Apple 'visionary' Steve Jobs dies

நியூயார்க்: கம்ப்யூட்டர் உலகில் பல அரிய சாதனைகளைப் படைத்த ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனத்தை உருவாக்கிய ஸ்டீவ் ‌ஜாப்ஸ் (வயது56) மரணமடைந்தார்.
புற்று‌நோயால்அவதிப்பட்டு வந்த அவர் நியூயார்க் நகரில் மரணமடைந்தார். அறிவாளிகளும் சாதனையாளர்களும் நீண்ட காலம் உயிர் வாழ்வதில்லை என்பதை
நிரூபிக்கும் வகையில் இவருடைய மரணம் அமைந்துள்ளது.
1980ல் இவரால் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனம் இன்றைய நவீன கணினி தொழில்நுட்ப புரட்சியில் முக்கிய இடம் வகித்து வருகிறது. ஸ்டீவ் ஜாப்ஸ் இதை
தனது 21வது வயதில் உருவாக்கினார். 1980ல் இவர் உருவாக்கி ஆப்பிள் கம்ப்யூட்டர் மிக வெற்றிகரமாக விளங்கியது. 2011ல் இதன் விற்பனை 4
லட்சத்தைத் தாண்டியது. இது ஒரு உலக சாதனையாகும்.

எங்கும் எடுத்துச் செல்லும் வகையில் கணினி தொழில் நுட்பத்தை மாற்றிய பெருமை இவருக்கே உரியது. சாதாரணமான கம்ப்யூட்டர் தயாரிக்கும் நிறுவனமாக
உருவாகிய ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனத்தில் இசைக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் கொடுக்கும் வகையில் ஐ பாடு மற்றும் ஐ டியூன்ஸ், ஐபோன் உருவாக்கியவர் இவரே. 2003ல் ஐ
பாடு உருவாக்கபட்ட பிறகு இசை உலகில் ஒரு மாற்றமே ஏற்பட்டது. சுமார் 20 கோடி பேர் இதில் பதிவு செய்து ஒன்றரை கோடிக்கும் மேற்பட்ட பாடல்களை
பதிவிறக்கம் செய்து ரசித்து வருகின்றனர்.

புதிய வரலாற்றைப் படைத்தது: 2007ல் ஐ‌ போனை இவர் உருவாக்கினார். ஸ்மார்ட் போன் உருவாக இது ஒரு முன்னோடியாக விளங்கியது. 2011ல்
உருவாக்கப்பட்ட ஐ டியூன்ஸ் சேவை மேலும் ஒரு புரட்சியை ஏற்படுத்தி உள்ளது. இதைத் தொடர்ந்து முழு கம்ப்யூட்டர் பயன்பாட்டை ‌கையடக்க வடிவில் கொண்டு வரும்
வகையில் இவர் உருவாக்கிய ஐ பேடு வடிவமைப்பு மற்றும் தொழில் நுட்பம், கணினி யுகத்தில் புதிய வரலாற்றைப் படைத்தது. கடந்த ஆண்டு வரை
பிரபலமாக இருந்த டேப்லட் பிசி என்ற கம்ப்யூட்டரை, ஐ பேடு பின்னுக்குத் தள்ளி, 2010 இறுதியில் ஒன்றரை கோடி விற்பனையானது.

இவர் கடந்த ஆகஸ்ட் வரை அதன் ‌தலைவராகவும் இருந்தார். இவருடைய மரணம் குறித்து அமெரிக்க அதிபர் ஒபாமா, பில்கேட்ஸ் ஆகியோர் இரங்கல்
தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.


ஒபாமா: அமெரிக்காவில் புதிய படைப்புகளை உருவாக்கி உலகில் சாதனை படைத்தவர்களில் ஸ்டீவ் ஜாப்ஸூம் ஒருவர் என அமெரிக்க அதிபர் ஒபாமா
தெரிவித்துள்ளார். ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனத்தை துவங்கி இந்த உலகிற்கு மகத்தான சேவை செய்து நம்‌மை விட்டு பிரிந்துவிட்டார். மனித வரலாற்றில் அரிய சாதனை
ப‌டைத்துள்ளார். மிகவும் அசாதாரணமான ஒரு மனிதரை இந்த உலகம் இழந்துவிட்டது என்றார்.

பேஸ்புக் நிறுவனர் மார்க் ஜூகர்பெர்க்: கம்ப்யூட்டர் உலகில் புரட்சியை ஏற்படுத்தி,உலகையே மாற்றி அமைத்தவர் ஸ்டீவ் ஜாப்ஸ். அவரை இந்த கம்ப்யூட்டர் உலகம்
இழந்துவிட்டது என சமூக இணையதளமான பேஸ்புக் நிறுவனர் மார்க் ஜூகர்பெர்க் கூறினார்.

