptoms to appear. These include eye pain, impaired vision, tearing, headache, constricted pupils, loss of depth perception, cramps, excessive sweating, chest pain, dyspnea, cyanosis, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, twitching, paralysis, loss of reflexes and sphincter control, abnormal breathing, convulsions, low blood pressure, and death.
29. Yew Trees

Yew trees are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The entire plant is poisonous with the exception of the red fruit. The most toxic parts of the yew tree are its wood bark, its leaves, and the seeds. The poison of the yew tree and its parts is taxine, which can cause cardio-respiratory failure if ingested.
30. Carbon Tetrachloride

Carbon tetrachloride is a colorless, nonflammable liquid with a distinctive odor that can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or taken internally by mouth. This industrial solvent is an extremely dangerous chemical that is used in the manufacture of fluorocarbons. It also serves as a dry-cleaning agent and is occasionally used in fire extinguishers as well. Although it has been declared unsafe for general household use, some household cleaners still contain carbon tetrachloride because it is an excellent spot remover. The chemical has a very low boiling point (76.7 degrees C), and when heated, it decomposes to form phosgene gas and hydrochloric acid.

Carbon tetrachloride attacks the central nervous system, and has an especially devastating affect on the liver and kidneys.

Effects and Symptoms: The first symptoms of carbon tetrachloride poisoning are abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and disorientation, followed by unconsciousness, shallow breathing, slow or irregular pulse, and dropping blood pressure. If victims survive these symptoms, they can suffer mild nausea, anorexia, or nothing at all. Further symptoms might appear between one day and two weeks after the initial exposure and reaction.

This is when liver or kidney damage becomes obvious. Death often results from kidney failure if dialysis is not started immediately. Kidney damage, liver damage or even coma may appear one at a time or these severe symptoms can all occur at the same time.
31. Strychnine

While strychnine is not the fastest-acting poison, it is certainly one of the most horrific. The dramatic image of a victim thrashing to and fro in agony while in the final throes of strychnine poisoning may account for its popularity in literature and film.

Strychnine is a colorless, crystalline powder with a bitter taste. The substance is usually swallowed but can also be effective contact with the skin or the eyes. Strychnine may also be inhaled.
32. Cyanide

Effects and Symptoms: Cyanide action has been called "internal asphyxia" because it

interferes with the enzymes that are responsible for controlling the oxidative process, preventing the body’s red blood cells from absorbing oxygen. Swallowing or smelling a toxic dose of cyanide as a gas or a salt can cause immediate unconsciousness, convulsions, and death within one to fifteen minutes or longer. If an amount near the lethal dose is absorbed through the skin, inhaled, or swallowed the symptoms will be rapid respiration, gasping for breath, dizziness, flushing, headache, nausea, vomiting, rapid pulse, and a sudden drop in blood pressure causing fainting.

Cyanide’s infamous bitter-almond scent can be a clue and may be a telltale sign during an autopsy, but not everyone is capable of detecting it.

33. Clostridium botulinum

Botulinum toxin is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum and is the most toxic protein known to man [one teaspoon can kill 1.2 billion people]. This toxin was first found in improperly handled meat and was called botulism as the latin for sausage was botulus. Today botox ( a very low dose of botulinum) is a common medication used in the cosmetic industry to reduce wrinkles.

Appendicitis? Human Appendix Maybe Not Useless After All

2009-10-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

For a long time, we’ve believed that the human appendix was more or less good for nothing. Darwin postulated that the appendix was a remnant of evolution that was no longer needed. But for the first time, researchers are actually taking a close look at the appendix and its function. And they’ve come to believe that it is, after all, good for something: it may help to restock the stomach with good bacteria after an illness, like a bout of diarrhea.
Scientists and researchers from Duke University Medical Center, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University collaborated on the study, which concluded that not only is the appendix not useless – it’s also been around far longer than anyone previously thought. Rather than being a leftover from some previous configuration of the human digestive system, the study found that the appendix has evolved at least twice and is present in many other animals. When Darwin said that the appendix had no use, he simply didn’t have all of the information that we have now; otherwise he would have seen how prevalent the appendix is in the animal kingdom. Given our improved health care and sanitation standards, however, the appendix may not have a good use these days since our immune system no longer has to deal with many challenges.

