Microsoft releases first beta of Internet Explorer 8

Microsoft released the first beta version of IE8 a few days ago. The new version of the IE comes with many new improvements. Two major features are Activities and WebSlices. Look down for a bit more about these features.

Microsoft could have comfortably leave IE8 as an IE7 look alike that it standards compliant, but they went a step forward and actually brought something new to the browser industry, which will surely be mimicked in a near future in the form of an extension for everyone’s favorite fiery browser.

To start things off, one of the things that instantly drew my attention was the “Activities” feature that allows you to do those repetitive tasks like finding the location of something on google maps, or submitting an article to Digg, by simply selection an option from the context-menu when you right click.

Another nice feature is the Webslices feature, that allows a user to “capture” a part of a website’s code and place it as a link on your toolbar. Very similar to the new widget feature that Apple added in Leopard that allowed you to select an area from a website and create a custom widget for it. The only difference here is that in order for Webslices to work, the webdevelopers need to place a special code on their website, which renders the feature almost obsolete except for the select few websites (like Microsoft ones) that place the custom code.

Most other features are small improvements over the current ones, which makes IE8 a simple, yet capable, browser that earned my respect. Kudos to Microsoft!

[Download Internet Explorer 8]

New Quantum Computers Will Destroy Today’s Encryption Technology

Future ‘quantum computers’ will offer increased efficiency… and risks
UCF Professor makes unique discovery, may revolutionize encryption technology

An unusual observation in a University of Central Florida physics lab may lead to a new generation of “Quantum Computers” that will render today’s computer and credit card encryption technology obsolete.

The observations are documented this week in the online version of Nature Physics under Advance Online Publication (http://www.nature.com/nphys/index.html ). The title of UCF Professor Enrique del Barco’s paper is “Quantum Interference of Tunnel Trajectories between States of Different Spin Length in a Dimeric Molecular Nanogmagnet.”

Consumers, credit card companies and high-tech firms rely on cryptography to protect the transmission of sensitive information. The basis for current encryption systems is that computers would need thousands of years to factor a large number, making it very difficult to do.

However, if del Barco’s observation can be fully understood and applied, scientists may have the basis to create quantum computers — which could easily break the most complicated encryption in a matter of hours.

Del Barco said the observation may foster the understanding of quantum tunneling of nanoscale magnetic systems, which could revolutionize the way we understand computation.

“This is very exciting,” del Barco said. “When we first observed it, we looked at each other and said, ‘That can’t be right.’ We did it again and again and we achieved the same result every time.”

According to quantum mechanics, small magnetic objects called nanomagnets can exist in two distinct states (i.e. north pole up and north pole down). They can switch their state through a phenomenon called quantum tunneling.

When the nanomagnet switches its poles, the abrupt change in its magnetization can be observed with low-temperature magnetometry techniques used in del Barco’s lab. The switch is called quantum tunneling because it looks like a funnel cloud tunneling from one pole to another.

Del Barco published paper shows that two almost independent halves of a new magnetic molecule can tunnel, or switch poles, at once under certain conditions. In the process, they appear to cancel out quantum tunneling.

“It’s similar to what can be observed when two rays of light run into interference,” del Barco said. “Once they run into the interference you can expect darkness.”

Controlling quantum tunneling shifts could help create the quantum logic gates necessary to create quantum computers. It is believed that among the different existing proposals to obtain a practical quantum computer, the spin (magnetic moment) of solid-state devices is the most promising one.

“And this is the case of our molecular magnets,” del Barco said. “Of course, this is far from real life yet, but is an important step in the way. We still must do more research and a lot of people are already trying to figure this out, including us. It’s absolutely invigorating.”

Co-authors of the paper are Christopher Ramsey from UCF, Stephen Hill from the University of Florida and Sonali J. Shah, Christopher C. Beedle and David N. Hendrickson from the University of California at La Jolla.

Del Barco, who is a native of Spain, began teaching at UCF in 2005. He got a Ph. d degree from the University of Barcelona before moving onto New York University where he worked with Andrew Kent, a well-known quantum physicist.

It was the warm weather and the dynamic of UCF that drew him and his family to UCF. Aside from teaching physics and working on research, Del Barco is a published writer. He penned a science fiction novel that has been published in Spain by Editorial Equipo–Sirius. He collaborates with scientists from around the world including researchers in Spain, Hong Kong and across the United States.

Via RedOrbit

Computers will be as smart as humans by 2030!!!

Computer power will match the intelligence of human beings within the next 20 years because of the accelerating speed at which technology is advancing, according to a leading scientific “futurologist”.

There will be 32 times more technical progress during the next half century than there was in the entire 20th century, and one of the outcomes is that artificial intelligence could be on a par with human intellect by the 2020s, said the American computer guru Ray Kurzweil.