அர்னால்டு இரங்கல்: கலிபோர்னியா மக்களின் கனவை நனவாக்கி தனது வாழ்நாளில் வாழ்ந்து காட்டினார்.கம்ப்யூட்டர் உலகின் முன்னோடி ஸ்டீவ் ஜாப்ஸ் என கலிபோர்னியா
மாகாண கவர்னரும், பிரபல ஹாலிவுட் நடிகருமான அர்னால்டுஸ்வாஸ்னேக்கர் டுவீட்டர் இணையதளத்தில் இரங்கல் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

அமெரி்க்காவின் சான்பிரான்ஸிஸ்கோ நகரில் கடந்த 1955-ம் ஆண்டு பிப்ரவரி மாதம் 24-ம் தேதி பிறந்தார் ஸ்டீவன்பவுல் ஜாப்ஸ். கம்ப்யூட்டர் இன்ஜினியராக
தனது பள்ளி வாழ்க்கையை துவக்கினார். 300-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட தனது எலெக்ட்ரானிக் தொழில்நுட்ப கண்டுபிடிப்புகளுக்கு அமெரிக்காவில் காப்புரிமை பெற்றுள்ளார். கடந்த
1977-ம் ஆண்டு ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனத்தின் சார்பில் கம்ப்யூட்டரை உலகிற்கு அறிமுகப்படுத்தினார். 2010-ம் ஆண்டு ஜூன் மாதம் ஐ-போன்களை
அறிமுகப்படுத்தினார். அதே ஆண்டு ஜனவரி 27-ம் ஆண்டு முதன்முதலாக ஐ-பேடினை அறிமுகம் செய்து நவீன கணினி உலகில் புரட்சியை
ஏற்படுத்தினார்.கடந்த ஆகஸ்ட் மாதம் ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனத்தின் தலைமை நிர்வாகி பதவியிலிருந்து விலகினார்.அவர் விலகினாலும் ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனத்தின் வளர்ச்சிக்கு
அவர் ஆற்றிய பணியை உலகம் மறக்கவில்லை.

NASA Satellite Falls to Earth, But Debris Location Still a Mystery

No reports yet of damage or injury from UARS spacecraft, agency says.

Defying predictions one last time, NASA's doomed UARS satellite dove through Earth's atmosphere late last night over the North Pacific Ocean, off the U.S. West Coast, the space agency says. (Also see "Space Debris: Five Unexpected Objects That Fell to Earth.")

As recently as Friday morning, U.S. officials had forecast that the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, would fall out of the sky in the late afternoon or early evening Friday, eastern time.

(See "NASA Satellite Falling Faster Due to Solar Activity.")

But the satellite shifted position as it tumbled toward the planet, forcing scientists to throw out their earlier time estimates.

NASA said early Saturday that UARS fell out of orbit sometime between 11:23 p.m. and 1:09 a.m. ET.

Amateur satellite trackers in places such as San Antonio, Texas, and northernMinnesota reported catching glimpses of UARS as it made its final, doomed circles around Earth.

Though the spacecraft plummeted over the Pacific, it's still not clear exactly where debris from the satellite has landed. Pieces of the satellite will be strung along a debris "footprint" stretching 500 miles (800 kilometers).

So far there are "no reports of any damage or injury," NASA said via Twitter close to midday Saturday.

Satellite Pieces Not For Sale

UARS, which weighed more than six tons, was lofted into orbit by the space shuttle Discovery in 1991. The craft recorded data on Earth's atmosphere until it was switched off in 2005.

Some 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of debris from the satellite were projected to survive the superheated descent through the atmosphere. The biggest intact piece, NASA said, would probably be a 300-pound (140-kilogram) chunk of the spacecraft's structure.

NASA warned the curious not to touch any pieces of the spacecraft that may have made it to the ground, because of the risk of sharp edges.

The space agency also tried to head off sales of UARS remnants on Internet auction sites such as eBay.

"Any pieces of UARS found are still the property of the country that made it," NASA warned via Twitter this morning. "You'll have to give 'em back to U.S."

Now, Virtual Tickets accepted by Indian Railways – No need of physical printouts!

It is nice to see that Indian Railways is making life easier for Railway commuters – as well as for our environment. Imagine the number of trees that would have been needed to cut just for the Ticket Reservation printouts that lakhs of consumers carry on daily basis when they set-off on Indian Railways journey.�

According to the announcement on IRCTC website – Commuters can now carry their Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS) virtually. What this essentially means is you can just show a screenshot of your e-ticket on any device and it will be treated as Valid.

Indian Railways calls it "Virtual Reservation Message" or VRM. So, if you have a mobile with camera that should be enough to create a VRM. Book your ticket online, take a snapshot using your mobile camera of the e-ticket and show it to Ticket Checker along with your Valid Identity Proof.

If you are carrying a Smartphone, it is even easier – you can login to internet and show your e-ticket itself!