War of the Words: US Army Developing “Telepathy Helmet”

2009-10-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

What was once the worst fear of every paranoid person out there may well become reality soon enough for the US military. In 2008, the Army awarded a $4 million contract to a team of scientists from three American universities. The goal of the project is the development of helmets that will read and transmit soldiers’ thoughts to each other without the need for vocal interaction – sort of like a radio without a microphone. It may sound like science fiction, but crazily enough, it’s entirely possible. Brain-computer interaction is currently being developed to help paraplegics type, and there is even a commercially available gaming headset controlled by brain waves.
The military system would have to be significantly more complex than a video game-based system, though, and as a result it probably won’t be available for another decade or so. The developers first have to work out how to decode the brain activity associated with speech. At first, the messages from one soldier to another would be rendered in a robotic voice. The Army hopes that eventually, the message can come in the soldier’s own voice and even indicate his position and distance from the recipient, just as if he were actually speaking.
There doesn’t seem to be much reason for the paranoid among us to worry about the military reading our thoughts. The scientists involved in the project insist that you have to be willing in order to transmit a message, and even then it takes some effort to do so. With the huge increase in battlefield security that a device like this could offer soldiers, it’s hard not to get behind it. But when it’s marketed as an add-on for your cell phone, it might be time to get the tin foil hat out.

25 Insane iPhone And Gadget Costumes

2009-10-24T22:40:00.000-07:00

Can't live without a cell phone or media player? A Halloween costume is a great way to celebrate your favorite gadget. Besides, when dressing up as an iPhone, BlackBerry, iPod or even Facebook for a Halloween party, you will totally smash the classical community of Witches, Elfs and Vampires.

Here is a showcase of amusing and creative cell phone and gadget costumes. These guys know how to look different on Halloween. Check out this hilarious collection, then create your own geeky style which one day may inspire others.

iDog

We are not sure whether this doggy cares about the iPhone craze at all, but he definitely looks stunning in this neat costume. Wonder how the owner is dressed up?
New age trick-or-treaters

This iPod family has probably the best chances to become a candy champ in their area. They chose the right brand to rock the neighborhood on Halloween.

Hallow Moto!

iPhone costumes are the latest fashion rage, so this year a school Halloween party may look like an Apple retail store. The guy in the picture sets the right example -- think different (seriously!) and dress up as Motorola RAZR. After all, vintage style is cool, too. (We're waiting to see who's hip enough to create a StarTac costume.)

Cool Apps

This costume looks pretty conventional at first, but look closer and you will see the gimmick: funny Apps icons. Definitely, a clever take on the iPhone.

iPod Couple

This couple looks lovely in their iPod costumes. No doubts, if they were at the gadget fancy-dress ball, they would be number one. Dancing can be a problem, though...

Cycle Phone

This shot depicts a scene from the upcoming movie A Couple of Dicks. Tracy Morgan wearing a giant cell phone costume on a stylized bicycle is hilarious -- maybe you can use this costume idea when getting ready for Halloween.
Skintight phone costume

We are pretty sure that the designer of this costume was inspired by some ultra-slim cell phone model. This is probably the most desperate take on the phone costume in our selection.
iPod Earbuds Costume

Not only did these guys hit everybody with their fun earbuds costumes, but they also provided music out of a portable speaker hidden inside, so they were absolutely authentic.

There are tons of gadgets and devices available today, so you have an endless source of ideas for your Halloween costume. Be unique and have a happy Halloween!

Apple iPhone

2009-10-22T22:34:00.000-07:00

Some Great Feature:

The Fastest iPhone Ever

The first thing you’ll notice about iPhone 3GS is how quickly you can launch applications. Web pages render in a fraction of the time, and you can view email attachments faster. Improved performance and updated 3D graphics deliver an incredible gaming experience, too. In fact, everything you do on iPhone 3GS is up to 2x faster and more responsive than iPhone 3G.

