MIT unveils fastest 3-D holographic video to date

Researchers from MIT have unveiled the fastest 3-D holographic video to date, filming a graduate student dressed as Princess Leia and projecting her as a postcard-sized hologram in real time.

The holographic device, unveiled at the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers’ conference in San Francisco, plays a 3-inch projection at 15 frames per second, just shy of movie refresh rates of 24 to 30 frames per second.

“I think it’s an important milestone because they were able to get to 15 frames per second, which is almost real time,” Discovery News quoted physicist Nasser Peyghambarian, who led the Arizona research, as saying.

“The quality is not as high, but hopefully it will get better in the future,” he stated.

The MIT team used a Kinect camera from an Xbox 360 gaming console to capture light from a moving object.

Then they relayed the data over the Internet to a PC with three graphics processing units, or GPUs, tiny processors found in computers, cell phones, and video games that render video quickly.

The processors compute how light waves interfere with each other to form patterns of light and dark fringes. Light bouncing off these fringe patterns reconstructs the original image.

The MIT team used a display to illuminate the computer-generated fringes and create a hologram.

“The students were able to figure out how to generate holograms by using what GPU chips are good at,” Michael Bove, an MIT engineer who led the research, said.

“And they get faster every year. There’s room for a lot more understanding of how to compute holograms on them,” he added.

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World's first hack-free software 'developed'

Scientists have developed what they claim is the world's first hack-free software which can protect systems from failure or malicious attacks.

The 'seL4' microkernel has been developed by a team led by Australia's ICT Research Centre of Excellence's spinout company -- Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs). It is a small operating system kernel which regulates access to a computer's hardware.

Its unique feature is that it has been mathematically proven to operate correctly, enabling it to separate trusted from untrusted software, protecting critical services from a failure or a malicious attack, say the scientists.

In future applications, seL4 could ensure that trusted financial transaction software from secure sources like banks or stock exchanges can operate securely on a customer's mobile phone alongside "untrusted" software, such as games downloaded from the Internet, according to its developers.

It could also provide a secure and reliable environment for mission-critical defence data, operating on the same platform as everyday applications like email. Or, it could protect the life-supporting functions of an implanted medical device, such as a pacemaker, from hacking, they say.

"Our seL4 microkernel is the only operating system kernel in existence whose source code has been mathematically proven to implement its specification correctly. Under the assumptions of the proof, the seL4 kernel for ARM11 will always do precisely what its specification says it will do," lead scientist Gerwin Klein said.

Added another scientist Gernot Heiser: "Verification of operating-system kernels has been attempted since the 1970s -- we pulled it off!"

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NASA marks 25 yrs after Challenger disaster

The United States marked a day of remembrance for astronauts who have died in the line of duty, particularly the victims in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger 25 years ago.

Schoolchildren and space enthusiasts around the world watched live January 28, 1986 as the Challenger lifted off carrying seven astronauts including the first teacher, Christa McAuliffe, to embark on a mission to space.

The shuttle exploded 73 seconds after launch at an altitude of 14,000 meters (46,000 feet), killing everyone on board. Engineers determined that the blast was caused by the failure of a joint seal due to cold weather.

"We have seen that achieving great things sometimes comes at great cost and we mourn the brave astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice in support of NASA missions throughout the agency's storied history," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

"We pause to reflect on the tragic loss of the Apollo 1 crew, those who boarded the space shuttle Challenger in search of a brighter future, and the brave souls who perished on the space shuttle Columbia."

A total of 24 people have been killed while supporting the space agency's mission since 1964, NASA said.

Apple, RIM, ZTE won in booming Q4 cellphone market

North American smartphone vendors Apple and RIM , along with low-cost Chinese producer ZTE , emerged as the biggest winners on the booming cellphone market in final quarter of 2010.

Research firm IDC estimated the global handset market grew last quarter 18 percent from a year ago, while Strategy Analytics said growth was at 16 percent.