Machines will rapidly take over humans in their intellectual abilities and solve many problems that coudn’t be solved in the 21st century said Dr Kurzweil, one of 18 maverick thinkers chosen to identify the greatest technological challenges facing humanity.

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MacBook Air Competitor on the Way

Apple’s much-hyped “MacBook Air” may finally have found its competitor in Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300 — at least that’s what analysts are saying.Like the MacBook Air, the ThinkPad X300 boasts an ultra-thin frame though it weighs in at around 3.12 pounds, which is heavier than the very light-weight MacBook Air.Both the Air and the ThinkPad X300 sport a 13.3-inches wide-screen and a full keyboard.
But the Air lacks: an optical drive, a network port, extra USB ports (it has only one), and removable battery. By contrast, the ThinkPad X300 is a typical road warrior — what with a built-in DVD drive, three USB ports, and a removable battery.MacBook Air users cannot upgrade memory on the device, and there’s no integrated support for EV-DO or HSDPA. By comparison, the ThinkPad X300 comes with an Ethernet networking jack, and can be customized with a cell-phone modem or GPS.There’s yet another advantage for ThinkPad X300 users; they have the option to choose between either Windows XP or Windows Vista.

Meanwhile, Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300 comes with a 64GB SSD (Solid State Drive) only, which might be the reason for the ramped up price; somewhere between $2,500 and $2,800. By comparison, Apple’s MacBook Air, when equipped with a 80GB hard disk drive (HDD), carries a lower price tag, i.e. $1,800.

However, add to the MacBook Air a 64GB SSD, and it comes for not less than $3,000, which is higher than the price of the ThinkPad X300.

While the ThinkPad X300 has almost all the features required to beat the hell out of Apple’s MacBook Air; there’s one drawback — its processor speed. The notebook includes a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Whereas, the MacBook Air incorporates 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo processors.

All said, the X300’s 12W processor is believed to be more power-efficient than the Air’s 20W processors, in turn leading to greater battery life.

Citing from a Business Week report, the development of the ThinkPad X300 has taken nearly 20 months from the original concept to production. The mandate for the notebook is not so much to be a revenue spinner for Lenovo as it is to be a “halo” product for the company, somewhat like a MacBook Air is for Apple Computer.

In a statement, Lenovo Chairman, Yang Yuanqing said that they want to send out the message that if there’s any company in the industry that can continuously develop the most inventive and best-quality products with efficiency, it has to be Lenovo. Besides, they also want to send firepower against arch rivals, HP and Dell. Of which, Dell is believed to feel not at all threatened by Lenovo, not at least in the US market.

There’s no word yet on availability and pricing of this notebook.

Both the Air and the ThinkPad X300 sport a 13.3-inches wide-screen and a full keyboard.But the Air lacks: an optical drive, a network port, extra USB ports (it has only one), and removable battery. By contrast, the ThinkPad X300 is a typical road warrior — what with a built-in DVD drive, three USB ports, and a removable battery.MacBook Air users cannot upgrade memory on the device, and there’s no integrated support for EV-DO or HSDPA. By comparison, the ThinkPad X300 comes with an Ethernet networking jack, and can be customized with a cell-phone modem or GPS.

There’s yet another advantage for ThinkPad X300 users; they have the option to choose between either Windows XP or Windows Vista.

Meanwhile, Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300 comes with a 64GB SSD (Solid State Drive) only, which might be the reason for the ramped up price; somewhere between $2,500 and $2,800. By comparison, Apple’s MacBook Air, when equipped with a 80GB hard disk drive (HDD), carries a lower price tag, i.e. $1,800.

However, add to the MacBook Air a 64GB SSD, and it comes for not less than $3,000, which is higher than the price of the ThinkPad X300.

While the ThinkPad X300 has almost all the features required to beat the hell out of Apple’s MacBook Air; there’s one drawback — its processor speed. The notebook includes a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Whereas, the MacBook Air incorporates 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo processors.

All said, the X300’s 12W processor is believed to be more power-efficient than the Air’s 20W processors, in turn leading to greater battery life.

Citing from a Business Week report, the development of the ThinkPad X300 has taken nearly 20 months from the original concept to production. The mandate for the notebook is not so much to be a revenue spinner for Lenovo as it is to be a “halo” product for the company, somewhat like a MacBook Air is for Apple Computer.

In a statement, Lenovo Chairman, Yang Yuanqing said that they want to send out the message that if there’s any company in the industry that can continuously develop the most inventive and best-quality products with efficiency, it has to be Lenovo. Besides, they also want to send firepower against arch rivals, HP and Dell. Of which, Dell is believed to feel not at all threatened by Lenovo, not at least in the US market.

There’s no word yet on availability and pricing of this notebook.

Via Techcrunch

A 40 hour laptop battery…..That’s what I need!!!

Unbelievable, isn’t it? A laptop battery that can last for 40 hours! Research is going on at Stanford Tech to develop a hi-tech lithium ion battery that can keep your laptop running for 40 hours. You can keep those charging woes at bay for a longer time.