Couple of months back, Indian Railways had also announced that it will launching a Mobile applicationthat will make it possible for commuters to book the tickets on mobile itself.  Once booked, the SMS sent out by the app will serve as a ticket itself and can be shown to the Ticket Checker along with your personal identification!

Personally, I am super-delighted with this development like millions of other Indian Railway Commuters. I travel Pune-Mumbai quite frequently on Deccan Queen. It has always been a pain carrying a printout. But now with a mobile in my hand I don't have to worry at all!

Have you taken advantage of this "Virtual Reservation Message" or VRM already? If not, you should for your next train journey!

�

Google+ opens social network to everyone

Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of social business: "We think there's lots of room for innovation"

Google+ is being opened up for anyone to join after two-and-a-half months in closed testing.

The search firm's latest foray into social networking was initially offered to journalists and people working in technology related fields.

However, members' ability to invite friends meant its user base quickly grew to tens of millions.

Google+ has been praised for several innovative features including its multi person "hangouts" video chat.

Two weeks after it launched, the company announced that its service had attracted 10 million users.

It has not produced official figures since then, although estimates by web analytic firm Comscore put membership at 25 million by the end of the first month.

Despite users' apparently rapid uptake, research carried out by Australian web software maker 89n suggested that the rate of public posting was declining. The survey did not take account of private postings.

Social search

Alongside its full public launch, Google is adding several new features to the service, including video hangouts on Android smartphones - allowing multi-person chats.

Users will also be able to share the content of their computer screens with whoever they are talking to.

Continue reading the main story

Another notable addition is the integration of search within Google+, allowing members to find results from socially shared information, as well as across the wider web.

The prospect of "social search" through Google would appeal to businesses, according to social networking specialist Matt Rhodes from Fresh Networks.

"Brands know that a lot of people who come to them come through search and anything they can do make themselves come up through the right terms or higher up the rankings is important. Commercially that is the opportunity," he said.

"If you are logged into Google and search for supermarkets, if some of my friends have plus 1'd Tesco or commented about it, that might push Tesco above Sainsbury's in my search results."

Myspace founder Tom Anderson - an active Google+ user - told BBC News: "Failure is not an option for Google on this. The fate of their business depends on social in the long run, so I think they'll keep tweaking and reminding users until they get it right."

Rivals' response

The rise of Google+ has not gone un-noticed by its competitors.

Facebook has recently rolled out a number of innovations which many observers have characterised as a direct response to the Google challenge, although the company argues that these have been in the pipeline for far longer.

These include a revamp of the social network's friend system, making in easier to add people to categories, similar to Google Circles.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Facebook users would be able to connect their status updates directly to their Twitter feed, in a move that may enhance the appeal of both Google rivals.

Conversely, Google finds itself in the unusual position of being a minority player in the market, facing Twitter's 200 million users and Facebook's 750 million.

Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of social business told the BBC that he welcomed the competition.

"We suspect people use many different tools to share," he said.

"The most popular mechanism people use to share today is email. So we think there's lots of room for innovation."

with regards,
Jayaprakash.K

NASA satellite expected to hit Earth this week

The sky is not falling. A 12,500-pound NASA satellite the size of a school bus is, however.

It's the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS — YOU-arz — and it's currently tumbling in orbit and succumbing to Earth's gravity. It will crash to the surface Friday.

Or maybe Thursday. Or Saturday.

Out-of-control crashing satellites don't lend themselves to exact estimates even for the precision-minded folks at NASA. The uncertainty about the "when" makes the "where" all the trickier, because a small change in the timing of the reentry translates into thousands of miles of difference in the crash site.

As of the moment, NASA says the 35-foot-long satellite will crash somewhere between 57 degrees north latitude and 57 degrees south latitude — a projected crash zone that covers most of the planet, and particularly the inhabited parts. In this hemisphere, that includes everyone living between northern Newfoundland and the frigid ocean beyond the last point of land in South America.

Polar bears and Antarctic scientists are safe.
It's the biggest piece of NASA space junk to fall to Earth in more than 30 years. It should create a light show. The satellite will partially burn up during reentry and, by NASA's calculation, break into about 100 pieces, creating fireballs that should be visible even in daytime.
An estimated 26 of those pieces will survive the re-entry burn and will spray themselves in a linear debris field 500 miles long. The largest chunk should weigh about 300 pounds.

As the Friday-ish crash gets closer, NASA will refine its estimate of timing and location, but the fudge factor will remain high.
"There are too many variations on solar activity which affect the atmosphere, the drag on the vehicle," said Nicholas Johnson, chief scientist for orbital debris at NASA. He said that when NASA estimates that the satellite is two hours away from hitting Earth, there will still be a margin of error of 25 minutes.