"Mobile phone users are eager to swap out older devices for ones that handle data as well as voice, which is driving growth and replacement cycles," IDC analyst Kevin Restivo said in a statement on Friday.

The phone market has recovered from a slump in 2009 when the global economic slowdown dampened sales of the latest gadgets. Demand has surged for new smartphones like Apple's iPhone 4 and Samsung's Galaxy S.

Apple's sales of iPhones grew 86 percent from a year ago, while RIM sold 35 percent more Blackberrys than a year ago in its latest fiscal quarter to end-November.

RISE OF ZTE "The past year has been a highly disruptive period, as high-tier smartphone specialists and manufacturers of entry-level handsets with multiple SIM-card slots made gains at the expense of several established mega-vendors," said analyst Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.

Microsoft Q2 net income slips, revenue surges

Microsoft Corp has reported a marginal dip of 0.45 per cent in its net income to USD 6.63 billion in the October-December quarter of 2010 but the software giant's revenues surged on sale of Office software and Kinect video game accessory.

The entity had a net income of USD 6.66 billion in the year-ago period, Microsoft said in a press statement.

The company has registered a record revenue of USD 19.95 billion in the second quarter ended December 31, 2010, as against USD 19.02 billion in the year-ago period.

Microsoft's record revenues were driven by 55 per cent growth in revenues for the entertainment and devices division as the success of the Kinect sensor boosted sales of Xbox 360 consoles, Xbox Live subscriptions and Xbox games. The quarter earnings were also boosted by sales of Office 2010.

Revenues from software major's business division grew 24 per cent year-on-year. Besides, Office 2010 is the fastest- selling consumer version of Office in history, with licence sales over 50 per cent ahead of Office 2007 over an equivalent period following its launch.

"We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday lineup of products, including the launch of Kinect. The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations," said Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein.

"The pace of business spending, combined with strong consumer demand, led to another quarter of operating margin expansion and solid earnings per share growth," Klein added.

Revenue in the Windows division tanked 30 per cent to USD 5.05 billion,reflecting a slow growth in the personal-computer sector. However, Microsoft had launched Windows 7 in the same quarter of 2009, which makes a difficult comparison in revenues front.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Tablets won't steamroll Microsoft, top exec says

Concerns that roaring demand for tablets and smartphones like Apple's iPad and iPhone will leave Microsoft in the dust are simply overdone, Microsoft International's president told Reuters.

"Devices are going to go and come," Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International , told Reuters at the World Economic Forum , adding that the company was making progress developing products in the tablet arena.

In January, Microsoft said it would make a version of its Windows operating system compatible with chips designed by ARM Holdings to establish a major presence in smartphones and tablets.

Microsoft, whose Windows software powers 90 percent of the world's computers, on Thursday reported results that fell short of outsized expectations and failed to assuage investors that the rapid spread of devices made by Apple Inc and smartphones and tablets that run Google software would dominate the next phase of computing.

Its shares were flat after reporting results, despite reporting better-than-expected profit.

Egypt blocks Twitter

Micro-blogging site Twitter confirmed Wednesday that its service had been blocked in Egypt, indicating a probable government crackdown on technology that could disseminate information about the widening anti-government demonstrations.

"We can confirm that Twitter was blocked in Egypt around 8 a.m. (Pacific Time, 1600 GMT) today," Twitter confirmed on the @twitterglobalpr feed. "It's impacting both Twitter.com & applications. We believe that the open exchange of info & views benefits societies and helps governments better connect w/ their people."

According to Herdict.com, which tracks government attempts to block internet sites, Egyptian authorities appear to be taking action against other popular communications sites, too, such as Facebook, YouTube, Person.com and veoh.com. However it appears that such actions have been partially circumvented, because many users in Egypt still reported being able to access the sites, including by mobile telephones.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Intel gets EU nod for McAfee deal

Intel's acquisition of data security firm McAfee Inc cleared its last major hurdle after EU regulators approved the $7.68 billion deal on condition Intel grant rival firms access to its technology.