Other Feature :

Better Video Quality
3-Megapixel Camera For great still photos
Voice Control
Built in Digital Compass
Cut,Copy & Paste Content from Web
Landscape Keyboard
Message sending via Text, Video, Photos, Audio, Location and Contact Information.
Search Function
Easy Accessibility
Internet Tethering
Voice Memos
iPhone includes built-in Nike + iPod support.
Stocks on iPhone shows you charts, financial details, and headline news for any stock you choose.
Watch YouTube videos wherever you are.
Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe.
Phone, iPod, and Internet device in one, iPhone 3GS offers desktop-class email, an amazing Maps application, and Safari — the world’s most advanced mobile web browser. And your iPhone does even more when you add apps from the App Store.

What's the Difference between Intel Core Duo and Core 2 Duo

2009-10-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

What's the Difference between Intel Core Duo and Core 2 Duo

Core Duo is Intel's first dual-core CPU. It's a whole new architecture for Microsoft, using two cores on a single die, which, put simply, gives you two chips in one package. Running at lower speeds than the old Pentium line, the Core Duo conserves substantial power vs. ratcheting up clock speed while offering what was, at the time, record-breaking performance.
Now there's Core 2 Duo. In many ways Core 2 is the same as Core: The chips are built using the same production process and fit in the same sockets as Core Duo chips. Putting aside Core 2 Extreme (a fancy version of the Core 2 Duo), you won't see many spec changes: Both chips have the same frontside bus speed of 667MHz, but Core 2 Duo is now available at somewhat faster clock speeds (as I write this, 2.67GHz chips are available). The frontside bus communicates between the CPU and RAM (and other components), and it's a notorious performance bottleneck for computers. The Core 2 also has the same L2 cache that the Core has. However, there are architecture changes to the silicon that give the Core 2 more sophisticated processing abilities. Both chips exist in desktop and laptop versions.
Why does all of this matter? Performance, pure and simple. In my tests, Core 2 Duo computers outperform Core Duo computers on tasks across the board, from rendering graphics and video to spell-checking documents. The speed improvement varies widely, but on average it's about 30 percent. That's significant in an industry that thrives on tiny, incremental improvement. Better yet, there's not an appreciable difference in battery life on notebooks, as power consumption for both chips (at the same clock speed) is about the same.
Now let's consider pricing. Initially, Core 2 chips were more expensive than Core, but that has changed, as Core is practically gone from the desktop market now. Surprisingly, you can now get a 2.13GHz Core 2 CPU for less than the price of a 1.66GHz Core CPU.
Still, expect to see some systems still on the market that use the Core CPU, especially in laptops. Performance is still very good with Core, so don't feel like you're getting second-class goods if you buy a Core Duo notebook, but remember you are buying a chip that Intel is no longer actively selling, and prices for Core 2 systems aren't really any different than they were for Cores. If it was my money, I'd hold out for a Core 2 system unless you got a great deal on a Core... which will be all but vanished from the market in a matter of months.

Russian Antarctic Station

2009-10-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

Anton Chekalin has visited Russian Antarctic station and has shot there some interesting places.
For example, what you see on the photo above is the Russian water well. The have made a 16 feet (5 meters) deep hole in the ice and there they can get fresh water from somewhere, so when person gets in there he can see sun trying to penetrate through this many feet thick ice.

This is photo from so called “oasis”, where the temperature is about 5 degrees higher than around, so it’s just a hot place over there. Penguins have a strange ritual - from generation to generation they go on peligrimage - sometimes for as long as two months - so that just to reach this place, stay there for sometimes for just a few hours and go back to their usual places of living.

This truck was abondoned there since the Soviet era of Antarctic exploration.

Russian Underground Submarine Base

2009-10-12T00:42:00.000-07:00

It was a big underground submarine base and docks once in USSR. After the Soviet Union collapsed and Russian army left Ukraine it was partly abandoned and some of its parts was converted into a museum later.

Russian Atomic Icebreakers

2009-10-09T01:48:00.000-07:00