Assistant Professor Yi Cui and associates at Stanford’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering said they have developed a method to increase the life of rechargeable lithium ion batteries to a whopping 40 hours. Publishing in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the Stanford researchers have shown that by using silicon nanowires as the battery anode instead of today’s graphite, the amount of lithium the anode can hold is extended tenfold.

Cui has filed a patent on the technology and is evaluating the formation of a company or licensing the technology to a battery manufacturer. Potentially two-day batteries could be on the market within “several years,” he said.

Silicon anodes are not a new idea. Researchers have known for some 30 years that they have the “highest theoretical charge capacity,” but, until now, they haven’t been practical because they change volume by 400 percent as lithium is inserted and extracted, the journal said. Cui’s solution: a sponge-like network of tiny silicon nanowires, each of which expands but doesn’t fracture.

Not only can the nanowires handle the extreme volume changes, they also “provide good electronic contact and conduction, and display short lithium insertion distances,” Cui wrote. “We achieved the theoretical charge capacity for silicon anodes and maintained a discharge capacity close to 75 percent of this maximum, with little fading during cycling.”

The nanowires are grown directly on the metallic substrate that collects current, a process that has several advantages, Cui explained. First, the nanowires’ small diameter can better accommodate the four-fold expansion in volume without fracturing. In addition, each nanowire is electrically connected to the metallic current collector, so all the nanowires contribute to battery capacity. The nanowires also offer efficient “charge transport” and eliminate the need for additives to conduct electricity, which add weight, the journal stated.

Let that sink in for a second. 40 Hours of battery life! That is ten times the life of today’s standard laptop battery. But you have to wonder how will the industry react to this recent announcement? If Cui and his associates can succeed in commercializing this breakthrough, the need for larger capacity laptop batteries will go the way of the dinosaurs.

Via Tigerdirect

Wii Fit

Wii Fit is an added accessory developed by Nintendo for its Wii. The Wii Fit is a set of games with the Wii Balance Board. Wii Fit uses a unique platform peripheral called the Wii Balance Board that can measure a user’s weight and their center of gravity, and calculate their body mass index when told the user’s height. The game has about 40 different activities, including yoga poses, push ups, and other exercises. This was previously called the Wii Health Pack. A List of things you can do using the Wii Balance Board:-

• Yoga exercises
• Push ups
• Step aerobics, including a game in which the player must step on and off the Wii Balance Board in rhythm to the background music
• Heading on-coming soccer balls and avoiding other objects by leaning forward and back
• A ball-rolling mini-game
• Hula hooping
• Ski jumping, whereby the player squats as low as possible, whilst maintaining his or her balance, and then quickly stands as fast as possible in order to gain a good jump
• Jogging
• Tightrope walking

Wii Fit Description:The hit combination of Wii Sports and the Wii Remote brought golf swings and tennis serves into people’s homes. Now Nintendo turns the living room into a fitness center for the whole family with Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board. Family members will have fun getting a “core” workout, and talking about and comparing their results and progress on a new channel on the Wii Menu.

• Lean to block soccer balls, swivel hips to power hoop twirls or balance to hold the perfect yoga pose. As users stand on the Wii Balance Board, included with Wii Fit, their body’s overall balance is tied to the game in a way they’ve never experienced before.
• Wii Fit also uses the Wii Balance Board for daily tests. These evaluate two key measures that a household can track via progress charts:
• Body Mass Index (BMI): A weight evaluation based on a ratio of weight to height.
• Wii Fit Age: The Wii Fit Age is measured by factoring the user’s BMI reading, testing the user’s center of gravity and conducting quick balance tests.
• Wii Fit includes more than 40 types of training activities designed to appeal to all members of a household. Training falls into four fitness categories:
• Aerobic Exercise: 10-minute exercises that are designed to get the heart pumping.
• Muscle Conditioning: Controlled motions using arms, legs and other body parts.
• Yoga Poses: Classic poses that focus on balance and stretching.
• Balance Games: Fun activities, such as ski jumping and heading soccer balls, that challenge the player’s overall body balance.

Here is a video from Youtube

Microsoft to Concentrate on Windows Mobile; Won’t Launch iPhone Competitor

Software giant, Microsoft Corp., is not planning to launch a device to compete with Apple’s iPhone, according to the company’s Chairman and co-founder, Bill Gates.

“No, we won’t do that,” Gates said in an interview with Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung yesterday. “In the so-called smart phone business we will concentrate solely on software with our Windows Mobile Program.”

“We have partnerships with a lot of device manufacturers from Samsung to Motorola and this variety brings us significantly more than if we would make our own mobile phone,” Gates explained.

Apple, which is one of Microsoft’s main competitors in the computer software market, launched its long-anticipated iPhone handset in the U.S. last June. The high-end music- and web-enabled cell phone was a big hit in America and parts of Europe this holiday shopping season.