World No. 1 chipmaker Intel said it now expects to close the acquisition, which it aims to use bolster the security of Internet-connected devices, before the end of the first quarter.

Intel secured clearance from the US Federal Trade Commission on December 21 to acquire McAfee, the world's No. 2 maker of security software after Symantec Corp.

The deal will be Intel's largest acquisition to date. The decision by the European Commission, the EU competition watchdog, confirmed a Reuters report on January 20.

"The commitments submitted by Intel strike the right balance, as they allow preserving both competition and the beneficial effects of the merger," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement.

Intel agreed to ensure that rival security firms have access to all the necessary information that would allow their products to use Intel's chips and central processing units, the Commission said.

Facebook denies phone partnership with HTC

Facebook has no plans to launch Facebook-branded phones with Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC, it said, following reports that it planned to launch an official tie-up next month.

"This is really just another example of a manufacturer who has taken our public APIs (application programming interfaces) and integrated them into their device in an interesting way," said Dan Rose, head of business development at Facebook.

A London based business newspaper had reported that HTC would unveil two new Facebook-branded mobile phones at next month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, in a story that was widely picked up in other media.

"The rumors around there being something more to this HTC device are overblown," Rose told journalists at a company event in London. Asked whether the device would be Facebook-branded, he answered: "No."

Mobile is an increasingly important driver of traffic to Facebook, which says 250 million users per month access the social network on mobile devices.

HTC was the manufacturer of the first Google-branded phone, the Nexus One.

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Facebook says has seen drop in traffic from Egypt

Facebook has seen a drop in traffic to its Web site from Egypt on Thursday amid anti-government protests in that country, the company said.

"We are aware of reports of disruption to service and have seen a drop in traffic from Egypt this morning," Facebook spokesperson Jillian Carroll told Reuters in an email.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Apple finally brings iPad to India; starting price Rs 27,990

The Apple iPad is finally here! Starting Friday, you can visit the nearest Apple retailer (or iStore) and pick up the tablet you've always wanted. The starting price of Rs 27,990 will most likely make Apple aficionados rub their hands in delight. The base version of the iPad (16 GB, wi-fi only) has been selling at Rs 33,000 in the grey market and on online stores.

iPad has earned the title of the fastest selling gadget ever. In less than a year of its launch, it has sold nearly 15 million units, earning close to $10 billion in revenue. The iPad launch was announced in the US exactly a year ago (January 27, 2010), though it only went on sale in April 2011. Since then, the iPad has single-handedly reinvented the tablet market.

Though not through Apple, iPad has been on sale in India since August 2010, mostly through the grey market. Several e-commerce websites also started selling the device subsequently. Analysts peg the total number of iPads in India currently at about 40,000 units. This includes sales through the grey market, online sales or those who simply purchased the device abroad.

Not only is the India launch of the iPad delayed (it was launched in Hong Kong & Singapore as far back as July 2010) but the iPad 2, due out in a couple of months, is rumored to have dual cameras, a higher resolution 'retina' display and a faster processor. Add that to the increasing competition from other tablet makers like Samsung, Motorola and BlackBerry and your choice becomes confusing- wait for iPad 2 or pick up a non-Apple device that packs in more features.

Like elsewhere in the world, an entire ecosystem is getting created around the iPad. Accessories for Apple products is a flourishing industry and various accessories for the iPad have been available for the past few months at electronics stores and e-commerce sites.

BSNL has announced 3G plans specifically for the iPad while Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have been selling micro SIM cards (for 3G versions) for some time.

In all, there are six versions of the iPad available; capacities of 16, 32 or 64GB in a choice of Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi + 3G. The 16GB Wi-Fi only version will be priced at Rs 27,990 while the top of the line 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G version will be priced at Rs 44,990.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us