"That equates to plus or minus 5,000 miles. That's a lot of real estate," he said.
The good news is that UARS will probably splatter into the open ocean, because Earth is a water planet. And humans, for all their sprawl, occupy a very limited portion of its surface.

NASA did a calculation of the odds that someone would be struck by UARS debris. It's very unlikely: about a 1-in-3,200 chance that one person somewhere in the world would be hit. That's not the odds for any specific person (say, a reader of this story), but for the entire human population, which is about 7 billion.

Used fuel tanks and rocket bodies fall to Earth frequently, Johnson said, "and in over 50 years of these things coming back around the world, no one has ever been hurt. There has never been any significant property damage."

The satellite was launched on the space shuttle Discovery in 1991 and spent 14 years studying the atmosphere as part of an effort to understand, among other things, the human influence on climate change. It measured chemicals that damage the ozone layer, aerosols from Mount Pinatubo and changes in solar radiation that affect the upper atmosphere. But NASA decided in 2005 that UARS's work had become redundant to that performed by other satellites, and it received its scientific pink slip.

Google+: 10 things it does better

A glance at Google+'s most popular users, however, would indicate that the social service is still a playground for tech's early adopters.

The unofficial leaderboard of the site's "most circled" users is dominated by technologists -- from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Even I make the list -- and while that's surely flattering, I'm hardly a household name.

This is the next great challenge for Google+ -- mainstream users may now be hearing about the service from time to time, but in a world of social networking overload, why would anyone spend time on Google+?

It's a question I struggle to answer: Google+ is certainly more fun to use than some of its rivals, but pinning down its specific advantages can be a challenge.

After all, the main features of the service are familiar: Post text updates, photos, videos and links to your friends from the Web or your mobile device. What's the big deal? I polled the Google+ community for answers to Google's marketing conundrum, and 10 distinct differences emerged. Could these be enough to convince the masses?

1. "Circles"

Overwhelmingly, Google+ users say they prefer Google+'s model for organizing your contacts. While Twitter allows you to "follow" others, and Facebook is all about mutual "friendship," Google+ instead introduces the concept of "Circles."

Circles are groups of friends with different labels such as "co-workers" or "family." Users can choose to share each update with a different group, and also view their incoming streams by group, rather than all at once. "I'm finding the circles help with keeping my life and work separate," explains Google+.

2. Privacy

Google+ users say they find the service's privacy settings easier to use. This might be surprising given that Google+ profiles themselves cannot be private. However, thanks to Circles, it's easy to control which users can see each of your updates. "I want fine grained control of how my posts are shared,".

3. Longer, more thoughtful posts

Twitter might be king when it comes to brevity, but Ward Anderson says he reads more insightful postings on Google+. This thoughtfulness is enabled by Google+'s higher character limit -- users can post multiple paragraphs of text, versus one or two sentences on Twitter.

4. No ads

Google+ users, including Dave Francis Rotaquio, say they love that Google+ is currently ad-free. With Facebook having run ads for years, and Twitter now ramping up its use of advertising, Google+ is now one of the few successful social networks that lacks commercial interruption.

However, the free lunch is unlikely to last forever: Google runs the largest ad network on the Web and may eventually have to face the economic realities of operating a large social site.

5. Group video chat

Want to video chat with up to 10 friends? With Google+, switching from a text chat to a group video conversation takes a click -- and it's one feature that Google's rivals lack. Facebook now supports video calls thanks to a deal with Skype, but group chatting isn't possible there.

What's more, Google just integrated this "Hangouts" feature into YouTube, letting you and your friends chat about videos while you watch.

6. Farmville-free

Google+ recently added games to its lineup -- a feature that's often cited as an annoyance on rival social networks. (Do you have a Facebook friend who can't help but post Farmville updates all day?)

Google+ makes its games less irritating, by relegating all gaming updates to a dedicated tab -- this keeps your stream free from noisy distractions. So if Farmville were ever to come to Google+, few would consider it a pest.

7. Better photos

Some Google+ users say the network is becoming a leader in photo-sharing: Full-screen photo galleries and a highly active community consisting of some the Web's most popular photographers must surely have helped here.

8. Friendly staff

Who said social networks don't need great customer service? The creators of Google+ are active on the service themselves and use it to respond to questions and criticisms..

9. Less clutter

Perhaps it's simply the lack of advertising, but many Google+ users say they like Google's clean, white aesthetic. On Google+, there's nothing to distract you from the content.

10. Integrated with Google products

Fans of Google's other services, such as Gmail and Google Calendar, say they like the way Google+ works across many of Google's existing products.

"They had everything else, for the most part, already working so all they needed was to add the social networking aspect to things,".

Perhaps the greatest selling point of Google+ is the most obvious, however: It's new. The opportunity to start afresh with an up-to-date list of friends, no spam, no ads and an uncluttered interface is a novel experience for those of us who have spent years maintaining profiles on other websites.

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